Perhaps she had been too hasty at first, but now having been able to talk and walk with the other, she began easing up more and more, her demeanor and body relaxing. She pondered over the others question before smiling a little, her cheeks flustering slightly as well.
“W-well sort of. She had raised me when i was younger, since my parents weren’t ever around. I was sort of just left in her care with them sending money over to support and keep me fed, but i doubt she took or used much of it. In that way you could say that we’re related, though i just returned a little while ago from a rather long trip, yet i am glad to see how things have actually improved. Everyone seems a lot happier after all.”
Soon after she looked over the cafe, trying to spot her care taker from the rather busy cafe, as almost all of the seats were taken. “Hm.. maybe she’s inside?”
She went from tense to oversharing some information about her relationship with the woman of the biscuits. Not that I really minded it, but I found her attitude interesting, nonetheless. Hopefully I wasn’t making her nervous or something.
“I didn’t expect to just talk to the most fitting person to get the recipe from. I’m sorry to hear your parents…weren’t around for you, though. But it sounds like she took good care of you, at least.” Better look to the future than staring at the past, I thought.
My gaze ended up upon the cafe as well when she looked back. It was always busy here, specially now that the night came back to The First and some balance was restored to it.
“Things have been better since the Warrior of Darkness restored the balance, isn’t it? Would it be wise to startle your caretaker when the place is so busy, though? I wouldn’t like to interrupt the business, after all.”
Mitsuki had to blink a couple of times, her hand still situated by her rapier, before slowly moving it away. Ah, how dumb she felt now and in the end she couldn’t hold herself from letting out a small chuckle.
Nodding her head and gazing back into the others eyes, she finally gave her reply. “O-Oh! Yeah, i know the cookies and actually i even know someone who can make them. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind sharing the recipe.” she explained, before blushing slightly, rubbing the back of her head, feeling embarrassed for having been weary of the other.
“Are you perhaps looking on to making them yourself perhaps?” She asked, being more than curious, leading the way after towards the old cafe where her care taker worked. She would have surely known the recipe, since it seemed to be rather popular among the people there.
The hand over the rapier didn’t go unnoticed- not that I could really blame her. It wasn’t the first time that someone in the Crystarium noticed the aura I carried, even when I didn’t approach people with an ill intention, it was still there.
Either way, I tried to keep a friendly mood to not startle her more, smiling a little, even.
“Oh, you know someone who can make them?…” That was better than expected, and it was once she was leading the way to the cafe that I realized she may have been speaking of the same person that serves Ryne and I those cookies more often than not.
“I would like to give the recipe a try, yes…but wait, are you in any way related to the woman that works at the cafe?” If that was the case, my aim was better than I expected it to be. If I could get the recipe from the same woman that makes those delicious biscuits, it was going to be a win-win. “I think I’m becoming quite the local consumer of those biscuits…my idea is to make them myself for someone special…if I can make them decently, that’s it.”
Her answer didn’t sting, but it did make him feelheavier; it was a guilt he wasn’t ready to turn into anything else just yet. Still he expected those words to have teeth still. Instead they were followed up by a gentle request to scrub her back for her.
Devil somehow looked a bit stupider than he had a few seconds ago, momentarily blindsided by not being asked to leave. It took a few moments for him to recover, nod his head, and start over. “Yeah. Sure– I wanted to talk. It’s…”
It was important. But there he was carefully kneeling next to the bath and reaching out for the scrub brush they’d given her.
There was hesitation in how he reached his other bandaged hand out to brush locks of her wet hair aside. His thoughts flew out the window fairly immediately.
The water was only warm at this point, and that’s why she told herself the way she tensed slightly was from the shift in temperatures and not rough fingertips gently brushing hair from her back. Six let it a deep breath and let it go. Her eyes shut and she let herself relax even if the closeness made her chest feel tight and her body warm. This was it for the time being, and it was all it had to be. Innocent and gentle and comfortably quiet. It was nicer than any bandage or antiseptic.
