(Archived) Poth Short Stories and One-Shots

Driven Together - Chapter 2

Since I need to run some emergency errands today, you guys get this chapter two(ish) hours early. Enjoy~

Chapter Warnings: Blood (marrow), character death, injury

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Palette roused to a shifting blur of red, blue, and black. Lifting his skull, he became acutely aware of the dull ache radiating from his neck to the rest of his body. Blinking a couple of times to focus his hazy eye lights, a police car slowly came into view through the broken windshield; why would a-

In a blindingly horrific instant, the crash came back to him; someone ran into them, and Goth-

The artist painstakingly shifted his skull toward the driver seat, ignoring the way his neck screamed at him to rasp out, "Goth...?" The lights from the vehicles outside did little more than provide a faint silhouette in the darkness against the body slumped in the driver's seat. Trying to raise his arm to shake them awake, he found his body refusing his efforts completely; desperate to get some kind of reaction, he called out to his boyfriend in a voice he could barely raise above a whisper, "Goth..." Silence answered him, forming a pit in his non-existent stomach, "Goth... wake up..." His companion didn't move an inch as tears began to pool at the corners of his sockets, "Answer me... please..."

Shadows appeared around the driver's side window followed by the grinding of metal as the door was pried open. A bright light shined in on them, forcing Palette's sockets closed as a voice yelled, "We got two in here!"

Easing his sockets open once the light was redirected, Palette watched as the human reached for their wrist and felt for a pulse; the seconds passed in agonizing silence as someone opened his passenger door. "How's it looking?" another voice called from beside him, flashing their light into the car.

Palette's breath caught in his throat as the light revealed the gruesome state of his boyfriend; their skull was lolled toward him with dark red stains trailing down the side, from their nasal passage, and their mouth as barely open sockets void of any light stared blankly at the center console. He finally released a shuddering breath as the first voice spoke, "No good, he's already gone."

"No...." Palette groaned, unable to take his eye lights off of Goth's slack expression. Seeing the person drop his boyfriend's limp wrist and lean out of the cab to yell for a body bag, the skeleton begged through the tears choking his already faint voice, "Please... he's not dusting, he can still make it... I can heal him... please let me heal him..."

Ignoring his ardent pleas, Goth's body was unbuckled and pulled from the seat onto a gurney containing an open bag; he tried to force himself to move as he weakly cried, "No... he's not dead...please don't give up... please... please don't let him die..."

"...lette..."

"No... please, no...," he felt hands moving him against his will, helplessly watching as he moved farther away from the faceless figures zipping up the bag holding his motionless boyfriend, "Let me go... he needs me... please..."

"Palette..."

"He can't be dead... he can't...," the artist sobbed as he struggled to move off the surface he had been placed on in spite of the pain.

"Palette!"

He shuddered as blinding pain ripped through his spine and he was suddenly in a different, much brighter place; one with a worried and tired, but blessedly alive Goth hovering over him haloed by the fluorescent lights overhead. Shock ebbed away and overwhelming relief filled the void as Palette moved his arms, thankful that they responded this time to cup his boyfriend's face. Hot tears trailed down his skull as he gasped, "You're okay..." 

He received a sad smile as Goth leaned into his touch, their left hand overlapping his own as they weakly chuckled, "I should be saying that to you..." Palette's smile fell a bit at the sight of the black brace wrapped around their hand, but he wasn't given the chance to say anything as the smaller monster leaned forward and stole his breath with a kiss. He eagerly accepted the affection as his socket slid shut, savoring the warmth that passed between them while thanking every god he knew that this moment wasn't lost to him forever. 

Before he could arch up to deepen the kiss, the warmth pulled away. Palette only had time to breathe out as Goth rested their forehead lightly upon his; the contact allowed them to remain close as their warm breath mingled between them and the smaller softly murmured, "All I got was a broken wrist while you damn near broke your neck and messed up your spine." Fresh tears pricked at the edges of the hooded skeleton's sockets as they pulled away, "Even though the doctor said she fixed most of the damage, I couldn't help but worry there was something else wrong when you didn't wake up right away. And the car... I'm so sorry..."

Palette hastily reached up to brush away the tears, dismayed when more seemed to endlessly replace them, "It's okay Goth; I feel fine and I can get the car fixed, so please don't cry." This only made his boyfriend's expression crumple further.

"But the guy that towed the car said it was totaled no matter how he looked at it... he said it had to be junked... I messed uuup," the smaller bawled, covering their face with their hands. Palette dropped his arms, attempting to lift himself up onto his elbows so he could sit up and pull them into a hug. Despite the padded neck brace, his neck and spine gave a spasm of protest and he immediately abandoned the movement with a gasp; this slowed Goth's tears and prompted a hasty command, "N... no, don't move!"

Undeterred by the pain, Palette reached once more to grasp his distraught boyfriend's arm; he pulled down while gently urging, "Come here; come lie down."

Goth wiped his arm across his sockets and hiccuped, "But there's barely any room; what if I hurt you? What if the doctor gets angry and makes me leave? I don't want to le-"

"If anyone says anything, I'll tell them I asked you to," Palette interjected before the smaller could work himself into more tears, "and I promise you won't hurt me. More than anything, I just... I really want you close right now and I can't sit up to hold you. Please lie down?"

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Word Count: 1,060