A/N: yeah, this chapter was a little weak. Lots of fluffy ships n' shit.
Your name is Dirk Strider and you feel like absolute shit.
Your arms hurt, your legs hurt, everything hurts. A deep intense throbbing emanates from two places on your being; your head and your torso. You attempt to pry your eyes open, only to be rewarded with a blinding stab of pain through your head. An involuntary groan escapes your mouth.
You've gotten hurt before. You've woken up in pain before.
It was never this bad.
Your right hand is warm, a slight pressure weighing down on it. You hear snoring nearby, deep and throaty. Someone whimpers slightly. A monotone beeping noise echoes in the background.
You attempt to open your eyes again, ignoring the daggers of pain that have decreased a bit now, and take in your surroundings.
Grey is the first thing you register. White walls, white sheets, white everything, dimmed to grey due to the lack of light. Second thing you register is that you are in a hospital room. Third thing you register is the large ass oxygen mask covering your mouth, pumping a slight breeze over your nose and mouth. Fourth thing you register, is that there are actual fucking people in here with you.
You look towards the window where a cushioned bench is located. Sprawled out on the bench is an unfamiliar boy, with pitch black hair and tanned skin. His glasses balance precariously on his nose, in danger of falling off. Large snores are being emitted by his gaping mouth.
On a small cot that lies next to your bed lie two people. One you recognize as your brother. Dave's glasses are off, and the bags under his eyes are puffy with a reddish tint; evidence that he cried before he fell asleep. He's in the arms of a tall girl, just a couple of inches shorter than him, her arms around his shoulders, and his arms around her waist, his head resting on her stomach. She's wearing jeans and a tank top, her thick hair braided down her back, reaching almost to her waist. Her small nose twitches, and suddenly, you're struck by how similar she looks to someone else that you happened to know.
Jane
Your eyes travel down your arm, taking note of the multiple IVs stabbed in in various places, and the variety of bandages placed on your multiple cuts. Resting on your hand is Jane's face, turned so that she's facing you. She's sitting in a chair next to your bed, bent over in a very uncomfortable position that was probably going to hurt like hell when she woke up. Her unruly curls are sticking out all over the place, and her face is tear blotched. Long dark eyelashes tickle her cheeks, making her look far younger than she actually is.
You grin slightly, ignoring the throbbing sensation that's emanating through your being. You lift up your hand, and run it through Jane's curls slowly, marveling at how fluffy and soft they feel. Sudden fatigue overcomes you, and you feel your eyes drooping. A quick glance at the glowing clock tells you that it's around eleven o'clock at night.
Before you know it, you've dropped off into a deep sleep.
You don't dream.
====== Days in the past, but not many
Your name is Jane Crocker, and you feel sick to your stomach.
There's blood, so much blood. It's coating your arms, soaking through your dress, ruining it, but you hardly acknowledge this fact. Your focus is directed solely on the unconscious boy in your arms. There's too much blood on him, far too much. It's drenching his shirt, turning it a sickening color, and dripping onto the concrete below him. Claws of raw panic seize your heart as his breathing becomes shallower and shallower. The broken end of the Katana lies a few feet from where you're kneeling. You ache all over, your back throbbing where the wall that you were cowering against scraped you. Damn those glass shards sticking out of the bricks. What type of sick fuck even puts glass shards in the cracks between bricks?
You hear the slapping of footsteps on pavement, followed by loud curses.
"Fuck, is that all blood?!"
"Nooo Karkles, its paint as you can obviously tell,"
"Shut the fuck up Terezi, we don't need your sarcasm right now,"
Your heart pounds in your ears as you pull Dirk's shirt away from the wound. When it snaps back into place, you tug it in frustration, successfully ripping a long tear in it. You pull it off him entirely, the cotton cloth easily tearing in its heavily saturated state. If you weren't so seized by panic, you would have blushed and stopped to admire his toned muscles.
You bunch up the shirt, and push it down slightly around the sword hilt, staunching the flow. Pulling it out of him was a bad idea, anyone with an ounce of sense could see that it would only cause him to bleed out faster. The press down on the shirt, trying to stop the horrible red liquid from flowing.
The footsteps come closer, and you turn around to see two police officers standing there. The female has brown hair and red glasses. The male is a few inches taller than her, with pale skin, dark hair, and dark circles under his strangely colored red eyes. They're both staring at you, looks of concern etched into their faces. The man looks panicked, and is gesturing wildly to the female.
