Fic: Z-Day - Chapter 10: Almost Normal
Title: Z-Day (Chapter 10: Almost Normal)
Pairing: Santana Lopez/Brittany Pierce
Rating: R
Summary: Santana and Brittany face the unthinkable -- and the inevitable -- in post-apocalyptic Zombieland.
Word Count: ~800
Disclaimer: Still don't own Zombieland or Glee.
She just stared at me, wordless and horrified. A Beach Boys song was next on the playlist, and far too cheery, so I tapped the iPod into silence.
“Why did you do that?” she whispered.
I shrugged.
“Why would you…”
“You’re kidding, right?” I said.
“I don’t want you to end up like -”
“Like what?”
“You don’t want to be a zombie.”
“No, and neither do you. But I’m not fucking sticking around here after you… or, whatever. I’m not doing it. It’s just easier like this.”
Her face was broken, like she’d gone in for a hug and I’d shoved her away.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I said.
“You wouldn’t have let me do that to you,” she said.
I looked through the sunroof at the garage ceiling. “Doesn’t matter.”
“So what now? Ms. I-Think-I-Can-Just-Do-Whatever-I-Want? What are we doing next?”
“Why are you being like that?”
“Does it matter?”
I mirrored her frown. “You don’t really think I just do whatever I want?”
After a few silent moments, her face softened. “No.”
“Let’s go for a drive,” I said.
“I don’t want to. You can’t look at me when you’re driving.”
“We’re not going very far, I promise.”
She twisted her mouth. “Okay. Fine. But I have to get Simon first.”
“Britt-”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Seriously? We have, like… minutes.” At her terrified face, I immediately backtracked. “Or hours. Not long, though. And you want to spend those minutes getting Simon.”
“I’ll never see him again, either. San, it’ll take me ten seconds. Please.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”
It took her twenty three seconds before she was back with Simon, our fuzzy plush husky from the ancient 5 & 10 in the plaza a couple towns over that probably got more business now than before the apocalypse.
“That was more than ten seconds,” I said.
She kissed my nose and tapped the garage door opener. And for a second we felt so normal I forgot what I’d just done, until I saw her hand twitch.
*
I heaved the barely-there contents of my stomach into the grass as I leaned against the side of the building. The bricks were cool, having been in shadow for several hours now, and there was no one on the playground. No one had been on the playground for a long time. I coughed and spat before retching again.
A gentle hand rubbed slow circles on my lower back. I didn’t have the energy to be surprised or indignant. I just leaned more of my body against the wall and let the brick catch on my shirt as I slid down a little.
“Hey,” Brittany said softly, wrapping her arms around my waist and lifting me slightly back up. “Shh. Come on.”
I shook my head as she tried to pull me upright. “I want to. I have to see him.”
“It,” she said.
“Him. He was a him.”
She followed my gaze to the unmoving man face-up on the pavement not ten feet away. He was barely a zombie. He could have just eaten a really raw steak for all I knew, and been sprinting it off. But I’d… he’d… “He was a him,” I said, more quietly this time.
“It was an it, and it’s not anymore. Come on, honey.” She turned me around, away from the bloody shovel on the ground trailing a dark smear back to the mauled head. Her eyes searched my face, trying to catch my gaze.
“I told you to wait in the car,” I said.
“You don’t have to pretend,” she said.
“What are you talking about.”
“It’s just me. It’s okay to be scared.”
“I’m not,” I lied.
She pushed my sweaty bangs back off my forehead and combed her fingers through my hair. Her eyes followed the path of her hand. “This isn’t normal,” she said. “You can be scared. I’m scared.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m here.”
She smiled. “Yeah. Me too.”
*
“We’re just going down to the lake,” I said.
“We didn’t have to drive.”
“No, but then we wouldn’t have music.”
“Are we going to dance?”
“Do you want to dance?”
She smiled - an almost, nearly, so-close-to normal smile, that I almost, nearly forgot to be terrified. “Yes,” she said.
