It's just us, now.

Eleven.

Days into the Apocalypse : 14

"Woah, woah, kid, why are you crying?"Don asked, worried, as Malachi began to cry softly into his hands.

"I really missed Jon."Malachi admitted and Don settled a hand on his shoulder, a bit awkwardly as he wasn't exactly sure how to comfort children, "He did a lot for me when I first got here, cause I was homeless when he found me. Jon brought me here, a-and he took care of me! H-He had to do a lot of extra work for Mr. Nelson, work I can tell he really didn't like doing because it made him feel guilty, b-but he did it so I could eat, and so I can be safe."

"Eat?"Don questioned, having a sneaking suspicion that he'd regret asking.

"The more stuff we stole, the more food we could eat."Malachi answers in a tone that was far too casual for Don's liking, "Jon worked for the both of us before he had to run away, I wasn't really a lot of help because customers would notice a kid wandering around by themselves..."

Before Don could continue to ask him anything else, the camper door unlocked and opened.

"Jon!"Don explained, sitting up from the cot besides Malachi when Jon was put back into the camper, the door being slammed behind him and locked with an audible 'click', "Jesus, man, you look like shit."

"Thanks, I feel it, too."Jon says dryly, wiping a dribble of blood coming from his busted lip, he caught a look at himself in the vanity, he leaned in to get a closer look and frowned with a hand raised to his face, "He really messed up my makeup..."

"I cannot believe it's me of all people saying this, but this is not the time to be thinking about your makeup."Don deadpanned as he grabbed Jon by the elbow and led him to sit on the opposite cot from Malachi, "What happened out there?"

"I told the Ringmaster to go fuck himself."Jon says rather bluntly, "I was scared as hell the entire time, but when he wouldn't stop talking I got more pissed off than scared."

"Are you actually insane?"Don questioned, poking at Jon's left cheek as a bruise began to take form starkly against his pale skin. Don narrowed his eyes at the smudged red lipstick on his face, "Wait, isn't your face already just like that? You don't even need lipstick when you look like you drink Kool-Aid at every hour."

"Lipstick makes my face pop."Jon says, jokingly sounding offended, "I cannot believe they ruined my eyeliner. I spent fifteen minutes working on this."

"Jon. This is serious."Don reminded with a huff.

"And I am being serious."Jon retorted, "I'm a bit freaked out here, man, so this is how I'm gonna act until we leave. And, hey, they ruined your makeup too y'know..."

"They what?"Don startled, quickly looking into the vanity to see the half diamonds beneath his eyes and his eyeshadow smudged.

Malachi hopped off his cot as Don went to examine his face in the mirror, moving to sit besides Jon and then lean into his side, "Can I go with you, when you leave?"

"Of course!"Jon immediately answered, surprised, "You don't even have to ask, of course we're taking you with us. What made you think we wouldn't?"

"Well, uh..."Malachi began awkwardly, trailing off.

Jon visibly deflated, "Right, I know. I should have taken you with me when I left to begin with...but I refuse to leave you here again. Right Don?"