Work Text:
Sam handed off his next mission to Amber, his hands shaking as he set his equipment down and walked out of the comms shack as Five came in through the gates and headed for Maxine to get checked out. His bones rattled with the fury pent up inside him, mixed with the fading fear of losing Five. Nadia's childishness and willful misunderstanding appalled him, and the nearness of Five's brush with death terrified him.
Stone-faced, he trudged across the yard through the mud and debris until he could rap on the wood knocker hung at the door of the hospital tent, not even waiting for a reply from inside before ducking in. Five slumped on a chair, staring at nothing while Maxine wrapped an ice pack to her knee.
"Hey Sam, come on in, we're finishing up. You can help Five get some dinner and find a bunk to borrow." Maxine's cheerfully deadpan delivery was marred only by the glitter Sam could see in her eyes. A flush crept up his cheeks as he realized exactly whose bunk she expected Five to be sharing.
Maxine had teased him, gently, about what she called his "Runner Five habit" in the past, but they'd also talked about it seriously, especially after Five's ambush and night run. "Anybody who runs up to you crying and throws their arms around you cares about you a great deal," she'd said, and Sam remembered how good it had felt to pull Five close, as if he could protect her and keep her safe forever as long as they just held on to each other.
After that, it seemed like Five might even be interested in him, and they'd started this awkward dance of trying to flirt with each other, but every little thing about their chaotic lives and the stupid bloody zombie apocalypse seemed to get in the way, and flirting was as far as they got until Five brought home those Demons and Darkness books. It was the most fun any of them had had in ages, and when he walked her back to her quarters, she'd reeled him in for a kiss at the door.
That Runner Five -- happy, warm, her chapped lips smiling against his -- bore little resemblance to the Five sitting in the hospital tent now.
"Up you come, let's get some food in you." Sam held out a hand and she just looked at it for a moment before taking it and letting him pull her to her feet. "How's the knee?"
"Just bruised. I was dodging those Deadlocks and knocked it against a railing." Sam kept hold of her hand and she didn't shake him off, her face pointed at the ground as they walked. A few residents shouted greetings when they saw her, since she'd been spending most of her time at New Canton, but all she managed in return were a few half-hearted smiles.
They collected plates of food and a table in the farmhouse, and Sam watched Five eat while he poked at his own food. Her shoulders were hunched and tense, her eyes glued to her plate, but she only managed a few bites before starting to push things around with her fork, mouth twisting,
"Eat up, Five. You've got to stay healthy." She shook her head.
"I didn't know, Sam, I didn't -- I thought she was just angry at me, not that she wanted to kill me-- I would be angry too!" Her fork clattered on the plate as she scrubbed at her face with her hands.
"Hey, no, nothing about this is your fault. She's the one who couldn't act like a normal, decent human being." Sam reached over and stroked her hair, his fingers brushing over one ear.
"But I did hurt her. I feel so guilty about it. I lied to her, with my actions even if not my words. She loved him, and I let her think he was still alive just so we could get an advantage against New Canton."
"Just get an advantage against New Canton? There's no 'just' about it! You heard Archie, they want to wipe us out and the threat of Van Ark is the only thing stopping them. They were ten times the size of Abel even before the attack. We needed every advantage we could get against them then, and we need them even more now." Sam's hands had curled back into fists while he spoke and he forced them flat against the table.
Five stared at him, mouth a little open, tear tracks drying on her cheeks. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Sam picked up his fork.
"What you did was worth it, Five. What she did was cowardly and cruel." Sam stabbed at his food, shoving it in his mouth before he could continue ranting. Five's mouth crooked into a rueful half-smile and she too went back to her dinner.
The rest of the meal passed in silence, but they ran into Jack and Eugene as they were taking their plates and forks back to the kitchen. Five's smile grew wider and more true at Eugene's possessive grip on Jack's arm. Sam doubted they'd been out of arm's length since Jack's return, despite the truly epic chewing-out from Eugene that probably half the township heard -- considering most of it was conducted about ten feet inside the main gates.
"Getting settled back in among us peasants, Jack?" He rolled his eyes at Five's question and leaned against Eugene.
"I'm glad my suffering brings others joy. That place was creepy and I'm glad to be back home. Gene's been catching me up on all the latest gossip."
They spent about an hour chatting with Jack and Eugene, as well as Jody and a couple of other runners who spotted them and came to say hello. Sam watched Five gradually lighten up as Abel's close-knit community enfolded her, and by the time the small group split up for the night she was looking much closer to her regular self.
"Let's find you a tent, shall we? I don't think Jody's sharing with anyone right now, or if not her there's Amber--" Sam was picking his way through the mud in the dim light of the evening when Five slipped her hand into his and pulled him to a halt.
"Sam." When he turned to face her, she tipped her head to the side and bit her lip, eyebrows raised a little.
"What?" He felt like his brain had turned to mush.
"I'd rather-- I mean-- I don't want to impose--"
"On Jody? I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Not for the first time in his life, Sam wanted to punch his mouth for saying things completely at odds with what was going on in his brain.
"On you." Five stepped closer and huffed out a small laugh. "Sam, you and I both know there's only one person whose bed I want to be in, right? But I know it's not like it's really gone anywhere between us, at least not yet anyway, and it's not like I want to rush things, it would just be--"
"No, that's-- that's fine!" Sam interjected, reddening, his brain still stuck on the promise of 'yet,' "That's great! I can say with one hundred percent certainty that I would not feel imposed upon at all. My tent is your tent."
