Chapter Text
Everything about Chopper was different.
Mike couldn’t ignore the thought as he drove down the roads of Motorcity, weaving across the streets as he led the Burners home. No matter how much he tried to push the thought away he kept coming back to it.
Everything about Chopper was new and strange to the Burner. Even after his short practice on the motorcycle he was still finding some aspects of the bike to be new. Every bump or crack could be felt from the tires, the engine was causing every part of Chopper and it’s riders to shake, and there was nothing protecting them if they were suddenly attacked.
Mike’s hands tightened around the motorcycle handles. The cuts on his knuckles stung as he strained the skin of his hands. He blinked rapidly, watching the road from behind his overheating helmet. He had to get them home and get out of this helmet. He forgot how annoying the helmet was made just by breathing. It was too warm and he was so tired…
He shook his head. Stay awake.
He had to stay awake, he had to keep going. If he stopped he was going to pass out…
His hands grew a little tighter around the handles of the motorcycle and his knuckles becoming white at the tightness. He couldn’t let himself give into the tired feeling. He had to focus on everything else going on around him and in front of him so they could get home. They had to get home. Home was safe and there was protection there. There was no protection around Chopper; anything could hit him or Chuck.
Chuck was riding with him, of course, keeping his chin on Mike’s shoulder and gasping every time Chopper went over a bump or took a slight drop as he tightened his arms around Mike’s waist. His hands had started out on Mike’s shoulders but they had quickly ended up on his best friend’s waist soon after they left the parking lot. It was just safer for Chuck to hold him this way, even if it did hurt Mike’s ribs.
This probably wasn’t a good idea. Chuck had been whimpering from behind his helmet most of the ride since getting his screams out at the start of the ride. His head remained locked in place on Mike’s left shoulder. It probably would have been better to have him ride with Julie or Dutch, he hadn’t even joined Mike when he first started testing out Chopper, but Chuck had to stick with him.
They had to stick together. That was how it always went.
They went over another bump and Chuck’s arms tightened around his waist. Mike bit down on his lip, holding back the gasp of pain that almost escaped his lips. It was tight for a moment, but once the road smoothed out Chuck’s arms loosened around his waist and slowly the pain’s intensity started to fade away. It wasn’t that bad, but it was there and Mike was starting to feel it more and more as the ride went on. He hadn’t felt it between escaping his cell and fighting Kane (thanks to the power of adrenaline) but now he was starting to feel it all.
The ache throughout his body, the pain that felt as though it was spreading throughout his ribs, and the need to sleep…
Mike yawned and shook his head, blinking rapidly again in an attempt to stay awake for just a bit longer.
He swerved in between the cars of his friends. Little rocks and specks of dirt were being pushed up off the streets and nocking against Mike and Chuck. Rocks kept hitting his arms and knocking against his cut up knuckles. He should be wearing gloves. Chuck should be wearing a jacket since he was getting hit with the rocks as well. They really didn’t think this through much more after getting the helmets for Chopper. They didn’t even think much about the helmets either.
Chuck was resting his chin on Mike’s shoulder, whimpering behind his own helmet and tightening his hold around Mike’s waist. His hands had started out on Mike’s shoulders but they had quickly ended up on his best friend’s waist soon after they left the parking lot.
It was tight and hurt just a bit, but it wasn’t bad. The feeling of Chuck’s arms was oddly comforting.
He was here, he was alive and this was all real. This wasn’t some wild dream, everything had really happened. Red beating the life out of him, finding the Duke driving Mutt, fighting Kane…
Having to blow Mutt up…
Just thinking of Mutt overtook all the thoughts running through Mike’s mind.
“Mikey!” Chuck’s sudden shriek snapped Mike out of his daze and brought him back to the road, which had a KaneBot sticking out in the middle of it.
He swerved quickly, narrowly avoiding the beaten down KaneBot. Too close.
Mike let out a shaky breath, continuing to blink his eyes. “Sorry Chuckles…” He shook his head, pushing the thoughts away and yawning. God he was tired…but he had to keep going. He had to get everyone home. Home was safe. Kane couldn’t get to them if they were at home.
Chuck’s head shifted on Mike’s shoulder so the blond could get a better look at his friend. “You okay man?”
“Yeah…yeah…” Mike forced a smile on his face but couldn’t bring himself to look at Chuck. “I’m okay…” He was lying. He wasn’t okay. His ribs had been beaten to a pulp, he had lost his pride and joy of Mutt, and he hadn’t gotten any kind of relax sleep. He wasn’t even sure what day it was or how long he had been locked up by Kane.
He wasn’t okay and he knew Chuck was worrying.
Whatever worries the blond had, Chuck didn’t say anything. He had to know Mike was lying. He wasn’t even trying to cover up he just didn’t want to admit how tired or how much his ribs were aching. Chuck moved his head back to his original place of resting his chin on Mike’s shoulder, but his arms grew just a little tighter around Mike’s waist.
Chuck’s hold was different this time. His chest was pushing up against Mike’s back as he held onto his best friend. There was no sudden bump or drop that triggered it and it wasn’t a constricting or painful like the others had been. It secured Chuck to Mike, like his original hold had done, but it was far more soothing then his original hold had been.
