The Warriors (1979)
Fox x reader - Helpless
A/N: Since there is a severe lack of x readers for this fandom, I’ve decided to deliver. It has been quite a while since I’ve written a fully fleshed reader insert, so this was fun. The premise of this is kind of unoriginal but whatever.
Recently you managed to pick up a job at Coney Island’s amusement park. The concession stands were in need of a salesperson, and as hectic as working at this sort of place was, you could use the money. It being an amusement park certainly came with its… quirks.
“Why do I need to wear this mime outfit again?” you questioned, feeling rather silly in the black and red stripes fashioned off with a top hat.
“It’s part of the uniform. If you’re gonna be working at an amusement park, you need to amuse,” said one of the employees of the park who was currently laying down the guidelines for your first day of work at Coney Island’s Luna Park.
Now that the guy mentioned it, there did seem to be the presence of a uniform around these parts, but it certainly wasn’t the stripes. Reddish brown leather vests with an insignia on the back were what a lot of the guys patrolling the park wore, you’d noticed that since you first visited the area. In fact, here comes one of them now.
As usual, the first to take notice of the amiss colors was the scout. He straightened up in alarm at the sight of someone clad in that distinctive black and red, instantly on high alert. He was about to run off to tell the others that they were being invaded by the SoHo gang, but had enough sense to clearly assess the situation before jumping to conclusions.
Something about the way this person stood there with no sense of direction, seemingly reading off some clipboard in confusion made Fox reconsider the threat. Cautiously, he made his approach. It didn’t take long for him to note the employee lanyard hanging around the neck.
Noticing the approaching man, you remembered to put on your best customer service attitude and greet him. “Hello, would you like a refreshing beverage..?”
The greeting was… not what he expected. Fox took one glance over the overhead shop, trying to understand what your deal was. “…You work here?”
“Yeah…?” You glanced around behind you, not understanding why this guy seemed to be questioning your role at the concession stand. When you looked for the maintenance worker for help however, he was nowhere to be found.
“Shit, I thought you were one of the Hi-Hats!” Fox exclaimed, unsettled by the uncanny resemblance to the SoHo mime gang. “Why are you wearing that thing anyway?”
“This? It’s part of my uniform,” you explained, dumbfounded, under the impression this was regular Coney Island gear. Turns out that was far from it. “That guy uh… the one in charge of maintenance? He told me this was the uniform.”
“Maintenance?” A look of understanding flashed across Fox’s face.
To confirm his suspicions, a muffled but distinct snickering was heard from nearby. “Sparks!” He called out in a scolding tone.
“Quit harassing our new employees.”
“Oh, like you Warriors are such saints…” you caught the maintenance worker mutter out as he left to attend to whatever work it is he did.
“Sorry about Sparks. He’s… well, he likes messing with people sometimes,” the guy in the leather vest explained.
“So… am I not supposed to wear this?”
“Hell no. Those are Hi-Hat colors.”
You looked confused so he explained. “SoHo gang. We’re not exactly peachy with them.”
“By we, you mean…”
“The Warriors.”
Of course. It was common enough for civilians to be familiar with local gangs, but you weren’t from Coney, and The Warriors were still working on making a real mark on the network. Maybe you’d heard about their raids on the paper… or was that some other small-time gang? Regardless, word got around fast on the streets. You decided not to pry too much into the guy’s affiliation for now.
“I’ll go change then. Thanks for the heads up,” you farewelled him and then went to the locker room to change, more than happy to ditch the mime getup.
After that, you returned to work distributing snacks and drinks to the park’s visitors.
Fox found it amusing how you had little idea of what was going on. He could tell that your first day of work was a tad overwhelming, given how much you went to and fro, refilling the snow cone machines, mopping up… a variety of littered substances, and generally dealing with the customers’ whims.
Every now and then Fox would pass by on a patrol to see you there, busy at work but nonetheless appealing.
Poor you, you looked like you were just about ready to snap at someone if they didn’t shut up and accept their damn order already. Hey, at least you were diligent. Too often did the park hire unmotivated slackers.
