bagog · 6 months ago
Note
If you're still taking the reverse trope prompts, may I have too hot to cuddle for (m)Shenko? Absolutely happy to have Shaun featuring as well if the muse strikes but absolutely not required!
Sounds like fun! Lemme see what I can do:
++
The air inside the Citadel apartment was crisp--frigid, even. Kaidan padded around the kitchen barefoot, wearing one of Shepard's too-small-for-him shirts and a pair of sweatpants, once in a while rubbing his arms to try to smooth out the gooseflesh there.
Shepard and he had planned on a staycation in their apartment while Kaidan was off from his duties, and so the fridge was well stocked. This wasn't exactly how they'd imagined it going, however.
"Alright Shepard," Kaidan called, walking up the stairs with several food items in his arms. "I've got marjan fruit, grape leaves, rye toast, and corn porridge. Any of that sound good?"
Shepard lay in their bed, looking bedraggled. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, and a fine sheen of sweat made him look... sticky. The Ifter-Manatoit fever was not a good look on him.
Despite his husband listing off some of his favorite foods, Shepard stared blankly up at Kaidan, shaking his head. His throat dry, he rasped, "Sorry, I just don't think I'm hungry."
"Okay," Kaidan smiled, but there was a watchful caution in his eyes. "Well, I'll keep it all up here, just in case you decide you want something."
"I just..." Shepard cleared his throat, swallowing dryly, "Just want to sit with you, if that's alright."
Kaidan nodded warmly and set the food next to the bed. He fetched his book from the bedside table and slid into bed next to Shepard. His husband scooched over and laid his head on Kaidan's chest, hooking one leg over Kaidan's and holding him tight. Kaidan kept one arm behind Shepard's back, softly stroking up and down his spine, while he held is book in the other hand.
Shepard was asleep--or as good as asleep--in minutes: soft breath against Kaidan's chest. Kaidan could normally pass several hours like a sieve with the right book, but today he found his mind wandering.
It was like there was a radiator wrapped around him, cuddling up to one side. It wasn't till sweat dripped from his hair onto his shirt that Kaidan realized how much of Shepard's excess heat he'd been absorbing. He sweltered for another thirty minutes before gently shaking Shepard awake.
"Hmuh?"
"You're still burning up, Shepard," Kaidan placed his sweaty palm against Shepard's sweaty forehead as if to confirm. But when Shepard pulled away, the imprint of his body was left as a wet patch running down Kaidan's side, his sweats and t-shirt soaked. "I imagine its gotta be uncomfortable cuddling up like this."
"I already feel awful," Shepard declared, pitifully, "Worth feeling a little more awful to be... I mean... You are not awful. You are good. You are a good. You're worth it, you know?"
"Shepard, you're delirious," Kaidan intoned, but there was a bit of a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. "I have an idea, I'll be right back, okay?"
Once he moved away from the bed, the air conditioning of the apartment once again had him shivering as he made his way into the master bathroom.
A few moments later, he came back and shook Shepard awake once more. "Here, come with me. Shoulda had this idea two days ago."
Shepard stumbled out of bed, Kaidan supporting him under a shoulder like the old soldier needed a patch up. In the bathroom, Shepard stared down into the hot tub with a questioning look.
"Do... I smell that bad?" Shepard rasped.
"Ha!" Kaidan exclaimed. "No comment. But no, let me help you in."
"Too hot," Shepard shook his head. "No hot tub. Please?"
"It's alright, it's not hot. Just... temperate. Not quite cold, but definitely not hot. Lean on me, there you go." Shepard stepped into the water with Kaidan help and sank into the water. The sound of relief that came out of his mouth as he sat and let the water lap up and over his shoulders was pure relief.
Kaidan quickly peeled off his own sweaty clothes and tossed them in the hamper before carefully stepping into the cool water.
"Now we can still hang out and be comfortable," Kaidan said, but he couldn't keep the shiver out of his voice as he took his seat next to Shepard and put an am around his husband's shoulders.
"You... cold?" Shepard said, dreamily. "Nooooo. Here." He wrapped his arms around Kaidan beneath the water and laid his--admittedly still damp head--on Kaidan's shoulder. Between the heat radiating off Shepard and the coolness of the water, Kaidan stopped shivering and stopped sweating. Shepard snoozed against his shoulder, and Kaidan let his head fall back against the tile.
Shepard needed rest. Shepard needed to cool off. And Shepard needed Kaidan. Kaidan smiled to himself that--at least this once--he was able to give Shepard exactly what he needed.
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princehendir · 7 months ago
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Do you want to elaborate about the alice postpartum post 👉👈
Yeah actually. I kinda do!
[cw: mental health issues, emotional abuse, some gaslighting, implied reproductive coercion. Probably some other stuff.]
So. Alice spends most of Shaun's baby-hood feeling like he's Not Real, though she's not really able to articulate what exactly she means by that, as well being kind of generally aware that it's not true, despite the fact that it feels really really true. That's not a real baby, and if it is a real baby it's definitely not her baby. Which she knows isn't rational but can't quite shake.
She also off-and-on feels like she's Not Real, other people Aren't Real, the world isn't Real, etc. which she was already having a problem with during the pregnancy but it got worse after the birth. Lots of depersonalization/derealization issues. Some of it is definitely the hormones but the emotional manipulator husband who Gently Encouraged her to keep a baby she wasn't 100% sure about (among other things) definitely also contributed.
The pregnancy went very well physically though, despite her emotional/mental issues. And the fact that Nate keeps using the term "easy pregnancy" (we're so lucky!) is slowly turning her evil.
She also gets increasingly paranoid about Codsworth the longer he's in the house. Really convinced that he's Up To Something and either talking to the police about her or spying on her for Nate, who she thinks might have bought him for specifically that reason (it's unclear how plausible this actually is).
Paranoid in general also, after the birth. Like, is worried that the neighbors Know Things about her, that the police are coming any minute, that sort of thing. And unfortunately a lot of her paranoia isn't fully without basis. She & Nate are very much living under stolen identities because they have warrants out. And Nate is kind of getting too into/overselling his whole "I'm a veteran" thing (he's not, to be clear) and there's genuine reason to worry that he might get cocky and blow their cover. So this is the stuff that's hardest for her to manage while she's trying to get her stuff together enough to get out.
(If I never mentioned this, part of her whole deal is that the day the bombs dropped was also the day she was planning on leaving him and starting over on the west coast. Like she had this whole thing worked out where she was going to slip out while he was giving his little speech at the Veterans Hall (which again, insane & ill-advised thing to do given that he's not actually a veteran and living under a stolen identity, but we don't need to go into all that rn) and get in her car and just start driving. Shaun was not actually part of this plan until like two days before, when she decided that it felt morally weird to her to abandon a baby even if it still didn't really feel like Her Baby.)
(The paranoia actually ends up fucking this plan up for her. She freaks herself out and tries to leave early because she thinks Nate's onto her (he isn't) and then he catches her packing a bag and finally figures out what's going on. They're actively fighting in the nursery and he's trying to prevent her from leaving when the news alert comes on about the bombs. In a weird irony, the war starting when it did was kind of lucky for her, because we were hitting "this is about to escalate, worried neighbors are calling 911" around that point and I'm not really sure what would've happened otherwise.)
Also, on the subject of Nate, she does start to think about killing him a lot. Which, to be fair, she also thinks about when she's more lucid (normal side effect of Nate exposure imo) but for a while there it definitely falls more on the "violent intrusive thoughts/violent impulses" end of the scale than the "morally bad but rational murder fantasy" one. This is actually what spurs her into working on an exit plan, it was either leaving or murder, and one of those is slightly easier to get away with.
She's doing a lot better during the main part of fo4, which is nice. But the fact that she was unwell & not really able to bond with Shaun when he was a baby really contributes to a lot of how she handles the main plotline. She doesn't feel as strongly about what happened as she thinks* she should, and she's not really sure what to do about that. Lying about how much she misses her baby feels wrong, but being honest feels a lot worse.
*thinks that other people think?
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siribear · 4 years ago
Text
‘what are your plans after this?’ whisper asks, nursing her cup still half full. she blinks once, twice, already feeling a little tipsy. maybe she shouldn’t have gone for the moonshine after two hundred and eleven years of not having a hard drink. ‘not... specifically this drink, you know, but,’ she twirls a finger in a circle, ‘in general.’
maccready lifts his cup to his lips with a chuckle. he’s at least 2 cups in and he’s not acting like the room is spinning. it’s - kinda not fair. totally not fair. ‘now that the gunners are off my tail, i can head back to goodneighbor and pick up more jobs.’ he drinks. ‘hopefully.’
whisper leans toward him, steadying herself with an arm on the bar. ‘hopefully. you said you needed money to buy out the gunners. what’re you aiming for now?’
his seat squeaks loudly as he fidgets. ‘i - ’ he sighs, looks to vadim. his voice goes low and rough, ‘i have a son.’ he smiles. ‘his name’s duncan.’
she tilts her head. ‘i don’t remember seeing him.’
‘no. no, he’s in the capital wasteland.’
capital wasteland... ‘like, d.c.? i went there once. long time ago.’ she blinks. ‘why’s he... there.’ she motions with her hands. ‘but you’re here?’
he chuckles again. ‘you okay there, boss? you haven’t even finished one glass.’
‘spectacular. don’t even feel a thing,’ she says quickly, absolutely not slurring. ‘your son?’ because maybe she’s projecting. maybe.
‘he’s sick.’ maccready looks around, gauging if anyone else is listening. but whisper knows the only one that’s been paying attention to them is vadim, and maybe the waitress but only in a business sense. she’s tipsy, not oblivious. ‘these blue... boils started appearing on his skin. i met a guy whose friend had the same sickness. there’s a cure, but it’s in the basement of the med-tek research building.’
‘so, what, you’re gonna pay someone to go get it? what if they, like, take off with it?’ she sits straight up. ‘oh! hey. i’ll do it!’
he coughs heavily, drink caught in his throat. ‘are you-are you serious?’
‘yeah, absolutely!’ she slides out of her stool and leans toward him. hands cupping his face, she tells him, ‘this is your son, maccready. i’m gonna help you.’
maccready clears his throat. ‘i, uh. okay.’
she removes her hands from his face, puts them firm on her hips. ‘great. deal.’ a beat. ‘because i might need help fighting a sea monster.’
he bursts into laughter, at that. ‘hey, that seems fair to me. when are we heading out?’
‘ah. well, i want to know what the brotherhood is doing here in their fuck-off big airship, y’know? so probably after that.’
