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baddieladdie · 2 years ago

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Traveling with Nick Valentine - Part V

Part IV

Part III

Part II

Part I

18+ Series

- The deadly silent streets of Nahant -

Nick Valentine and the Sole Survivor leave the Sheriff's Department, retracing their steps back to the rest of the Commonwealth

“This seems pretty far off the beaten path if you ask me.” Nick observed, walking through the empty remains of the coastal town.

“And that’s why it’ll be perfect!” The joy in Nora’s voice was contagious, coaxing a small smile from his lips.

“Alright, I’ll bite. Why are you so interested in a driveway? Could just be another street.”

“But what if it’s not?” Nora skipped gleefully. “Preston mentioned there was a spectacular house in Nahant. I’ve seen a few buildings here but I haven’t seen anything ‘spectacular’. And you know I’ve been looking for a place of my own!”

“Why not Home Plate? You paid good money for that place, kid.”

“That tiny apartment? Come on, Nick! I really only got that so I could spend more time with you in Diamond City?”

“Is that so?” Nick smirked, awkwardly scratching his neck.

“Well, it’s good for trading too,” Nora blushed, changing the subject. “Getting supplies. And uh.” She paused. “There’s no heavy memories either. It’s new to me. Well, Diamond City is.”

“Yeah…I picked up on that while we were in Sanctuary Hills. Y ou seemed pretty shaken up. I don’t blame ya, not one bit. Looking at what remains of your life before any of this.” Nick exhaled the pressure from his chest. He knew that feeling himself, having woken up in that fateful dumpster so many years ago. They walked in silence for sometime, more and more trees popping up as they walked along.

“Who do you think actually won the war? Nobody, I guess.” Nora nodded solemnly in agreement. The remnants of the coastal road veered sharply to the right, up a steep hill. Nick couldn’t make out anything between the trees. Shrouded Mansion, eh? Fitting name.

“Alright, this looks like the spot. Ready for a closer look, icicle?” Nora laughed her somber aura away. It’s been a long while since Nicky called her by that nickname he gave her when they first met. He told her she was his favorite icicle, freshly thawed from cryo units of Vault 111.

Nora pants heavily, resting on the stairs of the mansion, her gun in her lap.

Nick leans against a post, screwdriver in hand already making some slight repairs

“Preston told you about this place?” Valentine frowned at the ghoul bodies that now littered the mansion's front yard. Bigger buildings usually come with some residents. In the Commonwealth, they’re typically not friendly. But there were a lot of damn ghouls… Anyone you walk away from .

“Uh-huh” Nora gasped out between labored breaths.

“Did he mention the company?” Nick gestured with his screwdriver at the pile of bodies before them.

“Uh, he might have said something about some locals, figured there were some settlers here who needed help.”

“Remember, the devil’s in the details.” He pocketed the tool, flexing the frame of his mechanical hand. “I better take a look around, make sure there aren’t any more surprises.”

Nora followed behind him, popping pieces of crispy squirrel bits every so often. “I expect tourism’s dried up substantially with those damn ferals.” Nick scanned the surroundings one more time, searching for any sign of danger. “It's hard to believe anything that was once human could be so vicious. But - it looks like we got them all.”

Wait - Where’s Nora? Nick spun around, tie swaying. She was just here!

“Nicky!” Her familiar voice called out from the rocky cliffs far from the carport he stood under. “Look at that view!” Nora gasped in delight. The sun setting below the horizon setting the sky ablaze. The dark outline of the church bell tower against the orange colored sky left him speechless. “And it’s practically a lake front property!” She leaned over the cliff’s edge to get a better view of the waves of cold, salty irradiated water splashed upon the massive rocks below. Sea foam lapping at the coast/beach/sandy front.

“Woah, now!” Valentine wrapped an arm around her waist, preventing her from leaning any further. “If you wanna go down there, I’m sure those rocks at the bottom would break your fall.”

“Nick!”

He chuckled at her reaction, smiling back at her.

“Just teasin’, love. Care to take a look inside?” Nick offered, ready to escape the stench of irradiated water.

Nora and Nick explore the remaining structure of the Mansion. Some walls intact, others not so much.

But the sheer size and remote location has Nora in a tizzy

“Quite a locale,” Nick nodded, prodding at a broken bureau. “ Gonna take a lotta elbow grease to clean this place up.”

“Get a load of THIS place!” Nora opened the double-door to the elaborate dining room with gusto. “I could never afford to live in a house this nice, but look at me now!” She shouted, whiskey bottles in hand. “I could put a kitchen here, and the dining room is right there. Ooh! And I could set up a guest room upstairs. There is so much I can do here!”

“Heh, glad to see you so happy, dove.”

Would he still see her on the regular? The mansion was a day's journey from Diamond City. Nora had spent weeks practically tied to his hip, cracking the mystery of the Institute. He had the great pleasure of helping her learn to navigate the brave new world she was thrust into. Nick had no shortage of good memories together. He couldn’t imagine a future without her there beside him.

“Everything alright, Nick?” Nora asked, pausing by the staircase.

“Oh, nothing you can’t fix.” He flirted with a wink. Nora hid her blushing rosy cheeks with the side of her hand, but it was always her emerald eyes that gave her feelings away. You could always tell how she was doing, if you knew where to look. Valentine looked into those eyes often, but more often than not, was surprised to see them brimming with joy when they met his.

“In that case, let’s see what mysteries lie below." Nora began descending the stairs, hips swaying.

T hat vault suit doesn't leave much to the imagination. He thought to himself in admiration. She wears it quite well.

