100 Themes

Title - 2. Good Morning

Arcadia-Sama

Fandom – Red vs. Blue

Summary - Never mind. You'll see.

Disclaimer – They're not mine. D: Booooo. I wish they were. Or that I worked for RT.

Rating – PG-13 (For some swearing XD)

Suggested BGM "Higher"- Creed

Word Count – 1, 943

"Tell him how his dad got to third base with you!"
"Caboose!"

Author Notes – Okay, this is admittedly my first RvB fic, so don't kill me if I didn't get personalities right. This also turned out a HELL of a lot longer then I originally intended for it to be. O_O Only 400-500 words was the original amount I'd shot for. And it evolved into this fluff fic.


There was a snuff of breath across the black of the brunette's neck as he shifted in the bed, yawning loudly as he fought against waking up, trying to remain asleep where he was, warm and engulfed by the sweet smell of the blankets and the warmth. One of his arms, a cold thing encased in a chassis of circuitry and wires from his shoulder down was resting atop another one wrapped securely about his waist as if the one who held him was determined to keep him there no matter what.

Another snuff of air was given, tickling some of Church's dark hair against his ear and he grunted and lifted his arm up to brush at the short strands irritably as he shifted and rolled against his partner, turning to look into the face of the blonde that he was laying with.

And not for the first time, Church wondered just how the hell he had wound up in this spot. Not exactly this spot in Blue base, but.. Okay, yes, this spot in Blue Base, right here in bed with another man. Oh, he didn't have any problem with the fact it was another man, not one as handsome as this one, but it was just.. odd. He was laying in bed with the guy who'd almost killed him. True, it hadn't quite been the kid's fault (more thanks to Sheila's auto-lock feature, he thought with a dark scowl) but.. Hell. Lips flexing, he lifted his hand, still unused to the heavier bulk of metals and polymers that formed his new arm and carefully touched it to the face of the blonde he faced. Micro-cellular circuitry allowed him to not only feel the skin that covered the handsome features but the warmth that came from them and a faint smile tugged at the corners of Church's lips as Caboose murmured in his sleep and nuzzled into the hand.

He hadn't planned for this to happen. But then, Church hadn't planned for a lot of things that had happened recently. Such as getting shot by the idiot whose bed he was lying in. He'd been going to yell at Caboose, scream until his throat was raw, when he'd returned from getting patched up and he'd marched into the base, ignoring Tucker for the most part as he hunted for Caboose. But he hadn't found him in the base and so Church had left, the sub-armor he wore hanging still about his waist as he walked along.

Church had to admit he was moving a bit off-center due to his now cybernetic body parts, but it was just part of how he was now, wasn't it? But moving to the caves that decorated the canyon's upper walls, he found one easily enough and stepped into the tunnels, the glint of his right eye darker then the left seeming mechanical. And indeed it was. Thanks to his new eye, he could see the interior of the cave fairly well, though his depth perception sucked. This point was especially proven when Church walked right into a column that had formed out of a stalagmite and stalactite. The pain was comprehended first and then came the swearing.

"Ow! Motherfucking son of a bitch whore!"

The words were screamed into the air at the poor innocent rock who'd done nothing but be in his way. Clutching his now aching face, Church swore loudly and continued on through the caves and as he walked, eventually he caught he sound of what seemed to be.. sniveling? He stopped before veering towards where he thought the sounds were coming from, his free, unbound arm swinging at his side as the other rocked against his chest in a sling and as the sounds grew louder, he spoke up.

"Caboose?"

The sniffling stopped and then there was a muffled sound that had Church moving, long legs carrying him through the dark as he ducked under the rocks. Dammit. Of course it'd make sense that he'd have to bring the rookie back to base, right? Of course it did, that was just his goddamn luck. But finally, Church honed in on the source of the sound and he rounded a bend in the caverns and there, sitting on the ground, was Caboose.

The blond was hugging himself, his long legs sprawled out on the ground in front of him as he sobbed and choked, tears running down his face. All the hostile words that Church had been intending to scream at him got lodged in his throat as he stared at the newest teammate of Blue Team. Yelling at Caboose now would be like.. like.. yelling at a puppy that knew it had done bad and then you felt guilty afterwards when it stared up at you with those big watery eyes and you just had to pick it up and hug it. That's what it felt like. Caboose looked as if he hadn't slept in the time that Church had been gone and he even looked like he'd lost weight. A faint scruff of a beard had grown on his jaw line and chin and Church was shocked to find that he preferred to see Caboose clean-shaven. Those normally bright blue eyes of his were dark with upset and red and wet from crying. Clad in blue camo pants and a white A-shirt with black boots, Caboose seemed diminished, despite his larger height, without his armor.

"C… Caboose?"

Church's voice sounded too loud in the small stony confines of the tunnel and he bit his lower lip as Caboose seemed to flinch before the blond lifted his eyes upwards. As soon as those blue eyes met his, Church was moving, ignoring the protests from his body as he came to kneel by Caboose and he didn't say anything for the moment when the younger man threw his arms around the brunette and buried his face into Church's chest. Instead, he slowly lifted his hand and pressed his fingers to the thick, soft blond hair on Caboose's head, his eyes closing as he listening to the mostly insensate babbling amidst the tears and he just stayed that way, letting Caboose cry himself out.

