Spilling Guts

Part 91 - Priorities

Louis pressed his hand into the curved stomach wall as he heard a slick gurgle. An endoscope being pushed down Will's throat. Quickening heartbeat, hurried breath; the rising heat of panic in the body holding him.

Yeah, I'm gonna be feeling that in a sec, thought Louis. He wasn't looking forward to being dragged up Will esophagus after the last encounter, guided by a medical professional or no.

A tiny LED light poked through the esophageal sphincter; his ride out. He waved at the camera and then stuck his leg through the small loop at the base of the lens. Once he wrapped his limbs around the endoscope like a finger puppet, he called out.

"Ready." Physically ready. Mentally, Louis was never ready to be crushed into a flesh tube.

The endoscope slide backwards, dragging Louis with it. When the fleshy folds of the sphincter met his shoulder, his grip tightened. A gentle tug of the endoscopy wand, and Louis squeezed inside the esophagus, flesh molding around him. His least favorite part of the process.

And probably Will's least favorite part of the process as well. A choked gasp echoed in his ear through the SkySprecht. A small person was being pulled out of Will's throat when he had a cold, of course he would be uncomfortable.

Louis hissed as the esophagus constricted, trying to thrust him backwards. If he lost his grip on the endoscope the loop around his foot would hold fast and still drag him out, but he'd rather not chance it. Further up, Will's heart thrashed against both rib and throat, adding pressure and a deep sound that made Louis think he was drowning.

A gurgle and a speck of light. Louis squeezed his eyes shut until he was lifted beyond the scrape of teeth and tongue. The change from an internal furnace to impersonal room temperature punched the breath out of his lungs. He felt a hand under him; Rachel moving to set him down on a table in the BT lab.

Louis untangled himself from the endoscopy wand and then cracked opened his eyes to a light he hadn't seen in over a day. Blinding compared the the dim red and pink shadows inside Will. A tingle grew under his skin, spreading and intensifying, a bath of needles.

Welcome back to reality, thought Louis as he let the feeling drag him back to normal size.

Will laid on his side, paper crinkling on the exam table. Lines of saliva dribbled from the edge of a cushioned mouth brace in a kidney shaped dish. Will looked wilted, spitting bile and broth between gasps for air. Louis had never seen Will sick before.

For once, the first thing out of Louis' mouth was not a demand for coffee. "Now what?"

"I'll set up the privacy screen around the shower so you can wash up. And then you need a med check." Rachel handed over his shades and put a bottle of water next to Will. "Will, I'll be back with an overview of what you need for tonight."

Rachel turned to leave for the main lab.

"Coffee?" called out Louis.

"Med check first!" Rachel left, door swinging shut behind her.

Will and Louis were alone.

Silence hung between them like a string of Christmas lights with half the bulbs burnt out, flickering as Will failed to breath through his nose. Louis took out his SkySprecht and held out his hand for Will's.

"Guhh," Will moaned as he sat up.

Louis handed him the tissue box in exchange for the Sprecht. "Here."

"Thanks," Will croaked, taking a handful and wiping the sweat, saliva, and snot off his face. "Not afraid I'm catching?"

"I can deal with a cold." Louis was confident that if he hadn't gotten sick yet from Will's insides, he wouldn't get sick from a tissue. Though he wouldn't put it past Rachel to test the theory that Louis could be immune to certain diseases while shrunk.

Louis popped the magnets at his collar and opened the zipper in the front of the blue jumpsuit. He flapped he edges, getting air to the damp patches of his undershirt. Louis had worn his jumpsuit for over thirty hours. While bodily functions pertaining to his kidneys and intestines had stalled while he had been inside Will, he still felt like a marinated mess.

And smelled like one too. Oof. He needed that shower. Shower then coffee? No. Coffee first. "And I'm still on desk duty, so what would change if I caught it?"

Part of you is already caught, said the sly little voice in his head that kept replaying the dream of him on top of Will in the rain.

Shut it.

Will gave a weak croak that might have been a laugh. And then a pitiful moan. His cheeks were red and eyes glazed. He opened the bottle of water at the side of the exam table, swished, and spat into the dish. "I want tea. With real honey. And lemon."

"And I want coffee," said Louis. He was supposed to be the one to give Will the tea. That had been his plan two days ago. Two days. It felt like a week.

Whatever happened to the mug of tea I made on Monday? Probably cold, or evolved by now.

"I want tiramisu," countered Will.

"I want curry fries," said Louis. The last thing he had eaten was Rachel's granola bar. If his and Will's empty stomachs started a growling duet, he wouldn't be surprised.

Will's face went dark. "I want vengeance."

"I don't think they've patented edible vengeance, yet."

"On Beni and Reese."

Oh. The Billy thing. Right.

Perhaps the lack of proper sleep had brought out Will's more cruel side. Perhaps Louis felt the need to stave off a serious day of paperwork. Perhaps whatever they planned would become a cycle of workplace pranks that would go too far too fast (as was usual in the Watch). Helping Will plan something would be proactive against Reese retaliating at being picked as Louis' secondary partner.

Louis had many things on his proverbial plate when he himself wasn't on the plate. Did he really want to involve himself in Will's revenge?

Fuck it. Yes.

"Go on."

Vengeance first. Then coffee. Then shower. Priorities.