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mtap-comics · 1 year ago

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Welcome back to my Bad Things Happen Bingo! After 8 Weeks I'm finally able to post the next prompt.

Fandom: My time at Portia

Pairing: Arlo x Female Builder

Summary: Elenya and Remi successfully freed Arlo, Sam and Mint from Ingall’s Mine and defeated this strange AI without any significant injuries. But then why were there black dots dancing in her field of vision?

Word count: 6,992

Prompt: Doesn't Realize They've Been Injured

Author’s note: I'm really sorry it took me so long again, but I hope the lenght of it makes up for it. That prompt was also the most requested one, so I hope I did it justice. I really struggle with actions scenes and I'm still not happy with it, but I think you're not here for that, anyway, so... :D

I'm also sorry in advance for what you are about to read. You will probably know what I mean when you get there.^^ You can thank my past self for that scene, who thought it a good idea to implement that damn sweater in every one of those works.

But now I won't keep you any longer and wish you a happy reading!

Warnings: Blood and Injury, Angst and Fluff, Nightmares, Mentions of death

Read on AO3: Link

Black Dots

Adrenaline was rushing through Elenya's body.

She had been fighting her way through Ingall's Mine with Remington for almost an hour now. Worm after worm stood in their way, locked doors had to be repaired and even a human-like creature tried to stop them from rescuing Arlo, Sam and Mint.

But at last they seemed to be getting closer to their goal. In front of them were lots of dead worms and in between, Sam's boxing gloves.

While Remi picked them up, she propped herself up for a moment on the handle of her hammer. Remi had given it to her because it was better than her simple iron sword, and while it was pretty fun to fight with, it was damn heavy.

Her arms were burning from the effort, and she was going to have some nasty sore muscles tomorrow, but she didn't care much about that right now. The main thing was that she could see for herself that Arlo was actually alright.

Even though he had assured them that nothing had happened to them in the cave-in, she couldn't shake the anxiety that had been consuming her since the collapse. Never in her life had she been so afraid for someone as when they were standing in front of the huge pile of rocks and there was no sign of life from the three of them at first.

Only a few weeks before, Arlo had given her a heart knot after he had accidentally broken her nose and she had accepted it overjoyed. Her nose has since healed without any lasting damage, while her relationship with Arlo flourished. Rarely had she felt as happy as when she was around Arlo, and that he felt the same way was something she would never have dreamed of before.

But for the time being, they decided to keep their relationship a secret. They knew how quickly such news spread around the village, and they wanted to enjoy their privacy, at least for a while. Fortunately, this wasn't too difficult, as their daily routine didn't change much. Only the two of them knew that their dinners together had changed from friendly to romantic, and the intimate hugs and tender kisses took place behind closed doors.

The last few weeks had been just perfect, so of course something had to burst their pink bubble.

With a deep breath, Elenya straightened up again and with a confirming nod to Remi, the two walked deeper into the mine. Not much longer, and hopefully she would soon be able to embrace Arlo again.

Another closed gate and a few scattered worms stood in their way, but they weren't any more of an obstacle than the others, and finally the three missing ones came into view.

Deep below them they stood, crowded together behind a rock and in the middle of the room was a...

"What on earth is that?" Remi's horrified voice rang out from beside her, and she looked up at him in equal horror.

"I don't know, but I don't think it's friendly. Quick, we have to help them!"

As quickly and quietly as they could, they hurried down the steel staircase that wound once around the room. The closer they got to the floor, the better they could see the construct that threatened their friends. It seemed to be an AI robot, consisting of a round body with a giant drill as its base and 3 long arms with huge, sharp-looking claws as hands.

It looked angry and damn dangerous.

"Remi!" Sam was the first to spot them and at her delighted exclamation, Arlo and Mint turned to them as well.

Elenya's eyes swept over the group, but stopped worriedly at Mint's head. A bloody bandage was wrapped around his head, but the engineer stood upright and his gaze was clear, if frightened. An encouraging nod from him reassured her, and she finally let her gaze drift to Arlo.

