LAST SHOT - altruism
synopsis : interning at a random ship in space sounds like a great idea for your paper. don't you think? part -> 3 | other chapters -> 1 2 ?
characters : anya, swansea, daisuke, curly, jimmy, gn!reader (daisuke x reader implied)
content : trigger warning for implied death, rape, short mentions of religious themes. violent scene in one of the latter part, and of course, tw jimmy
wc : 3.1k+
before you read, buckle up...
- today, you find that your body feels warmer than usual.
- .. and a bit heavier as well?
- did you accidentally get sick last night?
- as you sit up in your spot in the corridor, memories of last night immediately flood your brain, and you groggily sigh. awfully early to remember.. all of that.
- taking a look at your current surroundings and yourself, you realize there’s an extra blanket lying on top of you. other than that, everything.. looks the same. you’re still in the spot as last night.
- you sag in relief. you’re safe.
- despite knowing that you couldn’t have been hurt by jimmy without the others not finding out, it still frightens you.
- and to think that curly is more afraid of hurting jimmy’s feelings than what that man could possibly do to others.
- that’s funny.
- instead of staying on that thought any longer, your eyes peer back, peeking at anya’s door. it’s still closed, and it sounds like anya’s still sound asleep.
- oh well. you don’t mind waiting for her..
- for now, you’ll fold the extra blanket. it’s the standard blanket the company gives you. one for each room - but you’re unsure if they gave the ship any extras.
- you wonder who gave you this in the first place.
- you suspect it’s anya, daisuke, swansea, or curly - in that exact order. jimmy would’ve placed it above your head to suffocate you, but who knows.
- you’re only left with a troubling question.
- .. how are you going to return this?
- everyone.. looks like they’re dead.
- anya woke up roughly an hour later than she used to wake - which is good.
- but once you saw her puffy eyes, you could only offer her a hug. she allows it.
- curly looks even more tired than before, eye bags under his eyes only heavier. and along with that, jimmy is nowhere to be found.
- they’re mindlessly doing their basic needs - either stuck in their own thoughts, or too somber to think in the first place.
- well, aside from daisuke.
- he’s still enjoying the cake, although he looks a bit awkward. you could see the way he’s restraining his smile after reading the room.
- you try to enjoy the cake as well. it’s not the best, but cake is cake. you only realised how much you miss eating baked goods.
- another thing to miss, you suppose..
- swansea also wakes up later than usual.
- he walks in the lounge, and immediately, you could tell that he very much needs a glass of whatever’s most potent in that very room.
- that’s how the last can of coffee was finished. you feel sort of bad for the old man.. and whoever else drinks coffee on this ship.
- he sits on the sofa instead of the dining table, which means.. he has no access to the cake.
- you look at daisuke - who's already looking at you.
leaning slightly in his direction, you whisper under your breath,
“.. do you want to get him a slice?”
he looks at you excitedly, his smile growing once more, unrestricted.
“yeeahh!!!”
okay. maybe a bit too unrestricted. you draw the attention of anya and curly by accident, and you only smile at them apologetically. daisuke follows, chuckling guilty.
your eyes draw back at the male beside you, and your eyes catch on one single detail. at the end of his lips, there’s pink cream.
your fingers twitch at the sight.
before you knew it, you were wiping the excess cream at the edge of his mouth. it only smears it worse.
flickering your vision from his lips, to his eyes - you realize that he’s been staring at you wide-eyed, lips slightly parted. he looks.. dazed. you also realize how sudden your action was, and you send him an apologetic stare, before looking back at his lips.
“you got something there. sorry.”
wiping it for a final time, the cream is finally off his face. thank god. it would’ve drove you insane..
“ah- it’s alright!”
nodding at him, you take one of the two plates on the table - the table set up by yours truly - and begin cutting out two pieces of cake. the male beside you has already gotten up, ready to go.
you dully note that his voice sounds more high pitched than usual.
.. maybe he has a cold? you’ll have to check later.
