That 'eventual smut' ao3 tag finally being used in this chapter o.o
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"What's the downside to eating a clock?"
Luke let out a sigh. He hung his head, the rim of the cap that Nick let him borrow covering his face. "Do you want me to push you over the edge?"
"Humor me and guess before my mind keeps wandering."
My fingers tightened around the rifle in my grasp as my eyes felt like they were going to fall out of my head from scanning the same snowy plain again and again, waiting for the rest to get back.
Luke and I were on lookout, standing at the top of the wall, watching the outer perimeter for the return of half our patrol team. Half of the morning and half of the afternoon teams went out with Karl and George to get the rest of their group at the break of dawn, hoping to deter anything Bex had planned... if there even were lookouts on her end. We were doing nothing but guessing at this point.
Karl and George got to Jackson two days ago. The entire patrol team and some other people within the community met at the main hall yesterday to figure out a plan to move all the new people here as seamlessly and fast as possible.
And so, now Luke and I, the two of us being the most at risk for literally everything, were waiting on the wall next to the gates with rifles in our hands for the sight of Jackson branded horses bored out of our ever-loving minds.
"I don't freaking know. You'll choke on the clock hands?"
"It's time consuming."
"That's stupid."
"You're stupid."
Luke rolled his eyes as he adjusted his grip on his own rifle. He was up here with me so when the rest come back, he can easily just slip into the crowd and be welcomed with everyone else.
We were on top of the East Gate. This gate was on the complete opposite side of where we leave for patrols, but this side of town had more room to move around in. There was a small stable with four stalls right when you walk in the gates and the main road begins as well. It goes straight through to town square, and it's lined with people right now.
All of Jackson's doctors and anyone with any kind of medical personnel were on the ground, ready and waiting to give every person who walked past those gates a checkup and/or treatment if needed.
Kristin and many other Jackson residents were also lined up down the middle of the street with new clothes and hot meals to hand out. Mom was down there right now, setting up boxes of food to give to the new families when they received directions to their new address after being cleared from the health physicians.
I took a deep breath as nothing appeared from the tree line within the past thirty seconds. "What's a criminal's best asset?"
"You really do have a death wish, huh?"
I groaned as I hung my head, letting my hand run down my face. "It's been over four hours. What's taking them so long?"
"Chill out. They'll be back." Luke reassured me, but the words meant nothing right now.
Nick, Clay, Morgan, and Phil were out there right now. The only one out of our friend group who stayed back was Alex, and that was only to help with marking down the skills and traits of these people when they got in so we can start to figure out who would be best for what job and what kind of lessons each person would need.
"Karl said they got elderly and children. It's going to take a bit longer than usual. They also have to figure out what they do or don't need and pack it up. They are leaving their current home to come here." Luke added as I started to tilt my head back and forth while rolling my eyes myself.
"I know, I know." I let out a sigh. The hot air released from my mouth as a gray puff of smoke. "They also took two carts so the horses can't move as fast as they usually can. It's just... I'm getting scared they got held up somewhere."
"We would probably hear something if they got into trouble. Gunfire isn't exactly quiet."
Another good point. None of our guns had suppressors, so as long as they were about a mile or two out of town, we would hear it. Not like they would let me out those gates anyway. I'm honestly still surprised they let me out the other day, but hey, look what came out of it.
"Can I tell you another pun?"
"Do you value your life?"
"Depends on the day."
He glanced over at me with a side eye. "... Make it a good one."
I hummed as I leaned my head back, letting one hand off the rifle to scratch at the skin of my forehead under Alex's beanie that I've been told not to even bother returning as long as I'm in sight of anything outside the walls. "Damn, okay, give me a minute."
"Take a couple if you need it. I enjoy silence." Now I gave him a side eye.
I didn't even get the chance to say anything back when a gunshot sounded through the silence.
My grip tightened as I glanced over at Luke, who immediately lifted his gun to look through the rifle like it was second nature. Moving to crouch down to get into position behind the barrier and placing our rifles on the edge, we waited and held our breaths.
The plan was to get all those people out as soon as possible and when they were two minutes out to release a single round and then to let out another round when they were a minute out so we could start to open the gates for them for a quick way in. No waiting around, get in and close everything back up.
Come on, come on.
Fire again.
Please let this work out perfectly.
With my cheek against the stock of the gun, my sight was all over the tree line, searching for any kind of movement. My finger twitched and ready against the trigger. I wasn't even blinking. I was not going to miss a single thing.
Another gunshot.
"Open the gates!" I jumped up to my feet, swinging the rifle around my body for it to lay against my back. "Start opening the gates!" I screamed as I took off towards the lever that triggered the mechanism to open the right-side gate.
