Work Text:
“Snipers work best in pairs.”
That was the sentence that had dragged Craig Boone into the mess of Cora Diaz, or as she was called around the Mojave, the Courier. When she had stepped foot in Novac, Boone never thought that she would help him discover the truth about who had sold his Carla to Legion slavers. Though he hadn’t been planning on joining this courier, her knowledge of sniping and the fact he could put a bullet in a few legionaries faces convinced him to join her.
Cora wasn’t much of a talker, not like Carla was, and Boone never knew what to say when they would sit in silence, scoping out their path ahead of them to check for deathclaws or super mutants. Since Cora wasn’t about to start chattering, Boone spoke up.
“Who taught you to shoot?” He asks, glancing through the scope of his rifle.
“My brother.” She seems to hesitate as if she’s going to say something else and her fingers move along her rifle before she goes back to looking through the scope.
Boone slowly puts down his gun, scanning the broken highway they’re going to follow once they’ve rested with his own eyes. He doesn’t say anything to Cora, knowing that not everyone wants to talk about family. He of all people knew how that felt.
“He’s NCR like you were. Was in the 1st recon.”
Boone doesn’t exactly like hearing that, it just reminds him of his past that he would rather forget.
“What’s his name?” Boone asks, wondering if perhaps he was one of the NCR casualties in the massacre, though they could never add up to all the casualties of the Khans.
“Luis. Luis Diaz,” Cora lowers her gun and looks at him directly, “he’s a Ranger now.”
Boone remembers the boy, or at least Boone thought of him as a boy. He had first come to the 1st recon, shaggy brown hair and a smile on his face while he greeted his fellow soldiers. Their commanding officer had made him shave his hair in a close buzz cut but they couldn’t take the smile from his face. Boone never truly believed a boy like him belonged in the NCR, he was too kind and too willing to help anyone in his path. But, even if his personality didn’t fit with his job as a sniper, his skills made up for it. However, the only thing that seemed similar between Luis Diaz and Cora Diaz were their sniping skills, they were about as different as two people could be.
“My parents had a farm,” Cora continues without any encouragement this time from Boone, “after me and my brother took care of the Brahmin and crops he would take me out to teach me how to snipe. He would have me shoot at Geckos since they’re easy enough to aim at.” Though the tone of her voice doesn’t change, the look on her face does. It’s softer and content, and Boone can tell this is a good memory for her. However, her face grows stern again and her hand tightens on the butt of the rifle.
“When he was eighteen he left to go join the NCR, and I was...I was bitter. I hated the fact he left me behind while he was meeting new people and exploring new places, so I retaliated as much as I could. That’s why I joined the Mojave Express, and why I have this now.” She says before motioning to her forehead, to the scar that she so desperately tries to hide.
“You and him would get along, or butt heads. I don’t know which one.” Cora tells him as she keeps her grip tight on her rifle.
Boone slowly gets up from his spot, patting Cora’s shoulder, “If he’s anything like you, I’m sure we’d get along fine.” He says before motioning towards the sunrise. “Let’s get a move on.”
She nods, putting the rifle on her back and standing up. Though they have a long way to go, Boone knows that the two of them will be just fine.