Archive of Our Own ^beta

5- FREAKED OUT FOR ANOTHER DAY

“One two three, my beautiful man is here”

A feminine voice rang through the white hallway, sweet and haunting. Like a siren song.

“Four five six, I’m giving him a kiss”

It kept getting closer.

Fuck. That wing of the building wasn’t too big. There must’ve been some way to sneak around and get her before that…thing caught up.

“Seven eight nine, he’s gonna be all mine”

Fuck fuck fuck. Ghoul peeked out from the corner just in time to see the droid turn towards the room Riot had been taken to before. He had barely managed to follow her without being seen. Two dracs wearing masks- which meant the worst, but Ghoul couldn’t allow himself to think about that- had attacked her while she worked on a dead droid to take the battery out of him.

It was supposed to be a quick, easy operation. The two of them would sneak in an abandoned hospital in zone 3 BL had occupied one moth prior as a base. They had waited until they were done with whatever they were doing there to go in, because they knew they would only meet few dracs, and they were right. It was just a couple of them, the rest had already left. The reason to go in there was that Cola had managed to gather some information about the place, and they knew for sure BL had brought some droids along. That made something light up inside Riot. Since Jet had figured out how to hack into city batteries, she had been desperately looking for a chance to take one back. She kept the count of the days Red was gone: 487 days. She never let anyone know she was grieving. Not even at the beginning. But they all noticed how she kept counting, and they knew she was secretly burning inside with the urge to get her back.

And she had been burning the whole ride to the hospital. Ghoul could see it in her eyes. He could see it in the way she took down any drac that stood before her and the room where the droids would be. He could see it in the way she smiled, fiercely, as she worked on the droid’s back to get his battery out.

And he saw it in the hatred of her face when two dracs had appeared out of nowhere and dragged her away, with a mask ready for her.

Ghoul knew following her in plain sight would be useless, and he wasn’t particularly worried. She knew how to take care of herself better than Ghoul could ever take care of her. But now, with that weird as fuck scene taking place, a droid- resembling Red to an eerie level, but with something going on that felt like it had been stripped of any hint of humanity- chanting and slowly walking towards her, he definitely needed to do something.

If only he had some fucking backup, he could ask if the outside was clear and take the big turn around the emergency staircase. Sneaking back in through the window was the easiest trick, he had learned through many raids. But he was alone. Kobra and Jet had to go looking for Party fucking Poison, because the fucker had decided to just disappear for two whole weeks. Not that they weren’t used to his little trips away, but this time was different, and longer.

Ghoul didn’t fear for his life; he was a crazy reckless asshole, but he was a better shot than anyone he had ever met out there. If anything, he had started to worry when Kobra felt wrong about it. And that’s why he and Jet had decided to borrow Cola’s car and go look for him. Riot was adamant about taking the chance on the abandoned hospital, even by herself, so Ghoul figured the best option was to split in teams of two.

“And finally it’s ten, he takes me by the hand”

Fuck, Ghoul, you have to think quick. There’s no way that creepy counting can mean anything good.

And indeed, an unbearable metallic noise began to echo through the hallway.

Oh, fuck it, it’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it?

Ghoul abandoned every hope of acting smart and started to just act. He jumped out of the corner and took out the two dracs that were coming towards him in the long, dimly illuminated hall. The shots made the metallic noise stop, but then steps, a lot of steps, started echoing from the room Riot was in and towards Ghoul.

What the fuck? How many of them are there? There were just a couple in the whole building, how come there’s at least six just in that room?

Ghoul had to put aside his fantasy of saving the day that way. He found shelter in a room on his left just before anyone could come out his way, closing the door behind him to make sure he wouldn’t be seen. That could work, for now. He had taken some of the attention away from Riot, so maybe she could manage to get out of there by herself. But now they knew there was someone else in the building, and they wouldn’t leave it alone until they found him.

He started to feel the panic crawl though him as the steps got closer to the room. It had come to the point where he was confident enough to take stupid decisions and not enough to follow them through. He frantically inspected the room for something, anything that would get him out of there, and eventually the emergency staircase was the best option, even if he had no idea if he would be seen by someone outside and sniped the fuck down.

He quickly slid through the window and fell on his feet. The metallic staircase made so much noise he cringed, but it looked like the outside of the building was completely clear on that side. They must’ve really been leaving.

