10kwannabe

[10kwannabe]

Billy Maximoff added top surgery scars

[10kwannabe]

I'm never detailing his crown for a sketch again lol I'm not that patient 😭🙏

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[10kwannabe]

hi!!! getting back into my stranger things phase. is there anyone looking for friends to chat about billy hargrove & the metalsandwich / billy x steve x eddie ship?

feel free to like this post and i'll reach out! or just send me a message!!

[10kwannabe]

Hole talk

For the @metalsandwichbingo, square C1, prompt "Stuck". Rating: General (I think), 6,7K.

Summary:

Billy, Steve and Eddie fall down a magical hole, and talk about stuff. Yup, that's the fic.

(On AO3 here)

”How the hell do we always end up in these situations?” Billy said, kicking angrily at the stone of the walls around them. The stone walls between which they’d been trapped for half an hour now, since they were swallowed by a hole in the forest floor while checking out some weird markings on some trees that someone had discovered and started spreading rumors about. After they’d dusted themselves off and made sure there were no broken bones, they discovered three things in quick succession: that the hole above had almost grown over with foliage once more which only let in a tiny amount of light, that there were some strange vaguely glowing markings on one of the walls, and that there didn’t seem to be a way out.

“Bad luck?” Steve suggested while feeling along the walls for the fourth time, looking for something he’d missed on the first three rounds.

“Luck has nothing to do with it,” Billy grumbled, glaring at the opening above them. “It’s this fucking place. Hawkins fucking sucks, guys, I’ve been telling you –“

“Yeah, and you never shut up about it,” Steve mumbled, as if Billy wouldn’t hear him in the enclosed space they were in.

“Guys,” Eddie said from where he was running his fingers over the markings on the stone. “No fighting.”

None of them acknowledged him, but instead of continuing their argument they both turned their attention to where he was trying to get a good look at the symbols etched into the wall. “Have you figured out what those mean, yet?”

Eddie made a face. “No, but I’m pretty sure Steve was right when he said it’s some kind of magic.”

Steve turned to Billy with a smug smile, while Billy threw his head back and groaned long and loud.  “Fucking magic? This fucking place, I swear – isn’t it enough with monsters and Russians and human experiments and alternate dimensions?”

“Hey now,” Steve said, trying to placate him. “You can’t just lump magic in with all that stuff, magic can be used for good –“

“Oh shut the fuck up, just ‘cause your grandma was a witch –“

“Hey!”

“Guys,” Eddie tried to interject, but again he was ignored.

“What? You just told us she was, like ten minutes ago!”

“I said she used to dabble in magic. We don’t say ‘witch’, that’s … offensive.”

“Oh yeah?” Billy said, walking up to him and getting too close. “How about bitch then? That a term you can relate to?”

“Guys!” Eddie tried again, and when Steve gave Billy a shove so he stumbled back and Billy made to retaliate, he got between the two of them and put a hand on each of their chests to keep them separated. “Goddammit, this isn’t helping. Why are you like this? If this thing is magic –“ He motioned to the space they were in and the vaguely glowing symbols on the wall, “– and I mean, it sure seems like it, then we need to work together. Fighting won’t get us out of here, okay? So just …” He gave them both a little shove so they took a step back. “Keep it in your pants, yeah? You can pound each other into the dust – or just pound each other – when we’re out of here.”

“And just how do we get out of here, oh wise one?” Billy said, sarcastically.

“Well, we obviously can’t climb,” Eddie said, managing to not look pointedly at either of the other two, who had spent the first ten minutes of their captivity trying to scale the walls and had nothing but scraped hands and knees to show for their efforts.

“’We’, he says,” Billy muttered. “I didn’t see you try.”

“Oh, like I would have succeeded where you two failed?” Eddie said. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly the athletic type. You’re the jocks here, okay, so you’re the brawn in this scenario.”

“That would make you the brains,” Billy said with a smile that was more a show of teeth than an expression of joy. “So brain us out of here, genius.”

Eddie glared at him, but continued. “Like I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, we can’t climb. No one is likely to come look for us any time soon.” He turned to the symbols on the wall. “The answer must be there, somehow. But … I don’t know what it means.” He looked down, as if loathe to admit that.

“So what do we do, then?”

Silence followed, and then Steve spoke up. “I guess we … wait for something to happen.”

“Oh, awesome,” Billy deadpanned. “Because waiting for something to happen in Hawkins has worked so well for us in the past.”

~~~

Hours passed. The light from the overgrown opening above grew dim, and then disappeared entirely when the hour approached midnight. Strangely enough the space they were in still allowed enough light for them to see each other; it could be due to the glowing symbols on the wall, or the fact that they’d gotten used to the darkness. They’d tried and failed and tried again to climb out of the hole, and had even tried standing on each other’s shoulders to reach higher, to check for handholds or something hidden that they might have missed – all without anything to show for it but short tempers and bruises. So now they were sitting on the floor (which was solid stone under the layer of dirt, and which they could not dig through – because yes, they’d tried), their backs against three different walls. No one had chosen the wall that held the symbols.

The space was just large enough that their feet didn’t touch in the middle when they all sat with their legs splayed out.

Eddie was fiddling with the scrapes on his elbow – which he’d gotten when he’d been talked into climbing on top of the other two, courtesy of being the lightest – and he yelped when Steve threw a pebble at him.

“Stop that,” Steve said with a frown. “It’ll scar.”

Eddie let out a hoarse laugh and patted his sides. “Like one more would matter! If you haven’t forgotten, Stevie-boy, I’ve got a torso full of ‘em.”

Raising his eyebrows, Steve pulled down the collar of his shirt somewhat and motioned to the marks around his own throat. “Yeah well, at least you can hide yours.”

A beat, then they both turned their heads as one to look at Billy. Billy, who was wearing a Henley under his jacket; who hadn’t worn an unbuttoned shirt since he got out of the hospital. Who was now resting against his chosen wall looking as casual as if he was lounging on a couch. He didn’t even look up as he said, “Yeah, we all know that if we’re having a scar-off, I win.” For a second, there was tension in the air, until he huffed out a laugh and said, “Besides, Eddie’s little boo-boo won’t scar.”

Eddie’s face split in a grin. “Great.”

“It’s way more likely that it’ll get infected and he’ll die from that.”

The smile fell. “Come on –“

“Or maybe tetanus. Have you taken your shots, Eds?”

“You are such an asshole,” Steve said, arms crossed over his chest but not without a hint of wonder in his voice.

Billy grinned. “That I am, and just imagine – you guys are lucky enough to be stuck in here with me.”

His comment dissolved the last of the earlier tension as all of them smiled a little at that, momentarily amused. A minute or so passed in silence, before Billy let out a deep sigh.

“Okay but seriously,” Steve, who also seemed to have had enough, said. “What do we do?”

“Sleep?” Billy said.

“I mean, what do we do if …” Steve licked his lips and looked down at his lap. “If we can’t get out. If no one comes for us.”

“Die,” Billy said bluntly, raising his hands defensively when the other two glared at him. “What? Those are the options. We get out, or we die.”

“You don’t sound too worried,” Steve said, still with a disapproving frown on his face.

“Let’s just say I’ve been there, done that.”

While he winked at a scowling Steve, Eddie buried his face in his hands. “Ugh, this sucks.”

A pause followed, as at least in this, they seemed to agree. Then Billy spoke up. “There’s one thing we haven’t tried yet …”

“What’s that?” Eddie asked.

“I mean,” Billy said with a considering look. “If it really is magic we’re dealing with …”

He was quiet for long enough that Eddie had to prompt him into speaking again, a hint of impatience in his voice. “Yes? What?”

“Hey, pretty boy,” Billy said and stretched out his leg to bump his shoe against Steve’s. “Your grandma ever say anything about sacrifices?”

“Sacrifices?”

Eddie groaned. “I do not like the sound of that.”

But Steve’s eyes lit up and he worked his way to standing. “Oh wait, shit, that makes sense actually.”

“What?” Eddie snarked. “There are no goats here to sacrifice, if you haven’t noticed.”

“Well, we have you,” Billy snarked back. “And last I heard, virgin sacrifices are high in demand.”

A growl. “Fuck you.”

“For our freedom? Sure. You offering?”

“Shut up, both of you!” Steve interjected. “First, I feel like I should point out that that’s offensive to the magically inclined and my gran would smack you over the head if she heard you talk like that. Second, from what she told me, there actually is an element of sacrifice to magic –“

“Your time to shine, Eddie.”

“Shut up!”

“I swear if you two don’t stop it, I’ll sacrifice you both right now!”

Eddie and Billy snapped their mouths shut as Steve raised his voice – and then glanced at each other and started giggling-

“Careful Stevie, I heard that kind of language is offensive to the magically inclined,” Eddie said smoothly while Billy guffawed.

Looking heavenwards, Steve sighed. “I hate you both. Can I finish?”

“I don’t know. Can you?”

“I swear to god …”

“Sorry, sorry,” Eddie said and gestured widely with his hands. “Please, continue.”

”Balance, okay? She said it’s almost always about balance.”

Eddie frowned, in confusion this time. “But you said ‘sacrifice’ …”

“I think she meant it as the same thing,” Steve huffed, and then deflated. “But I don’t know. It’s not like we talked a lot about it. My parents thought she was mad, and she died when I was ten. I just remember her saying that there had to be balance, and that all magic was basically a matter of give and take, in equal measures.”

“So, what?” Eddie said. “We need to use magic to get out of here, but to be able to do that, we have to … give something? Is that what it means?”

“Well at least you have something to bargain with,” Billy said. “Mr. Virgin.”

“I swear I will smack you.”

“Don’t,” Steve commented dryly. “He likes it.” While Eddie raised his eyebrows in incredulity and Billy grinned lewdly, Steve stood up and walked up to the glowing figures on the wall. He put his hand on them and frowned. “Maybe they’re instructions?”

Billy, who was busy warding himself against the pebbles Eddie was throwing at him, was momentarily distracted and asked, “Instructions for – ow! – Instructions for what?”

“I don’t know.” With a deep sigh, Steve went back to sit back down. “It was just a thought.”

~~~

Another half-hour passed without anything eventful happening.

“We should try to do something,” Billy huffed.

