#as hunter steel would say: never give up and it'll be alright

[imminent-danger-came]

*cough cough hack hack* only a couple more weeks.........

[arcadia-of-pluto]

Twist of Fate; Chapter Two

Pairings; All LADS Men x Reader (will be putting "LADS OT4 x reader" in the future)

Word Count; 2,127 (I swear they will get longer)

Themes; Isekai, eventual smut

Rated; 18+ for swearing and some mature themes

Notes; None besides the smut is not near, I regret to inform you all. I have twenty chapters and no smut, however I do have plans for it!

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Masterlist

You woke up bright and early the next day, ready to be discharged from the hospital first thing in the morning. You vaguely knew how the next two months were going to play out; while you did play the game until chapter eight and the next update wasn't for another month, you don't remember anything exactly. Only bits and pieces. You don't know the exact dialogue but you're sure it'll be fine. You've already changed the story enough just by getting a wound on your right eye but hey, at least, you'll look hot with a scar.

Yvonne, who is a receptionist and a nurse, helps you pull out your IV and all of the wires that keep track of your heart. Then, she steps out of the room to allow you to change out of your hospital gown. You put on your casual clothes- a blue turtleneck with a white denim jacket, the turtleneck tucked into your high-waisted dark wash blue jeans, and you put on some combat boots to finish up the look. It was a basic outfit from the game, but it was a cute one nonetheless. You head into the bathroom that was in your room so you can finally catch a glimpse of how you look and to your surprise, you look exactly like yourself. The same hair, the same face, the same blemishes, and the same eyes…save for your right eye being slightly lighter than your original eye colour. Just a drawback of having a scar. Apparently there was no damage to your eye but you'll have to get that checked out with an optometrist. Maybe you'll get some cute glasses, though that would be hard to fight with.

You make sure to grab your phone and put Caleb's necklace in your pocket for safekeeping before you finally leave your hospital room. You head down the elevator and straight to the front desk, where Yvonne was waiting. “Alright, just sign here and you'll be free to go, Y/n.”

You take the pen with your left hand, ready to sign out. “Did the accident make you left-handed?” You turn your head to see Zayne. “Maybe it made me ambidextrous, you never know.” You shoot back, quickly signing out before turning toward him. “Did you need something, doctor Zayne?”

A sigh leaves his lips before he jerks his head toward his office. “A word, please.” Then he turns and walks to his office, not even waiting for you to follow. You groan, grumbling under your breath as you follow behind him. “You tall people have no empathy for anyone shorter than you!”

He grabs something out of the desk drawer and holds it out to you. “Here. This may have some answers you're looking for.”

It's a box with a fingerprint scanner on it.

You recognize this from the game, but you play it off like you're confused. “Was this from grandma?” You ask, using your thumb to unlock it and you spot a letter. “Why didn't she give me this sooner...” You sigh and emotions that didn't quite feel like your own swell up in your chest.

“Wait, does something feel off to you?” You look around, knowing what's going to happen next. Your Hunter's watch goes off as if to say the metaflux readings are rising. A protofield was appearing right here in the office.

“I would listen to the doctor's orders, but it seems like we're going to have to take care of this.” You were nervous but you steel your nerves, hands gripping your twin pistols almost too tightly. “Are you sure you can handle this?” Zayne asks and all you can do is nod before you both enter the swirling, blue vortex.

The portal leads to a beautiful, almost church-like arena. Bright white cobblestone columns with a statue in the back of the room. You take a deep breath before taking a step forward. “This one feels like it's going to be stronger than usual.” You try to sound as calm as possible but the large creature in front of you makes it difficult. You're absolutely right to be terrified, you've never encountered a huge monster before and rightfully assumed you never would. You've never had to use guns and fight, you've definitely never had to fight for your life in fact but you guess there's a first for everything.

