((Chapter heading from Empress of Fire from the DA:I tavern songs.))

Chapter 2
What Season May Come

'Deacon?'

Deacon held on to the rope. 'Hang on there, Shaun, one moment. Preston, I'm gonna let go. As in now.'

'All right. I want to be buried across the bridge, off towards the north.'

'I'll just dump you in one of the broken down cars. That all right?'

'Sounds good. Let go.'

'Just hurry up before my arm's torn off.'

'Let go.'

'Only when I've figured out a convincing story how and why you died.'

'Deacon. It's secure. Let go.'

He did. No crashing sound. Deacon contemplated the ladder to the roof, took a deep breath, and climbed up to untie the knot Preston had made earlier. To use a hole in the roof to lower slabs of metal to serve as a bunker that offered at least some protection in a radstorm wasn't the worst idea, but the thought of what would happen if a rope snapped, the flimsy-looking pulley fell apart, or his strength didn't suffice to hold the blasted thing – he'd rather not contemplate it. For someone who'd been involved in such violence as he had, he was horribly squeamish. One of the things about himself he actually liked, because that meant he was still human.

Deacon shook the thought off and looked down at Shaun. The world spun. 'Hi. Rescue me.' He sat down on the roof and all but crawled back to the ladder. 'I hate this. I hate roofs. Not above me, but below me. Having a roof below you is a bad idea. Mark my words. The one above us is something we'll have to work on.'

'Are you scared?'

Deacon made it down safely. 'Scared? Me?' He rammed his fists in his sides. 'Don't you know I'm never scared? I talked to a deathclaw once. Had a nice chat, actually. It didn't say all that much, but it didn't eat me either, and it didn't look too hungry when it stared at me.'

'Why would you talk to a deathclaw?' The scepticism in Shaun's face was adorable.

'Because it was looking for its egg. And I brought it back. I singlehandedly wrestled it off raiders and another deathclaw and carried it through half the Commonwealth back to its nest. Fearlessly, no less.'

'I don't believe you. Hancock says you're a liar.'

'Hancock says that? Hm. Well. True. Now figure this out: If I tell you I'm lying, what does that mean?'

'Huh?'

'I'm telling you that this sentence is a lie. Discuss.'

Shaun grinned at him. 'You're just messing with me. Like with that deathclaw thing.'

'That's where you're wrong. That happened. If slightly differently. Ask Mom, she'll confirm it. Actually, it was her idea. I'd have sold the thing. Or cooked it, for that matter.'

'Can you eat those?'

'You can eat everything. Some things only once. Say, what can I do for you, Shaun? Or was all you needed to smirk at me as I sit shaking on a roof?'

'No. I wanted to ask what Hancock meant when he said you and Mom have a crazy pact.'

'There's nothing crazy about our pact. It's just a deal we made a time ago. We've decided that I won't die of the rads I soaked up living in the Commonwealth and she won't get eaten. Even if she brings little baby deathclaws home safely.'

Shaun looked doubtful. 'Hancock said it's crazy. That doesn't sound crazy.'

'I'll talk to Hancock about ratting me out to my kid,' Deacon muttered. It struck him how true that had become to him over the short time. Living under a roof with Shaun and Kalyna had turned him domestic. He'd thought he'd lost any will and ability for that, but there he was, being a family person. And he'd be damned if he didn't love it. 'Well, I promise you I won't do anything reckless that'll put me in danger. Neither will Mom. It's not much more than that, really.'

'Oh. Good.' He still looked sceptical. 'Are you going to turn yourself into a synth if you get sick?'

Deacon snorted. 'No, kid.' He ruffled Shaun's hair. 'Stop worrying, you're worse than your mother. That pact won't come to play for a long time yet. Forget it. And if Hancock bugs you about it again, tell him to put a sock in it.'