your lips, my lips - chapter one
paige bueckers x azzi fudd
apocalypse & enemies to lovers!pazzi
a hundred years after the collapse of society due to a nuclear holocaust. paige is scrappy and hungry, a lone scavenger doing anything she can to survive. azzi is hardened, with a clan to protect and an image to uphold
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a/n: it’s good to be back! welcome to my brain at 2 am in the morning. never written anything like this and almost zero research was done, so let me know any tips or feedback :) as always, this is purely a work of fiction with characters inspired and named after paige and azzi for ease. updates are not promised and will be likely be inconsistent
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paige wakes up tied to a tree.
she’s also blindfolded, and her mouth is loamy with the taste of earth and blood. and the blueberries she’d had for breakfast that morning, which is surprising considering she’d only eaten two or three. some assholes had raided her pack in the middle of the night, leaving her to pick among the bushes for sustenance.
with a grunt, she tries to sit up. slowly, she flexes her body parts, assessing where she’d taken the most damage. her right ankle is swollen, but she can still roll it around. she tests it against the ground, pushing her toes gently against a rock. a sharp pain shoots up her foot, pulsing red hot in her fibula. maybe fractured, likely sprained, definitely not broken. running is out of the question, but she can probably speed walk. she sighs. for now, that’s good enough.
she bends one leg first, then the other. knees are fine. as fine as they can be, considering they’ve given out on her countless times before today. but no worse than they usually are. and there’s a small stabbing pain at her hip from where she’d taken a pretty mean kick, but besides all that, she’s fine. perfectly fine and dandy. and still tied up to a fucking tree.
a particularly aggressive gust of wind blows on her face, and she licks her lips. they’re chapped and dry, as they usually are whenever the weather gets cold and dry like this. some water would be nice right about now, she thinks.
“hello?” she calls out tentively. silence follows, then a low, barely audible grunt. “can a girl get some water?”
“she’s awake,” someone calls out, and there’s a low murmur and some bustling before her blindfolds are ripped off her face rather aggressively, considering the rope currently binding her hands and feet and rendering her powerless, but whatever.
her vision swims for a second, the sun terrifically blinding as a consequence of her blue eyes, before she blinks rapidly and everything falls into place. and oh.
squatted before her is the woman who’d knocked her out earlier. who is also a knock out, paige thinks, and giggles to herself because damn, she’s funny. dark hair pulled into two braids, messy curls frizzy from the heat and blooming deliciously around her nape and behind her ears. full lips, just a little pink, the bottom one slightly swollen, and big brown doe eyes that would make her look innocent if paige didn’t have a vivid memory of this very same woman smacking a branch against her face.
“well hello,” she whistles, trying to conjure up the sexist smirk she can manage. which probably isn’t charming pants off like it usually does considering her face is marred with bruises, her hair is matted with the holy trinity of blood and sweat and dirt, and she’s tied to a tree. but her pearly whites are the only currency she has right now, and to hell if she doesn’t use it.
“kk,” the woman calls out, still staring unblinkingly at paige. “get some water.” that’s it. paige makes a mental fist pump; she didn’t even have to beg. this was gonna be easier than she’d imagined.
“yes ma’am.” a younger woman scurries off. okay, so it’s like that. she’s clearly the boss, also made clear by the two men flanked behind her, eyes narrowed at paige and fingers ready on the trigger of their guns. but hell, paige can get behind that. paige would be more than willing to call this woman ma’am and boss and anything else under the sun and perhaps, god willing, the sheets.
“listen,” paige starts. “i’m harmless. you took my gun, and probably my knives. if you untie me, i’ll sit here and be a good girl and let you do whatever you want to me,” the corner of her mouth goes up instinctively, and she looks up at the woman through her lashes, fluttering them ever so slightly. as the innuendo lands in her head, the woman’s scowl deepens even further to show the slight indentation of where a dimple should be and my. paige is delighted. “just please untie me,” she breathes out. “as much as this bark is exfoliating my skin, i think i’m starting to lose feeling in my shoulders.”
“i’m already letting you have water.” the chief’s voice is low, and raspy, and fuck, her eye contact game is insane. paige licks her lips, suddenly thirsty for something else. “why should i help you any further when you injured two of my people?“
“i was tanning in the sun,” paige explains, “quite peacefully, may i add. and then i see guys pointing a gun to my face. it was an act of self defense, truly.”
the woman bristles. “self defense? you were trespassing on our land.”
