#eugenes leather jacket is a look!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

satuguro · 1 year

Text

✧*ೃ࿐ TONGUES & TEETH

[ ACT V: AN ANGEL'S FRAGILITY ]

xavier thorpe x valkyrie! reader

#SYNOPSIS— you and xavier go for a walk, you and enid think that tyler's an uber driver, and xavier needs to figure out his feelings.

#CONTAINS— enemies to fwb to lovers, slowburn, academic rivals, intimidating and flawed reader, familial issues (will be mentioned in this part), gore, blood, death, aged up characters (everyone is 18 except for eugene), sexual content (in this part & some other parts)

#AUTHORSNOTE— this took me longer to write for some reason but it's okay. thank you for all the support lately ily all xx

ACT I, ACT II, ACT III, ACT IV, ACT V, ACT VI

xavier didn’t like hospitals.

he didn't particularly spend a lot of his time in them, but when he did, he always hated it. the florescent lights, the strong smell of sickness and cleaner intermingled in the air, and the patients he passed by on the way to your room. all of them, either awake or asleep, had someone in the room with them; holding their hand, praying, talking with them. helping them.

he had to admit, it was awkward coming to visit you with weems. but weems offered to drive him so long as he kept a low profile about your condition, so he agreed to tag along. you were finally announced as stable after five days in the hospital; he guessed that having godly blood helped.

but while everyone had people in their rooms, all of them caring for their loved one so deeply, so tenderly, your room had only a black dahlia, a bouquet of baby's breath and lavender, and one of your mugs on a table.

the dahlia was from wednesday. the bouquet was from enid. xavier had brought you one of your own mugs the day prior.

but as he and weems entered the room, there was a woman standing at your right side. her hair was long and blonde, tied into a long dutch braid that reached all the way down to her hips. she wore a white turtleneck under a black trenchcoat and was the same height as weems. in her hands was your leather jacket from the night of your attack, now neatly sewn as though it hadn't been ripped to shreds.

none of your siblings looked like each other. you all had different mothers, but you all had odin's blood.

xavier placed his own gift next to their's; a random collection of your mugs from art class, and a pot you had made in pottery with a single white orchid in it. weems placed an envelope and a 'get well soon' balloon in the corner that xavier knew you'd poke fun at.

"you're one of y/n's sisters— eir, was it?" weems asked, approaching the valkyrie.

"yes. we met on y/n's first day." eir glanced at xavier, who only stood far behind weems. he looked perturbed, his jaw clenched as he sent daggers towards eir, but eir only sent him a kind smile before focusing on you again.

"i'm truly sorry for what has happened to your sister," weems continued, clasping her hands in front of her as she observed your sleeping face. "i'm sure that y/n has told you about her adventures—"

"it's all she ever truly talks about," eir laughed softly to herself, "she has always been drawn to trouble. even as a child— i'm sure you've seen it in her old forms."

"i have." an uncomfortable silence hovered in the air. the only thing that filled the quiet was the beeping of your monitor.

usually, when xavier came to visit you, he went alone or with enid. wednesday hadn't spoken a word to him since the attack.

xavier held you for what felt like hours. he rocked you back and forth as your sobs died down into sniffles. he pressed a quivering kiss to the top of your head as he breathed heavily in the cold. your hands were still wrapped around him, gripping his shirt.

until they fell at his sides, limp and lifeless.

"y/n? fuck, y/n?" xavier pulled you away from his chest to look at you. he desperately moved your hair from your face, his hands shaking violently as he held you in his arms. your eyes were shut, your face peaceful but lacking any sign of life. panic settled into his body as he shook you gently, careful not to move your wings. "y/n, answer me, c'mon," he pleaded, feeling the burn of tears behind his eyes.

your blood was everywhere; all over his hands, all over his pants and on his shirt. but the worst thing about feeling your blood wasn't that it was warm; it was that it was turning cold.

the sound of running footsteps on fallen leaves made him look up, a small sense of relief overcoming him when he saw wednesday with thornhill close in tow.

"get away from her," wednesday seethed, and with that, every ounce of relief disappeared from his body. she ran up to the other side of your body, her eyes widening at the sight of your snapped wings. "what did you do?!"

"you can't be serious, wednesday, she's dying!" xavier yelled, his eyes pleading for help as he fixed you in his arms. "we," he sniffed harshly, "we have to get her and eugene out of here. now."

"her wings will only bring her more pain," thornhill murmured, making xavier look at her in horror. eyes were set on something glinting in the distance, and she made her way towards it quickly. she returned with your sword in her hands, the weight heavy but manageable.

"no, you can't do that to her," xavier shook his head at he held you closer to him. it was a pathetic attempt to get you away as thornhill neared. "you can't cut off her wings ms. thornhill—"

"we need to do this, xavier. it will make it easier for us to get her to the hospital quicker." thornhill huffed as she raised the sword up, the weight far too heavy in her hands. it glinted in the moonlight menacingly, shining down on its owner. "i'm sure she'll understand."

"ms. thornhill, don't—" wednesday protested, but it was already too late.

thornhill let the sword fall on the elbow of your wings with a sickening thump. the sound of your bones and skin being cut seemed to echo in the woods like a haunting whisper. when one came off, the other followed.

"i'm going to visit eugene," weems said as she passed xavier, who could only nod as she left. yet again, there was that uncomfortable silence in the air as he stood in the room with eir. quietly, he moved to your other side as he peered at you.

you were so peaceful when you slept. your hair was a mess on the hospital white pillow, but it surrounded your head like a halo. your eyes were shut gently, and it looked as though you were only sleeping.

sometimes, xavier forgot you were quite literally an angel on earth.

your wings, now cut down to what xavier assumed was its elbow, was behind your back, completely bandaged. the hospital did everything they could to stop your wings from bleeding, but you lost so much blood; not only in the forest, but under their care. rumors circulated around school that you almost died.

"the nurses told me you and some girls visited her every day." eir spoke with a soft nordic accent, but she was easy to understand. she glanced at xavier with the same irises you had; calculating, strategic, and observant.

always on guard.

"the girls were enid and wednesday, her roommates." eir's eyebrows raised at his bitter tone, but said nothing as xavier continued. "i'm xavier. her.. friend."

eir placed the jacket in her hands on a nearby chair, smoothing it out as she left it. "it's our father's jacket," eir explained, her tone gentle, "he gave it to her years ago, when he saw her last." she turned to xavier, her eyes cold but her smile warm. "thank you for visiting her, xavier. i'm sure she'd be happy to know that you have come here every day—"

"where have you been?"

"excuse me?" eir blinked as she looked at xavier, who looked at her with a dirty look.

"you're her sister. one of nine, from what i heard from enid, and yet this is the first time i've seen anyone from her family visit," xavier scoffed, shaking his head to himself, "and only one of you showed up." his voice was pained; not for himself, but for you.

xavier knew what it was like to be lonely, to exist without the presence with others. he knew better than most how it felt to roam an empty home like a ghost, how it felt to be treated as though he wasn't even there. he knew how it felt to be in a room full of people and still be seen as nothing more than someone's shadow.

and to see you, someone who quite literally lost their wings over someone else, it pained him to see that it took your family nearly a week to appear.

"where's her dad— odin?"

"elsewhere."

"he couldn't even appear for her? not even for this— a near death experience?" xavier asked with a mirthless laugh, "does he even care for her?"

a smile appeared on eir's face, like a shadow from the sun. it brought nothing but anger to xavier to see her smile at his accusations, but she knew fully well that xavier was right. odin didn't want to appear, even when his daughter was within death's grasp. her sisters were off doing their jobs in other countries, all too deep in their jobs to manage time for their little sister. eir continued to say, "are you aware that y/n is the weakest of my sisters?"

"that isn't what we're talking about—"

"she is the youngest. the first born in the modern age; the rest of us were born millennia ago," eir looked at you fondly, one of her hands reaching out to touch your face. she stroked your skin under her calloused fingertips, a small sign of love. "valkyries age slowly— we aren't goddesses, you know. but many of us become stronger the more we age," eir shook her head, laughing softly to herself, "but not y/n."

"her body is weaker than ours. her back cripples when her strength runs thin and her skin bruises when you punch it— not like the others." eir shook her head, her hair flowing like water with her movements. "my sisters and i have seen vikings fall at our feet. men and women alike have begged us for mercy," eir swallowed as her face suddenly turned cold. it was as though she was reminiscing the memory of soldiers clawing at the ground as she pulled them away from their world, their pleads still fresh in her ears. "but y/n.. she fell at the feet of others."

"why are you telling me this?" xavier couldn't help but ask, his curiosity getting the better of him as he looked between you and eir.

"because all y/n knows is survival," eir stated with a sigh, "my sisters only know war. we grew up under the safety of our father, but y/n has never been as lucky," a bitter smile tugged at her lips, "it was as though trouble was constantly in her wake. war is temporary, but for it to happen every day in nearly every home you had," she spat her words out like poison, her words gritted and forced, "is cruel. it's cruel and merciless."

"where were you?" xavier asked, his voice no louder than a whisper. her entire explanation of your history did nothing to coerce his anger; if anything, it only made him angrier. eir's eyes looked into his, shining brightly with tears as she answered.

"valhalla. odin didn't deem y/n worthy enough to be with us," eir sniffed harshly, a hand coming up to wipe her nose. the valkyrie cleared her throat, fixing her trench coat over her body. "her wings will grow back when she truly needs them. it will be a painful process, but i am sure that you will be with her, xavier thorpe."

before xavier could protest, eir already left, leaving nothing that even showed that she had arrived in the first place.

you woke up without that familiar weight on your back.

your hands shook as you reached behind you, a whimper leaving your lips when you were met with your clipped wings.

and with that, you screamed again. nurses and doctors alike rushed into your room. you fought them all off, your recuperating strength almost no match for all of them at once. like a wild animal, you shoved them all off, your cries of horror being carried out into the pale hallways of the hospital.

"who did this to me?" you demanded, "who did this to me?!" your eyes burned red with tears as you fought against their restraints. tears streamed down your face as you wailed for the wings that had been so cruelly taken from you. the one thing that provided you peace and tranquil was mercilessly torn away from your hold, like a child whose mother was ripped away from them.

you knew you were lucky enough to still have the roots of your wings intact. that meant it could grow, but you had seen how painful wing regrowth was. how the sickening crunch of a wing being forcefully regrown brought on unimaginable pain.

but wing regrowth only happened when it needed to happen.

your punches and kicks were rendered into nothing as a doctor put a syringe into your neck, and the world went black again.

you were dispatched the next day, as your wings had miraculously healed their cuts. they were small and useless now, nothing more than an ornament you held on your back. they couldn't fold into your back anymore, only folding close to your body as you walked down the hallway of the hospital.

deep eye bags hung under your eyes as you roamed the hospital like a ghost. nurses, doctors, visitors, and patients alike watched you in awe, for in their eyes, all they saw was an angel with clipped wings. but you paid them no mind, too numb and too exhausted to care as you arrived in the doorway of a patient. your hand held a singular sunflower.

eugene's room was bare, but had a small mason jar of honey that someone from nevermore had brought. it brought a smile to your face to see it, but your smile didn't last when you landed on eugene's form.

the glow was soft around him, almost barely visible in the sunlight that shone over his body through the window. but you saw the golden particles that surrounded him; the gods were still deciding whether he would stay or he would go.

"you're y/n."

you turned around, eyes widening when you saw his moms. "i.. i just wanted to visit him—" you swallowed thickly, looking back at eugene's body. the machine on his nose and mouth that helped him breathe and the scars that littered his face made those familiar tears start up again.

you did this to him. you didn't protect him.

"i'm sue, this is janet," sue said softly, placing a small beehive sculpture onto a nearby table. she looked at you with a soft smile, taking in your weakened form. "honey, are you okay?"

"i'm so," you swallowed, avoiding their gaze as you felt the tears start up again, "i'm so sorry."

wordlessly, one of his moms stepped forward and engulfed you in her arms. your arms were dead at your sides, the guilt rippling through your body like crashing waves as janet wrapped her arms around you too.

they held you so tight. so tight.

"he talks about you and wednesday all the time," sue laughed as she and janet finally pulled away from you, "he always talked about how cool he thought you were."

you smiled, shaking your head to yourself. "he reminds me a lot of the friends i made in my foster homes," you said softly, looking at eugene fondly.

he was like a little brother you never had.

"thank you."

you furrowed your brows in confusion at that, turning your head towards janet. "what for?"

"for protecting him." janet looked at your wings, nothing but empathy in her eyes.

you clenched your jaw, the words doing nothing to calm the turmoil of guilt in your mind. but after a second you forced a tight lipped smile. "i have to go— weems is waiting for me outside." you moved past them awkwardly, avoiding their gaze. "i'll visit him as often as i can."

you retrieved your things from the hospital on your way out. your leather jacket was all fixed, to your surprise, and you pulled it over yourself before you walked out to the hospital parking lot. with your items in a box— you silently wondered who had brought a variety of your mugs and the orchid, as the other gifts were obviously from your roommates— you walked out of the hospital. weems stood next to her car, her outfit, hair, and makeup as perfect as ever. but even in her usually unreadable eyes, you saw sympathy.

you didn't like sympathy.

"it's nice to see that you are strong once again, y/n," weems commented, and you only forced a tight lipped smile.

"yeah. i guess the gods didn't think it was my time yet," you said dryly, already making your way into the passenger seat of the car.

the ride to nevermore was silent, as you weren't really in the mood to socialize with anyone. you simply watched the forest pass you by from the window.

"when we return to nevermore, it will be the beginning of parent's weekend," weems interrupted your contented silence, "i suggest you keep eugene's condition under wraps as to not cause panic."

"to not cause panic?" you echoed in disbelief, turning to the principal with a skeptic look, "principal weems, he's in the icu—"

"keep it under wraps, y/n." even with such a bright smile on her face, weems was able to sound borderline threatening.

the car came to a stop outside of nevermore. the second it was parked, you were already making your way out of the car and into the quad.

the entire quad was full of students' parents and family. you swore that you had never seen the quad so full of people from all over the world. parents, grandparents, siblings, even uncles and aunts all surrounded their kids as they all talked and caught each other up.

your wings ruffled gently under the confines of your leather jacket, still fairly weak. you didn't make your entrance grand, instead opting to stay near the the side of the quad and away from others as you observed them all.

a pang of envy hit your body when you watched everyone with their families. as much as you wanted to play off that you thought parent's weekend was cheesy, you wished that some of your family would make time to show up.

a part of you wished that your father would appear, but that was just the inner child in you talking. you had only ever seen him twice in your life; once when he pulled you out of your orphanage, and the second when he left an entire empty apartment to you. he paid the expenses, but he never visited.

"y/n?" enid's voice made you jump in surprise before you were practically tackled into a hug, her werewolf strength making you hit the wall gently.

"hey, hey; i'm strong but not as strong as i usually am," you managed a laugh, gently pulling enid's arms away from where your wings were hidden.

you didn't know why you were suddenly so embarrassed to show your wings now. maybe it was because it was a huge sign that you lost a fight. maybe it showed just how weak you really were; you didn't know. but feeling enid's hand brush against your wings from over the jacket made you want to hide your wings even more.

you used to be proud of them.

"why didn't you tell us that you were back?" enid asked, almost tearful as she held your shoulders. she looked so worried your original idea of keeping to yourself was hindered for just a second.

"i didn't want to make a scene." you managed a smile as wednesday appeared behind enid. her facade fell ever so slightly, her cold eyes softening as she looked at you.

"i did not doubt that you would fully recuperate in time for this horrible weekend. you have shown yourself to be quite a sadist," wednesday stated, glancing briefly at the other parents in the quad. she swallowed thickly before nodding her head once. "thank you for being there for eugene."

your eyebrows raised at her sudden sincerity. this was the first time you had ever seen her like this, and you nudged her gently as you stood between her and enid. "don't go soft on me, addams. we still have a monster to find."

the sound of weems clearing her throat in the mic made the three of you look up at her. her warm was as bright as ever as she addressed all the family in the quad. you didn't care enough to listen to her words as enid began to talk to you.

"the monster hadn't attacked anyone for the past week," enid said, "maybe you finally scared it off, y/n."

"maybe," you mumbled, "or maybe it's just regaining its strength to finish off the job."

"i realize most of you have heard about the unfortunate incident involving two of our students," weems said into the microphone, making you look up in shock.

she better not.

"but i'm happy to report that eugene is on the mend and is expected to make a full recovery, while y/n has already arrived back from the hospital," her arm stretched out towards where you stood with enid and wednesday.

oh, how you wished you could fly away from everyone's stares. you shifted uncomfortably at the smiles you received from strangers and classmates alike, the sudden spotlight fresh from you arrival from the hospital making you nothing short of embarrassed and annoyed.

"so let's try to focus on the positive and make this weekend the best parent's weekend yet!" weems' smile grew, and claps rippled through the crowd in agreement.

"on the mend? try in a coma," wednesday grumbled under her breath, making you nod and shove your hands into your pockets.

"i'm the reason he's in the hospital," you murmured, primarily to yourself. guilt stained your tone bitterly as you forced yourself to stop pondering about your lack of action.

"that is not your fault, okay?" enid said softly, her usually bright eyes darkening with concern. she turned to wednesday, "you stop beating yourself up over it, too."

"maybe the reason why the monster hasn't been seen is because of this weekend," wednesday said dryly, her expression only darkening at the entrance of her family.

you wouldn't lie, they all fit each other's aesthetic very well.

"i knew i should have worn my plague mask," wednesday practically seethed, already dreading the upcoming socializing she would have to do.

enid tsked, nodding over to her own family. her nose scrunched in slight embarrassment. "would you look at my family?" her mom and dad stood a few feet away from their rowdy boys, who were jumping around the picnic table wildly. "talk about toxic pack mentality," enid sighed, "i give my mom 30 seconds before her judge-y claws come out."

you and wednesday looked at enid with concern, who only let out a slow exhale before forcing a smile. "let's get this over with." she looked at you with a small tilt of her head. "are your sisters coming to parents weekend, y/n?"

"no," you responded curtly, backing away from your roommates. "i'll leave you both to it, though. good luck."

you watched on from the walls of the quad, your arms crossed over each other as you watched on from your brooding corner. everyone seemed happy enough to have their family around.

your eyes drifted up to the second level of the quad, and your eyes met familiar green ones again.

his face was unreadable as he looked at you. you sent him an awkward wave that quickly fell when you noticed bianca standing next to him. but she seemed equally as down as you were, so you awkwardly waved to her as well.

you watched them both talk, bianca obviously bothered by what xavier was saying, until she turned around to a woman wearing gold reptile clothing. she looked shocked, to see her, to say the least, almost like a deer in headlights. your eyes followed xavier as he left bianca with her mom, a sigh leaving your lips as you focused your attention to the families in front of you again.

the amount of family togetherness made you want to cry and throw up all at the same time.

you began to walk away from the quad, wordlessly moving past people like a ghost. you didn't want to stop and chat no more than you already had. you didn't have the energy to force yourself to be civil when you felt nothing but self blame, guilt, and anger for what had happened over the last week.

but most of all, as you walked out to the archery range and felt the wind blow gently against you, you felt grief. because you wanted nothing more than to feel that wind under your wings.

your hands were clenching and unclenching, your chest heaving as you desperately tried to calm yourself. you found yourself too deep in your thoughts to think straight, too guilty to talk to others who obviously cared about you, too angry for feeling so weak that you wanted to do nothing but destroy. you wanted to destroy that monster for leaving a 13 year old kid in the hospital, fighting for his life. you wanted to destroy the monster the same way he destroyed your wings.

you walked towards the rack of bows, hands working on their own as you grabbed them and one of the quivers, carelessly hoisting it over your back as you stood in front of an array of targets.

you loaded a bow in and pulled it back, aiming for a mere second before you let it fly. it hit the middle of the target with a thump, but you were already loading another into the bow. you let each arrow fly carelessly, so desperate for some kind of escape from your mind. from the memories of the mauling not even a full week ago, of you being carelessly thrown around while eugene screamed for help.

how pathetic was it, that you wanted to help eugene but couldn't even help yourself?

you never wanted that to happen to anyone else again. you were so close to experiencing the pain your sisters had told you about— the pain of being too attached only to lose them moments after.

you had to stay away.

"y/n."

another arrow in the middle, cutting through the last.

"y/n, stop."

you reached for another arrow, mindlessly loading it into the bow.

"are you even listening to me?" a hand grabbed your shoulder, and you immediately walked back and turned towards the person, the arrow pointed right at their heart.

xavier raised both of his hands in surrender, worry ghosting over his face as he looked at you in concern. "it's me," he breathed, eyes trailing down to the unwavering arrow. ever so gently, he took a step towards you and pushed the arrow aside so that it pointed away from him. "it's me," he repeated, green eyes boring into yours as you swallowed thickly.

you let the bow fall at your side, the arrow easily dropping to the ground.

"don't do that," you muttered, turning your eyes away from him first, to his surprise.

" 'm sorry," xavier couldn't help but say, the apology slipping past his lips before he could exchange it with a snarky comment. he exhaled slowly, taking a step towards you as you looked at the damage you had done to the archery target. "you shouldn't be training."

"why not?" you huffed, walking away from him to place the quiver and bow back.

"you know fully well why not," xavier said in exasperation, walking quickly after you. he knew you wouldn't stupid; you were just avoiding the idea that you simply weren't strong enough. "you need to be resting."

"you need to let me be."

"i'm not going to."

"and why is that?" you snapped, that familiar glare meeting his eyes. "you think that after that night suddenly our entire relationship has changed—"

"i held you while you were bleeding," xavier seethed, and you stepped towards him, stabbing an accusatory finger at him.

"you stopped me from getting to eugene."

xavier chuckled in disbelief, your words making him shake his head. he was sure that it was just the attack speaking; you were obviously still on edge over the whole thing, but he had to admit, to hear you be so mean hurt him. "do you know how much blood you lost?"

you opened your mouth to fire back, but xavier stopped you.

"it was everywhere, y/n. and your wings.." his eyes drifted to the leather jacket that covered you, your wings hidden under them. "your wings looked horrible."

your pained gaze left his eyes as you looked up at the sky, feeling that familiar pressure behind your eyes.

"thornhill had to cut them to bring you to the hospital," xavier continued, making your sadness slip away for a moment for it to be replaced with anger. but xavier saw it. "don't blame her for it, y/n."

"i feel like blaming everything right now," you said with a joyless laugh, "i feel like.. burning everything."

xavier looked at you, observing the way your turmoil was finally shining through the cracks of the walls you had built. "do you wanna go on a walk with me? you don't need to say anything— i know that you're definitely not in the mood for a conversation but.. i don't want you committing arson."

you couldn't help the small smile that tugged on your lips at that, xavier's eyes softening when he saw the genuine smile. his heart tugged in his chest when he looked at you; not out of sympathy, but out of something else unexplainable.

the both of you began to walk around the school grounds, the ambiance of nature being the only noise between the both of you. every time you approached the woods, xavier found himself moving to the side of where the woods were, walking along the border so that you didn't have to.

"i met your sister two days ago."

"you what?" you couldn't help but say, eyebrows raising. "they actually visited?"

there it was again, that tug in xavier's chest. "why are you so surprised?" he couldn't help but ask, but he continued anyway, "it was only one of them— eir," he listened to you sigh and murmur a small, 'of course it was,' before he proceeded, "and it was the first time she visited in that entire week."

"how are you so sure?"

"because wednesday, enid, and i visited you every day." xavier could feel your eyes on him. his cheeks burned red at the small confession, but he played it off, saying, "i got mad at her."

you swatted his arm in response, making xavier wince as he rubbed your mark. "stop interfering with my family matters," you scolded coldly, and he groaned at your words.

"fine, it'll be the first and last time, but that was the first time she ever visited. your father didn't even come."

"eir has always been the one that visited. she's never visited a lot but," you sighed, "she was always there. odin would never go." your tone was bitter as you kicked at a bunch of dry leaves on the ground.