Like the other two, he was covered from head to toe in dust and a small scratch adorned his cheek, but otherwise he did indeed appear to be unharmed and a huge weight fell from her chest. Exhausted, her shoulders slumped, and when she heard his voice, she could have cried with relief.

He was alright!

"Just in time, come on, we need to handle this thing!" Relief mixed with determination showed on Arlo’s face and with a soft sigh, Elenya straightened her shoulders again.

Her arms burned from the exertion, and her exhaustion caught up with her now that some of the tension and adrenaline had worn off, but she didn't have time to sit down. The danger was not over yet.

Immediately Arlo's worried gaze turned to her, but she waved him off. He could probably see her exertion of the last hour, but they had no time to rest. For the moment, the robot seemed content to stand silently in front of them, but who knows when it would feel threatened by them and attack. It was better if they struck first.

With one last deep breath, they nodded to each other and the four of them attacked the robot while Mint backed further away from the fight.

A new wave of adrenaline allowed Elenya to swing her hammer with the same force as before, but even this seemed to do no good. The robot was extremely fast and they had to dodge more than they could actually attack, but even when they did manage to land a hit, their efforts didn't even seem to leave a scratch.

Desperately, she tried to smash the joints of one of the arms with her hammer, hoping that would slow it down, but the material just wouldn't budge. Frustrated, she examined the robot.

Damn it, this thing had to have a weak point! Only where?

"Elenya! Watch out!" Startled, Elenya backed away from the robot at Arlo's warning shout, and just in time. Because the robot jumped up, pulled its arms to its body and rammed its drill tip into the ground, spinning wildly around itself.

Unfortunately, she didn't manage to pull herself completely out of its reach and her brown leather jacket was caught by one of its claws. She was knocked to the ground.

A brief pain in her left side was accompanied by three startled yelps, but she barely noticed. Because just as the robot stopped spinning, she saw it from her vantage point on the floor. A weak point.

One of their attacks must have had an effect after all, because under one of the three arms something had come loose that looked a lot like an energy source. If she could destroy it, then this fight would finally be over.

Gathering all her strength once more, she straightened up and used the time that Arlo, Sam and Remi were trying to distract the robot from her to grab her hammer, duck under the swinging arms and slam the hammer into the power source with all her might. The force of the blow vibrated through her arms, but her attack had paid off.

The robot suddenly went completely still and then collapsed. Amazed, she looked at the now lifeless pile of metal in front of her, and it took a moment for the reality to sink in that the battle was over.

Wide-eyed, she looked to the three Civil Corps members standing on the other side of the robot, who looked at her just as dumbfounded until Sam let out a whoop.

"Woohoo! You did it!" Proudly, Sam came over to her and clapped her shoulder approvingly. "I knew you had it in you, kid."

The heady feeling of a battle won rushed through her body, and laughing, she thanked Sam for the compliment.

The feeling didn't last long, though, and exhaustion quickly took over. With trembling muscles, she set her hammer down on the ground and then propped herself up on the handle to catch her breath. Mint had joined them again in the meantime, and she left it to the four of them to figure out what the robot was all about.

It was only a gentle touch to her shoulder that made her look back up, and her gaze immediately met familiar blue eyes that looked at her with concern.

"Hey, are you alright? Are you hurt?" Arlo's soft voice enveloped her like a warm blanket and she would have liked nothing more than to snuggle against his strong chest and let his arms wrap around her. Instead, she hurried to stand up straight so he wouldn't worry so much.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just pretty exhausted." A tired smile settled on her lips and Arlo's gaze softened.

"I'll take your word for that. You fought really well. Remi was just praising you to the skies." A proud smile settled on his lips and she felt her cheeks redden.

God, she always felt like a teenage girl whose crush had just smiled at her when she got a compliment from Arlo.

Before she could sheepishly thank him, though, Remi came over to them and took the heavy hammer from her.

"Come on you two. Let's get the hell out of here."

"Oh God, yes, please. I've had enough tunnels and sand for now." Accompanied by Arlo's soft chuckle that followed her words, they followed Mint who, tracking a draft of wind, led them out of the mine.

For a moment, she was able to keep up with the group, but the further they went, the more her adrenaline level dropped and the heavier her legs became. Black dots danced in her field of vision and an overwhelming tiredness came over her. Exhausted, she stopped.

