#op: reaperfall

[luca-moreno]

 X op: reaperfall I wanted to try something different to give all my boys a moment and ended up having a little too much fun with it. If it steps on any toes, feel free to ignore. Kept other char mentions vague to allow for own manovering - just in case it looks like I’m not spreading the love. sorta long, sorry. I have too many oc’s lol

-- 

“Wait, what’s happening?” Luca lifted his hands off the console and swore under his breath as the kit beeped softly in protest. “We just lost the connection.”

“Fucking move,” Kio snarled, shoving Luca out of the way. His hands ran over the holographic keys, entering commands as his face twisted into a grimace. “Shit. Shit! Nothing’s fucking happening, that’s fucking what!”

Luca was studying the readouts over his shoulder, even as Kiosho continued to work. “There!” He jabbed his finger at one of the crackling images. “They’re jamming us. Fuck, Ki, they’re jamming us. This is changes everything.”

“Not inspiring a lot of confidence here, boys,” Archer’s gravely mutter came from nearby. Luca quickly tapped his ear to activate his com as Kiosho’s fingers continued to fly, desperately trying to find a work around.

“Cap,” Luca said softly, his stomach sinking. “We’re gonna need a new plan.”

--

They conferred in the shadow of the ridge, keeping out of sight. The phoenix had toned down the bright shades of their armor, a curious little tech ability Luca hadn’t known existed and was determined to investigate in detail later. Mason, Isaac and the Major all wore identical tense expressions.

“So what are you saying exactly, Lieutenant?”

Luca didn’t let Isaac’s stiff tone bother him. He knew this wasn’t his adopted dad talking to him right now, this was the paladin, the captain. Kiosho shifted unhappily beside him but Luca didn’t spare the time to look at him.

“We need to inject the code manually,” Luca said, even as the thought of what laid ahead made his stomach want to turn to water. “We need to get inside the processing facility. Physically, uh. Hook it up-“

Isaac’s eyes closed briefly, thinking. At his side, Mason’s eyes narrowed and he glanced over Luca’s shoulder at the phoenix in the distance.

“We’ll get you in,” he said quietly. He shifted his gaze to Isaac. “All of you.”

--

Kiosho probably would have relished the mad dash through a haze of biotic eruptions, teleports and exploding bits of flying reaper tech if he hadn’t been trying so fucking hard to keep up. Luca was ahead of him, helmeted head down with the kit on his back, shadowing the fury and the paladin as they moved in the wake of the phoenix up ahead.

“You okay, big bro?” Luca’s voice sounded in his ear. The fucker barely sounded winded. Kiosho suddenly regretted blowing off so many of the training sessions Luca had tried to pull him into. It had been far more entertaining watching Luca’s ass get beat by Hurricane, Harris or his commander than it had been to cop a walloping himself, but now he wished he hadn’t been so slack.

“Don’t fucking worry about me-“ he wheezed, heart pumping. There was a boom beside him and he saw a smashed up overturned car come flying in his direction, only to be swatted out of the way like it was nothing by Sabre’s biotic lash. “Shit, thank-”

The modulated command out of the helmet was sharp and left no time for niceties. “Keep moving!” Sabre barked.

“Yeah, fuck. I’m going as fast as I can.”

“Almost there,” Luca’s voice sounded in his ear again. “Come on, bro. I need you on this.”

Kiosho put his head down and ran faster.

--

The processing centre was as gruesome as Mason had expected it to be, and then some. The filters on his armor churned overtime but he was still hit with the absolute stench of death and decay as they slipped into the opening Nico had nova’d right through the exterior wall moments ago. The vanguard was breathing hard behind his helmet and Mason motioned with one hand, issuing the command to move back then sending Enzo and Ben in to scout ahead.

“Take rear-guard, Zeus. You’re close to being out of juice. You need to cooldown.”

“Yeah,” Nico grunted, hanging by the door as the rest of them filed through.