It was at least hoped you got a decent pay. As menial as it seemed, you were doing honest work, and to Fox that was admirable. There was just something about the way you went about it all that drew him in. Sometimes he’d stop by to see you, usually only having the guts for it when someone he knew was around your stand, a common acquaintance or friend to bridge the gap between you that he found himself so curiously wanting to cross.
As it went on, the more you exchanged words, the more he wanted to know about you. He hoped you felt the same way. It was a little added bonus to his patrol, seeing you. They were only brief run-ins, but Fox looked forward to it every time.
Regardless of his blooming interest in you, he kept up his soldiering. There was still a turf to watch over after all, and fights were prone to break out.
In your short time working at the boardwalk, you’ve witnessed a few scuffles here and there. Nothing too crazy at first, until it became progressively worse. Invading gangs tended to cause trouble, but they usually didn’t make it into the park area, as The Warriors were quick to waste them.
However, on the occasion that Hi-Hats actually did invade Warriors’ turf and it wasn’t just some poor schmuck tricked into wearing a mime outfit…
The damn clowns were causing trouble on Coney’s front. Unfortunately a decent number of them managed to make it into Luna park’s interior.
While The Warriors were locking horns with the Hi-Hats, Fox spotted a few of the mimes go to trash some of the concessions stands, and his mind immediately went to you. You were working a shift tonight-
Realizing the inner ring of the park was a blind spot, Fox fetched a few nearby Warriors to go take care of the Hi-Hats that had crawled their way past their defenses.
He rushed down to where he knew you must be stationed, and sure enough those white-faced Pierrot fucks were trashing the several food and game stands that lined the boardwalk.
Fuck this job. There was only so little Hi-Hats you could manage to fend off on your own. You had half the mind to fish out that stupid old mime outfit you had worn on your first day of work just to blend in with these lame clowns. Maybe then you’d blend in long enough to make an escape. Then came along perhaps one of the only good things about this gig other than the subpar but not absolutely terrible pay.
To your relief, Fox showed up with backup. Having been running, he skidded to halt, just in time to swing his fist and collide it with a Hi-Hat’s jaw. The impact was forceful enough that it left a smear of white makeup on Fox’s knuckles. He’d have to wash that cheap crap off later. His priority right now was keeping the boardwalk— which included you— safe.
More punches were thrown, some ribs were cracked, and some prides were surely wounded, those being the ones of the Hi-Hats who after having gotten a good ass beating, lost the skirmish. The intruders quickly scrambled to retreat, leaving the Warriors to clean up the mess.
“You alright?” Fox asked you after things had calmed down enough and the all-clear was given.
You told him you were fine in terms of not sustaining any notable injuries.
“So… these are the freaky mimes huh?” You said, stepping over a defeated Hi-Hat. You get now why Fox mistook you for one of these dipshits upon initial sight. Your discarded ‘uniform’ bore an eerie resemblance to the ridiculous outfits.
“Yeah… they’ve gotten pretty troublesome ever since some incident down in SoHo involving a graffiti competition gone wrong,” The scout informed you as he began to help you reorganize what was left of the concession stand.
Hearing this gave you a feeling that The Warriors had a lot of interesting stories to tell, and you wanted to hear them. From Fox specifically.
But he didn’t want to tell you the sorta stuff he’d done, the measures he’s had to resort to in order to make it on these hostile streets. As interesting and sometimes amusing as the stories could be, he’s sure that if he told too much of it to you, it’d end up scaring you away. He laid off the topic for now.
“So… you get off work soon, right?” He didn’t want to make it seem like he was stalking your schedule, he was just mindful of these things is all. He was right, you were just about to head hime when the Hi-Hats showed up to cause trouble.
“I could walk you to the station, y’know. Just… to make sure.”
Yeah sure, that sounded like a reasonable enough excuse. Considering his offer to be rather gentleman-like, you accepted.
You thanked him, and Fox took his as an opportunity to formally introduce himself.
“I’m Fox.”
“I know. I heard… well, around.” Although you’d never formally introduced yourselves to one another before, you knew him to go by Fox.
For a moment you wondered what his real name might be. However if you asked now, there was no guarantee he’d tell you. You settled on referring to him as Fox for now and introduced yourself as well.
