Cold Comfort
By: Komo Pineconeseed
Disclaimer: Mad Max Fury Road belongs to George Miller. The title "Cold Comfort" belongs to SCNTFC and Night School Studio. In fact, I stole a lot of things from Night School Studio like the old lady buddies names Anna and Maggie, the idea of the WAL radios, some lines, a world-mechanic, etc., etc.
Summary: Post-canon. Capable wants to surprise Nux for their 200th day anniversary. She surprises him alright, just initially not the way she planned. [Nux lives] [Slit lives] [Nux/Capable] [background!Slit/Toast]
Warnings: World-building, fluff and sweetness near the end. Please speak to your doctor if metformin is right for you.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
It was nearing sunset when Capable finally had a chance to check the progress of her super-secret project. She's sure that the Dag suspected something when she asked for her favor while Nux was away. The Dag had always been intuitive. In a way, Capable was grateful; the Dag never spoke to her about it in between Nux's trade runs to Gastown and Bullet Farm.
The stairs up to the greenhouse always brought a bit of trepidation. It was these very steps that the sisters climbed down that fateful night, careful not to trip over the bodies of the guards. Angharad had slipped on a pool of drying blood, and it was only Furiosa's quick reflexes that saved her then.
The Dag was standing by the window, tending to a delicate crop with a dull pair of shears. She tilted her head towards Capable as she entered.
"They haven't gotten any riper from when you checked on them this morning."
Capable did not pout. Instead, she walked over to her crop. The green berries were just starting to turn red, but they would not be ready in time. Even Capable could see that. The Dag smiled as she sauntered over, her black silks swaying slightly. "Don't look so sad. Your Nux will go another a trade run sooner than later, and then you can gift it to him then."
"That's not it," Capable responded, "It's just our 200th day anniversary is in less than a week, and I want to give it to him to celebrate."
The Dag snorted. "Even if they were ripe, you couldn't finish your gift. You don't even have the machine."
That shouldn't be hard to get. She knew that Joe had an abandoned mall from Before hidden around the Citadel. The machine would be in one the "shops" in the mall. Capable was sure of it – she had seen a picture advertising the machine in one of her wordburgers. Cheedo and the remaining Vuvalini had oohed and aahed when she showed them the picture. She wanted to show Nux to get his opinion, but that would have spoiled the surprise.
Capable waved goodbye to the Dag—who had long since gotten distracted and was staring out the window of the greenhouse—and walked down two flights of stairs to Furiosa's makeshift office. It used to be the old Prime Imperator's room. The woman was leaning against her desk, rubbing her face with her organic hand, as her metal arm clutched a water glass. Capable knew that Governor Furiosa would likely reject her request, but that didn't make the flat out no any easier to handle.
"But…"
"But nothing. The Wastelands aren't safe. We barely have enough War Boys to run a perimeter, and you want to leave?"
"I'm not leaving! The old mall is part of Citadel territory! It's not even that far, and I've looked over the most recent patrol data. I know how to get there safely."
Furiosa just gave her a look, the very same that she gave Angharad when she said of course it hurts. "It's more than 30 klicks away. You don't even know how to drive, much less have access a car."
"I'm sure I could talk one of the War Boys into taking me."
The leader of the Citadel sighed. "I won't restrict your freedom after everything, but it's still a stupid idea." She paused, a weird silence descending upon the room. "If you do leave, be safe." She turned and went back to her work.
In the garages twenty minutes later, Capable ran into an unexpected complication in her plan. None of the War Boys were willing to give her a ride to the old mall. They couldn't even give a proper explanation, but just sort of mumbled as they walked away. Capable wandered through the garages, muscle memory guiding her, but not even Clip and Piston, the Boys part of Nux's old repair crew, were willing to do her this favor. She would have guessed they would be jumping at the chance to drive a car out of the Citadel, but all she could make out of their rejection was "die mediocre" which made no sense. She didn't want them to feel uncomfortable, however, so she didn't push.
