Man's Best Friend [John Wick x Male Reader]

Chapter 5 - It's An Addiction

John was still staring at you blankly, so you grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchenette behind the front desk. You peaked out of the door, leveling Fern with a look. "Why don't you go check on the dogs?"

"Yeah. Okay," she mumbled.

You turned back to John who looked understandably concerned.

"The bastard that stabbed you was following me. I apprehended him but I had to give him over to the police. I say we have until tonight before he tells his boss that both of us know about the human trafficking. Had to bullshit my way out of the situation though, so for now, everyone thinks we're dating. It's a good cover. People won't question it if you come over at weird times. Or give a damn about the frequency of the visits."

John's expression became serious. "So what do we do?"

"Ideally, we attack tonight. But you're injured."

He huffed. "I'm more than capable of fighting like this."

"No. Not happening. Close combat is a no-"

You pause abruptly before grinning. "How good are you at sniping?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You'll go in alone?"

"With you as my support of course. I suppose it's time I show you that I'm a worthy ally."

Dahlia whined. You looked down and scratched behind her ears. "Why don't you take her out to the yard, John?"

John begrudgingly obeyed, and you were left staring at his back for a few seconds before you said, "Fern. I know you were listening."

She skulked out of her hiding place, looking chastened. You sighed.

"You're doing illegal shit again, (Y/N)."

You immediately clammed up, ready to become defensive. With a deep breath you calmed yourself and stared at her impassively.

She sighed. "You were doing good, (Y/N). Your depression has gotten slightly better and you've actually started interacting with people. Not getting angry so easily. You've become less impulsive. And now? Now you want to attack a group of human traffickers with a hitman you met a week ago. Would Lance like this?"

You grimaced. "He wouldn't like anything I've done since he died. It's too late anyway."

"(Y/N) your violent behavior is like a fucking drug to you. It's an addiction and we both know I'm depressingly familiar with addiction. You're desperate for the high of taking another human life. It's fucked up, (Y/N). You need to go to therapy or something. Not play fucking vigilante."

You moved towards the sink, opening the tap and splashing your face with cold water. You were angry, irrationally so, and you didn't want to hurt Fern in the surge of emotion.

"I'll take what you said into consideration."

Fern sighed again, looking genuinely sad. "I know you won't. Just...be careful. Think about your dogs. Think about me. I care about you, (Y/N). You're like an older brother to me. You're my only family apart from my girlfriend."

A wave of guilt washed over you and you grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. To reassure her or yourself, you don't know.

"You're right that I'm better than I was two years ago. Because now I won't fight a battle that I might lose. This, I can't lose. I won't. Partly for my satisfaction, but mostly because those people need help."

She frowned. "And that's the worst part. I don't want to stop you from doing it because I know you'd do a lot of good. Just promise me something."

"Mhm?"

"Don't take on a 'job' where the casualties outweigh the people you save. Be better than him," she looked out of the window and into the yard. "Stop killing for personal vendettas. If you have to kill, kill for good."

You squeezed her hand once more. "That I can promise."

She seemed slightly relieved. "Good."

You rather awkwardly excused yourself and went out to the yard, staring at John hesitantly start petting Banshee.

"John?"

"Mhm?"

"After the attack, I would like to get to know you."

He turned around. "Why?"

"Suppose I miss having a kindred spirit."

"What we do is wrong," John blurted out.

You nodded. "I know."

"Then why do we do it?" He looked at the pack of dogs, his expression softening.

You sighed. "Because it's all we know. You ready for tonight?"

John hummed. "I'm excited."

You huffed out a self depreciating laugh. "God knows I am too."

~~~

The 'warehouse' was a glorified barn just an hour outside of town. John settled himself on top of a water tower, the dark colour of the structure and the cover of night making him blend in satisfactorily.

You made sure he wasn't putting any strain on his injury and then took your gun out of the case, attaching the silencer to the muzzle of the Tariq pistol you'd decided to use today. It was essentially just a copy of an Italian Beretta M1951 but it would be a lot harder for law enforcement to track.

You placed the origami dahlia gently in your shirt pocket, behind the bullet proof vest and pulled the balaclava over your nose. A single night vision scope was attached to your helmet, and you could feel John scrutinize your gear. You sighed, feeling the need to explain yourself.

"For these type of targets I tend to wear military gear. I could take off the helmet at least. But you said a lot of these guys have assault rifles. Not worth the risk."

John seemed to consider that and nodded. "You only have a pistol, though. That confident in your ability?"

Without answering you opened the case again, taking out a Zastava M70 and strapping it to your back. John hummed. "A Soviet AK-47?"

You shook your head. "It's an unlicensed copy. Functions pretty much the same though."

"I suppose there's no reason for us to risk our lives," John looked at the case again.

"What did you get me?" He asked, sounding like a child eagerly waiting for a present. You smirked as you took the Tabuk sniper rifle out of the case. John snorted. "No wonder that case was so fucking heavy. What's the accuracy range?"

"800 yards. We're about 740 yards away from the building right now. You're good."

You climbed down the ladder on the side of the water tower after making sure everything was in order and saluted John. He huffed and shook his head saying, "Give them hell, (Y/N)."

[A/N: My fanfics apparently need complicated character development to function. This time however, (Y/N) is more of an emotional wreck than the love interest. I'm sort of excited to see how this progresses. Hope you enjoyed :]