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out-of-the-loupe · 8 months ago

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Dans Le Bleu, Chapter 1

Summary: Renee Jones has finally arrived in the Boston Commonwealth after spending the last few years in the Capital Wasteland. Eager to leave her past behind her, she starts a search for a job…and becomes a lab assistant to one Dr. Curie Collins. While the job offers a good way to explore this new land, it also lands her in the middle of a war between the Institute, the Minutemen, and the Brotherhood. Wherever Renee goes, trouble follows, and she just can't catch a break. Between war, her past coming back to haunt her, and her growing feelings for her boss, it's only a matter of time before she crumbles under the pressure.

You want Curie fanfic, have some Curie fanfic.

As one person described this fic, it's an "Angsty love story between a chaotic 0 luck dumbass and oblivious doctor 👍👍👍 would recommend".

Please reblog! Here's a link for chapter 1 if you'd rather read on AO3.

“I crossed the river and… Did I pass that building…?” Renee stopped and looked up the Ruins before looking at the crude map again. “Maybe I took a wrong turn…” She scratched her temple.

Once she arrived in Bunker Hill, she was told by Kessler—who seemed to be the mayor, she supposed—to wait around for the caravans for a job. In doing this, she burned through her caps…and found out no one was hiring. Kessler at least had the decency to feel bad enough to buy her a drink and draw up a map to Diamond City. Left with little choice, Renee headed out to Diamond City.

At least, that was the idea. Renee had to admit she thought she was lost. Kessler told her to look for an old baseball stadium. Unfortunately, that assumed Renee knew what such a thing looked like. The most she knew was old race tracks and fields. Sure, she was aware of what baseball had been, but unless the “stadium” looked like a race track, she wasn’t entirely sure what to look for. “Big building” was as far as she got.

Renee kept moving. Surely if she didn’t get to Diamond City, she’d come across another settlement or someone that could point her in the right direction. She kept her rifle in her hands just in case another Raider crossed her path. They weren’t bad on the trip up through the wilderness, but damn if they weren’t a dime a dozen in the Ruins.

The afternoon sun stretched her shadow far before her. She let her mind wander as she went along, thinking back on Rivet City in the Capital Wasteland. There was no nostalgia in her heart, and she wouldn’t miss it at all. Nor did she miss her short-lived job as a waitress (before they fired her for being rude to the asshole customers). And she definitely, definitely didn’t miss her ex. The bastard.

She thought vaguely of home and wondered what her family was getting up to. She considered trying to buy passage back to the Midwest, but she only had the caps to move forward, not back. Even then, not a lot of caravans went West, so she most likely would have had to take the trip herself. That was a sure-fire way to die.

“Hearin’ shit.”

Renee dove behind a car. She watched a group of Raiders walk by, mumbling to themselves. She gazed at them over her sunglasses and only stood once she felt the danger passed.

“Gotcha, bitch!”

A bullet hit the ground at her feet. The Raiders were turned and aiming at her. She shouldered her rifle and took off in a run, weaving between cars and piles of debris. More bullets pinged off buildings and cars as she sprinted, with the Raiders taunting her all the while.

Just as she turned a corner, she felt one bullet land its mark in her thigh. She skidded, rolled on the ground with a curse. Blood dribbled from the hole and she scrambled to push herself against the wall. The Raiders ran past her.

“Sh-shit…” She took a deep breath. She looked at the outside of her thigh, where blood stained her jeans. Without even looking she knew she didn’t have enough supplies for field medicine. She reached back to the three (empty) slots sewn into her belt. Not even a Stimpak left.

“Stupid HUMANS!” “Protect the Wall!”

Renee’s ears pricked to hear the voices. She staggered to her feet and crept around the corner. No more Raiders, but the sound of gunfire grew louder. She heard the loud blasts of laser fire. Kessler said something about a Wall around Diamond City; and if someone was screaming to protect it, perhaps she was closer than she thought.

Soon enough she came upon the scene of half a dozen strangely-armored men trying desperately to fight off some Super Mutants. One of them saw her. “You gonna just stand there or help, lady?!” He shouted, reloading his rifle behind some plywood leaned up against an old police barrier.

“Oh, uh, sure!” She readied her gun again.

The Mutants were firing down at them from what looked like a ruined apartment building. Renee joined two others in a blasted-out diner and tried to take aim as well as she could. Her hands shook too much to be terribly effective, but she did manage to hit one Mutant in the stomach.

She tried to kneel to steady her aim but the wound in her thigh wouldn’t let her. Renee pushed past the pain to ease closer to one of the open walls. “Almost…” The sights in her scope wouldn’t stop shifting around.

A Mutant suddenly fell from the railing with a yell and the men pushed forward. “Almost got ‘em, boys!” One shouted.

“Ugh, fuck it,” Renee hissed. She leapt out of hiding and shot at the Mutant’s head that way. Her two bullets hit the wall behind it.

Just as she reloaded, she felt another bullet rip through her shoulder. God damn it, not another one…!

She collapsed to one knee, her thigh burning to keep her steady and she pressed a hand against the new wound. The ground shook as a Mutant ran toward her, arms raised with a wooden board. “We are Super—”

She shot it in the chest just as it swung down. The board clipped her in the side of the head and she hit the ground next, her vision slipping in and out.

The sounds of the fight faded, though whether that meant they were winning or because she was nearly unconscious she didn’t know. Her wounds burned and she struggled to push herself up. It was no use.

Well. What a way to go, she figured. She made it all the way from the Midwest Commonwealth to Boston, just to be taken out by a Raider and a Mutant. Everything she’d been through in her life culminated in this. Bleeding out on the asphalt because of her own dumb luck.

She felt someone grip her under her arms and drag her back to lean against the building. “Hey, you okay? Say something!”

