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Y/n was around 12 years old when the virus spread. It was just him and his mum living in a small town before disaster struck and the young boy had to flee on his own.
For years he travelled by himself, stick mostly to the forests and making elaborate disguises to blend in with the background. Y/n would only enter homes or towns/villages if he needed something specific.
He managed to stear away from infected really well, skillfully avoiding them but if needed he could handle himself in a fight. He kept a meat cleaver and a hunting knife, maybe not the best weapons but he also had a crossbow of all things. He found it in an abandoned house far in a forest. A small hunting cabin that had some useful items in it, one being the crossbow and a surprising amount of arrows.
Y/n stayed away even from non infected as the years passed. At first he didn't know any better but after a few unpleasant experiences he stayed clear of any survivors. Only if was absolutely necessary did he make contact with others.
It's been around 25 years since the rage virus first started. Y/n was now a 37 year old man. He hadn't shaven his beard in three weeks and he was tired. The last couple of days have been a pain in the ass for the man, infected all around the place and worst of all, for Y/n to continue his journey he had to cross a massive field.
Y/n did everything he could to avoid fields or any place that made the h/c exposed. In the forest the trees would always give Y/n something to hide behind and lowered the chance of being seen by an infected. It also made it easier to loose infected. Y/n was far from muscular but after all these years of running his condition allowed him to run for a decently long time. Depending on how much he was carrying.
At first the h/c climbed as high as he could on a tree that was at the edge of the forest. He scouted the place as best as he could as he knew that the danger could very well be underneath the beautiful yellow flowers. Thankfully a couple of kilometres away there was more forest but Y/n was still hesitant. Unfortunately there was only one way to go and that was forward. Going back to lead to Y/n being severely outnumbered by infected.
The first few 20min went well, Y/n stayed on high alert and kept his head just below the flowers that after years of letting grow free had grew to an impressive hight. He was half way through and so far nothing which was a relief seeing the last time Y/n had to cross a field he got chanced but a small horde of infected.
3/4 of the way and that's where Y/n saw something in front. An arm covered in dirt, nothing but bones and skin. At first Y/n froze in his place and quietly took out his meat cleaver. He took a few steps forward and pushed a few flower stalks out of the way. There layed a woman, infected, her skin a dark grey because of all the dirt on her. Eyes red and wide open and her mouth hung open. She had dirty blond hair and was nothing but bones with her skin wrapped around her body. Thankfully she was dead but Y/n still covered his face with the bandana he had wrapped around his neck. He carefully went around the corps and continued on but a bit quicker now.
Once he left the field and made his way more into the forest, Y/n took his time to look around and make a plan where to go next. Soon it was back to walking, the further Y/n went the more rocky the terrain started to get but the h/c stayed near the bottom. After four hours he decided to take a break.
Y/n sat down on a moss covered stone and took off his backpack that was covered by his cape made off moss, some stick, fresh leaves and grass. The backpack was primarily black with a few red details that Y/n tried to cover. Not all were covered just enough so the backpack wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. The backpack was also one you'd use for hiking, he found it when he was 16 years old in a sports centre. It wasn't the best quality but it held up really well after all these years and what it went through. The best part was that it was waterproof.
From the backpack Y/n took out some plastic containers and chose a candy bar. Not the most nutritional to eat but Y/n still had a lot of walking to do to find shelter for the night. He couldn't sit around, he had to have a quick snack to regain some energy and keep moving. But as he took his first bite he suddenly felt eyes on him. Keeping the piece of chocolate covered candy bar in his mouth, Y/n discreetly looked around. He would have been amazed if anyone actually saw him since he was hunched over and his cape was covering him well. Looking around he saw no one but the feeling of being watched was still there. Feeling unsure Y/n put the backpack on, making sure the cape was covering it, stood up and continued to head on. He'd eat his sweet treat as he went.
As the night fell Y/n ended up finding a small cave to sleep in against on of the tall rock walls. Y/n covered the entrance in bush branches and rocks to the best of his abilities. He'd taken his dark green jacket off and backpack. The backpack was set aside and the jacket was folded into a makeshift pillow while the cape was used as a blanket. It unfortunately didn't warm him up a lot but a cave wasn't exactly an ideal spot to take out his blanket. It was also late spring so it wasn't too cold especially in the cave.
That night Y/n thankfully didn't hear any infected, usually if he did Y/n wouldn't be able to sleep all that well. Some nights he'd only get three hours of sleep, usually he'd get 5-6 hours.
That night he slept for 4 hours and 46 minutes. At this point Y/n would think he'd get used to the very little sleep he got but that wasn't the case. The past week Y/n would get no more than 5 hours of sleep, 5 hours was if he got lucky. Thankfully the cold and uncomfortable rock underneath the man was good motivation for him to get up and keep going.
He took a piss, had a quick bite to eat and drank some water before heading out. Soon the feeling of being watched came back and once again Y/n looked around this time not worrying about being discreet. He put the bandana up coving his nose and mouth glaring the whole time he looked around. But once again he found nothing and continued on.
This time he decided to go up hill and after two hours he made it to the top which was covered in trees so Y/n climbed to his best abilities on one and after trying out 8 different trees and three attempts on the eighth one, Y/n finally got to the top and started to look around. In the north he spotted some ruins. The forest stopped in a few kilometres but thankfully the rest of the road to the ruins weren't out in the complete open.
He spent most of the day carefully making his way to the ruins, he ended up arriving in the late afternoon thankfully without any sightings of the infected. The ruins were probably from some old castle but Y/n wasn't sure, what mattered that it looked like decent place to camp out for the night. He'd do some exploring seeing if there's anything useful but except for some wild berries there was nothing. Thankfully there was a first floor, it wasn't easy to get up since he had to climb some loose stones that required to be careful so at least any infected that would try to get up would probably fail.
Y/n would end up setting camp before night fall to relax and eat something more filling. It felt good to take off his walking shoes and stretch his toes out. He didn't risk with a camp fire and decided to wrap himself up with his blanket and look at the stars.
