How to Hug a Deathclaw

-Notes-

Welcome to the first chapter that has all the same familiar dialogue as all the other MacCready fanfics, yay! I try to provide the lighthearted fun MC. MacCready is adorable and needs an adorable story befitting of him~ This is my second fanfic. Please review to let me know if you like it or not, or have anything you think would make it better.

Big shout-out to all the Youtubers whose videos helped me replicate dialogue exactly. Love you all.

Chapter 2: The Merc and the Mother

Sole panted as she wearily trudged on. Her boots sloshed against the puddles on the streets of Boston. Her feet moved slowly, mechanically, searching for a place to rest. Blood slipped down from fresh cuts and dripped on the asphalt as her legs moved with a will of their own. She was half-dead already. Maybe if she had stocked up on ammo instead of pinching caps, things would have been different. Maybe she would not have had to resort to her combat knife once her pistol ran dry, opening herself up to be riddled with bullets.

She had heard rumors about the nearby city of Goodneighbor while she was in Diamond City. It sure as hell sounded a lot closer when described to her. Finally she saw the eerie glow of pink and blue neon lights reflecting off the slick sheen of water blanketing the ground. Finally.

Sole had been travelling alone for a while. Previously she had traveled with Dogmeat, but the whimper he made when shitty raiders kicked him broke her heart. As much as that motherly instinct inspired her to 'tear every raiders' skulls from their spinal columns,' it was difficult getting such a blind-rage revenge on every single one. She didn't have enough money for it, plain and simple. No one told her that the city had gangs of supermutants, raiders, and mongrels holed up every 100 yards from each other. It was so much more impacted than in the country. She though about how she had left her poor doggy back at Sanctuary Hills. Damn. She really could use some backup right now.

Sliding up to the door with the gaudy arrow pointed at it, she pushed it open, summoning every ounce of strength left in her. Hospital. Or food. Something. She needed to find something.

She didn't even get but a few feet when she was intercepted by a sleazy bald-headed goon in a leather jacket with a lit cigarette hanging obnoxiously out of his mouth. Sole was definitely not in the mood for this right now. She spit out some blood in her mouth.

Taking a drag of his cigarette the man approached her, "Hold up, there. First time in Goodneighbor? Can't go walking around without insurance."

Sole narrowed her eyes at him "Unless it's 'keep-dumb-assholes-away-from-me' insurance, I'm not interested" She spat.

"Now don't be like that. I think you're going to like what I have on offer." He coerced. Then he took a menacing step forward, lowering his voice "you hand over everything you got in them pockets, or 'accidents' start happenin' to ya. Big, bloody, 'accidents.'"

Sole held her ground, clenching the combat knife in her pocket tightly. What rotten luck, bumping into such a thug her first day here. She was about to jump at his throat when a gravelly voice interrupted them.

"Whoah, woah. Time out." A man in a….colonial coat, stepped out of the dark alleyways and into the dimly lit brick clearing. Woah, his face looked scarred and burned and his nose was gone. What the hell? "Someone steps through the gate the first time, they're a guest. You lay off that extortion crap."

Whoever this person was, he had presence. The thug before, hunched up his shoulders as soon as he spoke and turned around to face him. The two circled each other like predators.

"What d'you care? She ain't one of us." The bald man quarreled with venom.

The new man opened up his arms wide with fake appall. "No love for your mayor, Finn? I said let her go." He growled

"You're soft, Hancock. You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, one day there'll be a new mayor."

Sole shifted her eyes between the two men suspiciously. Something was going to happen. She could tell, but she didn't know what.

Just as she thought that, Hancock swaggered over to the man Finn. He simply exuded confidence. They were just an arm's length when Hancock spoke up, "Come on, man. This is me we're talking about. Let me tell you something."

Hancock placed his hand on Finn's shoulder and leaned in, like he was going to tell him a secret. Then, out of nowhere, Sole caught the glint of a knife. She had only seen it for a fraction of a second before Hancock buried it twice in the man's stomach. Blood spurted from Finn's mouth as he dropped to the floor, creating a red pool of his own. Maybe if she had more energy, Sole would've been shocked, but it all seemed kinda 'eh' right now. Hancock walked over to where Finn's body lay and placed his boot on his back.

