Freelancer New York (freelancer_york) wrote in knowhereic, @ 2017-08-28 11:55:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | haloverse: canon: york, the dresden files: canon: harry dresden |
Who: Harry Dresden & York
What: York comes home from Collarverse.
When: Right after the Collarverse plot.
Where: The Marketplace
Rating: PG
Status: Log - Complete
They’d been brought back, through some miracle, and after being subjected to the doctors making sure they were okay and hadn’t brought any sickness back (Gambit had been left in their care), York had headed quickly out of the main building and onto the streets of Knowhere. He only had one destination in mind (he had to get back to Ed, he’d promised him that he wouldn’t leave!), but as he passed through the marketplace, he saw the distinct form of a man who should have been in the NBA. Harry Dresden. The Spartan thought his heart would leap right out of his chest at the sight. He didn’t call out. Didn’t shout. Didn’t make a scene there in public. Well. Not yet, anyway. But don’t worry, York was extremely good at making a scene, it was one of his specialties in the Freelancer Project. Distractions. It was so very lucky for Harry to turn just at that moment-- he’d been picking up some necessary ingredients for some experiment he was working on in the lab, he’d just paid and he was turning to start away from the booth, when he’d see the small crowd parting for a tall, blonde man. A tall, blonde man with a huge smile and an excited look in his eyes.. Er.. eye. Ahem. But he was already so close, and thus Harry didn’t have a moment to think before York was slamming into him like a freight train and throwing his arms around the taller man. It was very likely the two of them would, end up on the ground. Sure, Harry was taller, but York weighed more, he had more muscle and more power behind everything he did, and it was unlikely that Harry Dresden could stand up against the super soldier that was Agent New York. At least, not when it came to such an enthusiastic hug. “Harry!” Was it easy to tell that York was glad to see him? *** Exhausted frustration was a basic tenant of Harry Dresden’s life; he lived and breathed nightmarish problems, so the adventures of the last week were really no different from any others he’d ever been on. Except for the distinct lack of progress he was making in the effort of solving the problem. Sure, he sometimes (basically always, who was he kidding?) worked with little information, no help, and no idea about what was actually happening until after it had happened already. Always several steps behind, Harry was usually the last one to know about something. That didn’t stop him from working on it. He’d dedicated himself to the problem with the single minded intent only a man on a mission could provide. The adventure into the Nevernever had been a wash, but Harry wasn’t at the point where he was ready to summon the Leanansidhe, Mab or any other range of demon whose names he knew to make deals with them for information they’d be able to find in a few minutes. That was why he’d gone back to good old wizardry and experiments. Bob had told Harry off, gone back into his skull as directed, and happily informed the wizard he was sleeping. He’d refused to wake up and help so Harry was running this experiment on his own, exhausted, and without clear judgment. That couldn’t go wrong at all. Stuffing the item he’d just paid a hefty price for (but was absolutely necessary for this experiment), Harry was turning away when a giant of a man crashed into him like a damned diesel truck and knocked the giant of a wizard off balance by sheer surprise. The entirety of Knowhere must have felt the ground shake when the men hit the ground and almost took out the nearest stall with them. At least the crowd parted and there were no innocent old ladies crushed under their combined weight. Harry’s breath left his lungs. It didn’t stop his heart from leaping out of his chest though, because he recognized the man clinging to him like gum on his shoes. “York?!” he demanded, shocked and … and.. Oh, thank God. “What the hell?” Harry scowled, but he did also hug him back. Perfectly masculine, laying there on the ground, in the middle of the market, hugging. *** Of course it was perfectly masculine! As if two giants, with facial scars and manly clothes and scruff (as if Harry had taken time to shave!), would be anything but manly. Especially when one had just tackled the other one to the ground. Granted, it may have been more manly if punches had been thrown instead of hugs.. But hey, beggars couldn’t be choosers! York weighed a lot and he knew it. But he didn’t care, Harry could take the weight for a few moments as the Spartan laughed atop him and just held on, pressing that golden head against the side of the wizard’s darker mop and just breathing deeply. The smell of Harry’s leather duster. He’d missed it terribly. It’d only been a little over a week! It felt like forever. Was that weird? Finally, finally, the Spartan unwound his arms and settled his knees on either side of the wizard’s