"i understand." you looked at xavier curiously, and he took it as a sign to continue. "my dad told me in a text that he wouldn't make it to this year's parent's weekend," a forced, tight lipped smile appeared on his face, "he hasn't gone to all the others, so.. i don't really know what i expected."

you stayed quiet at that. you knew how that felt, to want a parent's presence and always be turned down. it was as though you were nothing but a burden to them. but silently, you weighed your options of opening up to xavier. you didn't want to get attached.

you wouldn't get attached.

"did eir talk to you?" you asked, changing the subject quickly. you didn't want to get into the nitty-gritty about your father when you barely knew him. he existed, you knew that much, but it was as though he was a figment of your imagination. like an imaginary friend that appeared only when they wanted to.

"she did," xavier nodded, looking ahead of him. it was a particularly cloudy day today, and the sun barely shone through all the thick clouds that hung in the air.

"about?"

"you." he listened to your groan, a fond smile gracing his face at the sound. "i think i learned more about you from her than i have from you."

"eir and her big mouth," you muttered under your breath. "well? what'd she say?"

"that you were the youngest of the ten," xavier began, "that you were always attracted to trouble—" he watched as you opened your mouth to protest, only for him to interrupt you, "don't even try and argue when you know it's right."

you shut your mouth and let him continue.

"and," the words ran around in his head as he chose them carefully, knowing that it would be a sensitive subject to bring up. but he pushed himself over the edge to say it. "that every home was war for you."

your jaw clenched, the immediate subject of your various home lives making you immediately close in on yourself. it was as though you could feel all of your walls strengthen at the comment, all to fight against xavier.

"you don't need to tell me more if you don't want to," xavier stated, and with that, the walls fell again.

"good."

you both continued your walk in silence. whether it was uncomfortable or comfortable, you didn't know, but you were silently thankful for it. you didn't feel particularly conversational.

but you found yourself being more curious about xavier. if anything, he was as guarded as you were— what a hypocrite. but maybe you were a hypocrite too.

"do you still think i'm the monster?"

you couldn't look him in the eye. but you know those green eyes of his were staring at you in hope that someone believed he was innocent. you didn't look him in the eye as you responded with a, "i don't know who it is."

xavier sighed, his shoulders falling at that. he didn't know how to convince you or wednesday that he was innocent— you were both far too stubborn to even hear him out. oftentimes, he heard wednesday's accusatory voice yell at him much like she did the night of you and eugene's attack.

"i'm sure you aren't fairing too well after the attack, either," you commented, changing the subject yet again. "how do you feel?"

"honestly?" xavier sighed heavily, "i can't get the feeling of your blood on my hands."

a spark of guilt ran through your body. "i'm sorry," you mumbled, the apology barely audible. but the wind carried it to xavier's ears, to which he could only shake his head in response.

"it isn't your fault," xavier said firmly, turning his head to look at you. but your head was focused on your shoes as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. he nudged your shoulder gently. "i mean it, y/n. besides— i've been using art to cope with all of it."

your eyebrows raised in curiosity. you guessed that his primary muse was the monster; you were right, but xavier knew that he had pages full of you and only you.

if anything, you had been his muse almost as much as the monster.

"can i see some of it?" xavier's skeptical look made your eyes widen, "not for evidence! gods, i just want to see."

you looked around xavier's dorm in interest as he shut the door behind you. he had kept rowan's side of the dorm just as he had left it; it seemed as though he was stopping himself from adding items to rowan's side.

there were two easels set up near his desk; one of them was covered by a sheet, while the other was the unfinished painting of the monster. your throat dried as you peered into its crimson eyes and its long claws; the same claws that hooked under your skin as though you were nothing but a piece of meat. your fists clenched and unclenched involuntarily— a small sign of your nervousness as you continued to stare at the painting.

but your trance was broken when xavier turned the canvas so that its back side was towards you. "this is how i cope, remember that," he told you, and you found yourself nodding. "that wasn't what i wanted you to see," xavier said, his cheeks burning red as he turned to the other easel. swiftly, he pulled the blanket off of the painting. "this was."

it was you.

the sketch he had done of you prior was now alive on the easel— literally. your wings were flapping behind you as you flied high in the sky. the armor you wore shone as the nearby moon hit it, and your helmet seemed to glint under the stars. your wingspan was huge, reaching from one side of the canvas to the other side. he paid so much attention to detail that you could see the familiar pattern of brown on your feathers you looked so powerful. so mighty.

but to see it in front of you after knowing what you've lost, you couldn't help but turn around immediately. "i have to go," you managed through the lump in your throat. you moved past xavier, his face falling as he reached out to hold your shoulder before you could leave, his hand brushing against the top of your wings over your jacket.

"wait—"

you immediately pulled your shoulder away as though he had burned you. you looked almost scared as you stared at him, your eyes misting over in tears.

gods, you really needed to get yourself together.

"i.. i appreciate the painting. i really do— but when i look at it," you exhaled sharply, unable to finish your sentence. you glanced at it, taking in how powerful you looked. how your wings were a symbol for many that everything would be okay. how you looked so strong. "it reminds me that..i don't look like that anymore."

xavier's brows were furrowed as he looked at you. your words hung heavy in the air, and you were almost too ashamed to look at him.

" 'm sorry," you laughed, looking up at the ceiling as you blinked your tears away. xavier walked closer to you as you did. "you're a creep, actually, for making paintings like that. i honestly expected it to be of wednes.." your words died in your throat when you felt his hands hold your face gently, pulling your head down to look at him.

xavier didn't say anything as he used his thumbs to wipe away your tears. he touched you, someone who was so accustomed to war, as though you were delicate. his green eyes studied you as you looked at him, your eyes drifting down to his barely parted lips.

and as he held your face between his hands, he kissed you. not in the way he had before. he kissed you as though he was telling you something that only you would understand. as though every slide of his lips against yours was another promise.

but you ignored those promises, because to you, promises would only be broken. because you didn't want to promise yourself to another if it meant that you could lose them in the end.

xavier pulled away from you, his forehead pressed against yours as he looked at your features. he was looking at you like you were his favorite painting. it was as though you had been sculpted by such a tender hand that part of him couldn't believe that you were truly here in front of him.

"i want you to make me feel better." the request fell out of your lips before you could catch it. it was barely audible, like a whisper in the wind, but xavier heard all of it.

xavier only nodded, and you both met in the middle again. the kiss, once so composed and gentle, became more passionate as you felt him under your touch. his hands held your face as he kissed you over and over, as though your taste alone was addicting. and to xavier, it was.

your hands ran through under his shirt as you found yourself on his bed yet again. you pulled it over his head before the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed, making him fall back. xavier quickly used his elbows to raise the upper half of his body to look at you. a frown tugged at his lips as he fully sat up, bringing you closer to him.

you sat on your knees on the space in front of him. your eyes were on his as his hands gently want to the zipper of your leather jacket. you gripped his wrist before he could pull it down, nervousness evident in your eyes. you took in a breath before you used your hand to guide his hand down to fully unzip your jacket.

his hands paused before he could fully pull it off of you. "may i?" xavier asked softly, waiting patiently for your response. when you nodded, he shook his head, murmuring, "i need you to say it. i want you to be sure."

"take off my jacket, xavier," you said, never pulling your eyes from his. your stare only fell when you felt your wings flutter out of the confines of the jacket; they were weak enough to not be as responsive as they usually were. xavier let out a slow exhale when his eyes trailed from your clipped wings to the three neatly-stitched scratches on your back, the memory still fresh in his mind.

"you're so beautiful," xavier breathed, his fingers feather light as he traced your tattoo.

if your fear for love didn't burn so strongly, then maybe you would've found yourself seeing him in a different light.

but you found yourself yearning for something else entirely.

xavier's lips met yours again as you pushed him so that his upper body was propped up against the headboard. you straddled him, his eyes looking up at you innocently. you throw your shirt over your head before leaning down to kiss him again. you rocked your hips against his, reveling in the low moan that he let out into your mouth. you felt him through his jeans, distracting him from kissing you properly as another groan left his mouth.

you lips left his, leaving a single line of saliva between you. your mouth met his neck, leaving open mouthed kisses along his skin that made him whine for more. your hand found its home at the base of his neck, squeezing ever so lightly.

"i thought i was supposed to be taking care of you," xavier said with a breathless laugh that quickly turned into a groan when he felt you press down against him again.

"you are," you mumbled, pulling at his pants.

xavier helped you take his pants off along with yours, both of you in your underwear as you kissed him again. he could feel how wet you were with every rock of your hips against his cock.

"i want you," you whispered against his mouth. you felt his hands trail down your body, mapping every inch of you under his fingertips. his fingers hooked under your underwear, stretching the elastic before letting it slap against your skin. he pulled it to the side, allowing his fingers to rub your wetness around, your small moan being swallowed by his mouth.

xavier hummed against your lips, pulling away for a second to whisper, "you have me."

another empty promise.

your eyes darkened at that. you pulled his cock out of his underwear, teasing his tip along your pussy to gather up its wetness. xavier's eyes were half lidded as he looked up at you, cheeks flushed as he bucked his hips up desperately. "patient," you scolded, before you sank fully onto his cock. the both of you gasped at the feeling, your hands on his chest as you allowed yourself to get used to his size. you shifted slowly, a low moan leaving his lips as his head fell back.

steadily, you moved up and down his dick, reveling in the feeling of being so fucking full. but you couldn't look away from him as you worked up and down; how his hands held your waist to guide you, how your body moved so fluidly against his, how his long hair framed his face so perfectly. his rosy lips were parted, letting out a whine when you slid down slowly, the pace almost unbearable but so so good.

"pretty boy," you said, your hips moving back and forth. you watched a sinful smile appear on his face at that. the glow from the sex only made him so much more beautiful under your gaze, as though he was the angel and not you. and how lewd was he to smile so sinfully as you fucked him. "so fucking pretty."

"y/n, move faster," xavier said, eyes pleading as he looked up at you. he was taking in every part of you; your heaving chest, the sweat that was misted along your skin, the way you looked at him. he was so addicted to you that it almost felt as though he felt something.

your hips followed his request, his eyes rolling back again when you began to ride him faster. your moans only spurred him to buck his hips up in time with you, the added pressure nothing short of delicious as you felt him hit that spot in you that made you see stars. "xavier," you moaned, and he fucked you harder.

"say my name again," xavier murmured, leaning forward to kiss your neck feverishly. you moaned his name again, feeling him leave marks in his wake. like water color, he painted you purple as you moved like water under his fingertips. so fluidly, your hips moved together, the friction borderline delicious as you chased your high.

the knot in your stomach was almost too much to bear, your moans raising in volume as you felt xavier bite down on your shoulder, hiding a particularly loud groan that threatened to leave him. "so beautiful," you heard him mumble, too high off of sex to make a comprehensible sentence. "gon' cum jus' for you," he continued, hands rubbing your hips and holding you close.

your head flew back as you finally came, your eyes rolling back as the pleasure surged through you. your hips continued to move as xavier's hands moved you back and forth, letting you ride him through your orgasm. xavier's lewd noises were muffled in your neck as he came right after you, spilling his cum into you and feeling it leak down.

ever so slowly, he raised you off of him, and moved you to lay down next to him. he peppered light kisses over the hickeys what decorated your skin, his fingers moving some of your hair out of the way as he allowed you to bury your head into his pillow. you looked at him, eyes unreadable as you left a lingering kiss at the corner of his lips.

and with that, you turned away from him to sleep.

by the time you woke, you felt his skin against yours. your hand had found itself holding onto his wrist gently as his arm stayed draped over your body. like a drum, his pulse thumped against the pads of your fingertips, strong and steady. you felt his soft breathing brush against the nape of your neck as he slept soundly.

you gently pushed his arm off of you, letting it fall behind you as you sat up at the edge of his bed. you looked up at the moon that shone through his window, your heart aching at the sight of it.

how you wished to fly close to the moon again.

your eyes floated over to the little details in xavier's room. the photos of him, rowan, and ajax, all smiling at the camera. an photo of a younger and enid, with enid on his back. doodles that ranges from cartoonish to realistic, all pinned up messily above his desk.

a page from his sketchbook of wednesday, playing her cello. now of all the pieces of art he had on the wall, he seemed to have paid attention to her's the most.

"why aren't you resting?" his soft voice brought you away form your thoughts, grounding you to the earth. he shifted behind you, the bed moving in his wake as he propped his head up on his arm. you were looking away from him, oblivious to the pained way he was looking at your clipped wings. the cut had already fully healed thanks to your godly blood, but the scars from the monster remained on your back.

"i have to go," you managed to say, turning back at him. xavier looked so drowsy, his eyes slowly blinking as he struggled to stay awake, but his green irises were alert as ever. your eyes followed each mark you had left on his skin like a constellation that only you knew of, the blooming purple nothing short of sinful.

"this means nothing, right?" his question was asked before he could stop it. it had been on his mind even before he had closed his eyes. he had gotten an intense feeling of deja vu as he asked you the question, knowing fully well that you had said something similar when you first slept together.

"right," you murmured in response. it was as though you were both signing a strict agreement that day. no strings. no feelings. only empty promises.

"i don't understand why i'm being invited."

"because it's a girl's night, silly!" enid smiled brightly, fixiing the snood she made for you over your head. it was an off white color; one that matched your color palette (enid's words, not yours). "and no one's seen you out of the dorm for a week unless it's for class. everyone's been worried."

for most of the week, you had kept to yourself. you didn't have the full energy to converse with others, and you hadn't been speaking to anyone for no longer than a few minutes; even xavier. but you needed time to recuperate before devoting your time to killing some monster and solving a murder.

your wings were strong enough to fully disappear into your back now. but it had been far too long since anyone had seen any sight of them. you guessed that you were forcing yourself to get used to the feeling of them being in your back forever; if you didn't have all your wings, then you might as well not have them at all.

wednesday had caught you up on what had happened during your week of rest and relaxation, telling you all about garrett gates and crackstone. in the same way she caught you up, you caught her up on what happened the night of the attack.

"i didn't get to see much before the explosion. i covered eugene with my wings because i was scared debris would fly at us."

wednesday looked down at the taxidermy kit her parents had given her. her surprise party was the night prior, and you had to say that you did a pretty good job at acting unsuspicious (though, you and enid kept sending each other excited looks all night).

enid, because she believed every birthday should be celebrated. you, because you couldn't wait to see how miserable wednesday would look when given a party.

but it was interrupted by a vision; one that wednesday had told you about moments prior.

"but someone definitely knew that we had gone in there with eugene earlier. whoever it was, they knew about the monster and was either covering for them or was covering their own tracks because they were the monster," you twirled a knife in your hands absentmindedly. fidgeting helped you think. "i think that we shouldn't rule out the possibility of there being an accomplice, but i'm gonna be honest— with weems covering for rowan's murder," your words turned bitter as you spoke about weems. the anger you had towards her for covering up a murder and not allowing rowan's friends to properly grieve still ran heavily through you. "i wouldn't be surprised if she knew something about the monster."

"besides, aren't you excited that it was wednesday's idea? i mean, she rarely does this— i guess it's because it's her birthday today." the werewolf was practically jumping on the ceiling from excitement, her hands moving passionately with her words as she walked away from you to talk to wednesday.

"wednesday's idea?" you echoed, your brows furrowing at the thought of wednesday addams planning a girl's night. you walked to your closet and grabbed your holster for your dagger.

just in case.

you knew you were smart enough to bring it, because you found yourself stopping as you opened the car to what you believed was your uber driver, only to see tyler staring at you in disbelief. "since when were you an uber driver?" you asked with furrowed brows, climbing into the car and shutting the door behind you.

"since never?" tyler responded, equally as confused as you as his eyes darted between you and enid in the backseat and wednesday sitting coldly in the passenger's seat.

"wait— you're our uber driver?" enid asked confusedly, turning to wednesday for answers.

"why do you keep asking that— i thought we were going on a date." tyler too looked at wednesday for answers.

"we thought it was a girls' night out!" enid explained, her look of disbelief slowly turning into one of realization. there was no girls' night out.

"there's been a change of plans," wednesday said curtly, not even looking at them.

"what's with the weird matching hoodie scarf things?" tyler asked, making you send him a warning glare.

"don't ask," you stated, your tone enough to make him shut up.

the gates tyler drove up to were overgrown and much too rusty; it practically screamed tetanus. fog obstructed your view of what was beyond the gate, as did the overgrown plants. you found yourself standing right at the front of the gate, looking up at the top of it.

if you had your wings, you could've just flown over.

"this isn't what i signed up for," tyler protested as wednesday began to pick the lock, his eyes nothing short of concerned as he only watched her pick the lock easily.

"ditto!" enid cried out, obviously terrified, "and i bet y/n didn't sign up for this either she's literally healing from getting attacked!"

"i'm healed," you corrected, your lips tugging into a frown as you turned to wednesday. "you should've just asked us to come along instead of getting their hopes up," you muttered to her, your tone only mildly annoyed.

"you knew that if i was planning something for my birthday, i wouldn't celebrate it with a dinner or a surprise party," wednesday said pointedly, not even fazed by tyler and enid's complaints, " if you didn't, then you wouldn't have packed your dagger. i want to do this."

"y/n's right—" tyler said with a nod, "you should've just asked us, not tricked us."

"if you want to go, you can." wednesday gave them a look before pullling out a flashlight. "i'm going to check out the garage."

the entire mansion was overgrown with ivy and vines, doing little to calm the hard beating of your heart. it looked as though there hadn't been anyone in and out of the area in years; which made sense, since supposedly all the gates family members either left or died.

"it's, uh, nice to see you're all better."

you turned to tyler, who was walking behind you. his flashlight was in his hands, illuminating the small smile on his face. but that smile quickly faltered when he saw the skepticism on your features. "wednesday told me about the wings," he added in explanation, watching as your skeptic look turned to a stone cold one. it was as though the mention of your wings left you numb once again. but tyler's eyes were still on you, observing you quietly.

"right. thanks."

the door rattled as wednesday struggled against it. she frustratedly tried to pull one last time, only to huff angrily when it refused to budge.

"let me try," enid said, walking closer and putting her flashlight in her pocket. with one strong pull, the door flew open, making enid's lips tilt upwards into a smile. but the look of shock wednesday gave her made her chuckle embarrassedly. "werewolf thing."

you reached for a nearby light switch as you entered. eerily, the light began to flicker as it illuminated the garage, focusing on a car that was parked right under it. it was covered by a sheet.

the the most confusing thing that you could see about it was that it looked spotless. even the cover looked as though it was recently used— not like the rest of the house.

wednesday pulled the cover swiftly, revealing a blue cadillac. "this is the car that ran the cadillac over," she breathed, and enid whimpered out of fear.

"this just took a horribly dark turn," the blonde said worriedly, her hand pointing towards tyler as she continued, "we need to call tyler's dad right freaking now."

"why?' wednesday asked, turning to enid, "so he an take me back to nevermore and get me expelled? it's not gonna happen." the pig tailed girl walked to the door that led into the house without another look.

"stay close," you told enid as you walked after wednesday, enid nodding as she followed behind you.

"how can she be so stubborn? i mean, all we wanted was a girls' night out!" enid's voice raised an octave due to her fear, her arm coming up to hook under your's.

the door creaked open as you entered it with enid close in tow. her flashlight moved around the abandoned hallway, the dust creating a layer of gray everywhere you looked. it was as though the house was left to rot and decay on its own. there were still photos of the gates hung up on the walls, all smiling at the camera. you let your hand run along the walls that peeled like a snake.

you found yourself in an office of sorts, decorated with an old t.v, a desk, a sofa, and a chair. the chandelier that one illuminated the room had fallen onto the desk. but what truly caught your eye was the painting of the gates. they were all positioned professionally and painted with a delicate hand; so delicate, that it seemed as though their eyes were following your every step. your eyes narrowed as enid and wednesday's flashlight focused on garret gates, who stood proudly next to his mother in front of a background of flowers.

"the tacky painting is fitting for a bunch of outcast haters," you murmured to enid, but primarily to yourself as you observed them all.

you followed wednesday as she walked into the library. cobwebs upon cobwebs covered the table like a sheet, creating multiple layers with the dust. antique items of all sorts were toppled over and rendered lifeless in what you would have considered a beautiful room. you looked at the titles of all the books, your eyes trailing up to follow wednesday's flashlight. it was shining directly on an area that had no dust and no cobwebs; the top of a mahogany wall design right between the books.

wednesday reached up and pressed on it, and the mechanisms from within the door began to click and move. one of the library shelves pressed in and moved to the side, revealing a shrine for no one other than joseph crackstone. at the sides, someone had written 'blood will rain when i rise,' in red marker; you knew that it wasn't real blood. you looked closer, frowning at the sight of multiple candles that littered the small shelf below the pilgrim's painting.

"you'd think that of all the things they'd worship, they'd worship someone that isn't a colonizer," you said with a judgmental look. but to say that you were surprised that a family who hated anyone remotely different would idolize a colonizer would be a lie.

"who doesn't have a spooky built-in alter in their family library?" enid managed out with a hesitant smile.

"our is in the living room. more seating for year-long dia de los muertos," wednesday mumbled, watching as you reached forward to press a candle wick between your fingers. you pressed another wick between your fingers. your face dropped at the heat you felt from both.

"they're still warm," you told the others, hearing enid's uncomfortable whimper.

"tyler, you search the ground floor. enid, y/n, and i will search upstairs," wednesday ordered, glaring at tyler when he looked at her skeptically. "what?"

"why can't y/n stay on the ground floor?"

"scared?" you couldn't help but ask, rolling your eyes as you crossed your arms over your chest.

"she is the second person who knows the most about what is going on," wednesday said curtly, looking at tyler with narrowed eyes, "or do you need her protection?"

tyler raised his hands in surrender. "fine! jus' seems unfair, that's all."

wednesday only huffed before turning around, already making her way to the stairs.

"sad, isn't it?" you said sarcastically, moving to follow wednesday and enid as they began to walk back down the hall. you were careful not too make too much noise as you walked up the stairs, as you could hear some of the steps groan under your feet.

you walked behind wednesday and enid, looking up the walls and further up ahead to assure your temporary safety. wednesdsay came to a stop at the top of the steps, turning to the both of you. "you go left, enid and i go right."

"do you seriously want to split up? here?" enid asked frantically, her voice falling to a harsh whisper as she said, "that is literally how every best friend dies in a horror movie."

"i'll be fine. don't worry about me." you briskly turned around to search the left side of the upper floor, your hand floating over the holster of your dagger as you peeked into every room. but it seemed as though every room was rotten and decaying; bed frames were slanted off of the walls, rooms were left to the rats and spiders, and the strong smell of asbestos wafted all throughout the house.

but the longer you walkers, the more you felt as though something was wrong. something was horribly off in the house, and it wasn't the evident racism against outcasts or the fact that they had a shrine.

you peeked into the last room down the hall, your face falling at the sudden neatness of it all. it was as if every room was hit by a tornado except for this one, leaving it spotless. the pink sheets of the bed seemed washed, as did the rug that sat on the ground. not a speck of dust remained on any of the furniture, showing off how well it had been taken care of. on the side table of the bed sat a vase full of pastel pink roses.

"guys!" you called behind your shoulder, reaching out a hand to touch the roses gently. they were still fresh; not a single sign of death.

wednesday and enid ran in, their faces equally as shocked as yours as they began to poke around. enid went up next to you, gazing at the roses in thought. "these are really new," she commented, making you nod as you turned to everything else in the room.

"most of the things in here have been taken care of. even the sheets and the rug have been washed." you ran your hand down the sheets of the bed, the fabric soft under your touch.

"this is laurel gates' room," wednesday said, her eyes set on a music box. you and enid approached her, peering over her shoulders as she shone her flashlight on the embossed 'l.g.' on the outside of the box. a ballerina stood proudly inside of the open music box for all to see.

"looked like somebody moved back into their old room," enid said, her face now in what seemed like a permanent frown.

