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It had been a whole week since they both took off in search of her father. The Ghoul saw that damned assistant of his wife from 200 hundred years go off in the direction of New Vegas. He didn’t know what he would be looking for in New Vegas but that was their first lead to go on.Though it would be at least a month trip at this point if the girl he brought along kept dragging on like this. She most likely wouldn’t make the trip at all at the rate she’s going at. She never ate any of the food he offered her, only whatever food she had in her backpack which wasn’t much. The only thing she accepted from him was the occasional bottle of mystery liquid they came upon in their travels.Even then she only muttered a small and weak thank you. Other than that her lips were sealed and her eyes were completely void of any emotion. She had become utterly detached and broken by the events that unfolded.When she killed the last part of her love, her mother, it was like any semblance of her past self was left there.Before he knew all he did about her now, he hated how much she would talk and do everything she could to escape from him. She was a stubborn cattle he had to transport in exchange for the vials he needed to live. Now if he asked her to do something, she’d do it without hesitation or thought.If he was being honest, only reason he said she could go with him was because he could use her as a bargaining chip when they did find her father.Now though that idea completely revolted him. He could see her misery on the inside and outside. In a short matter of time she lost a lot of weight, her skin was incredibly pale, messy hair she didn’t care about tending to, bruises all over her body, deep bags under her eyes, and visible scratches that bled but just wiped away the blood.He could see himself in her expression. The same grief that he felt when Vault Tech took everything from him. They both have been betrayed by the same person.He wasn’t a therapist either, he didn’t know how to deal with his emotions so he did the same as her and pushed it all down to survive. He was a deer in headlights with things like this, even 200 years ago he struggled to comfort his own wife when she felt down.This was a whole other ballpark so every time he saw her in the state she was in, his heart sank. Sympathy for someone was something he thought he burrowed away but he was wrong.Along the way they found a decrepit log cabin in the woods that no one inhabited so they decided to make it their own for the night. Just like usual she was reserved to herself and almost like it was instinct, she killed all the bugs and small animals in and around the log cabin for food. In just a week she observed him and learned what she could to survive. Since there were two rooms in the log cabin, she went into a room next to his and shut the door.She left a note on the front of the door that read “Knock when you’re ready to leave” and that was how they spent their night. He couldn’t sleep in his own room though, his mind kept racing if she was going to take this opportunity to finally end it all.She didn’t have a single bone in her body that showed she wanted to just live so he feared the worst. He was tired of this suffocating wall between them.So he got up from the makeshift sleeping area he made for himself in his room and sighed to himself. He opened his door and walked over to her room with cautionary slow steps.He stopped in front of her door and yet again read the note. His hand reached up to the note before taking it down and softly knocking on the wood. No answer.He was about to kick down the door before he saw the door being opened by her. There she was in front of him. He leaned against the door frame and asked,” Ya mind me comin in for a little? I want to have a talk with ya.”She just took a couple steps back to let him inside her room and sat down at her own makeshift sleeping area. Her knees to her chin as she hugged her arms around her legs. He closed the door behind him and pulled out some fresh water he’s been keeping with him for awhile and some jerky.“Ya look hungry so I figured ya would want somethin to eat. So eat up. We have a long journey ahead of us.” He threw the jerky and water bottle on the floor for her to take. She looked down at it and just spoke in her weak voice not moving,” I don’t want to take from you. It’s your resources, you need it.”He rolled his eyes and got down to her level to push the water and jerky to her right side. “I’m not the one lookin like a starvin pig in the sun. Just take it.” She didn’t reply back to him and just drank a little of the water but didn’t touch the jerky.She put her hand inside her backpack to show him the food she gathered for herself but was stopped by his hand over her wrist stopping her. “I meant all of it vaultie. Aren’t ya used to handouts when ya used to be in the vaults?”At this point they were extremely close to each other and due to that, he could see her suffering much more better up close. Something inside him burned with rage at her father, Vault Tech, and even more with himself to let her get this bad.At just the mention of the vaults though, he could feel her hands shaking in his grasp. A bit of life entered her eyes as he could see emotions she chose to push down return to the surface. He got distracted by that and took her hand out of his grip and tried to mask her true identity.“I’ll eat it all like you want then. I apologize.” She glanced away from him and quickly consumed both the water and jerky he gave her. Her whole body was shaking as she could feel his stare in the back of her head, she thought he was going to hurt her like when they first met.Partly why she was so silent, she felt like any noise from her would bother him. She tried her best to seem strong and calm around him as to not cause trouble. It scares her though because ever since they’ve been traveling together, he never made one move to hurt her.No, instead he’s been incredibly good to her. Tended to her wounds when she tried to refuse, gave her more than water and food than what he had, stayed close to her at all times in a protective manner, made slight jokes and tried to make conversation when it was completely silent, and never raised his voice at her. She didn’t understand at all why he was acting like this with her.Her father seemed to be the one who took his family from him and that’s why we were going after him. She wasn’t sure as to why she was out looking for her father, maybe to kill him, or maybe to get answers to terrifying questions. Questions that if answered, she would truly break down.Apart of her drove her to do all this to find out though. She knew that her father had to die either by the ghoul’s hands or her own. If her father and her went back to the vaults, nothing would ever be the same. She didn’t even know how she was going to explain everything to her brother who she dearly missed everyday.The memory of her putting her mother out of her misery haunted her in the day and in the night she had cruel nightmares of her father killing her mother in every way possible. Although she harbored a large amount of hate for her father, she still remembered their happy moments together. Her heart was a constant tangled mess of emotions she didn’t want to deal with. So she didn’t and locked everything away hoping that she could escape everything for even an instant.She knew deep down that there had to be a catch with the ghouls sudden kindness. Maybe he was going to use her against her father. Thats why she never let herself get attached to him. She tries to focus on Maximus but even now he feels like a distant memory. The vaults seems like a forgotten place in her place now.She doesn’t even know if she’ll ever return knowing what she does now. She’s in this constant limbo between life and death until the other side takes her. At least she knew that her brother was mostly safe, maybe even happy with someone.That was the only thing that gave her a smile once in awhile. Now she feels like she’s lost the will to even do that.Being with the ghoul lets her escape from her reality. She just does what she’s told, keeps walking until her legs can’t anymore, and keeps herself busy so she doesn’t have to think about anything. At first she had curiosity to ask him everything he knew about her father and what he knew about the vaults, but now she doesn’t have the energy to ask anything.The hand that held her wrist furrowed into a fist as he sighed. He turned his body to where his back was against the wall and let his body slide down to where he was sitting next to her. She didn’t move an inch when he did apart from her shaking body in fear that she angered him.It was the first thing she felt in awhile. So when she felt a hand placed on her shoulder, she couldn’t help but jerk away from him. His hand was still out in the air where her shoulder used to be until it just turned into a fist and rested to his side.“Glad ya finally got something in yer system. What happened to the finger biting stubborn gal in ya?” He just joked to himself cackling a dry laugh but she was just silent once again. No reaction whatsoever, just soulless eyes down at the floor.He was about to make another joke or ask something else just to get something out of her. Before he could though, she just said bluntly,” I’m your cattle to bring as bargaining for my father. You hate me because my father has something to do with taking your family. I accept my position and do what I can to not bother you. I don’t think talking to each other is necessary.”He gritted his teeth and said back,” Who said ya could dedicate what I think? I don’t think of ya as a bother nor am I using ya that way. You can choose to walk away from all this if ya wanted. It’s not yer fault for your father’s actions. He’s betrayed both of us. Yer allowed to feel what ya want and do whatever ya want, it’s a fucked up world but a free one. I’m not gonna kill ya for having emotions.”He saw her eyes widen with life he desperately missed. “I…I apologize for actin the way I did with ya before. I don’t know much about comfort but just let it all out. I’m tired of seeing ya this way, I’m sure yer lover knight and brother wouldn’t want to see ya this way.”His ego was one of the things he tried to keep up but all that went out the window when he was around this broken woman. A part of him, the one from 200 years ago that he thought he threw away, felt immense sadness for her.Despite all the people he’s hurt, the grief he’s caused for others, how much he’s taken away, and the iron wall he built up to keep others away from him completely crumbled. He didn’t understand why she caused this sort of reaction from him.It felt terrifying to be as exposed as he was right now but he couldn’t help himself. He got up and sat in front of her with his arms open. He felt incredibly uncomfortable and stupid for this, a part of him wanted to just shove water and food down her throat and keep going but he knew she wouldn’t last.That idea of her dying of starvation didn’t sit well with him. He could feel himself getting slowly attached to the girl on the brink of death, something that was a gamble on his own heart. He couldn’t stop himself from opening up to her even if he wanted to.Her eyes widened at his gesture as she was left in shock. “Go on, we have all night. Just pretend yer in yer own world like always but let yourself feel everything. I’m not even here.” She could feel everything building up to the surface and without her even thinking, she scooted closer to him. When she felt familiar arms wrap around her chest, that’s when she snapped back to reality and still hesitated.“No…this isn’t a good idea. It’s about to be morning, we should be getting ready to leave.” She was trying to get out of his embrace to get away but he didn’t let her. She felt a whisper in her ears feeling his breath on her skin. “I’m not here, remember?”With that the flood gates of her heart opened letting out the misery locked away. She wrapped her arms around his warm neck and let herself shed the unspoken tears. Her tears stained his shirt where his right shoulder was as she furrowed her face into it. Her once weak voice now cried out in cracked wails of pain.He had one hand comforting her back while the other was in her hair twirling between the strands. It seemed to help soothe her as her whole body stopped shaking so much. This continued on for a while until she grew so drained she fell asleep in his arms and lap.Before she went completely asleep, she whispered in her sleep with a slight smile and one last tear going down her face. “Thank you…” He sighed as he wiped away the tear from her rosy cheeks. He muttered to himself with a slight gentle smile, something he hadn’t done in a long time, and said,” I didn’t do much sweetheart.”He placed her in a comfortable position on the floor and placed his leather jacket above her body before going to his room.
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The sun shined through the broken blinds of the house onto her face which made her wake up. Oddly enough she didn’t have a nightmare last night. It was the best sleep she’s gotten in a long time. She sat up and stretched out her arms but as she did, she noticed the weight of something on her lap. She glanced down to see what it was and was shocked by what she saw.His heavy leather jacket he always wore. She held it up despite how heavy it felt and took a better look at it. It looked ancient but it held its own history which made her curious where it’s been in all of its time. Torn up holes at the bottom and she expected it to reek but oddly it just smelled of pine wood.She didn’t know why he needed it when his body was warm enough itself. Then with that thought it led her to remember the events of last night. She didn’t know what to think of it.She was so used to the numbness that when she got to let some things out, it made her realize how much she missed the happiness before all of this. She gripped the leather jacket and brought it close to her before putting it one of her arms to deliver it back to him.She felt a sense of warmth within her remembering how close they were. She snuggled into the jacket before realizing that she wasn’t supposed to get attached to him. She couldn’t let something like this distract her from getting to her destination.She can’t take back what happened last night, some parts of her was glad to get the pressure off her chest but she wished it wasn’t with him. She has to remember what type of world the surface is and who he is.He only did it to sugar her up, there was a catch for everything. He taught her the cruelty it took to survive up here and won’t let those lessons go to waste. As long as she’s up here, she’ll have to adjust.So she went back to being numb to the best of her ability. She went to his door and lightly knocked. He quickly opened the door to see who it was and it was none other than her.He let out a sigh of relief as she looked a bit healthier than before. Her eye bags weren’t as deep so it seemed like she got better sleep.Despite last night, she acted the same as before with the wall still up. “Here’s your jacket. Sorry for having it last night. We can leave now.” She said straight forward and without much emotion. He thought they were getting somewhere but she’s decided to stay put behind her wall.Oh well what did it matter to him? He had a mission to find his family and he has to do whatever’s necessary to get them back. At least his daughter. The matter of his wife was something else entirely. He loved her dearly but she was the head of something incredibly disgusting. She was the reason why the bombs dropped and all of this shit show happened.The only thing keeping him going is the idea of reuniting with his daughter. His hope was she was in one of the vaults where they cryogenically went into sleep. Thats the only chance of her being alive.That reality set in for him. He couldn’t let her be a source of weakness for him.