10_hurt_comfort fic: "Hot Coffee Mod", Bridge/Sky luff
Title: Hot Coffee Mod
Author: shurifanstuffs
Fandom & Pairing Power Rangers S.P.D., Bridge/Sky
Prompt: #3 Burn
Rating: PG
Summary: A freak synthesizer malfunction leaves Bridge severely burned and facing a long stay in the infirmary.
Notes: Assumes basic knowledge of S.P.D. characters and canon and that Bridge and Sky are an established couple.
Bridge was annoyed.
He was seated at a workbench in the S.P.D. lab, an assortment of computer parts before him, wearing a pair of goggles with magnifying lenses on them. Z had asked him to build her a computer, and first the custom case he'd made had turned out really bad, then Boom had accidentally melted it when testing a jetpack, and now that he'd gotten it rebuilt and looking decent and had all the innards hooked up and in place, it wouldn't turn on. He'd checked every connection a dozen times, unplugged and rewired everything at least three, and even replaced a few parts once or twice. Nothing.
"I give up," he finally said to R.I.C., who was watching him with interest. "I have no idea what's wrong." He sighed heavily, pulled his goggles off and tossed them aside. "I guess I'll have to start from scratch. Again. Goody. Maybe I should give up and tell Z to save her money and just order one online or something..." R.I.C. whined sympathetically. Bridge rubbed his face with one hand, feeling incredibly drained and angry with himself for not knowing what to do- working with computers was one of his greatest strengths, and somehow, this problem was making him feel stupid and ignorant. He finally pushed back from his workbench, and was just considering taking a break and coming back to it tomorrow when he wasn't so frustrated when Boom suddenly came running into the lab- or "sliding" might have been more accurate- and Bridge had to leap up and grab onto him to stop him crashing into the workbench.
"Bridge! Quick- rec room- synthesizer- glitch-" he sputtered.
"Calm down! What's going on?" Bridge asked, pushing him back onto his feet.
"Something's wrong with the synthesizer, and it's leaking butter," Boom panted. "...And hot sauce. And ice cream. And all kinds of nasty stuff mixed together."
"Uh-oh," said Bridge, and the two of them ran out of the lab and toward the scene as fast as they could (though Bridge occasionally had to stop Boom from falling over), following the trail of butter Boom had tracked down the hallway with his shoes. When the two reached the rec room, it was to find a scene of pandemoneum. The windows, floor, and some of the furniture were covered with various types of food. The synthesizer itself was now squirting out different liquids at random, and three Zs were attempting vainly to catch the torrent in buckets.
"Do something!" Boom moaned desperately to Bridge. "I don't know how to repair that thing. Kat does, but I haven't been able to find her or get ahold of her on my communicator, and I thought maybe you knew something." Bridge eyed the scene nervously, not keen on the idea of diving into it- he didn't actually know how to fix the synthesizer, but knew he could probably figure it out if he could get it unplugged; but he also didn't want to get struck by a flying sandwich or whatever it decided to eject next. However, Bridge knew he was their best hope to stop the madness at that moment, so he nodded bravely and threw off his jacket, wading into the mess. He dove between two of the Zs, rolling into a squatting position under the synthesizer's opening- right when there was a series of rapid pops, and Bridge looked up only to be battered by a torrent of popcorn.
"Bridge!" he heard one of the Zs cry, and two of them dragged him backward by the armpits, out of range of the flying food.
"Thanks," he panted, reaching up to pick a stray kernel out of his hair and eat it.
"I guess that's better than butter or mayo," sighed Z as her clones vanished. The two of them watched helplessly as the popcorn began to pile up higher and higher. "This is going to be a killer mess to clean up... Any chance that it's going to run out of stuff to throw at us?" Z asked.
"Not anytime soon, I don't think," said Bridge. "The matter recycler has plenty to work with so it can feed everyone at mealtimes."
"Well, that's great. So what are we going to do?" Z wanted to know, sounding defeated. "We can't just let it ruin the rec room." Bridge considered.
"I need to unplug it before I can do anything," he said. "But I'm not quite sure where the plug is, either..."
"It's underneath the counter!" Boom called helpfully from the doorway. He had his communicator to his ear. "I finally got ahold of Kat; she and the others were fixing a problem in the engine room and couldn't hear my pages. She says there's a panel underneath the counter; unplug that and she'll take care of the rest when she gets up here."