Damn, she had apparently exerted herself a lot more than she had first thought. But she couldn't rest yet. She had to at least make it home.

With a vigorous shake of her head, she tried to dispel the dots and hurried to catch up with the others again before anyone noticed how far behind she had fallen.

A bit of her energy returned when they finally found an exit and the warm evening sun greeted them. Finally they were out of that dark mine.

Elenya didn't pay much attention to where they came out, instead fixing her gaze firmly on Arlo's back. The sight calmed the still not completely disappeared anxiety inside her and her steps felt a little lighter.

Only Mint's delighted "Mayor Gale!" made her look up and with astonishment she realised that the very same man was running towards them together with Gust, Albert, Paulie, Dr. Xu and even Higgins.

Concerned, the group stopped in front of them and naturally wanted to know what had happened. Arlo, of course, immediately took on the task of summarising what had happened, but Elenya had trouble following the conversation. The black spots were back and she discreetly moved away from the group.

For a moment she let her eyes fall shut and took a few deep breaths. The better oxygen intake seemed to help, because when she opened her eyes again, the black dots had disappeared and she could just see the others heading back towards the city.

Only Arlo turned to her and she hurried to catch up with him again. Now that they were no longer being watched, a warm look graced his face and she instantly felt better. With a smile, she stopped in front of him.

“I'm glad we got out of that ordeal without anyone getting hurt. I didn't get to say this earlier, but thanks for sticking your neck out and coming to our rescue back there.” He smiled at her and she felt how finally the rest of the anxiety drained from her body.

It sometimes shocked her, how a simple smile from him could make her feel so at ease.

She opened her mouth to answer him. Wanted to tell him how glad she was that he was okay, that he wasn't buried under all those rocks, but no sound came out.

Her head suddenly felt a lot heavier and her tongue wouldn't cooperate.

What was wrong with her?

Arlo's face contorted with concern when she didn't answer him and he took a step toward her.

"Elenya? Is everything all right? You're really pale." His right hand lifted, gently coming to rest against her cheek, and it was as if that touch snapped her body out of a daze.

Pain suddenly ripped through her like a burning fire, blazing up her left side. With a pained gasp, she pressed her hand against the aching spot, only to encounter something wet. Confused, she looked down at herself.

What...?

She couldn't see anything on her dark jacket, but when she removed her hand from her side, it came back smeared with blood. Quickly she pressed it back.

Oh...

Arlo, who had followed her gaze, drew in a shocked breath at the sight. "Elenya! You're bleeding! What happened?" He grabbed her hand in panic, pulling it away from the wound so he could see better, and she had no strength to fight back.

Nausea had mixed with the woozy feeling in her head and the black dots dancing before her eyes became more and more. Her legs buckled.

Before she could hit the ground, though, strong arms caught her and once again her name left Arlo's lips in alarm. As carefully as he could, he lowered her to the ground and suddenly she found the blue sky in her field of vision instead of Arlo's worried eyes.

"Damn! What happened? Talk to me, Elenya. Come on." Frantically, he set about opening her jacket. Each movement of the fabric sent new waves of searing pain through her side, and with a whimper she tried to push his hands away.

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry, sweetie, but I need to know where you're hurt. It'll be over in a moment." Arlo’s words sounded pained and she wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault, that it was okay, but her tongue still wouldn't obey her.

The black dots in front of her eyes became bigger and the world started spinning, intensifying her nausea and so she closed her eyes with a low moan. But when Arlo suddenly let out a loud curse, they shot open again.

"Bloody hell!" Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him begin to rummage wildly in his waist bag.

Surprised, she tried to catch a glimpse of her now free abdomen, but she had no strength left to lift her head.

Was it really that bad? Why hadn't she noticed it until just now?

She didn’t get any further with the train of thought.

Two hands suddenly pressed firmly on her injury and for a moment her world consisted only of pain. A weak cry escaped her and Arlo's eyes appeared in her field of vision, both hands not leaving her side.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. But I really need to stop the bleeding. You've already lost way too much blood. Please hang in there, okay? It's going to be okay." Comfortingly, he briefly pressed his forehead against hers and then turned to look at the departing group, not letting up the pressure on her wound.

