Silence. Quiet and serene.
"Bam! Pow! Smash!"
'Hmm?"
"POW! POW!"
"What in the world..."
Turning away from his screen, James peered from around his desk to see inside his son's room. The sounds had stopped, but he could still see two little legs kicking back and forth off of his bed. Choosing to ignore the anomaly, he turned back to his computer to begin working again. But before he could type even a single sentence, the noises resurfaced again.
"Smack, whoosh!"
"What is he doing in there?"
This time, he left his work behind to investigate. He inched closer to his son's door, poking his head in to see. His son, sprawled out on his bed, had his nose pressed onto one of his many comic books, narrating the entire thing while he read. James sighed.
"Son?"
He flinched, nearly toppling off the bed in the process.
"Y-yeah dad?"
"Reading another one of those comic books huh?"
He grinned, plucking the comic off his bed to show his father. 'Yep! Grognak the Barbarian and the Jungle of the Bat Babies! Wanna read with me?"
He placed a hand on his head, ruffling his hair. With a sympathetic smile, he set the comic book back on the bed. "Sorry kiddo, but you know I've got a lot of work to do. Being the Vault Doctor is hard work. And those sound effects of yours are a little distracting..."
"Oh..." His smile fell instantly, "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to be so loud. I'll be quiet, I promise!"
"I know you will, buddy. You're a good boy." With one last pat on the head, James left his son to read alone, heading back to his desk. As he typed, the noises from earlier seemed to disappear, leaving their entire home in silence. Nothing but the soft hum of the computer and the repetitive click of his keyboard could be heard. Suddenly, the sound effects didn't seem so bad, In fact, they might have even been less distracting than the silence. Leaning back in his chair, James sighed.
He peered around his desk again, peeking into his son's room for the second time. He could still see his legs on the bed, but they were no longer swinging in the air. His enthusiasm had fallen pretty low.
James shook his head, leaving his work behind to sneak back into his son's room. He was still reading, but not with nearly as much passion. Now, he simply picked at the pages with little care. As James crept over his shoulder, he could just make out the words on the comic book. His son wasn't aware of his presence, sighing with his chin on his pillow. With a smile, James knelt down by the side of his bed.
"Bam! Pow! Smash!"
Blinking, he looked up in surprise as his father narrated each scene. He beamed with pure joy as together they read through the entire book, never once mentioning work. Each sound effect added to his joy, leaning on his dad with a smile. By the time they were finished, it was time for bed, and he was already tucked in.
Before sneaking back out of the room, his son jumped out from under the blankets, and wrapped his arms around his father. As they continued to hug one another, he whispered the words that kept him going each day.
"I love you dad."
Clink. Clink. Clink.
Nate watched with a sullen expression as Shaun sat in the dirt, tapping a wrench on a piece of scrap metal. His head rested in his hands as he sighed wearily. It was clear to see that Sanctuary Hills didn't have much to do for children. Hoping to bring up his moral, Nate flopped down next to his son.
"Whatcha doin' there buddy? Building something?"
He shrugged. "I was, but I don't think we have the supplies. I got bored anyways..."
"Well, I'm sure there's something else we can do for fun."
"Like what?"
"Like..." Scanning the settlement, he looked for anything that could be remotely considered fun. Avoiding the guns and ammo lying around, he walked towards their old home, hoping to find a board game that survived the blast. Almost everything left was damaged or unsalvageable, which was why Nate was shocked to stumble on an old memory.
Gently, he lifted the comic off the counter, smiling as studied the cover.
"Grognak the Barbarian and the Jungle of the Bat Babies. My favorite!"
As he trotted back to his son, Shaun watched him with a peculiar expression. He scrunched his brow as Nate dispensed the comic book onto his lap.
"Grognak the Barbarian? What is this?"
"My childhood. And now it can be yours."
He tentively touched the cover, a slight smile on his face. Nate could see the spark in his eye. No child could resist the mighty Grognak! He flopped back down to enjoy the comic book with his son. But Shaun wasn't fully convinced. He flipped through the comic book lazily, clearly not as excited as Nate was. He sighed, trying his best to give him the full Grognak experience.
"Oh Come on, It's awesome!"
"I like it! I just wish It was real... Comic books aren't the same."
Silence.
"Dad? Is something wrong?"
"Shaun, buddy wait right here!"
By the time he had sprinted back to the house, his friends had started to take notice. Both Valentine and Piper stood by Shaun, watching as Nate disappeared behind the door. They continued to wait, but he never came back out the door. Eventually, they came to him.
"Dad?" He knocked hesitantly on the door. "Are you still in there?"
"My name is not dad..."
He blinked. "What?"
The door burst open, revealing a humorous and quite strange sight. Shaun gawked, as both Valentine and Piper toppled to the floor with laughter.
Wearing nothing but a tattered green skirt and a brown studded belt, Nate charged out the door, waving an imaginary axe in the air with pride. With a giant grin spread across his face, he shouted in a dramatic tone, causing the entire settlement to stare.
"I am not your father, I am GROGNAK THE BARBARIAN! RAHHHH!"
He puffed out his chest, only to choke on his own laughter made tears. Shaun seemed torn between humor and shock, his eyes wide. Nate on the other hand, was having quite a lot of fun. When he finally got his bearings, he went back inside and came out with even more clothes. Pulling a hat out of his pile, he replaced Valentine's old one with the new slick, black version.
"But even I, Grognak the Barbarian need help battling the monsters of the Commonwealth! Silver Shroud, let us fight together!"
Valentine chucked, tilting his new accessory. "I'm not sure how good of a sidekick I'd be, but I'd fight the entire world for ya."
"Yeah," Piper smiled, prodding at Nate's bare arm. "Just say the word, and we'll all come running."
"In that case..." He pulled a feathered headband from out of his handful. "Introducing the Mistress of Mystery! Bum Bum BUM! The Unstoppables are here to save the day!"
Dragging both companions by the arm, he circled around Shaun, fighting invisible enemies and dodging dangerous obstacles. His son joined in soon after, sometimes as another superhero, other times as a patron in need. By the time the sun had set, Both Piper and Valentine had called it a day, and only Nate and Shaun were left, laying in their front yard with their eyes gazing at the stars.
"So. The comic book a little more exciting now?"
"You bet."
"Glad to see my son smile, but I don't think I can wear this skirt much longer. I don't think the Minutemen would take me serious with this thing on." He laughed. "I definitely don't look like a superhero."
"Not all heroes wear costumes, dad."
He smiled, reaching to hug his son. "That's my boy."
Finally, after a little while longer of talking, they went back inside and crawled into bed. But before Nate went to his own room, Shaun grabbed at his arm. With as much force as he could muster, he embraced his father in a hug, smiling.
"Thanks for everything dad, I love you."
Author's Note:
Hello everyone and Happy Fathers Day! (I published this a day late, sorry) I hope you enjoyed!
Although these two short stories are pretty horribly written, I wanted to do something special for the holiday. So I decided to honor the two best dads in all of the Wasteland, as well as honor the best comic book of all time!
So for all of you Fallout fathers who fought your way through the Commonwealth to save your child, this chapter is for you! I hope you pass on the joy of Grognak the Barbarian to your child as well!
