Chapter Text
Basira stared at the scene playing out in front of her. Her new Coworkers were literally hurling mud at one another. She had been told that the move to the Aquatic/Riparian team was a significant change from the gleaming halls of the Magnus Institute, (that was the entire point of the move in the first place), but the complete shift in focus and leadership was downright shocking. The supposed team leader, one Jonathan Sims, was just standing there hip-deep in water with his arms crossed over his chest watching the scene play out while his subordinates fought with each other in the mud like savage animals. Hell, She even thought she heard snarling!
Jonathan waited about 5 minutes, even glancing at his watch every now and then. After the time was up, he barked, “Michael! Tim! Sasha! Enough! We are burning too much daylight on this! We need to start augering holes and getting the plants in the ground! I don’t care who started it or what the reason was, I’m ending it! Makeup with each other either now or at the end of the day but we need the work done before the storm blows in, agreed?”
There were a few mumbles of agreement.
“Perfect, Alright. Martin, you and Tim need to take the augers and start drilling holes in the shoreline about 6 inches across and 6 inches deep. Space them out about 4 to 6 feet apart. Michael, I want you and Gerry to show Basira how to build the cages. Daisy, you and Melanie need to sort out the plants. Randomly distribute the species as best you can and unpot them. Sasha and I will get them in the ground, understood?”
Everyone began to break into their groups and the tall man Basira presumed was Michael turned toward her and offered a filthy hand to shake. He was covered in mud already and it clung to his otherwise beautiful blond hair. “I’m Michael, sorry about that, we don’t always fight. I promise.”
She shook the cleanest part of his hand with two fingers, causing him to giggle. “You get used to the dirt.”
He climbed out of the man-made bayou he was standing in, mud and water streaming from his waders. “Come on, let’s get started on those cages. We’ll need about 60 of them for today and 60 more tomorrow. It isn’t hard to do but it’s tedious.” He climbed up into the bed of the trailer attached to the work truck and rolled the cage wire off of it.
Gerry helped unroll the tightly coiled wire while Michael and Basira set on measuring and cutting it. Michael demonstrated how to overlap the edges where she wouldn’t cut herself and use crimp rings to secure everything in place.
They made 60 cages they needed and sat down in the grass to eat lunch.
Jon flopped up on the bank, soaking wet. He had evidently fallen in several times during his planting endeavors. After a few minutes of panting, he snagged a sandwich out of the truck and plopped down in the circle they had formed. He groaned and made a quick list, grumbling out loud. “Pickerel Weed, Smartweed, Water-willow, Iris, Bullrush….Michael, am I forgetting anything?”
Michael opened one eye lazily and stretched. “Delta Arrowhead and Bacopa.”
“Damn! That’s what it was. It was driving me nuts. Thank you.”
Michael laughed airily and waved his hand. “No problem at all.”
Basira observed them quietly and Michael opened one eye again looking up at her.
“You simply must tell me, why is someone as lovely as yourself toughing it out with such a rough and tumble team such as ours?”
Jon choked on his food and smacked him. “Sorry, You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. He’s an idiot.”
Michael pouted.
Basira let out a surprised laugh.
“Oh, it’s not really a secret. The Magnus Institute is beautiful, but I can’t stand Elias. I took the first opportunity that presented itself to keep me paid the same but far far away from its doors.”
“Jon’s in the same boat. Transferred here just last year. He’s still getting used to bossing us all around.” Sasha grinned.
“And learning all the plants.” Michael supplied.
“Look it isn’t my fault that “Archivist” didn’t exactly prepare me for fieldwork planting things in glorified stock tanks!” Jon hissed.
Tim shoved him playfully. “Oh you know we are just teasing. You’ve done a great job.”
“You were the Archivist?” Basira asked.
“Technically I still am, but the team needed a lead and Elias decided I should take it. Even though it should rightfully be Sasha’s. She’s been here longest. Though you wouldn’t know it considering the little mud fight from this morning.” Jon said leveling her with a ‘disappointed dad’ look.
“Michael started that and you know it.”
“Yeah what was that all about anyway?” Basira asked.
“Tim ate my candy stash and drew a dick on my arm in sparkly gel pen while I was sleeping on the drive over,” Michael grumbled.
Jon rolled his eyes. “In that case, it sounds like Tim started it. You have your own candy Tim.”
“His was better and he fell asleep. He knows better than that.”
Michael glared daggers at Tim but didn’t say anything.