"Thanks, Boom! Alright," said Bridge, rubbing his hands. "I'm going in. Cover me, Z!" And with that, he got on his belly and slowly dragged himself forward across the sticky floor, shoving popcorn out of his way... but all of a sudden, the synthesizer stopped spitting food out and went quiet. Bridge rolled onto his back, stared up at it and waited; however, it remained still. "Hmm. Looks like it did run out of matter after all."
"Be careful," warned Z as Bridge stood up. "I don't trust that thing."
"It's a machine," said Bridge with a laugh, leaning in close to it. "It's not like it's plotting to blow something at me as soon as I get close to it, rig- AGGGGGGH!" Bridge yelled. For as soon as he'd leaned in, the synthesizer had suddenly come to life again, spraying hot coffee in his face- Bridge instinctively threw his arms up to shield himself, but only succeeded in getting scalded on his bare arms. He cried out again and fell back as the synthesizer sputtered and died a second time, tears streaming down his face.
"BRIDGE!" Z cried out, catching him as he fell over and Boom came running to help her. "Bridge? Are you alright?!"
* * *
Sky was just on his way back from his errand in the engine room with Jack, Syd and Kat when he heard Bridge screaming. He bolted ahead of the others just in time to enter the rec room and see Bridge fall backward into Z's arms, crying out with pain.
"Bridge!" he yelled, helping Z and Boom support his boyfriend.
"Hot," Bridge managed, tears streaming down his face. "Ow. Ow. Burn. Hot."
"Get him to the infirmary," said Kat at once, quickly darting forward to unplug the synthesizer as Z, Sky and Boom supported Bridge out of the rec room, going as fast as they could, Jack and Syd in their wake.
"What happened?" Jack asked Z as they went.
"That fu... that stupid synthesizer," Z quickly corrected herself, "gave him a blast of scalding coffee at point-blank range."
"Oooh," said Jack and Syd, wincing simultaneously. Sky bit his lip as he helped carry Bridge, feeling stabs of worry, as he'd screwed his eyes shut and was whimpering with pain. His face, neck, and arms were all covered with large red patches. Kat rushed ahead of the group to open the infirmary door, and Sky, Z and Boom set Bridge down on a bed, though they were unable to avoid touching his burns, making him cry out in agony.
"I'll go get Dr. Felix. You guys wait outside," Kat said tersely. "He might have to go to the hospital if it's bad enough, and if that's the case, we need to get him out of here on the double." And with that, she was gone. The others left, though Sky with some hesitation, as he didn't want to leave his boyfriend's side... leave him alone when he was suffering so much... He forced himself to walk out, however, as Z and Boom filled in the missing details of the story.
"I don't know what caused it, but the synthesizer suddenly started malfunctioning... at first it was only leaking butter out the front," said Z, and Sky noticed for the first time that she was completely filthy, covered in grime and food. "So I went to find Kat, and told Boom to come take a look at it when I ran into him, since I couldn't find her."
"And by the time I got there, it had gotten worse," said Boom. "First it was hot sauce, then shredded cheese, then lettuce... then pickle chips... then peanuts... grapes... raisins... walnuts... then alternating streams of ketchup, mayo and mustard. Z said she'd try and stop it, or at least hold it off from making an even bigger mess long enough for me to get ahold of Kat. When I left, it was making burping noises and shooting out ice cream and root beer. I couldn't reach Kat, so I went for Bridge instead, and you know the rest..." He trailed off just as there was a loud yell from within the infirmary, and they could hear Bridge sobbing. Sky automatically moved toward the door, to go to him, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.
"We have to stay out of the way, Sky," Z reminded him gently, and he nodded, swallowing hard, wincing again when there was another yell. "There's nothing we can do for him."
"He'll be alright," said Syd, though she was visibly distressed. "Kat and Dr. Felix will take good care of him." Silence fell as the group waited, tense, anxious, expectant. Sky thought as more time slipped past that at least they weren't taking him to the hospital... that it, at least, was one bright spot... but it still couldn't erase his boyfriend's cries of pain, and Sky's worry.
Eventually, the group fell back to lean against the wall and watch the door. They were soon joined by Commander Cruger, but aside from explaining what had happened to him, there was silence.
