Chapter Text
Arcade shot awake. Eyes blow wide, breath ragged. Dejavú. If this was another dream he would be pissed. The pain in his abdomen siad otherwise,this was definitely real. His shoulder and a good ammount of his torso was bandaged, it didn’t hurt so whatever drug Jeremy shoved in him was still working it’s magic. Oh yeah, Jeremy, he had to kill him for it.
He moved slowly, the pain was bearable but it was better not push his luck, it took a while but he sat in the corner,now the hardest part: stand up. The first try a lighting like pain went through his body,the second try he almost slipped and fell, the third time there was a hand in his good arm pushing him back to bed.
-Good morning, sleeping beauty.
At first he protested, shoving the person away with his good arm and proceeding the painful task to stand up.
-No,no,no I didn’t drag you all the way here to you ruin my work.
That was enough, even with his vision blurred and body refusing to do what it’s told, Arcade went straight to the person’s collar.
-Ya trying to kill me? You can’t ,you know you love me.
Defeated Arcade gave up, Jeremy sat up beside him,placing the glasses in his face, at least he could see better now. Jerrmy looked like he just crawled out from another grave, tanned skin pale, shrunken eyes, dark circles,the whole package. His left arm was out of the badages he usually wore revealing a snake tattoo, and some parallel scars disappeared into his rolled sleeve. But it wasn’t the patterns on Jeremy’s skin it caught his attention, but a ugly dark purple bruise in the junction of his elbow.
-Oh this? It’s nothing, my medical skills doesn’t compare to yours.
-What happened?
His throat burned when he talked, his lips cracked with the slightest movement, the joys of dehydration.
-You lost a lot of blood,like...a lot. I thought you...I need to buy some time to get help so I used na IV from a RadAway to make a transfusion. Cool isn’t it?
He wanted to protest and ramble about all the possible consequences it could have and how dangerous it was for both of them. But he was alive thanks to that.
-Hey, don’t worry doc. I'm a, how it says, a universal donor? O Type or some shit.
And the conversation died, Arcade tried to put his thoughs in order and Jeremy was visibly nervous, leg bouncing, hands fidgeting, that look he had when he wanted to say something but didn’t know how. At least now his body obeyed and he was able to at least talk for his own.
-How long I was out?
- Four days days.
Perfect.
-Where are we?
-Old Fort Mormon. Home sweet home uh?
-How many bags of blood did you gave me?
-Bags? I don’t know, But I kept it up as long as I could, Julie said she found me passed out in the ground at some point.
Arcade didn't answer, half feeling guilty and half pissed cause if he could recall, he protested of taking a "shortcut" to wherever they were heading.
-Hey, I knew you would dry me out one day but that's waa ridiculous.
Mortified or amused? Arcade couldn’t decide how he felt, but his plan to kill Jeremy was slowly fading away. But those twisted hallucinations still lingered in his mind. It felt so real, but it was a dream. Only a dream. Nothing of that really happened.
-Cade, can I ask you something?
-You just did.
-I see you’re feeling fine already.
Jeremy passed him a open bottle of purified water which he dried in seconds.
- Did you remember something?
-What do you mean?
-I mean, did you dreamed with anything wierd?
Arcade swallowed hard, flashes behind his eyelids. Jeremy didn’t even looked him in eyes, leg free hand scratching his tattooed arm.
-Why do you ask?
-You...were talking in your sleep.
- Nothing I can remember.
A relieved sigh came from Jeremy a bit louder than he intended.
-Good!
-Did you gave me anything besides blood?
-Uh, I had a Stimpak, but that was it.
-Are you sure?
-Yeah,but the docs her inject some stuff in you,I think it was only medX.
That was it, just a high dose of medX combined with his blood loss and the Mojave heat did wierd things with his mind. Now everything made sense.
-You really should rest, I will get something for you to eat okay? Don’t try to stand up, if you fall I doubt I can help. You sucked the life out of me.
Jeremy winked at him and left the tent, Arcade knew he should rest but his heart was beating too fast and he didn’t knew exactly why, hell, how Jeremy pulled that off so well?
I can’t go back and i have nowhere to go.
How many times he danced with death and left like it was nothing, making jokes and flirting like it was just another Monday?
Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot.
He laid back in the bed, allowed himself a well deserved moment of peace, with no shadows lurking in the edge of his eyes and no creepy woman’s making questions he couldn’t answer.
Will you fight or perish like a dog?