Author Note: You guys are being awesome for reading my story. Seriously. I actually hit 1000 visitors just at the end of April and I gotta say thank you all for reading this story. Anyway, there are still plenty of chapters to go around. Hopefully this one isn't too silly or weird.

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 17: A Little Bit of Green

The King rested his cool gray eyes on the courier as she bent over to take another shot at sinking her ball. She was horrible at this game. The woman knew how to angle her shots properly, but her problem was that she used too much power sometimes. The King shook his head with amusement as she tapped the cue ball too harshly and it went flying off the pool table. Catching a murmur of curses erupting from her, he leaned down and grasped the white ball and stood. Raven was annoyed and discouraged, and the King was loving every minute of it.

"I really hate this game." she said.

He walked over to her side and said, "You're too tense. You can't always be so rough with it."

Raven raised a brow. "Rough? That was me being gentle."

"Oh good grief, woman," he snickered. "Let me show you." The King put the cue ball on the table, went behind her and said, "Now bend over."

"What?"

The King had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Line up your shot."

"Oh," she said before leaning over the table and aimed her pool stick at the white ball. "Ok, now what?"

The King felt her body tense underneath him when he hovered above her, mirroring her hands with his. "Relax your muscles. Pace your breathing. Take your time with the shot; be patient," the King whispered gently in her ear. "There are some things that require a softer touch."

"Like using a sniper rifle?" she asked.

"No." he replied. "Don't think about this like using a gun."

"I'm not," said the courier. "My mind is elsewhere at the moment."

The tone in her voice clued him in as to what she was really thinking about. "Oh really? And where is your mind right now, Miss Wagner?"

Raven pulled the cue stick back and forth a little, readying her shot. "That's for me to know and for you to find out..." her body relaxed under him and the tip of her cue stick hit the ball, causing it to hit another. The ball fell into one of the corner holes perfectly, "...when I feel like telling you."

"Excellent shot," the King commented, not ready to get up just yet. "Maybe you'll tell me over dinner?"

"Oh yeah, about that," Raven inhaled sharply. "I wasn't really asking you on a date."

"Hmm," he muttered. "That's a shame. And here I was thinking we'd share a good night kiss after dinner."

Raven shot up suddenly, accidentally bonking the back of her head into the King's face. "Ouch!" she turned and shot him a shocked expression. "Oh shit, I'm sorry!"

He laughed as he checked his mouth for blood. "Oh, you got me good. You're a force to be reckoned with even when you're not trying," which caused more laughter to fill the room. "Is your head ok?"

"Don't worry about my head," she pointed out. "Is your mouth ok? Did I hurt you?"

The King's lips stung with pain. "Not too bad, actually. I'll live.

Just then, one of the doors to his room opened. It was one of the King's groupies, Amelia. "King? Is everything alright?" she said, her tone thick with a southern accent. "I heard a commotion that caused me a fright."

"I'm just fine, darlin'. Nothing to worry about," he said. He looked over at Amelia with a reassuring smile, and she went back into her room. Then the King turned back to Raven and shrugged. "They worry about me so much these days."

"I'll bet they do," Raven said with a coldness in her tone. "What exactly is their job here, anyway?"

Was that a bit of jealousy in her voice? The King rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. "Well, uh...they provide certain services for my Kings...and me, on occasion."

"Hookers?"

"That's one way of putting it, I guess," replied the King. "Crudely, though."

Raven leaned against the pool table, arms crossed, and stared at the floor for a few moments. "Huh. I see."

"We should finish the game," he said to change the subject.

"Actually," she spoke up gently, "I should probably get going. I'm pretty tired."

The King brushed back his hair, feeling the texture. It was weird not having hair gel in it. "I could set you up with a bed here."

"No thanks," the courier held up a hand to decline. "I wouldn't want to prove Pacer right or anything..." she said before walking away from the table toward the direction of the door.

The King watched her leave. Why was she so mad? He leaned against the pool table before smashing his fist down on it. And even more, why did the girl upset him so much? Raven drove him up the wall with her constant changing emotions and it often left him confused, angry, and with an ache that he didn't want to look at too closely. He was well aware of what he felt but the King wasn't going to give into his emotions that easily. So he was going to do something to distract him from his thoughts. The King walked to the groupies' door and opened it.

