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He spits blood out on the ground, and gives his captors a bright red smile. “You aren’t aware of who my husband is, are you?” he says, and watches the confusion grow on their faces.
“Shut yer mouth, pretty boy.” Another blow strikes him across the face, pain blossoming across his cheekbone. “Don’t care who he is, he can’t take all of us by himself.”
He laughs at that. “Suit yourself.”
Just then, the door bursts open, and the seven hells break loose.
“You’re already turning red, love,” Pike says, stretched out on a lounge chair on the beach. He pulls the dark glasses over his eyes down to look at his husband.
Haurchefant laughs a little, and his skin is definitely pink. “It is as I feared. My delicate skin is simply no match for this harsh sun.”
It’s their second day in Costa del Sol, having arrived the morning before. Pike had been fresh from his business in Thanalan, and things had calmed enough for he and Haurchefant to make their escape from their busy lives in search of a relaxing honeymoon. They’d enjoyed a relaxing day in the rented bungalow near the shore the day before after travelling, and a small fireworks show that night.
Pike grabs the vial of potion that Valliant had gotten for him in Thanalan and motions for Haurchefant to come over so he can apply it, and maybe enjoy rubbing his hands over his husband’s muscles a bit. Sue him, they’re newlyweds.
“And so ends my hopes of returning to Coerthas with a tan,” Haurchefant sighs as Pike straddles his back. He massages Haurchefant’s shoulder muscles and he lets out a satisfied sigh.
“That’s alright,” Pike says. “This way you glow when I need to find you at night.” He can feel Haurchefant chuckle under him.
“Mm. And, pray tell, why would you need to find me at night?” Haurchefant asks, his voice taking on a sultry tone.
“Oh, I don’t know, Haurchefant,” Pike’s voice dips into a low tone as he leans closer to Haurchefant’s ear. “Perhaps if I wanted to take my husband, throw him into bed...and make him sleep, because he’s been working too many late nights.” Pike smirks as his husband makes an indignant tone. “Yaelle mentioned she found you working in the middle of the night again.”
“I should never have let the two of you meet,” Haurchefant grumbles, to Pike’s laughter. “Besides, how can I sleep without you by my side?” His tone is sweet and it should be a cute comment to Pike, but a thread of guilt shoots through him instead. He goes quiet for a moment, and Haurchefant raises his head up from where it was resting on his arms. “I’m sorry, my love.”
“No, it’s okay.” Pike stands and motions for Haurchefant to flip over. “I did abandon you right after our wedding, after all.”
Haurchefant pulls him into his lap. “I would not have traded an extra night with you for General Aldynn’s life, my love, despite how much I miss you. Besides, we have the rest of our lives together, do we not?”
Pike smiles in return, and leans forward to plant a kiss on him. “Of course we do.”
Haurchefant pulls him back in for another deeper kiss, and they end up beating a quick retreat back to their bungalow.
They enjoy a nice dinner on the boardwalk together that night, after enjoying each other for the better part of the day. Drystweitz gladly seats them at a table and produces several courses of food with names that make Pike’s head spin as the Echo tries to translate. It’s all very delicious, though, and paired with wine that really makes the flavors pop.
It’s not an entirely peaceful dinner; too many people recognize Pike and come over to speak with him. Most of them are the upper-crust of Eorzea, who wouldn’t have even spare Pike a glance if he were an average adventurer. It makes him long for those days of anonymity in some ways.
They do get a visit from Wheiskaet, however, who’s off duty. “Good to see you, lad.”
“Nice to see you, too,” Pike says. “This is my husband, Haurchefant. Love, this is Wheiskaet, a former member of the Company of Heroes. Sent me running around all of Eorzea just to set up my own farewell feast.”
“Had to prove yourself somehow, didn’t you?” Wheiskaet says with a hearty laugh. “You settling down now? Heard about that business in Ul’dah. Wouldn’t be much mystery if you wanted nothing to do with any of that nonsense now. Can get you work with Gegeruju, if you’d like.”
“I’d rather fight a thousand Titans than be that man’s bodyguard,” Pike says, wrinkling his nose. “No, I’m still with the Scions. For as long as I’m needed. Just on my honeymoon.”
“Good on you, kid.” Wheiskaet nods. “Well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds be. Play a little interference for you, too, so you can enjoy your holiday while you’ve got it.”
“Thanks, Wheiskaet.”
When they return to their bungalow, Haurchefant drapes himself over Pike. “I love you,” he says, a faint slur betraying the effects of the wine on him.
“Love you, too,” Pike says with a small laugh. He’s completely sober, the one unfortunate side effect of the Echo, but he feels drunk enough on love.
Haurchefant tugs him into bed, his long limbs wrapping around Pike and drawing him in close. “I missed you dearly, you realize.”
“Me too. Always.” Pike pillows his head into the crook of Haurchefant’s neck. “I wish I didn’t have to go.”
“Selfishly, I’ll say that you mustn't,” Haurchefant says. “But realistically, I know you need to. And I do appreciate our world not being thrown into yet another Calamity any time soon.”
“I could always work for Gegeruju, like Wheiskaet said,” Pike jokes. “I hear the pay is good. And to some of those rich folks, protecting their goods is as good as preventing a Calamity.”
