#fuck whats the biological sector at black mesa

[ohnoitsz1m]

Happy pride

Behold my beautiful wife Gordon Freeman and oh my god the colors are so dull on my phone what the fuck

Anyways transfem Gordon swag 👍 we can have a little transition. As a treat.

[bellygunnr]

Barney plays Chulip

a commission piece for the wonderful @pharonochs  check’em out, they’re lovely

They were lucky enough this morning to meet up at the receptionist’s desk of Sector C. Barney holds Gordon’s face within his hands, pushing onto his tiptoes to press a chaste kiss to his forehead.

“You gonna be okay, babe? You said your hands were givin’ ya trouble.”

Gordon nods, smiling. “Don’t worry. Have a good day at work, love.”

As they go their separate ways, Barney gets an alert on his pager. Security Officer Calhoun, please investigate an unauthorized biological signature in Sector C break room.

Barney furrows his brows, but goes to do just that.

When Barney enters the break room, he sees… Gordon. Or someone who looks very much like his dear boyfriend, Gordon, but clearly isn’t because of the loud voice they’re using. They’re pacing back and forth, hands flailing-- is that one metal?-- while talking to themselves.

Barney raps his knuckles against a vending machine glass. “You uh… you good here, boss?”

The man sputters. “What-- what, you gonna tell me I’m not supposed to be here? Listen up, pal, I’ve been here long enough and if I have to do this shit again-!”

He abruptly slows, shaking his head. “So- sorry, man. My name’s uh… Gordon Freeman. You’re…?”

Barney rubs the back of his neck. Fuck. Okay.

“Barney,” he says, in lieu of panicking. “S’gonna be alright.”

For some reason, Barney approaches the man, arms spread for a hug. He just looked so worried and panicked…

To his surprise, Gordon falls into his arms, sinking into him with a tired whine. Barney tilts his head back, kissing his temple.

Before either of them can say anything, Gordon vanishes in a bright green light.

-

The second investigation request comes far too soon after the first. It leaves Barney blushing and disoriented as he half-sprints down the halls, drawing bewildered glances from coworkers and science team alike. What was he in such a hurry about, they have to be wondering.

Well, Barney would sure as hell like to know that too. Last time, it was his boyfriend, just a little bit to the left. Or the right. Wait, was that crying he heard?

He slows down, heart rate up a bit, straining to listen. Muffled sounds were coming from just down the hall-- behind this closed door? Huh, who knew Black Mesa had maintenance closets… With a tentative hand, he twists the door’s handle, opening it just slightly.

The light reveals-- a man. A large man. One hunched over, shoulders shaking, definitely crying.

“Hey… hey buddy, you alright?” Barney asks, eyes wide.

The man looks up. His face is bloodied, eyes damp with tears, with short cropped hair and a messy goatee. Most damnably, he’s wearing an HEV suit-- with-- are those bullet holes?

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” the man says immediately.

“I’m here to help!” Barney exclaims, taken aback. “Let me guess-- Black Mesa went to shit n’ all for you, right? Gordon?”

It was a bit of a shot in the dark, but…

“How the fuck do-- Barney Calhoun… Fucker, I thought you died!”

With that, the man heaves himself to his feet, lunging for him. He wraps an armoured arm around Barney’s shoulders and hauls him in, knuckles digging into his scalp. Barney makes a choking noise, breath knocked out of him.

“You wild son of a bitch, knew you had it in you. Where the fuck am I?” Gordon asks, laughing. His voice is deep and rough, a far contrast to his own (silent) and the Freeman (sad).

“You’re in a closet,” Barney says stupidly, looking up at him. Damn, he was huge!

“Haven’t been in the closet for years, dude,” Gordon replies, shaking his head. As if to prove it, he leans down and gives Barney a kiss on the mouth.

It’s a bit gross, but Barney leans into it-- yet as quickly as it started, it ended. Gordon vanished in a burst of green.

-

“Security Officer Calhoun, please investigate…”

Another call for an “unauthorized” life form. Barney rubs the back of his neck, skin still flushed from the last incidents. The kisses were nice. Gordon was nice. In all forms.

The light in the hall suddenly blinks. Barney freezes, looking around, whirling around at a shadow in the corner of his eye. He looks up and--

“Gordon,” he breathes, because what else could they be? A tall man clinging to the ceiling, clad in a battered HEV suit, piercing green eyes. Weird tentacle hair, but…

“Barn?”

The voice reverberates off the halls. With a whistle, Gordon jumps down, crouching in front of Barney. His hair writhes, lifting the guard into the air.

“I love you,” Gordon says, voice vibrating.

The kiss is ice cold, full of sharp teeth, but it leaves Barney feeling warm.

[confusedunit]

Universe of Unreality - Chapter 9

Chapter 9 -  "We're in this together."

