Chapter Text
Nick lit a cigarette as he stomped through the marketplace. A storm had rolled in while he had visited Kate. Thunder rocked in the distance and a flash of lightening cracked through the sky as he turned down the alleyway to his agency. By the time he got through the door he was soaked and grumbling. He shrugged off his coat and hung it up along with his hat. Flopping down in the chair at his desk, he began to suck violently at his cigarette until it quickly burnt to the filter. Growling he threw the worthless thing carelessly onto the floor and lit another. By the time Ellie had walked through the door, Nick had blown through all three of his packs of cigarettes and the agency was a fog of smoke.
"Nick, what on earth?" Ellie coughed, waving at the smoke.
Nick slowly looked up at her, like he just noticed she was there. His eyes looked like he had been in deep thought for hours.
"Have you been sitting in here just smoking?" She motioned at the pile of buds that overflowed from the desk to the floor.
"I guess." Was his only reply.
"You only do that when you're thinking hard, got a new case that's troubling you?" She began picking up. "Must be really hard if it's caused you to smoke this many cigarettes."
"Yeah... You could say that." His voice was low. He checked his processors for the time, a good thirty minutes after noon. "Hey, you didn't happen to pass Home Plate on the way here, did ya?"
Ellie was busy opening both the door to the roof and the front to air out the smoke. "Yes, why do you ask? Worried about your partner?"
"Yeah, you could say that." He repeated.
Ellie stopped in the hall and looked at him, concerned. "What's up with you today Nick?"
"Nothing." He quickly replied. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"Is it Kate? Is something wrong?" She slowly walked up to him.
"It's nothing, Ellie." He really didn't want to get her involved.
She stood there, looking at him, studying him. Then her face slowly showed surprise as she figured it out. "Oh my god, Nick, did she finally tell you how she felt?"
"What! You knew?" He turned to her sharply.
"Knew? Nick, who in Diamond City, hell, who in the Commonwealth didn't know!" She crossed her arms across her chest.
"Me obviously." His voice lowered.
"From the looks of it, you didn't take the news too well." She went back to cleaning his mess.
"Of course not. Look at me. I s.. I can't be loved." He snapped.
"No Nick, you can, many people care about you. Kate just more than others." She straightened up and looked him in the eyes. "You just think you shouldn't be. Just because life dealt you a hard hand. You think you need to live it alone. Well Kate doesn't think that." Ellie threw some buds outside. "And after she had the courage to tell you, look how you react. God, I wonder how she took it." Her face fell, now worried what Kate might have done in response to Nicks actions.
Nicks face and attitude melted, he looked away, ashamed. "You're right, she put her heart out there and look how I treated her. After all the times she's stood next to me through all the things I've been through. God, how could I have been such a jack ass?"
"You have your days." Ellie joked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You can still fix this, you know."
Nick nodded. "Yeah, but it's going to take one hell of a sorry, and I intend to do it." He smirked lightly, climbing to his feet and retrieving his coat and hat.
"Nick," Ellie grabbed his arm before he walked out the door, "I know you feel the same for her, for Kate. You don't hide it as well as you think you do." She smiled warmly. "Let her know that, and you'll he able to smooth this out."
Nick nodded, determination in his eyes. "Thanks Ellie, I think I owe you a raise."