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Iso hasn’t slept in his own bed in a week. He’s not complaining in the slightest––he sleeps better here with Gekko on his chest, breathing rhythmically with his arm draped over Iso’s waist, and prefers waking up to the bright colors of Gekko’s room over his own. Gekko’s sheets are soft and smell like him and Iso clutches onto the warmth of Gekko’s body, swallowing the comfort. He would retreat back to his own bedroom if Gekko ever asked, but Gekko never does. In fact, it’s usually him who’s sleepily tugging at Iso’s hoodie at night, pleading for him to sleep over. Of course, Iso obliges.
Ever since starting their relationship a few months ago, Iso finds great enjoyment in these kinds of soft, simple comforts––Iso resting his hand on Gekko’s knee at team dinners and Gekko sliding his fingers in between Iso’s, Gekko and Iso going out for late afternoon boba and sharing sips of their drinks, and Gekko burying his face in the crook of Iso’s neck when his head is pounding and he needs a moment to ground himself. Gekko feels like a home for Iso, a shelter of joy and contentment. In the endless everyday chaos of the Protocol, Gekko is a beacon of peace. Simple, meaningful pleasures.
Iso is the first to wake up this morning, squinting at the sunrise scene of East Los Angeles on the wall on the screen (they don’t have windows in their rooms, but Gekko likes to simulate daylight with his screen, modifying it so it’s responsive to the current time—Los Angeles is open, blue skies in the day and twinkling city lights in the night). Gekko is still sleeping soundly, his head on Iso’s chest and his arm tucked against Iso’s side. Iso wants to brush his hand over Gekko’s hair and kiss his forehead gently, but he doesn’t want to wake him, so he doesn’t. He’s content to lie awake here for as long as it takes for Gekko to stir and finally open his eyes.
He watches Gekko’s eyelids twitch, lost in a dreamscape, and hears the familiar chitter of Wingman in the corner of the room. Gekko has little beds for all of his creatures in his room, wanting to give them space in the real world to roam around if they don’t feel like sitting in his satchel all the time, and they’re always well behaved during the night, Iso has found. But today, Wingman wakes up and decides to climb onto the bed, perking up when he sees Iso is awake. Iso gives him a smile and Wingman chirps in response (Iso can only guess it’s a greeting).
Iso doesn’t know if he will ever understand what Gekko’s creatures really think about him. They were a bit wary of him at first—they’re protective of Gekko and want to keep him safe. To them, Iso was a stranger and, therefore, a possible threat. But, as Iso and Gekko got to know one another, his creatures grew familiar with Iso and, perhaps sensing Gekko’s affection for him, figured it was alright for them to get comfortable as well. Dizzy started to curl up in Iso’s lap during movie nights, Wingman began greeting Iso with a wave and an amicable gurgle, and even Mosh seemed happy to sit on Iso’s shoulder if Gekko needed to leave him with someone for a second. (He still has yet to form any kind of bond with Thrash, who appears to prefer to remain in Gekko’s satchel for the most part. She’s mysterious.)
But Iso as a friend of Gekko’s is one thing. Iso as a romantic partner is something else entirely. Suddenly, Iso is glued to Gekko’s side, stealing his attention and time. He’s taking Gekko out for what could be considered dates (he and Gekko have never really officially called them anything, turned off by the formality of it all) at ramen shops when they’re in Tokyo or gelaterias when they’re in Venice, then he’s sleeping over almost every night, and then he’s making Gekko chuckle and hide his creatures away in his satchel to give them more privacy before sliding his hands under Gekko’s shirt. Iso became a new constant in Gekko’s life and, therefore, the lives of his creatures.
Iso has inquired once about what Gekko’s creatures think of him, and Gekko insisted that they like him. But, then again, Iso knows that Gekko sometimes filters what his creatures really say about his teammates to spare the agents’ feelings. Maybe Iso is wasting too much mental energy on what Gekko’s little crew think of him. Then again, he understands how important they are to Gekko. Not only that, the four of them are bonded to him in some inexplicable way—they quite literally cannot be separated. Gekko is not Gekko without his crew. Iso thinks it’s endearing.
