#I swear I’m close to makin’ up a random German last name for this character because of how common this name is

[rosewood-multifandom-writer]

Defrosting Ice King

Summary: You teamed up with Neo Shadaloo to help free more test subjects that were kidnapped. It’s been two successful rescues for you and the team to far, will it be third time’s the charm? Unfortunately, barely.

You end up getting badly injured in the fight to rescue two kidnapped children and got attacked and ambushed by brainwashed psycho powered experiments. Ed starts to lose it.

Thankfully, you’re tougher than you look. (Cross posted from Archive of Our Own)

(I did not know what visual to put here. 😅)

Author’s Notes: Inspired by this post right here: https://www.tumblr.com/mylife-notyours98/756209442736979968/please-im-begging-someone-please

I saw this and went, “say no more.” Plus, needed to write some Ed angst mixed with hurt/comfort since there is a lack of it on Tumblr. And because I don’t want all of my Ed content as much as I am super down bad for the guy to JUST be sex, sex, and more sex, lol.

I also decided to use “Y/N” less here so that the excessive use of it is not too off putting for others that prefer reader insert fics with less of that being used.

@mylife-notyours98 this is for you!

Content Warning(s): Light Angst, Hurt/Comfort (For Ed mostly), Bosch Mention, JP Mention, Ed Cries, Reader Gets Injured, Reader is a BAMF, Gets Fluffy At the End, Banter, Awkward Ed, Ooey Gooey Sappy Romantic Stuff at the End

Ed tried to warn you about something like this. He tried to deter you from seeing him. He tried to get you away from him, not because he hated you, far from it. He was… afraid. He HATES admitting it, but he’s afraid of losing the first person he truly fell in love with.

 

He also tried to deny his feelings for a very long time and say that he does not love you to others that teased him about you before the incident.

 

It never worked.

 

As he sat on the ground next to the pile of scrap heap he made with his gloved fists, he thought about the events of what had led to your injuries.

…

(Two weeks ago)

 

“What’s the plan, Commander Ed?” You playfully asked him.

 

Ed rolled his eyes at you and lightly flicked your nose. You yelped and rubbed your nose.

 

“That wasn’t nice of you.” You frowned.

 

“Well, that ain’t my name and you know it.” Ed argued jokingly.

 

“I didn’t hear you complain.~” You teased.

 

Falke smirked at the two of you bantering as he discussed the plan.

 

The plan was to help some test subjects out who are children.

 

Hearing and seeing that Shadaloo went as far as kidnapping and experimenting on children had always made you sick to your stomach, but you put on a brave face for your new Neo Shadaloo friends, especially with Ed, whom you started falling for over the past few months of joining him and his friends.

 

You then cracked your knuckles and said, “Well then, I’m ready.”

 

Ed smiled at your confidence briefly before he said, “Move out.”

 

You followed the other Neo Shadaloo members who were leaving the makeshift hideout, which was an abandoned warehouse, meanwhile Falke and Ed fell a little bit behind.

 

Falke smirked at Ed. “You like them, don’t you?”

 

His eyes widened and his face turned red.

 

“What?! No. I’m just… letting them exist in here.” Ed lied badly.

 

Sighing, Falke patted Ed’s shoulder.

 

“Listen, Ed. Whether you like it or not, they want to be there for you because they like you. They wouldn’t be dealing with you acting like this 24/7 tough guy if they didn’t. Plus, why else would they risk their lives helping you?” Falke asked.

 

“Because… they’re a dummy?” Ed asked, once again trying to cover up his true feelings, which earned him a shoulder smack from Falke.

 

“You can’t bullshit me, Ed. You sometimes grow attached to everyone you meet.” Falke argued.

 

Ed sighed, rubbing his shoulder and confessed, “Well… maybe it’s because I don’t want anything bad to happen to them because of me.”

 

Falke’s face softened.

 

“Hey, it’ll be okay, Ed. They’re strong and can make it through it just like you and I did.” Falke said, trying to reassure her brother.

 

“Alright. I hope you’re right.” Ed said, taking a deep breath.

 

“Eddy! You coming?” You called.

 

Falke giggled at the nickname, making Ed mouth “shut up” at her once again blushing.

…

You and the group infiltrated a run down facility, with broken shards of glass on the floor, which led up to the broken test tubes.

 

Falke was with you, alongside five others.

