SIXTEEN ; A REALIZATION

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     ELEANOR HAS BEEN awake for hours. It seems as though the sun will rise any minute — a dreaded thought for anyone desperately trying to fall asleep. The uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, constant dizzying pain from her leg, and biting cold after the fire burnt out have kept her constantly shivering and changing her position.

Eleanor nearly feels like bursting into tears out of frustration as she shifts once again, laying on her side to face Taron. She squints her eyes shut and hugs her body as an attempt to fight the shivers.

Hearing her movement, Taron opens one of his eyes to look at her — he's laying on his back. He sees her pale cheeks, purple lips, and furrowed eyebrows and finally acts upon the one thing that he has been thinking about for the past few hours.

"Fuck it, you're freezing," he mumbles, rolling onto his side and moving closer to her. He carefully pulls her toward him, wrapping his leather jacket around her before hugging her. 

Eleanor willingly nuzzles up against his chest, her hands curled by her neck and her forehead resting just below his heart. The cocoon of warmth radiating between them lessens both of their shivers.

Eleanor lets out a sigh of content before whispering, "Thank you."

"Of course," Taron replies. He suddenly feels very awake, wondering if she can feel his quickly beating heart. He takes a deep breath as an attempt to slow it.

He wants to tell her how he feels for the millionth time, to shout it from the rooftops. He wants to tell her that no one will crucify them if they shelter themselves from the cold world with love for each other. But then he remembers that she does, in fact, like him back, even if the moment she revealed it wasn't filled with hugs and kisses. And he reminds himself to be thankful for the fact that she is laying in his arms instead of fast asleep with her back to him.

So, he closes his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips.

☁

Eleanor's eyes flutter open, causing her to blink from the confusion of ever falling asleep; she thought she would be up all night. She takes a few moments to adjust to the dryness of her mouth, the pounding headache, her aching stomach, and her throbbing leg. It is nearly numb at this point.

She is still laying on her side with her arms curled up to her chest and her face buried in Taron's shirt, his arms wrapped around her and chin touching the top of her head. They are as close to each other as possible due to the cold.

Eleanor feels the steady rise and fall of Taron's chest. She assumes he is still asleep; she almost always wakes up before him, anyway. Eleanor lifts her head up slightly to assess the rest of the camp. After blinking away the grogginess, she finds that some people have already continued their journey on the road, a few are still asleep, and others are awake, either hanging out or getting ready to go on their way.

Taron stirs slightly at the movement. Eleanor lays her head down once again, tilting it back to look at Taron. She smiles at his peaceful expression. Taron opens one of his eyes a millimeter, closing it a moment later and groaning softly. 

"Mornin'," Eleanor says.

"Mornin'," Taron mumbles.

"Thanks for keeping me warm."

"No problem."

Taron opens his eyes, meeting her gaze. They smile softly at each other as they briefly get lost in the other's eyes. Taron acts upon the urge to push a strand of her hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear, earning a small blush from his friend.

Eleanor suddenly remembers that she forbade herself from doing this. She blinks, her loving grin fading slightly as she rolls onto her back, thus out of his arms. 

"You don't have to do that," Taron says.

"Yeah, I do," Eleanor replies. She glances at him. "Don't give me that look."

"What look? I'm not giving you a look."

"You're giving me a look."

Taron lets out a short sigh before sitting up, thus putting an end to the moment. Eleanor smiles at him as he pushes himself off the ground, lifting his arms in the air and stretching. A groan escapes his throat.

"Fuck, I'm sore," Taron declares.

"Don't be a little bitch. I have a broken leg, and you don't see me complaining."

"Shit, sorry."

"Mhm." 

Taron chuckles, watching Eleanor as she sits up. He offers her both of his hands and she takes them, lifting her broken leg off the ground and hoisting herself into a standing position.

The pounding in Eleanor's head increases with the movement and she sways slightly, her vision engulfed with black dots. Everything sounds as though it were underwater and her heartbeat fills her ears. The sensation last for a few seconds before it fades, leaving Eleanor a bit nauseous. 

