#gorgeous screenshot by mayihavethisdanse

[third-rail-vip]

20 OTP Questions

Tagged by @tarberrymentats​ thank you so much for the tag! <3

I’m going to tag @minuteminx​ @asaara-writes​  @pchberrytea​ @mayihavethisdanse​ @potatocrab​ @laurelsofhighever​ and anyone else who wants to, tag me because I’d love to see your OTPs!!

I might have gone a bit overboard, so I’ll put most of this under the cut…

Mac x Ivy

1. Who can outdrink the other?

Oh, definitely Mac.  They learnt that the first night they met, not that she was trying to keep up it’s just Ivy is a thorough lightweight.  He didn’t like questions, she can’t help but ask them, so the deal was one shot per question.  She is smol and cannot hold her booze.  Two centuries on ice and she seems to have lost some of the tolerance she built up in college.  Magnolia had to tell Mac to make sure she got to the Rexford ok.  Of course, en route she picked up multiple jobs and talked Fred into giving them 500 caps for going to Hallucigen.  Mac was gobsmacked, it was the beginning of a beautiful if unexpected friendship.  

These days if you give her too much, you’ll find her sat on the floor in the corner of Railroad parties with Tinker Tom talking conspiracy theories.  

2. Who says “i love you” more?

Probably Mac, but not because he loves more, but because he’s definitely the more vocal of the two of them.  Words are one of his main love languages.  Plus, he’s lost a partner before (which Ivy hasn’t) and there were things unsaid in that relationship that he’ll always regret, so he knows the importance of telling the people you love how you feel, and telling them often.  Ivy is more of a show than tell, even though she’s the type to fall first, she’s been hurt before by exactly that so she’s slower to use the words and breaks them out less often.  She shows she loves him through her actions.

3. Who has trouble sleeping alone?

Very much Ivy, not that Mac doesn’t to some degree, but this is a scary new world for Ivy and she feels very much safer having someone there.  She was a wreck when he was away in the Capital Wasteland and really struggled to sleep at all.  She is more likely to not be able to get to sleep if she’s alone.  Mac is more likely to have a disturbed night, waking up feeling an absence.  

4. Who swears more?

Ivy.  She may look sweet but she really can have a foul mouth.  She will basically swear for Mac as well.  He’ll cut himself off and she’ll fill in the blank.  She resists the urge, or at least desperately tries to pick other words at the last second when the kids are about.  It doesn’t always work well.

5. Who does more of the housework?

It’s shared.  Ivy makes more mess though, she’s clean but untidy.  She seems accumulate way more stuff than Mac does, and boy does she spread it around the house.  She’s also very distractible, so he can get back and find a half-risen loaf in the kitchen, which she’ll have left, having had a thought about something she wanted to draw while it was still in her mind.  So, the sketchbooks are out in the living room, but then she’ll see a sketch of Mac and remember she was going to fix the arm on his duster again.  And so on and so forth.  Mac isn’t without guilt, there are always comics on various surfaces, left open (taking up maximum room) to show Ivy or the boys the best bits.  If Codsworth had lungs, he’d hyperventilate.  She will tidy up after herself though, when she realises she’s left everything all over.  I mean, nobody wants to hear a Mr Handy cry pre-recorded tears.

6. Who forgets their anniversary?

They don’t technically have an anniversary, actually getting together was a bit of a messy and protracted process.  The easiest date to remember is Halloween when they first met in Goodneighbour.  Maybe one day they’ll have an official anniversary for something else, but for now.

7. Who steals the duvet in their sleep?

Sometimes they can have a bit of blanket tug of war going on depending on who got into bed first.  Ivy was nesh even before the war, but two hundred years on ice has done her no favours.  She gets criminally cold hands and feet.  If they were just sharing a bed before they got together, Ivy would 100% steal that duvet, but these days she just wraps around her mercenary and they sleep like a little two person blanket burrito.  

8. Who keeps the other awake at night with their snoring?

Neither keeps the other awake.  Mac is the one who snores, but they are little damn kitten snores, like his sneezes.  If anything is going to keep Ivy awake, it’s him falling asleep first and her just silently going “awwwwww” at her adorable boyfriend.  

