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Cooper just about fell to his knees when he saw her wandering around Filly. Perfectly preserved and looking as beautiful as she did way back when, almost 200 years ago. He was taken aback, his heart making his chest ache and feel tight. Seeing her purchase a Stimpack and then duck into an alleyway nearby, Cooper's limbs were heavy with adrenaline as the trailed her. Sauntering over to the alleyway she disappeared into, he saw her with the hem of her (his) plaid shirt in her mouth, holding her bloodied side.
She flipped the cap of the Stimpack off with her thumb and jabbed the exposed needle just above the gash in her side. “Stupid raiders,” she mumbled as the gash slowly began to close up.
Cooper's breath became heavier as he watched her treat the wound herself. Every fiber of his being told him to reveal himself, the sight of her being hurt was too much for him. Nobody was allowed to hurt her, especially not when he was still around.
However, he kept himself hidden, not knowing how she would react to seeing him in his current state, he instead settled on simply staring, watching her with a heavy pang of nostalgia and fondness. Once the gash was closed up, she pulled her shirt back down and tucked it into the waistband of her worn denim jeans. She ran a hand through her short blond hair as she let out a high-pitched whistle. Cooper furrowed his brows slightly in confusion as she whistled, but it was quickly replaced by disbelief when a sleek black and brown German Shepherd trotted up to her. It sat patiently at her feet, panting and looking up at her with its tail wagging.
“Ready to go home Dogmeat?” she asked as she ruffled the fur on the dog's head. Dogmeat answered with a happy bark, and Cooper froze as he realized that this was actually happening. This was real, she was really alive and standing a few feet away from him. He was actually seeing her again, it wasn’t some drug induced hallucination.
After taking a few moments to gather himself, Cooper inhaled a deep breath before taking a step forward. The gravel beneath his boot crunched under his weight and that sound was all it took before she had her pistol out and pointed towards the figure in the alley. Dogmeat was on high alert and let out a low growl.
“Not another step,” she demanded. Immediately, Cooper put his hands up and stopped in his tracks. He stared at her incredulously, his heart beating violently. Of course she would have her weapon out already, he should’ve known just how protective she could be.
He opened his mouth and spoke, but his rough, gravelly voice caught him off guard. When was the last time he actually spoke to someone? He swallowed before clearing his throat, “Alma… it’s me. It’s Cooper.”
The name caused her to sharply inhale and she steadied the hold on her pistol. “Coop died 200 years ago.”
Cooper's heart felt like it was twisted as she said that. He was a fool for thinking she’d just take his word for it so easily, that she wouldn’t question it. But he needed her to believe him. Taking a step closer to her, he said, “Please believe me, it’s really me… I can prove it.”
“How can you prove it?” she asked as she looked him over. The long worn leather jacket and cowboy hat looked oddly familiar, but that was 200 years ago.
Inhaling deeply, Cooper took another slow step closer to her, keeping his hands up and in the air as a way to show that he wasn’t a threat. Dogmeat had placed herself between the two of them.
He searched her face for some hint of recognition, his gaze trailing over her icy blue eyes and pale skin. She looked exactly as he remembered, just a little dustier`. “Remember the day I proposed to you?”
“Which time?” she asked as she placed a hand atop Dogmeat’s head.
That took Cooper aback for a second, not anticipating the response. However, he managed to collect himself just as quickly as he had been caught off guard. Of course she would remember when the time he ‘proposed’ while he was fever high and half out of it. “The second time… the one where I had to ask you twice because you punched me in the face the first time I asked.”
“Who in their right mind proposes on April first?” she asked with a small laugh as she holstered her pistol.
Cooper's heart leaped at the sound of her soft laugh. That laugh almost sounded foreign and almost too good to be true. It had been too long since he’d heard it. He gave her question a moment of thought, “To be fair, I didn’t even know it was April at the time.” Lowering his hands, Cooper slowly brought them to rest on her hips. She brought her hand up to the side of his face and traced his jawline with her thumb.
Cooper closed his eyes instinctively when her thumb traced along his jaw. He leaned into her touch, savoring the feeling of her cool skin against his leathered one.
Turning his head, he pressed his lips against the inside of her wrist. His eyes opened, and he looked at her through half-lidded eyes. Taking her hand in his own, Cooper interlocked their fingers and pulled her a step closer. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest.
He studied her face again, trying to commit every feature to memory. The arch of her eyebrows and her pale lips. The tiny freckle below her left eye that she was probably still insecure about, the small scar across her nose she had managed to get from accidentally falling into a coffee table.
