Chapter 132: But I do

The shockwave from the detonation set Bunny’s ears ringing violently. The second she scrambled to her feet, Astin released his grip and pulled back, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had transpired.

A lingering warmth seeped through the fingertips that had brushed moments prior. Bunny narrowed her eyes, completely unable to fathom what Astin was avoiding her for.

San and Tyr made short work of the two hostile guards inside the room. The hostage was a mother cradling an infant; Astin and Bunny were assigned to handle the evacuation, while Tyr and San proceeded to the third floor to rescue the second hostage.

Bunny and Astin exchanged a fleeting glance, neither offering a word.

Astin led the mother toward the exit point, unaware that hostiles had laid a deliberate trap for them. As multiple enemies closed in from the perimeter, Bunny and Astin immediately fell back into defensive coverage.

She mounted her rifle to hold down the corridor, while Astin took the point to force a breach.

Unexpectedly, their tactical synchronization was flawless. Yet, in his dying breath, one of the hostiles malevolently aimed his weapon straight at the hostage.

The woman collapsed as the round struck her. Trembling uncontrollably, she desperately thrust the baby into Astin’s arms:

"Please... save my child!"

Astin froze for a fraction of a second. A sudden memory of his own mother flashed through his mind—if his mother had cherished him with the same desperation back then, would the fate shared by him and his father have turned out differently?

Holstering his sidearm, Astin gingerly took the infant from her arms.

In truth, Astin was quite fond of infants.

Yet in the very next second, the woman’s features twisted into a ferocious glare. Whipping out a concealed firearm from her coat, she pulled the trigger straight at Astin’s heart without a moment’s hesitation.

"Go to hell."

The woman was a mole planted by the hostiles!

Bang!

As the shot rang out, the near-instantaneous feedback through the neural link delivered a surge of real pain that nearly caused Astin to lose consciousness.

Bunny instantly drew her sidearm, executing the informant on the spot. She rushed over to Astin’s side, barking at him in furious exasperation:

"A soldier never drops their weapon under any circumstances—have you completely lost your mind?!"

Back when she was tricked by a young girl during her own simulation assessment, these very men had lectured her on never placing blind trust in anyone.

Struggling to drag his consciousness back from the sensation of dying, Astin looked up at her, the depths of his eyes clouded with a dull, fading light.

"Then when you risked everything to form a spiritual bond with me... were you out of your mind too?"

When a single misstep meant both of them getting lost forever inside his mental landscape.

Bunny was left momentarily speechbound. "No—how is that even remotely the same thing?"

Astin retorted stubbornly. "How is it any different?"

Bunny didn’t want to waste breath arguing with him. This stubborn crocodile had nothing left in him except a sharp tongue; he simply refused to admit he had misjudged a hostage.

She turned to leave, intending to push up and reinforce Tyr.

Curled on the deck with his back turned toward her, Astin suddenly murmured in a muffled, heavy tone.

"My mother threw me away... Seeing that baby just made me think of myself."

Bunny halted in her tracks. Astin’s mop of bright green hair stood out with striking intensity against the deep black of his tactical suit.

Yet she didn’t feel like laughing right now—because he looked on the verge of shattering completely.

Staring at his hunched silhouette, his frame subtly overlapped with the image of little Astin from the dreamscape.

In that quiet moment, Bunny grasped why little Astin had wrapped his arms around her and called her mother.

He was terrified of being abandoned.

Had he been dodging her all these days simply because he was afraid she would bring up severing their bond again?

A sudden wave of warmth pressed against Astin’s back as Bunny reached over and forcibly turned his face toward her.

"Your mother didn’t want you, but I do."

A promise uttered directly from her carried more weight than any oath in the world.

Astin’s green pupils dilated instinctively. His expression froze, filled with a mix of shock and utter disbelief.

He had spent all this time convinced Bunny loathed him and wanted nothing to do with him. He hadn’t dared pull close to her, terrified of making her annoyed or disgusted—terrified she would pack up and disappear forever, just like his mother had done to his father.

When Liam had gleefully gloated in front of the entire squad, jealousy had nearly driven Astin out of his mind; he had wanted nothing more than to chop Liam into pieces and erase him from existence.

And when Bunny had selected Xander the previous night, it had felt like absolute proof that he held zero place in her heart.

Astin hugged his pillow, tossing and turning in bed with insomnia for the entire night.

Under Bunny’s steadfast gaze, the bright-green-haired Sentinel unheroically reddened around the rims of his eyes.

Tears burst forth instantly as he dove into her arms, sobbing like a whistling kettle.

"Waaah... I was wrong... I shouldn’t have called you a shorty... I shouldn’t have disgusted you while playing games... I shouldn’t have yelled at you or called you a pervert....."

The little crocodile sobbed so hard he could barely catch his breath, his arms locked tight around her waist like iron bands. Bunny wiped at his tears continuously:

"Alright, stop crying now."

If he kept crying, the whole place was going to flood.

Hearing her words, the man only wailed louder. For a brief second, Bunny felt extraordinarily like an exhausted mother taking care of a toddler.

Out in the doorway, San—who had rushed back at top speed after hearing the gunfire—froze dead in his tracks at the sight.

He was dead certain his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

His squad brother was currently held close in Bunny’s warm embrace, while she cradled and gently soothed him.