Summary:
After finding out that the Green Place doesn't exist anymore, everybody is upset. Capable feels like she has lost her last hope, her last chance to find a home. Nux hates to see Capable sad, and tries to comfort her.
This fanfic narrates the night they spend in the Vuvalini camp, comforting each other, before drive back to the citadel.
This fanfic is inspired by a Nux/Capable scene which was cut off the movie and which can be found in the B-Roll. My new favourite pairing, they are too cute!
Apologizes if there are any misakes, I'm pretty new at writing fanfcis and English is not my first language.
I hope you enjoy this, and please let me know your thoughts in the comments!
-It Feels Like Hope-
Capable looked at the horizon, to the immense salt sea in front of her. She could hear the vuvalini talking behind her, maybe making plans for their future, Furiosa and Toast joining the conversation from time to time, while Cheedo and The Dag just listened curiously, holding hands, finding comfort on each other. Capable had walked away from the little group, feeling that she needed a moment of solitude, and trying to put herself together again. She didn't want the ex-wives to see her like that, totally hopeless, specially Cheedo, still so innocent and scared, Capable didn't want to make her worry about her or scare her more. If only she could be as strong as Toast.
She wasn't mourning the Green Place, not like Furiosa, since she had never known it, she was mourning the lost hope. The Green Place had been the only light of hope in her miserable life, and now even that had been destroyed. No, what she was feeling wasn't sadness, it was a sense of emptiness and plain hopeless. There was no place to go anymore, what would they do now? Keep running away forever? She thought on Angharad, dead while trying to bring the other girls to a better place, to the Green Place of The Many Mothers, trying to give them a better future. At least she hadn't had to witness that dream tore apart too. But Capable knew what Angharad would say, no matter if the Green Place was no more, they were together and away from Immortan Joe, that was a better place already, that was hope. Still, it was hard to not break down, not after seeing Furiosa falling down onto her knees, screaming for her lost home and friends. She was one of the strongest people Capable had met, and seein her like that had been too much for her. Capable was losing her fight against the tears when she felt someone walking towards her. She quickly sniffed back and tried to pull herself together, not wanting to cry in front of anybody, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, squeezing.
Since meeting the Vuvalini, Nux had kept a prudent distance from them. They did seem to hate his kind, and although none of them had been hostile towards him at all, he still felt out of place, an outcast. He wondered if Blood Bag was feeling the same, because he was slightly away from the little group too, without participate in the conversation, although sometimes he glanced towards the Imperator Furiosa. Honestly, he didn't understand very well what and who this women were, but Capable and the others had wanted to meet them, so they must be important.
Capable was away too, if only just a few meters, but Nux didn't like it, she might wander alone and get hurt. But what Nux disliked the most was her sad expression. Whatever that Green Place was, it had been very important for her, so she must be sad about its lost, even if Nux couldn't understand it well. The war boy could see that everybody was sad and upset about it. The image of Furiosa breaking down had been as unsettling for Nux as it had been for Capable. He had never seeing the Imperator like that, he had never imagine he could see her like that. Capable being sad, even Furiosa and the other breeders being sad, made him feel sad too, even if he didn't really understand why. They should be shiny and happy, no miserable. He didn't like to see Capable away and hurting, but he wasn't sure of how to help her, or even if he could do it. Hesitantly, the war boy began to walk towards her, hoping his presence wouldn't be unwelcome, and he placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it, as he had seen the other women do to comfort each other.
Nux's hand squeezed and rubbed at her shoulder clumsily, and Capable turned over to give him a half, sad smile, moved by his sweet gesture. Sweetness was something she had never expected from war boys, only brutality, but since she found Nux sobbing at the back of the rig, he had never been brutal towards her, only showing her sweet gestures. She didn't know him for long, barely a day, and he had been an Immortan Joe kamikaze soldier who had tried to stop their escape, but somehow she knew that she could trust him, that he would never hurt her. It might be his innocence, something rare to find in that wasteland. Capable wondered if all the war boys were like that. In a way, she sensed Nux had been as helpless as her, as much of a slave for the Immortan as she had been, he had being lied to and used, so his short life and his death would be at the service of the warlord. Nux had listened to her while she explained him their escape with Furiosa, how they were not things to be owned, and she had been able to see in his expressive eyes his confusion, how he had never thought about things like that, never questioned the Immortant 's will and word. But he had listen to her attentively, and slowly he had seemed to begin to understand, or at least he had decided to stay at her side and help them.
