"happy birthday, bluejay."
2k words ; tsari fanfic
"gAH!" tari yelped as she lost her grip on the wooden plates nailed to the tree. fear of adrenaline rushed inside her veins, glancing a peek below her, acknowledging the height and distance above from the ground. she didn't have a fear of heights, yet it still was an alarming issue to imagine in her mind what could happen if she were to fall.
"w-wOaH! bj, grab my hand!" tsb directed extending his arm out, using his stretchable ability to allow tari a more secure reach. "come on!" he exclaimed, assisting her up until she was finally standing on the wooden surface base marked on their destination. "heh, trying to fall again now are we?" the man chuckled in hopes of lightening the mood, referencing an inside-joke recall based on their first meeting, "but on your birthday? what kind of a crazy bird are you!"
tari giggled, relief dominating over her after finally arriving at the top of tsb's home. "i'm not used to climbing up!" she began, taking a break to catch her breath, "why'd you have to live up so high? it's challenging to come to visit you!" the bluejay spoke glancing her eyes to take in the view as she recovered. she could see the showgrounds perfectly where she stood, watching her friends play in the grass field, and even a clear view of smg3's coffee and bombs. it was just a marvelous view, pondering why she hadn't thought to come here more often. with the wind brushing onto her face, and the shade provided by the tree's leaves to guard from the sun it was evermore peaceful and quiet. her worries gone within an instant, it was relaxing to say.
"then i suppose you'll have to come by more often to see silly o'l me, huh?" tsb responded, opening the entrance door for tari to enter. "birthday girl first~" tsb flirted, forming an exaggerated body gesture for her to enter in. tari shyly smiled and nodded, making her way inside the blue and yellow man's humble abode.
as if it was her first, tari couldn't ever grasp how peculiar and unique tsb's home was structured. the outer appearance appearing as a regular small treehouse built from wood and nails. yet the interior, god the interior was like an entirely whole other world. seemingly cartoonishly larger, covered in bright light blue walls, white clouds painted onto them. additionally, small rainbows scattered around. a giant painted sun on the ceiling, accompanied by multiple small paper-shaped stars assisted with tape dangled down from right above. high enough where her standing wouldn't bother it, but not so high where you couldn't acknowledge them. the area was furniture filled with shelves of unused big and small canvases, all sorts of art materials neatly placed and organized, with the man's silly personality of individually colored beanbags to sit on, and nets filled with all kinds of plushies and toys. it felt like a dream house for an art child really. dried used paint splattered about here and there on the walls and floor adding color to the bright white room.
"still breathtaking for you, birdy? i thought it would still be boring even doing some minor edits here and there." tsb scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment noticing tari's positive expressive expression as she glanced the place up and down, side to side.
"are you kidding? how could i not be? any normal person would find this breathtaking! your place is an absolute dream house, tsb! it's bright, cozy, colorful, and a playground of endless creative creation! i can't get over how you can manage to create this all yourself! very impressive!" tari exclaimed, as her smile stretched up to her cheeks, really absorbing and giving a twirl around the space. excitement fueled her as he bounced about exploring the other familiar areas and all of its satisfying gleam of bright colors. it felt like she truly was up in the clouds or a figment of what she felt was a physical imagination of heaven.
tsb could only watch and giggle from the side. his heart was pounding in glee seeing the bluejay prance about in joy, admiring the work of art he's created for himself to call home. he felt an over beamed of satisfied joy he endlessly craved being appreciated. especially from her. a compliment from anyone would've still been appreciated of course, yet hearing those words coming from her felt like he could die at any moment. and he wouldn't mind.
after some time of tari exploring the area admiring all the nooks and crannies of tsb's dream-like treehouse, tsb finally directed tari to his bedroom. a place he... coming to the realization he had never shown her before up until now. the first time smg4 interrupted them cutting their time short, and other visits were with other guests visiting to do arts and crafts or play board games. yet this was the first since her first visit it was just the two of them. tsb grew nervously anxious as he tiled the sun-shaped knob of his door, allowing entry to the girl he admired most. it was just his room and he truthfully had nothing to hide, yet it was still nerve-racking for him, pondering about her opinion.