‘want me along for this one?’
she shakes her head, momentarily amused by her ponytail swinging back and forth against her neck. ‘i think deacon and i can handle some talking.’ the world tilts. her smile is a little lopsided. ‘how about we pick you up from sanctuary? if you tell sturges about your son, i’m sure he can pick out a spot for you guys to settle down.’
he lowers his cup from his lips. ‘settle down?’
‘obviously. unless you want to raise your son in goodneighbor. no offense to hancock, of course,’ she adds. ‘i wouldn’t raise shaun in goodneighbor. it smells.’
‘it smells,’ he repeats, mocking. ‘you know, i hadn’t considered bringing him to the commonwealth. but... sanctuary might be safe enough...’ he trails off.
‘i’m making it safe enough,’ she declares. ‘it has to be safe enough.’
‘for your son?’ he ventures.
she leans forward again. ‘yes. for my baby.’ when she frowns, maccready stiffens. ‘it has to be safe enough.’
‘okay. okay, i believe you. don’t... cry, or anything. please.’
whisper bumps her fist against his shoulder. ‘i’m not gonna cry. i’m your boss, right? don’t worry about me.’
she doesn’t miss his raised eyebrow. in response, he simply orders her a glass of water. when she asks, he says, ‘i know the brotherhood. they’re a headache enough without a hangover.’
-
‘celebrating without me, partner?’
‘deacon!’ deacon watches her face light up and allows himself to relish in it for just a moment. her eyes are fever bright, and she gives him the biggest grin. ‘maccready stopped me from drinking. tell him he’s boring.’
‘you’re boring,’ he replies, dutifully.
maccready finishes his swig of nuka cola, pulling away from leaning against the bar. ‘she only had one drink.’
whisper pouts prettily, looking from deacon to maccready and back. her shoulders slump, and she looks up to him with fluttering eyelashes. ‘i’m not drunk, though. deacon, tell him i’m not drunk.’
deacon opens his mouth, planning to back up his partner, but - oh, man. she’s kinda drunk. and one drink? he looks to maccready who looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to echo his partner. instead, he redirects. ‘got something for you here, pal.’
her mood rebounds immediately. oh, yeah, not drunk at all. ‘wait. this isn’t some, like,’ she wiggles her fingers at him, ‘uh, i don’t-i don’t know.’ maccready’s snort goes unnoticed by her. ‘what is it?’
he unfolds his hands from behind his back, bringing forward a pair of sunglasses. it’s different from his square pair; his whisper’s got herself a pair of patrolman’s sunglasses, courtesy of fallon’s basement. sure, becky fallon probably hates him for just buying sunglasses, but the excitement on whisper’s face makes it worth it.
not to mention the kiss on the cheek it earns him. leaving that one out of the mission report, for sure.
‘no present for me?’ maccready shatters the moment, shit-eating grin back on his face.
whisper saves him, mock pushing maccready by the shoulder. ‘no presents for the boring.’ when she dons her shades, all that’s left is her own grin.
in response, maccready sighs and shakes his head. ‘well, i held up my end of the bargain. she’s all yours, friend.’ and when maccready passes behind him, they exchange a small handful of caps. enough to cover their drinks and rooms. whisper still gives maccready a short flutter of her fingers in farewell, no hard feelings held toward the boring. deacon slips into maccready’s now-unoccupied seat and watches his partner. that grin has softened into a smile, and over the din of the bar, he listens to her hum along to the radio.
giving her the glasses turns out to be a tactical error. he’s stuck watching his own reflection watch her. and she notices: ‘you’re staring, deacon. it’s not nice.’
the drunken lilt to her voice is gone entirely. ‘just making sure you’re paying attention. hard to tell where you’re looking with those glasses, now.’
she tilts her head toward him, like a flower to the sun. in a voice high and airy, she says, ‘always you, partner. always you.’
-
in the morning, maccready leaves them, reminding her to pick him up in sanctuary when she’s ready for that job. ‘i know,’ she had groaned. ‘i wasn’t drunk.’ she rolled her eyes, then her shoulder. ‘at least not enough to forget.’ but he still gives her a quick and unconvinced uh-huh before heading out into the city. lucky for him, he can’t see her glare as he departs.
deacon trails along, filling her in on his visit to hq, on their way to valentine’s agency. whisper figures she owes him an update - he did send her over to the railroad, getting her at least this far. she has to add another location to her to-do list and another marker to her map. the augusta safe house’s status has yet to be determined, after the institute launched its attack. they’re to pick up the location from a dead drop and report back as soon as possible.
whisper pushes the bridge of her glasses down and rubs at a spot on her temple. she may have avoided hangover-headache thanks to maccready (not that she’ll admit), but the mounting tasks she’s taken on has finally begun to grate. take time for yourself, nate had told her in a letter when she told him of her workload. you have to make it to the end alive to enjoy it.
‘feeling all right there?’ deacon asks.
‘never better.’ whisper knocks on valentine’s door and pushes in at the sound of his voice. nick doesn’t fail to notice her new company.
‘made another friend, i see?’ he notes, coming around his desk. ‘it’s been a while. had me worried for a bit, there, kid.’
whisper huffs, smiling. ‘i found who we were looking for.’ she looks over her shoulder to deacon, then back. ‘both of them.’
she watches his eyes shift. ‘knew you’d be the one to find them. you’re with her?’
‘every day.’
nick nods, satisfied, before turning his attention back to her. she’s thankful for the sunglasses when she asks, ‘what about your son?’
‘he’s safe,’ she pauses. ‘in the institute.’ nick swears. ‘but i had a few questions, since kellogg is... no longer able to answer them.’ she wonders why it bothers her so much; she’s killed in the wasteland before kellogg. from raiders, to super mutants, to gunners, but the one that broke her family bothers her? briefly, she wonders how nate carried that guilt with him.
he urges her to continue with a slow nod. ‘i met a synth who could remember what it was like, in the institute. i couldn’t - didn’t want to ask him more than that. the kid was traumatized.’ he was young; made young, likely, but it doesn’t make any sort of difference. he’d been through too much for her to go prying. ‘so i’m wondering, don’t you know where the institute is?’ she steps away, bringing deacon into the conversation. ‘doesn’t any synth?’
nick sighs. deacon sticks his hands in his pockets. but it’s nick that speaks first. ‘there’s a failsafe built in that erases our memories of the institute the moment we leave.’ his hand twitches, fingers curling around an invisible cigarette. ‘that the synth you two rescued remembers anything means his malfunctioned. but i imagine if he knew the location of the institute you wouldn’t be standing here now.’
she sighs. another loss. kellogg wasn’t going to tell her anything, she repeats to herself. still the guilt lingers, as if she could have gotten all her answers if she hadn’t killed him.
‘i had hoped everyone was simply too afraid to go after the institute. but thank you anyway, nick.’
before she turns to leave, he stops her. ‘if there’s anything i can do, you let me know.’ then, to deacon, ‘and you. what we discussed...?’
‘you’ll be the first to know.’ deacon looks to her, then shrugs. ‘probably second. or third - ’
nick holds up a hand. ‘i get it. keep an eye on her until then.’
‘you two know each other?’
deacon whirls her around by the shoulders and leads her to the door. even outside, he doesn’t take his hands from her shoulders, marching her all the way outside diamond city. she prods again. ‘just some other railroad business.’
‘and i can’t know because..?’ she begins, then, at the same time as deacon, says, ‘operational security.’ she affects a heavy sigh. ‘of course. anyway, shall we pay the brotherhood a visit?’
deacon finally lets her go, taking his place beside her. ‘after you, general.’
-
cambridge police station is alive with commotion once more, though this time the courtyard isn’t swarmed by feral ghouls. soldiers dressed in bright orange flight suits patrol the perimeter, only letting them pass when she introduces herself as the general of the minutemen. inside, she’s met again with the sight of haylen, rhys, and danse standing together, their own closed off circle apart from the chaos that is brotherhood soldiers crowding the station.
‘paladin danse,’ whisper calls, and he turns to her immediately. the paladin hasn’t changed much, since she left. ‘i see your superiors finally made it to the commonwealth.’
he dismisses himself from his squad, pointedly ignoring rhys’s glare at the sight of her. ‘alice. we’ve been listening to your exploits on the radio. good to see you’re still alive.’
she grins, teeth bared. ‘i’m not so sure all of you share that sentiment. at least you’ve not been abandoned to scour the commonwealth alone, or i might have recruited you three myself. yes,’ she says, leaning around danse’s power armor. ‘even you, knight rhys.’
‘elder maxson wouldn’t have left us. but your help in finding the deep range transmitter did enable us to contact them.’ whisper can feel deacon’s gaze boring into the back of her head. ‘unfortunately, we’ve failed to contact the recon team original sent to the commonwealth, but with the force of the brotherhood assisting us, we’ll find them soon.’
she nods. ‘good luck to you, of course.’
‘thank you. now, more importantly: why are you here? the invitation to join the brotherhood was only extended to you.’
‘unfortunately, i’m not here to take you up on that offer, paladin. in fact, i’m acting strictly as the general of the minutemen. i’d like to meet elder maxson.’
he considers her for a moment before giving her a rumbling sigh. ‘fine. but only you. your friend has to stay here at the station.’
whisper holds up a hand before deacon can protest. ‘i don’t think that’s fair, paladin. if i’m going aboard your giant airship to be surrounded by brotherhood soldiers, my bodyguard stays.’
again he sighs, and she wonders if she’s pushing her luck. she could go aboard herself, she doesn’t really think they’ll do anything to her without reason, but having deacon there would make her feel safer. and he’d be free to gather intel himself.
‘fine. but i’ll be watching the both of you closely.’
whisper smiles. ‘we wouldn’t do anything to make you regret it, would we, dingo? i do appreciate the vote of confidence.’
he motions them further into the station, dismissing rhys and haylen to assist the others in gathering the remaining supplies. ‘there’s a vertibird waiting on the roof. it’ll take us directly to the prydwen.’
‘a vertibird up to a flying airship,’ deacon mutters behind her. ‘great.’
whisper reaches behind her, gives his shoulder a comforting squeeze. ‘just don’t look down.’
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doublerumnukacola · 5 years ago
Text
I choochoose you to be in the RailRoad
Week 2 1/2 of the Wasteland
The Sole Survivor runs into the RailRoad
----------------
Stop right there! You went through a lot of effort to arrange this meeting, but before we go any further, answer my questions.
Who the hell are you?
Just a friend that followed the freedom trail.
If that’s true, you have nothing to fear…
The lights were blinding, and the catacomb air felt suffocating. Did there need to be this many people in here? Especially since two of them had their weapons pointed at her. One with a decent minigun, the other with a crappy pipe pistol. At least if things went south, she knew who to take out first.
