Breaking at My Seams
Summary: You can't hide from your past, no matter how fast you run or how far you think you've gotten. That's not about to stop him, though. Nick/Ellis, tasteful progression. Ellis POV.
Author's Notes: Yes, this is YAOI. Don't like it, don't read it. It's that simple, I promise. Flames will only be used to fuel inside jokes between my friends and I, so don't bother. Critiques however, are welcome.
Disclaimer: I do not own L4D2, characters or anything else related to it. This story is simply fan-fiction and thoughts of the imagination.
+LINEBREAK+
It's quiet, for the first time in a long while as I sit by myself, on watch by the door. I have the first two hours to keep an eye out for zombies, mostly Spitters as the damn things could get acid under the safe-house door. Which is probably why the others had chosen to sleep as far away from the steel door as possible. I sigh quietly and pull my hat down a little further over my eyes, the grip I had on my hunting rifle loosening. I hadn't heard anything more than a moan from a far off zombie for the last half hour or so, and wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. It had been a while since I could let my guard down.
My eyes flicker over to the sleeping forms of my team-mates and I let myself smile a little. Coach is sprawled out on the floor, much like a sun-bathing animal, his snores making the table beside him shake. Rochelle is in the back corner, her gun beside her should she need it in a second, a tattered towel her only blanket. As for Nick... I blinked, and frowned slightly. Nick had been sleeping not far from Rochelle, but his spot against the wall was vacant now, give or take a few beetles. I tried to think of when the conman might have moved, and for what reason when a voice damn near made me jump out of my skin.
"Looking for something, Overalls?"
I whip around, dropping my gun as I did so. Thankfully the weapon didn't make much of a noise, letting the sleeping survivors continue to rest. Nick raised an eyebrow at me, no doubt thinking up insults for my clumsiness and abrupt response to his voice.
"Christ, Nick! Ya scared the crap outta me!" I whispered, calming down. Not sure who else I was expecting, but it had startled me. Kind of like a car alarm going off in the dead of night. He simply shrugged and leaned on one of the boxes to my left, cigarette in hand. I frowned, "You really gotta smoke tha' in here?" I asked, tempted to reach out and take it from the man. Nick raised an eyebrow at me, "And where else would you have me smoke? Outside with the zombies?" He asked and I bit my lip. Right. That was a problem, wasn't it? Couldn't exactly go outside for a break with the hunger-ridden pests out there. "You could always jus' not smoke." I replied after a second and he scoffed, like it was the most idiotic thing he'd heard all day. Despite that, he said nothing and put out the cigarette, or 'cancer-stick' as my Ma' had called it. I chuckle a little, remembering the first time my Ma' and I passed someone out smoking outside a small grocery. I must've been no older than five, and there she was, lecturing me on taking better care of myself than that 'greasy man back o'er there.'
"Something funny, Kid?" Nick asked, his green eyes resting their gaze on me, no doubt wondering what my sudden amusement was from. I grin and pull my hat down a little further over my face, looking up to meet his eyes, "Jus' thinkin' is all. 'Bout my Ma'. You know, she woulda hated ya." I laugh and Nick rolls his eyes, "Wouldn't be the first person to hate me, kid." He replied, his eyes still resting on me. It was a little unnerving to tell the truth, but I wasn't about to give him something else to tease me about. "Well maybe if ya were a little less grumpy more folks would like ya." I replied with a smile. Nick looked at me for a minute before snorting and turning his gaze to the steel doors. In a quick movement he drew his magnum and shot a wandering zombie right between the eyes. The decaying body fell to the ground, the fragile bones making a disturbing noise. I grimaced and moved my eyes to the floor, which suddenly seemed very interesting.
Silence fell over us after that, as we stayed where we were, waiting for the sun to rise. I was tempted to ask Nick why he hadn't gone back to sleep, his shift being tomorrow night at the next safe house, but I didn't really want to break the peace. It was the most calm I'd felt in weeks, since this whole thing had started. It wasn't like I'd forgotten about everything- It would take more than a moment of silence to make me forget the copper smell on my clothes and the feel of crusted bile sticking to my skin -but it was a moment when we weren't all running from a tank, or screaming in panic as a smoker grabbed us around the waist. That was all I could ask for, really. The sun started to show over the horizon, signaling an end to my shift, but I didn't wake Rochelle. Let her sleep, I decided, not like an extra hour or so up would cause me any harm. And while it might have been selfish, I wanted this moment to myself. Myself and Nick, I supposed, as the conman was still right beside me.
Pulling my hat down over my face I smiled and waited the arrival of the full morning light.
+LINEBREAK+
"Ah man, ya know, Mud Men take aaaallll the fun outta mud!" I complained, lodging a bullet in the zombie's head as it slithered through the water towards me. Damn things were fast and they'd almost dragged me under the murky water a few times when I hadn't been paying close attention. "I'm getting' tired of 'em real fast. Can't wait to be outta this swamp!"
