#troy otto x reader

[escapist-of-fiction]

One shot - Troy Otto x Fem Reader

Description - just a bit of fluff really. Something that has been floating in my head for a while and needed to write it down. Troy is a bit of a tease in this but I like him like that.

Warnings - none really. Mild swearing.

If you do read, a like, reblog and/or a comment would make me smile :) enjoy!

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It had become abundantly apparent to everyone that something was developing between you and Troy.

There was something about the way he looked at you from across the room, never intrusive but always keeping one eye closely on you, watching your every move. You didn't mind though. It made you feel safe. You didn't feel so alone in the crowd.

Every chance Troy had; loading supplies from the trucks, collecting empty dishes at meal times, showing you how to hold a gun in the right way to defend yourself, any excuse to have just a little bit of contact with you. You didn't mind. You wanted him to do it. Your skin tingled at his touch. If he stood close to you, you would hold your breath without even realising. It was just the effect he had on you. In a group situation, he would always somehow find his way next to you, by now it was almost an expectation.

You wondered how long it would take for him to make a move. It had taken so long that you were unsure whether it was all in your mind and he had no interest in you at all.

"You can see it, can't you?" Alicia said one day as you sat together at lunch.

"See what?" You responded innocently.

You needed someone else to spell it out to you. To make it seem real. It seemed too good to be true in your own mind. After all, why would someone as complex as Troy be interested in someone as basic as you?

"Troy. There's something about you two. The way he is around you, it's like you're precious cargo or something. He speaks to you so differently to everyone else, with a whole new level of respect. He doesn't even speak like that to Jake, his own brother."

You didn't know how to respond to this, so you decided not to say anything at all.

On the day the Militia headed out on their short mission, you stood with everyone else at the gates. Going on missions was a weekly occurrence in the post-apocalyptic world but today everyone seemed a little on edge. Everyone except Troy.

You stood a little away from the small gathering, leaning against a table where supplies were piled up high. You watched as Troy fooled around with some of the Militia members, his trusted and closest comrades obviously. He wasn't normally this way before a mission, which made you think it was a little more serious than the average. He was trying to put everyone at ease. Rumours had been going around the Ranch that you were heading out to confront another group, who were threatening to steal water supplies. It wouldn't be an easy mission and lives were potentially at risk.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't notice someone pick up a box beside you, until their voice brought you back to reality.

"You aren't normally here to see us off," Troy noted.

"I'm surprised you would even notice," you answered with the tiniest of smiles, watching for his reaction.

"Dont worry, I notice."

You watched as he walked towards the truck and placed the final box in the back, hitting the side panel to signal to the group that they were ready to go.

You expected Troy to climb into the driver's seat as normal, rev the engine, turn up his heavy metal music and speed out of the Ranch, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. But not this time.

This time, he turned and walked back in the direction of you. You lifted your head to look up at him as he got closer and closer, until he was stood toe to toe with you. He had a look on his face, a mixture of uncertainty and, was that yearning?

You were perplexed by Troy's actions and you were just about question his odd behaviour when he suddenly grabbed you by the waist and....kissed you.

The briefest of kisses that lasted long enough to make your head spin, your toes curl and heart race all at once. It stunned you but made sense to you all at once. You felt Troy's hand press firmly into the small of your back to pull you against him as his other hand gently caressed your cheek.

Then no sooner had it started, it stopped and Troy pulled away. No explanation. No second glance as he turned and walked back towards the truck and the waiting Militia.

You stood there in shock, your fingers reaching to your lips to trace the echo of his touch.

What the hell was that?

Five days passed until Troy and the Militia returned.

Five days for you to mull over your encounter and ask yourself a million questions. You flitted from the feeling of lusting after Troy and more from that kiss, to being filled with a mild rage at how the bastard had acted in such an impulsive way and walked right out of the Ranch with no explanation.

By the time they returned, you had made up your mind on what to do next.

You never normally gathered with the others at the gate but this time was different. This time you had a reason to stand amongst the friends and family. You wanted Troy to know he had left someone behind. Someone who cared about him, his reckless behaviour and the consequences that came with it.

You watched him exit the truck last of all. He looked tired and weary, having been on the road with little to no sleep and carrying the responsibility of everyone's safety on his shoulders. There was a part of you that wanted to rush to him, embrace him but something made you hold back and wait.

Eventually, Troy looked up and spotted you, his eyes lighting up as they met with yours. You gave nothing away. He approached you, watching your expression tentatively, wondering how you were going to react since your last encounter. He took the fact you were here at all as a good sign.

Coming to stand in front of you, he rested his hands on his hips and tilted his head with a cocky smile.

Words were lost on you. You tried to think of something smart to say, to chastise him for what he did the last time you saw each other but you just kept losing your train of thought in those azure, blue eyes.

Instead, you communicated in the only way you both knew how.

Stepping forward and rising to the balls of your feet, you placed a hand on the back of Troy's neck and pulled him down to meet you.

Your lips pressed firmly against his. A kiss almost sweeter than the first, full of promise and something that you couldn't quite describe but you knew you needed more of it.

Reluctantly, you pulled away to look up at Troy, your hands pressed against his chest. Judging by the hazy look in his eye and the delectable way he licked his lips, it told you everything you needed to know. He felt exactly the same way.

And then, just like that, you found your voice again,

"Hi."

Troy laughed softly,

"Well it took you long enough, darling"

[sombrashe]

i neeeed more nsfw troy headcanons pls 🙏🏼

anon i love you. I saw this and ended up stimming so hard i had to take deep breaths to calm myself down enough to write

He loves squeezing and grabbing at your body whenever he can, he uses it like an anchor when he's fucking deep inside of you

When he's deep in the moment (especially between your legs) his accent is much thicker and will use more southern sounding nicknames like sugar and sweet pea

Missionary is not his style, it might be nice as you two are getting to know each others bodies but it doesn't last long

His favorite position is stuffing his mouth full of you sitting with you on his lap while you ride the fuck out of him

Oral is just... with this man you're going to be pulling his hair for hours he loves listening to your noises as you suffocate him making him take you more and more until you're a whimpering overstimulated mess

Is more of a stomach and thigh guy than an ass or boob/pec guy

Don't get me wrong he's all over a nice ass, but prefers the softness of a pudgy belly and thick thighs

He's not the best at wearing a condom, obviously he tries really hard, but when he's in the moment you better start speaking up or else he's going in raw and whimpering about how good you feel squeezing around him

Talks a lot during sex

Always calling you nicknames

Always asking for more, it doesn't matter what it is he wants more

Always asking how your day was to try and hear your voice break

He may talk a lot during it, but the noises he makes? Oh this man never shuts up

mommy kink (daddy kink after his dad dies :()

won't even ask will simply let it slip during the heat of the moment

let him call you mommy/daddy!!

Taking a shower? That's so funny because he was just about to do the same thing. Oh well i guess you have to shower together now

Just waking up and feeling icky and wanna brush your teeth? Nope sorry Troy is in between your legs and wont leave until you're minutes away from being late for work

Oh honey you got stuck somewhere and need Troy's help getting unstuck? Lets hope you're in a comfortable position because you're not leaving that spot for a long time

[flower-slut004]

5 Times Troy Otto Fell in Love

Troy was never a romantic, he thought of romance as a sign of weakness. He could never show love, he was never shown love.

The first time Troy fell in love was when you helped clean his eye out after Madison had stuck in spoon in it.

"I am so sorry.. this is going to hurt" she squeaked as she heard his grunts of pain. Troy eyed her suspiciously as she held his face gently

"Why the fuck are you helping me? We have nurses for this shit." he grumbles as he looked up at her. Yn shrugged as she took a wet towel to his face.

"I just feel guilty for what she did, the situation escalated and this should have never happened.. I'm sorry" she sighs as she stares into his ocean eyes.

Troy thought his heart stopped for a moment, the intimacy of eye contact was something he had never experienced and he felt as his body was on fire from it.

"Whatever" he looks away, hoping she didn't see his blush.

The second time Troy fell in love was when you ran to him after Walker and his men took their belongings.

Troy felt his heart drop at the sight of everyone rejoicing with their loved ones, everyone but him. He coughed awkwardly as his father approached him, only to be tackled by her.

"Oh my god Troy!" she sighs in relief as she held him tightly. Troy's face grew red as she bombarded him in questions as she held him in her arms.

Troy softly pushed her and cleared his throat "Don't worry your pretty little head Yn" he mummers as he regains his composure.

"I have it under control"

The third time Troy fell in love was when you allowed him to stay the night at your cabin

"Thank again..." he mummers agaisnt her chest as he held her tight. Yn only hummed in response as she played with his hair.

"Yn..." he groans as she gently pulled on his roots, Yn giggled as she heard his groans.

"What?' she tilted her head, faking an innocent look. Troy looked up and smirked at the glimmer of mischief in her eyes.

"You're knocking on troubles door if you keep doing that.."

Yn tugged at his hair once more, teasing him "Good.. is he home?"

The fourth time Troy fell in love was when you were there for him when no one else was

Soft hushes and mummers filled the cabin as Yn pressed her lips to his forehead.

“It’s okay, you’re okay Troy…” she whispers, attempting to soothe him from his nightmare.

Troy gripped on to her for dear life, as if she were to disappear into thin air, tears running down his face as he burrowed his head deeper into her body.

“I’m… Im so sorry” he sobbed “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” he cried out.

Yn hushed him again “Don’t apologize Troy, It’s okay to be human…” she rubs his back “Let it all out, I’m here for you”

The fifth time Troy fell in love, he knew he had to do something.

Troy huffed as he watched himself in the mirror, cracking his neck in an attempt to ease his nerves.

His eyes trailed down his body and led down to his fidgeting hands.

Troy looked at himself in the mirror again and forced a smile on his face, a smile that was quickly turned with a nervous quiver.

“Stupid stupid stupid” Troy mumbles to himself as he hit his forehead repeatedly. Shaking his head again, he took out the ring from his pocket and stared at it for a moment.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her voice throughout the cabin. “Are you ready for the picnic Handsome?”

Troy took another quick look at himself in the mirror with a reassuring smile.

“Yeah babe… I’m coming.”

[fanfics4all]

Temperature Play

Request: Yes / No Kinktober Day 1!

Don’t be shy, request things! <3 Have a nice day/night

Troy Otto x Fem!Reader 

Word count: 1797

Warnings: SMUT!

