Keep your eyes on the road, your hand upon the wheel | Rust Cohle x Reader
It seemed as though Rust Cohle could not catch a break. His usual routine driven, bland everyday life had been turned upside down. It was all thanks to his new neighbor. You had moved into the run down house next to him not too long ago yet you were already driving him mad. He wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe it was the fact that every other neighbor up and down the street was always too afraid to speak to him. Rust did his best not to give others the assumption he’d like to talk to them. Always rushing in after a long day, half-drunk and half-awake. He rarely even noticed anyone else around him. Until you came along. You were younger than him, he could tell by the joy that was still in your eyes. If he had to place a guess on how much younger, he’d say ten years. It left a slight bitter taste in his mouth every time he caught himself staring. Did you always have to run around town in a tank top a size too small for you? Whatever it was, it bothered him a lot more than he wanted to admit.
It was almost eight, Rust was already late for work. He’d had a late night, too many drinks and the photos from a case still sat on his mattress. Getting ready, he could hear some form of commotion outside. It sounded like the sputtering of an engine and a string of curses. He wanted to ignore it, he really did but as he stepped outside of the house he saw you. Bent over and half way into the engine, your skirt ridden up to reveal something he’d rather not see. A scowl left his mouth. He didn’t have time to deal with whatever your problem was. Even still, he found himself stepping over his lawn to meet yours.
“ Need a ride? “ The sudden voice caused you to jump, smacking your head up against the hood. “ Fuck! “ A hiss escaped your mouth as you turned to shoot a look at whoever the perpetrator of your assault was. Your attempt at mean mugging whoever it was faded as you saw the man standing in front of you.
Rust Cohle. You’d seen him around, shooting him a friendly smile every time you saw him even if he never returned the gesture. He seemed lonely and you felt bad for him. Part of you wanted to be company and maybe more. An awkward laugh left your mouth, you had already forgotten what he had previously said. “ Sorry, you said somethin’? “ The Louisiana heat seemed to beat down on you even more, you looked down to see if you were already sweating through your work clothes. Hopefully you didn't look as greasy as you felt.
A grunt left his mouth, he seemed annoyed at having to repeat himself. “Just asked if you needed a ride. “ His gaze moved to the car behind you. You hadn’t expected him to offer, he’d never really spoken to you before but you nodded quickly.
The car ride was quiet, Rust was not a talkative man and you quickly learned that. Your eyes occasionally flickered over to him then around his truck. It smelled of cigarettes and wood, you found yourself often inhaling that scent in an attempt to be able to remember it. Fingers trailed around leather that seemed to be peeling back on the bench seat from wear and tear.
“ How long have you had this? “ You turned to look at him, trying to strike a conversation. Rust blinked, temporarily closing his eyes as if the answer was deep in the roots of his mind. “ Almost seven years. “ His answer was short, just like every sentence he’d spoken had been. What you didn't expect was for him to speak again. “ You work at the diner on main street, right? “ You were about to open your mouth and ask how he knew that but he quickly interrupted you. “ Your uniform. “
A small laugh left your mouth as you glanced at the attire. Red and white striped top and skirt paired with a name tag, dead giveaway. You felt stupid but you tried not to show it. “ Oh, right. “
The pick up let out a small groan as he parked in the diner’s parking lot, his fingers tapping against the steering wheel impatiently. Rust was going to assume you had someone to pick you up but then he thought once more. You’d only just moved there. He hadn’t seen any family help you move in. He only watched through the window of his apartment as you struggled to pull all the boxes in, he felt a little bad but it wasn’t his problem. Now it was different. Rust had taken you there, he could pick you up. He didn’t want you to walk. You'd become his responsibility very quickly.
“ What time do you get off? I’ll pick you up. “ His words made you turn, you were half way out the truck with your bag slung over your shoulder. The last thing you wanted to be was a bother.
“ You don’t have to do that, I’ll find a ride. “ It was a lie, you’d probably just walk home. Rust sucked in a sharp breath, he was already thirty minutes late and the last thing he wanted was Geraci on his ass about it. All he did was nod and wait for you to close the door so he could drive off.
Your entire shift you couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. Rust Cohle was a very attractive man, his cool demeanor didn’t drive you away. In fact, it seemed to pull you closer. Just as he’d been watching you, you’d been watching him. Sure, people talked about him. They said lots of things. Your manager had even watched the man drop you off and decided to throw her two cents in. Susan was an older woman, kind but Southern, meaning she loved to gossip.” Honey, you don’t want to get involved with him. He’s bad news. That kind of guy don't care about nobody but himself. “ You appreciated her words of wisdom but truthfully, they meant nothing to you. “ I’m not involved with him, it was just a ride to work. My car broke down! “ A quick attempt to defend yourself did not really get across to the older lady. “ That’s how it starts. “ is all she said before scurrying off to help a couple that had just walked in. Her words lingered in your head. You pondered on what she meant by 'it'. A singular car ride could not turn into something more, especially when it came to a man who hated everyone including himself.
Around nine you were finally walking out, a heavy sigh leaving your mouth as you stepped outside. You felt disgusting, one of the customers accidentally spilled syrup all over you and with your luck, there were no extra uniforms. Before you even began your walk back home, you noticed a familiar red pick up truck in the barren parking lot. Inside sat Rust. The man was no fool, he knew you were lying. The last thing he wanted was to see you pop up in a casefile and put that on his conscience. It was almost like he could see the news article in his head. Woman new to town murdered walking home alone at night ( All because Detective Cohle failed to give her a ride home! ) He shivered at the thought. Rust hated that it bugged him so much.
