DISCLAIMER: I do not own Watchmen. I only own the plot.
WARNINGS: This site doesn't have MA rating in the system. As such, I'm warning beforehand - this story contains explicit language and adult themes. If you're a minor, I advise you not to read it.
A/N: This story sets parallel to the events in Watchmen. And please, review, because without your feedback, I can't know if the story is good or if it sucks. Also, it helps a lot with motivation.
The woman left the restaurant through the back door, straight to the alley. Sitting in the wooden pallet, as usual, she started unwrapping her lunch when she noticed a man leaning on the wall close to her. He had red hair, blue eyes and seemed to be in his mid forties. By the ragged clothes, she guessed he was homeless.
"Hi." She smiled.
"Hi." He replied.
"Want some? It's ham." She offered half of her sandwich, which he accepted in a heartbeat. "Sorry, I don't have anything to drink."
"It's fine like this." He took a large bite.
"So, why is the end near?" The young woman tried to make small talk, noticing a sign he carried that read 'THE END IS NIGH'.
"We're edging a nuclear war against Soviet Union. Don't you read the news?" He said harshly.
"Are you worried?" She bit the sandwich, unfazed by his tone.
"Aren't you?" The man kept eating.
She shrugged. "Not really. I don't believe our government would risk ending life in the planet over a match of whose horse is bigger."
"Doesn't matter what you believe. They will."
"Even if they do, what can people like us do to stop them? We can only pray for someone to knock some sense on the big guys and enjoy what little beauty is still left in the world." She mused.
"There's no beauty left." He said after a while.
"Oh but there is. You're gonna see it, someday." She replied right away.
The woman finished her sandwich and fixed her bun, placing a few loose strands of hay colored hair behind her ears.
"I should go back now." She got up and then looked at the man. "What's your name?"
"Walter." He gave her a blank look.
"I'm Alice. Nice meeting you, Walter." And she walked back through the same door she came in.
It was darker than usual when Alice left the restaurant. Probably because of all these clouds. Bet it's gonna rain tonight... She casted her almond eyes to the sky above her.
She thought of Walter, the man she met a couple weeks ago. They'd been sharing meals - actually, she started making the double so he could eat more - but she didn't knew much of him. They talked about all kinds of subjects, but never of their private life. And she thought it'd be nosy of her to ask. She wondered if he'd have a shelter in case it rained.
There was no fear in her kind heart as Alice walked down the street towards her apartment. Her work wasn't far from home and she was used to the downtown, having been raised there. That's when a man twice her size - not an amazing feat, giving that she was a small woman - jumped in front of her.
"Mmm, hello darling…" His black eyes roamed her body up and down, black hair falling past his shoulders and his smirk basically screamed 'pure evil'.
"Excuse me s-sir…" Alice tried walking past him but, deep down, she knew he wouldn't let her.
He took both her shoulders in his large hands and started pulling her to the back of a building at their left. When she was about to scream, one of the hands in her shoulder ran to her face, clamping both her mouth and nose.
So Alice kicked him between his legs.
With the pain rushing through his lower parts, he let go of her, but before she could even think of running, he slapped her with a force that sent her to the ground.
And that's when it happened.
Alice didn't really saw it, being on all fours and trying to focus in not crying because of the stinging in her cheek, but the sounds of bones breaking, flesh tearing and screaming reached her ears.
When she managed to stand again, a hand prevented her from turning around. The woman tensed, thinking it was her attacker. But the very same hand guided her to walk away from the alley, so it couldn't be him.
"I don't want you to see it." A low voice growled behind her. Certainly wasn't the same voice from before but still, it sounded strangely familiar.
Alice was about to ask what he didn't want her to see it, when a trail of blood ran past her feet and she decided that, whatever it was, she really didn't want to see it. "Thank you."
The man stepped in front of her.
He didn't have a face. Well, he probably did but she couldn't see it because of the white mask he wore. And the weird part was that there was some kind of black ink moving around the cloth, making patterns such as butterflies and daisies. He also wore a hat and an overcoat. Which had a small red stain in it, she noted.
"You're hurt." Alice rushed to his arm but he slapped her hand. Clearly, he didn't like that. "Sorry… I have a first aid kit in my apartment. It's just around the corner-"
"No." He turned to leave.
"Wait! If you don't want me to touch you, I can just give you the kit and you do it yourself." He turned his face to her and she just knew he was glaring at her behind that mask.
"Please… You just helped me. Let me help you too." Alice sometimes thought of herself as really naive for trusting people so easily. But when she reasoned, taking a stranger to her home didn't seem so bad since he helped her.
