#also...Bubbles is very much based off of a bit of dialogue Nick can half with a npc haha

[falloutglow]

Heart of the City

It's been a week since the daring rescue of Vault 114. A week since Echo set foot in Diamond City. A week to discover that life in Diamond City isn’t all it's cracked up to be.

Nick Valentine & Echo

4318 words [AO3]

Echo adjusted her bag, mentally going through a checklist as she opened her door into the Dugout Inn. Vadim was busy wiping his counter. Across the room, Scarlet swept dust and crumbs into a pile as a few customers chatted away, eating and drinking. Dogmeat squeezed past her and trotted towards the exit. She gently closed her door, and as briskly as possible, headed towards the exit after Dogmeat.

“Ah, there’s our mystery mouse!” Vadim’s voice boomed behind her. She closed her eyes and sucked in her breath.

Damn it.

She turned on her toes as she heard the front exit open and shut. Wow. Ditched by her own dog too. She forced a grin on her face as she was tugged back to the counter with Vadim’s strong words and ever friendly glow.

“Mornin’ Vadim,” she greeted, pushing her sunglasses closer to her face, checking to make sure they were still there.

“Come sit.” He commanded with a hearty laugh, patting the bar, “You haven’t had most important meal yet.”

“I’m not much of a breakfast eater-.”

His laugh boomed. Echo winced. He tossed his rag onto his shoulder. “Look at you little mouse,” he wiped a tear from his eye, “You need hardy meal or you’ll waste away. Be pile of clothes.”

She quirked a brow, but said nothing as she pressed her lips together. Scarlet groaned loudly as she continued to sweep. Echo had to agree, it was much too early for this.

“Mmm, an omelette and some meat is what you need.” He nodded to himself as he clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

Echo’s mouth watered as she mentally kicked herself. That was caps and she needed to save every last one of them if she ever planned on finding her own place. Maybe she could go without dinner or eat a later, smaller, and cheaper lunch.

“Well,” she wracked her brain, trying to craft a good enough excuse, “I, uh, actually had some plans-”

“Oh?” Vadim leaned in, smiling bright and cheerful, and ever so nosy.

She bobbed her head. “Yep, uh, was gonna catch Ellie this morning.” She thumbed behind her as she slowly backed away. “Don’t wanna keep her waiting.”

Vadim chuckled. “Next time then,” he said, waving her off, “you need protein. Nothing but a twig.”

Echo saluted him as she spun on her heels. “I’ll keep that in mind~” she sang as she pushed open the exit door. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed deeply. Her fingers tugged out her hair tie as she quickly redid her ponytail. Probably still a mess, but, a hairbrush would have to wait.

After one last round of adjustments, she steeled herself for the worst part of being within Diamond City’s great green walls.

People.

Lots of fuckin’ people.

Another deep breath and she stepped out into the warming sun. Echo pushed her sunglasses closer to her face and tugged at her sleeves as she made her way down the streets. People loitered and chatted, small talk drowned by merchants as they called out, enticing folks to stop by and purchase their wares. The guards patrolled, making sly, under their helmet comments, hidden by their anonymity. Pretty sure a few of them were trying to hit on her while another grumbled about boredom.

Echo dodged and weaved around people, taking extra care to not run into anymore. She turned a corner and frowned at the lack of bright neon sign that should’ve been down this street. She thumped the palm of her hand against her forehead as she walked down the barren street. “Damn it,” she huffed. She’d been here for almost a week now and here she was once again turning herself around.

Echo stopped to place her forehead against the cool metal wall and closed her eyes.

“Got lost I take it?” a familiar voice asked followed by an all too familiar boof.

She snorted as she pushed off against the wall and leaned her shoulder against it. “Noooo, psh,” she waved a dismissive hand as she crossed her arms over her chest, “just sightseeing.”

Nick cracked a smile. “Must be an interesting wall then.” Dogmeat’s tail wagged as he boofed in agreement. “He came and got me.” Nick explained as Dogmeat nudged his face against Echo’s leg.

“Daw,” she dropped to her knees and scratched his face, “And here I thought you ditched me.”

Dogmeat yawned.

“He was leading me to the Dugout when I saw you dipping in here.” Nick pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his coat, “You alright?”

Echo’s mouth twitched as she pushed off the ground and stretched her back. “Yep!” Dogmeat pawed her hand as Nick gave her his ever famous, ‘Not-buying-it’ look. She scratched the top of Dogmeat’s nose as she adjusted her sunglasses. “Got caught by Vadim,” she shrugged as he lit his cigarette.