- swansea looks at the two of you, coffee in his hand, his body hunched and arms supporting his position.
- his eyebrows are furrowed ever since the start of your interaction, and his eyes flicker between daisuke and you. he greets the both of you with a grumble.
- you only nod along as daisuke gives him the piece of cake with the spoon in hand.
- he looks at the piece of cake, before sighing, and placing his can of coffee on the sofa.
- after he takes the cake in his hand, you hear him talk for the first time in the morning.
- “just return the blanket after you wash it.”
- you let a brief moment of surprise appear on your face.
- so, it was swansea..
- giving him an appreciative nod, you offer him a small thank you, and he brushes it off as he eats the first piece of cake.
- daisuke looks between the two of you, confused.
- “what? what happened?”
- you briefly look at swansea. he looks like he’s saying, “do whatever you want kid.”
- so you do.
- you give daisuke a sly look, and press a finger on your lips, a smile on your face.
- daisuke gasps, and begins to whine more for an explanation. swansea laughs at him, and that.. was the start of your day.
- everything is going smoothly, so far.
- jimmy finally comes out of his room, and he surely had breakfast - judging by the dirty plate by the sink.
- swansea and daisuke continue to the utility room as usual. swansea seemed a bit tense, but it wasn’t as bad as this morning.
- on the other hand, curly sends you a thankful nod as he exits the lounge area, and you send him a huff in exchange.
- you’re pretty sure you’re just bitter at jimmy at this point. there’s no need to put the blame on curly for his current actions. but.. oh well.
- can’t you be petty, once in a while?
- your shifts goes by as usual. you check medical stock with anya, but this time, she looks more spaced out than usual.
- anya’s silent for the first half of the time with you, and the rest, her exterior slowly starts to unravel, as soon as you asked her if you could help her with anything.
- you listen to her troubles while rubbing her back.
- financially, this isn’t good news. she already spent a huge chunk of her life trying to get into nursing school, and this job could be used as proof of her expertise. but it isn’t enough.
- you promised that you’ll help to the best of your abilities once you get back home, even if it meant moving closer to her apartment. you were planning to move during your masters, anyway..
- she laughs at the lengths you’d go to, saying that she wouldn’t hold you to it.
- you only sigh softly, giving her a final hug.
- you’ll find a way. somehow. and you will help her.
- the rest of the shift goes swimmingly, anya looks a bit better after talking about her problems.
- and now, it’s nearly the end of your shift.
- you think you’re going insane. you swear you’re hearing a small noise speaking in your ear.
- .. and it awfully sounds like daisuke.
- you’re really going insane today. further squinting at the label of the medicine in your hand, you only look back when anya taps your shoulder.
- …to see the man himself, peeking into the medical bay.
- you sigh at the sudden appearance, and anya sends you a teasing smile.
- this wouldn’t be the first time he has visited you. but what would be different is the look that anya is sending you right now. you send her a confused stare back.
as soon as your gaze connects with daisuke’s, you watch as his entire face light up. lips stretching into a smile, his eyes crinkling, the shine in his eyes getting brighter - the whole deal.
and you feel … relief.
“hey! ..wanna see something?”
you realize quickly why you’re so relieved to see him.
the excitement he displayed. you haven’t seen it on anyone all day. not even close.
you could feel your gaze soften at the sight of him.
“..depends. am i done with my shift?”
your tone comes off as teasing, as intended. however, it was also to remind him that you were in the middle of something.
he seems to get the memo, and sends you a sorry smile.
“well..”
today, his request is a bit different. on most occasions when he did visit you, he only hung around the clinic, allowing you to do work as he chats, sometimes you or anya chiming into his conversation.
putting back the medicine back on the shelf, you were about to hand over the final report to anya and start organizing alongside her. it’s quite a bit to do, but you don’t mind.
after all.. you’re meant to help her, right?
“actually, y/n’s done!”
your eyes immediately snap towards anya’s direction.
