Past Identities Chapter 1- Death and Reaper: Olduvai
John “Reaper” Grimm x Reader
Summary: When the token girl joins the team and is paired up with Reaper, everyone assumes shes as good as dead. In a plot twist, they work well together and make a killer team. Olduvai happens and all that Reaper held dear is snatched away.
A/N: Reader is Death/Katherine, but I didn’t want to write it as a reader insert.
Lethal. They were absolutely lethal. The R.R.T.S. hadn’t been the same since “Death” joined the squad. She was the token woman on the team and originally they hated having her around. They had nicknamed her Lady, but after a botched mission that ended with her pulling their asses out of the rubble, she was named Death. The pairings had all been established long before she had arrived, but Reaper was incapable of maintaining a partner for more than a mission; they always ended up dead.
It was with a heavy heart that Sarge paired Death and Reaper together. She had so much promise, but she wasn’t likely to return alive. He was beyond wrong. They clicked instantly and didn’t have much of a need for verbal communication. They were always on the same page. He would lead them in and she would do the rest. The Reaper always brought about Death.
Their comradery extended to other parts of their lives; they were content on cleaning their guns while the others acted like idiots. When the new bed arrangements came out, He was horrified that she was to sleep next to Portman. Luckily, Goat was willing to switch with her to avoid a massacre that would absolutely occur if Portman got any ideas.
She had the bed closest to Reaper. It was Death who heard the nightmares when they began again. He had gone years without them and they just started with no warning. It was a gamble on her part, but she went over to him, in his little makeshift cubby, and woke him up. He was so afraid, but she just curled up with him. The next morning, Sarge had a lot to say about her decision; none of which were good. She was reassigned as Destroyers partner and her and John didn’t get a chance to speak.
The next three missions were an absolute nightmare. Although Death and Destroyer were friends, they DID NOT work well together. Neither of them could communicate with each other effectively and it leads to them getting caught by enemy forces. Sarge bailed them out, but it wasn’t an enjoyable trip back to the base. Reaper hadn’t been sleeping due to the horrific nature of the nightmares that haunted every second of sleep. The entire team was suffering in ways that Sarge could never have predicted. John had been just fine before she had joined up, but now he was painfully dependent on her.
Sarge relented after that mission and that night found her in John’s bed, holding him as the nightmares threatened his every dream. Eventually, with the sound of her voice chasing them away to the far edges of his mind, he fell into the first decent night’s sleep he had had in a month. The next mission was golden and once again Reaper led Death in. It was a pairing made in heaven.
Years went by like this. They had started dating, to no one’s surprise. They continued to make a good team. They got matching RRTS tattoos together, they couldn’t know the importance of those tattoos yet. They got a new teammate, The Kid. He was a sweetheart and not cut out for this team. They were all damaged and deranged people, yet The Kid was so… innocent.
They had a new game. Olduvai. John was given the mission off for personal reasons. Death insisted that she would be back before he knew and that she would be fine for this one mission. John couldn’t shake the feeling that he had to go. He barely caught the chopper out, but the look on Death’s face when he did made it worth it.
It was an awkward mission at first. Death was forced to escort Reaper and his sister to the labs. Tense got a new meaning with these two. It was times like this that Death was glad she was an only child.
Shortly after they arrived at the labs, she was recalled to help Sarge and Destroyer clear rooms. All was fine until a call came over the radio that froze John’s blood in his veins.
“We lost Death. She is not responding. Proceed with caution.” Sarge wasn’t the least bit affected. And John had no reason to think she was dead, but the news didn’t sit well. He refused to tell Sam why he was agitated by the news, more so then he would be if it had been one of the other guys.
No one ever did find her, and after Sarge’s rampage, John had to assume the worst and leave Olduvai without her. He left the Marines after that, unable to deal with what he had witnessed and lost. He was Honorably discharged and when he packed his things up, he grabbed her stuff as well. A piece to remember her by. Katherine. He was convinced the others had never learned her real name, but he would never forget it.