"Terezi, I don't think the paramedics will get here in time. It's better if we get him out of the alleyway," he says, pointing to Dirk.
"I smell a lot of red Karkles, so perhaps that is the best idea," the female replies, nodding her head. They both approach you.
"Okay, I need you to keep pressing down on the wound with one hand. Slip your other hand underneath his back. We're gonna carry him over to the police car," the red-eyed man says to you. You nod, still a bit shell shocked. The girl whom he called Terezi stations herself near Dirk's head, gently picking up his shoulders and balancing his neck. His breathing is shallow, almost nonexistent. The male officer, whom you learn is named Karkat, picks up his legs. Very slowly, the three of you lift Dirk, and bring him towards the police car. He groans once, but otherwise remains painfully limp.
Your heart is still hammering in your ears when you reach the police car. Quick as a flash, Karkat pulls out a small makeshift collapsible cot from the trunk of the vehicle. He puts it down on the ground with one arm still supporting Dirk, and gestures to lay him on the cot. You put him down, your arms quivering.
Karkat picks up his radio, and starts yelling.
"YOU ASSHOLES BETTER GET HERE QUICK OR I'M FLAYING EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU ALIVE!"
A calmer female voice answers, saying something you cannot properly make out. Karkat sighs.
"Fine, but Kanaya, get here as fast as you can. There's someone injured at this one, and from what I've seen, he looks bad. Shitty ass sword stabbed right through the torso, all the way back," he pauses a minute, listening to the female voice, then continues, " Yes Kanaya, as odd as it seems, I did say sword,"
You hear a few more incomprehensible words, before Karkat puts away his radio. Terezi is by your side, helping you staunch the bleeding. She looks straight at you, and you flinch when you see her milky white eyes behind her red tinted glasses.
"Are you hurt in any way?" she asks, her voice slightly gritty and subdued. You shake your head. Everything on you aches, but you're too full of adrenaline to care. Terezi looks down at Dirk, and slowly pushes you aside, forcing pressure on the wound and allowing you to take a break.
You hear multiple footsteps running towards you. You stand, and look to your side only to find your brother and his friends running up towards the crime scene. You hear the ambulance sirens in the distance, and so do they. They stop, surveying the scene. Suddenly, your brother catches sight of you, and the copious amounts of blood and muck sticking to your person. His eyes widen almost comically as he rushes forward towards you.
"Oh my god Jane, is this all your blood!?" he asks, panic imminent in his voice. You shake your head, and look over at Dirk. Dave is kneeling in front of him along with Jade, his shades off. You can see tears slipping down his face, and this possibly alarms you more than the fact that Dirk is bleeding his guts out on the pavement. You knew that he and his brother maintained almost unbreakable facades. If Dave was crying….well…..that was a sure sign that things had taken a horribly turn for the worse.
Suddenly, a nasty bout of dizziness overtakes you. You feel yourself stumble, and thankfully, John catches you. You let out a small yelp of pain as he wraps his arms around you, applying strain to your sliced back. You see him take his hand off your back, frowning when it comes away red.
"Jane, are you sure that you're not hurt? This blood seems awfully fresh,"
You feel sick, like bile is rising up in your throat. The pain in your back gets more intense, and your vision begins to tunnel. You hear John yell at someone to the side, and a pale, pretty face comes into view, with pale blonde hair, ivory skin, dark lips, and haunting purple eyes. You recognize it to be Roxy's older sister, Rose.
"Jane, can you hear me?" she says, her voice calm and cool, though her face looks strained. You nod slightly, wincing as your back throbs. The sirens are much closer now.
"Alright, we need you to tell us where exactly you're hurt,"
"my back," you manage to get out in a strained voice. She nods slightly, and you feel John gently turn you slightly so that he was hugging you against his chest. Rose was looking at your back. You look up to see your brother grimace.
"Oh my god," he whispers slightly, looking down at you. A sudden surge of pain goes through you, and the edges of your vision begin to darken.
You hear John call your name as you slump into his arms. The darkness is crowding in fast, making you dizzy and sick.
You black out.
Your name is Karkat Vantas and your life has a habit of throwing shit at you with no warning whatsoever.
Terezi sits in front of you, sniffing little scratch and sniff stickers that she placed all over her desk. She picks up the cherry one and gives it a long whiff.
"Karkles, this one smells like you!" she says in that overenthusiastic way of hers that you find both adorable and painfully annoying at the same time. You scowl.
"Exactly how do you know how I smell?"