My feet barely touched the floor as I pushed off on the railing of the stairs to get enough momentum to skip the small flight of stairs and landed in front of the lever on the wall as the first horse and rider broke through the trees.
Phil's arm was raised with his own long gun's stock pressed up against his side as his horse led the way. Not a moment later horses after horses were emerging from the woods with riders and sleds and carts of people and things.
There were cheers and yells from the people down on the street. I found myself joining in as my body leaned over the side to wave at those now riding through the open gates. They were all moving so fast I couldn't even point out who was who on which horse. Along with the cheering and the hollering was the sound of tens of hooves pounding against the snow and the sliding of plastic and metal with whatever they used to make some kind of sled.
The second the last cart crossed the threshold of town, it took both of my hands and most of my upper body strength to push the lever back up to begin closing the gates, but we did it. They are all here. No casualties, no one lost. We did it.
A laugh of relief escaped from my chest as I tossed my head back and a smile stretched across my face. The sight of watching all these people ride through the gates felt like a literal weight off my shoulders.
"Haven't ever seen you smile like that," Luke said from the top of the steps. "You look like a whole new person."
"I feel good, dude," I let out a breath as I started to climb back up the stairs. "Now move, I need to go find my boyfriend." Slipping past Luke, I placed one foot on the first rung of the ladder that ran on the inside of the wall and all the way to the ground before quickly maneuvering to rest my feet on the sides of the ladder and sliding down the whole way.
Once my feet met the snow-covered ground, it was like I broke through some sound barrier. It was so fucking loud down here with all the new people talking to each other and the unpacking of new items. The horses were all huffy and puffy, annoyed with all the commotion in their faces and around them.
I slipped off my rifle and handed it off to the first person to reach out to me as they were collecting them to return all the weapons and firearms to the shooting range and armory. I gave them a fast thank you before plunging headfirst into the crowd.
"Excuse me, sorry," I handed out quick excuses as I shuffled past people and ducked under things being carried by two people, my focus only on finding Nick at the moment. I ended up tripping over something and only catching myself by grabbing on to some random person's arm that was getting looked over by a doctor. "Sorry, my bad, welcome to Jackson!"
Dodging around a mother and her child, I raised my hand up at them as I glanced over my shoulder back at them. "Hi, sorry, let's meet properly later! I need to find my boyfriend, excuse me."
It was like a somewhat organized chaos.
I wasn't really even paying attention to what I was saying, but still trying to be kind of polite as I tried to locate at least one person I knew. My entire body felt like it was tingling from a hundred different feelings and emotions as my eyes scanned the faces in front and around me. New faces and old ones meshing together as I hoped to find a black hat and green eyes paired with some unruly curls and a hoodie.
Of course, he was over by the food table when I caught a glimpse of Clay's black and green beanie. Thankfully, his roommate was gifted with height so I can at least find him. You find Clay, there's a high chance Nick was also with him.
"Nick!" I called out with my hand raised high and waving as I ducked around another family who was looking completely astonished at the buildings and system we got going on in Jackson.
He barely even had a chance to place his bowl of whatever was mass cooked for the incoming crowd to return the hug that I gave him when my body slammed against his. He let out a laugh as he staggered for a moment before wrapping his arms around my waist as mine ended up around his neck.
"Hey," Nick chuckled as one of his hands rubbed the small of my back through my jacket while leaning back to lift me up off the ground for a moment.
"Hi," I mumbled the greeting into the side of his neck, nuzzling my face into the fabric of his hoodie. "I was getting worried."
"Oh? You were getting worried?" He leaned his head to the side to try and look over at me. A smirk on his face as he kept up a teasing tone of voice. "Not such a fun feeling, huh?"
"Shut up..." I shook my head as I pulled away from the hug to glance over at Clay and Alex who looked like they no longer had any kind of appetite after watching me and Nick greet each other. "How'd it go?"
Alex dropped his spoon in his bowl and pushed it as far away from himself as possible as Clay took a quick glance down at his meal before lowering it down from his chest to his stomach before answering my question, "It went pretty well. Well, I think at least. Of course, we got some stubborn people who wanted to bring everything, but they got the hint to leave their tents and tarps behind when they realized they were moving into real and proper houses."
"So, everyone did come?" My eyebrows raised as a smile returned to my face.
Nick tilted his head back and forth for a moment, "Some were weary at first, but the moment they saw the carts and the rest of us coming up, they moved faster than we did. Like Karl said, they were ready to end the nomad life."
"Oh, fuck yeah, dude," Nick and I shared a high five as Alex cleared his throat.
