Summary: A tail-ender and a front-ender try to change everyone’s fate.
Pairing: Curtis Everett x fem!Reader
Warnings: angst, mentions of death, mentions of blood, mentions of violence, scared reader, mentions of cannibalism (canon-compliant), a tiny hint of fluff
A/N: I will not describe all elements/scenes of the movie. This means you must have seen the movie to understand the scenes. The series is not canon compliant.
“You need to push this button and turn this lever left or right. If you want the water hot, turn it to the left,” you explain the showers on the train to Curtis. I got fresh clothes for you. Jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket. It’s from Parker, I think,” you sniffle. “They kept him locked away here, I guess.”
“Parker, the guy you mentioned,” Curtis looks at the sponge and toothbrush in your hands. “He was a good friend of yours?”
“He was more than a friend,” shyly glancing at Curtis you bite your lower lip. “Parker and I, we were the same age when we entered the train. It didn’t take us long to become friends and inseparable. I-we…”
“You were a thing,” his Adam’s apple bobbles as you silently nod. Curtis doesn’t know why, but he feels a pang in his heart. He doesn’t even know you, still, he hates that another man had the chance to be with you. “For how long?”
“After we turned sixteen Parker kissed me for the first time. It felt natural to become more than friends. You know, it’s not as if they’re many people my age on the train. Most of them are elder, or younger…or just…yuck…”
“I,” you grasp for Curtis’ hand to squeeze it tightly. He searches your face as you place the sponge into his hand. “Parker is gone for almost seven months now. I miss my friend and—” You turn away, not wanting the stranger you just met to see your tears. “Maybe our relationship wasn’t out of love, just convenient, but he was a good man, Curtis. He tried to change the rules on the train.”
“A good man,” he huffs behind you. “Good men die at a young age on the train. I just lost friends and people I considered family as I was obsessed with bringing Wilford down. I let my people down, Y/N.”
“If you want to change the world, you need to live with the consequences,” Parker always said. He was wise for his young age.” You chuckle now. “He told me that he’s ready to die to help the people in the back.”
“Noble for a front-ender,” you can hear the hatred in Curtis’ voice. “Most of them give a shit on us in the back. Just like Wilford.”
“Not all of us are like Wilford and his lapdogs,” twirling around, you jab your finger into Curtis’ chest. “Parker wasn’t a bad guy. I’m not a bad person. We tried our best to change things for you and your people, without using violence. I don’t have blood on my hands.”
“But I do,” you end up pressed against the wall again. He roughly cups your face with his dirty hand. Curtis just stares down at you, panting heavily as you try to not look at the blood on his face. “A lot of blood, little bird. Your golden cage kept you safe for too long. You can’t even look at my bloody hands.”
“I’m not used to having a killer so close,” he chuckles at your comeback. You don’t like people using violence to reach their goals. “Why did Gilliam allow you to kill all these people? I don’t get it. He’s known as a man of peace. This doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s a revolution I suppose,” Curtis leans closer to bury his nose in your hair to inhale your scent deeply. “We woke up from our haze, realized what’s been going on for far too long, and tried to take control over our lives. Gilliam knows the things on the train must change before we all end up dead. He’s our leader and will set us free.”
“Wilford talks a lot about Gilliam these days,” you look Curtis straight in the eyes. There is something you didn’t see before. Uncertainty. Fear, maybe. “He knows things about that old man he can’t know. Why would he? He’s in the front, and your messiah in the back, rotting in dirt and misery. How can he know about him, Curtis? Think about it.”
“Stop making things—” he releases your face to run his hand over his head. Curtis starts to pace the room, muttering under his breath. “We got messages in the protein bars for weeks…no months. How—who?”
“No one can enter the food production section without their allowance. Parker and I barely made it inside. I lost Parker as they knew we sneaked into the food production section. No one can make it inside more than once, Curtis. Open your eyes, you’ve got played by your leader,” you sneer as he slams his hand into the wall next to your head. “I know, the truth hurts. I had to accept that my father is not the man I thought he is too.”
