“Breaking up with you”
Pairings Jake(from duskwood) x fem!reader
Summary: One shot of Jake trying to hurt MC before the world he is a part of gets the chance, only to realize she’d rather be destroyed with him than live without him.
cw : language, emotional
Note : I never wrote fanfictions so bear w me, if its not good I am sorry lol, if you read it or liked it, I appreciate it a lot <3
wc: 1.9 k
Jakes Pov :
I lay on my back, tilting my head slightly as my eyes settled on her. She was draped over me, her head resting on my arm, one leg thrown across me and her fingers were clutching my hoodie as if it were the only thing keeping her grounded.
But was it peaceful? No… it was pure heaven.
God… how I loved her.
Still, something in me felt restless, by each passing second, maybe it was the air around me or something else, that I couldn’t sleep tonight, because lately, my thoughts weren’t just thoughts anymore. They were becoming something else, something I was trying to escape from.
Because what was I doing?
I’m doing it because I’m a selfish piece of–
My thoughts were pulled away as she stirred against me, her breath warm against my neck, and it was the perfect contrast of cold that surrounded us. I shifted onto my side finally facing her, and my gaze intensely fixed on her. Her skin looked soft in the dim light. And before I could stop myself, my fingers moved instinctively, brushing through her hairs. She doesn’t wake, but lies still and safely against me.
I swiftly pulled her closer, breathing in the faint scent of her rose soap that clung to her like stars in the night sky.
I swear to God—I could lose myself in that.
For a moment, we stayed tangled together, quiet, still, like the world had paused just for us.
Until my phone buzzed.
I groaned softly, rolling onto my back again and reaching for it from the side table, as I picked it up. The screen lit up instantly, Nymos.
My program.
The one I created for her, to detect danger, before it finds her or me.
It was going off furiously and repeatedly.
Your system is at risk.
The warning flashed again and again, the sound echoing in the silence. My heart started pounding violently against my chest and for a second I didn’t move.
Shit.
“We need to move,” I muttered under my breath.
I never dreaded moving, or running, or hiding, back when I was alone. It was a life I never cared enough about to protect. But now?
I have something worth living for.
And what am I doing with it?
The thought curdles into something sharp, something ugly, and for a moment I feel raw hatred for myself.
As my eyes drifted back to her. She looked… peaceful in her sleep, and something in my chest twisted painfully.
Because I realized this wasn't the life she deserved. She deserved more than running in the dark, more than half-sleep and constant fear.
And I knew she deserves more than me.
And for just a moment, I thought about leaving her behind, letting her hate me. Because at least then, she would be safe. I shook my head quickly, pushing the thought away.
No.
I sat up carefully, sliding my arm out from beneath her head as gently as I could.
She shifted slightly, and my hand found her cheek, my thumb brushing lightly beneath her eye. “MC,” I murmur softly.
She stirred reluctantly. “Mm…”
“Wake up.” My voice was quieter than usual.
But it was enough for her to be awake, as her eyes opened slowly, unfocused at first, but she squinted them hard before they settled on me.
There was no confusion there, no questions, no hesitation. She just said, “Okay,” her voice was still groggy with sleep.
That word again. It was always that word, the part that hurt the most. Because she never questioned it, never fought me on it, never asked why. She simply trusted me. And that…? made it worse.
She pushed herself up immediately from the bed, already reaching for her things.
“Leave it,” I said, turning away, my jaw clenching as I began packing what little we needed.
By the time we stepped outside, the air had shifted, like something was already closing in behind us. She stayed close to me as we moved through the trees without speaking. Branches cracked under our feet. The ground was uneven. Even then she didn't complain.
“You shouldn’t be here.” The words came out of my mouth before I decided to say them.
She didn’t stop walking. “What?”
“This,” I said, glancing around at the forest, the distance, the nowhere we kept ending up in. “You shouldn’t be part of it.”
She let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh. “Jake…”
“Don’t.”
This time, she stopped.
So I did too.
"This isn't a life." I said quietly, not looking at her.
“And?” Her voice shifted, it was no longer soft, no longer patient. It carried something sharper now, something that pushed back. “So tell me, Jake… what is a life? One where you’re not in it with me?”
Her words hit me deeper than anything else could.
“I chose this,” she added, her voice steadier this time.
“You shouldn’t have,” I muttered, my jaw tightening further, the words forced out like they burned on the way up.
Silence.
“And that was your decision to make?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied, far too quickly.
She stared at me like she didn’t recognize me for a second. “No,” she said.
And then she kept walking. I caught up to her in a few quick steps, the silence between us felt heavier than before.
Soon, the outline of an abandoned bunker came into view or at least something that looked like one just as the sky darkened, clouds pressing low, the air thick with something waiting to break.
“Let’s stay here,” she said.
I didn’t argue, because of course we both didn't have a choice, but my thoughts were already somewhere else, far too deep to pull back.
I remained near the entrance, setting the bag down. She moved further inside almost immediately, picking it up again and placing it aside as she began making space, and I kept watching her.