At least, at first. Time marched onwards, and the trailing thought the Devil seemed to have left behind was floating in the air. Six leaned back ever so slightly, closer to him, whether she meant to or not. She looked over her shoulder after a moment to bolster herself. It was easier to feel vulnerable when she wasn’t concentrating on it. Even easier when she wasn’t looking at him directly like she was now.
At least the Followers knew when to back off, and enough pointed looks and hands waved away tended to make his point known– Devil didn’t want help. Granted he was left somewhat surprised when he came up on Six in a damn bath.
Slowly but surely a slight pinkness came to his face. He bit his lip. “…Howdy.”
“I… yeah. Sure.” He was turning to close the door behind him, but hesitated as he moved back to her side. “If you don’t mind.”
“…I got worried you left without saying goodbye. Without, uh… talking.”
She was still plenty tired, would be for a couple of days while she put her emotions back into boxes, but it did do something comforting to see him up and about on his own in a way that him in the hospital bed a few days prior couldn’t fully.
“I wouldn’t do that,” She replied, a fixed look at her arm and the water that rippled around it. Her fingertips played at the surface to break it like it would distract her all the more, “ – I know how much it hurts. Wouldn’t ever do that to nobody.”
It wasn’t meant to be pointed, but it was all the same. Six bit her lip and skimmed her palm across the water. The pink that had been on his face was beginning to mirror on her own, “…Mind gettin’ my back, actually? Couldn’t entirely reach it, what with the cast ‘n all.”
He was making his way up, though slower than he had come down– it was all very much taking its toll on him, but it looked like a stony expression was Boone’s best method of coping.
He had a hand on the railing as he labored his way up quietly, but paused as they hit the oncoming hall. “Might as well throw it out. Half a dose ain’t gonna do much– and splitting it means losing some in the process. Splitting a capsule in the dark…?”
“Just take it. I’m telling you to. I’ll be fine.”
This was a gamble, and gamblin’ was a sin, but that didn’t stop Courier Six from her spot on the stairs, the single dose in her hand with no indication she was going to take it. It was a toss up between who needed it more, really – but Boone was slowing down. The truth of the matter was now that the door was handled, he was their best bet at getting out whole.
Plus, he was her friend. To take it all herself felt wrong.
“If you don’t take half then I willthrow it out.” Spoken gently, but surprisingly firm in its resolve. “I won’t move ‘til you do it, neither. You ain’t gotta make this harder on yerself – it’s hard enough already as it is. Might not do as much, but it’ll serve just fine to get us through this last level.”
It would be clumsy, but it would work well enough – she’d bite it with her front teeth, crude in execution but effective all the same.
It took days before the Devil was lucid again; between the recovery from the psycho and the extensive damage of broken bones and internal bleeding he was in and out of treatments and sedatives.
But when he was finally awake and aware and wanting dearly to get up he found the bed next to him empty. It took him nearly twenty minutes to muster himself enough to get up, take down a bottle of water, and get to his feet. Devil was already looking for Six not long after, a hand on the wall.
It took him a while to find that his eye was still bandaged– depth perception wasn’t his greatest asset at the moment, hence the bumping into the next wall.
Her arm was still in a cast, but at least it was healing well. Six really didn’t need to stick around after the first check up she’d gotten after the Devil had been attended to again. Still, she lingered. Part of her claimed it was out of a sense of responsibility. Another part wanted to make sure she was caught up with any work that the Followers might’ve needed help on. The most honest part of her wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.
She was settled into a bath when he had come knocking – into things, that was. Six was vaguely aware of it from the sound of confused doctors and volunteers urging him to come back, that she’d be done in there soon enough. Her bandaged arm hung outside of the tub, her fingers wiggling slightly in a wave as the door opened, and the attempts to get the Devil to rest again were finally abandoned.
“Howdy,” Six offered, the surprise on her face something she didn’t bother trying to hide. Maybe it made her happy, selfish as it was, “Don’t reckon I’ll be in here much longer if – if you don’t mind takin’ a seat, that is.”
It was more of a comfort than she might’ve realized to hear it; she held no illusions about who he was, his past and future taken into account. He wasn’t tricking her anymore– he never really had to begin with.