"Thanks, Sam." Five looked down. "I really appreciate it."
Sam opened his mouth, but before it could say something even more impossibly ridiculous, Five was hugging him, her hands clutching at his shoulders. He let out a sigh, ruffling her hair, and wrapped his arms around her, rubbing circles on her back.
"I'm glad you're safe," he admitted, his voice gone a bit shaky. "I was so worried about you out there today."
Five didn't say anything, just nodded against his shoulder and pulled away after a long moment, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
"Come on, this way," Sam said, and slung his arm around Five's waist as they continued toward the cluster of tents that housed the few people Abel could support for now. His tent was a small hodge-podge of drab brown and olive like all the rest, but he'd planted a small orange flag by the door so he remembered which one was his.
"Here we go. The humble abode of Sam Yao."
"Hmm. Usually that's a figure of speech, but this is actually pretty humble," Five said with a slanted grin.
"Hey! I can still take back my offer and make you find another tent to share."
"You could. But you won't." Sam opened up the tent, taking off his shoes at the entrance and kicking some clothes to the corners before waving Five in. She sat down and pulled off her socks, shoes, and the ice pack wrapped around her knee, then just fell onto her back on the floor of the tent.
"It's nice to spend the night at Abel again for once, even though it's -- different." Sam sat down cross-legged by her head, reaching out without thought to run his hand through her hair.
"I'm looking forward to when we can get our people out of New Canton and back into quarters here." He frowned. "I didn't trust this agreement with them even before bloody Nadia tried to kill you."
Five's face grew somber and she rolled onto her side, resting her head on Sam's knee. His hand stilled for a moment, then he traced the curve of her ear, tucking her shaggy hair behind it. "I'm glad you were there to guide me home. I don't know what I would have done if Nadia had kept directing me through that area. Probably died."
"I prefer to think you'd have found your own way out somehow." Sam's voice dropped. "I don't like to think about you dying."
Five reached out with one hand and Sam took it in his, only to have her pull their joined hands to her lips to kiss his knuckles. "I'll try not to die, then."
Sam grinned. "I'll hold you to that."
After a moment passed in silence he looked down and realized that Five had dozed off on him, still holding on to his hand, her head making his leg numb. As much as he regretted disturbing what had to be precious rest time for her, he couldn't stay like this all night.
"Five, wake up. You can't fall asleep like that. Here, you can use this as a pillow, and the bed's on this side -- d'you want something different to sleep in? Think I can find a shirt that might fit you."
"That would be great, yeah." Five rubbed at her eyes, flopping over onto the pile of blankets and sleeping bags Sam had designated the "bed." It was a little better than sleeping on the ground, at least. Rummaging around in the pile of clothes he'd kicked to one corner, he came up with a shirt that smelled clean (ish) and glanced over, tossing it to her before his brain processed that she'd already taken off the shirt and jeans she had been wearing. Sam had seen all his runners in various states of undress, it came with the territory, but getting dressed and undressed in emergency zombie-related situations was a world of difference from having his favorite runner sitting in his tent nearly naked.
"You're staring."
"Well, yeah," he blurted out, then shut his mouth as she laughed. There were freckles scattered all across her shoulders, and her skin was shockingly pale where it wasn't tan from being constantly outdoors.
It didn't really help when she put his shirt on, because then she was wearing his clothing. And once she had the shirt on, she stripped her bra off underneath it and then she was wearing his shirt and underwear and nothing else.
"You're staring again. And turning red." Five sounded cool as a cucumber, but he could see her fingers picking at the blankets, betraying her nerves. Sam peeled off his own shirt and pants, turning his back on her only to realize she'd definitely been staring at his ass, her own face getting a little red.
"Now who's staring?" He sat down next to her and was still a little surprised when she leaned in and kissed him, his heart doing a stuttering jump of elation. He thought he might never stop being surprised by the things she did, especially in relation to him.
Five's hands cradled his face as she nipped at his lower lip; in an effort to lean in and pull them closer together, Sam ended up unbalancing them so they both fell backward onto the blankets. Five giggled against his mouth.
"Smooth."
Sam tightened his arms around her waist and smiled. "That's me. Smooth operator Sam Yao."
"Sure. Come here, smooth operator." Five shifted a little, stretching out her legs and curling one hand to run her fingernails lightly down his back. His breath hitched and a shiver followed her hand.
"That's not f--" His cogent and well-reasoned argument on how unfair it was to take advantage of his shirtlessness was cut off by Five kissing him again, and, well, who would argue with that?
They were unhurried and thorough, Sam letting his hands wander as far as they could reach to assure himself that Five was here and unharmed. He liked splaying his hands over her ribs, feeling the muscles and bones shifting under the skin as she breathed. Her fingers traced over his back and shoulders, skating down his chest and stomach, leaving fluttering tremors in their wake.
Though he probably would have been content to keep making out for hours, he noticed after about twenty minutes that they were both goose-pimpled and shivering from the cold. Grabbing Five's hands, he sat up.
"Here, let's get under the covers." After some awkward shuffling and rearranging of limbs, they were huddled together under several layers of sleeping bags and blankets. Five curled up against him, hooking a leg between his and tucking her head against his neck. Sam breathed in, his arms wrapping around her again, and closed his eyes. He'd talk to Major de Santa in the morning about what happened, but for now everything important in the world was here, safe, in his arms.