@stclensilk asked — 'you could have died.' / from jae uwu
time for some angst / accepting !
there’s no time for him to worry; not now at least, not until they are sure they are out of the vicinity, until they are in the clear. sure, yuchan’s brain may be replaying the split second before jae reached him; the dislodged, bloody, snapping jaw too close to his neck and the startlingly clear and steady thought of ‘ it’s okay, i gave him the map, he knows where to go. he’ll make it out to them ’. yuchan’s resigned and at peace for another moment more before a pair of strong arms drag him away to a loud squelch as meat gives way to rough blade. jae screams for him to ‘ get moving ’ and it’s autopilot from there. yuchan runs without tripping, somehow keeping up with jae’s speed, arm tight in the other’s grip as the older steers him. perhaps it should hurt but, yuchan wouldn’t know. he’s numb. it’s almost like running a diagnosis on someone else, being the third party, looking in. yuchan supposes this is what a ‘ out of the body ’ experience means. it’s weird but good; he wouldn’t have to feel the burn of muscles, lungs trying hard to take in enough oxygen to make sure he can keep running. he’s moving, they’re moving but for a long time yuchan just thinks, ‘ oh, i almost died. ’ ( and quietly, tucked into a place deep inside himself: ‘ oh, i’m okay with it. ’ )
they stop in the ruins of a gas station maybe, out in nowhere. it’s isolated, quiet and after jae’s careful scouting; empty. the sun’s setting; how far have they gone? yuchan follows jae into a corner where two solid wall smeared with things neither wants to think about meets and fronted by a wall of shattered glass, overlooking the front of the gas station. just in case. as he comes back to himself, yuchan’s legs start to shake with the apparent effort to hold himself up and eventually stumbles nearby jae as he sets up camp, limbs giving way to the exertion. they sit in silence for the moment and then yuchan starts pulling out his first aid kit and as he reaches for jae, the other’s voice is soft but, heavy. “ you could have died. ”
yuchan’s eyes flickered to jae’s, only to find the other’s staring at him. he doesn’t dare to look too long. lips curl is what can only be described as a sheepish smile, “ it’s — ” well, perhaps ‘ it’s okay ’ isn’t the best thing to say. “ i'll be more careful next time, i promise. but how’s your hand? i’ll bandage it for you, ” yuchan smiles as careful hands reach out for jae’s. perhaps, that’ll be enough.
