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“Come on Love, just breathe. Focus on me okay? I'm not going anywhere.”
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Well, this day had gone to shit. It was supposed to be a normal raid of a newly abandoned outpost, but it turns out, it had been a trap. Realistically, they all should have known that, but times were getting a bit harder recently when it came to supplies. They had gotten desperate and they had paid the price.
When they had first been ambushed, all of them had already entered the old building and were wandering the various hallways and going into rooms looking for anything they could even remotely use. It had seemed like the dracs had waited for them all to separate before striking. These dracs were a bit different than the others, they seemed smarter and faster and had different weapons than the standard issue BLI Ray gun, but that was an issue for another time.
At that minute, Ghoul had been in what possibly could have been an old med-bay or sick room shoving anything he could into a big pack when he had heard Jet raise the alarm. “Shit,” he had thought, “I knew something was wrong, once I see Poison again they're gonna have to deal with a lecture from me and Jet for not listening to us.”
Ghoul quickly sped down the hallway, towards an exit he had seen on his way in. He had heard several shots go off in the background, but he was confident the crew could handle it. “Huh, those shots sounded different from normal, I really hope the BLI didn't give them an upgrade. Although… If they did, I could get one to take apart back home so we could also have some gear upgrades. Yeah, that sounds useful.”
After about a minute of running, Ghoul had finally found the hallway he was looking for. He had rounded a corner and instantly, his blood ran cold. “No, no, no, NO!” Poison had been lying in a pool of their own blood. Ghoul could see they had tears streaking down their cheeks. Their eyes had been wide with fear and panic, when they heard Ghoul’s footsteps, they let their head fall slightly to the side so they could look up at him.
“Ghoulie… I'm… sorry.” Each word came out strangled and slightly slurred. Ghoul had knelt down next to Poison.
“Stop, stop. Don't speak, save your energy, love. Do you know where the others are? Just a simple yes or no, nothing more, okay? In kneeling down, Ghoul had noticed there were two old fashioned bullet holes in Poison's side that Poison was weakly trying to put pressure on. Ghoul gently moved Poison's hand away and started putting pressure on the wound himself. “Where on earth had these dracs gotten old guns from?” He had thought to himself.
Poison had tried to give Ghoul what was supposed to be a ‘don’t baby me’ look, but ended up just looking utterly exhausted. “No.” Once again, the word had sounded strangled, but it was even more quiet this time.
“Okay, well, we need to move somewhere safer and wait for them there. We also need to get you bandaged up. I think I saw an old gas station just a couple of streets away. I'm going to have to carry you, so it will hurt, but it's safer than staying here, is that alright with you, Love?” Ghoul spoke gently, no anger whatsoever in his voice, all of that had gone out the window the moment Ghoul had seen Poison lying on the floor. “There will be other times to get mad at them, like after we're back at the diner with the others and Pois is all patched up.”
“Okay, I'm going to pick you up now, I'll be as gentle as I can. I'm so, so sorry about this.” As Ghoul had slowly picked Poison up off the floor, they let out a mix of a choked sob and a loud whimper and they dug their now bloodstained nails into Ghoul's shoulder.
“It'll be alright, I'm so sorry, Love. It's only a couple minutes walk. Just breathe, you'll be alright.”
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Currently, Ghoul had finally made it just outside the gas station. Poison was shaking and loudly whimpering in his arms, nails digging in anywhere they could find purchase. Ghoul slowly pushed the door open with his shoulder and stood in the doorway to take inventory of the building.
The old station was small, and almost completely empty. Whatever company that had been there had packed up almost completely when they left and took everything with them. This allowed Ghoul to survey the entire room. He could see a bathroom in the far left corner and in the corner closest to the door, he could see a pile of blankets. The blankets looked old and dusty, but it was clear at one point in time, another ‘Joy had been using this spot as a makeshift home.
Ghoul decided that the first stop needed to be the bathroom so he could get Poison's wounds cleaned up and wrapped. Once he was in, he laid Poison as carefully on the floor as he could. “Hey, Love, I'm gonna take off your jacket and your shirt so I can get a better look at your injury. Is that okay?” Poison gave a weak nod. As Ghoul slowly started to work their jacket off their shoulders, Poison let out another weak whine. “If we ever see those dracs again, I'm going to give them a long painful death for this,” Ghoul hissed in his mind.
