Work Text:
Lampert and Infected stood in the elevator, alone with each other. Lampert made sure to stay on the other end away from Infected, avoiding any and all eye contact.
Meanwhile Infected sneezed over and over, wiping it all away with the back of his palm.
Disgusting. That was all Lampert could think. And even now, that very thought surprised him. That’s his best friend—no. That was his best friend. At one point, Infected was still Kasper.
A person he cared for, a person who cared back.
Someone that Lampert would even say he loved.
He glanced over at the lanky and pale-skinned figure. Just to notice how those dull pinkish-brown eyes stared at him, not in a hostile way. But a blank way. Lampert shifted under the loopy gaze of the other, fiddling with his fingers.
The awkward silence was deafening and only getting worse as nobody new got on and neither of the two got off of the elevator even with all the interesting floors they’d come upon.
The silence was broken after another sneeze from Infected, in which Lampert responded to.
"..Cover your mouth, it’s the bare minimum that you could do."
His tone was relatively blunt, eyes narrowing with each word.
"WhY sh0uLD 1 D0 th47?
He asked, not in an aggressive manner, but just a genuinely curious one. As if he genuinely didn’t remember manners, which in all honesty he probably didn’t.
" It prevents the spread of your… Germs."
He cocked his head to the side, as if Lampert’s words genuinely perplexed him, and were beyond comprehension.
Infected blinked slowly as he looked at the lamp in the eyes.
But then he went straight back to his own little world. Just staring blankly at the elevator ceiling.
Lampert’s small frown deepened as the elevator plummeted back into a calm silence. Subconsciously looking the other man up and down, scanning every difference that he’s likely noticed before.
The overly disheveled clothing, the lack of all basic manners, the way he dressed now, and the deep cuts and scars all over his arms.
So different, so unlike Kasper. It made his heart ache with longing for the past.
Damn that virus. It took him away and replaced him with someone who Lampert swore could never be him.
…
He missed him. So much.
Sometimes he wished that this was all a dream. Well—a nightmare. And that he’d wake up, just to later tell Kasper about how stupid it all really was.
However, he understood that scenario would never happen. That this was reality and Kasper was gone. Probably for forever.
Kasper was probably gonna be Infected until the end. After all, he didn’t want help for himself, he didn’t want no cure.
Infected was zoned out, probably thinking about his apartment, Poptart and how much he wonders where she is, and that rectangle that when you look at—you feel as if your eyes are going to melt.
Breaking out of his daydreaming, he looked over at Lampert. Something was always familiar about him, but whatever. Likely Deja Vu. He didn’t care very much. Lampert didn’t even seem to like him. Not at all.
He wiped the pink-snotty substance spilling from his nose, smearing it on his hand and around his face. Not giving it a second thought.
Infected looked around the elevator, specifically at the buttons. Chewing on his cheek as he did so.
Eventually his eyes met Lampert’s own. Lampert’s expression turned somewhat bitter as Infected just waved weakly with that wonky grin.
Just to get ignored by the lamp infront of him. The sickly individual stopped waving, embarrassed by that small interaction.
He tapped his foot against the floor, sniffing to keep his nose from running too much.
A few minutes later, Lampert got off of the elevator. Leaving Infected alone with his thoughts.
And after that, Infected got off and eventually made his way back to his apartment.
Lampert sat against the pillar at his base, the one that held it up ( duh )
He looked back on all the memories of he and Kasper.
The good and bad. The sad and funny. All of them.
When they first met, that time when Kasper fell from his base. The times they went bowling. Oh, and the time he broke that TV screen at the bowling alley.
He chuckled quietly at the memories.
But as he reminisced about the past. He realized a few things. He remembered Kasper, of course. But his face. He couldn’t remember. His voice was fading out of those memories, only the words he spoke stayed, but all he could hear now is that distorted jumble called ‘Infected’s voice’.
And he had no photos that included Kasper’s face. All of them just happened to narrowly miss his face—or it was covered.
Well. Shit.
What did he look like before all of this? Without the paleness, without how sunken his eyes looked, the unkemptness of himself.
He couldn’t remember.
Lampert was slowly forgetting his face. Kasper’s face. Kasper’s everything maybe.
It hurt. He felt hurt.
He didn’t wanna deal with the sudden wave of emotions at the realization. So he just got up, tossed himself into bed. And decided to sleep it off. Maybe he’d feel better in the morning.
Meanwhile Infected just sat in his chair at his desk, blinking slowly and feeling as if death himself just visited and cursed him. He was used to that feeling though. He slumped over his desk, posture horrible as always.
He scrolled through photos he had. Giggling at random memes he had saved within the past few months. But he found a strange photo.
One that included Lampert. And some guy in a red jacket. One who looked similarly to him. But it couldn’t be him. He’s never hung out with that guy.
"HMm.. 1dK why I h4v3 th15.. WE1RD!!! O_o"
He thought about the photo for a second.
"1’lL ju5T d3le7tE 1t. :/"
He wiped his nose before he moved his cursor to click the photo, but he hesitated. Something about it was familiar. More deja vu.
…
‘It’s fine.’ he thought as he hit the delete button.
That photo had him feeling weirdly confused.
Infected pushed his chair out and got up. Heading over to his couch and flopping over and laying on his back. Rubbing his eyes before closing them for the night.
Ready for sleep to take him. Shockingly.