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topazy · 10 months

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Inside, outside

Pairings: 10k x reader, Addy Carver × sister reader

Warnings: Swearing, minor violence

Chapter: 4.12

Your hair fell over your shoulders as you pulled clumps of blood out of 10K’s hair with your fingers. It would make cutting his dark locks, which had grown to just under his ears, that much easier without pieces of Z still in them. You were both drenched in blood and in need of bathing in the nearby river, but it was safer to wait until all the thick smoke from the explosion had cleared.

“It meant what I said.”

“I know; that’s why I agreed to marry you.”

10k tilts his head around, looking up from over his shoulder; his eyes almost have a pleading look in them. Just over half a year had passed since your group had all gone their separate ways, but it never became any easier to accept; out of everyone, 10k had taken it the hardest. Growing up, he only had his mother, so gaining a family he never had just to lose it was difficult to adjust to, especially with how it ended. 5K was dead, Murphy had gone AWOL, which was concerning considering he tried to build his own army last time, you and Addy weren’t on speaking terms, Warren was untraceable, and Doc decided he needed to do more and left to join a Z hunting party. He promised he’d be back, but I still hurt when he left. You were grateful that Red chose to stay with you and 10K, but all the new memories you were making didn’t ease the pain of the old ones.

All of this, combined with 10k’s body trying to function as normal after being bitten, had made him paranoid; he was scared anything that was too good would suddenly disappear.

“I love you, Tommy.” You kiss him on the only blood-free part of his face, which was his left cheek.

“I love you too,” he smiles. “When the time is right, we will get married, and hopefully our old gang will be there.”

“How will we know when the time is right?”

He shrugs and says, “I don’t know; I guess we just will.”

“You seem lost in thought; what are you thinking about?” 10k asks as you walk through a plot of land that was mainly rumbling from collapsed buildings and abandoned vehicles.

“One day in the future, when we have our own home again, I'll have the note you’d written me framed and hung up on a wall.”

10k raises his brows, smiling, and says, “That's a very hopeful thought to have, although I’m surprised that note has lasted so long.”

“You’re kidding, right? I treat it as if the paper were made from gold.”

“You know,” Murphy says loudly for Warren, who was charging in front, to hear. “If you just told us what you were looking for, it would be a lot easier to help you find it.”

Warren takes a moment to reply as her eyes scan the area, “I’ll know when I see it.”

Rolling your eyes, you sighed. You’d been relentlessly flogging Warren for days, and she had shared nothing useful about the location or any other information that would help you help her. It was growing increasingly frustrating, especially with Murphy dragging the zombified president behind him. After a while of walking, Warren zones out again, but then comes to and orders Murphy to stand in one spot while holding his hands in the air.

“How long do I need to do this for?” He moans, “I haven’t showered in three weeks, and my arms are tired.”

“It’s definitely longer than three weeks,” you snort.

After making Murphy change his arm position and holding up a sign post, Warren spots something no one else can see and somehow finds a hatch that had been hidden beneath the dirt and rubble leading to your next location.

—

Your mouth twists in irritation as you struggle to lower the dead president, who was surprisingly heavy, into the room the hatch led to, which was part of an underground army base. 10K, Warren, Murphy, and Doc had already gone in first to make sure it was clear, leaving you and Sarge alone for the first time in days. Neither of you had attempted to utter a single word to one another before this, but now you were forced to.

“Easy, steady,” she says, looking down. “Take it slow, nice and slow.”

“Easy for you to say.” You grit your teeth as you feel the rope burning the palms of your hands. You feel yourself startling to lose your grip. “I’m going to drop him!”

Sarge quickly grabs the rope that’s slipping and says, “Holy shit, he’s heavy!”

Even with the two of you trying to keep him steady, the president's weight became too much when he began wriggling about in the makeshift harness, causing the rope to slip from both of your hands. Hearing the thud below, you share a shocked look before both moving to stare down the hatch. Luckily, he was still moving, which meant you hadn’t re-killed him.

You let out a soft chuckle while getting to your feet. Sarge looks at you nervously; she motions for you to climb down the ladder first, “after you.”

“Thanks.”

10k takes your hand as he helps you jump off the end of the ladder, giving you a knowing look that says, “My bad.” You clear your throat. “So where to next?”

