Crown Around It, Thorns On It, Cracks In It

Thomas Tommy Brooklyn, 33, Gun For Hire

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

(stubbornxenigma:)

She shook her head, casually looking over at him. “No..I don’t expect nothing less with you at all.” Her brow wiggled playfully at him, her grin reciprocating his and hers remained there even when he sat and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well…it’s simple, Tommy. Don’t you know?” Charley wasn’t expecting to follow through her explanation as it was a fairly random comment–but she went with it anyway. “I would kick your fuckin’ ass..and you would beg me to stop.” She nodded and both brows were cocked. “I would…”

She knew he’d struggled to hold back the words ‘I don’t care’–just like he struggled to say that he did care.“Yeah well…things don’t always have to be said out loud–for the other person to know.” Charley nodded at him, not wanting to sound like she was joking around, because she was actually being truthful.

“Full dinner….so let’s do this..” The brunette really didn’t know what she was doing, only that she had every determination to beat him–even though she pretty much knew she couldn’t. “No…just one hand.” As soon as their hands connected, Charley started pushing against his. She was sure there was a slight movement in her favour for a split second, but then she was obviously losing. “Don’t hold back will ya…don’t do me any favours…ya know…me being a woman and all.” She knew full well he wouldn’t hold back and she put all her strength into it, a noise leaving her lips as she gritted her teeth. “Damn it…” It was then she brought her other hand up, so she was using both hands.

Tommy looked at her blankly before starting to laugh as he shook his head, hearing anyone say they could kick his ass was a direct route to his funny bone. Even in joking he found it hilarious. “Yeah okay, you and what army?” He asked as he stopped laughing to raise his eyebrows in a similar manner to her. “Yeah, you wouldn’t. Ever. In a million fuckin’ years.” He stated. Tommy nodded slightly, everything for him had to be spoken aloud maybe that was him being a total caveman regardless he was glad.

Another wave of laughter came from Tommy again in amusement as he watched her struggle, to be fair she was strong but just in comparing the size of his bi-cep to hers was a clear indication that unfortunately she wasn’t going to win and he was just fine with that. “You know I could probably hold you up with one arm.” He added with a slight lift of his shoulder as he kept his arm perfectly still in an upright position, his hand moving back a fraction when she started to use both hands. “So when I win you make me dinner?” He asked, starting to push her back slowly.

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

(stubbornxenigma:)

Charley just shot him a deadpan look, but it wasn’t genuine at all and that could be indicated by the slight curling up of her mouth at the corners. “Sarcastic fucker you are….” She wasn’t pointing out anything new, because he knew he was a sarcastic fucker too. “Literally pick me up?..I don’t fuckin’ think so, sweetheart. I didn’t complain when I was hurt when you picked me up–but if you tried at any other time..say if it was to kick me out, I would raise holy hell. Just note that down…ya know..for future reference.”

She let one brow cock, almost sure he was going to state he didn’t care. Charley actually expected him to say it. Yet the final word didn’t quite come out. “See…wasn’t so hard to hold back was it….” She stated and swallowed some more steak, remembering her Father telling her not to speak whilst she was eating–so now she purposely made a point of it. “Yeah I do, Tommy. I aint gonna bullshit…I used to want to damn well strangle you–but I do fuckin care about you and I really don’t have all that many I feel that way about…so it’s been said…and you know…and yeah…moving the hell on.”

She flicked her tongue out between her lips to capture the residue juice that that was there from the steak. She tried so hard to look serious as she saw him take position for an arm wrestle, but ended up sporting a playful expression. “I bet you a cooked dinner…you cook for me if you lose..not just steak…like a full dinner” She tried to refrain from saying, ‘I cook for you if you win.’ and assumed her position too. “You ready?” Charley grinned as she took hold of his hand and her fingers wrapped around it into a tight grip.

Tommy just smirked at the look she gave him, he knew it wasn’t serious but either way he would have given her the same reaction. “You expect anything less but sarcasm?” He questioned, the smirk still plastered across his face as he raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Is that right?” He asked, leaning back against the counter as he folded his arms across his chest and looked at her. “How’d you think you’re gonna raise holy hell against me?”

