Old Friends Silver - Mad Maggie x fem!reader

30

Your POV

That night we were forced to sleep in the car. I tried to convince Maggie to drive to the next town so we can sleep at a hotel, but she shook her head, claiming we didn't have the money. Throughout the night, Maggie kept tossing and turning and at one point, she left the car completely. After several minutes of deliberation, I slinked out after her. She was leaning against the back of the car, her arms folded over her chest. She was just staring at the sky.

"Salvo's really pretty at night." I said, she jumped, startled by my sudden appearance. I chuckled at her reaction, "Not on your 'A' game tonight, huh?"

"Ha... yeah, somethin' like that." She hesitated before saying, "Sorry I woke you up."

"I wasn't asleep." I assured her, "Can't sleep without you touching me." I admitted, "I've gotten too used to it now." For a moment, her eyes moved off the sky and she looked at me. She looked tired. "What's up?"

She let out a deep breath before shrugging, "Nothin'."

"Mags." I sternly said, "What's wrong? You've been fine this whole trip-"

"I'm just... tired."

"You could always sleep in the backseat-"

"No... I'm not." She sighed before looking back up at the starry sky, "I'm not... literally tired. I'm.... I... I'm sick of worrying." I went to speak but I stopped myself, unsure of what I would even say. Besides, Maggie filled the silence with her confession, "I worry about you... all the fucking time." She laughed to herself, "Its... not funny but it is! The only person I've ever worried about is Wally... I'm scared he'll waste his life away or give everything up to chase a stupid dream that wont work out... But with you... I worry every single day. Its so exhausting. You just... you can barely shoot; you can barely lift anything- Only the strong survive on Salvo and-"

"You saying I'm not strong?"

"I'm saying that I... I care about you... so fucking much. Its... overwhelming and I don't know how to keep you safe. I've never had to be around someone like you... someone that doesn't fight. I- You're so different than what I'm used to. I just want to... keep you near me. I worry that if I take my bloody eyes off you for two seconds, something will happen!"

"Is that why we're here?" I asked her, she stuttered for a second before she closed her eyes, her hands fell to her side. I didn't waste a second before I took her hand in my own.

"I would rather die then anything happen to you... I... panicked. I make... stupid decisions when I panic... I chose to drag you out here, no destination in mind... just so I could sleep better at night, knowing you were near me. Knowing I could keep my eyes on you. Knowing they wouldn't be able to find you."

"Whose they?" This time, she didn't reply to me... but I understood. That guy, the one who stuck his head into the window, he had scared her. Maybe I missed it, maybe he said a trigger word, maybe his body language was threatening. Whatever it was, he had genuinely scared Maggie into hiding. Fuck.

I knew how much shame is attached to hiding, especially for fighters like Mags. All her better instincts probably told her to fight... and yet she chose to not risk it... to prioritise my safety over her own emotions.

I wanted to say something to her... shit, I needed to say something. Break this silence that had fallen onto us. She still had her eyes closed and she was barely holding my hand. I sighed before I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her into an embrace. With her back still against the car and the side of my head against her chest, she melted into me. Her arms slipped around my shoulders, and she held me.