alright then! Lemme take this to the table so we can sit down. *he shuts off the water and takes the half-filled pot out of the kitchen*
Do you need me to look out again?
Yeah – just lemme know if I got the bottom of the pot over the edge of the table, yeah?
Alright.
*he heads for one of the tables.* Okay, here we are… tell me where I am, Max.
Lift it a little more and you should be good.
Alright *lifts the pot higher and slides it onto the table.* Okay – awesome!
*max put the pods on the table and stood on the bench to look in the pot* you got the timer?
*Carlos pulls out his phone and pulls up the app again* Yep – got it. Ready?
*he grabed one of the pods* yep.
Okay – Pop it in!
Cool. *max put the pod into the pot*
*Carlos starts the timer* So… hypothesis time. What do you think will happen with this? This is the control, but it’s still good to come up with a hypothesis.
I think it’ll probably pop faster since this is clean water.
Hmmm… interesting theory. We’ll just have to wait and see then, won’t we? *he smiles at Max*
*max nods looking in the pot* I,,, think it popped?
Huh? *peers into the pot* What, really? Huh… I coulda sworn it would have taken longer… *he picks up the other pod and gently pokes at the membrane, trying to gauge how thick it is*
Yeah I’m pretty sure some soap shit is comin’ out.
And yeah… it’s coming out. Wanna wait a second before we drop in the second one?
Yeah. What’s the time?
Oh! Um… nearly a minute. About… about fifty-three seconds. The water isn’t particularly hot, is it? *he touches it* Oh – it’s warm. Damn… I should have used cold, like the lake water. Oh well.
We could get ice. Make it colder.
Yeah, sure. We still have one pod left, so let’s get it done right. I’ll go grab a bucket of ice. *he stands up to head back to the kitchen*
Alright, cool.
*carlos rummaged around in the kitchen a bit before coming back out with a pitcher full of ice.* Here we go.
Don’t put all of it in at once.
Yeah… I think i’ll start with maybe half of it, or a third… see where the temperature is after that.
Start with a small amount. We can’t make it warmer without starting over.
*smiles at Max* Okay – how about you decide how much to put in, then. *he sets the pitcher on the table for Max*
*max takes a small handful of ice and puts it in the the pot* let’s try that first. Hey maybe we could get some salt and try another thing.
Uh…. what sort of thing, Max?
Like holding salt and ice togeather, that sorta thing. Neil says it sucks and I kinda wanna try it.
No – NO! Absolutely not – you’re not going to do that! *clears his throat* Um, I mean…. don’t. Don’t do that. At all. Never do that, Max. I cannot stress my meaning when I say don’tdo that ever.
You’re no fun.
Neither are third-degree burns, Max. Please, just… trust me on this one.
I thought Neil was the other Science Camp kid – why the hell did he do something like that? Er, heck. I meant heck.
*max shrugged* kid’s do stupid shit, man. I don’t make the rules.
Ugh… *though he couldn’t argue with that.* How is Neil? Did he end up okay?
Yeah, he’s fine.
That’s good to hear. I guess I gotta talk to Angie about not doing that sort of stuff, since I’m thinking about it… *he picks up his phone to make a note on it*
There’s another thing I thought of but I forgot so,,
Another thing? What do you mean, Max?
I dunno. I forgot what it was.
Then… why did you mention it if you forgot? Is it along the lines of the salt and ice thing?
Max…. Max, you don’t look good. I… Please, please, please, tell me – did you eat something you shouldn’t have?? I know I just went through this with you but… but humor me, okay?
*he glanced away, muttering* a-an anon made me, okay? but i’ll be fine in abit..
Yeah, it will be because I’m taking you to the hospital! *he picks up the kid and carries him to his car* Max, if you have to throw up then don’t be afraid to do it. Your body needs to get all that wax out and fast. *he opens the back door of the car and puts Max in a seat.*
*he groaned, wrapping his arms around himself* do we really need to go to the hospital? can’t i just die peacefully at camp?
You’re not going to die. It’ll take time before the crayons get to the intestines – but we need to get you to the hospital and get them out before they cause a blockage. *Carlos put a seatbelt on Max and hurried to the driver’s seat* Hold on, Max – you’re going to be okay!