“We’ve already tried everything,” Steve sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Not everything –“

“I swear,” Eddie snarled, suddenly on his feet and looming over Billy, fingers like claws as he pointed at Billy’s face, “If you’re about to crack one more virginity joke –“

“Jesus, Munson,” Billy murmured, hands up in surrender. “Chill out. It’s just a joke.”

“Maybe it is to you!” Eddie yelled. “Everything’s a joke to you, huh? Well guess what, for some of us, it’s not something to joke about. For some of us, getting laid isn’t just something that just happens! Some of us has gone through school a fucking loser, okay, and if you weren’t aware; no one wants to fuck a loser!”

Steve and Billy glanced at each other, and Billy made a face. “I didn’t mean –“

“And the thing is that Hawkins isn’t exactly a cultural hub, so if one person thinks that you’re a loser, suddenly everyone thinks that you’re a loser. And even if you really, really like someone, you can’t make the first move because if experience has taught you anything, it’s that you don’t have the social standing to approach them without people laughing at you or pushing you down or throwing you into lockers!”

Now both Billy and Steve winced. “I’m sure –“

“So naturally, it doesn’t happen, and then it continues to not happen, even though it happens to everyone around you, and by now even if someone does show any interest in you, you’re pretty sure it’s a goddamn trap and they’re going to use that opportunity to make fun of you or, or hurt you somehow!”

“Hey!” Steve said, standing up too. “No one would –“

“And then of course you start hanging out with fucking jocks,” Eddie continued, sneering, and motioned to Steve and Billy both. “And they’re gorgeous and confident and they can get anyone they want, and they prove it, like, all the time so they fuck their way through half the school, and then they start hooking up because why not, right? And then, then they start flirting with you, and you start to really wonder what the hell their angle is, since you’re such a fucking loser!”

By now, all three of them were standing up, but where Eddie was still pointing at Billy in a rage, Billy was just standing back by his wall, a gobsmacked expression on his face.

“Eddie –“ he said, but didn’t seem to find anything else to say. “I’m –“

“Don’t, Hargrove,” Eddie said, a bitter note to his voice. “Just …” A deep breath, as if trying to calm himself. “Lay off the virgin jokes, okay?”

“Okay.”

Steve walked up to Eddie and put a hand on his shoulder, face falling when Eddie shrugged out of his grip and backed up a step. “Hey, Eds. He didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I didn’t,” Billy confirmed in a low voice, not moving from his spot by the wall.

When Eddie just huffed and refused to look at any of them, Steve wet his lips and bent his head to try to catch his eye. “Hey. Eddie. Is this … Is this why you don’t wanna …? You know. Fool around with us?”

Eddie gave a half-hearted shrug and refused to meet his eye. Meanwhile, Billy raised his head up in his corner. “Wait, that’s why you don’t wanna have sex?”

Steve facepalmed and let out a sigh. “Billy …”

“No, wait, let me get this straight,” Billy continued, drawing himself up where he was standing. “Eddie here thinks that no one wants to fuck him because he’s a loser, meanwhile we’ve spent months trying to make it abundantly clear that we would both gladly fuck this particular loser!” He gestured between them and then added, as an afterthought, “Or, you know. Get fucked by, whatever.”

“That’s not the problem!” Eddie bit out. “Didn’t you listen?”

“I did,” Billy said with an unexpected wrinkle between his eyebrows. “And I don’t like what I’m hearing.”

Steve took that opportunity to put his hand back on Eddie’s shoulder, and turn him so he was facing him. When Eddie looked up, he was met with Steve’s wide and earnest eyes. “Do you really think that we would do something like that? Trick you, or … try to hurt you somehow? After everything we’ve been through, the three of us?”

It was Eddie’s turn to sigh, the air leaving him along with the rest of his anger. “No. Of course not, I – No.” He dragged a hand down his own face and leaned back against the rock wall, letting it support him. “I just … Listen. I haven’t had a lot of good experiences with jocks before you guys came along, okay? And I haven’t had a lot of good experiences with … people making sexual advances. And you guys have to admit that the setup is pretty … unusual.” He motioned between the three of them once more. “Not exactly a normal constellation, here, you know?”

“Fuck normal constellations,” Billy murmured from his corner, which made the corner of Eddie’s mouth tick up in a ghost of a smile.

“I just. I want to trust you guys,” Eddie said, but even as he said it, he shook his head. “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean I do trust you guys. I do. And I wanna be with you. Both. I just. Have some … issues, I guess.”

“Well,” Billy said, “Welcome to the club. We all have issues here.”

Steve, meanwhile, had put his arms around Eddie and pressed a kiss to his temple. “You should have said something earlier, Eds. I’m sorry if we’ve ever made you think –“

“You haven’t.”

Billy came up on the other side of Eddie and punched his other shoulder, albeit a considerably weaker punch than he was capable of. “We wouldn’t do that to you. You may be a loser, but you’re our loser, and we want to fuck you.” He was pinned by two incredulous looks, and rolled his eyes as he added, “Or get fucked by you. I already said.”

“What Mr. Sensitivity over here is trying to say –“ Steve started.

“Hey!”

“– is that hurting you is the last thing we wanna do.”

“Yeah,” Billy piped up. “Unless you like it. We wanna make you feel good.”

“Not everyone’s a masochist, Billy.”

“Some of us are.”

“Oh my god, please stop talking,” Eddie interrupted, face flaming. “I trust you guys, okay? I trust you not to hurt me. And I’ll probably want to have sex with you at some point –“ he pointed at Billy when Billy opened his mouth to speak, “– not while we’re stuck in a magic hole in the ground in the middle of the woods –“ he ignored Billy’s disappointed little ‘aw’ and continued, “– so now that that’s all, you know, out there, can we please talk about something else now? Literally anything else?”

“No, wait, go back to the magic hole–“ Billy said with a mischievous smile, and backed off giggling when both Eddie and Steve reached out to smack him. “Hey!”

Steve followed after him, but Eddie stayed where he was and stared straight ahead, not even looking at the others as they play-fought only a few steps away. His eyes were wide and his mouth fell open.

“Guys?”

The grunts and giggles from beside him abated, and when he repeated himself, they stopped altogether.

“What?”

Eddie just pointed at the glowing text on the wall. “Do you see what I’m seeing?”

Steve and Billy looked to where he was pointing. “The glowy symbols on the wall? Yeah.”

At that, Eddie tore his gaze away from the wall. “What do you mean? You can’t read it?”

“Wait, you can?”

Walking up to the wall, Eddie dragged his fingers over the first part of the symbols. “Not all of it, but this part? I can read this.”

“Well, spit it out! What does it say?”

“It says, ‘Shed your masks’.”

~~~

They spent a long time discussing whatever this new development meant, and whether it had any impact on their chances of getting out of here. But after going through their confinement again and finding that nothing else had changed, and after emptying their ideas of what this new information could mean without getting anywhere, they ended up where they’d started; each one sitting with their back to their chosen walls, occasionally glaring at the glowing symbols. The night was at its darkest, and no light at all was coming in from the hole above them.

“I fucking hate magic,” Billy grumbled for what must have been the twentieth time.

“We know,” Eddie and Steve said in chorus, without moving.

“Cryptic goddamn motherfucking runes –“

Perhaps in an effort to get Billy to shut up, Eddie spoke up. “Okay, let’s go over this again. If it’s not about a sacrifice, and it’s not literal – because we’re not wearing any masks – then maybe it’s instructions, like you said, Steve. Or a … riddle?”

“I’m terrible with riddles,” Steve commented while Billy just huffed.

“It has to mean something,” Eddie said. “It has to mean something that I can read it, and you guys can’t. Are you sure you can’t –“

“Yes,” Billy and Steve said at the same time.

“Only you seem to have acquired the magic rune-reading ability,” Billy added, slightly sarcastically. “Lucky you.”

“I can only read the first part, though,” Eddie said, frowning and fiddling with the hem of his jacket. “And that hasn’t proven to be very helpful.” He turned to Steve. “Is there anything you can think of that your grandmother might have said? Anything at all, maybe something you didn’t know was useful or –“

It was Steve’s turn to huff out a frustrated breath. “For the hundredth time, no! I’ve already told you, she died when I was ten and my parents thought she was mad so we didn’t even go there that often in the first place.”

“Yeah, but maybe they’ve said something or –“

Standing up and pulling at his hair, Steve growled out, “I don’t remember, okay? I last spoke to my grandmother almost ten years ago and I cared more about her cookies than her magic, okay? Sorry to be such a disappointment but I don’t remember me and my grandma ever discussing how to escape magic people traps in the middle of the forest. I guess my memory isn’t all that it should be after all those hits to the head I’ve taken!” Billy winced from his corner, but didn’t interrupt. “ So I’m sorry that you’re stuck down here with such a useless descendant of a witch!”

“I thought ‘witch’ was offensive,” Billy piped up, and threw his hands up and mimed zipping his mouth shut when Steve whirled around to glare at him.

“Hey, now,” Eddie said, also with his hands up. “That’s not what I meant at all. I just … You’re the only one who’s had any kind of experience with magic. The two of us,” he motioned between himself and Billy, “we don’t know shit.”

“Well neither do I!” Steve exploded. “I never know shit!”

“That’s not true –“

“I’m slow, I can’t read properly, and I only barely graduated. Dad wants me to work for him but I can’t even hold down a minimum-wage job. The only thing I’ve been somewhat decent at is fighting monsters and getting us out of bad situations but in case you haven’t noticed, there are no monsters here that I can hit over the head! I can’t get us out of this, because I’m stupid and useless!”

For a couple of seconds after his outburst, silence reigned in the space they were in. At least until Billy spoke up. “You’re anything but stupid and useless, pretty boy.”

Steve snorted self-deprecatingly. “Yeah, that’s why you call me ‘pretty boy’; because I’m smart. Clearly my best quality.”

“No,” Billy said, getting to his feet too and walking up to Steve, taking his face between his hands. “I call you ‘pretty boy’ because that’s what you are. You are pretty. But that’s not all you are. Where the fuck is this insecurity coming from, huh?” Steve gave a half-hearted effort of escaping his grip, but Billy held on. “Who cares if you can’t read? Fuck reading! That has nothing to do with how smart you are. And you are smart, you’re the one who thought that this thing might be magic in the first place.”

“Yeah,” Eddie said, getting with the program, “and at least you graduated on your first try. I failed twice before I graduated, and even then I only made it because you guys helped me. Both of you.”

“But I –“

“And!” Eddie added, “Losing the job at Scoops was so far from your fault, it’s not even funny. Remember the big meat monster? Because that whole mall thing was the meat monster’s fault.”

“Of course I remember the meat monster,” Steve grumbled. “I was actually there for it.”

“As was I,” Billy added. “You, however, weren’t.”

“My point still stands,” Eddie said, ignoring them. “And besides, you don’t want to work for your dad and you got a new job after that all by yourself anyway so it doesn’t matter.”

“Thanks to Robin.”

“Okay, so? You work well with other people. You’re a good team player or whatever. Billy, say something motivating about team players and sports metaphors and shit.”

“What?”

“Like, I don’t know. Isn’t it important to be a team player instead of … running the ball yourself or something? To score … goals? You win if you work together? Go team? Shit like that?” He rolled his eyes. “Come on, you’re the jocks here, you know what I’m trying to say!”

“I really don’t,” Steve said.

“Nope,” Billy agreed, “but please continue, it’s very amusing to listen to.”

“I hate you guys.”

“No you don’t.”

Billy pulled Steve into a one-armed hug and then let go. “I think he’s got a good point somewhere in there, though. No man is an island.”

“What?”

“Forget it. Point is, you’re smart.”

Steve sighed and took a step away from the others. “You don’t have to say that.”

“Yes I do,” Billy insisted, “because you obviously don’t hear it enough. There are many ways to be smart, and book smarts is not for everyone. Who cares about that anyway? You are people smart, and rational smart, and fighting monsters smart. You care so much, and you always want to help, even if … even if people don’t deserve it.”

“I can’t help now, though.”

“And that’s not your fault,” Eddie said. “Who in their right mind could have predicted we’d fall down and get trapped in a magical hole?”

They were silent for a heartbeat or two. “I mean,” Steve said, “this is Hawkins, so we probably should have expected something like it.”

Eddie snorted out a laugh, and next to him, Billy cackled. “Right on,” he said. “Fuck Hawkins.”

“Or maybe fuck in Hawkins?” Eddie dared, grinning when Billy’s eyebrows shot up on his forehead and his face split in a delighted grin.

“Now that’s the spirit, Munson!”

Steve didn’t join in their banter, instead he looked over Eddie’s shoulder at the glowing symbols on the wall. “Hey Eddie, I thought you said it said ‘Shed your masks’?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said, throwing a look at the symbols. “It does.”

“No,” Steve said, “It says ‘Acknowledge your real selves’. Right here.” He pointed at a section of the wall, and Eddie walked up next to him, frowning.

“I can’t read that. It’s still gibberish to me. Up here, though, it says ‘Shed your masks’.”

“Huh,” Steve said. “I can’t see that. But down here, it says ‘Acknowledge your real selves’.”

“It’s all still gibberish to me,” Billy said, scowling at the symbols. “But I’m happy for you guys. Apparently, all that’s needed to be able to get partial magic-reading powers is to have a meltdown.”

“Should be easy enough for you then,” Eddie grinned. “You dramatic bitch.”

