Fallout (Part Three)
(muehehehe I told you a few minutes.)
part one , part two
cw: angst w/ comfort
You’re lightly shaken awake when the truck arrives back at base. Kyle tilts your face toward him, “We’re going to the medbay, okay?” He says slowly, and you nod, letting the man maneuver you out of the vehicle and into the compound.
Letting yourself be treated is a blur. You’re not entirely sure if it’s from blood loss or just exhaustion, but you had tuned the rest of the world out, letting yourself sink beneath the wave of ringing in your ears. After, with your abdomen wrapped tightly, you watched as Kyle nodded along with whatever the medic was telling him. He turned to you after a moment and pushed his phone into your lap.
On it, it reads: Doc says you should be able to hear clearly in a few hours.
You nod, handing Kyle’s phone back to him. He rests a hand on your shoulder, squeezing it comfortably. Once you’re cleared, Kyle helps you back to your room, one hand settled onto the small of your back, as if he were scared you’d collapse if he didn’t hold onto you. Part of you felt as if you would.
He stops outside your door, shifting his weight between his feet, “Are you going to be okay?” He asks, and you only smile at him, knowing your voice would betray you.
“Get some sleep,” He says, before leaving with a small nod.
You shut the door behind you, not bothering to turn on the light. Sitting down on your bed isn’t relieving, as you groan when the bandages pull tightly against your side. You wince, curling forward. There’s still blood beneath your nails. You stare at it until your vision blurs.
—
There’s a knock at your door.
You flinch, the sound being the first you’ve heard clearly in hours.
It’s too deliberate, not delicate enough to be Gaz. And Soap always knocked to the “Shave and a Haircut” beat, but this was slow. Measured.
You don’t want to answer. But there was no point in hiding from him. You’d have to see him sooner or later.
You open the door, and there he is.
Price.
“[+], we need to talk.” He says, and you notice the sorrowful, almost guilty look on his face. His hat was held in front of him, and you never realized before now that you had yet to see him without it on. He ran a hand through his hair, something that you assumed he had been doing for the past few minutes, if the mussed-up state of his hair was anything to go by.
“May I come in?” He asks, pulling you from your thoughts. You nod, opening the door wider to let the man step in. He gives you a small smile before stepping into your quarters. You watch nervously as the man studies your room.
It wasn’t untidy, quite the opposite. But Price’s eyes lingered on the folded clothes atop your desk. They were the same you’d worn during the mission, and the mixture of dirt, dust, and blood was proving hard to wash out.
“If this is about the mission report, I have it right here.” You stumble over to your desk, pushing the clothes aside to grab a small stack of papers, “You weren’t in your office this morning, so I-”
“That’s not what I’m here for.” Price says, effectively cutting you off. He sighs deeply before sitting on the edge of your bed. He pats the spot beside him, beckoning you over.
When you finally sit beside him, albeit reluctantly, he starts, “I wanted to apologize.”
Your head snaps up, an almost panicked look in your eyes.
“No. Let me, please-” He continues, as if he could read your mind.
“I jumped the gun. The mission went sideways, and I didn’t stop to consider why.” He runs a hand down his face, “God… [+]. You were bleeding, couldn’t hear a damn word I was saying.. And I just- I’m sorry.”
You stare at him for a moment. His eyes are on the floor, shoulders tight, like part of him thinks you’ll shove him out of the room and slam the door behind him.
You don’t.
Instead, as if it's instinctual, you move. Leaning into him until your arms wrap around his torso, and your cheek settles against his shoulder.
It’s what you’ve wanted to do since you stepped out of the wreckage of the Al-Qatala base.
He freezes, for just a moment, before his arm comes up to settle around your back. It’s awkward, to say the least. And you’re pretty sure he’s never hugged anyone on his team before.
But it’s real.
“I’m really glad you’re still with us.”
You close your eyes, ignoring the way they sting with unshed tears.
And for the first time in days, as your breathing settles into rhythm with Price’s, the silence that surrounds you is comforting.
(I thought this would be the final part, but I'm gonna need another for Ghost.)
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