NFWMB| abby anderson
first time writing for tlou i’m scaruuued be nice to me pls. based on the hozier song, arguably the best song every written.
warnings: death, depictions of gore and trauma, violence, eventual smut but i gotta do my angsty slow burn shabang first, i think that’s it idk this is not at all planned out im j going with it lol
MDNI!!!!
She must be minutes away from death. Seconds. Hell, with the way her ribs were piercing into her abdomen, it was entirely possible that Abby was already dead. She can’t even recall how she got here. It was a routine morning patrol, always deserted except for a lone clicker once in a while. Safe. Boring, even, for someone with a skill set as impressive as Abby’s. She’s in the middle of thinking that maybe it’s that same cocky mentality that got her in this situation in the first place, that maybe if she had been less egotistical and more alert, she would’ve clocked the scar sneaking up behind her with a mallet, and wouldn’t have been so easily overpowered by the scrawny kid who-come to think of it, was probably half her weight and, had she been prepared, she could’ve easily-
“Anderson”
Your blunt voice cuts through her near-death psychosis as the lens flares faded from her vision just enough for Abby to make you out and-oh fuck. It’s you.
“Don’t you dare fucking pass out on me Anderson”
Head medic of the WLF. Sort of a community legend, if you will. You had been dragged into the base two years ago kicking and screaming bloody murder. Since then, you’ve accepted that the base offers you safety you could never get traversing alone in the wild, begrudgingly settling into the quaint timber cottage near the outskirts and taking on a job doing what you did best, nursing. Half the faction would be dead if it weren’t for you, which arguably makes up for the fact that you were a stone cold bitch. It also doesn’t hurt that you’re the prettiest thing the WLF has ever seen.
“I needed new sutures twenty seconds ago if you fuckers wanna keep your heads I better see em on my table within a minute!” You barked, and even through her haze Abby noticed how much power you held, astonished at the terrified faces of all the medics inside the tent as they rushed to complete your request.
“You there?” You snapped back to her paling face, uncharacteristic concern etched in your features as you examined Abby with her face cradled in your palms.
“You’re kinda scary, ya know” is all Abby manages to mumble back, but it’s enough to make you crack a brief smile. It suits you, Abby thinks, and as soon as your face drops back to its usual hardened demeanour as you remove her shirt, she can’t help but miss it
“What, miss top-scar-killer is afraid of a little yelling?” You muse, taking the opportunity as she’s distracted to splash alcohol on her gaping knife wound. She gasps at the searing sensation going through her lower stomach, cringing in pain
“Don’t be such a baby, Anderson, you’re fine” you said, working quickly to stitch up her wound
“What’d y-you, fuck, what’d you call me?” Abby managed to stutter out through gritted teeth, “I’m not a f-fu…not a fucking b-baby”
“Whatever you say” you taunt, knotting the nylon thread and cutting it off cleanly, “go home, you’re done”
“I’m not gonna die?” Abby asks, incredulously. She knew you were good but for a moment she was almost certain she saw the light at the end of the tunnel
“Not today, baby” you call from over your shoulder, already being rushed away to attend to the other wounded soldiers.
That was three days ago. Abby hasn’t seen you since, and it was really taking a toll on her, to say the least. You had crawled into every nook and cranny of her brain, you plagued her every thought, in her wake and through her restless sleep. She doesn’t know how she failed to notice you before. Sure, she’d seen you around, watched you get dragged in through the gates on your first day, brushed past you in the med tent before, sat just a couple tables away in the cafeteria. But still, she had never really seen you. Not until three days ago. And now, you were all Abby could see.
Manny’s incoherent blabber muddles into background noise as Abby watches you, her weights lying forgotten by her feet. You didn’t usually go to the gym after dinner, you liked to go early in the morning, before anyone else got there. You liked the solitude, so you were less than pleased when you were informed that the gym was booked the next morning for a training session, disturbing your workout schedule. On the bright side, the buff brunette’s fixated gaze on you as you finished your last set of pull-ups was doing wondrous things for your ego.
“Dude are you even listening to me?” Manny’s voice rouses Abby out of her daydreaming, shaking her head as if she could dispel the thought of you from her mind
“Yeah, ‘course I am” Abby ensures dismissively, but her gym partner isn’t convinced, following her eye line until it locks on your perspiring form in the near distance
Abby groans as she seems something click in Manny’s brain, a devilish grin unravelling onto his smug face
“Don’t-“ but he cuts off her protests swiftly
“You got yourself a little crush, Abs?” Manny taunts
“Shut up, I do not” Abby denies, not very convincingly, hands fidgeting with the dumbbells in her clutch as she allows her eyes to trail back to your distant figure, “Why does a medic need to be in such good shape?”
