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Breakups are always bad, but when it came to someone you actively worked with, the implications were worse.
You actively tried to avoid duo-ing with him whenever you could, but this time, Brimstone and Sage had insisted that everyone else was already too busy with their own missions to take care of this one, leaving you and Yoru as the only candidates. Sage reassured you that it was a simple mission around the Breeze area, but she couldn’t have been more wrong.
A sudden tropical storm had caused you and Yoru to seek shelter. Running towards the nearest building, the storm did not show any signs of letting up - it looks like you guys were stuck together for the night. Thankfully, the house you’d technically broken into showed no signs of being occupied recently, although everything still looked intact.
“Maybe they went on vacation,” Yoru casually commented, looking around before shrugging. “Oh well, it’s just one night. They won’t even notice we were here anyway,” he added, taking off his wet jacket to dry on the nearby coat hanger.
“This is just great,” you muttered to yourself, crossing your arms. “First, I’m stuck with you. Then, we get caught in this storm. And to make things worse, we’re barging uninvited into someone’s home!”
“What, you have a better idea? Unless you want to sit outside in the rain all night. Then, by all means, be my guest.”
Ooh, how he made your blood boil! If you could, you would’ve punched him in an instant. But you told yourself you’d keep your cool this time. It was just one night. All you had to do was occupy one of the other rooms and you wouldn’t have to even acknowledge his existence, right? Wrong.
Somehow, you found yourself joining him on the sofa he’d casually plonked himself on as though it was his own home, though you made a conscious decision to sit on the far end from where he was.
“So,” you began, twiddling your thumbs as your eyes darted everywhere except at the person next to you. “I heard you’ve been getting along with Skye recently.”
“Who, Flower Girl? Yeah, she’s not bad I suppose,” he sank further into his seat, pulling out his butterfly knife to fiddle with. “What about you and Sova? I hear you guys are cozying up quite well yourselves.”
You knew how much Yoru absolutely despised Sova, especially with the way he was always curt in their conversations, always trying to keep them as short and strictly business as possible. It was honestly a tad satisfying to see a hint of jealousy appear on his face, despite the fact that he was the one who asked.
“We’re fine. It’s nothing serious anyway. Not yet, but he’s a good man, and at least he knows how to look out for me,” you shrugged nonchalantly, purposely turning away to avoid Yoru’s eyes on you. “Why, you suddenly getting jealous?”
“And if I said I was?”
You couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. You merely sighed in response, taking out your communicator just in case things were back online. Much to your dismay, they weren’t.
Another moment of awkward silence passed between you and Yoru, but it was clear that he had something on his mind - something that he’d been trying to talk to you about for a long time now - there just wasn’t a proper time to do it. You had a feeling you knew what it was and dreaded the thought of it. It was one of the reasons why you absolutely refused to work alone with him, but now, it seemed like you had no choice but to face your demons.
Beside you, you heard Yoru clear his throat, the sound of his butterfly comb swishing coming to a halt. Oh boy, you thought. Here we go.
“So, now that we’re completely alone. I think it’s finally about time we’ve had that conversation, don’t you think?”
“Yoru, don’t ,” you warned, shooting him a stern look in a last-ditch attempt to avoid the subject.
“Don’t? Don’t what? Don’t bring the past up? The past that you’re still so clearly hung up about?” Yoru raised an eyebrow. The tone of his voice held a mix of anger and hurt, and rightfully so.
“Come on, are you really going to keep avoiding this, even at the expense of our own teammates?”
“ENOUGH! I loved you, Yoru!” you roared, jumping to your feet with tears welling up in your eyes. “I loved you so much I would have killed for you!”
“And I loved you so much I would have killed for you too!” Yoru said back with the same intensity, standing up as well.
“Well, clearly that’s a lie seeing as how you basically two-timed me with your ex,” you scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. How could you ever forget that day?
He’d taken you out to one of his favourite spots around Shibuya. One of the best zaru soba places around, he promised. The night was passing by without incident, a welcome change of pace from the chaos that came with being a part of the Valorant Protocol. That was, until you’d notice him slip away after getting a message. Initially, you thought nothing of it, but the longer time passed, the more you began to worry.