That night he finally got more than 5 hours of sleep. There was a fog in the morning so he decided to move using it to his advantage. The rest of the day nothing of not really happend except for the fact that today he didn't feel being watched.
It made the h/c question if he was going mad, it's been a long time since he's actually talked to someone. It must have been a few months ago, it was definitely cold. But how cold? Like January cold or was it a more early autumn cold like October. Y/n genuinely couldn't remember but he was certain he talked to two people many months ago. Well he didn't say much but it definitely was some kind of human contact.
Unfortunately the next day the feeling of being watched was back. Mentally it made Y/n panic wondering if he's genuinely loosing his mind but he had to stay focused. At any moment he could potentially be attacked by an infected, he had to stay alert.
Expect for an encounter with three infected in the afternoon, the day was calm. The infected were easily delt with, the meat cleaver had the blood wiped away on some moss that was growing on a tree.
In the night Y/n debated on the feeling of being watched. Thought of evey possible scenario and way this could go down. He only ended up sleeping four hours. It didn't help that a pack of infected were running around at night, it's never easy to sleep when they are round.
The next day the same thing but Y/n was doing better at ignoring it and if it is his mind going then he had accepted it. This was bound to happen sooner or later. At least talking to himself made things a lot more bearable but he was still extremely tired.
The day was cloudy, thankfully they didn't look like rain clouds but it brought a chilly wind that would sometimes make it's way to Y/n through the dense forest. Y/n was making his way through more narrow passages that he was sceptical about but going around or climbing above wasn't really an option. Thankfully it seemed that Y/n happened upon an old forest road where foresters would use. Where once would be tire marks was now smooth ground but it was still decently visible where a road used to go. A few hours into it he even found a map on the side of the road. It was printed out on plastic and was slightly faded but the wooden construction held up and so did the map. Y/n could safely continue down this road and won't have to worry about any dead ends as he took the best mental note of the map as he could.
15min went by calmly but that unfortunately didn't last long. Y/n heard the snarling of infected echo near by, he'd turn towards the direction of the sound, eyes wide before going into a jog as he saw infected in the distance running towards Y/n. He pulled up the bandana and put on his ski goggles that he wore on top of his head just in case. Y/n could hear the sound of infected closing in as he started to run. He took his crossbow that was on his side and turned around facing the incoming infected.
There were 4 at first. Y/n slowed down his breathing and took aim, the arrow hit the infected right in the face making it fall down to the ground. Unfortunately the other three were too close for Y/n to reload the crossbow just standing so he ran. He fumbled with reloading his crossbow but when he got it Y/n once again turned around and shot an infected. The arrow hit it's torso making the infected stumble and fall down but the man was already on the move before the infected hit the ground. But before Y/n turned back around he noticed more infected running to him.
The road was winding, it gave Y/n hope he could loose them but that was a big maybe. The h/c got some good distance between him and the infected but they were closing in quickly. He remembered the road being quiet long and Y/n was running out of breath, his lungs and legs burned but he wasn't going out without a fight. Y/n turned right and saw one of the worst things. A few meters away the road was blocked. Massive fallen trees blocked the road that created a massive barrier, if he had time Y/n could most definitely go over it no problem.
As he got to the trees he quickly loaded another arrow and waited for the infected to arrive until he heard someone.
"Hello there dearie."
A sweet Scottish voice made Y/n looked back and up to see a blond man, in a purple tracksuit and jewellery, smiling down at Y/n. Y/n's eyes widened in shock and confusion at the usually sight.
"Mind if we stepped in?" He asked and then seven more people showed up beside him. All with the same light blonde hair and tracksuits.
"Go for it!" Y/n said out of breath.
The blond man's smile widened and he turned his attention to the closing in infected.
"Hold it"
Just in case Y/n took out his meat cleaver and hid his crossbow.
"Hold it."
The infected were getting closer and even though the h/c's legs were burning in pain he took his stance just in case.
"Fuckin go"
With that the people in tracksuits sprung into action. Y/n watch in amazement how skilfully and with glee they killed. In a matter of minutes the infected were killed, Y/n's e/c eyes looked around at the floor covered with the infected but kept his head still. The bandana and ski goggles made a perfect face protection so no one could see his face. Only his messy hair was visible and everything else was covered face to toe.
"Hello, my names' Jimmy."
The man called Jimmy was now on the ground and a few meters away from Y/n. The h/c may know very little about social norms but it felt rude to keep his facial covering on so he pulled the bandana down and shoved the goggles back up on his forehead.
Jimmy's eyes widened in pleasant surprisement. His wide toothy smile never faltered as he eyed Y/n up and down.
"Well, aren't ya a sight for sore eyes" Jimmy said as he moved closer to Y/n.
Y/n was stunned, the last time he received a compliment was from his mum, many, many years ago. He couldn't actually believe someone said something like that about Y/n especially since he knows how shit he looks right about now. He looked a bit back to see if my any chance Jimmy was talking to someone behind him but there wasn't anyone there and Jimmy's eyes were staring right at Y/n.
"Uhhh, thank you?" Y/n felt slightly flustered.
"My name's Y/n."
"Y/n." Jimmy repeated to himself.
"Well Y/n how about ye and me become pals?" He asked while sticking his hand out.
Y/n faintly recognised the gesture and was conflicted on where or not to accept. On one hand Jimmy and his people did help Y/n out and Jimmy seemed nice but at the same time he was a strange man. His little group of similar looking people did make Y/n uncertain but in the end they might be useful to him, besides he was way too tried for anything else so he shook Jimmy's hand.
Jimmy laughed a bit before patting Y/n's shoulder blade pretty harshly a few times making Y/n feel confused.
"Welcome then Y/n! I see yer tired, come we'll take ye back to our base for the night." Jimmy kept smiling at Y/n the whole time he spoke, he felt giddy inside and wanted to take Y/n back with him so badly.
The h/c just nodded his head and watched as Jimmy climbed up to the top of the fallen trees. The other people also slowly made their way over and to the other side. Only Jimmy waited at the top watching Y/n climb.
