#saltymongoose

Sanford

You looked at Sanford’s sleeping form, He was dead asleep. He did not react when you closed the door. You crept closer to his makeshift bed, crafted from a couch he found and modified it to be big enough to sleep on. His head was propped up by a pillow on the armrest, one of his muscular arms covered his facial cross. His large and beefy frame moved with his breaths and light snores. You carefully climbed up onto the makeshift bed and next to the muscular grunt. It was easy to find a comfortable place next to him and wrap his free arm over you. His skin was cool on the areas exposed to the cool air. It soon warmed up when in contact with your own.  There was something comforting with his strong heartbeats in your ears. You placed your head on his arm and inhaled a little. The smell of gunpowder and sweat was on him. However, there was another scent right under it. A rich and slightly earthy musk scent. This scent you remembered from first meeting Sanford in person. It was a comforting scent that let you know that he was there. You were safe here. The combination of Sanford’s breathing, the scent, and his heartbeat that allowed you to finally calm enough to sleep. 

Sanford does not even find out until the next morning when he wakes up rested and finds his the player nestled between his muscular arm and torso, with your head resting on his bicep. Your cozy and blooming warmth just as comforting as the first time he held you. He did not know why you were there, perhaps stumbled into his room after needing to use the bathroom late last night and got lost? Not that he was complaining. He just let you sleep a little more, entranced by how cute and serene you looked while asleep.  He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not dreaming, but no, you were there, laying right beside him. Sanford carefully brushed a calloused finger over your hair. He was careful to not let his sharp, hooked claws cut your much thinner skin. Sanford ran his calloused paw over your cheek, softly as to not wake you. He saw the dark circles that was under your eyes. 

You finally woke up and saw him looking down at you with his paw on your cheek. His paw was warm on your face as you reached to touch it and give him a warm smile. (One that melted his heart as usual.) “Player, why are you in my room?,” Sanford asked, “Did you get lost last night?” “No, not at all... I... Had a nightmare and felt scared...,” You replied, “So I came to find you... Since you make me feel safe.” You did not know how happy that made Sanford. Him? He made you feel safe? He knew you were not as physically strong as him, but you had your godlike abilities to keep you safe. But he was able to make you feel safe when you were scared, despite how powerful you were? Oh he’s over the moon with how happy it makes him feel. Sanford does not hesitate to tell you that you are welcome to stay with him if you ever felt scared or unsafe again, He and Deimos are always willing to help you. Because they love you too much to let you feel unsafe.

Deimos

The grunt’s raspy snores filled the room as you closed the door, careful to not wake him. You saw how hard he was fighting today and knew he needed his sleep. Your footsteps were soft and muffled by the carpeting he set down around his makeshift bed that took a few matresses to make. His jacket was thrown over the chair of his workbench that set next to his cobbled together bed. Deimos’s boots were next to his bed.  His head was resting on a pillow that was covered with one of your shirts that had gone missing. So he was still doing that little habit. It was mostly innocent.  He was clinging onto his pillow for dear life, It was kind of cute.You looked at his sleeping face that seemed to have an odd grin to it. He looked to be having a particulary good dream. 

You crept into his bed and pressed your back against his torso, trying to not disturb him too much. He was roused from his sleep from his contact and loosened his grip on the pillow before sniffing the air. “Mmm..? Pla..yer....?,” Deimos mumbled in his raspy voice before feeling around and grabbing you before pulling you closer, “There.. you are...” You feel him nuzzle his face into your neck and inhale before starting to purr. Your body was being held tightly against his as you began to listen to his purring. He quickly returned to sleep, almost as if he was not even awake. His raspy purrs turned into just as raspy snores. He held you tight to his body. Deimos’s smell wafted into your nose. He was tarnished mostly by the scent of his vice, but his own scent was just peeking out from underneath. One you had noticed once before during a tight hug that he gave you after a battle. One that was a little spicy smelling but mellow and earthy, his own natural scent. You fell back into sleep after feeling you are safe. You trusted Deimos.