It was nice. It hurt a little, but almost every part of Mike was hurting at this point so a little squeeze form Chuck wasn’t anything. It felt more like a hug from the blond rather than him clinging to Mike out of panic.
It felt…right.
Chuck’s arms stayed like that for the rest of the ride. They would tighten over every bump and drop still, but would always loosen a little bit after the fear had passed. It still hurt, but Mike couldn’t help smiling as the ride went on.
Something about this, just Chuck holding onto him with Chopper shaking under them, was…perfect.
Mike let out a deep breath and a small smile formed on his lips.
The rest of the ride went well. Mike continued to blink rapidly to keep himself awake, Chuck continued to squeeze his waist over every drop and bump, and Chopper’s engine continued to shake the two of them as they lead the Burners back home.
Pulling up in front of Mutt Dogs allowed Mike to let out a breath of relief. A part of him was expecting the building to be destroyed or for some part of it to be missing. Some walls had been torn off the building and were scattered around the nearby area. The large neon sign was also missing, leaving only the tall pole and wires sticking out at the top of it. The building was completely dark with only a few flickers from lights within.
They were home.
Home was still standing.
Mike parked Chopper and removed his helmet, taking in a deep breath of cool air. It felt just like getting a cold drink of water on the hottest day of the year. He started to run a hand through his hair, but pulled away when he realized how slick his hair was with sweat. “Oh gross…” He muttered and wiped his hand off on his jacket. He was going to have to clean all his clothes he could afford to get them a little messier.
“Well, it’s nice to see you’re still in one piece.” He looked towards the front of the shop. Jacob stepped outside, moving quickly to Mike. “You look like crap though.” Mike laughed as he stood and stepped towards the older man, who pulled the Mike into a tight hug right around his ribs.
Mike hissed at the pain spreading through his body but returned the tight hug. “Hey Jacob…”
Jacob pulled away, smiling sheepishly at the pain he had just caused to Mike. “Sorry son. I’m…I’m just glad to see you’re okay.” Mike just smiled back at the mechanic. He gave Mike a pat on the shoulder, giving him one last smile and pulling out a thermos and a plain mug from the bag that was hanging off his shoulder. “It’s not great, but it’s all I’ve got.”
“This is just fine.” Mike took a long sip from the mug and scrunching his face. He usually took his own coffee with a lot more creamer and sugar, but he was fine with drinking it straight like this.
Jacob laughed at Mike’s face. “There’s still creamer in the fridge. Just don’t head inside yet, there’s glass all over the place.” He added quickly and turned his attention to the other Burners. “Alright, who’s not dead? I’ve only got coffee for the living.”
“Yeah!” Texas jumped out of his Stronghorn and rush to Jacob, picking up the elderly mechanic and hugging him tightly. “Texas lives! And he needs caffeine!”
Dutch sighed as he jumped out of Whiptail with R.O.T.H following him out of the car. “Texas, put him down before you break him.” Texas sighed, but did as Dutch asked.
Jacob just laughed the whole thing off and pulled out two mugs from the bag, hanging them to the boys and pouring the warm drink into them. “Thanks Jacob.” Dutch sighed and rested against Stronghorn’s front as he took a long drink from the mug. Texas took a seat beside his friend, remaining quiet as he sipped his warm drink.
Julie stepped out of 9 Lives, making her way over to Jacob who already had a mug ready for her. “Thanks. Did the creamer survive?”
“I think so. Things are a little shaken up in there.” Julie nodded at his words before heading into Mutt Dogs. Jacob followed after her, pushing a mug into Chuck’s hand as he passed the blond. “Wait, wait, Jules! The lights are all busted! There’s a lot of glass in there! Jules!” He called out, following after Julie has she rushed into the building with R.O.T.H flying after Jacob.
Mike smiled and let out a sigh of relief as the tension slowly melted away.
Everything was okay. Everyone was safe.
Chuck blew on his coffee. He was still sitting on Chopper, leaning back in the back seat of the motorcycle. His helmet was resting between his legs and his hair was dripping with sweat much like Mike’s was. He pushed his bangs up, revealing his right eye to Mike. Mike pressed his lips at the sight. He had seen Chuck’s eyes many times, even before his friend had started growing out his hair after arriving in Mototcity, but this time…something was different.
A strange tightness spread through his chest.
It was strange as it wasn’t caused by the pain from the beatings he had taken.
“Feeling better now?” The blond asked him before taking a sip of his coffee.
Mike forced out a chuckled at the question, pushing away the strange feeling. “Yeah…” It was a lie. The pain was still spreading through his body and it felt like something was starting to throb under his skin, his eyelids felt like heavy sandpaper scratching against his eyeballs, and everything felt so much colder. “Yeah…” He repeated as he started to sway, tilting to the side. It felt as though a weight was pulling down on him.
Suddenly the mug fell from his hand and Mike felt himself drop to the ground. Everything went sideways, growing fuzzier and fading quickly. He heard voices, but they were all jumbled and everyone’s words were mixing together to the point Mike couldn’t focus on any of it. The only thing he could make out was his name and that Chuck was shouting it at the top of his lungs.
