#Clear Sky: Guy who keeps gettin' away with it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

heyitsjay03 · 3 years

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Fighting for Tomorrow

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I do not own AOT! All rights go to the respective owner(s) :) Reiner x Fem!Reader, eventual Captain Levi x Reader, Sasha x Sister!Reader Word Count: 8.9k words TW: gore/blood/violence/death, adult language/swearing, loss/grief

-------- You can read parts one, two, and four here! Just give the number you want a little boop :)

The rain beats down on us nearly as hard as the Commandant does. The hoofbeats of his horse squelch and merge with the thunder above us. “Cadet Braus!” The Commandant yells, sidling up next to me. “You look like you’re getting tired! Are you exhausted?”

“No, sir!” I pant, willing my legs to continue on in the mud. “Just gettin’ warmed up, sir!”

“Are you sure? You’ve been ahead of the group for a while now- you should take a break!”

“I’ll politely have to decline sir!”

“And why is that, cadet?”

“Because I’m gonna be in the top ten, sir!”

“You hear that, maggots?!” The Commandant calls to the rest of the recruits behind me. “Cadet Braus is gonna be in the top ten! Who else wants to be in the top ten?!”

Various grunts of agreement resound behind me.

“That’s more than ten!” the Commandant yells, “It seems you have some competition, Cadet Braus!”

“Aye, sir!”

“How about a wager? Whoever can beat Cadet Braus back to the barracks gets extra merits for this exercise!”

I let out a breath, swiping my hand over my forehead to clear the rain from my eyes. The pack of equipment on my back is weighing down on me- making my steps sink deeper in the mud. The ODM gear at my sides bangs on my legs. My ears strain… and I can hear someone at my left.

“Looks like we have a taker!” The Commandant yells.

My eyes dart to the left. Annie runs alongside me, huffing with each step. Her hair is plastered to her face, mixed rain and sweat slicking her pale skin. My whole body stretches and strains and screams with effort as I will my legs to go even further, even faster.

Annie’s eyes widen as she watches me, falling behind for a moment. She quickly snaps out of it and picks up speed. The two of us stretch forward in a dance of advance and retreat. The barracks’ warm glow appears over the mud of the hills.

My lips turn up into a smile and I feel the pain in my legs fall away. The breath in my lungs is fresh and clear- no more tightness in my chest. Even the weight of the pack on my back is gone.

I’m sprinting now. Mud squishing, rain slicing, heart beating. The glow of the barracks gets closer and closer and closer. I can smell the freshly-cleaned linen, the hearth. It coaxes me closer, urges me to go faster.

My hand reaches out and I slam my fist against the wall. “Commandant!” I pant, slouching over and heaving in breath. “I finished first!”

The Commandant’s horse pulls up before me, the Commandant looking down at me. There’s a faint trace of a smile on his lips. Wordlessly, he dips his head.

I go into a salute and watch as he and his horse pull next to the mouth of the woods. Annie trails in just behind me, shrugging her gear off. I smile at her weakly. “Great run,” I mutter, “Ya almost had me.”

Annie’s eyes flick up to me, quiet and intense. I reach a hand out for her to shake, the other hand gripping my knee to keep me upright. She stands up straight and takes my hand, giving it a quick shake.

And then she walks away with her gear.

I stand up against the wall. My eyes flutter as raindrops fall into them, blurring my vision slightly. The rest of the group trails in. Mikasa, Eren, Bertholdt, Connie, Jean, Sasha, Ymir, Christa, Armin.

Reiner’s behind them all. Hair stuck to his skin, raindrops beading down his face and onto the soaked cape around his shoulders. A smile crosses his face as our eyes meet and he picks up his pace.

I laugh a bit, taking off my gear and letting it rest up against the wall of the barracks. “There you are,” I say as I jog up to him in the rain. “Was gettin’ worried.”

Reiner smiles down at me, “Was your own fault- left me in the dust.”

“You were jogging,” I roll my eyes, “You could’ve kept up with me if you wanted to.”

“Had to make sure no one got left behind.”

“Jeez…,” I scoff and grab his collar, pulling him down towards me. “How in the walls did I manage to fall for a softie like you?”

Reiner shrugs, “Must’a been my incredible flirting skills.”

The two of us chuckle and I press my lips to his. “You’re warm,” I mumble, pulling away.

“You’re freezing,” he mutters, “C’mon. Let’s get you inside.”

--.--

The wind runs its airy fingers through my hair as I swing through the trees. My fingers let go of the trigger, only to switch back to pressing it again. The wires of my ODM gear shoot out and stick into the bark of two trees on either side of me. I’ve broken off the group and shaken off Ymir. It’s just me and these two Titans.

My blades glint beside me and I turn my head to look at myself in the blades. I’ve gained a bit of muscle, all toned and smooth under my skin. My skin is even more tan from the days spent in the sun. I’ve got another scar on my collarbone from messing around with ODM blades that one time with Connie and Jean.

I swing again, circling the clearing where two Titan models stand. There’s a foam section on the back of their ‘necks’- their napes. My grips on my swords tightens and I swing down towards the clearing.

The wind is tearing through my hair, cracking like sharp whips in my ears. It only urges me faster. A short scream leaves my lips as my blades dig into the nape of the first. My fingers quickly switch and I angle myself around the Titan’s back, falling down underneath the second Titan’s legs. My back arches away from the ground and I activate my ODM gear- shooting up towards the sky. I force myself to one side, sending me spinning in mid-air. My blades trail along the nape- taking out a deep chunk that falls to the floor behind me.

“Ha!” I yell, smiling. The ODM gear activates and I head back into the woods in search of my next kill.

Through the trees, I can see three people swinging to the west. I follow them from a distance and hear Jean, Connie, and Sasha arguing.

“You stole it!” Connie yells, “That was my kill!”

“That wasn’t yours!” Jean shoots back, “I found them!”

“You’re both just mad because I got the kill and you were too slow!” Sasha calls back, giggling.

My eyes hone in on their target- another Titan. Fifteen meters. Easy pickings. My ODM gear activates again and I launch into the clearing, brandishing my blades.

“And you’re gonna be mad when I steal your kill!” I yell, spinning down to the Titan’s nape.

Screams of protest and anger grow behind me as I feel the blades dig into the foam. Pulling away, I look up and see a chunk of the foam fall down the wooden Titan’s back. I cackle, swinging in circles around the trio. “Top ten here I come!” I laugh.

“Not if I can help it!” Jean snaps, swinging up to me.

The two of us pop out above the trees, staring at each other as we fall back down to the ground.

“You’re on, Kirschtein!”

--.--

“C’mon then, darling,” Reiner says charmingly, a smirk plastered on his stupid face. “Let me have it.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were getting off on this,” I say back, getting into position.

Reiner shrugs, “Eh. Maybe. Come over here and find out.”

I roll my eyes and dig the ball of my foot into the dirt. My grip on the toy knife tightens as I lunge forward, aiming for his chest. His hands shoot out for my chest and my stomach- intending to flip me.

I duck down, dodging his arms. As I shoot back up, I place the knife just under his chin. Panting, we stay there for a moment. His eyes trail down my figure before coming up to meet mine. “Damn…” he mumbles, “That was…”

I press the wooden knife to his throat a little harder. “We’re in public,” I scold, “You’ll scare the kids.” I pull away, flicking his nose.

“Eren,” I call, waving him over as he watches us from the sidelines.

He hurries over, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “How’d you do that?”

“You have to find their weakness,” I explain, “Whether it be physical or in their attack. Rei’s a big guy and can easily outmatch me in most styles of fighting. Lucky for me, though, he doesn’t keep his hands up enough to keep me from finding an ‘in’.”

“Pfft,” Reiner scoffs, rolling his eyes as his arms cross over his chest. “I let you win.”

“I know you’re joking, love, but let me explain to the kid first,” I wave him off, still focusing on Eren. “So what you have to do is find your opponent’s weakness and use it against them.”

Eren nods slowly, taking the knife from my hands. “So… what’s your weakness?”

“Being too badass,” I smirk, tousling his hair. Eren ducks away and scowls. “Fine… It’s a few things. For one, I’m not the tallest person in the world. People like Rei, Bert, or Ymir easily have an arm’s length advantage over me. And I’m not good with defense. You’ll always see me strike first.”

“Which is why you two work so well together,” Eren's eyes brighten with realisation. “Reiner- you’re good at defense and _________, you’re good at offense.”

I can feel my face turn a slight shade of pink and I tousle his hair again, “...jeez, kid. Don’t make me blush.”

“Nearly two years of dating and you’re still all blushy,” Reiner coos, the smile on his face echoing in his tone. “How cute.”

“‘Cute’?!” I snap, turning around to face him. “I’ll kick your ass- I have kicked your ass! Multiple times!”

“Oh really? Then how ‘bout you go pick a fight with someone else? Prove how ‘not cute’ you are.” Reiner teases, an eyebrow raised as he looks me up and down.

I scoff, rolling my eyes. “Fine. I will. I’ll even let you pick my opponent.”

Reiner heads off, weaving through the various groups to find me someone to fight. Eren stands beside me and scoffs. “You two are so weird,” he mumbles. “One minute you’re all over each other and the next you’re pushing each other’s buttons.”

“It’s called being comfortable,” I laugh, watching as Reiner claps a hand on Bertholdt’s back and drags him over here. “You’ll have that one day.”

“I’ll be too busy slaying Titans for that.”

“Yeah, yeah… I didn’t think I could either. I was stuck on being a Scout and saving my family, I just… I didn’t think it was in the cards for me.” I roll my eyes and laugh, “And then that blond idiot stumbled into my life.”

“You talkin’ about me?” Reiner asks, walking up to us with Bert. He’s got that look in his eyes- all playful and teasing. What a softie.

“Yeah- about how much of a softie you are.” I gesture to Bert, “You explain what’s goin’ on?”

Bert’s eyes flick from me to Eren and then to Reiner. A small bead of sweat trails down his forehead. He gulps. “...yeah.”

“Aw, c’mon, Bertie,” I laugh softly, getting into position. “You act like you’ve seen me fight.”

“That’s the thing,” Bert chuckles warily, a crooked smile on his lips. “I have.”

“Oh…,” my shoulders slump slightly before tensing back up again. “Well. You’ve got an advantage. I haven’t seen you fight so I’m going in blind.”

“Hey, Reiner, I-” Bert starts, trying to hand the toy knife back to him with shaky hands.

“Aw, c’mon, Bertholdt,” Reiner chuckles, hands kneading Bert’s shoulders. “You’re afraid of her? She’s like… so much shorter than you.”

“Yeah, but-”

“C’mon, then. Show ‘er how it’s done.”

Bert’s eyes are wide as Reiner steps away to stand beside Eren. Finally, he sighs and tenses his jaw. “Fine…,” he mutters, “Let’s go then.”

“Fantastic,” I smile, bringing my fists up to guard my face.

Bertholdt takes a deep breath and I ready myself. Go for the gut- when he’s winded, hit the backs of his knees. He’ll bring himself down.

Bertholdt and I charge for each other. The knife between us, I turn to the side. Grabbing his wrist, I twist it back. My left elbow digs into his stomach at the same time and he hunches over. My leg wraps around his and pulls at the backs of his knees, sending him toppling over. I step forward as he does and am out of the way before he hits the ground.

A cocky smile plays my lips as I hand Eren the knife. “That… is how it’s done.”

--.--

“Sasha farted,” Mikasa says calmly.

My hand flies up to my mouth, smacking against my face as laughter threatens to bubble out. My other hand gripping Reiner’s bicep, I try to remain quiet as the Commandant scolds Sasha. Connie sitting next to me is snickering. I elbow him and press a finger to my lips, only for the two of us to tremble with pent-up laughter. Reiner is tense and still but I can feel the rumbling in his chest as he tries to stay calm. Sasha’s face has drained of all color as she stares open-mouthed at Mikasa.

The door closes and we erupt into giggling. “Holy shit,” I wheeze, wiping a tear from my eyes. “Holy shit… Holy shit, holy shit. Ho. Lee. Shit.”

“I can’t breathe!” Connie howls, holding his sides.

“Shut up!” Sasha snaps before turning to Mikasa. Her hands on Mikasa’s shoulders, she starts to shake her back violently. “How could you say that?! In front of everyone? In front of the Commandant?! I thought we were-”

She’s cut off by Mikasa shoving a piece of bread into her mouth. “We are,” she says simply. “It was the only way to get him out of here fast without him asking any questions.”

Sasha’s eyebrows unknit as she chews on the bread. Her grip falls away from Mikasa’s shoulders and she crosses her arms over her chest. Pink dusts her cheeks as she pouts.

“Aw, jeez, Sasha,” I mumble, “Everyone’ll forget it in a few days. It’s not a big deal. ‘Sides, the ones that won’t forget are going to the Scouts. You won’t have to worry about-” The table grows quieter as we all realise what I said. “Shit…” I mutter, feeling the weight of the choosing ceremony settle in amongst us.

“You still wanna… go... to the Scouts?” Connie asks beside me.

I nod, “It’s been my goal since day one.”

“You guys, too?” He asks, looking at Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. Each of them nod.

“...Sasha?” I ask quietly, my eyes flicking to her from over my cup of tea.

“Military Police,” she says firmly. “I… I won’t have to worry about food there.”

A weight leaves my chest, sliding off with her words. Military Police means she’ll be far away from the exterior- safe. I won’t have to worry about her getting hurt and I can protect the kids better. The only thing she’ll have to worry about is if she’ll be seated closest to the food that night.

She’ll be safe.

“And you?” I ask, turning to face Reiner. He’s been too quiet for too long.

His eyes meet mine as I duck into his vision. A small smile crosses his lips and he shrugs. “...I… I’m still deciding.”

That’s been his answer for months now. ‘Still deciding’. It’s driving me insane. If he could just make up his mind already, I could stop worrying.

--.--

“You have three choices!” The officer in front of us yells. “The Garrison Regiment- who reinforce the walls. The Scout Regiment- who ride into Titan country to take back land for humanity. And the Military Police- where you protect the people and serve out the orders of your King.”

The officer gestures down to us. “Naturally, the only ones that can join the Military Police are the top ten- sorry, eleven- scorers that we announced earlier.”

Christa. Sasha. Connie. Marco. Jean. Eren. Annie. Bertholdt. Me. Reiner. Mikasa. We’re set apart from the group. My chest puffs out a bit with pride as I stand in a salute. Not just me, either. Mikasa, Eren, Sasha- we’re here.

Carla, I hope you can see your boy.

Mom… Dad… I hope you’re proud.

We made it.

--.--

The room is buzzing with excitement, so thick and pure you could almost taste it. People are laughing, drinking, eating, cheering. Others are dancing on top of tables, belting out drinking songs.

Eren, Mikasa, and Armin sit across from me. Sasha and Connie are on my right while Reiner sits to my left. His hand is around my waist, tucking me into his side. I lean into his chest to soak up his warmth like a happy, slightly-buzzed, little sponge. In front of me is the pile of cadet evaluations someone stole from Sadies’ office.

My eyes scan over the first cadet evaluation. “Ooh,” I laugh giddily. “‘Connie Springer is exceptionally note-worthy regarding ODM maneuvering but’-,” I stop, bursting into laughter.

“Well?!” Connie snaps, slamming his glass down on the table. “Finish it!”

“‘But is a few sandwiches short of a picnic’.” I finish, giggling. The group erupts into laughter as Connie’s eyebrows furrow.

“The Hell does that mean?!”

Armin leans over and whispers something in his ear. Connie’s face turns bright red and the grip on his drink grows tighter. “Hey!” He snaps, “I’m not stupid!”

The group’s laughter surges. Connie scoffs and sinks down into his seat.

“Aww… Poor thing.” I laugh, rubbing his head.

He shakes me off and takes a gulp of ale. “Just do the next one already.”

“Me! I’ll go next!” Sasha yells, waving a hand over her head.

I nod, turning my gaze down to the pile of evaluations in front of me. Picking up Sasha’s file, I take a drink of ale and open it up. “‘She has unconventionally good intuition’,” I lift my glass as the group cheers. Sasha smiles, puffing her chest out proudly. “But also doesn’t share this intuition with her classmates, making her a poor teammate as a result.” Sasha shrinks, shrugging and rolling her eyes.

“Who’s next?”

“Reiner!” Someone calls out. I scan the group as Bert raises his eyebrows at me, smirking as he takes a sip from his cup.

I nod and snake Reiner’s file out, opening it. “‘Stalwart in both mind and body’- I can attest to that.” I tease, earning some cheers and groans from the group. “...‘and well-respected by his comrades. Also-” my hand clamps down over my mouth as laughter threatens to spill out. “...‘has the constitution... of a grass-fed ox’.”

The group howls. I close the file and turn to Reiner, who was reading over my shoulder. “Aww… poor Rei…,” I tease, placing my hand against his face. My thumb rubs over his pink skin as he scoffs.

“Let’s read yours next,” he laughs, reaching behind me and snatching mine off the pile.

“Now- wait, hang on-”

“Who wants to read _________’s?” Reiner yells, holding the file above his head so I can’t reach it. The group erupts into cheers, lifting glasses and fists into the air. Reiner looks down at me and shrugs. “Gotta give the people what they want.”

I roll my eyes, groaning as I sink back into my seat. I take another sip of ale as Reiner clears his throat. “‘Although talented in bladework and maneuvering… she is relatively lackluster in the classroom- caused by her genuine dislike of being stuck indoors. Also has issues trusting in new people- and a stubbornness rivaling that of a donkeys’.”

The crowd cheers.

“To Hell with rules!” Connie yells, lifting a glass.

The others lift their glasses and I do the same. “To freedom!” I laugh, smashing my cup up against the others’. I bring it back down and take a long sip of the ale in it.

“How’s it feel to be in the top ten?” Thomas asks, sitting down beside Armin.

“Eleven,” Armin corrects, “Actually.”

“Christa and Sasha got the same exact score- so technically it's still the top ten scorers,” I say, shrugging. “But I don't really care.”

Thomas, Armin, and Reiner chuckle. “Well?” Thomas asks, “How’s it feel?”

I breathe in deeply, closing my eyes. “...like I’m gettin’ drunk,” I laugh, taking another drink of ale.

“Cheers to that,” Reiner mumbles, hitting his cup against mine. The two of us take another swig, giggling at each other as we peek over the rims of our glasses.

“You’re an idiot,” I laugh, placing my cup on the table. “How in the walls did I ever fall for you?”

“It was that damn walk,” Reiner says, slamming his cup down a little harder than he wanted to. “In the woods. When I helped Eren.”

“That was when I fell for you?”

“No, when I fell for you.”

“...really?” I ask, turning to face him. His cheeks burn a slight red and his golden eyes are half-closed as he looks down at me. Slowly, his tongue comes out and wets his lips- all while staring at mine.

“Yes, ma’am,” he says, reaching up and tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “Seein’ you in your element- the moonlight, the woods… Making those jokes and laughing with Armin and Eren… All I could think about was how beautiful you looked.”

My face turns bright red, burning hot with embarrassment. “You…” I trail off, trying to snatch the next coherent words in my short-circuiting brain. “You’re…” I laugh softly and shake my head. “I think you’re pretty good-lookin’, too.”

His lips press against mine softly. He tastes like ale and mint. Slowly, Reiner pulls away. His eyes flick around the table before bouncing back to me. “It’s crowded in here,” he whispers. “Let’s get outta here.”

“And do what?” I ask coyly, snaking my arms around his neck. “What sort of lewd, lecherous, lascivious things are you trying to steal me away to do?”

“Why don’t you come with me and find out?”

My lips turn up into a smirk and I pull away. “Sasha?” I call, tapping her on the shoulder. “I’m trusting you to make sure Connie, Eren, Jean and Armin don’t drink too much.”

She nods, “I’ll make sure. Where’re you going?”

“Um…,” I trail off, “On a walk.”

She shudders, “Ew. Just… be safe.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure thing, Mom...” I mutter, getting to my feet. “Let’s go, Rei.”

--.--

My fingers graze against the edges of the suitcase. They’re fraying and the leather has cracked. Pieces of string poke out of the sides, allowing gaps to form around the edges of the suitcase.

I still haven’t found someone to transfer everything to my name. With training and testing, I just haven’t gotten the time. I will find someone though. I’m not giving up. I can’t give up.

Reiner’s hands find my waist, clutching me as if I were to fly away at any given moment. His lips leave feathery kisses against my shoulder. Slowly, he trails upwards and nibbles my ear.

“You’re distracting,” I hum, turning my head to give him more room to work. “Keep going.”

“Two years,” he whispers against my skin, “Two whole years- and you’re just now coming to that conclusion?”

I laugh airily, my eyelids fluttering closed as he finds that spot in the crook of my neck. “I’ve known for a while… Remember that ODM incident?”

Reiner chuckles, sending warm air fanning over my shoulder. “You nearly crashed. Commandant Sadies had to send me to the barracks.”

“You were being distracting on purpose,” I laugh, “There was no reason for you to be stripping.”

“It was hot.”

“It was raining.”

“It was payback,” he mutters, “You were bein’ a brat.”

“I’m always a brat.”

“More than usual,” Reiner’s hands run down my sides. I shudder with pleasure and he stops. “...that was hot,” he chuckles. “Look at yourself.”

My eyes flick up to the mirror in front of us. I didn’t even feel my arms reaching up behind me and tangling around his neck. My fingers are gently massaging his scalp. I can feel my back arch slightly into his chest, my hips flush against his.

“You’re beautiful,” he mumbles into my hair.

“Stop it, handsome, you’ll make me blush.”

His eyebrow arches and a smirk plays his lips. My eyes widen as I realise what he’s thinking. “Don’t you dare pick me u-!”

“You’re right, darling, no more teasing,” he says, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. “Let’s get right down to it.”

“Rei-” I laugh, feeling him climb onto my bed. “Reiner Braun! You put me down this instant!”

Reiner laughs, pulling me off his shoulder and laying me down on the blankets. He wastes no more time. Kisses are hot and twisting, all sloppy and eye-rollingly erotic.

“You are the best thing… that’s happened to me,” he says between kisses.

“You’re-” the words get stuck in my throat as his mouth starts to suck on my collarbone. All I can do is shake and run my trembling hands through his hair, pulling it gently.

“Don’t get too excited,” Reiner chuckles, eyes flicking up to me. “You have a long night ahead of you.”

--.--

I groan, pulling the collar of my shirt up further. My entire neck throbs and pulses. Even my collarbones are sore. And my legs.

And then he’s just gone. Just a little letter by my bed. ‘Had to go. Bert needed me. Love you- Rei’. That blond asshole. I’d punch him if I wasn’t in love with him.

At least he left a note, I guess.

“_________!” Eren yells, waving me over to the spot where he, Armin, Sasha, and Mikasa stand.

I push through towards them, giving them each a small smile. Eren’s eyes are glistening as he stares out into the street.

The Scouts were coming back, led by Commander Erwin. Eren had burst into the dorm and dragged me out to come with him and the others.

“Things are different with the Scouts now.” Eren comments, beaming at the Scouts on their horses. Various people cheer for them from the sides of the streets. “People are excited for them.”

“Yeah,” I groan, massaging my temple as throbbing pain shoots through my head. “They’re being loud as Hell about it.”

“Maybe it should’ve been you I was watching out for last night,” Sasha teases, nudging my side.

“I didn’t even drink that much,” I mutter, “It was just-”

“There’s Captain Levi!”

Everyone turns back to the street, chattering with excitement. “They say he’s like a squadron all on his own!” Someone else comments.

“That guy?” I ask, looking up at the black-haired, grey-eyed, bored-looking man sitting on his horse. “...wait… I know him.”

“He’s the most popular Scout in the Regiment, of course you know him.” Eren says, rolling his eyes.

“No, I actually know him… Remember when Shiganshina fell? And I was with that wagon, helping their soldiers out? One of the soldiers that came to help was him.”

“Really?” Eren asks, his eyes wide as he turns to me. “What’s he like?”

“...quiet. And snappish.”

“Like Mikasa!” Sasha laughs.

“Yeah… a lot like Mikasa, actually…”

“Hey, guys!”

My head snaps towards the voice, feeling myself bubble with happiness. “Hannes!”

“Heard you all graduated yesterday,” Hannes laughs, a bright smile on his face. “You four really are something.”

“Five,” I say, grabbing Sasha’s arm and pulling her closer to me. “This is my little sister, Sasha.”

“Ah!” Hannes’ eyes light up as they flick between us. “I can see the resemblance.”

“Sasha, this is Hannes,” I explain, “He’s been the one that’s gotten us in and out of trouble. And he was the one that got me out of Shiganshina.”

“Nice to meet you, sir!” She smiles, shaking Hannes’ hand.

“How’ve you been?” Eren asks, “I heard you got promoted to Captain of the Corps of Engineers.”

The group collectively chuckles.

“You punk,” Hannes scoffs, flicking Eren’s nose.

Slowly, his smile fades and his eyes lose their brightness. “I’m sorry… that I couldn’t save your mom… I know it’s sudden but... it haunts me every night.”

Eren’s smile falters and settles into a determined line. “It’s not your fault. We’re not kids anymore. None of us are going to let such sorrow happen again. I’m gonna beat those Titans. I swear it.”

--.--

“You didn’t…” I mumble, staring at Sasha as she salivates over the cut of meat. “Sasha! You’re gonna get caught! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I wanted to do it myself,” she mumbles, eyes still fixated on the meat. “But it’s okay! I’m willing to share.” She presses the meat up under her nose and takes a long sniff.

“You’re an idiot…” I mutter, shaking my head.

“A scary idiot.” Connie adds, his eyes wide.

“Put it back!” Thomas snaps, “You’re gonna get caught.”

“But imagine the sandwiches.” Sasha froths at the mouth, stumbling towards a container.

“Do you have any idea of how rare meat is since Maria fell?” Mina asks.

“Yeah, but look at it this way,” Sasha hums, placing the meat inside the container. “Once we take back Maria, we’ll have all the room we need to raise livestock. They won’t even look for this one piece of meat.”

“She’s got a point,” I murmur, raising my eyebrows and shrugging.

The group goes quiet, all salivating at the mouth and staring at the meat as Sasha closes the container. It smells amazing. Like it was gifted to us by the gods.

“...I would really like a slice please!” Thomas erupts, eyes squinting and fists clenched on either side of him.

Connie drops the brush he was using to clean the cannons, “Hey- if he’s getting some, I want some, too!”

“I’ll take some, too!” Mina laughs.

“Hell, I’ll take some,” I smirk, tying an upper section of my hair back into a ponytail. “Save some for Reiner, too. Big lug’ll want some, too, I’ll bet.”

