omg okay I have a hurt/comfort request (I loooove all your writing btw 💕💕)
So reader goes with Tai and Van on the expedition south, and ends up with a leg scratch, however they hide it whilst helping Van back, because it’s ‘less important’.
When half the group arrives back to tell the others that Van is injured they go out instantly, Nat sorta notices the readers slow pace but didn’t think much of it.
Once they’re all back at the cabin and watching Van get patched up, the reader sits down, deathly pale from blood loss, Nat realises something is really wrong and she’s worried sick 😣
She gets you to admit to you leg wound and rolls up your jeans to see how bad it is and her face visibly drops. Reader prepares themselves for harshness but Nat is so sweet and gentle and worried, she can’t even comprehend scolding.
Nat bandages the wound and comforts the readers pain so sweetly, (being like “I know, I know it hurts, I’m nearly done”) and gets her to bed etc, reader falls asleep with her head in Nats lap
It's Gonna Be Okay, Baby
Summary: Your explorative trip ended worse than imagined, and your girlfriend helps patch you up.
Warnings: canon typical depictions of violence, injury, and mentions of death (nobody dies dw), mentions of nausea and vomiting, mentions of passing out
Thank you anon, for the compliment! It means a lot :)
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You stood in the cabin, alone with Natalie as the rest of the girls stood outside, waiting to send everyone off.
"Y/n, please. Stay here. I want you here." Natalie was practically begging you, but you'd already made up your mind. You were going. Going wit Tai and Van and the others. You had to.
"I'm going with them. Taissa's finally doing something, and I'm not leaving her. I know that you can't go, that you have to find food for the others. But this is my way of helping. You can see that, right?" You take her hands in yours, squeezing them gently.
"They'll be fine without you, please. I'm sure they'll be alright. I just-" She inhales, composing herself. "I just want to make sure that you'll be safe."
"I will. But I'm going to be safe out there, finding help. I have to do this."
For a moment, it looks like she's going to keep arguing, that defiant look still in her eyes. But she softens after a moment, nodding. She knows that this is important to you, that you want to do what you can for the good of everyone. That didn't make the fact that you were leaving her hurt any less.
You almost say it for the first time. I love you. The words are on the tip of your tongue. They have been ever since you crashed, ever since you kissed that first time in the middle of the night, both of you unable to sleep. The two of you'd been dancing around romance for months, and it took a goddammed plane crash to get you to admit your feelings.
Instead, you opted for silence and a hug tighter than any you'd given her before. You hoped that it conveyed everything you were thinking.
I love you. I need you. I promise everything will be alright. I'll be back.
She hugged back, hands grasping at the back of your t-shirt. When you pulled away from the hug, she looked at you for a moment, seemingly drinking you in. Like she wanted to commit every part of you to memory.
The two of you walked outside, Natalie trailing behind you. Tai and the others who decided to come with her were already in the midst of saying goodbyes. Van comes up to hug Natalie, and you move to find Shauna and Lottie.
Lottie finds you first, pulling you in for a tight hug.
"Stay safe, okay? I don't have the best feeling about you leaving." She sounds genuinely terrified, and you squeeze your arms around her reassuringly.
"We'll be fine, Lot. Nothing's going to happen to us." You release her from the hug, and spot Shauna a few feet away.
She gives a small smile as you approach, and you return the look. Unlike Lottie, she doesn't say anything, just gives you a quick hug. Shauna's never been overly sappy or sentimental, but you know she loves you.
Once everyone had said their goodbyes, you turned to start your trek south. Before you can fully leave the clearing, Nat grabs your wrist to pull you into another hug. It doesn't say as much as the one you shared inside the cabin, since everyone was around. But you felt the love in it nonetheless.
When she pulled away, you give her another quick smile and turn to follow the rest of the group. You don't want to be too far behind.
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In front of you, Tai and Van chattered on about horror movies and the bone necklace Lottie gave to Van. You couldn't help but feel jealous that your own girlfriend wasn't there. Not that there was any solid confirmation from either of them that they were together, but you knew. They were always sneaking off together, always glued to the hip, always coming back from foraging with puffy lips and messed up hair. It was endearing, in a way.
Part of you wanted to be upset that Taissa hadn't at least told you about the relationship, but it wasn't like you had revealed to her your own sexuality, let alone your relationship with Nat. So you let it slide. Everyone was entitled to their own secrets.
With Taissa occupied by Van, and Mari and Akilah being attached at the hip, that left you with Misty to talk to or to be alone with your thoughts. You chose the latter. Not that you disliked Misty, but she could be a lot to deal with sometimes. You were already preoccupied enough, you didn't need to end up snapping at Misty and have everyone pissy at you.