“In this world, it cant hurt to have strength on your side” Manny shrugs, not about to let Abby divert the topic, “you sure know how to pick ‘em”
“What does that even mean?” Abby asks, brows furrowed
“You know why she doesn’t patrol anymore?” Manny prompts
“I didn’t know she ever did” Abby remarked with wide eyes
“Over in Cali, where we picked her up from, she had massacred at least half a dozen bandits by herself ” Manny recounted vividly, “the girl’s kill count is crazy, Isaac couldn’t wait to recruit her”
“So why is she working as a medic?” Abby wonders aloud, and Manny shrugs
“No one knows” he concludes vaguely, just in time, as you conclude your workout and head towards the lockers. Manny calls out cheerfully as you pass by the pair, “Looking good there, doc”
The sound of his voice makes you halt momentarily, turning your head around with a small smile, “I told you to drop it with the nickname, Manny”
“Nah, it’s gonna catch on, trust me” Manny waves off as you roll your eyes, “right, Abby?”
At the sound of her name, Abby’s face floods with heat as your gaze locks onto her, growing hotter as she barely manages to stumble out an answer, “uh, yeah, definitely”
“Don’t encourage him” is all you say, still chuckling as you turn and continue your walk out.
The interaction is still on Abby’s mind days later, as fresh as when it first happened. She hasn’t seen you recently, you were always working. As steam swarms around her in the communal shower, Abby is reminded of how the mere sight of your muscles, glistening with sweat as contracted and strained, was enough to color her cheeks red. She’s so caught up in her rumination that she almost doesn’t notice when the door opens and you enter with your shower caddy and towel. Almost. Because besides your usual striking features, one thing about you is exceedingly jarring today, and it’s the blood you’re smothered in, seemingly from head to toe. it smeared onto your face and crusted your hairline, your clothes were dripping red as you peeled them off, first your long sleeve and then your jeans and-oh shit, Abby thinks, you’re almost naked.
“oh my god, are you okay?” Abby questions worriedly, momentarily pausing her shower routine
“Yeah, it’s uh…it’s not mine” you answer casually, wringing the blood out of your clothes before holding them under the shower head to wash them
“Do you need any help? I can-” Abby begins, striding towards you until you recoil from her outstretched hands
“I’m fine, Anderson, take your shower” You remark curtly, and if Abby read into it she might find a little rudeness to it
“Are you sure ‘cuz that looks like-” but Abby didn’t read into it, so she continues on with your warning unnoticed
“I said Im fucking fine” you snarl, eyes glaring and fists tight
“Right. Yeah, I-um, I’m sorry” Abby manages to stammer, walking feebly back to her shower slot and finishing up, handle creaking as she shut the water off. But she’s so shaken up that as she grabs the gauze and begins to wrap her healing wound, her fingers fumble relentlessly, like they had forgotten how to function. After her third failed attempt and another string of hushed curses, her breath catches as she feels you approach her, wordlessly snatching the gauze from her and kneeling down in front of her to be facing her abdomen. You don’t speak. You don’t even look at her as you expertly clean the area off.
“How’s it feeling?” you remark coldly, still refusing to look up at her from where you where kneeled, concentrating on disinfecting the stitches
“I’m really sorry for pushing, I know you said it was fine, and I shouldn’t have-” Abby begins to ramble, partly because she does feel bad and partly because she’s desperate for any distraction that meant she wouldn’t have to think about how close you were to her naked body, shivering and still dripping. Anything to keep her from sighing at the sensation of your delicate fingers as they mended her gash.
“I asked you a question, Anderson” you cut her off, grabbing the gauze and rolling out a small strip, “answer it”
“It feels fine” Abby obliges timidly, wincing as you tugged it a hair too tight
“You’ve been disinfecting it?” you inquire, focused on your work
“Twice a day, like you told me” Abby nods
“Good girl, Anderson” you hum approvingly, leaning in to sever the gauze with your teeth, looking up at her briefly from where you knelt before finishing off the wrapping
To make matters worse for Abby, you then stand up, and you’re facing so closing she could see the steam rolling off your skin. It’s when you start to lean in slowly that Abby begins to panic, feeling her heart pound against her chest as she switched her gaze back and forth from your eyes to your lips. Just as the gap between your mouths is about to close, however, you retract, grabbing the towel sitting behind Abby and handing it to her with a subtle smirk
“Keep it dry, okay?” you instruct, taking joy in seeing Abby trying desperately to regain her composure, “Don’t wanna get it infected, ruins all my hard work”
and Abby knows then, from the twist in her gut to the heat growing lower, just how fucked she is.
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