Rorschach X Reader Oneshots | Watchmen

1. Minor Injuries

It was a dark and stormy night. You almost would have found the cliché amusing if you weren't so tired. You had been tossing and turning in bed for hours, unable to fall asleep with the rain pounding relentlessly against your window. You had tried burying your head under your pillow, but found it difficult to breathe. Any music or ambience you thought about putting on would quickly be drowned out by the downpour, so you didn't bother.

Throwing back the covers, you got out of bed, hoping maybe a snack or something could help you fall asleep. If that failed, you could always see if any movies were on tv. Your steps were near silent on the hall carpet as you stepped out of your room. You felt your way down the hallway, flipping on the switch for the main area. It was open, the living room and kitchen divided only by a half wall.

  You were surprised to see Rorschach in your living room, having not heard him enter through the window. Mind you, you couldn't hear much with the rain. He was drenched and you hoped maybe tonight, he'd take you up on the offer of changing into some dry clothes. Probably not, though. Rorschach, in turn, was just as surprised to see you. He hopped to his feet in a defensive stance, but once he recognized that it was you, his guard dropped, if only a little.

  "You're up," he stated flatly.

  "Couldn't sleep," you said and shrugged. "Not with this storm, anyway. What about you?"

"Storms hide vermin. They think they're safe," Rorschach explained. "They're never safe."

"I bet you make sure of that, huh?" You said, wandering over to him.

Rorschach didn't respond, turning away from you. He was always distant, it was fine. You weren't offended by it, at least not anymore. You sat down on the couch while he gazed out the watery window.

"Run into any trouble?" You asked, knowing he'd get your meaning. With the Keene Act in place, you knew the police were constantly hunting down anyone who dared to wear a mask.

"Cops tried to grab me. Got away," Rorschach said.

"You only injured them, right?" You asked, more for yourself than anything. You knew how hard they'd hunt Rorschach if he ever killed a cop.

He grunted. "Not dead."

"Good," you sighed, relieved. "They hurt you?"

"Minor injuries."

"Okay, are we talking me-minor or you-minor? Because you-minor is a lot more serious than you let on."

Rorschach said nothing.

"Will you let me look?"

"No."

You nodded. "Okay... Just your hands?"

Silence. A reluctant nod. You waited patiently as Rorschach made his way over to you in his own time. He sat beside you, grumpily tugging off his gloves and tossing them aside, though his hands remained clenched into tight fists.

"Can I touch?" You asked.

Another pause.

  "Fine," came the curt reply.

  You nodded a thanks and reached out, tentatively taking Rorschach's hands in yours. You examined his bruised and bloodied knuckles, delicately uncurling calloused fingers to get a look at his palms. You inwardly cringed. You really hoped the rest of him didn't look as rough as his hands.

You noticed Rorschach stiffen. You looked up, seeing his head turned away from you. You bit your lip.

"I'm sorry, am I...am I overstepping?" You asked nervously. You knew touch was something Rorschach felt uncomfortable with more often than not. "I can stop."

  You watched him as the silence dragged on, trying to gauge some sort of reaction. You couldn't read his face because of the mask, but you had become quite adept at reading his body language in turn. However, this time, you couldn't quite understand what was going on. You were just about to pull your hands away, to leave and give him some alone time, when you heard him speak.

"Don't deserve this," Rorschach said in an uncharacteristically soft tone. "Don't deserve...you."

  A soft breath escaped you. Rorschach had lived a life of never trusting anybody, of always expecting the worst out of society. His paranoia was probably in overdrive, trying to come up with all the numerous ways you could stab him in the back. No wonder he had such a hard time trusting you.

"Do you want me to go?" You asked, starting to pull your hands away from his. "I can go to my room so you can have some quiet time, or--"

You were surprised, however, when you felt Rorschach's hands close around yours, stopping you from leaving. You looked up at him. He was still looking away from you.

"Rorschach...?"

Silence.

"Fine like this," he eventually grumbled.

You tried not to smile, but failed terribly. It was so rare for the two of you to have these soft, quiet moments. It was mostly because Rorschach was not an overly emotional person – more like emotionally repressed – but you didn't mind so much anymore. It had been a bit jarring and awkward in the early stages of your relationship, but you just hadn't had the proper time to get to know him then.

  You and Rorschach continued sitting together on the couch, hands embraced in a wonderfully awkward way. You had turned the television on at some point, tuning to a channel that was showing an old black and white film. You weren't entirely interested in it, but the noise it provided was comforting.

  You didn't think Rorschach fully relaxed ever, but you did notice some of the rigidity leaving his body bit by bit. Your hands were still entangled in the most ungraceful way, but he seemed content with it for the most part. He made no move to pull away and you certainly weren't going to waste the opportunity to cuddle with Rorschach. You were pretty sure this was as close to cuddling with him as you were gonna get, you thought with a smile.

  And you didn't mind at all.

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ahhhh my first oneshot is completed!

also it's like 3am but i don't care, i really wanted to get this done lol

o o f rori is a challenge to write! but a fun challenge x3

i hope y'all enjoy this lil oneshot! please let me know your thoughts in the comments! i love hearing from y'all and i really hope i did a good job capturing rori's character💕💕💕