ŰśŰŕ§ a mission where you make a close call worries your husband and in the suffocating quiet of the debrief room, the distance between you two has never felt wider.
The doors to the debrief room slide shut with a muted hiss
You donât sit. And neither does Sova. The hum of the lights fills the space between you, thick and suffocating. Outside, the other Valorant agents are still moving about. Phoenixâs laughter is too loud for someone who almost didnât make it back. And Jettâs voice carries tooâjoking, deflecting. But both still alive
Because of you
Sovaâs jaw is tight. He hasnât taken his gloves off yet. Thatâs how you know heâs angry. Not explosiveânever thatâbut restrained, pulled so taut it could snap, just like his bowstring
For a moment, neither of you speak. âWhat happened out there todayâŚwhat you did was reckless,â he says finally
You blink. Once. Slowly
âThey were cornered,â you reply. Your tone is even. âI made a call.â
âYou broke formation.â
âI pulled them out.â
âYou exposed yourself.â
âAnd yet theyâre still breathing.â
Then silence. Heavy. You can feel your pulse behind your eyes, the lingering ache of overused radiant energy humming under your skin. Youâd felt it tear through you when you reached for themâwhen you bent space, just enough to drag Phoenix and Jett out of the line of fire
Sova exhales through his nose. âYou always do this.â
Your shoulders stiffen and you softly scoff. âDo what?â
âDecide alone.â His gaze sharpens. âYou donât signal the others. You donât warn us of your next move. You justâact. And the rest of us are left reacting.â
âYou trust my aim on the field,â you say quietly
âI trust your skill,â he corrects. âThat is not the same thing.â
That lands harder than you expected
You look away, jaw ticking at that. The wall is bare, sterile, safe. Safer than his eyes right now. âIf I hadnâtââ
âThey almost died,â he cuts in
You snap your head back to him, an 'are you serious' expression etched on your face. âI know.â
The words come out sharper and harsher than intended. For a moment, something flickers in his expressionâregret, maybeâbut itâs gone just as fast
âYou could have died too,â he says
There it is. Not anger. The fear.
âAnd I didnât,â you say
âBut you could have,â he insists. âYou keep pushing like youâre expendable.â
âIâm a Valorant agent. Itâs my job.â
âYou are my wife.â
Your voice drops. âWeâre agents first in the field. You know this.â
âAnd off the field?â His tone hardens. âDo you remember that then?â
You swallow
The younger agents look up to you. To both of you. The perfect pair. The composed strategist and the quiet powerhouse. Proof that love and duty can coexist in this world
You keep your back straight. Your face neutral
âI did what I had to,â you say
Sova steps closer. Not invadingâjust enough that you feel him. âAnd if next time you donât make it back?â
âThen they live.â
His breath stutters
âThatâs your answer?â he asks incredulously
You almost hesitate
Then something in him shifts
âWhy did I even marry you,â he says quietly, âif you are so willing to throw your life away?â
The way he speaks to you is soft
But his words devastate
You feel it thenâthe crack. The fracture running straight through both your carefully built facades. Agent. Radiant. His wife
Your hands curl into fists at your sides
âI didnât know loving me meant owning my choices,â your voice slightly wavers
âThatâs not what I meant and you know thatâ
âBut itâs what you said.â
Silence again. Much thicker now
You force yourself to breathe. Slow and steady. Back in control. You will not break here. Not when Viper or Brimstone or anyone could walk in. Not where the myth of you could shatter
âI saved them,â you say, voice steady despite the tremor threatening beneath it. âIf thatâs something you canât forgiveââ
Sovaâs shoulders sag, just a little. The anger drains, leaving something raw behind
âIâm afraid,â he admits. âAnd you make it easy to be cruel when I am.â
That almost hurts more
You close your eyes for a moment. When you open them, the shine is gone. The mask is back in place
âFear doesnât give you the right to question why you chose me,â you say softly. âEspecially when I chose you knowing exactly who I am.â
He doesnât answer
You step past him, the door sliding open as you leave. The noise of the hallway rushes inâlife, motion, proof that the mission didnât go wrong enough to leave ghosts behind
