Warning: This chapter will be kind of graphic toward the end, just so you know. Lots of mature stuff going on, so this is your warning in case you want to skip it or something.

Chapter 30: If You Think I Don't Need You

It had been one week since Pacer's death, and Raven was stuck in her room at the Lucky 38 in a drunken stupor. Boone had left her alone for the most part, but there were a few times where he tried to get her sober and level headed. He had failed all those times. Raven was inconsolable at this point. She had managed to kill her boyfriend's best friend and she was not happy about it. Even if it was to save the King's life, she felt incredibly guilty and Boone knew this. He'd gone through something similar before, and watching it happen to Raven was not something he enjoyed. So he did the one thing he knew would help her out: go see the King and talk to him about it.

He walked into the King's School of Impersonation and looked around for the King. As usual, the King was in the stage room with Rex, watching one of his Kings perform. Boone walked over to the King and sat down in the chair at the same table as him. Rex growled once, then ignored Boone. Rex really hated guys with hats. The King looked at Boone and sighed.

"Hello, Boone. How are you doing?" asked the King.

"I'm all right. How about yourself?"

The King took a drink of his Nuka-Cola. "I'm fine, all things considered."

"Hm."

They both watched one of the Kings on stage in silence for a good while. Neither one of them wanting to say what was on their minds first. In this case, Boone was a much more patient man. He felt awkward just sitting here, but he wasn't going to speak until the King spoke up about Raven. Finally the King broke the silence.

"How is she?" asked the King.

Boone took a deep breath. "Why don't you go see for yourself?"

"That bad, huh?"

Boone nodded. "You really should go talk to her."

"And what would I say to her, exactly? That she shouldn't feel bad for killing my best friend?"

Boone scoffed. "She did save your life, you know."

"Be that as it may, it's still her fault that Pacer's dead."

"Even though he was going to shoot you."

"...That's debatable."

"Bullshit."

The King grunted and took a drink of his cola, then stood up. "I'm not ready to speak to her."

Boone stood up as well. "Well, I don't know how much longer she's going to be around so you better go talk to her soon."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked the King, now genuinely concerned. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that once she's good and sober, Raven's gonna go after the guy that shot her in the head, and she probably won't make it back alive."

"That's absurd. Raven doesn't go on...suicide missions."

Boone chuckled. "Then you don't know her very well. You don't seem to understand that the girl has a death wish. Literally." Boone pressed his hands on the table and leaned forward a little. "She told me that she wanted to die...wanted to correct the mistake that this 'Benny' guy made when he failed to kill her. But that was before she met you."

"I don't understand."

"Why the hell do you think she's been going around doing all these favors for people? It's her last will and testament or some shit like that. To make people's lives better before she dies. And soon she's going to go to the Tops casino and kill this Benny guy and probably get herself killed in the process. But some time after she met you and got close with you, she stopped talking about doing that mission. Hell, when you two started dating, she stopped talking about revenge completely. You were giving her a reason to not die, understand?"

The King sat back down in his chair, looking shocked. "I...I didn't realize she...alright. I'll go talk to her."

Just then, a cowboy Securitron came rolling in. Everyone turned their heads and stared at the machine. The robot rolled up to the King. "Well, this must be the man they call the King. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. King." the southern accent was thick in the voice.

"Who are you?" asked the King.

"Oh, my name is Victor. I just came rollin' into town lookin' for Mr. Boone because Miss Wagner asked me to give him a message."

Boone took a step toward the robot. "What was the message?"

The robot stood still and his face went blank. Soon a green line appeared on the screen and it started to wiggle as a few inaudible sounds were heard from it.

