#and how cait was the only one who saw that + her self harm and vows to never be one to do that

[thescriptorium]

cait touching her with her fingertips, like she’s not sure if she’s allowed to anymore ❤️‍🩹 vi finally using her strength on her, promising she won’t break ❤️‍🩹

[broadwaybalogna]

I’ve seen a lot of people ask about Jayce hate and why it exists, so please allow me to remind you why this piece of trash deserves it all /lh

1. The Golden Child

From the beginning, Jayce was the epitome of privilege. Growing up in Piltover never offered him much perspective on life, and he grew an awful bias towards the upper city which we can clearly see when he confronts Victor after the ladder traveled to the undercity.

Not to say this is all his fault, there’s been obvious polarization between the two cities as well as propaganda dehumanizing the undercity.

It’s no surprise that much of the upper and under cities problems can easily be related to modern day racism- especially when Vi says “I grew up knowing I’m less than them” so from the start, Jayce is meant to be viewed as a harmful bystander and even an oppressor, rather than empathetic.

The scene between Victor and Jayce also gives “you’re one of the good ones” kind of vibes. Jayce only likes Victor because he’s separated Victor from being a part of the undercity, like it’s something for Victor to be ashamed of. Which is further exemplified when he states how it looks bad for him to be opening the hexgates to let Victor in.

We see more of Piltover’s dehumanization of the undercity in season two with the consistent comparison of the citizens to “animals”. Cait herself even reverts back to this mindset when she enters her dictator™️ era.

So yeah, he was the privileged child who represented the oppressors perspective in season 1. What about season two?

2. Right idea, but too late.

Everyone understands that Jayce was always trying to do what was right, but when he finally figured out what the true thing to do was, it was too late and caused terrible casualties. Had Jayce followed Victor’s instructions from S1 and destroyed hextech, so much of the problems that arose in S2 would have never happened.

Him killing Victor would never had needed to put blood on Jayce’s hands had he destroyed Hextech, because Victor would’ve died in the explosion instead (allegedly).

3. Avoiding doing the right thing

This also ties into his privilege, but I’m putting it in this category because I think it shows off his mindset on self-centeredness rather than just privilege.

When Jayce and Vi try to destroy a shimmer facility, Jayce backs out the moment he realizes he, instead of other people, will have blood on his hands. He throws up at the thought. Jayce choosing not to complete what could slow down Silco because there will be casualties shows off how he has always been happy to be left in the dark because he could never stomach the truth of Piltover. I’m sure he would be fine if someone else had gone with Vi to complete the task because then he would be separate from the lives lost, he could disillusion himself from the truth of what would have happened. But when he’s out face to face with it, it’s too much, and he backs out.

4. Harnessing an unsafe environment

It’s no question that it was technically Powder that caused the first explosion at the beginning of S1, and it’s also no question that it was Jayce’s hextech that made the explosion. Had he harnessed his research in a safe environment where his highly dangerous crystals could be properly contained, Vi and Jinx’s tragedy would have never arisen.

Remember, the uppercity needed their “pound of flesh” for the explosion, and we quite literally saw a reality in which hextech never existed. It was at his disregard for the safety of people that caused butterfly effected it’s way to ending thousands of lives.

5. Heimerdinger

I don’t think people need much recollection of this, but Jayce DID remove Heimerdinger from thr counsel because they didn’t agree on hextech. That was literally it, they had a dispute on the use of hextech, WHICH HEIMERDINGER WAS RIGHT ABOUT!!!

-

Now, none of this takes away from the fact that Jayce is an incredibly realistic character that viewers can sympathize with, but it does make him extremely hateable. Jayce made mistake after mistake which led to more and more tragedies to arise. His actions, while understandable, led to so many problems that could have been avoided.

TL;DR: Jayce perpetuates common behavior that is seen in racist ideologies, he grew up in privilege and never did anything to try and widen his perspective, every time he tried to do the right thing, it was too long too late, even though he had the chance to do the right thing earlier, he avoids accountability, literally none of the tragedies in arcane would have happened without him, and he got rid of the puffball.

This doesn’t mean you can’t like Jayce and defend him, he was written to be much like an ignorant human, like many people are. He does what he thinks is right even if it’s at the cost of causing longer lasting problems. This is behavior we see in human beings extremely often, it’s not like he isn’t relatable, but much like humans, he’s also easy to hate, and it all stacked. The only thing going for Jayce is that he’s bi, but it doesn’t seem like the citizens of Piltover seem to care if someone is gay or straight, so of course he never experienced any hardships because of that. Jayce’s hardships were actually pretty much all caused by himself, unlike other characters. He was really just facing the consequences of his actions.

Everyone else was also facing the consequences of his actions.

If I forgot anything else, please let me know, and I’ll add it. I’m sure there’s more shit Jayce did, but these were the top five I could remember off the top of my head.

[arcane-ish]

I've done fic ideas/plot bunnies in the past where threw that out as an idea, that a good way if you want characters who are enemies in the show to work together (like Jinx and Cait, Vander and Silco, Ekko and Silco or whatever your poison of choice is) then the way to do it would be to bring in Noxus as an opponent, so Piltover and Zaun are fighting against a common enemy, invasion from the outside.

The problem I see with actually doing it within the show is that it is kind of cheap at a point where the main Piltover and Zaun plot isn't really wrapped up yet.

And the other downside is that we already know that Ambessa is not Noxus proper, she actually has been cut off from Noxus. This doesn't have the same "oh shit" weight as if Swain or Darius were showing up.

We can assume that Ambessa turning on Cait will mean that Zaun characters and Piltover characters will fight against a shared enemy. I wonder if that will mean that they just leave Piltover versus Zaun open or whether Commander Caitlyn realizes she fucked up by inviting the Noxians in, and after Zaun helps her fight off Ambessa that is an excuse to give Zaun independence.

I'm curious how that will make the people feel who are invested in the Zaun/Piltover plot, if indepence is not achieved via revolution but by Zaun proving itself to Piltover or Zaun doing something nice for Piltover and Piltover actually being grateful and moral about it.

I must say, one thing that really struck me about this trailer is this "war table" scene between it seems Jayce, Caitlyn, Vi and Mel.

There was this comment by somebody about the flashback scene between Silco, Vander and Vi&Jinx's mom and how they didn't like it because it makes the world feel smaller if everybody of the important characters is connected like that.

That's kind of how I feel about it here. While I wrote this I realized that Cait could maybe get away with giving Zaun independence because right now the only "council" are basically her friends and bros because most of the council members have been killed.

Just like the chembaron heads have all been killed.

Which you know, is kind of convenient, but again with the world getting smaller, particularly in Piltover this just isn't how this would ever work. We saw the different families in the "Commander Caitlyn" scene. In a real world, even if somebody of theirs died in a terrorist attack, those families wouldn't just lose their self interest. They would nomminate somebody else, if Caitlyn and Mel wanted to give Zaun independence those houses would complain if their business interests are being harmed by it.

Teaser for Act 3

[im-totally-not-an-alien]

Final Fantasy prompts #48

1. Jenova moms Cloud, but he doesn't realize it's Jenova.

Everyone else recognizes her in all her purple tentacly glory, but say nothing because Cloud hasn't looked this happy in years. Maybe its OK to let him live a lie, if only for a little while...