Wingman glances at a still-asleep Gekko and makes another noise, this time sounding disappointed. He waddles closer to his body and nudges Gekko’s back with his hands (are they hands?). Iso furrows his eyebrows, wondering where the urgency is coming from, before stark realization hits him.
Shit. They have a meeting.
Iso reaches for his phone on the nightstand. Ten minutes late already. He glances back at Wingman, who’s looking at him with something that could be exasperation. Smart one, that Wingman. Good memory.
Iso tries to sit up slowly, hoping his movement with jostle Gekko awake gently. But, when Gekko doesn’t stir, he places a hand on his shoulder and shakes him.
“Mateo,” Iso murmurs, slightly surprised at the sleepy grumble of his own voice. “Mateo, we have to get up.”
Gekko’s eyebrows pinch in displeasure and he groans, curling up tighter against Iso.
“We have a meeting, remember?” Iso tries again. “A brief?”
At this, Gekko’s eyes slowly open, squinting up at Iso. He drags a hand over his face.
“What?” he mutters, disoriented.
“Brief meeting with the team. Nine AM. Brim reminded us last night,” Iso tells him, hoping Gekko will absorb the short bits of information. “It’s ten past nine. We’re late.”
This seems to send enough panic into Gekko’s body to have his eyes fly open. He sits up suddenly.
“Late?” He groans. “Brim’s gonna be on my ass. This is like the fourth time I haven’t been on time.”
Iso chuckles and uses a hand to nudge Gekko close enough to place a kiss on the crown of his head. “I know.”
They make it to the meeting room eighteen minutes late, watching the way all of the agents turn to them at their entrance. Iso knows his hair is disheveled and is slightly jealous that Gekko doesn’t have that problem with his short buzzcut, but they’re both far from formally dressed—Iso’s still in his pajama pants, choosing just to throw on his hoodie. Gekko gives the team an awkward wave.
“Well, look who finally was able to join us,” Yoru comments with a smirk, twirling his butterfly comb. “Were we cutting into your date time? How gracious of you to make an exception.”
Jett rolls her eyes. “Lay off, Yoru,” she says, just as Iso was about to say something much more harsh. “They weren’t that late.”
“Ah, if we are all expected to be here in a timely manner, I see no reason for their exception,” Chamber supplies, looking as uninterested as ever.
“Alright, everyone,” Killjoy interrupts, hands in the air. “Enough nonsense, we have a brief to get through. Brimstone?”
Brimstone, in the center of the room with hologram screens in front of his vision, displaying a map of the Earth with blinking red dots on their familiar notable sites, clears his throat.
“Our counterparts are moving and they’re moving in quick. We have word of three planned attacks in the next few days—looks like they’re either desperate or they’re trying to spread us thin. Either way, we won’t let them. Luckily for us, we’ve got the resources. I’ve got three teams planned for each site. Listen closely now.” Brimstone changes the hologram screen to display the profile pictures of each person on his three teams. “Omen, Reyna, Chamber, Skye, and Sova on Icebox; Deadlock, Clove, Jett, Fade, and Killjoy on Ascent; and Viper, Cypher, Yoru, Gekko, and Iso on Haven. Everyone understand?”
Clove puts their hand to their forehead in a salute. “Aye, aye, Captain!” they chirp with all the enthusiasm of a new recruit, though maybe it's just their natural eagerness. “When do we leave?”
“I’ll get into the briefs for each mission in a moment. First—”
“Monsieur, if I may,” Chamber begins, though he’s already given himself permission to speak. “Might I suggest my own relocation? It has been a while since I’ve seen Italy—I much prefer it over yet another mission in that terribly cold island.”
Brimstone folds his arms over his chest. “Chamber, I don’t pick teams based on your vacation preferences—”
“While we’re making requests,” Viper chimes in. “Can we split up the lovebirds for once? I believe we’re running the risk of their misplaced priorities when it comes to completing the mission.”
Iso frowns. He glances at Gekko, who’s already looking at him with an expression of equal confusion.
“Uh, what’s that supposed to mean?” Gekko questions, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t take offense, Gekko,” Viper tells him, unconcerned. “It’s a matter of logistics.”