*he leans his head aganst the window, glancing at Carlos* it’s just going to be some huge bill… what can i say to convince you not to go to the hospital? *coughs* it take me like.. five to ten minutes to die Carlos, even that would suck less the a hospital…
I don’t care about the cost, Max – you’re worth it! And it won’t take ten minutes – death from intestinal blockage would take longer. We’re just gonna get that wax out of you and be done with it!
*long groan* how do you even get wax out of a body..?
I… Well, Max, you could throw it up yourself. But if you’re unable to do that, the hospital can pump your stomach. It’s… it’s where they empty it before anything has a chance to get into the intestines.
eww… *sighs* … what if they’re too late and some did get in my intestines? *slightly worried look*
I… I don’t know. But I don’t think we’re too late. I mean… I’m not a doctor or anything, but as a scientist my, uh… my educated guess is that we’re not too late. Hang in there, Max. Um… if you need to throw up at all then… then tell me.
*nods, glancing at Max through the rear-view mirror* Hang on, buddy. We’ll be there soon. *he puts in ‘hospital’ in the navigation for his car and he follows the directions*
*he just stared out the window, internally trying to calm himself down as he whinced softly*
*it feels like forever for Carlos, but finally he was pulling up to the small-town hospital. He found a parking spot and he hops out before going to help Max. He undoes Max’ seatbelt and holds his arms out.* Put your arm around my neck, Max – I’ll carry you in, okay?
*he hesitated before wrapping his arms around Carlos’ shoulder, seemingly shaking more as he looked at the hospital* i-is this going to suck..?
*’yeah, the stomach pump might!’ No.. no… terrible joke. He wasn’t going to say that one.* Let’s hope it’s not as bad as it could be, Max. But we’ll see how it goes. I got you here quickly, so that’s good. *he picks up Max, shuts the car with his knee before locking it and carries Max to the automatic doors.*
*he nods slightly, finally calming down abit* y-yeah… j-just promise me one thing? j-just don’t leave me.. *coughs* fuck-
I’m gonna be with you, Max, I promise. *he walks in and goes up to the receptionist, quickly explaining the emergency.*
t-that’s good.. at least one thing about this doesn’t have to suck..
*Max was brought to the back right away and was put on a gurney with Carlos sitting beside him. Carlos was given some paperwork to fill out… but Carlos frowned at it.* Max… I don’t know anything about your medical history…
m-medical history? eh.. it’s mostly just broken bones… i think i got my stomach pumped before this though.. oh yeah, there was also that car crash a few monthes ago *coughs* how long is-is this going to take?
Not too long… they’re gonna get you checked out pretty quick to see if the pumping is even needed. I… I guess I’ll just fill this out the best I can. Do you have any allergies, Max?
not that i remember.. wax poisoning hurts worse then any other form of poisoning i’ve ever had and i didn’t th-think that was possible… *he covers his eyes with his arm*
I don’t think it’s the poisoning… I think it’s just the heavy weight of unmalleable wax in your stomach. Your stomach tries to move and digest it, but it can’t. Crayons – Crayola ones at least – are made of animal fat, kind of like soap. But soap has more chemicals in it. At least it isn’t soap…
Max…. Max, you don’t look good. I… Please, please, please, tell me – did you eat something you shouldn’t have?? I know I just went through this with you but… but humor me, okay?
*he glanced away, muttering* a-an anon made me, okay? but i’ll be fine in abit..
Yeah, it will be because I’m taking you to the hospital! *he picks up the kid and carries him to his car* Max, if you have to throw up then don’t be afraid to do it. Your body needs to get all that wax out and fast. *he opens the back door of the car and puts Max in a seat.*
*he groaned, wrapping his arms around himself* do we really need to go to the hospital? can’t i just die peacefully at camp?
You’re not going to die. It’ll take time before the crayons get to the intestines – but we need to get you to the hospital and get them out before they cause a blockage. *Carlos put a seatbelt on Max and hurried to the driver’s seat* Hold on, Max – you’re going to be okay!
*he leans his head aganst the window, glancing at Carlos* it’s just going to be some huge bill… what can i say to convince you not to go to the hospital? *coughs* it take me like.. five to ten minutes to die Carlos, even that would suck less the a hospital…
I don’t care about the cost, Max – you’re worth it! And it won’t take ten minutes – death from intestinal blockage would take longer. We’re just gonna get that wax out of you and be done with it!
