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The Hunted, Haunted and Forgotten - Part 7

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Pairing: Battle Maniac x fem!Reader

Word count: 7.7k

Summary: You make it back home, but the night is still long and full of confusing surprises...

A/N: and here it is! the last part of our little moonlight town arc~ and probably my favourite chapter so far tbh! i rly gave it my all with this one. rewrote it a bunch of times even bc it veered too much into angst again instead of a little bit hot and heavy /cough/ but i think i did alright in the end. i hope you do too!🤲♥️

***

Part 7 - Mood booster

"Whoa, look at you! What happened?", Massimo laughed as you stumbled through the front door of the Town Hall - still covered head to toe in (now dried) mud.

However, his laughter immediately stopped once Matteo came into view, with Giulia on his back.

"Bloody hell- What happened", he repeated in alarm, dropping everything he was doing and rushing around the table towards you.

Matteo's sword hit the floor with a dull Clunk, dripping Carcass blood as you dropped your arm. You dimly remembered how an hour or so ago you'd thought it weighed tons; now it just hung limp, too tired to even feel like a part of your body. To feel like anything, really... Your legs and feet faired only slightly better. At least you could still feel the latter, if only because a few small, sharp stones had found their way into your boots at some point and were now digging into the soles of your feet as you shuffled towards the tables in the centre of the room, dragging the sword behind you. It was as if your fingers had melted into the hilt.

Each of your intermittent breaths felt like liquid fire flowing through your dry throat into your aching lungs, indeed, your entire body seemed to be in flames. So you didn't hesitate long, ripped off your mask and grabbed the first cup you could find.

The disgusting pear wine (already prepared to celebrate your triumphant return, you were sure) had never tasted better.

"The place was booby trapped", Matteo began to explain, "We got swarmed and Giulia hurt her foot."

"Sprained", the girl instantly corrected, "Sprained my foot. That's not as ba-"

Suddenly there was a crashing sound. You quickly lowered the cup, just in time to see her being maneuvered towards the couch, supported on either side by Matteo and Massimo - apparently she had lost her balance as soon as the former had set her down. Immediately after, you jumped slightly as you suddenly noticed a worried looking Vito next to you, as always far too light-footed for his immense size. He also walked over to the couch just as Giulia sat down.

"Oops, sorry, got a little dizzy there", she giggled, but then faltered before adding sheepishly: "Errr... Could be that I also banged my head when I fell down..."

"'Could be'?", Massimo asked, pulling the bucket mask off his head now that all the Rabbits were in one place.

Giulia followed suit, then ran her fingers through her short brown hair and nodded. "Yep. That's a bump, all right. Quite a big one, too..." All of a sudden, her mouth twisted into a grin. "Cool."

You wouldn't be surprised if Matteo had sighed more today than the whole of last week put together.

"Trust me, you'll find it a lot less cool if it turns out you got a concussion. That's no joke", you said, putting the cup back on the table and running the back of your hand over your mouth.

Her smile immediately dropped. "Why? How long does it last? Longer... Longer than a sprained ankle even...?"

You shrugged. "Depends on the severity. But you wanna know something that's really cool?" She leaned towards you, making you grin to yourself. "The treatment for a sprained ankle and a concussion is very much the same! Lots. Of. Rest."

There was silence for a moment. Then the girl groaned in frustration and threw herself back onto the pillows - only to immediately grab at her head again and grimace in pain. Your sympathy, however, was pretty limited at this point. If she didn't want to listen, she had to feel.

Vito signed something and then hurried out of the room, while Matteo was now also working on the many buckles of his mask and Massimo helped Giulia make herself comfortable on the couch. He had just placed a cushion under her foot when you turned away and leaned the sword against the table. Then you sat down in the nearest chair. At first, your muscles protested even louder than before, but that quickly turned into a deep sigh. You allowed yourself to close your eyes for a moment and exhale with relief.

All in all, you hadn't done too badly in your role as bodyguard, but that was mainly because the three of you had tried to avoid fights as much as possible. The only situation where things had gotten a little dicey had been back in Moonlight Town, once you had climbed out of the ravine, because of course there had still been a bunch of Puppets waiting for you. Eventually, though, you had managed to clear an opening, giving you enough time to make your way to safety by climbing up one of the stone walls - you much less gracefully than your two Rabbit companions, especially since, given your precarious situation, Matteo had decided to use his grappling hook after all. At least as far as he and Giulia were concerned.

So in the end, you might have been given the leader role, true, but it was still Matteo who had set the pace. Especially after a series of climbs had left you more exhausted than all the fighting put together (which made your eventual survival a freaking miracle, really, as the Carcasses around Malum had been an entirely different but no less dangerous story). However, even though the journey home had thus been much quicker, the three of you had still only returned when it was already pitch black outside.

The reason why you didn't care about anything other than the thought of sleep at the moment. Neither the hole in your stomach nor your mud costume could shake that. You could have fallen asleep right on the spot.

At the same time, nothing was further from your mind. You didn't want to use up any more of the Rabbits' hospitality, especially now that they had to take care of one of their own. So in spite of everything, you stood up, screaming muscles be damned, and had just opened your mouth to announce your departure when...

"All right, spit it out. Let's get this over with."

Surprised, you looked at Matteo, who at that moment finally took off his mask as well. The hood followed not much later, after which he shook his head briefly to loosen the strands of hair that stuck to his face.

It wasn't hard to guess who he'd been addressing; as you followed his gaze, you promptly found a scowling Massimo. You closed your mouth again and raised your eyebrows instead. The atmosphere was suddenly so frosty that you wondered how you hadn't noticed it before...

Then you remembered.

Right, 'trouble at home'... According to Giulia, the two of them had been arguing before you had left on your little excursion - and were apparently perfect strangers to the concept of "distance making the heart grow fonder"...

"I told you", Massimo growled, right on cue, "I told you something like this would happen if you just kept going, but you never. fucking. listen! And now look at her!"

He pointed at Giulia, who frowned right back. "I'm not dead, you know-"

"No thanks to this guy though, that's for sure!"

You slowly sank back into your chair, your eyebrows now almost disappearing below your hairline. You had never seen the usually so cool and laid-back Rabbit so... upset. Yes, he seemed to be downright shaking with barely suppressed rage. Involuntarily, you began to wonder what on earth had happened. And what Matteo had to do with it...

Who sighed the next moment. "I know, all right?"

"No. Not 'all right'!", Massimo immediately shot back and took a step forward, "You think you know, but trust me, you don't. You don't know anything because you're a selfish, arrogant dickhead!"

You were so mesmerized by the spectacle before you that you didn't notice Vito's return. It was only when he suddenly placed bandages, towels and a bowl of water on the table next to you that you became aware of his presence and jumped once more (much to your embarrassment). The big man was frowning and looking sternly back and forth between his two brothers, his hands whirling through the air. It was quite an intimidating sight, even if you had no idea what he was saying. But neither Matteo nor Massimo seemed particularly impressed, the latter only giving him a quick glance, before shaking his head and saying:

"No, not this time. This time he'll listen to what I have to say." He continued to glare at the scarf wearer. "You have absolutely no idea what it's like to be in our shoes, okay? For weeks now, we've had to watch you work yourself to the bone. You don't sleep, you barely eat. You keep shutting yourself away and trying to shoulder everything alone, especially when big brother isn't around - even though no one's fucking asked you to! Time and time again, we've told you to slow down, told you that we're worried about you, but not once have you ever cared about what we think! No, you just... blew us off every time, and for what? For what?? Can't be 'for our own good', because big surprise: Giulia got hurt anyway!"