Out of ideas and discouraged, Capable was about to ask Toast when she ran across one of the Pups that slept in her pile the nights Nux was away. Zip was the tallest War Pup and was a bit of a trouble maker. Like all the other War Pups, he was getting better at controlling himself. In fact, it had been at least two full weeks since he had taken off his pants in front of a woman! Still, judging by the bright shine in his eyes, Capable had to guess he was up to some practical joke again.
But before she was able to figure out what it was, Zip grabbed her hand and said, "Capable, I heard you wanted to go for a supply run! Let's go!"
Capable was surprised, but only for a second. "Do you even know where I want to go? Or how far the old mall is?"
Zip shrugged. "I know it's to the west."
That was good enough for Capable.
They walked back to the garages, and found an assault bike scavenged from the last wreck they found. Zip talked to a few Garage Boys who looked at him incredulously, but Capable gave them a firm stare, so they backed down and lowered their bike to the ground. The second they were unhooked, Zip took off.
Capable felt a weird sense of Deja vu swell up in her chest. It was the first time she was formally out of the Citadel since that fateful run on the War Rig. It was the second time she was ever on a bike. In a way, it was similar to her first experience; sitting behind a tall, thin boy as they fanged it over the desert sand. But in a way, it was different. Back then, there was a vague sense of crushing despair. Fear for her life, for her sisters, for Nux. Now, it was a cautious optimism and curiosity. Of seeing a relic of Before with her own eyes.
She almost wished one of her sisters was with her, but Toast had designs she wanted to go over with the Repair Boys (designs approved by Furiosa and were sure to benefit the Citadel), The Dag had the greenhouse which was constant work, and Cheedo was trying to learn how to manage their resources.
They rode on, the stillness of the early night blanketing around them.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
The moon was just breaking the horizon when Zip started slowing down for the third time. The previous two tries were at rock faces that ultimately just looked human built. This time, however, they found it. Through muffled eyes, Capable could see the camouflaged entrance of the mall—hidden so well, that it was just sheer luck that moonlight happened to hit a metallic surface at just the right angle at just the right time.
"That's weird. Where are the guards?" Zip made a good point. Whenever Furiosa talked about this supply spot, she said that guards would make sure only imperators were allowed in. Capable was sure she would get an exception, but now she was just confused.
"Do you think the guards are just biding their time before they shoot us?" Zip's tone of voice was uncharacteristically quiet, but to her surprise, Capable found his question reassuring.
"Don't worry. I'm sure if there were snipers intent on killing us, we'd have been taken out fifty paces back." She walked forward with Zip trailing after her.
They had to bend over to get through the jutting stone fixture in front of the broken doors. The stone walkway was mostly covered with sand, but areas of it were surprisingly clear. As Capable straighten her spine, she was taken aback by the sheer size of it all. The hallway led to what was easily the biggest room she had ever been in, and that was counting the cavern the War Boys liked to fight in.
She turned on a flashlight she had brought with her. The pair weaved through the fallen debris, careful of the shattered glass from the broken windows. Capable was wondering why walls needed windows when Zip screamed.
She spun around and looked in his direction, her flashlight swing wildly around as her free arm reached up to clutch her chest. There was lines of people standing in front of them, stock still. But wait… on closer inspection, they didn't seem like a real people? They were naked statues, thin and tall like Cheedo and the Dag, and standing in odd positions.
"Whoa! Those aren't people! Hey, Capable, why is there a line of statues?"
Capable was unsure and wished Toast or the Dag was there with them. She motioned to Zip to come closer to her. He did. The statues didn't seem to move, and the pair scooched past slowly. There was nothing in the shelves behind them.
Her heart sank as she scanned the mall. All the "shops" were empty. Maybe coming here was a mistake. It was likely that Immortan Joe had long since cleared the whole place out. Maybe that's why there were no guards. Capable was just about to ask Zip about heading back to the Citadel when she realized he was nowhere to be found.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
"Fang it! Fang it!" Hanging off of the back of the forward-guard vehicle, Slit beat on the roof so obnoxiously, Nux could hear it from inside the War Rig. It was pointless. As the Rig's driver, Nux set the speed of the convoy, so there was nothing Slit's driver could do.
