#they get all huffy when people try to strain themselves.

[cashmonei]

Hey. Huge brain idea. Emotional support gallade. Service animal gallade. It's literally just a kind, dutiful guy you cannot tell me gallade wouldn't VASTLY benefit from being like those seeing eye dogs n shit.

[obeiii-mee]

Hey! I have a really loud and particular laugh that seems to carry quite literally throughout my house and there have been many times people have bought it up with me (I can’t help it my laugh is just loud & contagious!!). Could I request the bros reaction to MC who quite literally is unable to laugh quietly and ends up being heard through the whole of the house? Thank you!🥰

This is so sweet, geez imma get cavities. I also have a very loud laugh and I startle people a lot when I start laughing so I get what you mean!

These HCs are probably written a lot better because suddenly I’m full energy and motivation-

———————————————

The Brothers with an MC who has a loud and particular laugh:

Lucifer:

-He’ll never admit it but whenever you start laughing or even smiling, he can’t really stop himself from doing it too

-Like, he looks at you as you start cackling about a funny meme Levi just showed you and he’s holding back a smile-

-Because, even though you have such a loud and some would say ‘obnoxious’ laugh, he thinks you just sound so precious

-He really struggles to show that he’s not affected by you as much as he actually is

-Even if you start laughing at an inappropriate time, he’d likely not even tell you off properly

- Would never say anything of the sort to your face, but he low-key admires you

-He thinks it’s amazing that a simple human like you that has experienced so many horrible things every since they arrived in literal hell, can have the ability to laugh so heartily even now

-If you’re in public and start doing your boisterous laugh, he will keep a stoic expression on his face

-There’s a hint of a blush on his cheeks if you look close enough, though I doubt anyone is crazy enough to point it out

-In private though? Appreciate these moments y’all, because it’s one of the few rare times you’ll see him laugh freely

-Even when he’s around his brothers and trying to keep a straight face, you can see his lips threatening to curve upwards

-Basically, he thinks you’re baby and your laugh makes him feel at ease

Mammon:

-I head canon that he also has a very particular laugh because he gives off those kind of vibes

-He probably doesn’t even notice how loud you are when you start wheezing

-Normally, he’d join in and start laughing with you as the rest of the brothers take out their sound blocking ear muffs for the third time that day

-You two are loud ok?

-Poor Lucifer who not only has insomnia and is a workaholic, he also has two idiots giggling to themselves in the middle of the night

-When I said Mammon is trying to get a laugh out of you any hour of the day

-I mean any hour

-He will wake you up to just hear your voice and then proceed to run out as you start yelling at him

-Even if he were to notice it, the worst reaction you’re gonna get out of him is a bit of teasing

-“Ya sound like you’re dyin’ over there human. You alright?”

-When in reality, he’s even more smitten with you because your laugh is just another one of your amazing qualities

-Mammon does the stupidest shit in front of you to make you and hear you laugh because it warms his heart

-Even if he wouldn’t admit it, to you or to himself

-The only time he ‘doesn’t like’ it when you laugh is if you’re poking fun at him with his brothers

-That gets him all huffy puffy and sad

-For a minute, before he’s thrown himself onto you again

-Greedy for money and greedy for affection of course

Levi:

-ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap

-“YOU SOUND JUST LIKE THE MAIN CHARACATER’S LOVE INTEREST FROM THIS NEW ANIME I’M WATCHING! IT’S CALLED: PEOPLE KEEP TELLING ME I’M IN LOVE WITH MY BEST FRIEND BUT I’M ACTUALLY NOT, THOUGH WHOA THEY HAVE SUCH A PRETTY LAUGH!”

-Catch him rambling about it for five minutes straight

-Before stopping abruptly, flushing from head to toe and starting to stutter like he forgot how to speak

-This usually has you laughing again, in a more sympathetic and encouraging way and he just...dies

-He doesn’t like his laugh, at all

-He thinks it sounds really awkward and tense

-So he’s low-key jealous about your rather impulsive laugh because it’s so sweet??? And amazing and cute??? Just like you???

-But at the same time, it’s hard for him to be jealous of it when he loves it so much

-Why do you think he keeps coming to you whenever he finds funny memes or compilations online???

-“I don’t expect a normie like you to understand but look at this.”

-He gets a stupidly cute kick out of knowing that he is the one making you laugh

-I suggest trying not to laugh too much while he’s playing video games because your laugh distracts him so much

-And he will throw his headset at you

-Affectionately of course

Satan:

-He doesn’t give much of a reaction besides a quirked eyebrow and a quiet ‘Oh?’

-Sure, he doesn’t really like it when his brothers are being noisy either because they’re laughing too loudly or because they are fighting gladiator style outside his room

-But you’re the exception

-The only person in that household that could get away with interrupting his reading/work is you

-May come as a surprise to some, but sometimes Satan does get worried for you

-If he hasn’t seen you in a while he might start thinking that something is wrong

-But then he’d hear you laughing from downstairs and he’d smile and think “Eh they’re alright.”

-He thinks your laugh sounds so much more endearing than his own psychotic laugh 🥰🥰🥰

-Will throw one of his precious books at any of his brothers if they make fun of the way you laugh

-Basically, he has the biggest heart eyes for you but he’s too good at hiding it

-Laugh with him whenever something embarrassing happens to Lucifer and he will be so pleased and happy for the rest of the day

Asmo:

-“MC my dear, has anyone mentioned what a wonderfully charming laugh you have? And that says something coming from me.”

-Asmo also has a very noticeable laugh

-Not exactly loud but it could be considered obnoxious (to his brothers) and he giggles all the time when he’s very excited

-Having Asmodeous as your partner is basically the same thing as dating your best friend

-Despite being the Avatar of Lust, your relationship with him is super healthy and even he takes comfort in that

-You’d both be chuckling to yourselves in Majolish or something because this bïtch is hilarious if he wants to be

-“Oh my Lord Diavolo! MC, look! I found the perfect outfit for Mammon!!”

-And it’s a Disney princess dress the size of a fuckn toddler

-You guys laughed so hard you got kicked out >:(

-But you ended up buying that dress for Mammon anyway lmaoo

-Spending too much time with Asmo is similar to the whole “I’m trying to be quiet in class but me and my friend keep laughing every time we look at each other”

-The way both of you have to strain yourselves from full on cackling when Lucifer has a go at either of you 😌

-Except you seriously can’t laugh because you will be ✨murdered✨

-“What do you mEAN YOU DON’T LIKE YOUR LAUGH, YOUR LAUGH IS GORGEOUS! NOT AS GORGEOUS AS MINE OBVIOUSLY BUT IT EASILY COMES IN SECOND!”

-That’s the kind of hype he gives you all day every day

Beel:

-The first time he properly heard you laugh was when you started making puns and you were laughing like crazy at your own jokes (samesies)

-And he just loves seeing you this happy because he gets happy and then he doesn’t even want to eat anymore, he just wants to hug you

-“I like your laugh. Do it again for me?”

-Your heart went doki doki

-It’s common for Beel to make you all flustered without meaning to and then you nervously start laughing again because you feel so awkward

-BUT your face brightens up so much when you start laughing or even smiling and he can’t help himself from complimenting you

-Your joyous and loud chuckles always cheer him up

-To the point where he completely forgets how hungry he is

-Took you a while to figure this one out but his mood sort of changes with yours??

-If you’re visibly sadder than usual, he his morale is also surprisingly low and he starts eating more than usual

-In comparison to when you’re all bubbly and doing that beautiful laugh of yours and he gets like these butterflies in his stomach instead of the usual pangs of pain and hunger

-So now he just wants to hear your voice in general on repeat for the rest of eternity

-Im not crying you are

Belphie:

-“You’re too loud dumbass, I’m tryin’ to nap here.”

-Will deadass throw a pillow at your face if you wake him up

-Like hes so rude and for what?

-He loves you and your annoying as fuck laugh, he really does I promise

-It’s a special, unique part of you and all that sappy crap

-But keep it up and you will have a very cranky boyfriend to deal with for the rest of the month

-He can be such an ass at times if he’s in a bad mood

-“I should tape your mouth shut.”

-“Kinky-“

-“Shut up.”

-But as much as he hates being woken up by somebody else, he would much prefer waking up to your voice rather anyone else’s

-You usually wake him up in the mornings to get ready for RAD and you start giggling every time he pulls a face at you and complains that he doesn’t wanna

-“What are you? An alarm clock?”

-And then he just sort of pulls you to him and goes with a completely straight face:

-“You’re annoying but you can be my alarm clock if you want to.”

