#thomasfisher

I’m back! You guys remember that I do the writing thing, yes? It’s been a hot minute since I posted writing and I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more of you now! *waves nervously* Right, look, I know I said fluff but that will come later. And I know no one actually knows anything about Thomas, but he’s in this scene and this scene is necessary for the fluff. So, enjoy!

Caden backed up towards the center of the arena, keeping Thomas close. Sixteen infected stumbled from the shadows, their eyes not yet adjusted to the glare of the midday sun. He cast a quick glance towards the crowd, his eyes locking on Montgomery, a wicked grin twisted across the man’s face. 

There’d be no escaping the infected, Caden had seen it attempted before and he’d never been stupid enough nor desperate enough to try it himself. But this time things were different. He had Thomas, pressed against his back terrified of the monsters he thought he’d never have to face.

Weighing up his options, Caden turned his back on the infected for the few seconds he knew he had, and gripped Thomas’s wrist holding his focus. “Whatever happens, don’t run.” Thomas opened his mouth to protest, his gaze flicking between the infected and Caden. “They’ll chase you if you do. Just stay behind me, okay?”

Not waiting for Thomas to answer, Caden unsheathed the single blade he had been allowed to defend himself with and turned coming face to face with the first infected, its bloodshot eyes trained on them both. Barely pausing to think, Caden lunged forward, driving the blade through the base of its neck. Blood poured from the wound as he wrenched the blade free, to slash at the next. 

He lost count of the bodies dropping at his feet, the blood soaking through his clothes no longer worrying him. He thrust the blade through the chest of an approaching infected as nails dug into his shoulder. Caden whirled around, pulling the knife free as he went, and, in one swift movement, buried the blade in their abdomen. Warm blood spilled over Caden's hand. At the strangled gasp of his name, Caden’s head shot up. 

Thomas lowered a shaking hand towards his stomach, barely grazing the leather handle of the blade stuck in his gut before his knees buckled and he fell. Caden grabbed hold of Thomas, knees striking the ground hard but he barely registered the pain, instead focusing on Thomas, cradling him close, remaining infected forgotten. Blood spread rapidly, soaking Thomas’s shirt. Caden gripped his shaking hand in an attempt to prevent Thomas pulling the knife out. 

“Caden, I-” Thomas’s breath caught in his throat, his brows pinched in pain. 

“You’re okay. You’re gonna be fine, they’ll – they’ll help. They have to …” Caden adjusted his grip on Thomas, pulling him closer. “I’m sorry,” Caden said, his voice cracking. “I’m sorry.”

Thomas’s hand went slack in his own. One last whisper of air pushed past his lips and his chest stilled.

“Thomas?” Caden shook Thomas’s shoulders and his head fell to the side. “No.” He brought his hand up and touched Thomas’s cheek lightly, tears burning the edges of his eyes. “Open your eyes, Thomas,” he begged.

Caden dropped his hand and buried his head in Thomas’s motionless chest, sobs wracking his own body.  “Please, don’t leave me here.”

Look, a thing. A thing I threw together. Faces for the babies! Caden, Thomas, and Nathaniel

Thomas spent his entire life in Limbus on the border between the rich and the poor.

His family avoided servitude by the skin of their teeth, being able to just barely stay out of debt and in good health

Thomas has an older brother and a younger sister. His Mothers work as a cook and a healer. They both taught Thomas their respective trades.

Thomas used to spend a lot of time on the wall bordering the Glitch. He had a fondness for sitting on the top and staring out across the wasteland, wondering what was out there.

It was on his fifteenth birthday when he found Caden slumped against the wall on the wrong side. He cared for Caden, hid him from the city patrol on several occasions, and fell in love with him.

Thomas never asked Caden about the Glitch. He knew Caden would talk if he wanted.

At sixteen, Thomas got caught in the middle of a riot. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. As punishment for their crimes all those involved in the riots were either banished to the glitched or put in chains. Thomas became a slave and, before Caden could rescue him, he was moved to another city. 

I know no one knows much about these babies but here, I wrote a thing! This is prompt 29: I told you this would happen. Requested by @reeseweston and it’s 1/4 hence the use of a separate post rather than responding to the ask (at least for now) Prompt List.

Thomas shoved Caden into the nearest chair and began rummaging through drawers for medical supplies. “I told you this would happen.”

Caden pulled his shirt off, careful to avoid the blood on his face and arm. He’d made Thomas angry enough, he didn’t want to add the expense of a new shirt to the list. “What was I supposed to do? Let it go?”

“Yes!”

“He insulted you.”

“That’s no reason to start a fight.”

“It’s every reason. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let people talk shit about you?”

“An alive one.” Thomas handed Caden a glass full of cloudy white liquid. A painkiller. On their way home, Thomas had insisted on stitching up a particularly nasty gash on Caden's bicep. Caden had thought he was kidding, knowing his aversion to the wretched things, but the familiar stink of the liquid in his hand said otherwise. He took the opportunity to ditch the drink, placing it under his chair when Thomas turned around.

Thomas turned back to Caden, and added, “The City Patrol is already hunting you down because of this.” He put his hand over the house crest branded on Caden’s chest. “Don’t give them another reason to take you away.”

He went to move his hand. The spark in his eye Caden loved so much was gone, replaced by a sadness that should never have been there in the first place. Caden curled his fingers around Thomas’ wrist, stopping him. “I’m sorry.”

“It was reckless. This isn’t the Glitch. You can’t solve everything with a fight. You risk your own safety because of a silly little comment and I … I – stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” Caden couldn’t help the corners of his mouth twitching up into a smile.

“Like you're a kid from Limbus and I'm a piece of candy.” He folded his arms across his chest.

Caden wrapped an arm around Thomas’ waist, drawing him in close. “I am a kid from Limbus, and you're as sweet as,” he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Thomas’ cheek. 

Colour instantly blossomed across Thomas’ cheeks and he fought off the smile threatening to overtake his frown. “I’m still mad at you.”

“I’ll make it up to you.”

Thomas unfurled his arms, resting his elbows on Caden’s shoulders, wounds temporarily forgotten. “I don’t see how.”

Caden looked up into Thomas’ eyes and, without hesitating, said, “Marry me.”

Thomas threw his head back, laughter shaking his whole body. “Ask me when you're not high on medicine …” he trailed off spotting the full glass next to Caden. His gaze snapped back to Caden’s, eyes sparkling once again.