He hummed, clicking his lighter closed. “Figured as much,” he said as smoke billowed out of his mouth and holes in his cheeks, “Think you’re up to facing the market?” He asked, tapping the ashes off the filter. Echo chewed her lip in thought. “Could take a few back alleys instead.” He added as Dogmeat’s tail thumped against the pavement.

“Only if you lead.” Echo countered. Dogmeat stood up, trotted off, stopped, and turned as if expecting the other two to follow. He boofed.

Nick chuckled. “I believe he’s taking up the mantle.”

Echo cracked a smile. “Alright Bud, we’re coming.” She adjusted her bag’s straps and followed Dogmeat, keeping in step with Nick. “So.” She clapped her hands, “any new cases, leads, or so on?” She asked, dodging a mailbox.

“So far, no.” Nick said, “There are a few case files still left untouched while I was gone though.”

Echo frowned, tapping her knuckle against her lips as she tried to remember what all she looked at. “How many did you have?”

“Several,” he said, gesturing with his cigarette, “we’ve knocked out a few thankfully, but there’s always another case to solve.”

She snorted. “Gee, it's like your job is never done huh?”

“As long as people still come to me for help, not really no.”

She stole a glance at him as his focus was ahead of them, watching Dogmeat. Smoke curled out of his open cheek, damage, no, a scar he received some time ago, before they ever met. From the sound of others, it had been recent, but when-. She chewed her lip in thought, as she looked ahead, catching sight of a familiar neon sign.

Valentine Detective Agency.

She sighed. Crap. She forgot to look at the street signs again, or pay attention to the turns they took... damn it. Nick eyed her, but said nothing. Yep. He knew. Great. Well, at least Dogmeat seemed to know where the hell to go in this city.

Dogmeat sat at the entrance and waited for the other two to walk by and give him scratches and pats on the head.

“Good job, Bud.” Echo said, giving Dogmeat a good scratch behind the ears. She opened the door and caught Nick giving Dogmeat a well deserved scratch under the chin. She smiled and shook her head as she heard Dogmeat’s hind leg thump against the pavement. They were gonna be a minute.

Echo felt a wave slam into her as she entered the threshold. She swallowed as indistinct voices sobbed, wavered, and growled in the nearly empty room. She rolled her shoulders, shrugging the voices off.

She smiled cheerfully at Ellie. “Morning.”

Ellie typed away at her typewriter, her fingers pressing the keys in rapid succession. She glanced up and grinned. “There she is,” she said, as her eyes went back to her paper, “Nick went to check on you, Coco.”

“Yeah, he’s right behind me.” She thumbed at the door as she removed her bag and leaned it against the desk by the wall. It felt...wrong to claim it as her own. She could see and hear the ghosts of those who once kept cigarettes in the top most drawer, hid whiskey behind a stack of papers in the bottom drawer, collected knicknacks to decorate the now bare top…

Echo’s fingers brushed the cool metal surface as a symphony of voices ran through her mind. Just like yesterday...and the days before…

“I take it you got lost again?” Ellie mused as her typewriter dinged.

Echo snorted. “What?” She laid a dramatic hand on her chest, “me? Lost? Psh, as if.”

Dogmeat trotted over to Ellie as Nick stepped inside. “Really? It looked like you were asking a wall for directions.”

Ellie giggled. “A wall huh?” Dogmeat tapped her lap with his paws as if to say ‘hey, I’m here.’ “Well, good morning.” She cooed as she leaned over. Dogmeat licked her nose. She laughed and rubbed Dogmeat’s face.

Echo scratched behind her ear. “Walls can talk you know.” She said, omitting how literal she meant.

Nick smirked. “Not sure how reliable of a source you had then.” Ellie covered her mouth as laughter took over.

Echo shook her head as she struggled to contain herself. “I made it here though, eventually.”

“Sure, sure,” Nick adjusted his fedora, “Ellie,” he said, getting back to business, “what’s on the docket for today?”

Ellie patted Dogmeat’s head, opened a drawer, and pulled out a couple manila folders. One was slightly bulkier than the other. “Bubbles disappeared,” she sighed, “again. And still no word on Earl Sterling…”

Echo quirked a brow, hearing the somber tone in Ellie’s voice.

“Vadim was the one to bring up his disappearance.” Nick said, while picking up the slightly bulkier case file, “Was one of the bartenders. Went missing little before I got caught by Skinny Malone…” He flipped through the file and scanned it while humming a bit.

Echo licked her lips before she popped them. “I, uh, don’t mind checking in but-”

“Need back up?” Nick asked, as a smirk played on his lips.