The walk to the train station wasn’t a long one, but it was nice to finally get a moment together that wasn’t riddled with clown motifs, however fleeting it may have been.
The next time he caught you getting off work, it was an earlier shift than usual, meaning you still had plenty of the evening to spare. That left you with one predicament.
“I don’t really know what to do now. I didn’t expect the rest of my evening to be suddenly free,” you were telling Fox, who by now was a regular encounter near your work area.
“Hey, my patrol’s clear for the rest of the day too. I don’t know, maybe we could do something together..” he shrugged, trying to sound casual when in fact his heart was hammering away in his chest at the prospect of spending an extended amount of time with you. What the hell, he was practically asking you out on a date!
“Oh! We could, yeah. I’d like that,” you accepted, which was a great relief to Fox. However that did not deter him from worrying about all the ways in which he could manage to mess up this chance he’s gotten.
You followed up with a question. “Do you have any idea where we should go?”
“How about the park?” He immediately regretted the suggestion, realizing you might not want to stick around the place you’re employed at. ‘Why did I say that, why did I say that-‘
Coney Island park was just the first thing that came to mind, it was familiar territory. He didn’t want to blank on an answer.
“The park, as in right here..?”
Fox instantly saw the flaw in his idea, and was currently wishing he’d never even said anything. He attempted to pull the plug on his apparently ‘worst idea ever’ by playing it off as a joke.
“Guess that’s a pretty shitty date idea huh, considering you already spend so much of your time working here,” he looked off to the side and rubbed at the back of his neck, a touch of nerves eating at him.
Besides, with that idea, you wouldn’t actually be ‘going’ anywhere, would you…
To his surprise however, you didn’t totally hate the idea. You explained how you haven’t really gotten the chance to explore Coney outside your shift, being usually stuck to the one concession stand. Fox was assured that his choice of location was a fine one, and accepted.
Now that the asking portion was out of the way, Fox had to pull through. He didn’t just want it to be a carnival date, he wanted it to be the carnival date.
He realized that in order to pull this off, he would need some assistance. It would do him some good to get a little help from behind the scenes.
While you went to the storage room to put a few things away, Fox quickly went to talk to Sparks, devising a plan that would be sure to make it the best date you were ever taken out on at Luna Park. Also when he ran into Vermin and the rest of the more rambunctious guys, he made it very clear that he wanted no disruptions or else Cleon would be hearing about Vermin’s latest money making scheme.
You clocked out of work and Fox was right back to meet you, looking like he’d just ran a marathon in the ‘quick trip to the hangout’ he said he’d needed to make. You decided not to question it.
“So, where to first?” He asked you, placing your wishes as priority.
“You know the area better than I do. Where do you think is worth a trip?”
So you spun the choice back on him. That’s fine, he could work with that.
“Well… it’d be a shame to miss the wheel. Ever been up there?”
You shook your head no. “Not yet. I have been eyeing it, but that Sparks guy keeps saying it might be going under construction soon… something about adjusting some loose screws.”
“Don’t you worry about that. He says that all the time. I would wait on the wheel til later tonight though, that’s… that’s usually when we can get the best view.”
As much time as he’s spent patrolling Coney, Fox has gone on the rides very little. For one, he thought it pretty juvenile, and for two, a reason he wouldn’t easily admit, he was tad afraid of some of the bigger rides. He’d never admit that though, and if you wanted to go on the rides, he’d have to suck it up and suffer through.
Fox tried to hide it, but when you glance over, you were able to catch the uneasy sort of expression well hidden but nonetheless visible across his features. You didn’t wanna put the guy through too much yet.
“I’m fine with just walking around for now. I’ll see if anything catches my interest.”
There were a few fun rides that caught your interest. There was of course the rollercoaster, the one dubbed The Cyclone(though in some people’s opinions it should’ve been called the Nut Juggler).
Fox wasn’t really the type to get on these things and it was fairly obvious he was apprehensive to get anywhere near them. Who knows, maybe something would go wrong and he’d be launched straight onto the tracks to be trampled to death. No, the rides worked perfectly fine despite some outlandish claims…
The line to the rollercoaster was avoided, as there was some havoc breaking out, most likely over some petty disagreement. Some other Warrior or staff could deal with it, both you and Fox were staying out of it tonight. He was on a date with you and wasn’t about to let something that stupid ruin it.
