It was pure chance that Noric spotted them. Two imposing figures violently attacking someone in an alleyway would obviously tip off a member of the Clean Up Crew. Bit found himself having significant trouble keeping focus as the ogre and snake-man continued to rain blows down on him, laughing the entire time. Bit nearly went catatonic when he saw a handful of orcs beelining towards him. But their immense concern broke through, surprising Bit as, for once, another’s emotions leaked into his thoughts. He desperately tried to focus as the orcs began yelling at his attackers. They blessedly abandoned their assault on him as the orcs began trying to fend them off. 

Their shouts of protest were muffled by the roar in Bit’s ears. At that point he wasn’t certain if it was the adrenaline, possible concussion, or the rain that continued to pour down. Though his vision was somewhat blurry, he clearly saw his attackers draw their pistols on the orcs. The orcs that were trying to help him. The orcs that reminded him so vividly of Dren.

 Bit saw red. 

In an instant, the immense energy that had been held back by his now ruined collar was unleashed. A cacophonous blast of sound shattered the windows of both buildings that surrounded the group from ground to sky. Raining powdered glass down into the alleyway. At the same moment a vicious bolt of lightning struck Bit as he steadied himself on bloody knees. Along the ground and from his now glowing eyes this selfsame electricity surged toward the pair of Tyger Claws. Bit briefly saw their looks of fear before they were blown away by the full force of a stormfront. The water, wind, and lightning danced around the small group of orcs with ease, leaving them dazed yet unscathed. 

The Tyger Claws were far less lucky, finding themselves slammed into the ruined buildings with all of their cybernetics violently burning out. This just before being blown from the alley by violent winds emanating from the now panting and electrified half-dragon. Bit registered that the orcs were alright for the moment, and his instincts fully consumed him. Mist and static converged around Bit and the orcs, forming a wall of hard light. Bit could faintly hear words from the orcs around him, yet they could not reach him.

 Dren and Taloch arrived, uncertain what they would find. A giant barrier of statically charged mist in the shape of an eastern dragon in the middle of a torrential downpour was not quite in their expectations. A large group of their Clean Up Crew were gathered around the outside, attempting and failing to breach this barrier. Dren was first to the group, approaching one of his younger cousins who was currently speaking to someone through her phone implant. 

“What the hell is happening?” Dren shouted over the deafening storm. The shorter orc turned to him with a concerned look on her face. 

“No fucking clue!” she yelled, “One minute we were running to help some of the guys, the next the tyger bitches were flung out of the alley half charred and this was in the way!” She gestured to the alleyway. 

“Who all is in there?” Taloch asked from his position behind Dren. The orc held up a finger as she repeated the question to whoever she had been talking to. After a moment she turned back to Taloch and Dren. 

“Ok, so sounds like your Bit is the cause of whatever the hell this is. He’s in the center. Three of our guys are in there too. They’re injured but mostly from some weak ass punches from the tygers before this happened.” She relayed. 

“How’s Bit?” Dren asked anxiously. She grimaced before answering. 

“He’s in really rough shape, and is completely out of it.” She glanced back at the draconic barrier, “Not even sure he understands what he’s doing right now.” Dren and Taloch exchanged a look before dismissing the orc and marching towards the barrier. The heavy rain and violent winds made it difficult for them to get close enough to interact. Suddenly, Dren perked up. 

“Tal, I got an idea!” Dren announced. Taloch glanced down at him confused as Dren pointed upwards at the surrounding buildings. “Windows are busted, we could drop down from above.” Taloch looked horrified at the notion before glancing back at the alleyway. The head of the misty dragon seemed to be glaring at them in defiance. 

“That is a horrible idea!” Taloch shouted back. Dren gave him a flat look. 

“Got a better one?”

“No…”

The pair quickly made their way to one of the buildings, slipping through the shattered window and into a now ruined office space. The pair wasted no time in dashing for the stairs. It took six floors to clear the top of the barrier. The pair looked down into the eye of the storm to see the trio of orcs leaning against a dumpster and Bit hovering in place with light pouring from his body. 

