I stayed up late to publish this because I've typed all afternoon trying to get this out for you lovely ladies! Sorry this has taken so long (etc, etc, my usual spiel) I hope you can forgive me~
Halfway through Freeside, the courier and her two companions were stopped by a shivering King. The streets were darkening and one could almost see the eerie and menacing glints of knife blades under the streetlights, the fires burning in the slums sending a sick smell of singed garbage over the small city. The old guy who sold ugly-looking chunks of meat was watching them, armed with a cleaver and ready to pounce at any sort of trouble. It was great to be home.
"Whatcha want, man?" Annie had her bag on one shoulder, aching from the hot trip home. All she wanted to do was go back to the 38 and nap a couple of hours, her usual sleeping patterns turned deranged over the past two or so weeks.
"The King wants to see you." The young man (barely even 18) told them sternly, sure of his own superiority only to the point of a voice break at the end. "Important business."
"Important." Annie scrubbed her eyes with her fists, groaning out a strained noise. "I suppose I could go." She turned to her followers, the scribe and the sniper waiting patiently with a sort of stoic edge. Even Veronica seemed burnt out. "Boone, take Veronica back home, I'll be there in a while."
"I'll stay." The sniper was not fond of the King's right hand man. Always looked at Annie with a weird eye, his face curious but not innocent. The courier shot him a look, confused at his abrupt rejection.
He'd been 'abrupt' the entire trip, still running hard on the thrill of being alive. After being nursed back to health by the two women, he was slowly coming to terms with the idea of life continuing after 30, his chest swelled solid with accomplishment. There was a great deal of weight lifted from his shoulders, little by little each and every moment he remembered what he had done. He felt better (and although the weight was full it was only a chip off the block), more sure of his situation than he had been the week before.
Maybe that's how Annie felt when she returned home with blazing eyes, free from deep wounds and wound-up by the thrill of simply surviving. He thought about the electricity that would shudder through her when she dug the butt of her sledge from some poor mans chest. He could finally understand and recognise the feeling of knowing that you are capable of completely and totally fucking shit up. He hadn't felt like that since he was a teenager, broad-shouldered and still young enough not to really care; picking off raiders on the edge of his mother's property with an ugly old hunting rifle salvaged from the skeletons in the caves up the road.
"Don't you need sleep?" Annie asked sceptically, eyes narrowing at the older man. He gave her a flat look.
"I'll be fine."
"Are you gonna be alright getting back in?" She asked Veronica, dragging her eyes carefully away from Boone's. The scribe blinked back.
"I'm sure I'll manage somehow." The girl creaked. "Need anything?"
"No, get some rest." The courier handed over her key card. "Be safe!" She called, the scribe turning on her heel to head towards the shiny gates.
"Is she going to be okay?" The young man asked, combing his hair back over his ears. The courier sighed tiredly, watching as one of the older Kings joined Veronica's side as a friendly escort.
"She'll be fine." She waved her hand, reaching up to stretch the sleep from her body. "Come on, come on, take us to The King."
Falling instep with each other moments later, Annie and her partner pressed their hands into their pockets in an awkward silence. The two had harboured a brittle feeling between them for the whole trip, the girl's aura more angry than his mellow concern. She was not happy with him - that he already knew. He hadn't received the result of her vicious kicks, and he knew for a fact he never would, but in the end he would have preferred that over her simmering upset that tended to leak out her mouth in guilt inducing snaps.
"Oh," Annie looked up at him. "I probably should mention that Veronica is living with us now."
"Figured." He looked down at her and caught the reflections of a dingy street in her glass eyes. She had a small grin on her face, eyes flickering with a decent sort of revenge.
"And a couple of others too…" She added slowly, gauging his reaction with the size of her mouth.
His eyes narrowed, hidden by the dark shades. He pulled them from the bridge of his nose, folding them up to slip into his pocket, giving the girl an almost salty look. "How many?"
"Only two." She shook her head. "Not including Veronica."
"And you trusted these people enough to let them into our home?"
"Our home." She snorted at him, eyes softening a little at his use of words. "Our home… huh, well, don't you trust my judgement?"
"Not really."
"Oh…" Her eyes flared up. "These people are good people. Owe me a favour or two, so when they offered to follow along I offered them a place to stay." She grit her fists together in a small ounce of anger, fidgeting her knuckles together awkwardly. "Sort of reminds me of someone."
He shot her a look as they entered the King's building, escorted by a leering Pacer to the table of The King himself. Boone was not happy with the way the jittery gangbanger pulled out Annie's chair with a flair of compliments. He'd had an eye on her since he'd decided her fate on the Freeside gates, wooed by the promise of endless caps and spread legs. Annie would probably be into that too, Boone thought, sickened by the idea.
