Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything was quiet. You couldn't remember how long it was since it had been that way.

Your body felt cold, yet light as a feather, almost as if you were floating in the air.
It was peaceful, really. You could feel the stress leave your body, the tension in your muscles slowly fading away.

Yet, something was bugging you. You couldn't quite put your finger on it, but it felt as if someone was trying to wake you.

You slowly opened your eyes, taking in your strange surroundings.
Everything around you was dark. You couldn't feel anything solid beneath your feet, or around you for that matter.

Where were you again?
This place felt familiar, you thought, like you had been here before.

You turn your head from left to right, trying to find something, anything that stood out in the nothingness you were in.
A strange dizziness hit you like a jackhammer, the more than uncomfortable feeling making it seem as if everything was spinning.

Dissatisfied noises left your throat as you attempted, and failed, to remember what the last thing you saw was before finding yourself in this dark void.
But your memory was foggy, and so were your thoughts.

Then, in the blink of an eye, you find yourself inside a submarine, the very submarine that was assigned to carry expandables to the Blacksite.
You blink a few times, rubbing at your eyes as you adjusted to the harshness of the artificial light, willing away the remnants of the headache from before.

Right, you had died.

Not long after, the submarine emerges from the water, a robotic voice announcing that you had arrived at your destination.
You stepped onto the ramp and onto the docks, breathing in the humid air.

You had been inside this facility for weeks, perhaps even months. Yet, every time you faced your doom, the sweet release of death never really came. You were always back at the beginning, right at the very docks you were standing on right now. Every single time.

You'd be lying if you said it wasn't taking a bit of a toll on you.

Nervous excitement to have your sentence pardoned slowly turned into something darker, more twisted.
You were now positive you wouldn't mind facing death. You had long realized that if yet another attempt to escape would turn out to be your last, you wouldn't have cared in the slightest.
That would've been the freedom that you oh so craved.

And yet, you tried to persist. You tried your best to move along, despite how hard it was.
With enough dumb luck and acquired skills, you'd make it out eventually... right?
Your feet felt heavy as you stepped through the first door, being greeted by the same dull and washed-out walls you had gotten memorized by now.
A heavy bag was perched over your shoulder, used to collect a multitude of items such as DNA vials, documents, and USB drives, as well as flashlights and first aid items.
You were told to collect "loose assets" by a disembodied voice on the intercom at the beginning of your journey.
However, you had long learned since then that you could exchange those assets for more useful items.

Every single time without fail, you would stumble across a small shop ran by a... giant fish man, Sebastian.
Despite the fact he often lacked patience if you lingered too long and, quite honestly, was just downright rude, meeting him was one of the very few things you looked forward to.
He was the closest thing you had to a friend down here, someone you could have a casual conversation with every once in a while, despite his snarky remarks.

Someone who felt... human.

You shake your head.
Being surrounded by large, bloodthirsty monsters was getting to you, you figured.
You had gotten attached to a comically tall, sassy fish that only cared about the assets you picked up. Talk about being delusional.
You snapped back from your train of thought, wondering how you were still alive after not paying attention for so long.
With a loud sigh, you began looking for items to trade with him later on, stuffing them in your bag.

You manage to luck out and find a flash beacon in of the the drawers, a small smile making it's way up to your lips. You really hated walking around in the dark, the squiddles managed to be especially annoying sometimes.
You hold it tightly in your hand as you make your way through the next door door.

About halfway through the long hallway, you stepped dead in your tracks, listening for any alarming noises.
After many failed attempts to get the crystal, you had made up the simple strategy of stopping once every four to five rooms or so, just to make sure nothing was out to get you.

You could've sworn that you had heard screaming.

Not that it was that unusual, you knew that there were other prisoners down here. However, it was a distinct scream that had been burned into your mind after one too many encounters.
You knew the drill by now, look for a safe spot to hide, then come out after it passes through. Simple enough.
You walk up to one of the lockers, checking for puddles of void mass.
Once again, you had gotten caught off guard far many times, and had subsequently grown more careful about rushing inside the first locker you laid your eyes on.

A bright, purple eye stared back at you through the gaps. Nope, onto the next one.
The locker right next to it also seemed to be occupied. Well, that wasn't good. Then the screeching got louder.
That couldn't be good either.
You felt a rush of adrenaline run though you as you jogged to the last locker at the end of the room.

