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It had been a long day and no one was left unaffected by the hard but victorious fight that had ended a few hours beforehand. The protocol had sent out a small team consisting of Reyna, Fade, Harbor, Cypher, and Vulcan to set up a defensive on a site located in Bennet Island, Russia. Cypher had picked up on a highly possible plan by Omega Earth to set off another spike and they could not let that happen, so the small team set out stealthily to set up their defense and wait, and wait, and wait, until finally their targets had arrived. The battle was rough but by the end of the day they had thwarted another one of the Omega Protocol’s plans, though no one was unharmed by the end, and there was only so much that their small amount of medical supplies could do. So, tired but triumphantly the team called for retrieval and waited once again, it would be a while before the ship would be here to pick them up.
Cypher sat alone for the time being, the recent skirmish combined with the cold leaving him with a headache. Some of his equipment had been damaged in the fight and he aimed to try and distract himself from the slow passage of time by fidgeting with the busted parts as if that would magically fix them even without his workshop. Nearby, Vulcan was being patched up by Harbor as he had gotten injured a fair amount, and as such needed medical attention though what they had on hand would have to do for now until they could get back to Sage or Skye.
After Harbor finished patching up Vulcan he moved to Reyna and Fade to make sure the two didn’t need any help with dressing their wounds, leaving Vulcan alone. Cypher saw Vulcan try to stand up and fail to do so, probably from being too sore and most likely in pain like the rest of them, Cypher stood up and moved to sit next to Vulcan. As he approached Vulcan smiled, that goofy full hearted smile that he had become so fond of.
“Man, am I ready to get back to the base, I don’t know how much longer I could have survived in this cold for.” Vulcan said enthusiastically, almost giving off the impression he hadn’t even been injured.
“I will have to agree with you there my friend, I am unfortunately not built for this kind of weather.” Cypher replied as he sat down next to him.
Though the two weren’t open about it to the rest of the protocol, Cypher and Vulcan had formed a very close relationship that had taken on the label of “dating”, and at Cypher’s request it was being kept a secret. The agents weren’t barred from dating each other anymore, but Cypher wasn’t exactly one to let himself be open about anything personal, and for good reason.
“You weren’t built for this weather but you sure do dress for it anyway eh? You always dress in so many layers you’d think you were getting ready for a snow storm at any moment. Though I guess that’s possible in your office, you keep that room so cold I swear-”
Cypher kicked Vulcan subtly, it was a known fact that Cypher never let anyone in his office so if it got out that Vulcan somehow gained access Cypher isn’t quite sure he’d be able to explain why.
“Sorry…” Vulcan apologized as quietly as he could.
“I will never understand how you seem to have so much energy all the time, yet still always look as if you are about to collapse from exhaustion at any given moment.” Cypher teased in order to change subjects quickly, and chuckled as Vulcan just shrugged in response.
The two sat together casually chatting as the hours ticked by, eventually Harbor as well as Fade and Reyna joining in on the conversation, that seemed to be one of Vulcan’s hidden talents, somehow he always manages to raise the spirits of those around him even if the mood had dropped moments before. Thanks to the lighthearted conversation it didn’t seem too long until their transportation had arrived, once it landed everyone almost too eagerly piled inside and took their seats, Vulcan and Cypher sat next to each other almost without a second thought.
Once in the air they all felt more relaxed then they had been back at the site, everyone seemed to be quite relieved to be out of the cold and headed towards a warmer climate. Cypher played with one of his trip wires, rolling it between his fingers back and forth, and he had almost completely zoned out when he realized something a little odd, Vulcan had been very quiet ever since they got on the ship. Cypher looked to Vulcan sitting next him and understood why, truly that last fight had taken a toll on him, he was clearly exhausted.
Vulcan was trying his hardest to not completely pass out but was very obviously failing at the task, he sat slouched in his seat, arms crossed and head nodding downward as his eyelids would slowly close and then quickly shoot open again. Cypher felt bad for him, already so injured and now he can’t even bring himself to rest, and though it was incredibly rare for Cypher to show genuine affection towards other people nowadays (The only other acception being Killjoy) Cypher couldn’t help but slowly reach a hand out to Vulcan’s leg, the contact causing Vulcan to look over at Cypher.
“You seem tired, you should rest.” Cypher commented softly.
“I’m fine don’t worry, besides don’t I always seem tired?” Vulcan said and tried to give his signature grin, adding a little sass to his words as he referenced one of their previous conversations.
“No one will fault you for sleeping on the way back to the base Wulf, besides the others do seem to be trying to do the same.” Cypher spoke in a low tone so as not to draw too much attention to them, his hand never leaving where he placed it on Vulcan’s Leg. “Is something troubling you?” Cypher had genuine concern in his voice.
“No nothing is wrong, I just…feel bad sleeping in front of people…that’s weird I know heh.” Vulcan awkwardly chuckled at his own words, trying to break a tension only he could feel.
“No shame in resting dear friend, it’s only natural after the day we've had.” Cypher assured. He started to move his hand away from Vulcan but the motion was stopped as his hand was gently grabbed by Vulcan’s. Not the most subtle of acts, but Cypher didn’t want to complain as he saw the act of physical contact from him seemed relax Wulf quite a bit, so much so that he had settled more into his seat and started to fully nod off.
Cypher hoped the other three were so tired that they couldn’t register the fact that the two of them were holding hands, and as time ticked by it seemed like none would comment on it. Cypher looked back at Vulcan, now fully asleep. He thought sleep sounded like a good idea and so with Wulf’s hand in his he settled more into his own seat, his head almost unconsciously tilting to rest on Vulcan’s who had since fully started leaning on Cypher as a cushion, might as well get comfortable, it would be a long way back after all.