Teaching a Robot to Love
-Notes-
First signs of affection! Oh X6 you cold and calculating bastard you! I think as a synth, he doesn't really know what emotions are (as in he knows the definition but doesn't truly understand them). He is actually very protective of SS as evident when you swap companions. Given the right dialogue opportunities, X6 actually has some of the most hilarious one-liners. Bear with me, I will get to the Institute next and some major questions will be answered. I do actually have a plot in mind haha. Review please! If I don't have at least more reviews than there are chapters, that means I'm a terrible writer and I will eat Oreos crying while I binge-watch The Walking Dead on Netflix. Does anyone even read these notes? Marshmallow.
Chapter 5: Saving the Crops
Warwick could be smelt a mile away. It was like if someone decided to take supermutant poop and mix it with rotting corpses all inside a giant toilet bowl. It slowly dawned on Sole that the smell was actually getting stronger the closer they got to Warwick. Of course. Even though X6-88 had been entertaining her small questions with contrite answers, he too had fallen silent the more they walked.
"Hey X6, can you smell that?" Sole pried, shivering with disgust.
"Unfortunately" he retorted.
Her hands shot up to cup her nose.
"Put them down, it's rude."
The large cylindrical buildings they had seen in the distance grew closer, and the solid dirt beneath their feet began to turn to soft mud. Sole extended her arm and focused in on the map on her pip-boy. Yup, they were definitely going to the right place. Crops came into focus along with the colorful ragged clothing of what appeared to be the farmhands.
The stench was rancid. If smells could kill.
A rather plain-looking man jogged over to them as Sole and X6 approached.
"Hello there! You must be the Minutemen we asked help from a while back!" The man enthused, stowing his farming hoe. "My name is Roger Warwick, nice to meet you!"
Sole managed a very weak, and most likely fake, smile as she pulled every ounce of willpower not to tear up at the acidic environment. X6 remained silent and oh so very much stiffer than usual. Roger threw his head back and bellowed out a laugh.
"Oh you don't have to force yourself; we know how the smell affects newcomers like yourself." He extended an arm in a motion for them to follow him. "Come, I will introduce you to my family."
As hard as she tried, Sole just could not get used to the smell. Even though her body was beginning to take the edge off the smell, it wasn't enough to dispel the stiff restrictions placed on her greetings to Roger's family and farmhands. X6 was no help either. He obviously could smell it too, or else he would have had some sarcastic comment about the place. Roger led them away from the crops over to the inside of the factory, where they slept. X6 didn't even bother following them inside. He stood right in the doorway looking out. Normally, others couldn't understand but Sole knew that he was signaling his impatience. He could give a damn about a tour. Roger pulled out seats for himself and Sole and they sat down.
"My family's from Danvers, originally. My wife and I started this place up about twelve years ago. Now I know what you're thinking. Why set up a farm at a place like this?" Roger explained, quite proud of himself.
Sole nodded frantically, silently crossing her fingers he would just stop talking so they could inform him about the damn crops already. He seemed to be taking delight in her and X6's internal pain the sick bastard.
Roger continued, "It might not look like much, and there's that smell… But that's the thing. See, this used to be a sewage plant. The most Fertile soil in the commonwealth is at our feet."
Oh great, now he tells them that they had just walked all over sewer waste. "I don't care how fertile the soil is, this place reeks!" Sole squawked.
"That's an understatement." X6 decided to quip in from the other side of the room probably as equally disgusted as she was.
Roger narrowed his eyes and glanced back and forth between the both of them, then grinned sheepishly. At the doorway, X6 stepped aside to let June pass. Rogers smile spread into a cheesy crooked grin. June looked oddly at X6 as she passed him, wondering why he refused to come in. Her perfectly curled hair and lavender lipstick looked quite out of place in the Commonwealth. Sole wondered where in the heck she was able to get her hands on beauty tools. She went to the little stove at the side of the room and placed a pot with some miscellaneous food in it.
Tossing her hair over her shoulder June called to Sole, "You folks didn't fun into too much trouble coming out here, I hope?"
That was it. This was Sole's cue.
"Some bloodbugs chased me halfway across the Commonwealth, but I made it" she lied, using the designated Institute codephrase. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Roger's smile immediately drop. His wooden seat creaked as he leaned forward towards Sole, placing his elbows on the table.
