Nightlight

Coincidentally, according to Brimstone, it was at 2pm exactly that the spike was successfully defused.

"Good job, team," he said over the comms as Neon, Jett, Killjoy, Chamber, and Breach wearily headed back for the jet.

They had successfully fended off five Omega agents and defused the spike, keeping Bhutan safe from harm. It was by no means easy, but they'd gotten the job done and Neon was looking forward to relaxing once they got back.

As they flew back to base, Neon took her phone out to look busy and pass time. Jett was in the pilot's seat for some reason, probably the reason why the flight was so turbulent, Killjoy was busy mending her tech, and Neon didn't really want to talk to Breach or Chamber.

Seeing a new message from Fade, Neon clicked their text channel open.

'Come to my room at 5pm.' was all Fade had written.

Intrigued, Neon replied with 'ok. what are we doing?'

She didn't get a straight answer, just 'It's a surprise. You'll see ;)'

Neon couldn't help the small giggle at the face, replying with 'ok. im kind of tired though, can i come over early and cuddle?'

A couple seconds later, Fade replied. 'Of course.'

Smiling to herself, Neon clicked out of their messaging app and started writing a brief summary for their mission so she wouldn't have to do the entire report from scratch later.

As soon as the jet landed and the door opened, Neon was out into the hangar and making her way to the dorms. The idea of cuddling Fade for a couple hours and sleeping in her arms was very tempting and she felt she deserved it after such an intense mission.

She zoomed past Skye and Cypher playing a game of chess, the uncanny sight bringing a smile to her face as Skye frowned over the board.

Neon was probably at the door of Fade's room before the others had reached the common room with how fast she'd ran, eagerly knocking on Fade's door to alert her girlfriend of her arrival.

"I thought you were tired," Fade smiled as she opened the door. Neon couldn't help her own smile when she saw the lights were dimmed down and the colourful lamp she'd gifted Fade in use, casting a dark blue, red, and yellow light around the room.

"I could hear you running from a mile away," Fade remarked.

"I am tired," Neon protested, flopping like a starfish onto Fade's bed and admiring the colours thrown around by the lamp. She was very happy with her choice.

"Mhm," Fade hummed sarcastically but affectionately, sitting down on the bed and nudging Neon to move over.

Though reluctant to move, Neon rolled onto her side and let Fade lie down next to her. As soon as the Turk was snuggled against her, she rolled back over and pressed the side of her face against her warm chest, looking up at Fade.

Fade wrapped her arms around Neon, their legs tangling together as Fade leaned down to give Neon a kiss.

Giggling slightly, Neon shifted to get comfy and closed her eyes.

