So I was bored one day and I couldn't write anything for Fallout no matter what I tried. So I decided to edit something together and it happened to be what I'm calling Fallout: Maximus.
Fallout has it's many plot lines, and we as fans we get to see all these plot lines. But our characters don't. So this is what Fallout: Maximus is, how Maximus sees and what he knows during season one of Fallout.
This little side project happened to coincide with Maximus Week set up by @gimmethatsweetroll. Who was very nice and allowed me to add this to the collection of wonderful Maximus Week.
Fallout: Maximus run time is 2 hours and 8 minutes.
Fallout has it's many plot lines, and we as fans we get to see all these plot lines. But our characters don't. So this is what Fallout: Maxi
I hope you enjoy! Thank you again to the host of Maximus Week, it has been amazing seeing all the art and works being shown off for Max who always seems overshadowed.
Moonlit (Maximus x Lucy Maclean) - Maximus Week 1 Feb 15th
"Still, he worried, because each day the eyebags in her face grew, and the food on her plate took longer to disappear, if it did, and less she reacted to Thaddeus words and questions about the work she was doing.
Once, while he and Thaddeus had been out and talking, Thaddeus said something that made him thinking: that Lucy was mourning someone that was still alive.
Maximus blinked in the darkness, slowly, breathing deepening, thoughts wandering more, trying to think of ways to reach out to Lucy and show that she didn’t need to keep trying to deal with it all alone…"
AO3
Song: Moonlit - Skott
Word Count: 2240 words
Warnings: angst with comfort
Moonlit
Every Scar Tells a Story
“I wasn’t expecting you so see me this way”
Object: A Brotherhood of Steel Holotag
Color: Green
Call on me
When nothing’s what it seems
Cause I saw you in a dream
We were out there
Distant lights
Will guide us through the night
If we’re drifting that’s alright
Cause I got you
(Moonlit – Skott)
Maximus stepped inside the suite gingerly. It was one of the still intact ones inside the Lucky 38, faded red carpet and curtains, thick dark emerald green blankets on the double bed. Not as dusty as it had been when he first had stepped into the room days ago, signals of his passage everywhere, but it still felt as just a temporary place.
Lucy was on the suite in front of his, Thaddeus farther down the hall. A securitron wheeled down the corridor, and up the floors the owner of the casino reigned in from his machines.
He would be lying if he said he understood everything that was going on perfectly, but he came to understand enough: The Legion had New Vegas and its people in a siege, the NCR with not enough men to fight, Robert House with a minimum body of securitrons inside New Vegas, and, to boot, the systems that provided connection to everything of RobCo spread around the Mojave Desert had been sabotaged at some point in time in the last decade or so, including a facility that housed more securitrons and the means to build more.
Maximus may not know how to ensure how NCR reinforcements could arrive before the Legion broke the siege, but he knew that the best bet any of them had at that point in time was to ensure that the man inside the Lucky 38 systems had access restored to as many securitrons possible. There were still details to be solved, he knew – how would the people of Freeside be treated if Mr. House was again in control, the people with mind-control chips in an underground facility, and more –, but all that would be useless if the Legion killed and enslaved everyone.
So, that was what they focused on trying to change in the last days. He and Thaddeus going over New Vegas, reactivating and fixing securitrons according to their creator’s instructions, while Lucy remained in the Lucky 38, rebuilding and fixing the sabotaged systems. It helped that Thaddeus had a good eye for materials that Lucy could use on her work.
Sighing, Maximus kicked his boots and walked across the plush carpet towards the bathroom, shedding clothes on the path. The hot water in the casino was still something that needed fixing, but it was literally at the end of list of things to fix.
No matter. Just the possibility of an actual shower to clean off the grease and dust before getting to sleep was enough.
---------
Maximus lied down on the bed, only pants and t-shirt on, the cleanest ones he had managed to find at a glance in some of the suites, and pulled the blanket over his body. The lights were off, only faint moonlight spilling through the dirty windows.
However, he didn’t fell asleep, not immediately. With the silence and slowing down, his brain had the time to focus in more beyond just working on the securitrons and finding repair pieces for Lucy. And, not unexpectedly, his thoughts drifted towards her.
