Lab Rats Preferences

They Scare You

Adam:

"Adam!"

You skid on your knees, hands clutching the lower left side of his abdomen.

"I'm okay," he hisses, placing his bloody hands over yours to slow the blood flow. "I'm okay."

You shake your head, breath hitching, tears gathering. "Adam."

"It's okay." He repeats several times to assure the both of you. "I'm not leaving you. I promise."

Your lips quiver, chin jittery. "I can't lose you," you weep, shaking your head furiously. "I don't want to lose you."

"Sweetheart," Adam reaches up to thumb your cheek, smearing a streak of red liquid. "You won't ever lose me, because--" He shudders a shaky breath and says, "because I couldn't ever leave you."

You jerk your head in several nods, "Okay." You release a breath, "Okay."

And long after that, several hours later, you stick to Adam's side like a fly on a spider's web.

"You scared me," you whisper to him in the dark, eyes buring with unshed tears.

"I didn't mean to. I promise I won't leave you, not ever."

His lips pressed to your forehead; his love, comfort, and warmth sending you into a dreamless sleep.

Bree:

You gasp when you release your hands from Bree's arms.

She wears a look of concern and hurt, and it morphs into regret when she sits back on her knees, whispering, "I'm sorry."

It's not her fault that she turned, that she felt bloodlust for all of you. It was the virus, yet your dreams plague you with images of her trying to slaughter everyone, including you.

You thought you were over it, you thought you forgotten it, but no. Deep down, you still were haunted by it.

"It's not your fault," you say, voice quiet. You pluck a loose seam from the blanket wrapped in your lap. Shaking your head, you say, "It was the virus. You didn't mean it."

Your heart knew it, but your mind...

She fiddles with her long sleeves. "What can I do to make it better?"

You hesitate for a moment, "I'm - I'm not really sure you can do anything." You drag your hand down your face, pinching your chin. "I think I just need to work on this myself."

Bree didn't scare you, but the Bree in your dreams did.

She nods, hugging her knees. She looks down at the blanket, saying, "If there's anything I can do, promise me you'll tell me."

"I promise."

Chase:

"Chase?"

He's gasping for breath, eyes unfocused. His chest is heaving, and his body tremors.

"Chase!"

He can't breath, he can't -

He hears you, but it's muffled. Gods, is he drowning? He's drowning.

Where are you?

"Chase!"

He claws at his chest, eyes rolling. Lips parting for breath, he needs to breathe.

"Look at me, Chase." Your hands are cupping his face. He feels you. "Chase, I'm here. I'm here."

Everything slows; his tremors, his breathing, his heart. He can breath, he can see.

The first thing he sees is your face, you're trying to mask your emotions. The one you show is concern, but beneath that he sees that you're scared.

"I'm okay," he mumbles past dry, quivering lips. He clears his throat, licking his lips. "I'm okay." His voice comes out assured, strong.

You nod, thumbing his cheeks. Your fingers are soft and warm. "We'll be okay."

We'll be okay, he repeats in his mind.

Leo:

Your mouth fills with blood as you're thrown to the ground. You spit it out, turning on your side to glare at the boy that stands just a few feet away.

"I'm gonna kill you."

Marcus laughs, "I don't think you can, Honey."

It's not really Marcus, it's a rouge superhero gone bad. He sees, he knows what people are afraid of. He knows what haunts people, what their fears are. He feeds off it, he shifts to your greatest enemies, your fears, or the people you despise.

He knows Leo downright despises Marcus. He knows that Leo hated Marcus more than anything, so he shifted into him.

He took Leo, feeding off of him until Leo was no more.

"Where is he?" You grit, standing on wobbly legs.

He smirks, "He's already gone."

You shake your head, "You're lying."

He shifts into Leo, bloody and beaten. He's too skinny, the life sucked out of him. "I'm dead, he killed me." His voice wavers with false shakiness.

Your throat tightens, eyes blurring. "You're - You're not dead." Your voice shakes, "You're not."

"I am!" He cries brokenly, which sends you sobbing. "You didn't save me! You were too late! You didn't save me!"

You fall to your knees, wailing into trembling hands.

Time passes. You're not sure how much, but you're pulled into a pair of arms.

"I'm okay, we're okay," Leo whispers into your ear, holding you tight. "I'm alive."

"You died!" You sniffle, breath hitching, tears streaming. "You died and I didn't save you!"

"You did!" He pulls away, cupping your face in his hands. "You saved me, I'm here and alive because of you." He grips your hand, unzipping his suit to place your hand on his chest. "Feel that? That's my heart. I'm alive, and I'm okay."

You nod, prying your hand away to wipe away your tears.

You sniffle as he brings you into his arms again. "We're gonna be okay, I promise."

"Okay," you croak. You hug him as tightly as you can. "I love you."

He rubs your back, kissing your temple. "I love you, too."