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The heavy sound of footsteps woke Donut from his light sleep.
“Hello? I-is someone there?” He limped over to the base door, one arm clutching the makeshift bandages around his torso. He winced in pain as he stuck his head outside in search of the intruder. “Don’t mess with me; I know how to use a gun!”
But the figure that approached was not a stranger, but rather a familiar man in purple armor.
“…Donut? Donut, is that really you?” Doc’s surprised, familiar voice was like a breath of fresh air on Donut’s working ear.
“Doc!” Donut exclaimed, breaking into a grin and throwing his arms around the familiar man’s armored shoulders before cringing yet again at the pain from his wounds. “I didn’t think I was ever gonna see any of you again! I’m so lucky my armor locked up and kept me alive for a while, or I certainly would’ve been a goner. I’ve been lying around here all alone for ages!”
Doc glanced at the wounds in question and inhaled sharply. “Yeesh. Yeah, those don’t look good. I mean, you looked pretty dead last time I saw you.”
Donut only shrugged. “Guess that Washington guy isn’t so great at hostage killing, hm?”
This drew a shudder out of Doc. “…Maybe I can take a look? I mean, I couldn’t do anything for you when I thought you were dead, but I have improved my skill on working with the living.”
When Donut awoke, he was back in his cot in red base. He almost began to think that the reunion with Doc was only a dream, when his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the medic humming in the next room over. Donut glanced down and saw that his wounds had been cleaned and redressed, and a glass of water sat on the table next to his bed.
As he tried to sit up, Donut still felt the pain shoot through his body, but it was much more bearable with his bandages properly wrapped this time. He slowly made his way into the base’s kitchen, where Doc stood over the counter, armor now abandoned in favor of civilian clothes, stirring something in a big red bowl.
Upon hearing the sound of shuffling footsteps, Doc turned around to face Donut. “...Oh, hey, you’re awake!” He set the bowl down and crossed the room to examine his patient. “How are you feeling?” He asked, his fingers wringing together nervously as he looked closely at the bandages.
“Um, I’m alright, I think. Just a little sore… How long was I out? And… when did I even fall asleep?”
“You started stumbling shortly after I found you, and by the time we got you to your room, you passed right out! Slept like a baby for the rest of the night.”
Donut smiled sheepishly, and Doc moved closer to examine the bandages.
“Glad to see you’re holding up okay!” He paused, struggling to meet Donut’s eyes for a moment. “I, uh… I’ve never really had a patient as severely wounded as you that didn’t, well, die.”
Donut blinked, and then his face broke out into a huge grin. “I’m super glad I didn’t die, too! That would’ve sucked.” His gaze traveled behind Doc to the abandoned bowl that lay on the counter. “Whatcha makin’ over here?” He asked, walking over with Doc following quickly behind.
Doc grinned as he gestured to a loose-leaf paper with cursive scribbled writing. “I remembered this great recipe I have for banana bread, and I thought it might be a good pick-me-up, all things considered.”
Donut gasped and clasped his hands together. “Doc, you absolute sweetheart! We have got to trade recipes later. I know how to make a tray of danishes that will blow your mind.” He peered at the recipe, and then frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Doc, where are your nuts?”
“I- Wh- My whats?”
Donut pouted and pointed at the paper. “Your nuts! There are no nuts in this recipe. What kinds of bananas don’t have a good bunch of nuts to go with them?”
Doc stared at Donut. “…Regular bananas?”
“Exactly, and that’s boring.” Donut huffed and took Doc’s hand, leading him back through the base. “Come. I have some seeds I hid under my bunk for a special occasion.”
“What kind of occasion?”
“In case some silly man tries to make banana bread without nuts!”
Doc opened his mouth to protest, but stopped short when he saw the briefcase filled with seed packets that Donut pulled out from under his bed. He scanned the lot of them, and then pointed at one brightly colored packet. “Are those marigolds?”
Donut beamed up at Doc and patted the empty space on the floor next to him. “Get your butt over here and look at my collection! If I was ever to start a garden, I couldn’t have just nuts growing. That’d be boring! Doc, a garden has to have style, color, personality… Every good garden needs flowers!”
