Chapter Text
The echo of the exit gate sirens had faded into obscurity minutes ago. The others had successfully escaped with only minor injuries and still await your presence on the other side of the gate. But your presence never came. You hadn't even reached the doors yet.
You sat upon the cold dewey grass hidden behind a shattered wall. You were completely out of breath and you were in immense pain as your body was covered in scratches and cuts. You had previously rummaged through a bright red container and found a large syringe full of a red liquid inside. Syringe now gripped tightly in hand, you carefully observed the environment around you, listening for any sign of the sharp handed hunter. Not noticing anything but the sound of the trees gently swaying in the breeze and your heavy breathing, you carefully inserted the tip of the needle into a vein and pushed the red liquid from the syringe body into your arm.
Today’s hunter, Jack took the games very seriously and today was definitely no exception as he seemed to be on your tail the entire game, never giving you a break. He had managed to swipe at you a few times and had even caught and carried you to a rocket chair at one point. However, you didn’t struggle when he did so. Despite his usual harsh fighting style, he was ever so gentle when carrying you to the chair. He held you tight enough to make it difficult to escape his grasp, but gentle enough as to not accidentally cut you further with his sharp metallic hand and his sharp fingernails.
He was just as gentle when placing you upon the chair and strapping you down. Actually, noticeably more gentle than he usually would with any other survivor during the games. Perhaps he has a particular fondness of you? No, that’s outrageous. Maybe he knows you have slight feelings for him. You’ve snuck a peak at his true face a few times before and you can’t help but adore his gorgeous sparkling eyes, his sharp chin, his short neat brown hair, his soft lips- oh, you’ve been daydreaming for too long.
Snapping back to reality, you finish injecting the healing liquid and remove the needle from your body. Feeling much better, you take another look at the environment. Same results as before, nothing but the trees swaying. You stand up very slowly so as to not make a single sound to signal your presence. Before you go on your way to find an exit gate, you begin to feel uneasy and your heart begins to beat. You feel a hand grip your shoulder.
“My my, fine weather this is,” a voice says beside you. You quickly turn to see the masked hunter standing right beside you. You can just feel the smugness in his face through the emotionless mask. He must’ve been invisible this whole time. How long was he watching you? It doesn’t matter, you think to yourself as you run away as fast as you can before he can swipe at you, nearly slipping in a puddle as you do so. Through the sound of your beating heart, you can hear his footsteps following not too far behind you. You throw down a few palettes as he chases you, but they only stop him for a moment as he crushes them to bits with ease.
Through the fog, you can see something in the distance. The glow of the exit gate password box! Filled with hope for escape, you run towards the doors as fast as you possibly can, only to realize that they are shut tightly.
“Damnit, wrong door!” you blurt out loud. There’s no way you’ll be able to type in the password without getting caught, not with the hunter right on your tail. You try to slip past Jack in an effort to get to the exit gate on the other side of the Arms Factory property, but you slip in a rain puddle and fall to the cold wet ground, the syringe you were holding slipping out of your grasp. Before you could get up in time, Jack grabs a hold of the collar of your shirt and gently pulls you to your feet.
“That was quite a fall,” he chuckles, using his normal hand to wipe the dirt off of your clothes. He places his weaponed hand on your back to keep you from escaping. In a trustworthy manner, he pushes his mask off to the side of his head, revealing his soft yet masculine face. You had never seen it up close before, but it was just as gorgeous as you remember. The two of you stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Though, remembering that there’s still an exit gate open out there, with a grunt, you tried to struggle from his grasp but he held onto your arm tightly.
“Ah ah ah,” he disclaimed. “I’m not gonna let you go that easily.” He was right. This was part of the game after all, but it didn’t stop you from struggling. Suddenly, he pulled you close to his chest and grabbed onto one of your free hands with his normal hand. He slowly intertwined his fingers with yours which caused you to slow your struggling before coming to a halt. With a slightly noticeable blush on your face, you confusingly glanced at your hand before looking back up at him.
“Care for a dance?” he asks politely, a gentle smile on his face. Still confused, you stayed silent for a moment, before replying,
“Right.. Right here? Now?” He chuckled at your response.
“Sure, why not? No one else is around. No one will see us. Just you and me.” As he finished his statement, he began to start a waltz. This was so confusing, but you dared not ask more questions. Besides, this was probably the closest you’ll ever get to the fine gentleman again. You placed your free hand on his side as the waltz continued. You’re not too great at it, but he seemed to guide you along the way. You grasped his hand tighter and more willingly and he loosened his grip from your back so as to not accidentally cut you.
He hummed a tune to replace the ambient breeze and lack of music. The both of you were dancing in tune with his gentle humming. This had to be a dream. This isn’t actually happening, was it? You and the man you admired dancing alone in the ruins of the Arms Factory. It was too crazy of an event to believe. The two of you danced in harmony for just a few minutes, but you didn’t want it to ever end. You didn’t want to ever let go of his soft and tender hand. You didn’t want to stop looking into those beautiful eyes of his. You didn’t want him to ever pull away.
He elegantly pulled you in for a dip, causing his face to get close to yours, your noses almost touching. The blush on your face grew bigger, all of your confusion melted away. His beautiful brown hair waved in the soft breeze and his eyes sparkled as he gazed into yours. Your breathing became heavy. Is he going to do what you think he’s going to do? His face got closer to yours as he let go of your hand and used both of his hands to hold onto you.
Before you could even think to say anything, he picked you up and gently placed you in a rocket chair. You snapped out of your trance and looked around as he strapped you into the rocket chair. This was all a trick! He knew your weakness and used it against you to keep you from struggling further. A clever plan, you had to admit.
“What!?” you shouted. “You- you asshole!” A smug grin grew upon the hunter’s face. He laughed as you grew more upset and slightly embarrassed.
“I’m surprised you never caught on, darling. But I guess you listened to your heart rather than your head,” he chuckled. He held onto his hat as he bowed in front of you. He knelt down slightly and tenderly grasped your hand and placed a kiss upon your ring finger. Your anger subsided a bit as you realized what he had done.
“Thank you for the dance, my dear. Perhaps we shall have another. Not in these wet ruins, of course.” A soft smile replaced his smug grin which calmed your heart a bit more. Before you could reply, the rocket chair was sent off to the manor. You were too lovestruck to care. Perhaps he does actually share the same feelings. He did trust you to see his face after all. Who knows?