When Ophelia's eyes cracked open they were met with the dim darkness of her room, a cool breeze blowing on her exposed body. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was and that the previous day's events had not been a dream. The cool air of the air conditioner had raised her skin up in goosebumps, and she slowly sat up in the bed, stretching with a low groan. She blushed slightly, realizing that she had slept in the nude all night with a door that did not lock.

Part of her didn't want to leave the softness of the clean bed, but her heart quickened with the thought of seeing her enchanting hostess. Her sapphire eyes skimmed over a small clock that hung on the wall, 10 AM. This was actually surprisingly early for her; back in Nuka World she would be lucky to wake up by 2 PM. Shrugging into the tight leather of the vault suit, she felt herself blush deeply. How the hell did Alex walk around in these things? It hugged her body tightly, but not uncomfortably. It made her self conscious about how thin she was. Looking at herself in the mirror, she looked at her small breasts and thin backside, feeling inadequate compared to Alex. "Well, I feel fucking ridiculous."

She made her way out into the hallway, trying to gain her bearings and remember where the cafeteria was. The thought of running into Alex in this vault suit made her blush with embarrassment. She had always been self conscious about her body. Ophelia had been a premature baby, apparently the doctors were genuinely surprised when she survived for more than a week. As a result, she had always been somewhat thinner, and more prone to sickness.

The raider queen crossed her arms over her humble chest, her cheeks flushed with discomfort. All she wanted was her layered clothing and long coat to hide in. She carefully styled her hair over her ears, making sure that the remains of her left ear was covered by her bright pink hair.

As the door to the cafeteria slid open, she took in the sight of Gary, Aiden, and Gage sitting at a table, eating pancakes and eggs. Gage's plate was almost untouched, and his single eye brightened up like a kid on Christmas morning as soon as he saw Ophelia in the tight vault suit. He stood from the table, wearing a shit eating grin; Ophelia wanted to punch him in the groin.

"Damn, Opie. Looking good. Maybe we can take a couple of these suits home with us to spice it up a bit, hmm?" His arms snaked around her body, and she was immediately hit with his body odor.

Shoving him away, she glared at him. "Jesus Christ. You smell like hell, Gage. Have you even fucking showered yet?" He still wore the same clothing from yesterday, and when she looked at Gary she noted that he was wearing a vault suit as well, Aiden was not. Jason was nowhere to be seen.

Aiden gave a scowl, "I still think we should take this place from that bitch. She's way too trusting, it's fucking stupid. Coming knocking on my door to bring me a tray of food like we're neighbors." He scowled and shook his head, picking at the remains of his pancake.

The raider queen felt a spark ignite within her, her right hand twitched, aching for her gun. "You better shut your fucking mouth, Aiden, before I make you. Feel free to leave at any time, boys, but I'm sticking around. I wanna know what's going on here."

Gage rounded on her, his voice an angry snarl. "Why the fuck do you care so much anyway, Ophelia?" The man towered over her, getting so close to her face that she could smell his rancid breath. "Ever since we stepped foot in this fucking tin can, you've had your head so far up this bitch's ass that you can't breathe fresh air. What the fuck is up with that?"

When Gage used to get jealous, it used to scare the hell out of Ophelia. When Porter Gage felt threatened, he got violent. Be it to the person that was expressing interest in "his woman" or whether it was Ophelia getting a little too friendly for his liking with someone new. This usually ended with the other person dead, and Ophelia sporting a black eye or some bruises. Being in Nuka World for so long had hardened her however, and she squared up to the large man without hesitation. Aiden and Gary had fallen completely wordless as the couple bickered.

"I think she could be useful, Gage. Plus she keeps good company and she actually has some fucking manners; it's pretty refreshing to be around someone that doesn't smell like they fell into Brahmin shit." The man's nostrils flared in pure anger, his single eye wide. "What the fuck are you going to do, Gage? Beat the shit outta me? Come on. Let's have it!" She shoved him slightly, daring him to go over the edge.

She had no doubt in her mind that she could drop him to his knees with one swift kick to the junk, another would snap his head back and send blood flying from his mouth. Surely if things went south and he did hit her, Gary would definitely knock the aging raider on his ass. Gary was a large, barrel chested man with a long, dirty black Mohawk and arms thick with muscle and covered with various tattoos; most importantly, he was fiercely loyal to Ophelia.