“Yeah, let’s go.” He had a dry response back to her. To her he seemed angry at her but she wasn’t sure why. Although he was irritated, he didn’t change his attitude towards not hurting her. She felt a sense of safety with that but quickly pushed that down.With that they left the cabin without a single trace they were ever there. A couple days passed where they just walked until they got out of the forest and back into the suffocating heat of the desert. They continued to walk endlessly only taking breaks to sleep and eat.She had a sprained ankle and her legs were sore beyond imagination but like the pain from learning about her mother, she numbed the pain in her legs. Forcing herself to have a higher pain tolerance but in doing so she started to have a limp so it was easier to walk.They both didn’t talk but that didn’t stop the ghoul from watching her intensely. Trying to analyze what was going through her thick skull. Her whole world was shattered and she was dealing with this in such an unhealthy way.At first before they started traveling, he thought she would be chatty and constantly emotional but she was the opposite of that. She never mentioned the vaults or any parts of her life.She was trying to seem strong but in retrospect she was pitiful. He thought about returning to the way he treated her before to see how much she’s willing to live but as soon as that went through his mind, last night goes through his mind. He couldn’t hurt her when everything she’s doing now is a product of unkempt trauma.He just didn’t know what to do with her now other than to continue on what they’re doing now. There’s no point in getting close when they’ll never see each other again after all this.He stopped in his tracks and put his arm in front of her to stop her as well. She was looking at the ground so she was taken back to see his sudden arm to stop her. She looked up to see a group of 4 thugs all in rugged clothes and a mad hungry look in their eyes.It was one women and three other men. All their bodies were frail from starving. All of their clothes were littered with holes and wear and they had no shoes on their feet. They had been exposed to the elements for awhile and look like they’re ready to do anything survive.There was two men in the back of them and the women and another man in the front. They had their small pistols pointed from all directions at them. The woman spoke first,” Now look we don’t mean trouble, just give us all your supplies and we’ll leave ya.”Lucy held up her hands, dog meat was to the side growling, and the ghoul made no move to put his hands up. He had gotten too comfortable since they hadn’t dealt with much since they started traveling, now he had to deal with this group.He smirked deviously as he always did and said,” And what if I said no? You’re all going to die anyways, our supplies or not.” She glanced in his direction concerned for what was going to come next from his words. Was this the moment she was going to die?There was no way to kill them all in one go without at least getting shot once from one of them. A chill ran down her spine from the utter silence between them all. The women sighed and with a snap, she ordered them to shoot.In an instant the ghoul pushed her to the ground and spun in a circle with his gun perfectly shooting them in the head one by one. After about ten seconds, they all fell limply on the ground.Right, she had forgotten that he was the true threat not them. “Damn it I lost some perfectly good bullets on these fucks. Oh well.” He turned to her and flipped out a pocket knife and held it out to her.“Now I don’t have to explain right? Yer a smart gal and you must know by now how it works up here.” She watched him for a moment before taking the knife and choosing the nearest guy in the group to cut open.She was a bit taken back since she was used to his sweet treatment that her opinion of him changed. Now it’s went back to normal. He was a sinister man of the wasteland known for his skilled work in murder.If she slipped up even just one time, it would be lights out for her. The amount of trust or stupidity she must’ve had to go with him when he could easily kill her. Thats why it continued to confuse her why he doesn’t put her in place like before, he easily could.To distract herself from the horrific things she was currently doing just to eat she thought about what her brother could be doing. Knowing him, he was with their cousin Chet and hanging out with him. She was glad he wasn’t alone down there and safe despite how corrupt the vaults seemed to be.Thankfully her thoughts seemed to distract her for long enough that she got a decent amount of meat skinned off. She felt a familiar hand on her shoulder bringing her back to reality.She looked up at him and held out her hands of meat. “Is this enough?” He was shocked she did it on her own accord. He guessed with time and experience in this world it begins to taint people but…apart of him didn’t want her to end up like him.Then again who she became was her choice. “Wow darling you didn’t hesitate to skin a dead man, contradicting your words before about not becoming like me. You’re starting to look like me to but less ghoul. All by your own choice, my path is a scary one to go on dear.”Something about his words stirred a reaction out of her. “I don’t have a choice. You would kill me if I don’t otherwise. I’m at your mercy until we find my father. After you get your information and I get my questions answered from him, we’ll split ways like you want. We just have mutual interests. Thats the way of this world isn’t it?”Her words were cold and filled with more toxins than the two hundred year buildup of radiation he had in his body. Still holding up that damn wall.He rolled his eyes and spat back the same venom,” Did ya not hear me before? You came with me on your own accord. No force involved. Of course you have to contribute but how you do so is by your own will. You chose to skin that corpse to survive. It’s true we’re doing this based off mutual goals but…” He went into his bag and cocked back the barrel to put a few bullets into it.“You seem unsure of wanting to part ways. What about you and what you want? Why is everything dependent on me?” Those two questions haunted her and forced her to confront him. Something she was not ready for. She turned away from him and said,” It doesn’t matter what I want. It’s all dependent on you because you know where to go and what to do. I…have to be rely on you at least for now. I…also want to help you find your family.” She muttered that last part to herself but he heard it loud and clear.It confused him so he said,” Why? How would that benefit you?” She was silent for a moment before answering. “I don’t have much going on with my life and…if you have a family it must mean you have a wife and children you’re looking for. To live for two hundred years doing these horrible things just to find them or knowing they might be alive, I want to help see that through. The only way they could be alive is if they’re either ghouls or have something to do with the vaults. Just like I’m using you to survive, you can use me to get into one of the vaults my father is going to in New Vegas.”This has been the most he’s gotten out of her the entire travel apart from that one night. A certain determination gleamed in her eyes to help him. She held her pinky up as that determination turned into something more serious and stern. “You have to promise not to hurt any innocent people in the vaults or even out here. Unless we’re being attacked or you have a reason to kill, you can’t kill others so easily anymore.”He paused for a moment as he looked up and down at her expression and her pinky finger. He couldn’t help but genuinely smile at her silly way of proposing a promise. Of course he couldn’t resist chuckling a bit harder seeing her confused face.He used the finger he sewn on which happened to be hers to intertwine around her pinky. “Sure sure sweetheart, I’ll try not to but remember we can’t break the law of this land too much. It’s every ol’ ghoul man and vault dwellers for themselves out here.”He winked at her when she noticed whose finger he had. She scoffed and immediately took three steps away from him. “Thats my finger what the heck! Why do you have mine on there?!” He chuckled once again and leaned close to her while grabbing the hand where her finger was cut off.“Finger for finger darlin’ besides I couldn’t let a perfectly good finger go to waste. Besides it worked out didn’t it? You got a new one too so we match.” He had a point, she did bite off his finger first but she was trying to escape from being sold off.She just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes while walking ahead of him without him since she couldn’t argue with him any further. He smirked when he ran up to match her pace and said,” Hey at least yer not like before in yer own world. Thanks for getting out of that noggin’ for a bit and gettin’ on my level. If ya stay like this, it’ll be easier to read ya and travel. I won’t have to guess what’s goin on in there.”He formed his hand into a fist and knocked on the temple of her forehead which got a quiet “ow” from her. Her hands reached up to her forehead where he knocked and looked away.“I…well the reason I have been the way I am is because if I’m not, I’ll be weak to you. Besides we have to travel or else we might be too late to reach my father. He does have a T-60 armor and can use the armor to go long distances without trouble. I’ll deal with my mind later.”She just gave him a fake smile and walked a bit faster as to not have him read her more than what he already knows. The joking atmosphere dropped a bit as he walked in front of her to make her stop.“Well I need yer mind in tack as well, other wise you’re a turned ghoul to me. What’s the point of gettin to yer father if you forget what yer going to ask him? You need to prepare for what might happen instead of avoiding it. Just like how I was sayin that yer free to do as you will, ya have the choice to kill him. I’m givin that choice to you but either ya can’t do it or not, I’m doing it anyway. Thats the reality ya have to face, so I’d get out of this fantasy ya got up in there.”Her eyes widened at his words. She didn’t even think she was avoiding things. She just thought if she numbed herself, that would make it easier to get revenge for her mother. Thinking on all the hatred and forgetting the happy memories with her father was what helped get her mind clear on her goal.Now…she felt a sense of guilt at the thought of even killing him. She had done so much just to find him and now she’s going to murder him in cold blood.But…could she really do it?Her mind was silent. She didn’t know herself. He saw her shell shocked state and snapped his fingers in her face to wake her up from the current nightmare she was imagining.“Hey ya don’t have to think about anything right now ya here? Forget about what I said ok? We still have a long ways away.” She didn’t react though. Sweat was forming on her forehead as her breathing got heavier and her eyes just still. She put her hands to her head and groaned at the pain in her head when tears were forming in her eyes.He grabbed ahold of her both her shoulders and shook her hard,” Hey hey! What’s goin on?! Snap outta of it girl!” She didn’t stop, she seemed to be having some sort of panic attack. She lost her balance so he caught her in his arms and lightly had them sit on the ground. He had a stimpack in his pack so he got it and used it on her.He was shocked when even that didn’t do much, it was all mentally. He gritted his teeth and yelled out her name,” Lucy! Godammit wake the fuck up!” He was about to shake her again but at the mention of her name, she came back.“Mom?” She whispered before she blinked her eyes a couple times and groaned in pain. She rubbed her temples and asked him,” What…happened?”He let out a long breath and said,” Just somethin I overwhelmed on the fragile…we should take a break right here.” She immediately turned him down,” No, we have to go now. My father could be anywhere by now. If we don’t go we could potentially lose his trail. Isn’t finding your family the most important goal? I want to see a family potentially get reunited, that way all the horrible things I have been doing would have been worth it.”She couldn’t stop herself from tearing up. From skinning multiple people, pouring acid on an innocent persons face, killing multiple people, and even resorting to cannibalism, she can’t take back what she’s done. The most she can do is work towards that and do something right for once.He had noticed her leg limping for a long time. The only way to continue was to carry her which wasn’t an option, he needed to be completely mobile so he can make the most of his abilities just in case the worst happens. They had to settle until her legs got better. He had another stimpack in his bag that he pulled out.He was going towards her leg to heal it. “Hey! Get away from me! I can walk just fine, don’t waste a perfectly good stimpack on tha-“ He placed a hand over her mouth and put it in her leg which helped immensely. She could feel the cooling liquid in it heal the injuries of her legs.“Would ya shut up? I saw yer leg earlier don’t think I didn’t see. We can’t have ya limpin’ around, what if we had to run away from somethin? Plus it makes us a target. I can easily get another stimpack easily don’t worry ya head about it. Doesn’t that feel better?” She couldn’t deny that it definitely helped ease the pain. He had a point too so she just remained silent and let him do his thing.“There…all done. Bandaged up and no longer banged up. If ya really want to help me find my family that’s noble of ya but just know yer not doin it for me, yer doin it for your own guilty conscience. Just know ya have yer own freedom. Its in my favor no matter what yer own intentions are if your trying to help me find my family.”He got up and held a hand up for her to take. She gazed at it for a moment before taking it. She still had a slight limp but it was nowhere as bad anymore.“Maybe so but my intentions could always change. Things could change. It…could be for you. Maybe not today but give it time. I can’t wait to see you change for the better when you get to be happy with your family. I know you hate the vaults but there’s always the chance to change the vaults into what we make of it as well. Can I…ask about your family?”He went silent for a good moment. He held an expression she couldn’t quite read, it was just blank in thought. Did she say something wrong? She was about to apologize when he interrupted her.“Sorry to disappoint ya but after all this, we’ll never see each other again. Don’t get attached to me and I won’t do the same. That’s my main rule other than don’t piss me off or fuck up our shit. Ya can see my family but after that, ya have to go. People tried to change the vaults before and look where that went. No matter how much ya try to change things, there will always be war and conflict. Even in yer little vault. You can ask me about the vaults but anything personal, like my family, I’m not goin to tell.”His honesty was both a curse and a blessing. In this case it was a curse as she could feel a jab through her heart with his cold words. What did she expect after all? Why did she feel any sort of hope that they could be anything but two people with mutual goals?She thought she didn’t open herself to him but she was wrong. Even when she was numb and to herself in that cabin in her room alone, she secretly wanted to be around him. When she was alone, everything came crashing down on her. When she was with him, he could help distract her from all the thoughts, pain, and nightmares. She even felt safe around him at times and missed the gentle side he had when he tended to her.Deep down before all of the misery that made him what he is now, she was sure he was a good man who did everything he could to love them. She could see it when they weren’t in danger and could just relax with each other. An almost protective instinct similar to a husband or father came over him whenever someone he grew close to got hurt, he felt the need to tend to them.That was something that didn’t change in him, it’s just no one got to see it. Her heart began to race as pictures of his genuine smile flashed in her mind. He looked like he hadn’t done that in a long time. A part of her was glad to make him laugh, even just for a moment.But again, why did she care? She wasn’t allowed to and can’t if that’s one of his rules now. She stopped in her tracks and held out her hand to him.“I promise to follow that rule. None of that will happen anyways, it’ll get in the way of what we’re trying to do. Besides love doesn’t exist on the surface when you’re doing everything you can to just survive. I’ll respect your wishes just…please still let me see your family at least once. Even if I did get attached…at least offer me one last moment to see your happiness before I did have to leave.”He was silent once again for a long time. He stared at her hand and just walked ahead of her ignoring the hand she offered. He held up his right hand as his back was to her and signaled for her to come. “Yer learning quick up here. That’s good, yer minds gettin’ better. Ya made a promise so do well to keep it. I’ll keep my end of the deal.”She ran up to him and asked him,” But…what about your promise? You could’ve shook my hand, did it smell?” He just chuckled and said back,” Me makin the rule is my way of promisin. Besides I lost my will to love a long time ago except for my family. Thats the only love I’ll ever hang on to, if I don’t I might as well be six feet under.” He leaned over to her and sniffed her and whispered in her ear,” Sorry to tell ya but ya do kind of smell like dog meat took a shit on ya…”He couldn’t resist teasing her a bit. Her face flushed with embarrassment as she distanced herself from both dog meat and him. He laughed once again and signaled her to come back over. “Hey hey come back here, I’m only pullin yer leg…and maybe yer finger but still!” She rolled her eyes and walked closer to him while sniffing herself.For the next couple of days, they didn’t experience much hardship and there was a lighter mood around them. Was that promise truly meant to be kept?