"t-this is my room-" before tsb could even continue to create a proper introductory description, tari jolted up in joy, squealing in glee rushing inside to admire the new room, eager to explore. it had the same vibe and aesthetic as the main entrance room, the entire treehouse quite frankly, yet this room specifically was more in the theme of tsb's main colors. yellow and blue! additionally, instead of the walls being painted or scattered with paint, they were filled with drawings drawn on paper of different mediums taped onto the wall.
entering the room revealed tsb's bed, filled with drawings of rainbows and clouds above as seen the theme all over the place. the bed is cuffed below of soft felted cloud-shape border with a uniquely colored placed rainbow for a bed frame. to the right side of the wall was a large window viewing of the sky, and next to it a tall dresser. accompanied by the wall where the door was placed, was filled with drawings she could recognize were drawn from her friends. boopkins, luigi, heck even some dumb doodles from smg3 she recalled tsb telling the tale of them hanging out one night.
the last wall to the left side of the room erupted with colors of different shades of green and brown. taken aback coming to the realization tsb's home lacked the color green almost entirely, let alone any color of brown other than the "disguise" from the exterior. illustrations of trees, squirrels, and small rodents, and what she could make out looked like a television. causing a shiver down her spine being reminded of mr. puzzles, yet these looked nothing like him. furthermore, they looked the same tv of a design with a nice chestnut brown with a cyan-like blue screen. some with hearts, some crossed out even wrinkled, and others... tari stared at it in confusion. she assumed it was an interesting relation due to tsb heavy interest in cartoon shows, he would watch several frequently with mario. however, something inside her told her it meant something else. as if it linked to-
"soooo what do you think, bluejay?" tsb queried, interrupting tari's thoughts. to the bluejay's surprise, he was resting on his bed in a crisscross position with his hands questionably behind his back slightly awkwardly.
"oh! i-it's awesome!" she quickly responded, trying to rid herself pondering over the mystery of this "tv". "i don't recall you ever showing me your room before. what gives! trying to hide more secrets?" she confidently spoke back, removing any possible suspicion. taking a seat next the the cartoony man.
"noo, of course not! just something i suppose i hadn't had the time to show you till now." tari rolled her eyes playfully trying to seem hurtful by his response. tsb giggled.
suddenly, he began to clear his throat, straightening his back, and shifting closer to tari with a slight struggle refusing to use his hands for support. however, fear rose inside as he wondered if he was too close to the bluejay, but she didn't seem bothered and instead mimicked his actions. receiving another giggle from the man feeling his face grow hot. "i uh," tsb began, "i have a gift for you! um..." tsb slowly unhidden his hands to reveal a bird-like figure in his palms. tari began to decipher it being a hand-crafted bluejay figure with a neatly small bowtie around its neck. yet she was utterly confused and speechless, it allowed tsb to continue his monologue. "i'm... not very good at making something supposedly grand like parties or cakes, for someone's orbit around the sun, but i do like handcrafting things for people i... um... admire most." tsb confident outward speech turned to stutters and quiet speech seemingly looking down as he could feel his hands sweat under his golden gloves. "i hope you like this gift-"
"of course i do!~" tari finally bursted into squeals having her hands turn to fists positioned up to her face in an attempt to hide her overly joyous smile. shifting her position to admire the beautifully hand-crafted bluejay more up-close. "it's so cute!~" she squealed once more feeling like she could feel herself almost cry from overstimulated happiness. "how did you use to make it?" she queried swiftly, staring at tsb's shades, eyes wide with sparks of adoration.
tsb only stuttered to find the words, his face growing hotter by the second hearing the beats of his pounding heart inside his ears. "i-i used cardboard to create the base of the shape... and um gluing layers of newspaper to give some texture... a-after painting it with acrylic- nO gouache a-a-and reusing some old thick ribbon i had in my scrapes to gave it a bow!" swiftly adding in the end, "y-you know! because it's a gift! cause it you're birthday! a-and purple to match your eyes! b-because your eyes are purple! oH and this is a bluejay, not a duck i-i-i-im not sure if that was obvious um-"
"it's perfect.~" tari softly interjected, cupping tsb's hands and lowering them down from their chests. "it's adorable of you think of me like that. i've never received a gift like this before... it exactly represents me and considering the thoughts you had i seriously appreciate the effort you put in. it's," tari couldn't help but giggle.