After he finished, there was dead silence in the room. At some point you had started to shift nervously in your chair, suddenly feeling very much like an intruder, eavesdropping on something that very much wasn't your business... But now you sat frozen, eyes darting back and forth between the two Rabbits.

Matteo, meanwhile, had lowered his gaze to the tattered carpet, his expression pretty much unreadable; only the tense line around his mouth suggested that he wasn't quite as calm as one might think at first glance...

Massimo, on the other hand, kept his eyes fixed on him for a little while longer. Then he, too, looked away and sighed loudly, lifting his shoulders and letting them fall again as he exhaled, before finally adding in a calmer, almost soft voice: "There's nothing to make up for, you know? You're not to blame for what happened to Nino and Lucia. Even if you keep telling yourself that."

It was as if he had dropped a bomb. But not in a way that caused chaos, no, on the contrary; rather, the whole world seemed to stand still all of a sudden, the silence that followed so pervasive that you thought you could feel it pressing on your ears. At the same time, there was a tension in the air that electrified you to the tips of your hair and made you involuntarily straighten your back. Your heart pounded against your chest as your eyes automatically travelled back to Matteo... and made you swallow.

If you had wondered what was going on inside his head, the answer was now written all over his face. Gone was the emotionless mask, wiped away any and all self-control. With his jaw clenched, lips pressed into a thin line and eyebrows drawn together, he stared at Massimo with such a murderous look now that you actually started to get scared. Especially when your eyes finally fell on his trembling fists...

But then you noticed movement out of the corner of your eye and suddenly Vito was standing between them, his expression no less furious as he turned from one to the other, gesticulating wildly. You didn't know what he was saying, but you were sure he was giving them both a proper dressing-down - while also trying to de-escalate the situation before it got completely out of hand. It was quite a strange thing to behold in the absolute silence of the room.

After Vito had finished with a gesture that could only mean something like "So cut the crap, damn it!", their staring contest went on for a few more seconds. But then, abruptly, Matteo jerked his head to the side and, without another word, walked past his two brothers and up the stairs. Soon after, you heard a door slam somewhere.

The world seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and so did you. You hadn't even realized that you'd been holding your breath, too preoccupied with the impending disaster. Would their fight really have turned physical if it hadn't been for Vito...? Matteo's last look hadn't left much doubt... After all, you had had the pleasure yourself not so long ago, and back then it had also almost ended in bloodshed. An icy shiver ran down your spine at the memory, and you quickly made a mental note never to mention the two names that had set this whole thing in motion. It would probably be best to forget them straight away. Along with the rest of this argument.

Now it was Vito's turn to sigh deeply before turning his head in your direction, a wry smile on his lips. Then he raised a hand to his chest and moved it in a circular motion - a gesture you recognized as "Sorry". But what he said next only made you frown again in confusion, so he soon stopped...

To box the absent-minded Massimo on the shoulder.

"Ou!", he exclaimed immediately, rubbing the area in question, "What the fuck?? What was that for?"

Vito acknowledged his words with a roll of his eyes and nodded in your direction. For a few seconds you just returned Massimo's scattered look without a word, before he finally grimaced apologetically.

"Ah. Right... Sorry."

You waved him off. "It's fine."

He sighed and tiredly ran a hand through his hair, which glided through his fingers in shiny, dark waves. "No, it's not. We shouldn't have pulled that in front of you, that was... It was stupid of me. I was just... Sometimes he just makes me so..."

"Angry? Furious? Utterly mad?" You snorted and stood up. "Believe me, I know what it feels like when that guy drives you up the wall. So really, it's fine. Especially since..." You pushed your chair back to the table and then flashed them a grimace of your own. "...I'm so tired that I already can't remember what you were saying anyway. So-"

"You can stay, if you want", Massimo interrupted your planned goodbye.

You blinked at him and then at Vito, who those words had originally come from and who continued the next moment: "It's late and you have a long way home. So stay, it's no trouble."

You sure everyone sees it that way...?, you thought, but didn't say out loud. You had no intention of accepting the offer anyway, which made a discussion all the more pointless.

"No, that's really not necessa-"

"Oh! Oh! You can have my room!", Giulia suddenly piped up (you could have sworn she was already asleep, as unusually quiet as she'd been up to this point) and looked at you excitedly, "Knowing my brothers, I'll have to spend the night here, so they can be maximally annoying and watch my every move..."

"Got that right, klutzy", Massimo agreed, which immediately made her stick her tongue out at him.

You had to admit, the thought of falling into a soft bed right here and now was quite tempting... But not tempting enough. And so you just shook your head again and said as you slowly walked around the table: "I... really appreciate it, but I'd rather-"

"You can also take a shower."

You stopped dead in your tracks.

"A hot shower", Massimo finished, the grin in his words impossible to miss.

It echoed in your ears and you swallowed at the thoughts it conjured up. Thoughts of the heavenly feeling of warm water on your skin, a feeling you thought you had forgotten. Of how it would wash away the heavy dirt, as well as all the pain and tension in your muscles, all that stress... Leaving behind nothing but tingling cleanliness, soothing relaxation and utter delight-

"Okay, I'll stay."

It was as if your mouth had moved on its own, the needs of your body overriding your mind. But you couldn't find it in yourself to care much about that at the moment, any more than you cared about how little it took to lure you in at the end of the day. Which was why you also felt only a modicum of shame when you turned around again and looked into the Rabbits' happy (Giulia), pleased (Vito) and smug (Massimo, of course) faces.

+++

You let out a blissful sigh as you finally left their bathroom.

When the Rabbits had offered you the first shower, you had (half-heartedly) refused - but not for long; politeness and manners be damned in the face of what the words "hot shower" promised. Only one thought had given you another pause while following Massimo up the stairs...

"Wait, but what am I gonna wear when I get out of the shower?", you blurted out as soon as you reached the top. In all the anticipation, you had completely ignored the logistics.

"Ah", the Rabbit replied lightly, waving his hand, "We'll find you something. Giulia has mountains of clothes she never wears."

You gave his broad back a sceptical look as he led you at a leisurely pace along the gallery, eventually turning into a corridor that went deeper into the building. "Giulia's also quite a bit shorter than me..."

He gave you a wink over his left shoulder. "We'll just have to get creative then~"

You frowned. But before you could ask what he meant by that, he pointed his thumb at a door to your right and explained: "That's Vito's room. Next is mine, Matteo's is opposite, and the one at the back is Giulia's."

Matteo's was the only one with a closed door.

Of course his room had to be right next to Giulia's... Of course, you thought grumpily, but were soon distracted when your guide suddenly stopped and you, inattentive as you were, almost ran into him.

You were now at the far end of the hallway, before the very last door, and thus, you assumed, at the end of your journey - for you very much doubted that, in all the time you'd spent with the Rabbits, you had missed a fifth member who this room belonged to.

Something Massimo immediately confirmed by opening his arms wide and announcing: "And here we are!" to welcome you to their little heaven on earth, also known as their bathroom.

You had agreed to throw your dirty clothes in the big basket next to the sink ("Big brother's on laundry duty this week and will take care of it tomorrow") and to your "transitional clothes" to be placed outside the door. There had been no reason to distrust his statement, but you'd still been extremely relieved at the later sight of the promised clothes. After all, being in an unfamiliar house, surrounded by men of dubious reputation, wearing nothing but a towel... wasn't exactly what you'd call a pleasant experience.

Your hands clutched the bundle of clothes tightly to your body. You had been given two sets: The one in your arms you would wear tomorrow. At the moment, its many layers hid the note about the whereabouts of the treasures; fortunately, you had remembered to take it out of your dirty jacket before it could fall into the Rabbits' hands - that was really the very last thing you needed at the moment...

