YO HEY SPACE GRUMPS STUFF YEAH
Also on ao3 now :) @dannyaviclan
Darkness . And suffocation. And the sharp pain of needles pricking into every inch of his exposed body.
It filled Dan’s head as he breathed harshly into the air around him. His hands squeezed at his sheets, eyes wide open, as he searched for something to ground him. Remind him he wasn’t in that /horrible/ place anymore.
With another shuddered breath, Dan pushed himself up to a sitting position, reaching aimlessly along the side table for the light before remembering that wasn’t the way to turn a light on in the future.
Running the same hand down his face, Dan let his eyes fall shut, quietly asking, “Barry. Lights please?” Shivering as they flickered on.
Slowly he opened his eyes, squinting at the harsh change in lighting, and felt a little relief seep into him.
He was home. It was okay. They couldn’t touch him here. Brian and Arin won’t let them.
He’d already been back a week and still the memories plagued him. Still he jumped at unexpected noises. And tensed up at the sound of footsteps approaching. And flinched at any sort of raised object.
He’d been saved and yet still he kept acting like he hadn’t.
It was pathetic.
Dan rubbed at his eyes painfully, refusing to let that escalate any further, and got up on shaky limbs to grab his leather jacket. It always made him feel good, with the long gone earthy scent and band patches holding it together.
Slipping it on, Dan sighed, walking across the room to curl up in a big arm chair. He ran a thumb over the dull pink stitching along the left arm. A phantom pain shot through his wrist.
Right. Arin must have sewed it back together after they’d taken him.
With a deep breath, Dan pulls his legs up to his chest and looks up to the ceiling, where he often discerns Barry to be located at.
“Hey Barry? Where is Arin at? Is he asleep?”
“The Captain is currently drawing in the observation deck. Should I call him down here?”
Dan shakes his head after breathing through the crackling through the speakers. It was eerily similar to… well. Yeah.
“Are you okay, Danny?”
The often times human like A.I. always through Dan off. He was a friend but a machine. But then again, so is Ross. Barry is just a spaceship rather than a robot. Android. Whatever.
“Yeah man. I’m okay. I just-… I don’t know man. I should be okay. I am okay.”
“You should go talk to Arin. He’s worried about you.”
Dan sucked in a breath, glancing around subconsciously in suspicion. “How do you know? Did he tell you anything?”
“Mm no. I can tell. Plus he keeps scratching out incomplete drawings. And he hasn’t taken off his gloves since we got you back. They’re pretty big indicators that something is bothering him. It’s only logical that he’s worried about you.”
He rubbed his thumb over the pink stitching again. Tracing the thin string with his eyes. Dan idly wondered why Arin sewed the leather together rather than just use some kind of future clothing fixer thing. That’s how he kept fixing Brian’s shit right? In any case, Dan was happy for the more modern, or well maybe not modern anymore, way of fixing things. The stitching made him feel safe. More at home.
“Maybe I will…,” he finally replied, Barry humming at his response.
“So do it.”
Dan huffed a weak laugh and shoved his gangly legs to the floor, pulling himself out of the chair. “I’m going! Geeze. Nice talking to you too, Barry.”
“Danny, you know I love our interactions. But you and I both know I’m not the one to be talking to right now. In fact, later tomorrow you should hang out with Brian as well. He’s been testier than usual.”
“I just got everyone worked up, huh.”
“Well yeah man. Everyone loves you. With all due respect, I think you were the most ideal person to take out of all of us. You just… Everyone loves you. So much.”
With a flush, Dan started at the wall, shaking his head and tugging the jacket closer as he pulled his blanket up to wrap tightly around himself. “Uhh I guess. Thanks Barry. I don’t think Ross was too affected though. He seems to still be suspicious of me.”
“You’d be surprised. Now quit stalling. Go talk to Arin. Before I cut off the power in here.”
