DOMINO - Eustass Kid x Reader

CHAPTER FORTY NINE: Life

"Do you have rocks for brains?!"

Despite my insult, and harsh tone of voice, I was down on my knees carefully inspecting the deep cut on the brat's right side. It wasn't bleeding at an alarming rate, but it was still bad.

"No! My head'd be too heavy if I did!" He snapped back, taking it literally, but I could tell he was in pain. "I just wanted t' find somethin' t' make Tinker look cooler!" He held up the little robot he had built, and I heaved a sigh.

No matter how many times I had warned him not to traverse the scrap heap, he always ignored it. It was like he was a magnet for trouble, and it was going to be the death of me. I couldn't turn my back for five minutes without him causing trouble.

I'm twelve, god dammit! I shouldn't have to deal with this!

But I did, completely of my own accord, too. It had been the better part of a year since I had found the kid dangling from the branches of a tree, and since then we had spent almost every waking moment together.

"The cut's covered in rust...Come on, we have to go wash it out at the river." With a grunt, mostly from the effort of standing, I picked him up and began to carry him off.

He'd scarcely grown over the past months. A real runt. Feeding myself had already been a challenge, but now meals were even fewer and farther between, because he needed it more than I did.

"What were ya doin'?" His grammar hadn't improved much either, but we had been working on it. Just because he lived on the streets didn't mean he had to talk like a moron.

"Going through the baker's trash to see if there was anything to feed your scrawny ass." I replied truthfully. For the most part I didn't try to sugar coat things, save for the more brutal violence. That was something he should be spared of.

"Find anythin?" The kid's tone was hopeful, and I felt a pang of guilt in my gut.
"Sorry, kiddo. All I got was a beat down with a rolling pin..." I left out the part where the baker and his son had me on the ground, kicking me like I was a diseased dog. My whole body hurt, but that wasn't his problem.

"We should kill 'im for that." It was too late to get him out of the habit of jumping straight to aggression, but it wasn't so bad. At least not whilst we lived in such a dangerous area.
"Nah, they aren't worth the hassle. Besides, you're not gonna be killing anyone." I nudged at his head with my own as we walked, and he scoffed.

"Only reas'n I ain't done it yet is cuz nobody's dumb enough to fuck with me..." Instead of a nudge this time I flicked him right between the eyes, glaring as harshly as possible.
"Watch your damn language!" Sure, he probably picked some of it up from me, but I had a responsibility to at least try to raise him right.

Once we reached the river I set the kid down upon the bank before rolling up my pant legs so I could stand in the running water. It wasn't exactly clean, but it was all we had to work with. There wasn't even a doctor in this godforsaken town.
"It looks gross."

He wasn't wrong. It was common knowledge that the river was contaminated, but what other choice did we have? The water was thick and murky with only god knew what, but I still crouched down and lifted the boy's shirt before beginning to clean his wound.

"Listen, you need to tell me if you start feeling sick, okay? If this turns septic, then it'll be real bad. I don't have money to get you seen by a doctor." I explained as sternly as I could, even though I knew he wasn't paying full attention by the way he kicked his feet, splashing my shirt.

"Quit babyin' me! I'm strong! No cut's gonna take me down!" He snapped proudly, sticking his nose in the air. I just heaved a sigh, doing my best to get as much rust out of his side as I possibly could.