Deimos was confused but thrilled when he found you nestled in his arms when he woke. It was like a dream come true for the chainsmoking grunt. While you were still sleeping, he kept nuzzling your head and cheek, inhaling your scent and loving the warmth you had. How he wished that you would continue this, before wondering why you were in his room in the first place. He could ask you when you wake. He did not need to wait long.  “Mornin’ Player.,” Deimos purred to you while nuzzling your cheek with his oddly soft skin.  “Morning, Deimos.,” You yawned and got up, “I’m sorry if I bothered you.” Deimos had a lazy smile on his face as he looked at you, His purring was getting louder.  “Didn’t bother me at all~,” He replied smoothly in a tone of voice he knew you liked, “So why did you come in my room?” Through a bit of explination, you told him about your recent nightmares and was beginning to feel unsafe. Deimos listened carefully while tilting his head a bit to the side, his messy hair flopping over a bit. He had a grin on as he told you that he wouldn’t mind if you came to him if you had any more nightmares. (Like hell he would allow you to feel unsafe when he and Sanford were there.)

2bdamned

Doc was still awake and working. He heard you close the door and turned back to look at you walking towards him.  “Player? What are you doing up at this time?,” He asked with concern.  You were quiet to answer, “I just had a nightmare and could not shake the feeling of being in danger.” Doc found it amusing that something like a nightmare would shake you up this badly, but seeing the circles under your eyes, he believed you. You were being impacted by this.  “Is it okay to stay with you?,” You asked the masked grunt.  Doc seemed to visually light up at the idea. It was kind of cute. He allowed you to get closer. You lifted his arm up to wrap around you, like how you usually did when you felt like giving him a cuddle. But this time you climbed into his lap. He was not against this, but it was a little unusual. However, feeling your smaller body pressed up onto his, your arms and legs wrapped around his body for stability felt good. The mere contact with your body was enough to make the wonderful warmth and comfort you provided wash over Doc. You were cozy and comforting, yet otherworldly and powerful. And yet, you wanted to be comforted as well. You came to him for that comfort. He was not going to turn you away. How painful it would be to drive you to someone else for the comfort you needed. 

You felt a lot better from being by Doc, by being held by Doc. It was a little embarrassing that you felt like a child running to a parent after getting spooked by that nightmare, But this was the only thing your tired brain could think of. You rested your head against Doc’s shoulder and closed your eyes. His light purring gave some more comfort to you. Doc laid one paw on your back and rubbed it as you nuzzled his shoulder a bit. He smelled like strong disinfectant that stripped all of his natural scent away from him. You could feel him take off his mask and bandages to feel your skin better against his. Between his shared warmth, purring and the light rubbing of your back made you fall back into restful sleep. He could feel you go limp as you fell into a deep sleep.

Doc finished the work he had been doing and brought you back to his own makeshift bed, made of mattresses and furniture pieces he found. He carefully  got onto the bedding while holding you. He found his own tired mind being lulled into the black depths of sleep as he was encompassed by the cozy warmth you radiated. It was not long before he too fell to much needed sleep.  You both slept into the morning, not waking until Hank barged into the room after finding yours empty and seeing you with Doc. You had to explain to Hank and now he wants to cuddle too. 

Hank J. Wimbleton

The music, that had previously filled the place was off, and so was the light... A blackout? That's just what you needed today... Hopefully it was just in the bar. If you also had no power in your apartment then there is no chance you are going to be able to stream later. You, and your coworkers tried to turn on the power again, after calming down the customers, but it was no use. And taking a step outside made it clear that you were not the only ones sitting in the dark now. Apparently the whole city didn't had any power. And with no power, the customers soon left, and your boss send you, and your coworkers on your way home. While you were happy to get off work earlier than planned, you were sad that your plans for after your shift were canceled now. You still went home anyway of course. But as you wandered through the streets something felt... off. It's was kind of creepy, sure, with all the street lights being off. But that wasn't why it felt strange to you. It rather felt like as if you were being watched. Yet when you looked around there was no one to see. You still walked a bit faster until you reached your apartment building, and finally slipped into your apartment.

