#i will take one bottle of nuka cola for this

[jesus-holding-your-fave]

I'll give you 20 bottle caps if you make him hold boone from fallout new vegas

(Payment amount negotiable )

Today, Jesus is holding:

Craig Boone from Fallout New Vegas

[summercourtship]

WASTE NOT (18+)

or, the reader is travelling with the Ghoul when he discovers she's never fucked before. You figure out what comes next.

cooper howard/the ghoul x reader | warnings/notes: loss of virginity, masturbation, exhibitionism, piv sex, oral sex, barely proofread | side note: i might end up reusing this general plot for a longer multi-chapter fic, we'll see

read on AO3

Five hundred caps, two hundred upfront.

That’s how much it took for you to get out of the gilded cage that was your hometown, a decent sized settlement inside of what used to be a Rodeo stadium and aptly named for it. That’s all it took for you to escape your father, the mayor of said town who kept you under lock and key, both literally and figuratively. You’d tried to escape before, attempts that had been thwarted before they even began. It only led to you being locked in your room and only allowed to walk the town with a bodyguard, someone hired to make sure you didn’t run for it. 

Some people might say that it was a privilege to be cared for so much that you didn’t have to constantly fight for your life. You thought it was a surefire way to get you killed when you finally did leave his grasp.

Since running away, you’d done many things for the first time that most people did before they were even ten years old. Held a gun, caught your own food, killed a man. 

And the man you’d paid to take you through the wastes was the first ghoul you’d ever met. Your settlement didn’t ban them from entering, but they weren’t exactly welcoming either. But you’d been immediately drawn to him, which you at first chalked up to the novelty of meeting a new kind of person, the kind you’d only read about.

However, as you’d continued traveling with him and the novelty wore off, you quickly realized that the draw you felt to him wasn’t just because of culture shock. 

The Ghoul, which was the only thing you called him because he’d given you nothing else to call him, was sitting by the fire he’d built, a slow curl of smoke drifting from the cigarette hanging in his mouth. You looked over at him, observing how the light from the flames reflected off of his worn and imperfect skin. It was a sight you’d seen almost every night this week, but every time you felt like it was the first time you were seeing him. 

Your week was almost up. When you’d hired him, you’d told him you only wanted to leave your town for a week, just to experience the Wastes before returning to your “ivory tower,” (his words, not yours). It had taken some bargaining on your end (and you had to give him chems in addition to the caps) but it had worked. You were out of the clutches of your father, you were finally experiencing life for the first time.  

And you had no intention of going back when the week was over. 

You were sitting across the room, perched on an old bed that was still standing in the half-ruined house, though shack might be more accurate. An entire wall was missing, letting you look right into the starry night sky from your seat. But mainly you were looking at the Ghoul, who was looking after one of his guns. You brought the drink you’d been nursing- just a Nuka-Cola you’d found on your journey and saved for this moment- taking a deep sip of the fizzy drink when he spoke up. 

“Stop starin’ at me.” 

You choked, sputtering up the Nuka-Cola in your attempt to catch your breath. In your coughing, you only managed to spill more of the drink on yourself, an unfortunate chain of events that left you with a soaked through shirt. You cursed under your breath, looking down at the brown liquid that would surely stain the fabric. Did you even have a clean replacement in your bag?

Leaning towards your bag, you placed the almost empty bottle on the floor before flipping the flap, peering inside. 

“You might wanna take that off before the flies smell the sugar.”

Your current task forgotten, you stared up at the Ghoul, who wasn’t even looking at you when he said it. But the idea of taking your shirt off around him when you knew that he could see it was terrifying. However, he was right when he said you’d need to get the shirt off of your body soon and put it into your bag. Who knows how much sugar was in Nuka-Cola, how far its sweet scent would travel if it was out in the open. And you certainly didn’t want to attract any bugs your way. 

Sitting up straight, you cleared your throat. Your fingers worried at the hem of your shirt.

“Could you turn around…” Your voice trailed off at the look on his face, a brief glance your way. 

“It’s nothing I ain’t seen on other women.” 

“Okay, but I’ve never-” You stopped yourself from finishing your sentence, realizing exactly what you were admitting, but the damage was already done. The Ghoul leaned forward and you tightened your grip around yourself, as if the shirt still being on your body would protect you from his judgment. 

“You’ve never…?” The pregnant pause hung in the air between you, but you weren’t going to clarify. You didn’t move, which must have been enough of a confirmation for him because he whistled low in his mouth. “Why am I not surprised? You didn’t even know how to shoot a gun.”

As if shooting a gun naturally came before losing your virginity. (Maybe it did, you wouldn’t know). 

“Can you stop?” You huffed, your face hot. “If I had wanted to, I would have.”

But it seemed that any of your attempts to get him to drop the subject wouldn’t work, because he was looking at you intensely, an unreadable look in his surprisingly human eyes. Not for the first time, you wondered what he looked like when he was human. You’d tried before, to imagine what it looked like when his skin was smooth and he had a nose and hair, but nothing seemed to match his demeanor as well as being a ghoul did. 

“And why didn’t you want to?”

“I-” You swallowed nervously, your heartbeat in your throat choking you. “I didn’t see the point, not when my dad is probably going to marry me off to some geezer who can’t get it up anyway. And I don’t need your judgment about it.”  

You were now trying to hold onto any semblance of dignity you had left. Pretending like you’d made a conscious choice to not lose your virginity instead of it being a result of your virtual imprisonment by your father. Like you hadn’t yearned for the touch of someone else. (And, of course, like you hadn’t yearned at all for him over the course of the past week.)

“Do you touch yourself, at least?”

You froze, looking across the room at him like he was a Deathclaw. He leaned forward, perching his elbows on his knees. Like he could smell your apprehension, or worse, your burgeoning arousal. 

“Do you touch yourself?”

This isn't something you had talked about ever with anyone. But you couldn’t help answering him. “Y-yes.” If he looked surprised that you actually spoke, you couldn’t tell over your own embarrassment. 

“Show me.” When you didn’t respond, still sitting there staring at him like he had grown two heads, he sat back in his seat again, his hat dipping low. “Or don’t. I’m not going to force-”

You cut him off before he could continue, suddenly not wanting this opportunity to pass you by. After all, you only had this last night with him and then you would go your separate ways. If you horribly embarrassed yourself, it would only be for tonight. “Okay.” You think that this is your biggest streak of surprising the Ghoul. But he recovered quickly, a sly grin sneaking onto his face. 

“Take your shirt off first.” 

Nodding, you slowly reached down to the hem of your shirt, trying and failing to will your hands to stop trembling. Then, quickly, you peeled the sticky fabric off of your skin. You were a bit annoyed that you had managed to spill so much onto the shirt- it was a nice shirt, a rare find on the surface. But it didn’t matter now, considering where it had led you. 

You dropped your shirt onto the floor, unable to look at him as he surely looked at your chest. 

Suddenly feeling bold from his gaze, you did more than just take off the glorified rag from your chest- you divested yourself of all of your clothes, placing them into a messy pile by the mattress. You were now exposed to the elements and to his gaze, heavy as he looked over your body. Once again, he didn’t betray any of the surprise he might have felt. 

“Should I-”

“Lie down.”

You stared at him before you slowly lowered yourself, trying to keep your eyes on him. When you couldn’t anymore, you closed your eyes. If you couldn’t see him, it wouldn’t be nerve wracking to be watched. But even as you thought it, you could feel the heat of his gaze on you. 

“Touch yourself.” 

At his surprisingly gentle command, you exhaled shakily. Gently, you dragged your hand down your body, your breath quick. After a moment of teasing yourself, you pressed the pads of two fingers against your clit, rubbing a slow circle against the sensitive bundle of nerves. 

Immediately, you sighed, relieving tension you didn’t know had been building. While you had masturbated every night at home, you certainly needed the relief it gave you after a week of stress and almost dying. You were surprisingly wet, though not enough to qualify as dripping. your fingers circled your clit, your hips sudden bucking slightly. 

Across from you, the Ghoul groaned, and you tilted your head up, looking at him. His eyes were entirely focused on your cunt, watching the wet slide of your fingers over your folds. His teeth were clenched together, and you gasped at the sight of him watching you so intently before you bit your lip to muffle the sound. Then his eyes moved from your fingers, looking you straight in the eyes as he started to speak.

“I bet you touched yourself all quiet, trying not to let daddy hear you fucking yourself. But your daddy ain’t here, and I want to hear the noises you make.”  

You whined, his words going straight to your cunt. What was more painful was that he was correct- many nights you’d bit your pillow as you’d fucked yourself with your fingers, trying to keep quiet. 

“Go ahead, slip a finger inside-“

You stopped moving, looking at him again, taking the moment to catch your breath. 

“I’ve never really done that-“

The Ghoul cursed, and before you could blink he was off of his chair, moving closer. He was now knelt in between your legs, his gloved hands on your knees and staring up at you. 

“I gotta fuckin teach you everything, don’t I?”

Swiftly, he removed his gloves, throwing them onto the pile of your clothes. Then he swatted your hand away from your cunt before replacing it with his own fingers. At the dramatic shift in skin texture you gasped, immediately grinding against his rough fingers mindlessly as your hands flew to your mouth to muffle your cries. 

“None of that, I told you I’m gonna hear the sounds you’re making ‘cause of me.”

He moved down your body, pressing kisses and delivering brief bites to your flesh. With each nip of his teeth you gasped, torn between the desire to push his head away or beg for more. Then he reached your sex, pausing for a moment and letting his warm breath fan over you. You squirmed, unsure if you wanted to beg him to touch you or if you wanted to run away from the sheer overwhelming intensity of it all.

Then his mouth was hot against you, his tongue licking a thick stripe up the length of your cunt, and you wondered why you’d ever thought about not letting him do this. With no nose in the way, he was able to press his face fully against you. He dipped his tongue into your opening, flicking it against your walls and thrusting a few times, the movement of his tongue in addition to his fingers overwhelming. 

He groaned against you as he lapped up your wetness, sounds of a man dying of thirst reaching an oasis. 

With a final wet sound, he removed his tongue before moving to suck on your clit, his hand moving from your thighs to return to your core. 

“Fuck, you’re tight.” He murmured as he pressed two of his fingers inside of you. You’d tried before to fuck your self like this but always found the feeling unsatisfactory. But his fingers were larger than yours, able to hit the places inside of you that you had begun to think were myths. 

It was overpowering, and any thoughts that weren’t about him quickly dissipated. 

Every indent and ridge of his skin dragged along your cunt and the sensation of being filled combined with the attention he was giving to your clit started to build you towards your peak. 

“Come for me, cmon.”

But even though you’d never come before at the hands of another, you knew what you wanted. You were afraid that if you came now, he wouldn’t actually fuck you. And if you were taken back to your rinky-dink town, you wanted to at least say you’d been fucked by someone you wanted. 

“I want to feel you- hm- inside me.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying.” His teeth were gritted together again, like he was so entirely focused on making you come that he didn't want to hear anything else.

“Yes, I do.” You raised your hips to meet the thrust of his fingers. “I want your cock, I need you to fuck me-“

“Fuck.” He murmured, eyes lidded as whatever shaky resolve about actually fucking you he had broke. “For someone who never killed before this week, you’re dangerous.”

With swift movement, he pulled himself out of his pants and climbed up your body, pressing his hips against yours. He hovered above you, the head of his cock rested heavy on your clit, his hips rolling once to grind the length against your wet cunt. 

“Please.” You murmured, raising your hips to meet his cock. He gave you a dark look, and if he had eyebrows you’re sure one of them would be raised as if to say ‘you ready?’

Then he started to press in, his thick head catching before he pushed through the tight ring of your opening. Your mouth was slack, eyebrows furrowed as you focused on relaxing for every inch that was slowly pressing into you. When you looked at him, he was entirely focused on watching his cock disappear into your wet heat. 

He was slow, but you didn’t think it was due to any care for your comfort. No, from the look on his face, you would hazard a guess that he enjoyed slowly taking your virginity, feeling each inch of you give way to his thick cock. He liked the surrender. 

When his hips finally nestled against yours, he rested for a moment, his breath heavy. 

“Ready?”

Okay, maybe he cares slightly about your comfort- the thought was quickly erased when he pulled out and slammed back in, filling you quickly. You cursed, your hands flying to the bed to scramble for something to hold on to. But there were no sheets on the filthy mattress. So instead, you reached up to him, grasping the back of his duster for dear life as he began to fuck you in earnest.

He lowered himself as you wrapped your naked legs around his hips, bracing himself on his elbows above you. 

“So fucking tight.” He murmured against your face. One of his hands slipped from where it was braced above you to circle around your clit, the pressure just enough to send you back towards your peak. “This cunt belongs to me now, y’hear?”

“Yes- fuck.” You babbled, and when he whispered against you to finally come, you did so with no hesitation. Your legs gripped him tighter against you, his thrusts shorter but more forceful with the constraint. With your cunt clenching around him as you sighed through the aftershocks of your orgasm, he removed his hand to suddenly grab your chin, looking you in the eyes.

“Where should I-“

“Inside me, inside me please.”

For a moment he looked like he was going to argue with you. But then you clenched down on his length again and his hips stuttered against you, a low groan escaping him. Reinvigorated, he began fucking you even harder, which had seemed impossible. 

“Take it, take my cum like a good girl- that’s it-“ his words left him as he finally finished, his hips pumping as he cursed and spilled his warm spend inside you. You hummed at the feeling of it, the tiny thrusts as he pumped you full of him dragging his cock along your sensitive walls. 

When he finally pulled out of you, watching as his cum dripped out of your opening, he looked back at your face with a sly smile. 

“I hope you have some RadAway at home.”

____

The Ghoul didn’t bring you back into the city. He seemed to think you were experienced enough to handle the last hundred yards of desert without him. I’ll come back later for the rest of my caps, I have some business I need to deal with. Did you feel a little bad that you were cheating him out of three hundred caps? Yes. But you hadn’t thought this far when you’d paid him the first time, and now it was too late. 

You barely said goodbye. 

Once you were out of sight, you took off running in the opposite direction, only looking behind you once to make sure no one was watching or worse, following. 

You were free.

____

Well, you were free for about two days. 

Then, one evening, you sheltered yourself in an abandoned house. Two stories, though you only peeked in the upper story to see if there was anything worth grabbing. You didn’t want to risk the floor falling out from under your feet. 

A noise in the doorway draws your attention upwards, to where the Ghoul stands, silhouetted in the setting sun, like he had just left for a second, not for days.

You’re allowed a split moment of happiness at the sight of the familiar figure before you recognize what's in his hands. You barely have a second to try and escape before, like a flash, he whips the lasso around your torso, drawing it tight and pulling you closer as you struggled against the rope. But it held fast, and with every passing second you were losing ground. Finally the pressure of the rope was too much and you collapsed to the ground, the sun bearing down in your eyes until a shadow fell over your face. 

