The deeply fractured wall in front of her felt like it symbolized her life now.
...
Despite every attempt to fix it, to repair what she could of it, and even trying to cover it up when all else had failed... it still remained the same.
The once fresh coat of paint had either been covered under two centuries of dust, dirt and mildew, or had simply eroded away.
The sheetrock and padding had withheld years of abuse from people and natural elements alike... But it was the dropping of the bombs so close by that had shook the foundation hard enough to splinter the wall the way it did. From ceiling to floor.
...
In any other situation, it would've seemed out of place and demanded immediate repairs to be done on it.
But here, amongst the torn up floors, abandoned furniture and outdated kitchen appliances... it all the more fitted in.
And there was nothing Nora could do to fix, or argue with it.
She had tried, there was no downplaying how hard she tried to make this place seem like a home again. Or how hard she tried to scrub what was left of the floors, or piece back together what was left of her bedroom and kitchen.
She had tried to fix the windows and doors only to have them crack and splinter apart in her hands.
...
The house that had once been a dream, the one she remembered purchasing the minute it went on the market... was now no longer.
This wasn't the beautiful home she and Nate had fallen in love with; the one they couldn't wait to sign their names to. The one he had carried her into, bridal-style, the moment the papers were in their hands.
They had laughed and kissed in the threshold, forever cementing this as the next step in their lives together.
No...
That house was long gone.
And what remained of it was an empty shell filled with nothing but blown away dreams and aged out memories.
... Just like her.
Nora dropped her head into her hands, cradling it in her palms as she leaned her body against the wall- hearing the chair she was seated in squeak out in protest. It felt like she had spent hours here just... staring at this damn wall, and coming to terms with each of her failures. It was such a mediocre thing to be obsessed with and yet, she desperately just wanted it to be done, to be fixed already.
"Excuse me, Mum?"
Shit.
Hastily brushing the back of one hand across her eyes first, Nora sat up and tried to straighten herself out before she looked over at the floating bot in the doorway. She recognized his voice well enough, and while it would seem useless to try and make herself appear... more put together, she did so anyways. "You need something, Codsworth?" Nora asked, forcing out a brief smile the best she could.
"No, not exactly, I just... well, I saw you sitting in here rather glumly- and in the dark- and... I wanted to make sure things were alright," the robotic butler spoke.
She gave a small, but more honest smile this time. "Don't worry about me, Cods, I'm just... reminiscing, that's all," Nora replied.
"Oh?"
A nod followed this time, before she looked back to the fracture line in front of her. "I remember this house when Nate and I first bought it," she started. "We were so excited to finally own one of our own- I don't think either of us slept the day before the papers were signed. We had just gotten married, and... having our own house seemed like the next big step... and-" she heard her voice cracking now and moved one hand to cover her mouth; she could already feel the harsh tremors shaking her body as the memories began to flood back to her. "W-we just wanted to be a family."
"Oh no- there, there, Mum," Codsworth assured, as he slowly floated over to her and gently placed one robotic arm on her shoulder.
"Look at this," Nora whispered, as she leaned forward and picked up the small plaque she had found earlier- half hidden behind her collapsed bookshelf. She held it up for Codsworth to see. "'Home is where the heart is', Nate's mother bought this for us when Nate was called to go to war. It was supposed to remind him that, even if he wasn't physically home, his heart would be."
Her eyes were watering now, but she kept blinking the tears back.
She remembered how she used to wake up, alone, in the middle of the night- worried sick about Nate being off God knows where on the other side of the world. But she would look to that plaque that Nate had hung above their bed, and she would feel reassured in a sense- and then feel comfortable enough to go back to sleep.
"... This place isn't that home anymore," she spoke, "my heart's just not here."
"It's not... why it's not all bad," Codsworth started, his voice hesitating as he spoke; his different eye modules looked around the house- as though desperate to find something to boost her spirits. He puttered over to where her once, grand kitchen window had been knocked out; it had since been replaced with some scrap wood and metal shingles from one of the collapsed houses at the end of the street. "Why, the windows may be broken, but Mr. Garvey helped put up some boards to cover them and keep the rain out. And he even replaced the door when the last one crumbled apart. Oh, and remember that nasty hole in the back room? The ones that the mole rats kept burrowing through? Why he filled it in and patched it up too. Yes, the flooring could use some repairs and a good cleaning, but... you have lights and a ceiling fan that works for all those hot nights- I know how you hate sleeping in the heat."