"SAM! Bring Dr. Xu back here! Now! Elenya's hurt!"

Startled, Elenya flinched at the suddenly loud words, sending a new wave of pain through her body. Tears gathered in her eyes and desperately she placed her left hand on Arlos, who she realised was pressing a bunch of compresses tightly against her side.

"Shh, sweetheart, it's okay. Help is on the way. It's going to be okay." Warm lips pressed against her forehead, but she was barely aware of the touch.

The fog in her brain grew thicker, the nausea increased, and more and more loud voices gathered around her until all that was left was a loud roaring in her ears.

Her tears overflowed, cold sweat spread all over her body and she felt her heart pounding in her chest.

What was happening to her?

She was terrified. She didn't know what was happening anymore. All around her, voices were talking in panic, hands were tugging at her jacket, her whole abdomen was on fire and the only familiar thing she felt was the big hands under hers.

But when they also disappeared and were replaced by others, she lost herself in her panic. She tried to fight back against the hands, tried to get away from all the voices, but only more pain shot through her body, making her cry out weakly.

Where was Arlo?

The voices grew louder, frightening her even more, but then they were back. The warm hands. They softly cupped her face, gently brushing away her tears, and an even warmer voice broke through the roaring in her ears.

"I'm here, sweetheart. I'm here. Nothing is going to happen to you. You're safe. I promise. But you need to stop moving, please. Dr. Xu is trying to help you. Everything is going to be okay."

Relieved, she opened her eyes with difficulty and directly met Arlo's beloved blue eyes. His face was upside down, as he was kneeling behind her head, but that didn’t diminish the effect he had on her. Immediately, all the tension disappeared from her body, along with the voices around her, and all that remained was Arlo.

“That’s it. You are doing great, sweetheart. Just keep those pretty eyes on me.” His voice was pitched to a soothing tone, his worry and panic well hidden behind a mask and it managed to calm her racing heart. Sweet words and pet names left his lips ceaselessly, enveloping her in a blanket of comfort, while his thumbs caressed her cheeks, effectively brushing the tears away that didn’t stop flowing from her eyes.

Her eyes drooped.

She barely noticed what happened to her body anymore. The pain had faded to the background, leaving a weird pressure behind, the roaring back in her ears droned out Arlos voice and his face vanished behind black dots.

Her eyes closed.

“No, no, no! Keep your eyes open, sweetheart. Come on, look at me!” Frantic, Arlo softly patted her cheek, tried to get her attention, but she couldn’t hold on any longer.

Her world got dark and the last clear thought that ran through her mind was:

Well, there goes their secret relationship.

~~~~~~

Elenya awoke a short time later to a world of pain. Her body was being jolted, sending wave after wave of pain through her body and she wondered what was going on.

Where was she? What happened? Was that... a humming engine?

She could feel strong arms wrapped around her upper body, a warm chest pressed against her right side and her head seemed to rest against a shoulder. The familiarity of the body holding her managed to quell the panic that wanted to rise in her. But what it couldn’t quell was the pain.

It was licking at her whole left side like flames, burning her up like nothing she had ever felt before. She only realised her constant whimpering when the hand who had been holding her waist came up to rest gently against her cheek, the thumb rubbing soothing circles against her skin and a soft voice spoke right beside her left ear.

“Shh, you are okay, sweetheart. We’re almost there. Just hold on a little longer. You are doing so great.” Warm lips pressed against her forehead and she tried to concentrate on that point of contact instead of the pain, but then the DeeDee she supposed she sat in, jolted even more and with a cry of pain, new tears flowed from her eyes.

“Hurts…” Her voice was weak, barely more than a whisper, but Arlo heard her.

The arm around her shoulder tightened even more and the hand cupping her cheek softly wiped her tears away.

“I know, sweetheart, I know. But we are almost at the clinic, I promise. Soon you will feel a lot better.” Pain and worry sat deep in his voice and she felt bad. Even though she couldn’t recall what happened, she hated when people had to worry about her. But the pain was all encompassing, taking over her mind and she couldn’t do anything to reassure him.

The world started to fade again. She could hear how Arlo tried to keep her from passing out again, but she lost the fight against the darkness.