“Mike! Mike!” Chuck was still shouting. Mike was turned onto his back and he found himself staring up at Chuck. There were arms around his chest. They had to be Chuck’s. Who else would hold him in a moment like this? “Mikey! Mikey!” He was still shouting but it was getting softer and Chuck was going from recognizable to a mix of fuzzy yellow and blue.
Mike groaned, trying to push himself up and failing to do so. He managed to get his head on Chuck’s shoulder, but there were black spots forming between the fuzzy colors he knew to be his friend.
He was still being held…
It felt rather nice…
A smile formed on his lips. He looked to the fuzzy shapes he knew was Chuck. They had to be, who else could hold him so perfectly?
“I’m…okay…”
After that everything went black.
[-X-]
The first thing Mike saw when he opened his eyes was the steel ceiling.
He turned his head, groaning at the aches in his neck that spread at his movements, he could look around. He blinked as he took in his surroundings, sitting up and hissing at the sharp pain that cut through his ribs.
He was in his room. The walls were bare aside from a few photos he had printed out, there mismatched shelves with some beat up bobbleheads and some old car parts from Mutt on the wall as well, and at the foot of his bed was a desk with some clothes folded on its surface. His signature jacket was folded right on top of the pile.
How did he end up here?
He pushed his covers off and rubbed his eyes, hissing when he touched his bruised eye and pulled his hands away. Pulling his hands away to look at knuckles and noticed that they had been wrapped with white bandages. There were also bandages covering up
The door of his bedroom opened. Jacob stepped inside, holding a glass of murky green liquid. “Ah… I figured you were finally up.” He stepped into the room, taking only a few steps to sit on the edge of Mike’s bed. “Nice to see you’re back from the dead.”
“Barely…” Mike turned in he’s bed and placing his feet on the ground. He groaned as aches spread from his ribs and throughout the rest of his body. God he felt so much worse than yesterday.
“Well, maybe this will help.” Jacob handed him a glass of juice. Mike took the glass, pressing his lip as he examined the contents. There were little specks of orange and white all swirling around in the green liquid. Mike sighed before downing the drink quickly, gagging at the taste and handed the empty glass to Jacob. “Yeah-yeah, not that great I know, but it’s good for you. Plenty of fruits and veggies, it’s all good for you.”
“Sure…whatever you say.” He did believe Jacob that the drink was good for him. That didn’t make the taste any better.
“Hey, take these too. They’ll make your ribs feel better.” Jacob pulled a bottle out of his pocket, tossing it to Mike.
The younger man caught it easily. Looking at the bottle, he made a face when he saw the well-known Kane Co. symbol printed on the bottle. Next to the familiar K was another title it the light blue lettering. He knew just what these were and what they were used for. Mike looked back up at Jacob. “Painkillers?”
Jacob sighed. “It’s just an over-the-counter. They’re not that strong and they’re the ones we have multiple bottles of.” He explained. “Look, I know you don’t like taking them, but this isn’t just a headache Mike. You’re going to be in a lot of pain for at least a week, maybe longer.”
Mike pressed his lips at Jacob’s words and looked back to the bottle. The last thing he wanted was to use any of their limited medicines, but Jacob was right. There wasn’t any point in fighting the elder on this. Mike’s whole body was already aching and every shift he made sent some small amount of pain running through his bones.
The younger man sighed before opening the bottle. Dumping two pills into his hand, he tilted his head back and swallowing the pills that then became caught in his throat. He now wished Jacob had offered him the pills first before the drink. It probably would have made him appreciate the drink more.
Looking down to the ground Mike noticed that there was a make-shift bed made up just across from his bed. There was only one person Mike could imagine would willingly sleep on the floor. “Was Chuck here last night?”
Jacob nodded at the question. “Yeah, he’s been sleeping in here for the last couple nights. It was just in case you woke up in the middle of the night, but I think it helped him sleep better. Boy’s been a bit of a wreck after you passed out a few days ago.”
Mike raised an eyebrow at Jacob’s words. He wasn’t surprised that Chuck would stay in his room after everything that happened, but just how long had Chuck been sleeping here? “How long have I been out?”
The elderly man was quiet for a long moment. “About three days...”
Mike’s eyes went while at Jacob’s words. Mike began trying to stand, but as he did his legs started to shake with sharp spikes of pain running through his thighs. Gridding his teeth, he tried to ignore the pain. “What? Why didn’t you guys try and wake me? I would have been fine.”
He shouldn’t have been rested. He couldn’t be resting. There’s too much to do.
Kane could already be planning his next attack, getting another weapon of some kind ready to go in the time he had. Mike had to be up, had to be prepared, and he had to get Mutt back in one piece if he wanted any chance of finding Kane again. He needed to be up and moving for when Kane attacked again. Kane was going to attack again; it was only a matter of time.
“Mike, sit the heck down. You needed to sleep. After everything you went through…after all that Julie told us…” Jacob managed to force the younger man back onto his bed. Mike tried and quickly gave up fighting the older man. After standing his legs started to tingle like there were ants crawling under his skin. “You needed to sleep.”
Mike pressed his lips at Jacob’s words. “…It wasn’t that bad.” Sure getting beat up by both Red and Kane wasn’t awesome, but that was no excuse. He was the leader, he had to be up and ready for when Kane tried to attack the city again. He had to protect Motorcity.
