CWs: aftermath of torture, sadist caretaker (no, you haven't misread that), sexual innuendo, implied forced to watch, burns, team whump.
Whumpee took a few unsteady steps and nearly collapsed into Caretaker's arms.
"So many different nations and cultures, and yet their torture methods are always the same…" Whumpee's voice was rough, but that didn't stop them from philosophizing. Caretaker didn't hear a single word though; their eyes glided down Whumpee's neckline, so beautiful and vulnerable and marked with brutal burns. Their heart fluttered—a feeling so wrong and out of place—Caretaker's cheeks flushed with shame.
"Hey!" Whumpee glared at them. "Keep it in your pants!"
"Sorry…" Caretaker averted their gaze. "But you do look ravishing," they confessed.
"Jesus Christ! I hope you weren't this obvious during the interrogation," Whumpee shook their head.
"Nope, kept my poker face the entire time," Caretaker reassured them.
"Well good," Whumpee's tone was that of an annoyed parent. "How they settled on the worst person to force to watch is beyond me!"
Whumpee knew the answer, though. Compared to Caretaker they looked weak and inexperienced. A perfect tool to get the stronger one to talk, right? Maybe they even assumed that it was Caretaker who was in charge of the operation and not Whumpee.
They winced slightly as one of the burns touched the fabric of Caretaker's shirt and tried moving into a more comfortable position. "I assume you did tell them something; otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
"Well," Caretaker scratched their head. "I gave them access to the decoy server…"
"I see," Whumpee said pensively. "Things will be a lot worse when they find out…"
"I know," Caretaker nodded solemnly.
Despite both of them trying to keep the conversation light-hearted, the silence that settled afterwards was heavy.
A stupid question that Caretaker regretted as soon as the words left their lips. Whumpee wasn't doing well, of course they weren't! But what else could they say?
"It sucks," Whumpee admitted, tears welling up in their eyes. "It really, really sucks."
No longer capable of keeping up the façade, Whumpee put their head against Caretaker's chest and sobbed. Strong arms held them in a hug but could do little to protect them from the world.
Taglist: @whumplicity, @whumpyourdarlings, @mousepaw, @alittlebitofwhump, @jumpywhumpywriter. (I added everyone who didn't specify otherwise to the general whump taglist, let me know if I got anything wrong.)