At last, when the only sounds in the cavern were the calm puffs from Church's lips as he breathed and the heavier, but quickly steadied breathing of Caboose, Church shifted and winced as his limbs protested their numbed state by sending prickles of needles up and down his legs. But slowly, he got up and Caboose was lifted with him, more by cause of the younger SPARTAN holding tightly onto his commanding officer then by his own power. But he stood at last, supporting the taller man and then turned and slowly, they made their way through the maze of tunnels outside and back to the base.

Tucker was busy doing something on his own, Church having caught him heading into the hanger that house Sheila, but he continued inside without stopping, taking Caboose to his room. There, he carefully began to rub at Caboose's face with his fingers, feeling the prickle of the uncut hair tickling his palm.

"You need a shave."

The words were blurted out and Caboose blinked and smiled weakly at Church, the beard just looking too damned odd on the rookie for Church's liking. So, acting on impulse, he hauled Caboose up and to the bathroom. Where Church wore a goatee himself, the dark hair so black it glinted with blue highlights, he far preferred the fairer man to get rid of that facial hair.

"Sit down and I'll do this," Church said, not trusting Caboose to not slit his own throat. Well, hey, considering tha the rookie seemed not that bright at the best of times..

Silence hung over them as Caboose dampened the hair of Caboose's beard and filled the sink with water before slathering on thick shaving cream onto Caboose. Carefully, aware of his sling, he started to shave Caboose. The rookie just stared up at Church and the silence was honestly unnerving the brunette who was used to the blond just running his mouth. But the blonde behaved and slowly, the beard was shorn away and finally, Church finished the job and looked at Caboose before opening the sink up to let it drain and he opened up the cabinet over Caboose's sink to hand him some aftershave.

After he'd finally put the gel on, Caboose spoke at last and his voice was so soft that if Church hadn't been so focused on him, he was sure he would have missed what Caboose had said.

"Are you gonna leave us?"

So, that's what the silence was about. Church was just.. not sure how to answer. But finally, he caught hold of Caboose's face and then bent down, holding the freshly shaven palm in his good hand as he met Caboose's eyes, memorizing those handsome features with an intensity that made Caboose chew his lower lip before Church spoke up and there was a quiet simplicity in his answer.

"No."

He wasn't ever sure why he did this next thing. Maybe it was to cheer Caboose up, to erase the sadness and self-guilt in those blue eyes. Maybe it was because those thin lips had been open, licked by a pink tongue. Maybe it was because he had wanted to for a while. Gently, Church lowered his face and pressed his mouth to Caboose's, their lips meshing gently together. Maybe it wasn't a perfect fit, but it was close enough. These lips were firm and strong, unlike Tex's more giving mouth, with only a small softness to them and Church found that he was liking this kiss more then he would have given credit to himself for.

At first, Caboose wasn't kissing back before there was a muffled sound in the back of his throat and he lifted his hands, gripping at Church and he was kissing him back, eagerly, as if Church was the only solid thing Caboose had at the moment. Finally, Church relented to his need for air and lifted his head, breathing out sharply with a slow gasp for air on the tail end of that before his eyes slid open and he rested his forehead against Caboose's.

"Let's go lie down," Church said gently. "I'm tired."

"O.. Okay," Caboose stammered softly before he got up and walked with Church to his bed.

Stopping only long to remove their boots, Caboose helping Church, they laid down. Church was still wondering why he was helping Caboose out with feeling better and he blamed it on the sight he'd found in the caves. But he smiled faintly to himself as Caboose latched onto him, snuggling close and closed his eyes as Caboose's bodily warmth seeped into him and together, they fell asleep, exhaustion gently lulling them into a peaceful, dream-free sleep as they took comfort in one another.

And now, Church was awake and watching his teammate and making a point not to study the soft ooze that was showing in his heart too closely the more he watched Caboose sleep. His thumb slid slowly and gently to Caboose's mouth, lightly brushing across it and he sighed out softly, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he found Caboose looking at him and the expression of longing and fear and something else that made something in Church tighten made him stay very still for several long moments as he looked into those pure blue eyes before Church smiled, just the faintest twitch of his lips at the corners of his mouth, and then he spoke up.

"Good morning."


I admit, this turned out a LOT differently then how I had planned for it to be. But Church and Caboose were acting how the fic demanded they act. I believe that Church is the sort who would show his feelings more easily in a private situation and I believe that Caboose WOULD run away because of his feelings over what he'd done. The shaving part was unintentional, but let's face it. A guy does grow a beard when he grows without shaving and it just kinda seemed to fit into the story, so I included it. A nice little bonding moment. I may write a sequel to this if you guys want it. =D Also, I fuckin' SWEAR I'm working on Chapter 15 of Gravitation. I SWEAR. Don't KILL ME! D: