#Gun Runner Trigger Happy

[forensicated]

The following starts a quintology of episodes centered around Smithy going undercover to bust arms dealers.

Smiffina Episodes: Gun Runner Part 1 - Trigger Happy (1/5)

Ben and Roger are on scene at the Cockcroft Estate as Banksy manages to get a young boy, Emile Grover, to put a loaded gun on the floor without it going off.

Smithy is taking new PC Mel Ryder walkies around Sun Hill after she'd transferred from West Yorkshire Police to the MET. Gina's surprised at their keenness to get out there given Mel hadn't even met the relief at that point.

It's not that long since Emma was killed and now with a young child getting hold of a real gun - Gina's rattled. She warns Smithy to bring Mel back in one piece which he promises to do before taking her to a shout at a secondary school where two estranged parents are arguing about contact. The mother has an injunction against the father. Mel proves she can handle herself, telling the father exactly what to do in no uncertain terms. "Thanks for the help there, Sarge." "Well if you'd given me a chance...!" he smirks, amused. "Remind me not to get on the wrong side of you!"

Emile is worried his dad is going to kill him as he puffs his inhaler. Banksy tells Emile that it'll be OK and that it was a neighbour who spotted him playing with the gun , pretending to point it at the public from the balcony who told them he was in the flat. Emile claims the gun was already in the living room. He denies he broke in to the flat but tells them that it's a known hangout. He then says he can't name names because they're 'older' and he doesn't know their names. His father claims Emile has told him all he knows. Banksy and Max agree Emile was lying but not sure about what part.

Unfortunately the father from earlier, Billy Figgis, has broken into and trashed the home his ex wife lives in with their son and her new partner. They're due to leave for Glasgow though Figgis is refusing to let her leave with their son despite her having permission for it.

Max briefs CID about the gun, explaining it's army issue. It seems there are high numbers of them around in Sun Hill. This gun has had its serial number filed off. Kezia asks why they're not running an obbo on the flat it was found in but Gina explains she already has uniform there and the news has gotten out about Emile so she doubts the owner will return for it now they know the police have it. They're viewing the CCTV and doing door to do whilst also hoping there's fingerprints on it that will give them more information. Sun Hill let the army know that it's turned up and that there was an armed robbery in the last week that matches up with the weapon.

Most of the cameras on the estate had been vandalised apart from one in the lift showing Emile take the gun from his bag and wave it around. "The little...! I knew he was lying!" Max sighs, bringing him in.

Figgis was sacked from his security job after unofficially 'moving in' to one of the storage units on site. Smithy looks through a small box of belongings and finds a military cross which is only awarded for acts of real bravery against the enemy. They take it and the rest to his forwarding address, a B&B.

Emile and his father watch the CCTV footage. He claims he was just playing and had found it at the side of the railway. They ask him again how he got it. "You implying my son is a liar?" his father demands of Max. "No. I'm not implying it. I'm saying it." His father reacts angrily but Banksy calms the situation down and asks Emile again. Emile admits someone told him to take it to the flat. He doesn't know who and says he didn't look at him as he was scared and told not to. He admits he was paid £10 and promises he'll never do it again. He said he'd heard the older boys talk about an Andrew Tyrell.

Terry visits his snout who owns an army surplus store. Kezia asks if he's heard anything about someone using an army weapon. He names Tyrell and claims he was formerly low level but has announced himself more Premier League with a new supplier. He's leasing British Army weapons direct from Iraq.

The army captain has a fun name misunderstanding with Jo, both expecting the other to be male. Captain Charlie Shaw tells them the gun was initially issued in Iraq. With the full serial number she'd be able to tell them who it was issued to and when but without it - much harder if not impossible. She admits a small number have been smuggled back by soldiers but as each one is signed in/out they were always able to trace it and retrieve it. She admits some soldiers have reported weapons as stolen by the enemy during a tour and they were smuggled back that way. Forensics manage to work out some more numbers and Charlie tracks it down to a specific unit.

Uniform visit a normal flat on a normal estate looking for Tyrell. It's not what Ben was expecting for an arms dealer. He's also grumpy because 'New Girl' Mel gets to 'run around with the Sarge' when he and Roger get the grunt work.

Mel and Smithy arrive at the ironically named Sunshine B&B and visit Billy. He's on edge and claims he only left rubbish behind at the unit. Smithy flicks through a notebook of Billy's and notes codes but doesn't question it at first as they are there to ask him about the break in at his ex's. They want him to answer questions and he claims he can't do that so Mel arrests him. They allow him to 'get his coat'. Smithy questions the codes only for Figgis to pull a gun on them instead. He orders them to cuff themselves together. Smithy reassures Mel that they'll be alright and will get it out it in one piece - like he promised Gina. "All promises you can't keep!" Snarls Figgis.

Figgis shouts he only wants his life back and that no-one gives a stuff about him. He sends them flying onto the bed and leaves the room. Smithy gets them back onto their feet and they untangle themselves but are still cuffed at the arms. Mel discovers the gun was a toy. Roger and Ben head over and LOVE winding them up about it!

Smithy and Mel continue searching Figgis' room for anything that could explain what he's up to or where he could have gone. Mel finds a big box of money inside his fridge - at least £10K's worth.

Tyrell is still missing and there's a car waiting outside his ready to bring him in. Unfortunately there are no other prints than Emile's on the gun. Charlie tells CID that they've located the unit the gun was issued to and they are cross referencing soldiers from that unit with both serving and ex soldiers who have links to Sun Hill. Only one is found - Billy Figgis. There are no records of missing weapons from that unit. Charlie confesses they have found stolen weapons ranging from grenades to rocket launchers in the past. Not reassuring!

Smithy reports the notebook to Neil and Gina. He recognised the terms GAT and HP from the Army. GAT is the term for a standard issue firearm and HP is for a Browning 'High Powered'. He thinks the notebook contained a list of British Army firearms with sums of cash beside them and names of people who had leased them. Neil orders Figgis to be found before he does anymore damage.

Sarah Figgis arrives to tell Mel and Smithy that her son has been abducted from school. Billy isn't answering the phone but he's text her to tell her to go home and wait and not involve the police but that their son will be fine. Sarah admits she's terrified about Billy's state of mind since he left the army after potentially accidentally killing a child in Basra. Their vehicle was hit, the Sgt killed outright and everyone else wounded. Billy was deafened by the explosion and almost blinded by the smoke. They were being shot at by insurgents. He fired back and when the smoke cleared there was a body of a child and they couldn't tell who it was who had actually killed him - but Billy felt responsible and has been suffering PTSD ever since.

Max, Terry and Jo find Billy Figgis outside Tyrell's house trying to kick the door in. They bring him in and Sarah launches at him, demanding to know where their son is. Smithy and Mel wrestle her back before he asks Billy where he is. Billy demands they let him go to find him. He tries to attack Smithy who forces him back down. In the upset he admits Tyrell has his son and he has to go find him.

In interview he shows Max and Smithy the video of his terrified son pleading for his life. Tyrell says he'll call at 5pm. He admits he has something that Tyrell wants. Max gets nothing from him but Smithy uses his Army background to tell him he understands how he feels. He explains he is former Queen's Royal Fusiliers and that he mostly served in Northern Ireland but also did a Tour in the Balkans. "I saw things that nobody should ever have to see, things that are going to stay with me for the rest of my life." (They definitely only played lip service to this because the tour he makes out he did 'with the blue helmets' (UN Peace Keepers) only happened IRL a month before PC Dale Smith arrived at Sun Hill - and he wasn't a probationer...! I'm going to side with he was telling Billy what he wanted/needed to hear from what his army mates told him to get him onside). Billy tells him he stole military weapons and that Tyrell is a scumbag who he can't stand. He needed him however to get him in with the right people so he let Tyrell handle them with an agreement to not ever involve kids in handling them/moving them/leasing them. Max winds him up again and Figgis gets angry and paranoid, claiming he's being watched through the mirror in the interview room. He admits his gun was involved that morning and that he told Tyrell where to go after he heard a kid was involved. In exchange for his son, Tyrell wants his other 2 guns and his contacts to get more.

Charlie is clearly weary of Neil placing the blame for Figgis on her and responds to Jo's offer of coffee with "Got anything stronger?"

Smithy and Max march Figgis into the toilet to speak to Tyrell privately and tell him to make out he's in a pub toilet waiting for updates. He agrees to meet Tyrell in 30 minutes at the storage yard where the guns are kept. Sun Hill mount an obbo quickly. Emile has also gone missing as he hasn't returned home from school and he was last seen with Josh Figgis. They suspect he could also have been taken hostage at the same time by Tyrell. Neil reminds them all that the boy(s) safety is paramount over everything else. The plan is to watch everything on the CCTV with Figgis wearing a wire. Smithy and Max are going to double check the guns aren't loaded before Tyrell arrives and then they'll let Billy take Tyrell to the guns. They will be hiding in other units out of view. As soon as he says where Josh is being held, uniform will rescue them. Once they know he's safe then they'll arrest Tyrell. CO19 are less than a minute away, hidden around a corner. Kezia is pretending to unload a unit into her car to keep a watch up outside. Tyrell arrives - walking rather than in a car or van as suspected. Gina calls in a report from a witness of two boys - matching Emile and Josh's descriptions, being bundled into a white van near their school. They're tracing the index of it and ask all units to keep an eye out for it - hoping it's near the unit.

Tyrell tells Figgis he's going to give him the guns and the contacts and then he'll tell him where Josh is. Tyrell scoffs when he finds only two guns, insisting Figgis 'has an arsenal'. Figgis insists that is all he has right now. Tyrell then mentions a deal with a Wallace and tells him he wants 50% and if he doesn't agree now and tell him where the rest is as well as the information, he can forget about ever seeing Josh again. The two men fight as Neil urges uniform to keep searching for the van to get the boys before they steam in. Terry, Smithy and Max can wait no longer when a knife is produced and Figgis is stabbed in the arm. Despite the wound, he holds Tyrell against the wall, demanding to know where his son is. Max and Terry drag Tyrell away and arrest him whilst Smithy holds Figgis back all by himself! (it puts me in mind of how he moves Callum so easily too when everyone else practically just hangs off his arm when they try) Tyrell screams at him that he'll never find his son now. Luckily straight after, Mel and Roger find the van mentioned and get the boys out and safe.

Max and Terry ask Jo and Charlie if they're coming to the pub. Both women instantly say they can't as they're heading off for an early night - even the once in a lifetime offer of Max offering a round can't tempt them. Terry is smirking as he watches. He's picked up on the obvious attraction between the two women, even if Max hasn't.

Gina and Smithy tease Mel about her 'slow first day'. "She might be a bit rough around the edges but as she's here we might as well keep her." Smithy smirks. "You never know she might even surprise us!" "Careful Sarge, you almost sounded optimistic there."

Max, Terry and Banksy almost make it out the door for their pint... but the Superintendent wants a briefing with Max and the DI and he needs them to get on to Trident to see what they know about Kieran Wallace - it seems there might be something in the deal that Tyrell mentioned! Terry's left to get the coffee's in...

[panakinthedisco]

As the world lay in shambles by the sudden outbreak of a disease called cordyceps brain infection, society is broken, the government is on the rubble where a world became lawless and violent. But even chaos is prevalent, some are persistent to find a vaccine, though it is deemed impossible and hopeless due to the overwhelming mutation.

Kannika Suriya-Neuman, the only child of two known Medical professors took part with the cause - becoming the first pioneers who tried to find the vaccine, ten years after the outbreak. With her parents, Phillip Neuman and Anna Suriya, the tumultuous journey to find a cure becomes, metaphorically speaking, the search for a holy grail that can end the virus once and for all. Their team that consisted of surviving doctors and medicine majors from different prestigious universities across America took part in a seemingly impossible cause.

Even though there is progress, a group of syndicates that are formed has other things in mind. For years living in a world without law or governance, the idea to take power in a lawless country will be gone if a vaccine is created. The Citadel whose ideology is protecting the society they created is now in a threat to the vaccine so they did the unthinkable, pulverize the whole operation.

By the massacre of Kannika's colleagues along with her mother who sacrificed her life by saving people, the search for the cure becomes thin up until a revolutionary group by the name The Fireflies steps in to protect the remaining survivors.

But the quest of the cure becomes hopeless for another ten years. Kannika, now thirty eight years old, is beginning to believe that the world she's living in is going to rot along with the decaying corpses of the clickers and runners. Until, Marlene, one of The Fireflies, tells her about a young girl who might be the answer to the prolonged cure.

Hope begins to shine in the horizon as Kannika sets the journey to find the young girl who is said to be immune from the virus. In between crossroads and that small hope that she hid in her heart, a man with a cold heart comes to her with tenderness and begs to be indulged by that love that he couldn't even remember. Kannika finds herself with Joel Miller, a man whose life is enveloped in regrets and sadness. But Kannika is in thin ice as Joel would take a bullet for the young girl that he grows to love as his own child.

A child over the future of many generations.

While for Kannika with a gun in her hand pointing to her lover, she silently hopes from the darkest corner of her mind that Joel should've pulled the trigger.

pairings: joel miller x original character / original characters x canon characters

warnings: major character deaths (oop!), smut, violence, brief mentions of SA (will state in the chapter) and gore.

author's notes: this is a slowburn romance for kannika and joel. also, as much i want to make this as a reader x joel, kannika neuman has a special in my heart soooooo sorry y'all! this fic will stick to some parts of the canon (series and video game) but act one and act two is full canon divergence. basically making my own lore.

other notes: most of the graphics of this fic are made by me unless its stated.

translated version/s: i've got a spanish translation for this fic in wattpad. you can check it out in here [CLICK HERE]

collateral damage gif banner: made by @alderaandors <3

AVAILABLE ON WATTPAD & AO3

ACT ONE | INFERNO (sets in ten years after outbreak)

001 . . . . fungi

002 . . . . sense of normalcy

003 . . . . happy anniversary!

004 . . . . breaking dawn

005 . . . . the holy grail

006 . . . . alternate universe

007 . . . . i am, i am, i am

008 . . . . all things must pass

009 . . . . sense of kindness

010 . . . . whiskey and fate

011 . . . . machiavellian

012 . . . . a little light

013 . . . . tortured soul

014 . . . . the punisher

015 . . . . not now, not ever

ACT TWO | PURGATORIO (sets in eleven years after outbreak)

016 . . . . a path ahead

017 . . .. happiness is a warm gun

ACT THREE | PARADISO (sets in twenty years after outbreak)

SEE BELOW THE SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS OR YOU CAN VISIT MY ACCOUNT.

☆ MASTERLIST | NAVIGATION | SOCIALS | SIGN OFF BANNER MADE BY. @ALDERAANDORS ☆

[chvoswxtch]

Hi! I’m really sorry to keep requesting this but could you write about blackwidow!reader being on a mission to kill Matt/Daredevil and that she ends up getting close to him just because of the mission but it could possibly end with a happy ending?

please never apologize for a request! you have no idea how beyond flattered I am that you come to me with your ideas & trust me to bring them to life. I am having so much fun with all of these matt x black widow reader requests, so thank you! ❤️

warning: some swearing, slight mentions of violence word count: 2.2k

we can do this together.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. You were never supposed to hesitate. You were never allowed to question a mission. And up until now, you never had. But he made you question everything.

“You don’t have to do this. I know you don’t want to.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know everything about you. You lied about a few things, yeah, but nothing that mattered. Everything else you told me was real. Listen-“

“Don’t move.”

You aimed your gun directly at Matt’s chest, pausing his ascension forward. He quickly brought his hands up in surrender, the sides of his mouth turned downwards in a slight grimace. 

“Y/N, you’re not gonna shoot me.”

Even though half of his face was covered, you could see the betrayal written on his features clear as day beneath the glowing moonlight. You could practically envision the hurt permeating his golden honey eyes, and that image in your head punctured your heart like a jagged, rusty blade. The effect of your treachery was evident in his voice, but you had to remind yourself why you were here. You cocked the hammer of your gun as you clenched your jaw, noting the way his lips parted slightly in response to take in a breath.

“No?”

At this point you weren’t sure who you were trying to convince more; him or yourself. 

Your grip on the handle tightened as you struggled to compose yourself. 

He’s just another mission. You’ve done this a thousand times. Just pull the trigger.

Matt swallowed thickly as he took a cautious step forward, shaking his head slowly as he spoke.

“No, you won’t. You won’t hurt me.”

You fired a warning shot by his foot, causing him to freeze immediately. He turned his head away from the sound of the bullet ricocheting off the concrete of the rooftop, wincing as the sound pierced his sensitive ears. Matt’s tongue darted out to wet his lips, letting a frustrated sigh escape his mouth as he focused his head in your direction. The disappointment was practically radiating off of him, and it made you sick to your stomach. 

“Stop pretending like you know me. You only know the version of me I wanted you to see. Manipulation and deception are our greatest strengths, Matthew. It’s how we bring down empires.”

Matt scoffed as he let out a humorless laugh, instantly dropping his hands by his sides and clutching them into tight fists as he shook his head defiantly and took another bold step forward. 

“No.”

Goddamnit Matthew, stop. Quit being so fucking stubborn.

“It’s not up for debate.”

Deep down you wanted him to run. He was quick and stealthy, you knew that. He could disappear before you even had a chance to track him. That would give you more time. To do what, you weren’t sure. Delay the inevitable? Hope they pulled you off this task and assigned someone else? Runaway yourself?

But Matt wasn’t a runner. He was just as combative outside of the courtroom as he was in it. There was no changing his mind once it had already been made up, he was too tenacious.

“It’s bullshit. I know when you’re lying. I can tell by your heartbeat. You can lie to everyone else, but you can’t lie to me.”

Matt’s confession stunned you completely. He was blind, you knew that for a fact. But he was also the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. You hadn’t quite figured out how he was able to do the things he did, but it wasn’t important to your assignment, so you weren’t allowed to test your curiosity. Get in, get what you need, eliminate the threat, and get out. Those were the rules.

None of this matters. He’s a mission. Just complete it. 

Sensing a falter in your facade, Matt took another cautious step forward, and you reflexively aimed your gun directly towards his face. You never had an issue completing an assignment before. Every target you were assigned to take out was a threat. It never bothered you before, because each of them had things far worse than skeletons in their closets. Some of them had committed sins you didn’t think any God could forgive. The world was better off without them. 

Why was this time so hard?

Because it was Matt. Matthew Murdock that let his clients repay him in banana bread for helping them get justice. Matthew Murdock that gave his literal blood, sweat, and tears every night for a city that would never thank him or even know his real name. 

Because it was Matt that stopped by your apartment randomly and asked you to accompany him to do mundane tasks like go grocery shopping, or claiming he needed feedback on his closing argument with an elaborate ruse. He always had an excuse, but it was simply because he knew you didn’t have any family either, and sometimes felt just as alone as he did. It was Matt that remembered how much you loved pickles and always offered you his even if he wanted them. It was Matt that walked you home every time you went to Josie’s, even though you lived 2 blocks away, because he wanted to make sure you made it home safe. 

