Andrea prowled the stands in the marketplace, searching for a balm to ease her unaccustomed sorrow. Chem-I-Care seemed a likely spot. "Solomon, do you have any liquor? Wine?" she asked. "Oh sure, man! I've got just what you need." he replied. Pulling a somewhat dusty bottle of wine from the box at his feet, he told her it would be 120 caps.
This had better be damn good, she thought grumpily to herself as she forked over the caps. "Thanks. Have a happy new year." she told him as she trudged away towards Home Plate. "You too, bud!" Solomon called.
Three years. It'd been three years since her exit from Vault 111, and the destruction of her life as she'd known it. Her Nate was gone. Their son was a monster and he'd been removed from the world by her own hand. Dark thoughts swirled through Andrea's mind. Solitary life had never suited her but this night it felt like a pall over everything. She made it to her Diamond City apartment, and slammed the door behind her. Grabbing a coffee mug as she passed the table by her bed, Andrea made her way up and out to her balcony. The quiet and her comfy couch would do her some good. At least she hoped it would.
She eased herself onto the couch, and popped open her bottle of wine with the cork screw she kept up there for occasions such as this. A glance at her Pip-Boy told her the time. 11 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Andrea poured the wine into her mug, and inhaled deeply. Realizing that she didn't know exactly what she was about to imbibe, she dusted off the bottle on her dress. Pinot noir. She and Nate had shared a bottle of this same type on Sunday evenings. Even after Shaun had been born, they kept their "Sunday sips" ritual. Andrea blinked back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. Alone with her memories, she drank back her first mug with abandon.
Nick Valentine had watched Andrea buy the wine, and he was struck by her melancholy. The urge to comfort his friend was more powerful than the common sense reaction to leave her alone. The detective sighed to himself. He'd grown to respect her almost immediately. His unrequited love for her blossomed over the last year. He'd thought no woman of Andrea's caliber could love a broken down and discarded old synth such as him. Steeling himself, he knocked softly on the door he'd watched her slam with apparent rage not long before. When no reply came, Nick decided against his better judgement to go in and check on Andrea. Finding her home empty, he climbed up to her not so secret refuge on the balcony.
Andrea had heard someone enter her home but didn't have the energy or presence of mind to care. Very few of her friends would have the wherewithal to come in uninvited in the first place. She glanced over her shoulder as the unknown person stepped out onto her rooftop hideaway. "Nick. Should've known it'd be you". she said. The synth had a knack of showing up just when she needed him most. Sometimes it was in a firefight, and other times it was when she'd needed a shoulder to lean on. Her need for him had grown over the last few months. Andrea had begun to question her sanity at the idea of falling in love with a robotic man. No one could replace her Nate, but Nick had wormed his way into her heart. She prayed that he remained clueless about her fondness for him. She set down the bottle of wine when she remembered her habit of laying her heart bare when drunk. Unfortunately, she was well on her way to not just drunk but sloppy. "Shit." she sighed.
Nick raised an eyebrow at hearing her soft curse. Ever the lady, Andrea was not prone to vulgar language. "Mind scooting over, doll?" he asked with a hint of playful flirting in his voice. He'd do anything to bring a smile to her beautiful face, to watch her warm brown eyes twinkle with delight. It was obvious on this night that it would take more than words to draw her out of her sadness and anger. She patted the couch next to her, and plunked down a fresh coffee mug of wine on the table in front of them.
"As much as getting sauced with you would be the highlight of my evening, you know I can't actually drink." he said. Tears finally spilling over, she met his golden gaze. "Humor me, Nick?" she asked. He sat down next to his love, and slipped an arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder, enjoying the sensation of his metal fingers tenderly stroking small circles around her shoulder.
"Back before…before the bombs fucked it all up…" she hesitated a moment before continuing. "Before. What a word, huh? Back then, New Year's Eve was so special. Not just for me, but for everyone. The promise of a new year that held new beginnings." Andrea whispered to Nick. As much as he thrilled at having her warmth in his arms and wanted to finally tell her how he felt, Nick knew she needed to excise this festering grief more than she needed his words. "Go on. I'm here to listen to whatever needs saying." he said. She looked up at her clockwork detective and took a deep steadying breath. Recounting this memory would be exquisitely painful.
"Nate and I went to New York City once to celebrate. Seemed a grand idea at the time. You couldn't believe the amount of people all crowded in together in Times Square. It all blew us away. The noise, the cold, the lights. Everything. But Nate had wanted to see the ball drop, and so we went." she began. "Ball drop? There some significance I'm missing here?" Nick asked with obvious confusion on his face. Andrea chuckled at seeing Nick without a clue for once. "They used to have this giant ball that was covered in lights and mirrors. At one minute to midnight, it would begin slowing moving down the pole at the top of the One Times Square building. The crowd would count down as the ball descended. 10…9…8…7…and so on. It was a tradition for us New Englanders to head into the Big Apple and ring in the New Year." she explained. "Ah. I see." were the only words Nick could think to say.
Andrea brushed away the tears streaming down her face at the image exploding in her mind of Nate's bright eyed excitement at finally being there for New Year's Eve. Unable to continue for the time being, she moved just a bit in order to hug Nick tightly. She took another look at the Pip-Boy. It was now 11:40 at night. Andrea disentangled herself from Nick's arms, and grabbed the bottle of wine. Nick watched in surprise as she tipped the bottle to her lips, and drank deeply as if she were dying of thirst. When she had emptied the bottle, she stood and threw it with all her might. Nick thought she had been aiming for Myrna's shop but he couldn't be certain.
He reached up and tugged on the hem of her blue dress. "Come back to me. I want to hear how this celebration turned out." he said. Andrea sat down heavily on the couch, and allowed herself to be enfolded in Nick's embrace. The small and selfish part of her loved this closeness with the man who had so unexpectedly stolen her heart. She had truly begun to believe that she had moved on from the loss of her husband, but she still had moments like now when the past slammed into her with the force of a bullet. Nick was her strength right now.
"At midnight, it was a tradition to kiss your lover. When the horde of revelers all around cheered 'Happy New Year!' Nate swept me into his arms and kissed me like he never had prior to that very moment. The world seemed to spin around us. Time stood still. I knew then that I'd fallen in love with him. How could I not? He was my everything." she said, her voice trailing off.
Nick cupped her chin, turning her to face him. "Andrea, losing the one you love hurts so uniquely. I know that crushing grief. But over time, the pain will fade. I can promise you that." he told her. She tore her eyes away from him to check the time once more. 11:58. "Just hold me? In two more minutes, this will be over. At least until next year." she added bitterly. "Anything you need, doll." he said.
The two of them fell silent, gazing out over Diamond City as the remaining seconds of the year ticked away. Nick's internal clock told him the time had come. "10…9…8…" he whispered into her ear. "7…6…5…4…3…2…1…" they finished in unison. "Happy New Year." Nick said softly.
Andrea sat up in his arms, and before she knew the impact of what she was doing, she tentatively caressed his cheek. Their eyes locked and both feared to make the next move. Her head swam with the effects of the wine. His with the effect of her touch. Nick slowly closed the distance between them. The look on Andrea's face told him all he needed to know. His lips gently brushed hers. Much like in her recounted memory, time stood still. Her mouth softened to his, and before long, they were lost in each other. Under the stars above Boston, two became one.
First kisses hold the promise of new beginnings just the same as New Year's Eve.