Jacob looked back at Mike, staring at him for a long moment. “Mike…do you know how long you were up in Deluxe?”
He blinked at the question and shrugged. “…A day, maybe two?” A lot had happened. Between Red’s beatings, Kane’s taunts, and the few times he managed to get some kind of sleep, Mike wasn’t really sure just how much time had passed. Being locked in the cell with very little light hadn’t helped much either.
“You were locked up for almost four days.” Jacob looked back at Mike with a hard look on his face. “Kane had you trapped in there for almost four whole days before Julie helped break you out.”
“I…I thought…” Mike found himself at a loss for words. There was no way he could wrap his head around just how long he had been trapped in that cell.
How could he have lost track of time so easily?
“…It wasn’t that bad.” The words came out meekly. It was all he could say.
“You passed in the front yard Mike. It was bad.” Mike refused to look up. He kept his eyes down on his toes. He wiggled them as the tingles continued to run through his legs. They were starting to wake up more and the tingles were starting to fade away slowly. Jacob continued to speak. “I’m amazed you didn’t crash that bike on the way home.”
Mike pressed his lips again. Jacob’s words made him think back to the ride home and back to the KaneBot his would have hit. “…Chuck kept me awake for most of the ride.”
Had Chuck not been riding with him, things could have ended much worse for him.
“Good thing he was riding with you then.”
Jacob rubbed the back of his neck. “Dutch fixed up the generator so we have power again. He went out for pizza while Chuck and Texas fix the place up. I can bring you a slice up when he gets back.”
Mike shook his head at the question. “No… I need to get up.” He forced himself up off his bed. He stood, his legs still tingling and shaking slightly under his own weight, but he wasn’t struggling to stay standing like before.
Jacob was quiet once again. He stared at Mike for a long moment and Mike stared back at him, eyes narrowed back at his oldest friend. After what must have been at least a minute Jacob let out a long sigh. “…You’re not lifting anything or operating anything for at least a week. And I want you taking those meds.”
Mike sighed but nodded in agreement. “Deal.”
A small smile formed on Jacob’s face. “I’ll see you down in a bit.” He opened the door before heading out and closing the door behind him.
His attention shifted to the mirror hanging on the back of his bedroom door. He wasn’t wearing his jeans or sweat-soaked shirt. Someone had taken them off and put him in a pair of gray sweatpants. They didn’t put a new shirt on though, leaving him completely shirtless.
In the mirror, Mike could see all the injuries around his body. Most of the bruises gathered around his ribs in varying shades of dark red and deep purple. The bruises trailed down into smaller ones along his stomach and waist. There were bruises around his wrists caused by the cuffs he had been chained up in. There were some bandages like the ones on his wrists wrapped around his arms where he had gotten some cuts and there was a single large white band-aid stuck on his left cheek.
He did look like crap.
Mike stared at his reflection for a long time before finally turning away from it to dig through his dresser and pull out a folded clean plain white t-shirt. Placing the shirt on over his head, he smoothed out the wrinkles and stepped out of the room.
He made his way down the hall slowly and he could hear voices coming from the living room as he approached the room.
“Texas! Stop! You’re going to drop it!” Chuck’s shouts were the first voice Mike recognized as he got closer to the shared space.
He stood in the space-way between the hallway and living room. His eyes landed right on Texas, who was juggling a long fluorescent lightbulb, and Chuck, who was standing on a step stool and trying to take the lightbulb back with one hand while the other held onto the rail of the stool.
“Nah, Texas has got this Blondie. Relax.” Texas stepped back from the taller Burner, tossing the lightbulb from one hand so it spun in the air before catching it with his other.
Chuck did not relax. “Dude! Stop! You are going to drop it!”
“Texas, just give Chuck the lightbulb.” Mike stepped into the room, making himself known to his two friends. The driver and hacker froze before turning their heads slowly to look over to him. Texas’s eyes had gone completely wide and Chuck was biting down on his lower lip. The silence lasted for a short moment before a huge grin broke out across Texas’s face.
“Tiny!”
He tossed the lightbulb up, letting it go and completely forgetting about it as it spun in the air. Chuck let out a squeak, letting go of the step stool’s rail and falling off it as he caught the lightbulb. He hit the ground, keeping the lightbulb above him to keep it from breaking.
Mike opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Texas pulling him into a tight hug. He let out a gasp of pain that Texas didn’t seem to notice as he squeezed his friend tightly, causing even more pain to run through his body. Usually Mike could deal with the bone-crushing hugs, but they were just too much. “Hey Texas.” Mike gasped and gritted his teeth. “Ah-Texas…little too tight on the hug buddy...”
Texas set Mike back down and let him go. Stepping back, the shorter Burner stared at his leader. “Sorry man. It’s…it’s good to see you up.”
“It’s good to be up.” Mike smiled back at his friend.
Texas smiled back but it was a weak one and not as bright as the grin before. The other diver was strangely quiet, shifting from one foot to the other. He seemed uncomfortable for some reason. He looked away from Mike, turning back to Chuck to take the lightbulb before helping the taller man up. “Sorry man. I’m going to see if Jacob needs help with anything.” He handed the lightbulb back to Chuck and walked by him, moving quickly before the other young men could ask him anything else.
Mike watched the other Burner head outside before turning his attention to Chuck.
