Souvenirs From Dead Worlds

Returning to Sam's world was reminding Kias strongly of when he'd first arrived, and though everything had ultimately turned out for the best the memories it brought back came packaged with a heavy dose of anxiety. Kias focussed on his hands where they gripped the arms of the chair, on his breathing, tight and too fast. He knew there was no danger here, not with Sam at his side. There never had been. He hadn’t known that when he’d first come here, though, and he was having no luck convincing the deep, instinctive part of him that this situation was safe.

They landed in the same room as they had the first time, huge and with high ceilings like a gigantic barn, empty until their shuttle landed in it. It smelled the same, Kias found when they exited the shuttle, a peculiar odor that Kias was fairly sure came from some kind of cleaning product.

Sensing Kias' apprehension, Sam reached out and took Kias' hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing his knuckles softly before he led him towards the door. The first time Kias had been here the automatic doors had startled him, but somehow, disturbingly, he simply considered them normal things in the context of Sam's world now. He still didn't really like them, though.

Unlike when Kias had first arrived on Sam's world, they were not the only ones waiting to see the doctor. Tristan's entire team was there this time, crowding the room.

Most of them had already been minimally dressed due to having their clothes taken when they were arrested, but now Diego was stripped down to his underwear along with the rest of them. Diego had struck Kias as being quite dignified, so seeing him in so little was odd. Diego appeared no less comfortable nearly naked than he was fully dressed, though, and as soon as he spotted them he came over to talk to Sam.

Sam split his attention between talking to Diego and encouraging Kias out of his clothes. The room was warm, at least, but taking his clothes off in front of so many people was making Kias uncomfortable. It was silly, really, because usually it was Sam who was the one concerned about modesty, but Kias was feeling anxious. He knew he was safe with Sam and with Sam's friends, but fear had never been something he'd been good at reasoning with. Kias wanted to hide, not expose himself further.

He wasn't so scared that he would allow his fears to control him, though, so he pulled his shirt off and threw it into the large bin, and then sat at Sam's feet to remove his shoes. By the time Kias stood up again to remove his pants, Sam had already rid himself of his own shirt and pants.

Being nearly naked, Kias decided as Sam wrapped his arms around him, wasn't nearly as bad when Sam's warm body was pressed against his own. Kias buried his face against Sam's neck and shut his eyes, breathing in Sam's scent and blocking out everything else. He was tired and it was too bright in the small room and there were too many voices talking too loudly, but the slow stroke of Sam's hand up and down his back kept him calm.

A short while later someone placed a hand on Kias' shoulder and Kias startled, reflexively pulling away from the touch and pressing himself closer against Sam. Sam spoke with whoever had touched Kias for a few moments and then gently pried Kias away from himself.

"The doctor needs to give each of us a needle with some medicine," Sam explained, and Kias glanced at the doctor standing behind him.

It wasn't until Kias fully twisted around in Sam's arms to face the doctor that he realised that only the three of them remained in the room. He'd shut his mind down so successfully that he hadn't noticed Tristan’s team leave.

The doctor didn't bother to sit them down to give them their needles this time. Sam stood behind Kias, his chest flush against Kias' back, and held Kias' arm out so he could get his needle. After Kias had gotten his, Sam held his own arm out. While the doctor worked, Sam spoke to her, and Kias couldn't help but feel they were discussing him.

"We're going to do something a little different from last time," Sam said as they headed towards the door after being dismissed by the doctor.

"What?" Kias asked cautiously. He knew he was safe with Sam, but he was feeling harried enough as it was without introducing new experiences.

"It'll be easier to explain once we get there," Sam said, leading Kias out of the doctor's office and back into the corridor. "It's not far."

Kias wanted to hit him.

#

As always, the decontamination bay was cold and damp with the powerful scent of decontamination fluid ever present in the air before they even entered the portion of the facility with the showers.

Sam pulled his underpants off and tossed them in the bin in the centre of the room. "Remember how the doctor washed you down with some stuff while I was away last time? It's like that, only it's a shower rather than borderline molestation."

"Oh," Kias said as he began to drag down his underpants, his eyes grazing over the newly revealed parts of Sam’s body. "I guess that is preferable. Although I suppose it would depend on who was molesting me."

Sam grinned at the suggestive look Kias gave him. Kias was clearly much too tired to make any kind of real move, but that he was flirting was a good sign that he wasn't too overwhelmed. Sam had been beginning to worry.

Sam had intentionally ensured he and Kias were the last to get their injections and then dawdled longer talking to Dr Austin in the hopes that by the time they reached the showers Tristan's team would have been done with them. Sam could hear one of the showers running before they even proceeded into the next room, though, so he knew someone else was still in there.

