The casual pleasantries were short lived however, as sooner or later the Commonwealth always provides a fresh supply of problems that needed solving.
A gang of raiders, who had taken up residence at the dilapidated Somerville Place farm, thought they could try their luck when they heard the chatter of potential victims from the vantage point of their new residence.
Though the bodies of the family who had owned the farm previously were barely cold, they didn’t hesitate to send a pack of dogs after the pair who travelled along the road below.
The familiar noise was what alerted Maya first. She was telling Hancock the story of the first time MacCready asked for her help with the Gunners, and she’d paused - just by chance - for a brief moment. That’s when she heard the growls getting closer, followed by the faint laughter of the mongrel’s owners ringing out from up the hill behind them.
As she’d done a thousand times before, Maya gripped a syringe of psycho from her most accessible pouch and quickly jabbed it into her forearm.
“FUCKING KILL!” She roared and started to laugh maniacally as the compound surged through her system. So quick that the metal of her unique .44 pistol hardly had time to catch the light when she turned it on the rabid animals.
One, two, three.
Each dropped out of the air mid-jump and landed with a loud thud. She looked around frantically to determine if her partner needed help, but Hancock was already up ahead, dodging the myriad of bullets that lit up the night sky on his way.
This, this right here was exactly what he’d missed. Risking it all and getting his hands dirty to survive.
Hurting who needed hurting before they had a chance to do the harm.
Just before Hancock made his move, a stray bullet whizzed past him, clipping his hat and knocking it off his head.
They shouldn’t have done that.
As the ghoul reached down to retrieve it, a second round skimmed the opposite ear, grazing it slightly and making his heart accelerate. The blood trickling down his neck was a rush like an old chem whose high he’d long forgotten until now.
“Feral fucking zombie! Why wont you die!?” An infuriated scream rang into the night.
“Feral? Oh, I’m feral now!” Hancock placed the hat back on his head and charged. Once a few feet away, he readied his shotgun and fired the money shot directly into the woman’s face as she peeked over the rusted, yellow corvega that she was using as a barrier.
With a sickening Pop! Her head detached from her body and exploded. Brain matter turned confetti decorated the air before falling to the ground with an uncomfortable chorus of squelching splats.
Before the rest of the body had dropped, Hancock replaced the shells and dived over the wall, pumping the new rounds into the throat of her partner that was next to her.
He didn’t even have a chance to scream.
Besides the echo of the shot ringing in his ears, everything was quiet. Hancock ducked down behind the crates, shoving aside the oozing corpses and reloading again. Just in case.
As he was just about to close the barrel, Maya jumped over too, scooting up next to him and panting from the rush.
“Well, well. Nimble, aren’t ya?” He smirked, “You scrap like you were born for it.”
“I could say the same to you Mr Mayor.” She giggled slightly and wiped the blood off her cheek, expressive eyes almost bulging with adrenaline.
The effect of psycho was one she loved more than any other. When she took psycho she became a wrecking ball of homicidal destruction. The polar opposite to how she was without it.
“Feral huh? Interesting choice of words back there…Does that get you all pumped?” Maya inquired with a raised brow, teasing his reactions again.
“Hey, let’s just say that no one fucks with my hat,” The ghoul replied with a shrug, sitting up rather straight with pride. Though his tone was playful - he wasn’t joking; anyone or anything that dared damaged a thread were either dead or had scars to show for it. The woman that grazed his hat with a bullet was now headless, for example.
“Shall we take a…what did you call it? Chem break? We should be closing in on the sea in about an hour.” Maya suggested, scratching the back of her neck restlessly as the buzz wore off.
At her marvellous suggestion, Hancock pulled out a small tin taped shut at the seams from his frock coat.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” He said and handed the case over to her slightly trembling hands. She was one cut-throat dame when she was fuelled with Psycho; seeing her twitchy with the desire to kill was an amusing sight. “Said orange was your favourite right?”
