Chapter 3: An Invitation

The part bench was hard and did not fit him very well, but it was better than nothing. He used his duffle bag as a pillow and curled up on the hard metal bench. Sleep did not come easy, but he managed to pass out after a long while. It was a light, restless sleep. Locus tossed and turned often, trying his damnedest to get comfortable. Of course he only became more restless when the nightmares started. He had not had a single night since arriving here that he did not have a horrifying nightmare about killing people or seeing people die. His body trembled as he slept and he broke out into a cold sweat.

Locus did not wake from his nightmare until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He sprung up with a fright, instincts kicking in and his guard raising. Locus nearly lashed out at whoever had woken him from his sleep, but he forced himself to refrain. It took him only a moment to realize who it was that had touched him.

Caboose stood there, with a confused look on his face. Locus stared blankly at him before looking around for the rest of his friends. Satisfied that he did not see anyone else nearby, his focus returned to the blond standing before him.

"Why are you sleeping on that park bench," Caboose asked innocently.

"Because I have nowhere to go," Locus answered honestly as he sat up and wiped some tears from his eyes, cursing himself for crying in his sleep. He did not have the strength to lie right now, nor did he feel he had to lie to Caboose. He sighed when Caboose sat beside him and flashed a kind little smile. This guy had a problem. Who was this nice to someone who had tried to kill them?

"You looked scared when you were sleeping," Caboose continued, his tone carrying a hint of worry. When Locus did not respond, Caboose continued. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"That is none of your business," Locus murmured, wiping more tears from his eyes. The images from his dreams were still fresh in his mind. The vivid

"Yeah, I don't like talking about my bad dreams either," Caboose shrugged. "Church use to put his arm around me when I had a bad dream. He'd tell me everything was going to be all right and made me feel better."

"… That's nice," Locus replied quietly.

Caboose threw an arm around Locus' shoulders and gently said, "It'll be okay, buddy." Then his head rested on Locus' shoulder. "I'm here for you."

Locus tensed when he felt the contact between them. He was unsure what to do or say. He had never really had someone attempt to comfort him before. It felt wrong considering the past between them, but instead of pulling away or asking Caboose to stop like his mind was yelling at him to do, Locus shrugged and allowed the somewhat shorter man hold him. Although he would probably never admit it, he actually liked the comfort, though he knew it was luxury he did not deserve. Part of him wondered what on earth could possibly be going on in Caboose's mind right now. What on earth was this guy thinking?

"Why are you out here at dawn," Locus asked finally, wondering if the Blue had been following him for some reason.

"Wash goes on jogs super early and I wanted to go with him," Caboose answered.

Locus' eyes widened and he looked around for Agent Washington. Panic began to boil away inside of him. The last thing he needed right now was for Washington to find him. Wash would most certainly not let him get away and he would wind up in prison for sure. He had to get out of here ASAP.

Locus bolted to his feet and quickly snagged his duffle bag off of the bench. "I have to go," Locus blurted before hurrying down the sidewalk, hoping to leave Caboose behind. Much to Locus' dismay, Caboose followed after him.

"But you said that you had nowhere to go," Caboose said as he followed Locus.

"Please leave me alone," Locus begged, glancing over his shoulder as he picked up his pace.

"Locus, do you want to stay with me," Caboose blurted as he followed Locus, causing more alarms to ring in Locus' head. This had to be a trap of some sort.

"No. I'm fine on my own," Locus replied gruffly, quickening his pace as he tried to get away.

"But you slept on the park bench," Caboose huffed as he followed Locus in a half-jog.

"It was one night."

"You don't have anywhere to go. You said so," Caboose protested. "Please. I need a roommate and you don't have a home. We can be friends and share an apartment!"

"I don't have a job," Locus replied with an exasperated tone, never letting his pace slow. "I couldn't possibly help you pay rent."

"Oh… Oh, wait! I know! Grif found us jobs, so I bet he can find you a job too," Caboose blurted, practically bouncing with anticipation as he awaited Locus' reply.

"I doubt your friend would want to help me," Locus sighed, eyes falling to the sidewalk as he continued down the sidewalk. "We were enemies, remember? I tried killing all of you. I'm a criminal. I'm a horrible person."

"Yeah, well, Wash tried to kill us too, but we still took him in," Caboose stated with a matter-of-fact tone to his voice. "He shot Donut and he tried to take Church away. But then we took him in and now he's one of our best friends."

