upon us all, upon us all a little rain must fall

[mekachu04]

two kids trying to survive as best as they can

It's cold. wet.

Its not winter, not yet. But it's close. Close enough that nights cant be spent outside anymore, less one wakes up with fewer toes then they fell asleep with.

In the mean time, Kidd is holed up in the crawl space of a much nicer house. It doesn't provide much heat of its own, but it sealed up enough that there's no drafts to steal away body heat, no leaks that leave him damp or sitting in wet clothes as the hours whittle by. He and Killer have packed the small space with newspapers and a few blankets too hideous for the other kids to fight him over. He just hopes the smell of them don't get the well-to-do's attention, but the days aren't nice enough to loiter outside anymore, so they should be able to avoid detection until it snows.

Most of the time, it's Kidd sitting tight in their hovel - two sneaking in and out doubles their chances of being spotted, so lately it's only been Killer leaving. Kidd would be less notable, but begging for coin hasn't been getting him much these days, and Killer's old enough and big enough to pull jobs. Sometimes for the locals, but usually for the gangs. Neither are happy about it, to be honest, but better to get the Boss' blessing then be accused of crossing a turf line.

Gang jobs are bigger risks; Killer comes back more often than not pretending not to be hurt. But they pay enough to feed the both of them, sometimes even enough to save for something like shoes that aren't being wrapped to keep the soles from falling off- or haven't had the toe completely warn through because Kidd hit a growth spurt and nothing fits anymore.

Gang jobs also mean sometimes Killer's gone for a few days; leaving Kidd behind, praying that nothings gone wrong, and he'll be back that night. Because once the sun's up, Killer wont risk being seen, will wander off until night fall before sneaking back to Kidd's side.

There's only a few more hours left until the next sun up, and Kidd's been awake the whole night waiting. He's afraid to leave in case Killer does come back and finds him gone, but this will be the third night alone, and Kidd's starting to worry....

And then there's a snap in the distance, and Kidd's pressed against the cover, listening intently.

A shuffle of dirt and leaves, and Kidd knows that pattern - Killer moving the ground so the hatchway being moved wont be noticeable once it's moved back. The cover moves, and Kidd beams up at Killer's silhouette, gesturing to take Killer's haul so he can crawl in already.

Its raining again, Killer is soaked to the bone, ice cold. Kidd pulls the door closed as Killer plops bonelessly on their little nest.

"foodsforyou" he grumbles, curling on his side, probably to get as much of his soaked hair off his back as he can. Kidd tears into the food, hardly tasting the first half dozen bites, because he's chugging the water Killer brought back. It's got the weird aftertaste most water on Kutsk has, but it's been filtered at least. It takes all his will power not to down the entire meal, to stop at just enough to take the edge off before he's tucking it away for later. There's a good chance Killer hasn't eaten anything either, and like hell is Kidd gonna make him go have to scavenge something up as soon as he wakes back up.

Just a few hours until sun up - if he wakes up, Killer will no doubt try to slip back out again before then - and Kidd crawls over to where his partner has already passed out, exhausted.

He does his best to wring the water he can from Killer's hair, pulling it into a clumsy braid away from his body to give Killer's shirt a chance to dry. Killer's skin is cold, and Kidd huffs warm air onto his own hands before gently rubbing at his exposed skin. Killer's not shivering yet, and Kidd knows by now that that's a bad sign.

The wet clothes aren't going to help but there's not a lot of room here to strip Killer completely. Kidd does get the shirt unbuttoned, and he shoves one of the blankets between Killer's back and the shirt instead of trying to get it off him. He's still huffing on his own hands, running them on Killer's skin, focusing around his heart.

Once Killer has started to shiver again, Kidd eases up on it, curling up against his chest, pulling the other blankets up over them both. Killer immediately curls around him, partially seeking warmth in his unconscious state... and part just becuase that's what he does. Killer's been the big spoon their whole lives it seems, tucking Kidd in close to keep him safe. Kidd snorts agaisnt the cold skin of Killer's chest, his friend instinctively pulling him closer.

Its still too dark to look his friend over, but he feels mostly in once piece. However, his breath hitches slightly when Kidd touches his side. His fingers are cold, that could be it, but Killer's skin feels warmer here. Killer's breathing studders slightly again with Kidd touches it, probably some bruising then.

Kidd vows to make Killer stick around today - he needs light to see what's really going on, and Killer's been gone for days, he needs rest; Kidd'll put his foot down. one day isn't going to change much, and Killer 's not go too either of them running himself exhausted.

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upon us all, upon us all a little rain must fall - ‘The Rain Song’ by Led Zeppelin 1973