(Disclaimer: All gundam characters are property of their creator, any interwoven plotline and unknown characters are similar based on my own muse and creation. From this point on, to avoid confusion, Trowa will also be refered ti as Triton.)
\4/
4:30 A.M. Again, the annoying sound of a buzzing alarm clock filled the quite house. And again, the annoying little machine was saved by its short cord and the side table it was propped up on so the plug in was hard to tear from the wall. Otherwise, it'd be quickly thrown into the nearest wall with relief. But it was not to happen and Zoe knew it, dragging herself from her own bed and trying to wake herself. A stretch pulled through her entire body, nearly dropping her back to the bed at the feel of her loosened muscles, a splendid, lazy feeling indeed.
"This should be illegal," was all she ever mentioned, running an absent hand up and through her braids, pushing them back. With one eye open and the other working on it, she left the light off as she fiddled with the shower handles, letting the water run to warm itself before she jumped in. Why should she be up? The overrated sun wouldn't be dragging its own lazy face over the horizon for another few hours! 'Still,' she thought, snatching a can of soda, from the fridge for her "breakfast". 'I'm the one that told Toni I'd cover for her today. She asked me, just like everyone else, because they know I need the money and they know I'll say yes.'
It was her own habit, knowing that unless she were strapped to her own death bed that she'd be in to help any that needed it, covering shifts for hours and cash she could never seem to earn enough of to put them comfortably ahead for long. Everyone knew she was a "Jill of all Trades" and had her well earned time in most every position the hotel and restaurant offered, and could fill in on any part. But for all her work, between school and 40 hours a week and life, both Andi and Zoe never really seemed to be able to move out of their little rut in life.
"Just a double shift today," was all she could tell herself, stepping into the rainfall of hot water over herself, listening to the radio in the other room blasting a dance mix CD she used to help get herself going at times like these, "and then I've got tomorrow night off."
It didn't help that the restaurant opened to its sleepy guests at 7 every morning, meaning someone was always there at 6 to get everything set and ready behind the scenes for the day. Then it finally closed its doors at 10 PM every night, treating any who wanted to linger after their meals even after hours. At least for her senior year, she was able to schedule her days easier, taking all her classes in the first half of the day to leave her the rest of the day to work out in the real world, but still give her all the hours of credit she'd need to graduate. As long as she didn't flunk anything, that was.
The soft flurries weren't seen by her tired eyes outside the frosted over windows, and the music drowned out the ring of alarm sirens from the military base stationed a few miles beyond her rented house that already stood on the outskirts of town.
The biting cold wasn't nearly as noticeable as long as he kept moving, his eyes losing focus off and on, pulling him more than half of the time into tunnel vision or worse. It didn't help Trowa's getaway as much as he wanted it to, throwing off his coordination and steps, but for as hard of a time as he was having making his way through the trees and brush and tall hills that had long since been cleared of their crop, he had to be sure that it was making it just as hard for his pursuers. The tossing flurries would help cover his steps as he moved from one covered hiding place to another, the darkness helping hide both his steps and his form.
Trowa's hands were preoccupied with reaching to find something to guide himself with after holstering the unloaded gun in the back of his jeans, the other holding tight to his bleeding side. That's the last thing he needed was to lose any more blood.
He'd had to stop and hide just to tie off the deep graze against his outer right calf, feeling it burn as sweat covered his features from the effort of all the movement, his ankle thankfully numb from the growing piles of snow.
'I've gotta find someplace to stop, somewhere, anywhere.' He really just wanted to fall into the snow there and rest a little, a few minutes, maybe a few hours. Even for as wonderful as the offer sounded, logic chided him from the back of his mind, the pesky little thing. 'Don't be stupid, you try that, and you'll freeze to death. It doesn't matter if you're hidden in a crop field ditch, it just means you'd be in more snow. You can't die yet, remember?'
