His head hurt, that much he knew. There was still ringing in his ears from the blast of the

shells. It became apparent that his body was sore as well. He discovered this once he

lifted his arms to push off the debris. He thanked the stars for the planes finally departing,

believing him and his partner to be dead.

'I never thought they would track me that fast…'

His hacking skills were getting rusty. he chuckled at the realization.

Quint groaned as he stood up, brushing the snow off his uniform.

There was fire everywhere he looked, not including the piles of rubble that remained of

the so-called airstrip. 'An air base, what a joke.' He thought bitterly.

"Grinder! Grinder, where are you?" Quint called out for his friend.

His hands were still shaking, but he wasn't sure if it was because of the remaining

adrenaline from the fire bombing, the freezing cold, or the fear of losing his friend…

"Grinder! Say something buddy!" the bald man picked up his assault rifle and wandered

around to examine the ruins of the airport. The blast…

his heart leapt up into his throat when his imagination ran wild. Images of Keith's burned

and charred body all alone in the snow, being torn to shreds by the remaining wolves.

"KEITH!" Quint screamed, his voice carried by the chilled wind.

A groan emitted from a pile of warped rock and metal.

"Keith?" Quint scurried over and began lifting and tossing away rocks in desperation.

His breath hitched when he found Keith lying face down in the snow, eyes closed.

"Keith? Keith, come on, wake up." Quint bent down to shake the tall man's shoulder.

Long eyelashes fluttered open, revealing almond eyes.

"Quint….you…ass…" Keith grumbled once he came to, bringing a smile to Quint's face.

"Hey, thought I almost lost you there for a second." Quint laughed, sniffing hard.

Keith struggled to sit up, oblivious to the rocks that sat on his torso.

"Here, let me help you up." Quint grunted as he heaved the rocks and chunks of wall off.

Keith spat out the snow that had gathered in his mouth, shivering slightly.

"Was it really so important to send those coordinates to O'Brian?" Keith mumbled.

Quint bowed his head slightly with guilt, remembering the incident clearly now.

"He needed to know where the Queen Dido was, it's the last ship Veltro occupied…"

Keith sighed as he stretched his back, barely registering his friend's statement.

"I'm real sorry, Keith. I almost got the both of us killed." Quint chewed on his lip.

Keith stood in stunned silence at the sight of seeing his friend like that. it wasn't normal

to see him so crestfallen. "Hey, don't worry about it." He patted Quint's bald head.

Quint looked up at him with pitiful puppy-dog eyes, questioning Keith's forgiveness.

"We're still here, aren't we?" Keith grinned at his partner. "That's what matters."

Quint blushed and looked down at his feet in silence.

"Brr..Come on, we need to get out of here." Keith wrapped his arms around himself

tightly, remembering the freezing temperature. On top of being on a cold mountain, being

covered in snow and ice certainly didn't help. "I'm freezing my butt off here."

"You're not turning into a Popsicle, No suh!" Quint chirped, his Boston accent coming

back. Quint tapped on his headset to radio in a helicopter for evacuation.

"Jackass here, we need chopper on the double!" Quint grinned.

Keith rubbed his hands together to try and ward off the numbness that crept in his skin.

"They're sending someone now, but it'll be awhile until they find us." Quint nodded.

"Great, we'll be snowmen by then…" Keith grumbled bitterly.

"Don't worry about it, Grinder. We'll just have to try and keep warm until then."

"How? Every little thing that could be considered shelter was blown to hell."

Quint rubbed his chin as he scanned the terrain, looking for any sort of structure.

"Over there. We can sit tight there until we're picked up." Quint pointed towards a small

shack that stood near the opening of a cavern. "How the hell is it still standing?" Keith

gaped at the sight, stunned that the entire airfield wasn't leveled from the bombs.

"I guess it was just out the way enough to survive, lucky for us." Quint chuckled.

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.

Keith sighed as he sat down on a cot, thankful to rest on something that was somewhat

comfortable. Quint closed and barred the door behind him, pushing a desk in front of it

for good measure. 'There's no way in hell I'm turning into dog chow..'

A sudden crash startled Quint, making him jump with a yelp.

He turned around to see Keith breaking up a wooden chair, dumping the chunks into a

metal garbage bin that sat in the middle of the room. Keith chuckled at his startled friend.

"Sorry about that, just building a fire." The taller man then began to tear pages out of a

book for kindling before lighting a couple of matches and dropping them into the barrel.

"Smart thinking, Grinder." Quint grinned as he picked up some blankets.

Keith sat back down on the cot and rubbed his hands together just above the flames.

Quint draped a blanket over the both of them and snuggled against Keith, taking the man

by surprise. "What are you doing?" Keith raised a brow at the shorter man.

