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It had been an ambush at the exact wrong time, the sun had set for the day so the Resistance was making slow progress out of the city and back into the forest where their camp was set up, but they had been spotted. It wasn't like nobody knew who Valera was, her easily recognisable colours and hair made her easily stand out in the streets. It wasn't until the initial attack that the Resistance had noticed that they were being followed, there was little they could do due to being unarmed at the time, so running away and finding a way to escape was all they could do. But the soldiers that had been sent were fast, they were keeping up with every advance.
At the time, all that Io and Jenos knew to do was to shield as much fire as they could so the others could escape. There were a few open spots in the shield but it was all they could do at the time, retaliating and opening fire with heavenly energy would leave the Resistance exposed to any attacks, so they opted to keep guard, which didn't last very long. Multiple soldiers had already taken to the rooftops, from what the gods could see, they were after Valera, and they weren't looking to back down, bombs and guns at their disposal.
It was in that moment when everything spiraled downwards. The group was already taking heavy fire and explosions were going off near their feet, but Valera was their target, they didn't need anyone else dead at the time. It might have been out of pure instinct from being in a special soldier squad, but Buck had turned his head to the side, even among all of the fire, he could still hear the footsteps of one person following on the rooftops. The gun was held high, his eye pulled into the sight, finger starting to flick against the trigger, until Buck pivoted on his foot, grabbing onto Valera's wrist and freezing her, hearing the bullet leave the gun and feeling it strongly pierce through his own muscle.
But he didn't fall.
It was a shaky shot, only having pierced his far side on his stomach, but blood was starting to rush out of the wound and fast, in that moment Buck regretted his poor choices of little clothing. The soldier reached for what appeared to be a bomb, he pulled the pin with exposed teeth and threw it out into the crowd. It had missed Valera by a long way, but where it rolled, it sat right in front of Talus' foot, and he was only a child, so Buck had to do something. Leaping forward and tackling the boy to the ground, encasing him in muscle and the explosion fired off in the background, flames starting to burn on and against the skin on Buck's back.
If Io and Jenos hadn't turned around to see that the group was struggling, they wouldn't have survived. The gods had turned, disabled their shield and covered all of their vision in radiant light, followed by a quick blast from Jenos' hand that caused many of the soldiers to burst into flames. They had flown forward and grabbed everyone within a celestial grasp, fleeing as fast as they could. But at least everyone had made it out alive.
That's how they were sat around the fire, members were laying in assorted positions and breathing very deeply. Some had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, while others who remained fairly unharmed stayed awake so they could tend to their injured friends. Inara had what seemed the be three people resting their bodies against her large form, Luna had taken refuge in Io's lap to sleep, even she had taken quite a beating in the ambush.
But Buck had it the worst.
His head was resting in Jenos' lap, having fallen unconscious as soon as he could. The god ran his hand soothingly against Buck's cheek, channeling energy through his fingertips so that his heavy wounds would close off and his pain would melt away. He had cuts and bruises from rock that was moved by explosions as well as scorch marks along his skin from shielding others, and a full bullet wound that had pierced right through his side, blooding having stopped running after Jenos was able to apply some pressure, the corner of his cape was heavily stained with blood, it was what he had used to clean up every single gushing drop, and he didn't even pay the stain any mind.
There was no speaking, everyone that was still awake was completely silent, only the wind could be heard at the camp. Tension was thick in the air, nobody knew if they had been followed, but they could only hope they were far enough away from the city so they could be safe. If they had been followed, they wouldn't stand a chance, most of them had been injured, some more severe than others, but nobody was in any sort of condition to fight, physically or mentally.
Buck inhaled shaky and uneven breaths, his heart beating at irregular paces, but he was still alive, albeit barely. Jenos' fingertips were charged with power, he traced them over every cut and wound, sealing away any dripping blood and mending any torn flesh. It was an absolute horrible sight, the way his lover's face was deathly pale, his body barely being able to stay alive and maintain any kind of heartbeat, but Jenos knew he was strong, his will wouldn't let him give up, not after he had come this far.
Looking up from where he sat, Jenos noticed Talus, he was pressed to the side of Inara's hulking figure, eyes flickering up and down the sleeping man's body, covered in enough scars to begin with and sure to have more after he healed. The god noticed how small tears pricked the edges of the boy's eyes, how he would look at Buck, but avoid Jenos' gaze entirely.
