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June liked to think she had a high pain tolerance but as she sat there, cradling Cassie as her smoldering skin rubbed against the scratchy fabric of Cassie’s shirt, she had to own up to the fact that it was a truly ridiculous amount of pain.
At some point she’d brought Cassie into the mansion and miraculously managed to get her up the stairs to the room June claimed as her own.
After a few more hours of holding her as she shook and heaved and sobbed, at some point Cassie had slowly quieted and stilled. She quite literally cried herself to sleep.
And it was then, in the silence and the stillness, that June became aware of just how badly she’d gotten burned.
It was a throbbing sharp pain all over the backs of her hands, and one particularly nasty spot on her neck, and a couple of hot patches on her face.
She’d laid Cassie down, grabbed a pair of (probably dirty) pajamas she left once, and made her way to the bathroom, pulling her phone out of her pocket to Google ‘How to tell if a burn is first, second, or third degree ?’
After a reasonable amount of reading, June determined that most of them were second degree and a few on her face were just first. Not all of it had burned too deeply. Most of her face just looked like she’d gotten a bad sunburn but a particular few nasty blotches proved that to be untrue.
She was still covered in the goop, her hoodie-Danny’s hoodie now stiff, the green goo having hardened almost like plaster.
She was really bummed about the hoodie. And logically she knew it would probably wash out, but now it smelled like burnt moss, pesticide, hairspray and smoke.
She wasn’t sure if she could take asking Danny to smell it up again. Not only had it been a surprisingly mortifying experience to do so but it left everything all weird between them. She just didn’t want to do that again.
She slipped it off as she stepped into the bathroom as she kicked the door closed with her foot and then remembered that she had burns all over.
When the fabric brushed against her face and scratched against the back of her hands she hissed in pain.
“Fart,” she whispered, blinking back tears.
She was much more careful with the rest of her clothes and as soon as she was able to, she stepped into the shower, ready for the cool she hoped the freezing water would bring.
And sure it was cooling but it was also painful.
Any kind of contact with literally anything hurts. And she’d read that it could take weeks to heal. This was gonna suck.
She’d tried to wash her sticky, green splattered hair, but the second the soapy water dripped onto her hand it stung, bad. And June’s pride wavered for just a moment.
But her hubris did win out in the end, and with lots of hissing and wincing, her hair was clean. And then so was her body. The soap stung less than the shampoo and conditioner and she watched as every trace of the slime disappeared down the drain, muttering a few good riddance to herself.
And although she didn’t regret it, when she stepped out of the shower, she realized her hands were trembling slightly. She wondered briefly if maybe she’d made the wrong choice.
They continued to shake as she got dressed again, in a pair of pink sweats and a Hello Kitty sweater and she had to take a moment to breathe before she started rummaging through all the cabinets for the first aid kit she knew was in here.
When she found everything, she stopped to just stare at her reflection and take stock of the damage.
She looked terrible.
Her hair was wet and slicked back with a headband because she hadn’t wanted to do her bangs. But it wasn’t her hair that was the problem.
To say her complexion was ruined was an understatement. She was nasty to look at, but she also couldn’t look away.
She raised her head to try and get a glimpse at the burn she could feel on her neck. But it was too difficult of a spot. She brought her hands up to try and feel it, hoping to give her a better indication of how bad it was.
And, of course, she unintentionally popped it. The second it burst an intense pain shot through her. She gasped and brought her hand back, just to take a fist of a towel and squeeze it tightly as she tried to stop herself from yelling out in pain.
She did not succeed.
“Fart! Piss!” She gritted her teeth and blinked tears away. And she decided again that this sucked. This really sucked.
She jumped at a gentle rapping at the door.
“June?”
That was Danny’s voice.
Danny was outside the door.
She took several deep breaths. She really didn’t want to make this a big deal. Compared to everything that had happened today, this was a blip on the serious scale.