Once both pieces of clothing were off, Ghoul was finally able to get a good look at Poison's side. “Oh Destroya,” Ghoul thought. Poison's side was a mess. It was smeared with blood and the wounds themselves were bad. Ghoul now noticed something he had before when Poison had their shirt on. “There's no exit wound, the bullets are still inside them. Fuck.” Ghoul knew he was no medic. He barely knew how to sew up a wound, the only reason he vaguely knew how was because Jet had given him more stitches than he could count. “I have to do something about those bullet wounds so they don't bleed to death.”
Ghoul’s throat felt dry as he opened the pack to go through what medical supplies he had managed to grab, which turned out to be several rolls of bandages, rubbing alcohol, and a couple first aid kits. Ghoul tried to recall old stories that Jet told him about how people used to treat wounds like these back before ray guns had been a thing. He only managed to remember Jet mentioning something about having to pack the wound, so he decided that would be the best place to start.
Ghoul looked down at Poison, who was starting to become worryingly pale. Poison met his gaze and tried their best to give him a weak smile. “Damn it Pois, why'd you have to get shot?” Ghoul thought bitterly. Poison was the love of his life, he would do anything for them. But the thought of having to hurt them, being the one to cause them pain even if he was helping, made his chest hurt. In the end though, he knew it had to be done or Poison would die.
Ghoul took a deep breath in and tried to relax. He took Poison's hand in his. “Pois, you know I have to treat your injuries. I promise I'll try my absolute best not to hurt you, but we both know it's going to happen. I'm so sorry.” Ghoul’s voice got a bit wobbly towards the end. Poison let out a feeble laugh and Ghoul gave them a questioning look.
“Ghoulie, you know I trust you with my life. I know you would never willingly hurt me. And why are you the one lookin like you're about to cry? I'll be fine, you're the one takin care of me.” Poison finished their little speech with a coughing fit, little flecks of blood coming out of their mouth.
“Shit, I need to hurry up.” Ghoul started opening the bandages and wadding them up into small balls to pack inside the wounds. “Wait, shit, I need to disinfect the wound first, sorry Pois.” Poison groaned and said “I'm gonna die, aren't I?” Ghoul knew they meant it as a joke, a way to lighten the dark mood, but it only made him panic more. If he messed this up, Poison could actually die, and it would be his fault.
Ghoul took out the rubbing alcohol and wadded up another handful of bandages to make a makeshift rag. “Deep breath, Pois. This is gonna sting, you can grab onto me if you need to.” Once Ghoul saw Poison take a long breath, he began to work at whipping the wounds to disinfect and to get rid of the blood that was caked around them.
Poison lets out a sharp whine as soon as the makeshift rag touches their sensitive skin and immediately flinches back. Ghoul paused and gently took their hand in his and squeezed. “Com’on Pois, it'll be fine, I'm right here with you.” They took a deep breath and settled back down.
Ghoul started again, Poison's whimpers and small cries breaking his heart, but he knew this was better for them. Once he was done cleaning the wounds, Ghoul threw all the used bandages in a corner he had now dubbed the trash corner. Now, it was time to pack the wound. This time, Ghoul had to take a deep breath to prepare himself. He knew there was no other option, but he also knew that this was going to hurt like hell for Poison, who had already been through a lot that day and who was now laying on the tiled floor, eyes slightly red and with tear stained cheeks.
“Love, you still with me?” Poison let out a small hum of confirmation as they continued to just stare at the ceiling. Ghoul grabbed Poison's hand with his own and intertwined their fingers. With the other hand, he reached up and brushed a few stray hairs behind Poison's ear. Ghoul then brought his head down to theirs, so their foreheads were touching. “Love, I have to pack the wound now.” Poison hummed once again. “I'm going to be as gentle as possible, but this will hurt, please don't fight me on it. And I know this sucks, but I need you to please be as quiet as you can, we could accidentally draw the attention of more dracs if they hear any noises. I'm so sorry, Love.” Ghoul leaned his head the rest of the way down to give Poison a quick peck on the lips.