Summary: When it's way too hot to sleep in the apocalypse and there's no power to be found. Your boyfriend, Troy Otto wakes to find you not able to sleep and figures out how to help.

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK! 

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(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

It was way too hot out. My skin was melting and my brain was boiling. We had to be in a heatwave. For the past two days the heat has been unbearable and in a normal world we’d be able to turn on the air conditioning, but we were in the fucking apocalypse! We were just stuck in the horrible heat with limited supplies. 

It was dark out, the window in Tory’s room at the Otto house was open. I was desperately trying to circulate some air, but it did next to nothing. I couldn’t even sleep if I wanted to. I had kicked off the covers, leaving my naked body exposed. Oh, how I missed the icy air of the air conditioners. Troy was sleeping next to me, or I assumed he was asleep. He wasn’t moving and was turned on his side, he didn’t bother wearing clothes either. All I wanted to do was sleep, we had to be up in a few hours to start the day. I knew the longer I was up sweating, the more irritable I was going to be. I sighed, feeling frustrated tears sting my eyes. I just wanted to sleep… 

“Still up?” Troy asked, his voice thick with sleep. 

“Yeah.” I hissed miserably. He rolled over to face me. The covers were bunched around his legs with just one above the blanket. His skin was glistening in the moonlight, probably just like mine. His hand touched my cheek lightly.

“Babe…” He sighed. His cold fingers felt so nice against my flushed cheeks that I couldn’t help but moan. He smiled and trailed his fingers down my cheekbone and across my lips. My heated skin quickly warmed his fingers and I was once against too hot and sweaty. I sat up frustrated, burying my head in my hands. Troy sat up and moved closer to me. I could tell he wanted to hold and cuddle me back to sleep, but touching would just make us both hotter. 

“Maybe I should just go jump in the lake, it’ll cool me off for a little while…” I mumbled, dreading the idea of going outside where it was probably hotter. Troy slipped out of bed and put on his discarded boxers. He came to my side of the bed and kissed my forehead. 

“I’ll be right back.” He said, his voice exited as he headed out the door. I heard him quietly walk down the stairs and out the door. I shook my head and sighed. I had no idea how the hell he could be happy right now. It wasn’t long before I heard his footsteps return and head up the stairs. 

“Close your eyes.” He said from the other side of the door. I sighed but did as he asked. I felt him coming towards me, but I couldn’t fight the smile that appeared on my lips. I felt something against my mouth, amazingly cold and numbing that I gasped. My eyes snapped open and Troy was kneeling before me, a small bowl of ice next to him. He was sliding an ice cube against my bottom lip, the cool water dripping down my chin as it melted. 

“Oh Troy…” I moaned slightly. 

“I’m gonna help you cool down.” He said with a smirk. 

“But, won’t your parents be pissed that you took the ice?” I asked and he rolled his eyes. 

“Nah, Jake might but who cares? Now, lay down.” He said, gently pushing me down. 

My back hit the sheets, already feeling a bit of relief from the ice that he was sliding down my neck. Goosebumps appeared as he went. Watching the ice melt quickly against my burning skin. The tension that’s been building over the past two days slowly releasing. 

Once the cube melted completely he laid his icy, wet fingers on my stomach. He grabbed the next ice cube with his mouth, grabbing the ice between his teeth. He dragged it up my shin, water dripping down my calf as he went. A content moan slipped back my lips as I watched him. My hands found their way into his hair as my nails dragged against his scalp. 

“Troy!” I moaned. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I happily groaned out. The ice in his mouth was nearly melted and he sucked it in quickly. He kissed my hip, making me arch up slightly. 

This time he grabbed one cube with his mouth and another between his fingers. He held the cube to my lips, which I quickly began to suck. He chuckled slightly and dipped his head down to my collarbone. He slid the ice against the bone and up my neck. My moans grew shaky, feeling a new form of stimulation. His fingers pushed the ice between my lips. My lips wrapped around his index and thumb, sliding my tongue where the ice had melted. He trailed the ice in his mouth between my breasts, my nipples quickly hardening. His free hand wrapped around my right boob and brought the ice to circle it. I whimpered around his fingers. Troy smiled like a wolf that just caught his prey. My back arched off the mattress as he circled my nipples. 

“They’re melting faster than I can replace them.” He said with a smirk. 

“Feeling any cooler?” He asked and I nodded helplessly. 

He moved back up to my face, kissing me desperately. His tongue explored every part of my mouth, chilled saliva mixing with hot breaths. I reached down, trying to grab the waistband of his boxers and push them away, but he was taller than me. I blindly grasped between our bodies, whimpering against his lips. 

“Take them off baby, please. I need you so bad.” I begged against his lips. My chest arched into his own and my hands grabbed his back. I needed him so bad. He already helped so much, but now my mind was foggy. Troy chuckled at my desperate pleas. 

“You need some help, babe?” He asked as he slid his tongue against mine again so I couldn’t answer. 

“You need me to take care of you, is that it?” He asked with a cocky smirk. I nodded again, hoping he would just fuck me already. 

“Say it.” He ordered. 

“Troooy, please… it’s too hot… please.” I begged. 

“No, not until you say it.” He said, continuing to kiss against my chin and neck. My body was already starting to get hot again. 

“Troy please, I need you so bad! Please help me.” I gave in. Troy quickly shed his underwear and kissed me again. This kiss was deeper and harder, his teeth clinking against mine. He couldn’t hold back anymore. My hands flew to his neck, pulling him closer. I hooked my legs on his hips and released him for just a moment so he could align himself with my entrance. His eyes met mine and I watched them turn darker as he pushed himself inside. It felt like forever as he penetrated me, pushing against my cervix. He angled upwards to kiss that one spot inside of me that had me seeing stars. He let out a low-grown, eyes rolling to the back of his head and his hands bruising my hips as he bottomed out. 

“Fuck… he cursed against my neck. I whined and turned my head to allow him more access to my neck. I loved the feeling of his kisses and biting me. My neck was so sensitive, his teeth just barely scraping against my skin. He pulled my thighs up higher on my hips, allowing him to thrust deeper into me. The sound of his balls slapping against my ass mixed with his low groans and my whimpers. My walls clenched around him and he shuddered. 

“Fuck babe, I’m gonna cum if you don’t stop that.” His voice broke as his hips jerked into me uncontrollably. 

“I need you to cum.” I said as I arched off the bed again. 

“Please cum inside me baby… You feel so good.” I moaned. He filled me up completely like he always had. He moved one of his hands to mine, bringing it to his mouth and kissed my fingers. He regained control over his thrusts and his breathing quickly. His other hand moved over to my knee on his hip and down my thigh and brought his thumb to my throbbing clit. I let out a shaky moan and my jaw dropped. 

“Now you’ll cum for me.” He said as he circled my clit perfectly. He always knew my body better than I did. My eyes fluttered closed as my orgasm quickly approached. My hands gripped his shoulders, feeling his muscles under my trembling fingers. His name was the only thing leaving my lips. 

“Babe, I- Oh fuck…” He was already on the edge of another climax. 

“I know me too. I love you.” I said as I pulled his face down and pressed my forehead to his. His thrusts became slower and more direct against my G-spot. His thumb continued to rub my clit, my orgasm building up inside me. 

“Kiss me.” I whispered and he instantly connected our lips. That was the thing we both needed to push us over the edge. He pumped two more times before once again painting my insides with his cum. I fluttered around him as our lips kept connected. He stayed inside me, making sure to keep his cum as deep as he could. 

“I love you too.” He breathed out, making me giggle. I clenched around him again as he pulled out. 

“Don’t tease, unless you wanna be screaming.” He smirked. I blushed and shook my head, making him chuckle. He laid down beside me and pulled me into his side. 

“Feeling a little cooler?” He asked and I nodded. 

“A little, but way more sweaty.” I giggled. He rolled his eyes and reached over to the bowl of now mostly melted ice that was on the nightstand. He grabbed it and dumped it over my body. I shrieked and jumped out of the bed. 

“Troy!” I shouted. He chuckled and then someone slammed their fist against the wall. 

“Keep it down! Some of us are trying to sleep!” Jake shouted and Troy laughed harder. I groaned and moved to Troy’s side of the bed. 

“You can sleep on the icy cold side.” I said and he smiled. 

“Fine.” He said and moved to the other side. I watched him shiver a bit and smirked. 

“Now we can sleep.” I said, happily snuggling into Troy’s side of the bed. He wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my shoulder. 

“Goodnight babe.” He whispered and I smiled as I finally drifted off to sleep.

Tag list: @les-bio-lie @tashy-bear @ashwarren32 @hollie-blogs @lover-of-books-and-teas @nerdygaloresposts @teenwolfbitches2 @kmc1989 @drw0301bieber @lady-of-lies @ravenmoore14 @ravenempress101 @cillianchamp @rowanthomasknapp @rachelxwayne @ready-4-fanfiction

[ftwdb]

Don't Say Go

Chapter 19

Summary: Soulmates find each other through what is known as The Pull. A sense within a persons body that their soulmate is within reach that guides them to find them. You find yourself following this Pull, guided by vague dreams of a man you can't quite see, until you collapse in the wild and are found by Troy, your soulmate, who has been following the same feeling toward you for days.

Once connected soulmates are able to share emotions through their bond, as well as being able to sense where the other is. But how this force works is very much a mystery still, it can vary from soulmate to soulmate, and just sometimes a connection too deep can lead twist a bond from something beautiful to, well...

Warnings: Dark themes, sexual content, violence, non-graphic description/implications of SA, child abuse and domestic violence. References to addiction. Unhealthy love/obsession/relationships. Soulmate AU. Eventual smut. Love triangle.

You made it back to the ranch undetected and spent the rest of the night curled up beside Troy in the med tent. You didn’t sleep, constantly listening for noise. Voices or gunfire, the truck’s engines. But nothing came. You were just about fading into sleep as the sun began to rise when Troy made a sound, his eyes flickering open.

“Troy?” you say, hopefully.

His blue eyes find you and his lips twitch in a smile.

“I’ll get Jake—“

His hand grabs yours, he must have used all his strength to keep you beside him.

“No. Not yet. Stay.”

You hesitated, scared that something could go wrong. But as his eyes focused on yours you couldn’t resist, sensing his need for you. You lay back down beside him, looking him in the eye and speaking gently.

