~.~

"So we're looking for Pathfinder, front and centre, can you- just like that. Okay, Wraith, you good? Good, okay-"

Wraith was not fond of this one. Swept up bridal style by Pathfinder, Mirage at her shoulder with a hand on her brow and a worried expression on his face, she felt like she looked weak. While pretty common to get requests for battle-scene mock-ups, this reminded her of a moment in an early game that was very much not a happy memory for her.

Out of sight of the prying camera lens, Mirage's free hand brushed the back of her neck, the pad of one thumb tracing a surprisingly soothing circle against her uncomfortably flushed skin.

~.~

Another win, another VIP meet-n-greet. Wraith's hand was cramping as she signed the final autograph in her line, and she tried not to look too relieved as she smiled and handed the book back. She unscrewed the cap on her water bottle, glancing subtly at her watch as she did. Gods, still only two thirds done. Extended sessions would become their new norm, at this rate. She amused herself by pretending to entertain the idea of throwing a Game, just to avoid being Champions again. Mirage was chatting with the girls next in his line, his eyes crinkling in that way that had them all swooning. Wraith felt the smile touch the corner of her mouth as she watched him.

He leaned back, a casual shrug to something they'd said, his hands splayed out and his eyes twinkling. Wraith's gut clenched, because it was back. The hidden shadow in his eyes. She took another swig from her bottle, and considered her next move.

~.~

"Why don't we start with the first personal request?"

Wraith set aside her book and looked alert as the photographer turned to take them from the audience. He flipped through the gathered flashcards, his gaze flicking up to them and back down. Two got slipped out and sat to the side; either duplicates, or ones he had denied.

"Okay, Mirage, Pathfinder, let's have you two…"

Wraith watched in amusement, smirking whenever Mirage glanced her way, teasing him silently just to watch the way he grinned. She still sought a way to chase away the unknown sadness that had plagued him so many months, but it seemed weaker today. It warmed her chest to see him so relaxed. All his old antics, the ones that had at first convinced her they would never work as partners, were reassuring now. Proof he was okay. Or at least as okay as a person who'd killed the way they had, could be.

They cycled through several poses before she was motioned over. She took it upon herself to hover behind them, raising both hands, and answering the photographer's pleased smile with a wicked one of her own.

"Are you giving me bunny ears?" Mirage whined when several people snickered, "You're giving me bunny ears."

Wraith couldn't help but give a soft chuckle of her own, forgetting the camera until it flashed. When that one was left at the end of the day, she stared down at it and wondered how obvious it was to everyone else how much affection her face showed when he made her laugh.

~.~

"Wraith?"

She hesitated, before her eyes flicked sideways. Mirage was watching her, his crowd-pleasing expression still in place, but his eyes were waiting for her answer. She hated requests like this. She bit her tongue and turned back to the photographer, nodding slightly as she handed back the card. Mirage offered her a hand, and he squeezed her fingers gently when she slipped her hand in his.

To find the most natural angle, he turned her slowly a few times, and she did her best to ignore the whispering from the crowd. She was painfully aware that to many this was something they'd kill to see. The camera clicked once or twice as he led her, before the arm on her waist pressed into the small of her back in indication. She let him guide, the pressure of his hand holding her up as he dipped her.

As he held her there, suspended in a faux dance with his eyes locked in hers, she felt the thrum of her own pulse and wondered if he'd ever had lessons. He was always so fluid and natural in everything he did, how much of it was training? Was it all an act?

The audience applauded.

"Perfect!" came the bright satisfaction, "Okay, next I need Pathfinder to…"

Wraith squeezed his shoulder as he raised her again. His gaze met hers and under the flirtatious, easy smile, she saw the softness. She frantically searched for a break.

"You managed not to drop me." she blurted, a half-whisper, and he laughed as he righted her on her feet and let her go.

"You weigh nothing, Wraith. You callin' me weak?"

She laughed as he shoved her lightly, having watched the shadow melt away again.

~.~

"Ohh yeah," Mirage answered, grinning wide, "something fun!"

Wraith rolled her eyes as he turned to her, but he only snickered.

"This one's your fault." she muttered to him, and his grin only widened further, a wicked light in his eyes.

"Good to show you what it's like to be tall, once in a while." he teased, and the harmless smack on his shoulder only made him laugh more.

The audience loved their banter. Wraith loved the sound of his laugh, even as she swatted his offered hands and swept herself up into the piggyback with just her own momentum. His hands curled around her thighs until she was steady but it was clear she didn't need the purchase as she crossed her legs loosely around his middle. She leaned one elbow on his shoulder and set her chin in the cup of her hand, pulling a thoroughly unimpressed expression as he brought out his timeless finger-guns and traditional wink. With her free hand, she gave him bunny ears.

When she saw the printout, she laughed. Pathfinder had given her her own set of bunny ears, offsetting the utterly bored aura she'd pulled. And Mirage's eyes smiled, his head tipped a little to one side as he tried to look up at her, on his back. Wraith held the photo as her gaze traced the softened curve of his smile, and the responding realisation caught her by surprise.

~.~

Mirage rolled his eyes as she brushed him aside playfully before taking her position in the front of their group shot, and she swallowed before resting one elbow at her waist, leaning back on it and angling away from where he stood, almost directly behind her. She shifted her other arm upwards, folded pretty close to her shoulder, with her fingers curled into a fist.