Glory me. Most days, Nux still couldn't believe how shine his life had become. He didn't just get to drive one vehicle but two – the War Rig and his new pursuit vehicle – for trade runs and patrols. And on days he wasn't driving, he got to spend time with the shiniest and most chrome person to have ever walked the Wasteland.
Capable.
She was so strong and kind and soft and lovely and shiny and so chrome, so chrome it hurt sometimes to even look at her. A living goddess straight from Valhalla.
There were days when Nux didn't understand why she would spend her time with him, this rusted piece of scrap. The night fevers were going to take him soon like they did all half-life War Boys, even though he hadn't felt any worse since Immortan Joe died. In fact, he felt more lively than usual, though that was probably because Capable had nursed him herself in her bed with soups and had him eat bitter green things that were from the Immortan's gardens.
He didn't want to eat the bitter green things, but Capable had looked so sad, and Nux couldn't let that be.
Capable.
Capable.
Capable.
What was Capable doing at that moment? It was dark outside, she had probably washed up the pups and was sleeping in a pile with them. Nux hated returning back in the middle of the night; he wanted to be with her so badly, but she always slept so peacefully he didn't want to wake her.
He should soak in the pool when he got back. He had learned not to drink the Aqua Cola in the pool even when he was real thirsty because it made Capable sad, but since she would be asleep maybe it would be okay.
What he really wanted to do was fuck. He and Capable fucked almost every night they could. Just thinking about her sweet soft teats and the Valhalla between her thighs made his soft bits tingle. Nux pressed the heel of his hand against the top of his pants, but otherwise didn't do anything else. Furiosa explicitly told him not to touch his bits while he was driving the War Rig, even if he really wanted to.
Maybe that was why Slit wanted to get back quickly too. Capable said that she had caught Toast the Knowing fucking Slit the day before last. Nux knew Capable wouldn't lie, but he still couldn't believe a female as shiny as Toast would want to fuck an asshole like Slit. Still, as long as it wasn't Capable, Nux didn't really care who Slit fucked.
"Fang it!"
Nux smirked and decided to humor his screaming lancer. He gave two tugs on the War Rig's horn, threw the machine up another half-gear, and hit the accelerator.
He couldn't wait to go home to Capable, even if it was only to see her peacefully sleeping face with the rest of the War Pups.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
"ZIP!"
Capable ran through the hallway, her flashlights throwing long shadows of the statues with each bob of her arm.
"ZIP! Where are you? This isn't funny!"
The air was become colder as she went further into the mall. Capable was shivering as she checked through each broken window and open door.
She couldn't believe Zip was just leave her. There were two possibilities: either he ran away on his own, or someone grabbed him away while she wasn't looking.
Both possibilities scared her.
Eventually, finally, she found him and only by thoroughly searching the ground with her flashlight. He was on the ground unconscious. A box that had fallen on his head and was covering it and most of his torso. Capable ran to his side, and pushed it off of him. It rattled a bit, but she paid it no mind, as she checked his pulse. It was strong and steady and he was breathing okay too, so Capable shook him.
"Whuu?"
"Oh, thank goodness you're all right! Zip, what happened? How could you just run away from me like that?"
"Wh't are you talkin' 'bout? I was r'ght next to you."
Capable was about to argue when it became obvious that although Zip was awake and talking, he didn't seem to want to get up or even sit up. He was lying so stilly on the ground.
"Zip, what was in that box that made you want to get it so badly you hurt yourself?"
"Wh't box?"
"That one." She pointed at the box.
"There's a box?"
He didn't know what it was?
Zip's eyes followed Capable as she crawled over to the box and peaked inside. Weirdly, there a little blue radio and a piece of paper. She shined her flashlight onto the paper. Parts were illegible, but the rest Capable read aloud. "WAL, standing for 'Wave-Assisted Lock' – assigned each person who was stationed at Fort Milner a call-sign, through which they could use their portable two-wave radios to unlock prescribed doors and gates." There was a picture of a triangle on the paper too.
Capable frowned. Fort Milner? Was that a place? There were no forts in the Wasteland, well, not counting the Citadel. Or the broken gates around Gas Town.
