protect icarus

i’ve written shamefully little about the rowdies as more than supporting characters in my other fics so i’m a little shaky on my feet when it comes to more extensive character inspection with them - compared to team jacket and amanda anyway - so if this is more ooc than usual i’m really very sorry. i tried! hopefully i’ll get a little more confident as i write more! (which is why i chose this prompt today as opposed to the ones that felt a lot more natural for me - challenge!)

also i’m not sure how well i did with the “sprinkle of romance” in this particular setting. it’s a pretty light sprinkle, but it’s there.

this is a pretty short one but i hope it does the job!

~

Amanda smiled fondly as she watched three of the rowdies excitedly jumping around with the Wendimoorians, occasionally stopping for group hugs and enthusiastic pats and punches on each others’ shoulders.

“Good to have the whole gang back together, huh?” Said Martin as he nudged Amanda’s shoulder.

Amanda turned to flash him a smile. “Sure is.” She replied and leaned her head on Martin’s shoulder.

They both watched the happy display in front of them until something caught Martin’s eye.

“What happened to the kid’s hand?” He asked, having noticed Vogel subconsciously protecting one of his hands from all the shoving and hugging.

Amanda’s smile turned into a frown. “That guy. Vogel called him Priest or something?” She said and lifted her head to look Martin in the eye.

Martin’s expression hardened visibly, the recognition of the name clear in his eyes.

Amanda nodded slowly. “Yeah. I figured you’d know who that is.”

“I’ve had the displeasure of meeting it, yeah.” Martin practically growled.

“I got the sense he’s a dick. And that was before he, you know... Tried to kill us and shit.” Amanda commented.

“Sounds like Priest.” Martin remarked. “He messed up Vogel’s hand?” He asked.

Amanda averted her eyes. “Yeah.” She replied.

Martin narrowed his eyes. “What’ya not saying, drummer?” He asked.

Amanda swallowed and took a deep breath. “It’s my fault.” She finally said.

Martin turned so that he was now facing Amanda fully. “How’d you figure that?”

Amanda blew out a breath. “I’m the one that said we needed to go to Bergsberg. I’m the one that had a feeling that something was wrong. I knew in my gut that the van was a trap, but I still couldn’t stop him from running out there. For two months, all Vogel did was follow me wherever I said we needed to go. He did everything I asked of him and helped me in any way I needed. And I led him straight into a trap.” Amanda explained in a quiet voice.

Martin was just about to speak when they heard a third voice chime in.

“That’s dumb, dog.” Vogel said, having appeared next to the duo during Amanda’s speech.

“No, it’s not, Vogel.” Amanda sighed. “It’s true. And I feel like shit about it.”

“Well don’t!” Vogel screamed. “It was me, I’m the dumb one!”

Amanda furrowed her brows. “What do you mean, Vogel?”

“Man, come on! We survived two months of running from that place and the piggies who were after us! But then I was still dumb enough to not see a trap! That’s dumb shit 101!” Vogel explained loudly.

Amanda shook her head. “Vogel, that’s not dumb. You were just happy at the possibility of seeing the guys again. Anyone would do that.” She reassured him.

“You didn’t!” Vogel screamed. “You knew! Cause you’re smart, boss! Not like me!”

“Yeah, Vogel, I knew. And I still let you run off. If anything that makes me more dumb.” Amanda explained.

“Not much can stop me when I get going, you know that, boss.” Vogel said. “But I dragged you out there too. You were in danger because of me. And not the induce-visions, jump-under-a-train danger. Real one. Priest danger. That’s a bad danger. Really bad. And I know that. Martin knows too. I’m sorry, man, I dragged her right to Priest.” Vogel said, the last sentence clearly directed at Martin.

Before Martin could chime in, Amanda rushed to reply. “No, Vogel, that’s not your fault! That’s his fault. And even if you’re headed to hell itself I’m gonna follow right behind to keep an eye on you. That’s not up to you, it’s just something that’s gonna happen.” She explained.

Vogel smiled a little. “I’m still sorry, boss.”

“No, I’m sorry. It was all my doing.” Amanda replied.

Vogel groaned. “No it wasn’t! Why-“

Then Martin cleared his throat. “If I may?”

Amanda and Vogel quieted down and turned their attention towards Martin.

“Ya both are being dumb.” Martin said.

“Gee, thanks for the input.” Amanda huffed.

“Listen to me, drummer.” Martin said. “You two were doin’ everything you could to stay safe and get back to the rest of us. And ya did. Mission accomplished.” He reasoned.

“Yeah, but-“ Amanda began.

“No buts.” Martin interrupted.

Vogel laughed. “Butts.”

Martin smiled at him. Then he continued. “Drummer, you did not put the kid in danger. That’s all on Priest. Everythin’ is on Priest. All you were doing was trying to find a way for you two to get back to us. And kid, you know what Priest is capable of. If he found you and wanted to hurt you, there ain’t no stopping him. You didn’t put ‘Manda in any more danger than ya both already were in. You leaving the room didn’t change nothing. He would’ve come through the damn wall.”

Vogel nodded sadly. “He’s scary as shit, man.”

“I know, kid. But hey, you took him on and came out on the other side. Not a lot of folk can say that.” Martin said.

Vogel brightened. “Yeah... Yeah! Priest ain’t got nothing on me!” He screamed. The other rowdies and their Wendimoorian friends cheered.

Amanda laughed. “Hell yeah, dude!”

Martin smiled too. “Can we agree that you two ain’t to blame and Priest is vermin?”

Amanda and Vogel shared a look.

“Okay.” Said Vogel.

“Okay.” Agreed Amanda.

“Good.” Martin said and then opened his arms. “Now c’mere, both of ya.”

Vogel and Amanda both happily scooched closer to Martin and wrapped their arms around him.

Martin briefly placed his head atop Vogel’s before moving away again. “You smell, kid.”

“You smell!” Vogel shot back.

Amanda laughed. “We came in through a lake. I’m pretty confident he hasn’t changed or washed since then.”

Martin hummed, seemingly unsurprised by this information.

Amanda looked up at Martin and smiled. Martin bent down to place a soft kiss on the crown of her head, which only made Amanda smile wider.

“Gross.” Vogel remarked.

“Fuck off.” Amanda replied.

“Good to have the whole gang back together, huh?” Martin laughed.

~

if you have any ideas for fics, send me prompts! my inbox is always open! x

hi anon! i’m sorry you’re stuck in such a complicated situation. i hope it all works out in the end. i can definitely relate to dealing with things by reading about a similar experiences and relating to fictional characters a little too hard. just remember that what you’re feeling is valid and no pain is permanent. x

i hope this does the trick!

~

The tv screen flickered between a diverse selection of images, the sound cutting off well before a full phrase could be heard.

“I regret the day I taught you how to use the remote.” Todd told his friend from the kitchen.

“What on earth for?” Dirk absent-mindedly replied while switching the channel, yet again. He had already kicked off his shoes and was now comfortably lounging on Todd’s couch.

