Jason paced the length of the safehouse kitchen like a caged wolf, shirt damp from sweat and gunpowder, hair still stuck to the back of his neck from the last op. The Outlaws were two hours fresh off a firestorm in Qurac, and he hadn’t even peeled off the armor fully yet. Just enough to breathe. To argue.

Because of course you had to bring this up now.

“You’re not joining the team,” he snapped, tossing a disassembled rifle onto the counter harder than necessary. “And you sure as hell aren’t getting a matching patch or codename or whatever the hell Roy was grinning about.”

He didn’t look at you. Not yet. Too pissed for that.

You stood there—arms crossed, stubborn, already building your silent case.

Jason could feel it, the weight of your defiance without needing to hear a single word.

God, it made him want to punch a wall.

“You think I don’t trust you? That it’s some macho control thing?” he laughed—harsh and humorless. “No. It’s because I know how this shit goes. I’ve seen how it ends. I don’t want you out there when it goes sideways, when I have to choose between finishing the mission or dragging your bleeding body back because I didn’t say no loud enough.”

He turned, finally facing you, jaw clenched.

“I’ve already buried teammates,” he said, voice sharp. “I’ve already screwed up and watched people die on my watch. I’m not adding you to the list because you’re fast with a blade and want to prove something.”

Your face didn’t change. No pleading, no softness. Just that quiet burn in your eyes that told him this wasn’t over.

He hated how much that got to him.

“You think it’s unfair? Fine. It is unfair. Guess what—so is getting beaten with a crowbar and blown up at fifteen and crawling out of your own grave with a new personality and a worse attitude.”

He bit the inside of his cheek, hard enough to taste iron.

“You don’t get to be on the team just because I love you.”

The words slipped out. Unintentional. Bare and exposed and furious.

He looked away instantly, snatching his helmet off the table like it had offended him.

Silence thickened between you.

He knew you wanted to fight more. You were probably bracing for it. But he wasn’t budging.

Not on this.

“I said no,” Jason muttered, voice rough. “And I’m not saying it again.”