“What’s the point of picking up that junk?” MacCready complained as Maya examined the charred remains of a file at the reception desk.
He’d been like this all morning and her patience was wearing thin.
He didn’t want her to investigate the distress signal they picked up.
He didn’t care that he woke up every creature from HQ to Med-Tek in some vain attempt to shoot away his nerves.
He didn’t even care about scavenging for caps or valuables along the way - the final confirmation to Maya that he was not as okay as he claimed. In the many weeks they’d been travelling together, she’d never seen the mercenary this focused, or this scared.
“I’m just trying to find any more information on this ‘Prevent’ so Curie can study it. It was a research drug, so anything we can find out about it will be good to know before we give it to Duncan, right?” Maya retorted, a little sharper than she’d intended, before placing the file back on the desk. It was only a sign-in register but her point remained valid all the same.
“Ah Monsieur MacCready, you are exhibiting symptoms of extreme agitation and anxiety. May I suggest the administration of a minute dosage of Med-X to assist you in this mission?” Curie asked eagerly as she floated by.
By the time the chem had been dispensed - MacCready had already angrily barged past them into the offices at the back of the building. Shots and curses could be heard bouncing off the walls in the distance and Maya couldn’t help but wince as she readied her gun.
“We’d better go and make sure he doesn’t get torn apart in there. I’m sorry he’s being so...difficult, right now. He’s just worried about his son.”
Curie nodded in acknowledgement and followed behind her companion. She understood the logic and reasoning of a father being concerned over the welfare of a sick child. She understood the physical signs of worry and the effect it had on a human’s psyche. But she did not know what it felt like. She did not understand why her attempt to relieve him of this problem was not what he desired. Logically, it made no sense. So much of human behaviour made no logical sense to Curie. Over two centuries of studying them and she still did not understand what it meant to be a human. Something that bothered her more than ever now she was around so many different human beings every day.
The infestation of ferals guided them from the executive’s terminal on the third floor, all the way down the research centre’s subterranean levels where the elusive cure was apparently stored.
MacCready barely spoke a word to Maya unless it was encouraging her to hurry up when she, Curie and Dogmeat lagged behind him on the way to the laboratory. Curie, herself, was quieter than usual too and it made the atmosphere particularly more sombre - An impressive feat, especially when taking into consideration that the entire building had spent the last two centuries as the eternal resting place of Med-Tek’s more unfortunate employees; the poor souls who had been trapped here when the bombs fell had succumbed to the radiation instead of being granted the sweet release of death.
There were many fates worse than death in this world, but turning into a feral ghoul was one that Maya feared most.
The last of the frustrated screams echoed out from the lab by the time Maya and Curie had caught up, leaving only the frustrated heavy breathing and cursing of their companion as he attempted to search the debris for his promised goal. MacCready was the most impressive shot she’d ever witnessed anyway, but today the anticipation made him especially efficient, something she understood probably too well in her own search to save her son. It was making him reckless too.
In fact, MacCready had been so wrapped up in clearing out the ferals with almost vindictive haste, he’d completely overlooked the bright, red, auto-injecting syringe that lay in plain view on the abandoned workstation.
“Mademoiselle! Is that the item we are looking for? The cure for Monsieur MacCready’s child?” Curie had noticed the chem at almost the exact same moment Maya did.
“I think so, Curie. Can you take a look at it for me to be sure?” Maya replied, picking it up and examining it closely.
From the opposite corner of the lab, half way through ripping a drawer open, MacCready heard the robot’s announcement and had started to make his way back over to them.
When he saw that Maya did indeed have the injector in her hand - it was the first time she’d seen those big blue eyes light up all day.
“We did it… holy crap, we actually did it! We just gave Duncan a fighting chance to live.” He exclaimed as he took the cure from Maya’s hands and pocketed it. Even then, he didn’t move even an inch away from her, a detail that Maya couldn’t help but register despite not wanting to. Before she could finish scolding herself for letting herself think such ridiculous things when it came to a married man - MacCready placed a trembling hand on her arm.
“I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to pay you back for this… I owe you big time.”
Maya shook her head incredulously in an attempt to avoid his piercing gaze.
“Mac...This is a friendship, not a business contract. All I care about is curing your son.”
MacCready refused to let her look away. With one hand he cupped her cheek and forced her face back him, with the other he took her hand.
The surprise of his touch forced her to turn and face him, making the lack of space between them that much more highlighted. Immediately she felt her ivory cheeks flush and her heart started to race.
“I know you do.” He sighed with a dopey smile and moved his head in closer, so close that the impact of his breath sent shivers down her spine. “I'm just used to people taking rather than giving. Maybe one day I'll realize that you're different.” Before she could answer, he’d bridged what little remained of the gap between them and connected their lips.
It was clumsy and almost forceful in his haste. Not bad… just different than what she was used to.
Maya didn’t pull away, too stunned that he’d finally broke the tension between them and kissed her to really respond at first. So many questions flooded her mind and none she could bring herself to ask, the most prominent one wouldn’t stay quiet in her mind - “What about your wife?” The one he’d mentioned back in HQ. She was about to push him off and actually ask it when he did the job for her. Just as abrupt and unexpected as the kiss had started, MacCready pulled away and ended it without a word. Before any awkwardness could form, Dogmeat and Curie returned back to them after sweeping the laboratory for anything useful.
“Madame, we discovered a small storage unit of medical supplies and I took the initiative to annex anything useful for our mission. May I suggest we leave this place if we have found what we are looking for? My systems are detecting high levels of radiation in these laboratories. Caution is strongly recommended.”
“Don’t worry about it, Curie, we can go now. The last step is to get the Cure to Daisy in Goodneighbor.” Mac smiled at Maya and started to make his way to the elevator.. “With her caravan contacts, she's the only one I trust to get this to Duncan on time.” He glanced back at his slightly stupefied companion and cocked his head to encourage her to follow. “This is the last favor I'm going to ask, I promise. Let’s go.”
“G-Goodneighbor? Right. Sure! Let’s go!” Maya nodded confidently and composed herself before following in his wake.
Even though her heart was still racing as she awkwardly took her place next to him in the elevator, one thing was perfectly clear by the time they got back to the surface and left the building: He did not want to talk about what had happened between them.
Though she was still confused and shocked from the last few hours with him, she kept her mouth shut and acted as if nothing had happened as they made their way to Goodneighbor. It was much easier for both of them right now if they silently accepted that the kiss had been a mistake and had only occurred because they had got caught up in the moment.