It almost got ruined too when you just narrowly missed someone throwing up on you after they got off the rollercoaster, the ride apparently making them nauseous. You found yourself very glad for not being on the clock or else you’d be the one having to clean that mess up.
So the two of you continued to walk around, spotting any potential attractions that wouldn’t be an immediate safety hazard. Your escape from the rollercoaster left you at the carousel, which looked as harmless as can be.
Only problem, a gang of insidious kids were blocking your path. Apparently a bunch of seven to ten year olds thought the merry-go-round to be their territory.
Fox had a feeling dealing with them was going to be exhausting. He recognized them as group that called themselves The Strays. While they were only some bothersome street kids, there were many of them littered out in front of you, currently blocking your path to the carousel. Who knows what tantrum or trouble they’d try to stir up.
You considered cutting your losses and avoiding the carousel for now- but no. If you wanted to get on that carousel, you were going to get on it, Fox assured you.
Fox made his way up the carousel’s gate with you, hoping to clear a path without having to resort to some petty scrap.
Some grimy kid with a lazy eye spoke first. “Maybe you oughtta show me your invitations.” He was rather lanky but somehow seemed to command over the rest of The Strays.
“How do you figure?” You asked the kid, trying to maintain some level of that customer service niceness, because technically you were still an employee of the park. It wasn’t easy to not just wanna punt the kid though. This Stray kid apparently was never taught any manners.
“You come raining down here, invading our territory. No, tickets, no backstage passes,” the Stray leader accuses you of your supposed transgressions.
“We’re not invading. And this isn’t backstage… we don’t need any passes.”
Seeing how your customer service practices could only take you so far, Fox decided to take it from here.
If it was Cleon or Swan, they’d turn the brat to stone with just a stare. If it was Ajax, he would’ve punted the kid or made him cry, and Vermin would’ve ended up saying something that got himself kicked in the balls. But no, he was The Fox, and he’d have to settle this using diplomacy.
Fox knew how these kids operated. They thought themselves a force to be reckoned with, putting on a front of being tougher than they actually were. If you played your cards right however, and told them what they wanted to hear, that facade would drop real quick and they’d be none the wiser. It was a common tactic he used whenever someone was trying to get hot over a menial issue that was simply not worth the battle.
It was best to let them think they’ve won by playing at their ego. It was because of this that Fox was particularly good at negotiating, a useful tool in avoiding an unnecessary fight.
“We were just in line for that big attraction up in The Cyclone,” he started casually enough. “We’re trying to find a nice ride to go on. Rollercoaster gets messed up by the sparks and dumps us here,” Fox shrugged, explaining the events they’d gone through in a civil manner, twisting the truth only a little regarding the rollercoaster’s condition(wonder where he got that from).
The explanation, which should’ve been satisfactory to anyone with a credible reputation, was instead shot down with a disbelieving remark. You know, like learning of some real lively party you weren’t invited to, then having to convince yourself it didn’t take place because there’s no way you weren’t invited. Some bullshit that was.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about man. How could this be a big attraction if The Strays wasn’t there?”
Maybe because they didn’t meet the height requirement…
“Listen, you didn’t miss anything. There was a lot of hassle, a lot of people were throwing up.”
“Yeah and you think The Strays ain’t with it? You think The Strays ain’t allowed on the big rides?”
Fox couldn’t help but roll his eyes. You also had some impatience to voice. “We didn’t say that…”
Such little action for such big bravado. It was clear these kids were all talk and no show.
By now you both were growing rather frustrated with the kid’s antics, but you really wanted to get on that carousel and you’d be damned if these band of misfits were going to stop you.
“Well we got a heavy rep. You mess with us and you’ll find that out.” The lead Stray snapped his fingers, motioning for one of his lieutenants to come up with a piece of paper and hand it to Fox.
“You see that? We’re on the park’s watchlist. They write about our takeovers in the park’s newsletter,” the kid said with a crooked grin, as if that was supposed to sound impressive.