These last days, even while Lucy was with him, hand holding, maybe even kissing, there was a… Distance in her. A wide eyed focus when she was working on the systems and an avoidance of eyes every time either him or Thaddeus tried to ask about her dad, the man that had destroyed Shady Sands and flitted between the Lucky 38 and the underground, doing exactly as told by either of them with an absent smile, calling Lucy “Miss”. One of the people with erases memories.
Maximus didn’t know how to feel about that. It was still the man who had nuked Shady Sands, but at the same time… Asking about NCR and Shady Sands, the man just smiled in that absent too-nice way.
What he did know was that there was a wistfulness in Lucy’s eyes every time she looked at her father. Maximus missed Lucy, missed the easy talk from before, missed her, but he didn’t know how to approach her, so he just tried to give her time and space, satisfied with her suite being in front of his and fast to reach if there was an emergency.
Still, he worried, because each day the eyebags in her face grew, and the food on her plate took longer to disappear, if it did, and less she reacted to Thaddeus words and questions about the work she was doing.
Once, while he and Thaddeus had been out and talking, Thaddeus said something that made him thinking: that Lucy was mourning someone that was still alive.
Maximus blinked in the darkness, slowly, breathing deepening, thoughts wandering more, trying to think of ways to reach out to Lucy and show that she didn’t need to keep trying to deal with it all alone…
He startled wide awake, a soft knocking echoing against the wooden door dragging him from the edge of sleep.
Paying attention, the sound came again, his name softly spoken on Lucy’s voice.
“Com’in.” He managed through sleep addled brain and sat on the bed, scratching his eyes.
The door cracked open as he reached for the beside lamp, turning it on. Lucy didn’t enter the room immediately, just stayed there, body highlighted against the corridor’s warm light, fidgeting.
“Lucy? Everything okay?” Maximus called, voice low and sleep. Lucy hugged herself and his throat tightened.
“… I didn’t woke you up, did I?”
“You didn’t.” Worry swirling in his guts, he moved to get up. That kick started Lucy to step inside, closing the door and approaching with slow and quiet steps.
A path of tears became clear on her face once she was close enough, and Maximus frowned, heart sinking inside his chest towards his feet.
“What happened?” The words tumbled from his mouth as he shifted, hands reaching for hers and gripping steadily as she climbed on the bed and sat cross legged in front of him. He didn’t let go and she didn’t try to.
Lucy’s mouth opened and closed, then an attempt of a smile that squeezed at his chest – too brittle, nothing like any of the smiles he had ever seen on her.
“No. Just… Nightmares, can’t you believe it? Can’t remember the last time I had those.” Lucy kept the attempted smile, voice airy and weird, even as the shine in her eyes increased, new tears there.
Maximus wondered if those had been a constant the last days, the reason for the eyebags and lack of appetite. Still, his hands pulled lightly on hers, and Lucy went, smile dying, lips closed in a line and a few tears sliding down…
The next moment, Lucy was hugging him, face hidden in his shoulder and hands griping his back. His arms pulled her close, tightly, silent sobs shaking her body, the tears silent. Maximus didn’t care about the wet feeling growing against his skin, just allowed her to cry as much as she needed.
---------
Maximus had no idea how long Lucy cried against him, but eventually her sobs diminished, her breathing slowing.
“You should stay here today.” He offered, quietly, the worry over Lucy going back to her own suite after that gnawing at his insides.
“… I won’t be a bother?”
“You never are.”
A beat later Lucy nodded against him with a deep sigh, then slowly let go of him. Her face was soaked with tears, and the wetness in his t-shirt now was bothering, so Maximus tore it off and used it to carefully dry her face, then threw it towards the dresser; it would be dry by the next day.
“There, better.” The smile she gave him was better than earlier, small but sincere, almost like the first smile she had ever given him, when he rescued her back in Filly – God it seemed an eternity ago.
“Thank you.” Lucy said, reaching for his hands – they looked small there. “I… Sorry you had to se me this way. I… Didn’t expect it.”
“It’s not... I… You can lean on me, Lucy. Before anything… You’re my friend and you’re in a very different place from where you grew up and I want to help you.” He twisted his hands, intertwining his fingers with hers the same way she had when inviting him for her Vault – a distant, impossible dream for both of them at that moment, it seemed.