“June’s not here right now. Can I take a message?” Her voice was shaky when she opened her mouth, which didn’t help her cause.
“Are you okay?” Danny asked in a way that made it seem like he already knew the answer. She hated when he did that.
“June?” He called again after a few moments of suspicious silence. He sounded worried.
She sighed. There was no point in lying. And she couldn’t just keep her mouth shut forever. Danny was just as stubborn as she was.
And she thought about what it would be like if their roles were reversed. If he was burned and hurting, locked away in the bathroom and she was on the other side of the door. She’d want to help. And she’d be incredibly annoyed if he stubbornly refused to let her, like what she was contemplating doing right now.
“June, please open the door.”
It was the please that made her relent. Danny didn’t say please. Danny didn’t ask nicely. And Danny didn’t speak like that, so quiet and tender.
She blinked the remaining tears away, delicately wiping her eyes with her fingers, careful to avoid any tender spots on both her face and her hands.
She cracked the door open just enough to peek at him.
“Hey,” she said as casually as she could manage.
At first, she saw immediate relief on his face but then his eyes widened a little as he took in the sight of her.
“Ay dios mío,” he mumbled.
“The goop was hot,” she explained a little pitifully, opening up the door a little more.
His eyes trailed over her, obviously looking for any burns he hadn’t noticed. Hard not to notice them though, with the way they were already starting to blister and the way one had already popped.
He clocked her hands, frowned deeply and then started to walk away with a determination that made June feel a little fuzzy and warm inside.
She reached out and grabbed his arm. “Wait! Where are you going?”
“To get Amara or Vera or someone to-“
“Amara’s in the shower! And Vera’s-“ June faltered and when images of Raven’s limp body flashed through her head, she swallowed thickly. Her hand tightened on the fabric of Danny’s sleeve. “Vera’s busy.”
“Then Althea can-“ Danny continued to argue.
“Althea’s passed out right now. And-and it’s really not a big deal. I can handle a couple of burns. Everyone else has bigger things to worry about. And I literally just googled how to treat burns so I know what to do.“
“You googled how to treat burns?” Danny repeated an eyebrow raised.
“Yeah. I took a super cold shower. And now I’m gonna put some antibiotic cream on them and then the non adhesive gauze and then wrap them up.” June recited, as though she was reading from a list. Which she sort of was. She’d made a mental list.
Danny brows were furrowed as he stared at her, clearly debating what to do. She jutted out her bottom lip, just barely and pulled a little harder on the sleeve she had her fist tightly around.
June could tell the exact moment he suddenly relented. His face softened and he looked at her with pity and concern and another emotion June couldn’t determine.
He pushed past her, into the bathroom and saw all the materials she’d laid out all.
“Okay. Sit down.” He gestured to an empty spot on the counter.
June frowned at him, extremely confused.
“Juniper.” He was using a sort of no-nonsense tone of voice. Almost like he was expecting her to argue.
But she was tired. And in pain. And sad. She was really, really sad. She hadn’t known Raven all that well, but she couldn’t help but feel this horrible weight on her chest thinking about the fact that this was now the second life lost since they’d started doing this. And she was confused and torn and overwhelmed because she liked Raven. But Raven had caused so much damage. And June knew she was just looking for her brother but-but still. She was the reason Talia was taken. She was the reason Ezra had almost died. She was the reason all of them had almost died. She was the reason all of this was happening.
“June? Hey, you good?” Danny’s face was hovering in front of her now, which meant he was squatting a little.
She met his eyes. He looked worried.
She was sure her eyes were a little glassy. And probably red. She’d been crying with Cassie, although nowhere near as hard.
June nodded. “Are you good? Not sure if anyone’s checked up on you yet. I didn’t see you get hurt. But it was still intense and with dealing with everyone else I just- are you? Uh, good?”
Danny blinked. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting her to turn the tables on him.
“I will be when you are.” He said after a moment.
June smiled, touched. That seemed to be a little too much for him. Her turned his head away from her before June could see the flush spread across his cheeks.