You peeped out from the restaurant, but there was no sign of him nearby. Soon, you began to wander the nearby area, eventually stumbling across one of those narrow alleyways, only to catch Yoru in a questionable situation with another person you’d recognized as his ex.
Shocked, you took a few steps back before deciding to make a run for it. Yoru immediately pushed the other person aside, making an attempt to chase after you. He pleaded for you to give him a chance to explain, but you were having none of it. You told him on the spot exactly what you thought of him as despicable trash, declaring your relationship to be officially over.
You informed your superiors about your intention to never work with him again, much to their dismay. They tried reasoning with you, citing reasons of professionalism (or as Brimstone put it: ‘putting aside personal matters for work’s sake’), but eventually relented once you made it clear you might actually kill him if he was ever put on the same team as you.
There were times when you knew he was trying to talk to you, but you’d always make up an excuse to dodge him. Every time you saw him, a mix of hurt, anger, and even regret for being so cruel to him over the years just seemed to bubble up. Of course, the murderous intent had cooled off since then, but your refusal to be in the same room with him remained. Until they decided to pair you two up for this current mission.
Back in the present, from the corner of your eye, you saw Yoru’s eyebrows furrow, fists clenching.
“I keep telling you, it wasn’t what you think it is! I had no choice!” Yoru frustratedly exclaimed. “She’d literally cornered me when you’d found me!”
You rolled your eyes. “Oh, come on! Can’t you men think of a better excuse than ‘not having a choice’? Seriously!”
“She had classified details on us! What was I supposed to do?!” Yoru defensively exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “Yes, maybe it was my fault she had the info she did, but I didn’t think she’d use it as blackmail! It was either I start going out with her again, or she’d threaten to leak the whole Valorant operation to the public. Don’t you see? I only did it in the end to protect everyone, to protect YOU!”
Hearing this, you felt even more confused than ever. The first time you’d asked, Yoru made no mention of what actually happened. Instead, he merely made what you thought were excuses, repeating the same words he’d told you earlier: It’s not what you think it is.
You felt your whole body begin to tremble. “Yoru… Why? Why didn’t you tell me this?! Wh- What happened after?”
“I couldn’t tell you at first because I felt guilty. After all, you’d basically caught me red-handed, right? And even when I did try to explain, you just ignored me. In fact, you iced me out in front of everyone!” Yoru sighed, slumping back onto the sofa. He rubbed his forehead stressfully. “Sova and Cypher ended up helping me take care of the situation, and your archer boyfriend even made me promise not to tell you what happened, but I guess it’s too late now.”
“Sova?” you blinked in disbelief. “He was involved too?”
“Oh yeah. Gave me a good lecture about it as well,” Yoru chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Something about doing it for your sake, and how I should continue to just stay away because I’m not good enough for you.”
This sudden revelation was getting too much to handle. Blackmail? Doing it for your sake? Sova saving Yoru’s hide only to tell him to back off? You didn’t know how to process what you’d just heard. You were one brand new information away from absolutely losing it.
Yoru must’ve noticed too, because you heard a soft sigh escape his lips as he checked for the time. Whatever he’d been hiding from you was already out in the open, there was no reason for him to keep the conversation going when he had nothing more to add.
“Listen, it’s getting late. If there’s a bed upstairs, just take it. I’ll stay here on the sofa.”
“What, and just drop the subject just like that?! Why are you telling me this now?! How did you think I’d feel o- or whether I should believe you or not?!”
“Look, I’m not running away, if that’s what you’re insinuating. I’ve already said what I wanted to. Whether or not you choose to believe me, I don’t care either way,” he coolly replied, folding his arms with eyes closed. “Besides, you’re tired. There’s no use pushing this conversation when you’re not in the right mind.”
You let out a sigh yourself, slightly appreciative of his gesture. His concern for you, however lukewarm it came across, seemed to calm you down a little. Plus, he wasn’t wrong, you were absolutely exhausted beyond belief both from outside’s weather and hearing the truth.
You knew you couldn’t run away forever. Deep down, you knew you wanted this closure, but your pride would never allow you to show such vulnerability, especially with the way you blew up the first time. Sooner or later however, this conversation would’ve still happened. He probably felt the same way. No, everyone else in the protocol probably did too. That’s why they were so adamant on sending you two off alone.