"Wake me when it's time," she mumbled, almost immediately slipping into sleep.

~~~

When Brimstone told her that the mission was a success, Fade heaved a silent sigh of relief and thanked him before leaving back for her room. She didn't exactly want to bring Neon up right after she'd sustained injuries, or worse, died, because of the toll it would have on her body.

So once she returned to her room, Fade put her plan into action.

She first texted Neon to tell her to come to her room at 5. She knew the initial walk would take around ten minutes, but she wasn't sure how long they'd stop for and the second walk would be more of a hike. She wanted to get there by around 6.

Then she headed for the kitchen, answering a couple messages from Neon on the way, going to prepare some food since she didn't know how long they'd stay there. If everything went to plan, Fade hoped they could stay longer.

The food, Fade decided, unfortunately couldn't be anything too special. Neon's flight would probably only take around an hour with how fast the jet flew, and she wanted to keep everything a secret and hopefully a pleasant surprise.

Fade eventually decided on sandwiches, figuring Neon wouldn't have a problem with them due to how she had them basically every morning. And Fade may or may not have already pre-baked some brownies yesterday, which was the day after Valentine's, that she'd kept stored in the freezer. She'd already begun planning the trip on the night of Valentine's Day.

Taking the brownies out of the freezer, Fade left them on the side to warm up to room temperature while she started preparing the sandwiches.

She decided on making a few different types to keep it interesting, taking a bit of everything from the fridge and making three different types of sandwiches. She made egg and mayo sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, and ham and cheese and tomato sandwiches.

As she was preparing, Cypher walked by.

"I thought Sage was cooking tonight," he commented.

"Neon and I are going out," Fade explained, too late realising she made it sound like they were going on a date.

"Ah!" Cypher exclaimed, and Fade could just about imagine a sparkle coming to those mechanical blue eyes of his.

"Not like that!" she groaned, knowing that Cypher would mention it and probably add a few of his own speculations at the dining table that night. "She gave me a gift for Valentine's Day, so I want to return the favour."

"Your first date! Enjoy," Cypher said, cheekily ignoring Fade.

Fade sighed and rolled her eyes, although she did have to admit the whole trip did sound a lot like a date. "Thank you," she just said.

Only two minutes later, Raze came by and tried to 'discreetly' pinch a brownie with music blaring from her headphones.

Fade could hear the mass of music shifting from her back to her left, and warned "Raze, those aren't yours."

"Nope, wasn't trying to take them!" Raze defended, although with a guilty edge to her voice. "What you making all these sandwiches for, by the way?"

Fade briefly wondered if the dining area was always this busy. "Neon and I will be having dinner outside," she finally said.

"Can I join?" Raze asked, extroverted as always, eyes briefly flicking to the brownies before returning back to Fade.

"No," Fade refused. She wanted to share this with Neon and no one else, because Neon held a special place in her heart. Anyhow, wasn't this supposed to be, like Cypher said, a date?

"Oh, so it's like a date, got it," Raze grinned. "Honestly, I should've expected you to be the jealous type. Have fun, Fade!"

Fade only just managed to level a glare at Raze before the Brazilian turned and skipped away, laughing. "Thank you, I suppose," Fade grumbled.

Fade finished the sandwiches with thankfully no other distractions, covering them in cling wrap and storing them in the fridge with a label. She wanted to leave the brownies out, though, and in the end stuck a label on that too and just hoped no one would feel deprived enough of brownies to eat them.

Not feeling like interacting with anyone else, Fade went back to her room and lay down on her bed, turning the lights down and Neon's gift on. Although she didn't like darkness, she also found the glaring lights too harsh and preferred the softer, colourful light of the beautiful lamp she'd been gifted.

Lying down on her bed with a book in hand, Fade felt a calm serenity wash over her. The nightlight was truly a perfect gift, and Fade hoped the event she'd planned would be something Neon could cherish just like her lamp.

Just a bit later, Fade suddenly became aware of speedy footsteps getting louder and louder. She looked up from her book and listened, wondering if there was an emergency.

Then there was the telltale crackle of electricity half a second before there was a knock on her door, and Fade had to hold back a smile when she realised Neon had just run through the entire base to get to her door faster.

Fade opened the door, revealing Neon not panting despite charging through the base after what Brimstone had said was a tense and tiring mission. "I thought you were tired," Fade remarked, letting her smile through as she let Neon in. "I could hear you running from a mile away."

"I am tired," Neon protested as she entered, jumping onto Fade's bed and spreading out onto her bed like an eagle, taking the whole space up.

"Mhm," Fade agreed sarcastically, following the electric agent to her bed as she sat down on what little space there was left, gently nudging Neon to get her to move.

Neon rolled over, allowing Fade space to lie down and they cuddled against each other. Fade could see Neon's eyelids starting to flutter, drooping despite her best efforts, and hugged her closer to give her a kiss on the head.

Neon giggled at the gesture, somehow managing to press their bodies even closer as she muttered "Wake me when it's time," before drifting off into sleep.

~~~

At 4:50pm, Fade woke Neon up, knowing the younger agent probably needed a few minutes to fully wake. She also needed to find a bag to actually carry the food and other items, only realising that just now.

"Neon," she said as she shook the Filipino, smiling as the younger agent grumbled and hugged Fade closer. "Neon, get up, it's nearly time," Fade tried again, gently prying her hand off her waist.