When Devil stared at her it was with something wanting and affectionate, something rent open with the jaws of the Chimera. But it was thankful, and it was honest.
He nodded and tried to settle back down. “Yeah. …Yeah, that’s smart.”
“After this… I want a damn vacation.”
Six managed to smile, just a little bit. It was rueful, the sort of thing that might’ve said lucky for you there’s nothin’ but time for that now orreckon you’ve earned one. Neither were voiced, though, even if they were nicer.
“Sounds like a platinum idea. Hope you send a postcard along.”
Her hand cupped his face. Six took a deep breath before she let it go and pushed herself to standing. Her body was achy, muscles loose and recovering from their constant straining. Better for Julie Farkas and the Followers to help. It was as they were changing the bandages that the news reporting the formerly dark North Vegas came to light, an exclusive story from Mr. New Vegas.
Six found herself finally releasing a breath she’d been holding deep in her lungs then. She could go back to The Strip with a lot less on her shoulders.
Boone let her go without a fuss, though there was a single moment of resistance somewhere deep in his chest when it came to holding onto her. He fought it silently and rose to his feet as well, a hand against the wall. His flashlight was on a moment later.
“It’s okay to be scared,” the sniper answered softly. “Let’s get outta here. Then we can… then we can wax philosophy, yeah…?”
Come on. Take your Rad-X, you look like a Mutfruit.” Maybe he was trying to alleviate tension as he started making his way back to the stairs. His steps were dragging more than he’d have liked.
The lights on once more was a welcome reprieve, but it still wasn’t bright enough. The moment she’d feel the sun on her skin again was all the motivation she needed to push ahead to the stairs. Six dug her knuckles into her eyes. Though no longer crying, it was still there in small hiccups of breath between deeper breaths to level back out. The distraction of his comment helped a little bit; the comment had her frowning deeply, no sense of humor or mirth within it.
“You’re not farin’ much better,” she shot back, taking only a moment to watch him push his way towards the stairs back up towards the exit. Nausea turned her stomach as much as worry did. Not wanting to linger here any longer than they had to, Six kept making her way up the stairs, but she still looked over her shoulder to make sure he was still coming all the same.
“I can’t take it in good conscience. Reckon we should split the dose – ain’t gonna be as effective, but it should be enough.”
It seemed like an unspoken agreement that her payment was the loot off the bodies, at least judging by how Hancock didn’t make any move for them. He seemed already intent on heading home as he was already a few feet ahead of her.
The last look he gave to the corpses in the road was more sober than it had been thus far; killing didn’t come naturally to him for all that it was something the ghoul had certainly adapted to. But he readjusted his hat and pat down his coat before he got moving along. “Settled… yeah. Guess so.”
“Mostly just hooked some drifters from Aerotech and junkies outta the old motels. You can only live in the gutters for so long before you start dreamin’ of some crazy shit like havin’ a bed and a meal.”
“I ain’t holdin’ the place up or nothing. I just took care of the dealers keepin’ them addicted to the more dangerous shit and asked for help with gettin’ a spot off the ground.”
And there it was not far on the horizon; walls constructed of repurposed highway signs and built half into the skeleton of an office building with concrete bones promising support and relief from the shade.
Six nodded, both from understanding and approval. The entirety of what she’d learned so far made her feel restless in a strange way – a problem she couldn’t fix simply, but wished so badly that she could. Tensions were brewing everywhere, and paired with vice and sin it only seemed to fester like an untreated wound. People needed help, and badly. He might have been eccentric, but at least he meant well. Six couldn’t very well judge anybody for eccentricities regardless.
Unlike California, the Mojave had far more buildings protected by time, even if they were ruined still. To see the resourcefulness throughout Vegas was a small positive in all of the bleak. Her eyes seemed to light up at the sight of the armored building, repurposed and given life again.
“It’s impressive,” and she meant it, too, “Seems an awful lot of hard work. The fact folks’re helpin’ lightens the load an awful lot. Mighty nice, really. It’s nice to see people bein’ helpful for a change.”
Boone had seen it before; the absolute gut-wrenching fear that defied logic and realism. They were sick and tired, thinking tactically wasn’t coming as easily– to either of them really.
