Ruby and Tori both turned as three other people rushed from an alley to face them, guns raised.
"You killed 'em!" One of the three males remarked with a smile, laughing. "Great job!"
"How in the hell did you do that?!" A second cried, pointing to where the Tank's head lay nearby, eyes widening.
The third male was silent, regarding Tori and Ruby with suspicion in his eyes. He didn't lower his gun, though the other two quickly did, moving to make sure both Ruby and Tori were alright. Tori kept his head lowered so his hat hid his face, speaking very quietly when they asked him questions.
Ruby smiled politely, avoiding many of the more involved questions and turning to look over her shoulder when a fourth person joined them.
"Well well well." A husky female voice murmured, Tori immediately stiffening. "Look what the Tank dragged in."
The person Ruby saw standing there was statuesque, pale skin revealed by a tattered black skirt and a black and purple tank top, the heavy boots the girl wore on her feet going up to her knees. She had the remains of black gloves on her hands, her purple hair hanging over one side of her face as she smiled in a rather wicked manner at Tori.
"Itoria. How good to see you again."
"… wish I could say the same, Aster." Tori rasped a few seconds later, still not bothering to look up.
…
They all moved back to the safe room together, but Tori made sure to keep his eyes away from the girl named Aster, keeping a tight grip on Ruby to keep her from getting too close to Aster and too far from him.
From the look of the girl, Ruby didn't doubt her capabilities and had to honestly believe what Tori had said about the girl killing her was true.
The skirt that Aster wore, what was left of it at least, barely concealed half healed cuts and deep scars on her thighs, some of them looking rather fresh, and there were bruises around her neck and wrists that hinted at some sort of rope use in her past. She had plenty of piercings, and several tattoos that were visible…
She simply screamed bad girl.
Ruby wondered what the girl might have done to make Tori so spooked. She seemed a little like the type of person Tori would take a particular interest in.
The other members of Aster's party were Tristan, Joey and Darren. Tristan was a stereotypical 'good ole boy' from the south that had been here visiting family when the infection hit. He was well versed in the art of shotguns, and had no qualms with chatting up a storm with Ruby, who welcomed the conversation.
Joey had been a self proclaimed 'bully' before the whole mess began, now finding himself forced to rely on those he might have once harassed and hating every minute of it. He had as much experience as Ruby did with guns, but managed to hold his own when he needed to. He was big enough, no infected but a Tank should give him any trouble.
Darren was the suspicious one, never releasing his hold on the gun he carried with him, not even to sleep according to Tristan. He had a pale face and a thin body, his movements feeling a little like stalking as he moved about the safe room.
"So, Itoria, it appears you found yourself a new playmate." Aster's husky voice drawled from across the room, Tori's head turning towards her slowly. The infected man chose not to speak. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"
"Oh don't start, Aster. No one's interested in your theatrics." Joey snapped, shaking his head and making a sound of disgust.
Ruby regarded the two quietly as they began to bicker, leaning over to Tristan to speak in a hushed voice.
"What's going on there?"
"Oh." Tristan's cheeks colored slightly. "Joey an' Aster don' get along real well. See, she's one o' them weirdos that chokes herself ta get a thrill an' all that, and Joey keeps callin' her emo. I tell ya… if we didn' need both o' them an' their guns, I'd suggest Darren an' I go it alone. I ain' used ta travellin' with someone like Aster an' Joey's just a bully."
"I don't think Aster likes me much."
"Don't take it personally… Aster don' like anyone much." Tristan offered Ruby a reassuring smile and patted her on the shoulder, nodding towards Tori. "What's his story?"
"He'll tell you when he's ready." Was Ruby's reply, the girl offering Tristan a smile in return and moving to sit with Tori. The Smoker made room for her, pulling her close after she was settled, but she honestly didn't mind. Being so close to him made her feel safe, especially since Aster's eyes had turned to her the second she stood up.
"We won't be staying." Tori said loudly enough for the others to hear, Darren narrowing his eyes further at the sound of Tori's rasping voice. "We were doing fine on our own and travelling in such a big group invites hardship and heartache."
