Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

Survive Together -- Z Nation [Virginia & Traveler]

She was so pretty. It almost hurt to look at her.

And she was looking at him, which made him acutely aware of how dirty and smudged he must have looked to her. He swallowed twice and shifted the weight on his feet. What was he supposed to do or say? Vasquez had already left, so it was just him and June... but he never felt so 'on the spot' as he did at that moment.

"Soda?" He smiled incredulously at her. "I like soda. Grape's my favorite, and then root beer, but I like orange too." He took the soda can in his fingers. They stuck out of the ends of his gloves, and it seemed like he was always wearing his gloves now. "Is this the only one?" He glanced at her and wanted to feel her lips again, even if it was only on his cheek. The feeling of her quick, cool peck on his skin followed him still. "Do you... Do you want to share it with me? I don't mind if you have the first drink." He used the edge of his scarf to wipe off the top and the rim.

"It's actually nice... uhm... to have someone to share things with." He paused and looked at her as he held out the still-sealed can. "I'm really glad that you're with us."

He felt a wave of shyness coming over him. He glanced at the ground and then back up at her again. Was it too soon to say anything to her? But what if he didn't... and she died? Or he died? She'd never know. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to speak.

His voice wouldn't work.

10k swallowed again. "I... I really li-" he had to swallowed again. "Like. You. I...uhm..." He felt the back of his neck grow tingly. God - was he going to faint? He took a few deep breaths to clear the sparkly images from his eyes. "I think I need to sit down." He let the air out of his pursed lips and put a hand out on the wall to steady himself.
 
10k wore dirt well. Which was an odd thing to think, but it was four years into the apocalypse, dirt was basically the number one accessory these days. He just looked like a survivor. June... wasn't sure she always did.

She smiled in slight relief when he said he liked soda. "Well I'll keep an eye out for grape and root beer, but stores don't restock like they used to so I can't make any promises. The was the only one I found." Things were a little easier if she could crack jokes. "Yes," June said a tiny bit hesitantly. "I'd like that." He wiped off the top and she reached for it, fingers touching his for a moment and sending a tiny tingle through her hand. "I..." It was hard to say it. Because she was glad she was with them, but she wouldn't have been with them if her parents weren't dead, but she wasn't glad about that. It still hurt. "I'm glad too." If she was going to be with anyone since her parents weren't an option, this was best. But it was still confusing to feel happy with him after her parents had died. It was just that she was happy with them, and she was glad she was with them.

It was all very confusing.

He was saying he liked her? Her cheeks flushed, and she glanced at him and then away, but back at 10k sharply when he said he needed to sit down. "Oh my god, are you okay? Do you need water?" It was the most likely thing. In an instant, all her shyness, all the anxiety about what was up with them was gone. She was at his side as quickly as she could, hand on his arm, eyes concerned. Soda wasn't the best option if he was dehydrated, he should get some water since they had it. Still, she offered him the orange can again, because it was what she had on hand. She desperate wished it was cold, though.

"When you're done hopefully not passing out, I'd... like to... kiss you again?" Okay, she'd managed to say it, hopefully she hadn't misinterpreted his 'I like you' as something else. Maybe he'd been going to say 'I really like you but not like that', and now things would be even more awkward. Shoot. Then she'd have to figure out how to fix things, and June wasn't even sure how she'd solve that sort of thing. Apologies and then giving him space? The idea of giving him too space made her heart hurt a little. But keeping the friendship was going to be the most important thing here.
 
He could have sworn she was going to say "Oh my god, are you out of your mind?" But she didn't. She didn't slap him, or rebuke him, or shove him down and run away. She didn't do any of those things. In fact, she seemed worried about him. She shoved the can of orange soda back at him and seemed to urge him to take a breath.

"When you're done hopefully not passing out, I'd... like to... kiss you again?"

10k was certain he had misheard her. First, she didn't get mad at him and tell him that he had it all wrong. She didn't tell him any of the terrible things that flashed through his mind. And now it sounded like she was asking him to kiss her again.

The soda was forgotten. He stepped closer to her and put a hand on her cheek. The other hand still held the unopened soda. Tentatively he leaned nearer to her, his eyes watching hers for signs of rejection, and when he didn't see anything that would indicate that she had changed her mind, he closed the space between them and kissed her, his eyes closing slightly. At first it was a soft brush, but the warm, soft feel of her lips pulled him in and he grew bold enough to press his lips more firmly on hers.

He knew that there was supposed to be more to it. The first tingle that shot through him nearly paralyzed his mind and he almost didn't do anything more, but then he moved his lips slightly and found that the sensation grew even more pleasurable. How could anything feel better than this kiss?
 
The idea that he might be worried she'd reject him would kind of blow June's mind a little bit. She'd kissed him earlier, after all. But she had no idea that he'd even managed to second guess that gesture from her earlier. How, though? That would be something she'd have to ask him if she ever knew how concerned he'd been. 10k didn't seem to be sick or in danger of passing out or anything, at least not that she could tell, so she relaxed a little bit.

