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"Why — does it need — to be — so — fucking — warm!" Sevika complained in between pants as she and Viktor attempted the usual trek to the Doctor's lab in the scorching summer heat.
It was not particularly very nice, to say the least.
Usually down in The Lanes or The Sump, it was much cooler, even in the boiling summer heat, as the unrelenting sun always had much more trouble reaching down to the lower levels, but unfortunately for them, Singed's lab was much closer to Topside and therefore a whole of a lot fucking warmer.
"Every day — I hate Topside — just a little bit more." She groaned, holding onto the rocks beside her to help haul herself up before pausing and waiting for Viktor to catch up.
Viktor had been doing significantly less complaining despite clearly having it worse. Sevika knew his leg was probably causing him bother by now and there was no doubt that he must have been exhausted from both the walking and the heat but he didn't mention it so neither did she. She'd decided upon the rule that if he didn't bring up his health then neither would she, knowing he hated the way people tried to pity him over it. It made sense though, if she were in the same boat, she'd get a bit pissed about people bringing up her struggles all the fucking time.
He finally caught up to her and slumped against the rocks, coughing into his fist in a way that sounded unbelievably painful for his throat. Sevika regretted not stealing Silco's water bottle before they left the bar.
"Can we stop?" He asked, his voice coming out hoarse from all the coughing.
He'd already asked to stop quite a few times now and if it were anyone else then Sevika would have refused, telling him to suck it up so they could get somewhere in the next hour. But it was Viktor so Sevika nodded and leaned back against the rocks with a sigh. A rest sounded good anyway and it wasn't like they were in a rush, the Doctor certainly wasn't going anywhere any time soon, he barely ever left his lab.
"Singed better have some water when we get there or I think I'll shrivel up." She declared.
"He should, it might even be cold if he remembered to store it in the fridge." Viktor replied, slowly getting his breathing under control, "We finished making the improved water filter just last week. I could try and replicate it and make one for you, if you'd like?"
"Yeah, that'd be cool." She said, patting him on the back when he started coughing again. "Is it hard to make?"
"Not really. Once we'd figured out the best way to build it it only took a few hours. If you're willing to stay for a while then I might even be able to get it done by tonight."
"Don't think I'm going anywhere in this heat." She scoffed, "Not until the sun goes down, anyway. I'll stick around."
"Alright."
They settled into silence after that, apart from their laboured breathing, of course, and Sevika took the chance to have a quick glance around, just to make sure they weren't being followed by any jerks she'd been to punch the shit out of (you'd be surprised how often it happened). But instead of finding any idiots or jerks, she found an idea.
Without warning, she did a quick run up before jumping down the small ditch into the river. Like she'd hoped the water was nice and cool, the perfect temperature to wash away the icky sweaty feeling she'd been putting up with all day. She stayed under the water for a few seconds, enjoying the freeing sensation that came with floating, before popping back up to the surface to see Viktor rolling his eyes at her.
"Fuck, that's much better." She said, laying to float on her back. "The river's nice and cool and it leads all the way down to the cave so we could just wade through the water instead."
"I'll pass." Viktor grimaced, pulling himself back to his feet and choosing to walk along the river bank instead.
"Aww, come on! Have a bit of fun." She whined, splashing water up at him and paddling down the river to catch up to him.
"What about my cane?" He pointed out. "I can't just leave it, and I don't want to ruin it in the water."
"Just hide it behind the rocks, there's tons of little nooks. Then I'll come back and get it later."
"Why do you want me to get in the river so badly?" He sighed, beginning to lose his patience.
Sevika shrugged. "Dunno. Why do you not want to get in the river so badly."
"Because I might drown!" He finally snapped, as if it were some weighted reveal.
"Pfft! In this water? It's waist height for you, at worst. You're not going to drown." Sevika rolled her eyes.
"It's— I just— whatever! Forget about it!" Viktor exclaimed, turning around and going over to sit on a rock, hugging his knees and hiding his face behind them.
And now he was sulking. Great. With all his big, complicated words and his confusing sciencey stuff, Sevika often forgot about the fact that he was still a kid. A petty, stubborn kid who got upset very easily.
She swam over to the side of the river and rested her head up on the bank, getting an eerie sense of deja vu to the days where she'd force Mateo into playing mermaids with her. She shoved that memory and the thought of Mateo away and tried to ignore it. "What's the matter?" She asked, trying to sound as irritated as possible but the worry was still very evident in her voice.
"I already told you!" He shouted back.
"Yeah but in vague, weird, cryptic terms. Just tell me what's going on." And we'll fix it together, she nearly said, but that would make it sound like she cared. Which she obviously didn't. Obviously.