"But he didn't try to kill an entire planet of Colonists," Locus said in a hushed tone, glancing around cautiously again. "It would be best if you just let me live alone on the streets."

"But everyone deserves to have somewhere to stay! Please come live with me," Caboose begged, tugging on Locus' sleeve. "Please. Please. Please."

Locus looked back at Caboose, who wore a pouty expression with his wide, blue eyes akin to those of a puppy's. The former mercenary frowned and shook his head as he came to a stop and turned to face the other man. He reached out and placed both hands firmly on Caboose's shoulders, looking Caboose right in the eyes. "Look. It's not that a place to stay doesn't sound nice… it's just… I can't live with you. I tried to kill you and your friends. I don't deserve your charity," Locus said gently. "Please… just let me be. I'll figure things out on my own."

Caboose's face donned a sad expression as he looked down at his own feet. Locus felt bad for letting the poor guy down, but he could not risk the others find out about him being here. Nor could he accept Caboose's kindness. Not after everything he had done.

"Locus," Caboose spoke, looking back up at the former mercenary with the same sad expression, "are you sure you don't want to live with me? I promise I won't let you go to jail just like I didn't let Wash go to jail."

Locus sighed and opened his mouth to reply, but his attention was caught by sight of a lone jogger approaching them. It was Agent Washington for sure. Locus' heart nearly stopped and his body froze. He could not manage to make himself move. Running away would be futile. Hawaii was small and he doubted Wash would give up on looking for in if he managed to slip away. This was it. He had let his guard down for a moment and now he was going to be sent to prison. So much for them never seeing him again.

"Caboose, who is this," Wash asked as he slowed to a stop beside his teammate.

"Oh, this is Locus, Wash," Caboose answered as he glanced at the former freelancer beside him.

"What," Wash gasped, instinctively grabbing Caboose by his sweatshirt and yanking him away from Locus. "What are you doing here? What are you doing with Caboose?"

"He was sleeping on the park bench when I found him," Caboose answered for Locus, who was still speechless anyway. "Yeah, he's homeless, so I offered to let him live with me."

"Caboose, you can't be serious! This is the guy who tried killing me- killing all of us multiple times," Wash said with a high, shrill voice.

"So, you tried killing us too," Caboose protested, his full attention on Wash now.

"Caboose, this is different," Wash said with a hurt tone, motioning desperately at the former Mercenary with one hand and yanking Caboose further away from Locus. "It's one thing to adopt a Mantis, but you can't bring this guy home."

"You don't have to worry, Washington… I turned him down," Locus finally spoke up.

"If you think for a second that you're off the hook, then you are sorely mistaken," Wash barked, pointing a finger accusatively at Locus. "Don't think that anyone has forgotten the horrible things you've done. Don't think that we've forgotten all the people you killed."

Locus looked down toward his feet as he was reminded of the vivid images still filling his thoughts. He knew better than anyone how horrible he was. He knew better than Wash did. He belonged in prison.

"Wash, don't yell at him," Caboose protested with a stomp of his foot. "He is sad and homeless and I want to help him!"

"Caboose, do you even realize what you're saying," Wash replied, an urgency in his tone. "This guy is a monster. Do you think that he even regrets killing so many innocent people? He didn't even have the decency to turn himself in!"

"You're wrong," Locus said with a meek voice, finally looking up from his feet. "I regret everything. Not a day goes by that I don't live in constant regret. I know what I am, Agent Washington, and I want nothing more than to try and help people… Things just haven't panned out that way."

"If you think that you'll suddenly be forgiven then you are insane," Wash retorted. He opened his mouth to say more, but Caboose cut him off.

"Wash, he's trying to be better like you," Caboose pleaded. "Can we give him a chance? Please? Can I keep him?"

Wash looked at Caboose, who pouted at him the same way he had with Locus earlier, then he gave Locus a very weary look. "Fine, but I doubt you can convince the others to let him stay," the ex-freelance growled. "But one slip up and I'll see to it he's on the next ship to the highest security prison there is."

Caboose grinned and practically tackled Locus in a tight embrace before he could even open his mouth. Caboose gave Locus a tight squeeze and said, "See? I got Wash to agree! Will you stay with me now?"

Locus was nothing short of stunned by the whole event. He stared down at the body holding him before looking up at Wash and seeing the narrow glare he wore. "Do I even have a choice?"