Nora turned slightly at his last remark, and chuckled to herself at the mess of jerry-rigged wires that ran out a small hole in the corner of the boarded up window. They connected to the small, sometimes working generator outside- the same one that revved up somewhat aggressively every time she switched it on.
As long as she didn't keep the lights and fan going on at the same time the generator could manage.
She still remembered watching Preston and Sturges rig up the generator and lights to work- and she remembered hearing Preston curse under his breath every time he got shocked by the exposed wires. But he was damn determined to get everything all plugged in and working together.
...
It was odd how just having a little bit of light could really change a house.
She was no longer afraid to sit inside of it- knowing well that the pitch darkness wasn't hiding anything from her anymore.
"I know it's not the home that you knew, but... that doesn't mean it can't be a home again," Codsworth spoke, as he floated back over to her. "All it takes is a little bit of work, and a little of bit of a team."
Nora smiled lightly as she reached over and patted the robot on the side of its slightly deteriorated spherical body. "You and I make quite a team then, don't we?"
"Certainly, Mum," he replied.
...
There was silence in the house now.
Nothing more than the sound of the ceiling fan above her and the quiet exhaust from Codsworth's motors.
It felt suffocating.
Giving out a sigh, Nora pushed her fingers through her hair as she looked back to the fractured wall in front of her. Considering how things were going with her right now, considering all of the things she had accomplished and survived... something like this shouldn't feel important to her. It was just a wall, inside of a house... that was it.
It had been over two hundred years, she should be glad that the house was still standing at all.
"Excuse me, mum, could I... could I speak out for just a moment?"
Nora shifted her attention back to the Mister Handy- curious as to what he would have to say. "Of course, Codsworth- always."
"I know that... this isn't entirely about the house," he started. "I know that you want it to look normal again, but... I know that you want it to be normal with Sir back here as well."
She felt her heart sink.
"Nate's not coming back," Nora spoke. "We both know that."
"I know, mum, and I... I'm terribly sorry about it," he replied, "but is it... is it possible for this place to feel like a home again, but with someone... other than Sir here?"
Nora narrowed her eyes slightly and tossed the robot a confused look. "What are you talking about, Cods?"
"Oh well, I mean..." he seemed to be struggling for his words now. "You and Mr. Garvey are... quite a team yourselves."
She sat there in silence, mulling his remark over- and wondering just what the hell he might've meant by that. Sure, Preston and her usually went out as a team together, whether it was to deal with a settlement, or help around the Castle, or even checking into Diamond City for supplies. It was kind of like they were joined at the hip sometimes, never going one way without the other tagging along. It was... it was good to have him around.
Especially on days like these where she just wanted to curl up on the floor and die.
Sometimes it was like Preston had a sixth sense about it, and was always around to ask if she wanted to accompany him on business. And who was she to say no? She couldn't turn him down, it was just never in her to do so; sometimes she just needed someone to drag her around so she wouldn't waste days at a time just... staring at an empty house. She needed someone to remind her that there was more out there, and that there were people who were suffering more than she was- and they needed her help.
She couldn't just abandon them.
...
Preston gave her reasons to keep moving forward- and gave her a shoulder to lean on when she needed it.
But... even she would be ill to deny that... there was more going on between them than just that.
"I don't mean to pry, Mum, really, but... it's just- the way you look at him, the way you act around him, well it- it reminds me of you and Sir," Codsworth continued, his voice somewhat hesitant to speak now. "I don't wish to upset you, but... well, it's quite obvious that Mr. Garvey is... is in love with you, and perhaps... you share the same feelings?"
Her eyes widened slightly at the words, causing the robot to raise his arms as though to defuse the situation before it happened.
...
Instead, Nora heard herself let out a sound that could only be described as a half-gasp, half-laugh sort of deal.
"Oh dear, Mum, are you alright? Do you need any water?"
Despite feeling like she just wanted to give up and cry it out for awhile, Nora found herself dissolving quietly into laughter; she held up one hand to wave off Codsworth as he reached towards her for a moment- initially mistaking her reaction as a cry for comfort. It felt... good to laugh again- it felt like she had gone days without doing so, or at least without properly doing so. "Oh Codsworth, I... I didn't..."
