St. Cucurocho's {Skephalo/4halo AU} COMPLETE (mess)

A Month Without Pomme

Today marked the first month of Pomme's disappearance. Bad was numb to everything, stuck in his torturous routine. Get up. Cry. Go to work. Grieve. Sleep. Repeat. He barely had time to eat. But today his busy schedule was interrupted by the big split.

Skeppy brought a suitcase down the hall and set it on top of the other, by the door. "I think that's everything."

Bad didn't feel sad, he simply went to say goodbye. "Drive safe."

"I will, call me if you hear anything about the case."

"I will." Bad nodded. They weren't bound by love, but Trauma. And of course, they were still legally married.

-

"Oh come on!" Bad groaned and hit the sanitizer dispenser like it was personal.

"S'empty, Bad boy..." Baghera was in the staff room and noticed him having a hard time. "I can refill it now before I leave."

"I don't have time." Bad leaned on the wall and rubbed his forehead.

Baghera opened a small closet and pulled out the sanitizer refill. Within a minute she had the dispenser back in order. "See, there? It takes no time."

Bad sanitized his hands and started making a coffee. "I might as well start smoking crack. I already never sleep and survive on caffeine."

"Are you alright?" Baghera was worried. Bad hadn't been the same since Pomme disappeared. He was even worse after his husband left a week ago.

"No one is, why the hell are we here? Why the hell are we doing this?" Bad put a splash of cold water in his black coffee and sucked it down like it was oxygen. Even with a bit of cold water it was very hot. "Ah–" He set the mug down. "I didn't want to taste anyway!"

"Bad–" Behera looked towards the door as Forever dragged his body in. "Uh, are you okay?" Baghera could almost see the cloud of frustration forming in the staff room.

Forever sat at a small table and laid his head against it. "That was– that was very difficult."

"What happened?" Baghera sat next to him.

"A boy came in with a concussion and a bleeding head. He got hit by a baseball bat while playing with his brothers. He was not making it any easier to treat him." Forever sat up again and rubbed his face. "If God is real, why do little kids suffer?"

"He can't be real." Bad hissed and finished the last of his coffee.

"Well...you know, everyone has their beliefs." Forever cleared his throat. "How are you doing?"

"Terrible." Bad left the staff room.

Baghera sighed, shaking her head. "I feel so awful for him..."

"Me too..." Forever nodded. "We just need to keep doing our best...to...to...well we can't really make things...better, can we?"

"His daughter is...well, who knows?" Baghera shrugged. "He needs closure. It might be terrible outcomes, but the closure will...the closure will make it better."

Forever nodded slowly. He wasn't fully listening. He was thinking up some floral ideas.

-

Bad got home late and stumbled inside. He was exhausted but his mind was wired. He was zombified.

Dapper was still awake and came to the kitchen to meet Bad. "Hey, dad. Skeppy called." Dapper didn't waste any time disowning Skeppy or removing his fatherly title.

"What he want?"

"He was just checking in."

"M'kay."

"And Dr. Forever stopped by to see you. But you weren't home yet."

"Oh? Why didn't he meet with me at work?"

Dapper shrugged. "He left those." He pointed to a blue and red bouquet.

Bad eyed the flowers briefly before deciding he didn't want to get into his feels. "That's nice of him. I'm going to bed. Goodnight darling." He pat Dapper on the head, and Dapper let him. With Pomme missing, Dapper understood he needed to give affection.

"Goodnight, Dad. Love you."

Bad inhaled the words and went to bed with a clear mind but a heavy heart.

-

The next morning Dapper woke up early and went to the kitchen. He made lunch for himself and then went to get himself ready for school. He was old enough to do this on his own anyway. But he did miss Bad doing little things like school lunches for him. The absence of Bad's loving lunches proved how much he had given up.

Before Dapper left for school he went and knocked on Bad's door. "Dad, I'm going to school now." He always did this. Bad was prone to irrational thoughts and paranoia now that Pomme was gone. If Dapper didn't announce him leaving and where he was going, it panicked Bad.

Dapper knocked again and opened the door. He wasn't satisfied unless Bad responded. "Dad–" The bed was empty. Dapper wasn't too worried. Bad must've gotten called into work.

-

Dapper got home from school and went to his room to do his homework. He didn't expect his dad home for another couple hours. But slowly as the time went by, he started getting a little nervous. His dad has been unstable. That was the simple way to put it. It wasn't unlike him to go on a spontaneous Pomme hunt.

The front door swung open. Dapper put down his textbook and took a sigh of relief. He walked down the hall to welcome his father home. But it wasn't him.

Pomme stood like a deer in headlights. She did not think anyone would be home. She didn't have a plan for if she was caught. She just stared in denial.

"Pomme! Oh my god, where the hell have you been?!" Dapper ran towards her. She almost ran out the door again, but he grabbed her. "Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital."

Pomme shook her head violently. "Let go, you weren't supposed to see me!" She was deranged in appearance. Her hair was matted from neglect. Her clothes were unrecognizable to Dapper. So she must've changed clothes at some point. Yet they were far from clean. It looked like she had been sleeping on dirt.

"Pomme, you were missing for a month, you have to explain!" Dapper refused to let go of her arm. He couldn't let her run away. She was probably just scared. He was sure he could help her. "What happened, Pomme? Please, tell me."

Pomme started crying, making her eyes more bloodshot than they already were. "I'll tell you...but you can't tell anyone. Not dad. Nobody. And you never saw me, got it?"

"Dad's not here..." Dapper whispered. "Just tell me what's going on."