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They were laughing at him. The asshole was actually laughing at him.
Fun Ghoul lay in the hot sand, knee twisting at an impossible angle- well, not impossible. He's definitely had it worse- what, with all the falling off of roofs and getting shot at on the daily and all- but Party Poison underscoring his suffering with their giggling only put Ghoul in a worse mood.
"I'm sorry it's just-", they gasped out between fits of laughter, "a snake?"
"It was chasing me!"
"Ghoul, you’re like 500 times its size."
"Fuck off!"
"Watch it" Jet Star bit back with a quick jab of his thumb, gesturing to somewhere over Ghoul's shoulder. He twisted around to follow the gesture, only to find Kobra Kid standing a few yards away with The Girl in his arms- both looking equally traumatized.
The movement jostled Ghoul's knee, causing him to bite back another pained groan- which in turn prompted Kobra and The Girl’s to widen impossibly larger. The looks on their faces would be comical if Ghoul wasn’t so pissed off. Kobra wore an anxious expression as he lifted his hand to speak, but-
"He'll be fine Kobes, he's just being a bitch" Party responded before Kobra could even sign a word out. Ghoul hated that. The telepathy. It was witchcraft if you asked him.
Kobra nodded solemnly in response, but Ghoul swore he could see the beginning of a smirk starting to form on his worried face- the rat. This was his fault anyway.
But while the Venom Brothers seemed to be enjoying their bask in Ghoul's suffering, Jet looked extremely serious as he leaned down to examine his knee. He touched it lightly, not reacting to Ghoul’s muttered swearing. "What happened here? I thought Show Pony told ya’ to take it easy after that clap in Zone 5."
Ghoul rolled his eyes. "Why don’t you ask Kobra, I was just minding my own business and he tried to kill me!". He realized immediately after saying this that there was a bit too much bite in his voice- something that was evidenced by the piercing glare Kobra shot his way..... oh well.
“She found a snake and we wanted to show it to him, I don’t know why he freaked out about it” Kobra signed with his free hand.
"Maybe because you THREW IT AT ME?"
“I did not throw it at you.”
"Well, you dropped it on my head!"
"It barely touched you."
"It's a SNAKE!"
“We live in the desert.”
"And?"
“... That’s where snakes live.”
"Destroya, you two are worse than Cherri and Tommy on restock day, what’s the moral of this story? How did.... this happen" Jet interjected, making vague sweeping gestures towards Ghoul.
“He got scared and fell off the rocks.”
"I did not get scared, you dropped a snake on me and I tripped, I think that’s a perfectly reasonable-"
"Fell off the- these rocks?" Jet said incredulously, pointing to the large outcropping of rocks above them that jutted into the sky like some sort of... something. Ghoul was in too much pain for metaphors... the shock must be wearing off.
"Look around Jet, do you see any other rocks?" He bit out.
Party interjected, "I mean, I see at least seven and I’m sure theres more if we-"
"Don’t be a smart ass I obviously didn't fall three feet and bust my knee this bad."
"I’m just saying you should specify which one."
"The big one. Obviously" Ghoul gritted out in annoyance.
Jet whistled. "Detroya, well no wonder..." he said, trailing off before returning to his job wordlessly. Ghoul squeezed his eyes shut, trying to steady his breathing and keep a neutral face as his crewmate poked and prodded at his twisted limb. Yeah, the shock had definitely worn off, Ghoul thought to himself as he lay there, the sand rough and sticking against his skin.
God, what was taking so long? And why was everyone being so quiet? Ghoul would rather Party harass him or Kobra talk about his computer nerd shit than lie there in silence. But the quiet pervaded, weaving itself thick and heavy into the scorching desert wind as Jet continued to work. It also allowed Ghoul a moment to process what had happened... to realize just how high he had fallen from... and just how close he was to hitting his head on the rock Party was now standing on. But it wasn’t until Jet gently pushed the hem of his shorts up out of the way that his anxiety began to spike.
Party seemed to sense this change in mood from Ghoul and took it upon themselves to break the tense silence. Ghoul was surprised it took so long- usually Party was the one who talked like they couldn’t stand the sound of their own thoughts.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing you wore those ugly ass short today, otherwise you’d be getting a pair of jorts a la Jet Star."
Ghoul almost let out a bitter laugh at that one, but he couldn’t give them the satisfaction. "Pois, from the very bottom of my heart- and I mean it when I say this- choke and die."
"I love you too" they quipped back, blowing their boyfriend a kiss from above.