*long groan* how do you even get wax out of a body..?
I… Well, Max, you could throw it up yourself. But if you’re unable to do that, the hospital can pump your stomach. It’s… it’s where they empty it before anything has a chance to get into the intestines.
eww… *sighs* … what if they’re too late and some did get in my intestines? *slightly worried look*
I… I don’t know. But I don’t think we’re too late. I mean… I’m not a doctor or anything, but as a scientist my, uh… my educated guess is that we’re not too late. Hang in there, Max. Um… if you need to throw up at all then… then tell me.
*nods, glancing at Max through the rear-view mirror* Hang on, buddy. We’ll be there soon. *he puts in ‘hospital’ in the navigation for his car and he follows the directions*
*he just stared out the window, internally trying to calm himself down as he whinced softly*
*it feels like forever for Carlos, but finally he was pulling up to the small-town hospital. He found a parking spot and he hops out before going to help Max. He undoes Max’ seatbelt and holds his arms out.* Put your arm around my neck, Max – I’ll carry you in, okay?
*he hesitated before wrapping his arms around Carlos’ shoulder, seemingly shaking more as he looked at the hospital* i-is this going to suck..?
*’yeah, the stomach pump might!’ No.. no… terrible joke. He wasn’t going to say that one.* Let’s hope it’s not as bad as it could be, Max. But we’ll see how it goes. I got you here quickly, so that’s good. *he picks up Max, shuts the car with his knee before locking it and carries Max to the automatic doors.*
*he nods slightly, finally calming down abit* y-yeah… j-just promise me one thing? j-just don’t leave me.. *coughs* fuck-
I’m gonna be with you, Max, I promise. *he walks in and goes up to the receptionist, quickly explaining the emergency.*
t-that’s good.. at least one thing about this doesn’t have to suck..
*Max was brought to the back right away and was put on a gurney with Carlos sitting beside him. Carlos was given some paperwork to fill out… but Carlos frowned at it.* Max… I don’t know anything about your medical history…
m-medical history? eh.. it’s mostly just broken bones… i think i got my stomach pumped before this though.. oh yeah, there was also that car crash a few monthes ago *coughs* how long is-is this going to take?
Not too long… they’re gonna get you checked out pretty quick to see if the pumping is even needed. I… I guess I’ll just fill this out the best I can. Do you have any allergies, Max?
“Wow,” Carlos said, actually kind of impressed. “I… forgive me, but I didn’t… think people could actually have such thing as a ‘good income’ out here. I’m sorry – it’s most likely my vault mentality still sticking, I just… I got the impression a lot of people had to struggle first before… doing any kind of settling down out here.” Maybe that was a sign that the wasteland was on the mend, as far as society went. Though… could it really be considered ‘on the mend’ when most of the people who experienced the downfall were dead now?
“It’s all relative.” He shrugged, as if that were any kind of real explanation. “Diamond City has been around a long time, folks there are about as comfortable as you can be out here and a ‘good income’ really just means they don’t have to be runnin’ out into the wasteland every day scroungin’ for whatever caps or scraps they can find. Mostly people there just sell shit and then pay scavvers to bring them more shit to sell so they don’t gotta risk themselves. Of course, I s’pose I probably fit into that category too now. Got so much here, I don’t know what to do with it, been makin’ shit up for folks who wanna work just to give ‘em somethin’ to do for caps so they don’t feel like they’re just leeching off’a me all the time.”
Carlos paused for a second, a little startled. “Uh… you didn’t put dust in your terminal on purpose so I could fix it for you, did you?” he asked, putting on a teasing smirk as he glanced at Hancock.
He was making a joke, but at the same time a really small part of him wondered if that’s why it took Hancock so long to get someone to look at the thing – because nobody with experience with terminals were in the ‘leeching’ part of the relationship. Not until Carlos showed up, that was.
Max…. Max, you don’t look good. I… Please, please, please, tell me – did you eat something you shouldn’t have?? I know I just went through this with you but… but humor me, okay?
*he glanced away, muttering* a-an anon made me, okay? but i’ll be fine in abit..