Unlike Texas, Chuck hadn’t said anything to him. He wouldn’t even look at Mike. All of his attention was being focused on the light fixture above him.
Mike felt his mind drift back to his bedroom, back to the make-shift bed that was still laying out on his floor, to what Jacob had said about Chuck being a mess, to the last things he could remember before the blackness swallowed him whole.
He had passed out in Chuck’s arms…
“Hey Chuckles…you okay?”
He wasn’t acting how Mike expected. He was too quiet and too distant. He hadn’t even rushed to hug Mike like Texas had, he just picked up with the work he had been distracted from. It was strange, but not an unfamiliar attitude for the blond.
Chuck was upset, maybe even angry.
His friend was quiet for a long moment. He stopped what he was doing, biting down on his lower lip, before nodding his head. “Yeah…” His voice was clear and calm, but his hands were shaking as he placed the lightbulb into the fixture above. “You?”
Mike shrugged at the question and forced a smile on his face. “Sore, but fine. I promise I’ll give you a heads up if I feel the world go sideways.” He chuckled at his own words, trying to brush the whole thing off. He had been able to bounce back from a lot of things and this was just another thing Kane had done that Mike could deal with.
He could always bounce back.
Chuck didn’t seem to find the joke that funny. He pressed his lips and turned his attention back to the light fixture above him. “Don’t do... don’t do it again, please… It scared the hell out of me.”
The smile dropped from Mike’s face at Chuck’s words. He looked away, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. He found himself looking to his toes, which were curling against the floor as a nervous bubble formed in his throat. He had to say something but nothing good came to his mind, leaving the two young men in a awkward silence for too long. “I'm sorry bro…”
The blond remained quiet. He was chewing on his lower lip and continued to focus on placing the plastic screen back into place. “Can you hand me that screwdriver?” He motioned down to the couch where a tool bag was dumped out on the cushions. Mike picked up the requested tool and handed it to his friend. “Thanks.” Chuck took it and started screwing the screen back into place.
Mike felt his legs begin to shake. Pressing his lips, he tried to ignore the shaking, before giving up and sitting down on the couch beside the tool bag. He waited for Chuck to finish his work before speaking again. “…I’m okay Chuck.”
Chuck stepped down off the stool. “You told me that on the ride, and when we got home, and when you passed out…” He still wouldn’t look at Mike. He kept his head down and hands on the step stool, staring down at it rather than looking at his friend. His hands were tight around the railing, becoming white at the strain being put on them. “You said you were okay, but you weren’t…”
The words caused a tightness to form in Mike’s guts. He wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure just what he was supposed to say as the knot grew tighter. Silence came over the living room again but it made the air around them feel thick and heavy.
You scared Chuck...
Mike clutched his teeth behind his lips at the thought that ran through his head.
He had to say something. He had to help. He had to make this right and he had to fix it now.
“Hey guys! I’m back!” Dutch’s voice broke the silence that had fallen over the room. “And I brought Tennie!”
“And I’ve got the pizza!” Tennie’s voice followed after Dutch’s.
“Pizza!” Texas cry of excitement could be heard from the far back of the shop followed by the rushing of his footsteps.
Chuck set the step stool off to the side of the couch and looked to Mike. “Need a hand?”
“Yeah…” The driver nodded. The hacker held out his hand, which Mike took. He stood and found himself very close to Chuck. Their faces were just inches away from each other. Mike stared at Chuck, the knot in his gut becoming tighter than before. They were so close that Mike could feel Chuck’s breath brushing against the skin of his face and he could count the freckles scattered across his best friend’s skin.
Chuck stared back at Mike from behind his bangs, biting down on his lip, before turning away sharply. A faint redness was starting to appear on his light skin. “Come on bro. We should get some pizza before Texas eats it all.” He headed into the dining area where the others were gathering.
Mike followed after Chuck, watching his friend’s back. The knot remained and he couldn’t make sense of what was causing it.
Dutch was in the middle of laying plates out on the table when he noticed Mike. “Hey man. Texas said you were back from the dead.” He walked over to his friend with open arms to wrap and hug the Burner leader gently. It was better than Texas’ bone-crushing hug at least (which his ribs were thankful for) but it still didn’t feel right. It was just too gentle.
Mike hugged his friend back, giving the other Burner a gentle squeeze before he pulled away. “It’ll take more than a few hits to keep me down.” He patted Dutch’s shoulder and turned his attention to Tennie. “Hey Tennie.”
“Hey Mike.” The engineer smiled up at the Burner. “Glad to see you’re up.”
“Happy to be up.” Mike smiled at Tennie. He was glad to see her, but he was surprised. “Everything okay at the settlement?”
Tennie let out a long sigh at the question. “We’re…we’re okay now, but it’s been a rough few days even with the extra help…” She said, glancing over at Dutch briefly. “Nothing is fully fixed, but things are stable. Thankfully Kane hasn’t done anything else down after we destroyed the Genesis Pod.” She rubbed her eyes. As she did, Mike noticed that there were bags under her eyes.
It seemed he was the only one who got any kind of sleep.
