Author's Note: Drabble. Love HiNaBN. So much.
Home
Waking up was a little hazy. It was noise that caused his eyes to open; nothing too distracting, but a rather pleasant one, a dull hum. He sat up and kicked the blanket covering him off, trying to make out his surroundings through the haze that was his vision. Where was he? Was he still at the warehouse?
Panic seized Hanna Falk Cross for a frightening moment and he remembered.
The case he had taken on.
Where are they?
The ambush.
Where are they?
The demons.
Oh, god, I was too late!
His friends rushing to help him, but…
Damn it! Nonononono…
He didn't even realize that he was gripping his own fiery red hair until he felt his hands tug painfully at the locks. He let go. A breath slowly left his lungs as he calmed his nerves. He forced himself to relax as best he could on the mattress he sat on.
Where am I?
When he squinted, he could make out long curtains on his right, and a wall on his left. Further inspection showed that the curtains had been strung up as a makeshift wall, and the real wall was actually two walls meeting to form a corner. He recognized the corner well enough. Many times he had curled up into it when the pain from his runes was too much to bear.
Conclusion: he was in his apartment. Next question.
Where the hell are my glasses?
He shook his head and chided himself. Wrong question to be asking.
Fine. Then…what's all the noise about?
Right. The noise. The noise that sounded oddly enough like chatter. Happy chatter at that. A loud laugh seemed to emphasize the inquiry, followed by a soft smack and a "shh!" that sounded more like a snarl.
His heart swelled. The laugh was unmistakably Veser's. And the shushing most likely belonged to Toni. Good. They were accounted for.
There was a small slit in the curtains, and he pulled one back a bit and poked his head out. No one noticed him, but he didn't care. At least he could see them. When he squinted.
Indeed, Toni and Veser were sitting at the small coffee table he had bought a while ago, playing cards. By the werewolf's glower, she was probably losing. Veser leaned over in triumph and said something, but Hanna couldn't make out the words. It certainly ticked the girl off though, because she snarled and practically bit off the boy's nose. Veser simply leaned back quickly, grinning, and they kept playing.
Sitting on the worn couch was Lamont, and Conrad was next to him, sipping something from a mug. When the mug was put down, his lips were stained red, which he quickly licked. He was listening to a story Lamont was softly telling him, nodding and occasionally commenting on something. They were laughing as the apartment door swung open and Worth slinked in, a bottle of some type of alcohol (undoubtedly something strong) in each hand.
He forced himself in between the two on the couch, grinning maliciously when they scowled at him. It was Conrad who stole the bottles from his hand and Lamont who kicked him off the couch, both laughing when the doctor let loose a stream of profanities. From down on the floor, Worth said something quickly that made Conrad pale, if that was even possible for a vampire, and made Lamont sigh. Lamont reluctantly handed Worth a pillow, which he stuffed under his bony butt and then gestured for one of the bottles.
Hanna blinked a few times. That was all of them. But where was his dead assistant? Perhaps…perhaps he didn't make it out of the warehouse?
He turned his face away from the light-hearted scene before him to blink back sudden tears, and found himself staring directly at the zombie. Who was regarding him silently with his soft, glowing eyes.
He squeaked the first name that came to his mind. "Romulus!"
An eyebrow was raised.
"Right, sorry," the redhead muttered. "Um…Joey! How are you?" He was startled when the other frowned. "What?"
The mellow voice that exited Joey's lips was soothing. "The first thing you ask is how I'm feeling?" He leaned closer to him. "How are you feeling, Hanna? You've been out for three days."
"I—." He faltered for a moment. "I'm fine, Gallahad. Little sore, but it's all part of the job, right? Got a good sleep in too!"
It made him…uncomfortable when the bright orange eyes scrutinized him. But then they softened and Gallahad gave a reluctant sigh. "Be careful next time. Don't scare me…us." He turned his gaze to the room just as its occupants were beginning to notice Hanna.
The young man was soon surrounded by them, words flying at him left and right.
"Ohmigosh, Hanna! That was too dangerous! Next time, let us handle—"
"—scared the everliving shit outta me, man! You're crazy, even trying to—"
"I nearly had a heart attack when Worth called me to bring all of that supplies for you! Too much blood for this sort of—"
"Next time, leave this sort of thing to the people who aren't so prone to dying, idiot! Though I guess I wasn't much help for a vamp—"
"—tired o' havin' you n'yer fuckin' half-dead body dumped 'n my operatin'table! Shit, fuckin' use yer head or—"
And Hanna scooted closer to his zombie friend, who reached out automatically and gripped his hand comfortingly. Hanna looked down, then at the man. Gallahad gave him a small, reassuring smile and squeezed.
A grin wormed its way onto the redhead's face. It was alright. They were all here. Everyone was safe. Everyone was home.