Mason felt Eva before he saw her, the flickering dark death cloud swirling around her as she stood guard between the two engineers. Mason couldn’t see Luca and Kio’s faces behind their helmets but he could hear the nerves in their whispered tones.

Luca had his wrist up, his omnitool glowing.

“Where to, k- Lieutenant,” Mason corrected himself at the last second.

“Straight ahead, then four levels down. We… we need to get underground.”

Fuck. Mason didn’t want to think about how that was going to complicate their escape route. He glanced at the fury, wishing he could see her face between the eerie face plate. He’d always been disturbed by the Fury’s armor, but he supposed that was the point.

“Lead the way,” he said to the engineer, even as the tell-tale sound of biotic collisions and the shriek of a banshee made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. “We’ll stick close.”

Luca nodded and Mason heard the sharp inhalation of his breath to steady himself crackle in his ear. The fury clasped the engineer’s shoulder briefly then they were moving forward into the blood soaked hallways.

--

Enzo was in his element in the labyrinth of corridors in the processing centre. He moved quickly, blinking from spot to spot, drawing up and peeling out shreds of his biotic energy to keep his form tenuous and using the heavy blast of his hand canon to take out what his fists and feet couldn’t.

Husks, cannibals, marauders, even the banshees – they were less than nothing and he disposed of them with an efficiency drilled into him by years on the Cerberus treadmill.

And each crack, each blast, each bone shattering crunch and howl, left him feeling nothing. Just a mindless machine, killing, destroying, tearing asunder, until a tiny flicker in the back of his mind asked what made him any different to the husk’s with the glowing eyes that stared him down in the heartbeat he flicked out his whips and ripped their heads from their frames.

He felt nothing, right up until he did.

“Oh, fuck. Oh… oh gods, what… what is this?”

It was one of the engineers that wheezed it through the comms, at Enzo’s back as he stood in the wide doorway. They’d reached the heart of the facility, but what they found wasn’t the command centre like they had expected, instead they’d found something entirely different. Dragons teeth, but even more horrifyingly brutal.

“Kalahira,” the other one said, Ollie’s friend with his pack on his back, Enzo dimly noted. “They’re… Fuck, they’re still alive? Is… Fuck, is that right, is that… Oh, gods, it moved, they’re moving- We have to help them!”

Enzo’s armored palm slapped against the centre of the engineer’s chest, stopping him from moving any closer.

“There’s nothing we can do.”

His soft noise of protest was lost under the horrified gasps and shudders of the the others.

“You don’t want to see this,” Enzo said quietly.

The engineer didn’t move any closer but Enzo could hear his choppy breathing through the com. He strode forward, staring up at the misshapen shapes, once humans, once normal, everyday people going about their ordinary, normal mundane lives, only for the reapers to show up and be turned into… this.

One of them, grey skin, dull grey blood trickling down their chest turned it’s head. The eyes were still human and it wheezed, a wet, sticky sound that sent the engineer behind him bolting for the corner. He ripped off his helmet, and retched loudly onto the floor.

Enzo was barely aware of them doing it when the other phoenix fell into step beside him. He wasn’t alone as he walked around the room, dispatching the still twitching bodies with merciful crunches of bone or a blast to the temple. There wasn’t any helping these folk, they were too far gone under the reapers clutches, and as difficult as it was for them, Enzo didn’t let himself think how much worse it must have been for the captain.

These were his people after all.

When the grizzly job was done, Enzo circled back to the engineer. His helmet was still off, as though he didn’t trust himself to put it back on in case he vomited again. It was worse off, Enzo thought, the stench of the bodies was sickening. No one commented on how the floors slopped slightly, leading to a drain in the centre like an abattoir.

The engineer’s dark hair and red rimmed eyes suddenly made Enzo think of Oliver. Without thinking, he laid a hand against the engineer’s shoulder, making the smaller man jump then sniffle. Luca wiped the back of his hand over his mouth and straightened with a shaky breath.

“I’m okay,” he said to Enzo’s unspoken question.

“There’s no shame in it,” Enzo said, jerking his chin to the remains of the engineer’s breakfast and back at the horrors behind him. “There’s no shame in being soft.”

