Diamonds in the Rough

7.

"You could at least act like you're helping"

Hope crossed her arms, "and steal your thunder? I'm sorry, I'm just not that kind of person"

"Sometimes I wonder if you're even a person" Mike muttered, turning his attention back to the collapsed wall.

"Oh, I am" Hope said, smiling, "which is why I'm standing quietly instead of yelling at you for getting us trapped here in the first place"

"They used a kid as bait" Mike winced as his palm scraped against the rock he was trying to detach from the landslide, "it was instinct"

"Well, whatever it was, it's going to kill us if we can't get out of here in the next seven minutes so chop chop"

"I don't know how you're so calm about this" Mike said, "if this doesn't work, you're going to die too"

"Would me freaking out make you feel better?"

Mike sighed, "not really"

Hope stepped forward, "okay I guess you've learned your lesson about not helping random strangers, I'll take care of this"

Mike stared at her incredulously as she shut her eyes and the pile of rocks blocking the entrance crumbled into dust.

She smiled at him sweetly, "after you"

"How?"

Hope shrugged, "I don't know, just sort of happened one day"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to"

Mike bit his tongue as they made their way out of their prison. Hope was annoying, that was for sure. But she'd also singlehandedly saved them from a situation that had been admittedly Mike's fault.

"There's the entrance" Hope said, pointing to a circle of light at the far end of the corridor.

Mike hesitated, this place gave him the creeps and he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, but the memory of that little boy's face before he was whisked away out of Mike's reach haunted him. He had been bait, but it wasn't of his own volition.

"I'll meet you outside" he said, before he could stop himself.

Hope looked at him like he was crazy, "what?"

"I need to find the kid, just wait for me outside, I'll be out in a flash"

"And what if you're not?"

"So, you care about me now?"

"No, you idiot, you're the only one who can fly the plane, you die, and I'll be stranded on this godforsaken island forever"

"Oh" Mike straightened up, "then you're going to have to come with me cause I'm not leaving without him"

Hope groaned, "what is wrong with you hero types? Can't you just leave things alone?"

Mike didn't bother to answer her. He made his way down the opposite end of the corridor, knowing she would follow him.

He peered around the next turn, hearing voices. Hope rolled her eyes but followed his lead, flattening herself against the wall.

The boy was sitting on the floor, drawing circles in the dirt. His SpongeBob T shirt was dirty and crumpled and the sleeve had a huge tear. He looked up and briefly caught Mike's eye before resuming his drawing.

Mike faced Hope, "okay here's the plan"

Hope listened for the few minutes, cocking her head, the way she always did when she was concentrating. Then she shook her head, "screw the plan"

Before he could stop her, she sauntered out, in full view of the guards. They barely had time to grab their weapons before the roof exploded, showering them with debris.

Cursing under his breath, Mike ran to the boy, scooped him up and ran back to where Hope was standing.

"Oh no"

Mike pulled the kid closer to him, "what is it? What happened?"

"I think I just felt an emotion"

"You have GOT to be kidding me"

He took off in the direction of the entrance, panting a little, with the extra weight of the boy and after surveying the silent room one last time, Hope followed him.

************************

As soon as he reached the plane, Mike thrust the kid into Hope's arms, "hold him while I check the controls"

The kid stared pointedly at her, without saying a word and Hope sighed, "I just committed mass murder for you, I hope you're happy"

She grinned as Mike's head shot up from the cockpit, "what?"

"Relax, they're not dead. They'll probably wake up with monster headaches though"

Mike shook his head, "I had a plan, you should have at least told me"

Hope raised an eyebrow, "let me make one thing clear, we are NOT a team, just two people who ended up in a bad situation because of one person's stupidity"

Mike resumed his tinkering, "look at the kid and tell me you're not glad we rescued him"

The boy chose that moment to point to the shore and yell, "water"

Hope chuckled, "yeah, you're a genius"

Mike strapped himself to his seat, "okay we're all set"

Hope climbed into the plane, settling the kid on her lap. He seemed to relax in her grip and Hope felt herself feeling a new emotion. He then began wiping his hands on her pale blue shirt and she scowled at him as Mike laughed.

When they touched the mainland, the boy's parents were there, courtesy of the picture Mike had snapped off on the way and the efficiency of the police department.

As the mom took the kid from her, tears rolling down her cheeks, Hope felt a twinge of what could only be described as warmth.

Mike appeared next to her, "what's the matter? Feeling another new emotion?"

Hope glared at him, "one more word and the only emotion you'll be feeling is pain"

"Well technically pain isn't..."

"Shut up nerd"

Mike grinned, "love you too"

Prompt retrieved from thefakeredhead.com