And what was with the triangle? It looked familiar. In fact… she saw one just like it over one of the few closed doors while she was running around circles looking for Zip.
Unlock prescribed doors and gates.
That door was locked when she tried to open it. But a radio couldn't unlock a door, could it?
"What does that mean?" Zip's speaking had less slurring in it. That was a good sign.
"I was thinking this radio might be able to unlock a door. Hang on a second, I want to see how this thing works." Miss Giddy's books had talked about radios, so Capable knew a little about them. There was supposed to be an "On" button somewhere.
She knew she found it when the radio emitted a horrible shrieking sound that nearly sent Capable and Zip sky-high with fright. There was a dial with numbers on the side of the radio, and when Capable turned it, the noise changed. Sometimes it went louder and sometimes softer, sometimes scratchier and sometimes not, but a weird sound always came out. Radios were supposed to catch light waves, weren't they? Capable was hoping it could catch a show from a satellite, but she didn't seem to have any luck so far. She turned the radio off and helped Zip get to his feet before the pair made it to the door.
Capable then turned it back on, and started turning the dial. The triangle started lighting up, so Capable stopped turning the dial. The door clicked open.
The radio worked. Capable couldn't even describe how or even replicate it again, but the locked door was open, and it became clear that nobody had even stepped foot on the other side since Before. The air was so stale and dusty, it hung on the back of Capable's throat like an overcooked lizard. There were stuff everywhere. Just glancing around the hallway, there were so many clothes, shoes, jewelry, books, wires, and machines in all the shops. There were those same statues as on the empty side of the mall, but they had clothes on this time.
Some of the outfit combinations were really stylish.
"Hey Zip, want to go try on some clothes?"
The War Pup made a face, but still obediently followed her into one of the clothes shop.
Things were looking up.
Capable was just going to sate her curiosity really quick before searching for her machine.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
The treadmill rats worked slower at night. Nux drummed his fingers against the door as everything was brought up to the unloading dock. War Pups scurried to and fro, helping the rest of the convoy unload. The War Rig's guzzoline tank was finally attached to distribution canisters, and Nux's trade run duties were complete.
He stretched as he climbed down on the War Rig. Slit was nowhere to be seen. He probably jumped off his guard vehicle the earliest chance he got, presumably to bug the Knowing. He earned it at any rate. They weren't scheduled to go patrol the Fury Road for another three days.
Nux threw one last fond look at the War Rig before he left to go find Capable. He missed her so much.
However, he started feeling a weird sinking feeling as he climbed the stairs to the War Pup bunks. There was a restlessness in the air that Nux hadn't felt before. As he stepped into the room, he was swarmed by War Pups who were all talking loudly and over each other.
Nux!
Welcome back, Nux!
Can I practice driving in your vehicle tomorrow?
Nux, can you read a bedtime story?
I'm so happy I didn't have to take a bath!
Tuck me in!
But one sentence stuck out, like headlamps in the darkness. "Where's Capable, Nux?"
The weight in his gut seemed to grow. Nux turned around and stared at the War Pup who asked. "You mean, she's not with you?"
The War Pups' answer was a resounding no. No-one's seen Capable for a long time.
Ignoring the War Pups, Nux turned on his heel and sprinted out of the room. He scanned the surroundings for anyone who might know where Capable was, and eventually his eyes landed on Slit who was pinning Toast the Knowing to the wall and touching her everywhere.
"Hey! Toast! Toast!"
No answer.
"TOAST! Slit, get off of her! I need to ask her something!"
Slit turned around, and screamed, "Fang off, Nux! We're fucking busy right now!" Then, the asshole just turned around to dismiss him.
Well not today! Nux yanked Slit's shoulder back, and before Slit had a chance to hiss at him, Nux headbutted him so hard, Nux's out vision blanked out for a moment. Slit crashed onto the floor while Toast screamed at him. Nux didn't bother with Slit however. He just walked up to the Knowing and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Where's Capable!?"
If watching the War Pup's obliviousness was nerve-wracking, watching the Knowing's eyes widen with confusion felt like watching the Splendid Angharad die in front of Immortan Joe all over again.
