Remi's body pulsated with a dull ache. Her muscles had been throbbing for hours, begging her to sit down and rest for just a moment, but she was resilient if nothing else. The last thing she wanted was another threat of a Raider attack on Sanctuary Hills.

A rusted hammer in her hand, she cast a wistful glance down the side of the fence she'd been pounding nails into all day, trying to repair the damage that had been done earlier in the week. Two holes left. If she worked quickly enough, she'd be done by sundown. Hopefully.

"Those arms of yours are getting bigger than mine, Remi."

Any other person would have received a shriek and a blind kick to the knee, but not Sturges. In the two weeks Remi had been at Sanctuary Hills, he'd learned just how to approach with caution when she was focused on something else. He was soft with her, both in his touch and his tone. Remi wouldn't admit it, but she adored that about him.

She turned toward him and surveyed the amiable smirk on his face. "You sound intimidated," she said sultrily. Taking note of the bottle of clear liquid in his hand, she brought her gaze back to his. "Thirsty?"

Without hesitation, Sturges offered it to her, tilting his head ever so slightly. "Actually, I was wondering if you were."

Beside Preston, Sturges was the most generous person she'd met so far. As she took a gracious sip from the bottle – the hint of metal was barely noticeable this time – Remi thought back on her first true encounter with him.

It had been after a late night of farming. Her fingers and back ached, there had been a sharp pain behind her left eye, and after what seemed like hours of wandering about the settlement, Remi declared herself lost. In the darkness, all the houses looked the same. Most everyone had gone to bed, the dim lights shining from their windows off. She'd walked the street twice before the panic began to set in. Then, as if sensing that she was only seconds away from shaking someone awake for directions, Sturges emerged from the shadows and greeted her with a gentle smile. He'd offered an arm to her, and although she declined the strange invitation, led her back to her home and bid her a goodnight.

It felt like ages ago. Had it been a week? Or two?

Lately, it seemed, Remi was having trouble keeping track of time.

"Thanks," she muttered a bit breathlessly. She shook the bottle, cringing only slightly at the near emptiness. She hadn't meant to toss almost all of it down her throat, but it did help to soothe the scorched sensation that had been building up throughout the day. "Sorry. I didn't realize I was so thirsty."

"Don't fret over it." Offering the same compassionate smile he usually wore around her, Sturges took the bottle and jutted his chin toward the remaining holes in the fence. "Why don't you leave those for Sasha? Might give her an excuse to leave that house."

And just like that, Remi's mood crumpled. She sighed, partly in annoyance and partly in exhaustion. Dropping the hammer against the fence, she strolled alongside Sturges as they began for her home. "I doubt she'll take even a step outside," she mused, frowning at the single light shining through the window in the distance. "I think she's convinced that everyone besides me has some kind of disease."

A hearty chuckle rumbled from Sturges' mouth. "I've noticed. We all have. You're sure you've never met her before?"

"Positive."

They came to a stop on the doorstep, an awkward silence filling the space between them. As much as Remi genuinely enjoyed his company, she despised parting ways. It was always the same routine: they would look at each other for a few moments, both waiting for the other to act, and Remi would eventually open her mouth.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

The dejection was obvious on Sturges' face. His mouth, which had flashed a frown, twitched before splitting into a forced smile. "Have a good night, Remi." Leaning downward, his lips pressed softly to her cheek before he turned and headed for the community house.

Sighing, Remi shook her head and entered her own home, only to come face-to-face with her new roommate. With striking blue eyes and long hair the same shade of blonde as Remi's, Sasha had only her looks going for her. She'd arrived alone at Sanctuary Hills three days before and, after being assigned to Remi's house by Preston, refused to leave or speak to anyone except Remi.

"Oh, hey," Remi greeted meekly, avoiding the doll-like stare that was being thrown her way.

"Why didn't you kiss him?" asked Sasha. She spoke as rapidly as always. Her sentences usually sounded as if they were a single, elongated word.

It took Remi a second to realize who Sasha was talking about. "Sturges? I-I don't know. We're not really like that with each other."

"Why not?"

Rolling her eyes, Remi stepped around her and started for the bedroom. "Don't you have something better to do than interrogate me?" she snapped. "Try talking to people for once!"

Remi sprawled out on her bed, a deep yawn escaping her mouth. A stubborn feeling of guilt gnawed at her for the way she treated Sasha. When the timid girl had first wandered into the settlement, trembling and doe-eyed, Remi pitied her. She'd been new not long ago and once MacCready had left, it took everything she had in her to adjust. So when Sasha immediately approached her and introduced herself, Remi had pushed herself to come across as amiably as she possibly could.