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During those couple days that passed, they managed to get through the desert without much trouble. Oddly not facing much trouble in the way of raiders or mutated beasts. Just a peaceful period between the both of them.Something she cherished dearly since she didn’t seem to just a break from everything. She didn’t want to admit it but deep down, she only felt closer to the ghoul. The same ghoul who cut off her finger, used her as bait in a radiated river, sold her to be harvested, and more cruel things that shouldn’t be ever be forgiven or forgotten.She didn’t forget those things for a second but at the same time, he’s saved her multiple times. He could’ve left her for dead when she went into Mouldaver’s faction, but he didn’t. He could’ve let her starve during their travels and keep his portions to himself but he didn’t.He didn’t have to open up his arms and let her cry into them but he did. He did so many things to contradict his reputation. There was a softer side to him you only got to see if you got him to truly trust you.That trust she managed to earn when he could sleep like a baby next to her despite the fact he wakes up at just the sound of a feather dropping.That’s why the idea of that promise was eating away at her. It was only human to get closer to someone after going through so much together. The only problem was that he wasn’t human anymore, but did being a ghoul really take away all the human parts of him?How could he not be human with the way he smiled and laughed whenever he got the chance to tease her?“Ya know…ya might have a shot at surviving in this world. Maybe on yer own if for some reason ya can’t go back to the vaults.” She widened her eyes at his words, that was one of the few times he actually complimented her. She smiled up at him and said,” Really? You, the big bad ghoul of the wasteland, think I’m cut out to live up here? I’m not planning on staying up here for any longer than I have to be. But…maybe I have improved than when I first left the vaults. I don’t like what it can turn someone into but it’s what I have to learn. I do have you and Maximus to thank for that.”He smirked with a cheeky grin on his face. “So yer still thinkin’ about that tin head? What about what ya said before about love not existin’ on the surface?” She shrugged and smiled back at him. “Things can change and I can be wrong at times. If it’s possible for, then maybe it is for you as well!”He let out a loud dry laugh at her words which left her confused as her large doe eyes stared at him. So much so that he had to point at his bag in which she had to hand him and give him piss colored vials. He drank down a couple and laughed a bit more before saying,” Me? Love? Ya gotta be kidding. It’s still not possible for you either, he’s part of a faction that’d kill ya. You and him ain’t gettin it up anytime soon sry to disappoint ya.”Her mouth hung open at his accusation of dreaming about him like that. “I’m not thinking about that! Weirdly…I haven’t thought much about him at all. Maybe it’s because we’ve been so busy. He can always slip away from there and live with me in the vaults, that’s what we promised each other. We’ll figure something out.”He pressed his lips up and hummed softly in doubt about something. “Well…If it weren’t for him Mouldaver would still be alive and I would’ve gotten my answers before that damn poor excuse of a bastard ran off with his tail between his legs. His little faction helped kill a lot of innocent people.Is that really someone to love?”She was silent for a moment. She couldn’t deny what he said but she could also see the flaws in his words and the rage at missing the chance of a lead to his family. “I’ve done a lot of bad things and so have you, does that mean we don’t deserve to be loved? That anyone out on the surface or even on the vaults doesn’t deserve the same amount of happiness as everyone else? You have a family you love, would they still love you if they knew what you’ve done to get to them?”A line she crossed she shouldn’t have but she couldn’t help herself when he was clearly pushing hate to Maximus when he wasn’t much better. Everyone in this world is flawed, although with different levels of sins, but nonetheless flawed.Almost immediately, she felt his hand grasp the collarbone of her vault suit at her neck bringing her close to his face. He was pissed and he didn’t care to hide it. His eyes were filled with a story of agony that confronted with like now, he explodes into a ball of rage that was hard to control.But behind that rage was a man who’s suffered endlessly for two hundred years. The mention of his family, the main source of his hidden sadness, was brought to the surface in the form of bottled up rage. “What the fuck did I tell ya before? Don’t mention my fucking family or try to piss me off. You just broke two simple rules.”She let out a yelp when he pushed her to the ground. Dog meat came to her side and started growling up at him despite how close him and the dog has gotten. Even the dog could sense the amount of aggression from him and knew it was too much.“What business of yours is it if they love me or not? The point of finding them is to see if they’re alive or not. If they are, I’ll figure it out from there. If they aren’t then…then that’s just it. Either way keep yer head out of my shit and focus on yer own.” She had both her arms out ready for him to hit her, that’s what she fully expected with the irritation fuming from him.That only seemed to fuel his anger more for some reason. “I ain’t going to fuckin hurt ya either. Why can’t ya get it through yer fuckin head that I’m not yer enemy? Ya act like I’m the fuckin plague, anytime I try to reach out to fix ya up, I get shot down. Ya think ya know what I’m thinkin too when ya don’t.“Parts of him wanted to lash out at her for her insensitivity just like what he always did when he got angry. When he got this way, the best way to let off steam would be to kill anything and everything in his path. Of course not to waste resources, he just did it with his bare hands.This was one of the first times he had to hold himself back and calm down. Truth be told, he didn’t have to calm himself down before so now he had to find a new way to calm down.So he tried to remember something from the old world, digging around in the memories he’s pushed aside, and remembered a moment with his wife. He had gotten into a dispute with a coworker at work and came home all bothered so his wife tried to help him out.Just like how he comforted in the past in his own way, she told him to take close his eyes, take deep breathes, and think of something positive. To him all he had to do was think of her and usually he forgot what he was even mad about.Now he couldn’t think about her or else his rage would get worse. So he turned away from her, closed his eyes, took in a couple deep breathes, and let his mind wander to something positive. The first image confused him though.He thought he would try to imagine a beautiful moment of his daughter but the image of her was all blurry. His heart sank when he realized he was forgetting what she looked like.He knew it had been two hundred years since he saw her but to be actually forgetting her broke him. He had to focus on something else. The image that came to his mind though was a moment of Lucy smiling despite all the blood, injuries, and wear on her body. A moment where he told a simple joke from his old times and she thought it was the funniest thing in world.Oddly after seeing that, his rage quickly went down. He didn’t understand why that specifically calmed him down when he knows that he didn’t feel close to her. That was his rule to the both of them and he’d be damned if he broke his own rule he set.He pushed down that memory and imagined burning it. He realized he was treading into territory that he couldn’t go into, if he did then it would put his own goal at risk. He couldn’t care about her beyond making sure she was alive, he couldn’t let himself.He was getting too comfortable with the time between them. He was glad to realize it now rather than later when it might’ve been too late to close off his heart to her. He wasn’t ever going to ever admit it but she was a subject on his mind a lot more often than he’d like.She was like an early version of him when all this shit show happened but at the same time, she still tried to stick to her morals the best she could. Thats why it shocked him how she acted when she was like a mindless doll filled in her misery, but even then she was still processing everything that’s happened. She wasn’t in her own state of mind, she still isn’t but she was a bit more brighter than before.Thats why every time those big eyes of hers burned with life, he couldn’t help but smile a little. It was a better sight than how she was before, it meant she might be getting better.But now they were back to square one as all that light in her eyes built up from the last couple days disappeared when he finally looked down back at her. She went back to the same expression when she went quiet and numb.Not even a frown or tears in her eyes, she was void of emotion in those eyes. “Okay. I apologize. It won’t happen again. I realize I was being insensitive about something I didn’t know. It wasn’t my place to say something like that.” She got herself from the sandy ground and didn’t even wipe off the excess from her pants. She grabbed her bag from the ground that fell off her shoulders when he pushed her.Dogmeat growled and barked in his direction before following behind her. His cracked lips quivered in confused irritation as he didn’t know what to do about her sometimes. He hadn’t dealt with having a relationship with anyone in a long time. He never let anyone get close enough to him and so all he ever knew was to be rough so they’d leave him be.He focused on one single thing and nothing was going to distract him from it, until now. He felt so conflicted with her because it’d be so easy to leave her when she was like this but a part of him knew he couldn’t just do that.He allowed her to be with him traveling and he doesn’t go back on his word.He sighed and followed behind her. He put a hand on her shoulder but was met with her shoulder getting out of it. “Look darlin’ I apologize for my…temper. Can we just go to normal? This silent treatment bullshit ain’t goin’ to help no one.”She just gazed up at him and was about to respond but the sound of someone screaming interrupted the both of them. Her void filled eyes were now full of concern and was being attracted to the sound like a moth to a flame.In this world, being the moth going to the flame could kill her. Before he could even think of holding onto her to stop her from doing something reckless, she’d already took off in that direction. He groaned and followed after her.The screaming came from inside a disheveled wooden house that was crumbling at the foundation. It was a small urban house that had cracked windows, sand and dirt all throughout the house, the remains of bones of both animals, and other multiple indications that the house was not safe to be in.She raced inside of the house out of his sight for a couple seconds until he finally saw her. Once he did he grabbed one of her wrists and pulled her away from the source of the screams. He looked down and saw a thin woman with ratty hair underneath rubble that fell on her.The woman was visibly weak with a very frail body from starvation and was on the brink of death. A couple bricks from the crumbling ceiling fell on her legs making her stuck underneath the rubble. She was slipping in and out of consciousness due to the amount of blood loss. He glanced to the side and could read that damn merciful vault dwellers thoughts like an open book.She tried to get out of his grip around her wrist but he wouldn’t budge. “Whatever yer thinkin’ about doin just give up. She’s goin to die anyways either by starvin or by some fiend out there. This is a waste of time goddammit!”The same rage she had in her eyes when they first were together and he treated her like shit came back as she struggled to get out of his grasp. “Let me go! As long as she’s alive there’s always a chance to save her! I’m just going to remove the rubble, give her a stimpack, wrap up her injuries, and give her some of my food. It’ll be my resources so it’ll have nothing to do with you! So let go!”He took her backpack and put it on his back while trying to drag her out of the house. “Well guess what? Yer shit is also mine and I say let’s get the fuck outta here. Ya seem to be forgetting the world out here. She’s a hopeless cause so stop fightin me.”She kicked him in the knees and used her lower abdomen to push him to the ground making him let go of her wrist. She quickly grabbed her bag and went to the injured woman. The woman was losing blood fast so she had to work quickly.The only problem was that she couldn’t lift the rubble on her own it was extremely difficult to. Her anxiety was spiking as her body started to shake when the woman was dancing along the edge of death. For some reason, the woman looked similar for her mother.The flashbacks of her mother as a turned ghoul and having to kill her came back to haunt her in her mind. She could feel her body sweating up a storm trying to make the rubble lift up. She could hear his slow footsteps of his leather shoes behind her coming up behind her.She didn’t want to ask him for help but she had no choice. “Please! Help me lift this! I’ll do whatever you want just please…I’m tired of seeing innocent people die like this…I know the reality of this world and that you’re used to this, but just this once, could you try to understand?”Tears trailed down her cheeks as her eyes were traced with panic for this dying woman. He wanted to be angry and drag her out of the damn house already but the tears on her face brought him back to that night.She’s done everything she can to hold everything in for as long as she can. She had her own breaking point just like everyone else. He didn’t know his breaking point but if he found out all of his family was dead, he’d probably break too.Her father betrayed her when she did everything she could to find him, she find out her mother was dead because of her father, everything she knew about the vaults was a lie, and so much more in just a couple of weeks. Before all of this, she was happy and safe down there.Although it was two hundred years ago, he was once happy with his family and now later on he’s done everything he could to find them just like she did with her father. In some ways, he felt jealous that she managed to find him but he never found much clues on where his family was.They were two broken people with similar circumstances only difference is that he was more damaged with the time thats passed with no hope to see his family in sight. The words he said to her came back to him. “Oh I’m you sweetie, just give it a little time.”Those words were truer than he thought.His open gloved hand turned into a scrunched up fist as he had to groan at his next actions. He came over to the rubble and lifted it up enough to where he could throw it somewhere else. She didn’t expect him to actually listen to her.She couldn’t help but smile completely wide like a giddy fool who just won the lottery. It was the most emotion he’d seen from her yet and all he had to do was lift up some rocks. She knew the rule and the wall she put up between them but she couldn’t resist her next actions.She got up to his level and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. She didn’t care if he was filled with radiation or if he would hurt her or push her away. She would apologize for this later for breaking one of his main rules.His eyes widened at her sudden embrace and could feel the tears hitting his shoulder as she spoke in the most joyful tone he’d ever heard from her,” Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much. I’m sorry for delaying things but just let me do this one thing.”She let go of the embrace around him to reach into her bag to grab what she needed to heal the woman. Though it wouldn’t be as easy as she thought. Her leg thankfully wasn’t broken but there was already a lot of blood loss.She took a stimpack and stabbed it into the woman’s leg making the woman jerk and groan a bit. After that she cleaned the wound with old alcohol and ripped a bit of the woman’s clothes to wrap around the injury. She tied it in a tight knot and grabbed some of her rations and placed it next to the woman for when she wakes up.He was about to make a retort how it was stupid to leave her food when a roach will probably eat her by the time she wakes up but was stopped by her turning around and smiling wide like a fool again.