During the walk to wherever their going, Jimmy introduced everyone. It made Y/n quite uncomfortable seeing how almost all of them were eyeing Y/n, he was the new thing around, someone to ask questions. It was certainly a weird feeling being near people and so many at that. He moved so he would be more on the side not in the middle as he was previously. He liked to have the ability to run away if something and being surrounded by people also didn't make him feel comfortable. Jimmy was in front proudly leading everyone, he didn't really say much except an introduction to everyone and that Y/n won't have to talk far.
They left the forest and entered hilly fields with beautiful green grass that raised to Y/n's hips. The sun was out and made the grass shine, it distracted Y/n for a bit as he hasn't yet gone into paranoia mode from being out in the open. Unfortunately when he did realise he tried his best not to show it but he clenched his hunting knife so badly that his hand started to cramp up.
Soon Y/n saw something in distance and as they got closer the more Y/n began to recognise what it was. There at the top of the hill surrounded by grass was a partially damaged barn. It wasn't big or grand, the roof had a few holes in it and most of the paint had chipped away.
"Here we go darlin' " Jimmy said as he opened the barn door.
"It's not much but it's good for the time bein'"
Expect for some old rusty tools there wasn't much except for a lot of hay.
"Holy shit." Y/n muttered under his breath.
Hay ment finally sleeping on something more soft than the cold hard ground. Jimmy noticed Y/n's wide eyes and smiled.
"Go on Y/n, ye can sleep."
"Nah, I'm good, it's too early anyways. It's probably only like the mid afternoon. Do you guys need some help with something?" Y/n tried to defect the conversation, wasn't completely sure about falling asleep while everyone was up, he would be vulnerable to almost anything.
"Nonsense, ye have been through a lot and we'll be fine." Jimmy put a hand on Y/n's shoulder and gently pushed him towards to hay.
"...okay but wake me up in an hour" Y/n said as he placed the backpack down on the ground near the hay.
"An hour." Y/n pointed at Jimmy who just raised his hands playfully.
"We will." He responded, his smile never fading.
Y/n wanted to just lay down and stay up, not being too trustworthy of the Jimmy's not messing with Y/n while he slept. But the second Y/n felt onto the hay he fell asleep, knocked out completely. All that exhaustion and sleepless night finally got to him.
"Leave the man alone, let him sleep." Jimmy said to the rest who just nodded and went about their day.
When Y/m woke up he had no idea what time it was exactly. All he knew that his mouth was dry, his body was sore and he was hearing some movement. His eyes haven't fully opened so will a groan Y/n rubbed his eyes and looked around but his vision was suddenly filled with Jimmy sitting down beside him.
"Good mornin' sleepin' beauty." Jimmy teasing said.
"Shit, what time is it? How long have I slept for?" Y/n asked as he tried his best to sit up despite his body being sore.
"It's the late morning, ye slept through the whole day and night. You must have been really tired." He smiled playfully.
"Fuck, you should have woken me up after an hour."
"Thought I'd let ye sleep, apparently ye really needed it. Here." Jimmy handed Y/n some bread, cooked meat that was slightly warm and some water.
"Thanks?" Y/n was confused by the gesture but took the food.
Y/n ate in silence, hunched over as Jimmy watched him eat, it made the h/c uncomfortable but he didn't say anything.
The day went by calmly. Jimmy had ordered everyone to stay near the barn and keep and eye out for any infected. Y/n wanted to help, mostly so he could have some time for himself away from most of the Jimmy's but sir Jimmy made Y/n stay to rest up more. To some degree he was happy about that since his body still ached quite a bit with most movement.
Y/n stayed in all his clothes, only unzipping his jacket a bit, he also reorganized his backpack and showed what resources he had. There were a few things that Y/n didn't take out of his backpack but that was for privacy reasons.
Jimmy tried talking to Y/n, asking questions but the h/c was hesitant to answer most questions and only spoke in few words. It frustrated Jimmy but Y/n didn't quite catch onto it, he just saw Jimmy get up and leave and not come back for an hour or two. It actually pleased Y/n knowing he could relax a bit more.
Jimmy eventually did come back in a better mood, probably after bossing his people around to release some of that pent up anger. Y/n made his sleeping area a bit away from the rest of the Jimmy's and except for just taking his boots off, Y/n stayed fully clothed.
The next day they headed out. Y/n would be a bit more talkative but that was mostly so he could convince the group to be more in the forest. He wasn't going to outright say that he didn't feel safe out in the open, he didn't want to be seen as weak so he made some pretty good excuses and reasons why they should be more near the forest. Jimmy entertained the idea and so the group continued on, it definitely made Y/n feel a lot calmer but he still stayed more in the back of the group.
After a while he felt eyes on him to his left that he tried to ignore but after 10 minutes he turned to look at who it was. There Jimmima was looking at Y/n, she gave him a toothy smile as Y/n looked at her. She had similar rotting teeth as Jimmy but not as bad, Y/n's own teeth were yellow but he tried his best to look after his teeth any way possible.
Y/n felt awkward as he didn't know what to do and feel slightly uncomfortable being watched so he stayed quiet and watched her back.
"How old are you?" She suddenly asked making a few of the other Jimmy's look back in curiosity.
Y/n was a bit taken a back at the question but spoke.
"Uhhhh... probably 37 if I'm not mistaken." Y/n answered a bit awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck.
"You're older than me." Jimmima responded. There was a way she spoke so calmly and without a care in the world.
Y/n didn't know what to say really so he just nodded his head. Then he remembered that usually you're supposed to ask the same thing back to another person.
"So uhh how old are you then?"
"Me? Oh I'm not sure, maybe 25 or something like that but I'm definitely not as old as you."
"Uhhh, good for you." Y/n said as he turned to look ahead. The exchange felt awkward too Y/n but for the life of him he didn't know how to respond or even hold conversations all that well.
But it did made him look at the other Jimmy's, they were all young people. Probably near Jimmima's age, only Jimmy looked to be Y/n's age. The h/c's thoughts were cut short when Jimmima asked him another question. Soon there was another question and another. Y/n didn't answer all of them, mostly because he didn't know how or they were too personal. Sir Jimmy was looking back at the whole situation, gently smiling at how funny in his opinion Y/n looked at the onslaught of questions.