“Who told you about us?” The woman in the middle demanded, Sole squinted at her through the glaring lights.
“I just heard a rumor about you in Diamond City.” Sole explained honestly. It was the truth, even if it was only part of it.
“I see,” The woman said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. “I’m Desdemona, I’m the leader of the RailRoad, and you are-” She looked over someone else entered the fray from behind her. Oh joy, more people to breathe my oxygen. Is it getting hot in here? “Deacon, where have you been?” The new guy put his hands up in defense.
“Hey, you’re the one having a party, where was my invite?” He asked in protest. Desdemona crossed her arm across her chest in annoyance, her other still holding her lit cigarette. Sole’s eyes were starting to adjust now, she could get a better look at the shadowy figures holding her at gunpoint. Except all she was looking at was the new guy, Deacon. He looked as though he’d stepped right out of a pre-war magazine. Greased pompadour, sunglasses, jeans and sneakers? She’d had a pin up just like that taped to her high school locker. Who was this guy?
“I need intel, who’s this?” Desdemona asked impatiently.
“Wow, newsflash boss, this lady is kind of a big deal out there.” Deacon explained, but it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
“Uh, have we met?” Sole asked, raising an eyebrow. It wasn’t likely, if nothing else she would have remembered that hair. “If you’re a fan, I gotta tell you, I don’t do autographs.”
“Funny, but I didn’t have to meet you to hear about you.” Deacon pointed out, maybe even with an eye roll from behind those sunglasses. He turned to Desdemona. “I mean seriously, Des, you don’t know who she is? This is the leader of the Minutemen. Seems like most of the Commonwealth is flying her flag.”
“Forgive me, but it’s not as though she’s wearing a name tag.” Des spat, taking a drag of her cigarette.
“And seriously, the Minutemen, deeks?” The woman with the minigun sneered, “Don’t you call them the historical reenactors of the Commonwealth?” Oof, tough crowd.
“Well, if that’s not enough for you,” Deacon brushed off the comment, “Nick Valentine was in a jam, but word is that this lady bailed him out and talked her way around Skinny Malone.”
“Right, I forgot.” The woman shot back. “What the RailRoad really needs right now is someone really good at talking. All this time if we’d just thought of talking to the Institute, they would have set all the synths free and it would be all gumdrops and snack cakes-”
“Enough!” Desdemona snapped. She turned to Deacon. “So, you’re vouching for her?”
“Yes,” Deacon affirmed. “She’s someone we want on our side. Trust me.” Suddenly there was a shift, Desdemona’s eyes relaxed, she took a drag on her cigarette.
“That changes things.” She decided. It does?! Sole thought incredulously. Who the hell was this guy?
“So Stranger,” Des asked, more gently than before. “Why did you want to meet with us anyway?”
The long story was: She and her family fled to a vault two hundred years ago and frozen. Then her husband was killed and her son taken. She escaped, found her neighborhood destroyed, her house a wreck, her Mr. Handy tried to kill her, and the first friendly people she ran into made her the leader of their militia. She saved a dozen settlements and took over a castle. She got a tip from a stoned old lady, trekked across the wasteland to Fenway stadium, had to trek again to find an old detective, and then the only lead on her son was some shadowy organisation called the Institute and an asshole named Kellogg. It was only by chance she heard about the RailRoad. They seemed like they might be worth checking out while Valentine figured out a way to track Kellogg.
But it would be easier to give the short version:
“You’re the only one’s fighting the Institute, and I want to take them down.”
----------------------------------
If we’re going to be dealing with you, I need to make sure we’re on the same page. You know what a synth is, right?
Yeah, I know all about them.
What had she gotten into? Saving synths? Before she walked in here, she figured synths were just as much the enemy as the Institute. They weren’t much better than body snatchers, replacing good honest humans with Institute spies. She hadn’t run into one yet that hadn’t tried to kill her at some point.
She remembered when Sanctuary had been infiltrated. Her name was Cass, the settlements only medic. One night the neighborhood gets over run with these wiry nightmare-fuel robots, and Cass is standing over her bed with a pipe-pistol. They lost a lot of good Minutemen that night, especially without a medic to patch them up.
But Sole wasn’t stupid enough to give a wrong answer. So sure, she’d die for a synth. If it gets her a step closer to Shaun, she’d say anything.
“Hope you didn’t mind the reception,” Deacon apologised, breaking her out of her thoughts. “When you tango with the Institute, you gotta be careful when someone knew gets on the dance floor.”
“Well, I was hoping for some balloons and a banner, but not getting shot is nice too.” Sole shrugged with a smile. “I’m more surprised there was a reception at all. I didn’t exactly plan to be here today.”
“RailRoad has a few eyes on the freedom trail at all times, can’t really afford surprises in our line of work.” Deacon explained, running a hand over his pompadour, “Kinda killed our chance at a friendly first impression, though.”
“You’re telling me…” Sole muttered, glancing at the woman with the minigun, who was likely still glaring at her.
“But it’s all good now!” Deacon insisted cheerfully. “I vouched for you and no one lost their head.” Then his tone dropped in tone and he lowered his glasses a smidge to look her in the eyes, “Still, I would consider it a close personal favor if you didn’t sell us out to the Institute.” There was a tense moment.
“Sure thing.” She assured him. He winked and readjusted his glasses, smiling. This guy was something else, it took her a moment to collect her thoughts. “So, why did you vouch for me?”
“In our little outfit, it’s my job to know things, and with everything you’ve done it’s clear you are a dangerous enemy, and I’m betting a capable ally.” Deacon explained, leaning back against the crumbling brick and mortar behind him.
“Really? Even with my background in ‘historical reenactment’?” Sole pressed, raising an eyebrow.
“Ha, right that.” He tried to laugh it off, but Sole crossed her arms and waited for an explanation. “Look, you’re not doing a bad job with the Minutemen,” Deacon started carefully, “But traditionally the Minutemen haven’t been much better than hired guns, and sometimes only when it suits them, if Quincy was anything to go by.” Sole nodded thoughtfully, really looking as if she were keeping an open mind, but that had struck a nerve. Deacon continued, maybe he thought he was getting through to her. “I’ll admit it, I never really cared for the Minutemen. The idea sounds great, but you give small men big power and sometimes you’ll pay for it.” Now she knew he was just trying to set her off, but she couldn’t afford to pick a fight with the only guy on her side. She took a breath and let it out, and in her head she could almost hear Nate helping her count backwards to calm down. She smiled up at Deacon.
“And you still trust me?” Sole asked, changing subjects swiftly.
“I don’t know if we can trust you.” Deacon admitted. Great. I resisted punching this guy for nothing. “But I hope we can. We just survived a hell of a crisis so we maybe a teeny weeny desperate for new members.” It gets better! I only got in because they were desperate! “If everything was sunshine and bottle caps, we might play a longer ‘getting to know you’ game but we don’t have that luxury.” That’s honestly to your benefit, if I’d known how this encounter would go, I would have taken my chances with Nicks crazy plan of finding a dog to track a man across the wasteland.
“I guess that’s lucky for me,” Sole said in relief, “I hate those icebreaker games. ‘Hi i’m blank, my favorite color is blank, and I like long walks along the blank.” That got a chuckle out of him to her surprise. “So what’s next for me?” He blew out a long breath, putting a hand on the back of his neck, which meant she probably wouldn’t like what they had in store for her.
“Well, Des wants me to make you a tourist.” Deacon explained a little half-heartedly, his trademark smile falling away to annoyance. Sole looked around for a moment, the rest of the RailRoad had disappeared back into their hole, it was just the two of them now. “What a waste!”
“Yeah, hawaiian shirts and cargo shorts aren’t a good look on me.” Sole agreed. His smile flashed back at that.
“A tourist is someone who does the odd job for us.” Deacon corrected with a laugh, before putting a hand on her shoulder, and taking a conspiricial tone. “Look, I’m just going to come out and say this: The Rail Road needs you.” She smirked, brushing off his hand.
“Way to play hard to get.” Sole noted, “But my plates a little full, besides, Des seems to think you’re doing just fine without me.”
“She’s just thinking about the time and manpower it would take to train you, and if you were some hick from the ‘burbs who didn’t know their ass from a rocket launcher, she’d be right.” Don’t be so hasty, you’ve never seen me after 20 cans of cram. The aftermath is explosive. “But I’m betting you just need a few pointers and a target.” Sole was quiet for a moment. If this worked out, she could have a real chance of finding Shaun. All she needed to do was keep her head down and play nice for now.
“Alright, you have my attention.”
-----------------------------
Present, Week 11 in the Wasteland
-----------------------------
Sole left Daisy’s store with a sad wave. It had been a difficult few weeks, hell it had been difficult since she left the damn vault… But her mind quickly brushed away the thought, protecting her from dwelling on it.
She was getting tired of the sights and sounds of Goodneighbor. The excursion this morning had been refreshing, she’d almost felt like her old self. There was something cathartic about sniping a Super Mutant suicider and watching it take out five of its closest friends. Perhaps another stroll through the ruins was needed. Maybe she’d stop by the old North Church, there was usually an errand or two to do there.
The ruins were unnaturally quiet. She'd seen to that earlier. She may have been a little overzealous. She missed the familiar sound of gunfire in the distance and the occasionally exploding car or vertibird.
She continued towards the Boston Common. She needed to find a quiet spot to collect her thoughts and count her caps before she went to the church. There were a lot of both.
Just then she heard the shift of gravel behind her. She continued, feigning ignorance, but glancing around using her peripheral vision. It was lucky she’d planned this detour beforehand, Boston Common was ideal for unwanted company.
She continued on, towards Swans pond. She could hear the hesitation in the interlopers footsteps. The white roof of the ancient bandstand was well in view, as well as the infamous sunken swans.
Sole could have launched a fat man into this lake any time she wanted, she’d considered it once or twice as well, but she didn't for this reason in particular. She stood at the fence around the murky pond. She bent down, looking for a suitable stone. Sole smiled to herself, and activated her stealth boy...
Hiding out in the Boylston club, she could still hear the behemoths roars, and the crash of lobbed debris. Who ever had been tailing her would be a million miles away by now if they had any sense. Not many had the reckless sense of adventure that would lead to exploring the area, much less find this place.
She sat on one of the dusty armchairs, amongst the former club members. It was a macabre scene, skeletons in decaying suits, some with cigars still clenched in their jaw. The ruckus outside notwithstanding, it was quite a peaceful scene. There were a few wine bottles dotted around, some still filled, but she knew better than to indulge. After all, she’d snooped around on the terminal behind the counter, and it wasn’t the bomb that finished these gentleman off.
