Walking around the dining area, Neon wondered whether Fade was joining the party or not. The Turk had wanted to be alone that afternoon, and Neon hadn't pushed. As a result, she hadn't had the chance to ask and Fade hadn't said anything about it either. Neon had kind of just assumed she'd be here, at least for Neon's sake.
Unable to find the bounty hunter even in the quietest corner where Cypher was relaxing with a drink he absolutely had no intention on drinking, Neon realised she probably didn't want to face the lively, rowdy crowd that were mostly about to get very drunk.
It made a pang go through Neon's heart, especially because she wanted to spend time with Fade, even if it was just quietly sitting in a corner and watching everyone else. But she understood Fade's antisocial ways and knew where her reluctance came from.
"Neon!" Jett yelled from somewhere in the middle of the dining area, standing on top of a table and waving to get her attention.
"What is it?" Neon called back, pushing past the large, tall figures of Sova and Breach and making her way over to her excitedly beckoning friend.
~~~
Fade knew there was a party celebrating...something, but she hadn't really paid much attention to it when it had been announced. Probably something about that intense, two week long ten man mission she'd just been on that resulted in them defeating the Omega agents and defusing a powerful spike similar to the one that had raised Venice to the skies.
Fade had had too many interactions with agents, civilians, and Omega agents, and she was mentally exhausted, unable to keep Nightmare from invading her head with negative thoughts. It seemed her head could never be empty. There wouldn't ever be free space for meaningless thoughts to just float through.
Nightmare's influence made her feel depressive, caused her to not want to even see another living thing in the moment, hence why she'd rejected Neon as kindly as she could when the Filipino came over hoping to spend some time with her.
Sitting on her comfy office chair with her head tilted back, Fade recalled the disappointed expression Neon had been unable to hide as she said it was fine before Fade abruptly closed the door on her.
The two had both gone on that mission. Despite that, duties and their differing skillsets meant they didn't get to see each other often, if even at all. But despite Neon having a more active role in the mission, she had been filled with energy by their success instead of tired out by the process.
Which was why she was at that party, and Fade wasn't. And Neon was likely feeling disappointed.
Fade sighed as she tried to forcefully dig herself deeper into her chair and wallow in the depressive thoughts Nightmare fed her with. She didn't want to go out and see everyone. She wanted to be mopey and depressed by herself in her dark room, far away from every other person in the Protocol while they got drunk and happy.
But while Neon may get drunk, she wouldn't be fully happy. Not without her girlfriend. And that was what was bothering Fade.
Groaning, she slid down her chair for a bit before she properly got up. Neon had that ability in her, to take over Fade's mind despite not even being physically there. No, her head definitely wasn't going to be empty unless she made it up to Neon.
Giving her dark, inviting room once last glance, Fade sighed again and headed for her door.
She really should have expected it, but the sudden beam of bright light from the hallway that assaulted Fade's eyes caused her to flinch and turn away, eyes shut.
Oh, her room looked so much better than this. But Fade had to go to Neon.
~~~
"So, where's Fade?" Jett asked, the two of them sprawled on the couch that had been dragged into a corner from the living area. Phoenix and Raze sat next to Jett, while Neon was on the side of the couch that was in the corner of the room.
Neon felt her smile evaporate as she recalled the tired words Fade had uttered, eyes dark and distracted.
"I'm sorry, maybe later? I don't feel like having company right now. I'm sorry, Tala."
Neon had only just managed to utter a worried and hesitant reassurance that it was fine before the door closed while her mouth was still open.
Likely seeing Neon's reaction, Jett almost immediately asked, a tad aggressively, "Did you two get into a fight? What's that face for?"
"No, no!" Neon exclaimed, trying to quell Jett's suspicions before they got worse. The wind agent and Fade had been making good progress in not pissing each other off, and Neon didn't want to start any drama now.
But before she could continue, Neon spotted an all too familiar figure slink into the room.
Fade looked like she'd just gotten out of bed, posture hunched, eyes squinting uncomfortably in the bright lights, hands deep in her pockets. She looked left and right, face scrunched up in distaste. Despite that, Neon felt her heart soar at the sight of her girlfriend.
"Fade, over here!" Neon called, waving wildly.
Fade's head turned in her direction, and she headed over as soon as she spotted them.
Quickly realising Fade probably didn't want to sit with the others, Neon gently shoved Jett as a silent request for her and the others to move over.
"Hey, Fade!" Raze greeted enthusiastically as she approached, Phoenix adding his own cheerful greeting and Jett merely waving.
"Good evening," Fade answered, quiet, the corners of her mouth raising slightly as she offered a small smile. "Apologies if I interrupted you."
"No, we were just talking about you, actually," Phoenix said, shifting over. "Wondering why you weren't coming. Neon was super disappointed."
"I wasn't," Neon protested.
~~~
When Fade saw Neon sitting with all of the young, energetic agents, she couldn't help a small, mental groan.
She didn't even want to be at the party, and now she had to deal with their cheery, overbearing personalities. She wouldn't be surprised if she was forced to play truth and dare or some other horrible game that required mental energy she didn't have.
Almost reluctantly, Fade padded over to them and sat down in the space Neon had provided. She was glad her girlfriend understood her current lethargic self and was trying to give her some semblance of distance away from the others.
To Fade's surprise, the others seemed perfectly content to just relax on the couch and talk about arbitrary nothings. Their conversations were meaningless to her, all about movies and games and characters she had no interest in.
The others didn't pressure Fade into talking either, in fact almost acting like she didn't exist — but not in a bad way. The only time Fade was acknowledged was when Neon's hand crept over to hers and intertwined, the electric agent lightly squeezing it occasionally or circling the back of her hand with a thumb.
It was surprisingly relaxing, with enough noise and company that Fade could drown out her depressive, negative thoughts but not too much that she felt overwhelmed. The topics of their conversation were lighthearted and meaningless, enough of a distraction to free her cluttered, overwhelmed mind from Nightmare's influence.
Unconsciously, a smile crept onto Fade's lips as she relaxed further into the couch. This turn of events was definitely unexpected, but not unwelcome at all.