Also, they're kinda afraid of her

2. "Why do you live all the way out in the sticks?" Cid growled, munching on an unlit cigarette.

"Cause I can do this." He said, before whistling and promptly falling onto his back.

"What the hell are you even doing-" Cid began before they were both swarmed by dogs.

Big dogs, medium dogs, fluffy dogs, dogs with small tails so many dogs. Many of whom where licking the blonds face where he lay.

Aka Cloud owns a cabin in the woods for the sole purpose of getting swarmed by wild dogs and letting them lick his depression away.

3. Time traveler Cloud, but not quite.

Its a 12 year old escaped expirement created by fusing Clouds and Sephiroths DNA. S2, as he was labeled, kidnapped Cadet Cloud and kept the struggling blond with him as he traveled to the northern crater.

He keeps referring to Cloud as Mother and Sephiroth as Father, something that freaks Cloud out and made Sephiroth highly curious.

Upon closer inspection, the silverette saw peices of himself in the boy, in his eye shape, in his fighting style, and especially in his personality.

S2 dotes on his Mother, giving him everything he desires, everything but his freedom.

Cloud just has to get used to his life of semi-luxury...and being brodal carried by S2 and every gods damned SOLDIER he meets apparently.

4. RM Cloud wacking Sephiroth in the face with a broom. The silverette just stares at his puppet and says, "Really?"

5. Cloud finding Sephiroth in a moment of weakness and deciding a bit of revenge was in order.

6. Slightly unhinged time traveler Sephiroth x Slightly unhinged time traveler Cloud

7. Yuffie stalking different members of AVALANCHE out of boredom, only to wind up saving one of thier lives

8. Reeves Cait Sith dolls go rouge and declare war on the remaining SOLDIERS, believing that the living J cells in thier bodies were harming the planet.

Reeve doesn't want to hurt his sons. But Cloud has become something of a baby brother to him, and he would never forgive himself if something were to happen to the stubborn blond

9. Time traver Cloud coming to Aerith for advice after he lands, but she immediately sensed the Calamity from the Stars in him and started screaming bloody murder.

He had to fight Reno and Rude and easily defeated them, but by the time he was done, Aerith had escaped, leaving a confused and distraught blond.

He gives Reno an alias to protect his younger self and then promptly decides to GTFO.

Aerith winds up running into Tseng and Angeal, and she spills the beans about the Cetra and her heritage, as well as the Calamity and her child.

Angeal tries not to vibrate with excitement, after all, it looks like his lifelong dream of saving the world might be coming true. It seemed further reinforced by the fact the blond broke into the tower and freed several expiraments and killed many of the scientists. He was seen running off with a red lion-wolf creature before they lost track of him.

He, Aerith, Genesis, and Sephiroth wind up joining a party together to stop him. They essentially blackmailed the company to keep them off thier backs while they saved the world.

Cloud however, joined up with Nanaki and Vincent, but was also being targeted by the AVALANCHE of this time as well as thier own mad scientist, Fuhito, who's almost giddy that three of the esteemed professor Hojo's powerful expirements have escaped and are "Up for grabs"

Cloud may or may not also have a deal going with Jenova, who is offering him guidance with his new abilities as well as love. He knows she's manipulating him, but he feels so lost and vulnerable. He let her in and he wasn't even sure if he regrets it.

Also Jenova manipulating Sephiroth and his group by convincing them that she's "The Goddess Jenova" and revealed that she's Sephiroths mom. She convices them that the blond is evil and must be stopped. No one questions why she only speaks to them when Aerith is away.

Yeah, Clouds not having a good time. Kinda based off of another prompt of mine and I felt the need to expand on it. So, yeah.

10. The president, his son and the directors are killed off by Reeve, who has finally taken a stand and did a hostile takeover of the company.

11. Time traveler Reeve?

Better, Cait Sith gains sentience and time travels

12. Sephiroth revives again after the events of DeepGround and grabs up Cloud, embracing him like a lover as he flies into the air with him.

He basically tells Cloud that he's defeated him three times in a row, he's fascinated by him, and that Clouds going to be his bride.

Cloud is not okay with this

As it turns out, neither is Tifa, Clouds girlfriend.

The ensueing catfight is glorious

13. Cloud gets catcalled more often than anyone in thier little group. Apparently, he's a living creeper magnet, he couldn't tell you how many times people have just disregarded his personal space, bought him crap expecting a 'favor' in return, randomly touched his hair, bugged him for his number or a date, strait up tried to follow him home, ect.

The sheer entitlement both men and women seem to think they have over him is astounding. It's gotten to the point everyone has noticed and became protective of him. The blond himself? He's not afraid to make someone swallow thier teeth, regardless of gender.

14. Angeal loves photography, everyone knows that.

What people don't know is that he takes pictures of anything he deems beautuful. Birds, trees, flowers, clouds...406 pictures of the moon and even more of the stars. That was fine.

The problem arose when Genesis snooped through Angeals computer/apartment and found his secret photo collection. He swiped it and brought it to Sephiroths office to go through it with him.

Everything was normal, until they found a gorgeous picture of Genesis igniting his surroundings in flame.

Then they found some pics of Sephiroth standing in the moonlight with Masamune drawn. They were both extremely flattered by how lovely these were...until it got wierder. There were pictures of monsters, Cadets, Angeal's pup, Zack, several a few pictures of a blond trooper, an anthropomorphic cat with a cape and crown and...Turks?!

The worst part, however, was when they noticed that not a single person, not even themselves, where looking at the camera.

The fact they didn't remember having thier picture taken chilled them further.

Aka Angeal might have an addiction. Or an obsession.

15. Cloud has had a crush on Zack for a long time, but when Zack starts play flirting with him he thinks he has a chance and makes his move...and is promptly rejected.

Cloud plays it off as a joke and Zack buys it. The heartbroken blond finds a place to hide and quietly sob his eyes out.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, for him, he gets found and comforted by the Lord of Loveless himself, Genesis Rhapsodos.

Genesis had followed the subtle sounds of sorrow with the intention of either taunting the individual or reciting Loveless to them, as he adored a literal captive audience...but this...this was different.

He found himself rocking the pretty lovesick fool in his arms and mentally kicked himself for winding up in this situation.

On the other hand, he managed to score a date.

Bonus: Time traveler Sephiroth causing a scene by hard core flirting with CC Cloud and destroying a building and a man with a single swipe of Masamune, thus getting the attention of the entire Shinra army.

Fortunately the battle between the Sephiroths was cut short when Time traveler Cloud intervened with a spray bottle full of Aeriths holy water and essentially held him at gunpoint (spray bottle point?) as he retreated.

He fled before anyone could do much of anything, thus leaving everyone involved with so many unanswered questions.

[fallout-drabbles-n-stuff]

Hi again! I’ve been thinking about this one a lot, recently. How would romanced companions react to raiders kidnapping sole? I absolutely love your work! I keep checking your page to see if you’ve posted anything lol

(Enjoy! 💖)

Cait:

The very second she realized what happened, all she saw was red. Her anger was all she would allow herself to focus on as she took it upon herself to track your whereabouts down. She was aware it was a dumb decision to go alone...so she brought good ol’, disgruntled, smelly Paladin douche along with her to retrieve you.