Eren’s eyes are wide as he looks from each of us. His mouth hangs open and parts of words fall out past his lips. “C’mon, Eren,” Samuel chuckles, picking up a brush and scrubbing out the inside of a cannon. “The longer you stand there with that look on your face, the more suspicious they’re gonna get.”

“Yeah, man,” I joke, nudging him with my elbow as I walk past. “Don’t ruin this for everyone.” I bend over, grabbing a wooden box filled with cannon ammo. Straightening back up, I haul the box over to Sasha. She’s busy scrubbing the metal of the cannon, muttering to herself about ‘how delicious that meat smelled’.

“Hey, I’ll take over,” I smile, taking the rag from her hands. “Go take this to Connie.”

Sasha’s eyes narrow. “...why?”

“Because.” I state, nudging her with my elbow. “Now get a move on.”

Sasha smiles and gets to her feet, snagging the ammo box. She walks over to Connie, who looks up from his work and smiles. The two start chatting- planning little devious pranks on Jean. I start cleaning the cannon metal.

I wonder what my blond idiot and his tall bastard best friend went. Always up to no good.

I roll my eyes. I went and fell for a child. Not that I’m any better in that regard but still. What a dork.

But he’s my dork or whatever.

“Hey,” I say, getting to my feet and turning towards Eren, who’s looking out over the side of the wall towards the interior. “Ya gonna help ‘r are ya gonna just stand there?”

Eren turns to me and smiles gently. “Come here,” he says, gesturing to me to stand beside him. I throw the rag over my shoulder and walk to stand beside him. “If you lean just a bit over the side, you can hear everything.”

My feet toe the edge. I look out over the roofs and houses, the streets and carts. People are bustling around, talking and laughing and running around. Children run through alleyways and hillsides. I close my eyes, letting the wind tousle my hair. The sounds below swell with each breeze. My arms come out on either side of me. The wind runs up my sides and my clothes flutter in its touch.

It’s like I’m flying.

“Hey, don’t lean too far over,” Eren laughs, grabbing my collar and pulling me back slightly. “I don’t need Reiner chewing me out because you fell down the wall.”

I roll my eyes, “Tch… Can’t even let me have a little fun.”

“By the look of your neck, you had plenty of fun last night.”

My cheeks turn bright red as I tug my collar further up along my neck. “H-hey! Shut up about that!”

Eren shrugs and laughs, “You can deny it all you-”

It all happens too fast. Like a collision of events. The lightning just beyond the wall. The Collosal Titan appearing. The arm smashing against the wall, wiping clear the cannons and sending us flying over the side.

My hands find my ODM controllers and the wires launch out, gripping the side of the wall. My eyes look around. Mina, Connie, Sasha, Eren, Thomas- “Where’s Samuel?” I scream, looking around at each of the figures clinging to the wall.

“Sasha!” Mina yells at my left. I turn towards her and watch as Sasha runs down the length of the wall, heading towards the figure plummeting towards the ground. A wire shoots out of her ODM gear. The prongs pierce through Samuel’s leg. Sasha stops in her spot and looks up at me.

A smile crosses her lips before she turns down to Samuel. “Try not to move!”

“Sound off,” I yell, “Who else is hurt?”

“I’m good!” Connie yells back.

“All good here!” Mina calls out.

“Just a scratch!” Thomas yells.

“Where’s the scratch?” I call back.

“Left forearm!”

My finger comes off the trigger, letting the prongs shoot back into my ODM gear. Using the momentum of falling, I shoot the wires out again and swing up to where Thomas is. Landing beside him, I roll my sleeves up. “Let me see it.”

Thomas starts to roll up his sleeve, revealing a gash running up along his forearm. “‘Just a scratch’, huh?” I ask, ‘tch’-ing my tongue as I examine it. It’s not too deep but it’ll mess with his ability to fight if I don’t take care of it now.

“Okay, listen,” I mutter, shrugging off my Cadets jacket. “This is only temporary. As soon as we get the Hell outta here, you’re gonna get some fresh bandages… and don’t tell Reiner.”

“Don’t tell Reiner wha-?”

I cut him off, slicing a piece of the bottom of my shirt with my blade. “He got me this shirt,” I mutter, taking his arm and wrapping it around his ‘scratch’. The blood soaks into the light green material. It slowly turns a sickly brown… but it’ll do.

“Make a fist,” I instruct. He does so without strain. “Good. You should be able to hold a sword in that hand.”

Thomas nods, “Thanks, Mom.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I smile before my hand comes up and bats the side of his head. "'nd don't call me 'Mom'."

“There’s a hole in the wall!” Connie screams. My eyes widen and I look down below us. There’s a gaping hole at the base of the wall, stone and brick scattered around it. “They’re gonna get in! They’re gonna get in, they’re gonna get in!” Connie repeats over and over again.

“...oh, shit.”

--.--

“As members of the Cadet Corps that passed the final maneuvers, you are now considered fully-fledged soldiers!” The officer yells as the Cadets weave through the pillars and each other to the gas canisters.

I hurry to the wall, having someone hand me a pair of gas canisters for my ODM gear. “Sasha!” I call, putting the gas into my gear. “Sasha Braus!”

Sasha stumbles to me, trembling and her eyes wide. Her mouth falls open and closed- but nothing comes out. I grip her shoulders and shake her gently, staring at her. “Can you hear me?” I ask, eyes flicking between hers.

Sasha nods, her eyebrows curving upwards. “...yes.”

“You listen to me very carefully, Sasha,” I say calmly. “You have to listen to me.” She nods again. “You’re going to be okay, do you hear me? You’re going to be okay... if you listen to me- you stay close to me at all times. If I’m separated from the group, you don’t hesitate to follow me- do you hear me?”

“_________, I can take care of myself,” she starts, shrugging my hands off her shoulders. “I placed Top Ten, just like you.”

“I know but this isn’t like training,” I mutter, eyes roving around the room as Cadets and soldiers frantically ready themselves for battle. Some are throwing up from nerves, others are sobbing on the floor. “This is battle. It’s always different.”

“You’re going in for the first time, too, _________. Why are you talking like you’ve done this before?”

I'm not answering that honestly. She doesn't need to know about the life-or-death fights I'd managed to get myself in.

“Remember when I used to go hunting with you?” I ask, scanning her eyes.

“...yeah.”

“It was always different hitting a target than hitting something in the wild, right?” Sasha nods. “It’s like that. It’s just... the deer can and will kill you without hesitating. So you stick with me. We can get out of this.”

Sasha’s eyes soften and slowly, she nods. I breathe out and wrap my arms around her. “I love you,” I whisper, running a hand through her hair. “I love you so much.”

Sasha’s arms tighten around me. “...I’m scared.”

Another shaking breath passes my lips. “I’m scared, too,” I mutter, pulling away and resting my forehead against hers. “But we’re gonna be okay. You and me and Connie and Jean and Armin. Mikasa. Eren. Reiner. We’re all gonna be okay.”

A determined smile appears on her lips. I press mine to her forehead and wipe my sweating hands on my pants. “I need t’go find the others. You tell Connie and Jean what I told you. The more of us working together means the more chance of us surviving.”

Sasha nods once and runs into the crowd. I sigh, running a hand through my hair while my legs tremble beneath me. Where the Hell is Reiner?

--.--

There’s a silent buzz that echoes through me. My veins. My skin. From the depths of my stomach to the edges of my fingertips. It buzzes and hums- but silent, nothing heard.

It’s felt.

My body twitches with excitement, all nervous and energetic.

I remember something like this. In the woods, drawing a bowstring back to my ear. The shaky but determined exhale of breath as the bowstring was loosed. The buzz concentrated in my ears, in my fingers then. All soft and almost unnoticeable. But now…

It’s different.

Amplified and harsh. My leg bounces up and down- I can’t stop it. The tremble in my hands, in my gut. Chills running rampantly through my skin and so wildly I can feel it under my hair.

It’s not fear, no. Had it been fear, I would’ve known.

‘Adrenaline’. Medical books and Doctor Yaeger’s teachings in the lamplight come rushing back to me. This is pure energy. The pulse of determined energy; wild and untamable. It controls me now. I can only direct it.

My eyes turn down to the blades at my hips.

Yes. These will be where my energy is directed. Every twist and spin and curve and turn will be where my energy is. Not to run away from the enemy. But to run straight for it.

“_________.”

I look up from my blades. It’s Jean. There’s deep trenches in his face- worry. I get to my feet, feeling my eyebrows knit together. “...are you alright?” I ask quietly, brushing the hair from his eyes.

Jean’s eyes meet mine and he shakes his head. “...I was supposed to leave tomorrow.”

I nod, recalling the scuffle he and Eren had gotten into just a few minutes ago. “And you will.” I say quietly, taking his face into both of my hands. “Do you hear me? You will.” He opens his mouth again to speak. Before he can get anything out, I stop him. “Have I ever lied to you?”

“...you told me iodine would burn.”

Rolling my eyes, I gently smack the side of his face. “I said that because I wanted to see if you would make a scene or not,” I mutter. “Have I actually ever lied to your face before?”

“...no.”

“Then why would I start now?”

Jean’s eyes soften and I can feel his body begin to radiate confidence. Over his shoulder, I can see Hanna waving an arm over her head. I lift a single hand up and she nods, running out of the courtyard. Turning back to Jean, I stare him in the eyes. “You listen. You’re gonna be fine and we’re gonna have one helluva celebration when you get sent off tomorrow.”

Jean nods, smirking. “I’ll be waiting to hear you sing.”

I smile and press my lips to his forehead, “See you in a few.” Running towards the courtyard’s exit, I stop and wave one last time.

“Bye, Mom!” He calls as I round the corner.

“Call me that one more time, Jean, and the Titans won’t be the only thing you have to worry about!” I yell back.

--.--

“...how ‘bout you, _________?”

My eyes slide up to the voice. Slowly, I blink away the glaze. Franz and the others are staring at me, waiting for a response to something. “Sorry?” I ask, getting to my feet.

“I was just asking if everyone’s alright,” Franz answers, his eyebrows knitting together in concern. “...are you?”

I laugh slightly and shrug. “As ‘alright’ as I can be right now.”

The group collectively chuckles- all quiet and heartless.

“Just wondering how you’re doing,” Franz says quietly. “You aren’t nearly as… bubbly right now.”

“‘Bubbly’?” I ask, smiling. “We’re about to go into battle after knowing each other for three years and I’m just now realizing you think of me as ‘bubbly’?”

The groups’ eyes shoot off into different directions- avoiding me. Franz stumbles over his words, eyes wide and hands up slightly in surrender. “Hang on- that’s not what I… I didn’t mean like… I meant it like-”

“Aw c’mon, man,” I scoff, punching his arm playfully. “I’m just messin’ with you. I know I can be… ‘lively’ at times.”

Franz and the others visibly relax. Floch scoffs and shakes his head. “I think Franz had it right the first time. ‘Bubbly’ is the word to describe you.”

Something deep inside me hardens as I hear his voice. The only one in my squad that I truly and genuinely cannot stand. Insensitive, rude, arrogant. Walls above, the boy drives me insane. He’s led to more fights in the squad than everyone else combined.

Floch lifts his sword, “Actually… I’d say ‘perky’.”

“‘Perky’?” I say quietly, an eyebrow raised as I look at him.

He nods, flicking a piece of hair from his eyes. He raises his sword to gesture to my chest. “...perky.”

I smile sweetly despite the urge to tackle him off the roof bubbles in my veins. Slowly, I breathe in and out. He just wants a reaction. That’s all it is. Same with every idiotic moron with that mindset.

“Really, I mean, Franz- you’ve noticed it, too.”

Franz shakes his head and sets his jaw. “I respect my squad leader-”

“Yeah, okay,” Floch mutters, rolling his eyes. “C’mon, not even you, Gordon?”

My eyes slide over to Gordon, who notices me do so. His face pales and he frantically shakes his head. “No, no, no… Not me.”

“Hanna, how ‘bout-”

I’m at his throat before he can get the next few words out. My blade is pressed up against his neck. With morbid fascination, I watch as he gulps. “Enough,” I snap, “Enough of this shit. You want t’get your ass beat by me so badly, we can have this out right here and right now. Maybe if I break your jaw, you’ll finally shut the hell up and leave the rest of us in peace.”

“You’re bluffing,” Floch mutters.

I press my blade just a bit harder. “You wanna find out?”

“Hey,” Hanna says gently, appearing next to me. “Let’s not do this right now.”

My eyes flick between Floch’s. Sweat is beading down his forehead and I can see his hands shaking gently. I scoff and pull away, “You’re right. Waste of energy and.. we’ve got bigger problems right now, anyways.”

Hanna sighs, pulling my arm to lead me away. Franz and Gordon force smiles as I meet their gazes. Franz stammers out something- a change in topic or something. I don’t really hear him. I’m too busy waiting for Floch to open his mouth. As I turn around, I can hear Floch chuckle. “...I knew it.”

Hanna doesn’t have enough time to stop me as I turn around and strike Floch’s nose. There’s a crunch as my fist collides with his skin and I can feel his nose give. Gordon runs for us as Hanna holds me back. Gordon picks Floch up off the roof tiles. Franz appears next to me, his mouth open slightly as he stares at Floch’s bleeding, broken nose.

“Don’t ever,” I hiss, “Ever. Think I will hesitate.”

“Squad 32!” Someone yells from another rooftop. “Squad 32! Report!”

Glaring at Floch, I shrug Hanna’s grip. “Squad 32 leader reporting!” I yell, walking to the edge of the roof.

A pair of soldiers standing on the roof down below us look up at us. “Move out!” One of them shouts, waving us forward.

Turning to the others, I smile and pull out my blades. Each of them stare at me- all terrified beyond belief, all nervously gripping their swords and shifting in their spots. The buzz, the hum is back and even stronger than before.

I let myself fall backwards off the side of the roof, pressing the triggers of my ODM gear. Feeling myself shoot back up towards the sky, I let out a small laugh.

It’s time.

--.--

“Sound off!” I yell as we zip through the air.

“On your left!” Franz yells back, appearing briefly in my vision before slipping back down underneath me.

“I’m here!” Hanna says from above me.

“Gordon? Floch?” I call, launching my ODM wires out and swinging upwards.

There’s no response.

Angling myself, I spin backwards and let the ODM wires pull out of the building they had lodged into. Now facing the other way, I watch as Floch and Gordon weave through alleys and buildings a ways away from the rest of the group.

I fall back down to the earth, shooting my wires out to put me right beside the two slackers. “You’re gonna get left behind if you don’t hurry the hell up!” I snap, swinging beside them.

My eyes dart to movement just beyond a clocktower. “Eyes up!” I yell, propelling myself to the front of the squad. My blades slice through the air as I brandish them. Rounding the corner, I can see our target. Fifteen meters. Ugly son of a bitch, too.

My ODM gears shift and I launch the wires directly into the Titan’s collarbone. Its arms swing out towards me and I duck down underneath them, letting go of the trigger as I fall. The arm collides with the building beside me. Rocks graze my face- leaving little slices of raw skin behind.

My feet land on the tiles of the same building. I jump onto the Titan’s hand as it snakes it off the broken section of the roof. Running along the arm, I raise my swords and launch the wires into the side of its neck. I jump and swing around its back, slicing my blade along the nape of its neck.

The Titan immediately goes limp and falls to the floor, tugging the wires of my gear along with it. Planting my feet just under the cut, I ride it down. It crashes to the street, rocking dirt and debris from the building.

“_________!” Franz yells, “There’s two more in the other street!”

“Two over here, too!” Floch yells, appearing on the rooftop above me.

“Franz, Hanna- take care of the ones over there! I’m going with Floch and Gordon!”

Franz and Hanna each nod, whirring off into the other street. Steam surrounds me and the air is thick with heat and the smell of flesh. My fingers twitch, propelling me up along the clocktower. Floch and Gordon land just under me.

My eyes scan the street Floch was telling me about. Two Titan wander aimlessly through the street, bumping into buildings and houses. “Gordon, you and Floch take the one on the left,” I say, pointing the end of my sword to a brown-haired Titan. “As soon as you’re done, you help me finish that one off. I’m gonna lead it away from you two while you work.”

The two swing off the tower and into the street. I roll my shoulders and launch my wires into the roof of the building just behind the second Titan. My fingers press the triggers and anchor the wires into the Titan’s chest. As I gain momentum, I release the triggers and shoot them out into another building’s walls- allowing me to speed past the Titan’s ear.

It takes notice of me. Turning away from the other Titan, it mindlessly follows after me. “Yeah, that’s right,” I whisper, digging my feet into the wall. “Come on…”

The Titan’s eyes hone in on me. My grip on my blades gets tighter, my fingers dancing along the triggers. Its hands reach out for me and I jump off the roof, falling down to the street. The Titan charges into the building above me. The wires of my gear dig into its side, pulling me up onto its back. Slowly, it pushes itself off the ruins of the house as I run up its back. My blades slice through its neck before it can fully get up. As the body falls back against the building, I swing onto another rooftop.

The steaming blood on my blades starts to evaporate as the other Titan hits the street. Floch and Gordon swing onto the edge of my rooftop, running to me. “I thought you said we’d help,” Gordon pants.

“I got it in a good place,” I shrug, chest heaving slightly.

There’s a scream that tears out, cutting into our words. “Let’s go!” I yell, heading for the sound. It sounded like Hanna.

Jumping off the roof, the ODM wires lodge into the bottom of the roof of a building across the street. I’m shot straight up. My eyes scan up and down the street. One Titan lays on the ground, steaming and quickly deteriorating.

My stomach churns.

The other Titan. It’s… chewing… on something.

On someone.

Hanna has her back to a wall, holding her swords out at the Titan. She’s screaming and I can see the glisten of her tears from here.

Falling back down, I shoot my wires into the back of the Titan. As my feet land on its back, the Titan drops whoever it’s chewing on. I can hear Hanna screaming clearly now.

“It’s an Abnormal!”

Shit.

The Titan twists and I don’t see the arm until it’s too late. It collides with my body, sending me flying into the wall across the street. The sound of my backbone cracking echo in my ears- blunt pain running through my muscles. Falling forward, my fingers just barely graze the triggers.

It’s enough.

I’m shot forward and under the Titan’s legs. Grunting, I slide against the cobblestone. “Gordon! Get Hanna out of here!” I scream, massaging my side briefly.

The Abnormal’s neck snaps towards me as I yell. My grip on my swords gets even tighter. The Abnormal sprints towards me, footsteps uneven and shaking beneath me. I hit the triggers and swing into the sky, feeling a burst of wind just behind me as the Abnormal bats at me.

There’s a brief moment when I think it has me. When I mistake the tightening in my chest for its hand.

But it’s only a moment.

I spin backwards, feet landing on its hand before I’m completely upright. As I straighten up, I run down its arm. “Eyes!” I scream to my squad members, “Eyes, eyes, eyes!”

Someone’s wires launch into the Abnormal’s bicep and the glint of blades flash across its face. The Abnormal lets out a mangled form of a scream as blood seeps from the gaping holes where its eyes used to be. We don’t have that much time.

A yell of my own leaves my lips as I jump off the Abnormal’s shoulder and curve along its back. My blades sink into its nape. The body falls along with me, shaking the ground under my feet as I struggle to stand up.

“Hanna! ...Hanna! What the hell are you still doing down here?” I ask, running to her.

“_________!” She yells, head snapping up to look at me. “Help him!”

My eyes slide down to the body in her hands. Franz lays in a puddle of his own blood.

Just the top half of him.

“We’ve gotta do CPR on him!” Hanna says frantically, getting herself on top of the body. “Help me!”

“He’s dead, Hanna!” Floch snaps, landing next to me. “There’s no point-!”

“We can bring him back!” She snaps, her eyes wide and body trembling. “We can-”

“Titans incoming!” Gordon yells from the roof above us. “We can’t take them all! We need backup!”

I nod slowly, swallowing the thick lump in my throat. “Hanna,” I say quietly, placing my hand on her shoulder. “You have to listen to me-”

“No! I… I’m not leaving him!”

“Titans!” Gordon screams, “We have to go- now!”

“Hanna, come with us!” Floch snaps, grabbing her shoulder and trying to tug her to her feet. She refuses, pulling out of his grip.

“You’re going to kill him!” She yells, tears streaming down her face as she resumes chest compressions. “You- You all are going to kill him!”

Floch grabs my arm, leaning in and whispering. “If we don’t leave right now, we’re all going to die.”

“Hanna,” I say quietly, “We need to-”

“Get out!” Hanna demands, “Get out of here!” Her eyes flick to me, “Go!”

An arm wraps around my waist and I can feel myself being tugged into the air. “Floch!” I yell, vision suddenly clearing as I watch Hanna and Franz’s bodies get smaller and smaller. “You ass, let me go! I’m not leaving her there!”

“I’m saving your life!” He yells back, activating his gear as we start to swing downwards. “She was gone- she wasn’t coming with us.”

“You don’t know that!”

“We need you alive!”

“We need her alive, too!”

“...she wasn’t alive,” he says, just barely audible over the wind. “Not really.”

--.--

“Get off’a me,” I snap, shoving Floch off as we touch down onto the roof. “You- you left her!” I yell, stumbling as I try to stand up. Pointing at him, my eyes narrow. “You left her behind!”

“I saved your life!”

The eyes of the others are on us as we circle each other like predators. “_________, what’s wrong?” Bertholdt asks, appearing next to me.

Jean swings onto the roof, landing next to Floch. “Where’s Hanna and Franz?” he asks, looking around.

“They’re dead,” Floch answers.

“Hanna wasn’t dead!” I scream back, “She was alive!”

“She was going to get us all killed!”

“I... am going to get Hanna.”

My hands snake out from under my jacket. A hush falls on the group as they stare at me.

“...you’re wounded,” Jean says quietly. “_________… We can help you- just… Just sit down.”

I shake my head, gripping my controllers. “She’s running out of time.”

“You’re running out of blood,” Jean mumbles, stepping closer.

My eyes flick down to my hands as they grip my controllers. A thick coating of blood drenches my arms and stains my skin. It seeps down my sleeves to my elbows, crusting in certain places. “I can make it,” I mumble, walking to the edge of the roof.

I can feel it. My balance is off- all swaying and shifting. My vision is worse. I can’t focus on anything. Everything is dancing around me as the edges of my vision go dark. The lump in my throat cuts me off, making it hard to breathe.

I can’t even take a step off the roof before my vision goes completely dark and I collapse.

--------

You can read parts one, two, and four here! Just give the number you want a little boop :)

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lu-undy · 3 years

Text

Sniper/Spy request #2

Here it is: "Spy draws Sniper and the Aussie finds out."

"Mh…"

No alarm clock? Oh, yes, it was Saturday.

He opened his eyes.

The light outside was faint, turning the sky from blue to pink. It was the early morning and the Aussie rolled on his bed to push away the blanket. It was summer and already warm enough for him. He closed his eyes but after long minutes of waiting, he did not fall back asleep.

Well, better get up and ready up the laundry or something, before the rest of the base woke up.

First things first. Clothes.

Sniper climbed down his bunk bed and grabbed a shirt as well as a pair of trousers. He went to the sink and splashed some water on his face to better wake up.

Now glasses, hat, and let's go to the base.

The Aussie stepped out of the van and turned to face the base when-

"The hell…?"

There was a silhouette. It was far away, a man sitting on a little boulder. It wasn't the first time that Sniper had seen it. But usually the silhouette disappeared before he thought about acting about it.

However, that day was a Saturday, the Aussie hadn't anything else in mind but the usual chores. He went back to his van and grabbed his kukri. Whatever lunatic was over there surely couldn't be one of his mercenary colleagues. And the base was in the middle of nowhere, so whoever was there had driven for more miles than was reasonable, making them thus, a lunatic.

Sniper walked to the silhouette on the boulder and as he got closer, the tension on his body melted away. He recognised the pinstripe pattern on the trousers, he recognised the white shirt and mask.

"Bonjour, Sniper." The man said in his native tongue, still giving his back to the Aussie.

[Good morning, Sniper]

"What the hell are you doin' here this early? And on yer own?"

"Capturing the colours."

"What?" As Sniper got closer to the Frenchman, he saw that he was holding a sketchbook and drawing. "You're drawin'?"

"Mh-hm."

"With a black pen."

"Very observant, Sniper."

"What colours are you capturin' if you're drawin' in black and white?"

"Look in front of you."

Sniper raised his eyes from over Spy's shoulder and looked at the rising sun. The colours were stunning, Spy was right. The hints of orange through the pink early morning was a treat for the eyes.

"Yeah…" Sniper looked at Spy again. "What the hell are you doin' now?!" The Frenchman had lit a cigarette and was now burning the page of his sketchbook with his lighter. "You lunatic…"

Spy slowly turned to his colleague.

"Says the man who is investigating a shadow he saw from the confines of the van he calls home at some terribly early hour of the morning?" He cocked an eyebrow and smiled. Sniper rolled his eyes up with a grin. "You are a lunatic too, mon ami."

[My friend]

"Guess I am." Sniper chuckled.

"Coffee?" Spy took a thermos that was on the ground.

"Oh, why not." Sniper watched as Spy poured the hot beverage into two cups. "You were waitin' for someone?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow. The presence of the second cup surprised him.

"Oui."

"Oh, I can leave you if you want."

Spy chuckled and sat at the edge of the boulder.

"Pray take a seat."

The Aussie obeyed and took the cup that Spy handed him.

"Thanks, eh."

"You are welcome."

They both took a sip.

"I'll drink quickly and I'll be on my way." Sniper said.

"Oh, are you on a schedule?"

"No but you said you were waitin' for someone. I don't wanna be the third wheel, eh." Sniper put the cup to his lips.

"You already are."

… and the coffee nearly sprang out of the Aussie's mouth. He gulped down and turned his head left and right trying to look for the guest that Spy was awaiting. No one was in sight, and the base was far behind them.

"Where's your mate?"

"Sitting right next to me." Spy turned his eyes to Sniper's and smiled.

"Me?"

"Oui."

"What?"

"It has been weeks of me waking up this early, especially on the weekends. The season is showing its best colours early. Look at the pink, the rose, the fuscia, the peach, the flamingo and strawberry…" Spy pointed in front of them and his finger trailed in lines, as if he was painting the canvas of the sky itself. "Oh, and from the peach, then it all leans towards more orange tones, doesn't it? Coral, and yet tangerine, maybe even a fiery tiger tint sometimes, ah..."

Sniper looked at his colleague as he went on and on. The colours he was describing made his irises even lighter...