"not possible— she died 25 years ago. drowned overseas."

you placed your hand on the table where the music box sat, silently catching the attention of your roommates. you raised a finger to your lips, your hairs standing up straight as the sound of objects clattering reached all of your ears. "we have to go," you said firmly, unsheathing your dagger as you walked quickly to the doorway, peeking in both sides before motioning for them to follow.

wednesday nodded, grabbing the ballerina box as she took enid's hand and dragged her along to follow you. enid's complaint of, "this is officially the worst girls' night ever!" didn't distract you from finding a way out of the house.

"guys! get out! it's here!" tyler's panicked yell was muffled by the floors of the house. the three of you made a beeline for the stairs, fully ready to go down, until the familiar sound of claws slashing skin made you stop the other two.

the sight of the monster's shadow made your blood run cold. its claws were as sharp as you remembered it, and you found yourself gripping your dagger as hard as ever as you felt the feeling of being pierced through your back like a meat in a freezer. those long nails, sharped than daggers, were in your back only a week and a half prior.

they were the same claws that brought eugene into a coma.

and you almost found yourself giving into the impulse of revenge. the impulse that wanted you to dig your dagger into the monster just as it did to you, to give it a slow death that would allow you to watch the life die in its eyes. you wanted to tear it apart limb from limb just like it had torn apart its victims. you wanted it to experience the same pain they all felt.

but you didn't.

you pushed the dagger back into its holster. "go!" you told the others, pushing them back up the steps as you allowed yourself to turn your back to the monster, feeling the steps rattle with its every step.

"the dumbwaiter!" wednesday said, already running towards it and pushing enid inside.

it was right behind you. you could feel it walking closer and closer as you pushed wednesday into the tight space before following quickly behind her. you looked at the monster dead in its red eyes before you shut the dumbwaiter door, pushing the others back as you allowed yourself to shield them.

"oh my god, oh my god," enid whispered frantically, her hands shaky as she turned her flashlight off. you raised a finger to your lips again, your eyes wide as you looked at enid and wednesday.

they weren'y hurt. that was good.

wednesday swallowed thickly, her eyes set on the door before the dumbwaiter rattled. outside, the monster roared in anger as it tried to get to the three of you, its arms seemingly shaking the entire dumbwaiter as it only became more furious by the second. wednesday reached forward, her snood in hand as she began wrapping her snood around the two handles of the dumbwaiter to keep it shut.

"no, not your snood!" enid said desperately, her eyes pleading as she tried to stop wednesday from using the scarf she had worked so hard on.

"stop," wednesday said, her eyes stirring with something unreadable as she continued to use it to keep the handles shut. you looked at enid, who seemed close to tears, and murmured a small, 'don't worry,' that honestly didn't do as much as you hoped it would.

the sound of screeching metal reached your ears, and you turned around, your throat running dry when your eyes met bulging red ones. the monster had scratched the dumbwaiter with its three claws, allowing it to look right at the three of you. like a predator stalking its prey, it readied itself to reach inside to grab you until—

the rope snapped, sending the three of you plummeting down. enid's screams and the sound of rushing wind were all you heard before the dumbwaiter reached the basement with a loud crash, sending the three of you flying out of it.

you groaned as you landed on your back, the stinging pain pain from the healing scratches still making you wince. you prayed to the gods that the wounds didn't open up again.

you stood up, turning to enid and helping her up easily. the sound of wednesday pulling the light open made you look towards it, your heart falling at what you saw on the shelves. jars of human remains, from a foot to half a face, were neatly preserved and on display for you to see. you could feel the pain radiating off of them as you took a step closer, your face only showing your disbelief. "these body parts were taken from the monster's victims."

how could their family and friends grieve if they didn't have every part of their family member to bury as they wished?

dust fell on you with every step the monster took, the old wood practically bending under its weight as it walked slowly to where the basement door was. you rushed the two girls towards a nearby window, helping push enid up and through before pushing wednesday up.

"y/n, come on!" wednesday yelled, the monster right behind you as you forced yourself to jump up to the window, their hands grabbing you and pulling you through.

you let out a groan when you felt those familiar claws only swipe at your leg right before you were fully out of the basement. you laid on your back on the ground, your eyes set on the starless sky as you felt the pain radiate from your calf and your back. but quickly you forced yourself up, hiding your new wound with your pant leg.

"you okay?" you heard wednesday ask enid, only for her to scoff and walk away, saying 'since when do you care?' over her back.

you and enid ran down the woods, her run slowing to a jog when she saw that wednesday wasn't following her. "what the hell are you doing?!" she yelled; you had never seen her more stressed. but she had every right to be.

"we have to go back for tyler!" wednesday yelled behind her back, running quickly to the side of the house.

"we have to go with her," you told enid, who only stubbornly shook her head as she pointed in wednesday's direction.

"no! she put all of us in trouble, y/n—"

"you and i both know that you care too much about her to leave her with someone who's wounded," you hissed, making the werewolf shut her mouth immediately. "there's no place for grudges during a time like this." your words hung in the air for a few seconds, your eyes studying the discontented look on enid's face before she reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"fine."

"great." you led her back to where wednesday ran, your hand holding your dagger warily as you followed wednesday's general direction. you found wednesday knelt down next to tyler, who had three deep scratched on his chest.

she turned to enid, handing her her flashlight. "enid, hold this," she said, her voice panicked as she knelt back down to tyler. enid reluctantly held it up for her, her foot tapping impatiently on the ground.

"that thing is still inside!" enid cried, head whipping between tyler's wounded form and the area around them.

you stood by as a guard, your focus entirely on the woods and the possible areas the monster could attack. your hand held your dagger so tight that your knuckles paled, the handle's groove leaving indents on your skin. you could feel blood seep down your calf from your wound, but you refused to acknowledge it, too focused on protecting the others to even care about your own health. their panicked voices faded out into the background when you heard the crunch of nearby leaves.

your head turned quickly to the side, your dagger ready to be thrown before your muscles relaxed at the sight of xavier.

"xavier?" you asked in confusion, his face falling when he saw you.

he turned his head to the side, seeing tyler bleeding profusely from the scratched. xavier ignored wednesday's look of shock and suspicion as he tugged his scarf off of his neck, handing it to tyler. "here. take this."

tyler grunted as wednesday applied pressure to his wound, her face showing subtle signs of worry and panic as she cared for him. but she looked back at xavier in shock, her head already putting the pieces together and coming up with a conclusion for his sudden appearance.

you sat at the table next to enid and xavier, your eyes set on your fidgeting fingers as wednesday patched tyler up.

you hadn't said a word since the attack at the house, your body far too tired and your mind too spent to actually come up with meaningful words to say. you felt nothing but pain as you massaged your hands over and over; pain from the body parts you had found in the house, pain from your back hitting the ground after a week of being out of the hospital, and pain from the wound you were hiding from everyone. you were sure that your socks were now stained crimson with how the blood had seeped down, but no one had noticed that you were wounded, as your pants were black.

"thanks doc," tyler said with a weak yet lighthearted smile as wednesday placed another bandage between his scratches.

you peeked up to look at xavier after the comment. you were met with the face of jealousy and envy. clenched jaw, a subtle eye roll, a frown tugging at his lips.

he cared about her so much. it brought a small pained spark in your heart.

you nudged him from under the table with your wounded leg, ignoring the pain that shot up your calf at the action. xavier looked at you with furrowed brows, and you only mouthed, "stop being jealous."

xavier huffed at that, only turning back to look at wednesday. to say that he wasn't sure what you meant would be an understatement; he knew fully well what you meant. he liked wednesday. he wanted to tell her how he felt, but she cared so much for tyler.

of course, to you, xavier's answer seemed simple; just tell her about his feelings. but xavier was never good at words, and he was even worse at figuring out his emotions. maybe that was why he found himself sleeping with you again and again; he didn't have to deal with them if it was with you.

feeling a romantic connection with you was different from worry, in his eyes. because he found himself looking at you, fidgeting so strongly with your fingers, heavy eye bags under your eyes, the usual healthy glow of your skin now gone and replaced with something duller, and he felt nothing but worry.

now, it was his turn to nudge you. "you're quieter than usual."

"am i usually loud?"

"loud and annoying, yeah," xavier said, making you roll your eyes. you leaned back in your chair, placing your clasped hands on your chest.

"what is it?" you asked him, your voice dry as you looked at him expectedly. even your eyes didn't have the same spark in them.

"are you okay?" xavier asked, the question no bigger thna a whisper. he was looking at you with furrowed brows, his eyes tracing over your form as though he was checking for any sign of a wound.

"'m fine," you only managed out, letting out a heavy exhale through your nose. you turned your head away from him, moving your legs slightly.

but as xavier looked you over for injuries, his landed on the sock under your loose black pants. they rode up slightly as you moved— that was why you were able to get away with hiding the scratch, as the bottom of your pants had ridden up slightly while you were getting away —but your socks were white. from where xavier sat, he could see that the white cloth had been stained crimson with your blood.

he stood up abruptly. "tyler," he forced out through gritted teeth, his eyes lingering on how wednesday's hands pressed the bandages down for a second before focusing on the guy, "where's your bathroom?"

"that hallway, to the left," tyler responded, offering a small yet kind smile that xavier didn't return.

"c'mon, y/n." xavier stood next to you, offering a hand to your seated form. you looked at it with a skeptical look before looking up at xavier.

"excuse you?"

"we need to talk, y/n." xavier lied, his lie believable enough to make you groan and take his hand to stand up. he saw you wince ever so slightly when you put your weight on your wounded leg, but you played it off.

you pulled your hand away from him as you followed him into the bathroom. "what is it?" you asked confusedly as he pulled you in, shutting the door and locking it behind you.

xavier didn't respond as he set the toilet seat down to close it. "sit there," he told you, moving past you to rummage through the galpin's bathroom drawers.

you scoffed at his order, crossing your arms over your chest. "not until you tell me what was so important that you had to drag us away from them."

xavier didn't respond, pulling out a gauze pad, petroleum jelly, and a wrap around bandage. he bent down to look under their sink for clean cloths.

"gods, hello? are you even listening to me?" you asked irritatedly, your tone making xavier stand up straight and look at you.

"why didn't you tell them that you were hurt?" your look of irritation fell, confirming xavier's hunch as he sighed, shaking his head to himself. he didn't say anything as he organized the items on the floor of the bathroom, his throat moving as he swallowed. "i saw your sock when you moved. you're bleeding."

you didn't speak as you reluctantly sat on the toilet seat, relief spreading through your body at the lack of weight on your leg. you watched as he knelt down to sit on the floor in front of you, a clean cloth in his hand. he applied pressure to your wound, hearing you hiss at the feeling. "well?" he asked, looking up at you. "why didn't you?"

you clenched your jaw, wanting so deeply to avoid his gaze, but his green eyes were searching your face for some kind of answer. "it wasn't important. just a scratch."

"tyler got a scratch too."

"why are you bringing him up? you literally hate the guy."

"and how do you know that?" xavier challenged, making you scoff.

"i see the way you look at wednesday. how you want her to look at you with the same look she gives tyler," you said, sighing as you continued, "how you want her to care for you the same way she was caring for tyler. it's nice— slightly sad —but nice because all of your problems could be fixed if you just told her how you feel."

xavier looked up at you at that. his eyes were clouded with something you couldn't read, his small murmur of, "i don't think that'll work," making you groan in frustration.

"seriously, xavier. just tell her—"

"stop changing the subject, y/n." xavier's voice wasn't firm at all. he didn't even seem irritated with you as he continued to apply pressure to your calf. his voice was soft as he addressed you, only full of worry as he continued to treat you. "why didn't you tell anyone?"

you swallowed thickly. "i didn't want anyone to help me."

xavier didn't say anything. he stood up, exchanging the bloodied cloth with a clean one. he ran it under the water of the sink before sitting back down in front of you and your leg. he gently cleaned it with the wet cloth, choosing his words carefully before he asked, "why?"

your hands clenched and unclenched, showing your obvious nervousness before you replied. "because it makes me feel weak. weaker than i already am."

you expected him to laugh. to tease you for being so sensitive about meaningless acts of service. to poke at you for complaining about being weak when there were other pressing matters to worry about.

but xavier only hummed in response. he grabbed the petroleum jelly as he set the wet cloth down. he waited for a minute for your leg to air dry, taking the moment of silence to speak.

"i'll patch you up quietly, then. whenever you want me to."

he wasn't sure if there was something hidden behind that small promise of his. xavier's eyes pulled away from you as he put petroleum jelly on your wound, his touch so gentle as he spread the ointment. he feared that too much pressure you make you wince again; he didn't want you to worry about that.

but as he said that comment, that small reassuring quote that would have meant nothing if xavier wasn't an overthinker, he wasn't sure what he was promising. the thing is, xavier did overthink. he folded his thoughts over and over a lot in his head, to the point where art was his way of dealing with it all.

that was why a part of him knew that there was a hidden meaning behind that statement that even he couldn't figure out. as he sat on the floor of the bathroom, patching up your leg so tenderly, the words simply felt like more than what it was. more than those two sentences.

and while you never wanted to hold onto a promise, you could only nod in response.

ACT VI

#AUTHORSNOTE— i feel like this is the longest part i've ever done but oh well! i hope you all enjoyed it and thank you sm for all the support lately it makes me wanna write even more xx

#TAGLIST (usernames that aren't underlined are unable to be tagged) — @gamorxa @rayliz793 @cali-888 @targaryensswp @hopefulfuturenovelauthor @just-amess @maystecc @cmac-writes @ahnneyong @importantpuppyshark @mannstarkey @alienm0vie @carinacassiopeiae @simonsbluee @g3org1al33 @killmewithafanfic @nattheartless13 @astrynyx @idontknowwhattodo35 @addisonnie @wxnderingthoughts @r1dd1kulus @smol-book-nerd @555stargirl555 @wonderlandco @siriuslysmoking @skye231 @boomitsallie1 @southernraven @buckleylips @yunoguns @theprettytragic @levylovegood @slut4fictionalcharacters28 @archernotfound @trixiemills @sucker4angstt @charliedaltonsteponme @wittle-bunnyboo @rowanlaslowsgf @importantpuppyshark @blehhhhdhdhbs @parkersmyth @holachicos @nanamin-pointo @chicken-taco-burrito @manofworm @sincerest-one @lp223344 @alexayoonlee @queer-coded @whore-for-eddie

495 notes · View notes

bidaryl · 6 months

Text

time travel fix it au's are done to death in this fandom but also they're my favourite thing in the world so au where the entire show happens as is and it's heartbreaking and inspiring etc but then. restart button. waking back up at the start of the end except only the people that lived remember

wanna think about what would happen when daryl and carol wake up at camp, remembering everything that happened; carol stronger, knowing in her gut that everything that she remembers is real, and daryl fucking terrified, because if everything in his head actually happened, then what the fuck is this

wanna think about a rick dragging a hostile merle and a wide-eyed glenn back to camp, memories completely intact, and running to reunite with his family. not letting daryl go and hugging carol so so so tight, collapsing to the ground with carl in his arms

wanna think about them dragging the atlanta group to the farm, maggie leaving the front porch light on for them, and everyone reuniting. rick seeing hershel again, daryl seeing beth, carol pulling sophia close, and maggie being unable to even breath, looking at glenn

wanna think about them tossing up whether to even go to the prison, but they met important people there, and alexandria's a long way, and if they're gonna survive this time–if they're gonna live–they're gonna do it right

so they go to the prison so they can figure out their next step, and michonne's there and waiting, andre on her hip, and they deal with the governor before the governor deals with them, and sasha and tyresse finally show up, they find the prisoners, and then one day they get a knock on the front gate, and it's negan

negan showing up, no baseball bat in hand but his leather jacket still in place, a sick but alive lucille by his side, laura and doctor franklin behind him, and all he's got to say is at the end of the world, i know which side i wanna be on

the fallout of that, of maggie being against it, of rick never having gotten to see negan at the end, not knowing the choices he made, the good and the bad. daryl and carol looking at glenn, seeing him alive and in love and having no memory of his last moments, and never wanting anything to ruin that, but negan saved judiths life, helped save all their lives. he chose, in the end, and now it's their turn

wanna think about a future where beth doesn't die, but they go on a rescue mission to get noah anyway. a future where tara turns up with her niece, led by eugene with abraham and rosita following right behind him

wanna think about how they'd handle terminus, how they'd handle the claimers. wanna think about them trying to find father gabriel, except gabe made it the first time around, and he wasn't wasting his second chance. he saved his flock, and he led them to alexandria, and he's waiting

wanna think of connie's group searching for hilltop. not finding maggie, or alden, but finding jesus. wanna think about lydia, being a fucking child, and watching her mother kill her dad, and remembering aaron telling her how loved she was

wanna think of the growing pains of them being able to save so many more family members this time, but god, a larger group is harder to keep alive

daryl trying to run interference with merle and everyone else, getting the jack of it one day and telling him he's already mourned him once, and he won't again. if merle wants to stay–to live–then it's up to him. daryl's not gonna babysit him anymore

rick trying to find his footing between lori and shane and judith, with carl, with michonne and andre. michonne looking at a weak but alive lori grimes holding a screaming and crying newborn in her arms, and knowing that she's never gonna be her daughter the way she was before, but knowing she'll always be something to her

carol struggling to be the mother sophia needs her to be, emotions too sharp and constantly fucking terrified. doesn't know how to hold onto someone like that anymore, either gripping too tight or not at all

maggie trying to exist in a world where she has everyone she's ever loved back, so close and so fucking dear, except it cost her her son. not knowing if she'll ever get him back at all. doesn't know how to live with the grief of losing someone she never technically had in this world

they make it to alexandria and it's aaron opening the gate for them, waiting to welcome them home

#posts u type on christmas eve when watching christmas movies #anyway this is too big and too complicated in my head but i wanna dissect it like a bug yknow #wanna see daryl and aaron remember something lydia said about her life at the start #and set off to go find her #wanna see a world where hershel meets aaron and tara #wanna see the complicated blended grimes family in action #want to see princess and tara and rick interact becos i think it'd be so so special #want to see alden and negan interact #want to see how lucille would fit into it all then see how annie would fit into it #wanna see mercer come into it wanna see him go find princess except princess finds him #also just want to see who would believe them when the truth eventually spills out #shane not believing at all that time travel could ever possibly be real and currently happening #but merle believing daryl becos daryl could break his nose daryl could fuck up his bike daryl could raise actual hell.but daryl wouldn't li #at least–not about this #just! wanna see! wanna think!#anyway. merry christmas eve im going to bed now #there are so many characters and points and interactions im probably missing or forgetting but u Get It #m #text

28 notes · View notes

xhannahbananax03 · 2 years

Text

Play House Part 1

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader, Negan x Reader?

MASTERLIST

Words: 4.7k

Warnings: Some angst

A/N: This is loosely based on S6E16 of TWD

The cold, damp dirt dug into her legs as bright lights blinded her from the group surrounding hers. The rips in her constantly worn jeans allowed bits of gravel to scrape at her skin.

She looked around her at her family, a man screaming at her when one of her hands slid into her jacket to rest on her bump as she stared out nervously at Daryl who's eyes were flicking back and forth between her and a man stood not far from him, "Hands where I can see 'em!".

She shakily pulled her hand away from her hidden stomach as she replaced it on her thigh. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on. She knew that there was some kind of conflict going on with another group, but Daryl told her that everything was fine, she just needed to stay out of it and focus on keeping herself and the baby safe. Which she surprisingly agreed with.

Then, suddenly, she was helping rush a sickly looking Maggie into the camper and sitting with her on the bed in the back, patting her forehead with a damp rag, telling her that everything would be ok.

She looked over at Eugene, he's face was bloody and battered and she knew that something was immediately up with him. Something about this whole thing was off.

"Now that we've got the whole gang!" The man who seemed to be second in command clapped his hands together, looking over her group, "Let's meet the man," He grinned before knocking on the door of a camper that was situated in front of everyone, blocking their path.

It only took a moment before a man walked out and waited in the dark, just beyond her sight, but she could immediately tell he was a larger man. She wrapped her arm around Maggie's, doing her best to hold the poor woman up as her legs shook beneath her, "Pissing our pants yet?" The man then walked towards the group and into the light, allowing everyone to finally put a face to the man who had been terrorizing anyone alive this side of the Mississippi.

"Boy, do I have a feeling we're gettin' close," He nodded, looking over each of them, licking his lips with a wolfish smile. His gaze slowed on her for moment longer, smirking, before he continued on with his 'bad guy speech', "Yep... It's gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon," He smiled wider.

A bat, wrapped in bobbed wire, was balanced on his leather clad shoulder as he paced back and forth in front of the group. His eyes always connected to someone else's, "Which one of you pricks is the leader?" His smile dropped a little as a man spoke up behind the group, pointing to Rick.

The man in charge, moved to stand directly in front of Rick, looking down over him, "Hi. You're Rick right? I'm Negan," He finally introduced himself, "And I do not appreciate you killing my men," Somehow, even with his smile completely gone, his dimples pressed firm into his cheeks giving him an erie sense of innocence.

"Also, when I sent my people to kill your people, for killing my people... You killed more of my people. Not cool," He said smoothly, shaking his head like a disapproving parent, "Not cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is," Negan continued to speak to Rick in a soft tone, which freaked Y/n out more than it would if the man was just out front violent.

"But I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly," He said in a menacing tone as Rick finally looked up at him. The entire time that Y/n had known Rick, she had never seen him as scared as he looked in this moment and it only made her anxiety worse.

She looked back over to Daryl, waiting for him to look at her, and when he finally did she uttered the words, "I love you," to him, having a gut feeling that something really bad was about to happen.

"What was that, sweetheart?" Negan asked Y/n, squatting down in front of her, "Got somethin' you'd like to say?" He grabbed her face and at that moment Daryl lunged at him, grabbing onto his shoulders and throwing him back onto his ass, but before Daryl had the chance to do anything further, he was being pulled back by two large men, one pulled out a gun and pointed it at his head.

"No!" She screamed out, letting go of Maggie and going to stand to rush forward but Rick grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her back down, shaking his head at her.

Negan looked between the couple, rubbing at his face before he stood with a shake of his head, "Put him back in the truck," He told the men holding him to drag a fighting Daryl away, "And don't kill him, got special plans for that asshole," The leader chuckled, watching them drag away the fearless man.

Negan's words simultaneously calmed and stressed Y/n out, "So is that your man or somethin?" He asked her, standing back to his full height and staring down at her, "He's a fighter, I'll give him that. But he will be payin' for that one sweetheart," He winked at her, sending chills down her spine.

"So here's how this is gonna go," Negan continued, looking over everyone, "Y'all give me your shit... Or I will kill you," He said in a serious tone and she knew that in this world, that was a very real threat. "Today was career day," He said with a big, toothy grin, "We invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do," He began his slow pacing once more, "You work for me now," He said, pointing his bat out at Rick, "You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job," He said looking straight at Rick.

"Now... I know that is a mighty big, nasty pill to swallow," He said, sounding almost empathetic, "But swallow it, you most certainly will," He told the group firmly, his eyes scanning each one of them to be sure he was being heard before going back to stand in front of Rick, "You ruled the roost. You built something. You thought you were safe," She could hear the humor in his tone and scowled deeply while watching the truck that held Daryl, "But you're not. Not even close. In fact you are pegged. More pegged if you don't do what I want and what I want, is half your shit. And if that's too much, you can make, find or steal more, and it'll even out sooner or later," He confirmed, turning and moving out towards the center of the group.

"This," He spread his arms out, "Is your way of life now," That's when Y/n started to block him out. Thinking of anyway she could get back to Daryl before Negan came to stand in front of Maggie, drawing her attention to them.

"Jesus," He huffed out, looking over Maggie with a look of disgust, "You look horrible... I should just put you out of your misery right now," He nodded raising his bat above his head as Maggie stared up at him, mustering a brave face as Y/n's eyes grew wide.

"No! No!" Glenn yelled out, hopping up and pulling a hidden knife from his boot, running at Negan before a man tackled him to the ground and started landing blows to his face.

"Stop it!" Maggie cried out weakly, falling forward and reaching for Glenn as tears ran down her face. His eyes quickly becoming swollen and purple as blood poured out of him, "Please!" She cried out, Y/n and Abraham holding onto her as best they could.

