Lucas Gives Him A Small Smile, Then Takes A Step Back, Sensing The Man Prefers A Little Extra Personal

"Rae-rae," Lucas says, exasperated, the old pet name slipping out. He follows Rae down the hall, ready to softly berate him about taking care of himself first and foremost.

It's hypocritical, he knows, but it's easier to want other people to be selfish than yourself.

But before he can make any challenge or tirades about Rae's well-being, he hears Rae's sob and curse.

Lucas immediately steps around and pulls Rae's body against his own. His arms hold him tight, trying to provide a physical anchor. Tears start spilling out of his own eyes, sharing Rae's pain, fear, heartbreak, despair.

"I know," he whispers. "You need actual rest. You can't force yourself to do this for hours."

cruel was putting it lightly, rae thought to himself; they were pure evil. he would never forget his first night, the sound of his parents tapping on the window, the glimpse he caught of their un-aged faces, and his mother's voice calling to him in their native tongue.

“i — ” he began, but the sound of his own voice felt foreign. he swallowed hard, forcing the memories back into the shadows where they belonged. “i'll take a break, but i can’t leave, lucas. there’s too much to do.” rae's fingers grip on the cart tightened, knuckles turning an alarming shade of white.

as they reached the door leading to the storage room, something inside him snapped. a sob broke free from his lips — a choked sound that echoed in the hallway. he stopped, his hands gripping the cart's edge tightly as if it could anchor him to reality. “fuck.” his voice was raw, a mixture of despair and anger as he buried his face in his hands. the calm facade he had fought so hard to maintain crumbled instantly.

Adrien's smile twitches but stays in place. Honestly, he'd rather save the crying for at night when people are less likely to hear him.

The silence is awkward, but Adrien doesn't break it. If he's learned anything from the past few days is everyone here has their idiosyncrasies and just let them be themselves until they come back.

Adrien shakes his hand.

"Thanks. Muz? El mentioned you. You're one of the scavengers, right? What's that like?"

He walks further into the shop, looking around, eyes wide in excitement.

'New?' Muz asks. 'Bit smiley for new...You're working in here?' There was a beat of silence as Muz held Adrien’s gaze, letting his standoffish response to a simple introduction settle. Then, as if shrugging off a heavy thought, he jerks his head toward the row of beat-up cars and sighed, 'Well, you’re here now.' He gives Adrien a half-smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. 'Welcome shop, kid.' He moves forward a few steps, hand out. 'Muz.'

Adrien hums, his smile turning to a pout as he realizes that yes, he's also going to miss movies, especially new ones.

But he shakes it off.

"I mean, it's fine. Rich guy takes poor guy to his mansion for the summer, poor guy schemes to get the family's money, people end up dying. Poor guy eats a girl out while she's on her period and slurps up cummy water from rich guy's bath. I personally would've preferred more guy-on-guy action, but it's not bad."

He gets his water and chugs half of it down.

"So, what are you supposed to be?"

He looks Cherry up and down, trying to figure it out.

ANOTHER BLINK . she's shaking her head even as her smile doesn't waver, amused as she brings her drink back to her lips to say, " i've got no idea what you're talkin' about to be honest ." she says brightly before she's gesturing to him with her drink . " but hey, sounds fun !" she shrugs before she admits, " kinda fuckin' miss the movies to be fair ." she brings her drink to her lips again, not even wincing at the taste of the moonshine but welcoming the burn of it down her throat before she's licking her lips and adding, " it any good ? like, what happens ?"

Adrien hums, looking over the sketch.

"Yeah, it would be hard without a water screw. Though depending on the materials we can find, I could probably jerry-rig one?"

He immediately starts going through his mental catalogue of scraps already at the Chop Shop. There's not a lot that could work right now. Though maybe they can find more?

"Of course, we'd still need a safe place to put it that the monsters wouldn't get to."

"That's a really good idea," she said opening her note book and started writing those down. "I was thinking- and I could be wrong with the area, if we dig deep enough, we might hit water. Wouldn't recommend drinking it, but it could be used as a current to be a back up generator. Sadly that would require a waterscrew in my head, and a tank- so if you have a better idea I'm always ears," she said showing him the sketch.

Adrien giggles.

"Okay. That's not too old. I guess i wouldn't mind that."