You close your eyes as the monster's thundering footsteps draw near, focusing on resonating with Zayne to speed up the process of defeating this thing. Your eyes opening suddenly as you fire off magazines into the large wanderer. Zayne darts around, using his ice evol on the creature as well until you break it's shield. Your aim, while clumsy, doesn't miss the target not once. Especially since the wanderer can't move quickly, it can only swing at whoever is near and throw boulders.

Though you do find it much more difficult to fight without being able to see a health bar.

Eventually the creature goes down and the protofield dissipates, leaving you both in his office as if nothing happened. Though Zayne's right arm is frosted over. Backlash from overusing his evol?

“Zayne, do you need me to-”

“No, I,” He closes his eyes and tries to breathe slowly, stuttered sharp breaths leave his lips before the frost finally goes away. “Here.” He walks over to hand you the box once more and once you grab onto it, he flexes his fingers and moves his wrist around. “Don't forget about your next appointment.”

“Mmh, you'll just remind me the day before, Doctor Zayne.” You hold your hands behind your back as you smile at him. “But I'll get out of your hair for now. Take care of yourself.” You tell him before leaving his office and you notice Xavier dozing off in one of the waiting room chairs.

“Xavier?” You tap his shoulder but he shows no sign of waking up. “Xavi?” You shake his shoulder with a bit more force and he slowly blinks his eyes open, rubbing them with one arm while his other grabs your wrist. “How long have you been here?”

“Only…five minutes?” Xavier yawns, rising up to his feet. “It took you five minutes to fall asleep?” You ask as he gently tugs you outside of the hospital. “It took you five minutes to defeat a wanderer?” He shoots right back and you tilt your head back to groan. “It was awful. I didn't miss any shots but at least I could use my evol.”

“You resonated…with who?” Xavier looks confused, his head tilting to the side as he looks at you. “My ah…friend came by to visit yesterday and helped me relearn how to resonate and I fought the wanderer with my doctor.” You decide to be as vague as possible, unsure what the repercussions would be if they all met just yet.

“You're close enough with your doctor to fight off a wanderer together?”

“Well, he's been by my side for a few years now.” You clear your throat, switching to grab Xavier’s wrist as you tug him forward. “Where'd you put my friend?” You ask, suddenly reminded that you asked for yesterday. “Oh right.” Xavier pulls the plushie out from under his white denim jacket, holding the orange fox with a blue winter coat out toward you. “I got him in one try.”

“Don't lie to me.” You tease, taking the plushie and holding it close to your chest. “It probably took you more than that.” “Well..” Xavier rubs the back of his neck and you walk together, “I tried about ten times before a kid decided to help me out..he got it in one try.” “Ah, so you were trying to take credit from a child!” You laugh before smiling as you look down at your feet. “Still…thank you for listening.”

“Any time.” He smiles right back at you. “We could stop by Meow's Café on the way back to the apartments, I hear we can get three tickets a week to pull for badges if we play three games of kitty cards.” Somehow the game mechanics transferred over to real life surprisingly well.

“Sure, I'll definitely beat you!”

Turns out, you both were bad at the game.

You won once and then both other games ended in a draw. A server walks over to place a chocolate on your table after your three games and you pick it up before you try to bite into it. “Wait.” Xavier puts a hand over your mouth. “That's…not candy.” He struggles to hide his laughter and you bat his hand away from your mouth. “What do you mean?” You pout, turning the chocolate upside-down to see the numbers 450 written on it.

“Did you forget that too? You can turn in your chocolate for clothes here. You also get chocolate from doing the claw machine. Here, I'll give you mine.” He pulls a metal chocolate from his pocket and taps it against yours to transfer his amount to yours. The underside of your chocolate changes to the number 3000. “Ohh that makes sense.” You murmur to yourself. You should've realized since in game, you can transfer chocolates for clothing items, accessories, new chat boxes, and other stuff. “Hmm, let's go use our tokens!”

You grab his wrist and tug Xavier over to the vintage looking badge machines. “So we put the token in here, turn the knob, and…” Out comes a plastic ball with a pin inside. “They're pins, not badges?” You ask, a tad bit confused but Xavier shrugs, “Don't ask me.” You both put the last two tokens in and check out which pins you got.

