Elij woke to the sound of muffled voices from the outside. The first of the settlers had already woken up and gone back to work.
They still felt deeply exhausted, the last day's fight and march taken more of a toll on them than they first thought.
And there was also that hand, fingers drawing soothing circles on their back.
They scooted backwards a bit, that arm now draping over them as they nestled into the form of Hancock's body behind them.
His face was right at their neck now, his breath warming Elij's skin. "Do I have to get up?" they asked,
gently stroking the back of the ghouls hand that had come to rest against their chest. Elij could feel the soft vibrations of Hancock's silent laughter
as he was pressed against them. "We can wait until they break down the door. What do you think how long before they suspect I've gone feral on you?"
he rasped and Elij giggled. "Well I guess you didn't. I remain blessedly uneaten." "Yet." The teeth digging into their trapezius sent shivers down Elij's spine.
The bite was accompanied by a playful growl, evoking a warm tingling in the scavenger's belly, a low moan escaping their throat.
"Must .. get .. up." It took all of Elij's willpower to untangle themselves from man and blankets. They finally got up and started to put on their pants.
Under the ghoul's appreciative gaze they managed to find their boots and shrug into a shirt. He had sat up on the bed now, putting the blankets back into their pack.
"Gonna get a bucket of water for washing." Elij said looking back at the still half naked man behind them and slid out of the door, hinges screaming their protest loudly.
When they were clean and completely dressed once again the sun had risen completely promising another pleasant autumn day.
Most of the people in the settlement had taken up their guard positions or started to tend to the crops already,
but some of them were still inside the main building preparing things for the next meal or busying themselves with other unknowable duties.
None of them wanted a share of Elij's coffee but Hancock seemed to enjoy it almost as much as they did by now.
He'd still argue that there were more potent substances available if waking up was the goal of the exercise,
but the familiar bitterness of the warm drink still marked a ritual he had grown fond of. Elij had been right,
the snack cakes were a much better addition to their breakfast and when they left they were pleasantly full with their packs considerably lighter
for the supplies Elij had decided to leave with the settlers.
The woman Elij had talked to the day before had agreed to relay a message to the ghouls from the Slog when they'd see them next,
informing them that the raiders at the quarry had been taken care of. With that worry out of the way they were now heading south, back towards the city.
"Really random thought, but I wonder how the Brahmin are doing." Elij sighed, looking towards the southwest along the road they were travelling.
Hancock blinked at them. "The Brahmin?" Well, if ever someone had a random thought this should fit the bill.
Elij shrugged. "We got some at the Castle. Though you probably didn't pay much attention to them when we were last there."
It had not been long enough for that unpleasant and rainy day to disappear from Hancock's memory. With all the penned up anger and self hatred on his mind
when he had stormed into the place the last time he had to admit that he actually didn't pay much attention to the lifestock.
Not that it would be a thing he'd worry about now either. Elij continued with a sigh: "The other guys were completely useless with them. Who will milk them now?"
Their shoulders had slumped ever so slightly.
Hancock was puzzled as to why Elij would even care but apparently some parts of living at the castle had not been all that bad for them.
"I see", he said, "We have to get you back, to follow that dream of becoming a milkmaid."
Elij picked the idea up with a grin: "And milk the Commonwealth for all it's worth. Or wait, that's different. Still, I'm sure someone came around and took care of the beasties.
I just thought of it because .. well, I miss the milk in my coffee actually." Ah yes, coffee, they obviously still had their priorities straight.
Could Hancock imagine Elij being good with cattle? Well, why not, when they were not wading through rows of slain enemies,
shooting raiders and other undesirables their heart and hands were surprisingly gentle. The ghoul smiled. Still definitely not a milkmaid.
"Do I want to know what you're thinking about?" Elij squinted at him as if they could glean the reason for his smirk from looking just that little bit harder.
Now they wouldn't get the truth out of him that easily. "Tried to imagine you as a farmer.", he shrugged, "I've seen you fight though. Can't fool anyone that you wouldn't miss it."
Elij gave it some thought and decided Hancock was right. Being out here with him was dangerous, but it was also exhilarating and addictive.
And even if they could entertain the thought of settling down to a calmer, more peaceful life at some point they couldn't imagine Hancock being satisfied with it.
Even though he was potentially looking forward to centuries more in which he could have all the adventures he desired while they, well, Elij shook their head.
Sure, they might grow old. Or they might get themselves killed tomorrow. There was no way of knowing and for now they were well alive.
No use in getting depressed over some uncertain future.
Once more they walked in silence, the radio playing soft music that made their steps feel lighter.