“your land?” paige scoffs. “what are you, the goverment?”
“government,” the woman corrects. paige only rolls her eyes. the only knowledge she has of what the world looked like a hundred years ago has only been from some reading here and there whenever she comes across a book, but usually she stops after a couple of pages, mostly because she’d never been taught how to read and so most of the words are random jumbles of characters on musty pages, but also because there’s usually someone or something chasing her and she has much better things to do. like run.
“and no, but everyone south of dc knows that this is ours.” the woman studies her. paige tries to keep their eyes fixed, knowing that if her focus drifts it’ll likely go to how the woman’s tank top dips in her chest, showing an awfully pretty line between her cleavage. “where are you from?”
paige squints against the sun. “i was born in minnesota. things didn’t really work out there, so now i’m here.”
“and how did you manage to get here?” the woman says suspiciously. “you look poor as dirt, and you don’t smell like horses.”
“thanks,” paige beams. “and i walked.”
the woman’s upper lip curls. she’s really mastered the whole condescending look. paige doesn’t know if the unsettling feeling in her chest is because she’s offended or turned on. “don’t get me wrong, you still smell like shit.”
paige’s smile falters.
“you walked more than a thousand miles?” she asks dubiously.
paige shrugs. “might’ve taken a few years.”
“what’re you doing alone?” she presses. “no one wanders alone in these parts. no one who’s sane.” her eyebrows dip very cutely, and paige feels oddly romantic about two strips of hair on a forehead.
“i don’t feel tied to a particular clan or group. all the ones i’ve tagged long with have been a bit tyrannish if you ask me. i like to be by myself. be my own boss.”
“tyrannical,” the woman corrects again, tone even more distasteful than the first time as the scowl on her face grows with each word paige says.
“nerd,” paige mutters under her breath to herself, but she seems to hear and her eyes narrow.
the girl, kk, finally returns with a skin of water, eyes wide and curious. “what’s your name?”
“kk,” the woman snaps.
“i’m paige.”
kk laughs. “that’s a fire name.”
the woman’s jaw ticks. “kk, help her drink the water. then take her to the forest and dispose of her.” she stands up, brushing the dirt off her pants.
“dispose?” paige laughs nervously. it’s high pitched, and she cringes at the fear in her own voice. “i’m not sure what that means, but you’re not, like, gonna kill me right?”
kk winces.
azzi seems to find pleasure in paige’s anguish. “perhaps the little idiot can think after all.”
“why give me water if you’re just gonna kill me!” paige shouts to the chief’s retreating figure, and she swears she hears a laugh. a quite cute laugh actually, one that matches her face and not her evilness.
“sorry,” kk mumbles. “azzi’s harsh, but she’s a good leader.”
“doesn’t seem nice to me,” paige mumbles, gratefully slurping up the water as kk brings the cup to her lips. for some reason, the name turns over in her head. azzi. she’s never heard of a name quite like it. it’s beautiful. like a warrior.
“now, i never said she was nice,” kk laughs.
“why doesn’t she kill me herself? at least my death will be at the hands of a beautiful woman,” paige mourns.
“hey,” kk interjects, looking mildly offended.
paige looks longingly back to the tent azzi had disappeared into. “sorry. you’re pretty too.”
“it’s okay, i get it.” kk helps paige drink the last of water, and paige smacks her lips.
“alright,” she says. “let’s go to the forest. you pretend to kill me. i’ll let you even cut me up a bit, get some blood on your hands. and then i’ll run away and you’ll never see me again and azzi will still thinks you’re doing her dirty little work.”
“no can do,” kk says sorrowfully. “azzi knows everything.”
“come on,” paige complains. “i’m a scavenger who accidentally trespassed. i’m not dangerous or anything. i swear i won’t hurt you. although it would be nice if i could get my weapons back. a girl needs shit to defend herself with, you know?”
“i’m sorry,” kk repeats, and she actually sounds apologetic. “orders from the boss.” she starts to work at the knotted rope, a perfect picture of calmness for someone who’s about to commit murder.
“wait!” paige pleads. she’s only twenty one, and she’s not ready to die just yet. “i’m good at hunting. i can shoot grouse from sixty yards away. i’m good with my hands, and i can do dirty work. i can help you guys, i swear.”
