#sam strand

But you had to face reality. You and Sam wasn't going to happen. He had already lost so much in his life... His partner and unborn baby... His parents... You knew he would probably never be able to open up his heart again - let alone for a woman. He had taken too much damage; the walls around him thick and high. He was unreachable - figuratively and literally. The return of his Aphenphosmphobia was the result of damage and pain he had to suffer.

Friends. Good friends. That's all you and your fellow porter had been since years. And that's all you were ever going to be. Friends.

Not that you couldn't imagine being more than that, no... You definitely could picture you and Sam being way beyond the status of friendship. Perhaps you had even caught yourself daydreaming about it whenever you watched him pack his cargo from distance. Or talking to Heartman, Fragile or other porters.

Not falling for the man was an impossible task to accomplish for you at some point. You had seen it coming. Of course, you did. Knowing yourself well and having the tendency to fall for men out of your reach, it was just a ticking time bomb - bound to explode sooner or later. And it did.

Closed off, shy, introverted - that was the side of Sam you had met first. It had been intriguing. Exciting. Curious. An invisible string drawing you to the lone wolf. It had taken you months - years to gain his trust as a 'friend', but everything was worth it. You wouldn't want to miss him. Ever. Behind the tough shell was a kind, soft man, who found himself struggling more often in life than he was ready to admit. "Everything I touch, I lose." had been his answer to your question about his phobia and why it was existent. You didn't say anything; speechless about the harsh truth in his words.

By now, you had cracked his shell at least a little - well, you assumed you did. Unless he wouldn't have opened up to you, right? Showing you his more vulnerable side; trusting you to do so.

Sam Bridges - so easy to love and so hard to get.

A stone. A damn stone was enough to make you stumble and almost lose your balance. "Damnit," you cursed under your breath after luckily catching yourself to prevent the fall. "Eyes on the road, Y/N," you chided yourself while checking on your cargo - just to make sure. "Daydreaming won't get you anywhere," you mumbled. "And certainly not closer to-" "Hey, Y/N. You good?"

A shiver you couldn't shake off ran down your spine at the so familiar, dark and honeyed timbre. Speaking of the devil...

You looked up to see Sam approaching you; skillfully skipping past the rocks which caused you to almost kiss the grassy ground. "Hey, uh, yeah. All good. Just, um, checking my cargo." He gave you a nod. "Where are you heading?" You straightened up; now properly facing the handsome porter. "The Distribution Center South of Lake Knot City." The tiniest, probably cutest smile you had ever seen him smile darted across his face. "I'm going to South Knot City. We could go together - at least half the distance."

You had to fight hard not to blush at his offer. Spending more time with Sam than usual? How could you say no?

"Sure. I'd love to have some company in this lonely business..." You smiled bashfully back at him. Sam jutted his head direction south, "Let's get going. We have to cross a quite big BT area. Should probably get through that before nightfall." and started to march forward. You followed him. "Yeah. That was my plan, too."

The set in of quite heavy timefall signaled you two that you must be very close to the aforementioned BT area. And not just that... With both - you and Sam being DOOMs sufferer, you were able to feel it, too. You more than Sam. You didn't just feel them. You were actually able to see them - without the help of a BB. Of course, Lou felt them as well - like Sam's odradek told you and him. There was no need to check the weather map.

"Let's try to move quick and quiet," you whispered. "Can you do that, Mr. Bridges?" Teasing your friend from time to time was inevitable. He scoffed and walked ahead. "A piece of cake." You smiled - and once again followed him. You two moved quick and quiet - like planned, but nevertheless had to fight off a few BTs. Others you were able to 'dodge'.

Sam placed his hand on your upper arm.

But then something unforeseeable happened... A gate quake. A really heavy gate quake. An 8 on the scale as you both got so kindly informed afterwards. An information neither of you could concentrate on, because you and Sam suddenly found yourself ankle deep in tar with a huge, gigantic BT in the form of a whale flying above your heads. You had seen a lot of BTs in your life. Countless. But that... That was a first.

