Alright guys, the chapters might be getting a little longer from here as I've been picking up momentum with writing this. It's been a while since I wrote for Cars 2 so I was/probably still am a little struggling to find my voice with this. Enjoy!

~~Concerta has been a big help with churning out these chapters lol~~

Mild content warning for brief mention of urine and mention of specific injuries caused by torture. Injury list was partially inspired by Mittch22 on Ao3's list of injuries human!Leland suffers Siddeley's last name is inspired by the company he gets his first name from, Hawker Siddeley

It's night now, but Finn is still by Leland's side.

The CHROME sick bay looks so outdated. It's looked like this since the 1980s. Sickly fluorescent lighting, wood paneling in some places, off-white everything else except for the ugly light blue duvet covering Leland… everything else is bleeding-edge at CHROME, but not this place. At least the treatment is on the same level as the rest of the organization even if the aesthetic sure isn't.

You'll never wait so long. He's been sitting here now for hours, sometimes with music playing, sometimes just talking to Leland, sometimes just sitting quietly with him, like now. He misses when they would sit in comfortable silence, driving or in the jet, that sort of thing. It's special, to be able to be quiet with someone without it being awkward.

Both their work cars are here, the blue Aston Martin and red Jaguar. Finn wants to ask Quinn if he can just take the Jaguar out for a drive, but again, he doesn't want to give himself away. It would raise eyebrows.

Eyebrows. There's a cut to Leland's eyebrow, with stitches. Finn hadn't been paying that close attention to the specifics of his injuries when he was rescuing him from the oil rig, and then Quinn didn't want to tell him over WhatsApp during the mission in case it caused him further emotional distress, but now that Finn's back in London, he knows that not only was Leland beaten, but tortured severely too.

Two broken legs. Fingernails removed on all fingers. Three partially amputated fingers on his left hand. Burns to the bottoms of his feet. Friction burns from the ropes tied around his wrists. Broken ribs. Stab wounds. Some sort of hot object creating burns on his abdomen. They don't know if his teeth were just knocked out or pulled out with pliers.

He should have figured that they would have tortured Leland for information, but he was kind of in denial about it. Maybe he was holding out hope it wasn't true, maybe he was just in shock.

This isn't actually the first time Finn has had to be at Leland's bedside with him unconscious. That would have to be 1995, Eastern Europe. He had taken a nasty blow to the head during a mission.

Leland's always had a tendency to get hurt on missions, actually. He's a real daredevil, and Finn knows that. Finn has always known that. But he started begging, pleading with Leland to take it easy, because the two aren't getting any younger, and Finn can't afford to lose him.

And he was actually listening for a while. And then he missed the action too much. And then this happened. Bloody hell.

Finn shudders, remembering running around the oil rig and having to fireman's carry Leland. He was completely dead weight, and Finn wasn't even sure if he was going to make it. But he had to try. He couldn't leave him there. He could never leave him there.

He just wishes he would have gotten there sooner. In time to have spared Leland some of this. He imagines they beat him towards the end of the torture, once they got frustrated with Leland not giving them any information.

It's the traumatic brain injury that worries Finn. That's the part that gets him the most. They can't tell him when he'll wake up, what he'll be like, any of that…

Finn takes his hand, sighing.

Hands. Leland almost slipped through his fingers. He doesn't want to think about Leland and him in the Aston Martin in submersible mode when they got away from the oil rig, Leland slumped over, snoring.

Quinn had to clean not just blood, but piss off the passenger seat. And pissing yourself after a head injury is never a good sign.

"I wish it was me lying here." He admits. Then he thinks about it for a sec. "Oh, you'd be beside yourself. You'd be a wreck." He doesn't want that for Leland either. He doesn't want anyone to be in the position he's in right now.

"Finn?" He turns to look at the door. Holley again.

"Finn, how long have you been here?"

"I've been here the whole time, Holley. Since you left." Finn's actually not even on the clock, unlike Holley. He's using up his sick days and paid vacation days to be here with Leland. He's just been spending all his time here. He goes home and sleeps for four hours then comes back to do it all over again. He wants to be here when Leland wakes up. And he wants to be here for him regardless until that point. The two again don't know what to say to one another for a moment, just making eye contact with one another as if waiting for the other one to say something first.

"Finn?"

"Yes?" Holley looks down at her shoes, nervously biting her lip.

"Quinn told me there were rumors about you and Agent Turbo fraternizing."