"Yeah, those things can be pretty territorial. Glad they didn't catch you" Roger said in a low and almost ominous voice. His eyes linked with Soles, then he shot up from his seat and tossed a wink at June. "Since you traveled all this way, how about a quick tour? Of the whole grounds I mean."
Codephrase successful, he knew what it meant. He was leading the two of them out of earshot of his wife and family to where they could conduct business. Sole smiled wryly and followed Roger as he strode out of his house with a brisk pace. X6 gave a curt nod and followed dutifully after they had passed. The farmhand, Sutton? Or something, Sole couldn't remember his name, was standing suspiciously at the edge of the farming plot as they walked outside. His behavior seemed…off, but she just couldn't place it. She noticed he was eyeing them suspiciously. Maybe he caught on that X6 was a synth? Crap. She shot X6 a glance, but he made no notion of action so she decided to drop it for now. Roger noticed him too and cleared his throat,
"Right this way, if you please. I'll show you what we've been up to here at the Warwick Homestead."
Roger led the pair over to the far edge the farm, right up against the coast. As if the smell couldn't get any worse, now add rotting fish guts to the list of ew. As soon as they were all quite sure they were out of earshot, Roger turned on his heel towards her.
"You've got the seeds? Good, I'll take those." He asked in a hushed voice. Sole reached into her breast pocket and pulled out the packet that she had gotten at Bioscience. His eyes shifted from the seeds back to the farm as he snatched the object and shoved it in his pockets. "Listen, I need your help. The whole operation's in danger of being exposed."
Well that wasn't good. X6 hated setbacks. Right on cue, he took a step forward. Sole wondered if she would have to stop him from killing Roger out forthright. Man, how come none of their plans went smoothly?
"Why what happened?" She interrogated, getting quite annoyed.
"I think my foreman, Bill Sutton, suspects what I really am" He mentioned nodding his head towards the suspicious man. "He's been spying on me, and having secret conversations with our farmhand, Cedric. Now he's starting to work on my wife and kids, trying to turn them against me too."
Sole furrowed her brow and crossed her arms. If she was in his position, she would hate it if some little rat was going behind her back and trying to turn family against each other because they thought he was a synth, even if it was true. She never even got a fighting chance with hers, she'd be damned if she didn't help this poor sorry sod, even if he was a sadistic creep.
In a matter of seconds, X6 strode right up in front of Roger, looming over him menacingly. Crap this was bad! His entire presence, long black coat, dark glasses obscuring his face, powerful and assertive voice, all totaled into his commanding presence. Roger shrank back timidly.
"Your incompetence has jeopardized the entire operation" He accused harshly.
Roger's eyes widened immensely and Sole's gears finally clicked as she leapt forward, grabbing X6's shoulder.
"Hey hey hey, let's just go find his buddy! Let's not splatter his brains in front of his family. Although he might have signed his own will already" She pleaded in hopes of persuasion to X6-88, pulling on his steely solid shoulder.
A moment of extremely tense silence passed as a bead of sweat rolled down Sole's forehead. Then, X6 broke away from Roger, stalking away from the farm. Delays were an annoyance, particularly unnecessary delays made by careless error. Why they put such an incompetent synth in charge of such delicate operations was beyond him.
Sole shifted her concern from the very much still frozen Roger, to the retreating wolf that was her partner. She mumbled a hasty apology to Mr. Warwick before jogging off to catch up to X6-88. He was going to want to finish this mission as soon as possible. They had enough delays for one day. Their next stop: Cedric.
The gaudy lights of Goodneighbor cast an eerie glow on the slick asphalt that crunched beneath the boots of Sole and X6. The air was thick with humidity and the smells of recent drizzle mixed with jet clouds. Sickly ghouls passed them without a second glance, while the mafia-looking bodyguards eyed them dubiously. They needed to find Cedric, and all of their sources pointed to this city.
Admittedly, Sole had only visited Goodneighbor a handful of times. This had been one of her stops in her pursuit of Shaun. She had gotten side tracked once to help this poor old ghoul with his radio station. Poor man couldn't differentiate between the harsh reality and the world of comic books, so she indulged his fantasies a bit longer. She did so enough to gain the respect of the enigmatic mayor Hancock, who helped her take down the looming crime boss Sinjin. Ever since then, he has served as her lucrative informant for proclivities around Central and North Boston.
