The Bleeding Heart

Duncan snarled and clamped both hands over the alpha's shoulders, fingers digging viciously into his collarbones before he yanked him backwards and practically flung him towards the sink. The man hit the countertop, and the mirror behind it gave an ominous crack, but Q barely registered the sound before Duncan was on top of the man again, blocking him from view.

It was by far the angriest that Q had ever seen the alpha and as he realised just why, in fact, Duncan was so mad, he felt his knees start to buckle.

There was another bang as the door was flung open once more, and he instinctively flinched away from the sound even as his heart soared as he recognised both Jake and Saif step in.

They took one look at the sight in front of them - Duncan pummelling a guy to death while Q, a little under half dressed but a little more than half terrified, trembled in a broken stall - and they immediately put two and two together.

Saif bared his teeth and snapped at Jake to "get him out of here!" before prowling his way towards the pair by the sinks. Q didn't have any time to wonder about that, however, before a sudden shadow fell over him and he couldn't bite back the yelp that escaped in his fear.

"Shh, it's okay, mukundwa, it's only me, it's okay" Jake hushed, slowly holding up both hands, "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I just want to get you out of here, alright? Do you want to leave?"

Did he want to leave? Leave what? Leave where? This bathroom stall with its broken door and chipped paintwork? The bathroom in general with its sound of flesh hitting bone? The nightclub itself with its overly loud music and far too many people that could see him find him hurt him-

He whined quietly and he quickly nodded, both arms coming up to wrap around himself.

"Okay. Okay, we can do that, no problem". Jake's dark eyes were oddly… bright. "Is it- Is it okay if I touch you now? To help you get outside?"

Q started to shake his head automatically before pausing. It was Jake, after all, and Jake had never touched him in a way that had hurt before - not on purpose, anyway. And Duncan and Saif were here too so- so they'd stop him even if he did but he didn't he wouldn't he won't because he's Jake and Jake was kind, ridiculously stupidly irreparably kind and Q could trust him he knew that he could trust him so he just had to-

He gave a jerky nod, and the man smiled, the expression tight and almost strained.

"Thank you, mukundwa. I'm going to get you out of here, alright? Do you want to- Do you want to fix your clothes first?"

His clothes? What was wrong with his clothes? Q glanced down at the outfit he'd spent so long cultivating except-

Except his jacket was on the filthy bathroom floor now, and his shirt was torn at the collar, and his belt was gone and his shoes were scuffed and the button on his jeans was missing too and-

Q suddenly got the strongest urge to cry.

Instead, he shook his head and stepped closer to Jake and tried his best not to break down when the man immediately took hold of him in his arms.

"Hush now, you're okay, it's okay, it's all going to be fine, you're safe now, I promise" he whispered, slowly moving them towards the door, "We have to go through a small bit of the club to get out, but I won't let anybody else touch you, alright?"

He made a pitiful sound and tried to bury his head against the man's shoulder.

In the background, there was the sound of a muffled grunt, a crack, and then a bitten-off howl - but the sounds were all quickly drowned out by the pounding music as Jake opened the bathroom door.

Q whimpered as the strobe lights flashed behind his eyes no matter how tightly he had them shut. The bass pulsed in his ears and made his head throb and it took every single ounce of his remaining willpower not to shriek when he brushed up against someone on the overly packed dance floor.

"Shh, it's okay, we're almost there" Jake hushed, "You're doing great, mukundwa, I promise you we're almost there".

The man awkwardly shuffled them through the throng of people and Q vaguely realised that he should probably be helping him rather than latching onto the alpha like a limpet, unable to even see where they were going.

But he didn't have to see where they were going because he was with Jake and Jake would protect him and keep him safe and prevent that bastard from ever ever ever coming near him again because he was-

"Jake!"

Q flinched, badly, and squeezed his arms around the alpha's waist even tighter.

"Jake! What happened? Are you alright? Where's-" Alexis suddenly stopped as she no doubt caught sight of Q. "... Is- Is everything okay?"

"No" Jake said shortly, "It's not. Get the others; we're going out the back".

He sensed more than saw her rush off but he could clearly picture the look of pure murder on her face as she imagined all of the things that could have happened and just who, exactly, she had to deal with.

