Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Tom! Slow down!" You reached in your pocket for your watch after noticing the sun was starting to set while you two aimlessly walked alongside the highway. It was 4:42 pm, it would be dark soon.

"Sorry, I swear I think I see a sign just up the way. We should keep moving." He linked his arm with yours to make sure your pace was even. He knew you were getting tired, hell he was tired too. The walk from your last refuge had been days ago and you two needed shelter again to rest for a couple days. Tom's skin was starting to tan so much he looked like a surfer. The sun had become so harsh, where's an underground cellar when you need one?

It had been months after the apocalypse and you two weren't necessarily together by choice in the beginning, but strength in numbers was an understatement now. It used to be a group of 6 until little by little someone met an unfortunate end. That only made you and Tom stronger together though, you two knew that you needed each other to stay alive and you were the only ones left for what seemed like thousands of miles.

"You think there's shelter nearby?" you asked him, looking up at him beside you. Both of you were covered in a sheen of sweat and practically dying of thirst. The canteen you shared was near empty and neither of you knew where your next drop would come from, hopefully somewhere close.

"I think so, I know me and you both could use a nap. And some water, we're dangerously low," he said looking into your heat strained eyes. Even as disheveled as you both looked, he always still looked ridiculously cute with his wet brown curls splayed across his forehead and tanned skin from the treacherous sun.

You both saw the sign was not too far away, when you got close enough it read,

'DENVER 5 MILES'

"Look!" Tom yelled beside you. "We're close, we gotta keep moving, love."

As exhausting and daunting as the walk was, you two reached Denver after a few more hours on the road. You two tried getting one of the many abandoned cars to work when you ran into them, but unfortunately most of them either had dead bodies and blood on or in them, or were out of gas.

There was a vast field past the highway that you both decided to cross; Tom knew there were definitely remnants of civilization left. There had to be a left over metroplex with tons of buildings and houses nearby, it was Denver. For a couple of minutes it seemed like you two were on another long walk until Tom noticed the plants were overgrown and dense. He stopped you two as you got right next to it and kneeled down to examine the plants individually.

For a minute he looked at it quizzically, eyes barely adjusting from the burning sunlight. You looked down then too once you realized he had grown silent for too long.

"What is it?" you said kneeling beside him and reaching over for the leaf in his hand.

"I-I think it's weed?" he blurted.

You examined it and laughed to yourself wanting to make the obvious joke. "I guess we really are in Colorado then."

Tom looked at your giggling face and laughed with you, his eyes crinkling the way they did when he smiled. That was a sight you loved. "How the hell did we get lucky enough to just stumble on this much weed?" You shrugged beside him, just as amused as he was. "I gotta say though as good of a surprise as this is, I would take water and food over this any day, but we'll take what we can get."

You nodded, amused at his sarcastically said rationale, "Oh yeah, one hundred percent. But we'll take what we can get." You grabbed a few bundles and stuffed them in your supply bag and watched Tom do the same.

To think you two had actually just stumbled on free drugs was probably the least weirdest thing to happen since the apocalypse, stranger things had happened. You thought back to life before walkers and how you didn't often do drugs before. Maybe once or twice at a party but that felt so long ago that you didn't even remember the feeling. You wondered if Tom was into that sort of thing before or was he as new as you.

"Did you smoke? You know, before.."

"Sometimes." he said wistful at the memories,"Me and my friends would. But I was more of a beer guy and I didn't like to mix the two, you know?" You nodded at his words, he did always seem like a guy who would drink his beer and get into shenanigans with his friends.

"What about you, did you smoke before?"

"A couple times. But that feels so long ago I can't even remember how it felt." He nodded in agreement and looked down at you in a new light. It's not that you seemed prudish to him, instead he just seemed pleased every time he learned something new about you. Something that you didn't think was much of anything but to him was a little more about his companion.

When you reached an intersection both of you scoped the area for any type of house or building you could hide out in.

There were more options than you two anticipated, but Tom said the safest one right now would be a convenience store so that you could replenish your supplies, eat, and regroup.