Luca stared up at him. He had such brown eyes and Enzo could see each one of his wild flurry of thoughts cycle through them before settling on something knowing. 

“Are you talking to me, or to Ollie?”

--

Nico clenched his fist and spooled his biotics around him, pulling them in tight until he was ready to unleash them against the wall. Nova was his strongest ability, more than his shockwaves, more powerful than any of his whips or lashes or charges. He used it now, slamming his braced knuckles against the wall, feeling it give way under his hand like the wall was nothing but flimsy paper.

Dust and light debris rained down around them.

“Holy shit,” Kiosho whispered then he was quickly pulling Luca through the hole behind him. Eva was already in the room, a humming energy source that could only have been the reaper’s glowing heart on the surface of the planet between her and where Ben stood on the other side. They’d already cleared the space, making sure it was safe for the engineers to finally get the virus where it was supposed to be.

“Do we have a connection?” Nico heard Luca ask Kiosho worriedly and the other engineer nodded. “Yeah, which doesn’t give you long to get your shit together to fly our bomb, little bro. You ready for this?”

“Ready. Captain,” Luca opened his comm to everyone. “Link established. Virus uploading in 3… 2…”

[callsigntitan]

operation:reaperfall

x, x

“Hush, Ennie.” Oliver silenced his lover with a smattering of chaste kisses, still bent over him on the ground. “Come with me.” Nothing short of worship flashed in his light green eyes as he held Enzo’s blood and dirt-caked face. “Let’s get you cleaned up and put you to bed, then.”

It took most of his strength to keep Enzo standing as he helped his lover onto the ship, pulling him past the armor lockers and scattered civilians to strip him in their room. “Oh no,” Oliver heard himself whisper at the small army of children scattered among the refugees. As concerned as he was for… well… everything, no small part of Oliver was concerned that Enzo’s armor might be the only thing holding him together.

Oliver took small comfort in seeing Nico plopped next to Ben, both men talking quietly. He made a mental note to reach out once he got Enzo settled. He backed himself against the elevator wall so that his lover could lean more weight on him and smoothed his slim fingers over the vanguard’s dirty golden hair. “I’m so proud of you, Ennie.” He pressed a small kiss to the first part of Enzo’s face that he could reach, breathing the other man in deep. “I love you so much, okay?”

-

Oliver stripped Enzo of his armor reverently, running his long hands over all of the tall vanguard’s bumps and bruises with kisses and soothing, whispered tones.

The larger room didn’t have a full shower but it had a small sink for handwashing, oral care, etc. Ollie filled a bowl from the mess with warm water and used one of his clean t-shirts to gently wipe the blood and dirt off Enzo’s face and neck.

“Ollie.” Enzo’s voice sounded like it had been ripped raw from his throat and his perfect lips were dry and cracked. Oliver reached for the biotic recovery drink by the bedside and opened it to help Enzo take small sips with Oliver’s hand at the back of his neck.

“Shh. Just rest." He checked his lover’s head wound with a pretty frown and hummed a happy little tune that the women of his tiny village used to sing on laundry day, rocking Ennie’s head in his lap until the vanguard’s eyes only stopped watching him to drift peacefully shut.

[captain-cerrillo]

“Miller. Major.” Isaac paused, one hand holding Eva’s the other with a dufflebag thrown over his shoulder. He waited for them both to meet his eyes. “Dinner table debriefing. 19:30.” He exaggerated his wary expression, brown eyes drifting over Maddox. “That’s four hours. And god herself won’t be able to save you from the wrath of my mother if you’re late.”

Marie smiled innocently just as Maddox stepped closer to grab a handful of both of their asses with a shit-eating grin and a devious twinkle in his sparkling blue eyes. Archer and Isaac both offered a little snort. “Four hours, then,” the major replied. Both of them were already being pulled against the large adept’s chest.

Isaac turned away with a genuine smile and forgot about them just as fast. He gripped Eva’s hand a little tighter, raising an eyebrow as they stepped off the ship with a little smirk. “You ready to go?”