“I love you, Pois.”
“Love you too, Ghoulie.”
Ghoul took a deep breath and began. He took some damp, wadded up bandages, and shoved them into one of the holes in Poison's side. Poison let out a scream that would probably haunt Ghoul for the rest of their life. “I'm so, so, sorry, Love.” Poison now had fresh tears streaming down their cheeks and they were openly sobbing, their entire body trembling. Ghoul went back to working as quickly as he could so that this would be over sooner. As soon as he started to pack the other hole, Poison let out another heart wrenching cry of pain. “Come on love, just breathe. Focus on me, okay? I'm not going anywhere.”
Once Ghoul was done fixing Poison up, he gingerly picked them up and brought them over to the pile of blankets he had first seen when they had entered. Poison had passed out about a minute before Ghoul had finished, he hoped their mind had taken them somewhere kind, away from all the pain. He still felt immensely guilty for being the one to cause them that much pain. Ghoul shook his head, he really could not afford to be thinking about that right now. “Jet and Kobra better find us soon, I don't know how long my work will last.” Ghoul decided the best option for that was to curl up next to Poison and just wait. He softly pulled Poison against his chest, avoiding all their wounds. He gently stroked their cherry red hair as he listened to their heart beat quietly in their chest.
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Ghoul was the first to wake up the next morning. It took him a couple of minutes to remember what happened and where he was. As soon as he did, he looked to check on Poison. They were still asleep, tucked into Ghoul's side. “Destroya, they're beautiful.” No matter the situation, Ghoul would always take time to just appreciate his lover. He and Poison had been together only a couple of months at this point, but these months had been the best in his entire life. They both had fallen for each other much longer ago though, but they were such dumbasses that neither realized until Jet got sick of their pining and started pushing them together.
“Mornin’ Ghoulie.”
That startled him out of his thoughts. He hadn't noticed Poison had woken up and was now staring back up at him.
“Mornin’ to you too gorgeous, how you feeling?”
“Like someone just ran me over with the ‘Am, but other than that I'm alright.” Poison let out a small laugh that made Ghoul's heart flutter. After seeing them nearly dead then also screaming in pain, it was nice to see them laughing and with a small smile on their face. “Why are you lookin at me like that?”
“Just happy to see you back to your normal self after yesterday. Jet and Kobra should hopefully be looking for us by now and have been hopefully getting closer as we speak. I still wouldn't move too much ‘cause of your injuries, so we need to wait here for them to find us.” Ghoul let out a small exhale. “So, you gonna tell me what exactly happened?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, I found you lyin’ in a pool of your own blood and I still don't got a clue how you got there.” Ghoul’s voice then got quiet, “You scared the shit out of me Pois, I thought I had lost you, and I don't know what I would've done if I had.”
Poison gave Ghoul a guilt-ridden look. “ I'm sorry for scaring you yesterday. I truly am. I didn't mean to get shot, I heard the dracs come in and was so busy tryin to fight my way out to the others, I didn't notice the ‘Crow that came in just slightly after they did.”
“There was a ‘Crow there!?” Destroya Pois, we are never listening to your advice again when it's time to choose what places to raid.”
“Wait, I'm sorry!” Poison whined. Ghoul gave them a smirk and shook his head. “... You're an asshole.” Ghoul threw his head back and laughed.
“But, you love me.”
“Damn right I do.” Poison sighed and snuggled in close again, trying to absorb all the warmth coming from Ghoul's body.
After a few minutes of sitting in silence, just enjoying each other's company while waiting to be rescued, they both heard the familiar roar of the trans-am’s engine. “Love, I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get their attention so they don't leave us again.” Ghoul pretended to be annoyed, but in reality, he was too happy to be annoyed. Hearing the Am’s engine meant that the whole crew was okay and everything would turn out just fine.
Ghoul stepped out of the gas station and saw Kobra and Jet speeding at him. Once the car got in front of the station, it screeched to a halt and both doors were thrown open violently. Kobra was the first one to make it to Ghoul.
