#support driven

Y/N scoffed, “Well, can you blame me?” She shook her head. “It’s gonna take me forever to forget yesterday.”

“Don’t worry about it too much,” Roger said as he took her arm in his, elbows locked together as they walked down the empty sidewalk, their shadows long in the streetlamp light. “Those demons,” Roger leaned close with a smirk, “for lack of a better term…”

Y/N rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“They never stay in one area too long. I think that they’ll all be out of town soon. Same for me,” Roger uttered. “I have to follow where they lead, until I fix what my family broke.” He rummaged in the pocket of his long overcoat, pulling out a folded piece of paper. “This is a protection symbol. They really hate it. Paint it on the floor and hide it under a rug. It’ll do the job if they ever come back.” 

“Thanks,” Y/N said softly as she took the paper. She snuck a peak, not understanding any of the symbols that encircled the paper but truly thankful for what Roger had given her. She put the paper in her pocket, and exchanged a look with the man that Y/N hoped portrayed the gratitude that she felt. “So, what are you gonna do now?”

“Well,” Roger sighed dramatically, “first thing is we need to get you some real care. Not that my immaculate stitching isn't something to behold.”

“Yeah, you can do amazing things with mint dental floss,” Y/N joked.

“Mmm hmm,” Roger agreed with the jab and continued on. “There’s a walk-in clinic a few blocks away. It’s 24 hours, so we should definitely get you in there.”

Y/N agreed, nodding her head as they walked. “What about you?” 

Roger only shrugged his shoulders. The light smile faded from Y/N’s face, and the two of them walked on in silence as the sun slowly rose over the horizon.

---

The two stood just outside the clinic, the sounds of the morning rolling around them. 

Y/N shuffled on her feet, not quite sure how to walk away from the man who had helped her so much in the past 12 hours. 

“Do you need me to come in with you?” Roger asked, breaking the awkward silence between them.

Y/N opened her mouth, closing it again without saying anything. She hummed in her throat, not entirely sure she knew how to answer that question. “Umm…” she hesitated, “well...I’m sure I'll be ok.”

“Ok,” Roger nodded, clearly thinking that Y/N still had some anxiety about walking away.

Y/N sucked in through her teeth. “So…”

“Yep.” Roger kicked a small pebble by his foot, and another moment of clumsy silence passed between them.

“I guess...I'll head in then.” After a quick second to think about it, Y/N stepped close, and placed a gentle kiss on Roger’s bearded cheek. “Thanks,” she said, pure gratitude sparkling in her eyes. Y/N smiled as she saw the pink tinge of embarrassment spread over Roger’s face. 

“For what?” Roger asked, a little taken aback as he lifted a hand to his cheek. “I didn't do anything special.”

Y/N’s smile shifted to something a little more knowing, brows rising in almost a teasing challenge. “Bye, Roger,” she said. “I’ll see you around.”

She turned on her heels, heading toward the automatic doors. 

“Under better circumstances,” Roger called after her. He gave her a small wave when she turned to send him one last goodbye salute with her good arm. He adjusted his bag on his arm, then with one last sigh as Y/N disappeared behind the double doors, turned south and started walking. There were demons to stop, and Roger had no time to rest his feet.

---

Despite the early hour, Y/N noticed a lot of hustle and bustle in the clinic lobby. A few groups of sad looking people sat in cheap chairs, coughs and quiet murmurs filling the room. Nurses walked from between double doors that led to the exam rooms. There was even a tall doctor speaking to a worried couple in the corner. 

“Excuse me,” Y/N spoke quietly as she walked up to the nurse typing behind the front desk, some 70’s classic rock playing on a small desktop stereo playing beside her. “I think I need to see a doctor.” 

Without even lifting her eyes, the nurse fell into a well rehearsed script. She pulled out a clipboard with a few preplaced pieces of paper. “Fill out these forms,” the nurse wearily spoke, handing the clipboard over the polished countertop. “We’ll call you when the doctor is ready to see you.”

