A Word From the Author: This is the first fanfic, technically, so any critiques are welcome. I decided to start writing this because of the lack of /King pairings. I will try to go in chronological order based on how I played the game and I'll do my best to remember the words passed between the two, but I make no guarantees and there will be some added bits here and there. Why? Because I can, so there :P.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fallout characters, nor the source material. The only character who came from my own imagination is the name and personality of the Courier, (and I don't own the "Courier" name, either). Oh, and I will probably make some references to Elvis Presley and his songs(and I don't own those either).
Chapter 1: Suspicious Minds
The female courier had only been in Freeside for a few days, but she already gained the attention of quite a few people. The Followers, The Garrett Twins, The Van Graffs (although those two made her skin crawl), and The Kings. The leader of The Kings was prone to sending out various members of his gang to bring her gifts for all her "heroism". While Raven was shocked at his generosity, she was quite certain the King wanted something from her. What he did want, she wasn't sure. Asking around about the King left a particular impression that he ran Freeside, but Raven couldn't decide what kind of man he was. Meeting him would help change that, but she wasn't sure she wanted to. Obviously, his gang of Kings had been watching her for awhile. Maybe even when she first walked into Freeside and chose not to hire any body guards. Raven vaguely recalled a member or two of his organization standing by for hire. People did whatever they felt like, especially to the pain and inconvenience of others. It was no surprise that someone would have Raven tailed at some point, but it still made her feel uncomfortable even with a sniper watching her back.
As she made her way to Mick & Ralph's, Raven saw a King member running toward her. "Oh great..." she mumbled.
As the gang member reached her, she started off with the usual greeting. "Hey, you're the one who's been helping out around here, right? The King sa-"
Raven cut him off. "Hold on a second, pal. Now, it's not that I don't appreciate the King's generosity, but I'd like to know what the catch is." She really did appreciate the gesture, but from her experience she knew there were strings attached to the "rewards". "What does he want from me?"
The guy just stood there. He obviously had not expected someone to question his leader's motives. "He just wanted you to know you're doing good things around here. Your actions haven't gone unnoticed and he said to keep up the good work," and with that, the man handed her a few caps and ran off.
Raven felt a little silly. Ever since that night in Goodsprings, she's questioned the intentions of others. That bullet to her brain really did a number on her faith in people, it seemed. Yeah, getting shot in the head and buried in the ground over a simple package didn't exactly inspire her to trust complete strangers, but no one ever took the trouble to constantly reward her for good deeds, either. Raven turned to Boone, who had kept quiet as usual.
"I think I better go thank The King personally. What do you think, Boone?"
"Fine by me," was all Boone said. And with that, they made their way through Freeside to The King's School of Impersonation.