Flipping him off with a laugh, Dan walked out the door with a roll of his eyes, blanket cape trailing behind him dramatically. “Yeah yeah. You have too much power.” His laugh quickened a bit as he ran for the door, the lights in his room flickering. “I’m going! Fuck dude! Chill.”
The lights stopped, staying on in the dull white they usually shown as Dan exited the room.
The observation deck. Right.
Just as Barry said, there sat Arin, plain as day, quietly doodling with his back to Dan. And that was odd. Arin usually perked up to his scent before Dan even entered the room.
As Arin let out a frustrated growl, pencil almost ripping through the thin paper, Dan cleared his throat, causing Arin to jump, pencil skittering across the floor.
Dan quietly picked it up before making his way next to Arin, plopping down to a criss cross Applesauce.
“Hey.”
Arin looked at Dan with wide eyes, drawing pad close to his chest. Dan raised an eyebrow, half smirk lingering on his face. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Sorry man.”
With a quick shake of his head, Arin looked back down before tucking some hair behind his ear. It was usually up when he was feeling professional, but he kept it down otherwise. “It’s okay dude. I just wasn’t expecting you to be out and about. Especially at this hour.”
“Does time even exist in space? I mean each planet has it’s own day and night cycle so like. Technically when we’re drifting, can’t we just like make our own cycle?”
“Uhm well I guess that’s true. But I’ve tried to keep going by terra’s cycle ya know? It’s what I’m used to.”
Dan hummed in response, pulling up his knees and pulling the blanket tighter. He took in Arin’s tense form, sweat pants pulled taut and the back of his black shirt lightly perpetrated with sweat. Maybe Dan shouldn’t have come… Maybe he was intruding…
“Uh sorry. I just… couldn’t sleep. I can go though, if you’d rather be a-”
“N-no! No it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting you. But for real, Danny. It’s fine.”
Dan frowned, looking out the window at the vastness of space. “You never call me Danny. Or well, you do when I’m being particularly dense. Or when you’re worried about me. Or when you’re upset. So am I being stupid right now? Or did something happen.”
With a sigh, Arin laid his head on Dan’s shoulder, eyes shut, gloved fists clenched. “I’m not upset. And you’re not stupid. I just…. I’m glad you’re back, man. I REALLY really am. It’s just… ugh. Sorry. I don’t know. I’m glad you’re okay.”
Dan hummed, gripping his thin pajama pants as a distraction for his hands. He looked down at Arin, a light smile being forced. For Arin’s sake. “Hey dude, it’s fine. I’m okay now. Because you guys saved me. Thank you by the way. I don’t think I’ve said that yet.”
Arin was quiet for a few seconds before letting out a low huff. He sat up straighter, but kept his head down, face curtained by hair. “You really don’t remember us saving you, huh.”
“Uhm. Yeah? Or at least, parts. I remember you kicking the door down. And I remember Brian picking me up. Or… no. He went to pick me up? But then you did. It’s all… Sorry. Like I said. Parts. I also remember Mark being on the ship? He helped heal me, right? Because I was pretty messed up? Still pretty messed up…. But he helped with at least the physical wounds. Though I have this wicked scar on my side now.”
Arin cleared his throat and clutched the pad a little tighter. His voice was low enough to force Dan to strain to hear him. As if speaking too loud would shatter the window separating them from the void outside. “You uh. Yeah. You were just… I remember laughing with you. About something stupid. And thinking, ‘nothing could get better than this’. But then we took that fucking job. And you were taken. And I just… I just watched. I couldn’t move-”
“You were paralysed, Ar. Remember? They shot you.”