The second clothing item was a nightgown that rustled softly around your legs as you pitter-pattered barefoot across the floorboards towards Giulia's room. It stretched a little around your chest and made you feel strangely overdressed, thanks to its silky, shimmering blue fabric and the extravagant embellishments around the neckline and on the wide sleeves... But the wonderful feeling it created on your tingly-warm skin easily made up for it.

Your clean skin. You couldn't remember the last time you'd felt this clean, but it must have been half an eternity ago. The Rabbits had even provided you with a toothbrush! You wouldn't go so far as to say that this completely outweighed the rigors of the day... but it certainly softened them up a little, leaving nothing but a gentle heaviness in your muscles and a relaxed drowsiness in your head. The desire to close your eyes was almost overpowering at this point.

As a result, you didn't pay much attention to your surroundings when you finally staggered into Giulia's room, heading straight for the bed. Like a love-drunk sailor under the spell of a siren, your mind already submersed in the soft, pillowy waves, halfway to paradise-

When a sudden cough made you jump and spin around.

Matteo was still sporting his dirty combat gear as he now stood against the door frame, arms casually folded in front of his body, and gave you a critical look. "Your perceptiveness is truly piss-poor, you know that? You should work on that."

You sighed wearily. "What do you want. I'm not in the mood."

Instead of answering you, he simply raised a hand (you noted that he had at least taken off his dirty gloves) and showed you a key dangling from his outstretched finger.

You stared at him in disbelief for a moment before finally blurting out: "You can't be serious."

He let the key twirl through the air a few times. "Sure am."

Suddenly you felt the need to laugh. "This is fucking ridiculous..."

"Just a little precaution."

"You are fucking ridiculous."

He shrugged. "Beats being dead."

"Wh-??" You threw your arms up. "What danger am I to you in this state? I don't even have my knife!"

"Still have your hands, though. You could strangle us in our sleep."

This time you couldn't hold back and laughed loudly. It sounded shrill in your ears, probably due to both this absolutely ridiculous situation and your immense exhaustion. "Because that's what you would do. But, and this might shock you, not everyone is like you!" You straightened your back. "Some people have decency."

The Rabbit snorted. "Yeah, except I can't just rely on your supposed decency when our lives are at stake."

You suppressed the urge to roll your eyes.

"If I really wanted to kill you, why would I have helped Giulia today, huh?", you tried to reason in a different way, not even knowing exactly why, because he wouldn't believe you anyway. You wondered how he wasn't already tired of the constant arguing, especially after today's stressful events. You certainly were.

"I could have made quick work of her, could have even made it look like an accident", you continued, "Instead I risked my own life to get her out of there. Why would I do that if I wanted her dead??"

The irony of those words was not lost on you. After all, your illness had made you a walking time bomb for everyone around you. Although you thought that there was a considerable difference between killing someone by direct violence and simply allowing it to happen... But you didn't want to think too deeply about that right now. A problem for another day and a more awake you.

"So you could lull us into a false sense of security", Matteo said, "Play the long game... like you did with the bear."

Again, you held his gaze wordlessly for a few seconds before finally turning away with a decisive shake of your head. "You know what, no. Fuck it. I'm not doing this anymore, I give up."

It was a clear surrender, but you were so tired by now that you didn't care. Instead, you just shuffled off to bed the next moment, wondering why you'd let it get to this point in the first place. It had been clear from the start where this conversation was going. Massimo was right, once Matteo got something into his head, it was like talking to a particularly stubborn brick wall. But your energy reserves were depleted, and anyway, what did it matter in the end whether he locked you in here or not? Once you were fast asleep, you wouldn't even notice.

"I should have just made a run for it back at the bear", you muttered to yourself, "At least then I wouldn't be dealing with you now..."

"But you would still be without your necklace."

You tossed the bundle of clothes onto the bed before finally letting yourself fall backwards beside it, arms outstretched, closing your eyes at the immediate softness enveloping you. "I would've just taken it back another day."

"That so. And how, pray tell?"

"I dunno", you replied lamely, yawning, "Somehow, someway... I would have figured something out."

Why was he even still here? You had admitted defeat and made it pretty clear that you did not want to continue this conversation. Why didn't he just do what he came here to do and then leave you alone again? He didn't care for your company anyway. (Well, apart from the fact that he was glued to your arse cheek on every mission...)

There was silence for a moment, and already you thought your wish had come true...

But then the Rabbit suddenly laughed quietly and said: "You couldn't even take it from me if I offered it to you."

Your annoyance immediately turned to anger, but you just swallowed it and kept quiet. Maybe he'll go away if I just ignore him...

"I could blindfold myself and you still wouldn't stand a chance."

Just ignore him...

"You're just way too slow and clunky."

...

"Too predictable-"

"Oh, yeah? If I'm so predictable, how come you didn't see the bear coming, huh?", you just couldn't help but say.

Another silence followed, and again you dared to hope that perhaps your retort had annoyed him out of the room-

"Prove it then."

You frowned. "What?"

"Take the key from me and I'll believe you."

You jerked your head up and blinked at the man opposite you. In the meantime, he had pushed himself off the door frame and was now holding out the small silver object towards you, straight-faced. As if it wasn't just a joke. As if he really meant it...

"Yeah, I'm not doing that", you said.

"Tell you what. If you pull this off, not only will I not lock you up - I'll owe you a favour."

You couldn't stop staring, only now your jaw had dropped. "You're insane", you said, shaking your head again.

What had gotten into him? He never took part in such things and usually just ignored it when the others started fooling around like that, far too serious and reserved for all that silliness. And now this? Was it because of today's efforts...? Massimo had said he didn't sleep much... Was Matteo simply at the end of his tether? Outwardly he didn't look it, seemed to be his old self, really - if you ignored what came out of his mouth, that was.

Or was it perhaps a trick? Some kind of ploy you had not yet figured out...?

He acknowledged your suspicious look with another raised eyebrow. "I mean it."

Insane or not, you knew exactly what would happen if you agreed to it. You would fail, of course, and he would have a whale of a time, having been proven right once again. Was that what he wanted? Humiliate you again? A little "mood booster" after his argument with Massimo? But if he thought you would just shut up and take it then-

"I'm not gonna wait forever for an answer, though."

...But what if things turned out differently this time? What if fate was smiling down on you for once?

You could ask for your necklace, suddenly popped into your head as you continued to struggle with yourself.

He hadn't specified what this "favour" had to be, so you could basically ask him for your necklace, right? But he had certainly thought of that, had to have thought of that. There was really nothing else you could want from him. No, you were sure that if you asked him for your necklace, he would most definitely back out. After all, you still had a deal. Unless...

Unless he was offering you an out. Both of you. Maybe he was as tired of this whole thing as you were... Maybe Giulia's injury had made him change his mind and realize that it wasn't worth the risk. That they already had enough money and there was no need to put his family in any more danger. Maybe... this was your chance...

He shrugged and turned to leave. "All right, then."

"No, wait..."

What was the worst that could happen if you failed? Another round of humiliation? That was just another Tuesday for you.

"...I'll do it", you said, getting up from the bed.

Your words had made him stop and turn back around. When you came to a halt in front of him, you shot him a determined glare before looking down at the key in his hand.

"We'll see about that", he commented with a twitch of his mouth.

Before he had finished, you jerked your hand forward. Of course, he immediately pulled back, leaving you grasping at nothing. His eyes glinted as you gave him an annoyed look.

"Yeah, no."