"I don't think you should leave just yet." Aster replied. "You and I have some talking to do, Itoria."
"Didn't I tell you to call me Tori?" There was a hint of warning in Tori's voice, and Ruby looked up at him with a frown, noticing for the first time that his eyes were black.
"I can't be formal? Address you by your full name?" Aster simpered, leaning back where she was sitting so that her skirt rode up a little more.
"That's a privilege you haven't earned." Tori shot back, his hand on Ruby's arm tightening to a level of discomfort. "You and the rest of your lot will address me as Tori."
"We're not her lot, guy." Joey interjected, hissing slightly in Aster's direction. "She's just here to provide more bullets."
"Tori's just repressing his feelings for me, don't mind his short temper." Aster replied, giving Tori another wicked smile. "Why don't you all take a walk so Tori and I can get caught up? I'm sure he's been dying for this reunion."
A hot, prickly sensation rose up in Ruby's body, her heart beginning to beat a little faster and her hands clenching into fists as they rested on her legs. She stared at Aster in disbelief, then glanced up at Tori, who was stiff, silent and utterly still.
"That." He began, his voice more a growl now than ever. "Is not going to happen. The reason we're not staying is because of you."
"You think I didn't know this, Itoria?" Aster continued grinning. "It doesn't change the fact that you're repressing, my fine friend. And have you forgotten? I have leverage… if you don't stay and talk with me, I'm going to tell them all your dirty secret."
Ruby's heart jumped, Tori took in a slow breath and the three other boys exchanged glances with one another curiously.
"Tori?" Ruby whispered, the Smoker looking down at her and holding up a hand in a gesture she supposed meant for her not to worry.
"I'm not going to play your little game, Aster. So no, we're not going to talk one on one at the current moment. We will, however, keep travelling with you for the time being. It might take a load off of all of us." Tori rasped, narrowing his eyes at Aster.
The girl stared at him for a long time, then leaned back in her seat with a shrug and a smile, crossing her legs.
"Sounds good to me." She murmured, shifting her eyes briefly to Ruby. "It'll give us all a chance to really get to know one another."
"We're not sharing our food with you guys, you'll have to get your own. We've carefully rationed it so that we have enough for all of us, but not enough for extras." Darren suddenly said, his voice surprisingly soft and high.
"It's fine, we've got out own." Ruby replied to him, frowning a little more deeply.
She understood Tori's need to keep his secret a secret, but she didn't like the thought of staying around these people more than they needed to. Something about Darren didn't sit right, and Aster…
Aster was going to kill her in her sleep.
…
It took her longer than Tori had expected it to, but Aster eventually found her way into the room he was sharing with the other guys, having removed her high boots so that her bare feet made no sound on the floor.
With so many of them, only one person was taking watch… Aster had been on first watch, but she obviously felt it safe enough to abandon her post to come here. Tori didn't move when she dropped to all fours at the end of his makeshift bed, crawling over his prone form until her knees were on either side of his hips and her hands were placed over his shoulders.
He didn't speak until she leaned down to brush her lips over his neck, his voice soft enough and pitched for her ears only so it didn't wake the others.
"Stop it."
"Why?" She whispered back, drawing her tongue over his ear and chuckling. "It's what you want."
"Might be the sort of thing I want, but I don't want it from you."
"Tori, your body says otherwise." Her hand slid down over his stomach and between his legs, cupping him and squeezing firmly. Tori took a deep breath in and shifted ever so slightly, his heart pounding in his chest. "When are you gonna give it up?"
"Never to you." Tori replied, Aster chuckling again and continuing her administrations. Heat rose in his cheeks, his voice becoming deeper as he spoke a little more loudly. "I'm going to break your arm if you don't stop."
"And if you break my arm, I'm going to tell them all what you really are, Tori."
"The only reason I haven't killed you and all of them is because of Ruby. And of course, that's why you're here, isn't it? Being this aggressive?" Her hand faltered slightly, her eyes meeting his, and she tilted her head slowly to the side with a wicked smile.