“It doesn’t matter!” He growled. Dan stared with wide eyes at his friend’s feral expression. It was… scary. Honestly. And that was the last word Dan would associate with Arin. “They took You! They took you right from under me and I couldn’t do a Damn thing! Ross told me something was fishy about that job! But no! I just /had/ to take it. And then you were gone and I didn’t know what to do and we didn’t even know who they were and I just-”
“Arin, it’s fine though. You saved me. It’s okay-”
This time Arin stood up, eyes nearly glowing in the dark as he stared down at Dan. He looked every inch of rage and frustration. “It’s not okay, Dan. It’ll never be okay until I rip those bastards piece by fucking piece for what they did to you. You may not really remember what happened but I do! I remember the look on your face. Like I was about to eat you alive. How you kept asking for me and Brian to save you and fighting is, like we were imposters. I remember how your fucking fingers were twisted and broken and misshapen and the way your body looked paper thin and all the cuts and bruises, like they just tossed you about. I fucking remember Daniel. And it’s not something I’m going to ever forget. So no. It’s not okay. Because I had to get you out of there. I tried to kill them. Every fucking one, but I had to get to you. I let them take you. I had to be the one to save you.”
Dan stood up too, blanket falling into a forgotten puddle, and taking in Arin’s now defeated and angered form. He stepped forward, trying to deny the shaking in his hands. Honestly it was horrifying. Hearing about everything they went through while he was gone. And Dan is building brick wall after brick wall in his mind as the memories resurfaced. But he couldn’t afford to have a break down here. Not when Arin needed him.
Dan took Arin’s shorter but thicker hands into his, rubbing his thumb gently into the knuckles, trying to get Arin to at least relax his hands. It kind of worked, as Arin slowly uncurled them, only to grip Dan’s in a much tighter grip than he was expecting. “You did save me though. You did it, Ar. You came in and took out those in your way and got me out of that Hell. It’s over. And I’m never going to leave again, okay? I promise.”
“But what if-”
“No.” Dan shook his head, pulling Arin into a tight hug. Claws dug into his back despite the thick gloves and Dan was pretty sure that was tears being pressed against his neck, but he didn’t care. He meant what he said. He was never going to leave. Those on this ship are his family. Even if he found a way back to his time, Dan didn’t care. Brian, Arin, Barry, Ross, everyone. He wasn’t leaving them anytime soon.
Dan pulled back and tried to look at Arin’s eyes but the hair was too thick and it appeared Arin wasn’t going to help him out anytime soon. So with a frustrated grunt, Dan kept an arm around Arin’s shoulders, raising the other to move some hair behind his ear again. “Arin. Look at me.”
Slowly, but surely, Arin looked up at Dan, but kept drifting his eyes across the room, not sure what to focus on. Dan sighed. It would just have to do. “Hey,” he said a bit softer, his smile now coming a bit easier. “Arin. I’m okay. You’re okay. We’re okay. You did it, man. You saved me and yeah okay so things still suck ass, but at least we have each other, right? And the ship’s still intact. And we know who the bad guys are now. So that’s a plus, right?”
Arin nodded, looking down again. “They’re the same people that… let this happen to me. I was- I was taken prisoner and they just… let it happen and-”
“Hey. You don’t have to tell me. Not until you’re ready.”
Arin nodded again, a relieved sigh falling from his lips. “Thanks Dan. Though I should be comforting you here. I’m your Captain. Hell, none of this even happened to me. I should be fi-”
“Mmm nope. You’re my friend. And you’re a person. With thoughts and emotions just like the rest of us. You’re allowed to be freaked out when bad people kidnap your best friend.”
Arin made a self deprecating sound in his laugh and subconsciously held Dan a little tighter, staring at the pink thread in the leather jacket Dan loved so much. “That’s the first time you’ve said it out loud. Or at least that I’ve heard.”
“Is it? Weird.”
They fell into silence as Dan drew Arin into a second Hug. Arin needed it, and he didn’t mind so what was the harm.
“I’m really glad you’re safe, Danny,” Arin whispered as he buried his face in Dan’s neck.
Smiling, Dan nodded back, pressing his lips to the side of Arin’s head, just above his ear. “Me too, man. I’m glad you’re safe, too.”