"S-Sam..." "Yeah, I know," he instantly answered; already reaching for one of his weapons. The man was way calmer than you were. Of course, he was. You knew this wasn't the first duel he had with such a 'monster'. "You got any weapons on you?" You nodded. "Get them out. We're fighting this together, 'kay?" You nodded once again with your eyes stuck on the danger ahead. "Y/N, hey." The call of your name managed to redirect your attention to Sam; turning your head to look into his blue eyes. He gave you a reassuring look, "We got this, alright?" and did something he never did before. Not in all those years you knew him...

"A-Alright," you managed to answer with a slightly shaky voice; trying to get your shit together. He gave you a nod - and as fast as his gloved hand was being placed on your upper arm, as fast was it gone again; leaving a burning, sizzling feeling of longing behind on your clothed skin. It felt like as if you had tasted a fragment of what you thought was out of reach for you. A glimpse of what could be.

It was a gentle touch. Shy. Timid. Precious. It caused your breath to hitch in your throat. You knew of Sam's phobia. Of his fears. You also knew that he started to lose this fear with the help of his newfound work and the connection to other people. Friends. He was taking slow steps into a once fearful direction for him - like a toddler.

You just didn't know that you had earned the privilege to be worthy of his touch yet. It was overwhelming - and unfortunately fed your romantic feelings for the very special human standing beside you even further.

Working together as a team, you slowly but surely managed to subdue the monstrous BT whale. But one moment of negligence turned the tables completely - in the worst outcome possible...

The haunting sounds of bullets flying ripped you out of the haze you'd been trapped in. Sam was already firing at the 'threat' looming above your heads. Forcing yourself to focus, you reached for your anti-BT gun as well and opened the fire; doing everything in your power to help Sam.

The creature fought back, of course, and gave you a very hard time to win the upper hand. Stomping through the tar to reach anything to climb onto for better aim and stability one second, dodging an attack the next. It was a kind of fight you had never experienced before with Sam definitely saving your ass more than once; telling you when to dodge, jump or 'run'.

It was the moment the BT had dived inside the tar under your feet; seemingly giving you a short break to catch your breaths and the chance to reload your weapons, unload old ones or get new ones. "You okay?" Sam panted; checking in on you. You nodded. "Are you?" "Yeah," he confirmed, then looked down at the pod attached to his suit. "Lou's a bit on edge, though," he said; stroking the pod with the cute Bridge baby inside gently. You smiled softly. "Understandable. This is quite nerve-wra-"

You had sensed it. Lou did, too. But you reacted too late - unlike Sam. The man quickly shoved you aside. "Run!" Was all he said before the tar opened up beneath him. You knew what it meant. Of course, you did. But you didn't want to believe it. "Sam!" You scrambled back to your feet. Entirely covered in tar, you tried to run towards him, but he stopped you; stretching out his hand. "I said run!" "But-" You started - wanted to argue, but gritted your teeth. It was no use. Looking at him for a moment - a moment you wished had lasted longer, you turned and started to 'run'; trying to get away as fast as possible, which wasn't easy. Tar was really unforgiving.

For you, it felt like the sudden, cruel twist of fate happening in slow motion, but actually everything flashed by within seconds. You didn't see how the BT swallowed Sam - but you could feel it.

Matter plus antimatter equals Voidout.

The 'explosion' caught up to you quicker than you were able to flee. The earth vibrating beneath your feet and throwing you off balance. Your body hit the ground once more. A loud 'bang' left your ears ringing. Searing whiteness settled over you and blinding your vision, before darkness swallowed you whole.

You took a hasty, rash step forwards - and almost fell; were barely able to keep the balance to not topple over. Your breath came out in ragged gasps. To your feet was a gigantic crater with a huge tar hand print right in the middle of it. The nature that was once growing in this place completely wiped out. It left you breathless - and not in a positive way.

