Sky Corruption (Past Tense)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ezra stood with his head bowed under the shower, his body tensed as the cold water hit the surface of his skin. He let out a low grunt, clearly annoyed by the shower head hitting him by the forehead. The buds of soap slowly cascaded down his body. His blonde eyebrows knitted together as he grazed his hand over the "X" shaped scar along his right chest.

A flash of orange erupted behind his eyes, he quickly clutched his head as he slowly stumbled against the wet tiles of the wall behind him. A throbbing pain emerged inside his head as the water continued to rain down his slim but muscular body.

"Fuck." He grunted sourly. Blindly, he started groping his hand for the shower faucet, immediately stopping the water from pouring over his body.

He slid open the glass door, stepping out onto the dry towel along the floor. His hand ran through the wet strands of his hair that had clung to his face.

There's suddenly loud and heavy knocking emerged from the other side of the door. Ezra now had a dull white towel hanging around his waist. In a huff, he yelled. "Occupied!"

In less than a minute later, Ezra was in the midst of pulling a soft wash Jersey black tank top along his black jeans. He opened the door only to come face-to-face with North.

The redhead I punched hours ago. Ezra noted toward himself. A wave of guilt rose up inside him as an awkward silence slowly came into play. North's sore side of his face had been covered up by ice in a zip-lock bag. North's blue irises met up with Ezra's stare. Their height difference didn't intimidate North in the slightest. Ezra liked that.

The silence still carried out between the two, so Ezra decided to break the ice. "Hey man, about earlier-"

"Don't worry about it." North cut him off, his eyes now averted Ezra's gaze as he held the ice pack to his face. "You sure know how to knock a guy on his ass though."

Ezra pursed his lips, "I was an asshole."

North shrugs in response, "I can't really say that I blame you, waking up to a whole bunch of strangers hovering over you would overwhelm just about anyone."

There's a pause, another long and awkward pause, Ezra doesn't budge an inch but he did snake his hand toward the light switch to turn off the lights in the bathroom.

"Have you ever attended JROTC during high school?" North asked curtly, his voice low as if he's trying to be discreet.

Ezra's eyebrows raise as he tried to think back to his years in Pittsburg High. "Yeah, I have actually."

North's eyes slightly widened in shock, "What school did you attend?" He continues his light interrogation. Ezra narrowed his eyes, unsure of what or where North was going with this.

"I grew up in Brownsville. Are we done playing twenty questions?" Ezra asks, North rolled his eyes in response and laughed.

"I figured that we had met before...forget it..." North mumbled, turning heel and starting his way down the hallway. Ezra stopped him by placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

"I didn't mean to sound snarky. I speak fluent smartass sometimes. I just don't know why that's important to know." Ezra shrugged, North's lips curved up into a slight smirk as he quickly
grew to like Ezra's sense of humor.

"I was in JROTC too, but in a different school." North admitted, shifting himself to face Ezra again, this time, he was more relaxed, shoulders slumping, eyes no longer filled with resentment as Ezra stepped out of the bathroom.

"Man, my teacher was always riding my ass too." North began raving, Michael listenened in with a low smile on his face. The two get lost in conversation down the narrow white hallway of the bunker, laughs exchanged and smiles never wavering.

-

Nikki held her back against the door, her chest rose up and down as she gazed down at the small box that had been hidden inside her large sweater from Faith's suspicious eyes. China had passed it to her discreetly after the situation with Ezra had simmered down. Her hands trembled as she started to read the instructions on how to take the test.

What if it comes out positive? How will I be able to explain this to the group? Will my baby and I become a burden? The questions ran relentlessly inside Nikki's head as she tried to maintain the anxious tears that threatened to escape from the corners of her eyes. It was never in Nikki's agenda, let alone anyone's, to procreate, even if it's accidental, the chances of getting the things needed for young children were slim and with bloodthirsty aliens lurking amongst the surface, it seemed like a death sentence.

Of course, Nikki knew that she couldn't dwell on her suspense. She needed answers instead of her own stab-in-the-dark questions. She sighed and placed the back of her head against the steel door.

"Nikki? Do you have a moment?"

The voice belonged to Tyrese, without a doubt. Nikki quickly stuffed the box back inside her sweater and turned to open the door, Tyrese quickly rushed inside and ran his hands through his dreadlocks as he gazed down at Nikki.

"That was a moment." Tyrese exasperated, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, y-yeah." Nikki stammered, her palms were already going sweaty. Tyrese grinned at her smugly, taking her dainty hands in his rough ones.

"You're a better nurse than you are a liar." Tyrese stated as he noticed the texture of her hands, "What's wrong? You're sweating pinballs."

Nikki quickly shook her head, "Just shaken up about what's happened. I don't like fights."

"Nikki, I worked in the BAU branch the FBI and studied criminal psychology. You're giving a tell right now." Tyrese casually explained.

There was another long pause and Tyrese narrowed his eyes at her, he hunched over so that their eyes are at the same level. "You know you can tell me anything right?" He took another step closer to her, she quickly took a step back, it was a little exaggerated and it raised more suspicion in her lover.

"I know." Nikki quickly stated, "I...just."

As if on que, the small box tumbled from underneath her shirt, onto the floor between the two.