Slinks on over. Heard you write Ersatz. Maybe the main 4 with a reader who’s just, flat out, not supposed to be in the trenches? Like they’re from a nearby village, and they have a tendency to pop on by and say hi, and they’re real damn lucky too, not a single death, which is good because they couldn’t be brought back if they did die, they’re not enlisted, just curious.
A/n: *slides this back to you over the counter* enjoy anon, also there's some Lieutenant Kelly in this, on the house ;) and can be read as platonic or romantic!
The most Unexpected Visitor
(image credit goes to @marshalllir )
Mophead, Munroe, Carrie, Warwick, Kelly x Civilian!Reader
tags: reader has dead parents yay :D, reader has some cooking skills, injuries, 'Mophead is pretty' appreciation hours, body horror, attempt at forbidden friendship/romance, Carrie calls reader 'pipsqueak' like once, guns, violence, fluff, alcohol, gore, panic attacks, hurt/comfort.
Scenario beginning:
It began a few weeks ago when you first noticed your dog coming back sicker than usual whenever they'd run off into the wilderness. The vet in town said there wasn't anything that could be done to help, which scared you.
You didn't have much left since the war began, except your parents old house and belongings sat on the edge of the village and the wilderness. And the last thing you wanted to lose now was your dog, but it made you wonder about what your dog had been getting into out there.
You'd been warned not to wander too far into them, given the circumstances, not to mention the countless trucks you'd see drive by carrying Crown Army supplies or recruits.
To say curiosity won over when your dog came back with an odd gas mask stuck to their face was an understatement, as you checked them over, they weren't hurt or had anything nefarious happen to them, just different now.
And healthier, thankfully.
So you took the risk and kept up with your dog the next time they ran off, following as close as you could till you came to overlook the vast empty land with a military base smack right in the middle.
Surely a look wouldn't hurt, right? To get a peek inside the Crown Army's base and possibly meet a soldier who looked as strange as your dog.
Mophead
You tripped into one of the trenches by accident and landed right on top of them. It wasn't your fault they were hard to see with no barbed wire around both sides.
You yelped in pain, realizing you'd landed on a soldier and were fumbling apologies left and right as they got up, the impact having knocked their lotus mask off their face as they scrambled for their rifle, thinking you were an enemy as they pointed it at you.
You were stunned when you first saw them, even if they were pointing a rifle a few inches from your face with a shaky hand, this was what the soldiers looked like?
They looked far too beautiful to be soldier. All pale, long hair and big, wide eyes, you'd normally see someone like them modeling for the paper to promote war and enlistment, not being in it.
"A-are you an enemy?"
Mophead stuttered unsure of what to do in this situation being faced with a civilian, they didn't even know what any place outside of the trenches looked like thanks to their amnesia.
"Please don't be an enemy...I-I don't think you're an enemy, you don't really look the part...."
They say that before tightening the grip on their rifle, their voice takes on a harsh tone as they scowl.
"Unless that's what you want me to think. Who are you?"
It's a very confusing and mildly terrifying interaction for both of you tbh.
After confirming you are actually a civilian from the nearby town, they don't take the idea of you being out here well, even with your curious behavior.
Mophead was quite jealous of you in the beginning, not shackled down by a choice they didn't even make, watching you exert your free will and wander where you pleased, as free as a bird oddly irked them.
Even more annoying seeing you decided to come HERE of all places, so close to the fight, did you want to die?
"W-well go home, this place is off limits, wh-why would you even come here? It's not safe at all!"
Insists you stay nearby as they escort you to the entrance of the base, hoping nobody will notice as they try to shoo you off like some stray pet.
Mophead nearly jumps out of their skin when they see you climbing down the hill towards the base again, waving excitedly to catch their attention as if they hadn't pointed their rifle at your face.
You win them over quite quickly, talking about your morning like they were an old friend. It was a 180 to the way the soldiers treated them, you're a breath of fresh air compared to the harsh environment they were trapped in. Soon gaining the courage to tell you about their day and formally introduce themselves to you.
"It's nice to meet you, e-even under these weird circumstances....I'm just called Mophead, so...call me that."
Asks you about home when they get comfortable talking to you, assuring themselves you're safest here at the base, and it's not like you're bleak enough go wandering near the trenches again...they hope.
If you have any hobbies they'll try to take one up it it piques Mophead's interest, be it drawing, writing, sewing, flower pressing with what you find on your way to visit, scrapbooking, even just harmonizing with music on a little radio is worth trying at least once to them.
