(a/n: Yes I've done a Luna x Lay one before - Lost and Found - which was considerably more centralized on them but this one includes our military team so just keep reading and you'll get to the fluff.  I promise.  ^_^)

“Alright guys,” Sungmin stated, bustling into the training hall excitedly.  “We’ve got a hit on an unidentified MC east of us,” he explained, catching the rest of his team and the other occupants by surprise.

“Yes!” Jonghyun grinned, hopping up and moving quickly to get his gear.

“Hey!” Amber called after him, hurrying along.  “You don’t even know where we’re going yet,” she reminded him.

“No, but we’ll need transportation,” he laughed, jogging out with Amber in pursuit.

“Aish,” Siwon shrugged, strolling after them at a more leisurely pace.  “What’s our time looking like, Captain?” he asked before he’d gotten very far.

“Meet at the launch bay in half an hour,” he instructed, knowing they needed even less time but he was going to give the tagalong a little more to get ready.  “Go on, Joon,” he waved, shooing the taller male off with a raised brow as he looked between the MCProtAgs with a confident smile on his face.

“I’m going, sir,” he waved, saluting the trio who had been watching them play a game of basketball before Sungmin had shown up.  “You’ve got that right, Henry?” he asked, pointing at the ball resting in his hands and jogging off in turn.

“Neh,” the younger agreed, swiping his hair back and moving over to deposit the basketball with the rest of them along the side of the wall in the storage rack.

The blonde turned to regard them, his gaze curious.  “So?  Who’s coming?”

“I want to go!” Yesung volunteered automatically.

“Yesung!” Luna pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as Henry stepped closer and shook his head.

“You went last time.  It’s Luna’s turn, like you agreed,” he gestured, catching Sungmin’s gaze and nodding in acceptance.

“Yay!” she cheered, bouncing in place and then giving Henry a quick hug.  She squeaked and jumped back quickly, laughing at herself when she wrinkled her nose, “You’re all sweaty.”

Yesung rolled his eyes and grumbled at his displacement but couldn’t help but smirk when Henry chuckled.  “That’s what happens when you play basketball,” he grinned, chasing after her as she ran away, shrieking with laughter when he caught her from behind and hugged her tight.

“Henry!” she complained, still smiling.

“Luna,” he copied, letting her go with a gentle push towards the doors to get her moving.  “You should go get ready.  We’ll watch you from the observation deck,” he assured her, turning back to Yesung and Sungmin in good spirits.

The latter was actually smiling, bemused by the exchange while Yesung was just shaking his head.  “You’re a mess,” he snorted at Henry, stepping away when the younger made as if to hug him too, a mischievous grin on his face.  “Don’t even think- Yah!” he cried, fleeing when Henry jogged after him.

Silent and bemused, the Captain watched them leave, exchanging smiles with the handful of occupants also entertained by the interplay between the trio.  He waved at them and laughed at himself, hands swinging lightly at his side as he shook his head.  “They really are a mess.”

Not even thirty minutes later, the group and the fully geared team found themselves standing at the chopper in the launching bay with Joon and Jonghyun sitting in two different cockpits.  Nearly beside herself with excitement, Luna looked between the two, wondering which one she was supposed to be in.  Amber and Siwon clambered into the one with Jonghyun, leaving Joon to grin at the shorter pilot in amusement.

It was obvious that Jonghyun was grumbling under his breath with a mild glare at his companion before he stuck his tongue out playfully and waved his hand, prepping his baby instead.  “Here we go,” Sungmin urged, handing a light vest to Luna and helping her to tighten it with professional ease.  “It’s just a precaution,” he assured her, giving her a reassuring nod as she relaxed somewhat, giggling nervously.

“Come on, Luna,” Joon waved through the window, urging her to join him.

“Coming!” she chirped, hurrying to the chopper with short steps, clambering in uncertainly.

