#best burger i ever drew wth | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chibikinesis · 4 years

Text

Worked some more on the draft of that scene with Theo and Wes in the watchtower if anyone’s interested. It’s getting there 😂

“S’pose we may as well get comfy. Gonna’ be up here for a while, whether you like it or not.” Theo looked over at Wes, who was glaring daggers at him from behind a messy veil of wet ginger fringe, with brows knit in irritation that he simply refused to verbalize. He took him in for the moment, eyes thoughftul, before finally lowering his gaze and turning away. He half-groaned, half-sighed as he surveyed the old tower for furniture they could utilize while they waited, and if he was lucky, something to hang his wet coat on.

All the while, he knew that firey gaze was still following his every movement. Trailing him as he shed his backpack, peeled off his coat, draped it over the back of one of the old fold-out chairs, and attempted to run his fingers through his drenched mess of black hair. Theo muttered something about his missing hair tie under his breath, but quickly shrugged it off and turned his attention back to making things more accommodating for the foreseeable future.

He shifted a few of the old crates around until they formed something akin to a chaise, and he moved one of the old sleeping bags onto them to form a makeshift cushion. It would be sufficient for the time being, he reckoned.

“Look, this spot’s all yours if ya-” Theo’s sentence was cut short as he noticed the water pooling in Wes’s spot - he hadn’t moved an inch, had he? His gaze panned up to find a familiar pair of brown eyes, but they were cast away from him, still narrow with some vague, negative emotion. Maybe several. “Jesus, Wes, you better take somea’ that off to dry. You’re gonna’ screw around an’ get sick.”

“I’m fine.” Wes hissed, his stance tensing up as Theo took a step closer. “Don’t boss me. And just… keep your damn seat.”

It was times like those that Theo wondered what ever possessed Wes to save him if he really loathed him so much. But he reckoned their predicament wasn’t helping Wes’s mood any, either.

“Wes, I didn’t exactly have in mind gettin’ our asses chased up an old watchtower by a big irradiated sheepclaw and some damn yao guai, either, much less runnin’ this low on ammo, but…” He thought for a moment. “- this ain’t my fault. This ain’t your fault either. It’s just… shitty circumstance, ‘kay? Ain’t no use tryin’ to pin the blame on anyone - it’s just the kinda’ shit that happens out here-”

As if on cue, a loud howl rang out from some stories beneath them, sending a jolt up both of their spines.

“Christ… damn good thing he can’t climb steps, huh?” Theo was a lot more quick to recover his composure. “Look, I know you don’t wanna’ be stuck up here, least of all with me, but… we’re alive, at least. So maybe just chill?”

After a long moment, Wes finally released the breath he’d pent up and slipped his backpack off his shoulders, placing it near the other sleeping bag that lay on the floor, where he opted to sit for the time being. God, he so wanted to blame Theo for everything that’d happened that afternoon, so wanted to be able to take his misplaced anger out on him, but he was right. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, really. They’d run into more enemies than they’d bargained for, and spent as much of their precious ammunition tending to them all. They’d been caught in the rain, ambushed by a handful of yao guai, and as if to add insult to injury, a Sheepsquatch was thrown into the mix.

“I mean, I would assume it beats the alternative.” Theo added. “Unless you really hate me that much?”

Wes gave a gentle roll of the eyes. He thought to say that he’d be willing to take his chances, but he knew damn well it was nothing but a bluff, and he knew Theo would see right through it, too. If Wes was being totally honest, the word stung. He could never hate Theo. Not really. Not even after everything.

“You sure you don’t want this seat? There’re more crates I can make another one wth. That’s bound to hurt your bony ass after a while.” The only response he got was a glare, and he laughed quietly to himself. He grabbed the sleeping bag from his makeshift seat and placed it on the floor, so that one of the crates still served as support for his tired back, but so that he was more or less eye-level with Wes. “Atleast fold the damn thing over once or twice, Wes, damn. Hurts my ass just to look at ya’ sittin’ on that flimsy thing.”

He pulled his bag closer and began to rummage through, retrieving two cans of water and some of the food he’d packed earlier, and passing one of each to a confused Wes.

“‘Least we ain’t low on food. Here. Packed your favorite.”

After a moment of deliberation, Wes finally accepted. He opened the makeshift paper wrapper to find a cramburger, and he nearly felt himself start salivating. He’s not playing fair, Wes scoffed internally, but his hungry stomach hardly minded. “Tryin’ to bribe me now?”

“Maybe.” Theo flashed a small smile, but it was a bittersweet one. Wes’s expression fell to one of some mixture of irritated and sad. “Nah, I just… thought you might appreciate it. I know that no matter what I do, you ain’t obligated to give me any second chances. In fact, I wouldn’t really blame ya’ if you don’t. Won’t stop me from tryin’ though.”

Wes looked up at him, and studied his face for a moment as he unwrapped his own food. It seemed he was addressing himself more than he was Wes, but there was a sincerity on Theo’s features that he hadn’t noticed before - perhaps it was because he hadn’t really given him a proper chance to express it. He looked back down at his burger for a moment before biting into it, and keeping his gaze lowered as he ate.

