Note: Yeah, okay, I'm not calling it. I had some ideas suggested to me (thank you, LadyAvon!) and of course I couldn't help myself but to try it out. Apologies if this feels like it's jerking around, I haven't been able to get more than a moment to myself lately. Now I know how Ruby feels.

(I had the name thing planned for ages, hah! Love you, grandma)

"How come you ended up in the Commonwealth, MacCready?" she asked him, parking herself on the edge of a car hood and staring out over Lake Cochituate. The two had moved south, away from the co-op and the Ration Stockpile. The raiders that had been reported at the Stockpile hadn't been an issue, since she'd taken out the power-armored leader several weeks earlier.

She was much better with a gun, now. Thanks to MacCready's teaching her, and thanks to Danse's support. Ruby rubbed her forehead with the heel of her palm, then brushed her hair away from her face, noting that darkness was starting to fall to the east.

They were back in Natick Banks. Where everything had started... in a way. The first time he'd tried anything, had been in the police station. She stared out over the lake and felt embarrassed for herself. Should have at least talked to him, back then... she felt guilty about it, still.

Ruby looked over at MacCready, wondering what he was thinking about. The ex-Gunner was reloading his weapon, staring intently at the chambers as he put each bullet in the proper place. She could see his face, the intensity of his expression. After he'd loaded the chambers and put the pistol to rights, he tilted his hat up on his head and looked out over the lake.

"I followed the money," he said, his face expressionless.

She knew why he wanted money. Having caps in abundance was the difference between life or death in this new world. The difference between a good gun and a bad one, between not knowing when you might eat again or having a full belly.

And there would always those people with a drive to succeed―like herself, but she'd only been in her career because―

The reason she'd gone for her degree was to make sure that she and Nate had money―money for a family, for the house. The house... she sighed. The house didn't really matter. Family did.

She lowered her hands to the hood of the car and stared at MacCready. Remembered that he hadn't grown up in Boston, like she had, or anywhere near there. He'd lived... where was it again? ...The Capital Wasteland. Where he'd left his family.

MacCready hadn't talked much about the Capital, not nearly as much as Danse had. She hadn't known anything about D.C., not even before she'd entered the Vault. Never had been very good at keeping up with politics, even the inter-office kind. She wondered what'd happened to the White House―

Probably got wiped right off the map, she mused, studying the broken overpass in the distance.

She looked back at him. "Did you hire on with the Gunners down in D.C.?" she asked, gripping the hood of the car and putting her feet up on the fender.

"Those idiots wouldn't last two days in the Capital Wasteland," he retorted, one corner of his mouth curving up. "I know I didn't, once the Brotherhood started crawling all over the place."

That was something genuinely interesting, to her. But... if she started asking questions, she'd have to refer to Danse's comments. MacCready and Danse barely got along on a good day. Didn't seem like a good idea to agitate that―especially given the attitude that Danse had about the former Gunner, even after he'd been made aware of her feelings.

"Where did you live, in the Capital?" she asked, switching the topic.

"Told you about Little Lamplight, right?" he replied, shooting her a glance.

"Yes," she said, "but there was that Super Mutant who kept interrupting us, out at Breakheart..." She left her voice trail off and smiled sheepishly at him.

He rolled his eyes at her. "You don't even remember, do you?"

"Sorry," she said, her smile fading. "I had a lot on my mind. I still do. But I'm trying." Stared at him, forcing the memories away.

"When I was a kid, I had no idea what the wasteland was really like," he said, putting his .44 away. He crossed his arms and looked over the lake. "None of the kids down in the caves knew anything about the real world. When you hit sixteen you had to leave―" he sighed, and looked down at the water.

"Sounds like an enchanted life," she said, thoughtfully. "Kept you safe."

"I'd say your coming out of the Vault was a lot like when I left Little Lamplight," he said, sounding sad. "I knew how to shoot, at least."

Ruby ducked her head down. "I got better," she murmured, watching him shift his weight.

"Not everyone is lucky to have somewhere to go," he said, leaning back on his heels.

"Where did you go, when you left the caves?" she asked, watching him.

"Big Town," he said, faintly. His voice trailed off, and he sighed. "Me and Lucy bugged out of there as soon as we could. It wasn't like they said it would be."

"And then you... had the farm, right?" Ruby remembered him mentioning something about that.

"It was good, for a while," he told her. "Up until..."

"That's when you ended up in the Metro," she said. "And Lucy died?"

"Yeah." MacCready wiped his face quickly, coughing.

She nodded, and looked down at her hands. There was a strained silence, pressing down on them like an enormous hand. Ruby picked at her fingernails for a time, trying to think of something to say.

Didn't want to bring up that subject again. Not after he'd been so angry with her, at the co-op. Sometimes she wondered if she really was all that great at talking to people, like Hancock said. She was stepping on toes with MacCready all over the place, lately.

"You know," she said, slowly. "I think you've told me more about yourself than I have."

"You haven't exactly made it easy to ask," he said, his voice agitated.

She flushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she whispered, staring at her broken nails. He was still mad at her. She didn't blame him.

MacCready didn't say anything else, for a long time. Ruby eventually pushed herself upward, brushing paint flakes from her ass. Glowing fungus down by the lake had started putting off more light. Darkness was almost covering the sky, moving quickly. They'd have to start moving again, if they wanted to get somewhere to bed down for the night.

She came up behind him, putting a hand out onto his shoulder. "MacCre―"

"R.J.," he said, suddenly. "Robert Joseph MacCready."

She blinked at him. "What?"

"That's my name," he said, turning his head to look at her. "What's yours?"

For a moment she was lost, confused as to the reason he was asking, but she caved. "Ruby Ruiz."

"Your whole name," he said, sounding frustrated. "You haven't told anyone else that, right?"

"Oh." She moved around to face him and paused. "Well, I'm an R.J., too. Robert Joseph sounds a lot better than Ruby Jeraldine, if you ask me," she said, curling up a corner of her mouth.

He nodded, then breathed in and out, turning his head to stare down the road toward the police station. "So how's... this, going to work?"

She sighed. "We're going to annoy the ever-loving piss out of one another until we die. ...I hope," she said, putting her hands on her hips.

He smiled, then, and pushed his hat back even further, facing her. "Alright," he replied, and threaded a hand through her arm around her hips. Pulled her a little closer, and stood there for a moment. Her heart flipped around in her chest wildly, for a moment, then sunk in disappointment. That was all? After everything?

"I'm not going to bite you or nothing," she muttered, making the first move to wrap her arms around him. Almost like he's afraid to touch me, or something. ...That was her fault, too, dammit.

"You're really hard to read, okay?" he grumbled, and responded in kind.

"MacCready," she said, once they'd stood there long enough to let darkness fall completely over the area. "It's getting dark. We should get going."

He released her and adjusted his hat on his head, as she held up her Pip-Boy and plotted a route away from the lake.

"Don't get too far ahead... I like being close."

Ruby's heart jumped in her chest.

"Christ, will ya knock it off, already!"

Ruby smiled, despite her poor mood. Cait was always good for that; making one feel better about themselves because she was always so miserable. Ruby didn't think she was really as grumpy as she made herself out to be. Like MacCready, Cait just liked to complain. ...A lot, she laughed to herself.

They's stopped at Hangman's Alley to resupply and check on people. Cait was standing just inside the door berating a man who, to Ruby's eyes, hadn't done anything to deserve the lashing. Fairly normal for Cait; entirely normal for Hangman's Alley, where only the toughest settlers could survive.

Ruby liked the little alleyway settlement. She'd built the place up to a higher point, outfitted it with turrets, and made sure the doors were secure. Really, she didn't need to check up on the place. Cait was doing an excellent job of "keeping up spirits"―though in her case, like with Hancock, that sometimes meant using said spirits to do so.

Whatever it takes, in the wasteland, to make it work. She didn't have any more illusions about what could be, out here. You got better, or you died. There was no in-between.

She nodded to the guard on the post just inside the door, waved at Cait, and moved into the settlement. Behind her, she heard a brief exchange between MacCready and the ex-cage fighter that made her snort.

"Well, hello, handsome," Cait started. MacCready, pulling his weight in smoothness, flirted with her for a moment or two. Normal conversation for both parties, really. Cait flirted with just about everyone, but for the robots and Danse. She'd tried her hand at Danse, but Ruby couldn't tell if she was flirting or not―Danse had risen so awkwardly to her comments, Cait had given up talking to him.

She shook her head free of the thoughts and moved to the workshop, examining the contents for supplies. Had been scouring the wastes for fertilizer and making as much Jet as was humanly possible, making caps selling the chems at various vendors. As much as she disliked chems...

She'd put so many people behind bars for that, before. Ruby grabbed a bag of fertilizer, feeling the weight of the bag. It wasn't her case to judge, anymore. The law of the land was a stiff drink and a heavy gun in your hand.

Damn, but the stuff stank to high heaven. She remembered the taste, and made a face. Supposed Hancock couldn't really taste it―or maybe he could? She knew nothing about ghouls. Didn't seem to bother him, though. Maybe he'd gotten used to the smell.

She was sure, if she asked, he'd tell her some kind of -ism about it. Probably something about how when you're already shit, it couldn't hurt to put more shit into yourself―

That only reminded her of his chiding her about MacCready, before she'd talked to him. She frowned, lowering the bag so that it rested on the workbench surface. That hadn't been so long ago that she didn't recall his choice of words.

Wondered what he'd meant about people lined up. If he meant he thought she was encouraging people to step up and be her travelling partner... no, she doubted that. He'd already asked her about that, once before.

Coupled with his aggressive behavior and him... touching her, like he had... she assumed he had feelings for her. Maybe the kind of feelings that she'd had for MacCready? That was... Ruby shook her head at that. Hancock wouldn't act like that, she was sure. The man―the ghoul―was a self-professed hooligan and avid chem user. They meshed well with ideals and in that they both opposed the firm thumb of the Institute holding down the Commonwealth.

Didn't think he would hold himself back, either. Hancock was tough as nails and had let his feelings be known, before. Whether he was angry at her or he wanted to find out why she kept him around, the mayor was about as blunt as a baseball bat.

Part of the reason she liked him, actually. She chuckled a little. Really did doubt that he was thinking like―

"Why are we carrying around so much sh―stuff?" MacCready started, behind her. Ruby jarred herself into the present, pushing away the thoughts.

"Caps," she said. "Jet sells really well."

MacCready made a noise and leaned against the wall beside the workshop. "Do we really need the caps that badly?"

Ruby blinked and looked up at him in surprise. MacCready... not wanting caps? It was nearly inconceivable.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked him, poking at his shoulder. A funny tone crept into her voice. "You're always up for that."

MacCready scratched at his nose for a moment, staring out and above her head. Didn't say a word for such a long time, she was worried what he might say once he finally spoke. She knew there was something on his mind. Above all else, she had always been able to pick up on that. She frowned, shifted the weight of the fertilizer so it didn't fall, and waited.

"You..." he cleared his throat. "Said something about a day off." He wouldn't look her in the eyes, his gaze on the wires crossing underneath the Alley's second floor.

What? Ruby narrowed her own gaze on the man and frowned. "And you said days off only happened after you're dead," she pointed out.

"Yeah," he said, crossing his arms. "I did. I―" MacCready shook his head. "Just wondered if you were ever... going to actually take a day off."

Ruby frowned, screwing up her face. Hadn't actually thought about taking a day off, at all, and she certainly couldn't afford to do so now―

Not with everything that had gone on, and everything that was going to happen. She was still waiting on Sturges to decode the rest of the data on that holotape―the information on how to get into the Institute, the hard way―and as much as Danse might want her to utilize the knowledge of the Brotherhood, she couldn't go back. It was tense, right now, waiting for something to happen; and there was no time to jaunt off or even slow down.

There was no chance of her being able to relax, anyway. Ruby eyed the former Gunner, taking in his expression and wondering just what he was getting at. "It's not likely," she said, suspiciously.

He lowered his arms and picked at something on the back of his glove, staring at his hands. "But we're gonna take down the Institute soon, right?"

"That's the plan," she answered, pulling out another bag of fertilizer and placing it beside the next.

"Can we just―" he stopped himself, and pulled his hat down on his forehead.

"Are you trying to ask me on a date, or something?" she asked, shooting him a glance. "Not like you to act so bashful."

MacCready grabbed her hand as she dipped it back into the shelves under the workshop, and pulled her back up to face him. "Look, I―" he breathed out, noisily. "I'd like to have one nice day before everything goes to hell."

"A nice day," she said, pausing to stare at his eyes under his hat. He looked pained, almost. Had a look on his face that she'd never seen before. It made him look a hell of a lot more serious, more... well, his goofy smile wasn't for everyone, she knew. Nate's hadn't been, either, especially not after he'd taken that war injury to the cheek.

He stared at her for a long time with that intense expression. Made her heart thump a little faster, why she'd told him how she felt. MacCready was as soft as a down pillow, when he wanted to be, but when it came down to business you could sharpen a knife across him. A professional attitude, and he pulled it off fairly well.

"Yeah," he said, finally. His voice was deeper, and it spiked right through her chest and out the other side.

Ruby was good and well flustered, now. Knew it was normal, but dammit, it hurt to feel like that. She tried to pull away her hand―he let go as soon as she moved, uncertainty rippling across his face. "I have no idea what we'd do," she said, carefully, hoping her voice would at least behave. It caught in her throat, anyway. She swore mentally.

"Leave that part to me," he said, as a triumphant smile came across his face.

Yeah, he heard it. Ruby grumbled under her breath. Now she felt like a silly teenager, again. Didn't improve her mood, any, either.

"You'd better not take me up on an overpass to shoot people or something," she snorted, recovering her senses somewhat. "Nice things don't include target practice."

MacCready laughed a little, shaking his head and backing up two steps. "Don't worry, Jeraldine," he said, teasing her. "I'll think of something."

Ruby growled at him, turning back to the workshop. "Oh, is that how it's gonna be?" She grabbed up a glass beaker and head it by the neck, poking him with the flat end. "I don't gotta worry about you getting me killed. You gotta worry about me getting you―"

He grabbed her hand again, but this time he pulled her into a strong hug, laughing in her ear. She could see Cait on the other side of the settlement, giving her a hard look and crossing her arms over her chest.

"If you're going to keep that up," she grunted, his arms squeezing the air from her chest, "you should take your own advice."

"What?" he asked, relaxing his grip a little.

"We came here to make caps, Joseph. Sell some tickets, or something, God." She rubbed his back through the rough fabric of his coat, rolling her eyes.

He only laughed, and squeezed her again, and she laid her head onto his shoulder.