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It was a little odd how cold the night got in the post-war Commonwealth, especially with how stiflingly hot it could grow in the day with the sun’s unforgiving rays, assaulting all it could reach with insufferable heat. But Nora did suppose the seasons did still exist, even if they were only fragments of their former selves, or at times considered new rulers seeing as the cold and heat found new extremes to play with.
Which is why as the night settled in, and in spite of her modified and armored vault suit usually being plenty to combat the occasional chilly breeze, the blending of darkness and lack of sun proved especially frigid as it wormed its touch through her suit and pricked her skin in its icy embrace. The terrain of the rocky ground she sat upon had only a few hills and burnt trees laid about the area, curbing little of the piercing winds, as they whisked by and stole what body heat she had, with her huddling in on herself to trap and defend what she could.
The campfire she had managed to flicker to life blazing before her, crackling as it fended off the chill that tried to claim its embers, consuming what long rotted and destroyed wood it was granted to keep alive, at least offered a modicum of warmth and comfort. Her skin cast in its orange glow, she reminded herself not to sit too close on more than one occasion, yet had that tiny voice in her mind, panicked and afraid, telling her that risking a few burns was preferable to the alternative. To the cold, shivering, reminder of that-
“Back with more firewood,” A voice, friendly, familiar, its roughness accustomed to speaking the moniker “smoothskin” if it were coming from another, came to free her from her thoughts. “Enough to give this sad excuse for a bonfire a few more kicks at least.”
“It should be plenty for tonight,” She forced a smile on her lips, feeling her chest lighten with his presence, the sight of outdated clothes and rough skin a heart lifting sight. “Thanks for grabbing them.”
Hancock tossed his small bundle of scrawny sticks to the side of the flame with a small hum, just out of its wanting reach, feeding it one to keep it going, saving the rest so that it would not burn too bright, nor burn out too soon. The flames eagerly took to its new fuel, consuming it with a few flickers and embers dancing in joy.
The performance of its new light drawing in another, as Hancock took the invitation to settle next to his companion, sitting upon the ground, yet at a farther distance to the heat that would no doubt greedily claim his clothes if it could. Along with a number of people, for varying reasons.
The woman, or rather, one hell of a woman as he couldn’t help but steal a fair number of glances at her, sitting next to him seemed to hold that same desire, yet unfortunately for him not for his aforementioned clothes, but rather the warmth of the flames she appeared imprisoned by with her unbroken focus upon it.
He had a few ideas of what was causing her to be zoning out, a dangerous habit in the open wasteland and all its threats, the majority of them having to do with the setting, and all its threats, in no small part due to who she was. Of whom he had come to know of her as.
He knew her as a friend, the whole population of Goodneighbor ought to know it with how she was always one to lend a helping hand. Especially since her consideration extended to far more than smoothskins, as she offered that same polite smile of hers to ghouls, friendly synths, the one semi-friendly super mutant in the Commonwealth, and all that didn’t immediately shoot on sight. A complete rarity that made her a shining gem in all the gunk and dirt that made up this post-war world.
It was the reason she earned herself the nickname “Sunshine,” radiating the warmth she did, going around brightening people’s lives like it was the easiest thing in the world.
But he could see past that front she put up, his experience telling him about the dark clouds that kept swarming around her. No matter how much she clung to her old pre-war image, of that house wife he’d seen plenty painted across worn billboards and tattered posters, courteous, agreeable, never letting people see her falter, this wasn’t the swanky, radiation free, world anymore. And she was getting worn in with the fresh new coat of blood and cruelty that drenched everyone who defied the cruel fates many had faced.
“Hey, you need a pick-me-up?” He asked her, always free with his personal chem stash hidden away in his inner pockets, especially since she was one to take him up on it every blue moon.
“Oh,” She perked up at his voice, as if she somehow forgot he was there. Her body language was even a little flustered, further evidencing the idea, eyes refocusing like she had already taken a hit and was just now sobering up. “I, um, I’m alright.”
“You sure?” He lightly chuckled, trying to ease the tense mood she had found herself in. “Look like you could use something to take the edge off.”
“Yes,” She reinforced her first answer, chest rhythmically rising and falling with her deep, controlled breaths. “I want to stay sharp. Who knows what lurking around? Other than us?”
She lightly laughed, tense as it was, while her voice held a hidden hint of something painful bordering around her tone.
“That why you’re roasting yourself sittin’ so close to the fire?” He asked, noting her rather dangerous proximity to the heat with a fair amount of concern. “Gonna end up lookin’ like me, but with none of the perks.”
“I’m-” She paused for a moment to take a shaky breath, and stared deep into the flames as it glowed in the reflection of her emotionless eyes. “Just cold, is all.”