So, you walked alone with your thoughts. Thoughts about what might happen on this trip, thoughts about what Lottie was saying earlier about having a "bad feeling". But mostly, you thought about Nat and what she might be doing right now. Hunting, probably. She didn't do much else. She could be talking to Shauna, or more likely Lottie, or even Coach. It was a little upsetting knowing that she wasn't here with you, but you also knew she had a responsibility to the rest of the team. She was their hunter, even if there wasn't much to hunt anymore.
All of a sudden, you felt your foot catch on something and you lurch forward, stumbling right into Van. Luckily, she catches you, and she's laughing.
"God, fuck, I'm an idiot. I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry, Van." By now, you're smiling, too, and you can hear giggles from behind you.
"You didn't twist your ankle, did you? It'd kind of suck if someone had to be your crutch until we found civilization," she joked, clearly not upset at all.
you right yourself and do a quick assessment, noting that everything felt and looked fine. "I think I'm good. I'll pay more attention, promise."
With that, you all continued on for a couple more hours before the sun began to set. Mari and Misty started a fire, and everyone else just sat around the firepit, getting warm and comfortable. Well, as comfortable as you can get in the middle of the woods.
After a few beats of silence, Van starts to tell everyone the plot of some rom-com that she had watched. It was entertaining to hear about, especially since you hadn't seen a movie in months, and the one she wad describing was one you hadn't watched. She rattled on for was probably twenty to thirty minutes. Not that you had much sense of time out here, especially at night.
Then, you heard it. Wolves. Everyone froze for a moment, remembering Coach Ben's words from months ago.
"Wolves are scared of humans. Plus, they sound pretty far away. No one has to worry," Tai assured everyone, her words sounding so firm nothing could convince you that they weren't true.
"You know who does have to worry? Our girl Sandy." Van quickly goes back to her retelling of the movie, and you relax a bit. By the time she finishes explaining the plot, everyone seems ready to go to sleep. You volunteer to take first watch, knowing it would be easier for you to stay awake rather than have to wake up later.
As everyone else fell asleep, you sat with your thoughts. It started to hit you that this might not have been your best idea, but it was too late to back out now. You missed Natalie, you missed the warmth of all the other girls in the cabin, you missed feeling at least a little bit safe. You honestly wished you were still trekking through the woods, because at least then everyone would be awake.
Taking a deep breath, you try to calm your racing nerves. Everything was fine. You were doing this to find help, and you weren't going to go back empty-handed. They needed you. Natalie needed you.
So you watched, and you waited, and you stayed awake until it physically felt impossible for you not to fall asleep. When you knew you couldn't keep your eyes open much longer, you gently shook Taissa awake.
"Tai... Taissa, wake up. It's your turn." She barely moved, and you were surprised. It wasn't that Tai was normally a light sleeper, but if someone intended to wake her up, it was never this difficult. You knew that, often sharing a room with her, both for away games and sleepovers.
"Taissa. Tai." With that, she finally woke up, still a bit groggy.
"Sorry, Tai, really. But I can't stay awake any longer."
She just stares at you for a moment before slowly sitting up, nodding as she does. It almost feels as if you're back home, waking her up for breakfast at one of your many sleepovers. Almost.
You shoot her a grateful smile and curl up on the ground, begging for sleep to take you. It does, quickly, and you're relieved for that.
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The next morning, everyone wakes up only a bit worse for wear. Dirt on the arms, hair messy, mouths tasting like shit. Not much you can do now, but it's still a slight annoyance.
It doesn't take much to get everyone moving, the promise of finding help nudging you along. The morning goes by largely uneventfully, a little less chatter and a little slower than yesterday, but you move.
That is, until you find the dark red stream. The water honestly just looks brown to you, but Van's paranoia about Lottie's dream isn't helpful for morale, but neither is Taissa's outburst. Sometimes you wonder how the two of them could possibly fit together the way that they do, but somehow it works.
The afternoon brings a little more tension, now tired and already grumpy. No one is talking, save for Misty, and it's honestly driving you a bit insane. But you suck it up and smile, trying to bring everyone's mood up, at least a bit.
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You take first watch again tonight, to avoid a fight between Tai and Van on who should get to sleep first. It largely goes the same as the night before, trying to stay awake as long as you can to help the girls to sleep for longer, waking Tai up before falling dead asleep.
It's only about an hour later when it happens. First, of course, you hear Van's screams. It takes a moment to process what's going on, and when you do, you immediately jump into action with the others. Fighting off the wolves. You don't know how long you're like that before Taissa appears, finally scaring them away, but by then it's too late.
Van's dead.
Building the pyre, you almost feel numb. Nothing is going on inside your head, except for mild grief at the loss of a friend. So, it's no surprise that you don't notice the large gash on your upper thigh. The adrenaline coursing through you blocks away the pain.
When you do notice, it's an easy decision to cover it up. You'd be fine, it wasn't that bad. Honestly, it barely hurt. That's what you told yourself, anyways.