"Nope," Negan shook his head, an angered expression taking over his face, "Nope, get him back in line. The man beating Glenn stood off of him and dragging him back to his spot, Glenn mumbling out incoherently as he looked for Maggie who was sobbing as she reached out for him.

Y/n could faintly make out begging, "Don't... Please don't..." As he was being held up by a man before he was dropped back into the dirt.

Negan just chuckled and shook his head, "Alright listen. I'm pretty much over gettin' attacked tonight so... The next one of ya to try is gonna get Lucille to the head," Lucille? Did he name his bat? "Sucks, don't it? The moment you realize you don't know shit," He said, looking right at Rick who's head was hanging low. At this point everyone had tears streaming down their faces.

Negan looked between Rick and Carl for a moment before a smile took over his face and he pointed his bat at the younger man, "This is your kid right? This is definitely your kid," He chuckled, using the tip of his bat to lift the edge of Carl's hat.

"Just stop this!" Rick screamed out, finding some kind of courage when Negan began to mess with his son.

"Hey!" Negan hollered back, whipping around to look at Rick, "Don't make me kill the little future serial killer," He frowned, his bat staying pointed at Carl and Rick immediately shut up, "Don't make it easy on me," Negan grinned once again, dropping his bat once he saw Rick backing down, "I gotta pick somebody. Everybody's at the table waitin' for me to order," He threw his bat back onto his shoulder and went back to pacing and staring everyone down, whistling a tune that Y/n swore she was familiar with.

"I simply cannot decide," He shook his head, stopping in the middle of the group once more, "I got an idea," He chuckled, a devilish smile covering his face.

"Eenie... Meenie..." Y/n knew then what he was doing as he hovered his bat above each person's head, "Ya know what..." He paused, biting into his lip as his bat hovered over her head, "This just don't feel right without the whole gang," He grinned and Y/n's face paled, "Bring the big man back out,"

"No, no please," Y/n pleaded reaching out to grab onto Negan's pant leg and he raised his hand to stop his man from grabbing Daryl, "Please. You can't kill him," Y/n knew she'd never make it in this world without him, and therefore neither would their baby.

"And why not?" He humored her, finding her desperation appealing, "You're seriously gonna try and tell me what to do?" He chuckled out, looking at a few of the men behind the group that chuckled along.

"I'm pregnant," She told him, pulling back her jacket to expose her round stomach, hoping that somehow it would appeal to his human side. If he even had one, "Daryl's the father. I-We need him," She pleaded, praying that it would work in her favor.

"You gotta be shittin' me," Negan grinned rubbing at his chin before kneeling in front of her, "How far along?".

"I'm due in about a month," She told him honestly.

He grinned wider before grabbing her arm and lifting her from her knees as he stood, receiving a worried look from the rest of the group, "Forget Daryl, load her up, take her home and make sure she has everything she needs," Negan told the second in command, passing her off as Rick watched the interaction closely, his heart pounding.

Y/n looked over her shoulders, tripping over her feet as she tried to catch a final glimpse of what was going on before she was put in a large truck and the door was slammed on her face.

Another man hopped in silently and started the truck as Y/n stared out the sideview mirror at her group, "Where are you taking me?" She asked nervously once her family was out of sight.

She received no response, "Please tell me where you're taking me," She tried again, but to no avail.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. She desperately tried to stay awake, hoping she could at some point escape and find her way back home, but unfortunately she found herself drifting off, and when she opened her eyes she was in a dim room on a large bed.

She looked around, frightened, "Hello?" She called out, wondering if anyone else was with her but she never got an answer so she assumed she was alone.

Creeping out of the bed, she immediately went for the door, but when she tried to open it, it was locked. She turned and went for the window instead but noticed that there was metal bars trapping her in.

She began to pound on the door, screaming for help, for someone to let her out or at least tell her what was going on, but she only got someone pounding back and telling her to shut the hell up.

She sat back on the bed, looking at her hands as she thought of what to do when her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten since yesterday and it was only a small meal of an apple and a piece of toast. She looked at the nightstand next to her bed and licked her lips, seeing a plate of breakfast sat their for her.

Eggs, toast, and something she hadn't seen in a very long time, bacon. Her mouth watered, but she refrained, her fear of being poisoned to strong.

She looked behind her and noticed another door. How had she not noticed this before? Quickly standing, she moved over to it and swung it open. To her disappointment, it opened up to a bathroom, she sighed and moved into the room, knowing that it had been a good few hours since she had gone to the bathroom so hopefully their plumbing worked.

Finishing up, she moved to the sink in the room, turning on the water and looking at herself on the mirror. She was a mess. Dirty, tear streaks on her face, mousy hair, clothes covered in dirt and blood.

She washed her hands and moved back into the main room, going to the dresser, hoping that there was at least some clean clothes waiting there for her. To her surprise, their were some clean shirts and a few pairs of women's underwear along with some boxers.

So grabbed and shirt and a pair of boxer shorts before moving back to the bathroom and locking herself in. After a long, hot shower, she felt slightly better. At least she wasn't dirty anymore.

She dried off and dressed in the clothes that were offered to her before walking back into the main room, "Damn you look good all cleaned up," A deep voice spoke making her jump as she looked to the owner who was sat on the couch in the room.

"Negan..." She growled out, "Where the hell are we?" She demanded, keeping her distance from him.

"We're at the Sanctuary," He chuckled with a smile, gesturing around, "Obviously,".

"The Sanctuary?" She asked, having no clue what that even was, "Where's Daryl?" She immediately asked, knowing Negan had plans to bring him here aswell.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart. He's safe, promise," He smiled and she for some reason, didn't believe him at all, "You however... I have a job for you," He told her, standing and moving closer, making her take a step back.

"Easy gorgeous," He put a hand out towards her, his other hand reaching for the door, "I will be right back. You just wait here," He told her before leaving the room and stepping out into the hallway and out of her sight.

Y/n quickly pulled her dirty pants back on, looking for a weapon or anything she could use to attack Negan once he reentered, but she had no time as he stepped back into the room, his back to her.

With Y/n backed up against the window, her eyes wide and confused Negan tucked the small bundle closer to himself, staying wary of how she might react. She had been through a lot today and after the show he had put on earlier, he was sure that she was freaked out.

Nonetheless, he turned away and saw her expression soften slightly when she saw what was is in his arms, "What's that..?" She mumbled out quietly, keeping her distance from him but he could see the curiosity in her eyes and it made him smile.

"This," Negan pulled back the edge of the blanket to reveal the sleeping face of a baby, "Is your new job," He explained, moving closer to her to hand off the baby to her carefully.

She quickly took the baby, not wanting to refuse it and leave it in Negan's arms to do whatever he pleased with it, "Her name is Amy and you will be taking care of her from now on," Negan told her, taking a step back to give them their space as he watched Y/n look over the baby closely.

"Where's her mother?" Y/n immediately asked, hoping this wasn't some kind of sick plot just to trap her here. She didn't know Negan, but he definitely seemed like the kind of man to steal a baby.

"Well, she didn't make it," Negan said solemnly, taking a seat on the couch and watching Y/n hold the practically newborn baby in her arms, "She was a friend of mine and she didn't survive the birth," He explained in honesty.

Y/n stared out at him for a moment, "Isn't there another woman here that can take care of her?" She asked him confused, surely he hadn't kidnapped her just so she could babysit, "What about the father?".

"When the mother showed up here she was already pregnant. No sign of dad," Negan told her, which was also the truth, he saw no point in lying to the woman considering she wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon regardless of the baby.

He stepped out into the hallway for a moment before coming back into the room with a baby bag and tossing it on the bed next to Y/n, "That is all the formula we have. Should last about a month," He told her, hoping she'd catch onto what that meant but she simply raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed deeply, "When that runs out we're gonna need something to feed Amy with,".

Y/n's eyes widened when she caught onto what he meant by that and she scoffed, "So I'm supposed to be some kind of cow?" She asked and Negan chuckled slightly but she didn't find it funny at all, staring out at the leader with a nasty glare.

"No, sweetheart, you're supposed to be some kind of mother," He told her, "Listen, I won't force you to do this or stay here. But I'm not gonna help you leave either," He told her honestly and he knew that she'd never be able to get out of this place without his help.

Y/n thought for a long moment, looking over Amy. She knew that she'd never be able to turn away a child in need, but she needed to know her options, "And if I don't take her?" She asked, looking back up at Negan.

"Well you have two options," Negan nodded, grabbing his bat which made her incredibly nervous, "One; you become a Savior and work for your place here like everyone else. Or... Two; you become one of my wives and live a life of luxury, sharing a room with the rest of my wives," Negan grinned at her at the mention of her second option, not entirely hating the idea of it.

Y/n scowled in disgust before looking back at Amy and she knew what she was going to choose, "I'll take care of Amy," She told Negan, not looking over at him and he stood and clapped his hands together, "On a few conditions," She flicked her eyes up to his finally and he looked at her with a quirked brow, "Amy and I get our own room, you tell me where Daryl is and you leave Rick and everyone else alone,".

Negan nodded his head for a moment while sucking on his cheeks, "Well the first two I have no problem doin' for ya," He smiled at her, "But the third one? No can do. Rick and that group are a good alliance. It's a contractual agreement," He explained to her watching her face contort into anger for a moment before she looked away from him.

Negan could tell looking at her that she had no part in anything that went on last night and he hated that she had to bare witness to it. She was just a young woman who had gotten wrapped up with the wrong group. Negan would've loved to have found her before Rick did, but oh well. He has her now.

"Anyways," Negan announced, letting her take in his words, "I'm off to go get all your shit rounded up," He told her, grabbing his jacket in his free hand as she watched him carefully, "You wait here and I'll be back in no time," He promised before heading out of the room and locking the door behind him.

Y/n let out a long uneven breath that she had been holding for quite some time as she looked down at the fussing bundle in her arms, she stood and tried to shush Amy but to no avail.

She laid her down and checked her diaper, seeing it was clean as the newborn began to scream her head off. Making sure Amy was secure on the bed, she dug through the baby bag, grabbing out a bottle and a can of formula, dumping some of the powder into the bottle before pouring in some warm water from the sink in the bathroom because there was no microwave in the room.

Y/n tested it on her wrist and when she deemed it a good temperature, she scooped up Amy in her arms and bounced her gently, resting the nipple of the bottle on her lips, waiting for her to latch on and once she did, her whining came to a slow stop before her eyes fluttered shut and she nursed away, "What am I gonna do?" Y/n wondered aloud, sitting down on the couch with the small baby in her arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was several hours before Negan stepped back into the room, seeing Y/n laying back on the couch, Amy fast asleep on her chest and he smiled at the sight, "Everything's ready for ya," He told her and watched her slowly stand up so she didn't disturb the sleeping baby, "You could still stay in here with me, ya know?" Negan spoke up, watching her grab the baby bag and her eyes shot to his with a dark glare.

He wasn't sure what it was but he was definitely drawn to Y/n, she somehow reminded him of his Lucille. Plus he had always wanted a baby and with her, he could have two, "Go to hell," She hissed at him, moving past him towards the door and he scowled deeply before turing around and opening the door roughly, placing a hand on her back and gently shoving her out of his room.

"Simon," Negan called out to the man, standing next to his door, grabbing his full attention, "Take Y/n and Amy to their room," Negan demanded and when Simon's eyes fell on her, she felt and awful shiver run up her spine, something was seriously off with that guy and she nearly found herself asking Negan to take her instead, but before she could say anything, the leader was off in another direction and Simon was smiling down at her.

"Follow me," He said before walking past her and down a long corridor with doors covering each side of the hall. "You seem to have caught the bosses attention," Simon threw over his shoulder at her as she looked around, thinking about making a run for it, but then she noticed the pistol strapped to Simon's hip.

"I'm a good resource," Y/n shrugged quietly, adjusted Amy in her arms as she studied all the sounds coming for the rooms that she could make out, hoping that maybe she'd hear Daryl.

Simon scoffed as he stopped in front of a door, pulling a piece of wire with keys on it from his pocket, "Yeah right," He said as he unlocked the door and opened it, standing beside it as he waited for her to step inside and she did while keeping a close eye on the strange man.

"That door there is the bathroom," He pointed to the only other door in the room before moving towards the fridge that was there, "And Negan put this and a microwave in here so you can keep whatever you need close by. That dresser has some clothes for you and the baby in it and the closet has extra towels and blankets," He finished as he stared at her with expectant eyes, yet all she did was stare back for a long moment, waiting for him to leave.

Finally he huffed and rolled his eyes, making his way to the door before mumbling under his breath, "Ungrateful bitch," And stepping out into the hallway, closing the door behind himself.

Y/n quickly stood and locked the door, knowing that he could easily come back in if he wanted to but it still gave her some kind of reassurance. She looked around and noticed the crib and rocking chair in the same place that the couch was in Negan's room. Walking over to the crib, she laid Amy down in it and looked at the desk nearby that had a box of diapers under it and a thing of wipes on top of it, a thin, pink blanket laying over the wood and she assumed it was a makeshift changing table.

Y/n quickly organized the contents of the baby bag into the desk before sitting down it the rocking chair, taking a deep breath before grabbing fistfuls of her hair and yanking on it, a few tears slipping down her face as she thought about the past 24 hours.

Everything had spiraled downwards so quickly and she found herself feeling ridiculously sick. She prayed that her family was ok, prayed that Daryl was ok. She missed him desperately. Since she had met up with the group back at the prison, she hadn't separated from Daryl. They became fast friends and she instantly trusted him because he had saved her. It didn't take long for their friendship to progress into something more.

Thinking about it made her give a teary eyed smile to herself. She looked over at Amy, trying to convince herself that this would somehow all be ok and that's when a knock came to her door, startling her.

She made her way over to it and slowly unlocked it and opened it, coming face to face with a man she'd never seen before and she quickly went to shut the door once again, "Wait!" He called out quietly, pushing back on the door to keep it open, "I just have a letter for you from, Daryl," He told her and she quickly stopped what she was doing to crack the door back open and look over the man.

He had longish, blonde hair and what seemed to be a giant burn mark over half his face. His hand reached out and a small piece of paper was held between his fingers, "If you want him to stay in one piece, I was never here," He told her ominously before handing her the note and swiftly walking away.

She watched him for a moment before looking at the paper in her hand and suddenly nothing mattered. She shut the door and locked it before moving to sit on the edge of the bed and open the messily folded paper.

'I love you. Im ok. I will find you. -Daryl'

Was all that was written there, but she knew it was his handwriting and tears sprung to her eyes as she reread it over and over again.

She knew Daryl was a man of his word and no matter how long it took, he would find her.

Tag List:

Team Daryl/Norman: @ynreaderlol

Team Jeffery/Negan/John: @naughtyneganjdm

352 notes · View notes

carlgrimesmissingeye · 1 year

Text

Not Them, Please || daryl dixon x fem!greene!reader

Fem!Reader she/her pronouns used.

Warnings: gore! usual twd violence, use of weapons, gun violence, mentions of walkers, Lucille, Negan gets his own warning, violence against reader, no use of Y/n, Negan called reader “little lady" but no mention of readers size/body type, established relationship w Daryl, reader and Daryl have a child and reader is pregnant

A/n: Set at the beginning of season 7, in the lineup. I decided to not kill off Abraham and Glenn:) Eugene technically replaces Daryl’s position with Negan.

===================================

“Let’s meet the man!”

Out of the RV stepped a dark haired, middle aged man, wearing a leather jacket and carrying a barb wired baseball bat. Negan. A sadistic smile tattooed on his face as he studied the groups of people on their knees in front of him, surrounded by his own men. His lips twitched upward as he spoke. “Pissing our pants yet?” He stepped down from the RV’s steps, swinging the bat from beside him to over his shoulder.

“Boy do I have a feeling we’re getting close.” Negan said, walking closer to Rick’s group. Maggie was almost doubled over in pain, [Name] looked over at her sister, and then her brother in law(and quickly catching Daryl’s eye). “Mags, are you okay?” she said, holding out her hand to her sister,scooting away from Abraham and closer to Maggie. Maggie’s sweaty hand grabbed onto her younger sister’s hand, holding it like a vice. [Name] looked up into the eyes of Negan, not swaying nor cowering in the burning gaze of Negan Smith.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be pee pee pants city here real soon.” Negan said, his tongue darting around in his mouth and he waltzed in front of Rick’s group. “Now, which one of you pricks is the leader?” Negan questioned, looking to Simon for an answer. “It’s this one. He’s the guy.” Simon said, pointing to Rick. [Name]’s eyes darted to Rick, panic written all over her face while Rick looked disappointed. Bloodshot (e/c) eyes looked up to Negan, mouth gaped open like a beached fish. Negan stood in front of Rick, tilted backwards and his head cocked to the side as he smirked at Rick. He sighed, stepping more in front of Rick as he breathed out a raspy greeting. “Hi. You’re Rick right? I’m Negan. And I do not appreciate you killing my men.” Negan’s smiled turned down, his shit eating grin gone as he seethed at Rick. “Also, when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool. Not cool. You have no idea how not cool that shit is. But I think you’re gonna be up to speed shortly.” Ricks eyes slowly made their way up to Negan’s not exactly cowering but not stone cold as he met Negan’s petrifying stare. “Yeah. You are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes.” [Name]’s body shook as a shiver overcame her, not knowing which member of her family Negan would choose to try and prove a point. But one thing was for sure, she sure as hell would be the first to go down in order to protect her and Daryl’s daughter back home, and Judith. Judith and Carl were like her second and third child, if it meant she would die to protect them, then so be it.

“You see Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don’t mess with the new world order. And the new world order is this, and it’s really very simple. So, even if you’re stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand it. You ready?” At this point [Name] had stopped listening, ears ringing and eyes stinging with unshed tears and a shaking form. Her eyes darted around at her family again, counting in her head. ‘One, two, three…’ going on and on and by that time Negan had made his way over to [Name], pointing his bat in her face. “..you work for me now.” She looked up, swallowing as her eye twitched, holding Negan’s almost homicidal gaze.

“You have shit, you give it to me. That’s your job. Now I know this is a mighty big, nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it you most certainly will. You ruled the roost. You built something. You thought you were safe.” [Name] looked over to Carl, catching his gaze and mouthed to him “it’s okay. We’re gonna be okay”. She again stopped listening to Negan, only following him as he moved up and down their line, her own heartbeat being the only thing she could hear in her ears as her blood rushed up and down her body. She felt nauseous. She barely heard Negan when he said “You are not safe. Not even close” as she thought she was going to pass out. Get home to Amber, and Judith, and Tara. Oh god she’d miss her baby Amber if she died tonight. ‘At least she’d have her father’ she thought as she looked over to her husband, lip quivering as Daryl stared back, nodding to her as to console her. “This is your life now” Negan’s muted voice got back to her, as she looked down, studying the gravel beneath her, her knees begging her to get up, do something. Take down the whole place, save her family.

[Name] only looked back up when Glenn got up, letting out a mighty war cry "No, no!", following behind him before Maggie pulled her back down. The older Greene sister let out a muffled cry at the site of her husband being dragged back to his spot on the ground as the younger Greene’s face contoured to something of pure malice at the sight of Negan smiling, his words not registering in her brain. ‘Smug bastard.’ she thought. Glenn begged "Don't! Don't." [Name]'s own pleads came out of her mouth before she knew what she was pleading for. "Please.. please not her." she begged, "She's pregnant." [Name]'s eyes caught Negan's, a tear rolling down her cheek. Negan bent down, bringing his bat to her face to wipe the tear. Daryl visibly stiffened at the site of this piece of shit man in front of his wife. Negan used the to wipe the tear, also cutting her face in the process. She didn’t flinch. “Wow, you are one pretty lady, but the cut just oh so added beauty.” Negan’s hot breath hitting her face from the proximity of him. ‘He’s too close, way too close’. Negan got back up, walking over to Rick again. Saying something to him that was inaudible to [Name] until she saw Negan get up and point at Carl. “This is your kid, right?” ‘Oh god no, not Carl’. She could feel herself moving to stand up before Abraham pushed her down, nodding to Daryl. Daryl looked made of ice and steel. Daryl shook his head at her, telling her to stay put.

Negan made his way up, pacing back and forth in front of their group, whistling. God, [Name] would never forget that whistle, the long tune consisting of only two notes. "I simply cannot decide." Negan chuckled, moving farther back to get a good look at all of them. He suddenly threw up his hand, the bat like an extension of his already dealy red right hand. "I got an idea!" He chuckled again, moving towards Rick and pointing the bat at him. "Eenie."

This overly childish game went on for a while before the bat landed on Abraham. [Name] wept as Negan finalized the bat be had above everyone's favorite ginger. Abraham sent a peace sign to Sasha as she let out a silent sob. But before the bat could come down, [Name] moved in front him Abraham with a sob and a "No!"

Everyone watched as Negan violently moved the bat out of the way of the woman who bravely put herself in harms way for the cocky, Texan ginger. "Not him, please not him. Not any..any of them. Take me please! If it saves them." she threw her arms up in surrender, protecting Abraham and locking eyes with Daryl and he cried. Negan was moved. To say the least. A woman, obviously had a child and probably wanted more. [Name] was everything Negan wished he could've had with his wife. He couldn't kill this woman when she obviously wouldn't let him kill anyone else. Negan fell sick to his stomach at the thought of having to kill the lady, children and women being off limits to his tirades.

Negan backed up, seeing the (h/c) woman visibly breathe out, relaxing a bit. "I'll follow any rules, if you'll please just let them live." she looked up at Negan through her lashes, lip wobbly at the thought of not being able to go home to her daughter. She still hadn't been able to tell Daryl the good news, she was pregnant. Again. She wanted to be home with Daryl and Amber to tell him the news. She was about two months along from Denise's calculations. She needed to get to Hilltop alongside her sister, she had decided she would tell Maggie first.

"Negan please, kill me if you must but not them. Not my family." she pleaded. "Wow. I am moved. You, a little lady, would be willing to take a beatin for these people? You all sure are a tight knit group. You people take Christmas card pictures in ugly sweaters too?" he joked, trying to keep up the calm and cool facade. [Name] doubled over, hot face touching the cool ground. She wondered if anyone was on watch for walkers around. It would be too easy for a herd to sweep over right now and kill them all. "Listen here now, I don't usually just let shit like that slide but since you're such a pretty lady and Tarzan over there looks like he's gonna rip my head off, I'll let you slide." Negan said, getting down to eye level with (e/c) eyes as he pointed to Daryl, who looked like he was fixing to explode, and she nodded.

"But, that doesn't get you off the hook fellas. I'm still taking one with me, and my pick is...you." Negan bellowed, making sure everyone heard him as he nodded to Simon to bring Eugene forward. Negan looked over to Dwight, as he grabbed Daryl by the collar over to [Name] and as Simon dragged a whiny Eugene to Negan. Daryl dropped in front of his wife and brought her to him, cradling her in his lap. "It's alrigh' sunshine, I gotcha." Daryl said to his weeping wife as Negan's men loaded up Eugene into the back of a truck. "But under the pretty lady's request, I will not be killing the guy. But he will work for me, and if you don't meet my requirements I will be cutting a limb off! Starting with fingers, toes and then hands and arms. We will meet here again in two weeks." Negan ordered to Rick as his men loaded in trucks, leaving the RV, and started to drive off.

Getting [Name] off the ground was quite the struggle, as she stared into space. Glenn consoled Maggie off the ground and into the RV, everyone slowly coming to realize that everyone was alive. Thanks to a pregnant lady and her undying love of her family.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"It could be worse, they could be coming to Alexandria instead of meeting in the woods." Sasha said, her arm around Abraham.

They were all squeezed into the RV, on the way to Hilltop.

They might have been slowed down, but Maggie still needed help. And so did [Name].

Darly sat in the back room in a chair with his wife, Glenn holding Maggie's hand as she laid in the bed. [Name] let out a shaky breath, feeling her hands clam up. "Guys? I have something to tell you." she said softly, only wanting the people in the room now to her. She'd tell everyone else when they got back to Alexandria, she'd host a little party and cook some casseroles and cookies and bresk the news softly. Darly stroked his wife's hair to let her know he was paying attention while she looked over to her sister and brother-in-law to grab their attention.