“Sure,” she offered, blue eyes flicking between her lover and the Berlin’s noisy doors as they creaked shut. He led her away, walking backwards so that he didn’t have to take his eyes off, drinking everything about the love of his life on his home dirt for the very first time. “You wanna tell me how we’ll get there?” She rolled her head to the side, teasing him with a little smile and a twinkle in her eyes. “I’m still a little ported out so-”

“Actually.” He pulled her just a little bit further, mostly to keep the blowback from the Berlin’s lift off from blowing more dirt and debris into their faces. He pulled her against him, smiling as he kissed her forehead, before turning her around in his arms.

He hugged her back to his chest, rested his head on her slim shoulder and sighed happily at the way her hands curled around his forearms to keep him close. They watched the Berlin hum and hiss before it gently lifted. It hovered for a long minute before it climbed above the low tree line, heading south. “Alternate modes of transportation I can do.”

-

“Pa!” Eva’s head snapped up, blue eyes glowing at the shriek of a teenaged boy. “Isaac’s back!”

“Hey Timmy.” Isaac was only vaguely aware of the way Eva watched him. He must have seemed like a stranger in the moment. He waved in wide gestures at a the boy through the screen door. “Just grabbing the keys.”

Like he’d done it a million times, Isaac walked to one spot and felt along on part of a metal beam that made up the interior framework of the small parking structure. A key flashed in the low light beside his satisfied smile. “Got it!”

He gestured Eva toward the vaguely vehicle-shaped cover in the center of the structure and moved to uncover it almost reverently. It had been so many years. Isaac’s smile practically sparkled as he held open the passenger side door of the shining black vintage car. “Timmy, tell your folks to come by tomorrow. Mama’s made some friends,” he yelled over his shoulder, gently shutting the door behind Eva and running around the back to hop in the driver’s side.

He couldn’t get the key in the ignition fast enough and he lost at least a decade when the childish joy of hearing that ancient engine purr again spread across his face. “Timmy’s dad, Mike, was a good friend of my dad. He was with my old man when he bought her. Since it’s not unusual for it to be years between visits for me, they help me take care of Evangeline-” He paused with his hand on the dash, suddenly anxious about his slip. “I didn’t name her. But I also don’t hate it. She has quite the personality.” He patted the steering wheel with a grin before throwing an arm around Eva’s seat and brushing a kiss to her smooth cheek to back the car out onto the rough gravel of the rural residential back roads.

“I hope you don’t mind the long way.” Isaac’s eyes twinkled in a whole new light as they set out on the small town streets. “I just wanted to show you my home. All of my home.”

[mason-knight-retired]

X reaperfall, the drop “Is it really a good idea for him to be in here?”

Mason glanced over at the engineer, standing behind the captain and the XO, the fury on one side and his brother on the other as they all crowded into to the Berlin’s situation room. Luca looked tense, fists clenched tightly at his side and his face pale under his hair. Mason understood Ethan’s concern, the last thing they needed was the engineer losing it in the middle of the op if this went pear-shaped.

“Marie’s already read him the riot act. If he so much as twitches, Nico will haul him out of here so fast his head will spin.”

Ethan’s gaze shifted to the big vanguard, leaning against the back wall. “Ah. So he’s security. And here I assumed he was just avoiding Ares.”

“Oh,” Mason quirked a sardonic grin. “He’s doing that too.”

Mason turned his attention back the screen in front of them. The situation room of the Berlin was teaming, far too full than what it needed to be but there was so much riding on this that almost the entire crew was collectively holding their breath.

The captain leaned against the table, peering intently at the holographic display in the centre. It was painted in glowing shapes that displayed Terra Nova’s curved surface and the destroyer parked against it. A multitude of blips and rolling text hovered other points of interest, but there was only one that held everyone’s attention –

The moving dot of blue, representing the shuttle piloted by Lieutenant Ryan, as dropped out of FTL beyond the shadow of Terra Nova’s second moon.