You tensed your jaw muscles before letting your hand shoot forward again... But of course he was quicker this time as well, lifting the key far above his head - and far out of your reach.

"Too slow, too bad."

Even though you'd resolved not to let yourself be rattled, there was no stopping the familiar surge of anger at his words. But you told yourself to be patient. After all, you still had an ace up your sleeve...

"Fuck you", you finally growled, after repeating this little dance a few more times with the same sobering result, and turned your back to him, "Keep your stupid key, I'm going to bed."

"Told you", he began, "It's only natural that-"

But he got no further because suddenly you whirled around and grabbed his arm before he could pull it away again. He grunted in surprise as you held onto it with your full body weight, successfully preventing him from lifting it out of reach. Then you shimmied up to his hand, which he had already half-closed back into a fist by that point.

Oh no, we're not doing this again, you thought grimly and immediately clasped his fingers with yours to push them apart. You had to use all your strength, because of course Matteo had no intention of yielding. Which was why he raised his other hand the next moment, to firmly grab your wrist-

Causing you to let out a loud gasp as a sharp pain shot up your arm. Immediately, you pulled away from him and staggered backwards, looking down at your arm in alarm... before it finally dawned on you. Ah...

Back in the bathroom, while you were getting rid of your dirty clothes, you had already noticed the bruises that wrapped around your wrist like a multicolored ring and hurt quite badly at the slightest touch - which had actually proven to be a bit of a problem in the shower, as the hand in question was your dominant one. You couldn't remember where the injury came from...

Matteo, on the other hand, even more so.

At least that's what it seemed like when he stood right in front of you all of a sudden and grabbed your arm again. You instinctively wanted to move it away, but he was quicker (of course he was...) and soon held it in his scarred hands once more.

But the expected pain didn't come. Instead, this time there was just a slight pulling sensation as he ran his rough fingertips over the ugly marks. Lightly, gently... And then you remembered. How he had saved you from that Puppet in the ravine and then rushed over, half mad, to make sure you were all right. You remembered how his fingers had squeezed your arm so tightly that... there even was a ring of bruises around your wrist now. Huh.

"I... didn't...", he started to mumble, but then broke off.

When you looked into his face the next moment, his gaze was turned inward. He seemed deep in thought, far away. Maybe in the same place you had just been, maybe even further back... In any case, you got the impression that he hadn't even realized that he'd said anything. Let alone that he'd been stroking your arm for at least half a minute now...

All at once, you realized how close you were. So close that you could feel his body heat on your skin, even in places covered by the fabric of your nightgown. It made your breath quicken and your heart flutter like a little bird in your chest. And made you suddenly hyperaware of his every touch, which sent shiver after shiver down your spine...

And culminated in goosebumps all over your body when you felt his fingers move higher all of a sudden. Careful, strangely hesitant, as if they were consciously doing something very forbidden, just waiting to be caught... they slowly pushed up the fabric of your nightgown, leaving a trail of fire on your skin, still sensitive from the shower.

You knew you should push him back, much earlier, but now at the latest. Knew you should ask him what he was doing, what he was thinking. Should be angry, or in the very least appalled.

Instead, you only let out a small gasp, as his fingertips finally brushed your upper arm, the sound all the louder in the emotionally charged silence. Once again your cheeks went up in flames and you quickly raised your eyes...

Where they were immediately met by a pair of grey-green ones, and with such intensity that your knees went weak and your mouth completely dry. You had only seen them this wild once before, during his recent quarrel with Massimo. But this was different. His eyes now reminded you of dark cloud formations over a stormy sea, of wind-whipped water, waves as high as buildings, threatening to drag you down, down, down... But as frightening as it was, and even though you really should know better... You found yourself hesitating. Because a not-so-small part of you wanted to do just that. Wanted to sink into his eyes, wanted Matteo to sweep you off your feet...

Especially when you unconsciously (or consciously...?) licked your dry lips and his heavy gaze immediately darted down to follow the slow movement of your tongue. And you could practically feel how his self-control began to crumble, until finally he slowly leaned forward, his breath becoming shallow, intermingling with yours... You could already feel it hot against your face, and were about to stop all thought and close your eyes when-

A loud clattering sounded from downstairs, and the two of you instantly jerked apart and put a few steps between you.

Matteo's face reflected your shock as you stood opposite each other the next moment, wide-eyed, breathing heavily... Acutely aware of what had almost happened between you. The thought made your cheeks burn brightly, while your heart was still hammering against your chest. You had no idea how to react.

You didn't need to, however, because Matteo beat you to it, his face suddenly going through a whole range of emotions: Shock turned into disbelief, then into alarm, and finally into a mixture of terror, pain, sorrow, grief and... guilt. So much guilt. Everywhere, and so intense that you felt its sting as if it were your own. You didn't even know what the specific trigger was, whether it was the bruises on your arm, your almost kiss, or something else entirely... All you knew was that you didn't want him to look at you that way. Look at anyone that way.

But before you could even open your mouth to tell him that you didn't blame him, for anything, and that there was no need to feel guilty, a jolt went through his body. And then that familiar shadow fell across his face again, dulling his eyes and replacing any sign of an inner struggle with cold, emotionless indifference...

Before he turned around and left the room without another word.

For a long while you just stared motionlessly at the spot in the corridor where you had last seen him. Your heart was still beating uncomfortably fast and your arm was tingling where his fingers had travelled. The feeling gave you another round of goosebumps and made your thoughts take on a life of their own again. All tiredness and exhaustion were forgotten. Ignored the small silver key in your left hand.

All you thought was that you needed another shower - only this time it'd better be ice cold.

+++

You had hoped that this effect wouldn't last too long. That the exertions of the day would eventually send you into a deep, exhausted sleep. But no such luck. Instead, you found yourself wide awake even hours later, staring unblinkingly at the pitch-black ceiling above you.

The fact that you were in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, in an (almost) unfamiliar house surely did its part. But what kept you awake beyond that was your mind, which just would not calm down. On the contrary, ever since your little... moment with Matteo, your thoughts had been toppling and tumbling and bouncing around, on top of and into each other - not giving you a single moment's rest.

But even worse were your feelings. For at least your thoughts made sense, however small it might be at times. But the same could not be said of your feelings. No, there you could only find inexplicable chaos. Chaos and confusion and... shock. Regarding their nature, of course, but also their very existence. Because even if you were no stranger to these feelings, that didn't change the fact that they should be absolutely impossible. And not just as far as Matteo was concerned, but also the rest of the gang, especially Giulia.

Had you not been careful enough? Had you, without realizing it, lowered your guard at some point? Of course, you had noticed that you were getting on quite well with the Rabbits by now, but that was only out of necessity, right? To keep from losing your mind in your self-imposed solitude. To keep your treasure hunts from turning into absolute misery. You were just using them! After all, they were still the Black Rabbit Brotherhood, a gang of ruthless, cruel, cold-blooded criminals. Thieves. Extortionists. Murderers. They terrorized an entire town, bullied your friends! Yourself even! They had stolen your father's necklace, your most prized possession! In light of all this, there was simply no way that you could have suddenly started to like them...!

...Right?

The longer you stared into the darkness, searching for answers, the faster - and more treacherously - your heart beat. No, that simply could not be, should not be... You hated them. Hated them, hated them, hated them!

Hated them so much that you laughed at Massimo's jokes, enjoyed listening to Vito's many stories, risked your life for Giulia...

And almost kissed Matteo. Matteo.

When you felt your head getting warm again, you rolled onto your stomach and groaned into the pillow. You lay like that for a while, your face pressed into the soft material, just listening to the drumming in your ears... before you couldn't breathe anymore and had to turn your head to the side.