When you got close enough he did his perimeter walk to check for any walkers around the building and the couple he saw he quietly took them out with his hunting knife.

He got in through the back and went to the front to jimmy the door unlocked for you. When you got in your were immediately surprised that the store was still mostly stocked and not as ransacked as it could be. Though it was in a more rural area and not much was around, it was still surprising that no one had really looted the place.

"Let's eat," he said with an eager smile. The first thing he went for was a bag of Lays potato chips and went to town. You decided to drink something first, chugging a bottle of water in less than a minute. After that you decided on a couple candy bars until you picked your next item. You two sat there munching quietly with your heads back and eyes closed. "I could get used to this," Tom said with a chuckle.

"You? I think I could live here forever. As long as the delivery driver brings more water, i'll finish that whole fridge in a day."

He laughed at you and threw a bag of doritos at you. "You gotta eat something other than sugar, love."

You blushed slightly at his little pet name for you and he definitely noticed the effect it had on you, that's why he did it. Anything to get you to smile through a situation as tough as this. And the way he always looked out for you, even when you didn't notice, it always made you feel special. The little things he would do to make sure you were good, even before himself was why you were starting to fall for him more and more. Why did it take a zombie apocalypse to get a genuine lover?

"Hey," you said pointing at the shelf behind the register. He knew exactly what you were pointing at and pulled out a plant stalk to show he did.

He got up and jumped over the counter before grabbing a pack of swishers and returning in front of you. "Okay, I think I remember how to do this. I've watched someone do it before. Okay I split this open to get the stuffing out," he used his knife to cut a thin line down the center of the cigar. He dumped the guts into the package and flattened out the left over empty wrap. Then he picked up the budding flower and picked off a couple chunks. He crumbled it in between his slender fingers and sprinkled it on the wrap. Then he used his tongue to seal the seam closed after rolling it tight. You watched it glide against the seam and pictured him doing that to you, your core starting to pulse.

"I'm starting to think you've done this more than you let on," you teased him. He did it so expertly fast that showed either his memory was excellent or he was definitely smoking more than he let on.

"I've had to roll a few times okay," he laughed then," besides if it were up to you we'd be SOL," he teased back.

"Touché," you said raising your hands in defense. Both of you were smiling and blushing at the little exchange as he got up to grab a lighter off a display.

He sat down beside you and flicked the lighter, sticking the flame at the end and attaching his lips to the other end. You watched him inhale as the blunt smoked to life. He pulled it away and held his chipmunk cheeks shut for a few seconds before coughing it out.

"Nice," you said laughing at his now red face.

"Yeah well let's see you try."

You grabbed it from his fingers, him lingering a little longer at the touch, and repeated what he did. You took a small hit, knowing a big inhale would choke you like it had done him. Surprisingly you didn't cough, you let the smoke out and repeated again.

"I'm starting to think you smoked more than you let on," he teased again. His teeth were on full display, it was nice seeing his smile more and more. Today was probably the happiest you two had been in months. Not even just cause you were practically high.

"I just have better lungs than you, it's okay, you'll get the hang of it." Both of you let out a good laugh at your messing and you felt the drug start to calm all your senses. Your anxiety lowered immediately and you felt like swaying even though no music played. After Tom took a couple more hits he offered it to you but you declined, deciding you were at just the right setting, and he put it out and tucked it away for later.

"As nice as this is, I know we shouldn't hit excess, gotta be quick enough to act if something or someone shows up." It came out more as a thought but he wanted you to know he was still worried about your safety. "I'm not gonna ruin it with responsibility though, I just wanna keep you safe. I worry..," he almost whispered at the end.

"Don't worry, as long as we're together I think we can make it through all of this. We have to," you uttered.

His gaze met yours and for a second there was this unspoken connection between you two. He watched your eyes flicker to his lips before returning again. You wanted to kiss him, but you were terrified, the butterflies in your stomach growing stronger the longer you locked eyes.