He teased her quite a bit, and that was how they joked with each other, but he had laid his life on the line for her several times. As if on cue, the large man rose from his seat, placing a hand on Ophelia's shoulder and pulling her back from Gage slightly. "Ophelia, you need to take it down a notch. What the fuck is going on here? Has he hit you?"

Ophelia glared daggers at Gage, and he sent them right back. Gage spoke lowly, "No couple is fucking perfect. Okay, Ophelia? I've made mistakes. I have fucked up, okay? But I wouldn't fucking do that to you. Not anymore."

There was some hint of regret in his eye, his anger simmering down. Perhaps he did regret it, but she was still pissed. "I don't fucking care, Gage. I want to be left alone for a bit." She shrugged away from Gary, and the man let her go. He respected her greatly, and he watched her march off with protective eyes.

When the pink haired woman left the room, he stepped close to Gage, making the older man realize that Gary was actually massive compared to his thinning frame. "If I ever find out that you have laid a hand on my boss again, I will fucking break your spine, Gage. I don't care if you are the second in command, I follow that woman before I ever follow you."

Gage glared back at the man, but said nothing before storming off in the opposite direction of Ophelia.

…

Ophelia found herself standing outside of room number 14, and knocked loudly on the metal without any hesitation. Her legs seemed to come here of their own accord, and her entire frame was shaking slightly with anger.

The door to Alex's room slid open with a quiet mechanical whirr, and Ophelia immediately felt all of her anger and hatred dissipate into the ether as soon as she locked onto those warm emerald eyes.

Alex wore some sort of silky black robe that fell to her mid-thigh. Her hair was slightly mussed from sleep and she only had on her eyeliner, as if Ophelia had interrupted her in the middle of her beauty routine. Despite her unstyled hair and lack of makeup, Ophelia thought that this was a goddess that stood before her.

The vault dweller blushed slightly, as if embarrassed that Ophelia was seeing her in such a state. "I apologize for my wretchedness, I woke up early and made some breakfast before coming back here to actually prepare for the day." That silky voice paused for a moment, taking in Ophelia's flushed skin and trembling arms. "Are you alright, darling? Did something happen?"

The genuine concern in her voice nearly made Ophelia melt, and being in the very presence of the vault dweller made her anger start to disappear like the clouds shying away from the sun. "I would rather talk about it in private, if that's okay."

"Oh, of course." The curvy woman stepped aside, letting Ophelia step into her room. The raider queen was immediately aware of how homey this room was compared to her own. There was a plush red rug, embroidered with intricate designs. A large vanity mirror scattered with different makeups sat across from her massive bed, covered with red and black silk sheets and blankets. It smelled like some sort of warm perfume, the delicate scent filling her senses and giving her an instantly relaxed feeling. Alex filled all of her senses, and Ophelia immediately felt at ease.

Alex drifted back to the vanity, applying her ruby lipstick with a careful practiced hand, those emerald eyes studied Ophelia closely in the mirror. The raider blushed slightly, making her way over to a comfortable looking couch, sitting down and gently rubbing the smooth, undamaged leather.

The vault dweller put her lipstick away, before quickly brushing out her hair and studying her natural curls. Satisfied with her look, she strutted over to the couch, taking a seat next to Ophelia and resting her head on her hand, those black curls contrasting beautifully against her porcelain skin. "What's going on, Ophelia? You seem quite upset."

There was a small warring of emotions in the pink haired woman before she felt her strength faltering. She always had to be the strong one, the leader, suppressing emotion and taking control of every situation and showing how hard she was. She felt like she didn't have to put on a facade around this exquisite woman.

She could feel tears burning their way into her sapphire eyes, and she looked up at Alex as her facade crumbled. The other woman quickly lifted her head away from her hand, concern creeping into her eyes as she saw that this unshakeable woman was breaking. "Ophelia?"

Ophelia clenched her jaw to push away tears, feeling that anger and sadness slowly creeping in as she thought of Gage. "I didn't want any of this. I never wanted to be in charge of anything, they made me! They literally held a fucking gun to my head, Alex."

The vault dweller opened her mouth to say something, but it was all spilling out of Ophelia where it had been building and building for years. "I was in the Minutemen, doing good, helping people. I was in love with an amazing man, Preston. All I wanted was to settle down with him, fight for what was right and start a family. And then that motherfucker Gage took it all away from me."