"That's a lot of words to say pink and orange, Spook."

"Because it is so much more than that. Like anything else, or anyone else."

"Like you?" Sniper asked.

"And you." Spy answered.

Silence fell just the time for them to take a sip.

"So you come here early, draw the sky and then burn the page?"

Spy chuckled and raised his eyes to Sniper.

"Non, I do not. I usually do not draw the sky."

"Oh? What're you doin' here then?"

"The colours of the sky help my nerves."

Sniper frowned as he changed his position to sit cross legged. He did not really follow his colleague.

"They are warm and soft colours, non?"

"Yeah."

"Don't you find it soothing? Here, far from the base and the rest of the lunatics that our colleagues are, just you, your thoughts, and the colours that God chooses to display for the day. It brings some peace to me and helps me draw."

"I didn't know you liked drawin'."

"Neither did I until there was a picture that I could not get out of my mind."

"What is it?"

Spy took a deep breath. He was sitting at the edge of the boulder, one leg on the other, his varnished Italian shoes dangling off of it.

"A sight of poetry on a scruffy canvas."

Sniper chuckled.

"You make no sense."

"Oh but I do." Spy insisted. "I do, but only to myself, I guess. Such things are hard to describe if you don't feel them yourself."

Sniper turned his head and realised that his colleague was staring at him with something painted on his face, an emotion that the Aussie didn't manage to decipher. His eyebrow twitched, but then he blushed as he thought that he himself had just been staring for a few seconds. He looked away into the immense desert.

"One day, God graced me with this vision." Spy started. "A man, taller than me and his shoulders broader than mine. It was an evening in a crowded place. There was a lot of noise, people's chatter, their laughter, and the room smelt of cheap beer. But I could see only him." Spy paused to take a sip of his coffee. "That man, he was closing his eyes and whispering in the ear of a golden dragon. It breathed a fire that did not burn, a fire that was… enchanting. It was shy, woody threads of air that tied a knot here." Spy put his gloved hand on his chest and sighed. "His eyes were closed and his lips moved with such mastery, such elegance… Even the dragon was melting in his hands, under his agile fingers."

Sniper raised a curious eyebrow. Had Spy drunk something odd, or did he replace his nicotine for something else in his cigarette that morning…? He seemed normal enough, his eyes were clear, no signs of funny cigarettes in his breath.

"Sniper?" The Frenchman hadn't moved his eyes away from the Aussie.

"Yeah?"

"I fell in love that day."

The Aussie's body temperature soared as his cheeks burst in crimson.

"With a guy?"

"Oui."

"Who's… talkin' to dragons…?"

Spy chuckled.

"It is a metaphor."

"Ah…" Sniper exhaled, relieved that his colleague wasn't high or drunk, he was just being a bit too poetic for the Aussie. "So you fell in love with someone?"

"Oui."

"If it's all a metaphor, I guess it was with a woman?"

"Non."

"Oh…" Sniper nodded to himself and looked away. The way that Spy was looking at him was impressive. It was almost as if the Frenchman could read Sniper's thoughts straight through his eyes.

"It happened months ago now, on a Friday evening." Spy went on. "We were celebrating the victories of the day in the common room. Some of us were playing music."

"Yeah, as always."

"One of us is the one I described." Sniper's eyebrows jumped. "And since that day, I could not get that image out of my mind. That fool who was playing did not know that a few metres away, the old man that I am was falling in love. With what, you ask? The way his brow furrows when the intensity of the music gets to him, the way he gently rocks his hips along his instrument to better flow on the rhythm, and the way his eyes are always hidden behind a thin, yellow curtain of mystery."

"Woah… Really deep in love you are, eh. And I didn't know you liked blokes."

"It is a curse."

"Why?"

"I can see beauty in a lot of things and in a lot of people, yet my work requires me to see none."

"Hey, you can still see beautiful stuff and say 'it's beautiful'. You're not gonna get shot for that."

"I guess you are right."

They took a break from the conversation to finish their coffee. Sniper looked at his colleague who was looking at the horizon and the sky. He didn't know Spy could be that poetic. Maybe that's why he was so secretive, maybe he just didn't want people to know that about him. But then why would he tell Sniper?

"So you drew that vision you had in your head in your book?" Sniper asked and Spy gave a sad grin.

"If only I did." He answered. "I have tried. I have filled sketchbook after sketchbook of it. But in the end, it is never good enough and I end up destroying it."

"You burn all your sketchbooks?" Sniper asked, surprised.

"I burn the pages, oui. And then I am left with an empty sketchbook."

"Why d'you do that? I'm sure you're gettin' better at drawing. Practise makes you good, you can't get worse."

Spy sighed.

"Perhaps you are right. But seeing that person on a sheet of paper tears my very heart apart. When I finish drawing and I look at it, I am tempted."

"To do what?"

"To keep the picture with me, at any time. But it is too risky, what if someone found it? So instead, I destroy the evidence of my crime."

"Hey, quit the drama. You're just in love and can't get the bloke out of your head. Makes sense."

"I suppose so." Spy answered and raised his eyes to Sniper. "Are you not curious to know who it is?"

"Well, if you wanna tell me, go ahead. If not, it's fine. Feels special enough that you tell me you have feelings, and for a bloke at that."

They exchanged a smile.

"What about you, Sniper? Is there anyone in that wild heart of yours?"

"Wild? Heh, maybe." Sniper blushed and averted his eyes. He stared down at the empty coffee cup he was nervously fiddling with.

"Here." Spy handed him the sketchbook.

"Why're you givin' me your book?"

"I am giving you a choice." Spy said. "You can either draw him or her here, or you can have a look at my latest drawing of that special man."

"So it's either I get to know who you fancy or you get to know who I fancy?"

"Oui, why not?" Spy smiled. "On my end of the bargain, I have nothing to lose."

Sniper raised an eyebrow.

"I cannot have more with him but short chats, like we are having now, you and me. I sometimes see him and try my best to not stare when all I wish is to take in his charms for as long as I can."

Sniper smiled.

"Y'know, you sound really different."

"I don't believe I do." Spy answered. "I think that you never heard me on such topics before."

"True…"

"So, what do you choose?" Spy put the sketchbook and the pen on the ground, between them both.

"Spook, listen, I-I can't really tell you who I fancy…" Sniper removed his hat and scratched his head. "It's complicated… It's just… I like it when I see him and-"

"Him?" Spy repeated.

"Y-yeah… Oh, bugger I've said too much already…" Sniper let a hand sink on his face from his brow to his chin.

"Then have a look at the sketchbook to see who is in my heart."

"You sure?"

"I think so."

"Not gonna regret it?"

"What could happen, hm?" Spy asked. "The second you will know who it is, he will too and this weight I have been carrying on my shoulders for months will be no more."

"Why tell me who it is rather than go and see him to tell him straight."

"Open and see. I think you will have the answer to your question." Spy took his cigarette case out of his inner pocket and lit one.

"Alright…" Sniper took the sketchbook and put it on his lap. "You really sure?" He looked at Spy. The Frenchman held the cigarette between his fingers and exhaled the smoke elegantly between his parted lips. He nodded.

Sniper took a deep breath and opened the book. Spy hadn't destroyed it yet, it must have been his latest book then.

"Holy…"

The Aussie looked at the sketches, page after page. It was the same face drawn from different angles, with different expressions. Spy really had an obsession with that man, it was the only thing drawn there covering all the paper!

Sniper blushed intensely and as the sweat broke on his brow, his heart started pounding in his chest.

And as Sniper turned yet another page, he started to understand Spy's metaphor. The man wasn't whispering in a golden dragon's ear, he was playing the saxophone. The dragon wasn't breathing threads of air, it was music, and the thin, yellow curtain of mystery was nothing else but the Aussie's yellow tinted aviators…

Sniper shut the book for an instant and took a deep breath.

"Now you understand." Spy simply said.

But Sniper was boiling on his seat, on the bare ground. So that was the man Spy had been fancying? For months? How did Sniper not see anything coming? How did he not guess?

Maybe because Spy wasn't alone playing the game of averting his eyes whenever they got too close to Sniper. Maybe because there was a reason as to why the Aussie needed to close his eyes when he played the saxophone on Friday. Maybe because if he kept his eyes opened, he would stare at the man he was playing for? Maybe the movement of his hips as he played betrayed him?

Sniper grabbed the pen and quickly found an empty page in the sketchbook. Spy's eyebrows jumped but he remained mute and didn't dare ask what was going on. After all, his colleague seemed way too agitated to be able to answer.

The Aussie scribbled and scratched the paper recklessly. He could sketch too, in his own style. He had learnt from drawing animals, and that skill he had transposed it to humans too.

It took him a few minutes and when he was finally done, he slammed the book shut and put it down between Spy and him.

"May I?" Spy asked and Sniper nodded, still not making eye contact. The Frenchman put his cigarette between his lips to hold it there, and took the book between his gloved hands. He opened it and turned the pages until the style changed. "Mon Dieu…" He whispered to himself when his eyes fell on the portrait of the man who made Sniper's heart beat.

There was an atrocious second of agony before Spy shut the book and put it away.

"Do you smoke, Sniper?"

"Huh? Y-yeah, sometimes…" Sniper's brain was turning faster than a hamster in a wheel trying to understand why Spy would ask that.

"Good." Spy leaned on his colleague and took a deep breath. Sniper was petrified.

"Why?"

"This is about the only bad habit I have." Spy answered. "That, and singing when I cook. Some previous partners did not like it."

"Why're you tellin' me all this?"

"Because, given the portraits in that sketchbook, it might be a good idea to start knowing each other better."

"Ah, yeah… Ok…" Sniper cleared his throat. "Well uh… I-I don't really know what to say."

"Then don't say anything."

"Isn't that unfair?" Sniper asked.

"It is not about fairness." Spy answered. "It is about feeling the best way possible."

"C-can I do somethin'? I feel like-"

"Oui."

"But you don't know what I was goin' to do?"

"If doing that thing makes you feel better, then pray do. I do not wish to know more." Spy answered and closed his eyes as his head rested on Sniper's shoulder.

"Right." Sniper opened his arm and wrapped it around Spy's frame. He let his hand hang in the air next to Spy's hip. It might be too much. Yeah, yeah it was, he shouldn't have been so upfront, he should've -

"Merci." Spy answered.

[Thank you.]

He pulled Sniper's hanging hand to his hip and snuggled closer to him.

"Spy?"

"Oui?"

"Thanks."

"The pleasure is all mine."

"Nah, really. Thanks." Sniper leaned his head on top of Spy's.

They stayed there, perched on that boulder for long minutes that felt like a flash. The temperature rose slowly in the desert while the air was already very hot between them.

#tf2 sniper #tf2 spy #sniperspy

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sheerfreesia007 · 3 years

Text

Finding Love in Legacy Oaks pt. 8

Title: Finding Love In Legacy Oaks pt. 8

Fandom: Kingsman

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x Original Female Character (OFC)

Author: @sheerfreesia007

Words: 7,632

Warnings: Fluff, mention of bullying

Permanent Tag List: @paintballkid711, @fioccodineveautunnale, @phoenixhalliwell, @synystersilenceinblacknwhite, @linkpk88, @weirdowithnobeardo

Author Notes: So we are back! Sorry for taking so long with this. Blame COVID. Anyway Jack’s back! And we’re starting to move onto these two idiots starting to catch feelings for each other. Also the bouquet means something, it’ll be later explained in a later chapter. I love writing out the small little nuances of relationships. Like really love it. I added a little bit of my own childhood in this part when it pertains to Bunny so we’ll come back to that at a later time. Anyway enjoy! I’m excited to get back to writing this like really excited! Woot woot!

Gif Credit: Google

The sea spray misted over the top of the railing as the ship rose and fell with the churning waves. Dark gray clouds covered the sky above the impressive ship as a heavy set fog crept its way along the water. An ominous feeling was settling over the early hours of the day as Jack began to unravel the rope of the main sail so the ship would be able to use the slight breeze to help travel along the sea faster.

The other crewmen were still asleep at this hour and Jack preferred it that way. It gave him more time to observe their captain. Captain Bunny was an eccentric woman who sailed the seas with a firm hand and a sharp sword. She took no quarter and gave no mercy for those who wronged her. But she was a resilient captain who took good care of her crew and made sure that they were all well accounted for.

While Jack admired her guff and grit to be able to captain a crew of unruly men, he couldn’t sleep without dreaming about the captain in certain ways. The captain was a beautiful woman under that lofty title of hers and Jack often fantasized about her visiting him in his cabin late at night. Often when she would visit him in his dreams she was the one in charge and it sent a thrill through Jack’s body just remembering his dream from last night where she made him wear her hat and nothing else.

Looking up to the helm Jack spotted her manning it with a stoic look on her face. She was the only one on deck this morning and Jack found himself gazing at her with an admiring eye. She was wearing an overly large long sleeved white shirt that was still slightly tinged off white no matter how much she washed it. She wore a long button up sleeveless over shirt the color of an emerald. She had one large leather strap running across her chest that held her sword at her hip. Her legs were clad in deep brown trousers that were covered by her worn calf high black boots. She hadn’t donned her signature brown jacket with the gold colored stitching or her Captain’s hat. Her hair was blowing back away from her face in the slight breeze and Jack watched mesmerized as she shut her eyes and tilted her face into the breeze, a soft smile forming on her lips.

Jack knew he could stare at her for hours and still need to see her more. There was just something about the woman that drew him in and locked down on his attention and affection. Just then she turned her head and spotted him, the smile that blossomed onto her lips hit Jack squarely in the chest and stole his breath from him.

“G’mornin’ Jack!” she called out to him and he smiled at her before moving of the steps to where she stood.

“G’mornin’ Captain.” Jack replied warmly as he came to stand beside her. Jack faced her as she continued to look out to the sea still standing at the helm.

“G’day for sailin’ ain’t it?” she asked jovially and Jack scoffed softly as he shook his head.

“You’re always so optimistic.” He murmured softly and she turned her head to gaze at him with a bright smile.

“Y’gotta be optimistic. Keeps the cabin fever away.” She proclaimed knowingly as she leaned towards him and Jack grinned at her.

“There’s always other ways to keep cabin fever at bay.” Jack mused softly as he gazed at her pointedly. He knew he was being bold with his Captain but they had been dancing around this unspoken thing between the two of them ever since he joined the crew. A seductive grin spread across her face and she leaned further towards him.

“And what would you know about these other ways Jack?” she asked softly as her eyes squinted in delight at him. Jack leaned closer to her and swiped his tongue across his bottom lip.

“I may know a thing or two.” He advised softly as he leaned down to press his lips against hers. But just as he was to make contact someone called out his name loudly and close by.

“Jack!” came the loud shout of his name waking Jack from his dream. “Whiskey! Wake up! Good lord man!” shouted Tequila as he grinned over at Jack from his spot in his own bed. Jack groaned softly and dragged his hand down his face before turning his head across his pillow to stare at Tequila. Tequila was sitting up in his bed with his back pressed to the headboard and his laptop in his lap.

“What Tequila?” Jack groaned out lowly and Tequila grinned wickedly over at him.

“Who’s the Captain?” Tequila asked teasingly and Jack felt his whole body stiffen.

“What?” Jack asked softly trying to play dumb as he tried to figure out what Teqila was talking about.

“You were moanin’ about a Captain in your sleep.” Tequila explained gleefully. “So who’s the captain?” he asked again and Jack groaned before turning back his head to stare at the ceiling. While outwardly Jack seemed annoyed internally he was panicking, had he really moaned while he was dreaming about Bunny in her pirate costume? Jack’s mind raced as he tried to process him moaning and dreaming about Bunny. Was he starting to have feelings for Bunny? He knew she was obviously attractive and he had noticed but in the short time that he had gotten to know her could he develop feelings for her?

“No one. Mind yer business.” Jack grumbled out as he lay there keeping composed and Tequila burst out into laughter.

“Aye aye captain!” Tequila called out between his laughter as Jack got up from his bed shaking his head before he headed to the shower.

“We’ll leave as soon as we finish gettin’ ready.” Jack said as he grabbed his clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. Sighing loudly he gazed at himself in the mirror before he shook his head. He was having intimate dreams of Bunny dressed in her pirate costume and Tequila had nearly caught him! Jack shook his head once more trying to dispel the image of Bunny in her costume tilting her head towards him and pursing her lips to receive his kiss. But as Jack slipped into the shower her image was at the forefront of his mind and he couldn’t seem to chase her away.

It was going to be a long day; thankfully it would be spent mostly traveling home. Jack was eager to get home and see Esme. This had been the first mission away from her after the death of Maria, and while he was glad to be back at work he missed his little girl more. He needed to get home so that he could see her and hold her again. He missed hearing her giggles and listening to the stories that she came up with.

As he stepped into the shower his thoughts wandered to what crazy antics Esme and Bunny had gotten up to while he was gone. He dragged his hand down his face, clearing it of the warm water and made a mental note to pick Bunny up a gift card for groceries and some flowers as thanks for watching Esme for him.

*-*-*-*

Jack stared at the illuminated clock on his dashboard while he sat at a red light. He and Tequila had taken just a little bit longer debriefing from the mission with Champ and he was eager to get home. Letting out a wide long yawn Jack covered his mouth with one hand and squinted his eyes closed. It was just a little after four thirty and he was so close to home that Jack could feel the stress leaving his body in waves. Pulling up to the back guard shack Jack smiled as he stopped to see Jeremy stepping out to greet him.

“Hey Jack. How was your trip?” Jeremy asked warmly as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door jam of the guard shack. Jack sat back in the driver’s seat and rested his arm on the window ledge of his truck.

“It was good. Felt a lil’ rusty gettin’ back into the world of work but it was overall good.” Jack responded easily as he nodded his head.

“That’s good. I’m glad it wasn’t too stressful for you.” Jeremy said truthfully and Jack nodded his head again and hummed softly. “So I just left the girls. They hosted a movie night and ice cream sandwiches. If you head over there now I’m sure Esme would love to make one for ya.” Jeremy advised him and Jack smiled softly at the way he called them ‘the girls’ and how fondly he spoke about them.

“Is that right? Sounds like you guys had a fun time while I was away.” Jack said happily and Jeremy nodded enthusiastically.

“I know those two did. They’re thick as thieves now so you better watch out!” Jeremy said animatedly. Jack grinned and shook his head thinking about how close Esme grew to Bunny with this week with her.

“I bet they’re two peas in a pod now.” Jack said knowingly and Jeremy burst out into laughter.

“Oh without a doubt.” Jeremy agreed as he nodded his head at him. Jack nodded as he chuckled softly. “Alright get outta here. Go get your girl.” Jeremy said as he stood straight from the door jam and grinned over at Jack. Jack waved and slowly drove into the community heading towards Bunny’s house.

*-*-*-*

Jack pulled into his driveway and got out of the truck, the sun was quickly setting and dusk had fallen over his neighborhood, he leaned back into the cab of the truck and swiped up the bouquet of white camellia and yellow roses that he had bought at the flower shop along with the thank you card and gift card for the local grocery store. Looking over towards Bunny’s house he could see the front room lights were all lit and he smiled as he spied shadows moving across the windows from room to room. Starting to walk over to her house Jack grinned when he saw the front door open and a loud shriek filled the air.

“Daddy!” cried Esme out in excitement as she made a mad dash towards him. Jack picked up his pace as he reached Bunny’s front gate and started up her walkway. He dropped down to one knee and opened his arms wide as Esme almost tackled him to the ground. “Oh Daddy, I missed you so much!” cried Esme happily as her little arms clung to him tightly.

Jack sighed softly as he nuzzled his face into her hair and took in a deep breath. Esme’s distinct scent filled his nose and he felt his whole body relax and melt against hers. This was home to him, having his little girl in his arms happy to see him once again.

“I missed you too, peanut.” Jack said softly into her hair as he held her close. “I missed you so much.” he reiterated to her. When he felt her pull away slowly he sat back and looked at her fully. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a high ponytail, her eyes sparkled with happiness and love as she gazed at him, and her smile was bright and wide. In the week they had been away from each other he could see little differences in her while she grew without him.

There was movement behind Esme and Jack focused his eyes to see Bunny standing in front of her front door with her arms crossed across her chest and a smile on her face as she watched the two of them reunite. Jack smiled softly at her and nodded his head in greeting and watched as her smile widened slightly.

“I love you lots like Jelly Tots.” Esme said tearily and Jack grinned fondly as his eyes turned back to Esme and he pulled her further into his embrace.

“Love you lots like Jelly Tots.” Jack said softly into her hair as he squeezed her with his arms rocking her back and forth.

“Come inside! I have something for you!” Esme suddenly cried out happily and pulled away quickly from Jack and raced up the walkway to Bunny and her front door. Jack laughed softly as he watched Esme disappear into the house before he stood up to his full height. He looked up at Bunny who was still standing there at her door watching him kindly with a smile on her face.

“How was your trip?” she asked considerately as he made his way to her.

“It was good. A little weird gettin’ back into the swing of things but not too many hang ups. Thanks for asking sweetheart.” he said truthfully and Bunny nodded her head. Jack was still uncertain about using the pet name with her but he could see a slight blush creeping up her neck from his words and he knew he would be using the pet name more and more now. She went to turn and walk into the house when Jack stopped her. “Wait Bunny, these are for you.” he said to stop her and held out the bouquet and card that were in his hands. Her eyes widened and lit up with a soft sparkle before a soft blush graced her cheeks.

“Thank you! Oh that’s really very sweet of you. You didn’t have to though.” She thanked him happily as she accepted the flowers and held them close to her nose and took in a deep breath. “They’re beautiful, thank you.” she thanked him again and Jack felt his face flush proudly at her reaction. He didn’t know that he had been worried about her reaction to the flowers he bought, but found he was pleasantly surprised and happy with her joy over them.

“You’re welcome. It’s just a small thank you for watchin’ over Es for me this week.” he said honestly and smiled warmly at her as he stepped onto the top step of her little porch and looked down at her while she looked up at him grinning widely.

His breath is stolen from him as he gazes down at Bunny in the setting sunlight. Her hair is pulled back from her face and her eyes are sparkling brightly up at him. A soft sweet smile is settled on her lips and the bouquet of flowers seems to make her face look that much softer and sweeter. The moment is quiet between the two and Jack takes it in reverently.

“Dad! Come on!” Esme calls out loudly from inside and Bunny is chuckling softly as she steps to the side to let Jack into the house. The moment is broken but the warmth still remains between the two of them as they walk into the house together.

Bunny walks around Jack to the kitchen and begins gathering a vase to fill up for the flowers. Jack moves further into the kitchen and sees the dining table is littered with construction paper, glitter pens, tape, glue and other craft items. Esme is standing proudly next to the table holding up a large poster board that has the words ‘Welcome home Daddy’ in glittery colors.

Jack moves over to Esme and takes the poster board from her. His eyes move across the board to see all the pictures that Esme had attached to it, most likely with Bunny’s help. He can see a picture of Esme posing with Butter in her arms, Esme and Bunny laying out together in a field, Esme walking Butter down a long sidewalk with trees surrounding them, Esme doing yoga at the park, and a few silly pictures of Bunny and Esme together making silly faces. And then Jack spotted a picture of Esme and Bunny dressed up in their pirate costumes. Jack felt his heart rate skyrocket as his eyes danced across the picture of Bunny dressed as a pirate. The dream that he had early this morning quickly came back to mind and Jack cleared his throat softly before he turned to look at Esme. She stood nearby waiting anxiously for his critique and Jack smiled brightly at her.

“It’s beautiful sweetie!” Jack said truthfully and smiled warmly at her. She beamed proudly up at him before doing a little dance around him making him laugh.

“She was very worried that you wouldn’t like it. But I kept telling her she’s got a creative eye and nothing to worry about.” Bunny said warmly as she leaned against the kitchen island watching Esme with a warm smile on her face.

“She’s super creative, always coming up with these crazy stories and plays that she acts out for me.” Jack said knowingly as he nodded his head at Esme who was still dancing around. “Alright sweetie let’s get you back home now ok? Do you have everything packed and ready to go?” Jack called out to Esme to catch her attention.

Out of the corner of his eyes Jack watched Bunny nod her head and Esme stopped dancing around to pout and stare at him disappointedly. Bunny had moved out of the kitchen and disappeared upstairs while Esme moved closer to Jack in a conspiratorial manner.

“But Daddy Bunny made dinner. We can’t leave yet.” Esme whispered to him urgently.

“No peanut, we gotta get home. I want to wind down and just hang out with you.” Jack disagreed with Esme and watched as her lower lip jutted out in an exaggerated pout.

“But Daddy!” Esme cried distraught.

“Hey Es, it’s no big deal remember I made a separate tray?” Bunny asked kindly as she walked back into the kitchen.

“Yeah but I want to have dinner with you one last time.” Esme protested before stomping her foot into the floor.

“Esme I said we’re going home. That’s the end of it.” Jack stated firmly and frowned at Esme. Esme crossed her arms over her chest and pouted some more before Bunny cleared her throat.

“Hey Es why don’t you say bye to Butter before getting your bags.” Bunny suggested and Esme whipped her head around to look at Butter who was laying in his bed watching the whole situation going on. Jack watched as Esme flounced over to Butter and began saying goodbye to him and giving him hugs which the dog loved and curled up in her arms easily. A soft hand fell on Jack’s forearm and he looked over to see Bunny standing close to him. She was smiling a little uncertainly at him and Jack smiled softly at her.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to but in like that.” Bunny said softly and gestured for Jack to follow her over to the fridge.

“No, no it’s alright. She needed a distraction otherwise it’d be a nuclear bomb going off.” Jack admitted softly as his eyes strayed over to Esme still cuddling and talking to Butter.

“Okay, well I did make a separate lasagna with garlic bread for you and Es to take home. Figured it’d save you some hassle with dinner time for the week at least.” Bunny explained as she opened the fridge and pulled out a silver tray and tinfoil wrapped garlic bread.

“Sweetheart, you didn’t have to do that. But I appreciate it.” Jack said kindly as he took the food from her and set it on the kitchen island he watched as her eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked down at the ground in shyness. “I wanna tell ya thank you so much for watching Es for me. You’re a lifesaver and I wouldn’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t step up and offer to help me.” Jack said earnestly as he stared down into Bunny’s eyes. He watched as her eyes widened slightly and her breathing seemed to pick up before she subtly shook her head and grinned up at him.