Sungmin looked up at the launch tower and waved at the occupant inside, pointing at the bay doors above.  The mohawked individual waved a confirmation and shortly thereafter, the ceiling opened up, revealing blue skies above them.  Joon and Jonghyun turned the helicopters on, engines whining to life as the propellers started to spin lazily, picking up speed by the second.  He slapped his helmet on and activated his microphone, “How we looking, Jiyong?”

“The sky is clear, the horizon is empty and you’re good to go,” the always happy coms officer responded quickly, lounging in his chair if the languid tone of his voice was any indication.  “Happy flying boys!” he called over their headsets, obviously looking at their position from a satellite view.

“Alright Jong.  Joon.  You heard the man.  Let’s get moving!” Sungmin called, hopping effortlessly into the helicopter and securing himself in place next to Luna so she wouldn’t feel quite so alone.  The interior was more than capable of holding the entire team but if he had the choice, he usually preferred two just in case.

While they were flying, Sungmin gave Luna his helmet so she could keep in contact with Henry, Yesung and Jiyong while they flew.  The coms officer did her the favor of pointing out landmarks she was looking at and her two friends carried on a continual dialogue debating what they were going to find.  Imaging hadn’t actually managed to pick up a clear outline but there was definitely an MC in the area that had taken refuge in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in central Nevada.

Likely, it wasn’t the dragon that Yesung wanted it to be and they knew it wasn’t the mermaid they’d heard about on the beach when they’d visited Donghae who was probably still lounging with Victoria in the cargo area keeping the basilisk company.  Nor would it be a flyer since they reasoned it would search for a higher location where it would have greater mobility and more freedom to fly.  “It would be just your luck that you’ll find the unicorn,” Henry chuckled over the microphone.

“You really think so?” she responded immediately, bouncing in place, catching the Captain actually smile at her reaction.  It had been weeks since she’d last seen him and she kept the hope to herself that it would be the unicorn that had healed her ankle before they’d known about the whole military thing.

“But wasn’t he in the city?” Yesung interjected, clearly not convinced.  “And it’s not like he actually sticks around in one place…”

“Exactly,” his companion reminded him pointedly.

Luna was barely listening, already too excited by the mere prospect of it actually being Yixing for her to pay much attention to them.  Jiyong’s voice crept in over their voices as he caught her attention, “And if you’ll look ahead and to your left, you’ll see the forest where the MC was sighted.”

She gasped in excitement and leaned over, feeling Sungmin’s hand on her shoulder in a reactive steadying measure even though she was strapped in.  “I’m just looking,” she told him quickly, handing his helmet back so that she could see without the distracting sides in her vision as she plastered herself to the window.

Sungmin didn’t actually say anything but he did replace the helmet on his head and got up to look out the side door himself, holding onto one of the handles above.  “Where was it last sighted, Jiyong?” he asked, gesturing for Luna to sit back as he fiddled with the door, getting ready to slide it open.

“Smack dab in the middle of the forest,” the coms officer laughed.  “The satellites were lucky when they caught a glimpse of him walking near the valley.  There’s not much cover there after all, but I don’t think you’ll have room to land though.”

“Ah, that’s what the drop ropes are for,” Joon chimed in, listening to the conversation.

“Hey!  I didn’t get to use one of those,” Yesung yelped, taking over Jiyong’s headset briefly.

“Yesung, give that back,” they heard the muted sound of the coms officer trying to retrieve the headgear.

“You know we can rig a simulation of that in the training hall,” Amber commented dryly from the other helicopter.

A moment of silence passed and then Yesung deflated, “Oh…”

“Are you sure you guys aren’t siblings too?” Siwon chuckled, earning a laugh from both choppers.  Oblivious to the comment, Luna stared out the window hopefully while they heard Yesung’s indignant yelp.

“Calm down,” Sungmin urged, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.  “Joon. Jonghyun.  Begin circling to see what we can find.  Keep an eye on the skies too team.”