It might have been that he was so frustrated and angry with the fact that yet again, logic beat his tired wanting, or that he really didn't want to try and stop his body since it was still moving, but whatever the reason, his forced trudging went on with more will than it had before. The thick drifts of snow really didn't crunch, but more so gave way in his path with a little bit of resistance.
'I don't even know where I'm going anymore,' slipped to the front of his mind, his thoughts bitter as the snow that soon began to lay over him, slowly freezing his heated body and trying to draw him into a deadly sleep. 'I didn't even know where I was to start off with, they were careful to keep that information and even the base name secret enough from me.'
Wind gusts started to pick up from their lazy passes, tearing through anything in their path. Trowa lowered his head a bit, wincing as he shifted his hand over the side wound, ducking into the turtle neck collar of his now ratty shirt. It put up a little resistance against the wind, his hot breath creating a small pocket of warmth for anything it touched. Still, it was short lived and not very helpful.
"I just need to... sit down for a minute," he finally said aloud, as if to speak to make the offer more sensible and persuasive. If he sat down now, he knew he wouldn't be getting back up.
It was just before he gave into the begging of his tired body that his eyes caught a glow of orange on the clouds, the only light on that side of the heavy black clouds. Light. That much light had to mean a town, civilization, or at least somewhere he could find shelter even if it was only a warehouse. It was worth a shot.
"Just gotta get there," came his exhausted coach, pushing his legs to keep moving, almost having to crawl through the drifts and up the hillside now instead of weaving between them, his direction new. His soft panting turned into deeper, labored breaths, stumbling a time or two and letting his body fall over the snow or down the hills before he'd push himself back up. It was faster and he didn't have the strength to catch or stop himself anyway, that was a given.
His thoughts lingered to what that light held, taking his mind away a bit from the task at hand. 'I don't have any money, but I'm sure I can come by food somehow. Whether I have to work for it or by–other means. Maybe it'll be Sally's camp, or it'll have a church or a shelter I can stay in. It'll be warmer than here, that's for sure... warmth. I almost forget what it feels like right now. A soft bed, that would be wonderful... maybe a long hot shower too. Some fresh clothes I could borrow or find, a heavy jacket and newer shoes would be great to come by. Oh look, I can see the street lamps already!'
Trowa fancied himself with the thoughts, amusing enough to a tired mind as the morphine was wearing off, all too well at the wrong times, he pressed on for as long as he could stay conscious.
Finishing the knot of her long bandana, she tucked it and her new braids into her hoodie, pulling her spring jacket over the other layers of clothes she'd already taken on, Zoe reached for her keys and began to head out. At least she could walk to work this time, and not sprint, even if she would rather be driving or better yet, in bed.
"Today's gonna be great!" she offered to the air and the sleeping houses quite a bit further down the street. "At least we're gonna be busy all day. Now, as long as everyone feels extra generous, I might be able to eat today!" With a shiver and a chatter of her teeth, a small laughter escaped behind them like a good inside joke that snuck up on you from time to time. She knew she was weird and unique at times, even seen as crazy and more at other times. That's what made life more bearable, at least for her, and to be in her profession, it had to be obvious that one was crazy to survive the unwritten and uncharted demands of everyone that would come to cross their paths.
'A half hour to get there, get warmed up, and clock in–,' but something more caught her eyes, a flash of an off white cloth, moving but not as naturally as the wind would blow something. Then she heard the footsteps that followed with it, pushing on tiredly before the paranoid young woman began to put two and two together. Someone was coming in her direction, someone who had been walking down the long empty road for who knows how long. Who would be out walking frm the middle of nowhere in nothing but a torn shirt and tattered white jeans at 5:30 in the morning? No one of their own free will, at least.
It was against her better judgement that Zoe turned, making her way back down the road to her rented house and past it to the figure. It was hard to make out the face, but a young man, near ghost white and covered in snow by what she actually could tell.
"Hey, sir! Do you need some help? Did your car break down or something?" A quick trot was picked up his way, still hesitant to keep her distance though to this stranger.