-------------------------------
After a while the roars subsided, the behemoth settling back into the pond, returning to their slumber. She'd have to be extra quiet about leaving, couldn't risk waking them again.
She was starting to drift off in the chair, when the front door creaked open, and shut quietly. Her heart rate shot up instantly. Who would come here? Who would be so stupidly diligent in their surveillance? It didn’t match the M.O. of the institute, and certainly not of any raider group she’d pissed off…
“Honey, I'm hooome!” A familiar voice sang out quietly, poking their head around the corner and into the lounge, sunglasses catching the shafts of light.
“Oh dear, you look so haggard. I’ll bet traffic home was just murder.” Sole joked, her heart rate returning. She should have known it was him.
“Oh you wouldn't believe it! Hey is this seat taken?” Deacon smiled, plopping himself on the couch, careful not to disturb the skeleton beside him. “Some jerk nearly cut me off, literally. A whole car just came at me.” Sole laughed as Deacon mimed the car flying over his head, ducking down for effect.
“Really? Because I had a creep tail me home, had to ask him politely, but firmly, to buzz off.” She countered. He leaned back, running a hand through over his scalp.
“Alright that’s fair.” He admitted with a grin. “It’s just been difficult to get ahold of you lately.”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been in the same place for a week. Not too hard to track someone in Goodneighbor.” Sole snorted.
“Really?” Deacon asked, forcing the surprise in his voice. “All I’ve seen around Goodneighbor is some mopey Vault dweller in your clothes. This morning was the first time I’ve seen you in awhile.” There was silence. He had a point, but he could have made it without being a dick. He took a breath. “Soooo wanna talk about it?” He sat forward, resting his chin in one hand like an attentive therapist. Sole wondered how many times he’d gotten intel that way. Finally she sighed.
“Well, you probably know how the whole thing started.” Sole started, leaning back on the dusty armchair. “I was doing pretty rough after… Kellogg.” Deacon glanced away, he had been there for that part. “I was shaken up after the memory den, needed some time to just… Process everything.”
“You mean get drunk?” Deacon put in, but a quick glare shut him up.
“That was the plan, but I didn't have enough caps. So Charlie gave me that job to clear out the warehouses, and he tagged along for the caps.” Sole muttered bitterly. “After that was a few jobs, squaring him with the Gunners, and finding a cure for his sick son.” She looked down, this was the hard part. “When we got the cure, I knew he’d go back and see his son, but I’d hoped we could do it together… And that we’d do it after we found Shaun...” She paused. “When he left, I kept expecting a letter… A message in a bottle… Even a fucking smoke signal would be nice…” She gave a small bitter smile. “I forgot how good it felt to swear, at least sober anyway.”
“I’d heard about that,” Deacon noted. “Always struck me as strange that a guy willing to run with ruthless mercenaries would avoid swearing.” Sole shot him a look, he held up his hands in surrender and made a motion of zipping his lips.
“Anyways…. Nothing came. After a week I moved on, did a bit of soul searching...” Deacon made a motion to unzip his lips.
“You went soul searching in the Glowing Sea?” Deacon asked, more than a hint of suspicion mixed with his sarcasm.
“Sure did.” Sole replied evenly, she didn’t feel like discussing the trip in detail just then. Especially not with Deacon.
“And after that?” He pressed.
“What? No intel on that?” She asked in surprise. He was silent, watching her. She’d made a point of dropping off the map after meeting Virgil. After the Glowing sea, killing a Courser would be a piece of cake. “Anyway, after some sightseeing, I headed back to Good Neighbor for that drink I’d been meaning to get around to.”
“This sounds familiar…” Deacon said knowingly. She ignored him.
“That’s when Hancock picked me up and gave me a job. I sobered up, and I'm not looking back.” She concluded.
“Except this afternoon when you came crying to Daisy again.” Deacon added, receiving another sharp look from Sole.
“A moment of weakness.” She admitted. “But hope’s not an easy thing to let go of.” She looked forlorn at the dirty window beside them that once overlooked the common. Deacon stood up slowly, hesitating over his next words, but he decided to come out with it anyway. She needed to snap out of this funk she’d fallen into.
“Look, Charmer, the prick used you to save his son.” Deacon said bluntly. His jovial demeanor falling for a moment as he looked down at Sole. “I mean, he gets a gold star for motive, a dying kid is pretty good justification, but he still played you.”
“No…” She denied softly, pulling herself off the armchair. She hated people looking down on her, and he knew it.
“Going out to kill Winlock and Barnes was a test to see how far you’d go for him. Killing a few ferals and grabbing a cure were nothing compared to taking on a fleet of gunners.” Deacon continued, a bitter edge to his voice now. She clenched her fist, she tried to focus on her breathing rather than his bullshit. “But don't worry, the sick kid part was true. I checked up on that through quite a few channels. Couldn't believe he wasn't just selling it-” Deacon was cut off by Sole’s fist striking him across the face, breathless and shaking with anger.
“You’re wrong…” She countered sharply, eyes welling up. “Sure, he left. And I don't expect him to come back, or understand why he left, but he loved me. And I… I loved him…” She glared down at Deacon, who was rubbing the red mark on his face. He felt lucky she hadn't just shot him.
“...That was real. Not a manipulation… Not a lie…” She spat at the floor beside him. “ But I know that's something of an alien concept to you.”
“An alien concept, huh?” He said thoughtfully, rubbing out the last of the soreness in his jaw, even in her rage he could feel that she’d held back. “Maybe. But a liar knows a liar.” He started towards the front door. “And you can't lie to me, Charms.” He continued softly. “You didn't really love him. No matter what you tell yourself.” He dodged another swing, letting her knuckles connect with the doorway, she winced in pain, clutching her damaged fist.
“You can be a real bastard sometimes…” She hissed. “What makes you such an authority on the subject of my love life? Last I checked you wanted nothing to do with it.” A smirk flashed across his face, sunglasses glinting.
“We both know that was just a crush for you. Fresh out of the Vault, you’re bound to fall for the first handsome man that doesn't try to disembowel you.” He said knowingly.
“What about Preston?” Sole countered, trying to suppress a smile.
“OK you were bound to fall for the second handsome-” He tried again.
“Sturges.” She added, allowing a small smile now.
“He is a very pretty man…” Deacon agreed.
“Arturo Rodriguez-”
“OK I get it, you resisted many a handsome man before you fell for me.” He admitted. “But it was still just a crush. Happens to the best of us. Working long hours in high pressure situations is bound to cause a few sparks to fly.”
“You could have said that a month ago, saved me a little heartbreak.” She replied, trying to force her smile.
“And look at you now!” He said enthusiastically. “All grown up and moving on to bigger and better heartbreaks!” Sole's smile became more genuine. “You’ll find someone, Sole, but in the meantime just refocus on the Railroad, refocus on Shaun. It takes a lot to keep our little family going, but we’re so close to bringing down the institute and finding him. We can't afford anymore delays.” Sole was quiet. “Clearing out around Goodneighbor was a big help, helped us send out a few packages that had been sitting around. Keep up like that and You’ll get Agent of the month in no time.” He leaned in and smirked. “It's been Carington 6 months in a row, so you got a lot of competition.”
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hiding-under-the-willow · 5 years ago
Text
Slenderverse Highschool AU Character Descriptions
Warning: Real Long Post
(I think I caught all the typos last time I read through this but honestly who knows)
Part 1, because as I have just learned, Tumblr does have a limit on the length of posts.
Slender/The Administrator
• The Principal
• No one remembers what he actually looks like because they're too distracted by the fact that he's wearing a super fancy business suit
• Seriously, what's with the suit?
• Absolutely terrifying without having to say a single word
• Alex Kralie's dad
• Stan Frederick's uncle
• Gives Alex special treatment
• His nickname has been in use so long he doesn't even bother giving out his real name to students any more. There is literally no student in the school outside of his family who knows his real name.
Alex Kralie
Junior
• Has been friends with Jay since 5th grade
• Was a pretty cool person in middle school but became a huge manipulative jerk by high school
• Has a tendency to get in fights with people, only wins about half the time
• Get's away with basically anything because of his dad
• Gets along particularly badly with Patrick, who has threatened to fight him if he ever comes anywhere near Micheal
• Was friends with Brian from childhood through Middle school but is no longer on good terms with him
• Basically hovers over Jay constantly
• Neutral in terms of his feelings on Stan, but treats him better than he does most others since they're family.
