Chapter Text
“I think they’re gone,” Metias whispers after the footsteps we’ve been evading fade off into the distance. He’s breathing heavily, winded by our long sprint. I pant for breath beside him.
The two of us have been running from republic soldiers ever since that night in the hospital. I still can't believe how close I was to following my orders and killing him. The idea of it seems so distant now, and we’ve only been free of the republic for three weeks. Metias still won't tell me what he learned from the hacking, even though it's the reason we’re in this situation in the first place.
“Are you alright? I thought I saw one of them try to knife you.” Metias says in concern, turning to look at me. His face is almost completely covered in shadow. Most of the abandoned underground bunkers have faulty electricity at best, but this one seems to lack even that simple amenity.
Metias’ words bring me back to the present. “Uh- Yeah, yeah, one of them did. It's not too bad though,” I assure him as his face grows alarmed. He doesn't waste a second, turning me around and examining my back.
“That doesn't look fine to me, Thomas. I can't see the wound, but there's a lot of blood. Here, lie down on this couch,” he leads me to a beaten-up sofa, “And I’ll try to find some light so I can fix you up.” I nod, gingerly lying down on my stomach so I don't aggravate my injury further. Metias walks deeper into the dark room, slinking forward as carefully as possible. I watch him disappear into the shadows.
Five minutes pass. The blood is slowly dripping down my spine. It's warm and sticky, and I start to tremble. I can't tell if it's from pain or anxiety.
It's been ten minutes since I've seen any sign of Metias. Panic begins to spread through my system, sending harsh shivers down my spine. Enough of this, I think, forcing myself up. I peer hesitantly into the shadows, hoping to make something out of the gloom. I see movement in the door frame and my muscles tense up.
“I couldn't find a working light switch, but I found these candles and this first aid kit,” Metias says as he emerges from the shadows. I sigh, relaxing back onto the couch in relief. Metias sits down next to me and puts a few candles on the chewed-up wood table. He opens our supply bag, grabbing a lighter, and starting to light the candles.
“Thanks,” I look around as Metias flicks open the lighter. He has set up eight candles, but only lit three. “How is your shoulder wound holding up? I know it was bothering you earlier,” I mutter, watching the wax drip.
“My shoulder is much better than yours, Thomas, so I’ll be fine. Besides, there's plenty of supplies in this medkit for both of us.” Metias replies, rooting around said first aid kit and pulling out medical supplies. “Take off your shirt?” he says distractedly.
“C-come again?” I ask flusteredly, feeling heat rise to my face.
Metias looks over at me, “so I can check your wound.” He touches my forehead in concern. “Are you sure you're alright? You're looking flushed.” I blush harder, jerking my head away from him.
“No- nope. It's fine. I’m fine. I’ll just take off my shirt so you can heal- fix… me.” Curse my stupidly strong blush. Why must it be so visible? My shirt tears against the wound, and I let out an involuntary whimper as the open gash is irritated. I stop for a moment and gasp through the agony.
“Let me help you, Thomas.” Arms wrap around my shirt, gently easing it off of me. I send Metias a look of gratitude though my teeth are gritted with pain. He cringes when he sees the extent of the injury, which is a bit worrying. The scratchy texture of the gauze makes me flinch but Metias presses it hard against my back. He’s trying to stop the blood flow. “How's that feel?” He asks tenderly, grabbing a pair of scissors with his mouth and stanching the blood flow with his hands. The scissors make his voice sound slurred.
“It's manageable, thanks.”
“Of course,” Metias switches to bandaging my back, “I just hope it doesn't require more treatment. I don't know what we would do if this ends up being infected.”
“We can figure it out. We always have before, right?”
“Yeah. I'm glad you think so.”
“Thanks for doing this, I know you don't have to.”
“Don't be stupid Thomas, of course I have to. I’d be a pretty lousy friend if I let you bleed out,” he replies with a soft laugh. His calloused hands brush against my spine.
I flush as the situation we’re in comes rushing back to me. We’re all alone, the only light is candlelight, and I’m shirtless. The thought of being in this situation even a few weeks ago, when Metias was still my captain, is outlandish.
I never thought this would happen.
Then again, I never thought I would be a criminal against the republic either.
“...Metias?”
Metias looks over to me and raises a single, slender eyebrow. “Yes?” His face is cast in flickering shadow as the candles dance.
I turn back to face him and open my mouth to say something, then second guess myself. His eyes bore into my soul as my courage withers and dies in my chest. “Nevermind,” I mutter, “it's nothing.”
