#curie x sole survivor

[everydayyoulovemeless]

Hello! Could you do an alphabet (SFW or NSFW) for Curie?

Curie SFW Alphabet

➼ Word Count » 1.1k ➼ Warnings » None ➼ Genre » Romantic

A - Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

It doesn't come as naturally as it might for someone else since she hasn't been socialized around people for a very long time, but all things considered, she's very affectionate. She often comes up and holds your hand or will lay her head on your shoulder if you're sitting beside each other. Being a Miss Nanny, she was programmed to know the appropriate times to show affection or comfort and what to do depending on the situation and person.

B - Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Curie is gentle, kind, and incredibly thoughtful. She always manages to check in on you and offers great advice to help with anything you might be struggling with.

C - Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

She does! She loves curling up beside you and resting her head on your chest. It feels so natural to her and it also allows her to make sure your heart is beating at a regular rate.

D - Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

This one's complicated. She'd love to settle down and live as one would've before the war, but she doesn't think she could give up her life as a researcher. If she were to settle down, she'd prefer it to be in an area where a lot happens so that she can go out and take notes whenever she feels the need to. She's also amazing at cooking and cleaning, both are a part of her initial programming.

E - Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Very sadly and apologetic-like. She'd hate to have to do it, but sometimes that's just how it has to be. She'd let you down as softly as she could manage and would comfort you if she felt it was necessary.

F - Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

She would love to get married! And would say yes as soon as you popped the questions.

G - Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Curie's touches are always light and her words are always soft. She'd never dare do anything that could be considered rude or aggressive in any sense and would much prefer to soothe rather than aggravate.

H - Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

She adores them! She always wraps her arms around your torso and squeezes you tightly against her.

I - I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

She probably says it as soon as you both make it official. Her being French and new to the whole dating scene, she doesn't fully grasp the intent and emotion the word can have.

J - Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

She's never been jealous in her life and would be happy if you made friends. Even if someone was flirting with you, it'd fly right over her head.

K - Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Her go-to is to kiss your hands or cheeks in a very delicate and gentle manner.

L - Little ones (How are they around children?)

As a former Miss Nanny? Yes, she's amazing with them.

M - Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Mornings are spent with her revising her notes and making you as healthy of breakfast as she can manage with the ingredients given.

N - Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights are spent taking long walks and talking back and forth about how each of your days went, while she simultaneously gathers objects off the ground to take back to the house and research until you wake up again in the morning.

O - Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

The most open book you'd ever find. Everything about her is laid out on the table. She's not one to keep anything a secret from you.

P - Patience (How easily angered are they?)

She hardly ever gets angry. You'd have to commit genocide for her to even raise her voice at you.

Q - Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Curie studies you like she would anything else. You're her favorite person and she thinks it's important to research every bit about you. There's not a single detail she'd ever forget about you.

R - Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Every moment with you is her favorite, however, anytime you brought her back flowers never fail to make her blush.

S - Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

She'd defend you to her death if she had to, of course, she rather it not come to that, but she's much more easily repairable than you are.

T - Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

She puts in a ton of effort. She believes you deserve the best and Curie never does anything by halves.

U - Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

It can sometimes be hard for her to interpret the mood of a room which can then lead her to doing or saying something out of pocket. She can also have a hard time putting what she feels into words which can lead to confusion and misunderstandings at times.

V - Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Unless it's for a special occasion, she doesn't care.

W - Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

No, her research and findings are what completes her, not her relationships.

X - Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

She loves fidgeting with your hands when she's nervous or just in general.

Y - Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Violence or anger issues of any kind. She finds it to be a tad barbaric and would rather you practice breathing exercises than immediately resort to beating things.

Z - Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

She doesn't sleep.

[harveywritings92]

Curie: Have you ever considered therapy for your repressed anger issues? I imagine it would help.

Sole: Oh, they're not repressed. I'm expressing them a lot.

[woods-and-adlers-left-hand-chap]

For every fallout player there's a companion blocking a doorway, usually at the most inconvenient times

[nukaberries]

Hi! Can I have the non-human companions' reaction to a male sole that is very protective of them? Like if they're at a bar and someone shouts "get out of here freak/bucket of bolts/etc" he's beating the crap out of them immediately and when he's done he just goes back to the said companion and is all caring like "are you ok? Do you need anything?" Djdjfnfnejjr p l e a s e I've had this idea for so long

Non-human companions will always have a special place in my heart (especially Hancock because characters from Goodneighbor will always be superior to me), so this ask is really fun! Besides, I'm pretty sure every Hancock or Valentine fan has sided against the Brotherhood just for this reason. Also I have a feeling I could be missing someone, since I almost forgot Codsworth and Strong, so please let me know if I am, I can just add them on lmao

//

Non-Human Companions React to M!Sole Being Protective (Includes: Curie, Codsworth, Hancock, Nick, Strong and X6-88)

Curie She insists that Sole didn't have to go to all that trouble for her, she understands that some people are bound to dislike her simply based on her appearance and although that can be disheartening, she's come to accept it. She's a little shocked by how Sole reacts, he's never been particularly violent if he can help it, but it's more how quickly his mood changes afterwards when he goes to check on her that catches her more off guard than anything. She can't help but feel touched by the gesture though, it's nice to know that there's someone willing to look out for her.

Codsworth The Commonwealth is a lot different than it was 210 years ago, Codsworth still remembers the days when people would clamour at the opportunity to have their very own Mr. Handy. Now, all he seems to be is target practice or scrap metal to the inhabitants of the wasteland. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean he's immune to how some people tend to treat him. While Sole's act of violence is quite concerning to him, Codsworth does find himself grateful that his old friend is willing to defend him against the abuse he's become accustomed to. Codsworth assures Sole he's fine and insists that he doesn't cause so much ruckus on his behalf, but he will make a point to thank him profusely for caring, even if he is just a robot butler.

Hancock While Goodneighbor is more than welcoming to people from all walks of life, Hancock isn't blind to the treatment of his kind outside the walls. He'd seen it with his own brother in Diamond City and Hancock wishes that he'd fought as hard for the exiled ghouls as Sole had just fought for him. The name calling doesn't bother him, really, he's heard it all before and he can handle himself. What catches him off guard is Sole beating the bigot that had insulted him to a pulp. He does figure that Sole might owe him one, considering Hancock had handled Finn for him the day they'd met. Still, he assures Sole that he's fine and clarifies that he can fight his own battles, not that the show Sole had put on wasn't entertaining to watch.

Nick Valentine Being around as long as Nick has, he knows what people think of his kind and sometimes it can be hard to blame them. The Institute are dangerous and they've taken countless lives for their own selfish gain, even though it's not his fault he has to walk around looking like their poster boy, he can understand why people might take out their frustration on him. Of course, that doesn't mean he isn't quick to bite back to defend himself. On this occasion though, Sole was quicker and much more vicious and Nick had barely managed to comprehend what had just happened before Sole was back at his side asking if he was okay. Nick was fine, as usual, and only might a slightly irritated remark about Sole using his words next time rather than his fists, before thanking him.

Strong He doesn't really understand the insult being thrown at him and, although he definitely will try to join in, he isn't too sure as to why Sole is attacking a random civilian. Once Sole has made sure that Strong is okay - which, of course, he is - and once he's explained what had just happened and why, Strong isn't particularly bothered, he knows Super Mutants are the superior race, the comments of a "puny human" won't change that.

X6-88 A snide remark from a worthless scavenger means absolutely nothing to him, but apparently it means a lot to Sole, who doesn't hesitate to give the scavenger a beatdown and make him apologise to X6. He decides to wait, rather impatiently, for Sole to be done, before asking that he doesn't cause such a scene again for something so meaningless. Deep down though, Sole knows that's his way of saying thank you.

[transparentkinks]

What if the pre-war government censored all information on sexual health?

You should know I wrote this with my entire p#@sy. MDNI

Nora never really considered herself sheltered. All things considered she thought she was rather open minded. Anatomy and burns never made her squeamish, she was a battle medic, and then a trauma surgeon for hell’s sake. When she served she was often praised for her ability to keep it together even in the most hellish circumstances. When it comes to injuries encountered in battle, especially in regards to prisoners of war or those left too long alone in drastic environments, Nora was who they called. When the wounds before them were so gruesome it got to even the most seasoned surgeon, Nora was one of the few members on staff that people could count on to stay composed till the patient was stable. The things she’d seen, god the things she’d smelled… and beyond just violence and gore, she’s cussed, heard locker room talk, mothered herself a child, and she’ll never really forget that time with her company crawling around in a field looking for the dismembered penis of the poor bastard who caught the business end of a pretty nasty car bomb. Despite the propaganda of her small town she liked to believe that she treated people the same no matter what they believed in or looked like. When she crawled out of that vault she managed to swallow down her grief and face the wasteland. She accepted that life would always be stranger than fiction and started collecting friends that looked like they belonged in comic books. She learned fast and adapted to a world that had changed plenty without her. 

So what the fuck were her friends talking about? 

“I mean it man, I swear to god when I went down on her that rug was braided”

“No way, who in their right mind spends time braiding down there?” Piper looked at Hancock like his ear just fell off. 

“I guess some girls in the capital are just different” Hancock shrugged with a tipsy grin before talking another sip from his beer. “Different strokes for different folks and all that.” 

“I call bullshit” Macreedy spoke up. “Some chick in the capital isn’t gonna have any more time to be so weird about her hygiene than anyone in the commonwealth.” 

“They do got that bigass water purifier down there, maybe they get to shower more and it does something weird to their brain” Deacon interjected, shit eating grin having not moved from his face since the second he sat down with the group with his bowl of stew and a bottle of whisky to pass amongst the group. In fact Nora was fairly certain his distinctive grin had only grown as the conversation got more confusing. 

“Before ze war, zhey studied people’s brainz and why zhey might do strange zhings. Some diagnozis did mention zat a persons’s environment can induze compulzive behaviors, especially vhen expozed to trauma. Most of zhe examples were concerning cleanliness and hygiene.” Curie spoke up, and finally Nora felt like she was understanding what was being said. Though, She wasn’t entirely sure how they got to their current conversation topic. “If a perzon feels such compulsizons and findz zemselves vith zhe means, zhey may indulge zhemselves even to zhe point vhere ve find zheir behavior strange.”

“Well, I guess she could be considered odd. Becoming a ghoul isn’t exactly non-traumatic, but if it really is because of the water purifier than I wouldn’t mind everyone getting a little more weird. She nearly tasted like water” Tasted??? Who tastes someone during sex? Well, she guessed Nate had liked sucking her breasts, especially after having shawn, but she thought it would probably taste more salty.  They had to be talking about sex if Preston's face was anything to go by. The man looked like he was simultaneously trying to hide behind his drink and shrink back into his coat. Hancock was looking away fondly when Cait slugged his shoulder. 

“Man I’ve seen you put a slice of cram in between two snack cakes and call it a fancy sandwich. And then ate it. I don’t trust your sense of taste” 

“Yeah!” Curie spoke up. “You zaid zath you can’t taste anyzhing since you turned ghoul!” A choir of yeah’s arose around her from Piper, Macreedy, Deacon, and Cait. 

“Those are the words of a person who has never tried a fancy sandwich.” John waggled a finger at Cait. “You should know that’s a ghoul delicacy.” 

“What are we talking about?” Danse strode over to the group following the cheers from the corner of the settlement bar. 

“Only the finest delicacies available to a person.” Hancock grinned at the synth cheekily.

“Danse you’ve been to the capital wasteland before, did girls start tasting different after that water drama?” Deacon stood to drag the synth down into the already crowded booth. Danse suddenly looked very much like he wanted to leave. 

“I’m not telling you about my sexual encounters.” Ah, so It was about sex. 

“Oh come on! You’re no fun.” Deacon laughed and shoved Danse as he squeezed into the booth. 

“You know for all your expertise on retrieving important information I'm surprised you’re withholding this essential data.” Piper jabbed, and with a wiggle of her eyebrows passed the whiskey to Danse. “No way this reporter can get a scoop?” 

“Wrong hands and all that.” Danse sniffed before taking a swig. 

“And therefore!” Hancock slammed his hands on the table and looked pointedly at Macreedy Curie and Cait. “None of you can prove that pussy did not taste different after that water debacle.” Nora was trying to put it together in her mind what they were describing looked like, fighting off a blush as her mind wandered.

“Does it even matter if there’s a difference?” Nick sighed past his cigarette, adding another puff of smoke into the already slightly opaque air of the concrete building. 

“Ov course it doze” Curie slurred. While she had yet to touch any chems beyond stimpacks and the occasional med-x after a rough fight, curie was clearly enjoying ‘zhe social ritual of zhelebratory inebriation’ as she had put it. Especially since John used his connections to find her some pot, a drug she apparently had medical reason to trust more than alcohol. The first time Curie tried a shot she spat it out and talked extensively about how it burned. Right now she was enjoying a small rum and nuka (The only way she could tolerate any alcohol) and passing a joint between herself, John, and Cait. “It could be a healtz indicator! In regardz to zex, zhis is important, yes?” 

“Or” Macreedy interjected, seeming rather done with this conversation. “Maybe we’re all a bunch of gross fucks and pussy tastes good if its hydrated. For all we know that was just basic pre-war and we’re just now catching up.” 

“Man, people really had it good pre-war if everyone tasted like that.” Hancock sighed whistfully before taking a puff of the joint as it was passed his way. 

“Vell, I guess ve vill never have the data on zhat” Curie sighed. 

“Nu-uh” Deacon spoke up, grin unmoving as he cast his gaze to Nora. Oh no.  “We got ourselves our own repository of pre-war experiences right here.” 

“Oh shit, yeah. What do you think sunshine? Do folks taste different after the bombs?” Hancock looked at her rather excitedly, and suddenly Nora felt quite a few eyes on her. What she wouldn’t give for a stealth boy right now. Or a much, much stronger drink. Speaking of… 

“Well I don’t know, I wasn’t exactly walking around licking people.” Nora huffed and snatched the whiskey bottle before it could reach its next destination. 

“What, Nate never let you get a taste of yourself? Kept you all to himself? Never told you what it was like while he was going down?” Cait jested, propping her head on her elbow and looking up at Nora with mischief written across her face. Taste herself? Going down? Nora was rapidly losing context as her anxiety grew. 

“I-... I mean not really?” Nora stuttered, floundering for something to say that wouldn’t tip off her friends that she had no fucking clue what they were referencing. Oh no, now Cait looked confused. “I mean, people didn’t really discuss sex like people do now…” She trailed off but the eyes did not leave her. Normally she relished sharing her better memories from before the war with her friends, loved how they listened to her no matter what she wanted to talk about, but this time she just wished they’d ignore her. She took another swig to buy herself some time. 

“Wait, Nate did go down on you right?” Piper spoke up, leaning forward in her seat with a look of concern and confusion. Damn her. Nora normally loved how quickly Piper could put pieces together before she could, but right now she wanted to strangle her. The table was silent. 

“I uh, that’s slang right?” Piper nodded. “I don’t really know what that means.” Cait started cackling and Nora felt her cheeks flush. 

“Girly it means eating pussy.” Cait giggled. Nora just blinked at her, embarrassment growing as she remained confused. Cait’s giggles died off, along with her grin. “Eating you out? Shit Curie you had a big word for it.”

“Cunilingus?” Curie studied her face. “Oral zex?” Curie probed fruther. How would she taste herself during a blowjob? “Providing physical pleasure to a woman by means of contact between the mouth and the vagina?” Curie clarified. When she just started at Curie confused John spoke up. 

“Hold on, you really have no clue what we’re talking about?” He looked bewildered. 

“...No” Nora wished the ground would eat her alive.

“Damn, you had that man’s kid and he never went down on you? Ever?” John looked shocked, and looking around the table she realized pretty much everyone was giving her some flavor of the same look. “Man maybe pre-war folk didn’t have it that nice of they didn’t go down on each other.” Hancock shook his head. 

