Leyah watched as Maverick and Reilly created a plan for them before Maverick left to see if Tulip had any more ammo to sell.
She sighed and checked Reilly's vital signs one more time before getting ready to leave herself.
"So, how long have you guys been dating?"
Leyah froze. Shit.
"We aren't," she replied weakly.
"Could have fooled me. Maverick usually isn't convinced that easily and there was no way in hell he would have taken this on in the past. He's wrapped around your finger," Reilly said with a laugh.
Leyah bit her lip before letting out a sigh. "You really think so?"
The vault dweller knew she couldn't keep the feelings and thoughts she's had about Maverick inside any longer. This wasn't helping.
"Fuck yeah I think so. He would have said, 'Tough shit' if I saw him 10 years ago. All you had to do was look at him."
Leyah sighed. "You're probably reading it wrong. He most likely thinks of me as a little sister or something."
Reilly scoffed. "I didn't know brothers looked at sisters like that. Just grow a pair of tits and tell him."
Leyah let out a weak laugh. "Alright, maybe I will after we save your team."
"I knew I liked you for a reason."
Maverick finally returned and they both set out toward the metro entrance. Leyah reached out to pull open the chain link fence, but Maverick's voice stopped her. "Leyah."
She turned to look at him and her breath caught in her throat. He was standing really close. "Y-yeah?"
"I meant it when I said you have to listen to me. This is going to be tougher than anything we've come across so far. We can't have another incident like at Jefferson Memorial."
Seeing the amount of worry in his eyes caused Leyah's heart to sink. "I know. And I will."
With a sigh, he reached up and tucked a wayward lock of hair behind her ear. "Good. Let's go." He reached forward and opened the gate.
Leyah's heart wouldn't stop pounding the whole way through the metro tunnels. At first, it was because she was remembering how the backs of Maverick's fingers felt on her cheek. But now…it was because of the feral ghouls.
"Fuck," Maverick hissed as he shot another feral down. They finally made it to another entrance and Maverick slowly opened the door.
"We are in the heart of mutie land. Don't let your guard down."
Leyah nodded and followed him. They saw a Super Mutant right away when they reached the surface and Maverick started to lead her through the twisting alleys toward the hospital.
"Fuck, there's one on the roof there," he hissed. He pointed up to the cement crosswalk above them. "Shoot him down, whether you hit him or distract him, it will give us time to get into the hospital."
Leyah nodded and took aim. She would have to remember to thank Harkness the next time she saw him. The Super Mutant turned into green goo, giving them all the time they needed.
The way to the top floor of the hospital was a mad house. Traps from the Rangers were everywhere and Leyah saw her first Centaur on the third floor. She stared at it after the coast was clear. "Why the fuck do they look like that?" she mumbled.
"Don't know, but we have to keep moving."
Theo's body was a mangled mess when they found it and they tried to avoid looking at it as they packed as much ammo as they could. "Shit, we need to hurry," Maverick cursed.
They finally made it to the top floor and Maverick let out one of the most colorful curses she had ever heard from him when they realized what they had to do. They had to go across to the hotel on a radio tower that had collapsed, making a walkway.
"Jesus hotsauce Christmas cake! Fuck fuck fuck fuck…" Maverick was now pacing and taking deep breaths.
Leyah suddenly remembered that Maverick was scared of heights.
"You owe me one for this, Vaultie," he hissed.
Leyah went first and she slowly and carefully made her way across. She dropped down to the story below and turned to motion to Maverick.
She could still hear him cursing as he practically crawled across to the hotel. It would have been almost comical if the threat of a mutant seeing them wasn't present.
He finally dropped down to where she was and he plastered himself against the side of the building. "Open the damn door!"
Leyah quickly opened it and let them in. She closed it afterward so he wouldn't have to look outside again. "Sorry," she mumbled.
"Did you cause the radio tower to fall?"
"No?"
"Then don't apologize. It's like you and the metros. It's something we have to fucking do." Maverick took a few deep breaths and shook his arms out. "Alright, let's go. Keep an eye out for more goddamn traps."
As they made their way through the hotel, Leyah couldn't imagine somewhere being as trap infested as this one. Trip mines, bombs, and God knows what else was littered through the whole path to the roof. They finally made it to the restaurant and they both held back groans at what they saw. "Fuck," Maverick cursed.
Luckily, they had only ran into one or two mutants at a time the whole way up to the top floor. Now there were three.
"Fuck, there's a Master in there."
"How can you even tell if he's a Master? They all look the same," Leyah hissed.
"He has more tires on him, so he's a Master."
Leyah cursed and looked around. Surely there was another way…
She perked up when she saw another door down the hall. "Mav."
She gestured to it and they both hurried over to it before any of the mutants could spot them. Leyah quickly hurried to pick the lock while Maverick kept watch. With the secret hallway open, she and Maverick were able to quickly clear out the dining room.
