First, I'd like to say a huge thank you to ht4eva, Bookfanx100, Holly Bluemoon, Captain Holly Short of The LEP, Thobbit and nekodreamstealer for your awesome and incredibly kind reviews! I hope I remembered to respond to all your reviews :)
This oneshot is loosely based on the song Numb by Linkin Park (more the instrumental part than the words) but for those of you who ship H/T, Your Guardian Angel by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus also fits this well ;) This is set just after AF: The Opal Deception. Enjoy!
Trouble slid his key card through the lock on his office door with a yawn. Despite his reluctance to take advantage of his promotion to major, Commander Root had insisted on rewarding him with a large, private office. Usually, the captains shared an open-plan office with their colleagues. A few lucky ones, those on their way to major, could work in a semi-private office with three other fairies. Trouble's old office had been part of the open-plan captains' floor. The captains' floor, dubbed the 'slave cave' by it's inhabitants, had been so loud and noisy that the silence of Trouble's new office had initially driven him insane. After the first few weeks, he discovered the joys of the PPTV music channels; bad gnome pop music trumped silence any day. Today, to his surprise, his office was neither empty nor silent.
"Hello?" he called into the darkness, groping along the wall for the light switch. Most fairies had voice-activated lights but the pixie who had owned the office before Trouble liked the old style dimmers. Suddenly, he felt the switch bump against his index finger and he flicked the lights on halfway. The room quickly filled with a dull green glow, one of the few preferences Trouble and the office's previous owner held in common.
On most days, Trouble allowed himself a few moments to admire the space he now owned. This time, however, his attention was immediately caught by the blanket-wrapped fairy huddled on his couch at the back of the room.
"Are you alright?" he asked, voice expressing concern even as his hand trailed down to his sidearm. Trouble was already in soldier mode, his sensitive ears pricking up as he caught the sound of the person's breathing. The pitch of the breaths allowed him to easily identify the person as female, around three feet tall, average weight. There was no real rhythm to the short gasps of air, suggesting that they were crying or had been very recently.
The figure shifted and Trouble's mind automatically ran a threat assessment, his eyes searching for the glint of a knife or gun barrel. He had to consciously control the urge to draw his weapon, an action Julius Root had ensured was ingrained into each of his officers' reflexes.
"Identify yourself!"
The fairy sniffled and sighed, sitting up in the dim light. "Relax, Trouble, it's just me."
"Holly?" asked Trouble with a start before scrambling to recover his composure. "Er, Captain Short?"
The elf let out a derisive snort, her head hung low. "Not anymore, Major. Sool made sure of that."
"What?" The major crossed his office in five quick steps, halting before the couch's arm. From the new angle, he could see tears glittering at the corners of Holly's eyes and those tiny, unshed drops stole his breath. "H-How…I don't-"
"I quit."
Trouble lowered himself onto the arm of the couch, his fingers curling into fists. He already hated Internal Affairs, every LEP officer did, but Sool had just taken his vendetta against the force more than one step too far.
"I just can't stand being here anymore," Holly continued, her face still turned down so Trouble couldn't see the tears escape her hazel eyes and slip down her cheeks. "People think I…they think I murdered Julius. He was like a father to me, how could I do that…how could I even consider that?" Her voice cut off hoarsely, her throat constricting painfully to keep the sobs at bay. "I can't live like that, Trouble, I just…..can't."
"I know," he whispered, unclenching his fists to twist his fingers together as numbness swept up his arms. "I'd do just the same."
Holly glanced at him in the emerald glow of the dimmed lighting; her expression softening as she realised there was still one fairy who truly believed her. "Thank you, I'm glad…I'm glad you've still got my back."
He slid quietly from his perch on the couch's arm, settling into the cushions beside the ex-captain as he wound his arm gently around her shoulders. "Holly, I'll always have your back. Even if it means I have to disobey orders, risk my career and ruin my reputation as the 'LEP's golden boy' to do so."
She chuckled wetly, settling her head against her friend's chest while he held her close, his hand buried in her short auburn hair. Slowly, Holly drifted off to sleep in the warm circle of her friend's arms, his heart beat strong and comforting beneath her ear.
So, how was that? :) On another note, I'd like to know if I should make an actual story out of the 'Trouble leading a rebellion against Sool' plot line? (It would be a separate, full-length piece set during AF: TLC)
7 days until AF: TAC comes out in the UK! (Unfortunately, I'm an Aussie and I also have no idea when it's being released down under!)
Last but certainly not least, a poll: Which of these would you like the next oneshot to be about:
+ something humourous
+ a mission
+ a character getting hurt
