#brainrotcharacters

It wasn't just being David Shaw's mate that compelled them to check on everyone else waiting outside the ward, although it did help to persuade them to calm down and wait. Asking them to hope was a tall order, especially when the screeches of the shades and the dying cries of students could still be heard on the other side of the force field. But they were grateful for Angel's solid,  easy presence, and asked that they extend their thanks to David after everyone was saved. This was as good a time as any to use that fake smile. 

Asher's mate remained sat on the base of a tree, staring sightlessly at the glowing ward not fifteen feet away from them. They fiddled with the chain of their necklace. 

Angel deliberately stepped on a tree root, cracking it. "Hey." 

An absent-minded hum of acknowledgement. "How's everyone?" They asked hoarsely. They'd been crying. 

David's Beta had found himself a mate that was too similar to his best friend. Babe, as Asher calls them, was intense, reserved, and loyal. They only met an hour ago when Milo and his own mate explained the situation of the unleashed shades and the containment that David had to authorize. While Angel covered the perimeter of the ward and soothed everyone, as was expected from the Shaw Security alpha's partner, Babe claimed a spot for them so Milo and the others know where they are. So they wouldn't have to wonder about the others' current location.

"Bad." Angel returned to their side, the tree bark a solid thing behind their back. "But not panicking." 

Their new friend nodded. And said nothing for a moment. 

Usually, when David went nonverbal, Angel would talk about anything and everything to overpower his thoughts. A loud mind often snowballed quickly. But Asher's mate was different. Their intensity melts into focus the more they were left to think for themselves; the sort of focus that often led to controlled, precise action. 

"We could try punching the ward together." They muttered, glaring at the iridescent shield in front of them. 

Angel laughed sardonically. "We're unempowered." 

"Our mates are in there." 

"I know." Tears pricked their eyes. They continued through the twisting feeling in their throat. "But the mating bond is still there, isn't it? I'd know if David..." They exhaled slowly. "Just as you'd know the same for Asher." 

They held each other's gazes. Fear for their partners glistened in their eyes, alongside a newly formed trust with their unempowered counterparts. 

Then, so quiet that Angel strained to hear, Asher's mate choked a sob. "I was going to propose to him." 

Through the sensation inside their chest that felt suspiciously like their breaking heart, they examined the chain necklace more closely. Asher's mate curled a finger, revealing the bronze ring linked around it. In the ever-changing light of the ward, Angel could read the engraving on the inside. 

Annoy me forever. 

Asher's mate turned their face away in the same moment that Angel gathered them in their arms. The sobbing grew louder, and it quickly became known that David and Asher had to survive. There was no reality that they do not walk out of this ward alive. "Go on, tell me," Angel ran a hand back and forth across Babe's back. Solid, comforting, reliable; the same way David had always been for them. "Talk to me. How are you going to propose to Asher?" 

They started shaking their head, their cries muffled against Angel's clothes. "I was- I was..." 

Angel bared their teeth sternly, cradling Babe's face in their hands. "No. No. You are going to propose to Asher. We're ripping all those shades apart if they take our mates away from us." There. A glint of that focus back in their eyes. Good. "First, I need Asher's mate with me. I need that blabbermouth's future spouse with me. I know I can't do this alone." 

That made them chuckle through the tears. "Take it easy. I have uses for that mouth of his, you know." 

"I do know!" Angel grinned. "David does the same to me! He thinks I don't realize it." 

Asher's mate leaned into Angel's right palm, a mannerism that both Asher and David did when they needed comfort. "Why not tell him that you know?" 

"But shutting me up like that makes him so happy." pouted Angel, and they both laughed. 

The radio at their hip crackled to life, and Angel brought the device closer to their faces. "Milo? You're both okay?" 

"We're alright." Milo's mate responded. 

Milo's voice came through. "Listen, both of you. We've got a plan. But you need to stay in your spot." 

Angel and Babe shared a look. "For how long?" Angel asked.