Author's Note: Sorry for a lack of updates here, guys! I've been working a lot and life has been stressing me out.

If you guys want to catch up with where I currently am in this series of stories, feel free to check out my Archive of Our Own! I have more stories in this AU publishes there!

Hope you enjoy! This one is a Miragehound chapter!

Mirage looked down at his hands as he leaned against the wall near the door to his quarters. He fiddled with his gloves and adjusted the gear he wore a bit. Mirage looked to the door next to his, seeing the name of the person it belonged to written on it. "Bloodhound." He smiled softly at reading that name.

Mirage and his team of Wraith and Bloodhound had secured another victory earlier that day, and were getting ready to head to a celebration with their friends at a local bar. The three had made the best play they could and it had really paid off. This was especially true considering how well Bloodhound and Mirage worked together.

I mean, they were together, after all.

Mirage hadn't meant to fall in love with them. Hell, he hadn't meant to fall in love at all during his time in the Apex Games. He usually had a preference for females, Wraith catching his eye for a while. However, she had made it clear she wasn't looking for romance with anyone. Lifeline was a good person, but she clearly had other preferences with the way she looked at Bangalore.

Elliot had just about given up and decided he wasn't gonna fall in love during these games.

But that had changed when he met Bloodhound.

The hunter was mysterious, no doubt about that. But he had heard the rumors and legends. He had to admit, not knowing anything about them for sure was pretty cool. However, this wasn't what made him fall head over heels.

It was how they cared for their comrades. It was how they fought for those they cared about. It was their personality; calm, collected, stubborn, loyal, and everything else that was under that exterior. It was everything about them that made Mirage fall in love.

But the deal sealer?

Their beautiful face.

Mirage was in shock when he first saw them without a mask. They had been in a round of the games when Bloodhound's mask was shot and fell apart. And then, he saw them, really saw them. A pale complexion with cerulean blue eyes that looked like jewels in the sunlight. Their long white hair was tied in a braid that fell over their shoulder and earrings matching the ornaments on their mask hung from their ears. A tattoo was written on their cheek. He later learned it was a magical symbol that meant, "to make your enemies afraid."

Bloodhound seemed shocked for a moment, before their surprise turned into a deep scowl and they called upon the Allfather to use their Ultimate. Mirage watched in shock as the hunter tore their opponents to shreds and when all was said and done, he just sat there, dumbfounded.

The time after that, over the past year or so, Mirage had made his move and the two had become close. He simply gave small cute gestures as a way to flirt, but eventually turned that flirting into gifts and compliments. Bloodhound didn't seem to understand at first, but soon returned the feelings.

It was after a year that they became an item, and Bloodhound admitted to him that they had never felt this way about anyone. They were surprised, but grateful to find someone as wonderful as Elliot. And he knew that they were right for him, too.

Speak of the devil…

Bloodhound emerged from their room, pushing open the door and looking around. They were without their mask again, their hair in its usual braid and earrings dangling. Their eyes met Elliot's and they smiled. "Hello, my darling," came their Icelandic accent in a sweet voice.

Mirage smiled and place a kiss on their forehead. "Hey, babe. How you doin'?"

Bloodhound place a hand on their hip. "Fine, thank you. Where are we going for the celebration?"

"Well, Gibraltar found this great little bar on the outskirts of the Skull sector, and he reserved a little spot for us all. I said, 'Hey, sounds fun!'"

Bloodhound gave a sly little smirk, and turned their head to a nearby window. It was at that moment that Mirage noticed something:

Had they been crying?

Mirage gently placed a hand on their shoulder and they looked up at him in confusion. Mirage frowned in concern. "Hound… you okay?"

The hunter raised a brow. "I'm fine, dear. Why do you ask?"

"Because it looks like you were crying. Your eyes are puffy and I see tracks on your cheeks."

Bloodhound tensed greatly and turned their head away. "It's nothing."

Mirage frowned again and turned them to face him, placing hands on their shoulders. "Hound, what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything."

The hunter thought for a moment. "Can we… talk in my quarters?"

The trickster nodded and followed his partner into their room. He shut the door behind them before turning back to Bloodhound, seeing them shaking as they looked at the floor. He hadn't seen them like this before and it worried him.

Mirage watched Bloodhound sigh and look up at him. "Elliot… I'm not perfect, am I?"

He knitted his brows. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not healthy enough to even be fighting in these games, and… I hate my body."

Ah, body dysphoria. It was something they had talked about before with Mirage and they said they had dealt with it for a long time. Mirage still didn't know what they born as, but they said that for a long time, that haven't liked their body.

There was also the fact that, with them being albino, they weren't always in perfect health. They got sick at times, but pushed through it until the games were over.

All this made Bloodhound feel like they weren't perfect, and they had confessed this to Mirage many times before. However, this time, it seemed like it was making them feel worse than he had ever seen.

Mirage stepped closer and ran a hand along their hair, fingers tracing down the braid over their shoulder. "Babe, you know that you're perfect in every way to me. You're beautiful, you're strong, you can do anything and shouldn't let that stop you." He gently cupped their face with his hands. "Why are you thinking about that?"

"During the games, when I went off by myself, and there was someone in a squad that was flaunting about how proud they were of their body. It made me feel… like…"

"Like shit?"

A nod was given.

Elliot could see their eyes watering again and he saw tears roll down their face. Bloodhound suddenly sobbed and pulled Mirage close to them, their face buried in his chest and loud sobs escaping their lips. Mirage put his arms out to his sides in surprise, looking down at the shorter hunter with his brows raised. He could feel them shaking and their body making little movements with their ragged breaths.

"Shit! What do I do?!" he asked himself mentally. He had never seen Bloodhound this upset and he felt his heart breaking. He wanted to punch whoever it was that had made his partner feel like this, and he couldn't help but huff. No one should ever have to feel like this, especially someone he cared about.

Slowly, Mirage put his arms around the hunter. He held them close and ran fingers through their hair, trying to calm them. He used his other hand to rub their back and made soft whispers of reassurance.

It took some time, but soon the hunter was calm. They were holding onto the belt on his chest, the side of their head against his torso. They sniffled a little bit, their eyes half closed and hazy. Mirage ran his hand along their hair again. He gently rocked them until they looked up at him. Elliot smiled softly, wiping tears from their eyes. "Hound?"

A small, "Yes?"

"I want you to listen to me, and listen good."

"I'm listening, dear."

He placed a hand on their cheek, running his fingers over the stave tattooed on their face. "You're beautiful. I've told you this, but it's so true. You shouldn't be ashamed of your body, and you shouldn't be so angry about your health. I know you do everything you can to make sure you're healthy, and I know you don't like how you were born. But you know what?"

"What?"

"You're perfect to me. What you were born as doesn't matter, and you've done your best to stay healthy. And that makes me happy. You have to remember that what others say doesn't matter. You are you and you are beautiful and I love everything about you. You're perfect just the way you are."

Bloodhound had listened intently to every word and they looked up at him in bewilderment. Something about Mirage's words were… very comforting. He somehow always knew how to make them feel better and that was one of the things they loved about him. More tears fell from their eyes, but they were happy ones. They pulled Mirage into a hug. "Thank you, darling. I love you so much."

Mirage set his chin on their head. "Love you too, babe." He pet their hair again, before placing a kiss on their head. After a few moments, he pulled away and pointed a thumb towards the door. "You ready to go celebrate?"

Bloodhound nodded and took his hand. This was supposed to be a happy night, and they would make sure everything was perfect.

Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!