“oh, thanks anya! let’s go, y/n! i got something real cool to show you!”
..and then towards daisuke, who's already headed off outside to wait for you.
you send anya a look, placing your clipboard down on her desk.
“really?”
instead of a response, she sends you a teasing grin, and leans into her hand.
“hehe.”
now she’s laughing at your confusion. you send her a final look of defeat.
- turns out, daisuke was trying to show you a new trick he learnt from swansea.
- a funny little thing he could do with the tools. shifting it certain ways can make a familiar melody.
- you realize it’s the same one you had on your mp3.
- looking back at him, you see now that he’s nervously waiting for your reaction.
- you smile, patting his head right after.
- he’s quite talented with little things like these. you pointed it out, and he only brushes them off. a bad habit he has, one you’ve observed since the first day you got into the tulpar.
- you wonder if it’s plausible to fix that trait before you all go back to earth.
- anya informed you that it would be unlikely for her to sleep well this night.
- rightfully so, you would say - but she continues, saying that she might take a walk in the ship at night.
- you blink at her, confused on what she would be insinuating.
- she softly smiles at your confusion.
“you can sleep in your room tonight.”
a brief look of concern flashes on your face.
“are you sure?”
she nods at your words, smiling further at your demeanor.
“stop worrying. you might get more wrinkles than me at this point.”
sending her a small look of disdain, she only continues to smile at you - telling you not to worry. it’s not a good night to leave her alone. but when she looks at you like that, it’s hard to refuse.
you continue to look at her, before looking back at the dining table. jimmy’s seat is empty, perhaps unwilling to come, or late. it’d be better if he didn’t come. another pang of worry resonates in you, and you send anya a signal to follow you.
that night, you give anya your taser.
you really hope she doesn’t face a situation where she has to use it.
- when you finally retire from the lounge area, you’re a bit surprised to how foreign your own room looks.
- you visit this place every morning and night, sure. but it’s just to check on your things.
- the cushion is hard, you note. harder than the ones in the sofa, at the very least.
- it’s hard to say if they’re an upgrade from your usual place in front of anya’s room.
- it would also be the first time you use your pillow as an actual pillow, as you used to hug it instead.
- the air is warmer here. it’s safer to rest without a blanket.
- despite all these.. luxuries, you can’t say that you feel better.
- it’s annoying; how you’ve come to worry so much on your trip here.
- you worry about everything. you worry about swansea’s condition, about daisuke’s homesickness, how curly’s holding up - and how anya’s going to avoid jimmy. you worry about what tomorrow will bring.
- this peace you tried to uphold feels like it’s one second away from ruin.
- you barely get any sleep that night.
- you’re unsure why your body alarm didn’t wake you up that morning.
- perhaps due to the fact you barely slept at night, but you woke up to a knock at your door.
- you see the same woman that has taught you everything you had to know about the ship, crying behind that same door.
- she kept on hiccuping as you brought her in. you try your best to comfort her, and her words are broken as her hiccups continue to disturb each syllable. you wait for her to finish her sentences.
- that’s when you realized that it had to do with jimmy. the man anya was talking about was jimmy.
- she mentions curly’s name - and how he refused to help her even when she told him.
- you should’ve expected that much from him.
- the sound of your deep breaths were overtaking the sniffles in that room. you were starting to see red.
- what happened next was a blur. you remember reaching into your bag - and calling over daisuke to watch over anya.
“wait- where are you going?”
you look back over your shoulders, eyes sharp on him.
the darkness of the room shadowed what could be seen of your facial features, only your eyes managed to catch the light that trickled from the hallway. they seemed like they were glowing.
