Chapter Text
There was a misting rain in the lowering gray light, and the brick against his back felt reassuringly solid right now. His arm ached from the vaccination rounds he'd gotten earlier, and that was oddly solid, too.
Everything else was vertigo.
He'd figured out early on that he didn't agree with whatever formulations Starfleet loaded their hypos with, but he'd rather walk through an antimatter stream than tell them, so now he just needed to get back to his barracks without passing out.
Could have, too, if not for a spanner in the works.
"Is it the flu? Should I call the doc?"
"No."
When he finally pried his eyes open, he found Corry watching him with worry written all over his face. It was unnerving; he barely knew the man, though he'd half-resigned himself to Corry hanging around, trying to engage in conversation or convince him to go drinking, all good-natured persistence. It was an endearing quality, but Scotty wasn't looking to make friends.
Still, he did need to defuse this before Corry got it in his head to call a doctor anyway. "I'm fine. Happens every time, trust me. Just need tae lay down, a'right?"
There was a long beat where Corry looked at him, then nodded. "Let me walk you there?"
"I dinna need any help."
"Maybe not," Corry said, with a worried half-smile. "But it'll make me feel better."
Scotty just sighed, closing his eyes. "Fine."
It was warm, and the desk lamp lit the room yellow.
Everything was quiet.
He'd figured out early on that just because he thought Scotty needed someone to take pity on him, that didn't make it the truth. The more he tagged along, the more Corry realized that the last thing Scotty was interested in was making friends.
They never made it to the barracks; Scotty was reeling too badly before they got far, so with worry gnawing on him, he just took Scotty back to his own dorm room. His roommate was gone for the weekend anyway. At least by then, Scotty wasn't exactly in the shape to put up a fight over it.
Corry still wasn't sure what to make of the wall of wariness he got, but he steamrolled past it anyway.
So, now he was sitting in his chair and Scotty was crashed on his bed, and he probably could have used the time to study, but he kept looking over, trying to make sense of things. Figure out what it was about this one that was so different. Surprised some by the depth of his own worry earlier, and the warmth of his affection now.
He shook his head to himself, got up, got an extra blanket from the closet and tossed it over his not-yet-friend, who was curled up as if cold. Sat back down. Thought about it.
When it finally clicked, he could only smile.
"I've got news for you, pal, but you're not a pebble, either."
Satisfied, Corry settled in for the long haul.