Predator (DWT x OC)

1

"Tommy, I swear to god if you don't pick up this shit, I'm going to kick you out!" I holler from the living room, kicking a pile of various papers and books he left strewn on the ground. I never missed how messy he was.

"Sorry Rose!" He yells back, and I hear a door open, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. Niki walks in, arms laden with carrots. 

"Are you guys staying for dinner?" She asks Tommy, who's scrambling on his knees to pick up his mess while I loom over him, arms crossed. 

"Wilbur said he wanted us back in L'manburg tonight." Tubbo answers for him, popping his head through the door way. Tommy rolls his eyes.

"Yeah whatever we'll stay for dinner."

"Tommy you know the agreement, L'manburg comes first." I remind him, like a parent telling off their kid. "If you want, we'll just send you back to live in L'manburg full time." They both shake their hands furiously. 

"We'll go. We'll go." Tommy says quickly, while me and Niki laugh. I join Niki at the kitchen bench, scrubbing the dirt off the vegetables in the sink, as Tommy runs back to his room, hands full of crumpled papers. There's a rap of someone's knuckles on the window. 

I can see Wilbur's face peer in through the window, and I hurry to let him in. He hugs me hello, and stomps through to hug Niki as well. Tommy reappears, and upon catching sight of the back of Wilbur's beanie clad head, seems to visibly deflate. 

"Do we have to go now?" He whines, scowling. Niki, Wilbur and I all look at each other, eyes rolling in exasperation. 

"You're so dramatic, you literally like living in L'manburg, just go." I tell him, Niki nodding along. He narrows his eyes at me, before scooping up his things that lie on the couch. Tubbo disappears to grab his stuff as well, reappearing before the front door. 

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, we have some more medicine for you Rose." Wilbur says, before heading outside, Tommy and Tubbo following in his footsteps. I wave goodbye to them as the disappear into the thick of the forest, and I turn back into the now peaceful house. 

"Oh, Dream came by today, while you were at the lake." Niki informs me, not looking up from the knife she was holding. Dream came by? He rarely shows up, and even then that's just to add to our stockpile of weapons that we don't really need. 

"What did he want?" I ask, fighting to keep my voice steady.

"You know, the usual. More axes, more arrows, better armour. He asked about you to." She says, throwing the bits of carrot into a bowl. 

"Asked about me?" I question, my voice wavering. She looks up, bright eyes scrutinising me in a piercing stare. 

"He wanted to make sure that you're ok. I told him you were fine." She smiles. A warm fuzzy feeling blooms in my heart at the news. I guess you can't stop loving someone over night, but that doesn't mean your feelings don't become all muddled up. I hurt him, even though we both know it for for the best. Sometimes you just can't come back from that.

"Don't look at me like that." I scoff, face burning under her knowing gaze.

"Like what?" She feigns innocence, both of us breaking out in a fit of giggles. I slide into the bench seat, she passes over the potatoes and I start peeling. It's the routine now, we work in the garden, or go hunting in the woods during the day, and at night we sit together in the kitchen and make dinner. Wilbur, Tommy and Tubbo join a lot of the time, and I try and invite Eret, George and Sapnap over when they're not there. It's my new favourite part of the day. 

"We should get some pets." Niki says. 

"We really should. I would love a little puppy." I hum in agreement, still working on the potatoes. 

"I was thinking a kitten." 

"Why not both?" I shrug. "They'd be so cute."

"That they would be." She agrees, taking the potatoes off my cutting board. I lean forward and rest my head on the cool stone bench, cheek on my bicep. 

Everyday I'm reminded that I made the right choice. Sometimes it does hurt, the nights when I curl up in my empty bed, desperate for the warmth that lulled me into a sleep safe from the nightmares, and in the days when it's just me, all alone in the house with nothing to do. But then there's those beautiful moments, the overcast days in the peaceful forest, the cold nights by the fire with Niki, the relief of being completely free. The loneliness will pass. The longing will pass. It's time to cherish the freedom. 

--------

A/N Welcome back ladies, gentlemen and other gentle persons! We kick off Prey with a lovely little introduction chapter before we get into the juicy stuff. I haven't decided yet if I am going to introduce the election into the story ( haven't planned that far ahead) but if I do so, it will come much later after the storyline I currently have planned out. 

Also sorry for taking so long! School is about to start back up for me, as well as circus training, so I'm going to be pretty busy soon, which means I won't be updating as frequently. I'm looking at putting in a schedule that works for me, so I'll keep you guys updated. 

Thanks for your support! And please vote and comment, I really appreciate it and it helps me a lot!

Oopsies x