From the Abyss
The Moonstone04, Xeno Night Club Special Edition!
***
Author's Notes: Another chapter with a huge edit, and I had to rewrite a tiny bit to preserve some dialogue. Other than that, just a little tinkering. ^^ However, as a reminder, this fic deals with a chaos/Tony relationship, so if you can't deal, flee now. ^^ I'm also giving this entire fic an "R" rating, just to be on the safe side. The original is a full-blown "NC-17."
Also keep in mind that I started writing this before the additional July21st EpII information. So it's already dated in some ways, but I'm too deep into it to start rewriting now. Always next time. ^_^
***
Chapter 4
"Sooo... How'd it go?"
Tony grunted something incoherent as he tried to focus on the diagnostic tablet. There was still something wrong with the pilot's console, and he couldn't figure out what. Something had crashed the controls very badly.
"Don't play dumb with me..." Hammer smirked. "You've been up all night, haven't you? chaos is still out like a light. Have fun?"
"If you tell Matthews, I'll kill you."
"I'm not gonna tell 'im." Hammer leaned back against the bridge railing. "If he finds out you and chaos are joined at the hip, he might kick the guy off before we even reach the dock colony."
"Exactly." Tony mumbled.
"So you don't deny it!" Hammer grinned.
"Damn it, why don't you get laid and stay out of my business?" Tony rubbed his eyes.
"I'm not into guys... And I have to say, I still can't believe you are, I mean..."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Tony didn't want to talk about it. If Matthews came in... "Look man, this doesn't change anything. We've still got to convince the captain that chaos is crew worthy."
Hammer nodded. "With as quickly as he catches on, I think we might have a chance. The only problem is the captain's stubborn streak."
"Right," Tony sighed heavily. He frowned at his tablet. "By the way Hammer, what exactly was it you were helping chaos with yesterday?"
"Well, he wanted to talk to me about his feelings, and it didn't take much digging to find out he was talking about you. I told him he should try talking to you, but he said he didn't know how to express himself." Hammer shrugged. "Honestly though, what do I know about gay relationships?"
Tony narrowed his eyes. "Then what was he doing all that time...?"
"I just found him some gay porn on the U.M.N., and let him figure it out for himself. I guess that was good enou-oww!" He rubbed his arm where Tony had punched him.
"You idiot! What were you thinking!?" Tony yelled. "He comes to you for help and you show him porn!?"
"Sheesh, everything worked out, didn't it?" Hammer frowned, pushing up his glasses. "Talk about ungrateful. Besides, you shoulda seen the way he was glued to the terminal. He was really gettin' into it." He giggled in a really annoying way.
"Damn it, next time he comes to you with a question like that, send him to me." Tony growled and pushed the diagnostic tablet into his chest. "And since it's your fault, *you* fix this!" He pushed himself up and trudged up the bridge. "I'm catching some sleep before I completely crash."
"Like I said, ungrateful." Hammer snickered.
***
The week was nearly up, and Tony was once again running out of time. The days had flown by in a blur. In just two days, the Elsa would be fully operational.
His recent memory was a flurry of stolen kisses and caresses in hidden corners. The cold reality that he might have to say goodbye to chaos was more difficult to face than ever before. Loving him desperately in the dark, he knew he would do something crazy if the worst happened.
The catapult deck had become one of their favorite places to be alone. But even there, Tony found that chaos couldn't fully escape his worries. He said nothing, but at times he wondered if there wasn't more bothering chaos than just his impending departure.
"Wha- What?" Tony frowned. "chaos, I toldja, there's nothing wrong." He hugged the boy close. "Why do you think something's wrong?"
chaos leaned into him, wrapping his arms around his waist. He sighed heavily. "I love you, Tony. You know I love you, right?"
"chaos..."
Tony held him tighter as he began to shiver. "It's okay, chaos, it's okay..." But it wasn't, and for not the first and not the last time, he didn't know why, or what to do about it. All he could ever do was comfort him.
***
"Aw hell... It's one thing after another." Matthews griped.
"What is it this time?" Freshly showered, Tony didn't look up from the pilot's console. "The engine?"
"Nope." Hammer answered. "Looks like something's up with the catapult again."
"How many times has that happened this week!?" Matthews ground his knuckles into his forehead. "When we get into port, I'm going to have that entire thing overhauled."
Hammer shook his head. "I've looked an' looked, and I still don't know what's going on down there. Some kinda power surge is overloading the catapult system, but I haven't found any faulty circuits yet. As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with it." He sighed. "Most likely we're looking at some other kind of interference. Damned if I know what it is though."
"Like I said," Matthews threw up his hands, "I'm getting the thing overhauled. Regardless of what you can or can't find, it's still screwed up."