The group was settling into the booth. Texas sat right in the middle of the curved booth with Chuck on his left and Dutch on his right. Tennie sat on the end of the booth beside Dutch. Mike sat at the other end of the booth, sandwiching Chuck between him and Texas. Looking around the table Mike realized that one of the Burners was missing.
“Where’s Julie?” He asked as the pizza was passed around on plates. It was late enough that she should have been down in the city
“She stuck up in Deluxe.” Texas spoke with his mouth already full of pizza.
“Dude… Don’t talk with food in your mouth. It’s gross.” Dutch shot Texas a look of disgust.
Chuck nodded in agreement with Dutch, swallowing his own bite before continuing on from where Texas’ had started. “Kane’s kept her in questioning since she got back up to Deluxe.”
Mike’s eyes widened slightly. “Any word from her?”
Dutch shook his head at the question. “Not since she left. The last message she sent out said she’d get back to us when she could…” The artist explained. “…That was about three days ago though.”
Mike was quiet at the last words. He took a bit out of his pizza, chewing slowly.
It didn’t have surprised him that Julie would be in questioning after their hostage stunt. He was expecting that from Kane. What had surprised Mike was how Kane had acted during the whole negotiation. Even if he never planned on stopping the Genesis Pod in exchange for Julie, he had still taken the time to get her out of the way. He could have just ignored them, could have moved on and gone along with his plan, he could have even forced Julie to actually let go of Mike’s hand, but he didn’t.
Kane had bluffed his way through the whole thing just to get Julie back.
He had cared enough about a lowly intern to get her out of harm’s way.
It was a reminder that Kane wasn’t a complete monster.
Mike swallowed the pizza in his mouth. Staring down at the pizza in front of him he suddenly lost his appetite at the thought.
“Could we contact her?” He asked. They had to make sure Julie was okay. Sure Kane had bluffed his way to get her out of trouble and get her out of the way, but that couldn’t be Kane’s only plan. Kane had to be planning something else for Julie. They had to get back in contact with her, even if it was just to know she was okay.
Please be okay…
“I don’t think we should.” Chuck said. Mike’s attention snapped to his best friend, gasping as a spike of pain ran through his neck. Chuck looked back at his friend, biting down on his lower lip at the look of pain on his friend’s face. “We can’t contact Julie, but there’s someone else we can talk to. Hang on…” The hacker wiped the pizza grease his hands off. He pulled up his keyboard and screen, typing into it rapidly. Just a moment later a different but familiar Deluxian popped up on the screen. “Hey Claire.”
The girl on the screen smiled at the blond. “Hey Chuck. What’s up?”
“Mike is.” He pushed the screen forward so that Claire was facing everyone sitting around the table. Mike waved to her and she waved back.
This was odd…
Mike still wasn’t sure what to make of Claire. She had come down to Motorcity plenty of times with Julie and had said they were friends, and had even helped them out when they were stuck up in Deluxe, but the Burner couldn’t figure out just where Claire fit in. To him she was still just Julie’s friend, and the girl Chuck liked.
The knot in his guts grew a little tighter at that last thought, reminding Mike of its presence within him.
“Hey guys. Hey Tennie.”
Tennie smiled back at the girl on the screen. “Hey Claire.”
“Hey Deluxe.” Texas’ mouth was full of pizza again. Claire turned her attention to him, pressing her lips in disgust at Texas. He rolled his eyes before forcing himself to swallow his half-chewed pizza, coughing before he turned his attention back to the screen. “Any word on Julie?”
The disgust melted away from the Deluxian girl’s face. She shook her head at the question. “Nothing yet, she’s been in questioning with Kane since she got back. I have no idea when she’ll be out. I’ve tried contacting her and the messages have been received, but I think someone else has been looking over them.”
“Is it safe for you to be contacting us like this?” Mike had to ask.
This couldn’t be safe, at least not now. Kane had to be on high alert, he had to be turning Deluxe upside down, and he had to be planning something. This couldn’t be safe.
“Yeah, it's fine. This channel way is secured and I’ve been through cleared through my questioning. Kane mostly needed me for confirmation on Julie’s story about getting kidnapped. Which by the way Mike…” Claire turned her attention over to Mike. Her eyes narrowed on him. The look made Mike shift and sit up a little straighter. Something about the look made him feel like a kid about to be lectured by a teacher. “…Don’t ever do that again. I would like to have my best friend back in one, safe, piece. Please.”
Mike looked back down to his pizza, unable to keep eye contact up with her. “Sorry…” It had all been an act but that didn’t take the danger out of the situation. He could have dropped Julie if his hand slipped at all or she could have if he hadn’t caught onto the plan quick enough. Things could have gone completely wrong had they not been thinking quickly.
“Shouldn’t we be trying to talk to Jules?” Texas asked before taking another bite of pizza.
“We shouldn’t.” Chuck's words were quick and firm, catching everyone around the table off-guard. The only one who didn't seem surprised by the blond's rare tone was Claire.
“Why not?” Texas’s mouth was full of pizza again but no one was going to stop him. “We gotta make sure she’s okay.”
“Because it’s going to look really bad if Julie gets a message from us when she’s trying to sell the whole damsel in distress act she and Mike pulled on Kane.” Dutch pointed out.
“She’ll be fine, so long as Kane buys her story.” Tennie added on after Dutch.