“What were you thinking huh?”

Troy doesn’t need to ask what you mean.

“Kept you safe…” he says weakly.

You shake your head.

“Not like that. Please. Never like that again.”

Troy looks confused, his brow furrowing before he winces with the pain in causes in his head.

“Have to. Do anything…”

You sigh, understanding the feeling. Remembering your own rage and desperation when you’d seen him brought in covered in blood and unmoving.

You gently run a hand through his curls, avoiding the parts that were clumped with his blood. You sigh.

“I know. I know.”

He closes his eyes, his lips turning up as he makes a low sound in his throat. Then he says something so quiet you’re sure you hadn’t heard him right and lean closer, your heart pounding.

“What… what did you say?”

His eyes open slowly, foggy but focused on your face.

“Marry me.”

It wasn’t a question. Your heart pounds. It was an inevitability. You stare.

“Marry… you?”

Troy smirks.

“You gonna say no?”

You shake your head.

“Of course not… but… you’re injured and probably concussed and it’s the end of the world anyway, who gets married in the apocalypse? Does marriage even mean anything anymore? Does it matter what denomination we are or can we just make up whatever we want��“

Somehow Troy had found the strength to lift his head and kiss you, until he fell back against the pillow looking green.

“Bad idea. Gonna puke.”

“Shit,” you grab a bowl and prepare to help him. “Well, if that wasn’t the most romantic proposal ever…”

You watch as Troy sucks in a deep breath, steeling himself against the urge to vomit. His hand presses to his bandaged head and the IV in his arm tugs awkwardly. He grunts and pulls it out in frustration.

“Don’t-“ You try and stop him but he’s already groaning again. “I’m getting Jake—“

“Already here.” Jake’s voice is cutting as you turn and see him striding over, rolling up his sleeves. You feel his eyes chastise you for not fetching him sooner.

“He just woke up.”

Jake ignores you and immediately checks Troy’s vitals. Even though he looks like crap Troy smirks at his big brother.

“Did I have you worried?”

Jake’s expression is grim, “You always have me worried, little brother.”

“That I do Jakey. That I do.”

You watch as Jake does his work, moving off the bed even when Troy looks at you longingly. Jake grumbles under his breath, you can’t hear him but Troy chuckles at whatever he says.

“Can I do anything?”

Jake gives you a dark look.

“You can stay right there, so I know where you are.”

Your heart drops. Did he know where you'd gone last night?

You look down at your feet hoping Troy wasn’t able to pick up on the tension, but of course he could sense your anxiety growing by the second.

“What is it?” He asks, gently at first. When you don’t answer he turns to Jake, practically barking at him. “What happened?”

Jake shakes his head.

“Doesn’t matter. You’re on leave from your duties until further notice.”

Troy somehow manages to go an even paler shade of pale.

“What? The hell I am—!”

“Dad’s orders.” Jake snaps back.

You watch the brothers argue, shifting awkwardly on the spot with nothing to do or distract you until you speak up uncertainly.

“It’s just until he heals, right?”

Jake’s expression says it all and Troy’s eyes go dark. “Where is he? Where’s Dad? I can talk to him—“

Jake pressed a hand to Troy’s shoulder and pushes him back on the bed when Troy tries to get up. You move forward to put a reassuring hand on Troy’s arm as you look at Jake in confusion.

“Why would Jeremiah do that?”

Jake’s eyes snap to yours and you can see what he is thinking, can see his surprise that you’d even need to ask after Troy had gone off on a group of survivors who hadn't provoked them. You look away, ashamed slightly. You’d forgotten that what you and Troy might see as necessities for survival - no matter how brutal - still crossed the line for some people.

Thankfully Troy seemed too agitated to sense your feelings about the situation as he was trying to get off the bed again, knocking everything askew as his limbs flailed with an uncharacteristic lack of coordination.

“Troy! Please, settle down!” You handle him much more gently than Jake who looks like he is tempted to knock Troy unconscious again.

“He can’t do this!” Troy snaps. “The Militia is mine! He can’t take it away from me!”

Jake curses and slams Troy back on the bed. You jump back, surprised by Jake’s aggression as he gets in Troy’s face. “Of course he can! After what you pulled! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

You stare at Jake, realising you were missing something here. Troy merely stares at his big brother for a moment before his mouth curls in a snarl.

“There he is. Jeremiah Junior. You’re more like dad than you want people to see.”

You frown at that, sensing the tension building between them. Feeling something in Troy… something mixed in with his anger and resentment.

Sadness?

Pain?

You press a hand on Jake’s shoulder, your eyes set.

“Let me see to Troy. Go get some air.”

You knew he didn’t have to obey you. You had no authority and you were just a scrap of a thing yourself, barely recovered from almost dying of malnutrition and exposure. But Jake scoffed and stormed away, the flap to the tent whipping out dramatically around him. You look down at Troy.

“You wanna tell me what that was about.”

Troy grunts and relaxes slightly, his body still exuding tension.

“Just… brother stuff.”

“You can’t lie to me,” you sit down beside him again and gently boop his nose. “I can feel it.”

Troy raises an eyebrow, calling your bluff.

“Ok so maybe not exactly. But I can tell there’s something you’re hiding…”

Troy looks away from you, his expression difficult to read and his emotions even more so. It was like trying to grab hold of something in a wind tunnel, one feeling after the other flying around you. You couldn’t get a grip on what was going on. And yet all that betrayed his inner turmoil was the tension of his mouth and the narrowing of his eyes. You lean down and kiss his cheek, gently.

“Let me go and get a fresh bandage for your head. Then we can talk.”

Troy’s hand snaps out an grabs your own. Your left hand. His eyes travel up your arm and to your face as his thumb gently strokes your ring finger.

“You didn’t answer.” Troy says quietly.

You hesitate.

“I didn’t know if you meant it…”

Troy’s eyes fix on you and you feel your chest expand with emotion, all consuming, needy, desperate and wanting…

Troy’s feelings.

“I never say something I don’t mean.”

He tells you this as he tugs you closer. You lean over him, confused by his sudden change in mood. He’d gone from angrily cursing his father to… this. Looking at you like you were the last sip of water in the desert.

“I… Troy, is it something you really want?”

His eyes are glued on yours and you can tell he is also picking through your emotions. You chew your lip, hoping he won’t be offended by your reluctance. Your doubts. Because they weren’t about him. Not at all…

“What are you afraid of?” Troy asks as he tucks your hair behind your ear.

You take a long breath as you try and figure out how to answer.

“I just never thought marriage really mattered… especially with a soulmate. I’m already yours, right? And you’re mine?” You try not to think about Nick. About the confusing feeling in your heart and gut that you were desperately trying to suppress.

Troy regards you curiously for a moment and you focus on your feelings for him. The sense of safety and belonging he gives you. He seems to relax.

“You are. And I am.”

You smile.

“I’m not saying no… just… it doesn’t mean more to me than just being with you as we are. But if marriage is something you want, that you need… then I’ll say yes. Always yes, Troy.”

His face breaks into a smile you’d never seen on him before.

“You will?”

You could laugh at the sudden boyishness about him.

“Yes Troy. I will… or I do. Whatever it is people say now.”

You’re pulled down to kiss him, trying not to fall against him in his injured state but Troy doesn’t seem to care. He’s all wild tongue and teeth and hands in your hair, holding on tight as you try to keep from passing out from lack of air. Eventually he relents and you’re able to sit up, head spinning slightly.

“Whoa…”

He sniggers at your reaction.

“Still got it, even half-dead.”

You slap his chest playfully.

“You’re crazy, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.” Troy’s expression softens as he looks at you, all flustered and pink cheeked now. “You’re beautiful, have I told you that before?”

You feel your cheeks colour, “You're concussed.”

Troy’s lips are a wonky smile.

"Yeah, but I'm right."

You shake your head and sigh.

"I am not arguing with an invalid."

Troy makes a face.

"Don't call me that. You might as well say I'm impotent."

You feel your cheeks flush, knowing he just doesn't like being injured and feeling like he wasn't useful. Troy seems to catch your embarrassment and his lips twitch.

"Something on your mind?"

You make sure to keep your expression blank when you reply.

"Of course not. Not at all. Why?"

"No reason. Except I can feel what your thinking."

You curse the bond you share for a moment before you remember what you had learned about your connection through The Pull.

"Troy... you know that this thing we share isn't... normal. Right?"

Troy watches you for a moment before shrugging.

"So?"

You look at him with surprise as he settled himself more comfortably on the bed, looking tired again.

"You knew?"

"I think we should talk about this later. Not here. Not now."

You nod.

"Okay..." You watch as Troy closes his eyes. "Are you in pain? Shall I get you something?"

He nods slowly, a hand reaching out for you. When you take it he tugs you toward him gently.

"Just... stay with me for a while."

You settle on the edge of the bed beside him as he lays with his eyes closed. After a few moments you start to softly run your hands through the curls on his head, pausing when he makes a noise in his throat. One eye opens and he smirks.

"Don't stop."

You smile back.

"Only because you're hurt. Don't expect me to be so nice all the time."

Troy chuckles as he tilts he head toward you more.

"Noted. I'll milk this moment for all its worth then. Do I get a sponge bath too?"

You're glad his eyes are closed as you feel your cheeks heat up. You tug his hair slightly harder as a warning for him not to get too cheeky. Troy grins.

"I like that."

Oh Jesus.

"Just.. get some rest."

"Yes, ma'am."

You sigh and continue to run your fingers through his hair until you're sure he's asleep. When he's breathing deeply you pause, looking around and listening for approaching footsteps. When you hear nothing you lean forward and rest your cheek on his chest, closing your own eyes and listening to the steady beat of his heart. The sound brings you comfort, a sense of calm. You close your eyes. This was where you belonged, no matter what was going on with Nick and The Pull. It must have been a fluke. A rare mistake somehow.

Troy was your soulmate.

This was home.

Right?

[edgarapoecolouredglasses]

Little mastermind part six

You know the drill

THE GIF IS NOT MINE

Pairing: Troy Otto/Reader

Summary: The clock is ticking and Troy is desperate to protect his people.The only out he can think of is to make an appeal to the mercy of an old friend.

