welcome
apocalypse!robby x reader
summary: you arrive back to robbys community where you meet some of the residents and a kind woman named dana.
notes: the old mans emotional turmoil begins! this ones a bit longer i think. starting to get more into reader and robbys feelings and of course robby reacts in a completely normal way totally doesnt freak out or anything. also will hopefully be more organised and have a main masterlist so everything is easier to find but bare with me. hope you enjoy part 3!!!
series masterlist
you doze off somewhere along to journey, robbys warm embrace making you feel safer than you have in a while. your sleep is interrupted by a hand running up and down your arm and occasionally squeezing, followed by a gruff voice softly telling you to “wake up, sweetheart. were back.” you whine, turning your head away from the sound and attempt to burrow further into the safe haven that is his chest. he chuckles, “i know your probably very tired and you can sleep soon, we just need to get you checked out.”
well that definitely woke you up. get you checked out?
you blink wearily and rub the sleep from your eyes with a dirty hand, feeling slightly more panicked now. you hadnt thought any further beyond being wrapped up in the strangers arms, forgetting that he was taking you to a community. other people.
your thoughts are cut short when you arrive at some dented corrugated metal gates.
“abbot and robinavitch. plus one…. stranger.” the greying man yells to what you assume are people on the other side.
“clean?” a male voice responds
“robby checked said shes clean.”
“nothing other than some bruising adam we’re all good.” robby shouts, bringing a hand up to cover your ear thats not pressed to his chest.
he keeps his hand in place as the gates open. you still flinch at the high pitched squealing noise as the metal scrapes along the floor. he flicks the reigns on his horse again and the pair head forward, the shrill sound of gate closing behind them piercing your ear drums again. as the horses continue to !!!! a small group of people gather round all staring at the new person thats penetrated their walls.
robby slides down and you mourn his warmth, he reaches up and places his hand on your hips lifting you from the saddle and placing you gently on the hay covered ground of the stables. the growing hoard of people gather closer and closer to the stable and peer in, robby to block your half covered from their intrusive gaze with his own body.
“alright alright. have some decency the girls terrified as is no need to fuckin’ stare,” abbot grits out as he goes to close the door to the stable, “you could at least be useful and go and get her some damn clothes.”
he slams the door and turns back to his horse, unloading all of his equipment. robby keeps an eye on you as he does the same, now shielded from the community’s people.
a few minutes later a knock against the wood captures your attention.
robby responds, “who is it?”
“who do you think jackass?” a female voice responds.
as the form enters you move closer to robby. you are greeted with a blonde woman in her early fifties carrying a pile of clothes for you.
“its nothin’ fancy but better than what youve got now. my names dana, i help run this place.” she extends her arm to you, but when you dont reach out to take the clothes robby does for you. you put on pants and shoes, wanting to keep the comfort of the jacket the man gave you.
“alright well, if you come with me i can get you settled in okay hon?”
at the prospect of leaving, you step back and hide yourself behind robby, gripping onto his thick arm and willing away the tears building behind your eyes. dana glaces at robby, cocking an eyebrow then sharing the same look with abbot who just shakes his head with a smirk.
the brunette notices your state of distress, “hey its okay, you can trust dana. shell take care of you.” his reassurances do nothing to your shaking form.
safety is sacred to you. something you havent felt know for god knows how long. but you feel it with robby and youre not willing to let it go.
he turns to full face you, “i uh- i guess i could come with you. help you get settled in.” he smiles warmly when you nod, your grip on his arm still not letting up. he looks to dana and she nods as well, smirking slightly at the man’s proposal.
“come on sugar, first stops the clinic.” she holds the door open for the pair of you to follow her.
———
“so honey how old r’ya?” dana asks, placing the old pen light she was just shining in your eyes back in her pocket.
when met with silence robby chimes in, stood behind your form sat on an old hospital bed. “she uh… doesn’t talk.”
dana hums and purses her lips, her glasses rested low on her nose, thinking. “you can nod though right? saw you do it back there in the stables.”
you nod.
