I woke up from the longest dream

[fessus]

WHO? Midnighter thingpuncher and Noctis fessus
WHAT? Chatting post-escape from the Regency base.
WHEN? See above.
ANYTHING ELSE? Possible man pain.

He never thought he'd be glad to smell the putrid air of the No Man's Land again, but when his head stops spinning and he regains his balance he feels a bizarre sense of relief. It solidifies what he'd felt when he first saw Midnighter again upon the base, barely engaging in more conversation than was necessary -- enough to learn he and Bucky had come there of their own volition and weren't just more prisoners -- but it had been enough to make him feel a hell of a lot more secure.

Now that they're here, facing old dangers or not, he can exhale some of the pressure that threatens what composure he still has. Midnighter's who he turns to then, swallowing heavily.

"Hey, listen--" But whatever words he means to follow up with don't come, throat tightening.

Comments

[thingpuncher]

They're no longer neck deep in blood or laser guns or electrical outputs or screaming technical interfaces. They made it, somehow, the made it. There're in the middle of No Man's Land, sure, running from enemy fire, but Midnighter doesn't care. The elation in his chest flares out like a light, like a wildfire, amazing.

While they run through the bullets and mud, Midnighter can't stop grinning, and as they slide back into the trenches at Lone Pine, Midnighter reaches out, hands under Noctis' arms, to pick him up and spin him around. "Holy shit!" He shouts. This is definitely the happiest Noctis has ever seen him. "You fucking made it, you little bastard!"

[fessus]

His legs are burning from exertion in a way he hasn't felt in a long time, sore from muscles shortening in the cramped conditions of their segmented cells, the nigh claustrophobia-inducing tightness of a narrow box-- No, he definitely can't think about that while he urges himself to speed up for the last leg of their journey, mind racing through ideas that he wants to express to Midnighter but can't find words for.

But then it seems like he doesn't need to try. The older man cuts him off before he can get a single word out, shocking him with a full hoist off of the ground. It performs the seemingly impossible feat of startling a half-smile out of him, even, grabbing at his forearms as he tries to get his bearings.

"Hey! On the ground, the ground--" And as soon as he's lowered he'll reach out to shove at his chest, hesitating only a second or two before abandoning pretense and giving into the urge to step in closer, arms suddenly locking tight around his friend.

"Midnighter... thank you."

[thingpuncher]

Midnighter gathers the kid up in a harsh hug, unable to stop his own joyous laughter, harsh and low in his throat. "You made it, kid, you fucking made it. I knew you would. Didn't even need our help. I knew you could do it."

He holds Noctis tight for a half second before reaching up to ruffle his hair, all fondness.

[fessus]

The physical affection is still part of a foreign world for him but all the same he doesn't want to let go, tension melting into a boneless lean against him out of desperation to chase away what lingers so close in his mind. He forces fingers to relax their grip when Midnighter's hand drops onto his head, slowly easing back a step.

His mouth opens to tell him that he couldn't have done it without his help, but instead what comes out is: "I told you I'm pretty good... right?"

[thingpuncher]

Midnighter keeps him close the whole time, a hand on his shoulder, his head, not letting go. "You did better than good. Broke yourself out, goddamn. Knew I didn't need to worry." He can't stop grinning.

[fessus]

"Kinda' more complicated than that, but... Okay, okay, you gonna' let me go any time soon?" As if he hadn't been the one to demand more contact so soon after it'd been lifted.

"... I couldn't have done it alone," he adds, finally.

[thingpuncher]

"Shit, sure," Midnighter says, and puts his hands in his pockets. He still leans down-- more than he generally has to, to keep his head from bobbing above the trench walls-- grinning, hovering in Noctis' personal space. "Just glad you're back. We all missed you. Everybody freaked. Doesn't matter how, shit, just matters that you're back."

[fessus]

Midnighter's excitement is infectious -- or maybe they've all just been waiting around for something to get excited about -- but his lack of energy even in the face of it is obvious. The smile's still there all the same, pointed up at him, but faltering briefly at two words in particular.

"'Everybody freaked'? Yeah, guess they would. When I blacked out I was with...

Damn, is Hei okay? I remember he was injured pretty badly."

[thingpuncher]

Midnighter grimaces, but only for a moment, head bowed. "He's fine. Just bitchy, which is how you know he's fine." He's smiling again, fond despite it all. Everything's silly bullshit, but he doesn't care, because Noctis made it and he's going to pull him through this if it kills him. "Told a friend to watch over him. Look, everybody's gonna be okay. Maybe not great, maybe not for a long time, but we're all okay for now. That's what matters."

[fessus]

His exhale of relief is audible, tension slowly seeping out of him as he drags a hand down his face. It pulls at that growing smile, wanting to laugh and cry at the same time but also wanting to subject Midnighter to neither.

"Geeze... It sounds so stupid now but I was seriously worried about what was going on out here too... Like maybe Hei got taken too or you did -- I didn't know what the hell was happening out here."

[thingpuncher]

"Doesn't sound stupid. I was worried about you, too. I just knew you'd make it out." He punches Noctis' shoulder, gentle and friendly. "Not everybody was so sure. The Regency-- some sick from their side tried to cow us into surrendering, said he'd let you all go if we did."

[fessus]

"Well, I was in a worse spot than you were... ah, probably. So that worry makes more sense." Bluntly, more or less. He takes a delayed swipe at Midnighter for the punch, just as harmless.

"Did he say who he was?"

[thingpuncher]

"He called himself Kebechet. It's probably some bullshit codename, like all our user IDs on the network." He shrugs. This isn't something he's overthinking.

[fessus]

"... yeah, I had a feeling it'd be him." And the name brings the memories back too, arms crossing as his gaze lowers to the pockmarked earth.

"He's the one I kept dealing with."

[thingpuncher]

Kept dealing with. Midnighter can guess what that means. The idea fills him with an impotent rage-- more people needing to die who aren't dead yet-- but it doesn't matter. There's nothing for it, now.

Instead, he pulls something out of the pack slung over his shoulder. Not exactly a subtle subject change, but Noctis is a smart kid. He'll get it. "Hey, remember when I said I'd find you a good knife?"

He hands Noctis a blade he stole from the hands of a long dead soldier.

[fessus]

There's a moment of silence and he clamors internally for something to fill it with, mouth opening to reassure him that it's fine -- yeah, it's obvious what the problem is -- even if that's untrue but Midnighter's luckily speaking up first. Noctis tilts his head curiously as he watches, suddenly presented with the new weapon.

It looks... like it's seen more than its fair share of this war too, poorly maintained no doubt from a lack of time and resources rather than from a lack of desire. He reaches for it, quiet for a moment or two longer.

"... it's got pretty good composition, you know. It's weighted well... just needs a little sharpening and help with the upkeep, maybe add a little crossguard to make the grip on it more solid." He raises his head then, cutting off that needless chatter. "Thanks, Midnighter."