• Has probably threatened Alex Koval more than once, definitely meaning he's not on good terms with Jeff
• Wants to be a director, but has trouble working with others since they don't like him much
Jay
Sophomore
• Makes A's and B's
• Basically always hanging around Alex
• Does whatever Alex says
• Low on self confidence
• Used to be good friends with Brian but has grown distant from him because of Brian's bad relationship with Alex
• Wants to be a writer
• Really wants to approach Tim but is too scared of rejection and what Alex might do if he did so
• Lowkey gay for Tim but doesn't realize it
• In search of an after school job
• Major Insomniac
• Kinda paranoid
• Band kid, plays the clarinet
• Enjoys hiking
• Has done a couple of projects with stormy, but never became particularly close with her
Tim
Junior
• Literally just wants high school to be over
• Spent most of his childhood in a psych ward, eventually being diagnosed with schizophrenia, which he now takes meds for
• Only really close to Brian
• Worked on a project with Alex once, it did not go well, they're not on good terms
• Smokes but doesn't want anyone to know
• Works at the gas station down the road from the school
• Thinks Vinnie is alright
• Not on good terms with Noah
• Would probably fight Habit in a Denny's parking lot if given the chance
• Failing more than one class, doesn't exactly care
• Is in theater with Brian, but only really because Brian wanted him to be
• Skips on a regular basis
Brian
Junior
• Theater kid
• Literally constantly on the verge of fighting Alex
• Wants to help Jay get away from Alex but knows that Jay is too far involved with Alex to really help, so has decided to back off
• Bestfriends with Tim
• Get's along well with Jessica
• Kinda worried about Micheal, but doesn't know if it would be the right idea to approach him or not since he seems so jumpy and Patrick is pretty agressive
• Worked on a couple of projects with Noah, still can't quite figure out what's going on with him, but met Milo through him, and they get along well
• Runs an aesthetic poetry blog under the name ToTheArk
Jessica
Senior
• Photographer
• On the school swim team
• Jay's older cousin
• Would literally fist fight Alex if she got the chance
• Good friends with Brian and Steph
• High key worried about Tim, but knows she won't get anywhere by being straight forward about it
• Tries to encourage Michael to get out of his shell a bit
• Not Patrick's favorite person in the world
• Thinks Habit is an overly violent, edge lord wannabe and would probably say that directly to his face if given the chance
• Wary of Stan because of his relation to Alex, but would probably get along well with him if they talked
• Has a girlfriend whose in her first year of college
• Thinks Jeff is pretty cool, but isn't super close to him
• Hangs out in the art room with Steph before school
• Not a huge fan of Eric
• Owns one of the few working brain cells found at the school
_______
Vinnie
Senior
• Goes to the gym with Evan sometimes
• Doesn't really know what he wants to do with his life so he's currently just following after Corenthal by taking psychology classes
• Has known Habit for so long that he isn't scared of him anymore, but fears for others who may be left to deal with Habit alone
• Cares a lot for Evan
• There's some animosity between him and Shaun and Micheal and no one can figure out why
• Best friends with Jeff
• Gets along well enough with Tim when they have class together, but literally can't figure out what's up with him, wishes he would open up more but doesn't have the confidence to try and get him to do so
• Tried to talk to Stan once but caught him in the middle of a paranormal research session and got too freaked out to approach him again
• Was in choir at one point but quit
• Eric makes him uncomfortable
Evan
Junior
• Fitness expert
• Loves hunting
• Works as a trainer at the local gym after school
• Not great in terms of grades, but passing
• In the wrestling club at school
• Best friends with Vinnie and Jeff
• Would like to be closer to Noah but has trouble doing that since Habit and Noah are on such bad terms
• Curious about Micheal and Jay
• Will fight you if you tease him about his height
• Not one to stray away from violence, but doesn't like being associated with it because he doesn't want people to think of him the same way they do Habit
• Punk rock/emo aesthetic
• Gamer, probably plays with Kevin and Noah on the weekends
Habit
Junior
• Evan's twin brother
• Probably a drug dealer
• Has been known to attack kids who mess with him but even the teachers are too scared of him to do anything about it
• Enjoys teasing Noah and Jeff
• Has a collection of knives and other weaponry
• Super over dramatic
• Moves his hands a lot when he talks
• Avoids Alex Kralie
• Big gay
• Feeds stray cats to the point where they follow him around campus
• Skips class and hangs out in the theater
Jeff
Senior
• Really good at math and puzzle solving
• Total book worm
• Takes care of his younger brother, Alex, since their parents are dead
• Good friends with Evan and Vinnie
• Literally can't stand Habit
• Planning for college
• Loved by teachers
• Can almost always be found in the library outside of class
• Would like to be friends with Jay but doesn't want to approach him with Alex Kralie around
Alex Koval
Freshman
• Sticks close to his brother
• Loves his dog, Sparky
• Strugles with mental health in reference to the death of his parents
• Pretty scared of Habit, basically avoids him completely
• Probably doesn't get along well with Alex Kralie
• Very smol, please protect him
• Likes English and writing in general
Damsel/Steph
Sophomore
• Evan's girlfriend
• An artist
• Dislikes the rain, has a fear of drowning
• Wants to go to art school but is being pressed by her parents to pursue something more lucrative
• In medical classes for the above stated reason
• Had some problems with Jeff in the past but has moved on
• Gets along well with Brian and Jessica
• Probably tries to talk to Stan but fails to get him to open up
• Total scene kid
• Friends with Stormy
Dr. Corenthal
Staff
• The school counselor
• Habit, Evan, and Vinnie's adoptive father
• Not exactly on the principles good side, but good enough at his job to keep it
• Has weekly sessions with Milo that Mary doesn't know about
• Tries to talk to Micheal every once in a while but can never get him to talk about his problems
• Has tried to get Tim to come talk to him multiple times but has never successfully brought him into his office to talk
• Helping Jeff plan for college
_______
Noah
Sophomore
• Quiet around people he's not close to
• Has a scar of his left shoulder from a fight he was in with Habit
• Avoids Alex Kralie
• Pretty good friends with Vinnie
• Best friends with Kevin
• Mostly hangs with Kevin and Milo
• Likes old video games
• Would like to hang out more with Evan but doesn't to avoid Habit
• Very confused by Micheal and Patrick
• Judges people he's known for a long time without ever really talking to them
• Not as socially aware as he would like to think he is
Milo
Senior
• Noah's cousin
• Best friends with Kevin
• Literally can't stand his mom
• Can't figure out why Karl hates him but knows it has something to do with his mom
• Camera shy
• Keeps a journal
• Takes art classes but doesn't plan on pursuing it as a career
• Has struggled with on and off Depression as well as anxiety for the majority of his life
• Sleep walks
• On a lot of meds
Kevin
Junior
• Wants to be a game developer
• Hosts a coding club after school on Friday's
• Enjoys memes, probably quotes them a bit too often
• Best friends with Milo and Noah
• Keeps trying to convince Milo to be the artist for his games
• Can't see anything without his glasses
• In orchestra, plays the cello
• Super involved in school activities and organizations
• Tutors kids after school, including Micheal
• Has never met Habit and fully plans on keeping it that way
• Has talked to Jessica once or twice, would like to get to know her more
Mary
PTA Parent
• The overly involved PTA mom
• Very controlling of Milo
• Thinks Noah and Kevin are bad influences on her son
• Probably juggling multiple men at once
Karl
Teacher
• The advanced German teacher
• Very agressive
• Doesn't speak any English
• Tells old war stories
• Will fail you for even the most minor mistakes
• Has a grudge against Milo
• No one knows his full name
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nukagalreacts · 6 years ago
Text
This is for nya-for-you who requested romanced Fo4 Companions reacting to Sole throwing them a surprise party Part-One
Hope you enjoy this first part! I really enjoyed writing it! And thank you again for the request 
Hancock: Sole had been planning this surprise party for well over a month, making sure to invite everyone in Goodneighbor, getting the Third Rail stocked up on the best booze and stocking up on the chems for a night as wild as Hancock was. Now the night had finally come and they had The Third rail all set up just the way they wanted and they double checked that everyone on the party list was there before telling everyone to stay low and get quiet while they ran and got Hancock for the surprise party. Trying to hide all of these preparations and getting things set up without their lover noticing had been a bitch, but they couldn’t wait to see the look on his face once he saw everything, it would all be worth it to see that damn smile of his. They led him by the hand into the eerily silent bar before everyone jumped out yelling surprise and nearly giving him a heart attack, before he burst into laughter and a huge smile. He couldn’t believe Sole had done all of this for him and was sure to give them lots of hugs and smooches the whole night while mingling with everyone else. Between the drinking and hits of jet they also squeezed in lot’s of dancing together while Magnolia sang in the background, and Hancock couldn’t stop smiling as he looked in Sole’s eyes before pulling them in for another kiss.
MacCready: Sole had set up a small surprise party just involving his son Duncan and a few other friends like Hancock, Cait,and even Dogmeat! Sole had arranged to surprise him by having Duncan come to Sanctuary and throw a little party to celebrate them reuniting and Duncan no longer being sick. They managed to get everyone together at the house MacCready and them now lived in and help clean up and gather up every delicious snack and beverage needed for such a festive occasion, and even managed to get the ingredients to bake a delicious cake. Once everything was set up Sole went and grabbed MacCready saying they had a surprise at home for him, and covered his eyes as they led him him back to the house and into the living room. Soon as they moved their hands and Mac saw his son he rushed towards him pulling him into a bear hug, crying tears of joy. After the hugs and tears where done he was sure to kiss Sole, long and hard and remind them how much he loved them. The others were sure to congratulate Mac on having his Son back, before everyone started fighting over who go what piece of the cake before Dogmeat made the decision for them and eat the whole thing off the table.
Nick: Sole thought Nick deserved some kind of surprise party for all the hard work he does and the little he gets in return for risking his life all the time, so they worked with Ellie to plan something out. They even called in a few favors from some of the settlers to get everything they wanted to give to Nick as a sort of thank you gift. What Sole didn’t expect though is how many gifts and thank you letters they had to keep hiding in the office from Nick that grateful citizens he had helped in the past kept sending in, they were starting to have to get creative so Nick didn’t know what was happening. When the day came Sole had Ellie distract Nick and get him out of the office for awhile while they arranged everything and made sure to grab everyone who wanted to be their for the occasion into hiding before he came back, and of course little Shaun was there to, which wouldn't have  even be possible if Nick hadn’t helped them to find him in the first place. When Ellie brought Nick back they all jumped out to surprise him with Sole being quick to wrap their arms around him saying they thought they deserve a little party and a break from detective work and what better way to do that than with friends and loved ones. Nick was speechless and couldn’t believe that Sole did all this for him, and the amount of people here to celebrate him, but he smiled the whole party and couldn’t stop telling Sole how much they loved them!
Piper: Sole was excited to celebrate Piper’s newfound success at being a genuine full time journalist , with the Institute gone and people more relaxed in the Commonwealth and changes brought to Diamond city, Piper had seen the purchase of her newspaper skyrocket and was making a huge amount of caps which was exciting for Sole and her. Sole even helped Piper purchase a bigger building so they could live together and run the business, and it was the happiest both had been in a long time. Sole wasn’t about to let this huge milestone go un-celebrated so they immediately began making plans, getting Piper’s sister Nat to help set things up in secret because what else are sisters for! It was going to be kinda like a surprise party but also a romantic evening between the two of them. The surprise came when Nat led Piper up to the rooftop of their new home and Piper found it transformed into a place of soft glowing candles, and a table set up with red wine, and a tasty dinner prepared by their favorite robot chef Takahashi. Once Nat left Sole was quick to pull Piper into a soft kiss and a hug telling her how proud they were of everything she had accomplished, making Piper smile and squeeze Sole a bit harder, feeling lucky to have someone as supportive and caring as them in their life.
Preston: As General of the Minutemen what better way to use your soldiers then to have them help you set up a giant surprise party for Preston at the castle! Everyone was on board and did what they could chipping in and gathering up Preston's favorite foods and Nuka Colas and decorating the castle, while Sole distracted him by taking him out on a trip far away from all the action. Preston was a little suspicious for the reasoning of going out to the middle of nowhere but was happy to play along if it meant getting some alone time with Sole, which was rare. Occasionally Sole would sneak off to get radio updates on the party set up progression and give directions on different things, before they finally got the green light to bring Preston back to the castle. They felt giddy the whole time as they held Prestons hand leading him back home and seeing his eyes light up as he saw the castle fully lit up and decorated! He asked Sole what the occasion was and they just squeezed his hand saying it was for everything he had done for them and for dedicating his life to rebuilding the Minutemen. The rest of the evening and night was spent with food and drink, and close friends, telling stories and looking forward to the future.
