✰ — TWISTY. she/they. twenties. cancer. bisexual. rocker. occasional creator of various things.
this blog is for those eighteen plus only and contains mature content not suitable for minors — any ageless, blank, or minor blogs interacting with any post on my blog will be blocked !!
✰ — IMPORTANT LINKS
masterlist ∗ blog rules ∗ characters ∗ dyi/dni
@twistnet-reblogs — library // reblog blog
requesting status — closed
✰ — LATEST WORKS
≡ firefly — the last of us series — ellie williams x fem!reader
⋯ SUMMARY ; waking up to find your husband and child attempting to make breakfast for you — although both seem to be failing (badly) it doesn’t stop the rush of affection you feel seeing the two so focused on making this the best morning ever // @cherieann-2001
⋯ WARNINGS ; gn!reader + general fluff [ soft!tig, sweet family moments, one little joke ]
sun rays peaked just over the horizon, slowly illuminating the bedroom and warming your face in greeting. you stretched, arms and legs fanning out along the bedsheets before retracting at the feeling of coolness seeping in from the other side the mattress.
something that quickly caught your attention as you rolled over in haste, in fact finding the other side of your bed empty with the blankets thrown back haphazardly.
stifling a yawn, you tumble from the bed. now intent on finding your husband at this ungodly hour of the morning. he was supposed to be in bed -- a promise from the night before that nothing was on the club or his own personal agenda to accomplish today.
in your rush, you nearly passed your babies room, wincing slightly to yourself as you hoped your little stamped from the bed wasn’t enough to wake them. and yet, worry sank further into the pit of your stomach after finding your little one absent from their crib.
the worry present in your gut only fueled the question ringing through your mind -- where were your husband and child? frantic footfalls down the hallway, turning towards the stairs and quickly descending as you hoped they were just relaxing in the living room for the better part of the morning.
at the last step, you caught the noise of a pan hitting another -- rising loudly through the kitchen followed by a muffled curse and some joyful giggling. gently peeking around the corner, you caught the sight of your husband -- back turned towards you as your child sat comfortably in the highchair beside him. although far enough away to prevent the curious child from being able to reach anything hazardous.
now stepping a little further into the kitchen, you are now able to get a better look at the scene in front of you. bowls and batter littering the kitchen counters, opened containers and bags of flour huddled together. mixing utensils lay either in the bowls or upon the countertop. all caked with various batters and substances.
“what’s going on in here?” you finally ask after a few moments, your voice scaring your husband -- based solely on the way he seems to jump at the sudden sound of your voice. whirling around with a spatula in hand and a frenzied look in his eyes.
at the sight of his face, you bust out a laugh. hand coming up to cover your mouth as you giggle to yourself -- thus prompting your child to start laughing along side you. although, you are sure they are only mimicking you and not actually sure what is funny.
“what?” tig asks lightly, watching as you step closer to him with a bright smile on your face before reaching up and pressing the pad of your thumb against the swell of his cheek. brushing away the flour and pancake batter caked to his skin.
drawing back, tig’s brow raise in understanding, before a offering you a sweet smile, “is there a chance i can convince you to stay for breakfast?” he asks, gesturing to the pan of freshly made breakfast and sides before eyes trail over to where your child sits happily babbling to themselves.
“there is definitely a chance, wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
⋯ SUMMARY ; hoping to spent the rest of your evening in some relative peace, you stop by the cantina to numb yourself after a long days work. however, it seems that your singluar presence at the bar is noticed by more than one.
the dimly lit cantina was already buzzing after a long days work with the clinking of glasses and lively chatter. among the crowd, you sat alone at the bar, nursing a drink and observing the room. it had been a long day, and all you wanted was to relax and have a moment of solitude to yourself.
as you sipped your drink, a persistent presence materialized at your side. a tall, obnoxious man with a leering grin leaning in too close for comfort. "hey there, beautiful. what's a pretty thing like you doing all alone?"
your discomfort grew, and you discreetly angled your body away from the unwanted stranger. "just enjoying a quiet evening," you answered, hoping to discourage any further advances.
but any hint seemed to fly over the man’s head as he leaned further in, his words dripping with a sleazy charm. "well, i can keep you company, sweetheart. how about you and me get to know each other better?"
before you could respond, a sudden interruption cut through the tension. a familiar voice broke the uneasy atmosphere like a ray of sunshine. "sorry, she's taken," the voice declared with a touch of possessiveness.
you turned your head to find bix -- your good friend and the very person you had secretly been admiring for some time, standing behind you, arms crossed and radiating confidence as she locked eyes with the man.
the man looked skeptical. "oh, really? i don't see a ring on her finger." his arms crossing over his chest as he looked between the two of you with an almost rageful look -- hoping to call your buff. only, bix grinned mischievously and wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer. "we don't need a ring to be committed to each other. isn't that right, babe?" she snarked, looking at you with a playful intensity.
caught off guard, you found yourself playing along, nodding and placing a hand on bix's arm. "absolutely, darling. we're inseparable." the stranger's face contorted into a mixture of disappointment and frustration. "well, lucky you, i guess." he slinked away, leaving you alone with bix.
as the man disappeared into the crowd, you turned to bix, gratitude and curiosity swirling within you. "bix, thank you for stepping in. i didn't know you felt that way about me."
bix's confident facade faltered slightly, revealing a touch of vulnerability. "honestly, i couldn't stand seeing you being hit on like that. made me uncomfortable just watching it. and i care too much about you to let you go through that.”
you blinked owlishly, surprise falling along your features as you gaped up at the woman standing just in front of the stool you are perched upon, “you mean that?”
bix scoffs, “of course, i want to make sure my friends are safe. nothing wrong with that.” her shoulders shrug as if it’s the most obvious thing in the galaxy, and yet, you have the feeling that it’s not all of the story.
“but what made you pick to craft a fake relationship? i mean, it worked great but that’s not usually a go-to when trying to get someone to back off at a bar especially if they’re just friends.” you press, leaning forward slightly and gazing into her eyes with a knowing stare.
bix flinches slightly under the gaze, the action almost unseen if you hadn’t been sitting so close to her. then she sighs, shaking her head before stepping between your legs, “maybe i don’t want to be just friends.”
again, the comment catches you off guard and you nearly spit out your drink as her words make the connection in your brain. a warm smile spreads across her face, and her arms draw up from her sides to pulled you into a gentle embrace. "so, want to make this pretend relationship a real one?”
you nod, happiness running down your spine as you smile up brightly at her. "i'd love that.” and in that crowded bar, amidst the clinking glasses and lively chatter, the pretend relationship between you and bix transformed into a genuine connection.
⋯ SUMMARY ; there’s something absolutely magical about getting to see the woman of your dreams come around from behind the divide to show you her wedding dress for the first time -- and to think in a little less than an hour, you’ll get to call her yours for all eternity
⋯ WARNINGS ; female!reader + fluff [ weddings, loving and soft moments, some tears -- all happy, hand holding + sweet kisses ]
you stood in front of the floor-length mirror, hands brushing down the front of your dress almost as if to smooth out any wrinkles. letting out a nervous breath, you couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder. dressed in a breathtaking ivory gown, intricate lace detailing accentuating your every curve. the gown flowing down behind you gracefully. all made just for you. it was a symbol of your love and commitment, and the embodiment of your dreams.
just down the hall of your dressing room, sat all your friends and family gathered together in one room mingling with the murmurs of excited anticipation. as today was the day you would exchange vows with the love of your life, stella.
violet had only exited the room moments ago to grab your soon to be wife from her own dressing room. the bridesmaids face bright with a smile at the prospect of the two of you getting to see each other’s dresses for the first time.
a gentle knock interrupted your thoughts and with a fluttering heart, you turned to see stella standing in the doorway, a nervous smile on her face as she step further into your dressing room. she wore a pristine white wedding dress, a perfect match to your own, but with a touch of her own unique style. the dress hugged her figure elegantly, and her radiant smile outshone any sparkle in the room."hey, beautiful," stella whispered, her voice filled with awe as she drank in your breathtaking appearance. "i can't believe we're getting married today."
you couldn't help the tears that gathered in your eyes as you smiled softly, "i feel the same way, stella. this is a dream come true."
stella takes a step closer, her eyes never leaving yours. "may i?" stella asked, gesturing to your dress. you nodded, letting her approach and watching as her fingertips lightly brushed the delicate lace on your gown. marveling at the craftsmanship, her eyes shining with admiration."it's perfect," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "just like you."
a surge of warmth filled your heart, and you reached out to take stella's hand. "and you are the most beautiful bride i could ever imagine," you replied, your voice filled with love.
stella's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, reflecting the depth of her emotions. "i am the luckiest person in the world to have found you, to be able to spend the rest of my life with you."
as your eyes locked, time seemed to stand still. the world around you faded away, leaving only the two of you, connected by an unbreakable bond. in that moment, all doubts and fears melted away, replaced by a profound sense of certainty and love. "you're my everything, stella," you confessed, your voice trembling with emotion. "today and always."
with tears of joy glistening in her eyes, stella drew you into a tender embrace. in that embrace, you knew that your wedding day wasn't just about the fancy decorations, the flowers, or the guests—it was about the love you shared, the promises you would make, and the lifelong journey you were embarking on together.
leaning back just enough to hold your gaze once more, her lips spread into a smile as she asks, “are you ready?” and once she has your confirmation, hands link together and are brought up to allow her to press a soft kiss to the back of your hand -- too afraid to ruin all the hard work violet had done with getting your ready this morning.
hand in hand, you both stepped away from the mirror, ready to begin the next chapter of your lives. your families awaited for you down the hall, filled with the promise of forever. and as you walked down the aisle, side by side, in your matching wedding dresses, you couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude— for the love that had brought you here and for the love that would carry you forward into a future.
hey! just wanted to shoot an ask to ask if requests were open. I noticed on your post that they were as of january, but figured it couldn't hurt to check in as i would not want to overwhelm you or send requests if they aren't open :)
hi! so, at the moment my requests aren't open -- still in the process of writing the requests i got during that time sadly. and now that you mention it, i should probably go back and delete that post to avoid confusing anyone :)
i'm hoping with what i've been able to accomplish these past few weeks, i might be able to open requests some time around the beginning of june again. but as for right now, i don't want to say anything definitive just in case things don't end up working out like i've planned.