"Almost there, mukundwa" Jake said again, shuffling him forwards, "We're almost there".

Q wasn't entirely sure when or how they made it off the dance floor - he only knew that one minute they were inside, and the next, they were not. The ground was wet and uneven beneath his feet, and he slipped as his legs finally gave into the tremors that wracked his slight frame, with only Jake's strong arms holding him up.

He felt strangely… hollow inside, like someone had opened him up and scooped out each of his organs in turn, but despite his empty chest, his head was too full and thoughts kept fluttering around in his mind like a hundred thousand fireflies trapped in a tiny jar.

"It's okay, you're safe now, I promise, nobody can hurt you" Jake continued to whisper, his voice a permanent yet somewhat muted background noise.

Q felt like he was going to be sick but he couldn't muster up enough energy to even do that despite the constant thoughts that flashed through his head and the never-ending shudders that he just couldn't stop.

"Jake? Q?"

He flinched at the sound before realising that he recognized that voice.

"Cub!"

That was- that was-

"Pup?"

Alpha.

Ripping himself from Jake like a bandaid, he spun around in search of new medicine, the world lurching around him and his feet refusing to cooperate but it didn't matter, that didn't matter, because-

As soon as he caught sight of familiar blond hair, he lunged, startled cries echoing around him and only Alec's inhumanely quick reflexes preventing him from falling. The man immediately wrapped his arms around him but it wasn't enough, that would never be enough, it isn't close enough, he isn't close enough, he needs to get closer closer closer-

Q let out a high-pitched whine that would have had flushing in mortification at any other time, but Alec didn't laugh, instead merely shushing him as he pressed one arm against his lower back before crouching down slightly, encircling the other around the back of his legs and-

Yep.

Alec was lifting him.

Q immediately wrapped both legs around the man's waist, arms around his neck and face buried against his chest, and this was- this was better, this was an improvement, this was- this was not okay but it was more okay but he was still missing something still missing someone and Q felt raw and exposed like his skin had slowly been peeled away from his flesh and-

"You're trembling, pup" someone murmured before a warm weight landed on his shoulders, surrounding him with a familiar safe scent as James slowly, carefully, rubbed up and down his back above his own jacket in a manner that had no bloody right to be as soothing as it was.

Alec's grip on him tightened, and Q felt the vibration of his growl before it became audible.

"What the fuck happened?!"

He tensed at the man's obvious anger, but the blond simply rumbled at him quietly, one hand tangled in his curls, pressing his face further against the man's shirt.

"I- I- I don't know!" Jake answered, his voice shaking as much as the omega's body, "I was- He was- Duncan-"

He cut himself off with an aggravated sigh, and Q heard someone else step closer to him. A deep breath later, the man tried again.

"Duncan followed him to the bathroom to make sure he was alright, and when neither of them came back, I found Saif and went to check on them… Duncan was beating the absolute hell out of some guy, and- and the stall door was smashed, and- and Q was… Q was just standing there, terrified, and… and his clothes were-"

James let out a vicious snarl before spinning around and stalking back to the club.

Nobody stopped him.

There was a moment of silence in the outside world as Q's thoughts continued to scream at him internally even as he forced himself to focus on Alec's scent, on James's scent, on warmth and safety and home and-

"I'll talk to the club manager" Edie abruptly said, "See if he'll shut down early tonight so we can… take care of things. Milli?"

"Yes. I… I will join you".

"Good. You two do that, and I'll see if the boys need any… help" Alexis added, her voice darker than Q had ever heard it before, "Charlie? Take care of Jake".

"What? No! I'm fine! If anyone needs to be taken care of then it's-"

"You" she interrupted, "Don't fight me on this, Williams, because you're guaranteed to lose… And besides, it's not as if Alec will let anyone within a ten feet radius of the Quartermaster right now anyway".

There was a rumble of agreement beneath his cheek, and Q blinked, sluggishly. He knew he should say something, knew he should do something because- because everyone else was doing something, weren't they? Only he wasn't sure what it was that they were doing or how he could be of any help because-

A gust of wind rattled through the alleyway and he shivered.

What were they doing outside again?

"Send James out when you get there, once he's… dealt with the problem" Alec said, although Q wasn't sure who he was talking to or even what he was talking about, "We'll bring him back to ours".

