#reaperwrites

The episode would be called “Wait For Me.” we open up with Buck continuously having flashbacks to when Bobby died. Sure, he’s in therapy, he’s grieving, but it’s almost like he keeps getting snapped right back to that moment. With every call they take, it seems like he’s just a little more out of it. A little more zoned out, and in their line of work, that can kill someone.

Hen suggests he heads home and Buck almost argues against it, but almost half of the 118 starts to agree that maybe he should take some time off. Hell, even Edmundo ‘Eddie’ “workaholic” Diaz THINKS he should take time off. And while Buck grumbles, he still decides to take the rest of the day off. He calls Maddie on her break, asking her for something to do since he just took work off and a nap doesn’t seem pleasing right now. (He doesn’t tell anyone he keeps having nightmares about Bobby’s death.)

And Maddie, being the loving older sister she is, tells Buck that maybe some other social interaction would be good for him. Imagine this — a new exhibit has opened, an old mine shack that’s set up for visitors. Maybe he should go.

And Buck, almost feels this tugging and this hesitation to go. But, it’s either that or go back to an empty house and sit alone with his thoughts. So, he goes. And like always, we’re used to by now, an emergency hits. Maybe part of the mine wasn’t sturdy, maybe a health hazard happened. But either way, Buck manages to get almost everyone out of the wreckage. He’s cohesive, switching to work mode and immediately getting the civilians out first. He gets almost everyone out.

Everyone…except himself.

And by the time he begins to worry about him, the mine shifts even more and rocks block his only entrance. (And unbeknownst to him, he has a new problem; the stones in the cave weren’t fully tested. And the crash from the mine shack only irritated them, starting to release dangerous gases into the air.)

And of course, our lovely 118 is notified of this :) So now, their only concern is getting Buck out of there as fast as possible. Eddie gets his hands on a map from one of the tour guides, and calls Buck. And over the phone says that he’ll guide Buck to the nearest exit, all Buck has to do is follow his voice and his instructions. (He volunteered to be the one to talk Buck through this, so he wouldn’t panic too much. He knows his voice calls Buck down in a way not really anything else could, and vice versa.)

And he hears Buck over the phone. Following his directions, and oh, he sounds so confident. So optimistic that he is getting out of here, that he’s going home. He’s talking about Maddy and how she recommended him here and this is the last time he’s taking her recommendations, he makes jokes like he usually would. He keeps telling Eddie, “wait for me.”

“Wait for me, I’m coming.”

“Wait for me, I’m almost there.”

“Wait for me, I’m coming home.”

(None of them know this “confidence”is actually because the gases are starting to make Buck delirious.)

And maybe if Eddie had just kept talking to him, leading him, Buck would’ve had a chance. All he needed to do was keep listening. But, Eddie was afraid. He was so scared even if he wasn’t showing it and needed to see Buck to know that he was okay. That he was alive.

So, just like Orpheus turned back to see if Eurydice was still there — Eddie facetimed Buck to see if he was still okay.

Just to be met with Buck in a far worser condition than he sounded like he was in over the phone. Buck, slumped against the wall, opted to take just a “small break”. Everyone sees the pale skin, the veins, the shortness of breath. It’s obvious to everyone, Buck isn’t making it out. Eddie hasn’t cried in so long. But he feels his eyes well up with tears, disbelief and despair hitting him like a train.

Buck looks down at the camera, and asks slowly, “Eddie? Why are you—about to cry?”

What could’ve Eddie said? That Buck was dying? That they had nearly three more miles to walk and Buck clearly was in no state to do that? That despite warnings, he breathed in too much of the oxygen provided. And now? He wasn’t coming home. He was going to die in that stupid cave and Eddie didn’t know what was worse. The fact that he knew Buck was going to die and it seemed like Buck didn’t or that he knew Buck was going to die…and he couldn’t save him.

The only thing he can utter is; “…It’s you.”

       Karkat propped himself up on an elbow to call after her. “You play dirty, Harley!” I let myself roll into the dip from his arm and curled around it, hiding my face in the blankets and enjoying the reverberation from his growly morning voice as it shivered through my chest. “C’mon, Dave, she’ll feed our bacon to the dogs if we’re late.”

          “A Knight of Time is never late.” I told his arm. “And, I have fifty-seven hours before I have to be a famous movie director again. It’s nine thirty-two in the morning on a Saturday. Gimme a break.”

