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It was different, after Yoru returned. Slowly but surely, everyone started smiling at him more, engaging him in conversation and genuinely ask him how he was doing. It was odd, and he had asked Phoenix about it, but the other just laughed and told him he was part of the family now. He supposed he should have noticed it - really it was obvious, the exact moments the other agents decided he was part of their little club.
Viper
He hadn’t seen Viper since he returned. Granted, he was too busy with… other things. Concern ate away at him, though, so when he saw Sage the next day, he asked about the chemist’s wellbeing.
“She’s okay. I healed her up. She’s resting, I think,” the healer told him with a smile. He returned it, before sitting himself down on the couch in the common room. He felt comfortable enough to sit here now, for longer than he usually did. No one really bothered him anymore, though they didn’t say much to him either. Mutual acceptance, he supposed. He didn’t mind it. It was fine like this, really. No one annoyed him when he simply wanted to read his book - except for Phoenix, but the other knew exactly when to talk and when not to. It was peaceful like this. Not exactly warm, but far from the cold that always seemed to sit right under his skin.
When he finally saw Viper, it was five in the morning the next day. He had trouble sleeping that night, even with Phoenix acting as his personal heater. He supposed his past would always haunt him, no matter how many times loving arms held him. That was fine, because those same arms would be there to help him through it. Not now, and only because Yoru thought Phoenix looked too peaceful sleeping, so he didn’t wake the other up. With his mind racing he entered the kitchen and upon seeing Viper there, he nearly turned and walked right back to his room. They weren’t friends, had never been friends. Whatever their weird alliance from the last mission was, Yoru was sure it was long gone now. He couldn’t deal with the condescending looks she would always give him, not right now anyway. He was about to turn back when the woman noticed him.
“Yoru,” she said, in lieu of a greeting. Too stunned by the lack of malice, he gave her a simple nod. His tired brain gave up on trying to figure out the other’s behavior - she had simply looked at him for a second longer before turning to make coffee - and blamed it on the early hour. Maybe Viper was a kind woman before the clock hit six, who knows? Rubbing his eyes to stay awake, he leaned against the counter to wait for his turn to make coffee. He was however thrown for another loop when Viper nudged him and spoke up.
“Sugar? Milk?” He blinked at her, trying to figure out what she was asking of him because she could not possibly be offering to make him coffee. The woman simply raised her eyebrow impatiently and Yoru realised that yes, she’s actually offering him coffee.
“Erm. Black.” She nodded, poured both of them a cup of coffee. Both black, Yoru noted. Then she handed one to him, made a wince when her fingers touched his. He would’ve been offended, if it wasn’t for the annoyed mutter of ‘cold’ she uttered after it. He had half a mind to apologise, but instead just took a sip of his coffee. Viper leaned up against the counter next to him, warming her own hands on the cup. It wasn’t too cold in the room, though both of them were dressed in simple shorts and a tee. Yoru was used to being cold, Viper not so much.
“So why are you up?” He glanced at her, trying to see if she was serious or not. Out of all things he expected to happen, it wasn’t Viper engaging in actual conversation with him at ass o’clock in the morning.
“Memories,” he mumbled.
“Good? Bad?”
“Bad,” he settled on saying. She nodded, took a sip of her coffee and made a face when it burned her tongue. Yoru hadn’t thought it was that hot, but oh well.
“You?” he asked, just to be polite. He wasn’t sure what Viper wanted, why she was making conversation, but he didn’t want to escalate into a fight now - and let it be known that Viper would start a fight just because someone was impolite.
“Thoughts.”
“Good or bad?” She gave him a look he couldn’t decipher.
“Neutral.” He hummed to show he heard before taking another sip of coffee.
“What were the memories of?” He glanced at her, but she didn’t meet his eyes. He still had no clue why Viper was talking to him, let alone about something like this .
“Losing my family,” he eventually said. He wasn’t sure Viper heard, she gave no reaction. It was when Yoru had finished his coffee that she spoke again.
“Your family. What were they like?” He gave up trying to figure out what she was trying to accomplish here and instead just answered.
“They weren’t my actual family. Found family, I guess. Made the world seem a little better.” Viper nodded with a hum.
“I’m sorry you lost them,” she said. Out of all things that had happened, hearing that was the most surprising. He turned to her, but she didn’t look at him.
“What… are you trying to do?” he asked. Viper rubbed her finger along the rim of her cup, avoiding looking him in the eyes.
“I… owe you an apology.” He nearly dropped his mug; Viper shot him a glare.
“I’ve been- well, not so nice, I suppose. I’ve said and done things to make you feel unwelcome. I shouldn’t have. I said some things to Phoenix and messed with your relationship. I… have realised that you’re not a bad person. You saved my life, saved Phoenix’s. You’re a reliable teammate.”
“You know, I’ve never heard someone apologise without actually saying they’re sorry before.” She sighed.
“I’m sorry, Yoru.” He hummed, but didn’t say anything. Viper didn’t mind and let him think for a little, just standing next to him nursing her cup of coffee.