Dr. Freeman dreams. The Science Team make a plan. Bubby talks with Tommy. Gordon doesn't say goodbye.

While Dr. Freeman sleeps, he dreams of falling.

Over and over again, he falls, before returning to where he was just standing. He's somewhere that's vividly familiar, but indistinct, blurry as if he lost his glasses. It's bright, he thinks, reaching out to things he cannot touch, hands just missing as he tries.

He's trying to move somewhere else, somewhere that's almost within reach, if he can just make a few jumps. He hears the sound of splashing water, grass blowing in the wind. The ground squishes under his shoes like mud. He needs to get over there. He's not supposed to be here.

"Help!" He cries out, as he leaps and falls again. He stumbles as he returns to his previous spot. "Someone, please!"

A musical sound plays from over the nearby mountain, and as he turns he sees a large figure slowly loom over both the mountain and himself. The song gets louder, and something large and bright heads right for him-

...

Dr. Freeman startled awake, as the song from his dream kept ringing in his ears. Where was he? He glanced around quickly, relaxing as some things came back to him. He was in Black Mesa. There had been an accident. He had his team, his Science Team, by his side.

Quite literally, in that moment. At some point during the night, Bubby and Tommy had joined Dr. Coomer and himself in the corner of the room, turning their resting huddle into a cuddle pile. Bubby was pressed up against Dr. Coomer's right side, head on his shoulder, both his arms tightly wrapped around his one. Meanwhile Tommy had leaned against the wall next to Dr. Freeman, sides lightly touching each other.

He realized slowly that the song was still ringing in his ears because it was still being sung, by the alien pretending to read across the room. Benry flipped through the pages of his paperback, but wasn't even really looking at the words. It looked more like he was zoned out, flipping the pages out of habit as bubble-like orbs poured from his lips. They were all shades of blue, and felt comforting even just to watch and hear.

Benry blinked once, looking over to Dr. Freeman. "oh. sleepman's awake. it's like...4am bro. gotta get that snooze cruise goin back to sea."

"You're singing." The words are slurred with sleep, but they fall out of his mouth before his brain decides to think.

"...yeah and?"

"It's beautiful."

"...." Benry glanced away for a moment. "...thanks." He quickly looked back. "...let benry help you please?"

"Sure." He smiled sluggishly. "How...how d'you wanna...?"

Benry closed the book, and quietly made his way across the room to sit right in front of him. "song, uh...helps. can i help you? please?"

He nodded. "...Yeah. Thanks, Benry."

Benry shifted from side to side, before he closed his eyes and started to sing.

The first orbs that came were that same blue, and as they circled and bumped against Dr. Freeman he felt himself relax, let go of tension he didn't even know he was holding. Next came the gradient bubbles, some sort of blueish color to a green. He remembered that the colors meant something, but in that moment he couldn't remember any translations. "...Blue..."

The singing stopped. "blue, uh...tommy'd translate it as, uhm. 'blue like at dawn, means feel calm'. it's...not quite right, but translating colors to lame human language doesn't work so smooth."

He laughed. "And the...bluegreen? ...Teal. Teal to green?"

"healing beam. that one works clear." The singing started again.

He slowly blinked. "...You're healing me?"

He nodded.

"...Thank you."

The singing didn't stop this time, but he did smile, a single bubble of yellow floating up from his mouth.

He closed his eyes again, letting the song carry him back to sleep.

...

When Dr. Freeman woke up a few hours later, his head felt the clearest it had in days. He could think, focus, he didn't feel like he was pushing through a fog anymore. He still hurt, and he imagined that would remain, but to have his mind back in crystal clarity...that alone set him more at ease.

He looked around, smiling as he saw the rest of his group up and moving about. He cleared his throat. "Can, uh...we have a Team meeting?" He smiled wider. "Benry included. You're part of the Science Team now, bud."

The others returned, sitting in a circle on the floor.

"Good morning, G- Dr. Freeman! You seem to be in good spirits!" Dr. Coomer grinned, knee bouncing until Bubby rested his hand on it.

"I am. I feel a lot better now, actually. Which kinda brings me to why we need to have a meeting." He took off his glasses, trying to clean the dust off of them.

"Here, Mr. Freeman! I'll do it!"

"Thank you, Tommy." He handed the glasses over. "So...everything's gone to hell here. Sector C is in trouble, and who knows the state of the other sectors. So." He ran a hand through his hair. "...What's the plan?"

"We need to get to Biological Research." Bubby spoke, adjusting his own glasses. "There's information there that is vital for Dr. Coomer and I to obtain, before we leave this goddamn place."

"Okay, Biological Research department. Where is that?"

"It's...on the other side of the facility."

"But!" Dr. Coomer grinned again. "If we can make it topside, maybe we could travel above ground to get there! That would shave off hours of time!"