Had you really managed to get this unlucky or was this just rigged?
You checked the third and final locker. Empty. You breathed a sigh of relief, until you realized the screeching was now dangerously close.
At that, you didn't hesitate to jump inside, holding the locker shut as tightly as you could.

As it turns out, you had barely made it in time, Pinkie rushing by through the hallways, right after you had gotten to safety.
Her screeching grew distant, and everything was quiet once more.
You step outside of the locker, heart pounding in your chest, hands shaking.
You thought you had gotten good at this, yet, despite the amount of anglers you had avoided up until then, you had almost died to one just now.
Was practice going to be enough to get you out of the Blacksite?

Your mind slowly began wandering. Would you even be smart enough to make it out? Or would you be stuck in a continuous loop forever?
You shake your head, breathing getting ever so heavier. Your chest hurt.
Your lungs heaved as you began spiraling, slowly but surely.

A flurry of negative thoughts began to swarm you, and you fought fruitlessly to get them out.
Would all of this be worth it in the end? The trauma, the pain you had to endure, living the rest of your life under Urbanshade's thumb.

Was it worth it?

Is this what you truly wanted?

You shut your eyes, trying to gasp for air.
This was too much, the dread, the stress, the hole you felt in your stomach.
You had to let these emotions out in some way. No matter what it took.
Your gaze landed on a pile of shatter glass on the floor.
You shouldn't, you knew you shouldn't go that far. Yet the desperation was so strong, you couldn't bring yourself to care.

You didn't care.

You leaned down, your hands shaky as you reached for a sharp glass chunk.
You step into a small side room, adorned with a few fancy desks, office chairs, and computers that no longer worked.
Now finding yourself sat against the wall, you clumsily pull down your pants, your thighs now bared.
A set of healed scars met your eyes.
Even you couldn't believe what you were about to do to yourself. After being clean for so long, you fell back into such an unhealthy habit.

You felt ashamed.

As the glass bit into your skin, slicing through it like butter, you felt ashamed.

You hissed in pain, trying to keep quiet as possible, as to not alert any potential monsters.
You pressed the sharp glass against your skin once more, hesitating for a moment, then dragging the makeshift blade through your flesh with a swift motion.

You swore under your breath, letting out a strangled groan as you tried to adapt to the pain.

You stared down at your legs, crisscrossed cuts adorning your very own flesh, droplets of blood blooming from each wound.
Everything felt strangely peaceful, despite the macabre sight.

You couldn't help but feel a wave of relief. You finally felt like you had control over yourself, and the pain was keeping your mind away from all the negative thoughts. What were they about anyway? It didn't matter now. You needed more of this feeling.
As you were about to start cutting again, you heard a distant noise.
It was something akin to... slithering?
You stood frozen in place, panic beginning to spread through your body once more.

You had never heard a monster make a noise like that while moving. You thought you had all the creatures in this facility figured out.
You pressed yourself further into the wall, bringing a hand over your mouth, trying to make yourself as small and as unnoticeable as possible. What if it could hear your breathing? Smell the blood from your cuts?

You shut your eyes tightly once more, but this time in fear.
You didn't understand why you were so afraid; you had died plenty of times before. Perhaps it was the unknown, who knows what the creature would do to you once it found you?

The slithering got closer and closer, and you couldn't help but let out a muffled whimper.
Then it stopped. You weren't sure if opening your eyes now was a good idea. Why wasn't it doing anything?
Then, a few moments later, you heard a familiar voice call out your name, his tone a bit softer from what you were used to.
Your eyes snapped open, a gasp leaving your lips. It was Sebastian.
You stared up at him like a child that had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

"...What are you doing here?" you question, your voice shaky.
You made an attempt to cover yourself up. You were basically in your underwear after all. "Shouldn't you be in your shop?" You ask, voice still panicked.
The shopkeeper's eyes narrowed. "I don't think you get to be asking questions right now, expandable. What the hell were you doing?"

You just stood there, a dumbfounded look on your face. You didn't want to admit it, obviously. But you knew you got caught red-handed, quite literally, and you figured lying to him wouldn't get you far.
"I'm just... I've been having a rough time lately, okay? It shouldn't concern you." You try to defend yourself, to defend the unhealthy habit that just wouldn't stop coming back.
You avoided his gaze, intense as it was, making an attempt at pulling your pants back up while you were still sitting on the floor.