Yeah, it will be because I’m taking you to the hospital! *he picks up the kid and carries him to his car* Max, if you have to throw up then don’t be afraid to do it. Your body needs to get all that wax out and fast. *he opens the back door of the car and puts Max in a seat.*
*he groaned, wrapping his arms around himself* do we really need to go to the hospital? can’t i just die peacefully at camp?
You’re not going to die. It’ll take time before the crayons get to the intestines – but we need to get you to the hospital and get them out before they cause a blockage. *Carlos put a seatbelt on Max and hurried to the driver’s seat* Hold on, Max – you’re going to be okay!
*he leans his head aganst the window, glancing at Carlos* it’s just going to be some huge bill… what can i say to convince you not to go to the hospital? *coughs* it take me like.. five to ten minutes to die Carlos, even that would suck less the a hospital…
I don’t care about the cost, Max – you’re worth it! And it won’t take ten minutes – death from intestinal blockage would take longer. We’re just gonna get that wax out of you and be done with it!
*long groan* how do you even get wax out of a body..?
I… Well, Max, you could throw it up yourself. But if you’re unable to do that, the hospital can pump your stomach. It’s… it’s where they empty it before anything has a chance to get into the intestines.
eww… *sighs* … what if they’re too late and some did get in my intestines? *slightly worried look*
I… I don’t know. But I don’t think we’re too late. I mean… I’m not a doctor or anything, but as a scientist my, uh… my educated guess is that we’re not too late. Hang in there, Max. Um… if you need to throw up at all then… then tell me.
*nods, glancing at Max through the rear-view mirror* Hang on, buddy. We’ll be there soon. *he puts in ‘hospital’ in the navigation for his car and he follows the directions*
*he just stared out the window, internally trying to calm himself down as he whinced softly*
*it feels like forever for Carlos, but finally he was pulling up to the small-town hospital. He found a parking spot and he hops out before going to help Max. He undoes Max’ seatbelt and holds his arms out.* Put your arm around my neck, Max – I’ll carry you in, okay?
*he hesitated before wrapping his arms around Carlos’ shoulder, seemingly shaking more as he looked at the hospital* i-is this going to suck..?
*’yeah, the stomach pump might!’ No.. no… terrible joke. He wasn’t going to say that one.* Let’s hope it’s not as bad as it could be, Max. But we’ll see how it goes. I got you here quickly, so that’s good. *he picks up Max, shuts the car with his knee before locking it and carries Max to the automatic doors.*
*he nods slightly, finally calming down abit* y-yeah… j-just promise me one thing? j-just don’t leave me.. *coughs* fuck-
I’m gonna be with you, Max, I promise. *he walks in and goes up to the receptionist, quickly explaining the emergency.*
t-that’s good.. at least one thing about this doesn’t have to suck..
*Max was brought to the back right away and was put on a gurney with Carlos sitting beside him. Carlos was given some paperwork to fill out… but Carlos frowned at it.* Max… I don’t know anything about your medical history…
alright then! Lemme take this to the table so we can sit down. *he shuts off the water and takes the half-filled pot out of the kitchen*
Do you need me to look out again?
Yeah – just lemme know if I got the bottom of the pot over the edge of the table, yeah?
Alright.
*he heads for one of the tables.* Okay, here we are… tell me where I am, Max.
Lift it a little more and you should be good.
Alright *lifts the pot higher and slides it onto the table.* Okay – awesome!
*max put the pods on the table and stood on the bench to look in the pot* you got the timer?
*Carlos pulls out his phone and pulls up the app again* Yep – got it. Ready?
*he grabed one of the pods* yep.
Okay – Pop it in!
Cool. *max put the pod into the pot*
*Carlos starts the timer* So… hypothesis time. What do you think will happen with this? This is the control, but it’s still good to come up with a hypothesis.
I think it’ll probably pop faster since this is clean water.
Hmmm… interesting theory. We’ll just have to wait and see then, won’t we? *he smiles at Max*
*max nods looking in the pot* I,,, think it popped?
Huh? *peers into the pot* What, really? Huh… I coulda sworn it would have taken longer… *he picks up the other pod and gently pokes at the membrane, trying to gauge how thick it is*
Yeah I’m pretty sure some soap shit is comin’ out.