~~~

Unfortunately, this new readable section wasn’t any more helpful than the first one had been, and they were still no closer to figuring out a way out of there.

“Maybe it’s less about the … well, meltdowns, and more about … opening up?” Steve suggested.

Eddie, who was back in his spot by the wall, raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean … You and I, we both … revealed something about ourselves, I guess?”

They were silent as they thought that through, and then they both surreptitiously glanced at Billy, who startled a bit and then splayed his hands out on his chest. “Hey, I’m an open book!”

“M-hm,” Eddie said.

“Sure,” Steve added.

“An open book, written in a language no one can read,” Eddie said, and both he and Steve snorted while Billy glared at them.

“That’s bullshit. You know everything there is to know about me.”

Eddie actually laughed out loud at that. “Are you kidding? Just getting you to admit your favorite pizza topping was like pulling teeth!”

“It’s ham and pineapple.”

Steve let out a gasp. “You said it was pepperoni!”

“… I lied.” Billy made a show out of peering at the glowing symbols, and then fell back against the wall. “Nope, still can’t read it. So that’s strike one against the ‘opening up’ theory.”

Eddie pointed a finger in his direction. “You’re not taking this seriously.”

“Oh I am,” Billy assured them. “But I’m not about to air all my dirty laundry on the off chance that this magical cell will let us go if I say the correct secret out loud.”

“Aha!” Eddie exclaimed. “So you admit you have secrets?”

“Of course I have fucking secrets,” Billy scoffed. “Everyone has secrets.”

“Well then it wouldn’t hurt you to share with the class.”

“It might.”

“Come on!” Eddie said, frustrated. “If it’s really about balance like Steve says, then it must be up to you! Steve and I have both already shared something about ourselves.”

“Yeah, your low self-esteem. I don’t struggle with that.”

“Fuck you, Hargrove. You’re the only one who’s left!”

“Well tough shit, Munson. Guess we’re stuck down here for the foreseeable future, then!”

“Shut up, both of you!”

They fell silent at Steve’s shout, and turned to look at him. He sighed, and rubbed a hand over his face. “Fighting won’t help us, we know that much. Listen. It’s almost morning. We’re tired, and no one’s gonna come looking for us until the sun is up anyway. What do you say we try to get some sleep, and try to figure out a way out tomorrow? Who knows, maybe there’s something we’ve missed in the dark that we’ll be able to see in daylight?”

He didn’t sound like he particularly believed what he was saying, but none of the others argued with him about it. Or, more probably, they didn’t want to argue with each other, so decided to give in.

But when Steve tried to get them to cuddle up together – “Come on guys, it’s to conserve heat” – they promptly refused.

“I’m fine over here,” Billy said and laid down by his wall.

“I’m not that cold anyway,” was Eddie’s reply, and did the same.

“Come on guys, you’re being ridiculous.”

