Chapter 6
They've been on Pandora for not even 10 minutes and Zane is already sweating. The wind blows sand into his face and he coughs. He presses on the accelerator, eager to fight. He needs a distraction.
Of course it's Ellie. She's a lovely woman. Much younger than Zane. It makes sense. He should be happy for them. But it still hurt.
Fl4k sits in the back of the truck with their pack. Zane feels their gaze every once in a while but he does his best to ignore them. Even Mr. Chew sticking his head out the side, tongue flying in the wind doesn't bring a smile to his face.
He also hasn't spoken since they landed. Fl4k must have taken notice of his odd behavior, judging by their short responses about mission details.
Zane engages the vehicles thrusters, startling the hunter.
"Is everything alright?" They ask, speaking loudly over the noise.
He hits the breaks as they approach the bandit camp.
"Just peachy," he hops out and picks up his new assault rifle. "Let's go kill some bad guys."
Before the hunter can respond, Zane starts heading for the main camp gate.
It feels good to pull the trigger and Zane is unusually aggressive. He's quick to reload, the smell of gunpowder burning in his nose. He laughs at the bandits' screaming and fights more with his body, groaning loudly when he punches a bandit.
The battle field is chaos. Zane's STNTL zooms around dropping grenades and shooting enemies. Mr. Chew is happily chasing bandits and Broodless is burning people with her acid. But he doesn't pay attention to them, just happy to take out his frustrations. He rushes farther into the camp, the hunter somewhere behind him. Something in his mind tells him not to get so far ahead, but he brushes it off, laughing as he lets off another spray of bullets.
Someone pushes a barrel at him and he dodges, turning to face it. Fire engulfs the barrel, ruining the red paint. Zane freezes, his eyes locked on the flames. His throat is closing, panic rising inside him. He tries to breathe, his heart pounding.
A shadow over him pulls him back to the battlefield. He turns to see a psycho jumping at him from a nearby roof. He reaches to activate his digi-clone but the psycho is too close. They crash into him and he falls back, hard. He punches them, trying to get free. The psycho screams, a pain shooting through Zane's shoulder. Mr. Chew drags the psycho away by the neck.
Sitting up, Zane looks at himself. Damn, the psycho stabbed him in the shoulder. He wraps his fingers around the knife and grunts as he pulls it out with a chok. The area is quiet now, meaning there are no bandits left to kill. He hears Fl4k's footsteps approaching behind him and quickly tosses the knife away.
Mr. Chew steps back from the psycho he pulled off of Zane. They groan in pain. Fl4k doesn't hesitate, a shot from their sniper ringing out.
Zane stands, brushing himself off.
"What were you thinking?" Fl4k's deep voice is short. They're angry. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
He just shrugs. "We did it, didn't we?"
The hunter frowns but nods. They turn and start checking for any stray bandits or valuable loot, their pack following.
Zane takes a second to look at his wound without being seen. He winces as he pulls his jacket away from his left shoulder. There's a fair amount of blood on his shirt and the fabric sticks but overall it doesn't look too deep. Nothing he can't deal with.
They head back to the vehicle and Zane is relieved when Fl4k offers to drive them back to the travel station. He sits in the back, Broodless next to him. He softly strokes her and she clicks.
When they get back to Sanctuary, Moze and Amara are sitting in the common area, coffee cups in hand.
Moze raises her eyebrows at the two, "everything ok?" Amara must sense the tension and whispers to let him be.
Zane smiles apologetically and goes to his room. Once the door is closed, he starts to get undressed, leaving his clothes and gear scattered across the floor.
He sighs under the cold water, watching it turn pink as it washes away the blood on his shoulder. The wound stings, reminding him of his recklessness. Finally turning off the water, he dries off and wraps the towel around his waist.
Walking back into his room, his heart skips. Fl4k is leaning against his workbench.
Zane runs his hand through his wet hair, "what happened to knocking?"
The hunter grunts, eye flickering as they look him over. Zane's heart is racing, suddenly aware of all his scars.
"I knew you were injured," they frown. "My pets could scent it as well."
Zane's eyes narrow, "Was it Meat Thief? Did he snitch on me? I bet it was him."
They grunt in frustration, clearly not in the mood for a joke.
"It's fine, beastie," he tries to sound casual but blood is already starting to drip down his arm. "I'm just about to take care of it."
Fl4k frowns, unconvinced. They take a step towards Zane but he matches with a step back.
"It's fine. If it's that serious, I can always go see Tanis in her lab," he just wants to be left alone.
"Please let me look at it," they say. They are sincere and concerned. Zane's heart burns.
"Alright, beastie, alright," he runs his fingers through his hair again. "Just turn around so I can put some clothes on."
They oblige, turning away from him. He goes to his dresser and puts on a pair of boxer briefs and a pair of soft sweats. He takes a deep breath before clearing his throat.
The hunter turns around, surveying him again.
"Where do you keep your medical kits?"
Instead of answering, Zane collects one from under the bathroom sink. He extends his hand to the hunter but, rather than take it, they wrap their hands around his waist and pick him up. He yelps, his free hand grabbing their shoulder for support. They gently set him on his workbench and take the kit from his hand. They open it and examine the contents. From his place on the bench, Zane is almost as tall as the hunter… almost. He only has to look up slightly. His heart is still pounding and his ears burn but, in an attempt to seem fine, he smirks at them.
He winces at the warm touch near his wound. Overwhelmed by everything; the revelation earlier, the fact that he's sitting there, shirtless, injured, and exhausted, just wanting to rest.
"You weren't yourself," they say flatly, setting to work cleaning the wound. "You must be more careful."
Zane's lips curve into a smile. "So you do care about me. I knew - Ow!"
Fl4k starts to stitch the injury closed, seemingly amused for interrupting him. Yet He frowns and watches them silently. He's upset, knowing that nothing will happen. That they have their eye on someone else. But here they were, stitching his wound. It may not be what Zane wants, but he'll take it.
It doesn't take long for the hunter to finish stitching. They carefully place a bandage over it.
"Thanks," Zane jumps down immediately. "I feel better already. You can go now." He faces his dresser and searches for a shirt, unable to look Fl4k in the eye. The hunter hesitates for a moment but turns and goes.
Zane exhales, collapsing onto his bed. He stares at the ceiling, eventually falling asleep.