Part: 6/at least 10

Masterlist

——————————————————

Troy sat for hours, wracking his brain, staring at the maps scattered across the desk, trying to think of a way to keep his community safe. It wasn’t just a group anymore—it had grown into something bigger, something more meaningful. A real community.

He glanced out of the study’s window to the scene below: people doing laundry, others cooking outside, always making something out of nothing, every single day, despite how low the supplies were running.

The children ran around, laughing as they played, while some of the teenagers sat in a corner, passing around old comics.

Guards stood on the perimeter, men and women who had willingly taken up the responsibility of protecting everyone inside.

His gaze drifted over to the makeshift hospital room they’d set up in one of the rooms. He hadn’t seen Tracy with the other kids, which meant she was probably in there, talking Y/N’s ear off like usual. Trying to help

He smiled to himself, the brief thought easing some of the weight on his shoulders. His girls.

But then his eyes caught movement in the woods beyond the fence. A guard quickly took care of a small group of walkers, and Troy’s smile faded.

They couldn’t stay here forever. The supplies around the compound were thinning out, the walkers kept coming, and even though everyone was holding on, he needed to find somewhere they wouldn’t have to constantly look over their shoulders, wondering if the next day would be the one they lost it all.

As he stared down at the map again, his head lifted when the static of the radio filled the room.

Another broadcast from PADRE rang out through the crackling noise.

“If you lost your child or think that they might have been taken, come to the following coordinates…”

Troy reached over and turned down the volume, sighing heavily as the message played on.

It was the same voice, Madison’s voice, that he had heard when he first arrived at this compound. When he heard it for the first time, something had ignited in him. Years of rage, of anger, of grief that he thought he’d buried, all came roaring back at the sound of her voice.

He had wanted revenge. Needed it, even. After everything that had happened, after what she had taken from him, the idea of her being out there, still breathing, still talking, made his blood boil.

But now, weeks later, with the community growing and his responsibilities piling up, that desire for vengeance had dulled. Not because he didn’t want it anymore—he did—but because there were other things pulling at him. Things more important than settling old scores. Tracy. The people here. Y/n.

He rubbed his temples, the weight of it all pressing down on him again. His focus needed to be here. On them. Not on the past.

The radio message faded into static, and Troy switched it off completely. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling for a moment, wondering how long they could really keep going like this. How long until something gave?

He stood up, pacing the room, the tension building inside him again. There were decisions to make—ones that would affect everyone here. Ones that could either save them or destroy everything they’d built. He couldn’t afford to make the wrong choice, not now.

Troy glanced back out the window at the people below, the kids laughing, the adults working together. They were counting on him.

————————————————

A week passed, and everything seemed to be moving at a whirlwind pace. More survivors had come to us, and among them, there was a couple—doctors. Actual doctors! When I first heard about it, I nearly burst into tears from relief. It felt like a miracle, like we had finally caught a break.

Up until then, I had been living on a prayer, doing everything I could with whatever knowledge I had. Guesswork. That’s what it had been. If someone got an infection, I hoped I had enough antibiotics or herbal remedies to treat it. Heart problems? That was another beast entirely. I did what I could with the knowledge I had gathered over the years, but I knew it wasn’t enough. And every time someone came into the med bay, a part of me feared that it would be something I couldn’t fix.

But now, with real doctors, it was different. I worked closely with them. They were patient, showing me things I hadn’t known—how amputate a gangrenous limb, how to handle certain illnesses I’d only ever read about. It was like a weight was slowly being lifted off my shoulders. We finally had real medical expertise on our side, and it was one less thing to worry about.

We had also moved to a new building—a place that, for now, felt safer than where we were. An old library, dusty and worn, but with sturdy walls and enough room for everyone to have a bit more space. It felt strange, though, living among all the abandoned books, as if we had found refuge in the remnants of a world that no longer existed. It was depressing and made me hopeful at the same time.

But even here, I knew it wouldn’t last long. It couldn’t. The building was secure, but our food supply wasn’t. There wasn’t enough land nearby to grow our own, and the scavenging teams were coming back with less and less every day. It was only a matter of time before we’d have to move again.

I was deep into a book on radiation treatment, trying to soak in every detail, when I heard footsteps approach. Looking up, I saw Troy standing there, an unusual expression on his face—almost as if he was hesitant.

“Hey,” he said quietly. “Are you up for an errand?”

I raised an eyebrow, immediately cautious. “What kind of errand?”

He didn’t answer right away. His eyes held mine, and for the first time in a long while, I saw something almost…pleading in his gaze. Something was off.

But instead of pushing for more details, I closed the book and stood up. “Okay,” I said, my voice soft but certain. I would be wherever he needed me to be. I always had been.

Without another word, Troy nodded and hurried off to grab Tracy. I gathered my gear quickly, slipping on my jacket and checking my weapons. Whatever this was, it didn’t feel like a simple supply run.

We left the library in the biggest, sturdiest vehicle we had—an absolute tank of a car that had been patched up more times than I could count, but it still ran.

Tracy sat between us in the front seat, unusually quiet, her small fingers tracing the outline of the map spread across her lap.

The silence in the car was thick. I kept glancing over at Troy, trying to read him. There was something he wasn’t saying, and it gnawed at me. I opened my mouth to ask again, but then caught his gaze, and the words died in my throat.

Whatever we were headed for, it was important. And he needed me to trust him.

Troy spoke suddenly, breaking the tense silence without looking away from the road. “I’ve been hearing Madison on the radio.”

I blinked in surprise, turning to look at him. My first instinct was disbelief, and I didn’t bother hiding it. “Madison? As in the Madison.. Madison Clark?” I stared at him for a few seconds, then, half-joking and half-serious, I reached over and placed my hand on his forehead, checking for a fever. “You feeling alright? You sure it’s not a hallucination?”

Troy tensed, clearly not in the mood for jokes, and shooed my hand away with an irritated sigh. “Stop.”

When we had a very random and brief encounter with Alicia, which ultimately caused Serena’s death, she seemed pretty sure that her mom was dead. And that was years ago, so pardon me if I felt like Troy bust have been seeing things.

Tracy, giggling beside me, mimicked my movement, reaching up to put her tiny hand on his forehead too. Troy quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled it away, his tone sharp. “Tracy, please,” he said in that serious, annoyed voice I’d rarely ever heard him use with her.

Tracy was treated like an absolute princess by him. Tracy asked Tracy got, as far as it was possible in this new world. When she was told no, it was always gentle, with a lengthy explanation of why she couldn’t get what she wanted.

The only times I’d ever seen Troy use his strict dad voice like this, it was either because he was very stressed or on edge, or when she had put herself in danger and he was so worried that it turned into anger. It caught me off guard, and I immediately stopped playing around.

Troy glanced down at Tracy with a brief, guilty smile, as if to apologize for his tone.

He was more tense than I had realized. This wasn’t just some passing comment about a radio broadcast; this was something weighing heavily on him. He finally exhaled and continued, “I’ve been hearing Madison… took over PADRE. It’s this organization… you’ve heard of it from those new people, right?”

PADRE—the stories we’d heard about them were grim, nothing good. I didn’t know much, but what I did know made my skin crawl. Children, ripped from their families and molded into soldiers? My thoughts raced, but Troy’s voice brought me back.

“She gave coordinates in the broadcast,” he continued, his voice quieter, more reflective. “For parents to come find PADRE. Look for their kids.”

I swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling in the car like a lead blanket. What was he thinking? What was this errand really about?

Troy paused for a moment before adding, almost too quietly, “The place seems… safe.”

Safe.

I glanced over at him, searching for more than what he was saying, but his face was unreadable, eyes fixed on the road. The wheels in my mind started spinning faster. Safe. In a world like this, what did safe even mean anymore? And why was Troy—who never trusted anything easily—considering it?

“What are you thinking, Troy?” I asked, my voice soft but filled with concern. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer, but I needed to hear it anyway.

Troy’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles white against the worn leather. He exhaled deeply before speaking, as though admitting his plan out loud made it more real. “I’ve been thinking of going there.”

“To PADRE?” I asked, my voice catching in my throat. “Troy, what—”

“I’d have to swallow my pride,” he interrupted, his voice flat, but I could sense the weight of those words. “What she did to me was… unforgivable. You know that. I hated her for it. Still do.” He paused, his jaw tightening. “But I’ve got more people to think about than just myself now.”

I blinked, my heart pounding. This was a side of Troy I rarely saw—the one that wrestled with something more than survival. His eyes remained focused on the road, but I could tell this wasn’t easy for him to admit.

“If swallowing my pride gives us any chance of a safe place for this community… for you, for Tracy,” he continued, his voice lowering, “then I’ll gladly do it.”

I stared at him, trying to piece together the full picture. “Why do you need us to come?” I asked, my heart sinking as it confirmed this wasn’t just some regular errand.

Troy sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair before speaking. “I’m hoping she won’t kill me on the spot.”

“What?” The word tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. “Troy—”

“She has no reason to let me live after everything that happened at the dam,” he said, cutting me off again. “I need her, not the other way around. There’s nothing in it for her to keep me alive, except maybe the goodness of her heart—and I’m not sure how much of that she’s got left.”

The weight of his words pressed down on me. I knew about the dam. I knew what had happened between them, even if Troy hadn’t shared every detail. Madison had done something unforgivable, and Troy wasn’t one to forget easily.

“Then why… why bring us?” I asked, my voice trembling with worry.

“She knows you,” Troy said quietly. “You two parted ways on good terms—before you knew what she’d done to me. She definitely won’t hurt you. Maybe she’ll listen to you.”

I shook my head slightly, trying to wrap my mind around it all. “And Tracy?”

Troy’s eyes flickered toward the backseat, where Tracy sat quietly, unaware of the gravity of the conversation. “I brought her to show that I’m not a threat. That I won’t try anything. I need her to see that I’m trying to protect my daughter now. Maybe if Madison sees my family... I was reckless at the ranch, I know that I was a danger. I had nothing to lose, my father was dead, my brother had chosen Alicia over me. I was alone, and that revenge felt justified.”

The car felt smaller with the weight of his words. His eyes found mine again, softer now, but filled with an apology that neither of us had ever fully addressed. But, maybe we should have talked it over one of these days.

He remembered, just like I did, that I had been at the ranch too when he unleashed his reckless fury. Back then, I was just another casualty of that herd made of his grief and rage.