The feeling of being watched disappeared at that point. Thankfully. But now you stood in the complete darkness of your apartment. Of course you had no power either, yet you still had tried to switch on the light. Sighning to yourself, you switch on the flashlight of your phone, and went immediately to the kitchen. You couldn't exactly cook anything either, so you just settled with a simple sandwich for dinner. Better than nothing, right? When you have finished dinner, you went to your bedroom. With no tv, pc or internet you could also just go to sleep already you guessed. But when you entered your bedroom... you stopped in your tracks. Your pc... it was running?!? You could clearly see it on the RGB lights of the pc itself, and from your keyboard, that illuminated the room. But the power was off! That's not possible! Slowly you stepped closer to the device. The desktop was still turned off and black. So you pressed the button on it to try turning it also on. Perhaps the power was back. But how did your pc turn on by itself? The desktop finally came to life, but all you could see on it was some green code in the left upper corner. It's a bunch of numbers, and you have no idea what it was suppose to mean. You pulled out your phone to take a picture of the code, to show someone who knows more about the whole code-stuff more later, but suddenly your computer turned completely off, and you stared at the now black screen in complete darkness. Alright. This was all to fucking strange. You rubbed your eyes for a moment, before looking at the screen again. Still black. Were you perhaps so tired that you were imagining things? Maybe it was a good idea to go to bed already. So you put on your pajamas, before snuggling into the covers. And with the sound of many police and ambulance sirens in the distance, you slowly fell asleep. At least you get a free day off tomorrow. And if the power is back on in that time, you can make it up to your followers and stream a bit longer.

_____________________________________________

Unknown to you yet, a lot was going on this night in a not to far away part of the city. Not just the blackout had happened. Police and ambulance cars were parked in the middle of a place of the city that consisted mostly of warehouses. The police had gotten reports from civilans that they heard shootings and explosions from there shortly after the power was gone. And as they arrived, one of the warehouses was in flames. Firefighters soon tried to extenguish the flames before they could hop over to the other warehouses, and possibly the houses that weren't to far away. And in all that chaos a small group of four men, were sneaking away from the burning building. Some of them were injured, but nothing to serious. A few burns, some bullet holes. They were completely unfamilar with their surroundings, but at least 2BD was sure that they shouldn't be seen by those people in uniforms, and leaded Hank, Deimos, and Sanford away from that burning place in which they had fought not even an hour ago.

Their mission should have gone completely different. Doc had hacked into the AAHW's network, and into the Auditor's personal computer, and found strange information. Well, he did found a lot of information about you, their player. The being that had helped them through so many obstacles. But he, and his team had already seen this information about you, it was nothing new. No, what caught his eye was inormation about something the Auditor, and the other Employer were building. A machine... to get to you. To bring you to Nevada, and have you in their hands. The moment Doc got this information, he immediately made a plan to infiltrate the AAHW HQ, in which the Auditor resided, and break the machine and the plans for it that the employer were building, before it was finished. If it wasn't finished already. Of course Hank, and the other two mercenaries had been eager to carry out that plan, the moment 2BD mentioned you. So they had immediately travelled to the AAHW HQ. It was risky because Doc hadn't had enough time to make a well thought out plan, but they didn't had any time. And this was about you. They couldn't let the employer get their hands on their precious player. And as they had arrived, and fought their way through the building to reach the machine, and the Employers, it was as they had feared. The machine was complete, and the Auditor and his brothers were about to activate it, and carry out their plan to bring the player to Nevada. Or at least it had seemed so. The Auditor was aware that you hadn't been in the room in which he had seen you in, and stream from over your webcam. And he didn't wanted to risk to activate the machine to early before he was completely sure you were there, and close enough for him to take you with him back to Nevada.

But the moment Hank, and the rest of his team showed up there was no time to wait for you to return. Usually he was the one who would not act on a whim, but this was different. This might be the only chance he had to finally meet you eye to eye. To finally have you on his side where you belonged. So he had activated it. But something had went wrong. He doesn't knows if it was because they had rushed it, or because of the fight that had occured between his agents, and the SQ. Instead of just him being transported to your world to look for you, some of his agents, his brother, and the four of the SQ had been also pulled into the portal from the machine. That wasn't the only thing that had gone wrong though. His destination had been your room, but instead they had ended up in a complete different place. A very big hall, with shelves that went almost to the roof, and filled with different sizes of packages. He wasn't familar with this place. He had never seen it from your webcam. How could they have strayed so far from their destination? Though that wasn't the only problem. The portal had closed behind them. And after a short moment of confusion the fight between them and Hank's team had continued until the building had caught fire. The Employers, and the few agents who hadn't been killed yet had fled the scene as well, just like Hank and his team. Thankfully they had went in two different directions, so they couldn't continue the fight. They didn't had time for that anyway. They needed to find you, and a way back to Nevada. And of course, the four mercenaries had the same goal.

