Torture Tango | Karl Heisenberg x Reader | Resident Evil 8 (Village)

1 - New Beginnings

"'Gifts we gave, but more you took' she snarled, 'So more, in turn is due" Mia continued, theatrically reading the folklore to Rose, who was falling asleep in her arms. The storybook was scarier than Ethan had wanted to raise his child on, but compared to his past luck, the plot of this book was tame. Y/N was stirring the ciorba de legume in the kitchen, eavesdropping on the chilling yet intriguing children's book being read aloud in the next room.

"'In a blink, the girl was trapped inside a mirror" Mia paused, and loving looked down at daughter she so very much loved but feared even more, "There. She's asleep".

"What is with the creepy story? She's only six months old", Ethan stated, a hint of shock in his voice as he realized what the mother of his child was infecting Rose's mind with. He was probably worried about nightmares, but considering his circumstances and doctor's bill's - what Rose dreamt should've been the least of his worries.

After the horrific events in Louisiana, Mia, Ethan and Y/N had grew more-or-less attached to one another than before. Even though Y/N wasn't who Ethan came save from the fungal disease, Mia persuaded him after witnessing the traumatic horrors they had to endure. Of course, Ethan disagreed with saving Y/N as well as Mia (he didn't want the extra weight on the boat) but in the end he did. Now sworn to privacy, they all moved together to Europe, where they try to keep each other together and forget about the incident.

It had its upsides though, as long as you ignored that you where with them because you had to be - they knew that weren't alone and that there was always someone there who actually did understand what each other went through (even if you where excluded from the conversation), they could all heal fast as a result of the fungus (even if Mia and Ethan never helped you truly understand why, or attempt to help you learn why in any way) and the Romanian local food was to die for!

"Woman at the store said it was traditional" Mia shook her head at Ethan, handing him the book which he immediately put down out of disgust for possibly frightening Rose, "A local tale".

"Because giving her nightmares is the sense of normality we need, right?" Y/N jokingly asked, walking into the living room where Mia, Ethan and Rose where sat. Ethan nodded in agreement.

"Besides," Mia continued, rolling her eyes and ignoring Y/N's statement, "Rose doesn't seem to mind".

"Because she doesn't understand it, thank God. We moved here so that she wouldn't have to deal with any of that, remember?"

The idea of 'that' made Y/N shake, the memories of Louisiana where too much for them to think about, especially now, when everything had just started to become whatever form of normal they could manage to scrape together.

"There's nothing wrong with my memory." Mia snapped, "You're just being paranoid" she then sweetly whispered, contrasting her previous tone.

"It's not -" Ethan began, but he saw Y/N shaking their head at him, as if to warn him not to try arguing with Mia, "nevermind. I'm sorry," he turned so his face and body was facing Mia and Rose, giving them all his attention, "But i'm not paranoid. I'm just cautious"

It's true that Ethan had been cautious, but your description would be more of an overbearing father rather than protective. It was understandable to both you and Mia why he was acting that way towards Rose, he was a new beginning to him, she was to all of them, but Ethan treasured her more than anyone else could begin to imagine. In all fairness, he needed to loosen up though - all the terrifying tragedies had passed and now they were all finally safe.

"Then, go cautiously take your daughter to bed," Mia recommended, "I'll help Y/N finish dinner".

Mia carefully handed Rose to Ethan and he cradled her in his arms, while Mia walked off into the sweet smell of the kitchen.