“I didn’t care what happened to anyone,” His voice cracked slightly. “But now… it’s different. There’s Tracy and if we want any chance of Madison letting us in, she needs to see Tracy.”

The words hung in the air between us, heavy with uncertainty. I looked at Troy, my chest tightening with a mixture of fear and understanding.

He was risking everything—not just his pride, but his life—for the chance to secure a future for all of us. And even though I hated the idea of facing Madison, I couldn’t help but feel the same sense of hope Troy was clinging to.

“Troy…” I started, my voice soft, unsure of what to say.

But he just shook his head, his eyes hard as he looked back to the road. “We have to try.”

As they drove, the coordinates on the map became more and more confusing. The further we ventured, the more the land seemed to narrow, and soon we were staring at a stretch of water that separated us from their destination.

Troy slammed the car door, stepping out to look at the map again, disbelief etched across his face. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered.

I followed him out, glancing over his shoulder. The coordinates pointed to a small dot on the other side of the water. “Is that… an island?”

“Looks like it.” Troy ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. “No wonder we couldn’t get there by road. They’re on an island.”

I squinted across the water, the outline of the distant land barely visible. “How are we supposed to get over there?”

Troy didn’t answer at first, his gaze scanning the shoreline. After a moment, he turned, his eyes landing on something half-buried in the sand at the water’s edge. “Hold on,” he said, already moving towards it.

I followed him, watching as he knelt down beside what looked like the wreckage of an old speedboat. The metal was rusted, the frame battered by weeks, maybe months of neglect, but Troy’s eyes lit up with a spark of determination.

“Think this can still work?” I asked, doubting it could float, much less get them across.

Troy didn’t respond immediately, his hands already inspecting the boat, checking the engine. There was still fuel in there that didn’t seem to be more than a few months old “It’s going to need some work… but yeah, I can fix it.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that? This thing looks like it’s been sitting here for years.”

Troy gave a dry laugh, wiping his hands on his jeans. “Months, it’s worse off because of the humidity. And you’d be surprised what I can get to work when I don’t have a choice.” He pulled out a toolbox from the boat car, setting it down beside him. “Besides, I’ve fixed worse.”

I watched him as he started tinkering with the engine, loosening bolts and replacing parts with scraps he’d salvaged. It was strange seeing him like this — calm, focused, in his element.

After a while, he glanced up at me, a smirk playing on his lips. “You know, when I was in my teens, before the militia, my father used to make me work on tractors and cars after I got kicked out of school.”

I blinked in surprise. Troy never talked about his past anymore, let alone his father. The image of Jeremiah’s face, drained of blood and hollow after he shot himself still sent shivers down my spine.

“Yeah?” I prompted, leaning against the side of the boat.

“Yeah.” He kept working as he spoke, his tone casual but with a hint of bitterness. “He told me that if I couldn’t get my brain to work, ‘I better get those damn engines to work’” he said, mimicking his fathers voice, as far as he could still remember it. “I could at least be useful around the ranch. So, while my brother was off at college getting praised for being the ‘smart’ one, I was out in the fields fixing everything that broke down.”

I felt a pang of sympathy for him but didn’t say anything, knowing he wouldn’t want pity. Instead, I just watched as he worked, slowly but surely bringing the engine back to life.

“I guess it paid off in the end, though,” Troy continued, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Because now, I can get this thing running and get us to where we need to go.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. I knew his father wasn’t really the best dad. He neglected him for years while he was being abused by his mom. Jeremiah told me that himself. But I knew how much Troy still loved his father, and how much he wanted to prove himself to that old bastard. “Your dad would be proud.” I say

Troy chuckled, shaking his head. “I doubt that. But maybe he’d be impressed. A little.”

After what felt like hours, the boat finally sputtered to life, the engine coughing before settling into a steady hum. Troy stood up, grinning like a kid who’d just pulled off a magic trick.

“There,” he said, wiping his hands on his jeans again. “Told you I could do it.”

I stared at the boat, amazed that it actually worked. “You never cease to amaze me, Troy.”

He shot me a playful look. “I’m full of surprises. Come on, let’s get moving before the tide changes.”

When we arrived at the gates of a small island, a teenage girl with brown hair and a fighting stick stepped forward to open it. She looked us up and down, her eyes sharp and calculating. “What’s your business here?” she asked.

I forced a calm smile and lied smoothly because Madison had to be the first person to see us and hear us out, “We’re looking for my missing child.” Tracy squeezed my hand as the girl sized us up, then nodded and led us inside.

She sized up once more before sighing “follow me.”

She guided us to a small office, which looked more like an interrogation room. “Wait here,” she said before disappearing through another door.

The moment she left, I glanced down at Tracy. She tried to keep a brave face, but I could see the fear in her eyes, even if she’d never admit it. I squeezed her hand tighter, offering some comfort, though a shudder ran through my back as well.

Troy, always observant, noticed and pulled me into a hug. His embrace was strong and steady, but I could feel the tension radiating from him too. He knew as well as I did—this wasn’t the Madison we once knew. Eleven years had passed, and while Madison and I had parted on good terms, things had changed. Madison had changed. She had to have grown colder, harder. After all, who could stay the same after everything that’s happened? I was with troy, and I was sure she hated him.

I had faith that she wouldn’t hurt a child, at least not intentionally, but the thought still gnawed at me. Without a word, I bent down and lifted Tracy into my arms, even though she was getting too big for it. I just needed to hold her, to feel her close. Her arms wrapped around my neck, her head nestled into my shoulder.

Then, the door creaked open.

All three of us turned toward it, the tension thick in the air as we braced for what—or who—was about to step through.

Madison’s face twisted with shock the moment her eyes fell on Troy. She froze, her expression a mix of disbelief and something close to fear, as if she were staring at a ghost. In a way, she was.

Her voice came out in a stunned whisper, “But… I killed you.”

Troy didn’t respond immediately. His jaw clenched tight, the muscles in his neck tensing as he bit his tongue. I could see the battle going on behind his eyes—the anger, the pain, the memories of everything she’d done to him.

I reached out and placed a gentle hand on his arm, squeezing just enough to remind him that I was there. Supporting him. His eyes flicked to mine for a second, and I gave him a soft nod. We were in this together, no matter what came next.

Madison’s gaze darted between us, the tension in the room thickening with every passing second. Tracy shifted slightly in my arms, sensing the heaviness in the air, but she stayed quiet, her small hand clutching at my sleeve.

Finally, Troy exhaled, his voice low but steady. “As you can see I’m alive and kicking,” His face did nothing to hide the glare coming from his eyes as he spoke “You didn’t finish the job, Madison.”

———————————————————

As always let me know what you liked and what you didn’t like.

I’m always open for critique

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added)

@elleirbag50 @aldenenjoyer

[aldenenjoyer]

needing a troy x reader where they think he looks really good in his uniform and every time the militia goes out they try to sneak glances at him before they leave but gets caught by someone and they’re blushing trying to deny it so harddjksjdj

[luciddaizey]

if i started an Isaac Lahey series would anyone actually read it or is that fandom completely dead? 😞 i wanna do a Troy Otto one too but i think im gonna do both if yall will actually read them IDK HELP?! clearly i love daniel.

[maraudereestauderelb]

What are the Chances IV (Troy Otto)

Let me know if you want to be tagged in future parts :)

Tag list: @mischiefnevermanaged89-blog

Part I Part II Part III

Masterlist

The next few days after Y/N’s conversation with Jeremiah were a blur of hard work and anticipation. The shift system hadn’t been implemented yet, but Y/N could sense the wheels turning. People were still exhausted by mid-afternoon, and every time she saw Jeremiah observing them from a distance, she knew he was considering her idea. 

One afternoon, after the day’s work had slowed to a crawl under the brutal sun, Troy approached her. “You ever fired a gun before?” he asked, leaning against the fence with that familiar smirk. 

Y/N hesitated. "I mean, I’ve used that little revolver a few times when we were on the road, but I’m not exactly an expert." 

"Thought so. You’ve been lucky so far, but luck runs out. I’ve seen it." His eyes flickered with something darker before he waved a hand. "Come on. I’ll show you how to really use one." 

They walked out to a quiet area near the edge of the ranch, a makeshift target set up against a tree. He handed her a rifle—heavier than the revolver she was used to—and took a step closer. “Alright, first things first,” Troy said, his voice low and instructive. “So you hold it like this,” he explained, moving her arms and hands until they were in the correct positions. 

His touch was firm, but gentle, guiding her hands into place, and it sent an unexpected shiver through her body. Y/N struggled to focus on what he was saying, feeling the warmth of his body behind her. His breath tickled her ear, and she had to remind herself to breathe. 

"And then you just pull the trigger," Troy said, stepping back just enough to give her space. 

Y/N took a deep breath, trying to steady herself as she looked down the barrel of the gun. Her target—a rough circle drawn onto a board—seemed further away than it actually was. She focused, exhaling slowly as she pulled the trigger. The gun kicked back slightly, the shot ringing out in the still air. It wasn’t a perfect hit, just on the edge of the target, but for her first try with a rifle, it wasn’t terrible. 

"Not bad," Troy commented, his voice close enough to remind her just how near he was. 

She quickly lowered the gun and flicked on the safety, turning around slowly to face him. He hadn’t moved away at all, and as she looked up, she found herself staring into his intense blue eyes. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Troy's gaze flickered down to her lips for a brief second before snapping back up to meet her eyes. The air between them was thick with something unspoken. 

"Had I known you didn’t know how to shoot," Troy started, trying to break the tension, "I would’ve been more cautious and nice when I found you." 

Y/N’s lips twitched into a small smile. “Wouldn’t have shot you even if I had known,” she replied, her voice quieter than she intended. Her eyes drifted to his lips before she could stop herself, the charged atmosphere making it impossible not to notice the closeness between them. 

Troy’s smirk faltered for just a second, his eyes darkening as he stared back at her, the space between them seeming to shrink without either of them moving. Y/N felt her heartbeat quicken, her pulse loud in her ears. 

But before anything more could happen, Leona’s voice cut through the moment like a knife. “Oh Jesus, there you are, Y/N!” 

Both Y/N and Troy jumped, stepping back from each other quickly as if they’d been caught doing something they shouldn’t. Y/N’s face flushed with a heat that had nothing to do with the sun, and she turned to see Leona approaching, hands on her hips. 

