Chapter Text
"Feral to the right!"
She swung around quickly, shotgun in hand and fired a shot into the belly of the ghoul that dared approach her. It's midsection blew apart, throwing it's body into two pieces. Irradiated blood splattered over her shoes.
"Ah, shit." She kicked her boots around, attempting to rid herself of the sticky fluid. Her movement only served to kick dust up, that stuck to the blood, making it even stickier.
"Scared of a little blood, boss?" Gage asked. She slatted her eyes at him, pulling an adorable smile up to his slightly chapped lips. She caught herself staring and quickly diverted her eyes back to her shoes, a blush heating her cheeks.
She placed her gun back in her backpack, handle sticking out for easy access as they strode away from the Galactic Zone. "So.. any idea what we'll find at Kiddie Kingdom?"
"Nope." He grunted as he placed his gun back in its holster along his back.
"It used to be nice you know..." Amelia said softly. She trained her eyes on the horizon, the sun was getting low. They should find shelter soon.
"I'm sure it was, boss." He looked at her curiously.
"We should stop for the night."
"Whatever you say." Her statement didn't leave his mind though. How would she know? She slipped into cover behind an old trash can. He dropped low quickly, and scurried over to behind an overthrown bench.
"Right there," She whispered. "There's a man on the roof of that truck." She passed the binoculars. Their hands brushed as he took them from her hand. The delicate contact of his rough hand on her soft skin caused butterflies to well up in her stomach. "One of yours?"
He looked through the binoculars with his good eye. He shook his head softly. No. She nodded curtly as she pulled a scoped pistol from her hip and carefully lined up the shot. She looked so soft as she concentrated, and he found himself examining her every feature. She was stunning, especially in the dying light of the day.
She took the shot, but he didnt hear it, not really. He was so accustomed to the sound of gunfire that it could easily become background noise if his mind was elsewhere, which at that moment it was. Her eyes locked onto his, basking in his gaze. He quickly turned his eye away, biting his lip and retreating back into his thoughts.
"Be ready, there could be more." She said as they approached the truck, she hoped that it was in fact empty, and unlocked.
Luckily, it was unlocked and also empty. It didn't look like even the Gunner had been staying here. They lit a small campfire and heated some Pork N' Beans to share. She pulled out her trusty spoon and stirred the beans so that it would heat evenly.
"Hey, boss.. what did you mean earlier?" He couldn't stop thinking about how she had acted like she had been here before, but that wasn't possible.
"Hmm?" She didn't look up as she tested the warmth of the food by licking some juice from her spoon.
"When you said it used to be nice. The park I mean." He replied. Her blue eyes glinted in the soft light of the campfire, catching his eye and making his heart ache with longing.
She huffed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She kind of smiled, and he couldn't help the warm feeling that sprung up deep in his chest.
"Hell boss, I've heard a lot of crazy shit." He replied softly, smile on his lips.
"Okay. I'm a prewar gal." She took a bite of the beans while she gave him a quizzical look.
He laughed. "What are you talking 'bout?"
"I was frozen in a vault for the last two hundred years." She sighed as something sad crossed over her features.
The smile fell off of his face. She was really being serious. "Shit." He supposed it was possible, that didnt make it easy to believe.
"Then this fucker, Kellogg, came.." she sat the can of beans down to the side of the fire, and he grabbed them, dipping some out with his hand and licking his fingers clean as he waited for her to speak. She took a deep breath. "He took my baby, killed my husband."
He sucked his lips a beat. Married, child.. well damn. "What a shit bag."
"Yeah. He was." Her soft blue eyes turned hard as she looked into the fire.
"What happened?" He asked as he dipped out some more beans.
