All Things Shiny and Chrome

Nux

Furiosa is driving and the Blood Bag tells him to get some sleep. Immortan's shiny wives are all curled up in the back with him. Capable even has her arms around him, her bright hair resting on his pale shoulder. He doesn't want to go to sleep. Sleep is when the fever comes. Sleep is when the bad thoughts bounce around his brain. Thoughts about if Valhalla is real and what happens to the poor War Boys that don't get to die on a Fury Road.

Nux is awake now and he feels the fever making him sweat and feel uncomfortable in the heat of the cabin. But those bad thoughts are bouncing around his brain again and he has the urge to hide until the sun comes up or when Furiosia and the Blood Bag need him to do something else.

"I'm going to keep watch up top." He whispers to Furiosa and detangles himself from Capable's warm embrace. The chill night wind feels good against his feverish skin and he revels in it for a long moment before trekking all the way down to the back lookout. He settles in and stares at the blackness of the wasteland, wrapping his arms around himself to hold off the shakes and shivers.

Will he still get to go to Valhalla even now that he's turned on Immortan? What if he is doomed to continue living until his body finally runs out of blood? A failure's death. A coward's death. Nux does not want to be a coward. The promise of Valhalla isn't quite as sure as it used to be. Especially with Immortan knowing how useless he is. Useless for capturing treasures and a rogue war rig. He tried so hard and he still failed. Twice.

A sudden weight on his shoulders causes him to turn to look into Capable's bright eyes. "You look cold."

"I'm not." He watched her settle in beside him. She adjusted her shawl around both of them, tangling her arms around him again. He feels a different kind of hot when she touches him.

"You're burning up." He looks away as she runs a rag over his forehead.

"Night fever." Blackness surrounds them like they are the only two people in the world. She didn't bring a light, so all there is to see by are the meager lights from the sky. It makes his skin blue and her hair black.

She snuggles against him and he feels like he's driving into the storms again, high on Blood Bag's adrenaline and the smell of nitro and gasoline. He can almost taste the metallic tang of the paint still left on his teeth. Chrome he didn't deserve. Twice.

Her touch is as firey as her hair. "You should sleep. It'll make you feel better." Her fingers ghost over Larry and Barry before her hands settle against his side. "You don't know what we might come up against in the morning."

"I slept before I left The Citadel." He hesitantly wraps his arm around her; she's as soft as her hair is. She is chrome, red and shiny in the sunset. He feels like he's being bad when he touches her.

"What are you thinking about?" She asks and her curls tickle his chest.

"Chrome."

She smiles up at him. "Chrome? Why?"

"Chrome is the most beautiful thing. Shines up so nice. Real chrome is precious." He nods, not so sure how to put into words all those funny feelings turning around in his stomach. He wonders if he needs to throw up. Capable probably never throws up.

"It is pretty. But I like green things better." She curls her legs up underneath her, tucking her toes under the shared blanket.

"Green." He rolls that thought around in his mouth, trying to taste green over the wonders of chrome. "Never been close to green things."

"You will be. We'll be in the Green Place soon. And you don't have to be a war boy anymore. You can just… be a boy." Her words are quiet. Secrets he should not hear. Thoughts he's never through of. Thoughts not allowed by the Cult of the V8.

"If I'm not a war boy, then what am I?" He closes his eyes and leans his head against hers. Her hair is so soft. He could get used to this. Sitting with a real live girl in his arms. He doesn't have words for the terror he feels. What would he even do in a place without chrome? Surely they at least need a Black Thumb, or a driver or… someone to order around? They will need a war boy. Of course they will need a war boy. That thought made him feel better and calmed the empty feeling in his stomach enough to let himself really fall into unconsciousness.

Soon enough the sky is pink and orange with sunrise, and he finds his head pillowed in Capable's lap. He has never wanted to go back to sleep more in his entire life. "Do you feel better now?"