"Alright, according to Reilly, the way to the roof is right up those stairs."
Maverick started to make his way toward the stairs he gestured to and Leyah began to follow. A small flash of movement in the corner of her eye had her stopping behind a pillar and grabbing the back of Maverick's gear. "Mav!"
Luckily, she caught him mid-step and was able to pull his greater weight behind the pillar just as the mutant's gun shot.
"Fuck!" Maverick barked, quickly reloading his gun.
Leyah peered around the edge of the pillar and she knew she had this shot even before she reloaded her own gun.
The mutant was a pile of green goo in seconds.
Breathing heavily and heart pounding, she dared to look up at him right as he looked down at her. Maverick let out a weak laugh before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and hugging her close. "Fucking hell," he croaked out, "thank you."
The rush she got from the close call quickly became a warm, fuzzy sensation as he squeezed her a little more before letting go. They quickly scavenged what they could from the room and Leyah was excited to find a fission battery in a Protectoron. "Jackpot."
Maverick rolled her eyes and tapped her shoulder. "C'mon. Those mercs will be happy to see us."
The sound of explosions and gunshots greeted them as they emerged onto the roof. Leyah followed Maverick's lead as they crept closer to the sounds. They found a ramp that lead to the very top of the roof and Maverick let out his second most colorful curse of the day. "Fuck shit damn bitch, they'll shoot on sight if they see us."
Leyah bit her lip, wondering what to do. Memories of an old holotape from the vault suddenly came to mind and she quickly started to dig through her pack.
"What are you doing?"
"Hold on."
Maverick huffed in annoyance, glancing toward the mercenaries.
Leyah finally found one of her other tank tops and she tied the sleeves around the end of Maverick's shot gun.
"What the-"
"Hold it up and wave it! It's worth a shot."
Maverick grumbled under his breath and started to wave the makeshift flag around.
"What the fuck?" one of the mercenaries cursed
"Butcher! Don't fucking fire! It's Maverick Barrington you asshole!" Maverick bellowed, waving his gun around as fast as he could.
"Brick, put the fucking gun down!" a new voice yelled.
Leyah dared to peek up the ramp and she saw the three mercenaries lower their guns. Maverick huffed and untied her tanktop from his gun. "Shit, I didn't think that would work."
"Well, you shouting at them probably rang some bells in their heads."
Maverick smirked at her before making his way up the ramp.
Leyah's heart skipped a beat at the look and she quickly stuffed her tanktop back into her pack and hurried after him. Shit, she really needed to tell him. It was getting to the point to where she lost focus.
One of the mercenaries walked toward them with open arms. "Maverick, you bastard, you're a sight for sore eyes!"
They did the perfect definition of a 'man hug', as Leyah liked to call them. The man who she assumed was Butcher looked behind them and a frown replaced his smile. "Are you two it?"
"Yeah, and we fucking got here by ourselves so you better not complain," Maverick huffed. He nodded toward the elevator. "So, that piece of shit is out?"
"Yeah, it needs some juice and we should be home free after that. How did you know we were here? Did you get our distress signal?"
Leyah hung behind Maverick and she grinned and nodded at the woman nearby. The woman nodded back with a grateful smile.
"No, we bumped into Reilly in Underworld," Maverick jerked a thumb toward Leyah, "Leyah here patched her up enough to talk to us. She practically begged us to help you."
"Reilly's alive?! Thank God," the other man said, shoulder's sagging with relief.
The woman went as far as giving Leyah a hug.
She and Maverick handed over all of Theo's ammo before inspecting the elevator.
Maverick fiddled with it for a moment before glancing back at the mercs. "Donovan, what the hell did you see when you tried to fix it?"
Donovan stepped over and they both started to tinker with the elevator. Maverick turned around after a few minutes with a wry smirk. "Remind me to never stop you from scavenging ever again. You find useful shit."
He held his palm out and Leyah realized what he wanted. She sighed and dug through her pack for the fission battery she found. "I really wanted this one," she grumbled, handing it over.
Donovan held his hand out expectantly to Maverick and Maverick just looked at him like he was a super mutant. "What the fuck do you want?"
"I can fix it now," Donovan said, gesturing to the elevator.
"Numbnuts, I have handled fission batteries since I was 10. I built my own power armor at 12. I have this. Go get rested and fix your damn gun. It's going to blow in your face if you use it again."
Leyah rolled her eyes. He could have simply said he could do it.
Donovan made a face at him before stepping back to do as Maverick so kindly advised. Leyah checked her own rifle as they were waiting.
"So, what's a cute girl like you doing all the way out in Super Mutant land?"
Leyah looked up at Donovan with a deadpan expression. Was he seriously flirting with her right now? They weren't even close to being out of danger. She ignored the comment and continued inspecting her rifle.
