The bathrooms were empty, and it was easy to see why. A lone light flickered in the men's bathroom, and the doors were more likely to have a broken lock on them than a functioning one. He would hear voices as he approached. If he looked, he would be able to see Poppy surrounded by three men. She had a wary look in her eye, like a wounded wolf trying to escape a hunter. "Come on, baby," he would hear one of them say. "Come with us." "Stay away from me," she said, backing away slowly. Her voice sounded calm, but Francis would be able to detect the undercurrent of panic in her voice.
He tensed immediately, finding the source of the sound. "Get away from her," he said, upon approaching. "Get the hell away."
Poppy turned quickly to look at him, and she exhaled a sigh of relief. He was here. He was here. It would be okay. One of them turned to Francis with a raised eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
He punched the man in front of him without question. "She's not yours," he said, his voice a growl. "So step the *squee!* off."
The man stumbled, and his nose began bleeding. "I think you broke my nose!" he exclaimed, half shocked and half angry.
"Do you think I care?" he asked angrily, standing over him before kicking his side aggressively. "You disgust me."
The other two looked at each other and bolted, and the man on the ground tried to hit Francis, sitting up slightly.
Francis easily dodged the attempt, but then knelt on the ground above the man, much like he did for when he fought Evan. His eyes were narrow and lost as he punched the man again, using his other hand to pin him to the ground by his neck.
Poppy came up behind him and pulled on his shoulders. Her hands were trembling, and she was taking deep, shaky breaths. "Francis, stop now! Come on, stop!"
He shoved her away in his adrenaline-filled rage, maybe a little harder than he intended. "Get back!"
She hit the brick wall of the bathroom and gasped with a whimper as shots of pain flew through her body. She slid down the wall and watched him, her eyes widening with fear.
He stopped immediately, his grip loosening on the man as he turned around, looking at Poppy with a concerned face. He slowly let him go, letting his arms drop as he scooted over to Poppy, although not getting close. "D-Did I do that?"
"It's.... It's fine," she gasped, trying to get her breath back. The impact combined with the pain had knocked all the air out of her, and she had a hand to her side, shifting uncomfortably as she tried to make the pain go away. "It's okay...."
"It's- It's... It's not okay. That wasn't okay." His voice was a bit shaky, and we just wanted to help her and hold her, but he refrained, looking at her with worry. "I'm sorry."
"Don't...ah... Don't apologize," she said, wincing slightly as a fresh shot of pain went through her body. "It was an accident."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said, not paying attention to her words. He seemed to be panicking slightly. "I shouldn't have.. I didn't mean... We- We should just go back to the ship."
She stood up, her hands resting protectively over her side. "Yeah, okay," she said quietly. "Let's go."