“Come on.” He tapped on the counter and June all but skipped over. She hopped up and now that she was sitting on it, she was much closer to his eye level.
“Can I look at it?” Danny asked, still not exactly meeting her eyes.
“I thought-yeah! I thought that’s what you were doing.”
“Uh, yeah. Yes. I just wanted to ask before I-I mean I’ll be in your space so I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or-“
There was a hand on his arm. “Daniel.“
He shut his mouth. Her hand fit so perfectly against his bicep it made him a little crazy. He had to remind himself that she was speaking and had to force his eyes away from where her hand was touching him, so he could look at her while she spoke.
“It’s okay. I don’t really have an issue with personal space. Especially when it’s-“
She bit her tongue, literally, the sharp pain stopping her from finishing her sentence.
She’d been about to say ‘ Especially when it’s with you .’
He was waiting for her to finish. His big brown eyes were focused on her in a way that made her feel jittery.
“It’s good. You’re good. Do-do whatever.” She forced herself to smile at him and then averted her gaze, staring down at the angry red welts on her hands.
Danny followed her gaze and studied the backs of her hands, his fingers hovering over the burns. “Does it hurt?”
June shook her head, her wet hair tickling the back of her neck. “No, not really.”
Danny’s eyes flicked back up to hers.
“I know! I know. That was a lie.” June rolled her eyes. “Yes, it hurts like fart, okay?”
Danny’s lips quirked up. His eyes trailed up to her neck and he reached out to gently tilt her chin up so he could get a better view of it.
June accidentally made a small noise of surprise when he did so and he immediately pulled his hand away, his eyes wide and his cheeks red
“Sorry.”
“No! No, it’s okay! Don't be sorry!” She grabbed his retreating hand and put it back where it had been, her fingers brushing against his wrist when she slowly brought her hand back down to her lap.
His blush remained as he looked at her neck and then his eyes trailed over the burn on her cheek and the one on the left side of her chin.
“What’s the verdict, doc?” She asked before she could stop herself, getting a little too uncomfortable with the silence.
Danny didn’t answer. Instead, he started washing his hands, avoiding her eyes.
June immediately missed the gentle, comforting touch of where his fingers had rested on her face. He remained silent as he picked up the tube of antibiotic cream.
June kicked her legs back and forth, patiently waiting, and then had to stop when she accidentally kicked Danny in the shin.
“It’s okay,” he assured just as she opened her mouth to apologize.
He was one step ahead of her. He was starting to figure her out. He knew her really well. That thought made June’s face feel hot. And she didn’t think it was just from the burns.
When Danny reached for her, she wordlessly handed him her right hand. She couldn’t help but flinch a little when Danny touched the welt.
“Sorry.” June muttered.
“God, June, you don’t have to apologize. You didn’t do anything.” He looked distraught and she did realize how ridiculous it was to apologize for being in pain. “It’s gonna hurt. I should have warned you.”
“No, no. I should have known.”
“Don’t do that,” Danny said, a little too roughly. June blinked up at him. “You’re always so mean to yourself. And you talk about yourself like you’re stupid. And you’re not stupid. You’re far from it. And today has been too long and too crappy for me to put up with it right now.”
“Okay, I know there was something nice deep down in that somewhere but right now I just feel like you’re pissed at me. I’d rather a lecture honestly.”
Danny sighed. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I’m not mad. I’m just-I dunno I don’t like seeing you like this. I don’t like hearing you bring yourself down. And I’m a little on edge.“
He’d been on edge since Cassie had told them she’d called the government. And it had only gotten worse as they went up against killer moss. And then peaked when they found Raven, dead.
“Sorry,” June began.
“One of us has to stop apologizing.” Danny interrupted her again, but gently this time. “And I think it should be you.”
He held out his hand. She looked from his eyes to his hand and then back to his eyes. They were soft and kind. Contrasting his sharp tongue and short words.