"Now why'd you have to go and say that, huh? Breaking my heart over here." He turned his attention finally to Sole. He took notice of her wounds but didn't say anything. Even in the dark, she could tell he had pitch black pools where his eyes should have been. "You all right sister?"

As he approached, Sole got a better look at his face. It was scarred and creased, like it had been washed with acid or something. What the hell? When she noticed she had been staring rather rudely, she opened her mouth to break the tension.

"Your face. Something…happen?" She blurted out. Dammit. Her and her big mouth.

Her question didn't seem to faze this Hancock however as he curled the area where his lips should be into a wry smile. "Like it? I think it gives me a sexy, king of zombies kinda look. Big hit with the ladies."

Sole just gave him a blank stare, so he further elaborated "I'm a Ghoul, you see? Lot of walking rad freaks like me around here, so you might want to keep those kinds of questions on the low burner next time. Goodneighbor's of the people, for the people, you feel me? Everyone's welcome."

"Of the people, for the people? Oh brother…" she quibbed. Oh shit, her eyesight was fading out. The corners of her eyes started to fuzz out to black, like a vignette. She struggled to keep her head up.

"He he he. I can tell I'm gonna like you already. Just consider this town your home away from home." He chuckled before turning his head down at her and lowering his voice menacingly, like he had done with Finn. "So long as you remember who's in charge."

She barely heard his warning as her consciousness slipped out from under her. She didn't even remember hitting the ground.

When Sole awoke, daylight was spilling through the windows. She sat up, the sudden movement sent a shooting pain straight to her temples. But her wounds were bandaged and already healing plus she already felt a lot more energetic. But where was she? She scanned the environment. White splintering wood walls, heavily stained carpet, a plethora of chems lying about, and a large American flag in the corner. It looked like some colonial-times legal house. The bed suddenly seemed very out of place to her.

"Ah she finally awakes?" A woman's voice filled the silent room. Sole swiveled around to find a red-headed woman with an edgy hairstyle and combat armor sitting in the corner of the room, crossing her legs. "Hancock will want to see you?"

Hancock? That was the mayor, as she recalled. "Is he the one that brought me here?" Sole asked.

"Yeah. Gave him quite a shock too, collapsing at our front door like that." The woman stood up and promptly strode out of the room. "I'll get him for you."

Sitting and waiting wasn't Sole's style. Hancock apparently hadn't changed her out of her vault suit thankfully, and she found her armor stashed underneath the bed. She was amidst re-arming herself when the door knob turned and the door creaked open. Hancock poked his head through.

"Hey there newcomer. You don't have to get out of here so quickly. You were covered in all sorts of scrapes and bruises; whoever you crossed coming here sure gave you hell." He teased.

She cast him a smile, "No it's quite alright. I really appreciate you doing all of this for me. The woman was-?" she asked, realizing she hadn't even asked her name.

"Fahrenheit. She's the one that took care of you." He replied. "You're at my statehouse."

"Hmm. Yeah it was pretty stupid of me not to stock up on ammo. I guess this is what I get for traveling alone. Thanks for letting me spend the night here Hancock, do you know where I can sell some of my gear at?"

Hancock blinked.

"Oh hon…you weren't here for the night. You were out for two days."

"Two days?! I slept for two whole days?!" Sole's mouth dropped in shock.

Hancock chucked at her surprise "Well doll, what can I say? I must've really left an impression on you if you fainted during our first meeting."

Sole threw her head back, "Pah! Hardly. More like I mistakenly brought a knife to a gunfight. Literally." Collecting the last of her things, she slung her bag over her shoulder and turned around to Hancock who was grinning at her.

"He he, you're my kinda gal. Anyway, near the front of Goodneighbor where you entered there's KL-E-O's shop on the left and Daisy's shop on the right. Should be able to scrounge up a few caps there. On the other side of town you got the Hotel Rexford and Memory Den, which will take you straight to dreamland. Now right below this lil ole place is my lovely little bar, The Third Rail. Just take the steps down and round the corner, you'll see it. Biggest joint in town" Hancock puffed his chest out proudly. Sole put on a sarcastic face but then smiled as he held the door open for her.

"Thanks a lot Hancock, I won't be more than a few days. Going into situations where I have the utmost underhand is my specialty." She swung her arm reassuringly as she neared him.