He didn’t buy that, no way his mind was that far gone with his avid chem use that he couldn’t pick up on her subtle distress signals. But he also unfortunately wasn’t the most comforting type of ghoul around, especially in comparison to her other companions, with their kind words and gentle voices lulling the pain better than he could ever manage.
Didn’t need a few mentats to chew on to take an educated guess, though. The one he’d bet all the caps in his pocket being that issue that scarred her worse than any sharpened dagger, exploding mine, or piercing bullets ever could.
Her baptism into the wasteland by means of violence, murder, and pain. The price all paid for their freedom.
Half of him knew she had to learn this new way of living, and get used to it, however, if she ever wanted to carve a life for herself out here. But the other half of him, foreign in its stance, wanted to keep her hands clean, do the necessary killing for her, make every bastard that crossed her path pay for forcing her to steep lower into the wasteland grime.
She didn’t seem too choked up about it though. About tearing up her pre-war image, leaving those tattered scraps left to soak in the blood and dirt. Plenty of people needed protection, from raiders, super mutants, and whatever got cooked up in this hotpot of wasteland threats, and while he had a hell of a time getting to deliver his brand of justice to every asshole that kept the gutters running red, he had an inkling she did too. Even if she did always dance around letting that truth fly, there was no mistaking the joy present on her face, on those soft lips of hers, that curled up in the corners with the thanks she got from settlers, the gratitude people bathed her in for her work causing her to blush.
It took him far too long to realize he couldn’t tear his eyes off her when it happened, and he still didn’t know when his gaze stopped lingering on her body, and focused on the way her eyes lit up. Or how goddamn stunning her face got when it was kissed with that rosy glow. Or when his mind kept catching on that want to press his rough lips to her cheeks and paint that flushed coloring on himself-
“Hmm…” Her hum curbed his thoughts, pressing the brakes on them right as they began to catch speed, and having them slam to a stop when he stole a glance at her still far too close to the inviting flames position.
She was shivering, bad, and he was starting to realize it wasn’t just due to the cold that ran through their bodies. The way her eyes darted around, her hands coming to clutch her arms, the way she cowered in on herself, it was all evidence of major panic wracking through her.
“You sure you feeling alright there, Sunshine?” He expressed his concern again, for once careful in his approach, seeing as the subject was a delicate thing, and too much boldness would break it before it could be repaired. “Cold looks like it's biting you bad.”
“I can handle it.” She assured him, her reply guarded, as he picked up on her sudden defensiveness, concern rising along with it.
“Know you can,” He told her, with that signature smirk of his, relaxed and confident. “Including whatever else is getting you shaking.”
He saw her faintly jolt, and how those brilliant eyes of hers widened with the realization of his words, yet her focus remained trapped to the fire.
“It’s nothing,” She continued to dance around the issue, giving him little to go on. “Like I said, the chill is just getting to me.”
A devious thought snuck its way into his mind, not that it had trouble with the doors already having been left wide open for a number of impure imaginings to slip through. His tongue speaking before he could think twice, before considering the possibility she’d follow her usual penchant for her past flirtatious suitors and nervously reject any and all advancements.
“You know, been told that us ghouls run hot. More than just our looks.” His grin only grew when he saw her flicker her eyes up to him, the corners of his ruined lips curling with the innocent glance she gave him, knowing a brilliant woman as herself must have picked up on what he was getting at. “Bet I’m one hell of a bed warmer.”
“I, uh, well,” She stammered, her sudden shyness no doubt from the remnants of her housewife persona, her taught proper guidelines just far too tempting for him to corrupt. “We do only have one tent,” She made the excuse to herself, the essential shelter having been built against one of the rocky hills, to better protect against the winds that whistled by. “Maybe I’ll just sleep close to you tonight, if you don’t mind.”
He wouldn’t mind her sleeping far closer than she was suggesting, open to exploring how close two could be, until they all but melted into one. Especially if it finally got her to stop shivering as bad as she was, the whole cold, wet, mole rat hyped up on jet demeanor overstaying its welcome, as it definitely wasn’t one he was fond of. And he knew it wasn’t one she was partial to either.
“Let you cuddle up to me if it’ll help keep the nightmares away.” He offered, suave smile and all.
He felt a butterfly fluttering in his chest with her slight laugh, and the tug of her lips into a small smile, his hands tracing the hem of his jacket, and smoothing over the stones beneath them, to keep them occupied. But nothing could have prepared him for the swarm that overtook him in an uproar, tightening his chest, when she responded to his suggestion.
“If you’re serious,” She started, her voice notably nervous with how it quivered around the edges, and how her eyes danced around, her own hands refusing to rest as they fidgeted with her pip-boys nobs. “That doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.”