“That way,” Warren says before exiting the room.

As you go down different hallways, you come across a handful of Z’s that have gone blind due to the lack of sunlight, which meant it was easy for you to show mercy to time. Not wanting to create any noise, you shot them in the head with arrows. Your group remains silent until you reach a staircase and try to figure out the best way to get the zombie down it quickly.

“Maybe we could make a stretcher?” Doc suggests.

“That’s a good—” you stop talking when you hear a loud thud, and you glance over your shoulder to see Murphy standing suspiciously alone. “Murphy, did you just push the zombified president down the stairs?”

“Ex-president,” he points out. “And it saved us time, and besides, he’s already dead.”

Warren shakes her head. “We better go get him before he wanders off.”

—

You finally find the president after going down thirty flights of stairs to find two Zs eating the organs from his stomach. “I got it,” 10k says before using a slingshot to fire a sharp blade that goes through the two Z’s heads. He clicks his tongue and says, “Eight thousand, four hundred fifty-two.”

While Doc and Murphy tried their best to fix the president up as best they could so the zombie could walk again, your eyes remained glued to Sarge, who was staring at 10k so lovingly. You felt as if something was finally clicking into place as an uneasy feeling set in your gut.

“Let’s go,” Warren says, interrupting your thoughts.

You go into a control room and look around until Warren spots a red sign with a black message saying fourth strike and declares that’s the way to go.

You manage to fight your way through a small herd of Z’s without anyone getting bitten or hurt. While you all catch your breath, another Z appears suddenly behind you. Quickly, you stab it in the head and ask, “Where did that come from?”

10k points to the floor above, “up there.”

“I don’t think God has anything to do with this,” Murphy says sarcastically.

“No, I mean someone is pushing bodies over the edge.”

You look up as more Zs are pushed over and spot an older man with glasses about to push another Z over. “Hey!” You are behind him, firing arrows at him while Warren begins firing shots; however, the man is able to duck behind the wall. “Son of a bitch! Who the hell is that?”

“Possibly the same zona bastard who hacked the northern lights, then he had the launch codes,” Warren says, sounding panicked. “We can’t let him get to the drone before us.”

“Looks like it’s a race to the finish, then.”

—

A few things became more obvious to you while looking for the drone, including that Warren had apparently picked up a number of skills she had no memory of, including speaking Latin and hacking computers; the missions were growing increasingly dangerous as the minutes passed as more Z’s appeared; and Sarge most definitely had feelings for 10k. Seeing her stare at him with puppy-dog eyes made anger swirl inside you, but you had no right to be angry when she hadn’t acted on her feelings or had any control over them.

“Anyone else seeing this countdown?” Doc asks as a beep fills the room.

Warren remains silent as she clicks away at the computer, which now shows multiple CCTV footage of a small aircraft as gunfire fills the room. You join 10k and Sarge as they try to hold off Z’s from entering the room.

“Warren, we need the door code to close it!”

She doesn’t answer and sits, talking to herself instead.

“The code! Now, before the Z’s kill us!”

When she doesn’t answer, Doc tries his best to push the door closed, but he only manages to push it so far.

Suddenly Warren snaps out of her trance and back to reality, “It was Teller.”

“Dr. Teller?”

She explains that she remembers that Dr. Teller from Mercy Labs was the one who woke her from her coma to tell her about the black rainbow and how to stop it. She passes on instructions to both Doc and Murphy before saying she needs to go alone for the next part of the mission.

“We go where you go, boss.”

“Doc’s right, we can’t split up now. It isn’t safe.”

“You guys need to stay here and turn the keys in the computer,” she says, glancing down at the ground. “Where I’m going, no one can follow.”

Your jaw drops as the feeling of sorrow spreads through the room; it felt as if Warren was saying goodbye.

Warren pulls 10K in for her hug. She holds onto him tightly and says, “When you get to Newsmerica and find Addy, Sun Mei, and Red, tell them I love you from me.”

This was wrong. It felt as if Warren had already accepted that she needed to die in order to save the world.

With tears in her eyes, Warren steps back from her hug with 10k, turning to Doc and hugging him before embracing you tightly. “You’ve done good, kid,” she whispers. “I want you to go on and have the best life possible, with lots of little babies and at least one named after me.”