He reaches a pale hand up to run a finger along her bare knee. Even her skin is shiny.

She giggles and pulls him up to sit beside her; he closes his eyes as the world spins. The war rig hits a ditch and he lurches forward to heave over the side. "Nux?" Her fingers are on his back again, tracing the old scars there.

"I'm good. I just don't usually sleep that long is all." He spits to get the taste of rotten mother's milk out of his mouth. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Her eyes make his stomach feel funny again, though he knows he's out of vomit.

She hides her face in her hair, but they both turn to see Blood Bag crouched down next to the back cab. "You both… enough fooling around. Back up front."

Capable slipped out first, wrapping her shawl around her as she moved back up to the front cab. Nux moved to follow, but was blocked by the Blood Bag.

"She's… attached… to you."

"Attached? Naw she just… was making sure I was good." A little bubble of hope formed in his chest. He wasn't just fooling himself with an impossible thing.

"Hm. You sure about that?" Blood Bag reached out and jabbed a finger at Barry.

"I live. I die. I live again. All things shiny and chrome are for the next life."

Blood Bag stares at him and he stares back. The feral man bobs his head in a quick nod and makes his way back to the cab, leaving Nux alone again with his hope bubble.

Capable

She wakes when Nux pulls himself out from underneath her. She misses his presence between her and the open door, blocking her from the dangers that might lurk outside the war rig. She moves over, feeling the warm spot he vacated just a minute earlier. It isn't the same as leaning on him, but it is close. It still smells like him, oil, gasoline and the ashy powder the war boys cover themselves with.

"You're not supposed to get attached to the war boys," The Dag mutters.

"He's so innocent. Barely a boy at all. Still a pup," Capable replies, sinking further into Nux's space. She puts her foot on Furiosa's seat like he did, but it does not feel quite as safe.

The Toast stirs from Cheedo's other side. "He's very sick. You can't keep him. It would be cruel."

"How is it cruel? He deserves better than to kill himself for a smeg that doesn't care." She crosses her arms and pouts. She isn't sure how she got so attached to the boy. He just looked so sad when he was hiding and afraid. She wants to hug him forever until he feels better. Never has she wanted to do such a thing since her daughter was born and taken from her.

"Everyone deserves better, but we can't give any betters. Not until we reach the Green Place." The Dag pushes her blonde hair out of her face.

"War boys don't think like we do. They can't." Toast pushes Cheedo onto The Dag's shoulder and settles against the door. "You'll just break him and he'll die anyway."

"Still need him. Hm. Useful." The Fool mutters, his voice is hard to hear over the engines and the noise of the wind, but the words are heard.

"I'm going to check on him." She wraps her shawl tightly around her shoulders and makes the climb to the top of the rig. She loves the wind in her hair, that feeling of freedom she's craved since she was kidnapped from her family all those years ago.

The stars are just barely bright enough to see by. But she knows the top of the rig now and she can see Nux huddling in the seat, his shivering causing his shoulders to shake. She slips into the seat next to him and wrapped the long shawl around them both. "You look cold."

"I'm not." He tries to deny it and hold still, but she can see his pale lips press together with the effort. Stubborn males. She wraps her arms around his bare chest and frowns at the feel of his skin. He's burning with fever. She picks up a discarded rag and mops the sweat off his forehead in what she hopes is a gentle gesture.

"Night Fever." He replies, his bright blue eyes nearly shining in the night. He mentioned this before. A normal person would be in a sickbed, but this war boy is always ready. She doesn't remember him sleeping or eating with them. Though she's sure he's taken some milk when the cups were passed around.

"You should sleep. It'll make you feel better." She presses against him, hoping to share her body heat. Hoping the fever breaks before it affects his brain. Her fingers touch the side of his neck, the rubbery lumps he's named. "You don't know what we might come up against in the morning." She drops her voice to try to be more enticing. She doesn't want him to run himself to death. And the toll this trip has taken already seems too high.