Neon finally released Fade and rolled over, allowing her to get up although she rolled straight back over onto the bed.

"I'm going to get some stuff, we're leaving in ten minutes," Fade informed, trusting Neon to be up by the time she came back. The Filipino just flashed a lazy thumbs up before her hand went back down.

Walking down the corridor, Fade found that it was mostly empty as everyone was relaxing in their room right before dinner.

The only ones up and about were Sage and Reyna, Sage doing the cooking while Reyna did a mixture of helping, 'taste testing' which involved her swiping some food, and distracting as she kissed down Sage's back.

Fade politely looked away when she noticed the last part, averting her gaze and crab walking to the fridge instead to take the sandwiches out. The brownies had, surprisingly, seemingly not been touched, but Fade was nonetheless glad.

Checking the top of the fridge, Fade found a pile of empty takeout bags and took a random one, putting the food in and leaving the kitchen.

She went back to her room, passing Breach on the way.

"Those were your brownies, right?" Breach suddenly asked, causing Fade to stop and carefully look him over.

"Yes," she said, wondering where this was going. Breach hadn't exactly been the most friendly to her, and she was getting a bit worried about what had happened to her brownies.

"I stopped Jett from swiping one," Breach said, what appeared to be a proud and mischievous grin slowly forming on his stoic face as he continued. "And Yoru, and Reyna. Oh, and Phoenix too. Just tell me if you need more foodguarding, yeah? I'm your man."

Fade checked him over once more, but found no malice behind his words or expression. She smiled back at him. "Alright, thanks a lot," she said.

"No problem!" Breach said cheerfully, walking again.

Fade went back to her room again, wondering where this sudden change of heart came from.

While most of Protocol had stopped being so passive aggressive to Fade upon their making her and Neon's relationship public, some still hadn't really warmed up to her. Of course, Fade was thankful she didn't have to deal with snarky comments and whispered complaints or jabs behind her back, but that didn't mean people wanted to be around her.

There were still several people Fade didn't talk to if she met them in the corridor or while waiting in the same area, their conversations limited to only relaying necessary information during missions.

Breach was definitely one of those people, so Fade wasn't sure what compelled him to protect her brownies, and why he was suddenly so cheerful with her.

Not caring enough to think too deep into it, Fade went to the communal showers to borrow a towel before making her way back to her room.

She found Neon awake and up, examining a charm she had left on her table.

As soon as she opened the door, Neon looked up with a smile on her face. "Are we going now?" she asked as Fade entered. "What's in that bag?"

"It's a mystery," Fade said elusively. "And yes, let's go. I want to get there before 6. This is me repaying you for Valentine's Day."

Those words seemed to cause Neon to brighten up, the electric agent bouncing past Fade with enough energy that could easily convince anyone she hadn't just woken up 10 minutes ago. "Come on, then!" she called, running out to the base's exit. "I want to see it!"

Fade sighed but smiled, entering her room to stuff her blanket into the big bag as well. She then went to her desk to grab a bag and stuff it in her pockets before following Neon's already fading footsteps.

Neon was waiting impatiently by the entrance, darting left and right and exploring the undergrowth.

"I thought you wouldn't be so energetic after just waking up," Fade said as she started walking, Neon following her.

"I'm excited!" Neon protested. "It's my Valentine's gift, so I want to know where we're going and why you've got that big bag with you."

"We're going up," Fade said with a smile, enjoying the impatience and burning curiosity from Neon that came with withholding information from her.

"I can tell," Neon grumbled with a roll of her eyes.

The two walked up a rough trail on the forested mountains, the trail made by Skye and her pets when she walked them. Fade, too, often took the trail as well to clear her mind and be away from people when she needed to. That was how she had found her friends, and after that visited it often. Fade wouldn't be surprised if other agents explored the nature around them too.

"Don't worry, the walk will only take around ten minutes," she said. "But you'll have to be quiet when I tell you to, otherwise we'll scare them off."

