Left 4 Dead drabble - II

For Talia, by Raven

"Left 4 dead" © Valve

A week and two days had passed since the 'incident', and for the first time since that fatal night, Hunter found himself waking up from a nightmare-less sleep. The weak ray of sunlight falling on the dusty floor of the basement told him it was early morning. He yawned, stretched, and looked around. Cardboard covered every window, but still, a few rays of light filtered. He shifted to rest more comfortably against the pillow, delighted once again to see that the pain that had gone away a few days before hadn't come back. Maybe he was ready to repay Smoker for rescuing him and… Well, some other things.

Hunter closed his empty eyes, sighing softly. Since Smoker brought him to his hideout, the scene had repeated itself at least twice; each time, Hunter would lose his mind and call out Smoker's name in ecstasy while he drove his claws into the old, dirty mattress. Each time, Smoker would push him over the limit, and then clean him up, kiss his forehead and tell him to sleep. Each time, Hunter would see the frustrated arousal in Smoker's eyes, and he would offer to do something to him in return. And each time, Smoker would smirk and tell him that patience was a virtue, before lying next to him and bringing him into his arms. Hunter loved those peaceful nights, the feeling of safety he experienced in Smoker's arms.

Other nights, though, he'd wait for hours and hours, and fall asleep before Smoker came back. He hated the feeling of anxiousness and insecurity that consumed him during those hours. Fortunately, each time he'd wake up the next day to find Smoker sleeping peacefully by his side, and everything would be right again. Because it was only right when Smoker was around.

Smiling, he patted the bed beside him; and he let out a small screech upon finding out that Smoker's body wasn't there. He turned around fully, and noticed the small piece of paper on the pillow. He grabbed it carefully with his claws, and unfolded it. The handwriting was almost unreadable, but with some effort, he managed to make out the message.

Brb, hunting.

And below it, there were to 'x's and two 'o's. Hugs and kisses, Hunter thought, blushing. Smoker could be so sweet. He decided to wait for him to come back - the last time he had tried going out to find him, he had almost been shot in the head by a group of particularly though Survivors. He was glad one of the men's flashlights had startled a random Witch hiding in an alleyway, giving him a chance to escape, or he would've been finished. Smoker had been furious at this, of course, and since Hunter didn't wish to upset him again, he stayed in all the time unless Smoker went out with him.

Suddenly feeling nasty and moody, Hunter got out of bed. He didn't want to lie around all day doing nothing. The house they were staying in was unoccupied, so he could walk around at free will, and even use the TV or the DVD system, although they proved boring enough after a short while. Hunter decided against going into the sitting room, heading for the bathroom instead; he hadn't had a shower since the Infection, and he wondered whether the dirty feeling could be washed away.

Fortunately, it kind of did; Hunter got out of the shower feeling better than he had since the Infection. He stared at himself in the mirror as he dried his now soft, wavy black hair, which reached his shoulders. It had grown surprisingly quickly since the Infection. He certainly did look a bit healthier, although there still were those dark rings under his lifeless black eyes, and his skin was still deathly pale. Nevertheless, he decided he looked much better and headed upstairs to steal some fresh clothes from the wardrobe. He was lucky enough to find another purple hoodie, plus a pair of grey sweatpants that fit him perfectly. Feeling fresh and new, but still bored to death because of Smoker's absence, he started tidying the basement almost compulsively.

When Smoker came back, he was startled by the smell of fruity shampoo and cleanliness. Just what had his protégé been doing while he was away? Or had someone else entered the house? His tongue released the unfortunate lifeless victim he had brought home, as he stepped into the room, pushing his wild brown hair out of his brownish-green eyes so he could look around.

"Wow" he whispered, and he heard a small screech coming from under the bed. "Hunter, is that you?"

"Yes!" came the high-pitched reply. "And I'm stuck!"

"Under the bed?" Smoker chuckled, walking over to the offending piece of furniture. He could see Hunter's legs sticking out from under it. "Lift it up, can't you?"

"I can't!" the Hunter replied. "Help me!"

"Fine, fine" Smoker shrugged, lifting up the bed with ease, Hunter sneaking out quickly. "You're a scandal, you know that? You're not safe anywhere, you're a magnet for trouble!"

"Well, sorry" Hunter growled, looking down, scratching his left arm nervously; that was, of course, until his nose caught the scent of the freshly-killed victim, and he started drooling. "Mhh..."

