Mccree sat in contemplation as he nursed the pint of beer the young waitress had brought him free of charge, a sign of gratitude and respect from the tavern keeper for having saved one of his kin from bandits and bringing her to him. In reality, Mccree’s had no idea they were related, his original plan was to drop her off in town and be back on his way to hunting the Countess.
He glanced around the almost empty tavern, save for himself, a few drunk patrons, the girl, who he learned was named Molly, and the staff, surprised at the fact that despite being a fairly good sized town, so few took to an outing at the tavern and a chance to get drunk. In all his travels, by this early in the night a tavern would be packed with local townsfolk making merry on pints of alcohol.
Curious, perhaps the people were trying to avoid being out so late at night with all the “mysterious” disappearances going on in the area recently. Still, even if he wasn’t an experienced monster hunter, nothing could really deter him from having a drink after a long day, not even the undead.
Finishing off the remaining bit of liquid in his tankard, the monster hunter began to rise up out of his seat only to be shoved back down by a firm hand on his shoulder. First instinct was to reach for the crossbow currently leaning against his leg but he stopped when he saw it was the old tavern keeper and lowered his defenses, slightly annoyed.
“Mr. Hunter, I just wanted to say it’s an honor to be hosting such a fine man here at me humble tavern,” the old man chuckled while giving Mccree’s shoulder a playful shake.
Pushing aside his annoyance, Mccree gave the old man a nod of acknowledgment and gratitude, no sense in being rude when he had been given free drinks and board.
“Thank ya kindly sir, but I’m an honest man that gives credit where it’s deserved. That whole rescue was thanks to my partner,” nodding in the direction of the rooms towards the back of the tavern where Sombra had excused herself to. He noticed the girl they had rescued turn back to look at him from her seat at the tavern bar, locking eyes with him.
“Your cousin would be good as dead if wasn’t for her,” not breaking the eye contact, his words and gaze signaling a warning to Molly to keep her silence about what she had seen about Sombra.
“Well, be sure to thank her on my behalf when you see her,” giving Mccree’s shoulder one final shake and walking back towards the bar area.
“Will do,” was all Mccree responded, making his second attempt to get up and leave. Locking eyes once more with the girl, he nodded a farewell and another silent warning before making his way towards his room. He prayed in his mind to no deity in particular for her to keep quiet, the last setback he needed was a witch hunt after Sombra and possibly himself for harboring her.
The room that the tavern keeper had kindly assigned him to was large enough to fit multiple people, no doubt reserved for traveling parties which the two clearly were and only that despite what the old man hinted at when the hunter requested a shared room. He was definitely not romantically interested in his undead companion, but rather wanted to keep a close eye on her should the call of hunger drive her off the kill.
His fears were realized when he entered their shared room and saw that the vampire was nowhere in sight, but they were soon replaced by feelings of annoyance and anger at her disregard for his instructions to stay indoors and out of sight.
“Sombra? You best be in here or you’re in for a world of hurt you no good leech!”
Silence met his ears as he waited a response, where the hell did she run off to? A shuffle of fabric behind him startled him enough to combat roll away and draw his crossbow, line of sight aimed at the vampire as she leaned in the doorway, eyes dancing with amusement and a smirk gracing her features.
Mccree grimaced at her as he stood up and walked towards the woman, anger visible in his eyes. He grabbed her arm to pull her into the room, out of sight/earshot before unloading a string of curses at her careless behavior. Sombra’s face remained unchanged, her ever mocking smirk only increasing the man’s anger with her, but she didn’t care. Who was he to dictate what she can and can’t do?
“Jeez, had I known you were going to be so worried about me Mccree I would have left you a note,” she interjected, eyes rolling as she made her way over to what she had claimed as her bed before flopping down and kicking off her shoes.
The man snorted at the suggestion of him being worried about her, his job was to keep humans protected from the monsters, not the other way around. Giving up on scolding her, Mccree sighed and took a seat on his own bed across the room, lighting up a cigar to relieve himself of the anger caused by Sombra.
“…’least answer this, where did you go?”
Sombra looked up from her current position, quiet at first, as if contemplating how to answer him which didn’t sit well with the hunter as it arose suspicion of her activities.
“I went out…scouted the area. Don’t give me that look either Mccree,” she finally responded, frowning at the skeptical face he gave her response, “I’m not an animal you can keep locked up in here or that damn coffin!”
“Could have fooled me, you sure acted like a wild animal back with those two bandits.”
Mccree’s mind flashed back to what had transpired back in the woods, the way Sombra’s eyes had gleaned with blood-lust, her lightning fast movement, and the blood curdling screams of her victims, a true apex predator. Mccree’s stomach tightened in a knot, what kept her from doing the same to him?
His eyes met hers and he felt a bit of regret at the cruel comment he had thrown at her, had she the capability of crying no doubt her eyes would be welling up with tears, the hurt was visible in her pools of indigo that stared back at him.
“I’m sorry, I…I shouldn’t have said that. It’s not your fault…” the expression on his face displaying his remorse for the insult which she simply nodded, accepting his apology. The resulting tension in the room was thick and uncomfortable as neither said a word after that, both trying their best to seem un-bothered by the awkward silence.
Sombra laid in her bed, staring at the cobwebs that decorated the room’s ceiling while Mccree kept himself busy with polishing and inspecting his crossbow, both knew they were trying to avoid conversation with the other. When Mccree began getting ready for bed, the vampire took notice that while he had removed his boots, coat, and hat, he left on the silvered chest armor. Was he worried she was going to attack him in the middle of the night?
“…I’m not going to harm you Mccree if that’s what you’re worried about,” finally breaking the silence between them, eyes gesturing at his armored chest, “Had I wanted you dead, I would have killed you already.”
Mccree raised an eyebrow in her direction and chuckled as he shook his head, hands moving to unclasp the buckles that held his armor in place, “Honey, I’d love to see you try,” he retorted in a light hearted tone, dropping his chest piece on the floor beside his weapon and boots before giving her a playful smirk and blowing out the candle by his bedside.
“Night Ms. Vampire.”
F***. I have not been so emotionally invested in a Mcsombra story before. Ack. I need more of this – this is probably my favorite of all your stories because I’m excited to see the development between McCree and Sombra and of course what’ll happen when they finally encounter the Countess. This is a slow burn and I haven’t read many of those (despite claims of it) and man is it slow – I’m waiting for that sweet, sweet moment in the end, whether it be angsty or happy.
but this is also me:
Excellent update!! I eagerly await your next update/installment! 💖💖
~My Tumblr Back-Up And Stuffs~ 