They ended up on the couch, silently talking about everything and anything. Viper told him about things she had been working on in her lab, different chemicals she had been mixing in hope of creating yet another toxin. It was interesting enough, keeping his attention despite his exhaustion. He in turn told her more about the rift, how it functioned and the toll it had taken on his body when he got stuck there with Phoenix. He even got some smiles from Viper here and there, but he returned them, which was about as rare. Viper made them some more coffee an hour in, but eventually exhaustion got the best of them. Conversation stopped, instead a comfortable silence settled over them. He felt himself nodding off a little, the exhaustion finally creeping up on him. Right before he dozed off, he felt the warmth of a blanket being placed around him.
When Phoenix eventually woke him up, it was late in the morning. The firebird smiled at him and told him everyone was having breakfast right now, before dragging him towards the dining table. The majority of the agents were already enjoying their breakfast. Viper entered the room right after them, wished them both a good morning and ignored the dumbfounded look Phoenix gave her. When Phoenix gestured at him to explain what the fuck just happened , he simply shrugged with a smile and pulled him to sit down at the table. And when Yoru asked someone to pass the butter and Viper gave it to him, both of them ignored the odd looks and questions about when they had become friends.
Cypher (+Omen)
It was quiet. It was one of the times where the majority of the agency was on a mission, leaving only him, Raze and Omen. Where the other two agents were, he didn't know. He didn't bother them and in turn they left him alone, too. Since it was this calm in the agency, he sat down in the common room with a book. It was a good one, something about supernatural abilities appearing through near death experiences, which allowed him to drown out the rest of the world with ink on a page.
It was when the door swung open rather loudly about an hour later, that he startled enough to look up. At first he didn't recognise the man standing in the door opening, but then he saw the familiar white coat and hat, both currently soaked in blood. Cypher . And he's not wearing a mask. It was odd. He had never seen the other's face before, since the agent took great care to hide it. Not right now, not anymore. The dark brown eyes seemed a little glazed over, brown curls a mess on top of his head. There was a scar crossing the bridge of a tanned nose, he noted. The man stumbled inside, hand coming up to clutch at his abdomen. A concerning amount of blood was coming out of it, and Yoru was on his feet in an instant. It was a good thing that he was, because right that moment the other agent's knees buckled and he nearly fell to the ground. Yoru managed to catch and steady him.
"Cypher, what the fuck?" The agent shot him a look before turning away and pulling his hat a little over his face. It did nothing to hide it.
"Ah, Yoru. You're here." It wasn't disappointment, but Yoru wouldn't have blamed Cypher if it was. He knew he wasn't the best agent to encounter when you were on the brink of death.
"Could you get Sage, please? I'm in a bit of a predicament." Yoru noted the slight slur of the words, not because of his accent, but definitely the loss of blood. Hell, the spot he was standing on was starting to turn into a puddle of blood.
"She's not back yet, neither is Skye." Cypher cursed, groaned in pain when he tried to move. None of the healers were back, neither was Viper or Sova who usually took over when both healers were gone. He had no clue where the others were, if they were even equipped to handle this. Fuck, he himself wasn't equipped to handle this, but it was nothing he hadn't done before. He could do it again. Probably.
"I'm taking you to the medbay," he told Cypher. The other nodded, allowing himself to get dragged along even if he struggled to conceal the pain he was in. Yoru tried his best not to glance at the other's face too much, even just out of habit. He knew how Cypher could get about it, they all did. He didn't want to make the other even more uncomfortable than he already was.
He eventually got Cypher seated on one of the beds in the infirmary, the other groaning when he laid down. The agent watched as Yoru gathered all he needed with mild curiosity. He laid out everything on the table right next to the bed, hesitating a little when turning to the older man. Cypher met his eyes with amusement even if the pain was still clearly visible.
"Are you going to play doctor, my friend?" Yoru huffed at the remark.
"I'm going to have to," he answered. Cypher startled a little when he grabbed a pair of scissors, too, but relaxed when Yoru simply used it to cut the shirt open. He had a better look at the wounds now. Two gaping holes in his abdomen, though not in critical spots as far as Yoru could tell. He told Cypher to lean on his side a little - which the other did with huffs of pain - and checked for exit wounds. He found none, meaning that the bullets were still inside. Lovely.
"This is going to hurt like hell," he warned. Cypher shot him a crooked smile.
"No worries. I'm used to that." Yoru could tell by the amount of scars that littered his chest that he probably was. It was for the better, honestly. If Cypher wasn't used to it and started kicking and screaming in pain, Yoru wasn't sure if he could help the other.
Cypher watched as he grabbed the tweezers, disinfected them and his own hands before carefully maneuvering them inside one of the wounds. Cypher remained perfectly still, although his hands were clutching at the table and his face was squeezed in agony. Yoru felt bad for him. Doing this the traditional way hurt like hell, and the other didn't have any radianite in his body to quicken regeneration. That's why he tried to do it as quickly yet safely as possible. He was in luck that both of the bullets were completely intact, just one piece to remove. It went easy, relatively quick even. They weren't in the clear yet, though. Cypher was clearly starting to lose consciousness and there was still the very real threat of death to blood loss. The other seemed to realise this, the fear only now making its way into his eyes.
"You'll be fine," Yoru promised, grabbing the needle and thread. It didn't seem to ease Cypher's nerves much, but the spy just clenched his teeth and let Yoru continue. He wondered how badly Cypher's solo mission had gone for the other to show up on the brink of death. He didn't get to think about it much as he turned back to the task at hand. The stitching was slow, probably torture for Cypher. Yoru found himself apologising a couple times, even if it fell on deaf ears. By the time he was done, Cypher was panting and a couple of tears had made its way down his face. He was about to apologise again when Cypher spoke up.