Another sudden breeze made him shiver again, and he distantly realised that he felt very very cold despite his alpha's body heat and his other alpha's jacket.

"Cub?" The hand on his head detangled itself from his curls. "Cub, are you okay with that?"

Was he okay with… what? Okay with something that they were doing? But Q didn't know what they were doing, he only knew that he should be doing something too, something that was- bathroom? He'd been in the bathroom, hadn't he? Of the club? But he wasn't in a club now, he was outside. Why were they all outside? Didn't the others realise how cold it was?

"Cub?" Alec asked again, "Q?"

He whined and shook his head, his fingers numb but his brain on fire as his mind just wouldn't shut up! Everything was too bright and too loud and too close but he was cold, he was so bloody cold, why couldn't they see that?!

"Q, I need you to look at me, okay? Just for a moment".

He buried his face even further in the man's shirt and wished that it would swallow him whole, absorb him into the soft fabric to the hot skin beneath, absorb him into that skin like a second person who had no need for thoughts or senses or heat.

"Cub…"

There was a sigh before those warm fingers returned to his hair, only this time they were tugging, tugging and pulling and drawing him away from the safe dark material beneath his cheek and-

He met Alec's gaze, only for a moment, before he lunged forward again, but whatever the man had seen in his eyes during that split second was enough to make him pale.

"Fuck! He's dropping. Hard".

Dropping? No. Q wasn't dropping, he couldn't be dropping, he wasn't allowed to drop!

Alec said something else, something different this time, but the omega couldn't understand, didn't want to understand because understanding meant that it was real it happened it exists he exists and the last thing he wanted right now was to exist.

"Q? Cub? Cub, I need you to listen to me very closely, okay?"

He smushed his face against his alpha's shirt, pressing in so hard that he couldn't breathe, and there was a brief, strained huff of laughter beneath him.

"It's okay, cub, you don't have to look at me, you just have to listen, okay?"

Just listen? Not look? Not pull away from this alpha- from his alpha and his scent- oh his scent- it was warm so so warm and safe and vaguely smokey and warm and warm and warm and-

"Cub?"

Oh.

His alpha wanted an answer.

Q nodded.

"Okay. Okay, good, thank you, you're doing great". He preened under the praise. "You're dropping, cub, and- and that's okay, that's… that's fine, completely fine, but- but you need to stay with someone to make sure that you come out of it safely and- and don't end up hurting yourself, okay? And- And this is really important, cub, so I need you to pay attention" Alec continued, "James and I want to bring you back to our apartment so that we can take care of you… Are you okay with that?"

He nodded, happily, because of course his alphas wanted to take care of him, they were the best alphas in the entire world and even though Q didn't understand why they were his alphas even though he wasn't their omega right now, that was okay too because they were still going to take care of him and-

"I need a verbal answer, cub".

-and talking seemed like a chore right now didn't it? Why did he have to speak when he didn't want to speak? When he never wanted to speak again because the other alpha had forbidden him to speak and his last alpha didn't like it when he used his voice so why would his new alpha want him to speak?

"Q, pup, it would make us very… happy, if you could answer us".

James was back!

Reluctantly pulling away, he turned to find his other alpha standing close, very close, but still not close enough, and Q frowned, tilting his head to the side as he wondered why his alpha wasn't holding him right now when he clearly wanted to be held and-

Oh.

There was a lot of… red on his shirt. Wet red. Wet red red. So maybe that was why he wasn't petting him right now because he didn't want to get any red on Q's clothes which was really quite considerate of him and Q really had chosen well hadn't he?

"Pup?" he asked again, "I promise, you only need to answer us just this once, and then we'll let you sleep, alright? Is it okay if Alec and I bring you to our flat?"

Well, obviously! Where else would he go?

"Q?"

Oh right.

He licked his suddenly dry lips and decided to blame that on the cold as well. But his alpha's apartment wasn't cold, it was warm, and they wanted to take him there but wouldn't, couldn't unless he answered them out loud so-

He opened his mouth but all that came out was a croak, so he settled for nodding and croaking instead.

His alpha frowned, seeming unhappy, but before Q could start to panic about it, he nodded once himself and then took a step back which-

No!

