WHO: Friar Tuck and then Robin Hood, Elijah Voorhies, Will Scarlet, Michael the Archangel, Michaela Jones, Daniel Collins WHEN: Sunday afternoon/evening WHERE: An abandoned building, the Parsonage, and the hospital WHAT: An injured Tuck WARNINGS: Injuries, hospital times
If the Private Investigator had come at any other time, Tuck would have been with both Elijah and Will, and the lead the PI had found would have been investigated by all of them. The PI had heard that Eli’s brother, Ezra had been spotted. But since Eli and Will were out together, and not answering their phones, Tuck decided to accompany the PI alone.
Perhaps, considering the tip they were investigating was at a drug house, Tuck should have opted out anyway. But he was feeling alright and able to compartmentalise his past, where he would have found himself with a place like this. They drove to the abandoned building in silence, and the PI led Tuck through the warren of rooms and hallways. Tuck surveyed the curled up bodies of desperate people, too addicted to substances to care where they slept, and his heart ached. He had been that person, not thirty years ago. He wanted to take all of them out of here, but he had to start with Ezra first.
They picked their way through the building together, making their way up and up. A lot of the rooms were empty, and none of the inhabited ones included an Ezra. Tuck was losing hope as they stepped out into the dim hallway of the fifth floor. “Someone really saw him here?” Tuck asked the PI.
“A week ago,” the PI nodded, and Tuck sighed.
“I wonder if he’s moved on?” Tuck suggested, turning to another door and testing the handle. Instead of a response from the PI, he heard a thud of something dull cracking against a skull, and the heavy sound of a body crumpling to the floor. Tuck turned around in a panic, putting his back against the window at the end of the hallway, and he saw the gun before he saw the person.
He opened his mouth to scream, “S-” but his words were cut off by a bullet ripping through him. Another shattered the window behind him, and as his body fell backwards, there was no glass to catch him. He fell out of the building and down, the conveniently placed rubbish bin being the only reason he didn’t find himself splattered across the pavement below. His ankle cracked against the side of the bin, but the rubbish inside broke the worst of his fall. He would have been relatively okay - just a couple of broken bones - were it not for the bullet.
Tuck could feel his world swirling to grey and there was no time. The PI was dead or unconscious, and time was of a serious factor here. He shot a prayer to Michael with the last of his energy, and all he could get out was the address before his world faded to black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robin was attempting to teach Elijah to fire an arrow, but despite Elijah being extremely gifted physically, he just could not get the hang of it. “Will, maybe you can teach him?” Robin laughed, throwing his hands up.
“Are you giving up on me?” Elijah laughed, “and here the boys think you can do anything!” He enjoyed poking fun at the Merry Men, and was loving that he sort of fit right in with them. All three of them were wasting time before dinner, because they were waiting for Tuck and he hadn’t arrived home yet. There was an undercurrent of concern that no one knew where he was, but it wasn’t panic stations yet. So. He joked. “Come on, teach me like you would a kid!”
“I bin teachin you like I would a kid!” Robin laughed, and he went to clap his nephew on the back. “You take a crack at it.”
“Maybe we need to get one of them toy bows and arrows with the suckers on,” Will replied, unfolding his arms where he stood watching. They were using smaller bows with less pull strength, just until Elijah had the technique down, but it wasn’t seeming to work out as intended. “Too ham-fisted, you are. Maybe we go back to the quarterstaff, knocking things down is more your thing.” He checked his phone again, then when there was nothing, he went back over to Elijah and kicked lightly at his feet until his stance was back in line. “Straight lines, smooth release, breathe in through the nose, let go on the exhale. Don’t grip so hard!”
“I thought you liked my grip,” Elijah quipped and Robin groaned loudly. Elijah was still chuckling when he tried to raise the bow and do as Will said. Will’s phone ringing interrupted them, however. It was probably for the best, as chuckling wasn’t exactly conducive to good shooting.
