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It all felt like fire. Pure molten lava coursing through her veins, and honestly, she wasn’t surprised. She was on a time limit, and well, the alarms along the way would only get worse, compared to what she was about to experience in a few days. Mobius hadn’t been able to get much sleep, and the isolation was really, really getting to her head. Today, her alarm was that fiery, molten pain shooting through her body from her shoulder. No amount of disinfectant could save her from the fatal bite that had shredded her skin. Maybe she’d have longer if she was bitten on her ankle, she’s seen people be themselves for longer, not that she could save them.
It had been months of working with this virus, yet barely even a week since the doctor had decided to head out for a supply run and to look for… fresher specimens.
Obviously it had gone south when a viral had attacked from the sidelines and tore through Mobius’s protective gear before she could take it out. Now, she was quarantined in her lab, and riding through the excruciating pain that woke her up. The green-haired woman could barely peel herself from her desk, yet eventually managed to despite her muscles locking up simply from the blaze going through her body. The lights to her lab felt far too bright, and her head pounded with a screaming rage that not even a flood could drown out. She felt like if she didn’t do something, her skull would split open simply due to how contained and concentrated some of the pain was in her head. Yet a sloppy grab of a syringe led to her yanking a sleeve down and jabbing it at the sight of the wound, not caring if she hit a direct vein or not.
The relief came in waves, and it felt like ages before it finally washed over the doctor and she could breathe again. Mobius could see a pool of blood over her notes that she had fallen asleep on, and she drew her tired eyes over the rest of the messy scene in front of her. The papers strewn about, multiple journals, and well, it was hard to ignore the supplies and medical equipment that had been haphazardly cleaned up. Part of her was just plain satisfied that she still had time. In the small room she stayed in, it was a repurposed version of her own little biohazard containment level 4 chamber. Once a place where she could safely study this virus that would completely demolish the human body, work towards something that could cure or help protect the few still alive, and well, find out if anything had changed. What once was a place of safety had become a place of confinement.
Mobius leaned forwards, pinching her brows together as she scrunched her eyes shut, lord the light hurt. She knew the nullifier could only work for so long, it’s what kept her from slipping too far into the infection, but to say she’s forgotten her basic needs due to its nullifying effects would not be too far from the truth. She checked her watch, ah, midday. Then she reached up to her nose, feeling the crust the trail of blood had taken down the side of her nose down onto her notes. She got up, taking her glasses off and walking through the makeshift path the others had made to a restroom. The walls torn down haphazardly and the plastic sheeting walls that were being reinforced by recycled metal walls protected the others from what crawled around the containment area.
Mobius stumbled to the sink, looking to the mirror as she stabilized herself with each hand supporting the scientist’s once healthy body against the sides of the sink. When her reptilian eyes stared back at the woman in the mirror, she looked like shit. Tired eyes that had been stained dark and sunken in, her lips had been picked at–or well. Chewed raw. Blood stained just below her eyes and her nostrils, that iron-red tone would take months to disappear, if that could ever happen. Her skin had sores on it, red staining around the clusters of raw skin and scabbing over the holes that had been scratched either to test or out of desperation just to feel something, even if it was just the warmth of blood flowing over the tips of her cold, cold fingers. Though through it all, the look in the doctor’s eyes showed anything but defeat as they shook in place. A cough racked her frail body, and the doctor cupped her hands under the faucet and let water fill them before washing it over her face. Then she fixed up her messy hair, muttering a comment to herself. Mobius drew back, opting to head the way she came after washing her hands.
It was hours and hours of the doctor’s work that drew by, and as the pain came buzzing back, she felt arms wrap around her abdomen. One ice cold and as hard steel, the other warm. Her breath stiffened as someone’s face nestled to the back of the doctor’s neck. She knew that she had to shoo this person out before things went south, but she was just too weak to do anything about it. There was a reason they wore gas masks outside, why she wore a ventilated hazmat suit in this place before she had been wounded. It was for safety, and here this person was. Somehow, Mobius knew just who, and they weren’t Elysia.
“Vill-V.”
Her voice was raspy, and she cleared her throat a bit. Gods that felt like fire.
“Vill-V. You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Mmh.”
That defeated groan struck something in the doctor, yet she didn’t give in to the other woman’s notions.
“It’s dangerous. It’d be foolish of you to abandon them like this.”
“It’s foolish of you to let yourself suffer like this too, you know.”