Your tired, aching feet managed to pull you to his truck. The headlights casting upon your face, hopefully he saw the confusion on it. Though knowing Rust, he likely wasn’t looking. The door opened up with a creak of the hinges, causing the dirty blonde to lift up his head.
“ What’re you doin’ here? “ You stood with an accusatory look on your face. Did he not think you could hold yourself? He barely knew you. The mere thought of it made you grumble. You weren’t sure if you were dreaming already but you could’ve sworn you saw a stretch of his mouth. It looked nice on his face, his usual brooding stare temporarily replaced for something more human. Maybe he liked that you were challenging him, not letting him to whatever he wanted.
“ Figured you didn’t have a way home. “ He spoke up, sparing you a small glance as he waited for you to climb into the truck. A few seconds passed as you pondered on his words, you didn’t want to waste anymore of his time so you pulled yourself in.
“ Right, thank you. You didn’t have to though. “ You huffed, dropping your bag onto the floor board so you could lean back into the seat and try to relax. Rust only blinked, would you have rathered to walk in the dark? He could let you out if that was the case but he didn’t. His nose wrinkled as the scent of maple filled his nostrils, it was sickeningly sweet. It made him almost nauseous, his hand moving to crank the window down. He felt almost trapped with you, his face tilted out the window to try and get fresh air.
Just like earlier that morning, the truck grew silent as he began to drive. At some point your eyes peered open and found themselves watching Rust drive. He looked worn out, it made you feel hot inside. Your skin quickly heated up at the realization, you snapped your head to look out the window but the sound of a lighter flicking made you turn back to him. You should’ve known he smoked. The smell wasn’t exactly discrete, not that it bothered you. If anything, it was comforting.
The older man must’ve felt your staring because his eyes slid from the road to you. A look sat on his face that spoke for him ‘ what? ‘. You shook your head. “ Nothing, I just- Thank you again. “ Your eyes stayed fixated on the cigarette, it had been a while since you smoked. When you were freshly eighteen it had been more of a habit but it was really a way to rebel against your family. “ Can I? “ The words left your mouth too quickly before you realized what you were saying.
Rust seemed slightly surprised by your words. He wanted to have more self control when it came to you but he lacked it at the moment. Reluctantly, he pulled the cigarette out from in between his lips to pass it over to you. He wondered if you’d ever smoked before, did you share cigarettes with other strange men or was he an exception? Rust didn’t even want to acknowledge that the question made his skin crawl. The road was long forgotten as his eyes fell to you. He knew them well enough to watch you. Your lips pressed just where his mouth was, he felt like a damn teenager. The red lipstick you had on you stained the cigarette.
You inhaled with a wince, whatever he smoked it was strong. The nicotine taste and musk made you choke slightly but you recovered with a cloud of smoke pouring out of your mouth. “ Jesus, what the hell is that? “ You held it back out to Rust but he only shook his head. No way was he taking it back now.
A chuckle left his mouth, something rare. You’d never really seen him laugh or smile so it was nice to see he could actually express joy. “ Camels. You smoke? “ His eyes were fully pulled back to the road.
You twirled the cigarette in your fingers before taking another drag. “ Used to, Marlboro Golds. I smoked them just to piss off my family. They thought too much of me, made me mad. “ The logic wasn’t entirely there but to your eighteen year old self, it made perfect sense. You were always deemed the golden child, it caused people to think you were some kind of angel. You weren’t, you felt like the furthest from Heaven you could possibly be.
Rust must’ve read you wrong, he wasn’t sure what he thought of you but he didn’t think you would purposely poison yourself to get people to leave you be. He didn’t say anything else the rest of the ride home. The only sounds that filled the truck was the sound of the janky radio that was mostly static though occasionally a country song would buzz in.
As he pulled into his driveway, you turned to him trying to pull your words together. He’d done a lot for you already. Being on your own meant that you were used to figuring things out for yourself, it had been years since you let someone else take the wheel. You wanted to show your gratitude but Rust was already stepping out of the car, quickly you jumped out and stepped in front of him as he rounded the front of the truck.
You grew to realize just how tall he was, you weren’t super short nor super tall but as he stood in front of you, you felt small. His eyes practically boring into you as you stood, he was clearly waiting for you to spit out whatever you were struggling to say. “ I wanted to thank you again, really I mean it. I don’t know anybody here just yet. “ He knew that. “ I’ll call someone to come look at my car tomorrow. I owe you one, anything you want okay? Breakfast at the diner can be on me. “ You were rambling, your fingers pushing into your hair to twiddle with the strands as you anxiously spoke. The last thing you wanted was for his chivalry to go unnoticed.
“ You don’t have to do anything, ‘s fine. “ He shook his head, stepping aside from the nervous mess you’d become to make his way to his door. It was clear he was done for the night, no longer wishing to speak or be near you. Your feet still stood planted in his driveway, the cigarette burnt up in your hand. “ Goodnight! “ You spoke before stepping over to your own lawn, gaze still on the cold man as he stepped inside his own home. Mentally, you cursed yourself. You sounded like a child bidding the man a goodnight, so loudly and even more cheerfully. The sound of cicadas and wind chimes from a nearby house filled the air as you stood, still in your syrupy uniform.
No matter how much he detested the idea of a favor, you’d find a way to repay him.
PART TWO
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NOTE: Not sure if anybody will get this far but this is my first time writing something! I hope I did an okay job portraying him and world building. I am really nervous to post this. Typically, I only write for my ocs so I hope this isn't unbearable. :)
