#instead of being stuck between hoping they were doing okay and wondering if they'd gone and died somewhere they wouldn't be found

[plateauofmemories]

Anyway do you think when Shuro and Namari quit the party, do you think that Chilchuck was secretly relieved that he'd been paid in advance and could just, go with Laios and Marcille?

Y'know, instead of having to consider betraying his principles and generating some flimsy excuse for why he would stay with them?

Or having to stick to his guns, and watch the two of them charge off into the dungeon alone, knowing they were definitely going to get themselves slaughtered?

[carreraleigh]

Dancing in the dark

A/N: This is a two-part story. In the first part me and @vienroose focused more on the romantic part of colt and mc. The second part is coming next week, and it will be VERY smut, so be prepared.

Pairing: Colt x MC (Ellie)

Book: Ride or Die

Summary: A few weeks after kaneko's death, colt and mc talk about their feelings and what they want for the future.

Recommended songs to read this story:

Tags: @zig-nazario @storiesofsass @rwanchoices @courtesan-of-garage @the-red-jhon @client-327 @umiumichan @lovehugsandcandy @acorisabsolutegodtier

——

Ellie looked at herself in the mirror while she was adjusting the skirt she had chosen for that night. She closed her eyes and sighed slowly, trying to calm her nerves. It wasn't the first time that she went on a date with Colt, or the last one, but it was the first time they could really be together without worrying about anything else, without plans, without secrets, just the two of them. Everything felt unreal, like a dream, they'd fought so hard to get there and after all, they'd achieved it. Having solved everything and stopped running, in one way or another, the two would've had to sit down and talk about what they wanted for the future, because within the race many promises can be made, but you never know until you are close and you have to cross the finish line. Ellie knew that today was that night, and she was sure of what she felt, but why was it so hard to say those words out loud?

"Hey," Ximena entered the room "¿Are you okay?" She approached Ellie slowly, with a big smile on her face "Colt has been waiting for a while."

"Yes," she sighed, turned around and looked at Ximena "I just needed some time to think."

"Oh beautiful." Ximena got closer and hugged her "You'll see that everything will be fine, don't worry." Ellie smiled as they broke the hug "It's your moment, go get your man, I know how much you fought to be with him."

"You're right, Ximena. This is going to be my night."

--

Colt and Ellie went fast down the street, she loved the adrenaline she felt every time she rode on that motorcycle: she felt free, invincible, as if she could eat the world in one bite, and being there with Colt made her feel like the most powerful woman in the world.

"¿Where are we going?" she asked, raising her voice a little so that he would listen.

"I told you it's a surprise, Ellie." he answered without taking his eyes off the street "If I told you, it wouldn' be a surprise anymore."

"You always have to play the mysterious one, ¿don't you?" she laid her head on his back "If you want my attention being mysterious, well, I'm sorry to tell you that you don't need to do that anymore."

"Oh, I know." she heard a small laugh "Your persuasion will not work with me."

"Oh yeah?" she replied "I think we'll have to prove that."

"You know I'm always ready for big challenges." he said.

After riding for a few more minutes, Colt turned onto a path that led into the woods. Ellie looked around, the trees were tall and thick, hundreds of them around, and made her feel small among so much nature.

She opened her mouth to speak, but a particular sound caught her attention, she heard it in the distance, but she could still recognize from which direction that strange sound came, she could swear it was a waterfall. The closer they got, the clearer it became, and her eyes widened in surprise as Colt slowed down the motorcycle.

"Well, here we are, welcome to my little escape." she took off her helmet and couldn't help but smile at the wonder that was in front of her eyes. A small wooden house, freshly painted and with freshly cut grass, in the distance she could see the waterfall that she heard before. Ellie looked at Colt, surprised.

"I never thought you were a man for cliché places like this one. I mean, the typical brown wooden house, with flowers in front, is yours?" she asked.

"Actually, this place has a certain history." he got off the motorcycle "But it's something I'd like to talk about later." he extended his hand "Come on".

Ellis took his hand, and the two entered the house that looked like it was taken out of a fairy tale. The interior had surprised her even more, there was a chimney with the fire on and it seemed to be new, the house was very well maintained, as if someone had been there all the time. In front of the chimney was a table, two wooden chairs and two plates, next to two glasses of wine. Still holding her hands, Colt guided Ellis to the table, took her chair out and helped her sit down. Colt went to the kitchen, turned on the lights and started searching something in the refrigerator.

