FLAWED // Ralph X Reader

empathy and apathy go hand in hand

"God fucking damn it...", a black-clad figure mumbled through broken teeth, making their way through an empty Detroit street.

Lightning lit up the sky in branches, and mud puddles on the side of the road lit up with the colors from neon signs. This part of town was a shit-hole, and not even the most optimistic of people could deny that.

Wiping, smearing to be more accurate, an over flow of blood from their face, our protagonist entered a sketchy convenience store. As the door jingled closed behind them, the cashier briefly looked up from a magazine, raising an eyebrow.

They could only offer a nervous laugh, then choking, "Is there a uhm.. bathroom? Ah.. here?". They scuffed their heels on the tacky floor as the man directed them to the farthest corner of the store.

Opening the bathroom door, a blast of urine-smelling air blasted them in the face. "Jesus Christ! What do they do in here, piss on the walls?", they said, stepping back and quickly covering their busted nose with a sleeve.

Mustering enough grit, they entered the musty bathroom with a scowl. The only two stalls were covered in marker and writing consisting of several names and profanities, while the floor itself was waterlogged and covered in saturated toilet paper.

They walked up the a dingy mirror and examined their face, slightly prodding a few areas with their hand. Their right front tooth was completing missing, their right canine chipped, and their lip was cracked and bleeding .

Stupid Joshua and his stupid fucking goons. They were always lurking, ready to steal and beat the living shit out of anyone who wouldn't comply to their wishes. Our protagonist, (Y/N), or Fox as the gang used to call them, was kicked (literally) out for trying to dispose of their precious money-maker. But ever since they had gotten away, they don't listen to what that brainless tool has to say anymore.

The Frostbite Gang was one of the many gangs you could find haunting the shittier parts of Detroit. Their main source of income? The sale and distribution of Red Ice.

Yes, that stuff. (Y/N) was never sure how the gang got their hands on it to sell, but it's the go-to for drug addicts and people who want to forget. They would never put their hands on that filthy shit, however if anyone wanted to forget, it would be (Y/N).

They sighed, peering at their semi-swollen (e/c) eye before they snagged sight of a elongated, pale scar across their eyebrow.  Running a finger along it, they turned to a paper towel dispenser.

The empty sound of disappointment and no paper towels echoed through the disgusting room, causing (Y/N) to slam their hand against the dispenser hard in fury. The simple machine cracked and dropped to the ground in a pile. This was their cue to leave even though their face was still blood soaked.

Exiting the bathroom, their eyes caught sight of a few unguarded items. The store wouldn't miss anything that much, right?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lifting a groggy hand to wipe their eyes, (Y/N) walked once again down the empty street. They stopped to sit at a bus stop, and turned their attention to a few buildings.

An old laundry place sat almost empty on the street corner. If it weren't for the dim, flickering lights revealing a figure, one would have assumed it was desolate. Nearby, a motels neon sign lit up murky mud puddles and washed the road in blue light.

Deciding they would check out the motel, they waltzed up to the entrance to see the prices and hours. "40 dollars?!", they hissed, "What a fucking rip off!". (Y/N) stormed off back into the night. They only had 150$ in their pocket after all.

Scuffing their boots along the wet road, their attention turned to a large, empty abandoned house. It was surrounded by a rusted old fence which showcased a dirty, soggy for sale sign standing on its last legs. The house must have been there for a while as the dark building was mostly boarded up and chipping away.

(Y/N) groaned, running a hand through their sopping hair. Feeling a chill crawl up their spine, they knew they should get out of the rain soon. Getting sick was not an option when you were on the run. Perhaps they could scale the fence?

Running up to the fence, they tried to climb over it, but they ended up stuck with one leg over the metal. With an enraged scream, they forced themselves over the fence. They hit the ground with a thump.

(Y/N) sat up and shook out their hair, standing back up. "Great.. woopdie fucking doo!", they murmured, sarcasm dripping from their jaws. Their jeans now muddy and wet in several places, they mentally facepalmed at themself.

(Y/N) made their way up to paint-chipped door and proceeded to try the handle. It wiggled, unmoving. Mumbling under their breath, (Y/N) made their way to a boarded window, peering inside.

With a grunt, they wrapped their fingers under an exposed part of a board. The weak, waterlogged board ripped in half, sending them backwards, the other price of the board still firmly in place. With an angry yell, they threw the board into the soggy ground. There had to be another way in around the back, there just had too!

The rain pounded harder against the already rain-washed part of town as our protagonist stepped off of the creaky wooden porch. They rounded a corner and walked back only to find the back way blocked by some type of container. With a growl, (Y/N) slammed their hand against the blue metal and a loud clang echoed through the abandoned lot.

Turning away and making their way back to the front yard, (Y/N) was quickly swept away. Winded, they found themselves pinned against the wet wooden wall.

"Visitors! Visitors are dangerous! Ralph won't let humans hurt him, not anymore!", an almost comical voice. (Y/N) opened their eyes, now free from their state of shock. Someone had pinned them, a knife pressed closely to their neck. A red glow caught their attention. An android? But why is it speaking so weirdly?

"Uh.. hey dude! Don't worry I'm not... not going to hurt you?", (Y/N) said, a bead of sweat running down their face.

"Ralph can't trust them! They are human, look what humans did to Ralph...", he turned his face, the shadows decimating and revealing a large, blue injury on the side of the androids face. "Ralph doesn't.. doesn't want to die!", he mumbled, pressing the knife closer to (Y/N).

(Y/N) sensed a sadness in this robot, yet still not understanding how. He looked like any old working android, with an almost similar face and all.

"Ralph, right? Look, other humans hurt me too!", they said, also revealing the injured, bloody side of their face, missing teeth and all. "I just... I just need a place to hide. We can be friends just for tonight, right? My names.. my names (Y/N).", please say yes please say yes please say yes.

"Humans.... hurt other human?", he said, twitching just the slightest bit. He stepped back, freeing (Y/N). The human rubbed their neck, "Yeah... not all humans are horrible like the ones that did... that... to you.", they stated. Ralph rubbed his hands together, seemingly in thought.

"Ralph has decided you can stay!", he smiled and raised his hands in a small happy dance. "Come, come on!".