Sam took a pair of goggles out of the bucket next to the doorway and put them on before getting a pair for Kias and helping him with his. "These will protect your eyes. Getting decontamination fluid in your eyes stings like fuck, so I suggest keeping them on."

Kias nodded and made a sound of agreement as he followed Sam to the next room where the showers were located. Diego was standing naked under the shower in the far corner, idly running his fingers through his hair as he let the blue liquid wash through it. As decontamination fluid was horribly cold and smelled awful, Sam assumed Diego was only still lingering under the shower because he’d been waiting for them.

Sam caught himself lifting a hand to usher Kias behind him out of some stupid desire to keep Kias’ nudity for his eyes only and forced himself to stop. As far as Sam knew, Diego had never shown the least bit of sexual interest in anyone.

"Sam," Diego greeted as Sam approached the shower next to Diego's and pulled the handle, releasing a cascade of cold, chemically blue water. Diego inclined his head to Kias and greeted him with a smile and a polite, "Hello, Kias."

"You were waiting for us?" Sam prompted, and immediately made a face when some of the decontamination fluid got into his mouth. Ew.

The shower's spray was very narrow and designed to fit only one person underneath, but when Kias stepped under the shower with Sam and crowded in close to him so that he could get wet as well, Sam didn't correct him.

"Yes," Diego responded, watching Sam and Kias with mild interest. "I simply wanted to propose that we wait until morning to meet with the Marshal. We're all tired, and I noticed Kias is looking a little stressed."

Kias didn't look over at the sound of his name as he normally would have, didn't move at all, just kept his forehead pressed against Sam's shoulder and his hands on Sam's chest. Sam stroked up and down Kias' back along the line of his spine.

"Yeah," Sam said. "He is. The Marshal will want to know why we're back early, though, so I don't think we'll be able to put it off."

Diego shrugged his shoulders as he reached out and turned off his shower. "I'll take care of it."

Kias had started shivering against Sam and Sam pulled him closer to share his body heat. Sam would be glad not to have either drag Kias to see the Marshal with him or leave him alone after this.

"Thank you," Sam said, cutting his gaze back to Diego for a moment. "I appreciate it."

Diego inclined his head in acknowledgement of Sam's thanks and then silently headed towards the drying passage. Although Sam had considered Diego a friend for a few years now, it had always been a casual friendship built around a mutual appreciation for undemanding social interaction. They weren't close enough that Sam had expected this degree of support. But then, the events currently taking place didn't concern only Sam, and although Diego often seemed emotionally distant he was far from apathetic.

Sam made sure the decontamination fluid had reached every bit of their exposed skin and helped Kias rinse his hair with it. It didn't take much longer for them to finish up, but by the time they had they were both shivering.

After they'd turned the shower off, Sam gave Kias a quick peck on the forehead, then made a face at the fresh taste of decontamination fluid. "Diego says he'll sort things so that we can get some rest before we see the Marshal."

In a single groan, Kias managed to convey both relief and gratitude.

By the time they reached the drying passage, Diego had already moved on.

"This is just going to blow air on us," Sam said a moment before he backed into the narrow corridor of the drying passage, leading Kias by the hand, and the dryers automatically switched on. The strong blast of room temperature air that hit him was as chilling and unpleasant as ever.

Kias grimaced in discomfort the moment he entered the blast with Sam, curling in on himself as much as possible while remaining standing, a compulsion Sam was quite familiar with himself.

"It'll take longer to dry if you do that," Sam said patiently over the sound of the dryers. "If you spread your limbs out you'll dry much more quickly."

Kias reluctantly obeyed Sam's instructions, then winced and reflexively hunched his shoulders at the unpleasant sensation. They were both already almost dry, so Sam began slowly leading Kias down to the other end of the corridor. He paused just before the end and ruffled fingers through Kias' hair for a few moments, getting the last bits of moisture out before they stepped out and the dryers switched off.

By the time they were done, Kias' shivering had turned into violent, full body shudders, and it made Sam's heart hurt to see it. He wished his own body wasn't almost as cold as Kias' so that he could warm Kias up. He hurried to find clothes that would fit Kias in the room they'd entered instead. They were on shelves along the walls, sorted by size, so it didn’t take long.

As Kias put on the clothes, his body was shaking so hard that his limbs had become uncooperative, and Sam let Kias lean on him so that Kias could put his pants on without falling over. Sam was cold too, as he always was after decontamination, but Kias still had far less bodily insulation than Sam despite having been well fed since he'd come there. He was no longer unhealthily thin, but he was still slender and Sam suspected that was simply what was natural for him. With training he would likely gain muscle tone, though, which would make him more hardy.

The clothing barely slowed the shivering down, so once they were both dressed in the basic grey pants and long sleeved shirts Sam was quick to lead Kias towards the exit, though Kias' preference for snuggling in as close to Sam as possible slowed them down a little.