The wind was cool against the tip of your nose; tickling you rather harshly awake. Slowly, you blinked your eyes open. Your brain needed a moment to catch up, orientate and remember what had happened. The BT, the fight, the Voidout, and - Sam. At the thought of him, you instantly shot to your feet; ignoring your body's protests. "Sam!" You screamed from the very top of your lungs, despite already knowing that it was in vein. Deep down, you knew that you'd never see him again. Hence, it was already a wonder you survived this.

"Sam!" You screamed again; looking around. Yours - and Sam's cargo was all over the place. Some most likely destroyed. The really important things hopefully still intact.

Tears flooded your eyes as they skimmed over all the damage this Voidout left behind - and because of the man it took from you. And just like that - within the blink of an eye, your life had become a wasteland. Losing the person who meant the most to you - and he didn't even know. You wanted to break down, curl yourself up into a ball and cry - but then you saw it. A figure in the distance. Something that looked very close to a human being. You narrowed your eyes in the hopes of recognizing more. The suit... It was familiar. Your pupils widened mere seconds later.

"S-Sam?" Could it truly be? No... It was impossible, was it? But then again... This world you lived in now was strange. You shouldn't be alive as well and yet here you were. So, could it possibly be that Sam was...

Your feet started to run on their own will; carrying you as fast as somehow possible over to the figure laying on the grassy, rocky ground. "Sam?!" The closer you got, the more you could make out his features. "Sam!" It was him. It was truly him.

You fell on your knees beside the man; hands reaching for his shoulders to gently shake him in the hopes of waking him up. "S-Sam..." You got no reaction. "Sam, p-please..." Nothing.

It hurt. A lot.

Tears rolled down your cheeks and dripped onto his upper body. "Please... D-Don't do this to me." You whispered; voice cracking. "Sam... I-I... I love you." You sobbed and cupped his cheeks within your warm palms; feeling the coolness of his skin and the stubble of his beard. Still. No reaction or response in any way. No sign of life.

"N-No," you cried; rocking back and forth on your knees, before lowering your body to press your forehead against his. He had sacrificed himself for you. You should be laying here. You. Not Sam. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-I should've been more attentive."

You didn't know how much time passed. How long you had stayed in this position, but suddenly, you could detect movement from beneath you. Thinking you were absolutely going crazy now and hallucinating, you ignored it. Until Sam literally shot up from the ground with a deep wheezing breath; shoving you aside on the way. You landed on your ass beside him and watched with big, red eyes how he gasped for air and mere seconds later bend over to throw up... tar?

You didn't trust your eyes - stared at him open-mouthed. This couldn't be... It was impossible, right?! Were you all just dreaming this? Wishing this to happen?

"S-Sam?" You whispered in a shaky voice. His head snapped up to face you; beautiful deep blue eyes locking on yours. Slowly, almost hesitatingly, you crawled forward - inch after inch, to get closer to the man again. The remains of his phobia was the last thing your brain thought of in that very moment; too stunned by what was going on right in front of your eyes.

Cautiously, you reached out your trembling hands to carefully cup his cheeks once more. They weren't remotely as cold as before. Your eyes were still locked onto each other, as the man managed to sit up properly - not even flinching at your touch. Quite the opposite... His gloved fingers wrapped gently around your wrist. "I'm here," he whispered then - and you broke. The sheer relief you felt replaced the disbelief.

Unable to control the feelings which crashed into you like a wave, you leaned forwards to connect your lips to Sam's; bumping his nose on the way. Your eyes slipped shut as you finally kissed him. A last tear rolled down your cheek.

Sam was stunned. You could tell. Which made you realize what you were just doing. Retreating from the kiss, you shook your head and already inhaled deeply to voice your apology - but you didn't get to say even a single word.

The tickle of his goatee against your chin was a mere 'warning', before you felt his lips on yours once again. Your heart threatened to burst through your ribcage at how hard it was pounding; caused by this. You couldn't help but melt into the slow, chaste kiss. It felt surreal, heavenly, right. A soft pop stated the end (for now) of the quite intimate exchange. Your eyes were still closed shut as you brought your forehead into its previous position - pressed against Sam's.

