= When Boredom Hits ... =

[Honor Sayers]

So this is where I will be putting bits of fluff I write that either don't fit in Hammel or is just my version of things. All are of MY characters because I'm THAT conceited >_> If you read this, hope you have a good reason to bore yourself to death ^^

Starting off with the sadfaisiest of em all

It Had To End

There was a roaring sound of fire as another clap of thunder sounded a little too close for comfort. But as his eyes roamed the nearing empty field, Riley could only hear the ringing in his ear. Gunshot. Such a simple human device. Against an impenetrable John Thornton, it did nothing. An energy absorber like Vincent Romanov? Bullets might as well be feathers. But it had hit Cobalt square in the middle of forehead.

The shadow manipulator had crumpled to the ground lifeless within seconds and all Riley could do was watch as the gunner ran off. What was he supposed to tell Ben? Ruth? Oh God…what was he supposed to tell Janet? The thirteen year old girl had been with Ben and Cobalt since she was a baby and now the very person she ran to in the middle of the night after a horrible dream was just dead. And Riley had done nothing to stop it. Not stand in front of Cobalt to shield him.

He could have healed as soon as the bullet left his skin. But no, Cobalt had stepped in front of Riley instead. The older man had wanted to cloud the gunner’s vision but the gunner’s finger on the trigger had been faster. Almost as though he had anticipated Cobalt’s move.

There wasn’t even time for Riley to mourn. The image of the smirk on the man’s face had been ingrained in Riley’s mind as he moved through the sea of fallen comrades. He was pushing 65, he was supposed to be at home, baking cookies for Estelle’s daughter, Liyana. He was supposed to be curling up on his sofa, laughing at something absurd Colin had seen. The very least at the restaurant with Josh and Cobalt with Darren and Ben.

But no, he was looking for his best friend’s killer. His body filled with an emotion Riley wasn’t entirely certain what it was. All he knew was that he wanted Cobalt’s death to have not been in vain. That taking his own life for Riley to live on had not been a wasted mistake.

Riley recognized the gunshot and the smirk when the gunner turned to face him. The emotion that had been simmering from before now boiled to the surface but Riley had a calm façade as he toed the knife on the ground, kicking it up into his hand in one swift move. He came closer even as the other man raised the Glock, aiming at Riley’s head, much like he had with Cobalt just minutes ago.

“You knew it had to end this way.” The gruff voice that had once been a warm and reassuring voice was now cold and sneering. How it all boiled down to this, Riley couldn’t even remember. He woke up to this nightmare and now his best friend was dead while he was left alive to inform their loved ones about Cobalt’s death. Nothing was fair about this scenario. Even more so when the killer was identified.

“Don’t think I won’t shoot, Riley…you seem to forget…I can make you beg to be shot.” The mocking voice was getting grating and Riley wanted it to stop yet he still said nothing. “Drop the knife, Riley,” the smirk grew and Riley felt his grip loosen on the knife but not before his arm swung forward. The knife flew in a straight line to the gunner’s shoulder, enough for him to drop the gun at the force and speed of the hit.

A laugh bellowed deep from the man’s belly. “You missed, Rileybear.” Riley moved forward and pulled the knife out before clamping his hand over the wound. The laugh that came from the other man made Riley’s eyes fall shut. “Are you seriously going to hug me to death, Ri-“ Before he could continue, he choked. “What…” he sputtered as he felt his legs give way first. Riley dropped with him, his hand still on the other man’s shoulder. “What are you…doing?” The other man demanded as he felt a pressure build from where Riley was holding on to him.

Riley still didn’t say anything. There was nothing he wanted to say to his best friend’s killer. All he could think of right now was how the cells in the man’s body were reacting to Riley’s touch. They were accumulating and some were multiplying and some were depleting. The colour rushed out from the man’s face as lesions started to break out. “St-stop tha-“ the sentence ended with an animalistic growl as the lesions started to boil. Blood started to run from every visible orifice. The man struggled against Riley’s hold, trying to shake it off and trying hard to control Riley’s mind but to no avail. Nothing in his body was reacting to his will.

