The West Division headquarters pulsed with noise when Kyle stepped back through its double doors. The usual cold, echoing corridors were alive now with voices and the hum of laughter. He blinked at the shift in atmosphere.
Before he could even take two steps in, a voice cut through the buzz.
Ezra stood leaning against a column. His tone was as sharp as his eyes."Where the hell have you been?"
Kyle slid his hands into his jacket pockets, trying to match Ezra's casualness. "I went to see a friend. What's going on in there?"
Ezra jerked his thumb toward the cafeteria. "Our division finished ten assignments this week without losing a single squad or a member, so the higher-ups gave us something better than ration bars."
Kyle hesitated, then followed. The cafeteria glowed under warm lights, tables pushed together in clusters. The room felt almost human for once, other squads were spread across the space talking, laughing and tossing jokes like darts.
He spotted familiar faces quickly. Nia sat perched at the end of one table, her sharp gaze softened by a rare smile. Rhonda was across the room, arms folded but actually laughing at something Aaron said. Aaron himself looked more at ease than Kyle had ever seen him, sleeves rolled up, a cup of something steaming in his hand.
Cassie was there too, hair loose around her shoulders, laughing with another squadmate. Kyle felt his shoulders drop a little at the sight.
Ezra clapped him on the back. "Grab a plate before it's gone, I'm not saving you any."
Kyle managed a grin and moved toward the food line. He piled his plate high, sat with a few others and tried to blend in. The chatter washed over him, stories of missions and jokes about training drills.
But after a while, the press of voices felt heavy. Kyle excused himself quietly, slipping out of the main crowd and toward a quieter corner near one of the side doors.
Cassie was already there, leaning against the wall with a half-finished drink in her hand. She looked up when she noticed him.
"Hey." she said. "Where have you been the whole day?"
Kyle chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "So everyone's gonna ask me where I've been?"
She smiled faintly. "You went training with Rhonda and then disappeared, I thought she killed you.."
"No..." Kyle said, shaking his head. "I went to see a friend."
Cassie's smile dimmed a little, her eyes flicking away. "At least you've got someone outside this place to go to."
Kyle frowned. "You don't?"
"Yeah, I've got no friends. And... my family hates me." she said simply. "They wanted me to take over the family business... when I refused, they called me ungrateful and cut me off. I haven't spoken to them in two years."
"Why didn't you take over?" he asked softly.
She straightened, meeting his eyes. "Because then I'd be letting other people choose my fate for me. And that's not life, I believe in life, you have to choose your own fate because it's your life to live."
Kyle let that sit in the air for a beat before speaking. "I didn't choose mine, everything happening in my life… it's never my choice. Everyone decides for me. And no matter how I try to adjust to the situations, I fail."
"That's not true..." Cassie said gently. "You decided not to stay in bed today... that's a decision."
Kyle's voice rose before he could stop it. "But I didn't choose to be abandoned... I didn't choose to end up in an orphanage as a baby. You know... growing up there, the other kids were brought because their parents died or left them when they were old enough to talk, but me? My parents decided the moment I was born they didn't want me. Left me in a hotel room." His hands curled into fists at his sides. "I didn't get to choose how my life should start or how it went. And this thing inside of me..." he gestured to himself, voice rough."...chose to dragged me here as well. Yes, the life I lived before was horrible but at least I didn't have to face walking nightmares."
Cassie didn't flinch. She just held his gaze, steady. "You're wrong."
He blinked at her.
"Yes, the thing in you might've brought you to this place but you chose to join here, not the other way around. And why did you join if you're so scared to face these things?"
Kyle's voice dropped, low now, almost a whisper. "Because I want to make the night a safe place for her, Mira. She's the only one that makes me feel like I matter. The only family I've got. The only reason I fight through this life."
Cassie's eyes softened. "You see? That's the fate you chose for yourself, Kyle. To be a big brother, a protector."
Kyle stared at her, his thoughts slowing. For so long, he'd felt like a passenger in his own life but Cassie's words cracked something open. Maybe... he'd chosen more than he realized.
He leaned back against the wall, exhaling slowly. The noise from the cafeteria dulled, replaced by the beat of his own heart.
A voice cut through the quiet.
"Found you two."
Kyle looked up to see Liam striding toward them. The easy glow of the cafeteria didn't touch him.
"The captain's calling us..." Liam said. "Something urgent, now."
Cassie set her cup aside instantly. "What's going on?"
"I don't know..." Liam replied, already turning.
Cassie glanced at Kyle once. And he gave her a small nod, squaring his shoulders.
They followed Liam back toward the heart of the HQ, the warmth of food and laughter fading behind them as the cold hum of duty returned.