“I can’t say thank you enough. I know all this may be idiotic to you but by letting me do this, you’ve done something good. When you see your family again, you can tell them that good thing. If I do see them, I’ll let them know how many times you’ve saved me. I’m sorry if I seemed like I was saying you didn’t love your family or they wouldn’t love you back, if you love someone you’ll love them for everything they are.” She took a pause as the smile on her face lessened into more of a fake grin akin to a mask of her own misery.“I just wondered if my mother saw me now…would she still love me? After everything I’ve done? I know I said I’d never let this place change me to a monster but it is. I’m scared of becoming something I won’t recognize anymore and returning to my brother, would he hate me for what I’ve become now? There’s so much I don’t know but I need to adapt so I can do what I can to see him again. He’s one of the few things I have left anymore. He may hate me for having our own father killed…I’ll stop talking sorry. This isn’t something that you should bother with.”Her fake smile was faltering as her lips were quivering. She was struggling to hide her expression from him so she covered her mouth with her hand and turned away from him to wipe away stray tears.He hated when his body betrayed his mind because without thinking, he turned her around and pulled out a handkerchief that previously had sewing materials and used it to wipe away her tears. He roughed up her hair and took off his hat to put it on her head.“Yer not the only one with those same worries. It’s not a bother if I’ve been in yer place. I don’t anythin about yer mother but if she didn’t love someone who stopped everythin she was doin to help some random stranger on the brink of death, she’d be crazy. Same to yer brother. If I ever saw him, I’d put a good word in for ya if ya do the same thing for me with my family. Finger for finger right? Yer not a monster either but if yer around me for much longer, ya might turn into one.”He chuckled at his last words a little. There it was again, his gentle side absolutely teasing her when the rule stopped her from getting close to him. It was then she realized she had already broken their rule, she could feel the fluttering warmth in her chest.A genuine smile on his face as she looked up at him. She felt like she was being dragged in many directions with him but despite that, the warmth in her chest never leaving. She smiled back at him while tilting the hat up and down at him.“I don’t think you’re a monster either. You may have had two hundred years to do a lot of bad things and nothing excuses those actions, you used to have a past with people you cared about. You’re a survivor and a victim to my father and the bombs dropping. I know you’re not comfortable getting into your past with me but if you’re ever curious about my mother I’ll tell you stories about her. She was a great person and mother, someone that deserves to be remembered. You don’t have to tell me anything about your past or family but they deserve to be remembered too. I’d love to hear about them as well one day.”He took his hat back from her head and turned away from her with his eyes lowered at the ground and his smile faded from his face. He mumbled in a low voice thinking she wouldn’t hear,” Yeah…maybe one day.”He tipped his hat up and raised his voice to his normal level. “Sure if we ever settle for the night somewhere and we get bored. While we’re walking hell no, we have to pay attention at all times. Either it be I’m a monster, victim, survivor, it doesn’t change what’s happened already. I am what I am. Let’s get goin’ now. We’ve wasted enough time already.”He was already taking steps to leave the room so she had to follow behind or else she’d lose him. She took one last look to that woman and she looked like she was already waking up.She smiled to herself knowing she finally did something good in this horrible world, she saved someone today. It wasn’t just her, it was the both of them that saved that woman. She was glad that he was slowly changing and potentially healing himself from his grief.If they didn’t have this rule and time crunch to find her dad, she would’ve done all she could to be by his side and do what she could to help him feel better the same way he’s done with her. He had his own walls up and wouldn’t let anyone in but even then, he was showing gradual progress of letting them down around her.She wanted to be someone who he could truly trust even if they were going to be together for a short time. She wanted him to feel that sense of security with someone at least once. He did something he wouldn’t otherwise do, maybe that could continue.She was proud of herself. Thanks to her good graces, the universe had great karma for them down the line.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
She couldn’t shake off the warmth she was feeling around him. She liked his company so every time she was reminded that they would part paths at the end of all this, a part of her heart sank. She still wanted to get to know him but no matter how close they seemed to be getting, he was a million light years away from reach.He wouldn’t share much about his past other than some silly vague stories for some laughs. One story was that he was learning to ride horses for the first time and no matter what, the horse he was on just kept shaking him off until he swapped out for another horse who was tame to him the first time he got on the saddle. He said he bought that horse and it was his rosco for life. He missed that horse, even more now since he hates walking everywhere.She cherished the stories he told her as it allowed her to imagine the type of person he was back then. She could see a gentle man who was filled with love for his family, the people he held close to him, and any pets he may have had. When he told the story of that horse, she could see the reminiscing of his past life in his lowered eyes.Then when he realized she was watching him intensely, he quickly brought his guard back up. Just the thought made her sigh. She wondered if she asked him how he knew her father, would he tell her much of anything? What did he know about the vaults from two hundred years ago?For some reason, a memory flashed back to her. It was when they were first together and he wasn’t as merciful. He had held up his gun at this old sign of the vaults and shot directly at the face of Pip-Boy with an expression of pure hatred.That hatred must’ve came from somewhere if he had to waste a bullet over it and couldn’t hide his anger. She didn’t question it at the time as she was more focused on trying to escape but now that moment didn’t seem to leave her mind.Her mind kept going in circles with a million racing questions she wanted to ask him. She wasn’t trying to be obvious but she kept glancing up at him and back at the ground while fidgeting with both of her hands. She was scared to ask anything personal as to not destroy the good mood they had between them.He could clearly see the curiosity in her eyes eating her alive so he chuckled and said,” Spit it out girlie. Clearly somethin on yer mind.” She was taken aback by how fast he caught on and hid her hands in her sleeve fidgeting with the sewing while looking away. “Well…I wanted to ask you what you knew about my father, the vaults, and what happened two hundred years ago but you clearly have a line about asking about your past that you don’t want crossed so…maybe not. Maybe you can answer this but how do you know how to track him?”His straightforward tone in his next words caught her off guard as he said,” Without goin in to too much, he was one of the original people behind the idea of the vaults back then. I was someone who helped advertise the Vaults as a sort of mascot but had no idea what was goin on behind the scenes until I figured it out through some sources. Him and…someone I knew, had the idea of droppin the bombs and the people in the vaults were the only ones left alive. That way there’d be no be no competition left and the people in the vaults could repopulate the earth into the ideal society they wanted. Each of the vaults were different though, had different ways of doin things. Some different figure heads let their fantasies out in the vaults they owned. Yer father didn’t just destroy Sandy Shores, he helped in the genocide of billions of people.”She remained completely silent listening to every word in detail. She couldn’t believe what he said but the genuine disgust in his voice and her father’s actions already proved that he’d be capable of something so despicable. Any shred of love she had of her father was gone, all that remained was complete hate.Her mother, Sandy Shores, and the entire world two hundred years ago? All those lives taken just because of some ideal he had? He would kill her too if he knew she found out about all this. A gut wrenching feeling twisted in her gut giving her the intense urge to puke.The question of killing her father now had an answer. He was about to speak again when he was interrupted by her holding her stomach and puking on the ground to her left side. Luckily he was on her right side. She got to her knees and puked again as that answer in her head and the idea of her father being the subject of so many people’s deaths didn’t make her stop.He got to his knees next to her and had one hand on her back going in circles to soothe her and one on her shoulder. “Shit didn’t mean to drop that all on ya. Ya asked and I answered, I don’t want to be anythin but honest to ya. It’s not good to anyone to lie but do we need to stop for a sec?”He got a bottle of somewhat clean water from his bag and was about to give her some but she got up on her own. She cleaned off the puke from her chin and lips and stared back at him with a strong fire to extinguish the life of her father. “No I need you to be honest with me. Thank you for telling me the truth instead of keeping things from me like my father. You asked me before about killing my father, I have my answer now. Someone like him doesn’t deserve to live, he’s clearly not going to change his ways he’s only going to continue in his destruction. Not only my mother and Sandy Shores but the whole world? The lives those people had? The life you had? You deserved to be have a safe and peaceful life and he took that away from so many people. Now this is all that’s left.”He could see the same anger he had when all this happened in her, an emotion that drove him to entirely change everything he once was. He became an entirely different animal all together when his rage was at the wheel. All morals out the window and only focused on finding his daughter and killing the people behind the Vaults.It was still like that now for him but to a more lessened degree since he had her with him. He wasn’t proud of what he became though. He wasn’t going to admit it but he liked when she was her normal self. Full of joy and naivety, although sometimes being a pain in the ass to deal with, he enjoyed being around someone who he knew was someone he could trust to not try to kill him.Someone that got to experience happiness without worry. He was glad she wasn’t raised in this damned wasteland doomed to become the worst version of herself. She was one of the few good things that came out of the vaults.He didn’t want to bring out that killer part of her because once she did, it wasn’t something to go back from. He knew that better than anyone.“Yer right about that sweetheart but…killing him ain’t goin to be somethin ya have to worry about. I’ll do it myself, besides killin him is one of the main things I’ve been livin for. Just let me do it. I know I said that with time you’ll turn out like me but don’t. Do everything ya can not to. I know ya want to get revenge and all that but…you’ll turn into somethin ya won’t recognize anymore.” He gripped his hand on her shoulder to reassure her in an attempt to calm down that fire in her.She gave him a fake smile and placed a hand on top of his and said in a soft voice,” Thank you, I still have to think on everything. You may think you have turned into a monster but I still think you’re not. A monster wouldn’t do everything he could to find his family. My father is. I’ve been following you all this time but never questioned how you’ve been tracking my father, how do you know where he’s going?”Fortunately she managed to convince him that she wasn’t going to kill her father and acted like she was more calm. That was the farthest thing from the truth. She was doing everything she could to act okay and sane but she was making all these plans in her head to make his death a reality.He took his hand away from her shoulder and stood up looking in the direction of the New Vegas location he mentioned. The very place where they’d been trying to get to. “Well since I’ve got the inside scoop on Vault Tec and knowing him way back, he’s most definitely goin’ to some vault in New Vegas. Maybe to hide out until we can’t track him anymore. Thankfully we got yer lil wrist watch to get in. He might have sources he can use in one of those vaults. If all those figureheads had different ways of doin things, there might be a chance he knows of one of them vaults that has technology that can keep someone alive for a long time. My family could be in one of em. Luckily since he’s in that ten piece of skillet set, he’ll eventually get tired. He’s still on his way to New Vegas, even with that rocket launcher he couldn’t have gotten there that soon from Mouldavers.”She paused for a moment and said,” Have I been delaying us? I know if I wasn’t with you, you would’ve gotten there sooner or even be there by now. You should’ve just taken my Pip-boy before we started traveling and tracked him down. At least then he would’ve been dead already. I’m the one weighing us down.”He rolled his eyes and flicked her forehead giving her a light pang of pain. She was about to ask why he did that before he spoke up,” Don’t talk like that. Ya can’t take back what’s already happened. Maybe that would’ve been easier for me but I saw a person who wanted the truth so I let ya have that. I had a debt to ya as well since ya saved me from turnin’ so…finger for finger. Get that yer a bother shit outta yer head. Besides we’ve been on his tail as fast as we can and I’d say we’re doin’ good. We’re almost to New Vegas anyway. Look over there.”He pointed his leather gloved hand in the direction of a far away city with a large glowing tower. He was right, they were almost there. Although it looked far away with the heat and blinding sun of the desert, it was definitely in reach. In the next couple days they could make it there if they didn’t face any trouble or stopped. Maybe even sooner if they just kept walking.That fire in her eyes returned as the determination to get to New Vegas before her father did fueled inside her. “Well what are we waiting for? If it’s within sight we could make it there pretty soon. Maybe two days at latest if we keep going.” He saw that same flame of revenge return to her as she walked with extra speed in her steps.He picked up his pace and walked in front of her to put his hand out in front of her. “What are you doing?! Let’s go-“ He spoke in a serious tone,” Hol on there lassie, we can’t just rush our asses to the city just like that. As we get closer, we gotta look out. There’s some nasty critters called Death Claws around the city. Reason why they got big ass walls around the city. Lucky for us, I got connections in there so we can easily get in even if they forbid my kind. Just gettin to the city ain’t goin to be pretty. Ya may have to be ready for the fight of yer life if it comes to the worst.”Just the name alone of the creature made her back have chills in a newfound sense of fear. She remembered the gulper that rose out of the water and almost ate her, thankfully she got out of that alive but the Death Claws sounds like something that would eat those gulpers alive without a second thought.