Tyson exhaled through his nose and bounced on the balls of his feet, trying to calm his racing heart as he gazed up at the imposing building where he would undoubtedly be spending the next few hours, and if he wasn't careful, his last few hours.
The building was at least seven stories, towering over all those around it, with very few windows and only one door, which was the one in front of him. It didn't look like it was about to collapse, much to his relief, but the building's structure was the least of his worries.
He glanced over his shoulder at the small crowd gathered behind him; Max and Mariam seemed to be having an intense whispered discussion into each others' shoulders, neither quite ready to let go; Ray and Mariah were lip-locked, as usual, and even in the bad light Tyson could see the tears streaming down Mariah's cheeks and the trembling of both their shoulders.
He couldn't see Kai anywhere, but he was fairly sure that he was in the middle of the screeching group of fangirls (and fanboys) that were attempting to molest a violently protesting someone. Sometimes, Tyson really didn't mind not having as many fans as Kai. At least he didn't have hourly attempts on his –
Well. Yes. Poor Kai. Tyson moved on quickly with a shudder of sympathy.
Still, he couldn't help but envy Max and Ray. It was freezing and he could certainly do with a warm person to hug. Not to mention the moral support and the fuzzy feeling of knowing that someone was missing you whilst you were gone.
Tyson quickly blocked the thoughts of the specific person coming to mind, instead focusing on his battle plan and going over the floor map Chief had shown him.
...No good. He was completely distracted now. Sighing again, Tyson did another once-over of the group. Where was Hilary, anyway? She'd been with them just a few moments ago. Perhaps she'd gone to get an umbrella from the shop across the road; what had once been light drizzle was coming down much harder now, and an umbrella would be practical because he knew that she would sit out here faithfully with Mariah and Mariam, through the rain, watching the doors and counting the hours until they emerged again.
Or maybe she'd joined the group of Kai fangirls, he thought moodily, kicking at a rock.
Another few minutes passed before, at some unspoken signal, Mariah and Mariam both stepped back and a slightly ruffled Kai managed to extract himself from his fanclub. They all came to stand beside him, his best friends, his former team-mates, and one by one, they exchanged small smiles.
Yes, there had been danger before, but never quite to this level. Never had they faced the daunting feeling that this could quite possibly be the last time they ever saw their loved ones, the last time they smiled, the last time they saw the sky and felt the rain on their faces.
It was a sobering thought, even for Tyson.
And suddenly there was a cry, shattering the terse silence. Someone was pushing past the fangirls, past even the sorrowful Mariah and Mariam, and then she was in front of him, panting and gasping and already soaked to the skin from the rain.
"Tyson! Wait!" Hilary cried, skidding to a halt, but the ground was slippery and she misjudged it, sending her tripping straight into Tyson's chest.
He caught her by the shoulders and pushed her gently up, surprised and a little touched by her anxiousness to see him.
"What is it?" he asked, concern evident in his voice, not removing his hands from her shoulders in fear that she might fall over again. He'd never seen Hilary so frantic or flustered before.
"It's dangerous in there, Tyson! One of you could get killed!" she implored, her eyes wide and full of fear. Tyson resisted the urge to roll his eyes (emotional Hilary was bad enough and he didn't think he could deal with angry Hilary right now) and gripped her shoulders a little tighter.
"I know Hilary. We all do. Do you think we want to go in there? We don't have a choice!"
Hilary bit her lip and looked down. Sensing that she was upset, he stroked her arms lightly with his thumbs and smiled at her encouragingly when she looked up.
"Don't worry; we'll look out for each other. Right guys?" Tyson turned to his friends.
Max managed a weak, "Right," before glancing back over to where his girlfriend stood. Ray nodded distractedly, not even taking his gaze from Mariah, as if he were trying to memorise her face. Kai was the only one who gave them his full attention, giving a small but firm nod.
Tyson removed his hands from her shoulders carefully and gave her a jaunty grin.
"Don't worry too much, alright? We'll be back before you know it."
She managed a small smile back and suddenly Tyson realised just how close they were, Hilary's hands hovering just below her chin, almost as if she were about to –
- Grab him by his collar and snog him senseless? Well, that wasn't what he'd expected, but that was what she did. His brain seemed to have short-circuited, and it took a few moments for it to process anything other than holyshitHilary'skissingme. When it didn't offer him any helpful explanations for what was happening, he acted purely on instinct, wrapping his arms around her tightly and kissing her back.
It was another few minutes before they broke apart, Hilary resting her forehead against his.
"Be safe." she begged. He nodded and gave her a quick smile and squeeze of the hands, before stepping backwards to his friends again.
Hilary waited at the door until they turned a corner at the end of the corridor, and then longer, until she was sure that she could no longer hear their voices or footsteps. Then she sighed, running a hand through her damp hair, and went to join Mariah and Mariam for what she knew would be the longest wait of her life.