"Is she your lover, Tori?"
"She will be." Tori rasped, the fact that she wasn't keen on moving her hand becoming very distracting. "I care about her."
"That's a poor thing to lie about. Because we both know you're incapable of feeling that way for anyone. The infection keeps people from becoming anything more than toys to you, and I was the toy that came broken and that's why you threw me away." She squeezed hard as she hissed this, Tori letting out a strangled noise and putting his hand over his mouth. "Look at you… you're so hard you're going to explode. That girl's been keeping you at arm's length, hasn't she? Denying you-"
"You're wrong." Tori interjected after moving his hand from his mouth. "I'm the one making her wait. I want the time to be right…"
Aster sat back with shock written on her features, her hands moving to rest on her scarred thighs. She stared down at him, swallowing a few times and opening her mouth to speak, then she let out a soft growl and pushed herself to her feet.
"Aster!" Tori snarled. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you."
The snarl woke Darren, who sat up with a gasp and snatched up the gun that had been resting beside him. He looked around the dark room with wide eyes, seeing Tori and Aster both awake, a frown touching his features.
"What's going on?" He asked, rubbing his eyes with his free hand before getting to his feet.
"Your turn for watch." Aster said in a sickly sweet voice, turning to look at Tori with a heated stare before stalking from the room. Tori watched her go, his face still feeling hot and his body responding inappropriately to Aster's actions.
"What did you do to her?" Darren growled, turning his attention back to Tori.
"Nothing. She accosted me, asshole." Tori grumbled, also getting up off his bed and moving to the window across the room while dragging his fingers through his hair. The rage inside him was building to dangerous levels… he had to find an outlet before he did something he would regret.
"Right. That doesn't surprise me. Too bad you didn't kill the bitch and put us out of our misery. She's a nightmare." Darren said softly, Tori glancing over at him with black eyes. "What? It's true! Do you two have a thing?"
"In her dark and lonely nightmares." Tori whispered in return, moving out of the room to see if Ruby was alright. Darren watched him for a moment, then checked to see if his gun was loaded, the safety on.
…
When Ruby woke the next morning to the sound of voices outside the room she had taken to sleep in, (the boys were refused entry to the room by Tristan, who wouldn't stand for a man and a woman to share a room without being married or related) she found herself looking straight at Tori as he slumped against the wall, hungry black eyes fixed on her.
Her heart immediately began hammering and she sat up, Tori rising with her, his movements slow and careful.
"We can't deal with this right now." She breathed very softly, Tori tilting his head to the side. "What happened to you?"
Tori didn't speak, stepping to the bed and reaching down to put his hand on the back of her head, his breath escaping as a soft growl. He wasn't as far gone as he had been when he killed Ashley, he wasn't letting the infection get the better of him, but something had gotten him pretty bent out of shape.
Trembling, Ruby leaned up towards him as he leaned down, closing her eyes as he kissed her. The others were preparing food, from the smell of it, and knowing they wouldn't be invited for breakfast was a small comfort…
If Tori didn't get this out of his system, someone was going to die. Either him, or all of them.
His claws scraped over the back of her neck and he rumbled deep in his throat, the kiss as hard and deep as the day Ashley died. Ruby gripped his arms tightly, breath short and shallow and her eyes rolling back, the space he was putting between their bodies almost like torture to her.
She suddenly wished there weren't so many people outside the room.
It took several long minutes, but eventually his kiss became more gentle, the hand on the back of her neck giving her a reassuring squeeze before he pulled away. Their eyes met, Ruby's full of questioning while Tori's were full of pain, a dull amber.
Ruby pulled him back down and kissed him deeply again, stroking his cheeks with gentle fingers as she broke away.
"Are you alright?" She whispered, Tori managing a jerky nod before kneeling on the floor beside the bed. He embraced her more for comfort than anything, rubbing his cheek against her shoulder and letting out a shaky sigh. "Tori, what happened?"
"We have to get out of here." He whispered. "First chance we get, we have to get out of here." Ruby nodded in agreement, a knock on the door frame making her turn where she sat.