Renee forced her eyes open but things were too blurred to see properly. “I’m…” She trailed in a weak moan.

“Someone go get a doc! She’s hurt!”

She felt someone place a hand on her uninjured shoulder. “Just hold on, kid. You’ll be fine.”

Kid? She opened her mouth to retort but all that came out was a pained squeak.

Someone put pressure down on her thigh and she weakly grabbed for them. It hurt.

“I know it hurts kid, just hold on.”

“Damn, welcome to the Great Green Jewel, huh?”

“No kidding.”

The two mens’ voices grew distant. She let her chin droop to her chest. Tired. So tired.

“Madame? Can you ‘ear me?”

A new voice rang in her ears. This one sounded gentle, feminine. Renee barely managed to crack her eyes open again. “…Hm?” Her brow furrowed and she squinted.

“It is fortunate you sent for me. She is not doing well at all.” The woman dug around in the pockets of her coat and produced a Stimpak. “Zhis will ‘elp.”

“D-don’t…” But it was too late. Renee felt a rush of cool relief through her body and her vision cleared enough to properly see who was helping her.

The woman had cropped brunette hair and hazel blue eyes. She smiled gently. “Do not what?” She asked, tilting her head.

“Don’t waste one of those on me,” Renee finished. She felt her cheeks take on a pink hue.

The woman blinked. “It is not a waste if you are injured. And, you are.” She eased off Renee’s jacket and felt around her shoulder. “Hm.”

“H-hey, ow.” Renee tried to bat her away. “Quit it, I’m fine.”

“You are not fine, Madame.” The woman huffed and began inspecting her thigh. “I will ‘ave to tend to you further in my lab. Unfortunately I do not ‘ave zhe tools I will need with me.” She dug around in her lab coat again and produced another Stim.

Renee shifted with a wince. “I just said…”

“If you do not like needles, zhen look away. But I will not allow you to refuse zhis.”

She felt the woman inject it into her arm again. Her thoughts grew clearer and she felt she could breathe easier. But with it came drowsiness. She gazed up at the woman, brows furrowed. “Who…are you?”

“My name is Curie.” Curie shifted to help her up. “Go slowly.”

Renee managed to get to her feet and a wave of dizziness overcame her. She stumbled into Curie. “S-sorry…”

“Do you think you can walk?” Curie held her elbows to steady her.

“Maybe. I…” Renee shook her head to clear it. Things were still a bit fuzzy but at least she didn’t feel like she was drowning.

Curie pulled her good arm across her shoulders. “Lean on me, zhen.”

Renee allowed herself to be led away, limping next to the strange woman. Curie.

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

“Zhere. You will be sore for a few days, but zhere is no lasting damage.” Curie finished wrapping a bandage around her shoulder with a firm tug to keep it in place. “Zhis should help with any residual bleeding.”

Renee held her t-shirt in her hands, her face blazing. At least it wasn’t as bad as when Curie insisted—no, ordered—her to remove her jeans so she could get at the bullet wound in her thigh. She was quick to put her pants back on after that one. “Thanks again. I’m sorry I’m taking up so much of your time…”

“It is no trouble.” Curie stuck another Stimpak near the wound.

Renee wriggled back into her shirt and tugged it down. “So, um… I can’t… I can’t actually pay you.” She stood up from the examination table.

Though Curie had her back turned, Renee saw the woman flinch. “I see. Do not concern yourself with zhat. My job is to assist.” She turned on a faucet at the sink and washed her hands.

“I mean, I can’t pay you in caps, but maybe I can do something else for you? I’m good at finding things. Like scrap and stuff. Maybe you need something like that?” Renee looked around the room again, seeing plenty of lab equipment and two chemistry stations. “Maybe I could get you some material for…whatever you’re doing?”

Curie turned off the faucet and dried her hands on a nearby towel. “Well… I am sure zhat Monsieur Howard is probably tired of me asking him for beakers and test tubes by now…” She went over to her lab table and picked up a vial of cloudy liquid. “Hm…”

Renee poked at a flask of green ooze and backed away at Curie’s look. “Anything you want, I can try to find it.”

“I think zhis is a good arrangement. Bon. I won’t make you go too far for now, but if you could find some samples of Hubflower for me, I would very much appreciate it.” Curie raised an eyebrow. “But please do be careful. You should rest for a few days before going out into the Ruins…”

“Pfft, I’ll be all right. I’ve had worse.” Renee waved her hand dismissively. She limped over to her bag and her rifle and started to slide them over her shoulders, when she winced. “Ouch…”

Curie cleared her throat. “You were saying?”

“It’ll be fine!” She shifted her bag to her other shoulder and shoved on her boots. “Hubflower, right?”

Curie nodded. “Just return ‘ere and I’m sure I’ll ‘ave somezhing else for you to fetch.” She tilted her head. “Apologies. I just realized… What is your name?”

“Renee. Renee Jones.” Renee flashed a grin.

Curie returned it and chuckled. “It’s good to meet you, Renee. Though per’aps zhe circumstances were not ideal, I’m glad we met.”

“Yeah, it hasn’t exactly been the warmest welcome to Diamond City, or the Commonwealth, but you’ve made a bit better.” Renee rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ll make it up to you somehow. I promise.”

“I believe you.” Curie turned to her lab, signaling she was done. “I look forward to seeing you again, hm?”

Renee opened the door leading to the market. “You can count on me!”

(Originally published Aug. 21, 2021)

#fallout #fallout 4 #fo4 #curie #curie fallout 4 #fallout 4 curie #sole survivor #sole survivor x curie #renee jones #dans le blue #fallout 4 fanfic #okay so it's not quite sole survivor x curie #but renee jones is my sosu #she's just in her NPC era in this fic #cynder writes

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