"I'm pregnant."

She was met with silence, before Glenn let out a loud "What??". 'Well, there went the breaking it easily.'. "I'm pregnant. About two months along Denise said. Not far along to tell the gender yet." she said it loud enough to where she knew the people up front would hear too, as all conversations ceased as she waited for the mixed responses. "And when did you plan to tell everyone?" Maggie asked, not mad like her husband seemed to be. "I was going to tell Maggie at Hilltop, and tell Daryl when we got back and see Dr. Carson in private to get an ultrasound done. I wanted to have a little get together and tell everyone else to ease it on everyone. Amber is near 2 years old now, she can't understand yet but she's awfully mature for her age, already getting potty trained and running around. I had her easily with no complications, another one won't be so hard. I just won't get to go on runs after a few months."

The whole RV was quiet, a pen could drop and you'd hear the echo. [Name] chewed on the inside of her lip as Daryl smiled down at her, happily kissing her forehead. "We'll be alright, darlin,, just gonna hav't find some more baby supplies. Not milk since you breastfeed, but diapers and wipes." Daryl happily spoke, ecstatic at the thought of another baby. "I want the baby named after me this time! Amber got off easy being a girl. Carl Jr sounds awesome for a baby." Carl declared, moving to the room with them. Daryl chuckled as his wife laughed, winking at Carl. "We might be able to work something out. Not Carl Jr though, tough luck on that one. But we'll work in Carl in there somewhere." [Name] spoke, laughing. Daryl rolled his eyes, pushing his bangs out of his face. "Michonnes gonna want to save the Jr. title for the future, if your dad and her have another kid." Maggie uttered, a cheerful smile on her face as Glenn gazed at her, like he'd never seen so much beauty before.

"We've got time."

A/n: hi! This is like super duper long and I spent a lot of time on the lineup part, I just didn't know how to shorten it down to where it sounded right😭. This wasn't a request! I thought about this while dyeing my hair and I couldn't get it out of my head. Send in request if you like ones like this! I love writing when I have free time.

#twd daryl #daryl dixion imagine #daryl dixion x reader #daryl x you #daryl dixon #twd x reader #maggie rhee #rick grimes #twd negan #twd fluff #twd season 7 #daryl imagines

153 notes · View notes

adamofingolstadt · 3 months

Text

A little drawtectives work to get back into the swing of writing

It was a clear morning in early spring, and Jancy True had just arrived at work. A cup of tea sat beside her as she cast her eyes over a transcript, underlining important phrases. Life had been quiet the last few days, and she'd finally given in and began pivoting to digital-- at Rosé's strong suggestion-- which meant a lot of looking back through her old files and reflecting on how naive she used to be.

There was a sound similar to three bodies smacking a hardwood door.

"MOM!"

"MA!"

"Wipe your feet!" Jancy called, not looking up from her files. There was a scuffling sound as the children kicked off their shoes and shed their jackets.

"Mom! Guess what!" Rosé shouted.

"wh--"

The girl cut her off: "Eugene's coming into town tonight!"

"Tonight?" Jancy checked her calendar.

"He finished the seance last night and they said he could leave early!" Grendan explained, pulling her damp hair out of its bun.

"We'll have to send a cab down to the station for him." Jancy considered, toying with her fountain pen.

"Please can't we go pick him up ourselves?" Rosé asked, eyes wide.

"I can carry him home." York volunteered.

Jancy sighed. "Well, I suppose I could write off a couple hours... so long as we come back here when we're done."

"Thanks mom!"

"You're the best!"

"Don't forget to convert those files, please." She rolled her eyes affectionately and got back to work.

Eugene was coming by coach-- he didn't quite feel 'up' to taking the train. So they waited in the chilly evening wind, under the shelter at the bus terminal.

Finally a large SilverDog coach chugged into place before them. A few elderly folks and a hiking couple got off, and then...

"Geenie!" Rosé leapt forwards, incasing the man in a hug and trying (failing) to lift him off the ground. "Baby! We missed you!"

"Did you have a good trip?" Grandma asked.

"TWO-GENE!" York grabbed all three of his friends and (successfully) lifted them off the pavement. "I missed ya every day!"

"I can stay all week." Eugene grinned as he was set down again. "Hi Nanna!"

"Hello Eugene." Jancy gave him a hesitant tap on the shoulder.

The medium yawned; he was somewhat disheveled from the long bus trip, jacket hanging off his shoulder and gripping an ancient leather trunk

"Are you tired son?" Rosé asked, guiding him back towards the car.

"York, help the boy with his trunk." Jancy ordered. York was already on it, slinging the luggage onto his shoulder with ease.

Grandma, not sure how to make herself useful, followed his friends back to the cab.

They managed to squeeze both Grendan and Eugene into the middle seat, though York's legs were cramped.

The trip back to the office was boisterous from the backseat, Eugene's return was treated as a herald of goodness.

#drawtectives #drawfee #eugene finch #unfinished #drawtectives fanfic

10 notes · View notes

woman-of-balnain · 1 year

Text

Undone in Sorrow Part 2/10 (Alpha Rick x Omega Reader)

Previous Part | Collection Masterlist | AO3 Ver. | Next Part

Pairing: Rick Grimes/Fem!Reader

Summary: Negan forces you all to get in line and accept that his way is the only way.

A/N: The first part of this switches back and forth between Reader’s initial meeting with Negan, and continuing on from the end of the last chapter, with his first words to the rest of the group. Hopefully it will make sense. I’ve indicated what time we’re focusing on by putting ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ before each section.

Most of this is original dialogue and added scenes to the line-up that involve the Reader. Most of it is also just angst. This is the last part where we closely follow the events of the show, as after this it’ll be more just moments between Rick and the Reader in between everything else that’s going on.

I skip over most of the actual line-up, because I don’t just want to write out what we already know. That doesn’t mean we don’t see how the Reader is feeling about it all though.

Lastly, I make no claims to be good at writing Negan, but I felt that it was necessary to try here. Sorry if he doesn’t seem like he should do, but I tried my best.

Warnings: Descriptions of blood and gore, broken Rick, angst, Negan scents you against your will, pregnancy, you and Rick are true mates but that is extremely rare and considered a myth.

Word Count: 4,731

Dividers by: @cafekitsune + @newlips

The sad, the lonely, the insatiable, To these Old Night shall all her mystery tell; God's bell has claimed them by the little cry Of their sad hearts, that may not live nor die.

Then

The first thing you registered was the pain in the back of your head as you were forced back into consciousness. Your eyelids were heavy and sore as you tried to open them and look at your surroundings. But your vision was blurry, and your head was pounding so you let out a groan, trying to remember what had led up to that moment.

You remembered parting from Rick and driving off with Eugene. You could recall the way you had tried to convince yourself that everything would work out and that Maggie would be safe. That everyone would be safe. But then what?

You tried to work out what had happened next.

It was a blur, but you could remember certain things. Being blocked off again and then surrounded… being forced out of the RV by the Saviors and then… then everything went black. The throbbing pain in your head was a pretty good indication as to why. They’d obviously knocked you out and now you were at their mercy.

With another groan, you closed your eyes, since your vision was still unfocused. You just hoped that you might be able to drift off again. Anything to ignore the way your body ached and the panic spreading through you.

But then there was a slap to your cheek, forcing your eyes open once more. It wasn’t a brutal or particularly rough hit, but it wasn’t gentle either. You waited for the blurriness in your vision to fade and then you realized that you were still in the RV, hands tied behind your back with a strange alpha in front of you but no sign of your beta friend.

“Eugene…” you groaned out, trying to see if he was, in fact, there somehow.

“Oh, don’t worry about him,” the man in front of you let out a sardonic chuckle. “It’s just you and me here, darlin’.”

“Who…?”

You struggled to get the word out, your throat raw and sore. The alpha leaned down, getting right in your face and you took him in. His dark hair, his beard that was almost completely grey, the black leather jacket he wore, and that scent… it made you screw up your nose and look away.

It betrayed his cocky confidence, the way he was used to being the top alpha and beating down anyone who questioned his authority.

“You know who I am,” he grinned in a twisted way, his features showing how self-assured he was.

He was right though; you could just tell somehow.

“Negan,” you grit out, glaring up at him.

“In the flesh.”

There was something off about him. It wasn’t just his overbearing scent or the reputation he had built for himself. It was something else, something unsettling. He wasn’t what you’d been expecting, in all honesty.

You had expected someone cold and ruthless, not someone with a sense of sadistic charisma. Yet, what unsettled you was the fact that he seemed to be both. Like the latter was just one side of him, masking the darker and merciless beast that lay within. Was it just to lull you into a false sense of security? Or was he just playing nice for now, until you did something to make him snap?

“Where’s Eugene?” You tried to ask again.

“He’s just fine,” Negan replied, though you weren’t at all convinced. “We’re here to talk about you. I have questions and you… have answers.”

“I’m not telling you anything.”

You tried to appear confident, but internally you knew that you were screwed.

“Well,” he huffed out another laugh. “You’re just an omega. I can make you talk.”

A laugh of your own escaped your lips before you could stop it. Negan raised an eyebrow, but you were just glad that he was so very, very wrong.

“You can try,” you told him. “But my alpha is the only one who’s ever been able to do that.”

His eyes narrowed down at you, but he didn’t seem angry. Not yet at least.

“Talk,” he demanded, already reverting to the commanding tone alphas used to force omegas into doing what they wanted. “I want to know every little thing about that home of yours. Half of it’s about to be mine, so you could say that I’m interested in how big the score’s gonna be.”

“No,” you refused.

His tone hadn’t worked, just like you’d tried to warn him. There was a brief look of surprise that crossed his features, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Well, hot damn!” He was back to the cockiness he’d been displaying before. “You weren’t kiddin’, huh?”

He seemed slightly intrigued, which you figured wasn’t surprising. Your bond with Rick was unique and rare, something that the two of you barely understood, let alone others.

“So, who do you belong to, then?” He continued, leaning down so that he was too close for comfort again. “What kind of idiot would let you out here after starting a god damn war with me?”

Anger boiled inside of you at the way he spoke about Rick, but you forced yourself to stay calm. Negan scrunched up his nose before moving even closer, sniffing at your neck.

“Whoever it is, you absolutely reek darlin’. I mean, more than the usual stink of a mated omega.”

You turned your head away from him because, really, that was all you could do.

“You’re pretty pungent yourself…” you got out, the scent of him unbearable now that he was so close.

If it wasn’t so strong, you likely would have kept silent. That would have been the smart thing to do. But it clouded your senses until you were desperate to breathe in some air that wasn’t absolutely polluted with his scent.

“Oh, is that right?” He laughed again. “Well, why don’t we see which is stronger?”

Now

Your eyes found Rick automatically, as Negan held you there with his hand tightly gripping onto your hair. You had never seen him so broken, so defeated and in shock. A whimper escaped your lips as you reacted to the sight of him.

It broke your heart as his scent finally reached your nose, wrapping around you even with the distance between your bodies. He was feeling helpless and distraught, and it only seemed to pick up in intensity once he saw you.

“So, this is Rick,” Negan observed from behind you, realizing instantly who was the group’s leader, simply based on your alpha’s reaction to seeing you. “Look at you now. Down on your knees like a good soldier.”

Rick’s gaze moved from you, darting over to Negan. You watched as his hands clenched into fists against his thighs, but you were glad that he didn’t retaliate. That wouldn’t be good for any of you.

“You know,” Negan continued, moving closer and dragging you with him. “This bitch of yours is quite something. We had a good, long chat. Once I took care of the stink all over her, that is.”

As the distance between you was closed, Rick’s nose twitched, and he seemed to pick up on the fact that your scent was now mingled with Negan’s and his gaze darkened.

“Let her go,” he said, voice cracking but his tone no less determined.

“Hey, I get it,” Negan continued, ignoring him. “You like to mark your territory. But she’s not yours anymore. Not really. She, just like all of you, is Negan. You all belong to me now.”

Rick’s expression grew steely, and you could tell that he was about to lash out, so you became resolved to stop him. The situation was already bad enough, you didn’t want anything to push Negan into retaliating further.

“Alpha,” you called out to him softly, knowing that it would have more of an effect in that moment than his name.

Rick’s gaze instantly found yours and you could see the conflict within him. But you just shook your head, silently telling him to stay calm. His jaw clenched and he looked away from you, clearly struggling to do what he had to, rather than what he desperately wanted.

“Aww,” Negan mocked the two of you. “Ain’t that sweet. Honestly, Rick, I’m surprised you let her come out here.”

Rick just ignored him, staring straight ahead again in order to resist letting his instincts take over.

“You know,” Negan continued. “With her being pregnant and all.”

Dread filled you as the words left his mouth and Rick’s head snapped back up in disbelief. The confusion and betrayal he felt was clear as he looked at you questioningly. You couldn’t handle the accusatory look in his gaze, so you turned your head away in shame.

“Come on now,” Negan continued to taunt your alpha. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”

You could feel Rick’s eyes still burning into you, but he didn’t answer the other alpha. So, Negan continued to antagonize him.

“Yeah, congratulations. You’re gonna be a daddy. That is, if you both make it through tonight.”

Then

You squirmed in disgust as Negan rubbed his nose and cheek against your mating gland. Your body felt like it was on high alert as the alpha’s scent began to seep its way into yours against your will. The bond you shared with Rick meant that your body knew that this was wrong and a betrayal in every sense of the word.

“You know what I think?” Negan muttered against your neck. “Your alpha must be Rick.”

The fact that he knew Rick’s name was a shock to you, but the more pressing problem was the need to get him off and away.

“Please stop,” you begged.

Negan took in your scent again before he did as you asked, pulling back with a look of deep satisfaction on his face. You knew you must have been dripping in the smell of him by then and it left your entire body feeling on edge.

“Tell me about Alexandria,” he demanded once again, taking advantage of the fact that his scent was now all around you and likely clouding your mind. “Weapons, food, medicine, defenses... You’re gonna tell me all of it.”

“No,” you repeated, refusing to give in.

“Omega, in case it escaped your notice, you are buried up to your neck in shit right now. I’m just about done playing nice. Tell me, or we’re gonna start doing this the hard way.”

You just stayed silent, unwilling to do anything to jeopardize either your family or your home. Negan’s patience had clearly worn thin though, because your head was suddenly whipping to the side as he punched you across the face.

He gave you a moment, waiting to see if you would give in, but all that escaped you was a cry of pain. So, he pulled you up by the hair, pushing you down to the ground.

“Stop,” you cried out pitifully. “Please… just stop.”

Negan didn’t pay you any mind, because he didn’t care if you begged and pleaded with him. He would only stop when you gave him what he wanted to hear. Now that you were on the floor, curled up onto your side you were forced to watch in horror as his foot swung back and it looked like he was about to kick you right in the stomach.

“I’m pregnant,” you blurted out, unable to stop the words from escaping your mouth as fear overcame you. “Please, don’t!”

He stopped just in time, and you knew that the admission might have been a lie, but the fact that you suspected it was enough for you to become protective. You were relieved that he had halted, not wanting to jeopardize your child if you really were pregnant.

“Well shit,” he muttered, sounding more than just a little annoyed.

Now

“Damn, Rick,” Negan laughed sardonically, relishing in the other alpha’s despair. “You look miserable. I mean, shit, you should be ready to pop the champagne, not lookin’ like someone just pissed in your Cheerios! But hey, this is hardly the time for celebrations, isn’t it? My bad!”

He was still holding onto you tightly and your body was so tired and sore that you wondered if you’d even still be standing if he let you go. You couldn’t bear to look at Rick, too ashamed that he’d found out like this to face him.

But then you heard the sound of gravel moving and a struggle, so you looked back up to see that Rick had gotten up and tried to lunge for Negan. Panic spread through you as a few Saviors were quick to grab him and hold him back.

“Let her go,” he practically growled. “She doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

“No, you see Rick, that’s where you’re wrong. The minute you crossed me, you brought her into this. Now, I’ll let this little outburst of yours go, just this once. I get it, truly, I do, but you need to get it through your head that everything you own, half of it belongs to me. So, calm the fuck down or I might just take your little omega home with me. Is that clear?”

Rick’s anger and fury were clear, but so was his internal struggle to restrain himself. Negan nodded, accepting that as Rick’s acquiescence to the situation and the authority he held over all of them.

“Simon,” he barked out, calling over his second in command, the one who had originally blocked the RV from getting to Hilltop. “You hold onto Rick’s bitch. Keep her right where he can see her.”

The other man, also an alpha, moved to take you from Negan, his hold just as tight. You felt the cool and sharp metal of a blade pressing against your neck to hold you still and sucked in a fearful breath. Then Negan was moving closer to Rick, continuing to goad him on.

“Take a good look. Because if you try anything, it’s her neck on the line. Literally. Hers… and your baby’s.”

Rick was shaking all over and covered in sweat, but he looked Negan right in the eye, never once backing down. He didn’t say anything though, showing that he understood just fine.

“Good,” Negan nodded, seeing that Rick was right where he wanted him. “Now, let’s get down to business.”

You barely paid attention to what Negan said – something about him being pissed off about all of the men your alpha had killed. All you could focus on was Rick and the complete and utter hopelessness of the situation.

It was only when Negan started pointing with his bat towards every single person who was lined up, people who you loved like family, some of them who were family… that was when you snapped out of it and came back to reality. And when the screams echoed out around you, there also came the realization that yours was one of the loudest.

The gravel on the ground dug into your knees as you knelt with the others. You tried to ignore the splattered remains of the man you’d seen as your brother, in every sense of the word. Glenn hadn’t just been your brother-in-law, or the man your sister married and loved.

He’d always been a friend and someone who had your back, not just in dangerous situations but when you needed someone to talk to or to just enjoy the few rare moments of quiet with. He had been family, since pretty much right at the beginning.

You didn’t want to remember him like this. You didn’t want to be forced to hear Maggie’s sobs while you weren’t able to do anything to comfort her. You couldn’t comprehend how things had changed so quickly in just the past 24 hours. You couldn’t come to terms with the fact that someone as tough and steadfast as Abraham was reduced to the gory pile of flesh and blood somewhere on the ground before you.

And then there was Rick, who had been dragged off by Negan. While they were gone, Simon had forced you to join the others on your knees. Then the RV returned, and you felt helpless when Negan dragged Rick back out, the man you loved scrambling to gain his footing as he was pulled back towards you all.

Now, you still had no choice but to watch, as Negan tried to force your alpha into submission. He definitely knew that such a thing was unnatural for alphas, but he didn’t care. In his eyes, this was the new world – Negan’s world – and he would get his way, no matter what it took.

Rick was in shock and denial as Negan tried to make him cut Carl’s arm off. He kept slightly shaking his head, like he still couldn’t believe what was happening. Like he expected to wake up from the nightmare you were all being forced to endure.

But this wasn’t a dream, it was happening and there was nothing any of you could do to escape it.

Negan’s patience was quickly wearing thin and when Rick still wouldn’t move to do as he demanded, the older alpha decided to up the stakes. He brought his gaze to you and your heart seemed to skip a beat in fear, already anticipating what he planned to do.

“Simon, bring the omega to me.”

His second in command didn’t need to ask which omega Negan was referring to. You were the only one there, surrounded by betas and alphas. So, Simon was then hauling you up again, before roughly letting go of you, causing you to fall back down to your knees right in front of your alpha.

Rick seemed to move on instinct more than anything, reaching out to pull you closer. His hands wrapped around your wrists, clinging on tightly as though you would help anchor him within the swirling sea of emotions that he was currently experiencing. It was like he just needed to be touching you somewhere, so that he could properly convince himself that you were okay. At least for now.

“Nope,” Negan interrupted, pulling you back out of Rick’s reach. “None of that. You’ve got to earn that privilege. Now make a choice. You can fall in line like a good soldier, cut off your son’s arm, nice and clean. Or, I can give your omega the good ol’ Lucille special, and I mean, you’re very familiar with how that works by now, aren’t you?”

He waved his bloody bat, covered in bits of flesh to emphasize his point. That blood, that flesh… it was all remnants of the two friends you had lost that day. Your family. It was clear that Negan was losing his patience with Rick’s reluctance and defiance. But somehow, he was still veiling it behind taunting remarks and a sense of sadistic and twisted humor.

Rick leaned forward, his head hanging low, and the sweat was dripping off him now, droplets falling from his forehead where his hair was practically sticking to his skin. He choked out a sob and you wanted nothing more but to comfort him, to hold him close and let him know that he wasn’t alone. But you couldn’t and it killed you emotionally to see him break down when you could do nothing for him.

Tears welled in your eyes, and it was not out of fear for yourself, but out of love and despair for Rick. Carl was his son; how could he ever make that choice? The tears spilled over, and you tried to stifle the sound but it was no use. The cries of both you and Rick began to ring out through the clearing.

“Tick tock, Rick.”

“Please…” Rick sobbed out, finally looking back at Negan with desperation.

“Make a god damned decision, Rick! It’s not hard!”

“Please!” Rick begged, the words barely comprehensible as his body wracked with sobs and it all became too much. “Please, don’t – don’t do this. Let it be me… please…”

“Dad,” Carl said softly, far too calm.

Rick’s eyes met Carl’s and then his son was giving him a subtle nod from where he was pressed down to the ground.

“Enough stalling,” Negan’s voice boomed out. “I’ll make it easier for you, Rick. Give you a countdown. Get you nice and geared up and ready to go. Three.”

“Dad, it’s fine,” Carl continued, ignoring Negan. “Just do it.”

“Carl, no,” Rick was pleading with his eyes just as much as he was with his words. “I can’t…”

“Two.”

You whimpered involuntarily as Negan’s bat came to rest right in front of your face, the blood and bits of brains now impossible to ignore.

“Dad,” Carl insisted. “I’ll be okay, just do it.”

“One.”

Rick barely managed to pick his hatchet up off the ground, his mind a complete wreck as he cried, and his breaths came out in frantic pants. He was shaking uncontrollably as he took hold of his son’s arm and raised the hatchet. Carl gave him another nod of reassurance and you looked away, unable to bear it.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Negan asked calmly.

Your head snapped back to the scene in front of you, seeing that he had interrupted just before Rick swung the hatchet down.

“You answer to me,” he reminded Rick coldly. “You provide for me. You belong to me. Right?”

Rick could only nod in desperation, letting the hatchet fall back to the ground in his frenzied relief. You looked away once again as Negan snapped at Rick, once again. It was hard enough to come to terms with the reality of the situation, but seeing Rick so broken down and defeated… it was too much.

So, you drowned out the rest of what Negan said to all of you, your mind and body becoming numb. You were still in shock – all of you were – it was all just too much. You only came back to yourself when Daryl was being loaded back into the van and you realized that the Saviors were taking him. The way he cowered slightly as one of them – Dwight, you thought his name was – pointed his own crossbow at him… it just did even more to show how far you had all fallen, and how quickly.

You were all frozen as the Saviors left, just sinking into your grief and shock over the traumatic events that had just occurred. Maggie was the first one to move and Rick was the first one to speak, once you were all finally alone again. You forced yourself to stand, heading over to your sister to try and comfort her but she shrugged you off.

“Don’t,” she said, her voice cold and angry.

You couldn’t blame her. Not after everything that had just happened. So, you just stepped back away and gave her the space she clearly needed. She limped over towards Glenn’s body, with Rick being the only one to stop her, trying to gently remind her that she needed to get to Hilltop.

“No, we need to get ready.”

“For what?”

“To fight them.”

“Maggie…” you intervened. “You need a doctor. We can work the rest out later, but you can’t go on like this much longer.”

“No, I can’t,” she agreed angrily, but her voice betrayed how weak she truly was. “How can I go on, when Gle – he…”

Your tears spilled over again as the hopelessness crept back in and the reminder of her loss hit you all over again.

“Maggie, right now you need to worry about your baby.”

“Just go home,” Maggie got out, her voice wavering from the pain she was feeling – both physically and emotionally. “I can get there myself.”

“Maggie…” Rick cut in, trying as well, but she just pushed him away.