"Don't you know that it's a good idea to share body heat? We'll warm up faster this

way." Quint gave a shy smile in response. "Oh…ok, I guess." Keith shrugged as he

leaned against Quint, grateful for the heat that radiated off of him.

Silence took over as neither man spoke, giving the room an eerie atmosphere.

The wind howled outside, the sun had disappeared and made the sky grow dark.

They were alone, so unfathomably alone…

Being alone gave Keith time to gather his thoughts, all of which he regretted to

remember. None of it gave him any peace, not one bit.

O'Brian had set them all up. This mission was a lie, just to oust an old friend.

Their boss had sent them on a wild goose chase just to gather evidence against Lansdale.

Their lives were put on the line just to bring justice to a tragedy that occurred a year ago!

Was it really worth it…?

"Do you think the others are okay?" Quint suddenly spoke up.

Good question. Were they okay? Was anything going to be okay again?

"Yeah…yeah, of course they're okay! Chris, Parker, Jill and Jessica are tough. If they can

survive Raccoon City and Terragrigia, they can survive anything." Keith smiled.

"Man, I sure hope so…" Quint mumbled as he stared at the crackling flames.

Keith struggled against the blanket to wrap an arm around Quint, squeezing him

comfortingly. "They're going to be fine, Quint. You'll see."

Quint wrapped his arms around Keith's waist and buried his face in his shoulder.

Keith smiled as he held onto Quint, laying his chin on the peach fuzz covered head.

"I..don't want to lose anyone, Keith.." Quint's voice was muffled by Keith's thick winter

coat, but easily heard in the silent room. Keith's heart nearly broke as he listened to the

uncharacteristically meek voice. "No one's going anywhere, Quint, we're stronger than

that." Keith patted the man's back. "But I almost lost you, and it would've been all my

fault!" Quint's hands clenched at the warm material in his fingers. "It wasn't your fault

that the FBC dropped bombs on us." Keith replied as he cocked an eyebrow.

'Hang on! I almost got the coordinates, just wait a little bit longer!'

'You idiot, do you want to die with your stupid machines?'

A sob escaped past Quint's lips as he recalled the memory that had only occurred an hour

ago, still fresh in his mind. Keith held onto his friend as his body shook from the quiet

sobs that wracked his shorter form. "Hey, hey, it's okay. We're just fine, buddy." Keith

whispered soothingly, trying his best to calm Quint down.

"I'm not going anywhere, Quint. Nothing bad will happen, because you're my partner."

Keith smiled down at his friend as he spoke fondly of their partnership.

Quint sniffed and looked up at the lean man, trying to make sense of what he said.

"I know that you always have my back. Together, we're unstoppable!" Keith grinned.

Quint smiled as he sheepishly rubbed at his eye, embarrassed for crying like a child.

"Yeah…you're right. We are a pretty good team." Quint smiled.

"Just like…Batman and Superman!" Keith boasted, making Quint bust out laughing.

"W-well, maybe not that unstoppable." Quint held his side as he laughed.

"Hey, are you dissing our team?" Keith pouted as Quint laughed at the comparison.

"No, I just..never mind, forget I said anything." Quint patted Keith's knee.

Keith smiled as he saw Quint as his usual, perky self. It was a relief, to say the least.

"Hey, aren't you tired?" Keith cocked his head to the side. "Pfft! no, how can I be?"

Quint shook his head and looked out the window absentmindedly.

"Yeah, same here. With all the shit that went down today, I don't know if I can sleep ever

again. Damn…" Keith sighed as he rubbed his eyes, becoming sore from the smoke that

emanated from the fire. "What'll we do? Are we just going to sit here until we get picked

up in the morning?" Keith groaned, knowing that he can become quite impatient and

restless if left with nothing to do for too long.

"Well…there is something we can try." Quint trailed off as he glanced away.

Keith's ears perked up at this. "What do you suggest?"

Quint gave a sidelong glance at Keith before blushing and looking away.

This reaction only increased the man's curiosity more, getting the better of him.

"Think about it, Grinder…" Quint's blush grew as he refused to voice his idea.

For all he knew, Quint could've meant that they should've stood on their heads and try to

remember the names of Star Trek's crew members. But that seemed too far-fetched, even

for Quint. "I don't get what you're trying to say." Keith's head started to hurt.

Quint hesitantly grabbed onto Keith's thigh, moving his hand up slowly when it wasn't

shoved away. "Oh…" Keith chuckled as he finally made the realization.

Quint slowly leaned closer to Keith's face, embarrassed and worried of being rejected.

Keith gave a sly smile before closing the gap between them and gave Quint a quick peck

on the lips. Quint grabbed onto Keith's face and kissed him fully. Keith placed his hand

on the back of Quint's head, deepening the kiss. Quint lightly nibbled and pulled on

Keith's bottom lip shyly, earning a chuckle from the other man.