“No worries Jack, she was really great and I loved watching her for you. You don’t have to thank me it was a lot of fun. And what did I tell you about thanking me so much. It really was nothing to watch her.” Bunny said quickly and Jack watched amused as her hands began to grip each other and twist around together. His eyes dragged up from her fidgeting hands to see that her eyes were slightly widened and she was staring at him with a hopeful look on her face. “I actually wanted to let you know that if you ever need someone to watch her again I’d be more than happy to do it.” Bunny said a little uncertainly and Jack grinned warmly at the woman before him.

“She charm you that easily sweetheart?” Jack asked amused as he gently teased Bunny. Her eyes snapped up to his and squinted slightly before they relaxed and a bright pretty smile graced her face. She shrugged lazily and her smile grew into a grin for him.

“Must run in the family.” Bunny said softly before she winked at him. Jack stood there a moment simply dazed as he took in the confident Bunny as she teased him. And for a minute Jack felt butterflies flutter in his stomach as he felt a hot flush start to creep over his face. Bunny chuckled softly and shook her head. “Sorry, I don't know what came over me there. But you can’t blame me, you and Es have that charming gene.”

“Huh, yeah I guess she gets it from her Daddy.” Jack agreed and watched amused as Bunny’s eyes widened slightly and she gasped softly.

“Ye-yeah I guess so.” She replied, nodding her head. Jack smirked softly when he watched her turn her head to look over at Esme and Butter, there was a definite blush crawling up the back of Bunny’s neck. “Alright Es I want a goodbye hug before you leave.” Bunny called out as she turned completely to Esme.

Jack watched as Esme stood up from hugging Butter and made a mad dash to Bunny who had her arms held out widely to catch his little girl. As Esme collided with Bunny their arms wrapped tightly around each other and Bunny rocked the little girl from side to side as she crouched down on the floor at Esme’s level.

“I’m gonna miss you Bunny.” Esme cried softly and Bunny chuckled softly at the little girl.

“Oh I’m gonna miss you too but I’m just down the block from ya so I’m not that far.” Bunny reassured her kindly and Jack nodded along to Bunny’s words. “You can always come visit me as long as your Dad says it’s okay.” Bunny told her as she leaned back and held Esme by her shoulders. “I promise I’ll always be here for you.”

“Okay.” Esme said dejectedly and Bunny pulled her back into her arms hugging her tightly.

“Don’t worry we’ll still see each other.” Bunny said softly before pulling away and standing up. “Alright c’mon grab your poster for your Dad. You can hang it in your house once you get there.”

“Oh! Yeah! I know just the perfect place.” Esme said excitedly as she bounced away and grabbed the poster board. Bunny grinned as she walked back over to Jack.

“You look surprised.” Bunny said with uncertainty and Jack shook his head softly. He was surprised by how easily Bunny reassured Esme and was able to keep her calm when normally she’d have a tantrum meltdown if it was just her and Jack.

“You’re really good at that.” Jack said, still slightly shocked.

“At what?” Bunny asked curiously as she tilted her head to the side.

“Parenting. How come you don’t have any kids?” Jack explained and asked all within the same breath. Bunny flushed brightly and Jack suddenly felt like an ass for asking. He watched as she waved her hand in the air dismissively and smiled kindly at him.

“Oh I grew up with a lot of foster kids coming and going in our house while growing up. I was normally the ‘mom’ for them all when my mom was working so much. It just kinda comes easy to me.” Bunny said, shrugging her shoulders. “And to answer your other question, I guess I haven't found the right guy to help me with that.” She said candidly and Jack had a feeling that there was more to it than what she was willing to divulge. But Jack didn’t press even though he wanted to badly, he knew all about keeping things close to the chest and he didn’t want to upset Bunny more by prying into something she wasn’t willing to talk about.

“That’s pretty cool that you were able to be there for the foster kids in your life. Did your parents ever adopt any?” Jack asked as he picked up the tray of lasagna and garlic bread before walking over to Esme’s bags. Bunny easily helped sling Esme’s duffel bag on his shoulder for him and held Esme’s backpack out for the little girl to slip her arms into.

“Oh yeah, my parents adopted my younger sister and younger brother.” Bunny informed him as she nodded her head with a smile on her face.

“Oh that’s really generous of your parents.” Jack said as they all began walking towards the front door.

“Yeah they’re good people and know how to donate their time to great causes.” Bunny said proudly as she opened and held the front door open for Jack and Esme.

“So that’s where you get it huh?” he asked, smiling over at her. Bunny stared at him shocked for a moment and then grinned widely. Jack felt himself softening as he watched Bunny grin at his praise of her. There was just something about this woman, who offered to watch his little girl for him on a moment’s notice, that was just drawing him in.

“I guess so.” Bunny said softly, still grinning and pretty much glowing at his praise. “Well you two have a good night. If you need anything let me know, I’m always around.” Bunny said as Esme and Jack stepped out of her house and onto the porch.

“Thanks Bunny, I appreciate it.” Jack said fondly and Bunny nodded her head at him as she smiled warmly.

“Bye Bunny! See you later!” called Esme as she bounced down the steps and started walking down the sidewalk. Jack chuckled softly and quickly followed his daughter down the front sidewalk.

*-*-*-*

“So you had a lot of fun with Bunny while I was away?” Jack asked curiously as he cut up a piece of lasagna and dished it onto a plate for Esme. Esme was busy standing at the kitchen island arranging the pieces of garlic bread on a separate plate that they had heated up along with the lasagna.

“Yeah. Bunny’s really cool Dad. She was a really good babysitter. We had nail polish parties, spa nights, and movie nights. We also did a lot of crafts together and she helped me with her hot glue gun so I could make a treasure chest for our pirate ship. Oh oh! She made a pirate ship out of cardboard boxes and we had a pirate play!” Esme began rattling off quickly and excitedly.

“That’s right I forgot she made you a pirate ship that one day.” Jack said awestruck as he stood there holding Esme’s plate. He was still blown away that Bunny went above and beyond to make sure Esme didn’t feel too bad about the situation with the bully at school.

“Yeah it was really cool. She knew I was feeling crappy because I was missing you and because the girls are still bullying me at school so she made a pirate ship and we played pirates one day after school.” Esme explained happily.

“The girls are still bullying you?” Jack asked softly as he furrowed his eyebrows.

“Not really bullying me anymore since I told the teacher but the other kids aren’t nice to me since they heard I told on the bully.” Esme said with a shrug of her shoulders. Jack looked at Esme concerned and saw the dejected look on her face and slump of her shoulders.

“Hey then those kids aren’t worth yer time. Ya hear me? If they can’t be nice after you stopped someone bullying you then they ain’t yer friends.” He said firmly and passionately as Esme nodded her head at him. He knew his accent was starting to come out more and more as he talked to Esme all because of the emotions he was feeling about Esme being mistreated at school. Taking a deep breath Jack reigned in his emotions and looked at Esme earnestly. “Really Es, they’re not nice kids so don’t bother with them.” He said more under control of his emotions. He was thankful that his accent pretty much disappeared from his voice once he was calm and collected, he knew if he let his emotions get away and anyone heard his true southern accent it would mean his move with Es was all for naught.

“That’s what Bunny said too.” Esme said, nodding her head. Jack nodded his head as he placed the plate of lasagna in front of Esme. “She said that I’ve got you, her and Nadia who care about me and will always look out for me.”

“Bunny’s right. I will always be there for you. No matter what. I promise.” Jack vowed solemnly to Esme and she smiled happily up at him making him ease up and smile back at her.

“Love you lots like jelly tots.” Esme said softly and Jack felt his heart melt in the middle of his chest. He felt his whole body relax where he stood and he grinned widely at her.

“Love you lots like jelly tots.” Jack replied softly to her. “Now let’s eat, I’m starving and this smells delicious.” Jack said as he turned around and plated up his own piece of lasagna. He was so grateful that Bunny had been there for Esme this past week. He knew he wouldn’t ever be able to repay her for everything that she had done for his little girl.

*-*-*-*

The next morning as Jack is ushering Esme out the front door of the house he spots Bunny and Mr. Quinten talking together in front of his open garage. Bunny’s shaking her head as the older man rests his hands on his hips and talks to her. By the looks of it Mr. Quinten is trying to tell Bunny something and Bunny’s disagreeing with him.

“Oh there’s Mr. Quinten and Bunny!” Esme said happily as she bounced down the front steps of the house. “Good morning Mr. Quinten! Good morning Bunny!” Esme called out happily as she waved eagerly. Jack watched as Bunny and Mr. Quinten turned to Esme’s call and the two of them smiled brightly at her and waved back eagerly before calling out a good morning to her.

“You know Mr. Quinten?” Jack asked curiously as he and Esme began walking down the sidewalk. Jack was still watching Bunny and Mr. Quinten interact animatedly as Bunny rummaged through his garage for something.

“Not really like Bunny or Jeremy but he came with us to the community day. Bunny helps him out because he’s old and needs help. He always teases her and tells her he doesn’t need help but Bunny says he’s just stubborn and actually needs her help.” Esme explained as she continued down the sidewalk with Jack.

“Doesn’t he have family to help him out? Why does Bunny help him?” he asked curiously not thinking Esme would know the answer.

“Bunny said he’s got a son but he doesn’t come visit Mr. Quinten that often. She said that Mr. Quinten is lonely sometimes and he might sound mean when he’s teasing her but he cares about her and looks out for her in his own ways.” Esme said as she began to skip down the sidewalk towards the bus stop.

Jack smiled softly at his little girl as she skipped alongside him. She was such a perceptive child that it was sometimes amazing how much she picked up on. When they came to the bus stop Jack stood to the side and watched as Esme waved at a little boy who was also waiting with his Mom for the bus. Jack was happy that while Esme was having some problems with the kids in school there were still others who were willing to be friendly to her.

It didn’t take long for the bus to arrive and Jack wished Esme a good day before watching her climb the steps of the bus and find a seat in the middle of the bus. She waved at him from her window and grinned happily as he waved back at her.

Walking back down the sidewalk Jack spotted Bunny standing in the front yard of Mr. Quinten’s house with his lawnmower trying to get it started. Jack slowed his steps as he neared the fence of Mr. Quinten’s house so he could watch Bunny quietly.

Today she was dressed in a pair of well-worn light denim coveralls that had the hems turned upwards, a light red flannel shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows with a pair of gray sneakers on her feet. Jack’s eyes trailed over her body as she bent over the lawn mower and grabbed the pull cord for the engine of the mower. He watched as the denim pull tight across her ass showing him what she was hiding underneath her clothes and Jack felt his body grow hot.

When she stood to her full height he caught a glimpse of her flannel shirt that had the first three or four buttons undone. Jack could see a plain white tank top underneath the flannel shirt before the top part of the coveralls impeded his view. Jack stood there at the fence watching as Bunny yanked the pull cord back a few times to no avail. He knew that Bunny was an attractive woman but the clothes she wore and the glimpses of her body that she was unintentionally giving him was starting to drive Jack crazy.

“You need help starting that thing?” Jack called out to her and watched as she jumped at his voice. “Sorry didn’t mean to scare ya!” said grinning at her. Bunny chuckled softly and shook her head at him.

“No worries, I wasn’t paying attention. Focused on getting this piece of junk to start.” Bunny explained.

“It’s not a piece of junk!” shouted Mr. Quinten from his porch. Jack turned his head and saw Mr. Quinten sitting on his porch swing with a tall glass of iced tea.

“Good Morning Mr. Quinten!” Jack called and waved at the older man who waved back.

“It is a piece of junk! It’s older than you are!” Bunny cried out exasperatedly to the older man and Jack had to bite his tongue at the sass she was giving him. “Stupid old coot won’t listen to me and just buy a newer model.” She mumbled as she turned her head back to the mower.

“Here let me try. That way if I get it working you can just mow his yard and be done with it.” Jack offered his help and Bunny sighed as she looked over at him.

“Alright you give it a try then.” She said gesturing to the mower and taking a step back to give him room. Jack opened the front gate and stepped up to the mower smiling at Bunny.

“You gotta be delicate with the older ones. They get crotchety sometimes.” Jack said amused and Bunny huffed out a breath.

“Oh I know that all too well.” She grumbled and Jack laughed happily as he gripped the pull cord. Bunny stood just far enough away for him to have enough room to maneuver the cord and Jack caught a whiff of her scent, a mix between coconut, lime and some sort of flower that he couldn’t place. It was an alluring mixture that seemed to work and Jack took in a deep breath inhaling the addictive scent.

Jack pulled back on the cord and let it release back to its natural position listening to the engine turn over. He readjusted his grip on the handle and yanked back hard on the cord. Bunny cheered happily next to him when the engine caught and powered on.

“Thanks Jack!” she cheered gratefully as he moved to the side and she took over the lawn mower. “Oh hey before you go I have the pamphlets for the tai chi classes that my friend knew about. If you want later I can bring them over for ya.” She said and Jack nodded his head easily.

“Yeah when you have time, no rush.” He reassured her easily. Jack watched as her eyes shifted slightly and her feet began to shift back and forth while her hands gripped and readjusted on the handle of the mower. After seeing this behavior before last night he realized that Bunny was uncertain about something and he smiled warmly at her. “What?” he asked soothingly and she looked up at him surprised for a minute.

“How do you know something’s up?” she asked curiously.

“You shift on your feet and your hands can’t stay still when you’re unsure of something.” Jack answered truthfully. Bunny stared up at him surprised for a moment before letting out a chuckle.

“Of course you’d pick up on that.” She mumbled softly and Jack almost didn’t hear it over the mower engine. “Anyway I wanted to ask you if it’d be alright for me to still take Esme to the dog yoga class on Saturday mornings. If not, it's ok. I just figured that she loved it and she was really good at it. It'd be great to keep her in it until she gets bored.” Bunny began to ramble and Jack grinned at her before placing a hand over hers that gripped the mower handle.

“Easy Bunny, easy.” He said softly and she took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out to calm herself. “I think that’d be really great if you still wanted to take her to the dog yoga class. She’d be able to have some time with you on the weekend and still do the class.” Jack reassured her easily. Bunny’s face seemed to light up from the inside and shine outward with how happy she instantly became.

“Really? Oh that’d be great Jack!” she said happily and relieved all at once. Jack nodded along to her happiness before gripping her hand a little tighter.

“Oi! Are you gonna mow the yard or just flirt with the new neighbor!?” called out Mr. Quinten and Jack grinned as Bunny’s eyes widened and a blush bloomed on her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry.” She mumbled softly and Jack chuckled softly, shaking his head. He looked down at her grinning.

“I’m not. You look cute today. I'd happily stand here flirting with you all day.” Jack teased her gently and watched as Bunny’s eyes sparkled softly before she burst out laughing.

“Get to work Jack. I’ll drop off the pamphlets later.” She said with a roll of her eyes and a smirk on her lips. Jack grinned and stepped back from her with a salute.

“Yes ma’am.” She said and she shook her head before she began pushing the mower across the yard.

“Finally you start mowing! Stop making goo goo eyes at him and get to work!” Mr. Quinten called out loudly and Bunny shook her head at him as she continued to push the mower across the grass. Jack laughed and walked out of Mr. Quinten’s yard with a wave to the older man who waved back with a wicked grin.

Jack knew that Bunny thought he was just teasing her about wanting to stay and flirt with her all day but Jack was starting to find out that he wouldn’t mind flirting with Bunny all day. As Jack walked across the street to his house he was shocked to realize that flirting with Bunny was something he wouldn’t mind doing. Especially if the flirting generated that cute blush on her cheeks each time or the sparkle in her eyes.

Just as Jack was stepping up onto the curb in front of his house a loud giggle pierced the air and he heard someone calling his name. Turning his head to the side he spotted Cynthia and Diane walking up to him and Cynthia was giving him one of those wiggly finger waves. Jack sighed softly as he stopped and waited for the two of them to finally reach him.

Ever since meeting Cynthia there was just this dread that filled Jack whenever he spotted her and she came over to talk to him. Her open flirting with him while she was still married turned him completely off from her. Marriage wasn’t something that he took for granted and he held his marriage vows very high in his opinion. So the fact that Cynthia was forsaking hers and flirting with him at any chance that she got was not only upsetting to him but it painted Cynthia in an unflattering light.

“Good morning Jack! How are you today?” Cynthia asked as she stopped so close to him that his arm almost brushed against hers. Jack gave her a tight lipped smile and nodded his head at her before smiling softly at Diane.

“Good morning ladies. I’m doing alright how are you?” he greeted them politely. Suddenly Cynthia trailed her long manicured nails up and down his bicep over his button up shirt, her nails dragged harshly up and down his arm and Jack knew that it was supposed to be tantalizing but to him it just made his stomach turn and made him feel sick.

“Oh we’re doing just fine. I see you returned safely from your work trip. Did you have a good week away from Emmie?” Cynthia asked in her high grating voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Jack huffed softly at the woman who was now stepping closer to him and still dragging her nails up and down his arm, she couldn’t even get Esme’s name correctly.

“You mean Esme?” Jack asked unimpressed as he stared at her with a hard glint in his eyes.

“Oh my mistake! Is that her name? I’m so sorry.” Cynthia said sounding over the top sugary sweet that Jack sucked his teeth, almost feeling the cavity start to form. “Ya know I’d love to take the two of you out to a steakhouse for dinner one night. Get to know you two better. What do ya say?” Cynthia simpered as she stepped even closer to him and pressed his arm down the middle of her body. Jack stepped back as soon as he felt her breasts on either side of his arm with a disgusted twist to his face.

“Actually Es and I are busy. I just got back from a work trip and would like to just spend time with her by myself. Maybe another time.” He said in a tone that implied he didn’t want to ever have dinner with her.

“Oh! Wonderful I’ll get with you to let you know when my schedule is free.” Cynthia said eagerly as she nodded her head at him quickly. She took another step closer to him and Jack stepped back while looking at his wrist watch.

“Look at the time I’ve gotta get to work or I’m gonna be late. You ladies have a nice day!” Jack said quickly as he waved at them and retreated to his yard and quickly walked to the front door escaping into his house. Leaning against the front door he blew out a breath and shook his head. That woman was tenacious if nothing else.

Pushing off from the door Jack’s mind couldn’t help but compare Bunny and Cynthia against each other. Cynthia was ruthless in her pursuit of what she wanted while Bunny was more laid back and easy going. Cynthia couldn’t remember Esme’s name properly while Bunny went above and beyond for his little girl and made her a pirate ship just to make her feel better after a crappy day at work. Cynthia openly flirted with him while still married and Bunny was just starting to come out of her shell and covertly flirted with him. Bunny was so generous with her time and effort while Cynthia hadn’t shown that to Jack yet if she would be generous with anything other than her money and pursuit of him. Jack walked over to his work briefcase and sighed softly there really was no comparison between the two women, Bunny was someone that Jack felt lucky to know and was so grateful that he was slowly starting to befriend her and possibly more.

Picking up his briefcase he shook his head one more time and smiled softly as his mind turned to thoughts of Bunny in her cute coveralls that she was wearing earlier this morning. Chuckling softly as he stepped out of his house he thought of the sass that she gave to Mr. Quinten and the way the two of them bickered back and forth with each other. Bunny was someone that he would enjoy getting to know.

#agent whiskey x OFC #agent whiskey #kingsman the golden circle #FLILO

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t--rash · 3 years

Text

“Maybe this forest here will have something in it, let’s take a look.”

The group had been traveling through the dusty plains bordering the forests. The tall grass occasionally being thrown about by gusts of wind making the landscape look like green and golden waves. Covered in dirt and grass stains, the five of them had been trudging the grasslands looking for any kind of indication of ruins. The woman who had just spoken, Ilanis, was pointing towards a line of trees to the North. The trail of long golden hair flowed like a line behind her head, where it was tied up high to prevent it from going into her face from the wind. Her lithe form was accented by the light clothing and long brown cloak she wore to help against the winds, to little avail as the cloak rapidly pulled away from her. The two long knives she had were clinking against her hip as she started into a light jog. The rest of the group looked after Ilanis as she started off ahead.

“We’ve been doin’ this for like three days now, can’t we just give it a break?” A harsher voice whined, coming from the shorter, stouter woman named Lidda. Her long black hair was being loosened from her braid as it was whipped around by the wind. She had stopped and put her hands on her sides just as another gust of wind sent her cloak around to cover her face. “Gah! I am sick and tired of these plains! Do we have to travel through here?”

“Yeah! I’m gettin’ dust everywhere! It’s even in my beard, watch!” Vondal exclaims as he bends over and shakes out his long dark beard, sending a cloud of dust into the wind. He stands back up next to Lidda, being not too much taller than her, and rests his arm on her shoulder. His gray-white robes that were normally clean and pristine, decorated with iconography of his religion, were now almost beige due to the travelling, with a small line of green forming at the bottom.

“Oi! Dull head! All that dust just went right at me!” Lidda shoves Vondal away with her elbow as she attempts to brush herself off. To no avail, however, due to her cloak tangling itself within her arms.

The broad form of Jerard turned towards Thaddeus, a small grin forming on his face causing dimples to form on his strong features. “You know, when you said traveling together would bring us together more, I almost believed you,” he said through a small chuckle, his lower voice contrasting the higher voices that was just heard, “there must be something up there though. I can’t take another failed search.”

“I can’t either, to be honest. I was really hoping this would be a short trip, Minth is bound to be dying with anticipation waiting for me to get back.” Thaddeus responds, his low voice ringing out through the howling of the wind. Looking down at himself Thaddeus brushes off the dust from the front of his clothes, trying to hold back his cloak as he does so. His wavy brown hair was starting to poke into his eyes from the strong winds, causing him to run his fingers through his hair every couple minutes.

Ilanis’ voice could barely be heard over the winds, “Wait guys! There’s something here! I see a bunch of stone!”

“Finally! Come on, at least being in the trees will block the damn wind.” Lidda started into a fast jog to catch up to Ilanis, shielding her face from the tall grass as she went. Jerard, Vondal, and Thaddeus all shared a glance together before the started forward as well.

--------------

The forest’s air was much calmer compared to the plains outside, with most of the wind instead moving through the upper canopies of the trees, causing the leaves to break the beams of light shining in. The deep green colors starkly contrasted by the light brown barks of the trees was a welcoming difference compared to the golden flatlands. Ilanis was trailing ahead of the rest of the group, stopping every so often to point out stone bricks in area.

“There’s gotta be something around here. Why else would there be so many pieces of a broken structure?”

Vondal was the first to speak up from the group. “Why don’t we stop for a second, Ilanis. The rest of us would like to take a moment to regain our bearings.”

“Yeah, it’d be ill advised to not to take a rest. And I think I have some dust I need to clean from my armor.” Jerard chuckled the last part as he sat down onto the forest floor and started to remove his chest piece. The heavy looking metal had a dull shine on it, its silver surface browned by the vast amounts of dust coating it.

Ilanis shook her head as she watched Vondal and Lidda sit down along with Jerard, with Thaddeus still looking off into the distance. “Go ahead then, though I’m going to scout ahead for a bit. We’re close to finding something, I can feel it.”

“Hey, you shouldn’t head out alone. I can go with you.” Thaddeus interjected, stepping towards Ilanis with a smirk in his tone. “Besides, someone’s gotta make sure you don’t go taking all the loot for yourself.”

“Oh, come on, I told you that I was done with that. Whatever though, let’s go then.” Ilanis had rolled her eyes as she turned away to choose a direction to go.

“Have fun you two, but not too much fun.” The wink that accompanied what Lidda had said sent a slight blush onto Thaddeus as he quickly turned away into the forest.

--------------

The pair had been traveling in silence through the tangled underbrush as the forest grew heavier around them. The trees pushing them closer together as the terrain shifted more and more rocky.

The stillness of the air was cut short as Ilanis mused aloud. “So, why’d you never tell me about your little sister?”

Thaddeus stopped walking as he turned towards Ilanis with a bewildered expression. “H-how would you know about her? I don’t talk about her to anyone.” His voice was stuttering, the mistrust evident in his tone.

Ilanis started to lean back against a tree, crossing her arms as a smirk spread across her face. “Oh, don’t think too seriously about it. I just heard you talking to yourself in your sleep when I was on watch last night. I’m just surprise is all, considering we’re all your friends.”

Thaddeus’ brow was starting to furrow as he started walking ahead again, avoiding where Ilanis was standing. “I know we are, but I just didn’t want to bring it up. I prefer not to talk about my family, and you know that.”

“Oh come on now, I thought you got over that. Is Daphne really still on your mind? It’s been years, Thaddeus, I thought you would’ve gotten over it by now.”

“Gotten over it? What the hell do you mean by that?” The resentment was building in Thaddeus’ voice.

“Come on, you know I didn’t mean it like that. You know me, I wouldn’t want to intentionally hurt you like that.” Ilanis jogged forward to catch up to Thaddeus, grabbing for his hand gently. When he did not pull away, she turned him around to face her, a small smile forming on her lips. “You know me better than that.”

Thaddeus looked down at the ground before glancing up and meeting her gaze for a moment, which he then quickly looked back down to the ground and continued walking. Ilanis fell into step next to Thaddeus, maintaining her grip on his hand as the continued onward in silence.

--------------

After what felt like twenty minutes of walking had passed Thaddeus and Ilanis started noticing metal tracks on the ground, leading them towards a clearing. They followed the tracks as the tree line suddenly stopped, leaving loose dirt and rock in the open space before the giant rock outcroppings. They were like small mountains with rail tracks heading into and out of them on various levels, wood beams supporting the tunnels that they led into. The fading sun shining behind the rocks, silhouetting the structures across the opening. The whole place seemed abandoned for quite some time now, with rocks and tracks strewn about and out of order.

Ilanis perked up as soon as they crossed the threshold into the clearing, running towards a smaller entrance to the mine. “See! I told you I could feel that something was here! Tell the group, let’s camp here for tonight, then we can explore in the morning.”

Thaddeus responded by pulling out his spellbook, muttering some words as he produced a wire from his bag. The wire started to faintly glow as Thaddeus spoke into it, “Hey, we found a mineshaft out here. You should come out here so we can camp here, I’ll start a fire so you can see the smoke.”

A response came to Thaddeus soon, Jerard’s voice sounding out in his mind. “Alright, we’re on our way.”

--------------

The rest of the group had found their way to Thaddeus and Ilanis’ clearing, setting up some tents and sleeping bags. The moon was high in the sky now, and Thaddeus was absentmindedly writing in his journal during his night watch.

The sound of dirt scuffing the rocks had brought Thaddeus out of his trance as he looked over his shoulder to see Ilanis approaching him, still in her traveling gear. “Hey, why don’t you and I take a look ahead of the rest of the group, just to scout it out and see what we’re dealing with in there.”

“Wouldn’t it be safer to wait until the morning? We won’t be able to get any help if we get injured without Vondal there.” Thaddeus responded, fatigue starting to bleed into his words.