⋯ SUMMARY ; you’re invited to hop’s birthed celebration -- his first one since arriving back home from russia. and it marks the first occasion that your partner, dmitri, gets to see you all dressed up
⋯ PROMPT ; things that get me on my knees — that glance at your body with their eyes subtly widening, almost gulping as they take in your attire. fuck.
⋯ WARNINGS ; female!reader, established relationship, slight sexual themes [ flirting, mentions of 'bedroom eyes', dmitri unable to keep his hands to himself ] + mature language
dmitri remembers you leaving early that morning. pressing a soft kiss to his forehead, then lips before muttering a quiet goodbye and promise to see him later.
he had simply hummed in response, eyes not even peeking open to gaze up at you for a brief moment -- opting instead to fall back into a restless slumber for another couple of hours. only to awake a quarter passed eleven with wild eyes and a few russian curses under his breath.
he dresses in a hurry, not really caring about his appearance as this is nothing more than a simple event -- that event being jim's birthday celebration. dmitri remembered how joyce and his daughter had insisted on celebrating it now that he was back home and how moved forward with the plans to do so even as he had told them there was no need.
you had offered to pitch in where you could, having gone out of your way to have a special cake ordered to mark the celebration and given the time, dmitri could presume that your early departure meant going to pick up your part of the party planning.
that left dmitri to his own devices, and the agreed upon method of travel after you had double checked that he'd be alright to drive the short distance to the house joyce and hop were currently staying while things were being decided. he had assured you that he would, considering driving in the us was no different than russian, save for there being no snow and checkpoints to hold up his travel.
so, upon finishing dressing, he grabbed the keys from the hook at the front door before traveling out to the garage where you kept the second vehicle you procured after dmitri had come to stay with you permanently. it wasn't super nice car by any means -- you had picked it up from an older resident in town who didn't have the means to leave the house anymore and it was cheap.
the drive to the byers-hopper residence wasn't far, almost a straight shot from your home to include a couple of turns. and given the amount of times you and dmitri had visited, he knew the way like the back of his own hand.
“dmitri! glad to see you could make it.” comes joyce’s excited voice as she practically throws open the door to welcome the former guard into her home. her face scrunching up in slight annoyance as a loud round of excited exclamations sound from further inside the house, “sorry, it’s been awhile since they’ve all been able to see each other.”
only dmitri shakes his head at her apology, “don’t worry. it is good to hear.” he states, stepping into the house and discarding his shoes and jacket to the nearest holder.
his eyes peer around the space, smiling softly as he spots the group of teenagers huddled together and chatting happily, a small group of what dmitri could only assume to be some of the children's parents -- yet, there was no sign of you anywhere in the house.
however, as he opens his mouth to ask, joyce quickly cuts him off with a soft smile, “she’s in the kitchen.” then leaves him to his own devices and moves back towards the dining room to make sure the kids are behaving themselves.
dmitri cracks a smile in response, watching joyce leave before moving off to where you are located. he gives a small wave to hopper, who sits comfortably in his recliner with a beer already in hand. he'd make a note to speak with him later, as for now, his sights were set on finding you.
and he did. finding you slightly bent over a large chocolate cake, elbows planted atop the counter as your hands steadily piped a light blue frosting decoration along the top of the smooth cake top.
you catch him out of the corner of your eye, momentarily stopping your task to shoot him a bright smile, "hey, baby. glad to see you made it alright."
dmitri opens his mouth to respond back, only the words die on the tip of his tongue as he finally takes you in for the first time that day. you're wearing a sundress, one he hadn't seen you in before today, and in a color that seemed to make you glow.
at his disfunction, you cast a concerned glance his direction. until you catch his not so obvious reaction -- his eyes glancing down the length of your form, widening in the slightest before he gulps harshly.
"w-when did you get this?" dmitri mutters, taking a step forward to brush his fingers along the fabric of your dress. you're stunned for a moment, having seen his reaction before smiling softly and looking down at the dress in question, "i got it a little while back, just hadn't found the right time to where it is all. do you like it?"
"do i - ? fuck, i love it." dmitri mutters, stepping forward again but this time to wrap his arms around your waist. pulling you in for a deep kiss. hands roam along your back and sides, just barely scraping above where one could deem inappropriate as he slips his tongue into your mouth.
there's a warm feeling that spreads throughout his chest at your responsive moan, before you reel back and pat him softly on the chest, "i need to finish the cake. that - that is something for later." you state breathlessly, cheeks already burning as you glance into the main part of the house to see if anyone happened to catch a glimpse of what had just taken place.
dmitri chuckles at your expression, eyes already starting to gleam with mischief as his raises his hands up in surrender, "just letting you know how i feel about your dress, любимая." he pauses for a moment, before smiling even brighter with his eyes mirroring a similar type of lust you've seen before in more intimate moments, "and definitely something for later."
he places a final kiss to your lips, before smoothly exiting the kitchen to leave you to finishing your task -- only to leave you rather flustered and almost eager to get through this party celebration as quickly as possible.
⋯ CHARACTERS ; matt casey, kelly severide, leslie shay, sylvie brett, stella kidd, brian ‘otis’ zvonecek, joe cruz, christoper herrmann, violet mikami, evan hawkins, greg grainger
⋯ MATT CASEY
when matt has experienced a bad day, he tends to get very quiet. sometimes even a little snippy whenever he’s asked if he’s alright. he recognizes that acting this way isn’t going to make his day any better, but it takes his a little bit. let him clam down, and once he’s done that, he’ll seek you out. quietly apologize for being snippy, and telling you that he’s just had a bad day. you can ask him how his day was -- he’ll tell you everything and at some point, slowly wraps his arms around you and leans his head atop your shoulder. inhaling your scent immediately calms him and he’s already starting to feel better
⋯ KELLY SEVERIDE
kelly tends to let everything build up. almost insisting he is fine and there’s nothing to truly worry about. and no matter how much you push, he’ll maintain the same story. until something just absolutely breaks him and everything that he’s kept bottled up for month finally comes pouring out. he’ll cry -- more of his eyes tearing up as he refuses to let them fall. but he practically falls into your grasp as you pull him into a hug. it’s really all he needs, just the comfort of having you near him as he talks about different things and lays his heart out on the table. card your fingers through his hair and just tell him that ‘it’s gonna be okay’. that’s all he needs for now
⋯ LESLIE SHAY
leslie, much like kelly, can be stubborn when it comes to talking about any bad days. however, she’s different as she’ll give one of the briefest overviews -- almost as if she’s giving a report, and then insist that she’s fine. all of her emotions comes out when she drinks, and you can tell she was anything but fine, considering the amount of drinks she’s already had. she’ll crumble into your arms, looking for your warmth as she begins to babble about her day and everything she was feeling. she’ll cling to you, but it’s truly something she needs as you’ve noticed her start to calm the longer and tighter you hold her
⋯ SYLVIE BRETT
sylvie will seek out comfort after a bad day. honestly, any type of comfort will help, but if given the option, she wants to spend her time cuddled into your side with her head resting either against your shoulder or chest. she doesn’t talk much about her day -- only just to tell you that it wasn’t one she would want to experience again before eventually falling asleep. she feels better with you, nothing you have to do aside from allowing her to cuddle up to you
⋯ STELLA KIDD
stella gets all quiet and short tempered. it almost takes you by surprise, until she makes a comment about her day. to which you ask her what she needs -- as she often wants different things depending on what had taken place. and once she makes her request, you’re dropping everything to do it. often, her go-to answer is to ask to be held in some way. honestly whichever way is comfortable for the two of you at the time.
⋯ BRIAN ‘OTIS’ ZVONECEK
brian is going to get super quiet after a bad day. meaning that whatever had taken place, must have really hit him hard. like most of the others, he will seek you out almost immediately. he needs comfort and wants to decompress from what he experienced for the day. kiss away his tears, hold him tight -- he’ll take literally any form of comfort so long as you are willing to give the time
⋯ JOE CRUZ
joe takes a lot of things to heart, and while he’s been able to keep himself from taking each thing he wasn’t able to do so personally, there are times in which he can’t help but feel that. especially after a bad day. he’ll seek you out, looking for some comfort as he gets the day off his chest. he’ll immediately wrap you up in his arms, tucking his face into your shoulder. he won’t talk about it right away, wanting to see you and tell himself that seeing you is better than any bad day he’s experienced. and while he’ll come clean about his day eventually, he’s just wanting to spend as much time with you as possible
⋯ CHRISTOPHER HERRMANN
christopher tends to get angry -- never directed towards one person, just as his frustration of the day grows, it gathers to a point where he may explode and accidentally take his anger out on the closest person. he realizes that mistake literally seconds later and calms down immediately. taking a few deep breaths before sitting down to tell you. he finds comfort in your touch and will show you by kissing your knuckles before apologizing. he’ll spend the night making it up to you, and in turn, it helps him settle in and finally gain some closure for the day
⋯ VIOLET MIKAMI
violet will put on a brave face and will power through the rest of her shift until she can have a moment to decompress. which is usually once she gets home and she can let her emotions out about her bad day. depending on the scale, there will be tears and she’ll hold onto you tightly as she lets it all out. she wants to be with you, and most likely won’t be getting up from her spot unless you manage to coax her to either eat or take a shower. otherwise, she’ll be content laying against you until she feels ready enough to detach herself form you
⋯ EVAN HAWKINS
if anything, evan grows more frustrated with himself. slowly begins to fall down the rabbit hole of ‘what ifs’. trying to think about what he could have done differently to change the course of the day he’s been having. he’s patience wears a little thinner and sometimes he can be a bit of a pain to have a conversation with. until he gets home and he crumbles, talking your ear off about how his day had been until he practically runs out of breath. he feels better afterward and can usually move past that day but it will always stick with him as he could have done better
⋯ GREG GRAINGER
greg tends grow quiet, almost closing in on himself and trying his best to get through the rest of his shift before going home. the second walks through the door, he’s immediately finding wherever you are in your shared home and latching onto you with already tear blurred eyes. he doesn’t really want to talk about it just yet, just needs to hear you talk gently to him and hold him close. he’’l eventually come clean about what took place, but he needs his own time to think through what had happened
if you were being honest with yourself, you would have taken a bullet for anyone in the mc -- they were your family and the amount of things they had done for you and vice versa, it was only the right thing to do
so when you do end up taking a bullet for jax’s son, abel, pretty much all hell breaks loose. depending on where you’ve been hit obviously renders a different response. although, those around you are still rightfully panicked as you’re loaded into a car with many hands already pressing against the wound and letting you rest against their shoulder
as you’re getting stitched up, the waiting room fills with the rest of the mc, with jax anxiously pacing until word is given that you are cleared for guest visits. he’s the first one down the hallway, practically bursting into the room before wrapping you up in a hug
he’s mindful of your wound, muttering how thankful he is for you, with a small warning that you shouldn’t ever do something that stupid ever again. he really can’t lose you, and to for that to happen would absolutely devastate him.