"I thought she would be with you. Have you tried the War Pups'?"
Nux felt like bashing his head against the wall. "The War Pups don't know where she is!"
"Furiosa, then?"
That's right. Governor Furiosa might have an idea. Nux tore away from Toast and Slit, and sprinted in the direction of Furiosa's office and kicked her door open. Ignoring the gun Furiosa was pointing at him, Nux ran up to her.
"Where's Capable?"
Furiosa lowered her gun but not her guard. "She's not with you or the War Pups?"
"She's not! Toast doesn't know where she is either!"
"Huh. She mentioned she wanted to go to the mall earlier. I told her not to, but maybe she talked a War Boy into taking her."
"Mall? What mall?"
"Joe had a mall—"
"I know the Immortan had a mall! Why did you let Capable go!? THERE'S BUZZARDS TO THE WEST!"
Furiosa narrowed her eyes. "Don't scream, War Boy. And if you remember, I told her not to."
Nux didn't bother with her anymore. He ran out of the room and raced to the garages. Scanning through the place, it seemed all the Citadel's pursuit vehicles were still there. But she might have taken a bike…
What was weird was all the Garage Boys seemed to be extra careful not to make eye contact with him. High-octane crazy pumped through his blood when he realized THEY KNEW.
He ran to his new pursuit vehicle, built from scratch. Nux had promised Capable he would teach her how to drive once the Citadel stopped rationing guzzoline, but now…
Nux was just getting his vehicle hooked onto the descending chains when Toast and Slit showed up beside him. Slit was holding onto several thundersticks, and Toast held a semi-automatic rifle. "We're going with you," Toast said as Slit hopped onto the lancer's perch and started doing his prep work.
Nux stared at Toast. "And where will you be?"
"I'll be in the car with you."
His pursuit vehicle was the only one in the whole Citadel that had two seats. He couldn't put a guzzoline canister in the cabin because of it, but it wasn't like he was planning on going to Valhalla anytime soon anyway.
"Fine. Get in."
Toast and Nux got into the vehicle. The treadmill rats slowly lowered it down onto the Wasteland. As soon as the vehicle was unhooked, they fanged it west.
After shifting his car to its highest gear, he twisted on nitro. A voice in his head that sounded exactly like Capable told him to be careful, but Nux was just spurned on instead. He had to get there before the Buzzards did.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
Capable and Zip had toured their way through quite a few shops. One of the first was a jeweler's. Capable had to hand it to the people Before; they made really shiny jewelry. Capable giggled to herself. There were times where she really talked like Nux.
They also meandered briefly in a bookstore. It was a shame she and Zip had come on a bike. There were a lot of interesting things she wanted to take back with her. Several books seemed fun. Capable thumbed through one called "A Game of Thrones", and it seemed to be really violent but interesting. Toast would probably like it. Cheedo would like "Twilight".
From the books, they went onto what the mall map had called "Household Appliances". It should have the machine she was looking for. She had heard the Vuvalini wax poetic about the treat the machine made too many times. She knew with absolute certainty that Nux was going to love it.
"Hey, Capable, look at this!"
Capable turned around. Zip had found two brightly colored spoons and stuck them in his ears. It made him look even more ridiculous than the white paint and black eyes, and she told him so. She turned away, and from the sounds of things, he was taking them out of his ears. Capable scanned the shelves for the machine, and lo and behold, there it was.
Electric Ice Cream Maker.
Oh, and she needed a blender too. Maggie said so that one time she and Anna were arguing about what type of ice cream was the best.
Thank goodness she wasn't Toast's size, otherwise she never would have been able to reach them off the high shelf. With one box under each arm, Capable was ready to leave.
She walked to the entrance of the shop, Zip running to catch up, when she heard an odd noise. Capable froze, and Zip did too.
"Capable, I think I hear people."
Yes, it was definitely people. And from the sounds of it, quite a few. Capable turned off her flashlight and crouched down.
"Hey, did we lock the door behind us? You know, the one you used that fancy noise thing to unlock?"
Capable swallowed thickly, but was calm otherwise. "I don't think so. I don't know how. But it doesn't matter. Just be quiet, Zip. Scavengers will have to leave eventually. There's no water here, so they can't stay for long."