"Hello there, sir, how can I be of help today?" Annie slipped into the seat, placing her bag gently behind the chair. She knew she could leave it unattended in the place without someone's sticky fingers dipping between the zips – the Kings were a huge fan of the black-haired bombshell that was ever-so-polite to the older men in leather jackets. She dug around in her armour pockets. "Cigarette?"
The man accepted, taking the offered lighter with a glint in his eye. "Thank you. I apologise for dragging you away from your duties, but I heard you were heading back through…"
"It's no problem." She watched The King survey her huffy partner, the sniper slightly irritated by the girl's sly dig.
"Bringing the heat down on me, hey little girl?" The King eyed the other man quietly, ribbing Annie in jest, the courier returning him a tired but sly smile.
"Hey now, that's my partner you're talking about." She grinned smartly. "His opinions affect my decisions, so it's nice to keep him around. Can't be too careful nowadays." She winked, resting her elbows on the table. "I'm sure you understand, though, considering everyone in the room is packing heat."
"I understand completely." The man leant forward, mimicking her bent elbows. "You look like you need to get back to dream land, girl, so I'll make this quick." He met the girl's eyes. "I want to ask a favour of you. After all the help you've given the Kings, I'm sure you're the perfect person for this job."
"Tell me more." The courier goaded, suddenly interested in the proposition. It stroked her ego to know that someone thought she was good at something – she rarely heard that, and when it was it was something along the lines of 'you're great at getting stabbed', straight from the throat of Arcade.
"My old Rex is sick." The old mans hands pressed the table suddenly. "He needs help."
The girl froze, eyes sliding to stare blankly at the panting robo-dog.
"And..?" She started slowly, hoping for further explanation, her hands winding around each other to press him on. The King's eyes softened in a moment of pure puppy love as he reached down to scratch behind his friend's right ear.
"I need you to find someone who can fix him. Talk to Julie Farkas at the fort – maybe she can help you." He shrugged, hands back to the hardwood. Annie looked at her man and bit her lip, feelings tugged at the idea of a very sad king.
She never liked to see a man upset, the idea uncomfortable with its 'un-masculine' feelings… Boone did it to her too – that's why he had his boot on her back most of the time. The men from her childhood never felt sad, fists always bigger than their fears.
"What do you think, partner?" She whispered the last part, turning to Boone with her mouth in a straight line. He could see the strain in her eyes at the thought of the robot dog, the hybrid's oily joints shining in her timid pupils.
He thought to himself for a moment, resigning into a thought session with the poise of one finger straight up that read 'hold on one moment'. The Kings needed a favour from Annie, and if she said no to this favour, then they would lose the trust of the head honcho of Freeside. That would cut them off from the Wrangler and the streets wouldn't be as safe at night…
"We'll do it." He stood up, joined by the man in the white suit.
"Thank you, thank you very much." The King clasped his hand and shook it, Annie standing up a moment later to stare at the interaction blandly. "This is music to my ears, my friends. Thank you."
The courier stared at the sniper with her fingers rubbing her forehead, turning to The King with her cheek tugged down by her screaming nails. She was past the point of keeping civil, swinging on her feet with the exhaustion of the previous week's escapades. Another job to add to the list, just when she thought she was getting on top of things.
"You look like you're gonna fall asleep on your feet, little girly, go get some rest." He shook her hand with zest. "Thank you." He kept shaking. "Thank you."
Sitting in the dining chair Annie had dragged in for him, Boone was smoking a cigarette with his elbows digging into his knees. The courier had her head braced on the lip of the bath, submerged in water as she stared up at the roof quietly. He didn't mind sitting beside her, comfortable with the fact that she was still comfortable enough with him to bare herself. She hadn't taken her clothes of in front of anyone else for a long time, a sign of restraint on her behalf. It used to be something that he hated but now it was a perk.
"So are you gonna tell me why you left?" She asked him calmly, sliding her position to hug the side of the tub. Her wet fingers pressed into his kneecaps. He looked down at her, letting out a tired sigh.
"Was something I had to do." He watched her spin her wet hair into a bun on top of her head.
"Still, not a solid reason for a cryptic note. Gave me a heart attack." Her brows furrowed, fingers wrapping back around the porcelain. "You don't have any idea how much I care about you, do you? I'm not going to get all soft on you or anything, but god, Boone, come on now… not your brightest idea…."
He sat silently like a scolded child, aggravated with the annoying fact that if he talked back she would dig his grave deeper.
She rolled her eyes at him.