Michael’s name flashed on the screen and Robin glanced at it, before looking at Will, worriedly. When Will answered, Michael just jumped right in.
“Will, this is Michael. The Angel. I’m at a hospital currently, here with Tuck. Is there any way you could get here? Rather quickly, as it were.”
Will’s first thought was, what are they doing there? Some parishioner of Tuck’s must have gotten into trouble, so Tuck took them in. So why was Michael (the angel, not… any other one) calling? Tuck too busy holding someone’s hand?
But then, why did they want Will to get there? “What do you need?” he asked, moving back towards the house, because he had been requested kind of sharpish so he should probably get going. A change of clothes maybe, and something to eat. He had a Go Bag in the wardrobe, that’d do to save time. “Everyone okay?”
“It’s the friar,” Michael said quietly. He was so bad at breaking terrible news. Honestly. And he kept having to do it and he never got any better at it. “He’s been rushed into emergency surgery. I’m not entirely sure what happened, Will Scarlet. Only that he prayed an address to me. And when I found him he was unconscious. He’s been shot. I’m sorry. Can you come?”
Will stopped in his tracks with a frown, and looked back at Robin. Shot? How- where? What had Tuck been doing to get fucking shot?? “Rob- it’s Tuck. He’s been shot,” he said, a flood of adrenaline going through him as he said it. He could just about run to the hospital on the burst of energy that he got. “Which hospital? Where??” he snapped into the phone, running inside to get his keys and wallet, all thought of packing a lunch to take with him gone.
“What?!” Robin hissed, but he followed Will into the house, leaving Elijah standing in the yard, feeling helpless, bow in hand.
Michael was still speaking into the phone, rattling off the address to the hospital. He planned to text it as well, since it might just immediately be lost to panic for Will. Especially because he added, “I don’t know what the friar was doing, but I found him outside an abandoned building. I think he fell from a window, high up. It looked to be a drug house to me.”
“What the FUCK, Michael!?” Will exclaimed, as if the angel had some sort of explanation for this. “Jesus fucking Christ!” Why the fuck was Tuck going into some place like that on his own?? Probably some charity mission gone bad. He should’ve waited for someone to go with him! Why had he done something so fucking stupid!
He grabbed his car keys and headed for the car, about ready to floor it all the way to the hospital and shake some answers out of somebody. Someone was going to answer for this! Feelings of helplessness and being scared were two things Will hated, and he was going to burn every-fucking-thing to the ground until he had his vengeance!
Robin was right behind Will, listening in to the conversation and only understanding the half he could hear. He saw Will grab the car keys though, and like hell was he allowing his nephew to drive in this state. He knew Will, through and through. Will was on a mission and he was likely to kill someone or break any number of laws and find himself arrested if he drove.
“Oh no you don’t,” Robin said, reaching for the keys. “I’m driving. Elijah, you can stay here with wee Flora, yes?” he said, though it was less a question than a command. Elijah, who was hovering near the door, nodded. “Right, you and me to the car, nephew. We’re on our way, Michael,” he said, pulling the phone out of Will’s hand too. “We’ll see what the situation is when we get there, youth. Come now.”
Will was about to start warming up his hands to get ready to throttle anyone who got in his way, and he scowled as Rob took the keys from him. “I can drive,” he objected, although he wasn’t quite about to mouth off at Robin just yet. He barely glanced back at Elijah as they left, too concerned with going forward. He rode in the car with his jaw clenched hard and his fists on his knees, his whole body taut and tense.
“The fuck was he playing at?” he muttered as the hospital finally came into view. “Going into a drug den by himself? Of course this fucking happened. What did he expect?? He better not fucking die again. I’m gonna strangle somebody.”
Robin agreed, though silently. Last time Tuck had died, they had dealt with it themselves, and they had been able to keep it from anyone mortal. Now that Tuck was in the hospital, if he died here, that was Michael Adderley legally dead and buried. Sure, Tuck would eventually come back, but Michael Adderley couldn’t. And they could get him a new alias and a new identity, but it would mean Tuck could never go back to his parishioners at Sacred Heart. He would be dead to them. The parsonage would go with the church and then what were Tuck and Will supposed to do? No, Robin kept that to himself, because Will hardly needed to worry about being homeless while he was freaking out that his partner might die.