"Didn't what, Mum?"
Nora let the refreshing bit of laughter relax her, before she moved one hand to rub at the back of her neck. "I didn't think you noticed..."
"Didn't notice- oh."
She nodded at his own interruption, before she slumped back into her chair- allowing her body to go lax. "I... well, it started off slow, and I'm pretty sure there for awhile, neither of us really knew what was happening- or at least, neither of us said anything about it. I tried to ignore it, tried to pretend that it wasn't happening, but... you know, there are just some things you can't avoid, no matter what. We shared a lot of feelings between us, and... Preston eventually admitted that he had seen me as a romantic partner. He was really careful about it, and really cautious with the approach- it was uh, it was actually kind of cute. And I... I mean, I can't deny something that I feel the same about. There just aren't men like him in a world like this." she sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm not afraid to be alone, Codsworth, but I am afraid of what will happen to me if I am."
"Oh, Mum," he whispered, as he rested his arm on her shoulder once more.
Nora moved to wrap her fingers around his robotic limb, and felt odd comfort in the cold steel. "Does that make me a horrible wife? I mean... technically a widow, but... It's been over two hundred years and yet, it still feels like I lost him yesterday."
"I believe Sir would want you to be happy," Codsworth assured, "especially in a world like this."
She nodded and continued to hold onto him, before she eventually leaned against him- listening to the subtle purrs of his internal motors. "I think I'll tell him soon..." she whispered, before she softly smiled and patted the robot once more. "You're a good friend, Codsworth; I know I'm not alone with you around."
"Uh... dare I ask?"
Nora watched as Preston looked up at her voice, and, having caught the confused, stalling look on her face, gave a brief laugh.
"I understand this might be an... odd sight to walk in on," he replied.
...
That was a place to start.
She stood at the Castle entrance and watched him as he continued to pet the Brahmin in front of him. The ragged looking, mutated cow seemed to be enjoying the attention- or at least one of its heads were; the other head was munching down on some feed that had been placed nearby. Every now and again, the head that was being petted would give a hearty shake and let out a hoarse kind of 'moo' before it went back to being still- allowing Preston to continue on with giving it attention.
"I wouldn't say odd, just... surprising," Nora started, as she slowly let her eyes drift to the multitude of other Brahmin that were grazing in the open courtyard of the Castle. There had to be at least eight from what she could see- and there was no telling if there were more outside of the other walls, or maybe even inside. "Mostly because these gals weren't here yesterday, and... as General, I figured someone would've prepped me on this matter."
"Oh, you and me both," Preston chuckled. "Ronnie somehow managed to wrangle some wild Brahmin together with the help of a local farm, and split the herd with them. And, without telling anyone, she brought them here for safe keeping. And, as you can tell, we are not equipped to properly house them at the moment, so a few of the men are putting together a quick stable out back."
"Ah yes, the sound of construction was going to be my next question," Nora spoke, crossing her arms now as she watched one of the other Brahmin manage to get into the local garden and get a mutifruit off the tree; the settler working the farm nearby gave a brief laugh and shooed it off- but not before allowing the other head to have one as well. "So, when uh... when are we moving them?"
He gave a brief shrug. "It'll probably be a day or so at least for the fences to go up- and then longer to get proper defenses put around them. So, until then, they're kind of... stuck here," Preston answered. "Don't worry though, they're harmless as long as they don't get spooked."
"Yeah, see when there's that kind of underlining action there... that's when I get nervous," she replied. "Because, I don't know if you've noticed, but this place can get pretty loud, pretty quick... and I don't think we can handle both a pack of Super Mutants, and a panicked herd of Brahmin running around."
Preston gave another short laugh. "Okay, you make a point- but hopefully we'll have them out before anything comes by to stir up trouble," he assured, before he gestured for her to follow. "Come on, this one's docile enough for you to touch it."
Nora grimaced and questioned the action- but his continuous ushering and reassurance convinced her to go forward.
Plus, she had to admit, the sight of him petting a Brahmin only made him look more like your stereotypical cowboy. And the fact that he would take time out of his day to comfort a nervous animal was... noble.