The blank expression on Riley’s face as he looked down at the dying man was eerie and out of place. Nothing of the warm landscaper was to be found and once the man went limp, Riley dropped his hand to his side. “Bye Sean.” Riley said softly when the man’s eyes turned glassy.

Riley turned in the general direction of where he came from and could still see Cobalt’s crumpled body. His heart squeezed in itself as tears finally started to run down his face.

“I’m sorry,”

[Honor Sayers]

Belong

His arm felt a little heavy but Ben didn't want to wake up to investigate the source of the heaviness. So he kept his eyes shut, a smile slowly spreading at what had transpired last night with Cobalt. The older man had shown him moves he did not realise the other man knew. Gosh, it was close to being nine years for them. Time had flown way too fast and their family had grown from just the two of them, to Yulia and then Andrew and their three beautiful kids and with all the kids they fostered; the house was never quiet.

There had been so many changes over the past few years. The people changed, the house changed but there was no doubt in Ben's mind that despite how everything came together, it was a good home. It was a really good home. Cobalt was snipy as ever but Ben never heard the man raise his voice to any of the children that came and went and he knew it had a lot to do with how the other man felt about letting them go. Cobalt never showed it obviously but Ben knew the shadow manipulator wished he could just keep them all.

When Ben came up with the idea of fostering, he didn't realise he was putting a lot on the line. Emotions ran deep and he also didn't realise how much he would grow to love his foster kids. Some more than others to be sure but the fact remained, those kids were practically his life line. And he saw a side of Cobalt he was sure nobody else but maybe Elaine ever saw.

Time together had been scarce and far and few in between but it exploded whenever they did find the time to be with each other. Ben couldn't have been more surprised to find the older man still had a lot in him in his late age.

Recently, four kids entered their lives and Ben was not afraid to admit that of all the kids they had fostered, these four had been the most exceptional. Cobalt was quick to bond with the eldest, Padma and the youngest Marcy. The first boy, Trent and his little brother Henry latched themselves on to Ben almost immediately. Well, Trent had a bit of a problem because he felt that he was still the man of the family and had issues giving complete control to his foster dads. But Henry confessed albeit a little shyly when he first came that Ben reminded him a lot of their dad.

It took a week for them to get relatively comfortable with each other with Ben and Cobalt trying their damndest to make the four kids bond with them and with each other. Even Andrew and Yulia pitched in, their kid playing roles in integrating them into the family; all with the knowledge that it would all be temporary.

It took a week and a day for Ben and Cobalt to realise that they didn't want it to be temporary. They fought hard to get custody, Cobalt doing so much research, days and nights on end on the computer and the courts just to appeal for them. In all that time without the kids knowing about the adoption process, each of the kids opened up to their foster dads willingly. Even Trent started seeing Cobalt as someone he aspired to be when he grew up.

It took about four months for the appeal to go through and in that time, they had all gone through way too much together for it not to get approved. Ben put way too much hope into it and Cobalt could see how torn apart the man could be if something he held dear to him went to dust. He didn't want his husband to feel that way ever again. He fought harder and more forceful until finally Padma, Trent, Henry and Marcy legally took Cobalt's last name.

It had been a year since the adoption was legalised. Ben was the one who was called out to when Henry had his night terrors. Cobalt was the one Padma ran to for homework advice. Ben was the one who nursed Marcy's first skinned knees. Cobalt was the first person Trent called "Dad".

Ben admitted, his life would have been complete with just Cobalt and nothing and nobody else. He knew he would have been content with just his husband in their big house. But as he cracked open his eyes to finally investigate the reason his arms were unsually heavy to see Henry curled up in a ball with the covers rolled up around his small body and Cobalt's cheek implanted on Ben's open palm, Ben knew he was right where he belonged.