"Go on, eat" Smoker smirked, letting himself fall back against the bed, carelessly, his tongue sliding out to lick Hunter's neck playfully. And even though he was distracted biting out chunks of flesh from the once-Survivor's body, Hunter still purred and tilted his head to the side. "By the way, you got a name?" the hazel-eyed Infected added, retracting his tongue, and Hunter had to pause for a second in his frenzied eating to think. He had had a name, right? Was he still able to use his name? He hadn't thought about it much since the Infection, worried about satisfying his new hungers and instincts, but he did remember stuff from when he was still a human. A name he thought he recognized as his own came to his mind, and he decided that one was as good as any other.

"I think it was Bret."

"You think, mh?" Smoker laughed softly. Yeah, he knew how hard it could be to remember stuff when you were constantly bugged by instincts telling you to sleep, eat, or mate – and he had been repressing that one rather well. He was a sucker for challenges. "Well, Bret's a cute name. You can call me Wade."

"Wade?" Bret turned to him as he licked the blood from his claws. "That's a weird name. Never heard it before!"

"You have now" Wade yawned, trying to push his unruly hair out of his face again. "Mhh, so tired... Little asshole was pretty though. He scratched my tongue rather badly while I choked him" the Smoker commented as he closed his eyes. "Shit hurt like fuck."

"Do you always curse that much?" Bret wondered, and Wade simply laughed, a clear, loud sound. "Anyway, do you think there's anything here that could help you with that?"

"Nah" Wade replied, sticking his tongue out, lifting it so he could look at the scratches on its wet, sticky surface. "I'll be fine..."

"Mh..." Bret smiled when he felt the tip of Wade's tongue caressing his cheek. He turned to him, and clearly saw one of the scratches on the long, reptilian tongue; and blushing, shyly, he licked it softly. Wade closed his eyes, moaning, the tip of his tongue twirling lightly. "Does that help?" the Hunter asked in a husky whisper, and Wade nodded, retracting his tongue as he motioned for Bret to come closer. The Hunter did, and the Smoker pulled him down on top of himself, locking his arms around Bret's somewhat slim waist, which didn't look that slim with the baggy hoodie on. Bret curled up against Wade's chest, feeling safe and calm. Maybe it wasn't that bad to depend on another Infected for survival. Maybe together they'd be stronger, once he was fully healed and ready to fight for his life again.

Maybe they were the present day married couple.

Wade placed a hand on Bret's cheek and kissed him, softly.

"I never thought I could share like this with another Infected" the taller one admitted when they broke apart. "But I really enjoy having you around, Bret..."

"I like being with you too" Bret replied, smiling, leaning in to kiss Wade again, allowing the Smoker's tongue to slip into his mouth. The taste was bitter, like swallowing a cloud of smoke; he guessed smoking cigarettes felt somewhat like that. Vaguely, he thought that maybe he would've liked smoking, if he had ever been allowed to taste it. Wade hugged him tighter, greenish-gray hands sliding under purple fabric, grazing rough, Infected skin. Bret mewled, arching his back, the kiss becoming more passionate and needy. "M-Mh... W-Wade..." Bret sighed. That name felt so right on his lips.

"Yeah?" Wade smiled lazily, moving his head to kiss the little skin exposed on Bret's throat. Bret tilted his head back a bit, wanting to lower his hood so Wade's lips could reach more; what?! He whimpered and pulled away just as Wade's hands were moving to remove the hood.

"S-Stop..." Bret pleaded, looking down at Wade apologetically, even though he couldn't know it. Wade made an undefined noise of complaint, but pulled away nonetheless, giving Bret a pleading look. "I'm sorry, but..." Bret smiled lightly. "No."

"Why?" the Smoker whined, and Bret almost changed his mind; but he forced himself to focus.

"J-Just... Don't. I-I don't like that..."

"It's unfair" Wade countered. "If I covered myself with a hood all the time, would you like that?"

"I'd respect that."

"C'mon" Wade chuckled. "I have seen you without it, remember? You're so beautiful... Why won't you let me?

"M-Mh... Later..." Bret muttered, and Wade seemed satisfied. He kissed Bret's lips one last time before sitting up, holding the smaller Infected on his lap.

"I wanna take a nap now" Wade said, kissing Bret's cheek apologetically over the fabric of the hood. "I'm sorry we hadn't spent much time together today, I promise we will later, mh?"

"Alright" Bret smiled, his arms wrapped around Wade's neck as he cuddled comfortably on his lap. "Mh… Want me to keep you company?"

Wade chuckled, patting Bret's thigh.