“Their heat signature,” Marie murmured to the captain, arms folded across her chest. Mason only heard it on account of his enhancements. “It’s going to attract unwanted attention if they’re not careful.”

Isaac’s face twisted but they’d been over the plan. He issued his instructions to the shuttle’s pilot over the comms anyway. “You’ll need to go slow, Lieutenant. Shut down your engines and lose yourself in the debris. Drift for as long as you can. That’s your best shot of getting to the surface undetected.”

Lieutenant Ryan’s acknowledgement crackled through the speakers and it was a tense wait as the shuttle drifted into position. Getting the shuttle and its cargo to the surface was a fool’s errand but the only one they had. Isaac swallowed once, a tick in his jaw the only sign of his nerves.

“Ryan, you’ll only get one shot at this.”

There was another crackle and a hiss over the speakers, then Ryan’s voice came through. “Aye, roger that.”

They watched on the display as the shuttle’s nose kissed the hot ionized gases of the atmosphere. Its trajectory changed as Ryan fired the thrusters to aid re-entry and soon the little shuttle was skimming its way to the drop point.

The room was silent, not even breath and all eyes trained on the display. The wait was indeterminable but then the speakers crackled again. Lieutenant Ryan’s tone conveyed relief and triumph as he spoke. “Package delivered.”

A quick cheer erupted among the assembled crew. The captain visibly sagged with relief and Marie’s face was pinched although a proud little smile graced her lips. And the engineer… he was squeezing the pretty blonde fury for dear life in his relief.

Even Mason couldn’t help but exchange a glance with his husband and grin but the captain’s voice was soon cutting through the cheers and excited chatter like butter. Silence descended again immediately.

Isaac straightened, his face once again a mask of command as he spoke into the com. “Hurry home, Lieutenant. As for the rest of us - Now the real work begins.”

[gabriel-patterson]

Pre-Op: Reaperfall

Gabriel rarely felt nervous before battle and this time was not different. He felt oddly calm, almost serene despite knowing the odds they were going against.

Maybe it was because he had made peace with whatever the outcome would be when it came to himself, but if there was one thing he was determinted to do and that was made sure that Archer, Marie and Maddox came out of things alive.

He hadn’t been with them since coming to the Berlin, couldn’t bring himself to do it. He didn’t regret having slept with them the times he did, but there was more going on between his friend and his two lovers than Gabriel realised and he just couldn’t do it. “I’m just too old for that shit,” he mumbled to himself as he looked out the large observation window from his spot on the floor, a half-empty bottle of whiskey sitting next to him.

No, the three of them had something good going on and Gabriel was not going to be the asshole to ruin it for them. Instead he would do his part and ensure that Archer would survive the mission, that Maddox and Marie would be safe. He could ensure their happy ending.

He took a deep drink from the glass, closing his eyes as he let the whiskey roll over his tongue and down his throat. 

“I’m the fucking dragon,” he hummed to himself and allowed himself a small smirk. “And I’ll protect my shit with all I have. You just fucking watch me, you Reaper piece of shit. You will go down.”

[luca-moreno]

op: reaperfall/terra nova

X

[before]

“I can’t believe the first fucking spacewalk I get to do in my life and it’s to stick bombs to this thing,” Luca complained as he welded the rigging to the batarian freighter. It had been stripped back to its bare bones, anything salvageable taken away by the drones and ferried over to the Berlin’s mass effect shielded open bay and converted to remote flight with control tethered to the Berlin’s systems and Ryan’s deft hands.

Kiosho floated nearby, tethered like Luca was but far braver as he fired his boosters and leaped across the ship’s hull.

“I can’t wait to see this fucking thing light up.” Even from a distance Luca could see the flash of his teeth behind his helmet. “It’s gonna be fucking awesome. Boom, boom you fuckers. Whatever our code doesn’t get, this shaky, leaky bastard will.”

