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From the moment you walked out of your cell, expendable was the only name you had been left with.
A tool, a pawn, and yet it was an undeniable thirst for freedom that led you down the path of no return. An aching for a life you'd once had, the need to prove yourself innocent, and the foolish notion that you were doing something important.
At first, there were multiple people with you, and yet, slowly but surely, it dwindled down to just you.
Just yourself and the monsters you'd been trapped with, miles below the ocean's surface.
Expendable was an understatement.
You were as good as a sacrifice, no more important than the corpses that littered the path before you.
Your group was never the first, and you had been foolish to think otherwise.
You were-
Expendable.
“Welcome, welcome-”
And this was going to be your end.
“Don't be afraid-”
You were going to die to a new monster, alone in a vent where no one would ever find your corpse.
“My name is Sebastian, your only friend.”
The monster, more sentient than the others had appeared, rambles on about some deal he'd like to make.
He acted peaceful.
“I just give you the things I collect, and you'll get me tools?”
You were skeptical at best, this Sebastian could just take what you'd collected. He didn't need to ask for it.
But he did, and his supply wasn't bad.
The medkit was nice, necessary, and the flashlight would make everything easier.
What's losing a little bit of junk just to insure your own survival? If you brought back the crystal nothing else would matter.
You'd be free either way.
The file on Sebastian's desk catches your eye and he snatches it before you can really get a good look at it.
“You'll have to bring back a lot more if you want to read this.” He teases, and after taking a moment to catch your breath, you, the expendable, crawls back through the vent and narrowly avoids an angler.
“Stay safe!” Sebastian calls, and you glare at his vent from your spot in the locker.
Asshole.
—----------------
It's not long before you hear him again, slithering through nearby vents that you're surprised he even seems to fit.
You know it's him, because he later pops out again to steal more ‘confidential’ files.
“Been awhile.” He laughs, towering over you and waving the document between his claws.
“Only a few days.”
It's said warily, quiet.
“Can I have that file back?”
“Afraid not.” Sebastian yawns, tail curling around your legs, “These are too important to be carried around by a corpse.”
“I'm not-”
“Aren't you?” Sebastian blinks, head tilted and mouth pulled into a knowing sneer.
“Are you going to kill me?”
“If you don't try to kill me, I have no interest in killing you.”
And he leaves you there.
—------------------
You meet again later, when you backtrack to Sebastian's shop.
“What are you doing back here?” Sebastian asks, confused and surprised.
They had lasted this long? They had come back?
“I ran out of supplies-”
“You'll need even more supplies because you came back.” Sebastian sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Your, ah, light-your light is flickering.” You tell him, interrupting his rather rude train of thought, and he squints down at you with a deadpan look.
“It's called a lure, it's not a light-”
“It lights up?”
You stare at each other for a moment of tension filled silence, before Sebastian sighs.
“Do you want me to crush you?”
“Well, no. But-”
“Then buy your wares, and get out.”
—----------------------
Another group passes by Sebastian's shop days later. They're rougher, crueler, and actually look like criminals.
They flash him with a beacon, and he's forced to kick them out.
He wonders if you're still alive.
—----------------------
His curiosity once again drags him through vents, and cramped holes-
He doesn't have to look for long.
“I told you we need it more-”
And Sebastian doesn't think twice about coming to your aid.
—-------------------
You follow him back to his shop in a daze, and watch him pause to wash away the blood of your perpetrators in a nearby crack in the ship.
The water runs red for a few minutes, before it finally runs clear again.
You don't dare look at the mess on the floor.
“Thank you.”
Your words have him turn around, have him stare at you-
Stare through you.
“You're so strange, to follow me after watching that.”
“You saved me-”
“Doesn't make you any less foolish.”
But he doesn't stop you from following.
—--------------------
The monsters don't bother you much when you're with him.
You thank Sebastian again.
—---------------------
It's days later when he introduces you to a computer, a painter, and tells you that he's going to have your suit's detonation feature removed.
That they're going to remove the tracker too.
He says you'll show up dead on the Urbanshade systems, that won't have to worry about them anymore.
You think about the danger they'd put you through, the sacrifice you were meant to become-
You let the computer hack your suit.
—---------------------
Sebastian's shop is cozy, and leaning against his tail is comfortable.
It's the most peace you've had since starting this mission, and Sebastian tells you that as soon as Painter can hack into an Urbanshade submarine, he'll take you both to pick up the crystal, and find your way out.
That the three of you could live freely.
—---------------------
Sebastian isn't as cold as he was to start, and you find that his conversations become quite fun.
He tells you that you have a nice voice, for someone so stupid.
You tell him you like his voice too.
—----------------------
Sebastian complains about the flash beacons.
You promise not to flash him.
He smiles.
—-----------------------
When you lay down to sleep, Sebastian curls around you.
He's warm, real, and his heart beats just the same as yours.
You tell him that you wished you'd stayed here from the start.
He doesn't disagree.
—--------------------
Sebastian gives you his file, tells you 'it's on the house.'
What you read leaves you angry, and flushed with tears.
You wished you could've been there, could've saved him-
Gentle claws brush against your face, before cupping it and stroking your cheeks with his thumbs.
It's nice, Sebastian is nice, you miss him even though he's holding you in his hands.
You curse the scientist who hurt him, and he laughs at your words.
“Your face is soft. Pretty.”
And his praise is an ego trip, a high you'll never stop chasing.
—---------------------
Curled around you, Sebastian let's his arms rest around your waist. Let's fingers intertwine with yours.
His hands are nice.
—--------------------
Sebastian presses kisses to the top of your head, brushes claws through your hair.
You draw pictures on his arms with your fingers, pretend to spell out your name, you're embarrassed when he laughs.
He writes his own name against your palm later, claws light and ticklish against your skin.
You flush when you realize, and he mumbles about it being ‘fair.’
—---------------------
You realize you love Sebastian.
You don't tell him.
—----------------------
He calls you stupid when you ask, again, why his ‘light’ was called a ‘lure.’
He curses when you pull on it.
—---------------------
Sebastian confesses first, makes a joke out of it, and tells you not to worry.
That he's a monster-
You press a kiss to his cheek, and tell him you don't really mind.
—---------------------------
Sebastian's lips feel more human than they appeared, and his scales are cool under your fingers.
He laughs, breathless, when he kisses you.
—----------------------------
He's still sarcastic, and he's closed off his shop to visitors.
He tells you that you'll be his last customer here, and you don't mind.
Its not like the two of you would be there much longer anyways.