It helps them build their own identity and gain a new skill, and it gives them a chance to be close to you both in sharing a passion for something.
Mophead appreciates when you teach them how to braid or style their hair, keep it out of their eyes, and 'show off their pretty face' as you put it, not shying away from calling them attractive, much to their surprise.
They hadn't really thought about the appearance til you brought it up, but they take pride in the fact that you find them not only pretty but a safe person to be around.
Will nearly pass away if you bring them gifts from or any homemade food to share with them. They don't have any memories of eating good food, so no matter your cooking skills, it's all they want to eat.
Be it savory, sweet they'll take what you give them.
Enjoys talking with you in their bunk, even if it's a bit short to sit, talking about anything and everything as they press another bundle of flowers you brought them into a book along with the wrapper of the first candy they ever tried.
Document their days through the things you bring them, like a memory bank, writing some entries here and there to read to you when you come to visit again.
You give them a reason worth fighting for, not only from knowing you but in what you show them, photographs of your home and countryside, snippets of what the newspapers say, stories of your life make it all seem so beautiful and worth protecting.
They can't teach you to fight since they don't know how to do it themselves, but they'll give you their knife if you even run into trouble when traveling between your house and the base, making you promise not to travel in bad weather or if they're out on in the field, they'd feel horrible if they were the reason for getting hurt.
And if you get hurt in some way? All hell breaks loose.
If it's a scrape on your knee or landing wrong on your ankle when jumping down on your way to the base and taking a tumble in the dirt, you can ensure Mophead will personally escort you to the nurse themselves, your status as a civilian be damned.
It's one of the first times you see Mophead act genuinely scary if the nurse in the infirmary tries to brush you two off, like it isn't their job to help people? Especially civilians.
"Your job is to fix injuries, who cares if it's a civilian? A wound is a wound, now fix it! Or just give me the supplies, and I'll do it myself."
Please don't try to argue with them, it only makes them realize how different you two are. You belong to a world that makes every moment worth living and enjoying, they're stuck forever in a war to defend people like you.
To die and come back so you won't have to ever experience that kind of life.
"You're not like me! You're nothing like me, y-you should...you shouldn't have made a risk like that, especially in such harsh weather, what would have happened if you couldn't move or or-."
You only have one chance at living, and in a place like this, where anyone could hurt you with no thought for it, just how they were trained to kill the enemy scares them.
While Mophead has been sworn to slowly lose their human appearance into something they don't know yet, no doubt becoming a monster just like the rest of them. And even if they didn't look the part, they knew they could be just as cruel if they wanted to, they'd become a monster eventually, one way or another.
They try to push you away after their realization, but they find it just as hard to keep it like that. You're the only person they feel they have a connection with, someone they care about and trust.
They don't want to risk losing you being an average civilian, but they can't help but wait for the day you'll come back to visit again like a loyal pet, craving the comfort and peace you provide with just your existence and voice.
They don't realize how much you feel the same til there were reports of a bombing near your village reached them, sending Mophead into a panic. Just because you lived on the edge of it didn't mean you couldn't still be hurt or injured.
No doubt terrified, all alone in your house with nobody but your poor dog.
Mophead was halfway out the door with their gear on, about to go look for you, when they saw you running down the slope to the base with your dog in tow, sobbing as you didn't hesitate to run into their arms.
"There you are, I-I was so worried about you, I was gonna go look for you! Are you hurt anywhere? You're soaking wet, let's get you inside, it-it'll be ok (name), you were far braver than I am for running here."
They fumble, trying to check you for any injuries as they guide you inside to get you cleaned up and dry, tossing their uniform coat over your shoulders.
Mophead doesn't let you out of their sight or hold for the remainder of the night, wrapping you up in spare blankets along with some hand-me-down undershirt, giving up their cot for you all while holding your hand through it to give you some solace.
They aren't good at comforting, but feeling you shudder when another bomb impact echoes overhead had them rubbing circles into your back tenderly.
"It's ok, I'm a bit scared too, but it'll stop eventually, your safe here...I promise you're safe here (name)."
They'll try to go as far as they can from the base when you go home the next morning, already missing the warmth of your hand.
Gains the courage to give a quick parting hug whenever you have to go further than they can follow, a small good luck charm along with their knife in your pocket, as they whisper a:
"Be safe out there. I think I'll go mad without you." Before letting go reluctantly.