"I’ve been looking for you everywhere!" Leona said, exasperation in her voice. "You said you were just gonna grab some water, and then you disappear? What are you two doing?" 

"Uh, just some target practice," Y/N stammered, glancing back at Troy, who was suddenly busy cleaning the rifle like nothing had happened. 

Leona gave them both a suspicious look but shrugged it off. "Well, Jeremiah’s looking for you. I think he’s going to try your shift idea." 

Y/N blinked, her mind still racing from the close encounter with Troy. "Really?" 

"Yeah, he wants to talk to you about it." 

Y/N nodded, trying to shake off the lingering tension and refocus. "Okay, I’ll head over." She turned to Troy, who gave her a subtle nod, his expression back to its usual unreadable self. 

As she and Leona walked away, Y/N couldn’t help but sneak one last glance over her shoulder at Troy. He was watching her, his journal tucked under his arm, the same thoughtful look on his face. 

Part V

[capnsoyboy]

Fics So Good I Have to Share

Fear the Walking Dead

Say You Need Me - Troy Otto x Reader (AO3 series)

Marvel

Heart to Love - Bucky Barnes x Reader (AO3) My Little Love - Bucky Barnes x Reader (series)

Sharing is Caring - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Sorry, I Love You — Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

The Day After Yesterday - Bucky Barnes x TimeTraveler!Reader (series)

Warrior/Worrier - Bucky Barnes x Reader

When We Were Young - Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers (AO3)

Home- Kate Bishop x Reader

The Ghost of You - Pietro Maximoff x Reader (series part 1)

The Ghost of Us - Pietro Maximoff x Reader (series part 2)

Built From Memories - Natasha Romanoff x Reader, Yelena Belova x Platonic!Reader

Hand(s) Off Part 2, Part 3 - Steve Rogers x Reader (series)

Rockefeller - Steve Rogers x Reader

Timeless Lovin’ - Steve Rogers x Reader

Daisies - Thor x Reader

Three Times - Thor x Reader

Outer Banks

Broken - Rafe Cameron x Reader

I'd Choose You Over Anyone - Rafe Cameron x Reader

I Need Help - Rafe Cameron x Reader

Sweet Silence - Rafe Cameron x Reader

If We Go Down - JJ Maybank x Reader

Lie to Me - JJ Maybank x Reader

Not Like I’m in Love With You - JJ Maybank x Reader

Supernatural

Ghost of You - Dean Winchester x Castiel (AO3)

I'll Be Waiting for You - Dean Winchester x Castiel (AO3)

Sugar, Bee Mine? - Dean Winchester x Castiel (AO3)

Domestic - Dean Winchester x Reader

Never Say Goodbye - Dean Winchester x Soulmate!Reader (series)

Touch Starved - Dean Winchester x Reader

The Impala - Sam Winchester x Reader

Pythia - Sam Winchester x Reader (series)

Teen Wolf

Derek Hale Imagines - Derek Hale x Reader

Drawing the Life (1),(2) - Theo Raeken x Reader

Inked Wrists - Theo Raeken x Reader (series)

Teen Wolf One Shots - Multi-character x Reader

[blvckqwz]

Okay so little rant but if there is a thing I absolutely fucking hate is when in a fanfiction they make the reader forgive their s/o in like three second like what the fuck bitch I’mma hold grudges against you ‘till you keep begging on your knees for years. I just fucking read a chapter when I’m supposed to forgive the love interest after HE FUCKING MADE ME ATTEMPT SUICIDE like what. Maybe I’m just an angry individual and I can’t ever be the bigger person but what. the. fuck.

Like that’s not me, I would never forgive him after that. I still have beef with people who didn’t send me birthday wishes in 2017, I’m not going to sleep over the fact that you left me and make me OD and slit my wrists🤷‍♀️

Also just so you know all my OCs are resentful bitches just like the author because they are literally extensions of myself so expect some toe curling revenge from them every time someone crossed them lol

[insom-nom-nom-niatic]

Welcome to tonight's drunk drabbles...

Set after Troy "died"... that's all you need to know.

CHARACTERS: Troy Otto X Fem Reader

PROMPT IS FROM THIS LIST

“Can we pretend everything around us is fine, for one night?”

Troy was in one of his moods. His jacket making a loud THUD as he threw it on the ground entering the room. His footsteps were heavy making his way towards the on-suit bathroom. Not once did he look up from his feet once he entered and it wasn't until you heard an angered huff echo from the bathroom that he finally glanced up.

His face was growing older, wiser his team would say but all Troy saw was aging of stress and hard work. Fight after fight, he seems to come out on top yet still felt that he lost.

He wanted safety.

He wanted a home again.

And yet it was just another night he looked in the mirror, scrubbing off the blood that stained his cheeks and had to sleep with his one good eye left open.

He turned the corner, disrobed in all but his underwear and a fresh-ish white T-shirt, and locked eyes with you, peeping those glittering eyes over a torn-up copy of The Tales Of Edgar Allen Poe, the same book you've read over a dozen times by now.

Troy's lips cracked into a small halfway-there smile before climbing onto the fluffy mattress, grabbing the edge of the blanket and covering you both. The book found its typical place on the nightstand once again, but before turning the lamp off beside it, one of your hands entwined with his. The other cupping it's way under his shirt feeling his warm skin against your chilled fingers.

Troy looked down at you, his tired blue eyes glimmering in the light but gleamed back with amusement and curiosity. His fingers wrapped around your middle before reaching your legs and pulling you into his lap.

“Can we pretend everything around us is fine, for one night?”

His one good eye began to darken, drifting between your lips and every bruise, cut, scar, and mark from your forehead to your shirt. The hands gripping your skin tighter in response.

There didn't need to be words, he was too tired for that. But there are certain things, even in the apocalypse, that he would never be too tired for.

She reminded him of what he was fighting for.

The home he needed to find for them together.

For her safety.

[sombrashe]

relationship troy x reader

content nonconsensual voyeurism, nonconsensual mutual masterbation, troy is a fucking creepy, daffodil is just as creepy jacking off to him smh

He was so lucky your window opened to the untilled land west of the camp. Your sounds carry on the wind into nothingness, straight into his ear canals. Such pretty little sounds. He loves listening to you like this. Enthralled in your actions unaware of the going ons just a few feet away. Whispers turn into squeals as you slowly get closer to the edge. It normally takes you about half an hour to cum and he makes sure to stay until the very last moment.

Daring a peak he freezes once his eyes rake over your body. Bare, sweat gleaming over your entirety. You’re a masterpiece. Legs spread wide as your toes curl into the sheets below. Drooling cunt soaking those same sheets like a Bob Ross painting. He can’t tear his eyes away. The hand which rubbed at your clit occasionally leaves to pinch and twist at your nipple.

He takes in the sight like a starved man. Maybe he is. No, he definitely is. A man so starved he has to hope you leave your window open. Leave it open in the hope he gets to hear those wonderful sounds. Lock them away in the vault that is his mind. Get a single glance so he can hastily scribble a drawing of you. This time he was going to commit. Take it all in. Watch you from start to finish. Watch as your body reacts to each sound that falls from your lips.

You shift and pause. A defeated huff and you're flinging yourself onto your stomach. His heart hammers loudly in his ears. He becomes nervous as you raise your hips. There was no way you knew he was there and yet here you are presenting yourself for him. Eyes tightly closed as you grit your teeth. Jaw clenched tightly as you grind against the air. Your fingers working yourself over. Pinching and clawing at your puffy cunt. Doing anything to get yourself off and he knows if you just invited him in he could satiate that need for you.

He would make you cum over and over again.

His cock head is swollen as he lazily rubs his fingertips over it. Pre cum slicks his fingers and he shamefully imagines it as your slick. Salty and sticky he imagines how you would feel wrapped around his ruddy tip. Would you suck him in as he slowly slipped inside? How would you sound squealing out his name as he finally bottoms out? What would you say if he asked for a taste? Would you say yes or shy away from him and his tongue?

“I’m not a disappointment.”

His ears perk up at your low words. The words he spat in your face hours earlier. Some simple mistake during a mission made him snap on you and your team. Something stupid he was going to apologize for if Madison hadn't stolen him away mere seconds later.

“T-troy~ hng, mmm.”

He fumbles with his belt. Yanking himself free from his zipper he doesn't let his cock a break as he doubles his efforts. He doesn't care if you catch him anymore. He thinks you wouldn't mind it either. Not after tonight. Not after hearing you beg for him. Maybe he should stick his leaking cock back into his briefs and knock on your door. Catch you all disoriented with a painful-looking tent. See if you’ll offer to help him. Let him just a moment to feel how warm you are. God, I bet they’d feel amazing.

You're humping the mattress now. So close. He can tell by the way your right leg angles itself. The tremors in the hand pumping lewdly in your pillowy cunt give you away further. Only when the tremors start do your squawks turn into grunts. When those grunts start he knows he only has a few minutes before you're pooling into your palm. Messily pumping his cock he squeezes around the base with one palm and roughly massages his balls with the other. He cums in tandem with you and he feels absolutely euphoric. Like he could float right through the window and land curled up beside your heaving body.

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[escapist-of-fiction]

Title - Old habits die hard

One shot - Troy Otto x Fem Reader

Warning - alcohol use, mild language and some hot and heavy foreplay.

Disclaimer - I borrowed some of the characters of FTWD but that's all.

Author's note - I honestly loved writing this. Heavily influenced by the Chris Stapleton song that's included throughout. If you read, feedback is most welcome. Reblog if you think someone else might enjoy 😉

~ E

I know it ain't all that late

But you should probably leave

And I recognize that look in your eyes

Yeah, you should probably leave

-------

"A storm's coming," Nick murmured, his eyes lifting to the sky, squinting under a furrowed brow. No one disagreed with him. The air felt thick and the sky had turned a hazy, pale orange with streaks of dark pink running through it. Uncrossing his legs that were rested on the table, he stood up, stretching his arms above his head with a loud yawn. "I better go. I'm on the night shift at the gate."

"We're going to make tracks too," Alicia said, "I promised I'd help with prep the breakfast in the morning now the large group have arrived." She looked over at me as I remained in my seat, "are you coming Y/N?"

I shook my head, "not yet, I will soon. Promise." Alicia hovered on the steps of the veranda hesitantly, trying to read my expression but failed. She allowed herself to be ushered on her way by Jake, his hand laced securely with hers as she looked back at me curiously.

