Keith x Reader Oneshots

Shelter

{Apocalypse AU}

         It was dark when I woke up, I rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes and picked up my flashlight.

       I turned it on and it flickered rapidly before I hit it with the palm of my hand and it stayed on. I blinked a few times before my vision adjusted, my mind in a small haze after the nap. I stood up slowly, feeling a bit ditzy.

      The storm had settled down, the raindrops outside seemed to slow. As the harsh pitter patter became nothing but a faint thumping. The lights had probably blown a fuse by how dark it was in the store. I checked the time 1:27 PM.

     I felt sluggish as I gathered all my supplies to head out again. I went to reach for my bag that lay on the ground until I heard a faint beeping.

       It was muffled almost, and I knew I wasn't hallucinating. The beeping ceased for a moment and then there was a small rustle. I slowly took out my knife from the bag and cautiously began to creep to the source of the noise.

       My heart beat was picking up quickly and the sleepiness was long forgotten.

      I was now on alert, ready to fight.

    I checked every aisle carefully, silently. My breathes wavered with every step I took. My instinct seemed nonexistent, which was quite strange.

     Another rustle and a small whimper was heard. It was probably one of the diseased.

       I reached to the front of the liquor store and peeked my head around the corner and saw someone crouched over, grasping their arm, rocking back and forth. They didn't have a mask but their face was covered by their long hair. They wore a uniform from the C.O. but it seemed brand new, not a speck of dust on it.

       I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but they seemed very skinny and short. Another whimper was heard, it sounded like one of a puppy.

   Or a young child.

    I gulped and decided to show myself. Not knowing if the person was a diseased one, but they wouldn't put up much of a fight anyways because of their frail stature. My gut feeling told me to call out to this stranger, so I listened.

      "Who are you?"

    I mustered up the best confidence I could, the person jumped slightly and looked up at me. Then nostalgia hit me.

     "Keith?"

         Her voice was still soft despite the slight rasp, her doe-like eyes stared in disbelief. Her eyes and cheeks seemed sunken in, she must've been very underweight.

      "_________?"

     
    My voice cracked as my eyes began to water. A small smile adorned her face while tears already started running down the sides of her face. I walked up to her and moved a strand of her {H/C} hair out of her face. Then I noticed bruises and scars on her cheek and forehead. She winced slightly as my finger ran over an open wound on her temple.

      I must've been looking at the scars too long as she got my attention by taking off my mask, cupping my cheeks in her small hands. Her touch ever so gentle.

      "How did you escape? What happened?" I finally asked and her gaze shifted from left to right, taking in my eyes.

      "A guard helped me escape, he told me he had known you before we ran away from the C.O. he gave me this uniform to help me go unnoticed when I'd leave with the search party. They almost caught me countless times, but I'm here now... and that's all that matters." She finished.

      I noticed how long her hair had gotten, how much she changed. Then I noticed something she cradled close to her chest.

    ________ met my gaze and unfolded the tattered piece of white cloth to reveal a face of a baby that looked a few months old. It's mouth was agape and it's eyes shut. It had short thin {Hair Texture} raven black hair, the skin was as pale as snow. I looked back up at ________ and her face was full of sorrow, her usual {E/C} eyes seemed to grey in sorrow.

      "This was our child, Keith... I was going to tell you that I was pregnant on the day we were separated. I ended up giving a painful birth in a cold cell with other captives. The baby was born healthy, but it caught a terrible sickness after too much exposure of the bad air." Her voice gave out as she began to cry, I hadn't realized the tears that dripped down from my chin as she clutched the lifeless baby in her arms.

     Her body raked with sobs as she cried and cried, I wrapped my arms around her and she began to cry into my shoulder. I dug my face in the crook of her neck, I felt myself break at the sound of my heart broken wife. She endured so much pain, physically and emotionally.

      "I-I'm so sorry.... I'm so s-sorry..." I whispered softly into her skin, she shook violently with every cry she let out. Everything in me felt numb, I couldn't believe how much terrible things had happened in just one year. I had always dreamed of our reunion, but not like this.

      We had sunk to the ground, my back leaning against the wall as she sat on my lap, our chests pressed against eachother as she rested her head on my shoulder, the baby still in her arms.

     We stayed like that for what seemed like forever until my watch started beeping, signaling that it was time to head back to the safe house. We gathered our supplies and left the building hand in hand.

     There was a heavy silence that settled in between us as we walked through the valley of dry land. The distant roll of thunder in the sky only sending a low hum in our ears.

     Once we reached the safe house, I told ________ to go get cleaned up while I prepared a meal for her since I figured she must've been famished  after not eating for the whole day.

▪▪▪

        The sun bloomed like a flower, gifting the skies with beautiful shades of pastel. Darkness had not long surrendered to the light as the morning dew left a bright reflection off the blades of grass and leaves of a large oak tree.

       There was a cold breeze that made the leaves on the ground dance and swirl. The fresh smell of clean morning air was intoxicating.

    Beads of sweat rolled down my temple as I used a shovel to get the last of the dirt pile to cover the hole in the ground. A feeling of emptiness, guilt, and loneliness squeezed my heart relentlessly. Another breeze came and went, tousling my hair. After patting down the dirt I finally stepped back. Using the back of my sleeve to wipe away any sweat that was on my forehead.

     I looked to my right and saw my wife holding a bouquet of wildflowers she had picked, she strutted past me and leaned down, setting them down on the lump of soil on the earth.

       She sat there for a moment, clutching her hands together in her lap, wringing them. I walked and sat beside her, taking her hand and kissing it.

        We looked at the small wooden plaque that leaned against the oak tree.

            {Child's Name} Kogane
               D.O.B: May 28, 3120
               D.O.D: June 4, 3121

       I expected ________ to cry, but she didn't. She just stared longingly and squeezed my hand gently, she gazed up at me and gave me a reassuring smile. I leaned down and our lips collided into a sweet, sincere, longing kiss.

     We pulled away and stared into each other's eyes lovingly, all the pain we'd endured in the past seemed to drift away, being replaced with a sense of a safe place, shelter.