Todd rolled his eyes. “Definitely not because you switch the channel about 187 times a minute.” He replied.

Dirk scoffed. “Poppycock.”

“God, you’re so British.” Todd murmured. “Just pick a channel, Dirk.” He added, louder.

“Fine!” Dirk said and lifted his finger off the button. “There’s some sort of apocalypse film on, we can watch that?” He added after he registered the image of a large fire on the screen.

Todd poked his head out of the kitchen long enough to see the screen. “Hate to break it to you, Dirk, but that’s the news.” He said.

Dirk’s eyes widened. “Bloody hell!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah, the world’s going to shit. Pick something else.” Todd told him.

“You just told me to stop changing the ch-“

“Just pick something other than the news, Dirk, Jesus.” Todd interrupted.

Finally after a few more channel jumps, Dirk settled on a rerun episode of Friends.

Soon, Todd sat down next to him on the couch and handed him a cup. “Here.”

Dirk furrowed his brows. “What’s this?” He asked.

“Your tea.” Todd said, already focusing on the tv.

“You made me tea?” Dirk asked.

hi! thank you so much, it makes me very happy to hear that! i hope this one lives up to the expectation too! x

oh and happy new year everyone!

needless to say, this one’s got me back on my regular angst train. all aboard!

possible tw: anxiety/discussion of panic attacks + descriptions of physical pain

~

Dirk had been woken up in many unpleasant ways during the course of his life, but this throbbing in his shoulder was new. It started off as a part of his dream, Dirk’s focus suddenly directed at the pain in his shoulder right as the Queen was about to knight him as a thank you for his heroic work. Eventually the pain became strong enough to wake him and he realized it wasn’t a dream, but a very real, very painful wound.

Before Dirk even got his eyes open, he was already swearing up a storm because of the pain in his shoulder. His colorful stream of cuss words was cut off as soon as he finally got his eyes open.

He was in what seemed to be a hospital room. Only problem was, he couldn’t for the life of him remember why. Unlike the intense pain in his shoulder, the steady beeping of the machine attached to him and the smell of chemicals was very much familiar to Dirk. Waking up in the hospital wing of Blackwing was a regular occurrence during his childhood.

As soon as the familiar beeping and smell registered in Dirk’s mind, his breath hitched. Of course. It made sense. The fresh wound, the gap in his memory, the hospital room?

It was Blackwing.

He was back.

i decided this prompt would work with a christmas setting, so here we are! i’m back!

i tweaked the prompt just slightly by making dirk “play along” unknowingly, so without realizing what todd’s parents are implying. the result however is the same mortifying ordeal for todd, amusement for everyone else and fluffy set up for the next step in dirk and todd’s relationship! i hope that’s alright!

possible tw: alcohol and some swear words.

merry christmas y’all! x

-

”Are you absolutely certain it’s alright for me to tag along?” Dirk asked, for maybe the 18th time that day.

”For the last time, Dirk, my parents were the ones to invite you themselves. I know you don’t know them yet, but let me tell you, my parents are the kind of people who won’t do something they don’t actually want to. So yes, Dirk, I’m absolutely certain you’re welcome to spend Christmas with me and my family this year. Now please, stop asking.” Todd explained, for what he hoped would be the last time. He kept his eyes on the road as he drove - much to Dirk’s dismay who wanted to be the one behind the wheel himself, which Todd refused to let happen, insisting that he wanted to live to see the new year - but he could practically feel Dirk furrow his brow in deep thought.

”As long as you’re sure.” Dirk finally mumbled his reply.

Todd resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ”I’m sure.” He said instead.

Dirk was uncharacteristically quiet on the drive over to Todd’s parents’ house, a fact which would normally demand all of Todd’s attention, but he was currently too nervous himself to be of much comfort to his friend. The last time Todd had seen his parents was when he told them everything. The faked pararibulitis, the real reason for him dropping out of college, the screwing his band over, the money… They had, of course, been very upset and hurt, but ultimately willing to forgive Todd. They just asked for some time, which Todd happily gave them.

That had been four months ago. Todd had talked to his parents in the meantime, on the phone and via email, but he had yet to actually spend time with them, face to face. His mother had assured him that she and Todd’s father had moved on and forgiven him. And Todd believed them. But he also knew they would like to talk about it. As soon as his parents had expressed their need for some time to think, Todd had taken the opportunity to escape the uncomfortable situation. Four months ago.

It was one thing to hash things out over email or even on the phone, but another to do so face to face. While his parents’ gesture to invite Todd’s eccentric colleague/best friend along had been made to assure Dirk didn’t have to spend Christmas alone, Todd’s relief of being able to take Dirk with him had been partly selfish. Dirk was his buffer. Any time he felt too uncomfortable, he could just use Dirk as a distraction. That, and Dirk provided Todd with comfort and support he desperately needed, a fact he was a little less willing to admit, even to himself.

Too soon for both of the men, they had arrived at Todd’s parents’ house. Todd took a deep breath after putting the car safely in park. ”Ready?” He asked the man next to him.

”No.” Came Dirk’s reply.

”Yeah, me neither.” Todd sighed. ”Let’s go.”

i’m not sure who “them all” refers to exactly, but the people i could surround them with most organically are todd, farah and amanda.

also in case y’all pay attention to this kinda thing: i sort of tried to take into account how blackwing treated the different subjects. like for instance, here mona bounces back a little faster than dirk, not only because she’s used to morphing into the most comfortable thing which i feel like would include “playing” someone who is ok even when she’s not, but also because her power is one that could be used against blackwing in a concrete way, so it’s likely that blackwing couldn’t put their hands on her the same way they could dirk. you know what i mean? anyway, i’m no expert but i tired to keep those dynamics in mind while i wrote this.

hope this is okay!

~

“Really, guys, you can come hang out in the office too, it’s no problem.” Farah said to the Rowdies currently filing into their van.

“No thank you, ninja girl.” Replied Martin. “We got stuff to do. And we ain’t exactly the sittin’ in offices type. We’ll be back to pick up drummer later.”

“Just honk when you get back.” Amanda said, already halfway through the door to the detective agency.

“Gotcha.” Martin confirmed. “Nice to see ya ninja girl. And Gently and shorty too I guess.”

Dirk waved excitedly at the Rowdies loudly whooping as they drove off, meanwhile Todd groaned.

“Could do without that nickname.” Todd mumbled.

“He has a point.” Quipped Amanda.

“Hey, I’m taller than you.” Todd argued.

Dirk and Farah shared an amused look as they followed the bickering siblings into the agency.

“So, how’s everything been? Any near death experiences this week?” Amanda asked as she jumped up to sit on Farah’s desk. “It has been, what, two months since I last saw you. Knowing you people it has not been a chill two months.”

Todd laughed. “You could say that.” He replied as he sat down on the couch next to Dirk.

Dirk frowned. “It has not been that bad.”