“Holy shit…” Dren muttered. Taloch merely nodded in agreement. “Right, how the fuck we gettin’ down there?” He asked. Toloch tore his gaze away from the remarkable sight to stare at his husband incredulously. 

“You didn't think of that before suggesting we come up here?” He demanded, earning him a shrug and smirk from Dren for his trouble. Taloch frantically looked around the alleyway, eyes landing again on the dumpster. The lids had been blown off at some point, by the storm Taloch reasoned. It was piled high with garbage. Instantly, Taloch knew what they had to do. 

“Ok, Fuck! We have to jump.” Taloch relayed. “Aim for the trash.” Dren looked at the minotaur with a look of strained disgust before nodding. 

“Shit…”

“Most likely.” Taloch responded before bracing himself. “The things we do for love.” He muttered, earning a hearty laugh from Dren. The duo clasped hands before sprinting through the room. With a mighty leap they emerged from the ruined building. Sailing past the howling winds and crackling static, they landed squarely in the dumpster. The pair were dazed slightly as they clambered out of the garbage, covered in things that neither wanted to focus on. Dren turned to the trio sitting by the dumpster, surprised to find one of his brother’s boyfriend among them.

“Shit, Wriggle you ok?” Dren called. The lanky orc gave him a shaky smile and a thumbs up. “Hold tight!” Dren called to them. With that, Dren and Taloch turned to Bit. He hovered in the air, glowing with static light. His clothes, a ruined pair of sweatpants and a torn and burned shirt that Taloch vaguely recognized as one of his. His body was covered in grim and dark bruises. Scratches and scrapes marred his body. His knees were covered in blood that dribbled down his legs. 

“Fuck…” Taloch breathed “What did they do to you?” They approached cautiously, going as slow as they could force themselves to. Their immediate instinct of rushing forward to protect him from everything in the world was just barely restrained. “Bit, can you hear us?” Taloch said. Bit’s head turned to face them, eyes still glowing with pale violet light. 

“Little Bit, it’s ok.” Dren called. “You’re safe, the guys are safe, we’re here.” The light around bit slowly dimmed as his body fully faced them midair. 

“We’re here for you, you can let go.” Taloch encouraged. Bit seemed to spasm as his eyes scrunched up. The glow behind them dissipated as tears began to freely flow down his bruised cheeks. Bit fell from the air, landing in Dren and Taloch’s arms as they surged forward to catch him. The storm began to subside as the barrier dissolved into nothing but thin mist around them. The other members of the Clean Up Crew began to flow into the alley, quickly extracting Wriggle and the other two orcs that had tried to defend Bit. 

Minutes later they were tearing through the streets with an unconscious Bit in Dren’s lap as they raced to Nip and Tuck’s. Having called ahead, the duo were waiting for them when they arrived. Immediately taking Bit into their clinic to begin their work. Bandaging, cleaning, disinfecting, suturing, and stitching all of Bit’s wounds took hours. But, eventually, they had done it. When Dren and Taloch were allowed to enter, they both nearly fell to their knees. Bit’s knees and arms were wrapped tightly in bandages and gauze. The left side of his face was a dark purple, and deep bags under his eyes stood out starkly. Taloch was first to approach, gently caressing Bit’s uninjured cheek. 

“He’s a strong one, I’ll give him that.” Tuck muttered from where he was washing his hands. “But he’ll need a lot of rest.” He said, turning to face the trio. “We had to give him an impromptu sponge bath to properly disinfect the wounds, but we’re sending you home with some heavy-duty waterproof gauze.” Tuck said as he made his way over to one of the cabinets. 

“Also, we’ve been working on a new collar since you called us over for his last checkup.” Nip chimed in, bringing over a purple collar with a gold ring hanging from the front. The inner section was lined with comfortable looking faux fur. “Don’t put it on for another few hours, we need to let all that energy he was building up out. But this one should allow for better regulation.” She said with confidence. 