“that’s what everyone says,” kk hums, collecting the slack in her hands and nudging paige to her feet.
the blonde throws out one last attempt. “i did a stint with the revolutionaries down south. i guarded their silos. i can get you guys grain, and all the other shit they have stockpiled up. i know you’re hungry. i know you all are.”
“why should we believe you?” kk says. “you’re skinny as a stick.” she’s pointing a gun to paige’s back now in order to force her legs forward, barrel cold against her skin, and paige starts to feels panic consume her.
“i’m a one man band. i’m good, but not good enough to infiltrate a farm alone, much less one owned by the revs. but there’s, what, fourteen of you? if we work together we can do a pretty damn good raid. i can help. let me help.”
that makes kk pause. “well. i guess i could ask azzi.”
“please.” paige’s head drops, and kk ties paige to a nearby tent before dipping inside azzi’s tent.
when azzi exits the tent, her hair is mussed, a few curls now loose from her braids and sticking sweatily to her face. a faint smear of red is smudged at the corner of her lips, and her bottom lip is considerably more swollen than before. paige’s eyes fall to the left strap of azzi’s tank top, where it’s fallen over her shoulders. fuck. she forces her eyes away as a blush works its way through her cheeks.
“you said you worked with the revs?” azzi asks as her eyes follow paige’s. azzi’s finger trails along the strap before slowly pushing it back up over her shoulder. paige swears she sees a glimmer in her eyes. “they’re strict. they don’t let anyone leave for no reason.”
“well,” paige winces. forces her eyes back to azzi’s. “they didn’t let me leave. i kinda escaped. and i’m on the run.”
azzi twists her lips, all amusement gone from her face. “a deserter too. what a cherry on top.”
“you would too if you found out what they do to their captives.”
“don’t assume anything about me.” azzi says, voice cold. “you can come with us. lead us to the silos.” she tilts her head. “you’re damn lucky we’re running low on food. you’d be dead right now.”
paige swallows. “thank you.”
“don’t thank me too much.” azzi grabs paige’s chin, nails digging into her flesh. her hands are surprisingly warm, and for one glorious, all too short second, her thumb brushes against the corner of paige’s mouth, and the horndog in paige wants to lick her skin, to taste the dust of her callouses and sweat of her palms. “after this? you’re dead.” azzi scoffs. “i never trust a traitor.” when azzi lets go of her, she stumbles back. there’s a hickey, red and fresh and wet on the back of azzi’s shoulder, and as she lies in the dirt, paige becomes acutely aware of the tightness of the rope and the hardness of the ground.
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“so who was she fucking?”
kk snorts. “seriously? that’s your first question?”
“i’d like to know my competition.”
“i think you gotta worry about yourself before any competition,” kk admits. “you started on her bad side, and once you’re on azzi’s bad side?” she shivers. “not good.”
paige gives her a quick glance. “you’ve always been her little pet?”
“not little pet,” kk objects, glaring. “little sister.”
“oh shit. y’all are related? you don’t look like each other at all.”
“not actual sisters, idiot. she found me when i was like eight, wandering around and crying for food. she took me in ever since.” kk grabs a pocket knife and begins to saw at the rope. as the blade gets closer to the skin of her wrist, paige stays still, hoping to god the girl is steady with her hands.
“so you’re her soft spot.”
kk grimaces. “every other day she tells me that she regrets not letting me to starve to death.”
paige blinks. “oh.” it’s alright. she’s always liked them a little evil. it makes things unpredictable, and unpredictable means fun.
“anyways, i’m not sure she’s into girls like that,” kk continues. “she’s only been with guys, from what i can tell.”
paige makes a face. “poor thing.”
“and they’re like, ugly too. it’s crazy.” kk ushers her into a tent. “you can stay with me for now. until we can convince azzi to make better arrangements for you.”
paige merely nods, and kk looks at her, eyes guarded but surprisingly soft. “watch out, alright? she keeps her word. you’re going to die if you don’t be careful and get in her good graces.” there’s a hint of fear in kk’s voice, and paige’s stomach rolls. if the person who’s presumably closest to azzi still fears her like this, then maybe paige should stop throwing caution to the wind. yeah, she likes unpredictable, but she doesn’t like uncontrollable. and azzi seems like the type of woman who’s under the control of no one but herself.
kk gives her a brief tour around their camp. it’s nothing more than a few scattered tents and a fire pit. they move often, kk explains. but even though they’re more nomadic, they always stick to the east side of the river in order to avoid trouble. that’s how paige had mistakenly crossed into their land, by simply crossing the river because there were less trees so the sun was falling better on that side and would give her a nicer, more bronzey tan. fuck her life. before long, kk is called to join the hunters, and paige is left alone by the fire pit.
until a bucket and makeshift mop of a tree branch and leaves is thrown on the ground in front of her, dust floating from the impact into her eyes. paige coughs.