 

“Find anything?” You asked Falke.

 

The blonde woman shook her head. “Nothing yet.”

 

You sighed and looked around carefully, holding your breath cautiously in case someone attacks.

 

“Over here.” Someone whispered to Falke, which made you follow her and the other former test subject.

 

With teamwork, Falke and three others lifted some debris to reveal two children. Fraternal twins.

 

One of them had barcode tattoos on their shoulders similarly to Ed.

 

Ignoring the pang of sadness in your heart and gut, you quickly went over to them and got them out.

 

The girl twin started to cry and cling onto you, and you soothed her with a head pat and a hug.

 

“Ssh, it’s okay, you and your brother are safe now.” You cooed.

 

“Hey! What the hell are you doing here?!” A group of Shadaloo soldiers were suddenly surrounding all seven of you. “It’s Neo Shadaloo, stop them!”

 

“Dammit!” You yelled as you whipped around and hid the twins behind you protectively.

 

Falke stood next to you and readied her baton, and the other five members had their weapons and fists at the ready.

 

Another group appeared to your right and to Falke’s left.

 

“GO!” Falke yelled as she smacked a couple of soldiers away from the kids.

 

You delivered a well placed kick to the skull of one of them before punching another all while telling the children to stay right next to you.

 

The other five fighters were being overwhelmed and you came to their aid while Falke took her turn protecting the kids.

 

You ran up and threw a jab at one soldier before flipping the solider on his back and stomping on his chest to immobilize him.

 

One attempted to grab you but your reflexes were quicker and you threw him on top of the guy you stomped on.

 

You were approached by a bigger guy and you got ready to fight him, until…

 

In the nick of time, Ed came out and punched the big guy in the face, throwing him to the ground before he used his powers so yank him away from you so that he didn’t squish you like a bug.

 

You sighed in relief but continued to fight, as there was no time to talk and joke around now.

 

You kicked another soldier out of your way and ran to Falke to get the kids.

 

“Ed! We found the kids.” You told him during the fight.

 

“That’s good, now run!” Ed yelled as he teamed up with the others to help fight the remaining ones.

 

“But-“ You tired arguing, but Falke put a hand on your shoulder and shook her head.

 

“We gotta move.” Falke told you.

 

You reluctantly run with the kids to safety with Falke alongside six others Ed brought with him.

…

“We’re almost there, don’t worry!” You reassured the children as you all ran.

 

You on the other hand are worrying on the inside about Ed.

 

You all regrouped in a seemingly empty lab that mostly had broken test tubes like the previous one.

 

You knelt in front of the twins. “Do you two have names?”

 

The twins nodded.

 

The boy introduced himself as “Peter,” and the girl introduced herself as “Patricia.”

 

“Peter, Patricia, you’re gonna be safe, I promise you. That man that saved you is Ed. He also helped this nice woman named Falke. He saved a lot of people like you. It will be okay.” You reassured, patting their heads.

 

Both twins hugged you tightly and you embraced them back.

 

“Watch out!” Ed yelled.

 

“Huh?” You whipped your head around to see a test subject with a glowing purple scar charging at you and the kids.

 

In an instinct, you pushed the kids away towards Falke and the others and you clumsily dodged the attack.

 

“Falke, get the kids out of here!” You yelled, facing the feral brainwashed fighter.

 

“You idiot, no!” Falke yelled.

 

“Just go!” You yelled again as you barely dodged the attacks and kicked the fighter away from you.

 

“Y/N!” Ed yelled as he helped you fight off the psycho powered combatant. “You can’t fight them.”

 

“I’ve done it before, I can do it twice.” You said, thinking about Bosch and how you failed to save him. “Besides… I don’t want to fail at saving another one again.”

 

Ed was confused about what you meant before he tried again to get you to stop. He grabbed at your arm.

 

“Come on, you can’t do it.” Ed tried to pull you away.

 

You looked him in the eye with that same fire you had when you practically begged him to train you.

 

“Just let me do this. Please.” You desperately said. “I want to save them too.”

 

His grip loosened and you went off to fight the combatant.

 

He noticed something was not right with this.

 

As you sustained a couple bruises on your face and on your body, you were able to defeat the one brainwashed combatant. In hopes that you would be able to save them, you lifted the box off their head, and found a young man that looked exactly like Bosch, which made you freeze.