Hancock was the first to hear the shout and splash from the other side of a hill on their left. He signaled to Elij to shut down the radio and they complied
while following him up the small rise. There the ghoul threw off his coat and ran down to the waterside leaving his shotgun behind.
Two wild dogs could be seen next to the river. One of the mutts had turned towards Hancock, foamy slobber dripping from its fangs.
Elij's shot went right through its eye, killing it in an instant. The other dog was hit in the side by two more bullets when it turned to flee.
Hancock had not even flinched, passing by the dead beasts to throw himself into the water. There was no movement on the surface now apart from the soft ripples of the current.
Elij considered following but it made little sense and they didn't need another person collecting radiation from the water unnecessarily.
As a ghoul that part at least wasn't a concern for Hancock, who now had dived under the surface, finally coming up again, holding a smaller form.
Elij quickly rifled through the contents of their pack. Two dry shirts, pants, a stimpack and materials to build a fire were quickly procured.
Hancock had carried the bundle to the shore. He was dripping wet and looked miserable. Elij knew he hated swimming, but his quick decision had potentially saved a life now.
"It's ok, let me.", they said, "Can you get a fire going?" Hancock nodded. Dry leaves and sticks were not hard to come by and with a dash of oil he quickly had a fire burning.
Taking off his wet clothes, pouring the torrent of dirty water from his boots he threw a worried glance towards his lover.
Elij had administered first aid to the child he had pulled from the stream. Apparently the little guy had been hunted by the dogs, falling into the water without being able to swim.
If they had not come by in exactly this moment the mutts would have found their meal a little downstream later.
As it was, the child was now breathing normally again, lying next to their fire under a borrowed shirt much too big for him, wrapped into a blanket.
Hancock's borrowed clothes fit him just fine at least. His coat had not gotten wet and the boots would soon enough be dry again too.
"I'm no expert," he rasped, "But shouldn't he wake up?" His dark eyes searched Elij's face. The scavenger shrugged. "Might be the shock.
I gave him a stimpack and got the water from his lungs I think. No idea how many rads he soaked up there, but shouldn't be too much.
Let's wait a little longer, otherwise we carry him." Hancock nodded: "Right. Can't have run too far, he's probably from a settlement nearby."
They decided to stay close to the fire while the clothes dried. The boy looked about 8 years old, but could have been younger or older for all Hancock knew.
He had never been really good with children. Not too many of those in Goodneighbor anyway. Ghouls tended to be sterile and a lot of the other inhabitants
just lived too violent and unsteady lives to entertain the thought of raising kids. It didn't take too long for the boy to stir and look at his rescuers with wide eyes.
He had been visibly shaken when seeing Hancock, but was quickly calmed by Elij, who gave him his now dry clothes back.
The child confirmed what they had suspected about him. He had strayed too far from the farm on which his parents laboured and gotten himself lost.
Apparently he had tried to find a treasure his older brother had told him about. Of course all that he did find in the end had been the two wild dogs
who had hunted him down to the water. The boy looked at Elij sheepishly and said: "Thanks for saving me.", in a small voice.
Elij shook their head. "Wasn't me who pulled you from the river." They inclined their head towards the ghoul who was back on his feet and had his shotgun shouldered.
"He did. You don't have to be afraid, ghouls are just people like you and me. Guess you haven't seen so many yet?"
The boy shook his head and tried again in a small voice: "Thank you mister." Hancock smiled amiably. "Don't worry kid.", he said, "Someone needs help, we help 'em.
Let's just get you home, hey?" Continuing south with the child trailing along between them Elij couldn't help but smile silently to themselves.
They were well familiar with Hancock joyfully taking on the dangers of the Commonwealth. Seeing him slightly unsure of handling kids,
but still trying to make the boy feel safe just made them love him more.
The kid himself seemed to have adjusted to the unfamiliar look of his saviours and had started to talk to them. Elij wondered if he ever stopped to breathe,
but then reminded themselves that he had almost stopped doing that completely before. There was no harm in letting the boy blather on some more.
They soon learned that his name was Sam and his older brother was Benjamin, he was seven years old and his dad had promised to teach him how to swim,
but hadn't done so yet. There was a pond on their farm though and his parents were afraid he might fall in and drown, which is silly,
because he's far too smart to fall into a stupid pond. Elij rolled their eyes. Rivers were apparently wicked enough that the same logic didn't apply.
They kept their mouth shut but rolled their eyes at Hancock who just grinned.
Sam looked at them with big curious eyes. "So you guys are real raiders?", he asked.
The answer came from both sides at the same time: "Yes!" - "No!" Elij and Hancock looked at each other.