"Alright!" He pumped his fist in the air. "That sounds like the start of a plan to me. Any other stops we need to make?"

"U-uhm," Tommy held out the glasses. "My dad needs us to- to get to-

"we gotta get to lambda, bro." Benry spoke up. He looked antsy. "it's important. gotta go. mandatory field trip."

Tommy gave the other alien a look, eyes glowing lightly as they flipped through a few colors.

Benry sang out a few colored orbs in response.

The other three sort of looked between each other, not knowing if it was a good idea to interrupt.

Tommy finally sighed, eyes returning to their non-glowing yellow. "We're- we're talking about this, later."

"yeah. sure. whatever, bro." Benry shoved his hands into his pockets. "whatever."

"...So...is that a yes, on the-"

"Yeah, Mr. Freeman. We gotta- gotta go to the Lambda Complex!"

"Okay. In that case, I have a question."

"Go for it, Dr. Freeman. We're all ears!" Dr. Coomer nodded.

"Does anyone know where we can find a non broken laptop?" He pushed on before the others confusion could grow too much. "I've got, well...okay, this sounds crazy as hell, but trust me, okay? I think I know how to shut down the anti-mass spectrometer, but I need a laptop to be able to do it. It needs to have two consoles in the main room, and...and the bottom one is busted. So we need a laptop that we can hook up where the console was."

Bubby's eyebrows raised. "You want to shut it down?"

"I mean, we gotta, right? That should stop all the hostile creatures from teleporting in, and should stop the place from shaking itself apart. Then, hopefully...more people can get out of here. We can all evacuate and get the hell out of dodge."

"But- but Lambda is all the way across, even further than Biological Research!" Tommy wrung his hands. "How...how are we gonna get back?"

He thought for a moment, before it hit him. He grinned. "The tram! I remember reading on the walls, the tram map. There's a tram line that runs directly from Lambda to Sector C! I always wondered why the hell the reactor complex had a direct link to Anomalous Materials," He noticed Tommy's flinch, but didn't say anything. "but now that just works in our favor!"

"And if the trams are still out, genius?"

He looked over. "Then we'll adjust the plan accordingly. Right now, this is what we've got, Bubby."

"Darnold has a laptop." Dr. Coomer spoke up, his tone lower than usual. "He may be able to assist."

"Darnold? Who's Darnold?"

"He's, uh- a friend, Mr. Freeman! He's in the- the old Cybernetics lab, right by Lambda!"

He clapped his hands together. "Perfect! Then we'll make our way topside to get to Biological Research, cover ground on foot to get to Cybernetics, head through the facility to the Lambda Complex, and then catch the tram back to Sector C and fight our way back to Anomalous Materials to stop the apocalypse!"

"You make it sound so easy. You know it's going to be hell out there, right?"

"Yeah, Bubby, I know. But this is what we can do." He gave a nervous smile. "...If you're all down for that?"

"Oh fuck yeah, I'm not leaving you behind."

"We can do this together, Dr. Freeman!"

"Nothing- nothing will stop us, working together!"

"sounds like a plan, bro."

Dr. Freeman smiled, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "Then let's get the hell out of here."

-

Tommy sighed, rubbing at his temples. Progress had been so good...until the personnel tram that almost threw Dr. Freeman into the toxic waste, and encountering more toxic waste, which had led to finding the entrance to the reactor, and...

"We're not fucking going in there! Dr. Coomer, listen to me- I have a hazard suit, right? Even if I had my damn helmet, if I went in there? I'd die! Radiation would cook me to crisp! Let alone you all, who don't have any protection!"

"i don't know if that's what rads do, man."

"Dr. Freeman, I literally cannot explain to you why, but we really do need to get into that elevator and go up."

"Well, Dr. Coomer, I like you guys too much to fry you to death!"

God, he was so tired, and they'd just started. He'd moved back away from the others, to try to get some distance from the yelling. He knew he could just convince Dr. Freeman that it was fine, but he really just wanted to sit down. He needed-

"Here. Looks like you need it."

He looked up, surprised to see Bubby standing in front of him, holding out a can of Sprite. He gladly took it, cracking it open and taking a sip. "...Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He sat down in front of him. "I'm well aware of the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal, though yours seems more severe of a dependency, to already be hitting you."

"Alien genetics." He shrugged. "Curse humans and their...their addictive substances, right?"

He laughed. "Yeah. Humans fucking suck." He smiled a bit. "Coffee's still good though."

"Always preferred soda. Coffee's so- so bitter."

"Yeah, I get that."

They sat quietly for a while, as the other three talked in the distance.

"...Tommy."

He knew this was coming. "Hey, Bubby."

"I'm not...I'm not gonna ask about tests. It doesn't really matter, and I know you'll probably tell us later. So..." He looked up at him. "...What's the plan at Lambda?"