“Thanks guys” Dren managed to choke out as he took the collar, turning it over in his hands. He sidled up to Taloch, wrapping an arm around the taller man’s waist. After a few more hours of ensuring Bit was stable, they took him back to the apartment. Bit stirred as they rode the elevator up, letting out a small pained sound as he cuddled into Taloch’s chest. 

“It’s alright, Bit, you’re safe.” Taloch murmured as the elevator doors opened. Dren quickly excused himself to prepare a broth for them while Talock ferried Bit to the bathroom to change his bandages. After securing his wounds with the water-proof gauze, Taloch carefully lowered Bit into the shower. Removing the sheet that Tuck and Nip had given them to cover him. Taloch stripped as well in order to properly clean the smaller man. He sat behind the hybrid, letting him lean back against his chest as the minotaur washed Bit’s hair. Weeks of grime and dirt peeled away as Taloch continued to carefully clean him. 

“Is it alright if I clean up everywhere?” Taloch asked in a soft voice. Bit merely nodded against him. Taloch cleaned methodically, too distracted by the angry dark splotches around the bandages to think of anything else. Some distant part of his mind was slowly realizing the situation he was in, but he was determined to deal with the inevitable horny episodes later. It seemed Dren had a similar thought process as he entered the bathroom with a thermos of fragrant broth. 

“Made sure it was lukewarm, so you can go ahead and drink some.” Dren said as he sat at the edge of the shower and held the thermos towards them. “Can you drink some for me, Little Bit?” he asked. Bit again nodded, his eyes barely open and clearly tired. Dren scooted closer, not caring if his clothes were getting wet. A gentle hand maneuvered Bit’s mouth to the thermos and the hybrid drank with a quiet murmur of joy at the taste. After a moment, the broth was set aside. Steam filled the room as Taloch finished his menstruations. 

“Bit,” Taloch whispered, holding the hybrid to his chest as hot water poured over them. “Why did you leave?” He asked. Bit, clearly reaching a breaking point, began to cry. His grief and regret flowing through the room like a river, enveloping Dren and Taloch. They shushed him in tandem. Hushed whispers and reassurances paired with questions of what he wanted. The water was shut off as Dren retrieved the new collar at Bit’s request. He was dried and dressed in one of Dren’s shirts and the new collar. The trio still sat on the floor of the bathroom, Bit nestled in the crossed legs of Taloch while Dren gently rubbed his sore feet. Finally, Bit spoke. 

“I, I was afraid.” He said, his already quiet voice roughened from his injuries. “The doctor said I would be a burden to you.” Bit said, look from Dren to Taloch. “I didn’t want to be.” He hiccuped, tears spilling from his eyes again. Taloch tightened his hold on Bit as he spoke with deep conviction. 

“You are not, and cannot be a burden to us.” He said as Dren moved forward to take Bit’s hand into his own. 

“We want you here, with us.” Dren affirmed, moving closer to them. Bit found himself nestled between the two as he cried. He barely noticed as they carried him into their room. Carefully and gently, Dren and Taloch settled Bit onto their bed with several pillows that had at one point been in Bit’s room. Then, Bit’s eyes shot open as Taloch kissed him. Softly and full of pure affection. He pulled back to look down at Bit with the most gentle eyes. It was soon followed by an equally tender kiss from Dren. As they both pulled back and helped Bit to better lay back against the pillows, he let out a small ‘oh’. 

“Yeah, oh.” Dren chuckled, undoing his braids and stripping to his underwear as he crawled in beside Bit. Taloch simply chuckled softly as he lay on Bit’s other side. Carefully nuzzling Bit’s bruised cheek. 

“Get some sleep little one, we’ll keep you safe.” Taloch whispered. Bit, surrounded by warmth and love, did just that.