Trowa wasn't sure if it was his imagination or more as he peeked up with clouded eyes at the town that was closer than it had been a while ago when he'd last looked. Was he right? Was that a voice, a real voice? It took a minute before he spotted them, his mind a little slow in response. Again, adrenaline came to him and set him on edge, hesitant before he realized what the young woman was getting at, their small trust in each other mutual but not much. "What?"
Zoe squinted a little into the darkness, trying to make out the dark patches on him to confirm that it was blood, as she decided on it and stripped off her outer jacket. "Holy crap, what happened to you? You look like you've been in an accident. Hey, c'mon, my house is right here, you're freezing to death out here."
Even if his mind told him to be skeptical, he honestly didn't give a damn at that point, letting her lay the heated jacket over his shoulders, even if it was kinda small, it blocked the wind and after a few moments, warmed his numb body. House, heat, rest. Trowa gave in, it was all he could do, not ever really answering the girl about his age and instead, made a weak nod before he followed with shaking steps. 'Almost there. I can finally stop and rest soon.'
Zoe wasn't quite sure what to do, for a moment or two before she put a hand to his arm, her other to his back, helping lead him up to the house at his own pace. The guy looked like he could already pass for dead if his eyes didn't shift from time to time at something new as if it snuck up on him, his breathing heavy like he'd come a long ways. "Look, we'll get you inside and help you warm up and all, but you've gotta stay awake for me, all right?" That was just common sense, but her words were loud and coaxing as if she were talking to a child, as it seemed that was how he'd respond to them.
Hesitating at the door to fumble around for her keys, she quickly opened the door and pushed it aside, supporting him at the small step up and into the household from the walkway, turning on the hall light and kicking the door closed behind her. 'At least I've got an excuse to be late today,' she thought half heartedly, grinning a little to herself. She'd like to see how they tried to give her a point for something like this, or rather, how she argued herself out of it.
She took the jacket from his shoulders, brushing the snow off of him before it melted and soaked into his clothes. Then again, with slow steps, she lead him to the couch, taking up the old blanket from over the back of it and wrapped it around him. "Just hang on a minute and I'll go get a few more before you sit down, okay?"
Trowa kept his eyes down, not wanting to really even respond to her, tugging the warm blanket closer as the heat from the house made him drowsy, comforting his sore, icy frame. He didn't know how much longer he could really keep his legs locked in place, but that didn't matter right now. He didn't have to move. He could hide away from that snow, that wind, that ugly night; hide himself away from those that wanted to take his life and from that condemned base. For now, he was safe with a strange young woman he didn't know, in a place he didn't know. And they didn't know him, was the best part. For now, he could rest.
The weight of a second, then a third thick blanket all but collapsed him to the ground, again the hazy feel of guiding hands helping him onto worn out cushions of the girl's couch. His weary legs folded out haphazardly in front of him, his screaming muscles giving away to strong pulses of pain with the return of feeling instead. In exhaustion, Trowa finally closed his eyes, not paying any mind to the young woman's earlier warnings. He just needed a little rest, then he'd get out of her way. Just a little.
Zoe searched quickly for her cell phone in her apron pockets, rummaging through pens and change and old tickets to find it. Turning it on, she glanced sidelong at the young man, pretty sure that when he was healthy, he was easy on the eyes. Well, hopefully when he did get healthy. "Sir, open your eyes. You've gotta stay awake for me for right now, okay?" Reaching out, she cupped his frozen cheek, trying to call his attention to something more and wake him a bit, again, speaking loudly.
The numb touch was odd and it did startle Trowa's mind a little, his curiosity getting the better of him and his eyelids fluttered a minute before they opened. He found that the touch was that of her hand, her fingertips a little cooler from having been outside, but they were still warmer than him. There was the scent of violets, it had to be a lotion or spray of some kind, his mind slow to pick up on his surroundings. She was talking again, to him? He hadn't really paid much attention. Looking up, a hard squint was given before he found the cell phone in her hands, her fingers moving over the keypad. "Who..?"
"It's okay," Zoe offered a smile, shifting the blanket a bit closer around him, still trying to keep his attention so he'd stay conscious. "I'm getting you help. I'm calling for an ambulance and you'll get all the care you need at the hospital."
At first, he let it go as nothing before realization began to panic in the back of his mind. Even for as far as he'd had to come, this was the closest place to that base, there were bound to be military forces all around here. Ambulance, no, the hospital was completely out of the question! Word got around too easily and for everyone that came through and went through them, he'd be thrown back in square one, if they let him live that long when they found him!
"No!" The yell wasn't very loud but it was frantic, his voice scratchy and hoarse from the cold air.
Zoe eyed the injured young man, confused and thrown from her train of thought before she even sent the call, not sure that they were both on the same idea. "Excuse me? Look, it's okay, I just want to help you," she tried again, trying to somehow straighten it in his mind. He must be delirious.
This time, with a new energy he pulled on, he snatched out for the phone, dropping the blankets from his hands. His movements were too slow and as he reached out further to try and catch it when she jumped back, he was left crumbled on his knees on the carpet, hissing at the instant drop of weight onto his injuries. She couldn't call them! "Just put it down, don't call."
The plead was pitiful, leaving a small silence between the two for a split second or more, but it seemed like much longer. What was this guy afraid of, Zoe had to wonder. What happened to him that left him like this, but he didn't want any certified help for? Either way, whether he was in trouble or mentally unstable, she had to make the decision that was right for him even if he was against it. "Look, I promise it's–..."
And now Trowa had no choice, reaching to pull the cold gun from under his shirt, the aim hazy but it wouldn't matter. He had to scare her, bluff his way out of this. He had no way around this if she wasn't going to give in any other way.
"I said no." The words were torture on his throat, causing the breaths that rose past them to burn the raw flesh.
Zoe stopped her movements, eyes widened as she swallowed hard, all her attention on the shining weapon. She'd never been held at gunpoint before. "Okay, I'll drop it. Just– don't do anything rash, please?" She gave a small squeeze as the phone snapped shut on itself before she dropped it to the carpet, even giving it a small kick off to her new captor. Why hadn't she just gone to work instead?! "I was just trying to help. I don't know a ton about this stuff, but you're gonna bleed to death if you don't get to a doctor, sir."
Resting back a bit against the couch, he searched numbly for the phone, taking it and shutting it off before managing to slip it into his jean pocket before he lowered the gun back to his lap, but kept it in view to keep her at bay. "I go, and I will be dead."
Startled a bit, Zoe was hesitant but stood where she was, watching the man in her home. It wasn't how she envisioned being held prisoner would be like. The look on his face made her almost sure he wouldn't have shot her, but his beliefs were way off from anything she'd come across before. So instead, she was quiet, crossing her arms in front of her chest and glancing side long at the clock with a wince. She would have to be sprinting out the door right now to make it to work on time, and it wasn't like she could really call in sick. Right now, she really couldn't call anyone! Still, it was odd how he held the gun tiredly, more interested at tugging the blankets back around him than threatening her. If he tried to fall asleep again, she could probably overpower him to get the gun away, at least.
"Why?" She broke the silence, curiosity killed the cat but she'd had pretty good luck with it so far, maybe she'd cheat fate one more time. Zoe never expected an answer.
Now forced to keep his eyes open, focusing on taking in his environment, he held weakly to the blankets over him, relishing the heat. "There's too many of "them" here."
"Them?" Confusion came easy to Zoe, and even more when she was intent on knowing something that no one would give her a straight answer for. "Are you in trouble with a gang, or the law, or someone else around? Hey, I was just trying to be a good person and help out someone in need before I went to work, that's all I wanted to do today. And my roommate and her boyfriend are going to be coming by sometime today, so they're gonna know something's up if they call and I don't answer and I'm not at work, and then you'll have more than them and an ambulance to worry about."