“We had the notion of oral sex before the war.” Nick clarified with a furrow in his brow. “I’m sure you ended up reading about it somewhere. You were a nurse right?” 

“I mean, yeah…” Nora mumbled. “But it was mostly about ways people catch different diseases and how to identify symptoms.” The whiskey bottle was passed along, and Nora prayed the conversation would steer towards pre-war medicine. At least she could talk extensively about that. Curie suddenly looked a little mad. 

“On vhat anatomy?” She questioned with urgency. “Your medical textbookz must have explained zhe affects on men and vomen, yes?” A beat of silence passed. Shit, her textooks were basically all male anatomy. She racked her head. There were diagrams of women, she knew it. Yeah, when she was learning basic gynecology. She saw plenty of diagrams of female reproductive organs. And especially leading up to their unit on delivery. Did they talk about diseases in women? She knew they discussed pregnancy effects… 

“I mean I was first trained as a combat medic, so it was mostly male anatomy...”

“But they had women in the army.” Nick corrected. “Not just medics, they saw deployment. They were soldiers.” Nick stubbed out the last of his cigarette in the ashtray. “They didn’t really train their medics to only treat half of their army did they?” 

“Well beyond genitalia there isn’t much difference between male and female anatomy-”

“Zhat is not true!!” Curie exclaimed. She definitely looked mad now. “Surely treating soldiers so vould result in more female casualties, yes?” 

“Women in relationships were given the option to opt out of the draft, so it was a lot more men than women.” Nora explained. “And if you ask me the death toll of that war was pretty equal opportunity in the end.” 

Curie frowned. “Hold on” Hancock spoke up, tucking his tin of mentats back into his pocket as he looked at her contemplatively. Nora felt like she would not enjoy his line of questioning with those in his system. “So let me get this straight, you knew about oral sex, but not on women?” Why did he look sad?

“Yes?” Nora suddenly felt very uncertain. 

“Did you perform oral sex?” He followed her response rather quickly. If she wasn’t already clearly blushing she was certain she looked like a tomato now (Or she supposed, a tato fruit is the new word for the vegetable). She swallowed and felt like it was all too audible. 

“Yes.”

“I hope he was a good lay then, fucker better have caught up if you weren’t getting any head.” Cait grumbled, leaning her head on Nora’s shoulder. “-‘Nough men up here don’t care if a girl cums, I’did’d hoped it was different then.” Nora was silent. Girls didn’t have cum, right? She’d never produced any cum with Nate, and her teachers were very clear. Men produced semen and women produced eggs, and sex required the male to ejaculate to enable procreation. Women couldn’t produce ejaculate. Nora must have been quiet too long, or maybe she still looked confused because John spoke up again. 

“He did make you cum, right?” Nora sorta wished someone would just shoot her now and spare her this exchange. Still, they seemed willing enough to explain, right? And they were her friends, she trusted them. 

“I thought only men could produce ejaculate?” Nora clarified rather quietly.

“Fuck, man.” Hancock sighed dissapointedly, leaning back in his seat and pushing his hat back. Nick shook his head as their friends began mumbles of ‘That’s fucked up/ Damn/ Fucking pre-war assholes.’ She found the whiskey pushed back into her hands, a rather clingy Cait wrapping her arms around her as she indulged, but no explanation offered. Nora was thankful when Deacon changed the subject, content to listen to his latest exaggerated story rather than think too much about the pitying looks she kept catching from her friends. She wasn’t quite sure what to think about this newfound revelation that she had far less experience than she thought when it comes to sex. Clearly she was missing a lot. Everyone was weirdly more polite to each other and her after the whole conversation, not that Nora was complaining, but paired with the glances she kept catching between her friends it was all rather strange. 

She was one of the first to turn in, making her way to the large house she built with a room for each of her friends. Of course not leaving without everyone insisting on a parting hug, Cait planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek with a grin. It was a short but pleasant walk back to the house. She loved sanctuary and still kept a house there, but sometimes the memories were just too heavy. There was just something about the complex she built at starlight drive-in that felt so beautiful to her. Maybe because her only pre-war memories of the place were high school dates and the carnival that would come through town. Maybe it was because it had one of the best places to stargaze undisturbed. Maybe it was because it felt like she was building a new family here. 

The building was mostly concrete, with lead lining on the exterior to keep out the wastes when they came in on the winds of a radstorm. Everyone had their own room, each decked out to their own tastes. The settlement had huge walls and enough missile turrets to send a sentry bot to abu dhabi. It was safe, and cozy, but not nearly as lively and green as Nora remembered from her childhood. There were people aplenty sure, but pretty much just robots, synths, ghouls, and folks just looking for some peace for once showed up to her settlements. No kids. Nora would always lament shawn’s loss of access to many childhood cultural staples. At least he had his pip boy and her entire game collection, and what child-appropriate media she had downloaded on there before the bombs dropped.She tried to make the compound fun, but her settlers seemed to enjoy her amenities more than her son. It's one thing to build your kid a playground, it was another to get them to play on it. She really wished that ghoul family would move in, or really any family. She really hoped the cure they sent out to Macreedy’s son worked fast. It’d be nice to have him here. She guessed she couldn’t blame people for choosing not to bring a new life into this hellscape, and to not risk talking about any kids they did have outside of settlements. At least Shawn seemed content with picking up stories from residents and playing games with Ada, Codsworth and the robots Nora built. Whenever she had to take off to make sure the peace she helped build would stick, she felt a lot better knowing most of her friends would be staying behind, and they’d be looking out for Shawn. 

They understood how anxious she could get about him. Shawn wasn’t born to her, but her son never really bothered to consider the implications of what he made. Shawn did not ask to be built young, programmed afraid and terrified of abandonment. Nora had asked the railroad if they thought he could grow, mature, not be stuck as a kid for however many centuries he’d survive. No one had any clue, there were no other synths like him. She knew one day she would have to tell him, before all the years on ice caught up to her and he was stuck alone. 

Except he wouldn’t be, Nora reminded herself. Her friends, they’d listened to her on many dark nights, listening to her grief and fears and anxieties. Nick had held her, promised her that no matter what reality lay in store for Shawn, if he was functional he would be there for him. John had similar sentiments, with the addition of a few corny ghoul jokes and a radioactive punchline. Strong, well… ‘No cry!!! Crying Weak. Human not weak. Strong is Strong! Strong smash anything that try to smash tiny robot child.’ Which she supposed was reassuring at least in regards to his safety. He was good at that, any time he was stationed at the drive in he insisted on guarding the front gate. She would have thought it would be easier to get a super mutant to party, but he generally did not enjoy any situation with too many humans he couldn’t yell at. In all honesty, when it came to helping keep her kid sane she trusted curie the most. She had taken her worries so seriously that she found a new research focus after her stimpack breakthrough. 

Nora stopped by Shaun's room on the ground floor, peeking in the door happy to see him in bed, his desk still littered with nuka cola bottles and the various pieces of whatever technology he could get his hands on to fiddle with. When she had started construction he had insisted on having his own door out into the little village so he could look around for scrap without Ada or Codsworth lecturing him for tracking mud water dirt or oil into the house. It worried her sometimes, and seeing him safe and at peace always helped settle her. She knew that with Ada in charge of the household and the many robots she had built to help the community nothing would ever happen to him. Realistically, It would be really hard to even approach the settlement while presenting a threat without getting nuked to hell by the space sentry bot her son had lovingly named Jupiter. Still, she always indulged herself in checking on him before she turned in whenever she was home. 

Four floors up the complex of concrete lead and steel, her room had a beautiful view of the gardens below, beyond them the marketplace. She watched as her friends spilled out the bar, one by one. Chatting amongst themselves as they made their way back to the house. John slung his arms around Nick and Cait’s shoulders before making a broader gesture towards the top of the house. The group paused and lingered, chatting in a large circle. 

Looking down on them, Nora figured it didn’t really matter if they all were more experienced than her. None of them would think less of her for it. She trusted them not to tease her, they dropped the whole conversation when they found their answers. No one said anything teasing afterwards, and she felt more confident now that if she had questions they’d be forthcoming with answers. She felt some of the tension from earlier leave her as she changed into comfortable sleep clothes and crawled into bed. 

‘So there has to be a way for women to ejaculate by their reactions from earlier’ Nora thought. When they were talking about tasting earlier, she now realized they meant tasting a vagina. ‘There’s nothing wrong with experimentation’ She assured herself, looking up at her ceiling she had painted with yellow stars and feeling herself over her clothes. Her hand felt a little cold as she braved the elastic of her waistband, feeling herself clumsily as she remembered what Nate had tasted like when she gave him a blowjob. 

‘What do I taste like?’ She dipped one slow finger into her heat and collected what wetness she could find there. She raised her hand up out of her pants to examine her fingers in what little light that made it through the windows. They were covered in fluid, but that was lubrication, right? She sniffed her fingers, and she didn’t smell bad. A bit like water left in a metal bottle out in the heat. Bringing them to her mouth she was surprised at the flavor. She wasn’t quite sure what she expected. John had described it as water at the bar, but this was definitely not water. She wanted to say it was salty, but It had this sort of tang that tasted similar to some pre-war sour candy without any of the sweetness. It almost tasted a little meaty? Thinking back on her assessment of the smell, she supposed it tasted like salt water left out in the heat in a metal bottle. She had a pretty fancy water purifier setup at the settlement, so if that really effected taste she was pretty sure it wouldn’t be right to say it tasted ‘just like water.’ 

A knock sounded at her door and she yanked her finger away from her face with a jolt. 

“Hey blue, can we talk?” Nora sat up quickly and climbed out of bed to greet Piper. Except it wasn’t just Piper she saw when she opened the door, it looked like most everyone were settling down further along the hallway in the sitting area near the stairwell. 

“Yeah-”Piper stepped inside and just as quickly closed the door behind her, the quiet murmur in the stairwell dampening beyond audibility with the soft thump of the door. Nora could feel her face flushing again and felt grateful for the night. “Is this all about earlier?” 

“Well, yeah, and some other stuff..” Nora could feel her stomach drop as she watched Piper turn around and sit in her desk chair. Piper seemed to notice something was off with her and quickly amended. “It’s nothing bad I promise! At least I hope so. Listen, first, personally. I need you to know that its really, really fucked up that from what it sounds like, you’ve literally never cum in your life.” Piper looked at her with a question clear across her face, like she was still expecting Nora to tell her that she had actually came before, because of course she has. Except she hasn’t, and Nora really didn’t know what to say. 

Piper sighed and continued after a beat. “Things are different in the commonwealth now Blue, and I know you know that, but I don’t know if you understand the extent of it- culturally.” 

“What does that mean?” Nora questioned, having found a seat on the edge of her bed. Piper leaned over, grabbed her hand and lacing their fingers together. 

“Well Blue, for one. Not only did you walk into the commonwealth like a hurricane, but you started just helping people for no real apparent reason other than they needed help. People don’t really do that here.”

Nora chuckled. “You know Cait and I already had this talk-”

“Yeah, and we don’t think you really get it. Preston has told you something similar too. And you brushed them both off, and me just now, why?” Nora looked down at their hands. 

“I-” Nora wasn’t sure she had an answer. It had to be her past, right? She did it because she knew it was right, it was what worked. “-just, its what you’re supposed to do where… I guess when I’m from. Politically, you know, at the time. Helping people became a form of rebellion. Helping one another, building up the people around you knowing they’ll do the same was the biggest fuck you the average person could manage without risking imprisonment.” Nora couldn’t quite meet Piper’s eyes. She’d spoken plenty about good memories, favorite movies and shows and songs, dances and the relative luxury afforded most people. It still felt illegal somehow, to talk about such seditious thoughts out loud. To speak the thing that held the little neighborhood of sanctuary together until the very end. Piper nodded along. 

“So It was still dangerous then?” Piper asked. Nora chuckled and shook her head. 

“Not in the same way it is now. It was freedom on the line, not necessarily lives.” 

“Which brings me to the point, you know we all really care about you, right? Whatever you need from any of us, we’re there.” Piper squeezed her hand, placing her other hand over top of their two hands already intertwined. Nora grinned.

“Yeah, I know.” 

“Which brings me to my next point. Blue, you’re beautiful. Its some sort of crime against nature that no one has ever gone down on you. I don’t know where you are with your husband stuff, if you’ll ever really feel ready to try and be with anyone ever again. That’s gonna be all up to you. But we were talking, after you left. Commiserating, really, over i'm sorry Blue, but the tragedy that is your sex life, and we all came to the in retrospect very unsurprising discovery that we are all heads over heels for you. You don’t really flirt back, so everyone kinda thought you were still caught up over Nate.- And don’t get me wrong! If it is still is about Nate, no shame that’s just the assumption.- But now we also realize it is completely possible you just still don’t understand that we love you a lot.” Fuck, was Piper trying to give her a heart attack? “And Im not saying this with any expectations blue. We love you, and that means we’re here for you anyway you want us, especially as friends. But that also means we want you to see all the cards on the table.”

“Piper, what are you saying?” Nora’s brain felt like it was going a mile a minute and everywhere this train of logic seemed to lead was confusing and quite flustering. 

“I mean that me and everyone back there in that room, we all want you to have what’s best, we want you to be happy, and we’re happy when we’re with you. And I know this is probably insane to you, by your pre-war standards but if you wanted to be with any of us, for some forever after or one night stand or anything in between, you can, no hard feelings. No friendship lost. All you have to do is ask.” 

Nora nearly felt at a loss for words, just staring at piper. How could that many people love her like that? She’d always found them all attractive in their own ways, but it felt wrong somehow. Wasn’t she technically a single mom now? None of it felt like it made sense. “Why? How?”

“Well, apart from single handedly taking down the institute, the brotherhood, restoring the minutemen, terrorizing raider groups and wiping out packs of feral ghouls and super mutants, freeing any synth you can, being the most thoroughly loyal and kind person any of us has met, skilled enough to build huge settlements across the commonwealth and face down some of the scariest shit i’ve seen, have you looked in a mirror lately?” Nora was at a complete loss of words. 

“I know its a lot blue, we just felt like we needed to tell you. You know, you have options.” Nora nodded in awe. She realistically liked them all, and had equally squashed any notion of such relationships being possible for her. Women like her, they weren't supposed to move on, were they? Would Nate want her to move on?  Nora honestly felt she couldn’t chose to date any of her friends with a clear conscience. It’d be horrible of her to choose one relationship and then go pining after any of the others, especially since she has learned the truly meager extent of her ability to lie the hard way out on her adventures into the commonwealth. Nora was certain her face was flushed as red as could be. 

“I don’t know what to say I - Im so flattered.” Nora tried to steady her thoughts. “I just couldn’t though you’re all- You’re all really attractive.” Nora couldn’t meet Piper's eyes. Piper gave Nora’s hand another squeeze before Nora heard her giggle. 

“So you do like us?” Piper said in a teasing tone.

“I love you guys, Its just that-” Nora wasn’t sure how to phrase it. 

“Romantically?”

“Yea-Yes.” Nora stammered out. God that was so stupid to admit. Why would she-

“You mean it blue?” Piper had risen out of her seat, now gripping Nora’s shoulders. 

“Yeah, so-”

“So what?” 

“So isn’t that unfair? To be with one person and secretly harbor feelings for others?” Piper was looking at Nora now at eye level. Piper frowned at her words. 

“Who said anything about one person?” Piper smirked, a determined look in her eyes as she stood and strode to the door, opening it. “Deacon, come here right now!” 

“A please is always nice.” He teased as he made his way in the room. “What do you need me for?”

“Explain polyamory to Nora.” Piper commanded, closing the door firmly behind him. Deacon suddenly couldn’t stop smiling, looking between Piper and Nora before finally directing his thousand watt smile at Nora before taking a seat at her desk. 