Then he put his hand on her cheek, and the redhead tensed back up again, but for different reasons. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her cheeks were so hot it the warmth was practically in her veins. Was this what it was supposed to be like? This warm anxiety? She... she liked it. June wasn't sure if she was supposed to be liking this part, but she was. And then he kissed her. It was perfect. Well, maybe except for the apocalypse thing, but she wasn't thinking about that at all.

She wanted to wrap her arms around him, but she still had the bow in her hand. So the one that she had free curled into the fabric of his shirt, trying to keep him close, at least for the moment. He was kissing her a little bit more firmly and she returned it in kind, sort of throwing caution to the wind. It was probably important to pay attention to their surroundings, but the others were nearby and it was really hard to focus on anything except the feeling of his lips on hers, and his hand on her cheek.

It couldn't last as long as she wanted. But June was thinking a sort of 'forever' kind of thing right now. If she wasn't kissing him she wanted to be curled up in his arms, but now really wasn't the time. There were things to do. She needed a quiver, maybe they'd be able to find good things, and... none of it really matched up to what was happening now. Very reluctantly she pulled away, looking like she wanted to kiss him again. And she did, very much. "Can I pretend that was my first kiss instead of earlier? It feels like it should count more anyway." It was more of a proper kiss. Leaning in, she gave him a very quick peck.

"Sorry, I've just discovered I really like doing that." She wasn't really sorry at all.
 
He smiled at her as she explained the kiss. "I like it too... actually... you're the only person I've ever kissed." It seemed so odd to speak frankly about what they liked and what they were doing, but in the age they lived in, you couldn't afford to waste time.

Vasquez waved at them, apparently impatient for the two to get on with it.

"I guess we need to finish scouting." He touched her hand tentatively as if unsure if it was okay or not to touch her, even after their kiss. Were they friends? More than friends? Did she like him or did she 'like' him? It was kind of confusing. He walked with her and tried not to bump into her too much.

She might not like being bumped into.

He liked bumping into her, though... He liked being near her. He walked with her as they went to find the other things she was looking for, and when they found the door to a coffee shop unlocked he cleared the room before letting her in. The last thing he wanted was for her to be killed now that they had this 'thing' working out between them! He wanted to see where it might lead.
 
"What? Really?" June felt like she should be surprised because he was so handsome and nice, but having spent all that time with him, she was kinda getting that he was also a little awkward and shy. Which worked out okay with her, because she had been very willing to just keep showing up to get him to talk to her if she'd had to. But she didn't mention that part, she chose to just go with "you're handsome and so kind, I have a hard time believing that." Actually, maybe he just... didn't notice when girls were signalling at him? That was possible

His second guessing might move from adorable to exasperating if she knew about it. Well, could something be exasperating and cute? Probably. When his hand touched hers, the redhead smiled at him and then laced her fingers through his, though it was brief because she realized that she should probably drop the bow off with the group. Without a quiver she could only carry so many arrows, and inside shops the bow was unwieldy and large. Her machete was better for that sort of thing. Doc was made to promise that he'd take good care of the long ranged weapon and the case of arrows.

Before they got to the store she thought would have a quiver, June spotted a coffee shop. It didn't take much to convince 10k to make the stop, and she was pretty sure he would have stopped for her even if it hadn't been for the hope of finding salt, sugar, or something else they could use to flavor food. He was pretty insistent that he go in first, and though she protested, she ended up accepting that. The redhead kept watch until 10k said it was safe to go in. Quietly she stepped in once he'd cleared it out, and closed the door behind her.

"I could have helped," she informed him softly. Had he not wanted her to because he didn't believe she was capable, or because he was being protective? That seemed like something she should figure out. "Coffee shops are a good first date," she quipped, and then smiled at him warmly. "Even if it's the apocalypse. I mean, if we can call this a date. I think we should, unless something goes really wrong. In which case we'll cancel that and try again." June hoped this could be a date. It was probably hard to have a date without zombies these days, but the rest could be good, right?
 
A coffee shop. A coffee shop was their first date, and 10k didn't have the heart to tell her he'd never gone to a Starbucks back when they were still a thing. He and his dad had been, well... they'd been kind of like survivalists. Dad didn't like cities; he believed in living off the grid. He didn't trust the government. He didn't trust the Apple Company or Big Business or any of those things that made the modern world modern.

"Sure," he said, when she asked about making this their 'first date'. "It's better than most, right?" He fingered a stack of musty napkins and traced the green logo. "Frappachino.... were those good?" The old ad showed a light, icy drink topped with whipped cream. He said the word 'frappachino' like 'El Camino', the accent going on the 'chi' in the word. He liked the way it felt coming out of his mouth. "I wonder if anyone who drank here knew that it was going to be their last coffee."

He walked around, touching the foreign barista machines and trying not to sniff at the rotten milk and other ingredients in the shop. He found an unopened carton of milk and shook it experimentally. The 'schloop, schloop' that came from it made him wince before he put it down. Nothing in the world would convince him to give that carton of glop a try.

