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Ray didn’t expect it.
He didn’t expect the Besties to pull up, and he most certainly didn't expect them to start shooting immediately. He had no time to react, no time to think, before he was pulling Yuno into his arms and covering him with his own body, tucking him against him as gunfire exploded around them.
Yuno’s fingers dug into Ray’s arm.
But Ray didn’t dare move. He was frozen there, crouching against the crate, sheltering Yuno in the protective curve of his body, and he could feel every one of Yuno’s breaths, could feel every beat of his heart from where it was pressed against Ray’s chest.
Around them, the gunfire faded.
Silence descended.
Ray still didn’t move. He didn’t dare breathe. He waited, ears straining, for the sound of footsteps, for someone to round the corner and finish the job, but it seemed like the Besties had either forgotten they were here or just didn’t care enough to shoot them too.
Slowly, Ray eased up.
He let Yuno have enough room to breathe but didn’t remove his hands completely. Not when he could feel how hard Yuno was trembling. “Yuno?” he asked, the name soft, worried. His breath fogged against Yuno’s visor, the cold air sinking its claws into Ray’s skin.
He shivered.
“Yuno?” he repeated.
And Yuno finally managed a shaky breath. “Here.” He tried to untangle himself from Ray, but his legs gave out immediately, and he went down hard. Ray lunged for him and went down too in a tangle of limbs and heat, his head banging against the crate on the way down.
But he didn’t care.
All that mattered was Yuno.
He was cradled again against Ray, his helmet tucked beneath Ray’s chin, and they sat there for who knew how long, waiting for the trembling to stop. For Yuno to be able to breathe again. Ray had never asked why Yuno hated conflict, had never thought it was his place, but he realized now that there might be more to it than just hating loud noises and violence in general.
Ray’s heart ached.
This was his fault.
He was the one who’d invited Yuno to join the Faceless. He was the one who'd brought him on this mission despite knowing it would be dangerous. Despite knowing it was possible that they’d be shot at, that Yuno himself would have to shoot, and Ray shook his head.
“I’m sorry, habibi.”
Yuno stilled in his arms.
“Ray,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“I’m here.”
Yuno took another shaky breath, and his fingers found his helmet. He slipped it off his head, revealing his face to the world, to Ray, and it was Ray’s turn to not be able to breathe. He couldn’t breathe as soft green eyes found his own, as they searched his face and came away with—something.
Ray didn’t know what.
He didn’t know what made Yuno ultimately pull away from him, placing some distance back between them, but he didn’t protest. He let Yuno have his space, even when he longed to pull Yuno back against him, to cradle him for as long as time allowed.
“Who was that?” Yuno asked.
Ray averted his gaze. “The Besties.”
“Really? Since when were they attacking the Faceless?”
“Since right now.”
Ray’s chest tightened, every part of him wanting to go out there and teach the Besties a lesson, to teach them to not mess with his missions, his people, his friends.
His Yuno.
Not yours, a voice whispered. Never yours.
“I’m so sorry, Yuno.” He shook his head. “I didn’t know this would happen.”
Yuno shrugged. “I knew what I was signing up for.”
He forced a smile—and it hurt Ray’s chest. Made his heart ache again because he knew this smile was purely for his own benefit, to ease the guilt off of Ray’s face.
“I won’t let them get away with this,” Ray promised.
“I know.”
“I won’t let them hurt you.”
Yuno averted his gaze. “We should probably meet up with the crew.”
Right.
They were probably wondering what happened to them. He slowly pried himself away from Yuno, giving him every chance to reach out, to stop him, but Yuno didn’t.
Ray didn’t think about that too much.
He instead offered Yuno a hand and after a moment, Yuno took it. His fingers were still trembling slightly and Ray gave his hand a slight squeeze, enough for Yuno to flash him another smile, this one more real. “Thanks, Ray,” he said.
And Ray wished Yuno could always look like this.
Smiling. Happy.
Not whatever he’d been moments before.
“C’mon, habibi,” he said. “Let’s go interrogate some people.” Ray would figure out why this had happened, and if he had to pry it from the cold dead lips of their companions, he would. He wouldn't let anyone get away with this. They could shoot at him all they wanted, but the moment they went after Yuno was the moment Ray became exactly what everyone said he was.
Cruel.
Ruthless.
But not heartless—never heartless. Because as long as Yuno was here, alive, Ray would swallow his pride, his fear, his anger, if it meant keeping that smile on his face.
He didn’t care that it would never belong to him.
That even though Yuno was working with the Faceless and actively helping Lang’s enemies, a part of Yuno’s smile would always be reserved for Lang, because that’s just how it was.
Some things never changed.
Especially when it came to Yuno.