"It would be nice of you, but you'd get bored, buddy. Why don't you go out for a bit? It's a nice day outside, rather cloudy, the sunlight is soft. If you have any trouble, you know my name now. Screech for help, and I'll come, okay?"

"Okay!" Bret grinned, getting up from Wade's lap, excited by the perspective of finally going out again.

"Don't get too far away" Wade warned, lying down again and rolling onto his side as the Hunter ripped the cardboard off one of the windows and jumped down, disappearing into the city. "Damn…" the Smoker mumbled, closing his eyes. "Why did I tell him to go out? I won't be able to sleep worrying over him… Why do I…?" but before he could round up the idea, he was fast asleep.

Bret, on the other hand, was overjoyed, running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop, revelling in the marvellous changes his body had suffered from the Infection. True, he was ugly, his eyes were darker, his hair was greasy and long, his skin was rough and grey, and he had crazy instincts, which included hiding his face from everyone else and lusting after a particularly strong, intelligent Smoker that was able to protect and take care of him. Namely, Wade. But still, now he was much faster and agile, and he had those intimidating claws that kept away most of the common Infected.

He only hoped he wouldn't encounter any other horny Tanks wanting to mate him, that was for sure. He would make sure to screech loud enough for Wade to come in running and then choke them to a merciless, painful death. He smiled, the thought making him feel better already. Fear forgotten, he jumped down from the roof and walked across the street towards a deserted skating park. Graffities from before and after the Infection covered every wall and even part of the tracks. Bret sighed; the park looked very sad and lonely without any children playing or teenagers skating or dancing to hip-hop music. He had never been interested in any of those activities - maybe playing, when he was younger - but still, he missed seeing the gangs populating places like those. He wondered which kinds of Infected those people had turned into, or if they had survived the Infection and been eaten by other Infected. Maybe he had had one of them for breakfast that morning? The mere thought made him want to throw up, but he contained himself and walked into the park, looking around warily.

Suddenly, he stopped. The sound of someone humming a random tune caught his attention. Turning, he growled towards the general direction of the humming, crouching down, ready to pounce on whatever was coming towards him. Most certainly, another Infected; humans wouldn't be silly enough to walk around in broad daylight, across an open space such as a park. They'd be killed and eaten before they noticed.

It was then when he saw the thin figure leaning against a lamppost, humming and moving his head from side to side with the tune. Dirty, straight, lifeless blond hair fell over his shoulders, while a white straightjacket kept his arms secured around his body in a sinister embrace. He was crazy, yes, Bret thought; and he was also a Screamer, a very rare kind of Infected. The Hunter had never seen one of this kind before, and he didn't know how the Screamer could react upon being approached, so he tried to sneak away without being seen. Unfortunately, just as he was about to cross the street to leave the park, the Screamer noticed him, and he smiled a very large, scary grin.

"Hunter!"

Bret shivered and let out a faint screech as he turned around warily.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Come here?" the Screamer pouted. He must've been around fourteen, Bret thought as he approached him. The other Infected had childish features, and big blue eyes. He must've been a beautiful child when he was still human. "Look, I need help" the Screamer explained, getting up off the lamppost, turning around to show Bret the back of his straightjacket. "Could you please cut those bonds? It's starting to hurt, and I can't hunt anything like this. I'm starving!" the Screamer ended dramatically, and Bret shrugged.

"Uh, sure. Stay still…"

And a second later, the sleeves of the straightjacket had been ripped, and the Screamer rolled them up until his hands were visible again.

"Thanks" he grinned at Bret. "I'm Russell."

"Call me Bret" the Hunter replied, shaking Russell's hand. The Screamer looked surprisingly inoffensive; Bret wondered if he'd even be able to kill a human now that he was free of his restraints. It certainly didn't look like that. Poor Russell would starve to death unless he found someone like Wade, someone who could protect him. Until he finds that Infected, I'll take care of him, Bret decided. Wade had done that for him. Why wouldn't he do it for the Infected boy? "Don't worry, Russell, you're not alone anymore."

Russell gave him a puzzled look; and a second later, his features lit up with another insane grin, and he started running circles around Bret, squealing in glee.

"I got a friend, I got a friend, I got a friend, I got a friend…!"

"Russell…"

"I got a friend, I got a friend!"

"Russell! Keep quiet, you'll alert the Survivors!"

"I got a friend, I got a friend, I got a friend!"

"Ugh, stop!" Bret tried to pounce on the Screamer, but Russell danced out of his reach and giggled, in a very high-pitched, girly way.