“You were out…” Your sister’s voice broke again briefly. “Out here for me…”

“We still are,” Rick assured her.

Maggie began sobbing, the reality of it all now truly sinking in.

“No, I… I can make it now on my own. I can’t have you all out here, I need you to go back.”

“Maggie…” Michonne approached her gently. “We’re not letting you go.”

“You have to,” Maggie whispered back, resolved in her decision.

“I’ll go with her,” you told Michonne, exchanging a look with the other woman.

She clearly didn’t think it was a good idea, but Maggie was your sister, so she seemed to reluctantly relent to the idea.

“I will too,” Sasha said resolutely.

“You’re not going off on your own again,” Rick argued, speaking directly to you.

“Then you come too,” Maggie snapped at Rick. “I don’t care, just… the rest of you go home.”

Your sister moved over to what remained of her husband, kneeling back down by his side. You followed, resting a hand on her shoulder as it wracked with her sobs.

“I’m not leaving him here…” she told you softly. “I’m taking him with me.”

“Of course,” you assured her. “I’ll help you. The three of us will. Okay?”

Maggie just nodded, unable to look away from Glenn – or rather, what remained of him.

“She’s suffering from abruptio placentae,” Dr. Carson informed you and Rick as he checked Maggie over while she lay down, unconscious. “A separation of the placenta from the uterus. But the baby seems healthy and fine. She’ll be okay.”

Rick sighed with relief from beside you and you felt your own heart and mind ease just a little bit. Your alpha had been quiet and distant during the journey to Hilltop, but you couldn’t blame him. And then Maggie had slipped out of consciousness during the trip, meaning your main concern was her again.

“She should stay here for now,” Carson continued. “So that I can keep an eye on them both.”

You just nodded and he began to put away some of his equipment.

“Can… can you check over Y/N too?” Rick asked, his voice cracking slightly.

“Of course,” the doctor replied, not thinking much of the request due to the black eye you were sporting, courtesy of Negan.

“I… I mean an ultrasound,” Rick continued, causing Carson to pause. “She… she’s pregnant.”

You hadn’t had a chance to talk to him yet, to tell him that you weren’t actually sure. Carson gave you both a look but then nodded before going back to what he was doing. Before long, you were seated with your shirt pulled up and the cool gel was being applied to your stomach. You could sense that Rick still wasn’t quite himself and you couldn’t blame him but you felt nervous to be doing this under such circumstances.

You turned to look at the screen as the feed began to show what the ultrasound was picking up. Carson adjusted things a little before he settled on a spot and your heart skipped a beat.

“There, you’re about two months along by the look of it.”

You were amazed by the sight, your suspicions confirmed as you took in the tiny little outline of the baby – yours and Rick’s baby. And then you felt Rick’s hand taking yours, squeezing it gently as he sat beside you, looking at the image too.

You turned to look at him and caught his gaze. He was tearing up, but this time from happiness and relief and hope. The slightest hint of a smile spread across his lips, and you choked out a sob because after everything you’d just been through, it was the most relieving thing you could have witnessed. Rick with a smile, with a little glimmer of hope again.

“The baby… it’s healthy?” Rick asked, tearing his gaze away from yours to address Carson.

“Yes, everything looks fine,” the doctor assured him.

Rick brought his attention back to you and he looked like he was struggling again to comprehend what was happening around him, so you brought your joined hands up to your lips, pressing a kiss against his fingers. He gave you another small smile, but his mind seemed to be drifting away.

You let it go for now, knowing it was a shock for him (all of it was) and that there would be time to discuss it all later in private.

Next Part

#rick grimes x reader #rick grimes/reader #rick grimes x f!reader #alpha!rick grimes x omega!reader #alpha rick grimes #omega reader #female reader #rick grimes x you #rick grimes/you #rick grimes fanfic

70 notes · View notes

rogueshadeaux · 4 months

Text

Chapter Thirty-One — Legacy

It didn’t go into the little thing Zeke made to listen to these, not at first at least — it was shoved into some port on his computer as he typed away, looking for something. Analyzing it, I came to realize. When the only thing that popped up on it was ‘AUDIO FILE’ with a jumble of letters and numbers after the fact, he pulled it out of the computer and put it into his invention at a speed that should have broken both.

5k words | 16-20 min read time | TRIGGER WARNINGS: Child death, death, 'hallucinations' in a way, mass death, violence (not visually described).

⚠ AUTHOR'S NOTE: 5k words, and less than half came from my mind. There's someone else who deserves the accolades for this chapter, and it's because she spent 4 hours on mic with me as we wrote this together months ago. Her friendship was the first gift of many I received from being in this fandom, so naturally she had to be the first to feature in Erosion. Thanks @codenamehazard for being the best supporter, helping me lay down the groundwork for Erosion and [you know ;)], and giving me a chance to siphon show your talents in my own fic. Love ya girl!!!

Everyone froze. Even the cicadas outside stopped screaming after Zeke said that. Dr. Sims didn’t look surprised at all — he just moved to look down at the floor. Brent, wide eyed, looked across the room over at me, frozen mid-step.

And Dad? He was glaring. “Yeah, we’re done here.” he said flatly, moving off of the wall to stand. “Brent, Jean — go upstairs and start packing your things—”

“Delsin—” Dr. Sims began before Dad cut him off.

“No, Eugene,” he snapped. “You can’t expect me to believe that shit, c’mon.”

“It’s true—” Zeke began to defend.

“Bullshit!”

Zeke stood so fast that the gaming chair he was sitting in launched back, hitting the desk and rattling the monitors on it. He was gone, storming off into the hallway by the stairwell, towards the room he told us was his and throwing open the door he said we could knock on if we ever needed him.

“I can’t believe you brought me here for information like that,” Dad scoffed, looking at Dr. Sims. “Time travel? Really?”

“Is it that far-fetched when we’re talking about the Beast?” Dr. Sims asked, keeping his composure under Dad’s scrutiny with ease.

“You’re trying to get me to believe time travel exists, Eugene. Do you not hear yourself?” Dad demanded. “I’m trying to help my kid, not play some Back to the Future fantasy—”

“I know it’s a lot to take in—”

“A lot?” Dad demanded, stepping closer to Dr. Sims. “A lot? You’re telling me time travel exists and Kessler didn’t manage to stop the Beast? He still managed to fuck it up?”

Dr. Sims sighed. “If you just let us explain it—”

“No.” Dad cut him off, holding up a hand. He looked furious. “I’m not gonna listen to you tell me fucking lies like this. You didn’t lose anything to the Beast or the plague — I did. I’m not gonna be mocked—”

A loud and harsh bang resounded in the middle of Dad’s argument, making me yelp with a jerk and scaring Brent enough to turn the tips of his hair silver. Zeke stood at the edge of the room, a small metal chest at his feet. For the first time since we got here, he looked angry at Dad, like he was ready for a fight.

Zeke bent down and unlatched the chest, throwing the lid open so hard it bounced off of the frame once. He began digging away in the chest, pulling out things one by one; a yellow and black jacket, a weird backpack with one strap. They all came out and were set down in one fluid, anger-fueled movement as Zeke looked for something. “The last thing Kessler did before he died was give Cole a picture,” Zeke began to explain as he pulled an old leather wallet out of the chest. “You heard the dead drop about Trish — tell me something.”

He stomped up right to Dad, and held out the picture for him to take. “How do I have a photo of them on their wedding day if he never got to propose to her?”

Dad kept his scowl but something in his vision changed as he reached out to take the photograph Zeke held out. Brent moved immediately to look at it from over Dad’s shoulder and it only took a moment till my resolve broke and I stood, moving to Dad’s other side.

It was an old photograph, one of those print out ones you’d get at like, a Walmart photo center. The main focus of the photograph was the bride, who looked straight at the camera with a dazzling smile, veil caught in the light breeze of a spring wind. Cole was there, the actual Cole, features way softer than the ones on his statue as he pressed his forehead to his wife’s temple, looking at her through his lashes. Even Zeke was there in sunglasses and with a smile, face thinner and less wrinkled.

“Cole never even got to propose to Trish,” Zeke insisted. “But Kessler? He had two children with her, and they all died to the Beast.”

Dad took a moment to look up from the picture, eyes meeting Zeke’s. “You’re asking me to trust that Kessler, the man that killed this woman, was in love with her? That he killed his own wife?”

“I didn’t say it made sense, I just said it was true,” Zeke retorted, crossing his arms. “Kessler wanted to make sure Cole would make all the hard choices. He ran when the Beast first showed up in his time. He took away Cole’s ability to be swayed.”

Dad looked back down at the photo. And, slowly, he shook his head. “I don’t believe you,” he said simply, no emotion in his voice.

“Delsin—“ Dr. Sims chimed from the side.

“No, Eugene.” Dad snapped. “There’s no proof besides this picture. How am I supposed to trust this when the man that could confirm it is dead?” Dad breathed deeply like he was trying to keep from spewing a slew of curse words. “I’m here just for the First Sons’ base location. That’s it. I don’t need to hear about this stupid little fairytale — just where this base is. If it wasn’t for her?” He said, jabbing a thumb my way. “I would have already left.”

Dad’s expression looked like it wasn’t up for any sort of debate or conversation, which no one dared to attempt. Zeke sort of scoffed and snatched the old dog-eared photograph from Dad before turning back to the chest full of Cole’s things, yanking up the partially folded jacket off of the ground to throw back in with the rest.

And in the awkward silence of it all, there was the softest little clatter as a small chip came flying away from the jacket and skittered across the floor to my feet.

I stepped back once, bending down to pick up the chip. There was miniscule writing on it in a silvery sort of ink and a chicken scratch that looked like it was due more to shaky hands than anything else: for Zeke.

“Uh, here,” I said, holding it out for him to take.

He just stayed staring at my outstretched hand like it was poisonous, mouth opening and closing like a fish with nothing coming out of it. Not until he seemed to choke on air in an effort to speak. “That shouldn’t be there,” he muttered.

“What?”

That chip was out of my hand in an instant and Zeke was flying across the room, nearly tripping over his gaming chair in an effort to get into it. “How did I never fucking look in the pockets?” he chastised the air, growling.

Dad glanced over at me before looking at the back of Zeke’s head. “I uh…what is it?”

“I don’t know,” Zeke responded. “I don’t know,”

The chip reader crackled as it struggled to read the piece, making a couple clicking noises like it was stuttering before it came to life. There was a bit of shuffling on the line, and a grunt as someone moved with the noise before humming. “Alright.” the voice mumbled to itself. It had a natural rasp that was strained, like he was sick or had a stuffy nose. There was an airiness that gave to a wheeze, like he had spent the last day and a half either crying or smoking a carton of cigarettes. He just seemed so tired. He cleared his throat harshly once, and then started talking. “Audio log, date—” he started before cutting off. There was a pause before he mumbled, “What was today?” to himself, counting off in mutterings before scoffing and saying, “Fuck it.”

Zeke’s hand shot over his mouth, and he paled. “Holy shit,” he whispered.

Professionalism abandoned, the man sighed, taking a moment to gather himself. “Zeke, if you’re listening to this, I’m…I’m already dead. There’s no other way to say it — I’m dead.” Even now, so many years in the future and a good seven feet away, I could hear him swallow thickly, like he wasn’t even really ready to digest the fact himself. “There’s been a lot I’ve wanted to say to you. A lot I’ve been…holding back, but I just never could say, ‘cause how would I? I know we’ve seen insane but the shit that’s been going on with me? It’s just — would you even believe me?”

“I would’ve, Cole” Zeke muttered in the silence.

Cole. Cole MacGrath. My eyes widened so large they felt like they were gonna pop out of my head as I looked at Dad, who’s brow was furrowed as he looked at the little speaker.

“You remember the dreams I talked about, back in Empire?” Cole asked, like Zeke could respond to him then or now. “They never stopped. If anything…they got worse. I started to see—” his voice cracked and he stopped short before continuing, “I started to see…in my dreams, what life could have been. I saw Trish. I saw my daughters.” He huffed, sniffing hard, like he was trying to decide whether to cry or celebrate. “Twins, can you believe it? Beautiful girls. I saw it all — how we struggled to even have them and the day they were born. Amaris and Elena…my sun and moon. We fought to conceive and then they were premature and there was…for a while, we thought we were going to lose them. I’d let them hold my finger sometimes and just whisper to them to keep fighting because I didn’t want them to be alone. I could feel their weight when I was allowed to hold them for the first time. They were so small. Weighed practically nothing. But holding them, something Trish and I got to make? It felt like I was holding the world. I would’ve done anything for them. Protect them, take care of them, love them — I would’ve been the father I never got. I got to see them grow up, too. Amaris was a wild free-spirit that we could barely contain, and Elena…she was so gentle. I loved them both so much, Zeke, and I’ll never even get to have them now. I would’ve done anything for them…”

Dad shifted on my left and I looked at him in time to see him bring a hand to his chin to rub it, eyes wet. Brent was staring at some fixed spot in the wall across from him, face steeled in all ways but actually.

Cole exhaled shakily, hard enough for the mic on the recorder to cackle with static. “But there was more, so much more. I saw the chaos, the destruction, everything Kessler showed me and then some. Saw a world turned upside down, an apocalyptic wasteland where everyone and everything was insane. I saw complete and utter annihilation. I saw a world that no matter what I did, it didn’t matter. That one scares me the most — to do everything right and it didn’t fucking matter.” he growled that last word.

“And the part that scares me the most is that these do not feel like dreams. These do not feel like nightmares. They feel too real.” He insisted. “They feel like — god, as insane as it sounds, they feel like visions.”

That dam that was holding back his emotion cracked, and he gasped. “I’m becoming like Kessler,” he realized in a haunted whisper. “I’m becoming like Kessler, I’m…”

Zeke’s head fell into his hands as Cole’s voice broke and he began to gasp for air, choking back sobs. My cast was pressed so hard to my mouth that I could practically feel its design imprinting on my skin as I tried to keep quiet. He sounded so broken, so scared. This Kessler guy was enough to scare the man that took on the Beast. He was on the brink of hysterics.

He paused for a moment to inhale shakily. “Still, I can’t get that thought outta my head, that one nightmare — that one vision. That I could do everything right and it doesn’t fucking matter. That nobody will see me except for the Demon of Empire City. The power–fueled terrorist that started the plague and destroyed Empire City.”

Brent shook his head and cracked, beginning to pace back and forth in front of Dad and I. Dad’s head was hung low, hands on his hips and his face obscured by his hair. I couldn’t even move from where I was. There wasn’t enough power in the world that could get me to summon my feet to step, not when my legs felt like lead.

“That Conduits could never be seen as anything other than monsters and tools. That I could give everything to save everyone, do everything right, be the hero that everyone wants, that that man groomed me to be…and it doesn’t fucking matter.” Cole continued. “That all of this, all of this pain, all of this suffering, all of this loss — your betrayal, Trish’s death, the loss of what could have been — meant fuckall!

“And none of this matters. None of it matters.” Cole blubbered. “Don’t matter what I do, I fail. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try…I fail. I fail you, I fail Trish, I fail my daughters. No matter what I do, I’m a failure…just like Kessler. God…no matter what I do, I fail. I’ve become just like Kessler. A failure.” Cole’s voice got louder the further he rambled until it cracked with his held back screams — and a zap. “A fucking failure!” He bellowed, voice cracking. There’s a crash, and more follow, the static on the recorder more electrical than noise as Cole rampaged.

His voice would wail over the sound of destruction, nonsensical rambling that would occasionally be something we could hear. “"They were twins, twins! My little girls, my sun and moon. I failed them! I failed them all!" He screamed at some point, Zeke’s shoulders beginning to shake with silent sobs as he said that. “I‘m going to fucking become him! A failure!” He screams again. “"I killed them! I killed them! My wife, my daughters! They're dead, I killed them!” There was another hard crash, like a pile of something metal collapsed under his rage. “The blood on his hands stain mine! They’re dead because of me! They’re dead because I was a fucking coward the first time and a murderer the second! We’re the same fucking person! They’re dead because of me!”

There was more crashing, more loud screaming that devolved into something incoherent. I wasn’t even sure Cole was trying to talk anymore — he was just angry. But I have never, never heard wailing like that from someone before, a desperate and painstricken sound that vibrated my core. It was enough to actually make my heart hurt, to make me choke back my own sobs. My little whimper as I held back my tears caught Brent’s attention as he passed in front of me. Brent himself has splotches of red across his face from holding back his own sobs, and both of our eyes were glistening when they met. He moved to stand beside me instead of pace and threw an arm over my shoulder, letting me tuck into his side and use his chest to hide the noise of my crying.

And then everything on the recording stopped. Everything except for Cole’s quiet crying. There’s shuffling as the recorder is readjusted and he sniffs hard, coughing to clear his throat. “I want to be wrong.” He murmurs, exhausted. “I hope to god I’m wrong. I…I don’t want you to live in a world like that, Zeke.” Zeke himself began sobbing quietly. “I…I just, I’ve been holding all this back because I didn’t wanna worry you. You’ve got enough problems, you’re dying yourself. You’re suffering from the Plague, I didn’t need you to worry about me. It was my burden to bear. And don’t lie. You would’ve.” He huffs a chuckle, as if he could already hear how Zeke was muttering that he should have told him anyways.

“I want you to be happy.” Cole says simply. “And I’ll still try to do everything right, in the hopes that I’m wrong. I want to be wrong so fucking bad. So that you can live in a world where Conduits aren’t seen as things to be used or monsters to be scared of. So that Conduits can be seen as you see me — just another person. Someone…with fears and hopes and lives and families. Just another person.

“I’m so fucking scared. I don't wanna die.” Cole MacGrath, the Cole MacGrath, said with this haunted tone like the severity of the situation was only just beginning to settle in his chest. “It seems like fate’s got it out for us, huh? Maybe it doesn’t even matter then, if I even do the right thing. That blast core from the Vermaak makes seven, and I’m ready for the RFI. We’ve just gotta charge it some more…but I don’t even know if this whole thing will work — it’s a huge gamble. What if the RFI doesn’t wipe out the Plague? What if it just kills Conduits, kills the Beast, and leaves you all to die slowly? God...so many people are going to die either way, but what if we're wrong? What if everyone dies?”

Cole paused, breathing shakily. “So much goddamn blood on my hands…everyone’s. It doesn’t matter if I did it as Cole, or as Kessler — this is all my fault. Everything lies in this gamble, Zeke. This is more than just coming out short on a slot machine — this could be the end of it all. We could be wrong. The RFI could fail, and all that happens is I kill all of humanity.”

“But…” Cole drew off, another popping sound interfering with the mic. ”I’m willing to take that risk, just for that slight chance that I’m wrong.” His voice is more resolved, even if it still sounded weak. “That this works, and it heals you and gets rid of the Beast. So that you can live and be happy…and so you can live in a world where things are a little more peaceful. I wish it didn’t have to be this way. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way — you can’t always have what you want. Isn’t that right? But I’ve literally lost everything…except for you, Zeke. You’re all I have left. The only family Kessler allowed me to keep. I don’t have Trish. I’ll never get to know my baby girls. So I’ll do it for you.”

Cole’s voice cracked again on you, and it was almost like I could envision him running his hands over his face to calm himself down. “You’re off with Laroche right now doing God knows what to charge the RFI. I don’t know where Nix is, and Kuo…I don’t even want to think about her. We never got to talk after I tested the RFI. I know as soon as that thing’s charged, if I don’t set it off then…then I never will. So…I guess this is goodbye.” he said so casually, so resigned. Like in that small amount of time, he accepted that this was it. “Sorry it can’t be in person, but there’s not enough time for formalities. We were never the type to give a shit about them anyways.” Cole gasped quietly, trying to hold back another wave of emotion. “I love you brother,” he said, voice quivering. “And I’m…I’m sure gonna miss you,”

Cole almost immediately began quietly sobbing by the end of his farewell, the sound echoing through the silent stilt house as the recording stopped. Zeke’s whole body shook as he was wracked with quiet sobs, Brent’s arm was heavy around me and I just knew it was because we were feeling the weight of all of this on both of our shoulders.

Cole was…scared, by the end. Barely able to deal with the fact that he needed to die, and that he was taking out so many people with him. That recording was the final plea of a man wanting nothing more than to be wrong, and I wasn’t even sure if he got what he wanted. I couldn’t reliably decide, at least, by the time I calmed myself down.

Dad breathed deeply and raised his head, arms crossed over his chest. He had that stoic look he reserved for interrogations, but it didn’t hide how red his eyes were. “You weren’t lying.” He said simply, looking at Zeke’s back. “I’m sorry.”

Zeke’s head slowly raised. “Kessler was a desperate sonofabitch, who was willing to do anything to stop the Beast. And that included hurting himself.”

“We don’t know how he did it.” Dr. Sims said from the side. He himself had a rogue tear on his cheek that he hastily swiped away. “We just know it’s true.”

Dad rubbed the growing scruff on his face and sighed. “We can ask more questions later.” he decided, looking at Zeke. The man was still hunched into himself, refusing to look at us; Dad probably thought now was a terrible time to ask some clarifying questions. “But I still think our best option is to find the First Sons’ old base.”

Dr. Sims pushed off of the wall and walked over to where Zeke was, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. “I can go through the rest of the dead drops,” he offered Zeke quietly. “Why don’t you go take a moment?”

Zeke nodded, struggling to find the will to stand. He pulled the chip out of the reader and held it like it was gold, gently putting it back into the pocket of that yellow and black jacket before closing the chest and lifting it, refusing to look at anyone. His echoing footsteps resounded the first floor until his bedroom door closed, leaving us all in the remnants of what was his past.

“Holy shit, Eugene,” Dad breathed, looking over at his friend, eyes wide. “Time travel. Time travel.”

“I know,” Dr. Sims breathed. “I still wonder how he did it. It keeps me up at night.”

“So this Kessler asshole has been a part of it from the beginning and the end.” Dad shook his head. “Jesus…”

Brent’s arm withdrew from my shoulder and he let me move away to sit on the couch, shaking his head slowly. “It still doesn’t make sense,” he mutters. “Why kill his wife instead of keeping her safe? Why keep Zeke alive?”

I drew my knees into my chest the moment I sat down, trying to breathe deeply. I wasn’t even sure how to process this. Time travel! There’s ways to time travel, and Kessler learned to do it to try and stop the Beast.

That thought made me stop. “Dad?” I asked, lifting my head from my knees.

Dad paused his chatting with Dr. Sims to look over. “What’s up, Jeanie?”

“Kessler came back to stop the Beast, right?” I began, “And he was from the future so he…he probably knew who it was. But…John worked with Kessler. John even said in one of the dead drops he was promoted to work directly with him. Why not stop him when he had the chance? Before he became the Beast?”

“He said that?” Dr. Sims asked as Dad’s mouth froze mid response, the weight of the question hanging in the air.

Brent held up a hand as if to correct me. “He said something about Kessler knowing he had an important destiny, remember?” He asked, looking between Dad and I. “If he knew John was the Beast and wanted to stop him, why not just kill him before all of that happened?”

Something wasn’t adding up and we were all beginning to realize it, especially as Dad and Dr. Sims glanced at each other uncomfortably. “That…doesn’t matter,” Dad finally decided. “Not anymore. They’re all dead, there’s no one to ask. All we need to worry about right now is finding this place the ice soldiers were made to see if there’s any sort of connection to Archangel.”

Dad walked over to Dr. Sims’ side as he sat in the gaming chair, leaving Brent and I to share a look, the type that said no matter what was going on, we didn’t believe it. Kessler came back in time in search of a way to stop the Beast, and all he did was ruin lives — including his own. He murdered who was supposed to be his wife, gave his own past self trauma, and yet didn’t even try to stop the man beside him that was the actual Beast?

It didn’t make sense, and I wasn’t sure if there was any explanation that would make it make sense.

Dad and Dr. Sims went through the remaining dead drop chips that would load, painting the rest of the confusing picture on what happened here, at least; Bertrand being angry about whatever sort of Conduit he was, believing God wanted him to be more. There was another Conduit that roamed the swamps and attacked Bertrand’s men — a service more than an issue, in my opinion — and Dr. Wolfe and Kuo decided along with John that Cole was who they needed to fight the Beast.

