Valorant x Reader Oneshots

Second Chance (Kay/o x Reader)

DESCRIPTION:

In his world, you were dead.

Now that he's here, he thinks he has a second chance to protect you.

That all changes when he realizes you're just like the very person that killed you in his world. The very thing he was created to kill. A radiant.

GENRE: Hurt/Comfort, Angst 

WORD COUNT: 1392

WARNINGS: Violence, blood and injury, angst

----

Losing you in his own world hurt enough as it was. He still remembers it. It haunts him. The day he held you in his arms, bloody and broken because of the very radiants he was created to stop. He couldn't save you then, and that is something he would carry with him forever.

But now he has a second chance. He'll protect you this time.

When he finally finds this version of you, he's relieved to find that you're okay. You're beginning to work for the Valorant Protocol, but most importantly, you're alive. It's difficult before your initial meeting because, while he's technically known you for years, the you in this world has no clue who he is when he first talks to you. He can't just rush up to you and hug you like he wants to because he's finally able to see you again.

When he finally gets the chance to see you and talk to you, he freezes.

He can sense the radiance within you.

This isn't right. You're human. You're supposed to be human. But sure enough, here you are. Alive and radiant.

It goes against everything in his programming to even talk to you. It takes a lot out of him to be around Phoenix and the others. The thought of having to do that around you fills him with an acute sense of dread.

This isn't fair. It's a cruel joke for life to take you from him only to give you back as the very thing that killed you.

"Kay/o, right? I'm y/n. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot. I know you aren't too fond of radiants, but I hope we can still get along." You smile at him. He stays silent, the only acknowledgement he gives that he's even listened to anything you said is a brief nod before he turns and leaves you alone in the common area.

You stare at him as he goes, confused. Did you say something wrong? Maybe he was just busy, but you can't help but feel that the robot doesn't like you that much.

He continues to avoid you. Any small talk you make is quickly abandoned because he ignores it completely. On missions, your interactions are professional and curt. You're confused. You couldn't have upset him because you had barely spoken to him. You knew he didn't like radiants because of what had happened in his own world and time, but he would at least speak to Phoenix and Jett. You had gone so far as to ask Phoenix if Kay/o had mentioned anything about you and if he's normally this distant. You couldn't help but feel a little hurt when he said that he didn't know why he was acting like that because he was fine with Phoenix. Kay/o even considered Phoenix a friend. So why was he so cold with you? It was weird to say, but you felt like you already knew him so well. Did he feel the same?

--

You listen to the conversation going on in your earpiece. The mission has been going smoothly so far. There's been no sign of the mirror agents, and everyone seems to be getting ready to leave.

Sudden gunfire catches your attention, and in the next second Brimstone is shouting commands over the comms for people to be careful. The next ten minutes are a blur. The adrenaline is rushing through your body, making it easy to get to the point quickly.

The mirror agents are relentless. Thankfully, Kay/o is there to stop their radiant abilities, forcing them to rely on gunfire alone. But you can see that they're smart enough to know that if they take him out, they'll have an easier time killing the rest of you. And as you deal with the enemy Phoenix, you notice their Yoru who has made their way behind Kay/o while he was distracted.

You don't even think twice about putting yourself in between him and Kay/o. It leaves you exposed on one side as you raise a hand to provide a force shield, one of your radiant abilities, that easily blocks the barrage of bullets meant for Kay/o. You feel a gunshot to your side, a consequence of the Phoenix that you didn't finish taking out, but Kay/o is able to turn and shoot him as you finish off the Yoru in front of you.

The rest of your team finishes with the other mirror agents, and everything is silent again. You take in a laboured breath, clutching at your side. You're lucky that he didn't aim just a bit higher, or you're certain it would have hit your lungs.

Kay/o watches as you take your hand away from your side, clothes already stained a dark red. He's suddenly very aware of the fact that he almost lost you again. Radiant or not, you just saved him. You're still the same person he knew from his own world. Still the same selfless y/n, always willing to put their life on the line for someone else. He was given a second chance with you, and he almost lost it again. He almost lost you and this time it would have been his fault. He was supposed to protect you, and he abandoned that goal just because you were a radiant.

He doesn't say anything as he gently takes you into his arms and starts to carry you to where he knows Sage is already ready and waiting.

--

"You okay?" You're surprised to hear Kay/o's voice as you leave the hangar. After he had dropped you off with Sage, he had left again. You thought he would continue to ignore you.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for carrying me out there." A silence falls between the two of you. You remember how strangely natural it had felt to be in his arms.

"I'm sorry," he says suddenly. You stare at him confused.

"There's no need to apologize."

"No, there is," he asserts. "I've been avoiding you, I've been rude, and frankly, I don't know why you did that for me out there today. I didn't deserve it."

You're taken aback by the sudden shift in his demeanour.

"You're part of the team, of course, I'm going to do what I can to protect you. Look, I know what happened with radiants where you're from. I don't blame you. Maybe I was one of the dangerous ones or something. I'm not going to expect you to be able to get over that so quickly."

"No, you weren't. That's the problem. In my world you were human." He wonders how much he should tell you. You should know. He wants you to know. "You were human, and I loved you. You died to a radiant in the war. You died protecting someone."

You stand there in stunned silence before he continues.

"When I came here, I knew I would get to see you again and this time I would protect you. But when I found out you were a radiant," he pauses. "I thought staying away from you would hurt less. That I should just accept that the you I loved was gone and I would never get to see them again. But you're the exact same. Nothing about you is different, except that you're a radiant. You're still the same person I loved. I can see that now."

You don't know why you feel like crying. It feels weird to want to mourn a life you didn't get to live, even if it was, in a way, yours.

"I'm sorry," is all you manage.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." He walks closer to you and reaches for your hands, taking them in his own. "If you will let me, I want to protect you this time. I don't want to lose you again."

"Yes, but I'm still going to protect you too." You smile at him.

"I didn't expect anything less."

You take your hands from his, only to move them behind him as you wrap him in a hug. You feel the hope in the way he holds you. The determination to make sure he doesn't lose you this time. And your promise to make sure that you don't lose him.