“Yeah, and how exactly am I mucking up your logistics?”
Viper turns back to Brimstone like she's trying to make an appeal to a judge. “I’m simply pointing out areas of concern. I think we’ve all seen Iso pay greater attention to Gekko’s wellbeing than the location of the enemies’ spike.”
At the mention of his name, Iso illuminates with annoyance. “You should mind your business, Viper.”
Viper glares at him. “The execution of our missions is my concern, Iso.”
“The missions are being executed. I don’t see the problem.”
“The problem is the fact that, a week ago, you let both me and Skye die drying to defuse the spike because you decided it was more important to coddle your boyfriend to make sure he didn’t get a paper cut on the other side of the site,” she spits.
Iso feels the spark of anger in him grow stronger. “The spike was defused, wasn’t it? Wingman had it under control while me and Gekko took out three enemies on our own. Again, I don’t see the problem. ”
Iso feels Gekko’s hand on his shoulder, likely trying to get him to back off, but Iso ignores it. Viper narrows her eyes at him.
“You don’t understand how to play with the team.”
“If I can hit my shots, it doesn’t really matter.”
“It’s not all about hitting shots. Your ego is going to get a whole city blown to smithereens.”
“I get the job done,” Iso insists. “Whether you like my style or not, at the end of the day, the enemies are dead and it’s because I know how to shoot.”
Viper scowls. “You arrogant prick—”
“Enough,” Brimstone demands, effectively cutting her off. “You are allies, you both have the same goal. Enough childish bickering.”
Viper gives a displeased huff, crossing her arms. “There’s a reason we had a rule against fraternization in the first place, Brim. I urge you to remind yourself of its risks.”
“I said enough, Viper,” Brimstone says. “I stand by my teams. Will you let me get into the briefs finally?”
Viper says nothing.
Chamber raises his hand. “I believe we weren’t finished discussing my matter—”
“No,” Brimstone says curtly.
He finally gets into his briefs, falling into a long ramble of different situations. Gekko squeezes Iso’s shoulder and gives him a look of gentle assurance. Iso wraps an arm around him and pulls him against his side.
After Brimstone’s extensive and formal briefs, he dismisses the agents from the meeting, allowing them to go on with their day. Iso turns, eager to leave, but hears Killjoy calling his name, stopping him in his tracks. She’s waving him over from across the room. Gekko raises an eyebrow at Iso but Iso tells him he’ll catch up with him in a moment and approaches Killjoy.
“Iso,” she begins with a smile. “Might I have a word?”
“What is it?”
She cocks her head to one direction. “Come with me to my office.”
When they reach Killjoy’s office, a room packed with humming gadgets and tools to tinker with them, Killjoy crosses her arms and looks at Iso with an expression he can’t quite read.
“Listen,” she begins. “About your little argument back there—”
Iso rolls his eyes. “I said all I had to say.”
She chuckles. “I’m not here to reprimand you or to argue with you. I just want to offer you some…perspective, if you will, on the topic.”
Iso raises an eyebrow. Killjoy smiles.
“Iso, do you know why we disallowed fraternization within the Protocol in the past?” she poses.
“Paperwork?”
“No,” she says, with a laugh. “It was out of concern that, if agents were to form close relationships, they would be inclined to prioritize that relationship over the objective of the missions. Someone might jeopardize the rest of the team because they value the life of one agent more than the others. It was important that everyone worked as a unit, all with the same goal.”
Iso can’t help himself: “I do have the same goal.”
Killjoy puts her hands up. “I’m not saying you don’t. Sheesh, so defensive. Just listen for a moment.” She continues: “As you know, the Protocol later decided to drop that rule and trust the agents to be adults about the matter. They were a bit wary at first, however, as it turns out, this rule wasn’t what was stopping the agents from getting romantically involved. Rather, it was themselves—they didn’t want relationships. What the majority of them suspected, or discovered after they made some attempts at relationships—and, yes, we did have some short-lived couples who were testing out the waters only to break things off after about a month—was that romance in our line of work is particularly complicated and taxing on the individuals involved. You can believe me on this, I’m speaking from experience. I understand how difficult it is to watch your loved one throw themselves into danger and be expected not to focus all of your efforts to help them. The care I have for all of my teammates’ wellbeing is real and true, but what I feel toward Raze is something much stronger and always demands my attention. Having your emotions become a variable in the missions is not something that is very kind to you. Raze and I used to fight quite a bit in the beginning when tensions got high and our missions would bleed into our personal lives. It can get complicated.
