Hi! Sorry it took me so long to actually submit an ask. I hope it’s not too late to submit a request for the LADS fic request event. I was falling down a rabbit hole trying to pick just 2 prompts but if you still have availability I would love to see Whump #5 and 9 with Zayne(any version). I love angst with him, he’s just built for it (tragically).
My mc’s name is Scarlette, but it doesn’t need to be used in the fic.
Tysm in advance. Happy (likely late by this point) birthday! This is such a fun event!
Thanks for your request! Here is some captured Zayne angst for you ^_^ Hope you enjoy!
~~~~~~~
Scarlette’s heart pounded as she rushed toward the other Hunters who were currently set up around the small clinic, discussing their next move.
“What’s going on?” she demanded. “I just got back from a hunt and the captain said there was a situation that needed to be taken care of?”
She had recently been sent to a smaller town with several other Hunters from Linkon to help out with a recent peak in Wanderer attacks. As it turned out, Zayne had also been asked to consult on several cases of Protocore disease so she’d been even happier to go, knowing her boyfriend wasn’t far away.
Well, she had been happy until she got news that something was happening at the clinic where Zayne was supposed to be working.
One of the local Hunters looked up at her with a sort of helpless expression. “There’s some kind of hostage situation going on inside. The place is currently on lockdown but someone managed to get an emergency message out. We’re trying to hack into the cameras right now to see what’s going on.”
“Do you know if anyone’s been injured?”
The Hunter shook her head. “There hasn’t been any communication yet.”
Scarlette tried to calm herself, knowing that Zayne was rational, and smart, and he would be okay.
But he was also a self-sacrificing idiot and if the other doctors or patients were put in danger…
Her phone rang, startling her. As she pulled it out of her pocket, relief flooded her as she saw Zayne’s name. She hurriedly answered.
“Zayne?!”
“Are you with the other Hunters out front?” he asked without greeting.
“Yeah, but are you—”
“Put it on speaker.”
Confused, she beckoned the other Hunters to her and put the phone on speaker.
“Okay, it’s on speaker.”
“They want me to make demands for them,” Zayne said. His voice was stoic, but Scarlette could tell he was barely biting back his anger. “They’re asking for a transport vehicle.”
“Who are you?” demanded one of the Hunters. “Why are you doing this?”
Scarlette shot him a look, motioning to be quiet.
“I’m not at liberty to say,” Zayne said carefully, tension obvious.
There was a sudden grunt and the dull sound of flesh being struck before another voice came over the line. “Just bring the stuff—don’t ask questions or we start taking out the doctors.”
The call ended and Scarlette instantly turned to the other Hunters. “Get them the van.”
“What? But—”
“You think they’ll stop at the medical staff if they don’t get what they want?” she insisted. “We’ll hide a tracker on it and find them at their next location, but I’m not interested in playing with good people’s lives today.”
Please be okay, Zayne, she pleaded silently as she watched the local Hunters calling for the vehicle.
Another call came, making her heart pound even more.
“Where’s that van?” came the gruff voice.
“Ten minutes, it’s coming,” Scarlette said. “If you can start letting the staff out…”
“No! They stay until we get out of here.”
She pressed her lips together as the call ended again, but the van at least showed up at the proper time. She could see a figure in the window of the clinic, watching for a second before it disappeared. Soon, several people exited the back door and made their way to the van.
Dragging Zayne along with them.”
“They have Doctor Zayne as a hostage,” Scarlette said, just as her phone rang again.
“We’re keeping your surgeon until we get out of here safely,” the leader said. “If you try anything, he dies.”
Scarlette felt ice wash her insides but all she could do was watch as they shoved Zayne into the back of the van with several crates then drove off.
“Go inside and make sure everyone is alright,” one of the Hunters delegated the task to several of their members then hurried off.
Scarlette instantly went over to the man who was tracking the criminals and Zayne. “Is it working?”
“Yeah, they’re heading north,” he said.
She felt like she wanted to vomit. Maybe the tracker had been a bad idea; if they found it they would certainly kill Zayne.
Several of the nurses were gathered outside, talking to the Hunters.
“They wanted the Protocores we have in storage. This is the only place we keep a large amount of them in town.”
“When they tried to threaten us, Doctor Zayne stepped in and offered himself as a hostage—he’s so brave…”
Scarlette felt her stomach twist in a strange mix of fury and pride.
She wanted to yell at Zayne for being reckless—and maybe she would when she finally found him—but the other part of her loved that about Zayne. How he always protected those around him. It was an admirable trait despite the anxiety it brought her.
She turned back toward the Hunter tracking the van and saw him frowning.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s stopped,” he said.
Scarlette looked at the screen, seeing the dot stopped at a spot slightly off the road about five miles down from the clinic.
“Do you think they found the tracker—”
The Hunter didn’t even get to finish his thought before Scarlette was already heading toward a vehicle. “We need to go now!”
The drive was tense, the anxiety threatening to overcome her. When she saw the van on the side of the road, smashed into several trees, she barely waited for the vehicle to stop before she was out, and rushing toward it.
“Zayne?!”
She pulled her gun, reaching for the back door of the van when she saw frost covering the vehicle.
Holding her breath, she flung the door open.
Inside, the criminals had been trapped, coated in a layer of ice. Zayne lay on the floor of the van, hands zip-tied behind him, blood coating the side of his face.
Scarlette climbed in. “Zayne? Zayne!”
His eyes fluttered open and he smiled up at her briefly. “Took you long enough.”
***
Back at the clinic, Scarlette tended to Zayne’s injuries. There was nothing major, but he’d been banged up when the car crashed.
“Do I have a concussion?” he asked as she flashed a light in his eyes.
“No,” she replied. “Does your head hurt?”
“Mm, a bit,” Zayne admitted.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Zayne!” Scarlette suddenly burst out as she picked up a swatch of gauze to clean the cut on his forehead. “You—they could have killed you!”
“I was hardly going to let them put the rest of the medical staff or patients in danger,” Zayne said firmly. “You would have done the same.”
Scarlette looked down as she threw the gauze away and searched for some band aids. She knew he was right. “That doesn’t mean it didn’t scare me,” she muttered.
Zayne reached out and took her hand, squeezing gently before he tugged her closer to him. “It’s only natural to fear for those you care about. I’m always scared for you when you go out on missions too. But both of our jobs are very important; the danger shouldn’t keep us from doing them.”
Scarlette sighed. “I always know that no matter what happens you’ll tend my injuries when I get back.”
“And I know that a certain brave Hunter will come find me if I get into trouble.” Zayne smiled fondly.
Scarlette managed to smile back, placing a bandage over the cut on his head before she leaned in to kiss him.
He leaned back on the exam bed with a sigh as she turned to clean up the medical supplies and wash her hands. She found some pain pills for Zayne’s head and got him a glass of water.
“Can I get you anything else?” she asked him gently as he took the medicine without complaint.
His hand found hers, tugging her close to his side. “Just…stay with me.”
It was soft with an underlying sense of need Zayne rarely betrayed. Scarlette felt herself melt as she climbed onto the bed beside him and cuddled into his side. “Always.”