They sat quietly while they both ate - the rain, the wind, the occasional spray of distant gun fire, and that dumb, persistent squatch plundering around at the bottom of the tower the only noises they could hear from their safe perch.

Neither one of them was sure how much time had passed, but Theo reached back into his bag and fished out one more consumable - pre-packaged this time.

A funnel cake? Wes furrowed his brow again. This sly bastard. He wanted to be annoyed by it - he wanted to believe that Theo was trying to ‘buy’ his friendship back, but deep down, he knew better. He knew, deep down, that he was sincere. His tired brown eyes watched his familiar, slender fingers do their best to break the awkward thing in half, before reaching the larger portion out for Wes to take. Cold as he was, Wes felt a warmth growing in his cheeks as he stretched to take it from him.

The dessert hardly stood a chance, and after they’d both eaten, another silence fell upon them - this one chewing at Theo’s nerves a bit more than the last. He was never the one to do all the talking in years passed, and he didn’t particularly enjoy it in the current tense either. God, what he wouldn’t give for Wes to say something, anything, right about now. He was always the chatterbox, and now he hardly spoke a word. At least not around Theo.

“… this really what we’re gonna’ do? Sit here in silence?” He asked. If he was being honest with himself, he missed it. He missed hearing Wes’s voice and the way he used to ramble and so many things about the way he used to be. The way he still was, according to Zoey, but he supposed he’d lost that privilege. “Do you really not have anything to say to me? Nothin’?”

They exchanged looks for a fleeting moment, and when Wes shrugged and looked away again, a sigh of frustration finally flees Theo’s lungs as he did the same.

“Guess so.” the latter conceded with a tired huff. “S’pose that’s fair. An’ far be it from me to sit here an’ try to pry it outta’ ya’ or guilt ya’ into talkin, so I guess I’ll just shut the hell up for a bit.”

Vibrations from the thundering footsteps below them rattled their way up the tower’s architecture; reassurance that they’d still be there a while, and enough to draw yet another tired breath. Theo shifted his weight back onto his knees and turned to unravel the bedroll he was sitting on, drawing his backpack closer to serve as a makeshift pillow, before stretching his tired limbs out and settling into the closest thing he could find to a comfortable position. He found his gaze fixated on the rain falling outside; he assumed most people would see it as an annoyance or an inconvenience, but there was something about it that calmed him.

Wes’s eyes trailed his every movement, considerably softened from the daggers he was gazing earlier. Though his brow was still narrowed, his gaze had grown thoughtful. He studied Theo’s scars - old and new alike. He came to rest on the one that was carved through his left eyebrow - the single one he remembered seeing before the vault door had opened. Zoey’s words rang fresh in his mind suddenly -

Our father hurt him, Wes. And he took it all, because him being the one to take it meant he was sparing me from having to endure the same bullshit.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Theo’s pipboy being tuned to Appalachia Radio, and its volume lowered to just-barely-above-audible.

“Hopefully that ain’t too bothersome.” Theo spoke, barely a decibel above the radio. He offered a window for Wes to object if he didn’t want to hear that drivel at that particular juntion - one that never came. On the contrary, Wes welcomed the small bit of noise to break the silence and the monotony.

It was a welcomed distraction, but more short-lived than Wes would have preferred. The way the little bit of light came in through the window and seemed to feature that damned scar front-and-center was enough to send Wes right back into his prior train of thought. He wondered briefly if that was how Theo had earned that particular mark. He wodered briefly just how badly their father had hurt him. He opened his mouth to speak, but found the words weren’t coming very easily to him. Instead, he drew a breath, and reconsidered.

God, he wanted answers. He’d wanted answers for so long, but the petty, spiteful part of him didn’t want to give Theo the impression he actually gave a damn. But the longer Wes dragged whatever one might call this little game out, the worse he started to feel for stringing him along. But the thought of him taking his leave from Wes’s life again twisted his stomach in knots - but it was finally sinking in that he couldn’t have his cake and eat it too. He could tell Theo was starting to get fed up with it all, even if it didn’t stop him from putting in the effort.

It didn’t feel right to keep up the charade. Not when it was so clear to Wes that Theo was putting in so much effort and being so genuine.

I know he hurt you, but… he had a reason for what he did, Wes. I promise. I’m not saying it justifies that shit he pulled, but… maybe you’ll understand a little better once you hear it from him. Zoey had said. I’m not even asking you to forgive him, just… talk to him. That’s all I’m asking. Please, Wes.

“Theo, what…” Through shaking lips, he finally found the gumption he needed to finish that query, “- what happened?”

Hearing his name took Theo by surprise, but not as much as hearing the tone in the question that followed. A tone that left no doubts in his mind as to the way the vague sentence was meant to be taken. He glanced over at Wes - he found a much different expression than what he’d gotten used to seeing - one of defeat and sadness, that wasn’t directed back at him, but rather at the worn planks beneath them - but one that created a dull ache in his heart nonetheless. He pondered his response for a moment, drawing a deep breath before casting his gaze back out the window.