While Xavier is posting one of the pins on his Moments account, you decide to change your profile picture there. Especially since you've got a scar and everything now. You find some good lighting and pick up one of the café cats before taking a picture and saving it. You set the orange cat back down, scratching it's back before holding your hand out to Xavier. “C'mon, it's getting late. Let's head back to the apartments.”

“So which room is mine again?” You ask as you lean against the wall of the elevator. “It's a floor below mine.” Xavier says as the doors open to the second floor. “I'll show you.”

Once at the door, you use the fingerprint scanner and step inside, taking your shoes off before going any further. “Do you want to come inside and do some resonance training?” You place a hand on your hip as you look at Xavier. “I…guess I could but only for a little while.” Xavier shuts the door behind him, taking his shoes off as well and you both head for the couch. You sit with your leg tucked under your thigh so you can face Xavier, hands clasped between his and you close your eyes.

You've resonated twice already so it shouldn't be too difficult.

You know the resonance is done when you see tiny lights behind your eyelids but before you can open your eyes, you get yet another vision. Similar to what happened with Rafayel.

A sharp gasp slips from your lips and you rest your forehead on Xavier's shoulder as a few images flash through your head.

“Y/n, are you alright?” Xavier gently taps your shoulder a few times as you shake your head to clear your vision. “Did you see it too?” You ask the same question you asked Rafayel and Xavier almost seems even more reluctant to answer.

“I mean I saw us in class together. I'm almost positive I've never seen you in school before.” You murmur before adding, “But the sky I saw was very pretty.”

“The sky?” Xavier seems almost a bit hopeful with his question.

“It was a huge meteor shower…and I recall seeing the tassel. You know? The one on your sword.” Xavier abruptly stands up, turning his head away from you. “It must've been a daydream. I didn't see anything.” He quickly says, blinking a few times before clearing his throat, “Good job resonating. You should be ready for combat sooner than you thought.” He shoots you a smile, “I'll let you know when training starts.”

“Oh…okay. See you later, Xavier!”

The smile you had drops from your lips the moment he leaves and you click your tongue. “Tsk…maybe I was too pushy? Maybe this is why she never talked to them about their past lives..”

You run a hand through your hair as you rise to your feet, you might as well make something to eat before you head off to bed. Rafayel mentioned that art expo would be soon so it should be after your training with Xavier..

---------------------------------------------------

I think this chapter was so short because I wanted to rush the story a bit- which I am sorry because I do rush a tad just to get where I want to! Anyways, next chapter should hopefully be longer and I'll aim to make my chapters longer in the future. I just get so scared off when I see six pages for one chapter on Google docs because I'm never really sure how long a chapter should be.

Hope you enjoyed this short chapter and I'll post the third one while I figure out how to link the "prev" and "next" buttons!

[cocastyle]

Robin — TWO

Pairing - Joel Dawson x reader

Word Count - 4,476

A/N - new update for Robin!! yay!! this series as been so much fun writing so far and I’m overwhelmed by the unexpected love for this series so far! I hope you all continue to enjoy it as much as I! I have a lot in store for our very own Batman and Robin duo :))

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

R O B I N

Robin Series Masterlist

⭒❃.✮:▹  TWO   ◃:✮.❃⭒

Dear Aimee,

This week has been especially shitty.

We lost Connor to what looked like a really big ant. It helps me to draw them. I try to capture their essence, scribble down some notes on how to kill them.

Turns out Robin's katanas can pretty much solve anything. Although, I'm pretty sure it's just because Robin's the one wielding them.

Sometimes I think drawing them is the only way I know how to cope with these things. That and having Y/N. She helps me a lot more than I give her credit for.

I owe her my life.

We've lost a lot of people over the years. You'd think you'd get numb to it after a certain point.

You don't.