'Damn it all,' were his meager thoughts, a soft growl coming to his lips and ending in a whine. That meant he'd have to get up and move again, find somewhere else to hide himself. Who was he kidding, he couldn't even stay standing now that he'd sat down. 'I can't risk it if she's telling the truth, or even if she's lying. But I can't even get my body under control, and I won't even be conscious if I don't get this blood flow stanched. What am I going to do now? What can I do?'
His refusal to answer her gave Zoe a little more confidence, but she wasn't so sure she wanted to be upset with him all that much as she watched him grip at a hidden injury, listening to his small calls of pain. "Look, I'm just gonna sit down since we're in MY house that I work VERY hard to rent out, okay?"
Again, a small nod was her only answer, Zoe watching the young man struggle to keep his eyes open, the small color that was tainting his face was fading away again into a sickly pale color. She felt sorry for him, even behind all her apprehension and her fear and indignation. "Soldiers are out looking for you, aren't they?" she guessed, reaching out for any other reason she might have to get rid of the unwanted silence. His quick glance her way told her she was right, even if he yet again, refused to answer. "That must have been why the radio show was talking about it and the sirens going off. I'm not even gonna ask what you did."
Was he that obvious? Maybe, he couldn't tell right now. With a hard gulp, he tried to focus enough to see the clock on the wall, but he couldn't really even make out the large numbers or even see where the hands were pointing to on it. "I just... need a little rest, then I'll leave."
"You'll die first," came the observation, seeing as how he wasn't too happy about putting his hand on the gun or even the trigger right now, so it wouldn't be as easy to push him to it as long as it was just the two of them. "You know it too. Look, I'm not gonna call them, or give you off to them. Can I at least try and help you?"
Death, even his as a complete stranger, was not something she wanted on her hands, regardless of who he was. It was obvious he wasn't a world renowned dictator and mass torturer, and he didn't look like the devil, so he couldn't be terrible. Sure, it was all a guess on what she'd seen so far, but usually she was pretty good at games like this, at reading people and finding their limits and personalities in a short time on instant meetings. The stakes were a little higher now, but the game was the same.
"You swear?" Did it really matter? He couldn't stop her anyway if she lied.
"I swear," she offered up, standing again slowly. He didn't pay her any mind yet again, letting the blankets fall away from his shoulders.
He knew he'd regret it later, but a hard squeeze, or as much of a one as he could manage, was given to his side wound to force his body into another adrenaline rush, waking him a bit more as he choked back the growl he wanted to let go of. He could feel another pulse of blood run over his fingers and down his side, leaving him light headed again and nearly blacked out.
Zoe leaned down beside her "new guest", offering help up and having to more so pull him to his feet. A wince was all she gave as she heard the gun thud into a new resting place on the floor, hoping he didn't notice before she half carried him down the hall and into the bathroom.
A flip of the switch sparked a groan from him, the light brighter and making him look that much more worse for it. "Wow."
'Okay, he's still frozen cold, so we gotta get him warm.' Setting out everything she noticed in her mind and putting them in order of importance, she closed the curtain and turned on the shower, letting the hot faucet stay on at full strength. Then, she rummaged through the cabinets, coming out with a first aid kit he roommate was thankfully very persistent about having and the peroxide. "We're gonna need to get that shirt off."
Her voice was only half heard as he tried to give into sleep again, clutching at the wall to help hold himself up, resting on the closed toilet seat. Shirt? He wasn't sure if he could manage that. He was glad when she offered to do it for him, but at the first movement of his wounded arm, he tensed up and gave a hoarse shout of surprise, the idea not even close to welcome anymore. "I... can't," was all he managed between breaths, gasping softly.