Just then he scooted closer and reached his fingers out to smooth some hairs off your forehead. "Can I kiss you?" He asked it so timid you almost wouldn't hear if you hadn't seen his lips move to form the words.

You nodded, leaning over with a smile to receive his kiss. His lips were softer than you thought they'd be, and he was nervous but still eager. You weren't sure if it was the elevated high you two felt or just general connection but it felt like your chest flooded with butterflies and your core tightened. This was it. Peak Apocalypse jubilation.

When you eased back enough to smile at each other, Tom said, "You think we could find a house to stay in around here?"

Thinking of the countless possibilities you two faced with an actual bed you couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency to go out and search now.

"I sure hope so."

Chapter Text

_____

"Okay so here's what we'll do, we leave here and walk along the street we used to get here, maybe try to find a car to use along the way, but if not we'll be fine as long as we get a house in closer walking distance. Once we rest up a couple days, we'll get back on the road and keep heading west to that compound we heard about on the radio a few weeks ago. Maybe it's still there....it's kind of our only hope right now." Tom took a small step back to examine your face. "Are you okay with that plan, love?"

You heard every word he said but your head still reeled with reruns of that kiss. That damn kiss. You finally willed yourself to speak, "Yeah, I think it's a good plan boss. As long as I can sleep in a bed I'm down with anything right now. "

He smiled, glad to know you were still in good spirits. You had your moments of lowness here and there, tough times when you missed your family and friends before the end of it all. The things you used to do, having fun like any other young person growing up, until everything went to hell and now you were without all of your past life comforts. Tom knew how it felt, he left behind everyone he knew too. He often sat off by himself staring at a dog tag he wore and never took off, when you asked him about it he broke down in tears just talking about it.

Both of you knew the only way to survive now was to just keep going and proving to yourself that you won't go down without a fight. But sometimes you can't help the occasional 'what the hell is all this for?'

"I'm glad I got stuck with you," he said, eyes low and fingers playing with the strap of your jeans. His face was softer, lit up by the light coming into the glass walls of the gas station.

Your smile lit up your whole face,
a sight that made Tom's heart do a flip, "I'm pretty glad I'm stuck with you too."

Once you both loaded up on enough supplies you figured to last at least two weeks, you decided it was time to go.
He let up the gate and unbarricaded the door so you two could leave, met with a few straggler walkers outside.

"Stay behind me." Tom pulled out his machete and hacked away at one off by itself before moving to the other two. They were fast, hungry, and desperate for any meal within miles. You two were like fine dining compared to the tiny animals they had been forced to eat in the absence of humans. One grabbed Tom by his arm and attempted to bite but he slid his body out of grip and stuck his knife through its head.

"Tom! There's more," you said kind of whispering just loud enough through gritted teeth. Walkers made you anxious, as they should make anyone feel knowing they could bite into your flesh and eat you like Sunday dinner. But more importantly, you weren't the best at killing them, which left Tom doing most of the leg work with you on defense for help, but you always felt bad about putting him at such risk. Which then caused you to fight your fears, so to speak, and jump in to help even though it felt like begging a venomous snake to bite you or asking a ferocious bear to attack you.

He turned around facing the direction you saw them in and ushered you under a tree out of their view. He quickly searched his bag for bullets pulling out a box that was dangerously low in content. "Is that gonna be enough?" you sort of hastily asked.

"No, and we can't use all of these. So we have to improvise." He looked past you in thought for a few moments, hatching a decision in his head. "How many did you see?"

You were nervous now, the wrong information or decision could mean death in these situations, "At least 10 to 15."

"Shit," he muttered under his breath.

You both fell silent at the realization that this might be a little more than you could handle. It's not that you two hadn't experienced a larger group of walkers before, but you had more ammo, more people, and probably more bravery before. But truth was, the more that people died in your group, the scarier it all felt; it's not like you just get used to always killing to stay alive. And there's always that 'how long before my luck runs out?' in the back of your minds in these tense situations.