Seemingly momentarily satisfied with the bit of information provided, Neon calmed down and nodded. Instead, she asked about Fade's day and the two caught up with the happenings around base and missions.

As they approached a thicket of trees, clustered far more tightly than the other trees around them, Fade leaned down and whispered "Alright, stay here and be quiet now. They're easily startled."

Neon obeyed, Fade setting the bag down on a flat rock as she slowly approached their den. The entrance was hidden at the edge of the thicket, under a mixed pile of branches and leaves and rocks of all shapes and sizes. It looked just like the rest of the forest, but Fade had come several times and could recognise it.

"Hey," she called softly, gently, hoping her friends weren't out hunting. That would ruin her plans.

To Fade's absolute relief, the branches started rustling and a brown, white, and black calico cat with vibrant blue eyes peered out. Fade slowly grabbed the bag she had put in her pocket, filled with cat food, and took a treat out to offer to it.

The cat meowed and fully left its camouflaged home, reaching forward to accept the offered treat. As it delicately picked the treat from her outstretched hand, Fade heard Neon gasp and couldn't help her smile.

She turned to her girlfriend and said in a low voice "I think you can come closer, but slowly. She don't seem to mind your smell or presence, but I don't want to scare her away. I've been visiting them for some time now, so they trust me a lot."

Neon nodded and crept forwards, leaving the bag on the rock as she stepped softly and slowly.

As Fade returned her attention to the calico cat, she was taken by surprise when she found more cats had exited the den and were staring expectantly up at her. There were brown cats, grey cats, striped cats, all different ages and sizes. Neon giggled at the sudden invasion of cats, and Fade smiled too as she took a few treats out and held her hand out again.

The cats crowded closer to eat from her hand, something Fade still revelled in even to this day. It was hard to get street cats in Turkey to eat from her hand, and the fact that she'd befriended these wild cats with so many more dangers to be wary of gave her a sense of joy and satisfaction.

The fact that she could feel their soft whiskers tickling her hand and wrist as they ate, could feel their soft fur brushing past her skin as they grabbed the treats, was still surreal and amazing to her.

However, the cats backed off as soon as Neon approached, clearly wary of the newcomer.

"Come on," Fade encouraged, giving her the bag of treats. "You can feed them. It'll help build trust. Just keep your actions slow and consistent, no sudden moves, and you probably won't scare them."

"They're so cute," Neon whispered reverently as she took the bag. Fade could see it took all of her self control to resist dashing forwards and hugging them. Neon was just that kind of person, jumping forwards at the first opportunity to give someone physical attention.

"Don't give them too much, please," Fade added as Neon squatted down and took a few treats out in her palm, holding it forwards and still like how Fade had done. "I don't have an unlimited supply of these."

The cats stared at Neon's hand, hesitant. Neon was surprisingly patient and didn't move, staying still and giving the cats the time they needed. Slowly, the calico cat inched forwards until it was just out of Neon's reach.

Fade watched on silently, holding her breath, feeling unusually tense as she waited for the cat to make its move. She really hoped her presence and Neon's gentleness would coax it into taking the treat, because she didn't want this part of the trip to be a disappointment to her girlfriend.

Too late, Fade realised she probably should've thought of that beforehand.

But to Fade's absolute relief, the calico cat took the initiative and stepped into Neon's range, slowly approaching.

When Neon still didn't make a move, the cat finally leaned down and carefully licked the treat up, eyes still on Neon.

"Hey there," Neon whispered as the other cats followed the calico, all eating out of Neon's hand as well.

"Fade, Fade, Fade," Neon called softly in barely contained delight, wide eyed with excitement as the cats took turns licking the treats from her hand. "Look at them, they're eating from my hand! I can feel their fur! It's so soft!"

"I'm jealous," Fade chuckled as Neon hyperfixated on the cats. "It took me months for them to do that, and they've warmed up to you almost immediately."