He was a decent human shield and a big enough target.

Whenever she was finally reunited with your battered self, the red head crumbled. All that fury that had fueled her up dissipated in the form of a gut wrenching sob as she held you close.

Curie:

She just knew something was horribly wrong. When she came across a note promising your return for a hefty ransom..her heart dropped. How could she get you back?! There wasn’t anyway to get that amount of caps anytime soon...

So, knowing she definitely wasn’t much of a fighter, she employed the help of some very eager minutemen..unable to rest until they carried you all the way back home. As soon as she got you through the door she was examining you for even the mildest of injuries, hugging you

Danse:

It was such a bad idea. He knew it was too, but that didn’t stop him from loading up on ammo and bounding up to the raider’s hideout. Whatever comfort it was, you knew it was him just from the horrendous “clang” of his stomping. Regardless of how outnumbered he was nor how unlikely his chances or survival were, he found a way to tear through anything and anyone that stood in the way of his path to you.

Hell, he wasn’t proud of it but when he ran out of ammo, he simply crushed one raider’s skull without second thought.

The second he got you back home, he crumbled to his knees, laid his head in your lap, and begged for your forgiveness. Lord knows he wouldn’t forgive himself for letting that happen to you.

Deacon:

A piece of him was willing to bet you were giving the raiders complete hell....but despite his better judgement he couldn’t stop himself from racing to your rescue......by himself.

Somehow he was able to do it though, managing to sneak his way in by assuming the typical raider digs. He even had you fooled, allowing you to believe he was another one of those horrible people, escorting you away to “rough you up”. That is until he slipped you out the back door and cut your binds, tearing off his raider helmet before pressing a quick kiss to your lips...which resulted in you punching him due to you not realizing it was him.

Once he made his identity known, you were more than apologetic.

Gage:

Whosoever though this was a good idea had one hell of a storm coming their way. You don’t mess with his Overboss, you just don’t. Even if he wasn’t romantically involved, you bet your ass he’d fight tooth and nail to retrieve you.

That’s thing though. He loves you.

As soon as he figures out who was responsible and their respective leader, he’d rally the other two gangs and attack guns blazing- fiercely destroying anything that was stupid enough to try to stop him. All he felt was rage and he’d make sure to use all of it to absolutely decimate the people that betrayed you both.

Hancock:

You remember how he stabbed a person he knew quite well just for disrespected him and you? Yeah, picture that but 20x worse. You are his happiness. You are his sunshine. If you think that he’d just let that happen, you’re dead wrong.

Just to mess with the raiders, he’d show up with all the caps they demanded...before shooting the first one to approach in the face. After that, things were a blur, some people and close friends assisted him with the whole cleaning out job as he went to you.

Once it was all over and he had you in his arms, he swore to you that this would never happen again.

Macready;

In awful mix of emotions set deep within Mac’s being once he made the discovery. With an almost listless like way about him, Mac would ask Preston or Curie to watch your children, refusing to give an explanation before leaving in the middle of the night- waiting until his kids were asleep and kissing them goodbye. He hoped it wasn’t the last time, but he had to get you back.

Having packed countless rounds of ammunition, he made quick, silent work of your captors from his perch- only revealing himself once he was sure they were all bleeding out on the ground. Once he finally got to you though..oh nothing would stop the tears from spilling despite the joy he felt from knowing he was actually able to save you.

Maxson:

Whatever group of raiders did it were stupid, even for raider standards. Kidnapping a soldier of the brotherhood? Not a good idea. But..kidnapping the sentinel? Extremely bad idea. To top it off, the Elder’s lover? It was suicide.

It didn’t matter if they demanded ransom and promised no harm would befall you, all Arthur could think of was total annihilation. It took less than a day for a whole heavily armed troop to come to your rescue, mowing through the raider’s like they were nothing.

Just as you started to assume he stayed behind, a soldier equipped in unique power armour came bounding your way- whisking you up effortlessly before taking off it’s helmet to reveal the elder himself and his terrified blue eyes.

Nick:

While he wanted so badly to get you back fast, he knew better than to go in hotheaded like. As so, he’d be the only one to give what the raiders demanded- handing over the caps in exchange for his sweet love.

On the walk back he’d do the closest thing he could to crying, draping his coat around your shoulders and holding your hand.

Old Longfellow:

You initial absence didn’t seem to concern him, knowing you- you were just foraging for aster flowers. However when you didn’t come home by sundown he became worried, deciding to investigate until he made the horrifying discovery that you had been abducted.

Swallowing his pride, he’d rally some willing hands to help get you back. Fighting his way through with his fellow islanders with tears in his eyes at the possibility of losing you too.

After he finally got to you, he hid his tears behind a big smile- concealing any sign of distress by holding your head to his chest. It’ll take some time until he’s able to allow you to go foraging without him again.

Piper:

She’d flip her shit. Like for real, Lose. Her. Shit.

She’d just hope that your companions, and ultimately, her friends would assist her. Of course they would. So, as a big assembled brigade- she’d say her farewells to Nat before going off to retrieve you.

As soon as she found you she wrapped her scarf around your neck, putting a hand to your cheek as she looked into your eyes. She’d mutter something about being so scared that she lost you, to which you’d promptly kiss her to prevent her mind from wandering anymore than you knew it already had.

Once it was all over with, she’d suggest all of you to go celebrate a successful “retrieval” by going out for drinks...just to slip away to show you just how much she missed you.

Preston:

Welp, hope the raiders like having angry minutemen busting down their doors. It’s not just Preston they ticked off after all, it the whole minuteman army. So, it’s fair to say he wasn’t too worried- especially after seeing how quick the newly formed army cleaned them out.

However that isn’t to say he wasn’t also terrified, not only would he had lost his General- he would’ve also lost his love. As such, he found you as soon as possible and cried- unashamed of his tears even as you smiled and kissed them away.

Sturges:

The very moment he realized what happened, he ran straight to Preston. This time, he too would be on the forefront of shooting up some raiders. They’ve taken so much from him already, now this? They’re as good as dead.

Once Preston yelled for him, having retrieved you, Sturges ran as fast as his legs could manage to you- not even missing a beat as he took you into a breathtaking embrace, all while promising to never let you leave his sight again.

This was too much.

After this incident he’d practically beg you to retire the whole adventuring thing and settle down with him.

X6-88:

Heh. Fine. Guess those people enjoy death.

He had full confidence in your capabilities buuut, he took this as a personal slight. Within moments of noticing your disappearance, he hunted you down- locating the people dumb enough to steal you from him before doing what he does best.

He slaughtered them with the efficiency and precision of a grim reaper.

Upon finding you, all that scary courser exterior crumbled. He was just happy to be able to find you...unable to stop himself from pulling you into a tight, rare hug.

[zirawrites]

How do interested companions react to finding out sole has attempted suicide?

This reaction has been sitting in my inbox for awhile and I’ve just now worked up the nerve to tackle it. Self-harm/suicide is literally my ONLY personal trigger, and I’ve always deleted these messages on-sight when roleplaying. However, I think doing a suicidal Sole isn’t far from canon. It’s a side of Sole the game didn’t really explore, so I’m glad I can add that new dimension to our hero.