~~~~~~

Elenya woke to a deep voice, who seemed to be telling a story.

“Did you know that Remi grew up here in Portia, before he moved out to Lucien? We were best friends back then, too and because he was 2 years older than me, my parents gave him the task to keep an eye out for me. Not that it did much good, as I'm sure you can imagine..”

The tale went on, but the words blended together in her mind, leaving her with a sense of security. She didn't know where she was or what had happened, but she knew that as long as the owner of that wonderful voice was with her, she was safe.

“... and well, that really didn’t go well for me. You should have seen the face of my mother. I don't think she has ever been as angry in her life as she was at that moment.” A warm laugh ran through the room, washing over her like a soft summer breeze and instinctively her head turned to the source of it.

To her dismay, the laugh immediately stopped as she did that, but then a big hand softly cupped her left cheek and with a happy sigh, she nestled into the warm palm.

“Hey there, sweetheart. Can you hear me?” The warm voice was back, whispering softly somewhere above her head, and with a confirming humm, she snuggled even more into the hand.

“That’s great. Do you think you can open your eyes for me?” The thumb resting on her cheek started to stroke the patch of soft skin underneath her eye, as if he wanted to encourage her, but she scrunched up her face in protest.

She didn’t want to open her eyes. It was nice and dark behind her eyelids, she felt like she was floating on a cloud and she wasn’t really sure she could open them even if she wanted to. Her eyelids were as heavy as lead, and even just snuggling into the warm hand took a lot more effort than it should have.

The warm laugh was back, filling her with happiness.

“That’s okay, sweetheart. I’m just glad you’re okay. You really had me worried.” Warm lips pressed against her forehead, lingering there for a moment and she almost fell back asleep when the words registered in her brain.

Worried? Why was he worried? Where was she anyway? What had happened? Should she be worried too?

These questions sparked a panic in her that she couldn't explain, but the warm voice was quick to reassure her.

"Shh, sweetheart, you're okay. Just get some rest. I'm here." Another long kiss was pressed to her forehead and the hand on her cheek went up and began to gently stroke through her hair. Soothed by the words and the caresses, she fell back into an exhausted sleep.

But the dreams that greeted her there were anything but restful.

She found herself in the middle of an underground labyrinth, full of crossroads and endless tunnels. Wherever she looked, there was only sand and stone, illuminated by a single torch ominously fixed to the wall directly in front of her.

Where was she? What was this place? And how did she get out of here?

Frightened, she looked around.

A sudden gust of cold wind woke her from her panic-stricken stupor, and startled, she reached for the torch that was threatening to be extinguished by the gust of wind.

No! This was her only source of light!

She quickly shielded the flame from the strong gust of wind with her body, her heart racing in her chest.

Oh God, please don't go out....

Fortunately, the gust of wind disappeared as quickly as it came, and relieved, she dropped her tense shoulders. At least she still had light.

But her relief didn't last long.

"Why are you just standing here like a fool? Aren't you going to save him?"

Terrified, she flinched. Where did that voice come from? What did it want from her? And who was she supposed to save?

Frantically, she looked around in all directions, but couldn't make out the voice's origin.

"Come on, what are you waiting for? He doesn't have much time left." A sinister laugh echoed through the empty tunnels. "Or do you want the light in his pretty blue eyes to die out forever?"

Blue eyes? Oh God, did it mean...? No, please no...

Full of panic, she started to run. She ran as fast as she had ever run before. Ran through the endless corridors until she hit a dead end and was forced to turn around.

God, how was she going to find him in all those tunnels? He could be anywhere.

She ran even faster.

"Yes, that's it. Run! Run for his life!" The eerie voice chased her. Laughed at her maliciously when she ran into another dead end, and the panic in Elenya grew.

A stabbing pain had started to spread in her left side, and completely out of breath she stopped in front of the next dead end. Desperate tears flowed incessantly from her eyes and in hopelessness she sank to her knees.

