General disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).

Making Excuses

Chapter One - Some Memories Just Won't Die

It had been a long day.

The sun was beginning to set behind the rocky hills of the Mojave and while in an hour or so the heat of the day would diminish slightly there was still a searing sticky heat beating down through his armor and the red beret that rarely left his head. They'd stopped to rest for a minute and Boone had gladly sunk down into the dirt to rest his back against the flattest rock he could find. Almost immediately he felt the all too familiar steady ache of too much time spent on his feet walking over rough terrain start to climb up from his feet, through his legs and into his back. A muscle twitched under his right arm and he unconsciously rotated his shoulder, trying to loosen the pain.

"I think we can make it back to the base before it gets too late," the courier said while rifling through his pack. "As long as we don't come across anything unexpected."

Boone watched him pull out two bottles of water, tossing one over, before he twisted his open and took a long drink. Boone's arm raised and his fist closed around the bottle without giving it much thought and he drank the water slowly, staring at the younger man through the hazy lenses of his sunglasses. "Fine by me," he answered in his typical fashion.

They'd been traveling together for at least a month although most days it seemed longer. Boone had spotted him coming up the road to Novac one night and the rest was history. The courier had walked into town a nobody and had left a semi-hero to the McBride's, a subject of legend for No Bark and a trusted companion for Boone himself. The sniper hadn't expected to find an almost-friend in the deal but there they were, storming across the Mojave in a flurry of good deeds. Thinking back on it, Boone should have known that his life was going to change the minute the young man sauntered into town. He'd shown up in the coop one night looking for Manny and instead of just turning around and leaving when Boone was short with him he'd instead smiled, held out his hand and introduced himself with a 'Hi, I'm Alex.' The thought made Boone smirk and it caught the courier's attention. "Was that a smile? It kind of scared me, Boone. What's up with you?" the young man asked as he pulled his helmet off and sat down on the ground a few feet away.

"Just thinking. About Novac."

"Oh?"

Boone glanced up and met his eye but quickly looked away. "It was just another night on duty until I heard you coming up the road. Didn't know what to think of you at first and honestly didn't care. You walked into town in the middle of the night with nothing but your bag and a couple of guns on your back and within a day you're helping everyone like some guardian angel."

Faint color bloomed on the courier's cheeks and he shrugged. "You know me, I just like to help out."

Boone nodded. "I know but it's unexpected. A complete stranger walks into town and starts asking what they can do to help? It's not normal. Most people think you have another motive."

Alex chuckled, "Never said I was normal."

"I never said you were."

The courier smiled. "And what motive would I have? It's not like anyone in this entire damn desert has anything I want or need. Everyone is living day to day, just trying to survive. Trying to protect what little they have. I figure why not? Why not try to help whoever I can if I'm willing and able?"

Boone nodded. "I know, kid. That's why I agreed to stay with you."

Alex looked over and stared at the other man. The moon was dim but he could still make out Boone's profile as they sat in the dark. "Careful Boone, keep talking like that and someone might think you actually care about me."

The sniper exhaled once quickly from his nose and lifted a single brow. "Right."

They sat in the dark, both silent, staring up at the sky for twenty minutes or so. "You ready to get moving?" Alex asked.

Boone nodded and stood up. "Yeah, lets go."

Alex took the lead and Boone followed, trying to stay alert for anything trying to surprise them on the road. They walked for another hour before Boone's mind started to wander to things he'd been trying hard to ignore.

Alex had seemed like a desert virgin at first glance; unlikely to have the nerve, ambition or ability to conquer the tasks that were asked of him by a nearly endless supply of soldiers, Mojave residents and refugees but he'd surprised Boone yet again. He'd been able to handle everything they'd come across with skill and an uncommon intelligence. Boone had been forced to look past the slim physique and on occasion an almost effeminate body language and see the kindhearted monster that lived within. Alex was more than capable of protecting himself and more often than not was able to talk his way out of confrontation. They'd been approached several times by more than one group with bloodshed on their agenda and Alex had been able to convince them not to attack. If Boone was honest with himself he'd admit that he was impressed. He'd hoped, prior to leaving Novac that he wouldn't regret the decision to leave and travel with the younger man and luckily, so far, he didn't.

Together they'd wandered in a wide circle, first heading south from Novac, then east and swinging up North once they'd hit one of the far East Ranger stations. Along the way they'd ended up helping multitudes of people in a variety of ways. Alex would use the charisma that was so unique to him along with the physical skill that was still vaguely surprising to the sniper. Of course, when talking didn't work he'd go straight to a gun in the face. Boone couldn't help but feel proud each time the kid would lift his rifle to his shoulder and end the life of a piece of desert garbage with one shot. The sniper had helped the young man to hone his shooting skills and by now, after weeks of traveling together, the kid was one hell of a shooter.