"Tell me again why I'm doing this," Boone commented as he followed Raven down the road.

"Because you don't want to miss out a very good meal," the courier replied. "Mirelurk Casserole is absolutely delicious."

Raven and Boone were going to Elizabeth's house for dinner. This was where Raven originally wanted to bring the King for dinner, but seeing as how she was fuming at the man she decided it best not to bring him with. Instead, she was bringing Boone. Raven stared at her feet as she walked, lugging a package of fresh mirelurk meat in her hands. She was not going to think about the King right now, and was grateful when Boone took her away from those thoughts.

"Fine, but I don't like being around other people."

Raven rolled her eyes. "Would you relax? It's just Elizabeth and her two kids."

"...Why are you doing this?" he asked.

The courier paused then looked at him. "Because Elizabeth is my sister-in-law, so she's family. And I haven't seen the kids since they were very little."

"...Oh..." was all Boone could say.

As they traveled along the dismantled road near Camp Golf, the courier saw a swing set in the distance. Some kids were playing by it and Raven smiled when she saw Elizabeth with them. As the sniper and the courier neared the area, however, the woman stopped dead in her tracks when she saw more people at a picnic table nearby. One of them she recognized immediately and her heart skipped a beat. What was the King doing there? Elizabeth seemed to notice the two travelers and she waved at them both. Raven resumed her pace and smiled happily when the two children saw her and went running toward her.

"Raven!" the young girl yelled and she jumped onto the courier. Raven wrapped her arms around her niece and chuckled.

"Nora, you've gotten so big!" she exclaimed.

The older boy ran up to them both and practically tackled the courier to the ground. "Aunt Raven! We're so glad to see you!"

Raven hugged them both and smiled enthusiastically. "I can see that." She let them go and stared down at them. "You both are huge! Look at you! Jason, you're almost as tall as me! How old are you both now?"

Jason put his hands on his hips confidently, as if striking a pose. "Almost 13 now, and Nora is 10."

Boone stood behind Raven uncomfortably and Raven turned to him. "Nora, Jason...this is a friend of mine. His name is Boone." she tried hard not to laugh. "Boone, this is Nora and Jason."

"He doesn't look very happy," Nora stated when Boone just stood still.

Raven whispered to both her niece and nephew. "He's just shy. But you know what? You should push him into the lake later. He likes that."

"I can hear you," Boone spoke up.

Both the children giggled and Raven winked at them both before lifting her head to see Elizabeth walking toward them. Raven stood completely and waved. "Jason, Nora," said Elizabeth. "Why don't you two go play some more? I need to speak with your aunt."

They did as they were told and went galloping off toward the picnic table. Raven looked at Lizzy with a quizzical expression. "I brought some meat for the casserole. Guess we'll have to cook it over a campfire, though."

"No problem, but Raven...I need to tell you something. Chief Hanlon is here," the emphasis rousing suspicion in the courier.

"Um, alright. What's wrong with that?"

Lizzy looked pale. "You never met him?"

Raven shook her head. "Do I know him or something?"

Lizzy bowed her head a little and sighed. "Oh boy. How do I explain this? Um..."

The man who was the topic of that specific discussion made his way over to the three, leaving the King at the table. Raven looked at the man walking over and her blood ran cold as recognition set in. He had a beard, but the man's face could never be forgotten by the courier. Nor the look in his eyes. He was older and had more wrinkles, but the identity of him was unmistakeable. The King stared over at Raven with a distinct smile but Raven ignored it completely. Her green eyes stayed on the old man who shared the same color in his own.

"Raven. It's so good to see you." said Chief Hanlon.

The courier crossed her arms and stared viciously at the man before her. "Lizzy, what the hell is he doing here?"

"Now, Raven. It's been 6 years," Lizzy explained. "Let's put the past behind us and try to have a nice time here."

"I agree with the Major completely," Hanlon remarked. "Water under the bridge."

Boone suddenly spoke up as he watched the scene unfold. "Am I missing something here?"

Raven backed up a little before turning her gaze to Boone. "Boone, this is Elizabeth Kieran. And this is Chief Hanlon.."