Keith expertly slipped his tongue into Quint's mouth, tasting him. Quint whimpered as he

grew more and more aroused, clinging onto Keith's coat.

'Huh, sex wasn't exactly the first thing that came to mind, but I'm not complaining.'

"You're wearing too many layers, Grinder." Quint purred as he began to unzip Keith's

coat, earning a hiss from the man. "Fuck! It's too cold to do this naked!" Keith zipped his

coat back up, sighing in relief. Quint pouted in disappointment. "Relax, Quint. I think we

can make this work.." Keith chuckled as he winked at his partner.

Keith figure that since the cot they shared was close to the fire and if they kept the

majority of their clothes on they would stay relatively warm.

Keith began to undo the straps that held Quint's guns and ammunition in place before

removing his own. When he bent down to gently set down his ammunition belt, he

thought he saw something under the cot. "Hang on a sec, I need to check this out."

Quint's heart sunk at the sentence. Was there a monster in here all along?

"I never thought that the guys here swung that way…" Keith chuckled as he came back

up from the floor after checking underneath the cot. In his hand was a huge bottle of lube,

half of its contents were used up.

"Geez man, don't scare me like that." Quint sighed in relief as he rested on his elbows.

"Sorry, but I saw this when I was setting my gear down." Keith gave an apologetic smile

before sitting down on the cot next to the shorter man. "I guess it does get pretty lonely

out here, doesn't it?" Keith mused as he turned the bottle over in his hands, checking to

see if it seemed impure in any way. "Boring too." Quint chuckled.

"Do you think it's okay to use..?" Quint eyed the bottle nervously, not too keen on using

someone else's lubricant. "I'm sure it is. I mean, all you do is squeeze it out into your

hand. It should be fine." Keith reasoned as he uncapped the bottle.

"If you say so…" Quint blushed as Keith undid his pants, pushing them down to his

ankles. "okay, if we do it this way we shouldn't get too cold." Keith replied as he undid

the belt on Quint's pants before pulling on them until they hung by his ankles as well.

"On your knees." Keith said simply as he stood behind the bald man.

Quint stood on his hands and knees on the cot, waiting for more instructions.

Keith grinned at the sight of Quint's bare ass in all it's glory, waiting for him.

He squeezed the lube into his hand, smearing it on his fingers before sticking them inside

of Quint. Quint made a small sound of surprise and tensed up at the sudden intrusion.

"Ease up, man. You gotta relax…" Keith murmured softly.

Quint breathed a few times as he tried to allow himself to relax and loosen up around

Keith's long fingers. Keith then reached around to lightly touch and caress Quint's cock,

earning a gasp from the other man. Quint groaned as his hips thrust forward into Keith's

hand and then thrusting back onto Keith's fingers over and over.

"Good, you're getting the hang of it." Keith grinned as Quint began to enjoy himself.

This was certainly different, making love to someone that was still partially clothed.

The pants that still clung onto Quint's legs prevented him from spreading his legs too far

apart, which left Quint's legs still partially clenched and thus making his ass tighter.

"Okay, are you ready?" Keith supported himself by grabbing onto Quint's hip with one

hand while the other was still latched onto his member. "Y-yeah…go for it." Quint

stammered nervously. Keith chuckled as he slowly eased himself inside of the other man.

Quint focused on the feeling of Keith entering him, biting his lip as he grew more

excited. It was odd that Keith still worn his winter coat, reminding him that they still

wore their gear when the said coat rubbed up against Quint's ass cheeks. It was a bit

irritating that they couldn't be nude for this moment, but he knew he would soon forget

about it. Deep down, Quint knew that he would remember this night for the rest of his

life. He could picture it now…

'Hey Grinder, remember that time when-?'

his thoughts were interrupted when Keith suddenly began to move within him, pulling

out and pushing back in forcefully.

"Ah-ah! Ahhh….h-hahhh…ohhh…" Quint began to moan and pant uncontrollably as he

thrust back up into Keith with fervor. Keith smiled as he watched Quint lose himself in

the moment, leaning forward to bite down on Quint's neck. Quint moaned loudly as

Keith bit into his neck enticingly, shivering in response.

"You like that..?" Keith grinned as his fingers dug into Quint's winter coat, trying to get a

better grasp on him. "Ahh….Harder, Grinder!" Quint whimpered.

Keith was all too eager and obliged the other man, fulfilling his needs.

He thrust faster into Quint, causing more pleasurable friction.

Keith stroked Quint's cock roughly as he bit his lower lip in concentration.

"Ahhh! Ooh..ah! ah! Ah! Ahhh…hah.." Quint cried as he reached climax, spilling his

essence into Keith's hand. Keith continued to stroke Quint's length as he reached his own

orgasm. "uhh…ahh…ugh, oh! Hahh…ah-ah!" Keith filled Quint with his seed, sighing as

he laid his head down on Quint's back.