“But time went on, we got more used to making the two work together, we talked things out, and now we’re able to balance our personal relationship with the danger of the work we do. Figuring out our priorities and understanding them made it much easier to compartmentalize our strong feelings. I learned to trust Raze on the field—she can hold herself very well, after all—and, if things do go wrong, I learned how to stay calm and not let my personal attachments sabotage her or the rest of the team or the initial mission. Romance and the Protocol do not naturally cooperate. You have to make them cooperate.
“Viper wants you to fix your priorities because she’s concerned about the missions, and that concern is not entirely baseless. I wouldn’t hold that against her. But I’m also here to tell you that working out how to balance your relationship and your work will do you a lot of good. And Gekko. I’m not discouraging you from this relationship, I’m just encouraging you to figure out how it fits in your life. Gekko and you are both agents, which makes your relationship particularly difficult and nuanced. Understand the nuances. Learn how to work with them. Find your balance. It will help the both of you, and it will help the team. Yes?”
Iso lets out a steady exhale, absorbing her story and finding, for once, that he doesn’t want to give a lengthy, dismissive response. Her sentiments reach him. He nods. “I understand.”
“Good,” she says, smiling. “Just some food for thought. I trust you to get the mission done. You have a great success rate. Keep it up.”
—
After the meeting, Iso returns to Gekko’s room, finally having the time to get properly dressed in the clothes he abandoned on Gekko’s floor the previous night. He tugs his hoodie over his head, ready to replace it with his shirt, but he feels warm hands rest against the small of his back and slide around to his waist. A kiss against the back of his neck. He smiles. Gekko rests his chin on Iso’s shoulder.
“D’you want one of my shirts?” Gekko asks, his breath tickling the side of Iso’s face.
Iso chuckles and turns his head to kiss Gekko’s forehead. “I wouldn’t mind a clean shirt.”
Gekko obliges happily and moves to fetch Iso a plain shirt from his wardrobe. He hands it to Iso and, as Iso slips it on (he’s delighted at how it smells like Gekko’s detergent), Gekko watches him with a look of consideration on his face, like he’s stuck in thought.
“What is it?” Iso asks.
Gekko shakes his head lightly, rejecting the thought. But then, he takes a breath in and furrows his eyebrows.
“Do you think the rest of the team thinks our relationship is a liability?” he poses. “Or is it just Viper?”
Iso raises an eyebrow. “Does it matter?”
“I guess not,” Gekko concedes with a weak shrug. “Just wondering.”
“It sounds more like you’re worrying.” Iso reaches to grab Gekko’s face in his hands and kisses his forehead as some consolation. “We know what we’re doing. We’re good. Our relationship is no hindrance.”
Gekko gives a soft laugh. “You sure you’re not skewing your priorities?”
“Toward you?” Iso hums, contemplating. “They’re always skewed toward you. I’m just good enough to be able to get the job done anyway.”
Gekko rolls his eyes. “Cálmate, hot shot. Gonna let your big mouth get ahead of you.”
Iso smirks. “I thought you liked my big mouth.”
“That is not what I meant.”
“It’s what I heard.”
“It’s what you’re always hearing––”
Iso cuts him off by swiftly wrapping his arms around Gekko’s middle and lifting him up to toss him onto his bed. Gekko lands with a surprised yelp, bouncing slightly on the mattress. Iso doesn’t let him say a word before climbing onto the bed and pressing his lips against Gekko’s. Gekko’s laugh is stifled but he responds, kissing back with equal fervor. He lets Iso pull him into his laps, straddling Iso’s hips with his knees and sitting down against his thighs and crotch. Iso’s hands slide up Gekko’s back, under his shirt, immediately, craving the simple feeling of Gekko’s warm, bare skin. Gekko wraps an arm around Iso’s neck and falls into the kiss.