Maybe it's just this cursed day..., you thought at last.

All the anxiety and drama. The stress. Yes, maybe you were just stressed out of your mind! Confused and disoriented. Not yourself. That had to be it, otherwise you would never have let that jerk get so close to you, never in your life. And as for himself, well... Who knew what was going on inside that thick head, he was about as fathomable as the dark waters beneath Hobbler's Bridge. And he was a Rabbit! Cunning and deceitful. Maybe he was just trying to confuse you so he could get the key back... Or have a bit of fun at your expense, as you'd suspected earlier. Although his last reaction made you strongly doubt that, but, well; who could know for sure...?

"Or admit that he likes you."

You faltered briefly at the memory... but then immediately pushed Giulia's voice back to where it came from. After all, that was just ridiculous. Yeah right, that's why he had insulted you and gave you a lecture on how little he trusted you. All things you did and said when you were talking to someone you liked!

"...you didn't wanna admit your crush so you threw your pencil at them, you know? It didn't matter that they were mad at you, at least you got their attention."

Once again your face hit the pillow, only this time you stifled a frustrated scream.

Why were you still thinking about that? Racked your brains over it even?? It was bloody crazy! What did it even matter at the end of the day? At the end of your life?

As always, when your thoughts drifted in that direction, you felt a lump in your throat. However, at the same time, a sudden realization dawned on you. Wasn't it said that the Petrification Disease also affected one's mental state? That people went "crazy" just before the end...? You thought you remembered your father telling you about the aggressive urges of the terminally ill, about their severe paranoia and hallucinations... What if you were in the early stages right now? If this was the solution to all that chaos and confusion inside of you? If it was really that simple...

You swallowed and suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable in your skin. Wounded. And then you noticed for the first time that you didn't have your mask with you. You had forgotten it downstairs, where it was probably still lying on the table...

In theory, this shouldn't have bothered you much, for two reasons: Firstly, because thanks to the filters the Rabbits had installed throughout the Town Hall building, the air in here was perfectly safe to breathe even without a mask. Secondly, because you were already sick, so it was absolutely idiotic really, to worry about air filters and masks at all!

But you did it anyway. After all, you were used to having the mask with you wherever you went, making you feel kind of... naked without it. Besides, it had also once belonged to your father; sometimes you imagined that he was still watching over you when you wore it. It gave you a sense of security, as nonsensical as that sounded by this point. But you still liked having it within reach.

Which was why you didn't hesitate long before you sat up and put your feet on the wooden floorboards.

Maybe it'll help me finally fall asleep..., you thought tiredly as you moved through the dark room and stepped into the candlelit hallway soon after.

This time Matteo's room was the only one with an open door - and it was empty. You remembered what Massimo had said, that Matteo didn't sleep much... The thought made you hesitate for a moment. You didn't feel like seeing him again so soon, least of all in this confused state. On the other hand...You wouldn't have to talk to him. You wouldn't even have to look at him, let alone pay him any attention at all.

Just walk in, take the mask off the table and walk out. If he talks to you, just say you're too tired. Easy.

You took a determined breath before taking one step after the other until you could see the railing of the gallery in front of you. Contrary to your decision to get this whole thing over with as quickly as possible, you slowed down again and then stopped completely, looking down past the railing into the main room, careful to stay out of sight.

However, you quickly pulled your head back again when, after a sleeping Giulia, you immediately spotted Matteo's shaggy mop of hair. He was sitting at one of the tables, in the chair closest to the couch, apparently keeping watch. Which was no surprise really, after your last conversation, you noted sourly.

But also in many other ways, it occured to you now: His mumbled words back in the ravine, his immense concern for Giulia, his (lack of a) reaction to Massimo's exploding anger and accusations...The heavy guilt in his eyes...

It was obvious that Massimo wasn't the only one who blamed him for the Rabbit girl's misfortune.

You involuntarily wondered what the lanky man would think of Matteo pulling another all-nighter, even if it was to look after their injured sister this time; you highly doubted he would agree to this kind of penance...

You had barely finished your thought when you heard a small cough to Matteo's left. Surprised, you raised your head again, only to discover Massimo and Vito sitting around the table as well. Apparently the whole team had gathered to keep Giulia company.

Massimo was busy drawing again, while this time it was Vito who had a pencil out and was keeping records in their ledger. And then you suddenly noticed something else, namely that Matteo was unusually... still. Normally he was always moving, his hands always busy with something.

But now his arms - covered by the sleeves of a simple dark shirt - were loosely folded in front of his body, his legs stretched out and his chin resting on his chest... as he was, judging by the slow rise and fall of his chest, peacefully asleep.

Massimo shifted a little in his chair, making the wood creak. It wasn't loud, but he still stopped immediately and looked at Matteo to make sure he didn't wake him. Eventually, he let out a sigh of relief and turned back to his sketchbook.

At the same time as you pulled your head back once more, turned around, and quietly retreated to Giulia's room.

***

thank you sm for readinggg, i hope you enjoyed it!! feedback is welcome and very much appreciated♥️

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anyabathory-blog · 2 months ago

Text

The Hunted, Haunted and Forgotten - Part 6

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Pairing: Battle Maniac x fem!Reader

Word count: 5.3k

Summary: Some good old Puppet trouble, near-death experiences, and sisterly bonding! Also, you just can't figure out what this guy's deal is...

A/N: the main part of the little moonlight town arc! and definitely the action of it all. but also some background stuff on our favourite rabbit girlie?💖💖 i just adore her a lot and wanted to give her a bit more personality. we already spent some time w the eccentric, and then after the next part we'll accompany the eldest for a bit~ is the plan anyway, but i think that's a good balance and hope you agree! until then, happy reading~!

***

Part 6 - (No) going solo

As soon as you got over your surprise, you scrambled to your feet and ran forward, grasping at the bars. But even though they were terribly rusty and the squeaking of the moving gate was still ringing in your ears, it wouldn't move an inch, no matter how hard you pulled and tugged. You kept trying anyway, gritting your teeth, until suddenly - and to make matters even worse - you heard a commotion behind you, and Giulia called out:

"Uhh, guys...? That's definitely more than just 'a few' stragglers out here...!"

Your heart sank at the first sound of another fight breaking out. You were just about to turn around and rush to Giulia's aid when all of a sudden Matteo stepped on the other side of the gate, cursing loudly.

"How many?", he quickly inquired.

"Judging by the noises? A lot", you said, licking your lips nervously, "What should we do?"

Before he could give you an answer, however, another Grenade Puppet appeared inside the chapel, and the Rabbit had to jump into action once more. Only when it collapsed with a clatter did he shout over his shoulder: "Don't get killed until I'm out of here!"

"Gee, thanks! I'll try", you replied sarcastically, turned around-

And managed to dodge just in time before you were impaled by the pitchfork of the Puppet, which had suddenly appeared directly behind you. You quickly rolled out of its reach and drew your knife again, almost letting it slip from your trembling fingers.

"You sure? How about you try harder?"

"How about you shut up?!", you immediately shot back, even though your growing panic at having to fight in such a confined space threatened to suffocate you.

But for once, luck was on your side: The Puppet's pitchfork got caught between the bars of the gate during its attack, so in the end it caused you no further trouble and you had an easy time killing it.

As soon as it went down, your eyes searched for Matteo again. He was now dealing with several opponents - apparently he had hit the bull's eye with his assumption that quite a few Puppets would also be hiding inside the buildings. However, as he was only up against a handful of them, you quickly decided that there was no need to worry about him, took a deep breath and finally ran outside.