"I'm surprised a pretty girl like you has lasted this long out here. They usually stay-"
"If you say they usually stay home I swear to God I'll hand your balls to you," Leyah politely said, giving him a fake grin as she cocked her gun.
Jesus, she was NOT in the mood to deal with this. Having to sneak her way through ghoul infested metros and a mutant filled hospital and hotel did not make a good day. She didn't dare complain though, because it was her idea.
The woman, who she assumed was Brick, smirked at Donovan before holding her hand up to Leyah. Leyah grinned and gave her a high five. "You tell 'em!"
A loud snort caused everyone to look at Maverick. "Good fucking luck, Don. She can shoot your balls off from a hundred feet. I've seen her do it."
"No shit?" Donovan laughed, giving Leyah a wink before going back to fixing his gun.
Leyah rolled her eyes before slinging her rifle over her shoulder again. She peeked over at Maverick, who was squatting near the elevator circuit board. She could see where the shirt he wore under his armor was sticking to his skin because of the sweat and she quickly looked away as her mouth went dry. Fuck, she really had to tell him. But how does one do that?
It was easy in the Vault. Wally literally walked up to her one day and asked her to be his girlfriend. Leyah thought being his girlfriend would cause him and the other Tunnel Snakes to lay off of her and Amata a little more.
That didn't happen.
Now, she was on an emotional vertibird ride and she had no control. It didn't help that her whole body would heat up at the thought of being physically intimate with Maverick.
"Got it!" Maverick suddenly cheered, standing up straight, kicking the circuit board cover back into place. He turned and faced the mercenaries as he pressed the button to call the elevator. "Alright assholes, just like the old times. We go in slow and cover each other's asses."
He pointed at Brick. "No charging in Brick, I fucking mean it."
Brick rolled her eyes with a salute. "Yes, Sir."
They all piled into the elevator and Leyah somehow, someway, got squished between Maverick and Donovan. She glanced up at Maverick and noticed that he was glaring at Donovan over her head. Wait…did that mean?
No, Maverick was too old to be jealous. Right?
She shook the thoughts from her mind as they reached the bottom floor and she got her rifle ready. She had to hand it to them, the Rangers knew how to do their job. They were able to make it to the ground floor and all Leyah could see was the Super Mutant Master left, or so she thought.
Heavy steps and a whoosh caused her to gasp and turn just in time to see a Super Mutant barreling toward her with a board full of nails. She dove to the side as it swung, separating her from where she was standing next to Brick.
She let out a yelp when it swung down. Leyah rolled to the side, quickly reloading her rifle. She took a wild shot, hoping to distract it as she scrambled behind the counter. She gasped when she realized she was cornered. Fuck.
The Mutant was on a roll now and was coming fast. She took another shot, hitting its shoulder. It let out a gargled shriek as it dropped the board and it slowed down just enough for her to leap over the counter.
"Leyah! Move!" Maverick roared.
She squeaked and rolled forward and her body started to tremble when she felt the ends of the Mutant's grubby fingers barely bounce off her armor. She turned so she could possibly get a shot in, but all she could see was the broad expanse of Maverick's back.
The boom of his shotgun sounded throughout the lobby of the hotel.
Leyah let out a long sigh of relief and she slumped down to her knees. Her body started to shake when she realized just how close of a call that was. Her rifle slipped from her fingers and she tried to get a grip. She knew she was probably embarrassing herself and Maverick right now.
She closed her eyes and tried to take deep breaths, but that didn't help.
Warm calloused hands rested on either side of her neck and she opened her eyes to see Maverick kneeling in front of her. "Hey, it's okay. It's over," he kept saying softly, running his thumbs along her jaw.
Leyah nodded and slowed down her breathing, focusing on making it even again. She closed her eyes and tried to hone in on the way he was holding her.
The soft rub of his skin against hers helped her stay grounded and she stopped shaking after a few moments. She opened her eyes again and she was met with worried blue-green eyes.
"You okay?" he asked, studying her features.
Fuck, her heart was still pounding, but for a different reason now. She nodded, reaching up and tracing her fingers along one of his wrists. For a moment, she imagined how easy it would be to lean forward and press her lips to his. Him standing up and helping her to her feet killed that thought quickly.
He picked up her rifle and held it out to her. "Alright, is everyone good to move on?"
The Rangers gave their okay and soon they were making their way to the metro back toward Underworld. Leyah noticed that Maverick didn't leave her side at all and was gently pressing his hand to the small of her back occasionally.
Her heart fluttered every time he did and she had to hold back the urge to wrap her own arm around him. She could understand why he was doing it. She wanted to make sure he was okay too. They just did what was considered a suicide mission with no casualties whatsoever.
This made her wonder what else they could accomplish together.