Chapter Text
Wash had spent all day away from the base, and Tucker was getting anxious.
He'd probably cleaned the whole place at least twice now, trying to distract himself. He knew he was probably overreacting. Wash said he was going to take the afternoon to himself, and Tucker understood -- it was hard to have some peace and quiet with Caboose around. But he couldn't help worrying at least a little bit.
Tucker stood next to their bunks, twisting a finger in the drawstring of his sweatpants. He watched a small beetle climb up the wall in the corner of the room. When it was halfway to the ceiling, Tucker grabbed the knife he always kept near his bed, took aim, and threw it at the bug. The blade spun three times in the air before hitting the wall straight on, vibrating as it penetrated an entire foot to the left of the beetle.
"Damn," Tucker breathed.
"Nice shot." Wash was standing in the doorway, his helmet under his arm.
"Hey!" Tucker spun around to see him. "Uh…sorry about the wall."
Wash walked over to the knife and pulled it out of the wall. "Sure…you can fix that tomorrow." He winked at Tucker over his shoulder and drove the knife straight into the beetle.
Tucker rolled his eyes. "Thanks."
Wash ambled over to his bed and sat down, beginning to remove his armor. "How was your day?" he asked, somewhat teasingly.
"I cleaned the place." Tucker motioned vaguely around the room. He glanced sideways at Wash. "And um…I missed you."
Wash grinned up at him. "Were you worried?
"Oh, shut up," Tucker groaned. He shifted his gaze to the floor. "Yeah."
"Aw." Wash chuckled. He was stripping off his last pieces of armor, leaving himself in a thin t-shirt and shorts. He laid down on one half of his bed. "C'mere," he said, staring at the ceiling. He patted the space next to him.
Tucker went to the foot of the bed and jumped, spinning around halfway in the air to land on his back next to Wash, who grunted
"These beds aren't quite made to stand up to that," the freelancer muttered.
Tucker laughed. "Then they definitely won't stand up to what I have in mind." He elbowed Wash in the side. "Bow chicka bow wow."
"Yeah, yeah," Wash said, waving his hand dismissively.
They were silent for a moment. Wash glanced at Tucker, who had his hands resting on his chest. Wash impulsively reached over and took Tucker's hand, pulling it over to rest their hands on his own chest.
Wash stared at the ceiling. "So."
Tucker said nothing.
Wash cleared his throat awkwardly. "It's been a few weeks, huh? Of…us."
Silence.
"I've been…it's made me pretty happy." Wash waited anxiously
Tucker sighed heavily. "Yeah, um…me too." He started to say something else, but his voice caught and he stopped. His finger twitched under Wash's hand.
Wash turned to look at him, frowning. "Are you okay?"
"Yes." Tucker took a shaky breath and slowly pulled his hand away from Wash's. "I'm fine." He sat up, running a hand through his hair. "Is it okay if I…go…" He pointed limply towards the door.
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine, um…are you…" Wash stood up hastily. "Are you feeling okay?" He gently put his hand on the back of Tucker's neck -- and quickly pulled away when Tucker flinched.
"I'm fine, Wash," he snapped. "I'll…see you later." He stood up and nearly ran out of the room.
Wash stared after him incredulously. He wondered if -- no, that couldn't be right. He rolled his eyes at himself and laid back down, heaving a sigh as Tucker's footsteps faded.
Wash woke up to a painful shout. His eyes snapped open, seeing only darkness. Then --
"Shh, shh, it's okay." Tucker's voice.
Wash didn't move.
"He was here and then -- no! Wait!" Caboose. "Please! Church, don't leave! Church!" He was sobbing. Wash's stomach sank.
"I know, shh, I'm here," Tucker said softly. "Shh, Michael, you'll wake Wash."
"Church…no…" Caboose whimpered. "Don't go! Don't…"
Wash heard the creak of a bed and, once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, saw the silhouette of Tucker sitting on the edge of Caboose's bunk.
"Tucker?..." Caboose asked timidly.
"Yes, I'm here," Tucker murmured.
Squinting, Wash saw movement -- Tucker was gently rubbing Caboose's back.
"Don't leave, Tucker," Caboose begged quietly, finally beginning to catch his breath.
"Never," Tucker assured him.
"You promise?"
"Yeah, Michael, I promise."
Caboose sniffled. "I wish I…made Church promise."
Tucker sighed. "Yeah. I wish I did too."
A minute of silence, save the rhythmic sound of Tucker's hand against Caboose's shirt.
"Tucker?"
"Hmm."
"Do you think Wash will ever leave?"
Tucker glanced over at Wash, who quickly closed his eyes, praying Tucker wouldn't realize he was awake. "I doubt it. I think he's here to stay."
Caboose yawned. "Okay…good…I like him."
"So do I," Tucker said with a smile in his voice.
More silence. Wash opened his eyes again.
"Why did…" Caboose stopped.
Tucker laid down next to him. "What?"
"Why did Church have to go? Why did he leave us here?"
Wash's throat tightened.
"He…he had to take care of some really important things," Tucker said, his voice smaller than before. "Stuff that only he and Carolina can fix."
Caboose sniffled again. "I wish we could have gone with him."
"I know, Michael…me too." Tucker pulled Caboose close to him, wrapping his arms around him as Caboose's body began shaking with more tears. "But we're safer here. He wanted to protect us. And he knows we have Wash."
Caboose buried his face into Tucker's shoulder. "Do you think we'll ever see him again?"
Tucker sighed, rubbing the back of Caboose's head. "I really hope so," he said quietly.
"He never said goodbye," Caboose whimpered, his voice muffled by Tucker's shoulder.
"Then…then that must mean we'll see him again, right?" Tucker insisted, his voice tight. "He owes us at least a goodbye."
Silence again. This time Caboose didn't ask another question. Within minutes his breathing slowed and Wash relaxed, knowing he was finally sleeping. Wash could hear Tucker shifting and expected him to move back to his own bed at any moment -- but instead, Tucker sighed quietly, adjusted his arms around Caboose, and settled into the bed. Wash closed his eyes, too, and managed to sleep after many attempts of silencing Caboose's sobs echoing in his head.