"Whoa, you okay?" Taron asks, his words bringing Eleanor back. She just now notices that he is holding her arms to keep her steady.

"Yeah, yeah. Just got a bit dizzy, that's all."

"A bit? You looked like you were about to pass out." Eleanor shrugs. Taron simply studies her face for a moment or two, attempting to figure out what's wrong.

"I'm okay. I'm just dehydrated." Taron continues looking at her. "Really. I'll be fine."

Taron sighs, saying, "All right. We'll be at your grandparent's in a few hours and then you're gonna drink eighteen bottles of water." Eleanor chuckles, which causes Taron to smile.

He turns away from Eleanor and squats, followed by Eleanor jumping onto his back. He holds her thighs and Eleanor drapes her arms around Taron's neck. Eleanor squints at the shocks of pain in her leg and the wave of intense pounding in her ears.

"You okay?" 

"Yep," Eleanor replies, blinking.

"Wanna say hi to Dan now?" Taron asks as he begins to walk toward the firepit.

"I don't want to bother him," Eleanor replies.

"You're not goin' to bother him, Rigby," Taron says with a chuckle, walking around the firepit. He stops next to Dan Schwartz, who is adjusting the strap of his guitar. "Thanks for playing for us last night."

Dan looks at the two of them with a smile, saying, "Oh yeah, no problem." 

"This is Eleanor," Taron declares.

"Dan. Nice to meet you," Dan says with a kind smile.

"Nice to meet you too," Eleanor replies, smiling widely. 

"Where are you headed?" Taron asks.

"Pennsylvania. It's where my family lives, so I gotta make sure they're okay." Eleanor nods. 

Taron doesn't respond, for something has crossed his mind. His father and half siblings are still in Wales. Due to the death of his mother, they are the only family he has left, even if they haven't seen each other in years. He has still managed to keep in touch with the lot of them — his father especially.

"Where are you two headed?" Dan asks. Taron pushes his thoughts away as he blinks, looking up.

"Here, really," Eleanor says. "My grandparents live in Boston, and that's where the rest of my family should be." Dan nods.

"Well, good luck."

"You too," Eleanor says. They bid their goodbyes before Taron walks out of the alley.

The two of them are silent for a few minutes, Taron's mind racing. Sure, he plans to stay with Eleanor's family during all of this, but then what? Given that they survive, of course. He can't stay with Eleanor's family forever, as much as he'd enjoy spending time with Eleanor. They aren't old enough to get an apartment together. 

But then that brings the argument back to the possibility of nothing as they knew it actually existing; the reality business could no longer exist, at least not for a while. They could squat, but even then, Taron doubts Eleanor's parents would let her go anywhere without them.

Taron wants nothing more than to be with Eleanor. He just wishes that his mom was still alive.

Taron sniffles, blinking away the tears that formed in his eyes.

"Are you crying?" Eleanor asks.

"No," Taron replies, his jaw clenching.

"You're totally crying."

"No I'm fucking not!"

"Okay, sure, whatever," Eleanor says. "What's up, then?"

Taron considers denying it altogether, but instead says, "I'm just worried about my dad, that's all."

Eleanor briefly chews on her bottom lip, searching for something to say; she, too, expected him to ignore it, or at least make a joke out of it.

"I'm sure he's okay," Eleanor replies, using Taron's technique of assurance he initiated when Robbie and Ray ran into an explosion. "He's probably just as worried about you as you are about him."

"I hope you're right," Taron says. Hearing the apprehension in his voice, Eleanor hugs his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder.

A tear drips down Taron's cheek, but he quickly wipes it away before returning his hand to Eleanor's thigh. He feels her breath against his neck and remembers the look of utter devastation on her face when her brother and father abandoned her before apparently getting blown up.