before tsb could muster to search for words to say thank you, tari kissed tsb on the cheek. "it's really cute. thank you.~" shots of physical cloud of air flew out of tsb's ears, face even red than the color red itself, stunned and completely flustered he sat there frozen. tari once again giggled seeing the clouds of smoke coming out of their ears like a real-life cartoon, yearning to see what more of a reaction she can get. she was always fascinated by tsb's strange cartoonish nature she just simply adored him more and more. nothing about him could ever bore her.
just if by instinct, she removed her hands from tsb and reached out to remove tsb shades. settling it down by the bed, gazing admirably into his brown eyes as they were shifting animatedly to pink hearts back and forth. "t-tari-" tsb started, but was unfortunately cut off by someone outside. turning his eyes into pupils with red outlines from surprise.
"tari!" a familiar voice called, "TARI!" smg4 called again louder.
"smg4 must have the party essentials ready. we should go till he gets impatient hehe!" tari stood up from the bed grabbing the bluejay gift with one hand while the other grabs for the cartoon man's glove.
"y-yeah..." he replied, still stunned by what happened. eventually after a soft tug from tari, he regained his senses and threw back his shades on. springing off the bed and following tari out of his room.
"you think there'll be cake left after mario gets to it first?" tsb asked.
tari chuckled, "i doubt it."
END
87 notes
·
View notes
WINTERDAD AU #1
(part one because this got way too long. this is essentially the plot of an old fic i started back in 2020 and what would've happened of i'd continued it. i might try and write it again one day, perhaps, if i don't give up after 2 chapters. anyway here we go)
- mary parker was a shield agent when she met the winter soldier, both were on a mission. they fought, but never got as far as mortally wounding each other. mary would always slip away. it was like a game. bucky had been kept out the ice for a few weeks at that point, running a long job. but the longer he's out, the more he starts to remember little pieces, who he used to be.
- mary feels pity for him, seeing through the stone cold image hydra forged for him, to the person within. they fight. but then they also talk. they keep seeing each other while bucky scouts. eventually one thing leads to another and they develop a relationship of sorts.
- mary later discovers she's pregnant but bucky never finds out. he's taken back, wiped and put under the ice once more. mary quits her job at shield so she can provide for her kid and keep them safe. knowing full well if anyone in shield or hydra caught wind that she was carrying the winter soldiers child, they'd never be safe.
- she's sad that bucky disappeared again, she knows hydra likely had him wiped and iced again. but she moves on, meeting richard soon after who she tells she's expecting a son, that the father disappeared without a word (technically not a lie) he tells her he'll love him like he's his regardless.
- when her son is born she names him peter james parker (during the few weeks they met, the last time they talked, bucky ended up remembering his first name, mary wanted peter to have at least a piece of him)
- peter ends up looking a LOT like bucky. he has the same shade of dark brown hair, facial structure which shows as he grows. but he has mary's eyes)
- the plane crash was really just an unfortunate incident. peter still goes to live with aunt may and uncle ben when he's seven. and then things go as they usually do in canon. the avengers form, yada yada all that stuff, you know the drill.
- when he's 14 peter is bitten by the radioactive spider. BUT. an important detail here is that due to the expiermentation bucky was subjected to by hydra and the enhancements which altered his genes, some of that, though remaining dormant, passed onto peter. but it didn't really do anything, it was just there. but it did keep him alive after the spider bite. without those enhancements in his blood peter would've died. instead, he gained his powers.
- uncle ben still gets shot, which as usual influences peter to become spider-man. and months after tony still comes along and recruits him to fight in germany. peter does.