“Let’s do this!” Jonghyun cheered loudly, angling his helicopter, and the occupants within, to the side in a sharp turn.  They laughed at the maneuver pulling open the side doors as they held onto the side handles to peer out for a more unobstructed view.

“Nice and easy, Joon,” Sungmin called, opening the door himself and imposing his frame in front of Luna so that there was even less risk of a mishap.  As before, she was searching avidly among the trees and didn’t even notice the courtesy precaution.

Luna noticed they were circling the narrow valley that had trees on both sides and a river at the bottom, considerably further down than she was comfortable with.  Determinedly, she scanned the tree line, positive that she was going to see something.  The fact that the door was open not more than five feet away didn’t even register except for the wind that clawed at her hair and kept throwing it in her face distractedly.

“Nothing yet, sir,” Joon commented, performing another lazy circle above Jonghyun’s considerably more animated chopper.  “Show off,” he chuckled for the other pilot’s ears.

“This?” Jonghyun asked a smile evident in his tone.  “It’s called skill,” he smirked, banking hard again and swooping low, easing over the valley itself and dropping at the edge, surprising his riders.

“Jonghyun!” they cried in tandem.

“You’re fine!” he told them pulling back up and swinging around for another pass.

“Stop showboating,” Sungmin commented quietly, keeping an eye on the other helicopter.

His other pilot sighed and agreed reluctantly, “Yes, Captain.”

“Captain,” Joon called from the front, waving for the blonde to join him in the front.

“Stay here,” he gestured at Luna, placing a calming hand on her shoulder as he stepped by and joined Joon in the cockpit.  “What is it?” he asked, scanning the dash and the skies ahead of them.

“The scanner’s picking something up but it keeps blipping in an out,” he grumbled, pointing at the glowing screen meant to pick up other moving targets.  “See?” he pointed, tapping on the dot that appeared before it disappeared again.

“Jiyong?” Sungmin asked, peering at the screen and then trying to match its placement in the air.

“Nothing I can get a lock on,” he grumbled a trace of concern in his voice.

“We’re seeing it too,” Jonghyun called over, shifting closer to the other helicopter but staying well below them.

“Jonghyun.  Make a pass in that direction.  See if we can flush it out or get a better view,” Sungmin directed, edging back to close the door securely and then hopping into the cockpit to man the minigun himself.  “Get ready Joon,” he commented, narrowing his eyes.  He wouldn’t be surprised to see one of those Atamos goons showing up around here…

“Is everything alright, Captain?” Luna asked, peering around from the back and looking ahead to see what had caught their attention.

“Neh.  Just sit tight, Luna,” Joon encouraged, swinging the helicopter to the left gently.

“Okay…” she hummed to herself, grabbing the strap comfortingly.  She took a calming breath and nodded once, leaning back to stare out the window, one hand pressed to the glass.  A flash of white in the trees caught her eyes, gone before she could be sure she’d even seen it in the first place.  “Captain?” she asked, peering at the spot determinedly, as if willing it to show itself would make it happen.  “Yah!” she shrieked as the helicopter jerked to the side painfully.

“There!” Sungmin yelled, engaging the minigun, a stream of bullets flying from the muzzle swiftly.

Joon yanked the cyclic in a hasty attempt to edge them from the oncoming spray of ammunition that pelted towards them, almost succeeding except for the projectiles that clipped the side.  Luna screamed and leaned forward, covering her head with her hands as the helicopter bucked dangerously.

“A little help, Jong!” Joon yelled tensely, trying to recover.

“I’m on it!” he responded tersely, a stream of bullets coming from first one side and then the other of his helicopter where Siwon and Amber were both manning heavy machine guns.  “Bank right!”

A hail of bullets tore through Joon’s helicopter again, ripping open the side Luna was on, pelting her with metal shards and shrapnel.  Heroically, Joon struggled to keep the helicopter steady as the controls responded sluggishly, the rear propeller faltering, sending them into a choppy spin.  “!” he cursed, arms straining against the pull.  “We’re going down,” he warned, pulling out every trick he knew to slow their fall.