You let out a broken chuckle as you held back from crying. Throughout the years, Warren had been a massive part of your lives and was the reason all of you had survived so long. Losing her was going to be devastating.

“I’ll see you soon,” you sniff.

10k rests his forehead against the back of your shoulder as she leaves. The only thing you could do now was watch the screen on the computer.

—

“What is she doing?”

“Changing a cylinder on the aircraft,” Doc answers. “Apparently one saves the world and the other destroys it.”

“Okay, but once she’s done that, she can leave, right?” Deep down, you knew the answer but desperately wanted someone to tell you you were wrong.

“Uh guys!” 10k says, “we aren’t alone!”

When a Z forces itself through the crack in the door you fight to kill it as the others turn the keys and press the alarms as Warren had instructed causing red lights to start flashing and another countdown.

When Murphy spots the man from before who’d thrown the Z’s down on the screen he rushes from the room, despite Doc trying to stop him.

Your eyes flicker between screens as you watch Warren climb back into the drone and try to watch for Murphy on the other. The countdown reaches the final ten seconds causing you to panic, “what do we do? The drone is going to take off with Warren inside.”

“We can’t stay here,” 10k says, opening the door.

The four of you race down to the landing strip just as the drone dissolves into little pieces in the air, leaving behind what looks like a black rainbow in the sky.

—

She’s gone. Warren was really gone.

“What the hell?” Doc asks from beside you.

You glance to the side to see Murphy, who looked quite sunburned. You look at him in disbelief before looking back to the sky and saying, “We’re all going to die, aren’t we?”

“Looks like it,” 10k answers.

You stare up at the black rainbow above, finding it hard to believe you’d just lost Warren, your leader, your friend. Behind you, Sarge, let’s out a small gasp, but you don’t pay attention to why. You only look away from the darkness above when you feel something brush against the back of your leg. You glance over your shoulder and see 10k looking as if he’s going to sit on the ground. “What are you—”

10k falls to one knee and pulls out a ring box, “Astra…”

You momentarily freeze, unable to think as you process the unanswered question his shaky voice wasn’t able to get out. 10k opens the ring box, revealing multiple rings, each of them looking a different size. The thought of him saving them all for you causes tears to swell up. You look over to Doc and say, “can you marry us?”

He laughs a little before lifting his head to address Sarge and Murphy, waving them to stand at the side. The sun was setting, the air smelled of smoke, and everyone was covered in sweat, dirt, and blood, but weirdly, it seemed fitting for the type of life you lived. Doc clears his throat: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the love between these two crazy kids. Now in the world before wedding ceremonies were drawn out, but since there’s a chance the dead could gate crash, I'm going to keep it short and cut to the vows.”

You all laugh at his words as 10k, who’s now standing, takes your hand in his. “I have spent my entire life feeling like something was missing, and I didn’t know what it was until I spotted a group of strangers fighting off the undead. That’s when I first saw you and finally found what was missing.”

You wipe away the tears trickling down your cheek while you let out a shaky breath. This was a moment you’d been looking forward to for so long, but it felt surreal finally living it, and it also broke your heart thinking of everyone who should have been there. Addy, Mack, Cassandra, Garnett, Vazquez, Red, and Warren 10k squeezes your hand when he sees you become emotional and gives you a moment before he continues. You wipe at your nose and nod for him to go on, “Sorry.”

He smiles brightly. “I knew from the moment I saw you pull the blade from your belt and take out a bunch of Z’s so fearlessly that you’d be important to me.” He chokes up and takes a deep breath. “My biggest fear is losing you. When you were kidnapped, I realized how much I loved you and that there was nothing I wouldn’t do to find you. I love you and promise to always protect you and stand by your side.”

Your heart melts when you hear those sweet words fall from his mouth. “When the apocalypse began, I lost all faith that anything good could last, but from the day you saved me, I knew our fates were intertwined, but I had no idea how madly I’d fall for you. You’re my best friend, Tommy, and there’s not a line I wouldn’t cross to keep you safe.”

By the end of saying your improvised vows, you are both crying, along with everyone else, including Murphy, who is now holding the ring box. He looks between the rings and your hand before pulling one out and handing it to 10k, saying, “I think this one will fit.”