She placed her hand on top of his.
“It’s gonna hurt a little. And I’m sorry about that.” He said, quietly, keeping his kind, soft eyes trained on hers.
“It’s okay.” She mumbled back, trying not to feel sad when his gaze drifted downwards as he brought his focus to his task.
And then it was quiet, as he gently, carefully, stroked antibiotic cream on her hands, looking up with sympathy whenever she flinched or hissed or curled her toes in.
Danny was impressed with how long it had been quiet. He liked quiet. But he also didn’t at the same time. He didn’t mind it now though, when June was sitting in front of him and it was just the two of them and the room was so bright with her presence.
“I’m glad you like your bracelet.”
And there it was. Danny had sort of been waiting for her to speak.
“I was kind of worried you wouldn’t wear it.”
“Why would you think that?”
The cream brought cool relief even as Danny’s fingers made her want to wrench her hand away with the sharp sting they brought.
June shrugged. “I dunno. It's pink."
“I wear that walkie talkie every day. That's pink. Why wouldn’t I wear a bracelet?” Danny moved on to her other hand, coincidentally the one with her bracelet.
“The walkie talkie has function, you know? And the bracelet-well, I dunno thanks. Thanks for wearing it I guess.”
Danny was quiet for a long time.
“Thanks for making it for me,” he said, finally. His eyes widened slightly, when his words hit his ears. “Uh-I mean for us! For us.”
June smiled. “You’re welcome.”
He smiled back, and although his smiles were always lopsided and hesitant, she could tell if they were genuine by his eyes. And right now his eyes were just as sweet as his smile.
Danny was still holding her hand. They both seemed to have realized that at the same time.
She wriggled out of his hold and reached for the gauze. Now back on task, he wrapped the bandages around her hands, holding the gauze in place and protecting the raw exposed skin.
“You know I’ve been thinking of doing this for a while.” June said.
“Wrapping your hands?”
“Yeah! I got a couple of nasty blisters on my palms from my sword handle and I read online that a lot of people wrap their hands to prevent that! You’re really good at it. You do it so fast!”
Danny shrugged. “Done.”
“See! That was so fast!” June held her hands up and examined his work. She moved her fingers experimentally, which didn't really do much, since the bandages were wrapped around her palms and didn’t restrain her mobility at all.
He watched her, amused, as she formed two thumbs up, flashing him a cheeky grin.
“Face next?” She asked.
“Neck first.” Danny answered.
“Oh yeah. That one hurts the worst.” She looked upwards and tried not to squirm as Danny leaned closer to investigate.
“Merida,” he whispered.
“I feel like that’s a bad word.”
Danny didn’t say anything. Her eyes darted across the ceiling. She was already getting bored. Her attention was kept so much more easily when she was able to study Danny instead of the ceiling.
“Is it nasty? I couldn’t get a good look at it but I feel like it’s really nasty.”
Danny was still silent.
“Are you sure you’re okay to do this? I know you're squeamish about these kinds of things.”
Nothing.
June dropped her chin back down. “Danny?”
He was leaned over the sink, his hands on either side, his head down low, and his eyes scrunched shut.
June shook her head fondly.
She jumped down and placed a hand on his arm.
“It’s okay, Danny. I’m sure Amara can do it later. Thanks for helping with my hands.” She squeezed his bicep once before pulling away and attempting to walk past him.
And then there was an arm around her middle and she was being pulled back.
“Ah! Woah!”
She startled when two large grabbed her waist and for a brief second she was in the air and then, she was up on the counter again, Danny’s face steeled and determined in front of her.
“I can do it.” He said, more to himself than to her.
June smiled lopsidedly at him. “Don’t push yourself.”
“Ay dios mío. La chica que está herida me está asegurando,” Danny muttered under his breath. “Get it together, Daniel.”
“What?”
“Nothing! Nothing.”