Tristan gave them a disapproving look, mouth twisting grumpily, but when she flashed him a smile and shook her head ever so slightly, his expression softened.
"Y'all should get somethin' ta eat before we head off. We're gonna do a big push today cause there's so many of us." The boy explained, Ruby nodding and offering him a quiet 'okay,' before turning her attention back to Tori. "Hey, he alright? He's lookin' paler than yesterday."
"Just bad dreams. He'll be alright." Ruby breathed, surprised the lie came so easily. Maybe Tori really was having a bad influence on her.
"A'righ'." Tristan remained in the door for a moment, then moved away to join his team for breakfast.
Ruby was still for another long moment, then she kissed Tori's hair and lifted his face to look at hers. His eyes were glowing again, a brilliant amber, but he still wore sadness in his eyes.
"C'mon, Tristan's right. Let's grab some food and get ready to go." She murmured to him. Tori managed a smile, pushing himself to his feet and putting a hand on her shoulder for a lingering moment before shuffling away.
Ruby watched him go, worry continuing to increase inside her. She knew Tori would tell her when the time was right for him, probably when it was an inappropriate time for her, and something told her the root of the problem began with an A.
Indeed, Aster seemed to be at once smug and furious when they finally joined the others to partake of some of their own gathered rations, the girl's eyes fixed on her for far longer than was necessary or comfortable as they packed their things.
Tori stuck as close to Ruby as possible, and Ruby didn't mind the company. Tristan was nice enough, in some ways a little too nice, Joey was a bit of a jerk and distant and Darren asked too many questions, seeming a little too trigger happy for her tastes. These three combined with Aster made for a very unnerving combination and Tori's closeness was all that kept Ruby from running for the hills.
They restocked on ammo, pushed the door open and headed back out into the end of the world.
The people they had hooked up with were particularly practiced at killing the infected, Darren being more of a spraying bullets in all directions type while Tristan took careful aim and killed anything that got close.
Joey seemed to be pretty good at getting headshots with his pistols, Ruby wondering if perhaps he had some experience playing games before this whole thing started, but something told her that asking him about it wouldn't be good for her health.
Aster not only shot the infected, she got right in the fray and pummelled them to death much the same way that Tori enjoyed doing, even driving the heel of her boot through one of the zombie's head after knocking it down with a well aimed punch.
Tori was in top form, swinging his axe and spinning through crowds of the infected, laying waste to anything stupid enough to get into reach.
The highlight of the day was when Joey managed to punch a Hunter in the face in mid air as it was about to leap on Ruby, the force of the blow sending the creature spinning away, finally falling dead against the side of a nearby building.
The others cheered him on and Tristan declared that when they found some beer, he'd toast Joey till they couldn't see straight anymore.
Making it to the safe room was a much easier and much more enjoyable experience than Ruby had thought it would be, and by the time they figured out watches and got some food in them, it was time to sleep. She offered to take first watch, wanting to pull her own weight, and Darren thanked her graciously for the chance to sleep a whole night.
Ruby didn't let any of them know that she didn't feel safe sleeping in that safe room with them…
…
Tori was still awake when Ruby roused Tristan to take over watch, catching her arm when she tried to leave the room. She jumped and let out a squeak of surprise, looking over her shoulder at him with wide eyes but not protesting or resisting when he pulled her down to the makeshift bed. He gathered her close and let out a gentle sigh, Ruby making herself comfortable before quickly falling asleep.
Exhausted as he was, Tori wasn't going to sleep tonight. He had his own watch to do, and no matter what happened, he was going to keep Ruby safe.
Ruby was his world, his world at the end of the world… and if he lost Ruby, there would be nothing to save him.
The thought was a dark one, and one he couldn't help having, so Tori wrapped his arms around Ruby and settled back for a long night.
…
…
…
Author's Note!!
I want to thank all of you for reading this story and for the wonderful reviews that I've received! I'm glad you like Tori so much, he's certainly one of my favorites to write with!
If you're interested in the music I'm piping in while I'm writing, check out Tori and Friends playlist on Project Playlist, or !!