You never expected Scar to wait for you.

Not after the mission. Not after you’d gone in without backup, not knowing the swarm would be that aggressive.

But when the smoke cleared, and your knees gave out beside the ruined terminal, there he was.

Silent. Still. Watching.

"You disobeyed the plan," he said flatly, boots crunching over broken glass as he approached.

You winced, wiping blood from your lip. "If I hadn’t, the whole relay would’ve gone under."

Scar knelt beside you, one hand slipping beneath your elbow to steady you — efficient, not gentle. But his grip lingered.

"You took unnecessary damage," he said, glancing over your shoulder at the wreckage. "And you put yourself in the line of fire. Why?"