And yeah… it’s coming out. Wanna wait a second before we drop in the second one?
Yeah. What’s the time?
Oh! Um… nearly a minute. About… about fifty-three seconds. The water isn’t particularly hot, is it? *he touches it* Oh – it’s warm. Damn… I should have used cold, like the lake water. Oh well.
We could get ice. Make it colder.
Yeah, sure. We still have one pod left, so let’s get it done right. I’ll go grab a bucket of ice. *he stands up to head back to the kitchen*
Alright, cool.
*carlos rummaged around in the kitchen a bit before coming back out with a pitcher full of ice.* Here we go.
Don’t put all of it in at once.
Yeah… I think i’ll start with maybe half of it, or a third… see where the temperature is after that.
Start with a small amount. We can’t make it warmer without starting over.
*smiles at Max* Okay – how about you decide how much to put in, then. *he sets the pitcher on the table for Max*
*max takes a small handful of ice and puts it in the the pot* let’s try that first. Hey maybe we could get some salt and try another thing.
Uh…. what sort of thing, Max?
Like holding salt and ice togeather, that sorta thing. Neil says it sucks and I kinda wanna try it.
No – NO! Absolutely not – you’re not going to do that! *clears his throat* Um, I mean…. don’t. Don’t do that. At all. Never do that, Max. I cannot stress my meaning when I say don’tdo that ever.
You’re no fun.
Neither are third-degree burns, Max. Please, just… trust me on this one.
I thought Neil was the other Science Camp kid – why the hell did he do something like that? Er, heck. I meant heck.
*max shrugged* kid’s do stupid shit, man. I don’t make the rules.
Ugh… *though he couldn’t argue with that.* How is Neil? Did he end up okay?
Yeah, he’s fine.
That’s good to hear. I guess I gotta talk to Angie about not doing that sort of stuff, since I’m thinking about it… *he picks up his phone to make a note on it*
There’s another thing I thought of but I forgot so,,
Yondu
smirks and goes back to his own cone going quiet after a bit and
finishes his cone. “I hate you……. I hate you for making me feel like
this………damnit…..”
Carlos’ smile dropped almost immediately, and guilt crept up and started to curl around his heart. He looked down at his own cone – just down to the cone now with a small pool of ice cream inside. “I… I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I… I shouldn’t have let us get… that much closer. Then this would be a lot easier for both of us…”
“Story of my life……. I should have just…… dumped ya back on some settlement like I was planning…. but…. this damn thing I didn’t know I had called a heart betrayed me…….. and now…. I have to let go of something I don’t want to let go of……. I’m trying so hard to not say fuck all and take you with me……. to hell if you hate me…. but……” shoves the last bit of his cone in his mouth and then fiddles with the napkin.
Carlos frowned, nibbling on the edge of his cone. “But… you care too much about what I think of you to do that, huh?” he asked softly. “Just… you don’t want more people you care about being mad at you… huh?”
“Because I love you enough to let you go even if it hurts so much that I feel like dying……. Yeah….” sighs looking at his clawed fingers and the scars around his wrists from the slave cuffs when he was younger.
Carlos had the edge of his cone in his mouth again whiile Yondu talked. After a bit he brought it down and reached out to gently touch one of Yondu’s hands. “Do me a favor,” he said softly. “I know you’re going to be sad, not having me around, but… do me a favor and take that energy… and put it into being the best damn dad your boys could ever ask for. Do that for me, because there’s only so much I can do over an interstellar communicator.”
Yondu blinks and looks to him and nods. “Best damn dad in the galaxy. And do me a favor Ok. You ever.. and I mean ever need me. Call and I’ll warp here as fast as I can. You hear me. Anyone messes with you let me know. Got it nerd.” Smiles and kisses his head and leans against him holding his hand.
Carlos’ face grew warm under Yondu’s lips. He chuckled and nodded. “Yeah… I got it,” he said softly. He smiled at Yondu before offering his cone. “Want another bite before I finish it off? Even though you didn’t let me have a bite of yours~”
Chuckles and takes a small bite that was offered. “Sorry. This is delicious. Never had something this good in space.” Swallows then goes back to nuzzling at him and sighs happily. “We best go soon….. my boys will be waiting and you know they dont sleep unless I’m there and they need it.” Nuzzles his head trying to commit to memory his scent.