Slowly easing herself to the Brahmin, Nora watched as the head that was grazing slowly lifted at her approach; beady black eyes looked her over before it simply went back to eating. She had seen Brahmin plenty of times before, mostly on farms, but sometimes running wild... but she had never gotten this close to one- she never really wanted to. Once when she was a kid, her parents took her out to a dairy farm for a local, county fair, and one of the dairy cows tried to eat her ponytail; the cow had given it a rather hard tug before it realized it wasn't food.
Since then, she had no real intentions of getting near one ever again.
Hesitantly reaching out, Nora rested her hand on the back of the neck of the grazing head- and heard it give out a brief 'huff' noise at the touch; it never lifted back up to look at her, and instead continued to eat. Its skin was rough and coarse to the touch, almost like leather on a hot day- and its mange-matted clumps of fur made her hand almost itch as she brushed over them.
It was almost odd how, of all the things that didn't make sense in this world... the new world, classic Brahmin were still a mystery to her.
"You know, cows didn't look like this back in my time," Nora offered, as she continued to try and appease the Brahmin- to no avail it seemed. "Which, by the way, is what we called them."
"Is that so?" Preston questioned, as he fitted both his hands underneath the Brahmin's jaw and began rubbing the under portion of its chin. The Brahmin gave a brief snort before it rested its chin against his chest and closed its eyes- clearly enjoying the affection. "What did they look like then?"
She was almost envious of his way with the animal- almost.
"Well, for starters, they only had one head," she started, as she patted the creature on the shoulder now, causing its ears to flicker. "And they had full coats of fur, which were kind of coarse depending on where they were from. And they were white with large black spots- or at least, that was the traditional look for them. They came in all sorts of colors: solid black, solid white, brown, tan- sometimes red if you were lucky. You had your dairy cow, your angus cow, sometimes your breeding cows- cows bred for slaughter, and sometimes bred as pets."
He shot her a semi-questioning look as though having a hard time believing half of what she said.
"Just one head?"
"Really?" Nora lightly retorted, "that's the unbelievable part?"
Preston laughed quietly, before he gestured to the two heads in front of them. "The only time I've seen a Brahmin with one head was when it was dead- and because a Yao Guai had take off with the second one."
"Ew," Nora grimaced, as she lightly socked him on the arm- which only drew another laugh from him. She looked to the Brahmin once more, and then to the small herd that was still around them- watching as several Minutemen had to keep one of the Brahmin from escaping, and another from entering the barracks. "So... do you guys typically give them one name or two?"
"Just one," he answered, "at least, that's what most people do- I'm not saying you can't give them two."
She wrinkled her nose slightly. "Who said I wanted to name it?"
"You're the General; it's customary for the rank to name the first Brahmin of the Castle."
Nora scoffed hard enough that the grazing head lifted once more and looked to her, before it seemed intrigued by something on her jacket- and immediately tried to nibble it off, before she gently swatted it away. "You're making that up," she called out, before she rubbed the Brahmin on the top of the head, barely avoiding its stunted horns; and for once, the head seemed pleased with her attention and stayed where it was.
"You should still name her," Preston replied.
She sighed and looked down at the Brahmin once more- watching as those beady eyes looked to her before it gave a hearty shake of its head. She mused a few names over, and tried to recall that dairy farm incident, before she remembered the name of the culprit. "Alright Brahmin, I will dub thee the most stereotypical cow name that I can think of, which unfortunately for you, is Betsy."
"Betsy, huh? Not a bad choice, General."
Nora could practically hear the laughter in his voice- and hearing him strain to not let it out.
"Oh shut up- I'd like to hear you think of a better one, Cowboy."
Nora kept the conversation she had had with Codsworth close to her chest for a few days.
Contemplating the words, listening to them over and over again in her head- wondering if they sounded as cruel and odd as she thought they did.
...
Those words though, they were of little use if they just stayed inside of her.
They needed to breathe, they needed life, they... they needed to live outside in the open, where everyone could hear them.
That's what she wanted out of them- that's what she needed from them.
And yet... fingers got nervous every time she reached for the thin chain around her neck. Sometimes she could touch it, brush her fingers back and forth across the polished metal until her nerves got the best of her.
And sometimes, she couldn't get her hand near it.
