CONGRATS ON 1.5K! I love your headcanons and your writing! This might be out of left field but do you think you could do 🦀👑 for Jessup/m!six and "I'm not afraid of you"
Oooooh, I love writing for new people! This was a treat to explore!
Thanks for the congrats, and I hope you enjoy! 😁
"What are you still doing here? Thought you'd head out after helping us..."
Jessup's shadow fell over the courier where he sat on rock, Benny's engraved lighter twiddling in his fingers.
Six didn't look up, only shrugged, looking lost.
Jessup sighed at the sight of him.
"Look, I wish I knew more, but... After Benny stabbed us in the back, he wasn't too keen on sticking around to explain it all."
He moved closer, sitting down next to the man he'd once tried to bury, as he ran one rough hand up to graze over his mohawk.
"I don't really know what to do." The courier finally spoke, "I don't have the money for one of the passports into New Vegas, I don't know what the hell I'd do when I actually caught Benny, either."
"I'd probably shoot him in the head myself. Return the favor, you know?"
Six laughed dryly at that, flicking the lighter on before flipping the lid over it once again, dousing the flame once more.
"Hey," Jessup spoke up again, his hands going to his pocket and pulling out a small parcel, "You gonna waste oil, least let me take advantage of it."
He held a cigarette to the lighter's little flame before Six could cap it this time.
"Here." He held it out, offering, and the courier smiled appreciatively as he took the fag from his hand. Jessup lit one for himself, then leaned back against the rock wall behind him, sighing pleasantly as they both rested in the shade.
Six flipped the lighter off and stashed it away as he leaned back and joined him.
"I could just shoot him... but then what?" The courier continued, "He's in his own damn casino, right? Surrounded by chairmen, and I'm just... well, I'm just me. No way I could take 'em all."
He took the first drag of his cigarette, coughing at the strength of it, but Jessup paid him no mind.
"Yeah... Suppose you already died once, huh? Probably not wanting to do it again so soon."
"Yeah." the courier chuckled, and Jessup felt a small surge of relief.
That had to be a touchy subject for the man, right? How Six could still stand to look at him, when it was likely his face was one of the last images he'd remember before bein' put 6 feet under... And then how he could show up here, how he could help them with all that NCR bullshit... Jessup didn't get it.
"Yeah, I think I've had my fill of being shot for awhile, I'll say that at least."
At that, Jessup couldn't help but laugh in return.
"Alright, well I'm glad that's decided... but still, then the question remains. What'r you gonna do now?"
Six turned to face him, and Jessup could now clearly see the bullet scars on his forehead. Still a darker color, one that indicated they'd only just healed over, really. He could see the bags under his eyes too, the signs of weeks of hardship and restless nights.
How the hell he'd survived all that, Jessup didn't have a clue. How he recovered, how he made it all the way here with nothing to his name, without a name at all, just stumblin' through the desert...
Must be some reason for him sticking around though. This boy's got something to do here still. Only thing is, he's gotta find out what.
"I don't know." The courier rasped, and his expression looked lost. "I'm just out here, I'm... I don't know what I'm doing. Who I am, or was, even. I just know... I've gotta find out why this all happened."
The man took another drag of Jessup's cigarette, holding back the cough this time, as he grew used to its potency.
"Do you think, maybe..." He continued, refusing to meet the Khan's gaze. "Maybe I could camp out here for awhile? At least here in the canyon I feel a little safe. I can rest up a bit, come up with a plan maybe..."
Jessup's dark eyebrows rose high on his forehead.
"You wanna stay here with us? W-with me?" The courier looked at him with confusion written in his expression, as though that idea of his was as normal as could be.
"Six," he continued, "after what I done, with Benny and you, I mean... I was the one that dug the hole, y'know? The one that snake tried to bury ya in. What'd you wanna stick around with me for?"
"I'm not afraid of you, Jessup." He looked him in the eye as he said it. "You were just doing a job, I know that. Just trying to make some caps, get by like the rest of us. I'm not gonna hold that against you."
"Well then..." He shook his head, but a small smile played at his dry lips, "You're better than most, I'd say."
Six smiled in return, a soft expression that made Jessup want to break down the walls of his hardened exterior and slap the man on the back.
"You may be kinda dumb though, trustin' a man who's job it once was to hunt ya down and kill ya." Six's smile wilted, and Jessup laughed heartily, "But still, you're better than most."
In the next moment, the Khan did just as he wanted to, his palm coming down just a touch too hard on the courier's back, before giving him a few affectionate pats.
"C'mon then." Jessup's hand left him as he stood. "Let's go and get you a spot to make camp."
