Chapter Text
Fridays at the saloon were always a treat, as adverse to talking Mars was. Everyone is so cheerful, the jukebox never stops, and the happy hour goes well into the night.
While she can in fact hold her alcohol (as evident by the drinking contest that occurred last week, even now Alex is drinking considerably less) she prefers to drink at home.
So as of right now she's stuffing her face with spaghetti, taking a break from playing pool. She didn't know what Gus put into this stuff, but she was ordering by the bowl. Her fifth helping was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. Sam eyed her meal with a conniving smirk. Mars' murderous stare spooked him into not commenting.
"Whenever you're done with that, me and the crew are headed home."
She glances to the pool table. All the people her age have disappeared, and Pam's earth-shattering snores were driving even Willy away. Mars pulls away from the bar, leaving the payment on the table. She searches a bit longer, a burrow forming in her brow.
"Where's Sebastian?"
Sam raised a brow in turn. "Glooms left like two hours ago. I think you were in the bathroom."
That can't be right. He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye.
Mars doesn't let her face change. "Okay, fair enough. I'll see you later."
He exits and Mars turns back to grab what's left of her gold. She catches the eye of Gus. The mustached bartender was wiping out a glass. When he took note of her, he quickly flicked his eyes just outside of the pool room. Storage, she reminds herself.
She follows his watchful eye, but sees nothing but air. By the time she looks back his back is turned, meticulously cleaning his counter.
Mars decides to peek in. Gus hasn't led her astray so far. After all, he's the one who told her about Sebastian's sashimi obsession. She pushes the door, and it immediately met with a beyond foul odor.
She ducks back into the open, taking a breath to keep herself from gagging. Smell was never her most tolerant sense. But now her curiosity has turned into worry. Bracing themselves, stride in. And there they find the boy they're looking for.
Sebastian is up on the crates, knees drawn up to his chest. Even from how far Mars is from him, she can hear panting.
"Sebastian?" The deeper in she goes, the worse he looks. He doesn't respond verbally. Instead he pokes his head up, flushed and clammy cheeks sagging against his skin.
Mars presses her hand to his temple, cringing at the heat. "What did you do, Sebs?" She defaults to checking his hand. Mars pulls it from his cocoon, earning the first sound he's made so far. An annoyed grumble.
She tosses it around, looking at the back and front. Besides being soaked, there was no sign of infection. She sighs in relief. At least he kept his promise about that.
"C'mon, let's get you-agh!"
Her friend's hand goes flying, slamming her into the crates behind her. She grits her teeth. "Hermit! What gives?! Even if it hurts that's no reason to LAUNCH me into the damn-"
She's interrupted by the sound of retching. Mars watches puke spill out of his mouth with a horrible gag. A bucket just below him catches most of it, but some spills right where she was standing.
"S'ry." he slurs. "M'head hurts."
"Gee, I wonder why." She peels his arm off, in favor of draping it around her shoulders. "Can you stand?"
There's some remnant of a nod. Mars gives his arm a tug, and he slips off the crates. It's then at it occurs to her she probably shouldn't take a person who is no doubt seeing five of her at their word.
As such, the boy's legs buckle almost immediately. She expected more of a fight, but she manages to keep him upright without much issue. Perhaps those seasons of pulling up melons actually meant something.
"Watch the bucket, Sebs." She leads him out to the pool room. Gus is there to meet her. He scratches his mustache, lost in thought. "So he was still back there. I had been hoping he'd sneaked off and I didn't see."
Mars lets him down onto the couch. He lays on his side on his own. She lets him do it, even though getting him up will now be a lot more difficult. She leans on the pool table and gestures for Gus to go on. But he looks more apprehensive, like he's cherry picking the tale.
"He came here yesterday, right before closing. Ordered five cans of beer. I asked him why, knowing full well he despises the stuff."
Mars knows he's telling the truth. She's seen him cover his nose and scowl when in a five foot radius of Pam or Shane. "What'd he say?"