"Sorry!" The apology jumped from her lips almost as fast as his shout had, before concern came over her again. The shirt had to go. Taking the small pair of scissors from the kit at her side, she reached up to the end of his sleeve, speaking as she began to snip away as carefully but quickly as she could. "Well, the shirt's a rag now anyway. And it's gotta come off, so, I hope you don't mind me cutting it up!"
Trowa could have cared less if she was setting him on fire. He was quiet as he let her work, closing his eyes again but always managing to call his attention back enough to keep him responsive and to hold himself up.
"I guess you seem like you can be an okay guy," came the remark, pulling the shirt away and wincing as she reached for a hand towel, wetting it to help wash away the blood so she could see his wounds. There was bruising around his mid chest, causing her to wince in memory when she'd fractured her own ribs once. This guy may well have had his broken. She was careful, especially after his small jump and grimace as she cleaned the gash into his side. It wasn't terrible, but it'd been open for a while, obviously, wider than something left by a blade, and deep enough it ran over muscle but it just bled excessively. It would probably leave a good sized scar, but if she put a strong, constant pressure on it, it should stop bleeding to heal on its own. She didn't have anything to stitch it with and super glue worked well on smaller, thinner cuts. When she'd cleaned it as best as she could, she reached for the gauze with the antibiotic cream and the ace wrap. Pressing it tight to the wound and waiting until he stilled before she wrapped it in place, she continued. "And I'm kinda tired of just calling you "him" or "you", so I'll set an example. My name's Esperanzo, but everyone just calls me Zoe."
Trowa could feel Zoe tie off the tight wrap, not wanting to move to agitate it now, as he listened and let her examine his shoulder wound. He knew with all his movement, he'd pulled a stitch or two, the bleeding almost stopped but a bandage change would be needed anyway, slowly lowering his guard to a minimum for the time. She didn't seem like a bad person at all, maybe just a little too observant for her own good. He pondered a few moments, grateful for a distraction to keep him going as he felt his body thaw in full at last and a few shivers ran over him, but he was heating up. Heating up maybe just a little too much, the steam making it harder to breath and starting to become uncomfortable.
As if catching his silent train of thought, Trowa saw her shift and reach back, shutting the shower off and propping the door open a little to let some of the heat out, before returning to putting the new gauze over the front and back of his shoulder, taping each in place. "Triton," was all that came to his mind, the name Cathy had said to him in teasing after the his hazy past and her disappearance of her own baby brother many years before. "Triton Bloom," he lied, the words a little harder to hear through their cracks and airy whispers, his voice threatening to give out on him in his tired state.
"Triton," she tested, repeating the half slurred word back to the sluggish young man. Another one of his small nods was all she got before she sat back, daring to venture again without much thought. "I don't suppose you'd call into work for me," she sighed, only thinking about what she said after it had left her lips, as was her habit. Zoe hesitated only a moment before deciding on her next actions, taking up the scissors again and pulling lightly on the hems of his jeans, spotting the blood on them and it had to be taken care of. Sure that she only had to cut them along the seams up to the knee, she folded the cloth back and did so to the other leg before eyeing what she had to deal with. "It's different, I know I'm not really one to be talking, but I like the sound of it."
Offering a smile to his blank expression, she reached for the rag again, rinsing and wringing it out in the last of the hot water in the tub, before cleaning up the gash along his leg. It was similar to the one on his side, not nearly as deep though, and both looked like the stitched gunshot wound in his shoulder. With the bruises and his eagerness to stay hidden from everyone, it wasn't out of the question that he was a prisoner himself, and escaped. There were so many different groups and revolts and more in the ridiculous war between earth and space and everyone in between that she didn't try and dive into the subject.
When the silence became too tense and thick between the two, it was Trowa that decided to break it. "Like I said, I just needed a place to rest. When you're done," he forced out, lightly touching his throat and wincing, shivering a little before he caught her shift to close the door and grab a fresh, large towel from under the sink cupboards, offering it up to him to replace the blankets. He took it without thought or regret. "I'll leave like nothing happened."