he kisses you on the forehead, before waving for the rest of the club into the room to greet you. all poking at you lightly before either patting you on the shoulder or hugging you gently.
leaving abel the last to see you, to which he quickly climbs up into the hospital bed beside you. wrapping himself up next to you tightly, and muttering how he was scared to lose you too. father like son, the two stay with you until you’re given the all clear to go home. both thankful you’ve made it through another day and you can come home with them
it’s the headcanons and two chapters of firefly today. then starting tomorrow through the 27th is all fics. sorry for all this taking so long to finally post 🥴💗
kevin is confident in himself, and you. nothing really gets to him -- after all, he’s a pretty easy going guy and unless something truly strikes him at his core, he won’t get upset. instead, brightly smiling and waving the person off without a care in the world.
plus, he knows your feelings for him and how head over heels you are for him, so seeing someone swoop in to strike up a conversation with you isn’t going to send him tumbling off the edge. instead, he lingers back a bit, watching on as you and this person begin a conversation
he watches for anything odd -- signs that you are starting to become uncomfortable, the person you are talking to is overstepping a boundary that you maybe can’t see, or anything else that may raise some concern
if it gets to that point, he’s up from wherever he was. appearing at your side with a swift kiss to your forehead and an arm thrown around your shoulders before looking over at the person in front of you, “sup man.”
whether or not the person choses to leave is up to them -- kevin won’t be the one to tell them so. instead, laying on the affection thick until you suddenly look back and find that person gone
kevin will laugh, shrug his shoulders before guiding you back over to where he was and linger around you until it’s time to go home.
⋯ NOTE ; if you are under the age of 18, do not interact [ nsfw content under cut ] this content is strictly for those 18+ ; any minors // ageless // blank blogs interacting with this post will be blocked
a = aftercare [ what they’re like after sex ]
erin is very keen on aftercare and it’s truly were she shines -- consider it as her way of showing love and affection. if you didn’t manage to render her limbs to jello, she’s the first one up and to the bathroom. either to grab you warm washcloth or get a bath started for the both of you
with the washcloth, she gently wipes the both of you down, before cuddling up next to you and lavishing you with kisses. otherwise, she’ll guide you to the bath and let you rest back against her in the tub. hands skimming along your sides until you’re fully relaxed and ready to get out
alternatively, if she’s still shaking from the aftershocks of her orgasm, then you’ll gladly take over caring for her and making sure she’s well loved
b = body part [ their favorite body part of theirs, and also their partner’s ]
herself — she’s at odds on what she would consider to be her ‘favorite’ body part, and if asked, she doesn’t really have an answer to give unless given some time to actually think about it. so, she would probably say something like her hands or mouth -- both she feels can adequately give her partner pleasure, while not feeling to overly cocky about choosing something else
you — she would probably say something simple like your eyes. and to be fair, it’s the first thing she noticed when the two of you first met. she likes look you in the eyes, whether just to obverse or during intimate moments, it’s something that she will always look for
c = cum [ anything to do with cum basically…i’m a disgusting person ]
doesn’t have to many problems with getting a little dirty with cum, whether it be on her lips, fingers, or other body parts. with respect to anatomy, she does’t mind if her partners cum inside of her -- so long as both are on the same page before hand.
d = dirty secret [ pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs ]
while she wouldn’t ever outwardly say it, she does like the idea of using her position as a intelligence detective and the tools that come with it. it’s more of a role-play situation, but she’s a little too embarrassed to bring it up as she typically likes to keep work and pleasure separate.
e = experience [ how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing? ]
erin has experience with a few partners, more so with male partners than female and non-binary partners. she does, to an extent, know what she’s doing in the realm of bringing pleasure to someone, but she’s not afraid to keep learning to make sure whatever partner she’s with is well taken care of on her part
f = favorite position [ this goes without saying ]
missionary — she likes the intimacy of the position, getting to see your eyes and watch your facial expressions with each movement and kiss. it’s truly something that blesses her eyes and brings her the most warmth
cowgirl — one of her own favorite positions considering she can take control and tell you what to do, for the most part.plus, it’s another position she can use to look into your eyes
g = goofy [ are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc ]
there are some moments where erin can be a little humorous in the moment. such as if the two of you bump noses or one of you falls over while trying to get their jeans or shirt off -- basically just moments to keep the other from feeling embarrassed. otherwise, she tends to take any and all sexual encounters seriously. wanting to make sure that nothing is lost in translation and every little sign of discomfort is taken instantly
h = hair [ how well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc ]
erin tends to switch between how she keeps her hair groomed down there -- usually it comes down to whether she has time to do it or if she truly cares about the state it’s in. sure, she went through a phase during some of her earlier sexual encounters where she felt she needed to be completely hairless. but now, she’s happy enough to keep things trimmed enough to make it look well kept
i = intimacy [ how are they during the moment, romantic aspect… ]
erin can be very romantic both in and outside of the bedroom -- she loves planning things for her partner and giving them all the attention they deserve. when she truly finds someone she loves, then she will constantly pour her heart out with every single bit of love she has
j = jack off [ masturbation headcanon ]
more often than not, erin will take her needs into her own hands and bring herself pleasure. she doesn’t find it taboo or something to be ashamed of -- though there is a small level of embarrassment if she is walked in on, but she’s not going to shy away if her partner opts to stay at her side
k = kink [ one or more of their kinks ]
switch — erin is a switch when it comes to bedroom. she doesn’t have an issue with relinquishing control over to you, or taking it back if she feels that things aren’t quite going the way she’s wanting them to
brat tamer — a very rare thing to take place, but she does like it when you get a little bratty or snippy with her. it gets her going like no other and just wants to put you back into your place. knowing that’s what you want her to do
l = location [ favorite places to do the do ]
prefers to keep all activity confined to either her’s or your housing -- not wanting to be anywhere too public and risk someone walking in on the both of you. however, all locations within said home are fair game for use
m = motivation [ what turns them on, gets them going ]
it doesn’t take a lot to really get erin going, however she’s really good at hiding it. that being said, seeing you in a nice pair of jeans, confidence -- in the since that if you do your hair, makeup, or feel happy to try something new, she’s going to light up
n = no [ something they wouldn’t do, turn offs ]
she’s wouldn’t do anything that would case any sort of harm -- mental or physical, and has to draw lines when things start to get a little real or close to things she does at her job
o = oral [ preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc ]
giving — is more up for giving than receiving. but likes both quite equally. in this scenario, she likes to bring pleasure to her partner. she’s well versed with her mouth, and always taking note of what exactly makes you tick and jump
receiving — erin loves receiving just as much as she enjoys giving, and if you are dead set on reducing her to a pile of mush, then why would she stop you? just getting to feel you love on her is enough, and after all is set and done, she’s quick to swoop in for a kiss
p = pace [ are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc. ]
pace is all dependent on the mood the both of you are feeling for the night / day. erin loves a good sweet and gentle love making session, but she’s also not opposed to having her back blown out, or blowing your back out in turn. she likes to take things as they are and is happy to provide either way
q = quickie [ their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc. ]
erin has had a few quickies in her lifetime, and while they were invigorating and enjoyable, she felt they already weren’t quite ‘enough’ and still jumped her previous partners later to finally feel sated. so, they aren’t going to be something she is going to bring up. however, if her partner is into something like that, she’ll be happy to give her partner some pleasure quickly
r = risk [ are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc. ]
there isn’t a lot of room for risks in erin’s pleasure -- as she always wants to keep it safe. essentially, she’s not going to branch out from the box the the two of you have created for the sake of “changing things up a bit”. instead, she will always ask before anything is ever started to make sure it’s something you both are alright with
s = stamina [ how many rounds can they go for, how long do they last… ]
erin’s usually only good for one round, but she ensures that both of you are coming at least a couple of times before calling it quits for the night. she likes to put all of her pleasure and energy into one good, drawn out round rather than brake it up into multiple rounds. but, she’s not opposed to doing another round a few hours later if that's what her partner wants
t = toy [ do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves? ]
erin owns a few toys herself, a mix between vibrators and some dildos that she likes to use on herself. and she definitely doesn’t bat an eye if you use some toys yourself and might even ask if you want to incorporate them into the bedroom only if you’re comfortable with something like that
u = unfair [ how much do they like to tease ]
erin can be a tease when she’s in the mood for it. if she’s in the mood to rile you up either in public or in private, she’ll do it and enjoy every second of it. she’ll do this if she’s feeling particularly needy and doesn’t really want to voice it -- rather she wants you to chase after her and follow whatever she’s doing. she does this by leaning herself against ht kitchen counters, purposefully arching her back and presenting herself. or, she’ll pull a nice lacey set from her small, yet impactful drawer of lingerie and strut around the apartment in it
v = volume [ how loud they are, what sound they make ]
erin doesn't say or make a whole lot of sound. i’ve always pictured her at the type who was relatively quiet in bed and tended to hold back from making any noises. nothing specific on why, more so just a feeling. so, you won’t hear much from her during the act
w = wild card [ get a random headcanon for the character of your choice ]
erin, since becoming intimate with you, always tries to wear something cute under her clothes as a added bit of spice. ever heard of that “matching set means they were expecting to have sex that night”? erin starting doing that, but it morphed into where she felt confident wearing them so she just made sure they were still comfortable to wear on the run
x = x-ray [ let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words ]
i feel like this is geared more towards male anatomy, so i’m just going to leave this blank :)
y = yearning [ how high is their sex drive? ]
erin has a medium to low sex drive -- meaning, she’s not opposed to having sex a few times during the week, but often times she’s so weighted with work that she tends to forget all about it. however, it does work out in her favor most of the time, as by the end of her work week, she can’t seem to keep her hands off of you and it leads to many weekends spent in bed
z = zzz [ how quickly they fall asleep afterward ]
erin is always down for some form of pillow talk. she’s typically not one to fall asleep immediately and still finds herself well awake after your couple of rounds in the sheets together. she’ll stay up with you, smiling and holding you close as the two of you talk about anything and everything that comes to mind.