"I- uh- he-... I'm sorry..." Talus hung his head in shame, Inara lifted up an arm to pat his head softly through his headpiece.
"What are you apologising for? You have not done anything to be reprimanded." Jenos lifted his head up, his cold voice and white eyes caused Talus to jump back slightly as soon as he locked his stare onto the boy.
"Well... He... He got really hurt 'cause I couldn't protect myself..." Talus nervously rubbed his arm, his eyes still locked to the god's, but he made himself appear smaller out of fear.
"He... Is like that. Buck has seen many people injured and die around him, so his will to protect others strengthened, even if he only has his own body, he will not hesitate to use it. He may be hurt, but he is strong, I'm sure he will make a full recovery." Jenos' voice was laced with doubt. What if he didn't fully recover? That he would forever be injured, and he wouldn't be able to fight the same way.
Io turned her head, she saw how Jenos hung his head down and flicked his eyes over every single graze and cut, pulling together all the tears and blood. Even though she was certain that Buck would fully recover and be back to his normal self in no time, she could still feel the worry that was emanated off of the other god's body, even though he didn't show it.
Luna jumped up and out of Io's lap, sauntering over to Buck's sleeping form, nudging her nose into his side for any sign of movement. She whined, rolling her body against the man's muscle, flopping down to lie on the floor and she quietly whimpered next to him. Her fur started glowing a purple shade that could rival Io's light bow, the glow moved like a dangling thread in the wind, it reached over to one of Buck's open wounds and began to stitch it closed, pulling itself into a neat purple bow. Jenos reached out and delicately ran his hand over the fox's fur.
"I will keep watch tonight, the rest of you can turn in and rest." Io gracefully stood up from where she was sitting, floating up above tree level so she could have a large field of view. She gestured for the members to turn in for the night, except for anyone who had already fallen asleep outside. Inara picked up the three people beside her and began walking off, leaving only Jenos, Buck and a few others outside. Io didn't try to talk to Jenos, she knew he would be stubborn and it didn't seem like he was willing to move.
Keeping a delicate thumb flicking over Buck's cheek, Jenos pulled his boyfriend's body up and close to his own so their chests pressed together, flicking his mask off onto the floor he let quiet and quick tears flow like a river onto his cheeks and out onto Buck's shoulder. Countless times he had been told, countless times he had been warned, for years the gods told him the drawbacks of loving mortals, that one day he would have to watch them suffer while he was pristine. He always said he understood, but it seemed like his heart had other plans. He never thought it could be a problem since he always knew that Buck was strong and would never be in any grave danger, but now that it was happening, the prospect of his lover not surviving was an all too real possibility.
It was scary, it was absolutely terrifying, Jenos pulled him close, not letting the limp body go as he held him in a vice like grip. He had never been so worried, everything felt all too much, he always thought about it, yet the thoughts didn't compare to the real thing. He was going to destroy any of the surviving soldiers if they ever had the misfortune of crossing his path ever again, he would make them regret ever crossing with the Resistance, they were his family. He had watched nature take his real blood over the years, the way he had to watch his relatives pass away while he was helpless to stop them, there was nothing he could do against Mother Nature's cruel way of taking life. He lived for hundreds of years alone, sure Io was there too, but it didn't satisfy the hole that his family had left in him, loneliness hurt. So now that he has found a new place to call home, he wasn't letting anyone take them.
There was a shifting feeling in Jenos' arms, he perked his head up, slightly startled at the sudden movement, only to see Buck's muscles shift as he slowly lifted his head up. Slowly cracking his eyes open to be met with his boyfriend's tear-stained face, wide-eyed and quivering lip, just the sight of it made him want to burst into tears.
"Damn... I... Shit- uh- took a real beatin' back there... I didn't mean ta' make ya' worried at all or anythin'..." Buck slowly inched his face closer to the god's, using the little energy he had in his body to muster up a small smile, he didn't have much time to react before he realised that Jenos had pushed his face into the crook of his neck.
"Idiot," It was quiet, but the words were definitely there.
"Hey now... If I hadn't done all that stuff I did, then it woulda been an even bigger disaster." Buck whispered into Jenos' ear, rubbing soothing circles with his hand into the other's back.
Jenos straightened himself out, leveling himself with Buck before leaning forward to press a slow and tender kiss against his lips. When they pulled away, the god cracked a small smile, relief flooding his entire body.
"I thought you weren't coming back, I had every reason to be worried,"
"Well, 'm here now, 'n that's all that matters."