hips, so he could plant his hands on the ground just above Harry’s shoulders and push up onto all fours, relieving the other man of his near-three hundred pounds. Lord, he didn’t look like he should weigh that much! “I was starting to worry I’d never see you again!” The soldier declared with a wide smile that said he was glad he was wrong. Then, he began climbing to his feet and offered both hands down to Harry, to help him up as well. “You look like crap, man. Cas said you’d been looking for us, are you alright?” Once he had Harry up to his feet, the poor man would be subjected to another hug, but at least they didn’t end up on the ground again, and this one came with a very manly pat on the back. He missed you, wizard. *** “Yeah, okay, enough now,” Harry had rasped somewhere in between his lungs screaming for a breath and his spine being crushed from the weight of the Freelancer on top of him. Harry gave York a final squeeze before the younger man was pushing himself up. Relieved of the mountain suffocating him, Harry inhaled a deep breath and let himself just lay there for a second. It was the longest rest he’d allowed himself since the blonde and Mustang had disappeared. But then York was helping Harry up and the tall man looked just a little abashed. “I wasn’t worried,” that was a filthy lie, of course, but he’d channeled all that doubt and insecurity into his magic and he’d kept it close to fuel his motivation. But standing there in front of York all of that came flooding out so Harry just stared at him, his expression a mix of emotion he didn’t normally like to let show. Pain, relief, joy, and yes, love. He loved York. Not like that no matter what the hugging just indicated! Harry didn’t think he’d ever see him again, but he’d been determined to find a way to York. He’d have killed himself to find a way if necessary. All of it was written there on him, in the depths of his eyes, the lack of self care, the fact he was still wearing the same clothes from almost a week ago. Yeah, he looked like hell, but he’d sacrificed everything else for the effort of finding something that would make a difference. Harry leaned into York, not that he needed any more proof that the man was quite solid and very real. When you got crushed by a freight train you were pretty convinced it was there in real life. “I was trying,” he said, by way of explanation. Trying and failing. But York was here so the wizard could let himself be tired. “Did Mustang come back with you?” He could be tired and concerned about Hawkeye’s own interests at the same time. He’d promised her, after all, that her Colonel would be found. *** “Yeah, didn’t think you’d be worried.” York assured him, though his lies had always been terrible and this one was no better. Finally he released that second hug, but his hands lingered on Harry’s biceps, holding the man there and unwilling to let go just yet. “Yeah, the Colonel came back, too. He’s alright, no serious injuries or anything. And Gambit, also. He’s still in medical, but he’ll be alright. Once they checked us all out, they released us with a reminder to come back if we felt weird.” Being in another dimension and all could be taxing. They didn’t want anyone overlooked. “Cas and Sabo showed up mid way through, Captain Rogers, too. A lot of people did, there was this.. Big battle. It got a little messy, but everyone made it out okay. And then we were back here.” It’d been the strangest thing. “It was weird, man. Really weird.” Slowly, his hands eventually released the taller man in front of him and York steeled himself against going in for another hug. “I’m sure the Colonel’s already on his way to find Hawkeye.” And honestly, York was a little concerned about how the woman would react. He knew that if he were coming home after vanishing like that, Carolina would punch him. Tex might shoot him-- Tex. Oh, man, he was gonna be in so much trouble. “Hey, Tex didn’t.. Notice I was missing.. Did she?” *** Weird didn’t begin to describe what York was having a terrible time describing. But Harry listened with increasing confusion before he decided it just didn’t fucking matter. He was still wired and his nerves were shot and he hadn’t slept in days or had a decent meal since the people had disappeared last week. If he was grumpy and shirked on the details, who could blame him? So he pushed a hand through his dark mop of unruly hair and eyed the younger man. “Yeah, man, she did,” he said grimly and then laughed a little. “Don’t worry, you can ask Hawkeye to protect you if you’re scared.” He clapped York on the shoulder, still needing some kind of contact before he too forced himself to stop. It was okay. He could relax. York was here and Mustang too. Gambit, even. Harry was generous enough just then not to wish harm on the little idiot. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here before something else happens while we stand around like a pair of women.” Hell, they’d probably turn into women, because that was just the way the universe worked. Harry shook his head and turned back toward their homes in this stupid place. |