-He’s either flirting or is so sleepy he’s being unusually soft hELP

—————————-

Thank you for reading! And for all the reblogs and follows. You guys don’t even know how much I appreciate your support. Especially at times when I’m not as motivated to write and now that the fandom has fizzled out a bit.

Also imma have to make a master list soon or something

Al~

[obeymeluv]

Red String of Fate

Something a little different! Drabble lead + headcanons! I really like the idea of being connected to someone, so have this~

Also: very long, so I only did a few of the brothers. I tend to do them in order but I tried to jump around for variety’s sake since I published a partial post the other day.

Features: Lucifer, Mammon, and Asmo (short-ish, but for a reason. Makes sense when you read the lead-up),

I have to get to bed. Need to get up early for studying + a morning class. Really love this idea so I’ll be working on something unique for the rest of the bros :)

Casual conversations about soulmates and bad dates inspires Asmo to find your one true love. He swears up and down there’s a book that can do it. Being a lover of love and feeling like it’s his duty to see you off into the best of hands—the hands made to hold you!—he sets out to find the book. Legend says Cupid pricked his finger while writing out love lists with his enchanted quill and threw the dirty pages away, deeming them unusable. Instead of being discarded, they were salvaged by another and turned into a book that would answer any love-related question the reader had.

All it would cost is a drop of blood.

Cupid, who was very serious about his task of uniting hearts and forging bonds, felt insulted by the book. He felt cheapened and could not see the joy it would bring before his arrow was destined to arrive. In a fit of rage he threw it from the heavens, assuming it would disintegrate before landing in another’s hands.

He was wrong.

The book circulated for centuries, making its way through humble and haughty, poor and princely. Some say it even inspired the most romantic of playwrights. It was kept by a family of matchmakers for generations before their home was pillaged and burned by a spurned heart. Traded out of guilt or in a desperate moment for silver or food (Asmo didn’t remember which), it ended up in the hands of a scholar. He sat with his crush and read the book, the two asking it hundreds of questions and finding themselves quite content with each other.

After the two got married, they were convinced it was a lucky charm of sorts and passed it along to their friends. Once those friends found their true loves, it started a chain of giving. When one family had all of their children married off, they would pass the book on to someone else. The book spent a fair amount of time collecting dust when one person lost their soulmate too soon and didn’t open it for about five years, convinced it would stay blank. A new love came into their life and they were so moved by the magic, by the joy, that they donated the book to a thrift shop.

Asmodeus lost the history after the thrift shop. Too many people went in and out of it, too much time had passed. All he knew is that it ended up in the hands of a witch who made serious money off of love potions and romantic divinations. One of her grandchildren—a quarter succubus and three-quarters human—had donated it to RAD’s library.

He should’ve just texted his friends about the damn thing instead of researching it like Levi does his events. Should he be proud of all the effort? You could be, but he was kind of put off by all the work. It was shabby and beaten, hardly bigger than a typical planner. Definitely unassuming and definitely looked like it’d seen some things. Asmodeus was expecting something gorgeously gilded and velvet.

Hopefully a peek into your future would make up for all the disappointment. “I bet it’s me.” he touched a finger to his soft lips with a giddy smile, little ring glinting in the light. He practically skipped out of the library and back to the House of Lamentation. At the very least, he’d get to go on and on about how he found it and how grateful you should be that he cares for you so much to do so!

Asmodeus whisks you away into his room, the bed already set with pillows that were both aesthetic and luxurious. Nothing too out of the norm for him, but he wanted something that complimented the romantic undertones of this little endeavor. He coddled the two of you in a plush pink blanket before cracking it open and guiding your finger along the edge of the page. The red soaked in, ink blossoming in a faint pink that turned a brilliant scarlet.

The book grew warm, almost burning as the scarlet began to sear and shimmer on the page. You heard him hiss and grabbed the book as he started to squirm and scoot out from under it. You’d barely grabbed the book when pinky-red smoke exploded violently in your face. It didn’t burn or have a taste but it was surprisingly thick.

“What? No names!” Asmodeus had finally swatted away enough of the smoke to see a blank book. “It’s supposed to be names!” he scowled, kittenish fangs threatening to poke at his lower lip.

“Maybe there’s been a revision,” you blinked distractedly, talking more to yourself than him. Nope, still there. You wagged your finger at Asmodeus, showing off the bright red string tied around it.

His oncoming rant receded immediately, eyes shining a gorgeous and unmistakable pink. “Let’s see where it goes!”

To Lucifer:  

He’s in the middle of doing paperwork (shocker) when he finds a vibrant red string tangling in his pen and catching on the lines

Tries to shake it off (very undignified, glad no one saw it)

Puts his pen down to pick at it and untie it. When that doesn’t work, he slips the opposite glove off with his teeth and lets his demon aura come out just enough to turn his fingernails into claws

That didn’t work either

Physically tries to pull the string off and begrudgingly stops when he realizes his finger might come off first

A huffy, annoyed man

Takes an awkward pic with his D.D.D and sends it to Diavolo, wanting to know if it’s a prank

Diavolo swears it’s not and Barbatos suggests it could be the red string theory, that thing some humans believe in.

Could it be true? Does he have a soulmate? Could he, being a fallen angel? Demons had soul mates?

All the questions swirl and he just leans back in his fancy padded chair to absorb it all. There’s something beautifully sad and...comforting...at the thought of demons having a soulmate, someone made just for them

Lucifer doesn’t really think that a soulmate’s at the end of the string, but he tells himself it’s a walk for the sake of his health, to stretch, and sets off to find the string

The eldest is quite surprised to run into you and Asmo, the string clearly tied around your finger.

“A bit overboard, don’t you think, Asmo?” Lucifer’s a little aggravated by it. What is this, a set up?!

His little brother swears against it, holding up a beaten book not even Mammon would waste money on.

Apparently, the string disappears when the soulmates touch their fingers together. Lucifer rolls his eyes and tries to soften his scowl as he presses his finger to yours.

You’re both surprised when the string thickens until it resembles a ribbon, kinking in the shape of a heart before disappearing in a burst of pinky-red smoke that has your fingers tingling

Lucifer says nothing, silently stunned and heart yearning at the tingling in his finger. It’s warm, like your love.

To Mammon:

IS IT ONE OF THE WITCHES?! IS THIS A TRACKER?!

First reaction: “OI! What the hell?!”

Also shakes his finger

Immediate second reaction is to chew on it and try to get it off

Ends up sucking on his tender finger like a baby because he basically chewed on himself instead of the string

Texted all the sorcerers and witches he knew. They all deny hexing him or mentioning him in potion-making.

He’s surprised to find he can still move around with the string. It’s not straining or limiting him, so he goes in his closet of magical seals, peeling a few back to reveal a sizeable hoard of stuff he’d stolen over the centuries (including some stuff he had on him from the Fall).

He tries daggers of all sizes and types. They don’t cut the string, either

When nothing seems to work, he marches towards the source, wrapping it around his fist with a grumble.

He pulls on it at random just because it’s a minor inconvenience and he couldn’t get it off.

Mammon notice that it runs under Asmo’s door and he yanks on it really hard, hoping he’s tearing thread off of a sweater or something. Annoying ass little brother!

When you yelp he freezes. Brain hasn’t quite kicked in yet and he yanks it again to check the reaction. Another yelp, and a thick thud behind the door.

Sounds like you’re involved somehow. Oops.

Turns out you had a hard time coming out of the room because he wound the string too quick (and weren’t strong enough to tug it back to yourself)

Asmo’s in the middle of lecturing him as he squishes your poor little face, scowling and lamenting that MAMMON is your soulmate. MAMMON, of all people, who’d been smacking you against a door for the last few minutes!

Now Mammon’s interested and needs the story

Gets a biiiig shit-eating grin when he realizes what’s happened.

Takes your hand with his usual fanfare of ‘’Course I would be! I’m their MAIN man! Their BEST man!”

The string seems to tie your hands together for a brief moment before exploding in a burst of smoke and Mammon’s still grinning like an idiot.

He doesn’t let go of your hand

To Asmodeus:

He’s waving that smoke away when he feels a new, subtle weight on his finger

Whatever it is, it’s flitting and ticklish. He can feel it catching on some of the fashion rings he wears

Asmodeus doesn’t know whether he wants to purr or squeal. He did something that hurt your human ears though.

Didn’t realize it hurt your ears until after the noise bottoms out to a lower pitch, and immediately cups his hands over yours ears, sliding them up into your hair while he showers the crown of your head in apology kisses.