“Stop talking so much. I’ll have this shower and be on my way,” he turns around to walk back toward the shower. Curtis kicks his shoes off and strips his clothes off. He doesn’t care that you are still with him. “I’ll kill Wilford and take over the train for Gilliam and all the people we lost on our way to the front.”
“Fine, do whatever you want to do. I can’t stop you,” you look at the scar on his right arm, wondering how he got it. “I’m just a girl waiting for Wilford to take advantage of her. It’s not as if anyone would side with me.”
“Stop acting as if your problems are that bad. Have you ever been so hungry you were ready to kill a person to eat them?” he twirls around to glare at you. You’re taken aback as he grabs your wrists, making you struggle against his strength. “Did you kill people to eat them? Do you hate yourself for knowing how human flesh tastes?”
“I—” you shake your head, fearing for your life. Curtis is still one of the tail-enders, ready to slit your throat if you just breathe wrong. “No…I…no…”
“I do,” he whispers lowly. “If you are close to starving to death, and you are only skin and bones. If you are so hungry your mind and body are screaming in pain, you’ll do anything to stay alive.”
Your heart breaks for the stranger in front of you. His blue eyes are so full of shame, sadness, and regret that you do the only thing coming to your mind. You wrap your arms around him and press his face to your neck. “I’m sorry. They shouldn’t have done this to you.”
“At least they gave us the protein bars to end this,” he huffs in your neck. His arms wrap tightly around your body, and you feel a little light-headed as his lips press against the soft skin on your neck. “We are monsters all of us, aren’t we? In a way, we lost our humanity the moment we stepped inside the train.”
“You’re not a monster, Curtis,” you softly say. He shakes his head but holds tight onto you still. “They made you do all of this. If only they treated you and the others equally, this could’ve been avoided. People eating people, a creation made by Wilford and his cruelty. There always was enough food for everyone. They just didn’t want to share.”
“We couldn’t afford a ticket to his golden train,” his hands move to your ass, squeeze your flesh tightly, “no clean sheets, food, and pretty women smelling like summer rain and lilac for men like me. You smell so good and are so soft. All our women are hard, broken, and…dirty…”
“You should have that shower now. If we can pretend that you are one of the front-enders, we could get to Wilford and…kill him,” he lifts his head to meet your eyes. “It’s the only way to stop his reign. My father knows the machine better than anyone else, even better than Wilford. If we bring the monster down, we could try to make my father see things must change.”
“Things must change,” he slides the tip of his nose over your cheek, making you shudder. Parker was so different from Curtis. The man in front of you knows losses, violence, and death. He’s rough, strong, and, still vulnerable. “I will have that shower now, little bird. After, we will think about a way to get out of here.”
“A whole new man,” Curtis looks at himself in the mirror, not believing it’s his reflection staring back at him. He’s completely clean for the first time in ages. He wears clean clothes and, isn’t hungry as you shared the food you bunkered in the small fridge with him. “I look…”
“Good,” you offer as he runs his hand over his scruffy cheeks. “I don’t have a razor, sorry. Maybe we can get you one. But—it suits you, somehow.”
“It’s fine,” he glances at his reflection again. “Do you think Gilliam is no longer on our side? What do you know about him?”
“I heard that Wilford talks to your leader,” Curtis sits on the bed, shaking his head. He can’t believe Gilliam rat him out. “You know, they say there are too many tail-enders.”
“He led us right into a trap. We lost most of our men,” he loses all hope. His hands ball into fists and he slams them into the soft mattress. “I let them die to come so far, Y/N. How could I?”
Curtis looks at you again, feeling like he ended up in hell, but with an angel by his side. First, he lost his way, and now, he realizes his way never was his; it was Gilliam and Wilford’s way all the time.
“I lost myself on the way to the front of the train. People died as they believed in Gilliam and me. I failed them,” you sit next to Curtis to lean your head against his shoulder. You are two lost souls, not knowing how to continue your journey. “Now I’m just lost.”
