in the mike lives and rescues jesse from the neo nazi compound au, mike pulls the tarp off the cage and barely recognizes the figure huddled in the corner of the pit; for a moment, he isnât even sure itâs jesse and worries that heâs too late. then the figure looks up through the grate and mike sees those giant blue eyes, drained of their light. thereâs no glimmer of recognition or relief in his eyes: he just stares up at mike, unmoving, unbelieving. even though heâs locked up in a pit, there are shackles on his ankles and wrists. trying to remain totally calm, mike unlocks the grate, lowers the ladder, and carefully climbs down, glad he washed the blood off his boots. âits safe nowâ he says when heâs down at the bottom. it may not be the right thing to say, but mike needs to say something. jesse just keeps looking at him, silent. mike removes his shackles, not lingering on the chemical burns on his fingers or the abrasions encircling his too-skinny wrists or the unwashed, tangled shock of hair (inexplicably, he thinks of mattyâs body when the coroner pulled him out of that silver drawer and how his usually neat hair was a mess), but jesse doesnât stand up when the chains are gone. its as if the thought doesnât even occur to him. finally, mike just gingerly takes the kidâs shoulders in either hand and urges him up; he swoons a little, but manages to stand. they make their way up the ladder with some difficulty and when theyâre out of the pit, the first thing jesse sees is the trail of bloody footprints connecting the compound to their current spot. mike kind of awkwardly pats his shoulder and says âtheyâre all goneâ, which jesse passively accepts with a tired nod. they walk across the sand to the gates of the compound, mike thinking about what the fuck heâs going to do next and how heâs going to get the kid to safety and where theyâll go next, and he suddenly realizes that jesse isnât with him anymore. he stopped right at the gate, right at the threshold, frozen, tense. a broken horse doesnât leave when you open the stable gate. mike swallows (nacho froze for a second, just a second, before he grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger), then says âcome on, kid. letâs goâ in an inviting voice. his kaylee voice. shaking, jesse obliges and steps out of the compound, over the threshold, at which point he just immediately breaks down crying, shucking his numbness like his chains. his tears are easier to accept than his blank expression, and mike silently slips a sturdy arm around him and starts to walk him to his car. tears are a sign of being alive.
gracieabrams
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