How was she supposed to find him? She didn't even know which corridors she had already walked down and which not. She was completely lost.

"Oh, are you giving up already? What a pity. He would have still had a chance. But whatever. Then I guess he'll have taken his last breath soon." A false, pitying sigh echoed over her head and with renewed energy she straightened up again.

No, she couldn't give up! She had to save him!

Ignoring the pain in her side, she ran again. And then finally, after two more dead ends, she saw a strange light in the next tunnel. That had to be him.

Pulling together the last of her strength, she ran even faster until she could see the scene before her, bringing her to a horrified halt.

Oh no...

Another dead end opened up before her, but this time it was different. A cave-in blocked the way and under the rocks he lay. Arlo.

His familiar shock of red hair lay on the ground in front of her and on shaky legs she approached him, her heart threatening to jump out of her chest.

Please don't be dead. Please don't.

She dropped to her knees in front of his head, the torch falling to the ground beside her.

"No... Arlo..." Paralyzed, she stared at him. His eyes were closed, blood was running down his face from a wound on his forehead and from the corner of his mouth, a grotesque contrast to his pale face, and further down she didn't dare look. For everything beyond his shoulders was covered by huge rocks.

"No..." With trembling hands she tried to feel a pulse, pressing her fingers tightly against his neck, but... there was nothing. Desperately she tried the other side, but there too.... nothing.

"No, no, no. Please, Arlo. Please, you can't..." Deep sobs shook her body as she desperately tried to find a sign of life when the eerie voice suddenly sounded again.

"You're too late. You let him die." Another cruel laugh followed the mocking words and pure anguish coursed through Elenya.

No, it couldn't be! She had to save him!

Desperately she tried to lift the rocks from his body, ignoring the growing pain in her left side, but it was useless. She was too weak.

Sobbing, she collapsed back next to his head. Tears streamed down her cheeks and completely shattered, she pressed her forehead against Arlo’s.

"I'm so sorry, Arlo. Please come back to me. Please. You can't leave me alone, please..." With each sob his name left her lips, praying that he would just please wake up. But his eyes didn’t open.

Suddenly, a gentle, warm wind brushed her cheeks, softly drying her tears, and a beloved voice echoed through the tunnels this time.

"Shh, I'm here, sweetheart. Everything is fine. I'm here. We are safe. I've got you." The warm wind enveloped her more and more, bringing with it a wonderful scent, and suddenly she was no longer in that awful tunnel, but standing in a green field, beautiful flowers all around her and the sun shining warmly in the sky.

"I’m here, darling. Get some rest. I'll take care of you."

Her head snapped to her right in wonder.

Arlo was here! And his eyes were open. Warm and full of life, he looked at her, a loving smile on his lips, and tears of relief escaped her eyes. Big, calloused hands cupped her face tenderly, brushing away her tears and she let herself fall into his strong arms.

The pain in her left side was still there, but if Arlo told her it was okay to rest, she was going to do it.

