El Mañana (Murdoc x Reader x 2D)

Off to See the Russell, the Wonderful Russell Hobbs

I could still here them arguing as I scaled the stairs, my soft footsteps barely making any sounds. Honestly, they didn't notice that I had left, and maybe that was for the best. They were probably going to fight more, and I felt like I would accidentally be hit if I tried to break up the fight. And I learned very early on that both 2D and Murdoc do not like it when someone fights their battles for them. Besides, I couldn't help but feel like an outsider.

I had been here for a few months, but it had only seemed like a couple of days. I felt like I wasn't apart of the actual thing, that I was just an exchange student visiting for the summer. Y'know, that kind of stuff. I was used to also not sharing a house with three guys, all who also apparently don't know how to clean up after themselves. And at least 2D was helping me fit in, or trying to at least. He really was a sweetheart.

I rapped my knuckles on Russell's door, which had seemed the most ominous and mysterious when I first came here, but was now more of a welcome sign, something that I was glad to see was closed. He left his room door closed when he was inside, and he left his door open when he was gone. I heard a creak from his bed as he stood up from where he was, and walk towards the door.

Then the door open. Slowly, at first, but soon it gathered up speed as he opened the door all the way, and I had to step back. He grunted as he saw me, his eyes looking into mine. I suddenly felt mine begin to water as I looked up into his eyes. His face suddenly broke its natural stoic look as he noticed that I was crying, and immediately softened as he knelt down, him being larger than me, and gave me a hug.

I still continued to cry as he carried me, yes, carried me back into his room, which was way brighter, and had been one of the most normal rooms here, that I had seen. He sat me on the bed, and closed the door as I continued to cry. I could here him nervously clicking his tongue as he hurriedly pulled a stool over, and sat across from me.

He then wiped my eyes, looked into them for a second, then looked away with a sigh. He was being nice. To me. He chuckled as I stopped crying, and I didn't even know what started it, but he just let out a small laugh as he grabbed my hand.

"God, you remind me so much of Noodle when she was younger. She used to cry all of the time. And, you know what, babydoll? I was the one who read her the bedtime stories, who tucked her into bed, who laid next to her when she was scared. It's uncanny how much you are like her." It was almost like as if I was missing a best friend when he told me that. So he thought of me as a second Noodle.

"I don't know if I should take that as a complement or an insult, Russ. I'm practically a grown woman." He looked over at me, and shook his head, rolling his eyes as he did so. Maybe he was a little shocked that I had given him a nickname. Shoot, the only person I had given a nickname to before him was 2D, and that had been forever changing because his name wouldn't stick.

"A complement. Noodle is sick." I laughed with Russell as I wiped my own eyes, and shook my head, my legs close together as I looked at my knees, my legs swinging back and worth. My hands were in my lap, my now short hair brushing the edges of my shoulders and neck. "Yeah, Noodle is sick." I agreed with him, and sniffled. "I don't like it when they fight."

"Murdoc and Dee?" Russel asked fairly, his face tilted as I wiped my nose with the back of my hand, and nodded. He sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck as he could hear their yells resonating across the halls, growing louder and louder as more insults grew. I looked back at Russell once more, himself growing with annoyance.

"Cracker-ass." He mumbled, and then awkwardly smiled at me as his knee nervously drummed up and down. "So, that chick is gone, right? Shelby?" I figured I wouldn't tell him that it was Paula since he had seemed to harbor some resentment towards her. My head bobbed up and down as a smile made its way on to my face. Was this what freedom felt like? It hadn't seem that long ago, and maybe it was because I was weak, but this is what it felt like. I was kind of happy, not being under her control.