To her surprise, Gus rolls his eyes. Outward annoyance isn't something she's ever seen on his face. The bartender is always kind, even to people who definitely don't deserve it. Seeing him with active regret formed a pit in her stomach.
"He said it was for you. That you'd run out and he was restocking while you were in the mines."
Now it was Mars' turn to be annoyed. "While I did go into the mines yesterday, I never even saw Sebastian yesterday. Stupid bats kept swarming me."
It didn't seem like Gus even heard the last part of her comment, as he started rubbing the bridge of his nose, muttering under his breath like he was reciting a spell. "I should've cut him off, I should've…"
Mars finally remembers. Sebastian had gotten beer tonight. Jeez, she even commented on the sudden change. He claimed he wanted to have just a bit more fun this time around, and give Sam a chance to win.
The lump in her stomach doubles. "All that alcohol…"
Gus looks just as ghostly. "Combined with him never having touched the stuff…"
"Why?!" she throws her hands in the air, before gripping the back of her neck to keep them from wringing out the poor boy. "What could he possibly gain from this besides giving his already shriveled liver a Tyson uppercut?!"
She runs through every scenario. Not a single one made sense. No one urged him, not like he'd listen anyways. He would never let Sam win pool. That 52-0 record was his pride and joy.
Yet here he was, half asleep but fully in pain. She hears the bartender softly gasp. He turns to her urgently, then to Sebastian. Mars sees disbelief, a drop of anger, and an ocean of pity. "Oh no. No, no, no."
"What? You figured it out?"
He wipes a hand over his face, heaving out a sigh that came from the depths of his heart. "Don't be mad, farmer."
"No promises." she crosses her arms.
He groans and tilts his head back, favoring the beautiful ceiling before pointing at her. "How many cans did you drink in the contest last week?"
"Four." she answers automatically. Then her face mirrors his. "Oh no."
"Yep." Gus sighs again. Now they're both taking in the ceiling.
"He's stupid." she says plainly.
"Correct." He says robotically.
"He wanted to impress me."
"You're a sharp one, farmer."
"That wouldn't have even worked."
"I assumed as much."
"His competitiveness will be his undoing." She says it like a prophecy. "You know what, that doesn't matter right now. Are we taking him to a hospital?"
Her burly friend looks at the clock. "Harvey's is beyond closed. I'll leave him a voicemail. Right now, all we can do is get him medicine and good sleep." He takes a closer look at Sebastian. "This could've been worse, but I think he threw up before the poisoning could really get him. At least there's that. And I bet he threw up at home, too. I think his body is just really bloody confused."
He grumbles again. Mars likes this Gus. "And Pam came barging in at opening to buy all of my hangover supplies and everything related. Something about Pale Ale. You think you can take him home?"
Mars shakes her head. "Mr Scientist decided to take Sebs' keys because he went into the mines."
Loathe she was to admit it, that wound couldn't be hidden for long. But taking his keys made her blood boil. He wasn't a damn toddler.
She rubs the back of her neck. "I'll take him to my house. I don't think I could sleep knowing he was like this anyway."
"Understood." The bartender looks at the still smelly storage room. "I'll clean that up and leave that voicemail. You good to get him there?"
Mars rubs her chin, before looking back at the now fully sleeping Sebastian. His breaths are shallow but long, not comfortable but obvious he's drifted off. She scoops him up underneath his arms and legs. His warm head lolls into the crook of her neck. He shivers, then goes still.
Ignoring the odd feeling in her chest, Mars gives an experimental walk around the table. "I've got him," she concludes. "He's light." Too light, her mind whispers.
Gus opens the door for her. "Call me when he's settled. I won't go to bed until you do."
She nods, and starts her trek. The fall air greets them bitterly, and Sebastian tenses against the cold. Too focused on getting home, Mars fails to notice his eyes fluttering open. They're dull and confused, looking up at their carrier with a softness the boy couldn't quite place.
He decides not to think about it. Instead he breathes in, taking in the scent of morning dew on her clothes, and coffee on her breath. He lets it envelop him, and drift off into sweeter dreams.