Ones Who Bump Back ~ A Hellboy Fanfic (Abe Sapien x OC)

Chapter 16: Lovestruck

After hours of drawing and writing, I decided to head over to Red's place and see how he's holding up with everything. I half expected him to be drunk or something as I approached the vault door.

I felt a sense of grief within me. It took me a moment to realize that when I saw the door, Clay was no longer there to guard it. It was such a usual sight that I could almost see him standing there, making a witty remark as I came by like he always did. Now, though, there was emptiness in his place and no sound to be heard. It dawned on me that he was really gone, and I felt guilty that I could have prevented it. Damn, I'm really not going to let that go, am I? I sighed, grabbing the switch and turning it.

I slipped through before closing the door behind me, having cats pool at my feet. But for once, I didn't mind their company. I picked one up and held it close to my chest, stroking it's soft fur gently as I walked through the room, catching sight of my demon friend laying on his bed, papers and a pen in hand. I tried to ignore the cat attempting to climb up on me, its small claws digging into my shoulder.

Red hardly seemed to notice me, writing away about who knows what. I found it ironic that the one guy who usually asks Abe or myself to type his reports for him is writing something so intently. I sat down on the edge of the bed, "Hey, bud. Whatcha writing?"

Red looked at me as I placed the cat down beside him. He huffed, crinkling the paper and throwing it down on the ground. I finally noticed that there was a pile of crumpled papers beside the bed, which only made my curiosity grow.

"Nothing important. Why are you here?"

"Oh come on, it can't be nothing. I've been sitting in my room for hours, so I needed to take a walk somewhere."

Red smiled, "I'm just trying to think of what to say to Liz is all."

"Ooh! Too nervous to talk to your girl? You're telling me that she hasn't even stopped by yet?"

Red gently kicked my arm, being the only way he could hit me right now, "Oh, shut up, Viv. It's not like that. It's just a list, I guess. I don't know."

I laughed, leaning back on his oversized bed, "Come on, Red. You've been teasing me about Abe for a while now. Getting back at you is the least I can do."

He sat up to properly look at me, "Well, at least you seem to know how to talk to your Prince Charming. I've been waiting to tell Liz how I feel, but I just don't know how or when. The sooner I tell her, the better it'll be for me. Surely, you understand that, right?"

"Yes, but I honestly don't know if I'll ever tell him. You would think that Abe would've found out already, even by accident, but he's completely oblivious. I guess, if I ever wanted to confess, I wouldn't know what to say either. For now, I'd prefer to not say anything. I fear that he wouldn't feel the same way and that'll end up ruining our friendship," I admitted.

Red's tail rested on my leg to grab my attention, and I looked up at his concerned face, "I know what you mean. I'm scared of the very same thing happening with Liz. We've always been there for each other, and if she only sees me as a friend, that would make things so damn awkward."

He laid back down, and together we sat in silence for a moment; the only sounds being the sound of the pen writing, the crinkling of paper, and the meows and purrs of the dozens of cats.

Finally, I decided to speak again, "You know, Liz stopped by my room earlier."

"She did?"

I hummed, "Yeah, we talked about what's happened since your last visit to see her. She seemed like she really missed you when you were brought up in the conversation, if that makes you feel any better."

That seemed to catch his attention, "She missed me? Wow, who would've thought that the woman who told me to never come back to see her again actually missed me. Did she say how Myers convinced her to come back?"

I could almost hear the tone of jealousy coming from him. "Yes. She told me that he reminded her about her freedom here and how we all missed her. I guess she remembered that we're the only family she has left and that while her health wasn't the best while she was here, we accepted her for who she was. But from the sound of it, I don't think she'll be staying here long."

The door buzzers rang before opening slowly. I looked to see that it was John.

As he walked into the room, I noticed that he wasn't pulling a cart of food like he usually would when he came into Red's room. Hellboy noticed too, "I thought you said you were bringing me dinner."

John dipped his head, slightly embarrassed, "It's almost done, I'm here because of something else."

"Well then, what is it? There's hardly any other reason you come in here," Red sighed, looking back down at his paper.

John hesitated for a moment before I could feel his relief for whatever he came to tell us. "Well, I've been told that Abe woke up. He's healing steadily and is going to be alright," he beamed.

I looked up at him, not being able to remove the smile that had come to my face, "Really?"

Red smiled, looking from John to me, "Good to hear. See, Viv? I told you Blue was going to make it."

I looked at Red and raised a brow, leaning my body towards the door, as if trying to say, 'Can I go?'

Red grinned, "Go ahead."

I tried to hold my composure as I got up and paced towards the vault door past John. We locked eyes for a moment, smiling at one another, before he left behind me, closing the door to go and retrieve Hellboy's dinner.

When the hallway was clear and no one was in sight, I picked up the pace, sprinting to the infirmary room. Abe was lucky to have survived, being in such a serious condition. The wounds he received would've been fatal to a mere human.

I slowed down as I approached the main hallway, regaining my composure as I reached the door and let myself in. Before I caught sight of the tank, I could hear Abe's voice, "Vivian? Is that you?"

I smiled brightly when I finally saw him, despite still having all of the equipment hooked up to him. I sat in the chair in front of him, placing my hand against the glass, "Yes, it's me. I'm so glad to see that you're alright."