—
That night, Marlowe jerks awake to the sound of screaming.
They surge up in bed, their blood roaring in their ears and their heart lodging in their ribcage. Their vision spins around the room as Marlowe grapples with such abrupt wakefulness, and they try to place the source of such an awful sound. It has to be their imagination, Marlowe thinks.
Listening to the silence that follows the cry, Marlowe strains their hearing. They begin to think that maybe they did merely dream it up and startle themself... when it comes again. Faintly, somewhere, from through the walls. A strangled, urgent cry.
It chills Marlowe to their bones.
Lurching into action, Marlowe throws off the covers in a frantic, disoriented scramble. In a place like this institution, one learns not to take too much time to think: one needs to just do, lest one gets caught up in something abrupt and paranormal.
Prying open the door to their temporary living space, which they'd been given upon taking on this new project (Joshua and his alien, that is), Marlowe searches the hallway for the source of the sound. It's died down again, though Marlowe can almost feel the ghost of it reverberating down the corridor of this deep institution tunnel.
It sounds like it's coming from...
Joshua's room.
Marlowe's face pales, and they start towards his door with a jerk, no less than a moment's hesitation. Snatching up their keycard from the slot by their door, Marlowe clutches the plastic tightly.
Thoughts and baffled hypotheses dart through their mind. Their fight with Joshua last evening is still a fresh sore that they'd deliberated over all night—they don't want to hurt Sundo, they truly don't. How can they balance this with their job, though?
Marlowe squeezes their eyes shut and gives their head a shake. They push these thoughts aside for now, letting themself be just a flurry of movement as they rush to Joshua's door. They're still dressed in their flannel pajamas, their bare feet padding over the cold stone.
Slapping their card against the scanner, Marlowe flings the door open, prepared to barge into the room and fight off any attacker. They are not, however, prepared for there to be no attacker.
The assistant jerks to a halt in the doorway, blinking into the dark, confined room given to the detainee Joshua Gonzalo. Light from the corridor behind them stretches into the room like a searching hand, catching in frightened eyes.
The sheets of the bed have been tangled up and tossed over the edge of the frame. Joshua sits up, blinking rapidly in the half-light, his eyes roving the room unceasingly, unseeing. He's backed himself into a corner of the bed, against the corner of the room, and his chest is shuddering and heaving. His hair is matted and mussed against his head in a cold sweat, and his lips tremble and mutter with incoherent words.
Marlowe can make out the words, "Don't touch me. Don't— Don't hurt—"
Joshua chokes up at what he sees. He sounds sleep-worn and groggy, not fully here, yet still, Marlowe first thinks he's talking to them. They draw back a step, startled, until they hear his next babbled yelp, "Don't hurt him! Go away!"
In an instant the scene clicks, and Marlowe sucks in a sharp breath. Pushing into the room, they swiftly move to Joshua's side, stepping over the knotted-up sheets.
"Joshua! Joshua, look at me! Wake up! No one's hurting you, you're alright!" Marlowe tries to take his hands away from his head, prying his fingers from his hair. "Joshua!"
His breathing is coming too quickly—in, out, in, out, in—hyperventilating breaths as his head nods forward. He's trapped in some sort of nightmare, seeing nothing but his mind's own hazeish horrors.
Marlowe squeezes his hands tightly, an edge of panic creeping up on them as well. They don't know what to do. How are they supposed to wake him up? This wasn't supposed to be an issue! They don't know how to handle something like this!
"Joshua!" Marlowe exclaims, putting a knee on the cot to lean closer. "Wake up!"
In a desperate attempt, Marlowe takes his face in their hands and shakes. When he still doesn't wake, Marlowe grimaces. Reeling back a hand, they slap him.
Joshua gasps, his eyelids fluttering open. The sharp inhale breaks his spiraling cycle of hyperventilation, turning into a much needed deep breath.
"Breathe," Marlowe tells him, breathless themself. They sag against the mattress with relief. "You're okay. Okay? Breathe."
Deep breaths wrack Joshua's frame as he grasps reality again. Clarity returns to his eyes, though he still looks around, disoriented and discombobulated.
"What...?" He finally mutters once he has enough breath in his lungs and his head is no longer spinning.