"I figured he would. That's been old news around here. I knew someone would tell you."

"Are they true, Finn?" It feels like Finn's heart skips a beat here. So much for hoping he wouldn't give himself away, be found out. Just sitting here all day like this has done it.

"Why don't I drive you home and we'll talk about it?" Holley doesn't have a personal car. She takes the tube. Holley knows what the answer is going to be if Finn won't discuss it here. But she nods. It's miserable outside today. And she wants to hear it from Finn before she hears any more from anyone else. "Alright then."

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Finn's car is nice. Not as flashy as the DB5, and just a regular stock boxy Volvo wagon, but very… Finn to her. It feels like a car Finn would be driving. It's a manual, like Finn's work car is. And it's subtly luxurious, but practical too. It reminds her of him. The two sit in silence once again as the CHROME headquarters disappear in the rear view mirror behind them.

"So, you and Agent Turbo…"

"Yes, we fraternized."

"I figured. Since when?"

"Since 1990." Finn's voice is very matter-of-fact here, maybe with a tinge of being emotionally drained but trying not to show it. The two both look straight ahead at the road, not at each other.

"So what Quinn said…"

"Is true."

"I'm sorry, Finn."

"I told you not to be earlier."

"I just… I can't imagine how this is for you."

"It's very hard, Holley." She hears him getting choked up here. He takes a deep breath in. "I was supposed to be his backup on the oil platform. He called me when his cover was blown. I tried getting there as fast as I could."

"You did your best, Finn."

"I feel like I let him down."

"You didn't."

"You can't tell CHROME about this."

"I never would." She turns to look out the window, away from Finn. Another pause in the conversation. Then, something comes to mind. "If you don't mind me asking, how'd it start?"

"We were in Hong Kong. We were waiting in a nightclub for an informant to show up. I… I never liked women. At some point before that, I had realized I was gay. But it was a different time, Holley. So I didn't tell anyone. Leland and I had been partnered for a few years at that point. He had just broken up with this girl, Stella. The informant never showed up. And… Leland kissed me. And I kissed back." Finn still remembers this like it was yesterday.

Leland is driving Finn back to the hotel, Hong Kong's neon lights shining through the rain. No one is saying anything, until Leland does.

"Finn, I'm sorry." Finn, still thinking over what happened at the nightclub, snaps back to reality.

"For what?"

"You know what." Finn looks over at him. He's visibly embarrassed, even under the multicolored lighting of all the neon they're passing by.

"No, it's fine, Leland, I-"

"It was unprofessional, and I'm sorry. I just broke up with Stella, and I guess-"

"Leland." The two make eye contact for a second, before Leland looks back at the road and pulls into a dark parking garage, putting the Jaguar in park. He sighs.

"I shouldn't have kissed you. I fucked up."

"Leland… I enjoyed it." The two dare to look at each other once again, this time maintaining it.

"Finn…" He seems surprised here, raising his eyebrows in response to this. He sighs, running a hand through his red hair. "Finn, I know the agency doesn't even want field partners to be friends, but… I think I love you." Now it's Finn's turn to blush. "I've been trying to hold it back, because they'd have my arse for it. But I love you, and I'm gay, and I broke up with Stella because I couldn't lie to her anymore. I was coming into work every morning and thinking about how I wanted to have you instead of her and I just couldn't do it anymore, not when she started nagging me about getting married, and I started thinking about how I couldn't do this to her, not when she deserves romance."

"Leland, you're my only friend in the whole world." Leland is on the verge of tears here, and he takes a hand and covers his eyes. "I would be honored to be your lover." He uncovers his eyes and gives Finn a shocked look.

"What? But, the agency-"

"Secrets are a part of our job, Leland."

"I never thought I'd see the day I'd hear you talking about going behind CHROME's back." Leland was always the bad boy of the two.

"And I never thought I'd see the day where I'd find the one I love."

"Finn?" He jolts a little, having gotten lost in his own thoughts, just like that night.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, you just… zoned out a little there."

"I have a lot on my mind. I don't know how I'm going to continue to keep this a secret from CHROME. I know for certain the love of my life isn't going to be okay. How's things been going with Mater?" He's anxious to change the topic.

"It's hard being long distance, but it's alright." The two pull up to Holley's block of flats. "Thanks for the ride."

"Of course."

"And, Finn-"

"Yes?"