“Yes, actually it was.” He replied bluntly, making sure to keep his face blank to keep some sort of dignity about him. He was lying but he wasn’t going to admit that any time soon and he could lie through his teeth anyway. Tommy kept his narrowed eyes on her as she spoke, he didn’t know if she was being truthful or not but nodded slightly regardless. Surely she wouldn’t blame him for being skeptical. He didn’t want to actually talk about it any more so settled on finishing off the steak rather quickly, practically wolfing it down.

He couldn’t help the small and playful grin on his face as he looked at her challengingly, still keeping any laughter at bay as he cracked his fingers. “Full dinner? Fine.” He agreed, the same look still on his face as he nodded to signal he was ready. “You sure you don’t want to use both hands?” He asked jokingly with a smile as he started to push her hand back.

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

stubbornxenigma:

“Well seeing how you asked….” Charley shot him a smirk. “….it’s sometimes a little difficult to know when you are joking or not–so I just go with the flow and judge you by your expression and the words that leave your lips–I just wasn’t sure when it came to the mustard.” There was a look of amusement on the brunettes face. “You would kick me out?…good job you want me here then, isn’t it.” Her brow wiggled as she tucked into her steak, the flavour hitting her tastebuds and make her let out a soft moan. “Been a while since I had a decent steak–or a steak for that matter.” Charley knew what she was about to say next, might make him uncomfortable, but she thought it had to be said.”Look…she won’t be like you..apart from strong and able to look after herself and that’s a good thing. I have seen you with your kid and you are a great fuckin’ father. I mean–the whole killing thing aint good–but that’s a life choice, not something that will be forced on her. You might be some fuckin’ emotionless hunk of guy with others–but you show love to her–I have seen it in your eyes–your expression–your actions.” Every word she spoke was true, but she needed to lighten it just a little bit. “…and you aint emotionless to me..no matter how much you try to make out you are…you care and you fuckin’ know it.” She shrugged. “But that’s okay…because I do too.” She shook her head when she noticed the blood from the steak on his front teeth, but didn’t say anything. “You aint good at everything…let me arm wrestle ya…bet I can beat ya…” There was no way in hell she could, but she was willing to try.

Tommy rolled his eyes in a joking manner, looking at her with a look that said ‘really?’ exaggeratedly and he shook his head once she finished speaking. “When you have time, do me a favour and find out the meaning of the word rhetorical.” He replied, sarcastically, clearly because she did probably know the meaning of the word but he couldn’t help the small smirk on his face at what he thought was a good comeback, in reality it probably wasn’t but for Tommy it was something. “Literally pick you up and kick you out.” He nodded surely, before playfully glaring at her for a brief moment. A glare that anyone else would probably have took as serious. Keeping a blank face and showing no sign of emotion was something Tommy mastered in, he could and would kill a parent and stare blankly at their hysterical children, that’s just the way he was but as she spoke he couldn’t help the uncomfortable feeling coming over him because every word she said was indeed true and he gulped slightly as he listened. “I don’t-” Tommy started and stopped what he was about to say immediately, his instinctive reaction was 'I don’t care’ but it was blatantly clear that whatever he said wouldn’t be true. He frowned as he gulped yet again, something that was annoying him already and he’d only done it twice. “You care?” He asked as he looked at her, frown set in place in sheer disbelief. “About me?” He finished, the confusion clear in his face and eyes as he looked at her. Honestly, he’d never herd those words in his life from anyone, not his father anyhow and that was the only person he would consider he was close to solely because he grew up with the man. “I am good at everything.” He stated again, he knew it wasn’t true, so did she but he was just messing around, which he didn’t do a lot or at all but here he was. “Oh yeah? What do you bet?” He asked, a grin on his face as he had to hold back a laugh as he moved to place his elbow on the counter and holding his forearm and hand up waiting.

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

Tommy Brooklyn Moodboard

[tonystkr]

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

(rose-goddard:)

“One day you’ll admit there’s some weird chemistry here.” She winks. “I do, but it’ll cost ya’.” She pauses a moment. “How’s your little girl?”

“What are you even talking about?” Tommy frowned, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her blankly before shaking his head. “How much?” He asked, crossing his arms with a sigh. “She’s fine.”

