fuck it more zombiestuck

[gundamkind]

[ He's not dead.

That's great. He's really glad. Great to still have a heartbeat. Except living is pain and hot damn can he ever feel it. It wasn't so bad when his body was pretty keen on just turning him into one of the living dead, now it's pretty hard to get away from and seriously, the vodka helps, but the hangover doesn't.

Moving kind of sucks. Being touched sucks. Even kissing really, really bites.

He can't even come up with a decent metaphor. Fuck his life. ]

Comments

[doubleholster]

[ He's not dead, and that's the best news they'd had all week!

Of course, not!dead seems a far cry from "alive" at this point, but he's scared Jake enough to keep the boy inside for more than an hour at a time. No, since Dirk was recovered from the wreck and put up in a room at their new safe house, Jake has hardly left his side. He's gone a little stir crazy, sure, but the fear that he's going to come back and Dirk just. Won't be not!dead anymore is enough to chain him within ten feet of the other boy.

It's probably gotten a little annoying. Jake makes a horrible nurse, as his knowledge of what to do in a situation like this is a combination of Star Trek, Indiana Jones, and House.

Needless to say, he's the last person that should be helping. But damn if he doesn't try his hardest.

Jake sits cross-legged at the side of Dirk's bed, having nodded off just for a few minutes while the other boy supposedly slept. He rests his cheek on the mattress and mutters something to himself. ]

[gundamkind]

[ It wasn't so much a bed as a few mattresses stacked on top of one another, keeping him fairly close to the floor. There were a fuckton of embarrassing things he didn't want to talk about or deal with and Jake being in such constant close proximity meant that he couldn't run from it.

And his face.

Fucking hell, he'd caught a glimpse of what was under the bandages and that was enough. They had to be careful, the room had to be clean to avoid infection because there was no way they could fight that off again. He was too damn weak.

And he couldn't get up and do things for himself. He was too damn tired to even care.

He wakes up slowly, fingers twitching at his side. And there his shadow was. ] English...

[doubleholster]

[ Jake usually dreams, but he doesn't always remember what they're about. Random strings of the day's events smashed together like a bad trailer for a summer movie. He's generally a pretty heavy sleeper, but since the accident, has taken to small, two hour cat naps in between Dirk's erratic sleep schedule. He just wants to be available.

At hearing his name, Jake's eyes blink open sleepily once...then SNAP to!

He's up, on his feet, looking more than a little confused but hell he's ready for battle! Ah, but there is Dirk, still in bed, but awake! Awake is good. Awake is a step away from dead.

He kneels back down next to him, looking tired but hopeful. ]

Good morning! Or, evening, rather, as the last I checked it was getting on a little late.

[gundamkind]

That late already? [ Dirk manages to open his good eye a little further, tilting his head back ever so slightly to look at the darkness in the window. Dusk is bleeding into night. ] Thought it was dusk when I went to sleep.

You can go back to sleep.

[doubleholster]

[ He smiles, tilting his head to the side. He really, really wants to reach out and touch Dirk, to examine all the various wounds--partly from concern and partly from his own curiosity--but knows he shouldn't. Jade had quite a talking with him before allowing Jake to stay in the room alone with Dirk for any length of time. ]

Oh, I'm quite well-rested. Had my beauty sleep for the week, even! How are you faring?

[gundamkind]

Groggy with a big pulse pounding headache. [ He yawns softly. There's a better answer to that and he knows he should bring it up, but he's not particularly hungry these days. ] Little thirsty.

[doubleholster]

Ah! One moment!

[ And OFF HE GOES! Having a job to do not only keeps Jake occupied enough to not be a nusiance to others, but it also makes him happy as it gives him something to do other than sit around. Since, apparently, he's not allowed outside without supervision.

Jake comes back a moment later with a water bottle and shuts the door securely behind him. He twists off the top. ]

Do you need any help with this? I can provide assistance if necessary.

[gundamkind]

[ It's with some effort he manages to sit up. It hurts, it shows plainly on his face, but he still scoots further up the pillows and reaches his hand out for the bottle. ]

I got this.

[doubleholster]

[ Jake doesn't let go of the bottle until he's positive that Dirk has a good grip. Once he releases it, he goes right back to sitting on the floor, watching the other boy intently. ]

[gundamkind]

[ Water is precious and he shouldn't drown himself in it. Or, was, they've got a safehouse and it's not so bad. Even so he can't bring himself to drink too much more than a couple of mouthfuls.

Probably because he almost chokes on it but he'll pass that off as just a hiccup and hold the bottle out again, coughing a little softer.

Fuck everything. ]

[doubleholster]

[ Jake gives Dirk an apologetic smile as he accepts the bottle, screwing the cap back on. He sets it aside on the floor for later. ]

We may have some asprin or whatnot if you'd like. For your headache?

[gundamkind]

I won't say no to that.

[ Prior to this there would have probably been a nice lecture on medication being a crutch. ]

[doubleholster]

[ Welp, back to crawling around on the floor like a dog. There's a large cardboard box of various pilfered over the counter drugs that they had managed to scrounge up. Jade and Rose had been kind enough to leave the lot in Dirk's current room.

He goes through bottle after bottle, finally giving a good "aha!" when he finds what he needs. Scooting back over, Jake reads the directions as he does, until his knees bump the mattress. ]

While it says take two for every four to six hours, given your current condition, I'm sure an extra one or five won't hurt, right?

[puppetpocalypse]

[Not dead is the best thing he's heard ever. EVER. Stop the presses, nothing is going to beat this.

He drags a chair up so he can sit next to Dirk. He doesn't say anything, just folding his hands over his lap, one leg resting on the other. He probably smells like cheap beer since he had one earlier.]

So.

[gundamkind]

[ Not dead actually kind of sucks when you're living in. He still can't really turn his head more than a few inches but he gets away with it by propping himself up. ]

So?

[puppetpocalypse]

[Bro thinks its the best fucking thing, sorry. But he's also making sure that you survive.]

Got some shit to hash out. It's bro to Bro time. All the feelings that a Strider can ever had should be up at this table.

[gundamkind]

Okay. [ What are you up to. ]

[puppetpocalypse]

[Nothing.] By the way, I'm gonna die young because of you kids. I'm glad you aren't dead. I'm not glad that you're basically walking the fine tightrope between being dead and alive. I need to punch life for that one. [It's hard to admit that you were scared of losing a brother.]

[gundamkind]

Bullshit. You'll outlive us all. [ It's a poor choice of words, but he doesn't really care all that much.

That's a lie.

He cares a lot. ] I ought to apologize for putting you through that shit. I'm getting better. There's no sign of infection and I feel less like I got steamrolled and more like a victim of your every day hit hit-and-run.

Though car might have been on fire.

[puppetpocalypse]

I wish that were true. How else am I going to watch you guys grow old? [He sometimes thinks it's surprising he's been alive this long. He thought he'd never live this long when he was growing up in that shithole.]

Hey, I handled it like a true Strider. But I think English was basically going to have a heart attack every second. You sure did make him worry.

Flaming cars are common in Texas, so I wouldn't be surprised.

[gundamkind]

I know. [ It was kind of worth it in the wasn't-at-all way. ] Had them both crying.

[puppetpocalypse]

They were here before me I suspect.

[A statement.] I had to run some errands, so I wouldn't be surprised.

[gundamkind]

Jake hasn't left my side. Literally. He's been sleeping next to the mattress.

[puppetpocalypse]

You chose well, you know. He's a good kid.

[gundamkind]

I lucked out. [ He rubs his eye with his good hand. ] Says he digs the whole rugged, scarred look too.