“I hope so,” Luca said. He finished his task and stood up, tapping a command into his ‘tool. He switched his coms to the private subspace band he’d commandeered for himself and Ryan weeks ago. “Hey, LT, can you see me?”

He peered into the darkness, trying to spot the Berlin where she lurked in the shadow of a planetoid. She was running dark, not quite on auxiliary power but dimmed enough to stay secure while they prepped for the mission to liberate Terra Nova.

A small crackle preceded his lover’s voice and Luca threw his arms up, waving because he knew Ryan would be watching on the enhanced sensors in the cockpit.

“Aye, love. I see you. I ken you’re the prettiest thing on that sorry excuse for a ship.”

Luca grinned. “You can tell Cap and the Commander that we’re finished here. Boom Boom is officially ready to go boom right up that reaper’s huge metal ass.”

Ryan laugh was soft in Luca’s ear. “Aye, roger that. See you when you get back.”

Luca motioned to Kiosho to head back to the shuttle. Harris and the rest of the crew that had been roped in to assisting them were already there. He gave one last wave towards the Berlin.

“We’ll be back before you know it.”

--

[now]

“Luca, you’re up.”

Everyone was moving the moment the klaxons started blaring. Luca’s world turned red and Luca hand was tugged just as he was scrambling to his feet.

Ryan cupped his face, planting one long, chaste kiss against his mouth in the middle of the chaos. Panic tried to claw it’s way up Luca’s throat before he resolutely shoved it back down. They’d all been waiting for this, they knew what they would have to to.

“Be safe,” Ryan said softly, drawing back. His blue eyes told Luca more than his words ever could. “I love you, boy.”

“Love you, too,” Luca whispered back. There was another quick peck against his mouth and then Eva was pulling on his arm.

“Come on, Lulu, we gotta go.”

“Yep, yep, I got it, let’s go.”

They folded into the crowd hustling through the corridors and suited up quickly. The ajax armor Luca wore wasn’t space worthy but it didn’t need to be. It would be a straight shot to the surface then they’d separate into individual teams. He caught Kiosho’s look, helmet tucked under his arm, his mismatched eyes tight at the corners.

“The fuck have you been? Sucking face again?”

“Shut up,” Luca laughed, because it his nerves were already so frayed if he didn’t laugh he might start to cry instead. “You ready? Where are the drones?”

“In the shuttle, were the fuck do you think they are?”

“Good to roll?”

Kiosho gave him a grin as the shuttle quickly filled. Luca cycled through the preflight checks quickly and set the engines into gear. He could hear Isaac in the rear, already issuing orders and he didn’t bother to complain when his brother flopped down heavily in the copilot seat beside him. He cast Kiosho a narrow look.

“Kalahira tits, it’s still weird seeing you in Alliance get up,” he told him.

Kiosho snorted. “Funny, I was gonna say the same thing about your puny ass.” He paused then caught Luca’s gaze and held it. “Scared, little bro?”

“Fucking terrified,” Luca said honestly. “But what else is new?”

“What are we waiting for, anyway?”

Luca looked up and gestured through the shuttles windows. Striding into the cargo bay were the phoenix, a phalanx of color bright enough that they almost looked like a walking flame. Gold, scarlet, burnt orange, midnight and electric blue armors, helmets held loosely against their hips, faces beautiful and impassive like the marble gods so many of them were named for.

Luca jerked his chin and Kiosho looked over. “Them.”

[luca-moreno]

I'm in love with you.

I want to give you everything. My past. My future. All of it.

It's you and me, Luca.

Luca was still trying to catch his breath when Ryan leaned down and whispered the words into his ear. He moaned softly, partly from Ryan’s breath on his flushed skin, partly from the thrill that rolled through him with every murmur of Ryan's promises.

He rubbed his fingers along Ryan’s jaw, digging his fingers in gently into his scruff before tugging him into a kiss.

“You and me,” he whispered back and Ryan shifted enough to trace a fingertip over Luca’s sweat slicked collarbone towards where the light collar sat at his throat. “I’m yours. I think I always have been.”