Thinking fear would only make for doubt and possibly death, you decided to at least tuck your fear away to give Tom the boost he needed to face them with you. "Hey," you said lifting his chin so he met your eye level, "remember what Charles would say?"

Tom sat and smiled at the memory
of your latest fallen companion. He was the toughest of the group, the leader everyone went to and everyone knew could survive this, until he unfortunately didn't.

""Don't let these sons of bitches steal your path."" Tom's whole demeanor relaxed at the memory of him saying it just like that with his bow and arrow aimed to the sky.

"We can do this, we have to."

Tom nodded before saying, "But before we do this," and he moved his hand to your cheek, stroking it slowly while he took in one last look at
your face. He leaned closer and pressed his lips to yours ever so softly,
giving you the slowest kiss you had ever recieved. Your knees grew weak as he backed away to place a peck on your other cheek.

"I'm gonna need another one of those after we finish this," you said inches from his lips. He smiled and nodded in understanding again; then you both rose to your feet and took in a big breath, preparing for whatever was to come.

You followed close behind him as he moved from behind the tree and eased his way towards them. "Wait!" you said in a quick thought. You frantically searched your supply bag for that fire cracker you remembered taking
from a grocery store a few weeks ago. This could work. You pulled it out and showed it to Tom whose face lit up at the idea.

"I'll light it and throw it between them, we can take most of them out while they're distracted. Brilliant, love."

You handed him the stick, he lit the end and quickly ran up enough to throw it right where he wanted without getting spotted. Once it went off the walkers yelled and headed toward the loud sound and flash of sparks, just as planned. He snuck up behind and impaled the first five in the head, you were close on his heels and handling two grown men at least two or 3 inches taller. Their uniforms were tattered and covered in blood, they definitely ate something or someone recently.

One scrawny older woman had put up a good fight against Tom, catching him from behind and attempting to overpower him. She was determined, probably hadn't had food in days or weeks by the way she was biting through the air to get to him. He struggled for a moment, she was definitely getting the best of him. Amongst your own battle, you eventually managed to take the most difficult one out; in a panic you closed the distance and stabbed through the back of its skull, just as its mouth was inches from Tom's shoulder.

"That was too close!" he said, grateful that you saved him inches from an unfortunate end.

A little shaken, you nodded and fought back the urge to freak out. "Let's finish this," you spoke with intense eye contact. Tom smirked at your movie audition tape moment and turned back to the last few walkers left, ready to kill.

_______

You and Tom walked along an empty road for a few kilometers, the sun in the sky glaring down on you two. He grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers with his in an intricate knot.

"Thank you," his voice soft and delicate.

"For that? You do that for me literally everyday, I should be thanking you I think."

"No you don't have to, I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you. I just mean- I got distracted. One of those walkers reminded me of my little brother, he looked so much like him. If you hadn't gotten that walker she would've bit me easily. All because I got distracted." Tom looked down at the road as you stopped to face him. He looked genuinely distraught, coming so close to death all while being reminded of never seeing his family again.

"I'm sorry," you said as you pulled him in for an embrace. His hands instinctively went to your back, rubbing the spot under your shoulder blades. You stroked the crop of hair on the back of his neck. You looked out at the field of grass behind him and saw a big white house on a slope of field completely off by itself. "Hey, look there's a house Tom."

He pulled away and turned to view it, hopeful of the promise of a bed.

_____________

"There's no walkers, no signs of anyone being here for a while. It's not boarded up or anything. Let's try to get in." He prodded through your supply bag, digging until he triumphantly pulled out a bobby pin. "A ha!"

"You're really gonna try and pick the lo-"

"Got it," he said amused at the look of disbelief on your face. Before you could even ask how he knew how to do it he said, "I got locked out of my parents home all the time. No key, nobody home, so I had to improvise a few times. "

Your furrowed a brow with a nod and smirked at his uncanny usefulness in unexpected situations. Seriously, this guy might as well have been on 'The Walking Dead' or something to know so many Post Apocalypse tips and tricks.