Zip nodded and crouched down as well.
The footsteps grew louder. Several flashlights were being swung around. The people were obviously looking for something and moving quickly. Capable's chest was tight. Why weren't they distracted by the obvious treasure in the untouched section of the mall?
They were going to be found at this rate.
Capable motioned to Zip, and the two of them started sneaking around the aisles. It was difficult with the boxes, so Capable gently handed one over to Zip.
She closed her eyes. There were three separate footsteps. Two of them sounded especially heavy. That was a blessing since it made it all the easier to avoid them.
The pair snuck out the door, careful that their treasure didn't rattle. By the time they made it through the door they unlocked, it was safe enough to break out into a run, and the two booked it to the mall entrance. But after they crawled through the space, Capable came face to face with Nux's car.
"Hey, that's one of our pursuit vehicles!" But Zip's voice was quickly interrupted by a very familiar one.
"Capable!"
She turned around and barely saw a blur before she was swept up into a bear hug. "Nux!"
"Capable," Nux muttered as he turned around her and catching her lips with his own. It was a kiss rougher than usual, and more oddly angled due to the ice cream machine between them. "Capable, Capable," Nux chanted softly as he pressed softer kisses to the side of her face and neck; his hold loosening slightly from the vice grip but still firm. Capable freed a hand and rubbed his back. Nux was sweaty. He must have been really frightened, Capable though guiltily.
The moon hung high in the sky, a thin crescent throwing soft light across the sand, when they broke apart. Nux had calmed back down and was smiling serenely.
"I'm sorry for scaring you."
Nux shook his head. "I didn't know what to feel for a moment. It felt like the world was ending." Her War Boy didn't say any more. He simply pressed more soft kisses into her hair. His breathing was even.
"There's so many interesting things in here, Nux. Why don't we go in and pick some things to bring back?"
Nux smiled as he loaded her box into his car. She then grabbed him by the hand, and their party went back inside.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
In the end, Slit ended up being the most useful sounding board for which clothes to pick, Capable realized. Nux thought she looked "so shiny, so chrome" in everything, and Toast wouldn't leave the bookstore to be of any help. Slit gave frank, unfiltered opinions on things like which top made her look like a Milk Mother, etc. It was grating, but good to know. Unfortunately, Nux didn't take the comments well, and the two War Boys would get into scuffle after scuffle with Capable doing her best to separate the two, and Zip cheering them on.
They made several trips between the newly uncovered mall and Nux's car. Slit and Toast carried several boxes of books, and Zip brought a box of knick-knacks he found.
Most importantly, they had the ice cream machine. And the blender.
After they were done making their selections, Capable climbed into Nux's car, while Toast rode the bike with Slit hanging onto her. Zip hung on the lancer's perch, excited by the proximity of the thundersticks. Nux's car drove at a steady pace across the desert, his left hand holding Capable's right one whenever he wasn't shifting gears.
The drive to the Citadel only took half an hour, and soon, their car and the bike was being lifted back up by the treadmill workers. Toast and Slit grabbed their boxes from the car and left. Zip wandered off sometime during the unpacking, presumably going back to the War Pup dormitories, leaving Nux and Capable to report back to Furiosa.
They climbed up the staircase with the boxes.
When Capable stepped through the door and Nux quietly behind her, Furiosa scoffed. "I see you got your stuff. That's good." She glanced at Nux and said, "I haven't seen your War Boy so kamikrazy since that time he tried to choke me to death."
Her words gave Capable a jolt, who turned around and looked at Nux who just gave her a shy smile back. Capable turned back around to face Furiosa. She was sure her look would be incredulous from the topic of Nux being anything but sugar sweet, but she spoke of the mall instead.
"I unlocked a door that nobody had previously. There's all sorts of goods from Before that are just left there. Toast got some books, and I have a few new appliances for the cooks in addition to my machine."
Furiosa looked at the clock hanging on her wall. "Hmm, the sun will rise in a few hours or so. I'll have Cheedo put together a scavenging party." She sighed. "It's the middle of the night. You should go both and rest. You especially, Nux, right after your most recent run."
