Pairing: John Murphy x GenderNeutral!Reader
Setting: During season 1, before Murphy's banishment
Author: AikaKyomi
Notes: Here's the first oneshot of our book! I hope you enjoy!
⇯Song⇯
Halsey ↮ Coming Down
'I found God, I found him in a lover, when his hair falls in his face, and his hands so cold they shake'
☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎
Leaning against the rudimentary wooden palisade, you carefully watched through the scope of your sniper for any possible threat to the camp. You were almost always on watch: being the shooter with the most precision, you rightfully earned that position.
You couldn't explain it though: when you first stepped out of the dropship, you had no experience whatsoever. You never even came close to manipulate a gun, or any weapon for that matter. But as soon as you managed to build your own slingshot, you realized you maybe had an innate talent for shooting.
The forest was calm today. No grounder in view, although they were probably there, hiding somewhere. There was also a slight mist falling around, covering the surroundings in an uncomfortable humidity, and the darkening clouds announced upcoming rain. But other than that, it was a serene, calm day.
As you kept watch on the area around the camp, you suddenly heard movement to your right. You promptly turned around, raising the edge of the gun towards the noise, when you realized it was just Murphy.
John Murphy to be exact. He was usually on guard at the same time you were, so you ended up talking from times to times. To be honest, you didn't really like him that much. He was bossy, cocky, and each of his sentences dripped with sarcasm. But he was nice, and one of the few people in this world that you didn't hate.
As you turned around, your gun raised up, you saw him jump in fear, probably since you held the weapon a couple centimeters away from his face.
"Huh, would you please point that thing somewhere else?" he inquired. "I intend to keep my face intact, thank you very much."
You scoffed, before turning around to take back your position on the barricade.
"What do you want, Murphy?" you asked, trying to keep watch without being distracted.
"Well, you know, my unlimited devotion to this camp and all, so I'm just doing my job. "
"Yeah, I'm sure you're in love with your job."
"I can't say that it's worse than on the Ark though."
"If you see it that way..."
Silence immersed itself between the two of you, as you tried to keep your concentration. Even if there weren't many laws down here, you still liked your job, and particularly the advantages it gave you. So you held onto it, doing your best for the rest of the camp.
As you try to isolate your mind, you suddenly felt someone pressing against your side, and heard Murphy's voice say:
"Hey, I want to see how good of a shot you are."
When you gazed on your right, you realized he was pretty close, which made you kind of uncomfortable. But you didn't say anything regardless and nodded affirmatively.
"Alright." you stated. "Give me a target."
Murphy looked over the palisade thoughtfully, before raising his arm to point something in the distance.
"There." he declared, his finger pointing at an animal, about a kilometer away from your position. "You'll even get our dinner as a bonus."
Without adding a word, you lowered your head and positioned your arms around the gun, before looking right through the scope. As your target came into view, the deafening sound of gunshot resounded not even a second later and the beast fell to the ground, probably already dead.
As you saw some people approach, startled by the noise, you turned back to Murphy, who looked astonished.
"Damn..."
"Now that you've got what you wanted, I'll leave you the job to explain what happened before everyone starts freaking out." you declared nonchalantly.
"So kind of you." he answered mockingly, a smirk on the corner of his lips.
☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎
Voices and conversations filled the surroundings, as you walked between the masses to find yourself a peaceful place to eat. Most people were already in groups, making it hard to infiltrate one. You roamed around for a few minutes, until your eyes spotted Murphy, sitting along with a boy you didn't know by name.
You hesitated at first, unsure if you would disturb them. But you were tired of constantly eating alone in the dropship, and decided you would do something else for a change.
"Look who decided to show up." Murphy grinned as he noticed your presence.
"Do you mind?" you asked.
"Not at all. C'mon, sit."
As you took place next to the boys, the unknown guy suddenly turned his head. A voice near yelled something you were too far to understand, making him stand up immediately.
"I've got to go." he simply declared, addressing a prompt hand sign to Murphy before slipping away from the crowd.
You watched him slowly disappear from your view, and drifted in your thoughts for a few seconds before feeling a hand tapping on your shoulder.
"Earth to (Y/n)." Murphy called out to you. "You seem lost."
"Yeah I'm just... dreamy." you replied vaguely.
"About what?"
