Chapter Text
Fade is minding her business as she walks through the halls of the “prestigious” Valorant Headquarters. The newest member focuses on familiarizing herself with the facilities she has been forced to call home.
A woman she recognizes from her briefing on the protocol stops her “Agent Fade, you can call me Sage, I’m second in command here. You are to report to the practice range, on the other end of the building for assessments.”
“And why should I be doing that? I was told I had the rest of the day off to acclimate.”
“Plans change, one of our team heads is shipping out tomorrow, and you may be assigned to their team.”
The sudden change, bothers fade, but she plays along. “Alright, alright. Just show me where to go.”
The trip to the practice range was quick, the administrators who handled her interview are there, Cypher, Brimstone, Sage, and a new woman in a lab coat who didn’t seem to have a care in the world. Opposite them were a few members from the team that had originally apprehended her. Fade imagined as insurance of misbehavior.
“Run us through some tests Fade, we’ll determine which strike team you fit best with, then move on from there.”
“Wait, you weren’t kidding, she’s becoming an agent?” The blue pigtails stepped forward from the other end of the room.
“The antagonism between us has been resolved, I don’t see why-“
The small fiesty woman stepped up, but two agents around her, one robotic, and the blonde stopped her. “Like hell they’ve been resolved, I’ll kick her teeth in.”
“Neon please, just hear commander Brimstone out, I’m sure he has every reason for his actions.” Sage tries to calm her down.
The old man in charge steps forward arms wide trying to calm down the young agent. “Thank you Sova. We need someone with her covert and tracking abilities for our upcoming mission to Omega Earth, we can’t send someone our enemy has engaged with before, we need this Neon.
“Like hell, fuck her and fuck you for enabling this piece of shit. ” Neon throws the hold the others have on her scaly body. “I’m out of here.”
The woman in a lab coat whispers amongst the leadership around it. “Well that leaves no need for a firing test, she’s on my team.”
“Viper, don’t think that’s been so easily decided.” Sage responds equally quietly.
“Brimstone already has a scout, and your little bundle of electricity is going to kill our new kitten.” Viper’s tone so matter of fact, it caught Sage off guard.
“She has a point.” Brimstone adds.
A defeated sigh from sage closes the conversation.
-a few moments later-
Fade walks through the halls unclear of her new assignment, she hopes the shooting went well, but no one seemed to be paying attention. The lack of information gave plenty of room for her mind to wander. As it wandered her steps took her towards her room, but she felt a force push her up against the wall.
“If I ever see you again in my space again, I will beat the shit out of you!” The same pigtails threaten from just below her chin.
“Hey, I wouldn’t have done it if I knew we were gonna be friends.” Fade tries to explain herself.
“We aren’t friends, and fuck you.” And the blue hair disappears before Fade could say another word.
-Two months later-
“Knock knock, you okay in there.” Jett asks from her usual partner in crime’s door.
A huff came from the pile of blankets on the bed. “Not today Jett.”
“Come on, can I not come check on my little pangy wangy? You didn’t show up to the range this morning.” Jett tapped her tail on the door frame.
Neon pokes their head out “You can come in, but can you stop with the ‘Pangy Wangy’? I called you kitty cat once, as a joke.”
Ignore her attempt at getting Jett to drop the nickname. “The usual?”
“Yeah, I just… can’t get it out of my head. The nightmare is stuck there like it’s bolted under my scutes.”
“Have you tried talking to her about it?”
Neon scoffs. “Is that you talking or your girlfriend?”
“Just me Neon.” Jett crosses the messy room and plops herself on the bed. “Sage wouldn’t send me of all people to try and broker peace, I hiss at her in the hallways.”
“That’s a fair point.” Neon’s tail instinctually wraps around Jett’s waist. “She messed me up, why should I be the one who has to make peace.”
Jett’s tail finds Neon's face and brushes itself against her nose. “Because you’re the nicest person I know, and your grudge is affecting you.”
“The nightmares are affecting me, not some stupid grudge.” Neon quickly counters.
“I know, but if anyone can fix it it’s gonna be her right?”
“Yeah. Just…why does this have to be so hard…” Neon flails her arms about, in a small tantrum. “Can we talk about anything else?”
“It’s not anything else, but I have news relating to her.”
“I said literally anything else Jett…”
Jett switches to an almost teasing tone. “It’s proper drama.”
“Okay fine, spill it.”
“Fade and Viper are dating, not Viper’s usual friends with benefits situation.”
Neon full pokes her head out the blanket. “Wait, isn't she like fifty?”
“I think she’s in her late thirties.”.
“You don’t know the specific number?”
“You wanna be the one to ask Viper how old she is? I’m pretty sure I’d rather die slowly listening to Chamber ramble about his guns, at least that I know has an end where I die.”
-three weeks later-
“Maybe you should give her another shot. She was quite pleasant when she was teaching me how to perfect adobo.” Viper said, turning a page in her book.
“I don’t know, she still just seems so pissed every time I’m even close to her. Talking to her seems… I don’t know, like begging to get smacked.” Fade speaks her head in Viper lap.
“There’s enough problems between you and Jett with your whole cat fighting, patching things up with Neon would help with that, they’re practically sisters.”
“And I’d help Sage be less pissed at you.”
“That’s not-“
“I know.” Fade rubs Vipers leg, cuddling into her partner. “But if I can help get Sage off your back, I’m gonna try.”
“I don’t like this whole make you uncomfortable for my sake streak dear, but I do genuinely think you two would get along if you can make things work out.” Viper strokes her hair with her free hand.
“I’ll try.”
-One week later-
“Are you sure you're okay?” Jett askes as the pair walk towards the shooting range.