She used to carry the spare ring around in her pocket since it was too big for her fingers. But it didn't take long before she became paranoid that it would get lost somehow- that she would tear a hole in her jeans and never even realize it, that the ring would get lost to the wild Commonwealth. Or maybe she had to change clothing and forgot to pull it out before she did so; the ring could roll out and become lodged somewhere that she would never find.
So... she picked up a chain from an abandoned fashion store, and strung the ring around her neck.
At least that way, even if she changed clothing, she wouldn't have to worry about losing it between pockets, or it getting caught on something.
Just the same... it kept the ring close to her heart.
...
Heading over to the small park Sanctuary had out by the river, Nora sat on one of the remaining tables and finally found herself running the ring through her fingers.
It felt hot against her fingertips- burning gold circles into each one as she passed it around.
...
Nate had worn it so long ago...
He had taken pride in being her husband, in being her best friend...
For those years he was off to war, he wore it around his neck just like she did- to avoid losing it just the same way. He always said that it was his token of good luck- that she protected him from across the world.
When he wrote letters home to her, he would scribble a circle in the corner of the paper- symbolizing that he still had the ring with him.
And that he always would.
...
Nate loved her, but... War was Hell and he had one too many close calls out on the battlefield.
Close calls that could've taken him away from her far too soon.
And each time he would write home from the infirmary, he would say the same thing over and over again.
'I love you'.
'I love you'.
'I love you I love you I love you'.
...
Nate loved her, but he always said that if something happened, if he didn't make it back... he didn't want her to be miserable. He didn't want her to be hung up over him. She was too good of a person, too good of an angel to never smile, or laugh again- to never pass her type of love onto someone else.
He always said there would be someone else out there who could be second best, and... if she ever found a man like that, then she should be happy. And he would be happy for her.
...
She never imagined them to end like this.
For him to die under his home soil... for him to have made it so far, only to be gunned down like that...
To leave her here, in this unexpected and cruel world...
...
The ring burned hotter between her fingers now.
But Nate would want her to be happy.
And... Preston made her happy.
Nora didn't have much time to think when Preston grabbed her by the hand and pulled her sharply to her right.
She hardly had much time to contemplate their limited amount of choices here.
Before she knew it, he was pulling her into one of those Pulowski Perservation Shelters, and quickly sealing the doors closed behind them.
She had seen plenty of the shelters before, but had never actually gotten into one of them herself. The few she had seen around that were already opened were usually filled with bones on the inside, and that was enough to turn her off from ever getting into one. Not to mention, they seemed much smaller on the inside- smaller than the outside gave the impression of. It just never seemed like a good place to seal one's self into.
Of course, now they didn't really have a choice here.
It was still smaller on the inside, especially given that there were two of them and given his larger frame.
The constricted space gave them little room to move, and left them mostly pressed against one another; their legs were interlocked and there was hardly much space separating their hips. She caught his quick breaths against her chest, and she was pretty certain he could feel her heated breath pooling against his neck. Her shotgun was somewhat crammed into her side, and her wrist was forced into an awkward angle to keep from losing her grip on it; but no matter how much it stung, she refused to let it go. He wasn't in any better shape as the barrel of his laser musket scraped the roof, while the handle dug into the side of his ribs.
Neither of them said a thing as they listened to a combination of their hard breathing and the sound of the rain coming down outside.
Their soaked clothes wasn't making this arrangement any easier either.
She could feel her pants sticking to his and feel the slight pull of her shirt as it became stuck on his arm.
Nora held her breath as she heard the sound of faint shouting outside, and instinctively tightened her grip on her shotgun. She swallowed hard and tried to keep out of view of the somewhat broken viewing window above her. In such a tight space, it felt like she could hear her heartbeat amplifying off the cylinder walls- and she wondered if he could hear it too. "Got a plan?" she whispered.
"They didn't see where we went, and with the rain, they can't smell us- and as long as we keep quiet, they won't hear us," Preston replied in the same hushed tone. "So... I think we'll be okay."
She nodded and tried not to focus on how the shouting sounded like it was coming closer to them.
She didn't like Super Mutants to begin with- and she really didn't like them ambushing her.