He draws his gaze to Marlowe, and Marlowe sits back, withdrawing their hands. They perch an awkward balance on the edge of the bed, torn between giving him space to orient himself and concerned to draw away completely.
It seems to take a moment before Joshua actually recognises them. It's as though he has to sort through the grasp of the nightmare he'd just been torn from, recalling reality in bits and pieces.
"Marlowe?" He asks finally, squinting at them.
Marlowe hesitates a moment. They nod.
With complete bewilderment, Marlowe watches as Joshua's face changes. His uncharacteristic, vulnerable expression is drawn up behind a defensive wall, and he shifts away from Marlowe, rubbing at his eyes as though to scrub away tears.
Marlowe averts their gaze to regard their own hands, clasping them at their knees, and awkward silence stretches out between the two of them.
They'd read about Joshua before he'd come here, yes. For a young man of barely seventeen, he's had his fair share of tragedy and trauma. That, Marlowe was fully aware of, yet somehow the nightmares still come as a surprise. Marlowe had been so distracted by the extraterrestrial aspect of Joshua's story that they'd forgotten he's still human.
The nightmares add a whole new layer to Joshua that Marlowe hadn't expected to find, and they can't help but regard him differently for it. He's prickly and occasionally very rude, yes, and this certainly doesn't excuse any of that... But... Marlowe can understand some of his defensiveness now.
They just... don't know what they should do now.
Compared to the other scientists, Marlowe is certainly more sympathetic, sure, but they're still not quite... good with other people. They're supposed to comfort Joshua, now, right? But how exactly should that work?
They clear their throat self-consciously. "Do... Do you want to talk about it?"
Joshua twitches. He glances to Marlowe, and for a held-breath of a moment, Marlowe thinks he might actually accept.
Then he draws his arms up around his knees and turns farther away from Marlowe, a frowning crease between his brows.
"No," he says, his voice raw with forced acid.
Marlowe is surprised, but not by his answer. Rather, how he says it. It doesn't sound quite as bitter as Marlowe expects it to sound. With one word, ragged and hoarse as it is, Joshua betrays the vulnerability he's so desperately trying to hide behind his rankled shoulders. His voice sounds small, young, and it trembles with frustration and fear that he can't quite shove down.
Marlowe isn't that much older than him, yet they feel those years now with a heavy heart.
Marlowe accepts his answer with silence. They are, of course, incredibly curious about this all, and have plenty of scientific questions floating around their mind, though they feel like asking any further would be prying and would have more negative outcomes than constructive.
More dragging silence ensues. Marlowe can almost feel it pushing up against them both, and Marlowe almost feels the need to hold their breath so as not to breathe it in.
Their mind wanders to Joshua's behavior in his half-delirious state. For such a bitter boy, he seemed so genuinely frightened, and his words...
Don't touch me... Don't hurt him!
It's a heavy sigh of a thought. Marlowe knows without knowing who Joshua is pleading for, and it's like a weight in the assistant's chest. Glancing to Joshua, Marlowe only manages to sink deeper in guilt at the sight of him.
He has his eyes closed, leaning his head against the cool wall with careful, evened breaths. He holds his arms around himself, and for once, he really looks so... small. The angry, blustering armor has melted away, just for a moment, when he thinks Marlowe isn't looking. And it hurts Marlowe's heart.
They can't take it anymore.
Standing up abruptly, Marlowe moves from the cot. The springs of the mattress clang and Joshua opens his eyes. He lifts his head, peering at Marlowe with confusion and momentarily forgetting to draw up his usual sour face.
Marlowe hesitates a breath, looking at him.
"Wait here," they say, before turning back towards the door.
Marlowe feels that this is going to be something they regret, but then, they also know if they don't do something, they'll regret it just as much.
* * *
Joshua reaches up to scratch at the rough fabric against his face.
"Don't touch it!" Marlowe hisses softly from behind him, nudging at his back.
"I still don't understand," he hisses back. "What's the point of a blindfold? Where are you taking me? Why do I need it?"
"So many questions!" Marlowe huffs somewhere between exasperation and amusement. "You'll see where we're going. The blindfold is because I'm trying to minimize the number of things I inadvertently show you. Just keep going."