“Y’know, when I went back to your little… Rod-e-o to collect on the final portion of my payment, I really expected to see you there. Tellin’ people you regret ever leaving. Maybe I’d have to rough you up a bit for the caps, though I’m sure you’d enjoy that. So imagine my surprise when I find out your father has put up a reward for whoever finds ya and brings ya back.”  He laughed, a cruel and humorless thing. “I’ll get paid for takin’ you out and takin’ you in. And the word around town is that there’s a man there willin’ to take you off your father’s hands.” 

His last words made your stomach sink, more than anything else he had said. It was something your father had threatened, even if he hadn’t meant it as a threat. Maybe he thought it was your dream to marry and have children. But you knew that whatever man he picked for you to marry would be powerful, powerful enough to ensure that your father would remain in office until he died. 

And powerful men were cruel. 

“No-” You gasped out, suddenly out of breath. 

“Ah-ah-ah.” The Ghoul tuts softly, leaning down. “D’ya really think a week is enough experience to survive out here?”

“I won’t go back.” You spit, renewing your struggle against the rope. “You can’t make me.” 

If you were a complete idiot, you’d say: I’d rather die than go back. Because while, in spirit, it was true, you knew that he would take your word for it. And you really didn’t want to tempt him to put a bullet through your brain. 

You may have fucked him, but you certainly weren’t anything special to him. 

“You don’t have much of a choice, sweetheart.” 

“He wants to marry me off!” You said, like saying it indignantly would change his mind about taking you in as a bounty. “I refuse.” 

“And what’ll you do when I drag you back?” 

Find a way to escape again, even if it takes years. 

Like he read the answer in your eyes, he stood up straight. 

“I sympathize, I really do-” You sincerely doubted it, but let him keep talking, “but unless you’ve got something better to offer me, I’m afraid you’re going in.” 

“How many caps is he offering you?”

“600.”

“I have more saved.” You laughed, though it lacked any actual humor. “Every cap he gave me for years, I’ve squirreled away. Not letting me leave my room really helped me save money.” 

“And how, exactly, are you going to get to your stash without your daddy finding you?” 

You tried to find kindness in his words and were surprised when you did. Though he may not have meant it, he had already given you a perfect out the night before. 

“No self-respecting man is going to want to marry a woman who fucked a ghoul. And no mayor will tolerate his daughter making a fool of him like that.”

For a moment, you think he takes offense to this. But then a smile creeps across his face, hot and hungry.

“Well then, I think we can come to an agreement.” 

[not-neverland06]

How About a Nuke?

Part I / Part II

Cooper Howard x fem!reader A/N: This is really a prelude to the real story. It’s who they were before the bombs dropped and not as fleshed out as it could be. Summary: Hollywood doesn’t agree with you, as much as you wished it would. Until you meet Cooper Howard and he flips your world upside down. (Image below does not represent reader, I mean I don’t even look like that)

“Quench your thirst and a little bit more,” you winked and held up the dripping bottle of Nuka-Cola. You shot your best smile at the camera in front of you, holding it until the director let out a loud “Cut!” The smile dropped instantly and you dumped the bottle back in its cooler. 

Tom walked behind the camera, a frown on his face as he replayed the clip. You’d been here two hours already for a thirty second promo, there’s no reason it should have been taking this long.

You shifted, the leather on your legs creaking uncomfortably. They had you in some odd little space suit, more sexy than functional. The backdrop behind you was of painted stars and an out of scale moon. You weren’t sure how space and Nuka-Cola connected but a check was a check. 

“Is that who I think it is?”

You turned around at the sound of gasping. Your eyes widened and your stomach dropped when you watched the Cooper Howard walk through the entrance of the studio. Your biggest celebrity crush and idol just walked through the door and you were dressed like a sexy astronaut. This is beyond embarrassing. 

You had begged your agent to let you take some more serious roles, or at least a few fun ones. You’d been stuck in the same role of sexy bombshell for too long. You couldn’t even escape it doing a few advertisements. You wanted someone like Cooper to think you were classy or distinguished at least. Not some sellout with over lined red lips. 

You whipped your head around, hoping he wouldn’t notice you, and pretended to be fascinated by the cheap set you were on. “Mr. Howard, a pleasure,” you briefly glanced over your shoulder to watch your director shakehis hand. Cooper looked up, his eyes briefly catching yours. You winced and turned back around. 

“What are you doing here?”

”Filming a new advertisement for Nuka, would you like to see?”

”Why, yes I would.”

Oh, this was wonderful. Just great. You reached up to pinch the bridge of your nose but your hands just jammed painfully against the plastic of your helmet. You listened to them replaying your clip, hating the sultry tone of your voice. You hated being typecast like this. 

You didn’t work so hard to earn your spot in Hollywood just to be forced into the role of a sex symbol. You could be more, you knew it. You just needed a chance. “You did wonderful.”

You jumped in shock at the voice near your ear, your helmet hitting something hard. You heard a groan of pain and turned around mortified to see Cooper holding his nose. “Oh, Mr. Howard, I am so, so sorry.”

He shook his head and held up a hand, smiling amicably at you. “My fault, sweetheart, shouldn’t have snuck up on ya.”

You let out an annoyed huff and finally pulled the damn thing off. “Honestly, I should pay more attention, this damn thing’s a safety hazard.” He chuckled and it made you smile without even realizing it. You could feel the heat already blooming under your skin, just barely resisting the urge to fan yourself. But you couldn’t help but be flustered. It was Cooper Howard!

He finally let go of his nose and you sighed in relief when you saw that it wasn’t too badly damaged. He seemed to understand your relief because he laughed again. You heard whispers behind the two of you and finally realized just how close you both were. A couple PA’s stood huddled together, pointing at you with accusing fingers and harsh glares. 

Probably not smart to be a sex symbol and stand so close to a married man. 

You dropped the smile and took a step back from him. As much as you disliked typecasting, you would hate losing jobs more. You didn’t need any rumors to spread because you smiled too widely at Cooper. Lord knows your career barely survived the last round of gossip, that you’d been sleeping your way into roles. Which you hadn’t. You don’t need anything more like that bothering you now. 

Cooper glanced over your shoulder and seemed to notice the same thing as you, but he didn’t seem bothered by it like you were. Of course, he was a man and he was very happily married, he didn’t have to worry about the same things as you. He was secure in both his relationship and place in the world. You’d just barely gotten a foothold on everything. 

“I thought you seemed just sweet as peaches in that clip.”

You gave him a brief smile, “Thank you.”

”Though,” he frowned and glanced over at the director. You rolled your eyes when you saw Tom point over at you and then gesture to his stomach. If they sinched your waist one more damn time your ribs were going to crack. “I don’t quite understand why you had to be seductive.” He seemed genuinely perplexed but it didn’t take a genius to understand the underlying message of his words. 

You shrugged, “Just seems to be the way my career is going right now.”

”Is that what you want?”

Your brows furrowed in confusion. You haven't been asked that before. Of course you’d spoken up about being unhappy with your roles, though you still took them. But no one had ever asked you what you wanted. An odd feeling bloomed in your chest and you took another precautionary step back. “Um,” you frowned and shook your head, “no. It’s not what I want.”

He smiled, seemingly pleased by the answer. “Look, sweetheart, I didn’t come here to drink cola or chat,” he held up his hands in apology, “as wonderful a conversationalist as you are. I’m filming a movie right now. We're looking for a lady with a strong presence to be my companion in the film. I’ve seen your movies, you’re capable of a lot more than they’re giving you to work with. I think you’d be perfect for the role.”

Your ears started to ring as you stared at him in shock. It was hard to keep your jaw closed the longer he spoke. There’s no way that everything you’ve been wanting was just being offered to you on a silver platter. Stuff like that only happened in…

Well, it only happened in movies. 

“That is if you want the role? You’re not looking particularly enthused,” he gave you a charming grin and you finally remembered you actually had to respond to him to get what you wanted. 

“Yes!”

You didn’t care how loud you were or how dirty the looks you were getting from others were. There was nothing on your mind other than the man in front of you and what he was offering you. 

Everything you wanted. 

You stared up at the poster on Cooper’s wall. “I always thought I looked ridiculous in this one.”

“Well,” Barb came up behind you and handed you a martini. You took it from her with a grateful smile and took a sip. You tried to stop your face from screwing up but alcohol had never really sat well with you. “I think you look amazing.” She smiled at you and walked back towards the living room. 

You stayed where you were at the end of the stairs, staring up at the too-large poster. You and Cooper were standing back-to-back, your gun raised to your lips and a smirk on your red lips as your hat laid tilted over your eyes. The bright red cursive title sat under your spurred boots, The Outlaw and The Sheriff. 

Well, they certainly hadn’t been creative with the name. You couldn’t really bring yourself to care, though, it had been your first real role. You had played someone of substance, someone whose entire life didn’t revolve around the man she wanted to have an affair with. Cooper had opened up more doors for you then he would ever understand. 

You turned from the poster and back to the party. For once you weren’t being surrounded by a group of groping producers or Hollywood execs. Being a part of Cooper’s family, someone he was mentoring, it carried a certain power within the den of vipers. You weren’t untouchable, but you weren’t someone to be so easily ruined. 

You flashed kind smiles and coy waves at the people who called out your name and made your quick escape to the backyard. 

Cooper’s new movie had been released and he was having a sort of celebration party. Though, you think it’s just Barb trying to integrate Vault-Tec into the movie industry. From the disgusted looks on some of your co-star’s faces you could tell it wasn’t going very well. 

You sighed in relief at the fresh air and slowly made your way over to the pool chairs. Your feet ached in your heels and you could already feel blisters starting to form. You undid the straps and slipped them off. You lowered yourself onto the edge of the pool and dipped your toes in, the relief instantaneous.

You weren’t out very long before you heard steps approaching. You let out a deep sigh, mentally preparing yourself for your peace to be ruined by whoever wanted to bother you. “You’re not skipping my party, are you?” 

You opened your eyes to find Cooper smiling down at you. You always wondered how his smiles could be so genuine when he spoke to you. You hadn’t felt like you’d given anyone a real smile in a long time. This industry had taken a lot from you and lately you’d been wondering if it had stolen your happiness too. 

You shrugged, “It was getting a little boring.”

He grinned and slipped his shoes off. You watched him roll his pants up and groan as he dipped his legs in the pool with you. His smile slipped and his eyes widened when his legs landed in the water, “Damn, it’s fucking cold!”

You barked out a laugh, rough and very unladylike while he squirmed like a girl at a little cold water. “Didn’t you fight in a war?” You teased. 

He nudged his shoulder into yours, “Watch it,” you shook your head, dismissing his faux warning. You knew he didn’t really mind when you bugged him. It’s how you two had been acting around each other since day one. Tabloids labeled you two as close as kin, brother and sister. 

As much as it bugged you every time you read a headline like that while standing in line at the grocery store, you supposed it was better than everyone thinking you were some two-timing slut. But it bothered you how much your relationship being labeled siblings in nature irritated you. He had a wife and child, you couldn’t let some pathetic crush cloud your judgment like this. 

It was real hard to remember that, though, when he looked at you the way he did. Sitting by his side, under the moonlight, his eyes warm and earnest as he sent you an easygoing smile. You’ll never figure out if it’s in your head, but you swear he doesn’t smile at anyone the way he does at you. 

You feel like the only woman in the world sitting there with him. Like there wasn’t a party going on a few yards away in his house. And you hadn’t just accepted a martini from his wife who had graciously invited you into their home. It was just you and him. 

You didn’t realize you were leaning in until your lips were brushing his. He should have pulled back. You shouldn’t have leaned in. But his hand was on your waist and the other was buried in your hair, desperately pulling you closer. 

It wasn’t gentle or slow like you’d always imagined it. His mouth was moving hungrily over yours, practically devouring you in his desperation to get as close to you as possible. His hand tugged at the roots of your styled hair, a pained moan slipped through your lips. That wasn’t enough to snap you out of your trance, but his tongue licking into your mouth was. He groaned, tasting and savoring you like you would be his last meal. Like he had wanted you just as much as you had wanted him and he wasn’t going to let this chance slip away. 

You jumped back but he didn’t let you go far with his hands on you. His eyes slowly opened while the reality of the situation dawned on you both. You let out a horrified gasp at the sight of your lipstick smeared over his lips. “Oh, god, Coop.” You whispered, voice strained as you stared at him, “What did we do?”

His eyes darted between yours, the realization coming slower to him. When it did, you could pinpoint the exact moment it hit him. His mouth drew up in disgust and he ripped his hands off you. He leapt up, water splashing your dress as he did, but you were too hurt to really care. He clamped a hand over his mouth, looking very much like he was about to throw up on you. “Fuck,” he hissed, jaw clenched and eyes squeezing shut. 

You grabbed your bag and shoes and rushed to your feet. You dug around in your purse, hands shaking so much you could barely undo its clasp. When you finally found your handkerchief you dipped it in the pool and held it out to him. 

He glanced towards your outstretched hand and then to your ashamed face in confusion. “You have my lipstick on your lips,” you whispered. He snatched it out of your hand and scrubbed at his face so hard you wouldn’t even be able to make out the lipstick with how red his skin was. 

Slowly, and without a word, you both made your way back into the house. The tension was thick, neither of you able to look at each other. You kept an unusual amount of space between you for two people who were always so close. If anyone looked out the door at you right now, well, even Bud Askins would be able to tell something was wrong. 

You made it to the glass door and Barb intercepted you. Your heart leapt to your throat. You’d never been more disgusted with yourself. Not only did you kiss this woman’s husband, you had fucking enjoyed it. 

In fact, you wished you were out there still. As small a taste you’d gotten of him, you craved more. Your body was on fire with desire, core throbbing when you thought about the way he’d kissed you. You forced yourself to stop imagining what it would be like if he had kissed somewhere else. God, the thought made you burn. 

She laughed and gave you an odd look, “You look like you saw a ghost.”

Cooper chuckled and you whipped your head towards him in shock. Not only did he look completely unaffected, but he was smiling at you. You couldn’t look at him long, afraid your face would further give you away. You were a good actress, but not nearly as good as him. 

“This one almost accidentally took a dip in our pool,” he and Barb both laughed and you forced yourself to join in. 

“Yeah, and I think that might have been enough excitement for me.” You smiled at Barb and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, the taste of her husband still on your lips. “I’m gonna head home. Enjoy the rest of the party.”

Cooper stopped you before you could completely slip away, “I’ll walk you out to your car, honey.” You nodded, not willing to argue in the middle of his crowded home. Still, you didn’t make it easy for him to keep up with you. You were at the door before he could blink, practically flying out of the house. 

