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Evan’s heart raced, skipping a beat every time he heard a gunshot. Sand kicked up behind him as he ran. Following his masked companion as closely as possible. “Jet ski!” He called out, pointing out the vehicle in question. Delirious looked at where he was pointing and turned that way. Delirious stumbled over his feet at the quick turn, but stayed upright as he ran to the jet ski. A few more gunshots rang out behind him.
Evan felt a sting in his right arm; the feeling distracted him enough to lead to him tripping and falling into the sand. He ground his teeth as the fiery pain seared through his arm. Crying out in fear when sand exploded next to his head. Another bullet had barely missed him.
“Evan!” Evan quickly pushed himself up at the sound of Delirious’s voice. Grabbing an outstretched hand that he noticed at the last moment. With a surprising amount of strength, Delirious yanked Evan up to his feet, not waiting another moment before continuing towards the jet ski. Their hands remained locked together.
Some more piles of sand exploded around them as they finally got to the jet ski, the cold water reaching over Evan’s knees. Delirious let go to hop onto the vehicle, starting it up as Evan followed. Evan was nursing his arm for a moment, seeing and feeling the warm blood that ran down it. Evan flinched at the feeling and sight, but ignored it as he wrapped his arms around Delirious.
The jet ski quickly took off when Delirious was sure that Evan had a good grip. Evan gasped in pain as the force went straight through his arm. He felt Delirious shoulders tense up at the sound, but it wasn’t the focus as more bullets flew past them. The jet ski bounced over the waves, the sounds of the gunshots fading into the distance the further they got from the beach. Evan clenched his jaw, pain running rampant through his arm with every minor bump and jump.
The jet ski eventually slowed as the beach fully disappeared from their sight. Evan felt that he could finally breath. Even though running from the police was a situation the two always got into, that didn’t make it any less scary. He leaned his head onto Delirious back, feeling Delirious’s shoulders relax at the touch. “Y-you okay?” Delirious asked, his voice slightly trembling.
Evan leaned back, looking at his arm again. The fiery pain slowly crept up as the adrenaline faded and the wound was still bleeding. “Not so hot.” Evan mumbled as he placed a hand over it. Hoping to stop the bleeding, at least a little. The jet ski came to a stop and Del awkwardly turned around to face Evan. “We should find a way back. Brock should probably look at it.” Evan continued as Delirious moved his hand out of the way to see the damage.
Delirious pulled off his mask and set it on the seat. Only for it to slip off into the water. Evan cursed and tried to grab it, but a wave moved it away, “Fuck- Del, your mask-“
“Fuck the mask!” Delirious quickly said, not taking his eyes off of Evan’s arm, “It- It’s not important...” Delirious gently put pressure around the wound, his eyes narrowing with focus.
Evan bit his tongue, looking back at the mask as the waves carried it further and further away. “Are you sure? I mean, I know-“
“It’s not- not bad. Your arm... It looks like it really hurts, but... It’ll be fine.” Delirious shrugged off his hoodie as Evan finally got the hint that Delirious truly didn’t care that the waves swept away his mask. Evan placed his hand back on his arm as Delirious fumbled with his hoodie.
Delirious finally grabbed one sleeve and pulled it. Mumbling gibberish to himself and pulling a few more times. He let out a sigh of frustration, “This isn’t supp- This isn’t hard!” He cried out as he pulled on the sleeve again.
Evan laughed, “What are you even doing? Are you trying to ruin it?”
Delirious looked up, not appreciating Evan laughing at him, “This isn’t funny!” Evan leaned back, not sure what to say and not expecting this outburst. “I- You- Your hurt! It’s not funny that- that your hurt!” Delirious pulled on the sleeve again, successfully tearing it this time. “Fuckin’ finally!” He grabbed Evan’s arm and pushed Evan’s hand out of the way again. “I- It- I don’t have cleaning things. At least I can... Stop... Slow the bleeding. Then Brock can handle the rest. When we get back.”
Evan winced when Delirious tied the ripped sleeve tightly around his arm. “Ow, does it have to be that tight?”
Delirious nodded, “Yeah... At least, Brock said so.” He let out a sigh of relief as he finished the knot.
“Brock said so? Since when have you been taking lessons from Brock?” Evan chuckled, gingerly touching the wrap. “Looking at taking his job or something?”
Delirious grimaced, “Heeeeell no!” He exaggeratedly leaned back, shaking his head and waving his arms around. His back hitting the handlebars of the jet ski, turning them away and letting him fall off. A loud curse heard over the sound of the waves. Evan couldn’t help but laugh as Delirious quickly scrambled back onto the jet ski. Soaking wet. “Fuckin’! Why!” Delirious was also laughing, as he settle back on the seat, “Wow- stupid ski!” He pushed the handlebars back and sighed, “No. I’m- Not taking Brock’s job. He’s too good!”
“So learning just because?” Evan asked between laughs and trying to not get wet.
Delirious shook his head, “No...” He pointed at the wrap, “I... I just noticed that you get... Hurt... A lot.” He mumbled, his gaze now going to his own fingers as he played with his hang nails. “I... Didn’t like that I couldn’t do anything about it... I wanted to stop it, but I never can... So, I learned how to... Fix it instead.”
Evan put his hand back on his arm, realizing that Delirious was speaking the truth. He did often get hurt on missions. Though, admittedly, sometimes it was his fault, but most of it was people who intended on hurting him. There were scars, there were wounds, there were bruises and scratches. Evan didn’t think much of them. Even though he always got an ear full from Brock. “It’s... It’s alright Del. I’m fine-“
“No!” Delirious slammed his fist into the seat of the jet ski, “No, it’s not! No, you’re not!” He sucked in a breath, trying to keep himself from crying, “I- I get- It’s scary! It’s scary how you don’t care!” Delirious froze when he locked eyes with Evan, seeming a slightly scared and confused expression. He took a breath and wiped away a stray tear, “I just... I don’t like seeing you hurt. I... I care.”
Evan gently squeezed his arm, feeling some blood trickle between his fingers. He never really thought about this. Sure, Brock always scolded him for being careless. Yes, Brian always teased him when he did something stupid and got hurt. But he thought no one was scared for him. He always turned out okay, but that wasn’t enough for Delirious. Evan scooted a little closer to Delirious, letting go of his arm to hug Delirious. It wasn’t a warm hug. It was wet and cold, but it didn’t matter. It was still comforting, and he felt safe as Delirious returned the gesture with a firm bear hug. “I’m sorry Del... I just... I don’t know, gotten used to it?”
“Get unused to it.” Delirious defiantly replied.
“I don’t think that’s a word.” Evan chuckled as he repeated the word, “Unused.”
“Shut up.” Delirious softly said, trying to sound frustrated, but his slight laugh had the opposite effect. He gave Evan one last and long squeeze before finally breaking the hug and turning back the proper way for the jet ski, “I- We should get back. I- Brock needs to check that out.”
Evan wrapped his arm back around Delirious’s waist and let his head rest against Delirious’s shoulder, “Take me away.” Delirious hummed and then they were off. Even though it was still wet and cold, Evan didn’t want to let go.