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Viktor kept his guard up as he waited for Yuuri in the room. He was a genius with the terminals and had managed to get him into places with the greatest ease. If Viktor had been doing this alone, he would have most likely pounded the keyboard and locked himself out. Or probably caused one of the turrets to go off. No, he just kept to himself when terminals had security options.
Working with Yuuri over the last months had been a dream. Seeing him get excited over cracking a rather complex code or finding some rare components that would fetch a nice price warmed him. And he was right. He knew how to take care of himself, and he was cautious but still willing to take risks.
“How much longer?” Viktor asked.
“Fuck,” Yuuri groaned out in frustration as Viktor walked in, seeing Yuuri rub his temples, “I can’t crack it.”
“It’s alright, solnysko. We can always try later.”
“But that gun can set us up for a while if we sell it over at Diamond City.”
“It’ll still be there when we try again. You’re the best in all of the Wasteland, and it just takes some time.”
Defeated, Yuuri groaned as he stepped away from the terminal. Viktor placed an arm around his waist as they started making their way out of the building. The military base was long abandoned after the Great War.
Viktor heard the annoying beeping of Yuuri’s pip-boy. The clouds were a sickly green as they rolled over. Yuuri groaned as they went back inside. They were going to be held up in the building for a while… At least until the rain cleared up. It was the safest thing when they were already low on Rad-Away and Rad-X.
Viktor motioned for Yuuri to follow him, leading him to one of the rooms they had already cleared out earlier in the day. It looked to be a breakroom when this building was running. Both of them had sat down at one of the tables.
The mercenary pulled out his bag. He smiled warmly as he saw that he could make some soup. He pulled out the ingredients and supplies before making his way to an area in the room that would be big enough to work in. He set up a small cooking station, getting a small fire roaring. He began working on the vegetables and meat with a knife, cutting them up into small chunks. Viktor was startled when he felt feather touches on his sides but quickly melted into the hug as he felt Yuuri kiss his neck.
“I’m sorry for being so down,” Yuuri mumbled into Viktor’s neck.
“We all have our days.”
“You don’t. If you have a bad day, you’ll die.”
“Not with you by my side.”
Viktor sighed as he continued to work. Yuuri had let go of him and started heating up the water for him. It was days like this when he felt he didn’t deserve Yuuri. Yuuri was a good person, and he did things to survive. But Viktor… He did things because of greed. In his, you get years when the only thing in his mind was getting as many caps as he could for luxuries… He didn’t care if the people he killed deserved it or not. The promise of caps eased the guilt for a moment. Until it didn’t.
He knew so much about Yuuri. How he was born in some nameless farm home in NCR territory. That the caravan he grew up in was a bunch of small families that pooled their resources. One of his friends had met a young NCR soldier and stayed behind for love. The last time he had seen her, the couple had three rambunctious girls that had a knack for getting into trouble. How his best friend had a pet mole rat named Arthur and how Arthur got into the vegetables they were going to sell one time. Or how his sister was quick, not only with her wits but also with her laser pistol draw.
But Viktor never really told him about his life other than how his parents died when he watched ferial ghouls attack them, and he found a small town run by children. He left when he was sixteen years old, and little Lamplight was a small paradise he needed in troubling times. But when he left, it was a struggle to adjust to the real world. It was how he met the ghoul couple Yakov and Lilia. Both of them from before the Great War.
He had always been good with weapons, and eventually, he found himself running with the Gunners. In the beginning, he turned a blind eye to what they did, and he justified it as everyone trying to survive… They were skilled in ways that allowed them to survive, and it only made sense for them to gather and form a group.
“Are you alright?” Yuuri asked, “you seem preoccupied.”
“Just thinking.”
“A dangerous game, depending on the thoughts,” Yuuri mussed.
“I know you wanted to know more about me,” Viktor started, “but I don’t know if you’ll like what you learn about me.”
“We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of. I ran away from my family to start off my own life.”
“I used to be a Gunner.”
“You don’t have the tattoo.”
“Most have it. I didn’t want it, and I just wanted caps. I’m one hell of a gunslinger, so it made sense to work with them.”
“Why did you leave them?”
“Concord, I was one of the Gunners that attacked Concord.”
