Unsettling!Reader x TF141 (P2)
Part 2 to this!
I should mention that while this is reboot TF141 i'm adding in Roach because he's my favorite and I don't see a lot of full multi-part fics with him. (Let me live a little guys)
This got kinda angsty, really sorry about that, but it gets better so dw!
Cw: Author does not use auto correct, Potential military inaccuracies, stalking, reader is implied nuerodivergent, slight angst, reader is decribed as 'doll-like', Author is a firm believer in pretty being able to decribe all genders and will die on that hill, GN!reader, automatonophobia and pediophobia
A/N at the end!
Despite the fact that you still had another week of working with them, you had all your stuff mostly packed up the morning after you were told you were getting transferred. Again. Quite frankly, you didn't understand it. You were this team's best soldier. You were the one continiously saving their asses and the one they would always send on the most difficult missions, though now you suspect they might've been trying to kill you off. Unfortunately for pretty much all parties involved besides yourself, you're a difficult little cunt. Oh well, you didn't really care anymore. You wouldn't be with them for much longer, so why should you?
You had figured they would've given you atleast some tasks, but apparently not. Like your supperior officer said, not much they could do with you in only a week besides some paperwork, but even that was scarce. So, you had a lot of freetime on your hands, and with it, you decided to start doing some stalking research. Information about your new team was suprisingly easy to find.. Especially considering the fact that their files had been so easy to hack into. Like seriously, dear god did they need better cyber security.
So for the next few days, you busied yourself with that. Reading up on every single file on all of them. Becoming so disgustingly educated on them that you probably knew them better than they knew themselves. It was something you took joy in, deep down you had always longed for the comfort of being close with others. It was a luxury you never really had, besides maybe one or two friends from back when you were in school and maybe your family on a good day, but even that was a stretch. So, reading through these files and being able to actually know people on a level that you hadn't been able to for so very long was almost comforting. Almost.
You knew that reality would break it with ease once you met them. Afterall, when had you ever had a team that understood you? And yet, even so, you allowed yourself to look at Ghost's file, at the mask he wore, and hope. You were fine with people finding you weird, you were weird. It was a fact you had come to terms with some random tuesday recess in the fifth grade when you were sat under a tree drawing in the mud alone instead of playing with the normal kids. You had figured the army would be your best bet at actual camaraderie, I mean.. that was kind of the point, no? God, were you wrong. You were a damn good soldier. No one could deny that. Your skills and skillset was utterly unmatched. You were a monster on the field, able to track and pinpoint the locations of anybody, even if they were out of view. Able to navigate even the darkest of rooms without nightvision and without a single misstep. Able to get into even the most secure rooms. Able to terrify even the strongest targets. You had hoped this all would get you respect, or praise.. anything else except being shunned and feared by your peers. The same ones you saved countless times were the same ones that would avoid you like the plague. You could handle being weird. It was always the loneliness that you couldn't bear. It was crushing.
Maybe thats why you held this little bit of hope so close to your heart. You let yourself believe that this time it would be different. Like a candle you hold close to your chest in a snow storm to protect it from being snuffed out. You knew everything about them that there was to know, that way you could make a good impression. Make sure they liked you this time. You wouldn't let your candle burn out. Even if you have to hold the candle so close to your chest that the flame engulfs you, you won't let it burn out. You'd sooner let yourself die out than the flame. Afterall, you'd rather burn out in fiery passion than freeze in the icey cold of isolation.
Was it so bad for you to want friends? Was that truly your greatest sin? No, of course not. Your greatest sin was never being 'normal' or fitting into their perfect mold of what you should be like.
But these people were weird too.. so surely, surely you had a shot. As long as you kept reading up on all their files then you should be– oh.
You read them all. It had been four days and you had read them all. How the fuck did you even manage to do that? Well.. now you had nothing to do. No way to study your peers any longer...
Unless..
It only took you a few hours to hack into their security cameras on their base. Once again.. they really, really needed better cyber security. Not only did this help you observe your new teammates, but now you also got a good look at the base and dear god was it nice. It must be a newer base, because it seemed like all of the soldiers got their own rooms and bathrooms.. and it seemed like you were free to decorate it however you pleased.. besides the obvious rules for things like fire safety and what-not.
Which gave you ideas.