You probably would have made it all the way to your car without another word if it weren’t for him clasping a hand around your elbow. “We need to talk.”

You shook your head and he let out a disappointed sigh. You already knew what he was going to say, and you agreed wholeheartedly. What had happened tonight was a mistake. Not only were you risking your career but you could ruin his whole life if you continued down this path. As much as you wanted him, as much as you had yearned for him, you couldn’t be so selfish. 

But you also couldn’t handle hearing him say that to you. It would break your heart to have to listen to him explain all the reasons you could never be with the man you were so desperately in love with. “I know, Coop, I know.” 

His grip tightened on you when you tried to slip away. You set pleading eyes on him, praying he couldn’t see the tears already starting to build. You knew he could, though, when his gaze softened and he eased his grip on you. After another whispered “please” he finally nodded and stepped back from you. 

You slipped your arm from his hold and ran to your car. You leapt inside and peeled out of the driveway like the devil was on your tail. And maybe he was, maybe you deserved it. Because you still couldn’t help yourself, glancing in the rear view mirror to see Cooper standing at the end of his driveway, watching you go with a distraught look on his face. 

You wiped the tears off your face and turned back towards the road. You could never be with him. You could never love him the way you wanted. You’d have to be satisfied for the rest of your life with the taste you’d gotten tonight. That would be all you would ever allow yourself. 

“A fallen star, Cooper Howard has become a reject within Hollywood. Fellow actors and actresses have been refusing to work with him, making it difficult for the former celebrity to find work. Recent reports say he’s been seen at birthday parties more than on set.”

The female reporter shook her head, “Such a shame. We’ve been hearing that this is all due to his former ties with Vault-Tec. Ties which were recently severed in a grisly divorce with ex-wife and Vault-Tec employee, Barb-”

You clicked the TV off, shutting the ridiculous news report up and ran a hand down your face. You hadn’t seen Coop in a few months. After that night at his house, you’d dropped the movies you’d been doing with him and put as much distance between the two of you as you could. 

That thought made you feel like the worst piece of shit. You couldn’t have known that Hollywood was going to turn its back on him. You couldn’t have known that nearly two weeks after you cut ties his entire life would go up in flames. You should have been there for him. How you feel about him shouldn’t matter when your friend needs you. 

He’d given you everything he could and you couldn’t even be there for him when he needed you. Of course, once you’d heard about the divorce, you’d called up Sebastian. But he had warned you not to try and reach out to Cooper. He seemed to think it would only make things worse. The more you heard, however, the more guilty you felt about not being there for him. Tabloids and gossip columns certaintly hadn’t been kind when the news of his divorce had come out. 

They pounced on the opportunity to further rip into his wounds and present them to the world. You glanced down at your couch cushion, the magazine you’d picked up in the store staring back at you. The front was a picture of him walking out of a house, donned in cowboy gear and clearly performing for a children’s party. 

You sighed and decided you should finally push aside your pride. You snatched your keys from the hook and headed out the door. 

Cooper didn’t seem to believe it was you when he opened the door. His eyes, cloudy and red, narrowed before he frowned and took a step back. “That really you?”

You offered a weak smile and a, “Hi, Coop.”

He scoffed and you could tell he was getting angry. His accent always got a little rougher when he was pissed off. “‘Hi, Coop’,” he mocked, a sneer on his face. “Four months without contact and that’s all you have to say. Fuck off,” he went to close the door but you blocked him with your foot. 

It stung, honestly, the cruel way in which he spoke to you. But you knew he could be a lot meaner if he wanted to and it wasn’t as if you didn’t deserve it. You had been a shitty, selfish friend. “I’m sorry, I was just nervous. I just,” you paused, struggling to find the right words to make this any better. He crossed his arms, still refusing to let you into his house. “I called the second I heard, but Sebastian had told me it would be better if I didn’t come.”

His brows furrowed before he glared at you. “So you don’t even fucking call?”

“I was wrong and selfish. Cooper,” you reached out, laying a gentle hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, I’m not asking for you to forgive me. I am genuinely so sorry I wasn’t here for you. But I’m here now, if you’ll let me be.”

The next minute was unbearable. You felt too awkward to take your hand off his arm and he refused to speak. He didn’t even blink, just glared at you, the longer the silence went on the more you could feel yourself losing your nerve. Maybe this had been a mistake. 

Finally, he sighed and your heart leapt to your throat. “Come in,” he stepped to the side and opened his door up further. You kept your mouth shut and slipped into the house. It seemed to be the only thing he’d been able to hold onto since the divorce. 

The door slammed shut behind you and he pushed past you to slip into the living room and throw himself down on the couch. You followed slowly behind him, taking oddly tentative steps, like if you made a noise he would kick you out. 

He had his arm thrown over his face, his eyes clenched like he was in pain. You perched yourself on the edge of the chair you usually sat in, feeling oddly uncomfortable. You fidgeted restlessly on the cushion, crossing and uncrossing your legs, tapping your toes against the floor. 

It had seemed like such an easy decision to come here half an hour ago. But you hadn’t had a plan and that was really biting you in the ass now. Desperate for anything other than the sound of the fabric underneath you, you blurted out the question that had bothered you for months. 

“What happened?”

He sighed, like he’d been expecting it. He sat up slowly, grabbing a glass of brown liquor off the coffee table and taking a swig. He leaned forward on his knees, glaring over at you. “What are you talking about? You’re gonna have to be specific, sweetheart, everything in my life has fallen apart.”

You winced, hating the callous way you’d asked the question. You’d meant to approach the subject more gently, but it wasn’t easy to keep your curiosity contained. “Everything, I guess. Last time I saw you, you were on top of the world. What happened?” You tried to ask your questions as gently as possible, but there really was no use sugarcoating anything. 

“Flew too close to the sun and I fell,” he shrugged and sent you a sarcastic smirk. “But I see you’ve been doing great, huh?”

“Not really, I’ve stepped back from taking on any contracts. I would have dropped Nuka-Cola too if their lawyers weren’t so damn good.”

He shrugged, like he didn’t really give a shit about your life or how it was going. This hurt, how he was acting, you’d never seen him like this. He was acting so mean and despondent. “Found out Barb was advocating for nuclear war and Vault-Tec was backing her. Finding out your wife is orchestrating war crimes really puts a wrench in your marriage.”

You wished you could be surprised, but Barb’s odd behavior since joining the company had been obvious to everyone but Cooper. He laughed when he saw the look on your face, “You say ‘I told you so’ and I’ll throw something at you.” You shook your head and sank back in the chair. “Anyway, Vault-Tec dropped me and since everyone in Hollywood hates me that was the last paying job I had. Now, I’m working kid’s parties.” He scoffed and smiled mirthfully, but the hatred in this look was directed at himself. “How the mighty have fallen, right?”

He threw back the rest of his whiskey and slammed the glass back on the table. 

“I really am sorry, Coop. I should have been here.”

He didn’t look at you, just shook his head, “No point. If you had been, I would have dragged you down with me. Probably the smartest thing you could have done.” You hated this, it made your heart hurt to see him so down on himself. 

This wasn’t the Cooper you knew. This was a man completely broken by what life had thrown at him. You hated this. You hated yourself for not helping him. Hated his wife for abandoning him. You hated the world for so easily turning their back on him like he was nothing to them. 

You slipped from the chair and kneeled in front of him. You grabbed his hands in yours, holding on tight when he tried to slip away. “I’m sorry, Coop, truly. I wasn’t here for you. But I am now, I swear. Let me help you, please.”

He glanced down at you and stared quietly, trying to decide whether he should be an asshole and tell you to fuck off or just accept the help. He had been lonely for a long while now. He needed someone to tell him he was doing okay. That he had done the right thing in getting Barb out of his life. So, he nodded and squeezed your hands back. 

“Pancakes?”

You laughed and sat up in bed, glancing over at Cooper while he got dressed. “Is that all you know how to make?” He smiled and crawled back onto bed to plant a hard kiss against your lips. 

“You want food or not, smartass?”

You laughed and pressed another quick kiss to his lips, “Please.” He shook his head and walked out of his bedroom and towards the kitchen. You sank back against the pillows and stared blankly up at his ceiling. 

You wished there was a title to describe what you were to each other, but you weren’t completely sure yourself. A few weeks after you’d stopped by his house you’d slept together for the first time. And then again and again, and you’d taken to staying at his house more than your own apartment. 

You’d worried that you were letting yourself be a rebound after his divorce. Afraid that he was simply going to sleep with you and move on once he’d found something better. But he didn’t treat you like you were something to throw away. 

But that doesn’t mean anything when he’s never explicitly stated that he wants something serious with you. You sit up when you hear him padding back down the hall, a tray in his hands. You smile at him and help him settle back in bed. 

When you’re done eating you both lay back in bed and you figure you don’t need something definitive for now. You’ll just enjoy what you have while you have him. The shrill ring of the phone jolts you both out of your comfortable state. 

He sighs and reaches over to grab it from its place on the nightstand. The cord stretches over you while he leans back and talks to whoever is on the other line. “Hello?” His brow furrows in confusion when the other person began to speak. You can make out their muffled voice but not what they’re saying. You give him a questioning look but he just shrugs and hands you the phone. “It’s for you, sweetheart.”

“Hello?” 

Cooper watches you with growing confusion as your face lights up and you shoot out of bed. He sighs, knowing his morning is probably over. He figures he should go ahead and get dressed while you finish up the call. 

When he comes out of the bathroom you’re still talking. Your finger is coiled through the cord and you’re pacing a track into his rug. You’ve got a serious expression on your face, listening intently, before you light up once more and let out an eager, “Oh, thank you so much!” You slam the phone back down on the dial and turn to him with an eager smile. 

“That was Tom, he’s got a role for me.” Cooper shoots you a happy smile but he can’t help the twinge of jealously in his gut. A few weeks ago some pictures of you two together had been leaked. While your career and offered had considerably slowed, you hadn’t been completely stonewalled by all of Hollywood like he had. 

He couldn’t help but resent that at moments, that you still got to live your dream while he was punished for doing what he thought had been right. He wouldn’t let that ruin your mood right now, though. “That’s great, what is it?”

You shrugged, going through the room and quickly changing into a long skirt and blouse. “He couldn’t give me many details over the phone. He wants me to head over to his house to pick up the script real quick.” You ran up to him, planted a quick kiss on his cheek and darted towards the hall. “I’ll be back for lunch,” you called over your shoulder. 

Cooper sighed, overwhelmed slightly by your whirlwind of energy. He called out a quick goodbye he wasn’t sure you heard and tried to ignore the nauseating feeling settling in his stomach. 

You stared up at Tom’s door, knocking quickly. You were the perfect picture of naïveté, wide-eyed and eager as you waited for him to open the door. When Tom wasn’t directing Nuka-Cola ads he directed only serious movies. The type that only critics liked. 

Getting another serious role could really help in getting you back on track. Maybe you could even start helping Coop out, he was going to have to sell the house soon if he didn’t make real money. 

The smile on your lips was hard to dismiss as you impatiently waited for the door to open. It didn’t take much longer, you could hear Tom approaching through it and then it was swinging open. He had a wide smile and seemed oddly breathless as he stared at you. “There you are! Come on in, I’ll grab the script.”

Not thinking much of the odd invitation you took a step inside and glanced around. You heard voices in the next room and your smile dropped just a little. “Come on,” he waved you forward when he noticed you had stopped, “I’ll get you something to drink.”

“Oh,” you took a hesitant step forward. “I’m fine, really, I need to get back home pretty quick.” Tom stopped in his tracks and turned around. The look on his face had your hairs standing on end, both of your smiles completely gone now. 

“I said come in.” You tried to back up but your back hit something soft. Jumping forward, you turned to find one of the tallest men you’d ever seen towering over you. He pushed forward and you stumbled back, starting to feel real panic settle in. 

He kept pushing until you found yourself standing in the middle of a crowded living room. Execs you recognized from meetings with your agent and premieres circled around you like a pack of hyenas. Each of them tittering and laughing, pointing at you with a dangerous gleam in their eyes. 

You felt tears pricking your eyes, your gaze darting up to Tom. But he refused to look at you, accepting a large wad of cash from one man and shaking his hand. He spared you one brief glance, a distant regret in his eyes as he walked out the room. 

You spun in a quick circle, breaths coming short and fast when the men started to close in on you. One of them grabbed you and you threw your elbow back into his face, it didn’t matter. They were all reaching for you now. Hands snagged on your blouse and the buttons popped open. 

You opened your mouth, to scream or bite one of them, you don’t know, it didn’t matter. A large hand clamped around your mouth, forcing you to breathe in the cloth on their palm. You sucked in a sharp breath, something sweet tickling your nose before your eyes were rolling back in your head. 

end. — I do not own the characters or the game/show Fallout, but this writing is my own all rights reserved © not-neverland06 2024. do not copy, repost, translate & recommend elsewhere.

[persefolli]

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞

𝐃𝐮𝐡! 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝/𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭, 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟, 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫."

Cooper adjusted his hat and walked among the sandy terrain of what used to be shady sands. He hated this place, hated how dead it was, hated the fact he remembered what it once was.

He dragged his feet along the rocks until he came to a stop in the shade. He looked up and saw the still-standing billboard for Nuka-Cola. Your face was plastered on it, a bright smile holding a bottle of America’s favorite soda. Cooper walked to an old car wreckage and sat against it, staring up at your face with his mouth hanging open. This was the only piece of the past that helped him to never forget your face. That's why as much as he hated it, he never wanted to leave Shady Sands.

“Cooper!” You squealed, running into the apartment with a paper in your hands. You dropped your boots and purse and ran up to him. “I got it! I got the part! I'm gonna be a Cola Girl!”

Cooper took the paper from your hands and scanned the contract, along with the details of the photo shoot. “A cowgirl theme hm? Wanna dig in my closet.”

“Uh. YES!” You exclaimed.

That was his hat you were wearing on the billboard. The same hat he had on his head now.

You came from the closet, holding up the pants that jingled with every movement.

“You need a belt baby.”

“I couldn’t find one!”

Cooper chuckled and went to the other side of the closet and kneeled to wrap the belt around your waist and secure the pants against your waist.

“Don’t I make a good cowgirl?” You said in a false southern accent. Cooper smiled as you approached him. You made guns out of your fingers and pulled the hat down. “There's an old Mexican Eulogy…” You recited one of his most famous lines. Cooper picked you up and you wrapped your legs around his waist as he walked the two of you to the living room couch. “Feo, Fuerte y Formal.” The two of you said in unison as he sat.

Cooper wheezed and took a large gulp of radiated water as he stared up at you. That smile was genuine, he would know.