It was a plain silver band that surprisingly fit as 10K placed it on your finger. You notice Doc's eyes have now gone bloodshot from crying; he claps his hands together and cheers, “You now may kiss the bride!” Your lips collide, and you smile into the kiss as 10k wraps his arms around your waist. When you pull back, Doc announces, “I now pronounce you man and wife!”

You kiss 10k again and mumble into his lips, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

#z nation #10k x reader #10k x you #10k z nation #z nation fanfiction #inside outside #z nation warren #z nation Doc #murphy z nation #z nation 10k #10k #10k/reader #10k/you

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topazy · 1 year

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Inside, outside

Pairings: 10k x reader, Addy Carver x sister reader

Warnings: Smut, swearing, mentions of vomit

Chapter: 4.09

The moment the cellar doors slam shut, you rip the damp bandana from your mouth, letting clean air into your lungs. Your pit stop to look for supplies took a turn when a toxic gas that turned into foam appeared out of nowhere, forcing everyone to take cover. Warren and Sarge split off while the rest of you headed towards a shop that appeared to be open, but when a couple of Z’s appeared, you and 10k managed to lure them away and mercy them before taking shelter elsewhere.

“I think we are below a bar,” 10k says, his eyes observing the barrels of booze. He turns and looks at you in surprise as you start to pull your clothes off. His jaw tightened as you shimmered out of your soaking wet jeans. “What are you doing?”

“Stripping.” You laugh at the blush on his face. “I have clean clothes in my bag.”

You open your backpack and pull out a plastic bag, throwing the clothes you’d just been wearing inside. The dampness from the fog didn’t bother you, but being covered in zombie guts did. When you turn back around, you find 10k standing with his face inches from yours and his body bare aside from his boxers. He has a mischievous look on his face as he tucks strands of hair behind your ear.

“Tommy…”

He smiles and says, “We could be down here for some time.”

“Or not…So we better be quick,” you giggle.

He crashes his lips against yours, hooking his hands behind your thighs and lifting you up. Your legs wrap around his waist as you deepen the kiss. 10k pulls back; his eyes move around the darkened room until they land on a sleeping bag in the corner of the room. He walks over to it and places you back on your feet.

Clumsily, he pulls off his boxers before kneeling to the ground and kissing your stomach, his finger tracing the scar on your thigh. Both of your bodies were covered in scars, but the only one that you cared about was 10k’s bite mark. It was a constant reminder that he died.

“Hey!” Feeling a nip on your thigh you look down to see 10k grinning up at you, “Did you just—”

You stop talking when he places a kiss over your most sensitive area before hooking his fingers into the side of your pants. When your underwear hits your ankles, you kick it to one side before gently pushing 10k onto his back. You unclasp your bra while straddling him and say, “I’ve missed this.”

He locks eyes with you briefly before sucking at the skin along your collarbone and chest, leaving bruise-like marks. You didn’t necessarily just miss being able to have sex with your fiancé; you missed being able to spend any time alone with him more than anything. You regretted taking the days you lived in the treehouse in the forest for granted.

10k lets out a moan of pleasure as you sink onto him, his lips finding yours quick. Finding a rhythm was easy in that position; his hand comes forward and slips between your legs, causing you to let out your own moan of pleasure. It’s not long until you’re both chasing release, letting out a groan as you reach your high.

You collapse forward, your hands landing on either side of 10k’s head, both of you panting and sweating. He kisses you on the forehead and says, “I missed it too.”

—

You jolt up when you hear a banging noise close by. “Shit,” you hiss while scrambling for your clothes. “Z’s or other survivors?”

10k gives you a worried look while pulling his boxers back on. When the banging grows louder, he picks up his gun and aims it at the cellar door.

“Warren?”

Recognizing the voice, you quickly climb up the ladder. “Sarge, it’s Astra, don’t shoot!” You yell before unlocking it, and you hold it open for her to come in. It worries you that she’s alone, “what happened?”

“The foam became so thick it was hard to see, and I lost sight of Warren.”

“Warren’s tough; I’m sure she’ll be okay,” 10k says, lowering his gun.

Sarge looks between the two of you and scrunches up her nose when she takes in the sight of you both in nothing but underwear. “Seriously?”

You try your best to hold back a laugh. “How-oh-shit,” you point at the foam starting to leak through the door. “It looks like we need to move fast.”

