Another glimpse at my unreleased fic "Finding the Light". An AbbyxFemale!OC fic.
Here we have our first introduction to Maya, Abby's love interest. She's a nurse at the firefly hospital with limited combat training.
This chapter takes place in Salt Lake and is told in Abby's perspective. It's a small glimpse into their dynamic and the relationship they have.
“Maya!! Maya, get back here!” Abby yelled at her friend, who had quickly become excited by something and darted ahead of her, disappearing into the trees. “Oh for or the love of…” she groaned and began jogging in Maya’s direction.
“You know you’re a real pain in my ass!” she yelled, having lost her past the first line of trees. “You’re not supposed to stray off the path!”. Maya was gone. Why did she always do this? Whenever Abby went on patrol with another soldier, they were always quick and to the point. Secure the perimeter, make sure there was no funny business going on, and then head straight back. It was pretty rare that Maya ever joined her on a perimeter walk like this, but Abby knew she got out of the hospital so rarely that whenever she asked it was so hard to say no.
It was relatively safe, all things considered. Just a couple miles out from the inner perimeter and there hadn’t been a sighting of infected this far out in weeks. Still, Abby worried.
“Maya, where are you!?” she called again, anxiety heightening slightly. She got past another line of trees and was suddenly looking out over a small hill, the hospital visible in the distance. It was late afternoon, and light was beginning to shine through the trees at just the right angle. “Golden hour?” she questioned under her breath, remembering the conversation she and Maya had been having just a minute earlier before she had made a mad dash for the trees.
“Over here!” called Maya from a little ways down the hill, breaking Abby’s train of thought. She was crouching in front of some plant, staring intently.
“You need to stop pulling shit like this.” Abby scolded in frustration as she made her way towards her. “There’s no way you saw that plant from the path, what the hell did you run after?”
Maya was still completely focused on the plant at her feet, pinching one of the leaves between her fingers. Abby could almost see the gears turning in her head, as if she was cataloging the specimen in the rolodex of her mind. As she crouched there, unmoving, Abby noticed how the golden afternoon light got caught in her hair, bringing a new warmth to her dark curls. She tilted her head slightly, in thought, Abby assumed. There was almost no breaking her attention away from something she was focusing on.
“Maya!?” Abby huffed one last time as she took her final steps toward her. Her attention faltered slightly as she blinked a few times. Maya looked up at her and gave an easy smile, as if she hadn’t just been scolding her.
“Hm?” Maya hummed. Clueless, absolutely clueless.
“Argh… Oh my God.” Abby said quietly, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. “Stay on the path please” she requested, though she knew it was in vain.
“But look!” Maya responded, plucking one of the leaves off the plant she was studying. “It’s a potato plant!” Her smile was wide and her eyes full of genuine excitement as she held the leaf out to Abby. She took it, almost reluctantly. It was completely ordinary, looked about the same as every other damned leaf in the forest.
“Maya…” Abby began, “You might be surprised to find out but...we actually grow potatoes here.” Her brows furrowed in mild confusion as to why she might find a potato plant, of all things, so interesting. “I’m pretty sure you had some for breakfast this morning. You’re not exactly stumbling on some great discovery here.” She teased.
“Abby…” Maya started, annoyance in her voice. She had turned back to focus on the plant but Abby could almost feel her rolling her eyes. “They’re wild potatoes.” Her hands were in the dirt now, clearly digging for the starchy vegetable. “Don’t you know how rare it is to find these in Northern Utah?” She asked that as if Abby would actually know the answer.
“I don’t know... very?” she replied, sitting down on a log near where Maya was crouched, giving in to their impromptu detour. She was still annoyed but at least now she could be annoyed sitting down.
When Maya didn’t respond right away Abby took the chance to study the leaf again, trying to find what was so special about it. Maya was giving it such particular attention, she almost looked like she was back at the lab, trying to look at something under a microscope. She admired that about her, her ability to give something her full focus, as if it was the most important thing in the world. Like when they were being given a debriefing on day to day operations or on the rare occasion when Abby decided to pop into one of her fathers lectures, she always found Maya vigorously taking notes. She was always fully invested, even in conversion with Abby when she would talk about something stupid; like the way she cleaned gun or about the best way to bring down a clicker. She always looked at her so intently, brown eyes wide with interest.