Iso never gets tired of this. Even after all these months, the feeling of Gekko’s mouth on his is still as electrifying as the first time he felt it. Gekko kisses with a beautiful tenderness, like each second is precious to him. He’s so full of love and it bleeds through everything he does. Iso indulges him, of course, and doesn’t rush these moments. He’d be more than happy to drown in Gekko, but he’s just as happy to take this slow and memorize each sensation for the rest of his life––the comfortable weight of Gekko’s body on him, the way Gekko makes small noises of satisfaction against his lips, and the placating smell of Gekko that swims in Iso’s senses.
He’d give anything to keep having these moments.
—
The Thimphu site is unique from the other mission sites Iso is familiar with for a few reasons. Aesthetic-wise, its buildings ooze of old history that’s slowly being overwritten by Kingdom’s influence. This was a monastery once upon a time, and Iso can still see that past in the flared roofs and gorgeous woodwork and golden spire, but its environment is crumbling and its rooms are now being used as simple radianite storage. It’s a shame to see it after it has lost its spirit, even more so to march through its grounds holding weapons of destruction.
It’s also unique because, with its massive amount of radianite, their enemies could plant a spike anywhere and reap the benefits. There’s much more ground to cover and defend and, with just five of them from the Protocol, they run the risk of spreading themselves thin. But Iso’s not worried.
But the main thing that makes this site difficult is that, right now, in Thimphu’s mid-summer monsoon season, it’s raining. It’s not a heavy rainfall, and, from Iso’s position underneath a balcony window, he’s shielded from the water, but the cloudy haze and rain lower visibility just a bit. Iso aims his gun ahead of him, waiting for an enemy to turn a corner and run right into his bullets, but finds no one. Pushed up into one of the hallway entrances onto this site is Gekko, deploying Wingman ahead of him to survey the area.
Barely a moment later, Gekko’s voice pours in through the earpiece: “One lobby, at least.”
Iso doesn’t miss a beat before conjuring his shield and walking forward.
“I’m pushing up,” Iso says simply, already reaching the corner of the long pathway, ready to peek into the lobby and catch whoever’s there.
“Wait!” Gekko calls hurriedly. “Don’t peek by yourself.”
“It’s fine,” Iso assures, confident.
“No, wait, let me send Dizzy at least—”
Iso doesn’t wait. He knows he’s fine. He can take the enemy out whether they’re blinded or not. It’s just a matter of who shoots first, and Iso always shoots first.
He rounds the corner, rifle aimed toward the lobby at head-level, ready to take out the loiterer that Wingman spotted. Visibility is limited by the rain—at least his shield protects him from getting wet—but not enough to hinder him. Only, there is no enemy. Lobby is empty.
“No one lobby,” Iso reports. “Must’ve backed up. I’ll find them.”
Iso continues moving forward down the pathway, intent on tracking the stray enemy down. They likely won’t expect his boldness, which gives him a good chance of catching them off-guard.
“Zhao—Iso, wait, please,” Gekko says, tense. “Can you stop going off by yourself?”
“Gekko’s right, Iso,” Viper agrees through his earpiece. “Stay on site.”
Iso narrows his eyes at her tone—mockingly authoritative. It’s like she’s speaking to a child who needs simple instruction, like she doesn’t trust Iso to make his own, correct judgements and decisions.
He doesn’t reply and keeps moving forward.
Viper, evidently seeing Iso’s unrelenting position on their tracker, sighs. “Iso,” she chides.
“I know what I’m doing,” he grits out.
If she responds, he doesn’t listen to it, because he turns the left corner to peek into the garden and all of his focus flies immediately to the area. His steps are slow and careful as he creeps further forward, rifle scanning each new sliver of space that’s revealed to him. When he fully enters the garden, he spots a Mirror Skye walking away from him. Sure enough, as he predicted, she isn’t expecting him. Her back is turned to him, and he has the perfect shot.
He fires a bullet into her head without a second breath. She drops to the ground with a groan.
Iso smirks. “Skye down,” he reports smoothly.
He doesn’t get to hear a response to his outright brag because shots are fired and Gekko’s voice is coming onto the earpiece:
“Fuck! Two here. On site. Pushed up through the link,” he spits out, his voice tight with unmistakable pain. “A Killjoy and one other. I hit Killjoy but she got away.”