"What about your family? Dad?" She asked.
That made Y/n tense up.
"How about mum of any siblings?" She proaded, there wasn't any malice or teasing in the questions, she was genuinely curious but it made Y/n extremely uncomfortable.
Y/n started to feel unwell and the memories of that day flooded in. Jimmy noticed this and his smile faded.
"What happened to them-"
"Jimmima! Let the man be." Jimmy interrupted in a stern voice.
Both the Jimmima and Y/n looked at Jimmy who had a cross look on his face.
"Sorry sir, sorry Y/n." Jimmima said as she looked down at the ground.
"It's alright." Y/n quietly responded.
He looked at Jimmy and gave him a small nod to say thank you. Jimmy nodded back and gently smiled at Y/n.
That night as they made camp Y/n set his stuff a bit aways from the rest which Jimmy noticed and tried to get Y/n to move closer but no luck. Every night after that it was the safe thing, Jimmy offered Y/n to sleep more closer to him but Y/n politely declined. After a week he'd just gave Y/n a playful questioning look and Y/n would just lift his dominant hand a bit as a 'no thank you'.
Slowly Y/n became more in tune with the Jimmy's, with each fight they had with the infected Y/n became more in rhythm with them. He wouldn't use his crossbow too much and stuck to his knifes. He grew more open with them and especially Jimmima and Jimmy Jimmy. They were the most curious about Y/n and open to talk about themselves. Jimmima was probably glad to have someone new to talk too but Jimmy^2, Y/n wasn't sure why he decided to get closer to Y/n but the h/c didn't complain. It was quite nice but still a unusual feeling.
Of course Y/n grew closer to Sir Jimmy himself, he was deeply fascinated with Y/n. He talked to Y/n the most out of everyone and if Y/n had an idea he was all ears. After 26 days of being with the Jimmy's Y/n started to slowly feel more comfortable, he started to sleep a bit closer to everyone and during the night take off his jacket when the nights were a bit warmer.
It still took Y/n a lot of trial and error to understand how to function with other people, he wasn't always sure what to do and a lot of social cues went over his head. Jimmy teased him about it, often then not Y/n wouldn't even understand what Jimmy was laughing at or what is jokes ment.
Y/n proved to be quite useful, especially in regular hunting for food. He'd go off in the early morning when the sun's just about to come up to go hunt for any deer or hares. Thanks to the lack of human activity the wildlife population has exploded especially deer and fish who were usually a good source of food. Everyone was more than happy any time Y/n would come back with a catch.
Everything was good pretty well but after the 41st day of Y/n joining the Jimmy's, Jimmy Crystal started to change a bit towards Y/n. The man only really noticed one thing and it was during fights. Jimmy would often make Y/n stay beside him and not fight with the others. It confused Y/n to all hell even when he tried to argue against it. When Y/n did fight with the rest Jimmy kept his eyes on Y/n the whole time.
Even now if Y/n was planning to try and hunt the next day Jimmy would try to make Y/n stay but the h/c would vehemently argue with Jimmy. It would often leave Jimmy angry with Y/n and Y/n would always end up going.
Y/n realised that Jimmy would sometimes act like a kid, sometimes it was frustrating especially when Y/n wanted to be more independent like when it came to facing infected. He would sometimes storm off and be rude to the other Jimmy's but in the end he'd always come back to Y/n like a puppy. His actions confused Y/n at times but he got used to it and as time went on Jimmy would be more open to letting Y/n back in on the fighting but in more dangerous situations he'd keep Y/n away from harms way.
When one avoids people and hasn't been around them for very long periods of time it makes them usually pretty unaware of many things. This wasn't an exception with Y/n, many things went over his head or the meaning behind certain things. Jimmy wanting to talk more in private make sense to Y/n. Jimmy keeping Y/n by his side and not letting him fight, annoying yes but he understood why that was. Jimmy making sure Y/n got his share of food, he does that to everyone. Right?
So it confused him when Jimmima came up to him one day and asked an unusual question.
"So. What's between you and Sir Jimmy?" She asked playful with a cheeky smirk.
Y/n's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh come on Y/n! You and Jimmyyyy." She teased as she poked Y/n's bicep.
Y/n just looked at her with pure confusion at what she was insinuating.
"I really don't know what you're talking about."
"Well haven't you noticed how sir Jimmy is super nice to you and all touchy?"
"I wouldn't say so. It's just the regular amount that you guys also get and I thought he was a touchy person in general."
At that Jimmima gave him a 'really?' look.
"What? Seriously!"
"For one, the amount of times you argued with sir Jimmy and he didn't even lay a finger on you is amazing. If it had been one of us would we would have been long dead. Second, making sure you always have something to eat, calling you all those sweet nicknames, keeping a hand on you any time he can."
Jimmima reminded Y/n of a few classmates he had back in primary school. They always wanted to know who liked who and all the details, gossipped quite a bit and were quite annoying. But Jimmima wasn't annoying, Y/n found her curiosity endearing since it was just that, curiosity. Nothing more, nothing nefarious.
"Oh come on Jimmima. It's-"
"Not letting you fight and being as close to you as possible when you guys watch us fight. Always offering you to sleep next to him."
"Is it really that obvious?"
"Have you only met like six people since the begging of the infected?" Jimmima asked sarcastically but playfully.
"Could be."
"Y/n, the second sir Jimmy saw you he had us following you until the fallen trees and that encounter with the infected-"
"So you were the guys following me, I swear it though I was going crazy." Y/n muttered to himself, surprisingly he wasn't all that fazed by it.
"-I don't know why we did or what Jimmy sees in you-"
"Wow, thanks" Y/n playfully retorted. Jimmima gently punched him in the arm.
"-I don't mean it like that. We trust Jimmy and his judgement, so there must be something about you that caught his attention. Seriously, try to pay attention more to how he is, like right now. He's looking at you." She motioned with her head.
