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“Ouch! That hurt!”
”You big baby, I hardly even touched you!”
Even as she scolded him, Liz smothered a grin, dabbing gently at the wound just above Hellboy’s brow. She knew he was (mostly) just playing, and that he’d walked through much worse, but fact he was even letting someone get this close was astonishingly vulnerable of him. Although Red saw his world in her, he’d never quite been able to stumble past the word “love”.
“Yeah yeah. It jus’ stings, that’s all.” He grumbled beneath her, his yellow eyes following the tail of one of their beloved cats. Chuckling, Liz bent down slightly to press a kiss to his forehead. When he didn’t respond, however, she knew something was wrong.
“Hey, H.B., what’s going on in that hot head of yours?” She approached cautiously, wiping the last bits of dark blood away from his face before sitting on the bed beside him. She would’ve normally added a playful barb at the end, but Hellboy’s uncharacteristically melancholy expression held her back.
“I’m thinking, I guess. Just thinking.” He leaned back onto the bed with a small groan, his joints popping slightly. Liz followed suit. “You remember that damn forest god or whatever Nuada unleashed on us? Well... that was the last one. And I killed it, and it was so...” He gestured into the air, momentarily at a loss for words. “It died so pretty.”
Liz bit her lip softly, turning her head to study Hellboy’s face. Yes, she did remember that whatever Nuada had sent upon them, and what had happened afterwards. Not just the death of the god, but also the rejection from the people they’d just saved. Wisely, she chose not to mention that, as she knew how sore it made Red. Finally getting his wish of going public, only to have everyone hate him.
“Yes, I remember.” She replied quietly. “There was nothing else you could do. Nuada sent it to fight; you were only defending yourself and the people.”
“I know, I know.” Hellboy waved her words away like smoke, his expression contorting into one Liz couldn’t read. “But that was the last one Liz. There’s no more like it- same with the elves. With Nuada and Nuala gone, their court is scattered. Abe said they relied on the hierarchy, and I’ve gone and broke it like usual.” Then, with a wince, he swore. “Damn, wait a minute, I challenged Nuada and won. Does that make me king?”
Liz snorted, turning away and covering her face to hide a laugh because this indeed was quite serious. However, the thought of her Red ruling anything was more than laughable, and she had to pause a moment to compose herself again before speaking.
“Maybe. But do you really want to be down there, in that crumbling place? The elves are running out of time- Nuala said so herself.” Liz reached over to gently stroke Hellboy’s cheek as he leaned into her hand, closing his eyes quietly. “Everything dies eventually, Red. It’s their turn, I think, and no Angel of Death can save them now.”
Hellboy winced again, so much that his whole body trembled for a moment. His eyes flew open, then slowly shut again as he rolled onto his side to face Liz. Gently, Red circled his arms around her waist and pulled her close in a surprisingly tender gesture. Curious but not upset at all, Liz snuggled close to his massive body, her head pressed against his chest as a sigh from deep within was practically wrenched out of him.
“And the end of humans...”
Hellboy’s voice was low and hoarse, the fleshy fingers of his left hand stroking Liz’s hair gently. It was her turn to sigh now, half in pleasure and half in despair.
“Red, if you haven’t opened a portal by now, chances are that you never will.” She murmured against his chest. “You’ve got us to stop you.” She wanted that to be the end of it- she wanted to snuggle up under his covers and go to sleep in his arms- but clearly Red was still distressed. After all, he wasn’t normally this... open. With another sigh, Liz opened her eyes, leaning back slightly to look Hellboy in the eye.
“You don’t understand.” He spoke again before she could. “Maybe I won’t be able to control it. Maybe I’ll change. Maybe I’ll-”
Soft lips fell on his and Hellboy accepted them gratefully. He could feel Liz’s hands on his face again, cupping his cheeks as they kissed, and his own stone hand traced her cheekbone softly. When she pulled back- because of course it’s her pulling away- Liz smiled, her thumbs caressing his warm skin.
“Red, don’t you dare distance yourself from us.” She whispered tenderly. “This whole “lonely hero” thing is cute and all, but we need each other. And we have each other, miraculously. Let’s not waste this chance worrying about what may happen. We’ll burn that bridge when we get there.”
Both of them smirked. “You mean you’ll burn that bridge.” Hellboy guffawed, finally starting to perk up again. “I’ll just sit back and enjoy the heat.”
Liz laughed breathlessly, suddenly finding she didn’t have the energy to do much more. Resting her head delicately against Red’s solid wall of a chest, she let her eyes flutter shut, feeling his arms squeeze her tight again. Slowly, as he too succumbed to heavy eyelids, his grip loosened, quiet breaths escaping his lips. Sleepily, Liz thanked whatever god was out there that Red didn’t snore.
“Jus’ don’t leave me.” Hellboy murmured nearly unintelligibly.
Then, with a softer, simpler, childish voice- “I love you.”