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

(stubbornxenigma:)

“What?…you are joking yeah?” Charley had to cock a brow when she looked surprised at him. “You don’t know what mustard is?” She’d managed to pick up some when scavanging, the stuff had a long life date on it, unless it was opened, but it still could be stored a while in a fridge. “Okay…so now I know what I am going to get you for next time…mustard, so you can try it.” She nodded and shot him a smirk. “In case you were questioning it…yes there will be a next time–whether you want it or not.” Charley gave Tommy a wink and then listened as he spoked about his daughters mother. It didn’t really sound the easiest of situations, but life was never easy any more for anyone. “I don’t know…I just wondered where her mother was. I didn’t know if something had happened to her or if she was around and had access. I know the kid usually stays with the mom that’s all.” She gave a shrug. “Was never one for that double standard shit though…cause your kid looks happy and well looked after–so you are doing a far better job than my father ever did.”

She shook her head and she had to chuckle. “Seriously Tommy, fuckin’ hell. Yes…cutlery. You have just confirmed my caveman tag for you.”  She waited for him to say where they were and yet he seemed in no rush to tell her–even looking at a file as he pulled apart his meat and ate it. “Yes..forks and shit…forget it..” She pulled her knife out and stuck it hard into the meat, picking it up in one full piece and sinking her teeth into it. “Mmmm…perfect…another thing you are good at, huh.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Tommy countered with raised eyebrows as he turned to look at her, he had no clue what on earth mustard was, it didn’t sound too nice whatever it was. “Next time?” He repeated, the only major thing he took in from the sentence before frowning slightly as he scratched the side of his shoulder absentmindedly. “I’d kick you out if you were here and I didn’t want you to be.” He replied after a few seconds, dropping his hand again he started to eat the steak. Tommy listened as she spoke, chewing on the food loudly before frowning a little in confusion. “The kid stays with the mom?” He asked, the confusion clear in his face as he never knew his own mother at all. He glanced over at Ella and smiled a little before looking back at Charley. “I just don’t want her to turn out like me.” Tommy smiled crookedly at her about the caveman tag, he probably had some blood in his teeth but he didn’t really care. He looked over the next few files, getting the basic information into his head. “I’m good at everything.”

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

(rose-goddard:)

“Oh Tommy,” She smirks over at the man. “When are you gunna be sweet to me.” She teases.

“Considering you’re not dead or badly injured I think I’m being pretty nice. Do you have what I need or not?”

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

(rose-goddard:)

“Yes, hello, what can I do you for?” Rose says distracted as se shuffles through logs and random drawings.

“I need a L115A3 with silencer and scope, five throwing knives and a decent assault rifle. You got that?”

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

(stubbornxenigma:)

Charley wasn’t a fussy eater at all, she would more or less eat anything. Except courgettes and cucumbers, she hated those things with a passion and certainly wasn’t a big vegetable fan. “No fuckin’ way…tasting blood is gross…although yeah, it probably gives more taste..I usually end up putting mustard or some shit like that on it.” She shot him a smirk and automatically cast her gaze to where his daughter was when he did. “You said her mother was on the base, right?” Charley vaguely recalled one of their previous conversations, but couldn’t quite remember. “Well you seem the type of guy who would eat it rare because you come across as some hard bastard don’t ya..” The brunette winked and chuckled. “Ya know…like the caveman type…kill the beast and not fussy about cooking till it’s well done.” She nodded convincingly at her light hearted comparison. “There’s alot of bastards and pieces of shit around here who would sell you out for a packet of fags or even less. I can count on one hand who I trust and still have fingers left.” She shrugged, knowing Tommy was one of those now. “Okay so this looks and smells top notch!..where do ya keep the cutlery?” Charley stood up and waited to see where he said.