They nudge at his back again to keep him moving, and he does, albeit cautiously and relying heavily on uneasy trust in Marlowe. He really can't see a thing.
He'd been shocked when Marlowe had returned to his room with the black strip of cloth. Marlowe hadn't offered to explain what was going on, even as Joshua had asked. Somehow though, despite Marlowe's caginess, Joshua still gets the feeling that whatever it is they're doing is spur-of-the-moment.
Embarrassment is still buzzing through him. He can't believe Marlowe caught him in one of his nightmares. He hadn't wanted them to even know of this weakness! He falls asleep here once and immediately he's thrown into some horrible dream! Frustration burns through him. Sometimes, he really hates himself. He hates how he can't just purge these irrational fears from his head.
But they're deeply ingrained, and he knows it. It'll be a long while before they begin to leave him alone.
Marlowe continues to lead him to somewhere unknown. Joshua tries to keep track of the turns and the steps, but he quickly gets all turned-around and loses track of it all. He has the vague feeling they're heading deeper underground. The air is cooler and crisper down here and smells more strongly of medical disinfectant.
Multiple times Marlowe stops him abruptly and pulls him back, as though away from the searching eyes of someone else. Joshua's heart is set pounding each time, and he realises whatever Marlowe's doing, it's not something they're supposed to be doing. His pulse begins to race with cautious excitement. Could they really be taking him where he thinks...?
At one point Marlowe moves ahead of him and leads him along with a hand at his forearm.
Finally, they stop.
Joshua sways as Marlowe's hands hold him firm before he takes another blind step forward. Their touch then disappears as they draw away, and Joshua stands blindly in this cool, unknown space with a touch of nerves. He tilts his head upward, straining his hearing in the direction Marlowe shifted.
There's the sound of plastic on plastic as Marlowe uses their keycard, and a faint beep as it's approved. A door unlocks then, and Marlowe reappears as they grasp Joshua's arm. They yank him forward a step, and he feels their touch hovering over the blindfold, over his cheekbones. Anticipation creeps up Joshua's spine, and he's practically buzzing for them to remove it.
Marlowe hesitates, however, much to Joshua's frustration. He understands, though, a moment later.
"You don't tell anyone about this, understand?" Marlowe says lowly, standing right in front of him. "I'm serious, Joshua. This could cost me my job. When I say we leave, we leave. Understand?"
Joshua's heart is racing despite himself. He doesn't want to get his hopes up, but he can't stop them. This is really happening!
He tilts his head downwards, to where Marlowe's voice is. "I understand," he says quietly, unable to speak above a whisper for fear of betraying his anticipation.
There's another long moment where he can only assume Marlowe is scrutinizing him, before finally those hands pull the blindfold up and over his head.
His breath hitches and he blinks under the sudden brightness of the corridor lights. In front of him, beyond Marlowe's small form, is a door much like the one to his own room. His gaze latches firmly onto this door, and he can no longer deny his eager excitement.
Marlowe is a firm block in front of him. They're scrutinizing him as if they could find the chances of risk in this plan in Joshua's face. Finally, regardless of whether they can or not, Marlowe sighs and steps aside, gesturing Joshua to the door.
"I'll be out here. Remember what I said, Joshua," Marlowe warns him.
Joshua hardly hears them. He's already stepping forward and sliding the door open, stepping into the doorway of a room that seems hardly larger than a kitchen pantry. His gaze falls to the ground across from him, where a form is sitting up in the spilling light of the open doorway. Joshua loses his breath.
Sundo scrubs at his eyes, blinking groggily up at the intruder. A scowl is forming on his face until he finally sees who it is, and immediately the expression is wiped away by shock.
"Joshua," he whispers, as though he's afraid this is a dream. Afraid of speaking any louder and waking himself up.
All the emotion of the past two days, of the nightmare, comes rushing back to Joshua and welling up in his eyes, catching in his throat.
"Sundo," he chokes just as quietly.
Joshua stumbles forward, and his knees buckle. He falls just in front of Sundo and wraps his arms around him, collapsing against him. He can feel Sundo's deep inhale against his own chest, and he hides his face against his neck.
