This is going to be a one-shot. It's H/T, a pairing I don't exactly endorse, but I decided to try it. After all, they do make more sense than H/A. For starters, they're the same species.
It's not connected to any of my other stories.
Disclaimer: I don't own Holly, Trouble, Foaly, Captain Vein or Grub. I do own Ayden Finch, though.
Trouble Kelp was sat behind his desk, looking through the polarised glass at his second in command. Major Short was sat behind a large desk, staring into space. Trouble knew that Holly was bored stupid, that she'd never wanted the desk job, but she'd taken it anyway. Part of him thought it was because of what Julius Root had said to her the day he'd died, part of him thought it was to rub the Council's faces in the fact that females could be better LEP officers than males. Most of him hoped it was to closer to him, but he didn't admit that out loud.
The phone on his desk bleeped, jerking the Commander out of his reverie. He hit the button to bring the caller up on the main screen.
"Yes, Captain Vein?"
"We traced the rogue sprite as you ordered, sir. He's in Egypt, and he's hiding in one of the pyramids. The biggest one, by the looks of it. I sent Retrieval in after him, but they couldn't find him. We've got the place surrounded, sir, but it's got so many tunnels that we could search for a century and still not find him. Requesting technical backup."
Trouble sighed. Ayden Finch had been detained for petty theft, but had broken away from his arresting officer (Lili Frond had been more preoccupied by her broken nail than the convict) and made for the surface. He'd sent Vein and Retrieval One up to grab him, and the sprite pulls an act like this. Trouble massaged the tips of his ears. He really hated nights like this.
"Alright, Captain, I'll get Foaly to…"
Commander Kelp was interrupted by a commotion at Captain Vein's end. Two Retrieval elves staggered into view, one holding up the other, who was bleeding heavily from the nose and mouth.
"What in Frond's name…?" asked Captain Vein. The elf who didn't have a mouth full of blood answered, in a slightly hysterical tone.
"The sprite jumped us, sir. He grabbed Grub…Corporal Kelp's weapon and fired at us."
The injured elf spat a mouthful of blood onto the sand.
"Where is the Corporal?" trouble asked wearily. Trust his brother to make a bad situation even worse.
"He got knocked out, sir. Finch has him, inside the pyramid."
"D'Arvit!" Trouble swore loudly. Holly stuck her head around his office door.
"Sir? What's wrong?"
He whirled to face her, grabbing his Neutrino 4000 from his desk and shoving it roughly into its holster on his hip.
"Get your things, Major. You're coming with me. We have a situation topside."
He ran past her and towards the Ops booth without bothering to terminate the contact with Egypt. Holly saw the bleeding elf and the pyramids, and couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.
Finally, some action.
Trouble and Holly climbed out of the pod, Trouble shaking slightly. He'd let Holly drive, something he was now regretting. He managed to not vomit, and pulled himself upright.
"Come on, Major. Let's go save my brother."
He pulled the cord to start his wings motor, and took off into the sky, Holly not far behind. They flew northwest for a few minutes in silence, then Trouble spoke.
"Thank you for coming, Holly. I shouldn't have yelled, it's just that my idiot brother…"
"It's ok, Trouble. I'm happy to be here."
She thought she'd go mad if she had to spend any more time filling out forms. She breathed deeply and did a loop-the-loop. She'd forgotten how good this felt.
Trouble watched her, torn between amusement and sympathy. He knew she missed the surface, but he was only just realising how much. She was twirling through the air and grinning (he could hear it in her voice). Again, he wondered why she'd agreed to the promotion. It certainly hadn't been what she'd wanted for herself.
He shook himself mentally. Mind on the job, soldier. You can wonder about Holly later, for now focus on finding Grub.
Despite his mental rebuking, he couldn't help but join in with Holly as she span through the air. She wasn't the only one who missed the feel of the wind along their body, the thrill of speeding through the air at twice the speed humans could manage in their metal cars.
Even with their aerobic displays of joy, they made it to the pyramid within twenty minutes of leaving the shuttle port. They sobered up before the retrieval team saw them, and straightened their course. They landed side by side, next to Captain Vein. Trouble raised his visor.
"Situation, Captain?"
"Contained." replied Vein promptly. "We know which entrance Finch used to get Grub into the pyramid, and the Corporal is still wearing his tracker. We can just follow the beep."
He motioned to a member of his team, who handed him a wafer-thin tracking chip. It was emitting a slow beeping noise. Trouble nodded and slotted it into his wrist computer.
"Major Short, with me. Captain Vein, I want you and the remainder of Retrieval to stay out here, in case Finch attempts to escape."
"But…" protested the Captain.
"No arguments! Holly and I go in, you wait out here. If we need backup, we'll call."
With that, Trouble flew around to the entrance identified by a rather sulky Captain Vein. Holly cut the power to her wings and stepped into the tunnel just behind him.
"Narrow." she pointed out. Even she had to duck, and the stone walls were barely wide enough for Trouble's shoulders to fit. She may be slimmer than he was, but she was also claustrophobic, something which the Commander was only just recalling.