“Let’s not strangle anyone til we know what’s goin on,” Robin said instead, as he pulled into a parking space. He reached out a hand and he laid it on Will’s shoulder, trying to show solidarity or comfort or whatever it was Will needed.
They headed into the hospital, and they were met by Michael who looked more frazzled than Robin had ever seen him. Michael was usually imperious and that was reassuring in times like this. Nothing about the angel right now was reassuring. “It’s good you’re here,” he said to Will and Robin. “No updates so far. I- I did what I could to- I healed him as much as I could, but he was-” Michael shook his head. “He was very hurt.”
Robin, ever the buzzkill when it came to a strangling. Will didn't shrug off his hand, but he didn't lean onto it either, although he was glad for the company. He walked with Robin into the hospital with a face like a thundercloud, determined to get to the bottom of this.
"He fell out a window?" He didn't bother with pleasantries, instead wanting as much information as there was, straight away. "How did he fall out a window? What happened??"
“I don’t know,” Michael said, honestly. “I found him- He was in a pile of garbage, but it was clear he had fallen into it. And there was a broken window about five stories up. I don’t know how it happened, he didn’t tell me anything, and there wasn’t anyone around to ask.”
“You’re tellin us he fell five fuckin stories?” Robin asked, his eyebrows raised so high they practically met his hairline. “And he bin shot?”
Michael nodded. “Their initial report was several broken bones, and there wasn’t an exit wound. The-” Michael glanced down at the ground, which was very uncharacteristic of him, but human emotions were so…tempestuous, “the bullet may have bounced around- He’s in emergency surgery now, to assess the extent of the damage and remove it.”
“Feckin hell,” Robin hissed, and he tried to reach out to steady his nephew.
Five storeys! Will stared at Michael in shock. This was a lot worse than he’d envisioned on the drive over here. Shaking his head, he sucked in a sharp breath, feeling his heart going fast.
What now? Did he just… wait?
“So- how long-” he began, then made a sound of frustration and turned away for a minute, just trying to get himself together. What were they supposed to do? Should he call anybody? No, not yet, not until he knew more. He didn’t want to- he didn’t want to be weak in front of Tuck’s family. He’d find out the damage, and then he could get his head around it while everyone else joined them. “How much longer?”
Michael shook his head, “they don’t know. I will sit in the waiting room with you if that would give you comfort.” Michael was clearly at a loss of how to help, and Robin gave him a grateful little half-smile.
“Thanks, Michael. Let’s sit, ey? Come on, blood. You know friar’s strong. He’ll pull through. Come sit with me.”
What else was there to do but to sit and wait? Will followed Robin, his face tight with worry and stress, and he sat down without really being able to focus. He tapped his fingers against his legs and pulled out his phone, but he couldn’t focus on that either. He ended up walking laps of the room, checking the clock constantly. Time had never crawled so slowly as it did in this moment.
It was hours before a doctor approached them. Robin was on his second shitty cup of tea. Michael had been sitting silently beside them, his face like a stone statue. The second the doctor headed their way, Robin tapped Will to get him to focus. The doctor glanced at the newcomers, but he was clearly intending to speak only to Michael. It made sense. Michael was the detective who had brought Tuck in, but it bothered Robin.
“Detective Angel? Michael Adderley is out of surgery.”
Michael nodded, and then he indicated Will and Robin. “This is his partner and his friend, they are here to support him. How did the surgery go?”
“Oh…” the doctor appeared confused, but he turned to include Will and Robin, “sorry. The surgery showed extensive damage, though we believe we repaired the worst of it. The bullet was removed. It caused some damage to his lungs, so he will need to remain in ICU for the time being so we can monitor him. I-I’m sorry, I’m a bit taken aback, he didn’t have any next of kin listed.”
