Title: Like Air
Fandom: Static Shock
Characters: Virgil/Richie
Prompt: # 54 (Air)
Word Count: 500
Rating: T
Author's Notes: hints at m/m, drabble. I don't own DC or anything that they own. Yet another drabble created for the Lj community known as fanfic100. Unedited and unbeta'd. I was going with the whole "I need you like I need air" for this.
Like Air
Air.
One of the single most important things to life.
Gear's lungs begged for it as he pushed his body well past its boundaries, dragging Static's dead weight away from the battlefield. They were both drenched from an attack by Aquamaria, but she had focused her attack on Static. Which made sense, since it was Static who was most hurt by water.
Gear shook his head as his vision began to get blurry. The world around him was dying, partially due to fire from Hotstreak, and partially due to acid from Puff. Gear knew that if they stayed in the area they would be dead.
'If Virgil isn't dead already.' Richie thought to himself, half crazed with the idea. In truth, his fear was all that was keeping him going. 'She tried to freakin' DROWN him! If we make it out of this alive, I'm going to find her and freeze her for good. I don't care WHAT sob story she tries to spin me.'
His heart rate accelerated at the sound of steel crying out as it bent and twisted above him, sounds he knew would chase him into his nightmares. If he lived long enough to have them.
Air.
A human could only survive for a few minutes without it. Even though they weren't quite human anymore, Riche knew that he and Virgil still desperately needed air. They still breathed.
Every second that he took to get them out of there was one second that he wasted in giving Virgil CPR. But with as scattered as his usual thousands of thoughts were, he thought he remembered the first rule of emergency responding being that the rescuer got the rescue-e out of harms way first. Then came the rest of it.
The door, and safety, was only…
Just…
Right…
Air.
Richie gasped awake, his eyes blinking wildly even as the world went white from bright light within the ambulance. Panic-stricken, he lashed out, flailing, trying to get up and out. Strong hands grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him down.
"Keep cool, kid, keep cool, we've got you," a strong, almost familiar voice said.
"Static!" Richie gasped, belatedly realizing that his headgear was gone and that the medic, whoever it was, could clearly see his face. "Where's Static."
"He's right here." The medic said as he continued to push Richie back against the gurney. "You've suffered a mild concussion and smoke-."
"Static?"
"He's fine."
"Where-?"
"Right here, man." Came the gravely response.
Richie blinked as he craned his neck, trying to see whatever he could. The world was a blur of fuzzy colors and barely discernable shapes without his glasses, but when the medic moved Richie could see that there was another person in the too ambulance. Reaching out with his right hand, he tried to touch the other bed, making sure that he wasn't hallucinating. "V?"
"Yeah man, I'm here." And then Richie felt the other male reach out to him.
And finally… Richie could breathe.
Air.