A/N: Some of these themes are difficult to fit into the world. I guess that's why they call it a challenge, huh? xD
Disclaimer: I do not own Left 4 Dead or the characters/world therein.
30 Day Challenge 7: Cosplaying
Francis didn't like sitting in the church and waiting for Zoey to grab the health pack. He really didn't like that neither of them were sure there weren't more damn hunters or anything else horrible around. Thoughts of everything that could happen without him there watching the woman's back brought a frustrated growl from his throat. How sore his shoulder felt didn't matter. What mattered was not letting Zoey go off and do something stupid on her own. Unfortunately, he had let her go off. Or, rather, the brunette had told him that she would shoot him herself if he went after her. That wouldn't have stopped him if it weren't for how low on ammo they were. He really didn't want Zoey in trouble because she wasted her last bullet on him.
Before the large man could do something drastic, like throw things around or kick a pew or run out after Zoey, the door started to open. Francis had to help Zoey open it enough for her to get in, and the two of them pushed it closed again before she turned and shot a grin at her fellow survivor. Sparkling brown eyes were met with a very unamused pair of gray.
Instead of any stories about what happened out there or any kind of apology for taking so long and making the biker worry, Zoey just set to work with the med kit with a too cheery, "Hold up while I heal you."
Once the now-bloody remains of Zoey's clothing had been removed from the biker and replaced with proper bandages, the stained clothing was placed in the duffel bag. Francis figured she wanted to keep the jacket, but he hadn't expected her undershirt and his white wife beater to be put in there as well. When he asked about it, Zoey had shrugged. She refused to give him the leather vest back until she had a proper shirt to replace it- not that he would have minded the view if she didn't have anything to cover up with- and told him that, if anyone was going to be enjoying a view, it was going to be her. The tattooed man had always been to proud of his looks and was more than happy to oblige her. He even put an extra flex into his movements whenever she glanced at him, ignoring the pain in his back and shoulder as he did.
Surprisingly for the two of them, the trip from the church to the mall was actually uneventful. They were even able to get into a gun shop they found along the way. It was left wide open. No alarms. No obvious signs of looting. It looked to them like the trip back home would be much easier than the trip out would be. Francis' bag held a copious amount of ammunition and a few extra guns by the time they were finished. It was about half of what the store held, but he had decided to leave the rest for another journey. They might need it down the road. That, and they had other things to fit into the bag and Francis didn't want to carry something heavy as shit all the way back. He'd leave that kind of hauling to one of the cagers whenever they felt like driving out.
The mall itself wasn't as empty as the rest of the town, but it seemed to be filled with boomers and smokers. Keeping an eye out- they were both feeling extra careful after the event getting to the church- made the zombies they ran into fairly easy to find and deal with before they became a problem. Luckily, none of them worked together with the kind of numbers the hunters had been working with. They should have passed the mall completely and gone straight to the town's medical facility, but Zoey needed a shirt and Francis needed his vest back.
A dark eyebrow rose at Zoey as she ignored stuff that looked like her old stuff in favor of hunting through some woman's clothing store for something specific. He smirked slightly when he realized it was a pink Depeche Mode shirt. By the time she was done, she had found the little belt and a pair of boots to match the character Francis had been playing in that game a damn long time ago. Her old clothes were discarded into the large bag.
Since she had done that, Francis figured he'd return the favor. Instead of just throwing on a shirt or continuing on without one- which he really wouldn't have minded, except for the part that he probably shouldn't have been distracting Zoey with their lives on the line and all- he dragged her around the mall until he found clothing to match the little redneck guy the brunette had been playing. According to the biker, he looked better in the coverall and yellow shirt. Then again, he considered himself to be a better looking guy in general, so he might have been a little bias.
When the two set out for the medical center, they were in a much better mood than they had been. They both also looked ridiculous in someone else's clothing. Neither had a problem with that, especially because each was enjoying the view of the other. Francis made a mental note that, whenever the two got more physical with each other, to include dress up in their activities. He doubted Zoey would mind and, really, it could spice things up. He grinned at the thought.