He stayed low just in case, walking fast but carefully in Riot’s direction. It would come to the good old window trick this time as well.

It took him a while to reach it, and the absence of any noise from the outside was driving him insane.

He peeked through the window to check the situation.

What the-?

Riot was standing in the middle of the room; Ghoul could only see her back, but she had her gun on ready. Okay, that’s positive. She’s alive. And she’s not masked.

But that creepy looking droid- with black leather clothes so tight it looked like its actual skin- was holding her close. It was hugging her hips and leaning its head on hers.

Ghoul was about to smash in and drill the shit out of it, but then he noticed there were at least four dead dracs on the ground and three more, alive, but tied up. With something that looked like cables. There was no way it could be Riot’s making, not since many more of those fuckers were there, before following Ghoul’s noise.

Fuck, right, the other dracs. Ghoul checked behind his back and around the building, but no one had followed him.

Then he started to realize something. He moved to check from one of the windows he had passed before, carefully avoiding being seen. He saw some dracs going in the opposite direction from Riot’s, looking like they were running for their lives.

Then he checked another window, and more of them were curled up in a room. They were…hiding?

Okay, things were definitely weird now. In the year and a half he had been fighting against those fuckers, he had never seen them hide from killjoys. And they most definitely wouldn’t hide from one singled out girl. It must’ve been that weird droid.

Ghoul decided he had no time to figure that shit out. He just needed to get Riot out of there and rush back home. So he smashed the window and got in the room where she was.

But the creepy droid didn’t even move. He had it at gunpoint, and it just stood there, hugging Riot.

Something in that scene made him hold back the trigger. What the fuck Ghoul, just shoot. Better mean than sorry, Poison taught you that. You’re proving him right about you- again- and he’ll never stop despising you.

“Leave her alone,” murmured Riot, after a beat. She didn’t sound alarmed.

Ghoul’s hand was shaking. He wasn’t really used to that anymore. He had no idea what the fuck he should do.

“Red showed her. Her world.” Riot’s voice sounded weak, now. Like she was about to cry.

Ghoul lowered his gun.

“She thanked me for teaching HIVE they could be loved.”

Ghoul could better see the droid’s face now. She had the same look he had seen on Red’s face before she died. A sweet, painful smile, stained by ghost tears.

“I’ll give you everything you need from me.”

She was chanting again, still in that weird, endearing voice.

Riot hugged her back, burying her face in the hollow of her shoulder.

“Your pleasure is my mission.”

The droid moved back and broke the hug. That sad smile got a little less sad as she closed her eyes. She sat on the ground and chanted one last time.

“I’m yours to take. I’m yours to take.”

Then she stopped. She didn’t make any sound anymore, and she was unnaturally still.

“We have the battery,” said Riot. Ghoul still couldn’t see her face, but he didn’t need to. He could hear it in her voice.

***

“Can I ask you something?”

Ghoul had been hesitant about talking at all. He didn’t want to break that moment in Riot’s mind, the anticipation she was feeling as she drove back home. It was so, so clear in her gleaming eyes. And in the insane speed she was driving at.

“Spill it,” she said.

“When did you- “fuck. How do you even word such a dumb question? “How did you know you were…you know.”

“A lesbian?” laughed Riot. “You can say it Ghoul, it’s not a slur.”

“Of course not, asshole,” he laughed as well. “I mean, how did you know you could even love her? How did you know you were allowed?”

Riot hummed, and seemed to reflect on it for a few seconds, looking up. “Actually, I think I never gave a shit about being allowed or not. It just happened. I think?”

Ghoul reflected on that for a moment. Then he took a deep breath, and added,

“But, have you ever worried that she might not understand you? That the two of you having such different life experiences would create, like, a wall between you?” He sighed.  “I don’t know. I’m probably just talking nonsense.”

“No,” Riot smiled, kindly, “I get what you mean. Of course I was scared, falling in love with her was the scariest thing I’ve ever lived. I was positive she would burst out laughing and tell me to fuck off if I showed her my feelings. I mean why would she ever wanna be with me?”

Ghoul’s heart skipped a beat and his stomach dropped in the void for one brief moment. Why the fuck, he didn’t want to know.