Alex gently placed a hand on her shoulder, those emerald eyes warm like the sunrise, full of genuine emotion unlike anything Ophelia had seen in a very long time. "Honey, your boyfriend, Gage? What did he do?"

"They knew who I was, scoped me out as their main threat because I was the General of the Minutemen. They killed my men and took me as a hostage, making me complete their sick tests before deeming me worthy enough to challenge their Overboss and kill him. It seemed like if I could do what they wanted, they would let me go; but it was all bullshit. They made me radio Preston, tell him horrible things about how I decided that raiding would be far easier than helping people."

Alex's voice was soft as ever, "Oh honey…", squeezing Ophelia's shoulder gently and pulling her close. Those traitorous tears finally fell from her eyes, and she let the taller woman hold her, smelling her perfume and feeling her impossibly soft porcelain skin.

Her head was resting on the raven haired woman's chest, those pale arms wrapped protectively around her. "I hated him for a long time, but after awhile I guess it was like Stockholm Syndrome. I think I loved him for a while, but he was so possessive. I'm his superior technically, but he could get so jealous that he would be purposefully disobedient to his orders, and if anyone got too friendly with me, he would threaten to kill them - often did - or would kick the shit out of me."

Alex's breath caught for a moment, and Ophelia wondered if she was revealing too much. She stopped talking suddenly, her mouth going as dry as cotton. "I'm sorry...I really shouldn't be unloading all of this into you. Perhaps we should go."

The raider queen began to pull away, but the vault dweller would not have her leave so easily. Alex pulled her back gently, yet firmly, and Ophelia landed with her elbow slightly above Alex's left shoulder, her left hand on the vault dweller's right shoulder and her humble chest pressed flush against Alex's full bust.

Ophelia blushed furiously, barely able to feel much through the leather of her suit, but she was able to feel that the other woman was not wearing a bra. Alex's silk robe was soft under her hands, and her eyes drifted down on their own accord, seeing that those full breasts were barely contained by the robe. Her thoughts from the previous night suddenly surfaced in her mind, and she awkwardly looked back to Alex's eyes to gauge her reaction. It felt like the woman could read her mind and feel the shame and embarrassment from her depravity.

There was some sort of hunger in those emerald eyes that had been evident before, when she bit her lip in the atrium and when she had been washing Ophelia's clothes. Alex did not push her away, those eyes drifting down to the raider's lips with a curious expression. "And why do you stay in this horrible situation, darling? It sounds like Gage is a monster, even by Wasteland standards."

Ophelia's brain didn't quite process the words right away, and the thought of seizing Alex's lips right now passed through her increasingly depraved mind. "That is a question I don't quite know the answer to. Routine perhaps? I don't have anywhere else to go." Her voice was shaky and hesitant, nervous being so close to the vault dweller.

Alex's fingertips lightly traced her arms. "You could always have a place here. The vault is secure now, the roaches dead and anyone that doesn't behave is dealt with quickly."

Ophelia considered the woman's words greatly, weighing her options, but Alex spoke again quickly. "So, your men are raiders then?"

The raider's blood ran cold, knowing that she was definitely in a vulnerable position here. If Alex deemed her a threat, it would be too easy for the raven haired woman to strike her down right now. She was vulnerable, her eyes cloudy with tears, not to mention she was completely unarmed and wouldn't be able to harm Alex, even if her life depended on it. Ophelia's answer was more than slightly shaky. "Yes."

"And I suppose that you came here to kill me and claim this place as your own then?" Her voice was gentle and sultry as ever, no sense of malice in her tone - she spoke matter of factly - yet Ophelia felt like all of her senses were screaming for her to leave now. This strange sense of danger was glaring in her soul.

Those emerald eyes studied her own carefully, prying out the pink haired woman's secrets with their gentle curiosity. "This was the original plan...but I wouldn't let any of them harm you."

Alex's thumb traced Ophelia's full lower lip lightly before gently pushing the woman away and standing from her position on the couch. Ophelia sat there, unable to move. "Of course, but I do not need a protector."

That black silk was slipping slightly, a large amount of the raven haired woman's generous cleavage exposed. Ophelia was certain that Alex was aware of this, and she studied the raider carefully with an amused expression, watching her eyes to make sure they were mapping the correct areas.

