Breddy AUs

Tainted Reconciliation

TRIGGER WARNING: there are like one or two sentences of very, very mild gore; I'm not sure if it even counts as gore, but I decided I'd just put a warning in case it does.

It had been going on for a couple years now. Everybody was struggling. That is, everyone that was still alive. Many of their friends were dead, turned, gone to a place you don't come back from. You always had to be on high alert, always ready to be on the move, always having a weapon in hand in case you needed to defend yourself. At least, the citizens did. All the government officials? They were locked up in the walls of the capital, safe and protected. They were cowardly hiding when the people they are supposed to be looking after are dying and turning into the monsters that started this. But no one could get the government to help them. No food, no water, no medical supplies, no weapons, nothing. So they were on their own. You had to resort to instinct and the knowledge you had. Thankfully, Brett and Eddy had enough skills to survive. Many of their friends could not say the same. They had tried to save many a friend, but each time they couldn't. There were too many of the monsters; they'd have been eaten if they stayed around any longer to try and help. There were so many of them now. It seemed like someone Brett and Eddy knew was turned everyday. It was kind of depressing, living in a world and seeing all your friends, your family, taken away from you, being bitten, torn apart, then turning into those same mindless zombies, nothing in mind but food. But they managed to get by. They managed to get through each day, each night. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into a year. They were able to keep going because they had something many others didn't. They still had their love. Unlike many others they knew, they still had their love. They still had each other.

But they wouldn't for much longer.
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Bret and Eddy had made camp in an abandoned house. They normally could not stay in one camp for more than one or two weeks because the monsters always drove them out. But this one was in a fairly safe place; they had been there for around a month and a half. They were certainly lucky to have found that place. It was in a small cluster of abandoned houses, surrounded by a tall fence with only one entrance point. There was a small town nearby, where they got food and water. This seemed like the ideal place to have a camp. But their luck would soon run out.
They were laying in bed, wrapped up in each other's arms. Normally, they'd have to take turns standing watch at night, but at this camp, they rotated between them and the couple of other small groups to stand watch. This set up they were very thankful for, as it allowed them these quiet moments together, nothing but each other. All the stress, all the fear faded away, replaced by the other's love. They exchanged soft kisses, until their eyelids grew heavier and they drifted off to sleep. It was very peaceful at night.
Normally.

Brett had always been a light sleeper. So when he heard the gunshot, he instantly woke. That was the alert for zombies in the area. He wondered how far away they were, but the stream of gunshots answered his question. They were inside the fence. Otherwise, the other groups would not be drawing attention to themselves. He needed to wake Eddy. They needed to be able to move in case the zombies came after them. Reaching down, he shook Eddy, trying to wake him out of his deep slumber. It always took a couple minutes to wake Eddy up. But those couple minutes they couldn't spare.
Once Eddy was finally awake, they were planning on going through with the emergency plan - get to the lot of cars in the center of the camps. However, when they looked outside, they saw that the zombies were already in the middle. But there were more zombies headed towards their house. They could easily break down the door. So Brett and Eddy as no choice. They had to make a run for it. Grabbing a few lightweight weapons and their water treatment and first aid kits, they prepared themselves for the terrifying task coming. On three, they flung the door open and ran for their lives.
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The government had finally decided to do something. Except they were not helping the people. Not really. They rounded them up and put them in camps. So yes, they were protected, they had food and water. But they were shipped off everyday to do some work for the government. They needed many resources for their secret project. But Brett didn't care anymore. He didn't care where he was, what he had to do. He didn't care if he was alive or dead, human or monster. He had lost all emotion that fateful day last year. He had lost himself that day. He had lost his heart that day. It was horrible to remember, but Brett found that that was the only thing his mind could think about. It was torture, replaying the memory in his head, thinking how could he have prevented it. It didn't seem fair. They had been so close. Brett was already in the car, and Eddy had been climbing in, when a zombie came out of nowhere and latched onto Eddy. Brett had grabbed Eddy, tried to pull him in, away from the zombie. He knew that Eddy would turn. But he didn't care. He loved him too much to lose him. He couldn't live without him, not in this world. But Eddy wouldn't let him pull him into the car. He had whispered his name one last time, looked into his eyes, said he loved him one last time, gave a tiny smile, told Brett to keep going, don't give up, keep going for him. And then he was gone. The zombie had pulled him out. Brett didn't want to watch, but he couldn't peel his eyes away from the horror. The zombie lunged at Eddy, tearing him apart, his blood spraying. And then Brett reached over, slammed the door closed, and floored the gas pedal.
Brett still had nightmares about that day. He couldn't get it out of his mind. There had been so much blood... A bell rang, snapping Brett out of his thoughts, and he sighed, getting out of bed. They were kept on a tight, never changing schedule. It was time for him to go to work. He had been placed as an assistant to a doctor in a medical lab. His job was better than most peoples', but he still despised it. They had zombies in that lab, using them as test subjects. It was horrible to see what they were doing to the zombies, the people trapped inside the zombies, the people who no longer had control over their body. Everyday was the same for Brett. Go to work, do what the doctor wanted him to do, avoid looking at the zombies, try to block out their pained wails. But today, something changed. He walked into the lab, and the doctor greeted him as usual. But then, the doctor grinned and said they had a new test subject. He showed Brett the new zombie they had captured. Brett didn't know why the doctor insisted on showing him all the new monsters that came in. But as they rounded the corner to the glass holding cell, Brett gasped. This wasn't just any zombie. It was Eddy! Staring into the glass, the monster met his eyes. Those weren't Eddy's eyes, but deep down, Brett saw that Eddy was still there, trapped inside his own body. They had been staring at each other's eyes for a couple minutes before the doctor cleared his throat. He had been planning on using this zombie for testing a new medicine they hoped would cure this infection. But now, seeing the zombie staring at Brett like that, seeing him focused on something for that long, seeing him not trying to attack like zombies always did, seeing the faint flash of recognition in the monster's eyes, he decided to keep this one. He had a new theory he planned to test out.
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The doctor had told Brett what he wanted to do. He asked Brett if he was willing to help with his experiment. He told Brett to give him an answer by tomorrow.
Brett's head was spinning. All this information and now a major decision that could determine whether he died or lived- he was overwhelmed. But at the same time, he felt nothing but a sense of peace. He argued with himself what to do, but he knew deep down, there was no argument. The answer was clear. He still loved Eddy. He would do anything to bring him back.
The doctor had said zombie Eddy behaved very differently than how he had been before he saw Brett. His behavior with Brett around was not like a zombie's normal behavior at all. The doctor asked Brett if he had known Eddy before he was turned. When he said yes, the doctor told him his theory - the people who are turned are still conscious, but they are trapped inside their own brain and cannot control what they do. But the doctor thinks that seeing someone they love will give them enough strength to overcome the zombie infection and take back their body. The doctor said the only way to find out for sure was to see if zombie Eddy would eat him.