Makes a video clip to send to the bros in a group chat and has to redo it several times because they can’t really hear his words over the smug purring and clicking

It warms his heart to know he has a real soulmate. Asmodeus really struggles with the concept of genuine, non-sexual love.

He figured the most he could ever get was platonic love or brotherly love, but this is a whole new thing for him and he’s honestly blown away

For a brief moment he feels like Heaven’s Jewel again, so treasured and special. It almost makes him cry

He’s lowkey crying.

100% takes advantage of the fact that your fingers are tied together until you touch fingertips. You guys giggle quietly and cuddle close as he loops the string around his finger so you put your arm around his neck

“You don’t need a string to make me touch you, you know.” you tease him, wrinkling your nose in that cute human way you have

“I know,” Asmo gives you an Eskimo kiss that turns into a few butterfly kisses on your mouth, leaning over you and into you.

Totally uses the string as an excuse to cuddle you and turn down any activities the bros want you to go to. (”Can’t, they’re kind of tied up.”)

Let this baby bask in his sure thing, okay? He really needs it, and you know he’s good for it

Gives you hand kisses and cuddles into you

Gets the bright idea to try to bottle the smoke that’ll erupt when you touch fingertips. Sacrifices his most beautiful perfume bottle to immortalize this moment

Catches the littlest bit, so thin that he has to hold it up to the light to see it.

Complains about probably swallowing most of it during that attempt

Is now even more shameless about demanding his cuddles and attention because you guys are destined lovers.

[hexhellyeah]

Golden Apple of My Eye

Yandere Jade Leech X Reader

    Jades golden eye gleamed in the dimly lit restaurant. Blending in with the sparse golden lit orbs in the Monstro Lounge as you took a sip of your near empty drink. Watching you like always. You had barely ever noticed his presence all those other times. 

Watching you on your way to class. 

Seeming so tired yet always seemed to perk up by the end of the first lesson even if you barely got any sleep last night. 

Watching you in between your classes, shuffling down the halls. 

Talking with that weird familiar of yours, the one who liked causing too much of a ruckus. 

Watching you pick what you were going to eat in the cafeteria. 

You always did keep to the same drink like always. Did you just like routine or was it that it truly was one of your favorite drinks? 

Watching you on your way back to your dorm.

 Happy to see you back safe and sound. Away from all that could potentially hurt you. It was so sweet just watching you get home and relax. Taking off your shoes, getting into cozier clothes, getting to lay back on your bed before even looking at any potential homework. 

Even just watching you play with those other first years. 

They certainly took so much of your time didn’t they? What made them so special for it? Was it just by the luck of being in your class? Or did you actually become friends due to your personalities? Surely some of them just had to be because of convenience. Most do just stick with whats convenient. 

    And now here, Jade was watching you with some student he knew wasn’t one of your ‘close friends’. Who were they? You certainly seemed to be interacting much like the early couples that came in. Was it truly a date? Or was he worrying too much? You were always so friendly with so many people. Sure you were polite but the hidden warmth of your personality always ebbing out. How could anyone say no to that? Fire burning in his throat as he watched the man you were with move to put his hand over yours.

    Either way, something needed to be done. 

    Jade scanned the restaurant seeing Floyd coming out almost passing him before he gave him a motion over to your table. Giving Floyd a sharp look with mischief sparking in his eye as he looked to his brother. Floyd paused wordlessly looking from where you sat at the table with the stranger and looking back to Jade, tilting his head towards you two with Jade nodding in a silence response to his brother. That calm smile still on his face even if it didn’t reach his eyes. 

    Floyd easily knew what his brother wanted as he grinned wider, nodding fast as he continued past Jade. More than happy to help his dear brother...and to have some fun of his own. 

    Azul wouldn’t mind if they explained later. Or maybe Azul just wouldn’t have to know about this little incident at all if they get it cleaned up before he has the chance to see. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Floyd strolling lackadaisical between tables, setting down drinks swiftly for the first few tables and yet turning too fast ended spilling the next tables drinks all over you and your partner. Most of it ending up on your partner, a mix of a sweet ice cream shake and soda over their head and soaking through their clothes. You getting hit with mostly just the soda. Though your shoes clearly ended with the last bit of the shake over top of them. 

    Both of you jolted up from the table as you looked down at your drenched self. Feeling your skin crawl from the new sensation of wet clothes, liquid seeping through, clothes sticking too tight to you. 

    You looked up, hearing your partner who was already cursing up a storm also looking at themselves trying to shake off the mixture of shake and soda. Clearly already starting to chew out Floyd. It’s not like he meant for this to happen. He probably was just trying to be showy and tripped up on something. 

    You frowned as you opened your mouth before another's presence made themselves known. Turning your head after something caught the periphery of your eye. 

    Jade. 

    Jade holding out a napkin as his face looked regretfully at you, his eyes gleaming in the low lit lounge. 

    You almost didn’t hear him speaking. Audio catching up as you focused. 

    “I’m quite sorry that had to happen, please let me help you. I think we have towels in the back” He said only loud enough to you, clearly getting drowned out by the presence of your date obviously upset and unhappy making that quite clear with their foul language and loud tone. Causing more of a scene than needed honestly. It was just an accident...

    You nod taking a napkin as you turn to follow Jade trying to wipe off what you could and not achieving much. It felt like quite a useless endeavor. The soaked napkin in your hand as you didn’t just want to throw it to the ground or drop it somewhere else. Surely there was probably a trashcan to toss it into later. 

    “You know...He seems like he needed the cool down.” Jade murmured with a smile. 

    The joke not lost on you as you gave a strained smile back. It was kind of hard to give a genuine smile when you were soaked, cold, and starting to get sticky from someone spilling soda over you. The two of you sharing a smile together briefly. 

    Reminding you of your date however you tried to turn to see how things were going but Jade reached a gloved hand over, putting an arm over your shoulders as he ushered you into the back room where he said the towels would be. Getting your attention again before being able to fully look back to your huffy date. 

    Walking inside you glance around looking to see where the towels could be. Jade soon retrieving them from a top shelf you clearly wouldn’t be able to reach as he walked over to you. 

    “Now, please take off your clothes.” Jade smiled tilting his head as he held the towel in between his hands. “It’ll help dry you off.” He tried to assuage you. 

    “Eh? !” You blinked “I - I think it’ll just be fine if i dry off with a towel” You swallow. Reaching out to try and take the towel Jade had in his hand. “I mean i can always...just...take a shower later and ...you know” You murmur not looking him in the face. 

    Letting you grab hold of the towel but not at least letting it out of his grip as he yanked the towel towards him, dragging you along with it before you let go. Stumbling a bit as you almost fell right into Jade's arms.

    He moved closer and his narrowed eyes seemed to glow as his once polite smile got slightly wider, backing you up against the door with him encroaching too much for your liking. You stumbled back trying to put more space in between you and Jade. Raising your hands up to attempt to put some space between the two of you and yet it did nothing as he put his hands by your head staring down at you now that he was finally close to you. Your hands against his chest with his arms trapping you in between them as he put his knee between your legs. 

“If you don’t take your clothes off, I’ll take them off for you.”

[cloudofdarkness]

Home (a hades/hyth/azem ficlet)

read it on my a03 as well!

And so in theory, if one were to augment their soul upon this crystal, one could use it to carry their spirit outside of their physical realm. The process, however, would be delicate, and the crystal cannot be cracked or shattered. An incomplete capsule marks for an incomplete soul capture. Therefore-

The ever predictable door slam shaking the apartment caused the focused researcher’s quill to just barely drag across his parchment, leaving annoying ink droplets for him to squint at in his already strained manner. He could predict once or twice a day when there was the usual passerby delivering his mail, or perhaps bearing a message, but this? This was an oddity, one he could never shake.

“Hades~! I come to you with the most wondrous of news! If you’re in the middle of something I implore you to put it down!” The voice practically sang, rushing over to his side and leaning against his desk. As always, their mint hair was frazzled and undone, nearly blanketing the mask that rested atop their head. He only hoped they had waited to remove it until they were inside, though it was very unlikely. They were always one to express their differences despite everyone else’s wandering eyes.

“Hallirothius, how many times must I tell you? That door is made of fine birch and coiled copper. Slamming it open as you do so often can wear it down and render it useless. It is not so easy to replace, you know.” Hades sighed, brushing a hand through his snowy white hair as he tried to ignore his companion’s gleamingly pale eyes attempting to win him over. He could try all he wanted to discipline them, but they would never hear it. They would always win with playful pleadings and those easy to get lost in eyes.