Obviously the trigger-warning is self-harm and mentions of suicide. I was going to do a generic suicide scenario to start out with, but decided to tailor it more personally to each companion. If you’re having suicidal thoughts, please reach out to a loved one or professional.

Cait: Cait wasn’t a stranger to self-harm. It seemed easier to punish herself over how little her parents (or anyone, for that matter) loved her. But her stoic Sole? Cait’s first reaction was disbelief when she noticed the scars on Sole’s wrists. They were faded and pink, but still noticeable when Sole’s sleeves rode up their arms. The two friends made eye contact from across the table, and Sole immediately tried to make up an excuse for why their wrists were scabbed over.

“Yer not that good of a storyteller,” Cait said. Her voice was soft, but concerned. Sole had never seen her eyes so dark. “Look, I know you’ve been given the short end of tha’ stick lately. What, with yer son turn’n up the leader of the boogeymen and losen’ your husband/wife. But… I remember when I used to do the same thin’.” Cait turned up her wrists to show even lighter scars. “I stopped shortly after ya rescued me. I guess you showed somethn’ in me I didn’t know was there. I was someone worth savn’ once I got those chems outta me.” She took Sole’s hand, and tried not to let her watery eyes spill over. “Sole, I’m clean now. And lookn’ at you… yer someone worth savn’, too. So please, jus’ talk to me if it gets that bad again.” Sole promised, cross their heart.

Codsworth: Codsworth had no idea Sole self-harmed until they let it slip in conversation. According to his master, they hurt themselves when they felt the burden of losing Shaun weigh too heavy. Codsworth was crushed. He would have tended to Sole night and day if they had just told them how bad their mental health was getting. “It’s because you found me such a mess when we reunited in Sanctuary,” Codsworth groaned. “I would have never went blabbering on about my own shortcomings if I had known what a heightened state you were in. Please, mum/sir… forgive me. You needed me and I… I FAILED you!” If Codsworth could cry, he would be inconsolable.

Sole assured her Mr. Handy that their past actions had absolutely nothing to do with him. They were responsible for their self-harm and no one else. It took Sole nearly an hour to convince him they weren’t suicidal anymore, especially thanks to how close Codsworth held them in his heart. Even so, Codsworth guarded Sole at night just in case his master woke and needed him by their side. He’d always be there for them, even if it meant another 200 years of getting nuclear fallout out of vinyl wood.

Curie: Curie was reading a new textbook Sole had nabbed them on a recent mission. The book was on soldiers returning from war with PTSD. However, parts of the pages were ripped, and Curie was struggling to fill in the blanks. She asked Sole if they knew anything about the symptoms of PTSD, which Sole apparently knew plenty about. Since entering the Commonwealth, Sole had been so overcome with stress that they even once found themselves at the edge of an overpass. Sole didn’t jump, but in that moment they knew they had to seek mental health, and here they were now after those first grueling nights finding Shaun.

Before Curie knew it, she was crying. It was only a few shuddered hiccups, but Sole’s story touched her. “My dear friend,” Curie said. “I had no idea you were struggling with your mental health. And here I am priding in to your personal life. You do not have these thoughts now, do you?” Sole assured Curie that was in the past. “Either way, I insist you come to me if you ever need to talk. I am well-equipped with the medical training to discuss such matters objectively. And also… you mean a lot to me, madame/monsieur. I would never want harm to befall you.”

Danse: He didn’t want to believe the rumors, but the medical history of Sole Danse happened upon in the sick bay of the Prydwen didn’t lie. Sole awoke to heavy knocking at their door, and opened it to see Danse clearly distraught. His brows furrowed together, and his lips were more pouting than usual. Danse asked to come in, and then sat at the edge of Sole’s bed. He struggled to find the words at first, so Sole encouragingly placed their hand on his back. 

“First off, please don’t think I was prying,” Danse said. “Knight-Captain Cade needed assistance organizing files in his office, and yours just happened to be at the top of the pile. It was open on your mental health examination, I swear.” 

Sole dismissed Danse’s words with the wave on their hand. They knew exactly what was in that document. When Sole first entered the Brotherhood, they had to talk about a history of drug abuse. When Sole first found out Shaun led the Institute, they had tried to overdose. It wasn’t anything they were proud of, but Sole didn’t want to lie to their brothers.

“That’s understandable,” Danse reassured. “Admirable, even. I just never expected someone as levelheaded as you to do something as risky as that. But I suppose we all have our demons.” A sharp inhale. A shaky exhale. “This doesn’t change the way I feel about you, you know. You have my complete trust in battle, and loyalty as your friend. Not to sound cliche but… I’m here if you ever need to talk.”

Deacon: It wasn’t every night Deacon asked Sole to cut loose with him. He liked to keep all his faculties alert, but they had just picked up an important dead drop and even Desdemona said the two partners needed a break. Instead of going out in goofy disguises like Deacon always suggested they do one day, he used his personal stash of caps to buy him and Sole the best middle-tier wine he knew. Not too good, not too bad. He knew Sole would appreciate the symbolism in his sentiment.

Deacon leaned against the wall and listened to a drunk Sole ramble about their favorite missions. They could barely keep themselves up on the desk, so Deacon kept himself within arms’ reach in case he needed to catch them. “R-remember when we-we-we dressed like raiders to save that synth underground?” Sole slurred. Deacon answered with a soft mhmm. “And… and do you remember w-when I was a body-double for Magnolia to spy on that safe house leak? And you accidentally spilled wine on me so I had to SLAP you?” Another mhmm. “I SLAPPED you, Deacon! Hows that feel, buddy?”

“I lie awake every night thinking about it, boss,” Deacon chided. “Not a day goes by where I don’t remember shaming my family name.”

“I shamed my family name when I swallowed that bottle of pills.” Sole took another long drink of wine, then dramatically smacked their lips. “I don’t know how Codsworth didn’t find me the next morning. I’m g-glad though, ya know? I really got my shit together after that. Haven’t thought about checkn’ out since.”

Deacon was floored. He watched Sole stare down at their empty wine glass, then say something about shaking him down for more caps. He wasn’t really sure the specifics because his ears were ringing. Sole had always been his role model. They were perfect in every way. If someone as strong as them could get that desperate, who was he in this world? He tucked their hair behind their ears as then drunkenly smiled up at them. “I really need you, pal,” he said. “Honestly, I had no idea things had gotten that bad. Can you give me a heads up next time so I can cheer you up?” Deacon knew suicidal thoughts ran deeper than whatever half-assed jokes he could cure them with, but if he got any more personal he was afraid he’d cry. “We look out for each other. Hell, we’re family. So please… just…” Deacon ended his rambling with a lopsided smile.

Gage: “What fuckn’ cowards,” Gage seethed. He and Sole stood at an abandoned outpost. They were trying to track down rouge raiders that had defected from the Operators. However, the only people left in the ruins were a handful of people who had shot themselves. They either knew Sole and Gage were closing in, our they were done with the raider lifestyle. “Bunch of complete wastes of space,” Gage continued. “Anyone who ain’t man enough to deal with their fuckn’ problems doesn’t deserve the resources they suck dry while they’re here.”