They bid Furiosa good night before heading to their room right across the hall. Capable shut the door behind her as Nux emptied his pockets and took his pants off and threw them over a chair. He turned and hugged her tightly before Capable pushed him away.
"You're all dusty. Let's go wash up."
Nux made a soft whine of an agreement, and he followed her into the small adjoining bathroom. They drew a clean basin of water and gathered a few clean rags. Capable had just washed herself off the night before, but Nux was scrubbing off several days of sand and dirt and war paint. She helped him with his back.
"I love you, Nux."
His eyes were bright and his grin so sunny, Capable's heart throbbed.
"I love you too, Capable. You're so shiny and so chrome."
XxXxXxXxXxXx
"Well, it's now or never," Maggie said to everybody gathered around the freezer in the basement of the north tower one week later. Capable wasn't surprised that Maggie and Anna were there with her and Nux. Sure, it was latter's anniversary, but without the two Vuvalini ladies, the strawberry ice cream wouldn't have seen the light of day. The very pregnant Dag being there also made sense, since Capable borrowed her greenhouse to grow her berries. Toast, Slit, and Zip were there. They did help her get the ice cream machine, so Capable gave them a pass. Furiosa was there, but she was the governor, and Capable liked Cheedo, so it was okay she was there. But there were some random War Boys and War Pups and Milk Mothers there too.
Nux didn't seem to mind the crowd however, and since it was his present they were going to be sharing, if Nux didn't care, Capable didn't either.
Maggie tugged open the freezer door and pulled out the Tupperware container. Nux got first taste. Capable couldn't help but giggle at his wide eyes and unexpected gasp of pleasure.
Everyone else had nearly the same reaction. Toast and Cheedo laughed aloud when Slit started cursing after tasting it.
Capable was last to try it. The coldness hit her first. Even locked up in the vault as one of "the Immortan's treasures", she rarely got to enjoy cold things. The sweetness and the burst of strawberry danced on her tongue next, and Capable couldn't help but moan.
With so many people going for seconds, the treat disappeared quickly. Nux didn't seem to mind, however. He just smiled at her before hugging her tightly. Capable's face almost turned as red as her hair when she remembered the crowd.
"That was so chrome! What a lovely thing to eat."
Capable smiled too before pecking him on the lips. It was sweet, just like him. "Happy 200th day anniversary, my love."
XxXxXxXxXxXx
Note #1: I hate OCs, so sorry if I made it seem like Zip was an important character or something. The only thing important about him is that he's a War Pup, which is only important because it served as my first hint about how I see Nux (aka sweet as a cinnamon roll IF AND ONLY IF he's with Capable). The other War Boys knew Nux would go kamikrazy on them if they just up and left with Capable.
Note #2: Nux may not have lymphoma, although that is on the differential diagnosis. We know he needs blood, he has lumps on his neck, and some sort of respiratory issue (he says Larry and Barry were "chewing on his windpipe"). He may not have night fevers, as he talks about them in future tense. We don't know if his lumps are hard or soft or what. They could be sebaceous cysts (credit to Jeremy of Cinema Sins). His needing blood could be because he's dehydrated (caused by a desire to not be addicted to water) or it could be actual anemia. The anemia could be due to nutrient deficiency (iron, folate, B12), lead poisoning, leukemia, etc. If it is anemia, it may explain the respiratory thing, but that could also be due to anxiety. Regardless, I'm of the belief of it may not be lymphoma and that Nux is actually very hardy. I mean, did you see him surviving that first crash in the sandstorm? With no seatbelt or air bag? There's a reason I believe Nux lives.
Note #3: The WAL radio was my justification why there was a whole half of a mall that wasn't ransacked already. Of course, I don't know why a mall would have such a weird security system to begin with.
Note #4: Capable honestly didn't think Nux would finish his supply run that quickly. Granted, normally Nux isn't spurred on by Slit to drive faster, but he was this time. In a way, it's Sloast's fault Nux was so worried. If he just drove how he normally drove, Capable would have been back in the Citadel by the time they got back.