“What…are death claws? Are they really that much of a threat? What’s New Vegas like?” The extra bounce in her step went away as she returned to her normal pace making it easier for him to catch up. He could see the unspoken fear in her eyes and put his hand to her shoulder. “Don’t worry too much bout em. They’re mainly active in the daytime and I have a way to avoid them in the night so we have to take things a lil slower. It’s something yer father will have to deal with and that’ll slow him down, with that armor he should be fine if somethin attacks him. New Vegas is a broken down city pukin out neon signs everywhere. It’s filled with a lot of the usual crime ya see in the wasteland but mainly at night. In the day it’s alright. Once we get to the city though, ya have to be near me at all times though and keep yer head down. We don’t want any unwanted attention drawn to us.”The feeling of his hand on her shoulder and the reassurance in his voice calmed her down a bit. She lightly smiled up at him and said in a more relaxed tone,” Okay I probably should stop acting like I know where I’m going and let you lead the way. The only thing is that we’re getting closer to the city and it’s still day light, are you sure they’re not this far out either? Either way I’m glad that you have a way to avoid them and we can get into the city without much trouble. We should get into the city at the same time as him.”He chuckled a bit and put his hat on her head without warning. “Nothin wrong with bein’ a lil leader but ya let me steer the wheel this time. Keep that safe, I know yer gettin hot in this blinding desert. They don’t usually go out this far but we’ll walk for a bit longer and then camp out somewhere until the night and head out. I’ll let ya sleep for a bit as well, I’m sure yer tired from all the walkin. Ya need all the energy you can get since we’re going to move fast in the night.”Yet again the reminder of that promise came back to her again. That soft side of him seemed to be a tormenting tease that even if she wanted to get closer to him, there was no possibility of a future with him. Not for a friendship at least but with the way he’s been treating her lately she can’t help but feel like they’re getting somewhere.The sad truth she had to accept is that even if there was something between them, it would never be outright spoken out loud. He wouldn’t admit it and she was too afraid to. She was afraid she might be too excited one day and say something that she shouldn’t causing him to leave her behind or something of that kind.But yet when she had acted out again the rule, he hardly pushed her away from him. He’s comforted her multiple times and even when she hugged him, he just accepted it. Everything was confusing to her but despite that they still had to keep going as if they were both sure of what they were doing.He was trying to have his tone seem straight forward but his expression told another story. Her heart jumped a little when she saw the worry in his expression and the little things he noticed about her. She chuckled a little and tipped his hat up the way he always did. “Okay Captain of the Wasteland, ride us into the blazing sunset. You said you were the mascot for Vault Tech? I remember watching these old Western movies and someone named Cooper Howard starred in them before going to Vault Tech to be in commercials for them, you look like him…are you him?”He knew he was true to his word but he felt the biggest urge to lie to her when she hit the nail on the spot. He wished he didn’t ran his mouth but sometimes he didn’t think right when it came to her. He needed to watch his words more. He sighed and gave her the answer,” Ya that was me. I didn’t do it because I wanted to though. The commercials for Vault Tech I mean. The western movies were fun to do although they had me doin things that I didn’t want to do. Ya figured me out, yer too clever for yer own good.”She was surprised when he actually gave her an answer. She expected him to ignore her question like he sometimes did when it could give something away with his personal life. This time he told her without much hesitation, she couldn’t help but be a little bit giddy at the idea of him finally opening up to her and him being a potential movie star.“At least I now know your name now but you were a celebrity? Your movies were my favorite growing up! I watched them all the time when I was exorcizing with my…father. Anyways your movies were a great comfort for me, who knew my favorite actor would be the one I was traveling with?” He could hear her voice drop a bit at the part with her father.Something about her father still watching his movies to this day put a sense of disgust in him. It made him want to burn his movies to the ground so that monster couldn’t watch him again. “Ya…well I’m glad my movies helped someone out. It means nothin’ now, there’s nothin to that name now. Don’t think nothin special bout me, just call me Cooper. Shoulda never gave him that damn autograph…”He didn’t think she would hear him but she couldn’t help but chuckle a bit imagining a younger version of her father asking him for an autograph. The question came to her mind, who was he before he did all those horrible things?Did he have his own children apart from her or another family? Did something make him the way he was or did he never think of it being bad? A million questions about his past self she never knew about, the only person who had those answers was him.She had to hold down her rushing curiosity and tell herself it was meaningless to wonder about who he was before. It doesn’t change what he’s already done to so many people. She tried to stomp on any sort of sympathy she had for him.He was going to die anyways along with all the horrible things he’d done and will continue to do if he’s left alive. The good memories and parts of him made parts of her die when she looked back on the past with him but it didn’t change the answer of killing him in her mind. Even if he went through a hell beyond imagination to make him the way he was, it didn’t excuse the blood shed he spilled.“What are ya laughing about?” He asked since he didn’t think she heard him. She waved her hand up and down and said,” Oh nothing, we’ve been walking for a while now when do you want to stop?” He stopped in his tracks when he looked to the side and found a lone metal poorly made shack. “Now, we’re goin to stop here. I’ll let ya know when it’s dark. We have a bit until sundown so ya can get some food and shut eye.”He headed in the direction of the metal shack as she followed behind him. He held out his arm to stop her and looked back at her with her finger to his lips to signal to be quiet. He whispered to her as softly as he could,” Look I’m goin in first, you’ll be out here until I say it’s clear. If ya see anything out here, scream for me.”Before she could respond, he went on in without her. Thankfully the shack wasn’t that big so it shouldn’t take that long for him to clear it. Though it didn’t shake off the chills going down her spine, almost like the feeling of being watched.She had her hand slowly slither to her gun holster and gulped as she could see her stomach twist in knots. Her hand shaking a bit too. She looked around constantly and there was nothing in sight, she checked multiple times but she couldn’t stop her anxiety.She wished she could go back to being numb so it would be easier to shut away the fear she was having. If there was a threat out there, she wouldn’t be able to defend herself properly. When she was numb before, she could do things without thinking or hesitating.The heat of the desert beamed down on her but yet she felt cold sweats go down her body making her feel chilly. Her hands shook as she held onto her gun holster for dear life. A couple minutes passed and still nothing came.She heard a floorboard creak from behind her which caused her to yell out of shock and take out her gun from the holster and point it at whatever was behind her. It was just Cooper coming back from clearing the shack. Guilt and relief washed over her as she immediately put her gun away and sighed.“Woah what’s got yer panties in a twist? It’s all clear so we can camp here till night. Did ya see somethin that freaked ya out?” She shook her head in disagreement and replied back,” No I just…had the feeling of being watched. It was just a little bit of overthinking and imagination though. We’re all good so don’t worry.”He hummed watching her face and body language obviously get frightened by something but trying to make her words seem like things were fine. He stepped outside and walked around every inch of the shack carefully watching for anything but there was nothing.He shrugged his shoulders and headed back to the front where she was. He walked on in inside and whistled for her to follow. She listened and came in. To her shock he didn’t just clear it, he cleaned up an area for one person to sleep while the rest was a mess. The wooden frame keeping the shack stable was coming undone with rot but for now it would be have to work.The metal itself was not insulating at all from the heat outside, even having holes in the metal walls. She imagined it would be even worse at night when it was freezing temperatures. The rest of the shack was filled with remains of bones, trash bags filled with torn clothes, food containers and packages littered all around, random metal and wood debris, and other objects that didn’t make the shack live able whatsoever.He swatted away some debris around the area he cleaned and took off his long bullet vest to get to his long leather jacket. He placed his jacket on the ground in the area he cleaned up and signaled for her to come over to the spot. “Yer just going to sleep here. Sorry it’s not like yer fancy vault beds but it’ll have to do.”The fact he even lended her his coat so she could sleep a little better than just on the ground made her smile. He sat down next to the leather jacket and patted down on it. She sat on the leather jacket and said,” Thank you…is it really okay to take your jacket-“ She felt his leather glove on her mouth as he interrupted her words.“Enough with that bullshit already. Just accept the damn help. Now eat somethin and sleep. Unless ya need a lullaby or night time story too?” She laughed at that and said back,” Maybe a story about how it was like on the set of your western movies? Or maybe how the world was like back then from your perspective? If you tell me one story, I promise not to snore too loudly in my sleep.”She held out her pinky again for him to take. To her surprise, he used his normal pinky this time instead of her finger. “Fine but ya have to keep yer promise on that one. Ya snore loud enough to attract rad roaches without the fire at night. Yer snoring is going to be the very thing that kills ya.”She rolled her eyes and laid her back against his leather jacket. She let him speak freely about his past as a movie star in the western film industry of Hollywood. He spoke about the large crowds that swarmed him every time he was in public, the exhausting parties he had to throw for some other celebrity he barely knew at his house, the behind the scenes of the movies with the sets and stories, the countless interviews he had to do for popular day time television, and the other parts that went into his job.She tried her best to listen to every word but by the time he started talking about the behind of the scenes of his movies, she completely passed out. He was glad she could finally relax after everything she’s been through. There she was in a slumber and the most peaceful she’s ever looked.She didn’t look as frail anymore since she’s been eating more. Her eyes were slowly filling with the life they had before and the bags underneath were nearly gone. Her energy had been getting better by the day.He couldn’t believe the amount of trust they’ve built in such a short time. Here she was sleeping so soundly next to him. He sighed softly to himself as he lightly touched her cheek with his knuckles.She was silent as a mouse with a slight grin on her face. With a soft smile he whispered in a low tone enough to where she couldn’t wake up,” Ya kept yer promise sweetheart. Good for ya. I don’t know if I’ll keep mine…”His ancient heart, the one he thought never worked anymore, beat hard and warm in his chest at just the thought of her. It had been every time she got giddy at the things he said or done, the time she hugged him close, and many more instances. At first he thought it was some recent strange side effect to the vials but as a man who loved someone before, he knew that feeling all too well. Even after two hundred years, he could still remember the joy he felt for his wife in those old days.It wasn’t to the same degree but it was developing fast. It was too late to say he didn’t care about her but too early to love her. He had to accept the reality that they couldn’t be together for long. He was the one who made that rule and was going to stick to it, otherwise he’d be lying. He’s technically lying to her now but he still had time to shut away any chance of that rush coming back to him.But he was the one who wanted her to open up to him. He did just enough for her to feel better. He comforted her to a certain point but in doing so, she got more comfortable with him. When she got to feel secure and be herself, she lit up a room just by being in it. He couldn’t deny the fact she was beautiful inside and out.He couldn’t believe the amount of happiness behind her smile towards him. It had been a long time since anyone gave a true shit about him like she did. She got worried about a simple scratch on his arm or a bruise on his neck, she was hard to fight against when he tried to reassure her he was fine so usually he let her patch him up.It was adorable to see her proud of herself at her handiwork. He was growing more fond of her by the day, it was so easy to when she was a genuine joy to be around. If not for the goal of finding his family, he would do everything he could to protect that smile from this world. He still feels a sense of remorse for what he did to her when they first met.The only thing that tin can did good was save her from his rain of bullets. Another reason he wouldn’t ever admit to her how he felt was he knew she could have a much better life without him. She would have more luck with that brotherhood of steel soldier she fancied than him.She deserved a better life than the one she got. One with him was not ideal for anyone.He seemed to be lost in thought because the sun light was already fading into the night. He was about to get up and check if it was almost nighttime but felt the familiar soft hand pull on the fabric of his shirt from the back. She lightly whispered in her sleep his name. “Cooper…stop chasing me with that lasso…”He glanced down at her as the fast beating in his chest didn’t seem to end. He put his leather gloved hand to hers to hold and chuckled a bit to himself from her comment. He took her reach as a sign as to not leave her side.So then for the next couple hours he sat in thought while to her side never leaving.