Hoping as they do every time you leave, you'll come back as you wave goodbye with a bright smile that lights up their chest with an unfamiliar feeling before disappearing into the morning mist.
You're like the feeling of warm sunshine through a window, you give them hope for the future that they'll make it out, and one day they can leave the base and see your home in person and be able to see the flowers you bring them actually blooming from the earth.
But until then, they'll wait for the next time you come to visit and remind them of what they're fighting for.
Munroe
Assumes you're a kid, or at least younger than him cause no adult in their right mind would willingly waltz into an army base simply out of curiosity. It's been years since he's been home, and he's never seen the village nearby, so how would he know what your life is like?
Keeps you at an arm's length, or better worded, 'tried', but simultaneously makes a point to keep you out of trouble, figuring out you weren't scared of the more contaminated soldiers, then he'd give up on the idea of trying to ward you off.
Only to immediately break that attitude when you started getting picked on, dragging you away from the more insidious soldiers yelling some backhanded comment about picking on someone with an actual fight in them.
After herding you to a more secluded hallway, Munroe takes a shot at trying to convince you to go home, looming over you with those pale eyes of his.
"Hey, this is no place for a kid, you should be at home right now. Your parents are no doubt worried sick about you being out here alone."
Tries to put it lightly, but he's anxious about the thought of you wandering deeper into the base to discover the gore or worse, coming even close to the machine.
Doesn't know how to respond when you say your parents aren't around. No matter how old you are, no person should live in a time of turmoil without their loved ones.
At least the two of you have that in common.
"Uuhhh well....fuck me that was rude of me to say, sorry for you're loss."
Figures you should stick with them if you're gonna make this a habit, becoming his strange shadow that happens to talk more than he does, so it's more the other way around, he's just stopping you from seeing things you shouldn't.
"Let's...go back to the mess hall, must be starving from trudging through all that mud to see me huh?"
If he's not out in the field or doing chores, you trail after him or stay in the bunks where you two play dice and cards while getting to know each other. He tries to go easy on you if your poker face is nonexistent.
"You're not foolin' me with that smile mate. Do yourself a favor and try covering that smile with your cards, maybe then you'll have a chance at winnin' my cigs."
He chuckles at your attempts to stay composed.
It's a nice change, seeing someone with actual life in their eyes, not involved but still choosing to come back to see him makes the trenches and gas not hurt as much, he's gotta stay alive long enough to see you again.
Yet the looming threat of death can never truly leave his shoulders when telling you about what happened to Eriche if you'll listen, biting back the words on how he's gotta keep you safe now too.
Can and WILL trauma dump on you, but encourages you to do the same to him if you feel like it. War weighs heavily on all those involved, even the people who have no part in it.
It's not the best method, but it's better than trying to keep them to yourself, and you two hold sympathy for the others problems and know the best comfort is just being able to listen & understand.
Telling him how you live alone pretty far from the village, Munroe comes to the conclusion your probably lonely besides being with your dog in your deceased parents home, hence why you wandered so far and found the base in the first place which just makes him sad.
It's hard enough to survive, let alone stay sane but at least he's got his squadmates and is starting to connect with Mophead despite what happened.
But you don't have any of that, just trying to live how you can at a time where the next person you connect with will be bombed to hell never to be saved if they weren't enlisted.
Becomes the biggest stray dog when you bring him food, not even having to bet anything for it, the idea you want to share with him because you enjoy being around him nearly has him in tears between bites.
"You're too good for me you know that? It's been far too long since I've had a meal with actual flavor in it."
Munroe doesn't mean to do it, but whenever you come to him with a problem you're facing back at the village, he's unintentionally encouraging you to fix it with illegal action. Not as extreme as flat-out murder or arson, but still something that would get you in a heap of trouble if you did it.
Blame it on him being in the war or how he himself handles problems, he's just out of his depth when it comes to normal problem-solving, with all the violence he's seen.
He forgot laws exist but can you blame him?
"And if they don't back off, I'd aim for the liver personally, make 'em drop to a knee if you can, would be a good advantage."
"Munroe, I can't beat up the elderly just cause they scolded the way I cleaned up their garden....I don't even know how to fight."
"Oh uh...right, I can teach you how to fight if you need?"
Routinely every second visit or so he reserves to teach you how to fight if he's not busy, it ensures him your safe and can beat someone's ass if he's not there on or off base to fight it for you.