"I know that you could have helped," he finally said in answer to her earlier assertion. "I was just worried... I didn't want to risk losing you so soon, you know?" He glanced up at her, the long bangs brushing the tops of his eyes. "Sometimes it feels like I lose people right after I start to care about them."
 
June turned a little pink and looked pleased when he agreed. It was a small thing, but it made her really happy. "Probably. Most people probably don't even think about that, but I'm a romantic. And this is," she made a sweeping gesture with her arm, bumped something, and knocked up a cloud of dust that made her sneeze, "well okay not exactly that. Oh it's making my nose tingle, ick."

Moving away from the shelf, she squinted at the faded sign when he asked. "I dunno. I didn't ever get anything but hot chocolate at Starbucks. It wasn't exactly something we drove by every day. It was a treat when we were in town or on vacation. I wasn't allowed to drink coffee back then." She glanced over at him when he wondered aloud, and wrinkled her nose. "Depressing." The teen pronounced it more like 'duh-press-ing', no longer really able to find thoughts like that all that depressing. Everyone had a last something, and they rarely knew it was going to be their last.

"I was thinking if we're lucky, we might be able to find some kind of seasoning. Sugar, salt, some kind of non-dairy creamer that didn't need to be kept cold, an old container of sprinkles, maybe a tea bag. I don't dare hope for coffee, but anything that will make food or river water taste a tiny bit better." Everybody knew better than to expect it, but a little went a long way and could definitely make the others happier. At least, she hoped. Breakfast had gone over pretty well (except for Murphy) and she couldn't recreate that but she could try to find some sugar or salt.

June stared at him for a moment, unsure of how exactly to respond to that. "Oh," she said finally. "That makes sense. But... then I get all stressed out because you keep being there to protect me and that's the kind of thing that gets people killed and it's really important to me to keep you safe too. Which isn't going to happen if you decide you're just going to handle everything to protect me or something." She could stab zombies and break car windows and she had a bow now, things were going to be okay.
 
He pursed his lips as he considered what she was saying. "So.... you.... you want me to stop protecting you?" He wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, she had a right to decide what kind of life she led, and if she wanted to deal with her own threats, he had no right to tell her 'no'. On the other hand, he was reluctant to lose her.

Of course, there were no guarantees in life. None.

"Okay." He nodded. He'd decided. "I can do that." He was busying himself by looking through cabinets and he found a box of unopened instant coffee and some raw sugar packets in one of them. He handed these to June and kept looking for more spoils, his mind intent on accepting what she wanted, and needing to be occupied with something else in the meantime.

10k continued to search silently, his jaw twitching slightly as he opened drawers and looked for anything that might have served June's needs. In his mind she was now their main cook - her cattail flour and zucchini was akin to gourmet food now that the 'stuff' had hit the fan.
 
It was really easy to get distracted just watching him. Not even 10k doing anything in particular. Just being there. Breathing, living, with his dark hair and his beautiful eyes. But she couldn't get distracted by that, not when there was an important-ish conversation to be had.

"I..." June hesitated, because she felt like it wasn't as simple an answer as she had first started out with. "No. I feel safe and happy and I like knowing that there's someone to handle things that are scary and dangerous. It makes it easier to sleep at night, and easier to pretend things are fine. But I know the answer has to be yes, because it's not fair to you. My life is different than it used to be, and I can't be holding you down, putting you in worse situations. It's not going to end well." He'd die or he'd start to resent her. "I have to learn how to survive like you do." He didn't need to back off completely, she just wanted to know that she could handle it, and everyone knew she could handle it. "I don't... want to be standing on the other side of a closed door if you die." That thought was actually depressing, so she pushed it aside with "it might be a waste of bullets to teach me much with the guns right now, but you have all sorts of other skills and I want to learn."

He handed her the sugar and coffee, and she made a tiny excited noise, the air lifting suddenly like a sigh had gone through the room. "Oh! This is an amazing find! I never started liking coffee but I bet the others do, they're going to love this. Do you like coffee?" Tucking the spoils into her bag she looked at 10k for a moment before moving towards the back.

"Oh god, there's a bunch of spoiled milk back here." The fridge had been left open, some containers open or spilled. She retreated just as fast as she'd entered the store room, looking a tiny bit pale. "That is one of the worst things I've ever smelled and this is the apocalypse." It hadn't been as bad as it could have been, but she was not enjoying it at all. "Can I... borrow your scarf? I'm hoping the positive of the fact it smells like you will counteract the negative that is four year spoiled milk spilled and in containers."

Also she thought that was a fine tiny bit of flirting. "Or you can go in because if you going in to places like that is part of protecting me, I might take back what I said." But her hand was still extended for the scarf, so it didn't seem like she meant it.
 
Did he like coffee? He pressed his lips into a thin line. If he said 'yes', she might try to seek out coffee for him like she did the soda. If he said 'no', he'd never get it again. It was a conundrum, and this was their first 'date'. Were girls always this confusing? As that question bounced in his head he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, anxious to be out of the stifling shop and back where the slight breezes could waft away the scent of stale rot.