"I'm Alice, by the way." She lead the way and he followed.
"Rorschach."
"Make yourself comfortable. I'll go get the kit." She hanged her blue sweater in the coat hack while the man closed the door behind him. Her apartment was cramped, filled with trinkets and smelled like cleaning products. But it was also very comfy.
Alice went to the bedroom and retrieved a small box from her nightstand. Back in the living room, the masked man was looking at the frame next to the tv.
"She died of cancer when I was seven. He died a couple years ago, pneumonia. But they lived a good life." Rorschach looked up from the picture of her parents and moved to the rumpled old couch.
She sat by his side and raised her hands to touch his arm when she remembered. "Oh, sorry, I forgot. Here." She held out the kit for him.
But he didn't take it. "You can do it."
"Okay…" Alice tried to see the cut through the sleeve but it didn't work. "It'd be easier if you take your coat off…"
Rorschach watched her and she stared at where she thought his eyes were. After a moment of silence, he removed the coat, unbuttoned his green shirt and lowered the right sleeve to give her better access to the wound.
"I'll try to touch you as little as I can." Now that she had a better view, it didn't seem that bad. "It's not as deep as I thought. You won't need any stitches."
Alice took a cotton from the box and a bottle with a blue liquid. He seemed wary, not only of her but everyone and everything around him. So she felt it'd better if she showed him he could trust her.
"Antiseptic." She announced, dipping the liquid in the cotton. She then, cleaned the cut and bandaged his arm. "There."
He was fastening the shirt as soon as she finished. "I can sew that for you." She pointed to the tear in his clothes. "It'll take only a few minutes. You can eat while I do it."
Rorschach stopped. "Why are you doing all this?"
"He would've raped me if it wasn't for you. It's the least I can do." And I enjoy the company.
He wasn't exactly talkative, or even friendly for the matter. But Alice liked that way. She'd been by her own since her father died, so just the presence of someone other than herself in the apartment was enough to appease her.
"Fine." She collected the clothes, leaving him in his white undershirt.
She started to the bedroom again, now looking for the sewing kit.
"What do you wanna eat?" Alice called.
"Do you have any ham sandwich?"
A gasp broke the silence of the room. Opening her eyes, Alice searched in the shadows of her bedroom. She felt as if someone was watching her. Realizing that there was no one around, she relaxed.
She got up from her bed, yawning tiredly, and headed to the bathroom. But in the way, she felt cold. The window was open and a chilly wind reached her naked legs.
Alice jolted when a man emerged from a dark corner, coming to stand in front of her. Relief washed her when she saw who it was. "Oh… Hi Rorschach."
He'd been visiting her every now and then for the past few months. Usually he would just crash in her apartment, eat, shower, sleep and be gone before she noticed. But they'd talk sometimes too.
Rorschach told her he was a vigilant, the only one who didn't retire, worked for the government or died. It explained why he would come to her bruised and beaten sometimes.
That is, until he stopped coming for about a few weeks and Alice found out through the news that he'd been arrested.
Her heart almost stopped when she saw his real identity on tv. It was Walter, the homeless that would come over to her work place and have lunch with her sometimes. Deep down, she had had her suspicions, but finding out it was true made her heart swell. She'd grown fond of them both and now she knew they were the same person.
They kept on staring at each other. Alice had no idea what he was thinking but she most certainly had a million questions running around her mind at the moment. Although, knowing him, as she liked to think she did, it was better not to voice any of them.
"How do you do it?" He finally asked.
"Do what?" Alice was dumbfounded.
"Have faith, hope in humanity?"
She thought about for a moment. Rorschach had this romantic image of her being innocent, sinless. She indeed was very positive person, but not in the way he painted her.
"I don't. Not in humanity, no. But once in a while, I get a glimpse of true goodness in people." Alice thought that was the most suitable answer.
"What goodness?" He inquired.
"I'm looking at it."
"I'm no good. I'm anything but." Rorschach scoffed at her.
"You do bad things to do good things. It's not ideal, but it's more than most of us do." It was true. He'd been around, solving crimes, helping people, and what had she been doing? Being her usual simpleton self.
"It's not enough." He turned his face to the window.
She took a bold bet and touched his gloved hand, squeezing it softly. For her surprise, he didn't pull away. "It is for me. And for all the other people you saved."
Rorschach remained silent, pondering. She took it as a cue and let go of his hand, only to have him taking it back in the same second.
