A/N: This fic was written for the Sanctuary_Santa over at LJ. My recipient was serenitymeimei and the fic was beta-read by Tania. I hope you'll enjoy it.
It all started with what looked like a simple find-stun-grab mission inside the city. The abnormal they were looking for was a Stauropod, a long lost cousin of a Steno. It was also supposed to be a docile, friendly creature, at least according to Magnus. The abnormal obviously didn't get the memo. So armed with tranq guns, Will and Henry headed out to the hunt.
Locating the Stauropod was the easy part. There had been several sightings in the Old City, near the streets filled with fast food chains and cheap restaurants. It didn't take long for Will to notice the rather spectacular sized dump behind one such establishment. Henry sniffed at the air, scrunching up his face in a ridiculous grimace, and even Will had to fight to keep down the rising nausea at the odour.
„Man, I really hope it's just the dump that stinks this bad," Henry complained as they headed towards another dark alleyway. „ No way am I getting into the van with Stinky if he smells like this."
„Yeah," Will agreed, and thinking how fitting Henry's nickname for the abnormal was. They just had to make sure Magnus never found out about it. Thinking of Stinky, Will rubbed his nose, frowning. He tried to breathe through his mouth, but he had the scary thought that the smell might transform into something solid and latch onto his tastebuds. Will popped a chewing gum in his mouth and tried to stop thinking about it.
„Man, how can such a small thing poop so much?" Henry asked after they found more evidence of Stinky's presence. Will raised an eyebrow at Henry saying the Stauropod was small... According Magnus' description, it was supposed to be just a little bigger than a Saint Bernard's dog.
„Well, Stinky obviously didn't have any problems finding food. It looks pretty fresh by the way. Think we might be closing in on him?"
Henry's reply was interrupted by a startled yelp, as the abnormal in question leaped at him from behind a corner. Will jumped back, aiming the tranq gun at the abnormal while it was busy tackling Henry to the ground, sniffing and growling over him.
„Argh, shoot it!" Henry screamed as a rather spectacular drop of saliva landed on his face and Will instinctively pulled the trigger. The dart hit the abnormal in the back of the neck, harmlessly bouncing off the thick skin. Will cursed and fired off two more shots, the darts finding their target and landing on the abnormals side and back. Stinky gave a surprised grunt and turned towards his attacker. Will swallowed and pulled the trigger one more time, only to realize the tranq gun was jammed. Stinky stepped off of Henry, leaving the poor HAP coughing and spitting, overpowered by the stench. Will cocked his head, slowly putting up both hands in a sign of peace.
„Now easy, big boy..." he spoke in a hushed voice and took a step back. The abnormal sniffed the air, a rather disgusting trail of saliva hanging from its mouth. Will grimaced and his eyes trailed sideways, looking for an escape. He could either run back the way they'd come, leading the abnormal out to the busy street or ahead, but that way was blocked by Stinky. The tranquilizers might take only seconds to kick in, but Will wasn't sure two darts were enough to knock Stinky out... He looked a little bigger than Magnus had anticipated.
His time ran out. The abnormal took in a whiff, and with a grunt lunged right at him. Will didn't think anymore, his instincts took over. He spun and ran. At least that's what he intended to do. Magnus kindly forgot to mention that the Stauropod was faster than lighting and could fly. At least that was the only explanation Will had for how he happened to end up in the big dumpster at the other end of the street, Stinky laying on top of him, drooling and asleep.
He was trying to convince Henry all the way home that the Stauropod grabbed him and flew him to the dumpster, where he finally succumbed to the tranqs. It was after all a better story than the one with an abnormal chasing a psychiatrist into a dumpster, right?
The only thing keeping Henry from laughing at him the whole drive back was the excruciating smell surrounding them. By the time they pulled up to the Sanctuary, Will fell silent, his hands picking out pieces of garbage from his hair, frowning disgustedly at the feeling of something slick and wet running down his neck. Will fervently hoped it was just some sauce from a nearby restaurant, not Stinky's drool. Heck, at this moment he would've taken blood over drool, no question.