Iso no longer wants to shove his victory down Viper’s throat. He rushes back towards the site he abandoned, concerned only with getting help to Gekko. More gunfire rings as he approaches, not bothering to quiet his footsteps.
“Two here as well,” Cypher reports from the complete opposite site. “They’re split up.”
Iso hears the rippling warp of Yoru’s teleportation and glances at his tracker to see him jump from the middle site to Cypher’s position, ready to help.
“Who has the spike?” Yoru poses.
They don’t know. The enemies are split on opposite sides, likely hoping to split the defense’s attention. And it’s working—with Gekko and Iso on one side, Cypher and Yoru on the other, and Viper heading toward them, their manpower is divided. If they find who’s holding a spike, they can find the real threat and refocus their attention.
But Iso can hardly care about the spike when he spots Gekko crouched under the window onsite, a hand pressing down on a wound on his thigh. His eyes meet Iso’s and his gaze darts quickly to his right, warning Iso of the enemies’ positions. Iso raises his rifle and Gekko weakly summons Dizzy and tosses her into the air to survey the area. She chirps when she spots the enemies and spurts blue to blind both of them. Iso takes his opportunity to rush onto the site and track down the enemies while their visibility is down, finding the Mirror Killjoy in the open, distracted as she tries to regain her sight. Iso shoots and kills her with ease.
He hurriedly scans the area, trying to find the second enemy before they shake off Dizzy’s blind, but finds no one else on sight. He quickly checks any corner they could be hiding behind but spots not even a glance of someone. How did they get away?
He wants to get back to Gekko and make sure he’s okay, but adrenaline is thrumming in his veins, begging for him to track down the missing enemy. They couldn’t have gone far—Iso might even be able to catch them off-guard. He’s moving forward before he even realizes it. He’s focused entirely on what’s in front of him, rifle raised and still, waiting for just a glimpse of someone he can take the shot at. He clears the area to the right, then to the left, irritated at the entire lack of anyone at all. Where could they have gone?
A gun fires and rings through the silence.
“Fuck!” It’s Gekko crying out, voice strained. “There’s a Yoru on me. On-site. I can’t—”
He cuts himself off as more bullets are fired. Fuck. It’s a Yoru—he teleported away without Iso even realizing. No wonder he couldn’t find him. He teleported back into the site and now he’s shooting at Gekko. Iso’s heart is beating hard as he turns back to help Gekko immediately.
He sends a prism wall before he gets the chance to get onto the site himself, hoping it can block some bullets that might be flying toward Gekko. When he finally peeks around the corner, he spots the Yoru behind the boxes of radianite. Iso fires immediately but realizes, just as his bullet hits Yoru in the head, that it’s a clone. A flash of blinding light casts itself across Iso’s vision as he curses. He rubs his eyes, hoping to shake off the blind quicker and only growing more stressed at the sound of gunfire around him. If only he could fucking see .
He feels a hand on his arm and his instincts yell at him to hit back. He swings the butt of his rifle blindly in the direction of whoever’s touching him but doesn’t come in contact.
“Christ, Zhao Yu, it’s me,” the familiar voice of Gekko exclaims.
Iso blinks as Yoru’s blind slowly fades and he finally regains his vision, seeing Gekko next to him, holding Iso’s rifle to keep it from hitting him. Iso breathes a sigh of relief. Gekko’s alive.
“He teleported away,” Gekko tells him, squeezing Iso’s arm.
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Iso says, exasperated. “I didn’t realize—are you okay?”
Gekko tries to give him a smile, but it’s half-hearted. Iso looks him up and down and spots the blood that’s staining the fabric of his pants on his right thigh.
“I’m fine,” Gekko weakly assures. “Just, y’know, can’t really walk.”
Iso’s arm flies to wrap around Gekko’s waist immediately, letting him rest the weight of his body against his. Gekko winces at first but sighs in slight relief.
“Iso, Gekko,” Vipers grits through the earpiece. “If you two don’t get your fucking asses over here, I will make you drink my poison myself. Cypher’s down, the spike is planted, and there’s three of them on us. What the fuck could you possibly be doing?”
