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When Sabine opened the door, she saw a soft glow coming from the kitchen, as well as the sound of aggressive typing. A familiar head peeked into Sabine’s vision as she closed the door behind her.
“Sabine! You’re finally back.” Ling Ying’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah…You really didn’t need to wait for me– it’s already one?” Sabine frowned as she looked at the clock in the living room, “You know you have to wake up for work, right?”
“I know, but I wanted to. Plus it’s not like I would’ve been asleep right now, we made significant developments today and I need to finish recording all of it.” Ling Ying smiled as Sabine planted a gentle kiss right on top of her right eyebrow in the middle of her explanation.
“They are working you to the bone, I swear.” Sabine sighed as played with a long strand on the healer’s hair.
“That’s rich coming from you. What happened today? Did they hold you hostage at work until now?” Ling Ying pouted.
The healer’s expression was enough for Sabine to run out the door and scream like a madwoman. This living arrangement might prove to be too detrimental to my heart health.
“One of our key instruments for the new experiment had a critical malfunction. Thankfully, when you work for a secret organization that runs on a tight budget every now and then for a few years, you learn how to make do with stuff that’s a breeze away from breaking.” Sabine had a slightly smug look on her face, “Plus they said I could take the day off tom- well, technically today now, since it’s past twelve. You on the other hand…”
Ling Ying gasped, “ The Sabine Callas? Taking a day off from work? That must be going on the newspaper headlines later today: renowned scientist and chronic overworker decides to get rid of her moldy eyebags for the first time in years.” Sabine rolled her eyes and Ling Ying chuckled.
“ Also , when you work for the same organization for a few years, you also gain the endurance to work on reports, get pelted with a variety of lethal objects, and heal reckless agents on 2 hours of sleep. So, I think I’ll be just fine.” Ling Ying grinned.
Ling Ying got up, returning the favor with a quick peck on the cheek, “Want me to reheat the food? What type of tea?”
“You are insufferable sometimes,” Sabine couldn’t help but grin, “Also, surprise me.”
The two watched the water boil as the microwave hummed in the background, heating Sabine’s dinner. Ling Ying listened contently as Sabine described the intricacies of the equipment, and how she found a whole test tube in one of its compartments despite it being almost impossible for anything of that size to get stuck in there. Ling Ying chuckled as Sabine rested her own head on Ling Ying’s. She tried to think of the first time Sabine had become so… so close with her.
Maybe it was that time where they had a picnic at the park nearby…or when they were watching a movie together…or, no, it was most likely when she had gotten sick last time.
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She had worked nearly for two weeks straight and her body simply gave up on her. The two sat on the bed, watching a random rom-com on the laptop. Head resting on Sabine’s shoulder, she could feel Ling Ying’s body rise and fall with each congested breath. Disoriented from a fit of coughing, Sabine was caught in the moment and lifted the healer’s bangs to give her a gentle kiss on her hot forehead.
“Hm. You’re still quite warm. Should we go to sleep?” Sabine pursed her lips.
Ling Ying froze, staring at Sabine with a shocked expression on her face.
In Sabine’s defense, the opportunity was too good to pass; despite the healer’s miserable state, she was quite… adorable . Plus she wanted to alleviate the symptoms somehow.
Realizing what she had done, Sabine shot up and bolted out the door, her face a shade of red that could confuse someone as to which one was running a fever.
That left Ling Ying to sit in her bed, dazed. If it weren’t for her temperature and the medicine she took a little prior to the incident, she might’ve holed herself in her bedroom for the rest of the night. But, blaming it on the illicit substances in her grape flavored medicine to reduce her 3 digit temperature, she stumbled out of her bedroom.
“That was out of the bag.” Her words were sloshing together.
“The what?” Sabine laughed nervously in the middle of the living room, “...You mean out of pocket ?”
“Some…something like that.” Ling Ying mumbled, “I heard it from Jett and Phoenix.”
For some reason, Sabine burst out laughing, and Ling Ying leaned on the hallway wall, slightly offended.
