Chapter Text
Max was not going to go down without a fight. Sure: he had been knocked down for a few seconds, or maybe closer to a minute; it was hard to tell when you’ve been knocked unconscious. And on that note, sure; maybe he’d been knocked unconscious in one single hit. But it was not the first time he’d been punched in the face, though it was the first time he’d been punched in the face by power armor, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. He bet that Hank MacLean was going to feel real stupid in a minute, just as soon as the room stopped spinning and the sound came back.
Max could just make out Lucy kneeling over him protectively, gun raised towards a vaguely blurry gray outline that was probably Hank. Hank was talking to Lucy about…something. Max really couldn’t make out the words, but it didn’t really matter, whatever he was saying was clearly upsetting Lucy; the tears gathering in her eyes seemed to come from a combination of devastation and rage. Like Max needed more of a reason to attack Hank. The revelation that he had bombed Max’s home had been enough to motivate Max to rage, Lucy’s anguish was just more fuel to Max’s fire.
He shifted, trying to get ready to move, to sit up. At his motion, Lucy’s eyes flicked down to him, and in a flash of panic he saw Hank lunge towards her in response when there was a sudden crack of a bullet and Hank stumbled sideways. Max’s attempt to sit up was prevented by Lucy’s hand pushing his shoulder down and her urgent whisper of “stay down”; but he was still able to turn his head to the side and see the goddamn ghoul from Filly, striding into the room like he owns the place.
The ghoul is monologging about something, without context it means nothing to Max and therefore doesn’t matter to him. What matters to Max is when the ghoul aims his gun again, pointing it directly at Hank and asking “where’s my fucking family?”
Even with two guns pointed at him, even with the ghoul and all his fighting prowess advancing on Hank; Max can see Hank still thinking of fighting. Max can see Hank weighing the odds of how much the power will protect him vs how good the ghoul actually is vs probably how fast he can grab Lucy. It’s not until the resounding click of a third gun is heard that Hank finally gives up, turning and running for the ripped open wall, his power armor deploying wings from the back to fly away.
Max doesn’t ever think he’s been happier to see Dane. They’re speckled with blood and several shrapnel cuts litter the right side of their face, but as far as Max can tell they don’t have any major injuries. Their gun is still raised, pointed directly at the ghoul who glances back at Dane briefly, seemingly unperturbed.
“You don’t start shooting at me and we won’t have a problem.” The ghoul says.
“Glad to hear it.” Dane says. They keep the gun aimed at the ghoul, but to Max’s disappointment they don’t shoot him when he saunters over the hole Hank fled through.
Lucy finally stands, pulling Max to his feet. The room swims, and Max almost falls over immediately, but Lucy is able to keep him balanced, her face worried.
“I’m fine.” He says before she can say anything.
“You’re definitely concussed” She says in response “And I’m worried about a skull fracture.”
There’s a strange shuffling sound, which is quickly revealed to be Dane moving over; their limp looks worse after the fight, and Max’s ever present anger bubbles again that the Brotherhood would dare to send them into combat in their state.
“Deep breath.” Dane says, and Max immediately knows what’s coming.
“Wa-” He’s cut off by Dane hitting him right in the gut with a stimpack. The discomfort of the needle having to be basically punched into Max’s body is quickly overwhelmed by the rest of Max’s body kicking into overdrive; it takes both Lucy and Dane to get Max safely back on the ground when his knees give out. The next few minutes are awful, his heart thundering in his ears, and he swears his bones ache, but when the stimpack finally lets up he finds that his head has stopped hurting and his vision is clear once more.
Dane reaches a hand out, pulling Max back up to his feet.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” Max says. “Stimpacks are valuable.”
Dane shrugs. “And skull fractures are lethal.” They jerk their head back to the wall. “They’re up to…something over there.” They glance back towards the door. “Talk fast, we don’t have a ton of time before the rest of the Brotherhood shows up.”
Max turns to see Lucy and the ghoul wrapping up in some sort of conversation, she looks…exhausted. Max can see the sadness up in her eyes, but her jaw is clenched and her shoulders set. She doesn’t have to tell him that she’s going after Hank, he does have to tell her that he’s coming with her.
“Are you sure?” She whispers. “You agreed to come home to the vault with me, not go gallivanting through the wasteland with me.”
He nods. Max wants to kiss her, but he isn’t sure if kissing someone when they’ve just learned that their father is a murder is a good idea, so he settles for wiping off some of the dirt off her cheek. She leans into the touch, and the warmth he feels in his gut is the closest thing to what he guesses is love. “I’ll follow you anywhere.” He says, and he can tell that she knows he means it. Max’s eyes flick back to Dane, their gun still drawn and a resigned expression on their face. “I have to bring Dane though.”
She smiles, and Maxs swears it's almost as bright as the sun rise. “They’re welcome to come along.” She says. “The more the merrier!”
“Max…” Dane says, their voice low and nervous.
“Fuck no!” The ghoul interrupts. “What is this? A fucking field trip?”
Lucy frowns. “You’re bringing the dog.”
“She travels fast and doesn’t need a lot, as opposed to limpy over there who’ll need a lot of food and looks like they top out at two miles an hour. No offense.” The ghoul says, though Max can hear the sarcasm dripping from the last statement.
Dane rolls their eyes. “None taken, cause I’m not coming.”
“Dane.” Max says. He steps back towards them, leaving Lucy to argue with the ghoul; if Lucy wants Max to come along, then he’s coming along and the ghoul can eat shit. “You’re coming.”
“Max, I can’t . ” Dane says urgently.
“You have to.” Max responds.
“I can’t go into the wilds.” There is something downright wild in Dane’s eye, a panic Max isn’t used to seeing. “I can’t do it again.”
“Dane.” Max grabs them by the shoulders, shaking them slightly. “The Brotherhood will kill you. They will know that you let me go, and they will kill you.” He squeezes their shoulders, attempting to be reassuring. “We can make it in the wilds, you just need to trust me.”
Dane squeezes their eyes shut, taking a slow deep breath. “Okay.” They finally say, their voice barely more than a whisper. “Okay. I’ll come.”
Max lets out a relieved huff, and gently hits Dane on the shoulder. “Good.” He turns back to Lucy and ghoul, whose face looks downright murderous. “Let’s go.”