No answer. Sighing, Steve laid down on the dirt floor by his own wall, and closed his eyes.

~~~

Judging by the grey light that was filtering down from the overgrown opening above, it was just after dawn when Steve blinked his eyes open and stretched. He froze when he saw that Billy was no longer curled up at the wall where he’d previously been, but was now hunkering down next to Eddie’s unmoving form. Billy was staring at Steve with wide eyes, like a deer in headlights, having stopped in the middle of tucking his own jacket around Eddie, and at Steve’s raised eyebrow he shuffled back, pulling his shoulders up and licking his lips.

“He was shivering,” he said, defensively, in a low voice as if trying not to wake Eddie.

Steve, likewise, kept his voice low when he answered, “That was … nice of you.”

“Whatever,” Billy shrugged and went back to his spot by the wall, where he sat back down. “You know I run hot. I don’t really need it.”

Sitting up, Steve remarked, “Still nice.”

Billy glared at him. “What? I can be nice, you know.”

“I know, I know,” Steve backtracked. “I just meant, it’s nice to see that you care.” He winced, probably realizing how that sounded, and Billy’s gaze darkened.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, just …” A sigh, followed by a helpless shrug. “Sometimes, it’s not the easiest thing, to know what you’re thinking. I care a lot about you and Eddie, and I know he cares a lot about me and you as well, but … well. Sometimes, it’s hard to know where you’re standing with this whole thing.” Steve winced, and added, lamely, “Is all.”

“Well, fuck you too.”

Eddie suddenly sat up and pulled Billy’s jacket closer around him. “Why do you always do this?”

“You’re awake?”

“Obviously,” Eddie said with a roll of his eyes. “Just like I was awake last week when you put that blanket on me at Steve’s place. Just like I was awake when you touched my hair the week before that and you thought I’d fallen asleep in front of the TV. Just like I only pretended to sleep that time in the trailer last month and you carried me to bed. Hell, you said that Stevie must have imagined that noise his car was making, but I saw you working on it for a whole afternoon when you thought I wasn’t home!”

“Wait, you did?” Steve interjected, and was ignored.

Billy stared at Eddie with his mouth open, shoulders at his ears. Eddie continued, “So why do you always do this, Billy? Huh? Why do you only show that you care when you think we won’t notice?”

“I care!”

“Well how are we supposed to know that, when you hardly ever show it and never tell us?”

“Well excuse me for not being the lovey-dovey type of guy that you apparently want! Well guess what, if you want someone to buy you flowers and make you candle-lit dinners, you’re shit out of luck because that sure as hell ain’t me! You want someone to say ‘I love you’ all the time, you better find someone else!”

He crossed his arms over his chest – showing off his biceps, since he was just wearing a T-shirt now – and scowled at them both. After a minute or so of silence, during which no one seemed to find anything to say, his shoulders dropped a little. He pressed the heel of one hand to his eye and murmured a quiet “Fuck” before taking a deep breath. “But I do.”

Eddie glanced at Steve, who shrugged. “You do … what?”

“Love you guys,” Billy murmured, voice so low that they could hardly make out the words.

Steve’s eyebrows flew up in surprise, and Eddie’s jaw dropped. Billy didn’t see any of that, though, because he still had his eyes closed.

“Of course I fucking do,” he continued. “I just shouldn’t have to … fucking say it all the time.”

Eddie turned to Steve and mimed ‘wow’, before speaking up. “I can’t believe this.”

“What?” Billy growled and opened his eyes, already frowning. “Not good enough for you? You need me groveling and on my knees?”

“I mean,” Eddie said, momentarily distracted, “I wouldn’t mind you on your knees, but that wasn’t what I meant. I meant,” and here he nodded to both Billy and Steve, “I can’t believe you’re the one who said it first.”

“Said wh–“ Billy began, and then snapped his mouth shut when realization dawned.

As the color drained from Billy’s face, the smile on Eddie’s face grew. “Why, the L word of course! To be honest, I wasn’t sure we were there yet –“ Steve gave him a shove and a warning glare, but Eddie continued his teasing, still grinning, “– but since you’ve so bravely taken the leap into the next phase of our relationship, I guess I can say it too; I love you too, Billy.” He kissed the air in Billy’s direction, and then turned and pressed a real kiss to Steve’s face, since Steve was closer. “And I love you, Stevie.”

“I fucking hate you,” Billy murmured, face beginning to redden.

“Ah, but that’s not what you said a minute ago!”

Billy buried his face in his hands and let out a half-strangled scream while Steve did his best not to laugh. Eddie continued to have the time of his life, and said smoothly, “Hey, Billy, that was one hell of a confession actually. Does the magic hole allow you to read the symbols now?”

He said it jokingly, but when Billy looked up to glare at him and threw a glance at the glowing runes, he froze and his eyes widened.

“No shit?” Eddie said, teasing forgotten. “Really? You can read it?”

Billy got to his feet and approached the stone wall. “Not all of it,” he said and traced the bottom part of the symbols. “Just this.”

“Okay?” Steve said and waited. When Billy didn’t speak, he prompted, “So what does it say?”

“What difference does it make?” Billy murmured, face flaming.

“Uhh,” Eddie said and gestured wildly around the hole they were in. “Maybe all the difference in the world? Maybe it’s an … incantation, or something. Wait, let’s try it! This first part that I can read says, ‘Shed your masks’.”

Steve pressed two fingers to the part that he could read, and continued seamlessly, “’Acknowledge your real selves’.”

They both looked at Billy, who sighed and looked heavenwards, but ground out the part that he cold apparently read: “’Open up and share yourself with others’.”

Eddie gave him a grin and Steve smiled proudly even though Billy refused to look at any of them. Instead he looked around the space they were in. The others did, as well.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then something started glowing on the three other walls as well; more symbols. The boys all looked around, and Steve frowned. “I can … I can only read that one,” he said and pointed at the symbol that had appeared on the wall he had slept against.

“I can read that one,” Eddie said and pointed to his wall.

Billy’s shoulders sagged as he nodded to the wall where he had been sleeping, “And I can read those.”

Eddie, licked his lips and seemed to decide to go first. “’Show trust’,” he said.

“’Show weakness’,” Steve read.

“’Show feelings’,” Billy bit out.

As the last words were spoken, the intensity of the runes increased until they were shining so brightly that the boys had to shield their eyes against the light. It continued until everything around them was a bright white and they had to screw their eyes shut –

– and then it stopped, and they were left to blink the remnants of the bright spots out of their eyes.

“What the –“ Steve said, as he was the first to regain his senses and look around.

They were no longer in the hole, but in the woods where they had fallen in the night before. In fact, there was no indication of a hole ever having been there in the first place.

The early morning sunlight came down through the trees, birds were chirping in the branches above, and drops of dew glittered on the foliage around them.

“What the fuck?” Billy said, eloquently.

“Huh,” Eddie said, just as expressively. “Guess there’s something to be said about that whole balance and sacrifice thing, after all.”

“I still think we should have worked the virgin sacrifice angle,” Billy grumbled, backing away from and glaring at the space where they’d fallen through the night before.

“There’ll be time for that later,” Eddie said. “Besides, I’d rather my first time be in an actual bed. Call me old-fashioned.”

“High-maintenance, more like it.”

“Aw, but you apparently love that about me,” Eddie grinned, all teeth, and ducked under Billy’s half-hearted swipe.

“Guys,” Steve sighed, but he was smiling too. “Maybe we should save all this for later and get the hell out of here? Before anything else happens?”

“Good plan, pretty boy,” Billy said.

“Smart boy,” Eddie added.

“Very capable boy,” Billy nodded.

“Shut up,” Steve said, and got to hear the other two cackle delightedly as they turned and walked in the direction where they’d left the car the previous day.

A couple of seconds passed, and then Eddie let out a loud snort. At his boyfriends’ questioning looks, he said, “I can’t believe we got couples therapy:d by a magical forest hole.”

[10kwannabe]

Inside, outside

Pairing: 10k x reader

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of blood, vomit

Chapter: 5.07

The awkwardness while you, 10k, Warren, and Addy walk in almost complete silence is almost nauseating. You feel a migraine coming on from so many unspoken thoughts running through your mind. It was only the four of you now searching for the person behind the disgusting, foul, brainy biscuits.

10k keeps giving you knowing glances; he is wordlessly asking you to say something since the bad vibes are coming from you and Addy. You sigh, “Anyone else feel uneasy about not knowing where the hell Murphy is?”

“Yeah, I do,” 10k snorts. “It’s like the good old days. He disappears, then reappears to stab us in the back.”

“What’s the deal with you two?” Addy asks. “I know Murphy's an ass, but I’m surprised things are so bad.”

The bite still hurts.

If Addy had stuck around longer last time, she would have seen how badly 10k was affected by what Murphy put him through. But you bite your tongue and don’t say anything.

10k looks uncomfortable with you and Addy on either side of him. Addy didn’t exactly congratulate you when she found out about the baby; she seemed in shock and hasn’t mentioned it since. A few moments pass, then 10k suddenly laughs, “The first time we saw him in years, your sister punched him in the face within two seconds of talking to him.”

“He still doesn’t think he did anything wrong!” You point out.

“Biting people, manipulating them… trying to take over the world—just a normal day in the life of Alvin Murphy,” Addy says jokingly.

When the step road you’re walking down reaches the edge of a town called Heartland Warren stops walking. “These fields need to be harvested; they’re going to seed.”

“A friend of mine helped me move a few talkers from here to limbo, but… I don’t know how many lives humans are left to work the fields.”

At some point you’d need to find out how your sister met all these people and lost her eye.

“Well, it seems like the perfect time to find out.”

—

Heartland was like every other town you ever came across, abandoned. “What’s the plan, Warren?”

“We make contact with the locals and see what we find out about what’s in these bizkits.”

“And then what? What’s our end game here?”

“Help George with this idea of hers. A new country.”

“I don’t think we’re the nation-building types. You know? More like the tear-shit-up types.”

While Addy and Warren talk, 10k looks over at you and mouths, ‘I told you so.’ He was convinced Warren had romantic feelings for George, which you failed to see. But you also thought Red had a crush on 10k… he was probably right.

“Bodies up ahead. At least two of them,” 10k says before running over to a body lying in the middle of the road. “It looks like he was given mercy.”

The four of you split up to search on either side of the road to look for more bodies. Both humans and talkers had been shot in the heads execution style. According to Addy, they were all farm workers, which meant someone had targeted them deliberately to stop more biscuits from being made.

“Do you guys hear that?” 10k asks.

You shake your head.

“Something's not right.” He walks over to you and stands in front of you protectively. “I can definitely hear something.”

A few seconds pass before all of you can hear the faint whispers of talkers asking to be fed. It made you nervous that you could hear them despite no talkers being viable. You whisper, “Anyone else getting the feeling they are trapped in a horror film?”

You were half expecting a talker to pop up from the ground, grab hold of your leg, and try to pull you back down the hole with them.

Warren gets your attention and points towards a car park full of old, run-down cars. With each step you took, the voices got louder, and the feeling of being watched caused goosebumps to spread across your arms.

You see… something or someone pops up from behind the back of a truck. “10k, heads up.”