Ah, the Expert. Mobius went silent at the response, thought, then gave her simple reply, patting the engineer’s vinyl hand.
“It’s not suffering. Now go before you catch something.”
“A bit late there, I’ve caught you working yourself to the bone.”
“We both know that wont stop me.”
“Mobius.”
The way that she said her name. She had to freeze in place. The way that Vill-V’s voice cracked in desperation sent shivers down Mobius’s spine. The lights felt far too bright again, and the scalpel in one of her hands was shaking. The other was bleeding, dripping blood right against the metal of the tray, narrowly avoiding the foil holding her sample. She had missed a cut, and stabbed deep into her own hand. Yet, she felt nothing.
“Mobius… You’re letting yourself waste away.”
“I need to make this. Humanity will suffer and die without it.”
“I don’t want to lose you in the process.”
“...Maybe you’ll have to learn to part ways then.”
Vill-V’s grip around her waist tightened and the green-haired woman’s breath stifled in pain, and the engineer froze, loosening their grip in seconds. An apology was mumbled against Mobius’s neck, and the doctor patted their vinyl hand once more, showing she understood that they didn’t mean to do it. A shaky sigh escaped Mobius and Vill-V seemed to only snuggle closer to the doctor. Everywhere they touched burned, and the green-haired doctor’s hands were starting to shake again. The engineer hummed softly, then reached out and took her hands, snaking the scalpel and forceps out of them before delicately slipping off the gloves.
“V.”
They didn’t reply, simply pulled the doctor away with ease and a gentleness that she didn’t expect in the slightest. Vill-V soon began working with the coat and shirt that Mobius wore, carefully setting them on the floor, thus leaving the doctor in her bra and slacks.
“Expert.”
“...Please just, let me do this for you.”
“I’d like to know what ‘this’ is.”
“Your bandages? They’re falling apart… and you have a new thing to take care of on your hand.”
A sigh escaped Mobius, and she leaned herself against Vill-V, nodding. Oddly enough, somehow, the touch of the other went from fire, to a dulled tone of the pain compared to the rest of her body. The mechanic brought the scientist to the floor, and she shivered a bit. The Expert, out of concern, pulled the lab coat over her before drawing away to grab some supplies. The doctor couldn’t stop herself from curling inwards into the fetal position due to a mixture of the cold and the excruciating pain shooting through her body. Vill-V returned after what felt like a millenia, kneeling down to sit next to Mobius on the floor. The doctor pulled herself closer, propping her body against the engineer as a warm drop of blood slid down from one of her nostrils.
Concern crossed over Vill’s face, yet she didn’t comment, and simply began removing the old wrappings over Mobius’s arm. They were saturated in the doctor’s blood, the red color smearing over the surgical glove they had put on and over the pale, sickly skin of the scientist. Vill-V’s nose scrunched up at the smell, and they flinched a bit yet pressed her lips into a firm line and went to clean up the mess on the doctor’s body. The pair made their way back down to the restroom area, mostly it was Mobius leaning up against the Expert and limping alongside her. Mobius was sitting in the shower, and warm water was used to wash away the excess blood. A damp rag drew over her face in Vill-V’s vinyl hand, and a small sigh escaped her as the water ran in the background.
“How are you feeling?”
“Y’know how sometimes you still feel your arm getting ripped off?”
Expert seemed to flinch at that a little yet gave a nod. Mobius averted her gaze apologetically.
“That, but all over.”
“...I see.”
The normally reserved Expert then did something startling–well at least to Mobius–and scooted closer, turning off the water and sitting next to the doctor. She started at her cheek, then drew kisses over top of her ghostly pale skin, being careful around the sores and treating them with delicate care as both of the inventor’s hands slid out to hold the scientist’s. The prosthetic hand neatly glided over the doctor’s still bleeding incision, being careful as they held it. Mobius slid into place against the other, shivering due to the cold.
“You shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Mmh.”
“Idiot.”
“Yeah, maybe I am.”
Mobius went silent after that, yet snuck into the other woman’s lap, grumbling underneath her breath.
–
Vill-V was an idiot. Mobius knew that the moment she woke up choking on her own blood and the mechanic was there to help her retch into a toilet. Expert had still been fronting for all she knew, based alone on their expression. She had been by her side in her last few days, and the doctor knew at this point her hours were numbered. A concoction, barely finished, sat feet away from the pair on her desk. Yet here the doctor was, snuggled up and slipping in and out of consciousness against the sleeping mechanic. She believed she was sleeping, she hoped the other was sleeping. Because nothing had been filling the past few days, and she could not stop the groans from her gut as she stared at the other.