Without thinking Y/n turned his head to where Jimmy was. He was with Jimmy Fox and Ink a couple of meters away, he was not so discreetly staring at Y/n with slightly narrowed eyes and partially parted lips. When he saw Y/n looked back at him he turned his attention to the other two Jimmy's.
"Smooth Y/n, smooth." Jimmima teased so it was Y/n's turn to return the punch.
"Shut it"
"But seriously Y/n, keep your eyes more open just try to be a bit more discreet."
"I will." Y/n rolled his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips. He wasn't really one to smile all that much but in small moments like these he did. He found out that it made others like him more when he smiled.
"And if something happens tell me!" She said with a big smile on her face as she left.
Y/n stuck his tongue out which quickly turned into a playful smile. He was getting really good at socialising or at least being playful. In the beginning his cold and closed off demeanor didn't really convince the Jimmy's to be super accepting or trusting towards Y/n.
That day and the following day Y/n would try his best to recall any behaviours that Jimmy did that at the time being Y/n just passed it off as nothing.
One thing was for certain that Jimmy didn't quite understand personal space. Jimmy would try to find any reason to touch Y/n, a pat on the back after a good job or making a joke at his expense, a hand on his shoulders whenever he's near Y/m and talked to his people, touching shoulders when standing next to eachother, a hand on his knee any time they sat next to eachother during a fire.
The nicknames, he didn't use them on anyone else and Y/n would be lying if deep down it didn't feel something. A pleasant feeling.
Jimmy always tries to get Y/n to be by his side, whether it be during their travels or when they were resting. If it was up to Jimmy he'd have Y/n by his side 24/7, cuddled right next to him in the night and having him on his lap as they rested in the day.
As the days turned into weeks Y/n observed Jimmy, he'd often find the Crystal himself starring at Y/n if he was away from Jimmy. He learnt that most of the time Jimmy's stare was a jealous one and it only showed when he spoke with Jimmima or Jimmy Jimmy, especially whenever Y/n smiled. Jimm loved Y/n's smile so much and hated that others could make him smile. He wanted to be the only one that made Y/n smile.
Y/n started to notice better how much time Jimmy focused on him, talking to him, entertaining him with jokes or stories, making sure he was okay. Jimmy was still pretty childish at times but Y/n wasn't too fazed by it but he didn't bend to Jimmy's will.
When Y/n started to realise what Jimmy was doing he started to think why it was and realised he quite liked the attention. It made him feel a certain way that he liked so he decided to lean into Jimmy's affection. He purposefully went to find Jimmy and be around him, move closer to him if they're sitting next to eachother, of course making sure it's discreet.
One day they got attacked by a small group of infected and Y/n was helping the Jimmy's out. A month or two ago he was gifted a makeshift spear from Jimmyx2. In his words:
"You finally need somethin' that keeps the infected at least an arms length away from ye"
It proved to be every useful after Y/n got the hang of it which took some time. During this particular slaughter of the infected, the h/c was handling himself well. Jimmy was watching everything from above, admiring Y/n's skilful moves. Y/n knew he was being watched by Jimmy so to tease him, when Y/n impaled an infected he took his goggles down and looked straight into Jimmy's eyes and winked at him with a big smile before putting the goggles back on and with a roar pushed the infected away from the group.
That little action made Jimmy freeze in shock but that quickly turned into a smile smirk as he put a hand on his chest in a 'awe you flatter me' way.
Later on Jimmy Jimmy would ask Y/n about it since he saw it and Y/n just hinted at something.
"Hey, I'm not yet a complete master at this but I just want to try something out." Y/n said as he put his hands up in defence.
"And yer tellin' me ye don't have a thing for our sir Jimmy Crystal." Jimmy Jimmy teased.
"I'm new to this, when I figure my shit out better I'll let you know or Jimmima will let you know."
The two men laughed as they rested on an old bench in a park.
One night Y/n was awake trying to figure out his emotions and what he was feeling towards Jimmy. Almost any time Jimmy touch him Y/n would suddenly feel warm inside. Especially since now Jimmy would sometimes put an arm around his shoulders which was enough to make Y/n feel really warm inside and giddy. The nicknames of being called "darlin'" and "sleepin' beauty" made his heart race and, too the best of Y/n's efforts to not to, smile. It would always be a very small smile that sometimes Jimmy would catch.
Y/n would remember his classmates, especially the girls, talking about crushes. They would talk about which boy they liked, from their school or from films and bands. Boys would rarely talk about it but it did happen. Y/n couldn't remember if he had a crush on someone or not, he ended up quite early on figuring out that he likes other boys but he never said anything to anyone seeing how none of the boys never talked about liking a boy like that. Y/n wasn't ashamed of it and just thought it wasn't that common or they just didn't talk about it. The girls talked a lot about how it felt having a crush or even being in love. He once over heard a 16 year old girl talk to her friends about her the boy she was in love with in a Asda once. Y/n went shopping with his mum and decided to go to the sweets isle when he overhead the girl describing how she was feeling. He tried his best to recall what she had said, Y/n didn't remember everything but some of the stuff he did remember he saw the similarities in his situation.
But he wasn't fully sure if he just had a crush, was he in love or was it just friendship. Y/n unfortunately didn't get a lot of sleep that night.
All the touching that Jimmy was doing to Y/n had it's upside but also it's downsides. It made him realise how much he's been touched starved, how long it'd actually been since he had a hug or was genuinely close to someone for more than a few minutes. It made it physically painful at times to function when the need for human touch was at an all time high.
That night Y/n had woken up somewhere around 2am, they were in a secure location so everyone was asleep. Y/n just stepped away a bit to take a piss. It was a full moon so when Y/n was heading back to his sleeping arrangement he walked by Jimmy. He was fast asleep, Y/n stood besides him for a good couple of minutes just staring. His mind was racing but he forced himself to go back to sleep. For a solid 30 minutes he kept tossing and turning not being able to sleep until he got up, took his stuff and quietly layed it next to Jimmy.