"I hope everything turns out alright for you in the end. And your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you, Holley."

"Anything for a friend, Finn. And I do consider you a friend. I hope the feeling's mutual."

"It is now."

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Siddeley, tall with black hair with a white streak, opens the door to the private room in the sick bay, just enough to get a peek. Finn's gone. He opens the door all the way, and slowly creeps his way over to the bed.

"Hey. I've been meaning to see you." Specifically, see him without Finn around. He's heard the rumors about the two, and Finn has always been cagey with Siddeley. Which makes him think the rumors might be true. Leland's the only person Siddeley has known to get Finn to open up at all. But he's never been able to prove the two of them are together like that, just that they're close, closer than Finn is with anyone else. "How's Finn holding up? Terrible, right? He's all business-like when I talk to him, won't tell me anything besides the facts about how you haven't woken up yet and that you're 'gravely injured', as he puts it. You know, same old same old. Finn tell you about the American we thought was a spy? What a bloke, him! And he figured it out too, that it was Miles Axlerod behind everything. What a trip."

"...I miss you, mate." Siddeley and Leland were always closer than Siddeley and Finn. "I miss all the fun times we had together. You, me, and Finn, going around the world. It was great." Nothing. No response.

"Finn's got a new field partner. He tell you about her? Holley Shiftwell." More stuff to say is bubbling up inside Siddeley, as if now trying to piss Leland off enough to wake up. "I think she's heard the rumors about you and Finn. Not from me. Everyone's talking about it right now because Finn took time off to just come down here and sit with you." More and more. "And you can't even be bothered to be arsed to show him you're still kicking, huh? Are you going to die? Is this just the part before you die? Is that how it goes?" Now he's getting choked up. "Leland, I don't want you to die. Please don't die on us. Please. You gotta fight. You're already over the hardest part, man. I know they tortured you on the rig. But that's all over. Please, I'd really miss you. Finn would really miss you. Holley hasn't even gotten the chance to meet you. We could take you to meet the American! You could meet Lightning McQueen, too!" Still, nothing.

"I think they're right about Finn and you fucking and the plan is to replace you with Holley no matter what. I think the agency's gonna look into it for real." Suddenly, the heart monitor starts beeping faster. Siddeley's eyes widen. "Oh, shit. Leland, I didn't mean it. I was just negging you. No, I did mean it. I mean, I think it's true, but I didn't…" Siddeley gasps as Leland's eyes flutter open, and he takes a hand to the ventilator circuit and attempts to yank it out. Siddeley rushes to hold his arms down. "No, no, it's okay, man! You're back at CHROME!" He's weak, but Sidd can feel him trying to fight him off, writhing under him. "Nurse! Nurse! Somebody!" Leland is mouthing stuff at Sidd, and he looks angry and frightened. Sidd can't make out what he's trying to say, what's going through his head. A nurse rushes into the room, with a security guard. The guard pushes Siddeley aside and takes over holding him down as the rest of the medical team rushes in as well.

"Chlorpromazine, stat!" Through the crowd around the bed, Sidd can make out that he's thrashing and really putting up a fight, still mouthing stuff at them and attempting to scream, but with the hole in his throat, no air is going to his mouth. So he's completely silent, but trying. They push something through the IV, and he finally lies back down, grimacing as if admitting defeat. Someone then pulls out wrist restraints, and they tie him down for good measure. It seems to calm down for a moment, but then Leland thrashes one more time, mouthing what Sidd can make out as "fuck", and jerks around to attempt to bite a nurse. He struggles against the wrist restraints. It feels like forever until he finally stops for good, now just angrily glaring up at the medical team.

"Agent Hawker, can you leave the room while we assess him?"

"Sure." Sidd steps out. He lets out a sigh once he's standing in the hallway. Finn wanted to be here when he woke up. Finn has been waiting all day, every day for him to wake up. And it ends up happening the second he leaves to get some rest. Fuck. He won't be happy when he learns about this, and how it went down. He will have wished he was here to calm him down instead of a nurse pushing chlorpromazine. He will feel like he abandoned him, even though Sidd knows that's not true. But first, he has to be told the news. And Sidd would rather have Finn hear it from him than anyone else at CHROME, even if Finn's always been distant with him. For what it's worth, he's the person Finn has known the second longest at CHROME, with the first being who this is all revolving around. He pulls out his personal phone and goes to WhatsApp. Here goes nothing.

Here comes your man!