Sole had no idea why Gage was so opposed to the idea of suicide. As he grit his teeth and began to loot the camp, Sole hung back. Sole knew Gage looked up to them as a leader. How would he feel if…?

“You okay, Overboss?” he asked. “If this sight is a little too gruesome for ya, there’s no need to hang around. I can come back with some other men and finish the clean-up.”

“I could have been one of these people, Gage.” Sole crossed their arms, determined not to break eye contact. Gage asked what Sole meant. “When I first realized my son was gone, my wife/husband was gone… I put a gun to my head. I didn’t know it was empty. But if it had been? I’d have been just like any of these raiders.” Sole sucked in a deep breath when they saw Gage tense up. “Be angry that these people broke their codes and left our ranks. But not that they couldn’t face their demons. They weren’t wastes of space.”

“Shit.” Gage took a step forward. Sole noticed he went to reach for their arm, but he stopped himself at the last second. For the first time ever, Gage actually seemed remorseful. “I had no idea, Sole. I’m sorry I said all that. If someone like you can struggle with those thoughts, then anyone can. We’ll… give ‘em a proper burial here. Promise.”

Hancock: “You know, sometimes I think you want to overdose.” Sole was talking to Hancock who currently lounged back on the couch. He was absolutely defenseless where he lay. It was adorable. Just to make sure the mayor was as incapacitated as he seemed, Sole grabbed his favorite hat and placed it on their own hat. It took Hancock over ten seconds to register what happened. “That’s sad,” Sole said. “I’m keeping this.”

Hancock reached his arm out with the most pathetic look he could muster. “I’m hurtn’ here, sweetheart,” he moaned. “It’s been a long day and I’m a tired ghoul. I deserve to get this high. But I can’t complete the ensemble without that hat.” Sole rolled their eyes and gave it back to him, then laughed as he put it on backwards. “There. Now I’m as handsome as ever.”

“Stop changing the subject,” Sole said. They were trying to look serious, but failing. How could you stay mad at Hancock? He got under your skin in all the right ways. “It’s dangerous to take that much at one time. I took just a little more than that when I found out Shaun was gone hoping I wouldn’t wake up. I can’t believe you do all this for fun.”

Even in his stupor, Hancock registered exactly what Sole was getting at. “You did what?” he gaped. Sole looked down at their feet. “You’re telln’ me you tried to kill yourself not that long ago? Holy shit.” Hancock sat up with some inner strength he didn’t know he had. Even though the world was spinning, he managed to take Sole’s hand in his own. “Please tell me you ain’t thinkn’ about doing something like that again. I couldn’t bear to lose you over the fact you think no one cares. Cause I really do, and there ain’t no dose of chems that’d ever be more important to me than you.”

MacCready: He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. MacCready had opened up to Sole about losing Lucy, and the suicidal thoughts thereafter when he figured life wasn’t worth living without her. Sole told him their similar feelings after losing their spouse, and he felt his stomach knot. MacCready thought he was just some trifling gun-for-hire who fell ass-backwards in to a marriage he didn’t deserve with a son he couldn’t provide for. But Sole was… the complete opposite. They were thrown in to this apocalypse, not born in to it like he was. They took everything in stride. Placed their friends’ safety above their own. Passed up well-deserved caps just so families had the extra money. So as Sole told MacCready they had once tried to take their own life, he found himself sitting on the edge of his seat. A gust of wind would have been able to topple the merc on the floor.

“Please don’t talk like that,” he said. MacCready’s voice cracked at the end, and he was worried if he spoke again tears would spill out. “Sole, you’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to the Commonwealth. The greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you as a friend. I’m so sorry your spouse passed away, but you’ve showed me there’s still a life beyond all that sorrow. So if you can stay strong… I guess… so can I.” 

Preston: “Excuse me, General?” Preston had been waiting for Sole all day. His expression was tense, which let Sole know he had something weighing on his mind. “Can we talk somewhere privately? I’ve got something bothering me.” Preston led Sole to the picnic table behind Sanctuary. After stumbling around his words for a while, Preston finally looked up with worry in his eyes. “I know we talked recently about my past with the Minutemen. How I lost all hope and… tried to end my life. Lately I’ve been feeling really guilty laying all that information on you. I just want to make sure you’re okay with it and that I didn’t overstep my boundaries.”

Sole shook their head. “Preston, I know what that feels like. I’ve done the exact thing before. For different reasons. Reasons I don’t really want to get in to.” There was a pause that followed. Sole watched Preston’s eyes widen. They knew he was too polite to speak his mind. “I’ve never felt closer to you, Preston. So don’t think you made me uncomfortable. If we both take this a day at a time, maybe we can help each other get through these feelings, you know?”

“I… Sole, I had no idea.” Preston honestly didn’t know what to say. He looked up to Sole as a role model. Their past didn’t change his admiration towards them, he was just surprised. “We will get through this. I just know it. And when we finally make the Commonwealth safe, we’ll know it was worth sticking around for.”

Piper: Piper hated writing obituaries. Whenever someone in Diamond City passed away, she wrote about them in a small paragraph on the back of her latest issue. Since not many settlers died of old age anymore, the stories were about parents succumbing to radiation poisoning or little kids who got too close to feral ghouls. This particular story was about a mother who took her own life when her daughter drowned in the water filtration plant in the back of Diamond City. Piper’s newspaper was selling out, but she knew it was for a depressing reason.

Sole picked up a copy like they usually did, and thumbed through it dramatically to show Piper they really did read the whole thing. When Sole got to the obituary, they paused. “You forget how to read just now or something, Blue?” Piper asked. “I can smell the smoke from over here.”

“I’m sorry,” Sole said. “I just got to the obituary section. That’s so sad. I remember when I tried to kill myself after losing Shaun. I’d never wish that on anybody I knew.”

“Oh god,” Piper whispered. “Blue, I had no idea. I wouldn’t have given you a copy if I knew…” Sole set the paper back down, and met Piper’s hand. Piper squeezed Sole’s fingers reassuringly. “I think I’d just about lose it if I lost Nat. I couldn’t imagine what that feels like. But you’ve just gotta stick around. A lot of people depend on you. So if you get those feelings again, you talk to me, alright? I love you, woman/man out of time.”

Nick: As a detective, Nick Valentine had seen some unusual cases come through his door. Most of the ones in Diamond City involved the suspicion that someone was a synth, and watching a distraught racist try to tip-toe their way in to getting his Gen 3 self to help them was always amusing. However, he knew Sole’s case was special the moment he met them. Sole didn’t see him as a robot, they saw him as his own man. That is why Nick respected Sole so much, and why seeing the marks on their wrists hurt so badly.

“Do you mind explaining those?” Nick asked when he noticed Sole sheepishly trying to pull down their sleeves. “Unless you bought a feral cat recently, I have feeling you did that to yourself.” His expression softened. “Do you need to talk about something, kid?”

“I’m sorry that worried you, Nick,” Sole said. They were being honest. Seeing Nick’s yellow eyes widen like that… it broke Sole’s heart. “The last thing I want to do is hurt somebody, which is why I hurt myself. But that’s all in the past, I swear. These scars are old. And I have friends like you to thank for that positive change.” Nick believed Sole, but for good measure he checked up on them more than usual. They were his favorite troublemaker, after all. What kind of detective would he be if he didn’t watch out for his own partner?

