AN: Thank you so much for reading this story! Updates every Sunday
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"How did you go bankrupt?" Bill asked. "Two ways," Mike said. "Gradually and then suddenly."
― Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
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"Why on Earth was this place so hard to find?" Nora questioned aloud, leaning against the neon-lit entrance of Goodneighbor to catch her breath. She hadn't been shot, thanks to Strong shielding her with his body during their mad dash through Scollay Square. She eyed a streak of blood dripping down his cheek and felt an awful guilt.
"Would you like a stimpak?" Nora started rifling through her pack but Strong shook his head.
"No need." He looked her up and down for injuries, and the crease between his brow smoothed when he saw that she was unharmed.
"Are you sure?" Strong had always been protective of her, but she noticed that he seemed even more so than usual after their trip to the beach. While Nora appreciated knowing that he would have her back, she wished he wouldn't take his safety for granted.
He nodded, using the cloth portion of his sleeve to wipe the blood off of his face. Nora sighed but didn't press the issue, pulling out a can of purified water from her pack and handing it to him before opening one for herself. She downed the water and took a moment to run a brush through her tangled hair.
"How do I look? I wish I had a mirror on me." She knew she sounded silly, but couldn't help herself. His eyes softened as he took her in.
"Pretty," he leaned down to kiss her and she smiled, kissing him back. One of the things that she enjoyed about being out on runs with Strong was the freedom to kiss him whenever she wished. Settler reactions were so hostile towards him that she couldn't bring herself to cross that line in front of others yet.
"Okay, ready?" She collected their empty waters and placed them into a nearby garbage can. He grunted in the affirmative and she pushed open the security door that led into town.
The first thing that hit her was the potent smell of urine and trash. She took a few controlled breaths through her mouth to get used to it before glancing around, taking note of the row of merchants to the right of the entrance, and the Old State House to the left. Nora had a sinking feeling that this was going to be a hassle when a rough-looking man in a dirty leather jacket ambled over to block their path.
"Hello, little lady, first time in Goodneighbor? It wouldn't be wise to walk around this town without insurance." He looked between the vaultie and her hired muscle, impressed beyond words that she had managed to find a super mutant willing to work as security. This must be his lucky day, vault-dwellers were soft, spoiled, walking bags of caps ripe for the picking.
"Oh, um, no thank you. We should be all right, thanks for your concern," she moved to step around him but he cut her off.
"Hey," he shouted up at the super mutant, "work for me and I will pay you double whatever she's offering. We can split her gear but I get to keep the girl."
Cold adrenaline shot through her, but before she could utter a word Strong stepped forward and picked the man up by the collar of his shirt, flinging him aside like a ragdoll. He slammed into the side of the Old State House with a surprised shriek before slumping down to the ground, struggling to take in air. Strong moved towards the man and she shot her arm out to stop him.
"Wait, Strong," she pleaded, and he hesitated, hands clenching as he glared daggers at the man.
She heard the sound of clapping and did a double-take at the sight of a male ghoul approaching them, wearing what she could only describe as a faded red American Revolutionary costume, complete with a tricorn hat.
"Didn't realize I was getting a free show today," the ghoul remarked as he helped the man stand up. He patted the dust off of him with a little more force than necessary. "Finn, what did I say about the extortionist shit?" The ghoul asked, his cavalier tone undercut by the cold gleam in his ink-black eyes.
"Really, Hancock? You're going to defend a violent mutant over one of your own?" Finn barked back, looking around for the support of any bystanders. "You're a fucking pussy. You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, one day there'll be a new mayor."
He bent forward and gasped in pain, winded from talking through what felt like broken ribs.
"Here, let me help you, pal," Hancock said, stepping forward to help Finn stand upright.
Faster than Nora's eyes could track, there was a flash of metal and then Finn was curled up on the ground, gurgling as blood and light pink bowel spread across the dirty concrete.
"Oh, god!" Nora closed her eyes before she fainted from the sight.
"You all right, sister?" At the sound of the gravelly voice, she opened her eyes again, taking care not to let her vision stray south. She gave him a jerky nod and he smiled. "Shame about Finn, but oh well. Everyone's welcome in Goodneighbor. I don't care if you're a synth, ghoul, or even a super mutant, so long as you play nice."