He turns and aims his gun in their direction, but before he pulls the trigger, Addy stops him. “Wait, that’s a talker.”

“He looks pretty bad.”

“She’s right; if he’s stalking, he might know something,” Warren adds. She puts her gun away. “Follow my lead.”

You hated it when she said that; usually it meant something bad was about to happen. Gulping down, you follow suit and hold your hands up to show you weren’t holding onto any weapons. More talkers come out of hiding and surround you.

“We come in peace!” Warren calls out. “We hear that you’re hungry! But we don’t have any bizkits.”

“But we can help,” you say, hoping they don’t try and eat you instead.

The talkers easily outnumbered the four of you, and soon the four of you were standing back to back, with the undead walking around you in circles, like a shark swimming around its prey before attacking. Skittish, 10k asks, “What happens when talkers stop talking?”

The talkers start to snarl the same way Z’s do, and when they get closer, a female talker reaches its hand out towards your stomach, but you lightly slap their hand back. Cautiously you pull the blade from your belt and grip hold of it tightly. Your voice shakes, “Back it up, back it up.”

“Don’t hurt them!”

Addy’s comment riles you up. You didn’t want to hurt any of them, but you couldn’t take it on good faith that they wouldn’t attack first. She should know by now you’d only use a weapon in self-defense.

“As long as nobody tries to touch my stomach again, I won’t!”

“Ok, look. There’s a farmhouse in the distance,” Warren says. “Let’s make this non-lethal. On three. One, two…”

“Someone’s coming!”

A car speeds forward and stops close enough that all the dry dirt on the ground is blown into the air when the car comes to an abrupt halt. To your relief, it was a familiar face.

“Doc!”

He waves at you from behind the wheel. George leaps out from the passenger side. “Get in!”

Since the car only has five seats, you get in last and sit on 10k’s lap with your legs outstretched across George and Addy’s. “Good timing, guys,” you pant. “That was too fucking close.”

10k leans his forehead against your shoulder, and the flat of his palm rests over your stomach. Quietly he asks, “Where are we going to next?”

“There’s a farm not far up ahead,” Addy says and points in the direction Doc needs to drive.

“Good, 'cause that’s about all the gas we got left.”

—

The rest of the drive is in silence, but you feel George’s eyes on you, or more specifically on the way 10k keeps caressing your nonexistent bump. She had probably guessed what was going on but was being too polite to ask.

George catches you staring at her staring at you and smiles. “So you guys are married; that’s pretty cool. Doc said you guys meet on the road?”

“No, not really,” 10k mumbles, his forehead still pressed against your shoulder. He had fallen asleep during the short distance and sounded as if he hadn’t fully woken up yet. “We got married under a black rainbow.”

“A black rainbow?” Addy asks, her voice full of skepticism.

“Doc, Warren? Black rainbow?”

“Ohh yeah,” Doc says fondly. “I married the kids after Warren, the aircraft Warren was on, exploded with her in it. Murphy got sunburnt, and we thought the dead was gonna eat us. All in all, not a bad day.”

You chuckle while twisting the silver band on your finger; Addy looks extremely confused to the point it’s verging on frustration. George chuckles, “That information did nothing but give me more questions. When this is all over, we’ll need to have a drink one night so you can tell me how you all met.”

10k tilts his head to the side to face George and points between you and Addy, “Their sisters, like, share a mom and dad.”

“We should definitely have a very large and strong drink,” you say, ignoring how shocked George looks and how drunk 10k sounds. “But in at least six or seven months time.”

The more you think about it, the harder it becomes to remember your last period, so it was really just a guessing game to figure out how many months it would be until a drop of alcohol touched your lips again, not that drinking was something you did often; however, not being able to drink made you want it more.

Addy taps on the window and points towards a farmhouse, “just up ahead.”

When Doc drives up to the house, you gently nudge 10k and feel how warm he is. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, just tired.”

When everyone is out of the car, Addy leads the way into the house, trying to be as discreet as possible. Once inside, 10k puts an ugly floral chair in front of the door.

You go over to the window with Warren, and she opens the curtains enough that you can see. “There are talkers in the field; they look hungry.”

“What are they eating then?”

“I know, I know.”

You both jump when a strange-looking man appears in front of you. He takes his hat off, showing everyone that part of his brain is missing. The smell and sight of the inside of your head are too much for you; turning to the side, you vomit all over the floor.

—

You sit on the opposite side of the living room while Charlie, who’s feeding his own brain to the talkers, speaks with the rest of the group. Just the thought alone was enough to make you want to hurl again.

“You feeling any better?” George asks, rubbing at your back.

“Yeah, thanks, just the smell is pretty strong in here.” Seeing the sadness in her eyes, you sigh, “I’m really sorry about Dante.”

“I just can’t help but feel like it’s my fault.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is thought he put his trust in me and what I believe in, and that’s what got him killed.”

“What?” Addy suddenly appears on the opposite side of the couch. “You got Dante killed?”

“Easy, Addy, we don’t know what happened.”

George becomes so emotional that she can’t explain what happened, so Doc steps in and answers for her. “Vigilantes got him. Killed the captain and his guard too. Probably the same bastards that killed the others.”

Warren goes over and hugs George while she sobs. “They chopped him up into pieces and put him in a trash can. I had to mercy him. Who would do something like that?”

“Humans,” Addy hisses.

You feel sorry for your sister finding out her friend had died in such an awful way, but this couldn’t be the only thing bothering her. She was on edge more than normal.

“Maybe not, maybe talkers,” Doc says quietly. “They left a sign saying this is what happens to traitors.”

“NewAmerica would be a much better place if you just got rid of all the people.”

“Enough,” you snap. “The world has been full of sick fucks who kill each other for years. This isn’t George’s fault.”

Addy shakes her head and goes to storm off. “I’m going to check the rest of the house.”

—

“So what was that about?” 10k asks as soon as you step into the kitchen.

“George was crying, and Addy was just making her feel worse.”

10k pulls a face; whatever he was thinking, he most definitely wasn’t sharing it. You get a whiff of something that is off and scrunch your nose up while glancing around the room; you didn’t want to be rude, but you smelled the same thing earlier in the car.

“How’s your wound?”

“It’s… healing.”

“Let me see.”

Reluctantly, 10k starts to remove the bandages covering his stump. You felt bad knowing how much he hated looking at it, but it had been days since it was cleaned properly. His stump is covered in dried blood, and what you suspect is a sticky substance caused by an infection.

“Oh Jesus, kid, that looks bad,” Doc says when he walks over to join you.

You turn on the kitchen tap, but nothing but dirty water comes out. “Oh boy, we really need to find something to clean that with. We need to find a first aid kit and antibiotics.”

Doc says something to himself, then disappears.

You start searching the kitchen drawers and cupboards for anything useful that could help, but unfortunately you find nothing.

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it.” Doc runs back into the room. “Hold his arm over the sink.”

You do as he says and hold 10k’s arm over the sink while Doc pours a clear liquid out of a jar and over the stop, causing 10k to wiggle in pain. His face turns bright red as he tries to not make too much noise.

“What is that? Water?”

“Hooch.”

10k grabs the jar and drinks the remaining hooch in one large gulp. His eyes gloss over. “I feel great.”

He definitely didn’t look it. Suddenly he lunges forward and starts to vomit; at least he made it to the sink, unlike you.

Hearing the commotion, Warren comes over. “Everything okay?”

“Just a little alcohol poisoning,” Doc says casually.

You press your hand to his forehead as he starts to sway on his feet. “Tommy's starting to burn up. Quick, help me get him into a chair.”

It takes the three of you to get 10k into a chair without him falling. George puts a bin in front of him just as he starts to vomit again. “We really need to get fresh—“

“I need help!” Addy bursts through the door while helping a man you’ve never seen before walk. “This is my friend Finn; he’s been shot.”

“I’m fine, really.”

Doc gives you a light tap on the back. “Guess we are back in business, partner.”

—

“Thank you,” Addy says. “I mean it; Finn means a lot to me.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Since Doc was buzzed from drinking hooch straight and kept getting distracted easily, you managed to stitch the wound on Finn’s side up. Thankfully they did have a first aid kit. Afterwards Finn explained someone shot him and then stole all the ingredients they had for making bizkits.

“Sis, I—“

“Why are you being so hostile towards George?”

Before Addy can answer your question, 10k and Doc step out of the farmhouse dressed as cowboys. You start to laugh; they had only been left alone for ten minutes, and how someone managed to ransack the wardrobes.

“Everybody,” Warren clicks her fingers and whispers. “Look alive, we’ve got company.”

Charlie comes out of the house and stands on the porch and starts to ring a bell to distract the talkers closing in on you. Addy grabs your hand. “Get in the car with me and don’t come out until it’s all clear.”

You sit in the front seat while Addy and Finn sit in the back. After a few moments of silence, Finn leans forward to shake your hand. “I’m really glad to meet you.”

“We’ve met… inside, I stitched you up.”

“Oh yeah, I know,” he laughs goofily. “Addy talks about you all the time, and it’s nice to finally put a face to the girl I’ve heard so much about.”

You smile politely, “It’s nice to meet you too, Finn.”

—

You sit in the car while Finn and Addy start tying up talkers to feed them Charlie’s brain and start to worry when you lose sight of 10k and Doc.

The car door opens, and Addy bites at her lip; she was thinking hard about what to say next. “I don’t agree with the things George has done. It’s done nothing but get people, including Dante, killed.”

You knew how George felt; you blamed yourself for years after what happened with Cassandra. “She already feels guilty enough without you adding to it. Regardless of NewAmerica some asshole would still be trying to stop bizkits from being made and killing talkers.”

“Why do you keep defending her?”

Addy steps aside so you can get out of the car. “Because we’ve all done shit we aren’t proud of, including hurting someone we care about.”

You notice Warren talking with George and Finn by the farmhouse. When you start to walk towards them, Addy clears her throat. “I think you’re being reckless.”

“What?”

“Bringing a baby into this world…”

You spin on your heels so fast it makes you feel dizzy. “Don’t go there, Addy—actually, you know what? Do go there. Tell me your expert opinion on being a parent when you’ve never been one yourself.”

Hearing your voice getting louder, everyone turns to stare, even some of the talkers.

“I think you and 10k will be great parents, but it is careless. War is on the horizon; people are being picked off one by one, and truthfully I think it’s a massive mistake to have…” She trails off, realizing what she’s just said.

Tears of anger start to form. “Fuck you.”

—

You bury your face into the side of 10k’s neck as Finn mercy kills Charlie, who had fed most of his brain to the talkers to keep them from turning into Z’s. His sacrifice was incredibly brave; you just hoped it wasn’t in vain.

“Addy looks pretty upset.”

He was right; she was crazy, but in that moment you didn’t care. What she said about the baby really hurt. Addy had been absent for so long that she didn’t have a right to comment on it. When you lived in isolation, 10k spent nearly a year trying to get you pregnant and was gutted each time it didn’t work. Things may be bad now, but they weren’t then, and you weren’t going to let her sour something so positive for the both of you.