"Quick, small question. Are we still calling her 'Alice'?" Alex asked as he pointed over at me.
Oh... yeah, I completely forgot about that. Small little plot hole.
Clay waved his hand dismissively as he picked his spoon back up to continue eating, "Nah, nah. George asked me about that whole thing after the meet up at Phil's place the other day. He figured it was a security thing but wanted to be sure. She's Kate. Good thinking though." He nodded over at me as I did a small little bow.
"Why, thank you, it's been known to happen."
"Alright," Clay sighed as he ate another spoonful of his food, "get out of here before I end up giving you another compliment that'll just make your ego any bigger."
"Really?" I asked.
Clay nodded, "Yeah, both of you." He nodded his head over at Nick. "You're both dismissed. Well, until about seven o'clock tonight when I let you know how many people you will be training at the shooting range tomorrow."
I snapped my fingers and gave Clay a finger gun as well while tugging on the sleeve of Nick's hoodie, "Brilliant! Thanks, dude."
Alex did a double take looking between me and Clay, "Am I dismissed?"
"No." Clay answered curtly.
"The fuck? They get to go but I can't?"
"They've been working since early this morning. Nick moving people here and Kate on active guard duty. You've been down here doing probably nothing with your thumb up your ass. Actually, you should probably be working right now."
Alex pursed his lips as he scratched the side of his head before slowly moving to grab his clipboard, "I'll see you guys later." And he was off, disappearing into the crowd to go somewhere he was needed.
Clay rolled his eyes and sighed, "You guys go on ahead. I'm gonna hang out here and see if anyone needs anything."
Before Clay could say anything else or change his mind, Nick and I headed in the direction of my house since it was closer. It was a quick and short walk there since we were already on our side of town with the patrollers deciding to use the East Gates for the incoming group.
The house was empty with Mike joining the construction team for the new children's school full time and I knew Mom was still helping hand out supplies and move new people into their new homes. Both of them would be home late and probably just head straight to their rooms to crash.
"So," Nick breathed out as he clasped his hands together as he hopped down the two steps and into my room before spinning around on his heel to look back at me, "what do you want to do?"
Shutting my bedroom door with my back against it, I can't help but drag my eyes down his figure. He's simply just standing there, and I just want to jump him so badly all of a sudden. I was in such a great mood from everything.
New people meant changes, but it also meant more help and more ideas. This could turn so much around.
It felt like I was on a natural high right now. There was nothing that could stop the tingling in my bones and with Nick... there's just something about Nick that makes me want to ruin him right now in this exact moment... and for him to ruin me respectfully.
The blue jeans that had a rip in the knee, that he's had for who knows who long hugs his thighs in such the right way that I want to sit on them. The dark gray hoodie that hangs off his shoulders makes me want to sink my teeth into the part of his neck that dips into his shoulder. The small curls poking out from under his stupid hat; I want to pull on them as he's running his hands all over me.
My eyes landed back on his face. His eyebrows were drawn together as he shuffled his weight to put it all on one leg, hands stuffing themselves into his back pockets. Don't even get me started on his fucking hands.
"I might..." I started to say as I walked over to him, placing my hands on his chest, "have an idea of what we could do."
My body was humming with adrenaline from the morning we just had. From standing on top of the wall and watching for any possible sign of either good or bad while my ears were ready to hear any gunshots to seeing all the horses and people ride right under and past me. Don't forget the crowd of people I had to push past to find him.
All those people. All of them ready and excited to be living here. It felt incredible. And I was not going to let this feeling just die out when he was right there in front of me. We're gonna extend this feeling just a tad bit longer.
Eyebrows rising for a second as he leaned his head down, his own eyes flicking down to my lips for a second before lifting back to my eyes, "Really?"
My hands slid up the front of his sweatshirt to wrap around his neck and my feet rolled forward to prop myself up on my tippy toes. My lips just barely brushed against his as I spoke, "Yeah, I think you already know what it is."
His hands came out of his pockets to wrap his arms around my waist, pulling my body flush against his. His nose pressed lightly against my cheek. "I'm pretty sure I know what you're talking about."
"Good," I said, pushing my mouth against his as I twisted us to get him to get his back to face my bed. He was too focused on getting his hands under my sweater to get a sliver of skin under his fingers so notice me pivot our position. His mind was already in the gutter, and I loved it.
I absolutely relished the way he would go blind to everything else around him when we were kissing. He didn't care in the slightest about anyone walking in or interrupting. He had his focus and that's what he cared about; his focus being me at all times.