"You know, as much as I hate the Ark, I gotta admit I miss the serenity we had there."
Murphy scoffed mockingly.
"Yeah, because a prison cell was so serene." he threw back sarcastically.
"I guess you prefer to get slaughtered by grounders then." you replicated.
"I think I do, actually. At least I'll die with honor."
There were a few seconds of silence, during which you considered Murphy's opinion. Yes, dying brutally at the hands of a grounder was more honorable than to get roughly floated up there, on the Ark. You had a chance to live, no matter the risk. But on the other hand, death was scary. And a brutal one at the ends of endless tortures was even scarier. Could honor really overcome the fear of death?
"Although I have to admit, I do miss the showers." Murphy added thoughtfully.
Surprised by his answer, you turned to him with a weirded out expression.
"Really?" you sneered.
"What?" he replied defensively. "I'm sorry, but you can't say you don't."
"And if I say I don't miss it that much?"
"Then you're crazy. Or just really weird."
"I guess I'm weird then."
He chuckled at your answer, a grin on the corner of his lips.
"You're cool." he declared nonchalantly. "I like you. Which is pretty much rare, so feel honored."
You snorted at his comment, and saw Murphy's expression harden.
"What is it?"
"I think you're cool too."
☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎
You've been sent out by Bellamy, a couple hours back, along with Murphy to go hunting in the woods. You weren't really comfortable out from camp, and that's probably why you went to him, asking to come with you. He accepted willingly, but not without a few mockeries.
The outside was silent. Probably too much, in your opinion, but you tried your best to keep the thought out of your mind. Keeping your breath low and steady, you proceeded through the forest, silence dictating each of your steps.
"Hey, I wanna know something." Murphy suddenly commented out of nowhere, his voice way too loud for the situation.
You promptly turned to him, a finger firmly pressed against your lips.
"Quiet!" you whispered angrily. "I don't want to die today, and I expect you don't too."
"C'mon darling." he retorted, exhaling sharply.
"Don't you call me that. Ever. And for the record, I'm just trying to stay alive. So shut it."
"Alright, I'll do both, but only if you let me ask you something."
Curious, you suddenly stopped walking and turned towards him, an intrigued look into your eyes.
"Go ahead." you declared.
"So, I was wondering, and I realized that, you don't seem like the kind of person who would end up in the Sky Box." he stated, disclosing his thoughts out loud. "What'd you do?"
"Why'd you care?"
"I don't, I'm just curious."
You sighed, but still nodded in agreement.
"My dad was floated a long time ago, a couple weeks after my birth." you stated. "I didn't remember much about him, and my mom always refused to tell me what he was floated for. And of course, I wanted to know, so that's pretty much the story of how I ended up stealing files from the database."
"By files, you mean more than one?" Murphy asked, his face showing that he seemed rather amazed.
"Dude, I could've seen them all if I wanted to."
"And if you didn't get caught."
"That's a detail. And now, since you got what you wanted, I'll ask you to shut up and walk."
And although it certainly wasn't to Murphy's approval, the two of you continued hiking through the woods, still seeking for something approvable to eat.
"You sure I can't call you darling?"
"No way."
☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎
"C'mon, show me how to shoot!"
Comfortably sitting on your side of the palisade, your rifle leaning on the side of your arm, you turned to Murphy with a wide smirk on your lips.
"And let you play with my gun?" you mocked him. "Out of the question. You'll hurt somebody, or yourself if you're dumb enough."
"You sound like my mother. It's hotter when you say it though."
You lifted your eyes in his direction, probably far better surprised than weirded out, even if inside you couldn't help but wonder if he meant it. Whether he did or not didn't matter, because you turned back around to face the outside of the palisade not even a second after.
"Your flattery isn't gonna change the fact that I said no." you stated, a grin in the corner of your lips.
"Whatever you say, I know you'll still say yes eventually."
"Thanks to what? Your prodigious charms?"
"I was about to say my incredible negotiation abilities but thank you for the compliment."
Without you even realizing it, you let out a laugh. But not the sarcastic kind, or even a light giggle, you genuinely laughed, something you hadn't done in years. And if you were surprised, you realized by looking at Murphy's facial expression, that he was even more than you.
"I think that's the first time I've ever seen you laugh..." he whispered to himself, a troubled gaze into his eyes.