“So, I know when you’re from people pretty much exclusively only dated or were romantically involved with one person at a time, and having more than one partner at a time was taboo.” Deacon was watching Nora’s face, so she nodded. 

“Well, I'm sure you noticed what was taboo then isn’t always taboo now. Being happy, even momentarily, in whatever way a person can is expected of people. You know how much people in the railroad have each other’s backs, right? A lot of people were together.” Nora looked shocked and she knew it. 

“I never noticed.” Nora mumbled. 

“Well, you know, when a hot lady busts into your base in the fanciest power armor you’ve ever seen and a goddamn plasma rifle, and instead of opening fire tells you they wanna help, you let them do what they want and leave out any details until it's pertinent or they ask.” Nora could feel herself growing flustered. Intimidation was nowhere on her mind when she strolled into railroad HQ. She’d followed the trail, and it wasn’t a safe or easy trail. Of course she wore her armor. She did walk around in power armor a lot for the fun of it, she mostly saw it as a more efficient way to traverse the Commonwealth. Before her in her time it was just another piece of military hardware like any amount of the rather absurd guns she now had access to. Stepping into that power armor felt just like the medic armor, and on the battlefield everyone knew what it meant to see medic battlearmor. She never really considered the intimidation factor. Looking back, the only people who reacted like that anymore were minutemen or settlements. It kinda made her want to laugh, thinking about a raider shiting themselves seeing her in her x-2 armor. 

“So wait, who was together?” Nora questioned. 

“Tinker tom, Carrington, Des, and I.” He paused, his grin going bittersweet. “And Glory.”

“I’m sorry Deacon.” Nora held out her hand and Deacon took it gladly. He shook his head but his grin didn’t fall completely. 

“Thank you.” He paused. Nora knew Glory’s loss was a huge hit to the railroad, she didn’t realize the extent to which it impacted its top members personally. Everyone was grieving when the institute fell. “But you see what I mean. Happiness doesn't always last long, so if someone out here wants to love someone else no matter how complex we do it, no questions asked.” Piper snorted. “Well, some questions asked.” He added. “The problem is never really the number, but prejudice is still alive and well. A person would have an easier time keeping a harem than publicly being in a loving relationship with a synth, ghoul, or any other non-humanoid.” Nora nodded solemnly. 

“Not to say that isn’t worth the risk.” He mentioned. “If you ask me any of it's worth it, however long it lasts.”

“So, Piper,” Nora started. “You’re- You’re saying that I can… or should, uh.”

“I’m not telling you to do anything Blue. I'm saying, we’re all saying, I think, that if you want something you should have it.” 

Nora took a moment to think. Did it really matter what Nate or anyone from her past really thought? If they didn’t care that she was a widowed mother from a clearly different culture than the rest of them, then why should she? 

“You think real loud Fixer” Deacon spoke up, apparently unwilling to go too long without attention on him. He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm, looking at her and taking a deep breathe. His gaze seemed focused on hers, as if daring her to look away. 

“You” Nora started, shifting her jaw as she measured her words, praying her flustered mind wouldn’t say something too stupid. She turned her gaze to Piper. “-You all, feel this way?”

“Why not bring them in? Let them tell you themselves.” Piper looked pleased, and rather mischievous. Nora paused, glanced back at Deacon, and nodded. Piper strolled back to the door before throwing it open. “Why don’t you all come tell Blue what we came her to tell her. A quick shuffle of feet brought most of her friends into her room, pulling over her desk chairs and sitting on the edges of her bed and other furniture to make room in her room. 

“So,” Nora panicked a bit over what to say. She felt many gazes on her, and her eyes inevitably fell to her lap. “You all feel this way towards me?”

“What way?” Cait teased, having claimed the spot on the bed to the right of Nora. She heard Deacon snicker before Hancock spoke up. 

“Yeah sunshine, how do we feel about you?” 

Nora felt a bit conceited even entertaining the idea that this many people would fancy her, but here they all were, in her bedroom telling her as much. Damn, how did this many people like her like that? Eight people? “You like me?” She spoke it as a question. Some of them laughed at her response, Cait included. 

“Way more than like, love. You’re in my dreams, especially the naughty ones.” Cait leaned over to speak gently in her ear. 

“I second that” Hancock raised his hand with a grin, apparently enjoying whatever look Nora had on her face while she processed perhaps the most flustering thing possible being said to her. 

“My favorite dreams are spent covering your six when you’re wearing that tight ass blue suit” Macreedy spoke from his place leaned against the wall. 

“I’ve had that same dream” Danse spoke with a smirk.

“God, don’t get me started on that suit” Piper sighed wistfully. 

“We may need to lay off before we give our poor girl an aneurysm” Nick nodded towards Nora, her eyes big, face red, and utterly speechless. Preston nodded solemnly from beside Nick. 

“We can’t overwork her” Preston warned with a tone of authority. Curie, having climbed onto the bed behind Nora, touched a cold hand to the back of Nora’s neck and Nora nearly jumped out of her skin. 

“She is greatly flushed” Curie concurred, her hand not leaving Nora's skin. 

“Oh, she’s fine” Deacon spoke, playing with her hand held between his. “She wasn’t too flustered to have some fun before we showed up. Isn’t that right Nora?” Nora tried to pull her hand back, but Deacon held it fast, pressing a kiss to the finger she had used to feel herself. She swore she felt his tongue flick out and touch her skin. 

“I just-” 

“Wanted to know what it felt like?” Deacon finished for her. The bed creaked as Hancock grabbed the footboard of the bed and leaned over it. 

“Do you want some help with that sweetheart?” Hancock asked with mirth in his voice. 

Nora felt herself work her jaw, finding the right words. “ I like you all like that, but I don’t really have the experience and I don’t know how well I’ll-” Deacon squeezed her hand as Curie wrapped her arms around her waist and began pressing kisses to the side of her neck with an excited giggle, with Cait seconds after doing her best to pull nora to her and press kisses under her chin. Nora had to fight down a rather undignified noise at the attention. 

“We don't need you to do or be anything Blue. You’ve already done a lot. We just need you to tell us what you want. Now, do you want us?” Piper walked over to Nora, fingers lifting he chin a touch to give Cait more room for her conquest. 

“Y-yes” Nora croaked out. 

“Do you want us to make you cum?” Piper looked her in the eye in a way that turned the butterflies in her chest into something warm and intense pooling in her gut. She was suddenly very aware of her heartbeat. Nora swallowed before answering.

“Yes” 

“All of us?” Piper clarified. 

“I-” Nora paused. Would doing this make her a whore? Did stuff like that matter anymore? She can’t have sex with eight people in one night, she wasn’t sure her body could take it. “I can’t have, -Can’t have sex with eight people in one night.” She spoke worridly, and suddenly felt very embarrassed at the laughter that bubbled up at her response. 

“Baby, she said make you cum, not have sex.” Cait clarified. 

Nora furrowed her brow. “What’s the difference?” Curie suddenly pulled her back onto the bed. Deacon let go of her hand in favor of leaning over and grabbing her ankle. 

“Why don’t you let us show you?” Cait leaned over and licked a stripe up Nora’s neck, forcing a gasp from her. 

“Fuck” She heard Preston mutter somewhere off to the side of her. 

She felt a sudden tug at her hair, and Cait forced her head up to lock their lips together. Cait quickly pressed a tongue into her mouth, and when Deacon leaned over and slowly pushed her shirt up she let out a particularly undignified noise into Cait’s mouth. Nora wasn’t sure when she closed her eyes, but she opened them in shock when two pairs of lips began working over her stomach. Looking down, Deacon was running his hands over her ribs, pressing kisses to her sternum and inching her shirt ever higher with his nose. She was suddenly all too aware of the noises around her.

“Fuck baby” Below him Hancock had climbed his way onto the bed and began kissing down over her belly to where the waistband of her shorts rested. Curie pulled Nora further onto the bed, lying back and resting Nora’s head on her chest. Many hands maneuvered her body into what they deemed an acceptable position. 

“Good girl” Deacon praised. Her hands were pulled over her head as her shirt was stripped from her, and with another breathtaking kiss stolen by Piper she lost her shorts and underwear. 

“So pretty Blue” Piper remarked, moving down her body and sliding a hand up her thigh. She hardly had a moment to be embarrassed at her naked state in front of her mostly clothed friends when Preston and Piper each took a leg and pulled them apart, kissing and biting as they wished at her flesh. She nearly jumped at the contact and fought back a yelp of surprise. With Cait occupied with her mouth and neck, Danse and Nick had their fun with her breasts, palming and rolling her till Nora let slip whimpers. 

“Don’t hold back that voice baby, let us hear you” Deacon encouraged. Deacon took hold of her hand once more, and she could feel kisses pressed to her fingertips. Macreedy stole her other hand, lacing his fingers with hers and running a thumb over the back of her hand. 

“I want you to sing for me sunshine” Hancock returned to his place nestled between her legs and Nora was glad for something to hold on for dear life to. Cait pulled away, yanking her head back so that Curie could kiss her forehead and so that she may return to kissing and licking Nora’s neck. Nora let out a groan, deep and gutteral and she felt herself arch into Curie’s grip around her waist.  Hancock began running a hand over her, sliding just over her entrance and back up to her clit before repeating his path, and Nora couldn’t help but whimper each time he traced his path, the movement accompanied with a wet clicking sound. 

Nora immediately felt embarrassed at her noises, doubly so when Nick pointed out her blush spread to her chest while he toyed with her pebbled nipples. However, looking up at her, well, she wasn’t sure what to call them right now, she felt a little less embarrassed when she realized they all seemed to be feeling even more aroused than her. And oh, she could see-, Danse and Preston, pleasuring themselves to her. She could hear Cait grunting against her throat and a light squelching sound that didn’t seem to be coming from what Hancock was doing to her. They were making noises right along with her. 

Hancock slid a finger into her and she couldn’t help but wiggle her hips at the pleasure he was forcing upon her. He began thrusting, sliding in another finger before lowering his head and sucking. Nora had never felt anything like it and she damn Near screamed while he hummed atop her. Piper and Preston had to force her down where her legs met her hips to stop her from bucking away from the onslaught of pleasure Hancock was causing with his every move.

“I don’t know how you can be this cute and so damn strong” Preston mused as he held down her hips. He nipped at the skin of her inner thigh in mock punishment and a shudder ran through her. Nora began registering the growing states of undress of her friends. It just wasn’t fair how hot they were. It honestly felt like they were toying with her.

“Taking this so well” Cait paused her onslaught of kisses to whisper praise behind her ear. She could feel Hancock’s tongue work at her, felt the little puffs of air over her mound as he grunted into her flesh, and damn if the noises he made didn’t make it feel all the better. Nora had never felt anything like this before. With Nate, sex, it felt intimate but without fanfare. This, Nora felt like she could hardly stand it. Her toes curled, a heat in her belly got heavier by the moment, and it left Nora damn near sobbing at the pleasure of it. She had never heard anything like the noises she was making, it was involuntary and visceral with every suck and thrust. 

“You’re shaking like a leaf doll” Nick spoke as he smoothed a hand over her ribcage. 

“You’re feeling good?” Curie questioned her. She gripped the hands holding hers with a deathgrip and moaned when Hancock added a third finger. She nodded aggressively and was rewarded with a flurry of kisses wherever she was being held down. Her legs began shaking when Hancock picked up the pace, and the heat in her stomach coiled. She had no control, nor much awareness of the noises she was making at this point. Despite being held down, with the pleasure she was experiencing and the praise from her friends rolling around in her head she almost felt like she was floating. 

“Please what?” Danse asked with a rough squeeze of her nipple. Coming back to reality a bit, Nora realized during her whimpering and moaning she had started to beg. Please what indeed. 

“I-” Nora panted through another string of moans. Hancock was too skilled at this. “I don’t know”. 

“She’s gonna cum” Cait giggled into the skin under her chin. 

“Fuck” Piper cussed, looking down her body Nora realized that everyone was either watching what Hancock was doing to her or watching her face. While holding her down, most of them were working at themselves too and she couldn’t tell if it was embarrassing or arousing.

“Cum for us baby” 

“Give us a show doll” 

“Good Girl”

 The coil building in her gut suddenly got more and more intense in a way Nora was unprepared for. She hardly had a moment to register her shock at this new bodily experience when It all came down suddenly, like being hit with a ton of bricks straight to the brain.

“Oh, Oh FUCK!” Nora screamed out, body convulsing and head flying back. Her eyes closed but her vision went white. White hot pleasure shocked through her, before turning into waves of bliss. When she opened her eyes she felt like she was floating. She felt curie tucking strands of hair behind her ears. Hancock worked her slower and lighter till she shook. Looking down she met his eyes and his hands and mouth finally left her with an embarrassing pop and a slight smirk before taking the fingers that were within her and sucking them into his mouth with a pleased groan. Nora could only whimper and close her eyes. She faintly heard the moans of some of her friends, felt Cait shake and groan into the crook of her neck. 

“So, how was the first orgasm of your life?” Deacon teased, himself sounding a bit out of breathe. All Nora could manage was a grunt in response, apparently enough for him as he and some others began chuckling. 

The world seemed to come more into focus as she took some deep breaths. What did this mean now? She’d never felt like that before, her friends went out of their way to make sure she felt like that. They enjoyed making her feel like that. 

“You did so well” Piper praised, and many kisses brought Nora out of her thought process. Piper sided up to Nora, shoving Danse out of the way. Cait took the cue to so the same to Nick, and Nora was suddenly being held by three women. 

“You guys are hogging her” Deacon whined, making movements to tug Nora his way and tuck his face into her neck. 

“Says the guy who wasn’t shoved off” Danse ran a hand over her hip.

“Are you feeling okay?” Maccredy checked in on her. Maccready sat down on the bed next to Cait and began playing with Nora’s hair. Nora nodded. She felt boneless. It felt like her veins were buzzing. Beside her, she could hear whatever kept Nick running humming loudly.

“Any words?” Preston teased, rubbing at her ankle. 

“-Wow” Was all she could manage. Giggles erupted around her. Nora tried to get her thoughts straight. “So, what now?” 

“Like I said” Piper spoke up. “Whatever you want.”

“And- You all feel like that?” Nora checked, looking around at her friends, or were they lovers now? That’s a lot of lovers. 

“Yep”

“Whatever you want baby” A chorus of agreements spoke up. Nora looked around, only to see those that were silent nodding. 

“So I guess that just begs the question Blue, what do you want?” Piper questioned, and damn was that a hard line of questioning. What did she want? Piper talked about this all like it could be a casual thing, but would they be down for what she actually wanted from them? They all had lives to live, despite what she’s built here. Nora took a steadying breathe. 

“I want us to be family” Nora spoke. “Like Shawn and Nate and I were, but bigger.” She felt a bit afraid of what they would say, suddenly very aware of her nakedness in comparison to her mostly clothed lovers. 

“Oh Blue” Piper raised a hand to Nora’s face. “That sounds perfect to me.” 

“I like the sound of that” Preston spoke with a smile. 

“Me too” Maccready. 

“Oh, vhe vill be zhe best family!” Curie spoke cheerfully, squeezing Nora around the waist. “I can make you packed lunches vith little notes and you vhill have to kiss me before you leave for vork”. Nora couldn’t help but giggle at the image. Before the war, that’s what she was expected to do. Now her synth, doctor, girlfriend? Wife? Did she just propose? How did that even work in the wasteland? 

“I can’t think of anything I would want more sunshine.” Hancock spoke with a grin. 

“Wait, did I just propose to you guys?” Nora spoke with an amount of shock. “How does this even work nowadays?” 

“Well, considering you currently are the head of government, unless you want to join a religion or go do paperwork at diamond city, if we all agree to it that’s a marriage”. Nick explained. 

“Oh god” Nora threw her head back and closed her eyes with a long-suffering sigh. “I’m the government and I married y'all after we had sex once. Why is the law like this?” Her companions quickly dissolved into laughter. 

“Well I’m definitely not complaining” Deacon reassured. 

“Me either” Spoke Nick. 

“Isn’t this fast?” Nora asked. “I mean, I’ve been unfrozen maybe four years”. 

“People feel lucky to be able to spend even a year straight at a time with those they love. People marry fast.” Deacon explained. 

“Things move slower in the brotherhood, but I’ve known you over two years, and you’ve saved my life multiple times. Unless a brother has taken a vow of chastity, that’s more than enough time to decide to marry for them, and a lot of the wasteland considers them prudes.” Danse spoke up. 

“So as long as we love you, and you love us, you could call us married. Or fiances, or dating, the label doesn't matter. I just know that I love you sunshine, I think we all do. Do you love us?” Hancock asked. 

Nora felt very warm, surrounded by people she cared for, people who made her feel safe, people she would die for. She couldn’t help the small smile creeping on her face. “I love you all too.” She sighed. “I like the sound of married. I like the promise of it. But I think I’d want to do a ceremony or something. And I- I also want what you guys want. If we’re gonna call this that, we’re in this together, right?” 

Amid many agreements and sounds of excitement and some of the best cuddles Nora had experienced in her life, Cait leaned forward to whisper in her ear; “I want to eat my wife’s pussy till she screams for me again. Care to make that happen, love of mine?” 

Nora could feel the flush all the way down her chest. “Now what did you say to her Cait?” Maccredy questioned.

[danses-with-dogmeat]

Day 10 -- Curie

The (nsfw) details for Kinktober 2023, Day 10 are just below the cut!

Minors, please don’t interact.

Sensory Deprivation with Curie x g/n Sole

Yay, it's Curie's turn! This was nice to write, since she didn't get a space in last year's kinktober, and I just... I mean it's Curie, what's not to love?

I hope you all like it! 😁

Here is the link to my  Kinktober 2023 Event List so you can stay up-to-date, or re-visit these works as you please.

Included: Sensory Deprivation, tickling, blindfolds, restraints, safewords, enthusiastic consent, (light) whipping, little bit of degradation, threats (during roleplay), orgasm control/denial, aftercare. 

Words: 4.2k

--

“It is so soft!” Curie exclaimed, a smile lighting up her half-covered expression as Sole’s fingers left her. “You said zhis was meant to be intense, but I find it quite comfortable so far.”

“Well, it’s not supposed to hurt.” Curie could feel the way Sole’s fingers tightened the silky fabric winding over her wrists. “Not unless you want it to, that is.” 

A shiver ran up the synth’s spine as Sole’s voice appeared close to her, as their breath tickled over her ear. 

“M-maybe not just yet.” She laughed nervously as her eyes blinked beneath the soft blindfold. 

“Of course. Starting off easy, love.” 

Their hands smoothed down Curie’s bare sides, and her wrists jerked against the soft restraints holding them to the bed's headboard.

“Oh! Yes, I… Yes, that is a good idea, I think.” 

“You remember our ‘stop’ word?” Sole’s voice took on a new quality, more serious, and they paused their movements over Curie’s body. 

“Oui. Yes, I do, my love.” She nodded to them, feeling her chest heat at the sentiment. 

It felt… strange– lovely, yes-- but strange to have someone fawn over her, to care about her comfort, her limits, her point of view. Especially in these contexts. 

If zhe old Curie could see me now…

She smiled lightly at the thought, and Sole must’ve seen that as the ‘go ahead,’ for soon enough, Curie felt another soft tug at the restraints tying her to the bed, this time around her secured ankles. 

“Good. Bien.” They said to her, and then their touch vanished. 

Silence followed, even the sounds of the night were muted, as the room was closed, sealed and darkened to her senses. The blindfold muffled her hearing somewhat, as well as kept her vision shrouded in black, so as Sole moved around the room– maybe even left the room?-- Curie was completely at their mercy, and completely ignorant as to what was to come. 

That thought caused something to spark within her, to flutter with nerves, but also boil with anticipation. 

By the time Sole made their presence known, Curie was breathing hard, feeling the tug of the ribbons fastened over her skin with each intake of breath. She shuddered as something cold ran up the outside of her leg, from ankle through to upper thigh in one unbroken swipe. 

Metal? No, not cold enough, not as hard… Leather?

Oh, could they be using that popular… cravache? Would they?

She wasn’t opposed to it, she’d once, early on in their relationship, told her dear partner she wanted to try everything with them. Any experience that was authentic and human, anything that allowed her to explore her new body, their thought processes, to feel the way she never had the chance to before… 

But even so, if we’re starting slow, well, this isn’t slow, is it? Could Sole think that it is? 

If that’s what they consider light and easy, zhen what possibly is to come? 

The pressure was gone just as quickly as it appeared, and Curie felt her heartbeat pick up, almost pre-anticipating a lay of the switch upon her. She felt her leg flinch at the thought, felt her lips tug down in a frown without her conscious command to do so. 

“Shhh…” 

Curie’s face jerked away at the feel of Sole’s breath upon the exposed skin of her jaw. 

“Allow yourself to relax, amore.” They adopted her pet name for emphasis, and the synth felt another light brush over her skin. This time over the uncovered part of her face, this time warm, soft. 

Them. Their fingers.

Curie released a heavy breath, something still so relieving to her in a way that she could never seem to explain in her documentation of human feelings and experiences. Something about the intentional exhale of air in a way so similar to how it’s done every time, but still, so vastly different, it was so calming, so unburdening, so… well, relaxing. 

“Good, baby. I’m not going to hurt you.” 

A light kiss pressed on her cheek, and Curie found herself leaning into the contact with an appreciative grin. 

“Trust me, hm?” 

She knew that, knew that her Sole would never hurt her, but this experience, this unknown, this lack of stimulation while held in such suspense of contact with the inevitably unknown, it left her more reactive than she could’ve anticipated. 

I’ll have to make a note of zhis feeling– 

Another touch laid upon her skin in the next instant, this time, upon her wrist, before it slid downward until it reached her armpit, where it left her, and a tingling trail, in its wake. 

Curie felt another shiver run up her spine, until she was jerking, almost violently away from a distinctly new sensation at the most– surprisingly– sensitive of places. A series of light, softly fluttering… things were brushed over the middle of her armpit, thankfully, only once. 

She exclaimed as they did it again, and even through the fabric of the blindfold, heard Sole’s mirrored chuckling as the bits of… what could it be? Paper? Bits of light, thin fabric? String? Dragged over her sensitive skin. 

“Oh, mon dieu!” She couldn’t help but giggle as Sole stroked the thing over her again, and again. And another few times, until Curie was a cackling, writhing mess against her restraints, the ribbons pulling against her until they surely left reddened marks on her paleness. 

“Please, non, non! Sole you are murdering me!” 

They carried on for but a few more moments, before releasing Curie from– whatever that could’ve been. 

She’s never... her body has never felt anything like that. So overwhelming… Like horrible pain, but laced with joy? It was another one of those feelings that was difficult for her to fathom, let alone describe. 

The harder end of the… torture instrument dragged over her skin again, but it was no less frustrating than the soft end. The way it lightly touched over her ribcage, the way her partner zig-zagged the handle of it over her made her body twist ineffectively and her breath huff with the effort of holding back more laughter.

Then the sensation was gone just as suddenly, and Curie took the moment of respite to gain back some breath. Only a moment passed though, before the device was turned around again, and the synth was reminded of the frustration that came with the more ticklish side, especially as it dusted so lightly, teasingly over her ribs. 

“Enough, si vous plait! I cannot take any more of zhis!” She managed to say through a fit of painful laughter that had her lungs aching and her abdomen flexing to the point of soreness, but just as soon as the words left her, she knew what Sole would ask her. 

“Are you–?”

“Non, no,” Curie reassured them as they paused their movement over her, “Amor(e), just– Oh, it is frustrating! Zhat is all, but–” 

She was cut off by another fit of giggles as they stroked horizontally, over her belly button, before bringing the instrument down to brush over the insides of her soft thighs. 

“Ah, I…” A sigh escaped Curie’s throat of its own accord as the contact vanished for but a moment, before the harder end pressed down, in that spot. The one so sensitive, it could bring about that loud, thunderous release that she had always heard referred to as le petite mort. 

And aptly named it was, she had realized not long after engaging in her relationship with Sole more intimately than she’d ever dreamed she’d be able to. 

Her body thrummed with heat at the way they pressed the circular, hardened edge of the thing against her periodically, sliding it up and down and to and fro until Curie was panting and her hips were fighting to rise from beneath it. It was too much and too little all at once, the pressure against her was hard, while the wood of the device was even harder, but it was unfocused with the way it swiped over her, and sometimes it was too rough or jarring to be pleasurable. Curie felt the edge of her release ebbing and flowing like choppy, frustrating waves washing up to her, but never submerging. Even as her hips attempted to buck, to get the pressure just right against her little nub, the restraints held firm against her limbs, keeping her, infuriatingly, locked in place. 

“Hm, you were saying something?” Sole’s voice piped up from above her, and despite the blindfold and the haze of her perpetually approaching pleasure, Curie caught her ears pricking at the sound of them, and her eyes blinking open to glimpse upon their face... Or try and glare at them, rather, as they pulled their touch cruelly away from that sensitive, blissful place between her pale thighs. Still though, somehow, Curie could so vividly envision her partner's mischievous little grin at the action as they noted the way she had begun to glisten with evidence of how much she wanted the pressure to stay, wanted them to continue. 

“...Quoi?”

“You were going to say something, but I’m afraid I interrupted you.” Sole clarified, but Curie was still trying to gather herself, to understand why they would bring this up now?

Then, the hardened end of the–

I wish I knew what zhis thing was called. Le bâton? Oui, peut être…

The baton dragged over her leg again, maddeningly far from that pulsing, needy nub between her lower lips as they talked to her like it were an everyday conversation over coffee in the morning. 

“Mon amor(e), you must continue. I shall die if you don’t!” 

Sole tutted at her, and the contact left again, and then they were gone as well. The dull thuds of their footsteps sounded, and then were silenced as they left her on their bed, tied and wanting.

Ils/Elles ne peuvent pas être sérieux. Just to leave me here?

She could feel the way her cheeks flushed at the sticky feeling forming between her thighs, the mess going so far as to drip down onto the mattress. 

At least my cheeks are hidden, no? Zhat is one saving grace, zhey cannot see how I blu–

“Oh, sweetheart, how lovely you look there…” 

Curie’s head turned instinctively towards the sound, and despite everything, despite it being Sole– who was more than used to seeing her nue, and despite what they had just been doing, she felt the need to cover her body from their eyes, wherever they might be. Again though, it was no use at all with the ribbons holding her in place. 

“Oh, you villain! Sole, amor(e), please, you musn’t leave me here!” 

Yes, it might’ve sounded a bit dramatic, Curie realized, but the desperation was tangible in her words, as plain in her voice as the blush upon her skin, as the need shining there for her partner to see. 

“Easy, my love, I’m not leaving. Just… Mixing things up a bit, that’s all.” 

Curie’s throat contracted as she gulped, but even still, her teeth set down upon her lower lip in tingling anticipation. 

“You didn’t seem to mind the hardness of the feather duster’s handle, so…” 

Then there was another sensation, this one smoother than the last, but still unforgiving, and slightly ridged, like tightly woven rope that’s been polished down to…

Oh. La cravache.

Her suspicions were all but confirmed as Sole gave her a light swat with the end of the whip on the meat of her thigh. It didn’t hurt, but still, she couldn’t hold back the way her body jolted at the sudden sharp touch. 

Another moment passed, and another swift tap laid upon her, this time closer to the inside of her thigh, and Curie released a high-pitched gasp at the slight stinging sensation. 

Sole hummed their approval of her reaction, and another warm surge of… what was it? Like pleasure, but also somewhat like pride? It didn’t matter what it was called, she supposed, she only knew that whenever Sole made their low sounds of approval, when they sighed in pleasure from something she’d done, when they commended her actions, she felt a burst of sensation all through her chest, her belly, and down her spine. 

So, when the switch came down upon her again, this time harder, and again on the meat of her thigh, Curie didn’t hold anything back. A squeak left her in surprise, but then a sigh followed, it was a pleasured, breathy thing that had her stomach muscles clenching, and the back of her head pressing back into the pillows with force enough to sink them into the mattress. 

“Oh?” Sole said, and she could feel that cheeky quality dripping from their voice. “She likes it, does she?” 

Curie could feel herself blushing, surely more than noticeable against the lightness of her skin. But she didn’t respond, oh, she couldn’t! How embarrassed she was; something she was so unsure about trying at all, and now this is her reaction? 

“Does she?” Her partner asked more insistently this time, while laying the head of the cravache lightly upon her red skin where it had snapped her a moment ago. 

Curie bit into her lip without answering them, feeling… daring. 

L'esprit de rébellion. She could feel it burning in her, for maybe the first time in her life as a synth, or maybe at all. It was… exaltant. 

“Hmm, so that’s how it will be, huh?” 

The head of the crop slid down her leg to tickle at her toes lightly. She tried to jerk away, obviously without success. 

“You want me to really use this thing?” 

Sole was playing a part here, it was true, but their true self shone brightly through the dominating facade, in the form of their own exhilaration, so plain in their low voice. It had goose prickles crawling up Curie’s arms, not only in anticipation of what was to come, but utter delight. 

Perhaps zhis… Zhis is something I could be used to one day.

And sweet, innocent, coy Curie? Who would’ve thought?

She smiled then, as her partner removed the crop from its place toying with the sensitive sole of her foot. 

“S’pose that’s a 'yes,' then.” 

They sounded near as excited as she felt, as they spoke, and in the next moment, the switch came down upon her again, but now it was hard. 

A sharp sting rang out from her thigh, this time closer to the inside, where the skin was more tender, more easily bruised and marked. 

Sole seemed to revel in that fact, as it came down again, so near to the first, which was surely growing pinker by the second. Curie felt herself growing warm with the pain, with the plaisir mixed in with it, warm in her head, warm where she was marked, warm in her belly, and between her thighs. She could feel her bliss dripping down onto the mattress by the time Sole’s assaults reached her center, the softer tip of their weapon rubbing teasingly– no, threateningly– against her pulsing clit as all that sounded through the room were her own racking breaths and the pounding of her heart. 

Perhaps the crop sliding between her folds was making noise too, perhaps Sole was breathing as hard as she was, maybe grunting with the effort of wielding the crop at the same moments Curie was half moaning, half shouting out her shock with each time the leather dashed her skin. No matter the case though, Curie found herself wishing she could see it. See their face, their inevitably intense eyes as they gazed down on her, wished she could see the sweat glistening so prettily on them, see the rise and fall of their chest, maybe their own nudeness? She didn’t even know if they’d removed their own clothes, but oh, how she so enjoyed the sight of her partner so bare to her! 

Sole was beautiful, so strong, but soft all at once. Like this, like their touches upon her with the switch. Rough, when it suited them, when the world demanded it from them, but that sweet, tenderness that they showed to her so frequently, a light touch, a whispered word… They were in juxtaposition with themself, as much as their new life was with their old. It reminded Curie of… well, herself. 

C'est comme si nous étions pareils. Like we complete each other… Were made for each other, even. 

She felt so overwhelmed just then, but even so, without her expressions, her teary eyes to show it, Sole made the decision to continue. Remorselessly. 

Her exclamation could’ve been heard clear to the Castle, Curie was sure, but she didn’t have it in her to be embarrassed anymore, to think what others might think about her, about Sole. It was only the now. Only this present moment, with the sting of Sole’s blows clashing with the sheer pleasure of them, the heat upon her, within her, the strong feelings of passion, of sadness and joy and appreciation, of release and freedom, it was all overwhelming her senses, keeping her grounded here. With so much to experience now, there was no future or past, no crisis, no history, no tragedy, no hope, no fear. Only this, her and Sole, and their feelings. 

How was she supposed to understand, to document these experiences when she was no longer in this moment? It was like nothing she’s felt, nothing she would feel again, but goodness, she hoped she would. 

But she couldn’t, not while Sole rained down another lash from the crop onto her clit, sending her into another scream of unbridled ecstasy. 

There was nothing else, no sight, no sound, no taste but the air, all she could do was feel. And something this explosive? To be felt and only felt pushed her to a new level of human experience, showed her what it meant to have flesh. Feeling pain… was never something she’d thought much about, and when she did, for the first time, she’d never wanted to feel it again. Now though, she almost could think of nothing she wanted more. 

Sole gave her a small bit of respite, then, merely rubbing the crop over her sore, oversensitive clit as Curie felt her thighs shake, felt her chest spasm as her breathing found a rhythm again. 

“You alright, love?” Sole whispered to her. 

Not a part of the scene they were playing. 

She could only nod, her throat sore and scratchy from her screams. 

“Want to keep going?” They asked, and she nodded again, not even hesitating. 

“Need to hear you say it, amore.” 

Their movement paused over her pussy, and she managed to croak out a ‘yes,’ despite her tender vocal chords. 

“Hmm. Good, not too much more to go.”

Curie could hear the smile in their voice, and their performance creeping back into it. 

“Just keep moaning aloud for me.” They all but commanded, “I love hearing your desperation. And who would’ve known? Sweet, little Curie…” 

Sole laughed a bit at that, the synth wasn’t entirely sure why. 

It’s what zhey thought, no?

It’s what I thought, zhat I know for certain. 

“I thought you might be into this though… So eager, so willing to please. To experience intense feelings, like these,” The crop came down against her clit suddenly, and Curie couldn’t keep the gasp from leaving her.

“Even at your own expense. I knew it. Knew you had the potential to be a little pain slut.” 

Her eyes widened beneath the blindfold, her mouth hanging open as they rubbed the nose of the crop over her. This time, in hard, insistent circles that left her hips floundering against her restraints. 

“See? Look at you. So desperate for me to give you more. To hurt you more. You’d do anything for this, wouldn’t you?” 

Curie’s mouth closed tight, now it was more than defiance keeping her silent. 

“Dear, if you don’t answer me, I’ll keep you here all night.” 

Not really a threat, seeing as I am enjoying myself, Sole you will ‘ave to do bett–

“And come morning? I’ll leave you. I won’t make you cum, won’t let any of that pent-up pleasure release. Just keep you here, all tied up, shrouded in blackness and silence, until you’re willing to speak. To beg me to continue.” 

Curie felt a shudder pass through her entire body, from her shivering shoulders down to her feet, to her curled toes.  

“Or maybe I’ll gag you. Then, nothing at all could save you.” 

A moan left her involuntarily as the crop caught painfully at her swollen clit, making her hips buck against the unforgiving ribbons tying her down. 

“Hm. As much as that appeals to me… If you choose to be a good girl, here and now, and answer me… I’ll–”

“Please.” Curie breathed out, not entirely of her own volition, but… What Sole was doing to her, what they were promising… She wasn't sure if she could take it, if, by the end of the evening, or even the third hour of their play, she’d even want to.

“Please, Sole, yes. I like it, I love it, but…” 

“... But?” 

“I cannot take it! You must let me finish, please. I cannot take much more.”

She could feel their eyes on her, raking up and down her body as it trembled, as the marks reddened and her muscles tensed. 

Finally, Sole granted her a mercy. 

There was one last tight snap of the crop, and then it left her. Their soft hands descended now, and then their softer, wetter tongue. It caressed her folds, parted them to languidly suck at her swollen, red clit with such care and attention, Curie felt her eyes well up with tears. 

A new kind of moan left her, more of a whine, as Sole’s lips and tongue made love to her oversensitive pussy. With their attention on her like this, the push and pull of their lips, the roll of their dexterous tongue, it took no more than a few moments, and Curie was crying out her partner’s name, her fingers clenching, her back arching as much as it could in her position, and she was spilling her release out onto the bed, onto her partner, who lapped at her gratefully, gently easing the synth through her all-encompassing end. 

“Oh, mon dieu. Sole, mon amor(e)... Je suis accablé.” Curie managed to say between shallow, quick breaths, as her body sank down into the mattress like a lead casket. 

They groaned against her thigh, where she felt the point of their chin resting on her skin, dimpling the already marked flesh. 

“I ‘ave never felt… I mean, anything, like zhat. It was… It was incroyable.” 

The pressure moved from her leg, and next she knew, Sole’s face was swimming into focus as they pulled the blindfold off her. 

“You were incredible, Curie.” Their voice was so soft again, as soft as their eyes, as they took in the sight of her, all wrung out from the pleasure they’d pulled from her, they’d shot into her. 

One by one, Sole removed her restraints, but Curie didn’t bother moving, not when her limbs felt like dead weight and all she wanted was to close her eyes. Yet, her heart still pounded… It was difficult for her to make sense of right now.  

“Now, lemme take care of you, okay?” Their hand brushed over her shoulder lightly, encouraging her to sit up, and though that task felt herculean in her current state, with Sole’s support, she managed. 

“I’ll get some water, and would you like ice for the red spots here?” 

Her eyebrows knitted together, before she looked down to her skin– splotchy, irritated, and even purple in some spots– and nodded. 

Sole returned a few moments later, while Curie gazed into nowhere. 

How could I go from feeling… so much, just to zhis? Is it supposed to feel zhis way?

“How are you feeling?” 

She took a sip of water, cool liquid trailing shockingly down her body the entire way, until it reached her stomach. 

“A little… strange. Je ne sais pas…”

“You want a hug?” They offered, holding an ice pack in place on her thigh that she hadn’t even realized was there. 

“Oui.” Curie found herself nodding to them. 

She still felt odd, as Sole wrapped their arms around her, but at least now she felt… warm? Comforted? 

“You did so well, Curie. I’m really proud of you, love.” Sole pressed a kiss to her forehead then, and she felt them take a deep breath that poured over the top of her head with its release. It inspired her to do the same, breathing in deeply, and breathing out. A simple thing, she knew. But still, it made all the difference. 

“I ‘ad fun…” She whispered, and felt Sole’s lips spread in a smile from where they rested against her head. 

“Mm. Me too.” They kissed her again, and after a few moments of this, of Sole’s comforting support, of their hushed words of praise and soft, stroking hands, Curie felt light again. A sense of weight trickled off of her, she felt relieved, careless and free. 

Not too soon, surely, perhaps not for a week or more would she be back in the position she was in tonight, but even still, Curie knew… she wanted to feel it again. 

[grumpymirelurkqueen]

Cait, Curie and Deacon react to sole acting like a player :

An idea from someone on Ao3.

I haven't reread it.

- Cait :

Sole was planted like a prick in front of Arthuro. No expression on his face, everything was linear, even when the wind was blowing hard into his neck. Cait looked at Sole with annoyance. She didn't know how to react to his inactivity. But it made her seethe inside, not seeing the point of staying like a piece of shit here in Diamond City.

" What are you doing there?" she asks, her arms crossed and her eyebrows knitting together.

- I'm waiting for Arthuro to get some new merchants.

- And how long do we have to wait ?

- As long as it takes," admitted sole, still linear at the robotic limit.

When she sees his stony expression, she sometimes wonders if sole isn't a synth. In a rage she goes far away to let off steam on nearby raiders.

It was only three days later that sole returned to Sanctuary Hill with everything he needed. Cait was still angry with sole. But she agreed to go with him anyway.

- Curie (from a bug in my console) :

Every time you try to change weapons, you stick a stimpak in your arm. Curie thought you were seriously injured.

" Madame are you injured ?

- What? No, of course not. I just want to change weapons.

- Oh I see, she whispered "

- Deacon :

It had been several hours since sole had moved, blinked or spoken. At first Deacon didn't pay any attention thinking sole was in their heads, like him sometimes. So he leaves their house for their privacy, leaving them standing like a leek in the middle of the living room with their feet up on the sofa (Deacon is a complete idiot!). The next morning he goes into the living room and sees sole again as he did yesterday afternoon. It was only then that he started to worry. He moved closer to sole, pulling his glasses down over his nose to get a better look. Nothing has changed on his screwing, the position of his body on the sofa, a statue he told himself. A long time ago he read a pre-war book about "the best world records". He thought that sole would do that. So he sat down on the seat opposite the sofa and watched, impatient for sole to stop.

A few hours later Sole comes back to life. Sole sees Deacon sitting on the seat opposite him, a bottle in his hand. On the small table to his right are two untouched glasses. Sole wonders if he is celebrating something. So Sole breaks the silence.

"We're celebrating something, Deacon," asks sole, completely lost.

- Finaly, exclaims Deacon, smashing the bourbon cork on the metal ceiling. I'm glad you've finally finished your super-realistic imitation of a statue. By smashing the world record, but when do we eliminate the institute, he asks, handing a full glass to sole.

This request drew a smile from Sole, who politely refused the glass.

" We're going now, Deacon, no time to lose.

- That's the sole I knew."

Thank to read it. My request are open.

[out-of-the-loupe]

Dans Le Bleu, Ch. 2

Read chapter 2 on AO3 here.

Of all the alarm clocks to have, Renee wasn’t expecting to be woken by the sound of a drunk customer in the morning. She jolted, blinking. Once she gathered her thoughts, she remembered; she was lying in the Dugout Inn, the only inn in Diamond City to let her stay for free. The upper stands place hardly even looked at her when she walked in. At least Vadim agreed to let her stay in exchange for taking Scarlett’s shift.

She forced herself to sit up with a groan, running a hand through her hair. Her shoulder and leg were stiff. She tilted her head from side to side to stretch out her neck and stood. No time to waste. She had a flower to find.

A…Hubflower, apparently.

Renee grabbed her jeans where she’d tossed them over a chair and pulled them on, noticing the dark red blood staining the material. She’d have to buy a new pair when she managed to get some caps.

She yawned again. Mornings always started far too early for her liking. She dug around in her bag for a hairbrush and managed to tame her long auburn hair before tying it back. A mirror on the wall showed her she looked just as she felt: exhausted. She shifted her head back and forth, a habit she picked up from watching her father shave in the mornings, and was pleased to see all the usual freckles and light scars were in place.

“Damn it…” She shrugged on her jacket, stepped into her boots, and grabbed her stuff.

Yefim swept up a broken bottle by the bar. “Good morning!” He said, though he didn’t smile.

“G’morning.” Renee gave him a nod.

“Hey, thanks again for last night.” Scarlett walked by carrying some dirty dishes. “I really appreciate it.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

She ignored the distasteful growl her stomach made and left the building. The early sun peaked through the clouds and a layer of fog hugged the ground. There weren’t many people out and about this early, and for once the market was quiet. She went around to the shops anyway to see if she could pawn off some ammo—though she knew she shouldn’t.

The weapon shop was still shuttered, but a Mr. Handy bot hovered in front of a different store seemed open to customers. The flickering neon above him read “Diamond City Surplus.” She trudged over, fishing for the ammo.

“Good morning, miss!” The Mr. Handy greeted, chipper as always. “Diamond City Surplus is open day or night for all your shopping needs!”

“Mm-hm.” Renee pulled out the ammo box and fished out a few bullets. “Listen, weird question, but, uh… How much for these?”

The Mr. Handy squinted all three eyes at her. “For five bullets, miss?”

“Yes?” She held them out in her palm.

“With all due respect, miss, you wouldn’t even have enough for a bowl of noodles.”

Renee continued holding out her hand. “Listen, I’ll take anything I can get. I’m broke.”

“Very well…” He sighed and plucked the bullets from her hand and replaced them with five rusty bottlecaps. “There.”

She blinked. “That’s it?”

“I did tell you. Would you like your ammunition back?”

“Well for this, yeah!”

The robot held out the bullets but didn’t drop them in her waiting hand. “That’ll be twenty-five caps.”

Renee sputtered and felt her face grow hot. “T-twenty-five caps?! What the hell do you think you’re trying to pull?”

“All sales are final, even those on the part of the customer. Twenty-five caps.” As if to add insult to injury, he shook the bullets.

She pocketed her five caps and flipped him off. “Go fuck yourself.”

“Have a pleasant day, miss.”

Renee grit her teeth from saying anything further and instead turned. She noticed movement in the corner of her eye and was surprised to see none other than Curie, shaking out a rug outside her apartment. “Curie?”

“Oh, good morning, Madame Jones!” She smiled, laying the rug back in front of the door.

“Uh, just Renee is fine.” Renee put her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “Didn’t expect to see you this morning.”

“I always wake early.” Curie cocked her head. “But what about you? You should really rest.”

“Yeah, some asshole at the Dugout made that impossible.” She reached to massage her shoulder. She decided not to tell the good doctor about how she spent the evening and much of the night waiting tables. “I feel fine anyway.”

Curie furrowed her brow but didn’t press it. “I see. ‘Ave you found zhe samples yet?”

“No, I was about to head out. You wouldn’t happen to have one I could see, do you? I realized last night that I don’t actually know what a Hubflower looks like…”

Curie’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh! Of course, just a moment…” She disappeared back into her apartment.

Renee stood awkwardly waiting. She kicked at the ground. Around her, the rest of Diamond City continued to slowly wake up. She heard a man groan as he pushed the metal shutter up in his stall. When he flicked the sign on, she saw it said Chem-I-Care.

“’Ere, zhis should help.” Curie returned presently and held out her open notebook.

The page was filled with detailed sketches of plants with notes scribbled in the margins. She couldn’t read most of the notes as they seemed to be partially in another language, but she did recognize the plant. She laughed. “You could’ve just said it’s a Deathbell.”

“A…what?” Curie took the notebook back and looked at her notes.

“Well, that’s we call them back home. Deathbells. Don’t know why, but that’s what I’ve always heard them called.” Renee moved to stand next to the woman and pointed at the picture. She caught a whiff of perfume and realized it was Curie.

Curie, however, didn’t seem to notice how close they were. “I see. So zhere are regional names for common flora…” She took a pen from the front pocket on her lab coat and jotted down the name.

Renee swallowed hard. She fought the urge to pull closer to the warm woman. “Y-yeah. So I’ll just grab some of those and get right back to you.”

“Zhey can be found all over zhe Commonwealth, so I doubt you will ‘ave to travel far. I just ‘ave some experiments zhat are time-sensitive.” Curie snapped the book shut.

Renee stepped back. “Gotcha. Well, I guess I’ll see you later then?”

“Yes, ideally. I really do need zhose soon.” Curie smiled again before she turned to go back inside. “And please be careful!”

“I will. How much trouble can I get into just walking out the gate?”

~:o:~:o:~:o:~

As it turned out, quite a bit of trouble. Her rifle bounced on her back as she ran from a pack of mongrels back to the city. She managed to find quite a few Deathbells—Hubflowers, out by an old train track. Unfortunately, while cutting them, some wild dogs snuck up on her.

One of the mongrels snapped at her forearm, sinking its teeth in. She came to a jarring halt and tried to fling it off, but it held fast. “Get off me!” She shouted, reaching for her knife with her other hand. The dog shrieked as she plunged the blade into its head.

It was just enough time for the other two mongrels to catch up and she whirled. Another leapt at her, but she was quick to slash out with the knife and it fell past her with a whimper. She flipped the blade over in her hand. “Wanna join your buddies today?” She snarled, eying the mutt.

The mongrel slowed and stopped a few feet from her, growling. If it had lips they’d be raised. Yellow, blood-stained teeth flashed in the late morning light.

She narrowed her eyes. “Leave me alone.”

It growled again before turning around and jogging away.

She sheathed her knife, careful not to accidentally cut her belt in the process. “Hmph.” She scowled at the two dead mongrels before turning to continue her journey.

The Wall came into view before the rest of Diamond City and the guards paid her little mind as she walked in. By now the rest of the Great Green Jewel was awake and even a little girl stood on an overturned box by the entrance. Renee stopped before her.

“Arm yourself with the truth! The Publick is here to pull the wool out from under your eyes!”

Renee glanced around. “Wait, like Publick Occurrences?”

“The Commonwealth’s premier newspaper!” The girl nodded and held out a paper. “One free issue to newcomers!”

“No thanks. I’ve probably already read it.” Renee waved her hand. While in Bunker Hill she’d been forced to sell her books, and to pass the time, found some back issues of the Publick to read instead.

“In that case, can I interest you in a subscription?”

“Maybe some other time, kid.” Renee moved on to the market.

She ignored the shopkeepers hawking their wares and nearly ran into a Brahmin from one of the caravans as it passed. Above the din, she heard someone yelling about Swatters but ignored him too. Her target was Curie’s apartment and lab, and she wasn’t about to let anyone stop her.

Renee knocked on the door as she entered. “Curie?”

“Coming!”

She closed the door behind her. Curie kept her lab in the basement, and Renee entertained herself by looking around at the sparse decorations in the foyer. A shelf of worn books occupied one wall, while a laser rifle hung beside it. It looked well-loved, but she had a feeling it wasn’t by Curie’s hand.

“Ah, welcome back!” Curie wiped her hands on her lab coat. A pair of glasses were perched on her nose.

“Some Hubflowers, just like you wanted.” Renee dug them out of her bag and held them out.

“Fantastique, this is just what I needed!” Curie took the flowers with a grin. “Merci.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Renee raised her arm to rub the back of her neck. As she did so, Curie snapped out a hand to grab her wrist. “Um…”

Curie stretched out her arm. “What ‘appened to you?”

“Oh, that. I was running from some Mongrels and one managed to get me. It’s okay! I’ll be fine. Not the first time I’ve been bitten by something.”

The brunette arched an eyebrow. She began leading Renee down to the lab. “Zhe wound needs to be cleaned before infection sets in. Wild animals can carry all manner of disease.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t really call it a ‘wound’… I just need a Stim, it’s fine.”

Despite her protests, Curie had her sit on the now-familiar examination table while she brought over some water and something in an unmarked bottle. Renee slipped out of her jacket. “You know, if this keeps happening, I’m never going to be out of debt with you.”

Curie chuckled and began wiping down the bites. “Do not trouble yourself with paying me zhis time. I feel responsible; I sent you out to find samples, after all.”

“W-well…” Renee looked away.

Curie’s hands were surprisingly strong, but her touch remained gentle. She cleaned out the injury and then fetched a Stimpak from one of her lab tables. “Zhis will actually be a wonderful time to test out a new formula I ‘ave been working on. If you do not mind.”

“As long as it doesn’t kill me.” Even still, Renee eyed the syringe.

“Oh no, it will not. But I am testing to see if it is more effective zhan ozher Stimpaks. It is…difficult to test on myself.” Curie slid the syringe in Renee’s arms and emptied it.

The bites closed like a normal Stimpak would heal them. Soon all that remained were small scars that would fade in time. Renee turned her arm over and back, nodding. “See? Good as new.”

Curie sighed. “I was ‘oping it would be faster… Well, I know now zhat zhe formula does not lie with Tatos, at least.” She disposed the syringe. “Zhere.”

“Thanks, again.” Renee continued to sit on the table. She crossed her ankles and swung her legs back and forth. “So I guess that’s what the Hubflowers are for, huh?”

“Yes, my experiments.” Curie turned to a different table, this one covered in beakers and flasks and papers. “So far I ‘ave not ‘ad much luck. You see, typical Stimpaks are no good on hard tissue, such as bone. I am trying to remedy zhis.”

Renee winced. “Trust me, I’m aware.”

Curie glanced at her before picking up a test tube. “Stimpaks were invented for zhe military to serve as field medicine. As such, zhey excel in closing flesh wounds, but are not so effective on more severe wounds.” She put the tube down again and turned. “Such as your shoulder, par exemple. A Stimpak may close zhe wound, but it will do nozhing for a broken bone, and potentially incorrectly heal a torn ligament.”

“I’m aware of that too.” Renee frowned as she remembered her childhood antics that often landed her in the local doctor’s office.

The brunette hummed. “You seem to be well-acquainted with injury.”

“You could say that…” Renee jumped down from the table. “Well, what’s the next thing you need me to get for you?”

“Actually, zhis request is much safer.” Curie shuffled some papers around before finally finding the one she needed. “Could you do some shopping for me?”

Renee took the paper with a smile. “As long as you provide the caps.”

“But of course.” Curie returned it. “I appreciate your willingness to help.”

“I appreciate you being willing to patch me up when I need it. Though, we’ve gotta stop meeting like that.”

“Per’aps. But I do not mind.”

Renee looked away to distract herself before her cheeks turned red. Already she could feel the start of a blush weaving its way up her neck. “Right…” She cleared her throat.

(Originally published Sept. 1, 2021)

[callmewisteria]

Something Dicey (At The Precipice Of Something New Chapter XLIII)

Having made it past the Rust Devils, Paladin Danse, Scribe Haylen, and Knight Rhys enter the Fort Hagen Hangar with the unusual robot to track the Mechanist and their minions? Dr. Amari, Curie, and the Lone Wanderer receive an escaped synth at the Memory Den who wants to tell what he knows about the Institute before having his memory erased? Nora and Cait take in the progress being made in constructing the signal interceptor while ferocity in Nora's will continue to crack her? Having been admitted into the facility wherein Dima stored his memories by the Children Of Atom, the General, the detective, the secretary, and the General's right hand man and his daughter begin to retrieve the memories of Acadia's leader? Shaun and Nate look over what they have been informed of regarding the luring of Nora to them and the Institute and discuss a potential new member of the Institute with Dr. Alana Secord and Dr. Madison Li, who present them with further push back to what had been kept from them and the rest of the Directorate for far too long?

A lot is moving. Read it on AO3, ff.net, and/or wattpad!!!

[goodneighborxfallout]

I just found your blog, it's really cool you're doing this!

Anyway, how do you think the companions would react to Sole being seriously injured/nearly dying?

Thanks for requesting! Sorry it took me so long to write this.

Cait: “Shit, shit, shit! You better not die on me, Sole!” she’ll curse while picking you up from the ground and hauling you over to the nearest doctor she can find. She will threaten and beat up anyone to get you the help you need as fast as possible. 

Codsworth: “Sir/Mum, please hold on!” Codsworth will frantically try any sort of first aid he can to stabilize you. He won’t admit it to himself, but he is not optimistic about your survival chances because his Mr. Handy body does not allow him to pick you up and get you help. He’ll have to find a way to get help to you and that will take double the amount of time. 

Curie: Curie will be the most calm and collected. Being a doctor, she has experience patching people up and she knows panicking will only make things worse. With Curie by your side, you are in good hands. She’ll do whatever she can with the current equipment she has and once you are stabilized she will bring you to either a hospital or a friendly settlement to nurse you back to health completely. 

Danse: Danse might freeze for a second. Instinctively, he recalls Brotherhood protocol but he hesitates because he also knows how harsh that protocol can be. You are not just any soldier, you’re you, and no part of him is willing to risk you dying just because the protocol doesn’t care for your survival as much as he does. So instead, he’ll forgo protocol, forgo the mission in general if necessary and bring you to safety. 

Deacon: “It’s just a flesh wound. Carrington will patch you right up,” is what he tells you to keep you calm, but he himself does not believe it. Your condition is a lot more severe than he is letting on and he has to try hard not to openly panic. Luckily, Deacon knows his way around the Commonwealth pretty well, so he’ll pick you up and take the fastest and safest way back to HQ, all the while cracking some lighthearted jokes to keep you smiling. 

Gage: Raiders are mostly not known for their medical skills. The lifestyle Gage chose is one where death is accepted. However, raiders often also stock up on drugs. He himself is not a fan of it, but he does know where others hide their caches around Nuka World. So he’ll give you some buffout and med-x, and then haul you over to the nearest doctor after which he goes off on his own for a bit. Gage normally doesn’t care when others die, but seeing you close to death made him panic, which made him realize that he’s grown attached to you. He is not sure how he feels about that and needs some time alone to reflect. 

Hancock: First and foremost, Hancock will get you to safety and bring you to a doctor for help. He’ll stay really calm during this. He won’t show you how he feels and he’ll just focus on reassuring you with comforting words. However, he also won’t stick around when the doctor is treating you because he will be hellbent on getting revenge on the people who dared to hurt you.  “You’re in good hands here, Sunshine. I have to go take care of something.” 

Longfellow: “Told you the island would eat you alive,” he mumbled while dragging you back to the doctor in Far Harbor. Longfellow hasn’t gotten attached to someone in a long time, and even though he likes your company, he always kept himself shielded. Of course, he hopes that you’ll pull through, but he’s not panicked or upset. Most people die in the fog, so why not you too? 

MacCready: Mac is a survivor. He’s been fighting since he was a little kid and he’s found himself in countless hazardous situations. Therefore, MacCready is wise enough to not go out without some healing supplies on hand. Still, he panics seeing someone he cares for so dangerously hurt, and will fumble around looking for a stimpak in his backpack, finally emptying all its contents out onto the ground to find it more easily.  

Nick: “I ain’t gonna lie kid, it’s not looking good. How are you feeling? You think you can walk?” Nick has lived a long life - even if doesn’t see all of his memories as his own -, he’s lost a lot of people and in his line of work a happy ending is mostly not the outcome. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care or that he won’t try everything he can to save you, it just means he’s good at staying calm and collected during these kinds of situations. 

Piper: “You’re not going to die out here, Sole! I promise!" Piper will quickly administer a stim, then put your arm over her shoulder and drag you to the nearest doctor. She’ll try to remain calm but small things give away that she’s panicking, like having trouble aiming her gun right at enemies along the way, and losing her temper at every obstacle you encounter. 

Preston: “Come on, general! You can pull through!” Preston will be terrified of losing you. While carrying you to the closest doctor around, he’ll still beg anyone he meets along the way for help. 

Strong: “Human fight well! Now die like warrior.”  

X6-88: “The Institute needs you, sir/ma’am.” He’ll administer a stimpak and will then ask you to teleport back to the institute for further treatment.

[everydayyoulovemeless]

Fo4 Companions (+Sturges, DiMA, and Travis) Living At Homeplate With Sole

➼ Word Count » 1.3k ➼ Warnings » Spoilers in DiMA’s section and slight spoilers (?) in Mac's

MacCready makes the roof trailer thing on the top of the house look all nice, decorating it with posters and lights and such. He likes to sit up there and just watch people go about in the market. It calms him down a lot. He wants to bring Duncan to come live with you and Shaun. He's pretty easy to live with, aside from him getting into a few altercations with the people from the upper stands.

Nick likes living with you because it allows Ellie to have her own place. The biggest problem is having Myrna as your neighbor. She's gonna constantly complain to security about Nick living right next to her. But besides that, Nick is great to live with. He'll get himself a chair and put it in one of the corners, like one of those designated 'dad' chairs. Lots of stories from his cases too that he'll be glad to tell you and he likes to keep the place neat.

Cait is honestly just happy to have someone who actually wants to live with her. It means so much to her so she'll try to be the best roommate she can. You need groceries? She's got it. Had a long day and want to get a drink? She'd gladly be your drinking buddy. Someone's giving you trouble? Let her get her bat. It's a huge sentiment in itself that you trust her as much as she trusts you and she'd never take it for granted.

Danse feels awkward. You'll have to force him out of his comfort zone a bit, and he's horrible at decorating but other than that he's great to have around. Having such a large guy is great for home security and he's willing to go with you wherever you want so you'll hardly find yourself alone. Danse doesn't think that the other citizens like him too much, and he's right, but you still try to help him to be more approachable.

Preston is always out doing something. It's rare for the two of you to be at Homeplate at the same time due to how busy the two of you can get. When he is home he tends to the different plants he managed to start growing on the roof and inside. It makes the place look very lively and a lot less wasteland-like.

Cleanest house in all the commonwealth?? Codsworth will make it his life's mission to have the best holiday decorations on the block, even if no one else understands what it is. It'll almost feel like a pre-war house with how sanitized he makes it. Whenever you leave to do a quest he'll cook something up for when you come back. He's kinda like a housewife in that sense. Since he doesn't sleep he'll hang out with Percy during the night and then come back and help you out in the morning.

If Piper’s coming, Nat's coming. It'll allow her to turn her old home into more of a workplace than it is now. You'll get the newspaper for free too. Piper probably won't do too much around the house besides keeping it somewhat organized, however, she likes taking you and Nat up to the roof to look at the stars, or watch the sunrise or anything like that. It makes her feel at peace and she just thinks it's a great time overall.

Curie doesn't really need sleep, so at night, if she's bored, she'll just start to organize and clean everything. She was so excited when you told her she could live with you. She takes notes on everything she sees in the marketplace and about the people she meets. Over time she'll end up being great friends with those scientist ladies and even Dr. Sun.

You're gonna also have a big problem with Myrna since Strong is constantly threatening Percy. Security isn't gonna like your new roommate either so be ready for a whole lot of complaints from everybody. On the plus side, Strong makes it so no one wants to go anywhere near your house, so no one trying to break in :)

If Hancock stayed, it'd most likely be temporary, he much prefers Goodneighbor. Although he loves harassing the rich people up in the stands and especially McDonough. Hancock would be all over Diamond City if he started staying at Homeplate. You'd find him in the bars, making friends with the poor people near the wall, or arguing with the guards. At the end of the day he's going back to his town, he really can't stand Diamond City for much longer than a few days.

Deacon feels really weird about it. He's never stayed anywhere for more than a couple of weeks at most. Even the Railroad HQ switches every now and then. Most people are going to love him due to how charismatic he is. In fact, most people will think you just invite a different friend over every week due to all of his disguises and persona's he'll still play. He’s going to have a ridiculous amount of clothes because of that and he'd gladly let you borrow them if you ever needed. This is a huge step for him and he really wants it to work out, although, try not to worry if you notice he’s disappeared.

X6-88 hates it. He doesn't understand why you don't just live in the Institute. He thinks that Diamond City is dirty and contaminated and is constantly looming over you, threatening anyone who gets too close. The only good thing about living at Homeplate would be that it's easier to gather information and spy for the Institute.

As long as Dogmeat gets a bed and a bowl then he's happy. He likes to wander around the city a lot. You'll catch him just sniffing around the alleys, usually looking for Nick or delivering papers for Piper. He loves living in Diamond City and loves that he gets to be around so many friendly people!

Old Longfellow refused when you offered. He much prefers his cabin in Far Harbor and wouldn't ever live somewhere as busy as Diamond City.

Gage will go wherever you do. You're the boss, and if this is where you're gonna stay then he'll be right behind you. The two of you are most likely going to be thrown in prison tho since Gage has a habit of shooting anyone who bad-mouths you. Homeplate's going to be a pig sty as well, bro can’t clean to save his life.

In all honesty, Sturges would be a great roommate, he'd set up the power for the both of you and try to make Homeplate feel a little homier. He'd be making bank too, the citizens would be paying him to help set something up or to fix something that broke. He’d be the new handyman while you went out and did quests.

DiMA thought it'd be good to go down to the Commonwealth again to do more research. He'd definitely struggle to fit in and would most likely try to find a way to assassinate Mayor McDonough to create peace like how he did with the Children of Atom and Far Harbor. He's happy to be able to live close to his brother but it's probably best to leave him in Acadia.

Travis is pretty happy to finally get out of his small one-room trailer and into Home Plate. He likes being able to walk over to the radio shack, it makes the gig start to feel like a real job. The best thing about living with Travis is that he's VERY organized. Nothing will ever be out of place. Living in his old place has taught him how to keep things clean and put away, so you'll find that Home Plate is seemingly never out of order. The only real downside, in his opinion, is the number of new neighbors he suddenly has, sometimes he doesn't want to leave the house in fear that they'll try and talk to him.

[harveywritings92]

Deacon: Hancock's been acting really strange with Sole. He seems... kinda into them.

Curie: What do you mean, "into them?"

Deacon: I mean into them.

Curie: Your statement is confusing. Has Hancock entered Sole in some fashion?

Deacon: Not yet.

[woods-and-adlers-left-hand-chap]

I came across this while gaming this afternoon and got really confused when I couldn't hear my rads going up and then I couldn't see the rads,I then rilised I wasn't playing fallout😂

I think I need a nap

[sugar-soda]

A Kid shouldn't be Here Masterlist: Child!Sole Survivor x Platonic! Found Family! Companions

Main Masterlist

____________________________________________________________

After the bombs fell, children became a precious rarity. The radiation left many women, even those who didn't become ghouls, unable to even get pregnant. Those that were able to had a whole new hosts of challenges to face. Lack of food, safe drinking water, and proper medical equipment meant that many pregnancies ended in tragedy. Even the act of being born was deadly in the Wasteland. 

______________________________________________________________

Preston Garvey

Paladin Danse

Piper Wright

Nick Valentine

John Hancock

Robert Joseph MacCready

Deacon

Curie

Cait

Codsworth

Bonus:

Sunny’s Character Profile

[transparentkinks]

Hey, we don't talk enough about how a lot of companions are gonna way outlive the player.

Angst and death ahead!

Nick: 

Attitude

He doesn't like to think about how long he’s gonna live, and how long she’s gonna live. Never puts him in a good headspace. He just makes sure to stay by her side, keep her out of harm’s way, learn his way around radaway and stimpacks and med-x. She gave him plenty of stress, no doubt, but that was also why he loved her. She was brave. She knew what was right, she kept a level head and stood by those that stood by her. She was skilled enough to rebuild a peace the likes of which the commonwealth hadn’t known in ages. Honestly, it was probably better now. Her settlements were something to behold, and they kept the area around them safe. There was so much food, clean water, people were safe, people had something to fight for, she had taken down anything in her way. She was a one woman nuclear bomb and the commonwealth was never the same. 

He realizes sometime later on, that part of him just felt like she’d find a way to live forever. She was brilliant like that, but he also knew that’s something she’d never really pursue. It wasn’t until Nora started showing signs of age that he started looking for ways himself. He found evidence of plenty, none though that let her keep her humanity. He swore to himself he’d stay by her, support her in age and infirmity, she wouldn’t be alone. The looming threat of Nora’s death was something he proffered only to pay mind to while fighting, or while Nora entertained a much too shady quest. Then he used it to protect her, and knowing that he would be there no matter what hairbrained scheme Nora managed to get herself entangled in gave him some measure of peace of mind. Nothing would take her if he had a say in it. Maybe not even death, if that synth to human connection line of research lines up with the research on downloading a human mind. 

In the Moment

Realistically, it was probably a delicious dinner. He didn’t eat, but he set himself timers to harass Nora to eat, drink and sleep as she had a tendency to procrastinate all of them. They were not needed tonight. Tonight she wasn’t just Nora, she was Nora, general of the Minutemen. And Nora, general of the Minutemen, was to be meeting with the upper brass of diamond city. No doubt quite annoying for them, seeing as her history placed her as a dirty vault dweller asking questions in the upper stands and eventually finding out the mayor is a secret synth. The fact that she had to meet with them to solidify trade deals they desperately wanted no doubt got under their skin. 

Evidently too much, as Nora quickly curled into herself in her seat, clutching her sleeves and shaking. “N-nick?” She sounded scared as he watched a shudder wrack through her. 

“Nora, what’s wrong?” Her labored breathing had him pulling her back into him. She seemed to be foaming at the mouth. “No, baby no” he nearly dropped her in his shock, managing instead to cradle her to his chest as he fell to his knees. Her hand twitched up and he grabbed it tight. He’d seen cyanide poisoning before. He knew it hurt. There wouldn’t be enough time to get her a doctor, much less anyone who can treat a poison like this. “Please no.” He begged. Her chest was heaving, but he knew none of it would help her breathe. Her eyes were flitting around the room, unfocused and scared.

“Look at me Nora” He gave her hand a squeeze and her panicked eyes locked onto his glowing gaze. “I got you” He smoothed her hair back, winced at the pained groan falling from her lips.  “I love you Nora” and he knew it was likely the last thing she ever heard. He watched the light leave her eyes, her breaths fall short. It happened all too fast. 

He looked up around at everyone there, everyone’s reaction to what transpired. He would get to the bottom of this. He’ll find who did this. God help them when he did. 

Hancock:

Attitude

Sometimes he wished Nora would turn ghoul. He wondered if that drug he took was really the only hit ever. He didn’t care what she looked like, what the years would do to her, but he would never be ready to lose her. Not her smile, not her will to see the world made better, not her joy or her ability to see the potential good in everything around her. 

He always maintained visibility with her in battle. He’d been yelled at more than a few times for taking hits meant for her. He trusted her ability to protect herself, he knew just how incredibly capable she was, but nothing prepared him for the full blown animal panic he felt the first time he saw her go down. He fought like he hadn’t before even to save his life. He hated seeing her hurt, seeing her sick. She of all people deserved a long, healthy, pain-free life. He knew it was too late for the last one, but he’d be damned if he didn’t try to mitigate what he could. As far as he and the decent half of the commonwealth were concerned, she was a saint walking. The idea that he would somehow outlive her felt like a cruel joke.

He didn’t expect to breakdown like he did the first time he found a gray hair on Nora. He didn’t think she even woke up for it, him cradling her head on his chest, trying and failing to calm his hyperventilating with her even, rested breaths. He would make her a synth if he could, bottle her somehow and keep her like this, forever. If it wasn’t her worst nightmare he wondered if he could put her back in a cryo pod, wake her up for the best moments. She would hate it, he knows, but he dreams still, of having her around for every beautiful moment of his life. 

He knows he’ll never be ready for it, whether it comes in fifty years or tomorrow. He dreads what he’ll become when she’s gone. He knows she’ll want him to carry on her legacy, watch her settlements and keep people who just want peace safe. He would do it too, he thinks. It could become his singular drive, after her. He knows no matter what, when she’s gone he’ll just feel empty. He prays when she passes it will be peaceful, not scared or afraid or alone. He prays he’ll be there. 

When it happens

It was a political grab in the end. 

A tribe of raiders who didn’t know how she had restructured the minutemen to withstand her loss, an assassin killed seconds after they struck. 

He held her as she fell, cushioned her fall and put pressure on the wound. Packed it with clean cloth from the table that she made possible with her water purifiers and generators and traps and creative ability. It was such a brutal thing though, through the gut and up into the lung. She was supposed to be safe, she was just wearing a cotton dress. It did nothing against buckshot. He screamed for Curie.

 “Please baby, stay with me. Hold on, you’ll be okay. You’ll be okay sunshine.” He helped heave her onto the table, helped Curie access the wound, administered the med-x so she wouldn’t hurt, because god his sunshine was gasping. 

“She can’t breathe Curie, what do we do?” Curie looked like she wanted to cry, a very grim mask on her face. 

“We need to get her on oxygen or I need to get this lead out of her fast and hit her with a super stimpak. We don’t have oxygen.” Curie set to work removing each piece of buckshot, quickly and efficiently and he would never forget how Nora started to wheeze. She thrashed and he knew he had to hold her down when Curie grunted. 

“Hold on sunshine, you’ll be okay. Hold on for me.” He brushed her hair back from her forehead, placed a kiss upon it and prayed. He felt a hand on his head, caught a weak hand, laced his fingers with hers. He knew he was crying, he did during every scare, but when he caught that scared, spacy look in her eye he sobbed. “Curie, what’s going on-”

“I just keep finding more!” Curie yelled back at him, pulling out pellet after pellet. 

“Fuck, sunshine please. I don’t want a world without you. I love you.” He held their entwined hands to his face, pressed kisses to her fingertips. “Please, please, please” He wasn’t sure who he was begging. Her, god, fate? It was all happening so fast. He wasn’t ready. 

She wheezes, this awful hollow sound and he watches her eyes finally focus on him. “John?” She says it so light, so quiet, like a question. He just hoped she wasn’t as scared as she sounded. 

“Yeah sunshine, I'm right here. You’re okay.” He gave her hand a squeeze. She started to shake her head. “Please baby, you’re okay.”

“Shawn” she gave the tiniest squeeze to his hand. 

“I know baby, he’ll be okay. You know me an’ Curie and Nick and, an’ Codsworth. Ada. Strong. We- we got him. Just please hold on, hold on for me please sunshine.” He was begging at this point. She just tried to shake her head again. “Reserve your strength baby-”

“I- love you-” He hated the hollow, wet change to her voice. Her lovely, clear, beautiful voice. 

“I know sunshine.” He cut her off. “I love you too. So much. I will always love you.” She smiled, shook her head at that again. She got this faraway look in her eye. Curie pushed him away, injected the stimpack despite the countless bits of buckshot still within. She began administering CPR. After what felt like ages, Curie crumpled against Nora’s chest. She was shaking, he knew she was crying. He screamed. 

Curie:

Attitude

Curie always fretted over Nora’s health. She knew that Nora would age, that she could get hurt. Her own newfound vulnerability was certainly an adjustment when Nora got her a synth body. When she was able to actually feel it, she discovered that Nora’s vulnerability even compared to her, terrified her. 

She dedicated a lot of energy to watching Nora’s health when she realized that Nora herself didn’t pay much mind to it. She pestered Nora to eat a balanced diet, refused to move on from a fight without checking her over. When she needed stitches, Curie was the one stitching Nora up. When Nora needed medicine, Curie administered it. If Curie didn’t join Nora on an outing, she was worried until she laid eyes on Nora again. She wouldn’t let Nora settle in until she was certain Nora didn’t need treatment. 

The few times she saw Nora hurt, Curie felt more than she ever had in her life. She couldn’t focus on anything beyond healing Nora. She only really yelled if Nora was hurt and Curie was scared for her. If her and Nora fought, it was about the carelessness with which Nora dived into situations or her willingness to brush off an injury. The one time Curie ever yelled at Nora was when Nora insisted that the best plan of action for her bullet wound was to ‘walk it off’. 

Curie realized that realistically, she would far outlive Nora. Just like she outlived her researchers. She wouldn’t be alone, sure. Nora entrusted her with the long term guardianship of Shawn. She liked being a parental figure to him. They were both adjusting to synth life together, but she could still see so much of Nora in him. He felt like their son. Still, she knew she’d never be ready to say goodbye to Nora. Nora made her feel like she could understand being alive. She made her want to feel. She dreaded the day she’d have to say goodbye. All she could do was protect, care for, and cherish Nora while she had her. 

When it happens.

Curie wasn’t ready. She was not ready to watch Nora deteriorate. Cancer was an inevitability for many in the fallout riddled wasteland. She just wished it wasn’t Nora’s fate. Curie had dove into her research, but there was no safe way to treat it any more. By the time Curie found a way to potentially attack the cancer it had already reached her lymph nodes.

Curie and her friends had to hide their grief from Nora. They tried as best they could. Nora tried her best to stay upbeat through it all, shut down conversations about grief and dying. Pushed herself through dinners and parties and a few final speeches to the Minutemen. Gave her opinions as to potential succession. She started a journal, sitting for hours into the night writing down every useful piece of information she knew. Accounts of her life before the bombs, details of politics and culture. What poems she could remember, songs she loved, recipes and life tips, how-to guides and blueprints. She restructured what she could, Curie didn’t quite know how to break the news to Nora, but she seemed to know even before Curie told her. Nora set to work the moment she felt herself waver. She restructured everything about her settlements, built methods for local leadership and transfer of power and communication between settlements. Nora made sure that her radio system was robust. 

Curie hated all of it. The way Nora knew, the way she comforted her when she was telling Nora that she wouldn’t make it. The way she became unhurried, content to linger in moments. No more of that fire to act like she would never have enough time to do what she wanted. Now that Nora knew it was coming, she slowed down. She tried to hide it, but Curie knew Nora was so tired. She wouldn’t stop, but Curie knew she was slowing down to savor it. Like she wanted to remember what was happening. 

She hated it even more when it became clear Nora was hiding that it hurt. Curie and her friend group had to practically fight her to get her to rest. The last fight they ever had, Curie was sobbing, begging Nora to tell her what hurt, let her take care of her, stop pushing herself. Nora hated seeing Curie cry. The fight ended with Nora acquiescing, finally letting Curie take care of her, letting herself rest. It always took a bit of prodding to get an assessment of Nora’s pain, even more so to get her to accept pain relief. 

Curie found herself praying for one more day. Every night, when it looked like her love was wilting in front of her. Curie prayed for just one more day, found herself counting Nora’s breaths into the night. She found herself fearing this sleep she now needed, worried she’d awaken one morning to the love of her life cold beside her. She began staying up late into the night, holding Nora afraid of the moment her breathing would stop.

The night Nora passed was a painful one. Curie hadn’t left her bedside the whole day. Nora looked so tired, grimaced at just the idea of trying to move. Shawn was scared of visiting her now, had spent that morning crying into Nora’s lap, letting her run tired fingers through his hair and tell him that he would be okay, that she loves him, that he would never be alone, that he was always going to be her son. 

All of Nora’s friends were there, helping Curie and Shawn watch over Nora. They were desperate to talk to her, say their goodbyes without actually saying goodbye. As always they cringed through her morbid jokes at her own expense. No one wanted to point out to Nora that they weren't funny, that no one actually benefited from her death and no one was laughing at her new condition. 

That day Nora had more energy than normal. Fought Curie a little more about her med-x. Didn’t settle as much when Curie held her that morning. Held long conversations with each of her friends, refused to eat, if not occupied with conversation then with a book or writing. Nora and her friends felt hopeful about how she felt that night, but Curie knew otherwise. She tried not to cry. Prayed more than ever in her life for just one more day. One more day with her, please. 

The room was dark and quiet, just her and Nora. Curie held her that night, told her again how she loved her, despite her protests administering her nightly dose of painkillers because she could tell from the tightness in Nora’s limbs that she hurt. She counted Nora’s breaths as she drifted off to sleep, stroked her hair. She had nearly passed out herself when she heard what she always feared. She was shaking when she felt Nora’s breathing stop. She tried to resuscitate her. Begged for Nora to come back to her. Fought to keep her heart beating. She knew she was gone.

She was not ready to be alone.

Charon:

Attitude

Charon was willing to do a lot for Lone. Kill for her. Live for her. Die for her. She bought him, freed him, walked with him to help him realize he was free. She made him feel human again. 

There was a time, before he realized what she had done, when he wouldn’t have cared if she died. He’d seen plenty of peppy young things ground down by the wasteland, put a good few down himself. He expected to have his work cut out for him, taking care of this foolish waif of a girl. Even more so when she immediately tried to tear up the contract and “Declare him free and no longer bound to it”. She actually looked like she feared him when he explained what he was meant to do at the destruction of his contract.

Instead, she proved wildly capable, scarily adaptable. She took action without hesitation, and while he wished she would think before diving into other people’s problems he could never deny that she was brave. She was a crackshot, and there were times when she shot down every threat with her pistol before he even got a shot off. 

More often than not, she cared for him. Insisted he slept and ate, paid him money he found little use for considering she made sure he had a bed and food, and told him to fuck off on his apparently “mandatory breaks”. She wouldn’t let him go off with an injury, yelled at him when he got hurt and didn’t tell her. The only time they ever ordered him to do anything, was when they told him to run when the enclave came after them and the G.E.C.K. He spent a good time back in the underworld wondering why he felt so scared for this master, why he kept glancing at the door waiting for their crazy unkillable self to stumble through the door and drag him back out into some ill-planned charity scheme. Why instead of apathy or amusement he felt dread at the idea she wouldn't make it back.