I watched everyone leave and stared up at the night sky, lost in my thoughts.

I knew why Alicia was reluctant to leave me behind. I had no reason to stay. Troy and I had broken up a month ago, albeit for the second time after a brief reconciliation. Ordinarily I would have followed everyone else. We'd been on a supply run earlier, the five of us, and had habitually decompressed over a few beers and some food after at Troy's.

Except now I couldn't leave without speaking with Troy alone, I had a bone to pick with him.

I heard the familiar thud of his boots on the wooden floorboards of the porch behind me and slowly turned around to face him. Troy looked around at the vacant chairs and seem mildly surprised that I was still there.

"How come you haven't left with the others?"

"Because I wanted a word." I said curtly. "I need to set something straight with you."

"Okay..." Troy looked at me in question, he crossed his arms over his chest defensively and waited for me to speak.

"On the supply run today, when we were killing that herd...I was fine, you know. I didn't need you to get involved. You can't just step in and save me all the time."

Troy's mouth twitched ever so slightly as he realised what I was referring to. He shrugged,

"Y/N, when we go on a run, we have each other's backs. We do it for anyone out there. That's just the way it goes. It's what the Militia do."

I rubbed my forehead in frustration,

"You know that's not what I mean, Troy. When we're out there, you need to let me be me. I can fight my own battles. I'm not your girlfriend. I'm not yours to protect anymore." I huffed and turned my back to him to face the fields as I leaned over the side of the porch.

Troy's shadow loomed over me in the moonlight as he came to stand beside me,

"Fine. I promise that in future I will not have your back, nor will I be your second pair of eyes on a run or help you out. In future, I will just let you get bitten and count down to the minute until the moment I watch you turn."

I turned to scowl at him,

"You're an infuriating bastard, do you know that?"

Troy smirked, "you're not the first person to tell me that and you won't be the last." He held up a bottle of red wine, "drink with me?"

I shook my head,

"I should probably leave."

-------

There's still time for you to finish your wine

Then you should probably leave

And it's hard to resist, alright, just one kiss

Then you should probably leave

-------

"One swig won't hurt." Troy insisted as he twisted and pulled at the cork, with a 'pop.' "peace offering?" He said, waving the bottle under my nose.

I sighed and took it from him, helping myself to a generous sip. The red liquid tasted sweet and nutty. Clearly not the dregs of the apocolyptic world. I handed the bottle back to Troy with a questionable look on my face.

Troy glugged back the wine with a satisfied "ahhh" before answering me. "It's one of the old man's bottles. I found it behind his whiskey stash. He'd obviously hidden it for a rainy day."

I swiped the bottle back from Troy and drank a generous portion again before raising the bottle to the skies,

"Cheers to pilfering old Jeremiah's alcohol. His loss is our gain!" My wicked laugh echoed in the darkness.

I hadn't eaten a lot earlier on so I could feel the wine was going straight to my head.

This wasn't going to plan at all...

It all suddenly seemed too easy again. Standing together, laughing, sharing stories about everyone on the ranch. I had forgotten this feeling when I was around Troy. This is when it felt right. So why had it stopped?

With every sip of wine, my reasons for being mad at Troy and his stupid decisions seemed to peel away and disintegrate, as if they had never been there at all. I was losing myself in a comforting blanket of red wine and Troy's company. It was a downward spiral.

As Troy drained the last of the bottle, he peered down its glass neck to double check the contents was truly gone and sighed, before placing it back onto the table.

He came to stand next to you and looked over at Jake's house that he shared with Alicia. You noticed their porch light was still on - she must have been waiting up for you to pass. A similar thing must have run through Troy's mind as well.

"She won't be happy that you're still here, you know." He said it with a gentle nudge of his shoulder into mine. I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

"She's not my keeper."

Troy's look said it all, I scoffed and changed tact,

"She just cares about me and doesn't want me getting hurt..." again, I added silently.

Without realising, our bodies had gravitated toward each other, I could see his fingers twitch, wanting to reach for my hand but he decided against it last minute.

Troy lowered his voice as if the world were listening and he didn't want them to hear,

"I would never hurt you, Y/N. You know that. I care about you too much. Its why I do what I do when I'm out there..."

I bit my lip. It was so easy for him to say those words and for me to fall right back into his trap. They weren't lies. He did care about me and he didn't hurt me but it was everything else - the stupid decisions he made (without thinking them through) with a gun in his hand, the experiments, let's not even mention the obsession with his notebook...

I turned to step away from him but in one sly movement, he had closed the gap between us, his legs either side of mine, a hand on my waist holding me in place.

"I need to go... " I murmured, already fighting the magnetic pull that was drawing me closer to Troy, like a moth to a flame.

I didn't feel trapped . Right now I wanted this.

I wanted him.

"Troy, what are you doing?" I whispered. His hand reached for my cheek, his fingers grazing my skin and my eyes fluttered closed, succumbing to his every touch.

I felt the stubble of his chin graze my cheek briefly as he spoke,

"This is me saying goodnight," He said, and I gasped quietly as his lips connected with mine.

-------

Like a devil on my shoulder you keep whisperin' in my ear

And it's gettin' kinda hard for me to do the right thing here

I wanna do the right thing, baby

------

I should have stopped him right there and then, I should have turned and walked away but when your heart says one thing and your brain says the other?

You go with the burning desire that is rushing through your veins and making your head spin.

My hands moved up to grasp the collar of his jacket and I pulled Troy down to my height, eager to increase contact with him and deepen our kiss.

I grazed my teeth across his bottom lip teasingly, emitting a growl from deep within his throat and I smiled, knowing I'd hit his sweet spot. I knew him too well.

Everything about this felt familiar and delicious - the warmth of his hands as they found their way under my shirt, the circles he danced across my torso, the impatient tugging at the waistline of my pants.

I shook my head, "not out here.." I mumbled against his lips. I felt Troy's lips curl into a devilish smile before moving to my neck, leaving a trail of kisses down to my chest. Ignoring my request.

Insistently, I tugged on the bottom of his jacket, pulling him in the direction of the front door, hoping he'd get the message.

With a little laugh, he followed but known for his impatient streak, decided to speed up the process by picking me up. Without skipping a beat, my legs wrapped around his waist, my arms wound around his neck. I pulled back to look at him under the porch light as we passed through the doorway,

"This is such a mistake." I declared, almost groaning. Troy chuckled,

"No time for regrets. Hate me in the morning, darling."

------

Sun on your skin, 6 AM

And I been watchin' you sleep

And honey, I'm so afraid you're gonna wake up and say

That you should probably leave

Oh, you should probably leave

------

I woke up with a start.

I knew that I wasn't in my own bed but it certainly felt familiar to me. As I opened my eyes, I glanced around the room and found Troy sat in his favourite spot, his bay window, notebook in hand whilst he scribbled down in it furiously.

My hand went to my head, I could feel the beginning of a hangover rumbling.

"We did it again, didn't we?" I knew the answer. I didn't need him to confirm it.

Troy smirked, obviously enjoying as I squirmed in embarrassment, he placed his notebook down on the table next to him,

"Actually if you want to be really accurate, we did it again... three times."

I groaned inwardly, having no patience for his humour then threw a pillow in his direction, which he expertly dodged. I then began to move around the room, collecting the discarded clothing from the previous night and dressing myself in haste.

"Why are you in such a rush? I can make us some breakfast before you go..?"

I froze and looked at him incredulously.

"This," I began, pointing at both of us, "is not a thing. This was a mistake, a huge one at that."

Now fully dressed, I walked toward the door to open it but in three long strides, Troy had reached it as well and infuriatingly placed his foot in the doorway to stop me in my tracks.

I stared up at him, eyes wide in rage,

"You can't keep me here under duress, Troy. I'm not one of your prisoners. Let me pass."

"I will... if you answer me one question first."

I folded my arms in a huff and looked at him questioningly.

"Admit you enjoyed yourself last night."

I opened my mouth to give him a seething response but closed it again, he knew it would be a lie.

Of course I had enjoyed last night.

But this was the dance we did, Troy and I. We fought, we made up, we would do the same over and over. We were each other's addiction and no matter how much I fought it, I would always keep going back to him.

My silence spoke volumes.

Troy dared to reach out and push a strand of my hair back from my face, tucking it behind my ear.

This was the Troy I fell for, the one that no one else saw. The softness underneath the hard exterior.

He tried leaning in for a kiss but miraculously I resisted, placing my hands flat against his chest to gently push him away.

"Don't push your luck."

Troy chuckled but nevertheless, moved to the side to allow me to pass and watched me jog down the stairs before calling after me,

"Same time tomorrow then?"

Gif not mine

[flower-slut004]

Enchanted

(part one)

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Yn demanded while looking down at the man below her.

She had come back from hunting and came back to her house when she noticed something was off. Things were moved and cans of food were empty.

Didn't take YN long to find a man in her bedroom admiring her gun and knife collection.

The man below her didn't speak a word, just stared in awe at the woman on top of him. His eyes fixated on her face.

Yn pressed the knife against his neck with more pressure than before causing Troy to let out a gasp. "Troy... My name is Troy," he finally sputtered out.

"Was that so hard Troy?" her voice dripped with venom. "Why are you here Troy?"

"Typically when people ask for someones name they also introduce themselves."

Yn squinted her eyes “and typically people don’t break into other peoples homes”

Troy chuckled “I don’t know if you noticed but the dead have risen and are eating the living. A stranger breaking into your home is the least of your worries.”

Yn scoffed "Trust me, I've learned that the living are much more dangerous than the dead."

Troy smiled up at her, he was in a trance. He swore the women who had his life in her hands was a siren.

His eyes traced over the shape of her lips, he was fixated on the scar on her nose, and he attempted to count every one of her eyelashes.

Troy saw her lips were moving but no sound came out, all that he could hear was his heart beating in his chest.

It wasn't until Yn smacked him across the face for him to snap out of it.

He hissed in pain and glared up at her.

"I was asking you a question." she snarled. Troy eyes shifted back to her lips and shuffled under her. He looked back at her face and waited for her question.

“Where did you come from… Troy”

Troy sighed as he rubbed his face “My family had a ranch but i was ran off it just for defending myself..” he explains.

Yn sighs at his explanation and looks around her tiny home. She looked back at the man under her and makes the decision to get off of him.