“Big smile. Big smile. We want those beautiful white teeth up on our screens.” The photographer encouraged you.

You moved a lot, giving them multiple poses to choose from.

Cooper stood behind the camera, smiling as he saw you in a signature western outfit, posing for the upcoming Nuka-Cola campaign.

“Now take a refreshing drink.”

You cracked open the cola bottle and raised it to drink it, but you miscalculated and the cool soda fell on your chest instead of in your mouth. “Oh shit!” You exclaimed, and multiple people came to help you dab the excess liquid off.

“I’ll go change! Take 30?” You said looking at the crew who agreed.

You groaned and headed to your dressing room with Cooper on your heels. As soon as the two of you got inside he grabbed you by the waist, causing you to squeal. The two of you crash landed into the couch, kissing passionately. His hands grabbed at your breasts and you moaned into his lips. “I’ll help you clean up.” He said while licking your neck, tasting the sticky substance of soda on your neck.

You moaned softly as he kissed his way down, unbuttoning the top buttons of your blouse and placing kisses on the outline of your bra.

Cooper felt sick staring at your chest on the billboard. Sick. But he missed you dearly. He missed your touch. He had the real thing, and lost it all. He felt tears threatening his eyes and held his breath, constricting his air on purpose. Your image became blurry and he let out a yell. He huffed and hissed, pulling out his gun quickly and holding it to his head. He could be with you, after 200 years he could feel your love again.

He panted and stared at the billboard before dropping the gun. He wouldn't do that, not in front of you . He couldn’t traumatize you, that's not what he wanted. That's not what you would want.

Cooper guzzled down another large amount of radiated water, not caring that it was spilling out of his mouth and everywhere else. He just sat and stared at his girl.

𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐌

[cyberneticfallout]

Chapter One: Filly

Ch 1 - Ch 2 - Ch 3 - Ch 4 - Ch 5 - Ch 6 - Ch 7 - Ch 8 - Ch 9 - Ch 10 - More Coming Soon

Pairing: Cooper Howard/The Ghoul x Fem!Reader Summary: You, a seasoned bounty hunter, team up with a gruff ghoul to capture a high-value target. Tags: Slow burn (and I mean SLOWWW), angst, eventual smut, language, canon-typical violence, more tags will be added Posted on AO3: Smoothie and The Ghoul Word Count: 1.2k

Bounty hunting is no walk in the park, but the rewards make it worthwhile. Your body aches as you trudge through the settlement known as Filly. Pushy vendors eagerly try to sell you their wares, with one particularly persistent one urging you to spend your hard-earned caps on dog meat. Politely declining their offers, you navigate your way through the bustling street towards the more reputable shops and services.

Having visited Filly a few times before, you recognize familiar faces among the locals. You exchange a silent greeting with the local repair girl and spot Ma June preparing to open her shop for the day, making a mental note to stop by later. As you approach a semi-functional Nuka Cola machine, you catch sight of a man seated in a chair. He's dressed like an outlaw from the Wild West, giving off an air of danger. His gaze locks with yours as you pass by.

A ghoul.

You've had mostly positive experiences with ghouls in the wasteland, but this one seems different. There's something about him that sets off alarm bells in your head. Feeling bold, you approach him after grabbing an unbearably warm Nuka Cola.

"Hey," you stand in front of him and take a sip. "I don't personally have a problem with ghouls, but the folk around here aren't too fond of them."

Smirking, he looks up at you, his sunken eyes and lack of nose more pronounced in the sunlight. Most people find ghouls unsettling, but you've grown accustomed to their appearance after years of interacting with them.

"That may be true," he drawls. "but I ain't here to make friends."

You offer him a sip of your drink, he stares at you in confusion. Taking it as a rejection, you finish the rest and toss the bottle aside.

"You look like you're either playing cowboy or you're a bounty hunter," you remark.

"What's your guess?" he snarls.

Leaning towards him, you place your hands on the arms of his chair. "I'm guessing you're here looking for a specific doctor."

"You're pretty bold for getting so close to a ghoul, smoothskin."

"And you're pretty bold for assuming I've never been closer." A small smile creeps onto your face as he looks at you curiously.

"I'm sure our paths will cross again. Until then..." Stepping back, you give him a casual salute and walk away.

The presence of the ghoul gives you the feeling that shit is about to go down so you decide to hang around on the outskirts of Filly. Leaning against a tree just outside the bustling street of vendors, you can hear the sound of raised voices and the unmistakable echoes of gunfire coming from the center of town.

"Called it," you mutter under your breath. There's no need to dive headfirst into the chaos when you can simply wait it out and observe the aftermath. Given the hefty reward on the line for this particular doctor, it's unlikely that he'll be an easy target. If he's anything like the other high-value bounties you've pursued in the past, he'll find a way to slip away, and you'll have to track him down.

Inhaling deeply, you take a moment to assess your surroundings, ensuring that your rifle and pistol are in proper working order. As you inspect your weapons, the air is suddenly filled with distorted screams, "No, no, no!" Looking up, you witness a spectacle that catches you off guard. A suit of Power Armor is soaring uncontrollably through the sky above you. Could it be the Brotherhood of Steel? This bounty just keeps getting crazier.

The Power Armor veers off in the opposite direction, leaving you to wonder what in the wasteland is going on. With the chaotic gunfight seemingly subsiding, you make your way back towards the town center. It appears that the flying garbage can and ghoul have caused quite the commotion, scattering the combatants and bringing an end to the firefight.

As you draw closer to the scene, the absurdity of the situation becomes even more apparent. Bodies, torn apart and scattered haphazardly, litter the ground. The locals, seizing the opportunity, have already begun looting them. You catch sight of the ghoul making his way towards a path that leads out of town. Without a moment's hesitation, you decide to follow him.

Quickening your pace, you navigate through the debris and bodies, doing your best to avoid the looters who pay you no mind. The ghoul moves quickly with a dog by his side, his sunken eyes focused on his route to the wastes.

As you approach the outskirts of town, the ghoul glances back, acknowledging your pursuit. Letting out an annoyed sigh, he comes to a halt and turns to face you.

"I ain't accepting companions," he declares, a note of irritation in his voice.

"That's too bad," you reply with a smirk, coming to a stop in front of him. Your attention is drawn to the dog standing beside him, looking up at you with a wagging tail. A warm feeling washes over you - you've always had a soft spot for dogs.

Kneeling down, you scratch behind the dog's ears and ask, "What's her name?"

"I don't fuckin' know," the ghoul snaps back.

You raise an eyebrow, a mixture of amusement and confusion on your face. "Did you hit your head back there? How do you not know your dog's name?"

The ghoul rolls his eyes slightly, clearly exasperated. "She ain't my dog. She was with the doctor. Along with some vault dweller."

A surge of curiosity courses through you at the mention of the doctor and the vault dweller. This situation just keeps getting more intriguing. You stand up, still keeping an eye on the ghoul.

“A vault dweller?”

He begins to draw his gun and points it at you, “Give me a reason not to shoot your ass. You’re startin’ to annoy me.”

“Calm down, beef jerky.” Taking a step back, you maintain a calm demeanor. “I think we can help each other out.”

The ghoul's grip on his gun tightens, but he hesitates, seemingly intrigued by your proposition. "I don't need help.”

“Oh but yes, you do.” You pull out a small vial filled with amber liquid, capturing his attention. “This dog will do a great job tracking its owner but I’ll do an even better job of making sure you don’t go feral. No offense but you seem pretty old - even for a ghoul.”

The ghoul's grip on his gun loosens, and he seems to consider your words. After a moment, he reluctantly lowers his weapon. "Fine," he grumbles. "But don't think I owe you anything."

You nod with a small smile, "Fair enough."

[v1nsmoke]

𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐘 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 // 𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐂𝐊 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

oneshot - fallout's john hancock x reader

tw: mentions of drugs (usual hancock activity)

summary: after days of exiting goodneighbor, you and hancock finally get to talk

fandom: fallout

a/n: there is not enough talk about this fella omg… now that liking the ghoul from the fallout show is accepted, i can come forward (i chose the “romance hancock” option every playthrough). no pronouns used, so gender neutral ig? also the inspiration for the title is that one song thats viral on tiktok rn, also galvanized square steel mentioned

tags: -

wc: 0.6k

“Day twenty-five since leaving Vault 111, today is Monday and my location is Diamond City, it’s currently 2:41 PM. Me and my companion are at the noodle shop,” you say, speaking into your Pip-boy. 

Recently, you’ve been documenting every day, usually just a brief summary on that day’s experiences. These experiences consisted of hourly radroach attacks, accidental overdose on jet, or encounters with hostile Mr. Handy’s. Or accidental near-death situations with a deathclaw. That only happened once. 

You weren’t sure anybody would ever hear these, even better, be interested in these daily logs. Your companion seemingly couldn’t care less about these logs, as he ate his portion of ramen next to you. 

“The Institute remains undefeated, and I doubt it will change today, I’m not in the mood for it,” you continue.

“If it depended on your mood, it would be there forever,” Hancock cuts in with his sarcastic remark.

A sigh escapes your lips at his words.

“Maybe I should switch back to Dogmeat and send you back to Goodneighbor,” you reply.

“Now, what good would that do for you?”

“It would spare me from more of these remarks.”

“But can Dogmeat give you this?” He asks as he slides you a jet.

Hesitantly, but you accept it with a smile. 

“John Hancock, the ghoul you are,” you sigh.

A smile creeps onto his features. 

“See? You like me enough.”

“Whatever helps you sleep…”

You’ve been traveling with Hancock for the past week or so, after you accepted the offer of Bobby, who just so happened to lie to you. One thing led from another, and after finishing off Hancock’s bodyguard, you managed to solve the bad blood between the two of you by killing Bobby herself. 

Hancock was useful and good company, helping out where he could and making small talk with you. Not to mention that he was supplying you with a different kind of drug every day. They don’t have that stuff in Vaults…

Last night, the both of you got high as hell in the home you bought with hard-earned caps here, in Diamond City. It was mostly a box, so you decided to illegally expand it with galvanized square steel and eco-friendly wood veneers. So, after the finished construction - that lasted four days with the cheap and friendly workforce including Little John (Hancock) and yourself -, the two of you decided to celebrate.

He plopped down onto the mattress - the construction fee was too much for you to spend even more caps on a normal bed -, resting his back against the wall. You popped open a bottle of Nuka-Cola, taking your place on the mattress next to him.

“So, how do ya like it?” He asks, taking a Jet out of his pocket.

“So far so good,” you reply with a sigh.

“That’s all? Not ‘I love this place more than the Vault’?”

“I do like it more than the Vault, cause you’re here.”

He stays quiet for a few seconds before speaking up.

“That’s good.”

“That’s all? Not ‘Wow I, too, am really glad that I’ve got you and get to share Jet with you and that you defended me from that Deathclaw’?”

He lets out a slight chuckle, hanging his head low. 

“Thank you, then. For these past few days I’ve spent with you. Never thought I would find anybody who would accept me as their companion.”

© v1nsmokes 2024. Do not modify, translate or rewrite.

[bonesxbows]

The Other Line (Hancock x Reader)

Masterlist

There's not enough food in your stash for the both of you so you try to give what you have left to Hancock instead of yourself. He isn't having any of it though and insists you at least share, and no isn't an option with him when it comes to your wellbeing.

(WARNINGS) - choosing to starve - past body image issues mentioned

I wrote this within a few hours and idk if I'm really satisfied with it but I figured I'd publish it anyway. I swear I'm working on longer fics I just always get sidetracked lol. Shout out though to all the people leaving comments on here and on Ao3, you guys keep my motivation sky high, you have no idea how much I appreciate each and every one of them :)

-

A blown-out house, still sort of standing. Four walls and a roof with minor damage was considered the peak of shelters nowadays, so neither of you complained as you walked inside. You had made the executive decision to stay here for the night, although Hancock wouldn’t have argued with you either way. It was small inside, destroyed wooden planks blocked the path upstairs, leaving the two of you to what once was a modest kitchen, dining room, and living room amalgamation. You placed your gear on the table while Hancock scoped the place out. It was a ritual of his by now, double-checking every square inch to make sure it was safe. 

“Grub and then bed? I’m beat, and we’ve still got a long ways to go,” you told him, checking your pip-boy to see the progress you had made on your journey. It was going well so far, but it would still be at least another day’s hike before you reached where you needed to go. He hummed to himself, satisfied that the place was now confirmed empty except for the two of you. 

“You know I ain’t picky. I’ll get the blankets set up while you sort that out, okay?” he spoke it like a question but he didn’t wait for your reply before he made his way over to the couch, grabbing your bedrolls and quickly placing a soft kiss on your forehead as he passed by. As soon as he was occupied with his task he had assigned himself you checked your food supplies. The results were what you had been fearing; you were running dangerously low. You knew you should have double-checked the stores the two of you had passed on your way here. It would have delayed you a little, sure, but it was worth it over traveling on an empty stomach. It was too little too late now, it was way too dangerous to travel in the dark to scavenge more supplies. You would have to make do with what you had and then hope you could find more food on the way tomorrow. 

You checked around the kitchen, not finding much. The place had already been picked mostly clean, probably by other travelers and scavvers. You were lucky to find a bottle of nuka-cola tucked in the back of the refrigerator, but that was where your luck ended. You shook it to see if bubbles still formed against the glass, checking for discoloration and mold as the liquid sloshed around. It looked okay, so you mentally added it to your stash of goods. 

“Need any help?” Hancock called from behind the back of the sofa. His voice pulled you out of your head. 

“No I’ve got it just…give me a second,” you told him, making up your mind and grabbing the last canned item you had in your pack along with one of the forks you always brought along with you. 

“No worries sunshine, take your time,” he replied so nonchalantly, oblivious to your current supply struggles. You watched as he kicked his feet over the arm of the sofa, the toes of his boots pointing towards the ceiling. You sighed and walked over to him, canned food and bottle of nuka-cola in hand. He shifted to make room for you on the couch when he saw you round the corner.

“Here’s what we have.” you handed him the can and the fork, plopping down next to him and using the wooden part of the couch’s arm to pop the bottle cap off of your soda. He used his knife to pry the lid off of the can, digging the fork into the mystery meat inside and taking a bite. He passed the can to you once he started chewing but you just shook your head. 

“Whaddaya mean ‘no’? You gotta eat sunshine.” his words were slurred from the food in his mouth but you still refused to take the can from his hands. His scarred forehead furrowed when you kept refusing. 

“Hancock it’s okay, really. I’m not that hungry anyway. You go ahead and eat.” you tried to dissuade him. But he wasn’t buying it, not when he knew you too well. 