Once there, you stopped in surprise, for at first the expected battle was nowhere to be seen... But then you spotted Giulia some distance away in the other part of town.

Which had a lot to do with the fact that she was shouting at the top of her lungs: "Hey, little dollies, hey! I'm over here! This way, this way!!"

Apparently, her plan was to attract the Puppets' attention and then lure them away from you and the caged Matteo - a plan that was working a little too well, as she was now facing a literal swarm of them.

Why does a church town have so many Worker Puppets anyway?? It makes no sense!, flashed through your mind just before you sprinted through the stone archway.

The Moonlight Town on this side didn't look much different, except that it also had a few simple wooden dwellings among the chapel-like buildings... And that it was divided into two parts by a wide ravine, over which there was a wooden suspension bridge. A rather odd sight, but your attention was quickly drawn to more pressing matters.

Because the Puppets were all focused on Giulia and had their backs to you, you were able to kill some of them before they even knew what was happening. And by the time the masses finally became aware of you as well, you and the Rabbit girl were already standing back to back.

"Oh, hi!", she greeted you cheerfully, "Teo still behind bars?"

"And immediately started a fight with his cellmates - to no one's surprise", you replied, a little out of breath after parrying another attack, "What are you still doing here? Why didn't you jump to safety??"

She laughed while dodging a pitchfork and then knocked the arms off its Puppet in one fell swoop. "And let you have all the fun to yourself?? Ha! You wish!"

Your mouth twisted into a wry grin. "Well, it was worth a shot..."

But then the "fun" was already over, at least for you, for suddenly the surrounding circle of Puppets tightened again as they filled their ranks with more newcomers. Alerted by the noise of the battle, they came running from every possible direction at this point. And to make matters worse, it wasn't just Pitchforks either.

Which would have almost been your undoing if, out of the corner of your eye, you hadn't caught something flying towards you all of a sudden and immediately shouted "Bomb! Watch out!!"

Just in time the two of you managed to get out of range, causing Giulia to make a frustrated noise.

"Ughh, these guys are so annoying! Why did they have to build in a throwing feature in the first place, what's even the point of that??" Her head whipped around until her eyes fell on one of the Grenade Puppets standing on a rooftop on the other side of the ravine, preparing another throwable. "Oh no you don't!"

"Wha- no, hey, wait!", stumbled out of your mouth as she suddenly stormed off towards the suspension bridge.

Obviously completely uncaring about the fact that it looked about as stable as a Carcass on stilts.

And so it came as it had to, and when she was about halfway across the bridge there was a loud cracking sound before the wooden planks gave way beneath her. At first it looked as if she might just manage to stay on her feet... But then fate, in all its irony, sent another thermite bomb her way. It missed her by a wide margin, but the distraction was enough to throw her a bit more off balance...

And suddenly the girl disappeared from your sight.

Your breath hitched. You quickly got rid of your immediate enemy and skilfully dodged the next one, giving you the opportunity to break out of the circle and rush towards the bridge.

"Giulia!", you shouted as you reached it, blinking into the darkness below, "Giulia!"

"Down here!", came the immediate reply, to your great relief, "I think I'm... I'm in a bit of trouble! I twisted my ankle and now my foot is... I don't know, but something's wrong!"

"Okay, hang on, I'm coming!"

You quickly scanned the rocks in front of you, always on the move to avoid being hit by the bombs or cornered by the Puppets on the ground. Eventually, you found what you were looking for; on the other side of the ravine, there were several rocky plateaus scattered across the wall that promised an easier descent. So you didn't hesitate for long, dodged a few Puppets that were now quite close again, and then stepped onto the bridge as well.

Your heart was pounding, as you put one foot in front of the other. Every time the wood shook a little too much, you could already see yourself plummeting into the dark after Giulia (only to a much deadlier end), which made you all the more cautious. And slower. It could only have been a few minutes until you reached the other side, but to you it felt like half an eternity. Though eventually, you managed to get back on solid ground and immediately took cover behind a nearby fence.

Fortunately, you were relatively safe here from the Grenade Puppets' attacks, and your pursuers on the ground seemed reluctant to leave their area and risk the shaky affair; they crowded in front of the suspension bridge, as if there was an invisible barrier that they couldn't cross, no matter how hard they fought against it. Some in the back row were already turning around even and went back to their original positions.

You allowed yourself to relax a little. The aforementioned rocky plateaus were right in front of you, only a short sprint away. It sounded easy, but it would also put you back in the Puppets' line of sight, giving away your exact position... and you weren't too keen on that. The last thing you wanted was to give them another incentive to follow you beyond the edge of the ravine after all.

But in the end, there was no way around it. So you briefly closed your eyes, took another deep breath...

And then sprinted out of your cover towards the first drop. Accompanied by the angry sounds of the Puppets on the other side, you plunged into the cold, wet darkness below and immediately tackled the rest of the descent, glad to finally be completely out of sight. You only paused once, just before you reached the bottom, to see if there was any movement... But the coast seemed clear.

There was a loud Splash! as your boots finally hit the wet ground. Some distance to your left, you could make out one end of the ravine, its rock face opening into what looked suspiciously like a crypt... And made you quickly turn your head in the opposite direction, which was where you needed to go anyway (thankfully).

Your muscles remained tense as you moved forward. Behind every barrel and boulder, you imagined a Puppet waiting to scare the ever-loving shit out of you. Again and again your eyes darted up to the opening of the ravine, which, despite the onset of dusk, cut through the darkness like a bright ribbon. On the one hand, you wanted to make sure that no Puppet would fall on your head; on the other, you didn't want to lose sight of the suspension bridge, that marked the spot where Giulia was most likely to be.

When you opened your mouth to call out her name, you wouldn't have been surprised to see your breath in the cool air...

"Over here!", you heard her reply, making you quicken your pace again.

The girl was sitting on one of the few dry patches of grass, her back against the rock wall behind her, rubbing her ankle. She waved at you as you rounded the corner into her field of vision, exhaling with relief at the sight of her.

"I don't know what happened", she began before you even reached her, "I... I managed to swing to the rock after falling through the bridge, and was going to climb right back up, but then I... suddenly lost my footing and slipped and... and then..." She trailed off, looking as if she no longer understood the world.

"That was probably because the rocks are so slippery from the moisture. I mean..." You lifted a foot and grimaced at the smacking sound it made when it detached from the muddy ground. "It's quite... swampy down here."

But Giulia didn't seem to think much of your attempt at consoling her and just muttered darkly: "Swampy or not, I don't slip. Never."

You held back a sigh and crouched down in front of her. "You said there's something wrong with your foot?"

"It hurts when I put weight on it...", she mumbled, then suddenly threw her hands up and exclaimed: "Oh, Matteo is gonna kill me!"

You ignored her theatrics. "Can you stand?"

"'No going solo'", she imitated his voice, ignoring you, "And then what do I do? Exactly that! Ugh, I'm so stupid! Why can't I ever turn on my brain before I get myself into a huge mess??"

"You are not stupid. It was just a bit of bad luck, that's all. So if you could just-"

"They always say that I either don't take things seriously enough, or that I get too carried away, especially in the big moments. That it makes me 'unreliable'..."

"Giulia-"

"It took forever to get them to let me patrol alone, and in the end they only agreed because big brother put in a good word for me. And how do I repay him? By getting into trouble again! They'll think they made a mistake, that I'm not ready! Oh, now I'll forever be stuck with Moe when-"

"Giulia! Hey!", you finally interrupted her melodramatic rambling forcefully, "Stop it, this isn't helping! Standing up. Can you do that??"

