#agent arius

Kroenen felt large boney bumps form under his right hand, under Arius's skin. The usual techniques weren't working, and Arius hates to be drugged out. Makes him feel rotten the following day, after he wakes up, he says.

The sound of fabric starting to tear reached Arius's ears. He groaned, upset he was losing another shirt. He was thankful he was already barefoot, as he did not want to put in the requisition forms for another pair of combat boots. It would have made 6 pairs these past 2 and a half months. At least he has a stockpile of shirts.

Wing arms burst out from his back, skin shredding and a bit of blood trickling down his body. The blood soaked into the torn remnants of his shirt. The skin between the fingers of the wings crept in slowly, as he stretched his wings to feel the howling wind coming in from the mountains. His tail slithered down and the spade brushed the cold metal and concrete of the landing deck. Large talons flexed as he paced, clicking with each step.

Looking at his boyfriend, Arius's now purple eyes started to well up with tears. Kroenen placed a gentle hand on Arius's wing, rubbing lightly.

"Do you want me to keep doing this?"

"Yeah its kinda-"

"OY PURPLE!" A deep voice bellowed. "We heard you screaming, what the hell happened?!" Hellboy ran towards Arius, before stopping once he saw Kroenen standing there. Golden eyes narrowed, as Hellboy spoke in an accusatory tone.

"Its all dust boy's fault isn't it?! He got your anxiety up?"

"Hellboy no-"

"I'm gonna fuckin wreck him-"

"IT WASN'T KROENEN'S FAULT!" Arius screamed, causing Hellboy to stop his advance. Other agents popped up the stairs to see what was causing the ruckus.

"Whadda mean, it wasn't his fault?! That creep has his hands on ya!"

"He was trying to calm me down, Red. Our usual calm down methods weren't working and he decided to try something new. And it might have worked! Until you had to stomp up here and yell and bitch about my boyfriend!" Arius snapped, wings flaring out behind him and tail lashing from side to side. "Maybe you should stop treating every problem like one of your missions! You don't have to dive headfirst into trouble, especially when there is no trouble!"

Kroenen bent down to scoop up his mask and gloves. Lidless eyes bored into Hellboy's own eyes, making him avert his gaze to the mountains. Arius grabbed Kroenen's hand, and started marching towards the interior of the BPRD compound.

"Now if you'll excuse us, I've got some calming down to do."

"Fine..." he grumbled. Hellboy stood stock still, his own tail barely swishing side to side.

Back inside the compound, and back inside the room he and Kroenen shared, Arius stripped off the remaining tatters of his shirt. He sighed, pulling another one out of his closet and placing it on his dresser for when he shifted back. The man made demon flopped onto the bed, sighing deeply.

Kroenen slid in behind him, pressing his mask against Arius's neck, making him jump slightly.

"Babe don't, I'm already cold enough." Arius lightly grumbled, pulling the blanket up and over the two of them. The two lay in silence, with only the ticking of Kroenen's clockwork heart just barely audible.

"I'm proud of you, Arius." Kroenen's voice was dry and hoarse, as it always was, but there was no mistaking what he said.

"Why.... I'm still anxious, I'm shaking..." Arius muttered.

"You stood up for us. To Hellboy. You've been scared more and more to stand up for yourself even ever since I came here. That was a big step you took and I'm proud that you did."

Arius flipped over in Kroenen's arms, facing the masked being. Reaching up with clawed fingers, he gently undid the straps of the mask. Pulling it off, he placed it on the bedside table. Gazing at Kroenen, Arius planted a gentle kiss on his boyfriend's nose scar.

"Thank you, Kroenen. I.... I don't know where I'd be without you some days."

"On that note, look! You're shifting back. Your eyes are blue again and your hair is back to blond." Arius sat bolt upright and looked in the dresser mirror, and saw his skin fading back to it's normal pale tone, his horns and wings retreating into his body once more. The tail was a bit more stubborn, almost as if it had a mind of its own, but after a minute or so, it too disappeared.

"Hey Kroenen?" Kroenen cocked his head to the side in curiosity of what Arius was going to say. "Maybe we should cuddle more often."

He chuckled, a dry, raspy noise. "Yes, perhaps we should." He said, wrapping his arms around Arius and pulling him back down into the bed.

"Sleep now. You're gonna be starving when you wake up." Kroenen advised, to which Arius just nodded, yawning as he did so.