"I drink it sometimes," he finally answered, leaving the 'like' part unanswered. "I know some of the others do too." She seemed really excited and proud of the find, though, so he was glad to have been able to help. Though truth be told, he'd much rather have found some usable ammo for one of their guns. You couldn't throw a sugar packet at a Z and expect it to do much.

He was already handing her his scarf when she said that it would smell like him. That thought made him withdraw his hand slightly. Smelled like him? He stank! Why would she want to smell him? He felt awkward and conflicted now. Surely he didn't smell any better than the rotted milk. It had been a while since any of them had bathed, and they didn't always have time to worry about hygiene. He didn't smell as badly as Murphy, surely, but it wasn't like he smelled good. He didn't even like the way he smelled.

"I, uhm... you can clear it if you want, but my scarf's not going to help," he said, withdrawing his hand. "You might be better off just... holding your breath." He hadn't taken the scarf away completely but he had pulled back enough that it wasn't a full-on proffered item either. "What exactly are you looking for in there? More spices?" His foot crunched on something and he looked down to see that he had stepped on the mostly decomposed body of someone's dog. At least, it might have been a dog. It had a collar but it was small, cat-sized, and it was so badly dried it looked like old road kill that had been drying in the desert all summer.

It wasn't very appetizing at all. He grimaced, more affected by the dead dog than if it had been a person, and then followed her towards the back. The sooner they were out of this place the better.
 
June wasn't going to seek things out just for him, at least not in any obsessive way. But it was nice to know what people liked so when she was scavenging, so she could keep an eye out. If someone liked or needed it, an ordinary thing became a treasure. She wanted to find those things. Right now she didn't have a role. She could be the one who made good food happen until she was strong enough and had proved herself with the bow. That was a role that was important. If she couldn't be that, she was just 10k's girlfriend. And only if he thought of her like that. She didn't know, but she hoped.

"That is a non-answer," the redhead informed him promptly, "but okay." Worked for her. Maybe he meant it as that he didn't really care, it was just a thing to drink if available to distract from the not always enjoyable water. "Everyone else was probably drinking it pre-apocalypse." She hesitated a moment and then said "I wonder if it's harder for them. And I guess you, I think you're older than me. I only had fourteen years of peace, and almost a quarter of that has passed by in time already. If I'm... if I live long enough, I'll have more time in the apocalypse than not." She has been going to say 'if I'm lucky', but she didn't know if living that long was or not. "Objectively, I have a lot less experiences and memories. It's just... something I wonder about." Hopefully 10k didn't mind that kind of talk. She'd never had someone to ponder that sort of thing with.

He definitely wasn't the nicest thing she'd ever smelled, but there was a sort of positive based on the fact it was his. That was a less than appealing smell she knew and it was connected to someone she really liked. Perhaps it was like people who found the smell of cigarettes comforting because it reminded them of someone they knew and cared about. And it was going to be better than spoilt milk. "Maybe I just liked getting to wear it," she had to admit after a moment. Because it was his.

When he asked why she wanted to check, June had to stop and really think about it. "I... I guess there's not really a ton of reason to. I thought there was a better chance of finding something because it was terrible back there, but it's just Starbucks. I shouldn't get too optimistic. It's probably not worth the smell, huh? Probably just cinnamon or something. I just... I want to find something good." Overly optimistic was what she was. Just assuming there would be good things. She hadn't had the same negative experiences as the rest of the group. Hadn't felt the same hunger yet. "Should we head on out?" She felt a tiny bit disappointed. No big find, nothing special, it was all bad smells and slightly awkward talking. And had she offended him telling him she didn't want to be protected?

Why was this so hard?
 
He thought about her answer for a moment, then nodded, his shaggy hair moving with a life of its own. "It makes sense. I mean... if you check it and there's nothing then you lost nothing, but if there is something, then... it's good." He shrugged and looked at her, his lips curving up into a small smile. "It's smart." He adjusted the rifle strap on his shoulder. "You're smart."

He nodded again at her suggestion to head out. The sun was bright out there and he held a hand over his brow to shade his eyes as he squinted down the street. "Hey - there's a sporting goods store," he indicated a shop about four doors down and across an intersection. "Want to check it out?"

Back at the trucks the others were filling water tanks and making sure that the vehicles had oil. It seemed as if they had at least a moment of peace. The shop's door was closed but it wasn't locked. Once he turned the handle and it opened he looked at June. "Want to go first?" If she wanted to clear the shop first he wasn't going to say 'no'. Part of caring about someone was respecting their choices, even if they scared you.
 
She wanted to touch his hair. Just run her fingers through it, and probably kiss him a few more times. At the very least, just spent some more time curled up against him. Which June was going to be able to do whenever things seemed safe enough! She smiled and looked flattered when he called her smart. "Thanks. I'm still not sure if it's smarts or optimism, but it's gonna work until it kills me." Remembering that they had just had a discussion about his concerns over that, June added "which is hopefully not for a long time, I'm pretty happy right now," a little hastily, but with a pretty obvious sincerity. It seemed like a good idea to just keep letting 10k know how happy she was to get this shot at a relationship, and how much she adored him. And how jealous she was of his cheekbones.