Quint slumped on the cot lazily, panting as he tried to regain his breath.

Keith pulled out of Quint and grabbed the edge of the blanket to wipe himself off before

pulling his pants back up. He then helped clean Quint before helping him dress.

Keith flopped down on his back against the cot, too exhausted to sit up any longer.

Quint pulled the blanket up over them and laid beside his newfound lover.

"How you feeling now, Quint?" Keith smiled as he peered down at the shorter man.

"Awesome…" Quint drawled tiredly as his eyes drooped, a smile plastered on his face.

Keith chuckled and wrapped his arms around the computer nerd, nuzzling his nose into

his neck. "Good, maybe now we can get some sleep.." he yawned before closing his eyes.

"Keith?" Quint questioned softly. "Yeah?" Keith cracked open one eye.

"Partners forever?" Quint blushed with a shy smile. "Always and forever." Keith grinned.

Quint gave a slight nod in response before yawning and falling asleep.

Keith was so relaxed as he held the other man in his arms, he didn't even care if he heard

the wind howling outside. He wasn't afraid anymore, not at the moment at least.

It was almost over.

They just needed to get through this night and they'll be back home before they knew it.

'Just get through tonight. Everything will be just fine…'

Keith eyed the quickly dying fire before snuggling closer to Quint and falling asleep.

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The next morning seemed to just fly by, given that they had slept in longer than they had

expected they thought possible. The familiar hum of the helicopter's propellers sounded

in the distance. Quint had moved aside the makeshift barricade and poked his head out to

see the BSAA vehicle slowly making it's way toward what was left of the airfield.

The shorter man ran outside and started waving to the chopper while radioing him on his

headset. 'Finally, the nightmare is over and we can go home…' Quint sighed gratefully.

Keith squinted his eyes shut at the sudden glare from the mixture of morning sun and

snow blindness, but thankful when the sound of the helicopter reached his ears.

He slung his arms around his assault rifle as it rested on top of his shoulders lazily,

walking over to catch up with Quint. "Ready to go home, buddy?" he called.

"Hell yeah!" Quint beamed and nodded his head. As the helicopter landed they walked

side by side and exchanged random banter.

They survived a horde of monsters, countless exploding bombs that were dropped on

them, and the freezing temperatures. Any normal person would've been driven insane by

the hell they went through. But today seemed like any other day, because it was.

In the BSAA, you dealt with things like this all the time.

But you always bounce back and somehow manage to survive it.

"So, what do you wanna do once we get back?" Quint peered at Keith.

"Shower, hot chocolate, and crappy movies." Keith stated simply, causing Quint to grin.

"Ever seen the movie Young Frankenstein?" Quint smiled gleefully at his lover.

"No…?" Keith eyed the shorter man oddly at the bizarre movie title.

Quint gawked at him, shocked that he never the film.

"Oh, you're going to see it. Many times over, my friend." He grinned.

"I don't think that's necessary, since I see you every morning when I come to work."

Keith stuck out his tongue playfully. "Wha-? You-!" Quint stammered at Keith's

remark. Keith walked on ahead a few steps with Quint trailing behind him.

A sudden hit to the back of his head interrupted his thought process.

Keith turned around to see Quint grinning and holding a snowball in his hand.

"Did you just-!" Quint threw another snowball and hit Keith square in the face.

Keith sputtered and quickly wiped away the icy white powder before it completely

chilled his face. Quint ran ahead of Keith to escape any attack that may have been in store

for him. "Quint, you sneaky bastard! Get back here!" Keith dashed off after Quint in

hopes of catching him before he reached the helicopter.

Keith managed to catch up to the shorter man with no problem, being blessed with such

long legs. The taller man grabbed Quint in a headlock, giving him a quick peck on the

cheek before dragging him off into the waiting helicopter.

(end)

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My second KeithxQuint story, huzzah!

I got a couple of comments on my last story over at my Deviantart page, so I thought that

it was a good enough sign as any to write another story. I know that there were quite a

few views for "Logical Relations", but I don't know if it was simply out of curiosity or if

there are people out there who truly enjoy the pairing-I'm hoping for the latter.

I was really curious as to how in the world Quint and Keith managed to survive the

bombs that the FBC dropped on them, so I thought that this might help sum it up.

I don't think the FBC meant to bomb Keith and Quint per se, I think Lansdale just told

them that Veltro was there and to go ahead and bomb the shit out of their hideout.

At any rate, I have one more story idea for another KxQ story that I'll write next week.

Of course I'll also be writing another ParkerxRaymond story too, but I'm having a hard

time choosing between two that both sound pretty good to me.

I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh?

Hope you enjoyed the story, questions and comments are always welcomed!

Lin