[@Estylwen][@WhiteAngel25][@Days]

[color=gray][h1]Les Misérables[/h1][/color]

Thierry stood there quietly as he'd finally managed to calm himself. Still shaken from his husband's most recent breakdown, but sturdy with years- [i]decades[/i]- worth of reactive discipline. He stood quietly, but exhaled with purpose. Keeping his husband close, if not painfully tight, but Nick didn't have an adverse reaction to the pressure. The fact that Nick stayed limp, where he'd normally be fussing, set off Thierry's temper, but only mentally.

Nick was never much for close contact. Things like French kissing had been more of a recent commodity, despite marriage. It'd been years of therapy before even holding hands. But Nick in his arms like this, reminded Thierry of why he'd chosen to come down here in the first place. Because sure, he absolutely could have sent several agents in his place. But knowing Nick's single biggest fear, [i]abandonment[/i], was why he was here.

Some of Thierry's emotional state went to being frustrated with himself. Frustrated at the idea that he wasn't the complete backbone that he thought he was, that he felt he needed to be, for Nick's sake. He cursed himself for having a panic attack; for showing signs of weakness. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have been so hard on himself, even happy to show Nick that being a man didn't mean lacking feelings. But he had a gut feeling that Galloes was watching through one of his many drones and got a kick out of watching him be so emotionally pained. Then a rather cold thought crossed his mind. [i]Well at least Galloes will see what he can never have. C'est la vie.[/i] Hopefully Galloes was too much of an idiot to realize the true reason for Nick's social withdraw, but more importantly, wouldn't be able to use it against him.

And another half was spent damning the ground Von Galloes walked on, no, the very air that man breathed. It was one thing to target The Louvre. It was a very brash move indeed, to take on such a well-respected institution, but still not completely personal in nature. But to directly target his husband? There was a very good chance that Thierry was thinking of things to do to Galloes that may land him being sent to prison, or worse... [i]fired[/i]. There are rules every gentleman should follow in a gunfight, or at least that was The Louvre's golden standard.

While Ramses and Aaron followed Stella and #3, with Thierry's blessing, the Frenchman still hadn't budged. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't leave Nick here, but he also couldn't drag Nick underwater in his current semiconscious state. There had been a moment where he briefly thought of getting Nick to his feet and doing just that, but upon finding the soft spot on Nick's skull, his heart all but literally broke. The doctor who'd worked on him hadn't shaved his head, but there was still a quarter-sized piece of skull that was loose. Thierry looked around the hallway, picking his shattered heart back up in the process. He realized he'd have to double back as sitting around while waiting for Nick to be functional again, simply wasn't an option.

As Stella screamed about the grenades, Ramses fell into Aaron trying to figure out what was going on. Damn near electrocuting both of them in the process. Catching both his own footing and then grabbing at Aaron's jacket, he pulled his gun of choice out. Several rounds went off in the monster's direction, but the bullets simply ricocheted along the walls, causing both Ramses and Aaron to fall into each other once more. Stella's yelling hadn't caught Thierry's cursed thoughts of what he had planed for Galloes, but the gunfire did. Yelling could happen for no real reason, bullets on the other hand, meant imminent danger.

Normal people would probably freak out at the idea of a crocodile. This was no normal crocodile, let alone man. And it was headed straight in his direction. Thierry's initial reaction? [i]Target Practice.[/i] He recognized the [i]dark energy[/i] pattern of the scales. With little reaction time, but well aware of what could and couldn't kill this monster, Thierry calmly tapped on his watch and pulled out his bazooka, leaving behind a few other choice weapons. He'd save the grenade launcher for Nick, but was willing to fight over the flame thrower.

One rocket was all it took to send a shock wave through the hall. The blast shook the water, causing a bit of a splash, [b]"This is were I leave you."[/b] Thierry finally said to the other agents as black soot particles fell gently like snow, [b]"Be careful that you don't get electrocuted, mauled or worse, [i]fired[/i]! And take care of the girls, well, maybe Stella has herself together."[/b] Well... at least he tried to have a sense of humor despite the seriousness of the situation.

[b]"I'll send you a map of the facility once we reestablish database connection. And request support as well."[/b] Ramses nodded as he pulled Aaron to his feet.

[b]"I fully expect you to keep that asshole alive."[/b] Aaron said while readjusting his laptop bag, referring to his brother, [b]"I'll be waiting on the surface."[/b]

[b]"Right."[/b] Thierry failed to mention that he already had one as he readjusted Nick in his arms. He picked the man clean up like a sleeping oversized toddler. This parental motion came naturally to him as he'd had three biological children with his ex-wife. Comically, Nick was the youngest of the lot. He finally spoke to both Voidlight agents, [b]"Tell Dragon I said, [i]thank you for the bomb[/i] and that Voidlight is [i]always welcome to work with The Louvre[/i]."[/b] He said with a charming smile before turning to go back into the depths of the facility.

Thierry didn't bother to ask if any of the agents were willing to double back as well. He felt it simply wasn't fair to risk their lives for Von Galloes' entertainment. If Galloes wanted something a bit more personal, [i]he certainly had it[/i]. The inhale didn't remain shallow as he was fully aware that he and Nick might just be out of time. But at least Nick couldn't refute Thierry's feelings for him in death.