Nux returned her smile, still nervous, though her smile, even small, encouraged him to keep rubbing her shoulder. "Are you alright?" Nux asked, feeling dumb as he did so, because it was obvious nobody was alright, but he didn't know what more to say. "Yes, yes…just…" Capable replied, shrugging. "We were going to the Green Place, to Furiosa's home, to the Many Mothers…and now there is no home, no Green Place, and only a few women left." She decided to be honest with Nux, wanting him to comfort her. Nux listened to her, nodding without say anything. He wasn't sure to understand, so he wasn't sure of what he could say that were helpful. "And now…I don't know what we are going to do. I don't know if we are going to be running forever, with no place to go, with no home. I feel…I feel that there is no hope anymore."
Nux wanted to hold her, but he didn't know if he would be welcome. Instead, he decided to take her hand and squeeze it gently. "I'm sorry about your Green Place. We'll find another Green Place." Nux wasn't sure about that, he wasn't even sure of what a Green Place was, but he wanted Capable to stop being sad. "Together. Whatever happens now, we are in it together…I mean..." He trailed off, nervously. "Together, the women, and the Blood Bag, and us…you and me…we…" Capable cut him off with a kiss to his cheek, like the one he had given her the day before. She knew that he meant it, that no matter what happened they would be together, that this sweet war boy would follow her anywhere, to the end of the world if it was necessary. Squeezing his hand back, Capable dragged a wide eyed Nux towards the others.
Nux let her lead him, although he was a bit hesitant to join the group of women while holding Capable's hand, not sure if he was allowed to do so, suddenly self-conscious of their touches for the first time. But Capable had told him that she was not a thing, that she could do whatever she wanted, so then, if she wanted to hold his hand, nobody could say anything, right? For his relief, none of the women or the Blood Bag seemed to find anything wrong on them holding hands, and they only glanced at them before keep talking. Some of the women even smiled to them, and Nux found himself smiling back, holding Capable hand more firmly. The Dag whispered something into Cheedo's ear, and both giggled, but Capable shushed them with a glare.
That night, they settled a little camp so they could rest for a few hours before the morning and the long ride that awaited them. Capable and Nux settled down slightly away from the group, curled up inside the open truck so they could look at the sky, and close enough so they could listen to the Vuvalini's tales about the stars and satellites. Nux had never stopped to look at the stars before, and he didn't know what a star or a satellite was, but he was enjoying looking at them, specially because he had Capable in his arms, resting against his chest with her head under his chin. He had had her curled up against him before, when she had fallen asleep in the rig the night before, and Nux had been so tired that he had drifted off to sleep for a couple of hours too. A day of driving, fighting and running had quickly sucked the energy off his half-life. Now, with both of them awake, Nux felt his heart beat as fast as when he drove his V8. It was a a strange feeling, and looking down at Capable, he wondered if she was feeling the same.
Feeling him move, Capable looked at him with a smile on her lips. She was used to curl up to rest, or just for comfort, with the other former wives, but what Nux made her feel when he cuddled her was something she hadn't felt before, something very pleasant. It might be wrong, or it might be strange, but she didn't care, she loved to cuddle the war boy, he made her feel safe and cared, something Capable wasn't used to feel. Capable hoped she made him feel the same way, because she did cared about him, and she would try to keep him safe as hard as Nux tried to keep her safe.