Her world plunged into warm darkness.

~~~~~~

Elenya woke again to a deep, warm voice, but this time it seemed to be reading from a book. The voice was calm and steady, rumbling deep in the owner's chest, and it filled her with a deep calmness. Together with the wonderful scent that rested right in front of her nose, she felt warm and safe.

For a while she hovered in the state between sleeping and waking, letting the warm voice envelop her until more and more of her senses woke up. She could feel a large, rough hand gently holding hers, the thumb of that hand softly caressing her fingers. Could feel her face buried in something soft, something soft from which emanated that wonderful smell.

Instinctively she buried her nose even more in the soft fabric, inhaling deeply the familiar smell and letting out a happy sigh.

Mmm... Arlo...

The latter didn't seem to have noticed that she had woken up, so she tried to gently squeeze his hand. Unfortunately, her body was so exhausted that she hardly had any strength, so her fingers only twitched slightly.

But it seemed to have been enough, because immediately the voice died away, the hand pulled out of hers, and she could hear a chair being pushed back. A short time later, a large, warm hand came to her cheek and happily she snuggled into the palm.

"Elenya? Sweetie, are you awake?" There was hope and concern in his voice and she wondered what had happened.

Why was he so worried?

To get to the bottom of this question, she opened her eyes. It took her a few tries before her eyes would even stay open, her eyelids much heavier than usual, but when she could finally see clearly, she was rewarded for her efforts. Arlo's face greeted her, his blue eyes full of warmth and love.

“There you are.” A fond smile graced his lips and sleepily, she smiled back.

The hand that had been cradling her cheek moved up and started to pet her head, which elicited another happy sigh from her. For a while, they just stared at each other until the soft look on Arlo’s face turned to concern.

“How are you feeling, sweetheart? Are you in pain?” The hand in her hair drew back and she whined in protest.

Why would he stop? That had been the best feeling in the world!

Longingly, her eyes followed the retreating hand. Maybe if she stared long enough at it, he would put it back?

“Sweetheart?” At Arlo’s concerned voice, her gaze snapped back to him and she remembered that he had asked her a question.

Right. He had asked her if she was in pain. But why would she be in pain? She couldn’t remember getting hurt…

Strained, she went through her memories, hoping to find out what had happened. But the only thing she could remember was a lot of sand. Sand and Remington, oddly enough.

Looking for answers, she glanced up at Arlo, who was still looking at her with deep concern.

“What…?” Speaking was a mistake. That single word sent her into a coughing fit, sending a sudden pain through her left side and Arlo instantly had a glass of water in his hands, holding it carefully against her lips. With his other hand, he slightly lifted her head so that she could drink better. Gratefully, she drank the cool water, relishing in the way it wetted her dry throat.

“Slowly, sweetheart. Don't choke on it.”

When the glass was empty, Arlo carefully set her head back into the pillows, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead as he did so and set the glass back to where it came from.

Elenya didn't notice much of that, though. The pain in her left side distracted her far too much. The pain was not too strong, rather dull, and she suspected that a lot of painkillers were responsible for that, but she still wanted to know what exactly she was dealing with.

Carefully, she raised her trembling right hand, but before she could make contact with her side, she was stopped by a large, warm hand.

“Don’t.” Apologetically, Arlo gently lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a loving kiss to it, mindful of the IV needle she now realised was inserted into the back of her hand.

“Dr. Xu had to fix you up with a lot of stitches. He won’t be pleased if you ruin his hard work.” A short pause. “Again.”

Stitches? And what did he mean by "again"? What had happened, and why couldn't she remember anything?

Desperately, she looked at Arlo.

"Arlo...what happened?" Slight panic mixed into her voice and Arlo quickly put his hand back to her cheek to soothe her.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Everything's fine. What's the last thing you remember?"

Good question. A few separate images flashed through her hazy brain, but they just didn't make sense. There was sand, a strange robot, she thought, and a mop of green hair.

"I... I don't know. There is sand... and Remi? But... I don't know..." A single, frustrated tear escaped her eye, but Arlo quickly wiped it away.

"Shh, it's okay. Dr. Xu already said you might not remember. You lost a lot of blood, so that was to be expected. I'll tell you what happened." Careful not to disturb her, he sat on the edge of the bed and raised her right hand, which he still held tightly, to his lips once more, pressing a gentle kiss on each finger. Immediately warmth spread through her body and her troubled thoughts calmed down.

"So, Mint, Sam and I were in the new Eufala tunnel when it suddenly collapsed. The debris blocked our way out, so you and Remi tried to reach us through Ingall's Mine. I'm afraid I can't tell you what happened along the way, but you found us just in time. An old robot, consisting of 3 long legs and a giant drill, had been awakened by the construction work and was anything but friendly to us. The four of us, mostly you to be precise, managed to defeat it and Mint found us a way out of the mine. We had just told Mayor Gale what had happened, he was waiting for us outside, and everyone had left for the town, when I suddenly noticed how pale you were. I didn't know what was wrong, so I reached out for you and then..." A haunted look settled on his face and he swallowed hard.