“He’s going to buy it. It just may be a while till she can get back down and Kane could have her under some kind of watch.” Claire explained. “Julie has made it so her chats may not be trackable, but it’s hard to argue with a guard assigned by Kane if they see her talking to someone from below.”
“So we could be putting her in more danger if we try to contact her.” Chuck pointed out.
Mike was quiet as he listened to his friends.
He could understand where Texas was coming from. Julie was their friend and they had to make sure she was okay, but they couldn’t put her at risk. Losing their only inside spy to Kane Co. was the least of Mike’s worries. There was no telling just what would happen to her if Kane were to discover Julie’s true motives for her internship.
The leader of the Burners looked up to the rest of his team. “No one can contact Julie, not unless she contacts us. We can’t put her in any kind of risk.”
Everyone around the table nodded at Mike’s words. Texas huffed at Mike’s words but nodded along with the group.
Mike looked back to Claire on the screen. “Can you keep us updated on her questioning?”
“Can do, will do.” Claire’s promise came with a smile. Mike smiled back at her. He still wasn’t sure where she fit in with the Burners, but she was Julie’s friend and he could count on Claire not putting the redhead in any harm.
“Stay safe Claire.” Chuck was smiling back at her. The knot that had formed in Mike’s guts grew a little tighter as he watched Chuck and Claire talk. The friendliness between the two was strange, given how Claire often acted whenever she was interacting with the hacker. “We’ll talk later.”
“You too Chuck. Bye guys.” Claire waved them off. The screen went black again before Chuck closed it.
Mike watched the screen vanish before leaning back in the booth. His arm stretched out over the top of the booth. The back of his wrist was just a few inches away from Chuck’s neck and he felt the freckled man’s skin brush against his own. Chuck must have felt Mike’s wrist since the blond hunched his back, pushing himself away from Mike’s hand.
Mike watched it happen and the knot within him grew tighter.
He shifted in his seat and turned his attention to the others around the table.
“So…how have things been for the last few days?” He asked, trying to will the knot away in the hope that it was just nothing.
[-X-]
Just a few hours after waking up, Mike was back in his room and staring back up at his ceiling. He let out a shaky breath as his ribs throbbed beneath his skin. The painkillers had worked fine for the first few hours, letting him move around slowly and even get a shower in before they started to wear off. It seemed as soon as they started to fade the pain came rushing right back in like it was trying to get ahead in a race.
The door creaked opened. The injured driver tore his sight away from the ceiling, watching his best friend enter the room.
Chuck closed it behind him with his foot before walking over to the bed. “Hey, I found the meds.”
Mike forced himself up on the bed so he could take the bottle. “Thanks Chuckles.”
The knot was gone. It had faded away at some point during dinner once things had started to feel much more comfortable.
“No problem.” Chuck leaned against the wall. Mike turned in the bed, picking up the water bottle beside the light on his nightstand and taking a swing from it. “You need anything else?” Chuck rubbed his foot against the back of his thigh. The blond had changed into a faded shirt and sweatpants. There were some holes worn into the hem of the shirt where Chuck had pulled on it over the last few months.
Mike shook his head. “No…I’m okay...”
Chuck didn’t say anything at Mike’s words. Mike pressed his lips, looking down to his feet on the floor.
A silence fell over the room.
Usually this was fine. They could just sit in silence, Chuck would be doing some kind of programming while Mike would be working out or working on something with Mutt. This silence was different though. It was thick and heavy.
This was weird.
This was wrong.
It was suffocating.
Mike sighed. He couldn’t just ignore the silence. He couldn’t stand it when things were like this. “Chuck, I know you’re mad-”
“I’m not mad.” Chuck cut him off quickly. “Okay, I’m mad, but…but I shouldn’t be…” He bit down on his lower lip. He ran his right hand through his hair, tugging on it lightly and sighing. Chuck moved down to the floor, sitting down on the make-shift bed that was still laid out on the floor. “You said you were okay. I didn’t believe you, but…but I didn’t think…I thought you were going to be okay. I really thought things would be fine, but…then you fell…”
The words grew soft. Chuck was pulling at the ends of his shirt and biting down on his lips.
Mike looked back to the floor. “…I’m sorry Chuck.”
He wasn’t sure what else he could say. Was there anything else he could say?
Chuck’s hand was back in his hair. “It’s okay, just…” He looked at Mike. His hand remained in his hair, pulling at it, before it dropped down to the floor. “…just let me know when you aren’t okay…”
Mike sighed and tilted his head up to look back at his friend. “I’ll try…”
It wasn’t a promise, but it was the best he could do.
The freckled man smile at him and Mike couldn’t fight the smile that formed on his lips. The air around them suddenly felt much lighter than before. He slid down off the bed to sit on the floor. Crossing his legs, he rested his elbows on his thighs. “So…any plans for Mutt?”
They hadn’t talked about Mutt at all. He had talked to Dutch about Mutt, who promised he would start working on it once things were a little more settled. Has Mike had found out over dinner Dutch had been helping Tennie out with the repairs around her home while Chuck and Texas were working on fixing up the restaurant for Jacob.