“Mmmm, well that and,” she rubbed the back of her neck, “I sorta used you as an excuse this morning, Ellie.”

Ellie paused her typing and eyed Echo suspiciously. “What kind of excuse?” she asked, pursing her lips.

Echo sighed as Vadim’s cheerful, glowing smile greeted her while she remembered earlier that morning. “He tried to rope me into a massive breakfast, so, I mentioned I had plans with you for lunch…”

Ellie grinned. “Oh?” She propped her chin as she leaned on the desk, “Well this is news to me. If you wanted to ask me out-”

Echo stiffened as her face flushed. “I-uh-what?”

Ellie giggled and waved her off. “Relax, Coco, I’m only teasing.”

Echo bowed her head as she deflated. “Oh gods,” she mumbled, as the sudden panic left her.

“Think ya broke her, Elle.” Nick said, shaking his head, smiling lightly.

Echo raised her head and rolled her shoulders. “Nope. No. I’m good. Caught me off guard is all.” Dogmeat sat at her feet and tilted his head. “Bud, I’m okay.” She said, leaning over to scratch the top of his head. His tail thumped as his tongue slid out of his mouth, ready to lick her first chance he could. She caught Nick and Ellie exchanging glances, but said nothing as she focused on Dogmeat, rubbing his face and ears.

Nick closed the case file and placed it on the desk. “I have a feeling I know where our little friend ran off to.” he said to Ellie, as he patted the file, “I’ll be back in a bit. In the meantime, Ellie, why don’t you grab some Power Noodles for lunch on me.”

Echo blinked as she looked up at Nick. “Wh-the noodle stand? But-”

Ellie popped out of her chair, beaming at him. “If you’re sure Nick.”

“Course,” he tipped his hat, “I’ll be back in an hour, give or take.” he smiled, “Enjoy your lunch.”

“Thanks…” Echo whispered as he left the agency.

Ellie placed her hands on her hips and smirked at Echo. “You ready to brave the market?” She teased while Dogmeat barked happily.”

Echo’s fingers tapped the top of the desk as she chewed her lower lip. Ellie’s shoulders relaxed as she took a couple steps closer. “You okay?” she asked softly. Dogmeat sat at Ellie’s feet, blocking her way. Ellie paused as her gaze shifted from Dogmeat to Echo. “Oh.” She patted his head, “good boy.” She straightened her posture and smiled, gently at Echo. “I’ll grab lunch for the both of us. How’s that sound?”

Echo felt her shoulders relaxing as a weight tumbled off of them. She nodded slowly. “Sounds good. Thank you.”

Ellie smiled back. “Of course.” She strolled across the room to the safe in the corner. “It won’t take too long. Takahashi’s quick, even during the lunch rush.” She stood up and kicked the door closed. She winked at Echo. “I’ll be back~"

Dogmeat’s tail wagged as he trotted after her.

Ellie laughed. “Oh all right,” she said, ruffling Dogmeat’s fur, “we’ll pick you up something too.” Dogmeat barked happily as the duo walked out the door.

And with that, Echo was alone.

She sighed loudly as she yanked her sunglasses off and tossed them onto the desk. She slumped in her chair and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. After a long very satisfying groan and a round of deep breaths, she let her hands fall to her sides.

Echo chewed her lip. Ellie should be back ‘soon’ with lunch… and with Nick busy… she was alone, with nothing to stop the echoes of whispers that crawled along her skin and set her hair on edge. The agency had seen a lot of foot traffic, and sob stories that lingered in the air long after they had been spoken by a distraught parent, or a worried friend. She needed to do something to distract her for a little while, something to distract her thoughts and the encroaching history that creaked in the floorboards and whispered in muted tones at the edge of her hearing. Her eyes settled for a filing cabinet towards the back, shoved in a corner and forgotten amongst the others. She licked her lips as she stood up and made her way towards the back wall.

How good of a 'detective’ would she be if she didn’t 'snoop’?

Her hands came back dusty after gently brushing the top of the cabinet. Maybe it held old case files or something? She wasn’t sure, but something about this filing cabinet tugged at her. Without a second thought, she squeezed the trigger, pulled, and with a grunt and a slight sting of metal scraping against metal attacking her ears, the cabinet gave. Inside the cabinet were photos, photos of faces she had never met, but lingered in the air like smoke off a cigarette. Names and voices coiled around her and tugged at her limbs, calling to her.