But after a day and a half of Sasha's constant stream of personal questions and infuriating habit of watching Remi like a hawk, she had snapped. The false pretenses had shattered.

Gazing at her cracked ceiling, Remi forced Sasha from her mind and thought of MacCready. Although she wouldn't admit it, she missed him terribly. Since his departure, she wondered every day for two weeks where he'd gone and if he was even still alive. For a while, she kept her hopes high that he would send word of his journey, but after a week of silence, Remi gave up and did her best to push out the nagging desire to just hear his voice.

Yet, her best was never enough. His face still managed to flicker through her mind multiple times a day.

A knock at the bedroom door hushed Remi's thoughts. "Remi?" came Sasha's voice. "Are you sleeping?"

"Oh my God," Remi mouthed, rolling over to face her back toward the door. Just as it opened, she closed her eyes, feigning sleep.

"Remi?" Sasha whispered as she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. With a cautious shake, she repeated the name until Remi opened her eyes and narrowed them to a glare.

Through gritted teeth, she hissed, "What?"

"I just really think you should have kissed Sturges," Sasha scolded. The maternal tone only added fuel to Remi's ire. "I mean, he really likes you. It's easy to tell."

Lodging her teeth into the inside of her cheek, Remi sat up and caught Sasha's gaze through the dim light of a candle struggling to remain aflame in the corner. There were so many things Remi wanted to say – yell, rather. After giving herself a moment to collect herself, she decided to express herself in a way Nora would. Cool, calm, and definitely not on the verge of ripping Sasha's head off.

"I have been awake for a very long time," she said in the softest way she could muster. "I'm exhausted and talking about my nonexistent relationship with Sturges is the last thing I feel like doing right now." Something inside her cracked. "So, I suggest you give me some peace and quiet, and leave me the fuck alone for the night."

Even in the darkness of the room, Remi could see the hurt on Sasha's face. She looked as if Remi had just slapped her. Still, the questions continued.

"There's someone else, isn't there?" Sasha accused. "You need to stop leading Sturges on then." Turning sharply, she bolted from the room without giving Remi a chance to stutter out an answer, slamming the door shut behind her.

Remi let out a petulant huff and sank back against the mattress. For hours, she tossed and turned as Sasha's words ate at her. It was so absurd to think that there was someone else. That wasn't the reason why she turned down Sturges' advances. Then again, what were the reasons?

Sturges was the sweetest man Remi had ever met, aside from Preston. He was strong, capable, and more than willing to drop his projects when she asked him for help with chores that required more muscle than she had. Always concerned for her safety, he was adamant about walking her home after the sun had set. He'd even proposed the idea of teaching her how to shoot a gun, though she was still undecided about that.

Logically, she should have been undeniably attracted to him. Lingering on every word that came out of his mouth. Scrounging for seconds to spend with him. But that wasn't Remi's reality – not in the slightest.

She couldn't give herself to Sturges when MacCready constantly plagued her thoughts.

Maybe Sasha was right, Remi reflected as her heavy eyelids shut for the final time that night. Maybe there was someone else.

(~)

There was the knocking again.

Remi stirred, wiped the fresh trail of drool from her cheek, and dragged herself from her bed. She found herself astonished that the sound wasn't coming from her bedroom door, but the front door instead. That meant someone other than Sasha was the reason why she was rising with the sun.

Half asleep, Remi made her way into the hallway, groaning inwardly at the booming snores coming from Sasha's room. Of course she wouldn't wake as easily as Remi. Or was she simply faking it to get out of answering the door? Remi didn't doubt it.

The knocking was relentless when Remi entered the living room. "Okay, okay!" she called out. "I only want to move so fast!"

The moment she opened the door, time crept to a halt. Sporting his signature cocky grin and a new cut just below his left eye, MacCready stood before her, looking as drained as she felt. A breath caught in Remi's throat as she stared him down.

No, she figured. This was a dream. It had to be. She was still sound asleep in her bed.

And so, she closed the door only to jolt at the sound of three more knocks.

"Should I come back later?" MacCready suggested, his voice muffled.

Remi panicked and, not wanting to give the impression that she didn't want to see him, yanked the door open once more. "Am I dreaming or are you real?" she demanded to know.