Sky's jaw was clenched tightly, his arms folded close across his chest, his eyebrows furrowed, cringing every time he could hear Bridge. Jack soon left the wall and began to pace. Boom was fidgety and would begin to drum his fingers against the wall, realize what he was doing, stop, then automatically do it again. Z looked blank and lost, Syd would occasionally wipe away a tear, and Cruger's face was impossible to read.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the door slid open. At once, the others began to move forward, but checked themselves when Kat stepped out.
"It doesn't look like the burns are deep enough to require a hospital visit," she said, and Sky let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in. "It's a bit early to tell, but I don't think it will cause permanent damage, either. As you could undoubtedly hear, though, he's in a lot of pain right now- we had to sedate him so that we could treat him. You all are free to wait out here more if you want, but it's going to be quite a while before you guys can see him; right now, I doubt it would be much of an enjoyable visit." Sky's gaze turned downward. "I'll let you know as soon as possible," said Kat, and she seemed to be looking directly at Sky as she spoke.
"Thank you, Kat," said Cruger finally, and she nodded, retreating back in the infirmary. There was an uncomfortable silence before Z said grudgingly,
"S'pose we should clean up the rec room- it's a nightmare."
"Good idea," said Cruger. "You guys can take your minds off of things. Since Miss Manx will be occupied, I'll see if I can get a technician here to fix the synthesizer- goodness knows we wouldn't want anything like this to happen again, and we still do need to be fed and watered. Rangers, Boom- get on the cleanup. Call up D-Squad if you need a break."
"Sir!" they all said at once, saluting, and Cruger gave them a little smile, walking off toward Delta Command, and the Rangers went in the opposite direction.
"Like I'm trusting that thing, even if it's fixed," said Syd when they'd stopped at a broom closet to get cleaning supplies.
"Yeah... I think it's time for a lot of carryout food," said Jack. "At least for a week or so, til we're all over our fear."
"I'll take anything, as long as it doesn't have hot sauce, ketchup, mayo or mustard in it," grumped Z, looking down at her still-grimy body, as she hadn't had a chance to change clothing yet. "I've had enough of that stuff to last me a lifetime."
"Oh... darn, I was going to suggest getting hot wings," Boom grinned, pushing his janitor's cart out. "Or maybe burgers." Jack, Z and Syd laughed, but Sky hardly paid attention to the conversation, his thoughts still back in the infirmary.
"Come on, Sky," said Syd, tugging on his sleeve when he didn't come along with the others when they began to walk away. He followed them, though he kept glancing back over his shoulder and almost walked right past the rec room door when they arrived. Shaking his head, he followed his friends in and tried to keep focus as he helped the others clean, scooping the popcorn and solid food into a trash bag so that it could be put into the matter recycler, then washing the windows, wiping down the furniture, and mopping the floor.
"You alright, buddy?" Jack asked after a while, nudging Sky when he kept idly wiping down the same sparkling-clean patch of window before him. He glanced moodily at his friend and nodded. "...Bridge is gonna be alright, man. You know he is."
"I know," said Sky, picking a stray pickle chip off the window. "But that doesn't stop me from being worried." He screwed his eyes shut briefly. "Hearing him... in pain like that. It's hard for me."
"It was hard for all of us," said Jack, patting him on the back. "Look, let's take a break and order some pizza, alright? Relax. It's not going to do anyone good if you worry yourself sick about him." Sky knew that he had a point, but his stomach still clenched when he thought of Bridge, even hours later when the cleanup had finished and they'd all gone to bed.
Sky he found that his bed felt strangely empty without the presence of another person- he'd already gotten so used to holding Bridge, or being held by Bridge, while both of them slept, that even though they'd been dating for just over two months and had been sharing a bunk for less time than that, the change was still very real and tangible.
He tried to shrug it off, thinking that he'd slept fine alone for the first twenty years of his life and shouldn't need that to get peaceful rest, but he still couldn't help but feel lonely as he drifted off, not having the steady rising and falling of his boyfriend's chest, his breath on Sky's face, even the occasional snore to lull him to sleep...
* * *
It was a while before the pain of Bridge's burns had subsided enough to the point where he could appreciate visitors for long periods- anything they tried to alleviate his discomfort before then had only been temporary or made him sleep.
However, he'd maintained an unusually sunny disposition throughout it all. Sky wondered how he was able to do it.