Sole kicked open the paint-cracked door to Hancock's office to find him lounging on his couch with Fahrenheit, popping some mentats. When he saw her, he put down his stash and welcomed her open armed.
"Ah how's my favorite little crime-stopping companion?" He mused, strutting over and leaning in for a hug. He stopped when he saw X6 appear at her backside, staring down at him through his glasses.
"Oh stop it you." She faked shy flattery, swatting at his arm. She cleared her throat "We are looking for a man, Cedric is his name. We have business to conduct."
Hancock shrugged and walked back to his couch, leaning up against the side.
"Still traveling around the Commonwealth with your boyfriend? When are you going to dump him and come with me?" Hancock cajoled suavely.
Sole flushed as her eyes widened in panic, "Oh no X6, he isn't-he's not. We're not like that! He helps me a lot. We're just friends!" She looked frantically between X6, who appeared unfazed behind her, and Hancock, who was looking at her with an all-knowing expression.
"Ouch doll! If that were me, you would be hurting my little ghoul heart." He imitated holding his broken heart in his hands. She heard X6 turn on his heel behind her and walk away. He probably wouldn't leave the building without her. Probably. Hancock continued, "Cedric rolled into town a few days ago. He's been staying holed up in The Third Rail. Taking a liking to Magnolia I suppose. Creepy guy, just sits in the corner."
She threw a gaudy wink at him, "Thanks Hancock, you're the best!" and turned around to find X6 wherever he had gone. She was about to take off when Hancock stopped her.
"Woah now, not so fast! I've been keeping my guys on him because he's seems mighty shady. He's got his lips locked up tighter than a bank vault. You're going to need to…add some leverage if you want him to talk. With the way you look now, he will smell you coming a mile away."
Sole glanced down at her own attire. With the help of the Institute, she now had at least a matching set of armor made from synth parts. Never took off her vault suit though. That was her defining feature.
"What's wrong with my clothes? I think I look dashing." She complained, popping her hip up in a pose.
"And that you do! But trust me on this one, you're gonna want to take my advice. Here I have a little something for you to help you…sweeten the pot a bit, so to speak." He leaned over to Fahrenheit and whispered something in her ear. Understanding, she took off to the side room that Hancock presumably slept in. He turned back to Sole, "Will you call back in your sulky bodyguard? I don't want him going off on his own and spilling blood all over my club."
She straightened up, realizing she had no idea where X6 had gone in actuality. His boots crunching down the staircase was the last thing she remembered hearing. She held up a finger in silent communication to Hancock to 'wait a moment' while she descended the spiral staircase calling X6's name. Luckily, he was at the bottom floor near the front door display case, his head curled up towards the sound of his name.
"Are you finished? The sooner we get out of this piss-soaked hell hole, the better."
"Hush! Stop being such a princess and come up and help me. Hancock wants you."
Honestly, he could be so difficult at times. Begrudgingly X6-88 followed Sole back up the staircase to Hancock's office. Sole bounded into the room first, and then right back out when she saw the shiny red dress that Fahrenheit was holding. Hancock had a wide grin on his face and intercepted her as he rushed to her side and quickly pulled her into the room.
"Right this way doll." He chuckled as he shoved her behind the dividing screen. He leaned his head in and whispered discretely with his gravely voice, "you'll thank me later."
"Hancock!" She protested but was cut off by a red dress to the face.
When X6-88 stepped into the room, Fahrenheit quickly made sure to shut the doors behind him. Scheming devils those two. She then led him to the couch to sit while they waited for Sole to change. Hancock took the opposite couch directly across from the courser, leaning his elbows over his knees and folding his hands. X6's posture was dignified and rigid, more tense with these humans he did not trust.
"So champ, how are you taking care of my favorite vault dweller?" Hancock questioned, his hands expressing his words.
"I always put the needs of the Institute before my own. She is an invaluable member."
"Hm. Well robo-man, here's the shindig: Little Miss Sole over there is going to go down and gussy up to ole' Cedric down in The Third Rail to get him to talk about whatever mission you guys are on. Now I don't care what it is, I just want that guy outta my town 'ya hear? Shady characters are bad for business." Hancock informed, delighting in the irony in his last assertion.
"We could always shoot him." X6 retorted, which brought Hancocks attention to his large gun.