- - -

Y/N walked through the hallway with a small skip in her step. Despite everything that had happened in the past week, she still managed to feel happy just at the thought of being with her best friend. With her activities for the morning already done, she was determined to spend some time with Joel who she knew was still a bit down on himself about what had happened during the breach.

She had set up the target in the room where Gertie and Mav1s were, knowing that the boy had been begging her to teach him how to shoot for a while now. She had about a half an hour before she had to be back with the hunting squad, so she was hurrying to get to Joel so that they could have more time working with the crossbow.

She was almost to his room when she heard his voice echoing down the hall. Furrowing her eyebrows, she picked up her speed and went pass his bedroom until she was at the radio room. She poked her head inside, her eyes landing on the boy who sat at the desk with the radio turned on.

"This is 7045. Come in, 3022. I repeat, come in, 3022. Over," Joel said, his eyes flickering over the map in front of him where he had 'X's marked everywhere except for the circle around their bunker and 3022.

"This is 3022. What is it now, Ray?" a voice replied over the radio making Joel sit up a bit more.

"Hey, Janice. No, it's actually. . .It's, uh, Joel," he told her making Y/N smile softly as she watched the boy.

There was a long moment of silence before the woman chuckled, "Oh. Joel."

"Yeah," he replied, smiling slightly.

"All right. Hold on one second," Janice said. "Aimee, it's Ray!"

Y/N’s smile faltered at that, muttering softly to herself, "Aimee, of course."

"Joel," the boy corrected with a small sigh into the radio. "Thanks, Janice."

"Joel! Hey!" a new voice said, instantly making the boy perk up as a big grin took over his features.

"Hey, Aimee! Hi!" Joel exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Hi. Yeah. I, uh. . .I'm good," Aimee told him.

"It's so good to hear your voice," Joel admitted, relaxing a bit at finally being able to hear her voice once again.

Y/N watched him for a moment longer before smiling sadly and turning to walk away. She knew how much getting to talk to Aimee meant to him, so she wasn't about to interrupt him with something he honestly probably didn't care to do. Besides, she wanted to give him some privacy to talk to the girl he was in love with. After all, that's what she would've wanted if it were her having to talk to Joel over the radio.

The girl walked aimlessly down the hallway, lost in her own thoughts about Joel before she was snapped back to attention when a voice softly called out, "Y/N, are you alright?"

She came to a stop, her head lifting up to notice Kala standing in front of the memorial they had for all the lost colony members. The girl's eyes were on her, concern evident despite the sadness in her eyes.

Y/N gave her a forced smile and said, "I'm fine, Kala."

Kala just stared at her before giving her a sad smile and whispering, "Joel's talking with Aimee again, isn't he?"

Y/N looked away at that, swallowing thickly before asking, "How. . .how are you?"

Kala went quiet and glanced down at the hat in her hands that had belonged to Connor. When she continued to not respond, Y/N walked across the room and pulled the girl in for a hug. Kala melted into her embrace, her body shaking a bit as she softly cried.

"I know," Y/N whispered, holding onto the girl tightly in hopes she would realize she was no alone. "Connor. . ." She trailed off as she felt her own sadness bubbling into her throat. After all, Connor and her had been close. He was a part of the hunting team with her. He had been like brother to her and she had lost him. "He was a great person and he loved you so much. He died protecting you."

Kala sniffled and nodded her head. "I know," she said, her voice cracking a bit.

The sound of footsteps approaching pulled the two apart and they turned to see Joel walking in. He plopped down on a seat beside one of the tables, a numb and upset look on his face that made Y/N’s heart break.

"I'm going to go put Connor's hat up," Kala muttered, her hand gently squeezing Y/N’s arm in order to pull the girl's attention back to her. "Thank you."

Y/N nodded and Kala gave her a small smile before walking back over to the memorial while Y/N walked over to Joel. She sat down in the seat beside him, the boy instantly looking her way while she offered him a small smile.