The last thing she wanted was to give in to whatever urges the virus rotting in her head was giving her. If… if she hadn’t already done that.
Mobius checked the watch on her wrist, watching the time tick as she fought off sleep. Part of her wished the pain would come back, just so she didn’t feel constantly tired and numb. Her gaze was glazing over and she looked to Vill-V once again, taking their vinyl hand and putting it to her face, leaning against it and shutting her eyes as the scientist’s free hand slid down to the other’s abdomen.
It slid into something sticky. Sticky, warm, and wet.
–
Sitting out on a green hill with Griseo, overlooking a lovely sunset was not how Mobius expected her day to turn out to. The doctor quietly looked out to the rolling, green hills past them from the cliff the duo sat on. She agreed to come out here since she wanted to spend time with Griseo, yet it had been hours she didn’t expect to spend outside with her. The last time she was outside like this, she wasn’t sure how to pin it down, the closest thing she could think of was something that felt like a nightmare.
“Oi!!! Mo! Bi! USSS!!!!”
The green-haired woman’s gaze flicked over to the sound of the cheery voice. Ah.
“Vill-V.”
“Heeeey!!! Where have you been? C’mon! We agreed it’s my turn to take you out somewhere tonight!!! You burnt all the daylight out here!”
“Hm. Suppose I could keep to my word.”
She looked to Griseo, getting up and approaching the young painter. She looked over the painting she was working on, then smiled softly. The scientist patted Griseo’s head, then knelt down, explaining that they had to head back. Then she picked the girl up and carried her, towing along her supplies and painting in her other hand, careful to not make a mess or ruin it. Then Vill-V tailed on at the doctor’s side, looking at her with a pleasant grin.
Back at their home, Mobius was freshening up a bit in the bathroom she shared with Vill-V, looking at herself in the mirror. Her skin was fresh and well kept, and her hair was neatly fixed up. Her eyes, while tired, were filled with life, the snakelike slits shining with excitement that hadn’t been seen in years. Then the engineer snuck in behind her, grabbing the doctor from behind and laughing nestling against the side of her neck. She pulled the shirt down past her shoulder, kissing it lightly. There was a nasty scar, seemingly recently healed over. A bite mark that seemed to once rip through her skin when she first had it.
“Mmm. Someone’s haaaapyyy!”
“...I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“C’mon Mobi!!! I can see it in your eyes, besides you’re pink!”
“Vivi.”
The doctor shook her head, rolling her eyes as she turned around, pulling her shirt back over her shoulder. Mobius folded her arms over her chest, looking over the other woman. Their shirt was fully unbuttoned and loosely sitting over their form. Vill-V’s abdomen showed a large, sprawling scar that looked like rips and tears right over where her vitals were. It was odd, yet neither of the pair focused on it for much longer than a few seconds.
“Well, where are we headed?”
“Psh! You think I’M telling?”
“And? It’d be nice to know.”
“Buuuut~ A surprise is nicer!”
The engineer leaned closer, and the scientist took the opportunity to button up her shirt, smugly looking back to her surprised partner before kissing her briefly on the lips and fixing up her own button-up.
“Well, I’ll see you in the car then.”
Mobius left the stunned Vill-V for the car, making a quick pit stop to check that Griseo was prepared for her time alone for the period that she’d be left alone. Vill took a minute to tail after and simply double check and frantically rush to the car. Thus leaving the young painter to her supplies safely in the home. The car pulled out and drove away, Mobius focusing on the look of the night over the homes they drove by, then the city that they blended to. Something felt off to the doctor as she leaned against her hand, and a hum escaped her. Part of her was sure this wasn’t quite right, yet when she glanced back to Vill-V as she drove, the thought was thrown out. Her wife was humming, cheerily to a familiar tune playing on the radio, and she opted to watch quietly, smiling softly.
The engineer glances over for a moment, adjusting the grip of both her regular and vinyl hands on the wheel. They take another glance, then focus back on the road, giggling.
“Your smile is cute.”
“You’re a dork.”
“I’m your dork!”
“Oh, shut up. That was the cheesiest thing to come out of your mouth tonight, so far.”
“Well! Buckle up, dear! ‘Cos you’ll be hearing more from this dork all night!”
Silently, Mobius knew she wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world.