He didn't say anything for a moment, then you heard him shuffle around the room for a bit.
Looking up, having let your curiosity get the better of you, you noticed he had curled up around himself.
You give him a confused look, raising an eyebrow. Before you could open your mouth to say anything, he spoke up.
"Come here." he says briefly. He had this... strange look in his eyes, one you hadn't seen before. It almost seemed like compassion, but you didn't want to get ahead of yourself.

You hesitate for a moment, but then you get on your feet, wobbling closer to the shopkeeper.
Sure, he wasn't always the most polite, but he had never harmed you in any way, so you didn't have a reason not to trust him.
You felt yourself being lifted off the ground not long after, his large claws fitting perfectly under your armpits and around your back.
Once he set you down on his tail, he began to look for something through the loot he carried on it.
Your fingers gently began tracing over the smooth texture of the diamond-shaped scales, easing your nerves, even if just a little.

Once Sebastian had turned his attention back to you, he was holding a medkit.
"I'm going to need you to show me your wounds again, I doubt you'll get far bleeding out like that."
You stared up at him, then back to your pants. "At least... take me out to dinner first...?" You give him an awkward laugh, trying to throw in a joke to lighten the mood, but it seems to fall flat.
He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Just get it over with before I change my mind."
With that, you slid your thumbs beneath the waistband of your trousers, pulling at them so they were down to your knees.

"So, uh..." you begin, pure embarrassment flowing through your veins at this point, his gaze fixed on your cuts. "How much do I owe you for this? I-I have some data with me, but I'm not sure—"
Before you could finish your sentence, he cuts you off. "Nothing, you don't owe me nothing. All that I ask of you is that you sit still for a couple of minutes."
He pops the medkit's lid open, taking out a bottle of disinfectant. "Don't make this a habit though, I'm not a charity. And I'm sure you know that resources down here are limited enough as it is."
You sit in silence, simply nodding as you let him bring a disinfectant-soaked cotton pad to your self-inflicted wounds, shutting your eyes as you hiss. It stung, as expected.

What you didn't expect, though, was how delicate Sebastian was.
His large claws moved carefully as he dabbed the cotton pad against your wounds. It was almost mesmerizing, in a way.
Your eyes were fixed on each and every one of his movements, temporarily making you forget about the painful sting of your cuts.

It was a nice feeling, to be cared for. One you didn't get to experience often.

"You really don't need to do this... Once I die, I'll just come back to life, and I'll be perfectly healthy." You mutter to him, your eyes beginning to sting the slightest bit. "...but I do appreciate the gesture, more than you know. So, um... thank you, Sebastian." Your voice trembled, and you found yourself unable to meet his gaze.
You wiped at your eyes, feeling it was a bit unnecessary to cry over something like this, yet you couldn't bring yourself to stop from shedding a few tears.

You feel a large claw suddenly resting on your head, ruffling your hair. "I guess I'm doing it because you're not as insufferable as the other expandables."
He discards the cotton pad, scattering away as it hits the floor. He pulls out some medical tape, as well as a few pieces of gauze.
"In all seriousness, I think I can understand how you're feeling right now better than anyone else. Being stuck down here, attempting to escape this hell for so long... Times get a bit difficult, don't they?"

You find yourself nodding slowly, his claws working to set the gauze in place with the tape, all while being as delicate as a feather.
His words were like a warm blanket, they made you feel like you weren't really alone. You were very well aware that he wasn't a very open person, yet he decided to sympathyse with your pain, to make you feel seen.

"Was it really that obvious?" you find yourself asking him, realizing you hadn't even spoken about why you had broken down to such a miserable degree. "I didn't even have to tell you anything."
"I mean," he snorts "there's not a lot of other things you could get that upset about in here." With that, he pulls his claws away from your legs.

"There, all set." You hear him announce as he dusts off his hands. He picks you up once more, setting you back on your feet. "Off you go now, the crystal won't grab itself, you know" He says cheerfully, clearly making a half-assed attempt to uplift your spirits.
But your wounds still ached, you were still lightheaded from the bloodloss and you could barely keep yourself upright. You feel anything but ready to keep going.