"D'Arvit." he swore gently. He had counted on having Holly at his back. He turned to face her, one hand on her shoulder.
"If you can't do this, go back and send Captain Vein. You can manage the Retrieval team."
Holly raised her visor and drew in a deep breath.
"No, Commander. I'll be right behind you."
Trouble shot her a worried look, and got a defiant glare in return. He sighed and turned back to face the tunnel. If she wanted to be stubborn…
Holly followed him down into the narrow aperture, fighting the urge to scream and run back to the outside. The walls weren't getting narrower, she was just imagining it. She could do this. She wouldn't let her weakness hold her back.
Trouble heard her accelerated breathing from behind him, and spoke to her reassuringly.
"Calm down, Holly. It's ok, it gets wider up here. You can stand without crouching now, look."
He stood upright to prove his point, and the top of his helmet scraped the ceiling. He turned to find Holly some way back, eyes closed as she tried to slow her breathing. If she continued to hyperventilate like that, she was going to pass out. He went to her and took her hand in his.
"It's ok, Holly. I'm here."
He touched her cheek, then leaned forward and kissed her gently. She stopped breathing altogether for a second, then relaxed into his embrace. They stayed like that for several seconds, then pulled apart. Now Trouble was the one whose breathing was ragged.
Holly smiled at him, worries about the tunnel collapsing temporarily forgotten.
"Trouble…"
Before she could finish her sentence, there was a cry from up ahead. They jumped apart. They'd forgotten about the tracker, which was beeping insistently now. It got louder as they half-ran down the tunnel, Trouble still holding Holly's hand, so he towed her after him. She didn't actually need the help anymore, but was grateful for the sentiment.
They emerged into a spacious chamber. Grub Kelp was sitting on the floor, staring in horror at the sprite in front of him. Ayden Finch was pointing Grub's confiscated weapon at it's owners head, and Grub had his eyes crossed trying to focus on the barrel. Ayden's own eyes were wide and panic-stricken.
"D…don't come any c….closer, or I'll sh…shoot him!"
Holly thought the sprite looked just desperate enough to do it. Trouble was advancing slowly towards the petrified sprite, one step at a time, speaking slowly and reassuringly. Holly wasn't so sure this tactic was going to work. She drew her gun surreptitiously.
Ayden squeaked, and tightened his finger on the trigger. It clicked once. One more click and it would fire.
"Isaiddon'tcomeanycloser!" he said, shaking. Trouble froze where he was.
"Alright, I'm not moving. Now, tell me what you want."
He had to fight to keep his voice even. That sprite had his baby brother at gunpoint. What he really wanted to do was jump the sprite, and deal with the consequences as and when they occurred. If he had been younger and still a Captain, he would have done it. As it was, he was the Commander of the LEP. He had to keep a cool head.
Holly noticed the fine trembling in Trouble's arms, and took a step to her left. There. She had a decent line of fire.
Ayden let go of the gun with one hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.
"I want…" he stuttered, trying to think what he actually did want.
"I want to get out of here. I d…don't want to be followed."
Trouble nodded, raising his hands, palms out. It was meant to be a gesture of peace. However, Finch panicked and squeezed the trigger. There was a burst of light, and a sizzling noise.
Grub opened his eyes, looking at the gun barrel wavering inches from his nose. Finch's eyes rolled back on his head and he fell over backwards, unconscious. Holly lowered her gun, only holstering it when Grub grabbed his gun from where Ayden had dropped it and scrambled to hide behind his brother's legs. She checked Finch's pulse, then, satisfied, turned to Trouble.
"He's stable. Unconscious, but he'll live."
Trouble nodded numbly, then snapped back to reality. He called in that they'd captured Finch, and Retrieval slowly filtered into the chamber to take him away.
Holly stuck it out until all of Retrieval One was in the chamber, then turned back to the tunnel and made her way along it as fast as she dared. Her heart rate didn't slow down until she was sat on the uneven surface of the pyramid, breathing deeply and able to see the night sky. She pulled her helmet off and laid it next to her, then leaned back and closed her eyes, feeling her blood pressure lessen and her muscles relax.
Trouble emerged from the tunnel at the head of the Retrieval team, and saw her lying on the rough surface of the pyramid, chest heaving, eyes closed. He sent Grub away with the rest of the team, ignored his mutterings about telling Mummy, and sat down beside Holly. She opened her eyes and smiled at him. He grinned back, then followed her example and took off his helmet. So what if it was against regulations, he wanted to feel the cool night air on his ear tips.
"Thank you, Holly." he said quietly. "That was quite some shooting."
She shrugged, back to normal now that she wasn't enclosed.
"It was nothing, Commander."
"Call me Trouble, Holls. Please?"
She smiled at him again, meeting his eyes.
"Trouble."
He couldn't look away. Forgetting that he was in full view of Retrieval One, that he was her boss, he leaned forward and kissed her again. That got a few wolf whistles, but neither Holly nor Trouble cared. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
Back down in the Ops booth, Foaly chuckled. They were never going to live this down.
Well, that's it. I'm not doing any more to this, but I still appreciate your reviews. Love you all!