He didn't seem used to being adored, she was going to fix that.

"Good eye! Yeah, that's the place. Maybe you can scrounge under shelves in the gun section and find a bullet or two if we're super lucky? I'm feeling lucky. Or happy. But it's lucky to be happy these days." She smiled at him, and then moved down the street towards the sporting goods store, stopping at the door. It was hard to see all the way inside, so the fact that she didn't see movement didn't mean anything. He asked if she wanted to go first and June hesitated, grip tightening on her father's -- no, her -- machete. "No," she said honestly. "But it's my errand and you went into Starbucks first, so I should. Plus I trust you not to hit me if you have to use the gun, and that means it's probably really useful to have you go in second." A pause and then she glanced back at him, "right? You're probably the tactics person more than me."

Stepping inside, the redhead strained to hear anything. She did. There was a soft noise coming from the back, and she couldn't tell quite what it was going to be yet. Maybe a raccoon that had gotten in somehow, maybe more than one zombie. Gesturing silently, she moved to go investigate. June trusted 10k to have her back, and it helped with the anxious tingles that moved up her spine, making her feel so exposed. Because she wasn't, she had him.

And then there was the zombie. He had probably been decent looking once, but half his face had slid a little as skin started rotting, and he lurched towards her slowly. He had a nametag, but it was faded to the point that June had no way of telling whether he had worked at this store or not. Given how long it had been, she sort of assumed not. He had probably kept it because it helped him feel normal, or in case of... of this. So someone would know. It saw her, snarled, and stumbled towards her. Slow, thank god. The bow was back with Doc because it wasn't going to be great use in the small space and she couldn't transport arrow, so all she had was a the blade. Not a problem, one wasn't so hard. When the zombie hit the floor, no blood dripping from where the blade had made impact, she took a moment to murmur her words of Mercy. Four years in and she still said it every time she could.

"He doesn't know what aisle a quiver would be in."
 
For a little thing she was certainly brave. And she was giddy. Brave, happy, giddy, and by her own admission, lucky, and 10k couldn't understand her sudden burst in life and optimism. Surely he had nothing to do with it. He was just.. well, possibly just the only guy her age and if she happened to have gone to school with him she wouldn't even consider asking him to a dance, would she? Didn't public schooled kids do that?

Or did. They did that kind of thing, right?

He gave her a nod when she told him to follow her, and he lowered the rifle barrel to a relaxed ready position. There was no reason to accidentally muzzle her when she went in first. It was distracting, though, to see the way her auburn-flame hair curled at her neck, and to see the soft throb of that vein on the side of her neck. It was like a beacon; I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive...

...and then they both heard the movement in the back of the shop. The zombie was atrocious; maybe it was because it mimicked normalcy so closely, with the faded name tag and the almost-handsome face, but but 10k found himself wanting to move forward and protect June from the thing. But June had asked him specifically not to, so... He clenched his teeth. This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

He had to restrain himself as she went in and gave the Z mercy. She was stoic; he could almost swear that she was gritting her teeth. Once it was done and she turned to him he had to replay what she said in his head to understand it.

Slowly a smile spread across his face, then he chuckled. It was so absurd! "You.." he drew in a breath, and it shuddered with relief that she was okay. "You... you're pretty cool. Yeah, he doesn't know which isle that would be." 10k nodded and glanced around, thankful that it seemed as if customer service would be at a minimum today.

He followed her through the store, picking up a few things along the way; signal mirror, hand warming packs, a couple of glow sticks that survived, some fish hooks and line... eventually they got to the place that had once housed pellet guns, archery and knives. It looked like people had cleared out the supplies long ago, but a few things remained. 10k found a yellow pack of six JuicyFruit sticks of gum. He unwrapped the end and offered one to June before popping the other in his mouth. "Mmm... that's good. My dad never let me have gum." He chewed happily, like a puppy with a new toy, and kept following her while they searched for her treasures.
 
Just because it looked like a person didn't mean it was a person. Even if the person was there still, they weren't in control, they deserved freedom. Them or us. A dozen different little things still ran through June's head when she had to kill a zombie, and then her brain just sort of... shut off. Disconnected, like she did when they killed chickens. If asked to describe a detail on the zombie's face, the redhead probably wouldn't have been able to. If she focused on that, she wasn't sure, even after all this time, she'd be completely comfortable doing it. It had taken so long to get there, so long to adapt to this at all. More than one panic attack, and an inappropriate amount of crying over people she either didn't know or barely knew. The dead could get nothing from her anymore, June couldn't afford it. She was realizing that even more now.

10k though, he was alive. And he got warmth from her. A bright smile when he chuckled, and she took a moment to push a few strands of red hair back behind her ear. "You're cooler." She appreciated the compliments. "And you don't even have to think of quippy things to say." He was just cool. Or she thought he was. Less in the way she'd thought when she'd first approached him, but the fact that he was actually adorable and sweet was really, really nice. She felt so comfortable with him. June was still figuring out how to read him, but she'd get it, at least a little more.