Because it was Matt, and he wasn’t really the threat; Daredevil was. Because Daredevil was dangerous. Because he was too good at what he did, and was getting too close. Your other targets were more competition than threats. But him? He was a threat. They had every right to be terrified of him. They should be.

The only advantage you had at the moment was that you hadn’t reported that you figured out Daredevil’s identity. They didn’t know about Matt. But if you were able to figure it out, you knew another widow could too. Matt was only safe the longer you dragged out this assignment, and you were running out of time.

“Sweetheart-“

“Don’t.”

You squeezed your eyes shut as you tried to focus. It felt like you were spiraling in a haunting kaleidoscope of guilt and fear, anxious as to where you would land. You were fighting against every single code of your programming. Everything you were trained to do. Everything you were molded to be. Matt had unlocked something in you, and you were struggling to keep it contained.

“Put the gun down.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. Just-“

“You don’t understand.”

You didn’t even try to mask the vulnerability in your voice. Part of you knew Matt was right. Your mission was to get close to him, but either consciously or subconsciously, you’d also let him get close to you. You had told him things, real things, that no one else knew. You tried to convince yourself that it was to draw him in closer, to make him trust you so you could take advantage of him. But the more you were around him, the truth became harder to deny. Matt Murdock was like gravity. You were drawn to him, like everyone else around him, and he grounded you into a space that felt secure. 

“Then help me understand. Please, sweetheart.”

“I can’t just walk away. One of us isn’t leaving this roof alive.”

“I don’t believe that. I’m not going to hurt you. I won’t fight you.”

“Then you’ll die.”

Matt charged forward until the barrel of your gun was pressed directly against his sternum. The action surprised you and caused you to stumble backwards, but Matt gripped onto your wrist and forced you to keep the gun in place. The way his chest was heaving had your hand almost shaking, and you grit your teeth in annoyance at his persistence. 

“Then shoot me.”

“Goddamnit, Matthew. I’m not what you think I am.”

“I know you’re not what they made you.”

Your fingers trembled slightly around the handle of the gun. Emotions were something you were trained to let go of. They were never supposed to get in the way or compromise a mission. But a piece of you refused to accept the truth that was gnawing at the pit of your stomach; you couldn’t pull the trigger. You knew that. He knew that.

“I can’t walk away. You don’t…you have no idea what…what they’ll do to me.”

A shudder raced down your spine at the thought. You knew what happened to widows that couldn’t complete a mission. They were tortured if they were compromised, and only granted the mercy of death when their body finally gave out. A low growl ripped through Matt’s chest as he tore the gun out of your hands, throwing it behind him as he grabbed onto the back of your neck with his other and pulled you flush into his chest.

“They are not going to touch you ever again.”

“Matt-“

“You are not what they made you.”

“Stop trying to save me. You don’t know what I’ve done-“

“I don’t care.”

“You should-“

“Whatever you did, it was against your will. They didn’t give you a choice. But you have one now, Y/N.”

You didn’t deserve his forgiveness. You didn’t deserve his understanding. Whatever light he saw in you had to just be a reflection of his own. Why did he have to be so good? Matt had found a loose thread in your being, unraveling everything you thought was real, and had you now completely wrapped around him. Ever the good Catholic boy, here he was still trying to save you, even when you had pointed a gun in his face and threatened his life. 

Matt quickly pulled off his helmet, tossing it carelessly to the side as he cupped your jaw delicately in his gloved hands like you might shatter any second. The anguish shadowing his beautiful face made you wish he had kept the fucking thing on. You couldn’t handle the look in his eyes.

“Come with me. Let me help.”

“You can’t-“

“I can. I can help. I have friends that will help. We can take them down together, sweetheart. You don’t have to be scared. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. No one is ever going to hurt you again. We can do this together.”

Matt pressed his forehead to yours, reaching for one of your hands to hold against his chest. He gave your wrist a light squeeze, gently nudging your nose with his own.

“I know you, honey. I’ve heard your heart, and I can feel your soul. Please come with me.”

“Matt…if anything happened to you-“

“Nothing is going to happen to me. Nothing is going to happen to you. We can protect each other. We can do this, sweetheart. I know we can. But I need you to trust me.”

Something about Matthew Murdock made you feel like you knew who you were outside of the Red Room. Who you really wanted to be. You’d felt the spark the first time you met; something pure and light like you’d never felt before. Every second you spent with him, you felt like pieces of you were being healed, so much so that you hadn’t even realized some parts weren’t broken anymore until you noticed they stopped hurting.

There had to be something good still left in you. If Matt believed you could find redemption, it had to be true. He was the first person you felt like you could actually trust, and that was terrifying. But despite everything, the heartbreaking truth he had learned about you, the revelation of lies and deceit, he was still here. He was offering you his forgiveness, and his hand, but more than that, he was offering you something you hadn’t felt in a lifetime; hope. 

“I…I don’t know how this works, Matt.”

“We figure it out together, one step at a time.”

“I don’t think I’m worth all this trouble.”

“I do.”

Matt’s face had softened as he pulled back slightly, blank eyes darting back and forth as they burned with recognition. There was a melancholic smile tugging at the corner of his mouth while he nodded his chin in your direction. 

“I know that darkness you feel. I know you think there’s something inside of you that can’t be fixed. And…maybe it can’t. But I do know that you and I are a lot more alike than you think. Our broken pieces…they fit, Y/N. I think you feel that too. We fit together, sweetheart. We can do this. We can take them all down, together.”

It was hard to argue with the confidence and conviction in Matt’s voice. You could feel his own heart beating strongly against your palm through his suit. It hadn’t faltered once. You couldn’t tell if it was because he really believed that, or if he refused to believe anything else.

This decision would alter your life forever. There would never be any going back, and it was quite literally life or death. But you had never been more sure of anything in your life. 

“Where do we start?”

Matt let out a deep exhale of relief, his entire body visibly relaxing as your words hit his ears. His mouth parted into that dazzling smile that made you dizzy, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear and leaning in to carefully brush his lips against yours.

“How about dinner?”

[loveherdeerly]

ׂ╰┈➤ twenty-five, she/they, semi-lit to advanced ฅ^._.^ฅ

about me

i’m deer! i’m a bisexual cat mom that works full time. i have been writing and roleplaying for around eighteen years now. i take pride in being a diverse writer that can try my hand at any age, race, gender, or genre. i can write short and casual, or long and detailed, though i usually prefer something in between. i love to craft new characters and universes. i enjoy writing romance, but i also value friend and family connections for my characters even more sometimes. i am always happy to make friends, plot, draw, create pinterest boards, and chat ooc for hours!

what you can expect from me:

: ̗̀➛ daily to weekly replies (depending on general reply length & muse; novella will take me longer)

: ̗̀➛ a diverse cast of characters and eagerness to do multimuse

: ̗̀➛ energy matching & plotting

: ̗̀➛ very few triggers

: ̗̀➛ nsfw & some dead dove topics

: ̗̀➛ ooc chatting, pinterest, spotify, maybe even fanart!

what i won’t do:

જ⁀➴ super detailed gore, cat abuse, bathroom kinks, incest or csa (mentions are okay)

જ⁀➴ mxf or ocxcanon without doubling (unless i like your ad.)

જ⁀➴ rp with anyone under 20 (go do your homework)

જ⁀➴ writing samples (every rp is different, and my writing style changes accordingly. i match my partner’s vibe so i don’t believe writing samples can adequately exhibit my abilities. its fine if that’s a dealbreaker for you. good luck in your searching!)

જ⁀➴ do all the plot work by myself (please contribute so we can keep our interest!)

genres / tropes / plots

bold for what i like the most!

·˚ ༘₊·꒰➳: ̗̀➛ scifi, slice of life, family, found family, spooky, horror, pregnancy, angst, drama, adventure, action, superhero, romance, crime, mafia/cartel/gangster, espionage, fantasy, anime, realism, right person wrong time, historical fiction, college, soulmates, aliens, interracial relationships, queer relationships, mystery, war, disaster, comedy, heist, mxm, fxf, mxf, nbxm, nbxf, trans characters, opposites attract, blended families, dystopian/apocalyptic, modern, high school, big families, affairs, arranged marriage, supernatural, serial killer, royalty, retrofuturism, athletes, space opera, western, southern gothic, ancient, small town, chosen one, military, witches, celebrities, steampunk, ccxcc, ocxoc, ocxcc… and more!

fandoms

for shipping or plots based off of them. bold for what i like the most!

·˚ ༘₊·꒰➳: ̗̀➛ criminal minds, top gun, my hero academia, bridgerton, twisters, harry potter, the outsiders, marvel, dc, stranger things, kingsman, bullet train, the hunger games, atla, star trek, star wars, the walking dead, disney, gravity falls, alien, bg3, mlp, encanto, a quiet place, wonka, mission impossible, scream, john wick, enola holmes, james bond, ghostbusters, the purge, men in black, transformers, jurassic world, maze runner, pirates of the caribbean, ocean’s 8, the mummy, winter’s orbit, designated survivor

if you’re interested or i liked one of your searches, feel free to shoot me a dm! ♡

[letmelickyoureyeballs]

Beta Reader About Me

This is going to be a more in-depth post about me as a beta reader, which will be linked in my pinned post.

First off, hello call me Shark or Spruce! I'm 19 and go by he/they pronouns. I am open to beta reading for people, whether that's stuff on here or AO3.

What I'm willing to do:

Grammer/Capitalization/Punctuation

Cheer reading(pointing out what you did well and what I'm excited to see)

Identify plot inconstancies/where something needs to be clarified

Help with canon/characterization(if I know what/who it is)

American/Midwest information and more specifically Wisconsin information

Pretty much anything else you wish me to help with

*Depending on the fandom and length of fics, some of these will differ in doability*

I am generally ok with any kind of content that you write, but I do have some fic turn-offs. *Note that not everything on this list means I won't beta read for you, but I would like more info/details around them if they are in your fic to see if I'm still comfortable helping*

Mpreg/Anything pregnancy-related

Kid fics(when the main pairing has a kid, not kid-focused fics)

Really dark stories with no happy endings(depends on the story, but I'd prefer a happy/fulfilling ending)

Major Character death

Anything that is meant to hate a certain group/subgroup of people

Really long fics over 100k words

Some things that I am comfortable reading. *Not a comprehensive list*

Omegaverse

Reader Insert

G-E rated fics

Original characters

Canonverse

Alternate Universe

Gore and violence

Potentially triggering topics

I will again read pretty much any fandom you write for including original works, but here are some fandoms that I would be able to help more in-depth with:

The Witcher(Show, Third game, All the books), The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Halo(Game series), Marvel, Venom, Star Wars/The Mandalorian, Transformers, Call of Duty, How to Train Your Dragon(Iffy on third movie), Spider-Man/Deadpool(Spideypool), Percy Jackson/The Heroes of Olympus, The Hunger Games, The Divergent Series, Maze Runner, Narnia(Movies only, I don't know anything in the books), Pride and Prejudice/Emma, Disney/Pixar movies, The 100, NBC Hannibal, Rise of the Guardians, Good Omens, Our Flag Means Death, Beastars, Titanfall 2, Red Dead Redemption 2, Baldurs Gate 3, Divinity Original Sin 2, Hazbin Hotel, Critical Role(I've only watched Campaign 1 and 3, and the TV show), Once Upon a Time, Anne with an E, Harry Potter, Six of Crows, Twilight, Star Trek, The Conjuring series, Descendants/High school Musical, Guardians of the Galaxy, Oceans Trilogy, Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, Top Gun, Stranger Things, Fast and Furious, Moon Knight, Bridgerton(Show only)

I will read WIPs/completed works, multi/single chapter works, original works, and anything in between.

If you are interested or have any questions you may DM me. If you do, please provide whether I would be helping with a WIP or completed work, and whether there are any deadlines I need to be aware of. Please also include any warnings I should know about, and what you would want me to help with. I would also prefer to work on Google Docs if possible.

*Even if you are not interested, please reblog for others to see*

Edited July 18, 2024

[unchartedcloud]

Clextober 2022: "A Post-Apocalyptic Halloween"

In the years following the Outbreak, the Fireflies have been convening as many medical minds as they can find to develop a treatment. Lexa Woods has been charged to bring one such mind safely across the country: Clarke Griffin, a medical student trained before the world went to hell. But when they get separated from the rest of their group, they need to traverse an abandoned shopping mall…and find a few Halloween surprises along the way.

Read Part 1 on Ao3.

“Do you remember Auntie Anne’s pretzels?” Clarke makes a whistling sound and Lexa winces. Does she plan to attract every Runner in the area’s attention? “Fuck, what I wouldn’t give for some of that fake cheese sauce.”

Lexa rolls her eyes - for her own benefit, as Clarke is still picking her way around puddles behind her. “Quiet, please.”

Clarke huffs and Lexa imagines a similar expression gracing her face, framed by persistent blond curls. “I might take Infected for company, at this rate,” comes the response, and from much closer than Lexa realized. When she turns around the doctor is just a few feet behind her, fingers twitching at the pistol strapped to her thigh despite her words.

The woman moves surprisingly quietly when she wants to, apparently.

Being briefly impressed doesn’t stop her from reprimanding: “You might get Infected for company at this rate.”

“I thought you said this place was cleared.”

“It was. Several times.” One last hop brings her back to ground level and Lexa fixes the angle of her flashlight as she comes around the side of the info stand. Sure enough, there’s a directory. Finally. “Doesn’t guarantee it’s safe. Infected have a bad habit of moving around.”

“The fact that it needed clearing several times does seem to indicate that is the case, yes.”

Lexa closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to center herself. When she’d been assigned to escort Dr. Griffin across the country to UEC, she’d jumped at the chance. It isn’t every day you get to prove your worth to the Fireflies by bringing one of the only currently living experts in infectious diseases, trained before the outbreak, to the best research facility still in existence. The doctor is young and her training was incomplete, but it’s better than nothing. It’s a lot better than nothing.

However, the woman herself is certainly something. Clarke, as she insists on being called, is not exactly the quiet doctor-type that Lexa recalls seeing on television when televisions still did more than gather dust. She is in fact rather opinionated, rather trigger happy, if well-trained in using a gun, and rather loud.

When she isn’t sneaking up on her, that is.

“Hey!” she crows from just over her shoulder, and Lexa whips around once more, expecting trouble – but the young doctor is merely peering at the mall directory as well, a grin on her lips. Her lips which are now incredibly close to Lexa, as she’s standing a scant few inches behind her. “Looks like they had one of those Halloween stores open before the outbreak started.”

Her heart still very much in her throat, Lexa takes a few slow breaths as she follows Clarke’s pointing finger. Squinting at the name she reads, “...a Spirit Halloween?”

[phantomspiderr]

By Any Means ║ Part 7

Pairing: Joel Miller x *f!reader

Word Count: 2.1k+

Summary: you take too much of a risk while dealing with some infected and joel is not pleased with that decision

Warnings/Tags: tlou hbo spoilers, trauma, canon level violence, cursing, infected, death, use of guns, little angsty but there's a happy ending I swear

a/n:

*no real description of reader or gender as far as I know but I've written it with a female reader in mind

series masterlist | phantomspiderr masterlist

Joel’s hand clamps over your mouth just as you're about to give the all-clear, quietly shushing you. For a second you’re confused, and then you hear it again, the faint sound of a clicker in the distance. How on earth Joel, the deaf old man that he is, managed to hear that before you is beyond you. Slowly, he removes his hand and you turn back to him. Both you and Ellie look at him for direction, trusting him enough to get you out of this maze of tunnels unharmed. None of you speak, not wanting to risk your voices echoing and attracting the rogue clicker and whatever else is hanging around. Joel silently points in one direction and then up and even though you’re not entirely sure what he means you nod, Ellie copies your action and Joel moves in front of you to take the lead. As quietly as you can, you both follow Joel. Ellie sticks to your side like glue, both of you holding your pistols and looking around the dimly lit tunnel. Out of nowhere, Ellie shoves you quickly before you fall into a hole in the ground, but causes you to yelp out in surprise. Joel snaps around to look at you both, all of you freezing in place as you all listen. Suddenly, there are sounds of movement and the clicker certainly sounds closer.

“Move!” He still speaks quietly, hoping that the infected couldn’t pinpoint exactly where you were. Now, you’re rushing, Joel moves fast, and you manage to get Ellie in front of you, between you and Joel, as the undeniable sound of infected running gets louder and closer. You keep looking back as you jog along the edge of the tunnel, and you can see shadows moving in the distance now, that familiar panic spreading throughout your body. You’re too focused on the impending doom coming towards you that you run straight into the back of Ellie. Both she and Joel had stopped in front of a door, the blood rushing in your ears drowning out all the sound of them talking. Joel’s shoving the door, and it barely budges, Ellie’s panic is evident on her face and that instinct to protect her hits you again. Immediately, you move and help Joel with shoving the door, it starts to give, opening enough that Ellie can get in. Joel’s shouting for her to move whatever’s blocking the door because now you can see the infected, and they’re coming quick. There’s only maybe a handful, but you’re low on ammo and there are not really a lot of options on where to go.

“Hurry up kid!” Joel pulls his rifle off his shoulder, rummaging in his pocket to see how many rounds he had.

“Hold on, I’m trying! This shit’s heavy!”

“Joel.” For the first time in a long time, you’re terrified, you’ve been scared since outbreak day but this, this was pure fear you’d only started to feel since reuniting with Joel.

“We’re ok!” You find that hard to believe as the infected become clearer as they get closer. “Look at me,” one of his hands holds your face as you look back at him, “we’ll be okay.”

Then it’s back to surviving, his hands firmly aiming the rifle now toward the oncoming runners. Your own slightly shaky hands raise your pistol, readying to shoot as soon as Joel gives you the go-ahead.

“Ellie!” Joel calls out again, right before his finger slides onto the trigger.

“Got it!” The door flies open as Joel shoots, clipping one of the runner's shoulder and causing it to tumble to the ground before quickly moving back to its feet. Your pistol goes off just milliseconds after Joel shoots, and you manage to kill the one you’d been aiming for with a few shots. Faintly you can hear Joel speak, but it doesn’t register, you’re solely focused on the infected. Now you’re rapidly shooting at the clicker who’s dangerously close until your pistol clicks. Joel’s hand comes down hard on your arm, and he drags you in the direction of the door as he shoots at the runner that’s coming straight for you. Just in time, you’re pulled through the door and Ellie slams it before assisting Joel with shoving some heavy piece of machinery back to barricade the door. 

“What the fuck were you thinking?!” Your mind finally snaps back into place when Joel shouts at you. It had felt like you were just watching the whole thing from above. Like you weren’t in control at all, on some sort of autopilot, just trying to keep the people you love safe. Now you were in a hazy consciousness and Joel was mad about what happened? 