A suggestion made by John White himself, which left us with even more questions than answers.

But finally, finally, the answer came to us in a talk between Wolfe and Bertrand, “File A435,” he clarified in his accent.

“That new facility you folks are building below the Carriage House, it’s….overwhelming,” he purred, like the sight of it did something to him sexually. I nearly gagged at his voice. “Hats off to you, Doctor.”

Wolfe had the nerve to sound proud. “Our technology is a hundred years ahead of the rest of the world.”

“Don’t be so modest,” Bertrand said. I swear, his accent sounded sloppier coming out of his mouth because of how hard it was watering. “When I joined the First Sons, they told me that they had technology a hundred years ahead. Now? That sounds conservative! When I saw that place I thought I’d been abducted by a UFO!”

Brent snorted slightly on the side and nearly managed to make me laugh; the man sounded ridiculous.

“Sorry for the confusion,” Wolfe murmured, that making me giggle a bit. Dad shot a look at both of us and sharply hushed us, making me bite down on my lips to try and stifle the sound.

“They were just caves before,” Bertrand reminisced. “I knew them well. Played in them as a child. They were a part of the underground railroad, smuggling escaped slaves outta town. Then it was prohibition and whiskey instead of slaves. Now! Now, we’re smuggling in the future.”

The dead drop beeped twice, signaling its end. “Carriage House,” Dad said, looking at Dr. Sims. “That’s where we need to go. Where is that?”

Dr. Sims moved to use Zeke’s computer, typing away. “I’m not…not sure,” he muttered. Playing with the mouse and keyboard wasn’t enough, apparently, as he raised his hand to the screen and touched it, both turning bright blue. Bursts of binary littered the computer’s screen as he used his powers to search for an answer.

“Man, I wish my power was that cool,” Brent muttered, glancing at me. I couldn’t help but agree.

Dr. Sims growled. “Damnit. Turns out Carriage House isn’t a place, but a building almost every plantation had.” He removed his hand, the screen regaining color — and showing a map of New Marais. “Our best bet would be to go to the Ascension Parish and look around the plantations, see if we get lucky.” Dr. Sims pointed to a section on the map.

Dad rubbed his face, looking absolutely exhausted at the idea. “Okay. Alright, then we should go. The sooner the better, especially since that’s on the other side of New Marais.”

“I’m coming with you.”

We all turned towards the hall, where Zeke was standing hidden in the shadows. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed and looking down at the floor. Or, he was, until Dad spoke up, saying, “I don’t think that’s a good idea—“

“Cole did everything he could for shit like this to not happen,” Zeke said, pushing off of the wall and stepping into the room. “He fought for a peace we ain’t getting. If I can make a bit of that happen? If I can stop some assholes the First Sons mighta helped make? Then I’m doing it. Besides, I haven’t been to the Parish in years — maybe being out there will jog my memory on where this carriage house could be,”

Dad turned his back to Zeke to look at Dr. Sims, his face practically screaming at his friend to tell Zeke to stay here. “We could use the help,” Dr. Sims says, more pointedly at Dad than to Zeke’s offer.

Zeke smiled, hiding his eyes behind a pair of sunglasses. “Guess this is a good time to tell y’all I’ve got a ride too, huh?”

Want more from Xeno? Check out her Evil!Cole Apocalypse AU, inFAMOUS: No Man's Land:

Two years has passed since Cole made the choice that decided the fate of Humans and Conduits alike. Two years since becoming the Beast and saving Conduit-Kind by awakening them. After having the burden of being the "messiah" thrust upon him and dealing with the hardships that came with it, Cole finally has enough. He breaks away from the army he reared and takes off into the Wildlands of the Great Plains, where new opportunities await for the Demon of Empire City to claim.

Not only is Xeno’s story an original twist on a classic AU, but her character voice over Cole MacGrath is so good you’ll feel like you’re listening to Eric Ladin read it to you himself. She did all Cole pieces in this chapter! I cannot suggest it enough if you’re an inFAMOUS 1+2 fan, and hey, even if you’re new here — give it a shot. Who doesn’t love conduits, Mad Max style car chases, and the sort of bogeymen Bertrand would be terrified of?

(Tell Coyote and Crow that Rogue sent you)

#infamous erosion #infamous second son #infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #xeno writes!!!#Zeke Dunbar #Eugene Sims #Delsin Rowe #seriously she did this on mic as a MONOLOGUE do y'all know how hard she made me cry??? this isn't me writing in shit she wrote #she ACTED OUT THE DEAD DROP for me to write accurately and 1. holy shit she can act emotion so well. hidden VA over here 2. I sobbed.#Jean ain't crying bitch that's me.#fanfic #Sucker Punch Productions

11 notes · View notes

mishwanders · 1 year

Text

Chapter One [No.031]: Nightmares In Paradise

Pairing: RE5 Albert Wesker x GN!Cannibal Reader

Summary: You follow Wesker into Spencer’s mansion to seek out the man who holds to answers to both of your questions.

Warnings: murder, blood, fighting, guns, a very high fall, Spencer is on his eugenics/god bullshit.

The Devil’s Teeth

Read on AO3 [ X ]

“Are you alright?”

Now that was a loaded question, one like a bullet in the chamber of a loaded gun.

But you couldn’t help yourself, you had to ask.

Wesker’s demeanor had been unsettling to you, recently. To anyone else, he would have looked as if nothing were wrong, his stoicism having always been at the forefront, a poker face like marble stone, hardened, unmoving, dark glasses to hide any emotion that could be conveyed through his eyes. But you had spent enough time with him to notice when something was wrong, when something was eating away at him.

It was the subtle things.

The settling of his jaw, a slight grind of molars, the subtle gray glow that occasionally appeared in his eyes. Even the uptick in his heart rate was an indicator that something was going on, something was upsetting him.

And you intended to find out.

“Let’s just keep moving.” Wesker replied shortly.

You watched as he pulled his fist out of the chest cavity of one of the guards, wiping the blood off of his leather gloves, his leather sleeves, and onto the man’s wool suit jacket. From the moment you both stepped foot into Spencer’s estate, you had laid waste on any living creature that remained.

They were prepared though, having anticipated this event, pulling out their guns first and firing before either of you could even get a word in.

So much for a reunion.

Although, neither of you came with the intent of keeping things peaceful, either. Their reaction was rather rational if you even gave it a thought. But when Oswell E. Spencer had sent a letter, an invitation for Wesker to meet him in his home in Europe, you would have expected at least something a bit nicer.

But maybe this is what Spencer wanted. Maybe this was just apart of some fucked up plan of his.

Even the letter felt off, as if it were a trap. But you knew Wesker too well. His curiosity was like that of a cat, it took over him at times. He had every intent of coming here alone, but you stopped him, reminding him that you would be there for him, for anything.

So, he asked if you would join.

And you said yes.

Whether for protection or security - it didn’t matter. At the root of it all, you could feel the change. It was one that had been building up since the letter found its way into his hands. It was almost as if he were anxious, nervous even.

But the curiosity above it all still prevailed.

You followed alongside Wesker, keeping up with his slow stride. You both listened closely to your new surroundings, as you made your way through the winding halls and rooms. The similarity between this estate and the Arklay mansion were uncanny, knowing that the one in America had been modeled after this exact one.

Instead of being infested by creatures beyond imagination, this one was haunted by the people and dreams once lost.

A place where hope came to die.

And if you were completely honest with yourself, you understood how Wesker was feeling. You felt it too.

“We’re in this together, you know, no matter what happens.” You stated, looking over at him.

You felt another shift within him, hearing the subtle sigh of relief in the quiet hall. He didn’t reply to you, but at least you knew you were heard, that he understood where you were with him in all of this, and truly, that’s all that mattered.

He knew you were by his side through it all, until the bitter end.

You both continued to stalk through the mansion, taking out any security or abominations that stood your path. It was a curious thing that Spencer would have it all stationed like this.

What was the reason? Was it a test? For what?

You both came up to a large set of wood doors, a pair that looked different from the rest of the household, the color of mahogany, faded with time. Wesker stood silently in front of them, his ear turned towards the door. You followed suit. You listened in, attempting to sense what may lay behind. You could hear the thunder outside, the rain pattering on the widows. But there was also something mechanical in the distance, a small, monotonous beep occurring every few seconds.

Is that a heart monitor?

You turned your attention over to Wesker who was still listening in. His eyes were turned down towards the floor as if to hide his face. You wanted to reach out to him, remind him once again that he wasn’t alone, but before you could, it seemed as if he’d mustered the courage he’d been searching for, pushing the large doors open with both of his hands and striding in, as if he hadn’t been trying to muster up the courage to walk in.

You walked beside him, surveying the room. It was large and lined with bookshelves, the other end leading up a pair of steps and to a set of windows that overlooked the rocky ledge, the deep forest over the rushing river. There seemed to be no threat in the room, no malicious monsters, no guards, or any other abomination you could think of. The only thing that existed here was a lone, decrepit old man in a wheelchair, hooked up by wires to a set of machines.

The only thing to exist here was Oswell E. Spencer.

The two of you strode up the steps, watching as the old man slowly turned around to greet you whoever walked in. Spencer’s curiosity was evident in every line of his face, and it quickly changed to joy, into a smile. It was as if he'd been reunited with a long lost loved one.

Or rather, a child with a once lost toy.

“Albert, it’s good to see you got my letter.”

Spencer’s voice creaked and wheezed like an old building ready to crumble under a sudden gust of wind. You couldn’t help but stand there and look at him, wondering how this had been the same man you’d seen all those years ago. How was this the same man who’d started this path of life for the both of you?

“That I did.” Wesker replied, “What’s the meaning behind all of this? You invite me as a guest into your home, yet treat me as if I were an intruder.”

Spencer coughed a laugh, bending over the edge of his chair, in pain as he wheezed.

“Did you take care of them?” He asked, a sly smile lingering on his face.

“What do you think?” You chimed in.

The old man looked over at you now, his glassy eyes searching wildly as if he were piecing you together from a puzzled memory. That’s when the realization dawned on him and you could see the apprehension drape over him like a blanket.

“You haven’t changed a day.”

“On the contrary, a lot has happened since you last saw each other.” Wesker stated, pulling the old man’s attention again. “But you’re not answering my question. What’s the meaning of all of this?”

Spencer looked at Wesker with contempt.

“It’s time we have a discussion about everything.” Spencer croaked, “Tell me, how has your research been going?”

You raised an eyebrow in confusion. Did this old man really only want to talk about science or did he have some other plan going on here?

“And why would I tell you that?” Wesker asked, as if he were guarding himself, keeping a secret from a parent. “It’s none of your concern.”

“But it is my concern.” Spencer replied, growing agitated with him. “Seeing how I created you.”

You felt the air in the room go still. You could have heard a pin drop on the stone steps if it weren’t for the heart monitor's constant, monotonous beeps. You turned to look at Wesker, concern and confusion etching onto the exterior of your face, anxiety resting on your shoulders.

“What?!” Wesker exclaimed, a snarl aimed at Spencer.

Spencer coughed a laugh at his reaction, as if he’d been waiting for this moment. It sounded as if he was going to cough a lung.

“After all of these years, you still haven’t pieced it together? Come now, Albert, I know you’ve been snooping. All of the information at your fingertips and yet you still haven’t figured it out.” Spencer stated, looking at you both in complete surprise. “Well then. It all started with the Sonnentreppe…”

You rolled your eyes, groaning in silence at what you knew was happening. This old man who was ready to kill over the side of his wheelchair was now going on a monologue about flowers. You turned your attention away from the old man and over to Wesker. You watched him as he listened to Spencer intently, knowing that whatever this story was about these flowers was something that he’d been searching for, answers to long held questions, ones that you knew kept him up at night.

“It was hidden away in the caves of West Africa, you see, it held the power of the gods. We saw its potential in that it could be used for greatness. So, Marcus took it and began to work on creating what you now know of is the T-virus.” Spencer continued, addressing both of you know.

“The same one that runs in you.”

Now you found yourself listening closer to the tale the old man was weaving. Wesker had mentioned legends of it before, but to be told about it by the man who was there - who’d even gained the knowledge from its source - it felt important to be listening to him now.

You watched as Wesker approached the old man closer and Spencer looked up at him, almost fondly as he continued to convey the story. Wesker eyed him as he continued to move past him, over to the window, holding his arms behind his back as he looked out it. You knew Wesker well enough to know that he was trying to hide whatever reactions were occurring within, trying to keep himself unreadable to Spencer.

But it wouldn’t get past you.

“We began a program to find those best suited for it, taking donations from our generous stakeholders in the company. The Wesker students were given the best education, entrusted with endless potential, so that they could go forth and prosper once they had been administered the virus. But, as you already know, of them, only one survived - you.”

The room went quiet again as you both absorbed the information that was being conveyed. Donations? Stakeholders? We’re they kidnapping children for human experiments?

Was Wesker more like you than you even realized?

“Are you saying that I was manufactured?” Wesker finally asked.

“If that’s what you want to call it, then yes.” Spencer replied, “But through that, I was to become a god! Creating a new world with an advanced race of human beings - It was my right! But all was lost in Raccoon City. Despite it, your research holds great significance to me, the fact that you're alive proves that it was all worth something.”

You could see Wesker tense up at Spencer’s word, sense the change within him. Before he even spoke again, you interjected into the conversation.

“And what about me?”

Spencer turned his attention to you, grimacing.

“What of it?”

“What about those of us who weren’t Weskers?” You asked, “What did that make us?”

“A means to an end. Nothing more.” He replied

“Collateral damages.”

You felt his words stab through your chest, digging into your heart like a knife. You didn’t look away from Spencer, instead you marched up the rest of the steps towards him. Those words held weight to them, you felt them dragging you towards him, every anger filled urge to rip out his throat, the rage bubbling up, seeping out of the pores in your skin, dripping out of you like blood to the cold floor below.

“The existence of you, though, it gave me hope.” Spencer spoke up.

You stopped in your tracks before him, watching as he attempted to stand from the wheelchair, using your shoulders as something to hold onto. This had been the closest you’d ever been to the old man, the smell of sickness, of a soon approaching death already lingering around him, emanating from him. He was so fragile in front of you, so frail with his glassed over eyes. He looked at you like a child in wonder, like a child with an idea that had never died.

“You showed me it was possible. That I could become a god!”

“So I was nothing more than just a chance?”

He smiled, seeing that you understood. It was what you always thought - you were never chosen specifically for this, it was just by chance that you happened to cross Umbrella’s path. It was just by chance that you would survive, it was just a chance that you would have been taken and molded into who you were now.

All you needed were chances though, chances to make a choice, and you made your choice long ago. You wanted to end Umbrella, watch them crumble.

And you wanted to end Spencer too.

You spun the old man around to face Wesker, pushing him, propelling him forward before stopping his motion by grabbing hold of what was left of his thin white hair. Wesker’s eye glowed a crimson red behind his sunglasses as he slowly stalked over to you both away from the window. He scowled at the old man and you could feel the air in the room grow heavier as his rage began to pierce through his stone like exterior.

“The right to be a god? Only those who are worthy of it get that right.”

Wesker plunged his hand into Spencer's chest cavity, ripping through his flesh, breaking every rib and vertebrae, all the way through until his hand reached the otherside. You felt the old man’s body tense up before finally going limp, skewered on Wesker’s arm. Wesker then pulled his arm back out of the old man, but not without pulling out his heart. He held the still beating thing in his hand as you both watched Spencer fall to the floor. You looked up at Wesker, seeing he had his eyes on you now. His hand was outstretched towards you, offering you a gift, Spencer’s heart.

“The right to be gods is ours.”

You took hold of the heart, feeling how small it was in your hand, the scent of flesh and blood reaching your nose, making your head pound with an aching hunger, your mouth watering, wanting to get a taste. Without warning, you sunk your teeth into it, tearing away at the flesh, devouring the gift that had been given to you. It wasn’t everyday someone got the chance to consume what was left of an abuser, to make sure they would never come back again.

Wesker was giving you that chance.

How romantic.

Once you finished every last morsel, you licked your lips clean, looking back up at Wesker, the haze of bloodlust still hanging heavily over your eyes. Wesker smiled, walking over to you, stepping over the body. He pulled you closer to him, his hands at your face, the blood that was still on your chin being smudged by his leather gloves. He kissed you and you held onto his wrists as if he were a lifeline through the haze, through everything you had experienced up until this point, through all the pain, the hardships, the sadness, through everything it had taken to just survive. He pulled you through it all and you felt the bloody wave of overwhelming emotions slap into you, encompassing you.

But you couldn’t allow yourself to sit with it for as long as you would have liked because you heard something coming closer.

Footsteps that were quickly approaching.

You pulled out of the kiss and looked back to the door.

“Someone’s coming.”

And you were right. The wooden doors swung open and two people burst through, guns drawn, pointed at you and Wesker. You grimaced, realizing who it was, unable to forget those shades of blue and green. After all of these years, you were face to face with both Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine once again - the old scars you had left them still visible, even now.

“Wesker!” Chris yelled

Jill and Chris immediately began taking their shots, but you and Wesker were too fast for their bullets, dodging each one as they came flying, headed straight for them. You couldn’t keep your eyes trained on Wesker, his movements were much faster than your own, but you knew what he was doing based off of the grunts of pain that were leaving Chris, noticing him double over in pain out of the corner of your eye. But you? You had your sights set on Jill. You dodged her bullets and slammed into her, knocking the gun out of her hand, her back slamming into the stone pillar behind her.

You smiled, “Does this give you a sense of deja vu or is it just me?”

Jill grimaced at you, throwing herself forward, pulling out her knife from its sheath and taking her chance to catch you off guard, slicing the edge of your cheek. She went in for another hit, but you blocked her and proceeded to kick her backwards, back into the wall again.

“How many times do I gotta teach you to stay in one place?” You asked

Jill didn’t answer, she was too focused on the task at hand, and that was taking you down. She came at you again, this time you dodged first, stepping around the side of her quickly and slamming your elbow into her back, forcing her to crash to the floor with the strength of the hit. You were ready to put your boot through her spine when you heard a noise behind you, the sound of Wesker’s voice.

“Let’s finish this.”

It was only a split second that you had hesitated, but it was all Jill needed. She scrambled to her feet, kicking you out of the way and to the floor as she ran for the two men. As you tumbled to the ground, you watched as she tackled Wesker, propelling him forward, causing him to lose his grip around Chris’ throat, and falling straight out the window.

You were in complete and utter shock at what you just witnessed, unable to believe what had just happened. You snapped out of your shock though when you heard Chris yell her name out, running over towards the window. Now was your chance to get out before he noticed where you were going, so you took that chance. You bolted out the door, running throughout the mansion, looking through every window in search of where Wesker and Jill might have landed. You finally found them, body’s halfway in the ravine, halfway on the rocks. You bust open the window with your elbow, kicking what was left of the glass, climbing through the window, running after them.

The clock was ticking.

You had to reach them before it was too late.

Chapter Two: Family Tree

#the devils teeth #series: the devils teeth #re wesker #albert wesker #albert wesker x reader #wesker x reader #albert wesker x you #dbd wesker #wesker #dead by daylight wesker #resident evil x reader #resident evil x you #resident evil 5

24 notes · View notes

writing-rat · 1 year

Text

Ask The Girl to Prom

Summary: Wednesday struggles to ask Enid to prom.

It had been 3 years at Nevermore, 3 years of healing the trauma as much as possible. Everyone was much better, and Wednesday was calmer than ever. She had tamed out and was with Enid’s friends a lot now. She did threaten to hurt them, however, but would never act upon it. This led to her current issue. It was prom, and she thought she would never go, that was until she met Enid, her colourful wolfish roommate. Wednesday and her had started dating years ago but kept it secret as they didn’t want to change their rooms. The only people who knew were their friend group. She was sure Weems was suspicious of them but she never gave her the full proof that she needed. She would tease about it, however.

Wednesday was sat at her desk while Enid was out in town with Yoko, going to get lunch and going on a shopping spree. The small girl was tapping on the crystal ball, seeing her father and mother. “Mother, father. I need to ask you s something,” Wednesday asked straight-forward. Both were immediately nodding. “What is it, mi querida?” Gomez asked. “We can send Fester over if you need to get rid of a body,” Gomez added on. “Oh, of course, he’s also been eager to see you again, after last time where you beat him at fencing,” Morticia spoke. “It’s nothing like that, unfortunately. It is much more terrible than that. I have to ask out mon loup to go to the prom with me as she wants to go, but is scared to say,” she spoke earnestly, ignoring her parent’s faces starting to glow and stare at each other. “Oh young love, such young love. I remember I asked your mother out by chopping the heads off of the flowers and making them go in a heart in her room. I then proceeded to set them on fire and in the middle, it said ‘Will you go to prom with me?’. It won her over,” Gomez rambled. Morticia nodded, a small sigh coming out her lips. “It really did, I knew I loved you before but I knew after that we were meant to be,” Morticia spoke. “Cara mia,” Gomez spoke breathlessly. “Mon Cher,” Morticia responded, with the same breathlessness. That’s when they started to make out on the call, Wednesday grimacing before she spoke. “I shall leave you two to it, goodbye,” she spoke and ended the call as she stood up.

She found Thing staring at her from Enid’s bed, and started to sign to her. ‘Do you want any help?’ Thing asked. “No, it’s fine. I don’t need help,” Wednesday spoke, grabbing some clothes to go out in. She didn’t look acceptable in her mind. She was wearing pyjama trousers and a tank top. Thing turned away as he respected her privacy, and got indulged in one of Enid’s old drama magazines. He soon turned around in time to see Wednesday finished changing. She was wearing a pair of jeans with one of Enid’s old shirts. It was colourful, sure, but it wasn’t as bright as the others. It was a dark purple shirt with a few white stripes in the middle. She then proceeded to put on her leather jacket. She was practically drowning in the oversized shirt but didn’t give a damn. “Thing, if Enid comes back, say to her I’m at Weathervane wanting to be alone,” she spoke. Waiting for Thing’s confirmation, she proceeded to leave and started to wander over to Jericho, knowing it was a 25-minute walk from the woods. Wandering around, she took polaroids of nature, it being her new special interest. It helped her become more interested in nature as Yoko had gifted it to her for her 17th birthday. From then on, she took photos with all her acquaintances (well, friends but she refused to admit it to them). She had more photos of her with Enid, Eugene and Yoko than the others. They were all stuck on what used to be her murder board but changed it due to finding out the murderer and her stalker, and nothing crazy happened after. She was both displeased yet thankful about it.

Eventually, she got into town and stored her polaroids safely in a special bag where she put them as well as her camera and walked over to the shops immediately. Her first destination was a toy store. More specifically, it was Build-a-Bear which Enid always went into. She looked around, ignoring the glances from locals. They knew what she did after all, and how she was a hero to people, but still didn’t trust her. This didn’t bother her as she was pleased she still made people scared. She proceeded to grab the Toothless. The next thing she grabbed was one of the hoodies that would fit the dragon and proceeded to leave the shoe zone alone. She debated on 2 sounds then once she saw the selections, either choosing the ‘I love you’ sound or a personalised one, where she would say ‘Mon Loup, will you go to prom with me?’. She decided on both, knowing she could make the workers do that. She then chose the strawberry scent right after deciding on sounds (and recording her own, to which the workers were surprised about what she said, but they found it adorable. Wednesday scowled but she couldn’t stop them as she needed this stuffed toy). After, she gave it a Gryffindor scarf and decided it was done. She went over to the counter and put it down grabbing out her leather wallet with an engraved W.A. on it. Once told the total, which was $51.50, she paid it. She was shocked but knew both her family's wealth and the need for her to save money would be able to afford it. She walked out with it, making sure it was in a safe bag. She then wandered over to the next shop. It was a make-up shop, and she wandered around before grabbing a makeup kit that was Enid’s skin tone. She proceeded to grab some black nail polish with white as she would need to see Yoko next. Going to the counter, she paid again then went over to the Weathervane, and grabbed Enid’s favourite sweet treat. It was a piece of Madeira cake, and she also grabbed Enid’s favourite hot drink to put into her own thermos to keep it hot. It was their hot chocolate. She had to minus the cream and marshmallows though so she decided to buy more, knowing there was a food shop before the trail to Nevermore. She finished her shopping as she wandered over to the path. – After around 35 minutes, she arrived back to the school and went to her first destination. Yoko’s. Making sure Enid was in the dorm, she knocked on the vampire’s door. She proceeded to hear a groggy voice, “Come in.” Wandering in, she took note of a second lump under the bed. “Did I interrupt something?” Wednesday asked, knowing what she was implying. “Addams! No! Me and Divina are just cuddling, but she’s asleep,” Yoko defended herself and Dvina. “Anyway, what do you want?” she asked, furrowing her eyebrows at the smaller girl. “Paint my nails. My idea is black and white but with letters on one hand. It will say prom with a question mark at the end,” Wednesday spoke. Yoko blinked but nodded as she put on her sunglasses and then walked over. She sat Wednesday down on Divina’s side which was also never used.