"I'm just more likeable," Neon said, turning around to grin at her.

Fade huffed a laugh. "Whatever," she said, slowly approaching again. She squatted down next to Neon, admiring the cats up close.

"Can you pet them?" Neon asked as the cats milled around them, a brown tabby starting to clean itself a bit away.

"I tried once, but they weren't willing," Fade shrugged. "They choose when to touch you, we don't choose when to touch them."

"Aww," Neon said, but didn't seem too disappointed. Instead, she stood up and headed back to where Fade left her bag.

Fade followed as she sat there, watching the cats from a distance.

"They're so cute, though," Neon gushed. "Look at those two, they're playfighting! And that grey cat is just like you," Neon giggled. "It's so moody, sitting by itself."

Fade followed Neon's gaze to where a grey cat with black ear tips lay down by itself a bit away from the others, tail idly flicking as it watched two young kittens playfight with sheathed claws and soft bites.

"How did you find them?" Neon asked. "I didn't know you even left base often. I always assumed you were in your room."

"I used to go out a lot at first because I needed to get away from everyone else," Fade admitted. "Obviously, not a lot of people would come looking for me so I had a lot of freedom in that regard. Later on, I went out when I needed to clear my mind. I don't go out often, anymore."

"Can we come back some time?" Neon asked.

Fade glanced up at the mention of time, realising that they had to get going.

"Of course," she said, standing up and brushing the dirt from her trousers. "But there's something else I want to show you. We'll have to get moving if we want to catch it."

Neon's eyes seemed to sparkle at the idea of another surprise, and she immediately hopped to her feet. "Where are we going now?" she asked as Fade picked her bag back up.

Fade smiled at her. "You'll see," she said coyly.

Neon gave her a half hearted glare, gently slapping her arm, although the Filipino couldn't hide her smile. "What's up with you and hiding everything from me?"

"Come on, don't you like surprises?" Fade laughed as she dodged more attacks, starting to walk further up. The trees grew much more sparsely here, the grassy floor giving way to hard rocks and pebbles as the path became much steeper. This walk wouldn't be as long, but the steep slope would slow them down. Coupled with the fact that she was also lugging a rather heavy bag, Fade got a bit anxious they might not make it in time and started to speed up.

"Well, yes," Neon said. "But I also want to know!"

The electric agent bounded up, following closely behind Fade.

"This walk is a lot shorter," Fade said as she led the way, brushing past patches of hardy undergrowth and finding steady footholds amongst loose rocks.

They hiked up for a few more minutes until they arrived at a small, flat piece of ground, a little cliff that overlooked the forest and ocean. There were a few bushes and strands of tough grass growing here and there, but otherwise it was all bare rock below them.

Behind them was the path they had taken, still leading further up, following around the base of another cliff higher up that was much harder to reach. That outcrop loomed away from them, facing north, while the smaller one that had stopped at faced west.

"Come here," Fade said as she rummaged in her bag, taking out the towel. She spread it out on the floor, making it less painful to sit on, and took a seat, patting the area to her right as an invitation for Neon to follow suit.

Her girlfriend did just that, staring out into the ocean. It was still a bit early, but the view was still stunning. The sun was setting, casting its reddish orange light over the sky and tinting the side of the clouds facing it a flaming red. The large expanse of ocean slightly reflected the sun's light, a small triangle of water turning red while the rest was still a beautifully deep blue.

"Wow," Neon finally managed, staring back at the slowly descending flaming eye that gave Earth its light. "It's so beautiful, Fade. It's wonderful, it's perfect. I love this gift."

"It's more impressive a bit later on," Fade said, feeling a bit awkward and embarrassed at how much praise Neon was lauding onto her.

"I can wait," Neon instantly replied, shuffling closer so she could rest her head on Fade's shoulder.

Fade couldn't resist her smile at the affectionate gesture, reaching out with her right arm to wrap around Neon's shoulder in a hug.