 

On the man’s shoulders there was a message that read, “I see you’ve joined Bison’s successor, Ed, good luck to you.”

 

You tried to pick the young man up, you heard Ed scream, “Y/N! Get out of there, there’s more of them!”

 

“Huh?!” You turned and even after a swift reaction time, you were punched in the stomach, making you cough.

 

One of them picked you up as if you were a feather and threw you onto a test tube, shattering everywhere, with glass piercing your skin and nearly taking out one of your eyes.

 

You groaned and yelped in pain as the agonizing pain of the glass in your flesh had been planted inside you.

 

You tried to get up, but your leg got messed up as well.

 

Falke and three others came back horrified and joined Ed and his group fighting the other brainwashed combatants.

 

Everything was blur due to the blood loss as you watched the others fight a bunch of experiments.

 

You reached out, as if trying to will yourself to get better, but you fainted from both stress and pain.

…

After what felt like many, many long hours, you awoke in a hospital bed.

Looking around, you tried to find any familiar faces.

Luckily, you found one: Falke.

“F-Falke…” You mumbled.

“Oh thank god, you’re awake.” Falke said, letting out a breath she was holding in for a long time it seemed. “How are you feeling?”

“Like… I got thrown like a ragdoll into some glass.” You tried to joke but the pain registered in your face. “Jesus Christ it still hurts.”

“Take it easy and do not try to get up, because you’re going to reopen your stitches.” Falke was firm, yet gentle with her words.

“Where’s the kids?” You asked, immediately wondering and worrying about their well-being.

“Peter and Patricia are okay. Just shaken up.”

“And Ed?” You asked.

Falke opened her mouth and closed it again. “How about we talk about this when you’re better?”

“He’s pissed off at me, isn’t he?” You said, looking sad. “I’m not gonna blame him. I did make a dumbass move risking my life like that, all because I let my emotions get the better of me.”

“Y/N…” Falke started. “He’s not pissed off, he’s… just taking a break.”

“A break?” You asked, confused.

“Yeah. He needs to clear his head.” Falke said. “It’s not as serious as your injuries, just take it easy. For him. It’s not me asking, it’s an order.”

You pursed your lips and slowly nodded.

“Good. Hang tight for him, okay?” Falke said before winking.

You were flustered by the comment, but you understood and took it easy. You hated hospitals, but thankfully you made enough money to pay them off with how expensive American hospitals are.

…

Ed was in the junkyard, and after breaking up so many old cars into scrap heaps and making money, he was panting and sweating and sat on the ground for a second.

Every time he closes his damn eyes…

All he could see is you, getting thrown into a test tube, seeing every single piece of glass pierce your skin and making your bleed out nearly to death, and him screaming out your name desperately.

This happened because he could not be honest with himself for goddamn once in his life.

He kept trying to deny it.

“I’m just friends with them,” he would say. “They’re just weird,” he also said. “I don’t have any feelings for them,” he lied.

The denial did not work as he had intended.

Every time he saw you help other test subjects, especially those twins that were about his age when he was also kidnapped and experimented on, seeing you risk it all for people you barely knew, seeing you fight fiercely, it made him fall in love.

And he hated that he was in love with you.

He was trying so hard not to catch feelings and here you are, making him fall under your spell.

He growled and punched the ground.

He deeply exhaled some of his anger and closed his eyes.

“Did not think you’d be out here of all places.” He heard Falke say behind him.

“What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be watching them?” Ed asked.

“They’re okay, Ed. They’re just healing a bit slowly.” Falke said.

Ed stayed silent and looked at the ground, hiding his face behind his white hoodie and hair.

Falke frowned and sat next to him.

“Do you think I’m worth it?” Ed mumbled.

“What?” Falke asked.

“Do you think I’m worth being around even if shit like that keeps happening?” Ed asked.

Falk thought about her answer carefully.

She thought back to that time Ed rescuing her from Shadaloo and how he gave her more hope in taking down Shadaloo.

“Yes, you are worth it, Ed.” Falke told him.

“Why? I always pull you guys into my bullshit. I mean, look at Y/N right now! They’re like that because of me.” Ed said.

“That’s not true, Ed. They were willing to risk their life the same way you were willing to. Yeah, they’re also stubborn when it comes to you warning them about the danger, but considering how far they went to find their own meaning of strength and wanting to help people, they also think you’re worth it.”

Ed thought hard about this.