“What the fuck is mustard?” Tommy asked, eyebrows raised and a confused look on his face as he tried to recall some sort of edible thing that sounded like mustard, was it like salt or something? He didn’t know, he knew meat and protein bars, anything else he was clueless, well minus baby food now. “Taryn. Yes, she was haven’t seen her in a month or so, she went out on some run. Probably dead or infected.” He replied as if he was talking about the weather, he wasn’t affected or cared, that was clear. He probably should be, although saying the mother of his child was dead, he knew there was always a possibility that she wasn’t dead but he wasn’t the most optimistic of people. “Why?” He asked, looking at her briefly as he transferred his own steak to a plate. He smirked slightly at the comparison and nodded in agreement, it was true. “I don’t trust anyone.” He supplied in response, maybe it was a lie, he wasn’t sure. The words trust no one were drilled into his skull from a young age and it stuck. He didn’t even trust himself at times, although the brunette across from him was breaking the not trusting anyone thing quickly. “Cutlery.” He repeated slowly, confirming the caveman comparison and he scanned his brain to remember what exactly that was. He leaned against the counter, moving his gaze to a file as he tore a small part of the bloody steak off with his fingers then chewing on it fairly noisily soon after, looking at her as he finished chewing and licking the blood from his thumb. “Cutlery. Forks and shit, right?”

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

stubbornxenigma:

Charley did a deal with some hunter on the base once. She agreed to get him smokes and a few other things and he agreed to kill an animal for her. She still recalls the day he turned up with the dead animal, because even though her bodyframe was deceiving to how much weight she could carry, that thing was too damn heavy to lift. Yet she’d been too stubborn to tell the hunter that and had waited until he had disappeared before attempting to get the dead animal home. Yet when she finally did, she didn’t have clue how to cook it and couldn’t stomach chopping it into pieces and preparing it. Seems some things she isn’t as tough about.

“That’s not fuckin’ true!.” She chuckled and shook her head. “I don’t wanna see blood..cause if it’s well done I can’t taste the blood either…I don’t know why but I took you for a ‘rare bit of steak guy’  Charley nodded and raised both brows. “I fuckin’ did.” She confirmed again and had to grin when he explained what he told the neighbours. “Sounds like they just take your word for it–which I think is pretty freakin’ smart with knowing how you are.” Her hand reached for some small bowl that was on the counter top and she twirled it casually as she spoke. “My neighbours just think I’m a scavenger. Don’t really make a point of telling anyone I am a smuggler too…because there’s some distrustful fuckers around here.” She gave a lazy shrug.

Tommy didn’t remember the exact age his father taught him how to skin and cut up an animal, ten or eleven, maybe younger. He’d been taught how to kill a man and infected once he was thirteen, he’d been taught to many things young but that was survival and admittedly he was grateful for it. “It fuckin’ is.” He replied through a small laugh, quickly checking on Ella again before focusing back on the steak that he was grudging burning so much. “What’s wrong with tasting the blood? It makes it more…you know appetising.” He shrugged slightly, turning the almost cooked steak over in the frying pan. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” He asked, raising his eyebrows as he glanced around at her. He could probably guess why he seemed like a ‘rare bit of steak guy’ he was more primal sort of guy. “Exactly.” He agreed, dropping the steak into the bowl she was holding before placing the frying pan back down and placing his own in to cook and nodding in agreement. “Makes sense. I wouldn’t trust anyone in this place.”

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

stubbornxenigma:

So much had changed for Charley recently, even before the breach had occurred. Most of the time she kept her distance from people, or kept them at arms length so they never got past the hard exterior. Then the odd time, people did make an impact and she found herself opening up more and showing them something different about herself. She couldn’t think about all that too much though, because it irritated her to know she let her soft side show and caring about people meant worrying about losing them too. Funnily enough, Tommy and Charley had progressed together without even realising it. She had definitely noticed the change in him. There were doubts of whether she was just imagining he cared–but now she knew she wasn’t imagining. So they had both become different in a more positive way, but unfortuantely the brunette couldn’t see her change in attitude extending to just anyone she came across and she was pretty damn sure he felt that way too. 

Hearing him say he would do the steaks, Charley didn’t hide the sigh of relief. Modern stereotypes would have you believe that women should be able to cook and be natural in the kitchen, but she was far from one of those. Charley could cook beans and rice, anything you could shove in an oven or just stir in a pot on the hob. When it came to meat and timings, she pretty much sucked at it.  “No blood..I can’t eat it with blood in..if it’s that rare, it should be still fuckin’ mooing.” She smirked and sat her ass down on a chair that was positioned near the counter top. “Medium to well done…cheers.” The corners of her mouth turned up as she smiled at him. “I gotta ask…what job is it your neighbour thinks you do?”