“Oh don’t you reprimand me using my full name~ your door will be perfectly fine! Besides, I’m the only one who treats it as such and-“ Halli paused, a small hooting noise interrupting their excuse and causing them to grow excited once more. 

“Oh yes! What I meant to say was, take a look at this!” 

And with a small flourish, Halli produced a small creature from under their robes, watching it flap its wings excitedly before perching on their extended arm.

“This is Olive! Hyth made her for me as a gift! He thought I could use the company during my studies~” 

With arms held open dramatically, Halli leaned over to allow the other to get a look at the snowy white owl perching casually on their arm, seeming to not have a care about the fact that it had just previously been shoved into their coat.

“...Olive? You named an intelligent creature, one our people hail as a sign of great wisdom Olive?” Hades blinked in disbelief, watching the other raise a brow in intrigue.

“Why, of course I did, my dear Hades~! I couldn’t fairly think of anything more fitting for my study partner than my favorite studying treat!” A laugh escaped them, before they allowed the curious avian to flutter herself atop their head.

“At least it’s my own companion this time and not the Professor of Phytobiotics.’ Do you remember that one, Hades?” 

Their continued laughter at the memory managed a small tug of a smile at the architect’s lips, noticing how the streetlights shining just outside reflected off of their pale hair, resembling that of gently wading sea foam against the soft ocean waves. He always thought their name quite fitting to their appearance: Hallirothius. Sea foam against the shore…

“Hades? Am I distracting you so terribly, you’ve given up the ability to respond?” Halli’s tone took on a smug demeanor, earning a gentle scoff from the other as they rounded his desk. They both knew Halli was able to identify the tiny spark that flared in Hades’ soul when he found himself musing about those close to him, it was a trait he wished neither Halli nor Hyth could see, but it was a small burden he’d live with if it meant the three of them were close. 

The avian resting in Halli’s hair took to the upper floor of his loft, leaving the two alone for a moment as if she could read her owner’s mind.

“Mayhap I should make a habit of locking my doors, that you no longer intrude on my work?” He would never truly mean it, but it was always enough to inch a response out of his huffy companion. Earning a small sigh, he felt gentle arms wrap themselves around his shoulders, Halli’s hand reaching up to brush through his snowy hair.

“Oh but if you did, I would become so overwhelmed with boredom~! I would hardly know what to do without your presence~” Halli sighed, leaning ever closer to press a kiss to the top of the architect's head. They felt a small jolt against his robes, recognizing the small movement as a silent laugh. They knew Hades couldn’t resist their sweet pleadings, no matter how annoying they became.

“Then I suggest you provide me with my desired space while I work. Otherwise your days may grow lonely quite quickly.”  He kept his tone nonetheless, but didn’t budge as the other remained leaning against him, forever trying to remind him that they were an annoying, yet comforting presence in his life.

It wasn’t until the avian had started hooting in what seemed to be delight that the other seemed to perk up, relieving the weight from the architect’s head and rounding his couch to catch her as she swooped down from the rafters.

“Something the matter, Ollie? Find a stray mouse in Hades’ attic? I always tell him he needs to remember to clean that old thing~” Halli teased, earning a groan from the other, much to their delight. Though the owl continued to hoot happily, bouncing around in the rafters until a polite knock was heard at the door, and to Olive, it only meant one thing. This caused the spritely amaurotine to throw open the door in excitement, earning a small gasp from the person standing out in the hall, and a tired “THE DOOR” from across the room. They half heartedly apologized, before turning to the visitor with a sunny grin.

“Hyth~! I’m so glad you’re here! I was trying to convince Hades to take a break from his work!! He can be such a wet blanket when he’s buried to the teeth in it!” They groaned, pulling the taller one across the threshold, nearly causing him to trip.

“That’s only because you tend to lollygag and we never get any work done, my dear.” Hades teasingly shot back, though the other two could tell it was through his teeth. 

“Well...perhaps I could help? I just closed the Bureau for the day, I could-“ Hythlodaeus spoke up, before watching as Hades held up his hand to quiet him, earning a small sigh. They all knew that Convocation work was strictly for Convocation members, and even if Hythlodaeus had been elected as a candidate, they still wouldn’t allow outside help. It’s just how they were, fourteen members, held strong and proud. It was times like these when he could see Halli’s head dip low, and they would clasp their hands together in silence; a guilty look. He knew they oftentimes wondered why they were chosen. They’d accepted the offer way too quickly, they just wanted to be known for something. They wanted to help people.

But they didn’t care for work or politics like the rest of them. They couldn’t be Hyth.

Gently, Hythlodaeus ran a hand through their hair, assuring them that it was alright. Honestly, he didn’t mind his cozy little office at the Bureau. Being able to handle concepts and creations each and every day inspired him to create himself. Though he would never be as profound at it as his best friend, seeing what was being made often made him think about them. Even when they were apart, little things reminded them of each other. Their lives were alright.

“Well, if you won’t budge, I’m sure you won’t mind me using your kitchen? I can tell by the look in your eyes that you’ve yet to have a proper meal this evening~” he offered, causing Halli to laugh as they took his arm.

“You? In the kitchen? Please, I’ve already broken in Hades’ door, we don’t need to burn down his loft.” They teased, as they made their way to the nearly barren kitchen counter to consider a meal. The taller amaurotine quickly followed, nearly bumping into them as they came to an abrupt stop at the cooler. Halli carefully pried open the case, before looking in with absolute delight and scrambling to pull out a perfectly kept lobster platter. The pale eyed amaurotine was practically drooling.

“Oh yes, tonight’s dinner shall be exquisite.”

The preparation however, wasn’t without fault, as the two in the kitchen would often find themselves sidetracked with banter or teasing, and the occasional accompaniment of the curious owl swooping down to see what her owners were getting up to. If it weren’t for the architect’s reminders, they might have even burnt their meal, but thanks to his responsibility and Halli’s skill, they managed it, as they always did. It was what made them a perfect team. 

After said meal, the two meal preppers found themselves lounging lazily on the leather sofa behind Hades; Olive having retired to the rafters, Halli burying themself in Hythlodaeus’ arms and Hythlodaeus doing his best to brush through the tangles in their hair. Hyth had started to sing familiar little melodies for them, but after a while, his singing grew quiet, and he fell into just brushing that soft bundle of hair. For the first time that night, Hades found himself sitting in a peaceful quiet. Though, it was odd...staring down at his documents, he almost preferred having the background noise of Halli shooting sassy remarks at him. Somehow, it helped him work better. It was times like these that he would recall in the future; moments that he wished would return to him in times of quiet. As time’s flow pushed ever on, he would hope for those familiar melodies, or that teasing voice to return. 

It didn’t, never the same way, anyways. It was always slightly different. He would know them in hundreds of different ways, but it would never be them.

He gave in for the evening, the marble floor rumbling as his chair slid against it, and then back again as he tucked it away under his desk. The paperwork might go by a bit quicker with their help after all, he thought to himself. 

As he turned to retire, leaving the two in their place on the sofa, he felt a gentle tug on his robes, turning back to see the smaller of the two grinning up to him tiredly, their pale eyes shining under the moonlight reflecting off of the glass paned windows. 

“Set on sleeping alone this evening, love?” They mumbled, and the hand on his sleeve gently slipped down into his own, comfortably intertwining their fingers. Their hands were always so warm…

Hades smiled, his golden eyes welcoming them in response.

“You would abandon your friend’s comforting embrace for me?”

Halli smiled, and their taller companion shook with a gentle giggle.

“Far from it, my friend~ I had hoped to join as well, should you not find it crowded~”

The architect sighed, but there was a smile playing at his lips. It was always like this for such a long time, he thought it would never end. The way they fit together so perfectly, the three of them...you could hardly believe that they could lose each other in an instant. But greater forces would ever take hold of their lives, and play with them like puppets on a string.

Now, it was just him. Emet-Selch, and the hundreds upon thousands of imperfect fragments of those he once called home. Time and time again they would look into each other’s eyes and know one another, somehow, some way...but he was always a stranger to them.

Perhaps, he should’ve strove to be closer. 

Perhaps he shouldn’t have drifted away.