“to hell.”
you were never a slow walker.
your steps are steadfast; quick, unwavering, that’s how you are often described to be. never to look back, never to regret. blunt, unsociable, and reclused. this was your way to be one step in front of everyone else. to be great, one must follow a path of loneliness.
you were never a slow walker. you never let anyone else influence your path.
but one day, you decided to slow down for someone.
they looked at you with care. with more than you had in your body, more than what you could’ve ever wished for. they guided you, they taught you with patience you’ve never imagined of possessing.
then another came along; smile bright as sunshine, the source of warmth in a cold day.
all of a sudden, you walked at the pace of the sun and moon.
everyday felt different, different from the monotone you lived before. light slowly seeped into your life, and you allowed it. for once, in your life, you felt like there was something that was guiding you through this fog.
you were never a slow walker. today will be no different.
the hallway echoes with every step you take, and each step brings you closer and closer towards the cockpit.
you never thought you would actually need to utilize your gun. at one point, you thought you were just being overly careful - but it seems like they were right all along. trust no one, and that’s how you’ll prevail.
you insert the magazine into the slot of your gun, and as soon as you heard the confirming click, you pull back on the slide. it snaps back into place.
if there’s a god in space, you pray that today will be an exception to your sins today.
the sound behind the door only confirms his location, and you knock the door open with your foot. you catch him in the middle of something; he’s holding a key - the same one you’ve only seen curly hold before.
he says something. you only hear muffled out voices.
grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, you slam him towards the metal ground of the spaceship. your foot finds it place on his throat, and his hands immediately try to pull it off. he immediately stops once he sees the metal weapon in your hand.
you press the barrel to his forehead. your aim was never the best, after all. this isn’t the time to miss.
he screams out for something. you step harder on his throat. he chokes at the pressure.
your finger finds it’s place on the trigger, and you watch as he struggles in your hold.
the blaring green light from the ship is your only witness to this.
may god forgive you.
“autopilot complete, threat navigated-”
he barges into the room, and anya’s head snaps towards him in shock. she immediately relaxes at the sight of him, and sighs. captain doesn’t have time to even look back at him, now limp at the pilot’s chair, his hand over his face.
“how- how are they?”
daisuke’s voice sounds more choppy than usual. maybe due to the running, or maybe it’s because of the view he’s presented.
you were knocked out beside jimmy.
“they’re both okay.”
the ravennete’s response nearly made him collapse.
just a view moments ago, the ship had jolted. just a few minutes after you left the room, and as any person would when they encounter an anomaly, they would find the person who could be consulted about said problem.
that’s how captain curly rushed into the cockpit, only to see you and jimmy knocked out on the floor of the cockpit. the next thing that caught the attention of the blonde was the gun on the floor.
it doesn’t take long to put two and two together.
so he called over anya, who told daisuke to call over swansea.
as anya observed more, she could slowly piece together the scene that happened.
jimmy’s forehead had a mark on it - evidence of a barrel shoved down on it with enough force to leave red marks. no bleeding happened, but his throat looks particularly bruised. it sported patterns reminiscent of what you’d see on the bottom of someone’s shoes.
you, on the other hand, seemed completely untouched. the only sign of harm on you was the bruises on your ankle, and the bruise on your head, presumably from bumping into the chair’s headrest as the ship jolted.
as swansea peeks into the cockpit, screen now blinking green again after red, sighs heavily.
“..’fuck happened ‘ere.”
hi!! welcome to the end notes. thank you so much for supporting this work, and i loved reading your comments for this work!!!
unfortunately, this would be the final (official) part of "LAST SHOT". i originally wanted to keep this chapter with an open end (no clue whether you or jimmy made it out alive), but it felt lackluster so.. the reason i had to end the fic here is, 1. i won't be able to write the atmosphere of the fic onwards in the way i wanted to, and 2. i realized i have very much drifted from my original purpose of writing daisuke x reader fics. i didn't want to leave this fic while we were still in part 2 either so..
but. this doesn't mean i'm opposed to asks about this au! i wouldn't mind writing bits and pieces of scenarios of reader with any character!!! although they won't be as long as the fics, i welcome anything you'd like to see!!
once again, thank you so much for supporting me! please look forward to my future works! have a great day!!
sun & moon dividers by : @/saradika cockpit visuals from mouthwashing