“Luna!” Sungmin called, abandoning the minigun and trying to get back to her, painfully tossed against the side as the chopper spun faster, centrifugal force yanking him off his feet.

“Captain!” she shrieked as the wind tore her words away.  Her body jerked when the chopper evened out for a second and then dipped low, falling sideways towards the ground.

“Hold on!” Joon cried, ejecting the spare fuel tanks and attempting to angle for the trees, hoping to slow their descent at least marginally.

Straps bit into her body as she heard the awful sound of metal collide with trees, scraping loudly in the split second before they actually collided with the ground and she lost consciousness in a burst of pain.

“Luna!  Luna!”

The voices seemed so very far away as she heard her name through the ringing in her ears.  With a pained whimper, Luna forced her aching eyes open and got a look at her surroundings.  Trees.  She was somewhere in the forest but the helicopter wasn’t exactly next to her…  “Captain?” she murmured brokenly, feeling her side twinge sharply at the exhalation.  “Ow!”

Moving proved to be difficult when she found that her whole body ached and as she discovered the remnants of the straps that had been designed to hold her in place clinging dejectedly to her person, ends frayed, she realized what must have happened.  “Luna!”

“I’m here,” she tried again, wincing as she vainly tried to stand up.  Another pitiful cry escaped her as Luna realized she was definitely not alright; a coppery taste lingered on her tongue and it hurt to breathe.  “Henry…  Yesung…” she whispered, feeling tears brim on her lashes and fall over.

She was startled when something moved nearby and tried to turn too fast, cringing in pain as her body revolted.  It felt better to rest her head on the ground where the cool surface could comfort her overheated skin…until she felt something hard come to rest at the base of her skull.  A strained whimper was her only response and she froze, trembling in place.

“Where are they?” came an unfamiliar masculine voice, the sound slightly muffled.

Carefully, Luna swallowed and placed her hands on the ground to help support her tired, frightened body.  “They?” she asked, her voice shaking.

A rough hand gripped her shoulder and yanked her over to face her attacker.  She shrieked at the pain it caused her and curled in on herself, well aware he were armed, masked and apparently injured and angry.  “The rest of your team.”

“I don’t know,” she whimpered, trying to hold as still as possible.  She whimpered when he reached down as if to pick her up and then gasped to see him recoil, the loud sound of a single round fired going off behind her.

Her assailant grunted in pain and then picked his weapon up, opening fire.  A pained cry let them both know he’d found his mark with the semi-automatic weapon.  “Stay,” he growled, pointing the gun at her for a second before edging towards where he’d been fired upon.

It wasn’t as if she could do anything anyway…  But she tried to keep an eye on him regardless, feeling her vision swim as the situation became all too real and terrifying.  Almost like in a dream though, as her blurry eyes roamed the edge of the woods seeking additional help, she blinked in confused surprise as she noticed a large white creature running towards them.  It should have been making a lot more noise than it was, or at least she thought so, which made her think it was probably just a figment of her imagination, but it kept coming closer…becoming more defined until she realized it was a horse.

What was a horse doing out here?  She really was going crazy.  That had to be it.  The pain was getting to her and her mind was playing tricks on…her…  That was when she saw it.  The horn.  The single most obvious identifier of her favorite creature ever: the unicorn.  “Yixing…” she whispered breathlessly, recalling his image perfectly  Impossibly beautiful, he ran towards her, silvery mane and tail flowing with each fluid stride.  Elegance incarnate, the unicorn drew close and gathered himself, launching his equine body effortlessly over Luna’s prone form as she watched with a mesmerized slack-jawed expression.

He landed on the other side of her amidst a thunder of hooves as he called a challenge, the resonating neigh vibrating through her.  Achingly, she tried to turn over, to call some sort of warning to take care for the gun but no words came as she watched the unicorn bodily shoulder the interloper aside, jarring him badly as he stumbled away with the gun stubbornly held in his hands.  Not finished yet, the unicorn snorted aggressively and bucked, planting his hooves squarely in the other man’s chest sending him flying as the broken gun split apart.