"Tag, how fun!"

"We're not playing tag, you little freak!" Bret got up and attacked again, and Russell avoided him and ran off, letting out an obnoxious 'Wheeeee!'. "Damn it!" Bret growled, getting up on his four to chase after the mentally unstable Infected. "Now I know why the straightjacket!"

Russell was very fast. By the time Bret finally caught up with the squealing Screamer, the Hunter was out of breath. Russell, however, looked as fresh as ever.

"Oh, hi, Bret!" Russell grinned, stopping right in front of the panting Hunter. "Say, why are we running?" the Screamer asked, tilting his head to the side cutely, and Bret glared at him, wanting to rip that cute head off.

"Dunno. You were the one to run off in the first place!"

"Oh, I see" Russell put a finger to his own lips, thoughtfully. "Hum… I forgot! Well, doesn't matter. Were are we?"

Bret looked around, sniffing the air. He couldn't recognize that part of the city. The air was heavy and smelled of rain, and the clouds above them had become heavy and dark. Night had fallen at half past four in the afternoon.

"Far away from home" Bret whimpered. "Much farther than I should… Wade will kill me…"

"Who's Wade?"

"We have to get back."

"Is Wade your boyfriend?"

"Russell, we have to get back!" Bret screeched, grabbing Russell's wrist rather roughly, unknowingly scratching the Screamer's skin with his claws. Russell gasped loudly.

"Ah! You're hurting me!"

"Sorry" Bret rolled his eyes, releasing Russell's wrist. The Infected boy stepped back, whimpering.

"Y-You're not a friend…"

"What?" Bret looked around. He had the feeling there was something wrong… And he heard it. Crying. In a nearby alleyway. "Look, Russell, I'm really sorry, but we have to…"

"I-I'm not going anywhere with you" Russell whispered, stepping backwards. "You want to hurt me… Everyone always wants to hurt me… They tied me up so I would die…"

"Russell!" Bret pleaded, trying to screech without raising his voice, which proved almost impossible. "C'mon, we have to get out of here!" and he stepped towards the Screamer, grabbing his hand this time, carefully. "There's a---"

"LET GO OF ME!" Russell panicked, trying desperately to free himself. Bret held on, tugging on the Screamer's hand while hushing him.

"Shut up, you'll startle her!"

"Let go!"

"Russell, come---"

But Russell interrupted him by letting out a loud, ear-piercing scream.

"…Hm?"

The sobbing stopped, and Bret's breath became caught in his throat as he heard ferocious growls and footsteps coming his way. Russell, oblivious to this, stopped struggling and gripped Bret's hand too, blushing.

"Bret… It's not that I don't like this, but your boyfriend Wade will get jealous…"

But Bret didn't reply, too busy being horrified by the thin, long-haired figure walking towards them, showing fangs and claws and growling furiously.

"You startled the Witch!" the Hunter screeched, breathless, and Russell turned to the Infected woman as she approached them, ready to kill whomever had disturbed her peaceful mourning.

"Mommy?" Russell asked, his eyes shining, and Bret didn't think twice; he lifted the Screamer into his arms and ran off, closely chased by the angered Witch, the common Infected running out of the way, a few of them ending up caught in the Witch's rage. Bret was faster, but he was tired from his previous run, so he didn't know how much longer he could last. He thought about calling out for Wade's help, but he doubted the Smoker would hear him, let alone arrive in time to save them. He heard the Witch's growls and cries coming closer, and he couldn't help himself.

"Wade!" he screeched, as loudly as he could. The Screamer, who had been comfortably nestled into the Hunter's arms up to that point, was startled by this; and he glanced over Bret's shoulder to see the Witch's claws waving centimetres away from his face, and he cried in fear.

"Oh shit, it's a Witch!"

"Crap!" Bret screeched again, half frustrated and half scared to death. "Wade! Wade!" he kept calling as he ran, his legs starting to hurt from the strain. He knew Wade wouldn't listen, he couldn't. He was still too far away. On the other hand, Russell had decided calling for help was a great plan, so he followed the Hunter's example, letting out another piercing scream that echoed across the streets.

"WADE!"

For a second, an irrational, short second, Bret felt jealous. Why was Russell calling for his boyf--for Wade? But immediately, he realized what was happening and decided to take advantage of it.

"Keep calling, Russell! As loud as you can!"

"WADE! WADE, HELP US!"