Abby supposed the least she could do is return the favor and wait for her to finish her examination of the plant. She rested her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hand and watched as Maya kept rummaging through the dirt.
Not much time passed before the light in the trees caught her attention again. “So this is golden hour?” she asked, almost absentmindedly, as she studied how the light danced on Maya’s warm brown skin, revealing that, much like her hair, it also had a warm golden undertone.
“No, I don’t think so,” Maya replied, “They’re probably some kind of russet potato, I’d be really surprised if it ended up being a yukon gold.” her voice was distant, still digging. It was a miracle she wasn’t up to her elbows yet.
“Oh my god” Abby brought her hand to her mouth, trying to stifle her chuckle. She had been trying to bring up their earlier conversation about photography and how photographers in the old world used to take photos as their job. A concept which Abby found fascinating. It had gone completely over Maya’s head.
“Aha!” She exclaimed, hitting pay dirt. She finally pulled her hands out from the dirt to reveal a few small (very small) potatoes. The biggest one couldn’t have been bigger than a golf ball… and that was being generous.
“Wooow” Abby said lazily, a small smile playing on her lips, “That looks ... appetizing”. Now Maya was really rolling her eyes at her.
“I’d like to see you be able to find a potato plant in the middle of the forest.” Maya taunted, dropping the tiny spuds back to the ground and beginning to wipe the dirt from her hands.
“You know it really is one of my life’s goals, so maybe I’ll work on that” she teased. “You should take those back to the cook.” she went on, “I’d love to share the singular bite of mash they make with you.” She really let herself laugh a little at that last line as Maya shot her one more annoyed glance before getting to her feet. She stepped over to the log Abby was at and plopped down next to her.
“Whatever, Abby.”, the irritated tone in her voice was clearly half hearted. “You never know when you’re going to need to know this kind of stuff.” she said with a shake of her head.
“I’m sure if I’m ever in a situation where I have to dig something out of the ground to eat it, you’re gonna be right there by my side to tell me which one” she retorted, smirking. “And you’ll do it in the most know-it-all way possible. I’m sure about that.”
“Pffft, you’d better hope and pray that I’m there, Abigail” she said, laughing herself. “But knowing you…” Maya bumped shoulders with her. “I would tell you what to eat and you’d think I was lying to you.” She stopped a moment to think before turning to look directly into Abby’s eyes “Or! You would find the first thing that looks edible and pretend to eat it, just to spite me.”
“Can’t say you’re wrong” Abby chuckled back, maintaining eye contact. “I do love to watch you panic.”
The sun was now blanketing Maya’s face directly, bringing her softly sculpted features to full focus. Sunlight pooled in her eyes, turning them from their usual medium brown to a warm golden honey.
She broke eye contact first.
“I bet you can’t even tell me what this is!” Maya declared, bending over to pick at a small shrub near their feet. She brought a leaf between their faces. It was a very light green and almost translucent in the sunlight. “Is it poisonous, or not?” she asked plainly.
“Uh…” Abby had no idea. Her lips parted slightly in thought. “I’m gonna say yes. Very poisonous, extremely poisonous.” She said, very unsure but searching for the answer in Maya's golden eyes.
“It’s mint, Abby” she chuckled, still holding her gaze. “They use it to flavor toothpaste” she broke their eye contact to roll her eyes. “Here, try it,” she instructed, holding the sprigg to Abby’s lips.
“Are you saying my breath stinks?” Abby asked in a low tone.
“Yes that’s exactly what I’m saying” She said back sarcastically. “Just try it.” she ordered as Abby finally took the leaf in her mouth. She tested it. It was bitter, but she wasn’t lying, it was in fact mint.
“How is it?” Maya asked, staring at her with that attention that she gave everything that was important to her.
“It…does in fact, taste like toothpaste.” Abby snickered.
Maya was inches from her, sunlight still filling her face.
She sniffed. “Oh great it’s working already!” she teased lightly.
They both erupted in laughter. Maya turned away for just a second, bringing her hand up to her mouth, attempting to hide her smile. When she turned back her eyes were still soft. A moment passed, perhaps the longest in Abby’s life, and then, she just went for it.