Moving the steak around in the frying pan, he watched the blood seep from it slowly. Anything about stereotypes, he didn’t get. Cooking was cooking, it was a survival thing to him and he didn’t care much for anything like that anyway. Tommy stifled a small laugh as she replied to his question, leaving the steak on its side to cook as he glanced over at her. He remembered he made steak for Ella’s mother once, not knowing that other people didn’t like it rare and bloody, and after he had handed her the plate the woman stated that a good vet could bring it (the steak) back to life, he didn’t know why but he found the statement kind of hilarious. “There’s no. taste in it without the blood. The way you like it, it’s basically cremating the thing.” He stated, a grin on his face as he turned the steak over and leaving it at he moved around, looking for the rations of salt and pepper he was sure he had. Finding it he turned towards Charley again, a slight smirk on his face as he replied. “I told them I cut logs of wood up but I usually show up here with blood covering me…so I don’t know if they’re still buying it. I don’t really care either way.” He shrugged, turning the steak over once more. “What about you’re neighbours?”

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

stubbornxenigma:

“Yeah Yeah…” She shot him a look of amusement and a degree of playfulness in her eyes. Quite funny really, considering he was speaking about kicking her ass. Charley was starting to learn when he was deadly serious and when he wasn’t and he was actually making it easier to see that, when he cracked a smile too. She didn’t understand how he could know personal details about who he was going to kill and still be able to carry it out. If it was some murderer–mugger–thug–or even someone who had wronged her–yeah. Charley did try and understand though because she wanted to–but in the end she just gave a shrug. It didn’t alter anything between them, Tommy was still Tommy–the way he had always been, apart from now she felt like she was closer to him. Maybe that was just some false security or just her imagining things, but Charley didn’t care. She believed what she thought and that was all that counted–though she was pretty sure she wasn’t wrong. “Meat?..okay.”

Certain elements of Charleys personality were actually what in normal circumstances would clash with Tommy’s. They weren’t the easiest people to get along with–but somehow they had found a common ground, one which would allow them being in each others company and her not feeling any awkwardness. Not that she got that awkward feeling very often though. “I like your faith in me…” She let a smile emerge on her face and joked. “I guess no other guns for hire are as good as you then–so yeah I could take them the fuck out.” A lighthearted tone it may be, but she knew how good he was at his job. She let her body be moved as he went to the fridge, another thing which hardly anyone would be able to get away with. Touching her and not having her react in some way, whether verbally or physcially, was rare, but she no longer gave it a second thought with him. “Okay…so you cooking then?” The temptation was there was to tap his cheek like she would when teasing–but she just managed to restrain herself. “…because I will…but I really aint that fuckin’ good at it.”

“Exactly.” Tommy agreed with a nod and a slight smile, obviously he wouldn’t majorly hurt her, that was clear now. If he would have been told that he would be joking around with Charley inside his apartment months ago, he would have knocked the person out who even dared to say something so stupid but here he was. He usually didn’t like people near him, or human contact in the slightest unless he was hurting someone but he was learning to be more gentle which was strange because he’d always been rough and heavy handed, he still was but there was two exceptions to that currently and he hoped to keep the number low. Moving her body out the way he has done without even realising and he didn’t simply shove her, like he would with anyone else, well no one else would be inside his apartment unless he was harbouring a dead body.

“I’ll do it.” Tommy replied, moving to retrieve a frying pan and place it over the stove hesitantly. Any other time he cooked things was dead animals that he had to skin himself and cook over a fire so gas and fire from a stove was still something he couldn’t wrap his head around yet but he was steadily getting there. Regardless the only thing he ate was meat, he was glad his job paid well. Placing the first steak inside the frying pan before turning it on and waiting for it to cook, turning towards Charley slightly. “I don’t cook for people and I eat it with a lot of blood and some people don’t, so I’ve herd.” He started slowly, trying to figure out how to word what he was thinking. “Blood or no blood?”

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

stubbornxenigma:

There was no denying that he was in great shape and Charley would quietly admit that. It wasn’t like she couldn’t see it after all, so instead she just shook her head and smirked. “Well fair enough then….” She shrugged and her line of vision moved to his kid when his did. She saw the way he smiled at his daughter and Charley could see a different side to him, his eyes showed warmth, his facial expression softened and all she did was observe it with a smile of her own and declined to comment. 

