Chapter Text
Donut smiles as he finishes harvesting the carrots. Proudly he rests the small basket he'd woven together on his hip. Finally getting a chance to stand again, Donut relishes the feeling of blood rushing to his toes again. He looks up towards the cliff sides. Carefully he keeps his eyes leveled with the trees on top of them. It was the best sight he get without the sun blinding him. Those gorgeous, giant trees. Donut takes a deep breath. Fresh air mixing with the scents of veggies, and tree sap fill his nose. Standing still he tries to commit it all to memory. If he's lucky this would be one of the moments he relives during his final breaths.
A sharp pain fills his head. It strikes out of nowhere and is gone before he can react. With it comes the memories. All the moments he's relived just in the last few jumps alone. Donut was used to jumping by now. As he looks back up at the trees the red realizes he's not sure where he's at right now. He quickly looks around taking in the empty land. Only a tiny shack nearby and a garden at his feet. When was this?
Donut drops the basket of carrots and walks towards the shack. He starts moving slowly. His eyes still taking in everything. From the places of squished grass where he used to stand barefoot to do yoga, to the sign Doc had made for their home. Well, the place that used to be their home. Before he knew it he was running. The soft soil of the garden give way to firm ground that stops sinking under his armor.
"Donut do you have those carrots yet?" He freezes and looks back at the loosely woven basket.
"Yeah Doc!" He runs back over. His hands scramble to get all the carrots back into the basket. Quickly he attempts to wipe dirt off of each before dropping them back in. With a huff Donut picks the basket back up. He runs back over to the shack.
"Hey Doc what does the calendar say?" If he was right then it would be,
"Oh, looks like it's Valentine's day."
Yes! This was their first and really last peaceful Valentines together. Just like a light switch going off he remembers everything about this day. "Maybe we should do something."
"Re-really? I didn't think you'd want to celebrate it because it's just the two of us here."
"Are you kidding? Sarge would barely let me decorate the base but this shack is ours!" He wraps his arms around Doc's next. Gently rubbing his head against Doc's helmet. "We can do anything we'd want."
"Yeah," Doc's voice was barely audible. Donut hadn't noticed back then that it had taken him a moment to gather his courage. "Yeah, we can!" He shouts this time a light gleaming in his eyes.
"Hey Doc," A part of him wants to push the lines. It wants him to sit down and have an honest conversation that the two of them didn't get when they were fighting each other. Before he, well it didn't matter. The whys, the waits, the I love yous he never said, none of it mattered now. Donut releases his grip on Frank's shoulders. It's selfish to cause another break just to figure out if this day was as important to him as it was for Donut.
"Donut?" Doc's eyes look at him with a pitiful pleading look.
"It's nothing." Donut walks away. "So what are we having for dinner tonight?"
"Well I could make some sort of vegetable dish. We haven't been able to grow much else in the garden."
"Hey as long as it's home-cooked then that's perfect. I'll help you out."
"Thanks. Can you wash them?"
"Of course! Oh and I found some extra oil for Lopez in case his head starts making that weird clanking noise again." He didn't even remember that happening until he'd already said it. Maybe it gotten easier to fall back into the routine of these moments. He has done a lot of this lately.
"Oh, thanks man! I'm sure Lopez will love that. You know, once we get him working again."
"Yeah. Man, I wish he was working already. Then he could just tell us what was causing that sound. Now we gotta go with guesswork and hope we are oiling up the right parts."
"Yeah it is a bit difficult but we've managed so far!" and they would continue to manage. It's funny how eagerly Doc agrees. Time has changed his memory of the old way he used to be. When Donut thinks back he remembers Doc being timid, scared, gloomy. Always struggling to keep going from one crazy moment to the next. Was that just his Doc? Did he just stop noticing the brighter moments as time went on?
"That's true."
It didn't take long for Doc to decide the best thing to make was a vegetable soup. He boiled some freshwater from the running river outside the shack. When it was ready he cut the vegetables and allowed them to marinate within the water.
"Hey Doc," the other man glances up nervously from his plate. That was one thing Donut didn't miss. Doc used to be so scared of everything. Just because the other reds and blues had been awful didn't mean he was. Then again he has caused his fair share of problems for blue team. "Thanks for the meal. It's absolutely delicious!" He makes sure to tilt his head to the side and offer his biggest smile. Just like he had done before. The only difference this time are the thoughts swimming in his head, and the emotions threatening to boil over and come unwelcomingly spilling out.
When Doc's anxious expression is replaced with an honest, relieved smile Donut once again fights back an onslaught of emotions. How many more moments did they have like this? Did they stick out in Doc's mine the way they always stood out in his? Was it only his heart that felt calmer when they were together?
He was so lost in thought that he almost forgot his next line. Hoping that it wasn't too late, Donut takes a deep breath to calm down. When he exhales he pretends to be blowing on a spoonful of soup. As happily as he could muster he says, "At least we're in Valhalla, right?"
Doc's smile is small but it's free from all the pressure that will be there in the future. All the realizations that he is a true outsider. He smiles sadly back down at his food. It was clear nothing about this moment had been messed with by Genkins. He should take off and find the next one quickly, but a part of him wanted to stay. Knowing better Donut does. He can be a little bit selfish. Besides tonight was the best one.