Strong: Sole wasn’t sure how the super mutant would react to a surprise party, but they where dying to find out and even got MacCready involved since him and Strong got along so well. They of course had to have it outside somewhere and got a huge bonfire going where they could cook up some of Strong’s favorite meats like radstag steak and mirelurk egg omelettes. They weren't able to keep Strong away for long though with all delicious food smells wafting in the air which led Strong right to their location. It was even funnier when Sole tried to explain this was supposed to be a surprise party, Strong didn’t get the concept at all and wasn’t sure why Sole felt the need to surprise him at all, super mutants don’t like surprises unless it’s in battle. He was happy about all the food though and dug in tearing away at the large chunks of radstag and stuffing the mirelurk egg omelettes into his mouth. Sole and Mac where barely able to grab any for themselves and laughed at how eager Strong was and the huge mess he was making, Sole was glad they were able to have someone as great as Strong and how fortunate it was they had run into him when they did, it never hurt to have a super mutant on your side out here.
X6-88: Sure their had been celebrations held at the Institute for various reasons over the years but X6 had never been apart of them, and in all honesty he had very little interest in parties. Sole was determined to do something nice for him though and really wanted to hold a surprise party for the courser so they worked with some other synths and coursers and a few others they had befriended to help them out with the plans. It was kinda cute really because X6 actually knew what Sole was planning because he had heard about it from some others synths, but he loved Sole and played along pretending to not know anything. When the day came Sole was bubbling with excitement and was quick to pull X6 along by the hand to the room where the party would be, and he still pretended to be surprised though the whole thing really did make him smile, which was a rarity in itself. Sole had even made them a cake which X6 actual enjoyed because he had never had one before, and that’s when he also discovered he had a sweet tooth and Sole laughed when he ate about half of the cake.
Dogmeat: Sole wanted to celebrate their favorite furry friend so they had been in the kitchen all day whipping up some dog friendly sweet treats they knew Dogmeat would love! They also made up enough for all of Dogmeats other doggy friends he had made over the year in Sanctuary. They also gathered up a bunch of chew toys for all of them and dog proofed their house, so it didn’t get destroyed. Sole even got Dogmeat to wear a party hat, and they couldn’t stop smiling at how cute he looked, and they got a few of the other dogs to wear party hats as well. Once the party got into full swing and all the dogs were having a good time playing together and running around, Sole presented them all with dog bone shaped treats and  Dogmeat got his own little cake which he happily chowed down on as Sole gave him head scratches and belly rubs calling him the best boy ever!  
Part two will be out late tonight or sometime tomorrow 
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fallout4holmes · 6 years ago
Text
Journal 37
The scientists did excellent work; Valentine made the trip north without complaint or further mechanical failure. We stopped by Jamaica Plain again to stay the night with the Lockheeds, and left early for Diamond City.
Gunshots and shouting drew our attention midway to our destination, near a radio tower. A trade caravan had run into a pair of yao guai. One of the guards was mauled while his fellows unsuccessfully tried to intervene. Danse charged the first while Valentine and I assisted with the second beast. A rifle fired and the mutated bear fell, a bullet through its eye.
We looked around, surprised, and three shots from the hidden rifleman crippled one of the rear legs of Danse's opponent, allowing the soldier to easily finish it off. Danse stepped out of the way as the other members of the caravan hurried to the fallen guard's side. “He's alive, but gravely wounded,” Danse said.
“Can he make it to Diamond City?” Valentine asked.
The caravan leader sighed heavily, “It'll be close. Stimpak'll help, but I don't know… oh!” He was startled as he looked at the man addressing him. “Uh,” he looked at me, “thanks for the hand?”
“You're welcome,” I said, and introduced us, “This is my partner Nick Valentine, my name is Sherlock Holmes, and the man in power armor is the Lt. Colonel of the Minutemen -”
“Boss?” a familiar voice called from behind a tree a short distance away.
I turned and saw a young man in a green cap and ragged duster holding a sniper rifle, ammunition belt strapped to his thigh. Seeing that Danse had taken over discussion with the caravan leader, I moved toward the sniper. “MacCready?”
He gestured to a small boy behind him, no more than five years old. The boy clutched his hand tight as they came forward. The boy's clothes hung loose on his thin frame, his light brown hair and blue eyes a perfect copy of his father. “Mr. Holmes, it's good to see you,” said MacCready.
“And you, Mr. MacCready. Is this who I think it is?”
He grinned, proud, “Yeah. This is my son, Duncan.” He said to his son, “This is Mr. Holmes, he's one of the people who helped me find your medicine.”
“A pleasure to meet you, young man,” I smiled. He seemed inclined to come out of his shell for a moment, but quickly hid behind his father with wide eyes as he stared behind me. “Oh, this is my friend,” I reassured him. “His name is Nick Valentine.”
“Nick helped find your medicine too,” MacCready said, “He's not like the other ones.”
Valentine’s brow rose, “Other ones?”
“We ran into some of your cousins,” MacCready said. “Blue lasers and shi- stuff. No fashion sense.”
“Institute leftovers,” Valentine frowned. Then he knelt down and spoke gently to Duncan, “I know I look kinda scary, but you've got nothin’ to worry about from this old synth.”
Duncan was doubtful.
“The injured guard is secured for travel,” Danse reported. “We should keep moving.”
The caravan was happy to have extra guns and welcomed my friends and I, even if Valentine received a few suspicious glances. MacCready had signed on as a guard for the caps, thinking he would need all he could get to start a new life for him and his son wherever they ended up. He’d come back to the Commonwealth because the Capital Wasteland held nothing for him but memories, or so he said. I personally believe he came back because the Commonwealth held an opportunity to start over and be the sort of man his wife always knew he was. Whether or not he takes that opportunity remains to be seen.
Diamond City welcomed us home with Dogmeat's excited howl and Shaun running out of the house, overjoyed to see us. “Dad! Nick! Are you fixed?”
“Not all the way,” Valentine said with more good humor than I would have been capable of, “but we know someone who should be able to take care of the rest.”
I asked Valentine and Danse to take Shaun back inside while I made sure the caravan guard was seen to by Dr. Sun. Then I asked MacCready if he cared to stay the night while I tried to find a more permanent solution for him.
“Got room for all of us?” he asked.
“There's a spare bed in the Agency if necessary.”
Shaun came running back out of the house, “Nick said your friend and his son can stay and I should come out and meet Duncan?”
I laughed, “MacCready, this is my son Shaun. Shaun, this is Mr. MacCready and his son, Duncan.”
“You can skip the 'mister,’ kid,” MacCready smiled. “Duncan's kind of shy.”
“That's ok,” Shaun bent over a little to speak to the younger child, “Diamond City is a lot, but you get used to it. Do you want to see my toy car?”
Duncan's face lit up, “Yeah!” Shaun took his hand and led him into the house.
MacCready was amazed. “I guess we can stay for a little while.” He spoke briefly with the caravan leader, and joined me inside.
Shaun was marvelous with Duncan, playing gently and patiently. Valentine later confessed he'd warned Shaun that Duncan was only half Shaun's age and had recently recovered from a harsh illness. The chance to play was clearly good for Duncan’s spirits as well.
Codsworth recognized our guest, “Mr. MacCready, wasn't it? I hope your business with my master from your last visit was successfully resolved?”
“You saw him,” MacCready gestured to where the boys were playing upstairs.
“Oh of course! He seems a fine young man, and it is wonderful for young Master Shaun to meet someone younger than himself. Can I provide anything, sir?”
“Nah, I'm good right now, but thanks.”
Danse joined us after seeing to his armor in the workshop, “How do you and Holmes know each other?”
“I hired him in Goodneighbor, only to discover he required my services more than I required his,” I said. Valentine's brow rose slightly at my interception of the question, but he said nothing.
“I owe Holmes a lot,” MacCready said. “Without his help, Duncan wouldn't be here.”
“Danse, you wouldn't happen to know of a settlement in need of a sniper with room for a growing young boy, would you?” I asked.
Danse didn't like the fact that we hadn't fully answered his question, but he didn't pursue further details at that moment. “There have been reports from Finch Farm that the Forged are becoming active again. They might be able to accommodate. Or County Crossing and Somerville could both use an extra pair of eyes against recent super mutant activity.”
“No shortage of choices,” I said to MacCready. “We're headed to Sanctuary tomorrow, you should come. It's where all the new Minutemen recruits begin their training.”
He made a face, “I appreciate the hand, boss, and I'd be happy to give it a look, but I gotta finish this job first. I said I'd go with the caravan all the way, so I will. That was the deal. Besides, the Minutemen might be a good idea, but I'm… more of a freelance sort of guy.”
“You're a mercenary,” Danse didn't quite roll his eyes, though he clearly wanted to.
“That's right,” MacCready challenged. “And you won't find a better shot for your caps. Been handling a rifle since I was a kid.”
One of the caravan guards knocked on my door. MacCready could stay behind and get a quarter of the promised pay, or finish the job and receive one and a half times his pay to compensate for extra work now that they had an injured guard. Some minimal haggling followed, more out of tradition than anything else, but the terms remained unchanged and MacCready said he'd meet them at the entrance.
Duncan was disappointed he had to leave, but refused to stay behind without his father. MacCready promised him that he'd see Shaun again. Codsworth gave Duncan a small pack of bottled water and fruit for the road, and they took their leave.
The door closed behind them, and Danse looked at me, “May I ask why you required the services of a mercenary?”
I was dismissive, “I was bored, it was not one of my better moments.”
“Not sure 'bored’ does it justice,” Valentine muttered.
Shaun sat next to Valentine at the table, “I liked Duncan, he was nice. He told me he and his dad are from the Capital Wasteland, a long way from here. He said it's a lot different than the Commonwealth. That's where you're from, isn't it Danse?”
Danse nodded once, Shaun's enthusiasm drawing a slight smile, “Yes. He's right; it is very different.”
Dogmeat, seeing Shaun's attention was no longer focused on his guest, walked up and put his head in Shaun's lap. Shaun scratched behind Dogmeat's ears and said, “Wanna run the bases?” Dogmeat barked, and Shaun leaped off the chair to hurry outside, “We'll be right back!”
Valentine and I shared a smile. “A boy and his dog,” Valentine chuckled.
“His energy is boundless,” I said, a bit astonished.
“Takes after his father on a good day, if I may say so, sir,” Codsworth said.
I was a bit affronted, “A good day?”