"Oh, gum! Yes, please." She took a piece and tore it in half carefully, pocketing the still wrapped half she wasn't going to chew, to make it last longer. Now her mouth wasn't going to taste like apocalypse. "See? Lucky day." She looked a little bit surprised that he'd never used to get gum, and tilted her head before moving to look for a quiver. "Why?"

There wasn't any sign of a bracer, but she thought maybe if she could find a shin guard, she could make that work. Not that she even really needed one, but getting hit by the bowstring hurt. The bruises could get nasty, too.

"Ah!" She found what she was looking for, and moved quickly to grab it off the floor. "Oh. It's..." the strap was ripped and it looked like someone might have just torn part of it off to use to fix their own. Probably because theirs was larger or they liked it. "I... can make this work," she said after a moment. "I don't know if I can still secure it to my back properly, but... maybe my hip until I find another one." Attach it to her belt and her leg to keep it from flopping about.

((So I've kinda decided that June deals with the stress of zombies and killing them by having lumped them into a category of 'not human, so I can kill it" and she has strategies for that, and eventually she might stress out that she could probably just do that with a living person. Also I had an idea where at some point 10k is sick or injured and she ends up reading to him because comfort. Just some book she found, probably.))
 
He watched her figure out what she was going to do with the quiver. She seemed so happy about the discovery; he didn't want to say anything that might take away that joy. "Yeah, your hip would work. There might be all kinds of straps and stuff around here," he said, glancing around at their surroundings but finding nothing. He pressed his lips together; they'd gone down every isle in the store. At least they found something that would work, and he figured that it was better than nothing.

Heck, it gave them some time alone. That was pretty good too.

He walked back out into the sunlight with June, squinting at the glare. He shielded his eyes as they strolled across the debris-ridden street but all that seemed to accomplish was to keep one hand over his eyes instead of on his rifle. Thankfully it seemed peaceful. Old newspapers, empty cans, and various other bits of garbage had accumulated in the gutters. Weeds had begun to push their way through every crack where water and soil had provided a temporary shelter for seeds, and cobwebs stretched from the signs to the buildings like sad, tattered banners. It might have been a quaint small town at one time but now it was just a place where people used to live.

Vasquez was strolling down the middle of the street, and when he saw the two of them he gestured in a 'let's go' wave of his arm. Once he got within talking distance he nodded. "We gotta go; Roberta wants to make the next stop before it gets too dark. You guys are making Murphy speculate on what's taking you too long, and that's something nobody needs to hear."
 
"I have a needle and thread, I think I can move what's left on this around until it works." Didn't need scissors, she had a knife. "I could probably even use a belt if I can find one, but for now this'll work. I mean, it has to." June would stubbornly make it happen. "I've never used a hip quiver before, but as long as I'm not spilling arrows, it's functional." That would be sort of a mess, after all. And arrows weren't great for just using as handheld weapons.

She had really enjoyed just having a little bit of time with 10k. He was great, and it was nice to have a moment to breathe and spend it with him alone. Not like they'd done anything that required being alone, but it was still nice.

Oh, the sun was bright. "I gotta find some sunglasses. That... aren't on a zombie, because I'm picky." And if you took glasses off of a zombie it might like, come with some of their skin with it. Which was super gross and probably not safe. "Or a hat, maybe." A hat would be useful as they moved towards fall and winter, anyway. The cold kinda sucked. But she had someone to cuddle up with now.

She looked at Vasquez and then moved obediently towards the group, pausing for a moment to pipe up, "poor guy, he's so lonely." June didn't sound sorry for Murphy at all. As they neared the group, Doc waved to them and moved towards the pair. "Hey kid," he was addressing 10k almost entirely, and June seemed to realize that because she moved away, gathering up her supplies and busying herself with adjusting her bow and loading arrows into the quiver, trying to figure out how she was going to properly attach it.

Back with 10k, Doc gave him a grin. "We gotta find a time to talk. Either during the next leg of the trip or tonight. I'm bettin' you didn't get all the talks you need to navigate the whole relationship thing." And Doc was pretty good at that. Or at least, he knew what people were supposed to do. He hadn't exactly always done the right thing, but he knew what it was!
 
"Let's move out!" Roberta called to the group. She eyed the young couple and then turned to the truck, yanking open the door as if it had personally offended her.

10k gave Doc the deer-in-the-headlights look. "What do you mean, 'relationship thing'? Are you talking about June?" He furrowed his brow as he walked towards the back of the truck to climb in. He was intending on just climbing in and sitting in the back with her like last time.

"No one rides outside this leg," Vasquez said, slapping the side of the truck. "June, come with us," he indicated himself and Roberta. "10k you help Doc keep an eye on Murphy and his friend." It seemed as if no one wanted to call Cassandra 'Cassandra' any more. They all could see that she wasn't the same person anymore, but she wasn't exactly a full-blown Z either. She was a special creature... just not one that anyone trusted.

"But..." 10k didn't understand the logic of it.

"Don't ask questions," Doc insisted, opening up the door of the sedan he was driving. "Just get in. We got miles to put behind us."
 
