I got influenced by @dabunnyhop again and now I have angsty thoughts.
Content warning for: killing in self defense, mentions of blood, domestic abuse (not from the boys), angst, lots of hurt with some comfort.
1. Sylus with a non-mc reader who wasn't built for a life of crime.
No matter what Sylus teaches them (self defense, how to hold a gun and shoot, how to wield a weapon and fight) or how he helps them train they can't bring themselves to kill someone. Or be mean, rough or intimidating; they're just not wired to act or even pretend to act that way. It's just not them. But they know he is, and they accept that, they love him despite it, because that is a part of him.
Admittedly, they're a little foolish in their hope that they won't need to apply what he taught them. They followed through with the lessons because they could tell it was important for Sylus and it didn't really hurt them to learn, you know? But they always thought he'd be there to keep them safe. Until he's out of town and that day finally comes. Sylus comes back home to a reader who is bloodied– they have a few cuts and scratches, but the blood on their clothes isn't their own– curled up and crying because they just killed someone. Self defense, a me or them type of situation, but no less scary and traumatizing because killing someone was their biggest nightmare and now they have to live with that.
There's the line "You did well, sweetie, you're safe now." looping in my head in Sylus's soft voice while he holds them in his arms, swaying back and forth as they cry into his chest. Their sobs are heart wrenching and it's the first time he feels powerless because holding them and being there for them doesn't feel like enough. He feels like he failed in keeping them safe, but he's also so proud of them for fighting and surviving and there's also anger because who the fuck dared to try and hurt his treasure? It's a conflicting feeling and a very juicy scene.
2. Mc-reader getting into an abusive relationship during the time Caleb died.
She's a hunter and she's strong, yes, but abusive relationships come to anyone. She doesn't notice at first, she's mourning and finding comfort in a guy who treats her so well and is so kind and understanding. She doesn't see the red flags, and it escalates quickly. He gets angry and yells, they have loud arguments and he slams the door when he leaves, then he comes back and apologizes and it's like that was just a bad day. The loop is repeated over and over, she starts getting tired of yelling. One day, she tries to leave, he gets in her face for the first time and she freezes from fear. Wanderers she knows how to fight, people, however– her partner, specifically– are trickier, she doesn't like fighting people. He apologizes again, she doesn't notice the delighted glint in his eyes.
Right after I wrote that last line the song boys, bugs and men by paris paloma came to mind, so we have a title.
Zayne notices first, he sees the bruises during checkups, notices how fidgety she gets and how she lies with "It was from a wanderer" knowing damn well she isn't careless enough for a wanderer to land a hit on her like that, but also being smart enough to bite his tongue so he doesn't scare her away.
Caleb comes back, we get the fiasco, they go through a whole thing before they're back on speaking terms, and she decides to introduce the boyfriend to Caleb. "You'll like him," she says. He doesn't. He sees through it, notices how she moves in her own space with the boyfriend around and immediately knows that he doesn't treat her right. He doesn't like any of it. Naturally, he makes it known in subtle ways that only the boyfriend catches. All hell breaks loose when Caleb catches sight of a bruise on her body. He knew he was shitty, he didn't stop to consider it would be "laying his hands on her shitty"
When he comes back to himself, she's crying and yelling at him to stop. The boyfriend is under him, unresponsive but breathing, with god knows how many broken bones and his hands dripping with his blood. He makes it out alive, but he never comes near her again, and while Caleb isn't pleased that someone could hurt her in such a way, a part of him takes delight in being the only one capable of helping her and soothing her. Of course, he'll never utter a word about it, he'll just soothe her when she has nightmares, spoil her in the same way he always has, and carefully tend to the fire inside her.