That step took about 30 minutes before she was able to leave. “Thank you, Yoko. I am indebted to you,” Wednesday spoke before she left. Yoko just smiled and went back to cuddling the still-asleep Divina. Wednesday eventually made it to her room, holding the plush’s bag, her own bag and the thermos. She wandered in, to which Enid looked up happily, then was confused with what she had. “Do you have a spare cup, puppy?” She asked. Blushing, Enid nodded and went into her cupboard. She had specific cups she could drink out of, as most of the schools caused sensory issues. She proceeded to put the hot chocolate in, Enid watching her carefully, trying to wipe the saliva away. Wednesday then put whipped cream on it and carefully put the marshmallows on. “I… thank you,” Enid spoke and hugged Wednesday tight. Wednesday smiled gently before kissing her forehead, showing her soft side to her lover. “I have another thing for you cara mia,” she added on. “You didn’t have to Willa!” She whined out, feeling bad as she wasn’t able to give Wednesday anything. “Yes, I did,” she spoke and procured the plush out. “Press the right side,” she spoke and pointed to the correct side. She knew Enid would press the wrong one if so. Enid blushed as she pressed it. The toy ‘said’, “Mon loup, will you go to prom with me?” Enid felt tears prick her eyes as she looked at Wednesday. She then saw the nails and widened her eyes, tears welling up before launching into Wednesday’s arms. “Yes! Most definitely yes!” Enid spoke, a few tears coming out by accident. Wednesday chuckled and held her close. “Good otherwise I’d have to force you,” she joked. Enid chuckled. “Wait… how much was everything?” She asked, knowing what Build-A-Bear was like. “Well, you can pay me back with 50 kisses, as I will never say the price,” she spoke and kissed her gently. Enid smile gently. “I like that idea,” Enid mumbled out and kissed her again.

#wednesday addams #wednesday fanfic #wednesday fanfiction #wenclair #enid sinclair #ratboy writing #ratboy writes

21 notes · View notes

alyssaswrld999 · 10 months

Text

Meeting The Man/Negan Smith

(Season 7 Era) Y/n was apart of the Alexandria Group and was at the line up. Glenn was Y/n's brother. Negan takes Y/n and Daryl back with him to the Sanctuary. Then Y/n gets to talk to Negan in private.

Negan x Reader

(Comment if you want this to be a series)

Y/n pov:

It all happened so fast.... We were all just trying to get Maggie to safety. It was dark and cold outside. I was helping Rick lead everyone in the dark. The Saviors were blocking roads to Hilltop so we couldn't get there.

I just wished things would've ended differently...

I feel numb inside and I don't know what to do. There's nothing I can do at this moment. Me and Daryl are right now in the back of a van. We are getting taken to The Sanctuary. We're the man that killed my brother lives.

*Yesterday*

I'm on my knees looking around panicking. The person beside me is Eugene. All I see is a large group of Saviors and the RV. Then a tall man with a beard and mustache said "Let's meet the man". When I heard those words It felt like I couldn't breathe.

Seconds later the RV door opens. I look to see what was gonna come out of that damn RV. I didn't know what to expect at this moment. "Pissing our pants yet cause I have a feeling we're getting close" A male voice said.

Then suddenly I see a man that was very tall and he had a leather jacket with a red scarf fabric around his neck, black jeans, and black combat boots. I also noticed he had a baseball bat with barbed wire around it.

My ears started ringing so it was hard to hear what he was saying to Rick. All I heard was that his name was Negan and he didn't like how we killed his people.

Next thing I know he is walking around trying to decide which one of us he's gonna kill. I'm looking around seeing the rest of my group having fear in there eyes. Suddenly I hear "And you are.... It... anybody moves anybody says anything cut the other boys eye out and feed it to his father then we will start....." Negan says.

I look up and see who he was standing in front of and it was Abraham. He was a really good friend to me and he always was funny. I started crying and then my stomach started hurting.

"You can breathe.. you can blink.... you can cry... hell yall are all gonna be doing that" Negan says raising his bat. When those last words slip off his tongue the bat swings down. He was beating Abraham to death and I can't stop it.

"No no no no" I mumbled. I wanted to crawl over and beg Negan to stop. I wanted this nightmare to end. "Oh look at that taking it like a champ" Negan said. Abraham sits back up on his knees and looks up at Negan. The blood was coming down his face. "Suck.. My..Nuts" Abraham said.

The bat swings back down again and I fall forward crying. I couldn't take this.... I don't want anyone to get hurt.... I don't want Glenn hurt.... no one deserves this....

I can hear Negan beating Abraham's head in over and over. The sound was ringing over and over in my ears. I didn't know what to do to make him stop. Negan didn't want to stop... he thought it was a game it seems...

Negan finally stops and I sit back up. I looked and seen Negans bat was all bloody. "Did you hear that he said suck my nuts" Negan said laughing. Then Negan started beating Abraham's head again like it wasn't enough.

It all was flashing before our eyes and I wanted to do something....

Then when Negan finally stops this time he acted like he was happy. "Oh my goodness look at this" Negan said shoving his bat around in our faces. Bragging how he killed our friend in front of us.

Then finally Daryl had enough and he ends up punching Negan in the face. A savior ends up putting him down and I start begging them to please not kill him. After Negans little outburst of anger, Negan looks over at me and asks me for my name. "It's Y/n" I said looking up into Negans eyes.

Negan smiles and starts completing me on how I begged to save Daryls life. Negan said it was real brave of me to do that. To prove how much I care about my people....

He walks back to the middle closer to where Glenn was and he turned to our direction. "I need you to know me" Negan says. Then it goes quiet for a second. "So... back to it" Negan said. He quickly turns around and starts hitting Glenn.....

He started killing my brother.... my bestfriend.... my family....

I started crying really bad harder than I have ever cried in my life. All I can see is everyone either looking at Glenn or looking at me. "No" Maggie said. I couldn't help but cry even more at that.

"Please stop" I said crying. But all i could hear was the bat hitting my brothers skull over and over again. I hear Glenn trying to speak and what I saw was the worst thing I could see in my life.

Glenn's head was torn open and his eye was trying to pop out fully from his skull. "Buddy you still there. I just dont know it seems like your trying to speak. But you just took a hell of a hit. I just popped your skull so hard your eyeball just popped out. And it as gross as shit." Negan said. "M-Maggie I-I'll find you.." Glenn said.

My brother was dying in front of me and I couldn't stop it...

I was frozen and it was painful...

"Aww aww hell I can see this is hard on you guys I am sorry I truly am but I did say it... NO ACCEPTIONS" Negan said. He turns back around and starts beating my brother more and more till finally he wasn't moving.... he was gone.

I just let the tears fall and I was crying and you could hear me sobbing. I felt eyes on me but I couldn't care at this moment. I was in pain true pain and I would never be able to see my brother ever again.

*Next Day Moments before being taken*

I was lying there on the ground and I was trying to catch my breath still. I finally did and sat back up. I quit crying a while ago. All I could feel at this moment was anger. I wanted to make Negan feel the pain I felt.

I was looking at the ground and the next thing I see is those damn black combat boots in front of me. I look up and seen Rick and everyone was looking at me. Then the next thing I see is Negan crouched down to my vision.

Negan was looking at me like he was observing. "Y/n right" Negan said. I looked at him in his eyes and I just seen red. "I'm sorry that you are upset but you know that this was for your own good right" Negan said.

I smiled at him because I thought he was pretty fucking stupid at this moment. "Right.. like what you do is for the great or good" I said. He paused and just kept looking at me. I looked over at my people and seem them all looking at me still shocked on what I was saying.

I turn my head back to Negan and quit smiling. "You can kill me... you can hit me.... you can do whatever.. but miss me with the bullshit of you being the good guy" I said. Then I quit talking to him and he smiled. He got up and walked away from me.

Then Negan starts talking bullshit on how he expects us to get it now hoping we understand. "Dwight load him up" Negan said pointing to Daryl. Then Dwight starts grabbing Daryl and forcing him into the van. I was getting more angry by the second.

When they get Daryl in the van Negan turns to me. "Dwight load her up to" Negan said pointing at me. "What" I mumbled. Everyone now was looking at me and didn't want me to go. Dwight walks over and starts grabbing me. I start trying to get away and he held on tighter. "Let me go... Let me go" I shouted.

"Noooo" Maggie was saying. I finally get pushed into the van and I turn to try and fight Dwight but Dwight had already figured I would try. He had Daryls crossbow pointed at me. Daryl put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me back a bit.

Then Dwight closed the doors to the van and all I could do now was sit. "Them two got guts... not a little bitch like someone I know I like them. There both mine now" Negan said. After I heard him say that I started cutting him out for right now.

I look up and seen Daryl looking at me. I already knew how he was feeling. Thinking it's his fault when it isn't. "Don't blame yourself" I said to Daryl. Daryls eyes widened when I said that. He nodded at me like he understood what I meant.

*Present to where they get to the Sanctuary*

Me and Daryl got forced to go back with the Saviors to the Sanctuary to stay with Negan. Finally As we get there Negan had us taken to separate cells. Mine wasn't really a cell though it was a bedroom kind of apartment room.

As I enter the room I turn around and looked at Dwight. "Whats all this" I asked him pointing at the room I was in. "Negan wants you to get comfortable" Dwight said.

I was confused on what he meant by that. "Whats that supposed to mean" I asked. "It means your not leaving anytime soon" Dwight said closing the door. I ran towards the door and it was locked.

Great this is just great.....

I look around to see what I can do in the mean time while I'm waiting. I pulled a Blanket off the bed and went to the couch to take a nap. Moments later I'm woken up by the sound of banging.

"Negan needs you to see him" Dwight shouted. I get up as soon as the door opened. Dwight tells me to come with him so he can take me to Negan.

Dwight makes me open the office door and pushed me inside so I can meet with Negan. I turn around to punch Dwight but the door was already closed. I sighed and turned around to see Negan sitting in a office chair at the end of a long business looking table.

"Well hello there" Negan said smiling. I didn't say anything to him and he obviously got annoyed. "Look darling you have to got to respect me." Negan said. "Yeah that's funny why should I respect you" I snapped back.

Negan slammed the table and it shocked me. "You will because I have given you a room to rest and food so you don't die" Negan shouted. Negan stood up and was walking towards me slowly. "You will respect me and you are gonna work for me" Negan said.

I turned my head to the side and was curious on what he was taking about. "You are going to be one of my soldiers... you are also coming with me to Alexandria to take my half of the deal that Alexandria owes me" Negan demanded.

Then Dwight comes back in the room and takes me back to my cell.

#negan smith #twd fanfic #twd negan #sad #Tough reader #glenn rhee #the walking dead fanfiction #maggie rhee #rick grimes #carl grimes #the saviors #crying #negan x reader

19 notes · View notes

kaizenwaus · 5 months

Text

five hundred sixteen days gone

The worn off denim did nothing to protect the woman's knees from the sand and small stones that made the gravel adorning the forest's ground, not even shifting her weight from one knee to another would ease the pain of her skin fighting not to break. Although all the stinging on her skin and burning on her muscles was nothing compared to the fear and uncertainty that surrounded the clearing.

Everything was... Perfectly set for this exact moment. Almost as if they had taken their time preparing this area for this. The woman could imagine the bald man with the thick mustache cutting down trees that morning, meanwhile the blond man with the burnt face cleaned everything off as well as he planned how to lure the group to this location. Then one of them had to tell the rest of their friends about the place and the time to meet up, and they had to decide the formation of all their vehicles and the armed men. If that had been the case, they did a good job. The scene was, in fact, quite... Intimidating.

The group of survivors, sinners of innocence and naivety, were on their knees, forming half a circle in front of the motorhome that Eugene had been driving just minutes ago. There were also a couple of cars and other vehicles on the sides, their headlights dazzling the survivors and their engines loud in contrast to the silence of the night.

Behind them stood the army of men and women that called themselves the Saviours, each of them holding a firearm if not two. In front of them there were only three men: the bald man with a distinctive mustache, the blond dude with a burnt face, and... The man. The boss. The leader. Negan himself.

He looked just like Sierra had imagined him: disgustingly smug. He wore dark pants, with a leather belt hanging way too low to be comfortable. It was a cold night, so he also wore a leather jacket with a red scarf around his neck. All of this paired up with leather boots and his weapon of choice: a baseball bat.

This bat, whose name was Lucille (as the man had introduced her), had barbed wire around the top of it, which seemed kind of useless against the undead but was incredibly painful for the living.

Eenie...

After introducing himself and the bat, the man explained the reason why they decided to meet up on this beautiful starry night. He paced from one end of the line of survivors to the other, swinging his bat around as he talked and talked and talked...

The survivors were sweating, the bravest ones looking around frantically to find a way to get out of this situation, but the man did not even let them finish a thought as he laughed loudly or got too close to someone with Lucille.

Meenie...

It was nauseating how free and careless he was, walking around as he sang this stupid little song for kids. Even though he was intimidating, Sierra truly questioned if the man was capable of killing one of them randomly. Deep down she thought this was just his little show, that his random pick was going to be a core member of the group: Rick, Daryl, Michonne, or even herself, she thought. There was also the possibility that Negan only wanted to weaken the leader by killing someone close to him: Carl or Michonne.

Would he really pick someone randomly?

Miney...

Sierra wanted to think a human would not be able to murder someone in cold blood, without a true motive. There was a motive, denying it would be straight up lying, but there were a fair amount of people in this line up that did not participate in said killing.

Questioning human behavior in the context of a literal zombie apocalypse was somewhat difficult if they were trying not to be hypocrites too, so maybe he was going to do as he said. Maybe, as he sang and as he pointed randomly at different survivors he was truly picking someone to kill. Maybe, for him this was just a game.

Mo...

The wielder of the named bat stood in front of Carl, causing everyone to cringe at the thought of the teenager becoming this psychopath's victim. But they were able to breathe again as the man continued his game – ironically, considering that if Carl was not the one tagged then the odds of being of them just rose.

Catch...

Rosita.

A tiger...

Rick.

By...

Eugene.

His toe...

Daryl.

My mother...

Michonne.

Told me...

Glenn.

To pick...

Aaron.

The very best one...

Maggie.

And you're...

Sierra. Negan left his bat staring at the blonde for a few more seconds than anybody else before her, he even bent down to stare right at her, taking in the hateful look the woman was giving him. Without breaking eye contact, the man smirked, winked at her and took blind aim with his bat as he sketched the last word of his song: it.

Abraham.

"Anybody moves, anybody says anything..." the man started speaking with a smirk on his face after he looked at who Lucille had chosen, slowly and almost teasingly walking away from the blonde woman to face his victim "Cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father, and then we'll start"

The bravery and strength with which Abraham presented himself to his soon-to-be murderer was highly admirable. The red-haired man refused to be submissive to the man's inflated ego, he could not forgive himself if his actions fed that man's grotesque and disgusting attitude. Much to Abraham's dismay, this façade only made Negan both flattered and challenged, making him want to prove what he could be able to do. To prove how much of a cold-blooded killer he could be. How much he truly did not care about their lives and only about what they could do for him.

"You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry..." the man chuckled, firmly gripping his beloved bat and lifting it up slowly "Hell, you're all gonna be doing that"

Abraham was standing straight, subtly giving his most recent lover the hand signal they had translated to "I love you" as she silently broke down before everyone. On the opposite side, his ex-girlfriend could not even watch the scene. Watching the man she had learnt to love standing tall on his knees, keeping eye contact with the monster that was about to end his life. Not everyone was able to watch, it was not only Rosita (his former partner) that looked away into the distance as tears streamed down her face. Others, who were not as close to Abraham as Sasha (his lover) was, also dared to watch as Negan cruelly attacked the man.

Gasps, sobs, cries... Those were the noises that took over the crickets as the bat was smashed against Abraham's skull. The echo of the hit was painful, you could almost hear the metal spikes digging into his skin, the blood gushing down his face, Abraham's incoherent mumbles as he tried to speak his last words: "Suck... My... Nuts"

Negan laughed at him before hitting him again, this time harder and leaving him on the ground. He even taunted him, repeating his last words as he looked to his followers to further enjoy his mockery of the victim. He hit him again, and again, and again, and again... He fully raged at the corpse, letting all his anger out on the innocent man's man until his red hair was too faded with the blood to point it out. In Negan's head, this was his revenge for all the Saviors Rick's group had murdered.

If the roles had been reversed, Sierra would not have considered this enough of a punishment. But her perspective of the situation could not let her think too much about it, at least rationally. Her mind was occupied by the little drops of blood that had fallen on Rosita's face, or how Sasha just had to witness the death of her lover very much like she had to a few years ago (without all the cruelty, surely).

The violence and helplessness surrounding the scene were too overwhelming for the woman to be able to have any other thoughts that did not involve wishing for Negan's death or planning how to murder him and his entire group. It was not only overwhelming for her, but also for everyone and everything around her. It was visible, palpable... So noticeable that not even the undead (or walkers, as Sierra had grown accustomed to call them) dared to approach the small clearing in the forest. Not even the walking dead dared to interrupt Negan's moment, his superiority and control over everyone else scarily good as well as incredibly infuriating.

Sierra's stomach was growling in disgust, her breath going faster, her heart pumping what felt like lava in her chest... She bit her tongue, pinched the skin on her wrists to keep herself from fighting back or talking back to him.

"You guys, look at my dirty girl!" the man yelled, showing off his bloody bat and swinging it around in the air – bits and pieces of Abraham's something flying off, until he just pointed the weapon at Rosita, who still could not dare to look at it "Sweetheart... Look at this"

Her eyes were fixated on the red tinted gravel, too shocked to even register tha taunting words of the man responsible for it. Negan enjoyed the state she was in, he watched her and smiled at how miserable she was and how powerful that made him, continuing his tormenting: "Oh, were you together? That sucks!"

Each word that left his mouth was one more log of wood thrown into the fire growing within Sierra. Her chest was growing tighter, her heart pumping faster and her skin getting hotter... Her whole body became a bomb, the clock showing how many seconds until it exploded being each and every word Negan directed towards her friend.

"But if you were, you should know there was a reason for all this" he laughed.

Ten seconds. Ten more cruel words is all she needed...

"Red -- and hell, he was, is, and will ever be"

The blonde woman growled in an animalistic way as she jumped off the ground and lunged towards the man, grabbing him by his crimson scarf to hold him in place and punching his face with her other hand. She was fisting the scarf so hard that he did not even move one inch, his neck and jaw taking all the pain and movement. Before she could land another hit, two of his men grabbed her from behind and pulled her away from him, attempting to tackle her to the ground.

Attempting.

Sierra managed to avoid being immobilized by the two Saviours, pushing and punching them until one of them was knocked out by the motorhome and the other one was in a headlock.

She heard Rick calling her name as a warning, while Negan frowned at her in pure and raw anger. He huffed, and she watched. Everyone watched, holding their breaths, as Negan and Sierra stared at each other in a silent war.

"Let him go" a man behind her talked as she felt a crossbow she knew too damn well pressed against the back of her "Or this will be the last thing you do"

She looked briefly towards her found family, all of them scared of what was about to happen to either them or her. It was Carl that slightly nodded to her, letting her know that the best thing she could do right now is listen.

Very slowly, she let go of the man and raised her hands in the air. The man walked away from her, holding his neck in discomfort, meanwhile the man behind her kicked the back of her knee and grabbed her hair to make her look up at Negan.

"Who do you think you are?" he spat angrily at her, almost in a whisper.

"Your worst fucking nightmare" she smirked.

As soon as those words left her mouth, she was hit by the consequences of her own actions. Lucille collided against her cheek with almost superhuman strength, breaking her skin with the force of impact and the barbed wire dragging against her flesh. It was such a strong blow that Sierra fell to her side, barely managing to collect herself with her hands.

"That!" Negan spoke to the rest of the group while pointing at the injured woman with his bat "That is a no-no! That whole thing! Not one bit of that shit flies here!"

His words reverberated against her skull as her heartbeat moved to the bleeding wound on her face, her whole vision turning red and in her ears growing an uncomfortable ringing. Someone close to her, probably the man that threatened her with Daryl's crossbow, dragged his unconscious colleague away from the motorhome – thus leaving a clear path for Sierra to crawl under the vehicle and hide as Negan ranted.

"Now, I don't know what kind of lying assholes you've been dealing with... But I'm a man of my word. I already told you people, first one's free, then what'd I say? I said I would shut that shit down!"

Sierra was halfway under the motorhome when someone dragged her out by her ankle, exposing her torso and dragging her skin against the gravel. The man turned her around, making her face him as he pointed the crossbow to her head. She blindly tried to cover her face, her hands clumsy as her vision was deprived of focus and other colors beside red, still she was able to see the blond man with a burnt face speaking to her: "Where do you think you're going?"

"Please..." she whispered, struggling to speak as her mouth filled up with her own blood.

"You've got guts, lady" Negan looked down at her, before turning to the blond man "Dwight, load her up, I like her"

The man, now known as Dwight, grabbed the woman by her hair and dragged her towards a black van. She kicked her legs and yelled in pain, in way too much pain to try to put on a façade in front of the Saviors. In a desperate attempt to avoid being taken, she went to grab... Something. Her left hand flew to the floor, trying to grab some kind of anchor that would keep her from being abducted.

But it was the anchor that found her. Glenn's hand went over hers and gave her a reassurance squeeze, too fast to be noticed by anyone else besides them. She knew what it meant. She knew it was a silent promise, an oath to her that she would not be held against her will too long – and he was going to make sure of that.

Dwight threw her in the back of the van rather aggressively, making her whole body ache more (if that was even possible). She used the last bit of her strength to lunge towards him, but her fist was met by the van's doors being closed right in front of her.

"Feisty, just how I like them" she could hear Negan talking to her people, dwelling on his own gain and the group's loss of a great asset "She's mine now, so... Back to it!"

Sierra only managed to hear a loud thud, similar to the sound of Lucille crashing against Abraham's skull, accompanied by gasps and a woman crying out: "No!"

She hit the van's doors in frustration, hearing the suffering of her friends combined with her own physical pain becoming too much for her, until she eventually felt herself give up to the blood loss and overstimulation. Her knees got weaker and she could no longer hold herself up, her stomach growled as her chest heaved, her heart finally relaxing and her face going numb. She brought her hand up to her open wound, feeling the wetness and roughness of blood mixed with gravel against the tips of her fingers – perfect cocktail for an infection, she thought.

Her back was resting against the van's walls, feeling how they vibrated from the noises coming from outside. She tried to fight off the tiredness that overcame her, but her eyelids seemed to have grown independent from her brain's orders. Slowly all the tension left her body as she felt herself weighting more as she let go... Pain and life threatening anemia made her shut her body down to a comatose state, the last words she was able to register from outside echoing through the van's walls:

No exceptions.

#the walking dead #shane walsh #fanfic #original character #sierra walsh #jon bernthal #negan smith #lucille #glenn rhee #maggie rhee #shane walsh x oc #rick grimes #carl grimes #daryl dixon #katheryn winnick #original female character #shane walsh x ofc #twd fanfiction

2 notes · View notes