inkwreaths | AU; ain't no rest for the wicked

[He wonders if it's possible to bleed to death from a gunshot wound and, if so, how long it would take. In a way, it's funny how he's never considered the scenario when he lives in a bottom-of-the-barrel city. Seki's line of work is hardly legal, but it's not dangerous. He's never had to worry about being caught in gunfire, or about pissing off the wrong people. He's the messenger, under the protection of one of the big kings ruling the city. What trouble could a prole like him run into?

God, how wrong he turned out to be.

Up against the alley's wall, Seki presses trembling hands over his leg. His jeans feel damp-- or maybe that's the sweat clamming his skin. He slumps, hisses through his teeth:]

Shit.

[Monica felt something shut down the moment she saw the blood, the instance that she smelled it in the air around them, the stench growing stronger the closer she got to him. When she was just a foot away from him she took off one of her shirts without hesitation, ripping the fabric into strips and wrapping it around his leg tightly in an effort to stanch it.

She finds herself still silent as she rises, then ducks under his arm, wrapping her own around him to make a crutch out of herself. Don't panic, don't lose it. Not now, just get him out of here. She knew it was coming anyway.]

Let's go, Seki. I know where to take you.

[It's hard to stay calm when you've been shot at. But Monica's presence is something he can narrow his focus on. It can't dispel the fear squeezing his chest like a vice, but it gives him something to think about something other than the blood staining his pants. Get up, shift his weight, let her prop him up. Start limping/walking, even if it hurts. He can't afford to be something that slows her down.]

Fuck! [He bites on his lower lip. He hates how he can't keep his cool when it counts.] My keys... they're in my right pocket.

[Does Monica even know how to drive his bike? He doesn't know. If she can't, he can take over. They just have to get away from here.]

[She knows mostly from watching him drive. It'll do the job? She's not thinking too much on it. She just wants to get them and the bike out of here as fast as possible. As far as possible. The blood still trailing behind Seki will get them caught quickly.

In times like this, she really hates how effective that sleaze bag Gendo is. How easily he cuts them away like pests. She reaches into his pocket without a word and grasps the keys, turning a corner that'll take them to his bike faster.]

Can you feel your toes?

[Toes? He has to think on it.]

Yeah. I think. [He hesitates.] Gendo doesn't care about anyone who's uninvolved.

[He's hinting at exactly what she's thinking. Monica isn't a target. She's a nobody who can slip away without any trouble. Much as he's afraid of being alone-- afraid of facing down death-- he doesn't know if he can forgive himself if he dragged someone else into his mess.]

Good. Then your leg will recover as long as we treat it.

[He doesn't need to elaborate for her to know. Instead of answering him verbally, she hoists him up higher, making sure he isn't going to slip off.]

You won't die, [she says after a few long seconds of silence.] And I won't either. So don't go thinking anything funny, okay?

[Relief floods through him, though he knows he should feel guilty. A good person would insist she stay out of it. But Seki's never excelled at being "good." All he knows is how to be selfish, and in this moment he doesn't want her to go.]

I can't help it, remember? [He mumbles it, glancing at her.] I've got a bad attitude.

[He grunts, pushing himself to pick up the pace. They're rounding the corner to the street now. They aren't too far from his bike, but he wouldn't be surprised if there was something or someone waiting for them.]

... leave me here. I can wait for you.

[A "good" person may have agreed for Seki's safety. Hid him somewhere he wouldn't be found. But in this city, with who they are, there's nowhere that's truly safe for them. Tonight, with Gendo coming after him -- with Gendo having decided that he's disposable and no longer needed -- there is no false security, either.

She decides to lower him into the shadow of a couple crates stacked up in the alley, not immediately visible from anybody who may pass by.]

If I don't come back, I'm probably dead, and if I don't come back, they'll probably find you.

[She curls up one corner of her mouth in a sardonic smile.] So see you later, or in hell?

[That's not very comforting, but it's what they're facing. He leans against the crates, looks up at her as if it's the last look he'll ever get.]

We're already in hell. So... uh... [An awkward pause, as he fumbles for something profound to say. He's got nothing. It's hard to think when your brain's scrambled by fear.]

Don't leave me alone for too long. It stinks.

Haha.

[It's that look. She hates that look. She never, ever wanted to see it on Seki, but now she has to and -- it's horrible. Before straightening up to walk away, she takes a quick look around and turns back to him, eyes set but hesitation clear on her face. This could ruin everything, if they even survived long enough to. Ah, but it's more likely that they won't, isn't it?

She doesn't let herself think any further before leaning in to close the distance between them. Her lips brush his so lightly even she can't tell if it actually happened, and a kiss between dried lips isn't as exciting, probably, as a more proper one, but it's something. Right? She grins at him.]

Don't wet your pants because you're lonely, okay? You'll stink up the place even more if you do.

[Then she's standing, pulling up the hood of her black jacket so she can hide her conspicuous blond hair.]

I'll come back to you, Seki. So stay alive until then, okay?

[Something in the air buzzes when she's close--it makes his head fuzzy and burns in his chest. The kiss is there and then it isn't, so light that he almost doubts it. It doesn't register. Seki stares up at her, eyes wide.]

Wait. [Soft. Stupid. What is she going to wait for? Seki doesn't even know what he's asking her to wait on.] You--

[Indignation rises in his throat. This wasn't fair. They've danced along this line for so many years, never crossing it, because they understood what it meant if they did. They either left this hellhole together, or...