"Unless you're kissin' other girls." Perhaps he was assuming with their relationship, but he knew 10k and he had a pretty good idea on June. They weren't the post apocalyptic friends-with-benefits types.

June's own "but..." came as Doc said not to ask questions (mostly because that made it easier for him to get the talk time he needed with 10k), the redhead looking a little bit nervous. Roberta and Vasquez? She had just sassed at Roberta not that long ago and Vasquez didn't seem to trust her at all. Her relief was obvious when, after a pointed look from Doc, Addy took a few lazy steps towards the truck the redhead was reluctantly climbing into. She immediately wedged herself into the corner to make as much room as possible for the others and then began to work on her quiver.

Doc waited until Murphy fell asleep - it was far too much to ask him take lookout -, for emotional safety of 10k. There was no way the kid wouldn't get mocked, and that would make the whole talk a lot harder. Cassandra wasn't resting, but they were pretty sure she didn't sleep and she would have nothing to contribute to the conversation. "You're probably not gonna be able to shoot everyone who says somethin' weird to your girlfriend. Waste of bullets." Because he could see that being an issue with 10k. He'd been pretty prepared to go postal on Murphy, or.... the quiet, colder version of that he'd seen getting ready to happen.

"I'm gonna answer all your questions and then give you answers to the questions you're either not asking or haven't even thought of yet. Sex, romance, all of it."

In the truck, June was hard at work with her quiver. Her bow had been set down on the floor carefully, so no one would kick it. She wanted very much to be in the car with 10k, even if it meant having to deal with Murphy.
 
Sex? Romance? 10k felt his face growing warm, despite the wind whipping in the windows as Doc shouted at him. When he glanced in the back he saw that Murphy looked fast asleep. Or dead. They couldn't be lucky enough to have him die yet, could they? Cassandra just growled, causing him to turn back around.

"I don't know what there is to ask about," he confessed. "I mean... I like her. What else is there to really know?" He gripped the handle on the door and felt like bracing himself for whatever was about to come. The gleam in Doc's eyes almost made him wonder if the man had been smoking Z weed.

In the other car Roberta drove for a while, not saying much but glancing back at June every so often. Finally she couldn't take it. "Listen, girlfriend; you and I need to talk." She raised an eyebrow at her in the rear view mirror when she saw that she had her attention. "Yes, you. I don't know if you've thought about it or not, but 10k's not like other guys. You gonna be taking on a lot if you keep this up with him." She pressed her lips together. "You even on birth control? You even know what that is?"

"Give her a break," Vasquez interrupted. "She's not a child, Roberta."

"Hell 'she's not a child'. She's a kid! How old are you, June? You ever even kissed a boy before?"

In the back seat Abby turned to look at June. She hadn't said anything yet, but her eyes were dancing at the interesting turn of events that was happening. It was better than TV.
 
Maybe he should encourage the kid. That seemed like a good place to start, right? Had to keep 10k from shutting down or something. "Don't worry about messin' up. Junie's a good kid and she adores you. Everyone else can see it, and..." he paused and chuckled, whatever encouraging thing he'd had in mind vanishing as something else occurred to him, "damn kid, she's been goin' after you since the beginning." She'd approached him specifically, pulled him away basically every chance she got, and made every move she seemed comfortable with. Gutsier than he thought she was. A pause and then, "but use these." He fished into his small bag and produced a box of condoms that he tossed at 10k cheerfully, before his expression turned more solemn. "I'm not big on scare tactics, but you take a minute and think about all the ways a pregnancy's gonna end these days." Very few outcomes were happy, live birth. Not without doctors and the lack of nutrition and dehydration, not with the stress and... the zombies.

"You're a smart kid, got a good head on your shoulders. Go at your pace, do what feels right." This was far more supportive than the talk June was currently getting. Or... interrogation. Had Doc known, he probably would have tried to get both kids in his car.

'Girlfriend'? That didn't sound like the sort of thing Roberta would usually say. June wondered if it was some kind of... well, either attempt to try and talk like she thought a teenager would, or some message the redhead was missing, where she was being subtly threatened and just completely missing it. Still, she responded with a prompt "yes, ma'am" because she was startled and better to be more polite than not polite enough. "I've... only actually known men who are at least ten years older than me. At least in the last four years." She didn't know what Roberta meant by 'taking on a lot'. "I... I'm not. But I know. My mother made sure I understood the... extra dangers of being a woman in the apocalypse." She was still trying to sew to keep her hands busy, but this was a little too much, and she pricked her finger, making a tiny noise and pulling it up, frowning at the small bead of blood.

"I'm eighteen. I kissed 10k on the back of the truck." So technically yes? There was also not that long ago after he came out of the store. "I'm not intending to... to just go running off and sleep with him, we've barely figured out what's going on. But I really, really like him. I want to know more about him. I really like it when he smiles." She was terribly pink at this point, and looked back down at her quiver because it was easier than looking at anyone in the truck.
 
He reached out, reflexively, and caught the box Doc had tossed his way. When he saw the picture his ears pinked even more. Condoms? He glanced nervously at Doc. They were expecting him and June to have sex? He slid deeper into the chair as he listened to his friend eschew the benefits of not getting a girl pregnant at the end of the world as they knew it.