"H-How?" You asked quietly after a few beats of silence; thumbs absentmindedly caressing the apple of his cheeks. Sam didn't say a word. Instead, he started to shift and move away from you - much to your dismay. Your hands slipped away from his face; eyes watching how he started to shed his backpack, odradek and BB pod following. You were utterly confused and didn't know what was going on inside his head, until he was sitting shirtless in front of you - a dangerous thing to do out here in the wilderness. Timefall could set in any time.

"Sam, what-" Then you saw it. The huge scarred cross carved into his belly. Your eyes widened. You had only heard of it, but never seen it before. "Y-You're a repatriate," you breathed out; looking back up into Sam's eyes. He gave you a nod. His hand gently cupped the back of your head to pull you closer to him once more and keep your forehead pressed against his. "You never told me..." "I know. I should've. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare the shit out of you, but... It was the only option I had. I couldn't let you die... I just couldn't."

His voice cracked at the end of his sentence - and your heart ached for him. You knew how much he had already lost in his life. He deserved so much more than just grief, frustration and sadness.

"Shhh, it's okay," you reassured him, "It's okay." and pulled him into a hug - something you longed to do for such a long time now. Sam melted against you; forehead buried in your shoulder. Apparently, he needed this as well.

You sat there together in the grass and dirt for what felt like an eternity, and you would've sat there way longer, but the rumble of thunder interrupted the moment. Timefall.

"We have to move. It'll start to rain soon." Sam nodded; was already working on getting dressed again. You moved as well and got up - feeling a sudden, very painful sting in your leg; causing a hiss to escape your lips. Only now did you notice that there was a blood stain on your thigh; the fabric around it torn. You must've hit something during the 'explosion' - or something hit you, but you didn't notice until now. The adrenaline level in your body had clearly been high enough to drown out the pain.

"You're hurt," Sam stated matter-of-factly as he came to stand beside you. "May I?" He gestured at your injury. You nodded. The man squatted down to examine the wound carefully. His hands were gentle and cautious to not accidentally hurt you. "It's nothing too bad, I'd say," he said and stood back up again with a grunt. "Did you have a PCC on you? Coincidentally?" "Y-Yeah. It should be laying around here somewhere." You looked around; trying to detect the object of desire. "I'll have a look." Sam took your hand in his for a moment to give it a squeeze. "You stay here, okay?" You complied and sat your ass down on the ground; feeling the pain numbing your entire leg. Luckily, it didn't take the porter long to find the PCC. "Let's build a safe house. We can tend to your wound, rest and escape the timefall. Besides, it's getting dark. Better stay here for the night." You couldn't agree more. You certainly didn't feel like walking through the night until you reached a distribution center or city. It was quite a distance to the next facility.

The safe house was printed quickly - just in time before the quite heavy timefall set in. Sam patched up your injury as best as he could. A good few hours of sleep helped the both of you to restore your blood levels and gather new energy.

With the first rays of sunshine, you hit the road again; leaving the safe house behind for other porters to use. Your leg didn't get worse - which was a good thing. It wasn't really better either, but at least you were able to walk. Sam looked out for you, of course; made sure you kept up and were okay with the route he took to get you (and him) to your destination. He even carried your cargo for you. Something you actually didn't want. "I can carry those. You don't have to do this," you had said, but Sam insisted. "I wanna," he had simply stated and started to shoulder your stuff.

Here you were now, on your way together to the Distribution Center South of Lake Knot City. Sam, though, made a little detour - as you noticed. You had walked this path before, so you knew. "Sam? Uh, where are we going?" "You'll see. Trust me." "O-Okay..."

Wordlessly, you followed him - until you saw some kind of smoke in the distance; emerging from a seemingly hidden place. You frowned but didn't question it. Yet.

"Didn't know you had one, either." The porter's voice suddenly cut through the very pleasant silence; eyes stuck on your bare upper arm. On the prominent scar there, to be precise. Your eyes followed his gaze. "Oh, yeah, this... Have it since I was a small child," you explained. "Much like yours." Sam reached out his hand to cup yours. "We both carry something from our past still with us, then." "We do. Another connection we share." You gently squeezed his hand; smiling.