"Well, I must admit that when you told me 'we were going out', I didn't have this in mind."

Colt looked at her from the kitchen while he took something wrapped from the refrigerator.

"I thought we were going to a bar, or a club." she said.

"¿Would you prefer to go to a bar?" He sat in front of her and placed the wrapped dish in front of her.

"No, I like this." she smiled as Colt unwrapped the plate. She had never seen him smile like that before, and she knew that it was happiness, because she was feeling it too.

"Well, I hope you like it." Ellie looked at the food that was placed in front of her and laughed.

"God Colt, really?" he laughed with her "¿Hamburgers?".

"Not just any burger, it's the Holly Bar burger, so no, it's not just a hamburger." he put a hamburger on Ellie's plate "Also, I know you love them as much as I do."

"You know we could have gone to the bar and eaten there, right?" She said as she took the wine glass closer to what was in front of her.

"Yes, I know." he answered "But I wanted this moment to be more... intimate. Just for the two of us." He smiled and Ellie saw the brightness growing on Colt's eyes.

"¿Did you really think that wine and hamburgers would be a good combination?" she put the cup back in its place "¿Who did all this anyway?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me, who did all this?" indignation in his voice. Ellie held her gaze, now with her two eyebrows raised, Colt sighed.

"Well, maybe, just maybe, I pay someone." Colt took his hamburger with his hands and took a bite "You should try it." he said between bites.

Ellie took the hamburger in her hand and took a bite, millions of flavors exploded in her mouth, the juicy meat, the cheese, and the delicious barbecue sauce that had become her and Colt's favourite ever since they went to eat at the Holly Bar for the first time.

"The glass is just an elegant touch, I suppose. I brought Coca-Cola." he said "But if you want wine, we can have that instead of-"

Ellie put a hand on Colt's arm "This is perfect, Colt."

Colt smiled and they both began to eat their hamburgers patiently, never stopping to look at each other.

Some time later Ellie was sitting on the stairs at the entrance of the house and she heard the door open. Colt sat next to her and hugged her from behind. The two were silent for a moment, maybe trying to find the right words for the occasion, when he finally broke the silence.

"I won it." he said, taking a glass of coke to his mouth.

"¿What?" Ellie asked, confused.

"The house, I won it." Colt looked at her with a smile "In fact, it was in a race a few years ago, some men, much older than me had challenged me to a race against them." he continued as he offered him the glass to Ellie, she accepted "They thought I was too young to compete against them."

"Of course Colt Kaneko had to compete, because he had to prove that he was better than them." she laughed.

"And hell I was." the two laughed together, he kept talking "It was three years ago, if I remember correctly and since I've won it, I usually come here to clear my mind." he looked at the horizon, as if he was immersed in his own thoughts.

"It must be an important place for you then, a place where you can relax and have some peace." Elliie said.

Colt looked at her and their eyes met. He looked different in the moonlight, his eyes shone with more intensity and his skin looked softer than usual. He took Ellie's hand and squeezed it slowly, without ever taking his eyes off her.

"I wanted to share this place with you a while ago, but between everything that happened and how we lived running and escaping from everything, no moment seemed appropriate."

"I understand." Ellie laid her head on Colt's arm "Anyway, it was the best decision, we can enjoy this now." the two were silent again for another short while, but it was not one of those uncomfortable silences, it was a calm silence, filled with relaxation. Ellie kept thinking about the words she wanted to say, she was finally brave enough to tell him everything she had stuck in the heart for days. She took a breath and raised his head.

"Colt-"

"Ellie-"

The two said their names at the same time and looked at each other for some time, then laughed.

"God, this is a mess." Colt laughed for a second and then looked back at her "Would you like to talk first?".

Undoubtedly she had many things to say, many. She wanted to tell him everything she had in her heart, she wanted to tell him about the first time she had felt something for him, she wanted to tell him about the fear she had of losing him all the time, she wanted to tell him how happy she was at that moment, with him, but she kept quiet that moment. She wanted to tell him everything, but she preferred to listen to him first.

"No, I'm listening." she said.

Colt seemed to think for a second, as if his answer had taken him by surprise, he smiled.