10k brushes stray hair out of your face, “You look lost in thought. What are you thinking about?”

“Do you think Red was able to hear us doing it when we lived in the tree?”

—

“I still feel as if my hand hurts even though it’s not there.”

You, Doc, and 10k walk behind Addy, Warren, and George. The six of you were walking through grassy fields to reach the water dam to find out why the water supplies had been stopped.

“Oh, there’s a name for that. Phantom limb syndrome. It’s when the brain still thinks the hand is there, so it keeps sending these pain signals. But eventually it works itself out.”

“I don’t think my brain is ever going to get used to this.” 10k sways on his feet again.

“Oh my god.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not; you’re burning up again.”

Doc catches him before he falls. “The kid needs antibiotics. Was there any back at the farmhouse?”

“No, I think we used the last of it up a while ago.”

“What about holistic medicine? You know stuff about that, right, Doc?”

In unison, Doc and 10k say, “We were nowhere near the Grand Canyon.”

Suddenly there’s a loud noise coming from the direction of the farmhouse. “A distress signal; it’s Finn!”

Addy starts running back towards the farm with George right behind her. Warren calls out, “You two get 10k to cover; we’ll be right back.”

“We should get down.”

The three of you crouch down and slowly start to move off the main path and into the field. The grass was long enough that anybody walking by wouldn’t be able to see you. “Which way now?”

“Um,” Doc looks around for a moment. “This way.”

You follow him until you reach a small empty drainage pipe. The area has a lot of bricks and dried concrete scattered across it, so you assume it was a construction site at one point.

“I hope Finn is okay.”

You sit down next to 10k. He winces in pain when he pulls the cover off his wound again; his stump looks worse than before and is turning black.

“If the guys aren’t back soon, I think we should go to this water place without them. They will know to find us there.”

“Yeah, they will,” Doc says in agreement. “Plus we really need to get that stump cleaned with fresh water to get a good look at it.”

“It really hurts.”

It was unlike 10k to complain, so the fact that he was made you more worried than normal. You hand him a bottle of water. “You need to drink more.”

While he takes small sips of water, Doc groans out in pain and falls to his knees. It takes you a few seconds to register why he’s fallen and notice the arrow that’s landed in his shoulder.

“Oh shit.”

[10kwannabe]

[10kwannabe]

is there anyone out there still obsessed with 10k from z nation 🥺? because he's living rent free in my head and im desperate for someone to yap about him with 🥰

feel free to message me! or leave a like/comment and i'll reach out💖 (i'll try to dm you so have your dms open plz!)

[10kwannabe]

Familiar (10K x Fem!Reader)

summary: familiarity had become such a scarce concept—until she ran into one of her regular customers from pre-z.

contains: swearing, somewhat friends to lovers, typical apocalypse stuff, a kiss

notes: teeth hurt it’s 8 am kill me pls

A fourteen year old Y/n wiped her hands on her jeans, the smell of gunpowder lingering in the shop. It was a smell she'd grown used to, ever since her father started making her work under the table in his gun store. Illegal? Probably. But who cared? She knew the business as well as anyone. She knew which ammo went with which gun, how to clean a barrel, and most importantly, how to handle herself.

It was late afternoon, the sun filtering in through the dirty windows. She leaned against the counter, watching as Tommy and his dad came in, their boots heavy against the old wooden floors. Tommy's dad was one of the regulars, a gruff man with a quick temper but a steady hand. Tommy, though—he was quieter, though she always managed to make effortless conversation with him.

"Miss me?" She asked, smirking at Tommy, who was standing a few feet behind his father. She tossed a box of ammo onto the counter with a practiced flick of her wrist. "You guys must burn through bullets like it's nothing."

The boy shrugged, giving her a shy smile. "Dad likes to practice."

His dad grunted in agreement. "Can never be too prepared," the man said as he examined a new rifle hanging on the wall. "World's a crazy place. Better know how to protect yourself."

Y/n leaned her elbows on the counter, pretending to listen as Tommy's dad rambled on about the state of the world, the government, and how everyone should own a gun. Her eyes drifted to his son, who was tracing patterns in the dust on the glass display case, half-listening.

"You're not wrong," she said after a while, her voice flat. The words were rote, part of the routine. Customers came in, spewed their paranoid nonsense, and she agreed enough to make the sale. It kept the business running, and her father was happy. That was what mattered.

But things didn't stay that simple.

The world fell apart faster than anyone expected. It happened in waves—first the whispers, then the panic, and then the violence. The store became a target in the early days. Looters wanted guns, weapons, anything they could use to protect themselves, and Y/n's father wouldn't give in.

It was chaos. She barely remembered the details—just the shouting, the shattering of glass, the sound of gunfire. And then, the silence.

Her father had been shot in the chest. He bled out before her eyes, gasping, his hands clutching at her shirt as if she could somehow save him. She didn't cry. She didn't have time to.

Because then he turned.

The infection spread fast. Too fast. His eyes glazed over, the light in them fading as his skin grew cold and gray. His body twitched, and she knew what was coming next. The moaning. The hunger. The instinct to bite, to kill.

She didn't hesitate. She couldn't afford to. The machete she'd kept behind the counter—her father's idea, ironically—was suddenly in her hand, her muscles moving before her mind could catch up. She brought it down on him, clean and fast, the weight of the blow reverberating up her arm.

The blood was still warm as it splattered across her face, her clothes. She stood over his body, panting, the blade shaking in her hand. She told herself it wasn't him anymore. It wasn't her father. It was just another one of them.

That's what she had to believe.

...

Three years later, Y/n still smelled the blood. She could still hear the looters' voices, the gunshots, the silence that followed. But now, the world had gone quiet in a different way. The dead didn't make much noise, not unless they were close. And survivors... they were harder to come by.

Y/n had been alone since the beginning. Her father's shop was gone, looted and destroyed within days. She drifted from place to place, keeping her head down, staying alive. The machete was still her weapon of choice, though she'd picked up other skills along the way—scavenging, sneaking, surviving.

She never saw Tommy again.

Sometimes, though, she thought about him—about the quiet kid who used to come into the shop, standing behind his father, always watching her with those wide blue eyes. She wondered if he made it out, if he was still out there somewhere, surviving like she was.

But she knew better than to hold on to hope. Familiarity was a thing of the past. The world didn't care about who you used to know, or who you used to be. The world was dead, and Y/n had learned to be dead, too—on the inside, at least. It was the only way to keep going.

She sat by a campfire one night, the flames low and flickering. The forest around her was quiet, save for the occasional rustling of leaves. She leaned back against a tree, her machete resting beside her. She had enough food to last another day or two, but after that... who knew?

With a heavy sigh, Y/n closed her eyes, letting the crackling of the fire lull her into a restless sleep. The world had taken everything from her—her family, her home, her sense of safety. All that was left was survival, and even that felt tenuous at best.

But she wasn't one to give up easily. She had her machete, her wits, and a will to live. For now, that was enough.

Tomorrow was a new day. And in this world, that was the closest thing to hope anyone could ask for.

...

She crouched behind a rusted-out car, gasping for air. She'd been alone for a long time, surviving off whatever she could scavenge or steal.

A growl ripped through the stillness. Another one. She cursed under her breath, gripping her machete tighter. She was running low on ammo, and the melee weapon had been her best friend for a while now.

The horde was too big. She counted at least twenty of them, all stumbling toward her, eyes vacant, mouths twitching. Y/n had taken on worse, but she wasn't in the best shape right now. Exhaustion tugged at her every step. She bit back the rising panic and prepared herself for the worst.

And then a shot cracked through the air. One of the undead crumpled to the ground. Another shot, another body down. She recognized the sound as a sniper rifle, spinning toward the noise just in time to see a group of survivors quickly making their toward her on the road.

Before she could process what was happening, someone grabbed her arm, yanking her behind a makeshift barricade.

"You okay?" A voice asked. She blinked at the face in front of her—he was tall, jawline chiseled, lips full. She almost didn't recognize him, until she saw those eyes.

"Tommy?" She whispered. It had been years since she'd seen him, the kid who used to come into the gun shop with his dad. He grinned at her, the gesture just as shy as it was all those years ago.

"I actually go by 10K now."

The horde had been obliterated by the rest of his group, and Y/n could feel her pulse slowing down as the danger passed. The ravenette let go of her arm and took a step. "How long have you been alone, Y/n?"

She shrugged, "Since the beginning.” She released a bitter laugh, “Dad decided to go down with his shop."

He nodded in understanding, the information causing a slight pang of hurt in his chest. D/n was a great man, one he'd known almost his whole life because of their frequent trips to his store.

"You, uh... wanna come with us?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked to Warren for approval.

The woman nodded, not seeing any harm in bringing the girl along.

"Are you sure? It's—"

"Yeah," he interjected with pleading eyes. "C'mon."

"Okay." Y/n nodded, glancing briefly around the group before meeting his gaze once more. "I'm happy you survived, kid."

"We're the same age."

...

She sat by the fire, staring into the flames as the night wrapped itself around the group like a heavy blanket. The quiet buzz of conversation was soothing after a long day of travel and fighting off the dead. Her eyes drifted to Tommy—no, 10K—who was cleaning his rifle with his usual focus. The boy she used to know wasn't entirely gone, but the person he'd become was definitely sharper, more capable, and... still quite familiar.

It had been months since she'd joined their group. She hadn't planned on sticking around, but being around 10K gave her a much needed reminder of home; Warren, Doc, and Addy were quite welcoming, though Murphy—the savior who thought the world should revolve around him—wasn't exactly thrilled about another addition to their group.

"Just what we need, another stray," Murphy had grumbled when she first joined. He'd never liked her much after that, but Y/n didn't care. She didn't like him either. Something about the guy just rubbed her the wrong way—maybe it was his arrogance, the way he carried himself like he was above the rest of them. Whatever it was, she kept her distance from him as much as possible.

She wasn't here for him. She was here because a part of her, a part that she hadn't acknowledged in years, missed human connection. She'd been on her own for so long, moving through the world like a ghost, that the thought of being around others again felt strange but oddly comforting. And then there was Tommy—10K, with that familiar smile that had always gotten him pulled into playfully flirtatious conversations with her at the gun shop, and his quiet loyalty.

As the months passed, their friendship grew deeper, stronger than it had been before the apocalypse. They shared stories during long nights of watch duty, exchanged inside jokes, and fought side by side against the relentless tide of the undead. Somewhere along the way, their friendship began to change. It wasn't just the comfort of an old bond—it was something new, something deeper. Y/n found herself looking at him differently, noticing the way his lips curved when he laughed, the way his eyes softened when he talked to her. And he was noticing her too.

But neither of them said anything. Not yet.