- when he briefly faces bucky ("you have a metal arm? that is AWESOME, dude!") neither know so that also goes as normal. bucky is bewhildered by the kid who managed to block a hit with so much force behind it, while also shocked to know that he was just that, a kid.
- now one vastly different thing here is that while the avengers do split for a good year, steve and tony eventually talk and make amends. the avengers reassemble, deciding that they need to put the world before their feud. they're not on super good terms, but they tolerate each other. tony still refuses to forgive bucky.
- homecoming happens during the time where things are still rocky between the avengers so peter still deals with vulture alone. but he does see tony more often, stopping by for lab days to work on his suit among other things, to keep up the "internship" charade. tony grows fond of him, though he doesn't admit it.
its post homecoming where things start to go wrong.
121 notes
·
View notes
writing prompt suggestion? Nacho taking care of an injured Lalo or vise versa :>
Here are the two versions! I got inspired haha
So you can find a short one mostly for fun, and a longer one much more dramatic but no bad ending in sight.
Thank you for this ask I was just so happy when I saw it 💖
Of course, warnings : injury, blood, violence.
Lalo takes care of injured Nacho
Nacho winces, hissing between his teeth as blood drips on the counter top. Lalo turns away from the stove, looking at Nacho as he speed walks to the sink.
“What’s wrong?”
Nacho turns on the tap, carefully rinsing his hand under the water. Lalo notices the blood on the counter, on the knife.
Lalo snorts “You cut yourself, darling?”
Nacho sends him a look over his shoulder, a bit annoyed “Yeah.”
Lalo puts one of the two pans to the side and pads over to Nacho who’s looking at the wound.
“Let me see.”
Nacho removes his hand from under the water and lets Lalo take his hand, the man careful to avoid touching the wound. It’s a deep cut, right on the side of his index. Nacho can still move his finger fine, so it’s nothing too bad. The blood keeps running tho, snaking along Nacho’s finger, coating Lalo’s fingers as he observes the wound.
“I think you’ll need one or two stitches. You really made a mess of yourself.”
Nacho sighs “Yeah. Or your knifes are far too sharp.”
Lalo laughs “There no such things as a 'too sharp' knife, cariño.”
A minute later Nacho is sitting on a stool by the counter, Lalo sitting on another one right beside him. On the countertop rests a first-aid kit. There is everything needed to do stitches, of course, you don’t work for a cartel and don’t have such things in your home. When you're a Don at least. Nacho presses a clean dish-towel on the cut, staining it red, while Lalo is passing a thread in a needle.
“You want something for the pain?”
Nacho considers the question. The cut is stinging but it’s nothing compared to what he had been through in the past. There is a bottle of anesthesia product in the kit, but it seems ridiculous. It would be much more useful for a bullet wound. Nacho shakes his head. He removes his hand from the towel when Lalo invites him to rest it on the counter, and Lalo goes to work.
Ignacio grits his teeth as Lalo works. It's stupid how much a cut on the hands can hurt. Lalo smirks at him as he cuts the thread after the first stitch is done.
"Stay strong Nachito, if you don't cry you'll get a lollipop when I'm done."
Nacho glares back at him "I'm not a child."
"You cut yourself while chopping carrots. It only happens to children." Lalo answers like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
Nacho looks away, cheeks warming up a little no matter how much he tries not to feel embarrassed by how stupid all this was "It's not true, and you know it."
"Yeah, because with your gigantic experience in a kitchen, you would know better than me."
Nacho looks back at Lalo, frowning "It happened to my dad."
"Well then your dear papa must be a real chef!" Lalo answers with a shit-eating grin right before passing the needle in Nacho's finger.
Nacho barely contains a little groan of pain as it stings, preventing him from delivering an insult. Lalo ties the second knot neatly, and cuts the excess of thread. Nacho must admit, he did a really nice job with how good the stitches look.
"There. All fixed up." Lalo says as he takes Nacho's hand in his own with the same care from earlier. He uses the towel to dab away the blood on Nacho's hand, removing the worst of it. It isn't unusual for Lalo to give him so much attention, but it somehow never stops to amaze Nacho. Those hands that are so good at hurting, destroying, set fire, killing, but can also be so gentle. And as always, it makes something flutter inside Nacho. The people Lalo treats with such delicacy are so rare, and, somehow, he's one of them.