9. Who finds stray animals and begs the other to let them keep them?

This is totally Ivy and cats.  They have dogmeat of course, but he’s his own man and he’s always welcome with them, but he’s not really theirs.  Ivy love cats, she will sneak off to play with settlement cats when she should be doing far more minutemen type activities.  They are definitely slowly accumulating cats at their most regularly visited settlements.

10. Who usually makes dinner?

Ivy enjoys cooking most out of the two of them, and she’s rather good at it.  Getting better all the time as well since her and Codsworth are doing their best to remember and collect pre-war recipes, or at least work out how to make equivalents.  Mac is a reasonable cook, but over the years he’s generally been happy to exist on pre-war ‘just add water’ kind of food, rather than cooking from scratch, which is definitely Ivy’s jurisdiction.  But if she’s cooking, and if he can persuade Codsworth to leave them to it, he loves to cook with Ivy.  Even more so when the kids want to get involves too.  

11. Who plays their music out loud?

Oh god, they both do.  The pipboy radio is always going.  Turning it right up and singing along is almost mandatory. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you might catch Ivy playing the guitar or the piano and singing.  She’s usually shy about it, but she’s good.  She’s performed once at The Third Rail as a birthday present.

12. Who hogs the bathroom?

Given the opportunity of a hot shower in Vault 81, you will lose Ivy for so long you’d think she’d drowned.  Drenching herself in enough scolding hot water to supply a minor settlement, truly is the most self-indulgent of self-care.  Mac isn’t the biggest fan but he can be persuaded.  The only time he’ll hog the bathroom is when it’s time to keep that goatee in tiptop condition.  He’s very particular about it.  

13. Who gives the most compliments?

Like with saying ‘I love you’ most, Mac is definitely the one who lays on the compliments.  He learned early on that Ivy isn’t used to being complimented like that, or at least, it’s been a very long time since she was treated that way.  He’s almost made it a personal mission to set that right.  How easily she blushes at them is just an added bonus.  

14. Who usually starts/causes arguments between them?

They aren’t an argumentative couple, from past experience, Ivy does not cope well with that kind of confrontation within a relationship.  They are more likely to snark if something has annoyed them, but are actually really good at reading each other’s body language for when something they’ve done has upset the other.  But if it comes down to it, Mac is more likely to be the one to get into a more heated discussion about something that’s upset him.  Ivy is the one to calm a situation.  The only time they’ve had an actual stand up row was during Blind Betrayal.

15. Who isn’t afraid to embarrass the other in public?

They aren’t afraid of a bit of public bantering, and will definitely play up for an audience if they’re in the right mood.  Ivy is a little more inclined to publicly tease Mac in one way or another, but that might be more because Mac suspects she can deal it out better than she can take it, rather than her being the more equipped to do it.  Although when it comes to quietly flustering her in public, that is very much Mac’s jurisdiction.  

16. Who gives the other cringeworthy pet names?

There’s a definite teasing edge to most of the nicknames they call each other, they’re both more comfortable with being called them when there isn’t too big of an audience around.  But I guess Mac would be more embarrassed by Ivy’s habit of calling him anything beginning with ‘sweet’ – it’s not good for his tough mercenary image, you know.  Mac doesn’t care who hears him call Ivy ‘angel’, he’s being calling her it for so long (way longer than they’ve been together) but he might draw the line at shouting ‘kitten’ across Diamond City marketplace.  Most other names they call each other are more along the lines of compliments or abbreviations of their names.  

17. Who fusses over the other when they get sick?

Ivy is definitely the more diligent medic, and a very well qualified worrier.  So when Mac is hurt, she’s all over that, and he regularly jokes that she carries enough gear to set up a small field hospital with her at all times.  Not that that habit hasn’t saved their asses on multiple occasions.  Mac is more likely to get genuinely scared if Ivy is badly hurt or sick because of past experience.  When it comes to just being a little bit poorly, Mac will milk it like an absolute drama queen.  Ivy is a soft touch and will let him.  But she’s also very good at telling when he’s better and is just looking for extra attention.  She’ll make up ‘treatments’ to see if he’ll keep up the charade and how committed he is to being waited on hand and foot.