The doctor wanted Brett to go in the glass cell with the zombie.

The idea terrified Brett. He had seen what they did to his friends. But it was a chance at having Eddy again. He couldn't pass that up. A life without Eddy, the idea of Eddy being killed from medicine that didn't work the way it was supposed to, was much more terrifying than being turned. So the next day, he told the doctor he'd do it.
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Brett was terrified. When he was outside the glass, Eddy had just stared at him. He hadn't lunged against the glass, hadn't tried to attack him. But now, when he was in the glass, that was a different story. Zombie Eddy was stumbling towards him, backing him up against the wall. Brett wouldn't have been so terrified if he knew Eddy was still there, but there was no sign of him in his eyes. All there was was hunger. Eddy was right in front of him now. He reached out to grab Brett. Brett sighed, closing his eyes and accepting that he was going to die. "I'm sorry Eddy. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I love you." Brett whispered.

Eddy was trying to force himself to stop, to force himself to back away. But his body wouldn't listen. It made him furious. He could see the fear flashing in Brett's eyes. He was scared of him. Which was understandable, but it still hurt. He fought against the zombie instinct to feed, but to no avail. He couldn't make his body stop. And then he saw the flash of acceptance in Brett's eyes, the flash of pain and defeat. His voice sounded so sad and dejected when he talked. And he was apologizing! He had nothing to apologize for, and Eddy wanted to tell him, to wipe his tears away, to feel his smaller body against his, fitting in his arms perfectly. But all the zombie wanted was food.
But then Brett whispered "I love you." The amount of pain and sadness in his voice broke Eddy. Brett still loved him after all this time, even though he was a monster now, and that monster was currently trying to kill him. It enraged Eddy that this monster was going to kill his love. Using that fury, he continued fighting the zombie, his hand ever so slowly growing closer to Brett.

Brett waited for a good minute or so, but nothing happened. He was confused to as why he had not already been torn apart, but he was terrified of opening his eyes. But then, a cold hand touched his cheek, startling him so much his eyelids almost flew open. It's finally happening, Brett thought. He's really going to turn me. But he realized after a second that that cold hand was stroking his cheek, the touch familiar. Confused, Brett finally opened his eyes and found himself staring straight into Eddy's brown eyes. And he saw that this time, it really was Eddy, not the monster. These eyes no longer were filled with hunger; instead, they were filled with love.
The realization that Brett's love was back almost brought him to his knees. After all this time, he'd thought he'd never see Eddy again, and here he was. He didn't even notice he was crying until Eddy silently brushed the tears away and pulled him into a hug. Eddy leaned down, and Brett met him halfway, wrapping his arms around him and losing himself in his lover's warm embrace. And as their lips told stories of pain and love, Eddy's skin slowly but surely started warming up again.

AU - zombie apocalypse; Eddy sacrificing himself to save Brett. Zombie Eddy taken as a test subject by government, so Brett volunteers to be a test subject if they release Eddy. Eddy can still think and knows what is happening but can't do anything because he can't control his body.

A/N: Hi guys! Sorry, this was not the original plot at all; I started writing and it just went a completely different way. I hope it's still good though. I'm not sure if I actually like this one or not. Idk what I was writing at the end so yeah sorry if it's crap haha. Anyways, thanks for reading, and I'll see y'all next time!
Stay safe!
- Horselife