“It could have been worse, sure.” Added Farah from her seat at her desk behind Amanda.

“Oh you two are entirely too pessimistic.” Huffed Dirk.

“I agree.” Said a fifth voice.

Amanda and Todd jumped as Dirk and Farah simply turned to greet Mona, who was now standing in one of the corners of the office.

“Mona... We talked about not sneaking up on us, remember?” Todd said, still recovering from the shock.

“Yes, I remember, but I’ve noticed that it’s hard to not sneak up on normal people when you go from an object to a person.” Mona reasoned.

“She has a point.” Said Farah.

“The panic Pete?” Asked Dirk.

Mona smiled and nodded.

“Hey Mona.” Amanda said with a relaxed wave.

“Hello Amanda.” Mona replied. “I wanted to say hello to you, so I became a person.” She said as she made her way to stand next to Amanda.

Amanda smiled. “I’m honored.” She said.

“So, what about you? Do I want to know how many near death experiences you’ve had in the last two months?” Todd asked his sister.

Amanda laughed. “Probably not.” She said. “Well, if you count the time Vogel ate a-“

Amanda was caught off by the lights suddenly going off with a crackling of the overhead lamps. The office quickly became pitch black.

“Oh come on! I just spoke to the electricity people!” Farah groaned as she carefully made her way to open some curtains.

“Maybe we just blew a fuse.” Todd mused. “Someone should check.”

“By someone you mean me, right?” Farah asked.

“I can check...” Todd murmured.

Before they could decide who should venture into the darkness, the lights came right back on.

“Well that solves that problem.” Amanda said.

But Todd wasn’t focusing on her or the lights anymore. “Dirk?” He asked carefully, having noticed his friend’s absence next to him on the couch.

Dirk was hunched on the floor, his arms around a teddy bear. Mona. Dirk’s eyes were closed and he was repeating something over and over again in a whisper.

“Dirk? What’s wrong?” Farah asked and took a step towards her friends on the floor.

“Wait!” Todd said and held up a hand. “Don’t go too close, don’t touch them.” He said.

“No?” Farah asked, unsure.

“No, it might scare them more.” Todd explained. “Dirk gets jumpy when he’s... Like this.”

“What scared them in the first place?” Farah asked.

“I don’t know-“

“Oh fuck.” Amanda said. “The lights.”

“What?” Asked Todd and Farah at the same time.

“The lights. They used to- In Blackwing, they turned off all the lights at once at the same time every night no matter what you were doing and it basically meant they couldn’t do anything anymore. Like if they got the attention of the night guards at all it was... Not good. Either you laid down quietly or some asshole emerged from the darkness like a fucking boogeyman to punish you for disrupting the peace.” Amanda explained.

“Oh shit.” Todd sighed.

“Yeah. When it’s dark is about the only time the Rowdies are quiet. Like, creepy quiet. It’s unsettling as hell.” Amanda said.

“But makes sense. Trauma is... A powerful force.” Said Farah.

“Dirk?” Said Todd again, trying to get his friend’s attention. “It’s okay, Dirk, we’re at the agency.”

Todd took a hesitant step closer to Dirk and Mona. He listened for a response, but none came. Now he could finally tell what Dirk was saying though.

“It will be okay, just stay quiet. It will be okay, just stay quiet. It will be okay, just stay-“

Todd closed his eyes for a moment before he turned to look at Amanda and Farah. Farah looked heartbroken. Amanda looked like she wanted to punch something - or someone.

“Dirk?” Todd asked carefully, trying to keep his own emotions out of his voice.

Now Dirk stopped his chanting. “Todd?” He asked, without opening his tightly closed eyes.

“Yeah. I’m here.” Todd assured.

“Where?” Dirk asked.

“Right h- Oh. The agency. Our office. With Amanda and Farah.” Todd replied, realizing that Dirk needed to be reassured that he wasn’t where the disappearing lights had momentarily taken him.

“The agency.” Dirk repeated.

“Your agency.” Said Amanda.

“My agency.” Dirk repeated again. “Holistic... Detective agency.”

“That’s the one.” Amanda said encouragingly.

Finally Dirk opened his eyes and turned to look at his friends. There were slight tear tracks on his cheeks.

“It- It’s alright, Mona. We’re... Here. Not there.” Dirk quietly reassured his friend, even though he was still only coming to recognize his surroundings.

“I’m gonna get you guys some water. Water helps, right?” Farah asked. “Or... Tea?”

“Tea.” Dirk repeated, more for the purpose of fully understanding what was being said to him rather than to give an answer, but Farah took it and ran with it.

“Tea, coming up.” Farah said and speed-walked to the little kitchen right next to their office space.

“You okay?” Todd asked Dirk.

“Yes. Fine.” Dirk replied, still dazed. Suddenly he had his arms full of a very human Mona.

“We’re at the office, aren’t we?” Mona asked Dirk, her voice muffled by the way she was pressing her face into Dirk’s shirt.

“It would appear so.” Dirk replied.

“It’s day time.” Mona added, having now moved her head from Dirk’s chest just enough to look at the windows.

“Day time.” Dirk repeated.

Suddenly Mona jumped up from Dirk’s arms and extended hers down to Dirk. Slowly Dirk grabbed a hold of them and manouvered himself up from the floor.

“I got scared.” Mona said matter of factly.

“As... Did I.” Dirk said.

“That was... Unpleasant.” Mona sighed. “Except for the hug. That was nice.”

Dirk still looked a little shaky on his feet. “Nice...” He repeated.

“Sorry about that.” Said Mona to the other occupants of the room. “We get scared sometimes.”

Amanda walked up to Mona and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, dude. Everybody does. And the lights fuck with the Rowdies too.” She said.

Mona nodded understandingly. “They were there.” She said.

“Yeah.” Amanda said.

Farah arrived with two cups of tea on a small tray. “Tea- There’s tea.” She said.

Mona grabbed a cup right away. “Thank you, Farah.” She said and sipped at her tea as she made her way back to Amanda.

Amanda felt the need to check on Dirk as well, but decided to stay with Mona, as her brother seemed to know how to help Dirk.

Todd took a few steps to close the remaining distance between him and Dirk. He reached out his hand towards Dirk’s. “Can I?” He asked.

Dirk turned to look at Todd before letting his eyes fall on their hands. “Oh. Yes.”

Todd grabbed Dirk’s left hand and placed it over his heart, knowing that feeling his heartbeat would help Dirk make sense of what was real.

“Hey.” Said Todd.

Dirk swallowed. “Hello.” He said in a breathy voice.

“You okay?” Todd asked.

“Yes.” Dirk replied immediately. Todd waited for a beat. Dirk sighed. “Not yet.”

Todd nodded. “That’s okay. You will be. Tea?”

Dirk nodded in turn. “Yes, tea.”

Like summoned, Farah was next to them with the tray. Dirk grabbed the remaining cup with his free hand. “Thank you.” He said.

“‘Course.” Farah said and smiled softly.