“Good job you didn’t step on my knife..especially the blade–it would’ve sliced through you like fuckin’ butter.” She nodded convincingly, but a smirk appeared. “And you probably would’ve cursed me like hell and threatened to kick my ass.” She was teasing in a way, because the blade wouldn’t have even been up at the right angle to probably cut him anyway.

“Don’t you ever think about the details..like whether they have family n’ shit?” She looked down at the files and assumed he didn’t–the less personal stuff the better–well that’s what she thought anyway.  “Is there anything to eat?…I’m starving.” She took the whole killing thing, all in her stride, though it wasn’t something she would be able to do personally, unless they had wronged her or those she cared about and she knew that extended to him.

Charley had asked the question about herself coming up in a file, because for all she knew, one day it might. There was another reason though, she thought he would just be his usual self and say yes, he would kill her, or maybe say something about not replying to shit like that. Yet Tommy threw her for a moment and she could do nothing but let her gaze remain on him. She knew he cared for sure now and it wasn’t one sided. Tommy was very few the brunette felt close to–yet she did him, even with all his hard exterior and tough attitude sometimes. “Let’s hope if my name comes up, that you get my file then huh…and not some other gun for hire.” She shot him a wink and went to his fridge. “You gotta have something in here to munch on.”

Tommy raised an eyebrow once she spoke about the blade, an amused look on his face as he eyed the weapon on her belt. “I would have kicked your ass and sliced you’re foot too. Collapsed lung or not.” He replied in the same teasing manner, although it was a little less obvious he was joking, it was probably only Charley that could distinguish the thin line of him being serious or not.

“Sometimes. Though it doesn’t change anything. I would still kill them.” He replied emotionlessly, eyeing the files and putting connections between the eight targets mentally. “If I got a file that said the target had three kids and was married, I’d still kill them.” That might have seemed cold and evil but he never claimed not to be. He didn’t mind knowing about personal things, they’d be dead soon enough. “Should be meat in the fridge.” Tommy could feel her looking at him and he simply kept his eyes on the words in front of him, he’d never felt especially close or friendly with anyone but if he had to, maybe he could consider her a friend of sorts, though he probably wouldn’t utter those words even if a gun was pointed at his head. He wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, he was probably more primal than sociable human being anyway, that wasn’t his fault but he thought it was easier this way. He could miss out on emotions which he knew he had, he wasn’t a complete robot he just didn’t allow himself to get close to people but with a daughter and a unlikely friend he knew that was about to change, even if he liked it or not. “I’m sure you could take out any other gun for hire.” He replied with a small smile on his face, moving over to the fridge and moving her out of the way, not shoving for once but he was actually gentle as he pulled out the wrapped steak before looking at her expectantly for an answer.

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

riddledjustice:

Grant heard the voice from the other side of the door and immediately thought this was a bad decision. Not that he was unfamiliar to making bad decisions, but… The door swung open and he glanced up at the man with his kid. Charley always said he wasn’t the most friendly guy, but that didn’t change what he did, so here he was. “Tommy, right? I’m Grant, and you’ll probably think this is really stupid, and it kind of is, but you did save my best friend - Charley. I guess I felt like saying thank you in case she’s to stubborn to, and in general since… you were able to be there for her when I couldn’t find her. So… you know, thanks for all of that. I guess that’s really all there is to say.”

Tommy stared down at the man as he spoke, his face blank as he balanced Ella on one of his arms with ease. He nodded slightly once he had finished speaking, remembering Charley say the man’s name once or twice. He wasn’t going to admit about not being able to leave her because he knew he couldn’t even if he tried and that annoyed him greatly. “It’s fine.” He shrugged slightly, as if it wasn’t a big deal, maybe it wasn’t but to him it was. “How is she?”