"The cryo chamber in the vault malfunctioned. They shut down, the other people died in their pods, but for some reason, mine opened." He passed the can of beans back, but they were left untouched by her. "I was terrified, I had no idea what I would find outside. There were dead people everywhere in the vault." She stopped, remembering the moment she stepped outside and the journey through the vault. She looked over to him, her eyes were watery, but no tears fell. "I tracked Kellogg down," She locked hard eyes on his one eye. "And I blew his fucking brains out, then I shot him again and again until his body was a pulp."
She snatched the beans up and took a big bite. "Didn't bring back my husband, or my baby." She said so around a big bite. He was busy taking this all in, that's a lot to go through. What a tough gal. And so sexy.. but now was not the time.
"What'd they want with your baby anyhow?" He asked.
"They made him the leader of the Institute. I found him." She said matter of factly. "I thought he was only ten, but he was an old man." She sighed again and shook her head, soft blonde curls fell around her face, catching his attention. "I killed him too."
"Shit, boss. I'm sorry." He meant it too, she didn't deserve that, all she deserved was soft memories and a good life. Instead, she got stuck in this hell hole like the rest of the common scum.
"They're all gone now. Everything that was holding me in the past is gone." She nibbled her lip, deep in thought.
He slipped into his mind as well, letting thoughts of her take over. She held herself so confidently and always got what she wanted. She was scary as hell with that shotgun in hand, it drove him wild. But just like everyone else in this God forsaken land, she was hurt. Sure she was tough and ruthless in battle, but under that all was this soft girl that he couldn't wait to see more of.
She passed the can back across the fire. "I'm not hungry." She scooted over and wormed her way into the closest sleeping bag. It was cold, but the fire pushed a little warmth her way. She rolled over, her back facing him and the fire. He looked at her back awhile as he finished the beans. He'd take first watch he decided, obviously. She needed to sleep, to push the thoughts away, he could get that.
He sat near the opening of the trailor, gun in lap. His eye was on the sky though, the stars were a curiosity to him. He never thought about why they were there, just that they were pretty to look at. He had plenty of time to think about what she had told him, he had plenty of time to think about her.
Amelia. What a beautiful name to fit such a delicate, fierce, creature. It was like the name of a flower, it rolled off the tongue so easily. He wondered if it was a type of flower in the old world, but only briefly. He let her name bounce around in his mind until it landed on her blushed face.
He told himself he was too old, too rough, told himself there's no way the blush on her cheeks had been caused by him. Something inside him hoped otherwise though. Something deep and thoughtful. Something he though he'd never feel. Caring. Longing.
Around two o'clock he gently shook her shoulder. She rolled over and groaned, opening her eyes just enough to see. Her hair was a rats nest that she swept away from her face as she sat up and stretched. "Alright. I'm up." She yawned and slid out of the sleeping bag.
Gage removed his armor chest piece and started slipping into the sleeping bag. Without the bulky metal, she could see toned muscle defined under the thin tank top he still wore. Her body ached to touch him, to run her hands over those muscles and slip that old shirt off. She wondered what he looked like under that shirt, out of those pants.. She shook the thought from her mind as she snatched her shotgun and a box of Gumdrops to snack on.
She let her mind wonder once she was out of sight. She let her mind slip back to the fantasy. She imagined his rough hands sliding up her bare sides, sliding under her bra and gripping her breasts. She thought about how his lips would feel against her own, brushing delicately, yet wanting. She could almost feel the warmth of his skin as his body pressed against her. A wanting ache prickled under her skin, pulling a hushed moaning breath out of her.
She sat upright quickly and looked behind her. He was well asleep, snoring softly. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She swallowed hard, cleared her throat, and tried to focus on anything else. Her mind, however, kept wondering back to how good his gaze felt when it was on her. Butterflies beat around in her chest as she remembered his hand grazing hers.
She didn't know what to do, this was supposed to be a professional partnership. Working together to reach a common goal, but it had became.. complicated. It was no longer casual between the two. The tension could almost be called a physical thing at this point. She wondered if he felt the same way, or if it was strictly a sexually attraction.
It was too soon to tell, but damn how she wanted to know.