It turned out that the 'smoke' was actually water vapor; rising from a hot spring - and that was exactly where Sam was taking you. "A... hot spring?" The man gave you a nod, alongside a low huff and started to shed his gear once again. "It's not just a hot spring, love. This is a healing spring," he explained while getting into the spring and letting the water submerge his body all the way up to his pectorals. "Come on in. It's gonna help your wound."

You gave him a soft smile, shed your gear almost entirely as well and joined him. You instantly felt the healing effect of the water; skin tickling. "This is nice. This is really nice." Sam smiled at you; visibly happy he had the idea for this little detour and was able to help you heal.

After taking a healing bath in the hot spring, Sam got you and your cargo safely to the distribution center. Before he left and moved on to his destination - South Knot City - he paid your private room a visit; not leaving without saying goodbye. Your heart fluttered in your chest as you saw him step over to the bed on which you sat. "Leaving?" "Mhm." You nodded; smiling up at him. "Be careful out there, okay? Repatriate or not... Just be careful. I don't want anything happening to you," you whispered the last sentence; lacing your fingers through his. "I promise," Sam answered, and bend over to press a lingering kiss on your forehead. "You be careful as well. I'll see you around. Soon as I get this delivery done, I'm picking you up here again, okay?" You squeezed his hand. "Okay."

FYI: @yas-yas-mimi @weirdoneattheparty @mvewtwo @jelly-terror @dixonsdarkelf

But last on the never-ending list this week, was you.

You were a quiet one; rarely needing any deliveries, often soft-spoken unless provoked. A quiet prepper hiding away from the horrors of the world and only seeing the outside of the oft chance Sam was there. It was a shame, really; the walk to your shelter was nice, and you had always been accommodating. Much more than any of his other clients.

You lived a few miles off the highway, in a stretch of wide open land — same as before the Death Stranding apparently, though he never asked why you liked it. It didn't matter. The few times a year he'd see your name on the packages were a treat in and of itself.

Unlike many others, you were self-sufficient. None of your deliveries contained food or necessary for survival. Just books, DVDs, an old and broken down console at times. Maybe some small trinket. And only when the weather was nice, (clearly, for his sake).

Except this time.

The hike towards your place was rough. Worse than the previous deliveries — if it were even possible. Heavy snow suffocating and the bitter cold making him regret ever taking the job (not really). The packages strapped down in his backpack were much of the same for you, that he knew of at least. The standard necessities; do not drop, keep away from timefall. Nothing out of the ordinary for you — except for the delivery during this shitty weather.

At first, he’d worried something was wrong. You didn’t do this — surely there weren’t just books in the cases, or maybe they really were important. But no, just books. Nothing more, nothing less.

But whatever questions he had, were quickly answered when he made it to your shelter.

The terminal raised up from the ground as he put the packages into the shelves, and before he’d stood back up, your hologram appeared. You didn't even turn to check the packages behind you, your gaze locked on him. The hologram flickered and your voice was distorted, and the howling wind just outside making it harder to listen to you speak.

“Oh, I'm so sorry, Sam,” you got out in a rush, voice rougher than normal from the speakers. “I had no idea there was a blizzard coming — I never would've ordered these books had I known-”

There isn't many people who's apologetic rambling gets to his heartstrings, but it's you. For some reason, it’s not so tiring listening to you ramble on about something.

“Don't worry about it,” he interjected. “It's no big deal.”

It is — but for you, he didn’t mind. Not like you could control the weather. And he’d dealt with worse. (Really?)

“Do you want to come in?” You asked, a hopeful lilt to your tone, despite the weather causing distortions to your voice. “At least until it dies down some. I can get you some warm food too-”

If it were anyone else, he would've already declined and been halfway outside. But a night — at least — spent with you didn't sound so awful.

And it was fucking cold out there.

“...sure. Thank you.”