"Do not apologise. You're saving my life, Yoru." He fumbled with the needle after hearing that, luckily he was already done with it and it couldn't hurt the other. When they made eye contact this time, Cypher didn't turn away, so Yoru nodded to him, grabbed some bandages and then nodded to himself to gather the strength to continue. Covering the stitches with the bandages was the least painful and stressful and it was over fairly quickly. Cypher was absolutely exhausted, breaths coming out in short huffs and eyes closed to regain whatever energy was left. Yoru didn't bother him, simply cleaned up the blood that was still on the other man before cleaning up the medical supplies.
"Yoru," Cypher called. The riftwalker turned to shoot the other a questioning look.
"Thank you. I would have died if it weren't for you. I owe you one." It took Yoru a little to reply.
"That's just what teammates do." Cypher hummed, a disagreement.
"No, that is what friends do." The man opened his eyes to smile properly at Yoru, a kind look on his face. Yoru's brow furrowed in confusion. At what point did Cypher and him become friends? He wasn't aware that they were, they never really interacted much. The spy shook his head with a laugh and shifted to be more comfortable on the bed. Yoru opted to let it go, instead going to rub the blood off his hands with a damp cloth.
"You should rest," he mumbled. Cypher nodded at that.
"I will, in a bit. Omen's probably freaking out because he hasn't seen me yet, even when I'm supposed to be back. He will be here shortly, I think." Yoru nodded, threw the cloth away and drew the blinds closed. He had no clue how the machines worked, did not know how to attach the heartbeat monitor or administer painkillers through IV. All he could do is grab a couple of pills that should ease the pain a little, give those to Cypher, and check up on the other's heartbeat manually. That meant he had to stay here in case of emergency, too, since he wasn't sure Cypher could call anyone else for help. So he settled in one of the chairs, picking at the nail polish that was chipping away from his nails. He should probably have worn gloves. He should probably have done a lot of things differently, but he was no medic, and if Cypher survived this then he had done his job well enough.
He was shaken from his thoughts when the door slammed open, a frazzled Omen entering the room. Yoru could pin the exact moment the shadow saw Cypher - his shoulders tensed, fists formed and the smokey shadows flared up. Omen walked to the other's side in quick strides, grabbing Cypher's hand and squatting down to get on eyelevel.
"Aamir." It was just one word, a name, but even Yoru could hear all that it didn't say. Are you okay? Thank god you're alive. Please stay awake, I don't want to lose you. Why the hell did you get this injured? Cypher smiled lazily at the other.
"Omen." Cypher's speech was slurred, injuries and painkillers catching up on him. He wasn't going to remain awake much longer. That was okay, the other needed to rest.
"Are you okay?" Yoru had never heard Omen this vulnerable. The shadow probably hadn't noticed him yet.
"Yoru made sure I didn't die." Omen followed Cypher's gaze to Yoru, who offered a tired wave.
"You know how to treat bullet wounds?"
"Better than anyone else currently at the headquarters. I had to do something. "
"And something you did. Really, thank you," Cypher's smile was barely there, covered by the complete exhaustion on the other's face. Omen kept staring at Yoru, but immediately turned back around to Cypher at a tug on his hand.
"'m Gonna sleep now."
"I'll be here. Sleep well, Aamir." Yoru swore he could hear a smile in the wraith's voice. Feeling like he was interrupting a private moment, he stood. He told Omen to monitor the other's heartbeat, make sure he was alive and breathing and to call in any case of emergency. A nod was all he got, so he made his way to the door to leave. Right when he opened the door, Omen called out to him.
"Thank you, Yoru."
When he woke up the next day, a blue knitted scarf had appeared on his desk chair. And a couple days later, after Sage had returned and properly taken care of Cypher, he woke up to the smell of freshly made bread, which was wrapped in a bag and put on his desk. He didn't have to ask who had given him these gifts, but he made sure to shoot both Omen and Cypher a smile as a way to say thank you. And if he got to borrow Omen's books and got to eat Cypher's baked goods, no one needed to know.
Sova
It was after a mission at icebox that Yoru once again, made an unlikely friendship. At this point it wasn't really unlikely anymore. Hell, he befriended both Viper and Omen - agents notorious for rarely ever letting anyone close. So maybe he shouldn't have been as surprised as he was, but then again, a couple months ago most agents didn't like him at all.
"We'll leave in twenty. Make sure you're here, I don't want to go chase anyone down," Viper said. She had led this mission, which was a success. No one got injured and the spike was secured. It wasn't often they got a little free time to roam the battlefield some more after a mission, but whenever they had everyone used it to the fullest. This time, mostly everyone opted to stay around the aircraft; there was nothing much to do at icebox except rummage through the containers that were left behind, and mostly everyone found it too cold to do that. Not Yoru, though. The snow didn't bother him as he made his way through it. The blue scarf he had recently been gifted did a lot to keep his face warm. He let his feet wander, followed the path they set for him. There was no specific place he wanted to go, but he liked to wander. Which is how he eventually spotted Sova standing on a small hill, nearly hidden by all the trees surrounding him. His bow was thrown to the ground carelessly, fists hammering away at the bark of a tree. Yoru had never seen the other agent mad, let alone furious like this. Sova was always calm, his reassuring words and gentle smiles reminding other agents to take a step back sometimes. They hadn't spoken much, but Sova was always ready to compliment him on a job well done.