She was perfect. “I missed you so much Coop,” she said as she took in his appearance. “You have no idea…”
Cooper moved in even closer; her body against his. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him. He buried his face against the crook of her shoulder, just enjoying the feel of having her against him once again.
“You’re… not horrified by how I look?” he questioned after a moment.
She shook her head. “If you had found me a year ago I would have been freaked out, but not anymore.” Cooper's heart thumped at her words, the thought of finding her early on in his time as a Ghoul crossed his mind.
He wasn’t sure how she would’ve reacted then. Tightening his arms around her waist, he inhaled deeply; the smell of her filling his nostrils. He pulled back to look at her, his gaze tracing her features once again. “How have you survived up until now?” he asked.
“I had made it to the vault when the bombs dropped,” she said as she slipped her hand into his. Cooper's hand tightened around her own as they spoke, it made a lot of sense; of course she would have survived the nuclear fallout. She was clever and intelligent, it wasn’t hard to believe that she managed to seek shelter.
“Which vault were you in?” Cooper’s voice was low and hushed.
“Vault 31.”
The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place where he had heard it before. “Vault thirty-one…” he repeated under his breath, trying to recall where he had heard that number. It wasn’t until it finally hit him. “Wait, Vault thirty-one… wasn’t that a Cryo-Vat Vault..?” Cooper's eyebrows shot up in surprise, his eyes widening.
She nodded. “Some of the chambers malfunctioned just over a year ago.”
Just over a year. Cooper's expression tensed, his thoughts running rampant. The thought of her coming out of the vault almost perfectly preserved only to face this wasteland soon after made his chest ache in an overwhelming way. “How have you been getting by?” he questioned, his voice tight.
“Well somebody taught me how to shoot and hunt before the war,” she said as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Said it was an important set of skills to have.”
A smile tugged at Cooper's lips as he listened to her answer his question. He had taught her years back how to shoot and defend herself, even though she had complained the entire time. He pushed another strand of her hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
“Have you been alone… since you left the vault?” he asked; a hint of worry in his voice.
“Just me and the dog.”
Cooper's heart broke at her answer, making him grip her hand tightly. The thought of her being all alone for the last year, surviving out in this wasteland alone… it was enough to cause him physical pain. “You don’t have a settlement or anything?”
“I’m staying just outside of Sandy Shades,” she said as she ruffled Dogmeat’s head.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Cooper managed a small smile. “You’ve got a house?” he asked. The thought of her living in a real structure brought him a strange sense of comfort.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “Roof and all.” Knowing that she wasn’t sleeping beneath bridges or abandoned buildings made him feel a little better.
“With a door?” He teased lightly, knowing full well that she was an absolute control-freak when it came to locking doors.
“And windows.”
Cooper chuckled, his fingers threading through her hair. “But the most important thing… you have working lights, right?”
“I do,” she said as she placed her hand on his hip, her fingers slipping into his belt loops to pull him closer.
With a smirk, Cooper shifted closer to her; their bodies were pressed together, chest to chest. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him. The feel of her cool fingers against his hips made his heart thump heavily in his chest. He tilted his head down and rested his forehead against hers. “You have a bed?”
“With pillows,” she said as she let herself relax in his hold. “Two of ‘em.”
Cooper laughed, a smile on his lips. The thought of her having actual pillows made him happy, and he found himself imagining her sleeping, head resting against the pillows while Dogmeat laid on the bed right beside her. “And a blanket?” he inquired, the smirk on his lips growing wider. He moved to rest his head atop of hers, his arms pulling her even closer. He buried his face against the crook of her neck, inhaling her familiar scent.
"Mm you might have to fight the dog on that one," she laughed. "She's a bit of a diva."
Cooper chuckled at the thought of her trying to wrestle the German Shepherd over a blanket. He gave her a quick look before looking back down at her face. He placed a kiss on her temple before pulling back to look down at her, a smile on his lips. “You wouldn’t mind if I crashed for the night, would you?”
“Just the night?” she asked coyly.
A sly smirk pulled at the corner of Cooper’s lips. He lifted a hand and ran his fingers through her hair, sweeping a strand that he had messed up when he had previously moved it out of her face. “How ‘bout for a week, then?” he teased, a smirk on his lips. “A month? Maybe a year? His arms slowly tightened around her waist, and he tilted his head to press a kiss below her ear. “Maybe forever…?”
She hummed in response. "I like the sound of forever."