Doc sat beside Donut and peered closer at the seeds. “You do have quite the collection here… and, you know, they do say occupational therapy is a good way to help with recovery—“
Donut let out an excited squeal and threw his arms around Doc. “Let’s start a garden together, Doc! Oh, this reminds me of back home, only this time we can make it nice and pretty, and—“
“Back home?”
Donut stopped and looked at Doc. “Well… yeah! I used to live on a farm back in Iowa, so I know all there is to know about sustainable living. Haven’t I told you about this?”
Doc looked like he had just been given the gift of sight for the first time. “No, you didn’t!” He immediately got to his feet and held his hands out to help Donut up. “This is great-- Donut, you have to tell me everything you know. I mean, gardening was kind of a hobby of mine before I enlisted, but to learn all the farming secrets you must know, wow… Oh, but you’ll have to take it easy out there, okay? You’re still healing, so let me do anything that takes a lot of moving—“
Donut smiled as he listened to Doc chatter away excitedly while they headed outside to plan their new garden together.
That is, until he came face-to-face with a sight of true horror.
“Oh my God, LOPEZ IS STILL DEAD!” Donut screamed, dashing forward to scoop up the robot head in his arms.
“Careful moving so fast, Donut!” Doc warned as he quickly caught up to his companion.
“How can I think of myself at a time like this?” Donut looked ready to cry.
Doc looked from the robot head to Donut, shifting uncomfortably and laying a supportive hand on his friend’s shoulder. “There, there… Maybe we can hold a funeral for--?”
“No estoy muerte, iditotas.” [1]
Doc’s eyes widened and Donut gasped for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
“Lopez! You’re alive!”
“Claro qué sí. Nadie me puede matar tan fácilmente.” [2]
Donut’s eyes watered with joy this time as he pressed a kiss to Lopez’s visor. “I’m so happy you’re okay!”
Doc smiled, both glad that Lopez was still somewhat functional, even if he was just a head, and that Donut bounced back to his cheery self.
“…But,” Donut’s eyebrows knit together in concentration, “what are we going to do with his head? We can’t just leave him lying around-- Someone could step on him!”
Doc scrunched up his face in concentration, surveying the land around them. “Uh…” He picked up one of Lopez’s arms that lay scattered on the ground. “Maybe he could be a scarecrow for the garden?”
“No les quiero ayudar con sus jardín.” [3]
Donut beamed at Doc. “That’s a great idea-- Lopez even agrees!”
“No sé por qué trato todavía.” [4]
As the sun sunk low beneath the horizon, Donut and Doc sat on the couch together as Donut tried to catch Doc up on one of his favorite soap operas.
“Okay, and that guy’s name is Carson. He’s engaged to Jack, but is having an affair with Louis.”
“I thought Louis was married to Maria?”
“No, they just had a baby together. Maria’s dating Cecilia, but she’s still in a coma.”
“This show certainly keeps you engaged.”
“Isn’t it so fun?” Donut giggled and laid his head on Doc’s shoulder. “It’s a lot more entertaining having someone here to witness the chaos with me, though.”
Doc smiled, resting his head against Donut’s. “This beats being held captive in the desert, that’s for sure…” He looked out the window and scowled at the darkness. “You should probably be getting some rest, thought. You’ve still got a lot of recovery to do.”
Donut rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. “Whatever you say, Doctor Dufresne.”
The medic stood and helped Donut to his feet. “You know I’m not really a doctor.”
“Oh, take a joke, you big silly.” He accepted Doc’s arm of assistance and they gingerly walked back to the bedroom. “Besides, you said the difference between a doctor and a medic was that a doctor saves people, and a medic only makes people more comfortable while they die.” He sat down on the bed and flexed his biceps. “I, for one, feel very much alive, thanks to a certain someone.” He winked at Doc.
Doc laughed as he took a seat in a chair beside Donut’s bed.
Donut blinked in confusion. “Um, aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I can sleep alright sitting up.” Doc stretched his arms behind his head as he spoke. “I still need to keep an eye on you while you’re recovering in case you need anything. Besides, I dozed off plenty of times while I took care of you last night.”
This had Donut scowling. “You sat in that uncomfortable chair all night? I didn’t even notice it was there when I woke up! No, this is not going to work.” He began shifting around under the covers.
Doc frowned. “Donut, if something happens, I need to be nearby in case you can’t call, or--“
He was cut off by Donut reaching forward to tug on his arm.
“In.”