"Your family is okay too, y'know," Taron declares. "I can just see Robbie pacing the living room and your dad announcing he's going to go back out and find you before your grandparents and Tim calm him down and assure him that you're nearly home." Eleanor lifts her head up. "And your mum is sitting by the window and staring down the road with that awful tea that she makes in her hands."

"Hey, I like my mom's tea," Eleanor replies. Taron chuckles.

"You make better tea than your mum," Taron replies.

Smiling softly, Eleanor says, "I do, don't I?" Taron chuckles again.

He waits a few moments before saying, "What I'm getting at is that your family is most definitely counting down the minutes 'til you come home." Eleanor smiles.

"You always know what to say," Eleanor replies, returning her chin to his shoulder. "Thanks, Teddy."

"Uh huh," Taron says. He pauses a moment before saying, "Should I start singing Backstreet Boys now or later?"

"Neither, actually. That would be perfect."

"Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine — "

"I hate you."

☁

Taron walks down a road as soldiers usher the small crowd to keep moving. Significantly groggy, Eleanor manages to keep her eyes open and her head up. Both Eleanor and Taron notice crows eating the previously red weeds, which appears to be dying rapidly.

Taron detours to a statue and tears off a piece of the plant.

"What happened to it?" Eleanor asks. Taron crumples the weed in his fingers, turning it to dust. The breeze carries it away.

"It's dying."

"That's a good sign, right?"

Taron frowns with uncertainty before realizing that Eleanor can't see his face properly.

"I don't know," Taron declares as he continues walking.

A moment later they pass a building, giving the two of them a clear view of a tripod laying against a partly demolished building.

"What happened?" Taron asks a nearby soldier. Eleanor keeps her eyes trained on the robot; it hasn't yet been completely defeated.

"I don't know, something's happening to them. Please keep moving," the soldier replies. Taron walks a bit further to another solder.

"Something's happening to them?"

"Just keep moving, sir," the soldier commands.

Persistent, Taron walks to another soldier before continuing. "Excuse me, what happened here? Did you guys take it down?"

"No sir, it was behaving erratically, walking in circles. It went down on its own about an hour ago," the soldier tells him before resuming his commands to the crowd to not stop walking. Taron continues walking, as well.

"I wonder how it died on its own," Eleanor says.

"Yeah, me too," Taron replies.

Another tripod emerges, causing the crowd to begin panicking. Soldiers motion for everyone to get under the water tunnel while other soldiers begin setting up for defense, if necessary.

Taron and Eleanor stand with others in the tunnel while some panic too greatly and simply run past them. Eleanor looks at the tripod, noticing that birds are landing on the metal body.

Landing.

Its shields are down.

"Taron," Eleanor starts. "Look at the birds." Taron glances at her before following her gaze.

"Eleanor, you're a genius," Taron declares. Just as he is about to tell a soldier, the tripod emits a vibrating noise.

"Look at the birds!" Taron shouts.

"I can't hear you!" the soldier replies. Taron repeats himself, however the tripod emits another noise. The soldier cups his hand around his ear.

"Look at the goddamn birds!" Taron yells. The soldier sees them but doesn't understand. "No shields!"

Finally understanding, the soldier yells commands at his team before running off to his own station. Taron returns to the tunnel.

"It's safer in here," Taron assures both Eleanor and the other people in the tunnel.

The soldiers fire various missiles at the tripod, eventually causing it to collapse into a nearby factory. The factory explodes and the tripod falls even further, grinding to a halt on the ground directly next to the tunnel. Eleanor slides off of Taron's back as the lot of them crowd around out of curiosity.

An alien falls out of the door, causing everyone to step back. Eleanor holds Taron's hand. The alien dies almost immediately.

"Clear!" a soldier shouts.

Overwhelmed, Eleanor gives in to the dizziness and blackened vision, thus passing out and falling into Taron.

"Bloody hell," Taron exclaims as he holds her up, her limp arms hanging by her sides and the dead weight threatening to cause Taron to stumble.

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author's note ;

i'm seeing tgc tonight! holy shit. i've waited so long for this moment. i can't wait oh my lord