“That’s right. Reminds me of Nuka Orange. The taste is almost identical except it's a little more… chalky. I always get a numb tongue from sucking them too long.” She smiled and popped one into her mouth, eyeing up that special hat and dying to test the boundaries.
It’s what she always did. Pushing people a little to see what their limits were.
Maya shook the thought out of her head, her perception increasing by the second. Everything became more detailed in that special way that only mentats could provide. She could see ways to do things that she couldn’t before, almost as if the dots to connect the paths were actually tangible.
With a flash of her already over expressive eyes, which were widened and crazed by the psycho, Hancock barely saw her hand as she snatched the hat from his head and placed it on her own.
Brazen.
Acting as if nothing had occurred, she lit up a cigarette and refused to look at him, opting to stare at the two corpses in front of them instead as she waited to see what he’d do.
Her heart always beat so fast when she tried this shit.
The ghoul blinked for a moment, turning to eye his companion innocently smoking her cigarette. He popped a few Mentats, chewing them as a smirk formed at the corners of his mouth.
“No honor among thieves, hm?” Hancock chuckled, completely unfazed. Before she could retort, the cigarette she was smoking had been snatched from her lips. Hancock took a long drag and winked at her playfully, the speed completely out of place for his usually relaxed demeanor. “Y’know, I once stabbed a guy for trying that in the Third Rail. Thing is, he wasn’t a looker like you.” He said as the smoke billowed from the cavity where his nose used to be.
“Oh so there’s that lady-killer charm I’ve heard so much about, hm?” Maya purposefully and slowly used her index and middle fingers to pluck the cigarette from his mouth, placing the tip straight back in hers without breaking eye contact. She only looked away to take the tin from his hands too, ingesting the same amount of pills that she’d watched him consume in an attempt to get on his level.
“Hey Hancock…What happens when you keep taking these? Just how perceptive can one get?” Another giggle as her pupils almost eclipsed the purple of her irides entirely.
He couldn’t help but grin, shrugging slightly as he felt the chems kick-in.
“In my experience, you end up out thinking everyone or overthinking yourself,” he replied, lighting up his own cigarette to fill the absence of the one she’d just retrieved. Mentats always did make him chain-smoke. “With pleasant enough company you can end up with one hell of a view though,” Hancock added, eyeing her up shamelessly to really sell it.
Maya relaxed back against the vehicle and adjusted herself so that she was comfortable yet visually alluring. The position purposeful and conscious, accentuating her curvaceous physique that could only be achieved from carrying a child to term.
Even though they were still technically little more than strangers - the game was always there. The chemistry both literal and spiritual, drawing them together whenever they met. A sensation that was completely unique to how she felt with him. The same feelings that had made her flee the Third Rail on Christmas eve.
But no matter how much she tried to run and avoid him - here they were again. Was it curiosity? Maybe. Not unlike the cat, curiosity always had been her biggest vice. It was how she got herself into such crazy situations out here in the wastes. But that didn’t explain all of how he made her feel. That was what scared her.
After extinguishing her smoke against the rusted door of the car, Maya rose to her feet and began walking off towards the house in front of them to see if there was anything worth looting inside.
“Is the view good enough, Mr Mayor?” She inquired, barely looking over her shoulder as Hancock started to follow.
"Plenty good," His gravelly voice nearly purred, savouring the sight of her walking away in that skin tight suit before begrudgingly tearing his gaze away. With his heightened senses, the view was almost too good.
Once inside, Maya took a look around before she made her way to an aged sofa just to the right of the house’s entrance. There wasn’t much here, but what she could see painted a picture that she didn’t want to dwell on for too long. The blood that splattered the freshly peeled potatoes on the table and the opened toybox across the room told her everything that she needed to know and just made her itch for chems even stronger. She was just glad the Raiders had removed the bodies even if you could still taste the iron in the air.