“I just need a minute alone.” Ed told her without the usual bite in his words.

Falke noticed this change immediately and nodded in understanding. “Take your time.”

After his sister left, he sighed before he teared up.

He thought back to seeing you, laying in your own blood, unconscious, and he tried to wake you up by calling out to you, and he couldn’t speak after realizing just how horrible your injuries were.

He held a hand up to his mouth, in so much shock from the pang of guilt, anger at himself, and regret for not telling you his true feelings and how he took you for granted.

Picking you up gently, he was almost about to cry, as Falke took notice as she led the others out before anymore Shadaloo soldiers could arrive.

He was the one who brought you to the hospital and he watched as you were fighting to live for another day. After three long days of you being out, he stopped visiting you at the hospital, as he felt like he did not deserve to be in your presence.

…

(Back to the present)

 

“How long was I out?” You asked after your wounds healed slightly and you were able to sit up without fearing reopening your wounds and making yourself stay at the dreaded hospital longer.

 

You checked yourself out during the day and met up with Falke at night.

 

“Three days.” Falke said bluntly.

 

“THREE DAYS?!” You exclaimed. “Hold crap, I thought I was gonna faint again.”

 

“Maybe don’t do that.” Falke joked. “Even though your wounds are healed, you need to take it easy. Until you fully recover, you need to leave the test subjects up to me and Ed.”

 

“Okay. I REALLY don’t want to be in a hospital again, honestly. Speaking of which, where is Ed?” You asked. “He didn’t immediately go on a mission, did he?”

 

Falke bit her lip before saying, “He’s been uh… on his off days lately.”

 

“Is it because of…?” You trailed off. Falke shook her head, immediately debunking your assumption. 

 

“Just go talk to him. He’s been worried about you.” Falke told you. “Remember to be gentle with him.”

 

You nodded. “Where is he?”

 

Falke pointed to the construction area.

 

“He’s on top of one of the buildings?” You questioned.

 

“Yeah. He mentioned something about you mentioning a very odd place to recommend tourists and went there specifically.” Falke said.

 

“Thanks, Falke.” You hugged her and went to go see him.

 

“Another thing, Y/N! Take care of my brother when I am not around!” Falke advised.

 

“I will!” You yelled back.

…

Ed was sitting on one of the buildings of the construction site.

 

These past few days, he’s been up here, reminiscing about your text messages about this area, loving to go to that Edomon place even though he doesn’t like it personally, and you wanting to get stronger.

 

He smiled solemnly at these memories and looked down at his wrapped hands.

 

He sighed and thought about how bad he was at this and how he almost got his heart ripped out of his chest.

 

“Ed?” He heard your voice and he turned to see you, with new somewhat healing scars on your body and your face.

 

“What the hell are you thinking, climbing all the way up here with the injuries you have?” Ed scolded, although the venom in his words did not register as strongly as you were expecting from him.

 

“It’s fine, I checked myself out of the hospital after everything was okay.” You tried reassuring. “Falke was there to make sure I did not make my conditions worse.”

 

Ed’s shoulders somewhat relaxed as he looked back on the city lights.

 

You sat next to him, where he couldn’t hide his face behind his hair.

 

You said nothing for a few seconds to let Ed collect his thoughts.

 

You both had a bit of a social language barrier going on as he was socially inept due to everything he went through.

 

Biting your lip, you rubbed your forearm, thinking about how stupid you were risking your life like that because you got emotional seeing a test subject that looked like Bosch.

 

“I saw the test subject you were eying at.” Ed said bluntly.

 

You looked at him, but he continued staring at the lights.

 

“Your friend… his name was Bosch, right?” Ed asked.

 

“Yes, that was his name.” You confirmed.

 

“So Bosch was experimented on, and JP is the one who killed him?” Ed asked.

 

Fighting off tears and the lump in your throat, you said, “Yes.”

 

“I see.” Ed said, looking down.

 

You sighed and took a deep breath.

 

“Remember how we met?” It was now your turn to ask a series of questions.

 

He nodded.

 

“When I heard that name, Neo Shadaloo, I was thinking… maybe if I got close to the leader, I could find a faster way to get to Bosch after he got kidnapped as well. Then… I ran into someone who was the exact opposite of who I was imagining.” You confessed.