“But eventually, I didn’t give a shit. I could tell by the way she was always in my thoughts, and the way I would do embarrassing things to spend a few minutes alone with her. By the way everything burned inside of me when she wasn't there.”

Riot looked at Ghoul, now, with a smirk. “And of course because she was so hot it hurt.”

They both laughed, and for some reason, it felt like a big fucking release, for Ghoul.

Then they were silent until they were home. Neither of them felt like talking.

***

“You have to fix this shit right now.” Riot practically shoved the battery between Jet’s arms as soon as he was back at the diner. She had eyes so hopeful- and mostly impatient- it made everyone around her smile.

“Yeah, I’ll be on it all night,” said Jet, sounding exhausted. “You can help if you want.”

“I’ll go steal some coffee from Neve”, Riot smiled, as she bounced out and in the car.

Ghoul stood still and stared at the void, his arms crossed, on one of the seats by the stereo. He was listening to a Dead Kennedys record he had borrowed from Kobra. His only movement was a nervous bouncing of his leg.

When Kobra got in the diner, he practically jumped on his seat, trying- and failing- to look casual.

“Hey dude, long time no see,” Kobra threw a beer can at him, and he caught it. “Judging from Riot’s face, it must’ve been a success.” He opened his own can and took a sip.

Ghoul cracked open the can as well and drank. “Yeah, that went smooth. Took a weird twist, honestly, but I won’t complain.” He couldn’t help but let his eyes skip briefly behind Kobra’s shoulders.

Kobra narrowed his eyes at him like he did when he was trying to read minds. Ghoul hated it. “What?” he frowned.

Kobra gave him one of his half smiles. “Don’t you wanna know how our trip went?”

“Nah, you brought beer, that’s enough.” Ghoul turned around and hugged himself as he took a sip, to hide the fact that he was blushing. But of course Kobra’s eyes wouldn’t miss it.

“I’ll tell you anyway.” Kobra sat by his side. “He’s good. Looks like a fresh pile of shit, but he’s good.”

“What happened?” Ghoul turned around to face him. He didn’t try to hide how worried he was anymore.

Kobra sighed. “It’s hard to cope, sometimes.” His tone got serious. Heavy. “ You find a way to distract yourself and it becomes an excuse to self-destruct. When you constantly live at the end of the world, you know.”

Ghoul nodded. His heart was pounding with worry.

“But he’s never gonna admit it and he’s never gonna change,” said Kobra, in a defeated smile, “So we just need to get him back when he gets too lost. And don’t get lost ourselves in the meantime.” Then he stood up and stretched. “He’s at Cola’s, anyway. He needed a shower, and someone that knows how to deal with him these first days.”

Ghoul did everything he could to avoid the awareness of it, but his heart was aching.

“Can I visit?” he asked, his voice barely coming out of his choked-up throat.

“I think he’d like that,” Kobra casually said as he walked towards his room, like it wasn’t a big deal. But Ghoul’s insides felt like they caught on fire. Fuck, he was so, so fucked.

“Okay,” he managed to say, sounding normal, doing his best to stop his face from showing any sign of excitement. But then he couldn’t help adding, “Hey, do you really think he won’t be annoyed to see me?”

“I think he needs to be around people who like him for who he really is,” said Kobra. “If you manage to still like him after you see what a pain in the ass he will be these days.”

Like he could ever stop liking him, Ghoul thought.

If there was any way, he would’ve already figured it out a long time ago, through his many, many attempts. First, he hadn’t allowed himself to admit it. Then, when the physical signs of it became undeniable, he had shut it in an armored safe in his brain and swore he’d never open it again. Finally, when it had begun to take on a life of its own and constantly torment him, Ghoul had surrendered to living with it. Like an untreatable disease. Of fucking course if he could just stop liking him, he would’ve spared himself sleepless nights and agonizing days. He would’ve stopped caring so much about proving himself. He probably would’ve given up on the lost cause that the life he had chosen was. But he was so fucked. There was no point in hiding it anymore.

“Anyway” Kobra said, snapping Ghoul out of his thoughts, “Cola will definitely appreciate some help.” He yawned, then, and closed the door behind him.

Ghoul knew it would be extremely lame to visit him that same night. He knew he’d hate what he would find at Cola’s, and he knew his heart would be in so much pain the whole time.

But, before he knew it, he was running towards him in the fresh night hair.