“What?”
“In. Get in. There’s plenty of room in here for the both of us, and if you insist on staying close by tonight, you might as well be as close as you can get.” Donut patted the newly empty space in the cot next to him with one arm and gave another gentle tug on Doc’s wrist with the other.
“I have a feeling if I try to argue, I won’t get very far, will I?”
Donut flashed a cheeky smile. “Nope! I need a cuddle buddy, and you’re just the medic for the job.”
Doc returned his friend’s smile and slid into the bed beside him.
When Doc awoke in the middle of the night to go pee, he realized Donut hadn’t been kidding about the whole “cuddle buddy” thing. Doc found himself with Donut’s arms wrapped securely around him, and could barely move when he shifted to push off his side of the blanket.
The real challenge came when Doc tried to actually leave the bed. He didn’t want to wake his bedmate, but no amounts of delicate twists, turns, or pushes were enough to escape the clutches of Franklin Delano Donut. The man’s well-toned throwing arms had Doc in a vice grip. Sure, the grip felt gentle, but every move was met with what felt like subconscious resistance.
“Mmm… I’m here…” Came Donut’s sleepy mumbles.
“Donut… I need to get up,” Doc whispered as he continued in vain to try and wiggle out of his friend’s grasp.
Donut only continued to sleep-talk back. “I’m here… I’m ready…”
“Donut, please--“ Doc felt himself suddenly get pulled back, flushed into Donut’s chest.
“Take… me…” Donut mumbled into Doc’s hair.
Doc felt his face flush as he held his breath, focused now on Donut’s subconscious conversation.
“I can… blow you…”
“Um—“
“I’ll… blow you away… With the price… The socks are on sale… Take me to the store, Grif… I’m here… Let’s go…”
Doc exhaled a sigh of relief, stifling a laugh at the ridiculous dream he could only imagine Donut was having.
It was then that Donut suddenly released Doc and rolled over onto his other side.
Doc dashed out of bed so quickly he nearly fell facedown onto the floor.
“Doc! Frank, come over here, quick!”
A purple helmet appeared in the front doorway. “What’s up, Donut?”
Donut raced outside, brandishing a camera in his hands. “Look what I found; Let’s take selfies!”
“Ooh, yeah-- Wait, in our armor?”
Donut responded by tugging Doc along across the garden with him. “Yes, our colors look cute together and we need to take advantage of that. Do it for the aesthetic, Doc.”
Doc allowed himself to be guided along as he considered this. “…Yeah, I guess pink and purple do look pretty good together, don’t they?”
Donut took about three more steps before stopping to turn and face Doc. “C’mon, Doc! You know my armor isn’t pink!” He crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side.
Doc could swear he heard the pout in Donut’s voice. “Uhm… Well, if it’s not pink--?”
“It’s lightish-red!” Donut squeaked. “You know I adore you, but we’ve lived here together for, like, two weeks now, and you’re still calling it pink.”
The medic raised his raised his hands apologetically. “I swear I’ll get it someday!”
That response seemed to be enough for Donut, as he was already scanning the area for the perfect place to take pictures.
“Hmm… How about… Ooh, Doc, stay right there--“ Click. “Aww, you look so cute. Okay, let’s try one of us both over here and--“ Click.
“Wait, I think I blinked.”
“Oh, okay, we can retake it--“ Click.
“Wait, wait, I forgot we’re wearing helmets, so it actually doesn’t matter if I blink--“ Click.
“Well, now we have two of that one.” Click. “Oohoo, you’re standing in the perfect spot- Here, take the camera, and I’ll come stand over here…”
“Like this?” Click.
“Yeah, that one was awesome. Now, come over here, and- SMILE, LOPEZ; YOU’RE IN THESE NEXT FEW!”
“No tengo una boca.” [5]
Click.
Doc handed the camera back to Donut after about ten more shots.
Donut pulled off his helmet. “Doc, start stripping! It’s time for under armor shots.”
After what seemed like ten photos of Doc-only shots, Donut finally decided to jump back into the frame, too. “Doc, come closer; let’s be super cute in this next one.” Donut slung an arm around Doc’s shoulders and kissed his cheek.
Click.
Doc blushed and looked over Donut’s shoulder at the camera display. “Wow, that one is super cute.”