"Like candy-red! Karkat, candy-red comes off of you in tantalizing waves! Its quite….." she leans in close to you, sniffing, making her voice gravelly and deep,"delicious,"
"TEREZI, THAT NOSE OF YOURS IS FAULTY. NOBODY CAN SMELL 'CANDY-RED'. IT'S A COLOR FOR FUCKS SAKE!
She buries her nose in your soft messy hair, and inhales deeply.
"Karkat, you used cherry shampoo. Of course you smell like candy-red,"
"TEREZI! FUCKING STOP THAT!"
"You know you love it Karkles,"
"NO I FUCKING DON'T!"
"You dooooo,"
"NO I DON'T!"
"Yes you do"
"NO I FUCKING DON'T!"
"Do,"
"DON'T!"
"Do"
"TEREZI, DO YOU FUCKING LIKE TO MAKE PEOPLE SUFFER?"
"No, you're just really easy to piss off,"
"STOP PISSING ME OFF FOR FUCKS SAKE!"
"Aww Karkat, why so…. crabby?" she asks, smirking at you. Goddamn fuckhole knew about your infatuation with crabs. You regretted telling her about it in the first place.
You groan and slump back in your seat, staring intently at the file in front of you. You feel her shift and get out of her seat, her light footsteps plodding towards you. She leans down next to you, her sightless eyes looking at you intently. You squirm a bit under her sharp gaze, and turn towards her, about to tell her off.
Except, you turn too far.
And she fucking KISSES you, right at the corner of your lips.
You simply sit there, frozen, your skin heating up. For once you're terribly glad that your Indian-European genetics make it almost impossible to detect a blush on your skin. She smirks, going back to her seat, reading the reports written in braile as if nothing had happened. You hear an amused chuckle right next to you.
"I think TZ is the only one who could thut you up that fast," Sollux lisped, looking over from his computer monitor. You snap your head to the side, glaring at him. This simply makes him grin.
Goddamn smug asshole.
You look down at your files, your attitude immedeatly turning somber. A familiar face looks up at you from the file, a manical scarred face grinning crazily at you.
Gamzee Makara, your childhood best-friend.
Over the course of the last month or so, there has been a spike in crime rates and gang fights around the city. Half of them have been between the notorious Midnight Crew, and the Felt. The other half have been caused by a single perpetrator who was later identified to be your fucking childhood friend.
You look down at the files, looking over the names of the victims that were listed, people that you knew, people that you and Gamzee used to hang out with as kids. You riffle through the case files, reading each one.
Tavros Nitram
Age: 23
Occupation:
Veterinarian; Tinkerbull Veterinary Clinic
Engaged to Ms. Vriska Serket; Owner of Mindfang Casino
Family:
Mr. Simon Nitram (father; deceased) ; Mr. Rufioh Nitram (brother); Serket (fiancé)
Place of Death:
Not specified dead
Last seen:
Behind veterinary clinic; beaten and bloody.
Items found at crime scene:
torn shirt, scraps of metal, dumpsters, copious amounts of Victim's blood.
You sigh, putting it down, quickly sweeping your eyes over the other victims. There was Aradia Megido, a good friend of yours. She was found in her house, her pretty Japanese face and curvy body covered in blood, barely breathing.
Last you knew, she was in a coma in the hospital. Sollux visited her every day, sitting by her bedside and talking to her. Even though he broke up with her years ago, his feelings never truly faded, and you can tell that seeing her in the hospital like that is breaking your friend's heart bit by bit.
A quick beeping noise snaps you out of your trance. You drop the list, not caring to read over the rest, and walk over to where Sollux is speaking into a headset.
"Emergency thurvices, how may I help you?"
You listen to the frantic voice coming out of the headset, the words undiscernable to your ears. Sollux, however, nods, his eyebrows furrowing. He quickly types something into his computer. A map pops up on the screen. He nods a couple of times before speaking into the headset.
"Okay ma'am, we'll be on our way. Thay calm,"
He clicks his headset off, turning in your direction. His face is grim, and you feel something sinking to the pit of your stomach.
"It thounds like him again," Sollux says, printing out an address marked on the map. He hands it to you, and you nod grimly. You turn to Terezi.
"Let's go," you say quietly. She nods and gathers a few items before following you to the car.
As soon as you two get in, you turn on the emergency signal.
Your car goes flying down the street towards the crime scene.
=== Days in the future, but not too many.
Your name is Jane Crocker, and your back hurts like hell.
