We Taught Ourselves to Smile

Part 1

Poison

Poison was drawing in a booth when the explosion rang through the air. Kobra and Jet were out on a run, so they pulled out their blaster and rushed out of the diner. Expecting dracs or 'crows they rushed as quietly as possible around the diner toward the origin of the blast. As they rounded the corner they saw the blast zone and dropped their blaster to reach the crumpled boy lying in a smoking heap at the center.

"GHOUL!" The red-haired killjoy sprinted toward their fallen friend, dropping to their knees in a perfect baseball slide to cradle Ghoul's face in their shaking hands while searching wildly for a pulse. Ga-thunk. Oh, thank the Witch he's alive. Ga-thunk. Oh fuck. It's too slow. Ga-thunk. Poison could feel their heart beating faster as Ghoul's slowed. Shaking themselves out of their panic, Poison gently picked up Ghoul's unconscious form and rushed him into the diner. Ghoul took a shuddering breath and Poison felt their heart skip a beat as their veins turned to ice.

With their free hand, Poison shoved their art supplies off the diner's counter and gently set Ghoul down before lunging for the radio.

"Kobes! Jet! Are any of you there?" Their voice is shaking and Poison curses themself for letting their emotions get so out of control. But, they supposed that since the man they'd been pastel for several years now was now dying on the counter next to them warranted some voice cracks. The static on the radio gave way to a voice.

"Party? This is- ksshhhrk -bra. W- ksshhrk -wrong?" Trying to keep their voice from shaking again, Poison picked up the radio.

"Ghoul's been hurt. I- I don't know how exactly, maybe he was working on a new bomb or something but he- something went wrong and he got caught in the blast and he's not waking up and Destroya, what do I do ?" Their composure was rapidly falling apart and they could feel their throat closing up. "Jet was the last one to use the medkit what'd he do with it, I need to help him, I need to-"

"Party. Calm down. Freaking out won't do anyone any good, let alone Ghoul. The med kit's under the sink in the bathroom. We're on Guano now but we'll stop by Tommy's and see if we can't haggle some shit off of him for you but I don't think we'll be back before tomorrow." Kobra's voice was calming and Poison could feel their breathing slowing down gradually. He set the radio down, making sure it was still on and went to go find the medkit.

When they got back to the counter, Poison started to gently take off Ghoul's jacket, laying it carefully under the boy's head as a makeshift pillow. They noticed with no small amount of relief that there wasn't much blood, only a few scrapes along his arms and face. His jacket seemed to have taken the brunt of the blast, it was riddled with new burn holes and bits of plastic were imbedded in the leather lining. Ghoul let out a breath and Poison was immediately at his side, gently stroking the hair out of the boy's face. It seemed so odd to see Ghoul like this, the normally loud, sarcastic, outgoing boy. Fuck, it really hurt to see this boy who they loved so much just... just barely alive. Poison had to fight hard just to keep their tears at bay.

"You're going to be alright. I'm going to take care of you." They whispered softly, their voice breaking, completely riddled with fear.

Three Years Ago

Poison was drawing in a booth when they heard the engines. Kobra was out on a run, but he wasn't due back for another two days. Engines. Plural. Dracs . Poison jumped up, nearly spilling their supplies all over the floor. Cursing, they pulled out their blaster and stood with their back against the wall, ready to burst through the door at the first sign of a firefight. The roar of machinery grew steadily louder until all at once it shut off, and the inimitable sounds of blaster shots rang through the air. Why would they be shooting already? They don't know I'm here.