Strong: Strong still didn’t understand what Sole was telling him. He understood the concept of Suiciders. They charged in to battle knowing they would die, but it was in the name of battle and bloodshed. When he learned Sole had tried to talk their own life just to die, it physically hurt his brain. “Human is good leader. Good leader want to live. Strong not understand why human do that.”

Sole took a deep breath, regretting telling Strong about their past at all. “Sometimes when humans don’t think they can do something, they don’t see a point in leading or trying anymore. It doesn’t make the human a bad person. It means they are tired and need some extra help.”

“Strong thinks he knows what human means.” Sole doubted that, but let him continue talking anyways. “Human had bad fight. Didn’t think human could fight again. Then human remembered they are leader, so they kept fighting anyways.”

“That’s…” Sole folded their arms. “That’s actually very right, Strong.”

Strong scoffed. “Of course Strong is right. Strong is smarter than human thinks Strong is.”

X6-88: Sole had a flag on their mental health evaluation? X6 thought it had to be a mistake. Father obviously wanted to make sure his mother/father had the capacity to lead the Institute, which meant doing a written report on Sole’s past. X6 overheard several scientists talking about Sole being mentally unfit in the hallway because of what came up in their papers. The first thing X6 did was defend Sole. He reminded the scientists that they were speaking about the future director, and that Sole had proven time and time again to be a worthy ally on their side. To drive home that point, he reminded them the hell Sole could raise if they were enemies.

X6 then headed straight to Sole’s private chambers to dispel the rumor. Sole was reading on their bed, which seemed like perfectly sane behavior from his obviously sane companion. “Ma’am/Sir, I regret to inform you that there is a rumor circulating the infirmary that your mental health evaluation did not come out clean. Apparently someone flagged it for review. I put those scientists in their place, and I doubt they’ll cause you any trouble if you run in to them again.”

“It isn’t a rumor,�� Sole said. “Shaun asked me to be honest, so I was. I used to self-harm, X6. A lot. I didn’t want to live in this new world. But since I’ve seen the Institute and what it can do for humanity… I feel hope again. I don’t intend on having those thoughts any more. And Shaun set me up with a fantastic psychologist.”

Awkward. X6 stood in the door-frame knowing Sole wanted him to join them in the room. However, his legs felt like lead. “Well then I’m sorry I assumed. I am certain you will still make a superb director for the Institute. And I have no qualms remaining your companion out in the Commonwealth.” Three compliments in a row? That was high praise from the same courser who once threatened to bludgeon Paladin Danse to death for scuffing his shoes.

[commonwealthbankofmaccready]

Wasted in the Wasteland

First fallout fic whut uuup. Also on my ao3 under penname PoisonJack here. Chapter 2&3 can be found there :) (leave me a comment too babes! :D)

My fanfic archive masterlist post found here.

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There hadn't been any actual discussion of what was happening between the three of them.

Nora knew that the path they were headed down would eventually meet at a crossroads they'd eventually have to properly acknowledge. Or maybe not, if things went where she assumed. The playful flirting; the casual, affectionate touches reciprocated by all parties. Lingering, less-than-innocent touches and knowing-looks. They were all going to end up in bed together at some point.

She just didn't expect that it would be after a firefight.

Nora rolled over to Deacon’s side of a crumbling wall, Mac on the opposite as they were on the second floor of a dilapidated apartment building. She ducked before lining up her shot and taking it, blowing a raider’s head clean off. She ducked down low again next to Deacon, and they shared an energetic grin.

She liked battle. She liked the power of a good, battle-hardened sniper rifle in her arms. The knowledge that the raiders attacking her settlements wouldn't harm peaceful folks trying to make a decent damn living in this messed up world. She liked the way her heart raced and adrenaline surged through her body. Knowing she was here and alive and not taking things lying down even if her world had been turned on its head. That she wasn’t alone. She liked it all.

But what she liked most was having the both of them with her at once. The safety in numbers, the banter as they walked the Commonwealth, the jokes and shared stories, and the warped sense of humor that battle seemed to bring out of her.

Deacon had taken an especial liking to this side of her that opened up during firefights. He had his secrets, and she had hers, but they kept it light during the darker times.

“What a headache” as a raider’s brains were blown out. “He sounds just like my ex did in bed” as a mutant’s enraged scream echoed off high rise buildings. The jokes made life-threatening situations damn near worth looking forward to.

It was important to enjoy your job, after all, and Nora had descended on the filth of the Commonwealth like it had less to do with her title as General and more a personal vendetta.

Maybe it was.

Mac had been with her for some time before she took up with Deacon, and despite everything, they worked really well together. Really, really well together. The mercenary knew his way around a gun and his guileless attitude plain-spoken ways made him an interesting character to be around.

Deacon wasn't surprised Nora was sleeping with the sniper-- the open road was a lonely place, after all- but the frequent times she'd made passes at him, especially when Mac was traveling with them, he was sure he was mistaking the teasing for more than it was.

Oh how wrong he was.

His confusion about her advances wasn't so far fetched. She didn't flirt with Garvey this way. Didn't tease Cait with a deeper look of want in her eyes and long-lingering touches. Maybe she was this familiar with Hancock, but the ghoul mayor always laughed things off with her right there with him, everything kept overtly friendly even when over the top. None of her flirting took quite the same form as it did with Deacon, and it mirrored exactly she treated Mac.

She and MacCready were an Item with a capital ‘I’ as far as he'd observed. A proper couple; probably a far cry from what she was used to in terms of pre-war life, but Deacon understood it. He kept the flirty teasing light, ignoring sexual overtones even if she watched him almost hopefully; as if she could see his eyes right through his sunglasses.

It was during one of their little post-battle exchanges that Mac rolled his eyes and asked Deacon if he thought he was too good for Nora. That he saw the way the other man looked at her-- that he'd seen feral hounds drool over fresh meat less than Deacon did Nora- so what gives?

That had been a shock, but one he’d needed.

Deacon had had the decency to actually blush-- couldn't remember the last time he genuinely had- and was grateful Mac had said something after Nora had stalked off to roll corpses for loot. The spy was certain he must have heard Mac wrong, but no. The mercenary thought it was mean that Deacon was stringing her along but not following through. He was hurting her feelings playing with her.

Mac, bless his heart, had been offended on her behalf. And it was as wholeheartedly confusing as it was endearing.

The younger man had elaborated in annoyed, low tones that the spy needed to nut up or shut up where she was concerned. It was Deacon’s business about who he slept with blah blah blah, yeah, Mac got that-- and if Deacon didn't like her and wasn't actually interested, that would be one thing. Mac could respect that. They all could.

But for being a spy, Deacon was pretty transparent when it came to the vaultie, and the sniper made his opinions on the matter clear: don't tease Nora like that if he wasn't going to follow through when she was obviously interested. Tone it back if he didn’t want her. She didn't deserve that, and if Mac had to reassure her that it wasn't her one more time, that she wasn’t imagining his obvious interest, he was going to punch Deacon square in the nose.

It was as if the weeks on end of sudden hostility from the mercenary suddenly made sense.

Mac wasn't jealous. He didn't own her any more than she owned him. And right now Deacon was on his shit list for being an obstacle to that end instead of a participant.