“We’re coming, Viper, I promise,” Gekko responds, even if seems to take all the energy he has. Then, just to Iso, he says: “We gotta go.”
Iso frowns. “You can’t walk.”
“Then carry me,” Gekko tells him with a half-smile. “You’re big and strong.”
Iso sighs. “Alright, come on. Slowly. If it hurts, tell me.”
They move slowly indeed. Gekko limps along, clutching onto Iso, and Iso tries his hardest to take the pressure off of Gekko’s leg, but they make it to the other side eventually. Viper and Yoru are hiding behind the window to the garage, waiting as an enemy in the garage tries firing rounds through the walls to try and hit them.
“Finally,” Yoru says when he spots Gekko and Iso. He has his samurai mask in his hand. “Right. I’m going in. I’ll find their positions. Try not to die while I’m out there, yes?”
“Just get on with it,” Viper tells him.
Yoru smiles and slides his mask on, disappearing with a blue ripple in the air.
“Yoru in the garage,” he reports as he drifts through dimensions. “Alone.” A pause. “Jett by the logs.” Another pause. “And Brimstone’s hiding in the long cubby. I’ll take care of him. You deal with the rest.”
Viper reloads her gun. “Gekko. With me. Garage. Iso, you take Jett.”
“Viper, he can’t walk,” Iso argues.
“But his creatures can.” She raises an eyebrow at Gekko. “Yes?”
“It’s fine, I got this,” Gekko tells him, wiggling out of Iso’s grip and attempting to stand on his own. “I’m good. Go get that Jett.”
Iso hesitates but lets go of him. Gekko summons Dizzy from his satchel, ready to toss it out into the garage, and Iso conjures his shield.
Jett by the logs. He swings the corner, aiming at the logs, but she’s gone. A bullet comes at him from his right, shatters his shield, and he doesn't even take a breath before whipping around and hitting the Mirror Jett in the head just as she flies up in the air. Her body collapses onto the floor. Done.
“Jett’s down,” he reports.
“Brimstone, too,” Yoru responds and Iso catches a glimpse of Yoru standing over the Mirror Brimstone’s dead body in the long pathway. “Defuse, Iso.”
“Yoru teleported,” Viper warns. “He’s not in the garage. Watch your backs.”
Yoru scoffs. “Typical of me.”
Gekko and Viper emerge from the garage and Gekko summons Wingman, sending him waddling toward the spike to defuse while the rest of them keep an eye out for Yoru. Wingman hops onto the bomb excitedly and Iso checks behind him where he just came from, waiting to hear footsteps. He hates fighting Yoru precisely because of this—he’s too fucking slippery.
Bullets are fired near Yoru and when Iso turns to the noise, he catches the exact moment Yoru puts a bullet in his Mirror’s head. Mirror Yoru falls to the ground, dead. Yoru puts his gun down.
“Always nice to kick my own ass,” he says.
Wingman chirps. The spike clicks, collapsing in on itself, fully defused. Viper lets out a heavy sigh of relief, brushing her hair out of her face. Gekko grins at Wingman, who waddles back to him. Gekko pats Wingman on the head.
“Nice going, little man,” he praises.
“Good,” Viper says, always focused on business. “I’ll call for the VLT/R. Collect Cypher’s body, please. He’s in the corner there. It’ll be his third resurrection this month.”
—
Later that night, Iso steps out of Gekko’s shower, smelling like Gekko’s shampoo (he has his own, it just sits in his own shower, and he’s always too lazy to bring it over, opting instead just to use what Gekko has). The hot water did wonders to relax the tension in his muscles and, as he dries his hair, every second that passes is a second that Iso starts to forget the stress of the battlefield. He focuses on the present, grounding himself in the moment. He’s safe. Gekko is safe.
He exits the bathroom and into Gekko’s room, towel wrapped around his waist and his back still damp. Gekko’s lying on his bed, mindlessly playing some game on his phone. He showered earlier, so he’s dressed for sleep—loose t-shirt and underwear. He looks up when Iso enters the room and smiles.
“Need some clothes?” he asks.
