Work Text:
Juliet’s POV
The lizard’s head popped like an over-filled water balloon, showering us with fetid gore. Thank god my mouth was closed. By the look on Carl’s face, the explosive he had been testing out was more powerful than he’d expected.
The plan had been simple.
Step one: find a big enough mob.
Step two: buy time so Carl can line up the perfect shot.
Step three: bombs away.
Step four: get the hell out of the way.
It worked well. Too well. In a shocking display of accuracy, Carl lobbed the round explosive directly into the lizard’s throat where it promptly lodged itself. When that thing went off, the lizard’s head suddenly became a confetti cannon of blood and brain.
“Still too strong,” I heard Carl mumble to himself while I dug through my inventory for the box of tissues. With practiced ease, I snatched a few and placed them in his open and waiting hand.
I felt a minor shock go through my feet and looked down at my shoes. The blue was dangerously bright; tiny bolts of white lightning arced between the wings every few seconds.
I still had time.
“Discharge your shoes,” Carl said as if he’d read my mind.
I tried cleaning lizard chunks from my braid but gave up almost immediately. “It’s fine, Carl.”
“They’re literally glowing.”
“They always do that.” I started walking back towards Hump Town and Carl followed slightly behind.
“They’re shocking you, aren’t they?”
“It’s not that bad.” An ill-timed zap jolted me slightly. It was like I shook hands with someone wearing one of those joke buzzers on their palm.
Carl stopped walking and crossed his arms. “Just go discharge them. Why are you being stubborn right now?”
I felt myself bristling. Literally. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck were starting to stand on end. “Why can’t you just trust me?” I stepped closer and he hastily stepped back. I smirked. “Afraid of a little lightning?”
We stared at each other for a beat before Carl’s eyes narrowed slightly. Ooh, I was in trouble now. He stepped closer. Not threatening; more authoritative. I didn’t step back.
“You know what drives me crazy when you get like this?”
I placed my hands on my hips. “Enlighten me.”
“You forget that your actions affect everyone when you’re playing as a team.” He gestured towards Hump Town when he said “everyone” and I thought of Donut, Katia, and Mordecai there entertaining the orphans. “There’s taking calculated risks, and then there’s doing what you’re doing.”
“Oh yeah?” I stepped closer again and had to tilt my head back to keep my eyes on his. “And what is it I’m doing?”
“You’re being reckless.”
The way he said it wasn’t loud or mean, but the words cut all the same. I poked him defiantly in the chest. “That’s pretty rich coming from the guy who deals in explosives.”
Carl stared at my finger as if it had personally insulted him. Maybe it had. He batted my hand away. “Don’t poke me. You’re missing the point.”
I poked him again. “Why is it so hard for you to accept that I can take care of this myself? I know what my limits are.”
He poked me back. “You’re being impossible right now.”
“No, you’re being imposs—” I didn’t finish the sentence. I went to poke him again and…
ZAP!
A bolt of lightning violently cracked down upon us. It was a weaker strike, relatively harmless, but the force of it knocked us away from each other. I lost my footing in the sand and fell onto my ass. Carl stumbled backwards but caught himself. The damage was so insignificant that his health bar didn’t even appear. Mine went down about 20%.
We stayed like that for several moments as if the stun debuff had tagged us both. The whole area smelled like ozone and barbecued lizard meat. I stared up at Carl and he stared down at me—we wore matching horrified expressions. His hair was smoking.
“I told you not to poke me,” he finally said, stepping forward and holding out his hand. No gloating. No lectures. Just Carl being as frustratingly helpful as ever.
The shoes had dulled to the neutral glow that indicated the danger had passed. I slapped my hand into his and grinned sheepishly as he pulled me to my feet. “You sure did.” I pressed my lips together, eyes on the ground. “Sorry about that.”
I felt Carl’s hand on my shoulder, gentle despite his size. “You don’t have to push yourself so hard. Not if it means needlessly getting hurt.”
When I looked up, I realized we had gravitated closer than I’d expected. I was briefly stunned by the way the sun was hitting his eyes, and a different kind of electricity zipped through me at the sight. I felt his hand tense.
He swallowed.
I did the brave thing and stepped back. His hand fell away.
“Thanks, Carl. I know you have the team’s best interest in mind.”
Because that’s what this boiled down to, right? Carl cared about the success of the team. If I was being stubborn, I was endangering us for no reason other than my stupid pride. I turned and started walking towards Hump Town again. Carl stayed in step beside me.
“You know, that includes you.”
He said it so casually. Like it was the most obvious fact in the world. I quickened my pace, pushing ahead just so that he couldn’t see how it made me blush.