“Hey! Some of these new American sayings are really strange. I don’t even know what half of the new slang in Chinese means anymore, nonetheless ones in English. Like, what’s based? Based on what? Cut me some slack-” Ling Ying grumbled, but she was cut off with several sneezes.
“Anyway, I wouldn’t mind pocketing another one.” Ling Ying sniffled once she regained composure.
Sabine stood there, a little surprised, until a small smile formed on her face.
“Sure. Let’s get you back to bed first.” Sabine held back her laughter as she guided the healer back to her room.
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Since then, it has just become a regular habit, though, only between the two of them at home of course.
“What are you smiling about?” Sabine asked, tilting her head.
“Mmm. Nothing.” Ling Ying smiled as she stroked Sabine’s short hair.
The microwave beeped, indicating the food was heated. Sabine turned to get the food, while Ling Ying prepped some tea in two mugs.
“Hey, Skye, Yoru, Killjoy, and Raze are coming over here in a few days, right?” Sabine asked as she placed her plate on the table, across from Ling Ying’s laptop.
“I believe so. Heard one of the habitat restoration organizations near here requested Skye to visit and help them with a project, and Yoru is tagging along. …And the other two are on vacation.” Ling Ying brought the mugs over, fragrant and steaming.
“Ugh. The luxuries of working in large tech companies.” Sabine grumbled as she stabbed a forkful of food.
Ling Ying chucked, taking a sip of the herbal tea, “You could’ve changed your field of work when you had the chance, but here you are.”
“Hmph.” Sabine made a jokingly annoyed face.
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They had all met up at a popular restaurant that was well-known for bentos. The large group caught up on what they were all doing, adding a few interesting side tangents here and there. Skye and Yoru had adopted a large german shepherd and Yoru had recently switched jobs into an artifact restoration organization. Raze and Killjoy worked at a large tech company, where they worked together to create new technologies for transportation. The two still tinkered their own inventions, though they no longer had Brimstone to yell at their messes– their landlord did. While there were still obvious traces of their past lives, it was clear they all were well adapted to their new way of living by now.
Once they had their fill, they had a stroll at a nearby park. Ling Ying slipped her hand into Sabine’s trench coat pocket and laced her fingers with Sabine’s as they strolled out of habit. The other two couples raised their eyebrows at the scene, but decided to keep quiet for now. Can’t risk losing potential tea that they could share to the other agents. They stopped at a large maple tree near the center of the park, and took several pictures. It was then when Skye and Raze asked if they could go buy some snacks for the days ahead. Ling Ying suggested the Chinese supermarket she and Sabine frequented.
Ling Ying greeted the shop owner, who was delighted to see more of her friends. She had introduced them all, and the shop owner suggested a few snacks and ready-made food they could get. The two couples went to collect some goods in different aisles, while Sabine and Ling Ying decided it would be good to stock up some groceries.
While they were waiting to get their items checked out, the two had realized they had forgotten to get noodles.
“Wait here, I’ll go get them.” Sabine landed a quick kiss on the side of her forehead before leaving.
Ling Ying could feel the stares as Sabine’s footsteps got quieter.
“Is…something the matter?” Ling Ying tilted her head.
“You know, this is the same person who insisted that there was nothing between her and Sabine.” the shop owner squinted her eyes at Ling Ying.
Skye sighed as Yoru gave her a shit-eating grin and laughed.
“See~? You owe me 50 credits now, flowergirl.” Yoru grinned, putting a hand out.
“Fuck off. I’ll make sure that the animals will give you a helluva time when we get back.” Skye scowled as she handed him the money, “Good for you, though, Sage. Never thought that that stone cold scientist’s heart could be won over.”
“It became pretty obvious from last time, I think.” Killjoy chuckled.
“Yeah man! Congratulations, Sage! Knew you’d be winning.” Raze grinned, patting Ling Ying on the shoulder.
Ling Ying stood idly, trying to process the information. Suddenly, a rush of red rose from her cheeks.