“Well, I mean… how much has Zoey told ya?”

Oh, no. Wes worried at his lip, remembering that she said he’d probably be pissed if he found out. “She didn’t -”

“Heh, spare me. I doubt you’d even be here if she didn’t at least vouch for me. Much less usin’ my ‘new name’. I’m hardly in any kinda’ position to hold it against her.” Theo smiled a bittersweet smile. “An’ thanks for that, by the way. For not usin’ Ted or Teddy. I ‘preciate it more than you probably know.”

“Y-yeah...” Wes stammered, unable to raise an objection. “She, uh… she never really gave me details. She just kept sayin’ that… your dad was pretty shitty to you after your mom died, and that… you had your reasons for cutting me- “

The red head was quick to catch his err, but so was the brunette. The former wasn’t about to look over to see if he’d been caught, for fear of the embarrassment silencing him. His cheeks grew warm and he cast his glance down, and twiddled his thumbs.

“… for cutting everyone off. That she could understand why you did it, even if it wasn’t the best choice, but… that I should hear you out.”

Theo shifted his gaze back to Wes’s face and watched thoughtfully as he spoke. He drew a deep breath and shifted his gaze again - he couldn’t bring himself to look at him as he finally spilled the beans.

“I never meant… to hurt you the way I did, Wes. You were one a’ the few people in that vault I really considered a friend. After mom died, I… I didn’t know how to process that shit or cope with it. Let alone all the shit that came after, y’know?” He sighed. “But y’know who was even worse than me at handlin’ their emotions?”

Wes looked up at him for a moment as he awaited the answer.

“My old man. He was shitty to us even before she died, but somethin’ in him just… broke that day. He was always kinda’ unstable when we were young, but he never got diagnosed or treated for… whatever-the-hell he was dealin’ with. Typical fuckin’ bull-headed tough-guy West Virginian who don’t need no help. Nah, he just took it out on me an’ sis. An’ over time, he shifted her portion onto me too.” Theo took a short pause and a deep breath to recollect himself, and blink the burning feeling away from his eyes. “But I mean that’s how I’d preferred it anyway. If I was his punchin’ bag, it meant he was leavin’ her the hell alone.”

“Why didn’t you try to do something? Or tell someone?”

“Well, Zoey an’ I were both raised to keep that shit hush-hush, y’know? An’ it ain’t like we had anywhere to really go, back in the vault. An’ besides, like I said… I never really learned to process that kinda’ shit. After I took the brunt of it long enough, and after bottlin’ all that shit up, and not talkin’ to anyone about it, I just kinda’… shut down.” He glanced over to find Wes looking back at him; his gaze rested there for a moment before shifting elsewhere as he continued to speak. “I shut down, and I shut most everyone I cared about out. Because I was so fuckin’ scared if he had the chance, he’d hurt them too. But especially you.”

Wes fidgeted uncomfortably as he blinked back the mist in his eyes. “Did he ever… hit you? Or get physical?”

“A few times, yeah. It was usually verbal, or emotional though.” Theo conceded with a soft sigh. “The one that hurt most was when my hair got just a little too long for his likin’. Bastard said I was lettin’ myself turn into a sissy. Fucker fought me to the floor, held me down, an’ took a pair a’ clippers to it.”

“I… I remember that. Well, not… that, but… I remember the buzz cut.” Wes furrowed his brow as he connected the dots. “And everyone wondering what the hell happened.”

“I remember a few of ‘em sayin’ it looked like I got into a fight with a pair a’ clippers an’ lost. If only they knew the half of it.” He chuckled bitterly. “Shit got so bad I even shut sis out for a while.

(Fill in later lol)

“Look, when it all boils down, Wes, I… I ain’t fishin’ for sympathy, and I’m not… I’m not askin’ you for instant forgiveness or a get outta’ jail free card, I just… I needed you to hear my side of things. I realized a long time ago that I really fucked up back then, an’ I hope this at least gives you some closure about it all. But I wanna’ keep tryin’ to make it up to you if you’ll let me. I feel like it wasn’t some accident that ou found me that day, an’ I wanna’ make the most of this second chance I’ve been given.”

“I mean, I get it, Theo, I really do, I just-” Wes wrung his hands in frustration. “Why didn’t you tell me back then? We were best friends, I would’ve understood, I would’ve helped you, or… or tried to, at least.”

“I don’t know. I was young an’ stupid an’ thought I could shoulder all that shit on my own, an’ I… didn’t realize how much damage I did to the people I loved til it was too late. I can’t go back an’ do it any different, Wes. I wish I could. All I can do is learn from my fuck-ups and do better.” Theo offered the red head a bittersweet smile. “You deserved so much better than the shit I pulled back then. I’m so sorry.”

#theo anderson #wes helms #rachel writes #wip #draft

4 notes · View notes