Abby closed the space between them and her lips met Maya’s.
She could feel Maya’s initial shock, but it quickly faded. Maya rested her hand on Abby’s thigh and leaned into her deeply. Almost on instinct, Abby’s hand shot up to cup her jaw and bring her lips even closer to her own. Maya was soft under her touch and responded only positively to Abby’s hands on her. Maya chased the kiss and Abby relished at the feeling, taking the opportunity to part her lips slightly and deepen the kiss even further.
They probably could have stayed this way forever. In some alternate plane of perfection that Abby had never known before. But reality is a cruel thing, and it pulled Abby back down to earth in the form of staticky communication coming from her walkie.
“Blue One, do you copy? This is home base. Blue One, do you read me? Over.”
Over the years Abby had become all too accustomed to hearing her code name over the radio. She would drop anything she was doing and come to the attention of whoever was at the other end of the radio the second she heard it.
She pulled away from Maya, with barely a second thought, catching a glimpse of her stunned face. There was a slight pink tint mixed in with her golden undertones that was visible on her cheeks and slightly parted mouth.
“This is Blue One, I copy. Over.” Abby responded after pulling her device off her belt.
“Blue Two is requested back in the medical wing. Are they with you? Can you confirm? Over.”
“Yes, I can confirm. They’re right here. Headed back to base. Over and out.” Abby said, cutting off communication. All at once her world came crashing back to her. She was in a bubble, and she had no choice but to burst it.
Maya was still sitting beside her, breath hitched slightly, trying to catch it. Abby shot up quickly off the log.
“On your feet.” she ordered, taking her by the arm and pulling her up. Abby engaged in soldier mode, not daring to make eye contact. “You’re needed back at base, and we’re still a ways out. We’ve gotta hustle.” She said, her voice so flat she didn’t even know it was possible after what they had shared.
“I… okay.” Maya said back, a trace of shock in her voice. She said nothing else as Abby turned on her heels and began the trek back to the hospital.
Mitsuhide watched Evelyn as she ate. It was slow, and she took little sips, but she was eating, and that was all that mattered in this moment. He hadn’t felt sorry for many people in his life, maybe it wasn’t feeling sorry, but it was him hurting because she was hurting. He knew that he had to focus on her, but the warlord in him wanted to find whoever had done this to her and torture them infinitely worse than she had been. Images of her encounter and what his imagination thought happened entered his mind as he sat with her. Wrists bound and afraid with tears running down her face. Mitsuhide swallowed and looked over at Eveyln, trying to push the images away and keep his fury at bay.
“I can’t eat anymore. It’s making me feel sick.” He didn’t want to push her any more than she had been, but her health was deteriorating. “Evelyn - “ She sighed heavily, “Don’t get angry with me.”
“ I just don’t understand why you won’t eat.” Her posture relaxed, “It’s not that I don’t want to eat. I want to. I’m even hungry. I know I’ve lost weight.” She looked down, “Okay, it’s been a hard couple of days. I’ll let it go for today, but we have to conquer this. You are getting too skinny little one.” She nodded. “Thank you” She lifted the water to her lips, and for the first time, he saw how weak she truly was.
Surely they all must have realized that leaving her unprotected would be catastrophic. They got too comfortable in Azuchi, thinking she was safe walking through the town alone. “Uh, Mitsuhide?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for being here for me today. You are a kind man.” His lip pulled upwards slightly, and he stroked her cheekbone with the back of his hand. “It is not often I am called kind, quite the opposite. But I will always be here for you whenever you need me. You can trust me, mouse; I’m good at keeping secrets.” He smiled. She leaned her head on his shoulder, making heat rise to his cheeks at the sudden contact. “I do trust you.” He pet the top of her head and kissed it. “I need to sleep now. You are most safe by my side. You sleeping in here will ease my worry.” Mitsuhide being Mitsuhide was able to read her body language. “I know what you’re thinking, but it’s the safest place to be.” The look in her eyes told him more than words ever would. “Ev, don’t be scared I would never do anything to hurt you. I can get another futon. We don’t need to sleep together. I just want you close by. I told you last night you are sleeping in here from now on; at least until I can trust that you won’t try to hurt yourself.” She looked down regrettably that those words even had to leave his lips. “Mitsuh-“He shook his head, “it’s okay, things have changed. I do not expect you will be the same person after something like that. Maybe though, one day you will trust me enough to share what happened.”