It took him a second or two, before his laugh was bright with surprise and she could sense him shifting away the other way, his knuckles connecting with hers. Wraith kept her gaze on the camera, one eyebrow half-raised in an almost bored fashion. From the sounds of the response? Instant fan favourite.

Wraith's face looked back at her from the glossy page, expression painted with just enough boredom to appease her image, the fist bump between her and Mirage looking sufficiently low effort for her, as though she were the one indulging him in completing it. Mirage leaned back on one heel, centre-stage, expression delighted, eager, playing his part. His free hand lay under his chin, index finger curving his mouth. Pathfinder stood directly between them, one elbow resting on Mirage's shoulder in an accurate mimicry of one of the Trickster's favoured poses, the other hand raised in a thumbs up, laughing face on his monitor.

Wraith's heart bumped gently against her ribs as she looked at the way Mirage's eyes were on her. She'd seen it so many times before and yet… This time it made her chest feel tight as her heartbeat tripped up.

It wasn't till she was back in her dorm that she realised there weren't shadows in his eyes, or that she'd forgotten to even check at the time. Her face coloured as she got ready for bed.

~.~

Wraith took the flashcard from the photographer. Though his face was neutral, - the call would be theirs and he'd shown them often enough that he didn't mind whether they accepted or denied - his blue eyes searched her face for discomfort as she read it, for he'd worked with them for years and cared enough about them and would deny the request himself if he thought they were accepting just to appease fans.

Wraith's stomach lurched and heat rose in her face as she angled it sideways for the man leaning over her shoulder. His breath was warm against her neck even from so far away, and her claustrophobia felt heightened. Her pulse raced. The arm slung casually on her shoulder shifted, drew away.

Wraith was flushed with gratitude, still caught off guard sometimes by how well he knew her without words.

"Pass." he said softly as he handed it to the photographer, and Wraith froze in her own skin as she realised she'd almost disagreed.

She didn't know why, for it was definitely a request that crossed all her personal boundaries and fuelled gossip and rumours they dealt with enough already.

The shock was a cold punch in her gut when the thought came to her, as everyone moved swiftly along and Mirage tugged her into their next group shot.

Was it because she'd… wanted to see it?

~.~

"This one's great!"

Wraith looked over from the last chair she left to tidy against the wall, unable to stop her gaze from trailing the length of him when the opportunity was there, leaning against the tabletop with his legs crossed, hands full of printouts and his hair loose and brushing over his face.

Her chest pulsed, like a gentle squeeze, and she tried not to feel it.

"Which one?" she asked, stacking the chair and wiping her hands together as she made her way over.

He turned the photo around and offered her it when she settled next to him, and their shoulders brushed. Everyone else had gone and she still had her stuff to throw back into her bag, but all thoughts of moving left her head as she looked at them, there on the page.

Wraith stood pretty small in one of her oldest poses, with one hand holding her other wrist, both pressed against her breastbone. The captured purple sparks flickered down her arm like strings of thin thread. Mirage had snuck around behind her, popping up near one shoulder, a hand resting on her waist as he was curving past her, the other on her shoulder. It reminded her of one of his many poses with his decoys, and she smiled.

His expression was open and playful, grin teasing on the page as his face turned up to her. Instead of her head tipping the other way for her to roll her eyes, like it did in so many of their photos, it tilted down for her gaze to meet his, her own lips curving in something playful too. Something fond. The faintest milky sheen lit her blue eyes like pearls, and it was reflected, right there, in his own eyes.

Breathing was hard as she stared down at them, her heart pounding.

"I bet it blows up." he chuckled, but Wraith's words wouldn't come. She couldn't look away.

The knowledge was there, bright and bold and unmissable in her throat. She loved him. And she could see it.

~.~

"What about this one?"

Wraith lifted her face to look at the flashcard he was holding out, and although her stomach lurched, she managed to raise an eyebrow and give him a flat look. He chuckled, and sat it down. While Pathfinder was completing his solo requests, Mirage was flicking through their Duos. They always ended up with so many more together than with Path, something nobody ever pointed out even though it was glaringly obvious why. Some people just wanted a romance.

Wraith swallowed down the thought that she was starting to realise she might be one of those people.

"Okay, okay," Mirage chuckled, the sound comfortable and warm, "What about this one?"

She elbowed him when he held it in front of her face, and he played wounded as she sat it atop the other on the pile. She held her hand out for the pile he had, but he pulled them out of reach with a grin.

"Oh, uh uh. I at least wanna see the good ones before you deny them."

Wraith huffed, but she could feel her face heating, and that made her scowl.

"Come on," he appeased her, moving back beside her so she could see, "some of them aren't…"

Wraith's breath caught as he trailed off, her heart stumbling in surprise as the words on the card threw up an image in her head she wasn't expecting, a dull ache squeezing her chest. Mirage was silent beside her and suddenly the noise of the room, of the crowd, the camera, their squadmate all seemed loud and oppressive, and Wraith felt her skin burning with shame that she'd… She'd…

She drew away and forced her eyes on her book, fighting the painful beat of her heart and willing it to slow.

Now you're being ridiculous, she wanted to say, but all that came out was

"Ridiculous."

Wraith didn't recognise the sound of her own soft, strained voice.

~.~