And suddenly, a roar and a panting noise cut through the air, and Bret was forced to stop as the ground started trembling madly under his feet. He wanted to scream, but no sound came out; he clutched Russell tighter, trying to protect him, but nothing could protect them if that shaking meant what he thought it meant…

Dark images flashed through his mind as he heard the Tank approaching. Images of pain, fear, shame…

"Bret?" Russell looked up to him, grabbing his shoulders to shake him. "Bret, the Witch!"

Bret looked up, blinking the dark thoughts away. The Witch jumped up into the air, ready to land on them, when a big fist hit her mid-air and sent her flying back against the pavement. She didn't get up. Bret watched in amazement, not daring to turn around; he didn't want to see the Tank behind him, he couldn't face it again…

"Hi, Wade!" Russell grinned, leaning over the scared Hunter's shoulder, offering the puzzled Tank a hand. "I'm Russell!"

The Tank scratched his head, his short spiky black hair sticking out in every direction. Evidently, he'd never seen a Screamer before, either. That, or he was clueless as to why the Screamer had called him 'Wade'.

"Hum… I'm Danny" the Tank corrected finally, placing his finger in the Screamer's little hand. Russell shook it gleefully, inattentive of his mistake.

"Hi, Danny! Thanks so much for rescuing us!"

"No problem… Hum, I heard you calling for Wade?"

Bret, who'd been in shock up to then, shivered violently and turned around, unknowingly dumping Russell, who fell on his back and started waving his arms and legs like an insect.

"Help me!"

"You know Wade?" Bret faced the Tank, trembling madly, claws digging into his own palms, ignoring Russell's protests. Danny nodded, smiling despite the gesture being quite difficult to make due to his deformed jaw.

"Yeah. We were friends before the Infection, and we managed to meet again once we were both Infected. If ye' ask me, I'm glad he was Infected too! Wouldn't want to have 'im eaten by another Infected!"

"Bret is Wade's boyfriend!" Russell commented as he jumped to his feet rather gracefully. Bret didn't even ask; he was too busy blushing like mad and screeching at him.

"RUSSELL! You don't go around telling random people stuff like that!"

"Oh, was it a secret?"

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Hum… And how do you two know Wade?" Danny asked then, and Bret blushed lightly.

"I was… Hum, a-attacked by one of your k-kind, and… Wade rescued me, and took care of me because I was hurt."

"And I don't even know him!" Russell chimed in, grinning again in his typical insane way. "I heard Bret calling his name, but his voice isn't loud enough and… Well…" and Russell looked down, shy, blushing a bit. "Well, they don't call me Screamer for nothing, heheh…"

"You have a very nice voice" Danny complimented, and Bret nodded absentmindedly. Russell blushed more, and punched Danny's arm very lightly. It felt almost like a caress to the Tank.

"Oh, shut up! You're making me blush!"

"Heheh, you do have a beautiful voice…" Danny insisted, poking Russell's side playfully, almost pushing him to the ground again. Russell regained his balance and blushed even more, whining.

"Stoooooooooop…!"

"And you're cute, too!"

"Danny! Don't poke me!"

Meanwhile, Bret simply stood there, watching them with a slight smile. The scene was somewhat heart-warming… Russell was someone you could get used to once you got over the initial shock of him never making any sense at all. And Danny definitely wasn't the typical Tank. Maybe Wade wasn't the only 'different' Infected…

Although he was definitely his favourite.

"Bret!" he suddenly heard a raspy voice calling his name, followed by a violent fit of coughing. He looked around wildly, trying to locate the sound.

"Wade?"

Meanwhile, Russell was distracted from his playful arguing with Danny when he noticed the long, green-and-reddish tongue coming down from the top of a building to wrap itself around Bret's waist, without the Hunter noticing.

"Ohhhhh, cutie!" the Screamer giggled, and before Bret could ask what he meant, he was pulled, at surprising speed, up into the air and straight into Wade's arms. The Smoker's tongue was replaced by a pair of arms, and Bret placed both hands on Wade's chest, looking up at him. The taller Infected's hazel eyes looked golden under the setting sun, shining with relief upon having found his missing piece, his Hunter. His Bret.

"I heard the screaming" Wade whispered, not wanting to break the intense moment they were sharing. "I didn't know you could scream like that. It's sexy."

"It wasn't me" Bret sighed. Wade's eyes were so deep, warm and bright like fire. "It was Russell."