The vault dweller looked to the sky out of the broken window, a thick mist had enveloped the small house and had turned everything in sight a violent shade of Chartreuse. The air crackled and her pip-boy clicked incessantly as the Rad-storm rolled in and engulfed the small house.
With a deep sigh Maya relaxed further into the sofa and pulled out a bottle of Rad-X from the large backpack at her feet. There was no way she was missing out on these last precious moments of peace before she’d be forced into that suit to traverse that hellhole for who knew how many hours. The storm would pass soon enough and besides, she liked to watch the rain glow with unobstructed eyes.
“Mind if we stay here till it passes?” She tilted her head back and called to her companion. “We smooth-skins don’t have the resistance you guys do.”
“Sure thing, sunshine. Make yourself comfortable.”
She watched him as he patrolled the small home and couldn’t help but notice as he stuck a hand inside his pants and adjusted...whatever was inside them. Maya grinned to herself.
“Hey… remember I told you that I run with the Brotherhood?”
“Yeah, you mentioned it. Here I was thinking you had good taste.” He chuckled and pulled out a red inhaler.
Ignoring his comment with nothing more than a bemused roll of her eyes, Maya popped more of the pills and averted his gaze in some vain attempt to stop herself from laughing as she said the words.
“Well, the guys in the Brotherhood told me that if you sleep with a ghoul your rads spike. So I gotta ask, is that true?”
Hancock choked. While she was asking her question, he had been absentmindedly inhaling a hit of Jet. The wispy vapour poured from his mouth as he let out an amused laugh while half coughing on the fumes.
"Ha! Shameless! Only if it’s a really good night, Sunshine." He finally replied, still chuckling at her naive curiosity as his breathing returned to normal, "But seriously, that’s bullshit. Sounds like some propaganda to keep them tightasses from having any real fun." The ghoul continued to chuckle as he walked to the door and slammed it shut to keep dust and debris from burying them as the wind picked up.
The stirring of the rad storm began to pick up rapidly; the rotted wooden beams creaked in distress as the wind grew in strength. Maya’s pip-boy could be heard clicking impatiently at random intervals as the radiation levels fluctuated. When Maya announced that it had hit seven rads per second, that was when the rain started. Droplets crashed all around them, hitting the ancient wood like a turret on buffout.
The ghoul stared out of a hole in the bordered window for a few moments before making his way over to Maya. He was waiting for the lightning to start so that they could at least enjoy the show. Rad Storms were something he’d always loved since he was a boy. A head full of chems and good company just made them that much better.
“Hey, share,” Maya pouted as he came and sat back down next to her with the bright red inhaler already in his mouth. “Real fun, huh? Some would call that arrogance.”
“Not if it’s true.” Hancock smirked and handed it to her. Maya inhaled deeply, clutching her knees to her chest as the wind made her small frame shiver.
The sound of her teeth chattering caught his attention. Even though she had a coat of her own, it clearly wasn’t enough. He didn’t feel the cold much these days himself, but he noticed the signs well enough. Without another word, he dragged himself up, shrugged off his coat and wrapped it around the small vault dweller’s shoulders. She gave him a smile and a mumbled “thank you” as he walked off to gather papers and dried wood from the debris around the house.
Maya watched what he was doing with intrigue, figuring it out as he dragged a large barrel from behind the desk and dumped what he’d collected inside. With two sticks he started the embers going and kept them alive with the aid of his gold flip lighter that he kept in his pocket. Flames licked away at the newspapers hungrily, devouring them as they spread their destructive wings and fell like Icarus into the pit he’d prepared below, setting it alight. Once the flames were ablaze and lapping at the air, happily he caught her gaze and ushered her over to him.
With her arms wrapping the layers of fabric tightly around her, Maya hurried over, her body convulsed to warm itself and she had to physically resist the urge to fling herself directly into the warmth of the fire.
