trans_9 | There's got to be a morning after [VERY OPEN]

It took a few moments for any thoughts to register for Steve when he opened his eyes. He recognized the inside of a quarantine bubble, that was for sure, but it took him longer to recognize the medical equipment hooked up to him, an IV in his arm and bandages wrapped around his bare shoulder and in a few other spots.

It didn't take long to recognize the feeling of having been run over by a truck, either. Every bone in his body ached, and even the slightest movement made him want to groan. It felt like he'd been asleep for a month-- a dreamless sleep, preceded by blurry, disconnected memories of what felt like a dream.

Memories of something he desperately, desperately hoped was just a dream. He had a sinking feeling it wasn't and part of him knew it to be the truth. But desperately hoping was the only way he could keep himself from screaming, which would hurt, so he'd keep on with that desperate hope anyway.

Steve lay awake and stared at the ceiling. Maybe if he stayed quiet they'd think he was still asleep, and he could put the truth and all the fear and sorrow that came with it off a while longer.

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"I only know one other person. He died for sure and then he woke up here." He chewed his lip thoughtfully. "So does Stacy have the power to bring people back from the dead? Or does she just like... snatch you at the last second? Because talking to the one guy it sounded like he was really dead, even though I guess I was kind of a special case..."

Steve's face went a little pale for a second and he shook his head. "Never mind. Anyway. I've had a whole year to deal with how fucked up it all is. I'm fine with it now. But I sure don't want to get sent back where I came from."

"I don't even know," Paco said, shaking his head. "I...kind of hope that she can't. Because if she could, and she hasn't been, after what happened to the one Brainy and Cassie Lang, and all those people in the pods who got zombiefied..." He really wanted to think that Stacy wasn't that cruel.

"Well," he said more brightly, "maybe Stacy will let you go home with someone else if we win. My mom loves taking people in, and people in my universe might be able to help you with the whole monster disease. We've got labs devoted to that kind of thing."

Steve made a face at Paco's theory. He kind of hoped that was the case too. Even if it made his own personal experience as creepy as it possibly be.

He glanced away from Paco at the offer. "That... that really means a lot to me," he muttered under his breath, almost as though he didn't want him to hear.

Paco raised a hand to clap Steve on the back, then remembered the whole "you look like you've been hit by a truck" part of the conversation and settled for a brief squeeze of the shoulder. "Just something to keep in mind, dude," he replied, keeping his gaze locked straight ahead so Steve could have his mental space. Feelings could be a little uncomfortable sometimes. If the silence stretched too long, he'd be ready to provide a change of subject, too.

Steve was quiet for an uncomfortably long moment, trying to figure out something to say to save face and to keep him from bursting into tears.

"If I was gonna have something like this it could at least be useful, you know?"

Steve was doing an admirable job of not crying, but Paco could recognize not-crying from across the room, much less when it was happening right next to him.

"C'mere, dude."

Have a hug, Steve. A manly side-hug for now, but still a hug.

Steve kind of flopped one arm around to reciprocate. Or maybe he got tired of holding it up. He was certainly going to pretend like that was the case, anyway.

"I hate this. All of it. I seriously do. I miss Earth, and I miss my parents, and I miss high school. Even pre-calculus. I'd give anything to just go back to normal."

"I miss Earth and my family too," Paco said. Not so much pre-calc, since he'd never been in it in the first place, but he understands what Steve's saying. "You've just got to keep your fingers crossed that your parents are in the pods, and you might be stuck with the abnormal, but at least you've got some awesome people to be abnormal with."

"My parents were dead to begin with," he muttered. "But then again, so was I, so who the fuck even knows."

He sighed again and leaned back on the bed, slowly hoisting his arm back on the bed. "Just forget about it. But... for what it's worth. Thanks."

Ouch. Way to stuff your foot in your mouth, Guzmán. Paco smiled weakly and added "Steve's parents being in the pods" to the list of things he was hoping for. It was getting to be a pretty long list.

"Anytime, dude," he said, rolling his head from side to side. "Anytime."

There's got to be a morning after [VERY OPEN]

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