Author's Note: Ok, I know there have been some issues with the site so for the last two chapters, I have no idea if anyone's been reading them or not so I sent out a message to all the readers who subscribed to my story, who added a review, who added the story to any of their lists, etc, in case the alerts were not going through. So, yeah. Anyway, I hope you guys liked Chapter 10. I felt I needed to put a bit of myself in there. The singing, mostly. Yeah, I can sing. With all my low self-esteem issues, I can afford to be cocky and boast about my singing skills.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fallout characters, nor the source material. The only character who came from my own imagination is the name and personality of the Courier, (and I don't own the "Courier" name, either). Oh, and I will probably make some references to Elvis Presley and his songs(and I don't own those either).

Chapter 11: Just Because

"That song," a spectator mentioned to Raven, "was a damn good song!" The King watched with bemused eyes as he watched the performer get encircled by a crowd.

"You should be singing professionally!" another person exclaimed.

The King kept his eyes on her when Raven met his gaze. Mild curiosity played at her features before once again getting swept away by all the new fans she had acquired. The King turned back to his drink and took a small sip. He lowered his glass when Rex lifted his paws on the counter and started licking the King's cheek.

"Hey there Rexie..." he said. He turned and looked at the dog. "How's my best pal doing?"

As if Rex understood, he barked and panted happily. After a few minutes, Raven sat down on a stool by the King. Rex was now between the two people, and she traced the tips of her nails along Rex's neck. He leaned appreciatively and she smiled softly.

"So, Mr. King..." she paused, as if she was unsure. "...how are you?"

The King wasn't sure what Raven was asking him. He stared at her for a few moments, weighing her question in his head. The look in her intense green eyes was enough to unnerve him but he ignored it for the moment. How was he, really? For the first time in a long time, the King was out of touch with himself. It baffled him a little, quite frankly. Then again, so much had happened before she even showed up. The King was tired and emotionally drained from the arrogance of the NCR, from Pacer's irritability, from Rex's worsening condition...any indication of his inner turmoil was carefully hidden with a cool, collected smirk.

"I am well, Miss Wagner. How are you?"

"I suppose I could be better, but I'll live." she replied. The King swore he caught a touch of bitterness in her voice.

"Anything I can help you with?" he asked politely.

The question seemed to catch her off guard because Raven suddenly averted her eyes to the counter. "I...don't know, to be perfectly honest."

Before he could say anything else, the crowd began asking for an encore from both Raven and the King. They both turned to the people and the King smiled softly. They were asking for a duet, probably. He knew Pacer would not be happy with it, but...well, both him and Pacer needed to move on from the past. His thoughts drifted to his old duet partner, one with golden locks and creamy white skin. Still, the man wasn't sure if he was ready to move forward, at least in the respect of sharing the stage with someone else. He raised a hand to silence the crowd.

"Another time, perhaps," he spoke. "But unless Miss Wagner here wants to continue with the entertainment, I'd be more than happy to continue singing for you fellas tonight."

He turned to look at Raven, and she smiled at him before playfully socking him on in the shoulder. "Bah, this is your night to sing. Go on. I think I'm done for tonight anyway."

He nodded and stood, but he leaned toward her and whispered. "Perhaps you could stay and then we can talk afterward?"

Again, Raven looked as if she didn't know what to say. "I, well...sure. Ok." she stammered.

The King's lips shifted into his well known smirk. "Alright, I'll see you later."

When he took himself away from her and strutted toward the stage, he began thinking many things.

The bar was quiet now with chairs resting upside down on the tables. The lights were dimmed and most of the bar stools were empty. Everyone was either asleep or they went home hours ago, save for a few patrons. The echoes of chatter had significantly decreased in comparison to the King's long awaited return to the stage and Raven's debut in Freeside, and laughter coated with whiskey and scotch escaped both of the singer's lips occasionally.

"So then what did you do?" Raven asked.

"I told him he was crazy if he thought he could outperform me," the King replied. "I suggested a contest between the two of us, and the next night we performed right here at the Wrangler." The King took a drink of his scotch. "I wiped the floor with him, needless to say."

