Chapter Text
Mitch stood back from the engine he’d been tinkering with and put his hands on his hips, deep in thought.
“Don’t think we were barracked together, name doesn’t ring a bell anyway. Who is she?”
“Bob contacted me yesterday. Knew this woman at the Vet Counselling programme who was in a pretty bad way. Absolute shitbag of a man she’d shacked up with turned cyberpsyco, took out a dozen lives before the cops got him. She wants to get away from the city, have a fresh start and, well you know Bob, he wanted to help. Thought we’d be a good place for her. ‘pprantly Carol was on the same team as her for a while in Washington.”Scorpion replied.
Mitch remembered little about the Unification War. The good bits marred and blurred by the bad that haunted him. It was a fight he had every day. Even the memories of the vets he was beside today were only really from the past 7 years in the Aldercados.
“She heading here?”
“She’ll need picking up, Bobby is looking after her. Was gonna ask you to head out there. The others who knew her are already on their way to Saul to speak to him about it. You coming?” Scorpion didn’t wait for an answer, fully expecting Mitch to just come and help a former sister in arms, and that’s just what he did.
They approached Sauls tent and already heard raised voices.
“She’s one of us, and we don’t turn our backs on our brothers and sisters.” It was a voice that was unmistakably Carol. Scorpion and Mitch headed inside and joined the circle.
“I’m not saying she isn’t.” Replied an exasperated Saul. “What I am saying is this person claiming to be your friend could be anybody.”
Disgruntled voices mingled to object, Carols rising over them all.
“Listen, Saul.” She practically spat, “We were contacted by someone we know and trust, asking for our help. I worked beside her throughout that hell and i would immediately know if it was her or not as soon as I see her. She turns up here and it’s not her? Shoot her on sight.”
Mitch decided it was time to bring reason into things and bring the tempers back down, so moved to stand next to Saul,
“Listen, we’re not asking you to immediately make her a member the moment she enters camp. We just want a friend to be, and feel, safe. She might not even want to stay once she’s been here a month or two. Let’s just welcome her and see how it goes. Please?”
Saul crossed his arms, eyeing the man before him. “Fine. Go get her. Let’s see how it goes.”
Mitch smiled and patted him on the shoulder, while Carol grumbled a loud “Finally!” And headed out with the others.
“Nice work! Knew it would be a good idea to get you in there.” Scorpion patted his back as they walked to his Thornton Colby. His eyes brushed neon blue briefly, “I’ve sent you the co-ords to get her. I’m gonna go set her up a tent. Get her some food before you head back, from what I’ve heard she hasn’t eaten much lately.”
Mitch nodded and slid into the car, heading out with a spin and a cloud of dust in his wake. He’d normally have the radio on whenever he was alone, but his mind was too busy. Your name was repeated over and over in his head. It nudged at something in his memory, something buried deeply away, but he just couldn’t drag it out.
Carol had mentioned you’d worked together, meaning you must have been a Technician. He sighed and shook his head, it was no use. Hopefully he’ll remember when he sees your face.
It wasn’t far to the city. Mitch hated going there but the quiet of the summer dusk made it bearable. There was little traffic, and soon he had pulled up outside a small house in Santo Domingo, firmly in 6th Street territory. The vets who didn’t go nomadic pretty much ended up here, including some old friends the Aldercados kept in touch with. He headed up the steps to knock at the front door.
“Mitch! There you are, come in come in! Beer?”
“Wouldn’t say no, Bobby, how have things been?” Mitch grinned at the portly cowboy-clad man before him.
“Not bad at all my old friend, not bad at all!” His voice dropped to a whisper, putting up a hand to stop Mitch venturing in any further, “she’s in a bad way, son, a bad way. Breaks my damn heart. If that son of a bitch wasn’t dead already I’d have done it myself. She’s gonna need real looking after.”
Mitch nodded and headed into the living area while Bob went to the kitchen.