…

The bandits came out of nowhere, a ruthless group that they thought they’d shaken miles ago. She had been on watch when they struck, taking her by surprise and dragging her into the woods before the others could wake up. She fought—of course she did—but they outnumbered her, and the blunt force of a rifle butt to her head knocked her out cold.

The group woke to a sight that made 10K's heart drop: Y/n was gone. His eyes darted around the camp, her spot empty, her weapons scattered. Panic surged through him as he stumbled to his feet.

"Where the hell is she?" His voice cracked with fear and anger.

Warren was already scanning their surroundings, calm but determined. "She didn't just walk off, and there’s no blood. Someone had to have taken her."

10K's hands trembled as he grabbed his rifle. "We have to find her. Now."

Addy's jaw tightened, gripping her spiked bat and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We will."

The group moved quickly, following any trail they could find. Each second she was missing made 10K's rage boil hotter. He couldn't think straight, imagining the worst.

After what felt like hours, they spotted a gas station up ahead, rundown and grim. Warren motioned for silence, leading them closer until they saw the familiar bandits moving inside.

"They've gotta have her in there," Addy whispered.

Without hesitation, they stormed in. 10K fired the first shot, taking out one of the bandits before he could even react. Warren and Addy followed, sweeping through the room like a force of nature. A bandit lunged at the burgundy haired girl, but she brought her bat down hard, knocking him to the floor.

Gunfire echoed as he and Warren handled the rest, their precision cutting through the chaos. One by one, the bandits fell until the station was eerily quiet.

Breathing heavily, 10K rushed past the dead bodies, frantically searching. He turned a corner and spotted Y/n slumped behind the freezers, unconscious but alive.

"N/n," he whispered, falling to his knees beside her. His hands trembled as he gently lifted her into his arms.

The other two caught up to him, relieved to see her but knowing they had to move quickly.

"Let's get her out of here," Warren said.

10K nodded, his voice soft now, "I've got her."

They made their way back to camp, 10K never letting go of Y/n, silently vowing to never let this happen again.

...

She spent a week recovering, the group taking turns keeping watch over her as they continued their journey. She drifted in and out of consciousness, flashes of memories and voices blending together. She remembered the soft sound of Doc's humming, the reassuring weight of Addy's hand on her arm, but what she remembered most was 10K.

He never left her side for long. Every time she opened her eyes, he was there, sitting beside her, his fingers brushing lightly against hers or adjusting the blanket to keep her warm. He didn't say much, but the worry in his eyes said it all.

Two weeks later she couldn’t sleep, and found enough strength to sit up—the pain in her body was a dull ache instead of the sharp throb it had been. She found him sitting by the fire, his shoulders hunched, staring into the flames with an intensity she'd come to recognize as a storm brewing inside him.

Despite his hesitancy to leave her side, they hadn’t spoken much outside of whispered ‘thank yous.’

"10K," she said, her voice hoarse.

He turned, and the relief that flooded his face was enough to make her heart skip a beat. He rushed to her side, his hands hovering over her as if he wasn't sure where to touch, afraid he might hurt her even after two weeks had passed.

"I'm okay," she whispered, her voice stronger this time.

He nodded, guiding her to sit next to him by the fire; his arm was laying comfortably across her shoulders, and his warmth combined with the fire drove away the chill of the night.

"I was so scared," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. His usual calm exterior was gone, replaced by raw emotion. "I thought we wouldn't find you in time."

"You did," she said softly. "You always do."

They sat there in silence for a long time, the fire crackling quietly before them. Y/n could feel the unspoken tension between them, the way his gaze lingered on her, the way her heart raced whenever his face got too close.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She leaned in, resting her hand lightly on his that was hanging from her shoulder, feeling the warmth of his skin through the fabric of her jacket.

"Tommy," she whispered, using his old name for the first time in months. His eyes snapped to hers, wide with surprise. "I—"

"I can't lose you," he interrupted, his voice breaking. He reached up, cupping her face gently, his thumb brushing over a fading bruise on her cheek. "I thought I lost you, Y/n."

"You won't," she breathed, her heart pounding in her chest. "I'm right here."

And then, before she could second-guess herself, she leaned in and kissed him.

It was soft at first, tentative, like they were both afraid of breaking whatever fragile thing had been growing between them. But then his arms were around her, pulling her closer, and the kiss deepened, his lips urgent and desperate against hers. It was like everything they'd been holding back for months, all the feelings they hadn't spoken aloud, came pouring out in that one kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, both of them were breathless, their foreheads resting together as they tried to catch their breath.

"I... I've been wanting to do that for a long time," he confessed, chuckling softly. “Since pre-z, actually.”

"Me too," she admitted, her fingers now intertwined with his and a small smile on her lips. “I’m guessing you caught onto my flirting back then?”

“Subtlety wasn’t exactly your forté, N/n.”

“We were fourteen,” she reminded him with a laugh. “It’s not like flirting comes easily at that age.”

They sat there for a while longer, wrapped up in each other, the world around them fading into the background. For the first time in what felt like forever, Y/n allowed herself to feel something other than survival. She allowed herself to feel hope.

And with 10K by her side, that hope didn't feel so far out of reach anymore.

[10kwannabe]

The Ark S02E11 It Will Be Over Soon.

[10kwannabe]

once again I am so obsessed, look at his little tail in the first one omg and when he sits down.

[10kwannabe]

If he looked at me I would throw up hes so hot.

[10kwannabe]

If he looked at me I would throw up hes so hot.

[10kwannabe]

Pretty Boy

10k x Addy's twin brother reader

See 10k is innocent, he knows all about hunting, shooting and survival, but that poor boy is completely unaware of anything sexual

Even his romantic knowledge is lacking, anything he knows comes from the couples around him.

He had crushes, they were small, the kind just based on looks that pass on not long after it came.

They certainly weren't requited, and the hope he had for a relationship was crushed when the world ended.

Before the apocalypse he was already out of the loop, but now he was in his early 20s and atleast half the world was dead.

Not ideal for dating.

One of the first people he saw out of the group was a boy, a little older than him, with auburn hair, shouting at the old man to stop spinning "or you'll lose your head too"

Why did he shoot the zombie for them? It was hard to think when he locked eyes with the other guy.

10k thought he got shot at that moment, thats what it would feel like right? Suddenly losing your breath? He wouldn't feel the pain from adrenaline so it must be.

When 10k joined the group, it was suprisingly simple to fit into

Doc definitely took his part in welcoming him into the group.

But there was you.

It was different,

You were the same as everyone else really, it was Tommy that was the problem.

Yeah you were slightly touchy, not that he minded, but you were with Addy and Mack so maybe he was just overthinking everything.

But it was hard not to when it felt like he has allergies everytime you lock eyes, whenever your hands touch he swear he was struck by lightning

Even lightning wasn't a good comparison, because that would surely hurt, and this didn't, he almost melted in your hands.

Not very good when he's keeping watch while the group is travelling.

When you and Tommy date, Addy especially runs with the teasing, everyone joins in, but nobody teases as much as Addy.

Especially to 10k, everytime he's just admiring she manages to catch him.

He is very much a hopeless romantic, i mean youre one of his first big crushes, and his very first relationship

You will almost never have an empty hand, if he's there, he will be holding it.

He's not the proudest of it, and he's very shy when he does it, but he will take something if he sees it and thinks it would be a nice gift for you.

Any time you two have to split up (which isn't the most often because when you have a choice you will stick together, Warren learnt that too) he'll give you a bandana, a promise to meet again to return.

Neither of you needs a bandana to see eachother again, but its a sweet connection.

It doesn't matter how long you two are together, the fact he's dating you still makes him blush everytime you kiss him.

[10kwannabe]

I take Z Nation screencap requests! Hit me up! :)

[10kwannabe]

Meant to post these screenshots (better quality + no Syfy logo) ages ago.

[10kwannabe]

Helping Hands

Pairing - 10k (znation) x Male Reader

Fluff :) , tending to wounds, strangers/first encounter

This isn't overtly romantic, it's very much first encounter with some tension, but it's very much leading to that yk,, like this is the jumping pad

takes place in season 3 when 10k escapes from Murphy (can u tell where i am in my rewatch) Bitten/Blend 10k !!

Word Count: 2768

meow <- AO3 !

The sun hung low in the sky, casting a warm hue that filtered through the thick of trees. Y/n moved silently through the underbrush, the earthy scent of damp soil and decaying leaves surrounding him. 

Scanning the area for signs of game, listening for the slightest movement. The air was crisp, bathed with a faint almost metallic scent of impending rain, when a soft rustle broke through his focus. He froze, heart racing, and crouched low, gripping the rifle slung across his shoulder.

Peering through the bushes, his breath caught in his throat. A figure lay half-hidden against a tree, the man’s skin pale and sweaty. His hand clutched to a bleeding wound on his stomach. Alarms went off in his head, but was compelled to move closer.

"Hey," he called softly, forcing his voice to remain steady despite the rising panic in his chest.

Immediately, as if an instinct, the other man gripped on a rock nearby, preparing for the worst. 

"Woah, hey— It’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you. Are you…" Y/n’s eyes scanned the man's pale body, "Are you alright?"

The man’s head lifted slightly, his face washed over by pain and exhaustion. His eyes, once sharp, were clouded and unfocused. "Help..." The word came out raspy and desperate, tugging at Y/n’s heart.

Without a second thought, Y/n knelt beside him, the cool earth beneath his knees grounding him. "What happened?" he asked, scanning the area for threats, every instinct screaming to be cautious.

"Just… got away," the man gasped, wincing as he struggled to sit up. "Need to hide."

The urgency in his voice struck a chord in Y/n. "Can you walk?" he asked, eyes continuing to scan for any potential threats.

10k shook his head, clearly too weak to move. Without hesitation, Y/n slipped one arm around his back, feeling the warmth of his skin contrast sharply with the chill of the evening air. He cradled 10k against him, feeling the ragged breaths against his shoulder, the heat radiating from his fevered body.

"Hold on," Y/n urged, making their way through the brush, branches snagging at their clothes as they pushed forward. Every step was a balance of urgency and care; he couldn’t afford to lose this fragile life.

Finally, coming to a small cabin nestled against the hillside. Y/n pushed the door open with his shoulder, the old wood creaking ominously. The dim interior was a stark contrast to the chaos outside—dust motes danced in the fading light, and the scent of aged wood and lingering rot filled the air.

He set the wounded man down gently on the cool, rough floor, noting the way he winced at the movement. "Just a minute," Y/n said, urgency propelling him to grab the first thing he saw, a run-down dresser, and pushing it up against the door.

Taking a deep breath, Y/n turned back around, his gaze sweeping across the rundown cabin. He assessed the dim interior, searching for any sign of what to do next. Then he remembered the bag slung at his hip. Quickly springing into action, he unzipped it and knelt beside 10k, his heart racing.