Dirk looked around the office to locate Mona on the couch next to Amanda. She was talking and Amanda was listening very intently, but the conversation topic didn’t seem very heavy.

“Mona’s not alright yet either, she’s just... Good at hiding it.” Dirk told Todd.

Todd nodded. “Yeah, I figured. Amanda knows about... Amanda’s with her. We’re all here for the both of you.” Todd assured.

Dirk turned to look at him. “I know. Thank you.”

Todd blushed slightly. “Always.”

“Is there anything more I could do?” Farah asked.

Dirk shook his head and finally moved his hand from where it was splayed against Todd’s chest. “No, Farah, you don’t need to do anything. Thank you.”

Mona nodded in agreement. “Yes, though you do make lovely tea.” She said. She really enjoyed tea, which the others assumed was a habit she picked up from Dirk.

Farah nodded too. “Okay. Just... Let me know. If there’s anything I can do, I want to do it.”

Dirk sat down to drink his tea and Todd followed. He reached out to comb some of Dirk’s hair back from his face and hoped to convey his support that way. Dirk seemed to appreciate the gesture.

Slowly they started to ease back into their earlier calm and happy mood. Amanda kept close to Mona, just to make sure, but didn’t push her to talk, as she seemed to be handling the unexpected bout of panic in her own way. Living with the Rowdies had made Amanda quite used to moments of trauma creeping into the every day but also to people preferring to handle it in their own way. She simply wanted to be there to make sure it all worked.

Farah, in her typical way, kept her physical distance but every now and then she would offer to get Dirk and Mona something or ask if it was too cold or too hot. She would shut the blinds when the sun would hit one of their eyes and offer to run their empty tea cups to the kitchen for washing. She didn’t quite know how to do the verbally or physically comforting thing, but if there was anything Farah Black could do - apart from kick ass with any given weapon or technique - it was taking care of those who needed help.

Todd in turn stayed close to Dirk and kept watching him carefully. He’d learn to pick up on the subtle signs of discomfort in Dirk, so he was making sure he didn’t miss any. Dirk of course could see right through Todd and eventually he took the initiative to smile encouragingly at Todd and tell him he felt fine now. Todd insisted that he knew that, but only when Dirk let him hold his hand to ground them both, Todd could tell Dirk felt mostly calm and was able to feel a little more at ease himself.

Later in the evening Dirk insisted on making his own tea (even though it took a few minutes of convincing Farah she didn’t need to do it for him) and left the room to complete his task. When Mona stood up to go after him, the three left in the room all shared a look, but silently decided it was best to give the two a moment alone.

“They really want to make sure we are okay, don’t they?” Mona asked Dirk in the kitchen.

“Yes, they do.” Dirk agreed.

“I was sure Farah would have run out of things to do for us a long time ago.” Mona huffed.

Dirk laughed. “Farah Black does not run out of things to do.” He said.

Mona smiled softly. “They really care about us, don’t they?” She asked. Her voice conveyed just how heavy the question actually was.

Dirk smiled back at her. “They sure seem to.”

“That’s nice.” Mona whispered.

“Yes, it is.” Dirk agreed.

“I don’t remember the last time someone other than you...” Mona trailed off.

“You know, I don’t either.” Dirk said. “Not before the Spring case.”

Mona grinned. “Looks like the universe thought it was finally time for us to get to have other people too.”

Dirk shook his head. “I like to think the universe doesn’t get the credit for this one.”

Mona nodded thoughtfully. “I like that.”

Dirk handed a cup of tea to Mona. “Well, let’s get back there. I’m not sure how much longer those three can keep themselves from coming to check on us.” He said.

Mona laughed lightly. “I think you’re right. Let’s go back to our other people.”

And surely enough, when Dirk and Mona got back, Farah was already at the door on her way to them. And once they sat back down Amanda scooted just a little bit closer to Mona and Todd refused to let go of Dirk’s hand.

While Amanda was telling another story about her adventures with the Rowdies, Mona turned to look at Dirk. They shared a knowing smile before turning their attention back to their friend.

Dirk and Mona always had each other, but sometimes it was nice to know they had other people as well.

~

if you have any ideas for a fic, send me a prompt! my inbox is always open! xx

thank you so much for the kind words! they mean a lot. xx

this is very short and sweet (pun unintended). hope it’s okay!

~

They were digging for buried treasure. And somehow this wasn’t even the first time.

“I forgot how annoying this is.” Todd mumbled and swept a drop of sweat off his clammy forehead. He’d been digging for at least an hour already and was getting thoroughly fed up with it.

“Yes, well, just think about how well it worked out last time!” Dirk chirped. He had also been digging for an hour, but true to his nature, he remained optimistic, though equally as sweaty and tired as Todd.

Todd snorted. “I mean I guess. Though we did get attacked by gunmen and then saw them ripped apart by the shark in the kitten all in the same trip, so...” He pointed out.

“True, but we also got to go on a road trip! And sleep in the woods! And bond!” Dirk argued.

Todd decided to ignore the bonding part. “Yeah, well, I prefer my nights in the woods spent around a campfire, eating s’mores.” He said.

“I’m sorry, eating what?” Dirk asked.

“S’mores.” Todd repeated.

“Gesundheit.” Dirk replied helpfully.

“Wait... Are you telling me you don’t know what s’mores are?” Todd asked in turn.

“Certainly not.” Dirk replied and paused his digging. “It sounds like something you need a medical license to administer.” He added and frowned.

Todd rolled his eyes. “No, it’s a snack. Or a treat, or whatever. Kids love them. It’s basically a cracker sandwich with marshmallow and chocolate in the middle. It’s disgustingly sweet. You’d love it.” He explained.

Dirk raised his eyebrows in interest. “Well, that does sound much more appealing than I first thought.” He said.

Todd laughed. “I can’t believe you’ve never had s’mores.”

“It’s hardly that surprising. I mean, how am I supposed to know what you American children eat! That, or the fact that up until I was 18 I had eaten maybe four different varieties of food.” Dirk shrugged and went back to digging.

Todd frowned. He kept finding out more and more ways in which Blackwing had deprived Dirk of a childhood and it made Todd hate them more and more with each revelation.

He cleared his throat. “Well, it’s never too late to experience the sugary horror that is s’mores.” Todd remarked.

“Splendid.” Replied Dirk. “In the meantime, would you dig over there? I have a hunch.”

Todd turned to look over at where Dirk was pointing. “You couldn’t have had that hunch an hour ago?” He mumbled and stumped over to the spot.

Dirk simply stuck his tongue out at Todd.

;

About a week after their conversation, the case had been closed, and somehow Todd had managed to convince Dirk to let him drive them somewhere.

They ended up in a parking lot of a camping site.

“Todd, if you’ve brought me here to murder me in the woods, I think perhaps you are being too dramatic and the apartment would have done just as well.” Dirk commented as Todd got out of the car.