Viktor looked over Yuuri. He couldn’t read the man, and it terrified him. Viktor murdered innocent people for caps. He could feel his stomach coiling tightly, his head feeling light as if he would pass out any minute. He hated himself for what he did. So many nights, he would have dreams of those memories playing over. The screaming of women over their dead children. The scent of burning flesh suffocating him. The Gunners laughing as they counted their ill-deserved caps.
“We had a contract to kill a higher up in the Minutemen. I wasn’t too thrilled with it but made excuses. It was a job, sometimes they aren’t pleasant. But murdering the settlers,” Viktor was trying to keep his breathing steady, “that was a line I wished I never crossed.”
“It’s alright,” Yuuri whispered.
“I murdered them. They had nothing to do with the job, and I murdered them. How is that alright? I… That night, I left, and they wanted to go after more of the settlers that had escaped, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it. I tried to stop being a mercenary. But I’m stuck with this life.”
“You left them, and that’s the important thing. Besides, I’ve seen you reject questionable contracts.”
“You don’t hate me for what I did?” Viktor looked at Yuuri.
“No. You were doing what you thought was best. When you realized that it wasn’t good, you left. I would have been upset if you stayed, knowing that you were okay with doing that.”
Viktor nodded as he finally handed Yuuri the chopped ingredients. Yuuri looked at it before he dumped the contents into the boiling water. He watched Yuuri pull out a small bottle of vodka, pouring a bit of it in. He chuckled as he watched the man cooking. He loved his food. Although Yuuri swore up and down that his mother’s food was a million times better.
“So what meat is this?”
“Iguana.”
“Yum, it’s been a while since we had some. Oh, next time when we see a Deathclaw, we should get its meat for our food supplies.”
“Anything for you.”
“The soup is ready. Can you grab the bowls?”
Viktor nodded as he went to their gear. He grabbed their bowl and utensils and made his way back to Yuuri. The Asian man poured some into each bowl, and both made their way back to the tables. Yuuri was blowing into his food before he took a bite.
“So good,” he purred.
Viktor chuckled as he slowly ate his bowl. It was good, and he could still hear the pitter potter of the rain outside. It had been going on for a while. Longer than normal. It didn’t bother him, though. He liked these slow days with Yuuri by his side. Before Yuuri, those days would have been driving him up a wall. Now, they were quiet days where he could rest and enjoy those simple moments.
When they had finished their meal, Yuuri was finding around with his pip-boy. They listened to the static from the radio until the music began to fill the room.
A woman’s voice bounced around along with the jazz band that played with her. Yuuri sang along with the song. Viktor just listened to Yuuri singing along happily. They had just caught the beginning of the song.
“That man can look me in the eye,” Yuuri sang as he made his way over to Viktor, “and tell me the biggest, sweetest lie.”
Yuuri sat on Viktor’s lap, his face close to his. Viktor couldn’t help the smile on his face as he instinctively wrapped his arms around his waist, placing his hands over Yuuri’s ass.
“And I forget that lipstick on his tie,” Yuuri continued to sing along, “He’s a demon. He’s a devil. He’s a doll.”
Viktor couldn’t help but laugh as he placed a kiss on Yuuri’s nose. Yuuri gave him a coy grin as he continued to hold Viktor, and Viktor appreciated it. He felt a wave of relief over finally telling Yuuri this secret he had been keeping close to his heart. He was so terrified that Yuuri would look at him differently… That Yuuri would break off what they had. He would be justified in doing so.
When the song finished, another began to play. Yuuri got off Viktor momentarily as he held onto his hand, forcing Viktor to get up. The song was slow, but it didn’t seem to bother Yuuri.
“Dance with me?”
“Yeah,” Viktor smiled.
Viktor pulled Yuuri close to him as the music played. He listened to the words the woman’s voice sang in a smooth, honeyed voice. I say I’ll move mountains. And I’ll move the mountains if he wants them out of the way… Crazy, he calls me. Sure I’m crazy. Crazy in love, I’d say.
This feeling that swelled when he saw Yuuri… The lucky mornings where he would wake up and feel this man pressed up against him. Seeing him with sleep in his eyes or that gleam on his smile. Viktor knew that he was in love with this man, and he would do anything for him.