“Where's my sibling!? Please tell me they weren’t ghosted!” Kobra normally maintained a ‘I don't give a single fuck’ attitude, but when it came to his sibling, all bets were off. As far as Ghoul could tell, one sibling was unable to function without knowing the other was okay at all times. As Kobra finished his sentence, Jet made it over to.
“Where's Poison, are they okay? Do they have any wounds I need to treat? What about you, are you good?”
“Chill out you two, Poison's okay. I managed to pack their wounds to get the bleeding to stop. They still need your attention, Jet, but they aren't currently dying anymore at least. Where the hell have you guys been?”
Kobra made a horrified, strangled noise, “Poison's been SHOT?” Jet looked as equally horrified as Kobra.
“Yeah, I'll take you guys to them. Be careful with their left side, it's where they were injured and the damn ‘Crow used old fashion bullets. Jet, you'll need to take those out once we get back to the diner.”
Ghoul walked over and held the door open for Kobra and Jet as they ran inside. Kobra immediately ran over and threw his arms around Poison. “I thought you were gone,” he sniffled. Poison looked beyond surprised. They rarely ever saw their brother cry and if he did, it was really only because he was in a lot of pain.
“Yeah, I'm alright, I'm okay.” Poison weakly returned the hug and rubbed their brother's back in an attempt to show him that they were okay.
“Anyway, are you guys gonna answer my question from earlier? Where the hell were you two?
“We thought you were right behind us or had taken off in a different direction! We had to split because there was a van of dracs tailin us. We knew you two had a bike parked at the back and we didn't see you two on the way out, so we assumed you split too,” Jet explained.
“Well, we didn't.” Ghoul knew he shouldn't be mad at Jet and Kobra, none of this was any of their faults. Yet, he still felt a tad bit angry that Poison had been left all alone on that floor. “I heard a fight and decided that we could use some upgraded weapons, but instead found this dumbass on the floor in a pool of their own blood. Had to get them here in case the dracs came back.” Ghoul said as he jerked his thumb towards Poison.
“We are so, so sorry Poison. We never meant to leave you there, we thought you were safe and already with Ghoul,” Kobra repeated.
“It's all right, Kobes. None of it was your fault, just a string of bad luck, all of this was.”
“Sorry to interrupt your sentimental moment, but we should really get back to the diner. We're still out in the open an’ Poison still has bullets in their side that I need to take out.” Jet motioned to the door. “Ghoul, you carry Poison to the car. Kobra, you want to drive? I want to stay in the back with Poison to check for other injuries.”
“You got it.”
“Alight.” Ghoul waited for Kobra to let go of Poison, then gently scooped them into his arms. Poison let out a small groan of pain. Their wounds had been cleaned and bandaged, but they were still only a day old and really sensitive. Not to mention that Poison could probably feel the bullets shift inside them as they were lifted off the ground.
“Sorry love,” Ghoul whispered against their ear. He then gently started making his way to the car. Once he got there, Jet opened the door for him as he gently set Poison down inside. Jet then scooted into the seats next to them and Ghoul slid into the passenger seat next to Kobra.
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The ride home was a long one. The music was on low and no one really talked, they all just tried to soak in each other's presence after being so worried for so long.
“We're home.” Kobra parked outside the diner and immediately went to help his sibling.
Once they all got Poison inside, Jet quickly wiped down the shower to try to create the most sterile environment they he could, then had Kobra help ease them into a laying down position. Poison let out a shudder as their bare back touched the cold tiles.
The shower was just wide enough to fit two people, so Jet had to kneel and brace his arms on the lip of the giant tub. They only used it on rare occasions, most ‘joys used the public bathhouse instead so they would have to waste their valuable water supply.
The Girl came barreling into the room. “Where's Poison?!” She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
“I'm right here sweetheart. I'm okay, just a little banged up. I'll tell you about after I get patched up, till then, how about you go wait in the front room? I'll be there in just a couple of minutes.”
“Okay…” The Girl didn't seem all that trusting of Poison's words, but Jet gave her a small nod, so she took one last look at Poison and left to go wait.
“Kobra, you should probably leave too. Ghoul, stay here and help hold them still while I get the bullets out.”