Will felt a twisting in his guts, and he worked his jaw a moment, holding his temper. “A man can’t have loved ones without being married to them?” he asked, his tone low and calm. He knew if he kicked off, he would only be kicked out, so no matter how angry he was on the inside, he had to keep civil, so he folded his arms to keep his hands close to his chest and not knocking things over. “Is he awake? What’s the prognosis?”
“No, of course no-” the doctor sighed, because he was exhausted and this wasn’t his fight. He didn’t even see Robin reach out a warning hand and gently take Will’s elbow to keep him from launching forward. “He’ll wake up soon, but he’ll be in and out. He’s on a lot of pain assistance. We won’t know his prognosis until he stabilises. We’ve done what we can for now.”
“Can we see him when he wakes up?” Robin asked, trying to keep the desperate edge from his voice. He was terrified for Tuck. God, if he died-
“I-” the doctor took a step back, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. Only next of kin are allowed into the ICU.”
“I’m his emergency contact, you didn’t see that?” Will’s face was stonily blank, but on the inside there was a fire, because now he was remembering a conversation they had had a while back, and Will had been adamant he didn’t need some fake document that might as well have been a real one when it had fake names on it… “We live together. We co-parent a kid together. I’m his next of kin. Just because we don’t wear rings doesn’t mean it’s not real.”
Oh Tuck was going to enjoy saying he told him so later on. He’d try and be nice about it, but he would be saying it.
“Come on, man. They’ve been together for three years,” Robin said, feeling helpless.
The doctor looked extremely uncomfortable as he said, “I- Legally I can’t let any of you in. I’m so sorry. Of course it doesn’t mean it’s not real. But legally my hands are tied,” the doctor took another step back. Robin looked dismayed. This meant Tuck was going to wake up, sooner rather than later, and he was going to be alone. Tuck, who always went out of his way to be there for everyone else. Who had been there for Will after the sheriff had beaten him mercilessly. Tuck who had slept for days in a van, just to be closer to Will while he was in the fighting ring. So that there was no delay the second he could be there for Will. Tuck was going to be scared and in so much pain, and alone. “Fuck,” he hissed, despair written all over his face. “Fuck!”
Will rubbed his hand over his face, controlling his breathing like he was pulling a longbow. “Is there somebody else I can talk to?” he asked. Doctors didn’t control everything, there were admin people who did stuff too, right? “It’s discrimination is what it is. Not everybody wants a stupid piece of paper to say what they already know in their hearts. He doesn’t have any blood kin. He has us.” His tone was getting away on him somewhat, but he was doing his best to hold on, dammit.
“Will,” Robin’s grip on Will’s arm became more firm then. “Thank you, doctor,” he said, so the doctor could run away from the situation. Then he turned to face his nephew. “I ken this is fucked up,” he said, his voice low, “but you got to keep hold of yoursen. Unless you want to get barred from the hospital entirely. We don’t know how long he’ll be in the ICU. Might not be for long at all. Michael, can you call a lawyer for us in the meantime. To see what we can do about this?”
Michael, who just looked pleased to have something helpful to do, nodded. “Of course I can. Yes, I will get on that. Would you like me to share the news with anyone else?”
“Teleport me in there.” Will turned on Michael and gripped his arm, looking at him intently. “Just let me see him for myself. You can do that, right? C’mon, man.” He shook Robin off. There was going to be a way through those doors, and he was going to find it if he had to kick the doors down to do it.
Michael was a little taken aback by Will, but he managed to keep hold of himself. “That’s not how it works,” he explained quietly. “I would if I could. And if we can’t find out a way to get you in there, I will do so myself. Just to check in. Make sure he’s not alone. But I can’t take you with me like that.”
“Will,” Robin’s voice was less doting uncle now, and more leader trying to get his man to reign it in. “We’ll figure something out, but you need to take a breath.”