Following those directions shouldn't be too difficult. If there were two shops to choose from that already was an advantage. She could stock up before heading back to Sanctuary Hills. As she exited the room, Hancock grabbed her arm and pulled her in close to tell her something in confidence.

"Now I know it ain't my place to say this, but rolling up into towns all banged up makes bad men like Finn want to take advantage of you. If you're looking to have someone at your back, we actually have a merc right here in town. Name's MacCready. He's holed up in The Third Rail; wouldn't hurt to check him out."

Sole snorted, "I don't know if he could handle me." Tossing a wink towards Hancock, she broke from his grasp and made her way out into the bright of day in good old Goodneighbor.

Well she managed to make only about 149 caps. For all the crap she had been hauling around, she definitely thought it would be worth more. Normally she would've haggled up the price but her previous experience with an assaultron almost landed her with a spear through the gut. After buying a safe amount of ammo, she counted her money in her pouch. 312 caps left. Damn she was low. Well now she would really have to be prudent with her caps. Or fish them out of some sorry sod's pocket. Or break into their house in the dead of night as they slept. She wondered what her pre-war self would think of her now. A petty criminal mastermind.

Hancock sure was telling the truth about The Third Rail being the biggest joint in town. It was directly in the middle, dividing the two streets, central to all traffic. If this MacCready fellow was truly a mercenary then he had to be up for hire. He probably wouldn't be more than a few caps, 100 at most. Sole pushed open the rusting metal doors to The Third Rail and was immediately stopped by a bouncer: a ghoul in a tuxedo and submachine gun. They had a rather awkward staring match before he finally nodded and stepped aside to let her pass.

Yuck! The bar smelt like a piss-soaked smokehouse, and she had thought the Dugout Inn was dingy. The ghouls sitting around either cast her jaded glanced or paid no attention to her. Sultry jazz filled the air as a woman in a stunning red dress sang in the corner. Feeling awkward in her new surroundings, Sole went straight for the bar. Perhaps the bartender would know where this MacCready was.

"Whitechapel Charlie at your service" stated the Mr. Handy robot with a British accent. Adorable. He even had a little bowlers cap on, ha! "You gonna order something or what?" Okay not so adorable.

"Just a water please" she replied, internally proud at her first steps toward frugality.

The bartender turned his metal body away to the other end of the bar to take his time in getting her her 'drink.' Even water cost money in this new world.

Damn! She didn't even get a chance to ask him about MacCready yet! Letting out a huff of frustration, she almost got up and followed the robot to the other end of the bar, when her surroundings answered her questions for her.

The usual bar clatter provided a nice white noise, but one irritated drifter's voice rose above the rest, "What? Another one of you mercs looking for MacCready? He's in the backroom." She ghoul thrust a finger towards a door in the far corner of the room for accentuation. Sole swiveled around in her bar stool to slyly watch the situation out of the corner of her eye. Two very large, surly men in military fatigues had at some point entered the room, and glanced at each other before heading toward the direction the woman had pointed in. Their eyes were dark and distrustful. They didn't look like they were here for a good time.

When the two men were out of sight, having descended into the back room, Sole took off after them. Whitechapel Charlie called a 'hey!' as she took off the second he put down her water. She softened her steps to reduce noise as she got closer.

Blurry syllables began to take form into sentences as she slid up the side of the doorway, eavesdropping against the wall. From her perspective she could only see the backs of the two large men she had seen at the bar.

"Sh…ake…tside?" said the first voice. From the acoustics, it sounded like it had come from her target. She pressed herself right up behind the door jam to hear better.

"Can't say I'm surprised to find you in a dump like this, MacCready." The man with the fauxhawk said in a condescending voice.

She heard MacCready click his tongue. "I was wondering how long it would take your bloodhounds to track me down, Winlock." He sounded young.

Frustrated with straining her ear against the door to catch barely audible sounds, Sole decided to just bite the bullet and let them see her. Maybe she could keep it low-key. She sauntered into the room quietly, pretending like she was interested in the artwork. She finally got a frontal view of MacCready, whose eyes immediately tracked her. Holy crap he was young! When Hancock said mercenary she imagined some middle-aged battle-seasoned soldier. Not this kid. She strut slowly to the first portrait on the right, faking interest. Winlock and the other man didn't even notice her presence.

Shifting his eyes back to the men, MacCready chortled. "It's been almost three months… don't tell me you're getting rusty. Should we take this outside?"