MacCready offered his hands to her, palms facing upward. "I'm about as real as it gets," he said, his grin appearing again. She touched him gingerly at first. Starting from his calloused fingertips, Remi felt as skin as if he were made of the finest glass, and eventually pressed her palms against his. "Remi, are you okay? You're kind of freaking me out here."

Remi met his apprehensive stare and cracked a smile of her own. "Yeah, I'm fine," she whispered. "I'm just...Holy fuck, you're alive!"

Nudging his hands to his sides, she brought herself into him. They moved in sync, it seemed. As Remi circled her arms around his waist, MacCready snaked his around her shoulders and drew her in closer. She took in his scent of cigarettes and gunpowder, and noted the warmth radiating from his skin.

It clicked.

Sturges wasn't warm in his touch. His fingers were always icy, his arms chilly. Even his lips left a cold imprint on her skin.

But MacCready had always been warm and it had left Remi craving.

"Remi? You okay out here? I thought I heard a guy-"

Emerging from the hallway, Sasha froze in her tracks at the sight of the embrace. MacCready peered over the top of Remi's head, let out an almost inaudible gasp, and immediately took a step back. Remi, absolutely bewildered, looked between the two before speaking up.

"Uh, do you want to come in for a bit?" she asked MacCready, who continued to gaze at Sasha as if she were a ghost.

"Actually," he replied, bringing his gaze back to Remi's, "let's go for a walk. Sunrises are the best part of the day."

Remi snatched the opportunity without hesitation. She would be able to talk with him and Sasha wouldn't be around. It almost seemed too good to be true.

Together, she and MacCready ventured out into the neighborhood, waving to Preston as he passed by with a scowling Marcy. The woman had yet to treat Remi any differently than the day they met. Marcy simply ignored her presence and Remi was more than content with it.

"I'm honestly surprised that you answered the door," MacCready confessed as they headed toward the massive tree at the end of the street. "I figured you would have escaped once I left."

Remi shrugged and stuffed her hands into her pockets. "It's not so bad here. I haven't been murdered yet and everyone is pretty nice. Well, except Marcy. She'll probably be the one to murder me when the time comes."

A brisk wind danced between the two. Remi flexed her fingers, trying to imagine the warmth of her hand in MacCready's. Would he think it weird, she wondered, if she reached out for it? She decided against it and soldiered on.

"She did lose her kid not too long ago," MacCready defended. His gaze fell to the ground in front of them, a distant sadness about his eyes. "I can't imagine what she's going through right now."

Remi kicked at a rock, watched it land a few feet away, and came to a stop. She turned to admire the the view of Sanctuary Hills from the hill they'd trekked up. Fresh sunlight blazed into the settlement, illuminating surfaces of houses and casting shadows on others.

"I'm glad you didn't leave," MacCready commented. He stood a foot away from her, watching her watch the community. Even from that distance, she could've sworn she felt his heat. "I wouldn't have been able to find you if you did."

"You were looking for me?" Remi threw him a confused sideways glance. "Why?"

MacCready fished into his own pocket and produced a pair of cigarettes. He handed one to Remi and placed the other between his lips. She nearly jumped for joy; finding a spare cigarette in Sanctuary Hills was like surviving a nuclear winter. It just didn't happen. So when MacCready lit hers with a dented flip lighter and she pulled in a long drag, she had to fight the urge to kiss him right then and there.

"I was actually looking for Nora," he admitted before lifting a fist to his mouth to stifle a yawn. "But Preston told me she isn't here. I figured I'd stop by and see how you're holding up."

The pang of jealousy that Remi considered to be long gone hit her hard. The only pro to MacCready being away was that she didn't have to feel that way. She was fully aware that it was irrational – there was nothing between him and Nora – but she couldn't help it.

"I'm, uh, holding up just fine, as far as I can tell." Beside the creepy roommate and a man who she would soon need to disappoint. "I just keep to myself for the most part. Why were you looking for Nora?"

"I need her help with something."

"What kind of something?"

MacCready shook his head, chuckling. "Since when did you become so nosy?" he teased. "If you must know, I found some medicine for...someone who really needs it, but I can't get to it alone."

Remi's eyes flashed to his, her face alight. "I can help. Hey, don't give me that look! I'm good for more than just fixing holes in fences." She paused, the sight of Sasha peering out the window of the house catching her attention. "I need time away from that one, too. She's driving me nuts."

Nodding the moment he saw who Remi was looking at, MacCready snuffed out the rest of his cigarette on the bottom of his boot and tapped it back into the pack.

"We can leave now if you're ready."

"Let's do it."