Ophelia was blushing furiously, knowing that this vault dweller was taunting her again. She knew her cheeks were blood red, and her eyes were glued to the raven haired woman's bust until she gave a small hum and turned off in the direction of her bed, those full hips swaying suggestively. The raider queen nearly asked the other woman what the hell she thought she was doing. At this point she knew that the vault dweller was acting scandalously to push her over the edge. Ophelia wasn't exactly sure of why, but the simple fact that she kept doing these things over and over again, she knew that Alex was teasing her.

Alex slowly loosened the simple silk belt of her robe, letting the smooth fabric slip down even smoother, porcelain skin. By the time that the raven haired woman turned around, the metal door was quietly purring as it shut behind the retreating raider queen. The vault dweller sighed disappointedly into her now empty room.

…

The day was a bit of a blur, and Ophelia had managed to avoid Gage since the disastrous breakfast. She picked over some of the leftover pancakes and forced herself to eat some of the eggs. Her appetite was almost non-existent, but she would rather go without the nasty feeling that she got in her stomach when she went too long without eating. Aiden was nowhere to be found, and after wandering about for a bit, the raider found herself in the bar.

Gary was perched at a barstool, nursing some sort of bright blue drink. As Ophelia leaned in the doorway, she gave a laugh as the massive man drained the glass of the brightly colored spirit. "Gary, what the fuck are you drinking?"

He looked at her with an expression of drunken carelessness, and the pink haired woman found the heavily tattooed man's presence to be extremely soothing to her racing thoughts. "Hey, if I wanna have a fucking blue hawaiian, I'm gonna have a fucking blue hawaiian; don't judge me." He put mock offense into his tone, and Ophelia smiled a genuine smile as she sidled up to the bar.

"Fuck it man, I need one of those things too." Ophelia sighed in exasperation, stress clouding her mind.

Gary stood slowly, giving the woman a hearty slap on the back and making his way behind the bar. The large man had become the unofficial bartender for a bit back in Nuka World, he could mix any drink that you wanted, and wasn't afraid to throw in some absinthe for that extra alcoholic kick to really knock you on your ass.

"Okay boss, what's got you in the mood to get shitfaced?"

The pink haired woman let her face fall into her hands with a loud groan. "I'm...really confused right now."

She could hear Gary suppress a chuckle as he shook a mixer. "Gotta be more specific than that. Does it have something to do with our thick vault dweller? Or is it that whole drama with Gage?"

Ophelia looked up with heavy eyes as he sat the drink down in front of her. She gave it a slow sip, savoring the sweet flavor and crunching a piece of ice. "Both, I suppose. I never really gave anyone the whole rundown on the Gage thing. Everyone knows he's jealous as fuck, but no one ever realized that if I ever did anything to make him jealous he would kick my fucking ass." She went quiet, sipping more alcohol.

Gary had a dark look on his face, and he slammed down some straight rum in response. "Fucking bastard. Why didn't you ever say anything? You know you can come to me, right?"

Ophelia ran a hand through her hair. "I know, Gary. I just try to deal with my own shit. Lately he's just too much, he is really suffocating me. I'm disgusted by him every single time I have to lay my eyes on him, he isn't even staying in the same room as me."

The raider queen took a heavy hit from her alcohol, savoring the sweetness and that bite of alcohol. She felt herself start to go comfortably light headed and pushed the glass back towards her bartender for a refill. Gary poured a different liquid into the glass, a dark amber. It smelled much stronger. "Sounds like you really need a fuckin' drink. Why don't you just break it off with his ass? You know any guy at Nuka World would kill him for a shot with you." His dark eyes were mischievous, playful as they met her own. "Do I gotta suffocate him in his sleep?"

This garnered a genuine laugh from the pink haired woman. Gary's humor was so refreshing and after the week she had been having. "Hmm, maybe; but this isn't completely the issue. Alex is...something else."

Gary arched an eyebrow, clearly intrigued based upon his shit eating grin. "Holy fucking shit...was I right? Are you trying to get that?" He burst into guffaws of laughter and her entire face felt like it was going to burst into flame.