“Hey Dirk? Shut up and get out of the car.” Todd said and swung a backpack from the trunk on his back. Dirk obliged.

Todd made them walk a short while, after which they arrived at a spot clearly assigned for campfires.

“Todd?” Dirk asked.

“We’re gonna have s’mores.” Todd explained.

Dirk furrowed his brows. “And that requires driving to the middle of nowhere?” He asked.

Todd rolled his eyes. “We’re not in the middle of nowhere, you can literally still hear the highway from here. But yes. S’mores are meant to be eaten outdoors and in front of a fire.” He replied.

Dirk only smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. Todd gestured for him to take a seat on the logs set up around the campfire spot. Dirk sat down as Todd began to light a fire for them.

After he got the fire going, Todd reached around the log. “Here.” He said as he offered Dirk a long, wooden stick.

“And what do you want me to do with this exactly?” Dirk asked as he inspected the stick.

“It’s for the marshmallow, Dirk.” Todd replied.

Dirk blinked a couple of times. “Is this a riddle?” He asked.

Todd laughed. “Here, see?” He said and stuck a marshmallow at the end of his own stick. Then he moved it over the newly lit fire.

“Oh, I see!” Dirk exclaimed. He mirrored Todd’s actions.

Todd took his own marshmallow off the fire and turned to dig out the chocolate and crackers.

“Uh, Todd? How much is too much fire for a marshmallow?” Asked Dirk after a while.

“What?” Todd asked and turned around to see the marshmallow on Dirk’s stick fully on fire.

“That!” Todd said. “That’s too much fire, Dirk!” He reached over to bring Dirk’s marshmallow off the fire and blew out the flame on the candy.

“Oops?” Dirk said.

Todd laughed. “It’s okay. I’ll roast the marshmallows, you dig in the backpack for the crackers.” He said.

With the now appropriately roasted marshmallows, Todd finally put together a s’more for Dirk.

“See, you just stick the chocolate in the middle of the marshmallow and complete the sandwich with cracker number two and voilà! You have a s’more.” Todd said and presented Dirk with the treat.

Dirk reached out to take it. “Impressive craftsmanship.” He said.

“Why thank you very much.” Todd replied.

“Is it done now? Do I just... Take a bite?” Dirk asked.

“Yeah, go for it.” Todd said.

Dirk looked at the treat in his hand for a moment and then carefully took a bite. Todd found himself to be surprisingly invested in Dirk’s reaction.

Dirk’s eyes widened. “Oh my god, Todd.” He said with his mouth full.

“What do you think?” Todd asked.

“That is marvelous.” Dirk replied.

Todd grinned. “Yeah?”

“Yes! Oh my god. I can’t believe you waited this long to tell me about this!” Dirk said. “Can I have another one?” He then asked.

“Yeah, of course.” Todd said. “You can have as many as you’d like.”

Dirk finished off his first s’more. “I’m thinking 17.” He said.

Todd laughed. “You might puke before you get to 10.” He said.

Dirk gave Todd a challenging look. “My tolerance for sugar is quite impressive, I’ll have you know.” He said.

Todd laughed again. “Touché.”

As Todd began to prepare another s’more for Dirk, who was talking his ear off about his newfound love for the treat, Todd realized just how happy being able to do this for Dirk made him.

Because of Dirk’s childhood, he didn’t have a lot of the experiences most take for granted. Todd hadn’t thought twice about eating s’mores as a kid. He did it often. And then there was Dirk, who only just learned about them a week ago and was now threatening to eat nothing but s’mores for all his meals.

Being able to provide Dirk with some of the experiences he missed out on as a child made Todd happy. Seeing the joy on Dirk’s face at something as simple as a s’more made Todd happy.

Todd had pretty much resigned to the fact that he wasn’t very special or capable. He was just a guy, and kind of a lame one at that. But at least he could do this. He could make sure Dirk didn’t miss out on anything anymore. He could make Dirk smile.

And honestly? He was pretty content with that.

~

if you have any ideas for fics, send me prompts! my inbox is always open! xx

an angst prompt after my own heart!

hope this is alright! x

~

Todd didn’t mind assisting Dirk in the crazy cases they worked on, in fact, he mostly enjoyed it, despite the constant danger. The only thing was that Todd really wished the work didn’t involve being so dirty all the time.

Seriously, if Todd and Dirk weren’t covered in blood, sweat or actual dirt, which they often were, they were covered in things like paint, ash, quacamole (that one’s a long story) or embalming fluid (also a long story, though not as long as the quacamole one). Today, they returned to their apartment covered in feathers stuck to their skin, hair and clothes with honey. Todd would have ranted about how ridiculous the fact was if he wasn’t entirely too tired and frankly, annoyed, by that point.

“Is this a situation that requires dealing with in the bathroom or the kitchen?” Dirk asked, eyeing his now feather covered body.

“Why the hell would we try to get the feathers off in the kitchen? We eat there. Sometimes.” Todd replied.

Dirk shrugged. “The honey.”

“What about it?” Todd pressed.

“Honey’s food.” Dirk replied matter-of-factly.

“That’s so- Just go to the bathroom, Dirk. Let’s try to contain this mess to the room with a shower and a tile floor.” Todd sighed and headed for the bathroom, pushing Dirk in front of him.

They began to take off the clothes covered in feathers and honey, having agreed that it would be easier to clean them once off their bodies.

After removing everything except his underwear and undershirt, Dirk turned to the bathroom mirror to start picking the feathers out of his hair. He kept mumbling about the honey ruining his carefully sculpted hairdo.

Todd rolled his eyes and finished taking off his jeans. Now just in his underwear, Todd turned to the mirror too, getting ready to push Dirk to the side to make room for himself in the mirror, when something caught his eye.

Dirk’s shoulders were partially visible due to the tank top he was now wearing. Dirk’s left shoulder blade was completely covered with an intricate tattoo. The right side of it was still partially covered by the tank top, but not enough to leave Todd wondering what the full picture was. It seemed to be a large diamond shape made of thick black lines with a smaller circle in the middle of it, both shapes being run through by a diagonal line perfectly in the middle. Todd could’ve sworn he’d seen the specific symbol before, but he couldn’t place it in his mind. Was it a logo for something?

Dirk seemed to notice Todd having frozen behind him and furrowed his brow at him through the mirror. “Todd?” He said.

Todd snapped his eyes up to meet Dirk’s in the mirror. “Huh?” He asked.

“Everything alright?” Dirk asked.

“Yeah, fine.” Todd assured. “You have a tattoo.” He added abruptly.

Dirk froze with his arms raised, fingers in his hair. “What?”

Todd cleared his throat. “Uh, just that, you have a tattoo? I didn’t know that. That’s... Sort of surprising, I guess.” He explained.

Dirk turned around, seemingly to bring the tattoo out of Todd’s line of sight, but Todd could still see its reflection in the mirror now behind Dirk.

“I, uh... Yes, I suppose so. I must admit, I had forgotten for a moment.” Dirk said.

