Weeks had passed since their departure from Megaton - weeks, and Gob had still not managed to wrap his head around the fact that he was free. During this time, he'd gotten better aqquainted with the Lone Wanderer. He'd picked up on several things about her during their travels. Silly habits, tiny details, though her name had not been one of them. She was a pretty little thing, he'd admit, though there was a certain coldness in the way she approached others. She'd been all business when dealing with Three Dog up in the GNR building plaza, and she'd been all business when dealing with Tenpenny and Roy Phillips. She took on an all too familiar bitch-face when she awoke in the morning, and wore it until she went back to sleep. But not when they were alone. When they were alone, they'd share stories from their childhood, discuss philosophical matters, or just look at the stars. She had a peculiar laugh, almost fitting the bill of a cackle, but it was so genuine. So endearing. His friendship with her was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. She acted naturally around him, even occasionally patted his back when he was sad, or grabbed his arm to pull him to the ground when they got fired at. A pretty standard action when being shot at, sure, but it made him warm inside nonetheless. He almost forgot about his ghoulhood when they were alone, only to quickly be reminded of it when others were around. He fondly recalled the time when some guy had mumbled several insults at him as he passed them by, not loudly, but enough to catch her attention, to which the she'd had responded by telling him to eat shit. She was somethin' else, he mused quietly, giving a dreamy sigh and leaning his face on his hand. He was like a schoolboy crushing on some pretty substitute teacher. Jeez, this wouldn't end well. Crushes never did on his part. The memory of overhearing a customer asking Nova about him was permanently pinned onto his brain. "There are some places even I wont go", Nova had said. He never knew words could pack such a punch, especially considering that he'd recieved more than his fair share of slander. And God knew that the Lone Wanderer's standards were probably a few steps above Nova's. There was no hope in the world that anything would ever happen between them. He had a nasty tendency to become over-attached to anyone who treated him with basic respect, something that always came back to bite him in the ass, sooner or later.
.oOo.
"Alright, so we're headed up to the Jefferson Memorial. I hear there's an abundance of Super Mutants up there, though, so we need to be prepared. How are you with a rifle?", the Lone Wanderer spoke, carefully running down a list of things to bring.
"Huh?" Gob responded, apparently not hearing her.
"I said, how are you with a rifle?"
"Oh, uh. Not good."
"Small guns?"
"N-No."
"..Melee weapons?"
"I can't.. I can't really fight." Gob mumbled sheepishly, furrowing his eyebrows and staring down at the table. Christ. She didn't want to leave him behind, but bringing him along could run the risk of him getting hurt.
"Ah. Alright then, I'll.. I'll figure something out." she replied, sounding more exasperated than intended. She lifted herself off her seat and walked towards the exit, Gob perking up with a confused look on his face.
"Where are you going?" he questioned.
"Stay here, I'm gonna go set some things up for you." she responded, smiling warmly at him and closing the door behind her.
.oOo.
15 minutes passed before she walked through the door again, grabbing Gob by the arm and pulling him outside. She led him down the metal staircase, and across the bridge leading to Rivet City. Dussins of odds and ends stood in a neat line - glass bottles, tin cans, plates.. The Lone Wanderer grabbed one of her rifles and handed it to him with an expectant look. Was he supposed to shoot with it? He took it and held it awkwardly, like a lefthanded person trying to hold a pencil in their right, and tried aiming it at one of the bottles. He slowly squeezed the trigger and was rewarded with the butt of the rifle slamming into his chest, the bullet not even coming close to hitting his target.
"Oh, yeah, you might want to try having a steadier grip on the gun. Here." She reached around him and put her hands over his, repositioning the rifle. Oh god. Was he sweating? "Stand with your feet apart - you need to maintain balance. Or you'll get knocked on your ass again." She laughed and leveled the scope with his head. "Okay, shoot." He fired off a shot, piercing the teddybear in the chest and shattering the glass bottle behind it. She let go of him and gestured for him to shoot again. Once more, he fired off a shot, hitting a tin can that was knocked off the cement railing and fell down into the murky waters below. "You're getting the hang of this!" she beamed. Gob gave a confident smirk, swinging the rifle over his shoulder. It went off with a loud bang, making him drop it with a yelp. The Lone Wanderer barked a laugh and patted him on the back. "Let's wait with the fancy tricks for a while." She snickered and picked the rifle off the ground, handing it to him. He was thankful for his skin being the way it was, or else she would see how much he was blushing from embarassment. She took a break from giggling to give him a genuinely warm smile, and patted his back. "I'm proud of you." It was the first time he'd ever heard it.
Oops, a little shorter than intended. I'll try to make longer chapters! :') I really want to thank everyone for their support and the nice comments ((you have no idea how happy they make me!)) because it's honestly what's been pushing me to try improving and to continue this thing. I still feel a little bad for all these short chapters, though! I'm kind of shy with my writing, I think. U o U Any constructive criticism would be deeply appreciated! Thank you for all of your help thus far, and for not ditching me yet!