"And these things that you've done…" She went quiet, listening for anyone outside of the bathroom. "You either tell me or you don't. I get that you don't want to and all, but if it's going to weigh on your mind to the point of you marching to your death… then buddy, I think you may find it smart to let me know." She leant back and crossed her heart. "On my life, Boone, I won't judge you in any severe or unjust way."
He shook his head and she grimaced, flopping back to embrace the bathtub.
"You make me so mad." Annie sighed. "But in saying that, I can't stay mad at you for long. That face of yours..." She scowled. "Never used to be like this."
"In far too deep now." He agreed and she gave him a soft smile.
"That I understand, my friend." She reached out and patted him on the knee. "So with that in mind, remember that what you do also affects me. You don't want to touch me, I get it, but please know that I'm a little more…" she chewed her lip, eyes burning into the carpeted floor "… emotionally invested in you than I originally planned. I'm sure you know this by now."
He nodded.
"So in saying that, I've called dibs on you." She shrugged, leaning back to lay her head on the lip of the bath. She smiled despite herself. "If you ever feel like shacking up with someone, I'm first in line, alright?"
It was the first time she'd ever seen his teeth.
"Eesh," Annie wiped the burning cherry off of the green felt with the butt of her palm "okay, new rule, guys, no smoking near the pool table."
"Alright, but you're the only one breaking it, boss." The ghoul was leaning lazily on the pool stick. The courier looked up, turning to find her man who was standing in the corner of the room, smoking up his own certified smoking section. She shot him a look.
"You're just over there to make me look bad."
"Someone has to." Boone answered smartly and she huffed a laugh, returning to her shot.
"Alright, here we go, gonna to hit the white ball so that blue ball goes in that pocket right over there." She shook her head, blinking through the bleary smoke of her cigarette. She swung her arm and the white ball skittered off to the side, pirouetting into the opposite pocket. She gasped a sigh. "Crap."
"Not too good at that, Annie." Cass spoke over the rim of her fourth bottle of whiskey, collecting her cue to take her shot. The courier watched, the redhead's elbow swinging with ease. Annie grunted.
"Never spent too much time in bars." Hearing the clack of a sunken ball, Boone pried the cue from Annie's hands. The girl punched his arm, swinging her gaze to the redhead. "Only time I ever set foot in one was to drag some poor bastard back out."
Cass stood up straight and moved out of the way for the sniper, the man leaning over to line up his angles. Annie watched curiously.
"Pool is a ridiculous game anyway… complicated." She leant on the wooden braces, stubbing out her smoke in the ashtray balancing dangerously on the edge. "When my friends and I were bored we'd play kickball. Uproot a cactus and there you go," she slapped her thighs "hours of fun."
Veronica snorted at her from the couch, buried in Annie's pipboy. Boone shot her an odd look from his place and shook his head, sending at least one ball off into a pocket.
"You know where the door is, six," Cass told her, clapping her on the shoulder "Go and get your cactuses. I'll give you a go."
"You're on." Annie grinned at her. "But not now. After this game it is bed time for me."
They had gathered in the living room to have a meet-and-greet with Boone. He was the only part of the team that the other two hadn't met yet (they had even had the delicate pleasure of meeting Arcade), and Annie was pushing for a casino-wide unity with the different parties. They had settled on doubles in pool, Veronica sitting out to be the indifferent party who passed her time dipping into Annie's information collection.
"It's alright, boss," Raul took the cue from Cass, gripping the stick with his fleshy fingers "with the way you're playing we'll be in bed in about… say, four minutes."
"Ohoho, you cheeky old man." She laughed happily, watching him grin under the soft ceiling lights. "Boone! Teach me how to play pool! This old man is testing me!"
The younger man sighed, handing her the stick while she watched Raul sink two perfectly. She should have listened to him when he said he'd been playing pool for a long time. The sniper leant next to her, pulling her wrist up to the end of the cue.
"Alright, Anna, hand flat, fingers back, thumb out… Yep." His hands moved her own quickly, pulling off complete instructions with the easiness of not having to touch her for too long. "Line up, remember angles. Where is the ball going to go. Swing your elbow, not your arm."
"Which one?" She asked.
"That red one, into that pocket right there."
"Alright, that red one, into that pocket." She swung her elbow back. "Right there."
The white ball skittered into the red, splitting them both ways. The red rolled into its hole, the white bouncing off the green bumpers and splitting two bigs. The courier jumped up, holding the stick to her face.
"Wow." She nodded. "Alright, not the pocket I was after but I'll take it."
"You got another shot." Cass told her, watching her eyes widen.
"I don't think I can do that again."
"That purple one into that corner pocket." Boone pointed her and she sighed, bending down to line it up. Cracking the stick forward, the white ball skimmed the purple, sending it sideways to roll back into the same pocket as the red. She dropped the cue, the stick sliding across the wood to get caught on a pocket bumper.
