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“Killed it! …and them,” Jett bragged unabashedly as they boarded the jet after another successful mission. Phoenix playfully ruffled her hair and rolled his eyes at his best friend, obviously tired of Jett’s gloating. He knows he’s not going to hear the end of it until they land back at headquarters, especially today that Jett killed more enemies than he did.
Jett was starting her barrage of mission rundowns when she felt a firm but gentle tap on her shoulder. “Jett, you were amazing,” Sova said with a smile before heading to his own seat. Jett was rendered speechless for a heartbeat, which did not escape Phoenix’s notice. Phoenix raised a brow curiously, which broke into her daze, prompting her to continue her gloating. Jett stammered, obvious that she lost her train of thought. Phoenix pursed his lips in an attempt to hide a knowing smirk.
“How’d the mission go?” Yoru asked as Phoenix and Jett entered the mess hall. “You really had to ask, bruv? Here we go again,” Phoenix groaned, not wanting to hear another round of Jett bragging about out-fragging him.
The trio took a seat at a table across Killjoy and Raze, who were bickering over the last slice of pizza. “You should’ve seen their faces,” Jett opened enthusiastically, “The enemy Killjoy had this very elaborate setup, but thankfully Sova’s recon dart was able to scan the area before I dashed in, so I was able to avoid it,” she said indulgently. “And then there was this round where the enemy Omen almost got me. Good thing Sova sent a shock dart ahead of me and took him out before— what?!” she looked around her to see her friends staring at her with knowing looks.
“Who’s gonna tell her?” Killjoy piped up with a chuckle, casually taking a gulp of her iced coffee.
“Tell me what?” Jett glanced around, confusion all over her face.
“No, how about you tell us what other stellar things Sova did?” Raze countered, her eyebrows wiggling mischievously.
Jett felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “What do you mean— No, I was just saying— Wait, how is this about Sova?” she stammered. She could see her friends’ shoulders shaking in suppressed laughter.
“Oh come on Jett,” Phoenix interjected. “I’m not the only one here who noticed you keep saying ‘Sova this’ and ‘Sova that’ you know.” He slapped the wind girl on the shoulders playfully. “What’s the deal?”
“NOTHING, Okay? There’s no deal,” Jett replied vehemently. “I was just saying how he helped me get some of those clutches. You know, credit where credit is due?”
“I don’t hear you gushing about me when I pre-flash an enemy before you enter the site,” Phoenix pointed out. “And i don’t hear you thanking Botty for distracting your clone while you engage in some anime battles mid-air,” Killjoy added. “Nor do I hear praises for my boom bot for chasing an enemy right into your knives,” Raze piled on.
“Alright, alright, fine!” Jett exclaimed defeatedly. “Ok, so I like the guy, big deal,” she said stubbornly, crossing her arms on her chest. “It’s just a little crush, why are we making such a huge fuss?”
Breach stomped into the mess hall and slapped 50 bucks on the table in front of Phoenix. “I knew I shouldn’t have taken this bet,” he grumbled as he headed to the fridge to grab a soda. “By the way, Jett, Sova’s going to be at the practice range the entire afternoon,” he announced.
“What makes you think I care?” Jett countered, trying to infuse her voice with enough indignation.
“Well, there’s nothing to make us think you don’t,” Breach countered, raising his mechanical hand for anyone to high-five, which Raze happily obliged.
Jett floated quietly outside the practice range, trying her best not to be heard. She had thought of a million lines to start a small talk with Sova but none of them seemed fitting. She continued to hover back and forth until she decided to just go back to her room.
“Did you want to use the range?” Sova’s voice broke through Jett’s thoughts before she could leave for her quarters. Jett stood dumbfounded as she looked into Sova’s eyes, one of which was a very delicious dark brown, and the other, a bright blue one that she’s sure was assessing her rather too accurately for her liking. “I— No, I was just— Uhm, yes, I wanted to— but no, that’s ok, I’ll just come back later,” she stammered. She wanted to hit her head on the wall for sounding incredibly stupid in front of Sova.
“How about you join me?” Sova offered. “I’ve always wanted to try throwing knives like you do.”
Jett had to remind herself to stop being an idiot and start acting like a normal human being in front of Sova. “Uhm, okay,” she replied shyly, letting him lead her into the practice range. She handed Sova a bunch of her knives as she pressed the control panel to set up the training dummies. “I don’t actually touch my knives when I use them, it’s all wind, so I don’t know what to teach you,” she said anxiously.
Sova turned a knife in his hand. He tested its weight in his hand before holding it by the blade, and poising to throw it at a training dummy. Jett couldn’t help but admire his form, his sturdy but graceful stance, and the focus in his eyes. This is why they call you ‘hunter’, she thought to herself as she watched him throw a knife at the training dummy. The knife landed squarely on the dummy’s chest.
“The falloff is a little closer,” Sova mumbled to himself, “the knife is heavier than my darts after all.” He tried it again, this time, aiming it a little upward, and hit the training dummy square on the head. A smile stretched itself on the hunter’s lips, which Jett found absolutely mesmerizing. It took Sova three calls to her name to snap her out of her daze.
Jett tried to throw one of her knives without the help of the wind, out of curiosity. Blood rushed to her face and embarrassment flooded her entire being when the blade didn’t even go past halfway the distance to the training dummy. “Oh my god, I’m so horrible at this,” she whined.
Sova let out a good-natured laugh and put a knife on Jett’s hands. “Let’s see who can throw farther,” he challenged, “Your wind versus my arm strength.”
Jett frowned at the proposition. “That’s not going to be fair,” she said. “My knife will stay afloat as long as there’s air I can manipulate,” she explained.
Sova smiled. “Exactly my point,” he said, clapping Jett gently on her shoulder. “You can’t call yourself horrible just because your arm isn’t strengthened by pulling bowstrings for years.” He walked to picked up his bow from a few feet away. “Humor me?”
Jett held the bow awkwardly in her hand. Sova handed her one of his arrows for her to try it out. Jett has never used one before, so she just went with how she saw Sova do it. Sova stopped her before she could release the arrow. “Keep this arm straight,” he said as he tapped her left elbow, “and this elbow should be a like this,” he added, adjusting her right. Nerves were getting the best of Jett and she could feel her arms shaking, which she hoped to high heavens that Sova will not notice. Unfortunately, the hunter did.
“May I?” Sova asked for permission. Jett relaxed her arms, ready to give the bow back to Sova, but the hunter asked her to get back in position. “Here, like this,” he said as he placed his left hand over Jett’s, wrapping around her to reach her right hand with his. Jett swallowed hard at the proximity. The biggest thing she’s thankful for right at this moment is that Sova is standing behind her and not seeing her face burning red. “Pull on the string as far as you can,” Sova instructed, his hands and arms never leaving Jett’s. He fixed her position accordingly, lining up the arrow’s tail with her lips. He leaned his lips to her ear. “Calm your breath. When you’re fully in control, let go,” he whispered.
It was all too much for Jett. Her cheeks were burning with the rush of blood, her nerve endings were on fire at every point that Sova touched. His breath on her ear sent a cloudburst into her head, fogging her brain. Nothing is making sense. It was a split second too late when she realized she had let go of the arrow she was holding, and it’s not going anywhere near its target.
To save herself from further embarrassment, she silently directed the wind to correct the arrow’s path. The arrow landed on the dummy’s chest, but she knows that they both know she had help from the wind. Sova stepped away and let her go, a chuckle escaping his lips. “You didn’t have to cheat,” he said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t judge you if you can’t hit anything with this bow. It’s not built for a beginner.”
Jett let out a forced laugh. She did find the humor in her cheating at her first try with the bow and arrow, but she was still too embarrassed and overwhelmed to have Sova so close.
“I— Uhm, I gotta go,” Jett stammered. She knows her face is still flushed and she didn’t trust herself not to say or do something stupid with Sova clouding her brain like that, so she decided to bail. “Thanks for the lessons, I had fun…I’ll see you later, I guess. Bye!” she said, slowly backing away from the practice range. As soon as she was out the door, she dashed away.
“Oooooohhhhh,” the agents collectively sighed as they watched Cypher’s monitors. “I’m never letting Jett hear the last of this,” Phoenix said, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Cypher groaned in exasperation. “Why did I even agree to this, this is nothing but a petty high school rom-com,” he complained. Killjoy dug through her pockets and produced a bunch of condenser cables and handed them to Cypher. “Because I’m paying you with these!” she said. “Oh come on, amigo. You got gossip, surely that amounts to something?” Raze added. Cypher stared deadpan at his fellow engineers, but the two knew him well enough to know he’s rolling his eyes underneath that mask.
~o0o~
Jett sat at her usual table at the mess hall. They lingered after they finished dinner, not having much else to do before bedtime. Phoenix, sitting in front of Jett, stretched his arms out and pretended to yawn. Yoru was quick to stand behind him, wrapping his arms around Phoenix, intertwining their fingers together. Yoru slowly directed Phoenix’s arms in such a way like they were holding a bow and arrow.
“What are you— OH MY GOD HOW DID YOU— Cypher!!!” Jett screamed as she lunged for the intel broker with her claws out. Killjoy was barely able to grab her by the waist while Raze stood in front of Cypher with her arms raised protectively. They were all laughing their hearts out at Jett. “You should’ve seen how red your face was, mate,” Skye remarked, joining in the teasing. “Oh yeah, I was waiting for Sova to take off his coat what with all the heat emanating from Jett’s face,” Astra added. “But that would make Jett’s face even redder,” Yoru replied. “My hot hands got nothing on that,” Phoenix said in between snickers, “the practice range would have burned down from Jett’s face alone.”
“I hate all of you,” Jett mumbled, eliciting another round of teasing from her friends. Breach strutted confidently into the mess hall. “Oh not me, surely,” he directed at Jett. “I just convinced Brim to send you out on tomorrow’s mission instead of me.”
Confusion spread across Jett’s face. “Sova’s on that mission too, right?” Astra asked. “Ooooooohhhhhh,” everyone collectively cooed.
~o0o~
The jet landed in Venice early the following afternoon. Brim gave the team last minute instructions, assigning Sova to the B site and Jett to the A site. As they stepped off the jet after loading up on weapons and ammo, Sova gently tapped Jett’s shoulder before they parted ways. “May the wind guide your blades, Jett, and my arrows.”