"Oi!" he called, but it didn't reach the hunter's ears. With a huff, he started making his way up the hill. It was steeper than he thought it to be, but he eventually reached the top, standing just a couple feet away from Sova. They must be quite far from the others - there was no sound of the aircraft here, just the sound of the forest.
"You're hurting your hands," he said. Sova's hands were turning red from both the cold and the blood that was making it's way down from his knuckles. A couple drops had painted the snow red. At Yoru's words, the hunter turned around, emotion flashing on his face.
"What are you doing here? It is too cold, go back." Yoru let out a small laugh, slowly approaching the other.
"I've been cold all my life, Sova. It doesn't bother me anymore." There was no reply except an angry huff. Yoru felt a little bad for interrupting the other when he was letting off steam, but he also knew that smashing one's fists against a hard surface was not a good way to do that. Sure, it helps, but at the cost of bloody knuckles and bruised fingers.
"You're… not usually like this," he said. Sova looked like he wanted to start punching again, even if the thing he was punching was Yoru's face.
"Icebox is not my favorite place." Yoru hummed. Sova's expression didn't change.
"You look like you want to break my nose."
"No offense, but right now I would kind of like to."
"None taken." Yoru considered his options. He could leave Sova to smash his own hands to a pulp, but that would be the least preferable outcome. Dragging the other back would probably result in broken bones and he was too shit with words to talk about what was wrong. So he offered the only thing he did know how to do.
"Hit me, then."
"What?"
"You're itching for a fight, I can see it. Fight me."
"Yoru, you can't-"
"Shut up. We both know you want to. You need to." He was about to say more, but had to cut his talk short to dodge the fist that was flying at his nose. It made Yoru smile. He had the other right where he needed him. A fight - he knew how to do that. And if Yoru did it right, it would allow Sova to let off steam without actually getting anyone injured.
He swiftly dodged another punch, then swiped his legs to knock Sova off his feet. He knew it would only enrage the other more, but he needed to allow the other to let all the anger out. Sova accepted his hand to get back up and wasted no time to kick Yoru back, right at the side of his knee. It hurt, of course it did, but Yoru was used to this. To fighting. So he stayed upright and blocked the next couple punches aimed at his face, before throwing a couple punches in himself - aimed for the side, not hard enough to hurt a lot.
It turned into a dance of sorts; Yoru kept moving, avoiding the incoming blows and kept his attacks at a minimum. If Sova noticed Yoru wasn't giving his all, he didn't say anything. If anything, Sova's punches started losing power too, easily shoved aside. Yoru grabbed the other by the wrist during another weak punch and turned the arm on Sova's back, shoving the other against a tree. The hunter didn't struggle, just let out a sigh.
"You okay?" Sova took a shaking inhale of breath, not moving when Yoru let go of him, only pressed his forehead against the tree.
"I just…" Another sigh, fists clenching at his side.
"I really hate losing control like that." Yoru let out an understanding hum.
"We all lose control sometimes, though. That's just how it is in this field of work. It does no good to keep all that shit bottled up. It's going to blow up in your face one day, and you might not be the only one to get hurt." Sova turned around at his words. His eyes seemed to look for something, seemed to search with curiosity. Yoru let him. He was saying nothing but the truth, nothing but what he wanted to say. If Sova needed to find confirmation in his eyes, or in his body language, that was fine.
"No one's going to judge you for getting mad sometimes, y'know. They will, however, judge you for hurting yourself during it." Sova looked down at his own hands, which were now shaking and covered in blood. It wasn't a concerning amount, but enough to tell that it hurt. Yoru grabbed a clean tissue from his pocket and grabbed the other's hands to clean them. They were cold, but so were his own.
"Look. I'm not- I suck at the whole emotions thing. But if you ever need a sparring partner, I'll be there." Sova hummed, the calm had returned to his eyes. The quiet returned as both men watched Yoru clean the blood. Birds could be heard now, the music of nature returning after they had abruptly broken it.
"We should head back," Yoru said, after he finished cleaning, "They'll probably be waiting for us. I don't want to spend a flight with an angry Viper." Sova nodded, but kept staring at his hands. The wounds weren't bleeding that much anymore, but there were still angry red scabs on the knuckles.
"You got gloves on you?" The hunter shook his head. With a sigh, Yoru removed his own. He thrusted them in the beaten up hands, shoving his own in his pocket.
"Put those on. So you won't get any questions."
"Thank you, Yoru." Sova gave him a smile, which he hesitantly returned. The hunter picked up his bow and followed him down the hill, back to the aircraft. They were at least ten minutes late, but upon seeing the look Yoru gave her, Viper didn't get mad at him.
There were, however, some questions everytime Sova approached Yoru to spar, going on until hours and hours had passed, after which they both sat on the training ground for a little, talking and finishing their water bottles.