"Fluke, holy shit, fluke." She held her hands up.
"Maybe you were playing the fool all along, boss." Raul shrugged, gesturing her another shot. The girl's lips formed into an embarrassed line.
"You don't have to call me that..." she muttered, her cheeks going a delightful pink, Boone revelling in the rare moment of Annie being flustered. She bent down for the last time, twisting the cue in her hands to aim for the eight ball. As she pushed the stick forward, it fell from her fingers to slip on the green felt. The white ball sputtered miserably forward, bouncing the black ball forward to corner itself with a bumper and return to its original spot. The white sank perfectly into the side pocket.
They all watched her for a moment, waiting for her delayed reaction. Her gaze snapped up to catch Boone's and she let out a pelt of laughter, rubbing her tired eyes with her blue chalked fingers.
"Okay, Annie, if you're as good at kickball as you are at pool, you've definitely got yourself a game." Cass threw her arm around the woman's shoulder, offering her one last drink of the night. She didn't mind sharing, the courier having bought up a great stock from the Casino's restaurant and leaving them all for consumption. "Good game." She shook her hand.
"Good game." the courier snorted "You too Raul," she reached and took advantage of his rubbery fingers. "Good game, old man. I'll get you yet."
"One day, señorita, but today is not that day." He shook Boone's hand, turning back to the table to claim his cigarettes. Cass was hoarding her bottles in the corner, clinking the glass together as she sorted out her stockpile. Veronica had already excused herself for bed, giving the courier a pat on the shoulder for good night.
Annie turned to Boone.
"Good game." She punched his shoulder first, slipping her palm into his. "I'm sorry we lost."
"I can forgive you." Shaking her hand, he let her go so she could drift off to walk Cass and Raul to their room.
He followed them out the door, turning the light off to head to their main bedroom – finding a bright blue rex glowing at the end of their bed, tuckered out on their weapons trunk. Trying not to wake the sleeping beast, he slinked to the bed to pull his boots off, soon joined by a soft-footed Annie slipping through the doorway.
"So what do you think?" She asked, eyeing the dog as she shut the door. Quietly slipping her shoes off, Annie watched the man curiously as he changed shirts.
"Of what?" He asked, pulling the cotton over his stomach.
"Of them." The courier smiled, tugging off her own shirt to chuck it on the floor. Unzipping her pants, she headed over to the cupboard – finding her soft floral nightgown she had grown so fond of. "You know – the people I trusted enough to let in our house…" Shimmying out of her jeans, she stepped out of them, kicking the denim to the pile. Stretching a little, she pulled the nightgown over her head. "Who's gonna kill me first? Raul or Cass?"
"Me, if you don't lay down and go to sleep." He sighed cheekily, the woman sending him a haughty look as she flattened her hair.
"Nasty man." She huffed, eyeing his fingers as they tugged up his pants. "But you like them, right?"
"They're alright, for now." He told her, sitting across from her to tuck his legs into the sheets. She crawled over to him, flopping her sad form beside him as they both lay in a moment of silence.
"Big couple of weeks…" She sighed, turning her neck to look at him.
"Yeah."
"Did you know, me and Veronica got more done in those two weeks than you and I have done in our entire time together?" The courier rolled onto her side, curled around her pillow.
"Is that a fact?" He asked.
"Yes! We went to Primm, Sloan, Goodsprings, Novac-" (she counted on her fingers) "got into a bar fight with Cass at the Mojave Outpost, saved Raul from a colony of Nightkin, nearly got assassinated three times by Legionnaires and then I come back to find you."
"Sorry for ruining your good time."
"Shut up," she reached over to smack his arm "I'm glad to have you back. None of that."
The man looked at her for a moment, letting a breath escape through his nose as he stared back up at the ceiling.
"Does House understand why we're back and nothing's been done?" He asked openly, the girl shooting him a look.
She cleared her throat to speak clearly. "House understands that I lost you and that put a halt to all plans. Not that he's happy about it, and I get that, but we'll be back on track by Saturday." Her eyes burnt into his to scold him for such an open-ended question. House could have been listening to them all night.
"And the dog?" His eyes fought themselves closed, suddenly overwhelmed with fatigue. When was the last time he shut them?
"The dog will come too." She shuddered, grossed out by the thought of a hybrid. "We'll do him on the way."
"Got it figured out, boss." He teased tiredly and she shut her eyes, reaching out to grab his forearm and give it a squeeze.
"Sleep, my friend." She cooed at him, patting him softly as she changed the subject. "Gotta go see old lady Farkas tomorrow." Her eyes cracked open slightly to give him a warm smile. "Night Boone. It really is good to have you back."