"Who's Russell?" Wade asked, narrowing his eyes and smiling lustfully. Bret's lips were parted, inviting, tempting…

"Does it matter?" the Hunter replied, before gripping Wade's shoulders, pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss. Wade's arms tightened around his waist, and Bret sighed in pleasure, one of his hands massaging the back of Wade's neck, the other moving up to remove his hood. The Smoker didn't miss his chance to run his fingers through Bret's shoulder-long black hair, pulling away to look at him in the eyes. They stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity, Wade's hand on Bret's cheek, and the Hunter's arms around the Smoker's neck. It was perfect.

"Aww…"

At the same time, both Infected turned, blushing madly, to see Russell staring at them, starry-eyed and grinning.

"That's just too cute, guys!"

"RUSSELL!" Bret screeched, quickly pulling his hood up again, and Wade simply chuckled, lifting the Hunter up into his arms and jumping down to the ground with ease.

"Hi, Russell. Hi, Lil' D."

"Lil' D?"

Both Russell and Bret turned to the Tank, who chuckled and ruffled Wade's wild hair with a big hand, making him bend down under the extra weight.

"Where exactly do you see the 'little' in him?" Bret asked Wade, ignoring with all his might Russell commenting "Maybe down there?" and openly staring at the Tank's crotch. He knew very well it wasn't 'down there'. Wade smiled up at Danny, who put a hand on the Smoker's back.

"Well, he wasn't this big when he was human" Wade explained. "I was even taller that him."

"Oh… It's good to know that" Russell replied, and Bret bit his tongue. Don't ask him why, you know you don't want to know, Hunter.

"So… You were the one to save them, D?" Wade asked Danny, and the Tank nodded lightly.

"Yep. Lil' guys here almost got mauled by the Bitch."

"Witch."

"Whatever!"

"Thank you, then" Wade grinned then, patting the Tank's shoulder. "I recommend you guys stay away from Bret. He attracts trouble."

Bret blushed and looked down, while Russell glared at him, apparently having forgotten the fact that he had been the one to cause all the trouble, and even startle the Witch.

"Now I know why he hangs out with ye', dawg!" Danny chuckled, giving Wade a playfully pat on the back that had the Smoker almost coughing his lugs out.

"C-Careful, man!"

"Dun' be a pussy, Wade, bro!"

"Wade, it's getting dark" Bret interrupted then, and the Smoker knew that, under the hood, his eyes were big and scared. He put an arm around the Hunter's waist, and gave Danny an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Danny, but I think we should get going."

"'S okay, buddy. T'was great to see ye' again. Ye' should drop by more often!"

"I will, I promise" Wade smiled.

Suddenly, they heard a sob, and immediately the three of them looked around, trying to locate the sound so they could avoid startling the Witch.

That was, of course, until they noticed it was Russell the one who was crying. Wade and Danny sighed in relief, and Bret freed himself from Wade's embrace to approach the distressed Screamer.

"Russell… Hey, little one, why are you crying? It's okay, we're safe now…"

"You mean YOU are safe!" the Screamed cried, pushing Bret away weakly. The Hunter didn't even move, and this only made Russell cry harder. "You guys will all go home and leave me alone now! I'm hungry and scared and I have nowhere to go! I don't even know where I am in the first place!!"

"B-But Russell…" Bret bit his lip. True, he hadn't planned on taking Russell to Wade's hideout; he had the feeling the Smoker would hate that. But he hadn't planned on leaving the Screamer alone and unprotected either. He was at a loss, and he turned to the two bigger Infected for help.

Russell looked up from his hands, and let out a small squeak when he found himself being lifted up into the air by two big hands. Danny sat the smaller Infected on his shoulders, and smiled up at him.

"Alright, lil' buddy, ye' earned a free trip aboard the D-mobile!" the Tank chuckled, and Russell looked down, blinking.

"Hey! I'm tall!" he squealed in delight, and started making engine noises as the Tank turned around and walked away.

"'Night, buddies."

"Goodnight, D."

"Bye, Danny, Russell!"

After Tank and Screamer disappeared around the corner, Wade and Bret exchanged a glance, smiling.

"I'm so glad we found Danny" Bret sighed. "I wouldn't want to leave Russell alone, but…"

"…You knew I didn't want him at home, yeah" Wade chuckled, and Bret giggled lightly.

"Why not? He's nice."

"Yeah. But having an entire house just for you and me is also nice. Especially when I know that you're about to give me what I've been waiting for" the Smoker replied, smugly, and Bret blushed madly and looked away, smiling shyly.

"Hum, y-yes, I think I'm ready."

And as soon as he said this, Wade took him into his arms again and carried him away again, towards their hideout.

Their home.