What had started as a partnership based on mutual goals of sorts had turned into a true give and take friendship and Boone had grown to respect the hell out of the courier.

Eventually they'd finally made it to the strip and Alex had found Benny. Boone had been prepared to end the lives of all the Chairmen inside the Tops casino but Alex had gotten Benny up into the Presidential Suite to talk before a single weapon was drawn. Up in the room had been a different story.

Benny had gone on a long-winded ramble about why he'd ambushed and shot the courier and about why he'd double-crossed Mr. House. He'd even apologized for leaving Alex in a shallow grave and if Boone wasn't mistaken he'd even insinuated that he could make it up to the Courier in "other ways." Boone had been even more impressed with the young man when Alex had laughed in the Chairman's face and made a comment about how he 'wasn't interested in suit-wearing pussies.' Thinking back on it, the comment probably wasn't the best thing to say since they'd gotten ambushed by a group of flunkies shortly after. Boone had pulled the pistol he'd had hidden in his armor and covered Alex as the courier leapt behind the bar and took aim. The gunfight hadn't lasted long.

Boone had drawn his pistol and shot two before he heard a muffled groan to his left. Glancing over he'd seen the courier lying on the floor clutching his chest while a swarm of red started to spread from under his armor.

Boone had wasted no time in dispatching the rest of the assholes shooting at them. The last body had barely fallen before he'd scooped the kid up bridal style and hauled ass out of the casino. He'd stepped outside and paused, thinking quickly about where he should take the wounded man, quickly deciding on the Followers. Soon after he'd found himself at the gate of the Mormon Fort and hadn't been able to remember running all the way there. The followers ushered them inside and had quickly gone about stripping Alex of his armor, checking him all over for wounds.

Boone had sat outside the tent, torn between listening to what was going on inside and trying to do just the opposite. He could hear the doctors scrambling for tools, trying to stem the flow of blood from the gunshot wound in the courier's chest. He didn't know how long he sat there but he didn't move until a man in a bloodstained lab coat stepped outside and looked down at him. Boone looked up and tried to discern the expression on his face.

"It was touch and go for a minute but your friend should be fine."

Boone tried to speak, tried to give his thanks but his throat was scratchy and dry and no words came out.

"He's unconscious and can't be moved right now so he'll have to stay here until he's stable but you can go in and see him if you want."

The sniper felt nothing in that moment except relief. "Thank you," he finally managed.

The doctor nodded his acknowledgment and wandered off to presumably wash the literal blood off of his hands.

Boone stepped into the tent and glanced around, noting the two empty beds and the one occupied. For once in a long long while he felt his heart stutter. Alex was face up on the bed, covered from the waist down by a hopefully clean sheet. His armor had been removed and was stacked messily in the corner. In its place were swaths of bandages wrapped around his chest. The doctors had cleaned him up as best they could but a small amount of red had already seeped through above the wound. Boone sat next to the bed in an uncomfortable chair for hours until Alex's eyes started to move behind his lids. The sniper leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees and watched as the young man woke from unconsciousness.

It had taken the courier a week to get out of bed and another three days before he could move around easily on his own. He and Boone had moved from the tent to the barracks shortly after and Boone couldn't help but notice how quiet the courier was. If it had been a normal day the young man would have been bouncing around like a Fiend on Tremble, jabbering nonstop about this and that but ever since he'd woken up they'd rarely spoken.

Boone wanted to ask him what was going on but eventually decided against it. He figured he understood well enough what the younger man was going through. If he'd been the one shot in the head and left dying, buried alive in a shallow grave…well, he'd have tracked Benny down too but he would have put a bullet straight through his brain pan before the Chairman could have said "hey baby." However, Alex wasn't as coldhearted as Boone and didn't have the years of military experience under his belt either. The kid hadn't seen the ambush coming but Boone should have. Instead of killing Benny, Alex had almost died again and Benny had gotten away. Boone understood the courier's feelings. He was disappointed and angry and unsure of himself. Alex had walls of granite but surviving his attempted murder had put a healthy crack in them.

"Everything alright?" the sniper asked, leaning back against the wall behind their bedrolls.

The courier glanced up at him and nodded. "Yeah. You?"

"No, not really."

Alex had been surprised at the snipers honesty and it had shown on his face. "What's wrong?"

Boone sighed and adjusted his position on the makeshift bed, stretching one leg out. "You've been quiet lately and I don't like it. It's not like you."

The courier didn't meet his eyes as he replied. "I don't know how to explain it, Boone. I had a goal when we left Novac and nothing was going to stand in my way and then we get to Vegas and everything changes. Benny gets away and I get shot. I don't know what to do now."

Boone stared at the young man with incredulity. "Are you kidding me?"

Alex shook his head.