“I’m trusting you won’t kill me… considering you don’t have any weapons on you” she helps him up.

Troy smiles genuinely for what felt like a lifetime. “Thank you….” he breathes out.

Yn holds a hand up “You’ll have to help around here though…”. Troy nods frantically.

“I’ll do anything…”

Yn eyebrows raise as her flips curved an inch.

“Anything huh?” she smirks causing him to blush.

Troy stays quiet as he watches her walk around the room and opens a door that lead to outside.

“You can start with cleaning the chicken crap.” she smiles at the man’s annoyed expression.

Troy sighed as he rubbed his neck and nodded. Yn snickered as she begin to walk away but was stopped by him.

“I never did get your name….”

Yn looks up at him “Yn”

Troy smiles at her name “Im enchanted to meet you Yn”

[ftwdb]

Don’t say go.

Chapter 18.

Warnings: Dark themes, sexual content, violence, non-graphic description/implications of SA, child abuse and domestic violence. References to addiction. Unhealthy love/obsession/relationships. Soulmate AU. Eventual smut. Love Triangle!

It’s dark by the time you feel the strength of The Pull reaching its peak, and you know what that means. You look around into the darkness. In the wastes there isn’t much besides stretches of empty barren land and mountains in the distance. You know you’re not yet at your destination which can only mean one thing; the boy with the flag was headed toward you too.

You see twin lights in the distance. A car headed toward you. Eventually you stop in the middle of the road and just wait. The lights get closer until they shine on your windscreen and you both sit, unmoving, just waiting for the other to make the first move.

You cut the truck’s engine and step out.

The boy does the same. The light of your vehicles illuminate the night just enough that you can make each other out in the darkness.

The boy steps forward enough so that he is thrown into view and you can see the warm brown of his eyes, his features which are so different from Troy’s, softer but still strong.

You hesitate. Your gun is tucked in the back of your jeans and your fingers twitch.

The boy speaks.

“Hi… I’m Nick.”

You don’t say anything, you just keep watching until he clears his throat as if a little unsure of himself.

“You came alone?” he asks.

You could have kicked yourself. Coming alone had been a risk but now that he was here, in the middle of nowhere, and no one knew where you’d gone, you realised how vulnerable you’d left yourself.

“For now,” you answered him flatly. At least if you were vague about whether you had people with you it might make him have second thoughts if he was planning anything…

The boy waits a beat before trying again.

“I guess you felt it too then…”

You don’t want to say the words out loud so you simply nod your head. The boy, Nick, continues.

“I thought I was going crazy at first. I never thought I’d find my… find you. Feel it, you know?”

You frown at this. Everyone worries they’ll never find their soulmate but something in his voice captures your attention. It’s less that he’s worried about the odds and more… something you can’t quite distinguish.

“Why?” you ask.

Nick hesitated before shrugging a little.

“That’s a… it doesn’t matter. What matters now is that I found you. It feels… weird. Don’t you think?”

Perhaps if you hadn’t already had the experience with Troy you would agree. But you didn’t want him to know that Troy was your soulmate and so you don’t answer his question.

“Look I came here to warn you. Some of the people from my community are coming back tonight to finish what they started. You need to tell your people to run.”

Nick frowns at this information.

“We agreed to a truce-“

You shake your head in annoyance. You don’t want to explain all this. You want him to just listen to your warning and leave so you can forget about whatever this mistake is between you both and go home, go back to Troy.

“They’re acting of their own accord. Some of the men have certain… loyalties. This isn’t about protecting their home, it’s about revenge.”

Nick is watching you closely now and you don’t like the way his eyes are roaming over you. You freeze. You wonder if he can feel your emotions just like you can with Troy. You reach out in the same way you do with Troy and try to find Nick, to feel what he feels… there’s nothing. Just the regular sense of The Pull.

“You’re warning me because of this feeling between us? You came looking for me because of it.”

You shake your head growing more frustrated as all you want to do is head back before Mike and the others see you out here.

“I don’t have time to explain myself. You have to get your people and go far away from here. Don’t come back.”

Nick’s eyes widen as he realises you have no intention of staying with him.

“But… you have to come with me. When I left earlier, after I saw you, it felt like my heart was being-“

“It doesn’t matter.” You say quickly, all too familiar with that pain. “I can’t come. I won’t go with you. But I don’t want you to die either so, please, leave.”

Nick is staring at you incredulously.

“I can’t do that.”

You actually growl from your frustration with him.

“Why!?”

“Because,” Nick says as he steps closer. You take a large step away from him. You can’t risk him getting too close, having him touch you. You don’t know what will happen.

“I just found you. I can’t walk away!” he continues.

“Then run! Drive! Fucking skip for all I care! If you stay, you die. Not that I care-“

“That’s a lie.” Nick cuts you off quickly. “Soulmates need each other. Hearts literally break when they lose one another. So why… why are you denying this?”

You swallow nervously and look at the truck. You could just get back in and drive away, but what if he follows? You have a feeling he would. He seems the type. Reckless and stubborn.

“I… it’s complicated.”

You say, and you hate how pathetic that sounds.

“‘It’s Complicated’ used to be a Facebook status.” Nick quips. “Tell me the truth. Why run from me?”

“I’m not!”

“Then what are you running from!? Or… wait… what are you going back to?”

You clench your jaw as Nick slowly starts to put the pieces together in his head.

“You have someone-“

“No.”

“A boyfriend? Fiancé?”

“No! No one!”

“Your home then, your community. You’re worried this would cause a problem. Conflict? But maybe it could help solve the bad blood between us! Two soulmates who find each other on opposites sides-“

“This isn’t bloody Romeo and Juliet, Nick!”

He grins and it makes you want to slap the beautiful smile off his face.

“You’re hardly Juliet sweetheart.”

You snarl, your anger beginning to erupt. Why won’t he just listen! Why make this so complicated!

“Whatever! Just get in your car and drive away Romeo!”

Nick laughs and it’s almost like he’s enjoying this.

“Oh the universe is truly a bitch. I didn’t think I’d find my soulmate because I didn’t deserve one. But maybe I do. It’s ironic that she would hate me, a poetic kind of punishment I guess…”

Your expression eases but doesn’t soften as you listen to him ramble. Hate? You didn’t hate him…

“Why would you be punished?” you ask, your senses on alert in case this was the part where he confesses to being a serial killer or something.

Nick shrugs again.

“If you got to know me, you’d understand.”

You shake your head again with a weary sigh.

“You don’t listen do you.”

Nick steps forward again and this time the light moves so he’s back in the shadows with you.

“I could… but you’d need to actually tell me something for me to hear it. Something besides “run away” because that isn’t happening.”

You swear at him and he smirks.

“We don’t have time. Your people will be killed.”

Nick rubs his hand over the back of his neck and it finally seems to dawn on him, he has other responsibilities. Other people to protect.

“When are your people attacking?”

“They’re leaving the ranch around midnight, so probably by the early hours of the morning. Before sunrise though.”

“Element of surprise, cover of darkness. They’re smart.”

“And well armed. So will you listen to me now?”

Nick stares at you for a few seconds and you almost believe he’d let his people risk being slaughtered instead of going back to warn them.

“Fine.”

You blink at him.

“Fine?”

“That’s what I said. I’ll go back. I’ll warn them.”

“And you’ll run? You can’t fight back, it’ll be a bloodbath.”

“Look I can’t promise anything… we have some stubborn members of our group and they might not take the truce being broken well-“

“The truce isn’t broken. It’s just a small group-“

“Still breaking the truce. Still disobeying your leader, right?”

You bite your tongue. Jeremiah wasn’t their “leader” officially but he was as good as.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess. So what? You’ll go back and they’ll try to defend themselves?”

Nick shrugs again.

“If they think it’s more beneficial than running.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose.

“I’m getting a damn headache.”

For some reason this amuses Nick.

“Head rub?”

Your look at him is deadly and he sniggers.

“Joking. Lighten up. Look, I’ll go back and do what I can to stop anymore death. But I can’t promise anything. We lost people. The guy who was in charge came at us like a demon. We didn’t stand a chance…”

Your stomach twists as Nick talks about Troy.

“You want revenge?”

Nick’s expression blanks out and you recognise the perfectly controlled mask on his face. You’d used it yourself before.

“Me? No. But there are those who do.”

“Then convince them their lives aren’t worth it. Tonight is not their night to die. Please… no more death.”

Your voice breaks as you finish your sentence and Nick tilts his head at you. You look away, hating that you’d let some vulnerability slip through.

“Who’d you lose?”

You take a slow breath and shake your head.

“Doesn’t matter. Just… do what you can. And if you can’t save them… save yourself at least.”

Nick looks like he wants to say more. He looks pained.

“Can I… see you again?”

It’s almost laughable. Like a schoolboy asking out his crush. You place your hand on the door of the truck and grip it tight as you give him a firm “no” and turn away before you can see the look on his face.

You slide into your truck and slam the door, locking it before turning in the engine. This was for the best. You didn’t know what else to do. There had been some mistake and maybe Nick had another soulmate out there somewhere too? You hoped so… you didn’t want him to be in pain.

You hear a tap at the window and you look over to see Nick still standing there, motioning for you to wind it down. You do, only a few inches so you can hear him speak.

Nick pauses as he looks you over before speaking.

“It’s him, isn’t it.”

You frown and Nick elaborates.

“The guy who attacked us. The one who was hurt. He’s why you won’t stay with me.”

You feel your stomach drop. Your hands clench on the wheel as you grit your teeth.

“His name is Troy.”

“Troy…” Nick repeats and you hear the sadness and disappointment in his voice. “Well, you must love him a lot to choose him over your soulmate.”

You avoid his eyes still and stare straight ahead until the light from his car burns your eyes.

Nick continues.

“… I hope he makes it, for your sake. And… I want you to know it wasn’t me. I didn’t hurt him.”

You nod, not that it would have mattered. As much as you loved Troy you could understand he’d made a choice that led to his own injuries. Even if he’d done it to protect you… you hated that the blood that had been spilt was on your hands too now.

“I have to go,” you say emptily and put the truck into reverse.

Nick steps back just in time to save his foot being run over as you reverse and turn, glancing back to see his shadow in the headlights as you drive back home. Back to Troy. Back to where your heart felt complete as you tried to ignore how it felt as if you’d just left a piece of it in the darkness behind you…