22
It wasn't until Quark was out of breath that they stopped. The chill in the air was just as frigid, but now the clouds parted for the sweet sanctuary of the sun's warmth. He pushed himself just a few feet further, to the break of a canopy.
He collapsed, Leo still in his arms. Pulse held him, brushing and smoothing Leo's hair out of her face in the same motion.
"You okay?" Pulse spoke low and hurried.
Quark was quick to start looking her over. The tips of her fingers were still bright red, but they had color. 'Thank goodness.' The rotted vines fell off her wrists at some point during the escape. Blood trickled slowly out of the open holes of her flesh; Leo refused to look at it.
"Fuck, fuck," Quark took a breath to quell the panic. "Let's wrap this up real quick."
When he began to tear off the hems of his sleeves and Pulse started shedding his jacket to drape over Leo's shoulders was when she finally spoke. "It's okay, I'm fine."
“Fine?” Quark was flabbergasted. “You're hurt...”
"It's—it's nothing. I've dealt with worse. It's—"
Both Pulse and Quark embraced her. They hugged her as tight as they could without hurting her.
"Don't you dare lie to us," Pulse murmured into her hair. "Don't you dare tell us you're okay when it's not."
"We are here for you, Leo," Quark took the fabric from his sleeve and wrapped it around her wrists. "You need to understand that we are here."
“You don't have to tell us it's okay when it's not.”
“You deserve better than that.”
The moments unfurled little by little. The shock began to trickle off her cheeks and into their shoulders. The vibrant green of her eyes glistened like emeralds. “Guys...”
Quark kissed her on the lips as Pulse kissed her on the head. Both cried with Leo, their tears flowing freely onto her skin. Tears from stars are warmer, brilliant, glittery and colorful. Drops of blue, pink, and yellow–like opals soaking into her shirt and falling onto her skin.
“Leo, it's okay.” Quark's voice wavered while cupping her cheek. “We won't let anyone or anything hurt you again. Ever.”
“But—”
“It's non-negotiable. You deserve so much more than what you've dealt with. You deserve so much love, so much kindness...”
Leo was failing to keep herself from hiccuping. “What if—but you two...”
“We love you,” Quark shushed her again with a kiss. “We love you so much...”
"You are so fucking amazing, Leo," Pulse had their arms around both Leo and Quark, sharing their intense heat with them. "You mean the whole universe to us. As long as we are alive, you will be safe."
“We will protect you.”
“We will love you.”
“Forever.”
Leo clutched their clothes, burying her face into Quark's shoulder.
There was a small effort on her part to pull herself away.
Regain some composer and summon her strength.
She accepted Pulse's warmth, Quark kisses on her cheeks, their tears on her skin and hair, melting away the cold and ice that plagued her.
Sobs escaped her, and Quark and Pulse only continued to hold her.
Quark could not fathom why such an amazing person should suffer so much on her own.
“You're not alone,” he whispered to her. “You will never be alone again. Not if we can help it.”
Her next sob wasn't gut-wrenching like the others, but amused. "You two are just—I couldn't ask anything better than you."
“You don't have to,” Pulse held her palm to their face. “We will give you all the love in the universe without you ever having to ask.”
Hhe smiled. An extra sob escaped her, but not one of sorrow.
Quark could tell the sudden shift from cold to heat stung her, but she looked happy.
Something about her smile, this particular smile, was the realist Leo Quark has witnessed yet.
Between Pulse and Quark, the stars made a silent vow to always protect Leo.
To stay for as long as eternity allows. Her happiness was all that mattered.
She wasn’t just a dreamer, but she was their dream, too.
'This moment deserved to last forever.'
When the stars felt an unseen force wrap around them, they knew something out there disagreed.
Pulse was the first to go–torn away from their sweethearts, hurled through the air without a moment to resist. Leo grasped Quark by the hand, holding him as the pull tried to yank him away. He was in the air, held between two great forces.
“Quark!”
Her hands were too wet with water and blood to keep a good hold. Quark knew the pull would win.
“We will be back!” He squeezed her fingers. “Wherever you are, we will find you again! We will find you!”
He slipped away from her. There was a blur of trees, then green, until it was only white.