epidemiology | [closed] vault hunters work best in teams of four ; zombones

[Woodhurst is going badly. Fiona is used to a general atmosphere of violence and rioting, sure, but the rampant infections are something new. It was easy to pretend not to be bothered at first, to just barrel through things with little regard for safety as per uszhe, but as the days go by, it's become impossible to keep doing that.

Things are going badly. Still, she tries to be super casual as she sends a psychic brain text over to Vaughn.] Sooo... hey. Can you stop by our house real quick? No reason.

[ oh, that doesn't sound suspicious at all. might as well wait and ask in person, though. it's not like he's gonna say no. ]

Sure. I'll be right over.

[ aaand some appropriate amount of time later he's on their doorstep, knocking kind of warily. hopefully this isn't something horrible or anything!! ]

[the door opens and FIONA JUMPS OUT AND BITES HIS FACE except she doesn't, she just opens the door normally. There's a tenseness in her face and her posture even as she smiles at him and opens the door wider so he can come inside, retreating back into the house.]

Soooo... I lied, there is a reason.

Yyyeah, I kinda figured.

[ they're friends, sure, but Fiona doesn't tend to just... randomly invite him over. he weakly returns a smile before following her inside, anxiety starting to well up in earnest. ]

...So, what's up?

[ Rhys is just sitting on the couch eating a bag of chips, all caszhj, playin' it cool, u know how he do. ]

Oh, hey.

[She stops a little ways away from Rhys, folding her arms and glancing over at him all like Hm, like they got in a fight or something. Which, while statistically likely, is thankfully not the reason she invited Vaughn over.]

So. Rhys -- you know Rhys, [she says to Vaughn, all fake casual and polite like they're at a country club she's about to tell a funny story about an acquaintance,] he's the one who can't stop eating -- might have a small problem. Might. It's, like, minuscule, it barely even matters. [She's stalling.]

[ oh, cool, Rhys can't stop eating. that's not worrisome.

except yes, yes it is. he's read the mission dossier a hundred times. his eyes flick back and forth between the two of them, trying to fend off the dread that's beginning to creep in. ]

What are you talking about?

[ Rhys is just a little bit stoned, right? that's why he can't stop eating. everything's fine. just say it's fine. ]

[ He's been smoking one of Olivia's joints, obviously. Vaughn already looks like a terrified little mouse and it's awful; he scowls at Fiona, because it's clearly all her fault for freaking him out like this, then smiles at Vaughn, laughing awkwardly. ]

Haha. It's not a big deal.

[She automatically scowls back at Rhys, a half-second away from doing/saying something mean and terrible, but quickly deflates and scrubs at her face instead. Her nerves are just brittle right now; she doesn't want to be mean and terrible in this situation.]

It's a moderate deal. [She lowers her hands from her face, then looks at Vaughn again, quiet for a second.] I mean, you know what I'm going to say.

[ yeah, he knows.

that much is probably evident as the rest of the color drains from his face, leaving only fear and panic. he likes to pretend he's fearless sometimes, but that's not exactly true. he likes this whole "going on missions to other worlds" thing. it's exciting. but there was something unsettling about this one that he felt from the moment he learned the details, and he'd confessed to Rhys that the thought of certain people getting sick scared the shit out of him.

and now here he is, with a couple of those certain people, and one of them is sick.

he stares at Fiona for another moment or two after she finishes speaking, and then shifts his attention to Rhys. his idiot best friend who he loves to death nonetheless, sitting there eating chips like it's "no big deal" that he's contracted a horrific virus with no known cure. the look he gives Rhys practically begs him to take that back. it's a big deal to him. he opens his mouth to ask something—how, why, where—but it doesn't matter, because nothing comes out. for once in his life, there are no words. just... blanched, frightened looks.

god damn it, Rhys. ]

[ Rhys wants to curl up and die, or at least disappear; he can't stand having Vaughn looking at him like that, it's too awful to bear. Vaughn being sad makes him sad, stop it. He looks at Fiona, just sort of willing her to say something that will make Vaughn stop looking so pathetic, then looks back to Vaughn and frowns. ]

Please don't make that face? [ Such comfort, very emotional intelligence. ]

[Lord. This could have gone better, though she doesn't really know how. Just that it could have, because this is truly awful. She slips her arm around Vaughn's shoulders because these stupid boys need someone to keep it together, and that's the role that often falls to her anyway.]

Look, it'll be okay. I know people are working on a cure along with a vaccine, so. All we have to do is... just trust that they know what they're doing. [And wait, which is the worst part. She hates feeling useless, and she's pretty useless here.]

[ turns out not making "that face" is harder than it sounds. rather than trying to fabricate something more accepting of the situation, he just glances away, trying to process it. but Fiona's arm around his shoulder relaxes him, and after staying quiet a little longer he starts to snap out of it. he shakes his head as if to detract from his initial reaction, and clears his throat quietly, finally ready to speak. ]

Yeah—I mean, you're right, of course. I know they're working on it. I, uh... I was planning on getting involved with that, anyway, so I'll just... get on it.

