New Perspective ~ A Handsome Jack x Reader Story

Chapter Seven ~ The Past

          Upon arriving at the house Ellie had mentioned, you and Jack spent a good ten minutes clearing out/finishing off the bandits cooped up there. At this point, you were moving the bodies off of the property as Jack had just shot the last bandit. You glanced over to Jack, eyeing the dead marauder in front of him. "How does it feel to kill your own kind?" You teased, referring to his bandit-style outfit. 

          "Shuddup," he grumbled, kneeling down to pick up the body. After disposing of the last of the bandits, you brushed your hands and looked back at the house. It wasn't in the best condition, but it was better than the other shacks around the Dust. Jack groaned behind you, shifting the mask on his face. "Can I have my normal mask back?" He winced, clearly uncomfortable, "I'm starting to taste the rancid smell this piece of shit has." 

          "I suppose," you sighed, grabbing your black bag from the car, "but get inside first. We don't want anyone seeing it's actually you." Grumbling once more, Jack trudged into the ramshackle dwelling with you not far behind. Once inside, you tossed the bag to him, allowing him to zip it open and grab his mask. He turned around and peeled off the psycho mask, replacing it with his normal mask. In the meantime, you looked around the inside, popping open some crates with extra ammo inside. However, your attention was drawn back to Jack once he released a dissatisfied wail. 

          "I still smell it..!" He whimpered, putting the psycho mask in the bag and tumbling down to sit like a child. "Rank-ass piece of crap..." 

          You ushered yourself back over, hands full of ammo that you plopped into the bag beside the psycho mask. You sifted through the bag for your guns as you listened to Jack complain. 

          "How could you bandits even live on this planet? It stinks like hell, and everything's out to kill you!" He moaned annoyedly, stretching out his legs whilst on the ground. 

          "Yeah, well you're going to have to suck it up," you told him, loading your extra guns with the ammunition you found. "You've got no where else to go." 

          "Yeah..." Jack sighed dramatically, fixing his hair into his iconic stylish do. "Still sucks, though." 

          "It does suck.." you muttered, focusing on the firearms in front of you. You felt Jack's eyes on you as you fiddled with the artillery, and it seemed as though he was considering what to say.

          "So," he finally piped up, eyeing you, "you're name is Y/N, huh?" 

          "Yep.." you answered, your mind still focused on the ammunition. You allowed him to continue. 

          "Yeah, it's a nice name," Jack said, " I mean, there are better names. Jack, for instance. Love that name. But, your name.. it's not half bad." 

          You stayed quiet, letting his words linger in the air. He continued yet again.

          "Even from the beginning, when you survived that train explosion, I knew every single bandits' name who survived - but not yours," he mentioned, recalling to when he blew up the train you and your friends were on. "I know about all of their backstories- Well, almost. Zero's still a friggin' mystery to me but I've learned not to question that bizarre haiku-speaking freak," Jack spewed out, his last comment earning a small grin from you, but it left as quickly as it came. After another moment of silence, Jack finally asked: "Hey, Y/N, what is your backstory?" 

          At that, you tore your gaze away from the weapons in front of you. "My backstory..." you repeated, attempting to recall. 

          "Well," you began, "like I said, I'm from Tantalus. I grew up an only child, with a single mother looking after me. All I knew about my dad was that he was in the Dahl military." Jack seemed to flinch slightly at the mention of Dahl, but didn't say anything about it. "I didn't even know if he was alive or not," you continued, "but my mom, she spoke so well of him... I didn't understand why. It made me want to be like him, to make mom happy - but all I knew was that he was in the military. So, when I had the chance, I joined.