They are going to find you.

I hope you enjoyed this so far! Please tell me what you all think! ^^ Some critism also would be highly appreciated!!!

       -- HANK --

When Hank arrived he was...pretty agitated and shocked by the sheer level of colors that assaulted his eyes when he gathered his bearings, but when he finally gets to meet his player, his mood instantly improves. The Player is obviously willing to accommodate their vessels, so while Hank is primarily indifferent, he couldn’t be happier. He gets to see you for real and hold you in his arms, what more could he want?

--

There wasn’t much that Hank found personal interest in, but there was one thing he did seem to like...very much, actually. One thing that was so rare in Nevada, but common here in his Players world.

Rain.

The first time Hank saw the rain falling from the sky, he stood out on the driveway. Allowing the water to drench his body and drip off of his form. It was...tranquil. Pleasing. Beautiful even. How it changed the world around him, darkened the colors of the world, and it always left a wonderful scent afterward. Hank really adored rainy days. You, not so much. Mostly because he would always come inside all muddy and soaked to the bone. Hank just uses it as an excuse for you to help dry him off.

--

The second best thing Hank seemed to like was the sheer variety of meat that your world had to offer. Being an avid hotdog enthusiast, Hank was more than thankful when you brought home a large selection of hotdogs and meats from your trip to the store in town. He didn’t know primarily how many meats you brought in, but Hank wouldn’t dare turn down an offering that you went out of your way to get.

He got to try so many things! Such as chicken, turkey, pork, fish, venison, duck, and much more. His favorites were ‘beef’ and ‘pork’. Since those meats just had a taste that was similar to the meat back in Nevada. He would still eat whatever you fixed or brought home for your vessels that night. For you, he wouldn’t dare be picky.

--

The last thing he enjoyed from your world was the abundant amount of entertainment. Your world had so many things to keep him occupied, since he couldn’t really go on missions or kill anyone (As per your request), so he indulged in your TV, gaming consoles, and various other electronics to pass the time.

He seemed to get entranced by some shows, namely violent ones. Such as the ‘Saw’ series or other gorefest flicks. He even got into the horror game aspects of entertainment, despite him not being very good at video games. Regardless, he enjoys watching horror movies with his player. Especially when you jump into his arms to hide your face from a scary monster that shows up on the screen with a loud noise.

That was his favorite part.

-

–

-

-- DEIMOS –

Deimos had a similar reaction to Hank when he first crossed over into his precious Player’s world. The colors of their world were so vivid that Deimos had to visibly squint to limit the amount of colors that were overstimulating his eyes. However, it eventually ebbs away and Deimos happily embraces his Player and gives them a firm hug. Deimos is happy to explore their abode while the Player gets their vessels settled in. Enjoying the finer things in life, like a couch that wasn’t lumpy or broken down. Man, he felt so comfortable here, that he probably would never want to leave.

–

Deimos was much more invested in technology than Hank or Sanford. He even acquired a hobby of hacking into various online websites to test their security and databases. He even found a few accounts on one of your personal computers of people that you had blocked over the years.

Deimos…was mischievous, to say the least. He was also a total snoop.

He manages to hack into your accounts and opens a few of those private conversations that never seem to get deleted and his blood slowly crawls up to a boil as he reads some of the messages that some of these worthless FILTH sent you. Many were spambots, but some weren’t. Namely some that were obviously still very active users.

He doesn't feel any regret when he pinches their IP addresses and the information of their credit and debit cards and buys you very nice electronic equipment. When questioned about the packages that show up on your doorstep, the only thing he does is shrug and play dumb.

Don’t worry. He’s made sure that those creeps online felt a LOT of financial pain.

Anyone that says those things to his dearest Player deserves to be in the poor house.

–

Deimos is also a rather active individual. He’s rather athletic and staying in one place for too long seems to bother him. So he takes up doing laps around his Player’s home. Scouting out the location and even taking in the surrounding nature that is nestled close to the home. One day, he even managed to get his Player to come out and walk with him on a brisk nature walk in the early morning. Those days are the best, merely because he usually gets the Player all to himself. It was selfish and immature in a way, but Deimos has always been that way.

