Chapter Text
The hardest days, she was quiet and climbed into bed, curling up in the thickest blankets she’d managed to salvage or quilt together. A mosaic of fabrics from across the Mojave and her prized down comforter covered her, nested around her, protected her from the stresses of the Wasteland. In here, she was alone, save for the one man who made it all easier.
The Chairman in question was currently folding his checked jacket to drop it over the back of the couch, loosening his tie and undoing the first few buttons of his shirt, his sleeves to roll them up. It was an unspoken contract between them, that upon her return from a hard job or a day that just took and took and took, she would tell him everything she needed off her chest.
In return for opening up, letting him beyond walls he hardly thought he deserved to breach, he’d follow her upstairs, climb into bed behind her, and just hold her for the time she needed. He’d be the rock she’d desperately hold to when she couldn’t tread water a moment longer. He’d gladly remind her how strong she was, how indomitable, and every other little reason he’d fallen for her. When the mood struck, they’d come together until both their tensions unfurled in soft gasps and bruising kisses.
More than anything in this life, he affirmed who she was and what she needed. And despite it all, she doubted he knew how dearly she held those moments and prayed those memories would never fade as others had since the day they’d met.