She threw on a weak smile, drawing a little further in on herself, fire reflecting in her stare as she peered at its glow, the light illuminating her outline in a brilliant shine. Her body was traitorous however, as it continued to quiver, cracking the calm mask she desperately tried to uphold. One he was starting to realize she had practice in wearing, including around him. A fact that sparked a touch of frustration, having shed his own mayoral visage for her, wanting to know just what it was that was keeping hers plastered on, of what she was refusing to trust him with.
“Telling me what’s wrong seems like a better one.” He suggested, voice a little firmer and smirk dissipating. There was no room for dancing around the topic any longer, as he shoved whatever fears he had aside, knowing what trouble running from your problems caused. “C’mon, you gonna let this eat at you forever? Or you finally wanna tell me what’s biting you so we can actually enjoy snuggling up?”
He felt a drop of regret seeing her face, how those breathtaking eyes faintly squinted, how her kissable lips stiffened into a thin line, and her nimble fingers, perfectly sized to fill the gaps between his own, gripped her clothes tighter, but knew it had to be done. She had seemed to adopt his reasoning, as she took in a deep breath, releasing it as the air flowed out, breaking open her walls with it.
“I- It’s the cold,” She repeated, the once excuse now being revealed to be the perpetrator all along. “It’s the same as-” Her breath catched, fingers dipping into her suit as her hands tightened around her arms in a constricted hold. “It’s the same as back in the vault. I woke up, and it was so cold, it was so cold, it was-”
“Hey, you don’t have to go that far-”
“And it happened, it happened as I was shivering, as the ice bit at my skin and-”
A harsh sob wracked her body, as she threw her hand over her mouth to curb its sharp echo, to quiet her voice before it could alert any to their position. Tears rolled down her cheeks, overflowing from her eyes, as they warmed her skin and began to boil with the flame’s still close proximity.
Mind ensnared in the powerful hold of trauma, of its deep scars that stung and ached like no bullet wounds or burns could ever match, she only registered the arm that tugged her back, that pulled her from the dangerous proximity to the fire, after it guided her to rest her head on another’s shoulder. The smell of dust that would surely never come out of a centuries old garment tickled her nose, along with the hint of ash and smoke from the fire, yet the undertones of familiarity came tucked into the scent. Soap, weak but definitely there, no doubt having been used to wash out the faint chem aroma, along with the added mix of Abraxo, woven into the musky fabric brushing her cheek, to scrub out the stubbornest of blood stains.
Stiff at first, the new embrace soon proved far too strong to keep her encased in slight surprise, as the last of her defenses shattered.
Tears welled in her eyes again, resuming to blur her sight again when her mind caught back up to her, soaking the same jacket she had filling the space between her clenched fingers. Her harsh sobs muffled when she nestled her face into the encompassing shoulder, she barely registered the hands that came to cradle her, pressing softly at her back to draw her further into him. The soft sigh that sounded into her ear, that faintly ruffled a few strands of her hair, noticeably dismayed at the lack of help to offer.
Yet through her sobbing, her grief resonating in her chest and turning her once beloved memories painful, there was that grounding feeling of warmth she was grateful for. The body encompassing hers, a little rough in those few brief brushes of unbarred contact, was as hot as the fire that now spread heat across her back. It was an anchor that kept her from being stolen away to confining walls and pods that were filled with chill. The familiarity, the comfort of scent filling her nose, of that rough, soft, hum in that voice she had grown to feel a tiny flutter in her chest when it spoke deeply, was everything she needed.
It was all nearly enough to keep that returning realization at bay. That reoccurring fact that kept popping up in her mind every time she woke up alone in her bed in her ruined home. That plagued her mind whenever the quiet squeak of a holotape’s wheels preluded that gentle voice’s echo, and the innocent babbling that went with it.
The world she knew was dead, gone, and frozen in her memory.
Her tears flowed heavily, sobs muffled as she held back the worst of her coarse cries, the hold her friend had on her tightening just a little more, drawing out her sadness. And while she knew her grief would be everlasting, never to stem, coming and going like the rhythm of the tides, she felt relief as her hiccuped breath calmed, allowing her a small moment of reprieve as the waves rolled back out.
“S-sorry,” She squeaked out, withdrawing herself from the embrace, cheeks inflamed for reason of embarrassment this time. “I shouldn’t have-”
“Let all this fester.” He finished for her, leaning a little closer, just enough to keep her near. “Think I couldn’t handle it?”
“I-” She hesitated to confess her reasoning at first, realizing the way it faintly insulted her friend. “I didn’t think you’d want to hear it. I mean, everyone in the wasteland has their problems, and don’t need anyone else’s.”
“Think I run Goodneighbor so I don’t have to listen to people?” He gave her that heart racing smirk, her bones feeling like they were turning to jelly with it pointed at her. “C’mon, we freaks, outcasts, and little guys have to stick together. And that means you tellin’ me your problems.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but found herself closing it. Her lips drawn into a tired, but genuine smile, he felt his heart respond by skipping a beat, the sound of her small, appreciative, sigh music to his ears.