however, that’s not to say she wouldn’t keep you up if she happens to notice that you are tired. if that’s the case, then she’ll just press a soft kiss to your lips and let you roll over to catch a few z’s. and eventually, she’ll follow suit.
i’m sorry but did u delete among the flowers? was that an ellie fic?
it's okay :) among the flowers was an ellie fic, and i did delete it as it was in my queue with the intentions of me sitting down to write it. however, i've been without power for the better part of two weeks, and have been dealing with getting my house and family back in order following that -- that's texas winter weather for ya
i'm sorry for any confusion, i have a goal of getting things out this weekend -- possibly starting friday, where i'll post all the fics that posted similarly and the others that keep jumping around the queue as i tried to keep things from posting on my phone whenever i had a good charge
⋯ SUMMARY ; the outskirts of the quarantine zone are trivial to navigate, and you are slowly starting to find out just how difficult this mission is about to become the longer you trek towards the capitol building
⋯ WARNINGS ; canon divergence, tw [ mentions of death, infected, guns, getting bit, blood ], some soft moments + mature language
“home sweet home...” tess utters, knocking rhythmically against the wooden door before working a series of locks open. tess’ route back to the warehouse located on the edge of the zone had taken a lot longer to get back to than anticipated. soldiers had practically swarmed the streets after the checkpoint explosion -- something she made sure to comment about at the first sight of the heavily armored platoons lining the streets. which had only earned her a slight glare from yourself before moving on.
the door swung open and tess was quick to announce herself, “hey. sorry it took so long. soldiers. fucking everywhere.”
“how’s marlene?” a voice -- ellie, questioned quickly with concern dripping into her tone before being offered a short smile from tess, “she’ll make it.” the answer was short, but seemed to do enough to stem the girl’s worries about her friend before turning toward joel with a wild smirk, “i saw the merchandise. it’s a lot. wanna do this?”
“yeah, but first...” he seemed to hesitate before continuing, “who’s this?” joel questions, frown lines deepening as his gaze falls where you stand just behind tess. your name rolls off her tongue easily as she waves her hand in your direction, “marlene sent her as insurance -- she’s taking over once we get to the capitol. they're expecting her to be there.”
“this was not what we agreed to! smuggling two girls outta of the zone? is marlene out of her mind?!” joel’s quick spout of anger is quickly diminished by tess’ heated glare, however, the anger is still evident on his features, “don’t you think it’s a bit strange that they're having us do their smuggling?”
“marlene wanted to do it herself. we weren’t their first choice, or the second for that matter. but it’s apparent she trusts this girl to make sure things run smoothly.” tess counters, shoulders shrugging slightly as she nods over towards you with a light smile, “besides, from what i hear, it’s not her first time out of the zone.”
“well, let’s just hope someone’s around to pay us.” joel grunts, following the group of girls into the other room. he brings up the rear, making sure each one of them makes it through the cutout in the wall before stepping over to the generator powering the lift.
“who’s waiting for us at the drop off?” he questions after the lift lowers the group down to the subfloor of the old apartment building -- one of the few unblocked entrances into the zone left untouched by fedra goons. “she said there’s some fireflies that have traveled all the way from another city. girl must be important.”
joel nods, turning his gaze towards you with a raised brow, “anything you want to add before we get started?”
you look up from the floor, arms crossing over your chest as you shake your head, “i probably know just as much as you do.” and for the most part, it was the truth. you, honest to god, had no clue why marlene wanted ellie escorted out of the zone. no reasoning was ever given and you definitely wasn’t going to ask. as for what you did know, it simply came down to knowing who exactly they were meeting at the capitol as it wasn’t too strange that a squad from another city had traveled in for the meet up, “great.”
once the lift comes to a halt, you step off the platform and follows after tess, lingering behind her and ellie as she takes a few looks around -- not at all familiar with this way out of the zone.
“how long is this all gonna take?” comes ellie’s question, her eyes glancing between the three other members of the group before tess shrugs, “if everything goes as planned, we should get you both to them in a few hours.” the answer seems to satisfy the girl again and the four make their way towards a ladder that leads to the ground above, “ellie, once we get out there, i need you to follow our lead and stay close.”
joel is the first up the ladder, hand pressing against the wooden panel that covers the entrance. he spares a quick glance around before climbing up and through. you are next, quickly climbing up the ladder and taking up an outlook position as the last two of the group join.
“this rain ain’t gonna do us any good.” joel comments, hand raising to shield his eyes from the onslaught of rain coming down around the city. it had been some time since you had been outside the walls, with your last run to an outpost just outside of boston having been almost four months ago and it seemed the travel times outside the walls were getting further apart as tensions continued to raise between the fireflies and fedra.
“holy shit... i’m actually outside.” ellie smiles, briefly locking eyes with you -- receiving a soft smile in return before being ushered forward, leaving you to bring up the rear alongside tess. you followed after joel, down and through what looked to have been some old sewage lines, all rapidly filling with water from the rain pouring down from above. this was definitely going to make the journey only slightly more miserable with the current given conditions.
you continued after joel and ellie, following them both up the length of an old semi trailer, only to curse a few seconds later when a fedra soldier pops out from nowhere and butts joel with the end of her rifle before lining the barrel up with the rest of the group, “don’t do anything stupid.”
heavy steps sound from behind, another fedra soldier with his gun drawn and pointed at tess’ back, “move.” he commands, ushering the girls out of the trailer and onto solid ground.
he gestures pointedly with his gun, “turn around. on your knees.” you drop to your knees beside tess, hands already raising above your head with the hopes the medallion of your necklace isn’t visible anywhere -- knowing damn well that the second either of the soldiers see, it’s an instant bullet to the head.
“you scan them, i’ll call it in.” the female soldier orders, stepping just a few paces away to talk into her radio as her partner steps forward with a scanner, “this is ramirez at sector twelve. requesting pick up for four stragglers.”
the male soldier slowly goes down the line, pressing the device against the back of each person's neck and only moving on when it comes back clear of infection. however, as he gets down to ellie, you quickly notice the girl grow antsy -- muttering something under her breath before she whips around and drives her knife into the calf of the soldier behind her.
you scramble, gun already in your hands and making the shot at the female soldier behind you and tess before turning to find joel apprehending the other with a single blow to the head.
your blood runs cold as panic slowly begins to set in -- this wasn’t how things were supposed to go. shooting soldiers and making a mess on the outside wall wasn’t how things were supposed to go. but your best guess is that this had to happen, otherwise they’d be carted back inside the walls.
your gaze turns toward ellie, who’s braced herself up against an old box as she slowly begins to panic herself, “oh fuck... fuck! i thought we were just gonna hold them up or something.” both tess and joel look about ready to rip into the younger girl when tess’ gaze drops to the scanner that lay at her feet.
“oh shit.” she mutters looking down at the reading, before tossing it over to joel, “look at this.” he catches the device effortlessly, eyes widening as he too reads over the reading before anger flashes over his face.
“jesus christ. marlene set us up?” he questions, almost distressed, tess only able to offer a shrug of her shoulders as she attempts to comprehend the turn of events. “why the hell are we smuggling an infected girl?”
your gaze drops to ellie, before snatching the device from joel’s hands to read it for yourself. brows furrowing before shaking the device -- hoping to some higher power that this thing was wrong. yet, the scan doesn’t change in the slightest.
“did you know about this?” tess questions you quietly with the briefest twinge of anger already beginning to lace her tone. though it disappears the second you shake your head, shoulders sagging as you turn to face away from the conversation. this whole trip was slowly starting to not make any sense and doubt was slowly starting to fill in the pit of your gut.
“i’m not infected!” ellie yells, hands held out in front of her as joel scoffs at her, “no? so this is lying?” he states, pointing towards the device in your hands with an angered expression.
“i can explain!” she states, pleading for the rest of the group to listen as tess and joel slowly start to crowd around her. “you better explain fast.” tess growls, gun already in her hand as she takes a step toward ellie in a menacing fashion.
“look at this!” her hand pushing the sleeve of her shirt up her arm to show off the healed over bite mark on her forearm. joel scoffs again, “i don’t care how you got infected...”
“it’s three weeks old...” ellie states, looking between the two in front of her, before tess quickly cuts her off with the shake of her head, “no. everyone turns within two days. so you stop bullshiting.”
“it’s three weeks. i swear. why would she set you up?” ellie pleads again with the group, knowing that this could very well end badly if they chose to leave her here. sure, she knows tess and joel would disappear without another word, but you? she wasn’t sure. you had been assigned to make sure she got to the capitol by marlene -- you wouldn’t abandon the orders you are given... right?
“i ain’t buying it.” joel sighs, turning away from the girl before spotting the humvee of fedra reinforcements approaching their location.“oh shit... tess. run.”
you jut forward, grasping ellie by the upper arm before pulling her along after the two smugglers. the group traverses through some of the old tunnels and sewage pipes -- wanting to avoid running into any and all fedra soldier now that they know two of their own were killed.
alarms and lights lit up the area around them, making avoiding the mass of fedra soldiers all that more difficult, “there’s so many of them out here. how are we going to get around them?” ellie whispers from your side, shouldering herself up against the broken piece of concrete as lights flooded the area below in search of the four of you.