The room Sam now shared with Kias was a little further away than Sam's original room, requiring a trip in the elevator. There was a woman already in the elevator wearing a scientist's coat when they got in, and Sam let Kias cling to him during the short elevator ride despite the odd looks she gave them. He was a good person like that.

Kias was shaking slightly less by the time they reached their room, the brisk walk there from the decontamination bay having warmed him up a little. Not a lot, though. Not enough.

It was extremely tempting to just pull Kias into one of the beds, crawl under the blankets and go to sleep, but they were still covered in dry decontamination fluid and that stuff started to itch after a few hours. It was a pity they couldn't simply install a normal shower in the decontamination bay so people could wash the nasty stuff off after the process was complete, but unfortunately it was necessary for anyone leaving to have their skin coated in it. If someone washed it off before they left the decontamination bay there was a risk of them picking something up from the surrounding area.

Kias was staring at the bed longingly, and Sam assumed he was also debating the comparative merits of sleeping versus showering. Or maybe he was just staring... he looked pretty tired. Sam was tired too, but he'd been through this whole process so many times that he could do it practically on autopilot. The sleepy guy leaning heavily against his arm was the only new variable in the equation.

Though the bathroom they shared now was not the same one Sam had showered with Kias in on the day they'd first met, leading a sleepy Kias into the bathroom, stripping the both of them down and then guiding Kias into the shower was strongly reminiscent of that instance. It was a bit different, though. This time Sam could look and touch wherever he wanted and enjoy it without feeling ashamed.

They were both too tired to start anything just then, though, so while Sam enjoyed what he saw his touch was reserved for practical uses. Mostly practical. Okay, there may have been a few more tender caresses than were strictly required to assist someone in showering. For that matter, it was rather debatable as to whether Kias actually required help rinsing the decontamination fluid off of himself. He was just sleepy this time, not anaesthetised.

The hot spray of the shower warmed them both up within minutes, and by the time Sam deemed them both thoroughly rinsed and turned the water off Kias was able to stand exposed without hunching his shoulders and curling in on himself for warmth.

"Hungry," Kias mumbled just as Sam was finishing drying him off. Strictly speaking, Kias didn't actually require Sam's help to bathe or dry despite his sleepiness, but when Kias was all cute and tired Sam couldn't resist the urge to care for him. Kias didn't seem to mind.

Sam had been planning to simply drag Kias to bed without even bothering with clothes to sleep in, but food was something Sam hadn't considered. In truth, despite the excellent distraction Kias was being, Sam still couldn't help worrying about what was to come. When Sam was anxious, he tended to lose his appetite. Kias, on the other hand, never lost his. They should have eaten on the shuttle even if all they'd had was bottled water and nutrition bars, but Sam had been too distracted.

Sam had gotten rid of all their perishable food before they'd left so that they wouldn't come back to rotten food, though it seemed he needn't have. They'd been gone less than a week. Sam briefly considered ordering take away, but dealing with someone on the phone and when they came to deliver the food felt like too much after he'd already promised himself they were done dealing with the outside world for the day. Besides that, he wasn't keen on waiting.

In the end it was the nutrition bars he reached for, and he even managed to force himself to eat half of one. If anything, Kias seemed able to consume more food when he was anxious, and easily ate two of them before the balance was swayed in the opposite direction and Kias' need for sleep outweighed his need to eat. Kias refused to cooperate, his eyes shut and his body gone floppy, and so Sam had to lift Kias, still naked, off of the bed so that he could pull the covers back and put Kias under them before crawling in beside him.

That Kias' naked skin felt nice against his own was the last coherent thought Sam had before drifting off to sleep.

#

Sam woke before Kias, consciousness slowly trickling in and making him aware of the naked body spooned in front of him. It was unquestionably a nice way to wake up. He wouldn't have minded waking up that way every morning.

Sam was tempted to stay there, naked and pressed against Kias until Kias woke up, but he knew better than to give his body ideas when there were other matters that needed his focus. Sam carefully extracted himself to go and shower and get dressed. Even after a second shower he still smelled ever so slightly of decontamination fluid, but as he'd been fully reeking of the stuff last time he'd seen the Marshal he wasn't too concerned.

Not about that, anyway. In general, he had plenty of concerns about what the day would bring. He could do nothing about them, though, so instead he focussed on breakfast.

Sam's stomach felt like it was clenched in a tight knot and he knew he wouldn't be able to force much food into himself. Kias would eat, though. Sam was staring into the fridge, contemplating how to turn their very limited supplies into edible food, when the door buzzer sounded. Sam glanced over at Kias to see his brow crinkle and he shifted in his sleep.

Sam was prepared to be very annoyed with someone for the few moments it took to send them away until he actually opened the door and came face to face with Diego. Diego holding take out boxes.