Valentine laughed, “I couldn't agree more. Danse, stop standing there glowering. Soon as Shaun gets back, we can tell him about the trip to Sanctuary. You sure you don’t want to wait here for Preston to join you instead of heading west just to go east again?”
Danse shook his head, “I recognize you’re functioning somewhat normally, but I would prefer to personally see all of you to Sanctuary safely rather than stay behind with nothing to do.”
“You’re worried I’m not gonna make it, and you don’t want to be bored out of your mind sitting around here,” Valentine summarized with a grin.
“Didn’t I just say that?”
“Sure did,” Valentine lit a cigarette and tossed the pack to me. “Just makin’ sure I heard right.”
We didn’t waste any time. Valentine and I reported to Ellie, who naturally demanded the full story of the trip to Murkwater and the plan to help Valentine. She is very worried about her friend and employer, but put on a brave face and wished us luck with the best optimism. Danse needn’t have worried about Valentine breaking down on the way to Sanctuary, but I was glad for his assistance in safely escorting my family.
Sanctuary continues to thrive as the Minutemen grow in number. Valentine saw to getting Shaun settled in while I spoke to Preston and Danse. As I expected, both men were more than willing to do their best, and were attentive as I outlined what they should expect from the island’s unique residents. Shaun was ecstatic when we told him we were going to Sanctuary for an extended visit, though he was almost more fascinated by the mysterious island from whence his second father’s help would come… hopefully. Danse has no doubt become something of a knight in shining armor in Shaun’s imagination the next few weeks. With luck, he and Preston can coax a wizard from his cave.
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tessetc · 7 years ago
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August Month of Fanfic #1 Shameless Fluff
For this, I decided to write a prequel to Unfrozen. It’s fine to be read on its own. If you haven’t read the fic, it’s about a shy Vault 111 survivor, who makes it through along with her brother Nate, and his baby Shaun. They are rescued by the BOS, and Bonnie overcomes some of her social anxiety to become a leader of the new community and falls in love with the Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel, Arthur Maxson.
Bonnie is a bit mousy, and always comes wrapped in a sweater, which is just as much armour for her as Power Armour is for the BOS.
Pre-War, set a bit over a year before the War, this is a family moment with Bonnie, her twin brother Nate, and Nate’s husband, Taylor.
SFW, fic under the cut.
Bind Off by Tess
Nate wasn’t usually so… antisocial.
That wasn’t really the right word, but Bonnie wasn’t quite sure what else to call it. In the last few months, he had been very secretive.
She hadn’t noticed at first, being busy with school work and her part-time job, and the added stress of doctor’s appointments and trying to keep the one pair of pants that fit clean.
So it was a few weeks before she noticed that he spent more time holed up in his room when he was home than out in the living room. When she got home at night, it was often to find Taylor sitting alone in the living room with the TV on.
For the first several months she had lived with them, they were always coming and going, often with friends dropping by for visits. Nate had always had a lot of friends, and while he was quieter, Taylor was just as comfortable around people as Nate.
Even after the procedure was determined to be successful, and Bonnie was confirmed to be carrying a healthy embryo for her brother and his husband, they hadn’t slowed down. If anything, they got more sociable, although they kept the gatherings small in deference to Bonnie’s anxiety around strangers.
But in the last few weeks or so, ever since the second trimester rolled into the third, and the fall semester of her second year at school settled in, the social gatherings had tapered off, and all of them started spending more quiet evenings at home.
Well… Bonnie and Taylor spent quiet evenings at home. Nate had been holed up in his room for weeks, only coming out to eat.
Tonight was no different. Bonnie came home from her job at the school library to find Taylor alone in front of the tv, a half full bottle of Nuka Cola dangling from his hand.
“Where’s Nate?” Bonnie asked, setting down her bag by the door and kicking off her shoes. She sighed in relief. Even her feet were getting fat. All her shoes seemed to pinch.
Taylor patted the sofa cushion beside him. “He’s in our room. Do you want me to rub your feet?”
Bonnie didn’t hesitate. It had been a bit awkward, the first time he’d asked that, but he’d explained that he was just really grateful that she was willing to put herself through all this so he and Nate could be dads, and he wanted to do whatever he could to make her more comfortable.
Bonnie sighed as her swollen feet started to feel better. Taylor was watching baseball on the TV. Bonnie zoned out a little, not being particularly interested in the sport. She must have dozed off a little, because the next thing she knew, Taylor was shaking her awake.
She looked around blearily. “Nate didn’t come out at all?”
“No.” Taylor’s response was brusque.
“I’m kind of worried about him, Tay. He’s been holed up in there a lot lately, and it’s not like him. Maybe I should go talk to him.”
Something flashed in her brother-in-law’s eyes. “That’s not a good idea, Bon.”
Bonnie brushed him off and stood. “I’ve known my brother a lot longer than you have, Taylor. I’m going in there.” At that, she strode down the hallway and knocked on her brother’s door.
“Nate, it’s Bonnie. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Not right now, Bon. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Nate, I’m kind of worried about you. Holing up like this? It’s not like you.”
“I’m fine, Bonnie. I will talk to you tomorrow, I said.”
Taylor came up behind her. “I told you it’s not a good idea.”
Bonnie sighed. She wanted to press the issue, but she also didn’t want to make anyone upset. “Fine. I’m going to bed. I’m going to bed, Nate!”
After shouting at the door, she felt a little better, and went off to her room.
She didn’t sleep well that night, worrying about her brother. Maybe he was sick or something and didn’t want her to know. Oh my god… what if he had cancer? What would she do without her brother? He wasn’t just her brother. He was her twin, and she had no idea how she would manage without him in her life.
She tossed and turned all night, and she only managed to fall asleep near dawn, after determining that she would get answers from him in the morning, no matter what she had to do.
***
The next morning was grey and dreary. The rain was cold, and although it was still technically summer, there was a definite hint of fall in the air: the way the rain smelled, maybe, or the few early leaves that were turning red on the trees. Bonnie shivered as she waited for the coffee, and then decided to go back into her room to find something warm to wear.
Unfortunately, nothing she had fit. It still wasn’t cold enough for a hoodie, and her light cardigan wouldn’t fit around her rapidly expanding middle. She scowled, before stalking to the laundry room and digging out her brother’s old high school soccer jersey. It looked ridiculous on her, but at least it wasn’t too warm and it fit. Sorta. She shrugged. Whatever. She was just going to class.
When she returned to the kitchen, she found her brother pouring her a coffee at the kitchen island. She stepped up to him and he wrapped his arms around her for a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He leaned back for a minute, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a grin.
“Is that my soccer jersey?”
Bonnie scowled at him. “Nothing else fits.”
Nate threw back his head and laughed.
Bonnie punched him in the arm, and he laughed again, dodging a second hit easily.
“Hey, Nate, are you ok? I’ve been a bit worried about you.”
“Yeah, BonBon, I’m fine. You have nothing to worry about. Hey listen,” he said, avoiding her eyes and changing the subject. “We are going to dinner tonight, ok?”
Bonnie picked up her coffee and took a sip. It was so freaking good. She only allowed herself one a day since she got pregnant, and she liked to enjoy every second of it. “Yeah, that’s fine. You guys have fun.”
Nate laughed again. “No, dummy. We’re taking you out for supper. It’s our birthday next week but I won’t be here then because I have that thing in DC.” He’d told her about that earlier. Apparently he was getting some medal for service in Anchorage. He’d saved some guy named Reggie Marston or something.
“Oh, I almost forgot, I’ve been so busy with school I kinda forgot.” She grimaced. “I didn’t get you anything!”
“Yeah you did,” her brother patted her tummy and smiled at her. “You are giving me the greatest gift possible.”
***
Taylor picked her up from school that day. She had the day off from her job, which is why Nate decided to celebrate their birthday on a weeknight. It was tradition for them to do something quiet with family for their birthday, since Bonnie didn’t really like big gatherings. Their parents had moved to Florida when Bonnie had moved out after high school, and wouldn’t be coming up. She didn’t mind. They had been older when Bonnie and Nate were born, a surprise pregnancy for a couple who had only planned on having one child. Bonnie and Nate’s sister was almost 17 years older than they were, and they didn’t see her often either.
They pulled up to the restaurant. It was a quiet, family restaurant that they had been coming to since they were kids, and it was Bonnie’s favourite place to eat. She insisted that it was because they had amazing burgers, but Nate liked to tease her that it was because the booth seats were high and she could hide from the other diners.
Nate was already there when they arrived. Bonnie was still wearing the soccer jersey, but Nate was turning heads in his dark brown henley shirt and khaki pants. Taylor winked at him and sat down beside him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Bonnie knew they were grateful for the high booths here too… sometimes people were real dicks.
While they waited for their food, Bonnie watched Nate. He was smiling and animated, and he looked so cheerful that she wondered why she had been worried at all.
They chatted through the meal, and when it was done and dessert was finished (Bonnie ate her sundae and half of Nate’s), he handed her a large, paper gift bag.
“What’s this? I thought we weren’t doing presents?”
��No! I just said you don’t need to get me anything because you already have. This is just a little something for you.”
Bonnie grinned, considered punching him again, then changed her mind. She wanted to open the present. She could punch him after.
She opened the bag and peeked inside. All she saw was beige wool. She pulled it out and unrolled it. It was a handmade sweater. It was honey coloured wool, with a dark brown fair isle yoke and several dark wooden buttons down the front. It was a little nubbly in places, but it was otherwise perfect. She put it on. It was just a little too big for her, but in the right kind of way, where she could wrap it all around her if she was cold. The sleeves were a bit long, which was perfect, because it covered her fingers, and there were two great big pockets…. Lined pockets with a button flap so she wouldn’t lose whatever she put in them.
Bonnie was delighted. She put it on right away, tossing the hockey jersey aside. “Oooh! It’s so soft!”
“It’s merino,” Nate told her.
“Who made this?”
“I did. With about a million calls to Aunt Jess. She thought I was crazy for trying something so advanced for my first project.”
“Oh, Nate…” Bonnie’s eyes welled up, but she blinked to clear the tears. “This is so wonderful. I love it so much, I’m not gonna take it off for like two hundred years, I swear. I’d hug you, but I don’t want to climb over the table.”
“That’s ok, Bon, you can hug me later. I’m not going anywhere.”
Taylor also gave her a gift, a certificate to a shoe store downtown. After they finished up, they went home, and Bonnie went to sleep in the beautiful sweater her brother had knitted for her on the sly. It was so soft and warm, she thought she could just live in it forever.