“Is it another one of those days again? I’ve told you before sugar your body is perfect just the way it is. Nothin’s ever gonna change that in my mind. I’d rather ya eat and keep your strength up than-” 

“It’s nothing like that Hancock.” you stopped him before he went on another rant about how much he loved you just as you are. You couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto your face though. “I’m okay, thank you though,” you told him. You could see relief flood across his face. 

“So then what’s wrong?” he asked again. 

“We don’t have enough supplies to be feeding two people. So I had to make a choice and fortunately for you, you fall higher up on the list of my priorities than myself. Go ahead and eat, I’ll be okay for one night.” you explained the situation to him but it looked like he had stopped listening halfway through because as soon as you finished your sentence he had a forkful of the canned meat right by your lips. 

“I just said we-” 

“ ‘Don’t have enough food for two people.’ Yeah, I heard ya. Tough shit, I ain’t gonna let you go hungry, even if it is for just one night. So open up.” he twirled the fork in small circles to emphasize his words. You opened your mouth to rebuttal him again but he used that opportunity to get the fork into your mouth. You scowled but obediently began chewing. He smiled, satisfied with his task accomplished. “You won’t go to bed hungry, not while I’m around and can do somethin’ about it.” he stabbed the meat again, helping himself to another forkful. You were caught speechless, even when you were done chewing, you had run out of words. You had been prepared to go to bed with an empty stomach in order to keep him happy and healthy, but at the same time, he was willing to do the same for you. 

The two of you spend the rest of the night splitting the contents of the can, and at some point, you shared the nuka-cola you had found with him too. Neither of your tummies were full, but your hearts were with a new realization of just how much you cared about one another. The couch wasn’t big enough for the two of you to lay side by side, but Hancock didn’t seem to mind because as soon as the two of you had finished eating he scooped you up on top of him, lacing his arms around you to hold you close. You spent the rest of the night curled up against him, listening to his heartbeat beneath you as the two of you fell asleep. Maybe you'd be able to find more supplies tomorrow, or maybe you wouldn’t. Either way, Hancock was determined to take care of you in any way he could. 

[fallout-drabbles-n-stuff]

Unique ways companions show affection: (part 1)

Cait:

She has a habit of being really physical but not enjoying actual contact with people on a day to day basis..however she can’t help it with someone she likes. It’s kinda strange but she’ll randomly tap you with whatever she has in her hands sometimes, even if it’s poking you in the rear with her bag or tapping your shoulder with a beer bottle..it’s just something her.

Curie:

Maybe one of the more subtle methods but she prefers to show her affection by learning every last little detail possible about something you take a liking to. Species of wasteland critter? Done. Plants? Done. Collection of nuka cola? Babes, she’ll figure out the recipes.

Danse:

He won’t even ask permission but he’ll “rectify” any “tactically disadvantageous attributes” of your weapons and armour. The upgrades are meticulous, skillful and honestly quite time consuming but he seems it nothing short of necessary.

Deacon:

It’s strange but sitting in silence, a good comfortable silence, is his prime form of showing affection. No dumb lies, snarky comments, or well thought through diversions..just enjoying each other’s company.

Gage:

For someone as gruff and frankly..feral..as him, his method of affection is probably a shocker. He’ll show it by cleaning up the places you frequent often. Nothing too crazy but just subtle tidying, maybe some nice decorations here and there…

Hancock:

Let’s be honest- Hancock is one hell of a lover in any respect imaginable. However when it comes to a more broad style of affection, his favorite method of expressing himself is by playing games. Yes, literal games. Chess, connect 4, I spy..you name it. Friends or lovers, it really doesn’t matter but just know he likes you enough to be silly and waste some time with you.

[slocumjoe]

Gage with Sole that gets lost in nuka cola world? Like he doesnt pay attention to them for one second and they already wandered off and has no clue where they at "gage pick me up im scared and there are flying ants"

aka my experience being underleveled and doing the hardest areas of the park first :'D

Gage and Overboss's No Good, Very Bad Vacation In Nuka World

Realistically, Gage should have anticipated it. It's was a theme park, they were designed to be massive labyrinths with money sinks at every corner. The bigger and more confusing it is, the more likely someone will get lost and wander, and hopefully stumble into a shop or something. This is basic Capitalist Design 101.

Another thing he should have expected was that there were damn good reasons the other parks weren't already full of raiders, living the high life. Colter didn't do it because he was lazy; no one else did for fear of death. Gage himself never heard of anyone coming back from the other parks, that means they don't.

So, really, he should have considered it his own damn fault for not thinking about it, the first time he lost track of his shiny new Overboss.

That first time, it happened in that bottling plant. They went into a door, he followed behind, they went into another door, and another, and shit got weird from there when the soda river erupted with crabs.

He killed some crabs. They killed some crabs. He turned to see where they were killing crabs and saw jack shit.

It was then that he realized that the bottling plant was echoey as fuck, and he hadn't been behind them for...a good ten minutes, at least, just following noises that came from God knows where.

Gage didn't know the layout of the place. Neither did they. The fact that the river is just one line doesn't help shit, because there's employee tunnels, manufacturing, the rest of the plant. The plant was fucking big. They could have been anywhere. Whererever they were, there was more fucking crabs. And Gage, being a good underling who had to pull a lot of strings to get to this point in the first place, wasn't very okay with the idea of his boss being crab dinner.

So he hit the legs, backtracking through tunnels, the walkways above the bottling zones/whatever the fuck those were. Kept finding crabs he didn't kill, good start. Kept hearing gunfire, grenades, crab-screaming. Less good. Ended up back on the soda river (what the fuck was wrong with these people). Accidentally triggered every fucking pre-recorded line from the intercom, which drowned out the shit he needed to hear. At this point, Boss has been fighting for their goddamn life for twenty minutes, and the walls had started to melt into one big blob of samey-samey. Not even the sky was this blue.

Eventually, they found him, pursued by six hunters. He killed some crabs. They killed some crabs. He turned around, grabbed them, and was about to threaten to put them on one of them toddler leashes if they wandered off like again. But then a pack of Assaultatrons kicked down a door and they jumped in different direction away from the lasers. Ran down different hallways. Found more crabs. Killed more crabs, pursued by Assaultatrons. He knew Boss ran back into the river, because the all of Announcer Lady's lines were playing over and over each other, like the layers of hell condensing into a pure diamond of auditory psychology warfare.

Gage didn't notice when the chaos stopped, when the robots and crabs started dropping. It just happened and he had to take a breather, find his happy place. When he met back up with the boss, they were covered in stab wounds from stimpaks, used all their ammo and grenades, and thought that a suit of power armor made up for it.

The power armor did do well against the crab kings on the roof. It did not survive the Queen in the pond.

After this, he pulled them aside, told them to slow the fuck down and not charge through places like a drunk bull in a china shop. They said yes, Gage, I will definitely do that, and I will definitely proceed with caution and carry extra supplies on my personal.

They did, for their credit.

The Mr. Frothy's, however, didn't let that stay true for long.

Both of them took one step into Galactic World, and a fucking soda nuke dropped in between them. And again, they scrambled for different cover. Then a Frothy went after Gage, and the soda bomber bot went after the boss, and they had to separate again.

It'll be fine, he thought, I'll just kite around this corner that leads back into the main area, this wall is like three feet wide, this doesn't lead into a different level entirely.

It did.

Gage made it to the middling level of the Galactic Zone, every eyebot swarming like they wanted fresh meat or some shit, and the Overboss was running from the Nukatrons and a Mr. Frothy screaming about strangling them. Couldn't go the way he came, had his own robot fixated on asphyxiation behind him. Kept running. Then the laser turrets kicked on, and this was now an exercise in agility and being God's favorite.

When the robots patrolling the park finally all died, it was midnight, Gage was half-dead, had no ammo, and no indication that the overboss was alive, save Redeye's music playing at full volume somewhere nearby. Back to Nuka-World for supplies, sleep, and a nervous breakdown.

The next day, they took on the Vault attraction.

It seemed like things were looking up. Sure, the boss got lost looking for...what, stickers on the walls? Something with dumb bottle-cap glasses. But the robots were few and far between, the space was small and linear enough Boss couldn't wander off too far, and they made it out having not used all of their ammo. It was a good sign.

They went to the Interstellar Theatre, next.

Boss had the good idea to go in quiet, sneak around. They found an elevator up to the projection room, found a starcore, and figured that the area was clear, or at least mostly safe. They just cut all the power, after all.

The robots are motion activated.

Fighting turrets, protectatrons, Mr. Handy's in the dark was bad enough. But whoever the fuck put a sentrybot in a theatre, Gage hoped they went to hell.

He found the boss trying to drown themselves in a water fountain, when the last bot went down.

Back to Nuka-World for ammo, stimpaks, and another nervous breakdown as a treat

I saw a robot fighting ring, Boss said. The bots would have already killed each other in there, they said.

So they went to the Robco Battleground.

One or two robots, the rest were dormant. Thank. God. Boss found some starcores, some good loot, went into a door in a basement with robots.

The door shut and maglocked behind them. The pre-recorded announcer starting up the match. All those dormant robots in the basement woke up. On one side of that door, the Overboss fought for their goddamn life with a bunch of tincans. On the other, Gage did the same damn thing. When it opened back up, guess what they did? Yep, back to Nuka-World for stimpaks, ammo, and another nervous breakdown. And a shower, because flammable oil is not a good thing to be covered in, when using firearms. Gage heard the boss muttering and giggling about laser turrets to the plush toy sloth they picked up, and wondered if he would have to put them down out of mercy.

And then the fucking...Nuka Galaxy ride.

So dark. So big. So long. It was the longest attraction at that fucking park. Couldn't see your hands in front of you. Gage could have lost his mind in that section with the giant fake rocks. Found a lot of dead people who did, anyway. Once the Frothy's came barreling out from a hallway, yet again, the Boss went one way, he went the other. When they killed the bots, had to marco-polo triangulate their way back to each other. And then the area with the giant UFOs, and no lighting on the scaffolding. Who the fuck made this park? None of this was OSHA compliant, surely. You know what's even less OSHA compliant?

Laser turrets on EVERY FUCKING WALL.

Laser turrets on every UFO, every ceiling, every wall, every stairwell, every giant fake rock, laser turrets everywhere. Why? Why would Nuka Cola Corporation think they needed this many? Were they expecting two dipshit raiders to come strolling on through, and hated them, specifically? They weren't fucking ashing little Timmy for lifting from the gift shop, right?

You know what else sucks? Laser turrets high above you, in a pitch black corridor, where there's a drop just mere feet in front of you.

Boss didn't get lost in here because Gage grabbed them by the scruff of their shirt if they so much as leaned too far away. No, he doesn't care what shiny thing you see, you are staying within arm's length. Fuck treasure, fuck Galactic Zone, and fuck John Nukacola, or whatever his name was.

Gage never again let them get more than five feet away from him, after Galactic Zone was cleared, and the boss never again had to whisper hateful nothings about laser turrets to their sloth toy.

[lizardperson]

nuka cola quantum

[on ao3]

fandom: fallout new vegas characters: female courier/original male character rating: m wc: 302 prompts: #fff261 maybe one more for @flashfictionfridayofficial

---

"You can't be serious." "What?" "Mika, it's literally glowing blue," Gabriel stated, gesturing at the strange soda bottle on the table in front of them. Ralph, the local merchant, had somehow managed to acquire a whole case of them for Mika. She and her damn Old World treats... "And?" "Might as well drink the stuff from Cliff's rocket souvenirs." Mika shrugged. "...actually, I would try that, too." Of course she would. Gabriel just raised an eyebrow, watching her open the bottle and taking a few sips. "Fruity. Bit too sour. But not bad," she then judged before continuing her drink. "Let's see if this will give me funny color vision again." "Or nightmares for three days," he chuckled. Mika threw him a dismissive glance. "Yeah, I like it," she confirmed once more. "And you know what, just to spite you specifically, maybe I'll even have another one." "I might insist on separate beds if you turn into a Glowing One." "I don't think this is how ghoulification works, actually." "Oh, because you're such an expert on that." She stuck out her tongue. "I'd be a very cute ghoul, by the way. And I'm pretty sure you'd still want to fuck me." Gabriel laughed. "Probably." He watched her take a few more sips, then gestured towards the bottle. "Give me that." He eyed the colorful QUANTUM label suspiciously for a moment. Fuck it. Here goes nothing. "Yeah, this is vile," he grimaced. "Is it supposed to burn on your tongue like that?" It was about as bad as he had expected. Nasty stuff. Mika snuggled into his arms and grinned satisfied. "See, now we can at least glow in the dark together."

[ava-core]

I HAVE FOOD TO BRING!

let’s talk about Craig Boone, and my Courier Six: literal sixth child of a sixth child, ex-Empire of Shi golden child, grizzled, haunted-at-23 May Bells (not her real name, of course.)

(i want money to commission them together PLEASE..also you like angst? you like new beginnings? a couple who don’t realize they love each other? YOU LIKE WONG KAR WAI’S IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE?! you’re in the right place!)

firstly, May Bell’s already got a fleshed-out backstory—but I want to make another post for that, so that’ll have to wait!

all you need to know is that May is difficult. it’s what a difficult life does to you, after all; in broad strokes:

she was born in the Empire of Shi, with parents both influential in the spheres of its government and upper-class society.

her father wanted her to be the heir of his scientific legacy when he realized his two sons were incompetent (not even bad people—he just had extremely high and stifling standards: calm, intelligent, obedient. May only hit the Intelligent mark with that 9 INT stat and was naturally a genius, her tag skills being medicine, melee, and science.)

when she didn’t meet the mold of her father’s expectations, it coincided with the fact that her eldest sister got pregnant by a poor merchant’s son.

her father went berserk, killed everyone in the house except for May and her oldest brother because they were out. this incident happened when she was 17.

May and her brother were tried (mother deemed insane to stand trial) and her brother ran away. May was found guilty because of public clamor, but she managed to escape out Shi and never looked back, working as a mercenary in the California area—using Shady Sands as a base of operations for a few years—before eventually getting that damn courier job.

yes, these are broad strokes. who wouldn’t be haunted?

now, take all of that baggage and give it to a half of an extremely combat-capable duo, the other half of which is convinced he’s only destined for bad things because of all the misfortune that’s happened in his life. both have seen the horrors of death and the loss of life, as well as having a hand—direct or not—in the loss of their loved ones and family, having no power to stop it from happening.

what happens when they realize they realize they’re falling for each other?

it makes for a tragedy in origin, of course.

i originally wrote May independently, as opposed to my usual process of making a character in consideration of someone i want them to end up with, and encountering Boone in Novac as May just made it all click.

they would work so well together: Boone filling in the gaps of May’s small frame and 5 STR stat (she’d like for it to be 8, but alas) and May serving as his new partner as two snipers.

that’s the thing, too: May, for all her inability to be sociable (always had a grumpy expression on her face, quick to dismissive sarcasm and is generally unlikeable upon first impression because she masks her loneliness with being an asshat), finds it easy to care for Boone. She levels up her Survival skill to cook him food. She uses that high Medicine to patch him up after he runs into a pack of Cazadores guns blazing. She always gives him extra smokes, ammo, and the occasional bottle of Nuka-Cola.

in his own way, Boone cares for her, too. she always has a First Recon sniper watching her back behind her. He always takes care of enemies before she can even see them. He takes longer watches when they rest so she can sleep (after a lot of protest). Hell, by Honest Hearts, he watches her sleep just to see her breathing and alive.