"Thanks."
Lalo looks at Nacho, and the man seems to notice something in his eyes, because this time when he smiles, it's more tender.
"Anything for you, mi corazón."
And then Lalo is bringing Nacho's hand to his mouth, and he drops the softest kisses on his knuckles. Nacho's breath catches in his throat, his cheeks warming up. Damn this man and his stupid charm.
"Do you want a band-aid on that? I have some with super cute little blue flowers on it." Lalo says, his stupid grin back on his face.
"Oh shut the fuck up." Nacho mumbles and removes his hand from Lalo's grip, leaving a laughing Lalo behind him as he steps away.
Nacho takes care of injured Lalo
It should have been alright.
It was just one of their usual visit to Albuquerque. Checking if everything was in order, maintain a real contact with their men in town, and of course, remind everyone who they were working for. Nacho and Lalo were highly respected, two living legends forming a single deadly entity, thanks to the brilliant plan they pulled up to make Fring fall. And the rumors circulating inside the cartels were probably exaggerating their real exploit, even if it truly had been a hard mission to accomplish, but none of them would say otherwise. Nobody dared to bring up the “Chicken Man subject” in front of them anyway. They were just this insurmontable obstacle for anyone else trying to get a higher rank in the cartel.
And this time around, everything was going well, because nobody really tried anything since they were both sitting side by side on the Salamanca throne. Domingo and Tuco, freshly out of prison, had organized a little special thing to celebrate what Tuco liked to call “a family reunion” even though it was just a party at Domingo's house with the other members of the cartel working under them all, and their companions.
It would have been like the precedent times, Lalo and Nacho taking the time to pass by the Salamanca's guest house to leave their stuff for the time they'll stay in town, take a quick shower, Lalo intruding while Nacho showered like he often did, sharing wet kisses under the water, maybe exploring each other's body in a heated embrace, before finally getting ready. And this went well this time around too, what truly changed was during the trip over to Domingo's place.
They should have thought about it, honestly. But retrospectively, they were both so lost in the feeling of power they had over their territories they became sloppy when it came to being unpredictable, and so making them an easier target.
When cars pulled up before the Javelin at a crossroad, arriving out of nowhere, Nacho barely had the time to press on the brakes. His instinct struck back immediately, turning the car hastily as men came out of the cars, weapons in hand. Lalo was shooting at them through the window in record time, reacting just as fast at the ambush. Bullets pierced the doors, exploded the windows, as Lalo kept on shooting, arm out of the car without a doubt in the world he wouldn't get hurt.
Nacho grabbed his own gun as he was rushing back the way they came, dodging as bullets flew through the window on the back of the car. Nacho cursed and hit the breaks again as a large SUV came to cut their way too, blocking their only other escape route. Three men got out of the car, two armed with pistol, and another one with a freaking Tommy gun. Nacho grabbed at Lalo, pulling him with him so they both were protected by the front of the car as bullets rained on them.
They were going to fucking die, Nacho couldn't help but think. His hands were grabbing at Lalo's shirt strongly enough to rip the nice fabric of it. No. He had to think. Bullets had stopped coming from behind them, surely Lalo had put down these men. How many were they? Five? Six? Nacho didn't had the time to count before he had turned the car around. Bullets were still coming, they were gonna explode the fucking car. A plan. They needed a plan.
His internal monologue took a brutal end when the bullets slowed, only the guys with the pistols shooting now, but what stopped him was Lalo moving away from him. He tried to grip at Lalo's shirt as the man was opening the door on his side, and stepping out while keeping his head low.
“Lalo no! What—“
Nacho could only look at him, baffled and furious at the risk Lalo was taking. The man sent him a look as bullet were piercing the door, stopped by the thickness of it, and fucking winked at him, a smile accompanying it. Lalo peered over the door, and started shooting back.