Reyna
It was a little different with Reyna. There was no big moment of having to rely on each other, no trust that was forced. Reyna simply decided that they were friends one day and he couldn't possibly say no to that. Maybe it had a little to do with the friendship him and Viper had formed, maybe it convinced the other agent to reconcile too. The reason why didn't really matter to him either way, he was too stunned to think about it when Reyna approached him anyway.
"Yoru, you're coming with me." He looked up from his book, staring at Reyna in confusion. He hadn't done anything to piss off the other agent as far as he knew. When the woman simply kept her glare on him, he turned his confused look to Phoenix, who was seated next to him. The firebird shrugged and turned to Reyna with his own questioning look.
"C'mon, don't look at me like that, I'm not killing him." Yoru frowned.
"What do you need?" Reyna rolled her eyes and took his wrist to drag him with her. He sputtered, nearly stumbled but let her drag him along.
"Please return him in one piece!" Phoenix called after them.
"I will!"
Reyna dragged him all the way to his room, barging in without any questions asked. After taking in the room she hummed in approval and sat down on the bed. Yoru was frozen in the doorway, staring at the other agent in bewilderment. Never in a million years did he expect Reyna to enter his room without murderous intent.
"You have black nail polish, right? I ran out." He nodded, still not moving.
"Don't just stand there, idiot. Help me do my nails." He blinked. Do her nails? He supposed he could, but he wasn't sure why she wanted him of all people to do it. Reyna sighed at him.
"Listen, Viper told me you weren't all that bad and I wanted to see for myself. And since you somehow make your nail polish look perfect, you get to do mine. Now hurry." He couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation, that same absurdity being why he agreed
"Sure," he said, stepping inside properly and closing the door behind him. Reyna watched as he walked over to grab some nail polish and remover from a drawer.
"Just black?"
“Well, if you happen to own purple…” He hummed and grabbed the purple nail polish and some wipes before making his way back to Reyna. He wasn’t sure how to carry himself around her - they had never been on good terms, never really talked outside of callouts.
“Stop being so tense. I’m not here to snap your neck, Yoru. Viper has been on my case about being a bit nicer , and you don’t seem to expect as much as the others when it comes to being nice. I'm not gonna explain again, sit down.” He did as she asked, sitting down next to her. It did little to help him feel more comfortable, knowing that the other agent could easily overpower him if she wanted to.
"Okay, I was thinking half black half purple, divided diagonally. You can do that, right?"
"Yeah, just gotta get that old nail polish off," he answered, handing her a wipe and remover. Reyna hummed, leaning back to sit against the headboard and began cleaning her nails.
"Clean your nails, too." Yoru didn't bother asking why, just caught the wipe that was thrown at his face and began removing the blue nail polish that he wore. He felt the tension leave his shoulders after a while, starting to feel comfortable even with Reyna in his room. She didn't talk while she was working on her nails, so neither did Yoru, but the quiet was enjoyable too, sometimes. The empress looked up when he folded his legs under him, finally sitting in a relaxed position, and shot him a small smile. It was more of a smirk, really, but it didn't have the dangerous glint to it like it usually did, which convinced him to send a small smile back, albeit hesitantly. It was enough for the other, as she sat a little straighter.
"So you and Phoenix, hm?" He felt heat creep to his cheeks.
"I didn't take you as the type to talk about relationships."
"Oh, I'm not. Just felt like teasing you." He huffed.
"Well, do we want to talk about you and Viper, then?" He avoided the pillow the other threw at him. He noted it wasn't even thrown with that much speed.
It took a little while, but they finally managed to both clean all of the nail polish off their nails. Reyna was done a little earlier, but she waited patiently for Yoru to finish. Or well, what was considered patient for the other agent; her fingers hadn't stopped drumming on her thigh and she kept glancing over to see how far he was. At about the tenth time she glanced at his nails, he held them up to show he was done. The woman nodded approvingly.
"Good. Now you can paint my nails. If you screw up, I'm killing you." He threw a look at her, decided she wasn't serious, and rolled his eyes.
"That'd just make more of a mess, though. I mean, unless blood stained nails are a new fashion trend, then by all means." Reyna let out a short laugh at that.
"Y'know, that might actually look good."
"I take back what I said." This time both of them laughed, even if it was still a little hesitant and unsure. Yoru didn't feel tense at all when he carefully painted the other's nails, nor did he feel nervous when he screwed up a bit and had to clean some nail polish off Reyna's finger. The other agent actually started talking to him while he was working, telling little stories about other agents - most of them were about embarrassing things the others had done, especially Phoenix; he would never tell the other that those were the ones he laughed at the most. For his part, Yoru just listened, making a joke here and there. It was nice, he supposed. Reyna and him didn't have many mutual interests, but both enjoyed making fun of the other agents (with no bad intent, of course. At least from Yoru's side. Reyna was… well, he knew how she could be). He was about to clean up when Reyna grabbed his wrist, making him flinch. She was lucky her nail polish had dried already. He avoided the questioning gaze, instead frowning at the hand around his wrist.
"I still have to paint your nails."
"You're painting my nails?"
"Of course, idiot. Returning favors, and all that crap. Damn, you really are shit at social interactions." He frowned at that.
"Too far?" It sounded surprisingly concerned.
