The mission had gone sideways. Explosions rattled the crumbling facility, the ground shaking beneath your feet as you ran for cover. Smoke filled the air, choking and thick, making it nearly impossible to see. The objective had been simple—retrieve the stolen V.I.G.I.L. data and get out. But when was anything ever simple?

You barely had time to register the warning before the gunfire started again, bullets ricocheting off the metal debris around you. And then—

"Griffin!"

You watched in horror as he lunged forward, knocking you out of the line of fire. The impact sent both of you tumbling hard to the ground. But the heat, the deafening explosion that followed—none of it compared to the way your stomach dropped when you saw him lying there, motionless.

The next few minutes were a blur—Katya covering you as you scrambled to Griffin’s side, Grant barking orders over comms, backup finally arriving. By the time you made it back to the jet, your heart was still hammering in your chest.

And that was when Katya gave you that look.

"He's not my boyfriend," you muttered, more to yourself than anyone else.

Kat smirked, wiping a smear of dirt from her cheek. "I think you'd better tell him that."

You frowned. "What?"

She nodded toward the medical bay, where Griffin was—alive, awake, and currently ignoring medical orders to rest while his eyes tracked your every movement. His gaze was intense, sharp even in exhaustion.

Katya sighed dramatically. "Only love makes you that crazy, sweetheart. And that damn stupid."

Before you could even begin to process that, Grant groaned. "Kat, I thought I told you to leave them be?"

You exhaled. "Thank you, Grant."

"Oh no, she's right." He clapped a hand on your shoulder, entirely too pleased with himself. "I just think you two should figure it out yourselves."

You let your head fall back against the wall. "Great..."

And from the med bay, Griffin smirked.