Nacho decided he would get mad later. He had to focus on eliminating whoever these men were before pulling at Lalo's ear and give him the worst earful of his life. The bullets were calming down, the men recharging their weapons. Lalo took advantage of the change, shooting one of the men in the stomach and the shoulder. Nacho tried a look over the hood of the car, witnessing the man falling down with a cry of pain. Through the smoke coming from the engine of the Javelin, he could see the other man with just a pistol circling the car to his side. But he also saw that the guy with the heavy weapon had finished recharging. He barely had the time to duck down again that the car body was pierced by more bullets. Nacho turned himself toward his door, trying to anticipate the arrival of the man with a light weapon, waiting as patiently as he could for the idiot who was shooting entire cartridge at them to finish.
A yelp came from his right. Nacho's blood ran cold. Lalo. When he looked over, Lalo was clutching at his chest, face grimacing in intense pain. Nacho's blood ran hot. No, it ran into lava, awakening a furnace of ferocity inside of him. He didn't think. He grabbed at Lalo and pulled him inside the car like he weighted nothing, bullets still raining on them but Nacho couldn't care less. His vision has turned red.
He snatched the gun from Lalo's hand, the man not letting go of it despite being hurt. Lalo tried to speak to him but Nacho couldn't hear a thing. There was only his blood rushing in his ears, and this terrible beast inside of him telling him to tear, burn, annihilate. Nacho sat up, and fired. His aim was perfect, the single bullet piercing the skull of the man holding the Tommy gun. In his fall, the man still had his finger on the trigger, and he fired a line of bullets up towards the sky, projectiles hissing as they passed right next to Nacho who didn't flinch, his eyes finding the man who was recharging his pistol. Nacho didn't fired. He opened his door, and pushed it open with a foot. He was out of the car then, his eyes pinned on his target who started to panic, not managing to insert the cartridge correctly.
Nacho didn't shoot still. He crossed the distance in quick steps, the man loosing his composure, still desperately trying to insert that damn cartridge, but it was too late because Nacho was there and he punched him right in the face. The man's gun scattered away as he felt on the ground under the strong impact. Nacho was over him in an instant, grabbing at his t-shirt, and started to beat the shit out of him.
Nacho wasn't the kind to deliver a slow and painful death. And he wasn't the kind to inflict such a sentence to a pawn. But something in him had snapped. And by the time his fist was covered in blood, not a single drop his own, the fog in his mind started to dissipate. He let go of the man's shirt and grabbed one of his weapon he had tucked in his jeans, and fired at the man's head, ending his slow agony.
Nacho went back to his feet with his breath short. He looked around. There were bodies everywhere. Blood everywhere. And one man still breathing, the one Lalo shoot last. Nacho quickly went over to him, interrogated him about the attack. It seemed like they had new pseudo cartel Don to deal with. Nacho put a bullet in the man's head.
A sound coming from the Javelin picked his attention. Lalo. He was sitting up in the passenger's seat, looking at him, gaze unreadable. That's when Nacho registered the blood running on Lalo's temple, all the way down his cheek and jaw, staining his shirt even more than the wound he had in the shoulder. Nacho tucked both gun in his jeans and went to Lalo's side, somehow reconnecting with the reality a bit more. They had to go, now. They were in an industrial zone but the cops wouldn't delay their arrival much longer, especially now that the shooting was over.
“I think I'll need your help, Nachito.” Lalo smiled up at him as Nacho peered inside the car at him.
Nacho said nothing and helped Lalo out of what was left of his precious Javelin. He carried Lalo over to the cars blocking their way, Lalo's valid arm slung over his shoulders. But Lalo was becoming heavier and heavier as they progressed, the man's feet loosing their footing under the speed at which Nacho was going. When Lalo grunted, Nacho started to worry much more. He stopped and slipped an arm under Lalo's leg and carried him as best as he could to the black SUV.
Once he had installed Lalo in the passenger's seat, Nacho took his face with both of his palms, pushing away the strand wet with sweat and blood. That was a lot of blood now.
“Hey! Hey look at me Lalo. Open your eyes.” But Lalo just groaned, his head lolling to the side. Nacho kept it upright. “Com'on Eduardo, focus. Open your eyes. Open your eyes for me, mi sol.”