"Because it's not my personality," Bridge explained patiently as Sky fed him from a paper Chinese takeout box very late one evening - the Rangers were still a bit wary of getting synthesizer food, even though a technician from Command had easily repaired it. "I'm a naturally optimistic person, and I don't like making other people feel bad just because I'm hurt."
"I know that. Still, if I were in your position, I'd be miserable," said Sky, placing a shrimp inside Bridge's mouth with a pair of chopsticks. Bridge was perfectly capable of eating on his own, but Sky had insisted on doing this for him. Their time alone together was sparse now, and therefore all the more precious to them.
"Mmmm," Bridge sighed as he chewed, an uplifted expression on his face. "I know you would. And you'd be letting everyone know you were miserable and making THEM miserable, too." Sky was about to punch him in the shoulder, but stopped himself and merely glared at his boyfriend instead. "You know it's true, so don't give me The Look."
"Shut up," Sky mumbled, picking up a large amount of vegetables and sticking them into Bridge's mouth before he could reply. "...I guess I should be glad you're upbeat enough for the both of us, though." Bridge swallowed the whole lot in one go and grinned.
"Exactly. If I was even half as serious and stiff as you are, we'd have killed each other by now," he said. "I doubt we even would have gotten together in the first place, in fact." Sky sighed, set the empty container aside, and leaned in to kiss Bridge, then sat back, taking one of his boyfriend's leather-gloved hands into his own and squeezing it.
"I hope you're able to get out of here soon. ...I miss having you in my arms while I sleep. Pathetic, right?"
"Nah," said Bridge, shifting so that he was more comfortable. "I miss that, too." Sky nervously tugged his shirt down.
"Speaking of sleep, I'd better go," said Sky, regretfully glancing at the clock. "Busy day tomorrow- be glad you're not able to go to training."
"Yeah, I don't miss it. Go on, get to bed, I'm fine," said Bridge, though he couldn't hide the longing in his voice. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Sky leaned in to gingerly hug his boyfriend, careful to not touch any of his wounds, and the two kissed again, this time holding it for a moment that seemed to last forever. "I love you, Sky."
"I love you, too, Bridge." The two exchanged affectionate smiles before Sky ran his fingers through Bridge's hair, then turned and left the infirmary without another word.
(crossposted to 10_hurt_comfort)
Author: shurifanstuffs
Fandom & Pairing Power Rangers S.P.D., Bridge/Sky
Prompt: #3 Burn
Rating: PG
Summary: A freak synthesizer malfunction leaves Bridge severely burned and facing a long stay in the infirmary.
Notes: Assumes basic knowledge of S.P.D. characters and canon and that Bridge and Sky are an established couple.
Bridge was annoyed.
He was seated at a workbench in the S.P.D. lab, an assortment of computer parts before him, wearing a pair of goggles with magnifying lenses on them. Z had asked him to build her a computer, and first the custom case he'd made had turned out really bad, then Boom had accidentally melted it when testing a jetpack, and now that he'd gotten it rebuilt and looking decent and had all the innards hooked up and in place, it wouldn't turn on. He'd checked every connection a dozen times, unplugged and rewired everything at least three, and even replaced a few parts once or twice. Nothing.
"I give up," he finally said to R.I.C., who was watching him with interest. "I have no idea what's wrong." He sighed heavily, pulled his goggles off and tossed them aside. "I guess I'll have to start from scratch. Again. Goody. Maybe I should give up and tell Z to save her money and just order one online or something..." R.I.C. whined sympathetically. Bridge rubbed his face with one hand, feeling incredibly drained and angry with himself for not knowing what to do- working with computers was one of his greatest strengths, and somehow, this problem was making him feel stupid and ignorant. He finally pushed back from his workbench, and was just considering taking a break and coming back to it tomorrow when he wasn't so frustrated when Boom suddenly came running into the lab- or "sliding" might have been more accurate- and Bridge had to leap up and grab onto him to stop him crashing into the workbench.
"Bridge! Quick- rec room- synthesizer- glitch-" he sputtered.
"Calm down! What's going on?" Bridge asked, pushing him back onto his feet.
"Something's wrong with the synthesizer, and it's leaking butter," Boom panted. "...And hot sauce. And ice cream. And all kinds of nasty stuff mixed together."