"Hey, Boone. I uh...by the time you get this message, I won't be at the Lucky 38 anymore. I'll be heading to the Tops to go after Benny. You and I...we had a really good run, buddy. We always had each other's backs from day one." A small laugh was heard, and Boone sat down in his chair. "I'm not going to get all mushy on you or anything, but...well...in my entire life, you were the best friend I'd ever had, Boone. A real pal, that you were. But...if you could do me this one last favor and do something for me? Nothing too big, I suppose. But...tell the King that I..." there was a long pause and a hush of breath before the message continued, "tell the King that I'm sorry for Pacer, for everything that I did wrong. Tell him that he made me so happy..." the sounds of small cries were heard, and the King lowered his head in shame. The message continued on. "Thank him for me, for teaching me how to...how to love, like really love, for the first time in my life. Thanks, Boone. And if there is an afterlife, I'll be lookin' down on you, pal. I'll always have your back."

The message ended and Victor's face reappeared on the screen. The King stared blankly at Victor for a few moments, in total shock of what he'd just heard. Hearing her voice again really shook him. And the message...oh, the message she left was heart breaking. His eyes began to water but he quickly shook himself and stood up. He turned to Boone.

"Well, what are we waiting for? If we hurry, we might be able to catch her before she goes through with it."

Raven arrived at the Tops casino with a heavy but satisfied heart. This was the end for her, and she knew it. But she wasn't that sad about the whole thing. Raven had learned some valuable lessons and she was going to die a happy and fulfilled woman. Sure, she was only twenty three years old, but only the good die young, right? She swallowed hard, not sure why she was feeling so nervous now. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest, Raven thought it was going to jump right out. She opened the door of the casino and walked in slowly, looking around to survey the area. There were a couple of men at the desk and one of them noticed her. He smiled at Raven cheerfully. They chatted for a bit, and after a little sweet talking, Raven got to keep her weapons instead of relinquishing them. She left the front desk and walked into the casino further, only to find the checkered suit that she'd been chasing after ever since she left Goodsprings. Her hand to her side, Raven slowly made her way toward the man. Her heart continued to race to the point of hurting, and she stopped dead in her tracks when Benny finally noticed her. His face went pale and he began to stutter.

"What in the goddamn...? Let's keep this in the groove, hey? Smooth moves, like smooth little babies..."

Raven smiled gently. "Seems you need to work on your marksmanship," she said.

Benny gulped. "I hit what I was aiming for. Guess you had brains to spare. Or are you just thick-skulled? Either way, baby, this is good news. Maybe I can finally sleep at night, knowing you didn't die. What say you and me cash out, go somewhere more private-like? Any questions you got, I'll answer."

Raven considered this for a moment. She knew he was trying to wiggle his sorry ass out of this by setting a trap. She wasn't stupid. Naive, maybe, but not stupid. But at this point, she didn't care. Raven didn't plan on making it out alive anyway.

"What'd you have in mind?" she asked.

"To start, I'll comp you the Presidential – best suite in the house. You deserve a taste of the VIP lifestyle. I'll hang out down here for a while to make everything look business-as-usual, then come to you. Any questions you got, I'll answer – guaranteed."

Raven nodded. "Two conditions – lose the bodyguards, and we both go to the suite now."

"If that's what it takes to win your trust, that's what it takes. Follow me."

The King and Boone ran through the Strip toward the Tops casino. The King was praying he was not too late to save Raven. To hell with what she did. He didn't want to be the one responsible for her death. But it was more than that. He loved her. He was certain of it. To live without her was like...he was too busy running to even think of an analogy. They both reached the Tops casino and barged in. The guy at the desk waved them down.

"Woa, woa! Slow down, guys. What's the big hurry?"

The King walked up to the desk and grasped the man by his shirt collar. "There was a woman that came in earlier. Young, with black hair. Green eyes. Caucasian. Have you seen her?"

The man gulped and began to stutter. "Y-y-yeah. I saw her. She went up with Benny to the Presidential Suite a few minutes ago."

"Give me the key to the room."

"S-sure. Here." The man reached under the counter for a key and handed it to the King.

The King let go of the man and Boone and him went running toward one of the elevators. It wasn't that hard to miss. They put the key in and the elevator door opened. They both walked in and pressed the button for the Presidential Suite. The doors closed and the elevator began to go up. The King paced back and forth in the elevator, wishing it would go faster. Boone pulled out his rifle and the King pulled out his revolver. They both aimed it at the elevator door as it stopped. The King took a few deep breaths and when the door opened, he was about to pull the trigger, but Raven was standing right there in front of them, her gun raised to them. Bodies littered the floor of the suite and blood stains were everywhere. The King, Boone, and Raven all lowered their guns. Raven smirked at the King.