You know what? Screw those guys. Forget all that bullshit you said about loneliness or whatever, having your own room to decorate was way more fucking important than that. You had years of paychecks saved up since you had never needed to spend them on anything, safe to say that it was time to go shopping. By now, it was already nearing late afternoon, and given that you had no work to do, you were free to leave the base so long as you don't further than 50 miles away, it was an odd rule, but luckily there was a pretty modest town within 7 miles of the base. If you took one of the bikes then you should be able to make it there in 30 minutes. Its not like anybody would notice if one of those bikes went missing anyways, they're basically never used. In fact, you haven't seen them used once in all the time you've been here. It wouldn't be hard, either. Its not like they were locked up well. Your Superior officer had apparently bought them for some big training excercise a couple of years back and never used them again after that. They were basically just rotting away in storage.
You were right. It was easy, those idiots didn't even lock them up at all. It was quite the pleasant suprise. Maybe part of it was because they didn't recognize you without your mask or uniform, but the person stationed at the gate let you through without any trouble once you had told him you were off-duty. Of course, you had to lie and say that your superior officer let you borrow the bike, but honestly it was his fault for believing you so easily.. and not even asking for your ID. God, he was bad at his job. Oh well, it was a good thing for you, thats what mattered at the moment.
The bike ride ended up only taking about 25 minutes, and you managed to get to the town with minor troubles thankfully. It wasn't huge by any means, but it was charming in its own right. Plenty of small independant shops, small businesses and the occassional mom and pop diner. You wasted no time in going to the first shop that stuck out to you; a small antique shop nestled between a coffee shop and the post office. Pulling the door back caused a small bell to chime, indicating your entrance, and upon walking in, the smell of dust and the chemical bouquet of old, the degraded varnishes and waxes blending together to make the smell.
Inside, a middle aged lady sat at the counter, she looked up as you entered. "My, aren't you just as pretty as a doll!" The lady said sweetly.
A.. doll? That was certainly a new one. "Pardon me, but a doll?" You asked. In response, the lady at the counter just laughed. "Yes, my dear, a doll. You look just like one of the ones on that shelf over there! You look just like if one of them came to life." She said with a snicker, her southern drawl growing stronger with every word she spoke. "It's a compliment." She quickly added upon seeing your confused face.
"Oh, uhm in that case thank you." You turned to look at the shelf she was referring to, only to see an entire case full of antique porcelain dolls. They were all clearly very well taken care of. "Are these for sale too?" You asked, looking at one in particular that stuck out to you. It's makeup was very similar to the design on your mask.
"Oh, why of course! As long as it has a tag, then its for sale." She explained calmly, her eyes following your movements as you picked up the doll.
The doll really did look like you. If you weren't the little freak that you were, you probably would've found it creepy or weird. Though, since you were the kind of person that you were, you just felt attached. Tucking the doll underneath your arm, you quickly began browsing the rest of the store.
After an hour or two of shopping in there, you had all the trinkets you had bought in your bag. The lady at the counter was polite enough to offer to ship the actual furniture and larger pieces you bought straight to the base for you. You'd have to make sure to leave a good review for her. And with that, you headed back up to base.
The next few days felt like forever. Since you no longer had anything to do, you mostly just spent it playing games or watching shows that you've never had time to watch. Occassionally, you'd go for a walk, but that was rare. That being said, when you did you often found yourself picking herbs and stowing them away. You were pretty sure that the new base you were going to didn't have herbs like these, so you had to stock up while you could.
Eventually though, the day had finally arrived. Honestly, you didn't even bother telling anybody goodbye, why should you? You didn't even like anybody here that much. The second you woke up, you started gathering the last of your stuff together. By the time your commanding officer was knocking on your door your shit was all packed and you were ready to go.
You stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to speak as you picked up all your bags. You knew better than to expect him to help with them, and you were correct. He just muttered out a location and a time before walking off. Soon enough, you had all your stuff moved to the location he said, which ended up being the base's tarmac. Which, in and of itself wasn't all that odd, the sight that you were greated by was. It was a plane piloted by a rather boisterous Russian. Regardless, you set your stuff off to the side and sat down in one of the seats.
He introduced himself as Nikolai, and quickly began rambling on about himself and the team you were joining... aswell as his own team. Which.. left you with quite a few questions. Is he really meant to be disclosing all of this? If he isn't on the team that you were joining, then why was he the one to pick you up? Especially alone. Either way, you didn't feel like you were in immediate danger. He seemed.. fine. Other than his excessive rambling and slightly unpredictable piloting.
Eventually, you found yourself bored enough to actually start fully listening to whatever he was telling you, nodding along to his story and rambles. If you're being entirely honest, you were quite suprised he hadn't said anything about your whole.. doll getup yet. Did he seriously not care? He seemed unphased. For once somebody was actually unphased by you. How bizzare.