For a moment the terrestrial alien doesn't move. Why won't Sundo hold him? Joshua squeezes him tighter, fighting the sob that is fighting its way through his chest.
Joshua then feels a hand gently grasping the back of his shirt. Sundo moves his hand up Joshua's back with feeling and holds him tightly. His other hand doesn't touch Joshua, yet Joshua hears the slinking clink of chains at his side.
He realises why, now, and he can no longer fight the sob. It comes out as a raspy, hoarse thing that he stifles against Sundo's shoulder. He can feel the unsteady rhythm of Sundo's breath, and Sundo pulls him closer. He leans back until Joshua climbs into his lap, and Sundo is able to wrap both arms around him.
"I've— I've been so worried. I didn't know when I could ever see you again, I—" Joshua chokes, fighting against the need to cry.
He won't cry, he tells himself, not now. Not when he's finally with Sundo. But here with Sundo, it's so hard not to. He's missed him so much.
"Hey," Sundo says softly, his own voice thick with emotion. "You're here. You're really here. Joshua, how—?"
Joshua leans back to look at him, and Sundo takes his face in his hands, as though he needs to hold him to know that he truly is real.
"I convinced Marlowe," Joshua explains briefly. Holding tightly to Sundo's shirt, he almost talks over himself as he asks more pressingly, "Are you alright?"
Sundo's face warms with a smile. "I'm fine. Tired, but fine. Better now that you're here."
With that same warmth, he leans forward to kiss Joshua's forehead, holding him close as though he never wants to let him go again.
"Are you alright?" He leans back to ask, to peer into Joshua's eyes.
Joshua sniffles, smiling despite himself. "Better now that you're here," he echoes sincerely.
He leans close, pressing a kiss to Sundo's cheek before wrapping him up into another tight embrace, which Sundo returns with a squeeze. They stay like this for a while, neither feeling the need to nor wanting to pull away.
When Joshua does lean back, it's because he's too anxious to be certain. He cups one side of Sundo's face in his hand as he asks, "You're really okay? What have they been doing to you?"
He brushes his thumb over his cheek and Sundo closes his eyes.
"Nothing too bad," he says gently, leaning into Joshua's hand.
"Would you tell me if they were?"
Sundo thinks a moment, then cracks open a dimly luminescent eye. "Probably not," he admits with the ghost of a smile. "But really, Joshua, I'm alright. Don't worry about me. I'm more worried about you. What have they been having you doing? Are they running tests on you too?"
Joshua glances away, continuing to caress Sundo's cheek absentmindedly, relieved to be able to touch him again. "Nothing worse than your tests, I imagine..."
Perceptively, Sundo catches there's something else there in his words.
"Joshua..." He takes Joshua's chin in his hand and gently brings his gaze back. "What happened?"
Joshua's face scrunches up a bit, and he debates a moment before sighing, letting his arms sag over Sundo's shoulders. "I had one of those nightmares again."
Sundo's brows come up and together with concern. "Oh, Joshua... "
"It's okay, really," Joshua insists before he can say anything else. "I'm better now. I don't want to talk about it now. I just..." He sighs and looks up into Sundo's eyes. "I've missed you. So much."
Sundo's expression softens. He leans forward until his forehead rests against Joshua's and the tip of his nose brushes his.
"I've missed you too," he whispers. And Joshua kisses him.
Joshua presses his mouth to his as though he could capture the words against his lips, and Sundo closes his eyes, kissing him back as though to give them to him.
It's gentle, soft with longing, and it hurts Joshua's heart almost as much as it makes him feel whole again. This is just one stolen moment, yet he holds onto it like it'll last forever.
They pull apart for a moment, sharing shuddering breaths. Joshua opens dazed eyes as Sundo leans forward and catches his lips in another kiss, chasing his closeness and his touch. Joshua lets his eyes fall shut again as he leans into his alien, kissing him back with a gentleness they're used to, and then something more. A boldness born of separation. A need to not miss a single chance.
He lets his mouth open as he feels Sundo's tongue on his lower lip; a yes to a wordless question. With it comes the familiar, alien sensation of tingling coolness against his tongue, and a shiver races up his spine, soon followed by Sundo's hands. Reflexively, Joshua arches his back at the gentle drag of Sundo's fingers over his back, which tentatively slide up under his shirt.