“we don’t give handouts here,” azzi says stonily. “everyone works. especially you.”
“what’s this for?”
“you’re on outhouse duty. today…” azzi’s mouth slowly turns into a smirk. this is the most delighted paige has seen her. “…and every day until i have the pleasure of putting my knife into your throat.”
“you’re a fucking psychopath, you know that?” paige picks up the bucket begrudgingly before stealing a chance at another jab before azzi beats the shit out of her. “you know, most chiefs i know hunt with their clans. you the type of leader to sit safe and look pretty?”
the look azzi gives her is basically an warmup for said knife to throat. “i lead the hunt every morning and night,” she says coldly. “but today, i’m here looking after your sorry ass.”
“sounds like an excuse.” paige grins. “but i’m flattered you chose to personally babysit me.”
“everyone else is incompetent. and you are the most incompetent of them all.”
“you haven’t even seen me do anything,” paige grumbles.
“i saw you try to stab me. and then i punched you so hard you called for your mama before you went to sleep.”
paige flushes. she hadn’t known that. words seemed to randomly come out of her mouth whenever she fell unconscious. “well. it was five against one. that could hardly be called a fair fight.”
azzi looks up from whittling her knife. her biceps, shiny and threaded with muscle, flex. her head tilts. “if it were me against you, you’d still end up on your knees.”
“i bet you’d like to see me on my knees.”
azzi ignores the comment. “i could beat you like this, tied up and helpless.” her smirk is back, and there’s a wildness behind her eyes. “but i’ll untie you, and let you try to fight me. i’m going to let you try your hardest to beat me, and then i will humiliate you.” she stands up, leaving her knife on the ground, and adjusts her pants.
paige grins, fingers flexing as they always do whenever she’s readying for a fight. she’s a junkie for the adrenaline, the all consuming fury in her body that takes over. “you know what? i’ll let you use your knife, pretty thing.”
azzi doesn’t even look at it. “i would love the privilege of choking you out with my bare hands.”
“my, my,” paige tsks. “someone’s quite kinky.”
something flashes in azzi’s eyes, dark and sharp and hungry, and paige feels a heat rise in her belly. they circle each other, like feral cats in a ring.
azzi throws the first punch, but it’s easily blocked by paige before she throws a quick uppercut with her right arm. azzi dodges quickly, and the punch only glances her jaw. paige curses under her breath, and azzi’s jaw flexes. they circle again before azzi throws a hook, but paige anticipates it and rolls under. she can feel azzi’s fist skim the top of her head, and she mentally thanks god for escaping it. from the wind whistling in her ears, that would’ve ended her. “that was nice,” paige taunts. “very ladylike, the way you threw that.”
then she explodes forward, landing a punch to the middle of her abdomen, knocking the wind out of azzi and tossing her to the ground.
azzi spits blood on the ground as she gets back up, chest still heaving. her tank top has ridden up slightly, and that’s when paige sees it. a piercing on her naval, studded with a shiny piece of silver. surrounded by a fucking six pack of abs covered by a sheen of sweat. her focus shifts for a hair of a second. her thighs grow weaker, her heart rate kicks up. and azzi sees it.
suddenly, her legs are taken from her, and she collapses on the ground, straddled by azzi, who grabs a fistful of her shirt and yanks her so close that paige can feel the damp heat of her breath. for some weird fucking reason, she almost wants to put her hands on azzi’s thighs, like they’re in fucking bed. everything falls quiet, washed away by the panting of azzi in her ear, the expanding of her lungs, the fabrics of their clothes rubbing against each other. azzi’s lips brush the pulse point of paige’s neck, and her eyes flutter shut momentarily as she exhales shakily, fighting to keep her guard up. to not fall apart in the hands of someone who’d just tried to have her killed. but paige’s hips betray her when she bucks up, just slightly, searching for more friction, for something to ease the aching inside of her, but enough for azzi to let go of her shirt and jerk away. paige opens her eyes looks up, and sees that azzi’s eyes are black.
“night night, paige.” azzi coos. then she raises her fist, and for the second time that day, paige sees stars.