"A little," he admitted, still not making eye contact. Reyna hummed, giving a pat on his hand after releasing his wrist. She said nothing as she uncapped one of the nail polish bottles. He got the hint, though, and gave her his hand again. He watched in mild amusement as Reyna painted the same design as he did on her nails, essentially giving them matching nails. He didn't comment on it, though, since that might just cost him his entire finger.
"Did you not get lonely?" He let out a confused sound, trying to decipher Reyna's expression. She didn't look at him.
"You used to be alone all the time."
"Oh. Yeah, I guess I did feel lonely. You get used to it after a while, though."
"How… Did you deal with that?" He didn't answer for a bit, scanning Reyna's face in an attempt to see what she was actually asking him.
"Are you lonely?" She huffed, but did not confirm nor deny it. He leaned back with a sigh, careful to keep his hand still.
"I didn't deal with it. Simple as that. It only got better a couple weeks ago."
"So you're telling me to get friends."
"I'm not telling you to do anything. I'm saying that the only way to fill up that void is by having someone else do it for you." She nodded, but was still clearly thinking about it. He let her ponder in silence. It was best not to interrupt whatever was going on in the other's mind right now. He still remained silent as Reyna finished, remained silent as he waited for his nails to dry and remained silent as he put everything back in its place. Reyna hadn't moved from her spot on his bed, so he shot her a questioning look.
"This… wasn't too bad," she said.
"No, it wasn't." Reyna seemed to want to say more, then frowned at herself. She was pretty shit at this whole social thing, too, Yoru realised.
"Y'know, if you do ever get lonely, you know where my room is." Reyna glared at him, but it seemed to be more out of habit than anything. She nodded eventually, though.
"Maybe you're not that bad at socialising." He snorted a laugh at that. It was about as close as a thank you he was gonna get.
"You're welcome."
Yoru didn't even have the chance to react to the questions of the other agents this time. Reyna had told them all to fuck off and ruffled his hair when she walked by. He yelled some curses at her, to which she only laughed. It took him five minutes to shake Phoenix out of the shock of witnessing all that.
Skye
It had been a bad week. Not just one where getting up in the morning was harder than usual and the burning cold settled in his bones. No. It was the kind of week that exhausted him, anxiety being the only fuel he had. His skin itched, the feeling of imminent doom never left him. This had happened before, of course. He had days and weeks where he felt like a kid again, growing up with parents who didn't want him and a facility only meant to make a soldier out of him. Back at the place where touch was something to be feared, because it meant you were about to be hurt. Other agents noticed, but didn't do much more but ask if he was okay here and there. Maybe it was because his actual friends were on a mission right now - if they were here, it might've been a bit less of a shit week. Alas.
And it would've been fine, really, if it wasn't for today . Because Brimstone just had to choose today to confront him about a mission last week. Sure, maybe he did rush in when he shouldn't have, but he got three kills before having to teleport out again. He was expecting to be confronted about it, just not this week. Not the week where he couldn't deal with it. But again, the universe did not work to serve him, and so there he was, trying to keep his cool under the glare Brimstone was giving him.
The thing was, he thought he was over this. It had been a while since someone he trusted had really hurt him, repeatedly. Hell, he even appreciated most of the touch given to him here, especially since he felt more comfortable in the group. But there were always days or weeks , where it felt like he had made no progress at all and was right back where he started years ago. He didn't know what to do about it, wasn't sure if there was anything he could do at all except wait it out - and sometimes, just sometimes, allow someone else to care for him. He was shaken from his train of thoughts by the loud sigh Brimstone let out. He felt like there were thorns constructing his lungs, slowly climbing their way up his throat with the way all the other agents in the room were staring at the two of them.
"Are you even listening, Yoru. This is important. I thought we had discussed this - no more rushing in without a plan. It worked this time, it might not next time." There wasn't even an insult in there, but the tone . Maybe he was imagining it, hearing things that weren't there only because his mind expected to hear them. But to him, it sounded like anger veiled by disappointment; a dangerous combination. He couldn't find it in him to answer, just stared at some point beside the other's head. Brimstone was taller than him, and it felt so much worse now than ever.
"Are you just going to stand there and say nothing? Don't make me pull you out of missions for disobedience." And that's how it always started, wasn't it? Just a little punishment, nothing that hurt too much. Nothing to scare him away, slowly building it up until he blamed all the bruises on himself and not the hands that put them on him. He managed to pull his eyes from the spot he was glaring at, instead making eye contact with the leader. He felt the need to pull his hands from his pockets, to take a step back. He didn't. The curious looks from the other agents were burning him alive, smoke clogging up his throat. He couldn't speak, couldn't show weakness. Why of all places, did Brimstone choose the kitchen to confront him, right with an open view from the common room?
"I swear to god, Yoru!" Ah, now he was angry. He swallowed, opening his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He tried again.
"I won't do it again." For the love of god, let it be enough to get the other off his back. Anything so he could get out of here.
"You won't get out of this by making promises you won't keep. You say you won't, then turn around and do it anyway! It's dangerous , Yoru. Don't you understand? It could fuck up not only you, but everyone else if you don't stick to plan! I thought you understood this! But now we're right back where we started." It was loud. Brimstone wasn't the quietest person normally, but right now it felt like his eardrums were going to explode. He didn't process much of what the other said, but got stuck on the last sentence. Right back where he started. He had to avert his eyes to recollect himself. Which is exactly when it happened.
