Work Text:
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Francis knew this conversation was coming. He knew it when Tobias showed him his failed Bassilizer. He knew it when he stormed off after fessing up. He knew it when he heard the bedroom door open and Tobias stepped in. He knew it, but that didn’t make this any easier.
When he sat up, their blanket slid off of him. He didn’t look at Tobias as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He knew this was coming, but he wasn’t ready for it. He ran a hand through his already-messy hair and let it rest on his knee.
“Why did you make me work with her even when I said I didn’t want to?” The bite in his voice from earlier was still there, but it was more subdued.
Tobias stepped past Francis and reached for the lamp on the nightstand. The chain clicked, and the dark room suddenly glowed in a dim light. He sat on the bed between Francis and the headboard. “Honestly? I don’t think we can help the driver without her.”
“We could have figured it out.”
“Oh, sure,” Tobias nodded. “I think we could have. I think you could have. But I’m not so sure the driver has the kind of time for us to do this on our own.”
“She almost got the driver killed in Sierram!” Francis looked directly at Tobias now. “And she didn’t so much as say sorry!”
“No, she didn’t, but –”
Francis got to his feet, his glasses glinting in the soft lamplight. “But why would I ever expect her to apologize to the driver?” He paced in front of the bed. “All of us have just been lab rats to her and her LIM. We always have been. And if we ever made some little mistake, she’d just kick us out and move on to the next thing.”
“Whoa, whoa, Francis.” Tobias slid to the end of the bed and reached to put a hand on Francis’s shoulder.
Francis jumped back as if Tobias’s hand had hurt him. “She disregarded years of my research. And you made me work with her like nothing was wrong.”
Something in Tobias’s face changed and Francis regretted his words instantly.
Tobias’s voice was quiet as he stared at the floor. “I didn’t know what she’d done. I thought maybe she just annoyed you or something.”
The two were quiet for a few moments before Tobias asked again, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Francis sighed and sat back down beside Tobias. “Like I said before, I couldn’t face you. Not after the ARDA higher-ups made eight years of my life worthless in a matter of hours.”
“Do you think I would have thought of you any differently than I do now? You are the smartest person I know. Your theory –”
“Was forged. I lied.”
“But look, you have the chance to prove it now!”
“I don’t care about that anymore,” Francis said. “Let Oppy get the driver out of here. She can do it.”
“Honestly, I don’t think she thinks about you or that incident at all.”
“No,” Francis started, “she never did think about me or what demoting me would –”
“What I mean is,” Tobias pressed on, “She’s moved on from that. And I think you should move on, too.”
“What, just like that?”
“Your job position doesn’t exist anymore. Neither does hers. ARDA’s disbanded. Besides, they abandoned us and this place.”
“She ruined my life!” Francis fired back. “And now she’s sitting wherever she’s at and acting like nothing happened!”
“To her, nothing did.” Francis glared at Tobias ready to retort, but Tobias continued, “She was the head of ARDA. What would you have done in her place?”
“I would’ve actually listened to me and shown some understanding!”
“And what? Lost credibility among your coworkers? Risked losing your own job if they didn’t like what you said? What she did to you wasn’t personal.”
Francis looked like he wanted to riposte, but he covered his mouth with his fist and exhaled instead. So Tobias continued, “The driver needs your help to get out of here. And you could very well have the key to doing that while keeping their mind intact. I really think your theory will work.
“But I also think we need Oppy’s knowhow. Ain’t no one knows this place and those anomalies better than her. The driver needs all of us.”
Fidgeting, Francis said, “Sometimes the things she says make me so upset. I don’t know if I can deal with her.”
“Oppy doesn’t rule your life, Francis, you do. We’ll focus on your theory. We’ll focus on the driver. It’ll be just like we’re solving a mystery together, just you and me. And that’s all I really ever wanted. All that stuff that happened in the past? That doesn’t matter anymore. The driver, your theory, and the Remnant are what matter now.”
In a rush, Francis moved towards Tobias, pushing up off the bed to bring their lips together. Tobias was caught off guard and wrapped his arms around Francis to steady himself. Francis placed his hands on either side of Tobias’s face to deepen the kiss. He kept them there when he pulled away to say, “Thank you, Tobias. I love you.”
Tobias’s mouth spread into a grin, and he laughed. “I love you, too.” He took Francis’s hands in both of his and held them to his chest. “We stayed here together all those years ago to solve mysteries. Now look at us – we can actually help someone if we do this right.”