“they ain’t spotted us yet -- quick, over this way.” joel states, waving for the rest of you to follow after him. it takes a few minutes to navigate the old sewers, and there are a few times where you feel yourself holding your breath as you wait to see if the fedra soldier had caught any of your movements, only to move on and call out to their team.
you slide into an area, pausing abruptly when humvee’s pass over a large grate, before joel ushers you into an area where it seems you all could get a grasp on what was going on, “alright... they're gone.”
“okay, what was the plan? let’s say that we deliver you to the fireflies, what then?” tess questions, looking between you and ellie as the latter settles to the ground under her. you can only shrug, only knowing to get ellie to the capitol -- you’re next orders would come from the team lead.
ellie sighed, “marlene... she said that they have their own little quarantine zone. with doctors there; still trying to find a cure.”
joel huffs out a disbelieving laugh while shaking his head, “yeah, we’ve heard that before, huh, tess?” there’s a slight glare sent his way before tess motions for ellie to continue with a lopsided smile, “and that... whatever happened to me is the key to finding a vaccine.”
“oh jesus.” joel curses, huffing out a laugh as ellie stares at him disbelief, “it’s what she said.” and once again, it seemed her words had fallen on deaf ears as joel shakes his head and all but waves her off, “oh, i’m sure she did.”
“hey! fuck you, man! i didn’t ask for this!” ellie yells, quickly standing from her seated position and walking a few paces to get in his face, only to be dragged back by your hand at her bicep with a swift shake of the head. she seemed to deflate at the action and muttered something under her breath as joel seemed to continue.
“tess, what the hell are we doing here?” he questions, now looking over at his partner with the hope that she wasn't buying into what was being said. however, the hopeful look in her eyes give the exact opposite response as she shrugged, “what if it’s true?”
“i can't....” joel scoffs in disbelief, shaking his head as tess takes another step towards him, “what if it’s true, joel? we’ve come this far, let’s just finish it.”
“do i need to remind you what is out there?” he growls out, making a point gesture as tess’ face seems to twist up in slight upset, “oh, i get it.” she hisses, brushing past her partner. leaving both you and ellie to follow right after her. and after a few paces, joel dutifully joins at the back.
“this way! if we cut through downtown, we can make it to the capitol by sunrise.” tess calls over her shoulder, pointing towards the highway ninety sign. the roads leading towards downtown look about the same as the wasteland closer to the quarantine zone.
“holy moly! i guess this is what these buildings look like up close. they're so damn tall.” ellie mutters, looking up and around at the leaning buildings before turning towards tess with a curious gaze, “so... what happened here?”
“they bombed the hell out of the surrounding areas close to the quarantine zones. hoping to take out as much of the infected as possible. it worked.” tess answered, earning a laugh from joel as you all continued down between the dilapidated buildings.
a loud crack of thunder seemed to stir up some of the infected, the noises seemed to scare ellie, who jumped almost a foot in the air and quickly cozied up to your side, “ah, what the hell was that?”
“tess, you hear that?” joel asked from behind, and tess nodded, “yeah, sounded pretty far away though.” the only tough part about trying to figure out where those sounds came from was that it could have been from anywhere. which made this situation all the more troubling.
“are we safe?” ellie questions, looking over at tess as she asks this, knowing that she would be upfront and honest with her, “for now... come on.” you continue to follow her up a slope, that later banks off and then drops over the edge, “damn, that's quite a drop.”
“there’s the capitol building over there.” joel points off into the distance, with the crest of the capitol just over the tilted towers. ellie’s shoulders seem to sag as she observes just how far off the end goal seems to be.
“yeah, we need to get around this mess...” tess states, shaking her head at the sad state of the outside area before moving back and away from the edge she’s standing on.
“this is the downtown area?” ellie questions, looking up at what she could only assume to be an old office building -- just like the ones she’s seen in the textbooks from the military school. tess nods softly, “was. now it’s just a giant wasteland.”
the path leads up to the courtyard, a part of the old building already starting to give away. with the windows and doors already open giving easy access to the lower floors of the building. joel is the first to enter, climbing up and into the building before cursing loudly, “hey, tess!”
tess quickly rushes up the rest of the way, coming to stop at joel’s side before shaking her head at the sight of the freshly mailed fedra officer leaning up against the wall, “he’s been ripped apart. body’s pretty fresh.” this body would only further complicate things -- it meant the building they are in had infected roaming around it’s halls, and that it was going to be a task and a half to navigate through.
“is that bad?” ellie asks from your side, looking over the body with a slight grimace as tess and joel share a look, “yeah, it might be. let’s not stick around.”
at her command, everyone began moving up the stairs, already wanting to put this building behind them until joel stops again, “ah! another one... shit!” with a shake of his head, he kneels down next to the body, pulling the small orders paper from his grasp and reading it over, “looks like these guys died waiting for backup.”
so, it meant whatever had killed them was still lingering around in the building. and it now meant you were all going to have to deal with it when the time came. the thing with infected was they liked to hide and aside from the obvious noise they tended to make, most of their attacks were made using the cover of darkness. and that only complicated things more.
sighing heavily, you continued up the flight of stairs, keeping watch for anything that moved or made noise. you slowly continued to crepe through the building, mainly climbing the stairs until you could find a room that took you down the length of the building. the first room like this you came across was on the fifth level, yet, had a bit of an obstacle keeping all of you from continuing further.
“god dammit! clicker...” joel curses, looking over the clicker attached to the wall and doorframe. tendrils spreading from its form and crawling up the walls around it. “jeez... what’s wrong with its face?”
“that’s what years of infection with do to you.” tess explains, gesturing wildly at the face with a displeased look. to most people’s knowledge, there were still some things roaming around that had gotten infected twenty years ago -- as to what state they were in at the time, no one really knows, but to get to this point, you’d had to be infected for at least a few years.
“so what, are they blind?” ellie asks, watching intently as joel attempts to force the door open. having to break the crusted growths that had attached themselves along the wall. a few solid hits of his shoulder against the door managed to pop it open and he ushered you all through.
“sort of, they see using sound.” tess states, as ellie perks up at the piece of information, “like bats?” to which tess nods, “like bats. if you hear one clicking, you need to hide. it means it’s right behind you.”
the next room you move into is oddly steep, and coupled with a violent shake of the building as you almost slipping back down towards the windows behind you, “whole building seems like it’s getting ready to fall apart. watch your head.” joel calls over his shoulder and you manage to steady yourself enough as the next shake takes place.
“totally cool... everything is totally cool.” ellie mutters to herself, sticking close to you and tess as the building continues to shake around you. once it settles, a look is shared among the group -- silent confirmations of safety as joel and tess move forward.
the next door is similar to the other, only this time it takes both joel and tess to push the door open -- watching with confusion as a large metal desk gets pushed away from the door before falling off the edge.
“joel!” tess yells in warning seconds before joel gets tackled by a clicker. you instinctively usher ellie behind you, hand already braced against the handle of your gun as tess shoots forward, kicking the clicker off joel and stepping down on the center of its chest before shooting it twice in the head.
“you alright?” ellie calls from over your shoulder, eyes wide with worry as joel quickly brushes her off, “it’s nothing.”
“lets search for supplies.” tess calls, before moving into the adjacent room and searching along the rows of office desks for anything useful. ellie follows in behind her, “shit! that was intense!”
“you said it.” tess mutters, shaking her head at just how close of a call that had been. you enter into the small office area, following tess’ suggestion to try and find some supplies. and you manage to find a few things, and combined with the stuff you had in your backpack, was enough to make a med kit. to which you turn towards joel, holding the pack out to him with a small smile.
“thanks.” he states quietly, wrapping the gaze around the length of his forearm before moving on and behind tess and ellie -- who have moved onto the next area.
it’s another set of stairs, however, it seems that you’ll have to scale a wall much taller than the ones previous. joel drops down, bracing himself against the wall before waving for tess. he lifts her up, making sure she’s up and over before waving for ellie to go next. once she’s up, you’re next and once your foot is placed in the brace of his hands, he lifts you up to grasp tess’ hand to pull you up the rest of the way.
“come on big guy.” tess utters down at her partner, causing you to chuckle lightly at the seemingly sweet words she’s spoken his way. joel jumps, grabbing her outstretched hand and the two of you pull him up and onto the next level.
you watch joel open his mouth, possibly getting ready to point out the direction the rest of you need to continue in, when clicks sound from the next room. “clickers?!” ellie screeches, before quickly being quieted by tess, who pulls the girl by her arm. joel ushers you in front of him, shouldering you behind a large desk right behind ellie and tess just as the first clicker comes bounding through the door.
you duck further when the clicker hovers just on the other side of the desk, the rhythmic clicks searching for any sign of life that it had followed in. when it steps back, walking towards the back part of the room, you watch tess reach down to her side, silently picking up a discarded bottle, before chucking it over the desk and letting it crash against the floor.
the clicker screeches, walking towards where the bottle had landed, and using the distraction to your advantage, tess waves you all to follow her down the length of desks and around the corner.
another bottle goes flying -- this time away from the blocked doorway tess quietly points out to all of you, and the clicker goes running towards the sound as before. once over and safe on the other side, your shoulders sag in relief, “you two alright?” tess questions after a second, looking between the two of you for any signs of distress.
“other than shitting my pants? i’m fine.” ellie jokes, earning a soft chuckle from you as you nod, signaling that you are fine and ready to move forward. tess smiles, “alright. lets go.”
“the stairwell’s blocked. should we go back up?” ellie obversely looks down at the pile of desks and chairs that block the way down to the lower levels. you step forward, looking over the railing and shrugging your shoulders, “we could go over...”
joel does just that, and with a bit of struggle, manages to pull the large filing cabinet out from under the crushed stairwell. allowing enough space for everyone to slide through to the other side, “there you go, ladies.”
tess slides over the railing first, followed by ellie and then by yourself. it’s an odd obstacle and your aren’t surprised when you manage to catch the toe of your boot on a stray piece of metal. a hand grasps the handle of your backpack, preventing you from falling flat on your face before pulling you upright, “thanks.” you mutter as joel comes around you, “don’t worry about it.”
then you catch tess climbing over the railing onto some scaffolding -- something you definitely didn’t trust with the way it groaned under the new weight being placed on it after all those years, “ah! this is crazy...” ellie states, looking over at tess as if she was crazy.