Pouting, he reached out with one hand and tried to grab the man's red red shirt, but the blond only smiled, faintly, and gave him his own hand instead which was also red, very red, now that Q was looking at it, his knuckles black and blue and red, with even more red speckles on his fingers, his palm, his wrist, his arm- even his face, he realised belatedly, as he tugged the man closer, a bright smear around his mouth and over his chin and down his neck - but why would there be red on his face?!

Q glanced around but nobody else seemed to notice the red, they were all staring at him, so maybe he was just imagining things.

"I'll get the car" Alec said, loosening his grip on the omega who immediately whined as a result.

"Hush, cub, you're alright, I'll only be gone for a minute, okay? And James will stay right here with you, so you'll be safe, I promise".

Oh. Well. In that case-

Q turned to his other alpha and promptly face-planted his very red shirt. His own clothes were ruined beyond repair anyway, so what difference did it make? Although the omega did wonder just how, exactly, his clothes had been ruined because he couldn't quite remember…

"The manager agreed to close early for the night" Edie announced, stepping out into the alleyway, "It took a bit of… persuasion, but he's agreed not to call the cops either".

"Good" Charlie said decisively, still hugging an ever-so-slightly unsteady Jake, "Did anyone else see what happened?"

"No" Alexis answered, also appearing, "And Saif's gone to find an out-of-order sign to throw on the bathroom door. Duncan's standing guard until he returns".

She had a lot of red too, Q noticed, although her clothes were much cleaner than his alpha's. Her skin was, too, with only a small spattering of red across her knuckles and a smudge on her cheek - but even that blended in with her fiery red hair so it didn't stand out too much.

He distantly wondered if there was a painting competition happening somewhere that he was unaware of.

"Can you guys handle the clean-up?" his alpha asked, and Q squeezed him even tighter at the prospect of leaving him.

"Don't worry about it. Can you and Alec handle him?" she asked, giving the omega a rather pointed look.

James glanced down at him and his punishingly tight grip around the alpha's waist.

"... Right now, we're probably the only ones able to".

"Fair enough. Keep us posted?"

"Of course".

There was the beep of a horn behind them, and Q flinched, pressing himself even further into the warm, safe man in front of him.

"We'll update you when we get back" James said with an air of finality, before suddenly, he was slowly but surely moving Q towards the direction of the loud noise.

The omega struggled, not wanting to go somewhere even louder than his own mind, but the alpha hushed and poked and prodded and-

"We're going back to Alec, pup. You want to see Alec again, don't you?"

-and yes he very much did!

Q spun on his heel, promptly fell over, allowed James to catch him before he hit the ground, and then very firmly took both of those large hands in his own and tugged him impatiently towards the car.

The man laughed and- huh, his teeth were red too - but Q refused to let that distract him, and instead pulled more insistently on strangely wobbly legs until James eventually just wrapped one arm around his waist and the other underneath his knees and picked him up.

Something pinged distantly in the back of his mind - something about put me down and it could be worse and carrying you bridal style - but the fleeting memory was gone just as quick, leaving only the echoing emptiness in his chest and the far too scattered thoughts in his mind buzzing around relentlessly.

Q knew that there was something rather big that he wasn't paying attention to right now - something that led to the red on James and the car that Alec had and his own trembling body that refused to sit still - but he decided that it was a future-Q problem instead of a present-Q problem because right now, there wasn't a whole lot of present-Q to go around.

Reaching the car, he whined when James opened the backseat door for him, wanting to sit with the man in the front instead, but his fussiness quickly dissipated when he realised that his alpha was going to sit in the back with him too.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Alec took off and the omega was suddenly reminded that the agent was not, in fact, a better driver than James - he was simply faster. Either way, it didn't matter, as Q busiest himself by climbing into his alpha's lap and wrapping both arms around his neck once more.

James smelt a lot stronger than just his jacket, and he felt a lot safer too. Q wasn't entirely sure why, exactly, he needed to feel safe right now, but he did know that it was yet again another future-Q problem.

So for now, for however long it lasted, he simply embraced the soothing numbness that was starting to spread throughout his entire body, closed his eyes, and allowed the darkness to overtake him.