Raven stepped away from all of them toward the picnic table.

The King smiled when he saw Raven walk toward him, but the smile faded when she sat down at the table with a huff and a slam of a bag on the wood. She narrowed her eyes at the King and asked, "And what are you doing here?"

"The Major invited me. I gotta tell you, though. Your niece and nephew are just the sweetest kids I-"

He was cut off when Raven removed herself from the table and began walking toward the shore of Lake Mead. The King's face crinkled with confusion before lifting himself and chasing after the woman. He followed her as the hill of the picnic grounds descended to the shore and the King's eyes followed her every move as she reached the sand. Raven paced back and forth, muttering words to herself and looking like she was about to explode. The King carefully stepped near her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Raven stopped where she was but kept her back to the man. Her shoulders began to shudder and the King frowned.

"If you don't want me here, Miss Wagner, I ca-"

"No, it's fine. I'm not mad that you're here. Not really," her voice choked. "I'm...glad that you're here, actually. I need a distraction."

The King didn't understand what she meant until she turned to face him. He saw wet cheeks and red, puffy eyes, but that was nothing more than a shock compared to her next action. The courier pulled him to her by the collar of his jacket and pressed her lips against his eagerly. He thought this display of affection was only brought on by her current emotional state, but the King felt his arms envelop her smaller frame. He couldn't help but embrace her mouth with his own and taste the sweetness of her lips, if only for a little while. This gesture brought about a fiery passion in her and the heat of her kiss burned generously on his lips, and that fantastically hungry burn traveled down to the King's loins. The sudden twitch he felt brought him back to his senses and he removed his mouth from hers by backing away.

"Whoa, easy there. Let's slow down for a minute," he said.

Raven covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that," she said shamefully. "You must think I'm some sort of a nut job."

Her laughing and crying at the same time made the King pull her to him and he held her gently against his chest. "Far from it," he comforted. "But I feel like you shouldn't kiss me only because you need a distraction." the King kissed the top of her head. "I'm all for distractions but I know you're the kind of woman who needs so much more than that, who deserves more than that. When you left the other night I started thinking about this and you know what I realized?"

Her face buried into his shoulder and she sniffled. "What?"

The King pulled the courier back a little and lifted her face with a finger under her chin, "I want this thing we have between us, but I won't pursue it unless you want it too."

Raven smiled at him for a moment, but then she looked away. "We should clarify what 'we' want."

"Oh good lord, do I have to spell it out for you?" he laughed.

"Yes," she said harshly. "I want to make sure we're on the same page, because I sure as hell don't want to be one of your 'groupies'. I want to be..." she frowned up at him, "...more to you than just a roll in the hay."

The King grinned in amusement. "Woman, why do you think I agreed to go to dinner with you thinking it was a date? Didn't anyone tell you that I've only 'dated' one woman ever?" When Raven shook her head, the King barked with laughter. "I don't date unless I'm dead serious about someone. See? I have standards."

Raven glared up at him playfully. "That's a shock."

The King put his hand over his heart and took a step back, acting like he was having palpitations. "Was that sarcasm? Oh goodness gracious, I think the world really is ending. Lord have mercy." he said as the King plopped down in the sand.

Raven crossed her arms over her chest and tried to hide a smile. "You're an ass."

The King looked up at her with feigned shock. "Oh, now she insults me? Now I've seen everything!" He felt victorious when she began to laugh. He tilted his head up at her and grinned. "There. Feel better?"

"A bit, yeah. Now that I know you can act like an idiot."

"Ooohoohoo," he laughed. "Ouch." the King said. He stood up and brushed off some sand before holding his hand out to her. "Well, don't tell anyone about it. I do have a reputation to uphold, you know."

"My lips are sealed," said the courier. She took the King's hand and he kissed it before letting it go.

"Good. Now...if I may ask, why did you need the distraction?"

Raven sighed. "That guy that was at the table, Chief Hanlon?"

"What about him?"

She looked the King dead in the eye with a serious gaze. "He's my father."

Please review so I know if anyone was too OOC because some of you had issues with that. I think I may have been pushing it with the King near the end there but I figured a lighter, more playful and flirty side to him was needed. I hope some of you are satisfied now that they had a kiss, haha.