The ghoul shook his head at the grinning scavenger and Elij relented: "Okay, I lied. We're not raiders. We are independent.
But the plain truth is, that Hancock there is actually a real Mayor. The most respectable politician in all of Goodneighbor." The ghoul coughed.
"Yeah, and what Elij here is not telling you, is that they're a real Minuteman." The boy blinked at them, looking slowly from one to the other, then shrugged.
"Oh well, but raiders would have been really cool." "Yeah, or pirates." Elij mused and Hancock grinned.
"Sexy pirate was always going to be my fallback if 'sexy mayor' didn't pan out.", he quipped.
It wasn't very surprising that the exchange had them confronted with a long explanation how raiders are actually far cooler than pirates.
But Minutemen, as Sam told it were not too bad either. He had seen one once and he had apparently been "totally badass."
The man in question had also been a bit scary, but he had bought some goods from his dad and left again. Ben even got to pet his dog, but Sam didn't dare.
Hancock frowned. Of course all that had been more than a month ago and they hadn't seen another Minuteman since then.
The boy's dad said they are good for nothing anyway, instead of asking them for help it's better to just get stuff done yourself. It elicited a sigh from Elij.
They had failed the people of the Commonwealth for too long. But now, with them and Hancock out here, maybe they'd be able to make a change for the better.
Nobody should feel like they had to fend only for themselves. Bringing a lost child home didn't seem like a bad start.
The little guy was awfully chatty, but in a way it was a welcome distraction on the road. They used to travel in silence so often,
just exchanging glances and short shouts of commands and encouragements when encountering enemies. This though was a rarely experienced levity.
The boy started to recognise parts of the environment along the way and the travellers knew they had to be close to the farm now.
When the attack came it came unexpectedly and fast. A section of the road had been blown out and they were forced to go around.
This was were the raiders had set up their trap. The first shot hit Elij in the thigh and they went down on one knee momentarily when the injured leg gave out.
Grunting in pain they rolled to the side taking cover, aiming their own rifle at the raider's head.
The woman ducked behind a boulder and Hancock pushed the boy behind Elij before taking cover himself.
His well timed grenade took out two of the attackers who had given away their position behind some trees.
Splinters were flying everywhere and Elij's ears rang with the sound of the explosion. "I wanna see." Sam was still behind them, one of his hands on the scavenger's back.
It was only a short firefight. Hancock's grenade had taken out two and Elij shot another man who had dared to lift his head to fire back at the ghoul.
Hancock left cover to go after another raider who seemingly tried to circle around to get a better aim at Elij.
It wasn't the most dangerous situation they had ever been in. The enemies were poorly armed and armoured and had gravely underestimated their foes.
It should have been easy.
The bullet barely grazed Elij's arm. It embedded itself in the kids head. His yelp of surprise was the last sound he should ever make.
The soft pressure of his hand left Elij's back. The sound of the small body hitting the dry grass was dull, almost an afterthought.
The scavenger turned around but there was nothing to be done. The happy chatter was over, the light had already left the kid's eyes.
All they could see was the entry wound like a bloody kiss on his forehead.
"No." Elij mouthed the word silently. "No." They had almost been there. The pain in their leg was momentarily forgotten as they whirled around, running towards the raider's position.
She was reloading. The butt of Elij's rifle hit her in the face, breaking her nose. Falling backwards, blood splurting from between her fingers Elij was on her,
bashing down with the rifle once more. When they stopped the woman's face was a mangled mess of flesh and bone.
The gunshots to their left had ended. It was silent once more apart from their laboured breathing.
Elij sat down next to their dead enemy, using a knife to remove the bullet from their leg.
They held the stimpack in their hand contemplating whether to use or save it when a gloved hand took it from them. Silently Hancock administered the stim.
The bleeding stopped almost immediately, one could almost see the wound closing. Elij didn't cry but their pained expression told the ghoul everything he needed to know.
He turned the dead raider over so her face was hidden against the ground, hair obscuring the damage done entirely.
Hugging Elij tight to his chest he waited until their breathing was slow and even again.
They wrapped the child's body in a blanket and Hancock picked him up. He had carried heavier burdens in the past.
The silence had returned to them and it felt oppressive now. Elij didn't know what they would tell the kid's parents.
They could barely understand the pain they would bring them by returning their son limp and lifeless. Leaving him behind was not an option though.
The parents had a right to know. Even if it was just a poor consolation having closure and the option to bury their child would be better than not knowing.
Elij told themselves this and yet, seeing the bundle over Hancock's shoulder they knew it was agony they'd bring and there would be no thanks for this.