Her face nearly as pink as her hair, Ophelia slammed down the whisky without hesitation, grimacing as it burned its way down her throat and into her belly. Her glass met the counter with a solid clicking sound. "Pfft, more like she's trying to get this." She gestured at her humble frame, grinning smugly with a newfound confidence from the alcohol.

Gary looked intrigued and amused, and Ophelia chuckled before giving him a serious look. "Gary, let me ask you something. She brought you food I assume, and did anything odd happen when she did?"

He gave her a slightly confused look. "I mean she just knocked on my door, handed me the tray, told me there were spare vault suits in the drawer to wear, then told me to have a goodnight and went off on her way."

Ophelia nodded matter of factly. "Okay, so she didn't just barge in, and hand wash your clothing, and unzip half her vault suit, and ask you if she should take her shirt off?"

Gary nearly choked on his drink. "Wait, she seriously did all that?" His eyes were wide in awe. "And I fucking missed it? What happened next?"

"She left…" Ophelia blushed a little, remembering the bit about how she pleasured herself to the thought of the other woman almost directly after that. "And now I'm so goddamn confused. I've never had thoughts like this about another woman before, and I feel kinda guilty because Gage, but at the same time I couldn't give a fuck about his feelings."

The large man had a smirk on his mouth, and Ophelia rolled her eyes before the words even escaped his lips. "I kind of took you for the sort honestly, and I'm going to have to say that I support hot lesbians. So if you leave Gage for Alex, I'm all about that."

Ophelia let her head fall to the bar, feeling the alcohol warming her body nicely, her head delightfully light with the buzz. "She's just so perfect. I've never seen a woman like her before. So clean and thick in all the right places. You know, I think that she was trying to seduce me again, right before I came here to you."

Gary grinned widely, taking a hit from the bottle this time instead of bothering with a glass. "Ophelia, you better get on that before I do."

The raider queen gave him a self-satisfied look. "Well, seeing as I'm the only one she has expressed any interest in, I'm pretty sure she doesn't like men at all, Gare Bear. Sorry bout your luck."

"That's fuckin' shit. What would you do if she came in here right now, and started pulling her flirty stuff?"

Feeling more confident from the alcohol in her system, Ophelia let out a small laugh. "Well, I'd probably drag her back to my room and show her how frustrated all this teasing has gotten me." She blushed a little still, but gently rubbed her thumb along the rim of her empty glass.

Gary laughed and shook his head, sliding the bottle across the bar and watching the woman take a long drink from it. She wiped her mouth as she passed it back to the other raider. "This was a good idea though, I think I just needed to unwind, clear my head a bit. Maybe shit with me and Gage has been going on too long. I gotta break it to him that I'm just not into it anymore."

The large man nodded slowly, giving her a genuine smile. "Fuckin' A. I agree with than plan, and you know I'll back you up no matter what."

…

About an hour later, Ophelia stumbled into her room, comfortably warm and tingly from alcohol. Her mind was delightfully blank and she had a newfound confidence from her conversation with Gary. She had no clue what time it was, because time seemed to pass so differently in the vault, but she was exhausted and sleepy from the alcohol.

Deliciously lightheaded and smiling from Gary's positive presence, she gently pushed the button for her door to whirr quietly shut behind herself. She tapped the lights on, and nearly shrieked in shock when she saw Porter Gage sitting casually on her bed. He grinned up at her with that dopey grin he got when he was excited to see her.

Everything in Ophelia's world seemed to suddenly come to a screeching halt, and she felt as sober as a priest. "What the fuck are you doing in here?" Her tone was sharp as ever, but somewhat shaky.

Gage stood slowly, and it took her a moment to realize that he was wearing a vault suit. His skin was surprisingly clean and his face clean shaven. He placed a gentle, hesitant kiss on her lips and to her shock he tasted minty, like toothpaste. Ophelia stared at the man with wide ocean blue eyes as her voice came out shaky. "Gage...what are you doing?"

The raider's eye was surprisingly gentle, and he lightly took the hands of the woman that he loved. His left hand came up to gently push away some of her bright pink hair from her pretty face. "Ophelia, I'm so sorry for everything. I've been thinking a lot, and I've never treated you the way you deserve to be treated. You know I love you with all my being and I ju-"

Ophelia cut him off by kissing him roughly, grabbing him by the collar of his vault suit. Gage stood there in shock for a few seconds before hesitantly responding. He returned the kiss gently, and lightly took the raider queen by her shoulders to hold her back slightly. "Ophelia, please. I'm trying for you."

