L4d 1 & 2 oneshots ❤ (CLOSED)

Carnival Games pt. 1

For sxilor_1010! Wow, this request was a big order, but fun to write nonetheless! This thing took up 54 pages in google docs so strap in everyone, it's gonna be a long ride!

Ship: Nick x Ellis x OC

Warnings: arguing, regular game violence, mentions of bullying, mentions of death, mention of medical complications from binding, unsafe binding

~~~

Nick eyed the posters before him and took a moment to think about how he got here. He'd been traveling down to Florida so he could go live with some extended family and little sister as he tried to sort his life out and get through his litany of problems. Midway through a winning streak of last-time gambles in Georgia, the goddamn zombie apocalypse happened. He went from living it high in hotels and on his way to getting himself on a better path in life to... this.

He looked at each of his companions. Rochelle, the loud news reporter who was kind of pretty and potentially the only reason they got that bridge lowered the other day. Coach, their default leader with a bad knee and a good sense of what the hell he was doing. Ellis, the redneck who had no right to be so hot, much smarter than he let on at first glance. And finally, Emma, the chick equal to Ellis in looks with a hell of a temper- and the one he had the most similarities with, to his surprise. Of course, he was an asshole to them all... at first.

Nick folded his arms, leaning against the wall of the saferoom. He didn't have anything out for them, not really. But he couldn't be getting attached- especially not now, not during all of this. He knew, instinctively, that once he did, they'd be ripped away from him- or worse, betray him as so many others had before. Over the past few days, though, he found himself relaxing, his trust building with these strangers in their shared circumstances. Nick didn't want to get attached to them- but he couldn't help it, he cared about them all now. He was human, after all.

Nick's eyes darted to the two youngest survivors- Emma and Ellis. Emma was toying with Ellis' hat as Ellis buried his face in her shoulder, laughing. It was hard to describe how he felt about the two of them, especially after he noticed they'd gotten closer and a little more friendly. They were as subtle as elephants- at least to him. Nick, across the three languages he knew, couldn't come up with a single word for how he felt. He wanted Ellis, was jealous Emma had him, and was jealous that he had Emma. It was the same for Emma- he wanted her and her standing, envious. He flopped between wanting to be in their place and wanting to be between them.

Nick lowered his gaze, pinching the bridge of his nose as he pressed his lids shut. He muffled the feeling down, knowing if he'd continue with his train of thought, he'd be glowing like spitter acid. Nick looked up again, keeping his eyes on Emma. A bubble of worry replaced his earlier thoughts. His eyes flicked to her hands- covered in bandages like a proper boxer- and his mind wandered to earlier that evening, after they'd woken from a day's rest at the motel.

Emma's clothes were already beaten up, so it wasn't much of a surprise when they got worse over the coming days. She seemed to be a bit of an infected magnet, just like Ellis, which only helped things along. Earlier, a hunter had torn her poor shirt and jacket to shreds and Nick, being the closest, had helped her. He went to heal her and spotted something odd. At first, he thought it was her bra peeking through the many tears, but after a moment, he realized they were bandages. She'd pushed him off and ran back to Rochelle, the two going off to hunt for new clothes for Emma while he and the others searched for supplies.

Nick bit back a shudder as looked away. The worry stirred in his chest as his mind examined his memories. He knew a lot if people who bound their chest with bandages, he'd always had quite a few butch friends and knew many trans men, like himself, growing up. Whenever someone tried to bind with bandages, it was a recipe for disaster. He couldn't count how many friends whose ribs ended up having to be removed, who were left with breathing issues, or outright lost their ability to get top surgery. It was unsafe, through and through. Emma shouldn't have to die because she didn't know better or because she has nothing else to bind with.