Looking down to the camp, Capable smiled fondly when she saw The Dag and Cheedo sleeping, curled up in a way not very different to Nux and her. She pointed at them with her head, smiling to Nux, and he smiled back because that was what he did every time Capable smiled to him, he couldn't help it, and because it guessed that it was something good, and the asleep women looked almost as shiny as Capable. "They had always been very close, that two. The Dag had always taken care of Cheedo, she had always tried to protect her." Capable explained in a quiet voice. The five wives had done that for each other, but their case was special. "Cheedo was the last one of us to being taken by Immortan Joe, she was very young, to young. She…she's still innocent." She said, meaning that the the warlord hadn't tried to breed with her yet. He used just for entertainments such as singing for him, and just being pretty. Maybe he didn't want to break the fragile girl too soon, not when he had other four women to choose. Capable didn't know. "But a night, a few months before our escape, Immortan Joe told Cheedo that she must breed with him soon too…and The Dag heard him, she went crazy of rage, she screamed at the old man, telling him not to touch Cheedo, telling him that she was the only thing he hadn't poisoned." Capable started to shiver at the memory of the day. "And then Immortan Joe started to beat up The Dag, we thought he was going to kill her…Angharad managed to stop him, always his favourite…" Capable was shivering hard now, and Nux wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight, trying to comfort her in some way.
It was hard for Nux to hear and to understand that someone he had admired, worshiped as a god, had hurt this shiny and lovely beings so badly. But back then, Nux hadn't even considered them ´beings´, they were breeders, prizes of his warlord, just like he was an Immortan's war boy. He had been blind and stupid, and he wanted to bang his head against the metal of the car in self-punishment, but he knew that only would upset Capable more. Sensing him tense, Capable looked at him, asking him if he was alright. After explain her his thoughts, Nux expected her to push him away in disgust, but Capable just smiled sadly and caressed his cheek sweetly. "It's Immortan Joe's fault, not yours. They made you believe the old man lies, telling his false tales to you since you were a child." She had already told him something like this, back when they were lying down in the rig "But now you know the truth, you had seen the reality, and you have changed. You have done good, you are helping us, aren't you? Stop blaming yourself." Nux nodded, wanting to believe her at least at little bit.
He wanted to make her smile again, to make her forget the bad memories of when she had been hurt and he had being stupid. He found what he thought it was the perfect way, and his eyes light up with excitement. "Cheedo is well protected by The Dag, she's able to take care of all you. He did protect all of you when…when I attacked your rig." It was painful to think about when he had being so blind, but it was for good. "She bit me! She bit me hard before you pushed me out, look,so hard that I still have the marks. She's a fierce warrior." Nux showed Capable his upper arm so she could see the marks that The Dag's tooth had left. "She is, indeed." Capable replied, laughing as she gently caressed the marks. "Let's get some rest." She said before closed her eyes and cuddle up against Nux's chest.
The next morning, they were riding towards the unknown, trying to not give up hope. They were together, even if the unnamed road warrior had left them, and whatever might come couldn't be worse than their life in the Citadel. Seeing Nux smiling blissfully while he drove the motorbike, Capable resolved to ask him to teach her to drive as soon as they had the chance. If traveling in the motorbike behind him felt like freedom, she didn't know how would be to drive it.
Nux couldn't help his smile, even if he didn't know where they were going and he kept feeling like an outcast (but after all, he had Capable), he had missed driving, and although the motorbike wasn't his car, it was better than he had expected. The feeling of the air as he drove was almost as good as Capable arms around his waist, and her chrome hair waving behind them like fire. A lonely bike joining their pack startled him for a moment until he realized it was Blood Bag. Maybe he had decided to travel with them after all. The thought made him happy.
While listening to Blood Bag's plan, Nux kept looking at Capable to see if she liked it or not. For him, it was chrome. He wanted to take revenge on the man who had hurt the shiny women so much, he wanted to take over the citadel with them, to give the women a home, like Capable had called the Green Place. That was going to be their Green Place. But he wasn't going to do anything that Capable didn't want. Nux's heart fluttered when Capable told the others how he could help them to take over the citadel. She made him feel valuable and an important, like he was destined to do great things after all.
"It feels like hope." Nux said, looking at Capable, remembering what she had said about losing her hope. No, while they were together, there would be hope.