18. Who finds it impossible to stay angry at the other for long?

For a guy who can mature a grudge like a fine wine, Mac has never ever been able to stay mad at Ivy.  Not even in those early days when she was ‘useless’ and they barely knew each other.  Mac melts at those big brown eyes, even if he tries to keep the frowns on the surface, all the anger goes in an instant.  It’s rare for her to get angry at him, but if the hurt is real then she can hang onto it until he’s shown that he’s earned back her trust.  It took him a while to win her back after coming back from the Capital Wasteland having not sent word at all since he left.

19. Who clings to the other for comfort when they’re sad or scared?

Ivy would be the first to cling to Mac when she’s scared, in fact she was, after very early close call.  That experience rather reinforced Mac as a safe place for her, bearing in mind she’s known him from just a week after escaping the vault, he’s definitely been a grounding presence for her.  When something is wrong, the first place she will seek comfort is in his arms, even from long before they were together.  Mac doesn’t break down until they’ve known each other for a lot longer, but he feels safe enough by then being that vulnerable with Ivy – it’s difficult because he has always had a habit of putting himself in a protector role in so many of his relationship with people that allowing himself to be seen as scared or even sad is difficult for him.  But once those floodgates are open, nothing would stop him from seeking comfort from her, even when things are awkward between them.

20. Who is more ‘physically passionate’? (hugs, kisses, or maybe more…)

When it comes to big public displays, it would probably be Mac (not in the early days though, he was definitely more private then) but he likes it known that they’re together – especially to that one dude from diamond city security who keeps hitting on her.  Ivy is more for subtle displays in public; holding hands, cheek kisses etc.  Although there was one incident…anyway.  Privately they are equally likely to be all over each other.  

[third-rail-vip]

Ooooh you knew I was gonna swoop into your ask box for my favs 😉 Can we hear about 3,4, and 6 for Mac / Ivy? 🙂

💜 Oooh thank you so much for asking!! You know I could talk about these two forever :) These were fun! she says sneaking off into angstville for the first one

This gorgeous screenshot was taken by the wonderful @mayihavethisdanse who I have now pledged my soul to! 💜

Mac x Ivy

3. Most common argument?

They don’t really *argue* argue to be honest. Ivy doesn’t react well to arguments that look like they might escalate to shouting, she has to remove herself from the situation pretty quickly. Their arguments, such as they are, tend to veer more on the snarky/sulky or just plain bickering side.

One of the main things they get into ‘discussions’ about is her work with the Minutemen, which she gets very little monetary return for, and that combined with her tendency to burn herself out trying to do too much for them (especially when she’s burying feeling about other things and trying to distract herself), is something that MacCready takes issue with. He’s very good at getting her to strike a balance between altruism and self-care through self-preservation. She doesn’t do so well while he’s in the Capital Wasteland. There are arguments when he gets back, with her, her companions who he thinks let her get in that state, even though they are back to not being a ‘they’ at that point.

The main thing Ivy will bicker at him about is his smoking. She regularly tells him that the cigarettes will kill him and that it’s ridiculous that he gave up swearing but not smoking, which is a far worse habit. Although like a self-destructive hypocrite she does get into the bad habit of smoking his brand while Mac is away in the Capital Wasteland. She’s a bit of a self-destructive little madam when she wants to be.

4. Favourite non-sexual activity?

If they are stuck in a settlement, their favourite downtown activities would be lounging around reading together, or cooking together. Ivy is a pretty decent cook, and Mac isn’t too bad himself - he just has to chase off Codsworth to be allowed to get involved in the cooking.

Now if the two of them can get away together, of an evening they like to find a quiet spot high up on an old freeway or a rooftop - somewhere with a good view. Ivy loves to watch sunsets and sunrises, Mac loves to watch Ivy watch them. Sometimes they’ll stop up all night, just sitting and talking, and occasionally sharing a bottle of Vadim’s god awful moonshine. The moonshine tends to lead to games for passing the time. These vary between using plastic plates to frisbee as ‘clay pigeon shooting’ (a bad bad idea! if you ever hear random gunfire while wandering through nighttime Boston, it could be these half-cute fools on a rooftop). They also do ‘bad lipreading’ while spying on the local raider/gunner camps. Or on quieter nights they settle for making up stories about the sordid private lives of the pre-war people who lived and worked in the dilapidated buildings around them.

6. What is their favourite feature of their partner’s?

Haha ok, hello and welcome to fluffy territory. turn back before it’s too late!

So a headcanon I have for these two is, when MacCready first meets Ivy and she shakes his hand, he instantly notices how soft her hands are and thinks “ugh, vault-dwellers…never done a day’s work in their lives.” So from then on when he has any contact with her hands he notices any little calluses that builds up from where she holds weapons, any nicks/scratches she gets from breaking into buildings or climbing ruins. He’ll ask or comment on them and she points out the old pre-war things, like thicker skin on parts of her fingers from carrying hot plates as a waitress or the scar on her finger from sharpening a pencil with a craft knife in college.

I think her hands really are a favourite feature. He loves watching her pick locks, and sketching (especially with things like charcoals where she’s smudging a lot for effect). She’s constantly fiddling with her hands, can’t seem to keep still. When they’re together he loves just playing with her hands or letting her fidget at his (especially eventually when there’s a ring on her finger). Oh and she can play guitar and piano (you’ll even catch her singing if she thinks nobody is listening), so getting her anywhere near either instrument is fascinating for him to watch. Other features he’s fond of: her smile - there’s just that little bit of a cheeky smirk that lingers somewhere on her top lip and is just too much fun to tease out. And her laugh that comes along with it, like an explosion of giggles that’s so hard for her to control and can come on at the worst time if something tickles her sense of humour or she’s just in a giddy mood. The freckles - Ivy wore more makeup when they first met (old habits) so you couldn’t really tell how freckly she was, but come some sunshine and no foundation she slowly gets a dusting of freckles galore. Mac knows the patterns by heart.

For Ivy, it’s got to be Mac’s eyes. On more than one occasion she’s been caught speechless by them, and Mac definitely uses that to his advantage. In a dull and colourless wasteland, she could drown in those ocean blue eyes. They’re so expressive, it’s no wonder he keeps them shadowed under the brim of his hat half the time because they give away too much. With time she learns to navigate them like a sailor, she can see the storms brewing and when it’s smooth sailing ahead. She also happens to be rather fond of his arms. I know he has a rep for being a skinny little thing, but I’d say he’s probably got the build of a climber, he’s lean and wiry, and climbing is a beneficial skill for any sniper who wants to get up high for a good vantage point. It’s given him pretty strong arms, excellent for hugs or lifting up/carrying girlfriends who make poor life choices during battles, or for other reasons.

OTP question meme link

[third-rail-vip]

am I late to the party? 16 & 28 from the OTP meme for our favorite merc and his ladylove :)

Not late at all! 💜 thank you for asking!

Mac x Ivy

16. Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

Mac. 100% Mac. The guy is not a morning person, that combined with his habit of taking first watch means he never wants to just get up and go in the morning. He’s even worse if they’re in a settlement and don’t actually have to go anywhere. He just wants to stay tucked up warm in bed. Mornings are made for snoozing and snuggling. If he can wrangle breakfast in bed, well that’s even better. Ivy is a definite morning person, and this is only reinforced by her usually taking the second watch so she’s awake for the sunrise, and boy does she love to watch the sunrise. Winter is definitely the best lie-in time for them, because Mac can persuade Ivy that the sun won’t be up until later and she should just stay in bed where it’s warm. She can be persuaded.