There was a moment of silence. Then she deflated a little and said meekly: "...Yes. Yeah, standing is fine. I can walk a bit too, but..." She looked up and bit her lip. "I don't think I'm gonna make it out of here..."

"Does it feel swollen?"

She nodded. "The boot is a bit tight here... Should I take it off?"

"Hmm, no, better not. That would probably just make the swelling worse."

"Do you think it's broken...?"

Her voice sounded so anxious, that you hurried to say: "I'm leaning more towards 'sprained'. If you had a fracture, you wouldn't be able to walk at all."

"Can you... fix it?"

You were just about to get up again, but now you stopped and looked down at her. If she wasn't wearing a mask, you were sure there would be a pair of hopeful eyes looking back at you. Another reminder of how young she still was compared to her "brothers"...

"I'm afraid not", you finally said apologetically, "Sorry. The only thing that helps with a sprain is to take it easy. My father had a sprained ankle once. He put it in cold water and then wrapped it in a bandage. To ease the pain and keep it from swelling too much, is what he told me. Nevertheless, he was off duty for quite a while until-"

"'Quite a while'?", Giulia immediately asked, "What's 'quite a while'...?"

You knew before you opened your mouth that she wouldn't like the answer. "About two weeks, I think..."

"Two weeks?! You mean, I'm supposed to do nothing for two whole weeks?? Oh, nuh-uh, that's not gonna happen." Suddenly she turned her upper body towards the rock behind her and pulled herself into a (rather wobbly) standing position. "See?? It's not that bad! I'm sure my foot is only half as sprained as your father's, or... or not at all! I mean, that's also possible, right? That you were wrong and it's really just- Whooa!"

You quickly stretched out your arms and caught her just in time before she got a faceful of mud.

"But... But...", she stammered as you maneuvered her back into her original position, "But why...? I don't get it! It worked earlier- I swear I was telling the truth! Before you came down, I walked from all the way up there to here, I don't know what happened since then, but-"

"A sprained ankle, that's what happened", you interrupted her sternly, "And if you keep straining it like that, two weeks isn't gonna cut it anymore, you hear me? Is that what you want? No? Then do as I say and rest. The Puppets can't hurt us down here anyway, so we're in no hurry."

"Bu-"

You crossed your arms in front of your body, which silenced her instantly. Then she just lowered her head and admitted defeat with a quiet "...Okay", looking the very definition of misery. But you didn't really feel like celebrating this small victory. Instead you began to chew on your lower lip, while your mind was reeling.

She was right. She would never make it out of here on her own. But even with your help, it would probably be a pretty hopeless undertaking; you had spotted a ladder earlier, not far from the crypt at the other end of the ravine, but you doubted that you would be able to climb it with Giulia in tow. Heck, you probably wouldn't even make it there in the first place! Walking through this mud was already strenuous enough if you were only carrying your own weight. And even if you did make it to the top, what then? There was a horde of Puppets waiting for you, and you would never be able to keep them at bay and look after Giulia at the same time, that much was certain...

"Your father taught you a lot, huh?"

"Hm...?" You had been so deep in thought that any question would have thrown you off, but this subject did it all the more. "Er, yes, I... guess so."

"Because I can't remember us ever covering stuff like fractures or sprains in class. But then again..." She stuck out her tongue. "I wasn't exactly what you'd call a model student."

You didn't know what to say to that at first, but then she already continued:

"Sounds like you spent a lot of time together." You watched her lean her head against the cold stone. "Must've been nice..."

"It was. Not always, of course", you added, "We had plenty of bad days too."

You hadn't missed the wistful undertone in her voice, and for the first time ever you wondered what her life must have been like outside of her Stalker training...

But even though a long silence followed, you couldn't decide if you wanted to ask her about it or not, before the Rabbit girl finally sighed and muttered: "Where is he..."

Something you'd been thinking for quite some time now. It was pretty much a fact that without Matteo, you were practically screwed - as much as you hated to admit it.

"Do you think something happened to him? Something... bad?"

Your heart skipped a small, uncomfortable beat. It surprised you how much this question bothered you... But he was your knight in (not so) shining armor after all, so of course you cared about his well-being! It only made sense.

"Matteo?" You snorted loudly. "No way. His inflated ego would never allow him to lose to a bunch of ordinary Worker Puppets. Before that happens he'd rather shoot himself."

At first everything remained silent, but then Giulia giggled and said: "Yeah, or stab himself with his own sword."

"Or throw himself off a cliff."

"Or admit that he likes you."

"Or-" You stopped abruptly and turned to the girl, who flashed you a mischievous grin - and immediately made you regret having started this silliness in the first place. "I think I would rather shoot myself."

"Aww, come on!", she laughed, "Where's your imagination?"

"Why would I want to imagine that? Why do you??"

"Because it's funny?" You rolled your eyes as she teasingly stuck out her tongue. "And because you two make it too easy, honestly."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Giulia shrugged. "It's just the way you two are always at each other's throats. Fighting and insulting each other and stuff. It's like back in school when you didn't wanna admit your crush so you threw your pencil at them, you know? It didn't matter that they were mad at you, at least you got their attention."

You stared at her, mouth agape, before sputtering: "Wha- Wait. Wait, wait, wait, hold on! Okay, first of all? But we're not in school anymore, Giulia, we're adults now and adults don't throw pencils, all right? And secondly, I don't know if you've noticed? But he literally hates me."

Now it was her turn to just stare at you before suddenly snorting: "What? He doesn't hate you! Trust me, you'd know if he hated you."

"He almost killed me", you deadpanned.

"See, there you go!"

Her words hung in the air between you for a moment. Then you shook your head and breathed out: "Why am I even entertaining this..."

"Good question! It's almost like you care or something, hmm, very curious..."

When you demonstratively turned your back to her, she lost her grin and sighed. "Fine, be like that. It's not like we have anything better to do."

"Quite literally anything would be better than-"

Before you'd even finished the sentence, you already wished you hadn't started it in the first place.

Because all of a sudden something crashed to the ground next to you.

It happened so unexpectedly that Giulia let out a shrill scream and you thought your heart stopped beating. The impact had covered you in mud, but you couldn't care less as you stared down at the twitching Puppet the next moment, eyes wide with shock. Your blood seemed to have turned to solid ice, and with it the rest of your body.

Then you suddenly became aware of the loud pounding in your ears, and at the same time your brain resumed its function. You immediately fumbled for your knife... And froze again when you found the sheath empty.

Wha-?

Your eyes widened even more and you felt your heart drop beyond your stomach. Oh no... No, no, no, no, no, no, where was it?!

You turned around and searched for the silver flashes of steel on the dark ground. When you couldn't find it, you dropped to your knees even to grope around in the mud, blindly and with trembling hands... But no luck. You swallowed as the terrible certainty dawned on you.

It was gone...

You felt panic bubbling up inside you, threatening to overwhelm you. But you knew better, you knew that you couldn't allow yourself to lose your mind now, because that would be a sure death sentence once the other Puppets joined your little party. So you did your best to hold back your surging emotions, and at the same time turned to Giulia to ask her to lend you her blades, just as-

"Watch out! Behind you!!"

Everything that happened next seemed to be in slow motion.

Your head turned back towards the Puppet on the ground... just in time to see it suddenly looming over you, its pair of glowing red eyes fixed firmly on your vulnerable form, its pitchfork raised high...

But... how can it move so fast in all that mud...?, flashed through your mind. One last, rather nonsensical thought that made it so you couldn't even squeeze your eyes shut before the spikes of the pitchfork were already hurtling towards you-

And then another Puppet fell from the sky, right on top of your attacker.