"It's stupid!" He argued, now sounding more angry with himself than her.
"It's already stupid. You're talking like you're going to be able to drown in waist-deep water. It can't get much more stupid than that." She pointed out.
"You'll make fun of me..." He mumbled.
"Fine, then truce. I'll not be mean to you about it for at least a day." She decided with a little bit of a compromise in the mix.
He peaked out from behind his arms for a moment to examine her. She reached her hand out of the water for him to shake but when he buried his face again she dropped it.
"I don't want to drown..." He said quietly. Sevika had a strain to hear. "And... my father said he'd— he nearly drowned me in the river and I don't— I don't want to drown..."
Very suddenly, the pieces were fitting together and Viktor's whole avoidance of the river was making much more sense. She had noticed the slight air of nervousness to him every time they had to walk past it but she'd never really thought much of it, she hadn't thought she'd needed to.
"So... you don't want to get in the river 'cause your dad said..." She trailed off. For all the rude insults she threw at him, she still felt sick thinking about what his father had said, and to his face no less. She didn't want those words in her mouth too.
"I know it's stupid!" He whined, "I know I'm being stupid! So you don't have to tell me..."
"I don't think it's that stupid," She countered, scooping up water with her hand and flicking it at him. "But don't you think it would feel good to show him up?"
"Huh?"
"Like, if you got in the river, it would kind of be like... proving him wrong. Taking away his power. You'd show him he doesn't scare you."
Sevika could hear little sniffles coming from the boy and from the way his shoulders trembled, it was safe to say he was probably crying. "But he does scare me..." He mumbled.
"Well, he doesn't have to know that. Do you think I go around letting my enemies know I'm scared?" She scoffed.
"But you're not scared! You're not scared of anything."
"Sure I am. When I go up against someone twice my size, it's pretty fucking scary. But I don't let them know that, I punch the shit out of them instead, even if I get my ass beat in the process. At least they don't get the joy in seeing they've scared me."
He thought on that for a moment.
"I won't drown you." She stated, "And I won't let anyone else either, if that helps. It'll be fun, I swear."
"You promise?" He said quietly, sounding like a little kid, and well, he was wasn't he?
"Promise. Now hurry up or we'll be here all day."
He finally sat up and scrubbed at his eyes before she had a chance to see his tears. Like she'd told him to, he tucked his cane away safely behind some rocks, Sevika noted the location so she could come back for it later, and he took slow steps over to the edge of the bank.
"Why do you care so much about me doing this?" He asked, looking down at her as if she were one of the broken machines he liked to fix up, trying to figure her out.
"You're no fun when you're miserable. It's like kicking you when you're down. Low-hanging fruit. Plus, can't have my enemy making any other enemies other than me, gotta teach you not to fear anything else. Maybe then you'll be a worthy enough opponent."
He laughed a little and that was much better than crying, she decided. "You sound silly."
"Whatever, get in the river."
He shuffled his shoes over the side of the bank and hesitated but Sevika had to say she was proud when he only stopped for a moment before he squeezed his eyes shut and jumped in.
She swam over to him and pulled him up by the back of his shirt, giving him a good pat on the back when he coughed and spluttered.
"I think I — swallowed some water." He choked out.
"That's why you keep your mouth shut, dumbass." She said, giving a particularly harsh whack across the back which nearly doubled him over into the water before she caught him. "Now try laying back in the water. It's fun."
"Laying back?! Do you want me to drown?!" He exclaimed, like it was some insane idea she'd just come up with.
"Oh shut up about drowning, will you? Unless you're trying real fucking hard not to, you're going to float. Something about the air in your lungs or whatever, you're the science guy, you should know."
He rolled his eyes and huffed in response so she tipped him over herself.
"Hey! What— let go!" He fought, trying to thrash around until he finally realised that he was, in fact, still floating, just like Sevika had said he would. "Oh. This isn't too bad, actually."
"Told you." She grinned, laying back herself to enjoy the relaxation that came with floating. "Fun, isn't it? Bet you're glad you did it."
He hummed vaguely, not allowing her the satisfaction of being right. "It's nice for my leg. Doesn't hurt as much." He admitted.
"I bet. Takes the weight off, huh?" She commented, he hummed again in response, "Yeah I feel like that sometimes. Come down to the river after a fight, cleans the blood off and makes everything hurt a bit less. Just have to make sure the water isn't too dirty so I don't get some shit disease that rots the skin off my bones."
He laughed a little. "Maybe you should try it. Might make you prettier."
"Oh, so you admit that I'm already at least somewhat pretty then?"
"No more than a river slug."
"Thanks."
"Any time."