You stare up at him like a sad puppy, a pitiful look on your face.
His lure flickers for a moment, before he spoke up again, a hint of defeat in his voice. "Listen, I don't think there's nothing more I can do for you, kid." His words only make you frown more.
You hear an exasperated sigh coming from him in response to your pitiful stare.

"Alright, fine, what is it that you want from me? More medkits, a flashlight, my soul?"
You shake your head, scratching your neck sheepishly. What DID you want from him? Good question.
"Um, actually I feel a bit wobbly, that's all..." you humm quietly, deciding to make the most out of the situation you were in.
"Do you mind staying here while I take a quick nap?" you plead with him, using one of the desks to keep yourself upright with one hand.

He snorts, his features mophing into his signature, smug expression, shaking his head incredulously.
"Alright, fine, if that's what you need. I'll make sure no unwanted guests come through."
He then uncoils his tail, urging you to make yourself comfortable, and you do without a word.

You kneel down on the floor, shifting to lay on your side, pressing your cheek against Sebastian's large, scaley tail.
Your eyelids begin to feel heavy, the soft buzzing of the lights lulling you to sleep.
Then, everything goes dark.

Chapter Text

You slept rather peacefully for some time, your muscles finally managing to relax after all of the intense emotions you had went through.
That is until something shakes you awake, or better yet, someone.
A familiar voice calls out your name. You squint as you try to adapt to the bright lights inside the room you were in, turning your head from left to righ, trying to find the source of the aforementioned voice.

Oh, it was just Sebastian. Right, you had fallen asleep with your head on his tail.
"Are you going to be sleeping for much longer? I thought you said you wanted to take a nap, not go into a coma." He rants openly, waving his hand around. Unfortunately for him though, everything felt far too fuzzy to fully make out his words, so you hadn't got a clue what he was saying.

You managed to let out a few confused noises before moving into a sitting position, rubbing your eyes sleepily.
"Ugh... for how long was I out, exactly?" you mumble, your back cracking uncomfortably as you stretched, a concrete reminder that you had just slept on the floor.
Sebastian humms thoughtfully in response, then shrugs. "Around 3 hours, I think. As much as I'd love to let you get your beauty sleep, I'm a busy man with things to attend to".
With that, he made his way out, having to duck when he reached the doorway due to his extreme height as he left the room.
"I'll see you back at the shop, if you manage to make it that far!" He calls out, the sound of his voice getting farther away as he spoke, until you were left alone once more.

Alright. You probably should get moving as well.
Despite struggling to sit upright again, you manage to make your way to the door, finding yourself back in the main hallways of the Blacksite.
Your legs felt sore, probably from how cramped the place you had slept in was, and so did your neck.
As it turns out, Sebastian wasn't as comfortable of a pillow as you thought he'd be. You were left a bit disappointed, honestly.

You checked the room number, trying to figure out how many rooms were left for you to go through.
The panel displayed the number "084", glowing far too brightly for how sensitive your eyes were.
Which, for the record, meant you weren't even close to getting the crystal.
Good, great. You sighed loudly, you definitely should get moving.

You flung your duffle bag over your shoulder, making your way through door after door, all while making sure you paid attention to your surroundings, using the strategies you had learned in your numerous attempts to keep yourself alive.
The more you walked, the more the wounds on your thighs made themselves known.
The friction between the pants and the pieces of gauze that the shopkeeper had so kindly offered you, made it sting like hell.

You considered stopping somewhere to tear the medical tape off your skin and let your wounds break free from their binds, but something stopped you from doing so.
Perhaps you felt too guilty to waste the materials that Sebastian had given you, or maybe, deep down you knew that was only going to make things worse for you.

————————————————————————

By perseverance and sheer power of will, you make it past the vultus luminaria without getting skewered, jumping inside a locker just in time.
Your heart raced, your features painted with sheer terror as you waited for the large predator to pass, giving you the chance to come out and finish fixing the last generator.

Your fingers trembled as you calibrated the piece of machinery, looking up ever so often to make sure it was safe to do so.
Even though you were more than aware that you had to endure a couple of hardships during each run, that didn't make it any easier.
Out of everything you had been through though, the encounters with the vultus luminaria were the easiest ones to manage, as long as you were patient.

The lights on the generator turned green, as well as a large light in the distance, indicating the exit.
With the help of the conveyor belts, you made it to safety in no time, the doors closing behind you as you breathed a sigh of relief.
You grab a purple keycard, sliding it through the scanner, the doors in front of you snapping open; now, onto door 60.

