Work Text:
“You’re a loose end,” Clyde says, and Evie moves without thinking. She doesn’t think about how she’s responsible for the entire Unreliable crew, or that she’s the basket that Phineas put all of his eggs in. She’s only thinking about how Felix, exposed, has a gun to his head.
When the first shot goes off, it is just seconds after she’s planted herself in front of Felix. She doesn’t feel the intense burn blooming across the wound that sends her stumbling into Felix at first. All she can think is, thank God. She can use time to her advantage in short bursts, but there is no way to prevent the agony of being shot at point blank from ripping through her.
Clyde lands another shot, this time in her side, before he is distracted by the whirlwind that is Nyoka. There is shooting all around them, Clyde’s crew unaware that they’re defending the man who betrayed them. Evie’s vision is pulsing, and the only thing keeping her upright is Felix. She can feel his strong hands on either side of her arms, fingers clenching her so tightly it’s like he’s afraid she’s going to disappear. “Boss!” he shouts, and she wishes he didn’t sound so panicked.
“I-I’m okay,” she grunts through clenched teeth, pushing him toward cover. If she were smarter, she would have worn her heavy armor, much safer and much uglier. She pulls out her gun anyway, wrapping an arm around her middle to try to staunch the pain.
“We’ve gotta get outta here!” Nyoka shouts over the heavy fire of her weapon, “Push ‘em back!”
It’s easier said than done. The more Evie exerts herself, the more difficult it is to stay focused. Blackness is ebbing into the edges of her vision, and her wounds feel like they’re eating away at her, more intense as time goes on. She can hear Felix fighting to her right, and she can barely see Nyoka clearing a path ahead of them before she falls to her knees. “Get to the ship!” She tries to shout, but it comes out as more of a whimper.
She knows they’re making ground against the gang because there is less and less gunfire, but it’s not over. She tries to crawl forward, but only manages to collapse further behind a shipping crate. Her hands are shaking too badly to be of much use, but when one man manages to spot her, she’s still able to drop him before he reaches her. The darkness is moving in faster, and it seems so easy to succumb to it. I’m sorry, she thinks, I didn’t mean for it to be like this.
“Where’s the Boss?” She hears Felix shout from a few feet ahead, panting.
“I thought she was with you!” Nyoka shouts back, even further away.
“Evie!” Felix’s desperate call is the last thing she really registers before there is one final pulse and blackness seeps into everything around her.
For a brief moment, she is jolted back into consciousness, eyes turned toward the sky. She is rocking, and there is a pale shape just above her that she can’t quite make out. The only thing she can really understand is the beautiful sky above her, colors she never would have seen blended so lovely on Earth.
But the sky fades and draws an ice-cold wave of fear with it.
When she is next aware of herself, there is a heaviness weighing her down. It takes her a few tries to open her eyes, and fewer still to keep them open against the bright lights. She is in her room, in her bunk. The space outside the window is blurring by, and that means that they’re going somewhere. She’s trying to sit up when she realizes that someone is coming into her room.
Their footsteps are light, and Evie sees Ellie before the other woman sees her. Ellie jumps a foot in the air when she sees her captain halfway slumped up, staring at her with wide eyes. “Captain! You’re up!”
Her mouth is very dry, so she croaks, “I guess I needed my beauty sleep?”
Ellie pulls up a chair to Evie’s side and drops into it, “You needed a lot more than that. Felix found you passed out in a pool of your own blood. They were afraid you were dead, but he still carried you all the way back to the ship. I worked my magic from there.”
“Is everyone okay?” Evie asks, settling back into her bed.
“Nobody else was on death’s door. You really should start taking more Adreno with you. Or maybe don’t step directly in front of bullets,” Ellie leans back in her chair.
“Is that a medical opinion?” Evie rolls her eyes, but there’s no malice behind it. “Thank you for helping me, Ellie.”
“It’s what I’m here for, Boss,” Ellie smiles, patting Evie gently, “Try and rest while we’re skipping. Our meds can do a lot but they’re not miracles. Your body still needs to recover.”
“Would you mind getting me some water then?” Evie lets her head fall back with a sigh.
“’Course.” The ship is set up in such a way that’s easy for Evie to hear the clank of Ellie’s footsteps on the stairs. A moment later, she also hears a crash and different footsteps pounding their way to her quarters.
Felix bursts into her quarters with his chest heaving, eyes roving up and down her body as if searching for something. It makes her self-conscious, and she tries to curl up sluggishly. “Boss,” he says, voice wavering.
She’s never seen him so...fidgety before. Even when she’d made him interview for a position on the Unreliable, he’d been a little more collected than this. He stands a few feet from her, wringing his fingers. “Felix,” she greets, her voice still a little rough.
“I’m sorry,” he blurts, and she blinks at him.
“...for what?” she asks, confused. She readjusts herself so that she can look him in the eye more easily.
“It was my fault. You being shot. Clyde was my... it should have been me.” Felix looks away.
“Felix...” her brows draw together, “Do you think I just wandered in front of you or something?”
“What do you mean?” he looks back at her.
“I chose to step in front of you. And Clyde being a bootlicker wasn’t your fault either. Things just got a little out of hand,” she shrugs.
“I thought you were dead,” Felix says, clenching his fists, striking her with his intensity. “When I found you...I never want to see you like that again.”
He sounds so hurt, and it’s the last thing she wanted. “I’m sorry,” she whispers.
Felix drops into the chair, frowning, “I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you to be okay. And I was really, really scared that you weren’t. You were so limp...and cold...”
Evie leans forward before she can stop herself, trying not to jostle herself too much, and carefully wraps her arms around him. It’s not something she would have done without a dose of liquid courage normally, but it’s the only thing she can think of to do. “I’m not cold anymore,” she murmurs into his neck, trying not to distract herself with how firm his chest is.
For a moment, he’s still, but then she feels his arms wrap around her. He presses her as close as he can get away with. “Don’t do that again,” he mutters into her ear, and she can’t help but shiver as his breath washes over her.
“I can’t promise that,” she says, and is disappointed when he pulls away.
“Excuse me?” he stares at her as if she’s grown two heads.
“I would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping you safe,” the words bring heat to her cheeks, so she looks away. To try to lighten her words, she adds, “Besides, you’ll be there to carry me.”
“Evie,” Felix says, and he so rarely says her name that it sends a jolt through her. She meets his eyes, and suddenly their faces are too close together, and her lips are pressing into his. The kiss is small, chaste, but it’s enough to make her heart pound—which makes her bullet wounds throb. She can’t help the small hiss of pain, and Felix jumps back.
His cheeks are on fire, “Sorry, sorry, I--”
“It’s okay,” she cuts him off, the pain fading. “I should be the one apologizing.”
Felix’s face falls. She swallows, “I shouldn’t have...it’s not right for me take advantage of you like that...I don’t want you to feel like you have to.... have to do anything because I’m the captain.”
Felix looks confused, “I don’t think it’s taking advantage of me if it’s something...it doesn’t matter if you’re captain or not. For me. That’s not why I’m, uh, attracted to you.”
“You’re attracted to me?” she blinks at him.
“I mean,” he scratches the back of his neck, “Wasn’t it obvious?”
“No!” she can feel her ears burning, “Why would you...”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Felix swallows, leaning forward, “You’re funny and you’re generous and you’re beautiful...and if you made me make a speech like on Groundbreaker, I would.”
She can’t help it. She kisses him again. He kisses back enthusiastically, and she can feel his smile against her lips. “I don’t think that would be necessary, but it does kind of sound like something I’d want to see.”
“Whatever you want,” he promises, but then pauses, “as long as it’s not taking bullets for me.”