Todd snorted. “You forgot you had a tattoo?” He asked.

Dirk blushed. “Well, it’s hardly in a place that I have the dexterity to view very often.” He mumbled.

Todd laughed softly. “I mean, I guess.” He replied. The curiosity got the best of him. “What is it?”

Dirk swallowed slowly. “What do you mean? It’s a tattoo.” He replied.

Todd rolled his eyes. “No shit, Sherlock. I mean the symbol, what does it mean?” He clarified.

Dirk shifted uncomfortably. “It’s, uh... Well, it’s me. In a way.” He finally said.

Todd furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”

Dirk sighed. “It’s the symbol Blackwing assigned to me, alright? It’s sort of code, they gave a specific one for each project. That one’s mine. It means Icarus. It means me.” He explained.

Suddenly Todd remembered where he’d seen the symbol before. It was on the grey overalls Dirk had been wearing when they found him in the trunk of the old car in Bergsberg. The overalls provided by Blackwing.

Todd was confused. “Wait, so it’s a Blackwing thing? Why would you get that tattooed?” Todd realized he knew the answer as soon as the question left his mouth.

“I didn’t.” Dirk confirmed.

A silence fell over the poorly lit bathroom.

Todd closed his eyes for a moment. “You mean... You mean they, Blackwing, tattooed that on you against your will?” He asked calmly.

Dirk looked at his feet, unwilling to look at Todd. “Yes.”

Todd took a deep breath to keep himself calm. “They branded you.” He practically hissed.

Dirk flinched at Todd’s choice of words but nodded slightly. “I suppose.”

Todd could feel the familiar wave of anger wash over him. It wasn’t enough for Blackwing to leave horrific physical and psychological scars on their victims, oh no, these bastards took it one step further. They branded their victims by tattooing them. As if scars weren’t enough, they just had to leave permanent physical reminders of the identity given to their victims at the facility. The identity of a lab rat, a prisoner.

Todd squeezes his hands into fists, willing himself to keep calm. He was furious, but he was furious with Blackwing, not Dirk. It would do nothing but make Dirk feel bad if he exploded in anger now.

“Dirk...” Todd tried to get his friend’s attention.

Dirk finally lifted his head to look at Todd. “It’s alright, Todd. I had forgotten it was even there.” He said.

Todd shook his head. “No, you hadn’t.” He said.

Dirk sighed. “No, I hadn’t. Not completely. But like I said, I don’t see it myself much. It’s easy to put out of my mind. Sort of.” He explained.

Todd tried to swallow the overwhelming need to cry or scream or something. “I’m so sorry, Dirk.”

Dirk shrugged. “You didn’t do it, did you?” He asked.

“No.” Todd said. “But it shouldn’t have happened at all.”

“C’est la vie.” Dirk replied sadly.

Todd shook his head. “No, Dirk. That’s not just life, that’s fucked up. It’s abuse. And manipulative and controlling and whatever the hell else.” He said.

Dirk sighed. “Todd...”

“I’m sorry.” Todd said. “I know, I know you know all that, I just... You matter, Dirk.”

Dirk smiled softly. “Thank you, Todd. So do you.” He said.

Todd shook his head again. “Thanks, but that’s not the point.”

Dirk looked at Todd patiently. “What is the point?”

Todd thought for a moment. “The point is that you’re you. You’re whoever you want to be, not what they tried to force you to be. That’s you. That’s what matters. They had no right. No right to do... Any of that. And this,” He said, indicating the tattoo on Dirk’s shoulder, “is a desperate final attempt to force you to be what they want you to be. But it didn’t work, it won’t. You’re too special to be defined by those assholes. They had no right to mark you like that... But it was also in vain because you’re here. And you’re you. Not Icarus, Dirk. There is no Project Icarus. There’s just Dirk. They’re the ones that flew too close to the sun. They might have burned you in the process but... You’re still here. And you’re not theirs, no matter how badly they tried to make it so, even if they tried to make it look like you were.” Todd tried to explain.

Dirk sniffed. “That was quite the metaphor, Todd.”

Todd laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, well... I did use to write songs, you know.” He said.

“Ah, right.” Dirk smirked. His eyes turned more serious once again. “Thank you, Todd. It means a lot to me to know that you see it that way. It helps.” He said.

“I’m glad.” Todd replied awkwardly. “Just remember that.”

Dirk smiled softly and nodded.

After a moment of silence, Todd spoke up again. “You know, they can remove tattoos. With laser surgery or whatever.”

Dirk thought for a moment. “It’s something to consider, I suppose.” He finally said.

“Or you could cover it up with a different tattoo.” Todd suggested.

Dirk’s eyes lit up. “Now that opens up so many doors!” He said.

Todd laughed. “Oh god, I can only imagine what’s going on in your brain right now.”

Dirk grinned. “I doubt it.”

“You’re right, I really can’t.” Todd agreed.

~

if you have any ideas for fics, send me prompts! my inbox is always open! xx

thank you so much, i’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the other prompt fill! i hope you like this one as well! and thanks for the prompt! x

trigger warning for blood! i know there’s been blood in my previous fics too but i describe it a little bit more in detail here, or at least i felt i did. there’s also quite a few f- & s-bombs in there but hey, dirk is dying, it’s at least semi-warranted.

~

Of all the crazy things that had happened in Todd’s life so far, hell, even in the last few months, the current situation didn’t even make the top of the list.

I mean, three men dressed as ninjas with giant swords robbing the jewelery store at the very moment Todd and Dirk happened to be there? Literally to return diamonds previously stolen from the very same store by different crazy criminals? Please. After time travel and an alternate reality, this barely made the detective and his assistant raise an eyebrow.

However, these men seemed hell-bent on getting rid of the witnesses, as they hadn’t planned on anyone other than the employee being in the store that night.

Unfortunately Todd and Dirk had no weapons to defend themselves with. Or skills, to be honest. They had not exactly prepared for a crazy sword fight where they would be outmanned. They never did.

Against all odds, two of the three men had been knocked out by Dirk. Well, to Todd it had looked like Dirk made ridiculous attempts to fight off the men that never worked but would lead to something else that would then eliminate the threat. It seemed like the universe had their backs.

Until it didn’t.

By some crazy coincidence (which Todd had to remind himself did not actually exist), Todd managed to trip the last robber as Dirk was fighting him off, leading to the robber hitting his head on a display, shattering the glass and falling down unconscious.

The terrified employee must have managed to call 911 at some point during the scuffle, as Todd could already hear the police siren getting closer and closer. Great timing, as always.

Trying to catch his breath, Todd brushed a few wayward shards of glass off his shirt.

“Well, I’d say I didn’t see that coming but I feel like if I said that every time it was true, the phrase would lose its meaning pretty fast.” Todd said and finally turned to look at Dirk again.