[ truthfully, he has no idea if he can even do anything to help, but he can't not try. especially not now. he looks back at Rhys, a little abashed. ]

How long have you known?

Yeah, I mean, you're the one who was already interested. Fiona's the one who wanted to focus on the vaccine and let everyone with the disease die horribly, probably.

[ NOT THAT HE'S IRRITABLE OR ANYTHING!!! He clears his throat, sinking into the couch. ]

Um. Anyway. Not, like, that long.

That's not-- [Oh, my god. She snaps her mouth shut before she gets into it with Rhys again -- it should be pretty obvious by now that they have been arguing a lot lately -- and instead makes a low, seething noise as she exhales,]

It's hard to tell at first. So we can't really figure out when it happened, [she says in a forcefully even way, letting go of Vaughn so she can sit on the sofa instead and lean against Rhys. She pauses, realizing maybe this is weird, as they're not exactly snuggly.] Contact helps.

[ ah. he's... going to assume that Rhys's especially pissy behavior is the virus talking. you know, mostly. he feels bad for Fiona, too—she's clearly taking the brunt of it. really, everything about this situation is terrible.

except... ]

—Oh! Right. [ how could he have forgotten the only good thing about this virus? must have been the intense feeling of doom clouding his brain. he wastes no time whatsoever in making his way to Rhys's other side and plopping down there. he does take a second to offer a smile and a shrug before snaking both arms around Rhys and leaning into the hug.

it's fine if Rhys and Fiona aren't snuggly—he's got that part taken care of. leave it to a professional. ]

Oh, my goood, [ he groans, like they're some awkward parents embarrassing him at the middle school Spring Fling. He's a cool guy who has this totally under control, he doesn't need their pity!! ] It's fiiiine, I'm fine. I'm just hungry all the time and I want to punch everybody and I had to buy a ton of undereye concealer and I might go crazy! I'm not, like... that scared.

[ He pauses, then says, looking down at his feet, ] ...But yeah, it does help a little.

[Look, he needs to just deal, because this is happening. Beset by his besties, what a cruel fate to be hugged by people who love him.]

You can be scared, [she says gently, and it's directed at both of them, though she tilts down to press a kiss to Rhys's shoulder. She doesn't particularly like being affectionate in front of other people, but it's Vaughn, and if anyone isn't going to embarrass her about it, it's him.] I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner.

[ oh, he's definitely scared. terrified, even, but he can't act that way around them. it won't help. the last thing he wants to do is make this even worse. instead, he hugs Rhys a little tighter. is the intensity of the hug directly proportional to the level of relief? he wonders. it's for science. ]

We'll figure something out. I promise you that.

[ it's not a platitude; he sounds deadly serious. they'll figure something out. they have to. ]

I can't breathe, [ he says, choked, when Vaughn goes full-on koala, but pats him on the shoulder anyway. ] But thanks.

[ This is Way Too Heavy and sad emotions are uncomfortable, so he lifts up his chip bag, which he has stopped ripping into for now. ] ...So, anybody want a chip and to not talk about this ever again.

Unfortunately, we're gonna have to. We can stop for now, but we can't just ignore this. [She knows what he's doing, she's not dumb!! Sometimes bad feelings happen, it's okay. He has the cuddle squad to help him out.

She transmits some private, sappy things at Rhys via magitek, casually taking the chips away in the meantime. To Vaughn, she says,] You shouldn't have any of these. [Not because she's concerned about his sick abs, but because, you know. Rhys's gross germs are all over it.]

[ ew, private, sappy thoughts. gross. he almost laughs as Fiona takes the chips away, denying him the opportunity to have some like she's his mom. fortunately, he's still a little too low-key terrified to have any appetite whatsoever, so it's not a big loss.

although... ]

Well, you shouldn't either, right? How are you guys gonna—

[ ohhh my god, his brain. it went there. they're dating. they do stuff together. this situation just became even more worrisome somehow. shit. ]

...I mean, uh... you know, since you live together and stuff.

[ nailed it. ]

[ Oh, god, Vaughn. Don't be so goddamn awkward, he's going to die. He brings his knees up to his chest, trying not to laugh awkwardly. ]

She hasn't tried to eat me yet, so?

[Fiona is basically team mom, it's fine. As long as she gets to be a control freak, she's happy, and controlling chips is a lot easier than controlling sickness.

She grimaces a little, turning away slightly and letting her derringer spring out so she can polish it. She's still leaning on Rhys, but things just got suuuper awkward and she wants something else to focus on.] I'm probably just lucky. Or growing up on Pandora made me immune. [That last part is a joke.]

Haha, yeah... [ he's laughing because it's a joke, see. nervously, though, because he definitely just made this awkward. he trails off and stays quiet for a moment before muttering: ] Sorry.

[ but okay, he made it weird. he can make it... un-weird. maybe. ] So, uh, since we're... not talking about this right now... how are the non-virus-y parts of your lives going? Make friends with any locals yet? I guess... probably not, with the cover stories you guys came up with, but...

[ just kill him. ]

I LEFT MY HEART IN ZOMBIEFRISCO

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