"Good morning," Diego said mildly and waited patiently until Sam stepped aside to let him in.

Sam just hummed in response and relieved Diego of the three tantalisingly sugary smelling take out boxes. Even his nervous stomach couldn't resist pancakes for breakfast.

"He's still asleep," Diego observed, and Sam looked up to see him watching Kias.

"Well, he is a teenager," Sam pointed out as he reached up to get three plates down from the cupboard over the sink.

Diego sat down on the edge of the other bed. "I keep forgetting how young he is."

Sam laid out a knife and a fork with each plate. "He's more mature than I am half the time."

Diego's lips quirked up slightly at the sides. "I could believe that."

Once Sam had transferred each stack of pancakes from its box to a plate, it could no longer be put off. It was time to wake Kias.

Waking Kias up made Sam a little nervous, because it was the time at which Kias was the most vulnerable to confusion. Sam hated when Kias looked at him with fear in his eyes for any reason and would do whatever he could to avoid it.

That was why instead of leaning over Kias to wake him Sam crouched down beside the bed, getting on the same level as Kias without being physically in bed with him. Instead of shaking Kias by the shoulder to wake him, Sam said Kias' name quietly while gently brushing Kias' hair away from his face. It was probably a bit more care than was necessary considering they'd just slept together naked all night, but the tiny smile that formed on Kias' lips the moment his eyes cracked open made it worth it.

"We have a visitor," Sam said, and then before Kias had a chance to get bummed about having company so early in the morning added, "He brought breakfast."

"Foooood?" Kias asked as he pushed himself up and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

"Good morning, Kias," Diego said when Kias glanced his way, and then added to Sam, "I really need to learn to say that in his language."

"I haven't even taught him to say it in our language yet," Sam said as he walked over to the chest of drawers to select some clothes for Kias. "He has no idea what you just said."

"Hi," Kias said to Diego belatedly as he pushed himself out of bed, shameless in his nudity. He walked over to Sam and began putting on the pants Sam handed him while Sam sought out a nice shirt.

Disregarding Kias' nudity just as easily as Kias had, Diego gave him a friendly smile. "Hi."

Kias yawned wide and leant into Sam. For a moment, Sam almost wanted to just tell him to raise his arms, but pushed the shirt he'd chosen into Kias' hands instead. Kias could dress himself, at least when there were other people watching. "Put this on and then you can have pancakes."

"I don't know what pancakes are," Kias said from within his shirt as he pulled it over his head. "From the way they smell, though, I think I'd like to find out."

Diego was watching them curiously, so Sam decided to translate for him. "He doesn't know what pancakes are, but he's keen to find out."

Diego's eyebrows rose ever so slightly at that. "You've never given him pancakes before? I should report you for abuse."

Sam followed Kias to the kitchen and let him select a plate. They were all essentially the same thing, but Kias lingered over the decision like it mattered. After Kias had chosen Diego took the plate closest to himself and Sam left his on the counter and followed after Kias. When Kias sat down on the bed to eat, Sam crawled across the bed to sit behind him, comb in hand.

Diego's grin was filled with more amusement than Sam was used to from him. "You remind me of a parent getting their child ready for school."

Sam tried to frown but ended up laughing. He hadn't thought about it, but that was probably exactly what it looked like. "Believe me, we're not always like this. He's more than capable of independence."

"I like pancakes," Kias interjected through a mouthful of food.

"He says thank you," Sam told Diego.

"That's how you say thank you in his language?" Diego asked, sounding unconvinced.

Sam carefully divided Kias' hair into three equal sections. "I was reading between the lines."

Diego hummed around his mouthful of food. He swallowed. "Have you decided what you're going to say today?"

Sam's good humour immediately dropped away. "Partially? It's hard to know how to tackle this. I'm afraid if they feel my case is too emotionally based, they won't take me seriously."

"There is value in emotion, though, and nobody can bring more of that to this than you can," Diego pointed out. "Logic is certainly necessary to convince anyone this should be done, but don't underestimate the power of emotion. Tristan and I will reinforce the more logical side of things with our testimonies."

Sam let out a long sigh. "Thanks."

Diego just inclined his head in response.

After he finished braiding Kias' hair, Sam ate his pancakes. They were cold by then, but still good. He let Kias finish them, though, because although they were good they were also very sweet and Sam found it challenging to cram that much sugar down so early in the morning. Kias had no such difficulties.

Once they were all finished with the food, Sam was faced with the unpleasant realisation that all that they needed to do now before they left was put their shoes on. They couldn't even linger with that too long, either, because it was almost time to leave. Having Diego there was comforting and motivating. Diego was always a calming influence, but having him there knowing what Sam needed to do and expecting him to do it kept Sam from dawdling in his preparations. He put on his shoes and instructed Kias to put on his. Then they were off.