“No I don’t, this God-damned country needs to move into the 21st Century and stop being so fucking regressive! Archaic institutions like marriage aren’t the only valid marker of caring about someone! It’s a waste of fucking money and time! No offence!” Will exhaled loudly out of his nose, his hands flexing into fists, and then, not knowing what else to do, he turned and booted the waste paper basket so hard it flew across the room into the opposite wall. “Bullshit!”
“William!” Robin grabbed his nephew by the scruff of his neck and he hauled him through the waiting room, out the door, and outside. “Take a breath!” he commanded, letting go of Will once they were out in the night air. “You ken I agree with you, blood! But you have got to control yoursen! Of course it’s bullshit! But you can’t take it out on them, they’re just doing their jobs. Pull yoursen together.” He knew though, the turmoil Will must be in. If anyone tried to keep him from Marian, he would be losing it too.
“Their jobs suck!” Will snapped back at Robin, all that temper that he’d been tamping down now bubbling in his veins. It was absolute garbage. “He’s gonna- he’s gonna be so- he told me we should get papers and I said no cos it felt too real and I didn’t wanna do it. And now he’s gonna be so fucking superior.” He paced as he spoke, his movements aggressive and frustrated. But then he slowed, breathing through his teeth and looking back up at the hospital, and took a long pause before he said, much more quietly, “I’ll let him be as smug as he likes if he doesn’t fucking die.”
Robin was about to tell Will he didn’t the the friar would be as smug as Will was making out, but then Will’s demeanour changed entirely. All Robin wanted to do was hug his nephew, but he didn’t know if Will would accept that. Still, he stepped a little closer, hoping-
“I ken you’re scared. And all you want is to be with him. But friar knows how you feel, and he’s going to fight with everything in him to stay here just for that. Just for you.” The man had died for Will, surely he would live for Will too.
Will looked back over his shoulder at Robin, for once looking at him with almost childlike vulnerability, showing how scared he was for Tuck’s wellbeing and how hurt he was at being shut out. In this moment, he would accept a hug and grit his teeth through his emotions until it passed and he could breathe again.
Then, once he could pull himself together, he could be practical again, and look at the hospital with fresh eyes, determined to puzzle out a way past security and into the ICU, one way or another.
“Thanks,” he muttered, clearing his throat and wiping his eyes. “I’m a’right now.”
Robin was glad Will had accepted the hug, and he gave the other man’s shoulder a squeeze when they parted. “D’you think we should call his kids?” he asked, looking through the door as if there were answers to be found there. “They need to know at some point, even though keepin them out is going to hurt them too.”
“Mm.” Will nodded. Tuck would want them to be kept in the loop. Perhaps they’d be able to convince the doctor to let them in too. “And gonna have to tell Addy we can’t have Evie for a little while. And should tell Elijah I won’t be home tonight.” No way was he going to be able to go back to his own bed and sleep. If he couldn’t stay at the hospital, he’d go wait at the Fox.
“I’ll take calling Daniel and Michaela if you want to contact Addy and Elijah,” Robin said, moving them back in towards the waiting room. It looked like they were going to set up for a long night.
Daniel had arrived very soon after he had been called, but Michaela had been in the middle of a show, and had had to finish it despite the circumstances. She rushed into the hospital, hours later, several bags of food in hand, since she was sure no one waiting there had eaten for ages. “I’m here,” she panted, dropping the bags on one of the waiting room tables. “Any updates?”
Robin rose to hug Michaela, and he shook his head sadly. “Not yet. Michael is still working on getting us in to the ICU. Or even just Will, if it comes to it.”
Michaela sighed and she sat down beside Will. “I brought food for everyone. How are you holding up, Will?” She wrapped an arm around Daniel, because she knew how he was without asking, and he needed the support.
Will gave Michaela a tight smile as she addressed him, from his position in the corner of the room where he could see all the exits. He’d been watching the way people were coming and going, to see if he had a window of opportunity anywhere, but it was hard with a hospital, with people moving when they were needed and not on a schedule for the most part. His best plan was currently to steal an orderly uniform and a gurney and sneak his way past in disguise.
