𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐘𝐀𝐑𝐃━︎━︎M. Hill ✓︎

𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
TOP PRIORITY

SAGE HAD NEVER FELT SO anxious in her life, the woman couldn't stop pacing back and forth, her phone held tightly in her hand with her jaw clenched as she glanced out her window like Maria was going to pop up from thin air. They had a plan, one that would take a day or two to pull together, but Sage had her part to play. She had to play the innocent child, starting out on HYDRA's side before switching sides and doing what needed to be done.

She was quick to tell Maria what her main priority was, and that was to make sure that Malia was okay. She wasn't going to leave Malia here, whether Blake came or not. Malia was only a kid, and Sage refused to let her grow up in such a place, and she refused to let Malia grow up with SHIELD. She wanted the girl to have an actual life, go to a real school, have friends that weren't above the age of twenty. She wanted Malia to be a teenager, and not an Agent whose only goal is to kill.

A knock came at her door, one that made her stop in her tracks. She turned her head to look at the door and an overwhelming fear seemed to surge through her body. Was that Beatrix? Had she heard the conversation between herself and Roxanne? Or the phone call with Maria? Another knock came, and she forced herself to move forward, letting out a breath of relief when she saw that it was only Malia.

She placed a small smile on her face as she looked at the teenager. "Malia, hey. What's up?"

The teenager shrugged. "Not much. I couldn't sleep and I wanted to see if you were up and maybe we could train?"

Sage nodded. "Of course. Give me a second to get changed into more comfortable clothing, I'll meet you there, alright?" Malia nodded before turning on her heel and walking away. Sage watched until the teenager was out of sight before she quickly closed the door and leaned against it, taking deep breaths before straightening up. "You're losing yourself, Sage. Get it together."

Sage was quick to change into more comfortable clothes before walking out of her room and down to the training room where she saw Malia punching the punching bag. Rage was held behind those punches, and Sage couldn't help but frown slightly as she watched the girl. Eventually, she made herself known.

"You alright there, firecracker?"

Malia stopped and looked towards Sage before she nodded her head. "Just letting out some stress, that's all."

Sage moved to stand beside the girl. "Want to talk about it?" Malia bit the inside of her cheek, unsure and Sage placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Hey, you can talk to me, you know that."

"I know." Malia answered. "Right now, I just want to train."

"And train, we shall." Sage nodded before moving to stand on one of the mat's, Malia moving to stand in front of her before the two started to fight. Sage dodged the girl's hits just as Malia had dodged hers. The girl, although young, was amazing at what she could do. She could probably beat any one of the other HYDRA soldiers that weren't Blake, Sage, or Roxanne. She was more flexible than most, she was quicker than a fox, she was the perfect soldier at that simple thought made Sage clench her jaw.

Malia managed to sweep Sage off her feet, causing the woman to slam down on the mat with a grunt before Malia was quick to pin the woman down before she could get back up. Malia looked at the woman for a moment before noticing something. "You're distracted. I've never seen you distracted when it comes to training."

"I'm not distracted." Sage denied, watching as Malia stood up and held out a hand for Sage to grab before using her strength to help pull the woman up from the ground. Sage rolled her shoulders before pushing her hair off of her shoulders. Malia narrowed her eyes at the woman, crossing her arms over her chest. Sage looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"You can't lie to me." Malia sternly stated. "I can see it in your eyes. It's a look I've never seen on you before. You look. . . scared, nervous. In my entire life I have never seen you with either of those emotions on your face. In fact, emotions aren't often found on your face."

"It's nothing." Sage waved her off. "It's just that the last mission seemed to mess with my head a little. I'll be alright by tomorrow."

Malia pursed her lips before deciding to just drop the conversation and nodding her head. "If you say it was just the mission, then I believe you. But if I find out it was more than just the mission, I will feel more than betrayed. I will be offended that you didn't trust me with deepest darkest secret."

Sage chuckled and lightly slapped the girl's arm whilst Malia smiled in amusement. She walked over to the punching bag and stood behind it. Malia wrapped her hands before holding up her fists and then punching the bag as hard as she could. "Whoa there, some bull strength you got there."

"I think Blake doesn't consider me his first priority." The words were so sudden that Sage had let go of the bag, causing it to smack her in the face when Malia punched it again. Sage shook the pain off and quickly looked at Malia with surprise.

"Malia, what are you talking about?"

"I think he cares more about pleasing Beatrix than he does about me." Malia answered. She had a sad frown on her face. Sage moved from behind the punching bag to stand in front of Malia. She placed a hand on Malia's cheek, causing the girl to look up at her.

"Mal, I know that your brother can be a real asshole sometimes, but even if he doesn't show it, you are and will always be his top priority. You're his family, just like the rest of us are your family. You will always be the top priority to all of us, no matter what." She tucked a strand of hair behind Malia's ear. "What gave you this idea?"

Malia clenched her jaw before reaching in her pocket and pulling out a piece of paper that seemed to have been ripped from a journal. "He said it himself." Sage furrowed her eyebrows before taking the paper and reading the words. Immediately anger fueled her system before she folded the paper and stuck it in her back pocket.

She leaned down to the same eye level as Malia and shook her head. "You listen to me, you are the best kid I know, alright? And if Blake is too busy wanting to be the best soldier to put you at the top of his list, I want you to know that you are my top priority. You will not be harmed under my watch. I don't want you to think you aren't loved, alright? Because you're the best damn thing to happen to me, and I love you as if you were my own."

Malia twitched her lip upwards. "Thanks, Sage."

"Go get some rest, alright? I'll see you in the morning." Malia nodded her head before walking out of the room. Sage watched her leave before her jaw clenched as she looked at the note once more. She shook her head. "Blake, I'm gonna kill you."