       Karkat sighed and leaned over me, plucking our shades off of the nightstand. The shades weren’t a product of light sensitivity, this new planet’s sun wasn’t as bright as Alternia’s, but of his long-standing fear of being persecuted for his blood color. When we were younger, he’d hid it by avoiding injury and wearing gray make-up to hide a mutant red blush, but his eye color had come in with his adult molt two years ago, and though they were a few shades darker than his blood he was self-conscious about it.

          “Fifty-seven hours is like two days, right?” He plowed on before waiting for an answer. “You’ll have plenty of time to be smothered in dog kisses and update your comic or whatever else weird, pale, immortal Time gods need to unwind. I want bacon right now. And you to accompany me.” He tugged his arm out of my grasp and rolled off Jade’s side of the bed, padding over to the pile of clean clothes we hadn’t gotten to putting away yet.

       I whined into the blankets. “Totally cool, ironic, immortal Time gods snuggle their boyfriends until at least eleven in the morning.”

          “We can do that tomorrow, since then it’s your turn to cook.” He decided, and then there’s the soft plop of clothes hitting the hamper or somewhere nearby.

          “I will hold you to that. And Jade. Even though she hasn’t agreed yet.” I said as I pulled the covers more comfortably up to my chin, turning my face into the pillow. Karkat’s footsteps retreat in the direction of the bathroom, and I almost successfully drift off again before he comes back out.

          “Dave. Get up.” He huffed, pushing my shoulder.

       I hummed softly and squirmed away from his insistent hands.

          “Dave.” He repeated, poking the back of my neck. This time, I tried not to react, to pretend I had fallen back asleep, but I must’ve failed because he sighs.

       Then his arm is under my back, scooping me up, and the other comes up to more securely cradle me to his chest.

       I yelped in surprise and clung to his shirt, blinking back into awareness to glare at him properly.

       He didn’t notice, and instead began carrying me out to the kitchen, where, okay, yeah, the bacon smelled heavenly.

       We weren’t the only ones waiting on food, though; Jade’s foster dogs waited somewhat patiently for their share from the open doors to the back deck, trying very hard to look pitiful.

       Karkat plopped me down in a chair and fished my shades out of his pocket, placing them in front of me. I dropped my head into my arms and huffed as he patted my head. He looped around the table, and Jade squeaked as he pressed kisses into her fluffy dog ears.

          “Here, Karkat. Coffee’s ready.” She smiled as she plucked two mugs from the rack beside the sink. I lifted my head slightly, enough to watch Karkat pour out coffee for both of us.

       Jade already had a cup to the right of the stovetop, probably pumpkin spice flavored, so he only fiddled with one. He liked trying out all the different combinations of sugar and flavoring, but I liked mine black. He’d asked me once why I preferred the bitter taste, and before my sister Rose, who we’d gone out for coffee with, could open her mouth to give a psychological reason behind it I’d said, ‘It’s sharp like you are and dark like Jade, it’s both my dates in one.” He’d ducked his head shyly and Jade beamed, “Dave! You adorable sap!”, while Rose watched with her ‘I see your soul’ smile.

       He sat down next to me and pushed the mug at my elbow. I sat up straighter and took a sip, offering him a small but grateful smile. I still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of expressions, but we’d all been friends and then partners long enough that they could read me pretty easily when I wanted, even if I was wearing my shades.

       Jade clicked a few buttons on the stove and then began layering bacon onto the cream cheese slathered bagels set out to her left. The first time she’d made these we’d looked at her like she was crazy, but she’d convinced us to try some and now she made them whenever something big happened, like the day after I finished a movie.

       The dogs watched intently, as they would get the extra bacon with their kibble. She flipped the top halves over to complete the sandwiches, then swirled around to set the plate on the table before bringing the frying pan with the spare bacon over to the dogs.

          “Oh, look at such good boys and girls!” She cooed, scooping kibble into the dishes. “I think you deserve a treat, yes you do.” She placed a strip of bacon in each dish, then stepped back as the dogs jumped forward hungrily. She turned to smile at us, each holding a bacon-bagel, and then swept over to the sink to drop off the pan and pick up her coffee. She sat across from us and picked up a bagel of her own.

       For three minutes and four seconds there was relative silence as we ate, aside from the chewing and the grumbling of Pringle the pug, Jade’s tail could be heard fwapping against her chair as it wagged.

       Then Karkat spoke up. “I promised Dave we’d sleep in tomorrow.”