They fell into silence again. Or, a sort of silence. As Danny worked on her neck and her face, she’d kept trying to talk to him, and at some point Danny told her straight out she couldn’t talk while he did this.
So, she’d turned on some music, unable to stand the silence. It was a strange playlist, going from instrumental Zelda music, to a Paramore song, to a musical theatre ballad, and then back to a Zelda piece.
She hummed along to almost every one, and as Danny trailed his fingers across her neck, he could feel her voice box vibrating under his fingers.
He was genuinely surprised at himself for how well he was handling this.
Not only was he doing something gross, he was very close to June and very intimately touching her. And he wasn’t even blushing…that hard.
A part of him wondered what made June so different, because the thought of doing this for anyone else felt a little impossible. He could do it. Probably. If Amara or Vera had really needed him to, but June would have offered to do it instead and he gladly would have let her.
Another part of him knew what made June so different.
He was trying to keep that part very calm. Because he was sure that part of him was the part that was making his heart beat a million miles per minute. Which logically he knew wasn’t a possible measurement but it definitely felt like that.
He couldn’t wrap her neck, so after he placed the non-adhesive gauze over the oozing yellow and red splotch (which had taken a little long to do because he kept having to stop and breathe very slowly and very deeply), he stuck a large singular -use bandage over it and gently pressed down making sure it would stick all the way around.
He couldn’t help but realize how large his hand was compared to her neck. His pinky brushed against her collar bone. His thumb hovered just under her jaw.
For a brief moment he thought about the possibility of pulling her in towards him and pressing his lips against hers and figuring out if her lips were just as soft as her skin and-
“Danny? If you’re gonna get sick and puke your guts out, I’d really prefer you don’t do it on me. The toilet’s right there.”
Danny reared his hand back. He had been standing there touching her for a little too long, hadn’t he?
“I’m-I’m not gonna puke.” He said, a little shakily.
June narrowed her eyes at him. “I wish I could tell when you’re lying. It’s not fair. Were you born with this super power or did you wake up one day and suddenly you could just magically tell whenever-“
“It’s not a superpower.” Danny argued, ready to be distracted from what his thoughts had been occupied with. “People have tells when they lie. I just always kind of know when someone’s being dishonest because of their body language and their voice and stuff like that. It’s observation, not magic.”
“What if someone says something that’s a lie but they don’t realize it’s a lie? Can you tell when someone does that?”
“I dunno. Maybe. Never thought about it like that.” Danny answered, shortly. “Stop talking.”
Her mouth had been open, ready to ask another question but she reluctantly shut it as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
Danny didn’t think he was going to survive this. He was quite literally cupping her face and stroking her cheek. And sure it was only because he was wiping antibiotic cream over exposed burns, but he was losing his mind because of it.
He kept trying to think about how gross it was. He was touching an open wound with his bare fingers. That was disgusting. That was nasty.
But every time he kept trying to remind himself that this was an icky situation, he ended up thinking about how miserable it must be for June, how much pain she must be in.
And whenever she flinched, the slightest most heartbreaking movement, Danny was reminded that this was not the time to be thinking about kissing.
Except, he wondered if he kissed her, maybe he could take her mind off the pain. And if he kissed her, maybe he could let her know that even though he hated this kind of thing, he would do it for her any and every time she needed him to. And if he kissed her-
“Are you sure you’re good to do this? You look clammy.”
Danny’s eyes shot back to hers. God, they were so close. He could see every single one of her freckles. Every single fleck of emerald in her eyes. And so much for being a master of observation because he could not tell how June felt about this, about him, about her closeness to him. Was she memorizing every inch of his face the way he was memorizing hers?
“No. I mean yes. I mean-I’m almost done.”
He took his hand away from her cheek, to rub the cream against the ugly welt on her chin. And just focused on his breathing as he bandaged them up making sure the gauze was tightly pressed against them.
She definitely noticed his strange behavior, but she just figured it was because this was disgusting.