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The sun beamed down on both their faces allowing their features to shine. A shadow on one side of his face due to his hat concealing from the sun. A cold look in his brown eyes as he stared down at the man below him. He held his rifle high to aim at the man below and with one click of his trigger finger, the bullet shot the man in the head.He brought his rifle to his firm chest and sighed softly to himself before the movie ended with him riding away in the sunset on his horse. Cooper Howard, a man known for his western films long ago, was dearly loved to this day. Admired by a person he would’ve least expected but also made complete sense.Her father was the biggest fan of him even two hundred years later, he had all of his movies and played them whenever he got the chance. So in turn, those movies became a big part of how she grew up.When she was a teenager they analyzed the movies scene by scene together while her brother stayed to the side not understanding why they had so much passion for the films when the vault had so many others to choose from.“Feo Fuerte y Formal. It means he was ugly, strong, and had dignity.” That one line cascaded inside her head. She could see the man underneath him was her father, begging for mercy despite the lack of mercy he’s shown to all the billions of people he’s killed.He aimed the rifle to her father’s head and was about to shoot but was interrupted by the scream of her. Her body moved on its own in the line of fire to her father’s to shield him. “Please! Stop this! Don’t kill him, he’s all I have left!”She couldn’t control the words coming out of her mouth, the salty tears drowning out her vision, or her two arms wrapped around her father’s neck. She was a spectator in her own body, she couldn’t understand why she would go to her father’s side and try to save him.After all he did? What he did to her mother? A rage built up inside her at this weak version of her and the fact she couldn’t do nothing to stop her father’s death. Another version of her materialized, the worst version of her she’d ever seen. Hair all over the place, cracked and bleeding lips, bruises and cuts all over her face and visible skin, torn holes in her vault suit from wear, blood stains on some parts of her clothing, brown boots barely being held together, worn armor to protect her body, and a holster on her side which held a 10mm pistol.Her brown large eyes were devoid of any trace of life, they were empty but had a strong determination to finish out one goal. She pulled out the pistol from her holster and without a second thought, pulled against the trigger.A long moment of silence played out. Although it was silent, the tension was loud enough for everyone to all experience. Her father, the very person who she loved more than anything in the world, was dead by her hand.All that version of her did was let out a long sigh and just stood there for a while in silence. Almost saying her goodbyes.Then the black and white faded back to color and the sound of a clap could be heard. A version of her as a director yelled out,” Cut! That was great but…can I pull you off to the side for a moment?”While all the other actors and crew were shuffling around, the director pulled her to the side with an arm around her shoulder and whispered,” You have talent but…is this really the character you’re meant to play? If anyone else saw this acting they’ll think it’s forced.”That version of her looked to the side with uncertainty. The version of her replied back to the director but it was all blurred out. She tried to make out what the director and that part of her was saying but it was all fading away from her until everything became complete darkness.She was in a dark void now unsure of what to do. She heard a familiar low rich voice call out to her, the same one from her childhood. “Hey time to wake up!”Her eyes opened as she felt her sides being pushed over and over by leather gloved hands. “Hey it’s night time, we gotta get on the road while it’s still hot.” She moved her upper body in a slow manner while rubbing her eyes still processing her dream. It didn’t make much sense to her what her subconscious was trying to tell her but she had the feeling that wouldn’t be the last cryptic dream she would have.The look in that version of her eyes still haunted her, was that really what she looked like while she was numbing herself? She shook her head a couple times to push her dream and other thoughts away as she had things going on in reality to focus on.She was still a bit groggily a bit tired and wished to sleep more, oddly his long worn out leather jacket was more comfortable than she thought. She stretched her body in a satisfying manner and was about to get up on her own but was greeted by a hand above her. She stared up and saw he already grabbed her bag as it was on his shoulder.She took the hand she was offered as it pulled her up. She couldn’t help but slide in a small joke,” I guess you like my bag a little better now? I’m lucky you’re not a raider or anything else sinister up here or else they would’ve taken everything I had.” She said in reference to one of the first meetings where he took her bag and poured everything onto the ground and threw it down.He scoffed and immediately forced the bag into her arms before turning his back to her. “Ya you are lucky. Ya have the best bounty hunter in these godforsaken ruins of the world. But even then, you have to rely on only yourself sweetie. Every man, woman, and…” He felt a tongue licking on the gloves on his hand and a happy puppy face on the dog staring up at him. The dog they’ve come to adopt to help them kill smaller threats now looked up to both her and him with the biggest eyes of love he’d ever seen on a dog.Even more than his own back 200 years ago. He guessed it was because he saved the dog from death and gave it some attention but the amount of protectiveness for both her and him from the dog was to a degree he didn’t predict. Though the dog had a clear favorite, as soon as Lucy spoke that dog ran faster to her than a bullet.The dog put his head in the palm of his hands and whined a bit wanting to be pet. “Dogmeat for themselves out here.” She couldn’t help but laugh a bit when he tried to ignore the dog but still didn’t deny the dog the pets it wanted. “Oh really? Dogmeat seems to thinks otherwise. He really seems to love the attention, I wouldn’t want to be on my own either.”He rolled his eyes but deep down his heart melted a bit when he saw the joy on both their faces. It made the facade he’s acted out in order to survive very easy to slip through when he could have simple moments like this where he didn’t have to be on edge. Moments he had to cherish as many people in this world didn’t often get to have.But the moment had to end as all things did. He turned her back to her and waved his hand for her to follow. “Come on, we only got so much time in the night before they wake up. We can’t afford to waste any time. Ya have to follow everything I say without hesitation. We have to be silent as possible, ya understand me?”She could sense the shift in the mood and the importance in his tone so all she did was respond with a nod and said an agreement in a soft voice. He exited the metal shack and so she followed. She took her first step outside in the night and looked around. That feeling of being watched returned to her but she got distracted as she stared off in the direction they were going, which was north, her eyes raised a bit.There she saw the faint glow of New Vegas from the big neon signs he mentioned before. It wasn’t as visible in the daytime but now she knew what he meant in the night. She’d never seen anything like it before, a small part of her was both intimated to what she could find in there but also very curious to explore it.She put her mind to her main objective though which was finding her father. She had to remind herself of the golden rule of the wasteland he told her before. It echoed in her mind,” Thou shalt get sidetracked by bullshit every goddamn time.”Both her and Dogmeat followed behind him in silence for nearly an hour without much trouble. Oddly not a supposed death claw in sight. Something that should’ve reassured her but it didn’t. It made the chills from before come in constant waves down her back.He could see her on edge and shivering a bit from the cold. Despite that, she took careful precautions to avoid making much noise like he said. He put a hand to her shoulder spooking her a bit but immediately calmed down when she saw it was just him. He signaled to stop for a moment and slid off his jacket to give to her.He put in on her shoulders to droop down the rest of her body. She could feel the warmth, most likely from his radiation, on the jacket which quickly brought down her temperature to a more balanced one. Before she could thank him, he walked forward without her.They continued walking for another half hour yet again without much trouble. Just the occasional rad roach in their way but the night was completely silent as the glow of the city was getting brighter the closer they got. He didn’t seem to be on edge at all, in fact he looked relaxed. Then again, he always made everything he did look easy. It was easy when he had 200 years to learn what he did and survive when she just first started out with everything.If something did come their way, even a death claw, she assumed that it would be a walk in the park for someone like him. He must’ve faced something that sinister at one point and obviously he was the one who came out of it with a win seeing as he’s still alive with everything intact. Well mostly in intact. He would’ve done everything he could to survive so he could see his family again, even if it was a slim chance.If her mother were missing and had a chance of being alive, she would’ve done the same. Sadly that wasn’t her reality, she finished the job her father didn’t follow through with. He put her through misery and she got to put her out of it but still she felt like in some ways she murdered her own mother.She could feel her chest turning at just that thought. She forced her mind to stop racing as best as she could and kept her eyes forward in their reality. In this world if you didn’t focus on your surroundings, even for a moment, you could be eradicated like that.Unfortunately she was too late to stop herself. She tripped on a bottle on the ground and fell onto it while making that same bottle shatter. It made a large noise that caught the attention of both dogmeat and him.It wasn’t just their attention it caught. A deep growling and heavy footsteps from behind her could be heard. Her heart sank in her chest as the hairs on her skin stood up tall. It felt like time was slowed down as everything happened so fast.Before she could react or get up away from the monster above her, she felt him pull her hand and forced her up before pushing her down on the ground away from the monster. In that process though, the monster took it as an opportunity to strike.It raised its claw to strike his stomach and unfortunately it hit deep causing a deadly blow. He groaned out in pain and immediately took out his gun to shoot the deathclaw in its head and all of its weak points. Within a couple seconds, it fell down but those shots caused loud noises to potentially attract more.She rushed over to his side to see the damage and it was worse than she could ever imagine. It pierced through deep layers of skin with blood pouring out from the seams of the wound. She brought her bag to the ground and was about to go through it to get a med kit but was interrupted by his hand to her wrist.“It’s not worth it, ya have to go. It won’t take long for the death claws to get here. Take the dog and get out of here. Keep yer promise and find yer dad, do whatever ya need to do. In the process just please…find my daughter and make sure she’s safe. Tell her how much her dad misses her.” She couldn’t believe how easy it could be to lose someone, even him, someone who had survived the wasteland for 200 hundred years.He had went against his own will, he got sidetracked by someone like her. After everything he thought he taught himself, to be independent, but here he was in a pool of his own blood because he chose to save something other than himself. Now there could potentially be a chance he’d never see his daughter again. Then again, if he did meet her again would she even recognize him? After all he’s become? Does he deserve that chance to be happy with her again?He wasn’t going to lie to himself that he was dying right now. The suffering and agony of his long life is finally coming to an end, at least he got to have brief moments to smile after so many years of complete isolation of people from his heart.She couldn’t accept that though. Flashbacks of all the people she loved in vault who died, her mother’s smile and the way she died, the loss she’s seen other people experience, the billions of lives taken away from people who didn’t get to live them out, and so much more. She would be damned if she continued to lose people she cared about if there’s something she could do.She ripped her hand out of his grasp and couldn’t contain the desperation in her voice. “No! I won’t leave you! You have a daughter to see, you have to be there for her. I’m tired of losing people I care about. My mother was enough, not you too please. I can’t bear to see any more loss. Your daughter would lose a father, I can’t let someone go through the pain I did if they don’t have to. We’ll make it out of this and take care of her, don’t you want to live to see her again?”She dug into her bag to get three different medkits, opened them, ripped his clothes so his wound wasn’t concealed, and stabbed each one, one by one, into his wound making sure all of the fluid entered into him. She grabbed the yellow fluids he needed to keep him from going feral from his bag, grabbed his chin firmly so his mouth could be open, and forced him to drink from the vials.He groaned from all the harsh and fast paced treatment she was giving him but whatever she was doing was working. She unzipped her suit which had a white t-shirt underneath it to take it off and rip it apart to make it into a large tight bandage. She wrapped it around his wound and tied it in a tight knot. She zipped back up her suit, stuffed his jacket into her bag, grabbed both of theirs to put on her back, and took his hand to pull him up.He had never seen the agility like hers before. She worked as efficiently as she could with meticulous work, all to save his sorry ass. He didn’t understand her effort, he treated her like shit in the beginning. He didn’t understand when she placed those vials in front of his pathetic face when he was on the ground and that didn’t change now.She pulled him up to his level and had him lean against her side as she had her arm around his waist holding on tight to him. He could feel her hand grasping onto his waist shaking in complete shock and fear. He tried to get her to let go of him but he should’ve known better with her stubborn self to give up on him.He didn’t want her to get killed because of him. She deserved to live, her life just started. He’s lived his life for a long time even if the last thing he got to see wasn’t his daughter’s face. He still remembered his blissful memories from before the war and the man he was before.He got to say he was good at one point, he even had a lovely wife and family, not many people can say they’ve even had that anymore. He was lucky in those terms and even more so to meet someone who gave so much of a shit about him like she did. Someone he could trust to not betray him, lie to him, knew exactly what he was going through, suffered by the same people, and genuinely was a warm light in this dark world was incredibly rare to come across.He didn’t have the strength to fight against her though. Her determination to fight against all odds was stronger than his own to allow himself to die so she didn’t put herself in danger. All he could do was limp with her and hold onto her left shoulder for support. Even dogmeat was to the side growling at anything that dared to be in their way.He could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness, he was exhausted from the lack of sleep and the toll the wound was taking on his body to heal itself.
