Chapter Text
Sleep welcomed you with wide open arms. During the whole time the containment breach had been going on, you hadn’t gotten any time to rest. Nightmares plagued your dreams, but luckily this one wasn't as bad as the ones before. Your brain was probably to tired to even come up with anything gruesome. Shifting slightly to access a more comfortable position, you tried to roll over, but there was nothing to roll on. Your eyes practically burst open.
The face of a reanimated corpse carrying you bombarded your peripheral vision. Too much to handle right now. You screamed. It was more out of surprise than actual fear.
049 rushed into your field of vision.
"Are you still feeling pain?" It’s voice carried a hint of... you weren't sure exactly.
Ok, what happened while you fainted.
"Ah! No, I'm fine. Well not really..." You frowned. Something was trying to resurface, but as soon as you tried to grasp the memory, it went out of your reach. Wait, you had fainted... What happened? All you could remember was... running? From something...
You tried remembering harder, but all you got in return was a headache. You growled, growing frustrated. "Doesn't matter! How could you let this THING carry me?!", your voice came out hoarse despite you wanting to scream out your words.
"It is a him actually.", 049 corrected.
You sighed, deeply annoyed. "Want to enlighten me who else is male here so I can enunciate myself correctly?"
"I thought that was obvious due to the urge to document everything in this facility."
To your defence, the thought had already crossed your mind, but since 049 was addressed as an "it" in countless reports you had never passed another thought on this topic.
"What are you doing?", it asked.
"What does it look like? I'm trying to get up.", you said and struggled out of the reanimated corpses hold, grimacing at the sharp tingling sensation of pain. It shot as waves through your body, starting from your side to every nerve fibre.
"Stop that.", it commanded. "You are not fully healed in the slightest."
You ignored his orders.
"Would you prefer me carrying you instead, since you do not seem fond of cured ones?"
"No! I would prefer no one carrying me!", you argued and continued to wiggle out. Ow, moving hurt.
"You will fall.", the plague doctor warned.
"What are you, my mom? I know what I can do.", you shot back and finally escaped the cold grasp.
Just as your feet touched the ground, your legs buckled just as it had predicted. Pain rushed through every part of your body, making it impossible to stand, let alone walk. Tears pricked at your eyes.
049 had already anticipated the outcome and professionally scooped you up in its arms. "No, I am your doctor. Next time listen to what I say."
You grumbled something incoherent and looked the other way. Being carried by that dead person suddenly seemed way more appealing than this embarrassment.
"No walking until I say so.", 049 ordered. "Now that you are finally awake... Care to explain why you did not tell me that you were shot?"
What a brilliant way to ruin the mood instantly. You crossed your arms defensively. "I was fine on my own, I took care of all that.", you shot back.
"You did not even properly clean the wound. Did you know that most people die of an infection rather than the actual wound itself?"
"Literally did not have time for that, because at that time I had other important things to attend to. Like trying not to get ripped into shreds!"
"You could have ended just like that person you tried to save before. Thank your body for fainting before you could force yourself to walk any further towards your death."
Your eyebrows shot down. You were full on angry now.
"Well, I am sorry that everything in here I come across tries to kill me, including you, which resulted in me not trusting anything nor anybody, except myself!"
Your words echoed through the hallway. The Scp's grip tightened.
Only the sound of your heavy breathing disturbed the sudden silence.
The impact of your words dawned on you. How did you dare to speak in such a way to a dangerous Scp? 049 was probably already thinking about killing you.
"I didn't mean to..."
You didn't end that sentence. It would have been a lie anyway just to pacify. Why even try anymore. Face the truth. You were destined to die, right here, right now. It felt almost calming to realize that.
Silence. Oh this deafening silence would kill you if the plague doctor didn't first.
The plague doctors grip softened.
"We did have a rough start.", it finally decided to speak, emphasizing each word carefully. Closing your eyes, you braced yourself for its next final words, and then your impending death.
"How about we start anew?"
What...?
You stared at 049 with big round eyes.
He cleared his throat.
"Good day Miss (y/ln). It is a pleasure to meet you. There is not much to say about myself you probably do not already know. Nevertheless, feel free to ask."
Your head felt dizzy, as if somebody exchanged cotton with your brain. What was going on right now? Were you dead already?
"How do you know my name?", eventually left your lips weakly.
"You literally run around with a name tag."
You looked down to indeed see your name tag still attached to your work uniform. "Oh.", was all you made. Then. "Please just call me (y/n)."
Was this all just a dream? A casual conversation with the plague doctor himself sounded impossible mere seconds ago. But here you are.
