[ hi one of my favorite my chemical romance songs is an unreleased one called 'f.t.w.w.w.' which stands for fuck this whole wide world and it's a good one for the chase parts of this au??

warnings: language, mentions of prostitution, probably more rayguns and arguing

stay safe,
lew. ]

———————

The android girl sat down on the bed and looked up at Ronnie, confusion evident on her robotic features. "I'm sorry, sir, but if you're not going to pay me, I can't hang around. I need to get back to work."

"I'll give you some carbons, but I need to ask you for a favor. How do you feel about doing some work against Better Living?"

——

Logan and Bailey sped down the road in the group's car, heading for the gas station closer to Battery City. There, they could scavenge some (disgusting) food, and pick up more batteries and a new gun or two.

The bright white vending machine stood out from the dull, sun faded colors of the building. What made it worse was the little BL/ind logo, the dumb-looking smiley face. Bailey pulled a small device from the glove box, shyly smiling when Logan nodded. "You remembered, good job, Kid."

The device was something labeled 'vend-a-hack', and Bailey thought it was almost cooler than the blasters. "Watch my back?" He murmured, opening the door.

"Of course, kiddo. Get like one or two of everything, we'll have Vines go do some trading tomorrow for some food that's not marketed as 'dog food'." Logan got out of the car and pulled his blaster, waving for Bailey to go ahead.

——

'Home sweet home' for our protagonists was a dilapidated trailer half buried in the sand, and a carport that miraculously hadn't been destroyed yet.

Lewis parked the motorcycle, leaving plenty of room to fit the car under as well, then went inside. Harry's head turned towards the door as soon as it open, visibly relaxing when he realized it was just his boyfriend's dumbass best friend.

"Need help with that?" Lewis asked, gesturing to the burn mark and the first aid supplies spread out on the table.

Warily, Harry nodded, murmuring a soft, "Thanks, Vines."

"Don't mention it, we're chill." He pulled up a chair, carefully inspecting the wound before picking anything up. "I talked to Cell at the Nest. They told me Route Guano's had no activity, just like the inner Zones. They think BL/ind's gonna, like, sucker punch us or somethin'."

"I'll see what information I can get." Harry really didn't seem like he wanted to talk, but Lewis was a fucking idiot who kept trying.

After a lull in the conversation, he sighed and just plunged into what was on his mind. "Kid snuck out again last night. And Neon's just like, 'it's normal teen behavior', but— I mean, you can't really blame me for worrying over it. Like, obviously what happened to you didn't happen at night but if Neon wasn't there, you woulda been ghosted. I don't think Kid understands how dangerous this all is."

"Tell him in detail about why it worries you. No one will take your worries seriously unless you explain," Harry replied, "And if he cares at all, he'll take what you say into consideration."

"Thanks, King. I appreciate you listening."

They worked in silence after that. Lewis was just taping down the bandage when Logan and Bailey walked in the door, arms full of scavenged and stolen items.

"Glad to see you're getting along today," Logan commented, dumping what he held on the living room floor. Bailey copied his actions, then pulled the baby blue mask from his face.

"Tomorrow, we gotta go to the Nest, I promised Cell we'd show. Plus we can—"

"—trade some of this shit for real food," Logan finished, rounding the kitchen table to give Harry a quick hug and kiss. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"I got to use the vend-a-hack today," Bailey offered, climbing to sit on the kitchen counter. "Either it or the machine glitched and dropped like ten things instead of two."

"That's cool, buddy," Lewis told him, offering a tired smile. "You and me need to talk about last night, though."

Bailey groaned, throwing his head back. "Why? Neon said it was okay!"

Harry and Logan looked on with matching amused expressions, but didn't interject, despite Lewis' practical cry for help.

"I just... I need to explain some shit."

"Ugh... Fine. Let's go talk."

The two of them left to go to the room they shared, leaving the couple sitting at the table. "How's your shoulder, baby?" Logan asked, gently taking the other's hand in his.

"It's a lot better today. Vines just got done cleaning it and making sure it's bandaged when you came in." Harry squeezed his boyfriend's hand and smiled.

"The real question is, do we go to our room or do we eavesdrop on them?"

——

"Real treat for y'all today, someone's brought me DJ Cherri Cola's notebook, and damn, has it got some beautiful stuff written in it," Cell's voice rang out over the radio, in the few moments of snatched airtime.

"'Night when the light runs from the dark. The sun hides scared. We are strangers tonight. The darkness tears off our faces. Shadows are cast over our bodies. And we lose ourselves. We can't make out friends in the darkness, we can't see our enemies. To the friends we lost. And the ones that lost us, don't let the night take you. Find your way.'"

"Man, that dude was a poetic genius. Gone too soon. Anyway, our time on the airwaves is over, so until next time. Be careful out there, Killjoys. Don't do nothin' too stupid."

———————

[ okie dokie i've got some questions bc i could take this thing in a bunch of directions and i need input-

1: obviously everyone is sad with a lot of trauma and baggage but— lewis and bailey. does it stay platonic or does their talk lead to exposed feelings?

2: ronnie's bit in this one was rlly short but— does he stay as harry's informant in battery city, or does an extreme circumstance lead to him fleeing to the zones?

(ezra's only been mentioned in passing, but that's because we're still leading up to his part)

3: chase's part in this story is likely going to be brief and unimportant, unless— does she (the robot girl) consent to some non-sanctioned experimentation?

literally these would help a lot, bc i've got a vague plan but i don't like it so?? pls help ]