"Where to start." he cleared his throat "Everything happened so fast, one day I was meeting you and the next day you were part of the crew, one of us, and part of my life" he sighed and then continued "I thought that I had you totally figured out the first time I saw you. You were one more girl in a bad place and with bad people, and when I saw you with Logan, I just thought 'What's a girl like her doing with a guy like him, in a place like this?', I don't want you to misunderstand, it's not that you have not been enough to look out for yourself." he sighed again, and Ellie put a hand on his leg as a support "You seemed too good for a world like this, and I was right, you're still too good for this world, the truth is that I don't even know why you're even here, after everything you had to go through. The only thing I know is that I don't want you to leave." he raised a hand to Ellie's cheek "And you're worth it all, you know, because you're one of the strongest people I've ever met. This is what I admire most of you, one of the reasons why I fell for you. All seems like a dream because I never thought to tell anyone this." he was quiet for a moment "After my father died-" he looked away, Ellie put a hand on his leg.

"We don't have to talk about that if you don't want to." she said.

"No." he looked at her like he was about to cry "After the death of my pop, I thought I lost everything, and I had lost it. I felt lonely for days, with nothing to fight for, and in all the disaster I remembered that I still had one thing to fight for, you." he take Ellie's hand "My pop may not be here anymore, and I'll miss him every day of my life, but that's not a reason why I have to turn my back on what's in front of me."

"Colt..." she said as she stroked his cheek.

"I don't know if this is what you expected to hear tonight, but I see you at my side, Ellie. I see myself ruling the angels with you, side by side, together, fighting against everything, like king and queen. And I know I can protect you and give you everything you deserve, if you want to accept me. I recommend you not to, or I would think you're crazy." he laughed and looked back at the horizon "I know this is not getting anywhere but-"

"Colt." Ellie interrupted him by putting a hand in his mouth "Colt." said his name again, and his eyes connected "I will be there every step of the way. If you want to take revenge, we will do it together. If you want to drive and never come back, we will do it together. Nothing would make me happier than being by your side, always." and all she wanted to say, had been summed up in those words.

Colt put a hand on her neck and pressed his lips against her, the two of them wrapped themselves in a passionate kiss that seemed to last for hours. And they would have kept going, if they didn't have to separate to get some air.

"¿That means we're together? ¿Officially?" Colt asked as he watched her intently.

"I suppose." she said, trying to recover the air "¿Or have you already regretted your decision?"

"Never." he said.

They kissed again, this time much more passionately. Ellie wrapped her arms around Colt and he took her by the waist. Colt began to slowly kiss her neck, causing Ellie to make low moans, as he pressed harder against her. After that he began kissing her shoulders, her collarbone, until he connected his eyes with Ellie's again.

"¿Why did you stop?" she asked, laughing.

"¿You want to?... you know." he looked at her expectantly, but he didn't say any other word.

"Colt," she said as she kissed him again and again "I want you."

Suddenly a smile that Ellie had never seen formed on Colt's lips, yes, she had seen his smile several times, but there was also something dark in it for the first time.

Ellie sat on Colt's lap, the two of them facing each other as they continued to kiss passionately. Colt had his hands on her waist, kissing her neck and everywhere, he lowered his hands until she felt him over the skirt she was wearing, that skirt that only gave him thoughts he was trying to satisfy ever since he'd seen her coming down the stairs of the garage. He grabbed her butt and pulled her closer to him, as he continued to lower his kisses to her collarbone. Ellie had her arms wrapped around Colt and her vision was almost blurred because to the excitement she was feeling at that moment.

She had never felt that way with anyone, so energetic, so alive. She started to take off Colt's jacket while he kept kissing her all over her body, with both hands still on her back. Needing air, Colt looked into her eyes, his eyes were shining with desire, and he also seemed immersed in her same feeling of energy and excitement. A smile was reflected again on his face, that dark smile that somehow made her even more excited, then he whispered.

"We should continue this inside." He kissed her again and suddenly stood up abruptly, lifting her into his arms.

"Colt," she said laughing "You could hurt yourself." but he didn't seem to have heard her words, he kept looking at her with that smile as he walked towards the door, opened it with a bang, but then hesitated at the entrance.

"Colt," Ellie said "I'm sure." she kissed him back, and the two disappeared in the middle of the night.