Not having found this particular gesture amusing nor comforting, Ghoul swung for their ankles. But rather than knocking them off their perch, the Killjoy only managed to hurt himself further in the process, his face screwing up again a the sudden bolt of pain that ran up his body.
"Can we please get this show on the road, please" Ghoul pleaded.
"Alright, calm down," Jet said as he finished his examination. He looked up at Ghoul, and then to Party, "Come hold him down, will ya?"
At this, the lopsided grin that had adorned Party's face since they rolled up on the scene faltered for a moment. "Jet, I don’t know if I’m the best person to-"
"You don’t have to do anything, just make sure he doesnt try to sit up or pull away, okay? Otherwise, this could be really bad."
Party blinked for a moment, looking down to Ghoul, who was now looking considerably more anxious than before.
Party sighed "Jet, we really should work on your bedside manner." they said as they lowered themselves down, kneeling above Ghoul's head to place their hands on his shoulders. Instantly, Ghoul felt relieved having Party near, the weight of their hands grounding him. He finally opened his eyes, peering up at Poison- their hair haloing all around their upside-down face, the sun shining through it. They smiled down at him, looking as beautiful as ever despite the thick layer of grime and dust that covered their body- it almost made Ghoul forget all about what was happening until-
"Jesus CHRIST!" Ghoul cried out as Jet pulled their leg straight.
"Sorry, I needed to get your knee position while you were relaxed," Jet said apologetically. "Kobra you come here too I need your help"
Kobra perked up, turning his attention from the game he and The Girl had been playing to sign a quick “Who, me?”
"Yes you, come hold his other leg so he doesnt hurt himself.”
Ghoul's eyes widened "Hold my other-"
"What about me?!" The Girl cried, running over to the Killjoys when Kobra set her down.
"I don’t know guys, this seems a bit excessive..." Ghoul said anxiously, eyes darting towards each of his crewmates in rapid succession. Party's hands squeezed his shoulders.
They smiled, looking to The Girl "Why don’t you hold his hand Girlie?"
At this, the toddler nodded gleefully, flopping herself down at Ghoul’s side to fit her hand in his. He squeezed her hand back, returning a grateful, but shaken smile as Kobra kneeled down, taking a hold of his uninjured leg. The group fell back into a tense silence as Jet poked around at his knee once more. Why wasn’t he doing anything? "Just your sweet, sweet time Jetty, I’ve got nowhere to be." Ghoul said sarcastically as he flopped his head back into the sand.
"Just chill dude, Pony never..." Jet responded, once again letting his words trail off.
Ghoul began to feel the panic rise in his throat when he lifted his head back up to see a distinctly hesitant look covering Jet's face. It was a look he'd never seen before. "....Never what?"
"Just hold still, okay?"
"Never what, Jet." Ghoul didn't like where this was going.
Jet looked around before mumbling hesitantly, "I’ve seen Pony do it before, it’ll be fine just relax and-"
"Jet, have you never done this before?"
"I mean I’ve reset your shoulder like forty-five times now, how different can it be?"
"how different-?! No. No, I am not doing this, someone call Show Pony right now." Ghoul said, squirming to get away from his crewmate's grasps.
Party tightened their grip on Ghoul’s shoulders, now pushing him down into the sand. "Baby, just relax... it’ll be fine, okay? You have to relax". Ghoul looked up at his partner, panic in his eyes, silently pleading- but Party wouldn’t budge. They just looked back down at him, trying to project as much calm on their features as they could to comfort Ghoul. It wasn’t exactly working, but somewhere in his fear-riddled brain, Ghoul found a space to appreciate the attempt.
"Alright guys, here we go," Jet nodded as everyone tightened their grips on Ghoul's now thrashing frame, "This is going to hurt a bit."
Ghoul only thrashed harder, "Jet, stop it!"
"Sorry, Ghoul."
"Jet Star, on god you better get your hands off of me or I will-"
But that was all Ghoul could spit out before Jet reset his leg with a sickening CRACK. Party watched as the look of pure panic in Ghoul's eyes morphed into one of wide-eyed clarity that only comes with the adrenaline shock of immense pain... it wasn’t a look that they were very soon to forget.
For all his pain tolerance (something he bragged about ad nauseam, of course), Ghoul couldn’t help but let out an ugly scream as he felt this knee grind back into place. It was over in a second, but the pain still radiated out from his limb, choking him. Ghoul could see Jet’s mouth moving as he tried to speak to him, but all Ghoul could hear was his gasping breath and heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Oh god, he was going to puke.