Though he will absolutely be willing to see you deck a soldier over a bet after one got cocky and said a civilian can't take down a soldier, grinning like a moron watching you use your moves.
"Good job (name)! Never do that again, but I'm proud of ya."
He congratulates, patting your back staying true to his word and not letting you get into anymore fights even if he was proud.
If you get hurt, he'll patch you up himself, he knows and wants to keep you as preserved as he can. He's not sure he'd survive if he learned you left him like Eriche, he's gotta own up in terms of keeping even the tiniest of cuts bandaged for your sake.
On the days the world gets scary for you, a bomb dropping too close to your house or remnants of gas blowing through your town rattle you, Munroe finds you crying in his bunk, clinging to his blanket, terrified for your life but too scared to be alone.
He wants to say how dangerous it was for you to do that but can't get the words out when your eyes are so full of tears, looking to him for safety. He has no choice but to wrap you up in his arms, resting his head next to yours gently.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, it's alright, it's ok your here, you're safe, it's ok kid. It's ok, nothing's gonna happen, it's just to scare you."
He shushes softly, rocking you back and forth while he holds you through each thunderous crash that makes it through the muffled walls of the base.
Everything was awful, and nothing could be done but deal the same sort of violence back on the enemy.
Meeting you makes Munroe oddly relieved for the the Machines existence, there won't be a need for more soldiers with it's ability to drag their sorry lives back into their mangled bodies.
He needs to stay alive and out of deaths grasp so he can see you and keep you safe and sound, to do a better job than he did with protecting Eriche.
Carrie
Oh boy, he's gonna try and traumatize you into leaving if he has to.
When he first noticed you around, he thought he was hallucinating, like that weird dog with a lotus mask on its face he'd sometimes see out of the corner of his single eye.
He's not happy when he finds you're not a weird hallucination, grabbing you by the arm and digging his claws in mildly to prevent you from running away as he interrogates you harshly.
"Well, look what got into what it shouldn't, you lost or just plain stupid? By the looks of ya I'd say the latter. Get out of here or else something far worse than me is gonna get ya."
Doesn't feel the greatest watching you scurry away in terror at the sight of him. He was already tired of the nervous looks others gave him, but it was needed.
He didn't take it well seeing you roaming around two days later.
Will threaten you endlessly like he did with Mophead only somehow scarier when he sees you around. Trying to use his scary looks to his advantage and all the horrible shit he'd done to end up looking like this.
This place is meant for soldiers who can't die and have sworn their lives away for a war, not some fragile, one life having civilian.
Let alone one who frolics around the base as they owned it (steering clear of Lieutenant Kelly of course he learned)
"Whaddya think you're doing back here, pipsqueak? Ya deaf as well as stupid, or is peaceful life getting boring for ya? Well guess what, at least you have it, so do your damn self a favor and go run home to your little village unless ya wanna die with no chance of coming back."
Of course, you didn't leave him alone, even with his multiple attempts to scare you off, even if he was a little scary, he was too interesting a person to leave alone, especially with those, as you put it, 'cool' teeth.
Which you asked about A LOT, much to his added annoyance and confusion with you.
He was supposed to be scaring you so you'd run on home to your cozy little village and never come back, not being the object of your attention that keeps you coming back to pester him if he can't get away from you with chores, wet work, and training.
"Do they hurt?"
"At the moment, no, my ears on the other hand are being grated by your yapping." He snaps his jaw with a glare, waiting for you to back off.
"...so did you always have such cool teeth?"
Fucking hell, someone shoot him and put him out of this misery.
"Nah, didn't always look this good, but gettin these ones now...that's a different story."
"What kind of story?"
"A story that's non of ya business so scram!"
You begin to grow on him over the course of your continuous visits, asking him to tell any stories about what he's experienced and seen (which he totally won't exaggerate because he enjoys the look of awe in your eyes) throwing in a few of the various ways he's died just to make you think twice about joining him in this hellhole.
He'd rather be the corpse that clogs the Machines pipes than be the reason you ever sign up for the Crown Army.
Your relationship only grows when you two start betting with things you bring from home in exchange for him teaching you how to play dice and cards.
He claims your bond is merely translational with your smuggled in contraband, but you both know between you as you've seen the way he keeps an eye out when your in the process of sneaking back home, pulling you back if crossing a certain soldier who'd rat you out before letting go.