Raze tilted her head and pursed her lips, chuckling, “Damn, that took you long enough.”
“It’s…It’s…Not like that…” Ling Ying buried her head in her hands.
“妈呀，这时候了还死活不承认。” The shop owner let out an exasperated sigh.
My god, you’re still denying it now?
“Aww, haha. C’mon Sage. We’re happy for ya’.” Skye laughed.
“That’s what I’ve been telling her the whole time.” The shop owner threw out her hands towards Ling Ying in defeat.
“Ja, and if you really don’t want the whole team to congratulate you two, we can keep it under the wraps.” Killjoy winked.
I will kill that stupid scientist when she comes back. Why is she taking so long?!
And just like that, the scientist came with a pack of noodles and a box of grapes in her hands.
“Hey, I found the grapes that were really good last time. You want the-” Sabine stopped, noticing the smug looks and stares.
Ling Ying gave her a murderous glare.
“What?” Sabine frowned.
“Yep, those two are definitely the same bunch.” Yoru smirked.
Putting two and two together, Sabine’s face had a quick flash of embarrassment, but quickly composed herself.
Sabine cleared her throat, “Consider yourselves to be lucky. If any of you spread the word, I will be personally hunting you down.”
Despite her empty threats, they all relentlessly teased the two while they still could.
As they stepped out of the store, the sliding doors closed with a thunk. “You guys are immensely lucky we’re not in charge anymore.” Sabine hissed.
“Yeah yeah. Keep saying that as you two act like high schoolers.” Killjoy rolled her eyes as she pointed at them locking arms. The two quickly separated, crossing their arms and looking in opposite directions.
“Damn.” Yoru raised his eyebrows.
Eventually they parted ways, saying their goodbyes and final teases. The two shooed the group away to their own places.
The way back to their apartment was silent, as their hands brushed against each others’ as they walked.
They put the groceries that had costed them quite a bit of embarrassment into the fridge.
Closing the fridge door, Ling Ying plopped onto the couch, Sabine awkwardly following the healer.
“...Are you mad?” Sabine asked quietly.
Ling Ying straightened herself, “No, no! Sorry if I worried you…I just…” Ling Ying covered her mouth with a hand, a flush creeping up on her face.
Sabine sat there frowning, with her brows furrowed. Ling Ying put a gentle hand on the scientist’s cheek.
“It was a bit embarrassing, but I’m glad. It’s quite exhilarating, the idea of being able to be…together like this. I’ve never experienced anything like this…” Ling Ying chuckled.
“Huh?” Sabine blurted out.
“...What?” Ling Ying pursed her lips.
“No I just…thought you’d have had someone…y’know.” Sabine shrugged. Cause you're so fucking pretty and nice.
Ling Ying pouted, “Listen! I was in a monastery for a good chunk of my life, and then I didn’t have enough time to have something like this either. And, have you had any?”
Sabine thought for a moment, “...I don’t think I had any that I was this close to…we were close but not like this…so I suppose not, huh.”
“See?” Ling Ying huffed.
Sabine grinned, “So I’m your first?”
Ling Ying looked away, flustered, and nodded slowly. “So am I for you, though.” She’d mutter.
Sabine’s grin became bigger.
The healer suddenly flicked her forehead.
“Hey! What was that for?” Sabine grumbled, rubbing her forehead.
“That’s for leaving me to deal with this today and for teasing me just now.” Ling Ying pouted.
“In my defense, I was just doing what we always did. And it’s not like you stopped me.” Sabine grinned.
“Hmph. You’ll be getting payback in some way. I’ll be savoring your flustered face when I do.” Ling Ying gave her a smug look.
Sabine chuckled, “I can’t wait.”
She scrunched her eyes as the healer planted a kiss on her cheek.
“Want some of those grapes you got?” Ling Ying got up.
“Hm. Sure.” Sabine stretched lazily on the couch, watching the healer head towards the kitchen.
Sabine checked her phone and noticed the 99+ notifications on the Valorant group chat.
Ah, shit.