Tintin x Reader

Chapter 24

You gasped slightly. With the torrents of people in the train, you caught a glimpse of Snowy, out of everything that could possibly happen, being kicked accidentally by a passenger trying to board the train. In shock, you watched Snowy whine as he skidded across the smooth floor of the train, landing farther from the exit than ever.

In that very moment, time seemed to slow down.

You could tell that the doors were about to close, and you were so, so close to the exit to leave Rancher where he was. You could buy your group some extra time to run. But Snowy, Tintin's beloved dog, couldn't be left behind. You mentally kicked yourself for pondering over a dilemma that already had a clear solution.

Your thoughts drowned out the calls of Captain Haddock and Max, who were coaxing you to jump out of the train already, with Rancher already hot on your heels, but one voice seemed to resurface, ringing as clear as it could.

Tintin's panicked voice, calling, "Come on, (Y/n)! Wait– where's Snowy?"

You had already made your decision.

You made a complete turn, despite the tight space of the train, and mustered all the strength you could to scramble towards Snowy, calling the dog's name. "Snowy! Come here, boy!"

But things decided to take a turn for the worse.

***

Rancher, approaching from afar, saw that the rest of your companions had alighted the train, and wondered why you hadn't left yet. But his attention was diverted when you were calling towards a white ball of fur just a little in front of him. A menacing grin crept onto his lips, while a thought slipped through his mind.

'This is all too easy.'

***

But before Snowy could leap towards you, a worn-out brown dress shoe emerged from the crowd, and stepped harshly onto the dog's tail. A heart-wrenching, pained yip resounded from the terrier, and you didn't think that you could feel anymore disheartened when you found out the shoe belonged to the one and only Rancher.

The dog tried to scramble to its feet, but Rancher pressed down even more on the white tail. Another yip, then a warning bark.

Frustration towards Rancher coursed through within your veins, mixing in with all the adrenaline you felt in your system, and before the stocky man before you could say a word, you swung a fist, as hard as you could, towards him.

CRACK.

Your fist collided with his jaw, disorienting the man as he stumbled a few steps away, his hand flying upwards to cradle his possibly broken jaw. A collective gasp rang from the other passengers from seeing such violence within the train. But you couldn't care less then.

Your knuckles throbbed relentlessly with pain, and you flexed your fingers, wincing when raw pain shot through your hand. You were certain that was going to leave a bruise.

The sound of a shrill whistle blared, and you knew you had to act quickly. Scooping Snowy in your arms, you dashed towards the closing doors, watching with desperation as the gap between the doors narrowed.

You lunged, closing your eyes as you prepared for impact. A fleeting moment passed, and you stumbled, finally, on the cold, hard stone of the station platform. You sat up, an arm cradling the dog, as you gasped for air due to the fall knocking the wind out of you. Your figure had just made it through the doors, seeing them just close behind.

Rancher's livid face could be seen beyond them, his fists thumping against the window of the doors, as it rattled tremendously, with the man trying to open the entrance.

The train slowly chugged away, Rancher's figure disappearing from view. A sigh of relief left your lips, and you smiled despite your exhaustion when Snowy bounded towards Tintin's open arms.

"Are you alright, (Y/n)?" Tintin asked you, his hand pulling you up from the ground. You nodded. Tintin continued, saying, "Thank you for going back for Snowy. Thank you, (Y/n). So much." Perhaps it was merely in the spur of a moment, he pulled you in for a quick hug, but he released you just as fast. You didn't mind, though, as a soft smile was all you could give in return.

Captain Haddock voiced, lightly pushing all of you away from the platform, "That was a close call, (Y/n). Did that troglodyte of a man hurt you, lass?"

You shook your head, saying, "He didn't, Captain. I'm alright, but you might want to check on Snowy's tail. I hope the poor thing wasn't badly hurt." Captain nodded, and began to voice your concern to Tintin, who was standing beside the dog.

All of you ascended the steps of the underground station towards the surface, the hype of the situation dying down. With Captain Haddock and Tintin leading the way, Max nudged you on the shoulder, a grin resting on his expression.

"What?" you said, confusion evident in your tones.

Max chuckled, his shoulders shaking. He regarded you for a second, and finally said, "I'm not sure how the others didn't see it, but that," his thumb jerked back towards the station platform, his grin not faltering in the slightest, "was quite a punch, (Y/n)."

You gave him a friendly shove out of embarrassment, and couldn't help but grin too.