Chapter Text
It was a Saturday morning when they put Annie Wire in the ground. The faux-lawn of the Old Town cemetery was hard beneath their feet as her empty casket was lowered into a pit hardly large enough to call a grave.
Sasha stood next to her parents, she wasn’t crying. She just- stared; blankly, solemnly. Mick shrugged at the thought, no one had really expected her to, that’s just Sasha. Juno, however, was bawling. He’d always had a habit of taking all of the blame whether it was his to bear or not. This time was different though, this time broke something in him and he just, cried.
Mick hated seeing his friends in pain like this, his mind wandered back to that day they sent Annie into that old skeleton of a building and soon he was crying too. Why had they? They could have stopped her and they could have been kinder and they could have looked harder and maybe then they would have found her and maybe now they wouldn’t be drenched in simulated rain watching a too-small box slot into a too-small grave for a girl they had let die.
Mick began to tremble, shaky legs hardly holding his weight any longer. They had let her die. This was their fault, his fault. Suddenly, mercifully, Mick was on the damp ground. He didn’t know how he got there, but the shock to his system got him breathing again at least. And then- a hand. A rather small one, a familiar one.
“Hey, hey, Mercury, breathe with me okay?”
Benzaiten Steel really did have the “Galaxy’s best smile” didn’t he? Mick focused on that smile and kept his gaze pinned on Ben’s as he took shaky breaths.
“Good, good. Let’s try and get you sitting up yeah?”
His voice was raspy, like he’d been screaming for hours. His tear-reddened eyes still crinkled with their usual charm as he gave Mick a soft smile. If Ben was in as much pain as the rest of them, he was doing a pretty good job hiding it.
The rest of the ceremony went by relatively quickly, with everyone going their separate ways almost immediately. The Wires didn’t stay long enough to be swarmed by the forming crowd ready to dole out pity and condolences.
“Mick? Hey Mick- we’re going home, come on”
Ben’s voice broke through the fog in his mind and only when his hand left Mick’s did he realize he’d been holding it since Ben had helped him up. The thought warmed Mick’s stomach and he smiled slightly as they wandered back to their respective apartments, making promises of the games they’d play and the places they’d see tomorrow when they hung out.
Things wouldn’t be normal again for a while, but that was okay. It was going to be OK. Mick assured himself he had and would always have Juno and Sasha and, well- Ben, by his side.
For now, rest.