[fireladybuckley]

(Away) Mission Impossible

Fandom:  Star Trek (AOS/TOS) Pairing: Bones/Reader Prompt/Request: This is for @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse, for @outside-the-government‘s Star Trek Christmas Exchange! <3 The prompt was:  Bones X Reader fic with the prompt reader has to rescue Bones from an away mission gone sour, she gets injured in the process and Bones realizes how fond he is of her when he has to take care of her Word Count: 7380 Warnings: Blood, injuries, maximum fluff  Author’s note: I hope you love it, Jo.  Merry Christmas! <3

          “You’ll only be gone a few hours,” you reason, walking quickly to keep up with Leonard’s fast, agitated stride.  He grunts at you in response, and you bite back a laugh.  “Seriously.  You guys just have to drop off the supplies, have a chat with the leader of the village, and then you’ll beam back.  Easy peasy.”  Leonard snorts in derision at this evaluation.

             “It’s never that easy,” he says, shaking his head.  “I don’t know why Jim couldn’t just have had M’Benga go.”

             “Well, M’Benga went on the last six away missions that required a doctor,” you point out, and Leonard rolls his eyes, prompting you to hurry on before he can speak again. “Before you say “But he likes going!”, that’s not the point.  He’s not feeling well, and it’s definitely your turn.”  The two of you slow and then stop to allow a few people to pass, and he peers down at you, looking both annoyed and like he grudgingly thinks you may have a point.

           In just another moment, you’ve reached the transporter bay, and you stop and stand back to let him pass.

             “Aren’t you coming with us?” Leonard asked, his tone still one of huffy annoyance, though now sounding a bit confused.

             “Nope, I’m assigned to the next mission, not this one,” you reply, glancing at your communicator as it makes a noise.  “I was just tasked with going to get you, because everyone else is here already.”  You gesture into the transporter bay, where a group of officers are standing, waiting.

             “Oh.” Leonard’s voice was flat and he hovered for a second, unsure of what to do.

             “Well, have a good mission,” you say cheerfully, and he shoots you a dark look.  You grin at him as he says nothing, turns and heads towards the others, enjoying ribbing him.  You know you’ll probably pay for it later with snarky insults, but you’re okay with that - at least it’s something.  You watch from the doorway as all the officers present find themselves a teleporter pad and stand at the ready.  Leonard glances in your direction and you give him a finger-wiggling wave with a large smile on your face.  The last thing you see before he disappears is him rolling his eyes, and you giggle as they all beam away.  Maybe one day he’ll realize that all he wants in the world is to be with you, but you know it likely won’t be anytime soon.  You head back down the hallway back to your quarters for a nap before your security shift near the cargo bay in a couple of hours.

 ---------- a few hours later --------------  

             “Well, this is just perfect,” Leonard grumbled under his breath as the alien in charge of him pulled his hands back around a pole and then tied them together.  “Absolutely wonderful.”

             He watches as the others on the away team are also tied up, arranged in a large circle facing inwards, each tied to a different pole that he can see are the support beams for the hut they’re in.  The crew are in varying states of consciousness and injury; at least one of the security officers is unconscious, several others have been beaten up and are dripping blood where they sat.  Most of the others have some bruises and a few cuts from being manhandled; he himself is sporting a bleeding lip, but Leonard is a relieved to see that aside from the unconsciousness, there seems to be no major injuries.  He really wants to get to the slumped officer across from him, but his bonds are tight and the aliens either don’t understand english, or they refuse to communicate, because every time someone tries to talk to them, they get hit.  

             Leonard sighs as one of the command officers attempts to reason with what seemed to be the lead alien, only to get a spear hilt to the gut.  The command officer grunts in pain and falls silent for a while as he breathes through it, clearly trying to figure out another tactic.  The aliens leave the hut and immediately some chatter breaks out, the command officers trying to figure out what to do.

             “Doctor!” Leonard looks around as someone calls to him, and he squints through the dim light to see one of the science officers looking at him.  “Doctor, he’s not doing well.”  The science officer nods at the security officer beside her, the unconscious one.  Leonard peers at him as best as he can from where he is.  He can hear the man’s somewhat ragged breathing but other than that, he can’t discern much in the darkness of the hut.  

             “Is he bleeding badly anywhere?” Leonard asks the science officer, whom he could see looking over her neighbour.  “Or any obvious fractures?”

             “I don’t think so,” she says, and he can hear the strain in her voice as she attempts to move more than her bound hands allow, attempting to see as much of him as she can.  “Not that I can see, anyway.”

             “Okay, that’s good.  Now watch his chest, does it seem like he’s breathing fast or slow?”

             “Um, a bit slowly, I think,” she says after a moment, staring intently at his chest.  Leonard nods, making note of it in his mind.

             “What about his pallor?  Is he pale? Clammy?” Leonard asks, and he hears her make a noise of frustration as she attempts to see.

             “I- I can’t really tell, it’s too dark in here,” she sighs after a moment, shaking her head.

             Leonard was in mid-sentence, asking about something else, when the aliens return, and they immediately flare up when they hear the chattering.

             “No. Talk,” they snarl in halting English, and spread out, approaching the people who had been talking.  Leonard looks defiantly up at the one standing over him, then glance around its legs to finish his sentence to the science officer, whose face takes on a terrified expression when she realizes he’s going to continue speaking.  She shakes her head frantically at him, but he ignores it and speaks the last few words of his sentence, caring more about the other officer’s health than the stupid alien now growling at him.  The science officer looks back over at the security officer, but before she can nod or shake her head, Leonard glanced back up at the alien.

             “We. Said. No. Talk.”

             “Some of our officers are hurt, and I’m a damn doctor,” Leonard snarls, ignoring the science officer’s horrified stare at his defiance.  “If you’re not going to let me examine them, then the least I can do is--” Leonard’s words are cut off as the alien punches him across the face, prompting a grunt from him as pain explodes through his cheek and nose.  Slightly dazed, Leonard stays silent for a moment as he absorbs the pain, his breathing faster, blood slipping from his nose and dripping off his chin onto his shirt.  He barely notices that the alien had disappeared for a moment, but now it reappears, carrying a rough strip of cloth.

             “We. Make. You. Stop. Talk.” The alien glares at him, then roughly forces the strip of cloth into his mouth, tying the ends behind his head as a gag.  Leonard glares up at the alien, but recognizes that he is hooped.  He glances around; two of the command officers have been gagged as well, and everyone else has been scared into silence.  Leonard sighs heavily and closes his eyes, letting his head droop, his nose throbbing and still bleeding, and hopes that someone would realize soon that they’ve been kidnapped and come to rescue them.

 ----------------

             You wake from your nap with a start as your comm went off loudly, scaring you out of a pleasant dream.  Shaking off the images of a beach somewhere warm and sunny, you fumble for the device and flip it open.

             “Yes?”

             “Lieutenant, report to the transporter bay immediately for briefing,” came the voice of your superior office.  

             “Yes sir,” you respond at once, snapping the device closed and leaping out of bed.  You put your comm back into your pocket, grab your phaser, tuck it in your belt, and hurriedly shove your feet into your boots and lace them securely up.  You dart out of your room and hurry down the corridor towards the transporter bay, wondering what’s going on.  Had the away mission gone sour?  Or is there some other problem?  Your superior officer rarely sounds so urgent, so there’s worry gripping your chest as you move quickly towards your destination.

             You arrive at the same time as several other security officers, and you join the group that has already gathered inside.  In total, there are about ten of you, all in varying states of wariness, excitement and worry.

             “The away mission has gone bad.”  Your boss cuts straight to the point, addressing the group of you.  Your heart sinks as you listen to him, explaining that the group had been captured by hostiles and were now being held against their will.  As he was wrapping up, the Captain entered the room and you all immediately salute him as he walks up to your superior and they have a quick, quiet conversation.  Your commanding officer nods grimly and steps back, and the Captain turns to face you.

             “I’m going to lead you guys on this one,” he tells you briefly.  “I’ve encountered these aliens before, they’re not easily dealt with.”  Jim Kirk pauses, looking around at each of you, as though to get a reading on how everyone is feeling.  You eyes shine with worry but also determination, and Jim nods slightly after he met your gaze.  “Alright, let’s do this.  Let’s get our people back.”

             A small cheer goes up from the group and you all hurry onto the transporter pad, taking a spot.  After a moment, you feel the familiar hot, tingling sensation, close your eyes, and suddenly you’re on the ground in an unfamiliar forest.  As everyone takes stock of themselves, Jim motions for you all to follow him and begins to creep through the trees.  You trust that he knows where he’s going and keep a sharp eye out around you as you follow him through the trees, the rest of the group spread in a line behind you.  Aside from the odd rustle and crack of leaves and sticks under feet, everyone is silent, the tension weighing heavily upon the group.  After what must have been a half hour at least, you finally reach the edge of the treeline.  Jim suddenly halts and shoots out an arm to stop you; you walk into his arm but stop immediately when you feel it make contact with your chest.  Whirling around, you gesture to the rest of the team to stop and be silent as Jim peers through the foliage at the edge of the forest.