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She could feel his grip around her shoulder grow weaker by the second until his whole body fell limp. She was now carrying all of his body weight which made them both move much slower. Her heart beat raced in her chest with complete fear at the impending reality of their situation. At any moment with the rate they were going, a death claw could appear and kill them both without much trouble.Parts of her wanted to let all her emotions pour out until all her agony was gone. The pain in her arms from dragging him along was getting to her as the stress from a death claw appearing was consuming her from the inside out. She felt like it was hopeless but a voice screamed out inside her to keep going.A determination that’s been driving her to keep her alive this entire time. Now it was calling out to her to keep him alive as well, for as long as she lived she would do everything she could to protect what she had. If there was something she could do for herself or others, she wouldn’t hesitate.The woman who she saved just recently flashed back in her mind. She didn’t do much to save the woman, since most of the credit went to Cooper for lifting the rubble, but it was enough to give that woman a chance to survive. If she didn’t do anything for that woman, she’d probably get worse than what she’s already become.She doesn’t want to get to the point where she hesitates to offer mercy to others. Despite knowing that Vault Tech brainwashed her, the morals they gave her was still valuable to keep to her side. She wanted to be everything her father wasn’t.She looked down at the very person who finally was honest with her from the start. She couldn’t believe how her life has gotten to this point. Just a while ago she was comfortably living in the vaults with her family and now she couldn’t ever imagine going back to the vaults again. Norman would be the only reason to ever go back, to perhaps ask him to leave with her to the surface, but she knew he was safe there.Safe as he could be in the world at least. If he did come to the surface, he’d have to face situations like the one she was in right now. She couldn’t have him ever go through the horrors she was facing. All these hardships would be worth it to see him one last time though.She groaned as she pulled his arm further around her neck to make it easier to move around. Luckily that helped distribute the weight but it didn’t change the fact that she was still extremely slow. The city was in sight now, they’ve already gotten so far together. They couldn’t give up now.She couldn’t help the tears going down her cheeks though. The pain of carrying him to the city and the stress was getting to her. She could feel her strength slipping from her and her body getting exhausted. She put everything she had into moving forward despite all the elements against her.The chilly wind against her skin didn’t aid much either when she felt her joints locking up, the only thing keeping her slightly warm was the radiation off his body. Her eyes kept opening and closing as she could feel herself losing consciousness. Everything was against her, even the nature of this world.Despite that, she’s doing all she can to keep herself and him alive. She was unsure of so many things but she knew that if she gave out now, they would both be dead. She had to fight against her own body and currently was losing.Her mind had the drive to keep going but her body didn’t. Both her hands around him started to go limp as her body began to fall and her eyes slowly closing. They both fell into the sandy ground of the wasteland. Although her body gave out, the tears in her eyes didn’t.She couldn’t even make it to the city. A wave of disappointment washed over her at herself. She imagined the version of her, the worst version, spitting in her face to get up. Yelling at her and questioning if this was really how she wanted things to end for herself. She hated to admit it but that version of her had a point, was she really going to let them die to death claws?She couldn’t accept that. She put both her arms on the ground and used them to lift up her upper body. Unfortunately she fell back on the ground to her side since her arms were still hurting. She groaned in pain but tuned in her old numb self and pushed through it.She got on her knees and crawled over to her backpack and hid to put on her back. She was successful in doing so and was about to lift herself up but was interrupted by the voice of an unfamiliar woman.“Well well, I didn’t expect to see my saviors again. You both look like shit, I guess I should step in.” The woman kneeled down to her level and titled her chin up with a roughed up hand but soft nonetheless.Her eyes widened when it was the same woman she saved before. Except she wasn’t in the same state she was in before, she looked much different in such a short time. Her body had gained weight, she had a full backpack with a large gun on her back in a holster, new clothes she didn’t have before, and just a much healthier look to her.A long red jacket that dropped down to her knees, a green turtleneck underneath the jacket, black fingerless leather gloves that held onto her chin, brown eyes that stared down at her, brown jeans with darker brown boots to match, and many other features that added to her look. She smiled down at her with an appreciative tone behind it.Lucy smiled softly at her and weakly said,” Please…we need to get to New Vegas as soon as possible.” The woman looked around and then at the both of them on the ground. Her grin grew as an idea came to her mind. She gave a couple pats on Lucy’s back to reassure her and said,” Sure, why not? Whatever you need and more. I’ll make sure your visit in New Vegas is worthwhile. I owe ya after all. Only thing I would need from you is your stories because I’m definitely interested. A vault dweller with the most infamous ghoul bounty hunter? Now there’s a story. Now enough chat, we’re lucky deathclaws haven’t came already to eat you both up.”She let go of her chin and whistled to someone next to her. Or rather something, one of the flying robots she saw before flew next to the woman when she called for it. She couldn’t make out what the woman and the robot were saying to each other as her consciousness was slipping away from her.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
He expected to be dead but low and behold, he was still kicking. She really put her all into making sure his sorry ass made it out alive. Thanks to her, he might still have a chance at seeing his daughter again. He could feel himself waking up and oddly feeling something comfortable from underneath him. Last time he was awake, he was near death and went unconscious due to blood loss and other factors.He let the poor girl fend for herself in this horrid chilly wasteland at night with Death Claws about. Before he wouldn’t have blinked an eye at the thought of her being in danger but now just the idea of her not being around him made him drag himself out of his groggy state.He quickly lifted up the upper part of his body while the other part was still lying down before he could feel something in his lap. There she was snug as a bug and as comfortable as she could be. She had both her arms crossed on his legs while her head rested on top with his old hat on her head.He looked around the room which seemed to be reminiscent of a hotel room. It was a plain one but shaggy red carpets, a red and white floral mat in the middle of the room, white bed with blue sheets in front of the mat, a white decrepit popcorn ceiling, a small green couch to the left corner of the room, a blue chair with a black coffee table in front of it close to the couch, a wooden table with a little tube tv, a wooden dresser to the side of the bed, a couple of advertisements for the hotel on the blue walls of the room, a long light hung up directly from the ceiling, a blue nightstand next to the bed, and many other details about the room he took note of.It was a comfortable room to be in, too comfortable, something that neither him or Lucy could currently afford. Either way they both were alive, somewhat in a healthy state, and they weren’t trapped. At least that’s what he thought until he noticed all their weapons and ammunition was taken. Not a trace of a bullet or weapon on his person or in the room. The only chance of his weapons being in the room would be in either of their bags to the side of the bed but none of their bags was big enough to store his weapons.He groaned at their situation, there was always a catch to shit like this in their world. He didn’t want to wake sleeping beauty from the rest she desperately needed after going what she went through but he needed to see what they currently had and what was taken from them.What he didn’t understand was how they got to be in this hotel room and why they were there in the first place. Who would go to the trouble of keeping them here just to only take their guns and bullets? The bags looked full, even with some brand of CRAM sticking out from her backpack.For the two hundred or more years he’d been out in the wasteland, this was something new to him. He was about to get up when he was interrupted by the sound of the hotel room door being opened.Then entered a woman he’d never seen before. Though something about her was familiar. She was tall with a long built, black hair as dark as midnight, fresh red jacket going down to her knees, green turtleneck to go along with it, long brown pants to match her boots, long black fingerless gloves, and a flat cap with a small feather in the side of it. In her hands she had a medium sized paper and pen in one and canned peaches in the other.She noticed he was up and Lucy was not so she whispered to him with a smile,” Hello there! Rise and shine. Good to see you finally awake, healing you was a pain in the ass. You took a pretty deep hit, sweetheart over here nearly had a heart attack over you. You should be more careful next time. It’s rare to see someone who truly cares about you anymore in this wasteland.” His guard was up as he put a hand to Lucy’s back and glared over at her.“Really now? What me and her do is none of yer godamn business now is it? Where the fuck are we and what did you do with our shit?” She could see the hostility in his eyes and the nasty tone he had with her but didn’t pay it any mind. She knew he was a threat, of course he was, but she knew he was confused and didn’t want anything to happen to either of them. All she had to do was prove that.Unfortunately with someone like him, trust was incredibly hard to earn. She had to find a way to let his walls down enough for her to approach him without the threat of being killed on the spot. So she put down all the things in her hands on the ground and kicked over the canned food to him while patting herself down. He watched her every move carefully but none of them made him question if she was going to pull out a weapon.She could see he was still cold as ice with his glare but his mouth ever so slightly twitched in a way that presented that he felt relief or safety. It was a small reaction but she wouldn’t be the detective she was without picking up on things like that. She kept her smile and raised up both her hands to let him see where they were.“See? Not a threat, no need for violence here. You’re in a hotel room I’m renting out until you’re ready to leave New Vegas. I only took your guns as it poses an obvious danger to me. I’ll give them back if you promise to not use them against me…and my assistant. I’m the same woman you guys saved back at that house. I know I look better than before but that was because I managed to come back here to New Vegas and get back in contact with my connections here. I was stranded out there until you guys came along and nursed me back to health, which thank you so much for.”Now he saw why she looked familiar, he could see the same features of that woman on her now as his mind was piecing it all together. Well he’d be damned, Lucy’s stubborn ass moralistic mercy finally came to bite them in the ass in all the good ways if there was any. She could see his glare soften a bit at the thought of something.He didn’t leave his eyes off of her though. “Ok if ya really do come in peace as you say ya are, then answer all my questions. Who is your assistant? Why did ya bring us to this hotel room? What do ya want with us? Who are yer connections in New Vegas? And more importantly, who the fuck are you? Also I need our guns back now or else things aren’t goin’ to be pretty.”With her hands still up, she took a couple steps back where the front door was and knocked on a couple times then stepped to the side. Within a couple seconds, one of the flying robots from 200 hundred years flew in as well as an excited pup who had been away from their family for too long. Dogmeat jumped onto the bed to the left side of him and started aggressively licking his face. He pushed Dogmeat away but couldn’t fight against the stubborn and clingy love of a dog who desperately missed its new owners.Every time he tried to swat Dogmeat away, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as he moved his arms. He groaned in pain and put one hand to his wound. It was bandaged and cleaned up. He glared back up at the woman and was about to assume she patched him up.She could read him like an open book and couldn’t help but snicker at him. “It wasn’t me, I didn’t touch you, it was your little partner who did. She spent all night doing it, she stayed up just to make sure you were all right. You’ve got a lot of love around you, even your little pups taken a shine to you. I remember meeting someone in the past who had a similar dog who was the same way.”His eyes widened a bit as he glanced down at the peaceful woman in a distant slumber away from this cruel world. She was only making it harder for him to follow his own rule. He could see she was laying her legs on the hard ground while having her upper body on the bed so he gently got out of bed and picked her up from the floor to place her in the bed.Dogmeat went to her side and laid next to her while lightly licking her hands. “Ya still have to answer my questions.” He said coldly as he turned his body towards her to stare her down. She raised her hands yet again and did what he told her to. “Alrighty whatever you want. I’m Piper Wright and I’m from Diamond City in Boston. I run my own newspaper for the Commonwealth called the Publick Occurrences, I’m sure you’ve heard of me at one point. I came to New Vegas for the stories it holds and the many opportunities. As you can imagine, it took a long while to get here and I was running out of luck until you both saved me. I was separated from my assistant until you both saved me and I got to find him again. The one thing I can count on the most is my luck at least. My assistant here is called Codsworth, he can have an attitude at times but he means well. Just don’t leave anything dirty around him. Anyways I owed you so I saved you both and brought you here. I only ask you for two things from you. I want protection for me and my assistant for as long as your in New Vegas and I want your guys story. Especially hers, it’s already caught wind that she saved a ton of ghouls at that Super Duper Mart so she’s welcome at The Slog any day. I answered all your questions, do you have any others?”He groaned when he realized that since he kept Sorrel Booker alive, he must’ve caught wind of that as well. He might be someone who’ll cause trouble for them down the line. He could tell she was genuine with her intentions through her words and actions. Of course