28. What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Other than worrying about each other (they know the kind of shit they get into if unsupervised), if they’re apart for just a couple of days Mac will indulge in all the grim pre-war preserved food that Ivy won’t touch with a barge pole, and that generally doesn’t agree with him but he likes it too much to forgo. He’ll do a lot of shooting practice. He’s a passable cook, not as good as Ivy but would really like to be able to treat her at some point, so he practices cooking, begrudgingly asking Codsworth for pointers (since metal husband is truly the best chef in sanctuary). As laid back and cocky as he seems about his skills, he’s pretty obsessive with staying top of his game - not just for bragging rights (although those are a bonus), he just doesn’t want to ever get caught off guard.

Ivy takes advantage of the time to put more time into bigger art projects - she’s working on turning the vault-tec billboard into a wildflower mural. As much as Mac enjoys watching her do art, he does get bored after a while if he’s not being entertained. She can also make sneaky presents for him, like the comics she did of his ‘adventures’ that she made for Duncan. She also puts in sparring practice time with Cait, she’s a no-nonsense teacher but she’s damn good, and Ivy is terrible in melee so she desperately needs Cait’s expertise.

The only particularly protracted amount of time they spent apart was when MacCready went back to the Capital Wasteland with the cure for Duncan. They were both insufferable, miserable and pining. But that’s what happens when you don’t use your grown-up words and admit your feelings before one of you leaves potentially forever.

OTP question meme link

[third-rail-vip]

How about 24 and 28? :)

Thank you so much for asking! 💜

Mac x Ivy

24. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

They have both been guilty of this in their time, but the usual suspect is MacCready. Ivy is very easily flustered by him, and it’s almost impossible to hide her blushes, which makes it even more of a fun challenge for Mac. If he can sidle up behind her during some kind of BoS or Minutemen meeting (anything he doesn’t deem to be important), he will take the opportunity to whisper in her ear. And if he can manage to plant a sneaky kiss on her neck, well then he knows he’s won, because she is going to be bright pink and have jelly for brains and not be able to take in another word. But if you get a few drinks in her, she can completely turn the tables. Maybe it’s the surprise of her using his tricks against him, or maybe it’s the smirk when she does it, but she can get him blushing all the way to the tips of his ears. The one place this game is never played is Railroad HQ. Deacon has the hearing of a bat, and unless you want your cheeky bald best friend smirking while he tells you that ‘a mutfruit a day keeps the doctor away’, and you want the ground to open up and swallow you, well, you just don’t talk about these things in HQ.

28. What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Other than worrying about each other (they know the kind of shit they get into if unsupervised), if they’re apart for just a couple of days Mac will indulge in all the grim pre-war preserved food that Ivy won’t touch with a barge pole, and that generally doesn’t agree with him but he likes it too much to forgo. He’ll do a lot of shooting practice. He’s a passable cook, not as good as Ivy but would really like to be able to treat her at some point, so he practices cooking, begrudgingly asking Codsworth for pointers (since metal husband is truly the best chef in sanctuary). As laid back and cocky as he seems about his skills, he’s pretty obsessive with staying top of his game - not just for bragging rights (although those are a bonus), he just doesn’t want to ever get caught off guard.

Ivy takes advantage of the time to put more time into bigger art projects - she’s working on turning the vault-tec billboard into a wildflower mural. As much as Mac enjoys watching her do art, he does get bored after a while if he’s not being entertained. She can also make sneaky presents for him, like the comics she did of his ‘adventures’ that she made for Duncan. She also puts in sparring practice time with Cait, she’s a no-nonsense teacher but she’s damn good, and Ivy is terrible in melee so she desperately needs Cait’s expertise.

The only particularly protracted amount of time they spent apart was when MacCready went back to the Capital Wasteland with the cure for Duncan. They were both insufferable, miserable and pining. But that’s what happens when you don’t use your grown-up words and admit your feelings before one of you leaves potentially forever.

OTP question link

[third-rail-vip]

May I offer some fluff this fine evening?  

I’m absolutely flailing over these adorable shots of my girl, Ivy, with her favourite merc, MacCready.  They were the most wonderful gift for me from the amazing @mayihavethisdanse , who now owns my soul pact of the fiend, dea ;) ilu <3