He's cheating if you happen to have something from home he can't get in the bunker, candies you enjoyed when you were little, a flask of alcohol, or any little shiny trinkets like jewelry or a brooch, has him scrambling to win at any means necessary just to have a small slice of normalcy.
At some point after you beat his ass in a third round of cards, he finally caves in and teaches you how to shoot, it's the least he can teach you, and it's a helpful skill if anyone back in your home gives you trouble.
And partially so he'll know you've at least got a fighting chance if he's not there to fight off any threat or conman you could run into.
While not practicing with any ammo (of course) since he can't take you out into the field, he'll have your back to his chest, hands guiding you to practice holding the rifle and aiming.
"Then ya line it up like this ya see? Keep your grip nice n tight or it'll go slipping. Now keep your eyes on the target, then ya pull the trigger n shoot it down."
Moments like that, he forgets about his fate and yours, your his escape to peace from everything, not quite a soldier like him, but close enough in both being victims of this war, trying to make the most of it.
Trying to find what little rays of peace could be found in the aftermath of desecrated bodies and war-torn homes.
One night you come running into the base to hide from the sound of the bombs or an attack near your village, your in shambles when you crash into in the hall upon finding him.
Sobbing and soaking wet from running through the mud and rain as you hug him far too tightly, as before you can explain what happened, you duck your head to his chest in panic at another bomb going off miles from the base yet you still whimper in fear.
He's stuck in place, blinded by emotion he'd thought he left behind when he became a contam, but the sight of your terror and arms tightening around him has the soldier squeezing you back tightly.
He's filled with rage at the fact that you risked your safety running here to find him and has a need to keep you safe from the distress the enemy caused you.
Barks at you to stay in his bunk and begins dragging you there, he can't stand seeing you cry about something neither of you can control, but at least he can offer refuge and keep you in the safest place he knows.
"Hide under the bed if it'll make ya feel better, but you ain't leavin' this room til this blows over ya hear?"
He scolds, tossing you a ratty towel to dry yourself off from the rain, rubbing your arms to try and keep you warm before giving up and wrapping a full arm around you to keep you at his side.
"It's fine, I've got ya it's just fine, shush now it's all fine."
He tries to comfort you through your fear, seeing you so scared and vulnerable, reminds him of your fragile mortality and how real your fear was of death.
He couldn't brush it off like with new recruits who hadn't had the misfortune of dying yet, you were fragile in the most human way possible.
The nurses would probably help you if harm ever came to you, but if it was more dire...the thought of putting you into the Machine and never giving you back brought out a different kind of fear in him.
Maybe it would use parts of you to replace the lost limbs of soldiers, see you as just a bunch of spare parts, to chew into pieces for the benefit of others who enlisted in this torture.
With you shivering from either the cold or still crying as another thump of a bomb echoes overhead, yet far away, he wishes someone had done this for him back when he was new to the violence and war, as selfish as it was of him to want that now while you sobbed into his arms til you fell asleep from exhaustion.
You had no part in this, but war couldn't care less about what it did to people, innocent or involved. Even if you only lived nearby, it wasn't your fault you didn't have the money or resources to leave your home, you were stuck.
Just like him.
Caught in the crossfire between them and the enemy side, and yet still there was nothing to do but hold you through the devastation til it ended and you felt safe enough to go home.
Or until he let go of you, haunted by the idea the enemy would drop one more bomb if you stepped outside the base.
He'll keep you safe, with all he's got, you won't die on him, not if he can do anything about it.
Warwick
This man's stress levels go through the roof upon seeing you in the base, wandering around like your dog, only far more obvious to passing soldiers, but he's hesitant to approach you.
Warwick fears you'd scream and run away like he'd imagine his family would if they ever saw him again, though this is quickly proven wrong when he catches your gaze, only to be met by curiosity and wonder.
Finally giving him a chance to question why your here in the first place, and get a sense for why in your right mind you'd come here in the first place.
"Oi, you lost? Don't remember seein someone like you around, what's got you snoopin round a Crown Army base?"
You were intimidated more so by his height and fascinated by his features if anything so it took you a while to answer him but he took no offense.
And holding back a comment on how they wore the same mask as your dog, you figured I'd be rude to compare the two, as you notified him about your dog.
Even though he didn't help your dog or give the pup the lotus mask, it put him as ease knowing one of the soldier here still had theirs morals and helping out those in need.