Zoe had no choice but to laugh, standing and grabbing into the small cabinet they'd hung over the toilet, pulling out an ankle brace she often used for herself. Her legs and wrists always took a good beating in her job as a server. "Man, you're either crazy, trying to be funny, or both! You're gonna walk out: without a shirt, half sick, ready to pass out, and into a snowing day that's only supposed to get as warm as 12 degrees. Besides that, I've got to clean the blood out of the carpet and couch, and just toss out the first blanket I gave you, not including cleaning the blood out of my jacket, taking care of this mess, and trying to explain to my manager why I'm still not there right now? I'm supposed to forget," she continued, still getting a good laugh out of the irony of everything, "that you also stole my phone and pulled a gun on me. For your sake, I really hope you're on drugs to be saying something like that."
Gritting his teeth against the feel of the tightening straps, he could tell the difference now that his ankle was immobilized and kept his eyes down, taking everything in. As ridiculous as she was being about it, she was right. But he couldn't ask her to understand it, and it was for her own safety that she didn't. He never had the intention to really barge into a life like this. In a feeble movement, he tugged the heavy towel a bit closer, fumbling for a moment before weakly raising a tired hand to her, offering up her phone. "Here," he managed with the last of his voice, trying to mentally wake himself and take control again, he'd have to leave and do so now.
Eyeing him a minute, Zoe slowly reached for the phone as if it were a joke, still skeptical. "I'm confused. You wanna explain this to me, Triton?"
"Triton" eased himself back against the nearest wall, using it as support while he waited for the room to stop spinning, his adrenaline crash hitting him like a ten ton brick after all the rushes he forced his body through. "Go to work," he whispered, again cradling his throat lightly. "Go on with life, I'll leave."
He couldn't be serious, Zoe was pretty sure, or at least she almost hoped not. It's not like she'd intended for a detour like this, even if it was a little more welcome than work right now. Of course she needed the extra money to help out, but money was material, and she did just keep Triton from death. She could just imagine listening to the news on her break between shifts, hearing about someone finding a gun shot victim laying in some snowbank, collapsed of hypothermia and died of blood loss. Life, even the most pathetic, had more value than that to her. Not really sure what to do from that point, Zoe slipped out into the hall, closing the bathroom door behind her and ignoring the few chirps from her friend's birds. She was surprised they weren't up earlier.
Triton listened to the steps fade off down the hall, paying no attention to which direction they went, just resting where he was. It didn't matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get motivated to move. For the time, he gave up, letting his mind drift elsewhere. By now, the other four should already be in space. The others probably all thought he was dead too. He should be. It might have been easier if he was. If he could just live long enough to get there, maybe he could finally get back to the circus and stay with them, not just having to hide away anymore between missions. Somewhere he could stay, somewhere he might call home. That was the freedom of being "dead", the military hounds that trailed them for so long finally just brush past them and leave them be. Yeah, that sounded nice.
With reluctance, he forced his eyes open, listening partially to Zoe as she held the phone up to her ear with her shoulder, the young woman closing the door behind her again and holding up a baggy, blank t-shirt. Was that supposed to replace his shirt? Well, at least it was dry, and whole, even if it wouldn't be any more help against the cold than his other shirt. At least it was something.
"Hey, Maggie, it's Zoe. Sorry to leave you guys high and dry this morning," she spoke, coming to her decision as she bunched up the shirt, helping Triton put his arms into it so he wouldn't have to do much with his healing shoulder. "But Andrea came home late last night, and she's been really sick all this morning. I've been so busy trying to take care of her that I forgot to call."
It took a moment for the clues to sink in as he kept quiet, struggling a minute to get the shirt over his head but sunk into it quickly, it obviously having been thrown into the dryer before she brought it to him. Triton was still trying to figure out what she was talking about. It was just him and Zoe right now, so why was she lying and stalling time?