Within the pile of old Polaroid’s were broken frames held together by wonder glue and prayers, a tarnished locket, and a pre-war leather wallet. She held her breath as the voices grew louder, a crescendo on a music sheet building with the conductor’s hand. Her fingers brushed against the cold, dusty locket.

She laughed, lifting her hair as strong calloused hands clasped the chain around her neck. The locket, adorn with engraved vines and leaves, bumped against her chest. “Oh, Nick, you charmer~”

Echo stumbled back, holding her hand against her chest, grasping for invisible weight. She swallowed as she inched her way back to the cabinet. The locket stared up at her, beckoning and pleading to be heard. Echo licked her lips as she planted her hands firmly on the drawer and forced it shut.

That was enough snooping for one day.

Her fingers continued to grab at her collar, desperately searching for the pendant she never wore. Echo closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders, shrugging off the ghosts trying to tether themselves to her. She swallowed as her eyes continued to linger on the filing cabinet.

Who...was that?

Echo forced her hands behind her head to the elastic band, removed it, letting her dark hair fall as her fingers combed through the knots. She blew a raspberry as she redid her ponytail. “Guess I’m not the only one with secrets.” she mumbled as she snagged her sunglasses off the desk and hooked them to the collar of her shirt. “I know I know,” she said aloud, waving off the imagery person she started a one sided conversation with, “of course he has secrets. I barely know him!” She dragged her hands down her face, groaning.

She needed a distraction, pronto.

Echo clapped her hands together. Right! She could look at the casefiles while she waited. Something productive! No sooner did she make up her mind and turn her chair did she notice a rolled up newspaper tucked away, finding refuge between a pair of cabinets. Her mouth twitched. No . She had a perfectly sound and very interesting case to look into.

Her eyes glanced at the newspaper again. She groaned. The damn thing would plague her until the next time she had a chance. If there even was one. She grunted as she dragged her feet over to the newspaper.

As she sat on her haunches, it quickly became clear by the yellowing pages and cobwebs clinging to it, that this newspaper was one, not made by Piper and two, had been down here a looooong time.

The Boston Bugle.

A pre-war newspaper that died with its crew when the bombs fell. She frowned slightly as she gently picked up the old newspaper. Her vision danced, white spots flickering as she stood. She leaned against the filing cabinets for support as people screamed around her. The room was hot and it took every ounce of self control to not shed her jackets. She squeezed her eyes shut, stealing an extra long breath as she inhaled deeply. She lost track of how long she stood there, eyes shut and doing her round of breaths. Her balance felt off. Maybe it was the echo...or maybe she just stood too fast.

Echo exhaled again. Slowly.

The rumbling and heat against her skin faded away as she rolled her shoulders and opened her eyes.

Another one. Another object fueled by fear of hundreds of people running from the end of their world… Must’ve been near where the bombs dropped or something.

With a sigh, she gently unfolded the newspaper and frowned at the big bolded letters on the front page.

Case Closed on Crime Boss Eddie Winter.

Why did that name sound familiar? She clicked her tongue and scanned the article.

And although nothing was proved, everyone on Widmark's task force suspected Winter in the August homicide death of their lead detective's fiancé, a miss Jennifer Lands.

Her eyes widened as she felt a lump in her throat. Jenny was her name. She swallowed and refolded the newspaper. Her gaze flickered back to the filing cabinet where the locket stayed, hidden from view, while still hanging invisibly around her neck. Her chest ached as she stashed the newspaper back where she found it.

Now that she thought about it...Nick had mentioned a few things about the Pre-war days…

She plopped down at Ellie’s desk as her mind raced with questions she was too frazzled to acknowledge. She stared at the typewriter, noticing the worn keys, and the paper left drooping, unfinished until Ellie came back from Power Noodles. Her eyes wandered to the casefiles left behind, one much thicker than the other.

Echo pushed everything away, ignoring the sound of clicking keystrokes and tiny meows as she made an empty space on the desk in front of her. She placed her arms on the desk and buried her face in her arms.

Maybe… she could tune out the world for a little while.

She lost track of time as the sound of the front door to the agency opened and closed. Heavy footsteps grew soft the closer they came to the desk. Echo didn’t move as she waited. Her eyes open, staring at the desk, hiding in the darkness of her arms. She bit her lip, waiting for the inevitable-

Mow?

She frowned as something furry and soft rubbed against her.

Echo looked up right as a gray cat with white markings headbutted her face. She sputtered as a familiar voice chuckled.

“Sorry, he jumped out of my arms.” Nick said, gently scratching the cat’s back. “You alright?”