"And I think it's the first time I've heard myself do it." you admitted with a nod.
"Well, you should laugh more often."
"Why so?"
"It sounds cute. And besides, it gives me the confirmation that I am indeed funny."
"Yeah, and stupid."
"As long as you approve the first part, I'm cool with it."
You harshly hit his shoulder with your fist, which resulted in a cry of pain, and looked at him mockingly.
"You're ridiculous, you know that?" you affirmed.
"Yup. And proud of it."
☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎☀︎︎︎
You ran outside the wall with all your might, without wasting any second. Time was precious. Your feet pushed you far into the surrounding woods, where you thought you finally managed to shot a grounder.
It sure looked like it, even if you never actually saw one to that day. When you spotted the vague silhouette in the distance, you didn't hesitate to shoot on the spot, knowing killing one would get you much respect. And if he was still alive, you could probably bring him back to camp; Bellamy would be proud.
After a few minutes of running back and forth, you finally found the place you shot at. The trees were identical, and there was this weird rock next to you that you remembered seeing from the palisade a while earlier. But oddly enough, no grounder in view.
It was weird. You definitely shot him, through the shoulder to make sure he wouldn't die on the spot. There was no mistake on the location either, this was the good place, no doubt. So where was he?
You looked everywhere. The bushes, the rock, even behind the trees, but there was no sight no one had ever been here. Well, at least you thought at first.
A minute passed when you approached one tree in particular, next to which a pool of blood laid on the grass. Curious, you leaned next to it, confirming that it was indeed blood, when a creak resounded from the tree. When a branch snapped on the ground, you realized in horror that you weren't alone.
There wasn't even time to scream: you immediately heard the thud behind you, and soon enough felt the hit in your back, that threw you a couple meters away.
You forced yourself to turn around, but a hand promptly grabbed your collar and pulled you up. You managed to get a quick sight of the grounder's face before receiving another blow right in the face, then thrown away, hitting your back against the nearest tree.
This time, as much as you tried to, you couldn't get up. Blood blinded your vision, your head ached like crazy, and you were pretty sure something was broken in your arm. Laying against the trunk, you saw the silhouette approach you, something sharp into his hands. "This is it." you thought, realizing the end was near.
As you closed your eyes, accepting the fate you were about to meet, a deafening sound resounded in the forest. A gunshot, you realized, as you saw the grounder's body hit the ground.
"(Y/n)!" yelled out a voice you recognized to be Murphy's. "Are you alright?"
Your heard his footsteps run down the hill, getting clearer as he approached you.
"Christ, you look like hell." he murmured as he leaned down next to you, trying to wipe off the blood off your face. "Are you hurt?"
"I think so yeah." you replied.
You lifted your gaze to meet Murphy's, and realized suddenly how close to death you had been. How close you had been since you got down here, on Earth. If it wasn't for Murphy, you would be gone by now. Because if you were scared by something more than any other thing, it was death.
And without even realizing it, tears starting streaming down your cheeks.
You never cried before. At least, never in front of someone. It had always been a shameful way to show you were weak, in your opinion. But right now, you were too tired to even care, and chose to let the emotions take over.
Suddenly, to your biggest surprise, you felt arms circling around you. Did Murphy was really hugging you? It couldn't be. But when you lifted your head, you realized that it was indeed happening.
"Sh, it'll be fine." he whispered, as you embraced into the hug and laid your head against his chest.
"I'm scared." you admitted. "I don't want to die."
"I won't let you."
You moved back, raising up your head to face him directly.
"You promise me?"
"Of course I do."
As a small smile appeared in the corner of your lips, you realized how close your face was to Murphy's. You saw into his eyes that he became conscious of it too, and in the time of a blink, his lips were onto yours.
And suddenly, everything felt brighter, clearer. There was no worries, nor danger now. Even the pain in your wrist disappeared for a while as you eagerly replied to the kiss. You'd never been good with feelings in your life, but right now you knew what you felt, deep inside: love. You both stepped back after a few seconds, laying into each other's arms without a word. You smiled widely to yourself: after all theses years of suffering, on the Ark and down here, there finally was a part where you could feel happiness. And it felt amazing.
But most of all, you knew that into his arms, you'd be safe from all the dangers that this world reserved for you. It was how love felt like, and that too, felt amazing.