Lalo blessedly opened them. “Cariño... me siento... extraño...”
Nacho tried to make eye contact with the glazed dark orbs “I'll get some help.” Lalo blinked and their eyes finally locked. “I need you to stay awake. You can do that?”
Lalo hummed an affirmative noise. Police's sirens arrived in the distance, their lights not visible yet. Nacho reclined Lalo's seat a little so he wouldn't fall forward and clipped his seat belt tight around him. The key was still on when he sat in the driver's seat. He didn't wait any longer and propelled the car down the road.
He couldn't go to the hospital, not after the police had been alerted, and not with their identity. He fished his phone in his leather jacket, calling the second number registered in the shortcuts. He took a few deep breath as he waited for the call to be answered, trying to stay focused on the road. His eyes kept returning to Lalo's form, making sure he was still breathing.
“You with me Eduardo?”
Another humming sound answered him. That will have to do.
“Okay. Don't fall asleep mi sol. I want you with me.”
“Eres el amor... de mi vida.” You're the love of my life.
Nacho quickly looked over at Lalo, and there was that same way he looked at him minutes ago. He looked back at the road and tried not to think how much Lalo's declaration sounded like a goodbye.
“Yeah, Nacho?”
Domingo's voice almost startled him, pulling him out of his thoughts. Nacho felt Lalo's hand coming to rest on his thigh, he didn't let it distract him. It was reassuring to feel it resting there, it meant Lalo was still conscious.
“Mingo, I need you to call the doctor, now. I'm heading to your home. We've been attacked on our way to your place, Lalo is badly injured. I'll be there in 10 min, I'll try to make it 7. Get everyone out, I don't want anyone else but you and the doctor when we arrive.”
“Uh- Okay. You're okay?”
Nacho looked over at Lalo who was visibly fighting to not loose consciousness.
“Yeah. Just do as I said.”
Nacho hung up without waiting an answer. He focused on the road, trying to rely on Lalo's hand presence on his leg as a source of proof the man was alright, fighting the need to actually look at him to make sure. They were almost there, Domingo's house at the end of the road, when Nacho felt Lalo's hand slip from his leg.
“Eduardo you're still with me?”
No answer. Nacho looked over. Lalo's head was lolling to the side, the dark blood covering half his face. Nacho looked back at the road. The last car of the invited men was leaving just before Nacho drove right into the empty parking spot that was the nearest from the entry. Domingo was opening the door while Nacho was already pulling Lalo out of the car, carrying him bridal style, Lalo's head falling on his shoulder. Tuco appeared in the doorway just as Nacho was approaching.
“Who the fuck did this?!”
Nacho just gave him a name as he entered the house, rushing to the biggest room of the whole house. Domingo had cleared the table of the dining room, visibly understanding they'll need to deal with real bad injuries.
“Where is the doctor?” Nacho asked Domingo, and maybe he sounded harsher than he realized because Domingo took a step back.
“She's on her way. I called her right after your call. She told me she would be there in 10.”
Nacho had drove fast, she would be there any minute then. Tuco's voice erupted from the entrance hall, he was calling his men to get informations about the name Nacho gave him by the looks of it. Nacho decided he would leave him to take care of this for now, he had more important things to think about right now.
“Go fetch a bassin of water, some towels, and-”
Nacho cut himself as he witnessed Domingo bringing exactly what he was asking for over to the table. He had prepared these before they arrived. Nacho sometimes forgot how well Domingo had learned to play his role in the scheme of the cartel. He knew the deal by now.
A groan came from the table. Nacho was leaning over Lalo in a flash, eyes jumping all over his face. He brought one of his hand to Lalo's bloodied face, pushing the wild messy curls away again.
“Hey, you're back.”
Lalo hummed. “I'm tired.”
“It's okay, the doctor will be there in a minute.” Nacho tried a smile, and it made a similar one form on Lalo's lips. “You'll be on your feet soon, and then I'll tell you all about what I think of the stupid decision you made back there.”
