'nother one… making the most out of some slower days :-)
And, why yes, I do play Mass Effect. Thanks for asking :-D
"Boone, why'd the Khans call you a murderer?"
Boone looked at the girl without answering; she had slowed down to walk beside him, her dusty face curious. They were about 30 miles out of Boulder City, and it looked like she was finally running low on her adrenaline-induced energy high. He had thought she was insane when she said she would negotiate with the trapped Khans but had followed her in anyway- he figured if anyone should have her back with a bunch of Great Khans, it should be him.
"C'mon Boone, let's get this done."
"This will not end well for us, Kid."
"Such little faith in me- I'm a great diplomat! And I'm not a kid."
They had gone into the decrepit building after checking on the hostages, who were thirsty and scared but alive. The Khan inside who appeared the leader, Jessup, stared hard at Boone's hat, but his next reaction was unprecedented. Sparrow took off her glasses in the dusty store and leaned against the doorframe, ever so casual, and crossed her arms. Boone watched as Jessup's eyes grew wide and his mouth opened several times like he was trying to get air. Eventually he managed to talk, albeit in a shaky voice, his eyes never leaving Sparrows face.
"You're supposed to be dead!"
Sparrow still leaned against the door frame, only a tightening of her jaw belying her tension. Her voice was as calm and cool as Boone had ever heard it.
"I got better."
"Was it about Bitter Springs?"
Boone glared at her, and through gritted teeth, warned her off. She muttered something uncomplimentary and then walked ahead again, kicking a rock on the ground. Hell, he liked the kid well enough, but it wasn't any of her damn business.
He was impressed with how she was handling herself. She had talked the Khans into freeing the hostages, and then the NCR into letting them walk. When she went back to let the Khans know, they talked for a little in low voices. Boone doggedly followed her, ignoring the glares and rude comments directed towards him. He felt his fists clench when Jessup reached out and ran his hand down Sparrow's bare arm and invited her to visit Red Rock Canyon. He took a step forward without thinking, and both of them looked over at him- the Khan smug and Sparrow confused. He had to hold himself back from punching the ganger when he laughed, a deep rich sound, and casually put his arm across Sparrow's shoulders.
"Interesting company you keep, Girlie."
"We should go," Boone said, his voice under iron control, not showing his fury. But he knew, somehow, that Sparrow was aware of his feelings. She stepped away from the Khan to look into his face, and he was glad that he was wearing sunglasses to help block her silent inquiry. After a moment, she turned and shrugged.
"I trust him with my life," she said softly, perhaps even affectionately.
The Khan snorted and shook his head. "Funny business, trusting a murderer with your life."
"He's already saved it," Sparrow replied sharply. "And we need to go- I have a date with Benny."
They turned to leave, and the relief Boone felt at going away, anywhere away from here, was overwhelming. He inwardly winced as he heard the Khan speak again, but this time it was not to waylay them
"Hey, Girlie. Benny left this here. Shove it up his ass for me when you see him, k?"
Sparrow reached up and caught a glittering silver box, and when she opened her hand, he saw that it was a finely engraved silver lighter. Sparrow nodded tersely and pocketed it, and they turned and left the ruins of Boulder City behind. It wasn't until they were out of town that full comprehension came of the information they had gained: Benny was the one in the checkered suit who sucked at killing people- and he was apparently a big boss of New Vegas. Huh.
A whirring sound had both of them pivoting and pulling their weapons at the same time. Boone peered through his scope and what he saw through the dust surprised him.
"It's a robot. Looks like a securitron."
Sparrow made a small noise but kept her pistol aimed until the robot came into view.
"Howdy partner! Imagine running into you out here!"
The girl holstered her gun and sighed, crossing her arms.
"Victor. Odd seeing you here. You're not following me by any chance, are you?"
Boone looked over at her, and she shrugged.
"It's Victor. The robot that dug me out of the grave in Goodsprings. Pretty coincidental that he's here."
"You hurt my feelings, Partner! I'm just on my way to New Vegas and thought I'd say hi to some friendly faces!"
"Riiiiiiiight," the girl drawled, and Boone relaxed since she obviously didn't see any threat in the weird conglomerate of cowboy and robot. He found himself fighting a smile at her obvious accent as she bantered with Victor. She'd talked about her growing up in New Reno, but he still found her 'street speak,' as it was, amusing. He tried briefly to imaging her as a dirt-covered little girl, insulting someone bigger than her and then jumping out a window, and was surprised realize that he actually could. She'd be barely taller than his leg, hair tangled and wispy, with an upturned nose and alert hazel eyes that saw too much…
He started as the robot rolled off, and they watched it in silence until the dust trail settled.
"So," Sparrow said, her voice carefully nonchalant, "that was interesting."
Boone shook his head and looked at the sky.
"It'll be dark soon. Want to make camp?" He asked. He figured she must be pretty tired since she hadn't slept the other night.
"I'm not especially tired yet. Too much going on. Let's try to get to New Vegas."
Boone shook his head again- New Vegas was still a long ways off- but they took off. His partner was silent, and he found himself somewhat missing her banter. He couldn't get the image of her little girl self out of his head now that he had imagined it, and found himself wondering more about her youth. He wondered at her easy sharing of some information, but he knew she was withholding some things- and there was still the matter of Benny shooting her and leaving her for dead- she always closed up and changed the subject when he brought that up. He wasn't sure what to make of it- she didn't seem in shock or denial, but her absolute refusal to discuss it with him upset him- especially since she had bantered with the Khans about it.