Suddenly, it felt like every last ounce of hatred you had for this man finally disappeared. Still, you weren’t about to let it show so easily.
“But, are you sure? About staying on the sofa, I mean. This isn’t exactly the most ideal furniture to sleep on…” you said, noting the uncomfortable firmness of the couch.
“What, you getting worried about me now?”
Seeing his smug face caused your cheeks to involuntarily heat up, whatever ounce of tenderness you’d initially felt disappearing in a snap. God, he was so insufferable!
You immediately stood up in a huff. “Ugh, as if! Fine, I’ll just go upstairs where at least I won’t have to look at your dumb face all night! Stupid pretty boy,” you grumbled the last sentence, deciding that you wanted nothing more to do with him for tonight.
“I heard that,” Yoru called after you as you were about to head up. In response, you leaned over the railing, childishly sticking your tongue out before storming off, earning a chuckle from him.
———
The next day made it seem like last night’s storm didn’t happen. As you opened the front door to step out, you were greeted by clear blue skies and a gentle breeze, the sounds of seagulls harping away in the distance. Suddenly, you heard your communicator beep.
Finally , you thought, reading the message from Neon saying they’d come to rescue you guys. You showed the message to Yoru, who didn’t say a word in response. Although strange, you thought nothing more of it and had begun walking a few steps when you noticed someone wasn’t directly behind you.
“Are you coming?” you asked.
Yoru hadn’t budged from his spot. He was instead leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, observing you.
“I’ll catch up,” he shook his head. “Just need some time to think.”
You bit your bottom lip, wanting to say something more, but ultimately decided against it. With a heavy heart, you turned around to start making your way to the beach where the others were waiting.
“Hey,” Yoru abruptly called after you. You turned around to see him with a serious expression. While he always had a bit of a scowl, this time it felt different; like he was seriously contemplating an important decision. Somehow, your heart skipped a beat in anticipation.
“What’s the likelihood of us ever teaming up again?”
“Unless absolutely necessary, I’d say close to zero,” you said matter-of-factly. “Besides,” a sad smile appeared on your face. “If I were to start working together with you now, I might just fall in love with you all over again.”
Seeing the crestfallen look on his face only caused you pain, but you knew it was the truth. You couldn’t take that chance. What you two had was gone now. There was no use trying to hold on to the past, regardless of how you both still felt for each other.
As soon as you’d begun walking halfway, however, something inside you changed. You didn’t know what it was, but inside your gut feeling was screaming at you to not let this opportunity go. Despite your best efforts to use logic to keep walking, you internally cursed yourself for what you were about to do. It was now or never.
Like your body was working on auto-pilot, you quickly spun around, running back to Yoru. You threw your arms around him, falling into a kiss that completely caught him off-guard. However, it didn’t take long for him to reciprocate the gesture, leaning into your lips as he brought his hands up to cup your face.
You don’t know how long you guys stood there for. All you knew was that if you didn’t do what you just did despite what you’d just said mere seconds ago, you’d regret it forever. Finally pulling away, he pressed his forehead against yours, the both of you taking your time to enjoy these final moments while they lasted.
“Yoru, I-” you began as though trying to add logic to your actions.
“Don’t say anything. Just don’t,” Yoru was quick to hush, desperately pressing his lips against yours again in an effort to stop any other words from slipping out.
Somehow, you knew this was probably it. Yoru must’ve felt the same way too, with the way he was unwilling to let the moment pass. You both knew that after this, once everything was back to ‘normal’, your relationship was truly done.
… Or was it?
———
It was one of those nights when you couldn’t sleep. Sighing, you looked to your side to see your partner’s naked back facing you. You tried whispering his name, giving a gentle shake to see if he would stir, but the archer made no response save for an incomprehensible mumble and a slight shift.
Thinking it might do you some good to head outside for some fresh air (and maybe a quick late-night snack run to the convenience store), you quietly slipped out of bed and got changed into more appropriate wear.
From a distance, you heard the sounds of a motorbike revving from a distance. The rider’s face was hidden by the helmet they wore, but that blue jacket was unmistakable.
“Thought you might be up,” Yoru spoke, nodding to the empty seat behind him. “Wanna go for a ride?”
Even though you couldn’t see his face, you knew he was smirking underneath. You couldn’t help but return the same expression as you accepted his offer.