“just don’t look down.” tess replies easily, already moving off the first platform and onto the next. ellie shakes her head, before reluctantly climbing over the railing and wincing when it groans underneath her, “are you serious?”
ellie’s moments are slow, and almost calculated as she follows after tess. it’s evident this isn’t something she had seen herself doing when marlene had dropped her off to tess and joel earlier that day, and she was hoping that this was going to be the last daring thing she had to do before getting to the capitol building.
you climbed over once ellie made it to the other platform, hating how the rain managed to make the metal slippery and only that much more difficult to navigate. however, you were quicker to get across the platforms, rushing by tess and ellie as they waited for you and joel to enter in behind them.
screams echo from the next section of the building has you all stopping in your tracks as tess looks back at joel, “runners.”
“i’ll go check it out. stay with the girls.” joel orders, before dropping down to the next level. you slowly watch as joel quietly takes out the dozen or so runners throughout the lower complex. and the three of you only follow down to the same level once joel gives the all clear.
getting out and onto the street made you sigh in relief, and you’re almost happy to see the ground once more after spending those horrible few hours in that office building.
the rest of you follow joel over towards a shutter door, waiting patiently as he pulls on the chain to lift the door up for the rest of you to get through. until tess drops a hand to his shoulder with a concerned expression, “what? i don’t hear anything...” until something perks at her ears and she whips back around to joel, “double time it.”
“they're coming!” ellie yells from behind you, and you quickly shove her towards the gate, sliding under the metal door and securing her away as tess and joel barely make it through as the runners butt up against the gate.
“there’s something on your foot.” ellie points out, and you look down, finding a hand still gripped on joel’s boot -- something he’s quick to shake away before continuing further into the building.
walking and climbing through the shipping area, you’re able to deduct that the group ended up in a museum of sorts. entirely based on the old vases and some of the overturned exhibits, “this would have been so cool to see before the world went to shit. i always liked museums -- never been to one but all my books made them seem cool.” you state looking over everything. there’s a slight noise of agreement from joel, who quickly exits the area and moves further through the building as ellie and tess follow behind him.
the next room seems to have collapsed, and joel steadies himself under a few of the planks, lifting them before urging everyone through. however, his grasp and the rest of the ceiling slips down before you’re able to get through, trapping you and joel together on one side.
“joel!” tess calls from the other side, concern dripping into her voice as you move to sit ip, “we’re alright! we’ll make our way around -- “ his sentence overlapped with screeches of clickers running towards the sound. ellie and tess disappear from view and joel helps you back to your feet before ushering for you to follow him.
the both of you quietly sneak through the old building, not knowing where the infected exactly were, meaning you’d have to be quiet to avoid getting swarmed by runners and possibly clickers.
the first door you entered, runners stood around the different displays, scratching at their eyes as the infection coursed through them, “take them out quietly?” you whisper, earning a nod before you move through the room. slowly but quickly taking out each infected person by driving your knife through the bottom of their jaw or cheek.
eventually the two of you were able to clear the room, and joel whistled slightly from beside you, “that was... impressive.” joel mutters, giving you a slight nod just as he passes you up the stairs.
“i told you at the beginning i wasn’t going to slow anyone down.” you state, shooting him a slight smile before pausing as a runner rammed itself up against a blocked door. its continuous action told you that tess and ellie were just on the other side.
joel quickly took care of the runner, before opening the door. you called tess’ name as you watched her struggle for a short time with the runner, before breaking the wood plank against it’s head and knocking him to the ground.
“are you alright?” you question as you cross the room, waiting for the older woman to answer before ellie’s voice cuts through from the other room, “guys!”
the three of you went running, and you took out the runner grasping ellie before pulling her behind you as more runners came into the room. the both of you backed away, your gun raised and ready to take down any runner that came your way as tess and joel worked around the room with their own set of infected.
a runner came your way, and you pulled the trigger, blood spattering as the bullet struck its face and the runner went down. ellie’s hands twisted into the back of your shirt, keeping herself practically pressed against you until joel called out to see how everyone was.
her grasp dropped and she was quick to put a little bit of distance between the two of you. you didn’t mind -- you had come to know that people did odd and often stupid things when in fear.
joel guided everyone towards an open window -- ushering everyone out and onto the rooftop. you stepped out onto the rooftop, smiling as the dark night sky slowly turned into pale pinks and blues as the sun began to rise.
from your side, joel picked up a long wooden plank. setting it to go across to the next building over. “okay, now watch your step going over as it...” his words trialing off as ellie scoffs at him before walking across the wooden plank with ease. he stares after her in disbelief before motioning for you to go, and you scale along the board right behind ellie before coming to rest at her side.
joel is the next to come across, coming to stop right next to the both of you before gesturing in front of him, “is that everything you hoped for?”
“juries still out... but man, you can’t deny that view.” ellie smiles, staring down at the sunrise cresting just over the tip of the capitol building. an amazingly beautiful sight.
“it gets better once you get away from the city. there aren't any buildings and everything is... quiet. it’s nice.” you mutter, smiling softly as ellie’s eyes seem to widen at the information. and you wonder for a second if she’s gonna get to experience something like that.
“alright. lets keep going.” tess states, brushing past you all. you instantly pick up on her tone, sparing joel a questioning look as he only shrugs his shoulders before tess turns on her heel, “hey! let’s pick it up.”
you quickly cross the roof, following down the ladder right behind ellie, leaving tess and joel to linger on the roof, “hey, we're almost done. let’s stay focused.”
it wasn’t much longer of scaling the rooftops that the group of you made it to the outskirts of the capitol building, “it’s right around this corner. let’s go.” tess calls, already moving down towards the stairs and down them.
“keep moving, kid.” joel pushes ellie forward, and you can tell that she’s starting to get a little nervous with this trip coming to an end. everyone seems to be on edge, and ready for this to all be done -- not that you could blame them. the past few hours had been nothing but stressful and you were ready to take a break yourself.
“look at this.” joel calls from behind you, waving a note in his grasp. apparently he had turned a corner after seeing someone bloodied and huddled up into a corner and you felt your stomach twist seeing the tattoo on his upper arm, “there’s a firefly logo on his arm. what if we get there and they’re all dead?”
“they won’t be.” tess promises, forcing ellie to ask, “how do you know?”
there wasn’t a way to know, but there was a bit of an uneasy feeling already starting to settle in the pit of your stomach, but you couldn't think about something like that. not when you were all so close, “i just do.... fuck, look its gonna be fine.”
after helping everyone up and over the locked gate, joel jumps down from the wood planks running along the top of the gate, turning just enough to watch as the three of you jump down behind him, “alright... home stretch, tess!” with a slight roll of your shoulders, your gaze is drawn up towards the large marble building -- while covered in plant life and rusted to hell from the heavy rains that ran through the area, it still stood proud and tall. still a symbol of the life that had been before.
“um, just so it’s out there... i can’t swim.” ellie calls from behind you, eyeing the water suspiciously before tess motions towards the side of the road closest to the capitol gates, “it looks shallow on the right side, just follow me.” you close in behind her, part of you ready to reach out and grab her from the water should she slip further in -- thankful she’s at least wearing her backpack.
“i’m glad marlene hired you guys...” ellie says after a moment, looking between tess and joel, “what do you mean?” tess questions, looking back over her shoulder at the younger girl with a raised brow.
“i know you guys are getting paid for this... and she’s only here to oversee the trade... i’m trying to say thanks.” the poor thanks earns a soft chuckle from you as you follow tess up the steps of the capitol building, “yeah, sure. no problem.”
joel slides to the front of the group, pushing the doors open with brief hesitation before his shoulders drop, “no!” tess calls from behind, surging forward through the group, “no, no, no!” she shouts dropping next to one of the bloodied bodies of the team you were supposed to meet up with.
you move around the group, looking over the bodies in search of a radio -- hopefully allowing you to radio in and let someone know what had happened. that everything had just failed. but, you curse under your breath as nothing of the sort comes up and you realize that this group was a splinter of another, given that there were only five fireflies laid throughout the floor.
“what happens now?” ellie questions, looking between the three of you now. you slowly stand, walking back towards her with a shake of your head -- you truly didn’t know what to do now.
“what are you doin tess?” joel questions his partner, watching as she digs around the man’s vest, “maybe they had a map. or something to tell us where they were going.” she explains, slowly growing exasperated as nothing starts to come up.
“how far are we going to take this?” joel questions again, frustration growing across his features before tess explodes, “as far as we need to go!”
then, she’s turning towards the two of you, hope slowly flooding her eyes as she looks between you and ellie, “where was this lab of theirs?”
ellie shrugs, “she never said. only mentioned that it was someplace out west.” tess’ eyes glance towards you, “you?”
“i only heard rumors. there was talk about leaving the zone... going where, i’m not sure.” you sigh, arms swinging loosely at your side, “but again, it was all rumors. everything was kept pretty tight lipped.”
you could see the way tess deflated at your words, shoulders sagging as a look of anguish crossed over her features, before twinges of panic started to set in. you take note of how her hands begin to shake slightly, and a part of you wonders why she’s so suddenly dead set on making this work now -- when she hadn’t seemed to care too much about it in the beginning.
“what are we doing here? this is not us...” joel states, eyeing his partner curiously as tess scoffs and shakes her head, “what do you know about us? about me?”
“i know that you are smarter than this.” he growls, pointing towards the decaying body laying at their feet. it’s surprising to see tears slowly build in tess’ eyes, something she’s quick to will down before biting right back at joel, “really? guess what, we're shitty people joel, we’ve been that way for a long time.”
“no, we are survivors.” he reiterates before getting cut off by tess, “this is our chance!” she pleads with him, voice raising just enough that it seems to make joel snap as his face twists in anger, “it is over tess! now we tried, let’s just go home.”
tess’ bottom lip trembles slightly before steeling her nerves and shaking her head, “i’m not... i’m not going anywhere. this is my last stop.”
“what?” joel questions, confusion overtaking his features as tess shrugs her shoulders, “our luck had to run out sooner or later...”
