SAHLO FOLINA < tyler joseph x reader >

< 6 >

After Clancy showed Graham his letters, Graham decided that Clancy and the leaders had to have another meeting - with Max.

He got back after about an hour, and the meeting was held immediately. The Banditos in his group were left to figure out what was going on through the rest of us.

That meeting lasted about an hour and a half, and by the time it was over, it was too late to leave for Dema again; it was almost dark.

Graham also decided that Clancy should come with us; he was just there, and he knew where the clues and letters should be hidden to ensure they'd be found.

They didn't want another Echo.

So, we went to bed and got up early the next morning, this time with Clancy in tow.

<><><>

"I need to start going on more of these missions," Josh said, walking next to Debby behind me. "Or at least do some jogging back at camp; I'm really out of shape."

"You think you're out of shape?" I replied, short of breath. "I've been struggling for about twenty minutes."

"We should start required workouts," Graham commented from in front of me, though he was half-joking.

"I would never speak to you again," I said immediately. Clancy laughed as he walked next to me.

"We'll take a break soon," Peter said from the back. Then, he looked at Graham, suddenly panicked. "Right?"

Graham chuckled, turning to look at him. "Yes, probably."

"Should we, though?" I said. "I know was complaining earlier, but we're already behind a day. Who knows what Nico's doing to that escapee."

"We'll be no good to him if we're all exhausted," Graham said. "We'll get there as fast as we can, but we don't want to push our limits."

"I thought that was something we should do," I said half-sarcastically.

"Sometimes; just depends on what you're doing," Graham replied. There was a chuckle in his voice.

"Well I wish we weren't doing what we are," Caroline said, walking next to Peter. Then, she sighed. "I'm so cold, I barely even make sense."

"At least you aren't hot," Debby butted in. "That'd be even worse."

Graham sighed. "It's only now that I realize how poor my choice of group was."

"Hey," Josh said, "we may complain, but we'll get the job done."

"We have reason to complain right now," I added. "One, there's nothing else to do, and two, it's freaking cold out here. You can't tell me you're not freezing."

"I am freezing, but I'm taking it in stride," Graham replied. "And you all better watch what you say and do out here; I get to choose my replacement as leader for when I die - or just decide to retire because I don't want to deal with you anymore."

Graham was old - at least, for a Bandito. He turned sixty three a month before that Dema excursion.

He escaped and joined the Banditos when he was forty. When he was thirty four, Nico came to power and Dema started to get bad - oppressive and strict - causing the Banditos to form around five years later. By the time Josh and I arrived seven years later, he was a leader.

He was like a father to me in some ways and a grandpa in others. I knew he was getting old, but I didn't like to think about it. I was getting closer and closer to losing him.

"Don't joke about that," I said seriously.

"It's going to happen, isn't it?" he replied, glancing back at me. "I might as well embrace it now. And you should, too; I won't be around forever."

"But you are right now," Josh said, "so let's just focus on that, okay?"

"Alright, alright," Graham relented. We all went quiet after that, and I thought about it - losing him - even though I didn't want to. I felt a lump in my throat, so I thought about it from a different angle.

Who would take his place after he was gone?

Thinking about it that way, I realized he wasn't entirely joking about retiring; the leader that Matt took the place of - Miriam - stepped down after about two years of Josh and I being Banditos. She died a few years later; she had heart problems, and it was why she quit.

Matt was thirty three at the time, Amanda was forty, and Dina was the youngest at twenty seven - just two years older than I was. It was safe to say they weren't giving up their positions anytime soon.

I thought about what I'd do if Graham chose me; it wasn't necessarily unlikely. I complained, but I always did my best when I went out on missions, and I often helped out at camp where I could.

Could I handle all that responsibility?

I wasn't sure.

But would I if he chose me?

Of course I would, especially if he believed I could.

I looked at him, then, and watched him look around Trench. Up at the canyons and the sky. The frigid streams running at our feet and the yellow flowers growing in a scattered pattern around us. He was smiling - a genuine smile, one that contained an appreciation for the world around him.

One that I so desperately wished I could produce myself.

••••
•OH, COVER ME•
-Jay