It was peaceful, a beautiful sight coupled with gentle silence occasionally disturbed by the quiet rustle of leaves, the occasional snort of a wild animal, and the whistling of a soft breeze.

As the sun slowly slid down, its warmth left alongside its light and the breeze started to pick up. With how close they were, Fade easily picked up on the way Neon slightly shivered, and was glad she'd prepared for this.

Digging into her bag, Fade found her blanket and took it out, wrapping it like a tight cocoon around her and Neon.

"Good?" she asked as Neon snuggled closer to her.

"Yeah," Neon answered.

They watched the sun set, now a blazing red as it set fire to the ocean and painted the sky a deep orange colour. The clouds were no longer partially red but took the full force of the sun's dying rays, turning a beautiful orange colour.

They watched as the ocean started to swallow the burning ball of flame, the sun disappearing beneath the horizon.

"You know," Neon murmured, breaking the silence. "It's kind of weird to think that, somewhere, the sun is rising while it's setting for us. Like, the sun isn't falling off the planet, but the planet is just...behind itself, you know?"

Fade chuckled. "You're getting a bit deep there, but yes, I do know. It is pretty strange to wrap my head around."

They sat in silence together, basking in each others' presence.

It had been a fairly quiet day for Fade as she had no missions, but she always valued silence and time with her loved ones so currently everything felt perfect for her. As for Neon, Fade had noticed that she preferred being lethargic and to cuddle in silence after a difficult mission, so she hoped this part of the trip could fulfill that need.

But just to check, Fade asked "What do you think? Of the whole trip."

"I love it," Neon immediately answered, turning her head so her chin was resting on Fade's shoulder and they were looking straight at each other. "The cats were so cute and this view is amazing. I love it, Fade. Thank you."

Fade relaxed. "Of course," she said. "How could I not give a gift back?"

"Were you planning this for a long time?" Neon asked. "It feels like there's no way you got this all together within two days."

"Well, I always wanted to take you up here one day," Fade said. "So I had it partially planned out, but I had to figure the smaller details out."

At that moment, Neon's stomach grumbled accusingly loudly.

Fade laughed out at the abrupt and embarrassed turn of Neon's head and the clutch at her stomach in an attempt to shut it up.

"I also planned that," she added, reaching into her bag again to take the sandwiches out. "You should've mentioned you're hungry."

"I didn't want to cut the trip short," Neon protested, gratefully accepting a chicken sandwich. Fade watched as she bit into it, hoping it tasted fine. While she had faith in her brownie baking skills, she honestly believed it was the only hot thing she could make without setting at least three different things on fire. In theory, sandwiches should be impossible to mess up unless the ingredients were messed up, right?

To Fade's relief, Neon hummed in delight and almost immediately took another bite.

As soon as she swallowed that, Neon turned to her and asked "Did you make these?"

Fade nodded, unsure what the question was supposed to mean. Was Neon asking so she knew not to insult Fade because the sandwich was bad?

"It's really good," Neon said happily, taking another bite. "I thought you said you couldn't cook," she added through her mouthful.

"Making sandwiches doesn't require me to cook," Fade murmured, looking down, shy in the face of the sudden appreciation for something she shouldn't be credited for.

Neon just shrugged and took another bite.

Fade chose a sandwich for herself as glittering stars started to show more clearly in the slowly darkening sky.

"Do you know much astronomy?" Neon asked.

"No," Fade admitted. "I know the North Star is supposed to be very bright, but that's about it. Oh, and I'm pretty sure your name means 'star'."

"It does!" Neon exclaimed, sounding proud and excited at the same time. "What does your name mean?"

Fade shrugged, looking down and smiling a bit in embarrassment. "Kind of like 'autumn leaf'," she said.

Neon hummed as she ate her sandwich, swallowing before she said "I like that name. It's gentle, like you."

Fade snorted at that. "I wouldn't describe myself as gentle to most people," she said.

They talked together about anything that came to mind, kept warm by the blanket and each others' heat, full by the sandwiches Fade had made, and entertained by each other and the view.