"Ah see, brains on the wall is bad for business too so none of that!"
They heard a shifting in the corner of the room. Both men's attentions turned towards the privacy screen.
"Um, Hancock this is a little embarrassing" came a small squeak from Sole as she shyly shuffled out of the room. When she stepped out into view, the light caught on the red shimmers and reflected off her face and the ground. It was quite low on the back and hugged every curve snugly. She looked very out of place. Hancock eyed her in admiration, whistling.
"Wow toots, you clean up nicely. Simply stunning."
Sole eyed him skeptically, "Do I even want to know where you got this dress from?"
"Probably not. Hey buddy what do you think of your new partner?" Hancock whipped his head around to X6 who at some point, had stood up.
There was an extremely uncomfortable moment of silence as X6 ignored the question and continued to gaze at her. Not liking all the attention on her, Sole groaned loudly and stomped towards the door, to divert the attention away from her burning cheeks. Although she was a little disheartened to not get a reaction out of him, she really wasn't sure she wanted to hear X6's answer. He wasn't known for tact. Descending the staircase and out through the front door, Sole made her way to the bar.
X6 followed.
The Third Rail was slightly more crowded than usual, which actually worked out perfectly. The background noise would wash out any clandestine conversations they were hoping to have with Cedric. Sweet jazz filled the air. Perhaps she had forgotten that the majority population of Goodneighbor had been ghouls, for it seemed that everywhere she passed, lingering eyes were blatantly checking her out. This only served to add to her mounting embarrassment. She felt like a giant red target. Entering in the Third Rail, she tucked her hair behind her ear as Ham, the bouncer's mouth dropped. She opened her mouth to ask him about Cedric but X6 stepped between her and Ham.
"Cedric. Where is he?" he demanded flatly.
"Cedric he-he is down at the floor-on the floor. Corner, back right. Can't miss him" Ham stammered, looking quite silly with his submachine gun. Sole was painfully aware of his eyes trailing her backside as they passed him.
As the two descended the staircase, Sole leaned into X6 and whispered, "Alright here's how this is going to go: I am going to try to flirt some information out of this Cedric guy, hopefully he will leave this Sutton case to rest, and we can all return home okay? I need you to stay near the back out of sight. If something goes wrong, I need you in my corner, capeesh?"
X6 leaned in too, "Is this something that you are capable of?" He didn't even bother whispering. His voice was low enough.
Sole's head reeled, obviously appalled, "How rude! Of course I can do this. You still don't trust me do you?" She tossed her hair over her shoulder in annoyance and shot a glare back at her partner, "Just you watch."
With that, she turned her head up high and strut over to the bar countertop, making sure she exaggerated the sway in her hips each time. It was as if the people here hadn't seen a dolled-up smoothskin before, which was silly since they had Magnolia. But she was new.
X6 retreated into the shadows as told.
"What can I get you?" asked White Chapel Charlie in his cockney British accent as soon as Sole got to the bar. Her eyes swept the room for anyone who could potentially be their target.
"Two old fashioned on the rocks." She answered promptly as her eyes settled in on a man sitting in the corner around a small table next to the scrapped white picket fence that was being used as a half-wall. He was very much keeping to himself, not joining the crowd that took over the dance floor in front of Magnolia. That was probably him.
When the drinks came out, Sole slapped down 20 caps on the table and sauntered over to the mystery man. He quickly noticed her presence, eyeing her cautiously but she flashed him an award-winning smile as soon as their eyes met to diffuse the tension.
"Hey handsome. Cedric I presume?" She asked coyly.
He returned her smile. "You presume correctly. Here have a seat."
Sole handed him his drink and sipped her own as she took up the seat next to him. Wow, Charlie certainly didn't bother watering that down at all. He lasciviously eyed her up and down, eyes resting on her curves for more than a few acceptable seconds, creating an awkward tension. Ugh, this guy was giving her the creeps.
"Now what's a pretty thing like you coming to an old man like me in this beaten up old pub?" His voice was raspy and full of hidden intentions. As much as she didn't want to, she swallowed her pride for the good of the mission.
"I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time I suppose." She sipped her drink innocently, making sure to raise the pitch of her voice.. "I'm from far away you see, all the way north from this place called Zimonja. I was heading down to this farm, Warwick, where my uncle Bill works as a farmhand. Have you ever heard of it?"