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

stubbornxenigma:

“You staying like that?” She looked at his body and smirked. Charleys eyes immediately went to the counter and she couldn’t help but give a small smile. “My trusty knife…I wondered where the fuck it was..” She slipped it safely into its pouch on the back of her jeans. Turning around, the brunette watched him place his daughter on the floor and there was a mix of awkwardness at being around a kid and also wanting to smile at his interaction with her. Luckily her mind was caught by him explaining the files which were laid around. “Eight people?..and how long do you have to do that?..what amount of time?…or do you just have as long as it takes?” Charley flicked through the odd file with her fingers. It wasn’t like any of the information would go any further. She might be mouthy and totally unruly at times, but the brunette could be very loyal when she classed someone as a friend. Though calling him that to his face, well the thought of it made her smile because she could imagine his reaction. 

“I feel better than I did..the long sleep did it..” Her line of vision slid to him and she inhaled. “Thanks…for …well stuff…ya know..” She cleared her throat and decided to change the subject. “What would you do if one of these files had my name on it one day?”

“Staying like what?” Tommy asked cluelessly before looking down at himself and his boxers then it hit him, people didn’t do that but he really didn’t care. “Yeah, probably. I’m having a day off with Ella.” He shrugged slightly, smiling over at his daughter who was sitting playing with blocks and other toys that he’d managed to find. “I found it on the floor this morning, almost stepped on it.” He supplied for the whereabouts of the knife, he didn’t know how it got there but it did. Tommy raised his eyebrows at all the questions but didn’t comment and decided to stick to answering instead. “Eight, yes. Two weeks maximum but I’m gonna take care of them all tomorrow. I’ll kill the three I need to in here, track the rest down and kill them.” He said as if the task of killing eight and probably more people wouldn’t be a hassle in the slightest, he was more than capable and trained to do so. He could have probably done it as a kid, giving his fathers constant training that was ingrained in Tommy’s head and it was in his DNA to be a trained killer, like his dad the only difference was that Tommy wasn’t a Navy SEAL and killed probably innocent people.

He gave a slight nod as she spoke again, keeping his eyes on Ella with a rare smile in place before he turned his attention to a file near him and opened it, his eyes scanning over it. He stopped reading and lifted his head to look at her, his face blank as he thought about the question before going back to reading. “I would kill the person who gave it to me instead and destroy the file.” He answered quietly and as if it wasn’t a big deal that he wouldn’t kill her if tasked to because there was three people walking the earth he wouldn’t kill and they were all in the room.

[stubbornxenigma-blog]

An unexpected danger|| Charley & Tommy

[tommybrooklyn-blog]

stubbornxenigma:

As soon as she pulled his hoodie over her head and laid back down, Charley started to feel the warm buzz you get when you are comfortable and about to enter a deep sleep. It didn’t matter to her there wasn’t much room on the couch for the both of them. She wasn’t the type of woman to bother about such things and just saw the situation for what it was–they both needed sleep and they were both on the couch–simple. 

Charley kept drifting off momentarily and then waking up with small jolts and she would find herself holding in a gasp. All the times she had gone against infected–got into fights with other people and she never really feared anything, but the heavy thick dust and smoke which had filled her lungs before she got out from the rubble, it choked her until she thought her lungs would seize and collapse–well one actually did and that scared her. Hearing him ask if she was okay though, Charley swallowed thickly. She wasn’t the sort to admit anything like that and so she just nodded, not even knowing if he could see it. “I’m fine Tommy….” She closed her eyes again, but it was the darkness which placed her back there in the explosion, so she turned over and without a second thought, laid her head against him and literally was already half-asleep. Probably if she had her wits about her–it would be the last thing she would do, but knowing and feeling someone was there was all she needed to fall asleep properly.

Tommy started to drift off slightly but awoke every time Charley jolted awake, he was a light sleeper to say the least. Any slight sound or movement and he was awake, even if he didn’t want to be. He didn’t say anything in response, he knew people could lie, everyone did but he wasn’t going to question it. If she said she was fine, that was that it didn’t matter if he believed it or not. He stared at her as she turned around before averting his gaze, he didn’t get uncomfortable or awkward, he didn’t believe in it but people close to him did. No matter if he tried to get over it, human contact or hugging or something that people did he didn’t like, unless it was Ella but that was different. Anyone else he wouldn’t have settled for it…well anyone else he wouldn’t allow in his apartment or this close to him but he didn’t see a reason with making more exceptions for her, shutting his eyes eventually and against his will he started to slowly fall asleep.