doing something

[unbr8kable]

Who: some kids
Where: the dead zone
When: Day 335, after graduation

[After many a tiny finger food and many more tiny glasses of wine and one overblown and completely not sad at all!!! graduation ceremony, what better place to go than the dead zone? What better thing to do than climb up the giant, golden chain up to the crack in the sky? Sure it burns to the touch, but what's a little more pain on the pile--that's the point of all those tiny glasses of wine, right?

So never mind the slight sizzling sound, nor the uncomfortably familiar odor of burning flesh all the way up. There's a goal at the end; one that--in theory--will make this all worthwhile]

Comments

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He doesn't seem to want to get any further - doesn't seem to want anything but this]

[unbr8kable]

[Well, he has it now. And from how tightly she burrows into him she has no reason to change that]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Eventually, somewhat muffled:]

...how you feeling?

[unbr8kable]

[Nothing comes out the first time she tries to respond; the second is small and wavery]

...C'n we go dry off?

[crossmyheartandhope]

[His own is not entirely steady]

...yeah. Let's go dry off some.

[unbr8kable]

Yeah. Yyyeah.

[She doesn't move just yet, but hopefully he understands,]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He does not especially seem in a hurry to move, either. Certainly he doesn't make to climb out of the fountain]

You wanna do it here? Or...?

[unbr8kable]

[She leans in the right direction, at least?]

Do it...?

[crossmyheartandhope]

Dry off.

[He is not even leaning,]

[unbr8kable]

Could go to the hideout. Warm up.

[Even though he is so incredibly warm, she does a bad job of moving at least out of the water]

[crossmyheartandhope]

...yeah.

Yeah.

That sounds good.

[unbr8kable]

[After another few endless moments she actually turns that lean to a step, pulling him towards the edge of the pool, to head out of the water, eventually,]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He goes with her when she makes her way to the edge, though his hand finds hers and holds on tight]

[unbr8kable]

[She doesn't even attempt to break the link as she stumbles out of the pool. It takes a minute, body uncharacteristically clumsy and waterlogged, but eventually she makes it out, tugging him after]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He stumbles after her, unsteady - more so than before even, from just the effects of the wine, as though his body hasn't quite caught up with having the things that have been restored to it yet]

[unbr8kable]

[Once they're out, she gets a shoulder under his, half to keep him from stumbling, half just to stay close]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He has no problem with this - leans in against her, a warm weight at her side as they make for the gates]

[unbr8kable]

[She leans back, falling into step like a (somewhat coordinated) three-legged race back to the gates and the chain back to Tokyo F]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Back they go - past the watermelon tree, past the empty courtyard filled with abandoned things, past the gates with their shattered ruins]

[At last the chain stands before them, and the abyss]

[unbr8kable]

[She leans into him, soft]

...You ready?

[crossmyheartandhope]

...yeah.

Let's get outta here.

[unbr8kable]

[Goes on and gets out of there]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Back down they go]

[unbr8kable]

[It is pretty simple to get down, less because gravity is on their side (between that and being soaking wet and noodle limbed and de-powered gravity being on their side actually seems like a problem,) and more due to being able to actually touch the chain without their flesh sizzling--just being on the other side of the whole experience altogether makes anything following it mindlessly simple and lighthearted.

Soon enough they're stumbled back to the hideout--safely back home]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He's still not entirely steady on his feet, by the time they get back home, but he's getting better - time, maybe, and the shock of event itself, and the walk back home doing some work to sober him]

[He kicks his boots off to lie sodden in the genkan and then heads in, dripping on the floor as he aims for the electric kettle]