Digging through the contents, he sifted through the chaos until he found some old gauze tucked away—something he had saved for emergencies. He hesitated for just a moment, weighing the condition of the man before him, then pulled it out, ready to begin helping.

"Let’s get that shirt off," Y/n said, trying to keep his voice steady. He grasped the hem of 10k’s shirt, carefully lifting it up. The fabric pulled away, revealing the sight of the deep wound on 10k’s stomach.

But as he tugged the shirt up further, his gaze fell upon the bite mark at the back of 10k’s neck, partially hidden beneath the fabric of his shirt. It wasn’t fresh, but his heart still sank. He caught 10k’s eye, his expression shifting to concern. The unspoken understanding hung heavy in the air.

"Y-Your neck… Is that—?" Y/n started, but the plea in 10k’s eyes silenced him.

"Please, just help me," 10k begged, desperation lacing his voice.

Y/n hesitated, torn between the obvious choice to wait to give mercy and the instinct to offer aid. He took a moment to steady himself, reminding himself that right now, 10k needed him. With a nod, he forced himself to focus, tearing his gaze away from the bite as he continued to clean the wound on 10k’s stomach.

"Hang in there," Y/n murmured, gently pressing the gauze against the gash. The warmth of 10k’s skin beneath his fingertips felt both reassuring and alarming. He wrapped the gauze carefully, trying to be as gentle as possible, all while the bite loomed in the back of his mind, a ticking time bomb just waiting.

As he worked, he caught glimpses of 10k’s expression—pain mixed with gratitude, vulnerability layered over fear. 

"Just a bit more," Y/n said, his voice softening as he secured the bandage. He took a breath, "It’s not much, I can go looking for some ointment— Just need it to stop bleeding first."

As he knelt beside 10k, he felt the warmth radiating from him—a heat that spoke of fever and distress. The earthy scent of the forest with the coppery odor of blood attacked his nose.

"What’s your name?" Y/n asked, his voice steady but filled with concern, trying to keep the weary man awake. He leaned closer, the dim light of the cabin casting flickering shadows across 10k’s face, highlighting the beads of sweat that glistened on his brow. 

For a moment, 10k hesitated, his eyes searching Y/n’s face through a veil of pain and confusion.

"10k," he finally replied, his voice strained, barely above a whisper. "You?"

"Y/n." Clearing his throat, Y/n focused on finishing the makeshift bandage, his fingers working deftly despite the urgency that thrummed in his chest. He glanced up, locking eyes with 10k, whose gaze was still unfocused and drowsy. "So, who shot you?"

The question hung in the air, heavy with unspoken tension. 10k’s eyelids fluttered, and he struggled to maintain clarity. "Bounty hunters."

Y/n’s ears perked up at the words. The cabin seemed to grow quieter, the sound of raindrops a distant echo as he leaned in closer, curiosity sparking within him. "Bounty hunters? Does that mean you’re looking for… ‘The Murphy’?"

10k scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping his lips that quickly turned into a wince. "Why would I want to be near that bastard willingly?"

Y/n’s brow furrowed, intrigued. "So you know him?" The way 10k had spoken—filled with familiarity— anger— piqued Y/n’s interest.

"Know him?" 10k’s voice dripped with disdain, his expression darkening as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "I’m gonna be the one that kills him."

Sensing the touchy subject, Y/n decided not to poke him too much. He glanced at the semi-covered window, the fading light casting long shadows across the cabin. "It’s getting dark… We should get some rest."

Y/n pushed himself up from the floor, stretching his limbs as he surveyed the cramped cabin for anything that could help 10k get more comfortable. The old furniture looked worn, but he noticed a thin blanket draped over a rickety chair. He walked over, grabbing it and shaking off the dust before turning back to 10k.

"Here, this might help," Y/n said, folding the blanket as he approached. He noticed the way 10k's chest rose and fell, each breath a reminder of his vulnerability. It was… weird, this feeling swelling in his chest—both concern for the injured man and the feeling of being hyper-aware of their proximity.

"Thanks," 10k murmured, his voice still hoarse. As Y/n draped the blanket over him, their hands brushed for a moment. A jolt of electricity shot through Y/n at the contact, and he quickly pulled back, feeling the awkwardness settle in the space between them.

"Let me help you move," Y/n offered, trying to keep the mood light despite the tension. "You should at least lie down properly."

10k nodded, the weariness evident in his eyes. Y/n carefully helped him shift, the two of them maneuvering together. As he steadied 10k, he couldn’t help but notice the strength in the lean muscles beneath the bandages, the way 10k’s skin glistened slightly in the low light. There was an intensity in their shared moment, a vulnerability that made Y/n’s heart race.

"Just a little further," Y/n encouraged, gently guiding him toward a corner where the floor was a bit clearer. He settled 10k down against the wall, propping him up with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. "There. That should be more comfortable."

"Yeah, thanks," 10k replied, a hint of gratitude softening his features. He glanced up, and their eyes locked for a heartbeat longer than necessary. Y/n could see the storm of emotions swirling behind those intense eyes—fear, determination, and something else that made the air feel thick between them.

"Try to get some sleep," Y/n urged, his voice quieter now. "I’ll keep watch."

10k nodded, his eyelids growing heavy. "You don’t have to… I’ll be fine."

"I want to," Y/n insisted, feeling a sense of protectiveness wash over him. "Just rest."

As 10k leaned his head back against the wall, Y/n settled himself nearby, the faint sound of raindrops easing back in.

━━━━━━☆━━━━━━

The sun filtered through the cracks in the cabin walls, casting a glow that painted the room in a soft, warm light. 10k stirred, groggy and disoriented. He blinked against the brightness, the remnants of sleep fading quickly as he pushed himself upright, only to wince sharply at the pain radiating from his wound.

The world around him was quiet, almost too quiet. As he glanced around the cabin, confusion set in. Y/n was gone. His heart raced slightly at the absence, but he noticed something reassuring: their bags sat side by side near the spot where Y/n had patched him up the night before. Y/n was nearby, then—somewhere.

Feeling a sudden rush of urgency, 10k tried to shift his body, but every movement sent a wave of discomfort through him. The dull ache of his bullet wound throbbed, and he bit back a groan, closing his eyes for a moment. The darkness behind his eyelids was tempting, but he forced himself to focus. The boosters. He needed the boosters.

Slowly, he began to crawl, each movement deliberate and labored. The cabin’s floor felt rough beneath him, and he gritted his teeth against the pain that lanced through his abdomen with every inch he traversed. The world felt hazy, his thoughts slipping away like water through his fingers, each burst of discomfort pulling him closer to the edge of consciousness.

"Come on, Tommy," he whispered to himself, the sound of his own voice a decent anchor to his surroundings. "Just a little further." The effort was immense, but finally, he reached his bag. With a sigh of relief, he propped himself against the wall, the rough wood pressing into his back as he fumbled for the small injector inside.

His hand trembled slightly as he pulled out the booster, and he took a moment to steady his breath. This was it. He pressed the device against his thigh, the cool metal a stark contrast to his heated skin. With a quick jab, he injected the booster, a sharp jolt of sensation coursing through his leg and radiating outwards like electricity.

It felt as though a fog was lifting from his mind, clarity returning as he took deep breaths, letting the rush of the booster settle within him. The world around him sharpened, the cabin coming into focus—the peeling wallpaper, the worn floorboards, the sunlight dancing on the wooden surfaces.

10k’s gaze flicked to the nearby window. He peered through the glass, the outside world beckoning him. A glimpse of movement caught his attention, and he squinted, trying to make out the figure by the river. Was it Y/n? The distance blurred the details, and he strained to see, his heart pounding in his ears.

As he watched, fatigue washed over him like a tide, and the aches in his body caught up to him. With a groan, he sank back against the wall. 

"Damn it," he muttered, rubbing circles on his bandage in an attempt to ease the pain. Grabbing his discarded shirt from the floor and putting it back on his tired body.

In his line of sight, something caught his eye—Y/n’s bag, slightly open, with a corner of a magazine poking out. Curiosity piqued, he leaned forward, reaching out to grab it. He pulled it free, revealing a camping magazine, its glossy pages vibrant and inviting.

Flipping through the pages, 10k allowed himself a small moment of distraction. Images of lakes and towering trees filled his vision, a large contrast to the chaos of his journey. He lost himself in the articles, the warmth of the sun streaming through the window making him forget, if only for a moment, the dangers that lay beyond the cabin walls.

━━━━━━☆━━━━━━

Fifteen minutes slipped by, but 10k found himself in a spiral of doubt. Was that figure by the river really Y/n? Or had he been too hopeful, imagining a safety that might not be there? 

The possibilities rushed through his mind, looters? Murphy? He felt the instinct to hide creeping in, his pulse quickening as he listened intently to the sounds outside.

Then, the unmistakable crunch of footsteps approached the cabin, and he acted on instinct.

Quickly, he snatched his bag of boosters, adrenaline surging through him as he dashed to a nearby closet. He squeezed inside, the darkness concealing him, waiting to see what would happen next.

The cabin door creaked open, and the soft sound of humming floated in. 10k squinted through the small gap in the closet door, and he felt a rush of relief as he saw Y/n step inside, holding three glistening fish in hand.

Y/n glanced around the cabin, his brow furrowing as he took in the empty space. "10k?" he called hesitantly, closing the door behind him. "It’s just me. I’m back with some food."

At the sound of Y/n’s voice, 10k found himself exhaling without realizing he’d been holding his breath. The tension eased as he slowly opened the closet door. Y/n’s eyes widened with surprise, and a wide grin spread across his face.

"Hey!" Y/n chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry— I’ll make sure to announce my arrivals and departures from now on."

10k couldn’t help but smile back, the warmth of Y/n’s presence washing over him like sunlight. "Not a bad idea," he replied, his tone teasing. He glanced at the fish Y/n had brought. "Nice catch."

"Just a little luck," Y/n said, beaming with pride. "I figured we could have a proper meal, help you feel better."

10k simply nodded, stepping fully out of the closet now, feeling the tension in his body melt away.

"Let’s cook these up," Y/n suggested, moving outside. The fresh air felt invigorating, a sharp contrast to the cabin’s stillness. As they stepped out into the open, 10k rolled up his sleeves, ready to prepare the fish.

━━━━━━☆━━━━━━

"Do you know how to clean and cook them?" Y/n asked, watching closely as 10k worked.

"Yeah, I’ve done it quite a few times," 10k replied, focused on his task. "Just gotta be careful with the bones."

As he deftly filleted the fish, Y/n started gathering twigs and kindling to build a small fire. The intimacy of the moment hung in the air; the sounds of the forest surrounded them, punctuated by the soft rustling of leaves and distant birdsong.

Once the fire was crackling, Y/n moved closer, watching intently. "You’re really good at this," he said, admiration lacing his tone. The way 10k handled the knife was almost mesmerizing, his movements precise and confident.

"Thanks," 10k said, a hint of pride creeping into his voice. He looked up at Y/n, catching his eye. The flickering flames cast a warm glow, highlighting the sharp angles of Y/n’s face, and for a moment, everything else faded away. "My dad taught me."

"Well, you’re doing a damn good job," Y/n replied, his expression softening.

The fish sizzled as 10k placed them on the makeshift grill, the fishy aroma filling the air.