"Yep... mhmph, I finally got her to lay down... no, she doesn't work tonight but I do. Will should be out of school by then to come watch her... Yeah, I'm sorry, but you guys should be fine until the rest of the lunch shift gets there. I should be in tonight, could you tell the managers for me? Thanks a lot, Maggie, you're a big help. Bye!"
The conversation was short lived as Zoe slipped the phone back into her apron pocket, eyeing Triton's skeptical face. "Look, I can't do anything else about those pants except make them into shorts for you, or try and sew them back up and try and patch the holes if you want, but when Will gets here, I'll see if he's got some extra clothes you can borrow. I "stole" a few of my older brother's shirts, and he was huge and then a "macho man" on top of everything, so it should work, even if it could almost be a dress."
A small chuckle passed between the two from the woman's lips, waiting on his reactions.
Triton was a little surprised, but still uncertain of her and her intentions. For what she'd just ranted on about earlier, it was a bit odd that she was calling off of work now. Could he trust her? "Why?" A few coughs left his lips with another grimace, followed by a few sniffles but he still didn't stand or move. If he followed what she said, there would still be company and leave him at a disadvantage, but the way she said it, there wouldn't even be the thought of a threat.
Zoe didn't waste any time before she turned back to the medicine cabinet, sliding the mirrored door open and reaching for the cold medicine. It probably wouldn't be enough, for as long as it looked like that he'd spent outside, but it would help a little. It was a start. "Well," she started, reading the directions before pouring out the thick, red liquid. "You said if I left, you'd leave, and we both know that's not the smartest, and nearly the stupidest thing you could do right now. I didn't just patch all that up for nothing, did I? That means if I stay, I can make you stay, until you're well enough to leave, or at least go somewhere that you can be well. I mean, I'm confusing even to myself a lot of the time," she called, the words followed by a smirk and offering out the medicine to the mystery man in front of her. "But I thought I was being pretty straight forward, Triton. Take this, it'll help with your pneumonia wanna be, or whatever it really is, and then since I'm awake now, I guess I can go clean up and you can use my bed, and you should probably eat something after taking this."
Her steps had been watched carefully enough, Triton catching sight of the bottle and for lack of wanting to argue, he took it and downed it as best as he could. The bitter taste took him by surprise and made him cringe a little, but he said nothing to her chiding, feeling the thick liquid coat his sore throat and ease it. The whole ordeal really was too good to be true, and probably a trick, a warm meal, fresher clothes, shelter, and a warm bed. He had an all too overwhelming shot of thinking it was a trick. But it was at this point as he took her help up, again using Zoe for support, that he really didn't care. His stubbornness had finally run out and one look at that bed and he could happily sign his soul over to the devil that same moment.
Zoe kept her thoughts to herself, helping him to the bed and trying not to fall over into it with him before covering him, watching in more amusement as Triton seemed to be asleep nearly as soon as he hit the pillows. Pretty sure, or at least hoping that he was warmed enough before letting him sleep, Zoe wandered back down the hall and turned the thermostat up. She'd have to wake him in a few hours to make sure, and he may as well get a bit of breakfast if he had to be awake.
"Andi's gonna kill me," came the slow realization, reaching into the closet and pulling out work rags and cleaning spray, putting her apron on the kitchen table before heading to the living room. "She knows I can't turn down strays, and I can't have a puppy," came the whine to herself, rolling up her sleeves before beginning to scrub at the blood blotches like mad. Then, another funny little thought came to her mind as she put the gun carefully on the bookshelf, she'd get rid of it later. "They only said puppy, and even if he is puppy-like, it still doesn't make him a puppy. Besides, they just said I couldn't keep it, they didn't say I couldn't let him stay just long enough to rest." A giddy grin overtook her at the odd events, a bit adventurous as they were compared to the mundane, routine life the girls lived. Zoe often wished her life were more like the books she read, just to mix things up. "Rest up, Triton Bloom, our temporary, new little puppy-boy."