Real Care : A Sal x Travis Fan Fiction

Hug me now.

The four were sitting in sals kitchen, looking at Travis, who was currently watching Rugrats on the tv from the couch, holding his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth every now and again. Travis had blacked out in the car after Sal had burst into apology- telling Travis that they had no idea that whatever that monster was would be down there. Travis- who had only seen a ghost..once, had quite a wake up call to what his friends, as well as him-were now fighting. Sal had a replacement for his prosthetic till he could fix it- it was about time to get it altered anyway, he was 16 after all. Travis hadn't seen sals face, he hadn't seen anything really or put much thought into anything around him since he saw that creature. The face and body of it played over and over in his mind- he wasn't sure what to do..the only good thing about it was that the mission was a success. They had gotten pretty much everything they needed. Todd was going to organize it all the moment he got to his apartment. Larry was whispering to Ashley, having a cup of coffee with her. Ashley's eyebrows were knit together in distress- and so was Larry's. They remember feeling like that, the first time they all saw the red eyed demon like that. They all needed time to process and how their reality had literally been broken. However this was totally different, completely. It was supposed to be safe, and it wasn't.

The group had wanted to ease Travis into all of this, but unfortunately that was no longer possible. For some reason, Travis' father had been needing Travis out of the house or had been very busy. Travis wondered if it had to do with his mother, but he wasn't really in the okay headspace right now to think too much about it. Luckily this meant that Travis was allowed to stay the night as long as he was at school the next morning. Travis was thankful and so were the others- Travis wouldn't be able to sleep tonight and he knew it. Ashley soon needed to go, and left with Larry, pinkie fingers wrapped around one another's. Sal watched them leave with a confused look on his face- even though no one could see it. Larry promised if they needed anything he was a call away- and soon Todd had to leave as well. When they were both alone, Sal slowly sat beside Travis on the couch. "Hey.." he said gently, moving his hand toward Travis, but gently pulled away when he decided it was best not to touch him right now. Travis had a blank stare towards the screen, unsure of what to make of everything right now. Sal looked at him. "I..have some dough- in the fridge- and I'm gonna make some broth..Do you wanna cook with me?" He asked gently, knowing Travis loved to cook. Travis shrugged. "Okay, you don't have to. I'm gonna start making dinner, and if you wanna jump in any time, let me know, okay?" He said gently- and Travis shrugged again. Sal nodded and went into the kitchen- starting to cook some chicken and dumplings. Sal turned on the radio to some classic jazz from the 50s and 60s- and softly swayed as he made dinner. After a couple of minutes, Travis walked into the kitchen, and looked to Sal chopping vegetables. Sal turned and smiled "hey travy- Wanna get in on the cooking action?" He asked, and Travis softly smiled. He stirred the broth on the pot and smiled as he helped cook with Sal.

After they were done, Travis looked at Sal, and hugged him. Travis held him close, Sal letting out a slightly surprised noise "oh? Pfft- hey." Sal said, wrapping his arms around Travis' neck, and hugged him back. "You were..really fucking brave Travis.." Sal smiled, blushing a little. It might have been just him- but the sight of Travis punching the hell out of a monster was..cool and attractive as hell, he couldn't lie to himself even if he tried. "I screamed like a baby- I'm surprised I didn't piss my pants or somethin" Travis replied with a chuckle- gently rocking with Sal and swaying to the beat of the music from the radio. "Still brave." Sal retorted, and Travis smiled a little "I just..I wanted to get you out of there if anything.." Travis said, holding him close. "I hope you know I trust you with my life now, you saved me.." Sal nodded, burying his face into the crook of Travis' neck. "When you say it like that you make me out to be some kind of hero..I'm not- I just wanted to get you out of there because I li- Um..cuz I care about you..Sally." He blushed and mumbled. "Exactly. You are a hero Travis." Sal said, and Travis pulled his head away to look him in the eyes. "Thanks Sal.." he said, gently resting his hands on his waist. "No. Thank you- Travis.." he said, looking into his. Travis' heartbeat had flickered into overdrive about how sincere and beautiful Sal was, happy he didn't feel guilty about crushing over Sal. Sal looked up at Travis, and calmed with him there. Travis had saved his life and had chosen him over himself...it was an overwhelming feeling of trust that had been placed. Travis looked into his eyes, and took a breath. He had wanted to ask this for a while- but he hadn't felt like is was right yet. Travis gulped and asked "s-Sal.. one day..could I see your face?" He asked quickly, holding onto him tightly in nervousness. Sal looked to him, I'm complete surprise. Travis had never really said anything about his face or prosthetic before.. "I..um.." he started, not exactly sure how to reply. It was very sudden. He just told him he'd trust him with his life..maybe he owed him- but he didn't really feel comfortable.