"I'll take that hand now." Jedediah fought to keep the fear out of his voice, to keep his tone calm, but he had a feeling Octavius could tell anyways. That, and the fact that Jed was trembling like a leaf in the breeze. He cursed mentally as he tried to calm down, tried to stay steady for Octavius' sake, because Jedediah just knew if that if he lost it now, so would Octavius. As Attila fell, however, and the two were dumped onto the cold rooftop, he half-consciously squeezed Octavius' hand a bit tighter, and he knew that this time, there was no way out. Lancelot was too deranged to be reasoned with, and the tablet had a few seconds life left in it at most. This was it. There wouldn't be a next time.
He felt a drop of water hit his wrist, and looked over to see Octavius crying soundlessly, hopelessly. Jedediah immediately put his arms around the Roman general, attempting to comfort him. His mind flashed to their many escapades together, from pulling pranks on Larry and the other exhibits to simply driving around and exploring the museum. He remembered the night they'd first worked together, how they'd gone from being at each other's throats to 'I ain't quitting you!' in the course of a single night. How Octavius had rescued him from the hourglass at the Smithsonian, and helped him through the nightmares after. How they had truly become brothers, if not by blood then in spirit. And Jedediah couldn't bear to lose that connection. He couldn't imagine a world without the Roman general's kind heart, his natural leadership, his loyalty to the greater good.
"Last roundup, eh, partner?"
His voice cracked slightly as he spoke, his western accent in full force, but Jed couldn't bring himself to pretend to Octavius now. Pretend that he could be brave about this, or that he was in any way okay. Because he wasn't. Jed heard an almost unintelligible whisper, a voice as frightened and broken as himself.
"Jedediah, I'm scared."
"Me too, Octy. Me too."
He could feel Octavius' heartbeat against his own chest, could feel the Roman's warmth...
No. Cold, unfeeling plastic replaced the pulse of lifeblood that had once been. Jedediah couldn't stop the tears as his best friend, his brother, slipped away from him. As he felt the numbness creeping through his own limbs, the sadness was replaced by a bizarre sense of calm. Because he and Octavius wouldn't be separated for long, at least. As his own vision began to blur into darkness, he looked up at the stars.
"I'm coming, partner."
Finis
A/N
Hey, guys! Yes, it's me again. So, I hope you enjoyed this story, short as it may be. This is actually a companion fic to one of my other one-shots, Hold My Hand, which is basically this scene from Octavius' POV. It doesn't really matter which one you read first, but I would recommend that you read both of them, simply to understand both sides of the scene. Just to be clear, this is NOT a Jedtavius fanfiction. I personally don't see them as a romantic couple. However, they are brothers, if not by blood then in spirit, and this is just how I imagined this scene going, because we don't see much of them in this scene in the movie. Constructive criticism is always welcome, because how can you get better at something if you don't know what to improve on? Suggestions for other one-shots are always a good thing, and I might even end up doing a collection of Jed/Octavius Friendship one-shots.
So, just one question:
What do you guys think I should do next? Another one-shot, a multi-chapter fic? Maybe try something with an OC?
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
-Cas