Will never thought he could be so thankful for a shower. Or the fact that the smell coming off of him was enough to stop even the hardest laugh. Still he knew Kate would have a field day, and he wasn't sure if Henry hadn't managed to snatch a photo of him with his camera. Gritting his teeth at the tought of blackmail, Will turned the water spray a little cooler, trying to get the rest of the goo and smell off his skin. After another twenty minutes in the shower, a whole tube of shower gel spent and several runs with the shampoo, Will deemed himself presentable enough. He stepped out of the bathroom only to freeze on the spot. In a chair by his bed was Magnus, looking at him with an appraising smile. Will blushed, grabbing at the towel around his waist so it wouldn't fall off by accident.
„Uh.. M-Magnus? I didn't know... What..." Will stuttered, looking around for the nearest available piece of clothing.
„Oh, I knocked on the bathroom door to tell you I'd be waiting here. I thought you heard me," she exclaimed. Will blinked, then finally grabbed some pants and stepped behind the couch to change.
„I didn't hear you," Will said, his voice a little high pitched as his leg caught in the clothing and he almost stumbled into the couch. Magnus raised her eyebrows, lips twitching.
„I'm sorry. Didn't want to surprise you."
„Why are you here? I mean... Is something wrong with the abnormal or do we have another case?"
„No new cases," Magnus said as she rose, and Will pulled on a shirt. „Just a little inconvenience. It seems that the Stauropod's saliva is not the best thing for human skin. Henry already has a rash over his face where ‚Stinky' licked him. It's nothing serious," she added as she saw Will's widening eyes. „Just a mild allergic reaction. The redness should abate in a day or two. I'm more worried that Kate will pull a muscle with all the laughing she's doing right now," Magnus finished with a roll of her eyes and Will grinned. It was nice to know he wasn't the only laughing stock of the day. Then his smile turned into a frown. If Henry's face was turning red, what did Will look like?
„Oh hell," he turned on his heels and ran back to the bathroom, cursing when he saw the mirror was all fogged up. Brushing it off, Will turned left and right, letting out a sigh of relief when he didn't see any redness on his face. Of course, the Stauropod never licked his face. But he was still covered in drool. With a groan, Will's hands flew to his head. The back of his neck was already feeling hot to the touch and kind of itchy. He thought it had just been all the shampoo he used and the hot water. Turning around, he spotted some redness but couldn't see it very well without making a complete Linda Blair impression. With a sigh he gave up and walked out, back to the waiting Magnus.
„How bad?" He asked, defeated. Magnus motioned for him to come closer and once he reached her, she pushed him down to the bed, her hands gently touching the back of his neck. Her touch felt cool against the hot skin and he leaned back. Magnus chuckled and turned him so she could have a better look.
„Come on now, it's not that bad. Looks like most of the skin affected is under your hair." Her fingers brushed off the freshly washed hair, and Will was glad he spent such a long time under the water. Hopefully the smell was all gone by now.
„Say, there's no chance of my hair falling out is there?"
„Why William, I don't know if there's baldness in your gene pool," Magnus joked and Will tried to glare at her, but it was hard when she was holding his head, her fingers still brushing over his scalp, checking and dabbing something cool on the skin. When she started massaging the cream into his scalp, Will forgot everything and just leaned back, letting out a sigh. He was starting to feel relaxed. Magnus gave a low chuckle, the fingers leaving his head and settling on the back of his neck, giving a small rub, and then leaving altogether. Will moaned in protest and opened his eyes-and when did he even close them?
Blinking blearily at Magnus, he smiled.
„You'd make a great masseuse, Dr. Magnus," he said seriously, bringing another chuckle out of Magnus.
„Why thank you, Will. I'll let my friend in Thailand know that her lessons paid off. Now why don't you take a short nap and then come down for dinner, so we can discuss how you ended up in a dumpster, when Stauropods are such peaceful creatures."
Will opened his mouth, but closed it shut. He wanted to protest that he didn't need a nap, but he realized it was a short reprieve during which he could come up with a better explanation than just the simple fact he took a header into the dumpster because he was too afraid of getting licked by a 'harmless' but stinking abnormal.
„Oh, and if by any chance your hair starts changing color, don't panic. It's another effect of the Stauropod saliva. It's definitely not permanent," Magnus said with a slightly apologetic look, then quickly shut the door, leaving Will open mouthed and at a loss of words. She was almost down the hall when she heard a muffled "What? Magnus!" from Will's room. She quickened her steps, a smirk settling on her face.
The End