He sighed happily as Ryan leaned down to kiss him again, punctuating the touch with another insistent roll of his hips.

Luca whined weakly. “Ry, I… I’m so wrecked.”

“Aye,” Ryan’s eyes danced with lewd satisfaction. “Ye are.”

Luca couldn’t help the small laugh. Their passionate lovemaking wasn’t entirely what he meant but Ryan knew that.

“No, I mean… I think I need to sleep before dinner. But I don’t want to. I wanna stay here with you in me, but I wanna go exploring with you and I wanna see the farm and talk some more to Mara and-“

“Ye ken still do all that love. There’s time enough for all of it.”

Luca fiddled with an imaginary thread, biting his lips. His eyelids felt so heavy and just a few hours ago they had all been fighting for their lives. The highs and the lows of the last twenty four hours was starting to grate on him.

But he still couldn't let Ryan go.

“I know Mara wants to catch up with you," he whispered, trying to think of a happy medium they could be satisfied with. "But, um. Will you stay? Just until I fall asleep?”

[mason-knight-retired]

(post reaperfall op)

X

Mason smacked his husband’s ass before rolling off and heading into the small washroom attached to their quarters. He caught sight of himself in the mirror as he flicked on the taps, turning to inspect the jagged wound against his side. He’d been in more fights with reapers than he could count but that was by far the closest call he’d had with a banshee’s claws. The nanites in his blood had taken on the worst of it, healing him faster than an average human could hope for but there was no more Cerberus to blend away the superficial scarring it would leave behind, or repair the cybernetic weave of his skin.

It wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened and he told himself he’d go see Kate later, even drag the whole squad with him to check their baselines, make sure they were all still running at optimal levels even without their careful tuning from the Cerberus mainframe. Better to be on top of any issues now when they were small, rather than wait for a catastrophic failure out in the field.

With that thought in mind, he tapped out a quick message to Ben, cc’d Nico to make sure it was enforced then send it off. He stepped in under the spray of the water and let it wash away the last of his tension.

Then he’d go explore whatever delights this planet still had left to offer.

[mason-knight-retired]

(just a quiet op: reaperfall sidebar thing he wanted)

--

Mason took a moment to step away from the group into Terra Nova’s night air. It was cool on the field, not that Mason could feel much beyond the brush against his cheeks and the rustle of his hair. He’d taken a page out of Ben’s book and stripped to half kit while they waited for the signal to go. Mason was feeling the same, familiar tightening in the pit of his stomach that always preluded a fight.

And this one had him uneasy and for reasons he couldn’t quite pinpoint save that there were too many unknowns.

“Figured you’d be out here brooding in the dark,” Mason heard his husband say, unsurprised when Ethan materialized out of the gloom to stand beside him. They looked out over the ridge, over the fields and into the distance were a low orange glow threw up a smear across the sky. Mason knew it was Scott city, or what was left of it. He knew the reaper that was there and the processing centre survivors were being herded to. He knew they had a plan and a mission and fire power they previously hadn’t until now.

But it all felt slightly off kilter.

“Busted,” he said softly, sighing as he folded his arms across his chest and rocked back on a heel. He didn’t need to hide his unease from Ethan. Wouldn’t have been able to if he tried.

“You planning to share?”

Mason pursed his mouth. “Who’s asking? Sabre, or my husband?”

Ethan was quiet for a moment, then Mason felt Ethan’s arms slide around him from behind and pull him back against his broad chest. “You husband,” he said softly. “Sabre is off duty for an hour or so. I’d like Huntsman to take a hike for a little while too.”

Mason snorted slightly but settled in against Ethan, tipping his head against his. Unfamiliar sounds echoed around them, Terra Nova’s teeming night life. “I suppose he could do that. Actually,” Mason turned in Ethan’s arms and pulled him close for a kiss. “You know what? I’ve always wanted to get handsy in a field with you. What do you say to that? A little pre battle make out...”

He caught Ethan’s grimace in the dark and laughed. “Don’t worry, I promise to help pick the grass out of your hair.”