Normally they would handle just a few, but this... There had to have been between eight to ten of them, with three mutant hounds to boot- which was just a little more than she was willing to deal with. The wasted ammo would hurt them- they couldn't afford to let the bullets get eaten up, especially not since they still had quite the journey back to Sanctuary to make.
Every bullet would count, and Nora was already hating herself for sinking five shells into one Mutant.
One hand reached forward and fumbled for his, before Nora tightly grasped it- squeezing it to steady her nerves.
And he squeezed her back.
"You know... if we die here," Nora started, stilling as she heard a brief growl of thunder outside.
"Don't say that," Preston interrupted.
"I'm just saying, if we die here and someone we know finds us... they're going to find us in a rather compromising position," she finished.
He pulled his eyes away from the window just long enough to glance down to her before he softly chuckled under his breath. "Look, I've been trying to ignore this certain 'situation' for now- so let's just agree to talk about it later."
"Agreed," she nodded, before she shifted slightly forward so she could peek out the window too- just to see if she could spot any of the muties out there. So far, there hadn't been any additional shouting, which might mean that they had either given up, or had gone in the wrong direction from them. Either way, as long as they were long gone, she was fine. The rain made it difficult to see anything though- it kept clouding up the window. "Do you see-" Nora started, only to stop as she heard a brief groan escape him.
She turned to see what it was, and noted that he appeared to have his teeth and jaw slightly clenched, and even looked a few shades darker than before.
A slight frown came to her at his changing appearance- he had been fine just seconds before.
... But it didn't take her long to realize what had happened.
The space inside was small, and very compact- and when she had leaned forward to peek out the window, she ended up pressing one thigh firmly between his; and in doing so, also slightly grinded her hips into his as well.
Despite the situation, Nora found herself having to fight back the grin that came to her. "Sorry."
"No you're not," Preston whispered.
"You're right."
Nora stood at the doorway and watched him as he worked away on the map in front of him. She didn't know what he was working on exactly; it was hard to see it from where she was standing, but knowing him... it had to be important.
...
She kept walking by the same room over and over- stopping just long enough to peek in on him, only to immediately lose her nerve and force herself to start over. She wasn't even sure if he knew she was here- but if he did, then he was going out of his way to pretend that he didn't notice her constantly coming and going without saying a damn thing to him.
...
But the ring was burning circles into her palm now as she kept it tightly clenched in her hand.
She couldn't keep doing this...
She couldn't keep running around in circles like the imagery ones scorched into her skin.
Taking a deep breath, Nora forced her way into the room before she could convince herself otherwise. But that same sinking feeling overflowed intp her chest, making her legs shake slightly, and leaving her contemplating on running out again. Before she could fight off that last-minute urge, she watched as he turned slightly towards her- more than likely having heard her this time, finally.
"Hey, babe- uh, I mean General," Preston quickly corrected.
Nora couldn't help but to smile at the slip-up. She remembered how Ronnie had given him quite an earful when she overheard him calling her 'babe' for the first time. The older woman didn't care about what they were, or what they did, after-hours, but if they were both at the Castle, and they were both in uniform, than she wasn't to be called anything other than General.
Nora had found the whole situation rather cute- while he had seemed more embarrassed by it.
"Something you need?"
"Oh, well... yeah, I need you to... uh, take something off of my hands for a bit," Nora started, trying to hide the slight stammer in her voice with another smile.
Preston seemed either intrigued or concerned with what she said, and turned away from the map to face her. "Sure thing."
...
She had the ring so tightly wound up in her fingers that she wasn't sure if she could unclench her hand even if she wanted to.
But she stepped forward and took his hand with her free one before she placed her clenched fist against his palm- dropping the ring onto it. She squeezed his hand for a moment, before she closed his fingers around the chain- never giving him the opportunity to see what it was first. Her fingers kept his interlocked for a few seconds too long, and she uses the semi-tight grip on them to keep her hands from shaking. "Before you say anything," Nora started, keeping her voice steady and calm, "just know that... while this wasn't easy for me to do at first, and maybe not even now, I know that it's not the wrong decision. Whatever happens after this is solely up to you, because I've made my peace and... I think you should know that."
"What are you talking about?"
If there was ever a moment where he looked more concerned than he did now... she didn't know of it.
She could see it in his eyes, and in the way he didn't fight the locking hold her hands had on his.