You open your eyes and attempt to straighten up, wincing when sudden bolts of pain travel up and down your spine and back. Your bandages shift slightly, causing you to hiss in agony as they catch on your torn skin. You ignore the pain and twist your waist, trying to straighten out your sore muscles.
The room is quiet, save for the occasional snore emitted by Dirk's brother. Dave and Jade are curled up on a cot, looking disgustingly adorable. You feel a small smile pull at the edges of your lips. You look towards the window-seat where your cousin was asleep. It was vacant, save for a messed up blanket, and a crinkled pillow. You shrugged your shoulders, assuming that Jake had gone home.
You sigh, rubbing your cheek, trying to straighten out the creases that imprinted on your face from a long night of leaning over the bed. A quick check tells you that it's one in the morning, far too early to be awake. You rub your tired eyes, looking over at the figure on the bed.
Dirk's chest moves up and down steadily, putting you at ease. He had small bandages over the nicks and cuts on his face, and a large bandage around his temple. His eyes are closed, his mouth slightly open underneath the oxygen mask. His hair is messy, sticking out haphazardly. You reach up and stroke your fingers through it, enjoying the fluffy soft feel of it on your fingers. He looks younger in his sleep, more vulnerable.
Everything is quiet, calming, peaceful. Your fingers continue to rake through his hair absentmindedly.
Without realizing it, you start singing. It was an old song that your dad used to love. He told you that it was one of your mother's favorite songs, a song she used to sing to your brother when he was a baby.
If you be my star, I'll be your sky,
You can hide underneath me
And come out at night.
When I turn jet black,
And you show off your light,
I live to let you shine,
I live to let you shine.
You can skyrocket away, from me
And never come back if you
Find another galaxy,
Far from here, with more room to fly,
Just leave me your stardust to remember you by.
A mumbling voice next to you startles you. You snap open your eyes to see Dirk staring at you, his tired eyes crinkling slightly. You cover your mouth with your hand as he smiles through the mask, though, it looks more like a grimace than a pleasurable upward quirk of the lips. You feel your eyes start to water, a grin cracking across your face.
He was going to be alright. He's finally awake, and he's going to be okay.
You clasp his hand, gripping his fingers for dear life. Tears were slipping down your face freely now, as you sobbed quietly. You had almost lost him. This incredible boy that you had fallen for in an astounding five days had almost slipped through your fingers like sand.
His slightly calloused hand comes up and cups the side of your face. He brushes your cheek and the excess tears with his thumb, rubbing your cheek softly. You look up at him, your eyes slightly blurry due to tears and your godawful nearsightedness. He looks dead tired, dark circles under his eyes, and bruises lining his jaw.
"Jane," he mumbles, catching your attention, wincing slightly, "sleep next to me,"
He moves to the side, groaning a bit, careful not to disturb any of the machines that are hooked up to him. You look at him slightly incredulously.
"Dirk, I'm not sure this is a good id-"
"Please?" he says, looking at you with the saddest eyes you've ever seen. His expression is a mix of desperation and pain, and it tears at your heart. You sigh, and slowly crawl in next to him, careful not to touch anything. He wraps his bandaged arm around you, and if it hurts him, he isn't showing it. He sighs and closes his eyes.
"Can you sing to me? I like your voice," he says tiredly. You smile slightly, and continue your song.
If you'll be my boat, I'll be your sea,
The depth of pure blue just to ,
Probe curiousity.
Ebbing,
Flowing,
Pushed by a breeze,
I live to make you free,
I live to make you free,
You can set sail to the west,
If you want to,
And pass the horizon, till I can't even see you,
Far, from here, where the beaches are wide,
Just leave me your wake to remember you by.
If you be my star, I'll be your sky,
You can hide underneath me,
And come out at night,
When I turn jet black,
And you show off your light,
I live to let you shine,
I live to let you shine,
You feel your eyes droop slightly, your grogginess returning. You were snuggled into Dirk's side, and his body heat radiated off of him, pleasant and warm. You can feel your voice slipping as you mumble the last few lines of the song.
But you can skyrocket away, from me,
And never come back if you,
Find another galaxy,
Far, from here, with more room to fly,
Your eyes are closed, and you can feel yourself floating away. You manage to utter the last line before blissful sleep overtakes you.
Just leave me your stardust to remember you by.
The song that Jane sang is called "Boats and Birds" by Gregory and the Hawk. I've loved this song for a long time, and I find it extremelly comforting, so naturally, it was one of my first pics for Jane's song.
My tumblr is .com. I usually post sneaks peeks of my fanfics there days before I post them.
~Reaper