Title: Not this time
Fandom: original
Rating: PG for swearing
Length: 163 words
Notes: Time travel. No archive warnings.
Summary: After the jump back, after they’d completed this goddamn mission, Grey was going to stop lying to himself and admit how he felt.



“Ready?” asked the technician.

Grey checked his harness. “Yeah.”

Beside him, Elgin flicked their fingernail against the ball of their thumb, nervous and impatient, but Grey didn’t reach for them. After the jump back, after they’d completed this goddamn mission, Grey was going to stop lying to himself and admit how he felt. He was. With a pre-apocalyptic past-future spreading out ahead of them, maybe the two of them could build something together. An easy life, plenty of food. Togetherness.

Grey hoped so, anyway.

The Machine’s whine began to crescendo. Everything vibrated. Grey’s stomach threatened to rebel.

Elgin flicked out of the present, leaving his harness to fall into the seat, still fastened. Grey felt himself start to follow—

A jolting screech. The Machine clunked, died. Began to smoke…

Grey bit back a curse. “What the fuck?”

The technician was on an intercom. “That was our last fuse. Any ideas?”

Grey unclipped his harness and buried his face in his sweaty hands. Goddammit.