Chapter Text
Blue sat in the restaurant, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
She wasn’t here yet. He’d been waiting for almost ten minutes now. Maybe she was just late, or maybe his worst suspicions were true and she was standing him up for no apparent reason.
Blue sighed. Was it just a joke he’d taken too seriously?
“Hey,” Cyan said, startling him as she put a hand in his shoulder from behind.
“Sorry, I just-” he started, slouching down in his seat.
“No, no, it’s fine,” Cyan assured him. “I, uh… yeah,”
He nodded. It made him feel better that he wasn’t the only one jumping at the slightest touch, sound, anything -
Then he felt horrible for comforting himself with the fact that Cyan was equally as traumatized as he was.
“So…” Blue said awkwardly, trying to break the oppressive silence that had fallen around them. “How are you?”
“Good.” Cyan said quietly. “Good,” she repeated with more confidence. The silence returned until she asked, “What’s your favorite color?”
“Huh?” Blue said, taken off guard.
“Well, we’re practically on a date. I figure I should at least know a little about you.” Cyan said, shrugging. “I guess that is kind of a stupid question. So what made you join that Skeld mission?”
Blue tensed before replying, “Just needed some extra cash,”
“Sorry. That was kind of an insensitive question,” Cyan pursed her lips. “I’m just making this more awkward than it already is, aren’t I?”
“No, no, I appreciate it,” he said.
She was looking down at the table, face somewhat flushed. “How are your kids?”
“Good. Crazy as ever, though. I found a good school. The head is practically paying all of the tuition,” he said. The head of MIRA had sent both of them money for their efforts on the Skeld and HQ and to keep the imposter situation a secret from the general public, but in Blue’s opinion, he was being grossly underappreciated.
Cyan smiled. “That’s good,” she said.
“Yeah,” Blue said. “It is good,” And for the first time in forever, something was good.
~~~
Blue bolted upright. He pressed a hand to his temple as if he could make his headache go away.
(dead he was going to die white was going to kill him kill cyan)
“That’s not uncommon, to have nightmares like that,” his therapist told him. He was skeptical. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her; she seemed credible enough. It was just that he had a hard time trusting anyone lately. And as much as it pained him to admit it, Cyan was included. There was no rational reason for it, either. His brain just questioned everyone relentlessly.
They’d given him meds to help offset this, among other things, but all it did was make him feel even more jittery, so he’d quit taking them.
~~~
“Blue, hurry up!” Cyan yelled over her shoulder. “We’re gonna be late!”
Blue picked up his pace and tripped on the curb. (tripping tripping over a body with its head turned the wrong way oh god a body orange’s body) He caught himself and proceeded carefully, shaking his head. Like last time, it had been getting better as time went on, but it was also so much worse than last time all at once. He never felt like this until a couple days after. Shock, he guessed, but he was still too paranoid to talk to anyone about it.
“Hey. Something up?” Cyan asked, grabbing his hand gently.
Blue shook his head again, intertwining his fingers with Cyan’s.
“No,” he said. “Totally fine.” He only somewhat meant it, if even at all.
“It doesn’t seem like it. Whatever it is, you can tell me. You know that, right?”
So Blue swallowed down his shame, his anger, his paranoia, and told her. And she told him that they’d do what they’d always done and figure it out together, and he told her that he liked that idea. That he liked it a lot.
Then he thanked her, and they walked hand in hand into the night.