"We won't see each other in awhile." He sounded almost sad.
"Do what you have to do. I'll be here when… If you come back."
Alice stepped closer and raised her free hand to the mask. But his free hand prevented her from reaching the end of the cloth. That didn't stop her, though. She took a hold of it with her teeth and pulled upwards, unintentionally grazing her lower lip in his neck.
As she was smaller than him, she had to tiptoe to pull it further, and even so, she only managed to pull until his nose. But it was enough to accomplish her goal.
She inhaled deeply, mustering courage enough to do what she'd been wanting to do for some time now.
Alice leaned her lips on his.
She felt herself melt from satisfaction, mostly when she felt him moving, opening his mouth and allowing her tongue in. The skin of his lips were cracked, probably from the cold weather, and he tasted of beer and iron.
Rorschach let go of her hands to take her green nightshirt away. His palms were rough and calloused, but his touch in her skin was the exact opposite. He took with her breasts, squeezing, feeling them.
Alice stopped him in order to take his clothes, piece by piece, until there was nothing but his mask and purple boxer shorts left. He descended his hands to her legs, lifting her off her feet and carrying her to the bedroom. Dropping her to the bed, he removed both their underwears in a haste and laid with his body towering hers.
But Rorschach made no movement. And she knew why.
Alice took his mask off.
They stared at each other.
Walter wasn't the most handsome man she ever saw and she herself wasn't exactly a fairytale princess. But Alice never felt so beautiful like when she saw herself reflected in his deep blue eyes. And she was truly honored of being in the arms of such a beautiful man.
She kissed him as he entered her. The cold she felt in her belly was like falling off a high building.
He went slow, calm, savoring. So unlike what she imagined of him. And he touched her everywhere. Again, so unlike him. It was almost ironic that a cold, distant, deadly man could be so kind and giving during such an intimate moment. But she was definitely not complaining.
Alice tried not being too loud for the sake of the neighbors, but it was a hard task giving the was he'd drag himself in and out so patiently. And she couldn't keep track of his hands for in a moment they were on her hair and the next on her waist and then on her wrists and then… Oh.
It was so much… Too much.
Rorschach fastened the rhythm and she wasn't sure if she liked that she was close or hated that she was close. And he moved faster...
Her moans were louder now so she bit her hand.
And faster.
His moans on her ear weren't helping her as she tried to make it last longer.
And faster!
Alice couldn't see anything.
It was like a shock wave, but the good kind.
Rorschach came too.
She never imagined he'd ever touch her or hold her the way he did at that moment. And she couldn't be happier.
They laid side by side, looking at each other.
She was tired, drifting to sleep.
"You."
Alice wasn't sure if she was still awake or dreaming already but she replied anyway. "What about me?"
"You're my hope."
He never came back.
Alice heard of his death on the news a month after their last encounter. She felt sick the following weeks, but after a lump started forming in her belly, she understood the sickness wasn't from his death but rather from his life.
She cried his absence while laughing his presence inside of her.
Alice was at the final stage, making herself some lunch on the kitchen when she received a letter. It was passed from underneath the door but when she got to the corridor, there was no one there.
Keeling down to take the paper was probably her most difficult accomplishment recently. But when she opened the letter, it was worth it.
"Alice,
It's a cliché but if you're reading this, it means I'm dead.
My most recent investigations are pointing to an answer I truly wish to be wrong about. But I usually am not. So I made sure that someone trustworthy will deliver this to you in case I don't come back.
The goal I chose to pursue was to help people. But I never had anyone to help me, at least not in the way I needed.
That is, until you offered me a ham sandwich.
This world is a complete chaos, so you imagine my surprise when I found an uncorrupted soul among so many heathens.
You gave without asking anything in return; you showed me light in a moment of darkness; you trusted me, cared for me, like no one else ever did. And for that, I'm grateful.
I can only pray that I made a positive difference in your life, but if I didn't, I'm sorry.
Please, don't ever let anyone stain you, my dearest.
And thank you.
Rorschach."
The tears prickled the corners of her eyes.
It seems I did some good in the end.
She didn't knew all that much of him. His past, his work, his likes and dislikes. But she liked thinking she met him in a private way, that no one else did. Of course she'd have liked knowing more of him, spending more time with him or even spending no time at all, if that would mean he would still be alive. But she wasn't greedy. The little time she had with Walter was better than none.
The baby kicked her from inside.
Alice hoped he had blue eyes.
A/N: No idea where did that came from but I really like Rorschach so just wanted to write something about him. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed. ^^