“Jake.”
I didn’t answer.
“We’re okay,” she said in a reassuring tone, but it did nothing to calm me down and she turned to face me, as she finally stepped closer to me. “We made it.”
That word.
We.
“No.”
Her expression shifted, her brows furrowed at me.
“This isn’t okay.” I said.
The rain started by then, pouring softly against the bunker windows, the sound spreading through the space, steady, almost suffocating, filling the silence we had left between us.
“You can’t keep doing this,” I said. “Following me into something that doesn’t end.”
“I’m not following you,” she replied. “I’m choosing you.”
“That’s worse.” My voice came out sharper than I intended.
She stepped closer. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
Silence filled the space between us, thick as the air outside. “Then say it properly,” she said.
I didn’t hesitate and that was the worst part. But, it was already breaking me as the words left my mouth. “Break up with me.”
The rain hit harder against the metal above us, as if it was mocking me.
She didn’t move but something in her expression changed. “No,” she said immediately.
“This isn’t a discussion.”
“It is for me.”
“You deserve better than this,” I said, my voice tightening despite myself. “Someone who can actually give you a life. Someone who doesn’t make you run in the middle of the night, who doesn’t disappear without a word… someone who doesn’t make you look over your shoulder every second you breathe.”
“Sometimes I think… even Phil—” I let out a quiet, humorless breath, my jaw tightening, “even someone like him could give you something close to a normal life, something I clearly can’t, MC.”
Her eyes flashed, something sharp and furious breaking through.
“Why would you say that?” she snapped, her voice rising, cracking at the edges. “You don’t get to decide that for me. You don’t get to stand there and tell me what kind of life I should want!”
“I’m trying to—”
“No!” she cuts me off, stepping closer to me, anger spilling over now. “You’re trying to control it. You’re trying to make the choice for me because it’s easier than actually staying and facing it!” Her chest rose and fell unevenly, her hands trembling at her sides.
“I chose this,” she said again, but this time it wasn’t steady, it was raw. “I chose you. Every part of this. Even the running, even the fear, you.”
Silence pressed in between us after she said it.
“And you think I don’t know what I’m giving up?” she continued, quieter now, but somehow it hurt more. “You think I don’t see it every time we leave somewhere behind? Every time you look at me like you’re already saying goodbye?”
I couldn’t answer.
“Or is that what this is?” she whispered, her voice breaking. “You said it first, so it hurts less when I finally do?”
The words landed like a blow.
“You don’t get to do that, Jake,” she said, tears finally spilling now. “You don’t get to walk away and call it protection.”
I swallowed hard, my jaw tightening as I closed the distance between us, wiping her tears before pulling her into my arms.
“I’m trying to protect you.” I said instead
“And I’m trying to stay.”
I went still, for a moment, as her hand found mine. My grip tightened on her fingers without permission.
“I’m not leaving,” she said, squeezing my hands back.
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” My voice breaks.
Then she moved, rising onto her tiptoes until she was close enough that I could feel her breath against my lips, warm and unsteady. For a second, neither of us spoke, just stood there, caught in something fragile, something breaking and then she closed the distance.
Her lips met mine, soft at first, almost hesitant, like she was giving me a chance to pull away. I didn’t. Instead my hand found her waist before I could stop myself, pulling her closer, holding her there like if I let go, she might disappear. I kissed her back, deeper this time, desperate in a way I couldn’t control, anchoring myself in the only thing that still felt real.
“I’m not letting you push me away,” she murmured against my lips.
“You should.”
“I won’t.”
The rain outside grew louder around us.
“I don’t know how to keep you safe,” I admitted, my voice quieter than it had ever been, stripped of everything but the truth.
“You don’t have to do it alone.” She said.
I exhaled slowly, finally pulling away from the kiss, and giving in to her, agreeing with her, without saying the words out loud.
Later, as the storm softened into something steady, the rain was no longer violent but constant. We lay together on the bunker floor, she was curled into my side like it was instinct, like I was the only place she felt safe, and I let her, my arm tightening around her just slightly, as if holding her there could keep everything else away.
Like it had always been this way. My arm wrapped around her, pulling her even closer before I could think about it. Her breathing slowed, and I stared at the ceiling for a long time.
I listened quietly, to the steady rhythm of the rain, to her heartbeat beneath my chest, as I turned toward her. She felt too real beside me, too close, like something I didn’t deserve to keep.
But got lucky to have it anyway.
My grip tightened around her before I tilted my head down, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
“I love you,” I whispered against her skin, the words trembling as they fell apart on the way out. “So so much, MC… I love you in a way that feels too big for this world, like even the sky couldn’t hold it. I love you in a way that’s dangerous… for both of us. And I will do everything in my power to keep you safe…” my voice broke slightly,—even if it takes everything I have left… including my life.”
“Thank you… for staying. For choosing me,” I added softly.
And this time, even with fear coiling through me, I didn’t try to let go of her.