"For once, I agree with Ellis. God damn these Mud Men." Nick hissed from my right as he reloaded his pistol. He wore his usual frown on his face, though I'd admit it showed more annoyance than usual.
"Calm down, we'll be out of here soon, boys." Rochelle replied, placing a hand on my shoulder with a gentle smile. I grinned back at her, giving a nod. I knew she wasn't enjoying this either, hell no one in their right minds could like these conditions. But the fact that she was trying to keep a bright outlook on things was a comfort. Gave me something to hope for at least. I could see Nick roll his eyes at the statement, blowing the face off of a wandering common infected, muttering something about optimism and false hope. I would just let him scowl and huff and well, be himself. That was just how he dealt with things. I gave him a pat on the back, earning a glare before I darted ahead to catch up with Coach, who'd kept a few feet ahead of us for the last twenty minutes or so. Mostly due to the three of us lagging behind and focusing on our conversation, rather than moving from point A to point B.
"Hey, Coach!" I greeted with my usual grin, receiving a nod from the older man as an acknowledgment, as well as a quiet 'hello'. We'd been walking for hours and I wouldn't be surprised if he was looking for a place to rest up for a few minutes. The wound he'd received from a hunter a few days bag, right on his upper thigh, had to be hurting him like hell. He never complained though, not wanting to worry us I was sure. "Hey, there's a lil' shack up ahead, hows 'bout we stop there for a little? I need to get som'a this water outta my gun anyway, hard to do when movin' around."
"Sounds good, boy." Coach gave me a thankful smile and looked over his shoulders at the others, "Hey y'all, we're stopping for a few, alright?" The others didn't make a single sound of protest, no doubt pleased to have an opportunity to stop trekking through the disgusting swamp water and rest, even if it was for just a short moment. No more than half an hour tops, was Coach's rule; They had to keep moving in order to make it to the next safe house by night fall.
I went in first, taking out the few zombies wandering around the interior of the decaying shack, the others following when they knew everything was safe. I was the least hurt and in no need of medical attention, meaning I would be the first to scope things out for a while. Which was fine by me- Meant everyone else was safer. Coach sat down on a small wooden bench, stretching out his bad leg. I had been right about it bothering him. Rochelle sat near him, wanting to be there should anything pop out at us and Coach need immediate assistance. Nick went upstairs to look for supplies, hoping there was some kind of ammo up there to restore the painfully small amount he had left. Should he need it, I'd share my ammo with him but even I was low. The machete at my waist was a last-resort that I'd probably end up having to use. I sat down on the floor of a make-shift kitchen, looking through the bottom cabinets for food. Crumbs were all that remained and I sighed, leaning back against the wood. With luck the safe-house would have some kind of food, but from the looks of it that would be the only food they'd be getting today.
"'Ey, Nick? Ya found anythin'?" I yelled upstairs, studying my shotgun, for no real reason. "Termites." Was the reply I received and I chuckled, "Well come back down 'ere then, there's some cabinets I can't reach. Maybe they got some stuff in 'em." I heard him laugh from upstairs, remarking on my height and I scowled. I wasn't that short! But I shook it off and smiled as he entered the kitchen, using my right hand to point at the higher-up cabinets, "Up there."
"Christ Ellis, it's not that high..." He muttered, reaching up and opening the small wooden doors to search the racks. I grinned, "Aw I know. Jus' didn' much feel like gettin' up." He shot me a glare and I chuckled, pulling my cap down a ways over my eyes. "You know, Kid, If I do find something your lazy ass isn't getting any of it." I laughed at this, pushing myself to my feet, "Tha's a lie, Nick. Ro wouldn't letcha get away with tha' you know. Hell, if anyone wouldn' get anythin' it'd be you." He was about to retort, then stopped, realizing I was right. Rochelle didn't care much for the conman, and made that abundantly clear. Instead of saying something back, he just pulled out a box of stale, half-empty cereal and raised an eyebrow, "Surprised rats haven't gotten to this." I shrugged and took the box from him, "Maybe they don' like Cap'n Crunch." I replied, shoving a handful of cereal in my mouth. Nick snatched the box back, "Yea, right. That's all you're getting, Overalls." I grinned and leaned back, arms behind my head, "Not a problem, not a problem. We should getta move on soon though. It's already evenin' and we don't wanna have to be lookin' for that safe-house in the dark." Nick nodded and went to distribute the stale cereal with the others, reminding them that we had to keep moving. I merely smiled and looked out at the swamp surrounding us; We were going to be okay. I was sure of it.
+LINEBREAK+
Alright, crap ending I know. Buuut I just needed a chapter to allow myself to wade into the story itself. And as this is my first time writing this particular pairing, and story, obviously I'm a little out of touch. Maybe some OOC here and there. Trying my best to improve. R and R appreciated.
Thanks 3