And the fact she helps him process Bitter Springs, supportive but not overbearing? The fact that she knows his secrets, and cares for him anyway? it hits him where it matters.

this journey May’s embarking on and the dynamic they’re building reminded me of something as i was looking for inspiration for her story (Asian media): Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood For Love.

if you’ll remember, Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow only fall in love because they knew their spouses were cheating on them with one another. it all clicked so much, i’m telling you: what started as an agreement to find who sold Carla eventually led to the both Boone and May trudging against the harsh winds of the Mojave, realizing they had one person they cared about more than themselves—and to the both of them, it was nothing if not dangerous, given how self-depreciating and burdened they are with their past.

but who’s to say they won’t heal?

it’s the possibilities of their relationship that keeps me going, honestly: they’re so perfectly made for one another, and deeply care for one another, but they can’t see that, and it infuriates the people around them: Veronica, Arcade and Raul especially (who becomes May’s close friends) who sees this tension so palpable it wouldn’t have made a difference if Boone bent May over on a roulette table in the Tops and went to town with her knowing she’d let him anyway. that’s how well their chemistry works.

i’ll keep on exploring this, but god, the way the stars align for them even in my writing!!! i will be back for this it’s a PROMISE

[that-strange-vault-lady]

Entry: 004

Date: Mon, 08.19.2277

Ugh it’s only been a day or so but I already feel starved, I suppose today has been, demanding, so that’s probably why. I never was the most physically enduring person, I mean sure I could swing a bat like nobody else back in the vault, but I still could barely make it around the bases without keeling over in a hyperventilating mess. Well, ok, that’s a little bit of an exaggeration but you get the point right?

At least Sierra gave me a free bottle of Nuka Cola. To be honest, I was just happy that they didn’t shoot at me the moment they saw me like those other people did. Ronald ans Sierra seem like good people, all be it a little, odd. I suppose in many ways there no more weird than some of the people back in the vault, like Alicia with her obsession of trying to make those mutant cockroaches from the lower levels actually taste good. Yuck I still remember when she put what she called poached roach with a sugar bomb glaze on the menu, makes me queezy to even think about it. Although she did use to make the best mac n cheese.

Sierra said they call this little place of there's Girdershade, apparently other than her and Ronald, just a road away there is a small shack where a man named Haskins lives. Being this far north they don’t get many visitors so they where actually quite happy to see a friendly face. Sierra is a little, qwerky though, she seems to think she is the president of some Nuka-Cola fanclub, she does however have an impressive collection of the stuff. Honestly I never knew that Nuka-Cola came in so many flavours.

Back in 101 the bulk of the Nuka-Cola supply ran out long before I was born, there was only the odd few left for me to even try, like the one that Amanda gave me for my 16th birthday. I did however see it plenty in the magazines we had, advertisements for America's number 1 beverage, but the advertisements only ever showed the normal flavour. Who knew there where so many, from cherry to grape to a glowing blue kind called Quantum. Apparently this quantum stuff is really rare to find though, Sierra said that if I find any she will pay me or trade me supplies for it.

On top of that Ronald said that he will pay me to clear out some pests. Being out in the middle of nowhere they supposedly have problems with bugs, the ones he wants me to deal with are called bloat-flies, they are a similar size to the roaches I already know about, but they fly around and cause havoc to there crops. I just, well I just hope *sigh’s*.

Well ok I have been pushing it aside, talking about Nuka-Cola was a great way to take my mind off of it but, I’m, I’m just not use to this, to, having to kill even if its bugs. On the way here, I was attacked by a pack of dogs. I *sighs*, I thought they would be nice, I mean all I knew of dogs where from the books and the stories and the holo-movies. Man’s best friend, a faithful companion, loyal, doting and like belly rubs.

I… I can see the bite marks they left in my baseball bat, it’s it’s looking a little worse for wear now, just like me I guess. I, I tried to run away but they kept coming, the, the teeth, the biting, the barking, I still hear it when I close my eyes. They, they where going to eat me, so, I just started swinging, and swinging, and swinging, and swinging until, until it stopped. I tried to clean off the blood from my vaultsuit but, just like old lady Palmer told me once when a baseball players suit got muddied by a cut, only a good soak in abraxo get’s those stains out.

Is the whole world like this? Sierra and Ronald seem nice but, the whole world seems, warped. Nothing, not one damn thing is like vault-tec said it would be in the manuals, it never was in the vault and up here? Up here is another thing entirely. May, maybe someday I will get use to this, maybe someday nothing will surprise me, maybe at some point I will be just like Ronald and sierra, settled down in the middle of nowhere, finding something, just something, to be obsessed enough about, that life feels even remotely worth continuing. I hope, I hope so. Until then, all I have is my will to stay alive, an-and you Mr Patches of course, at least I have you.

[mostfacinorous]

My boyfriend's bar is doing Fallout Specials this month, and one of the drink specials is Nuka Cola, complete with cute little bottles and collectible bottle caps. Part of the recipe for the Nuka Cola special is mulled wine, and they've been going through so much, he's been coming home from his 12 hour shifts with six bottles of red wine, two bottles of whiskey, and two crock pots to make it in before bed every night. So the bar closes at midnight or 2 on the weekends, he gets home, we cut up oranges and count out cloves and start the wine mulling on low, set an alarm for three hours, go to bed, get up three hours later to turn it off and strain out the fruit and package it up for taking into the bar the next day. We're on week two of this, my sleep schedule is in shambles, and about half an hour ago I had to take out two large boxes of empty wine and whiskey bottles. The recycling bins are across my building's courtyard (the building takes up a full city block) and down a floor.

Naturally, this means I just had to walk past the pool with a bunch of noisy empty bottles. Twice. While looking like an absolute zombie because of the whole not sleeping well thing. Anyway the management company just sent out a (I hope) building wide email about local resources for alcoholics. How's your Sunday going?

[fallout4-reacts]

Hey, how about companions (romanced or not, your choice) react to Sole disappearing into thin air one day and reappearing after months as the Overboss of Nuka World?

Better yet if the companions are the ones finding them at Nuka World but anything is fine really. Whatever feels best to you!

Yes! Hm… I'll admit I could have been a little carried away with some of them… and I hope you will like it even if I didn't enphased on the romances very much

Some stories end happily, while others do not…

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it

I also realised I had left MacCready off the list. I have to correct this because my lovable ratface couldn't be forgotten!!

Be aware that Danse - Elder Maxson - Porter Gage - Nick Valentine shorts finished badly

Preston is the longest

I have had this poor forgetten Piper, and I think it's even much longer then Preston...

Cait : She doesn’t give a damn. She doesn't care that Sole promised to return for her soon and that she has been waiting in Oberland Station for several months. She is unconcerned. She is unconcerned about tales that Sole has vanished from the Commonwealth's surface. She doesn’t care about Travis suggestion that it’s worrisome. She is indifferent. Just because she's on the road looking for them doesn't mean she's worried, it doesn't mean she cares, and she doesn't give a damn about trying as hard as she can to recall what they told her about finding a missing person. It's not because they're important to her that she's enthusiastic about discovering Nuka-World and learning that they may have been kidnapped by the raiders.

Cait is smarter than we would imagine, and she would never fall into such a dumb trap, not like that moron Sole. She walks instead of taking the monorail. She has plenty of stamina. She goes through an abandoned city, a heath that appears to be more deadly than the rest of the Commonwealth, a former Nuka-Cola bottling facility... and there, on the ruined route in front of her, were two raiders.

Her smile becomes as awful as her baseball bat rise. Perhaps she'll simply locate Sole's body, but these teo will perish.

She runs towards the biggest, strongest one, the one with the headband over one eye, when she is stopped by a voice.

"Stop, Cait!"

This is the voice... of... no, impossible. And yet, she recognizes Sole under this raider's armor. Her baseball bat falls to the ground as she becomes enraged.

"Ya moron!"

She can't think of any qualifiers to describe how she feels, so she does what she knows best: she sends them the strongest live one she's ever sent, right into their blasted little surviving face.

The stiffer with the blindfold approaches to stop her, while the other orders him to remain still.

"I missed you as well. Sorry, I was a little caught."

"A little caught? What the hell?"

"Sure you don't want me to take care of it, boss?"

"Boss?! BOSS?!" 

Cait pays Sole the second most solid direct she's ever sent. While Gage assists them in getting up, they rub their jaw and try again to smile at their companion.

"You know, I would prefer you to be less emotional, but come to Fizztop with me and we'll have a long conversation."

Cait runs back to throw them a third hit, but ultimately stops herself.

"Ah, ya lookin' ta chat? Well, we can do that. But if ya ain't got a good reason fer me, we'll be finishin' this little convo with a swing of my trusty bat here."

In Gage's stupor, Sole bursts out laughing.

"All right, but first you have to try one of those Nuka-Specials."

Codsworth : Madam/Sir has been gone for a long time! Preston assured him that everything would be OK because, Sole was frequently on the road for extended periods of time. True, but they hear about them on the radio. Codsworth listens to the station all day for any hints Travis might provide regarding Sole's stocks, but the advertiser is entirely mute about them.

Since his sir and mistress bought him, Codsworth has never left Sanctuary. Not even once. He was busy bringing the town back on its feet, first with Sole, assisting them with the bigger works, but Sole has been on the road a lot since they became General.

But they frequently return.

This time, it's been nearly a month since they departed to investigate the rumors around Sunshine, and no one in the entire Commonwealth has heard of them since day one.

Codsworth has never left Sanctuary since his sir and mistress bought it, but he crosses the crumbling bridge and follows the road this morning. He is provided with a cutting-edge GPS system, if only to allow him to return to General Atomics in the event of a malfunction. He now uses this system to get to Sunshine Tidings, and from there he follows the settlers' leads to retrace Sole's steps.

When the poor robot takes the monorail to the ancient theme park, he is not done. He quickly finds himself trapped in the Gauntlet and must use all his efforts to keep all of his pieces intact. He hesitated, between two rounds of twelve and a grenade; he wasn't sure Sole could have make it through this inferno... Regardless of the outcome, the Butler swears to return the body to Sanctuary.

When he arrives at the arena, he realizes the truth, which hits him like a rain of disappointment.

"Madam/Sir, how dare you degrade yourself in this way?"

"Let me explain, Codsworth. It is not what you believe."

The robot looks about at the unhappy raiders exiting the arena, knowing that their Overboss and butler would not fight.

"But how could you, Madam/Sir—

"I'll explain everything!"

"How could you go a month without taking a shower?"

Curie : This is beyond above Curie's capabilities. She doesn't yet understand how the modern world works, but one thing is certain: what Sole asks her seems strangely... unethical.

"But, if he's a raider, you should probably let him die, right?"

"What about your hypocritical oath?"

Curie is powerless to argue. She had taken a vow as a doctor to always do her best to save lives. However, a raider...

She travels with Sole and enters Nuka-World alongside them. She is astounded to find that all of these evil guys appear to respect Sole. They make a huge thing out of calling them Overboss. Sole, on the other hand, ignores them and heads straight towards an artificial peak beyond an artificial basin.

Curie discovers the raider that Sole informed her about in the flat at the top, at the bottom of a bed that appears to be meant for two. He is severely damaged, and it's a miracle that he has lasted this long. It demonstrates amazing character strength, which Curie can admire. She, on the other hand, wasted no time in getting to work, cleaning the poorly wrapped lesions, suturing, and administering the appropriate medicine.

After some time has passed, she is able to consider the raider stable and safe. She sighs as she cleans her hands in the small kitchen sink.

"Can you please explain who I just treated and why?"

"This is Gage." Gage, Porter. I owe him everything... I owe him my life."

"And it appears to be important to you. Is it important enough to deny everything you were working on?"

Sole dismissively places one hand on Curie's shoulder.

"I'm not expecting you to comprehend. But this man is my entire world, and I'd rebuild the world for him."

Curie can't stop smiling. She knows, deep down, that something awful is brewing deeper inside the tangles of this world. But who wouldn't feel weak in the presence of a living reproduction of Romeo and Juliet?

Danse : No! Impossible! Certainly, ultimately, IMPOSSIBLE. Nuka-World's Overboss cannot be Sole. It's had to be the last grenade. That's right. In that awful cage of doom, the grenade that burst dangerously near to his head. He's confused and realizes everything incorrectly. As a result, he enters the arena, grabs Sole's arm, and pulls them towards the exit.

"We're going back to the Prydwen, you're going to take a well-deserved vacation after being off the grid for so long, and I'm going to have Cade check my brain. It's strange, and you'll probably find it amusing, but I had the impression for a little time that you were the raiders' Overboss."

Sole retracts and try to push Danse out of the way. They try in vain to break free from the grip of a Power Armor, and all they get is to finish on the buttocks, pulled by a paladin in complete denial. Until Gage and a few subordinates formed a barrier in front of Danse and Sole, the weapons were aimed at the paladin's head.

"Not another step with our Overboss," Sole's lieutenant threatens quietly.

"It's all right, Gage. He's not trying to hurt me; he's just taken aback."

"A little stunned, yes," replied Danse hurriedly. "I just heard one of these dissidents refer to you as Overboss. I definitely need to get checked out, and I need it now."

Sole is able to let go of their pal and stand up this time.

"Danse, take a deep breath and let me explain."

And Sole begins to explain. But Danse is deafeningly silent. Nothing makes sense to him. He doesn't get it. He's trying; he knows Sole's saying something vital to them, but it's beyond his comprehension.

"So, you're going back to the Prydwen with me?"

"You didn't listen, did you?"

"You... you belong to the Brotherhood. Come back with me."

Danse gets seized by panic as reality dawns on him. Sadly, he shakes his head. He's already been there. It will undoubtedly be his final engagement. He will do it, however. For the honor. For the Brotherhoods. For Cutler.

He lifts his weapon against the one he took under his wing, guided, and helped. He points his weapon at his companion.

"Ad victoriam!"

Deacon : He didn't miss a single detail of what happened. He followed Sole from afar throughout the process. He was sweating blood and water as he saw the other go through the Gauntlet's hardships and then face this terrifying electric beast. When Porter declared Sole Overboss, he couldn't help but smile. However, the prank lasted long enough. He sneaks inside the Fizztop that night and approaches them as soon as Sole is alone.