“Looks like you will be doing his portion of the watering for a week once we get back to the facility,” Jon said firmly.
“What? Come on boss!”
“Nope. If you keep whining you’ll be doing his portion of propagation too.”
Tim groaned loudly and kicked at the dirt. “I’m sorry Michael,” he grumbled.
“I accept your apology, but you still have to do my watering and you owe me candy.”
“Fine.”
The day dragged on, and the heat was oppressive as they planted. At the end of the day, however, Jon looked pleased with their progress. They had managed to do more than he had accounted for so the next day would be less work and they could go back to the hotel a little early. They loaded up their gear for the day and cleaned up after themselves. Gerry and Martin loaded the 4-wheeler onto the trailer and strapped it down tight for the short trip to the hotel.
Michael lingered in the lobby and waited for Basira to catch up with them. The rest of the team had already vanished to their rooms faster than she thought possible. She and Michael had rooms next to each other and she thought it was sweet of him to wait for her.
“They don’t waste much time do they?” she asked as she reached him.
He shook his head. “No, they tend to want to be in their rooms as fast as possible so they can feel human again.”
She raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down. He was still covered completely in dried mud.
“Shouldn’t you be doing the same?”
He shrugged. “I desperately need a shower, but I didn’t want you to get left behind.”
“That’s kind of you, but I’m fine.”
He shrugged again and gave her a smile before hitting the up button on the elevator.
His eyes flickered back and forth between the closed elevator doors and let out a small groan when one opened.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“Oh no, I always try and guess which one is going to open first before it opens. I was wrong.” he laughed.
She let out a small breath of a laugh through her nose and walked inside, pressing the button for their floor.
“You’re funny,” she said.
He beamed at her. “Thank you! I do try you know. It isn’t always appreciated.”
He rocked back and forth on his heels while they waited for the elevator to reach their floor and she tried not to pay him too much mind.
They exited and he waved at her as he reached his door. “Have a good night Basira! We’ll be meeting at the trucks at 8 am!” he said.
“Good Night Michael, I hope you’re able to get all that mud out of your hair.”
“We shall see!” he said and vanished through his door.
Basira closed her door and got ready for a shower herself. Michael was right. A shower, a change of clothes, and a few minutes alone really did make you feel human again after all the heat and dirt. She put the tv on for a bit of noise and settled down to read. For a while, things were nice. Sometime after darkness fell, however, loud music started playing from next door. She frowned a bit and tried to let it be. Maybe he just really liked that particular song. After 30 minutes, it was becoming annoying. It was really loud and was going to get them in trouble with the hotel if he didn’t knock it off. She sighed and got to her feet and knocked on his door.
She stood in the hallway for a while and waited. There was no answer. She had to knock two or three more times before the door finally creaked open. “Hey, you’re going to need to turn it do….hey are you okay?” She asked.
Michael’s eyes were red and swollen and the rest of his face showed obvious signs of heavy crying. He didn’t meet her eyes but that same smile was still plastered on his face. If not for the rest of his face, she wouldn’t have been able to tell the smile was fake.
“Of course Basira. I’m sorry.” He said.
“No, really. Are you okay?” she asked.
He nodded tightly. “I…I’ll turn the music down. Sorry to disturb you.”
“Hey…do…do you want to uh, we could watch some movies?” she offered. She didn’t really like the idea of leaving him alone.
He rubbed his cheek to rid it of tear stains. “A movie?”
“Sure. I don’t really know what’s on but you could come hang out in my room for a bit. Could order Pizza?”
He sniffled a little and slowly nodded. He disappeared for a moment into his room and the music cut out abruptly. He returned a few minutes later with a blanket that was obviously from home and not the hotel and followed her the short distance to her room. He sat on the edge of her bed quietly while she fished around for something more entertaining than what she had been watching.
Michael remained quiet aside from the occasional sniffle. His big eyes were still shiny with tears.
She settled on putting on Alice in Wonderland and sat down on the other side of the bed and set about finding a place to order Pizza from.
".....how did you know?" Michael asked softly.
"Know what?" She said looking up from her phone. His eyes were fixed on the TV and a fond expression had found its way onto his face.
"Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite stories."
Basira blinked. "Oh, I didn't know actually."
Michael let out a weak little laugh. "Of course, how could you. We've barely even met."
She bit her lip. "Why do you like it so much?"