"Hey," she whispered. "How are you?" Joel looked away at that and Y/N sighed, "Joel, you need to put the breach thing behind you, okay? No one was expecting it, so you can’t blame yourself for being scared."

"But you're not scared," Joel retorted, his head still hung low.

"Are you kidding me? I'm always scared," Y/N told him, her words making him look up at her. "It's my fear that keeps me going.It's my fear that pushes me through whatever challenges may come my way."

Y/N didn't go into the fact that her fear was never truly about herself. Her fear had always and would always be for Joel's life. For if she died, then that meant Joel could die simply because she wouldn't be there to protect her. And that's what scared her more than anything in the world.

The thought of Joel dying.

So in her mind, she survived for him. She survived so that Joel would survive.

The boy was looking at her, still not saying anything. Sighing, the girl reached out and placed a hand on top of his own. She gave him a reassuring smile before saying, "Even Batman was afraid every once in a while, Joel. That's what makes him human."

Joel smiled a little at that, squeezing her hand and rubbing his thumb over the top of her skin while Y/N smiled back.

She let go of his hand and leaned back in her chair, propping her feet up on the table as she looked to the boy. "How's Aimee?" she asked.

Joel looked at her in surprise, not sure how she could've known he was talking to the girl, before saying, "I think she's fine. We. . .we didn't get to talk much before the radio cut off."

Y/N frowned, "I'm sorry, Joel."

Joel smiled weakly and looked down at the table before whispering, "I just miss her."

Y/N felt her heart ache at the sight of him and she quickly dropped her feet to the ground before wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leaning her head against him. "I know," she whispered softly, ignoring the way her heart slightly broke knowing that even after seven years of not seeing her, Joel still loved Aimee.

Y/N had gone through seven years of watching him pine after a girl who barely even seemed to understand what she had when he was her boyfriend. Yet she still stuck by his side even though she found herself falling in love with him even more with each second that passed.

Joel let out a soft sigh and leaned his head against her own, relishing in the comfort of his best friend while his heart ached for the girl he loved.

Still oblivious to the fact that the girl holding onto him loved him more than Aimee ever could.

- - -

"I wanna know how it got in," Karen demanded, frowning from where she sat down at the table. The whole colony was there, the discussion about how the monster had gotten in finally being brought up after giving everyone enough time to mourn.

Y/N was watching Joel, her eyes flickering over the boy who sat on the opposite end of the table with his gaze on the table and a numb look upon his face. Frowning, she pulled her gaze away and looked to Karen. "You sure about that?" Y/N asked. "Sometimes it's better not knowing."

Karen was hesitant, knowing that what the girl said was true. After all, the hunting team didn't always tell them what went on unless everyone agreed on it. It was better for some people to have to worry about certain things over others. When she gave a small nod in response, Y/N looked to Tim and gestured for him to go ahead.

With Connor gone, Y/N was one of the designated leaders at the moment. She had a bit of a reputation in the colony anyways, having worked her way to top hunter on their squad within a matter of weeks. So Tim didn't hesitate to comply to her orders, looking around at the others as he explained, "It appears to have ripped through one of our perimeter defenses."

"What, it ripped through steel?" Anna Lucia asked, having not known that bit of information.

"Y/N, Anderson, and I resealed the breach point and the vent. Nothing's getting in that way again," Tim assured them.

"And if they do, we'll be ready. I set up triggers around possible breach points to help alert us when something's attempting to get in. Next time one tries to strike, the team and I will be out there ready to take it down," Y/N said.

"But why did it happen?" Karen asked.

"It was a freak occurrence," Ray told her. "There's no reason to think it'll happen again."

"Ray's right. We only took precautions just to be safe," Y/N spoke up. "We should try to stay calm. There's no use worrying—"

"How far away is Aimee's colony?" Joel spoke up, his voice making them all go silent while the boy looked over at them.

"What?" Tim asked.

"Aimee's colony," Joel repeated, ignoring the fact that everyone's eyes were now on him including Y/N who looked like she didn't understand what was happening. "How far away is it?"