So, you change your pants before Van's makeshift funeral.
"Really?" Van chokes awake, sputtering on her own blood. "Fire?"
In an Instant, Taissa is hysterical, and everyone is moving Van off of the lit pyre. Part of you is relieved, the other terrified.
Misty helps Taissa to wrap Van's face as best as possible, and you again forget about the pain in your leg. When you start moving back to the cabin, you can barely feel it, you're so focused on getting Van back alive.
"Just leave me here to die." It hits you like a punch to the gut, and you can't imagine how it feels for Tai.
"No. We're getting you back there." Taissa is firm, and you're grateful for her. When she tells the four of you to go on, you do it.
In hindsight, you aren't even sure how you managed to make it back. Your jeans were soaked with blood, a combination of both yours and Van's.
You practically collapse into Natalie when you see her, only managing to get out "Van," before trying to drag her into the woods. Luckily, Misty and Akilah seem to be more eloquent, explaining to the rest of the Yellowjackets what happened.
It doesn't take long for everyone to get moving, wasting no time in trying to find Taissa and Van.
"Van!"
"Tai!"
"Taissa!"
You join in on the yelling, trying to keep up with everyone else. your leg is beginning to really hurt now, but you force yourself to keep pushing. Van needs you.
"Is she okay? She's limping," Natalie asks Akilah, voice low, as if she doesn't want you to hear.
"She tripped the other day, it might just be because of that. I'm sure she's fine." Suddenly, you're grateful for your fall. You didn't need someone freaking out over you instead of Van.
It isn't long after that you find them, curled up together on the forest floor. Taissa looks determined, more determined than she ever has before. And Van looks horrible. But with the help of Shauna and Natalie, she stands enough to drag her back to the cabin.
The stitches are the worst part. Everyone holding her down, the screams. You want to cover your ears and cry, but you don't. You hold Van down as she gets her stitches, and when she's done, you all but collapse on the floor.
Natalie comes to sit next to you, wrapping her arm around your shoulder.
"Hey. Are you okay? I noticed that you were limping earlier. And you've got blood all over you." She looks concerned, but you brush her off.
"It's Van's. And I tripped the other day." Neither thing was a lie, but it definitely wasn't the truth either.
"Y/n, seriously. You're pale as shit, you're limping. Just let me check your leg, okay?" She looks at you, and you immediately cave. It's easier to just pull off your pants, and by this point everyone has seen your underwear anyway.
She looks genuinely terrified, and you brace yourself for harshness, for "I told you so" or "Why wouldn't you say anything?" or "How could you be so stupid?"
Instead, Natalie softens, looking more worried than you'd ever seen her, save for the plane crash. She inspects the gash, noting the length and depth of it. You don't want to look, knowing how ugly it had looked before, sure it was worse now.
"Shit, fuck, okay. Relax, I'm going to get Misty or Akilah, and they can sew it up for you. It's gonna be okay, baby." She squeezes your hand softly before finding Akilah and the same needle and thread used on Van. She also brings water, and a stick for you to bite down on.
You take the water gratefully, sipping it slowly. The blood loss is making you dizzy and nauseous. While passing out could be a blessing when getting stitches, vomiting wouldn't be.
Nat sits beside you again, holding your hand as Akilah starts the stitches. You cry out, gripping Natalie's hand tightly.
"Shh, it's okay, it's going to be fine, you've got this." She keeps whispering soft, reassuring words to you, and you've never been more grateful for her in your life.
The stitches make you feel ten times worse, and it takes all your strength not to lose consciousness. You focus on Natalie next to you, trying to match her slow, steady breathing. It helps a little, and so does the fact that she's still telling you how strong you are, how amazing you're doing.
Finally, Akilah finishes, and you breathe a sigh of relief.
"You should wrap it up with a clean bandage," Akilah says to Natalie, and you know she means with a strip of cloth. Nat nods, grabbing one of her own t-shirts and ripping a strip from it.
"I'm gonna have to touch it, I'm sorry." She genuinely looks so sad, but you're grateful for the help.
"No, it's okay." When she hears you, she just nods again before wrapping the cloth around the wound. You wince, but the sting is mild compared to all that you'd been through in the past 24 hours.
Nat sits next to you again, and you're so exhausted that you don't care who sees you. You lie your head in Natalie's lap, and she immediately starts running her hand over your hair. It's nice, soft and intimate, something not readily available in the Wilderness. You drink all of it in, the way her thighs feel under your head, the way her hand feels on your hair.
"I love you." The words are firm, like they're the realest thing in this place. You feel Natalie's breath hitch for a second, but you don't have time to worry about what it could mean.
"I love you too." She leans down to press a kiss to your temple, and you swear this is heaven.
It doesn't take long after that to fall asleep, feeling safer than you have in months.
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