Prompt 19: Mutual Pining (Magnus/Arcade Gannon)
Hey there all you wonderful readers, welcome back to Mojave Snapshots! I have been having such a fun time writing this series so far, and I seriously hope you have been having just as much fun reading them. Anyway, on with the story!
I do not own Fallout: New Vegas, that belongs to Obsidian and Bethesda
As the midnight oil was being burnt, Arcade Gannon found himself sitting at a desk in the Lucky 38, pouring over maps of the Hoover Dam and several notes and plans from Yes Man and the New California Republic. Now with Mr House out of the way, one of the biggest plans of all time was about to commence; taking the Mojave for the Mojave. It was definitely risky and full of traps and blind spots, but the Followers doctor was not one for taking the easy road.
A small sigh escaped his lips, as the words on the page started to blur together and form an incoherent mess. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose; how long had he been sitting here thinking up plans? Days, at least.
Putting his glasses back on, he found himself staring across the other side of the room, catching the attention of the only other person awake at this time, Magnus. The Courier was currently dressed in only a dirty singlet and loose pants, showing off his muscles in the dull light of the Lucky 38, as he was fixing up some of his weapons. Arcade found himself staring, watching Magnus' muscles contort and strain as he polished and fixed his weaponry, before quickly shaking his head. It was no good going to that train of thought, especially now when war was about to break out any second. And anyway, nothing like that could ever happen, especially if Magnus knew about his past…
Magnus let out a happy grunt, as he finished adding some duct tape to his machete. It was a crude fix up, he would be the first to admit that. But it would hold, at least for the time being. Placing the weapon carefully on the ground, Magnus slowly leaned back against the wall, taking a quick break. Exhaustion was hitting him pretty damn bad, which only made sense given he had been pulling all-nighters for the past week or so, trying to plan out this whole war coupe thingy. I mean it was just crazy on paper; going against both the Legion and the New California Republic and expecting to come away in victory? Damn crazy shit right there, it was. But it was the only solution that Magnus could see that wouldn't absolutely fuck up the Mojave. Well, any more than it already was.
A small smile soon graced the Courier's face, as his eyes landed on Arcade Gannon. Bless that amazing man, he really had been proving himself to be a major help in planning this whole thing out. And Magnus was not ashamed to admit, at least to himself, that he needed someone with Arcade's brains for this kind of thinking; after all, Magnus was many things, but a strategist was not one of them. He could charge enemies and cut them down, but he couldn't plan out flanks and surprise attacks and all that kind of shit. Just not something his brain could handle, even before he got part of it blown apart by that jack off Benny.
As he watched Arcade working hard on those plans, scribbling on paper and muttering to himself, Magnus found himself focusing on Arcade's lips, seeing him munch on his bottom lip as he was deep in thought. The Courier closed his eyes at that and nearly smashed his head right into the wall behind him, shutting those thoughts down as quickly as they were popping up. There was no way something like that could ever happen, not in a fucking lifetime and a half. Arcade would never like him in that way, no damn way. Magnus could barely fucking read or even speak Latin, and he damn sure wasn't a looker. And that wasn't even getting into the fact that his past would absolutely be a deal breaker. I mean who would wanna be with someone who had been a soldier for the Legion? Definitely not Arcade "Caesar is a raving lunatic" Gannon, that was for sure.
"Everything okay there?" Arcade stated, snapping Magnus out of his thoughts.
"Oh um...yeah." Magnus muttered, shaking his head slightly. "Just thinking, ya know?"
The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, as if waiting for the other person to say something, anything really. Arcade just gave a small smile, before returning to his work, scribbling away and muttering to himself. Magnus sat there silently for a while, watching Arcade working, before going back to fixing some of his weapons. Time to stop thinking about fantasy bullshit, and focus on the future.
And Prompt 19 for Mojave Snapshots is done and dusted! I have to be honest, I really enjoy writing Arcade and Magnus. They have got some really cool chemistry together and it's just been a blast writing them. But anyway, if you have been enjoying this series so far, don't be afraid to leave a review and let me know what you think! I hope to see all of you wonderful readers at the next Chapter.
Love,
The Desert Dancer