Suddenly you’re back to the night before you left, he’s drunk, and he’s shouting at you for a simple mistake. He’s mean, and you’re scared of him, not that he’d ever physically harmed you, but because you’ve seen the kind of harm he can cause. 

The adrenaline in your veins heightens your emotions to the point your vision blurs with tears. You don’t know really know why you’re feeling this way, but it’s overwhelming. 

“Let’s just get out of here, huh?” Ellie nudges Joel’s arm, both of them looking away from you long enough for you to quickly rub at your eyes. You hadn’t even realised the infected were banging on the door until Ellie spoke, the sound not completely registering in your brain. 

Joel doesn’t say a word when he looks back at you then he just marches past, sheepishly you look away from him as he passes. You don’t even want to look at Ellie as she moves to follow Joel, but she gently touches your arm. The pair of you share a brief look that can only be described as her checking you’re okay before she moves up the staircase after Joel. You were obviously too out of it to even realise you were in a stairwell. 

You don’t know what’s been wrong with you the last couple of weeks, things like this kept happening, and you’d been even more protective of Joel and Ellie than usual. Maybe it was just one too many close calls, one after another. Maybe you’d been making riskier decisions just to make sure they were safe. It wasn’t the first time Joel had snapped at you for doing so, and you know as soon as you settle somewhere for the night you’ll get a lecture. He’ll tell you to be more careful and that risking your life like that is stupid, and that’s almost exactly what happens. 

The three of you make it out of the tunnels without seeing another infected. In silence, you all walk in whatever direction Joel chooses, Ellie, being the only one to occasionally ask questions. 

Eventually, you make it somewhere Joel deems safe to rest for a few minutes. There’s a stream a few feet away from where you’ve set yourself on the ground, and Ellie goes straight to it. You awkwardly pick at blades of grass, trying your best to act like you don’t see Joel’s worn boots in front of you. 

“You shouldn’t have done that.” His voice is softer than you had expected, and it catches you a little off guard. “I’m responsible for you two and you gotta listen when I-“

“You’re not responsible for me.” Suddenly, you furiously look up at him. Is this what it was all about? He felt like he had some responsibility to keep you alive, like Ellie? Why? Because you knew each other a long time ago? “I’ve taken care of myself pretty fine without you.” 

You’re clambering to your feet now, not even fully contemplating what you’re doing, you just know you need a minute. So, you walk off in the opposite direction to where Joel’s stood, wanting to clear your head. 

“Don’t you dare take off on me again!” This time he completely takes you off guard, and you freeze in place. That wasn’t your intention, you don’t think you could leave him —or Ellie—even if you tried. “Darlin’, please.”

Your eyes shut tightly, hearing him call you that again, it had been far too long since you’d last heard that nickname uttered from his mouth. You feel his hand unexpectedly touch your shoulder and your breath shudders. His closeness welcome after days of fighting with one another. When you turn to face him, you can see the sadness in his eyes. In your years apart, it seemed like that harsh coldness he once had begun to melt away. Leaving him more vulnerable, more like the Joel you once knew. The hand that had been on your shoulder moves up to hold your cheek as your own hands seem to find their place holding onto his jacket. 

“I can’t lose you again.” It’s probably the most sincere thing he’s said in years, and you can tell he means it wholeheartedly. 

“I’m not gonna fucking leave!” Your hands travel up to his chest, lightly shoving him for no real reason. “I care too much about you- and her now.” You briefly glance over to where Ellie is still situated by the stream, probably doodling in the journal she found. “And I can’t lose you again either.” 

Joel visibly relaxes after hearing that, he lets out a deep breath that he’d obviously been holding on to. Then he’s tugging you into his chest, enveloping you in his arms, and it takes you a second to sink in. Your hands slide down his chest and around to rest on his back, under his open jacket. Joel’s head rests on top of yours that’s tucked into his neck, someone hadn’t been hugged like this in so long, and it’s only now you think maybe you’re touch starved. Years of keeping to yourself and not getting too close to anyone had resulted in some lonely days and nights. You find yourself holding onto him tighter, squeezing your eyes shut, hoping it’s not all a dream.

“I’m real, darlin’, and you’re gonna break a rib if you hold on any tighter.” You can feel the chuckle rumbling through him as he speaks, and you pull away from him enough to look up at him with slightly apologetic eyes. Joel doesn’t say anything else, but you can see him thinking, his eyes moving across your face and his hand coming back to hold the side of your head. 

Momentarily, you forget you’re both older. You forget you’re in the middle of nowhere, walking to the other end of the country that’s trying to kill you at every turn. Just for a small chunk of time, you think you’re younger and madly in love with a man you met by chance. You’re just smiling up at him, waiting for the moment he finally decides to kiss you because he always liked to take his time. You always knew when it was coming, you’d learned his tells. He’d wet his lips and swallow, then pause for just a second before he’d pull you closer, and you’d melt into him. Sometimes you’d kiss until you couldn’t breathe, and other times it would just be a little peck or two. He’d even occasionally quickly kiss your lips before kissing all over your face, holding you firmly in his arms while you giggled and begged him to stop. You wished things would be like that again-holy shit.

You watch as Joel’s tongue darts out, and he swallows hard before he sharply looks over his shoulder, toward Ellie, and turns back to you. He pauses briefly again and looks into your eyes, enough to make you swoon.

“Fuck it.” Joel swiftly dips his head to capture your lips with his own, and somehow immediately you’re in sync. Like no time had passed between you at all like you were those two people madly in love two decades ago. Maybe you were still those people, deep down. 

Suddenly, you part from each other at the sound of whooping, both Joel and your hands flying to your weapon holsters, thinking the worst. Only to find Ellie cheering from where she sat by the stream.

“Finally!” Her hand shakes in the air in celebration, and she’s softly laughing. You can’t help but start to giggle yourself, especially when Joel turns back to you with disbelief written all over his face.

“She has a point.” You still giggle even when Joel shakes his head, his demeanor softening again. His hands just pull you back into him, his arms wrapping around your shoulders, and he’s holding you close again as if to silence your laughs. You relax back into his hold, grateful to have this precious moment in the center of all this chaos.

......

[multimuseficreblogs]

welcome to my library my friends, all are welcome but minors please stay away from smut/nsfw.

as a side note: this is constantly being updated so expect more to come soon.

click under read more for more information about my page!

i hope you enjoy your time here and happy reading!! ❀ dylan o'brien + characters ❀ evan peters characters ❀ johnny depp + characters ❀ lewis pullman characters ❀ marvel ❀ oscar isaac characters ❀ outer banks ❀ pedro pascal & characters ❀ teen wolf ❀ top gun: maverick ❀ misc. celebrities ↳ including chase stokes, rudy pankow, drew starkey, tom holland, joseph quinn, madelyn cline, florence pugh, victoria pedretti, harry styles and more to come ❀ misc. fandoms ↳ including american horror story, the maze runner, you (netflix), criminal minds, knives out, the mandalorian, jurassic park/world, pirates of the caribbean, the vampire diaries/originals, euphoria, outer banks, wednesday (netflix), stranger things, the last of us, the witcher, jennifer's body, five nights at freddy's and more to come ❀ all gn and male reader fics ❀ all plus size reader fics 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 ❀ halloween binge-reading night 🎃 ↳ including slashers, zombie + paranormal fics

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if i have reblogged anything that is a repost of your work, please contact me with a link to your original work and i will delete my reblog asap.

i don't read all of the fics that i reblog but this is a judgment-free zone, i reblog things that have heavy warnings/triggers so please read the warnings before you proceed with any fic. i don't want anyone getting offended or triggered. if a fic i reblogged does not have the proper triggers listed, please let me know so that i can take it down!

if you are following me, you will most likely be spammed here and there with some fic recs. i will try to put most of them in my queue so that it doesn't take up your whole feed.

[andvys]

Longing (part 3)

Warnings: lots of angst, violence, reader having self doubts, a sprinkle of fluff

Pairing: Ellie Williams x reader

You woke up to loud knocking the next day. Pissed off you got out of bed, who was at your door at 7 am in the morning on your day off? You walked over opening the door you were greeted by Jesse standing there, leaning against the door frame. Immediately straightening up at the sight of him, you thought he was gonna flip out on you the way Ellie did last night.

“Finally, I thought I was about to freeze to death out here.” You stepped to the side letting him in.

“Umm you know it’s my day off right?” Annoyed you fell back on your bed again.

“Yeah not anymore, sorry about that. I need a patrolling partner and I chose you, sorry.” He said, looking at you with a guilty expression.

“Ugh are you serious? What’s wrong with your partner?” You sat up on the bed, looking at him.

“Ellie’s not feeling good today.”

“Tell me about it.” You mumbled. So she wasn’t feeling good, funny she gave you a whole hatred speech, made you feel like shit and now you had to fill in for her but she was the one who felt like shit. Of course.

“Alright, you owe me something.”

“Wrong, Ellie owes you something.”

“Umm yeah no, you were the one who chose me to be your patrol partner not Ellie so... not like you have much to offer but yeah.”

“I could offer you an unforgettable night with me.” He joked.

“Ugh shut up man.” Throwing a pillow at him you went into the bathroom to get changed.

Stepping out in the cold you immediately gave Jesse a death glare for making you go out into the cold today even though you were supposed to have a free day. He smiled at you, patting your shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get this over with.”

“Yeah whatever”

“We won’t be going on our usual patrol routes today, we’re gonna head to one of the small towns, check for some supplies.” Jesse said.

“Oh alright, haven’t done that in a while.” You said.

“Then it’s about damn time.”

Once you got to one of the small towns, closest to Jackson, you went into an old police station, knowing it was probably picked clean already but it didn’t hurt to check.

Checking the drawers, Jesse came into the room and sat on of the old office chairs. Looking at you, you avoided his eyes. You knew he was about to ask you something.

“So (y/n)..” there it was he was gonna ask about Dina.

“There’s nothing going in between me and Dina if that’s what you wanna ask.” You said while rummaging through the drawers.

“I- how did you know I was gonna ask anything about Dina?” Looking up at Jesse “I just do”

He noticed you avoided looking into his eyes.

“It’s none of my business if the two of you are together, we’re broken up.” He stated, looking sad about saying this.

“I- why does everyone think I’m with Dina?!” You asked, getting angry now, you still felt like shit about yesterday and now you were gonna get accused of something you didn’t do again.

“Aren’t you? I mean with her?” Jesse looked at you, confused about your reaction.

“No! What even makes you think that?”

“Well you were with her all this time, sleeping over at her house and I kinda saw you two kissing.” He said. Looking at him you got up and sat on the table.

“Okay hold up, I slept over because she was feeling like shit, she’s feeling sick lately and she was throwing up all night so I took care of her, I didn’t want to leave her alone while she looked like she’d die any second.” You said.

“Oh I didn’t know about that, she okay now?”

“Yeah she’s good now and the kiss? She thanked me for taking care of her and she gave me a kiss on the cheek that’s all.” You got up, walking out of the room you weren’t in the mood to talk any longer.

Jesse sat there thinking about it, it looked like you two kissed. To be fair he drank too much that night and he saw you two in front of Dinas house and from the angle you two were standing it did look like an actual kiss. “Shit I’m so stupid.”

Getting up he walked out of the room to follow you out, hearing a crash and your yell it sounded like you were fighting something or someone. He ran towards the noise, worried about you.

“(Y/n) you okay?” Walking around the corner he was met by the side of you standing there with a gun to your head. A man standing behind you with his arm around your neck and a gun to your temple. You lip was bleeding and it looked like you had a cut on your forehead.

“Don’t fucking move or your girl here dies.” Jesse put his hands up in surrender.

“What do you want?” Jesse asked the man.

“What I want? You break into my town and ask me what I want?!” He started waving the gun around. This man was definitely crazy and he was probably gonna shoot the both of you.

“We didn’t know anyone lived here.” You said through gritted teeth, annoyed at this whole situation. You were still pissed since yesterday and now you had to deal with this bullshit.

“Shut up you stupid bitch.” As if you didn’t wanna kill him already, he looked like a disgusting rapist and that’s what he probably was.

“Hey whoa no need for insults man” Jesse said, getting angry at the stranger for calling you a bitch. The man turned his gun on Jesse now.

“Here’s what we’re gonna do, I’ll let you live boy, get your stuff and leave and imma keep this one to myself.” He grinned at Jesse, showing off his disgusting yellow teeth

“Yeah I don’t think so man.” Jesse said. The man grunted at that going to pull the trigger, you didn’t give him a chance. Headbutting him, you heard the loud cracking of his nose. He let the gun fall down, letting you go he clutched his bleeding nose.

He looked up at you. “You fucking bit-“ not letting him finish, Jesse shot him in the head. Coming up beside you he grabbed your face checking your injuries. “Man I’m so sorry (y/n).” He said.

“It’s fine, he’s dead. Let’s get the hell out of here before more come.” You said grabbing the gun from the dead guy, leaving the building.

Jesse watched you go out, worried about you he ran after you.

“Hold up (y/n), let me clean your wounds, you probably need some stitches.” He said grabbing your arms turning you around making you look at him, he noticed tears in your eyes. “Hey what’s going on?” You tried blinking the tears away but it was to late, the first one falling down already.

“I’m sorry Jesse.” He looked worriedly at you. “I’m sorry for making you think that I got in between you and Dina, I would never do something like that.” He knew this wasn’t the only reason you were crying and he felt bad for even assuming that you were with Dina.

“You got nothing to be sorry for (y/n), I should be the one who’s sorry for even thinking that.” He pulled you into a hug. You were one of his best friends and he made you feel like shit.

“Ellie called me a home wrecker.” Pulling away you looked up at him.

“What?”

“Yeah and she said some pretty hurtful stuff too.” You said, feeling more tears building up in your eyes, you looked down not wanting him to see you cry anymore.

“Oh man come here.” He pulled you in for another hug. “That’s my fault (y/n), I felt like shit and I talked to her about Dina and you.” He felt bad, he didn’t know what Ellie told you but it must’ve been really bad if it made you cry like that. He’s never seen you cry before.

“It’s okay, at least I know how she truly feels about me now.” You said pulling away from the hug, you wiped your tears away walking back to your horse.

“She probably didn’t mean it.” He knew Ellie had feelings for you, she must’ve been jealous about thinking about you and Dina. He regretted ever telling her anything about this whole situation, feeling like it was his fault.

“Yeah I beg to differ, whatever I don’t wanna talk about her, can we just go?” You got on your horse waiting for him to get on his.

“We need to stitch up your wound.” He pointed to the gash on your forehead.

“We’ll do that back in Jackson, it’s not that deep, let’s go.” Shaking his head at you he knew it was a lost cause to try and convince you to clean up your wounds.

The rest of the patrol was even more exhausting, running into a small herd of clickers and runners you had to fight your way through them to get to some houses for supplies but you made it and even managed to find some goods.

Finally back in Jackson, Jesse immediately sent you off to the infirmary to get your wounds checked.

Walking over there, you realized how tired you actually were once you got to the house, the door opened. Leaving the infirmary was none other than Ellie. Stepping out of her way, you rolled your eyes at the girl waiting for her to leave you so you could go inside.

She saw you, eyes widening at your state. You had blood running down your face, from the wound on your forehead. A bleeding lip and bruise on the right side of your face.

“I- (y/n)?” Worried about you and the state you were in. You looked tired, you had bags under your eyes and you looked like you hadn’t slept all night. You looked like you were on the verge of passing out.

“Are you okay? What happened?” She asked. You almost thought that she cared but then you remembered her words from yesterday, scoffing at her you went to walk past her but she grabbed your arm, flinching at her touch you stepped back not letting her touch you. She looked hurt at your reaction.

“(Y/n) I’m sorry about yesterday.” She looked embarrassed and she had regret in her eyes but you wouldn’t forgive her this easily, she hurt you bad.

“Yeah sure, can you get out of my way now?!” You really weren’t in the mood to talk to her now, your day was shitty enough already.

“I- can we talk later?” She looked at you with hopeful eyes.

“No.”

“Please (y/n).” She begged desperately, she quite literally looked like a kicked puppy right now, not able to resist her.

“Fine.” You said annoyed at yourself for giving in. You could see she was happy about your answer.

“Alright umm you can come over later tonight, I’ll be waiting.” She said. Nodding at her words, she let you pass.

“See you later.”

“Bye Ellie.” She watched you go inside.

Ellie felt like shit for yesterday. She didn’t even get why she said all these things to you, this was nothing like her at all. On the way back home she saw Jesse walking home as well, catching up to him.

“Hey what happened out there?”

“Hello to you too Ellie.” Jesse said, looking at her he noticed the worried look on her face. “We ran into a some crazy guy and then had to deal with some infected on the way back home, did you see (y/n) go into the infirmary?”

“I- yeah she um yeah wait crazy guy? Did he attack (y/n)?” Ellie asked. Just thinking about some guy laying his hands on you put her into deep rage.

“Yeah I was in another room when I heard something from the other room and when I got there he was holding a gun to her head but don’t worry about it he’s dead.”

Ellie felt even more guilty now, considering she was supposed to be on patrol today and not you. She should have been the one with a gun to her head and wounds on her face and not you. Ellie thought to herself. Jesse saw that look on her face. He put his hand on her shoulder making her look at him.

“Hey look, (y/n) is strong, we’ve been in worse situations before, she’ll be fine.” He assured her.

“Yeah, well. I made her feel like shit yesterday and now she almost died out there because me. It was supposed to me out there not her.”

“Don’t beat yourself up Ellie, we all make mistakes.” He felt bad for her, he could see how much she struggled right now.

“Not like this, I really hurt her Jesse.” She said looking down.

“I know, she told me about yesterday.”

Looking back up at him, surprised that you talked about her with Jesse.

“What did she say?”

“Nothing is going with Dina if that’s what you wanna know.” Jesse said.

“I know, I talked to Dina today, she kinda flipped out on me after I told her about what happened with (y/n).” She said, looking away embarrassed. Jesse chuckled at that, Dina always defended you. She was small but she could be really scary if she wanted to.

“You gotta fix this Ellie, (y/n) cried today, this is the first time she cried in front of me, whatever you said to her, you gotta make things right.” Seeing the guilty look on her face at the mention of you crying because of her “it’s my fault too you know? You thought they were together because of me.” He added.

“Still that gave me no right to say all this shit to her.” Ellie said.

“We all make mistakes.” Jesse repeated.

“She’s coming over tonight.” Ellie said, looking down.

“She is? She said she was really tired and that she just wanted a shower and her bed and not see anyone else for the rest of the day yet she comes over? See you still have a chance to make things right with her.” Jesse said, making Ellie blush.

“Yeah it’s gonna be awkward, she barely looked at me and she looked pretty mad.”

“She had a bad day, just don’t make it worse.” Jesse said.

Looking at him with an annoyed expression “thanks for the motivation.”

“You’re welcome, alright I gotta go, good luck with your girl, Williams.” He said before going the other way.