Fox took a look at the scrap of paper he was handed, with you peeking over his shoulder to see what this was all about. The column read like something a poor elderly woman would go complain to the manager about. Oh yeah, now that was tough. Even if it wasn’t, Fox was gonna have to make it seem like it was the most impressive thing he’s seen all day (which wasn’t true because he’s seen you).
“Yeah… hey, that’s really heavy,” Fox played up the praise. “The Strays, right? Yeah our youth worker, she talks about you guys all the time.”
“We ain’t got one,” the Stray who was second in command decided to share with the class.
Fox tried not to let the disappointment show too much on his face, but these kids weren’t making it easy with their lackluster reputation. Regardless, he’d have to work with what was given to him and find a way to twist it into a tale of triumph.
“Well that must be because you guys are so bad they’re afraid of you,” Fox said just to flatter them, handing the lieutenant back the newsletter clipping.
You took this time to exchange an eyebrow raise with Fox, like ‘Are you for real?’
‘I know, I know, just wait for it…’ he silently urged you to stick it out a while longer, promising it’d pay off.
As anticipated, his sycophantic efforts buttered them up enough to let you two pass. The main kid turned more lax, signaling for his fellow Strays to back down.
“I guess there’s nothing wrong with you guys making it through our territory as long as you’re coming in peace,” he offered a lazy smile before departing with his posse to go hassle some other unfortunate folk.
After it was done and you had the decorated wooden horses to yourselves, you went up beside Fox to compliment him on his parleying skills. “You handled that pretty well. No kicking, screaming, or crying.”
“Yeah, it’s just the sorta thing I’m good at,” Fox shrugged, not trying to make it seem like he was too affected by the praise, even though was. Avoiding conflicts was his specialty, and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t feel good to be recognized for it every now and then.
The carousel was now open to board. At first Fox wasn’t sure whether the two of you were supposed to share one horse, or get one each. On the one hand, it was probably safer to be in separate horses, but on the other… being closer to you was incredibly appealing. Then again maybe you didn’t want that, he thought, beginning to doubt himself. Did you want to be that close to him?
He was reassured however when you pulled him along to get on the little two-seater carriage that was being pulled by two wooden horses. Wonderful, now there was a way for you to be together and not violate the safety weight limit.
You sat side by side on the little wooden carriage, and the rotating mechanism started up. The momentum picked up as it went round and round, but the motion wasn’t too nausea-inducing. A spectacle of lights whirred by, blurring together painted scenes of passerby and decorative saddles. You both are mottled by the lights that move sideways and up and down.
Fox pulls you close at a particular swerve, his attempt to steady himself against the rocketing but otherwise admittedly thrilling ride. You didn’t mind, in fact you found yourself leaning into him as well. After a while Fox got used to it, and for once he simply allowed himself to enjoy it.
A generous amount of time lapsed where Fox found a sense of peace and excitement wash over him. Peace because there were no threats, no danger, and excitement because you were there with him in some contraption he otherwise wouldn’t let himself board. He liked it, honestly.
The carousel slows to a stop after a generous amount of time, and the two of you get off. You were a little dizzy from the ride, a feeling that was slowly but surely ebbing away. Fox went over to steady you, though honestly he was still a bit dizzy too.
“Here, why don’t we get something to eat,” he suggested, and your stomach readily agreed.
Upon getting off the carousel, the scent of sweet carnival food was a temptation impossible not to give in to. You went over to the eatery with Fox and waited in line while trying to decide on what to get. You ended up with some soft pretzels and cheese fries, as well as a couple drinks and finding something sweeter in the cotton candy.
You continued on your venture through the park, watching as people went to and fro. The boardwalk was brimming with an undeniable thrill. The excited shouts of youth could be heard especially when a particularly sharp turn was hit on the big rides, the ones those Stray kids probably weren’t allowed on. It was safe to assume they’d been kicked out of the premises again.
After enough perusing through the park, here’s something that caught your eye: a stuffed [insert your fav animal is it too cheesy to be a fox?], hanging from the display of one of those game stands where you have to make a certain amount of shots at some mannequin sheriff with a toy gun in order to win it.
Fox was quick to pick up on your interest in the stuffed animal.