Ghoul tipped his head to the side, heaving once before everyone scrambled to give him space. He continued to heave, the side of his face pressed into the sand as Jet scooped up The Girl and went over to Kobra, who stood off to the side with his hands covering his ears. Party however did not retreat, and instead crawled over to where Ghoul lay, rubbing their hand on his back. Ghoul flinched, retreating further into his panic.
"Hey, hey it’s over I promise, you did so good" Party cooed in the best soothing tone they could manage, their voice still betraying an edge of distress. They quickly shifted into a sitting position, pulling Ghoul back over to put his head in their lap. They stroked his hair gently, whispering encouraging words as the rest of the crew watched on. "Just breathe for me, alright? in... and out..." the instructed, taking deep breaths for Ghoul to follow.
Ghoul didn't respond in any noticeable way, but still seemed to register Party’s words- he gasped a breath in before letting it out shakily moments later. "There you go Ghoulie, doing great."
They continued on like that for a long while, breathing together as the sun began to slip further down in the sky. Party didn't speak again until Ghoul's initial panic seemed to have subsided.
"Good job, I’m so proud of you"
"E-ew, shu-ut the fuck u-up." Ghoul stuttered out.
"Yeah, yeah get it out of your system." Party said, relief flooding through their body at Ghoul's response. That was a bad one. They took a breath for themselves and looked to Kobra and Jet who still stood with The Girl a few yards away. Party gave them a quick nod to let them know Ghoul was okay, and they headed off to go find the Am.
Ghoul was still shaking lightly as Party returned their attention to him, leaning down to place soft kisses on his forehead, his nose, his eyelids- their hair curtaining off the moment from the outside world. It was the quiet moments like these that Ghoul remembered most. Not the fights, or the pain, or the near misses- but the aftermath, the closeness, the love. That’s what made life worth living- worth fighting for. He only wished it could always be like this.
Party continued fawning over Ghoul, whispering soft words and chasing away all the tension left in his body. And once when the shaking subsided, and the breaths evened out, Ghoul finally opened his eyes to peer up at their partner. "You're still an asshole." he croaked out with an exhausted smile.
The redhead grinned, nothing but love in their eyes. "Yeah, I know," they said, placing a quick peck on Ghoul's lips before helping him into an upright position, "That’s kind of my brand if you haven’t noticed!"
Ghoul moved slowly as to not jostle his newly realigned knee "Oh really? I thought your brand was being a massive slut."
At this, Party barked out a laugh and stood up, brushing themselves off. "Only for you, Ghoulie".
"And Show Pony. and Newsagogo. and Mads. Oh, and also that girl from the-"
"Alright! Alright, I get it!" Poison said with a grin, holding a hand out to haul Ghoul to his feet. Ghoul let out a short gasp of pain at the sudden change of position, stumbling a bit, but Party was there to catch him. In the moment of silence that followed, Ghoul took a moment just to look at his partner. The sun had nearly slipped below the dusty horizon, and the sky was painted with swaths of reds, oranges, and purples so vibrant and bright that you need to shut your eyes- but Ghoul thought that the view was worth the blindness that followed. Party Poison fit right in.
"You okay Ghoulie?"
Fun Ghoul just shook his head and smiled. "I love you."
Caught off guard, Party blinked for a moment before responding, "I love ya too," they said, trying to hide the blush that spread across their freckled cheeks. Ghoul wouldn’t call them out on it.
The two Killjoys began their slow trek back to the Trans Am in silence, Party supporting Ghoul as he limped his way across the sand.
"Hey, Pois?"
"Yeah?"
"Don’t tell anyone I screamed like a baby, okay?"
Party tipped their head back and laughed, and Ghoul could swear it was one of the most beautiful sounds he’d ever heard. "It’ll be our little secret." they said, pressing their lips gently against Ghoul's.
---
That night as Party Poison lay in bed listening to Dr. D’s station quietly, they heard a strange announcement:
"Hey there all you tumbleweeds, be on the lookout tonight because we might have our very own banshee out on Route Guano. Runners in Zones three to five reported hearing a gnarly screaming coming down the airwaves. Now some it’s just the wind howling through the dune, but Destroya knows anything can happen out here in the desert, so just keep your eyes peeled and remember to keep on runnin’. This is Dr. D signi-”
"Pois, turn that shit off" Ghoul mumbled, half asleep.
"Sorry, I was just-" A soft snore cut them off mid-sentence, and Party turned round to see their boyfriend already fast asleep. With a soft smile, Party leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of Ghoul's head before curling up next to him.
"Goodnight my little banshee."