“Yeah.”

Ellie waited for you, it seemed like time wouldn’t go by, she just wanted to see you and apologize for all the shit she said. Grabbing her journal she opened a random page, coming across one of her drawings of you. It was the day your friends decided to have a bonfire night, you looked so pretty sitting by the fire, Ellie kept this picture of you in her head only to draw it in her journal once she got back home.

A knock on her door pulled her out of her thoughts, she laid the journal down, walking over to the door she took a deep breath and opened it. The first thing she noticed about you was the stitches you’ve gotten. All the blood on your face earlier hid the actual wound, the cut was longer than it looked before. It would definitely leave a permanent scar. Your lip was busted and there was a bruise on your right eye. It made her angry to see you like this, she wished she would’ve been there to kill this guy herself for laying his hands on you.

“Come in.” She stepped aside. You walked in waiting for her to say something.

You really didn’t want to be here but you decided to give her a chance, everyone deserves a second chance and you couldn’t hate Ellie not even after all the hurtful things she said.

“Umm sit down.” Sitting down you looked at her.

Your silence made her nervous, you’ve never been this quiet with her.

“Jesse told me about what happened out there, you okay?” She asked worriedly.

“Yeah nothing I couldn’t handle.” Your tone was stern and cold.

“I’m sorry (y/n).” She looked guilty. “I’m sorry for everything that I said, I don’t know what has gotten into me.”

Looking at her, you studied her face. Was she genuine?

“It’s fine you said what you were thinking. Nothing wrong with saying the truth.” You said.

“But- but that wasn’t the truth (y/n), I was mad and I talked shit.” She exclaimed. She knew it would be hard to convince you that she wasn’t talking the truth, none of what she said was right.

“It’s okay Ellie, you don’t have to try to make me feel better, you apologized. Let’s leave it at that and let’s just stay away from each other.” You said getting up, you wanted go because you knew staying meant that you would cry especially after that last sentence, you didn’t want to stay away from her but you knew how she felt about you and you didn’t want to be around someone who told you that no one wants or needs you.

“No! Please (y/n).” That made you stop. “Stay.” Turning around you looked at her.

She walked towards you, stopping in front of you.

“I don’t want to stay away from you and I don’t want you to stay away from me.” She whispered, looking into your eyes.

“You told me that no one wants me Ellie.”

“It was a lie, I want you (y/n)” she whispered.

Looking at her, you wanted to believe her you really did but you couldn’t, not when her hurtful words repeated themselves in your head.

You got closer to her, your lips almost touching hers, her breath hitched, she looked at you wide eyed, thinking you were going to kiss her.

“You were right Ellie.” Looking into her eyes, she looked at you curiously.

“No one wants me because that’s what you are, you are no one to me Ellie.” You said coldly, looking at her, she was taken aback by your words, shocked, she tried blinking her tears away. You yourself were on the verge of crying but you had to stay strong, you didn’t want her to see you cry.

You turned around, quickly leaving her place. You leaned against the wall outside, putting your hands on your knees you let the tears fall, you hated yourself for saying this to her but you couldn’t just forgive her after yesterday. Ellie wasn’t no one to you, she was somebody to you. You looked at her door, contemplating going back in and apologize, taking back what you just said to her but you couldn’t, so you left.

Ellie stood there in the middle of her room, processing what you just said to her. “You are no one to me Ellie.” Letting the tears fall, she sat down on her bed, she started sobbing.

Ellie brought this upon herself. She hurt you so you hurt her back. Karma is a bitch.

You weren’t in a better state, you walked home wiping your tears away angrily. You felt like you couldn’t breath anymore so you stopped walking, looking up at the night sky. You thought about everything that happened the past two days. It was just two days but you could already feel yourself slipping back into the darkness, the one that you grew up in. The one that filled you with self doubt and sadness. You weren’t strong enough for this. Taking a deep breath you started walking again.

You didn’t know where to go, you didn’t want to go home, you hated walking into an empty house. You didn’t want to see your friends right now either and you weren’t sure if you should go see Joel, especially after hurting Ellie, surely he would hate you if he found out about that. Realizing that not only Ellie would hate you now, Joel would hate you as well. This made you tear up again, the man who became something like a father figure to you would hate you now.

Your house was the only place for you right now so that’s were you went, walking around the corner of your house you looked down, wiping the tears away you ran into someone, looking up you realized it was Joel.

“Hey kid, I want-“ not finishing his sentence he realized you were crying, he looked at you with worried eyes, without asking any questions he pulled you into his chest hugging you “Come here, sweetheart.” You didn’t deserve this but you hugged him back, sobbing you held onto his jacket. Maybe that was the last time he’d hug you.

His warm hug made you feel safe at least this gave you comfort today because that’s what you needed the most right now. Comfort and love.

[widow-maximov]

It’s You

Pairing: Wanda x Fem Reader

Warning: Language, some fluff and angst, sexual suggestion.

Summary: Y/n thinks she has met the one until she joins the Avengers..

Word Count: 6.8K

Part 1, Part 2

Before being an Avenger, you were practically nothing but some part time vigilante whilst working full time to earn enough that would last you a whole week, you saved a few people from robbers and muggings which made you feel a little bit better about yourself, I mean not that you ever doubted yourself but knowing that you could help others whilst never having that protection during your youth times was rewarding in a way.

That’s how you have met your girlfriend, you saved her from couple of guys trying to rob her when she was working, it was also the time you discovered you had powers, you are able to control peoples minds and rewind time just enough to avoid any injuries.

It feels like it happened yesterday, you went to buy yourself a coffee from a new café that just opened up recently when suddenly there was a gun shot and a lot of screams along with some shouting telling people to get on the ground, you did that and watched the whole event unfold before your eyes.

At first it was them waving their weapons to scare people around them and demand money but as soon as they got what they wanted, they planned to at least kill someone and that was the girl behind the counter, who was scared shitless, she tried not to show it but when he pointed his gun at her and had the most disturbing smirk across his face, how could she not be, he pulled the trigger and you jumped out reaching out to the girl when everything stopped and time went back that’s when you ended up in the same place couple minutes before the men arrive.

You looked around to see if you were dreaming but before you could practically be amazed at your new ability, you jumped into action, running to the front door as the girl behind the counter looked at you funny, trying to stop you but you didn’t listen. You held the door and told her to call the police, you saw those men standing outside looking at you as they pointed a gun at you, you knew they would shoot so you ducked but held the door like your life depended on it.

For your luck the girl called the police and just when you were about to let go of the door and have them shoot you right there and then, the police surrounded all of the men with guns in their hands and with a huge sigh you let go of the door and fell back onto the floor to rest.

They were arrested and after giving your statement to the police, of course you had to lie mostly about how you knew it was going to happen, you said you had a bad feeling and figured something would happen, they were just happy they didn’t have any runners to extend their time on a case that would end up being forgotten.

The girl approached you with a small smile across her face “Hey.. I just wanted to thank you for doing that.. You saved not only me but a lot of people inside too.”

You smiled at her “It’s really not a problem, I’m just glad no one was hurt”

You reached your hand towards her “I’m Y/n” she shook your hand and replied “Olivia”

And that’s how it all started, you came by the café more often just to see her and she was happy to see you either way, she knew your order by heart and always had it ready for you. She liked your company so you stayed until you finished your coffee and was on your way, you gathered the courage and finally asked her out which she eagerly agree to. The first date wasn’t fancy but it was perfect, it was short which wasn’t a big deal and following that you had a few more dates before starting dating, eventually couple years in things started to be more than good, that’s when you decided you wanted to move in with her.

It was all perfect, you felt like nothing could go wrong but that was until you was caught trying to do your part time vigilante work by Iron Man, he dragged you to the Avenger tower to Nick Fury and he offered you a place within the team as he saw potential within you. You was taken back but agreed to join, you rushed back home as you weren’t needed until the team was back since they went off on a mission, and waited for your girlfriend to get back from work, she was an assistant for some big company so she was mostly busy but she always loved listening to your day to take the stress off her mind.

Even though you wanted to tell her everything, she didn’t know you was the vigilante, she knew you helped people out with your powers but you knew her opinion on hero'svigilantes, she hated it but was grateful for them as she felt safer within the city. You knew her intentions were pure but you had a different opinion.

You waited anxiously for her on the couch, bouncing your leg up and down from the nerves, you know her reaction will be something you wont like but this is huge for you. You will finally be able to help without hiding behind the whole vigilante ‘Time Breaker’ nickname the public made for you.

As soon as she walked in, she noticed your anxiousness “What’s wrong” She looked worried but you jumped up with a smile.

“I have news” Joy was practically dripping from you.

“I’m going to be on the team with the Avengers” You exclaimed with so much joy in your tone that you thought this somehow will make her be happy for you.

She dropped her bags and her face wasn’t like yours but with shock “What?”

“Well I helped someone out and Tony Stark caught me and dragged me to the Avenger tower and then I was offered a place in the team and I just took it”

“What?” She repeated herself as if you wasn’t talking in a language she would understand.

You looked at her confused and she finally spoke up from her shock state “You didn’t even think about considering this? You just took it without even consulting with me?”

You wanted to look confuse at her but you knew this would be her reaction “Olivia, come on you know how huge this will be-”

She interrupted you “You should’ve spoke to me about it as well.. We are a couple after all”

She took her bag and walked off towards your room as she closed the door behind her, usually when you have arguments you try to just listen each other out but when she shut the door you knew she didn’t want to listen to you so you just took your keys and walked out to give her some time to think about it and you made your way towards the tower again to meet the whole team.

The whole team was actually very welcoming when they heard about you joining, they all said that they have been watching you do your vigilante work and they were all pretty impressed. They gave me a room which you said you wont need but apparently its for long missions where you would have to be here for.

Everyone was excited to have a new member on their team and they all tried to show off their skills and abilities except this one redhead. You spoke with everyone and they all were chatting amongst each other so you took the opportunity to walk up to the redhead that was not far from yous.

She was sat at the bar, just paying attention to her drink, not really expecting anyone to approach her “Hello” you spoke up which made her jump a little.

She faced you and looked at the group of people who were just having usual banter “Shouldn’t you be over there with them?”

You leaned on the bar as you observed her “Probably but they are too busy with each other to even notice I am here”

She had a small smile across her lips as she traced the edge of the glass with her finger “Why are you here?”

“Well you are the only one who didn’t show what you can do”

She laughed “If I did that, I’m pretty sure the whole room would be upside down”

Something about this girl made you want to stick around, she was interesting and closed off a little which you didn’t mind. She was insanely beautiful and she was around your age which made you feel a little bit at ease to know that you aren’t the only young person there.

The only reason you didn’t know her was because she was new as well, she recently joined as well and felt a little bit left out as everyone in here already knew each other well enough to feel comfortable around them.

An idea popped in your head as you smiled “Pick a person and I will show you something”

She narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out what you are trying to do “Okay? Steve Rogers”

You looked at him and called out “Steve!” His attention was now on you and you spoke up again “Do a chicken dance”

He looked confused and refused to do that, which you just shrugged your shoulders at and closed your eyes when you opened them they turned white and his too and suddenly he was dancing just like you wanted. The redhead had a smile across her face as she was amazed to what you could do, and so was everyone else in the room. You broke the trance and Steve stood there completely clueless as everyone around him laughed.

You looked at her “Okay now it’s your turn”

She just smirked as she blurted out couple seconds in “Bruce is disappointed as he wanted someone to join them with the same level of knowledge as him so he can have a partner”

You narrowed your eyes at her “How do I know you’re not making that up?”

She turned towards the group and spoke up “Bruce I can’t believe you are disappointed in our recent recruitment”

He looked so shocked “How did you- Get out of my head!” and you both just laughed.

“I’m Y/n Y/l/n” You reached your hand towards her so she could shake it.

“Wanda Maximoff” She shook your hand with a small smile.

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Couple hours later

You came back home, it was late and you expected Olivia to be fast asleep but your unresolved argument kept her up. You walked through the door and that’s when Olivia came out from the bedroom worried about you.

“Y/n?” She called out as you walked further into the house and saw her with something in hand.

“Olivia? What are you doing?” You eyed the weapon she had in hand and she sighed with relief.

She shook her head “I didn’t think you would come back today so I thought someone was breaking in”

You knew she still had some PTSD from that café incident so you didn’t think much of it “Of course I was going to come back home.. Why are you up?”

You placed your keys down in your usual spot and walked over to her after she placed the object down near her “I couldn’t sleep”

You reached for her hand and held it tight “It’s okay, I’m here, just let me go toilet and we can just lay in bed until you fall asleep”

Even if you were upset with how she reacted, you loved her and wanted her to feel safe.

She nodded and you did just that, you went toilet and then you both laid in bed after you changed into something more comfortable to sleep in, she was laying on your chest cuddled tightly into your body as if you was going to disappear.

She looked up at you, you could see in her eyes something was eating her inside out “What’s wrong?”

She sighed and sat up, you mimicked her actions and turned on the little night lamp you had so you could see better “I wanted to talk about the disagreement we had earlier”

You nodded and she continued “I know my reaction to what you told me was upsetting but you know how worried I am already when you put your life at risk helping people out a little, I just don’t want to lose you”

She cupped your face with both of her hands “I love you and I don’t want you to think I won’t support you but I’m just worried”

“I know and I’m sorry I didn’t ask for time and told you about it before taking the place. I was just so excited I just don’t want to hide” You played with your ring on your thumb to calm your nerves down.

“I know and now, you can finally be more than just the ‘Time Breaker’ vigilante”

You looked up at her from your hands and she had a small smirk across her face “You knew?”

She nodded “Of course, I knew you would never pass the chance to do anything that could save peoples lives and just so you know I am proud of you”

You hugged her as she giggled from the sudden attack, she hugged you back and you both fell back to your original position and fell asleep couple minutes after.

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3 months later

During this time, you and your girlfriend were on good terms but with missions getting in the way you never had time for each other, even if she said she was proud of you for doing what you always wanted, you knew she is still upset about it which caused some arguments and you would usually just spend your days in your room at the Avenger tower watching anything to take your mind off Olivia.

Today was one of those days, you wanted to spend your 4 year anniversary with her before you had to travel to the compound for the mission but she had other plans for that day with her friends so you ended up walking out whilst she was getting dressed and ended up here.

Did she bother to call you? No, were you waiting for her to? Yes, you wanted her to say she’s sorry and that she actually had something planned for you but she was actually at a party because you saw her friends posting stuff on their social media.

You held the phone in your hand, staring at it waiting for it to light up and display an apologetic message from her but there was no luck, even though you was watching something, it just didn’t take your mind of her.

“Are you just going to stare at your phone all day?” A voice appeared from the door way which made you look.

You saw Wanda standing with her arms crossed and she gave you a smile as she walked over to you when you didn’t say anything “What’s wrong?”

You shrugged, you placed the phone on the night stand and sat up, not saying anything which Wanda took as an invitation to sit down near you.

Over the course of 2 months, you two were close friends but were still learning a lot about each other. For example during the team movie night, they all wanted to watch horror movies but you hated them. Of course you were teased for that but Wanda made sure they would choose something else. She wasn’t the only one who stuck by your side.

Natasha Romanoff did as well, she was quick to become your favourite person here, she was hilarious and could easily beat anyone here except Hulk because.. Well that dude is just not her size, though you could argue if it did come down to it. She loved playing pranks on the team and you soon become her partner in crime when it came to that, with your ability to control people’s minds you helped her do a lot of things like make people spill things or add too much spices to their food and watch them choke.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it but I can’t let you look this depressing. Come join me in the kitchen, I’m cooking dinner this time”

You raised your eyebrows at her to tease her “You cook?”

She chuckled and rolled her eyes “Of course I do. Now come on” She grabbed your hand, you took your phone with you and you two walked hand in hand towards the kitchen.

You help the Sokovian out a lot actually, even if you didn’t really had time to cook before but you always knew how to. When you would finish your part, you would just lean and watch her with admiration at how concentrate she was but you would snap out of it, reminding yourself that you were in a relationship.

She brought the spoon up to your face so your attention isn’t turned towards your phone “Here, taste it” which you did and your face lit up at the different taste.

“Good? Am I missing something?” She asked a little worried but you shook your head still trying to process how good her food is.

“No! Its perfect, not only you’re dead ass gorgeous but also an amazing cook” You were too memorized by the food to even think twice what you were saying.

She blushed and before you had time to even correct yourself she quickly changed the subject “So will you tell me what’s wrong?” She looked up from what she was doing at you.

You sighed and looked down at your phone to see nothing and decided to open up “Today is mine and Olivia’s 4 year anniversary but she decided to spend it with her friends instead”

“At least you’re not alone today..” She said with a small smile on her face, trying to light up the mood.

You nodded and she questioned “So what are you going to do?”

You shrugged “I’m not sure but I know one thing”

She looked confused to why you stopped and suddenly, your eyes turned white when Tony barged in with his eyes white, she looked at both of you and within seconds Tony got ahold of flour as he dumped it over the Sokovian witch.

You broke the trance and looked at Wanda who was covered in white from head to toe and Tony who was lost at how he even got here as he held an empty bag of flour in his hand.

You laughed as she used her powers to throw some of the flour on you but you went back in time and avoided the attack which made her chase you around the kitchen “I teach you how to cook a good meal and that’s how you repay me Y/n. You wait”

You knew she was going to do something and you were right, she made you freeze in place and had an egg held in her hand, you knew what she was going to do, she walked towards you with a smirk across her face.

“You have no way out, you can’t rewind or control anyone. The only fate here is the egg to be cracked on your head” The red mist entangled with her fingers controlling your captivity.

Tony was going to just walk out without protesting but she held him as well which made him speak up “What did I do?” He basically whined but Wanda didn’t care.

“For all I know you could get someone to help Y/n, so you’re staying here” She stated which made Tony shake his head “Actually I don’t care-”

She used her powers to stick a cloth inside his mouth so he would shut up, you was laughing at the whole thing but suddenly the egg turned into 10 which were floating in the air and were ready to be thrown at you but she was waiting.

“Come on Wands.. You don’t want to do this..” You tried your luck but she shook her head “Oh but I really do” and with that all those eggs aimed at you, covering you with the egg goo, she walked up closer as she held the last egg

“That’s for the flour” and she just cracked the egg on your head making it slowly run down your head which made her laugh and she let you go.

That was a mistake

What she didn’t notice was that you were planning to give it back to her, and suddenly your body collide with hers, holding her tight making sure she has some of that egg too. That’s when her eyes widen at how close yous are, making yous both blush and you let go off her, that’s when the rest of the team walks into the kitchen that’s covered in flour and egg shells.

“What in the world happened here” Someone exclaimed from the team, whilst Natasha laughed.

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The next day

You ended up in Wanda’s room after the dinner, Nat did join yous for a while to watch some sitcoms but she wasn’t really into that, so she left later on when Wanda was drifting to sleep.

Somehow you ended up falling asleep along with Wanda, yous must’ve shifted in your sleep as now Wanda is cuddled into you with her head resting on your chest.

She has been awake for some time but she didn’t want to move, risking waking you up and parting away from her. She enjoyed your company a little too much, she always wanted to be around you, you made her days better, especially when she is having a rough day, she always knows she can count on you and that’s what caused her to fall for you.

When you joined the Avengers, that night you met them all, she was a little sceptic rather than welcoming, she sat away to avoid any interaction with anyone from the team, she was still a lot more closed off than she is now and when you approached her she knew she could trust you, it was a gut feeling.

Finding out you were in a relationship kind of bothered Wanda but she brushed it off, especially since there was nothing she could do about it. The more she got to know you the more she liked you, you were like a golden retriever; Happy, beautiful, smart but if someone pissed you off you was like Natasha which was why Natasha found herself hanging out more with you than the rest of the team.

Wanda looked up from where she was, staring at your relaxed featured, just taking in how calm you looked, her heart melting at the sight of you.

“Watching me sleep creepy lady?” You asked still with your eyes closed.

She tensed when you suddenly spoke up but relaxed within seconds when she rolled her eyes at you “No?” She had a blush across her cheeks for being caught.

You smiled as your hand reached to your face to rub your eyes and stretch out “Mhm sure”

Your raspy voice in the morning will be Wanda’s favourite thing from now on. The only girl you ever had in bed (besides your ex girlfriends), was Olivia and now that Wanda is here with you is.. different. You would be lying if you said that you didn’t like it but you did, her embrace was comforting.

Yous decided it was best to get up and cook breakfast before the whole team wakes up. Well Wanda cooked breakfast whilst you quietly stare at her, drinking your coffee at the same time.

Natasha was the first one up from the rest of the team and ate Wanda’s breakfast, she wanted to spar with you so you agreed, it was a good idea to just get fired up before the mission. She was good and you needed some hand to hand combat skills in case your powers refuse you.

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Couple hours later

Travelling to a Hydra base wasn’t something everyone was thrilled about, the whole team was needed for no reason, you and Wanda could just take the whole place down with your powers but this mission was tricky, yous didn’t need to just beat them up but you needed their data and blow their base up, S.H.E.I.L.D. intel wasn’t the best, they barely gathered anything apart that this base had some dangerous weapons that’s why you were needed.

As soon as the whole team along with you jumped out of the Quinjet, you expected agents to be flooding the field but there was nothing. You was instructed to go near the base just in case they flooded out since you could rewind time, so just like that you started to approach the base.

You walked inside and there was no one there, you expected it to be heavily guarded but no one was seen, so you went further inside as you reached to your ear to inform the team, that’s when the guards made their way out and spotted you.

You pressed your ear so the team can hear you whilst you talk down the guards, just in case your powers failed so the team would be informed to help you “Look fellas, I’m here.. you are here. Can we not be buddies?”

You tried but they launched at you and you simply went back in time, just enough before they spotted you. You reached to your ear and spoke quietly “This must be a set up, the guards know we are here they are waiting for us to approach the base, I can sneak inside and just do the work quickly. Just wait for my signal”

The team agreed that you should do it but Wanda protested “No Y/n! Come back and let’s do this together”

“Maximoff, Everything will be fine besides I can rewind if anything goes wrong. It’s okay.” You spoke and started to make your way towards the guards, you hid behind them and controlled one of their minds as you made them fight each other, knocking them out, you pulled their bodies to where you were so other were not alerted. You took their weapons and attached it near the bomb that you was suppose to plant.

You made your way to the core of the base and there was no one but you knew better, you closed your eyes and searched for any soul near you which you did find, you forced them to the centre and pushed them as their body was shot multiple times.

You reached to your ear to let know the team that you made it “Okay, I’m at the core of the base, I have the pen drive, I’ll plant the bomb as soon as the data starts to transfer.”

The team sighed in relief that you were still alive but they were pretty much surprised that the amount of guards. Wanda and Natasha knew something was wrong but they couldn’t go against orders, even if they were your orders they were approved by everyone.

You plugged the pen drive inside the slot and placed the bomb near the weapons, the timer will start as soon as you let Tony know to start it, you started at the huge screen as the percentage increased. You knew it was too good to be true to just leave without being detected.

A sharp sting in your shoulder and thigh occurred that muted the gunshots from behind you as you turned around to see the guard with a gun in his hand and little smoke coming from it, making you aware that you have been shot twice, you looked back you at the screen which was closer to finishing, as you controlled his mind and made him shoot his leg himself and knock himself out.

The focus for the mission was keeping you busy from the pain but as soon as you moved your leg, the pain was stronger which made you groan and limp towards the computer, as soon as it hit 100%, you snatched the drive and slowly made your way towards the exit where you saw about 5-10 guards standing with their guns pointing at you.

You laughed a little and took the weapon attached to your belt as you started to shoot at them, they were shooting at you but they missed as you went back in time but each time you did the less energy you had, it was mainly because you was losing blood and was hit couple more times, you didn’t even notice until you moved from your place to hide behind something.

You reached to your ear, taking a deep breath and speaking “Tony start the timer.”

“On it” He spoke to your ear and soon enough his voice spoke up again “Okay, you have 3 minutes before the whole place blows up, can you make it?” He asked the question he didn’t want to, which he earned a shocking glare from Wanda and Natasha, they weren’t expecting that.

“Yeah, I’m on my way out” As you spoke, gunshots slipped through which made the team be more worried.

“Y/n do you need back up?” Natasha asked and there was no reply, they were about to run inside from the Quinjet but Tony started to fly above. You and him had a plan which the team wasn’t inform off, this way you wouldn’t be stopped, they thought they will be joining you but you was suppose to go alone.

“Tony what the fuck are you doing?” Natasha harshly spoke as she stared at him from behind but he didn’t answer.

Wanda worried stood up “We need to help Y/n!” But she was ignored as well.

You knew you didn’t have time but you hoped this will work out, the reason to why the team wasn’t needed was because that could cause a lot of problems like compromising the mission but they were there in case things went south.

You took a deep breath and with everything you had, started to run towards the exit, with the pain becoming more stronger, which had some guards there but you manged to knock them out with your mind control, you failed to notice that one of them pretended to be knocked out so when you approached the exit, you was shot again, this time nearer to your heart which punctured your lung, you knew this is bad but you went on.. At least tried to, right as you reached the end, you were close to dropping to the ground but that’s when the bomb went off, sending you flying into the air, several feet away from the base and where the Quinjet was.

You was barely breathing and barely conscious to what was happening around you, but one redhead made it towards you. You smiled at whoever was there and started to close your eyelids since they become so heavy.

“Oh my god, Y/n” A shaky voice spoke up, you could tell it was Wanda.

You tried to wave your hand to dismiss it but the pain was too much so you spoke up “It’s fine..”

She covered your mouth with her hand “Shut up and save your energy! You can’t die now”

You was trying hard to stay awake but it wasn’t working and the darkness was much closer than you really wanted, you passed out the second the Sokovian redhead lifted you with her powers.

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Long couple hours later

The medical wing wasn’t keen on giving anyone any information about your condition which only worried everyone. Wanda barely left the waiting room in hopes that they will crack and tell her about you but nothing.

She wanted to barge in there and demand answers but she knew better than to delay your way to recovery. Wanda was more than worried, she was terrified, at the thought of your body going limb when she picked you up really scared her.

At the loss of her parents and her brother, she thought she would never open up to anyone but when you waltzed into her life, you instantly melted her walls with just one look, you made it easier to breath when she was around you, that’s why she can’t lose you.

Tony along with Natasha and Steve made their way towards Wanda, they knew she was upset.

she looked up, her blood boiling at the sight of Tony, she stood up with her eyes turning red “What do you think you’re doing here?” the question was laced with venom.

“Are there any news?” Natasha asked knowing that anything could trigger Wanda.

She shook her head but her glare didn’t leave Tony which angered her more, she wanted him out of this hallway, she wanted to see you smile and laugh.. Just be alive but you are in there with no updates.

“Look Witch, me and her had a plan before we went on the mission, she was suppose get out there before the bomb went off but obviously the plan didn’t work out exactly like we wanted, she was suppose to be on the Quinjet before it exploded, she knew it was a set up but she went anyways, we needed that data and now we are able to create better weapons because of it.” He tried to explain the best he could to Wanda, he felt guilty he didn’t let someone else come with you but they both knew it would be dangerous.

“Why didn’t you just let me or Natasha come with her!” She screamed, it made some lights flicker as her powers slowly emitted from her.

Tony took a deep breath “She didn’t want anyone, I tried to convince her to take someone but she said that would rather die than let anyone else suffer”

With his words, Wanda’s eyes turned back to normal as it filled with tears, she was so mad at you for doing such a reckless thing without even talking to her about it. Natasha approached her and gently wrapped her arms around Wanda, she was trying her best to keep her tears in but that was slightly impossible.

Doctor Helen Cho walked out to the scene, she made herself known by clearing her throat, immediately Wanda turned and stared at her, she was dreading this moment but put a brave face.

“This might be hard to hear but Y/n flatlined three times before going into a stable condition. Some of the bullets made their way towards further into her body, especially into her lung, it was difficult to even take it out but we did it and she should be okay, she lost a lot of blood so we put her into a medically induced coma to record quicker but she can easily slip into her own coma from so much trauma so we will be monitoring her for now” She spoke, explaining everything that went on inside that small room.

The only two things that stuck with Wanda was that you flatlined three times but you’re alright. She closed her eyes, trying her best to keep calm, as she sat back down in the chair, they all looked at the Sokovian, it was kind of scary to see her like this.

Natasha took it as an opportunity to ask if anyone can go in and visit you “Is visiting possible?”

Helen nodded “Yes but one at a time, too much people might disturb her”

Wanda stood up with the most dull face you could witness “How many times?”

Helen took a deep breath “She was shot 7 times”

Wanda nodded and just walked inside the room leaving the 3 behind, she needed to be there when you wake up, she knew how much you hated bright white rooms, she never knew the exact reason but she never asked, she wanted you to tell her.

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Two weeks later

The air in the compound was thick with tense, especially since Wanda never wanted to leave your side but she was needed in some small missions, now that you was gone she was needed twice as much, you and her made missions seem so much easier but now that you are still in the coma, she was forced to leave you.

Wanda was currently after her mission, she was exhausted but she rushed to your side to be there when you wake up, she had a feeling you would wake up. She was there for hours but still no luck, that’s when there was a knock on the door which her head followed, she saw Vision.

She relaxed and walked outside to see him, he tried to convince her to go shower and rest but she didn’t want any of that, she just wanted to be here, you woke up during that time, your eyes scanned the room that’s when it landed outside the window to Vision and Wanda, you were so high on painkillers that you didn’t even notice any pain.

He was extremely close to her, his hand on her cheek and looked at her so lovingly, she looked sad and his other hand was on her hip holding her close. You wasn’t sure how long you have been out but it must’ve been long since Vision and Wanda are now together (Obviously they weren’t), at the sight of them that close, your heart broke. You had feelings for Wanda for sometime now but Olivia was your girlfriend and you knew you had to bury those feelings, especially now that Wanda is with someone else.

You hated bright rooms so your breathing increased, slowly having a little panic attack when you came to your senses, the heart monitor started to beep faster which caught Wanda’s attention.

She ran inside leaving Vision, to which he just walked away a little disappointed, she held your hand “It’s okay Y/n, I’m here sweetie”

You relaxed at her touch but your breathing didn’t steady “Y/n look at me and follow my breathing”

She started to breathe slowly in and out which you mimicked, you was relaxing, she always had that effect on you, tears started to run down your face which Wanda carefully wiped with her thumb.

You leaned into her touch as you blurted out “Take me home please..”

Your pleading broke Wanda’s heart, she knows how much you hate these rooms “Y/n..”

“Please Wan.. I can’t stay here, its too cold and lonely” You begged her and her grip tighten around your other hand.

“I’m here Детка (baby), and I’m not going anywhere” She spoke as she stared into your eyes.

“I can’t stay here” Another tear slipped down your face, Wanda nodded with a sad smile “Okay.. I will talk to the doctor but for now rest, I will be here моя любовь (My love)”

You didn’t understand what she was saying, for all you know she could call you an idiot but the way she said it, just made you want to listen to her talk all the time.

You nodded and a thought struck you “Wanda…” She hummed as an answer to which you continued “Could you lay with me here until I fall asleep?”

Wanda wanted to just stay in your arms forever but to be asked to cuddle you till you fall asleep because you are terrified of this hospital room, made her even happier, she nodded and climbed next to you as you carefully hugged into her, with her scent filling your nose and her heartbeat you felt safe.

“Do you want to know why I don’t like bright white rooms?” you asked and she nodded.

You wasn’t sure if you should look at her because if you broke down it would be harder to stop but taking a deep breath you looked up and stared into her green eyes, they held this reassurance, she didn’t need to use her words, her eyes said it all

“When I was young, my mother and father decided they didn’t want me so they gave me up for some experiments..” You paused as a flashback of the white room appeared before your eyes, you exhaled shakenly “ All I really remember is the multiple white rooms and the cold empty feeling whilst they did whatever they did”

“So please.. Get me home, I don’t want to be here” Another tear escaped your eyes.

Her free hand cupped your cheek as she wiped the tear and nodded with a smile “You’ll go home, just rest”

It pained her listening to your past, as a little girl to be put through something like that, it must’ve been really scary. Wanda’s hand traced circles on your back, relaxing you, making you fall asleep with her. The red power coursing through her hand near your head as she gave you pleasant dreams.

“Sweet dreams Солнечный свет (Sunshine)”

[kiwixlime]

Finders Keepers - Chapter Four

Warnings: Gore, blood, it might get descriptive! Also, instances of PTSD and potentially triggering content including drunk driving, accidents, and death.

A/N: This isn’t foreshadowing, I promise! That thing that happens in part two does not happen here. And if I continue to write Joel based fics, that thing will never happen. I get to pretend in writing that everything is okay and everyone is happy. Okay!

Trust me, baseball bats and golf clubs give me war flashbacks. I'm not doing that.

“Jesse!”

It’s quiet now in the abandoned grocery store, a stark contrast to seconds prior when it was filled with screams and gunshots. Bay limps around, hand pressing against her thigh to stop the blood trickling down her leg. Luckily, it was just from a piece of glass and not something more serious.

“Jesse!” She whisper-shouts again, dragging herself along to his last known location. Her steps are careful and calculated, dodging rubble and stone, careful of shards of glass that she can see sparkling in the dim light. She whimpers as a sting shoots up her leg, teeth clenching hard so not to scream. “Fuck, Jesse, come on,” she mouths to herself.

There’s a loud drip from a broken pipe that splatters down behind Bay’s head, making her hair stand on end. It’s almost like slow motion, the way she jumps at the sound, accidentally backing into a shelf and knocking it down with a loud bang. A terrible crash follows as more shelves fall over and another scream resounds through the building. This time, it’s familiar.

“Bay!” Jesse screeches at the top of his lungs. “Bay, help me!” His voice is strained, but fortunately, Bay can make out how far he sounds, which isn’t that far at all. She quickly gets her bearings and stumbles along to the echo of Jesse’s voice.

“Bay!” He screams again, this time sounding more defeated, broken. She can hear grunting and screaming from a runner and she knows Jesse can fight back. But if he’s injured, he’ll never make it. She springs into action, running as fast as she can through the garden department, knocking over ceramic gardening pots and little bunny decorations.

“Jesse! Where are you?” She shouts, frantically looking around the open space for any sign of him. She waits for his response, crying out when it doesn’t come. Panicking, she pulls herself over a mound of potting soil and shuffles her feet through the mess on the floor. She opens her mouth to yell again, but Jesse finally yelps out.

“Bay!” She hears a gunshot and then her name again. “Bay, over here!”

He’s having a bit of a struggle, something he was not prepared for this afternoon. He and Bay were partnered up again on patrol. There had been some issues with one trail that required Tommy and Joel’s assistance, so Bay and Jesse ended up taking over for them. It wasn’t a route they had a lot of experience with, so they weren’t expecting to find a horde of infected and runners hiding out.

Bay took charge and she was able to clear out most of the building, which probably used to be a home improvement store of sorts. There were a few infected, but nothing her bow couldn't handle. Once that was finished, the duo decided to split up to check for any stragglers. Jesse ended up in the back storage room. Everything happened so fast after that.

“Jesse!” Bay yells. She’s dizzy, clutching one hand to her chest as her breathing gets heavier. She can feel her pulse in her ears, her head pounds, and the cut on her leg is still dripping with blood. Her throat is on fire from screaming, and running, but she can’t stop. She won’t. “Talk to me, Jess,” she begs.

“Fuck,” she hears Jesse’s voice yell. There’s another loud bang and a disgusting squishing sound. She can hear scuffling followed by groans and grunts.

Back in the room, Jesse is reaching for his gun that was smacked out of his hands by a runner. His fingers narrowly miss the grip as the creature on top of him puts all its weight down onto his body. Black spots appear behind his eyelids, but he keeps conscious, one hand placed weakly on the runner’s chest to keep it away. “Help me,” he wheezes.

Determined, Bay reaches the backroom in time to see Jesse smash a runner in the face with a brick. The impact isn’t enough. The runner stumbles back for only a second before growling and lunging back at the teen, teeth snapping ferociously.

Bay runs in and kicks it, hard, with her booted heel. It screams and falls down. She reaches her hand out to pull Jesse up, but just as their fingers brush, the runner smacks her, knocking her off balance. She trips over Jesse’s gun and falls on her back, the runner following after her. It throws itself on top of her, mangled hands attempting to claw her.

Jesse moves into action, adrenaline taking over his body. He slides across the floor, using all of his force to pull the runner off of Bay. She picks herself up immediately as the runner and Jesse tumble into a shelf on the ground. A loud whack rings in Bay’s ears and Jesse cries out.

Running out of the room, Bay leaves Jesse as he screams. She returns seconds later with a big, shiny golf club she found in sporting goods earlier. Sensing her next move, Jesse pushes the runner off of him, letting Bay swing the golf club, hard. Jesse shoots up to a standing position, backing away quickly and inspecting himself for marks of any kind. His hands run over his arms, face, chest, legs, everywhere he can reach. He’s clean.

The wet thack of the golf club wails through the room and the once terrifying growls falter as the runner sputters on the floor in its own blood. Without a beat, the golf club comes down again, this time with Bay screaming her lungs out. By the third swing, Bay has tears streaming down her face. Carefully, Jesse walks over to her, grabbing the club from her shaking hands. He tosses it far so it lands on the floor away from them with a clink.

“Bay?” He whispers, moving to place his hands on her arms. Her breathing is erratic, broken, and her whole body is heaving. Little shocks of electricity pass through her system as she tries to calm herself down.

She breathes out, it’s jagged, but it’s enough. Her eyes slowly hover around the room, the aftermath of her rampage is splayed before her in reds and pinks.

Her voice is trembling as she asks, “All clear?”

Jesse nods, catching his breath and just working with Bay one minute at a time. “All clear,” he says.

“Good,” she sniffles, raising her arm and wiping at her nose. She can’t peel her eyes away from the carnage in front of her. Sinister feelings settle in her mind and she just can’t break her concentration from the bloodshed. She steps back, eyes unblinking, heading towards the door.

“Uh, Bay?” Jesse stops her and his voice is enough to snap her out of her trance. She looks over at him expectantly and he grimaces. “You got a little something on you,” he clears his throat, pointing to Bay’s body.

She looks down slowly, fingers dragging across her shirt, hands clenching around the fabric speckled in bright red and…matter. She raises her arms and looks them up and down before dropping her eyes to her shoes. She reaches both hands up and lightly touches her face, the warm sticky slime spreading everywhere. She can see it on her clothes, she can feel it on her skin, she can taste it on her tongue. She’s covered in blood.

“It’s not mine,” she says, assuring Jesse she’s fine. “At least not all of it.”

“Oh,” he nods, giving a half smile. He reaches for her hand and grabs it tightly, leading her out of the small room. He goes back for his gun, giving one final glance to the bloodied golf club and the slaughtered body. He swallows hard and tucks his gun away, quickly escaping the storage to join Bay by the horses.

--*--

It’s dark and Bay can’t see what’s in front of her. She runs as fast as she can, trying to keep up her pace. It’s hard, she’s smaller, she’s not that fast yet. Crying, she trips over what she hopes is just a rock or something, but given her current situation, it’s unlikely.

“Run!” A male voice shouts out. “You have to run!”

Bay stops, frozen, tears in her eyes. “I c-can’t,” she cries.

“Just run!” The voice says again and then everything fades to black.

“Stop!” Bay screams, her body jolting awake. She rips the covers off of her trembling form and sits back, alert. She’s sweating, heart beating rapidly against its cage. She looks around, feeling with her hands. She’s in bed. She’s in her house in Jackson. She’s okay.

Whimpering, she slides her legs to the edge of her bed. Her hand immediately drops down to the bandage on her thigh, frowning at the pain. It isn’t too deep of a wound and she can still walk, but damn, it still hurts.

At least she’s okay. More importantly, at least Jesse’s okay. When they got back to Jackson they were taken to the infirmary and cared for instantly. Just a few minor wounds for each of them.

Bay sighs, glancing at the watch on the nightstand next to her. It’s early in the morning, or late at night, depending on how one wants to look at it. For her, it’s morning and it’s not unusual to be awake. Bad dreams are a common occurrence.

Sleep isn’t in the cards for her tonight, this morning, so she heads to her closet, pulling out a light jacket and a pair of jeans. She gets dressed quickly, careful of the wound on her thigh. She slips on socks and shoes and makes her way to the desk in her living room. The night is quiet and it’s pitch black outside, but she doesn’t need any light to find what she’s looking for. She has a routine down pat.

Grabbing one of the notebooks on her desk, she ruffles through one of the drawers until she feels a pen. She already has a place in mind as she leaves her house and heads into the darkness. As she walks down the street, she tilts her head up, gazing at the stars. She knows exactly what she’s going to write about tonight.

It takes a few minutes for her to reach the playground, but once she does, she goes to her usual spot on the slides. It’s not completely dead out. There are those townies who enjoy going for walks at these times, or maybe some doing a “walk of shame” if that even exists still. Nighttime in Jackson is different to nighttime on the outside. Behind the walls is safe. And Bay takes advantage of that.

She cracks open her notebook and clicks her pen. Words just start flowing from her brain to the paper and she’s on a roll. She doesn’t hear a twig snap and the sound of footsteps approaching her. She’s so focused on her writing that when a voice coughs behind her, she literally jumps.

“Is this seat taken?” The voice asks. Bay doesn’t say anything, just shifts over a bit and motions to the spot next to her. She doesn’t have to take her eyes off her notebook to know it’s Joel. She’d recognize that deep voice anywhere.

He sits down next to her and he’s close. Almost too close. He’s so close that she can feel the heat radiating off his body, the scent of pine needles dancing in front of her nose. There’s a part of her that could fall asleep right there next to him.

“Bad dreams?” Joel asks, his voice low and quiet as he leans into her. Bay shivers as his words whisper in her ear.

She’s surprised to see Joel this late at night. She’s surprised he’s even talking to her given the way she’s acted recently. There’s a lot she wants to say to him, but she’s afraid if she opens her mouth, she’ll snap at him again. So she stays quiet.

“Nevermind,” Joel grumbles, sensing Bay still doesn’t want to talk to him, and goes to move. But to his surprise, Bay stops him. So she doesn’t want him to leave?

“Just one,” she says quietly, keeping her head turned so she doesn’t have to look into those hazel eyes. “It’s usually the same one,” she adds, scratching anxiously in her notebook.

Joel nods in understanding, leaning back to his previous position. “I know the feelin’,” is all he says. He looks at her and tries to wrap his head around the type of girl she is. He studies the lines on her face, the little scars from being a survivor. She licks her lips and his eyes follow the contours of her mouth, the outline of her nose. When she finally looks up at him, he sighs at the pain swimming behind those glossy eyes. He just wants to reach up and touch her face. But he can’t. That’s inappropriate.

Instead, he drops his gaze down to his calloused hands, rubbing them over each other.

“I come here at night after really bad dreams,” Bay says, breaking the silence between them. “I like to just look at the moon, the stars. It’s so different compared to the city. You can actually see the twinkling lights, the glow of the moon.” She bites her lip, deciding if she should share this next bit of information. Why the hell not? “I bring my journal or a notebook with me and I do some free writing…just whatever comes to my brain, totally unfiltered. Even if it makes no fucking sense,” she chuckles.

The man stares at her. He doesn’t know what to say, he just wants her to keep talking.

“It helps,” she says defensively, noticing his blank stare. “It gets it out of my fucking head.”

“I get it,” Joel says quickly, not wanting to upset her again.

Bay huffs and closes her notebook. She doesn’t have anything to say right now so she closes her eyes and leans her head against the wooden plank behind her. Deep breaths.

Once again, Joel’s eyes flit over her, this time they settle on the chain that’s resting against her chest. The ring moves up and down in time with her steady breathing, the gemstone shimmering in the night. He sighs, thinking about what he said last time.

“What was his name?” Joel asks and he knows it’s a risky question. He doesn’t know Bay well enough to know her limits, but for some reason, he thinks he can ask this. So he does.

Her eyes snap open, hand instinctively going for the ring around her neck. She grips it and looks down at it with a sigh. It’s been a long time since she’s talked about her brother.

“Theo,” she says with a smile. Tugging at the ring, she looks over at Joel once more. “My dad had one just like it,” she finds herself saying. “He gave it to my mom when they got engaged and Theo just…he liked the idea. He couldn’t wait to get his own,” she laughs, but it’s sad, nostalgic. “My parents tried to talk him out of it. It was an old tradition, expensive. But he didn’t care. He just really wanted one. So they saved and eventually bought him his own. He said he was going to give it to the first girl he fell in love with.”

Joel smiles at that confession. He never really understood that tradition. But he understands how important some sentiments are.

“What, uh,” he clears his throat anxiously. “What happened to him?”

That question makes Bay want to collapse into herself and hide. She was expecting it, of course, and she was actually willing to tell Joel about it, but bringing up memories like that…it’s insane. It’s unnecessary pain. But Joel is here, and he’s listening, and she kind of wants to open up.

Or maybe she’s just so fucking tired and after an excruciating day, she just wants someone to talk to.

“He had just turned 16,” she says, eyes meeting Joel’s. “He literally just got his driver’s license and he wanted to go on his first legal drive with his best friend. My parents weren’t thrilled with the idea, but they couldn’t say no.”

Bay groans and pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Telling this story never gets easier.

“So they went,” she whispers. At this point, she can feel her heart breaking all over again and her stomach burns with agony. She can feel wet, hot tears sliding down her face and she feels weak. She pulls her head up, showing Joel a vulnerability she’s never shown anyone but Tommy and Maria. “There was a drunk driver,” she says. “Ran a stop sign and went full speed at my brother. Crashed right into them. My brother’s car wrapped around a tree.”

She blinks back more tears, bringing her jacket sleeve over her hand and aggressively wiping at her eyes until they sting. She bites her tongue to stop the crying. “My brother died on impact,” she croaks. “His friend made it to the hospital…but he died of his injuries later that night.”

“Bay,” Joel says, his heart sinking into his chest. He looks at the broken girl next to him. Her once hard shell has started to crack. Her face remains harsh and unreadable, but her body betrays her. He knows how good it would feel to just peel completely open and break down, letting everything out. He’s spent many nights wanting to do that. But it’s hard to let that wall fall.

“My mom gave me his ring after his funeral,” she tells him, holding it close to her heart. “I was a kid. It never fit my finger, but my mom used to say I was the only girl he ever had a chance to love.”

Something inside Joel softens. The way Bay speaks is meek, small. It’s not what he’s come to know from her. “I’m so sorry,” he says and reaches a hand out, but changes his mind at the last second. Best not to make things too awkward.

“It’s okay,” Bay shrugs, the lump in her throat getting smaller. “If I’m honest…I’m happy it happened before…well, before all this.” She says. “Just by a year, but I’m glad he didn’t have to see the world become a shithole. I’m glad he didn’t have to see the things I’ve seen or…do the things I’ve done. He died young, but he died happy.”

Joel’s body stills. Her words hit him hard and he feels his emotions bubble to the surface. Would it be fate if he also broke down in the middle of the children’s playground? Maybe. But he wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Joel,” Bay says, capturing his attention. “I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you recently.” She apologizes, but now hearing her story, Joel thinks it’s unnecessary.

“No, no,” he says. “You have nothin’ to apologize for. I was a bit of a dick,” he admits. “Even if I didn’t know this -- and thank you for sharin’ that with me -- it still wouldn’t have been my place to act like that.”

Bay closes her eyes and smiles. “You’re not so bad, Miller,” she says.

“I’m flattered, dollface,” he responds. Her cheeks heat up with a blush, but she doesn’t say anything more. His eyes move from her face to the hand that’s lightly caressing a spot on her thigh. He frowns as he remembers what he heard from Tommy earlier.

“Does it hurt?” He asks.

She doesn’t even open her eyes, just shakes her head. “A little, but it’s bearable.”

“I feel guilty,” he admits to her. “Tommy and I just cleared that area out. Had no idea it’d be overrun again so soon. We shoulda been the ones to do it.”

“Hey,” Bay mumbles, eyes now open as she sits up and turns to face Joel. “Jesse and I are perfectly capable. We kicked ass, just so you know.” She says with a smile.

Her words make Joel chuckle. Still, there’s a feeling in his gut he can’t quite explain. It gets worse when he thinks about what Tommy told him. Jesse getting cornered, Bay losing her cool…He hasn’t been in Jackson long, but he’s come to like some of its residents.

“Well, glad you two are okay,” he says.

“Mhm,” she hums, laying back and closing her eyes once more.

“You plannin’ on sleepin’ out here?” He asks with a laugh.

“No,” Bay snorts.

“Can I walk you home?” He questions as her eyes flicker open.

“Sure,” she grins at him. “Just give me a few more minutes with the moon,” she sighs and Joel nods, leaning back with her. He’s never been one to pay attention to the moon. He never saw the appeal. But now, he thinks, maybe it’s not so bad.

Masterlist

[zrtranscripts]

Season 9, Mission 16: We Gotta Get Out of This Place

Unmasked

~

[alarm blares]

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Abel spies, throw down your weapons and surrender immediately! There will be no second warning.

JANINE DE LUCA: Hands off your gun, Five. I count a dozen soldiers in this hangar. The only way out is the front gates and they're barely half open. Escalation is suicide.

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Ah yes. Colonel De Luca, isn't it? Your real name. The woman attempting to infiltrate my base. And that’s Sam Yao, Peter Lynne, and Runner Five. And Maryam Abani, the doctor from New Agadir. Took the boss some effort to identify you, but you'll reveal more when we interrogate you. You’ll tell me everything. Guards, get those gates closed and locked now!

[gates roll shut]

SAM YAO: That doesn't sound good.

PETER LYNNE: No, especially since they've got Van Ark on hand to torture us.

SAM YAO: Van Ark, who's definitely this secret boss they keep talking about, right? I know you said he wasn't, General, but they'd obviously been keeping you in the dark about him.

GENERAL BAKARI: Indeed. De Luca, Operation Pinafore.

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Bakari, back away from those spies! Your own role in this will be thoroughly examined.

GENERAL BAKARI: You know, Guillemette, I always found you smug. Consider this my resignation. System, emergency program Bakari One!

[explosion, Five's ears ring]

GENERAL BAKARI: [muffled] Five, can you hear me? Can you hear me, Five? [clear] I said Five, can you hear? That was a sonic pulse, got the soldiers dizzy and heaving. You too, I'm afraid. Janine and I were ready, blocked our ears. She's getting the rest of ours upright. The gate's still half open. We have to go.

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: Do not let them escape!

GENERAL BAKARI: On your feet, Five. The soldiers are already recovering. Come on. Remember, it's your blood that contains the panacea. You and the USB you're carrying are absolutely vital. More diseases stalk the post-apocalyptic world every day. That data is our only hope of curing them. Follow me. Through the gates, run!

[soldiers chatter, gunshots]

~

[gunshots]

SAM YAO: This is really bad, Five, even for us. Thousands of miles from home, stuck on a desert base with our escape plan wrecked.

PETER LYNNE: And fighting Van Ark. Again. Look, I know I'm not one to talk, but why can't the dead stay dead?

SAM YAO: At least we're clear of the main complex, but we're still on base ground surrounded by a high security fence and that's a lot of angry soldiers after us.

GENERAL BAKARI: Cut straight through that solar panel field toward the perimeter fence. The soldiers won't risk firing on the panels, the base would be dead without them.

MARYAM ABANI: General, what exactly did you do back there?

GENERAL BAKARI: I've been working here a long time. Programmed an escape contingency into the base’s security system. Opens all doors, triggers a sonic pulse, shuts down main power. Frankly, our odds of survival are still perishingly small, but it was the best I could do.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, um, that warning you gave Janine. Operation Pinafore? Code from an old mission, or...?

JANINE DE LUCA: It was... the name of a musical performance at my boarding school when I was 15. Reviews were... unkind.

GENERAL BAKARI: “Cover your ears,” the school paper said. She wasn't happy. [chuckles] Always told you and Tom, bad memories make the best passcodes. You never forget.

[solar panels whir]

MARYAM ABANI: Is it my imagination or are these solar panels moving?

PETER LYNNE: Maryam's right, the panels ahead are tilting towards us. God, it's all of them. Agh! Oh my God, that... Okay, the glare is painful!

GENERAL BAKARI: The panels can adjust to follow the sun, but Guillemette must have restored power to them. She's using them to dazzle us! The soldiers are closing fast behind us. They have protective goggles.

PETER LYNNE: Well, they're going to catch us if we're staggering blind! Um, [clears throat] Sam, do you uh, reckon we can even the odds?

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Yao?

SAM YAO: Oh, uh, Peter and I took some grenades when we were touring the base armory. You know, for the sake of keeping character as ruthless mercenaries. I think some of them were smoke grenades.

GENERAL BAKARI: That might work. Aim for the soldiers, quick!

SAM YAO: Five, take this one. Aim right behind us. Throw! [explosion, smoke sprays] Well, that's a lot of black smoke drifting over the panels. Swallowed the soldiers completely.

GENERAL BAKARI: The blowback will dim these panels, but not by much. We're near the edge of the field. Just keep your heads down and make for the outer fence. Run!

~

PETER LYNNE: Oof! Glad to be out off the panel field, Five. I'm still seeing spots. And at least we're ahead of the soldiers. Oh, there! Uh, I see a way out. There's a, it's a big metal gate, sort of a portcullis in the fence ahead, and it's open.

GENERAL BAKARI: Part of my sabotage. It should remain open for as long as the base is compromised.

[portcullis clatters down]

MARYAM ABANI: The portcullis is going down. Fast.

GENERAL BAKARI: Blast it! Guillemette must be overriding my program. [sighs] It was only ever meant as a last resort.

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Yao, you and Dr. Abani are in the lead. You're almost there. Dive under before it closes!

MARYAM ABANI: She's right, Sam. Come on!

SAM YAO: Wait, we can't just leave Five! Maryam, no, let go! Get off my arm! Stop!

[gate slams shut]

JANINE DE LUCA: Slow down, Five. The gates are shut. We're not getting through.

MARYAM ABANI: [radio crackles] Can you hear me? Sam and I made it. We're on the other side of the fence.

JANINE DE LUCA: Understood, Miss Abani. Thank you for guiding Mr. Yao. You and he must get to safety. The fewer of us in the power of Red Scorpion, the better.

SAM YAO: Hold on! Janine, what about you?

JANINE DE LUCA: The gates are sealed. Mr. Yao. Mr Lynne, the general, Five and I will have to find another way off the base. Get yourselves clear, that is an order. We'll arrange a rendezvous once we have made our own escape.

GENERAL BAKARI: Remember, you have trackers under your skin. Guillemette’s monitoring systems are down right now, but you need to be far away before they're restored. [grunts in pain] Five and our stolen USB on this side of the fence... damned bad luck.

JANINE DE LUCA: General, are you all right?

GENERAL BAKARI: Blasted leg wound. Painkillers wearing off. Should have been an easy mission, De Luca. I sneak you in, you take the data and leave. But once again, you and Runner Five have blown my life apart. Sigrid always said you'd be the death of me.

JANINE DE LUCA: General, focus. There must be another way off this base. We need options.

GENERAL BAKARI: Unfortunately, De Luca, we don't have any! Except... See that glass building? Greenhouse. There's a potential path that way. It's a horrible idea, but then, this is the day for them. Those soldiers are catching up. To the greenhouse, run!

~

JANINE DE LUCA: Quick, Five, inside. I do not think the soldiers saw us duck in here. We should be safe for the moment.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, nice greenhouse. It's very roomy, lots of big tomato vines. Quick question, um, how is this remotely a way out?

[foliage rustles]

ERNEST VAN ARK: Stay... stay back!

PETER LYNNE: Um, is that... is that Van Ark hiding behind that rack of planting trays? Because he looks, um... young.

JANINE DE LUCA: This is a new person - a new iteration, I should say - made from Van Ark's remains, but still the same man.

ERNEST VAN ARK: I know you're spies. Guillemette sent out a general alert. She told me to stay here, prune the plants. Always calms me down.

JANINE DE LUCA: You can drop the act, Professor. We're well aware that you are the man in charge, the boss, the one who revealed our true identities. I'm unsure what game you're playing - !

ERNEST VAN ARK: This isn't a game, not to me.

PETER LYNNE: Well, why don't we just shoot him? We can end this now.

GENERAL BAKARI: Not worth the risk, Peter. Ernie has an earpiece in. Personal comms. If we shoot and miss, he calls for help. But if he calls for help, we shoot, so you just stay there, Ernie. I always thought creating you was a mistake, and I'm half inclined to subscribe to my friend's theory that you've been in charge here the whole time. Now I'm going to open this floor panel nice and slowly, then we'll be gone and nobody gets hurt.

[floor panel creaks and clatters open]

ERNEST VAN ARK: And I'm supposed to trust you, am I, like Guillemette trusted you? Comms, voice activate. Guillemette, they're in Greenhouse 4.

[gunshots]

PETER LYNNE: Damn it, he ducked out of sight! Oh, don't look at me like that, Janine. He's Van Ark! You know he'd do 10 times worse to us.

GENERAL BAKARI: We have to get out of here, now! There's a ramp under the hatch. Jump down, then run. It'll lead you deep underground. Follow the ramp until you reach a metal door. The soldiers are here. They'll know where we're headed. Go!

~

JANINE DE LUCA: All right, General, what now? The ramp ends here and this metal door is quite immovable.

GENERAL BAKARI: Damn! My program should have opened it. Guillemette must have a lot of systems back online. Five, help me pry open that wall console. I can override.

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: [intercom squeals] Bakari, I know you can hear me. I've got the Tannoy up in your section. I've been thinking about your little history, that business with 555. In hindsight, you stink of rats!

JANINE DE LUCA: The soldiers are approaching, General. We must hurry.

GENERAL BAKARI: Hold on. There's an intense security down here. If I trip the wrong system, it'll electrify the floor.

PETER LYNNE: Hmm, that's odd. It sounds like they're holding position a way behind us.

GUILLEMETTE FELIS: I don't think much of your little gang, Bakari. Scoundrels and crooks, the boss says. You can surrender or suffer. Either way, whatever secrets you've stolen, they are never leaving this place.

GENERAL BAKARI: Oh hell, she's managed to reboot the floor paneling here, and there's usually a massive current running through it! My program shut that system down. Won't take long to charge it again. If we're lucky, it'll kill us.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, and if we're not?

GENERAL BAKARI: Guillemette will have it set to stun so she can take her time with the interrogations. [door opens] Got it. The door's open. The corridor beyond is metal, but if we get past that, there's a stone cavern, no electric floor there. Quickly, run!

~

[metal door slides shut]

GENERAL BAKARI: It's okay, Five. That's just the door we came through slamming shut far behind us. We're past the electrified floor. Just stone underfoot from here. How are you, Five? Uninjured? Good. Remember, you're holding data crucial for the human race. You must remain alive.

JANINE DE LUCA: This cavern... there's scorch marks on the walls, old flamethrowers strewn about. Where are we, General?

GENERAL BAKARI: The old caves beneath the base where they used to grow the red fungus. It's all dead now, of course. Just blackened rock and shadow.

PETER LYNNE: Hmm. Are those... bones? No that, that looks like... Yeah, that's, that's a human skeleton. Oh, oh good! It looks like it must have been eight foot tall, at least. Like a giant.

GENERAL BAKARI: There have been a lot of things down here over the years. The soldiers won't follow us. That door, the electric floor, it's not to keep people in, but to keep other things out. Protect the base from what's underneath. This cavern leads to deep tunnels.

Grab whatever equipment you can see. We might need it. Because frankly, this is going to be far worse than the base. We'll be very, very lucky to make it out of here alive, but we must try, for the sake of humanity.

~

[brightbeautifulthings]

The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by Gerard Way & Shaun Simon

"'You told me to take your hand and that everything would be okay. You gave me a home--a life--a reason to go on. You mean the world to me, Red, and look how I repay you.' 'Blue. Take my hand. When I said that all those years ago, I didn't mean unless you mess up or make a mistake. There were no clauses. No time frames. When I said that ... I meant we would be together forever.'"

Year Read: 2021, 2022

Rating: 4/5

About: The Killjoys lost their lives fighting against the tyrannical megacorporation, Better Living Industries, and now their followers hide out in the desert looking for any chance to fight back. When Girl turns up--one of the only survivors of the original group--she brings with her the hope of bringing down BLInd once and for all. Trigger warnings: character death, violence, guns, prostitution, grief.

Thoughts: I was never much of a My Chemical Romance fan, so I'm not that familiar with the album this comic follows (Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys), but I don't think you have to be to enjoy this world. It reminds me of some of the grittier, totalitarian sci-fi movies like Blade Runner (1982) and Total Recall (1990), at least in concept. In reality, I had more fun with it than that, since those movies tend to be kind of a drag. Killjoys is every bit as dark, but it's peppered with sassy dialogue, more diverse characters, and the sense that some causes really are worth dying for. Despite the high body count, it's more hopeful than not.

Becky Cloonan’s artwork is one of my favorite things about it. It's full of bleak landscapes and characters that absolutely pop with their bright-colored hair and clothes, and it's such a fun and original contrast. Girl's discovery of her power, helped along by Cherri Cola and the Ultra Vs, is the main plot thread. It's well-done, with emphasis on Girl's personal development, but I love the side characters just as much. Korse is an unwilling assassin for BLInd, and I know he’s the villain but his story just about broke me. Red and Blue are two android prostitutes searching for a way out of Battery City before Red's battery completely decays, and they have my whole heart. I've been warned off the sequel, National Anthem, by trusted sources, so I'm happy to leave this as a slightly bonkers standalone in my graphic novel collection.

[fairestwriting]

title: fight or flight

summary: Phoebe’s Bean’s Day experience, through the short expanse of its start to finish, isn’t exactly the best, but it also isn’t the worst. She doesn’t think she has anything to complain about even though it went like that, really...

word count: 2520

commissioned by @invaderphoeb too! beans day phoebe this time.

if you’re interested in my commissions too, guidelines are here!

The ground is blanketed with dry leaves, grass and fallen branches — Crunching noises echoing upon every hurried step, sneakers or boots hitting the dirt mercilessly, both shots and shouts echoing as the students moved in a flurry as soon as it had been announced they could.

When they heard the sign, Phoebe had already started clenching their fists insanely, sprinting away from the crowd as fast as humanly possible. Being on the farmer team meant they had to avoid getting caught, as they heard, and apparently, the students of Night Raven College were ruthless about this event.

So, the occasion was a little thing they called bean’s day here.

It’s something like a sports festival, as she heard. A day off usual activities, reserved just for the specific event. The way it was celebrated had undergone some sort of change, under a teacher’s suggestions, and everyone (Or most people she knew, at least) was all about the competition.

Everyone in her class talked excitedly about the big day through the entire week leading up to it, about what team they were and how happy they were about it, or how much they wanted to be in the other. About the bean guns and the thrill of capturing the flag, about the things that happened in the previous year.

The message she got from the environment around her was that bean’s day was a big deal. And, well, a big deal it was.

Trees blur around her as she rushes, seemingly not having anyone notice her yet. Lungs and legs burn with exertion, she wonders if she could find some of that camouflage gear around, maybe a bean gun? If everyone else was going all out, she wanted to do well too…!

No, no way she would just let herself be caught easily. She wasn’t the strongest or the most athletic, especially in a magical school filled to the brim with people like a good couple of Savanaclaw students, at least twice her size in both height and muscle, many with animal traits to heighten the already seemingly unreal prowess they held, but she wasn’t that bad either, was she?

And not everyone in the monster team was that much better than her, right? She’d known, from spending time with the Leech twins, that he was actually quite unathletic. A slow runner, quick to run out of breath, someone like that couldn’t really compete against Phoebe… well, most of the time.

But they also had some powerhouses, she recognizes, stopping by a tree for a moment to catch her breath, all the exercise feeling acidic to her body now, aching and asking her to stop running so fast. She places her hand against the rough bark — Just like Azul was in the monster team too, if her guess was right, wear them down, someone like Jack Howl was there to make the farmers’ lives more difficult. She had never really talked to him much, but he was tall, bulky enough that she could probably hide behind him, and he was in track and field, too… definitely the sort of guy who could be a problem. She hopes not to encounter him.

After all, there was still a lot of ground to cover, places to run to, to hide in—

“Phoebe!”

The cheery voice perks up from the almost eerie near-silence of the woods, that had been nothing but wind against leaves for a couple seconds now, and Phoebe swears she feels her soul leave her body.

The trigger to her instincts pressed, she turns her head back for a split second to see her possible captor, getting ready to dash away and—

“Cater!” The breath Phoebe had been holding comes out in a puff. Oh, thank god. The Heartslabyul third year gives her a wry smile, peace sign held up. “You startled me!”

“Hehe, sorry, sorry! I saw you running but I almost couldn’t catch up.” He says, and, yeah, he’d really been more out of breath than Phoebe just a few seconds ago. “I wanted to know if you found anyone around? Or anything? I got one of the camo outfits, but…”

Cater purses his lips. Phoebe’s eyes, previously too focused on the path forward, fall to his clothes for a moment, and there it was, that heavy white jacket splashed all over with red, black and yellow, fingerless gloves, an orange bag to carry. Goggles on the top of his head that slip down before he pushes them back up with a diamond-shiny smile.

“I… don’t know, I just kinda ran.” Phoebe informs, hand off the tree before they shrug. Cater replies with a hum, looking around. “Where do you think we should run? This… is my first time doing this, so.”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Cater sings — Too chipper about all of this, just like he is about everything else, really. “It’s not my first time, so I can show you the ropes and stuff! We’re in the same team so it might be nice to stick together.”

“That’s… yeah.” Phoebe nods. “Lead the way, then?”

Cater gives them a brighter smile, reflecting the sunlight that had been irradiating straight into Phoebe’s hair enough it feels a little blinding. Heavy yet hurried steps start crushing leaves, grass and branches once again with constant noises of crunch, crunch, crunch.

“Hmm, they do switch where they hide the stuff every year, though. But I think sometimes it ends up in the same places by mistake.” Cater says, looking up at the gaps between trees that allow the brightness of the afternoon to seep in. He pushes a bush away with his forearm, casting a glance at Phoebe. “So it’s always good to check the ones where they put the bags last year! Maybe I can get you one of these camo suits too, aren’t they sooo cool?”

“They don’t really look like camouflage, but, well…”

Crunch, crunch, crunch. Cater and Phoebe walk along the woods together rather calmly. She’d been so determined to take this seriously, it most people seemed to do, but maybe Cater’s easygoing-ness was contagious? It felt much more like a fun event between friends, now, rather than—

“Hey, that’s Diamond and the Ramshackle prefect!”

Phoebe’s blood runs cold, Cater winces with his whole body.

“Ack—! Phoebe, run!”

He doesn’t need to hear it twice. The constant crunch-crunch-crunch of his steps with Cater’s multiplies as the sound of many more people begin to flood into the scene, rapid and erratic and vicious, Phoebe’s heartbeat spikes up high as they run from the group, Cater right by their side, faces tensed in panic.

Phoebe didn’t know he could even run that fast.

The ones chasing them kept yelling, get them, get them, get them! And upon every word it was like they sped up a little bit more, dragging strength from places they within themselves they didn’t even know existed. Neither was faster than the other, sometimes Cater was a couple feet ahead of Phoebe, sometimes it was him being a couple feet ahead of Cater.

“C’mon, let’s just, just turn here, and—”

Cater points towards the left path when the corridor between trees split into two more, speeding up towards it — Phoebe follows the advice, taking the sharp turn with whatever strength he had left in himself, feeling all the effort tug at every muscle painfully, lungs burning.

“Did you see them?”

A grin appears on Cater’s face, knowing they’d succeeded at losing that group, or at least were on the process of doing so, and the feeling of sweat beginning to build up, soaking through Phoebe’s hair and clothes isn’t as uncomfortable anymore.

They run, slightly slowed down, thrilling happiness making their hearts race instead of just exercise, and the voices begin to die down slowly.

“Yeah, we’re unstoppable!” The Heartslabyul third year, laughing wildly despite his breathlessness, declares, feet still pounding against the ground. The contagiousness of his energy has a grin appearing on Phoebe’s face too.

...until the world spins around, gravity takes over all but one spot of their body — Their foot caught on a tree’s root suddenly, and painfully, Phoebe meets the ground with a thud and a yelp.

“Phoebe?!”

“Sorry! I’ll just…” Phoebe hurries to apologize, but their face scrunches up with pain as they try to move, pulling the leg that had been caught by the root sending a zing up their entire body like their nerves are being pulled violently, threatening to fray. “Ow! D-Damn it…”

Tears prickle at the corners of Phoebe’s eyes. What the hell, this hurts, it hurt so much— In a couple steps, Cater kneels next to them, grimacing and with his hands hovering in the air, like he’s trying to decide what to do.

“What happened? Did you get hurt?” He questions, eyes wide. Phoebe’s lip trembles.

“I… yeah, I might have. I think I twisted it? Ouch...” Without attempting the move, the pain is still there too, pulsating dully. Phoebe grits their teeth as they shoot a look a their leg, positioned awkwardly with the tip of their shoe caught under the hook of the roots.

They try to move again, and in comes the pain, shredding through their senses like barbed wire, and Phoebe can’t help but just whimper.

“We should look for a teacher or something…” Cater says, eyes on the injury. “Uh, this looks pretty bad.”

“I don’t know if I can get up though, it hurts…” Phoebe says between ragged breaths. They feel lightheaded already, like if they moved around too much, signaled too much pain to their brain, they would just pass out there. “Can you try to help me up? B-But be careful, please!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it—”

Phoebe holds out their hands, Cater is about to get up and pull them together so they can have this fixed — And it’s sad, it’s Phoebe’s first bean’s day and it’s ending like this, because fate felt like being a little mean, cutting short what was supposed to be fun just like this, and then they’d be stuck in the infirmary while everybody else runs about, but what else are they supposed to do when they can’t even move? — and they bite at their lip, already anticipating for the pain.

Then a strange startled noise tears out of Cater, already wide eyes even wider, posture freezing.

“What? Does it look that bad? A-Am I bleeding?” Phoebe immediately asks, unable to see the full extent of their injury, but Cater just takes steps back, away from them. “Cater, what are you doing?”

“Um!” Is the noise that leaves him, voice squeaky. “Really sorry, Phoebe, but I gotta go! It’s my last year to do this and I don’t wanna be eliminated, so!”

A guilty smile colors his features. What? Phoebe doesn’t have much time to question what happened as Cater hops into position and begins to sprint away, or even call for him or be mad at him, really. They’re just confused, until they feel a hand on the back of their head, right on their hair, and they jolt in shock, instincts forgetting about the pain that came up every time they moved.

“Bonjour, Trickster!” Rook chimed, hair tied, decorated with the purple, black and green camo she’d seen one or two people in the monster team wearing, smiling at them. “It seems I’ve caught you. Another prized addition to the list ”

“So I’m eliminated.” Phoebe sighs, tiredly. Well, then bean’s day would come to an end for them too soon, anyway.

“Indeed you are. But worry not, you have two more years ahead of… oh.” Rook’s usually cheery voice falls — Phoebe blinks, confused at what that was, exactly, then notices his eyes on their injury. “Have you injured yourself?”

“Uh, yeah. Cater was gonna help me up and bring me to a teacher, but he ran away when he saw you.” He explains. Rook stares for a moment, gripping his chin with a finger and humming.

“Then, in any case, let me bring you somewhere you can rest until the end of the event.” He announces, small guilty smile, similar to the one Cater had given them as he ran away. “The students of NRC can be… rather selfish, so it’s unlikely anyone would want to help you much until the event is over. But I can provide you a hideout, which is better than nothing, non?”

“That’s just messed up.” Phoebe huffs, yelping when the hunter picks them up with a single swift motion, their weight leaned up against his body, a hand on their back and the other under their knees. “What do you do if students get hurt?”

“This, usually. A handful of us know how to treat wounds, your humble chasseur d’amour being one of them.” He informs, walking away as he holds Phoebe, like he weighs nothing at all. “So allow me to take care of you, oui?”

“Um. I guess…”

That constant crunch-crunch-crunch noise begins to echo again, Rook’s boots against dry leaves as trees don’t really change around them. The feeling he might drop Phoebe is there, a slight fear, but not that pronounced, as odd as the guy was, he felt decently safe, even though the creeping discomfort of his consciousness wanting to slip comes up, pushed by exertion and pain.

It’s mostly silent for a bit, Rook hums a tune Phoebe doesn’t recognize as he carries him away until they reach the botanical garden — Faces turn to them quickly, boys in their gym uniforms or the red, green and black camouflage suits.

“Salut, dear friends, I hope you don’t mind that I must tend to a fallen soldier!” Rook announces, walking across the group. Murmurs show up here and there, Phoebe looks around too, recognizing a couple of them. Jamil stares from under his hood, Trey gives her a brief wave.

Rook lays her down near a palm tree, on one of the benches. Back against the wood, she winces and hisses at the spike of pain that comes from the movement. Rook smiles, opening up one of his many pockets to pull out a roll of bandages, setting it next to Phoebe as he begins to undo the laces on her boot.

This was… a kind gesture, actually.

“I’ll wrap it up for compression, then you rest it here.” He informs, pulling off her sock, rolling up the fabric of her pants. Phoebe watches his practiced motions.

Maybe he knew how to do that from being a hunter? It made sense to her. She wonders if he treated other people like this, Pomefiore students especially, when they got hurt… her thoughts swirl into the syrupy consistency of her thoughts.

“Thanks for helping me…” She says. “But I might pass out.” She also warns, words feeling strange to speak. It doesn’t deter Rook at all.

“You’re safe here, Trickster, feel free to just rest.”

Head cloudy, Phoebe nods — The punishment for being eliminated, that special training from Vargas, or even informing any staff about her injury, could come later.

[darlingsdevil]

Of The Valley (Joel x Reader)

Chapter 2: Bullet Memories

Summary: Life in Jackson is never easy. Consoling angsty teenagers, wading through the mysterious waters of Joel’s romance language and with a child of your own on the way? Life is about to get a lot harder.

Chapter summary: A test is administered. Did you fail?

Tag list (please comment to be added or removed): @sidepuff @joelsheartache @fangirl-inthe-us @cowboyfrazer

RDR2 Masterlist

Of The Valley Masterlist

A/N: Hi everyone. I’ve been really happy with how this story is going so far! I hope you will stick around!

Please tell me if you see any ‘Mike’s’ — I keep accidentally writing Mark’s name as Mike lol.

:readmore:

•••

You rode in silence for the rest of the way. That didn’t help with calming you down either. Every inch of you was burning up at the thought of being outside Jackson again. Having to relive that nightmare all over again. At least it was nice out, but the hollowed out homes and burnt cars were anything but soothing.

Joel’s silence was disheartening. You knew he was upset at you. In truth, you hadn’t really talked to anyone you were close with in the past three months. You blissfully shut out everyone you were close to and had meaningless conversations with mere acquaintances at the bar. People came by and checked in on you, but you almost always pretended you weren’t home, or you lied and said Mark was sleeping.

Joel deserved an explanation for your disappearance, you were avoiding him, but you weren’t avoiding him because of something he had done. The explaining section was the hard part, you weren’t sure where to begin or even when you should. Joel would listen. That was given, you just weren’t sure you were ready to open up just yet.

When you finally arrived at the nest after a solemn ride, your breath hitched at the side of your old spot. It had been longer than three months that you had been there. It was your favorite nest to shoot out of. Secluded, hard to get to, views of all roads leading to the small perch.

Joel hopped down from Caesar and hitched him on the tree, you followed suit. You took a small sugar cube out of your old saddle bag and gave it to her. Levia was a spoiled horse.

You walked up the steep hill to where Tommy was waiting, when you finally saw him you smiled. Your worries drifting away momentarily.

“Damn girl, didn’t think you would ever show up,” Tommy joked, holding out his arms for a hug.

“Didn’t think I was going to either. Maria convinced me to,” You laughed, hugging him tightly.

“My wife is a convincing one, that’s for sure,” Tommy chuckled as he began walking over to the nest. Joel leaned against a tree watching you two interact. Tommy nodded to Joel. You pulled the rifle off your shoulder and kneeled down on the wooden hut that was on the side of the hill. Tommy kneeled down next to you. The rifle’s weight was strange and clunky. It used to feel so natural in your hand, but now it felt like you were holding a stick.

“See them over there?” Tommy pointed towards the tree line. You pulled out your binoculars and looked at the group of infected. A couple of runners and two clickers.

“That’s all of them?” You hissed out. Why were there so few?

“So far. Spotted some more earlier, but they disappeared into the forest, we might be able to draw them out from the gunfire.” Tommy eyed you, speaking quietly.

“There’s six infected and it’s a two man job? Come on Tommy, you could have taken these out within ten minutes,” You huffed, pulling your rifle up to your shoulder and looking out the scope.

“I promise there’s more. I saw at least three.”

“Three? There’s only three more?” You stared at Tommy. Things were beginning to make less and less sense..

“There’s more by the north lookout,” Tommy explained. You sighed and picked up a bullet from the box Tommy had brought over. Feeling a bullet in your hand sent your nerves racing. There was suddenly a loud buzzing in your ear, growing increasingly louder and louder.

“You have to stay silent. If they see you, they’ll kill you.”

You blinked and it was gone. Whispers of a memory that would forever be etched into your mind. “Tommy, will you, take the first one?” You looked up at him with wide eyes, your voice vacant. Tommy nodded with an understanding look and took his own rifle and lined up his shot on a runner near the tree line. He pushed out the breath from his lungs and shot. You looked away, wincing, as the bullet hit its mark.

“Your turn,” Tommy said, resting his rifle on the wooden perch.

You gulped and slowly picked up your rifle, hiking it up to your shoulder. You gently picked up a bullet from the box without looking, you loaded it into the chamber. You looked out into scope, staring down at the infected below. It had been a while since you had seen infected. They were almost hard to look at, their bloody torn faces and mechanical moving bodies. It was saddening. They were people once too.

You lined up your shot. You let out all your breath, your finger over the trigger, and pulled it. You felt the recoil before you heard the shot. The burst of noise sounded like a scream. A warning. You weren’t supposed to be out here.

You immediately pushed the gun down, you fell back to the floor, crawling away from the gun. Panic rose in your chest, you tried your hardest to quell it, but nothing worked, fear outweighed everything when there was nothing else there. Tommy rushed to your side, he was concerned.

Your eyes were wide, and terror ripped through you like a wave, pulling you under. Joel noticed too, he came over quickly. Joel or Tommy asked you something, but you could barely hear. It was too loud, the ringing in your ears sounded like a terrible screaming alarm.

“Oh my god,” You choked out, eyes unfocusing. Tears threatening to spill from your eyes in heavy droplets.

“Hey, hey, snap out of it,” Joel gently shook you. You pulled your arm away from him quickly. You glared at him without thinking.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened,” You said, you put your hands on the cool grass in an attempt to ground yourself.

“Well it’s okay, I think we’ll head back to the north lookout for a little while, until you calm down, that okay?” Tommy asked you, looking at you with sympathy.

You still weren’t calm, it felt like a scream was waiting to be pulled out, but if you tried, no sound would come. Instead there was silence. Not a single sound in the world.

“Yeah, yeah,” You replied quickly, springing yourself up from the ground and brushing the dirt off from your pants. Tommy and Joel shared a look. Tommy picked up the guns from behind you, you reached out to take yours but Tommy resisted.

Joel unhitched the horses for you while you waited, holding your arms and taking in deep shuddering breaths. You knew exactly what came over you, it was foolish to agree to this stupid patrol. Tommy could have easily done it himself and you wouldn’t have had to make a mockery of yourself.

Joel led Levia over to you, and helped you up to the saddle. You had something to hold on to now, which was much better than before. Tommy got on his own horse and waited for Joel to hop on Caesar. When everyone was situated, you headed off towards the north lookout.

•••

The ride was silent on the way there, luckily it was only an hour away. Anymore silence would have made your head hurt. You still weren’t entirely calm, you were still outside of Jackson, your job wasn’t done here yet.

When the large building came into view you suddenly remembered all the good times you had there.

You hitched Levia at the front of the lookout and walked in, Joel and Tommy following you.

“You wanna tell us what the hell happened back there?” Joel asked while you walked down, setting your bag down at the table.

“No. I don’t want to talk about it,” You sighed. You weren’t in the mood for another argument. Why did Joel always have to pry?

“Okay well, Joel and I will get out of your hair for awhile, I think Ellie should be nearby, actually, we’ll go get her,” Tommy said from behind you. He hit Joel on the arm for that last comment.

“Ellie’s nearby?” You asked, plopping down on the couch. You noticed her guitar then.

“Yep, she’s been waiting to hang out with you, you know? Been awhile since she’s seen you,” Tommy responded, you could hear him grabbing something from the kitchen.

“She has?” Both you and Joel said at the same time. You glanced over at Joel, your eyebrow raised, he simply shrugged.

“Course she has. You’re like a mother to that girl,” Tommy said, looking through the cabinets. That was true of course, when things got rough in general for her, Ellie was the one she came to talk to. Someone who wasn’t related to Joel — or an in law, someone who wasn’t close with her friends, just an outside force in her life. It was good to have someone like that.

Tommy threw something on the couch next to you, you were startled for a moment. Upon examination, you realized it was a candy bar.

“Found Mark’s stash up here a few weeks back. Hid it for you,” Tommy told you. Joel was silent.

“Thanks.” You opened up the candy bar. It was Mark’s favorite. He always said that a person could be having the worst day of their life, and all they would need was a candy bar to make it good again. You weren’t sure how true it was — but candy did make you happier.

“We’ll be going out now, you best not go anywhere, alright?”

“I won’t be going anywhere, Tommy.”

•••

“Seriously Joel? The hell is going on with you two?”

“Ask her. She’s only avoided me for the past three goddamn months, and suddenly on my first day off in weeks, I have to escort her to a place she knows damn well where it is? Seems pretty damn fishy to me,” Joel scoffed. Caesar galloped besides Tommy’s horse, they were getting closer to the Ottawa Lookout, where Ellie was at.

“You know what today was supposed to be for her, Joel?” Tommy asked Joel.

“No, you really think I’m told much of anything that goes on about her anymore?”

“Today was supposed to be a test. See how well she could do back on patrol, ease her back into this, and Joel, you aren’t making this much easier for her,” Tommy glared at his brother as they traveled across the forest to the lookout.

Joel’s brow furrowed, “A test? The hell for?”

“You really are as dumb as rocks, big brother. It’s not my place to say. Maybe you should confront her about it instead of bickering and causing her to panic. Even a goddamn clicker could see that you were making her uncomfortable.”

“And you think I haven’t tried asking her where she’s been for the past three months?”

“Knowing you Joel, I’m sure you didn’t ask. More like yelled,” Tommy bit back. Joel was more than willing to continue the argument, but the Ottawa lookout came into view. It was a smaller building, that was once a home, on a steep hill that faced Jackson.

Ellie’s horse, Shimmer was waiting outside. Ellie was on the front porch with a journal.

“Hey guys,” Ellie called out.

Joel and Tommy waved to her as they got off their horses.

“Let’s go inside for a bit. Got some things I want to discuss,” Tommy said.

“Sure,” Ellie grabbed her notebook and headed in. She sat down at the table that faced the many windows, Joel and Tommy pulling up a chair to sit with her.

“How’d it go? Didn’t expect you guys to be back so soon.” Ellie rested her hands on her thighs, waiting for an answer.

“Can’t say it went well so far. I think we’ll go back out tomorrow, or maybe later today,” Tommy shrugged. Ellie gave him a knowing look.

“Wait, you’re telling me Ellie’s on this too?” Joel asked, leaning forward onto the table.

“Yeah? I mean, I thought you were too,” Ellie said, raising her eyebrows in confusion.

“Maria decided two people would be enough. She wanted to ease into it, get her around people who don’t piss her off immensely,” Tommy replied, glancing over to Joel.

Joel huffed before replying, “We butt heads sometimes, sure, but I don’t piss her off all that much.”

“All that much? Joel, I saw how uncomfortable she was riding with you.” Tommy shook his head. The sun was high in the sky now, the windows allowing light to come through.

“And Mark couldn’t have come out here instead of me, why?” Joel asked Tommy. He was only becoming more and more confused.

“Mark’s out of commission right now, but it don’t matter. I know you care about her Joel, I know she cares about you too but Maria just wanted to test the waters first. It was supposed to be your day off too, she didn’t want to assign you to a small job like this.”

“Yeah, why are you even here?” Ellie said curiously.

“Maria asked me to escort her. If Maria didn’t want me out here, why’d she ask me to come?”

“Y/N insisted you come. Maria told me that she said that she needed someone she could trust out here. Someone who she could count on,” Tommy said.

“Count on? And she can’t count on you guys?”

“She can’t count on us in the way only you could,” Tommy replied slowly, he leaned back into his chair.

Joel nodded, it was all starting to click in place.

“Still doesn’t make much sense why she doesn’t want to go on patrols anymore.”

“I’m not really sure either,” Ellie chimed in.

“Not mine or Maria’s place to say. If you want to hear why, maybe ask her, but be careful, I hear it’s a delicate subject.”

•••

[naomiidaniielle]

Our Whiskey Lullaby

Rating: Non-Explicit Word count: 1.9k~ Warnings: Major angst w/ a little bit of happiness at the end, crude language, mention of character death. (Joel x f!reader) Author’s Note: This prompt was heavily inspired when I listened to the song Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley ft. Alison Krauss. I recommend you listen while you read~ :) “Yeah, give me a moment!” you shout from the shed door. You grunt from the heavy weight of the old metal door, finally managing to open it. The dust swarms around your head and you cough from it entering your lungs. “Ellie, I thought you said you cleaned it out?” you yell back towards the house but no response came back to you. You sigh before turning to walk inside the shed. Tools, guns, and wall posters decorate the old shack and you couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t believe all this stuff is still here.” your hand caresses the old wooden workshop table against the wall with band posters hanging above.  On top of the table lays a guitar case and a confused expression draws on your face as you wipe the dust off of it. Your hands are slow and precise when you reach to open the case, the top coming up with a ‘pop’. “Is this...?” your voice trails off when you recognize the familiar shimmering instrument in the black case. You pull back like you were burned by the sudden image and your breathing turns short. “Shit...” you curse, covering your mouth and throwing glances back to the house. A pained groan escapes your lips from swallowing the lump in your throat, turning back to the guitar. The lid is lifted up a little more and you take in the gorgeous design. You remember all those haunted, sleepless nights where Joel would play you a soft lullaby to bring you serenity. The lingering thought made your heart squeeze in your chest when you bring the guitar out. A shaky breath escapes you lips, pulling the stool close to your body to sit down. All was quiet as your eyes glare down to the guitar in your hands and you prop it up on your leg. You strum a little with the strings, not really knowing how to play but remembered the basic chords Joel showed you. There was a chord sheet and you hesitate. Whiskey Lullaby, a song that Joel had played for you.  The notes were soft and clear, echoing in the small shack. You swallow nervously as you felt the pressure of messing it up but you did as Joel always told you. Take it slow. She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette She broke his heart; he spent his whole life tryin' to forget. Joel’s eyes burn into you as you stand before him. You huddle close to Ellie, feeling the pressure start to settle down on you. “What the hell is this?” Joel growls, looking to Marlene. Tess had the same sort of expression, a demanding glare at the wounded woman. Marlene gasps as her wound festers and burns under her hand, panting softly. “Listen...I know this isn’t something you signed up for...” “Damn straight it ain’t!” Joel shouts, making Ellie and you flinch. “I didn’t sign up to become your fucking babysitter. Have someone else do it. C’mon, Tess.” he goes to walk out, Tess lingering behind. “Tess?” Tess glances to Joel, biting the inside of her cheek. “And if we do it?” “You get the weapons.” Marlene answers her immediately. “You’ve gotta be fucking-” Joel grumbles in annoyance, before looking to you and Ellie. “this better be worth the trouble.” The memory floods your mind as you continue to play the song, tears already burning at your eyes.  We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind Until the night Ellie raises a brow as she pulls one of Joel’s guns out of his backpack. You smirk right next to her. “You should probably put that back, El.” “Hold on, I just wanna hold it a little- hey!” she shouts as the gun was ripped from her hands. “What the fuck, dude?” Joel towers above you and Ellie with an accusatory finger pointed at the both of you. “Don’t be goin’ through my things. Theses ain’t for kids.” he stuffs the gun back into his backpack. “Hey,” you jump up to defense and march over to face Joel. “you need to stop treating us like fucking kids. How are we supposed to defend ourselves out there? With our minds?” Joel stares down at you before brushing past you. “I don’t have time for this, kid.” You scowl at him with a huff and incoherent mutter, asshole. A shuddered breath pushes through your lips as you play in raw emotion, all you could think about was Joel’s face. It felt like he was right there beside, a comforting hand on your shoulder. He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger And finally drank away her memory Life is short but this time it was bigger Than the strength he had to get up off his knees “How could you just leave her like that?” you shout at Joel, pointing back down to where Tess had stayed behind to hold the military back.  Joel ignores you as he continues to trek on, Ellie standing in between you two with a worried expression. “Hey! I’m talking to you asshole!” you scream at him as you run up to him and shove him harshly, tears gathering up in your eyes. “How...could you just leave her behind like that?” “She was infected! We couldn’t help her anyway so I gave her what she wanted! She didn’t want to be turned!” Joel yells back at you, making you take a step back. “You think I wanted to leave her behind? I didn’t have a fuckin’ choice, y/n!”  Your chest rises and falls quickly as tears stream down your face. Ellie rushes to your side when you feel your legs try and give out. “C’mon, let’s go.” Joel voice cracks and he turns to walk on. We found him with his face down in the pillow With a note that said 'I'll love her 'til I die' And when we buried him beneath the willow The angels sang a whiskey lullaby “Joel?” you shout his name, sprinting as fast as you can from the pack of runners trailing behind you. “Joel, do something!” Joel grabs your hand and pulls you to run faster, taking you by surprise when a runner nearly tackles you to the ground. “Just keep runnin’! Don’t look back!” he instructs you and you nimbly nod, fear racking your whole body. “Don’t worry, I won’t let go.” The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath She finally drank her pain away a little at a time But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind Until the night You wake with a sudden jolt as you felt the pain flash before your eyes. The living nightmares that haunt you every night broke you down and you let out a blood curling cry. “Y/n?” Joel’s voice bursts through your room and he hurries to your side and kneels down beside you. “Y/n, y/n, what’s wrong?” he asks you softly as you rock back and forth. “It hurts, Joel...it fucking hurts...” you whimper as you cradle your head to block the screams and voices out. “make them stop.” Joel frowns at how much you were in pain and he brings you into his arms. “It’s okay, baby girl. It’s okay, I’m here.” he whispers to you, his fingers brushing through your hair. You held onto him as you cried.  She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger And finally drank away his memory Life is short but this time it was bigger Than the strength she had to get up off her knees You lay there on the cot, watching Joel as he strums away on his guitar, trying to remember all the notes. “Are you sure you know how to play?” you tease him. ”Haha, very funny. It’s been awhile, okay.” Joel scoffs, glancing back at you. “Give me a minute.” You hum, rolling onto your back as you listen to him play around with the chords. Soon enough he starts playing a song and it nearly knocked the breath out of you. You say nothing as he plays you the song, tears pooling in your eyes as it spread peace over you like a blanket. Joel stops singing but turns to look back at you. “How was that?” You nod your head, already feeling sleep consume you. “What’s...it called?” you yawn and curl up into a ball. Joel strums the chords on the guitar, silent for a moment. “It’s called Whiskey Lullaby.” he didn’t see it, but you were smiling. We found her with her face down in the pillow Clinging to his picture for dear life We laid her next to him beneath the willow While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby You didn’t know you could run so fast. Your legs and lungs burned but you didn’t care as you ran as fast as you could push yourself. All you had on your mind were Ellie and Joel. “Ellie? Joel?” you call for them as you burst into the base, looking around for them. You hear something in one of the rooms and you jog over, slamming the door open. Ellie was laying on the floor, trying to push herself up off the ground. “Ellie? Are you okay? What happened?” You couldn’t understand what she said but all she could do was point and you look in the direction she was trying to tell you. Your heart dropped all the way down to your feet as you slowly stand up. You were nauseous and your ears were ringing. “J-Joel?” The image of his body on the ground, bloody and beaten were engraved in your head as you fall to your knees. “J-Joel! Get u-up!” you crawl over to him, shaking his cold body to wake up but nothing happened. “Joel!” Your hands come to a stop, the chords hanging over you head. A hand flies up to your mouth, to stiffle your sobs. The guitar falls from your lap and onto the ground as you hunch forward. It felt like you couldn’t breath. You cry out in desperation for him. In that moment, you could feel a hand on your shoulder and you quickly recognized who it was. You regain control over your sobs as you sit up straight. “I struggled for a long time with survivin’, and no matter what, you keep finding something to fight for.” His words rattle in your head and you felt that same kind of peace when you were caught up in the darkest of nights. You wipe your eyes, a smile growing on your face. “Okay, Joel.” you pick up the guitar and place it back in its case. The chord sheets for Whiskey Lullaby lays there and you grab a pencil, writing something down quickly before laying the pencil down. “Y/n, is everything okay?” you hear Ellie shout to you from the house. You smile, turning your head slowly towards the door. “Yeah, everything is just perfect.” you turn the lights off and walk to the door, looking back inside one more time. The door closes with a soft click and the chord sheet flutters from the blocked wind. Our Whiskey Lullaby.