In the back seat Murphy harrumphed. "He'll be lucky if he doesn't put it on backwards and upside down."

"Now Murphy, why do you have to go and be such a downer?" He glared at their passenger in the rear view mirror. "The kid's got a right to have some fun in this life."

"Says who?" Murphy sat up and leaned forward, his attention piqued. "Why should he think that he can have a 'normal' relationship when the rest of this godforsaken world is fucked? With his luck, he'll be halfway to his first cherry drop and someone's going to turn into a damn Z. Then they'll be two Zs. Remember the pharmacy factory?" He was remembering the Zs on the little blue pills. "They didn't even get to go out right. 10k's going to be lucky if putting that little prophylactic on isn't the last thing he does."

Doc glared. "You know, Murph - you can be a real dick sometimes."

"Thank you," Murphy smiled smugly at the two of them. "My job here is done."

Poor June wasn't having a better time of it. Roberta nodded, as if she fully expected that answer. "See? Only eighteen, and 10k was her first kiss."

"Damn, girl," Addie shook her head. "You had to go and wait for your first kiss, and you picked him?"

Vasquez chuckled. "Better than picking Murphy. Or Doc." He didn't suggest himself. In his mind, he wasn't even an option. "What, you upset that her first kiss wasn't with you, Addie?"

"She-it," the girl said, leaning back in her seat. "The thought of two girls kissing making you hard, Vasq? We could give you a show if you ask nicely." She winked at June. "Right, chickie?"
 
Seeming to understand the look he was getting, the relaxed man shot 10k a grin. "Better to have 'em when you don't need 'em than to get there and not," he pointed out cheerfully.

Dang, Murphy was awake? That kinda put a damper on things. He'd have to finish this up fast, because nothing useful was gonna get said now. Couldn't put a condom on upside down, just inside out, but Doc chose not to try and argue that with Murphy. There was entirely no point, and he recognized that.

"Ignore him, kid." Advice that got given entirely too often. It was really all you could do with Murphy, after all. "You got a good thing and it looks like it's makin' you happy, and we're happy for you. Seen more smiles from you in a day than we usually see in a week." If not longer. It was nice. Made this all feel a little less shit. The amusement of getting to watch two teenagers bumble through attraction, and the optimism of them being willing to even try in the first place. Doc was all for it.

June was with... less encouraging people. "Who was it supposed to be, a cow? Because the last four years of my life has been some of those, a bunch of apple trees, and a whole lotta people the same age as my parents." There was that little spark again, but it had completely fizzled out by the time Addy spoke to her again. "Um, no? No thank you." She sunk down into her seat a little bit more and moved her quiver to keep working on it, but also as though it was going to protect her from the awkwardness. "I'm not..." she didn't even know how to finish that sentence. She didn't want to be insulting, but she was not interested in kissing Addy and she was definitely not interested in putting on a show for Vasquez. "You guys are making it sound like there's something wrong with him." That's what she was picking up, anyway. 'Not like other guys' and 'taking on a lot' if she was with him from Roberta, and then Addy's words just now. She didn't understand.

Casting a helpless glance out the back window towards the car behind them, June hoped this would pass soon and she could just sit in quiet until the next break. At least Vasquez seemed on her side for the moment. He wasn't ignoring her and he was kinda sticking up for her a little bit. She felt a tiny bit betrayed by Addy, though.

((If you want to skip to when they pull in for the day, or just stop for a break to stretch their legs at which point June and 10k can reconnect to ride together, please feel free!))
 
Citizen Z came through, his voice mostly static and broken words. Somehow Roberta and Vasquez were able to figure out that they needed to go to a lab that might, or might not, have a cure. They were hoping for the former.

When they pulled it the place looked deserted. The hoop houses were falling apart. Plastic fluttered in the breeze and far overhead a raven cawed. All the greenhouses were decrepit, all except one. Roberta pulled her car into the shade of a tree to park, and Doc pulled his truck in next to her. 10k poured out, eager to be away from talk of sex and condoms and the decaying stench that lingered around Murphy and 'her'. He was starting to really hate the thing that used to be Cassandra. It scared him, and he knew that it was far from 'right'.

He found himself heading for June almost as soon as his feet hit the ground. All the talk from the ride was spinning in his head and he needed to figure some things out, but he figured it would be better to figure them out with her. "Hey," he moved over, standing in front of her. His goggles sat, somewhat crookedly, on his head. Dark hair stuck out at crazy angles and he wore his rifle across his chest like a purse. His hands were still in those fingerless gloves he favored. For some reason he felt better with them on.

"So." His eyes skidded off her face and then glanced around, checking the perimeter with the kind of nervous thoroughness that those who survived too many ambushes tended to have. "Doc was talking..." he pressed his lips together and looked at her. She was just so... he couldn't remember how he'd felt before she showed up, but now he felt like anything was possible. "He said, he said..." He frowned. "So he said that you and I might be...?" 10k tilted his head in question. How could he broach the topic and not scare her away?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom