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2:36 am.
Those were the numbers embedded on Cypher’s digital alarm clock as he stared at the device sitting on the bedside table after turning in his bed for what seemed like the thirtieth time tonight.
Looks like it was one of those nights again where he found it hard to even get a whiff of sleep. If he wanted to, Cypher felt like he was capable of doing an entire surveillance mission and be back home just in time for breakfast. Thankfully, the overall situation nowadays is a bit calm, and the intel broker has just spent the past week waiting his fair share of action.
If he were to be honest, it was this peace that was keeping him awake.
“Might as well get myself a cup of hot chocolate,” Cypher mused to himself.
Sighing, the Moroccan threw his blankets as he rose from his bed and made his way towards his workstation which was littered with parts from his tripwire discs and soon-to-be-assembled cameras. He took the pair of glasses that was sitting on the table, before wearing it on his person and allowing his now clearer eyesight to adjust to the dark.
He then made his way to the door, grabbing both his hat and trench coat from the nearby rack and donning them on.
Cypher then stood by the doorway for a few moments after he had opened the door, contemplating whether or not to wear his mask before going out.
He eventually decided not to.
Taking a stroll around the dimly lit headquarters of the Valorant Protocol had always been peaceful for Cypher. While the broker had spent considerably less time in their base of operations compared to the other agents due to his surveillance and recon missions usually taking weeks to complete, he had come to know the bustling noises usually present within the halls: Raze’s explosive experiments, Skye’s pets wreaking havoc, the banters between the duelist trio of Jett, Phoenix, and Yoru.
All of that among others were absent tonight. He was only accompanied by a cold breeze that seemed to have come from outside the headquarters and freely made its way throughout the halls. As someone who thrived in silence, Cypher hummed in content as he made his way towards the kitchen.
Passing by Killjoy’s lab, he took a glance to see that her door was slightly ajar and that the light from her room was slightly illuminating its part of the hallway.
Is the little engineer not asleep yet?
Well, Cypher always knew that the organization’s premier mind was a bit of a night owl. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but he knew that the German maximized the twenty-four hours of each day for her to be able to materialize her ambitious technology.
But still. Young ones need the sleep.
Diverging himself from his original route, the intel broker proceeded to take a peek in to see his fellow sentinel, fast asleep on her desk. The light from the lamp placed on her worktable was the only source of illumination for the entire room.
The Moroccan could not help but let out a light chuckle.
“Working all night long again, little engineer?” he whispered to no one in particular.
Silently tip-toeing his way towards the engineer, Cypher made himself welcome inside the room, closing the door behind him with the least noise possible. The broker was then met by Killjoy’s turret robot, which probably “woke up” to the silent taps that Cypher’s footsteps made. The robotic companion lightly surprised the Moroccan, thinking that if the turret raised any alarm, it could lead to a chain of awkward events.
Cypher quickly got on his knees as he proceeded to gently stroke what he assumed was the head of the robot’s head, with his gloved hands scratching metal. Fortunately, he had been around the turret quite constantly that the non-sentient being had come to be familiar with him. After a short while, the turret retreated a short distance from the broker and folded its legs, once again assuming a sleeping position.
Seeing that the robotic dog turret had gone prone, Cypher stood up once more before once again making his way near Killjoy’s table.
He would then get a closer look of the younger girl. She had removed her iconic yellow jacket which was now hanging on the chair she was sitting on, and her round specs seemed like they were hastily thrown a few feet across her face. Her hair had been unkempt, suggesting that whatever she was working on, she did it for a long while.
Taking a few steps around Killjoy, Cypher took a look at the various papers and schematics that were sprawled all over the table. It seemed to be the plans for the Everett-Linde portal that the Protocol was now attempting to recreate. Finally, after a long period of distraught wherein they were forced to remain fighting on the defensive against literal clones of themselves from an alternate reality, they were one step closer to turning the tables around.
And those hopes now lie in the German genius who was happily snoring away.
The Moroccan chuckled at the thought. He then spent a few more moments looking at the pile of schematic diagrams on the desk before his eyes situated on the small bulletin board in front of the table.
The board had a copy of the world map taped on it, with several red roundhead pins inserted on top of areas that the Protocol had frequented in their operations to counter Mirror Earth attacks, which included Venice, Shinjuku, and his own hometown of Rabat where Bind was located.
Surrounding the map were several yellow sticky notes serving as Killjoy’s to-do list of sorts.
Fix Sova’s drone.Borrow some spare parts from Raze’s boom bots.
Buy coffee. Coffee. More coffee.
Ask Kay/O about the portals from his future. Might help with this Everett-Linde shit.Oh Cypher has no plans to return those condenser cables? I’ll take his servos then HOW ABOUT THAT?
These were some of the notes that were on the bulletin board that amused Cypher to an extent. He was momentarily reminded about the fact that he had still yet to return the condenser cables he had stolen borrowed from the engineer about a week ago.
“Might as well return them next thing in the morning,” he cheekily thought to himself as he continued his self-imposed room tour. It wasn’t long before something else that was present in the board caught his watchful eye.
On the left edge of the world map, thumb tacked right next to where the American continent is located, were two photos.
One was the image of himself alongside Killjoy and Raze as they welcomed Chamber into their so-called “engineering club.” In the background was the Protocol’s general laboratory, which had been warmly outfitted with balloons and other party paraphernalia. Cypher himself had been holding a bunch of balloons when the picture was taken, with Killjoy beside him holding a cake and Raze beside her having just popped a stick of confetti. The new recruit Chamber, well-dressed as he is, was in the right-most part of the image with terrible annoyance present in his face in response to his seniors’ antics.
The second photographer, situated just below the first one, was one of Cypher and Killjoy. They had gone to Breeze for a recon mission…well, it was sort of a mission considering that that what happened was mostly just a three-day vacation wherein the Protocol rented a mansion-villa that housed all fifteen agents (Chamber had not been recruited yet at the time).
With a smile on his face, Cypher took off the photograph from the tack board and had himself a closer look.
The two of them had gone to eat lunch together at this quaint little place called Roti Boatie. The picture featured the two of them at their table smiling for the camera as Killjoy took a selfie. The younger girl who held the peace sign had been wearing more casual clothes that day, opting for an orange jacket and a red beanie. Meanwhile, an unmasked Cypher had his arms crossed while wearing a plain white buttoned up shirt and a black fedora.
The intel broker then vividly remembered how nice the food was.
However, four words with Killjoy’s handwriting that were located at the bottom of the photograph brought him a mild surprise.
“I’m his little engineer. =3”
Before he could fully process the written words, the sound of some rustling of papers prompted Cypher to turn his head away from the photocard in time to see Killjoy shifting positions in her sleep whilst seated, inadvertently moving some of the schematics and spare parts across the table.
The intel broker looked at Killjoy’s state and couldn’t help but silently click his tongue in disapproval. “No that won’t do,” he muttered, referring to the engineer’s current sleeping position which was bound to cause her some back problems if prolonged.
Putting the photocard that he was holding back on its original position on the tack board, Cypher made his way closer to Killjoy, before quietly grabbing the tech-wiz’s glasses that were sprawled on the desk and putting it inside one of his coat pockets. Afterwards, he proceeded to scoop her into his arms as gently as he can. Carefully lifting the engineer up from her seat and holding her in a bridal style, Cypher proceeded to make his way across the dark room while carrying Killjoy towards her bed.
Somehow managing to avoid tripping over himself despite the insufficient lighting throughout the quarters, it wasn’t long before Cypher carefully laid Killjoy down her own mattress. Killjoy’s body then involuntarily curled into a ball around her pillow, her back rising and falling with each slow breath she took.
Suddenly remembering the cold breeze that accompanied him on his way to Killjoy’s room, Cypher goes around the bed to take a blanket, before gently draping it over the engineer’s body. The young genius instantly snuggled into the new fabric that now accompanied her.
It was an adorable sight to see.
A small smile on his lips, Cypher gently took his hand over her head in order to fix the little strand of hair that was over her face. What he saw next was Killjoy’s sleeping features, the engineer being most relaxed and completely at peace.
With nothing but the activated desk lamp from the far side of the room being the only source of light the quarters was currently providing, the intel broker took a few moments to bask into the quiet darkness as he unconsciously continued to pat the engineer’s forehead softly while gazing at her.
Well…the dark room was from an outside perspective. With Cypher’s right hand currently preoccupied with tending to Killjoy’s scuffed hair, he had his left one adjust his glasses, pushing it up towards the bridge of his nose.
From the intel broker’s point of view, it was bright as day. He could clearly see the metal coating on the walls and floor of the quarters, which would normally have a glow of pink and blue courtesy of the multitude of LEDs that were assembled throughout the personal laboratory. Several metal crates serving as chests were scattered throughout the room, and three of Killjoy’s alarm bots were sleeping peacefully on the floor, among the other tech that was all over the place.
“Night vision. A wise investment indeed,” Cypher whispered smugly to himself as he imagined his glasses shining momentarily like in those anime series that Yoru and Skye always enjoyed watching in the lounge area.
The broker then dug into one of his trench coat pockets as he retrieved Killjoy’s round specs. For a short while, he took turns in observing the iconic tea shade and taking a good look at the engineer’s sleeping features.
Was she always this cute without her glasses?
With a nod, he gently placed her specs on top of the bedside table, right next to the digital alarm clock that reminded him of the time.
It was apparently 3:07 am.
With nothing else to do, Cypher decided to grab the nearest chair, taking a seat as he continued to watch over the sleeping engineer. A comforting silence accompanied the man as he allowed his train of thoughts to pass by.
Looking back, he thought about how the world – and the reality – that they were living in was so unfair. A person with so much beauty and talent such as Killjoy would have been living her life with glamour and prestige in a world where Kingdom didn’t exist. In a universe where annoying mirror versions of themselves didn’t come to attack them every week or so. In a reality where the First Light didn’t occur.
But then, a rather selfish thought came to mind.
If it was any other reality like the ones that he quietly mentioned, would he have still met the little engineer?
His only response to his self-imposed question was to allow a sigh to escape from his lips. Fortunately, Killjoy remained there, her eyes closed and breathing slowly. It was enough to bring a smile to Cypher’s face.
“Call me up next time if you’re going to do another all-nighter. I know a thing or two about portals too, you know?” he whispered with a light-hearted tone towards the sleeping sentinel. He suddenly remembered the time when he did a full data sweep of that Alpha-Omega research facility alongside Viper. If anything, much of the information that the young engineer was currently working with had been retrieved by him.
He wasn’t expecting her to answer back. And for that, he was grateful. At least Killjoy was now getting her much-deserved rest.
After all, young ones need all the sleep they can get.
Now assured that the little engineer was comfortable in her bed, Cypher decided that he had overstayed his unexpected welcome. He proceeded to quietly make his way out of her quarters, turning off the desk lamp as he passed towards the door.
When Cypher was in front of the doorway, he bid Killjoy one last look. Standing there for a few seconds with nothing but a smile on his face, he reminisces on that particular photograph that surprised him during his short and unexpected room tour of sorts.
“Good night, Anna,” he said towards the engineer’s direction.
As if suddenly remembering something, the older sentinel exited the quarters, making sure to quietly close the door on his way out.
The cold breeze once again greeting him, Cypher walked in the direction going back to his own room.
Having now returned to his room with his hat and trench coat removed, Cypher rummaged through the contents of his desk drawer, which was occupied mainly by various Protocol memorandums and internal documents, multiple copies of his wanted posters, and several tools which were probably not even his own.
After a few seconds of searching through the mess, he finally held up in the air the object he was looking for. It was a notebook of sorts, covered by white leather with his personal insignia embedded on the front.
Opening the notebook, it was revealed to be a photo album, filled with pictures and other memorabilia depicting various points of Cypher’s history alongside the Valorant Protocol. He flipped through several pages of the album, and it wasn’t long before he found the specific page that he was looking for, a sigh of satisfaction leaving his lips as he did.
In the page were several group photos of all the Protocol agents wearing their swimsuits by the beachfront that he had taken with his camera during their recon mission turned vacation in Breeze. However, those were not the pictures he was looking for. There was one photocard larger than the others, and Cypher gently plucked it out from the photobook.
Holding up the photocard, it was a photo of him and Killjoy similar to the one that was posted on the engineer’s tack board. The slight difference is that in this particular picture, Cypher and Killjoy had switched their hats: the German was now wearing the broker’s black fedora with a wide smile on her face, and Cypher donned her red beanie while scrunching up his nose.
The Moroccan allowed himself to chuckle.
“Now I’m sure I had a spare picture frame here somewhere…”
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As the night continued to pass, Cypher found himself once again retreating to his bed and taking a seat on the mattress. He placed a picture frame next to his digital alarm clock, the frame now containing the picture of him and Killjoy.
Afterwards, the Moroccan removed his glasses and placed it on the bedside table, before allowing gravity to pull him in with full force as he plopped right down his bed. For a few minutes, he only stared at the ceiling. Now without his glasses which apparently gave him the gift of night vision, Cypher was practically surrounded by darkness.
Closing his eyes, Aamir felt sleep slowly overtaking his body as his lips formed a smile.
“Hey Nora. The lady beside you. Isn’t she pretty?” he asked before turning to his left side, now facing away from the bedside desk.
Right next to the picture of Cypher and Killjoy was another photograph. This time, it showed Aamir accompanied by a much younger woman – a brown-haired girl that looked like she had just entered her teenage years. They were seating together in what seems to be a restaurant, and they were in front of a table that offered a wide variety of dishes, including a birthday cake in the middle. The girl had the widest gummy smile on her face, while Aamir had his arms crossed but a smile on his lips nonetheless. At the bottom right of the photo were the handwritten words:
“Thanks for the birthday feast, big brother! – Nora”
As Aamir felt sleep completely overrunning his systems, he was fairly confident that the younger Nora would have indeed found Killjoy pretty.
Speaking of which, the picture of him alongside his fellow sentinel now had the following handwriting at the bottom:
“My little engineer.”
It was now morning. A masked Cypher entered the kitchen as he let out a short yawn. On his mind, he was fairly surprised. He had not slept like a log for years prior to the previous night.
He was greeted by his two fellow sentinels. Sage was by the kitchen counter cooking up what seemed to be a cup of tea from the aroma that lingered throughout the room, while Killjoy was already seated by the dining table already drinking her morning cup of coffee.
Knowing her taste, it was probably loaded with cream, sugar, honey, marshmallows, and a few sprinkles of cinnamon. Cypher had long been made aware that the engineer’s taste was delectably sweet.
“Cypheer~” Killjoy began in sing song. “Good morning!”
“Greetings, little engineer,” the broker replied as he took a seat besides the tech-whiz. He took a peek on her mug and confirmed his earlier guess about Killjoy’s coffee palette to be correct. “How was your sleep last night?”
“Oh I slept so well, thanks for asking!” Killjoy replied, before turning around towards Sage’s direction. “Sage! Thank you so much for tucking me in last night, ever so thoughtful,” she directed towards the radiant sentinel, giggling as she did.
Unconsciously, Cypher turned his head towards where Sage was. However to his surprise, Sage already had her gaze directed at the spy. There was a knowing smile on her face before she returned to fixing her cup of tea.
“You are most welcome, my dear Killjoy,” Sage replied back. Cypher may be reading too much into things, but there was definitely a teasing tone infused in her voice.
It was moments like these wherein Cypher was reminded why Sage quickly rose through the ranks as their second-in-command. She was dangerously observant, and coming from the Protocol’s premier intelligence agent, that was saying something.
Shaking his head, Cypher shifted his focus towards Killjoy, who was still basking in her diabetes-loaded excuse of a morning drink. Similar to him and Sage, Killjoy was bearing her regular appearance that they have grown accustomed to in the field, with her signature padded yellow jacket and green beanie. At this point, it can be referred to as her standard uniform.
But for some reason, Killjoy looked different in Cypher’s eyes during that particular morning.
She looks prettier.
“For you.”
His train of thoughts derailed and met a devastating crash as Sage’s voice caught his attention. The Chinese woman, a calm smile present in her face, was now beside him with a cup of tea on her right hand. He felt the healer’s left hand giving him several pats on the shoulder, before proceeding to walk away from the table.
“Leaving already?” Killjoy asked.
“Yes. The infirmary’s not going to open itself, sadly,” Sage replied as she exited the room, returning the engineer’s wave as she did.
A sweet aroma alerting his olfactory senses, the Moroccan looked at the source of the smell.
Sitting on the table in front of him was the cup of hot chocolate he had meant to give himself last night.
“Hot chocolate?” Cypher glanced at Killjoy’s direction upon hearing the younger sentinel’s inquiry.
“Indeed. It has its wonders,” the broker replied.
The engineer then shifted her position so that she was directly facing the Moroccan. “I know that Brim hasn’t assigned you to anything for today, so I might as well ask for your services regarding our whole interstellar travel portal thing we got going on now.”
Cypher could only release a hearty laugh.
“Usually, I come at a hefty price,” he began, taking a pause to blow some cool air into his hot chocolate. “But for you, I’m always free.”
“Splendid!” Killjoy exclaimed with elation, grabbing her cup of pure diabetes and holding it up towards Cypher’s direction. “Cheers to our attempt in recreating inter-reality travel?”
The Moroccan took a few moments to look at the young genius who had successfully siphoned their budget for the fifth consecutive quarter. Letting out an amused chuckle at the thought of ramping that up to six quarters at Brimstone’s expense, Cypher took his cup and clinked it together with Killjoy’s.
“Cheers to us always, my little engineer.”