"Couldn't turn down a damsel in distress, could you?" she asked.

The King chuckled. "Smart ass."

Raven holstered her gun and looked around the room. "Yes, sir. That I am."

"Are you ok, Raven?" asked Boone.

"Oh, I'm fine. But the bastard got away. Should've just killed him where he stood instead of hearing him out."

"What'd he say?" asked the King.

"Something about ruling all of New Vegas and all that shit. Sounded like a good offer but me being the trusting little gal that I am, took his word for it to cut me in on a piece. When he left, he'd sent up some of his goons to take care of me. Nothing I couldn't handle, of course."

"That was stupid." said Boone.

"Yeah, no shit." replied Raven.

The King sighed. "Raven, might I have a word with you in private?"

Raven looked at the King with an eyebrow raised. "Oh, now you want to talk?"

"Raven, please?"

She shrugged and motioned for Boone to make himself scarce. Boone raised a hand and walked back into the elevator. "I'll be downstairs waiting for you guys," he said.

Once Boon left, Raven walked over behind the bar and pulled out two glasses and some whiskey. "Want some?" she asked.

The King walked over to the bar and took a seat. "Lay it on me, babe."

Raven poured them both a small amount and they clinked their glasses together before taking their shots. "All right," she said. "What did you want to talk about?"

The King ran a hand through his hair and then rubbed the back of his neck. "Why did you want to die?"

Raven leaned over the bar and looked the King dead in the eye. "Maybe I'll tell you that one day. Just not now."

"Raven..."

"King, please." she held up a hand and shut her eyes. "Just leave it, ok?"

The King grasped her hand and kissed it gently. "All right, but answer me this. Do you still want to die?"

Raven stared at the King for a few moments, then shook her head. "No, I don't."

"Why?"

Raven lowered her head, keeping her gaze away from the King. "I think you already know the answer to that question, King."

The King stood up and leaned in, kissing her a few times on the cheek. "I was so fucking scared, Raven. That...when you...when I got up here, I thought you were..." he choked up a bit and forced her to look at him. "Don't you ever do that again, you hear me?"

Raven nodded at him, tears threatening to spill. "Ok."

The King kissed her desperately on the lips, and she kissed back. "I'm so sorry I didn't talk to you, babe. I was just so upset over Pace's death."

"Are you still upset?"

"Not enough to let you kill yourself," he replied.

Raven and the King kissed each other passionately, and Raven climbed over the bar to him. They held each other and the King lifted her off the bar and took her toward the suite's bed. He tossed her onto it and hovered over her, kissing her gently on her neck. Raven wrapped her arms and legs around him as she lay on her back, enjoying the sweet kisses on her neck. Soon they began to undress each other and as soon as they were both lacking clothes, the King entered Raven. She moaned gently and he kissed her mouth smoothly, and he began rocking back and forth in rhythm with her. With each thrust, they both moaned and groaned in unison. Raven grasped the back of his hair and pulled his mouth closer to hers, and the King just couldn't get enough of her. He held her close and kept kissing her, breathing heavily into her mouth and grunting in pleasure. He suddenly lifted her up and sat down on the bed, letting her take the lead now. Her hands went to his shoulders and her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. Raven kissed the King madly and he wrapped his arms around her again as she bounced up and down on his member. The sweat began to appear on their bodies and they breathed heavily together. They went at this for a long time before the King finally felt his seed coming close. Raven's body began to shake heavily and soon her insides clenched around him and she almost screamed out in sweet agony. It was soon after that the King let himself go as well and he moaned into her neck sweetly. They held onto each other for a few more minutes, both shaking and breathing together. Raven kissed the King on his neck and whispered something into his ear.

The King smiled and whispered back, "I love you too."