Work Text:
That morning, Hank and Sanford finally arrived back at the base in one piece. While they were both happy to be back home and have an opportunity to get some rest, Sanford in particular wasn’t super stoked. He didn’t think he’d ever have to come back home without Deimos with him.
He opened the car door and closed it behind him, walking around to the front, meeting up with Hank. Sanford frowned, hesitant to go in, but gave the front door a knock anyways. The two of them waited for a moment, listening closely as the door was unlocked and opened in front of them.
Doc was surprisingly unarmed, but he had probably known it was them anyways. Sanford gave him a quick look up and down; the medic looked even more exhausted than usual. Without his usual goggles, Sanford could see the dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was even more unkempt than usual.
Doc looked up at the both of them, his eyes lingering on Hank for a moment. He then closed them, taking a deep breath.
“Glad you’re both in one piece,” he said, turning around. “Get in here, I’ll patch you up.”
The two of them followed him into the base, with Hank having to duck to enter the doorways. Sanford huffed slightly, Deimos probably would’ve thought it was funny.
Doc’s office was a complete mess, which was a strange sight to see, considering he was usually a very organized person. Sanford wondered briefly what could’ve been the cause of it, that and Doc’s very obvious lack of sleep.
Sanford let hank get checked up on first. While it was true he definitely wasn’t feeling his best, he was sure that Hank had much more pressing issues that had to be attended to. He didn’t mind having to wait a bit, it gave him time to think.
He leaned against the wall by the door, closing his eyes for a moment, listening to the indistinct words of Doc as he asked Hank some questions. Sanford wasn’t usually one to eavesdrop, but his attention was caught and his eyes snapped open when he heard one specific sentence.
“D eimos, out. Sanford is waiting for you .”
Sanford’s heart beat a little faster. He had just misheard him, right? Deimos was dead, there was no way he could be here. He’d seen his partner’s dead body with his own two eyes.
Briefly, a thought passed his mind. Doc had brought Hank back from the dead dozens of times, hadn’t he? Could it be possible he’d brought Deimos back, too?
He didn’t have much time to ponder it, since the door opened next to him. Sanford stood up straight, and turned to see just who he had hoped would walk through it.
“Hey, San,” said the familiar, warm voice of his partner. He had a slightly mischievous tone of voice as he continued. “Miss me?”
Sanford didn’t answer the question, as his eyes filled with tears. Deimos was really, truly alive, right in front of him.
He briefly wondered if he was dreaming. This was too good to be true.
There was a long pause. “Sanford?” asked Deimos, with a tilt of his head. “You good?”
Before he could say anything else, Sanford wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. Deimos laughed, surprised, and hugged his partner back the best that he could.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Sanford said quietly, his voice wavering. He squeezed Deimos just a bit tighter, as if he would disappear if he let go. Deimos patted his back, leaning his head against Sanford’s in the embrace.
“Hey, it’s alright, big guy,” he said gently. “You don’t have to cry. I’m here now, yeah?”
Sanford reluctantly pulled away, but still held the shorter man by the arms. He sniffled, wiping his good eye, and smiled, eyes fixed on him in a loving gaze. Deimos returned the gesture as well as he could with only his eyes.
Sanford took a good look at his partner, up and down. He stopped at his hands, still being held in his, and squeezed them gently.
“What happened to you?” he asked, inspecting the stones that covered Deimos’ forearms and face.
Deimos chuckled slightly. “Eh, it’s a long story…,” he said humorously. “S’not important right now, really. What I wanna know is what happened to you?”
“Even longer story,” Sanford replied with a huff, shaking his head.
“Really? why don’t you tell me about it?” Deimos asked, looking up at his partner with a smile. “I saw what happened to Hank. I think we’ve got plenty of time before Doc calls you in.”
Sanford smiled at the prospect. While he wasn’t particularly happy about recounting the terrible things he had just been through, he was just happy to be with his beloved again.
The time Sanford had spent without him had felt like an eternity, but now, with his partner safe in his arms again, he could finally relax.