"I slept before I left The Citadel." Silly. Stubborn. Males. She sighed against his chest, pressing an ear against the block pattern on his skin, listening to the beating of his heart. His heart sounds like a war drum: fast and erratic.

"What are you thinking about?" What was keeping Nux's eyes open, even though he looks out of gas.

"Chrome." Silly. Silly. Male. But she can't blame him. War Boys don't get to have wives. Very few live long enough to reproduce. Even if they did, the children would hardly be healthy.

She bad thought and smiles up at him, trying not to laugh at the thoughts of Chrome. Of course the boy is thinking of chrome. Perhaps he would pay more attention to her if she was made of chrome. "Chrome? Why?"

"Chrome is the most beautiful thing. Shines up so nice. Real chrome is precious." He smiles and nods, his mind on better things than the hear and now.

"It is pretty. But I like green things better." She hasn't stopped thinking about The Green Place since they decided to escape the vault. She can imagine laying in a patch of springy grass with Nux underneath her. She wonders if he's painted white everywhere. She hasn't had those sorts of thoughts since before she was stolen from her clan and had caught the attentions of the boys. She can't remember their names now.

"Green." She can almost smell his brain melting over the color green. "Never been close to green things." War boys never get to go high enough for the greenery; Nux was raised in the caves and caverns, crawling in and out of cars and engines.

"You will be. We'll be in the Green Place soon. And you don't have to be a war boy anymore. You can just… be a boy." She whispers against his chest, fingers brushing against the intricate pattern carved into his chest. She admires his devotion, but not his god. Maybe the Green Place is far enough away from whatever it was that made boys sick enough to start worshiping a cruel and ruthless master.

She felt his whole body tense and his breath catch in a sort of choking noise. "If I'm not a war boy, then what am I?" She realizes her mistake and holds him tightly, trying to will some comfort into his shaking body. She pressed her lips to his shoulder and whispers soothing things to him. She shifts so that she can hold him in her arms, his head resting against her breast. He falls into a restless sleep, muttering nonsense. She catches the words "shiny" and "red" and hopes he was dreaming of her.

It is a silly fantasy. She loves his innocence and enthusiasm. His humor has kept her from thinking too much. His whispered stories about his friends distracted her and the other girls from their situation. The least she can do is to make him comfortable. She feels his head again; still hot. She shifts the shawl off her shoulders and gently lays him so his head rests in her lap. She covers him with the shawl and keeps her eyes on the wasteland behind them. One of them really should keep watch.

She can feel him stirring and runs her fingers over his head. "Do you feel better now?" When she feels his hand on her knee, she looks down and smiles, letting him explore a little if he wants. His hands are rough, working hands. Immortan's hands were fat and soft. She doesn't want to think about him. She giggles and helps Nux up before she does something she might regret later.

She isn't sure what happens next until he's leaning against the side of the cab, heaving and retching. She rubs his back until he finishes and hands him the rag. "Nux?"

"I'm good. I just don't usually sleep that long is all." He spits again. She helps him sit down again and wraps her arm around his shoulder. She isn't too sure what to do now. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She tries not to think too much.

She hides her face in her hair, but they both turn to see the Fool crouched down next to the back cab. "You both… enough fooling around. Back up front."

She slips out of the cab, wraps her shawl around her shoulders and ignores the sting in her eyes. She takes the seat she vacated hours ago, moving The Dag over with a gentle nudge.

"Gone a long time, hmm?" Dag threads her arm through Capable's and shares an odd smile.

"Oh no. It wasn't like that!" She glances back behind her and lowers her voice. "We talked a little. Then he fell asleep. That's it."

"Shame. You had plenty of time."

She did have plenty of time. But did Nux? When he slips back into the cab, she leans against his shoulder again. He wraps his arm around her and holds her close. She closes her eyes now, tired from her turn at watch. She dreams of chrome reflecting off green grass.