Dirk was standing close to the back of the store, next to the counter and he looked… Off. His eyes were glazed over and his breathing was labored and shallow. For a second Todd was surprised to see Dirk so shaken, since most of the time the detective seemed to take the insane situations they found themselves in with an air of nonchalance. Then Todd noticed the blood.

Dirk was holding his hand over his abdomen, blood practically flowing out from between his fingers. It was starting to create a significant puddle on the floor. Todd felt a wave of nausea wash over him as his brain connected Dirk’s state to the red wetness beginning to cover the floor and their shoes.

“D-Dirk.” Todd whispered. He couldn’t find his voice.

“Shit.” Said Dirk. Then his knees gave out and he collapsed on the maroon puddle at their feet.

“Dirk!” Todd finally found his voice and rushed to Dirk’s side, kneeling in his partner’s blood.

He maneuvered their now blood soaked bodies so that Dirk was leaning against Todd’s chest and Todd wrapped his arms around Dirk’s torso.

Dirk let out a heartbreaking groan as Todd moved him. Todd bit back a sob and moved Dirk’s hand enough to get a look at the source of all the blood. Now Todd couldn’t help but let out a sob.

There was a deep stab wound on the left side of Dirk’s stomach. There was blood spurting out with every labored breath Dirk took and Todd could see inside Dirk’s body. Todd quickly shook off the flannel he was wearing over his t-shirt and pressed it against Dirk’s wound.

“Oh, I liked that shirt.” Dirk mumbled.

“Yeah, well, I liked your blood inside your body so… Life’s a bitch, I guess.” Todd replied gruffly.

“Todd…” Dirk whispered.

“Help will be here in a minute, okay, can you hear the sirens? They’ll be here in a minute, just hold on, Dirk.” Todd ordered.

“Todd,” Dirk said, followed by a cough which was accompanied by blood now spilling from the side of his mouth, “I just want to say-“

“Dirk, shut up.” Todd growled.

“Todd, you don’t understand-“

“No, Dirk, you don’t understand. Save your strength, and just this once, shut up and wait for help.” Todd cut Dirk off.

“But in case it will be too late-“ Dirk tried again, his voice distorted by disturbing gurgling from his throat.

“No, Dirk, no, nothing will be too late, you’re gonna be fine, just shut up.” Todd hissed.

“Do you really want ‘shut up’ to be the last thing you ever say to me?” Dirk tried to joke.

Todd’s chest felt unbearably tight. “You’re not fucking dying.” He simply said.

“You don’t know that.” Dirk replied, his voice serious again.

“Yes I fucking do. You don’t die. The universe won’t let you die, right? That’s the deal. You’re gonna be fine. End of story.” Todd reasoned.

Dirk let out a sigh and more terrifying gurgles. “Everyone has to die at some point. Even me.” He said.

Todd felt like all air had been punched out of his lungs. This can’t be it, can it? No, there’s no way. After everything they’ve been through, a random robbing cannot be how Dirk Gently dies. He’s so young and he’s been through so much. This cannot be the end of his story.

“You are not dying, Dirk. Don’t you dare give up.” Todd growled.

“I am not giving up, Todd.” Dirk promised. “I’m being realistic.”

“Since when?” Cried Todd. “You’re literally the most infuriatingly optimistic person I know, even in the most hopeless of situations! Where’s that guy?”

Dirk was quiet for a moment. “Thank you.” He finally said.

Todd blinked for a moment. The blue and red lights of the police sirens finally illuminated the dark street outside of the store window.

“For what?” Todd asked after a moment of silence.

“For giving me everything I wished for.” Dirk whispered.

Todd felt like he was being stabbed now. Dirk really thought he was dying. These were his dying words.

“Dirk, please, just-“ Todd tried to plead with Dirk to not give up again.

“I know, I know, Todd, but… I’m sleepy.” Dirk replied and Todd noticed his eyes had slipped close at some point.

“No, no, no, Dirk, don’t sleep, you have to stay awake!” Todd cried.

“Thank you. Thank you, Todd… For… You.” Dirk mumbled.

“You don’t need to thank me, Dirk, if anything I’m the one who- Dirk? Dirk!” Todd cried, nudging Dirk’s slumped head with his, unwilling to move his hands from the stab wound.

Dirk wasn’t replying anymore.

Dirk wasn’t breathing anymore.

-

Todd could tell he looked like hell by the expression on his sister’s face as she rushed to his side at the hospital. Todd looked down at his blood soaked clothes and the bloody shirt he was still holding in his hand.

“Todd…” Amanda whispered. Despite Todd’s bloody appearance, Amanda wrapped her arms around her big brother so tightly Todd could feel her fingers digging into his back through his shirt.

“Is he?” Amanda asked carefully as she pulled away from the hug, leaving her hand on Todd’s shoulder for support.

“They don’t know anything yet.” Todd replied. “But it didn’t look good.”

“Fuck.” Amanda huffed and ran her fingers through her hair. “Where’s Farah?”

“Getting coffee.” Todd replied. Farah had arrived at the hospital about 30 minutes before Amanda.

“Let’s sit down while we wait, okay?” Amanda asked and tried to lead Todd to the row of chairs in the waiting room.

“I don’t wanna sit.” Todd mumbled, unable to focus his eyes on anything in particular. He was still shaking.

“Okay, well, you’re literally shaking, Todd, I think you need to sit. Besides, you’re scaring the kids over there. You look like fucking Carrie.” Amanda reasoned.

Todd glanced over to the nurse’s station and indeed, there were two kids, seemingly pre-teens, by the station with their mother, staring wide eyed at Todd.

Todd let himself be led to the chairs and finally sat down.

It wasn’t long until Farah showed up with two cups of coffee.

“Hey Amanda.” She said.

Amanda stood up to give Farah a hug, which she accepted and returned without protest.

“You want coffee?” Farah asked, offering Amanda one of the coffee cups.

“Nah, it’s okay, it’s yours.” Amanda replied and sat back down next to Todd.

“Actually, I feel like maybe I shouldn’t drink coffee right now. I feel…” Farah tried to explain.

Amanda reached to take the cup from Farah, not wanting to force her to explain. “Thanks, Farah.” She smiled.

Farah nodded. Then she pushed the other cup towards Todd. “Todd?”

Todd lifted his gaze from the bloody shirt in his lap to Farah and the cup. “Oh, yeah, thanks.” He said and reached for the coffee.

“No problem.” Farah replied and sat down on the other side of Todd.

None of them could think of anything to say. None of them wanted to acknowledge the possibility of Dirk not making it through his surgery. None of them were the type to offer false hope. So they remained silent. But they were together, which they all found some comfort in.

Amanda put her arm around Todd’s shoulder and leaned her head against the side of his. Todd sighed and let his head drop to rest against Amanda’s. He glanced at Farah and found her staring at her hands and moving her leg up and down against the floor in short bursts of anxiety. Todd placed his hand on top of Farah’s in her lap. Farah turned to look at him with a sad but grateful expression. She turned her hand to grip Todd’s like a lifeline and turned to stare straight ahead of her. Todd closed his eyes and focused on breathing and the feeling of his sister and friend next to him.