Your distorted face lit up in an apologetic smile as you turned, pressing a button beside you.

“Great, come on in. Don't worry about tracking snow in, it's okay.”

As you spoke, a door behind the terminal opened up. Despite your assurances, he wiped the remaining snow off of himself, not wanting to cause any further issues to your surely busy life.

Stepping into your shelter, he closed the door behind him and shed his gear and outerwear, leaving it all in a pile near the door. With Lou clutched to his chest, the cold glass flush against him, he walked down the hallway leading into your home.

Ahead, he could see you coming downstairs. At the sight of you, Lou cooed quietly, her hands pressed to the glass and watching your every move. When your eyes landed on them, you smiled again.

“I really am sorry, Sam,” you said, walking down the stairs and over to him. “But… thank you — both of you. I really do appreciate it. Been looking for these books for a long time.”

You offered your hand and on instinct he pulled away, clenching his fists. Feeling his skin prickle, he hated how torn feeling you left him.

“No problem,” he replied, his voice rougher than intended — but seemingly you took it in stride.

You dropped your hand, not taking offense and instead gestured for him to follow. “I… only have some leftovers right now, I hope that’s okay…” You paused, stopping in the doorway to your kitchen and looked back over to him with a worried frown. “Are you allergic to anything?”

“No.”

Your shoulders relaxed and you went into the kitchen, frown disappearing. “Okay, good. Just gimme a few minutes to finish up.”

He didn’t say anything as he stood at the doorway, watching as you warmed up the food — what it was, he wasn’t sure of, but it smelled good. After the long trek in the horrid cold, a homemade, warm mean sounded heavenly. Even with feeling so out of place in your home.

Dinner wasn’t anything special; just some leftover food, nothing big, but Sam couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten something so good. (Good company never hurts either, huh?)

When he finally finished, looking back up at you from across the small table, his eyes met yours. You weren’t even eating, fork held halfway between your mouth and the plate, food seemingly forgotten.

His cheeks flushed and he cleared his throat, eyes dropping back down to his now empty plate. “Thank you. It… it was good.”

Smooth. Real smooth.

“You’re welcome,” you replied with an amused smile — but like the sweetheart you were, you didn’t comment on his awkwardness.

A yawn cut him off before he could say anything else, Lou beside him on the table already sound asleep.

“I’ll go get you some blankets,” you said, standing up and taking his empty plate away.

Watching you walk away, he wanted to thank you, but the words caught in his throat. Being left alone in the room made it feel too small, the lived in home too foreign compared to the cold, barren walls he was used to — or the too cold or too hot outdoors.

He didn’t belong here, that much was clear.

But Lou was fast asleep, thumb still between her lips. Content. Safe.

She deserved somewhere like this. Somewhere were she could live, not just the work Bridges had so selfishly made her do.

You returned not long after, carrying blankets and a pillow to the couch in the living room not far away.

“Here.” You set everything down on the couch, before stepping away from him to give him room. “If you need anything else, I’ll be just upstairs.”

“Thanks.”

“Goodnight Sam.”

“Night.”

.

.

.

When he woke up in the morning, he could hear you wandering around, no doubt doing whatever morning routine you had. Pushing himself upright, he rubbed his wrist and went to re-attach his cufflink out of habit before dropping his arms back to his sides. Lou was right where he left her, eyes closed and sleeping soundly in her pod, just a few feet away on the end table.

If it weren’t for the piece of metal surrounding his wrist, the morning could almost feel normal. Domestic.

Something he hadn’t felt in so long.

Shaking his head, he was quick to halt those thoughts. That wasn’t what this was, you were not her — no this was a sweet client… friend… being sweet. Nothing more.

You were you and Lucy… was gone. Soon, he would be back on his feet and out in the world, too.

Looking down at Lou, he got to his feet, ignoring the slight rumbling in his belly.

“Oh, morning, Sam!” you chirped, much too happy for how early in the morning it was. “Do you want breakfast before you leave? Looks like the storm’s dying down out there-”

This time, he cut you off, unable to continue listening to your kindness.