If he can both scout out, exercise, and explore with his precious Player by his side out in the woods…completely alone, he probably wouldn’t want anything else in this life.

What could top being out all alone with the love of his life?

-

–

-

– SANFORD –

Sanford, just like Hank and Deimos, had the same reaction to entering the Player’s realm. His eyes could be seen squinting from behind his black shades. Even with their protection, the colors of your world were piercing and absolute. Still, he found it stunning and beautiful.

Even better than that, he finally got to meet his Player. He could only embrace you and let out an elated baritone chuckle as he relished in your eternal warmth that radiated from your very being. Finally, after so long he finally got to meet the one that had been helping his group out on missions.

And he had to say…you were much more stunning in person than in those photos.

–

Sanford was not much of an openly emotional guy, but he did admire some things. Guns, certain types of kills, Deimos, and various explosives. But one thing he never knew he could admire, nor did he ever think about, was the first thing he saw when he stepped outside onto the house’s porch with a warm cup of coffee that was brewed by his Player in his hand.

The sunrise.

Sanford watched in awe as the sky above turned into a bright and colorful painting as the sun rays of the early morning sunrise lit up the sky. He nearly dropped his mug in surprise when he saw the sight, but he managed to keep his composure. Watching the colorful world become even more beautiful with the passing hours made Sanford realize something. When was the last time he ever saw the sun in his realm? The sky turned blood red and it’s been like that for years…he has forgotten what the sun even felt like.

So he could only watch as the trees and nature around your house began to glow and take on vivid shades as your sun slowly cloaks the world around him in warmth.

Funny. It reminded him of his Player in a way. But of course, there was no way that the sun would outcompete you in his eyes. But, maybe that’s why most of the grunts tend to covet your warmth.

Maybe you simply make them all nostalgic for what they used to have.

And well…he wasn’t intending on losing it again.

–

Sanford also decided to pick up a new hobby while in your world to pass the time. Which was helping you to cook some of the exotic meats that your world happily provided for you.

Despite cooking for his team most of the time, supplies were hard to come by in his dimension, so sometimes they would have repeated meals over and over again. This time was different, however. You would go out on some days after going to work and come home with a plethora of goodies for him to experiment with.

Fish, poultry, pork, beef, and other varieties were on the menu and Sanford was rather entertained with the prospect of eating so many different foods. With your ever-comforting guiding hand, you taught him how to prepare most of the meat and certain ways to cook veggies.

Sanford’s cooking skill greatly improved, as stated by both Deimos and an approving nod from Hank, but your approval stood out the most of all. You would encourage Sanford to keep sharpening his skills in the culinary field.

Sanford never felt so much pride swell up in his chest before.

For you, he would do anything. He was certain of that.

–

Sanford also found an outdoor activity he enjoyed and it wasn’t just so he could keep his more impulsive partner under his careful watch. Sanford had taken up the activity of fishing in the lake nearby your abode.

The first time he explored the lake, he was rather surprised to find other creatures inhabiting the water. Living beings that weren’t humanoid in shape. This was his first encounter with what you called a “fish”. Which was also edible and could be hunted and eaten. So, Sanford decided to watch a couple of “fishing” videos and decided to take a stab at it.

With his large hook, he would go out to the pier and watch the waters for movement. His gaze was sharp and wary, similar to how he would watch for danger back in Nevada. Then at the first sign of large movement, and a quick thrust of his hook and chain, the water surface was broken and a large fish was skewered on the end of his hook.

Sanford took a minute to process before he allowed a large smile to show on his face as he carried his prize back to the house.

Once he showed his catch to his Player, he was given a flurry of encouragement and congratulations. To which Sanford soaked up like a dry sponge. You even took the fish from him and told him that you would be cooking it up for dinner that night. To which a lightbulb went off over Sanford's head.

Then, he started performing rather unique types of chores around the house. Cutting wood, helping with outdoor upkeep, fixing any problems with equipment, and fishing on some nights when money was tight.

If there was one thing Sanford was going to prove above his rivals, was that he could provide for his Player.