This was done as a commission for a gal over on Tumblr, featuring her sole survivor, Gene, who has a rather thick Boston accent. I'm not going to lie, I very much enjoyed watching all the YouTube videos to get the accent down.
"Hey, don't get too fah away from us, okay?" Gene bit back a sigh as Nat and Shaun raced ahead once more, clearly not listening to a word she said.
"Gene, it's fine. They'll be fine." Piper stifled a giggle as the two curious kids began talking to N.I.R.A., who, to her knowledge, was still a bit on the fritz. "Of course, I'm sure they might be learning some knew vocabulary soon…"
"Oh no no no no, don't talk to that!" Gene ran forward to steer them away before N.I.R.A. decided to tap into her raider subroutines. As she turned around, one kid in either hand, she noticed a booth that most certainly hadn't been on that corner before. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was. "Pipah, get over heah!"
The reporter jogged over to her, arms laden with her family's Nuka-World goodies. "You're finally gonna help me carry things? How kind of you." She started handing off a giant Cappy plush when she realized Gene wasn't there. "Uh, Gene?"
"Do you know what this is? It's a photobooth! God, this is wicked pissa, we gotta get pictures!" Gene turned with a grin. Her children and wife stared at her, clueless. She raised an eyebrow. "A photobooth is this thing heah—" she pointed at the restored booth, "—and you put money in and it snaps a photo."
"Like a camera?" Nat tilted her head slightly. "But why is it so big?"
"Just get in!" Gene ushered them inside, Nuka souvenirs and all.
It was a tight squeeze for the four of them—plus gifts—but they managed. Gene dug around in her pocket for some of the pre-war money she brought along for tokens and slid it into the slot. "Fifty bucks, good grief…" She muttered, trying to arrange everyone so their Nuka-World memorabilia was visible as well as their faces. "Okay, at least one serious one and then go crazy!"
Nat and Shaun didn't have to be told twice. After the first shutter click, they immediately began climbing over each other and onto Piper and Gene, making faces and generally being children. Piper nearly fell out of the booth but managed to stay inside thanks to Gene grabbing her arm at the last minute. Once the burst of photos was finished, it was printed out into a little dish for pickup.
Piper grabbed it and held it up to the light. "Wow, this is pretty neat. Great idea!" She smiled, handing it off.
"Hey, can we go now?" Nat shifted from foot to foot while Shaun peaked out the curtain.
"Okay, but don't go too far." Piper held out the souvenirs both kids just had to have. "And take your things with you, I can't carry it all day!"
"Thanks!" Shaun grabbed the stuff and both children tore out of the booth.
Piper turned around just to see Gene stuffing another bill into the machine. "More?"
"Well, it's just the two of us and I thought we should take advantage of it…" She smirked, grabbing Piper close.
The first photo captured the two women smiling, obviously enjoying each other's company. For the second, Gene whipped out her Cappy glasses and managed to slip them on in time for herself and Piper to do their best "skeptical tourist" faces. And for the third…
"Hey Gene."
"Yeah—"
Piper gripped Gene's chin and pressed her lips to the woman's, smiling at Gene's surprised squeak. The final photo snapped, and she heard a mechanical whir as the series of photos dropped down into the dish. She pulled away. "That was all."
Gene smirked. "You coulda just said so." She grabbed the photos and stuck them in the pocket of her jacket. "We can save those for latah."
They left the booth, hoping to see Nat and Shaun waiting patiently, but instead the kids were nowhere to be seen. Piper sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Where are the kids?"
Gene's shoulders slumped forward. "Damn it, not again…"