"God... You just collapsed in my arms. I thought... Fuck, you scared the shit out of me. There was so much blood everywhere, which you couldn't see on your dark jacket, and when I finally uncovered your stomach, there was this huge gaping wound on your left side. I don't know how you were even able to walk with that." The painful look on his face made Elenya feel bad.

Even with his narration, she still couldn't remember, but it must have been terrible. She didn't mean to cause him such pain. But before she could say anything, Arlo continued.

"Fortunately, Gale had brought Dr. Xu with him, so he was able to help you quickly. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't been there. You had already lost so much blood and I could barely stop the bleeding myself..." His voice broke on the last words and apologetically she squeezed his hand gently. She didn't want him to think about it too much.

"We don't know exactly how you were injured, but we assume that a claw from the robot got you. Your skin was shredded more than it was cut and it took Dr. Xu a long time to patch you up. There will be a scar, but it should be straight and even."

The gentle, loving look was back on his face and the hand that had left her cheek during the recounting came back and with his thumb he stroked her cheek tenderly.

"Nothing that would make you any less beautiful to me." The words and the affectionate smile brought a blush to her face and, embarrassed, she hid her face in his hand.

Damn it, he couldn't just throw something like that in the room!

Apart from the fact that she hadn't been worried about that at all. What concerned her much more was the fact that it had taken so long for anyone to even notice that she was hurt. Why hadn't she said anything?

She asked Arlo the very same question.

"I don't think you had even noticed it yourself. God, I was so angry with you at first. Why hadn't you told me you were hurt? You were almost bleeding to death! But then I remembered your face. You looked so confused when you saw the blood. I think your body was so pumped with adrenaline that you didn't feel anything. Only when the excitement was over did your body allow anything else to register. But please don't worry too much about that, okay? I'm just glad you're feeling better and you're going to get back on your feet."

Warm lips pressed against hers and Elenya happily returned the kiss. It was gentle and at the same time a little desperate, but no less wonderful for that. Enveloped in Arlo’s wonderful scent and warmth, her body relaxed and an incredible exhaustion spread through her. Her lips no longer wanted to obey her and a frustrated grumble escaped.

She couldn't be exhausted again! She had only just woken up. Who knows how long she had already been asleep.

With a soft chuckle, Arlo broke away from her. "It's okay, darling. Get some rest. Your body's been through a lot." Gently he began stroking her hair again and with a sigh she gave in.

Exhausted, her eyes closed and she buried her face back into the soft fabric still lying next to her head. Before she fell asleep, though, the thought of what that fabric actually was returned to her mind.

Curious, her eyes opened again and met a grey bundle, which she guessed from the smell was a sweater from Arlo. Puzzled, she looked up at the owner, who was watching her intently.

"Arlo?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Why is there a sweater of yours lying there?"

To her further amazement, a slight blush came over his face and eagerly she waited for the answer.

"Oh... you were suddenly having terrible nightmares. You had started writhing, opening your stitches again, and Dr. Xu and Phyllis just couldn't calm you down. You were calling out for me in your sleep, so Dr. Xu dragged me out of the shower I had been in, and luckily I was finally able to calm you down. I don't know what you were dreaming about, but it must have been terrible. It broke my heart to see you so frightened. I tried to stay by your side all the time after that, but Sam and Remi made me eat and sleep, so I thought maybe a sweater with my scent on it would keep the nightmares away." The blush on his face deepened and her heart swelled with love.

She couldn't remember the nightmares either, thankfully, but she did remember the feeling of safety and security emanating from Arlo's comforting scent.

Lovingly, she smiled up at him. "Thank you, Arlo. That really helped me a lot. When you're around, I always feel safe and protected."

She could literally see his chest swell with pride at her words and couldn't help a soft giggle. After all, she knew his strong protective instinct and loved him for it.

But she also saw what he was trying to hide from her. The guilt. The guilt that he had not protected her. Of course that was nonsense and she would try to talk him out of it when she was no longer so exhausted, but she hoped that showing him how safe she still felt with him would be enough for now.

But now she was finally losing the battle against exhaustion and so she buried her face back into the wonderful smelling sweater and closed her eyes.

"I'm glad you feel that way. I will always protect you, I promise. Now go to sleep, darling. I'll be here when you wake up." A warm, lingering kiss against her temple was the last thing she felt before she fell into a restful sleep.

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