Much would’ve approved.
“Fine. What food have you got?” He wasn’t one to pass up a meal when it was offered to him.
Michaela could see he wasn’t fine, but neither was she. She wasn’t going to push. “I went past a late night deli and got so many hoagie sandwiches,” she said, pulling them out. “All kinds of different ones. I think they have the filling written on the wrapper.”
“Aye, that was kind,” Robin said, pulling out an Italian meatball one and unwrapping it. “Thank you.”
“No worries,” she said, sighing. “So we don’t know what he was doing?”
Dan spoke up then, “just that he’s been shot,” he said shortly. Daniel had had to watch as Tuck was shot through the head when he was just a kid. He still had nightmares sometimes. Hearing his father had been shot again was not his favourite thing to happen in the world, and he was feeling as prickly as a cactus.
“Fuck-” Michaela breathed, just as a doctor approached them again.
The man caught sight of Will, and sort of stood as far away from him as possible, as he said, “Michael has woken up, which is a good sign. He’s still on a lot of medication and we’re not sure of how much he is aware of right now, but he’s awake.”
Will made no attempt to move towards the doctor, just watched him as he spoke, paused in his reaching towards a chicken roll. He really, really disliked the fact that Tuck was awake and alone, even if he was drugged up to the eyeballs.
Actually. He should have a word about that. He sat back, dusting his hands off on his trousers, and got to his feet. “Can we have a talk?” he asked. “About his medical history? It’s kind of important.”
The doctor glanced at Robin, and then back to Will. “Alright,” he nodded. “I might not be able to answer everything, but we can talk about it, sure.” He wasn’t sure what this was about, but he would go along with it.
Robin had another question to ask, but he had a feeling he knew what Will wanted to discuss and it was important that came first. He also didn’t think Tuck’s kids needed to hear it. “Let’s let them have a chat, hmm?” he said to Michaela and Daniel, who both sort of nodded tiredly.
The doctor stepped away a little, towards Will. “What would you like to discuss?”
Will glanced at Robin and gave him a small nod, then stepped over to the doctor, his back slightly to the others in the room to block what he was going to say. “I don’t know what Michael’s records show, but you have to know he has a history of drug abuse. You can’t be giving him the addictive shit. The benzos or the oxys or the morphine or whatever, all that. He’s been clean for a long time and we want him to stay that way.” He looked at the doctor seriously, wanting him to listen. It wouldn’t be the first time the doctor had dealt with that, surely. “You’ve got alternatives, right?”
The doctor pulled out his tablet and he made a little note before nodding at Will, “at the moment he’s being supervised and morphine is the best for pain management. It’s too dangerous to try an alternative until he’s stable, I’m afraid. But I’ve made a note of it, and we will adjust further treatment accordingly. Is there anything else I can help with?”
That was it? Will had to take a moment, because he somehow had expected there would be more to it than that. “Uh. No, that’s all I had to say.” He turned back to look at Robin, feeling a bit at a loss, but he shook his head and went back to sit down again. He didn’t want to be too pushy about going in to visit because then he’d be watched more closely, and his cunning disguise plan might not work.
Robin shrugged, and then he glanced up at the doctor, “has there been any change? Has he stabilised?”
The doctor shook his head, and Robin felt his stomach sinking. “Not yet, I’m afraid. But he’s under constant supervision, so the moment that changes, we will let you know.”
“Any idea when we could visit him?” Robin asked, feeling desperate.
“It could be a few days yet,” the doctor admitted. “For him to be released from the ICU.”
Will made a low growl of dissatisfaction. “So he’s just gonna have to be in there, alone and in pain, for days. Got it,” he said bitterly, shaking his head again at the injustice of it. “Does he even have a window to look out of or is he denied that too?”
The doctor sighed heavily and he said, “I will let you know if anything changes,” before turning to head back through to the ICU.