"Uh-oh," said Bridge, and the two of them ran out of the lab and toward the scene as fast as they could (though Bridge occasionally had to stop Boom from falling over), following the trail of butter Boom had tracked down the hallway with his shoes. When the two reached the rec room, it was to find a scene of pandemoneum. The windows, floor, and some of the furniture were covered with various types of food. The synthesizer itself was now squirting out different liquids at random, and three Zs were attempting vainly to catch the torrent in buckets.
"Do something!" Boom moaned desperately to Bridge. "I don't know how to repair that thing. Kat does, but I haven't been able to find her or get ahold of her on my communicator, and I thought maybe you knew something." Bridge eyed the scene nervously, not keen on the idea of diving into it- he didn't actually know how to fix the synthesizer, but knew he could probably figure it out if he could get it unplugged; but he also didn't want to get struck by a flying sandwich or whatever it decided to eject next. However, Bridge knew he was their best hope to stop the madness at that moment, so he nodded bravely and threw off his jacket, wading into the mess. He dove between two of the Zs, rolling into a squatting position under the synthesizer's opening- right when there was a series of rapid pops, and Bridge looked up only to be battered by a torrent of popcorn.
"Bridge!" he heard one of the Zs cry, and two of them dragged him backward by the armpits, out of range of the flying food.
"Thanks," he panted, reaching up to pick a stray kernel out of his hair and eat it.
"I guess that's better than butter or mayo," sighed Z as her clones vanished. The two of them watched helplessly as the popcorn began to pile up higher and higher. "This is going to be a killer mess to clean up... Any chance that it's going to run out of stuff to throw at us?" Z asked.
"Not anytime soon, I don't think," said Bridge. "The matter recycler has plenty to work with so it can feed everyone at mealtimes."
"Well, that's great. So what are we going to do?" Z wanted to know, sounding defeated. "We can't just let it ruin the rec room." Bridge considered.
"I need to unplug it before I can do anything," he said. "But I'm not quite sure where the plug is, either..."
"It's underneath the counter!" Boom called helpfully from the doorway. He had his communicator to his ear. "I finally got ahold of Kat; she and the others were fixing a problem in the engine room and couldn't hear my pages. She says there's a panel underneath the counter; unplug that and she'll take care of the rest when she gets up here."
"Thanks, Boom! Alright," said Bridge, rubbing his hands. "I'm going in. Cover me, Z!" And with that, he got on his belly and slowly dragged himself forward across the sticky floor, shoving popcorn out of his way... but all of a sudden, the synthesizer stopped spitting food out and went quiet. Bridge rolled onto his back, stared up at it and waited; however, it remained still. "Hmm. Looks like it did run out of matter after all."
"Be careful," warned Z as Bridge stood up. "I don't trust that thing."
"It's a machine," said Bridge with a laugh, leaning in close to it. "It's not like it's plotting to blow something at me as soon as I get close to it, rig- AGGGGGGH!" Bridge yelled. For as soon as he'd leaned in, the synthesizer had suddenly come to life again, spraying hot coffee in his face- Bridge instinctively threw his arms up to shield himself, but only succeeded in getting scalded on his bare arms. He cried out again and fell back as the synthesizer sputtered and died a second time, tears streaming down his face.
"BRIDGE!" Z cried out, catching him as he fell over and Boom came running to help her. "Bridge? Are you alright?!"
* * *
Sky was just on his way back from his errand in the engine room with Jack, Syd and Kat when he heard Bridge screaming. He bolted ahead of the others just in time to enter the rec room and see Bridge fall backward into Z's arms, crying out with pain.
"Bridge!" he yelled, helping Z and Boom support his boyfriend.
"Hot," Bridge managed, tears streaming down his face. "Ow. Ow. Burn. Hot."
"Get him to the infirmary," said Kat at once, quickly darting forward to unplug the synthesizer as Z, Sky and Boom supported Bridge out of the rec room, going as fast as they could, Jack and Syd in their wake.
"What happened?" Jack asked Z as they went.
"That fu... that stupid synthesizer," Z quickly corrected herself, "gave him a blast of scalding coffee at point-blank range."
"Oooh," said Jack and Syd, wincing simultaneously. Sky bit his lip as he helped carry Bridge, feeling stabs of worry, as he'd screwed his eyes shut and was whimpering with pain. His face, neck, and arms were all covered with large red patches. Kat rushed ahead of the group to open the infirmary door, and Sky, Z and Boom set Bridge down on a bed, though they were unable to avoid touching his burns, making him cry out in agony.