...
Taking a deep breath, Nora pulled her hands away from his and released him.
But even then, Preston didn't immediately open it to see what it was.
Instead, he seemed to hesitate, eyeing her rather carefully as though hoping one of her features had the answer to whatever it was in his hand. With his gloves on, he couldn't exactly feel the chain, and he couldn't move his fingers to try and jostle the ring around. He only had one option here and... he didn't seem to want to take it.
The hesitation didn't last forever though, and she watched as he slowly pulled his fingers apart.
Only to quickly close them once he realized what she had done.
"Nora-"
"I know- I know it's sudden, but... I want you to have it," she interrupted, as she moved her hands back to his- as though afraid he might throw the ring back at her. But she had come this far, she didn't... she didn't want it back; if she got it back, there was no telling if she would ever give it away again. She was afraid she might... just chuck it off the side of a bridge, or maybe over a rooftop in a desperate bid to let go."... If you want it, that is."
Preston struggled for the words, and only clenched his hand tighter around the ring, tighter underneath her hands.
She couldn't imagine what was going through his head.
He was quite literally the first stranger she had talked to in this world- well, the only one who chose to talk first rather than shoot. He helped her find her footing in this place, helped her find a sense of stability again. That first night they spent in Sanctuary, he comforted her when she broke down over the dilapidated condition of her house, over the death her husband, and the kidnapping of her child. She couldn't imagine how awkward that must've been for him- to see this total, utter strange break down over something that had happened before his time. But he had held onto her, giving her the first of many shoulders to cry on.
He was with her from day one.
He went through her struggles with her, sharing in her good news and heartache.
...
She shared old stories of a time long since past; even the story of how she and Nate had met- and how happy and scared they were when they first brought Shaun home. It had difficult, but it had felt good to get the memories out, even if she ended up breaking down halfway through them.
...
He had been with her from start...
And now they were here, with her giving him Nate's wedding ring so that they could start over together.
"You know I do, but... I don't want you getting involved in something that's going to hurt you," Preston finally spoke, cautious and soft. "I know you're still..."
"I am," Nora admitted, "I'm still in love with Nate, and that will never change, but... that doesn't mean I can't love you too." she heard the shaky breath that escaped him at the words, and found herself smiling again. "They used to say that home is where the heart is... Well, you're my home, Preston. And I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to rebuild."
It took a few passing seconds before he slowly reached forward and pulled her into him, holding her tight against his chest. And it was impossible not to fall in against him, and practically bury herself into his jacket. "I think it goes without saying that you just made me the happiest man in the Commonwealth," he spoke.
Nora laughed and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Are you sure you want to knock that wall down?"
Nora quietly laughed as the two of them made their way down the flight of stairs into Diamond City. "Look, I didn't kill that Super Mutant and steal his sledgehammer for nothing," she replied. "The wall's practically falling apart anyways, and it's not a load bearing wall- plus the extra space wouldn't be too bad. And it's a... a nice change I think, one that I need."
Preston nodded with her. "Alright, well... as long as you're up for it."
"Well, funny you say that because, I don't know if you knew this, but you're actually going to be the one taking the wall down," she spoke. "I'm just there to supervise and make sure the job gets done."
"Oh, I see how-"
"Ah, Nora, Mr. Garvey, it's good to see you two back again."
The two of them had just reached the bottom of the stairs when Pastor Clements stepped out of his church and greeted them.
Nora smiled and gave him a nod. "As with you, Pastor. We're just dropping in for the usual, you know- starting on some home improvements."
"That's good to hear- you know what they say about idle hands."
She gave a brief laugh as the two of them continued on into the marketplace- only for them to stop almost at the same time, and almost on the same foot. She didn't know how they managed to do so, maybe for an second they worked on the same kind of brain wave. Nothing was said at first, before she slowly turned to look at him- and noticed him do the same.
And he had a certain look in his eyes- one she was certain she was mimicking.
"... You know, if we're serious about this-" Preston started.
"Do you want to make this official?" she asked.
He briefly glanced back to where the Pastor was greeting another set of merchants who were just now walking in. "I don't see why not," he answered, "I mean... this is something we both want, right?"
She smiled again and took him by the hand before they headed back towards the church.
"Pastor Clements!"