“Okay,” I said, catching myself returning the smile before I could even stop. “Me too.”
Pairing: Santana Lopez/Brittany Pierce
Rating: R
Summary: Santana and Brittany face the unthinkable -- and the inevitable -- in post-apocalyptic Zombieland.
Word Count: ~800
Disclaimer: Still don't own Zombieland or Glee.
She just stared at me, wordless and horrified. A Beach Boys song was next on the playlist, and far too cheery, so I tapped the iPod into silence.
“Why did you do that?” she whispered.
I shrugged.
“Why would you…”
“You’re kidding, right?” I said.
“I don’t want you to end up like -”
“Like what?”
“You don’t want to be a zombie.”
“No, and neither do you. But I’m not fucking sticking around here after you… or, whatever. I’m not doing it. It’s just easier like this.”
Her face was broken, like she’d gone in for a hug and I’d shoved her away.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I said.
“You wouldn’t have let me do that to you,” she said.
I looked through the sunroof at the garage ceiling. “Doesn’t matter.”
“So what now? Ms. I-Think-I-Can-Just-Do-Whatever-I-Want? What are we doing next?”
“Why are you being like that?”
“Does it matter?”
I mirrored her frown. “You don’t really think I just do whatever I want?”
After a few silent moments, her face softened. “No.”
“Let’s go for a drive,” I said.
“I don’t want to. You can’t look at me when you’re driving.”
“We’re not going very far, I promise.”
She twisted her mouth. “Okay. Fine. But I have to get Simon first.”
“Britt-”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Seriously? We have, like… minutes.” At her terrified face, I immediately backtracked. “Or hours. Not long, though. And you want to spend those minutes getting Simon.”
“I’ll never see him again, either. San, it’ll take me ten seconds. Please.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”
It took her twenty three seconds before she was back with Simon, our fuzzy plush husky from the ancient 5 & 10 in the plaza a couple towns over that probably got more business now than before the apocalypse.
“That was more than ten seconds,” I said.
She kissed my nose and tapped the garage door opener. And for a second we felt so normal I forgot what I’d just done, until I saw her hand twitch.
*
I heaved the barely-there contents of my stomach into the grass as I leaned against the side of the building. The bricks were cool, having been in shadow for several hours now, and there was no one on the playground. No one had been on the playground for a long time. I coughed and spat before retching again.
A gentle hand rubbed slow circles on my lower back. I didn’t have the energy to be surprised or indignant. I just leaned more of my body against the wall and let the brick catch on my shirt as I slid down a little.
“Hey,” Brittany said softly, wrapping her arms around my waist and lifting me slightly back up. “Shh. Come on.”
I shook my head as she tried to pull me upright. “I want to. I have to see him.”
“It,” she said.
“Him. He was a him.”
She followed my gaze to the unmoving man face-up on the pavement not ten feet away. He was barely a zombie. He could have just eaten a really raw steak for all I knew, and been sprinting it off. But I’d… he’d… “He was a him,” I said, more quietly this time.
“It was an it, and it’s not anymore. Come on, honey.” She turned me around, away from the bloody shovel on the ground trailing a dark smear back to the mauled head. Her eyes searched my face, trying to catch my gaze.
“I told you to wait in the car,” I said.
“You don’t have to pretend,” she said.
“What are you talking about.”
“It’s just me. It’s okay to be scared.”
“I’m not,” I lied.
She pushed my sweaty bangs back off my forehead and combed her fingers through my hair. Her eyes followed the path of her hand. “This isn’t normal,” she said. “You can be scared. I’m scared.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m here.”
She smiled. “Yeah. Me too.”
*
“We’re just going down to the lake,” I said.
“We didn’t have to drive.”
“No, but then we wouldn’t have music.”
“Are we going to dance?”
“Do you want to dance?”
She smiled - an almost, nearly, so-close-to normal smile, that I almost, nearly forgot to be terrified. “Yes,” she said.
“Okay,” I said, catching myself returning the smile before I could even stop. “Me too.”