"I understand," Nora could tell that was a veiled warning directed at Strong, and she was glad she had stopped him from going on a rampage.
"Name's Hancock, and you?" He stuck his hand out and she shook it.
"Nora, and this is Strong."
He sized the super mutant up and let out a low whistle.
"Pleasure," he nodded with a sly grin. "Why don't you join me in my office? Consider it a favor to me, to satisfy an old ghoul's curiosity."
All Nora wanted to do was check into a hotel room and find James, but she knew it was better for her to humor him, considering he was the mayor of Goodneighbor.
"Gladly," she smiled, work mode on, and Hancock chuckled.
"I can tell I'm going to like you already," he waved at the shadows off to the side of the street and a tall, formidable woman emerged carrying a minigun. "This is Fahrenheit."
The woman nodded at her, gesturing for them to follow Hancock into the Old State House.
They followed him up the spiral staircase to his office, and Nora breathed out a sigh of relief when the wooden staircase planks hadn't crumbled under Strong's weight.
Hancock led them to a seating area which consisted of two rumpled couches facing each other, separated by a battered coffee table. He gestured for them to sit and he took the couch opposite. Nora sat down but Strong elected to stay standing, mirroring Fahrenheit who stood on guard behind Hancock.
"Drink?" Hancock motioned at the bottle of whiskey on the table.
"Erm," Nora deliberated and he smirked.
"Or perhaps you like the harder stuff? Jet, Mentats…?" He started to stand and Nora hurried to respond.
"A drink would be great, thanks."
He splashed two fingers of whiskey in each glass before handing one over to her.
"For your friend?" He looked at Strong with a mischievous grin.
"No," Strong replied, tone curt.
Nora could tell Strong was still on edge from earlier and hoped they could all get through this without incident.
"So, what brings you to my charming little town?"
"I'm here to see a friend, he recently settled down here."
"Oh? What's his name?"
"His name is James," she fiddled with her glass, taking small sips of the whiskey to be polite. It wasn't that she disliked whiskey in particular, but this stuff was rougher than she was used to.
"Hm, James… oh wait, is he a ghoul?" Hancock asked and Nora nodded. "Ah, yes, I remember him."
"Is he still in town?" she asked, and Hancock responded in the affirmative before downing half of his drink. "Could you please tell me where I might find him?"
"You might find him in Daisy's pants," he let out a rasping laugh. "Just kidding. How about you ask Daisy yourself once we're done chatting? She's a nice gal, runs a shop downstairs."
"Will do, there's nothing better than supporting the local economy," Nora quipped, taking a larger sip of the whiskey. "I noticed that there are quite a few Goodneighbor merchants. Trade must be going well for the town?"
"We hold our own and get by with what we have."
"Instead of just getting by, how would you feel about having more supply options for your merchants?"
Some of the humor left his face and he took a moment to think.
"Normally I don't discuss town business with outsiders, but I can make an exception for a beautiful woman."
Nora explained that she represented the Minutemen, and spoke at length about potential trade deals. Hancock in turn gave Nora a thorough explanation of how he took over as mayor of the town, and the core values he strove to uphold for the people who lived here. They haggled back and forth over trading rights, and Nora couldn't help but be charmed by the charismatic man.
"How does this sound, the Minutemen traders can act as additional suppliers to the Goodneighbor merchants, but no direct selling inside of the city. No offense doll, but I gotta take care of my own first and foremost."
Nora drained her glass and stood up.
"No offense taken, Mayor Hancock. Sounds like a deal," she smiled and stuck out her hand to shake on it.
"Not 'til the ink dries," he grinned and shook her hand.
"Noted, we'll send someone out to finalize the paperwork within the month."
Hancock escorted them out of his office and they hesitated at the top of the stairs.
"Gotta admit, this isn't how I saw our meeting going, but I'm glad for it all the same." He gave her a flirtatious wink and Nora gave him a polite smile back before turning to leave. "I'm curious though, how did you manage to find yourself a super mutant guard for hire?"