And then he sighs. "You'd think, but I haven't found anyone. It's so disappointing."

He looks at her with wide eyes. "Well, if you live here, you have to help me out. Be my wing-girl."

" OH NO, YOU'RE DEFINITELY NOT ALONE ." cherry's face scrunches up at that thought as she shakes her head . " every two steps you can probably find someone less than straight around here . it's real nice . would kinda be really fun if it weren't for, you know . the motherfuckers trying to eat us ." cherry shrugs before she's brightening, tilting her head with a hum to say, " like, mid thirties, kinda ?" cherry's brows furrow before she's moving to give adrien a playful smack in the side . " what're ya talkin' about then ? colony house is like, the hub for free love ! you should be able to find some cute guy here for sure ." cherry blinks and remembers the question, quickly adds, " oh, and i'm at colony ."

lucas tags:

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Adrien waits for the little girl to leave. God he really hope he didn't scare her anymore than she might've already been.

His false smile drops and he looks back at the guy, staring up in shock as he answers the questions.

"What the fuck? Are you serious? Is that door gonna hold?"

He looks at the door. It does look solid, but this place just feels... off. Maybe those things have super strength and could blast the door off with a light tap?

with  the  door  locked, the  talisman  still  secured  on  the  wall,  and  bella  out  of  his  arms  to  roam  freely,  daehyun  could  finally  turn  to  inspect  the  newcomer  who  had  scrambled  in.  the  questions  weren't  anything  new--he  had  answered  them  a  hundred  times. taking  in  a  deep  breath,  he  moved  to  the  other,  offering  a  hand  out.  "  those  things  want  to--do  some  really  awful  stuff,  so  it's  best  you're  not  outside  right  now--or  at  night.  "  it  was  as  gentle  as  he  could  be  in the moment ,  as  his  adrenaline  was  still  racing.  and  when  bella  seemed  to  make  herself  known  once  more,  daehyun's  attention  quickly  turned  to  the  girl.  "  hey  princess  ,  head  upstairs  and  see  if  grandpa's  awake,  okay?  "  there  was  no  objection  from  the  toddler,  who  scurried  to  the  stairs  and  ventured  up  at  her  father's  instructions.  now,  with  tender  ears  upstairs,  daehyun  felt  he  could  finally  speak  freely.  "  we're  all  stuck  here.  don't  know  why--don't  know  how.  and  those  things  outside?  they've  killed  a  lot  of  us.  "

Lucas gives a breathless chuckle.

"Trust me," he says, continuing to stretch, "there are much better blood flowing activities I'd rather be doing. This is at least a consistent one."

He rolls his neck.

"Don't worry, I used to be the same. Especially when my dad would take us hunting. I would complain for hours and hours."

"Alright, suit yourself." he'll take another sip for himself and then place the bottle aside, listening as the other explains the morning run. "Always wanted to be that kind of guy, that's good man -- good addiction to have. Gets your blood flowin', gets you focused, serotonin all nice and unloaded. By the time you get to work you're ready to seize the day. I had to be dragged out of bed...most of the time, and still end up getting to work late nearly half the time -- dunno, it is what it is."

Maybe not today, not tomorrow but I am gonna achieve it, cause I am a consistent hard-worker

Lucas nods toward the dried up bouquet and watches Hollis pick up.

Before he can walk away though, Lucas speaks up.

"Actually," he says, voice trembling slightly. "Could you..."

His voice trails off. He's not sure what he wants Hollis to do but at the moment, he doesn't want to be alone.

Hollis kneels beside the headstone, fingers tracing the edge of the carved lettering. His tools, a small brush and cloth, rest on the ground next to him, though his works seems more like a ritual than any overly needed maintenance. Hearing Lucas' steps, he straightens up, but doesn't turn right away, eager to finish what he's doing. Eventually he stops, lifting his tools and placing them back onto his toolbelt before finally looking over at Lucas, his face a strange mix of distant yet observant. "If you want me to...I can give you some space." He finally spoke, voice barely above a whisper, afraid to disturb the air. He gestured with a small wave of his hand to the marigolds in Lucas' hand. "Or, I can replace those for you? Out with the old..." His fingers spread out into a small claw, waiting for permission to remove any old flowers from the site.