NO STRING ATTACHED - JENLISA

Incoming

LISA (softly)
Hey. Hey. I got you.

IRENE
(hoarse)
Took you long enough.

LISA
You always were dramatic.

SEULGI
We need to move—now!

Lisa lifts Irene. Fireman carry. No hesitation.

The clock's ticking down.

⸻
OUTSIDE – NIGHT

Gunfire rains down. Echo and Squad are pinned.

Jennie watches Lisa's signal rising—closer. Closer.

Then—

They break through the wall of smoke. Lisa's carrying Irene, blood down her arm, fierce and unstoppable.

JENNIE
Lisa!

Lisa doesn't stop. She lays Irene down at the hover. Turns to face Jennie, adrenaline pumping.

JENNIE (CONT'D)
You did it.

LISA
We did.

Jennie grabs her by the vest and pulls her into a breathless, forehead-to-forehead grip.

No words.

Just breath.

But—

Behind them, one final merc rises. Gun aimed.

A SHOT FIRES.

Lisa yanks Jennie down. Dust explodes behind them.

JISOO
(from above)
You're welcome!

ROSÉ
Do I get a medal or just your gratitude?

LISA (panting)
Gratitude's all you get.

EVAC – MINUTES LATER

Everyone's loading up. Irene is stable. The squad is silent, exhausted.

Jennie walks up to Lisa. Quiet.

JENNIE
You scared the hell out of me.

Lisa glances at her, bruised and beautiful.

LISA
I scared myself too.

A long pause.

Then Jennie takes Lisa's hand—public, raw, real.

JISOO
Aw, hell yeah. Finally acting like a couple and not war-criminals in love.

ROSÉ
Give it a minute. They'll be war-criminals and in love again soon.

SEULGI
Can we sleep now?

IRENE
(after a long groan)
Only if I don't have to hear Rosé flirt with the hover medic again.

ROSÉ
She gave me her number!

Squad laughter bubbles up — tension cracking like ice under warmth.

Lisa just watches them. Then looks at Jennie.

LISA
We saved her.

JENNIE
You saved all of us.

And Lisa, for the first time in forever, lets herself believe it.

POST-RESCUE – NIGHT, QUIET BASE ROOM

The squad is finally resting. Medbays hum softly. Doors are shut.

Lisa sits alone at a dim window, stripped of her armor. A towel around her neck. Still wired. Still shaking a little.

Jennie steps in.

Silent.

No teasing tonight.

She crosses the room slowly, kneels in front of Lisa, and gently places her hands on Lisa's knees.

LISA
You should be sleeping.

JENNIE
So should you.

Lisa doesn't look up.

LISA
I thought we'd lose her.

JENNIE
But we didn't. Because of you.

Lisa's throat tightens. She finally lifts her head.

LISA
I keep thinking—if I'd been slower, if I'd made one wrong call...

JENNIE
You didn't.

(beat)
You led. You saved us.

Lisa's eyes flicker. Jennie brushes a thumb across her cheek.

JENNIE (CONT'D)
You don't always have to be steel. You don't have to break alone.

LISA (soft, wrecked)
I don't know how to do this. Not really. Not with you.

JENNIE
Then don't "do" anything.

She slides into Lisa's lap, slow and sure.

JENNIE (CONT'D)
Just... stay.

They sit there, forehead to forehead, wrapped in the kind of silence that feels like breath instead of absence.

LISA
You told me you loved me.

JENNIE
Yeah. I meant it.

LISA (smiles faintly)
You didn't even say "like." Just went straight for the kill.

JENNIE (grinning now)
Too late for half-measures.

Lisa exhales a soft laugh. Then leans in, rests her head on Jennie's shoulder.

JENNIE (CONT'D)
Next time you go charging into fire, take me with you.

LISA
Promise.

(beat)
We're a we now, huh?

JENNIE
Took you long enough.

They fall quiet again. Breathing together.

Outside, the base flickers with the hum of recovering systems.

Inside, the two of them hold on — to stillness, to each other, to the only peace they've known in a long time.