As they trudged forward towards the city, he found himself revisiting the day again. She hadn't been exaggerating when she claimed to be a diplomat; that girl was too good at talking. He supposed he was glad that she had never turned her charm on him… yet. There was the kicking point. He didn't like being manipulated, and while the girl didn't seem to have any malicious intent, he now had inkling of what she was capable of. If ever turned those falsely guileless eyes to him and opened her mouth to use that talented tongue of hers-
He inhaled dust at that point and began to cough. Sparrow turned around and thumped him on the back, and when he reached for water, she already had some ready.
"Problems?" Her voice was sardonic, but still kind.
"No. Maybe. I was thinking about your tongue."
When she arched her eyebrows at him, he realized exactly what he had said, and for the first time in a long while, he began to stumble on his words.
"No! I mean, not that. Your tongue's ability. No. Crap." Sparrow was outright laughing at him now, her eyes twinkling. He looked at her helplessly, at a loss for words. She was still laughing at him. He mustered all his dignity and tried once more.
"I mean, you have a way with words. A silver tongue."
Sparrow giggled a little, her eyes crinkling with humor.
"I figured that was what you meant, but oh, you should have seen your face!"
Boone glared at her, and she gave one last laugh before nodding and turning serious.
"I told you, I'm good at talking to people. Had to be, growing up where I did- if you didn't have a specialty, you'd get killed or worse. Some people were big and strong, others were great at sneaking around, and some had their sex appeal. Me… I was too small to be brawny, too clumsy to be sneaky, and too plain to be appealing. And so I learned to be fast- and when I wasn't fast enough, I learned to talk circles around people. All part of survival."
Again, without thinking, Boone said, "You were too plain to be appealing?" He was thinking of how the Khan had been with her, but as soon as he said them, realized his words could be taken an entirely different way- and perhaps, not an entirely wrong way. She was an attractive female by most standards. Luckily, Sparrow seemed distracted and didn't tease him.
"Yea. I didn't fill out until I was almost 15, and even then, I didn't get much. I was just a sexless kid. Look, I don't want to talk about that. We've still got a ways to New Vegas."
She turned and resumed walking at a fast pace. Boone stood still for a moment before he realized that she wasn't going to stop and cursed, jogging after her.
"Kid!"
She didn't answer, just increased the pace even more.
"Goddamnit, Sparrow!"
She stopped and whirled around, her eyes dangerously narrowed, all of her body language screaming that she wanted a fight. He held his hands in front of him, palms open.
"You need to slow down. I don't know what your problem is, but you're doing the same thing you were when the mutie almost took your leg off. Calm the fuck down. Slow the fuck down."
She seemed to be battling something within herself for a few seconds, her hands clenching and unclenching, until she eventually nodded and sighed, her posture relaxing.
"Look, I left home for a reason. I don't know why I've been talking about it so much- I guess seeing your own grave being dug in front of you makes a person nostalgic. Just- don't push me. I'm just Sparrow- I'm still that dirt-covered, dusty girl who runs real fast and sometimes lets her mouth get her into trouble. And I'll still make that jump if I get cornered. But I've also been shot and left for dead, brutally murdered for all checkered suit- Benny- knows. It's been different since I woke up- I feel like I've been given another chance. I don't know why or for what, but hell if I'm going to fuck it up this time. I don't want to invite bad things by ignoring who I am- or turning back into who I was."
As she spoke, the entire world was bathed in a copper light, the setting sun turning the desert red. Her eyes glowed for a moment, and a fleeting image of a word crossed his mind as she smiled at him, the fiery light giving her a cruel but beautiful edge. And then the moment passed, and she was simply Sparrow again, dusty from the travels and completely human.
She took his silence for agreement, and began to walk again. He found himself haunted by the visage of her in the setting sun and wasn't shaken out of it until she saw her stumble. Quietly, he caught her elbow and pointed towards a huge concrete structure- leftovers from a highway built long ago. She nodded, and they half-blindly walked towards it in the near pitch dark. He made her sit down as he unpacked their camping supplies, and when he turned back, she was already asleep, oddly reclined against the side of the concrete.
As Boone pulled a blanket over her, he examined her face. In the darkness, he couldn't tell much, but her pipboy light have been left on and he could see how strained her features were, almost gaunt, and realized that a lot of her behavior was probably bravado. Silently vowing not to let her push herself so hard again, he sat back, though not before cupping her cheek in one hand. Her skin was warm in the cool night air, and her breath sent a feathery tickle across his calloused palm. He was mesmerized and didn't move when her eyes fluttered open.
"… Boone?" She asked sleepily, groggy confusion clouding her tone.
Guiltily, he stepped back. "Your damned pipboy is lighted up. Turn it off or we'll get ambushed by bloatflies or cazodores," he grumbled, his voice tense. What if she wanted to know why he was so close, why he was touching her, why-
Sparrow raised her arm to her face, and pressed a few buttons. Right before the display went dark, she looked at him and smiled so incredibly sweetly it shook him, a smile that only the half asleep can give. She mumbled something and he leaned forward to catch the tail end.
"… you too, Boone…"
He stared at the sleeping girl, wishing he had heard the entire thing, but at the same time hoping desperately that it wasn't what he thought it might have been. Cursing softly, he laid out his own bedroll and sat down, suddenly too weary to stand. He buried his head in hands and sat there, alone in the desert, and tried not to think about anything.
A light snerk had him raising his head and looking towards the girl. She was making the ridiculous sound in her sleep and he had to smile, just the tiniest bit. His smile faded as the image of her in the sunset came back to him, and he frowned, trying to think of the word that had eluded him. Just before he drifted off, it came to him.
Not a sparrow. A Valkyrie.