"curses." Nora jiggled the door handle. "Locked. You got a bobby pin on ya, Nicky?"

"If I got it," Nick rummaged around the deep pockets of his trench coat, feeling for the familiar object. "Ah, there you go."

"Thanks. I knew I could count on you~" Nora crouched down, eye level with the lock.

"Anything you need, I'm-"

click

"Oh. You're almost too good at that. Maybe I need to upgrade the locks at the agency."

Nora pushed the door open, only to be immediately tackled to the ground by a feral ghoul

"Shit!" Nick grabbed the tattered clothing, yanking the ghoul off Nora - freeing her to escape from the teeth that came so close to her neck. She jumped to her feet, pushing rounds into her trusty Le Fusil Terribles shotgun.

The sound of Nick's pistol blasting the ghoul's head clean off echoed off the walls of the concrete basement, blood splattering the damp walls. "Keep your eyes peeled, we may not have seen the last of 'em."

"Right." Nora nodded. The light from her pip-boy reflected off the surface of the flooded basement. One, maybe two feet of water covered the cluttered concrete shelter. Whoever that feral once was, likely wasn't alone.

The sound of moaning and sloshing came from the dark shadows before them.

"You hear that?" Nick froze.

"Yeah, I don't like that sound of that. Not one bit." Nora stopped beside him, trying to spot the source of the movement in the darkness. "I can't see a thing..."

Nick leaned down slightly, whispering in Nora's ear. "Try to draw 'em out to the light. You still got a molotov on ya?"

"Yea..?" Nora silently pulled one from her bag, her heart beating out her chest.

"Burn the sucker." Nick passed her his lighter. "There's only one way out and we're blocking it. Be ready."

"Okay." Nora held the light to saturated cloth. "1...2...3!"

The flames were so viciously bright, Nora's human eyes couldn't adjust in time, blinded. She stumbled backwards against the viscous water. "Nick! I can't -" She cried out, feeling herself lose her footing on the slippery floor.

SPLASH

"Nora!" Nick shouted, splashing through the knee deep water to get between whatever was coming their way and her. He cocked his pistol, both hands firmly on the grip.

The quiet sloshing of bodies moving through water became a thunderous echo of 2 distinct inhuman screams. One feral, racing through the water on all fours, leaped for his face. Taking the opportunity, Nick fired a shot straight through the ghoul's chest. "Not exactly subtle, pal."

BAM BAM

With a mighty splash, a second ghoul body fell by Nick's side - water drenching his sleeves.

"Guess we're even."

"Not bad," Nicky offered a hand to hoist Nora back to her feet and out of the questionable basement water. "Not bad at all."

--------------------------------------------------------------

“You alright? I think I just heard my rad counter cry for mercy.” Nick could suck down a lot of rads as a synth. Nora's more supple, pre-war body couldn't hold up long in such conditions. Standing water was almost always a hot spot for high radiation.

“Yeah. I’m fine, can’t say the same about those ghouls.” The bodies floated weightless in the knee deep water; oozing green irradiated blood. Nora grabbed an extra Radaway dosage just to be safe.

“They won't be bothering anybody now.” Nick shrugged absentmindedly, his skeletal hand lazily drifting over the clutter left on the bookshelf.

“Hey Nick,” Nora called from behind a wall.

“Yea?” He responded, flipping through a wrinkled magazine, trying to make out any of the words.

“This damn..UGH!” The frustration in her voice caught his attention; he put the magazine down. “This fuckin' terminal won’t let me in!”

“These old terminals can be real finicky. If you ask nicely, I bet I could get it to spill its guts.”

“You want me to beg?” She eyed him.

“I want you to ask me nicely.”

“Nick. Please, the terminal?”

“Try again.”

“Nicky, my Valentine, please take a look at the terminal? For me?”

“Done. All you had to do was ask”

“Ugh, you’re such a tease” Nora couldn’t hid her smile.

“Goodness. They've got this locked down tighter than a..." Nick lowered himself to the chair, focusing carefully on the fuzzy green text on the humming screen. "hmm," Nick sucked in a breath. "Maybe - Ah! There we go.” His golden yellow eyes scanned the message left on the abandoned terminal. A body floated by. A ghoul. One viciously ripped apart, one that had not turned feral.

"It ain’t good, dove. Maybe it’s best if you don’t see this.”

“What do you mean?” Nora leaned on him, reading over his shoulder. The terminal cast a subtle green light on them in the dark, musty basement.

“Oh god. Those were his family. They killed him.” Nora gasped, not daring to look at the body floating next to her.

“He’s probably the only one in the commonwealth who attempted to rehabilitate a feral ghoul.”

Nora took a deep breath, “Probably was a rough transition. Luxury to this apocalyptic hellscape. Knowing the difference between a salad fork and a dinner fork won’t keep you alive.”

“Yeah. I got the cop, Nick Valentine, to thank for that. You got Military training from before the war." He gently rested a hand on her arm. "Not everyone can be so lucky."

“Let’s go, I can’t take this any more.”

The bottom of his trench coat wet from the water they waded through, it dragged behind him dripping as they left the basement in woeful silence.

*Nick standing in the ghouls way to protect Nora like*

ANyWay - This was a pleasure to write~ As always, you can view the AO3 link right here (that's where I publish first!)

ah - good stuff. There's still one more chapter I want to write and then its back to the Thane FanFic I was working on earlier this year <3

#fallout 4 #sole survivor #nick valentine x sole survivor #nick valentine #nick valentine fanfic #ao3 #fanfiction #xdreamwriterx

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