Mutually Assured Destruction || Yandere!Soulmates X F!Reader

A Place To Lie Low

You grabbed elotes on the way to the jail, eating as you walked. There was a comfortable silence between you and Garcia, but you eventually interrupted it with a question.

"So... Do you know why mutually ensured destruction failed?" It may come off as random, but it was relevant. Or, at least, it was to you. If you didn't get your homework done tonight, it wasn't going to get done.

"Mutually assured destruction," Garcia corrected.

"What's the difference?"

"To assure someone is to remove someone's doubts. To ensure something is to make sure it happens, to guarantee it. It didn't happen, so it wasn't a guarantee."

You took another bite of your Mexican street corn, chewing thoughtfully as you processed her words. "Okay, yeah. So why didn't it work?"

"Is this something you're learning in class right now?" She asked with a snort. "Shouldn't you be the one telling me?"

"Mr Stuwart asked us at the end of class," you admitted.

"I'm not doing your homework for you."

"I don't expect you to do it for me! I just could use some help with it."

She smirked like she could see right through your feeble efforts. "Why do you think it failed?"

"I don't know. I mean, the destruction part happened." You could have phrased that better, but you weren't wrong. "The States and Russia are now wastelands. So why did both countries bomb each other?"

"Only in duels do people pull their guns at the same time."

"So one of them had to fire first. But why?"

"Exactly. Why?"

Your face naturally pulled into another scowl. "If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you!"

She shook her head before conceding. This was nothing new. Most serious conversations between the two of you were wars of attrition. "Okay, I'll give you the answer, but you have to put it in your own words.

"Mutually assured destruction only achieves peace when the bearers of the arms have an equal amount of power. A nation will only stop themselves from attacking another nation if they believe the attack will result in their own destruction as well. If there is a power imbalance, such deterrence is not likely."

Your brain was practically buzzing like an electrical wire with how hard you were using it. It took over a minute before something finally clicked. "So there was a power imbalance."

"You got it! Maybe this power imbalance was real, maybe it was imaginary, but whoever fired first thought they had the upper hand."

You knew all about power imbalances. In fact, if you didn't have so much experience with them, you might not be here right now.

You had finished your meal by the time you reached the jail. In the lobby was a man you didn't recognize, looking nervous and antsy. You wondered what charges he was being brought up on.

Garcia gave his shoulder a comforting pat before turning back to you. "Mija, this is Takahashi. He's a traveling merchant that hustled into town this afternoon. Says bad men are after him, he needs somewhere to lie low."

You nodded along, already guessing why you had been brought in. Your time traveling the wastes in a gang meant you were pretty familiar with most raider groups. Garcia wanted to know who they were up against.

You didn't mince words. Fort Valiant, as well as the rest of the county, could be in trouble. "Tell me everything," you told him.

Takahashi glanced anxiously between you and Garcia before his narrow gaze eventually settled on you. "My caravan was heading southwest towards California. I don't know if you heard, but the entirety of the Midwest is raider territory now, so we were trying to skirt them."