Haurchefant laughs, and Pike joins him. They end up falling asleep like that, smiling and wrapped up with one another. And the dreams Pike has are, for once, pleasant and warm.
Pike wakes in the morning well before Haurchefant, with a restless feeling in his bones. Like someone’s watching him. He double checks all the corners of the room, repeating the sweep he’d done the first time they’d entered the bungalow. No secret panels, no holes bored into the wood, nothing that suggests he could be spied on. But the feeling continues, and Pike steps out onto the small patio to look around.
His vision goes dark just as he steps out.
When he wakes, head pounding with pain, he finds himself tied to a chair and in a dark room. A man holds a club in his hands, beating it against one palm as he gives Pike a bloodthirsty smile. In the dark, Pike can see ten more people, making a very good attempt to hide. Slight miscalculation in trying to hide in the dark from a Keeper, but he gives them points for effort.
Pike sighs, and gives the man with the club a flat look. “Really. Kidnapping? Are you completely braindead?”
“Shut up,” the man says, and he strikes Pike in the stomach with the club. There’s not much power behind it, but it still forces the air out of him, and he doubles over as much as he can. “You fetch a high price, Warrior of Light. You’ve got a lot of enemies.”
“...You do realize there’s a reason no one’s ever kidnapped me before, right?” Pike asks, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not for lack of opportunity, I assure you. It’s because I have powerful friends .”
“Your little guild’s dead or scattered, ain’t it?” The man says with a grin. “And the city-states are too busy with their beastmen to worry about one little adventurer.”
Pike rolls his eyes and leans back in the chair. “I shouldn’t be surprised that there’s not a shred of intelligence between all ten of you. After all,” and here Pike grins, sharp teeth glinting in the little light, “I killed the best of the Reformists months ago in Limsa Lominsa, and that was a low bar in the first place.”
The man growls and slams a fist into Pike’s face, and he bites his cheek. He tastes coppery blood spill into his mouth.
“How’d you know who we are?” One of the other captors asks, coming forward into the light.
“Could smell the stink of cowardice on you,” Pike snarls. “Just like when your betters tried to blow the damn place up. Is this revenge, then? Going to try to get your little gang back together? Nobody’s going to follow you when they hear that you sold their realm saver, you idiots.”
“I said shut up,” the first man hisses, and punches Pike again, splitting open his lip. “Ain’t nobody gonna care ‘cause they’ll be too scared of the men who could take you down. There’s no one comin’ for you, so just stay quiet and do as yer told.”
Pike spits blood out on the ground, and gives his captors a bright red smile. “You aren’t aware of who my husband is, are you?” he says, and watches the confusion grow on their faces.
“Shut yer mouth, pretty boy.” Another blow strikes him across the face, pain blossoming across his cheekbone. “Don’t care who he is, he can’t take on all of us by himself.”
He laughs at that. “Suit yourself.”
Just then, the door bursts open, and the seven hells break loose.
Haurchefant storms in, slamming a shield into a captor’s face. He falls over almost comically, bowling over one of the men behind him. Then he turns and slams the pommel of his sword into a woman’s temple, taking her out cold.
A chill runs through the room, and Pike can see a purple grow as dark magic takes out another one of his captors. He groans. “You brought Valliant? ” he shouts at his husband.
“My love, did you think I’d be so foolish as to rescue you alone?” Haurchefant returns, blocking a clumsy knife attack with his shield. “I prefer to leave those kinds of decisions to you.”
“I’m never hearing the end of this,” Pike mutters to himself.
Between the two of them, they make quick work of Pike’s kidnappers. The only one that’s left is the one with the club, who drops it in favor of pressing a knife to Pike’s throat. “Let me go, or he gets his throat slit,” he says.
Pike bites him on the arm, forcing him to drop the knife into Pike’s lap. Valliant takes the opportunity to knock him out with the flat side of her greatsword, while Haurchefant sets about freeing him from his ropes.
“Hi,” Pike says, giving Haurchefant a bloody grin. “You miss me?”
Haurchefant rolls his eyes and cuts the ropes with his sword. “What a fine thing to wake to,” he says irritably. “My husband missing, his weapons still sitting in the room where he left them, and no leads to where he’d gone.”
Pike stands and rubs his wrists. “It’s not as if I chose to get kidnapped, Haurchefant.”
“At least they were stupid enough to be seen around Costa del Sol,” Valliant says. She kicks the man next to her. “Otherwise, I think I might have had to buy you at auction, and I don’t have nearly enough money for that.”
Pike shrugs. “If you hadn’t shown up before they tried to move me, I would have done something. You’ve saved me a broken wrist, at least.”
Haurchefant sighs and embraces Pike. “I was worried, my love,” he says.
“I know, I know.” Pike hugs him back. “I’m sorry.”
“We’re going back to Ishgard.”
Pike pulls out of the embrace to give Haurchefant a pout. “But I was having so much fun here.” Haurchefant gives a meaningful glance to the unconscious man laying near them. Pike sighs. “Fine, fine. You’re right. I just miss the sun.”
There’s a flurry of movement, and a squeal of pain. Pike looks around Haurchefant to see Valliant pinning a man down with her boot, a large gash in his side. “We should call the Yellowjackets,” she says.
Pike sighs again.