He can forget kindness still exists even in harsh times like this, and from war-torn soldiers it's quite the trait to nurture as he took you in, somewhat scratched up from running through the woods, no doubt and more plain everyday clothes.
"I can fix up those scrapes, it's the least ya deserve after coming all this way huh?"
He offers to hold out his glove for you to take.
The process is a bit awkward, sitting in a random chair looking around at what few pieces of paper line the walls as the boar faced Corporal cleans up your wounds, but it's a welcome one when he bandages them up with a kind smile somehow recognizable despite his changed appearance.
"M' names Warwick, just a simple corporal tryin' his best, what's yours luv?"
Soon, you become a part of his everyday schedule, even preparing a cup of tea or coffee for you when you finally get down there, no doubt tired from the walk alone.
Never once failing to make him smile as your eyes light up upon seeing him, your dog at your heels barking happily.
Your smile always makes him feel as close to human as he can these days, looking at him like he's just another person.
"There ya are, start to wonder if you'd gotten bored of me." He smirks at your attempt to apologize for being late, as you were bringing something from home to show him.
He's most pleased when you bring him books from home, offering to read to him after learning his goggles make reading a pain for him to do with smaller texts.
This leads to him reserving the afternoon or evening if he doesn't have work to do to make some tea or beverage.
Turning into a more music-oriented radio station to block out any noise before sitting down either at the mess hall or in his room to read together.
"Another one today? You spoil me rotten you do, fraid you'll be runnin out of books on your shelves if ya keep bringing em to me."
He scolds with a smile as he puts on the kettle.
Enjoys your commentary when reading, gives him a peek into that interesting head of yours that even he still fails to understand some days, along with what genres you do enjoy.
Begins reserving a few things for you when you come to visit, obviously not a full room but an extra blanket here and there, along with a space to keep the things you sometimes leave behind.
Struggles to tell what you meant to leave for him or if you just forgot to take it with you, either way, you've got your own little corner of home whenever you visit.
Arguing it's so your things don't get mixed in with what little he owns himself while trying to keep his composure at you noticing the care he holds for you.
Gifts you one of the lotus masks seeing it's probably much better than any civilian bought gas mask, teaching you how to use and care for it and not to wear it for too long, and most of all signs to look for to indicate gas pollution and certain attacks.
Makes an effort not to treat you like a fellow soldier under his command, despite his ways of training you for what to look out for, staying on a fine line between keeping you prepared for the worst and keeping you safe.
Makes you promise to run and not fight if you ever see the signs of a fight or bomb, that's for the soliders who can be carried back to the Machine and resurrected if they die, not you.
He won't lose another good thing just because he was careless about wording. The goal is self-preservation of yourself and others, he can handle the rest.
After a particularly long reading session, Carrie heard word of a bomb attack near your village, shaking him to his core on how to break it to you.
How you couldn't go home or if you'd even have a home to go to in the morning, he was worried over how you'd take the news, not wanting to risk you trying to leave the safest place you could be, but having to sit through a whole night scared for tomorrow sounded awful.
"Hey...bear with me on this but uh, stay here tonight, please (name). I don't mean to hold you here but...it's not safe right now. You'll be better off here, I promise you that."
He feels horrible at every flinch of your body whenever the thunderous sound echoes above, making him hold you tighter, wracking his brain for any way to distract you from everything.
He ends up softly humming a song his mum taught him, the rumble of his voice being felt through your back as he rubbed your arm gently as he sang.
Your presence alone reminds him of home, even if your not from the same place as his family, you make him have hope for the future that even if he can't see his family, he can always see you in your little visits.
Kelly
Hearing rumors about some unregistered civilian roaming about, she brushes it off as mere stories of soldiers trying to stay entertained. They'd say what they could to get a rise out of her these days.
Or perhaps it was just a soldier's odd dream of their life before the war bleeding into their time stuck out here.
She isn't pleased to be proven wrong when she begins to see glimpses of a figure disappearing around corners or doors, not dressed in proper uniform.
Once she gets her hands on you she is pissed. How someone like you snuck into the base with a dog in tow no less isn't a good look for her.
She refused to call you by your name after you introduced yourself, simply dubbing you 'The Civilian.'
This quickly backfires as suddenly your called 'Kelly's Civilian' by the other soldiers, but it at least stops any pricks from trying to scam you out of your belongings.
Unless they wish to face the Lieutenant's wrath.