“It’ll be fine, especially with a spellcaster as good as you around, we’ll be completely safe.” Ilanis was nudging Thaddeus as she said this, smirking with a hopeful look in her eyes.

“Fine, but at the first sign of danger, we’re gone.”

“That works for me.”

--------------

The mineshaft was extremely dark, promoting Ilanis to light a lantern for light. The two were keeping close to the wall as they traveled down into the cold stone tunnel, moving at a quiet pace as best as they could.

Ilanis was the first to speak, “So, back to your younger sister, why’d you keep her a secret? It’s not like any of us know Minth anyways, so what’s the harm in talking about her?”

Thaddeus stopped dead in his tracks. “How do you know her name? I never said her name before.” His firm tone starting to sound harsh as it echoed off the stone walls.

“Oh, I uh… I just heard you say it, that’s all.” Ilanis voice was very unsure.

Thaddeus turned around to face Ilanis, the lantern spilling light from underneath him causing shadows to form deep in his cold expression. “Tell me, now.”

“I-it’s not a big deal, ok? It’s late, can we just forget about it? Maybe we should head back up.” The lantern was starting to make noise now as Ilanis’ hands were trembling as she started to back away, an uncomfortable smile accenting her terrified eyes.

Thaddeus reached out and grabbed onto the wrist of the hand that Ilanis was holding the lantern with a dull arcane glow spreading across his palm. The cold magic caused a burning sensation in Ilanis wrist, causing her to cry out in pain as she dropped the lantern. It hit the ground with a loud metallic echo but stayed alight.

Ilanis was practically screaming in pain now as she grabbed at Thaddeus hand on her wrist, trying to wrench herself free of his grip. “Agh! Thaddeus what are you doing?! Please, let go you’re hurting me!”

“Tell me. Now.” The magic from Thaddeus’ hand started to glow brighter as Ilanis cried out in pain, her wrist and hand blackening from where Thaddeus was holding on to.

“I read it in your journal, ok! I don’t know what I was thinking, I just thought that there was maybe something important that you- AGH!” Ilanis cried out as the blackness started to spread across her forearm.

“Minth was supposed to remain a secret. That is my business.” Thaddeus expression was completely blank now, his eyes locked to Ilanis’.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry okay! P-please just, let go…” The pain that was filling her voice was echoing into the mines. “W-what would the other’s think if they woke up and I was injured like this?”

“They won’t know. They listen to me, unlike you do. It seems evident to me, that there’s some corruption within our group.”

“C-corruption?! I promise Thaddeus, I-” Ilanis didn’t have time to finish her sentence as Thaddeus grabbed one her daggers and brought it across her arm, rending apart the flesh as deep crimson started to flow. Ilanis cried out as she fell back, Thaddeus’ grip still firm on her arm as he stood over her, looking down.

“It’s ok, it’ll all be over soon. We can have our happy ending together later when you learn to listen. We could run off together, like you always wanted, run away to a small town on the coast.” A terrified smile formed on Ilanis’ face; hope started to cut through the pain as the magic in Thaddeus’ hand started to die down.

“Do you really mean it, Thaddeus?” The tears in Ilanis eyes were reflecting the small glow of the lantern away from them. Ilanis took one final breath as blood gently started to spill out of the corners of her eyes as they fell shut. She collapsed to the floor, the smile still on her pale face as her body laid there limp. Thaddeus reached down and picked up the lantern as he started to head back up towards to entrance of the mines, wiping the blood on his hand away onto his cloak as darkness enveloped Ilanis still body.

--------------

A Story for my Favorite Sister Minth:

You might not know this, but I have a group of friends I travel with, we go on all kinds of adventures together. There’s Jerard, who reminds me of dad a lot. He can be very serious at times, but he has a gentleness to him that shines through. There’s Lidda, a short woman with an even shorter temper. She can cast magic left and right, she almost singed my eyebrows off with one of her spells! There’s Vondal as well. He has his own way of thinking, being a very pious man. Reminds me a lot of your older sister Daphne, in fact reminds me a little too much of her. But we cannot forget Ilanis. She is a very beautiful and witty woman; I think you would have liked her a lot.

The adventure we had this time was quite exciting. We had just traveled through the plains to the south, we were traveling north in search of ruins. Picture that, your older brother going through dangerous ruins with his friends in search of loot. We had just gone into the forest looking for the ruins I had mentioned when we started seeing stone bricks strewn across the ground. There were traces of something that used to be here, but we just had to look. Ilanis was the first to spot it, the mineshaft. There were rails and small bridges built up into a small mound of rock that came up from the ground, with one big entrance. We had camped outside of it for the night, preparing to face whatever was inside of it. However, when we woke up Ilanis was gone. We had gone searching for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. We were freaking out. Sadly, she is still missing to this day. We had left those forests for good then, swearing that whatever took Ilanis away from us would pay.

But hey, don’t let that discourage you from venturing off on your own. I may have lost my friend, but you are strong enough to face anything by yourself with the magic that I taught you. I love you the most Minth, I cannot wait to return home and tell you more stories.

~From, Your Dear Brother Thaddeus

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thiswasinevitableid · 4 years

Text

Apology Flowers (Indruck)

@cyborgrabbit requested 63 from the meet uglies: “sometimes I steal flowers from your garden on my way to the cemetery, but today you’ve caught me and have demanded to come with me to make sure the “[person] is [attractive] enough to warrant flower theft” and I’m trying to figure out how to break it to you that we’re on our way to a graveyard.” They added, “If it wasn't a personal Garden but like a large private/public outdoor Garden that Duck was the main care giver for he absolutely would verbally attack anyone who touched his flowers”

Indrid considers the plants before him carefully; he wants variety, but he also wants flowers that fit the occasion and the setting. Roses would be nice, but as a human he can’t get them off the plant easily. He needs his mandibles for that.

He picks snapdragons, some lilies, some foxglove, and a smattering of pink and orange blossoms he can’t quite identify, wrapping them all in one big bouquet in a few sheets of USA Today. He’s so busy preparing himself for the hour ahead that he misses a change in the future and the figure stepping around the bushes.

“Hey man, you know you ain’t supposed to pick those, right?”

He whirls, ill-gotten blossoms clutched to his chest.

“I, ah, I, yes, I, I am aware it is frowned upon in a public garden but none of the ones in the store quite, ah, suited my needs.”

The man, clearly an employee, crosses his arms, “so you decided to take some from the botanical gardens?”

“Yes. You have so may, I assumed a few would not be missed.”

“Maybe they wouldn’t, but if everyone gets it into their heads to take just a few, suddenly whole chunks of the garden are missing and all our hard work is for nothin’. Besides, average folks can’t tell the difference between a common plant that’s easy to replace and one that was a pain in the ass to grow.” He doesn’t sound angry so much as tired, as if he’s had this conversation dozens of times.

“I see your point. I, ah, I can’t really put them back though. May I keep these?”

The man smirks, “sure thing. I’m comin’ with you though. I wanna see if the person you’re given ‘em too is good-lookin enough to warrant flower theft.”

Indrid has zero desire to admit where he’s actually going.

“Ah, but, you are clearly at work. And I’m in a hurry.”

“Lucky for you I just got off and can walk pretty fast.”

Indrid sighs, defeated, “Very well. And no need to walk, I have a car.”

The man follows him to the little sedan he’s been towing behind the ‘Bago. Indrid opens the doors, pausing before he gets in, “are you certain you wish to come with me, Duck Newton? It’s not going to be very entertaining.”

“I’m sure. And how’d you know my name?”

“Name-tag.” Indrid replies automatically, hoping the man is actually wearing one.

Duck shrugs, and climbs into the car. As Indrid turns onto the main road, the gardener asks, “you been to Point Pleasant before?”

“A few times.”

“You got family here?”

“No. My family lives rather far away. Ah, what about you?” His distracted state is a blessing, as it keeps him from accidentally saying Duck’s words along with him.

“I’m from Kepler originally, moved out here for this job. Uh-” Duck turns, looking back at the arch they just drove under, “you sure we’re goin’ the right way?”

“Yes.” He says tightly, pulling into the cemetery parking lot.

“Fuuck” Duck groans, smacking a hand onto his face in embarrassment, “why didn’t you tell me those were for this? Woulda eased up on you a little.”

“I wasn’t sure how to explain it.” He opens the door, “will you be joining me, or do you wish to wait here?”

“I’ll come help you pay your respects, seems the polite thing to do.”

They enter the grounds, Duck removing his hat as they do. There are a few other visitors scattered about, the sky blue above them and the grass pleasantly fresh cut.

Indrid finds the first grave, removes a snapdragon from the bouquet and sets it atop the stone. Stares at the name a moment, long enough to think the words he’d usually say aloud, then walks to the next grave he needs to visit. He knows their order by heart.

He’s expecting Duck to become bored with his wandering, or try to talk with him, or offer some thoughtful but useless platitudes. But the human simply follows him from grave to grave, keeping a respectful distance between them.

Indrid doesn’t cry, he never does during this. But with Duck near him, he feels like he should. A human would cry, would they not? Only a monster would remain so unmoved.

Not all of them are buried here, and so after a half hour they return to the car.

Indrid stares at the wheel, “I have one more stop to take flowers to. I can drop you somewhere else if you’d like.”

“I’ll come with you. Come this far. But uh…”

“Indrid. You were about to ask my name. It’s Indrid.”

“Right, yeah. Look, Indrid, you seem like you’re dealin with somethin heavy and, well, I don’t feel quite right leavin you to deal with it alone. But if you need me gone, I can go.”

“I’d very much like your company on this next part.”

“You got it.”

They drive in silence, and Indrid turns on the radio because human music is one of his favorite things. Duck hums along at one point, the noise off-key and charming enough to make Indrid forget what’s ahead of him.

When they approach the memorial, Duck says softly, “ah, thought I recognized some of the names, couldn’t place where. The Silver Bridge Collapse.”

“Yes.” Indrid sits down on the ground near the first row of bricks inscribed with names of those he failed to save. He sets the remaining flowers on a nearby stone, so it will be clear what they are for.

A scuff as Duck sits down next to him.

“Did you know someone on the bridge.”

“Not exactly, no” Indrid sets his hands on his knees, focuses his gaze on cracked ground.

“I, uh, I think what you doin’ is real noble. Most folks come and just visit the Mothman statue.”

“I’ve seen Mothman plenty of times, I do not need to see him anymore.”

“Nicest ass in West Virginia.”

Indrid snorts in surprise, glancing over at Duck.

“Sorry, tend to goof when I’m feelin’ awkward.”

“It’s alright. My actions are less noble than you perhaps think. I, ah, I was there. The day it happened. I suppose you could say I have a, ah, a very intense case of survivors guilt.”

“Oh, Indrid, I’m so fuckin sorry. That must have been terrifyin.” Duck rests his hand on his knee and Indrid starts. He hasn’t been touched on purpose in two years, maybe more.

“It was. I come back whenever I can, to, to pay my respects. To say I’m sorry. Sorry that I couldn’t save them. Sorry that I failed.”

“Hold up now, you didn’t fail no one. Bridge collapse was an accident.”

“But-”

“Let’s say even if you, I dunno, had some way of seein’ it comin, you’re just one guy. One guy can do a lot, but he can only do so much. Trust me, I know. Whatever happened on the bridge, it wasn’t your fault.”

“I…” no one’s ever said that to him so sincerely, so plainly. But as the story he’s told himself all these years starts to crumble, emotion seeps through the cracks.

He shudders, head collapsing into his hands. The strong arm wraps around his shoulders and he crumples, falling against Duck’s chest. Through the silent, sharp tears, he tries to be polite, tries not to make the man feel Indrid is any strnager than he already must.

“I’m s-sorry, I shouldn’t, you don’t need to-”

“Hush now” Duck murmurs, hugging him, “just get it all out.”

Indrid does, streaking his face with and wetting Duck’s shirt with tears. When they finally abate, his mind is pleasingly clear, save for one question.

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Because it seems like someone needs to be. Plus, was kinda a dick earlier.”

Indrid snickers at his candor, “You were right to scold me for picking those flowers. Perhaps I should grow my own. There must be a way to do so inside a small space.”

“Can think of a few.”

In all the futures, Duck clears his throat and says that even so, he should be going and that it was nice to meet Indrid.

“If you, uh, if you want, could brainstorm so with you over dinner.” A warm hand rubs his upper arm, soothing and protective.

He sits up but stays in Duck’s arms, looking down at him, “I would, but you do not need to ruin your evening for my sake.”

“Wouldn’t call gettin’ to know you more ‘ruinin’ somethin’. Plus, you’re still in a raw spot. You telling me you wanna spent the rest of your evenin’ with your own thou-”

“No, no I do not.” Indrid says flatly.

“C’mon, some friends of mine have a real nice place to eat near the gardens. French Onion Soup is to die for.”

“I have never had it.”

“Fuck, really? Well now we gotta go.” Duck smiles, his mellow enthusiasm contagious, and by the time they’re in the car Indrid is smiling too.

Dinner really is delicious, though Indrid prefers the pie to the soup (though he must admit he enjoys watching the pleasure on Duck’s face as he eats said soup). Duck asks him about his travels, eagerly shares stories about the garden, and shows him pictures of his cat. When Indrid mentions he draws, Duck asks to see the little pocket sketchbook he carries, and proceeds to tell him a half-dozen times how amazing it is. He also hears Duck laugh for the first time, a ridiculous sound that he wants to hear a hundred times more.

They talk until closing time, no longer across from each other but side by side, as Duck had hopped around to Indrid’s booth to show him more pictures of the gardens. The human offers his arm, and they walk at a leisurely pace. When he reaches the car he hesitates, then hugs Duck. The shorter man hugs him back.

“Thank you, Duck, for everything.”

“You’re welcome. You stayin in town?”

“For awhile, yes.”

“Well, hopefully I’ll see you around.” Duck slowly retracts from the hug, tips his hat with a wink and heads to his car. Indrid gets into his own, watches Duck drive away before heading towards the trailer park. As he reaches into his pocket for his keys, he finds a folded slip of paper with the words “dinner and movie tomorrow?” followed by a phone number.

He grabs his phone, and hurriedly dials.

And in every future, including the one that comes to pass, Duck answers the phone with a smile.

#Indruck #indrid cold/duck newton #meet ugly #TAZ Amnesty #prompt fills

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ddixons-angel · 4 years

Text

Fated: Season 3

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff), attempted sexual assault

A/N: Here’s another chapter for you guys! I hope you like cliff hangers haha the next will be up on Friday~

Chapter 3

The night air was cool and crisp as Gloria sat on top of the picnic bench, staring off into the courtyard as the stars twinkled above her in the clear night sky. The groans and snarls of walkers in the far distance were drowned out by Daryl’s footsteps as he made his way to the bench, a bottle of water and a plate of food in his hands. He sets the plate and bottle on the table and sits down beside Gloria.

“Brought ya some dinner, Carol made it.” Daryl says when she doesn’t greet him.

She glances at him, “thanks...” she says in a small voice.

“Ya alright?” he asks, looking at her with concern.

She nods, “with how everything’s going, I gotta be.”

“Wha’ d’ya mean?” Daryl frowns, confused.

“When you guys wheeled in Hershel like that today, everyone panicked, no one knew what to do. I had to step up and take charge.” She sighs, “I’m glad he’s fine now, but I hate how much pressure it puts on me that I had Hershel’s life and literally his blood on my hands.”

Daryl looks down at her hands, noticing that she didn’t bother cleaning any of the now dried blood off them. He takes the red rag he keeps with him out of his back pocket and grabs the water bottle, opening it and pouring some water on the rag. He takes Gloria’s hands in his and starts to wipe the blood off, trying to clean her hands and arms as best he can. Gloria doesn’t say anything nor does she resist, she just watches him.

“Ya shouldn’ have that kind of pressure on ya. I get why ya do, but I wish ya didn’ have to.” Daryl says, not looking up at her as he continues wiping.

A small smile pulls at her lips, “thank you. I’ll be okay though, it’s what I signed up for when I decided to become a doctor anyway.”

“The world is different now, ya don’t gotta be a doctor anymore.” Daryl tells her.

“If I didn’t do what I did today, Hershel would have died!” Gloria snaps at him, her emotions taking over her.

“Well he didn’t ‘cause o’ what ya did.” he says as he looks at her in the eyes, “ya can do yer job but forget the burden that comes with it.”

“I really wish it were that easy,” she sighs and looks down before continuing, “when I worked in the hospital, the doctors always felt a sense of responsibility for their patients and whenever anything went wrong, or in the worst case that they died, they’d carry that with them for the rest of their lives. But that never stopped them from doing their jobs and trying to save others.”

She smiles sadly and wipes a tear away from her face, “I should just suck it up. Hershel’s alive and I should be happy instead of moping around like this.”

Daryl wraps his arm around Gloria’s shoulders, “ya don’t have to hold onto that burden yerself, ya got me to lean on if ya wan’.” he tells her shyly.

Gloria looks at him, smiling at him gratefully then leans on him, her head on his shoulder. They sit together in silence for a moment, the only sounds being crickets and groans from the walkers outside the fences.

“I don’t want ya goin’ anywhere near Cell Block D,” Daryl starts, “we found some prisoners in the cafeteria today, lettin’ ‘em stay in that cell block, but they’re-”

“They’re dangerous, I know.” Gloria finishes his sentence, “like you said before, I’m not a nurse anymore, I’ve got no reason to help prisoners. Especially if they’re a threat to us.”

Daryl nods, “I heard one of ‘em say they were in put in here for murder.”

“Why didn’t Rick just kill them, then?” Gloria questions.

He shrugs at that, “Guess it’s ‘cause they haven’t done shit to us yet.”

“It’s only a matter of time before they do,” she sighs and she feels Daryl nodding in agreement, “are you gonna be near them?”

“If I gotta be.” Daryl says simply.

“Be careful.” Gloria tells him to which Daryl hums in acknowledgement.

Another moment of silence passes by them as Gloria’s words of concern remind Daryl of his conversation with Glenn just a few hours ago. He chuckles at the memory making Gloria look up at him, an eyebrow raised as she looks at him questioningly.

“Ya know, yer brother talked to me 'bout ya today?” Daryl says with a side smile.

This news causes Gloria to groan as she sits up, “God, he didn’t give you the big brother talk, did he?” she asks in embarrassment.

He chuckles at her reaction, “Nah, he just said that if I did anything to piss ya off ya’d kill me.”

“Well, he’s not wrong.” Gloria smirks then lightly nudges him, making him scoff at her.

Daryl glances behind him, remembering that he brought Gloria dinner, “hey, ya haven’t eaten at all, have ya?”

She blinks at him then shakes her head, “I forgot, I guess.”

He shakes his head as he takes the plate and passes it to her. She gratefully takes it and starts to eat, humming happily at the meal.

“Ain’t it cold by now?” Daryl eyes her as she eats.

“It’s Carol’s cooking, it’s good even if it’s cold.” she grins at him and Daryl rolls his eyes at her.

“We should head back in when ya done, it’s gettin’ late and chilly.” he tells her.

Gloria nods as she eats, enjoying the food and company of Daryl. It isn’t long until she finishes her dinner but she doesn’t say anything, wanting to spend a little more time with him outside under the stars. She couldn’t deny it anymore, her feelings for him were growing more and more as each day passed.

---

The next morning, Rick, Daryl, T-Dog, and Carol all went out to the courtyard to clean up the bodies of walkers. Daryl looks around for Glenn but doesn’t see him anywhere.

“Yo, where’s Glenn, could use some extra hands.” he questions to no one in particular.

“I think he spent the night in the watchtower.” Carol tells him.

“Watchtower?” Daryl looks at her then up at said tower, “Yo, Glenn!”

The others look up at the guard tower as they see movement in the windows. A shirtless Glenn comes out of the tower, awkwardly struggling to zip up his pants.

“H-Hey guys!” he says, completely embarrassed, “w-what’s up?”

“Ya comin’?” Daryl grins.

“What?” Glenn says as he pulls on his shirt.

He chuckles then repeats himself, “Ya comin?”

“Oh, y-yeah! Hang on!” Glenn, now fully clothed, rushes down the guard tower to help the group clear the bodies.

Gloria walks out from the prison building, making her way to the fence as she watches the group load up bodies onto the back of one of their trucks. She waves at Daryl who’s now sitting on the back of the truck as they start driving out of the courtyard to dispose of the bodies. He raises his arm, waving back at her. Gloria watches them leave then wanders around the prison walls. She frowns as she spots a shadow going around the corner of the prison.

“Carl?” she calls out, wondering if it was the boy sneaking around the place as she knew how much he loved to explore.

When she doesn't get any response, she rounds the corner but gets even more confused when she doesn’t see any sign that anyone was here. Gloria tilts her head in confusion, there wasn’t even a walker in the area.

“Did I really just hallucinate?” she chuckles at herself.

Shrugging, she decides to go back to the picnic bench and sit there to wait for the others, but before she could turn around, she feels something move quickly behind her. Unable to react in time, Gloria feels a blunt pain to the back of her head. Her vision goes blurry and she falls to the ground and blacks out.

---

When Gloria comes to, she finds herself in a cell. The back of her head thumps with a dull pain. Getting up, she looks around and finds that the cell wasn’t hers. In the hallway outside the cell, there are people talking, or rather yelling at each other, voices that she couldn’t recognise.

“We shouldn't be doing this, Tomas! Just let the girl go!”

“Shut up, Oscar! You’ll get a chance with her too, so don’t worry, yeah?” the man, Tomas, sneers at the larger man, Oscar.

“Yeah, we deserve this anyway. Those assholes think they can just come in here and take our cell block from us like they own the place? Hell nah! They owe us this much at least!” another voice chimes in.

Oscar shakes his head, “this still isn’t right...”

Judging from their conversation, the men outside were the prisoners Rick had found in the cafeteria and the girl they were talking about had to be Gloria. Instinctively, she reaches down to grab a dagger from her belt but finds that her belt had been removed from her. Looking around the cell, she finds it empty as well. She’d have to rely on her fists with this one.

“Finally awake?” Tomas says as he walks into the doorway of the cell, blocking light that was coming into the cell.

Gloria looks up at him and recognises Tomas as the man who smirked at her the day Rick had found them. Knowing that she’s outnumbered, Gloria decided it was best for her to play dumb. She nods at his comment and gets up from the bed.

“Yeah, now that I’m up, I’m just gonna head back to my cell block. Thanks for helping me out there.” Gloria forces a smile on her face and attempts to walk past Tomas.

Of course, he doesn’t let her through, holding an arm up to stop her from moving further, “I don’t think so.”

Gloria looks him dead in the eye, not showing any fear of the man, “please, don’t make me have to hurt you.”

Rather than taking her words as a threat, Tomas laughs at her, amused. His laughter causes the smaller man on the outside of the cell to also snicker.

“Oh princess,” Tomas shakes his head, “you ain’t gonna do nothing to me.”

Her blood boils when he challenges her and doubts her words. She lets out a small breath and quickly swings her arm, punching Tomas in the face, making him stumble back. Gloria’s about to walk out of the cell when she hears the cocking of a gun. She looks to the smaller man and sees that he’s holding a gun to her. Tomas snarls as he gets back up, wiping the blood from his now split lip with the back of his hand.

“Oh, now you’ve just pissed me the fuck off, you bitch.” Tomas glares at her, rage and fury in his eyes.

She looks at him then glances at the man holding the gun to her and she just laughs, “you two are just pathetic, you gotta rely on a gun to take me down, a girl no less. What kind of men are you?”

Gloria knew that provoking them wasn’t the smartest thing to do, hell, she knew it was probably one of the dumbest things to do since they were holding her at gunpoint. Something inside her though told her that the man with the gun wasn’t going to shoot her, they didn’t want to kill her, they wanted to do ‘other’ things to her and they couldn’t risk doing that with her dead. From what she learned in the past, she had to get them riled up and angry because people generally didn’t think well on their feet when they were angry.

“I’ll show you what kind of man I am.” Tomas growls at her then quickly lunges towards her.

He tackled her with all of his body weight so that even as Gloria tried to push him off her, she wasn’t able to as he was too heavy. Fuck, she did not expect this. She landed with her back on the bed and Tomas on top of her, gripping her wrists with one large hand, he pins her arms above her head, making it even harder for her to move under his body.

“Fuck you! Let me go!” Gloria screams, struggling and squirming from under him.

Tomas growls as she struggles, as if her struggling only excites him more. He forcefully leans down and starts roughly kissing and biting Gloria’s neck and chest, causing her to scream more.

“Tomas, stop!” Oscar shouts from outside the cell, but he’s unable to do anything else as the man with a gun points his gun at him.

“You shut up, or I’ll have to shoot you too!” he threatens.

Oscar watches helplessly, feeling guilt as he anxiously looks to the door of the cell block, “come on, Axel...”

---

Next Chapter

And we’re left with a cliff hanger! Please don’t hate me~! You’ll get the new chapter this Friday! Please let me know what you thought about this chapter and how you think the next one will go~ I love hearing from you guys!

I hope everyone stays safe and healthy, please don’t panic, we will get through this!

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to any comments in a new post because this is a sideblog!

Taglist (please let me know if you’d list to be added/removed!):

#Daryl Dixon Fanfiction #Daryl Dixon Fanfic #Daryl Dixon X OC #Daryl Dixon X Original Character #TWD Fanfic #TWD Fanfiction #TWD Imagine #The Walking Dead Fanfic #The Walking Dead Fanfiction #The Walking Dead Imagine #Glenn Sister!OC #Glenn Sister!Original Character #Fated: S3: Chapter 3 #Fated: Season 3 #Daryl Dixon #Glenn Rhee #The Walking Dead

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ruewrites · 3 years

Text

We’re Blooming Together Chapter 4: Sweet

AO3

Ships: Solomon/Asmo

Word Count: 3693

Warnings: None

Chapter 1-Chapter 2-Chapter 3-Chapter 4-Chapter 5-Chapter 6-Chapter 7-Chapter 8-Chapter 9-Chapter 10-Chapter 11-Chapter 12

Asmo pulled the covers over his head. His weekend beauty alarm hadn’t gone off yet, why was he awake? He’d just been having another wonderful dream too. It took a while for it to register, but then he heard the rustling . Asmo peeled open one of his eyes. Then he blinked once. Twice. No. He wouldn’t dare .

Mammon was crouched next to his dresser, going through Asmo’s things.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Asmo growled, tossing the blankets back. Mammon jumped and turned towards his younger brother. He painted a smile across his face and started to pat Asmo’s head.

“I just wanted to wake up my little brother, is that so bad?” he asked. Asmo swatted his hand away and glared at him. Never mind that Asmo’s hair was still messy, he didn’t need Mammon messing it up more. Plus he was already angry. He’d caught Mammon going through his things! What a great way to start his morning. Then he saw what Mammon had in his hands.

“What are you doing with that?”

“Oh? This?” Mammon held up the letter. Asmo’s letter. “You don’t see fancy little things like this around. ‘Specially when it ain’t even ‘ya birthday. And now you’re gettin all defensive-”

“Because I woke up to you going through my stuff dipshit. ”

Mammon smirked and looked closer at the letter, “So you don’t care if I read it?”

“Put it down!” Asmo screeched, lunging from the mattress to his older brother. Mammon cackled and held the letter above his head, while pushing Asmo back with his other arm. He let out a whistle, eyes quickly scanning over the page.

“ Woooow . You gotta lil’ Romeo on your hands right here!” Mammon mused. Asmo could feel his face start to heat up, especially when Mammon started to clear his throat, “Your eyes sparkle and outshine all of the stars in the sky, your lips curl up in the most perfect of arcs-”

“Quit it Mammon! Give it back!” Asmo felt like he was in middle school again. Why couldn’t Mammon just grow up? Seriously! Asmo wasn’t sure whether he was going to die of embarrassment or spend the rest of his life in jail for reenacting the story of Cain and Abel.

Mammon lowered the letter just a bit, “This fella really likes you a lot, big brother Mammon might just have to get the bat out.”

Asmo growled and lunged towards the letter, scratching Mammon in the process.

“Ow! Hey! Keep those claws away from me!”

“Give me my letter back and I won’t tear your eyes out!” He was holding back only slightly. The last thing he wanted to do was tear one of his precious letters. Each one was special, he could let harm come to a single one of them.

Asmo followed Mammon’s gaze as he looked over to the corner of the room. Asmo didn’t realize he could have become even more livid. His things were upturned, all of his letters and little gifts sprawled out on the floor. “They the person that gave you all of those as well? What? Can’t you bring ‘em home to meet your family? Or are they talkin you outta lettin us meet ‘em?”

Oh now Mammon wanted to play the part of protective big brother. First, he came in and started rooting through his room. Second, he rudely woke Asmo up. Thirdly, he started reading Asmo’s private letters. And now he wants to integrate him? No. Absolutely not. No way.

“For your information, I don’t know who they are, hence them signing off the letters with Secret ,” Asmo huffed, snatching his letter back, trying to crinkle it as little as possible. “And if you even think about telling anyone, especially if you let it slip to our dearest older brother, I swear Mammon-”

“Okay. Okay! Cool it, why would I ever tell anyone?”

Asmo narrowed his eyes.

“Alright, I wouldn’t tell anyone on purpose .”

That was reassuring. Asmo smoothed out the letter and carefully inspected it for any tears or serious crinkles before going to reorganize his gifts. Small candies, a small bunny keychain, cute things that Asmo would enjoy. Mammon watched him for a moment, shifting from side to side. Asmo was happy he didn’t try to take a step closer. He wanted a little bit of space.

“Hey,” Mammon finally said as Asmo went to rehide his things in a drawer close to his bed, “I’m sorry alright? I just want to know what’s goin on with you guys. You aren’t always open with things ya know.”

“Neither are you.”

“Touche.”

Mammon ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, “Ya don’t have to worry about me goin and telling Lucifer a’ight? Promise.”

Asmo raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, “And going through my room?”

“Can’t promise you that I won’t do that.”

Asmo sighed. Well, at least he knew he wouldn’t go telling Lucifer… Not that he would in the first place. But if he did, he could always use Mammon going through their rooms as a deflection. Although he wasn’t sure how well that would hold up, or how long it would hold Lucifer’s focus (if it even did in the first place).

“I only do it ‘cus, I wanna know what’s going on in your life.” Mammon mumbled, “And if this asshole hurts ya, I wanna know! ‘Cus no one hurts any of the Great Mammon’s little brothers!”

Asmo sighed, “Well there are better ways to figure out what I’m up to. Like asking me.” Although, the second half did earn a little snort out of him. Even if Mammon could be a complete asshole sometimes, he did still look out for them. Just like how he’d confront bullies for them as kids.

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t scare them off before I get to know them.”

Honestly. Lucifer’s energy had been enough to make most of his past lovers almost behave (at least when he was around). He’d always sat them down, made sure they understood how his little brothers should be treated even if it made Asmo want to die of embarrassment. If Mammon had been in the same position, all of those partners would have left. Whether it would have been out of fear or from no longer wanting any part in Asmo’s family he would never know nor did he wish to find out.

Asmo made his way over to his dresser and plopped down. Well, he was awake now. No point in trying to go back to bed, so he might as well get ready. “If you don’t mind brother dearest, I think I’m going to get ready.”

“You goin somewhere?”

“Studying with Solomon if you must know.”

“Ahhh. Studying gotchu.”

“Solomon’s not that type of guy, now shut up and get out.”

“Love you too my dear little brother.”

Maybe he shouldn’t let Mammon go with his secret. It really did seem like a bad idea, his brother walking around with his secret. Sure he had trusted Satan with his secret, but Mammon? Well Mammon had found out on his own, unfortunately. Even if it left a bad taste in his mouth, he had other things to worry about now. He had places to be.

*******

Solomon’s apartment was nice, and he didn’t have to worry about his brothers interfering or being distracting. Not to mention, the living room was also filled with natural light, which not only made it bright but warm as well.

If any situation outside of parties showed how much Asmo struggled with the concept of personal space, it was having his work sessions with Solomon. He never had a problem when it was an assignment that had to do with his designs, but whenever it was something that strayed from his beloved focus his head was on Solomon’s shoulder and he was whining.

“Solomon,” he huffed, putting his laptop down and slumping against him, “This assignment doesn’t even make sense. How am I supposed to write a new groundbreaking paper when everything that could of been said has already been said? Solomon this class doesn’t make any sense.”

He could feel Solomon’s chuckle rumble through his chest. It was a really was a nice sound, like distant thunder. “You didn’t have to take this class with me you know. It’s part of my degree, it’s just credits for you,” he said, placing his things to the side and placing Asmo’s laptop on his lap..

“Demonology sounded really interesting, and you made it sound fun,” he pouted, “Besides, the class is interesting enough. I just hate these stupid papers.”

“I’ll read over it for you, don’t worry.” He always did.

Asmo watched over his shoulder as he made little notes in the margin. He was comfortable next to Solomon. Honestly he hoped that Secret would be okay with him doing things like this. Or that he could do things like this with Secret…. Or that Solomon was Secret.

No.

Nope.

He shouldn’t go there. Solomon was his best friend. He wasn’t going to think of him like that, even if he was cute, and smart, and funny, and attractive…

Even if the best relationships sprouted between the closest of friends….

He really needed to change the subject.

“Is it too late to drop out? I could become a stripper.”

Solomon turned to look at him, eyebrow quirked. He let out a soft hum, letting his eyes look over Asmo for just a second. Then he nodded, “You’d make a cute stripper.”

Asmo’s face turned red, “No! You’re not supposed to say that! You’re my best friend. You’re supposed to either talk about how I should stay in school or that you’d drop out too and join me!” Not compliment how cute he was . While Asmo enjoyed it, it wasn’t what Solomon was supposed to say. Maybe he was joking, but Asmo would think of it as a genuine compliment. “I already know I’d make a cute stripper,” he mumbled.

Like Solomon thought of his body like that. Even if it was true.

“Ah. You’re right. I’m sorry. You’d make a horrible stripper. Stay in school. Don’t drink. Don’t do drugs. More words of wisdom and whatnot.”

“ Solomon .”

Of course he could have pulled his face away. He could move to the opposite side of their workspace and stay there. But he didn’t. Asmo stayed curled up where he was,face partially buried in the fabric of Solomon’s shirt, his cologne flooding his senses. Solomon’s smug smirk was still plastered to his face, but his eyes were trained on Asmo’s paper. He had no right to be so smug, especially when Asmo’s entire body was heating up and he was starting to pout.

Sometimes Solomon could drive him more crazy than his brothers could ever dream of doing. But it was a different type of crazy. A type of crazy that made him want to tackle Solomon to the couch and-

“Pardon me.”

Asmo lifted his head slightly, to turn and look at Simeon. He was holding a tray of cupcakes in his hands. They were pretty. Icing swirled to near perfection in different pastels and covered in shiny white chocolate pearls. Simeon didn’t often intrude on their study sessions. Sometimes he would join for a bit, but he didn’t want to be a distraction. Well, that and he had to look after Luke.

Speaking of Luke, the kid was not too far behind Simeon, looking anywhere but at Asmo and Solomon.

“I do hope I’m not interrupting, but Luke thought you both might like a cupcake. He made them himself.”

“I had some extra,” Luke clarified, “They have a lemon cream filling.”

Simeon set the tray on the table and Solomon nodded, “Thank you Luke, I’m sure that they’ll be wonderful.” Asmo nodded in agreement. That was another perk of working at Solomon’s. There was always some sort of wonderful treat waiting. The kitchen always smelled like a bakery.

He watched as Solomon reached over him and towards the tray for one of the treats, quickly followed by Asmo’s own hand. They lightly brushed together for just a moment, but Asmo was quick to take one of the cupcakes and yank his hand back.

Simeon’s eyes were fixed to them the entire time.

“Solomon.”

“Hm?”

“I’m going to take Luke to the library. We may be out for a while. Remember to lock the door if you go out?” His eyes flickered between the two of them for a moment. Before settling on Solomon. The look he gave Solomon was unreadable to Asmo.

“Alright, have fun,” Solomon smiled, turning back to Asmo’s paper.

Simeon smiled and nodded, “We will, it was good seeing you Asmo." With that, Simeon turned, graceful as ever, and left with Luke.

Asmo’s nose crinkled, “What was that about?”

“Luke made cupcakes.”

“No no. That look Simeon gave you.”

Solomon leaned back and licked a bit of the icing from the cupcake, “Oh. I don’t know. Maybe I forgot to lock the door last time.” He wasn’t looking at Asmodeus, gaze transfixed on the wall. Weird. “Anyways, I think your paper looks fine. There’s just a few things I’d change, but I think it hit everything it needed to.”

Asmo smiled, a little more relaxed now about the assignment. He trusted Solomon’s judgement. Finally Asmo took a bit of his own cupcake. The cake was soft and moist, and Luke’s homemade icing and filling were both so fluffy and light. He couldn’t help but let out a soft moan. It was just too good. On more than one occasion he considered asking if he could move in, just so he could get little treats like this on a daily basis.

The sound of Solomon clearing his throat snapped Asmo out of his sweet-induced trance and over to his friend. Solomon had moved on and was now staring intently down at one of his textbooks. However, he didn’t miss the slight coloration in Solomon’s face.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just… Something in the book.”

“Ooh can I see?” Asmo scooted closer and tried to peak over into the pages below. However, Solomon quickly snapped the book shut and held it out of Asmodeus’ grasp.

“Nope. It’s gone now.”

“Aw come on, please Solomon? If it made you all blushy it must be good!” Asmo asked. He wasn’t about to let himself be left out from whatever spicy romance lied within the book Solomon was trying to keep from him. Solomon stood little chance against his friend, who was practically- no, not practically - who was climbing on top of him.

“Asmodeus!” Solomon’s voice cracked as he fell over, still trying to hold the book over his head as Asmodeus fell on top of him laughing. One arm wrapped around Asmo’s waist in an attempt to keep him away from the book.

“Come on Solomon!” he giggled, reaching for the book, only for it to be flung to the other side of the room and hitting the wall with a soft thud. Asmo huffed and went to stand to scurry after the book, only to be stopped by Solomon sitting up, both arms around him. “Oh you are such a child.”

“I’m the child?” Solomon snorted, “You’re the one who can’t let it go.”

“I call it persistence and knowing what I want. Now let me see!”

Asmo felt himself try to wiggle out of Solomon’s arms, only to be met with more resistance from him. “Well I don’t even remember what page it was on so you’re just gonna have to forget about it,” he huffed, throwing his body weight against Asmo and sending him to the floor and making him yelp ever so slightly.

“Owwwww, Solomon! That hurt.”

“Ah, sorry.” Solomon sat up but only slightly, he looked worried, hand moving to the side of Asmodeus’ head. “Are you okay?”

Asmo’s breath caught in his throat. The sun from the window outlined him in such a heavenly way. Each shadow on his face traced his strong jaw and cheekbones.He felt his hand stroke through his hair, feeling along his skull.

Asmo never let anyone touch his hair after he styled it.

“Any pain? Are you dizzy?”

“Ah… No…”

Well, not dizzy in the way Solomon was thinking. What could he say? What could he do? Well he could tell Solomon to get off, if he ever found his voice….

Then Solomon’s thumb swiped across his lips, and brought it up to his own mouth.

Icing.

“You could have just told me,” Asmo huffed, propping himself up on his elbows

Solomon was back on his haunches now, wrapped up in the icing, “What? Luke makes good icing.” Asmodeus rolled his eyes and shoved at Solomon’s chest.

“You’re insufferable.”

“Not insufferable enough for you to stop spending time with me,” Solomon chuckled. He got off of Asmodeus and helped him sit up, hands lingering just a little longer than necessary. Then the silence took over again.

It wasn’t the same silence as before though. This time it was a bit more awkward, filled with shifting bodies and uncertainty over what to say next. Asmo’s attention went to his phone. After all, social media made for a wonderful distraction. Flipping to the camera, Asmo decided to look over his appearance. He definitely needed to fix his hair. The lighting was amazing here.

“Wanna take a picture?”

Solomon perked up at the sudden break in the silence and looked at the two of them in the camera. “Do you wanna take a picture?” he asked, chest nudging against Asmo’s back. Asmo ignored the fluttering occurring deep within him, even if it was a nice feeling. He would be a liar if he said he didn’t lean back into his touch.

“Just pick up one of the cupcakes and hold it up,” Asmo instructed, “It’ll be cute, trust me. Plus showing off my future number one model could be a good marketing strategy.”

Asmo felt Solomon’s chin rest on his shoulder as he tried to find the right angle to take the photo at. “You know, you keep posting pictures like this and people might start thinking I’m a little more than a ‘best friend’ or ‘model’,” he said, resisting the temptation to start digging into the second cupcake.

“And who cares what they think?”

Even as Asmo said it, his stomach sunk a little. Well, maybe Solomon cared if people thought they were together. They were just friends. That was it. Maybe there was someone Solomon liked, someone he wanted to impress, and Asmo was ruining his chances by taking photos like these. Solomon had gone along with (most of) his ideas for most of the time they’d been together. Maybe he was just too nice to say no to Asmo’s little ideas. Maybe-

“Hey.” Solomon was looking at him, “Are you going to take it?” His face was a lot closer than Asmo realized.

“Oh! Yeah, yes, sorry. Just trying to find the right angle… There!”

Click.

They both stared at the photo for a moment, Asmo more than aware of how Solomon hadn’t left his position. “I like it. You were right. It’s nice.”

Solomon had the nicest, sweetest smile he’d ever seen on another person.

“Are you going to post it?”

How did he always look so relaxed ?

But before Asmo could reply, a notification popped up on his phone. Then another and another and another and-

He was used to his phone blowing up, but he hadn’t even posted the picture yet. Looking deeper into the source, he found that they were all from his brothers, mainly Mammon and Levi. Slowly Asmo clicked on the notification.

L3vi : You have a girlfriend?

Mammoney : Asmo I’m sorry

L3vi : Or boyfriend?

Mammoney : Please don’t kill me

L3vi : Why did you tell Mammon and not me? That’s not fair!

Mammoney : I didn’t mean to-

L3vi : I read a manga with a plot like this once-

Mammoney : It just kinda came out

L3vi : I know the perfect way to figure out who this is!

Mammoney : Asmo?

He wanted to scream. He put his phone down, ignoring the rest of the notifications. Yeah. He should have killed Mammon earlier. It hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours. The only thing he could be thankful for was that he didn’t tell Lucifer… As far as he knew.

Asmo was going to kill him.

“I thought your brothers didn’t know.”

Solomon’s voice brought Asmodeus back to reality, it didn’t stop his fuming, but it did bring him back to where he was. “They didn’t,” he hissed, “Well, I mean I told Satan, but he was going to be the only one to know. Mammon certainly wasn’t supposed to know and-” Asmo’s words dissolved into a groan. His study session with Solomon had been going so well too. They’d been productive... for the most part.

He flopped onto Solomon’s shoulder and let out a whine. “Just let me move in with you please!” he whimpered, “I promise I won’t bother Simeon and Luke too much and you know I’m neat and clean. My brothers are going to drive me to an early grave, or worse, give me wrinkles .”

Solomon snorted which only made Asmodeus’ pout deepen. “Rude. This is a very serious matter.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a tad overdramatic?”

All Asmo did was cross his arms in response. Solomon sighed and looked down at Asmodeus. “Well… I can’t say that there’s space for you to move in-”

“Not even the couch? Or sharing a bed?”

Solomon held up his finger, “But, I can walk you home. If you’d like. I can be your human shield and protect you from your brothers.”

Asmo thought for a moment, arms uncrossing and fingers playing with the hem of Solomon’s sleeve. Having Solomon walk him home could be the next best thing (aside from just spending the night), and he would be able to distract himself from the dread and embarrassment that awaited him back home. Walking back home with Solomon was always nice regardless. Who didn’t like to spend more time with their best friend?

#WBT #solodeus #soloasmo #asmosolo #asmodeus x solomon #obey me asmodeus #obey me solomon #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me simeon #obey me luke #obey me #fluff #love letters #human!au #friends to lovers #slow burn

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fruit-teeth · 4 years

Text

Matters of Time and Fate (8)

/(AHAHA FINALLY!! So sorry for the delay!! I know you guys probably thought I forgot about this story but I didn’t! Anyway I’m gonna shut up now, please enjoy)

Sniper woke up early that morning, and the first thought in his mind was that he wanted to make coffee. He’d had a rough, feverish sleep the previous night, and he needed to cleanse his mind with a cup of black coffee. Just the way he liked it.

As Sniper went to the kitchen and began to prepare coffee in the pot, he internally praised himself for waking up early before everyone else. Now he could have his coffee and he could make his breakfast in peace and quiet, without anyone –

“Are you making coffee?”

Sniper startled, turning around to see Olivia standing there. He fumbled for a moment, trying to think of how to answer.

“Uh…yeah, I am,”

Olivia hopped up on the chair beside the kitchen counter, looking over his shoulder. “Make a cup for me! I like milk and sugar in mine,”

Sniper processed this for a moment, before he looked back at Olivia, confusion in his eyes. “What? You want coffee?”

Olivia looked at him like he’d just asked a stupid question. “Yeah? I like coffee! My nanny makes some for me every morning, with milk and sugar,”

Sniper scoffed. “Really? I mean…” he scratched the back of his head. “You’re only six, should you really be drinking coffee?”

Olivia pursed her lips together. “My daddy says I can have it! He says everyone drinks it,”

“Well,” Sniper cleared his throat. “Six-year-olds don’t drink it. You know what I drank when I was six?”

When Olivia shook her head, Sniper replied, “Milkshakes, I used to drink them every morning. They’re not really that healthy, but I can show you how to make some,”

“Milkshakes?” Olivia thought about it, and then shrugged. “Okay. Can we put chocolate in it?”

Sniper just grinned at her. “I like your thinking! We can put whatever we want in them. You like peanut butter?”

Olivia nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah!”

“All right, all right,” Sniper laughed, opening a cabinet and getting out a jar of peanut butter, as well as some cocoa powder. “Let’s get started – pass me the blender, yeah?”

Meanwhile, Engineer was sleeping peacefully on his air mattress when he was rudely awoken by the loud whirring of a blender in the kitchen. He startled, stumbling to his feet in the direction of the noise.

“What in Sam Hill is all that racket!?” he snapped, hovering in the doorway.

Sniper looked up from where he was pulsing the blender. “Sorry, mate! We’re making milkshakes, blender’s real loud…”

Olivia stared at the mixture of peanut butter, vanilla ice cream, cocoa, and banana through the clear plastic of the blender. “Press the button again! It still looks lumpy…”

Sniper pressed the button, and the violent whirring struck right back up. Engineer flinched at the sound. “Gosh darn it! I should make a blender that’s real quiet – I probably could!”

The whirring died down again, and Olivia checked the milkshake again, frowning. “Still lumpy!”

Before Sniper could mash the button again, Engineer shooed him away from the blender. “Hey, y’know what? There’s some stuff we still need from the store, how about we take a little shopping trip and I can buy some more parts to build a quiet blender? Then you can put whatever you want in there without wakin’ the whole house,”

Sniper huffed. “Look, the milkshakes aren’t done! Gotta blend ‘em somehow,”

Engineer grabbed a wooden spoon and handed it to Sniper. “Use this! Do it the old fashioned way,”

Sniper rolled his eyes, but he took the spoon and poured the mixture into a bowl. He then stirred around a bit before it appeared edible, and then he poured it into two separate glasses. “Here ya go,”

Olivia took one of the glasses, eyeing it suspiciously before taking a sip. Sniper sat down at the table with his own glass, watching her. “Thoughts?”

Olivia thought for a moment, before nodding. “Good! It’s good,”

As she sat down and started to drink the rest of it, Engineer began cleaning out the blender, when a thought struck him. “Hey, Olivia – would you wanna go to the store with us? You can look around, it might be good to spend some time outside,”

“The store?” Olivia asked, blinking. Her father never took her shopping, they always had someone around who would just pick up groceries and other necessities for them. “To do what? Buy things?”

“Well, yeah,” Sniper shrugged. “That’s what the store is for. You could even look at some toys too, if you want,”

“Toys…” Olivia had never owned any toys. Her father always dismissed them as ‘childish’, and she’d done the same. But, she realized, he wasn’t around, now…

“Okay, I’ll go,” she agreed, and then reached for her glass of milkshake again. “But right after I finish this,”

Sniper just chuckled. “Yeah, of course…”

Upon waking, Scout could hear the sound of Engineer’s truck starting up from the driveway. Confused, he got out of bed and went downstairs, watching as Sniper got his shoes on by the door.

“Hey!�� Scout barked, leaning over the railing of the stairs. “Where you guys goin’?”

Sniper glanced up from his shoes. “Oh, we’re gonna go to the shopping center. We just gotta pick up a couple things,”

Scout hopped down the stairs, fixing his hair and grabbing an apple from a bowl of fruit on the counter to eat. “Can I go? I’ve been dyin’ to get some extra clothes and stuff!”

“Sure, if you want,” Sniper shrugged. “How fast can you get ready?”

“So fast!” Scout took another big bite of the apple, turning on his heel to head upstairs. “I’ll be dressed before you know it – I’m a master at gettin’ ready quick!”

True to his word, Scout was in his day clothes within just a few minutes. He sprayed on his cologne and bounced back downstairs, only to see Olivia standing by the door.

Scout flinched, as he was still a bit wary around the girl. “…hi? Um, whatcha doing, kid?”

Olivia looked away, and Sniper clarified, “She’s coming with us, we’re gonna get her out of the house for a bit,”

“Wha…!?” Scout opened his mouth to argue, but when he saw Olivia staring back at him again, he thought better of himself. “Okay, fine…” he sighed. “Is Engie outside in the car?”

“Yep,” Sniper opened the door, ushering Olivia and Scout out of the house. “Let’s not keep him waiting,”

As soon as everyone was in the vehicle, Engineer started it up and began to head down the dirt path leading to the road. The sun was shining bright overhead, casting the sky in a brilliant blue.

Olivia watched as the hills rolled by through the windows of the truck. She’d never seen anything like it until now, and she thought it was very beautiful. The way the sun reflected off of the wheat in the fields and the grass looked like something out of a story book to her, and it made her feel something she had never felt before, some kind of longing deep within her soul…

Engineer switched the radio on to a country station, and Scout huffed. “Aw, come on! Seriously, Engie?”

“Hey, it ain’t my fault you don’t have taste,” Engineer replied simply.

Olivia tilted her head, listening to the music. “What’s this?”

“Country music,” Sniper answered. “Have you never heard country music before?”

“No,” Olivia shrugged. “It sounds like those weird movies my daddy used to watch,”

Scout’s brow furrowed. “What movies?”

Olivia searched for how to describe it. “Movies about these men with big hats and guns…cowboy movies! They’re called cowboys, I forgot,”

“Old westerns?” Engineer sounded surprised as he turned a corner, heading down into the town. “Your dad liked old westerns, Olivia?”

Olivia nodded. “Yeah, he watched them a lot while he did his work. I watched them only sometimes,” she remembered walking in during a scene where a sheriff was pointing his gun at a burglar, and how her father had paused his paperwork to point to the screen.

“Do you see that, Olivia?” he had asked. “We call that a ‘negotiation’,”

“But there’s a gun,” Olivia had pointed out. “And they aren’t really talking…”

“This is a last resort negotiation,” Gray went on to explain. “They actually are very good at getting what you want, you might find out,”

Olivia blinked, coming back to the present as she heard Scout talking again. “Huh!” he remarked. “Never took him for the type to watch those kinda movies, always thought he was more of…” Scout trailed off, glancing at Olivia and recalling what had happened the last time he made a snide remark about her father. “…never-mind.”

Olivia folded her arms back up and looked out the window, getting quiet again. The whole truck went silent aside from the music playing on the radio before Scout decided to at least try and make conversation.

“So, uh…” he cleared his throat, getting Olivia’s attention. “What are you hoping to find at the store, kid?”

Olivia just shrugged. “I don’t know,”

“You don’t know?” Scout asked, surprised. “Damn, whenever I went to the store as a kid, I always had a list of stuff I wanted to buy with my allowance. You can’t think of anything?”

“No,” Olivia shook her head. “I’ve never been shopping before,”

Scout’s eyes widened in alarm at that. “Never!? Damn, kid, what have you been doing your whole life? You know what? Here’s what we’re gonna do – I’m gonna show you what to do while at a store! I’m a pro, you’re gonna thank me later,”

“Don’t teach her anything stupid,” Sniper warned. “We don’t wanna get her in trouble,”

Scout waved him off. “Aw, come on! It’s gonna be fun, I promise,”

They finally arrived at the shopping plaza, a place Olivia had never seen before. As Engineer parked, Olivia stepped out and looked up at the buildings with awe. “Wow! There’s so many stores!”

“I know, right?” Scout got out after her, before turning to look at Engie. “Where to first, hardhat?

Engineer pulled out a list, checking it. “Well, let’s see…we need parts for the new blender, some extra snacks, and then whatever else we think we might need,”

Sniper pointed out a hardware store nearby. “How about there first? That looks like it’d have blender parts,”

As they walked in, Engineer turned to Olivia and Scout. “We’re gonna look at some parts, you two look around. Scout?” his tone changed to one more serious. “Keep her outta trouble, okay? I mean it,”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Scout waved him off, before gesturing for Olivia to follow him. “C’mon, kid! Let’s have an adventure,”

Olivia trailed after him, curious over what ‘adventure’ this store could have to offer. They wandered around a bit, before Scout paused. “Ooh, okay! Take a look!”

“What?” Olivia looked to where he was pointing, and she gasped a little. Sitting several feet away were a line of model bathrooms, complete with their own bathtubs and showers. “What is that? Are those real bathrooms?”

“Nope!” Scout grinned, approaching one and running his hand over the sink. “They’re models – if you wanna buy a bathroom, or make one, or whatever, these are models you can follow, pretty much,”

“Oh!” Olivia approached it, fascinated, leaning over to look in the tub. She turned the levers, but no water came out. “There’s no water!”

“Yeah, it ain’t hooked up,” Scout explained, checking the cabinets. “Aw, sweet! Someone left something in here!” he fished it out, only to make a face. “Ugh, never-mind. It’s someone’s stupid pamphlet thing from…the ‘Sculptor’s Clayground’? Huh,”

Olivia wandered over to another model, seeing a beautiful clawfoot tub. All of the sudden, she had the urge to climb into it, and without thinking about it she clambered inside sat down.

Scout noticed, and he laughed, leaning in to look. “There ya go! I wonder if you could hide in here…you’re small enough, ain’t ya?”

Olivia made herself as small as possible, but she suddenly laughed, imagining surprising someone like this by hiding in the tub. She’d never considered doing something like that before, but it felt very exciting somehow.

Before Scout could see if she could fit in another model tub, a voice from several feet away barked, “Hey! What are you doing!?”

Olivia sat up in time to see a woman in an employee’s uniform walking up to them, and Scout immediately became defensive. “Hey, hey, we’re just playin’ around, lady!”

“I’ll say,” the woman sighed, gesturing for Scout and Olivia to leave. “This isn’t a playground. Please just take your daughter and move along,”

Olivia paused, looking to Scout in confusion. “Daughter?”

Scout’s eyes widened, and he suddenly appeared offended, scooping Olivia up and setting her down. “I am not her dad!” he exclaimed, before taking Olivia’s hand and briskly leading her away from the models, leaving the employee very confused.

#hehehe i finally wrote something im so proud of myself #writing #my writing #tf2 #tf2 fanfiction #tf2 sniper #tf2 engineer #tf2 scout #tf2 olivia mann #tf2 gray mann #he dead tho #food

27 notes · View notes

moonlightsolo · 4 years

Text

bête noire

summary: It’s time to get your own lightsaber. Rey thinks you’re ready but you’re not so sure. You’re still thinking about letting Kylo Ren secretly visit you on the new base but you don’t know if you should trust him. While searching for your kyber crystal, you run into some trouble...

pairing: kylo ren x female reader

warnings: LIES, ACTION, DRAMA!!!!

wc: 4k

note: hi i hope u like this. i pulled some of the lightsaber stuff out of my ass so if it isn't accurate don’t come for me thx. ps: doesn't he look FIIIIINE as hell in this gif? damn, i’d climb him like a tree.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Sweat drips down your forehead as your hands fumble over the metal pieces in front of you. One hand is holding a tool to connect them, the other is steadying the pieces so they don’t roll away.

“Rey, am I doing this right?” You sigh, the sun is beating down on your back. Rey peeks at your work then looks at the book with the instructions written on the pages.

“It looks right to me.” She shrugs and continues working on the droid sitting in front of her.

Constructing a Lightsaber seems much easier than it actually is.

Rey doesn’t want to make her own lightsaber yet since she doesn’t feel ready. Although she thinks you’re ready, which is a bit confusing since you’re not as skilled as her.

You connect all the pieces until you get to where the crystal goes. You leave some pieces unassembled so you can gently slip the kyber crystal inside the power cell. It will either successfully turn on or explode if you did the hardwiring incorrectly.

“So we’re going tonight to get a crystal right?” You ask as you gently put the piece away in your bag.

“Yeah, there used to be a Jedi on a planet called Ilum. There was a cave full of them before it was turned into the Death Star. We’ll have to search for one. Remember, the Force will guide you to your crystal. You’ll feel it.” She smiles and notices you packing up, “You done for the day?” She asks and lays her tools down.

The droid in front of her beeps manically, “Calm down. I’m almost done fixing you up anyways.”

You laugh at their conversation, “Yeah. I’m gonna get cleaned up and ready for tonight. Spend time with my munchkins and read.” You tap the cover of the large Jedi book.

“Sounds great. See ya.” She smiles and leans into a hug which you gladly return quickly. You grab ahold of the book and hold it close to your chest, the bag hangs off your shoulder. With every step back towards the base, metal clangs together.

Everything goes silent, you sigh when you realize who it is. “Are you still thinking about it?” His deep voices ask behind you.

You continue down the path, not turning your head. “Yes. I’m still thinking about it, Kylo. You know, it’s a big decision. I could give you my coordinates and you might just send troops here instead.” You grumble.

“Or you could trust that I wouldn’t and allow me to come to see you and meet our children.” His voice drops.

Those words made your heart drop and you felt a rush of sadness overcome you. “I know, I know. Just... give me till tomorrow. I’ll have an answer for you.” You stop in your tracks to turn around and he’s gone.

You sigh loudly, your head falls back to look into the sky but you can barely see it through the trees. “Why does he have to be so complicated.” You groan, taking a moment to breathe and calm yourself before continuing back towards the base.

When you emerge from the trees, some people passing by a glance at you then continue whatever they’re doing. You walk towards the cave then someone taps you on your back. You expect it to be Kylo, your shoulders drop and you turn around ready to scold him but it’s Poe.

“Don’t look so excited to see me.” He laughs and pulls you into a hug. You laugh and close your eyes as you let out a relieved sigh. “I’m actually really glad it was you. I thought it was gonna be someone else.” You mumble into his shirt.

You haven’t seen him in a few days because Leia sent him on a mission for supplies. “Someone else? Rey gettin’ on your nerves today?” He says jokingly and pulls away to look down at you.

“Nah, it’s not Rey today.” You giggle, keeping an arm around his waist as you start to walk towards the base again. “How long have you been back?” You ask, glancing up at him for a moment. “Just a few hours. I haven’t seen Rey either. Was she with you in your spot?” He asks.

“Yeah, she is there. She’s working on a droid.” You sigh as you get close to the command center. “Come to my room tonight. I missed you.” He lands a soft kiss on your forehead then walks over to Leia. He doesn’t know that you’re not going to be here tonight.

You walk away from them, going into the ship to your room. You drop the bag onto the bed, smiling at them in their little baskets. Soon, they’re gonna outgrow them, they can almost sit up by themselves too!

“Let’s take you guys outside today.” You glance at the droid for help. You pick up Ellie, balancing her small body on your hip as you put the book in your other arm so you can read. The droid grabs a blanket so they don’t lay directly on the itchy grass.

You waddle past the command center and out of the cave and towards the little trail that leads to the landing pad. There’s a small patch of grass shaded by the canopy of trees. The droid lays out the large blanket so you could sit on it with the kiddos.

You lay Ellie down on the fabric and the book too. The droid lays Anakin next to his sister and they coo at each other which makes you smile. Ellie rolls over onto her belly, holding her head up as she looks around.

You open the book to the marked page, looking over the words that talk about the crystals and how to handle lightsabers correctly. You keep your eyes on both the book and the kids. The droid keeps Ani entertained by dangling a homemade rattle above his head. He smiles and reaches out for it.

Sometimes you can’t believe that you had twins. It feels like it happened just yesterday but they’ve grown up so much already.

The wind blows your hair and you take a deep breath of fresh air through your nose. You take in the sounds around you; — the rumbling of ships engines and the sounds of leaves rustling above you. It’s so refreshing.

Ellie’s head plops face down against the blanket which makes you chuckle but, of course, you turn her back over so she wasn’t face down. “There ya go, girly.” You soothingly scratch her belly over her clothing.

You get fully immersed in your reading, still taking care of the twins at the same time. You pick your head up and notice the sky turning beautiful bright shades as it grows darker outside, how much time has gone by already?

You mark the page you made it to and close the book. You scoop up Ellie and the book, the droid does the same with Ani and the blanket.

You make your way back to your room, smiling at Poe then disappearing in the ship. You change both of the baby's diapers and put them into pajamas, making sure to feed them as well.

You’ve gotten a hang of feeding them at the same time. You cradle one of them in your arm while the other lays on your legs. They both slowly start to fall asleep on you so you put them both into their little cradles.

“You got them tonight right?” You whisper to the droid who’s folding clean baby clothes. “Yes, I’ll make sure to care for them.” She says in her robotic voice.

“Thank you.” You smile as you slip the book into the bag with your saber supplies. You begin to change into an outfit Rey gave you. It consists of tight black pants, a form-fitted dark gray tunic undershirt, a hooded cloak, and arm warmers. You slip yourself into the new outfit and your worn boots, securing the front pieces of your hair back so they’ll stop dangling in your face.

You have a pack full of things to take on the mission, like extra clothes and materials.

You sling the pack onto your back and your saber bag your shoulder while your staff hangs off your other shoulder. You look back at your sleeping babies, watching their little bellies rise and fall as they breathe. “Thanks again.” You say to the droid before leaving the room.

In the cave, you can see Rey’s little area is lit up and so is the command center. You walk towards Rey’s area but someone grabs your arm and pulls you into a dark spot in the cave. Your eyes go wide, ready to fight but you realize it’s Poe. You push yourself away from him, “What are you doing?!” You whisper-yell at him.

“I was just about to come to see you. I thought you were gonna come to me tonight.” He sounds a little disappointed. Your head drops, “I’m sorry. I forgot. Rey and I... we need to uh... practice... like a train... tonight.” You stutter over your words as you try to come up with a lie.

Leia told you to keep it between Rey and her that you were getting a lightsaber. She knows that Poe would be upset that you and she are going on a mission by yourselves. He would argue that Chewy at least has to go if he couldn’t tag along.

“Wow... You’re a terrible liar.” He laughs, shaking his head. “You’re in this fancy outfit and you’re carrying a lot of stuff. Where are you guys going?” He questions which makes you sweat.

You can see Rey making her way over to you two. Thank the stars.

“Ask her.” You blurt out when she gets closer, “Ask me what?” One of her eyebrows raises slightly.

“What are you guys doing? Why is she carrying all this... stuff?” Poe looks over the bags you’re holding.

“Well, honestly, we’re leaving.” Rey says nonchalantly, “But we’ll be back. It’s important we do this together and alone.” She enunciates the last word to make it clear to him.

“Leaving?! Alone?! Why didn’t Leia say anything to me about this?” He throws his hands up, “I’m coming with you guys. What if you get found by the First Order?”

“I’m pretty sure we can handle ourselves, Poe. Plus, it’s classified. That’s why Leia didn’t say anything.” Rey puts her hands on her hips. You can tell she’s already getting annoyed by him. He looks at you and back at her.

“What about Chewy? Can’t he go with you? He’s just a Wookiee.” His face is furrowed in frustration. You knew he’d ask that.

“Poe, we’ll be fine. I promise. It’s just a quick jump and then we’ll be back. We won’t run into any trouble.” You look at him reassuringly. You can feel the anxiety radiating off of his body, he’s nervous.

His shoulders drop when he realizes you nor Rey won’t budge. “Fine. Transmit to me whenever you get there and leave. I need to make sure you guys are okay.” He grabs your hand to pull you into an awkward hug since there’s too much stuff on your body. He gives Rey a quick hug too then she walks away to collect her things.

“Whenever you get back, we can just do what we had planned then.” He smiles at you and you return one back. “Sounds like a plan.” You mumble. He looks down at his blaster then pulls it out of his holster, “Take it. I want to make sure you’re safe. I know you both have your powers or whatever but just an extra layer of protection. And... It’ll keep me sane.” He leans forward, catching your lips with his.

Your hands instantly go to his face, running your fingers over his scruff as you kiss him gently. “I’ll be back. Don’t worry.” You breathe out into the kiss. It’s obvious you’ve gotten much closer to Poe in the last week or so. Your hand slips his blaster into the holster on your belt as you pull away.

“Let’s go.” Rey almost laughs at you and Poe. You smile at Poe once more before turning around to follow Rey to the landing pad.

She opens the entrance of the Falcon, you both climb into the ship. She closes the ramp then puts all her supplies in a cabinet so it wouldn’t roll around while she flies. “You can put yours in here with mine.” She opens it back up for you so you can slip your staff and your two bags into the cabinet.

Excitement floods your veins when you realize you’ll have your own saber soon. It’s a big responsibility but you trained and worked so hard for this moment.

You lock up the cabinet then join Rey in the cockpit. You buckle in, flipping on some buttons she orders you to touch. “That one.” Your hands hover over the button you think she’s pointing at, “No, that one. The blue one. Yes. That’s the one.” You laugh and press the button.

Rey begins to lift the ship up into the air, moving above the large expanse of trees. It’s just forest for miles and miles. Her hand moves on the power lever, making the ship move forward quickly towards space.

“Ready?” She looks at you and smiles. You nod as you look out the window, she hits some buttons then the ship jolts and goes into hyperspace.

You can never get used to the view of the blue colors swirling together. It’s so fascinating.

“We’ll be on Tatooine soon. It’s not too far. Hopefully, we can find a crystal there.” The mention of Tatooine makes you feel hot and itchy. Ugh, the sand and the heat. So gross.

You take your cloak off your shoulders to hang on the back of the co-pilots seat you’re sitting in. “I hope so too. I don’t want to be there too long.”

Rey gathers her things after she lands the ship successfully, “So, we’re gonna go through the town which will hopefully keep us away from the Tusken Raiders.” She moves her hands quickly to swing her backpack over her shoulders.

You grab your staff, stuffing the bag with your saber materials inside into your own backpack. Only so you didn’t have to carry so much.

“Tusken Raiders?” Your eyes go wide at the sound of them. Hopefully, you don’t run into them before you get your saber.

“Yep. They’re indigenous to Tatooine and quite hostile to everyone else.” She clips Luke’s saber onto her belt. “Ready?” She asks with a confident smile.

“Ready than ever.”

Rey and you trek along the sandy hills, making your way to the town in the distance. Your eyes dart around, seeing a dome-like run-down hut that’s quite far from the town. There’s energy pulling you towards it. “That was Luke’s home when he was a child. The Lars family cared for him when he was separated from his mother at birth.” Rey cures your curiosity thankfully.

When you get closer, you start to grow nervous. The town seems like it’s abandoned. You notice that there are still some species and people are living here but they’re elderly or scavengers.

Rey motions with her hand to keep following her through the maze of the town. When you turn a corner, you instantly notice the small cut-de-sac of residential huts. It feels like you’ve been here before but you don’t understand how.

“Oh my god.” You gasp out loud, you stop in your tracks. Rey turns around, her face furrows in confusion. “What?” She looks around.

“My vision. When I saw Anakin, I was here.” Your brain begins to retrace your steps, your feet bring you to each memory. Where you appeared on the ground, he helped you up and brought you into his hut. You duck as you go inside, your face falls when you see the shape it’s in.

It seems like someone or something has gone through the place like a tornado. The furniture is broken, glass crunches under your boots as you move about the small space.

Rey follows your steps as you look around and pick things up from the ground. The Force is telling you to keep searching but you don’t know what for. Rey doesn’t say a word, she just follows you quietly like a mouse.

“Rey. There’s something here. I can feel it. It’s making me itch. I need to find it.” You groan loudly as you start to frantically go through everything. You walk back into the kitchen area, looking at the table you sat at with him. Your hands grip the wood as you lift the broken table up from the ground. There’s nothing. Just more rubble.

You grumble under your breath as you continue to search until the ground under your foot creaks. You pick your head up to look back at Rey. You drop to your knees to brush the mess off of the ground, seeing that there’s a wooden slab in the ground.

You lift it up slowly to see a hole and sitting inside is a small chest. Your fingers tingle as you make contact with it to pull it out. You set it to the side then you cover the hole up again with the wood.

The small chest has Sith and Jedi language inscribed into the wood.

“Open it. What are you waiting for?” Rey bends down next to you, her head peeking forward to look at the wooden box as you lift up the latch to open it.

There’s a tiny drawstring bag inside, some sand made its way into the box too. You gently pick it up, opening it to dump the contents into your hand. A crystal falls out into your hand, it makes you lose your breath.

Gentle whispers of Anakin's voice replay in your head, he came to you with good intent. To show you that you can begin to go down your own path. You had to start where he started.

You bring it closer to your face to admire the beauty of it. It’s opaque, not colored like you thought it would be. This is your stone. “Rey, this is it.”

Your eyes take in the look on her face, it’s not good. She seems angry but also scared. “I don’t know if it is. I know I said you’ll feel it but a stone from Darth Vader? There’s Sith writing on the outside of the box.” She stands to her feet quickly, “Why would the Force lead us to here?” She sighs out of frustration.

“There’s also Jedi writing too. I think it’s telling me to accept the dark side but also stay bonded with the light too. I need to be balanced, Rey...” You keep the crystal tight in your fist so you wouldn’t drop it when you stand up. The crystal warms up against your skin as it bonds with you through the Force.

She still doesn’t buy it, she’s worried. “You always knew that I couldn’t stay with one side. I need to be balanced between both. I mean, for crying out loud, I had children with Kylo Ren. And they’re going to be balanced too because they have me to guide them and him too.” Her face softens slightly at the mention of Ani and Ellie.

“It does make sense. I just don’t want you to go down the wrong path again.” She breathes out and before you can answer she continues, “Let’s put it in your saber to see if it works.”

You nod and begin clearing off a crate so you could lay your things on a flat surface. You open the book so you could follow the instructions. You take your tool to open up a few places.

It’s important not to accidentally invert the emitter matrix if you did the power grid would backfire and blow up. You connect the crystal to the activator that sits inside of the hilt. You gently screw on the last plate needed to finish the saber.

Your fingers run over the button that activates the hilt, thankfully only Force-sensitives are able to activate it. It will help out when the twins are old enough to grab things.

“You ready?” You ask Rey. She’s just as nervous as you but she nods and moves back a little bit.

Your arm extends far away from your body, just in case if it would blow up your arm would be the only thing missing.

Your eyes squeeze shut and you tense up as you click the saber on. The loud vibration sounds and buzzes in your ears. You can see a bright light from behind your eyelids.

Rey says your name, “Open your eyes...” Her voice is quiet and timid. You slowly peek, opening one eye first then both when you see the bright glow coming from the saber.

“What does that even mean?!” You exclaim loudly when you see the odd color shining in front of you.

It’s orange but it’s dark orange. It’s not like anything you’ve ever seen.

Kylo’s is red because of his dark personality but why would yours become orange?

A loud explosion echoes from outside the hut. “I’ll go see what's going on.” She stands up from being next to you and walks outside.

Your eyes follow her movements, seeing her peek her head through the doorway then run back to you frantically. “We need to go now.” Her voice is stern as she grabs her belongings.

With a click of a button your lightsaber extinguishes, you scramble to your feet and put your things back into your bag. You hook your saber onto your belt on the opposite side of Poe’s blaster.

Rey and you walk out into the circle of huts, there’s a thick black smoke cloud coming from the center of the town. Then that’s when you hear the screech of a tie fighter fly above you. “Run!” You yelp and grab Rey’s hand to lunge forward as it shoots a blast. The hut behind you explodes, sand flies everywhere like a blanket that washes over your bodies.

All you can feel is sand. Your mouth is full of sand, your skin and clothes are covered in it too. Your ears are ringing from the blast being so close. You swear you’re going to lose hearing from this happening so much.

How are you and Rey going to get out of this mess? You refuse to be captured by the First Order again. It’ll be worse this time around. You know Kylo wouldn’t go easy on Rey either.

You feel Rey reach out blindly in the cloud of sand to grab your hand, you hold onto her tightly. You can still hear the fighters circling around in the air. Rey’s voice is muffled by the ringing in your ears, “We need to get out of here!” She screams.

Yes, she’s right. You really do.

tags: @officiallpeterparker @funnysadshit @ymariejp @attorneyl @fangirl570 @trinityrud20 @kylos-sassy-cousin @delicatelyherdreams @fizzywoohoo @savvy7392 @angelias134 @that-girl-named-alex @cas-backwards-tie @glimmering-darling-dolly @glitterypinkkitty @blxkstar @his-snow-white-queen @elsasshole @smiithys @nanocoool @deathbyarabbit @alex-skr @theholycakehole @averillian @crazynocturnalkiki @arcanebabe @tinydancer40 @superduckypower @thomasscresswell @butterfly-writes @thatintrovertedbisexual @fangirlanotherjust @somekindofroger @nicci442 @little-girl-who-dream-too-much @wildest-dream- @silverlambcaptain @cliffordmess @xkylorxn @lowkeyofsassguard @nickangel13 @carol-twinklefists-danvers @oopsiedoopsie23 @fandomshit6000 @baba-eina @cosmichellfire @ravngers

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defiant-firefly · 4 years

Text

October Challenge Day uh... I dunno but it’s late

For whatever day this was again, I went with ‘Anglel/demons’ from an OC-tober prompt list but like... 1. Not an OC. and 2. I forgot the prompt after the second line whoops

Anyway, I’ve learned I’ve not had a lot of practice resolving things so uh... take it with a grain of salt. This is the last installment of the ‘Zap Labby’ idea that I hopefully won’t be revisiting for at least a while unless I feel like going in and fixing anything. I also don’t have the patience to read this again so you get whatever it is now.

Fic under cut!

They had been her angels in the dark once. Now all she could see them as was the opposite.

She didn’t want to see them that way. It was just hard not to.

Labrys hated to admit but she did feel a lot better physically. Her visor had stopped jamming, her joints had stopped aching and the malfunctions and blackouts had stopped completely. She’d been more than happy at that last one. She didn’t need more reminders of that time she spent locked away.

But now she didn’t know what to do. The betrayal had hurt more than she’d ever care to admit.

They said they’d never force her to anything she didn’t want to do. They’d promised, no, sworn, that she would have full agency over what she did and did not choose to do. She’d been choosing not to go to maintenance. It had been her choice and they still forced her to go through with it.

There was only one over moment in her life where she’d felt fear on that scale before and it wasn’t a memory she particularly wanted to relive again.

She had trusted them. Just like she’d trusted them. Why did everyone she trust seem to turn around and break it at the drop of a hat? Was trust worth nothing here?

They’d been nothing but kind to her but now they’d done this. Just what else had they lied about? She wasn’t sure if she wanted to find out or not.

It was a lot harder to spend time with them now. She knew she could maybe go see Akihiko and practice her hand to hand combat with him right now but she just… couldn’t.

They’d turned from the people she loved to people she couldn’t help but be afraid of. When were they going to pull her back to maintenance again? She knew they would, but when would they do it? When were they gonna strike next?

The more rational side of her knew they wouldn’t drag her there unless she needed it or unless it was for one of those scheduled check-up things that Aigis had and Fuuka had set up for her, but the anxiety was stronger.

It had left her with very little to do since she had to wait until school let out for the day in order to see anyone outside of those that worked here. She’d taken to pacing her room, tapping the wall with a pen as she walked beside it. The tapping had started to sound more and more like the more interesting of the ringtones the scientists had back then the more time went on, the sounds providing a comfort to her that she hadn’t been able to replicate in other things yet.

How much longer till she’d have a valid excuse to disappear and go see Ken and Koromaru? She’d have to leave soon if she didn’t want to deal with the cramped train conditions. ‘Soon’ could come a little faster in her opinion though…

A knock at her door had her pause in her pacing to glance over, the tapping never stopping.

“Who’s there?” She called out, a strange mix of curiosity and nerves making itself apparent to her. A gentle prod to her plume let her know exactly who it was before she even spoke.

“It’s me. Can I come in?” Aigis responded, a gentleness to her tone she hadn’t heard in a while.

“Uh… Sure…” The tapping on the wall got louder and more frequent as the door slowly opened and in walked her sister. “Ya need somethin’?” She asked as an unease filled her heart. Was it time for one of those scheduled meetings or something?

“I just wanted to talk to you, sister. I’ve missed you…” She trailed as she closed the door behind her. Labrys found herself fidgeting, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms as casually as possible, the tapping resuming as soon as her back hit the wall.

“Oh. Sorry?” Aigis shook her head.

“There’s no need to apologise.” Labrys found her eyes wandering as she hummed in acknowledgement of that, not really sure what to say to her anymore. “Sister, something is wrong isn’t it.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Does it matter…?” She grumbled as the fingers on her free hand started tapping on her elbow. Focusing on that helped a little bit to keep her head clear.

“Of course it does.” Aigis came further into the room, earning a narrowed look from Labrys. “… Have I done something wrong?” She paused in her movements, apparently picking up on the anxiety she was causing. She didn’t get an answer, Labrys going verbally silent. “Sister, if I’ve done something to upset you in anyway, please tell me.”

“You know.” She spoke after a long pause. “You gotta know what happens to us when we get worked on. I know she has one of those things too, so why’d ya do it?” Ruby eyes pinned onto sapphire. “Why’d ya stop me gettin’ away?”

Aigis didn’t seem to know what she meant for a little while. The thoughtful look on her face turning slightly confused the more time stretched on.

“Do you mean when Akihiko-san and I were trying to prevent you from hurting yourself after your collapse?” Collapse? Had she collapsed? She supposed she must have…

“Yeah, that.” The confirmation just earned more confusion.

“Sister, we were trying to help you.” Labrys shook her head in disbelief. “You collapsed and when Fuuka-san and I both ran diagnostic scans on you, we found you were-”

“Yeah I know that part.” She cut her off, not wanting an extensive list of everything they’d had to fix.

“You severed the connections between several fingers and your mind. I dread to think what would have happened had we not been there.” Aigis looked away, eyes seemingly pained.

“You guys promised ya wouldn’t make me do anythin’ I didn’t wanna do.” Her gaze bored into Aigis, wanting some sort of answer, a small relief coming to her as it became more obvious who was in control of this situation.

“Your wellbeing is more important than a promise.” Sapphire eyes raised as she answered firmly. “Sister, we just wanted to help you.”

“Ya lied to me!”

“You were hurting yourself! What were we supposed to do?”

“You hurt me more than I ever did!” She snapped and Aigis recoiled, a horror clear on her face. She shook her head as if to clear it, before looking her in the eyes again, a familiar softness in them as she shifted the topic.

“Why were you avoiding maintenance, sister?” Labrys huffed as she started pacing again.

“None o’ ya business.” She tried but had guessed that wouldn’t be enough to stop her.

“It is my business when you collapse in front of me. You scared me, sister. You scared me more than I can ever remember being.” Labrys winced a little at that. She hadn’t thought about that side of things… “If I’m being honest, I hope I never have to see you like that again.” Her gaze fell back to Aigis. She had her hands clenched into fists by her side, a faraway look in her eyes as she presumably was remembering the same thing she was.

“Aigis…”

“I felt it.” Labrys froze mid step and wall tap. “You know how reactive our hearts are to each other, sister. Your emotions were strong enough for me to feel them as if they were my own.” The tapping resumed but this time it was from Aigis as she tapped her fingertips on the desk. Labrys went silent as she focused in on it, relieved there was noise aside from their conversation again.

“If ya felt it, why were ya still stoppin’ me?” She asked as she tentatively started tapping the wall with her pen again, the tapping from the desk slowing to a stop as she did so.

“Sister, I may have felt it but I didn’t know why you felt that way. In fact I still don’t. My intention was to calm you down but I had no idea how.” Aigis explained, a sadness in her tone. “If you really were avoiding maintenance though, I want to know how to help you with whatever this is. Unfortunately, maintenance is as important to our wellbeing as food and water to a human.”

“So ya are gonna make me go through that again…” Labrys’ gaze turned downcast.

“Go through what again, sister?” She found herself rolling her eyes at that.

“Can’t ya figure it out? What in the world is your ‘maintenance’ like if ya can’t think of any reason why I wouldn’t wanna go into it?” She stopped tapping to give her air quotations and lean towards her a bit before quickly resuming it.

“Do you think I get hurt with every check-up or repair that’s made?” Aigis shook her head in disbelief. “Sister, I have no idea why you’d think that maintenance is anything but pleasant.” The lack of deception in her tone made her do a double-take. She faced Aigis, confusion evident on her face as her tapping stopped and she tried to wrap her head around that.

So, nothing bad ever happened to her…? Not ever? No they must have done something to her… She must have had some upgrade someday that was awful or at least uncomfortable…

Aigis resuming her tapping on the table helped keep her grounded as she ran a hand through her hair and spun the pen between her fingers.

“That’s a relief then…” And it was. She dreaded to think what kind of technology they could have been testing on Aigis after all the lost sisters they had to experiment with between the two after all.

“So they did do something to you…” Aigis sounded like she’d just received the worst news imaginable. “Whilst my experience in the lab was unfavourable at best, there was never anything that would cause me to be afraid of seeking repairs. That wasn’t the same for you… was it?” Labrys didn’t answer. She wandered over to the window on the far wall and stared up at the bright blue sky instead.

“No…” She spoke quietly after watching the fluffy clouds for a few moments. “It wasn’t.” When Aigis stopped tapping, Labrys started again on the window frame, timing her taps to land between the sounds of her footsteps.

“I’m sorry.” Aigis gently placed a hand on her shoulder, successfully drawing her attention away from the calming clouds. “Whatever they did must have been truly awful, but it’s okay now, sister. We aren’t like them.” Labrys bit her lip as her eyes fell away from her again.

“Didn’t look like that from where I was sittin’…” She mumbled half-heartedly. A finger under her chin gently forced her to look back up at her.

“Sister. We would never hurt you. We just want to help you. That’s all, I promise.” Once again, Labrys didn’t sense any deception from her at all, but that couldn’t be right…

“But I saw the t-taser! I saw-” Aigis’ eyes widened considerably at that.

“They tased you?” She blurted, a look of horror and disbelief on her face. Labrys just looked away again.

“She has one. I saw it. What else do ya use ‘em for?” Her words came out firm, unwaveringly confident that it wasn’t used for anything good.

“Sister, Junpei-san gave Fuuka-san that taser after he saw her being bothered by some unpleasant people near her university. He insisted she take it to defend herself from them should they attempt anything more than inappropriate comments.” Now it was Labrys’ turn to be surprised. People were bothering Fuuka? Is that what tasers are used for outside of labs?

“O-oh…” So it was all just bad timing? That thing wasn’t meant to be used on them? Ever?

It was then that she felt Aigis’ heart reach out to hers, enveloping it in a soft, comforting, warmth. She didn’t meet her gaze for a few moments, trying to focus on the feeling, trying to find any hint of dishonesty in it but coming up completely empty.

Upon that realisation, she couldn’t help but believe her. She let the warmth Aigis was offering wash over her more and seep into her body, relaxing some of the tension there. Reaching back, she tried to offer the same to her. Aigis smiled at the attempt, moving forward to wrap her in a hug not unlike the comfort she’d offered her through her heart. Labrys stopped tapping to wrap her arms around her and place her head over where she felt her papillion heart should have been, just below the crook of her neck.

The reaction they’d caused between their plumes got stronger at the closer proximity. It felt so familiar, yet so different at the same time…

“This helps…” She mumbled, grateful when Aigis started idly tapping on her back. There was a hum of acknowledgement before they went quiet, content to just be for a little while. “This doesn’t solve the problem though…”

“I know, sister. We’ll find a way to solve it. Together.” That sounded nice, but…

“Will I have to go in there again…?” She held on tighter at the thought of sitting, restrained in that chair again.

“Unless we find an alternative, I’m afraid so…” Aigis answered regretfully, not sounding happy about that at all. “We can wait until you’re ready this time, sister. Provided you don’t collapse on us again, of course.”

“I’ll try not ta.” A few moments of quiet later, her phone buzzed on the desk. Labrys jumped to attention as she remembered she had to leave early to meet up with Ken if she wanted to avoid the trains.

“Hm? Is something the matter, sister?” Labrys gave her one last squeeze before parting from their hug and grabbing her phone for a visual reminder of the time. She didn’t have long…

“Darn, I’m meant to be meetin’ Ken-kun and Koro-chan in a bit but I really don’t wanna take the train-”

“Ah, I see. I’ll leave you to it then.” Aigis smiled, patting Labrys on the shoulder as she passed on her way to the door. “I wouldn’t want to be the reason you’re late.”

“Thanks, Aigis.” She rushed around, picking her stuff up as she went. Aigis stopped at the door to watch for a moment or two.

“Sister?” She called.

“Yeah?” Labrys answered distractedly as she fiddled with the buttons on her coat.

“I’m always here if you need me. Please don’t ever forget that.” She paused mid-button, ruby eyes finding sapphire. She found herself offering her the first genuine smile since that day in maintenance.

“Yeah… I won’t.” Aigis smiled at that and bid her farewell before vanishing out of sight with the click of the door closing behind her. Labrys stared after her for a moment before checking the time again. Jumping to her feet at the digits on screen, she rocketed out the door at alarming speeds, doing her best to ignore the maintenance room as she passed.

If anyone could help her with that, she knew now that it would be Aigis. They’d find a way to get her through this.

Together.

#persona 4 arena #labrys #aigis #mitsuru kirijo #akihiko sanada #persona 4 arena ultimax #firefly writes #october challenge #yeah i sorta just wanted to finish this idea so i could be free #i am now free I guess #but I'm not entirely happy with it but i'll reread tomorrow and see how i feel then #anyway have fun with labby not getting zapped

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slicedblackolives · 4 years

Note

hi! how about steve realising he’s got a whopping crush on tony and all of a sudden he can’t act normally around him?! my heart

“Cap. Cap!”

“What?”

“You were saying something to me!” Wilson says, swooping down to pick up a six year old out of laser fire, “You doin’ okay?”

“Age gettin’ to you, Cap?” Tony intones over the comm, laughter clear in his voice. He saw it clearly, just as he cut an arc across the sky over Steve’s head, and the man just totally spaced out in the middle of announcing his beloved plan, “Don’t worry, I know a couple decent old-age homes.”

“You tell them to save space for you,” He says, “And maintain the perimeter.”

“Uh-huh. Keep your head in this century.”

The mission goes well, distracted leaders notwithstanding.

“What are you doing?” It’s the kitchen, it’s six am, it smells of espresso and toast. Tony hasn’t gone to bed yet, Steve looks his perfect well-rested self, except he’s sitting on a chair like a piece of post-post-something art, all twisted lines, stiffly holding his cup of coffee like’s he’s got it balanced at some wacky angle on a cliff and a single degree shift will send it tumbling down.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Steve.”

“Yes?”

Steve, that is very hot.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Steve, I literally just pulled it out the over.”

“It’s fine,” He says, taking a bite out of a steaming cookie, eyes brimming with wetness, “Fine. Tasty. Gotta go now. Bye.”

“I think there’s something wrong with Cap.”

“Hm?” Natasha says, sharpening her latest knife with a wicked schlick. Tony said he’d called her down to test an alloy, and then he had to actually make one.

“Haven’t you noticed? He’s been acting odd. Distracted. It’s weird. Usually he’s such a focused guy.”

Natasha looks at him, and slips that tiny knife into some crevice he can’t see, “No,” she says, “No, you two have always been that stupid.”

“What do you need?”

“Just,” Tony waves his hand towards a seat, not even looking, “Sit. Over there.”

Steve, again, is sitting like someone who doesn’t quite know how and is replicating the action by a faded memory of watching someone perform it years ago. Tony sits on the table beside him. “Give me your hand.”

Steve’s reluctant. Doesn’t meet his eyes. Tony keeps his (sharp as shit) elbow on his thigh and gently fits a metal gauntlet over his fingers and wrist, “It’s got a homing magnet. I’ll place its partner on your shield. So you can command it to return.”

“Mhm.”

“I’ve also set a speed and distance limit because if you call it from more than twenty metres away it will slice off your palm.”

“Ok.”

“Steve. Look at me.”

His neck cranes towards him. Steve’s cheeks and ears are red, lip bitten. Tony is still holding onto his hand, though the metal glove is fitted perfectly. Every muscle in his body is tense, and he keeps flexing his free hand, resting it over his knee, then his table, not letting it sit still.

“Hey, cap,” Tony whispers, “I like you too, you know.”

“Oh,” Steve exhales, “Oh. Oh, thank god.”

#stony #anon this is firmly 2012 they-all-live-in-the-tower-they-are-all-family au ok #clint is in the vents #thor eats pop tarts while also somehow being his ragnarok version #anonymous #asks #prompts #prompt fills #you can still send me prompts #steve rogers #tony stark #mcu #and they kissed!#my writing #if i knew how to do the (read more) thing id do it

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coffee-obsessed-writer · 5 years

Text

Winter Storm

Daryl Dixon x Reader; Dog

A/N: This is a VERY long overdue fic request from @rhyatt-deauxtreve for a little bit of Dixon, with the dialogue prompted: “Don’t hide from me, I want to see you.” I am so sorry this took so long, lovely. I hope you enjoy it!

*This is my first time with Daryl in a LOONG Time. So, be kind lol

Summary: Daryl is not a new face around the Kingdom, but definitely one you enjoy seeing around. As a winter storm rolls in, you find a quick way to bond with the archer and his dog that could be the thing to finally bring you closer.

WC: 3.3K

Warnings: None really

TWD Tags: @kazosa @wings-of-a-raven @sorenmarie87 @jodiereedus22 @spnhollis @buckyscrystalqueen @negans-wife @rhyatt-deauxtreve

Daryl was never one to mince words; or speak much, period. It was a complete surprise the first time he approached you after he claimed The Kingdom as his home. He wasn’t a stranger, though not exactly a regular face you’d see around the campus. If anything, you got to know his dog before you got to know the archer himself.

It was during one of the community movie nights that he first said hello. You were passing out some newly made treats for the kids when Daryl and Dog came strolling in. Seeing Dog always made you smile, so you immediately knelt down and accepted his welcoming, sloppy kisses and excitement.

“Hey buddy!” you laughed as he jumped up, one paw on either shoulder as he peppered you with a greeting.

“Dog, down!” Daryl chastised and was satisfied when Dog immediately heeled to his side. “Sorry, he gets excited.”

“It's fine. I love seeing him around! I wish we had more pets in the community. I know the kids get a kick out of him.”

Daryl nodded and ruffled the dog’s head. “He alright to come in with me?”

“Of course! I mean, if the King could once rule with a Tiger by his side, I can’t imagine a dog attending movie night would be a big deal,” you said and gave Daryl a playful wink.

He snorted, what you assumed to be a laugh, but realized there was a sense of sadness on his face. You thought he made just take his dog and move on, but he hesitated.

“You knew Shiva?” he asked softly.

“I did. I’ve been here since the beginning. She was a spectacular animal.”

“She was,” he said, chewing his bottom lip. “Shame she didn’t make it.”

“A lot of good soldiers were lost in that war. She was one of them,” you mused, your heart filling with a swell of both pride and loss.

Again, Daryl nodded. “Glad there are still some here that remember those days.”

“Me too.”

There was a moment, where Daryl’s steely blue eyes paired with yours. He allowed them to wander down the length of your body, but it was quick and didn’t linger; yet enough for that spark to flicker awake in place you kept feelings locked away. Through all your years at The Kingdom, he was the first man who was able to do that.

That was the first time you spoke to him. You really hoped it wouldn’t be the last.

Over the next few months, Daryl and his faithful companion showed up at every movie night. You noticed him around the community more and anytime there was a task that involved more than just your set of hands, he was there. With each encounter, he would talk to you more and more. It got to be so frequent, that you began to think of him as a good friend; someone you could count on and looked forward to seeing.

As winter set in, and the people of The Kingdom mostly kept to their own apartments, and you found yourself missing him. When the first real hard snowfall came, you took the chance of bundling up and headed out to the courtyard hoping that maybe he and Dog would be somewhere near. That day, all you found were a handful of kids making snow angels. Trying not to be disappointed, you turned to head back to your apartment.

Right before you entered the building, from far off beyond the walls, you could faintly hear Dog barking. His familiar call instantly made you smile and turn away from home. Walking quickly as you could through the snow towards the gates, you climbed up to the platform and grabbed a pair of binoculars from one of the guards on duty. After scanning as far as you could, you finally spotted them, a few hundred yards out but pointed in the direction of home.

Not wanting to seem like you were waiting for them, you busied yourself around the gates, tending to some odds and ends that didn’t necessarily need tending too. When the doors finally opened, Dog came barreling in then skidded to a stop; causing a spray of snow to fly through the air. He was beyond rambunctious, tossing it up in the air with his snout, rolling in it and jumping up to catch it as it fell back to the Earth. You were so caught up in watching Dog enjoying himself you missed Daryl coming him and his gaze fixed on you.

“Hey,” he greeted, close enough for you to notice him.

“Oh, hey!” you replied, genuinely surprised to see him, despite knowing about his impending arrival. “What were you guys doing out there?”

“Huntin’. Thought maybe we’d cross a deer or somethin’.”

“Any luck?”

“Nah. There’s a good storm comin’. They’re all hold up somewhere by now. Got a bunch of rabbits though.”

“Oh, fantastic! I bet Nabila could do something with them to stretch them out for a bit.”

“Hope so. Pantry is good for most of the winter, but it helps to get some fresh meat when we can,” he hesitated, then whistled for Dog to join him. “I gotta go bring these in to get’em cleaned.”

You felt a weight of disappointment sit on your chest. You didn’t know what you wanted from him exactly but just knew that you wanted to be around him. “Oh… yeah, of course.”

“Dog! C’mon,” Daryl called, and once his companion obeyed, he headed off to the skinning shed.

You pulled your coat tighter around your shoulders and began to head back to your home when from the corner of your eye you saw Daryl freeze. His head hung down, the long tendrils of hair obscuring your ability to read his expression.

“Hey!” he called out and jogged to catch up with you. “Where—uh, I mean, what are you up to… now?”

“Heading in,” you smiled wanly and looked up to the sky that was now beginning to sprinkle more flakes. “Storm’s coming, right?”

“Yeah, not for a few hours more though I’d guess. You wanna help me with the rabbits?”

Doing your best to keep the rush of excitement at his invitation at bay, you nodded and shrugged as casually as you could. “Sure, why not. It’s been a while but I think I can remember how it’s done.”

“C’mon,” he said and motioned his head in the other direction. “We’ll see how ya do. Maybe next time you can come out huntin’ with us.”

The skinning shed was somehow colder than the outside itself. Daryl saw you shiver once he let the bag with his prey fall to the table with a thud. He pulled off his fur-lined poncho and held it out to you.

“No, I’m ok, thank you,” you said politely and moved to open the bag.

Daryl covered your hands with his to stop you and draped it over your arm.

“No, ya ain’t. Take it.”

You looked up at him and smiled, but not because of his generosity, because of how long his hand was lingering on yours.

Daryl cleared his throat and realized he was still holding your hands. “So, uh, you’ve done this before, huh? When?”

“As a kid. My brother took me hunting all the time. I honestly hated it, but I liked the time I spent with him, so I went.”

Daryl grunted an acknowledgment and went about removing the rabbits. As the next two hours went by, you each cleaned three and prepped the skins for future use. By the time you got the meat ready for Nabila and cleaned your hands, the snow was coming down in sheets.

“Damn. I was hoping it would hold off a bit longer,” Daryl grumbled as you made your way across the courtyard towards the pantry.

“Why, you got a hot date?” You immediately cringed at yourself after asking.

Daryl snorted. “Nah. Was hoping to get back to camp.”

“Camp? I thought you were staying here.”

“I am, just been staying out beyond the walls trying to trap what I could before another storm came ‘round.”

“Oh, good. For a second there I thought you’d left the Kingdom.” You winced again when you realized how ridiculous you sounded and desperately just wanted to hide your face. You couldn’t look at him, but from the corner of your eye you saw him smirk.

“Wouldn’t want me to go, huh? Probably afraid you’d never see Dog again,” he scoffed and whistled at the dog to heel.

“Well he is the happiest part of my day,” you said and wanted to add ‘and so are you’ but kept quiet and walked slowly beside him. “So, uh, where to after the pantry?”

“Guess back to the room Carol kept aside for me.”

“You don’t like staying there?”

Daryl shrugged. “It’s alright. I know she likes it when she can keep an eye on me.”

“That’s nice, knowing you have someone like that.”

“You don’t?”

“I have friends here, sure. But the way Carol goes on about you sometimes, she’s convinced you hung the moon. The King is too, for that matter.”

“It ain’t nothing. We’ve just been through it together, ya know?”

You did. But all you gave Daryl in response was a simple nod just as you arrived at the pantry door. After dropping off the rabbit meat, you and Daryl found yourselves back out in the cold.

“Snow’s gettin’ deep. Probably should head inside,” he rasped and gave you a side-eyed look.

“Yeah… you’re probably right.” Disappointed all over again. “Well, thanks for keeping me company, and for the rabbits. Maybe we can meet up for some of that stew Nabila’s gonna make tomorrow.”

Daryl seemed nervous as the wind whipped the long tendrils of his hair around his face. He chewed on his lower lip a little and nodded.

“We could. C’mon, I’ll walk you home.”

“It’s fine. I’m good. I only live over there. Here, take your poncho, you’re much further across the campus.”

You started to take it off but for the second time that day, he put his hands over yours to stop you.

“Keep it. I got another,” he paused, but clearly wanted to say something else. Not wanting to scare him off, you waited quietly until he worked up the nerve to way whatever it was he wanted to. “Maybe, Dog and I could just come to your place. If I go and sit in that box with just him to talk to, I may end up back out there lookin’ for more rabbits,” Daryl said, not without a bit of humor.

His eyes narrowed on you, making you feel nervous yet excited for more time with him.

“Sure. I’m always up for your company. And Dog’s too, of course.”

“Of course,” he mocked and rolled his eyes. “Lead the way.”

It wasn’t long after, that you and Daryl were settled into your apartment. There wasn’t too much to it, but you found ways to occupy yourselves as the wind howled outside, dumping inches upon inches of fresh snow across The Kingdom.

After you had heated up some leftover stew you had for the both of you, Daryl got up from where he was sitting on the floor and went to your cupboard.

“Mind if I get a drink?” he asked, already looking through your supplies.

“Help yourself.”

A minute or two later, after rifling through your supplies, he popped his head back into your view to get your attention.

“Been hiding the good stuff, huh?” he said, revealing the small bottle of whiskey. “Where did you find this?”

“One of the scouts brought it back last summer. Found a bunch in some warehouse. Honestly forgot it was back there.”

“Nothing like a nip of booze to warm ya up.” Daryl raised the bottle up. “Whatcha say?”

“Crack it open,” you smiled and enjoyed Daryl’s reaction to your agreement.

He tossed the top on the counter and pulled a long shot straight from the bottle. There was no wince or bite to his expression as he swallowed the shot and held it out to you.

“Bottom’s up,” you smiled and did the same, except you did wince at the burn as it trickled down your throat.

Passing it back and forth, your conversation continued to be easy with him, mostly talking about the early days of the outbreak, where you both were, what you did. He told you about the group’s movements through Georgia that led to arriving in D.C. and you told him your story, about people you lost and how you landed at The Kingdom. These conversations were the norm now, replacing the ‘used to be’ chit chat of what do you do, where did you go to school…

Before you realized it, the room had gone almost completely dark. Despite the storm, the light of the day had been enough to keep the apartment well lit, but as the sunset behind the squall of snow, the interior was getting darker and darker.

Since electricity was in short supply, you got up and started lighting the candles and turned on the one oil lamp you kept for just such an occasion. It was starting to get cold in the apartment, despite the fact that Daryl’s furlined poncho was still residing on your shoulders.

Daryl held out the bottle to you again, his eyes following you after you took it, moving around the room and grabbing some of the snacks you kept on hand.

“Still hungry?” you asked, holding out a small bag of sunflower seeds you had harvested and roasted last Autumn.

“Kinda,” he shrugged and got up from where he had been sitting. Dog lifted his head to watch his master move across the room but laid it back down on his paws when Daryl didn’t go far.

“How come you ain’t shacked up with one of these guys here?” he asked, his brow furrowed in curiosity, and haze of slight intoxication in his eyes.

His question left you speechless. “I--I--don’t know. Why aren’t you?” Was all you could think to say.

“Cause I ain’t into the guys around here,” he snarked and reached for the bottle of whiskey.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” you laughed and rolled your eyes. “Why do you want to know?”

Daryl shrugged. “You’re a pretty girl. Seems like you should belong to someone.”

“I belong to myself, Daryl. I don’t need someone in my life to make me complete, or to keep me safe.”

Realizing how defensive you probably sounded, you wrinkled your nose in frustration, then started to stumble in an effort to backtrack. You wanted to say more--the whiskey was nearly making you brave enough--but in the end were able to bite your tongue. But then Daryl’s expression faltered for a moment. It was then that you realized that if anything was ever to happen between you, you would have to make that first move.

“But,” you started, and paused, taking the bottle from his hand before he could take another sip. “That’s not to say I don’t miss being with someone. That I don’t think about having someone put their arms around me at night.”

“That right?” he eyed you carefully and watched you take another shot.

“Mhm.” You wiped your lips and handed it back, but he shook his head no and took it from you.

Daryl left the bottle on the table, giving a cursory glance over to Dog who was now happily snoozing on the floor by the front door. When he did turn back to you, there was a change in his expression that you’d never seen before.

“What?” you asked with a scoff. “I got a booger or something?”

Daryl shook his head. He slowly closed the distance and when he was a mere inches away, you understood this new expression he wore. Daryl was nervous, too.

“Nah,” he said in that low rasp of his you were coming to love. “You’re pretty is all.”

“You said that already,” you said and tried to swallow through the sudden lump of anxious excitement that bound up in your throat.

Daryl hesitantly reached out, cupping your elbow and drawing you in the last step that stood between you. He bent down, keeping his eyes open and holding your gaze as he moved closer to your lips. From behind him, Dog whined and turned his head just as you felt the warmth of Daryl’s breath touch your mouth. A small spark jumped between you and him, as his lips finally touched yours. It felt like it was all happening in slow motion, but it was happening. A moment you found yourself dreaming about late at night, and even in the mundane tasks of the day, was finally happening.

The kiss was soft, and sweet. You could taste the remnants of the whiskey and when you were brave enough to part his lips with your tongue, it was strong and bitter. You were instantly lost in the moment. His hand slowly traveled from your elbow, off your arm and around your waist as he slowly turned you placing your back squarely against the counter. The whiskers around his upper lip tickled your face, but it only added to the moment.

Daryl pressed his body against you, the weight of which felt comforting and safe. It had been years since anyone had you in a position like this, mostly because it was so hard to trust anyone enough to leave yourself this vulnerable. But with him, it wasn’t a question; with Daryl, you felt more at ease and safe than with anyone else… ever.

You pulled back, hanging your face and trying to cover the bout of nerves that lived there.

“Don’t hide from me,” he said, lifting your chin with his fingers, “I wanna see you.”

“Why?” you asked, though you verbalized it with a purpose, it came out in barely a whisper.

Daryl shrugged and then turned his head to look at his canine friend now calmly asleep by the front door. “Dog liked ya. Trust him more than anyone.”

“Even Carol?” you asked, unable to help to tease him a little.

“She did marry a fake King… maybe not the best judgment,” he scoffed in a low rasp. “Besides, I told ya, you’re pretty. Hard to find pretty girls you can trust these days.”

“That so?”

“Mhm,” he mumbled, biting down softly on the inside of his lip while his blue eyes studied you closely. “Be alright if Dog and I ride this out with you?”

“I’d like that.”

“Even if its a few days?”

You nodded. “I got plenty of whiskey. Snacks, too.”

From outside the wind blew harder, nearly shaking the building itself. Snow began falling in heavy, wet sheets and snaps of trees could be heard in the distance.

“Good thing,” he said, looking out of the window in the kitchen. “Don’t think its gonna let up anytime soon.”

“Too bad,” you said, letting your eyes wander back to his lips. “Maybe we should settle in. Get comfortable…”

You grabbed the bottle of whiskey and went to move from between him and the counter, but didn’t get far before his reached out to stop you. He drew you back and kissed you again; this time he was far more assured and persistent in how he maneuvered his mouth to work with yours. When he pulled back, he was smiling.

“Yeah… let’s do that. Can think of a few ways we could pass the time.”

Without another word, you, Daryl and the bottle of whiskey crawled onto the bed, wrapped yourself in blankets and found ways to ride out the storm.

#daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon x reader insert #daryl dixon x y/n #fic request #twd fics

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