When you got in Tom did a solo sweep of the house, checking every inch to make sure there really wasn't a sign of anyone. When he cleared the upstairs, you cleared the kitchen and living room, and you both went down to the basement for the last check. There was a putrid smell of something dead, a sign that something was definitely down there. When you got in, both of you covered your noses at the strong aroma, two bodies laying against a window with their brains on the wall behind them.

It was a married couple, both splayed out in what looked to be a suicide pact as they laid there with a gun in one hand and holding each others with the other hand. "I would say this was romantic if it weren't for the disgusting smell," Tom joked beside you.

"Romantic? This is straight up nightmare fuel man. I'm unfortunately gonna have to disagree." You roamed the outskirts of the room looking for anything useful, knowing you wouldn't be coming back down for the duration of your time here.

Tom smirked even though you didn't look up and followed suit, grabbing the gun from the dead mans hand. "At least they'll probably have bullets, we need some. I'll wrap them up and bury them outside...tomorrow though, I need to lay down first."

"Yeah I'm with you on that, please let's do that."

You followed behind Tom up the stairs and out of the basement, locking the door and placing a shelf in front of it. "Just in case," you said afterwards.

You tumbled through the kitchen pantry for food and found a stock of mostly canned beans, canned corn, canned green veggies and some other miscellaneous things. You grabbed two cans of beans, a knife to open it, and two spoons and followed Tom upstairs to the bedroom.

You both sat on the bed, appreciating the silence and rare moment of safety. Something about being in a house made you more reassured against potential threats. There were no other houses for miles, no major highway leading to the house, and no walkers spotted within close proximity.

This was a chance to finally let your guard down for the first time in weeks, a rare thing that was definitely taken for granted before all of this.

"You hungry?"

Tom turned to where you sat on the other edge, he smiled and took the can and spoon from you. "Thanks."

"I mean...it's no full course meal, but for starving it seems oddly satisfying."

His smile practically took up half of his face, a little chuckle escaping those lips. He shook his head in agreement and took his first bite, tilting his head from side to side before eating more. "Yeah, I guess it is."

After you both finished eating, you decided to change out of the sweaty and slightly tattered clothes you wore into something the previous couple had left in their dressers. "How fancy?" You held up a black silk nightgown that was clearly for a special night considering the rest of her sleepwear was typical middle aged woman cotton nightgowns and sleep dresses.

"Put it on," Tom said, eyes scanning the thin and short black dress.

You did, and turned to the mirror hanging on the bathroom door as Tom walked up behind you. Conveniently, he was still without a shirt and his pants were unbuckled and slowly riding off his waist in a tempting way. You stared at your reflection, not being able to see it too many times lately and definitely not having the chance to admire it. You were different now, stronger but still soft and delicate. Tom liked that you needed protection but still proved to be more than capable on your own.

His hand went to grip your shoulder, like he was testing the waters first. He was tempted to watch his movements in the mirror like you but instead couldn't take his eyes off of you in this slip right in front of him. His other hand settled in the crook of your waist, hitching the fabric up your thigh a little with his grasp. His curls had fallen over his eyes, giving him an even darker presence of lust as he stood behind you. You felt his breath hit your neck, the hairs standing up just where it landed.

"Tom.." you whispered, almost snapping him out of his daze. But he was too entangled with thoughts of what he wanted to do with you. They were driving him mad, his fantasies exploding before him as he eased his hand down your shoulder.

You turned around, catching him by surprise as your head lifted enough to catch his lips in a slow, passionate kiss.
He walks you back to the bed until you're laying down and he's hovering over you, inches from your lips.

But instead, he travels down and stops between your thighs, smiling up at you. You both blush, this being the farthest you've gotten to obscenity between each other; like two teenagers about to lose their virginities except you're both adults and completely enamored with the other.

"I can't tell you how many times I've thought about doing this," he said, a hint of gruff in his voice. You couldn't say anything, locking eyes with him as he knew the effect this was having on you.

And he was enjoying every second...