He sighed and wrapped his skinny arms around his long legs. "....I just…love the idea of somewhere like that existing. I have never really felt like I've fit in. With anyone. My head is too much in the clouds."
She was quiet for a moment. "Did something happen today that made you upset? Was it Tim?"
Michael shook his head. "No…my parents called and yelled at me….normally I just ignore the calls, but with it being after dark…I was worried something might have happened to them…but they were just mad at me for ignoring all their other calls." He sighed and slowly laid back on one of the pillows.
"That sounds rough." She said quietly.
"Normally I try not to let it get to me…but….I was so scared something happened to dad. He's been in bad health lately and I just…I thought the worst happened and…and they just had to bring up every little thing I've done wrong and…" He took a shaky breath. "It's fine. They don't have to approve of me."
"....if I may? I haven't known you very long, but I don't think there is anything to disapprove of."
His shoulders loosened and he looked over at her for the first time since he had come into the room. "That's really really sweet of you. You don't know me very well though. I'm sure I'll disappoint you too before too long."
"Nah. I don't put heavy expectations on people." She said rolling over to face him. "What do you want on your pizza?"
He blinked and laughed. "You can order whatever. I'll eat literally anything."
"Famous last words pretty boy." She said.
He laughed again, this time it sounded brighter. "Alright, I really like an Alfredo pizza with chicken, black olives, and mushroom."
"Sounds good." She said placing the order
He continued to watch her, hands curled into the blanket he had brought with him.
"That looks soft." She said.
"Mmhm. I like the texture very much." He said and offered a corner of it for her to squeeze. "See?"
She squeezed it and it really did feel nice in her hand.
"It's my favorite."
"I had a suspicion it might be."
He smiled shyly and covered the bottom half of his face with it.
They fell into an easy silence and he watched the movie for a bit. He scooted a little closer to her, though still maintained a respectful distance. She allowed it until she had to go grab the pizza from the front desk, she came back and settled closer to him, their legs nearly touching. It was a good thing she ordered a large. Between the two of them, they polished it off in no time. Michael practically inhaled his half. Despite how thin he was he could really put away food. She couldn't help but laugh and offer him one of her slices.
He shook his head. "No, no, those are yours."
"If you are still hungry you should eat." She insisted
He shook his head again. "I'm quite alright. I promise." He curled up in his blanket beside her and continued to watch the movie.
He was a warm weight beside her and she found herself curling up against his side once she was done eating.
His eyes were already closed and didn't seem to mind her in the slightest.
He seemed so small in the low light of the room and she couldn't help but feel protective of the man she had just barely gotten to know.
She heard a low roll of thunder and checked the weather on her phone. If it was storming they wouldn't be able to do the rest of the planting. Her weather app said the storm would stop by morning but she still worried.
Michael's hand fell onto her shoulder. "It will be alright." He said sleepily, eyes still closed. "Even if it's raining, Jon won't make us go out. He wants us safe above all else. It will be okay if we don't do it all on this trip."
Basira relaxed a little. She wasn't used to her safety really being valued at all. "That's good to hear, but is it really okay to not finish the job?"
"I mean, it isn't ideal. Obviously, we want to get it done, but we can't stay longer than we were scheduled to, and Jon absolutely will not okay us going out in the water if there is any lightning at all."
She relaxed a little more and settled back down against his side after plugging her phone in.
"Should I leave?" He asked quietly.
"Up to you." She said.
"Will it bother you?" He asked.
"Nah. Wait, did you bring your phone?"
Michael shook his head. "I…didn't want to risk them calling again."
"That's alright. We can use my alarm." She said. "Can you turn out the lights?"
Michael slid gracefully out of bed and flipped them off, surrounding them in darkness.
She felt the bed dip as he climbed carefully back into it, doing his best not to poke or squish her. He settled down and curled up under his soft blanket.
After a few silent moments, Basira felt his hand slide into hers. He gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you." He whispered.
"For what?" She asked.
"For keeping me company. Letting me stay."
“I couldn’t just let you stay in your room by yourself.”
“Yes, you could have.”
“I’m not a monster.”
“No, you’re wonderful.”
Basira felt her cheeks burn slightly. “Not really. It’s just the decent thing to do.”
“Regardless….I really appreciate it,” he said giving her hand another squeeze.
His grip loosened after a few moments, but she kept holding onto his hand. It was warm in hers and nice to hold.
They fell asleep that way, holding onto each other’s hands in the darkness.