His backpack was put a meter or two away from his head. He laid his cape on the floor near Jimmy, the rolled up jacket he used as a pillow was put down on the ground as he laid down on the ground. Lastly Y/n wrapped himself up in his blanket and turned to his side where Jimmy was sleeping on his back. And without a second thought Y/n closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.
When Y/n's was waking up so was Jimmy who started to wake up just a few minutes before.
"Nice to see that ye finally decided to sleep more near us lad." Jimmy smiled.
Y/n had moved closer to the group now that he trusted them but Jimmy would still insist on Y/n sleeping near him exactly. It filled Jimmy with joy knowing Y/n was so close to him last night, that it finally happened.
And from that night on Y/n would assume his position near Jimmy, not yet completely next to him just a few centimetres away.
Two weeks later the group made a temporary base in an old house, it was surprisingly in good condition. Nature had reclaimed most of it but the doors had functioning locks and the windows were still boarded up from the inside. The inside was mostly ransacked but the location of the house made it a good place to rest for a bit. In the master bedroom there was also a small balcony with a sliding glass door. Everyone slept on the first floor but the Jimmy's were all downstairs talking and messing around. That night Jimmy Jones and Jimmy Ink were on patrol, they went from room to room looking out the windows to make sure there weren't any infected.
Y/n and Jimmy on the other hand were sitting down on the floor of the balcony. Jimmy had found two glass bottles of tango and like always he shared them with Y/n. Almost any time Jimmy finds something, like a sweet treat he'd always share with Y/n, never with the other Jimmy's. Y/n found it really nice and appreciated it, doing the same if he found anything worth sharing.
The night was cold but they covered themselves with their blankets. They've spent the last hour just talking, their bottles of tango were only half empty.
"Alright, I told ye mine now ye tell me yers."
"Well... It's Thomas the tank engine."
"Really?" Jimmy asked with a big smile.
"Yep, I used to watch it so much at one point my mum just bought me all the VHS tapes that she could. I must have worn them out so much." Y/n let out a chuckle as he took a sip of his drink.
"Wait!" Y/n suddenly said as he put the drink down.
Jimmy looked at him curiously as Y/n searched for something in the pockets of his jacket.
"My favourite characters were Thomas and Percy-" Y/n pulled out the two characters out of his pocket. Small metal replicas that a child would play with.
"-I had the rest of the trains but because Thomas and Percy were my favourite I took them with me. As you see they have some damage done to them because of how much I played with them, I was a bit of a lonely child, didn't really have any friends growing up."
"I'm genuinely surprised that ye of all people would have somethin' like this. I mean it's good, it's really sweet. Did ye get them as present or somethin'?"
"Shit, if I remember correctly it was my mum, it was a present for my sixth birthday. Ever since then, these two especially, have been my prized possession...here" Y/n stuck out Percy near Jimmy.
Jimmy looked at the toy train and then at Y/n confused.
"Here, I want you to have Percy."
Jimmy's eyes widened in shock.
"Yer shittin' me."
"Nope, I want you to have him."
"Are ye sure?"
"Absolutely" Y/n gave him a encouraging smile.
"Alright, I'll keep him safe. Thank ye." Jimmy smiled at Y/n and after taking a better look at Percy he put the train in the pocket of his trousers.
Y/n smiled back warmly as gently scooched over closer to Jimmy. The h/c was beyond certain that he had a crush on Jimmy at this point.
"You know that Thomas & Friends was the last thing I watched on the telly." Y/n said more sombrely as he looked out into the distance.
"What was that last day like for ye?" Jimmy asked softly.
Y/n stayed quiet, his eyes going a bit wide and his hand clenched the toy train he still held.
"How about I tell ye about mine? The ye can tell me yers. Hm?"
Y/n just nodded his head.
"Ma family was with ma auntie when it all happened, me and ma cousins were all in one room when auntie brought one on my cousins in and then we heard screaming and arguing. I was at the door when the infected started to rush in and kill all my cousins. I went to find ma mum, she told me to run as he got attacked and turned too. Ma dad was a priest and I ran to get him but he just gave me this cross and let himself be turned. He was fuckin' mental in my opinion but nonetheless it was still terrifying. I must have been only 10 or 11 at the time."
"Fuck, I'm so sorry. No kids deserve to go through something like that." Y/n gives Jimmy a sympathetic look and in a leap of courage put his hand on top of Jimmy's.
"It's alright, it's been years since that, I've came to accept it....so what about ye?"
Y/n took a deep breath in and with a heavy sight started.
"I lived with my mum most of the time. Dad died when I was around 4 years old, so it was mostly me and my mum. We lived in a village, not like a really old one but it wasn't modern either. Anyways, the infection got to us in the afternoon, in the morning I was watching cartoons. I was in my room when I heard plates being broken so I went downstairs to the kitchen to find a dead woman on the ground and my mum covered in blood. I saw her turn before my own eyes and the last thing she said to me was "Y/n you have kill me, save yourself" and I did. I think she knew about the infection beforehand because she made me stay inside the whole day, that's why I was probably watching Thomas in the morning. She didn't want me to know, that's probably why Annie called my mum to warn her about it. After that I just ran to hid in the forest that we had near us. I stayed there just crying for a good three hours before very slowly going back and packing anything I need and I just left."
Y/n had a blank look on his face as if he was reliving everything again in his mind. He was only brought back when he felt Jimmy's hand turn upside down and held Y/n's hand properly.
"That's just fucked up beyond belief. I'm really sorry you had to go through that darlin'."
"It's alright. It's just how you said, it's been years and I think it was a good lesson to learn."
Jimmy shot Y/n a curious look.
"If you can kill someone from your family that you're close with, you can kill anyone else. It's a 'kill or be killed' world out there and I don't think I would have made it far at that age if I haven't killed my mum."
"Still, no kid should need to do that."
"I agree."
The two fell in silence as they held hands, at some point Jimmy moved closer to Y/n so they were touching shoulders and just a few minutes later Jimmy would lay his head on Y/n's shoulder.
Unbeknownst to the two men, that conversation would play an important factor in the way their relationship would evolve.