"I'll go get Dr. Felix. You guys wait outside," Kat said tersely. "He might have to go to the hospital if it's bad enough, and if that's the case, we need to get him out of here on the double." And with that, she was gone. The others left, though Sky with some hesitation, as he didn't want to leave his boyfriend's side... leave him alone when he was suffering so much... He forced himself to walk out, however, as Z and Boom filled in the missing details of the story.
"I don't know what caused it, but the synthesizer suddenly started malfunctioning... at first it was only leaking butter out the front," said Z, and Sky noticed for the first time that she was completely filthy, covered in grime and food. "So I went to find Kat, and told Boom to come take a look at it when I ran into him, since I couldn't find her."
"And by the time I got there, it had gotten worse," said Boom. "First it was hot sauce, then shredded cheese, then lettuce... then pickle chips... then peanuts... grapes... raisins... walnuts... then alternating streams of ketchup, mayo and mustard. Z said she'd try and stop it, or at least hold it off from making an even bigger mess long enough for me to get ahold of Kat. When I left, it was making burping noises and shooting out ice cream and root beer. I couldn't reach Kat, so I went for Bridge instead, and you know the rest..." He trailed off just as there was a loud yell from within the infirmary, and they could hear Bridge sobbing. Sky automatically moved toward the door, to go to him, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.
"We have to stay out of the way, Sky," Z reminded him gently, and he nodded, swallowing hard, wincing again when there was another yell. "There's nothing we can do for him."
"He'll be alright," said Syd, though she was visibly distressed. "Kat and Dr. Felix will take good care of him." Silence fell as the group waited, tense, anxious, expectant. Sky thought as more time slipped past that at least they weren't taking him to the hospital... that it, at least, was one bright spot... but it still couldn't erase his boyfriend's cries of pain, and Sky's worry.
Eventually, the group fell back to lean against the wall and watch the door. They were soon joined by Commander Cruger, but aside from explaining what had happened to him, there was silence.
Sky's jaw was clenched tightly, his arms folded close across his chest, his eyebrows furrowed, cringing every time he could hear Bridge. Jack soon left the wall and began to pace. Boom was fidgety and would begin to drum his fingers against the wall, realize what he was doing, stop, then automatically do it again. Z looked blank and lost, Syd would occasionally wipe away a tear, and Cruger's face was impossible to read.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the door slid open. At once, the others began to move forward, but checked themselves when Kat stepped out.
"It doesn't look like the burns are deep enough to require a hospital visit," she said, and Sky let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in. "It's a bit early to tell, but I don't think it will cause permanent damage, either. As you could undoubtedly hear, though, he's in a lot of pain right now- we had to sedate him so that we could treat him. You all are free to wait out here more if you want, but it's going to be quite a while before you guys can see him; right now, I doubt it would be much of an enjoyable visit." Sky's gaze turned downward. "I'll let you know as soon as possible," said Kat, and she seemed to be looking directly at Sky as she spoke.
"Thank you, Kat," said Cruger finally, and she nodded, retreating back in the infirmary. There was an uncomfortable silence before Z said grudgingly,
"S'pose we should clean up the rec room- it's a nightmare."
"Good idea," said Cruger. "You guys can take your minds off of things. Since Miss Manx will be occupied, I'll see if I can get a technician here to fix the synthesizer- goodness knows we wouldn't want anything like this to happen again, and we still do need to be fed and watered. Rangers, Boom- get on the cleanup. Call up D-Squad if you need a break."
"Sir!" they all said at once, saluting, and Cruger gave them a little smile, walking off toward Delta Command, and the Rangers went in the opposite direction.
"Like I'm trusting that thing, even if it's fixed," said Syd when they'd stopped at a broom closet to get cleaning supplies.
"Yeah... I think it's time for a lot of carryout food," said Jack. "At least for a week or so, til we're all over our fear."
"I'll take anything, as long as it doesn't have hot sauce, ketchup, mayo or mustard in it," grumped Z, looking down at her still-grimy body, as she hadn't had a chance to change clothing yet. "I've had enough of that stuff to last me a lifetime."
"Oh... darn, I was going to suggest getting hot wings," Boom grinned, pushing his janitor's cart out. "Or maybe burgers." Jack, Z and Syd laughed, but Sky hardly paid attention to the conversation, his thoughts still back in the infirmary.