Sole swiped a dusty book off the shelf of an antique cabinet lying at the back and plopped down on the couch and pretended to read. MacCready was sitting down in a single chair with a bottle of wine and a foot crossed over his knee. He obviously wasn't very threatened by these men.

"It ain't like that. I'm just here to deliver a message." Winlock sneered.

"In case you forgot I left the Gunners for good." MacCready stood up.

"Yeah, I heard. But you're still taking jobs in the Commonwealth. That isn't going to work for us."

"I don't take orders from you" MacCready scoffed, shrugging his shoulders "not anymore. So why don't you take your girlfriend and walk out of here while you still can."

Oh shit. Things were about to get real! This was some juicy stuff. Sole leaned in gleefully, listening to the drama.

"What?! Winlock, tell me we don't have to listen to this shit…" Said the man in the beret with a whiny voice that in no way matched his intimidating appearance.

Winlock took a menacing step towards MacCready. Sole debated whether or not she should help him if it came down to it.

"Listen up MacCready" Winlock warned in a dark tone. "The only reason we haven't filled your body full of bullets is that we don't want a war with Goodneighbor. See we respect other people's boundaries… We know how to play the game. It's something you never learned."

Throwing his arms out to the side MacCready followed in the most sardonic voice possible "Glad to have disappointed you."

Sole could tell his jovial attitude was pissing them off.

Winlock sneered, "you can play the tough guy all you want. But if we hear you're still operating inside Gunner territory, all bets are off. You got that?"

"You finished?"

"Yeah…we're finished. Come on Barnes."

The two men turned around to leave. Winlock noticed her presence for the first time and glared at her before taking off. When the two men were out of eyesight, MacCready turned his full attention to Sole and dropped his whimsical act.

"Look, lady. If you're preaching about the Atom, or looking for a friend, you've got the wrong guy. If you need a hired gun…then maybe we can talk" he said.

Sole snapped her book shut and stood up to return it to the shelf. "Oh I'm not here to try to convert you. Nor do I desire hugs." Spinning on her heel, she approached MacCready to get a better look at him. Up close he looked even younger. He had weary blue eyes but a youthful face, covered in scruff probably to make himself look older. Hints of chesnut hair poked out the sides of his olive cap. Well he definitely dressed the part of a merc she thought, as she noted the multiple compartments all over his attire built for housing multiple rounds of ammunition. Sole continued, "Why don't you tell me who those guys were first."

MacCready's eyes were piercing and distrustful, boring into hers. "A couple of morons looking to climb the ladder of success by stepping on everyone else on the way up. You shouldn't be surprised though, that's how it goes when you run with the Gunners."

"Never heard of the Gunners. Who are they?" She asked in all seriousness.

"They're one of the biggest gangs in the Commonwealth. Got a rep for being crazy…" he emphasized "you know, so tightly wound, you'd think they were a cult or something. Stuck with them for a while cause the money was good, but I never fit in. That's why I made a clean break and started flying solo." He explained. Tilting his head to the side he continued, "Now, what about you? How do I know I won't end up with a bullet in my back?"

Sole grinned "You don't. that's part of the risk, right?"

"Can't argue with that" he smirked back. "I'll tell you what. Price is 250 caps… up front. And there's no room for bargaining."

Holy flying hell! This little twerp's charging fee should have been illegal! She had just decided to save every cap she could too! A deep knot of anguish formed in her stomach at the realization that she was about to spend every damn cap she had on this guy. She knew she couldn't make it home without someone in her corner though.

MacCready seemed to have noticed her brain lapse as he waited for her answer, "So what do you say?"

"Everything's negotiable. Would you take 200?" She offered. Sole held eye contact with him. If this was a power struggle for caps, there is no way in hell she could afford to lose.

MacCready broke the stare-off by rolling his eyes. "You drive a hard bargain, but you just bought yourself an extra gun. All right, boss…Let's get out of here."

He reached down to pick up a sniper rifle that was hiding behind his chair and slung it over his shoulder. Yes! Now she wouldn't die on her way back home…Hopefully. Grateful for her newly established companionship, she let out a short burst of laughter as she smacked him in the stomach. He doubled over with an oomph!

"I am looking forward to staying alive, MacCready. Oh and you don't need to call me boss, that was my father's name." She joked. "Call me Sole."

"Whatever you say, boss."