***
Her words were prophetic. When she arrived in the Vault, just over a year later, she took her sweater and tossed it in the decontamination pod when the doctor was distracted by Nate fussing over Shaun. She clung to it tightly when she came back out of the Vault, and she wore it almost every day until the day she fought for her life and won, and saved everyone she cared about in the process.
After that she hung it up and rarely wore it. It had kept her safe and secure for months while she went through her pregnancy, the first months with Shaun at home, and the trauma of the War and everything after. But after that…
After that, she felt she was ready to stand on her own.
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tthad · 7 years ago
Text
Party Crasher
When Sarah first saw him she thought it was someone’s idea of a sick joke.
 “Jesus, who would do that?”
 Alphonso handed Sarah a Coke and looked over at the guy she was staring at.  He was dressed in blue jeans with holes in the knees and a black t-shirt sporting some symbol or design that was too faded to read.
 “I don’t get it, who’s he supposed to be?” Alphonso said, suddenly not so self-conscious about his own less than stellar attempt at a pirate costume.
 “Look at the face.  Doesn’t it seem familiar to you?”
 Alphonso looked again, trying to match the kid with any of the teen celebrities he’d seen on tv, but still came up with nothing.  “Is he one of the Jonas Brothers?  Cause in my defense, that shit’s pretty dated.”
 Sarah scowled at him exasperated.  “It’s Bobby Reynolds.”
 “Holy shit.”  Alphonso said, suddenly remembering the photo that had been circulated around school when Bobby first went missing; this kid was the spitting image, even down to the way his brown hair hung in front of his eyes like a visor. 
 “What is it, some sort of latex mask?  How the hell did he even make the thing?”  
 “I don’t know, but it’s incredibly fucked up.  Can we go outside for a bit?  I don’t want to be around this.”
 “Sure.”  Alphonso said and took Sarah by the hand heading for the backyard.
 ***
 “This really takes me back.”  Emily said, plucking another Dorito from the giant plastic bowl in front of her and washing it down with a swallow of punch.  “Explain to me again why it is we’re taking this little stroll down memory lane?”
 “Because I promised my parents I’d keep an eye on things and make sure my little brother and his friends didn’t trash the place while they were gone.” Callie said.
 “I don’t understand how your folks even knew that he was throwing this little shindig?”
 “He posted about it on Facebook.”
 “Kids these days have absolutely zero skill in the art of subterfuge; gotta put everything online like a bunch of amateurs.”
 “We would’ve totally done the same thing if we’d been able to.”
 “Oh no, not me sister.  Don’t you remember Becky Rapowski puking in the back of my VW Rabbit after downing half a bottle of Capitan Morgan at prom?  I’ve kept that shit secret to this day.”
 “You told Karen Waller about it in Art class.”
 “Well yeah, but nobody else.  Didn’t want her thinking I was the one who ralphed in my car.” 
 “I’m just trying to be a good big sister.  There’s no way my parents would’ve let him have this without some sort of supervision.”
 “Christ Cal, is this what we’ve come to, high school chaperones?” 
 “Afraid so my dear.”
 “The fucking humanity.”
 “Hey, at least we haven’t had to hold any hair back or break up a bunch of make-out sessions.”
 “Like I said, kids these days...so disappointing...”
 ***
Roach looked over the business card again, scrutinizing the legibility of the phone number and email address underneath the bright green logo that read, Head In The Clouds: Recreational Liaisons.  
 “I’m still not sure we should’ve gone with such a funky font?  What if our customers can’t read it when they’re, ya know, impaired?”
 “No man, trust me, you have to grab people’s attention.  Don’t want folks to think we’re selling life insurance or aluminum siding.  This little beauty here...”  Chris said holding up the small, cardboard rectangle. “Demands that you sit up and take notice.”  
 Chris still liked to think of himself as a showman even after ditching his former moniker and going back to his real name.  It seemed a bit strange to him after all this time, but he’d simply woken up one morning and decided that he no longer wanted to be the clowned prince of refuse.
 “Okay, but are you sure we should be passing them out at a high school party?” Roach said.
 “This is a prime market partner, and it’s not like we’re doing anything illicit.  Hell, we should be commended for providing a valuable service and helping keep these youngsters from getting into an accident trying to score tacos while under the influence.”
 “Somehow I don’t think their parents are going to see it that way.”
 “You’re the mastermind and maestro behind the scenes that got this brilliant plan started; now it’s time to let me go and perform my promotional schmooze magic and we will be golden.  I promise to be discreet.”
 “Alright man, do your thing.”
 “Thank you.”
 Chris filtered his way into the crowd and started chatting up a knot of kids playing some sort of drinking game in the living room and Roach watched him and crossed his fingers.  When he first came up with the idea he’d considered not including Chris, afraid that he wouldn’t take it seriously, but in the end Roach couldn’t imagine doing it without him.  
 Even if the whole thing ended up falling flat on its face, at least they can say that they did it together.
 ***
  Sarah tapped out a Marlboro from the pack in her pocket, lit it, and turned her head to blow the smoke away from Alphonso.
 “You okay?”  Alphonso said.
 “Yeah, seeing that kid just freaked me out.”
 “Me too.”
 “I can’t believe someone would dress up as Bobby Reynolds.”
 “People pull all sorts of stupid shit on Halloween.  The anonymity and accepted mischief tends to bring out the asshole in folks.”
 “I guess, but after what everyone in this town went through I just...oh shit...”
 “What?”
 “I think I just saw Shaun Haller.”
 “Who?”
 “A guy I had a couple classes with and kinda knew in junior high.  He and Bobby were close.”
 “Think he saw that kid yet?”
 “I don’t know, but I think someone oughta warn him in case he hasn’t.”
 Alphonso nodded and the two of them started walking towards Haller.
 ***
 Shaun wasn’t really sure why he’d come. 
 He was exhausted from working a double shift and mostly wanted to crawl into bed, but he’d barely been out anywhere in weeks and the few times he had it usually involved going to a movie by himself.  It seemed like a good idea not to let himself become a total hermit, if only to avoid the pointing and whispers from folks around town, but now that he was here he didn’t know what to do with himself.
 “Hey.”  Sarah said, tapping Shaun on the back of the shoulder.
 Shaun turned.  “Oh, hey, how’s it going?”  He’d seen the girl before, even had class with her in eighth grade, but couldn’t remember her name and was hoping desperately that she didn’t pick up on it.
 There was a tall guy in loose jeans standing a couple feet behind her who suddenly came forward and Shaun wondered if he knew him too and was starting to think his memory might be going.
 “Hi, I’m Alphonso.”
 “Do we have Physics together?”  Shaun said.
 “Nah, I’m actually a Senior.”
 “Shit, sorry.”
 “No worries.”
 “So…”  Shaun said, digging his hands into his pockets and trying to seem nonchalant. “Looks like half the school showed up to this thing; think I saw two different guys dressed as Star-Lord.”
 “There’s actually three of them.”  Alphonso said.
 “Well, I just got here.”  Shaun said.
 “Seen anyone else?”  Sarah said.
 “I saw an Affleck Batman and a girl who I think was supposed to be Daenerys Targaryen, though she looked more like a blonde Xena with a couple of plastic dragons on her shoulder.  Oh, and there was a chubby guy with a baseball hat that I think was supposed to be that curly-headed kid from Stranger Things.”
 “Nobody else?”  Sarah said.
 “Like I said, I just got here.”
 “Listen, we gotta tell you something.”  
 “Um, okay...”
 “There’s a guy at the party dressed as Bobby Reynolds.”
 “What?”
 “I know, it’s really messed up.  I just thought you should hear about it before you accidentally ran into him.”
 “Where is he?”
 “I think I saw him headed downstairs when I went in to use the bathroom.” Alphonso said.
 “Did either of you talk to him?”  Shaun said.
 Alphonso shook his head.
 “No way, I didn’t want to be anywhere near that asshole.”  Sarah said.
 “Do you think...I mean...could it actually be Bobby?”
 Sarah started to say something and then stopped.  The idea that the person she’d seen might be the real Bobby Reynolds never occurred to her.  In her mind Bobby had long ago become a ghost, the kind of local apparition that permanently haunts a place.  She wasn’t sure if he was really dead, but felt certain that he’d never be back, that he couldn’t possibly come back, because it was the only thing worse she could imagine than the specter of his memory hanging over the town.
 “I have to see him.”  Shaun said.
 “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”  Alphonso said.
 “I promise I won’t freak out or anything, but I need to know.”
 Sarah put a hand on Shaun’s shoulder.  “I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now, but however this turns out, wouldn’t you rather it not happen in front of a bunch of people at a party?”
 “...I need to know...”
 “Okay.”  Sarah said and Alphonso looked at her like she’d just gone insane.  “But we all go together and Alphonso and I are gonna stay between you two until we know what’s what.  Agreed?”
 Shaun nodded.
 The three of them headed down to the basement.  There was a soft orange glow from party lights tacked to the wall next to the staircase that transitioned to vibrant purple strands hung like a curtain from the ceiling at the bottom of the steps.  Shaun heard music, some pulsing club song that was popular a few years back, but turned down so low that it was just barely audible.
 When they hit the landing at the bottom Alphonso motioned for them to wait.
 The only people in the room were a couple of guys throwing darts and the kid dressed as Bobby sitting slouched in a beanbag chair in the corner of the room. Alphonso said something to the dart players and a moment later Shaun saw them shrug and he and Sarah moved aside so they could go upstairs.
 Shaun stepped into the room and stared at the kid on the other end.  Even in the violet tinted light with his head tilted down, Shaun could still tell that it was Bobby.  The way the boy’s high cheekbones curved into his jaw and his nose slanted slightly to the side there was no mistaking him.  
 The kid didn’t look up at Shaun or acknowledge the others and Alphonso made sure he stayed between them, though neither had made any attempt to cross the room. Sarah looked at the boy and then at Shaun trying to gauge their expressions, but each was completely blank as if they were playing a game to see who could remain still the longest.
 Shaun was sure it was really Bobby, but there was something about him that wasn’t quite right, and it took Shaun several minutes to realize what it was.
 This boy looked exactly like his memory of Bobby, right down to the scabs on the knuckles of his hands that he’d gotten the week before he went missing when Bobby had wiped out on his bike while he and Shaun were riding back from the comic shop.  
 It was the face of the kid everyone had searched for staring back at him, not Bobby the way he ought to be now.
 Shaun glanced over at Alphonso and Sarah to see if they’d realized it too, but they were both still looking at him waiting to see what he was going to do.
 “Bobby?”  Shaun said.
 The boy with Bobby’s twelve-year-old face stood up, eyes glinting beneath that dark fringe of hair, and smiled...
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