A smile formed on Chuck’s lips. He pushed himself up off the wall. “Yeah. I’ve been looking over blueprints and I’ve got the lists made up on what we’ll need for Dutch before he starts working on her.” He pulled up his screen, typing into his keyboard. “It’s going to take some time to get Mutt put back together though…”
Mike nodded at Chuck’s words.
He didn’t like waiting for Mutt, but there was too much going on. Too many people needed help, parts of the city were still without power, and there was always the fear that Kane was going to strike at any point. There was so much to work on, and Mutt was going to have to wait for now.
“You okay with Chopper for now?”
Chuck closed the screen in front of him. Pressing the back of his head against the wall, he stared up at the ceiling. “It’s definitely different...”
Mike looked to his knees. Mutt wasn’t perfect, but she was still safer than Chopper. Mutt could take a handful of hits depending on how Mike was driving and the worse that could happen to them would probably be a few bruises from hitting things inside of the car.
On Chopper they were completely exposed and open to every attack that could come their way. There wasn’t even anything that held them to the motorcycle. One wrong bump or one slip in grip could send either one of them flying off. Given all the safety issues Mike could think of he could only imagine what Chuck had picked up on as safety issues. It would probably be best for Chuck to ride with Texas or Dutch.
Mike’s toes curled into the carpet of the floor.
He didn’t like that idea.
Chuck sighed, pressing his head against the wall of the room. “…I’m gonna need to dig out a jacket for next time we go riding.”
Mike’s head snapped up at Chuck’s words. “Huh?”
“I’ve got a few hoodies, maybe a winter jacket somewhere. I could probably just layer them…” Chuck mumbled to himself. He looked back at Mike, who was looking at his friend with wide eyes and full of shock. “What? I don’t want to get pelted with rocks or anything when we go riding again. It hurt…” He rubbed his arm at his words.
The shocked look didn’t leave Mike’s face.
Chuck wanted to ride Chopper again, even with all the dangers around it. It wasn’t that safe, but either Chuck wasn’t thinking too much on the dangers of Chopper (which Mike doubted) or he just didn’t care. Either way, it didn’t matter. What did matter was that Chuck wanted to stick with him.
The shock was replaced with a grin as the reality set it. “We’ll have to find you a cool one so we can match.”
Chuck let out a chuckle and shook his head. “What? Matching helmets isn’t enough?”
“Nope.” Mike’s smile grew as he shook his head.
A louder laughed escaped Chuck’s lips and Mike let out his own series of snickers. The two settled back down after a moment. Mike smiled at Chuck. Things were feeling so much better now. The knot was gone, the air was back to normal, and Chuck was actually smiling. Things were starting to feel right again.
Mike glanced down at the blankets and pillow still lying out on the floor of his room. “You wanna sleep in here tonight?”
Chuck bit down on his lower lip. He glanced down to the blankets and looked back up at his friend. “Do you mind?”
“Never.” The word came out before Mike could think on it. That didn’t change the fact he meant it completely. He had some doubts that he could actually say no to his best friend.
“Thanks Mikey.” Chuck’s smile grew a little wider at Mike’s words. He leaned over suddenly, closing the space between them. He wrapped his one of his arms around Mike’s shoulders and the other wrapped around his back. The blond hugged his friend in a firm hug that was just…right. It wasn’t too gentle, nor was it too tight, it was just right.
Mike smiled at the hold. He pressed his head against Chuck’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around his friend, holding him just as firmly. They were back to normal, finally.
This is perfect…
Mike was the first to pull out of the hug, pulling away just enough to look at Chuck’s face while remaining in his hold. Their faces were just inches apart again like earlier today. A peaceful look had come over Chuck’s face. The look sent a strange warm feeling throughout Mike’s chest.
Kiss him…
Mike’s eyes widened at the thought that crossed through his head. He jolted, pulling out of Chuck’s arms suddenly.
Chuck’s smile dropped. The peaceful look melted away and a look of concern took its place. “Mikey? You okay bro?”
“Y-yeah…” Mike shook his head. “Just…pain spike…” He lied quickly. It wasn’t a complete lie, there were spikes of pain going through his body occasionally, but it was all Mike could think of. “I think I just need some sleep…”
There was a look of worry on Chuck’s face. He was quiet for a moment before nodding. “Okay… I’m going to be working on Mutt’s programs before bed.” He climbed underneath the blankets on the floor, pushing his pillow up against the wall of the room.
Mike nodded, thankful that Chuck wasn’t asking him any more questions. “Cool. I’ll leave the light on.” He climbed back up to his bed and under his own covers. He turned onto his side so he was looking right at the wall rather than facing his friend.
“Thanks man.” Chuck said from the floor. The other young man sounded slightly anxious, but whatever thoughts were going through his head he didn’t bring them up. “Night Mike…”
He gulped quietly before speaking. “Good-night Chuckles.”
He kept his eyes on the wall, not trusting himself to look back at his friend again.
He didn’t want to lie to Chuck, but just what was he supposed to say when a thought like that passed through his head?
He stayed awake, listening to Chuck type away. He was still awake when the typing stopped and the light was turned off. He was still awake when Chuck’s soft snores and mumbles started up. He was awake long into the night, listening to Chuck ramble briefly from one thing to another. He remained awake late into the night, and the knot remained as well.
What is this?
Why is this here now?
Eventually, his body gave way and allowed sleep to overtake him.