"You know, kid. You remind me of one of my own soldiers." Nikolai began once more, his words causing you to tilt your head to the side in confusion. "Pardon?" The words had slipped out before you could even stop them, was there actually another soldier out there that was as weird as you were? "Da! He is all quiet, just like you! He can be a bit, eh.. unusual at times, but he is very good soldier. I have a feeling you and him would get along very well." He quickly added on.
You thought momentarily about everything he had said, the way he spoke made it sound like you were completely normal. As if he wasn't afraid of you at all. "Are you not afraid of me?" You asked slowly, voice dripping with confusion.
"Why would I be? You are very cute, Like matryoshka doll!" He said happily, looking back and motioning towards you, as if it were obvious.
He was comparing you to a nesting doll? What the hell was wrong with this man?
A beat, and then "...Are you visually impaired?"
He let out one loud laugh at that. "Of course not! If I was, I would not be able to pilot plane, no?"
You were very silent for a while after that, he, however, very much was not. Half of you was starting to wonder if this was some kind of test, but then again, maybe the guy was just friendly. He did seem to be quite fond of you already, or you think so, atleast. The nesting doll comment seemed to have been made in good faith.
"We are almost there matryoshka, hopefully the cold is not getting to you?" He asked, his voice cutting through your thoughts.
Oh great, seems like the nickname stuck.
"Oh, no sir. I'm fine, thank you." You said politely.
"Ah, no need for the formalities with me! Just Nikolai is fine." He said, and, despite his warm tone, you found yourself quickly questioning him. This still felt like a test, honestly.
Thankfully, the last few minutes of the flight went by without issue and soon, the plane landed at a nice looking military base.
You made quick work of grabbing your bags and stepping off the plane, but to your suprise, Nikolai stepped off with you, flashing you a smile and patting your back. "Don't worry about me matryoshka, I just have to speak with someone. You go have fun." He said before ushering you off.
You watched him walk over to a man with muttonchops, the one you recognized as captain of the team; Captain John Price. So you were right then, it was a test.
He must have noticed you staring, because he looked over at you. He was scoping you out. Though, the second he saw you, an odd look passed over his face, it wasn't inherently unfriendly, more so a bit confused. But, it was still better than your previous captains you supposed.
It wouldn't do good for you to stare much longer, so you quickly looked over to where the rest of the team were standing, waiting to greet you. However, instead of the four it was meant to be, there was only two standing there. You recognized them as two of the three sergeants on the team. Sergeant Kyle Garrick, or 'Gaz' as they called him, and Sergeant John MacTavish, or 'Soap'. The other two members must be out on a mission or doing work, not all that suprising.
Either way, you walked over to them, trying to seem as polite and friendly as possible. However, it didn't seem to work all that well, because, as you approached, Gaz's friendly and cheerful expression fell slightly, a sort of fearfulness replacing it instead as he took a small step back. Was he afraid of you already? You weren't the only one who noticed it though, as Soap flashed him a look before stepping forward instead. "G'evening, ye get 'ere alright?" He asked, and you quickly nodded in response. He had a thick Scottish accent, you noticed, it made sense; he was Scottish afterall. But there was something else too. He was nervous.. or maybe just uncertain. He didn't know how to feel about you, but he was masking it well.
"Aye, that's good tae 'ear!" He said, before pointing to himself. "Names Sergeant MacTavish but ye can just call me Soap, over 'ere is Sergeant Garrick, but ye oughta just call 'em Gaz. He gets real odd with people usin' his title, says 'is too formal."
You nodded once more. Maybe it was better if you didn't speak, maybe it'd creep them out more. Instead, you just handed Soap your ID card, it had most of the info he'd need anyways. He seemed confused at first, but quickly pieced it together and read it over. "[Reader], aye?" He repeated and you nodded, but you didn't miss the way Gaz had slipped off during this whole interaction. "Well then, how 'bout I give ye the grand tour?"
With nothing else to do, you agreed, only looking back once at where Price, Nikolai and now Gaz were talking before you let him lead you off inside to show you around.
A/N: Holy HELL this took me way longer than I expected it to. I am so sorry yall, I highly underestimated how busy I would be + how long this part would end up being. That being said, Part 3 is already in the works and it will be quite a bit shorter and out a lot quicker so don't worry!!
If you want to be added to the taglist, lmk! And as always, likes, comments and reposts are very much appreciated, I do in fact live for any sort of attention.
And also if anyone has any tips on writing scottish accents, PLEASEEE tell me. Writing dialoge for Soap has me fighting for my LIFE.