Lalo let out the huff of a laugh. “Can't wait.”
One of Lalo's hand came to cup Nacho's around his face. He held it there as he barely turned his head toward it, nuzzling it, before kissing Nacho's bloody palm.
“No soy.. nada... sin ti.” I'm nothing without you.
Nacho's heart seized in his chest. Lalo never missed a chance to cover him with the most sweetest words, to the point of becoming cheesy sometimes, but it always made something radiate inside of him. A burning sensation that made him feel good, that was giving all this madness of their shared a life a real meaning. And tonight it was burning so bright it was almost painful.
Nacho caressed Lalo's hair with his other hand “I'm not going anywhere.”
Lalo's glassy eyes found his, and there was that look again. And now that he had the time to observe it, Nacho could label it. It was pure liquid adoration swimming in those dark orbs. Nacho briefly wondered why Lalo was letting him see that now, after all this time spent together. Was it because of what he did? What Lalo saw of him? The way he punched that man almost to death out of ferocious protectiveness? But his questions were cut short by the arrival of the doctor.
“The doc is here, I'll let her work, alright? I'm right there.”
Lalo hummed again, on the edge of loosing consciousness again, letting go of Nacho's hand with confidence still. Nacho stepped away as the doctor entered the room, opening her bags next to Lalo, accompanied by her usual assistant. Nacho gave her the informations she needed to work and then came to stand beside Domingo who had went to stand a bit further away when Lalo woke up, leaving them at their private conversation.
At some point Domingo asked him what happened and Nacho went through the events. The anger from earlier coursed through his veins again, but it wasn't as vicious at least. Seeing the amount of blood still on his hands was a good enough reminder for him to keep his calm. Lalo was safe. He didn't have to beat and kill anyone to protect him. Not yet at least. Nacho wasn't going back to Mexico before having the man responsible for all this at his feet, begging for mercy.
It was hours later when Lalo regained consciousness. Nacho was laying beside him in bed, in one of Domingo's guest room. Nacho barely slept, monitoring Lalo even if everything went fine during the time he spent under the care of the doctor. But he couldn't help himself. It was the first time he really feared for Lalo's life. They didn't found themselves in such a dire situation since Fring. And even then neither of them had been badly injured. Lalo had lost so much blood. The bullet that scraped at Lalo's temple had left a deep cut. A little more to the right and they would never had the chance to exchange any last words.
Nacho looked as Lalo's eyelids fluttered open, trying to shield the sensitive eyes to the little light that was illuminating the room. There was nothing but a thin ray of sunlight passing between the almost closed curtains, bathing the room in a very soft orange light. Lalo turned his head, noticing Nacho's presence with a delay, and smiled softly.
“You're there.”
Nacho smiled back, eyes dancing between Lalo's. “Told you I wasn't going anywhere.”
“Right. But I never know when I can trust your words.” Lalo answered with a mischievous little smirk.
Nacho groaned, frowning, and pushed himself on an elbow to lean a little over Lalo. “You're really bringing this up now?”
Lalo smiled, showing all his teeth. “I'm just playing with you, cariño.”
Nacho kept on frowning at that man he unfortunately loved. His heart squeezed in a bad way when he thought again that he almost lost him last night. They had been neglecting their security. Nacho would make sure it didn't happened again. He had a sun he wanted to keep shining bright at his side. He lowered himself over Lalo until their lips brushed, soft and delicate. A chaste kiss. His hand cupped Lalo's head with care, a fingertip running under Lalo's wound running along his head, careful not to touch it.
“No soy nada sin ti.” I'm nothing without you. The sincerity and weight of his own words felt almost unreal. Never before did his words carried more truth. “Estoy perdido sin ti.” I'm lost without you.
It seemed to shook Lalo has much as himself. The adoration was shining bright in his eyes, and when he blinked a tear ran down his temple, leaving Nacho stunned by the vision.
“Te creo.” I believe you.
Lalo pulled Nacho into a fierce embrace, not giving a single care about the pain in his shoulder. Nacho hugged him back just as tight.
56 notes
·
View notes