Thinking back on it, he probably should've known what the other was trying to do, but he was running on instinct alone. So when the hand reached out, he did what he always did all those years ago. His hands shot up, trying to block the hand from touching, hurting any part of him. His feet carried him a couple steps back, making him stumble and trip over a chair. He didn't register the pain of the fall, didn't hear the concerned inquiries from the other room. All he could focus on was the arm, still reaching out to him. He watched it slowly retreat, before looking up at the leader's eyes. There was no anger like he expected, no disdain or disgust. It didn't stop his chest from heaving, his hand quivering where he was holding it to shield himself.
"Yoru-" He blinked, looking around to see that the other agents had gotten up to see what was going on. He did see the anticipated anger on the faces of Sova and Reyna, though their eyes weren't trained on him. Skye looked mostly curious, but worry overtook it when they locked eyes. He couldn't deal with this right now. Right as the hand tried reaching out again, he gatecrashed out of the room.
It took him a while to calm down. He knew now that Brimstone wasn't about to hurt him, but in that moment his judgement was clouded. A sigh left him when he thought about going back and having to explain himself to Brimstone and all the other agents who had seen what happened.
He'd taken refuge in the small forest that was adjacent to the headquarters, the weather being surprisingly nice. Soft sun rays hit his face, slowly warming him back up. He wasn't sure how long he sat there until one of Skye's wolves came running through the forest, stopping when it saw him. He watched with mild fascination as it came over, sniffled his legs and then started headbutting his hand until he pet it.
"There you are." He startled, looking up to see Skye herself walking over to him. The wolf turned away from him, instead standing with his body pressed against his legs, facing Skye.
"He likes you," she said, before turning to the animal, "Oi, calm down. Ain't here to hurt 'im." The wolf now laid down at his feet. Yoru watched as Skye sat down across from him, smiling gently at the wolf.
"He sensed ya distress. Came to help ya." He hummed, reaching down to pet the wolf.
"Ya aight?" He shrugged at this, now looking up to make eye contact with her. She was leaning her elbows on her knees, watching him pet her wolf.
"I guess," he mumbled. The silence returned for a bit until Skye sighed and leaned back.
"Did anyone close to ya ever hurt ya?" He froze, avoiding her inquiring eyes. The wolf lifted its head, nuzzling his hand. He wondered if the animal felt him tense up.
“I suppose. It's fine, though. Long time ago." Skye hummed, but the frown didn't leave her face.
"Y'know Brim would never lay a hand on ya, eh? Even if he did, we'd all be there to back ya up." He knew that, of course. But some days it was hard to remember that he wasn't in that place anymore.
"Want to tell me about it? Promise I won't tell. Might get ya head to clear up." He considered the offer. Skye and him weren't close, but on relatively good terms. She wasn't there back when Yoru didn't mingle with the group, so she had no reason to dislike him yet. He let his fingers play with the fur of the wolf at his feet, sighing when he made his decision.
"I don't really remember my parents. I know they were strict, didn't hesitate to yell at me. They erm… I suppose they got sick of me and gave me away to this agency." He cleared his throat, fell silent to think about what to say next. Skye didn't say anything, allowing him to gather his thoughts in peace.
"It's a little conflicting. My team, they were great. Like family. My supervisors, they… were rough. Got mad a lot. Hit us if shit didn't go their way. We didn't do anything, because hell, we were kids . It's fine now, but sometimes it feels like I'm still stuck there, I guess."
"That's normal, mate. Ya went through something that was bound to fuck ya up, healing from that isn't a linear process. Ya gonna get days where it feels like you're back at zero, and others will be back at hundred." He looked up at these words. It felt like he was understood , like she wouldn't judge him. It made some of the tension seep from his shoulders.
"It just… It's been years . And I know it fucked me up, and I know being scared of touch was basically ingrained in me, but I was doing better - good even. I- It's so frustrating. Fuck. Everyone was starting, too. Brimstone's probably fucking confused, and I just-"
"Yoru. You're okay. Safe, yeah? No one's gonna say shit, I'll shut 'em up if I gotta." A wet laugh escaped him at that.
"Don't beat anyone up." He rubbed at his eyes, hoping that it would make the tears disappear and cursed when it didn't.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone ya cried." He huffed, but sat back more relaxed now. Skye was smiling at him. This was nice; being able to tell someone and not being judged at all.
"I'm sorry that happened to ya, Yoru. That's… fucked up. I promise that shit won't happen here, yeah?" He nodded, feeling tears well up again. This time, he didn't stop them from running down his cheeks. It felt freeing, to finally cry about his childhood being taken from him. Finally mourn the kid he never got to be.
"Can I hug ya? That okay?" Not trusting his words, he nodded, watching as Skye shifted over to sit next to him and carefully, so carefully , pulled him into her arms. He realised she did it so slowly to not startle him, to reassure him she wasn't going to hurt him. It made the tears flow faster as he let himself be hugged. They sat there for quite a bit, Yoru just listening when Skye eventually started telling him little stories. She kept her arm around him, grounding him. It was nice.
When they eventually got back to the headquarters, Yoru was exhausted. It had been a long day and even with Skye making it better, it still left his limbs heavy and heart tired. The other agent actually walked him to his room, shutting off any and all attempts of the others trying to ask Yoru what had happened. He shot her a grateful smile when she told Brimstone off in a firm but polite way.