"Isn't this what you always wanted, Gage? You always wanted me to take charge more. So shut the fuck up, or I'll make you."

The older man blinked at her in shock, his cheeks going bright red. Ophelia knew what he was trying to do, and she didn't want to fucking hear it. She was done with Gage's phases. This was not the first time that Porter Gage had realized that he was pushing Ophelia away and started acting really sweet. He would act this way for about a week, maybe a little longer if he had been being a real prick, and then go back to being an asshole.

All of her frustrations were coming to the surface. Gage pushing her buttons, Alex's teasing. It was all too much and she had lowered her inhibitions with alcohol to the point where she was acting on base need; and Gage was just convenient.

The man opened his mouth to say something but she kissed him again roughly. She pulled him close by the collar of his vault suit before pushing him roughly backwards. The man had let his guard down and the action took him completely unaware; he stumbled backwards with a cry of shock, falling onto the bed and looking up at Ophelia with confusion in his single eye.

The raider queen straddled him without a second thought, her fingers finding the zipper at the collar of his suit and hiking it down roughly. "Ophelia, you don't have to do this for me. I'm here to be honest with you."

The pink haired woman growled in frustration and lightly gripped his neck. "Who the fuck said I'm doing this for you?"

Ophelia could have sworn there was something akin to shock or fear that flashed through his single eye, but she was too intoxicated and honestly didn't give a shit about what it could have been. She continued about her motions of prying the jumpsuit off of the raider, and part of her would even grudgingly admit that he did have a rather fit body from years of running and generally being very physically active.

Once she had tugged the jumpsuit off of his body, she clambered drunkenly off of him and began ripping her clothes off almost frantically, desperate for release. It was like she was on auto-pilot because something had finally snapped inside her head and she didn't care about her current actions.

Gage lay before her, well muscled and eager, propped up on his elbows to look up at the woman he loved as she removed her clothing as quickly as she could. Some odd part of her felt wanton, but she was feeding off of it in a strange rage induced frustration.

Despite the decently handsome man clearly hard and ready for her, all the raider queen could think of was that raven haired vault dweller. This somehow frustrated her even more as she thought to herself what it would be like if it were Alex that she had tossed onto this bed, those distinctive curls fanned out around her head. There was no doubt that those emerald eyes would be looking up at this desperate woman, full of mischief and temptation.

She was back to Gage now, closing her eyes as she straddled him again. The man leaned up to kiss her, but she pushed him back down, leaving claw marks down his chest. Ophelia refused to look at him, either looking to the side or keeping her blue eyes clenched shut. She halfway expected him to say something because he was being sweet earlier, but the quiet gasps falling from his lips as she worked her hips against his ensured that he would not be talking.

She knew that the images in her mind had nothing to do with this man, and that he would probably beat her ass for even thinking of someone else, but it was all she could do to get herself close to the edge. That climax was almost within reach in that brief moment, but suddenly the man was pushing her away as he finished with a grunt that completely shattered her entire mood.

Disgust was washing over her like the ocean waves washing over the shore. The raider gave her a warm smile, pulling her close to attempt to hold her. "Please do not touch me." Her words were not nearly as sharp as they had been earlier, and Gage looked at her with a bewildered eye.

"Really, Ophelia? After all of that you're going to breakdown like this?" His tone was sharp, scolding, almost like he had caught her with her hand in the cookie jar.

Sobriety was starting to slowly eat at her, and she felt some of her flame dying out. This had not gone how she had imagined it would at all. She was supposed to take control, and use Gage for once, but instead she felt disgusting and angry with herself. The aforementioned man was looking at her for an explanation, but her mouth went dry as cotton. Pulling away and drawing her knees up to her chest, she felt tears stinging in her eyes.

Gage sat up with concern, placing a gentle hand on her back and attempting to comfort her. "What is going on?" His hand worked in a gentle circle on her mid back, but it just relit the fire inside that fueled her anger.

Ophelia quickly got off of the bed, opening the door despite being completely stark naked. "Just get out, this was a mistake." Her voice was still wavering, a single tear running down her cheek. Despite shattering inside, she was still weakly trying to stand up for herself.

