Forming Trust- An Ela X Reader Fanfiction

Firecracker

"We are maverick, assistance is unneeded. No matter how unfair or difficult our challenge may be, success is only a victory away. We'll challenge the undefeated using our wits and talent,and soak in the exhilarating joy of victory. All we need is faith in ourselves."

~This Game ~ Konomi Suzuki

July 4th, 2022

1800

Timur and I were sitting in his room playing Xbox. We had been training hard during the past month, and we often recuperated from our intense workout sessions by playing shooter games together.

"Wait, what is today?"

I had lost my watch, and Ela had taken my phone to the shop the night before since it had stopped working. That meant that I had no way of telling time, since I hate alarm clocks.

"Y/n, you dumbass, didn't I already tell you? It's the Fourth of July!"

Oh, ok. Thanks. I guess it is the fourth of July. Why so much emphasis on the 4th?"

He gave me an odd face. "Haven't you heard all the Americans talking?"

I shook my head. "No, not really. I don't really talk to any of them. What have they been talking about?"

Timur gave a deep sigh and pulled out his cellphone. He held one finger in the air as he put the phone to his ear. "Give me one second."

I waited a bit, and he started talking on the phone. After about half a minute, he put the phone down and picked back up his controller, resuming our game of Call of Warfare: Join the Front, Normandy Rising.

In between blasting my face off and whooping my ass in-game, Timur spoke.

"So basically, today is the day that the Americans declared that they were no longer under British rule. Why, who the hell knows? I couldn't give less of a damn. All I know is that it means grilled food and fireworks."

"Fireworks?"

Timur smiled at me and patted me on the shoulder. "Yup, fireworks. Why does that surprise you? You're grinning like a little kid in a candyshop. You like fireworks that much?"

I sighed. "Well... I guess. They're just... special to me. Certain memories of the past."

It had been what, 25 years? Maybe more? Anyways, I still vividly remember that day. Dad had just left. Ma told me he had been hit by a car... shitty, half-assed birthday cards years later proved that was a lie. I just remember that all I had been doing was crying. I was already poor, and then I didn't have a father? It's hard for a little kid to comprehend that. I just remember Ma loading Finn and I into the car and driving us to the shore. She dried my tears and laid out a blanket on the sand, then she told me to look to the sky.

Sometimes, if I just close my eyes, I can still picture them, almost perfectly. The vibrant splashes and dots of blue, green, purple, and red filling the deep blue night sky. I had never seen nor heard anything like that before, and it amazed me. I remember keeping my eyes open as long as I could... I felt like if I blinked, I might wake up, and it could all just be a dream. Cuddled against Finn on a blanket, I never wanted that night to end. That 30 minute show filled me with years of life, and I'll never forget it.

My self-reminiscing was ended by Timur.

"So... anyways, Jordan invited me up to a party the Americans are throwing. Says he's cooked up some... less than legal fireworks in the R&D lab. Also said that he would be happy if you and Ela joined his little rooftop party."

"Jordan? Isn't that the explosion guy with... phosphorus?"

Timur gave a short laugh. "Explosion guy, yes. Phosphorus, no. He uses thermite. Literally what his call-sign is."