"(Y/n)...", he repeated slowly as to make sure he pronounced your name right.
Your face flushed red at the sound of your name combined with his velvety voice. It sounded too good. Nope, there's no way this is real. You were close to, if not already dead. A goofy grin spread across your face. Why not make the best of this near-death experience?
"There's actually something I need to know.", you exclaimed. Sudden strange euphoria clouded your already fuzzy mind. He gave a hum as a response.
"What’s your accent", you blurted out.
"Ah..." For once you caught 049 off guard. Silence for a few seconds, then he spoke up again.
"Well... I am from France and have travelled quite a lot to research a cure for the disease. I resided in Great Britain for a long time until I was, well... taken. So one of them I would guess."
"You're french?!"
"Does it surprise you that much?"
You ignored his question.
"Could you say something in french?"
"Pourriez-vous dire quelque chose en français?", he answered smoothly.
His deep velvety voice sounded entirely new when he spoke in his native language. It was as if you had discovered a whole new part of him.
"I need... more.", you gasped. You almost felt cheated. Only now you were getting to hear him with this entirely different voice.
"J'ai besoin de plus.", he chuckled.
A way to excited inhale on your part turned into a coughing fit.
Oh gosh what is wrong with me
"Are you alright?", 049 asked, eyes mirroring the concern in his voice.
Your head felt dizzy and your thoughts ran slowly as if they were coated in honey.
"I did not know you have eyes", you slurred in complete awe.
"I am sorry?"
"And I've never seen such a dark eye colour!" Your words came out sluggish.
Even though he was giving you the utmost confused look you had ever seen in your life, you couldn't help but stare. His dark brown, almost black eyes, had something mysterious to them, partially because you almost couldn't tell apart pupil and iris. You leaned forward to get a better view. They were hypnotizing, like a black hole.
049 broke eye contact first. "You need to calm down."
You inhaled sharply. "I am fine!", you whined. "Just let me-"
He set you down on the nearest table. "Calm down. Your adrenalin level is high which causes these moods wings, but that will diminish soon, so rest."
He removed your hands from his face.
"And keep your hands to yourself."
You reached out again. "I have no idea what you just said."
He pushed your hands back. "Let me rephrase that so even you understand it:
You're high on your own body’s hormone painkillers."
Despite his easier explanation, your brain still needed time to process what he just said. You giggled. Sleep sounded nice. Did he say something about sleeping?
"AHH, what are you doing?!", you shrieked and swatted his hands away while blushing madly out of both embarrassment and anger.
"Checking on your injuries. You seem a little too off.", 049 stated and continued to lift your shirt up.
"Are you kidding me, you’re telling me to keep my hands to myself, but you are suddenly allowed to molest-"
It was then that you noticed the small red circle that began to form on the bandaged fabric. "...me."
Blood.
Cold lifeless eyes.
The faces. Death everywhere.
The memories your brain supressed resurfaced violently. A wave of emotions crashed over you, as images involuntarily invaded your head. Images from the 096-incident. Screams. You had killed someone.
You whimpered
"Make it stop..."
"I would have already if you did not interrupt me..." he grumbled but noticed a change in you, voice faltering towards the end as he noticed your trembling body.
"What is the matter?" 049 asked gently.
"Nothing, I'm... just-", you closed your mouth. Tears pricked at the corner of your eyes. A lump forming in your throat made it impossible to continue talking normally. Stupid adrenalin making you vulnerable and emotional. Your voice was incredibly coarse when you answered. "I'm okay."
He wiped away a tear that had escaped against your will, gently brushing against your skin. "It has been rough for you, has it not?"
His voice sounded so incredibly soft.
The last straw broke that kept everything crumped up inside.
You burst into tears, hiding your face inside your palms. 049 didn't flinch in the slightest at your sudden outburst. Being a former doctor probably helped.
"Let it all out, it will make you feel better.", he stated matter of factly, patting your shoulder. You let out a loud sob and lunged forward, holding onto him for comfort while you cried against his chest. He stiffened upon contact immediately. His demeanour of professionalism poofed away.
Between sobs, you managed to form words. "I have seen people die in front of my eyes... So much blood..." Tears fell harder. "I- I killed someone!"
You continued to cry against his chest, sobs racking your body. Unusually timid, he lifted his arms to encircle your small frame and hugged you back.
"You did not kill him. He was injured slightly.", he clarified gently. But you were already lost in tears and guilt. He hugged you tighter, muffling your sobs in his clothes. "It is in the past...", he murmured, caressing your back soothingly while whispering words of reassurance into your ear.