The conversation opened up the old wounds that Y/n bared, before he used to suppress his feelings in the name of surviving but now after all these years the memories came back.
One morning Jimmy couldn't find Y/n, he asked all the other Jimmy's but no one saw him, not even Jimmima or Jimmydouble had seen the h/c. Jimmy Crystal started to panic until he saw the familiar trousers poking behind from a tree a couple of hundred meters away from the camp.
"Fuck darlin', ye gave me a good scare."
"Shit, sorry about that Jimmy." Y/n quickly closed what he was holding and was about to get up before Jimmy stopped him.
"What do ye got there?"
"It's a photo album... would you like to see my mum?" Y/n asked quietly.
"Absolutely."
Jimmy sat down next to Y/n, their shoulders smooshed together as Jimmy looked at the brown leather photo album. The first couple of photos were of Y/n's parents when they were younger, during the holidays and trips to Fiji and the Alps. Then there were photos of Y/n's mum pregnant and then baby photos of Y/n. First birthday, first Christmas, Y/n's first step, first time at the beach. In may of the photos Y/n's mum was in them, the dad was probably the one taking the photos.
"Ye looked so ridiculous in that school uniform." Jimmy laughed.
It's wasn't the most flattering photo his parents took of Y/n. The lighting was off and Y/n had the most idiotic facial expression ever.
"Oh shut it, I bet you probably didn't look any better." Y/n teased as he shoved Jimmy with his shoulder.
They got to a photo of Y/n's sixth birthday, in the photo the young boy had a massive smile on his face as he held the toy Thomas and Percy trains to the camera.
"I was right, it was my sixth birthday." Y/n smiled fondly at the photo. He traced the photo with his thumb, index and middle finger.
The next couple of photos were of Y/n during the school's nativity play, him winning second place at an art competition from school, him and his mum at different castles and beaches.
"Ye got a lot of features from yer mum, some of ye dad's too."
"My mum said I had my dad's nose and lips while I have her hair colour and face shape."
"She's right, ye got a really good blend of the best features. Makes ye look really dashin'."
"Thank you." Y/n smiled to himself as he felt his face heat up a bit.
The longer Y/n was with the Jimmy's the more he started to realise that he might be in love with Jimmy. The times when it seeming like a harmless crush was over. At night as he laid trying to fall asleep he'd look at Jimmy's sleeping figure and wish to be right next to him. Maybe to hold his hand whenever they were in open terrain as a way to comfort himself.
Jimmy was still very touchy, now moving to keeping an arm around Y/n more often and practically touching him any chance he gets. Y/n might be sitting down talking to Jimmima when Jimmy would walk pass them and glide his hand from Y/n's shoulder to his back and all the way to his other shoulder.
Jimmima had a field day asking Y/n a ton of questions where he finally revealed that yes, he has feelings for their leader. Of course she was over joyed and Jimmy Jimmy was the first to know. Thankfully she didn't tell anyone else but the other Jimmy's were suspecting that Y/n was interested in Sir Jimmy.
As the months got colder the group had to find better places to stay for the night. Most of the time they stay in homes from small villages. They were usually are in decent condition and the infected weren't often about in them. The group all slept on the ground floor, more precisely the living room/kitchen. They were joined together so it gave them more room to set up.
One night was particularly cold, the fire in the fireplace only did so much. Y/n was still awake mostly because of how cold it was when an idea came to his head.
It took him a bit to find the courage but after a couple of minutes Y/n moved himself with his blanket right up next to Jimmy. He wrapped his arms around Jimmy's arm and move his face as close as he could to Jimmy's.
The movement woke the other man up and with a tired but concerned voice spoke.
"Y/n? Is everything okay luv?"
"Yeah, just cold." Y/n responded quietly, it was a half truth. He was cold but this was also a perfect cover up to why Y/n suddenly did this.
"Come here then." Jimmy moved the arm Y/n was holding giving the h/c space to cuddle up next to his body.
Y/n put his blanket onto of Jimmy's so he could warp an arm around Jimmy's body. Even though they were very similar height, Y/n moved down a bit so he could rest his head on Jimmy's chest. Y/n closed his eyes and smiled, the blond was really warm and the way his arm felt wrapped around Y/n's body felt so good. He felt protected.
The two men fell asleep quickly after that. The next morning Jimmy+Jimmy woke up Jimmima who wasn't so happy about being shoved awake.
"Fuck, what do you want?" She asked annoyed.
"Come take a look at something." He smiled.
As Jimmima got up Jimmy Jimmy point at their friend cuddling with their leader who was reciprocating the action.
"Oh boy! Y/n is not going to live this down!" She clasped her hand joyfully.
It became routine for the two men to cuddle up in the night especially when it was cold. Almost always it would be Y/n sleeping on Jimmy. Very early on the h/c found out that Jimmy liked to be in charge so he let him seeing how happy it made him. Y/n actually liked being the taken care off by Jimmy so he submitted to him. Thought that didn't mean Y/n submitted completely and arguments still happened.
It was one of the more warmer nights when Y/n and Jimmy were both awake cuddling. None of them could sleep so they resorted to talking, mostly it was Jimmy doing all the talking and Y/n intently listening. Jimmy was waving his hands quite a bit and in the light of the fire his rings would shine every now and then. Y/n liked Jimmy's rings, they fit him well with his tiara and necklaces. It made him look more royal and god like.
At some point Jimmy rested his hands on Y/n's torso as he continued on talking. Y/n decided to play with Jimmy's left hand, he mostly tracked Jimmy's knuckles and any veins that were poking out. Jimmy found it amusing any time Y/n did it, it wasn't too often since this was the third time he had done it but nonetheless Jimmy adored it.
"Here darlin'" Jimmy suddenly said making Y/n stop what he was doing.
From his right hand Jimmy took off one of his rings, took Y/n's left hand and put the ring on Y/n's ring finger. Since they had similar sized hands the ring fit well. Y/n turned to look at Jimmy with a surprised but happy smile. He smiled back, no matter what could be happening, seeing Y/n would always make Jimmy smile.
