A Hundred Ways to Love You

by Acro111

So a ghoul walks into a bar and the bartender says, "We don't serve ghouls here" and the ghoul says, "that's fine, is the human fresh?" The Mayor of Goodneighbor is wrapped around the little finger of the General, and everyone knows that. Mostly one-shots with a few multi-chapter arcs here and there diving into how Hancock and Nora fell in love. Strays a little from canon.

14. Star

14. Star: Nora and Hancock stargaze

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Nora looked up at the vast, never ending sky. She'd taken first watch, as per usual, and even though she should have woken Hancock up an hour ago she couldn't peel her eyes away from the sky.

"See anything interesting?" Nora nearly jumped out of her skin.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked, holding a hand over her heart to keep it from bursting out of her chest. She absentmindedly fingered her neck where her ring once sat, and was reminded of the deed she'd done a week ago. Hancock was laying on the other side of the fire between them, looking at her.

"About an hour. Figured you were going to wake me." He answered, turning to lay on his side.

"Sorry." She turned back to look at the sky. "I was distracted."

"I could tell." Hancock laughed, "what, you didn't have stars back before the war?"

"Not really." Nora answered quietly. "Too much pollution."

"Well that sucks." Hancock deadpanned and it was Nora's turn to laugh. They settled into a comfortable silence. Nora's eyes crossed the horizon, searching for stars she used to know.

"Can I tell you something?" Nora asked, Hancock hummed in response, "I used to take Nate stargazing out in the country. My grandparents were from the midwest where pollution wasn't as bad. He may have been trained as a soldier to find his way by the stars, but he was absolutely rubbish at it." Hancock chuckled and Nora smiled. "We used to take Shaun out in the backyard and point out the constellations." She laced her hands together on her stomach. "We," she took a breath, lost in thought, "we both loved space. We even decorated the nursery with rocket ships and space-y things." Hancock said nothing. Nora turned to see if he'd fallen back asleep, but he was just watching her. Nora was thankful the glow of the fire masked her burning face. "Silly?"

He shook his head. "Cute." He answered with a curt nod.

Nora smiled and turned back to the sky. She remembered Nate using her love of astronomy to flirt with her. His voice hadn't plagued her thoughts since she'd buried him, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing yet.

"You should get some shut eye." Hancock groaned as he sat up. Nora hummed a response, letting her eyes flutter shut as she stared at the stars.