Cedric's eyes narrowed at the name and Sole thought it was all over. However, he just smiled and leaned in closer to her. His breath reeked of many mixed drinks.
"Now why would you be bringing a dress like that down to a dirty farm like Warwick?" His voice lowered an octave at the question. He was obviously suspicious. Shit. She needed to think up of an excuse quickly.
To buy time, Sole threw out a giggle and rested her hand on Cedric's forearm, an action he appeared to be pleased with. "Well you see, the plan was to hit Diamond City before going to Warwick. I heard absolutely marvelous things about this bar there called Colonial Taphouse. But silly me got mixed up in my directions and I ended up here instead. I thought I wouldn't even get to wear this old thing but now…" She batted her lashes at Cedric "now I think that it wasn't a mistake to come here."
Content with this answer, Cedric nodded. Sole was about to let out a sigh of relief when Cedric reached his hand near her chest, grabbed a piece of hair, and slowly tossed it behind her shoulder, making sure his finger dragged across the exposed skin of her collarbone as he did it. She froze, a shiver running up her spine. Casting an almost undetectable glance down at Cedric, she saw his pants start to bulge around his pelvis. Gross! A knot of terror began to form in he pit of her stomach and she began to weigh her situation in her mind. It began to dawn on her than many of the outcomes she thought of did not end well for her.
Cedric moved his head to where his lips were almost against her ear. His hot and sticky breath made her skin crawl. "You see, I was holding out here for this Magnolia babe, but I think I'd rather have a sweet thing like you instead. I don't think you want to head down to Warwick just yet. Maybe your uncle hasn't told you, but they're experiencing some…spooky synth problems down on the farm. Too dangerous for a pretty girl such as yourself. Why don't you come with me to my room instead. I'll take care of you until it's all over."
He reached his hand out and laid it on her upper thigh. Sole almost yelped out in surprise when a hand shot out of nowhere and snatched Cedric's wrist up into the air.
"No."
It was X6-88! His voice came out as a sinister command. She had almost forgotten he was here. In her panic, she had excluded the possibility of a bail out. Cedric looked incredulously between the two. Sole jumped up from her chair and quickly turned to go stand behind X6.
"He knows. He has Sutton's plans." Sole informed quickly. Her heart hammered against her chest as her insides still churned at the thought of what might have happened had X6 not intervened when he did. Always the protector.
"Who the hell are you?" Cedric yelled at X6, snatching his wrist back. X6 said nothing and instead continued glaring back at him. Even though his eyes could not be seen, you could just tell.
"We want to know what Bill Sutton's plans are for Roger Warwick." Sole questioned, trying her hardest to make sure her words came out as assertive, even though her legs were shaking.
Cedric's eyes darkened, and the look of betrayal he had first cast at Sole was replaced by one of anger and humiliation.
Throwing his hands up, he huffed "The thing is, I don't see how any of this is your god damn business, unless maybe Roger put you up to this. I should've known, there was something fishy about your story."
Cedric eyed the two of them as if he had figured something out as he leaned back in his chair. Sole's eyes were wide, body still trembling with adrenaline, waiting to hear the sales pitch.
"Tell you what, though – maybe we can help each other out." He clicked his tongue at the pause. "If I've learned anything here, it's that information's got a price, just like everything else. I got no particular loyalty to Bill Sutton or to Roger Warwick, so make me an offer and let's see what happens."
This man was so unbearable. He was so slimy, even his words felt like snakes slithering over her skin. Sole grabbed X6's arm and held herself close to him, almost like a child. Even though he was lithe and still, he absolutely radiated anger. His legs were shoulder-width apart, in fighting stance. He was prepared. She didn't know how he did it, but with just an intonation in his voice, he could change his entire presence. However, Cedric did not seem like he was going to budge. His snake eyes continued to eye them amusingly.
"If that's what it takes, fine!" Sole threw down 300 caps.
He laughed, "Oh honey, it's going to take more than that to make me talk. Make it 600"
"Are you crazy?!" She scoffed, releasing X6's arm, only to throw her own on her hips. "Hell no, 400."
"500 and you got yourself a deal."
Sole squinted her eyes at him. Caps weren't necessarily that much of an issue for her any more, since Father provided her with whatever she needed mostly at a fraction of the cost, but it physically pained her to part with her money to this-this slimeball!