She was scared of the dark. And in that moment of near-panic Boone had a sudden realization why: the Courier jumped on her way to New Vegas had been jumped in the dark.
“Hey,” Boone said quietly, barely a breath now against her ear. An arm moved out, hands shaky. “It’s gonna be okay. We’ll get out of here.”
And his other hand came around. Slowly and carefully so she could see it coming, Boone wrapped his arms around her and pressed his cheek to the side of her head so she could hear his heartbeat and breathe with his moving chest. “I’ve got you.”
And slowly but surely, the shuffling and grumbling of those ghouls started moving by. Up and ahead. Out of earshot.
It was easy to feel untethered to her body, ready for the inevitability of what was to come. Nothing mattered as Six receded into memories that were akin to bad dreams. The memory of death and the thin line she walked as a robot dug her out of the Earth and stole her back from death itself.
But Boone was here. He was alive, and the feel of his arms encircling her brought her back into her body and out of the dark she was so terrified of. She’d had trouble breathing because she hadn’t been at all. Her lungs burned and her chest hurt from the desperate way she fought back her crying. Even though she was scared to move lest she make noise, it didn’t stop Six from moving to cling Boone like it would keep her away from the grim reaper’s clutches.
Her face was hot and damp. It was far easier to bury her face in Boone’s neck. Still the sound of heavy heartbeats made it hard for Six to hear the ghouls, but it eased soon enough; his breathing helped her land, her skin feeling properly on and courage back to its sticking place.
Six eased back to make her way to standing – odds are it hadn’t been all that long they’d been hidden there even if it felt like it had been, but it was still a race against the clock. Things felt a little more manageable – enough to get to the door. With a shaky breath, she traced her Pip-Boy in the dark to turn it back on. Her face was red and splotchy, but at least her expression remained determined.
“Sorry,” Six hiccupped, “You were right ‘bout turnin’ off the lights.”
CQC wasn’t his strong suit, but thankfully he was playing an uneven game against the rabid near-dead trying to bite his face off. Boone managed to dodge further injury, though the way he stumbled out of the reactor room splattered with sticky dark blood said it might not have mattered.
If he didn’t already have nightmares keeping him up, this would definitely be doing the trick.
Boone took her hand and started out– and paused as they stumbled up the stairs to hear rummaging up top. He pressed against the nearest wall, half under a propped barricade of desks and cabinets. His voice was close to Six’s ear. “Turn off the light. We’ll wait for them to pass.”
He did the same with his flashlight… and his hand tightened in hers. She was scared of the dark. “We got this.”
It was bad. Whether the sound of their rummaging or of the combat or because of the whimsy of luck, it seemed like fighting their way out was going to be a challenge. Six had spent every last of her willpower to get this far, and she was sure that there wasn’t much left to spare. Especially as the throaty growls of ghouls were growing louder in their direction. She was easy enough to pull into hiding, like her mind and body were disconnecting. Courier Six seemed to be shutting down at the idea of needing to surround themselves in the dark. Boone could certainly feel the way she shook at the suggestion, and in the condition they were in he was more than right.
His flashlight turned off first. It took her another moment to suck in as much air as she could hold in her lungs before Six shut off the light attached to her Pip-Boy, a shaky little sound in the back of her throat as she did it. She squeezed Boone’s hand back just as tightly and shut her eyes even more so. At least that way the dark was of her own making.
Courier Six hunched down low face buried against her knees propped behind ruined office furniture. It would have been pointless to turn their lights off if they were caught now; it’s why she bit back a small sob and tried not to think about the grave she was in, miles and miles away.
They were close. She trembled all the more from the sounds enhanced in the dark, skulking past the barricade that protected them. Rubble. Debris. Dirt. It was hard to breathe.
“I’ll have you know, I stubbedmy toe on the coffee table this morning, and I only cried for twentyminutes! So I think I can handle this, Amethyst.”
“That’sGREAT and all, lil man. But I really don’tthink stubbing your toe is the same as goin’ off with me somewhere to try and locate Jasper. I know you’re pretty strong, but this is gonna be dangerous.”