“I… really need to get back out there.”

He didn’t look over at you, not wanting to see the certain disappointment on your face — it was bad enough hearing it.

“Ah, okay.”

You didn’t say anything else, just disappearing into the kitchen while he got dressed.

Deep down, he wanted to stay. Really and truly wanted to stay locked up in your shelter, safe from all the stupid bullshit in the world — but he just couldn’t. Sooner or later, Bridges would start asking questions… and he wouldn’t let you in on that crap. (Why are you hiding the truth, Sam?)

You weren’t apart of it, not even on a contract with Bridges — much to their displeasure. Not once had he brought it up as an option, even when you’d asked about the “weird, floaty necklace” he had. Being around you the few times he had in the past made it clear, despite your sweet nature with him, you were not going to ever play well with Bridges. And the thought of giving you the stupid spiel of joining Bridges and connecting to the Chiral Network — even though just a contract — left a bitter taste on his tongue.

The first words he had ever heard from you were telling him (Bridges) to “fuck off and never come back” — assuming he’d been a member of Bridges II. (And he was now,but not at that point.) That you had softened this much with him, even knowing who he was — reluctantly — working for now, was nothing short of a miracle.

A really, really sweet miracle.

One he wasn’t about to fuck up just because Bridges couldn’t keep their noses out of what didn’t belong to them.

When you walked back out to him, in your hands was a small package, in the same container he’d brought your things in. Still a little banged up from the constant timefall, but fixed up enough that it wouldn’t hurt what was within. Same as every other time — just with the added bonus of seeing you in the flesh.

“What is it this time?” Sam looked down at the container, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve before reaching out to take it from you.

Holding it out, you kept your hands at the furthest edge. Careful to keep plenty of distance between his outstretched hand.

“Canned stew-”

“Duck?” He couldn’t help himself as he cut you off, giving you a sheepish smile in apology. The thought of more of his favourite was much too exciting.

“Of course,” you replied with a grin. “And a little something for Lou — hope she likes it.”

“Thank you.”

You didn’t say anything of what it was, but if it were anything like the last time, it was certain to be some little trinket to hang on her pod. Something cute and sparkly — fitting for his baby.

As he put the container into his pack, he couldn’t help but look over at you for a moment.

If only Bridges wasn’t so pushy.

But he was quick to end that thought, not willing to dwell on things that would never happen — and not when there was still work to do.

“See you next time, I guess?” he said, pulling the strap back over his shoulder. As he grabbed Lou’s pod to secure her to his chest, she waved at you. Pressing against the glass and staring with wide eyes. Almost like she didn’t want to say goodbye. (Projecting much?)

“I hope so,” you replied, waving back at Lou with an exaggerated smile.

He paused a moment, hesitating before just forcing the words out again. “You don’t gotta wait for the weather… I can handle it.”

Of course, it was only in case you needed something important — not at all because he wanted to see you more often.

“Books can wait until after a storm though,” you protested.

You’re so damn sweet, he thought. Even through everything else, you actually worried about him outside. As if it really did matter — most people wouldn’t think twice about him. So what if the weather was awful? Send the repatriate, no biggie, Sam’ll deal with it. But you either didn’t know, or didn’t care that he physically could. Oh, how he wished more people were as considerate of him as you were. (But that wouldn’t make you special, now would it?)

Outwardly, he just shrugged, feigning indifference. “I don’t mind.”

You hesitated, bottom lip caught between your teeth. But soon, you relented. “It… would be nice.”

“Tell me when. You know how to find me.”

Even his voice didn’t sound right to his ears; who was this, offering to more, unnecessary work for no reason?

An idiot, that’s who.

“Yeah… thank you.”

You went over to the door, careful to avoid getting too close to him and opened it when he was ready. “Take care, Sam.”

“You too.”

He looked back at you once more, before walking outside. The door swung shut behind him, and it was back to the road now. He couldn’t be certain he would see you again soon, but he sure hoped he’d see your name on the list again… regardless of the weather.

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