The air hung thick with the smell of gunpowder and burning debris. The once-silent night was now filled with distant sirens and the hum of helicopters, the aftermath of Shadow Company’s ambush still lingering in the background. Task Force 141 had regrouped, victorious but shaken.
Y/N stood at the edge of the temporary base they had set up, her back to the others. The weight of what she had done crushed her chest, making it hard to breathe. She had killed Graves, had turned her back on him in the end, but it didn’t erase the fact that she had betrayed Task Force 141 in the first place. The guilt was overwhelming. No matter how many times she reminded herself that she had made the right choice in the end, the damage was done.
She could hear the others behind her, their voices low as they debriefed and planned their next move. But one voice cut through the rest, growing louder as it approached.
“Y/N.”
It was Gaz. His tone was calm, steady, but she could hear the weight behind it. He had every reason to hate her, to never trust her again. Y/N had stood beside him as a soldier, a comrade, and then turned on him without warning.
She didn’t turn around, couldn’t face him yet. “Gaz…”
He came to a stop beside her, silent for a moment as he looked out over the ruined city. His presence was a mixture of tension and patience, as if he was waiting for her to speak first. But when she didn’t, he sighed, running a hand over his face before crossing his arms.
“You saved us,” he finally said, his voice quiet but firm. “In the end, you came through.”
Y/N winced at his words, guilt bubbling up again. “Not before almost destroying everything. I should’ve never—” She stopped, closing her eyes against the rush of emotions. She had betrayed the team, and worse, she had betrayed him.
Gaz turned his head slightly, watching her, his eyes searching her face for answers. “Why did you do it?”
The question hung between them like a weight, and Y/N felt the world shrink around her. She had prepared for this moment, rehearsed her explanation over and over in her mind. But now, standing in front of him, the words felt hollow, flimsy.
“I… I thought I was doing the right thing,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “Graves convinced me that what he was doing would… save us. He promised me control, a way to stop everything from spiraling even further. I—” She hesitated, looking away. “I let myself believe it.”
Gaz was quiet for a long moment, his expression unreadable. When he spoke again, his voice was softer than she expected. “And now?”
Y/N finally turned to face him, her eyes searching his. “Now, I know I was wrong. I should’ve trusted you — all of you. I nearly cost us everything, and I’ll have to live with that.”
Gaz’s jaw tightened, and for a second, Y/N thought he was going to walk away. She wouldn’t blame him if he did. But instead, he stepped closer, his voice low but insistent. “You made a mistake, Y/N. A big one. But you also killed Graves and stopped whatever plan he had in motion. You saved our lives. And that has to count for something.”
The warmth in his voice cracked through her defenses, and Y/N felt a lump rise in her throat. “I don’t know if I can ever make up for what I did. I betrayed you, Gaz. I put you in danger.”
Gaz took a deep breath, glancing down at his hands before looking back at her. “Yeah, you did,” he said bluntly. “But you also chose to fix it. You made the hardest decision back there. You could’ve let Graves take us down, but you didn’t.”
Y/N shook her head, still struggling to accept his forgiveness. “How can you just let it go?”
“I’m not letting it go,” he replied, his voice firm. “But I know you, Y/N. I know this wasn’t you. Graves got into your head, and yeah, you made a bad call. But we’ve all made mistakes out here.”
She looked at him, surprised by his words. “Even you?”
Gaz gave her a small, sad smile. “Especially me.”
There was a long silence between them, the weight of their past actions hanging in the air. Y/N felt like she could finally breathe, the tightness in her chest easing just a little.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, her voice soft. “I never meant for it to go this far.”
Gaz nodded, his gaze softening. “I know.”
For a moment, it felt like things were starting to mend, like the wounds she had caused might heal with time. But there was still a wall between them, one that hadn’t been there before. And she didn’t know if it could ever come down completely.
“Where does that leave us?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Gaz took a step closer, his eyes locking onto hers. “That’s up to you,” he said, his voice low. “But if you want to rebuild the trust you lost, it’s going to take time. You’ve got a long road ahead, Y/N. But I’m not giving up on you.”
Y/N felt a rush of gratitude and something deeper she couldn’t quite name. His forgiveness wasn’t complete — and she didn’t deserve it yet — but he was willing to give her a chance. A chance to make things right.
She swallowed hard, trying to keep her emotions in check. “Thank you, Gaz. I won’t let you down again.”
His eyes softened, and for the first time since the ambush, he smiled. “I’ll hold you to that.”
They stood there in the dim light, the city in ruins around them, but something between them had begun to heal. Y/N knew it wouldn’t be easy to regain the trust she had shattered, but she also knew that as long as Gaz believed in her, she had a reason to keep fighting.
And for the first time in a long while, she felt like she wasn’t completely lost.
