Chapter Text
He was poison…literally.
He was toxic towards Jen.He was the venom that killed his own mother.Killed Tayvon, nearly killed Anissa and very nearly killed Jen too.
Toxic…that’s all Khalil was.
The ASA was right to deprive him of the comfort of touch-he didn’t deserve it .But after months of no skin contact, he was hungry for it.
He remembered his mother,the warm hugs she used to give and the softness of her hands when she patted his cheek.Stolen kisses with Jen.and Mr P’s reassuring grip on his bare shoulder after a good run.
All that was gone now, and to think he’d once thought he’d lost it all when he didn’t have use of his legs.
Going back to the train car wasn’t a smart move, but it was all he had.If the Pierces came looking for him there,he’d hide and ignore them.If the ASA came he’d put up a fight,if only to insure that they had no other choice but to kill him-for good this time.
A discarded chip bag rustled,and Khalil turned his head to it,watching as a small black spider made its way out.
He caught sight of a blood red underbelly,and the part of him that was more machine than man began rattling out facts.Going from the scientific name to the amount of venom needed to kill a hundred men.
Black widow spider,the part of him that wasn’t a machine whispered and he went with that.Watching the creature slowly approach-it was going to touch him-then it was going to die.A large number of mosquitoes had met a similar end over the days, and on one particularly awful day,it had been a blue butterfly(not nearly as painful as his mother’s death,but seeing the blue wings flutter helplessly before going still had been terrible).
The spider clambered up his hand, and he hated himself a little bit for enjoying the contact,only a few months into not touching and he was killing insects for a bit of affection.
He held his breath,feeling the feather light touch of the multiple legs and waiting for it all to stop,for him to get off the floor and pick up the tiny body.
Only,the moment never came.
The little creature kept moving,making its way up his uncovered arm, unbothered by the green poison snaking its way up the spider’s hair thin legs.He sat up so fast,the spider lost its perch, he caught it in the palm of his hand,careful not to crush it.
“Hey,girl”After so long keeping quiet,the sound of his own voice startled him, and he cleared his throat,trying to get rid of the gravel there.He watched the spider move around on his palm before starting its upward track again,settling behind his ear.Tiny vibration going through the shell of his ear as the little creature,still very much alive, got comfortable.
Oh.