             “They’re in there,” Jim breathes to you, as you’re standing right beside him.  You lean down to where he’s looking between fern leaves and squint in the direction he’s pointing.  You see several sturdy-looking huts, the one in the middle surrounded by alien guards.  You nod to show him you saw and swallow your fear.  The aliens have long, lethally-pointed spears, but you have phasers.  They look like they’re good fighters, but you and your group have been trained in combat by the best fighters the Federation has.  

            Jim gestures for the group to gather round and whispers out an attack plan, gesturing and trusting your training to follow his instruction.  Once everyone is on the same page, Jim sends you to spread out around the edge of the little village.  You’re positioned near Jim, between he and another security officer, one much senior to you who has seen plenty of action.  This makes you feel a little better, being between them, and you take a deep breath to pump yourself up, feeling the adrenaline start to pump through your veins.  You are going to get them back.  You are going to get Leonard back.  It was the first time you’d allowed yourself to consciously think his name since you’d gotten the news that the mission had gone sour, and your grip on your phaser tightens in determination.

            Jim gives the signal and you begin to push forward, but it goes wrong almost immediately.  The aliens clearly have many lookouts, because a horrible, shrieking alarm goes off and you hear a horrible cry of pain following a thumping sound, and look over to see one of your colleagues collapse to the ground, a spear through his chest.  There’s another scream and you dart to the side just in time to see another of your fellows take a spear to the shoulder, also falling to the ground and moaning.  The aliens start to advance towards the treeline, and you hear Jim’s voice from behind you, calling for everyone to fall back and regroup.  You hurry to obey, forced to shoot the alien closest to you that had spotted you and was pursuing.  You sprint through the trees once you were sure it’s down and no longer moving, arriving at Jim’s rendezvous point, panting, heart pounding and out of breath but uninjured.  A few more officers join the group after a moment; two limping, one seemingly uninjured and another sporting a bleeding gash on one arm.  You wait, but no more come.  There had been ten of you at the start; now, only six are here, including you and Jim.  You know for sure that the officer who had taken the spear to the chest was dead and the one that had taken a spear to the shoulder was down, but that still leaves two more unaccounted for.  

            “We need a new plan,” Jim says grimly, acknowledging the absent officers just by the unhappy look on his face.  They’re clearly more prepared than we thought.  For now, let’s scout the entire area.  Stay back in the trees and see what you can find out.  Report back here in twenty minutes.”

            “Yes sir,” you reply in unison with the others, and set out in all different directions.  You decide to go to the west, keeping the village just barely in view through the foliage on your right.  You’d been creeping for nearly ten minutes when something catches your attention; behind a hut, there are racks and racks of the spears all the aliens carried.  It’s clearly some kind of storage area, by the looks of it, where all the spears in the village would be stored when not needed for guarding.  You creep a little closer, wondering if there was any way your team could steal or destroy the spears so that more guards couldn’t appear with more spears.  You approach slowly, passing under a large tree, when you step on something that feels round, like a ladder rung or a rope.  You look down as you slow to a stop, and the word “rope” barely registers in your brain before chaos erupts.  You unintentionally let out a shriek as a whirlwind of leaves engulfs you, ropes wrap around you and you’re hoisted off your feet into the air.  You gasp, struggling, as your arms as pinned tightly to your chest and and your legs tangle painfully in the rope.  You realize you’re upside down, dangling a few feet off the ground, and clearly must have stepped into some kind of trap.  Panicking, you try to wriggle free but the ropes around you are strong and it accomplishes nothing but making you wobble back and forth in place.  Your heart is racing so fast it’s making you dizzy (although that could also be because you’re upside down), and all you can do is hope that one of your fellow officers finds you before the aliens do.

            Your luck seems to have run out, however, because only a few seconds later, two of the aliens appear nearby, clearly having heard your initial scream.  Cursing, you struggle to free yourself again, but it’s pointless and all of you know it.  The aliens laugh and move around behind you; there’s a moment of silence, and then suddenly you’re falling, smashing into the ground face-first as they cut the rope holding you up.  They bodily pick you up as you splutter and spit out dirt and shake your face, trying to dislodge the old leaves stuck there.  One of the aliens untangles your legs from the rope, and you struggle with it as it ties the rope behind your back, leaving your arms completely bound and trapped beneath it.

            They lead you away from the tree and into the village, one of them with a hold on the scruff of your neck and your hair, steering you around corners.  You wonder if any of the team is watching and knows you’ve been captured, though you know your absence will be noticed once everyone reports back to Jim. The aliens are rough with you, jerking you around corners and past many huts, and you realize the village is a lot larger than you had thought and you must have crept around behind it.  

            Within minutes they’ve brought you to the hut that your group had originally spotted, with many guards around the entrance.  The aliens holding you converse quickly with a couple of the guards, and you’re patted down.  They take your phaser and the large knife sheathed in your boot, but you notice that they have missed the small blade you have tucked into a hidden pocket in the sleeve of your shirt.  Once they’re satisfied that you’ve been disarmed, they shove you into the hut.  You stumble and nearly fall through the door but just barely manage to stay upright, blinking in the dim light and looking around.  You’re just starting to make out the outlines of your crewmates, sitting on the ground and spaced evenly around in a circle, when they shove you again, trying to get you farther into the hut.  This time you don’t manage to stay on your feet, and let out a small cry as you crash into the ground, your arms still uselessly bound to you.  There’s a soft murmur of worry from the crewmates, but no one says anything outright.

            The alien who shoved you hauls you back towards the entrance and roughly maneuvers you into a sitting position.  It unwinds the rope from around your chest and quickly ties your arms behind the pole you’re leaning against, checking that the knots are secure before standing up and leaving the hut.  You sigh and look around, seeing sympathetic faces all around you and feeling pretty embarrassed that you, one of the people who were supposed to be helping to rescue these people, had gotten yourself captured.  You look at each face, trying to make sure that everyone is present, and suddenly notice that Leonard is bound to the pole just a couple of feet away from you, staring at you with both alarm and concern.  You give him a weak smile and a shrug, when you notice that he’s been gagged, as well as a couple of the command officers.  You look around and notice that there’s a few smaller injuries and one of your fellow security officers is slumped, unconscious on the other side of the hut, but otherwise everyone seems mostly okay, so at least there was some good news.  You glance around to make sure that none of the aliens are inside the hut and speak softly to Leonard.

            “Have they given any motive for the kidnapping?” You ask him, and he shakes his head.  “Is anyone dead?” you ask next, fearing the answer, but feel a wave of relief as he shakes his head again.  “Anyone need medical attention?”  

            Leonard nods, gesturing with his head over to the unconscious security officer.  You nod in acknowledgement, and notice that several people are staring at you in fear and are shaking their heads frantically as you open your mouth to speak again.              

            “I-- What?” you ask the nearest person on the other side of Leonard, distracted by their frantic head shaking.  Their eyes widen a little but they just continue shaking their head, and you stare at them, confused.  “Are you okay?  Do you need help?”

             “We’re not allowed to talk,” they hiss quickly to you, then immediately shut their mouths and look fearfully towards the entrance.  Understanding washes over you and you glance around, noting that the people gagged are those whom you’d have pegged as the most likely to talk back, definitely including Leonard.  You smile slightly at him, and he seems to understand your train of thought, because he rolls his eyes at you.

             “Couldn’t resist back talking, eh?” you ask him quietly, and he shrugs, but you can see a flash of defiance in his eyes.  “Well, I’ll talk quickly then,” you say, nodding in acknowledgement of the person who told you you weren’t allowed to talk.  “There were ten of us sent down from the ship, including the Captain.”  You think about mentioning the four missing from the last huddle, but think better of it, not wanting to scare anyone more than they already were.  “I’m sure they’ll call for backup, when they notice that I and maybe others have disappeared,” you say quickly.  “They’ve seen where we’re being kept.  They’ll come for us.”   You shut your mouth as one of the aliens pokes their head in the door, glaring around at them all.

             “Who. Talk?” It scowled at them all, looking at you for a moment, then looking around.  Unfortunately, a couple of the others unconsciously glance at you as well, and the alien notices.  With a growl, it approaches you and your heart begins to pound hard again, staring up at it with what you hope is a defiant look.  “You. Talk?” It asks, glaring down at you.

