WIP Wednesday
Look at me posting two days in a row! The beans are slowly returning from their disappearance, I can feel it!
This snippet of Frostpunk AU is a little longer and I probably shouldn't be sharing all of it because remaining mysterious and all that, but fuck it. I'm just proud of myself for having written something lol.
There’s a slight rustle as his tent flaps are pulled back, and Buck’s legs jostle as a weight sinks onto the end his bed, a firm hand curling around his shin.
“Hey Bobby,” Buck croaks, his voice rough and frayed, like a well worn piece of material.
“Hey kid. You doing okay?”
Buck opens his eyes and is met with the warm, brown eyes of his adopted father, full of care and concern. Bobby cocks his head, waiting for a response.
“No,” Buck says quietly, and he rolls onto his side, curling his legs up towards his body. He wraps his arms around his knees and lets out a shaky sigh. “No, I’m not, but I don’t know why. I can’t get them out of my head, Bobby! Why can’t I let them go?”
He angles his head up towards Bobby, looking at him with pleading eyes, and Bobby sighs, moving to stretch himself beside Buck. It’s reminiscent of when he was younger and was plagued with nightmares. Bobby would bring Buck into his and Athena’s bed and the small boy would cling to Bobby’s chest as he whispered stories into Buck’s hair, until the trembling stopped, and his breathing evened out.
“I never did tell you how I found you and Maddie, did I? You were so young, I wasn’t sure if you remembered…” Bobby says, shifting beside Buck as he gets into a comfortable position. His muscles must be in a similar state to Buck’s if not worse, so it’s any wonder it takes him a moment to settle.
“C’mere.”
Buck turns, his body relaxing as he sees Bobby’s outstretched arm, and he settles into his father’s side, head resting against his chest, just like the old days.
“I understand how you’re feeling,” Bobby begins, his hand skimming up Buck’s arm as he squeezes him closer. “We never meant to find you and Maddie. I was out on a scouting mission with Athena, and we were looking for my fa– for some people who were lost in a storm. We’d barely made it a day out of the city before we found you two.”
Bobby shivers, as though the memory were transporting him back in time. For Buck, he has flashes of his childhood before Sector 118, small moments of discomfort as he remembers harsh words, cold looks, and lonely nights. He nods, signalling for Bobby to continue.
“We found you two wrapped up together. Maddie had tried to dig you into a drift to conserve heat but had gotten too tired, so she’d stopped. If we hadn’t found you –“
Bobby’s voice breaks and his grip on Buck’s shoulders tighten, pulling him in closer. Buck lets out a small noise in the back of his throat and allows Bobby to pull him in, chin digging into the top of Buck’s head. They lie there, both shaking slightly as Bobby relives the past and Buck fears for the future.
Bobby takes a deep breath before he finally continues. “I didn’t leave your bedside for a week. Athena had to drag me away to eat. I barely slept. You were just some kid I’d rescued, but for some reason I couldn’t leave you. Either of you”
Bobby hums out a small laugh and Buck feels it reverberate through his chest, reminding him of how Bobby used to laugh as Buck would try and tickle him after he’d calmed down from his nightmares. It’s oddly comforting.
“So I know exactly what you’re going through. There’s no rhyme or reason for it, Buck. You just have to let yourself feel it. Be there for them. We’ll all support you.”
No pressure tagging @theotherbuckley @hippolotamus @watchyourbuck @puppyboybuckley @daffi-990 @exhuastedpigeon @disasterbuckdiaz @spotsandsocks @rainbow-nerdss @wildlife4life @buckbuckgoose @bucksbackwardcap @evanbegins @cal-daisies-and-briars @fortheloveofbuddie @spagheddiediaz @steadfastsaturnsrings @loserdiaz @giddyupbuck @aroeddiediaz @jesuisici33 @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @kitteneddiediaz @elvensorceress @thekristen999 @actuallyitsellie @wikiangela @smilingbuckley @epicbuddieficrecs @underwater-ninja-13 @shortsighted-owl @loveyouanyway
72 notes
·
View notes
Before Wayne had Eddie, he had Herbie.
They were fairly similar; both were standoffish at first, peeking into the room to see if Wayne was there before scurrying away to hide somewhere, being found later sleeping curled up in a little ball.
The difference was that Herbie was a cat.
Herbie had taught Wayne many things, but most of all, patience. When he had first found him outside the trailer, hiding behind the trash cans, Herbie had hissed at him whenever Wayne had dared to come near him.
Wayne had tried everything. Like luring him out with food and milk and even making those ridiculous cooing noises that older women used to make with their cats. But to no avail.
Putting some leftovers on a plate and leaving it just outside the door every night had done the trick. On the third day, Herbie had sniffed at it but scurried away. The fifth day, he licked it.
He ate the leftovers on the sixth day.
Two months later, he was waiting on the porch for Wayne, meowing and demanding his food. Herbie had been his cat ever since.
When Eddie had come to live with him, it had started in a similar way. Eddie didn't exactly hiss at him, but it was close.
But Wayne had learned his lesson and had given Eddie space. He offered food, clean clothes, a warm and comfortable bed. He offered Eddie a home, but let Eddie choose what to do with the offer.
Wayne thought that was something Eddie had not been allowed to do in a long time, maybe ever.
Life went on in the Munson household and they adjusted to each other. Much like Herbie had done years before, Eddie slowly begun to trust Wayne. They got along pretty well most days. He wished he could say the same for Eddie and Herbie.
On his first day, Eddie had tried to pet the cute fluffy cat on his uncle's windowsill. It hadn't gone well and they had avoided each other ever since.
That's why the sight of little Eddie standing in the living room having a staring contest with Herbie stops Wayne dead in his tracks.
He's not sure this will end well, but patience has been his cure for most things Eddie and Herbie, so he watches silently. He did not know what he was expecting, but nothing was happening.
"'Whatcha doin' there, kid?" He asks in a gruff voice, arms crossed and bushy eyebrows raised.
Eddie's eyes never leave Herbie's as he says, "He started it."
This makes Wayne chuckle and he decides that Eddie, like himself, might need a lesson in patience. Herbie was a good teacher. He walks past them and mumbles, "I'll leave you to it then."
It is not the last staring contest he will witness.
A few months later, Eddie starts middle school and Wayne is worried. Kids can be cruel, and cruelty is something Eddie has had enough of to last him a lifetime.
He withdraws again, gets quieter and turns into himself, much like he did when he first started living in the trailer. Wayne doesn't know what to do. He wants to tell Eddie that it will get better, that sometimes these things take time, but Eddie avoids him and hides in his room.
Herbie is the one who finally gets through to him.
Wayne comes home late from his shift at the plant, grimy and exhausted. Still, the first thing he does is go over to Eddie's room and check on the kid.
What he finds overwhelms him with the sheer amount of love and relief he feels. Eddie is fast asleep on his bed, his blanket up to his hips, his arms wrapped around a tabby ball of fur that's purring like the engine of a well-loved car.
There's a smile on Eddie's face and Wayne thinks everything's going to be okay.
349 notes
·
View notes