“Fuuuucckkkk,” hissed Robin, and he leaned forward to bury his face in his hands. “We should figure out a plan. We can’t all stay here for days.” He was mostly worried that Will would try. “We could take it in shifts.”
Damn, he’d wanted to know if there was a window he could climb in or out of. Stupid doctor. Will grabbed the nearest sandwich and started unwrapping it. “You’re right,” he agreed with Robin. He’d go insane with waiting in this sterile environment. Seeing his daughter might help him feel better. She always made him smile. “Can’t all stay here indefinitely. These motherfuckers are no help.”
Robin didn't disagree. He also wanted to discuss something with Will, not in earshot of Tuck’s kids. "Why don't you kip with us?" he asked Will. "We'll organise a schedule after some sleep."
"I just got here, so I can take first shift ," Michaela offered.
"And I'm staying with her," Daniel added
"Will you let me take you back to ours?" Robin asked Will. "Just a few hours." There wasn't much more they could do here, and they had been here over half a day already. Robin was exhausted, he could imagine Will was too.
“I’m not ready to go home.” Will ran his hand through his hair and then wrapped his sandwich back up again to take with him. He could crash on the sofa for a while and get some shut-eye, and think about breaking into the ICU again tomorrow.
Before he left though, he went over to the nurses’ station, and leaned over the counter. He gave the woman on duty there all the charm he could muster to convince her to tell Tuck they were there, and they were coming back, and he should hold strong because they were all thinking of him. It was the best he could do in this moment. Tomorrow he would try to send in a letter or a gift, once he’d had a chance to regroup.
Robin watched as Will did his best for his partner, and then he walked beside his nephew, back out to the car. He didn’t want to talk about what was on his mind, but he knew he had to. And it was best if Will was forced to participate, so he waited until they were both buckled into the car and he was pulling out of the carpark.
“I ken you might not want to think on it,” Robin began, “but we have to consider the chances that Tuck was there because he fell off the wagon. How likely do you reckon it is?” Robin asked.
Will immediately bristled defensively. “Not likely at all. Impossible,” he said emphatically, refusing to believe it. “He has been completely normal, he hasn’t said anything about it, he hasn’t been anxious or jittery or anything. He would have told me if he was worried about that.” Tuck had told him every other time. There was the thing with Ariadne and the getting stoned by accident and how Tuck had worried, because Tuck was always so conscientious about it. And Will refused to believe that Tuck wouldn’t have trusted him with that information, because- because he just would have told him, and that was it.
Will seemed adamant, but Robin didn’t know if it was a kneejerk reaction, or he really didn’t think it was possible. “Addicts don’t always have warning signs,” he pointed out. “People get real good at hiding things. You’re sure?” Robin adored Tuck, but the man did have his vices. “You don’t reckon there’s any chance at all?”
“No! We’ve been helping all these people from the underground. We’ve been looking after Evie. He’d never put Evie in harm’s way. He’s been his normal self. He would’ve told me. No way. No.” Will folded his arms and scowled, slouching in the car seat. No way. No way! Tuck would’ve told him. He would’ve. Wouldn’t he? Yes. Will didn’t know who Tuck had been chasing into that place, but it wasn’t for himself that he went in. He was like, 90% sure.
“Alright, alright,” Robin said, gently. “Fair enough. We also got to consider the possibility this was-” Robin sighed before he said, “sheriff, or Guy or Lackland. Or all of em. Once we get back to the Fox, I’ll let everyone know to be on alert. We gotta look out for each other.”
Okay, well that was more likely. Much more likely. It had to be something like that. “Fuck. They’ll regret it if it were them. I’ll make them regret it.” Will cracked his knuckles and glared out the window in case he saw something suspicious. He was going to fuck up the person who did this, make them sorry they were born.
“We all will. You ain’t dealing with them alone,” Robin promised Will. They were silent for the rest of the ride, both of their heads far too full to talk.