Seki doesn't want to believe it. He doesn't want to want another chance to kiss her, because that'd mean signing off on both their lives. His breathing quickens.]

How'm I supposed to when you're screwing around with me like this?

[Monica's heart is beating hard in her chest. This was a line in the sand she promised never to cross. She could kiss and do it with anybody else because it didn't matter, but with Seki, it had been different. It's different. Her chest feels so tight it hurts, and she wants to take it back. It's not true. It didn't happen. It didn't happen and they can go back to how things were before--

but does she really want to?

There's a calm, serious glint in her eyes as she looks at him. There's none of the usual avoidant playfulness as she brushes his hair out of his eyes.]

Because you have to get back at me later.

... Let's get out of here together.

Dumbass. I can't move.

[He knows full well what she means.]

Go already. [A heavy pause. He covers his mouth with his hand, as if that could keep the warmth there.] Get us both out. Please.

Mm. I will.

[One way or another. If they die here, she'll bury him where the sun shines. She gets up without another word, pulling up the hood of her jacket and a knife out of her pocket, making sure he's hidden once again before she dashes out of the alleyway.]

[Seki casts his eyes up at the sky. His breathing rattles loud, threatening to pick up again. There'd been so many things he lost as he grew up in this filthy city. Friends, his home, his dreams. Will Monica be one of them? Is this how the two of them will have their final look at the sun? Bleeding out, pursued and hunted like animals...

He breathes, an anxious storm swelling in his lungs.

Please, whatever higher power was out there. He fought with Shimizu once, had called him stupid for believing in his imaginary God. He never gave a shit until now, but he'll pay for all his years of cynicism and apathy if a miracle were to happen now. At the very least, let Monica go.

...

God, thankfully, was willing to turn a deaf ear.

...

When Seki comes to, his gunshot wound's been attended to. He's on the floor, lying on an uncomfortable mattress. Slowly, he pushes himself up. The room is dark.

He hurts all over. That must mean he's alive. The dead can't feel anything. But where is Monica--?]

[Monica has been sitting in one corner of the room since she brought him here. She's managed to stay uninjured -- not caught, because they would've been dead the moment that happened -- but Seki wasn't waking up, and Monica was unable to find a god to pray to even in her desperation. So she sat silently, staring at him, wondering if he might somehow never wake up and what will she do after that?

But then, he moves.]

Seki...

[She rehearsed over and over. She watched him sleep, and she made sure she knew exactly what she was going to say if he opened his eyes. It was going to be casual. An "oh, you're awake" and her usual laugh. Maybe she'll keep sitting on this chair and only move when he tried to get up. But she can't. Instead, she gets up as soon as his name leaves her mouth and she drops to her knees by the mattress, hands shaking as she presses them to either side of his face.]

Seki, you're awake.

You're okay.

[They're the first words he mutters when he hears her. Clumsily, he feels along his face, his fingers tracing over hers. Relief breaks his voice.] Shit, they didn't hurt you, did they?

[It's Seki. It's his hands. They're colder than usual, but they're warmer than if they were dead. She can't stop the smile that rises -- she's always smiling, but this one makes her eyes crinkle and show off teeth that could never afford an orthodontist, and she absolutely glows.]

I broke a nail. I'm okay, I'm fine -- we made it.

[She's got a smile that hits his heart, but it's the way she sounds so relieved that gets him right where it hurts. It feels like a hole he didn't even know about was filled, the sense of everything being all right. Seki's chest feels tight. For the first time in months, he smiles big and wide, like a child.]

Fuck, I didn't think we would.

[He leans in closer without thinking, forehead barely touching hers.]

I'm totally quitting tomorrow.

[As if both of them aren't already on the gang's hitlist. Whatever.]

[He goes as far as displacing her bangs a little before she leans in all the way. Now they're connected.]

Just play hooky. Forever.

[It's nice to be this close. Seki softly snorts.]

Why don't we both skip town while we're at it?

Wah, Seki, are you asking me to elope with you?

[She's laughing quietly, but not in a mean way, as she places her hands over his.]

No way.

[Despite his answer his hands stay where they are. Monica can feel the bony ridges of his knuckles this way, the rough texture of skin worked over from years of scraping by. And he, in return, can feel hers. They lock together nicely.]

We're just two good-for-nothings who happen to be going the same way.

[Seki was never cut out for this life. The moment he sees a glimmer of hope, it'll never leave his mind. No matter how many times he tries to beat it out with self-hatred, he's thirsty for the promise of more.

And Monica, well, hell. She's the sun. How can he, a half-grown boy, scrub her out?]

Right?

Yeah.

[That was why she was so attracted to him. Seki was different. Seki wasn't like the others. He hid it well, but he was hungry for something better, and that had made him seem so much more alive than anyone else. He was warm that way, and she was drawn to him like a bird seeking shelter in the harsh winter.]

Yeah. That's right. And we're just going to keep going in this direction.

[Comfortable silence.

Eventually, Seki breaks it with a sigh.]

We probably will have to skip town, though. You... since you helped me, you're involved in this mess, too.

[Gangs aren't so forgiving to people who meddled with their affairs.]

AU; ain't no rest for the wicked

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raises from the ashes

do you realize this psl has been going for 2 years

i cannot believe how time flies

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