Fade couldn't keep still, though, occasionally glancing left and right and behind. Where was it? She was pretty sure it was supposed to be there by now, but she still couldn't see it. Had she made a mistake?

Despite the trip already being a large success and Neon not even knowing about this part, Fade couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. It had always been something she secretly confided to on lonely nights, staring up at it and relieving her thoughts and frustrations to it—although that was something she'd never reveal to anyone else.

"What are you looking for?" Neon asked, easily picking up on her movements with how frequently she was looking around.

Fade briefly debated whether she should keep quiet and keep the moment happy or tell Neon and potentially make her upset. Well, the answer was obvious to her. Fade didn't think she was even capable of lying to Neon.

"The moon is supposed to come out soon," she said. "It just so happens it's a full moon tonight."

"We can wait for it," Neon said easily, resting her head on Fade's shoulder. "I like it here a lot. It's peaceful and easy to relax, especially with you here."

"I'm glad," Fade replied honestly, pulling the blanket tighter around Neon's form. It had shifted slightly when Neon had moved, and Fade didn't want her to be cold.

"How can I not describe you as gentle when you do that?" Neon asked teasingly.

"Hmm, I'm feeling a bit stuffy in this blanket," Fade nonchalantly commented.

"No, don't!" Neon gasped, grabbing Fade's hands as they gripped the blanket, stopping her from moving.

Fade chuckled at her panic. "Want a brownie?" she instead asked.

With the way Neon's eyes lit up, Fade almost believed she'd just activated her powers. "Did you bake them today, too?" she asked.

"Well, I did bake them," Fade said as she rummaged through the bag. "But I did it yesterday. I think they should still be fine, though. I put cling wrap all around it."

Finding the box, Fade took them out and took the lid off. The brownies were cut into small squares, something Fade had done the day before so they wouldn't have to break bits off.

Fade's eyes immediately zeroed in on how a row and a half of the brownies were already gone, the cling wrap messily replaced and even torn in some places.

"Who-" she began, but was unable to finish her sentence out of embarrassment and annoyance.

Neon giggled. "I'm assuming you weren't the one that ate some, then?" she asked. Fade was vaguely glad her girlfriend wasn't as upset over this as she was.

"No!" Fade flushed. "Breach literally said he stopped basically half the protocol from eating them. Who got to them?"

"Well, that means they're good, right?" Neon asked, managing to stop her laughter as she reached out to take out.

Fade shrugged, not willing to tell Neon something was good when 'good' was purely subjective.

"You should probably try it to find out," she instead said. She just hoped it wasn't ants or rats that got to the food, as that would probably result in the both of them having terrible stomachaches by the end of the trip.

Still, with how the cling wrap had been replaced instead of left aside, Fade fully believed it had been someone from the Protocol that had snuck them. Yoru, maybe? He could probably easily get past Breach with his mask. She resolved to give him a piece of her mind later.

Neon bit into brownie without hesitation. Her eyes widened as soon as she did, a small smile forming on her face as she chewed. Fade smiled too at that, satisfied her brownies were still good and preemptively congratulating herself.

Then Neon looked at her with hard brown eyes. "Fade," she said seriously.

Fade's relief almost immediately dissipated. "...Is it not good?" she asked, a tad anxiously, eyes briefly darting down to the box before going back to Neon. Was it actually ants that had gotten into them? She was almost compelled to give the box a closer check when Neon spoke up again.

"What?" she asked, eyes softening with confusion. "No, Fade, I was going to say, you really have to stop lying about not being able to cook," Neon exclaimed, looking horrified at the idea that Fade thought the brownies weren't good. "You baked that flatbread for me that time a long time ago and these brownies are amazing. I don't get where being unable to cook comes from."

Fade had nearly forgotten about the bazlama she practically had to force Neon to eat. "Well, the bazlama isn't hard to make," she protested. "You just make a dough and heat it over a pan. The ingredients are whatever, they can be anything. I just added a bunch of stuff that didn't need to be cooked."

