One way or another.

There was no way he’d come back here without Zarya. Maris could try to soothe him. But in the end, it wouldn’t be enough. Nothing would ease the agony Darling held inside himself now. No amount of words. No amount of alcohol.

Nothing.

And the sad thing was, he knew he’d die with him. He understood what drove Darling more than he wanted to.

Without Darling in his life, he had no reason to live either. He’d already lost his entire family. Every friend he’d stupidly thought he had. Friends who’d tormented and mocked Darling for being something he wasn’t while Maris had stood there and let them do it.

The guilt of his inaction would forever haunt him.

That won’t be much longer now…

And he didn’t mind at all. Zarya and Darling were the only ones who’d never judged him.

Darling, alone, had stood by him no matter what shit-storm ravaged him. He couldn’t bear the thought of getting up in the morning and not seeing or at least speaking to Darling.

“Dar!” he called as he finally saw him in the landing bay.

Halfway to his ship, Darling froze at the sound of Maris’s voice. Turning around, he frowned. Maris hated to run. He always had.

Yet he ran toward him as fast as he could.

“What are you doing, Mari?” he asked when Maris finally reached him.

Maris took a deep breath to slow his rapid breathing before he answered. “I’m going with.”

Darling shook his head. It was bad enough he’d lost Zarya, he wasn’t about to allow Maris to throw his life away, too. “No, you’re not. You’re staying here.”

Defiance glared at him through those dark eyes. “Oh hell no, I’m not. And you can’t stop me.”

That was debatable, but he didn’t want to fight with his best friend. He wanted to save his venom for the ones who deserved to die for their actions. “You don’t understand, Mari.”

“Yes, Darling, I do,” he said emphatically. “I get it completely.” His gaze steady and harsh, he put his hands on Darling’s shoulders. “Through thick and thin, we’re brothers to the bitter end. And if you’re going to hell, buddy, I’m driving the bus.”

Those sincere words touched him so deeply that they burned all the way to his soul. Finally, Darling felt the tears stinging his eyes. “I can’t let you do this. I won’t kill you, too.”

“You didn’t kill Zarya, and you have no choice.” Maris pulled his arms away and pointed to the embroidery on the sleeve of his burgundy battlesuit. “Hello? Decorated war hero. I’m every bit as well trained as you are, and I trained longer. So move your skinny ass out of my way so that I can get to my ship and show you how it’s done.”

Darling didn’t buy in to that arrogance for even a heartbeat. And he wasn’t going to watch Maris die. Not today. “I’m serious, Maris. Stand down.”