"Captain, we can't afford an overhaul like that!" Hammer turned in his seat. "You're wasting a perfectly good mechanic! I tell you, I can fix the thing!"
"I haven't seen anything fixed yet!" Matthews told him.
chaos walked onto the bridge while Matthews and Hammer were still arguing. He blinked owlishly at them, then turned to smile at Tony. Deciding to let the captain and the navigator handle the problem, he led chaos back out.
Outside the bridge, he pulled chaos close and kissed him tenderly. "You feeling better?" Tony whispered, smoothing silky silver hair behind his lover's ear.
chaos nodded. "What's going on?"
"Oh, just the ship going wonky again. I guess even Hammer can't maintain everything all of the time. That should just go to show the Captain that we need another hand on this ship."
"Oh."
"Everything's going to turn out okay, you'll see." Tony whispered soothingly, molding his body to chaos'. The other boy was nearly limp in his arms. "And when we get to port, I'll finally get you off this ship and show you a *real* good time."
"I'm looking forward to that..." chaos breathed.
Surprised, Tony's breath caught. Opening his eyes, chaos chuckled thickly with amusement. Just then, the bridge door opened, and they froze.
"Hey, get a room, some of us are still working." Hammer grumbled as he passed.
"I guess his talk with the Captain didn't go so well." chaos said, pulling back from Tony as he watched Hammer disappear into the living area.
"He's just being a grouch." Tony scowled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You don't think he would tell the captain, do you?"
"Nah, he's a lot of things, but Hammer's no rat." Tony kissed his cheek. "Just relax. I promise, everything will turn out fine."
***
BAM!
The force of impact reverberated through into the next room. Tony could hear it as soon as he came into the area. At least it made him easy to find.
BAM!
Tony smiled to himself as he headed down the steps.
BAM!
At first, Hammer would play with him, but not anymore. Not since chaos had almost taken his head off by accident. They hadn't told the captain about it.
BAM!
Entering the catapult room was risky under these circumstances. Tony was in time to see chaos toss up a heavily battered volleyball and serve it hard against the dent-covered bulkhead.
BAM!
The ball ricocheted like a bullet. With graceful ease, chaos leapt and caught it from the air. When he noticed he was not alone, he turned away from his game.
"We'll be there soon." Tony told him. "I think we should talk to him now."
chaos stared contemplatively at the volleyball for a short pause. He spun it slowly between his hands. "No. Let's wait until we arrive. I... I just need a little more time." He stopped the ball.
"I don't think it'll make much difference, but if that's what you want..." The waiting made Tony uneasy. He wanted to get it over with. There was a good chance they could convince Matthews. chaos had made progress neither he or Hammer could have imagined. But it was still likely that the captain wouldn't budge on his decision. And if that happened...
"Tony, there's only four of us on board, right?"
"Huh?" Tony blinked in surprise as he was jolted out of his thoughts. "Yeah, it's just the four of us. There used to be others, but well, you know about what happened with Hammer."
chaos frowned slightly, but the expression quickly disappeared as he looked up. It was replaced with an bashful smile. "Oh, yeah, I remember."
"You sure can be absentminded." Tony sighed.
"Mmm..." chaos' smile wavered for a moment. Then his face lit up as he held up the volleyball. "Hey, wanna play? There isn't much sport to just serving to a wall."
"Do I look like I have a death wish!?"
***
For the first time in over a year, the Elsa finally saw blue sky. Even if it was artificial, the Dock Colony was a welcome change. Or at least it would have been if Tony hadn't been so nervous. He was prepared for the worst. But of all the things Tony predicted that could go wrong, what happened next was the last thing he expected.
Wind tugged at Tony's hair as he ran out along the Elsa's docking. Matthews and Hammer were standing on the hull, busy unloading cargo. Tony had to wave his arms around to get their attention.
"Matthews!" He had to yell at the top of his lungs to be heard over the squealing of old machinery. "Where's chaos!? I can't find him anywhere!"
"How the hell should I know!?" Matthews yelled back. "Can't you see I'm busy!?"
"Damn it, don't brush me off! What did you do with him!?"
"Tony, stop actin' like a moron and make yourself useful! I don't have time for this! The kid's probably taken off, had a feelin' he might! Just leave it alone, this saves us a whole lotta trouble!"
"Taken off!?" Tony couldn't believe it.
"Captain, we can't just let chaos wander around the colony by himself!" Hammer yelled. "It's dangerous! You know how he is...! Who knows what'll happen to him!"
"I'm tellin' you two, leave it!" Matthews snapped.
With a growl, Tony tore off up the dock, barely hearing Hammer yelling after him.