"Thank you luv." Y/n said as he wrapped an arm around Jimmy's torso and muzzled his face onto the other man's neck.
The next day all the Jimmy's noticed Y/n's new ring. When Jimmy Jimmy first saw it he almost spat out his water.
"He gave it to you?" He asked in genuinely disbelief.
"Yeah." Y/n casually responded as if it wasn't anything major. Even after all this time Y/n was still sometimes dense.
"Nah, that's fuckin' mental." Jimmy Jimmy said in disbelief.
"I think it's absolutely adorable but also bloody surprising." Jimmima chimed in as she observed the ring.
"Sooooo, when's the wedding?" She teased.
"Shut it and how do you know about weddings?" Y/n joked.
"Hey! I can read and there exist dictionaries." She retorted with a playful smile.
"I at least think you should tell him." Jimmy Jimmy spoke up.
"You think he even understands love?" Y/n asked turning his attention back to the younger man.
"I don't know but it's clear he likes you back probably the same way you like him. I say go for it."
"You ready think so?"
"Fuck yeah. There's no way he's not interested in you, he gave you his bloody ring. How much more proof do you need."
"Fair point. I'll try, I'm not sure when I'll do it but I will. I promise."
"And make sure to tell us first." The younger man said.
"Will do." Y/n smiled.
One day the group found a map, well it was more in a tourist shop in a small town, the shop had many maps you could just take and use. The one they took lead to the beach, they had enough supplies so they all decided to take a day to enjoying themselves at the beach.
They only had to walk two hours so they arrived at high noon. The smell of the sea brought back many memories for Y/n. The town wasn't big and every now and then the group saw skeletons, at least parts of skeletons. Some were just the skull and a few bones, some had full torsos and arm, sometimes there would just be random bones laying around. Probably because of the wind and any animals that decided to eat the corpses. They didn't encounter any infected and seeing how the only thing they could hear was the waves crashing and seagulls flying around, there most likely weren't any infected around. It was just a ghost town.
The beach was a rocky one but most of the Jimmy's still took their shoes off and ran to the water. Jimmy and Y/n stayed behind watching them mess around. The water was probably freezing but they didn't seem to mind. It was a more warm day and even with the wind blowing the sun warmed the two men up. They sat on one of the stray big rocks with everyone's stuff resting next to the rock.
"I haven't been to the seaside in ages, I think after the infected I was once at the beach. If I remember correctly it must have been Ayr."
"I think I was once there with ma family, I'm not sure but we never really saw a need to go to the seaside after the infected."
"Are you enjoying it?"
"Aye."
"Good." Y/n rested his head against Jimmy's shoulder. Jimmy then took the h/c's hand into his own continued to watch the Jimmy's play.
Everything felt peaceful as if life didn't go to hell all those years ago. Y/n looked up at Jimmy, keeping his head on his shoulder. The blond looked back at Y/n and they just stared at eachother for a bit. Jimmy would periodically flicker his gaze to Y/n's lips and then back to his e/c eyes.
Y/n moved a bit closer but was hesitant, he wants sure that he was reading the signals right so he waited a bit to see if Jimmy would react. And he did, he also moved a bit closer but just as Y/n he was hesitant, this whole situation was more confusing for him. He knew he really liked Y/n, wanted him to be by his side all the time, touch his whole body, fight by his side, he would feel so many emotions whenever Y/n would touch him but he didn't know how to name those feelings or anything about what do with them so he did what felt right.
Y/n decided to screw it and fully go in. He pressed his lips gently onto Jimmy's full lips. It wasn't anything fancy, they mostly kept their lips still seeing as none of them had kissed before or really knew how but it did feel amazing. They pulled away but it didn't last long as Jimmy unsurely put a hand on the side of Y/n's neck and pull him into another kiss. This time he moved his lips a bit which Y/n copied. Y/n put his left hand on Jimmy's shoulder and moved closer to him. He deepened the kiss making Jimmy smile into the kiss. The kiss was still very messy and far from perfect but they both enjoyed it.
"I think I love you Jimmy." Y/n softly spoke.
"I think I love ye too Y/n, like I want ye to be with me till the end, fight with me the infected and touch you." Jimmy spoke a bit out of breath, his mind was racing with so many thoughts and emotions.
"I promise I'll be with you, if you promise to be with me." Y/n smiled.
"Of course I will!" Jimmy put both of his hands on each of Y/n's shoulders and gave his signature wide smile.
"Ye and me will look over them and live through his mess of a world!" Jimmy exclaimed before grabbing Y/n's face and kissing him hard and sloppy but Y/n gladly kissed back.
Unbeknownst to the pair the Jimmy's all saw what happened. Jimmima was so thrilled that she almost shoved Jimmy+Jimmy into the freezing water. They all agreed to not really mention it and just take it as something that was there from the beginning.
Rarely would you see Y/n apart from Jimmy, of course that didn't mean he, Jimmima and Jimmy Jimmy stopped talking. Y/n still found time for them and messed around with them and it just be the three of them.
Jimmy would often smother Y/n kisses no matter if they were alone or surrounded by the group. Often than not Y/n's neck would be covered in hickies and if it wasn't for his bandana they would be out for all to see. At some point Jimmy and Y/n got to a compromise that Y/n wouldn't wear the bandana when they were in safety of their camp seeing as Y/n wore it for protection.
The blond would often have an arm around Y/n's waist and gift him jewellery that he found, he also gave Y/n two more of his rings as a symbol of his love and that Y/n was his.
Jimmy also influenced Y/n quite a bit, mostly with making the h/c more messed up in the head. Showed him how to make killing an infected more into a spectacle and enjoy it. He made Y/n more savage which Y/n was already becoming but Jimmy's tongue would work wonders on Y/n both in private and the words of encouragement he'd use. Y/n didn't mind it, mostly he didn't really notice the change but if he did think about it more Y/n would come to the conclusion that he didn't really care.
He love the attention from Jimmy, all the hours they spend going at it, all the nightly cuddling. He loved Jimmy and Jimmy loved Y/n.
Together with the Jimmy's they brought chaos throughout the country, standing tall hand in hand.