This time, the force of the impact caused you to fall backwards even, resulting in a literal mud bath. Your mask prevented you from swallowing any of it, but your ears weren't so lucky and got the full load. For a moment you felt like you were underwater. Under dirty water. Because although your eyes were also protected, the mud stuck to your mask and made sure you couldn't see a thing.

You quickly began to wipe at it before the thought occurred to you that you should probably move away, as you doubted very much that the Puppets would see you as anything other than a human in a mud costume... But by then it was already too late. You hadn't even moved a single muscle when you suddenly felt yourself being grabbed and pulled out of the mud... and put back on solid ground.

A detail that should have immediately given you pause, because why would a Puppet want to straighten you up first before skewering you...??

But with your vision still rather limited and your ears still full of mud, you skillfully ignored that, choosing instead to squirm and flail around in panic, trying to free yourself from the Puppet's vice-like grip.

The Puppet that suddenly gave you a good shake, removing some of the mud from your ears in the process, until you finally heard it yell: "...you stop that, damn it?! It's me!"

...Wait a minute.

You stopped moving, half believing you had only imagined the familiar voice. But familiar or not, one thing was for sure: Puppets didn't yell. And certainly not without killing you.

"M-Matteo...?", you finally sputtered, completely stunned.

You felt relief spread through you, but then you quickly put a stop to it, still too on edge. Still not trusting this fully.

Instead, you began to squint, trying to get a glimpse of him through the crust of mud in front of your eyes. When you failed, you wanted to raise your hands to clear your view, but the Rabbit still held you so tightly that you were practically immobile.

You frowned. "Matteo, could you-"

"Are you hurt?", it burst out of him, so forcefully that you immediately paused again, only this time in surprise.

"I... What? N-No, I-"

"Did it hurt you?"

Suddenly the grip of his fingers around your arms tightened even more until you could feel them squeezing the skin underneath your clothes even.

The sharp pain had you gasping for air for a few short moments, until you finally had enough in your lungs to bite out: "NO! But you do, so can you please let go off me??"

A couple more seconds passed until he finally complied with your request. Immediately, you pulled away from him and rubbed your right wrist, which he had squeezed so tightly that you wouldn't be surprised if you now wore a permanent imprint of his fingertips...

What was that all about?, you thought in utter bewilderment.

When the pain subsided a little, you finally set about wiping off your mask. The first thing you saw when you had somewhat of a clear view again, was the motionless Puppet lying face down in the mud. However, it was not difficult to see how it had met its end; there was a large hole on top of its head. Apparently Matteo had used the momentum of his fall to practically ram his sword through the Puppet's entire skull. Talk about skewered... You shuddered.

"...really sorry. I wasn't careful enough", you then heard Giulia sniffle and turned to the two Rabbits.

Matteo had crouched down in front of her, just as you did earlier, and was now sighing deeply. "All that matters is that you're otherwise unharmed. A sprained ankle we can deal with."

You raised an eyebrow. You thought you could still hear a barely perceptible tremor in his voice, see his shoulders be a little too tense... But other than that, the scarf wearer suddenly seemed to be his old self again. The epitome of self-control.

Which only confused you more.

You didn't have much time to think about it, however, because the next moment he stood up again and looked wordlessly in the direction of the open ravine. Then he tipped his head back and seemed to gaze at the distant twilight above for a short while, before finally announcing:

"I'm gonna carry you."

"To Malum?", stumbled out of your mouth, as your other eyebrow joined the first, "All the way back??"

Giulia wanted to protest as well, but he already continued: "You weigh practically nothing, I'll manage. Provided..." You couldn't stop yourself from swallowing nervously when his rabbit mask suddenly turned in your direction. "...you manage to keep the vermin off our backs."

Your mouth fell open. "What? Oh, no. No, that's not... I mean, I..."

Your voice trailed off and you felt your cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. You wished you could just sink into a hole in the ground to escape Matteo's unwavering gaze. Or bury yourself in the mud and never emerge again - though you doubted the Rabbit would let you off that easily. No, your rational half knew that there was no point in dragging this out. You'd have to tell him eventually, there was no way around it. So better to rip off the band-aid right now...

You closed your eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before saying somewhat contritely: "I... lost my knife."

No sooner had you finished than you braced yourself for his reaction. The taunting and ridicule you would undoubtedly receive, the utter humiliation. After all, he never missed an opportunity to make you feel how little he thought of you, so this was perfect for him. And worst of all, you couldn't even blame him! Because you agreed! Only an absolute idiot would manage to lose their only weapon, and in enemy territory at that...! Ugh! The thought alone made you suddenly wish the Puppet had impaled you after all...

You were so preoccupied with yourself that you didn't notice Matteo coming towards you. Only when he stopped right in front of you did you become aware of him - just as he stretched out his arm and said: "Then take mine."

For a long moment you just stared down at the sword he was holding out to you, stunned, as if you were seeing it for the first time. Then your eyes darted to his masked face, looking for a clue that he was just joking... But this was Matteo after all; sometimes you weren't sure if the man knew what the word "joke" even meant - right now you were leaning more towards no.

It made you let out a nervous laugh. "Ah, no, I... I can't..."

"Look", he sighed again, "As much as I'd love to watch you take on a bunch of Puppets barehanded - my arse is on the line here. All of our arses. So this isn't a suggestion, it's an order. Take it."

"But... I don't know how-"

You imagined him rolling his eyes as he simply pushed the sword into your hand the next moment. "It's not alchemy. Just imagine you're holding your knife, only now it's a bit longer."

A bit longer...? It looked massive! Something that immediately made you want to protest again, but then your fingers closed around the warm handle and you realized that it actually weighed a lot less than expected. Huh. You let it whizz through the air and then pretended to fight a Puppet, trying to get used to the dimensions - and trying to ignore the fact that you probably looked pretty silly right now. But as Matteo had said; your job wasn't to win a medal in swordplay, just to "keep the vermin off their backs". And that you could manage, even with your limited skills.

Hopefully...

Suddenly you heard a loud gasp, followed by: "Wait, what about the treasure? Did you find it??"

"No, there wasn't enough time." Matteo crouched down in front of Giulia again, but this time with his back turned, and then motioned for her to hop up. "I had to find a way out of that stupid chapel."

"But... But then we can't leave yet!", she cried as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Not without-"

"We'll come back another time. Right now it's more important to get you home."

The stern tone of his voice made it clear that he would not tolerate any talk back, so Giulia just hung her head and said quietly: "This is all my fault..."

"No, it isn't." Matteo slowly stood up, testing his balance. Then he tightened his grip on Giulia's legs to secure her, turned his gaze towards the exit of the ravine and finally set off at a determined pace. "It's mine..."

You looked at him in surprise as he passed you. Those last words he had mumbled so quietly that you briefly wondered if you'd just imagined it. But before you could even begin to ruminate on what he could have meant by that, the Rabbit suddenly stopped again, turned halfway around to look at you and said:

"Lead the way."

Immediately, your fingers stiffened around the hilt of his sword as you tried to swallow your nervousness - with mixed results. Eventually, though, you breathed deeply in and out, gave the two Rabbits a firm nod and then took the lead to get you home.

***

writing that convo btw reader and the youngest was a sm fun and i definitely see them as a big sister little sister duo<3 also watch out, B.M., your emotions are showing..!🤭

thank you sm for readinggg, i hope you enjoyed it!! feedback is welcome and very much appreciated♥️

#LOOK WHO DIDNT TAG MEEE AAA---#but am here to do horrible lil things as reading eheheh #engardeitsme #lies of p x reader

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