“Okay, are you sure?” Metias grabs a washrag, then starts gently wiping the blood off of my back. “It's not nothing if it's bothering you. Hopefully by now you've learned that communication goes a long way. We both don't want some repeat of that night at the hospital. Besides, until we find a way to safely get to June, we’re going to be alone together for a while, so we might as well get used to talking freely again.”
“I just wanted to- no. It's really not important, Met. And I will never do what I almost did that night at the hospital, I promise you.” I glance in Metias’ direction, looking into his black and gold eyes. He seems disappointed for some reason. A little worm of shame works its way into my chest.
“I know you won't, Thomas,” he whispers. “I trust you, don't forget that.” His voice is too tender. But he has taken his hands off my back, so I can control my blush.
“Right,” I mumble. “Can I put my shirt back on?”
Metias nods his head, making his dark brown hair bounce. “Just make sure to take it off again if it bothers you.”
“Yeah, okay.” I tug my shirt back on, then sigh, shifting into a sitting position. The couch creaks angrily, probably not equipped to handle the weight of two fully grown men. I glance over at Metias. There's a shadow of stubble on his face- it's grown out over these few weeks. There are dark smudges underneath his eyes, and his bangs hang down over his face, wild and fairly unkempt. After a moment of staring straight ahead, he bows his head. I hesitantly wrap my arm around him.
“We are going to be able to do this, right?” Metias whispers without looking up.
Suffocating silence takes over, making the air heavy and thick. I wrack my brain for a response but come up empty. I lean my head on Metias’ shoulder instead. We sit like that for a while. My arm around his waist, leaning against him.
“At least I’m doing this with you, Thomas.” He finally speaks, shattering the silence like glass. “It would be going a lot worse with any of the other soldiers. I would probably be dead.”
“True,” I mutter. “At least we have each other.”
“Exactly. As long as we stay together we’ll be fine.”
A long, awkward silence stretches out between us. There's something on his mind that's bothering him, I can tell. He takes in a deep breath to start talking, then lets it out as a sigh. We sit in the quiet for a few more minutes. He opens his mouth to start talking two more times but never gets a word out.
Enough of this. “Are you going to talk or just keep opening and closing your mouth?” I finally say, not bothering to turn and face him.
Metias huffs a half-hearted laugh. “You know me too well.”
“Well? What's bothering you?”
Metias pauses, and his eyebrows furrow. I can feel his hand fidgeting with the fabric of my shirt- he's nervous. “Do you think you made a mistake by not following orders? It's not like Jameson gave you a choice, and I really was breaking the law. Besides, if you followed orders you would be safe and June wouldn't be alone and we wouldn't-”
“Metias- you’re- no,” I say urgently, cutting him off. “I have never been more sure of a decision in my life. There's no way I could even function without you, Metias. And June- do you really think it would be better for her to have no brother? We’ll be able to get back to her somehow, and then she’ll have you.” I look at the side of his face, then put my hand on his chin and turn his face so he's looking me in the eyes. He looks thoroughly unconvinced.
Time to try this from a different angle. “I know I would be much worse off if I had followed orders,” I whisper.
Metias lets out a derisive snort, jerking his head out of my hold and turning back to the candles. “Sure. You'd probably be promoted to captain, you wouldn't be a criminal who almost bled out on a cruddy couch, and most importantly, your entire future would still be intact. I don't exactly know how this is better for you.”
“Do you really think that matters? If you were gone I wouldn't know what to do- and if I knew it was my fault? I would be as good as dead.”
Metias looks over at me. He looks surprisingly frustrated, glaring at me. “You're just saying words- you wouldn't just drop dead after I did. You got along just fine before we met.” He almost growls as he says it, his voice hard and angry.
I swallow my annoyance at his stubbornness before responding. “Metias. I met you when I was four. I barely remember a time when you weren't with me.” I lean on him and press my head into his shoulder like I used to when we were younger, trying to cheer him up. He sighs, his breath making my hair flutter.
“Right. Sorry, I’ve just- I've just been feeling all messed up lately. And I’m worried about June.” He scoots away from me, seemingly coming to his senses, and moves to properly sit on the couch. I shiver at the lack of warmth.
Then a weak smile graces his face, and he presses his leg against mine. My heart is pounding like a drum against my chest, but for once I manage to ignore it.
“It's fine.” I glance around the room. “This will work out. It will.”
“I hope you're right Thomas,” Metias responds, looking slightly comforted. And then he turns back to the flickering candles. I look forward to the light too.
This will work out.