“what are you going on about - “ joel reaches forward, getting ready to comfort his partner until tess jerks herself out of his reach and screeches, “no! don’t touch me!”
“holy shit.... she’s infected.” ellie mutters under her breath, eyes locked completely on tess -- who goes quiet and seems to almost shy away the second the words are out in the open. then the realization dawns on you and your jaw goes slack in shock.
a part of you starts to rack your brain. trying to come up with a scenario and remember when tess would and could have gotten bit. then, you remember how you and joel had burst into a room to find tess fighting off that runner.
“when we got separated in the museum, and we found you later with that runner... that’s when it happened, didn’t it?” the words tumble from your mouth before you can even stop them, but tess’ nod confirms everything.
“let me see...” joel goads, eyes still on tess, “show it to me.”
at his words, tess peels back the collar of her shirt, briefly showing off the bite mark at the curve of her neck and shoulder. joel’s anger quickly drops into one of surprise, “oh, christ!”
“oops, right?” tess scoffs, before crossing the room towards ellie, “give me your arm... this was three weeks. i was bitten an hour ago and it’s already worse. this is fucking real joel!” she takes a step towards joel after dropping ellie’s arm, “you’ve got to get this girl to tommy’s. he use to run with this crew, he’ll know where to go.”
“no, no! this was your crusade! i’m not doing that!” joel states, a mix of emotions already crowding into his tone before tess shakes her head, “yes you are! there’s enough here that you have to feel some sort of obligation for me so you need to get that girl to tommy’s.”
the moment is quickly ended as shouts from outside catches everyone’s attention. you turn, cursing under your breath as fedra soldiers jump out from their vehicles and make their way up towards the capitol building, “they’re here.... i can buy you some time but you have to run.”
“you want us to just leave you here?” ellie asks in disbelief, dread already filling the pit of her stomach as tess nods, “yes.”
joel shakes his head, “tess... there is no way -” his sentence cut off as tess whirls around with a fierce look in her eye, “i will not turn into one of those things!”
then her expression softens, and she takes a small step towards joel, “come on... make this easy for me.” it seems joel tries to make one last attempt to have tess rethink her position which only seems to anger her more before she pushes him away, “no! just go.... just fucking go.”
“ellie...” joel calls her name, slowly backing away from tess as the younger girl begins to rapidly apologize, “i’m sorry, i didn’t mean for this...” she pleads, looking between joel and tess, only getting a small smile from the older woman before joel ushers her back, “let’s get a move on... you too! lets go!”
another large set of doors shut behind the three of you, joel shaking his head just before ellie begins to panic, “fuck! i can’t believe we did that!” her hands twist into the strands of hair framing her face, eyes filled with anguish as joel shook his head, “stop...”
“we just left her to die!” ellie exclaims again, hoping the maybe it would cause either of you do turn around and do something, but it seemed there was no going back now as joel turned to her with a rage-filled glare, “stop! you two stay close to me. we need to move.” he states before turning towards you, “you with us?”
“yes...” you answer back, already moving to pull your gun into your hand, “good, stay close and follow my lead.”
he leads you both up the steps, and you find yourself lingering at the top when the doors burst open and you hear gunfire rain through the building before an explosion gets set off -- and then silence. you and ellie share a solemn look before joel urges you both to continue.
you’re almost instantly met with more fedra soldiers that come flooding down the hallways, all shouting commands. you spare a glance towards joel, trying to see what the game plan would be in taking out these soldiers -- to which he brings his finger to his lips before motioning for the two of you to follow.
you’re not entirely sure how he’s able to do it, but slowly, the three of you sneak past the entirety of the fedra squad roaming around the building. and you nearly have to keep yourself from laughing aloud when they make their reports and frustratingly state they haven’t found anything.
you sneak past the last two soldiers, and head towards the door leading out of the building. “there’s stairs over there.” ellie points out across the street -- an old metro access tunnel. you follow after joel, making sure ellie stays in your sights and ever present in front of you.
the moment you start down stairs, shouts and an engine revving shoots fear down the length of your spine, “fuck! run!” you shout to joel and ellie in front of you, just as a spray of bullets starts to rain down into the old subway station.
you continue to run, only stopping long enough to pull your mask from your bag when joel calls out spores coming up ahead. with your mask secure, you trail around behind joel and ellie, taking up a hiding spot behind an old desk booth. narrowly missing the fedra officer that rounds the corner just as you do so.
“how the hell are you breathing in this stuff?” joel questions from beside you, and with a confused face, you turn to find ellie without a mask -- a part of you panics for a moment as you get ready to root through your bag for a spare mask until you remember her bit mark. so, she really was infected. then ellie shakes her head, “i wasn’t lying to you.”
as more fedra officers flood into the subway, you realize that there wasn’t going to be an easy way to sneak through this time around. you pull your gun from your waistband, cursing under your breath when you notice the amount of bullets you have left, “try and take them out quietly, i’m sure they’ve got some extras on them. only use that if you need to.”
you nod, looking over at ellie and motioning for her to stay close as you and joel slowly work through the squad of soldiers, occasionally hearing her praise the takedown or warning you about the someone coming up that you maybe didn't see.
the next obstacle comes in trying to get out of the subway, and finding that some of the tunnels were flooded and getting across was proving to be a little difficult, “is now a good time to remind you two that i can’t swim?” ellie asks staring out over the water before turning back towards you and joel.
“there’s a wooden pallet over there, joel or i could push you on it and you can let down that ladder.” you state, gesturing down towards the pallet and then towards the drawn up ladder on the other side.
“sounds good to me.” joel jumps down into the water, nearly gasping at how cool is was before swimming over to grab the pallet. he circles back around, and waits as ellie gets atop the wooden pallet. joel then gently moves the pallet to the other side, discarding it the second she unlatches the ladder.
you follow over, cursing loudly when you finally dip into the water -- earning a chuckle from ellie as you swim over to the other side and quickly climb up the ladder to follow the both of them out.
the three of you step out from the subway tunnel, your hands already pulling your mask from your face and taking a deep breath of the outside air. joel coughs a few times to the side of you, settling atop an old box as he racks his brain on what to do next.
“look... about tess...” ellie begins, hands twisting nervously before joel’s gaze lifts to lock with her own and fire lights behind his eyes, “here’s how this thing is gonna work out. you don’t bring up tess, ever. let’s just keep our histories to ourselves. secondly, don’t tell anyone about your... condition. they’re gonna think you’re crazy and kill you. and lastly, you do what i say, when i say it. we clear?”
ellie sighs, “sure.”
“repeat it.” joel growls, earning another sigh from the girl before crossing her arms over her chest and fixing him with her own hard look, “what you say goes.”
“what about you?” joel now questions you, wanting to see where you stand since the sudden turn of events. not like any of what had just happened was anticipated when your orders had been given, so he needed to know that everyone was on the same page before moving on, “i don’t have much of a choice in the matter. and considering that i never oversaw her being handed off, my orders still stand.”
joel scoffs, muttering something under his breath about orders, which causes you to roll your eyes, “you and i are both tasked with getting her to the fireflies, whether you like that or not. besides, i took an oath and i will not be abandoning my post.”
“good, there’s a town a few miles north of here. there’s a fella that owes me a few favors. good chance he could get us a car.” joel stands from his seat, already moving in the direction that you are assuming you’d need to take to get to wherever joel’s friend was located.
“okay.” ellie agreed, followed by your own noise of agreement before joel nods,“lets get a move on.”
series navigation ⇢ [ series masterlist | chapter three ]
Sometime after I sent that post and I went to see some of the other posts you had in the archives, I found the post that had the title for the series in it. It said Firefly.
yep, that’s the one! i’ve also got a link to the series masterlist down at the bottom of the first chapter — just to make it easier for y’all to navigate. and then once i get the next few chapters up between today and tomorrow, there will be a link between those as well ☺️ you had me thinking i should probs change the header i made to include the series title or something 😂
⋯ SUMMARY ; twenty years after the initial outbreak of the cordyceps virus, people are still struggling to survive among the wastelands of the boston quarantine zone. and you are no stranger in having to do what it takes to survive
⋯ WARNINGS ; slight canon divergence, tw [ mentions of death, infection, guns, blood ] + mature language
...you can still rise with us. remember, when you’re lost in the darkness... look for the light. believe in the fireflies…
the distorted audio of the old tape ended, clicking off before a finger pressed the release and pulled the tape from the player. throughout the classroom, the students shifted uncomfortably in their seats as the teacher paced in front of the long whiteboard. hands clasped behind his back before taking a deep breath and steeling his movements, “those are the fireflies. a terrorist organization that seeks to dismantle everything that fedra has built and put in place to keep all of you safe from the outside world.”
“they want to tear everything down, and rebuild the world in their own vision, much like all known dictators who seek to instill control of the masses. they start out kind, wanting to give you hope that you can make things better. that later turns into a reason to fight, because someone is going against those ideals.”