"Boss, can't you stay out of trouble?"

When the spy emerges from the shadows, Sole lets out a huge sigh of relief.

"Deacon! Shit! You have no idea how pleased I am to see you!"

"I can imagine that. What kind of trap did you get yourself into this time?"

"Golden, but with sharp bars. Sharp bars that yearn to tear off my skin. Do you have a plan to get me out of this mess?"

Deacon is doing his best to process things. They might try to use the night to slip between the various factions and exit through the large entrance... But he doubts the monorail will finish its race before the watchdog realizes his Overboss has escaped.

"We'll have to go through Nuka-World and then out of Bradberton."

Sole's relief vanished in an instant. The two friends exchange long glances. Sole sadly shakes their head.

"No, I will not put your skin at risk for mine. RailRoad desperately needs you."

"We, too, need you, Whisper."

Sole shakes their head sadly, then comes forward with a resolute step towards Deacon, offers him the strongest hug Deacon has ever received in his life, and then walks back.

"Escape. Find Preston if you can. Inform him about the situation here."

"I'm not going to leave you behind."

"Yes. That is the only way out. You are the only one who can return. But if I accompany you, we'll be in grave danger at every turn. Get after Preston. He should be north of here, at Sanctuary Hill."

"I know exactly where Sanctuary is," Deacon grumbles. "But I'm not leaving Nuka-World without you."

They can hear the platform moving. Gage’s returns. Sole must be swift. Deacon is pushed back into the shadows by him.

"You're gonna do it. You are my only hope."

Deacon finally realizes that Sole is right, and he returns home with a heavy heart. With one final look at the ghostly shape of Nuka-World in the night, he swears on his soul that he will return with an army and rescue his one and only friend from the mess into which they fell.

Dogmeat : The good doggy had been right on Sole's tail the entire time. What a difference it makes whether they're here or elsewhere. So long as he stays with Sole. The odd men in colorful armor are kind, and they fill his belly with meat. The large red goatee is a favorite of Dogmeat. He understands how to scratch a dog. Sole is also fond of the huge redhead. Dogmeat is aware of it. But when Sole calls Dogmeat that night, Dogmeat is perplexed. Sole gives him a tight hug, and Dogmeat feels pain and terror. Dogmeat licked the face of Sole. Dogmeat is there. Dogmeat will stay with Sole until the end of time.

Elder Maxson : His most recent report is unequivocal. Paladin Danse has tracked down their greatest potential recruit in a place named Nuka-World. There has been radio silence since then. That sounds a little too much like a threat. A threat that ate two of his closest officers. The Elder issues his orders, the Prydwen is released from his moorings, and the massive ship traverses the Commonwealth once more. That is the most effective method. They already have to fight an invisible enemy; they cannot afford to keep behind their backs a visible enemy whose situation is obvious. A first detachment is sent to the ground to see if the two soldiers can be repatriated, but the detachment returns in shreds with very dismal news. There is nothing more to be saved.

That evening, the Commonwealth can watch the massive fireworks display that the Prygwen and all his vertibirds pour down on Nuka-World from as far away as Kingsport Lighthouse.

The sun rises the next morning on the remains of what were, for two centuries, the last vestiges of a time when children might laugh and play.

In a neutral mindset, Maxson's gaze wanders over the smoking remains.

But a wound opened deep within him, deep within his soul, and it bled furiously.

To him, the loss of his companion, the Paladin Danse, seems insurmountable. The loss of this bright recruit, Sole, whom he had grown to respect, feels catastrophic.

Elder Maxson vows to himself that he will never again let anybody to approach the boundaries of his heart, the loss he must bear not sawing at the function he must assume.

Hancock : Beer, drugs, and booze. The mayor of Goodneighbor appreciates the appealing qualities of the place.

What he despises are raiders and slaves.

He shakes his head as he sits on the bench next to Sole.

"Okay, survival. Completely the party. But this? This is a monstrosity, you feel me?"

Sole feel him. They feels him too well. Sole has said very little since Hancock found them in this odd area, sipping the bottle of Nuka-Victory in their hands, their gaze lost on the flaming lights below. The ghoul examines his companion with interest.

"What's your plan?"

"The merchants suggested supporting me if I managed to blow off all the big heads in the park."

Hancock was unaware of his anxiousness until relief washed over him like a pleasant shower. But how dare he question? How could he doubt that his friend, who was always willing to help, would approve of what was being planned within the confines of this park?

Of course, Sole does not rule from a bloody throne. Sole is getting ready for a bloody cleanse. And Hancock's shotgun is all set to accompany them on their heroic adventure.

Gage : This is a number. This Sole. It's a one-of-a-kind case. Strong, agile, and smart. Smart enough to have listened to Gage from the very beginning. They created an invincible team at the top of the Nuka-World raiders. They cleaned the park together, and now they're ready to take on the world.

Gage could never have imagined himself to be that great. He never imagined himself serving such an Overboss. What a clever boss.

On their first day outside Nuka-World, he follows Sole. He follows them outside Nuka-World's walls to conquer their first colony. He'd follow them all the way to the end of this world.

Gage had never had such faith in another person before. That's why, when he sees an army of Minutemen blocking their path, his first instinct is to place himself in front of the boss. It's the first time he's experienced such a surge of bravery and loyalty, but Sole is worth it, right? Right?

The .10mm click on his back is amusing. Sole believes they can defeat an army with such a little gun. Then he feels the weapon's coldness against his temple.

"It's finished, Gage. We'll set the slaves free. The raiders from Nuka-World will be defeated by the end of the day."

"B-B-Boss?"

Gage simply cannot believe it. Like a child, he was used and abused. He had faith in Sole all along. Everything they've accomplished together...

"You don't have to do it that way. Gage, you're a wise man. Follow me, and you can use that intelligence to help the Commonwealth rather than harm it." 

All that faith he had placed in the one he dared to consider as... as a friend. All that blind faith. Even later on, he was willing to die to protect them.

"So, Gage, what do you say? Surrender and join us?"

He was willing to die for them. He was preparing to charge the Minutemen and buy the boss some time to take cover. He was prepared to die...

"Shoot," Gage can hardly say with his jaw so clenched, "Shoot right now; the second I see your back, I'll shoot it."

Sole is sadly shaking their head. They would have preferred that things had gone differently. They were confident that Gage would seize the opportunity to live a better life. But they must have been wrong. A raider is still a raider.

The detonation that rings in the slowly lengthening morning is most likely the most painful thing Sole has doing from their lives. But they don't have a choice. The decision was in the hands of the person they had come to consider a friend. And this friend was now lying face down, slowly surrounded by the blood oozing from the bullet wound.

"I'm sorry, Porter. Really sorry."

MacCready : MacCready paced back and forth in his improvised nest, his gaze fixed on the horizon. He'd been a mercenary for the Sole Survivor for months and had grown to feel strongly about them.

But they'd been gone for weeks, gone without a trace. MacCready had looked everywhere for them, but they had simply vanished into thin air.

As he sat there brooding, a Sunshine Tidings settler approached him, holding a miniature wooden soldier.

"Hey MacCready, someone left this for ya," the settler said, holding up the toy.

As he recognized the soldier, MacCready's heart jumped into his throat. He'd handed it to Sole as a mark of his affection.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, his voice shaking with emotion.

"Ironically, it's a raider from East."

MacCready's eyes welled up with tears as he clasped the wooden soldier to his chest.

"Thanks," he responded, his voice choking with emotion. "Thanks for bringing this to me."

MacCready sat there, lost in thought, as the settler went away. He knew the appearance of the wooden soldier indicated that Sole was still somewhere out there, and he resolved to find them no matter what.

With newfound zeal, MacCready packed his belongings and returned to the wasteland, his sniper rifle at the ready. After days of research, MacCready discovered Nuka-World, a long-abandoned amusement park on the Commonwealth's outskirts. He went to the park without hesitation, ready to seek out the love of his life.

When he arrived at Nuka-World, he discovered the park overrun with raiders. MacCready, on the other hand, was unfazed. He knew as the best sharpshooter in the Commonwealth, he could take down anyone who stood in his path.

MacCready fought his way into the park with his trusty rifle in hand, taking down invaders and eliminating obstacles as he went. His heart was racing in his chest, and he knew he was coming closer and closer to getting Sole.

After what seemed like a lifetime, MacCready finally found the love of his life.

Without saying anything, MacCready took the wooden soldier from his pocket and held it out to Sole. They were crying as they gazed at the toy and then up at MacCready.

"I knew you'd come," they said quietly, wrapping their arms around MacCready and clutching him tightly. "But, you know, there was no need to kill all of my people."

"Your... people?"

"The raiders. I was their Boss."

"You're crazy but you're my crazy."

MacCready didn't give a damn about any of it. Overboss of the raiders? Anyway, dead raiders. The only thing that mattered was that his love was back in his arms, and nothing could ever separate them again.

Nick Valentine : [As I previously wrote in a fanfiction about Nick finding Nora at Nuka-World and saving her, I want to try something different, but don't be ashamed to tell me if you don't like this version]

He does not require sleep at night. He's not going to quit regardless. He went over the Commonwealth, interviewing people and hunting for leads. He surveyed the entire Commonwealth, colony by colony, but his best buddy, Sole, seemed to have vanished without a trace.

He's returned to Sanctuary, defeated. He is burdened by his failure. Sole has vanished. He can't seem to find them. Sole tracked him down after himself disappeared. Sole has recovered every missing individual from every file that has been on Nick's desk since then. Sole even located all of Eddie Winter's holotapes, and Nick was able to kill Eddie Winter and finally be at peace with himself. But Nick is unable to locate Sole.

Sturges is working in his workshop, messing with an ancient radio, attempting to pick up transmissions. Nick gets closer to him, dismissed. Sturges is Nick's closest buddy outside of Sole, and Nick really needs a friend right now. That's when he comes to a halt.

"Sturges! Don’t touch anything!"

Nick listens intently as the trailer resumes its loop. Nuka-World. A little east of Sunshine Tidings.

"Many thanks! Thank you a million times!"

The technician scratched his neck, unsure of what he had done, while the synthetic detective turned heels and left without even explaining why he had come.

Nick's steady pace gets him to the gates of Nuka-World in less time than it takes to say. He skirts the monorail and rushes across the moor towards the old amusement park, but he moves more cautiously near the spot where the raiders appear to gather.

He observed a bunch of raiders standing guard outside the Fizztop Grille as he approached it. These were not the usual foreigners, Nick realized—they were brutal, cunning, and heavily equipped. He crouches in the shadows and moves in closer to hear the dialogue. So he discovers that this group is run by a brilliant man dubbed Overboss.

Nick took out his handgun and crept closer, staying in the darkness. He needed to find his pal as soon as possible. He had intended to find them straight, but fate seemed to have other intentions.

He noticed the Sole Survivor sitting at a table with a group of raiders, laughing and conversing as if they were old friends. Nick couldn't believe what he was seeing; had his friend actually turned into one of these freaks?

Too much seized, and he is unaware that the guard group has just noticed him before pointing their weapons at him and opening fire. Nick sought shelter immediately and pulled his firearm, ready to protect himself.

The fight was fierce, with bullets flying in everywhere. Nick fought valiantly, defeating raider after raider. But something weird happened when the last guard dropped to the ground. Sole approached him with a devious look on their face.

"Welcome, Nick," they greeted him. "I welcome you to my new kingdom. I am now the Overboss. And you, my friend, are trespassing on my land."

Nick was stunned by what he was hearing. His companion, the Sole Survivor, had transformed into the very thing they had been fighting against all along. This is the most bitter nightmare he could have imagined in his far too long existence.

But he knew what had to be done.

He drew his revolver and aimed it towards his erstwhile friend. "I won't let you hurt anyone else, not on my watch."

The two ex-partners confronted each other with their guns pulled and their eyes locked in a deadly look. And as they pulled the trigger, Nick knew their friendship had come to an end.

Piper : "Piper Wrigth is on the verge of solving a new Commonwealth mystery. Sole says Survivor has been missing for a few weeks, and our local celebrity, the private detective Nick Valentine, has been on their trail for nearly as long. Sturges informed me that Nick travelled to Sunshine Tidings after hearing a radio broadcast, so I'll tracks him back there."

Piper taps her lip with her finger as she holds the recording for a bit.

"I'm not sure what's going on, but hey! This isn't the first time I've been on the front lines of uncovering the Commonwealth's dark secrets!"

The reporter puts her tape recorder away, adjusts her bag's shoulder straps, and then, after a final gesture to greet Preston at his guard station, she heads towards Sunshine. She gets in sight of the colony shortly before the end of the afternoon, and she is promptly informed of what the detective found before her. East. She must travel east.

She discovered the Nuka-World installations just as the sun was about to set on the horizon.

"It's amazing" she begins with her recording. "A genuine historical relic just a short distance from a Minuteman settlement. There appears to be a lot going on behind the walls of this Nuka-World. I'm going to try to sneak in because there are so many raiders nearby."

Since the gangs appear to be making their way slowly towards their neighbourhoods, Piper surprisingly have it easy to infiltrate up to the market, where a doctor gives her the latest developments. This time, the journalist doesn't to turn on her recording device. If the Mackenzie woman is correct, things are going much worse than Piper could have imagined. But she won't believe it just yet. She must discover the facts without allowing her emotions to take over. She immediately arrived at the Fizztop Grille and took the lift right into the Overboss quarters, following the directions that she was given.

"Blue," she says softly.

She sees a movement to her right in the darkness, then someone lights a lamp and painfully gets out of their bed.

"Piper?"

"Oh!  Finally! I found you!"

As they approach her, Piper rushes to Sole, but when she tries to jump to their neck, they raise their hand and stare at her coldly.

"Remain where you are. What do you expect from me?"

"Blue? But… I came to save you!"

Piper is moved to tears by the cynical laughter of the person she believed was her friend. When Sole moves out of her line of sight to show her what is hanging from a Power Armour rack, she screams in horror.

"How could you?" she managed to say between sobs.

"He deserved it! Are you also here to get rid of me?"

Piper can't take her gaze away from her dear buddy Nick, or what's left of him. His coat is riddled with bullet impact marks, and a coolant puddle has formed beneath him. His eyes are shut and the hat has vanished. He is so miserable that the journalist feels her heart breaking into pieces in her chest.

"Are you coming here to kill me?" Sole keeps on ask.

"No," Piper replied with more vehemence than she felt she was capable of. In reality, she is extremely demolished, but her sharp mind has already made a decision. She wants to take Nick home no matter what happens to Sole, and she won't be able to do so if she is slain.

