Angel

The Caustic x OC fic no one asked for but here it is anyway

Crickets chirping just outside the window, and already it was enough to help Zoey sleep for some white noise. She slept soundly and peacefully before she’d turn over to throw her arms around her husband Caustic, but he wasn’t there.

She woke up and saw it was empty.

“Alex…?” she murmured while sitting up in bed. “Alex?” she repeated but louder while looking around the room. She took a quick look at the time: 1:36 AM. She sighed tiredly and looked around the room.

That’s when she suddenly heard loud, heavy coughing. She turned towards the bathroom and found it was faintly lit from the inside, so she stepped out of bed and went towards the door. She grew scared and worried for him as she slowly opened the door only to hear how much worse the coughing sounded. Her heart stopped when she found him hunched over the sink. “Alex…!” she exclaimed while rushing to his side.

While she rubbed his back, she looked down and felt her heart sink when she saw a tiny splatter of blood in the sink. “Oh god…” She put a hand on his back then rubbed it again in gentle circles to let him know she was there and would be ready to help him. “Z— Zoey. You—“ He started before he began coughing hard again with blood. “Baby, Ah’m righ’ here,” she told him in a hushed voice. “Whaddye need?”

He looked over to her with tired and pained eyes. As much as he didn’t want help, he really needed her now. “... Grab me my oxygen tank.” She nodded and quickly went out to go find his tank. When she got into his little lab in their house, she found the tank and brought it back to their room beside his side of the bed. “Here. Let’s getcha cleaned up…”

She ran some cool water to wash away the blood and to cool him off. She turned off the lights and carefully guided him back to bed but this time to keep him upright so that the coughing wouldn’t get worse. Alex leaned back against the backboard of the bed and let his wife strap him up for his oxygen therapy. She carefully placed the mask over his beard and had him turn the oxygen on. Zoey let him have some space, knowing how he was with having his time to recover from this incident. He was just about to close his eyes when she muttered, “Wha’ happened…?” She kept the cool towel nearby if he needed it.

He didn’t like being weak around her but his work was beginning to take a toll on his health. “I… I think it’s my work. You know how it is.” Zoey watched him over and placed her hand on top of his. “Ye dun think it’s ‘nythin’ life threatenin’, er somethin’?” she asked. Alex paused. “I hope not…” He took her smaller hand into his larger one. “Even if it is, I doubt I would have much to live for.” That made her frown.

“Bu’... you do.”

“Give me one example.”

“...”

She tried not to cry when she said this.

“Walkin’ yer daughter down dae aisle…”

His eyes widened at the thought and was suddenly resisting the urge to cry. He knew she was right. He’ll only get one opportunity to be by his baby girl’s side on her special day. The day he would have to give his little Daisy to whomever she would marry 20 or so years from now, he now can’t imagine missing. He hiccuped and gripped his wife’s hand tighter.

“Alex.”

He turned his head to her after returning to reality. He always did think she was as beautiful as an angel, even if he didn’t believe in such things. And what got him the most was that she was even as caring and loving as one, thus he’d call her his “angel” or “dark angel”.

But seeing his angel cry right now broke him.

“Baby, Ah know yer workin’ really hard on yer experiments, bu’ th’ least ye can do is live long enough tae be around an’ watch yer daugh’er grow up…,” she pleaded with a quiet voice. “She needs ye more ‘an ‘nythin’. She can live wit’out Chuy, bu’ she cain’ live wit’out you.”

He watched a tear roll down her cheek and he reached up to wipe it away from her. “... I will be there for her.” She sniffed and hiccuped and looked down while Alex removed his oxygen mask after he felt he was fine. After turning the machine off, he took his hand under her chin and had her look up at him. “Don’t cry,” he whispered as a tear fell down his face before he kissed her.

When they parted after a long time, he looked her in the eyes and smiled tiredly. “I’m so tired…,” he whispered, leaning his face into her shoulder and neck, to which she kept him there and gently combed his hair with her fingers. “... Have you ever heard of an old song called “Sound of Silence”?” he asked. The name sounded familiar to her and so she nodded. “Aye.”

“Do you think you could sing that for me to help me sleep?”

She was a bit surprised he asked for something like this. She never did think her voice was good enough but to him, it was a lovely sound. “I— Ah’ll try…” He adjusted himself so that he had his head in her lap; it was his favorite pillow afterall.

While she combed his hair, she tried to remember the words to it and would give it a try.

“Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping~”

Caustic knew what it truly meant, but in this case, he just loved hearing her sing it. It had a sweet and beautiful melody to it.

“And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence~”

He kept his eyes on her as she sang. The way her hair fell to the side of her head made her look even more beautiful like he was looking at a mermaid or something to that line. He may not be the type to be physically affectionate to her publicly, but behind closed doors, he would be all over as if he hadn’t seen her in years.

“In restless dreams, I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone 'Neath the halo of a street lamp I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light That split the night And touched the sound of silence~”

He couldn’t help but gently cup her face with his hand while she sang. He kept his eyes locked with hers, catching a glimpse at her grinning. She kept one hand in his hair and the other placed on top of his hand while she kept singing.

“And in the naked light, I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more People talking without speaking People hearing without listening People writing songs that voices never share No one dared Disturb the sound of silence~”

He wondered if he should speak his mind now or let her keep singing, but the temptation was too strong.

“Darling, what are your beliefs in angels?” he asked.

She stopped her lullaby and looked at him before chuckling. “Baby, ye know Ah’m not inta all tha’ afterlife shit,” she told him. “I know, I was just curious,” he sighed. “Though, I may feel as though… I believe in them now.”

She blinked. He was joking, right?

“Babe, yer a man o’ science. Wha’ makes ye say tha’?” she asked. He was quiet for a moment.

“Well… Because I’m looking at one right now.”

This only confirmed Zoey’s belief her husband was one smooth man.

“... How long were ye wantin’ tae do tha’?” she asked while hiding her blush and smile. “Ever since we met,” he replied with a small smile in turn.

“But, really, you are an angel to me for many reasons. You’ve cared for my health more than I’d say Ajay would like to admit. You have an aura that just feels truly loving and protective despite how you put yourself publicly. You’re beyond beautiful even with your flaws. You put yourself in danger in order to keep me alive from the Games. And… I’ve never been more grateful to have you in life this way.”

Zoey just looked down at him as he spoke with a tear welling in her eye.

“You are my dark angel. And I love you for that.”

She smiled slightly and laughed quietly while wiping her eye. “Alexander, ye one— Ye know exactly wha’ tae say, baby.”

Caustic smirked behind his beard and patted his hand on her side of the bed, to which she immediately laid beside him and had his arm around her to bring her into him. He liked the weight of her head on his chest and her hair in his fingers. It was always so silky.

He really did feel tired but he watched her fall asleep first before he kissed the top of her head and laced fingers with hers that lay on his chest. “I love you, Zoey. And thank you.”

He finally returned to sleep peacefully with her, able to live another day with his angel of a wife and baby daughter.

Angel

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