       Jade tipped her head to the side. “Was that how you got him out of bed?”

          “No.” I answered before him. “He just carried me. Without my permission.”

          “Did you want to miss baconagels or what?” Karkat huffed. Jade smiled at the portmanteau, and I made my lip twitch.

          “Well… No… But I did want to sleep. Rose has a book signing at three forty-five and I should be a supportive big brother and go, but people suck.”

       They nodded in agreement, and Karkat wrinkled his nose at his coffee.

          “Weird combination? What’d you try?” Jade leaned forward excitedly as she talked, sniffing at the air with her sensitive nose.

          “No, it’s fine, just, I didn’t mix the cinnamon in well enough. There’s clumps.”

       Jade nodded again. “Ah. Pity.” Then she switched her attention back to me. “Do you really think you’re the elder brother? I thought we were all born or hatched or whatever one uses for clones at the same time.”

          “I think we were, yeah, but all my timeloops mean I’m nearly a year older than all of you.” I responded, possibly a little smugly. Jade stuck her tongue out at me and Karkat made a flapping motion with his hand, the other diving into his pocket.

       He pulled out his phone and frowned down at the screen, mouthing the English words. Though he was verbally fluent, he hadn’t started learning written English until we’d shown up on the new planet. All the rules and their exceptions irritated him to no end, but he had set up an English-Alternian blog to help him get used to it.

       Eventually, he held the phone out towards Jade. “You sister-parent-clone says her girlfriend’s cats are loose.”

       Jade leaned forward again to squint at the screen through her glasses. “Oh my god! We should go help! The poor kitties!” She jumped up from the table, literally wolfing down her bagel, and rushed down the hall looking for shoes.

Being a double agent of both Overwatch and Talon was definitely an interesting challenge for you, but Sombra promised to keep your behind the scenes work under lock and key, but you still had your run-ins with members of both sides.

Tonight you're up to causing silent chaos per usual, sneaking into Talon headquarters and going through their database, downloading the things you found interesting onto a drive. In the quiet of the room you can hear footsteps coming up the stairs, and your heart jumps into your throat.

As quickly as you can you pause the download and remove the drive, and you head towards the stairway as the sounds get closer. You have no choice but to go up, and with the rush of adrenaline and your heart pounding in your ears you don't realize that you'd dropped the USB somewhere on the stairs by accident.

Emre pauses on his way up the stairs, the destructive AI residing in him surfacing ever so slightly as he spots the drive on the ground. He picks it up, examining it and seeing the Overwatch logo on it, then pushes down the voice in his head, continuing up again.

You want to shout a thousand curses. How could you've been so foolish to lose the very device that contained the information you needed?? Too late to dwindle on those thoughts now as you hear the same footsteps coming towards the room you're in. You hide behind a desk as the door opens, and you peek around cautiously to see one of the new Talon members, Emre, holding the USB you'd dropped.

Maybe you could try something, catch him off guard and steal back your drive before disappearing like the wind. He seems to get closer as you weigh your options in mild panic before picking up a dropped pen on the ground and discreetly throwing it away from the room's only door to the hallway.

That seems to catch his attention, and you scramble up in a hurry, tripping up Emre slightly to catch him off guard and take back the device. You really think you've pulled it off as you run towards the doorway but suddenly a cold metallic hand grabs your arm and pulls you back, roughly pressing you against the wall.

"Ah, I seem to have caught a little Overwatch thief." Emre says coyly, his Turkish accent prominent. You struggle in his grip but it's too late; he's got both of your hands on the wall.

"I'm not part of Overwatch." You snap, fear rushing through your body but also maybe even a little attraction to the dangerous, good-looking man in front of you.

"Well, you're certainly not apart of Talon either, or I would've seen you around." He says, leaning a little closer to you and you can feel the tiniest brush of his breath on your skin.

"And I don't forget a face, especially one as pretty as yours." Emre murmurs almost huskily, and you have to fight off getting all hot and bothered at his voice. Your gaze lingers on him a little too long, and he raises an eyebrow knowingly. "Let me go." You say firmly, trying to distract yourself.

He chuckles, loosening his grip on you slightly but not listening to your words. "You know, I have just the thing for double agents that sneak around in the dark." He says, moving one off his hands to grip your chin and tilt your face up so you have no choice but to look at him. And he can see it all in your gaze.

Maybe it was the alluring danger or something else entirely that made you close the gap between your lips, but there was no denying the tension between the two of you.