"Come on, Sky," said Syd, tugging on his sleeve when he didn't come along with the others when they began to walk away. He followed them, though he kept glancing back over his shoulder and almost walked right past the rec room door when they arrived. Shaking his head, he followed his friends in and tried to keep focus as he helped the others clean, scooping the popcorn and solid food into a trash bag so that it could be put into the matter recycler, then washing the windows, wiping down the furniture, and mopping the floor.
"You alright, buddy?" Jack asked after a while, nudging Sky when he kept idly wiping down the same sparkling-clean patch of window before him. He glanced moodily at his friend and nodded. "...Bridge is gonna be alright, man. You know he is."
"I know," said Sky, picking a stray pickle chip off the window. "But that doesn't stop me from being worried." He screwed his eyes shut briefly. "Hearing him... in pain like that. It's hard for me."
"It was hard for all of us," said Jack, patting him on the back. "Look, let's take a break and order some pizza, alright? Relax. It's not going to do anyone good if you worry yourself sick about him." Sky knew that he had a point, but his stomach still clenched when he thought of Bridge, even hours later when the cleanup had finished and they'd all gone to bed.
Sky he found that his bed felt strangely empty without the presence of another person- he'd already gotten so used to holding Bridge, or being held by Bridge, while both of them slept, that even though they'd been dating for just over two months and had been sharing a bunk for less time than that, the change was still very real and tangible.
He tried to shrug it off, thinking that he'd slept fine alone for the first twenty years of his life and shouldn't need that to get peaceful rest, but he still couldn't help but feel lonely as he drifted off, not having the steady rising and falling of his boyfriend's chest, his breath on Sky's face, even the occasional snore to lull him to sleep...
* * *
It was a while before the pain of Bridge's burns had subsided enough to the point where he could appreciate visitors for long periods- anything they tried to alleviate his discomfort before then had only been temporary or made him sleep.
However, he'd maintained an unusually sunny disposition throughout it all. Sky wondered how he was able to do it.
"Because it's not my personality," Bridge explained patiently as Sky fed him from a paper Chinese takeout box very late one evening - the Rangers were still a bit wary of getting synthesizer food, even though a technician from Command had easily repaired it. "I'm a naturally optimistic person, and I don't like making other people feel bad just because I'm hurt."
"I know that. Still, if I were in your position, I'd be miserable," said Sky, placing a shrimp inside Bridge's mouth with a pair of chopsticks. Bridge was perfectly capable of eating on his own, but Sky had insisted on doing this for him. Their time alone together was sparse now, and therefore all the more precious to them.
"Mmmm," Bridge sighed as he chewed, an uplifted expression on his face. "I know you would. And you'd be letting everyone know you were miserable and making THEM miserable, too." Sky was about to punch him in the shoulder, but stopped himself and merely glared at his boyfriend instead. "You know it's true, so don't give me The Look."
"Shut up," Sky mumbled, picking up a large amount of vegetables and sticking them into Bridge's mouth before he could reply. "...I guess I should be glad you're upbeat enough for the both of us, though." Bridge swallowed the whole lot in one go and grinned.
"Exactly. If I was even half as serious and stiff as you are, we'd have killed each other by now," he said. "I doubt we even would have gotten together in the first place, in fact." Sky sighed, set the empty container aside, and leaned in to kiss Bridge, then sat back, taking one of his boyfriend's leather-gloved hands into his own and squeezing it.
"I hope you're able to get out of here soon. ...I miss having you in my arms while I sleep. Pathetic, right?"
"Nah," said Bridge, shifting so that he was more comfortable. "I miss that, too." Sky nervously tugged his shirt down.
"Speaking of sleep, I'd better go," said Sky, regretfully glancing at the clock. "Busy day tomorrow- be glad you're not able to go to training."
"Yeah, I don't miss it. Go on, get to bed, I'm fine," said Bridge, though he couldn't hide the longing in his voice. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Sky leaned in to gingerly hug his boyfriend, careful to not touch any of his wounds, and the two kissed again, this time holding it for a moment that seemed to last forever. "I love you, Sky."
"I love you, too, Bridge." The two exchanged affectionate smiles before Sky ran his fingers through Bridge's hair, then turned and left the infirmary without another word.
(crossposted to 10_hurt_comfort)