Chapter Text
Now this is your fault, everything is a problem… — This Comes From Inside, The Living Tombstone
"YOU'RE A FUCKING TRANNY? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, ███████ !" Rust felt the steel toe hit his rib as he wheezed. He felt a small pop as his father pulled him up by his hair and threw Rust to the ground. He crumpled like tissue paper as his head slammed on the cold tile. "GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HOUSE, YOU FREAK!" His father's face was near purple with anger as Rust scampered backwards like a frightened animal. He grabbed his duffel bag, the two $1 bills his dad threw at him, and bolted out of the house.
RUSTYBOY: got kcked out. can sm1 pick me up from the QT on corner of 5th and kttrdg? Read by: 0101, NKTSLA, DOCBLUE, STRONGARM
01: You WHAT? Are you okay???
NKTSLA: I'll be there in 10. Are you hurt?
RUSTYBOY: yea dw bout it tho
NKTSLA: I'll be there in 4.
Rust stared at his phone. The screen had a few cracks in it from when his dad threw it at the wall, but nothing too bad. His ribs, however, were a different story. He could feel the bruises growing with every step he made towards the gas station. He held back the tears threatening to spill out, willing them to hide themselves for just a minute longer. He used the two dollars to buy a small drink, using the cup as a makeshift ice pack for his blooming black eye from his father's punch. Tesla's car skidded into the parking lot with a quiet squeal of his brakes. He nodded to the side as if to say "get in" and watched Rust's aching form stumble to the car. He groaned as he got in, sighing with relief when he sat down.
Rust took one look at the growing concern on his friend's face and rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to the hospital, Tesla. I'm fine. It's just bruising," he spoke soft enough to hide the looming tears but not enough to refrain from coughing.
You look like shit, Rust. I'm taking you to the hospital, Tesla signed. He tied his fading pink hair into an — albeit, very small — ponytail to keep it out of his eyes. You pick the music for the drive. You've been through enough already. I won't make you listen to divorced dad rock. He handed the aux cord to Rust with a slightly broken smile.
Rust plugged in his phone and music filled the car.
"How we could have known that we're stuck in a system?
There was a pre-existing dictum, programmed to do nothing else
Why feel so alone when we share so much wisdom?
But you set fire to the kingdom, burn it all until it melts, or else…"
His tears pressed against his eyes and began to trickle down his face. "I'm sorry, I don't— I just— I—…" Rust sobbed into his hands as he tried to push the tears back in. "I'm sorry for being a bother, I really don't need anything right now, I can just go home tomorrow, he was drunk and it'll be fine tomorrow when he's sobered up. I really don't need anything."
Tesla shook his head and tapped to the beat of the song on the steering wheel. You're not going back there, Rust. You've been through enough. We'll go to urgent care in the morning, but if you get any worse, Zero is going to drag you to the ER himself.
Rust let out a soft laugh at that. "He would, yeah. I just…" Rust's voice trailed off. "I don't know what to do without my dad," he said shakily. A few stray tears made their way down his face and he wiped them off with the back of his hand.
You'll figure it out. You always do. Tesla gave a lopsided smile and the two sat in a comfortable lull as they drove home.
"Rust? Tesla? Is that you?" Zero_one clambered off his bed and nearly pitched himself down the stairs as the front door opened.
"Nope, just me. They'll be home in a few minutes, though. If you want to help me prep dinner though, that'd be great. I got some things for Rust, they're in the sunflower bag and the aerospace bag. Also, Z, if you break your nose falling down the stairs over Rust again, I think Tesla, Doc, and I deserve financial compensation and the ability to laugh about it later," Armstrong called up the stairs. He chuckled as Zero steadied himself and walked down the stairs a little bit slower than before.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Did you pick up Tesla's hair dye? We were going to fix it up tonight, I think. It depends on what's up with Rust, though. I'm a bit worried, he usually doesn't tell us he's hurt. He's like a cat, he hides his pain until he's like, dying." Zero ran his hand through his hair and started preheating the oven. He grabbed the two bags and started to take them upstairs. "Also, which pizza did you get? I swear, if you got that one we had last time, I will throttle you. It was so bad, Doc almost—" He got cut off by the squeak of the front door. Zero dropped the bags in his room and bolted down the stairs.
"Hey, Z." Rust winced as Zero barrelled over with a hug.
He pulled back immediately after he felt Rust flinch. "Oh my god did I hurt you? Are you okay? Do you need anything? I've got ibuprofen, I don't know how much that'll do for… um. What happened, exactly?" He looked Rust over, taking in the swollen eye, a slight curve to his posture, and a crackling wheeze every time Rust breathed in. His left wrist was slightly puffy and he had a pink hand print across his cheek. Rust's shoulders started to tremble.
"Hey, it'll be okay. You wanna drop your stuff off in my room? You can unpack and settle in, Armstrong didn't know what you brought so he kind of mother henned all over the place and got you three blankets, four hoodies, and I think I saw a minimum of seven pairs of sweatpants," Zero's voice dropped quieter to try and calm Rust down.
Rust hummed quietly. "Yeah, let's go upstairs. I want to say hi to Doc and get a few things sorted. Hey, Armstrong, good to see you." He waved at the red-haired man in the kitchen and began a slow walk up the stairs. Zero looked at Tesla and Armstrong and signed, We're taking him to the hospital after dinner. He's wheezing and he's hurt in places he hasn't told us. I can tell. The two older men nodded at him and began rapidly signing to each other, making plans while Armstrong cut vegetables.
"Doc? Are you in here?" Rust knocked on a door with a makeshift sign saying "The Doc is IN!"
"Oh, hey kid! How're you doing?" Doc pushed his glasses up and smiled warmly at Rust. "Heard you've had a rough go. What do you need from me, right now?" The older man brushed a hand through green hair and gave him a gentle hug.
"Honestly, I don't know. Tesla said he'd take me to urgent care tomorrow morning, but I just don't want to go see anyone. I have so much to do right now and I don't want another thing on top of that." Rust looked down and started picking at his fingers.
"What do you have to do? Last I checked, you've got less to worry about now that your dad is out of the picture, hm?"
"I just… I have a lot to do."
"Kid, I think the only thing you need to do is eat dinner and get a doctor to check out your ribs. Not me, I see that look on your face. Now. Z is staring at me like I am holding you ransom, so you two should go get settled. I'll see you at dinner, alright?" He waved Rust and Zero_one along and the two left the office.
"Roo, what the fuck happened? Like, genuinely." The two sat down on the bed while Rust sorted the two bags Armstrong picked up from the store. Rust went through the whole story. His dad finding his only binder, burning it as Rust was forced to watch the fabric go up in flames, being told he had five minutes to pack a bag and then he needed to get out. Right as he was leaving, his dad pulled him back and just beat Rust to hell and back. When he was done explaining, Zero's eyes were wet with tears and Rust was sitting curled up by the wall with a green blanket.
Orange met green as a hand came to cradle the other.
"You were very brave, Rust. You were so, so brave.”