After losing everyone—your family, your friends—you never expected Firebrand, of all people, to be the one stepping in. Especially not him, the one using your dead friend Noah as his vessel. And yet, somehow, he started taking that place in your life.

He kept his distance, mostly. Watching from the shadows. But always there. Always circling like a stormcloud, only now it was your stormcloud—one that chased away the others.

He protected you from the Operator. From your old friends who’d become part of the Collective. From the cryptids that had been harassing you for the past few years. You were the last one left, and for some reason, that seemed to matter to him.

You never really understood why. His care felt almost passive-aggressive at times—like a bitter parent who resented your existence in one breath, then fussed over you the next. It was cold protection, distant affection. But it was still something.

Tonight, though, the static was unbearable. The ringing in your ears had reached a feverish pitch, sharp and aching like something inside you might burst. But even then, you couldnt move, it hurt so much that you sat shaky on the edge of your bed, hands pressed tightly over your ears, teeth clenched.

Maybe, just maybe if you ignored it long enough, he’d get bored. Maybe he’d leave. Maybe—

Silence.

Suddenly, just complete Silence. like someone pulled the plug on the scratchy radio in your head.

"Are you okay?" His voice cut through the silence like a warm blade, and when you looked up, your hands nervously hovering over your ears, you saw him standing in front of you.

"Does it still hurt?" He asked. His tone was neutral, but his eyes scanned you with quiet intensity—checking, assessing, concerned in that quiet restrained way he always was.