He's reminded then of his seat in Sundo's lap. A warmth unfurls in his cheeks and in his gut.
He kisses Sundo with a bout of fierce love, cupping his jaw with his fingers as he sits up, leaning into him. Sundo's back arches against the wall and the chain rattles at his wrist as he grasps Joshua's hip for stability. His head knocks back against the wall behind him, and he releases a low groan against Joshua's mouth.
A muffled sound escapes Joshua, not unlike a small moan, and he feels warmer with embarrassment. He feels Sundo smile against him, and he rakes his hand through Sundo's hair, giving a playfully mad tug. Sundo gives another, equally-playful groan in response, leaning into Joshua's kiss as his partner flusters further.
When Joshua breaks their kiss, Sundo laughs: a delighted, heated breath against Joshua's already flushed face.
A million retorts sit on Joshua's tongue, but Sundo smiles at him and he forgets all of them.
His chest is heaving a little more than he feels like it ought to be as he settles down in Sundo's lap again, and he feels the need to remind himself to cool down. An odd confusion flickers over him. He doesn't know what to do with these feelings, with the heat curling through him, just beneath his skin.
Part of him wants to try something more, but he knows this is neither the time nor the place. That said, his hips are slotted against Sundo's, and he knows... feels... his alien must be having the same thoughts.
Letting out a slow breath, Joshua tries to reorient himself. His eyes flutter open again as he feels Sundo's hand brushing his cheek, and he finds the chained alien smiling at him with those gentle green eyes of his. Pulling Joshua close, Sundo presses a tender, momentary kiss against the corner of Joshua's mouth, before settling against the wall once more.
The rest of Joshua's breath leaves his mouth in a huff, and he leans forward to wrap Sundo up in a hug, burying his face in the crook of his neck once more.
"Oh, Sundo..." He mumbles forlornly.
There are so many things he wants to ask, wants to say, but he thinks of Marlowe out there behind the door, and he hesitates. He wants to ask about what he and Sundo should do, he wants to form some sort of plan, but he knows Marlowe is right there. The assistant could plausibly hear anything they say, and though he wants to trust them, he knows they can never fully.
His mind turns as he thinks, resting his cheek against Sundo's shoulder. It occurs to him then, in a flicker of an idea: something he's never tried before, at least not with Sundo. He follows the thought thread as far as it will spool, a thrill rising through him as he realises that it could actually work.
In hushed Spanish, he asks, "What are we going to do?"
He can feel the thrum of surprise that runs through Sundo, and still, he knows he understands what he asked. He doesn't have to clarify the dilemma of which he's speaking either. The chain at Sundo's wrist clinks again as he rubs his hand up Joshua's hip and his back. He knows the dilemma.
Sundo tucks his head against the top of Joshua's. Against Joshua's hair, he replies in the same language, "We have to get out of here. Soon."
Joshua pulls back to look at Sundo's expression, his eyes searching.
"Bennett and those other scientists want me to shift for them," Sundo explains lowly, carefully, observing the alarm that spikes in Joshua's eyes. "I told him I would never. But he is adamant. I can't imagine they will wait for very long... They are going to want to do something, Joshua. And I worry what this is."
Joshua's brows have come together with worry. "You're absolutely right. We can't stay, especially not if they might try something drastic. But... What are we going to do?"
Sundo's gaze searches his, before a grim smile pulls at his lips. "I think... I think I have an idea."
* * *
Beyond the ajar door, Marlowe leans against the wall beside the door frame. Foreign words flit through the crack between the frame and the door in low tones. Tilting their head back against the wall, Marlowe closes their eyes.
They're in so much trouble.
.
.
.
This is one of those chapters I've been looking forward to since bringing these two to this facility!
(The song is This Side of Paradise by Coyote Theory; I alternately considered Nightmares by Easy Life for this chapter! Both are bangin' songs :D)
Happy Pride everyone! I'm glad I could bring you this chapter this week :)
Do let me know what you think, I'm curious! Hope you enjoy!
❤🧡💛💚💙💜