You make it through the next few rooms with ease, the only entity you encountered being Eyefestation, which was relatively easy to avoid.
Your mind wandered back to Sebastian for a bit, his sweet gesture combined with how gently he tended to your wounds made you stir.
You didn't want to admit it to yourself, but you looked forward to seeing him again, his dumb and overly snarky smile, his soft features, the freakishly elegant way he moved, all of it.

You began to wonder how he managed to keep it together for so long.
After all, he had been here for 10 whole years, and yet he seemed much more composed than you were.
Not to mention, you had spent just a few months inside the facility.
Before you realize it, you reach the room where Sebastian's shop was located, the vent cover flying across the room and into a dark void.
"Hey, in here!" you hear him call out.

You stood in the doorway for a moment, feeling a bit sheepish about seeing him again.
He had practically coddled you like a baby just a few rooms ago, even allowing you to nap against him, all for free.
You eventually gather the courage to crouch down in front of the vent, carefully crawling through it.

And then, there he was, in the same spot where you always found him, tucked against the corner of his small shop.
His smile seems to widen a fraction once his eyes meet yours.
"It's good to see you're holding up well." He chirps, his large tail uncurling from around himself.
"You see, I went out of my way to look for a few medical supplies, just for you," he says, now pointing at the items on his tail "just in case you needed to change your bandages and all."

Your heart pounds as you come out of the vent and stand back on your feet.
"Oh... well, thank you Sebastian, that was really considerate of you." You mutter as you step closer to the items he kept on his tail, unclipping the medkit from it.
He was doing it again, coddling you like you were some innocent, unknowing child.
You didn't need that, you were a responsible person that was more than capable of handling themselves.
However, the warmth that bloomed inside you when he had patched you up was hard to ignore.
The change in his general demeanor was quite drastic, especially considering how many times he had scoffed or yelled at you in the past.
You reach into your duffle bag to pay him, handing him twice the amount of data needed for the item.
"Here, it should cover the cost of the other medkit you gave me earlier as well" You say, holding up the currency to him.

He hesitates, then grumbles something under his breath as he took the documents, putting them away in his pocket.
"I thought I had told you it was free of charge, didn't I?" He begins, shaking his head in disbelief at how adamant you were, before speaking up once more. "At the very least, let me help patch you up."
With that, he picked you up before you could protest, his tail coiling around itself, turning into a temporary seat for you.

"Did the way I patched you up give you any trouble?" He asks, his claws slipping beneath the waistband of your pants, pulling them down just enough to expose the injured area.
You let out a painful whine before finding the courage to speak. "Well, it got a bit uncomfortable at one point, if I have to be honest..."
You look down at your thighs, the pieces of cotton he had so carefully pressed to your thighs were now peppered with dried blood that had soaked through.

He simply humms in acknowledgement, carefully pulling at the medical tape that kept the gauze in place.
You hiss, both because the adhesive was rather strong, but also because the dried blood had stuck to the cotton, reopening some of your wounds as it separared from your skin.
"I'm afraid I can't do much about that," he muttered, his voice filled with concern "I'll try to give your skin a bit more room to breathe."
Hearing him being so considerate felt strange, to say the least. Perhaps the old Sebastian was killed and replaced by a nice Sebastian clone, who knows.

He tossed the dirty rags aside, then dug through the medkit, pouring some antiseptic onto a cotton pad.
The soaked disc touched your skin, leaving a cool sensation behind as it trailed over your cuts.
His touch was as gentle as it was the first time, his claws moving carefully as to not harm you any further.
You could feel your face warm up the more you thought about the situation you were in; half naked in front of a sexy, giant fish man that seemed to care about you just a bit too much.

You didn't dare to look up at him, the sight of his face alone might vaporize you in an instant, and you didn't want that, obviously.
You wanted this moment to last just a little longer, perhaps even forever. That would've been nice, you thought.
It probably would've been enough to solve all your problems.

He snaps his fingers in front of your eyes a few times.
"Hello, is anyone in there?" he groaned, trying to get your attention. "Did the brain eating amoeba get to you while diving, or are you still in there?" He then proceeded to snicker to himself, like he had told the funniest joke in the whole Blacksite.
As it turns out, Sebastian had already finished patching up your wounds.
"Sorry, Sebastian. I was just thinking about... a few things." You blurted, clumsily pulling up your pants while you were still sat on his tail.