 

“He is… brash, a bit rude sometimes, tried to push me away several times, but he is nice. He saved a bunch of people he hardly knew, and was raised by a good parent in my eyes. He even encouraged me to keep fighting even though I felt like I lost hope losing a friend, and I want him to keep fighting too. I don’t want him to stop fighting or be angry because I decided to be stupid and almost got killed. But… I know he’s angry at me, so… I can’t blame him.” Your voice broke a little as you finished pouring your heart out to him.

 

The anticipation was killing you for the response you were going to get.

 

“…I’m not angry at you.” Ed said, looking like he’s about to break.

 

“…”

 

“I’m angry at myself!” He yelled. “I could’ve been saving you from getting killed by those guys, and you almost bled out in my arms!” He got up from his seat and walked away from you a bit.

 

You got up to follow and stopped halfway to give him time and space, remembering Falke’s advice.

 

He clenched his fists before undoing them.

 

He sighed in defeat.

 

“The fact that I still let you get hurt like that and I was the one who put you in danger like that… I should not have done that.”

 

“Ed…” You started.

 

“No! Stop trying to blame yourself, you were trying to help, it’s just…”

 

“Ed!” You got closer and he went away from you.

 

“No… I just…” His voice was breaking. “Even after all this time I’m letting my damn emotions control me. I’m still the same pathetic kid… hell… I never was a kid… I want to help people the same way I ended up getting help… but I made things so damn worse…” 

 

You couldn’t take any more of seeing Ed so depressed so you threw yourself at him and hugged him from behind.

 

This finally got him to break down and you both slowly collapsed on the ground, with you still hugging him.

…

After some time and you soothing him with your words, you were both back to sitting next to each other, with you holding Ed’s hand for his own support.

 

“I’m sorry for not thinking clearly.” You apologized, leaning your head on Ed’s shoulder.

 

“It’s not your fault.” Ed reassured. “It’s mostly mine.”

 

“The unpredictable happens beyond our control, Ed. So, no, it’s not your fault. I have no problems arguing about this.” You lightly joked. “After all, I always bounced back from the worst.”

 

He scoffed at you which you took as a good sign that he’s slowly feeling better.

 

“Cripes… you’re truly something else. No wonder I-“ Ed stopped himself from saying what he was truly going to say and saved himself by saying, “I became buddies with you.”

 

You laughed softly. “I’m your “buddy” now, huh?”

 

“Don’t get smug about it.” Ed bit back.

 

“Okay, I’ll stop, don’t want to get the cold shoulder treatment.” You joked again.

 

Ed laughed and you started laughing.

 

You both looked at each other and looked down at your hands still being intertwined.

 

Here, Ed would normally look away all embarrassed after holding your hand for too long and snatch his hand away, but he is not doing that this time. Not after almost losing you like that. 

 

“I gotta tell you something else.” Ed said.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I… I uh… crap. I don’t know how to say it.” Ed said, blushing.

 

“Oh… I see.” You thought to yourself. You let Ed try and let his feelings out like he did so earlier.

 

“I… love…” Ed tried again.

 

You smiled lovingly at him.

 

“Stop looking at me like that, you’re making it harder.” Ed said, his face now redder.

You saved him more of the embarrassment by kissing his cheek.

 

“It’s okay, Eddy. I love you too.” You confessed.

 

“Tch, of course you’d beat me to it.” Ed tried to hide his embarrassment from you.

 

“Didn’t realize it was a competition.” You joked as you pressed your scarred cheek against his, making him smile, until you felt it drop again and he pulled away from you, making you craving the touch again. 

 

Ed was eyeing at your facial scarring and he let go of your hand to touch the scars.

 

“Ed… really, I’m okay, for real this time.” You reassured, holding his hand against your cheek.

 

“I know.” Ed simply said before he kissed your scars.��

 

You both decided to take a breather after another month since you still need to be 100%.

 

Thankfully, a nice bar with a pool table with Ed’s friends and found family is enough to get you both closer together during your recovery.

 

Ed also planned another meetup at that construction site once you were fully healed, as he had bought some of your favorite chocolate alongside a love note, as he was never good with saying his thoughts out loud.

He’ll always be waiting for you, just like before.

End notes: Well would you look at that! I decided to post a full fanfic this time! I hope all of you Ed fangirls (and fanboys) enjoyed this because I enjoyed it a lot. This is only the tip of the iceberg of my Ed brainrot, lol.