"Fine! Just tell me" She tossed down another 200 caps on the table.
X6 decided now would be a good time to pipe in, "We should kill him later and take back the caps. We might need them for more bribes." He offered harshly.
Sole's head reeled back towards him, both in shock and admiration at his cunning violence. Damn he could be cold! His heart was below zero.
She gave him a wicked smile. "Clever! I like that idea, let's do that. He tried to grope me, he should die." She pointed a finger accusingly towards Cedric.
As soon as the last syllable dropped, X6 had his rifle readied and pressed to Cedric's temple. So fast the man's eyes went white as ghosts as he flailed his arms.
"Wait! Wait! Take them! Take your caps back, I'll tell you what you need! Just let me live."
Wasting no time, Sole quickly recollected her caps, shoving them in her money pouch and exchanged dirty glances with Cedric before returning to X6's side, who had now holstered his weapon. Amazingly, no one else in the bar seemed to care that there was almost a gunfight. Ah, Goodneighbor.
Cedric spilled the plans on how Sutton gave him caps to go to Goodneighbor to hire a mercenary to take out Roger, but then he double crossed him by taking the caps for his own gain and stayed in town. Sole rolled her eyes at his disgusting behavior, called him a pig, and then dragged X6, who had been maintaining vigilant eye contact with him, out of the bar.
Leaving through the front doors revealed that it was much later than she had thought: 1:16am according to her pip-boy. Crisp air greeted them. Goosebumps raised on her skin as she shivered, secretly hating Hancock for making her wear this non-thermal impractical dress. X6 and Sole made their way back towards their room at Hotel Rexford. She thought about Cedric and the lingering feeling of his hands on her chest and thigh. It put a foul taste in her mouth.
Turning her eyes towards X6 she realized that she had yet to properly thank him.
"Hey X6, thank you so much for…saving me back there. I don't even want to think what might have happened if…." She trailed off, not wanting to follow that line of thought. Her teeth clattered. The road back to the hotel seemed longer in the cold.
Without a word, X6 disrobed his courser jacket and placed it over Sole's shoulders. Underneath, he wore a simple black, long-sleeved t-shirt and the same black pants that tucked into his boots. Plain and simple, just like him. The heavy leather jacket instantly warmed her up, making her wonder how the hell he was able to tote this during the day when it reached higher degrees.
Sole began to protest before X6 cut her off.
"Ma'am, you are more susceptible to extreme weather, or men" he trailed off with blunt affect. "At times like these, you should just allow me to protect you."
"Still, I owe you." She insisted, suddenly feeling bashful. Just these little actions made her feel so happy inside. Keeping her from harm, giving her his jacket, all in stride.
"Your health is of utmost importance. It is my duty as the courser assigned to you, to keep you in optimal conditions."
"Hmm" she grunted back, dissatisfied with his answer. He always seemed to turn it back to the Institute. It could never be just about him. The little nothings were just that to him, nothings. X6 kept getting ahead of her, unsure of how to match his pace with the slow, uneven steps of high heels.
Noticing her sudden reluctance to talk he breathed in, and out. Then speaking ahead of him, he slowly added, "For what it's worth, I think you look…nice."
Her cheeks flushed at his compliment, burning so hard that she recoiled into the collar of his jacket. Was she really this foolish to blush at one compliment? Why was she blushing anyway? It didn't mean anything to him. He never made passes at her or gave indication that he was interested. For all intents and purposes, he believed he was just a robot. He the bodyguard, her the protected. Nothing more, nothing less.
However, in times of such confusion, Sole liked to conduct little experiments to test her hypotheses. The red stretched to her ears and her stomach flipped at what she had dared to say next.
"Can-can I hold your hand? My knees are still trembling a little." She murmured, almost inaudibly.
X6 didn't respond at first, which made her question if she had even really asked the question out loud or if it was all in her mind. Then, without turning towards her at all, he reached out his hand, opening his palm towards her. Sole couldn't stop herself from smiling like an idiot as she greedily laced her small fingers in with his larger ones. She buried her secret smile into his jacket. Contrasted to what he would have her believe, his hand was actually really warm. It was large and calloused; the hands of a courser.
And just like that, Sole and X6-88 walked silently hand in hand, all the way back to Hotel Rexford.