"He's not my guard, he's my partner."
Hancock's eyes widened for a moment before he let out a laugh.
"Partner, eh? Well, if you're into freaks, you can ride me anytime. Door's always open for you."
Heat rushed across her face and before she could formulate a response, a loud crack echoed around the room. Nora looked behind her to see the banister crumbling like sawdust beneath Strong's grip on the stair rail, his murderous expression fixed on Hancock.
Why oh why is everything going wrong, she thought, as Fahrenheit lifted her minigun in response, aiming it at Nora. Strong in turn flexed his grip around the handles of his minigun, muzzle aimed at Hancock.
Nora jolted, placing a hand on his arm.
"Woah, big guy is sensitive. We good here?" Hancock asked, smirk still in place though his eyes had now gone cold.
"Yes, all good here. Please include the bill for the repairs when our people come to finalize contracts."
Hancock thought for a moment, and Nora wondered if the deal had been botched. And then she wondered if they'd even make it back out the front gates alive. She kept her facial expression neutral as the seconds ticked by, working hard not to look away from Hancock's eyes to the minigun still aimed at them.
"Will do," he gave a nod and she wanted to cry in relief. She gave him another polite smile and turned to leave, "Oh, and Nora? Play nice in this town and you'll be just fine. If not," Hancock glanced at a window overlooking the town entrance below, "well, you can ask Finn about that."
"Understood," she replied before making a beeline for the exit with the loud thudding steps of Strong following close behind her. She pushed the door open and the cool evening air that blew over her felt heaven-sent. Nora took a deep breath and her knees trembled.
Without looking back at Strong, she marched towards the town center, desperate to find any sort of hotel.
She spotted the red neon glow from the Hotel Rexford sign a couple of blocks away and rejoiced. Nora could feel Strong's stare burning a hole in the back of her head as she strode towards the hotel, but she was in no place to deal with anything until they found refuge from the prying eyes of the Goodneighbor folk that surrounded them.
The hotel lobby was quiet and calm, and Nora took a moment to compose herself before making her way to the front desk.
"Hi there, how are you?" Nora smiled, taking in the older woman's faded pinstripe suit.
"There's one room vacant, payment due upfront."
"Oh, um, yes that would be great, thanks."
"Ten caps."
Nora slid fifteen caps across the counter and the woman raised an eyebrow.
"Room is on the top floor, last one on the right." The woman put ten caps in the register and the extra in her pocket. "You need anything else? A meal sent up?" Nora shook her head.
"No, thank you, just privacy."
The hotel manager snuck a glance up at the glowering super mutant standing behind the vaultie.
"You got him under control, right?"
"Yes."
"Hmph, fine." The woman handed her the room key and Nora turned away before she could say something smart. She bounded up the three flights of stairs, avoiding eye contact with the other hotel patrons until she was finally standing in front of their room.
Nora unlocked the room and waited for Strong to step inside before she followed suit, closing the door behind them. She collapsed into an armchair and buried her head into her hands, unsure of where to even begin.
This kind of behavior was uncharted territory for her. While Nate had been the jealous type, even he knew better than to commit a faux pas in public like that. Hell, this was beyond a faux pas, this was behavior that endangered them.
"Strong," Nora sighed when she felt herself start to tremble. Any time she had tried to confront Nate in the past the shaking would start, and she hated herself for this reaction. "I don't even know what to say. You could have gotten us killed back there."
She heard him scoff and glanced up, taken aback by the predatory gleam of his eyes in the dim light. There was no softness to him now, his looming height and domineering expression had taken up all of the space in the room until there was no more air left for her.
Nora stood up and headed for the door and Strong moved to follow her.
"No, you stay here. I'm going by myself." She twisted the knob and his hand pressed against the door, keeping it closed.
"Not safe."
"I can't trust you to behave yourself right now. Don't worry, I won't be gone long."
She turned to face him and a low growl rumbled in his chest, his hand flexing against the door. Strong's mind raced as he contemplated his next move, struggling to find the words he wanted to use.
He lowered his arm and she slipped away, the door closing with a click behind her.
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