Maximus wanted more, that future Lucy had offered with her, in some way, as long as she was there beside him, he wouldn’t lie, but they had just found each other again. No matter how warm his heart and face got at the though of Lucy, he knew it wouldn’t be exactly as it had been before.
“I…” She started and stopped, eyes on their intertwined hands. “It just feel as if I should have already dealt with it all. With… With learning what my dad did, what really happened with my mom-”
“What really happened? I… Didn’t she die when you were six?” He cut Lucy before he could think. Her lip trembled, eyes shining, but no new tears feel.
---------
The night dragged around them as Lucy told him the full extent of what her dad had done, words quiet, their bodies lying down under the green blankets facing each other, holding each others hands in the space between their faces. She didn’t cry again, but Maximus saw the wet glimmer in her eyes when she told about shooting her mom, a feral ghoul.
He had heard Moldaver calling the dead feral ghoul Rose, had noticed the hand holding. He wouldn’t have ever imagined that that ghoul was Lucy’s mom.
“… I am sorry, Max. My mom coming aboveground, it… It made my dad destroy your city and your life.” She finished eventually, squeezing his hand.
“It is not your fault, Lucy. You were a kid.” He squeezed her hand back.
“It feels like it.” He nodded after a beat, and they stared at each in silence, heavy but comfortable. “I… You never told me about your parents.” She eventually started, attempting to smile.
The smile came unbridled on his face, even while there was a tightening in his chest and a brief burning in his eyes.
“My dad was a mechanic. He was really good at it. My mom was a gardner and farmer.” Maximus dry-swallowed, throat dry, burning. Lucy was smiling again, gentle and sweet, a different shine in her eyes as she fixed her head against her pillow. Not one of tears.
“They sound lovely. I think I would’ve enjoyed meeting them.”
He chuckled at her choice of words and nodded, face warming as he briefly dreamed of introducing Lucy to them. Then he blinked, eyelids a bit heavier, hand tighter on Lucy’s.
“They were. And I think they would have liked you too.” He managed, and Lucy yawned, shifting closer. “I… I am alive because of them.” She hummed, sounding like a question, eyes on his. “They put me inside the fridge, before the explosion.” His eyes burned some, chest and shoulders warm and tight at the memory of their hug, but the sleepiness was heavier, his free hand absentmindedly scratching at the scar in his chin.
Thinner fingertips with different callouses touched the place, lining the scar as Lucy sighed heavily.
“This… Is from that day?”
“Yeah. I hit my chin against the fridge wall when it was thrown around.” It was getting harder to keep his eyes open, but he still felt as her lips touched softly the scar. The skin tingled, shivers wracking down his neck, and he forced his eyes open with a smile towards her, heart warm enough to burn his chest.
Lucy shifted and reached beyond him, hand not letting go of his, the warm light of the lamp disappearing and leaving only darkness and faint scattered moonlight. She lied down again, a bit closer than before, a glimmer of moonlight on her dark hair and on one eye.
“Can I hug you while we sleep?” her voice was a bit warbled, finishing in a yawn.
“Yeah.” Maximus smiled, loose and sleepy and feeling ten years younger.
And then Lucy was there, body pressing against his, head under his chin and arm around him, fingertips and hand slightly cool against his back while her breath was warm on his chest. They sighed at the same time, his arms winding down around her slowly, safely, and as sleep started to blanket him, there were again Lucy’s lips, pressing against his clavicle, mumbling against his skin, breath warm.
Maximus didn’t hear or understand it, not consciously, but Lucy tightened her arm, head burrowing against his chest, so he relaxed into it and let sleep claim him fully – Lucy safe in his arms, opening up, reaching out, alive...
Prompt: Every scar tells a story
Pairing: Lucy MacLean/Maximus
Rating: General Audiences
Word Count: 962
Preview: Lucy's eyes were suddenly more shiny than usual and her lips pursed together, the corners of her mouth turning down as she raised her hand. It faintly hovered over the scar on his forehead before dropping back down to her side. Ah, that. A gift from one Hank MacLean. But Maximus had never once blamed Lucy for it, he needed her to understand that.