“within these walls we are safe from...” the teacher's voice had long been drowned out after a while. more so out of the anger that was starting to bubble in the pit of your stomach at his words. typical fedra propaganda. your nails bit into the wooden top of your desk, hoping it would relieve the further building tension that was spreading throughout your form as the teacher continued to drawl on about an organization deemed to be terrorists coming to take away everyone’s life.
as if there had been any life worth living since the outbreak of the cordyceps virus. the terrors many told of that still lingered outside the walls of the quarantine zone still posed a large problem everyday, and had been for the past twenty years.
you hadn’t been alive during the initial outbreak -- born a few years or so afterwards, during what was considered the worst time to bring a child into the world. however, your parents hadn’t lasted long past their establishment in the boston quarantine zone -- having given their lives to bring stability and peace back to the now virus ridden wasteland they had once lived happily in.
you never blamed them for what they did. after all, you had found yourself following in their footsteps just a few days after your thirteenth birthday. going through the tasks and initiation to join the ranks of the fireflies. those of which had welcomed you in with open arms.
a loud explosion, followed by the whirling of an alarm cut through the teachers' drawn out speech, scaring you and the rest of your class out of their seats. then, the classroom door swung open, revealing two fedra officers, “you are to return to your dormitories immediately.” with the order laid, you quickly gathered your things and followed the rest of your classmates out and into the hall. headed towards the bridge that connected the school to the dormitories.
there were exclamations from the front of the group, forcing many of those behind them to slow their pace. getting a good look of the large cloud of smoke and fire that had consumed the checkpoint area below.
you cursed to yourself, shoving past the rest of the students in the hall and heading straight for your dorm. shutting and locking the door behind you, and tossing your books atop your mattress. then, kneeled down to grab your backpack hidden under the bunk.
there wasn’t a worry about your roommate returning -- as she was hardly ever in the dorm anymore due to being pulled for some early rotations. something about showing high proficiency during training that had garnered the attention of some of the fedra higher ups. it was utter bullshit in your opinion, but you had managed to bite your tongue whenever she would come bounding into the shared dorm space spouting off about how many fireflies she had shot.
after checking through its contents to ensure everything inside was still in place from the last time you had packed it, you slung the bag over your shoulders. standing from your kneeled position, you walked over to the large poster adorning your wall -- it was a fedra propaganda poster that had come with the room, but had proved an opportune hiding spot for the pendant you only wore around your neck in the safe zone.
you flipped the pendant over between your fingers, bushing the pads of your thumbs over the stamped firefly symbol, and then over your name and number. with a slight smile, you slipped the chain around your neck and quickly tucked the pendant under the collar of your shirt.
with a deep breath, you quietly opened the door landing into the hallway, and after checking down the length of the hallway to ensure no one was patrolling the halls, you quickly slipped out from the room and made your way down the hall towards the staircase. all you had to do was make it across the street and past the patrolling fedra soldiers -- the, the rest of the way would be easy enough.
the alarm is still blaring overhead as the stairwell door creaks open, and you catch the final glimpse of a fedra humvee turning the corner as other soldiers order civilians back into their homes. taking a deep breath, you dart out and across the street, slipping into the old apartment building just at the end of the alleyway and making your way to the complex located at the back of the level.
turning the corner, you nods silently in greeting the man seated on the couch. he spares a quick glance around, pausing for a short moment before turning back your direction, “just sent a few through, might want to make it quick.” you nod, crossing the room towards the old entertainment center pressed against the long wall. and with a huff, you manage to push the console down just enough to get a peak into the large hole it had been previously covering.
hiking your backpack up just a little bit, you started the trek towards the free-zone. this particular route was slowly becoming more frequently used -- after fedra had started cracking down and finding a few of the more popular routes. it had subverted the traffic towards this particular way, which given its current state, didn’t look like it could handle the extra travel.
years of use and weathering had done a number on the tunnel -- considering the worn-out and fallen sections of the building that seemed to crumble around. not to mention that there was the still chance that someone could get stuck and end up turning. not that it happened enough, but it was still a reality given the times you are living in.
so, imagine your surprise when you end up stopped in your tracks completely, letting your head fall back with a heavy groan, “shit.... you gotta be fucking kidding me. who the fuck decided to die down here?” you question, lips curling in frustration as spores rise through the air and spew directly from where you needed to go, “this is just great.”
with a shake of your head, you pull the backpack off your shoulders, rooting through the bag to pull your mask free. quickly sliding it over your mouth and nose, then checking for a tight seal, “there better not be any of you fuckers on the other side of this or i’m gonna be mad...” you mutter to yourself before dropping to your belly, and crawling through the small opening, sliding until you’re able to get your full height.
grimacing slightly, you step around the poor soul caught under the stack of debris -- the old structure looked to have shifted and he had gotten caught in the downfall. however, a closer look showed a bullet to the head, which was a clear indication that someone had just been through here.
you pull your gun from the waistband of your jeans, steadying the weapon as you make your way forward and around the labyrinth of the old office corners. and cursing softly when you come across the scattered bodies of recently infected, quickly rounding them and making your way towards the ladder. more than eager to get out of that area before something else comes along.
your first breath of fresh air comes after you step out onto the overgrown street. taking in a deep breath of as close to the outside world as one could possibly get. and from here, the rest of the trek to the base is easy.
“what’re you doing here? should you be in school?” the man, who you know as marshall, questions. you scoff harshly, arms crossing over your chest as you look him up and down, “kinda hard when a checkpoint gets blown sky-high.” her voice is purposefully loud, not that it draws anyones attention, but it does cause marshall to curse under his breath before surging forward to grip your upper arm roughly, “you’ve got a big fuckin mouth, you know that?”
marshall turns, knocking rhythmically before the large iron door clicks open, and he’s quickly pulling you through and into the base. the grip on your upper arm drops the second the heavy doors click shut behind the both of you, “try not to get yourself in trouble, yeah?” he states, giving you a slight shove forward before returning to his post.
entering the main room -- with many other fireflies rushing about, spewing out codes and calling casualties, and aiding those who came tumbling through the doors with more than just a limp towards the medical gurneys. you snake through the room, doing your best to avoid getting in anyone's way as you head towards the back room. looking for a specific person in the madness.
“shouldn’t you be in school?” a voice questions just as you enter the smaller room, a smile spreading across your lips as you whip around to the person in question. scott, a veteran firefly, one of the first members in the boston quarantine zone to join just five years after the outbreak, and her mentor.
his arms opened wide, signaling for a hug, which you quickly accepted. the hug was tight and strong, leaving you to relish in the given affection as you nuzzled further into the hug, “we got moved back to the dorms after the checkpoint blew, i got over here while they were still trying to lock the place down. wanted to see if you needed any help.”
scott had huffed softly with a laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. he remembered the first time he had met you -- having caught you and a couple other kids sneaking out from the dormitories late one night. when he had approached, the other kids had run, leaving you behind in fear that he was a fedra officer. instead, he had greeted you with a heavy huff, before nodding for you to follow him. and you did so without question, following him back towards the free zone and letting him introduce you to the fireflies. he wouldn’t ever mention how he had been watching you for weeks after making the decision to take you in, but he had never once regretted the decision to do so.
“well, i’m glad you made it over here without running into anyone. still waiting for a few to get back -- haven’t been able to make contact with marlene’s team.” he states, dropping the hug and moving back over to the table he had been standing at before you had entered.
“did we lose anyone?” you question hesitantly, face scrunching up just after asking as scott sighs heavily, “we always do.... nothing about that ever changes. that’s the sacrifice we make to do this. and those who perish during the battle will always be remembered by those who survived. it’s just the way things work now, kid.”
that had been the one thing scott had drilled into your mind during your training period -- you live everyday like it's your last and you don’t look back when people fall behind. had it been any other time, it would have sounded morbid, but everyone now lived in a time where you had to do anything you could to survive.
“so, are we just gonna wait around until everyone gets back?” you ask, now looking at the arrangement of items he had scattered out along the table in front of him, “why? got somewhere to be?”
you shake your head, “no...” the rest of your sentence trails off as scott huffs out a laugh and a smile splits across his face, “great! then you can help me with the inventory!” your mouth opens, getting ready to curse at the older man when you’re interrupted.
“that might have to wait a bit, scott...” a voice calls from behind, the two of you slowly turn and find marlene -- the queen firefly, standing in the doorway with a hand pressed against her blood-stained shirt. other fireflies swarm around her, fretting over her injury, however she makes no move to wave them away. only nodding for the both of you to follow her as she hobbles towards a medical gurney.
once she’s seated, t-shirt slowly cut away to access the wound, marlene glances between the two of you, offering a gentle smile before turning to lock eyes with scott, “do you think she’s ready for some bigger jobs? travel further outside the walls?” she questions the older man.
scott doesn’t hesitate a moment, “more than.” comes his answer, which seems to elate the leader as marlene smiles and nods her head softly before turning to finally lock eyes with melody, “a woman followed me back to base. her name is tess -- she’s currently looking over some weapons that were promised to her once this job is completed. i want you to help tess and her partner joel, get out of the zone. the four of you will be meeting with squad seven at the capitol.”
“you remember ellie, right?” marlene questions, offering you another smile. you knew of ellie in passing -- having been only introduced to her by another girl that had been recruited, and who happened to have been a former roommate of hers. and to your knowledge, ellie had also been close with another recruit, riley, but the last you had heard was the two hadn’t spoken to one another in the months as riley had been in the progress of completing her initiation.
you nod, “good... she’ll be joining you. both tess and joel are experienced in smuggling people out -- so you don’t need to worry about getting out. all you need to do is make sure that ellie and yourself make it to the capitol together, alright?”
“yes, ma’am.” you answer, eyes drifting towards your mentor -- who beams with pride in response, and gently pats you on the shoulder in congrats before being interrupted by the clearing of a throat.
a woman, who stands only a few feet away, hands held at her hips as she looks you over with a scrutinizing gaze, “this her?” the question sounds chipped, and a disapproving tone slips into the sentence easily -- which only causes you to bristle slightly in response as marlene nods and introduces you by name, “she’ll be going with you. the fireflies you’ll be meeting are expecting her to arrive with you.”
it seems to be enough for tess in question as she sighs, then nods for you to follow, “come on, kid. we ain’t got all day.” there’s a small exchange of goodbyes uttered as you rush after tess, slowing down just enough to match her pace as the both of you move back towards the door leading out to the safe zone.
just at the door, tess comes to a halt, spinning on her heel to look down at you with a blank stare, “you’re prepared to handle yourself should it come down to that? i’m not gonna have to constantly save your ass, am i?” she questions, shifting a little to nod towards the gun tucked into the back of your waistband.
you scoff softly, arms crossing over your chest, “i’ve been outside the zone before and ran plenty of assignments since i’ve joined. i know what i’m doing.” your answer seems to satisfy tess enough, as she scoffs in a way that almost sounds like laughter before letting a small smile spread across her lips, “alright then... i’m gonna hold you to that.”
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I wasn’t sure since you deleted your blog and not everyone keeps their list updated…
i totally get that! rest assured, i very rarely change the list on this blog, and if i do, it's usually to add new fandoms 😂 but if any big changes were to be made -- such as me removing an entire fandom, i would let y'all know about it before making the change. however, i don't see that happening any time in the future as i still love all the fandoms i started this blog with 😂