“Hey, I’m....” he began as he walked in, before locking eyes with yours. Suddenly every little thing about you came flooding back like a truck to the chest.
—-
December 2069
Frantic lips smashed against each other in the back of the parked Militech truck, fingers fumbling with belts and harnesses. Mitch groaned your name into your ear as your hands finally found the bare skin of his stomach.
“Mitch...” you whispered, pulling him onto you as he pulled at your combat pants, finally finding a way in with his hand and feeling your heat.
“I need you,” he begged, “I can’t go without you.” You silenced him with another kiss, wriggling the combat pants down further and releasing his engorged cock from its own confines. This wasn’t a conversation you wanted - it was pointless. You didn’t have the answer you both wanted. Avoiding his eyes you turned over onto your knees, your hands up against the sides of the vehicle. He came in close behind you, his breathing and desperate hands at your breasts turning you on even more, before feeling the firm hurried entry of him into you.
You didn’t have time to make love, to build each other’s pleasure in tantalising teasing, not like you usually do. This was straight, miserable, fucking. Your time together was running out, you both knew, and didn’t even know if you’d see each other again. All you both wanted right now was to become one, one last time.
The orgasm hit you and you rode it out, tears streaming down your face, and Mitch soon released all of himself and his emotions into you too, and buried his face into your hair. Neither of you dared to say a word, not wanting this to be the end.
In an hour, Mitch would be going to fight in New Mexico, and you were being redeployed to Washington. Neither expected the other to make it through. You’d said your goodbye the best way you knew how.
—-
Present Day
“Mitch...” you gasped, staggering up to standing. His eyes looked at every inch of you, trying to convince himself you were real. You were painfully aware of how you looked. Your body that was once curved and strong was... frail. Bruises, both fresh and old, littered the parts of bare skin you could see. He took a few hurried steps forward before stopping, all at once feeling like a stranger.
“I....I’ve c-c-come to take you t-to the Aldecados.” He stammered. You nodded.
Silence.
Bob came striding in, a beer bottle in each hand “Here’s that beer Mitch, now....i see you’ve introduced yourselves already!”
“We’ve met before.” You said gently
“Indeed! Well at least there’ll be more than one friendly face eh!” Bob smiled. If he felt the tension in the air, he had a good way of hiding it.
The three of you sat back down. You barely took your eyes off of Mitch, but he kept his eyes cast down to the floor. He was hunched forward, elbows on his knees, cradling the beer bottle like he thought it was poisoned. Bob began to tell your story for you, at your request. You didn’t feel you could get through two words.
“We met at the Veterans centre, she was part of the PTSD support group I run. One day I noticed she had new bruises, and after some gentle probing turned out her old man had gone cyberpsycho. I’d tried to get her out of there sooner but...well. Doesn’t matter now.” He turned to you, “He’s gone, and you’re safe.”
You nodded. “The past doesn’t matter now.” You spoke softly, hoping Mitch heard.
—-
Half an hour later you were waving goodbye to Bob as Mitch pulled the car away. He had hugged you like he was a proud dad seeing his kid go to college, and it had filled you with the courage that had disappeared the moment Mitch walked through that door.
After a few moment, Mitch broke the tense silence.
“W-W-would you....are y-y-you hungry?” He asked. You wondered where the stammer had come from. Fucking war.
“Yes, a little.” You replied. Mitch nodded and parked up at the first place you came to, a Chubby Buffalos. He stopped the car and turned the engine off, but his hands stayed at the wheel, unable to move.
“Mitch?” You gently asked. You could see the thoughts swimming around his head. His tells hadn’t changed and you could still read him like a book. You reached out a hand to touch his and he flinched away as if you’d burnt him.
“ Y-y-you’re alive....” he whispered
“So are you.”
He turned to finally look at you, tears welling in his eyes. You slowly brought your hand to his cheek, hoping he wouldn’t move away again. He stayed still, holding his breath, and you gently caressed his cheek. He closed his eyes, and a single tear fell.