“But…!” Kobra exclaimed.
“No buts from you, I know how much you want to help, but I also know how much you hate seeing Poison in pain and having both you and them freak out is not the best option.”
Ghoul felt bad for Kobra. They both knew that Jet wasn't wrong, but it still must hurt not being able to help. Ghoul already knew he himself was going to struggle to do this. Memories of Poison screaming in pain as he packed the wounds resurfaced in his mind. “Damn it, not now. Both Poison and Jet need you.” Ghoul was brought back to reality when Jet started to explain how this was going to work.
“Poison, I'm really sorry, but we don't have any sedatives right now, so you're gonna have to be awake for this.”
Ghoul wasn't surprised, to have any medicine at all in the zones was a miracle since it was so extremely hard to come by.
“We do, however, have some really strong pain killers from the last run. So, you can take two of those once we're done.” Poison nodded, trying to look brave and unbothered, but Ghoul could see the cracks in their facade. He could see that they were scared, which made him feel even more terrible about this. “Ghoul, are you listening?” Ghoul quickly jerked his head up to look at Jet and nodded. “Good, so, Ghoul, if Poison starts thrashing, I'm gonna need you to hold them down. I know it's not ideal, but if they move too much while I'm tryin to work, they could cause even more damage to themself.”
“Alight.” Ghoul was nervous. He hated seeing Poison so scared and he knew that the next couple of minutes would be hell for all that were involved.
“Good, so Poison, take a deep breath and tell me when you're ready for me to begin.”
“Just start now and get this over with.” Poison looked up at Ghoul and reached a hand out to him. Ghoul took it without hesitation and started rubbing his thumb over their knuckles, tracing small patterns and shapes in an attempt to call them down a little. Ghoul saw Jet take a deep breath and begin to unpack one of the wounds so he would have access to the bullet underneath.
Poison was immediately letting out small whimpers and whines, trying their best to stay still, but failing miserably. After Jet got all the bandages out, he picked up a pair of tweezers and started to fish the bullet out of the hole in their side. Poison instantly tried to jerk away, but Ghoul grabbed them by the shoulders and held them to the floor. Poison gave him a look of utter betrayal and desperation. “I'm so sorry, love. I love you so, so much. You're doing so well.” Ghoul gave them a sad smile.
Just as Poison opened their mouth to respond, Jet got a grip on the bullet and yanked it out. Poison let out a horrible scream and writhed under Ghoul's grip. Ghoul wanted so badly to pull Poison into his arms and protect them from all of the pain.
“One down, one to go,” Jet muttered, sounding as miserable as Ghoul felt. Jet started unpacking the other wound and Poison's breath grew increasingly erratic.
“Love, take a deep breath, you're hyperventilating. It's just going to make things worse, focus on my breathing,” Ghoul once again took Poison's hand in his and placed it on his chest, right above his heart. He took deep, dramatic breaths and watched as Poison tried to copy them. Jet quickly looked up from his work to flash Ghoul a thankful smile.
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Jet quickly finished patching up Poison's side after getting the other bullet out in just a few minutes. As soon as Jet gave him the okay, Ghoul pulled Poison off the tiles and into his arms.
Poison's face was tear stained and their eyes were red and puffy. Ghoul stroked his fingers through their messy and sweaty hair and whispered praises into their ear. “You did so well, love. I'm so proud of you.” He pressed a kiss into their forehead. “Do you want to go out and see the others?”
Poison very quickly shook their head no and sunk further into Ghoul's embrace. “I want to go to bed.”
“Okay, they'll all be here when you wake up.” Ghoul softly picked Poison up bridal style and carried them to their shared room. Ghoul set them down gently on the mattress. “I'll be right back, Love. I need to go change.”
After Ghoul finished changing, he hurried back to bed and curled up against Poison's back, draping his arms over their stomach. He was pretty sure Poison was already asleep, so he just laid next to them in silence, just admiring them.
“By the way Ghoulie, I love you too.”
Ghoul was surprised to hear Poison's voice, but he wasn't complaining. He nestled his face into their shoulder and held them tight. After the events of the last 48 hours, he was sure he would never let them go again.