And when she caught him looking at her face, she was convinced it was because of how awful and red and splotchy it looked.
She wasn’t looking forward to the fact that for the next few weeks when she looked in the mirror a rotten tomato would be blinking back at her.
She sighed without meaning to and jumped a little when Danny’s thumb stroked against an unburned part of her face.
“Almost done.” he assured, thinking she was starting to reach her limit of discomfort.
“Thanks.” she murmured.
She chose to follow the melody of the current song coming out of her phone instead of her thoughts. Her thoughts were very bad right now and she didn’t want to see where they would take her. But this song was familiar and comforting and she knew all the words and she knew all the melodies, so she knew every twist and turn it would take her on.
“Juniper.”
“Huh?”
“You’re singing along.”
“I am?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh. Sorry. I’ll shut up.”
“Just for like one more minute. Then you can sing all you want.” Danny promised with a sigh. But it seemed to have some fondness behind it.
“You sigh a lot.” June pointed out.
“I know.” he said, flatly and then he added, “Talking is just as unhelpful as singing.”
“Sorry.” She couldn’t help it, she giggled, amused at how he seemed so used to her.
“Don’t apologize, just stop moving your mouth so I can stick this bandage to your face!” He didn’t sound upset, not really, it was the kind of exasperated that felt layered with affection.
She complied and bit back a smile.
A minute later, Danny stood up a little straighter. “Okay. All bandaged up.”
“I probably look like a vegetable.” June murmured, attempting to look at herself in the mirror, but Danny’s hands were still on her face, and he prevented her from turning around.
“A vegetable?” He sounded genuinely confused.
“Yeah, because it’s all red and icky.” June explained.
“You just look a little sunburned.“ Danny protested.
“Sure. And the huge bandages on my face compliment my eyes.” She grumbled.
“Juniper,” Danny started, “You look-“
His tone had changed. June eyes shot up, like she had no other choice but to
meet his. She wore the slightest hint of a frown, wondering what adjective was possibly going to come next. Because there’s no way he was going to say something good.
If the word beautiful fell out of his mouth, she’d forever think of him as a liar.
If cute tumbled out, she-she might believe that one, and maybe covered in bandages he would be correct.
Fine seemed like the most liable option. Fine was a four letter word. That’s what her mom always said anyway. She had no idea what that saying meant, though.
“Fine,” Danny swallowed. “You look fine.”
He said it weird. Like the word didn’t quite sit right in his tongue.
Woah, why was she looking at his lips? Why did she feel sick to her stomach? Why was her face heating up like the plant goop had sprayed all over her again?
“My face feels hot,” she whispered, before she could stop herself.
“Do-do you want some ice?” Danny whispered back, looking just as spellbound as she felt.
She nodded, his fingers catching in her hair as she did so.
“I can get it.” She declared, softly, needed this moment to end.
His eyes were piercing and the soft melody of It Only Takes a Moment was making everything weirder. Making it feel like this moment wasn’t real. Like it didn’t count. Like whatever they said, or whatever they did in it, could stay in this time and this place, unaffected by the monsters outside, or the confusing feelings inside.
“No,” Danny said, suddenly. “You stay here. I’ll-I’ll go.”
“We could go together?” June offered.
Danny seemed to like that option. He nodded and pulled his hands away from her face, finally.
He washed his hands again, a little meticulously and despite the fact that now she had the option to turn around and scrutinize her appearance, she didn’t really care anymore.
“ And that is all that love’s about. And we’ll recall when time runs out. That it only took a moment to be loved a whole life long .”
They avoided each other’s eyes as the last lines rang out and when it was silent again June closed out of Spotify and gripped her phone tightly in one hand.
Then, in one strange moment of bravery and possibly stupidity, she grabbed Danny’s with her free one. Hand in hand, she started to drag him out of the bathroom and into the kitchen.
Her heart fluttered when he gripped back. So what if it irritated the burn on the back of her hand? It was worth it.