—

You, 10k, and Sarge manage to make it to a barber shop, where Doc and Murphy are currently taking shelter with four other men, including Sketchy and Skeezy. It amazed you that they had survived so long. Unfortunately, the two other men were in the middle of robbing the barbers when you arrived, but the three of you didn’t notice until it was too late. The foam was becoming thicker and more toxic; 10k had inhaled some of it, which was causing him to vomit. You quickly pass him a bucket and look the other way; you only turn back around when you hear the cock of a gun.

“This is still a robbery!” A short, bald man says, pointing the gun in Doc’s direction, but Sarge charges him, causing a fight to break out. During the commotion, you stand with your back to the wall beside Murphy in the back room to try and avoid the bullets being fired. The fighting only stops when a naked, deformed-looking Z runs into the room and knocks Sketchy and Skeezy to the ground. A very tall, bulky man named Tiny stamped on Z's head, crushing its skull.

“Oh shit man!” Skeezy says he's panicked and pulls the back of his collar down. “She bit me! She bit me!”

—

Tiny and his bald companion, whose name kept changing between Sal and Tony, pulled their guns out, and you and 10k slowly started to back away before another fight broke out. Doc was trying his best to calm the situation while Sarge chimed occasionally, supporting the bald man’s plan of cutting off Skeezy and Sketchy’s arms and legs.

If it wasn’t for 10k protectively pushing you behind him, you would have suspected the whole thing was a hallucination.

“Stop! We're going to do this the old-fashioned way,” Murphy says, stepping into the middle of the room. “It sucks, but fate has chosen to screw you. We play by one rule. Survival of the fittest We toss him out in his ass, and let Darwin do the rest.”

Sketchy looks at him appalled, and let’s put in a loud gasp. “Murphy, how could you? We're talking about Skeezy here.”

Murphy turns to look at you and says, “Astra, out of the two of them, which one did we almost kill?”

You didn’t need any time to think before answering; you still got chills thinking about that day. “I headbutted Skeezy, then you hit him on the head with a brick.”

Sarge gives you a shocked look and asks, “Why?”

“He was being a creep.”

After some debating, it was decided that it would come to a vote on whether Skeezy could stay inside or be forced out into the toxic foam. Before the final vote could be cast, two men entered the bar, both of them projectile vomiting. They seemed odd; both of them were talking in fake English accents and were wearing sombreros.

When they stopped throwing up, the two men came in and immediately grabbed Skeezy and started to push him out of the door. It was obvious you’d missed a lot before arriving. “Wait! Wait!” Sketchy smiles at Skeezy and then gives him a very passionate kiss. “I just had to, before you go.”

Skeezy smiles at him and says, “I love you.”

“I know.”

You raise your brow at them for quoting Star Wars. You were starting to wonder if you’d be better off taking your chances with the Zs at this rate. The men toss Skeezy out, and he screams violently as he dies... of something.

When the screams stop, one of the new robbers pulls out his gun and demands everyone strip. Sarge eyes you suspiciously, noticing the fresh hickies on your body and lets out a snort, “Twice in one day? Lucky me.”

Murphy shakes his head and tuts, “You two are like feral rabbits.”

You roll your eyes at his tone of disgust and return your attention to the two men holding you hostage. Neither of them seemed to have planned this far ahead and were trying to figure out a plan.

Sketchy starts to beg them not to take him to the basement, making them take you down towards it. You notice the nervous look on Doc’s face as he asks, “What’s in the basement?”

He mouths ‘Z's.’ Oh shit. The doors to the basement open seconds later, and Zs pour from them. You retreat back up the staircase as the dead devour the new set of robbers. Tiny and Tony/Sal shoot the Z's, then return to holding you all hostage.

When the door to the shop begins to rattle, Sketchy motions for you to step back from it. Seconds later, a sharp pole lands in the chests of the men holding you hostage, killing them, and Skeezy walks back into the barbershop.

You look between Sketchy and Skeezy and say, “Was this whole thing planned?”

The two slightly unhinged men explained the whole thing was a set up so they could take over the barbershop. You stare at them dumbfounded and say, “We need to find Warren.”

—

When morning comes, you find Warren standing on a bridge, looking slightly confused. She doesn’t say much, but you follow in the direction of Route sixty six.

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