-

Hours later, they were informed that Dirk made it through the surgery. His surgeon said that he did flatline on the operating table once, a piece of information which nearly had Todd hurtling towards the floor had Amanda not caught him by the arm in time. Fortunately the medical team were able to revive Dirk and the surgery was a success. If no complications were to arise, Dirk should recover in full.

Todd and the women were allowed into Dirk’s recovery room after their conversation with the surgeon. Todd dragged a chair next to Dirk’s bed and took a seat. Farah sat down on the armchair in the corner of the room and rested her head in her hands. Amanda jumped up on the windowsill and looked down at the sleeping detective with worry still in her eyes.

After a moment of the three of them quietly observing their unconscious friend, the silence was broken by a sudden burst of laughter from Farah.

This startled Todd and Amanda into turning their attention from Dirk to Farah.

Farah’s laughter died down as quickly as it had started. “I’m so sorry. I was just like… So scared and I don’t handle these kind of feelings well.” She explained, horrified at her own reaction.

Amanda scoffed. “Well, that makes, what, one, two… Oh yeah, three of us.” She replied.

Now it was Todd’s turn to laugh. Amanda turned to stare at her brother with wide eyes.

“Oh god,” Todd said, still laughing, “We are literally the three worst people to have to deal with something as serious as this!” He exclaimed.

Amanda and Farah looked at each other and soon enough they joined Todd in inappropriately laughing until their eyes filled with tears.

“This is the worst!” Amanda cried.

“Goddamn it, Dirk.” Todd laughed.

“What did I do now?” Suddenly came a fourth voice.

All laughter stopped immediately.

“Dirk!?” Todd exclaimed and jumped up from his chair to lean over the now conscious detective.

“That’s me.” Came Dirk’s soft reply.

“Oh thank fuck.” Amanda sighed and jumped down from the windowsill. Farah made her way to stand next to her on the other side of Dirk’s bed, across from where Todd was standing.

“Welcome back.” Farah said and smiled down at Dirk.

“You look like shit.” Amanda said. Farah elbowed her in the ribs.

“Good to see you too, Amanda.” Dirk laughed and then grimaced in pain. “Ouch.” He added.

“Yeah, be careful, Dirk, you got quite the stab wound there.” Todd said softly.

“I do?” Dirk furrowed his brows before realization seeped in. “Oh, I do. I got stabbed. By a ninja with a sword!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah, you sure did.” Amanda confirmed.

Dirk turned to look at Todd. “Is that my blood?” He asked, gesturing at Todd’s slowly drying bloody outfit.

“No, I held two people who were bleeding out in my arms today.” Todd deadpanned.

“Really?” Dirk asked.

“No, not really, Dirk, jesus christ!” Todd groaned.

“Oh. Well, stranger things have happened, I suppose.” Dirk shrugged and then winced.

“Stop moving so much, Dirk, you just got out of surgery. I’m too exhausted to watch you go through any more emergency medical operations today.” Todd said, feigning annoyance, but he reached out to softly brush a lock of stray hair out of Dirk’s eyes with great care.

Amanda cleared her throat. “Hey, Farah, you wanna come with me to grab some coffee for us?” She asked.

Farah’s brows furrowed. “But I said before that I-“

“Yeah, I can’t carry three cups by myself and Todd should stay here. With Dirk. So they can catch up. Together.” Amanda said, giving Farah a pointed look.

Farah caught on. “Oh. Yes. Let’s get… Coffee.” She said as Amanda was basically already dragging her out the door.

“Good to see you awake, Dirk. We’ll see you in a minute!” Amanda yelled halfway through the door and into the hallway.

Todd sighed. “Well, that was subtle.” He said.

Dirk smiled. “And you say I can’t lie to save my life.”

Todd laughed. Then his expression turned serious again.

“You scared the shit out of me, Dirk.” He said quietly.

“I’m sorry.” Dirk replied, matching Todd’s volume.

“No, like, seriously. When I realized you genuinely thought you were going to die, it was like… I don’t know. It wasn’t like anything else, it was… The worst feeling ever.” Todd explained.

“But I’m not dead, Todd.” Dirk reassured him. “I’m fine.”

Todd scoffed. “You are so not fine, Dirk.”

Dirk smiled. “Alright, so I am a little banged up, but I will be fine. Thanks to you.” He said.

“Thanks to your surgeon.” Todd countered.

“Yes.” Dirk agreed. “And you.”

Todd sighed and took Dirk’s clammy hand in his. “I know there’s no point in even asking for this but… Please don’t do that again?” He said.

Dirk was quiet for a moment. “I promise to try not to.”

“That’ll have to be good enough, I guess.” Todd replied.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Todd spoke again.

“What were you thanking me for?” He asked.

“What?” Dirk replied.

“Back there, when you were… What did you mean by ‘thank you?’” Todd elaborated.

Dirk gathered his thoughts for a moment. “All I wanted as a child was for someone to spend time with. Solve mysteries with. Someone to care about, who would care about me too. I never had that. Until you.” He replied matter-of-factly. “And I thought I would never have that. Certainly not with someone like you. I am very grateful for you. I suppose I wanted to make sure you knew that, in case I didn’t get another chance to tell you.”

For perhaps the 15th time that day, Todd felt tears stinging in his eyes. He had no idea what to say to that.

“Well, I’m not that great but… If I could give you that then… Well, then that’s the best thing I’ve done with my pathetic life.” He finally said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head with his free hand.

Dirk smiled. “We have to work on your self-deprecating expressions, Todd.” He said.

Todd laughed. “Yeah, okay.” He was just glad that Dirk was still there to make him cry with his genuine expressions of affection one moment and give him shit the next.

Dirk was still smiling much brighter than someone in a hospital bed with a stab wound should be, and Todd couldn’t help but smile back. He leaned down to softly touch his lips to Dirk’s sweaty forehead.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” He mumbles against Dirk’s skin, burying his nose in Dirk’s hair.

Dirk closed his eyes at the feeling and sighed contently. “Me too.” He said.

“Aw crap, you’re having a moment.” Said Amanda from the doorway.

Todd and Dirk turned to look at Amanda just in time to see Farah kick Amanda’s boot with hers and hiss “Amanda!”

“What?” Amanda asked her.

Todd just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah just give me my coffee, asshole.” He said.

Amanda gave Todd one of the cups she was holding. “Careful, coffee breath is bad for kissing.” She remarked.

Todd have her a threatening look but couldn’t help a slight blush forming on his cheeks. “I will literally kick your ass.” He said.

“I’d like to see you try.” Amanda countered.

“Good to be back, eh, Dirk?” Farah laughed awkwardly and placed a hand on Dirk’s shoulder.

Dirk just grinned at the room full of his friends. “Yes, yes it is.”

~

if you have any ideas for fics, send me prompts! my inbox is always open!