Groaning, the fallen man tried to scramble away before the unicorn approached again, rearing up at his feet and pawing the air in front of him, whinnying loudly, the untouchable defender.  The masked man weakly kicked back, whining worriedly and then yelling, yanking his arms in front of his face as the unicorn came crashing down with his hooves.

Luna blinked in confusion, trying to make sense of it at first.  It was difficult to see from her vantage, but it appeared as if Yixing had planted his front hooves on either side of the man and was presently glaring down at him, muzzle mere inches from his cowering hands.  Unable to focus any longer, she groaned pitifully and laid back down, peering up at the sky, feeling her awareness fade from her senses.

Her moment was interrupted when she felt something nudge at her head and saw what had to be the unicorn’s horn disrupting her view.  She strained her eyes trying to look backwards and couldn’t help but giggle when he snuffled her face, whuffing a breath of warm air over her.  “You should go,” she urged, pushing at the muzzle ineffectively.  “There may be more of them,” she whispered in concern.  That was the last thing they needed.

Despite her efforts otherwise, the unicorn remained where he was and just looked down at her with a surprisingly blank but intelligent blue-eyed gaze.  He shook his head and whickered softly as if to say no.  She wanted to say more and her brow furrowed as she tried to come up with the words but he stepped out of her vision and she felt sadness descend over her at his disappearance again.  True, she wanted him to run away and had convinced him to do so once before, but that also meant that she probably wouldn’t get to see him again…  In the next instant, she clenched her eyes shut against the bright light that flared behind her and gasped when she felt gentle, slender hands press against either side of her head.

“Shh,” he soothed in a pleasant and soft but deep tone that immediately made her feel more relaxed.  “You’re very hurt, Luna,” he told her, soothing her brow with the backs of his fingers.

“You remembered my name,” was the only thing Luna could think to say as she stared up at the beautiful man above her who smiled to reveal the memorable dimple.  His silken brown hair partially fell into one eye but he regarded her warmly, even if the gaze did seem a little bit distant.

“Neh,” he agreed, leaning closer.  “How could I forget it?” he asked as he searched her eyes with his.  “Now.  Just hold still,” he instructed, drawing even closer until he pressed his lips against her forehead gently.

She held her breath preemptively until she felt a gentle warmth spread over her body like a cozy blanket.  Luna sighed peacefully as the pain in her body receded bit by bit, relaxing further under his healing powers and the reassuring feel of his hands resting against her head, keeping her grounded.  “So warm…” she breathed, inhaling with lungs that didn’t hurt, feeling her ribcage expand without pain.  Her lips curled into a smile and she was startled further when another pair of lips pressed against them softly, sending another wave of that tingly warm sensation through her body.

Her eyes shot open to see the unicorn kissing her as he leaned over her, the subtle smell of a warm spring day with the hint of spice cookies washing over her delightfully.  Slowly, he pulled away and shifted so that he could look directly into her eyes, his nose so close it almost brushed against her forehead.  “So Luna.  How do you feel?” he asked, holding very still.

Rather unsurprisingly, she simply couldn’t find her voice and managed the barest of nods with a shy smile.  “How did you find me?”

He chuckled at her response and reached his hands under her shoulders.  “Let’s get you up, shall we?” he suggested, choosing to sidestep the question.

“Oh,” she murmured, feeling herself righted almost effortlessly, the world feeling far stranger than it had a moment ago.  “Oh!” she gasped a bit louder when the reality she’d just escaped came crashing back to her.  “The other-” she pointed awkwardly, not sure where her teammate had been anyway.  “Whoa…” she groaned as the world spun for a moment at her fast movement.