My hands dragged back down his front, planting my palm against his chest as he shivered at the feeling of my fingers dragging against his neck. I caught his lip between my teeth as I pulled away from him.
He looked like he was killed and landed in heaven with his eyes half lidded and a small pout on his lips when I pulled away. Let's kill him again.
Pushing hard enough on his chest to send him on his back in my bed, he let out a grunt as he landed. A look of confusion crossed his face for a brief moment before it quickly shifted to wonder as he looked up at me. His cheeks flushed red all the way up to the tips of his ears and down his neck when his eyes watched me move closer to him.
He pushed himself up enough to lean back on his elbows, "You're going to be the death of me, I swear to god."
I smirked down at him as I crawled on top of him, one leg on either side of him. "Damn straight," I pushed him flat against the bed and connected our lips again. His hands flew up to my hips as I completely sat down, officially straddling him. The groan he let out stuttered when I placed my hands on the sides of his face.
I couldn't help but roll my hips against his at the noise he let out, and he dug his nails into the skin above my jeans at the move I made.
Who knows how long we spent there with me on top of him, his hands all over me and mine all over him, but the feeling of his hard on against the inside of my leg was enough to get me to pull away long enough for him to let out a whine.
"No, come back," he whimpered as his hand came up to the back of my neck to pull me back down to his mouth, leaving a soft kiss on my lips before I pulled away again.
I smiled as I kissed his cheek once as I sat up with him right behind me. With my back straight, he kept on pawing at the bottom of my sweater and kissing the column of my neck.
"Nick," I wrapped my fingers around the sides of his head, my thumbs on his cheeks as I tried to pull him away from me. "Come on, let me look at you, pretty boy."
I definitely felt the jump that his dick did at the words I said.
"What?" He asked as he leaned back into my hands, looking up at me with his eyes half lidded like he could barely keep them open.
"Let me make you feel good," I whispered, and he looked like he was about to just melt into a puddle.
"Fuckin' hell," he moaned as he lifted his chin to kiss me one last time before I pushed him back down on the bed.
Nick's hands were completely under my shirt and he was running his fingers all over my skin, leaving tingles in their wake. He was kissing me with every fiber of his being and Jesus fuck, it was amazing.
My fingers ran through the back of his head, grabbing the hat he always had on his head and throwing it blindly behind me as I repositioned myself on his lap.
"Fuck," he groaned as I sat back down on his lap.
I couldn't help but chuckle at him, "You like me on your lap, huh?" My lips brushed against his as I spoke. His eyes were barely open as harsh breaths escaped from his lips; his gaze locked on my lips as he lifted chin to connect us again.
His blunt nails were starting to slightly dig into my back as I shifted on his lap again to get his attention, which resulted in his hips twitching.
"You didn't answer," I smirked as I moved to start kissing his jaw, grinding down on his lap again.
He let out a whine as his eyebrows pitched together and his eyes rolled back. "You're- you're going to- I'm-"
"Really?" I teased as I pulled away from his face to look down at him, resting our foreheads against each other. "You can't even speak correctly right now?" I rolled my hips again to get another reaction out of him.
"Kate," he breathed out as he tilted his head back, a thump sounding as he connected with the blankets on the bed.
"You feeling good, pretty boy?" I asked him as I kept up my movements. He bit his bottom lip as whines and groans were just spilling out of him.
He was hard. I could feel it against the inside of my thigh every time I moved, and I had no clue what came over me but hearing and seeing the way he was reacting made me keep going.
His hands came out from under my shirt and went to grip at the side of my thighs as his mouth was just hanging open, curses and pants flying out. His eyes were tightly closed and his eyebrows were drawn together and raised. He looked fucking gorgeous like that.
"Kate, I'm- fuck," he moaned.
I placed a hand on his chest as I leaned down to kiss his lips. "Yeah?" I asked him innocently like I wasn't purposely grinding against him right now.
He swallowed as his eyes finally opened and his arms started to get stiff while his nails were digging hard enough that they would probably bring bruises to my skin even though I still had jeans on.
"I- I'm-" His eyes rolled in the back of his head again as his stomach tightened along with pretty much the rest of his body beside his hips which were twitching.
I couldn't help but let a small smile come to my face as I started to slow my movements as he tried to catch his breath. Biting my lip as he cracked his eyes open to look up at me. His head was still flat against the bed. His hair in every which direction as his fingers were releasing the death grip he had on my thighs. His chest was moving rapidly as he looked so fucked out.
I just made him cum in his pants, and damn straight was I proud of that.
"So, you really, really like me on your lap."
He let out a deep breath as he looked down at his lap where there was now a dark patch in his blue jeans, "Obviously."