Behind you, Sova remains in the debrief room alone
And for the first time, you wonder if the quiet distance between you will hurt worse than any battlefield ever could
âââââââ
Youâre holding site when it happens
Comms crackling with half-finished warnings as footsteps flood the choke. You donât retreat. You canât. Someone has to buy time
So you do
Energy burns hot under your skin as you brace against the wall, vision sharp despite the pain already screaming through your body. Your shoulder went out minutes agoâdislocated with a sickening pop when you were thrown back by an cluster grenade. You shoved it aside. No time. Scratches line your arms, bruises blooming dark beneath torn fabric
You hold
Shot after shot. Ability after ability. Every second counts
Your breath comes ragged when you hear itâSageâs voice, strained, sharp with panic
âIâm pinnedâcanât moveââ
You can see her on the opposite site, trapped behind shattered cover, enemy fire chewing the wall to splinters. Sheâs crouched low, glowing faintly, healing herself as her weapon lay forgotten on the ground
You donât hesitate
âI see you,â you say into comms. âIâm coming.â
You can hear Viper swearing through comms. Breach shouting a warning. And Yoruâs footsteps shift, trying to reposition himself to help you
You launch yourself forward anyway
The pain in your arm nearly blacks out your vision, but you grit your teeth and reachâspace warping, force bending just enough. You pull Sage hard, ripping her from danger and dragging her into cover with you
She gasps as she holds onto you
And thenâ
A shot cracks out
White-hot pain explodes at the side of your head as the bullet grazes the left side of your forehead. It doesnât lodge. But the impact alone sends you flying back, body slamming into the ground
Your head hits the floor with a sickening thud
For a second, thereâs nothing
Then warmth spreads beneath your cheek
Too warm
Sage is screaming your name
Your vision blurs, lights fracturing as blood pools rapidly against the concrete, dark and unforgiving. You try to move. Your body doesnât listen. The world tilts
âStay with meâpleaseâstay with meââ Sageâs hands shake as she pulls you close, glowing desperately as she presses against your wounds. âBackup is comingâjust stayââ
You hear Breachâs explosives. Viperâs toxins hiss as she backs up to assist Sage. Yoru tears through space
Then nothing
You donât wake up
Not on the transport. Not in the med bay
âââââââ
When Sova returns from his own mission, itâs Sage and Viper waiting for him
That alone sets his nerves on edge
Sage looks wrecked. Blood still stains her hands, dried and dark. Viperâs mask is off, jaw tight, eyes hardâbut thereâs something shaken beneath it
âSova,â Sage says quietly
He knows before she finishes
âWhere is she?"
Sageâs voice breaks. âShe saved me.â
The words feel distant. Wrong. Like they belong to someone else
âWhere Sage,â Sova demands.
Neither of them answer right away.
Viper responds. âIntensive care.â
The world drops out from under him
Youâre surrounded by machines when he finally goes to see you
IV lines run into your arm. A tube is inserted into your mouth, breathing for you with a soft, relentless rhythm. Bandages wrap your head, your shoulder, your torsoâwhite against skin that looks too still. Too fragile
You donât look like an agent
You look small
Sova finds himself stopping in the doorway
He canât move. Canât breathe. The words he threw at you replay in his head, sharp and merciless
Why did I even marry you
He steps closer, slowly, like you might disappear if he moves too fast
Your hand is so cold when he takes it
âI am sorry,â he whispers, voice cracking as he bows his head to your knuckles. âI was afraid⌠and I made it your burden.â
The machines hum and beep. Unforgiving. Steady. As if taunting him
âI should have said I was proud,â he continues softly. âI should have said I trusted you. I still do moya lyubovââ
His grip tightens, careful not to hurt you
âPlease,â he murmurs. âCome back to me.â
Outside the room, the younger agents wait in silence. Neon and Jett picked out your favorite flowers, Sage herself insists on keeping a close watch on your vitals from the medbay
Inside, Sova stays at your bedsideâwatching over the woman who saved everyone else, hoping desperately she will save herself too