Iso chuckles. “I’ll bring my own someday, I promise.”
“Mhm.” Gekko gets up to pick through his dresser. “But that would mean you would have to go all the way down the hall. It’s a treacherous journey.”
“If you want me to sleep in my own bed, just say so.”
“No,” Gekko says immediately. “That’s not what I’m saying. Don’t you dare.”
Iso laughs. “I could never. You’re such a good host.”
Gekko tosses a shirt and a pair of underwear of his on the bed. He settles back onto his bed and Iso gets dressed. At this rate, he’s going to be more familiar with the feeling of Gekko’s clothes than his own.
Gekko’s back on the game on his phone when Iso climbs onto the bed, slowly finding a seat on Gekko’s lap, straddling his hips. He places his hands on Gekko’s sides, thumbs teasing under the fabric of Gekko’s shirt and resting on his lower stomach.
“How’s your leg?” Iso asks.
“Well, you’re sitting on it, so ow.”
“Fuck.” Iso lifts himself off of Gekko. “I’m sorry.”
Gekko laughs. “I’m messing with you, it’s fine. Sage healed it. Good as new.”
Iso frowns and pokes a spot under Gekko’s ribs to see him flinch as punishment but he sits back down. “Not funny.”
“I thought it was.”
Gekko puts his phone down, giving Iso his full attention. He tugs at the hem of Iso’s shirt, urging him to lean down and, when Iso does, he connects their lips. It’s a soft, simple kiss, but it’s enough to make Iso hum in content. He pulls away briefly and then kisses him again. He’ll never get enough of the feeling.
But he has to find the self-control to not just commit himself to doing this forever, because he has something to say. He pulls away from Gekko, placing a hand on his chest.
“I’m sorry about today,” he tells him earnestly.
Gekko leans back and looks at him in confusion. “For what?”
“For leaving you to chase after the Yoru. I didn’t realize he teleported—it was stupid of me. I should’ve stayed with you and caught him before he shot you.”
“Oh.” Gekko brings a hand up to stroke Iso’s cheek. “It’s okay. I mean, I lived.”
“But you could’ve died.”
“But I didn’t.” Gekko gives a soft chuckle. “Honestly, amor, I’m more worried about you.”
Iso furrows his eyebrows. “Why me?”
“Well, you tend to, like, run off by yourself all the time. I know you’re good—you’re the best shot I’ve ever seen—but it still scares the shit out of me, you know?”
Iso considers him. “I’ve got it though.”
“Most of the time, sure,” Gekko allows. “But it would be easier—for all of us even—if you just let me help you sometimes. Dizzy works wonders on the field, you know. And Thrash. They can help you out. You don’t have to just chase after the enemies alone. You could’ve died trying to go after the Skye and then you’d be gone for the whole mission. Plus, that would really freak me the fuck out—please don’t ever fucking die again—”
“I know, I know,” Iso assures, still remembering the one time he died during a mission right in front of Gekko and, apparently, Gekko was shaking the whole flight back to headquarters and wouldn’t stop until Sage finally revived Iso. Gekko didn’t leave his side for three days.
“Do you see what I’m saying? Just—” he sighs— “be smart, okay? It’s not always worth it to throw yourself in the deep end. Especially when I can help you out. Let me help you. ”
Somehow, despite all the worrying Iso does for Gekko, it’s never occurred to him that Gekko could be concerned for him. It’s a novel concept to be the object of someone’s concern. Iso’s not used to having someone who actually gives a fuck whether or not he makes it out of things alive. He’s been operating solo for so long, in which the only person who would actually be affected if he died was himself, that he hardly even considered that his life could have meaning to someone else. But with the way Gekko is looking at him, eyes gleaming with fondness and affectionate hand on Iso’s cheek, how could he have not realized?
“Okay,” Iso says softly. “We’ll stick together, then. Help each other out.”
At that, Gekko beams. A bright, beautiful smile that makes Iso want to give him everything just to see it forever.
He extends a hand toward Iso. “Deal.”
Iso smiles and shakes his hand. Gekko uses their handshake to pull Iso back down into a firm kiss and Iso has no complaints. He thinks this might just be the balance he needs.