After their little talk, Deacon got bolder under this new information, testing the waters. Post-battle kisses to the cheek became kisses to the lips. Hugs suddenly involved a lot more of the body. For the little he put in, he was getting a lot back. Mac was right.

If Nora had a spring in her step, they all knew where it had come from. Mac’s ‘special mercenary-frowns’, as Nora called them, lessened for the spy. The tension between them went back to an easy rapport. Jokes and playful shoves and affectionate prodding returned full force to their little group and barriers were broken down again.

Deacon’s post-battle ass-slaps to the pair of them had resulted in outraged squawks and snickers, followed by a month-long game of grab-ass on the road until distraction nearly caused one of them to eat a bullet to the face.

Life was good. Snuffing out raider life together was better.

Nore felt alive again, and it bled out into even firefights. A playful look would alight on her face, and she'd tell Deacon private things-- about herself or Mac- but only mid-battle as their down time was kept casual. He caught on fast to these shifts in mood, didn't bring things up on the road, but the sly little look on her face told him all he needed to know about this little game.

Like right now, she told him how Mac liked being bit just below his left nipple, or how his O-face was the same one he made after getting a good head-shot. It annoyed the shit out of her because she'd get turned on in the middle of a gunfight and that only upped her desire to kill. It made Deacon cackle as he watched the sniper shoot a raider right in the face.

That self-satisfied, pleased little smirk wasn't hard to imagine under different context.

“You better not be telling him about the mutfruit,” MacCready called over as they returned fire over the crumbling building wall, his own little library of Deacon facts-- small though it was- a great source of entertainment.

“Oh, I gotta hear about that,” Deacon laughed out as he gave Nora’s ass a playful pat before moving past her for a better vantage point.

Mac took advantage of the lull in the shooting to scramble to Nora’s recently vacated side, out of breath and a judgmental smile on his face. “...Does he know about the mutfruit?”

“He knows about your secret sea captain’s hat fetish,” Deacon's voice teased as he lobbed a grenade over the broken roof from just a bit above them.

“Don't even start, Deeks, Mac knows about your little tongue trick, and I’ll have you know he's improved on it.” The grenade exploded as raider screams filled the immediate aftermath. The barrage of bullets paused in the dust and pained cries.

Mac grinned at the praise and kissed her in the momentary lull of the volley, nipping and sucking at her lips; flicking his tongue to drive home the point.

They didn't have time for this-- needed to pick off the remaining raiders- and the promise of his mouth was going to have her on edge until she could get him alone some place safe and hopefully soundproofed. But it was good just the same.

She sighed into Mac’s mouth while she could hear Deacon’s appreciative laugh from above.

“That trick is legend, I feel honored! It's the only thing that can stop the chattering!”

“So damn smug…” she muttered to herself as Mac took his position back up to scope out the remaining maimed raiders. An amused grin was on the sniper’s face as Nora yelled back at Deacon. “Don't test me Deacon. I'll tell him just how cute you think his butt is in those old army fatigues!”

Mac snorted as he took out one of the jet heads trying to get to his gun with clearly crippled legs. The chem-head probably didn’t even know he was messed up. Dam- darned raiders. “The army fatigues, Deacon?” Mac called up with a teasing laugh as he reloaded. “I'd have thought it was the leather pants with the way you< stare.”

“You wish I spent that much time looking at your ass,” he called back in amusement. “You would know I'm simply working out how much longer leather takes to peel off than army fatigues. It's tactical observation. Leather is a bad choice.”

Nora snorted and cursed as a grenade shook the building from the outside. Some of their remaining targets were more lively than the others. She peered out with her scope. “Geez guys get a room why don't you?”

“We can't, you lost all our caps to Hancock’s poker night!” Deacon groaned.

They made short work of the few remaining raiders, rolling the bodies for anything worth selling or keeping before heading off to Goodneighbor. They had to slaughter their way through a few super mutants to get there-- which would have been easy without their weighed-down packs- and it was a messier affair than Nora would have preferred. First puddle of water they encountered and she was cleaning herself up.

“I think I have guts in my hair.”

“If you went my route you would never have that problem again,” Deacon told her with a smirk from under his sunglasses. “Only thing to worry about is sunburn.”

“I think I'll risk it,” she laughed, giving him a playful shove.

“Shoulda worn a hat,” Mac told her with a smug look that she was ready to kiss or smack off his damn smiling face. She made a grab for his own hat that he easily dodged.

“A sea captain’s hat?” Deacon asked, leering at the young mercenary. “I do love a good hat.”

“Okay you guys can shut up,” Mac said with a light blush staining his cheeks.

There was a bit more teasing about what other kinks might be hidden behind those red cheeks, and chuckles and suggestions were put forth. Nora was superiorly telling them that she knew about things that frankly didn’t exist in the Commonwealth anymore, but would have made the pair of them blush redder than a tato. Life pre-war in the Commonwealth had been a true thing of leisure and experimentation.

“-and stuff would be delivered right to your front door in nice discreet packaging.”

“Maybe that’s your new calling in life! Revive the industry! We need to talk to Tinker Tom, he can build anything.”

“I’m not letting anything he makes anywhere near me or my… delicate areas after that little battery-acid injection,” Mac said sourly.

“Yeah, on second thought, maybe the Commonwealth doesn’t need to know about this stuff,” Nora said with a smirk. She gave Mac’s cheek a little pat. “Poor baby.”

“You guys have no sense of adventure.”

“The only adventure I want is finding out what’s at the bottom of a nice cold beer,” Nora told him with a snort.

“Yeah, I’d kill for a beer. Come to think of it, I have.”

“Wow, remind me to never hold out on you,” Deacon told him, adding a wink that made Mac shake his head and chuckle. “I’m selling those leather pants of his if we don’t have enough to go around, boss. I'm not getting shot over 200 year old fermented grain-water.”

Nora suggested he sell Mac’s spare army fatigues if things were that dire, but Deacon told her no situation would ever be dire enough to warrant such drastic measures. Their laughter echoed off the old concrete and bombed out rubble as they picked their way through the city.

Their banter had them all in a great mood by the time they reached the gates of Goodneighbor, very eager for that 200 year old fermented grain water Deacon loved to hate on.

They got cozy at the bar in the Third Rail after bartering away most of the goods they'd picked up with Daisy, pockets stuff with caps and packs much much lighter. With the haul from the trip, they were able to afford the good stuff Hancock kept behind the bar just for when Nora was in town, and loaded up with several beers apiece, they moved things to the VIP lounge to relax.

The three piled onto a couch next to one another, cracking open beers and drinking deeply; laughing over the simple pleasures of a day well spent and another survived. Mac had his feet up on the worn coffee table while Deacon sprawled out in the couch corner, Nora between the two of them looking wistfully at the bottle in her hands.

She told them about drinking games she used to play in college, and how there used to be more than one variation of Gwinnett brew to enjoy at the end of a hard day, and bemoaned the idea of what was left ever running out. Now there was a scary idea.

One beer turned to two, two turned to three, and they got a little more than handsy with one another as they sat and laughed and joked around prodding and hanging on each other playfully. It got to the point right between tired and drunk where everything was funny, and the fact that they were sitting in the VIP section sipping on warm, 200 year old beers amused Nora in ways the other two didn’t quite get, but chuckled along with anyways.