“You want that prize? I got it covered. Consider it a gift from The Warriors for… y’know, helping money roll into the boardwalk.”
That was… one way to put it, sure. You both go over to the game stall and Fox drops a dime into the coin slot, grabbing a toy gun from its holster. You stood by and watched attentively, eating some of the cotton candy you’d earlier gotten in anticipation of the game’s outcome.
Taking a steady aim, Fox makes certain the wind speed is just right and fires. The sheriff mannequin on the other side of the booth lets out a mechanical clanking sound, signifying his defeat with the recording of a wounded voice that whirred out, “Wooh…Ya got me, pardner…”
Fox blew out the invisible smoke from the point of the toy pistol, a slightly comical sight, before putting it back into its holster.
“Boy, you weren’t kidding about that aim. You sure are good at this sorta thing,” you marveled at the easy win. Seems like you were finding out all sorta things Fox was good at tonight.
Once again, he tried not to let the praise get to him too much, but it was tougher the second time. He just rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and handed you the prize.
“Here you go, one [insert prize] with a brand new home.”
As you admired your newly acquired prize, Fox heard a whisper from nearby. It was Sparks again, this time delivering a signal.
“Hey, Fox. Heads up on the wheel. I’ve got it all set up now, so you can go on ahead. Make sure you get in cart number 2,” the Wonder Wheel technician instructed from behind the cover of a popcorn machine as if this were some secret mission.
“Right. Thanks again, Sparks.”
“Sure, anytime…”
Turning back to you, Fox was ready to set his plan into motion. A couple of rides, some snacks, winning you a prize, and now it would be the finishing touch, the big finale. He had to make sure he gave you the best festive night a guy who ran with a gang could possibly give you.
“Hey, I think it’s about time we go hit up that wheel,” he reminded you, diverting your attention to the Wonder Wheel which now glowed with neon lights against the late dusky sky.
“Oh hey yeah, the wheel! Let’s go.”
The wait in line wasn’t long. In fact it seemed like a spot had been reserved for you two. Fox entered cart 2 with you as instructed.
Despite some initial reservations, the ascent was at a steady pace. As the land below became smaller, the sky above became bigger and brighter. Once your cart reached the topmost peak, the whole wheel came to a slow still. A whistling boom was heard and you were confused for a moment, until a burst of colorful lights shot up and bloomed against the night sky.
Fireworks! They could be seen going off overhead in such a way that your location up top of the Wonder Wheel offered the most wonderful view.
“Wow, these are beautiful. How’d we manage to get such a perfect spot?” You asked, marveling at the pyrotechnics display. Was it coincidence that the best view of the fireworks display was seen from your cart? Of course not. Fox had planned it that way. With a little help.
“I’ve got connections.” As much of a trickster as the head of maintenance could be, Sparks had no problem pulling favors for Fox. They were good pals after all.
Then when your eyes tore away from the light show only to look at him, nothing changed. You were looking at him the same way you’d been looking at the fireworks, as if the sight of him was just as grand and wonderful. He knew it when you looked at him like that, that he needed this. This whole night with you, he hasn’t been this into someone for a good while. Look into your eyes and the sky’s the limit… which made sense given how high up you currently were.
Fox didn’t have a dollar to his name, an acre of land, a troop to command, or a dollop of fame. He was just a soldier, a scout caught up in the conflicts of the streets. The Warriors weren’t even a big name, not yet anyway. All he had was his scout’s honor and some schooling, though not as much as he ought to have. Among The Warriors at least, he was considered to have a top-notch brain.
You might’ve had similar thoughts of doubt, not having all that much going either besides mediocre jobs. You thought perhaps you would’ve never drawn Fox’s attention if you hadn’t been dressed like a Hi-Hat that fateful day. As stupid as it was, you were thankful it happened.
But no- he’s sure he would’ve liked you anyway, with or without that silly incident.
You and Fox were sat side by side, together enjoying the vibrant light in the nearby distance. After a whole day of on and off stressing, Fox was sure of himself now. Safe to say you’d been given the most wondrous night at the amusement park. Maybe working here wasn’t so bad after all. If it takes working a shitty carnival job for you two to meet, it will have been worth it.