"...Well, you remember the portal, last time?"

"Yeah. How can I forget?"

"Well, my- my dad said he should have a way to get us out of here by the time we...we reach Lambda. Or at least, have an idea."

His eyes widened. "So we need to get to Lambda to meet up with your dad."

"Basically? I think? I don't...entirely know his plan." He finished the soda, setting the can next to him. "My turn."

"Oh shit."

"Why do you need to get to Biological Research?"

Bubby looked away, before taking off his glasses to rub at his eyes. "...They did something to Harold. He can't...when he tries to remember certain things, it causes him pain. I want to find his records, and figure out what the hell they did to him. And figure out a way to undo it."

Tommy's eyes widened. "That's why he- he can't..."

"Process what we're saying about reality, yeah. I think so, at least. Not one hundred percent sure, but...it lines up at the moment."

"So why Bio?"

"That's where they did the cloning work. That's why I got to see him so much."

Tommy nodded. "...Okay. I'll do whatever I can to help Dr. Coomer be okay again.”

Bubby slid his glasses back into place. "And in return, I'll do whatever I need to once we meet up with your dad."

The two smiled at each other, before a yell echoed through the hall.

"Benrey!! I swear to god if you jump in that shit- BENREY!"

They scrambled to their feet, running back down the hall.

-

Gordon woke slowly, feeling groggy, as he often did when he fell asleep on the couch during a movie. He smiled though, as he looked down at Joshua, who was curled up on his chest fast asleep.

Joshua was always clingy, that was sort of something Gordon had gotten used to by then. Even at a young age, Joshie would cry and panic if Gordon was running late from class, if he took too long to come home. Separation anxiety, his doctor had called it. It was why he'd stayed with Gordon, when their dad had moved.

It was also a bit part of why he hadn't been over to see his mother in months. Joshua hadn't had a flareup like that since Gordon lost his arm, but out of nowhere a nightmare had hit the young kid, and he'd been petrified for the rest of the day. It ended up working out, as that was the day that friend of a friend had come to Gordon's house to give him the laptop and the game disk, even if it had taken him weeks to finally get to playing around with it. Joshua had taken priority. He always did, in Gordon's life.

He sighed quietly, before gently nudging him. "Hey, Joshie. Gotta wake up, bud."

Joshua whined, but woke up, sliding off the couch as he yawned. "Sleepy..."

"I know. Go get teeth brushed and dressed, okay? I think your mom's gonna take you out for breakfast." He slowly sat up, wincing as he rubbed at his right arm. He'd forgotten to take off the prosthetic that night, and it ached.

"...Will you come to breakfast?"

"I'm sorry, buddy, I can't. It's a mom and you breakfast, like when you usually see her." He gently ruffled his hair. "But I'll give you a big hug before you go."

They parted ways to get dressed, and after Gordon was ready he set a coffee to brew. As Joshua came out of his room, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Joshua called, scampering down the hall to open the door. He laughed. "Mama!"

"Oh, Josh, look at how big you've grown!" She lifted him into her arms, laughing as well. "My baby boy..."

Internally, Gordon winced. He was glad that Joshua could have interactions with his mom, he just wished...well, he wished for a lot of things. He walked over. "Hey, Cassie."

"Oh, hello Mr. Dyson." She gave him a look.

He didn't rise to the bait. "Gordon."

"Right, Gordon. Of course." She immediately returned to ignoring him, setting Joshua down. "You ready to go, Josh?"

"I...yeah." He picked up his backpack, his old stuffed dog poking out of the top of it. The fur was orange, except for one leg, which had been torn years ago and was now replaced with a green limb instead. He called it his 'Gordie', and always felt more comfortable when he had to be away if he could have the plushie with him. Gordon took gentle care when repairing it, always.

"Hey, Joshie." He smiled, as the young boy turned. "Here, gimme a hug."

Joshua ran up, hugging him tightly.

He hugged him back just as tight. "It'll just be a week until you see me, okay? But I hope you have fun with Cassie." He gently set him down. "Ready to go, partner?"

He shook his head hard. "No-"

"Josh, we do need to get going...we're going to have a nice breakfast, and go out today!" Cassie grinned, though to Gordon it felt harsh.

"Hey, Joshie, look at me." He held out his hands, smiling as his brother took them. "You're gonna be fine. And I'm gonna be fine too. I hope you have a lot of fun, and I'll see you next week."

"...Okay..."

"Joshua?" He smiled a bit more. "I'm not saying goodbye. I'm just saying 'see you soon'."

Joshua relaxed a bit, at the familiar phrase. "Not saying goodbye, just 'see you soon'."

"Have fun, buddy." He stood up. "And you can tell me all about it when you get home!"

"Okay! See you soon!" He waved, as he walked out of the house.

"See you soon, Joshua." He waved, before slowly shutting the door.