“good. so i’m assuming you can also shake your head no.”
you do so.
“great. just gonna ask you some simple questions. if you need a break at any point sweetheart you just raise your hand okay?”
nod.
“you injured?”
nod.
“can you point where?”
you raise a frail hand to point at your ribs and your left arm.
“okay. any serious cuts or bleeding?” she asks, not seeing any blood on your person but wanting to be safe.
you shake your head.
“i trust robbys judgement so im not gonna ask you to strip like i normally would. you seem all good other than the injuries you noted on your ribs which im guessing is bruisng?”
nod.
“well if you have any more problems or decide you want treatment you can find me, robby or abbot. we’re the doctors around here m’kay?” she pauses and looks at robby, “now we need to find you accommodation. theres an empty house down by the creek which is all yours if you want it.”
you dont respond just stare at the toes of the borrowed shoes you wore, gently swinging your legs over the side of the bed. empty house? no. you had just been saved from an empty house why on earth would you willingly put yourself back in that situation. you dont want to be alone again. you cant be alone again.
robby pipes up once again, “or… if you dont want to be alone, i have a spare room in my house. its not much but you can stay there while you get comfortable here, means you wont be alone if thats what youre worrying about.” he sounds unsure in his offer, like he doesnt want to step over a non-existent line. god what are you doing, he thinks to himself, she probably thinks im a creep.
you take a second, still looking at your shoes. being alone again is terrifying, the thought sends a shiver through your body, and robby has been nothing but gentle to you in such a harsh world. a rare privilege. you look over your shoulder and meet his warm eyes checking his eyes for any sign of hesitancy, not wanting him to feel like he has to house you, but you find none.
once again, you nod.
———
the walk to robbys house is nice, scenic.
you stroll slowly, he reassured you there was no rush and to get comfortable in the new area, taking in the trees and the few townsfolk that you pass. unaware of your actions, you chew and pick at your nail beds, pulling the skin back until you draw blood. its a nervous habit you’d had since childhood, always needing something in your hands or mouth to fiddle with. you feel that same anxiety thrumming through your body now as you did back then with your nails still being the ones to take the brunt of it.
robby notices this and envelops your hand in his making you pausing the relentless picking. “you shouldnt do that,” he says with a voice to soft for the man it comes from, “dont wanna risk getting infected.”
you nod and lower your hand, looking away from him. he still holds your hand in his and you find yourself hoping he doesnt pull away. the warmth is so welcome after so long being stuck in the freezing cold, but its different. its not the warmth you used to get from the ratty old blanket you kept on the end of your bed, the one youd always curl up in after a bad day. no this unique. just this small touch on your hand causes a flood of comfort and saftey to rocket through your veins unlike anything youd felt before.
and completely unknown by you, robby feels the same. holding your hand, he feels the large fortified walls hes spent years painstakingly building develop a small crack in the foundation, letting the cold interior warm only slightly. this however is closely followed by a much stronger wave of fear and insecurity, one he prays will patch up the break with haste. he hasnt felt like this in years- if ever -and all hes done is hold your hand, and it terrifies him. youre young and fragile and hes…. well hes old and broken. hes your perfect antithesis in a way. he cant explain it but he feels this innate urge to protect you. protect you from this world which clearly has already begun its attack on your spirit, he wants to be the one to stop it from doing anymore damage. he knows hes older than you despite not knowing your exact age (hes a doctor for gods sake he knows youre in your early to mid twenties) and the stares of the residents do nothing to help the guilt he feels about it. he needs to shut down this warmth thats creeping through his walls before it becomes something catastrophic, before they break completely.
only a moment has passed, but for the both of you it felt like an eternity. robby slowly draws his hand back, much to your upset. he avoids eye contact as he says, “come on, my house is just down here.” before walking at a faster pace than before, one your tired legs struggle to keep up with.