“No, you’ve got found,” he looks down at you, frowning as you move your hand to his chest to pat it. “You did horrible things in the past. There is no denying your soul got tainted but, there is still hope Curtis. If only we could bring Wilford down.”
“I got an idea,” Curtis takes your hand to squeeze it tightly. “I don’t think you’ll like it, though.”
“You’ve got a plan, don’t you?” he watches you lie on the bed, and close your eyes. “If we do this, can you hold me for a moment? I know it’s much to ask for but…”
“It’s alright,” Curtis lies behind you to wrap you in his strong arms. He holds you tightly, chest pressed to your back. “I got a plan, and it involves you.”
“Did you ever fall in love with someone on the train?” you don’t want to hear about his plan yet. You can imagine it involves something you don’t want to think about. “I liked Parker but love…I don’t know how it feels to love someone.”
“No,” he buries his nose in your hair, nuzzling you. “I had to fight to stay alive all the time. I never had the chance to get to know a girl.”
“Hmm…tell me about the plan now, Curtis. I need to hear it…”
“Not now. I want you to sleep, and in the morning, we will make a plan to bring Wilford down, and Gilliam…”
With some anxiety still haunting you, you walked slowly to your destination hoping it would go away once you’d reached it.
Unfortunately, it only seemed to increase as soon as you got to the training room where your designated PT was waiting for you.
You took a couple of deep breaths and were about to reach the door’s handle when it suddenly opened and two women walked out. Still giggling and enthusiastically bidding their goodbyes at the person who was inside.
“Bye Curtis! See you, next week babe!” One of the two chanted, blowing him a kiss.
“Can’t wait!” The other one added while smirking at her friend and giggling more as soon as the door closed.
You moved back and leaned against the wall, eavesdropping on their conversation.
“God, he’s so hot.”
“I know, I kept doing my exercises wrong so he’d come close and touch me.”
Summary-3.1k Curtis Everett x Plus!Sized Reader. Curtis and You begin to grow closer in this new budding relationship. Little moments shared begin to really show each other who each of you is and what matters for the both of you. As much as you are falling for Curtis, Curtis is finding he is for you as well and wants to really build this into something real.
Warnings- Reader has some doubts about herself and some inner hate talk. But this is mostly just some fluff with a few heated moments. This is an 18+ Only blog.
A/N- This is a shorter chapter but I loved the little moments they shared with each other and it felt like a good time to share those moments with you guys. This one is not proofread, my beta is having herself a WELL DESERVED vacation. So you all gotta suffer with my messy writing. As always, Thank You so much for all the comments, likes and shares. Every time any of you drop me a message saying what you thought or how something reminds you of Curtis and Honey, I seriously want to cry because they are so important to me. Dividers made by @firefly-graphics, Much love and Happy Reading.
You two had gone out a few more times during the month, each time getting to know each other a little better. The longer the two of you hung out together, the more comfortable it became. There was easy affectionate touches shared and a general ease of comfort with one another on the dates, when it was time to say goodnight, the kisses became more desiring, trying to stretch out the minutes just a little longer, just a little more. The more you got to know Curtis, the more you found yourself falling for the man who was so unlike anyone you’ve ever dated.
You found out that Curtis loved stories, mythology, and legends, your very first glimpse was the night of your first official date stargazing. Turned out he was an avid reader in his down time and typically had a book stashed somewhere in his truck. You accidentally found a copy of The Viking Spirit under his truck’s seat, the cover tattered and torn, the spine barely holding it together and when you flipped open the pages, the corners had small notes and highlights of parts he particularly seemed to enjoy.
“Oh, I thought I had brought that inside.” He said absently as you flipped through it, taking a moment to read a couple of his notes but then closed it back up, feeling like you were imposing on his private thoughts. You tucked it on the dashboard so that he wouldn’t forget to bring it inside the next time.