Carlos chuckled, letting Yondu nuzzle him, and he pressed a kiss to the other’s nose without thinking about it. “Come on, then,” he said and took Yondu’s hand. He stood up, munching on the rest of his cone and was finished by the time they got to the car. Carlos unlocked it for YOndu to get in.
Yondu hops in buckling up as he waits to be driven off. Almost felt like he was being driven to his own funeral. He reaches over and takes Carlos’s free hand holding it.
Carlos glanced over at Yondu and gave him a smile. He squeezed his hand as he continued to drive on the long, lonely road toward the ship.
Carlos wasn’t happy about this either. But… it had to be done. He had to stay – it’s what he’d been working towards for months. He had his family here and people took his work seriously here. He wasn’t a Ravager. He wasn’t built for that life.
It wasn’t like they weren’t going to see each other ever again. Carlos still had his communicator back at home. They would still be in contact and they could still be friends. Carlos hoped that, eventually, that would be enough.
Once they were at his ship Yondu got out of the car and slipped deeper into the woods towards his ship then turns to carlos. “See you around….. like I said…you need me…. you get in trouble…. call me. I’ll be here before you can blink…. I’ll whistle any ass hole that messes with you.” Whistles and smiles as he lets the arrow spin around carlos then float infront of his face.
Carlos flinched – he did every time he saw that arrow – but he smiled at Yondu and held his hands out under the arrow, as if to catch it if he suddenly dropped it. “I know… C’mere for a second, will you?”
Yondu blinks his ears wiggling a bit as he lets his arrow fall into Carlos’s palm. He walks over to him curious. “Hmm?”
Carlos rolled the arrow in his fingers, fascinated by the heat that still clung to it. But he looked at Yondu and smiled, stepping forward into his space. He gently put the arrow into its holster before wrapping his arms around Yondu and pulling him into a tight, meaningful hug.
Yondu blinks then returns the hug holding him tightly. “Love you carlos. You be good Ok. Keep being a nerd.” Kisses his head and holds on as long as Carlos let him.
Carlos just hummed, still holding him as he just… let himself have this. He was going to miss getting such big, warm hugs from the other man.
It was a little while before Carlos pulled away and he pressed a kiss to Yondu’s stubbly jaw. “Say hi to John Wayne for me,” he said, smiling very slightly at him. “And don’t get into too much trouble… okay?”
Purrs and absolutely melts at the kiss carlos gives him and lets out almost a light whimper for more. He makes a confused look. “John Wayne? And you telling a ravager to not get into to much trouble…. no promises.” Kisses his lips lightly then pulls away pulling out the little pony. Thinks and motions for him to wait as he gets on his ship then comes back out and hands him a gleaming red stone that seemed to have some kind of glow of its own. He whistles and the stone flashes with warmth and red light. “Yaka Wood. Rare…. I want you to have it…same strip I forged my arrow from…. maybe you can use it…. and… to remember me by…”
“The space whale baby, you dope,” Carlos explained teasingly, gently smacking Yondu.
Carlos was curious about what Yondu wanted him to wait for. But seeing the strange stone (or wood, actually? He had no idea) really intrigued him. It also really concerned him. “Oh – Oh my goodness, are you sure?” he asked, holding the stone in his two palms. “Yondu this – you just said it’s rare and you forge your arrow from this. Are you absolutely sure you want to… leave this with someone like me? I haven’t even had a look at your fin or your arrow so I have no idea what the first thing I’d do with it is…”
Smiles at him and nods. “I want you to have it. My arrows never broken….. I only need one arrow and I want this to be yours. My fin doesn’t make the arrow fly it’s my heart… you can make it glow with your heart. It’s connected to my arrow since it’s forged from the same tree of Yaka as what your holding. You can call on me with it and I’ll feel you.”
Carlos still wasn’t sure about it. But he closed his fingers around the material and held it close. “I’m… honestly not sure if I’ll ever be able to light it,” he admitted to Yondu. “But I will absolutely treasure this, Yondu. I’ll keep it safe and with me always.” He smiled back at the alien, nervous and sad, but touched. “And all I got you was a dumb ol’ horse toy,” he joked.
The Perfect Scientist 