Sova has always been good at understanding people.
It was one of his main skills. He could easily find an approach to everyone who surrounded him, even if the person had a complex character. This is what Brimstone valued most of all in the scout. The captain rarely managed to find a common language with many agents due to his ignorance of young people or because he didn't understand how to earn Reyna's or Breach's trust, whose views on life were radically different. In addition, most saw him as a leader, a commander who gives orders, and not someone with whom you can chat in a relaxed atmosphere.
Brimstone hoped the scout could find an approach to Viper.
He knew the chemist before Valorant and knew what she was like before. Brimstone tried to help her somehow, but he couldn't. Viper is too stubborn and proud to accept someone's help. Now, when the captain saw Sova and Viper more and more often together, the hope began to flicker in his soul that the archer could return the old Sabine before it was too late.
“Sitting all alone here?” Brimstone handed Sova a mug of tea, from which a trickle of steam was still coming out. “How's your hand?”
“Better now, thanks,” The archer took the mug.
“Why haven't you asked Sage to help you up yet? You know it won't be difficult for her.”
“On the last mission, she almost exhausted herself helping the others. I don't want to bother her now. By the way, how is she?”
Brimstone expected something similar in return, since Sova was always worried about others. He put their lives first, and only then his own. That is why he blocked Viper from being shot that day. The safety of his comrades is his top priority.
“How many years have passed, and you haven't changed,” The captain took a sip of the hot drink.
“Should I have done this?” Sova smiled.
“Sage has already recovered and is eager to fight with particular enthusiasm,”said Brimstone, letting out a slight laugh, but then quickly turned to a more serious tone. “I’ll ask her to stay with you tomorrow.”
Sova quickly looked at the commander, as if about to argue, but then dropped his eyes again.
“Well if you think so. But I’m already on the mend, so I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Brimstone paused briefly and took a deep breath.
“Okay, let's see how she will feel tomorrow and decide finally,” Brimstone took a sip of tea. “You know, even though I'm not as good at understanding people as you are, I can see that something is bothering you.”
“What do you mean?” The archer raised an eyebrow inquiringly.
“Lately, you haven't looked good. You walk around so gloomy, like a snow cloud, refuse to eat and hardly talk to anyone. Something has definitely happened.”
And the captain was right. Sova didn't know what to say, so he just looked away, pretending to look thoughtful.
“Okay, I don’t insist that you should tell me everything about yourself, but.. If you need advice, I’m always here, son,” Brimstone patted the archer on the shoulder. Sova frowned slightly in pain, so the captain quickly removed his hand from his injured shoulder and apologized.
Brimstone and Sova have known each other for a long time. The captain became a kind of "second father" for the archer when they worked together. Brimstone was one of those close to the scout during his early years in the squad. The captain realized that Sova needed some kind of support when he found himself so far from his home and family. He was all alone.
“Thanks, Brimstone, but I guess I'll leave it personal,” The archer replied, realizing there was no point in lying.
“Okay,” The captain took the mug and raised it to his lips. “By the way, how is Viper? You've gotten pretty close lately, as I can see.”
At these words, Sova almost choked on tea. He clearly did not expect such a statement, especially from Brimstone.
“No, why do you think so?” Sova tried to say it as calmly as possible.
“That was pretty obvious, Sova,” Brimstone laughed back. “But I’m really wondering, how did you get along with her? She doesn't let anyone get close.”
“You made it all up. We are comrades. Nothing more,” Sova twirled a mug in his hands.
“I've known Viper for quite some time. She was not the same as now. She had to go through a lot and be disappointed in many things. Soon, Viper completely closed herself off from people. She hates someone around her, so she prefers to spend all her time in the lab.”
“I know. Many of us had a hard time. That's why we're here, right?” Sova smiled sadly.
“You're right. I...”
Brimstone was interrupted by a loud rumble that came from the common room. The captain got up abruptly and, with a mug in his hands, went to the source of the noise.
“Phoenix! If you decide to do it again, I...”
Sova did not hear the continuation. He plunged into his own thoughts, in which the same moment emerged. Again and again.
I don't need you!
This is not the first time that Sova has heard something like that addressed to him. He has long ceased to focus on such rudeness and take them to heart. But not at this time.
In his head, these words were imprinted especially clearly, as if someone burned them with fire on a wooden board.
Her words hurt him more than the bullet he had caught a few days earlier. The pain from them spread like poison through his body, burning the veins and leaving a hole in his chest. Sova couldn't explain to himself why it hurt him so much. He tried to distract himself from these thoughts, to concentrate on something else, and in this he was usually helped by training.
Sova got up early for several days in the morning and skipped breakfast to shoot a bow. He did this despite Sage's forbiddance. The wound on his right shoulder was opening again and again due to the pulling of arrows, but that was exactly what the archer was counting on. Physical pain was the best distraction from mental. But didn't help to get rid of it.
Now, when there were almost none of the agents in the headquarters, it was the best moment to change the bandages. No extra eyes – no extra questions. Sova pulled out a first aid kit and sat at a large table in the common room, looking for a new roll of bandages. Having rummaged in the box, the archer couln't find at least something useful.
Suddenly his attention was drawn to the creak of the steps behind him.