Sparking an odd relationship of her trying to keep you out and away from her & the other soldiers, while you weasel your way back into the base somehow, much to her disdain once you either find her or she finds you wandering about again.
"So...your back, still not enlisted, I see."
She growls down at you, earning only a sheepish smile in return while answering no.
She tries to keep an unchanged attitude with you, hoping you'll give up your curiosity and go home to your little village but every few days, when she thinks she's finally got you beat...there you are again.
You were especially interested in her much to her dismay, seeing you hadn't met many people like her let alone someone so strong and amazing.
Admiring her strength and looks is a confusing topic she tries not to dwell on, especially when bringing up her strength and height.
It's an odd feeling, but not an unwelcome one seeing your STILL not scared of her, and very little power dynamic considering you weren't one of her soldiers.
Didn't think someone would find her attractive since gaining so much muscle and size from the Machine, let alone see her as someone safe with a face like hers.
But clearly your not a normal person considering you willingly walk up to her and follow her around each day that's not occupied by missions or wet work.
Seeing the way you stick to her side when she's not in the field, following her around like a lost puppy, has something in her usual annoyed attitude grow soft.
Your simple curiosity had gotten you this far and all the way through you didn't judge her for what differences there were between you.
Making the hard boiled lieutenant realize you were quite an enigma yourself, thanks to her efforts trying to shut you out.
"What makes you keep coming back here? Hometown not as exhilarating as the threats of war?"
She asks one day out of the blue as she sits down in her personal room, which you hadn't noticed before.
Efforts to be kind yet still a bit nosy grow to amuse her, speculating if your some secret reporter trying to find some information through her about the Crown Army and its soldiers.
But seeing how you rarely asked about the war itself and more about her had that idea quickly brushed away.
Not to mention the fact that she'd see you stumble through the wilderness, nearly tripping on your muddy boots to reach the base had any thoughts of you being an enemy spy quickly evaporate.
Your honesty is much more akin to a little jester for her, if that defines your connection any more odd than it was before.
Please get her some good food, she deserves it after all the stress she goes through as a lieutenant, even if she deems your offerings 'contraband', you've always had the tin containers returned freshly clean and she lets a few compliments on your cooking slip if your not in public.
She has a reputation to uphold after all. Even if it’s hard to deny you make her smile.
But it's clear to see she has a soft spot for you, though only seems to show her care when you two are alone which you understand.
You remind her of simpler times before she was changed or was a lieutenant, the days before everything went to shit and she signed up to the Crown Army to serve their nation.
Refuses any thought crossing your mind about joining her, she'd much rather laugh at one of your jokes in public and break her tough facade than let you get dragged into this.
"You don't belong here, remember that, you will never belong here in our ranks, and that is a blessing you don't forfeit. Remember your place."
She growls if you ever mention it around her, not on her watch, you won't be enlisting in anything if she can help it.
From that, she refused to teach you how to shoot or fight.
How to camouflage and use the terrain to your advantage? Absolutely.
From climbing trees or hiding in plain sight, Kelly may not have the size to hide, but with the right tactics and methods you use, you'll always be safe from the enemy.
That's at least what she believed, til word is heard of an attack near your village, which was heard through the ranks, sending her blood to boil at the thought.
To this day, she still scolds herself for how emotional she acted in that moment, sending troops to handle the attack but keeping out of the village's main points to not cause any panic among the people living there.
Seeing the attack was far closer to your house then anticipated, Kelly looked around for you inside the old, rickety house full of various trinkets and books.
Surrounded by a normal life, trapped in the clutches of merciless war, Kelly looked around all the hiding spots til she found a cellar door beneath a rug.
"It's just me, it's me. There's no need to be afraid (name)."
They said through the wood, startling you wouldn't help your terrified state as the door opens.
They get you wrapped up in a blanket, noting the telltale signs of shock as they do what they can to ensure your safe and alive.
"It's alright now, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't to ensure your safety..."
They admit while rubbing your cheek tenderly in attempt to soothe you in the chaotic moment. Not much needs to be said in that quiet moment, just a mutual understanding and differences in one another, but cared for all the same.
They wait as long as they can before they have to leave to head back to help the rest of the troop.
Knowing that like clockwork, you'll come running back to bother her once more.
A/N: I need a cigarette after writing this, can you tell I was allergic to using the word 'fragile' lol. Also pls forgive me for not adding the Ascetic I needed to write something for Lieutenant Kelly!!!