"About eighty five miles," Ray answered.

"How long does that take to get there?" Joel questioned. Y/N sat up a bit, her feet that she had propped up on the table falling to the ground as she stared at her best friend.

"Joel, you're not actually thinking of going?" Tim said confused.

"Tim, just. . .humor me," Joel pleaded. "How long?"

"Seven days," Y/N spoke up, causing the boy to look her way. She was watching him, her eyes flickering over his face while she had a completely blank look upon her face. It was enough to make Joel still, for he had never seen her act that way, but he was too focused on her words to speak up about it. "Minimum."

"An armed and trained hunting party would be lucky to last fifty miles on the surface," Anna Lucia said, the others all looking at each other and mumbling in agreement while Joel looked off in thought and Y/N continued to study him with narrowed eyes. "But you, Joel. . ."

"All right," Tim spoke up, noticing the way Y/N had obviously gotten distracted by what her best friend was saying. "Now I need volunteers to help reinforce some of the outer perimeter."

Everyone began to speak up, agreeing to help out, but Joel spoke out again, his voice making everyone freeze as he said, "I'm gonna go."

Everyone was dead silent as they looked to him, Y/N’s face growing a bit pale while Joel ignored her gaze. "It's an impossible journey, Joel," Tim told him.

Joel shook his head and stood up. "No, I'm serious," he said. "I love you guys, but Aimee is one of the only people in this world who ever truly made me happy, and she's only eighty five miles away. And I'm gonna go see her." He let out a breath he had been holding before smiling slightly. "That felt awesome." He then turned and walked out of the room, leaving everyone staring after him.

All eyes turned to Y/N who was staring at the place Joel had just been with tears in her eyes. All she could hear were Joel's words playing over and over in her head.

Aimee is one of the only people in this world who ever truly made me happy.

Aimee is one of the only people in this world who ever truly made me happy.

It took her a moment, but Y/N was up and out of her seat without a second thought. She ran out of the room, leaving the others to sigh and exchange a look for they knew Joel's words had hit her harder than he meant to let them.

By the time she reached Joel's room, her tears were long gone and her mind was already made up. She appeared in the doorway, her eyes instantly locking on Joel who was shoving his few belongings into his backpack. He glanced up at her, his eyes hesitating on her form for a moment before he looked back down.

"I have to go, Robin. I can't stay here anymore and just wait for something to happen. I'm done waiting," he told her, shoving his journal and pencils into his backpack as he did so.

"I know," Y/N replied. "You have to do this. You should go." Joel looked up to her at that, his face displaying a look of shock for a small second. She smiled softly at him before walking towards him and saying, "But I'm coming too."

"You're. . .you're what?" Joel asked in surprise, his eyes flickering over her face as she came to stop in front of him.

"Joel, you're the only person who makes me happy," she began, her words making his heart skip a beat which he quickly pushed aside as nothing. "I can't let you just leave without me."

Joel was reminded of what he said earlier and his face softened as he reached out and cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "You know I didn't mean that you don't make me happy, right?" he eyes searching her own to make sure she understood what he was saying. "Cause you do, Robin. You're the one that keeps me going every day."

He let go of her and turned to his backpack which he zipped up, missing the way Y/N’s face heated up for a second due to his words and display of affection. She quickly pushed her feelings aside, knowing Joel always had been an affectionate person. It was just how their friendship worked.

"But I have to go see Aimee," Joel continued, letting his gaze fall back upon his best friend. "And I can't just make you come with."

"You're not making me do anything," Y/N assured him. "I'm coming. We stick together through everything, remember?" She took a step forward before holding her hand out to the boy. "Batman and Robin, right?"

Joel hesitated as he looked to her, a smile slowly making its way onto his face while he felt his heart swell with an emotion that he pushed aside as nothing else but relief in getting to keep her by his side.

"Batman and Robin," he agreed, clasping his hand in her own while they exchanged small smiles.