she could be lying but she seemed to be constantly fidgety under that confident persona she tried to display.He muttered a small “fuck” under his breath before replying back to her. “No but if there was any others ya better answer them. I want our guns and ammo back now.” His sharp glare returned as he took a couple steps towards her in a hostile manner. With her hands still up and chills going down her spine realizing just the situation she got herself in, she took a couple steps back until she hit the wall.The tension in the air was suffocating but she had to keep her head. If you didn’t she might as well lost it. “Fine but you have to promise not to kill me. If you do, it won’t be good for you. You’ll go back to walking around in that ruthless wasteland. With me alive, I’ll be funding your guys hotel room and supplies. Which option sounds better? If not for yourself, think about her and what she needs. If it were me and my sister, I’d do everything I could to make sure she has it just a little bit easier.”Codsworth chimed in unexpectedly and said,” Who would want to be out there in that disgusting world when you can be in here? A decently clean hotel room being managed by none other than me. I’d say it’s a done deal.” They both looked over at Codsworth in confusion and then back at each other.He rolled his eyes and finally gave into her. He stepped away from her and crossed his arms. “I’m not makin’ any promises to anyone. I won’t kill ya but the second ya fuck up in any regard yer death is a signed off fate to boot. I’ll make sure ya don’t die if something comes yer way but if yer out there by yourself, you’re on your own.”She laughed it off and said,” Don’t worry so much, I’m not going to expect too much from you guys. The main thing I want from you is your stories, protection is more of a bonus. You’re one of the biggest potentials for me in New Vegas at the moment. Since you made yourself clear, here’s your guns.” She whistled to Codsworth to grab a large black duffle bag in the left corner of the room and placed it next to him.Immediately while still watching her, he knelt down to the bags level and unzipped it to feel around in the contents. Lo and behold she wasn’t bullshitting him. His old two hundred year old beauty of a shotgun was in there. It felt like he didn’t touch it in eons and now it was here in his hands again. He felt around in the bag some more and all of his ammo as well as his other supplies, like his entire stash of vials, was in there as well.This woman either was full of stupidity or had a full proof plan of protection against him. It would’ve been so easy to kill her and the robot but she must’ve either had some trust in him or had a way out of things went south. Either way he had his shit back like she told him.He didn’t know what to think of her or was sure what to do with her. He knew it would be stupid to kill her if she is really being honest with everything. Some parts had to be true since she was going to the trouble of getting this room and disclosed personal parts of her.He also thought about what Lucy would think of she randomly woke up to shots and nothing but bloodshed in the room. He sighed and had to go along with this random woman’s wishes. “Frankly I ain’t one for stories or sharin’ any of mine. Even if I did feel like sharin’ it wouldn’t be with the likes of you. I’ve already been used as a product I’m not going through that again.”She shrugged and glanced over to the window which had the sun glaring through it. “Thats what you say now but just know I’m not one to give up on an opportunity for a story. You’re a walking history book of 200 hundred years, I’d be crazy not to pursue that. Besides I’m asking for both your stories, it’s her choice as well to tell me about hers. You may not choose to but you can’t stop her from opening up to me. I don’t force anyone either so if you don’t want to tell me anything then that’s up to you. If all I get out of this is her story then I’m satisfied, it’ll be an investment that’d be worth it.”His guard went up at just the mention of Lucy and spat out with a nasty tone to his voice,” She’s not going to tell ya shit either and yer right, she doesn’t have to.” He started coughing a bit so he reached down in the bag and immediately drank down on three vials. Thankfully that soothed his coughing fit but unfortunately was loud enough to wake up the slumbering Lucy.Piper crossed her arms as his attention immediately went to her as he saw her moving around in the bed. Without a second thought, that brute of a man he tried to make himself seem was thrown out the window when he went to her side. She yawned as she slowly sat up and was stretching one arm up as the other one was groggily rubbing her eye.He fetched some nearby Sugar bombs and Nuka Cola from the duffle bag and put it on the night stand next to the bed. He sat at the end of the bed next to her side and spoke to her in a gentle voice,” Rise and shine sweetheart. Did ya sleep well?” Immediately hearing his voice fully woke her up as she excited lit up and leaned over close to him. Though she had the urge to hug him in relief but hesitated to do so, so she didn’t.“Cooper! You’re alright! I’m so glad…I was so worried that you’d…well never mind that. You’re alright now and that’s what matters. Now you have to let yourself heal or else that wound will open back up. Even with stimpacks, you have to give it time. Looks like you and Piper have gotten acquainted.” He smiled down at her with lowered eyes and reached his leathered hand over to her cheek to wipe away some dirt.“Ya shouldn’t worry about me, worry about yourself first. I haven’t gotten acquainted with anyone and don’t plan to. Here, ya look famished so eat this.” He handed her the box of Sugar Bomb and the Nuka Cola before turning his back to her and putting on his hat from a nearby stand.He reached into the duffle bag and put on his bullet vest and the holster for his gun on his back then sliding his gun into it. He turned back to her and said,” After ya get somethin in yer stomach and yer ready to head out, we’ll go into New Vegas and look for leads. Luckily yer family isn’t here yet so we beat him to it. Ya have to stay by my sides at all times. New Vegas might be a pretty city, it’s full of ugly on the inside.”Piper coughed and pointed at herself. “Ahem excuse me but if you’re looking for someone and need to find leads, especially in this city, I’m what you’re looking for. I have connections and contacts here that you might not have. You might have people you know in New Vegas but you probably have a whole variety of enemies. I’m not a reporter for no reason without knowing my way around different demographics of people.”He didn’t pay her any mind as he kept his attention solely focused on Lucy. “As I was sayin’ we’ll leave when yer ready to. Eat up.” Lucy’s eyes were directed between the both of them. There was clearly a slight friction between the both of them and a sense of distrust. It made sense since Cooper never opened up to anyone, she was lucky he did with her.But the extra walls he was putting up with Piper was only going to cause unnecessary trouble when all Piper wanted to do was help them, although having her own intentions behind that help. Last night she got to learn about her. Piper was one of the first people up here who was like her in some ways. A person who kept to her morals and sense of self despite everything that’s happened to her.She felt a bit envious of Piper because of that. Though Piper was a lot like Cooper in the regard that she had a lot of experience in this world and the people in it. She had a certain charisma that made it easy to open up to her easily, something that was very hard to have in this wasteland when you were constantly challenged to change into something entirely worse than what you were before.“If she’s offering to use her contacts or tell us valuable information, then let her. If there’s anything I’ve learned up here, you should always take what you’re given. So give her a chance Cooper.” Piper smiled at her and then smugly smirked down at him while mocking his name. “Yeah Cooper, I only want to be a benefit to you guys. It’d be a waste to not take advantage of that.”His breathed in a long drag of breath and slowly let it out as one of his hands turned into a tight fist. “Don’t call me that. Ya might run to one of yer contacts and tell them about us. I’m not takin any chances. Now darling ya better eat before the food goes to waste.”Piper couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his distain for her. “If that was the case, then you both would already be long dead. No, I managed to bring you both here as anomalously as I could. I just happen to be close friends with the hotel owner, I gave him extra to be quiet about you both. Just know you’re in good hands.” Codsworth chimed in again with an enthusiastic voice,” And metallic thrusters ready to serve!”Everyone went silent, even Dogmeat, as they all stared at Codsworth until that was broken by Cooper’s next sarcastic words,” Did ya give him the handy special? Either way we’re not in anybody’s good hands. We’re not here to entertain yer little newspaper. Now can ya go?”Lucy put both the Sugar Bombs and the Nuka Cola to the side of the nightstand and spoke up against him,” Hey don’t be so rude to her Cooper. All she’s done is help us. We’re lucky it’s her and not anyone else that found us, we could’ve died by some deathclaws. She’s done a lot of things to prove herself to be trustworthy. She’s been nothing but honest to us and doesn’t even want much from us. Can’t you give her a chance? You gave me one.”He hated the emotions that clouded his judgement when it came to her. His own control of what he wanted to do could be easily influenced by just a simple gesture from her. He could feel himself faltering when he could see the determination in her eyes and the desperation in her voice.But he pushed it down and stood his ground. She had a hand on his shoulder and shook it off before saying back,” I never gave ya one. I only fulfilled a debt I owed. Ya saved me and I saved you, that’s all. You shouldn’t trust me or her. Then again, whatever you want to do is yer choice. I’m only going along with her shit because we can use her and I owe her from saving us from the Deathclaws.”He knew he was pushing her away from him but it was the only option. He couldn’t give her false hope, he already said they’d separate at the end of this. Even if they didn’t, who knew when he would become feral. He was lucky enough to not turn after all this time. Being with him or getting attached wasn’t worth it.He realized he can’t let his own emotions control him either. He needed to find his daughter above all else. He wasn’t sure what to do after that other than take care of her but that was always his life goal ever since the bombs fell.Any ounce of care for Lucy should be erased because if he let himself do so, he’d ultimately distract from that. It didn’t stop the ache in his chest when he saw the shock on her face. She quickly his that shock and disappointment on her face as she glanced away to the window and gave a fake smile. Her right hand twisted into a tight fist as she seemed to be concealing some emotions.“Of course…I know that. But I don’t have to have trust in someone to know they’re not going to betray me. I can trust my own judgment of other people, like Piper, to see that she means well. Just don’t treat her rudely, that could make her change her mind in helping us.” Piper chuckled a bit hearing their little dispute and interrupted her,” Correction, I would change my mind about Cooper if he continues to act the way he is. With you cute thing, I could never. Anyways you’re both either free to take a little tour around New Vegas with me today, with disguises from me of course. Can’t let anyone in this shady city know about my prized clients.”Cooper was about to decline for both of them but immediately Lucy lit up and spoke up,” I would love to! Anything to learn about this place while I’m here. Plus since we’re searching for someone who’s supposed to be coming to New Vegas, it’ll be resourceful to learn about what or who he could be coming here for.”Piper laughed a little seeing the spirit in her eyes, it’d been awhile since she met someone with such a curiosity. She halted that eagerness though and pointed towards the food on the nightstand. “You’re completely right! Getting as much information as we can is key but we can’t also rush anything while on an empty stomach. You can also take advantage of the bathroom this hotel room offers, I bet it’s been awhile since you got to have a good shower. Well…as good of a shower as you’ll get up here at least. The one thing Cooper is right about is that you should eat before leaving. Just let me know when you’re ready to leave. Are you going Cooper?”He just glared at her with complete ice in his eyes and replied back in a harsh manner,” I said don’t call me that. I have to go out anyways to make sure she doesn’t get into trouble. How the hell are we going to disguise ourselves? We’ll stick out like a newly sewn on finger.” Piper reached down into one of her own black duffel bags and dug into it to pull out three hooded light armors.“Glad you asked! With these of course. This armor is called the Spike Armor. These armors have masks in them to conceal our faces while also giving us protection. You both will have your masks up around the general public, don’t worry though you’ll blend in well with the crowd. The only time you’ll show your faces are to people I trust the most which happen to be my most of my contacts in this city. I’ve built a good relationship with all them and helped build their names in the press.”She held both of their armors to their faces to let them see closer. It consisted of a green leather hood that reached down to the knees, dark leather gloves, leather jacket underneath the hood, dark leather pants that looked decently worn, thick brown combat boots with dust on them, metal shoulder and chest pads, two big brown belts around the waist area, two leather pads made for the legs, and the mask she mentioned which happened to look like a metal gas mask which could help with dealing against radiation.Lucy looked down at it with a sense of wonder, she was curious about the history behind the armor and all the tactical details about it. Similar to the T-60, she was interested in the idea of armors of how some were made and the people behind them. He could see the life and curiosity in her eyes, more than he’d seen in a while.His mind flashed back to when she was curious about him but never questioned him. She’d rather let that fire in her eyes die out rather than bother him. He remembered how happy she was to learn his name, fragments of who he used to be, and really any old stories of his past. There were so many questions that she left unspoken but around this strange woman, she asked everything that came to her mind.He was silently happy that she got to smile about something after what she had to endure with saving him. Those tears that streamed down her cheeks still haunted him, how could he let himself almost die like that and have her cry for his sake? He would make sure that wouldn’t happen again.“That’s great and all but let’s get to the part where she gets somethin’ in her stomach. I’m gettin’ antsy seeing that food just waste away.” Lucy lightly pat his back and smiled at him. “For someone who ‘didn’t give me a chance’ you’re pretty stubborn about me eating. Those Sugar Bombs and Nuka Cola do look good…it’d better if I have all my strength so we can have longer to be out. We need as much information and time to be out there as possible.”He rolled his eyes and said back to her,” I just need ya alive and not eating will be the death of you. Not eating right now will only delay us. You can take a shower when we get back, if you do it now it’ll take time away. You’ll have more time when we get back.”So with that he took the armor Piper offered him, went into the nearby bathroom, and took his time changing into the new armor. All the while Lucy took her time savoring the somewhat familiar food and drink that reminded her of when she was in her Vault.Just what impact was Piper going to have on the both of them and what were they going to learn in New Vegas?