The mother's wailing was hard to bear. The father just looked defeated. Elij's mouth was dry and they couldn't find the words to explain. What had even happened?
How could they have failed so badly? Hancock tried to offer help, but the boy's father just shook his head: "No, just go."
It felt like he wanted to say more, rave at them, scream, tell them how it's their fault, how people like them only brought trouble, but he kept silent.
Just go. That was easy enough. The older brother, Ben, was looking at them from inside the little shack. A frightened child, dirty face blotchy and tear streaked.
Elij turned away, Hancock following close after them.
Walking slowly they left the farm and the heartbroken family on it behind. Elij didn't feel like they could speak.
Their thoughts were circling around the encounter with the raiders. How could this happen, how could they not protect the boy?
It must have been their fault. Must have been. He should have been save. What good were they if they couldn't even protect one lone child.
Passing another ruin they motioned for Hancock indicating that they would investigate it. It was an old school, most rooms full of rubble and inaccessible.
When they were done killing the raiders that had taken up residence in the building Elij felt dirty. The place hurt them in their soul.
The raiders had been torturing people. Some weird cult shit had been going on in there.
Even Hancock looked uncomfortable at the sight of some of the torturing equipment and descriptions on terminals inside the building.
When they finally came upon some prisoners still held there it was at least a small consolation to be able to set these people free.
Maybe their ordeal would deter them from trying to join a raider gang again. It definitely had taken a toll on them.
Elij knew that a life as a farmer wasn't for everyone, but made sure to mention that the Minutemen were still recruiting.
That or trying to make a living as a guard in Diamond City would at least be somewhat safer options. Hancock suggested Goodneighbor naturally.
After all it still welcomed everyone as long as people behaved themselves inside the walls.
When they were on their way again and finally reached Bunker Hill it was dark and a brisk wind had started blowing.
Elij pulled their coat tighter around themselves and glanced over to Hancock with a bit of worry. He didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest.
They'd have to ask him if resistance to unpleasant weather was one of the advantages of being a ghoul. Or maybe they should get him a nice wooly scarf.
Winter would come sooner or later and it would only get colder. Just now though they wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in this man's arms
and forget about the awful turn this day had taken.
Hancock paid the innkeeper for their sleeping place inside the same old shack they had rested in before.
Armed with a bottle of vodka he sat down on the mattress next to Elij. Some light was filtering through gaps in the walls of the shack.
This thing would need some serious upgrade in isolation before it got any colder outside. He almost wished they'd have continued on to Goodneighbor,
but Elij had dragged their feet quite a bit and staying here for now seemed the kinder option. Elij took a big swig from the bottle, staring blankly ahead.
"Hey." Hancock's raspy voice was sympathetic. He carefully took the bottle out of Elij's hand, their fingers touching briefly. "You know it wasn't your fault, right?"
Elij looked at him as if he had gone insane. "Whose fault was it then? I should've done better.", they said a bitter tone in their voice.
The ghoul shook his head. "Shit happens out here. Life is dangerous and the kid should never have been there. Was no ones fault. Just … just the same old shit."
He too drank some of the searing liquid. A potent drink but it took some of the pain away. There had been some close calls when they cleared out the school building.
Elij had thrown themselves into fights with wild abandon. It almost looked as if part of them looked for a punishment for their perceived failure that day.
To lose them to such recklessness was not acceptable. They drank some more before putting the bottle away. None of them was really drunk,
but the sharp liquor helped soften the harsh edges of reality a bit. The shack was empty and silent but for their breathing, the rustling of their clothes.
They took off their coats and pulled the blankets from their packs. It was too dark to see each others face clearly.
Elij sounded remorseful when they apologized: "I made some pretty bad calls today. The school? I messed up there a couple of times. Endangered both of us. I'll try to be better."
Hancock's hand was on the side of their head, softly stroking the hair aside. Elij leaned into the touch and he felt a vague wetness against the palm of his hand.
"Nothing to lose but each other, right?", he rasped, leaning his forehead against theirs. "We better stock up on stims if you insist on fighting like this."
Elij barked out a laugh. "We better stock up on stims anyway, needed a couple earlier and we're almost out.
I'm still bruised all over and if I collect more scars people will soon think I'm a ghoul myself." "Far from it.", the ghoul softly ran a finger over Elij's face,
tracking the old scar that ran down their forehead, down to their left cheek. It was one reminder of their encounter with the ferals, back when their caravan had been torn to shreds.
"Sometimes I see you, I think I must be dreamin'." Elij was glad that it was too dark to see their blush. Under the blankets, close together they warmed each other's body and heart.