He got his answer when he watched them walk into the water purifier. She walked into the same room where she watched her father die, didn’t even look back at her friends behind her. He knew all she needed to hear was “Lives are on the line”. He tried to stop her, but she was always fast. He hated the way her whole body shook and swayed from the radiation coursing through her as she tried to type in the code.

It was an answer he was slow to come to, waiting by the side of her bed. He thought she was a good person, better than any he had ever met. He thought she shouldn't have to do the things that she does. He thought the whole wasteland owed her a whole lot, himself included. He was free, he had realized over that bed. She was too clever to let him be anything but free, even when he could only imagine servitude. In a way he appreciated his role, not much before when people used him like a tool; but now, Lone showed him he was simply a man, and a skilled one at that. Poked and prodded and teased the humanity out of him, she insisted he deserved respect.

He followed this woman because he wanted to. He couldn’t think of wanting to spend time with anyone else. He loved hearing her talk, watching her work. He actually enjoyed talking when it was with her, even if he remained ever taciturn. He couldn’t imagine wanting to protect anyone else.

He realized he relished the work. She did good things, brought him to help her do good things. Protecting her, it felt like a good thing. Not erasing, but evening the score of the things he has done. It felt like repentance.  Whatever this woman decided she would do, he knew he wanted to be there to help her. He was free and his heart belonged to this woman because he gave it to her. It was not fear for himself and his future that caused his worry, there would be no masters after her. No, he loved her. And he did not want to live in a world without her. 

The panic that overtook him when he realized that fact was unlike anything he felt in decades. Here he was, with a love like a chain around Lone’s neck praying this wasn’t her deathbed, and nothing he could do. He didn’t think he was ever religious, but he started praying to something that night. 

She recovered, and he had to practically fight her to get her to rest instead of springing back into action. He tried hard to hide his newfound realization, but of course she noticed. He was talking more, speaking before he could even think. Pushing her not to take risks, to stay safe. Going out of his way to take bullets meant for her. He started telling her that she did enough, that she doesn't need to play hero, that she should stay safe and enjoy the relative safety she helped make. Of course she asked him what was up, offered him his contract again. 

It was hard explaining that he wanted to serve her, wanted to stay with her. Her inquisitive self pried out all the little secrets in his heart and was delighted at what she found. She accepted him wholeheartedly, despite the social stigma that came from it. She loved him, started to fight for him. She became more ferocious in her campaign to ensure those around her respected him and those like him. Wore the target that came with that like a badge of honor, sent those that challenged her off either with their tail between their legs or one extra hole in their body.  He became desperate to protect her. Anyone who wanted to so much as talk to her would have to go through him if he had any say about it. Disrespect, threats, towards her he would never tolerate. If she would try to protect him with her ferocity, he would protect her with every ounce of animosity in his soul.  

He took joy in being able to protect her, being the person she would lean on when life got hard. For the first time in as long as he can remember his life, his efforts had meaning. The paths she chose were good, she time and again fought to help people; ghouls even, people she didn’t know. She cared if they were getting enough food and water, cared to build communities, cared enough to forgive things he personally found unforgivable.  If anything he did could protect or support her, if it could bring her joy, it was worthwhile. 

How this undeniable good, loving, beautiful person could stand to love him, choose to fight for him he would never understand. He was something twisted and bent to serve a violent purpose, but if she would make him more, then his bloody talents would be hers without question. He found himself often musing over if there’s really anything he wouldn’t do for her, amusement only. She wouldn’t order him to do anything to save her life, just to save his. She was too good for this world, caught that idealism from her parents like a chronic disease. They’d both watched her father burn for it. He watched her brave radiation enough to knock a ghoul on their ass for those same ideals. He would never tell her, but he swore to himself he would protect her from herself if it came down to it. He would not stand by as she walked into hell, over his dead body. 

In the moment

“I said you’re a fucking lying bastard Maxon!” Charon had to physically hold her back. She was on the verge of tears. He knew she thought she could help change the brotherhood, help them become something more than the violent military group they were. He knew she thought they could be family. But they weren't good. Not like her. They found discrimination and massive civilian casualties to be the cost of doing business. Once again she was being betrayed by a group she thought she belonged to. 

“You will mind your words when speaking to elder Maxon.” A knight had a weapon trained on her. This was meant to be her dropping in to clear up a discrepancy. Instead they walked into a den of snakes, telling her she was being betrayed and that their favor was her being able to walk away alive. 

“Elder my ass! While he was a kid my father was dying for this project. My mom died dreaming of this project. I am willing to die for this project. She said free water for all and I’ll be damned if I don’t fight for it! You can just let people get it! There is enough for everyone! We have a caravan system going! You can’t just decide to cut people off-”

“Those aren't people” Some fascist in power armor spoke up. 

“Oh so that’s it? You’re gonna cut them off because they harbor-”

“Are infested by” Maxon corrected.

“God, Maxon what the fuck happened to you? You’re killing people with this decision, you know that?” Lone was full on crying. 

“I don’t have time for this, have them removed.” Maxon hardly looked at them as he began walking away.

“No you don’t!” Lone tried to go after him, lurching forward in Charon’s grip. 

“Lone, let's just go. We’ll figure something out.” This was getting dangerous and emotional, she wasn’t safe. He wanted to get her out of there so badly. 

“I’ll fucking kill you for this Maxon! You hear me! I’ll-” Charon pulled her back, lifting her flailing body and moving to carry her out before she decided to open fire, but he guessed someone decided not to give her the chance, hit just beneath her collarbone, into her lung. No exit wound. 

He ran, he had to get her out of there. He was thankful no one at the gate opened fire. He ran until he couldn’t see any signs of the brotherhood, and he would have ran more if not for the worrying amount of blood coating his shoulder. He shifted her and she let out a hollow, wet groan. He kicked his way into a boarded abandoned house, placed her on the rusty bed that had survived in the corner and tried to ignore the panicked wheezing sound she was making. He started looking through her pack, grabbed her med-x, stimpacks, alcohol, bandages, and tweezers.

“Charon-” She reached a clumsy hand out for him. He poured the liquor over his hands, soaked the bandages and tweezers. 

“I’m here” He brought everything over to her, felt her place a hand on his head, heard her wheeze again. 

“I got you” He set to work fast, administering the med-x before searching for the bullet. 

“Charon” She gasped out. Her voice sounded strained and wet. 

“You’re okay sweetheart”. He spoke with as much confidence as he could manage, but he knew the pet name betrayed him. She’d teased him about it before, how he only talks to her like that when one of them is fucked up. She wasn’t moving much, but she tried to shift her weight and groaned at it. “Save your energy” he commanded as he worked, placed a steadying hand over her sternum and felt it rise and fall as she breathed. He was scared of looking up at her face. He hated seeing her in pain. He just wished he could find this bullet-

“Charon” She sounded more desperate this time. “Please”. 

He glanced up at her face. It was so pale, she looked confused and scared. “I got you, you’ll be okay”. He reassured. She had lost so much blood. He just wanted to take care of this wound fast, get some stimpacks in her. Put this whole mess behind them. She wheezed again. 

“No, Charo-” 

“Please save your strength” He pleaded. She tried to move and he pushed her back, held her body in place. She stopped fighting him quickly, didn’t quite manage to hide the pained grunt from her exertion. Holding her down didn’t take as much strength as it should have. 

“Too much blo-” he hated how she talked about her injuries sometimes, like she herself was a doctor. He wanted to curse her medical background. 

“No” He felt himself shaking. She was so pale, but he couldn’t give up. 

“Listen” She pleaded. Would administering a stimpack now hurt her? He couldn’t find the bullet. He looked up, met her eyes. She looked scared. He really hoped he didn’t too. “I’m not”

“You’re gonna make it” He spoke firmly. 

“I’m not” She wheezed again. He felt her thumb pet one of the few patches of hair he had left. Normally he loved when she did that. “Charon, they’re gonna take-” 

“I know” He tried to hold back a sob. 

“I- stop them” She seemed desperate, he could practically see the lightheadedness getting to her. He felt the hand on his head briefly make a fist before flattening again. 

“I need you to hold on” he pleaded. “I love you, it's not time for you to go yet”. Fuck it, she’d lost too much blood, he can’t find the bullet and she was talking scary. He tried to ignore her wet hiss and his shaking hands as he administered the stimpack. 

“Charon” she whined. Her chest started heaving faster, like she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs. He held the hand not on his head. She felt too cold. He forced himself to meet her eye. “I love you” she spoke desperately in a whisper. 

“I know sweetheart” He spoke as softly as he could. Gripped her hand tight. Prayed the stimpack would be enough. They both knew it wouldn’t be. 

“Charon I’m scared”. She gripped his hand back as best she could. He lifted a bloody hand to grab the hand on his head, kissed the palm.

“You’ll be okay, I got you-” Fuck, he was crying. 

“Them, Charon don’t let them-” The words came in one wet gasp. 

“I won’t”. He promised.

“I have you”. He gathered her up in his arms, held her like he knew she liked, prayed she felt warm, because to him she felt freezing. He looked her in the eye, they were getting unfocused and distant now. “I love you” he spoke quietly, placed light kisses to her face, repeated it all for her in soft whispers till he felt her last scraping breath. 

He was screaming, he realized, when he came to sobbing over her body. 

He would bury her, he decided. Then, he had one final order to carry out.

Fawks: 

Attitude

He had suggested FEV before. Just once. Lone shot it down of course, wanting to be certain of maintaining her intellect. He couldn’t blame her. 

He was always hyper aware of how killable she was, from the moment she let him out. He ran into a lot of radiation explicitly because he knew she would not survive that much radiation. He realized she was a little less killable than he thought when she strolled out of the enclave, the entire faction in ruins, because, apparently to hear her tell it, of her being able to convince the computer that ran the place to blow everything up. 

She proved herself highly intelligent, but he often questioned her sanity considering some of the undertakings she willingly endured. When he would voice his objections on basis of safety, she would tell him she could handle it herself if he didn’t want to go. Of course he always went. 

He thought she was beautiful, and kind, and accepting. He fought down any and all romantic feelings toward her, relishing instead in being able to help keep her safe and in action throughout all her suicidal attempts at making the wasteland a better place to live. He was always legitimately shocked at her frequent success, and well as some of the situations she managed to just walk out of with nary a scratch. 

He was furious when she just walked into the water purifier the second she realized the stakes. Didn’t even ask him to help, just walked in and wobbled her way through typing in the code. He thought she died. Stayed by her bedside terrified she wouldn’t wake up. Felt joy like he couldn’t remember in ages when she did wake up. 

Unfortunately for him Lone was curious, mischievous at the best of times, shameless at the worst. She pulled a confession out of him one dark night holed up against a rad storm, himself two bottles of vodka deep (He was a lightweight for a supermutant). Herself quite tipsy, she proceeded to kiss the breath right out his lungs. The next day, she didn’t regret it, and suddenly he had what he thought impossible for him: Love. 

His desire to aid and protect her grew tenfold, and they got into a lot of fights about Lone walking into dangerous situations without him going first. He knew better than to tell her not to do something when she put her mind to it, but he’d be damned if he didn’t try and keep her safe. 

In the moment

“I don’t like the look of the rest of this compound” Fawks spoke warily, eyeing the change in wall material. 

“It could mean we’re closer to the G.E.C.K.” Lone chimed in from his side. 

“That could also mean we’re a lot closer to a lot of radiation. We need to be careful.” Fawks warned, gun ready for anything to pop out and attack. 

“Look!” Lone grabbed a finger, the closest she could get to holding his hand, and dragged him ahead to a large section of glass paneling looking down into a chamber with a small plate atop a pillar, with a great metal needle hanging from the ceiling above it. “It must be the G.E.C.K.!” She spoke excitedly, hands and nose pressed against the glass. “Where do you think the controls would be?” Lone looked down into the chamber. 

“I’m checking it out” Fawks spoke, opening the door and stepping into the larger chamber. When he looked behind him, he was exasperated to see Lone had followed behind him. He sighed, then looked to the wall below the glass panel. “Well, we found the controls”. 

“Perfect! The note said that once it's activated, it will start purging radiation from the surrounding wasteland and make the ground fertile. All we gotta do is figure out how to activate it.” Lone wandered to the panel, ran her hands over the buttons. “It’s a two person switch, or one really long person switch”. Lone announced, looking at the glass-enclosed dials on either end of the panel. “Lucky you got backup”. Lone looked at Fawks and winked, and he could only sigh. 

“On the count of three?” He opened his box, placed his hand on the dial, watching Lone do the same.” “One..Two..Three!” The machine was deafening when it turned on, sent a blast of air through the room.

“Fawks?” He didn’t even register her geiger counter going off till he realized she had crumbled to the ground. “Fawks?” He gathered her up in his arms, checked her pip-boy ignoring the shake in her limbs. Started sweating when he saw the geiger counter couldn’t go any higher. He couldn’t look her in the eye, couldn’t stop. He had to get her out of here now.

He ran for the door. It was locked, no handle and it was keypad operated. He kicked at the door, then the keypad, then what was left of the keypad, until finally the door opened. He ran up the hallway, up up up, to another door. Locked from the other side. Her geiger counter was still buzzing, quieting only slightly in comparison to the G.E.C.K. chamber. That was the door they came in, the only door that lead in and the only door out. He fell to his knees, started digging through the packs for radaway and rad-x. Placed a delirious Lone against the door, the farthest point from radiation and the quietest her counter could get. Ignored her groans when he held her arm still to roll up the sleeve and insert the needle. She seemed to come to, just a little bit. 

“Fawks?” She was looking up aimlessly. He held her much smaller hand in his. 

“I’m here love, I got you.” He grabbed some rad-x and purified water. “I need you to take this”. Lone scrunched up their face and groaned, but let him help them sit up, take the pills and then the water. Their eyes rolled down to their geiger counter. 

“I guess the door is locked?” Lone looked very tired. 

“Yes” he sighed. 

“Fawks, if I don’t-”

“You’re gonna make it Lone” He leaned forward, his head against the door, body arching over Lone. What he wouldn’t give to put those few inches of lead between there and Lone. 

“If I don’t” They spoke with a determination. “Don’t let the brotherhood horde this shit, yeah?” She smiled up at him, but her eyes didn’t seem to focus. 

“I’ll make sure” He promised. He was crying, he knew. 

“Hold me?” Her voice was so quiet. 

“Of course love”. He gathered her in his arms. Tried not to sob more when her geiger counter started getting louder. He started talking to her, trying to keep her awake, keep her responsive, but she seemed to zone in and out. 

He changed her radaway the second it was used up. He knew the side effects would be killer if she made it. If she made it. Did start sobbing when she yelped, pulled back at the feeling of the needle leaving her skin. She seemed confused. 

“Lone, its Fawks, I’m right here. This is gonna hurt but you’ll be okay” She nodded slowly, he exposed the needle on the new radaway, slid it into her skin right where the last had been, held her arm still for it because she was crying and shaking. He just held her arm still and held her. He checked repeatedly if he could get the door to open, praying it was just a time lock, but it held fast. She cried more when he turned away to check, and he really just wanted to hold her. 

He resolved to hold her, kiss her and igraine the smell of her hair into his memory. He kept trying to talk to her, got some sporadic half logical replies during the second bag of radaway. The geiger counter got louder, and they may as well have been back in the larger room. The third bag of radaway she was only able to sporadically say his name. He pressed kisses to her forehead, her brow, her nose her cheeks her lips her chin. Told her he loved her, over and over again. Halfway through the fourth bag, she stopped responding, and by the end of it her eyes had glazed over. He knew she was gone. He thought he was gonna lose his mind. 

Two weeks later, the door opened. The world he stepped out into was green.

I think I mighta spelled fawks wrong but he can eat my a$$ about it.