Y/N gave him a short nod before taking a step back which caused Joel to frown because it suddenly felt like he was missing a warmth he hadn't known had been there when she was right in front of him.

"I'm going to go grab my things," Y/N said. "I'll meet you by the exit." And with that, she ran out of the room, leaving Joel to stare after her. He was a bit confused as to what he had just felt, but didn't think much of it as he turned back to his bag and smiled.

"I'm coming, Aimee," he whispered, thoughts of reuniting with the love of his life running through his head.

- - -

Dear Aimee,

I am done hiding. I am done waiting for things to get better.

It's time to take matters into my own hands. Time to let someone else make the minestrone.

I'm taking a radio, even though it doesn't have power. But I'm gonna take it anyway.

Robin's coming with me. She's just the best, you know?

I didn't want to admit it, but the thought of leaving her behind had scared me. Knowing she'll be there with me every step of the way, it provides me a sort of comfort that I can't even begin to describe.

I can do anything if I have her with me. Walking eighty five miles through a monster infested world will be a piece of cake.

- - -

When Y/N was done packing, she went off to find the rest of the colony, knowing she would have to explain to them that she was going with Joel even if they might not want her to. Muttering rehearsed lines to herself, Y/N walked into the main room where the colony was all huddled around a map and writing things down.

"Guys," Y/N began, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm—"

However, she didn't get a chance to finish before she was being tackled in a hug by Kala. Y/N fell into a stunned silence, hesitantly hugging the girl back in confusion before Kala pulled away to look at her.

"You're going with him," Kala stated. "We know." Y/N blinked in surprise before looking around at the others who all just nodded softly despite the sad smiles on their faces. The girl looked back to Kala who just smiled softly. "It's okay, Y/N. We knew you would."

"I didn't want to do this to you guys," Y/N admitted. "I know we just lost Connor and losing another person on the hunting team isn't ideal, but I have to go with him. He's my best friend."

They all nodded in understanding before Tim reached out to clap a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to explain to us, Y/N," he told her. "We get it. Just know that we'll be waiting for you two when you get back."

Y/N smiled softly at that, falling into Tim's embrace while everyone smiled at the exchange. "So," Y/N began as she pulled away from the man, "what are you guys doing?"

"Attempting to make a map for the two of you. Well. . .mostly for Joel in case he somehow gets lost," Anna Lucia said making Y/N chuckle softly before she walked over to the table.

She smiled softly at the sight of all the notes on the front before noticing that there seemed to be something on the back. She flipped the paper over, her smile growing even more at the notes the crew had all written on the back for the boy.

"We were going to make one for you too," Kala spoke up. "But I think Joel needs more of a reminder of how much we love him than you do. I have a feeling you already know that."

Y/N smiled and looked up at the people who had become her family. "I know," she whispered making them all smile before she looked down at the paper snd grabbed ahold of one of the pens. She scribbled down a small note on the back to go along with the others before Karen folded the map up.

It was when she was almost finished folding it that they heard Ray call out, "He's not joking."

They all walked out of the room at that, Y/N catching sight of Joel making his way over towards them with his backpack on and two crossbows and her katanas in hand. His eyes locked with hers and he smiled before holding out her weapons. "I think you may have forgotten something," he mused making the girl roll her eyes.

"Thanks, Joel," she said before grabbing the katanas and strapping them into her back and under her backpack. She then took the crossbow and the two turned to head towards the ladder that led to up above when Tim stepped in their way.

"We're not letting you two leave. You're needed here," Tim told them, even though Y/N knew that he understood he wasn't going to be able to stop them.

"Tim, Y/N may be, but I'm not. Come on. I don't do anything," Joel said.

"Joel, that's not true. You fix the radio. You make the minestrone," Tim stopped after that and winced slightly at his own words. "Okay. Doesn't sound as important when I say it out loud."

"I appreciate you trying," Joel assured him. "Really, I do. I just don't feel like I belong anywhere. I don't really wanna die all alone at the end of the world, so. . ."