Gage gathered his clothing, throwing on what he could. "You owe me a fucking explanation. And I'm not leaving until I get one. I'm trying for you, Ophelia. I seriously fucking am, because you are the only person that has ever been with me for this long, you're the only one that has given a shit."

His rough smashed the button, the gentle whirring of the door as it quietly closed, not quite matching the tense feeling in the room. The two were face to face, and Ophelia felt some of her anger rising again. "Gage, I don't love you anymore. Maybe I did, once; but you're just like a fucking warden. Do you forget that you literally took me away from everything I loved, and held a gun to my head while I begged for mercy? You made me radio the man I loved and say fucking disgusting things to him. You destroyed my goddamn life!" Her voice broke a little as she thought of Preston, and she felt hot tears stream freely down her cheeks, no longer able to control her raw emotion.

In Porter Gage's single eye, she could have sworn there was some heartfelt regret. For a man who had eyes as cold and dead as a shark, there was something there that was true and that she wanted to genuinely believe. In her heart though, she knew that his small moments of emotion were always quick to disappear, or were forgotten by the cruel man. "You're really bringing that up after so long? I can't change what happened, and I know it was a shitty thing. I didn't expect for you to actually step up and start earning people's respect."

Ophelia scoffed, gathering her clothing from the floor and starting to shrug the vault suit back on. "Yes, forcing someone to kill your boss that you fucking hated and take their spot so that it wasn't obvious you were trying to usurp Nuka World is a really shitty thing. You've always been so fucking selfish. Not once did you ever ask if I wanted to leave, not once did you show concern for my well being after all the bullshit you put me through. You're always taking and taking, Gage. You took my fucking life and even that isn't enough for you. The late nights with strange whores, coming home acting like I was fucking blind to the fact that you smelled like sweat and some nasty bitch; but if I so much as looked at someone with any interest, you would kick my ass."

The man stood there in absolute shock at the pink haired woman's meltdown. She was crying and screaming, those small shoulders trembling with emotion. An anger was rising inside the man, at her, at himself, at this fucking vault. "I thought things were okay between us, you've never said anything about any of this for so long; where the hell is this coming from?"

"Are you seriously that fucking blind? Gage. You have held me captive for years, I understand that I am technically your superior because of who I am in Nuka World, but you have fucked with my head on levels you cannot understand. I fucking hate you. Have you even noticed that I haven't smiled at you in months? You have to tell me to kiss you, to touch you, and even then I do it because I'm afraid of what you will do to me when we are alone if I don't cooperate. I haven't come with you in months, the only time I can even get off is when you aren't anywhere near me." All of the years of abuse and rage were spilling out, and Gage actually shrunk back a bit from the woman's sheer anger.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Ophelia smashed the button to open the door. "Now get the fuck away from me. And know that if you try to have me killed, or if you lay a hand on me, you'll be dead before your ass even touches the throne of Nuka World."

For the first time in her life, Ophelia was not afraid of Porter Gage. She felt freed on so many levels, and she felt like she owed much of it to Alex and Gary. As she stared into his cold eye, she was daring the man to lay a hand on her. Most of her expected the man to give her a hard slap across the face, but instead he gave her a thousand yard stare and walked out of the door without a word. Ophelia hastily slammed the button for it to close, knowing that he could easily re-enter if he so pleased due to the broken lock. Shaky hands retrieved her battered 10mm from the nightstand and she grasped the weapon as if her life depended on it. If Gage were to so much as take a step into her room, she would drive a round right through his skull.

The raider queen felt liberated, all of the emotion she had been bottling up for nearly four years had come out in a messy and terrifying way; but it was more therapeutic than anything that she could imagine. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and gave a sigh of resolution. Emotionally drained from everything that had occured in the past however many hours - the vault really fucked with her sense of time - Ophelia wiped at her heavy eyes with her palm, sniffing away the few tears that remained.

Her head hurt from crying, and her eyes burned like hell. She fell into the small bed that was not her own, and gently laid her gun beside her on the cover. A thin finger tapped the lights off, and she tried to focus on the humming of the vault and let the sound lure her to sleep, but she found her ears straining to hear any sort of sounds from the hall. There was no doubt in her mind that Gage may make an attempt on her life at some point, and every muscle in her body was coiled tightly, ready to defend. Ophelia fell asleep feeling like she was back in the dangers of the Wastes.