“I’m fine.” Neon lies and neither of them believe it. “But why me? Why am I always going on the dangerous shit, I had to apprehend Fade, I have to go to the other universe, it’s fucking bullshit.”
“It’ll be okay, and Reyna will 100% keep you alive, she likes you right?”
“Yeah, it’s just frustrating as hell. Why can't I ever get the easy jobs?” Neon looks carefully at Jett.
“Don’t look at me like that, I go on difficult jobs.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I just want a break, a vacation.” Neon tosses their stress ball up before catching it.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask Sage about that, there’s beach week coming up? I imagine if this goes well you can come.”
“I’m not going as a third wheel thank you very much.” Neon sticks their tongue out.
“Fine, I’ll ask if others can come.” Jett walks past their destination.
“Wait, you're not coming to the range?” Neon looks confused at Jett.
“Nah, I told you I have a date.” Jett smirks. “Good shooting PangyWangy.”
“Stop calling me that…” Neon trails off because Jett had already disappeared. “That woman is gonna be the death of me.”
Neon enters to find the range mostly empty except one particular pair of cat ears poking up from the far end of the range, atop a box. Neon sighs, having hoped she wouldn’t run into any trouble. “Fade, you didn’t book time in the range, why are you here?”
“I wanted to talk to you, alone.”
“Bitch.” Neon whispers, realizing that Jett was probably in on this. “I don’t want to talk to you.” She said heading for the door.
“I want you to beat the shit out of me.”
Neon turns around confused. “And why the fuck would I do that. I’ll get in more trouble than any-“
Fade interrupts them with that cocky voice Neon hates so much, the one that’s stuck in their head while they sleep. “Viper already signed off on it, formal sparring match, all you have to do is sign.”
“Why? I'm not gonna get in a fight I can get yelled at for being hurt.”
“I know, that’s why I won’t fight back. The closer I am to someone the better I can grasp their fears, the easier it’ll be for me to figure out how to stop the nightmares…” Fade trails off, revealing more of her hand than she intended.
Neon starts walking towards Fade. “No paperwork, and fight back, if I’m throwing a punch I ain’t holding back so you can’t complain to your girlfriend.”
“Deal.” Fade said, throwing the bundles of paper aside before raising her fists. “No radiance?”
“Yeah, I won't need it.” Neon closes the gap between them, throwing a quick left jab that is faster than Fade can block. Neon’s scutes on their fingers making direct contact with Fade’s face, launching her back, but she manages to stay on her feet.
Fade throws two quick kicks trying to catch her off balance but Neon blocks the first and jumps over the second.
“For a bounty hunter, you’re pretty shit at this.” Neon throws a big hook with their right hand, this time with enough force to get her off her feet.
Fade tries to roll out the way to get up but their foe is too quick and pounces on her.
Neon starts launching blows at Fade, each punch with force behind it, but she finds tears welling up in her eyes. “You’re not fighting for real! Fight me! Quit half-assing this, you’ve been haunting me for months, quit being such a. Bitch.”
Fade coughs up a bit of blood. “Sorry, I’m just not that good a fight-“
“Liar!” Neon shouts as their punches turn to flailing their arms at her face. “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! How do you do it! How do you stand there and ruin the one part of my life that wasn’t bad and smirk like that!”
“It’s okay… I just want you to be okay.” Fade barely smiles through the blood.
“I fucking hate you!” Neon screams as the assault continues.
A force pulls Neon off Fade. “That’s enough Cariño.”
Neon looks up to see Reyna, and looks back over to see the mess they made of Fade, and the blood. So much blood… so much more blood, they look at their hands to see the same blood. Neon starts to cry. “I’m sorry…”
Reyna turns them around holding them close. “It’s okay little one.” Reyna picks her up. “We’re gonna go find miss Sage and it’s gonna be okay.”
Reyna rushes outside still holding Neon tight. The youngest agent is a mess in her arms. She heads straight for Sage’s office, but on the way she passes Skye. “Skye, get to the shooting range, now.”
“What? I have a date.” She got out confusion apparent on her face.
Reyna rushes past her only turning around to yell “Quickly!”
Reyna makes it to the infirmary. “LING! I need you at the shooting range.”
Sage immediately rushes out of her office to see neon covered in blood in Reyna’s arms. ”What happened, is she okay?”
Neon barely gets out a breathy “Sorry” between sobs.
Reyna sets them down. “They’re fine, maybe a broken finger, Fade is still at the shooting range, I didn’t want to move her.”
The pair run off leaving Neon to cry in the infirmary. “I'm sorry!” Neon repeats as they pass out.
-
Neon woke up to a busy but deathly quiet infirmary. Her voice seemingly hoarse from screaming. They try to speak but no words come out.
“Babe, they’re moving.” A voice says to the side.
Neon looks to see Jett looks shook off to the side of her.
“Sabine, hey Sabine, they didn-.” Neon thinks she hears Reyna.
A cold face looks down from over Neon. ”She will be okay.” The face keeps talking but Neon does not hear her.
Neon looks up. “Thank you.” and she passes back out.
-
Neon wakes up, this time the infirmary is quiet, no one making a sound, she sits up, looking to the left to see a light on in Sage's office.
“Hey Neon.” Fade’s voice says behind Neon. “Thanks.”
“I didn’t mean to go that-”
“It’s okay, nothing to worry about sparky.” Fade smiled through what Neon realizes are bandages on her face.
Neon’s voice shakes out. “Could sage not patch you up? I’m-”
“She didn’t want to overexert herself before the mission tomorrow. We agreed it would help keep me camouflaged tomorrow. I’m okay.” Fade stood up, slowly crossing the room and wrapping her arms around neon. “You get some rest, we got a job to do tomorrow.”
Neon lays down, and quickly falls asleep, staying asleep through the whole night.