"Good. It would have been quite unpleasant for me to have to... terminate our friendship."

Piper clenches her teeth tightly, trying with all her will to remain calm.

"I never said we were still friends. I'm not sure what happened to you, but..." she swallows hard. "I'm leaving. I'll go back and never return. You won't hear from me again."

"If that's what you want," they sigh, unconcerned.

"But I'm bringing him back with me."

Sole lets out a cynical laugh.

"I'd really like to see you do it."

"You will see me and help me!" Piper had no idea she possessed such determination, but she is determined to see her goal through to achievement. "You're going to give me a brahmin so I can bring his body back to Diamond City. Whatever happened between you two, he was your friend; he helped you, he supported you, and you owe him that!"

She expected to have to fight claws and nails, and she expected Sole to protest vehemently and act sadistically. But they groan deeply, as if they are entirely broken.

"You know, that's not what I was expecting about. But they," he says, gesticulating towards the park below, "would have ripped me apart if I had shown weakness. Nick failed miserably on that one. He should have been more discrete. Things could have turned out differently."

When he looks at their old acquaintance, she can see his sincerity.

"You are free to take him. We'll just have to say you paid his weight in capsules. I'll arrange for his transport. While you prepare, you can roam around Nuka-World in peace. Nobody will bother you. That is something I will personally ensure."

Piper approaches Sole again, and this time they do not push her away. She takes their hand in hers and looks them in the eyes.

"You still have a chance. Leave with me."

Sole sighs and shakes his head.

"No. I'm not going back. I abandoned everyone who had put their trust in me. Right now, this is where I belong. But please make certain that no one follows in Nick's footsteps. I'll never have the strength to kill another of you."

There isn't much else to say. Piper recognises that what was will never be again, and the body of this wretched synthetic she brings with her to Diamond City is proof of that. She'll travel to Amari; she'll do everything she can to save Nick, but she already knows she'll never be able to bring Sole back.

And, for the first time, she does not consider writing an article.

Preston : Preston listens attentively to the man, out of breath, standing in front of him. He maintains a serious demeanor throughout the discussion while Deacon relates what he saw. Some might tell him never to take Deacon at his word, but Preston wouldn’t listen.

Because the facts remain the same. His general has vanished from the Commonwealth's surface, leaving no trace. It corresponds exactly to what the man in front of him says.

Prisoner of a band of raiders more organized than anything they've ever encountered.

"Allow me to broadcast messages. I intend to gather as large an army of Minutemen as possible. Meanwhile, if you're up for it, I have an assignment for you."

"I'll do anything for Sole. It’s… I've never really had a best friend."

"Reintroduce yourself to Nuka-World and get Sole ready. The army will be at the amusement park's gates in five days, preparing to attack." But he wants this army to march with its General at the head, a General who has had time to study the area and be ready when the time comes. However, the General must be warned, which is where Deacon comes in. Except for the spy, no one else could enter Nuka-World. Preston has faith in him.

Preston prepares the offensive while Deacon goes back. On the fifth day, he stands with all the Minutemen at the foot of the gates of a Nuka-World completely unaware of what awaits them. Unfortunately, Deacon did not return to Preston to report, so the colonel has no idea if Sole has been informed of what is going on. He hopes that nothing bad occurred to the spy; he seemed sympathetic and concerned about the General's safety.

As the sun rises, two figures emerge from the amusement park's gates. Preston can't express how relieved he is to see his old pal. He was about to cry. But he is still waiting. He's waiting for the signal before launching an attack.

Sole holds a gun to the raider’s head at their side and talks to him. Preston has no idea what they are discussing, but he is still waiting for orders. He's not going to let Sole down.

He feels relieved rather than surprised when the detonation sounds. One fewer raider. Sole enters the parking area quietly to meet their colonel. Preston can't help but notice how defeated they appear. While Sole is just a few steps away from Preston, the Minutemen notice that his pal... is crying.

The other swiftly wipes away their few tears before straightening up. They address their orders and they all storm as a group. The battle has raged for a long time; there are many pockets of resistance, but Sole knows where they are and who defends them. Furthermore, once the market is liberated, the merchants join the offensive, and the forces swiftly shift in favor of the Minutemen.

By the end of the day, the entire park has been cleaned up and the severe threat has been carried out to the last.

Preston searches the ranks for his General, but he cannot find them. Instead, he comes across the other man, Deacon. This one instructs him to follow him and guides him to the artificial mountain. They ascend the lift and find themselves in a loft that is rather luxurious for the surrounding area. Sole stands in front of the window, gazing out into the park. Their demeanor is solemn.

"General! Great victory!"

"Keep your congratulations, Preston.  A man died today who should not have died. It is a victory for the Commonwealth, but an awful loss for me."

Preston is gripped by his friend's gloomy statements. He approaches carefully and hesitantly.

"General?"

"I don't believe I'm deserving of this title. I had the opportunity to change things, to make them better. That window of opportunity closed today. I return the uniform to you."

"No!"

Preston is taken aback to hear another voice echoing his own. Deacon takes a deliberate step towards them.

"No way, Sole! Stop! What you're doing is admirable, as is all you've done. You changed the face of the Commonwealth; you offered those who felt they had lost everything a remarkable chance. The RailRoad has never thrived more than with you at the command of the Minutemen. Tolerance and prosperity are on the horizon for synthetics and humans. Racism has vanished. Ghouls, too, find their appropriate place. All of this, you delivered it to the world."

Preston agrees with the spy and nods.

"Only you and no one else," continue the spy. "I'm feel awful for Porter, but he'd never accept this reality. He would never have understood. But you, you created it. And the world still requires you. We haven't saved all of the Institute's synths yet. You still haven't freed all colonies from the threat of raiders or mutants. You still have a lot of work to do, and no one but you can do it."

Preston would not have said it so well. He puts a hand on his friend’s shoulder, looking into their eyes, the bright hope in his own.

"There would be no Minutemen without you. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I'm deeply sorry for your loss. Deeply. However, you must not give up. You must fight for all the Porters of the world for whom it's not too late and who have not yet crossed the line of no return."

Sole lowers their head for a time, as if pondering, and then raises it, setting their sights on the horizon with renewed zeal.

"You're right. You are absolutely right."

They then put their Minutemen hat on their head, tackling it with a proud gesture.

"For all the Porters of this world who can still be saved."

Strong : Strong had been wandering the Commonwealth for days, searching for the Sole Survivor. He had grown to respect the human's strength and determination, and he was eager to join forces with them in their fight against the Institute.

But as the days turned into weeks, Strong began to worry. The Sole Survivor was nowhere to be found, and no one seemed to have seen them in weeks. Strong asked around, but no one had any answers.

Just when he was about to give up hope, Strong heard a rumor about a new Overboss ruling over the raiders of Nuka-World. Something about the way the rumor was told caught Strong's attention, and he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

He made his way to Nuka-World, cautiously approaching the raider stronghold. As he made his way through the chaos and destruction, he heard a voice that he recognized.

"Strong? Is that you?"

It was the Sole Survivor, and they were standing on a balcony overlooking the raider arena. Strong was overjoyed to see them, but he couldn't help but feel a little confused.

"Why you here? You leader of these raiders now?"

The Sole Survivor nodded, a hard look in their eyes.

"I had to do what I had to do, Strong. The Commonwealth needs all the help it can get, and if I have to work with these raiders to make it happen, then that's what I'll do."

Strong didn't quite understand, but he respected the Sole Survivor's decision. He knew that they were a fierce warrior, and he was proud to call them his ally.

"Strong fight with you, no matter what. Together, we strong!"

The Sole Survivor smiled, and Strong felt a surge of pride. They may be the leader of the raiders now, but they were still the same person that Strong had grown to respect and admire.

X6-88 : As he delivered his report, X6-88 stood in front of the Director, his arms crossed behind his back. "Father, I have located Sole," he stated calmly and measuredly.

Father cocked his brow. "And where precisely are they?"

The Courser paused for a moment before responding. "They are the new Overboss of the raiders at Nuka-World."

The Director's face became solemn. "I see. And what is your strategy?"

"I propose we send a team to retrieve them. We cannot allow one of our own to be associated with such a group."

Father agreed with a nod. "That's excellent. You will be in charge of the team. Please take whatever resources you require."

X6-88 nodded and walked away. As he walked out of the room, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of something he couldn't place. Even though he didn't always agree with Sole's approach, he had always respected them. He couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

The raiders were well-organized and well equipped when the Institute team arrived at Nuka-World. X6-88 was well aware that a direct assault would be suicide. Instead, he resolved to put his expertise to good use. He gained access to the raiders' computer systems by a combination of stealth and hacking. He realized that Sole had been assisting the murderer in expanding their area by leveraging their knowledge of the Commonwealth.

X6-88 was enraged at the prospect of his former ally assisting the very people they had fought against for so long. But he ignored his emotions and concentrated on his mission. He was able to take away the raiders' defenses one by one by using their own weapons against them. He eventually made his way to the Overboss's headquarters.

As he walked into the Fizztop, he noticed Sole sitting comfortably on a bench, surrounded by their new friends. As the Courser neared, the Overboss looked up.

"X6," they spoke flatly, their voice devoid of emotion. "I see you've come to take me back."

The synth sat up straight, his arms crossed behind his back. "Yes, I was dispatched to retrieve you. You can't possibly stay here with these people."

Sole looked around at their new friends. "These people are my family now," he explained. "They accept me for who I am, not who they want me to be. I've discovered a sense of purpose here that I didn't have at the Institute."

X6-88 maintained a solemn face. "I understand that you have developed feelings for these individuals, but they are still raiders. They cause harm to innocent people and disturb the tranquilly. That is not what the Institute represents."

His opponent stood up, their eyes narrowing. "What exactly does the Institute stand for? Control? Manipulation? Experimentation on unwitting subjects? Do you want me to go back to that?"

X6-88's look was unwavering. "The Institute's methods may appear harsh and intimidating. but they are necessary for humanity's survival. You are aware of this."

Sole made a shaky motion with his head. "I can't go back to how things used to be. Not with everything I've seen and done out here. I'm sorry, but I'm unable to leave."

The Courser let out a sigh. "I see what you're saying. But I can't let you keep hanging out with these individuals. I've been given the order to bring you back to the Institute, using force if necessary."

As the two formerly allies faced one other, the tension in the room was visible. But before either of them could act, the door slammed open and a swarm of hostile raiders stormed in, weapons drawn. Sole knew something like this was coming, but it couldn't have arrived at a worse moment.

X6-88 examined the issue rapidly and made a judgement. "We need to work together if we want to make it out of here alive," he told Sole.

The other nodded, and they fought alongside each other against the raiders. Despite their differences, they made an excellent team. The Courser's battle training combined with the human's skills proved lethal.

When the last forsaken raider was eliminated, the two of them stood panting, their guns drawn. They exchanged silent glances for a little moment.

At last, it's Sole who talk first. "I'm sorry it came to this. I never intended to be your enemy."

Is ex-ally nodded. "I see what you're saying. But our allegiances have shifted. I need to go back to the Institute and tell what happened here."

The Courser turned to depart as the Overboss nodded. But not before pausing and turning back to confront Sole one last time.

"Be careful out here," he warned. "The wasteland is a dangerous place, and you have made powerful enemies by associating with raiders."

Sole gave a nod. "I know. But I'm not afraid. And I'm not Alone. I have friends who will support me."

X6-88 acknowledged with a nod, then turned and exited the room. He couldn't help but ponder about his brush with Sole as he made his way back to the Institute. Even when they were on opposing sides, he had always admired them. And today, despite their differences, he couldn't help but admire their persistence and determination.

As he walked into the Institute, he realized he'd have to explain what occurred at Nuka-World. And he was well aware that his superiors would be dissatisfied with the outcome. But he also realized he'd done what he needed to do and gained a deeper respect for Sole in the process.

[littleapocalypsekitten]

Nuka-Girl [IMG ID: An acrylic painting done after one of the Nuka-Cola advertising posters in Fallout 4. The background is red and white diagonal split with white stars. A blonde woman (short hair in an updo) in a skimpy white space suit exposing her midriff and thigh-high black boots clutches a space helmet in one hand and a cola bottle in the other. She is wearing a red jet pack and is casually leaning against a gigantic Nuka-Cola bottle. The second image features this picture in a glass frame where the wood is distressed in a way to make it look like it has survived in an irradiated wasteland, including some glowing uranium green/yellow wash. / END IMG ID]

I painted this a few years ago after one of Fallout 4's in-game advertising posters. It was a Christmas gift to my nephew, who got me into the Fallout games in the first place. He died last year and ownership of the painting reverted back to me. I offered to give it to friends of his, they chose not to take it. Because of emotional attachment, it will never be for sale.

[fictionkinfessions]

Part of me really misses the wasteland. Sure, there were feral ghouls, supermutants, raiders, and gunners running rampant, plus the occasional overzealous defector from any of the four major players in the Commonwealth (almost never the Institute but that makes perfect sense considering everything), but when I'm feeling really fed up with the fact that I have to work on other people's schedules and deal with things not as I'm prepared to (or as they become emergencies, but it didn't take long for me to set things up so I didn't have to be the one putting out all the fires) but as other people make it possible for me to, I miss when "garbage day" was just a memory of something I used to have to deal with, when lawyers and courts that dealt with land ownership were things I figured would come back "eventually" but were so unimportant as to be on the back-burner for all of my life, when "legal gender" was something I figured we'd just leave as a shitty idea of the shitty past.

Realistically, I know I'm romanticizing it, the radiation probably would've killed me before I reached 40 if a bullet hadn't, or ghouls, or supermutants, or some new horror of the wasteland. But since I can't go back, maybe romanticizing it is ok sometimes. As long as I don't let myself get carried away and neglect my life, maybe it's ok to spend some time fantasizing about being the Sole Survivor again, chatting with Nicky over honestly horrifyingly not-flat Nuka-Cola (it scared me the first time I cracked open a bottle and it was fresh??? Like, wtf had I been drinking?! But then I realized it hadn't become a problem pre-War so it sure as shit wasn't one in the wasteland) (ok, it wasn't exactly "fresh" but it also wasn't "flat" as we understand it, it was weird and Off but people had been drinking it with no ill effects that we could figure out so we kind of just went with it because hey, when you don't have clean water, Nuka-Cola is probably safer than dirty water, and some days, I needed something with some caffeine in it and I was not making coffee, I didn't like good, new coffee, the stuff that was around Then was even worse, by a lot and in "fun" new ways) on some gods-forsaken rooftop having long ago given up the fear that the buildings would collapse even as they sang their eerie song of decay. A few did, actually, but it was very rare, and the creaking became kind of soothing to me. It's come full circle to anxiety-inducing again but y'know.

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