𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘, 𝖺 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝖻𝗎𝗆

a promise in the smoke 🍁 mission scene

The night was thick with smoke, gunfire echoing in the distance. The infiltration had gone sideways fast — too many Cranks, too little cover. Nico pressed his back to the crumbling stone wall of the enemy outpost, scanning the shadows for Bea.

Then he saw her, darting across the corridor like a flash of flame, her curls whipping behind her, Nico's jacket clinging to her frame.

"Bea!" he hissed.

She slid into cover beside him, breathing hard, her bow trembling in her hand. A shallow cut traced her cheekbone. He reached out instinctively, wiping the blood away with his thumb.

"You okay?"

She nodded quickly, her voice barely above a whisper. "We have to make it to the control room. If we cut the power, the others can move in."

He was about to respond when a deafening explosion shook the floor beneath them. Dust rained from the ceiling. Bea flinched, not from fear, but fury.

"I'm so tired of this," she muttered. "This war. This fighting. This constant almost dying."

He looked at her, not the soldier, not the archer but her, the girl who once danced with him to an old pirate song in a ship's cabin. The girl who told him she wanted a daughter one day.

He caught her wrist gently. "Bea..."

She turned to him, chest heaving. "Do you remember that night? The campfire. When Vicky asked how many kids we'd have?"

Nico blinked. "Yeah."

Bea's lips trembled, the tiniest crack in her armor. "I meant it. All of it. And I want to live long enough to see her. Or him. Or whoever we make. I want to survive this, Nico."

He stared at her like she was a lifeline.

"Then we will," he said. "You and me. We'll get out. We'll survive."

A beat passed. Then she leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his. Eyes closed. Just for a second.

Then steel again. Bea pulled away, steadied her bow, and whispered, "Let's go break their power."

Nico gave a crooked, breathless smile. "You got it, future soccer mom."

And with that, they moved.

Together.