Donut grinned and pinched Doc’s cheek affectionately. “Any picture with you in it is gonna be adorable. Not my fault you’re so photogenic!”
Doc smiled and batted Donut’s hand away. “Stop it, you’re too kind.”
“Psh, well, duh,” he redeposited his arm around Doc’s shoulder. “What else are best friends for?”
“Hey… Doc?” Donut whispered gently while the two of them lay together in Donut’s bed. “Are you still awake?”
Donut had since healed well beyond past needing to be looked after while he slept, but he never complained about having someone to snuggle with, and Doc certainly didn’t mind having that extra feeling of protection around him during the night.
“Mmm,” the medic mumbled against Donut’s chest, slowly opening his eyes. “Yeah, I’m awake. What’s up?” He asked with a yawn.
Donut shifted around a little to buy himself a few seconds of time, propping himself up on one elbow and allowing his other arm to continue resting lazily across Doc’s side. “I just… I wanted to say thank you.”
A sleepy smile spread across Doc’s face in the dark room. “You’ve thanked me before, and I told you, that’s not necessary. I wasn’t gonna just let you die.”
Donut took a deep, slow breath before continuing. “…Not about that. Well, yes about that-- Me not dying was pretty great, thank you very much-- But, I wanted to thank you for more than that.” He started tracing gentle circles on Doc’s arm to calm himself. “You didn’t just do the bare minimum with me, Doc. You’ve lived with me-- I mean, really lived.”
Doc yawned, but nodded. “It’s been a good experience for the both of us, I’d say. All things considered.”
“You’re my best friend, Doc, and…” He spoke at a barely audible level, voice growing softer with every word. “I think I love you.”
Doc smiled again and reached out to brush a pink-- or, sorry, lightish-red--, curl out of Donut’s face. “Well, I should hope so, considering you’ve told me that before. After all, you said it yourself: What else are best friends for?”
Donut let out a deep sigh and pulled Doc’s hand away from his face, lacing their fingers together. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, I do love you as a best friend, just like I love Grif and Simmons like they’re my brothers. I love Sarge and Lopez as part of the Red Team family. I love Caboose, Tucker, and Church like they’re our weird blue cousins. I’m sure if I had gotten to talk to Grif’s sister more, I would have loved her like one, too. But, there’s still a difference between my love for them and my love for you.”
He gave Donut a puzzled look. “What’s that?”
The hand that previously held Doc’s now broke away and reached out in the thin veil of darkness to cup the side of the medic’s face, thumb gently rubbing against his cheek. “Frank, I love the Reds and Blues with all my heart, but I’m not in love with them. I’m in love with you.”
Doc’s eyes widened, blinking owlishly at Donut a few times before he spoke: “I- Wow… Donut- Franklin, that means the world to me to hear from you.”
Tears began to form in Donut’s eyes. “R-really?”
Doc knocked his knee gently against Donut’s under the covers. “Yes, really. Frankie, you’re the only person out of Blood Gulch that’s ever given me so much genuine love and attention. If I wasn’t already in love with you when you shared with me your extensive knowledge of composting, I’ve definitely had at least a hundred other reasons to fall in love with you since then.” He sniffled, looking Donut in the eye. “Wait… Are you crying?”
Donut giggled through his tears, “You-you’re the one that’s all sniffly, mister!” He slid his hand that lay on Doc’s cheek behind his head, and gently nudged him closer, guiding their faces through the dark.
Doc got the hint and shifted forward, reaching his own arm around Donut’s neck for support.
Their lips met for only a few seconds, but to the both of them, it felt like the moment they had waited for their entire lives.
It felt like they laid there for hours, pressing sweet kisses to each other’s faces, whispering soft “I love you”s until they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
When he awoke next, it was Donut who had trouble pulling out of Doc’s morning grasp.
“Frankie,” Doc murmured in Donut’s ear, clinging to his bedmate’s middle to prevent him from moving so suddenly, “last night wasn’t a dream, was it?”
Donut leaned closer to give Doc a quick peck on the lips and run his fingers through his hair. “Not as long as you agree to be my boyfriend?”
Doc gave Donut the brightest smile the soldier had ever seen and leaned into the touch. “Nothing would make me happier.”
“Come on.” Donut reached around his back and took Doc’s hands in his, giving them a gentle tug. “Let’s go watch the sun rise.”