"The plan hasn't changed, kid. Benny is still out there. The Legion is still out there. You can't give up on this."

"I didn't say I was giving up, Boone. I just don't know what to do next."

The words were making him angry and Boone wasn't afraid to admit it. He growled low in his throat, the frustration becoming too much for him to hold in. "You're pissing me off, Kid. Since when did you become a pussy?"

Alex's head shot up and he glared over at the sniper. "Fuck you, Boone."

Boone could almost feel the venom in the kid's voice and it surprised him but it didn't make him back down. "No, I want to know when you decided to chicken out and run back to wherever it is you came from with your tail between your legs. So you've had some bad luck. Suck it up. We've all had bad luck. Life sucks and you need to grow a pair and learn to deal with it. You've done too much good in this godforsaken place to just turn tail and run away like a bitch."

The courier sat there, unmoving for what seemed like forever. Boone could see the wheels turning in the kid's head and he was ready to open his mouth and let out another barrage of frustration and anger when the kid suddenly climbed to his feet and stared down at him. Boone looked up at him, locking his eyes with the brilliant blue ones above him. He felt something in his chest stutter again and then the moment was over. Alex stared down at him with a multitude of emotions etched onto his face. Boone recognized the anger, fear and frustration but there was something else behind the courier's eyes that he hadn't seen before.

"I figured of all the people that I could travel with, you'd be the one to understand me, Boone, " Alex whispered. "I guess I was wrong."

Boone tried to say something but the kid had grabbed his bag and left before he could even blink. The sniper sighed and leaned his head back against the wall behind him. He stared up at the decrepit ceiling feeling more emotion surge through him than he had in weeks. He worried for a minute that the kid was going to leave the fort altogether and it scared him more than he would admit. Boone waited roughly four heartbeats before he got up and went looking for him.

He'd grabbed his pistol, quick-laced his boots and was moving towards the door within seconds. It was late and therefore only a very small amount of people were up and moving. He ran into a couple of guards on patrol but not much else. He moved silently through the fort, keeping his ears tuned to the footsteps he'd learned so well. Boone was approaching the bathrooms when he heard Alex's voice come from within the open door to the Men's room. He almost called out to the courier but another sound stopped him. Alex was talking to someone in a low voice. Boone slowed down and pressed himself against the wall, not really intending to spy but curious enough to listen.

Alex sounded unusually subdued. "What are you doing? I didn't think you were interested," he had said.

"I changed my mind," came the smooth reply. "Do you want me to stop?"

Boone recognized the voice instantly. Arcade Gannon, the pain in the ass supposed genius he'd met on their first trip to the Followers. Boone heard the sound of a whisper but not the words and it made him peek around the corner. He watched as Alex stood next to an open locker wearing nothing but a pair of loose pants that hung low on his hips. The guy in the white coat was standing close…too close. Close enough that he was running a finger along the pale skin directly above the button to the courier's pants.

"N-no."

"No you want me to stop? Or no you don't?"

"I…no, don't stop."

Boone blanched and ducked back behind the lockers, careful to stay as silent as possible. He heard a couple of unfamiliar sounds a second later and they were things that he'd rather not hear again; namely Alex gasping as he was pushed against the cold locker and Arcade moaning softly as he licked and slurped his way from the base of Alex's throat to the top of his ear.

The sniper had known from early on that the kid favored the company of men over women and he hadn't cared. Boone had spent enough time in the army to know that such proclivities were more prevalent than a lot of people probably thought. He'd had friends that were gay and it had never bothered him before but knowing Alex liked men was different than actually seeing him with one. Especially one like Gannon.

Boone slipped out the door and tried to appear calm as he walked back to his bed. The whole situation bothered him. It was like an itch buried right between his shoulder blades that he couldn't reach. A million thoughts ran through his mind as he laid down on the bedroll and tried to get comfortable. He was grateful that the courier hadn't left. At least he was still within the Fort's walls but Boone couldn't keep his mind from wandering back to that bathroom and to whatever the kid and Gannon were doing to each other. Unfortunately he was still lying awake in the dark, staring at the ceiling above him when Alex crawled into his own spot an hour later, trying to be quiet so he wouldn't wake Boone. The sniper pretended to be asleep to avoid the confrontation that he knew was brewing and tried to ignore the strong scent of soap with an underlying aroma of sex that drifted through the air. Unfortunately, the smell was burned into his subconscious and it continued to linger around him hours later when he finally fell asleep.

Author's Notes: My first foray into the Fallout fanfiction world. Hope you enjoy.

This should be fairly short. Probably fewer than five chapters, with roughly the same amount of words and will have slight jumps in the time line. Also, I know the tense is messed up and I'm sorry. Sometimes it's past tense and others it's present. I'm sort of trying something different on this. Hopefully it's not too hard to follow. Next chapter might be different.