Mac pointed out how he'd still be in this exact spot if it wasn't for Nora walking into his life, and Deacon pointed out that they were still in the exact same spot regardless of that fact, and fixed Nora with an exaggerated accusatory look from over his sunglasses.

It had her in hysterics, and she said it was as good a reason to drink the good stuff as any. “I’m getting a bottle of bourbon from Charlie,” she told them as she peeled herself off the couch, wobbly on her feet. “I'll be right back. Be good.”

“Oh come on, when have you known me to cause trouble?” Deacon asked with a mischievous grin and a cock of his head.

Nora smirked right back. “I was talking to Mac.” She gave the younger man a wink and then waggled her brows at Deacon.

The sniper gave her a deceptively innocent look and busied himself with draining the rest of the bottle in his hands, though his cheeks were heated. She laughed and disappeared around the corner to pester Charlie for another round as Deacon gave him a wicked look, ready to start trouble.

“So…. sea captain’s hat, huh?”

Mac couldn't stop his crooked grin, though he still blushed hotly under the booze heating his face as Deacon smirked. “You're one to talk, army greens.”

“I appreciate a good uniform,” Deacon laughed, drinking his beer and scooting closer to the mercenary, speaking in exaggeratedly serious, confidential tones. “What would you do if I told you I had a sea captain’s hat in my bag right this very minute? That I could be wearing it as we speak? Hypothetically, of course.”

Mac’s face was still red, and he swallowed before answering the teasing with a smirk. “I’d say put it on and see what happens.”

Deacon chuckled, not about to surrender so easily. “Don't threaten me with a good time.”

Nora came back to Mac’s snorting laughter, a hand on his face and another on Deacon’s thigh to steady himself while Deacon asked if he had the army fatigues with him.

“Okay there lovebirds, make room. Move it. Move it move it,” she said as she tried to retake her place between them less than gracefully. She ended up sitting in Deacon’s lap with her legs in Mac’s, cradling a bottle of the good stuff in her arms. “...You guys make a crappy couch.”

“You're impatient,” Mac told her, though bothering to make room now was out of the question, and he grabbed her legs with one hand. She was already trying to recline, the grin she gave entirely unrepentant as she handed the bourbon bottle to Mac to open.

She smiled up into Deacon’s face as the bottle was opened with a pop, lips breaking into a grin on that flushed face. The invitation there was obvious, but she puckered up in supplication just in case. He grinned back before kissing her lips, and she chuckled against his mouth to tell him that Mac still had his little trick beat.

“If you’re really nice, maybe he’ll show you,” she said as she was passed the bourbon from the smirking mercenary, taking a sip and grimacing before holding it up under Deacon’s nose.

He smirked, giving Mac a wide grin, voice challenging, testing as he quirked his brow. “Yeah? Tricks of the trade need to be kept secret. Think the Rexford has a room right now?”

“If they don't, we can just stay here,” Mac told him, snatching the bottle back from Deacon to steal the man’s sip with a challenging look of his own. He nearly choked at Deacon’s next words, and Nora nearly fell off them laughing.

“Didn't know you liked an audience.” Mac’s face went beet red as he sputtered, and Deacon’s expression lit up like it was Christmas, crowding closer to the sniper to give him a bump of the head. “Oh I am filing that away for a rainy day.”

Nora squirmed in Deacon’s lap, making the older man suddenly gasp as she made contact with a most interested part of him indeed. She bit her lower lip and entwined the fingers on one hand with Mac, the other wrapped about the back of Deacon's neck. She squeezed them both with a slow, suggestive smile on her face as she looked between the two.

“...didn't it look like it might rain today?”

Mac snorted, though his grin was toothy as he squeezed her hand back. Deacon looked between the two of them with an equally calculating quirk of the lips. She bit her bottom lip with a hopeful smile, cheeks hot from the alcohol and her awareness of them both. She wasn’t the only one with blood rushing south.

Deacon swallowed and nodded in agreement. “Like it would pour, yup. Absolutely stormy.”

Mac chuckled and slowly extricated himself from Nora’s legs, getting to his feet only slightly off balance. He readjusted himself shamelessly and then offered her a hand as he stood there with a grin aimed at both of them. “Better check on getting some cover, then.”

He pulled Nora up onto wobbly legs, laughing as she realized how good-- how excited- she felt, and wrapped both arms around Mac’s middle to rub herself against the man with a dirty, happy grin.

The mercenary extended the same service to Deacon with what had to be the most obvious look of interest he'd ever seen, the spy's hand firm in his that he didn't relinquish even after he'd pulled him to unstable feet. Deacon's heart was pounding even harder, pants that much tighter as the sniper’s eyes seemed to pierce his sunglasses, pinning him in place.

Mac brought their grasped hands up to his lips, but only spoke against them with a crafty smirk like he was sure he'd gotten the high ground. Deacon wasn't sure he hadn't.

“Hope you're a quick learner.”

That got a bark of laughter from the spy, Deacon shaking his head and squeezing the sniper’s hand. “That's my trick in the first place, captain.”

The teasing only made Mac’s grin grow. “Yeah, but you have to test out with this,” Mac inclined his head at Nora, the vaultie rubbing her cheek against Mac’s shoulder as her hands had migrated to the mercenary’s ass.

“I resent being a ‘this’,” she said in shooting him a glare that lacked any heat. He laughed and let Deacon’s hand go to gather up their packs and the bottle of bourbon. She gave Mac’s ass a squeeze before latching on to Deacon instead and purring up at him. “He's good though Deeks he's sooo good.” She pressed against him with a promising smile, humming as his hands came to rest on her ass and give a squeeze.

“Hey lovebirds,” Mac chuckled, carrying their stuff with a rare good humor as he echoed Nora’s comments. “Get a room.”

Deacon swallowed as he looked between them; the more-than-tipsy grins on their faces that both wanted to eat him alive. He wet his lips with his tongue, nodding at the merc with an expectant smile. “Well lead the way then and we will.”

Nora’s snorting and snickering didn't cease as they left the VIP area, attached to Deacon’s hip for support and handsy to boot as they ascended the stairs of the Third Rail. Mac had retaken Deacon’s hand in his, placing a kiss on the knuckles before dragging them after him with an eager smirk and reassuring glances back. His impatience was commented upon with snickering and leers.

Mac only laughed, not denying it, and told them he hoped they could keep up.

He got a coordinated smack to his ass from both Deacon and Nora.

--

Chapter 2&3 (THE SMUTTENING) are on my ao3 here. Haha :)

[idkwhatimdoingbutslay]

#i could write an essay on how everyone hurts vi (physically and emotionally)#and how cait was the only one who saw that + her self harm and vows to never be one to do that#and then when she does cait realizes she fell into the trap of treating vi like a punching bag#like literally everyone else in the show does#breaking their unspoken agreement that cait was the only person who was soft with her#bc vi prides herself on being able to take hit after hit but shouldn’t need to#cait being so devastated that she failed at that and vowing never again

GAWD 😭😭😭😭

cait touching her with her fingertips, like she’s not sure if she’s allowed to anymore ❤️‍🩹 vi finally using her strength on her, promising she won’t break ❤️‍🩹