             “No!” You respond immediately, and it growls again at the sound of your voice.  Nervous, and worried they’ll punish someone else for you talking, you can’t help but add “Well, yeah, okay, it was me, but I just wanted make sure everyone was oka-” You let out a pained gasp as the alien drives the butt of his spear hard into your stomach, making you double over (as far as you can with your hands bound), breathing fast and hard as your entire midsection throbs horribly.  The alien shoves your head up and forces a gag into your mouth as well, tying it roughly behind your head and storming back out of the hut.  Slightly shaken with your stomach aching something fierce, you glance at Leonard, who looks both concerned and exasperated.  You give him a little shrug and a sheepish look, vowing to wait until nightfall to try and stage an escape.

            The darkness deepens almost by the minute and after what feels like eternity, it’s almost too dark to see.  You wait until your eyes have adjusted to the near blackness and then slowly begin to move your hands, wriggling until you catch hold of your sleeve.  With difficulty, you manage to extract the tiny knife and begin meticulously sawing at the knot of the rope holding your hands together.  It takes a long time, many long minutes, because the rope is thick and the blade is very small, but you eventually manage to cut all the way through.  You unwrap the rope and wriggle your hands free, rubbing your wrists where the rough rope had bit into the skin.  You glance towards the door and when you hear no movement or any indication that the aliens are moving around, you put your knife in your mouth and crawl as silently as possible to Leonard’s side.  You can’t really see so you reach out and touch his arm to orient yourself, making him jump, startled.  You feel your way up his neck and to his face, slipping your hands behind his head and fumbling with the knot of his gag, finally managing to untie it.

            “What are you doing?” he hisses immediately, alarm in his voice.

            “Rescuing you,” you hiss back.  “Now SHH.”  You trail a hand down his arm, following it behind him, and blindly feel the knot binding his wrists together.  With a bit of trial and error, you manage to figure out how to undo the knot and quickly get his hands untied.  “If anyone comes before I’m done untying everyone, pretend that you’re still tied up,” you whisper to him.  

             “No, you get out of here,” he whispers back, urgently.  “I’ll untie people, you go and find Jim and the rest of your group.”  You pause, mulling the option over in your head.  It would be a good plan, really.  That’s assuming you’d be able to get out of the camp unscathed, anyway.

             “Okay, fine,” you agree.  You can just barely see his face in the dim light, and you reach up and squeeze his shoulder.  “Be safe.”

             “You too,” he replies in a breath, and what little you can see of his face shows that he’s deeply worried about you, but both of you know that desperate times call for desperate measures.  You creep towards the door as he creeps in the other direction to the person beside him.  You’ve just reached the edge of the wall and are about to try to slip out of the door when you hear footsteps.  You flatten yourself against the wall as you have no time to get back into your original spot and thank your lucky stars that at least Leonard hears the footsteps too and slides back into his spot, putting his hands behind his back like he is still tied up.  An alien enters the hut just as he settles his hands behind him and you hold your breath as it looks around.  While it’s fumbling to get a lantern lit, you slip out of the door and run for the trees as silently as you can, somehow managing to avoid the other guard, who was thankfully looking the other way and didn't hear your light footsteps as you sprint away.

             You’re just thinking you’d actually managed to get away, the treeline in sight and getting closer fast, when another alarm goes up, as horrible and shrieking as before.  You gasp as aliens emerge from huts all around you, most of them carrying spears and lanterns, and you realize that you’re completely screwed.  Four aliens spot you at the same time and you yelp in fear as several spears shoot towards you at once.  You manage to throw yourself behind one of the huts just in time, and scrabble to your feet, running as fast as you can. You dodge around an alien as it steps out of its hut, just barely ducking under its arms as it lunges for you.  Another swings it’s spear at you as you appear around a corner, and though it doesn’t stop you, you cry out as you feel the very tip of the spear slice into your cheek, feeling hot blood pouring down your face.  You don’t stop running, though you do veer off in a different direction, hoping to throw them off.  

            Just as you’re nearing the treeline in a different direction, you hear the whooshing sound of another spear being thrown and scream in agony as it pierces into the back of your calf.  You stumble as the searing pain slices through your leg and fall, crashing painfully to the ground on your chest and face, scraping yourself up.  Panicked and in a hell of a lot of pain, you drag yourself forward through the dirt, crying out and trying to get up but unable to put any weight on your injured leg, the spear still stuck into your flesh. In a matter of seconds, several aliens crowd around you and you cry out as they kick you hard in the ribs a few times, pain exploding through your chest, before one of them hauls you to your feet.

            The alien holds you up as one of his fellows punches you in the gut a few times, making you groan and cough hard as the wind is punched out of you, unable to curl in on yourself because of the alien holding you up.  You struggle to get free, trying desperately to ignore your pain, but the alien punches you hard across the face once, twice, and finally a third time, your head lolling after the third hit, completely dazed as blood drips from your nose and split lips.  Another alien comes forward and, satisfied that you’re incapacitated for now, they drag you back, one each supporting your shoulders as your feet drag uselessly.  You whimper and groan in pain as the spear wobbles in your calf, and most of your body aches.  You realize after a few minutes that they’ve dragged you back to the hut, and two aliens go into the hut first with lanterns, illuminating the room as one alien maneuvers to drag you in himself, forcing you to limp along in front of him, one arm around your neck and the other around your chest.  

            You hear a few people gasp as your bloody face is illuminated but you can’t muster up the energy to try to be reassuring; it’s all you can do to merely stay standing, let alone anything else, even with the alien holding you up.  

            “This. What. Happen. If try. Escape.” The alien snarls at everyone, turning your head so everyone can see, making you wince as he angles your head towards the lanterns.  He suddenly throws you from him, shoving you forward, and you cry out briefly as you fall, but then your head cracks against the large wooden pole in the middle of the hut and you’re knocked unconscious, falling silent instantly as you crumple to the floor, chest down, face in the dirt.   You’re completely unaware that as you hit the ground, you fall right in front of where Leonard is sitting, pretending to still be bound, and he stares at your slack, bloody face in horror and anger.  You’re blissfully in the dark as he lets out a yell and everyone leaps to their feet and jumps on the three aliens in the tent, subduing them just as phaser fire can be heard outside.  As the backup seizes control of the village, the prisoners manage to overthrow the few guards not attempting to repel the Enterprise’s forces.

            It’s many minutes before you wake, and when you do, everything is fuzzy, confusing, and painful.  You can feel someone gently shaking your shoulder, and you think you hear your name, but you’re not sure.  You slowly open your eyes, groaning a little, blinking sluggishly.

            “Oh, thank god,” you hear a sigh of relief and try to open your eyes a little wider, wanting to know who’s speaking.  “Welcome back,” the voice says, and you finally recognize it.

             “L-Leonard?” you ask,your voice catching as you try to raise your head and feel pain shoot through you.  

             “Yeah, that’s me, sweetheart,” he says, and somewhere in the back of your head, you register the ‘sweetheart’ with both glee and confusion.  On the surface, though, you’re still groggy and unfocused.  “Don’t raise your head just yet, okay?  Let me do a scan.”  You obey him without second thought, letting your cheek settle back into the dirt where it had just been; thinking that it’s easier to lay still than try and see what’s happening.  You can hear him talking to someone, and hear the familiar sounds of a tricorder whirring as he runs it up and down your body and over your head.  He starts speaking again and you hear mostly murmuring, the sound fading in and out as your eyes close.

             “Moderate to severe concussion, several cracked ribs, deep wound in the left calf,” you can hear him saying, and wonder blearily who had gotten hurt so badly.  “She’s also got numerous small lacerations and bruising, but I’m not really worried about those.”

             You groan as you feel a hand on your throat, and realize someone is moving their fingers to your pulse point.  You lay still, feeling your pulse pounding against their fingers, noting that their hand is warm and gentle.  You open your eyes again and try to move, but the hand shifts from your neck to your shoulder and presses down gently, holding you still.

             “Don’t worry, darlin’, we’re going to get you out of here,” comes Leonard’s voice, gentle and reassuring.  “There’s a stretcher coming for you, just one minute.”  

             A few moments later, you can feel several sets of hands lifting you, and you cry out in pain as both your calf and your ribs throb.  Someone shushes you gently, trying to comfort you, but you can’t help crying out again as they gently flip you over and settle you onto the stretcher.  Someone lifts your head and slides a pillow under it, and you can feel people attending to your leg.  The agony is so bad that you can’t speak, though tears are streaming down your face, leaving tracks through the dirt and drying blood on your skin.  You can hear Leonard saying he’s going to give you something, but it doesn’t really sink in what’s happening until you feel a sharp sting on your neck as he injects something with a hypospray.

             Almost instantly your body feels heavy and warm and within seconds your pain starts to fade.  After a minute or so, your body relaxes and you let out a soft sigh of relief as your eyes flutter closed again and you fall asleep, your head lolling before they’ve even moved the stretcher out of the hut.  

             Leonard stares down at you as your body relaxes and your face clears, his heart clenching painfully as he looks over you.  You’re covered in dirt, dark smudges of it over your cheeks and your clothes covered, and there’s blood all over your face and neck, from the slice in your cheek and also your nose and split lips.  The large, deep spear wound in your calf is bleeding profusely, and now that you’re asleep, Leonard starts to wrap it tightly to staunch the blood.

             He walks alongside your stretcher as it moves towards the transporter point, and glares at the aliens that have been handcuffed and are being marched past, to be transferred to the holding cells on the ship.  He isn’t sure which one beat you up, but he wishes he could inflict pain on them for what they’d done.  Instead, he settles for glowering at them and holding your hand, monitoring your vitals as he waits for you to be beamed up.

             Once back aboard the ship, instead of tending to his own injuries, Leonard hurries alongside your stretcher and orders everyone but Christine to go away while he treats you.  

             “Leonard, I can take care of this.  You need to take care of that face,” M’Benga says, appearing in the room and gesturing to the blood on the lower half of Leonard’s face.  Leonard shrugs and ignores this, continuing on like hadn’t heard.  M’Benga sighs and leaves the area, knowing that it’s pointless to argue.

             “Christine, help me turn her over.”  They turn you over and Leonard gets to work on your leg, cutting off the pant leg at the knee and cleaning the wound as you blissfully sleep on, the medicine he’d given you still working its magic. Leonard works in silence, making sure the wound is completely pristine before beginning to suture it back together, Christine assisting him without a word, working seamlessly together.  Once the wound is completely stitched, they gently turn you over again and Leonard dismisses Christine as he begins to work on your smaller injuries.

             You begin to stir as he washes your face, sweeping a wet cloth carefully over your cheek, wiping away the blood and dirt as gently as he can.  You groan a little and he stops, watching you as your eyes slowly open.  He gives you a small smile as you peer blearily up at him, blinking a few times, his image swimming before finally coming into focus.  

             “Hey,” you croak at him, trying to smile back.  You glance around you, trying to figure out where you are, and realize you must be back on the ship and in the medical bay.  “We back on the ship?” you ask, your voice weak.  He nods, and you sigh in relief.  

             “Just let me finish washing your face, then we can talk,” he tells you, and you nod slightly, feeling a little bashful.  He re-wets the cloth and continues to gently wipe your face, and you do your best not to wince when it hurts.  You look up at him while he works, and you’re surprised to see the tender, concerned look in his eyes.  You attempt to process this while he finishes up, and he smiles at you as he puts the bloody, dirty cloth aside.

             “There, that’s good for now,” Leonard says, and still you can hear a warmth in his voice you’ve never heard before.  You stare at him as he pulls up a chair to sit beside you, and he shakes his head.

             “You scared the shit out of me,” he says, sounding pained, and you frown at him.  “It was bad enough when they dragged you in the first time, all tied up…” You swallow hard as fear flickers through you at the memory, and he reaches out to take your hand.  “But when they threw you down when you got caught the second time…” He trails off, and you can see the emotions going through his eyes as he looks at you.  You stare at him, your mouth slightly open in astonishment at the sound of the fear and worry in his voice.

             “I guess I realized in that moment how much you mean to me,” Leonard says softly, squeezing your hand.  “I was scared I was gonna lose you.”   Your heart races as look up at him, making the bio bed beep in caution, but aside from him glancing quickly at the monitor, you both ignore it.  

             “I… I don’t know what to say…” you manage after a few long moments of silence.  Leonard squeezes your hand and you squeeze it back.  “I thought we were just friends, but the way you’re l-looking at me right now…” you trail off, your heart skipping a beat as he smiles.

             “I thought so too, but,” he shrugged.  “I guess sometimes it takes a dire situation to make people realize they’re in love.”  He chuckles as you choke a little at the word ‘love’, absolutely stunned by this turn of events.  Of course, you’ve been in love with him for months, but you’d never dreamed he’d see you as anything more than a friend.  Hell, you’d been ecstatic just to be friends with him and get to hang out with him once in a while.  Now he’s admitting he’s in love with you?!  It’s a lot to process, and you know you’d be blushing if you hadn’t lost a lot of blood already.   

             “I, well…” you falter, searching for something to say. You’re very aware of his gaze on you, and you look up at him, biting your lip.  “Well... what do you mean, a dire situation? I totally had it under control…” You grin up at him, and he rolls his eyes, then chuckles lightly.

             “Sure, darlin’, sure… You keep telling yourself that,” he says in amusement, patting your shoulder. You let out a soft laugh, feeling a bit more comfortable, and squeeze his hand back.  

             “Thank you for taking care of me,” you say, your voice quieter and more sincere.  You seem to notice for the first time that he has blood on his own face, with an obviously split lip.  “Especially when you need taking care of…”

             “Anytime, sugar,” he says, giving you a quick wink that makes your heart leap.  “Don’t worry about me.  Thank you for rescuing us.”

             “I didn’t do anything but get myself captured, though,” you look away, feeling embarrassed and more than a little ashamed.  “Some rescuer I am.”  Your tone has dropped, and he frowns, taking your hand in both of his.

             “Hey.  You were really brave.  And you managed to get yourself out and untie me, which let me untie everyone else while you were gone… we overthrew the guards after they brought you back.  You made that happen.”  His voice is sincere and you can hear pride underneath his words as well.

             “Wait, you guys overthrew the guards? That’s awesome!” you exclaim, smiling.  “I’m glad getting knocked out counted for something.” Leonard chuckles and glances up at  the monitors, then down at you again.

             “I still would’ve preferred that not happen at all,” he says, looking a bit grimmer again.  “But at least you’ll be alright, especially with me watching over you.”

             You smile and let out a small giggle at his confidence and watch as he stands up, retrieves an instrument and returns to your side.

             “Alright, sweetheart, I’m just gonna run this dermal regenerator over that cut on your cheek, can you hold still for me?”  

             You nod and let your head fall still on the pillow as he reaches over and stabilizes your head with one hand on your good cheek.  You concentrate on the feeling of his warm hand on your face as he begins to use the regenerator on you; the heat and prickly feeling it brings is uncomfortable but the feeling of his hand on your skin makes you feel safe and secure.

             He runs the regenerator for a few minutes, and when he’s done, he very gently runs a fingertip along the pink line left behind.  It makes you wince very slightly and then shiver as he withdraws the hand under your cheek, gently settling your head back onto the pillow.

             “There, just a scar now.  That should fade in a week or two.”

             “Thank you,” you tell him, reaching for his hand again.

             “Don’t thank me, sugar,” he says, smiling, grasping your hand and stroking the back of it.  “I’ll always be here to care for you.”

             You smile at him again, but your smile fades as you realize your pain is starting to return.  You shift uncomfortably, and he notices immediately that something is wrong.

             “Is the pain coming back?” Leonard asks in concern, and you nod, squirming a little and whimpering as pain ebbs through your calf and down your leg into your foot.  “I’ll give you some more pain meds, the stuff I gave you earlier is only good for a few hours.  You need to rest, anyhow, and it’ll help you sleep.”

             You nod and watch as he rummages in the cabinet nearby and turns back with a hypospray in hand.  He loads the device with practiced ease, then gestures to you to tilt your neck.  You do so obediently, letting out a soft gasp at the sharp sting as he injects the medicine.  He smooths your hair out of your face as you feel the warm, numb feeling starting to spread throughout your body.

             Your body relaxes within seconds and within another moment or two, your eyes have closed.  You’re vaguely aware that Leonard is stroking your hair still, and then you feel a blanket being pulled over you, up to your shoulders.

             By this time, you’re falling deeper and deeper into the inky blackness of dreamless sleep and your head lolls slightly as you drift off.  He smiles and strokes your hair once more, leaning closer to place a gentle kiss on your forehead.   He begins to walk away and pauses in the doorway, turning down the lights to their dimmest settings and just watching you sleep for a few, thanking his lucky stars that you’d survived, and with manageable injuries.  After he’s sure you’re deeply asleep, he wanders off to clean his own face and heads down to the cafeteria to replicate some of your favourite foods, eager to tempt you with some of them once you wake up again.

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