Y/N reached out with her good hand to grab the offered paperwork, and when her fingers touched the clipboard, a shock of electricity caused her to drop the offered board, and the nurse behind the counter hissed like she had been burned by a flame, eyes wide with surprise. After a second of the two of them staring in shock at the other, the nurse’s face fell from surprise into a look of sick elation. 

She laughed, a vile, disgusting sound that echoed in Y/N’s ears. 

“Oh, this is too perfect,” the nurse spat, a twisted smirk slipping into place with ease. 

Y/N stood there motionless, her stomach falling into her feet and her mind going blank. 

With a quiet shink, the whites of the nurse’s eyes flicked black. Only with her newfound instinct, Y/N found herself reaching into her coat pocket, pulling out her only weapon of defense, the small vial of salt that Roger had given her back at the hotel. 

“No, no, no.” Y/N tried to interrupt even as Roger got up and reached for the phone on the nightstand, ignoring her attempts to argue.

“I’ve slept in worse places,” Roger joked.

But before he could even pick up the receiver, Y/N slapped her hand over the top of it. 

“No,” she said, her eyes firm as they met Roger’s amber ones. “That’s...that’s just stupid. You don't have to sleep in a chair because of me.” The confidence in her voice slipped, mostly because of the surprised look on Roger’s face. “Y-You have helped me more tonight than I could ever think of repaying.”

Roger abandoned the phone, sitting back on the bed with a soft look on his face.

“Take the bed. I’ll call an Uber or something,” 

“An Uber?!” Roger exclaimed. “Yeah, no, that’s not gonna happen,” he laughed easily. “Take the bed, Y/N. I insist.”

“W-Well,” Y/N stuttered nervously, “It is… it’s a queen. We can share.”

“You sure?” Roger asked with a dramatic crook of his eyebrow. “People will talk,” he added with a shrewd smile.

Y/N couldn't help but smile through the heavy roll of her eyes, a snort caught in her throat as she tried her best to seem put off. “Oh, whatever shall I do?” 

The two of them shared a laugh, but in the end, Roger nodded and got to work sweeping the rest of the pizza crumbs off the bed. They went about their night time routines wordlessly. Roger stepped into the bathroom while Y/N awkwardly sat on the bed, pawing absentmindedly at her clothes and wondering what should and should not come off. 

Roger was, essentially, still a stranger, albeit a stranger Y/N felt a close affinity with. The events of the night were enough to shake Y/N down to her core, and she was just glad that Roger was there to help her through it all. Saving a person’s life, and then having them save your life in return? Yeah, that’s the sort of thing that binds two people together for the rest of their lives.

So, as she sat on the hotel room bed, Y/N came to the decision that, in fact, Roger was not a stranger. He was a dear friend; one that, even if she never saw him again, Y/N would never forget him.

“You all right?”

Y/N was knocked from her thoughts at Roger’s question. She shook her head, and sent Roger an easy smile, her eyes soft in the lamp light. 

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Help me with this thing, will ya?”

Roger obliged, untying the makeshift sling and giving the bandages another look over. Everything seemed to be to his liking though, because Roger pulled the comforter back and helped Y/N into the bed. 

“You gonna tuck me in?” Y/N chuckled.

“Don't tempt me,” Roger responded with a wink. When he was sure that Y/N was comfortable and her knife wound wasn't causing any pain, he rounded the bed to turn out the lights and climbed in on his own side. 

The mattress was big enough that they both had plenty of space, no awkward bumping of elbows under the covers or a need for hugging the edge of the bed. They faced each other, but Y/N couldn't find the desire to close her eyes, anxiety slipping in with the new darkness. 

“Are...Roger, are we safe?” she asked, her voice tinged with fear. 

“Don't you worry.” Roger held out his hand, and Y/N had no reservations about taking it in her own. “I've been hunting these things for a long time.” He yawned, big and noisy, and Y/N felt her dread recede with the squeeze of his grip. “No demon can get in our room. You learn protections on day one.”