“Easy,” the unicorn urged, catching her against his body, arms wrapped loosely around her supportively.  “You have a knack for getting hurt, it would appear,” he told her, brushing her bangs out of her face with his fingertips.

Torn between staring at the creature of her dreams and knowing one of her friends was probably nearby and injured, she yanked her thoughts away from Yixing and tried again.  “My friend is hurt,” she explained.

Yixing’s brow creased in thought and he tilted his head to the side.  “The other man?”

“Neh,” she nodded, relaxed in his embrace despite her worry.

“Ah.  I see.  This way,” he urged, clasping her hand with his and gently pulling her along after him.

They came upon Sungmin who was unconscious and bleeding but otherwise alive, or so they could guess by the shallow rise and fall of his chest.  “Captain!” she cried, taking a step close before Yixing held her back.

“Wait,” he urged, kneeling down and resting both hands on either side of the blonde man’s bloodied head.  Yixing closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he focused on the injured man.

Beside him, Luna watched with bated breath as she saw the obvious open wounds close before her eyes and Sungmin stirred, face scrunching up in confusion.  “Mnhh…” he groaned, opening his eyes slowly and jerking in surprise when he saw the strange young man sitting above him.

“It’s alright, Captain,” Luna hurried to assure him, kneeling down next to him and drawing his attention her way.  “This is Yixing.  He’s the unicorn,” she explained, beaming at the young man who smiled back at her.

Sungmin took a moment to appraise his situation and how he felt and simply took it at face value.  It certainly felt as if he’d been privileged enough to have been granted the unicorn’s healing power, especially since the bullet wounds were gone and his body didn’t ache from the crash.  He cleared his throat awkwardly.  “Okay.  Yixing.  Thank you,” he offered, not sure why the unicorn had opted to heal him, until he saw the way he and Luna were looking at each other.  Oh.

“You’re welcome,” he smiled down at the shorter male before he stood up fluidly.  Politely, he assisted Luna in standing and then waited for the Captain to get to his feet.

Somewhat stiff still, Sungmin stretched out and eyed Luna as he hid a smile.  “I would ask if you’re alright but I see that things have rather worked themselves out.”  He looked around with a sharp eye and frowned, “Where’s the guy that shot me?”

“Gone,” Yixing responded simply.

“Gone?”

“Gone,” he repeated with a satisfied nod.

Sungmin scratched his head and sighed.  If he didn’t think there was danger, he figured that was probably a good indication of safety…for now.  “Okay…  Well.  We should probably get back to the others then.  They were worried about you, Luna,” he explained simply.

“Oh.  Right,” she giggled lightly, biting her bottom lip as she ducked her head and held onto Yixing’s hand with hers, feeling butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

“I don’t suppose you know the way to them do you?” the Captain asked watching the unicorn in human guise.

Yixing looked up and blinked at him with a somewhat vacant expression before he shrugged and shook his head.  “No.  Not really.”

Resignedly, Sungmin dusted his hands off and took a breath.  “In that case, I do believe we crashed over there,” he pointed, leading the way through the woods.  Behind him, he watched Yixing and Luna fall into place, side by side with the unicorn guiding the shorter woman, one arm behind her, supportive while he held her hand with his other.  Leave it to the civilian to find and tame unicorn…

In the front, he missed when Yixing raised Luna’s hand to his lips and caressed it gently.  “It will be alright,” he promised her.  “I will keep you safe.”

For her part, Luna simply couldn’t stop smiling or blushing as she continued to feel as if she was walking on air.  If this was a dream, she most certainly didn’t want to be woken from it, even if she did have to go through a nightmare to get to it.  Still, the feel of his lips against her skin made her forget all about that part entirely and she was practically giddy with the thought of what Henry and Yesung would say when they saw the unicorn again; and heard her retelling of the story.

(a/n:  Not nearly as fluffy I know, but it got there!  After the excitement anyway.  Yes, in this version, this is their second meeting which fits oddly well.  haha  I hope you enjoyed and I should be working on another piece before too long!)