He snorts, raising an eyebrow. "What could you possibly have been thinking about, care to share?"
At his words, you immediately put your hands up in defense. "It's not important, I promise..." You lie through your teeth. "Thank you for the help."
Of course it was important, you wanted him to keep touching you, to have his attention on you. You needed it.
He stared at you for a few moments, seemingly trying to read your expression. "From where I'm standing, your face is looking a nice, bright red." He teases, his long, clawed finger moving just under your chin, tilting your head up. "Yeah, definitely red." He chuckles lowly before pulling his hand back.
Frozen in place, you can't help but stare back into his icy blue eyes.

There was no use trying to fight it anymore. You had decided that you wanted to tell him what you were thinking after all.
You take a few steps closer to where he stood, your gaze never tearing away from his features.
"Sebastian, I feel like I have to be honest with you." You begin, clearing your voice.
"I am very grateful for how you've been treating me, more than you know."
You shift in place as you spoke, a clear nervousness in your tone.

"Sebastian, you... Despite the fact I was in a horrible condition earlier, you stuck around for me, and you didn't ask for anything in return.
You didn't try to fix me, you were simply willing to give me a hand when I was troubled, rather than leaving me to rot. And for that, I am grateful. I don't think anyone has done that for me before."
With your heart in your throat, you kept speaking and speaking, your voice wavering as you spilled your feelings.

Your gaze slowly drifts to the concrete floor below, as to not see his reaction.
He likely though you were some lonely loser that clung to every ounce of care and affection that came their way, and he wouldn't have been too far off.
"I apologize if this was too sappy for you, I know you're usually not a very open person, but this is important to me." You mumble, the confidence you had until now having left your body.
After a few moments of silence, and of you refusing to meet his eyes, you feel his hands coming to rest on your waist.

His voice comes out strained, almost as if he was left speechless. "It's— It's not." He begins, his breathing shallow. Soon after, he pulls you closer to his chest.
He carefully pressed his muzzle in the crook of your neck, a low purr leaving his throat as he relaxed into you.
"I'm used to being perceived as a monster." He explains, his hot breath hitting your neck due to the close proximity. "It's strange to not be seen as such, but rather as a source of comfort."
The feeling of his cold, damp skin pressed against yours made you shiver, a concrete reminder of your differences in species.

Eventually, you find the courage to wrap your arms around his shoulders, shutting your eyes as you relished in the comfort he provided.
He did the same, pulling you closer so your chest was pressed flush to his.
You can't help but let out a shuddering breath, running your fingers through the ends of his dark, wavy hair.
He humms contently, the close proxomity allowing you to perfectly feel the vibrations from his chest. "You're awfully sweet to me, despite knowing what I'm capable of..." He mutters.
"Aren't you scared I'll rip you to shreds?" He questions, emphasizing his point by lightly digging his claws into your sides.

The slight sting in your flesh makes you jump, yet you immediately shake your head.
"I mean... I don't have a reason to, you never gave me one." You argue, your eyebrows furrowing. He'd never do that.
He wasn't a violent man, at least, you didn't think so.
In fact, you had bought his file a few weeks back, learning about his unfair past, as well as all of the operations they had put him through against his will.
He was just doing what he had to to survive, you told yourself, just like you are.
"You've only ever helped me out since we met, really... well, if we're not counting the landmines you keep placing."

He seemed a bit surprised at your words, however, he doesn't say anything else, simply closing his eyes.
His hold on you grows more firm, a low, content purr leaving his throat.
Having him this close felt like heaven on earth, yet you couldn't help but feel a bit shy.
You had practically gone for months without any real physical contact with anyone, and now you were cuddling with a big fish.
The fabric of his clothes was soft, despite being a bit worn down, and it smelled unmistakably like him.
His presence alone was enough to make you feel better.

Minutes pass, the only noise that could be heard inside his shop was a quiet static, coming from the radio on his desk.
Sebastian shifted a bit, opting for resting his chin on your shoulder rather than in the crook of your neck.
"I could get used to your company." He speaks up, breaking the silence. "You're not half bad for an expandable." He laughs, and you can't help but giggle alongside him, your heart swelling with affection for the man between your arms.

And for a while, short as it was, you forgot all about the horrible place you were in.