“Alright,” She agreed, flashing him a soft grin, her eyes piercing his, making him swallow hard. “Thanks for listening.”
“Don’t worry ‘bout it.” He waved her off, thankful his ghoulish skin didn’t redden so easily. “Now how about we hit the sack, and let this awful night end, huh?”
“Yeah, I could use some sleep after all that walking today.” She agreed, yet her smile faltered as she watched him rise. “You’re sure you don’t mind, um, cuddling up tonight?”
“The fire has done its job,” He declared, granting it its earned rest by dumping the bucket of dirty water to smother its embers. “It’s up to me now to keep you warm.”
Not a hard task as she felt her cheeks lightly flush (especially with that cheeky wink he gave her), telling herself it was simply a lingering effect of her close seat to the now smoldering fire.
A few cans on strings set up as an alarm system, one rock decoy, and two pairs of boots cast to the side of the small tent along with their bags filled with scavengings, and bedtime had arrived to whisk its willing, and undeniably exhausted, off to unseen lands.
And Hancock, having been the one to give the cuddly invitation, took the initiative to settle first. His back pressed to the worn sleeping pad, with threadbare blanket or two to the side, he gestured for his friend to take her place, to lay right on top of him with two small pats.
Her hesitation, striking her as adorable along with the rest of his thoughts on her, soon passed when she took his offering a moment after.
Gentle with her movements, lest she accidentally knee him somewhere and create an even further impenetrable barrier of awkwardness, she settled her head onto his chest, and the rest of her weight laid below. She drank in the warmth that wrapped her up like a comforting duvet, as it flushed her skin and made her heart race a few beats faster. Her mind adrift in her desire for more, she hadn’t realized her hands worked on their own, searching out that remedy for the chill by wandering across her personal heat source.
“Got plenty of heat to pass around,” Hancock, plenty happy with her boldness, told her with that charismatic smirk, a touch smug in its offering. “Take all you want.”
Yet his demeanor stifled the moment her hand brushed against the edge of his coat, fingers dipping inside just barely, searching for pockets of warmth for her to steal. The feathery pressure of her wandering so easily felt across the thin cloth of his shirt, her icy touch a thrilling contrast to his flushed skin, or what could be considered flush with rough, ghoul, skin. The barrier of his outfit, once ample protection against the nipping air, now a curse as he vyed, with feverish longing, for her nimble fingers to trail over every inch of him, leaving a path of tingles in their wake.
She shifted slightly, nestling a little closer, loosening a little more, melding with him just that little bit better. He could feel her heartbeat, just barely through her vault suit, as it drummed heavy within her chest, as he felt his match its tempo and weighted beats, his mind racing.
Fuck he wanted to run his hands over her soft skin in turn, he wanted to trace his lips over every part of her, douse her in praise with his mouth alone. He wanted to nestle what remained of his nose into her hair and breathe deep. He wanted to get her giggling when he’d squeeze her waist after tugging her into his chest. He wanted to have her listen as he’d tell her all this before he’d steal her lips for himself, when he’d tell her that she was more addictive than any other chem he’d ever taken, that he’d ever take.
But his head, filled with adoration, tucked between the long running collection of impure thoughts, stopped his rampant imagination in its tracks when he felt that shiver roll through her frame. His elated mood took a nosedive when that sniffle, so hushed it almost didn’t reach his ears, escaped from her. And he didn’t need to look at her hidden eyes to know there were tears budding in the corners, her once bright, knee-wobbling, stare no doubt sullen.
Grounding himself from the high he was just granted, he focused on her, and how she still softly quivered, only partly due to the cold. His arms slowly made their way to hook around her, gingerly easing her to melt into the shape of him, comforting her as he held her tight to remind her that she wasn’t alone. His chin allowed to rest on the top of her head, one of his palms was drawn up and down her back, slow and soothing across the fabric of her vault suit.
“You’re alright,” He told her in a soft sigh, his voice just as hushed and gentle. “I have ya’.”
A pause came in her quiet crying, her body calming, as it was only a half minute of silence before he noted her weight pressing fully against him. Her rhythmic breaths, the sensation of her chest’s rise and fall as she melded against the curve of his outline, and he realized sleep had come and stole her away at last. Its inescapable clutches to claim him soon after, he sighed one more time, the mix of emotions that came with it swallowed into the peaceful atmosphere.
There would be time for flirting and confessions later, perhaps far later seeing as she was still reeling hard from her past life’s death and kidnapping. But for now, he had her here with him, snug tight in his arms, fully trusting of him, and that was enough to give him a bigger thrill than any chem could ever deliver.