"Thank you," he said when they arrived at his room. Skye smiled brightly at him.
"No worries, mate. I gotcha. Whenever ya got a bad day again, you know where to find me, eh?" He nodded, thanked her again and entered his room.
He did tease Skye about her wolf, who had now taken to trailing Yoru around whenever he had a bad day. The woman always took the bait and argued with him, but he knew she wasn't actually mad.
Brimstone
It wasn't like he hadn't been friends with Brimstone before, or well, they hadn't been on bad terms. They just rarely talked, which was okay. But with what happened a couple days ago, a talk was bound to happen. So maybe Yoru had been avoiding the other. He just didn't want to be seen as weak, treated like glass. There was no place to run anymore now, though. He was very much screwed.
"Yoru." He sighed, turning around to meet the other's eyes. They were softer than usual.
"Yes?"
"We need to talk."
"Do we really?" Brimstone gave him a look at that.
"You know we do." He sighed at this again, but nodded and turned to follow the leader into an empty room. Both settling down on the couch, Yoru avoiding eye contact and fiddling with the sleeve of his sweater.
"So…" He huffed out a little laugh at the awkward start.
"Yeah?" he prompted.
"Let me just get straight to the point. You didn't… Did you think I was going to hurt you?" He let himself lean back into the couch, turning to stare at the ceiling. How to answer the question, he didn't know. Because at that moment, he did think Brimstone was about to hit him. After reflecting on it, he realised that was not what the other was trying to do at all.
"Yes and no," he opted to say. He could feel the concerned look Brimstone was giving him. His hands shook a little as he rubbed them over his face. Not giving his answer just yet, he leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees, supporting his chin with his hand.
"I had a bad week. Relapsed back into old thoughts. At that moment, I thought you were going to hit me." There was no need to look over, he could feel the other stiffen at his words.
"But," he continued, "I know you wouldn't. You just… startled me, I guess." He shifted again, fiddling with his fingers - he needed something to look at that wasn't Brimstone.
"There was a time where people would hurt you like that?" He let out an affirmative hum.
"It was a long time ago. But I still have bad days, or weeks. Feels like I'm back there, again. So that's why… touch scares me, sometimes."
"Shit, Yoru. I'm sorry." He shook his head.
"You didn't know. It's fine." Eyes were trained on how he was fidgeting.
"I would never hurt you. Fuck, I just wanna make sure all of you are as safe as you can be. I get why you didn't, but you should've told me."
"'m Sorry," he mumbled, not feeling like arguing.
"Don't be, I get it. Just, it could've saved me a lot of angry glares from Sova and Reyna." He shot a questioning look at Brimstone at those words, which was met with a sheepish smile.
"They eh… weren't happy that I scared you." A laugh escaped him at this. The mental image of both Reyna and Sova being on Brimstone's case for scaring him of all people was hilarious to him.
"That's… a little funny," he managed, grinning when Brimstone rolled his eyes.
"Of course you'd laugh at this. I swear to god…" He laughed harder at this, ignoring the other's sigh. Brimstone stood up and gave him a smile.
"But really, tell me when you need a bit more space, next time. Okay, kid?" He hummed, allowing the leader to ruffle his hair before watching the other leave.
And if he ignored it everytime Brimstone got a little protective over him, that was just because it was embarrassing, but because he didn't want to admit that it actually meant a lot.
When Phoenix confronted him again about the odd type of friendships he had formed with everyone, he shrugged. There was still a smile on his face, which Phoenix was more than happy to kiss until it turned into a laugh. Phoemix told him he was happy that Yoru had found his place here, that he could call the agency his home and the agents his family. Viper overheard him from the couch she was sharing with Reyna, throwing him an annoyed look.
"If that's the case, you'd be the annoying nephew." Phoenix sputtered, gasping in offence when Yoru laughed.
"Yoru is the favorite nephew," Reyna added. Phoenix looked even more offended at this, but Yoru just smiled.
"So what, are you guys like the murderous aunts or something?" Both women laughed.
"I like that," Viper said, before glancing over at where Cypher and Omen sat at the table, quietly talking in their own little bubble.
"They're the weird grandparents." This time Phoenix did laugh alongside the others. Skye now entered the room, coming to see what the commotion was about.
"What's up?"
"Debating our family dynamics. Those two are the weird grandparents," Phoenix grinned, pointing at Cypher and Omen who were both still oblivious. Skye scrunched her nose at this, leaning her arms on the back of the couch next to Yoru.
"That's… weird to think about. I'm calling dibs on this guy's sister, though," she grinned, poking Yoru in the cheek.
"Are siblings supposed to be annoying?" Yoru huffed, ignoring the chorus of 'yes' that sounds through the room.
"Oi, does that mean Brim's the dad?"
"I heard that, Phoenix. For the love of god, don't even tell me what you were talking about." Laughs rose up in the room as a tired Brimstone walked by. Yoru could see the fond smile on the other's face, though, so he knew the leader wasn't actually mad. A content sigh escaped him. They really were like a family, no matter how weird and unconventional. This was home, not because he lived here, but because his family was here. And that was enough to make him smile for days.