Chapter Text
Just three minutes from arrival, the Guardian was running as if his life depended on it.
Miles would get really annoyed if he did not arrive right now!
Perhaps a week had passed well after the armed forces rescued him from that hell, but he still had not fully adjusted to normal life.
If it could be called normal to sleep above the deafening grunts of newborns in captivity...
???
"Ouch" Ignoring his speed, he collided with someone who was also in a bit of a hurry.
White
"Oh, damn it...! Sorry," he apologized quickly, wanting to run again, but the Tubbie in front of him had his full attention.
Could be...?
"Do not worry, Guardian," He said sharply, avoiding eye contact. He walked past him before being grabbed by the albino.
White
"You are the Tubbie! The... the... Blue Workers from back then!" He shouted in amazement.
Ron
"Ron, my name is Ron," The blue clarified, making his opponent nod with an awkward laugh.
White
"You survived! I thought you died like your friends the moment I heard Dipsy's chainsaw. I'm so glad you are okay!" The taller one looked away, his expression showing distress. White, realizing how insensitive his words were, mentally berated himself. "Sorry..."
Ron
"It does not matter. I'm in a hurry, and I think you are too. Goodbye, Guardian." He said, slipping out of the gray-eyed man's grasp and continuing on his way.
White
"It was not my intention, Ron..." He'd really messed up...
His behavior and lack of interest did not show that he was very happy to meet White again.
Unlike him, who, upon recognizing him alive and well, had felt a comforting joy.
Perhaps in some way it was his fault for the not-so-spirited reunion.
Miles
"Is that why you were taking so long? Were you talking to a Tubbie?" The irritating voice of someone he recognized very well rang out.
White
"Oh, come on! You seriously came looking for me just because I'm 15 minutes late? We have all day!"
Miles
"All day to you, my schedule is full. Now let's go! We have work to do!" He turned to leave with a serious look.
With a loud groan, the platinum adjusted his hat and simply followed the man who was the Sergeant Sub-Officer of that underground base.
It was that title that bothered him so much; having it made him think he had the power to do whatever he pleased.
White
"You did not tell me that you rescued survivors."
Miles
"Which ones? As far as I know, the only survivor we caught was a pretty useless Teletubby security guard." White grunted in annoyance, regretting even speaking to him.
White
"I do not even know why I'm asking you!"
So he ended up going ahead without wanting to continue listening to his elder.
Inside the large headquarters, most of Miles' platoon were already seated.
Anne
"Ooh, someone got scolded haha"
Alf
"Oh wow, what smoke! Why does it smell like something's burning around here? HAHA"
White
"Go to hell." Those present laughed uproariously, while the platinum one just huffed at their childishness.
Miles
Silence!
Everyone
"Yes, sir!" They all fell silent, thus beginning the orders for their tasks, which they had to follow to the letter if they did not want to be punished for the rest of the day.
They were not there for something minor; without finding the mother machine that generated the newborns, the place on the surface was a very dangerous refuge for mutant creatures, which potentially threatened their entire species.
Richard
"Hey, Guardian! At least bring us lunch tomorrow!" chuckled the red-furred man next to one of his fellow soldiers. White, in his defense, simply flipped the bird and left to carry out his duties.
Even with the monster invasion that inhabited most of the Tubbie continent, those who operated that order did not seem to be fully aware of the seriousness of the matter.
White
"Children, I'm working with children." The platinum blonde sighed in resignation
Lenny
"Snowball!" He heard beside him, seeing a navy blue Tubbie with distinctive glasses approaching. "SGT. Miles asked me to do a favor for you. These are some of the templates he had made for you to fill out. They should be printed with India ink or computer ink."
White
I do not know how to use that.
Lenny
"Ah, do not worry. I'll help you. Let me know tomorrow, or whenever you are free, and I'll come help you," He said confidently. White smiled; at least someone took their job seriously.
White
"Thank you..."
Lenny
"My name is Lenny, nice to meet you," He introduced himself for the second time; it did not bother him that much. The albino must have remembered a lot of names now that he was in a different place. "I do not think you'll ever tell us yours, will you? Haha."
White
"I'm a Guardian, that is all that matters." His name was White Tubbie, but he distrusted everyone too much to reveal it; it was his rule, never mention his personal information. Even if Lenny did not seem like a bad guy. "Hey, I wanted to ask you about someone..." He hesitated, unsure whether to ask, but mustered his courage. "It is about a Blue Works, I think he might be in your area of work, his name is Ron. He used to work at the Satellite Station." The golden orb paused, thinking, before he remembered.
Lenny
"Oh, yes! The survivor..." He pulled White closer so he would not have to raise his voice too much. "Anne and Dutch rescued him not far from the Satellite Station and sent him to me. He is a bit short, but he is a really good tubby. Do you know him?"
White smiled, nodding.
How could he forget?
He had risked so much to save him, even though he was badly injured and disoriented. He wanted to do everything possible to keep him safe until he reached the secret center of that station.
White
"Why does not Miles know?"
Lenny
"And... because... Sergeant Miles is... Sergeant Miles." He looked at him incredulously. "I mean, he ca not just save someone like that. Miles has his rules and his cool head for dealing with this. He sheltered you because you did not seem to have any injuries, any contact with the infection. But Ron... they found him almost dead, with deep wounds, lots of blood, and bruises even on his eye, which still has not healed!"
The grayish orb frowned. Seriously, could someone just vote for a life like that? Even his colleagues acknowledge the military man is cruelty.
Lenny
"We sent him for a private checkup, and when they finished treating him, I brought him with me so he could pose as one of my fellow Blues. Guardian, do not tell anyone," He pleaded, sympathetic to the disheartened-looking Bluesman. "If you do, he might be banished from this base."
White
"I won't. Where does he sleep?" He asked more directly. Lenny did not hesitate to write down his address, the floor and the room where that blue guy was resting, because it would do him good to have more familiar faces in that center. "Knock knock"
As soon as he finished his homework, he went to look for the address Lenny had written down.
One curious thing about this was that instead of his name, he used a rather peculiar nickname, 'Canelita.' He laughed very slightly. He did not know that nickname; in fact, he knew nothing about that Blue, but once they met again, they could dedicate themselves to getting to know each other better, to being good friends, since only they could understand what it was like to have survived that earthly hell.
"Oh... Guardian," Exclaimed the blue figure peeking through the door.
White
"Hi, Ron. Lenny gave me your address," He greeted, trying not to sound too intrusive. He'd already messed up once and did not want to do it again. "I just wanted to know how you were. You do not know many people around here, do you? Is not it nice to have a familiar face?"
Ron
"Actually, I do know some of them. I grew up on a military base," Blue stated, without adding much more.
White
"Oh." He do not expect that. "But... you do not talk to them, do you...?"
Ron
"..." With a sigh, he calmly shook his head. "Thank you for your concern, Guardian. I'm fine here."
White
"Ah." He closed the door without even waiting for him to say anything.
Why was he being treated with such hatred?
What had he done to him?
Inside, a war raged between memories desperately searching for whatever he had done wrong to deserve such contempt, but there was nothing...
Absolutely nothing.
He let out a sigh heavy with disappointment, bending down and leaving a pot of food meant for Ron—or rather, for him, since Lenny had told him he had not eaten a single bite all day.
Maybe next time...
He tried to cheer himself up by going outside to rest in his own area.
Maybe he'd had a bad day, and it really was not his fault; he'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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