"So you can cook!" Neon insisted triumphantly.

"Only some things," Fade argued back. "Anyhow, this isn't about my ability to cook. Want another brownie?"

Neon gave her a hard stare as if to show she still wasn't convinced, but said "Yes, please."

Fade handed her the box of brownies, letting Neon pick one before she selected one for herself too.

As she devoured the brownie, Fade really had to admit whatever recipe she'd learnt long ago was a really good recipe. The brownie was just as good as she remembered despite also being simple enough for her to pull it off.

"Fade, Fade!" Neon called excitedly, tugging at her arm, drawing Fade's attention to her.

Neon was pointing up at the sky with her other hand, to their left. "The moon is rising! It looks so pretty!" she exclaimed.

Fade followed her gaze and saw the moon peeking over the side of the volcano, glowing white and looking ephemeral in the halo of its light.

"It does look very beautiful," she agreed, resting her head on Neon's shoulder in a moment of pure relaxation and uninhibition.

This peace and beauty was something Fade was enjoying a lot, especially because her life had consisted mostly of violence and deception. She'd never really had the time nor safety to enjoy the finer parts of life, like stargazing or dates like these.

It gave her a sense of normalcy, a reminder of the 'normal' life the average citizen would lead. Without reminders like these, Fade wasn't sure if she'd even remember or know how to live life outside bounty hunting or fighting to save the world.

Fade wasn't sure how long they stayed there, comfortably wrapped up in the blanket as they idly talked, tried to name the stars, or simply basked in each other's presence. It was only when they finally returned to base did she find out it was already 10pm.

"I'm going to put the brownies back in the fridge," Fade told Neon as they stopped at the dining area. "We can have them tomorrow or share them with the rest of the Protocol. Can you take the dirty stuff to the laundry?"

"Yeah. Can we sleep together tonight?" Neon asked, making puppy dog eyes.

Fade smiled affectionately at the gesture and nodded. "Of course," she said.

Neon's face lit up at that and she dashed away, bag flying behind her almost horizontally with how fast she was running.

"Hey, Fade, did I hear you say you still have some brownies?" someone asked, sounding way too eager for someone that hadn't tried her brownies before. "Can I have some?"

Fade turned to the speaker, Breach, peering from the common area with hopeful eyes.

"Why are you so excited about them?" Fade asked a bit suspiciously, an idea starting to form in her mind as she looked down at the box. "And do you know anything about the missing brownies?"

Breach had stopped many of the agents from eating the brownies, yet they still went missing. The completely torn cling wrap would be an impressive feat for anyone without uncontrollably powerful metal hands to achieve unintentionally. And Breach had been suspiciously friendly with her earlier, as if he wanted to stay on her good side. Or maybe he just wanted her to share her brownie recipe. Either way, Fade was pretty sure she knew what had happened now.

"Ha, good question," Breach grinned. "I told you I stopped everyone else from eating them, but I never said anything about myself! They're damn good brownies, and I wasn't about to let someone else eat them all."

Breach approached them, nearly knocking Fade over with the force of his metal arms as he clapped her on the shoulder. "You know, with you having information gathering as your whole job and all, I thought you'd have figured it out immediately. Turns out you didn't, which is better for me!"

The Swede laughed again, and Fade sighed. Partly because she admitted she really should have been able to figure it out sooner, but also because Breach was just really unapologetically annoying. Still, it was better for him to be friendly and annoying than hostile and aggressive.

"Alright, whatever, just take a brownie," she said.

"Heh, thanks!" Breach said eagerly, taking a handful out. It was quite a big handful, too, considering his bionic arms were huge. Fade held back another sigh, replacing the cling wrap and snapping the box shut before putting it in the fridge. She didn't need a label this time, since she wanted to make them free for anyone to take.

"Enjoy your brownies," she said, a tad reluctantly, but nevertheless honestly. She went straight for the dorms, internally as eager as Neon at the idea of cuddling each other to sleep.