Title is from here
Read on ao3 OR continue below
She was giving him that look again. Kind of staring at him while her eyes seemed to be carrying immeasurable guilt. And he'd thought he'd known why at first. Lucy had felt like she was the only one who could prevent a war from happening by stopping her father, only to end up losing him and feeling like her actions accelerated it anyway. Maximus could definitely understand what she was going through on that front. He was sure that that wasn't the reason for the grief-filled gazes directed at him though. Something else was bothering her, but it had only been about a week since they'd finally found each other again on the strip. He wasn't sure if broaching the subject would be the best course of action at the current time. He hated seeing her so distraught though.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked her softly after a moment of contemplating.
Confused for only a moment, Lucy then seemed to realize what she'd been doing and blinked a few times before smiling stiffly, "Oh! Yes! I'm fine. It's been quite the week...that's all."
Maximus nodded, but decided to press further, "I get it, believe me. When I left The Brotherhood things were, uh, not great, but that's…not what I mean. I noticed that you keep...looking at me...like I make you sad and I just wanna know if I did something wrong or—"
"No!" Lucy interrupted him with all but a shout before wincing, "Sorry, no, you did absolutely nothing wrong it's–it's me. It's my fault."
Maximus frowned, confused, "What do you mean?"
Lucy's eyes were suddenly more shiny than usual and her lips pursed together, the corners of her mouth turning down as she raised her hand. It faintly hovered over the scar on his forehead before dropping back down to her side. Ah, that. A gift from one Hank MacLean. But Maximus had never once blamed Lucy for it, he needed her to understand that.
"Lucy, that wasn't your fault at all."
"But it was. I was the one who freed him at the observatory," her voice trembled slightly, "He knocked you out Maximus and then he just left and I couldn't do anything about it. I thought I'd almost lost someone else that I c—."
The first sob from her hit him worse than any deathclaw ever could, "Hey, hey, Lucy, look at me. Please?"
"I'm–I'm sorry, I don't know why now—" Her frame shook with the onslaught of tears.
Max slowly reached down and grabbed the hand she'd lowered, resting it against the side of his face. Her other hand he held lightly. Lucy finally looked at him through wide, tearful eyes and sniffled.
"You didn't do this Lucy," Max told her with a gentle firmness, "And I never blamed you either. For any of it."
"Even though I left to go after him?" she asked, disbelievingly.
Max smiled softly at her, "Well, I wouldn't have been much help to you with that then and there, considering."
Lucy exhaled out a weak laugh as the tears continued dripping down her cheeks.
"Besides," he began as he let go of the hand resting on the side of his face to brush them away gently, "I don't know what The Brotherhood would've done if they'd found you there next to me. They could've blamed you, interrogated you, and I wouldn't've been able to do a damn thing about it.
"So no, I'm not mad or upset and I certainly don't blame you for wanting to go after your Dad after finding out what he did."
Lucy sighed and her brow furrowed as she sniffled again, "It all just ended up a bigger mess than before."
Max snorted and squeezed her hands once before extricating his to wrap around her in a hug. He then sighed and rubbed her back softly as he felt her melt into him in reciprocation.
"That's the wasteland for you, but you're not alone in it. Okay?" he pulled back just enough to look her in the eye, "You've got me and I'm not going anywhere this time."
Lucy's eyes were still shiny, but her tears had stopped and he was so relieved to now see a small smile slowly adorn her face. He mirrored it with the warmest feeling of affection as the moment held itself in suspension.
"Thank you," Lucy said at the end of it. Almost immediately after, her hands came up to frame the sides of his face and after a split second glance of confirmation she leaned up onto her toes to plant a kiss squarely on his lips.
His arms tightened around her instinctively as he returned it happily. It was soft, but not chaste by any means and it said a lot of things like "I missed you", "I'm here for you", "Thank you for being good to me", and "I care so much for you."
Max had seen a lot of things, been through a lot of things. And he knew he'd see a lot more things, go through a lot more things. Such as it was in the wasteland. The scar Lucy's father had given him at the observatory was only one of many stories that mapped his body. He may hate Hank for destroying his community, his family, his childhood. And part of him will hold onto that resentment forever. But the one thing he could never resent him for is wrapped up in his arms right now. He can't go back to Shady Sands. And he found that he doesn't need a vault or The Brotherhood of Steel. In that moment he thinks he'd be perfectly content with home being anywhere and everywhere Lucy is. Scars and all be damned.
—
I haven't finished nor posted any of my writing in so long so I hope this wasn't too bad…