She didn’t say a word, just listened. “It’s going to take time, Vivienne.” He adjusted his posture, moving to stand up. “I’ll be back” He wasn’t gone long, returning with the futon she had been sleeping in. He rolled it out and set up the blankets. She looked on nervously. When he turned around, he held out his hand to help her. Once she stood up, he brushed her auburn hair out of her face. “Do not fear me. I would hurt Nobunaga before I would even think about hurting you. You are safe with me, I promise.” She let him lead her to the futon and willingly let him tuck her in. “Are you going to sleep, Mitsuhide?” He raised an eyebrow. “That was my intention, yes. However, it takes me a while to fall asleep. Is there something you need before you go to sleep?” She shook her head “Nevermind,” but he grabbed her hand tightly. “No, tell me.” She inhaled deeply. “Will you hold my hand while we sleep? We will be in our own futons, but I think if you hold my hand, I might be able to sleep.”
Mitsuhide gave her a tender smile, “of course, my dear, whatever you need.” She didn’t have it in her to be embarrassed. All she knew was that she needed comfort but, at the same time, couldn’t bear to be held by him. Maybe this would be enough, at least for now. He moved his futon closer to hers. Once he was settled in, he extended his arm, clasping his hand around hers and rubbing his thumb over her warm skin. Was she always this warm? They didn’t speak, just laid there in silence while the candle flickered in the room. The moonlight shone just right for them to see each other’s faces.
“Close your eyes” Her eyes locked onto his amber eyes. “I can’t. If I close my eyes, then images appear.” He tightened his hold on her hand. “I won’t leave. Try to remember the present. Being here with me across from you. I’ve got you, Evelyn. I’m right next to you, so try to sleep.” She squeezed his hand like a child at the doctor, but going to sleep was her biggest challenge. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to will the images away. “Relax. You won’t sleep if you’re tense.” Her forehead creased. “I will read to you. Just focus on my voice.”
He grabbed a novel he had lying around about a homeless man that becomes the land’s greatest warrior. A story that surely would suffice to help her sleep. He sat down closer to her and clasped her hand again as he began to read. She didn’t really hear the words. More than anything, it was his voice that soothed her. A voice she recognized, a familiarity that put her at ease. Enough for the words to drown out and lead her into a light slumber. Mitsuhide realized her breathing was heavy and even, and when he looked down, sure enough, she had fallen asleep. Mitsuhide laid back down but made sure to clasp her hand in his before he fell into his own land of dreams. It was short-lived, being abruptly woken by Evelyn sobbing and screaming. His eyes flew open, watching as she flailed. He rushed to her side, trying to still her so she wouldn’t hurt herself. “Evelyn, you’re okay. You’re safe.” She continued screaming, probably waking up the entire house. “Evelyn, Evelyn. Wake up!” Finally, after several attempts, she woke up sweaty and her face drenched in tears. “I’m here, Evelyn.”
She covered her face with her hands and continued to sob. She looked up at Mitsuhide. “There was blood. I remember feeling it run down my thighs. He called me a dog. He wanted what all the warlords had, but I never slept with anyone. I screamed and scratched and pushed, but he was too strong.” She wiped her tears, “I’m weak and broken. He broke me, Mitsuhide.” He grabbed both of her hands. “You are not weak, and yes, you are hurting, but you are by no means broken.” Hearing the scattered pieces from her encounter made him boil with rage. To know that she was so violently raped that she was bleeding enraged him. She broke down again, and he pulled her to his form, cradling her.
Once she was calm again, he laid her back down and held her hand as she fell asleep, thus starting their routine. Mitsuhuide read till she fell asleep, and they would hold hands while they slept. Her nightmares didn’t happen every night, but he was always there to calm her down to get her back to sleep. She hadn’t revealed any more information about her rape, just what she told him that first night. She would let him hold her until she calmed down, and together they fell asleep with their hands clasped together.