Tim stared at the boy for a moment, his eyes flickering over to Y/N who gently shook her head at him to let him know he shouldn't say anything about her feelings for the boy. Tim sighed and turned away, allowing the two to walk by.

Joel moved forward, but paused before looking back at the others. "Look, I know you guys all just think of me as, like, some little, pathetic, adorable hedgehog. But I can take care of myself. I'm actually probably a lot stronger than you might think," he told them.

Y/N smiled softly at the boy's words, knowing how badly he wanted to prove to them all that he could do this. She placed a hand on his arm and Joel looked her way, smiling as she squeezed his arm before looking to the others. "We'll take care of each other," she assured them. "We've survived seven years. We can survive seven days."

The colony didn't say anything until finally Karen stepped forward and held the map out to Joel. "We made you a map," Karen told him.

"Thanks, Karen," Joel whispered before the girl reached up to hug him. Joel hugged her back and Karen pulled away with a sad smile before going over to Y/N and hugging her as well.

"Just. . .take care," Karen whispered before she pulled away and backed up to join the others. Y/N stared out at the people who had become her family, her eyes tearing up a bit as she knew that there was a possibility she would never see them again.

She felt a hand latch onto her own and Y/N looked to her left to see Joel giving her a reassuring smile as his fingers intertwined with her own. Y/N gave him a shaky smile in return while Joel rubbed his thumb across the skin on top of her hand.

"Everything will try to kill you," Ray told them.

"Oh," Joel muttered, making a small face which made Y/N chuckle softly.

"Be observant. Use the advantages that you have. You're fast and small and Y/N is one of our best hunters, so, Joel, don't fight. Just run and hide. Y/N, you should do that too, but if you need to, use those katanas and crossbow like your life depends on it cause it does," Ray said.

"Don't fight," Joel repeated, making another face before looking to Y/N. "So Robin fights, but Batman doesn't?" he whispered to her. She just smiled shyly at him.

Ray reached out and pulled the two into a hug, Joel and Y/N hugging him back while their intertwined hands still stayed by their side.

"You're both assholes if you get eaten," Ray told them.

Y/N smiled at that before saying, "And you all are douchebags if you don't answer our call when we get there."

The group all chuckled while Joel went to hook his crossbow to his backpack. Everyone fell silent as they watched him, their smiled falling as he struggled to simply latch the crossbow to his back. Y/N sighed and brought her free hand up to facepalm herself while Joel just awkwardly laughed and tried to latch the crossbow one more time.

This time it latched into place and he smiled before saying, "Okay."

"Nice," Ava muttered.

Joel ignored her comment and squeezed Y/N’s hand before turning to climb up the ladder. "I love you guys. Tell Aimee I'll see her in seven days," he said before climbing up the ladder.

"We believe in you," Karen called after him.

"Love you, buddy," Tim said.

Y/N walked over to the ladder before hesitating at the bottom. She glanced back at the colony, her eyes flickering over each of them. Karen and Kala were softly crying as they hugged each other, the others all looking at her sadly before Tim just gave her a small nod.

"Take care of him," Tim said before hesitating. "And yourself."

"I will," Y/N whispered, smiling at the group one last time. "I love you guys."

"Love you too," they all chorused as she began to climb up the ladder like Joel had. The latch was already open by the time she reached the top and she was blinded by the sunlight until Joel moved himself above the hole and looked down at her.

"You sure about this?" he asked, his eyes flickering over her face for any signs of hesitation.

Y/N smiled softly, "I'm sure."

Joel smiled at that before holding his hand out, the girl looking to it for a moment as she realized just what it is they were doing. Was she really about to help the boy she loved reunite with the girl he was in love with? It was crazy. She knew that. Yet seeing that smile on Joel's face and knowing that this was what he wanted, what he needed, to be happy was enough for her to know this was the right thing to do.

Then, without another second thinking about it, Y/N took ahold of the boy's hand and he pulled her into the world above.

- - -

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