The cat headbutted her again, rubbing his face against her cheek. “I-” Echo leaned back as the cat continued to shove his weight against her. He flopped over on the desk, on top of the case files and on her arm. He purred loudly.

“I think you’ve made a friend.” Nick smiled. “He was hiding behind the shed the farmers use to stash their tools.”

“Mow,” the cat said, cleaning his paw.

She stared at the cat as a smile tugged at her lips. “Oh,” her free hand hovered near his face. After taking a moment to sniff her, he licked her hand a couple times and rubbed his face against her. She laughed. “Dogmeat’s gonna be sooo jealous of you Bubbles.” She frowned as she looked up at Nick. “That...is his name right?”

He nodded. “Yep.” He sighed, “his owner doesn’t like him getting out and overly frets whenever he does.” He rolled his eyes, “I have yet to see a cap from that man.” He grumbled.

Echo scratched Bubbles’ chin. “You just wanted the taste of fresh air huh?” Bubbles purred louder. “Just find a nice warm spot to sun yaself.” Bubbles rubbed his face against her hand. Her eyes widened as she noticed her sunglasses still hanging off of the collar of her shirt. Panic bubbled inside as she quickly yanked her hand free and shoved her sunglasses back on her face.

Bubbles scurried off somewhere in the agency. Nick stared at her, worry clear as day on his face. He raised his hand. “Echo-” She flinched away. He pulled back. “...right. Forgot you don’t like handshakes...”

She bit down hard on her lip, mentally kicking herself as she tried to focus on breathing. Water blurred her vision. Her face felt wet.

“Oh, oh dear,” his voice was quiet, “hey, it’s okay. I’ll-”

“ I’m sorry. ” She sniffed as she dried her face with her sleeves, “I’m…” she wiped her face, “it's a lot…” she scrubbed her face with her sleeves and groaned, “I just…” What could she even say? That she didn’t like people staring at her eyes for fear of them being scared away by them? That she didn’t want to hurt Nick for her reactions? That- She swallowed. “It’s not you. I know it’s cliche as hell to say that, but it's goddamn true. It’s not you at all .” She held her sunglasses close as she looked up at Nick. “I-I don’t do well with crowds or people for that matter… not a lot of them anyways.”

Nick rubbed his wrist as he stared at the metal joints. “Diamond City isn’t for the faint of heart…” he flexed his fingers, “I noticed you seemed on edge, even deep in the vault.” His eyes glanced to match her eyesight. “Look, I know Ellie kind of-”

“I still want to help…” Echo said, quietly, cutting him off, “you and Ellie are...wonderful people and it-it feels nice being around you two.” She sniffed, and gave her face one last wipe down with her sleeve, “I think,” she sighed, “I haven’t been to such a massive settlement before. It’ll still take a bit more time for me to adjust, but I can make it work. I just haven’t,” she rolled her wrist as she grasped at the word on the tip of her tongue, “decompressed?” She frowned. It...didn’t sound right, but Nick didn’t correct her. He just watched and listened. “It’s...overwhelming.”

She chewed her lip. She should say more, but this was dangerous territory. It was always dangerous territory, being on the cusp of what she should say without saying too much. She couldn’t, no, shouldn’t say anything about the newspaper or the locket. Especially not the locket. Where would she even begin with unpacking that filing cabinet? ‘Oh, I can see flashes of memories that don’t belong to me sometimes.’ NO. She shouldn’t have snooped, just should’ve looked at the case files like she planned, but-

“Yeah, it can be,” Nick said, smiling a little, “if you ever need a quiet space, we’ve got a little area on the side. Could set up something for ya.”

“Oh...that’d be nice. Um, thank you.” Her shoulders drooped as she watched Nick rub his wrist. Here he was making her feel better and not thinking about himself.

Echo stood up and inhaled deeply. She held out her hand. Nick frowned, puzzled as his golden eyes flickered from her hand to her face.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Positive.” When he didn’t immediately reach for her hand she licked her lips, “I...I want to do better, but in order to do that I have to push myself. I don’t want you hurting because of something I did. Like...I get this gut reactions whenever someone gets too close or sees my eyes… They’ve scared folks before and it ended poorly...” She cleared her throat, “I’m sorry, Nick.” She forced a smile on her face, “I want to continue assisting you if you’ll have me.”

Nick blinked. “Well,” he chuckled a bit, “truth be told I was hoping you’d stick around.” His hand hovered near hers. “Partner.”

Echo grinned as she clasped his hand. Voices chatted and wavered as she focused the bite of cold from his metal hand.

“Partner.”