"And that's how you became the King instead of Pacer. Interesting," she said. "I have to say," she paused to drink her whiskey, "that I'm glad you won the title. No offense to Pacer, but I don't think he could run Freeside as well as you have."

"Ah, don't be so hard on him. He wasn't always this mistrusting of strangers," said the King.

Raven rested her cheek in her hand with an elbow set on the bar counter. "So what changed, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Someone tried to have me killed." he said.

Raven took another shot of her drink. "Who?" the girl asked with shock.

"Just some NCR grunt," the King said calmly, not wanting to get into the details.

"Oooooh," Raven replied with a heavy tone of realization. "That's why you both hate the NCR so much?"

The King fiddled with his glass. "Don't get me wrong. I don't really hate the NCR. They probably mean well but some of their soldiers have 'the end justifies the means' mentality." he explained.

"I know exactly what you mean."

"Do you?" he asked, taking a drink of his scotch. "Care to enlighten me, Miss Wagner?"

Raven turned around in her seat and leaned her back against the counter, resting her elbows in the wooden edge of it. "Well..." she started. "I don't want to bore you with the details but I became a means to an end not that long ago. Almost killed me, too. He wasn't NCR but he should have asked for my cooperation. I would have gladly helped even though he tried to kill me."

"So what happened to him?"

He eyed Raven's motions, watching her eyelids droop and her head lower. "...He got away. I've been on his tail ever since, which is what brought me to Freeside in the first place. His end is going to be more than just an 18-karat run of bad luck compared to what he did to me," she spoke with bitterness and hatred in her voice, and her eyes drifted over to the King. "He's going to wish that he'd never gambled in the first place." There was a heaviness in the air; subtle, but it was enough to make Raven appear uncomfortable. "Anyway, I have plenty of time before I catch up to him. So, your school is...interesting. What can you tell me about it?"

The two engaged in conversation for quite a while, mostly with the King answering all her questions about the school, the Kings, Freeside, the Strip, the man behind the name of the school, and many other things. It had been awhile since someone asked so much about things that were considered mundane and trivial these days, but it was nice. It took the King's mind away from the bothersome details of his current problems, even when Raven asked about some of his personal history. He didn't like talking about himself too much, but when she posed the questions about the man behind The Kings, he didn't object. To say the least, the King found Raven Wagner to be quite pleasant with conversation. It was a rare characteristic in the Mojave Wasteland. Hell, he'd been to a lot of places. Her insistence to know and help people, the polite attitude she addressed him as 'Mr. King', and just the way she seemed to survive whatever life threw at her; all of those things were hard to find in a person no matter where he went.

"I think our knowledge of each other is unbalanced, Miss Wagner. You know a bit about me yet I know very little about you." the King brought up.

Raven slid her finger along the rim of her bottle slowly before answering. "You have a point. But I asked you questions because I would like to know you better," her finger stopped and the King hid his amusement when she looked flustered. "Not that I want to be close or anything, I mean...I, uh...well, I just make it a point to know people better. I like to know who I'm dealing with, not the other way around."

"I see. It's strictly tactical and strategy-based. Measuring us all if we'll be friends or enemies"

"That's one way of saying it, yeah."

"So...what am I to you?" he asked.

Raven eyed the King, looking as if she was mulling her thoughts over. "I'm still on the fence about you. I mean, you'll probably become a friend, but...well, the last time I placed trust in someone so quickly, before really getting to know someone..." she looked into his eyes for a moment before pointing to the scar on her forehead, "...I was left for dead in a grave. Luckily, some doctor in Goodsprings patched me right up after a Securitron found me."

"Goodsprings?" the King thought to himself. "Wasn't that town mentioned on the radio not that long ago? Something about a courier getting shot in the head?" Then the puzzle pieces clicked together. "Oh, you're that courier Mr. New Vegas was talking about on the radio. So, I take it that guy you're going after is the same one who shot you?"

"Yes, and yes."

The King shook his head, both from amazement and sympathy. "Miss Wagner, you really are something."

Ok, so...I didn't know how this was going to go and it's a short chapter, but it was tricky for me. I don't know if it's a good chapter or not but I've been on this for a bit and I know you guys are just waiting to read the next one. The following chapter shouldn't be so...choppy.