Adorned in his hat and coat, he couldn’t help but stare. In fact, Hancock was quite unable to take his eyes off her as he imagined what she’d look if that was all she was wearing, because even with all those layers - right now she looked better than he ever remembered. Even when he noticed her eyes flicker to his, he didn’t break away, because he wanted her to know he was looking.
Maya became aware of the heat in her cheeks and the fact it wasn’t because of the flames below her. She felt risky, she always felt risky when it came to him and once more she had to test the boundaries.
“So…if we were to… you know… I wouldn’t have to worry about radiation poisoning?” She laughed, biting her bottom lip ever so slightly.
"Why? You asking?" Hancock pressed, voice riddled with amusement. "Been having some impure thoughts lately?" The ghoul took his time lighting a smoke that was clenched between the hard line of a smirk. He then strolled up closely beside her; the soft orange glow of the flames seeming to reflect perfectly in his opaque black eyes as they flickered to meet her gaze. "Can't say I haven't," he added, still looking down at her as he offered up his cigarette.
Of course she accepted it.
Maya came closer than she needed to so she could take it. Delicate fingers grazed the intricate grooves of his hands and lingered. “Well you are a legend around that little town of yours. Anyone would be curious with the stories I’ve heard.”
"Curious? Heh," The ghoul began to tease, flashing that killer grin. "So, it's not just you're into ghouls then? It's my reputation that caught your interest." He took a chance and breached the final few inches of space between them, playfully tilting up the tip of his hat sitting atop her dark hair.
Her eyebrow raised slightly, “Is that a thing these days? Being in to ghouls?” She asked curiously, the smoldering cigarette still hanging out of her mouth while her hands snuck up his chest and played with the frilled lapel of his undershirt. “But yes, your reputation. I’m wondering where the line is between fact and fiction.”
He glanced down at her fingers teasing at his clothing, looking back up to meet her violet gaze with hungry eyes.
. "I'd be happy to enlighten you," his voice now as low as it was rough, "but first things first..." Before she knew it, he had lifted his hat from her head, spinning it to sit it upon his leathery crown in one swift motion. "My turn," he added with an amused smirk, pulling away from her enough so she couldn’t retaliate.
Absolutely outraged, Maya’s mouth dropped open in shock. She hadn’t seen it coming. Not one single bit, and that was a first. She was always one step ahead and yet he’d just fooled her by luring her into a false sense of security. It was brilliant and yet she was still wounded.
“Is that what this game was? Just to get your hat back?” And she couldn’t help the disappointment dripping from the words. Maya tucked a loose curl behind her ear and folded her arms gruffly over her chest.
Goddamn, he loved that pouty face she made when she didn’t get what she wanted. The way her bottom lip puckered out, big eyes looking up at him like he was some big bully really did just about turn him feral.
“Nah, just so I could see that look on your face.” He teased and approached her again, his hands wrapped themselves around the length of her lower-back so he could pull her closer.
Ivory skin was never any good at masking even the slightest of blushes and Maya was bordering on crimson. Once more he had her feeling like a child, so vulnerable and entranced with him that it terrified her as much as beguiled her.
Citrus mixed with smoke was an intoxicating scent. One that flooded her with nostalgia, making her ache as she yearned to taste him once more.
“You’re as smooth as ever, aren’t you?”
“And you’re as gorgeous as ever, what’s your point?” He retorted and made her snort.
“Well come on then, Hancock…” And like déjà vu, her arms found themselves draped around his neck. She breathed the words, barely a whisper.
“Kiss me.”
“Gladly,” He replied with a gratified smirk, A calloused hand made its way up her back, tangling in her hair while he leaned in to capture her rosebud lips.
As soon as they made contact, Hancock inhaled deeply, the taste of her so sweet it almost made him rush. One breath and he was hooked, one taste and he was latching his mouth to hers to consume more of her; the addiction already formed and the taste of orange-flavored Mentats only making it harder to pull away.
But Maya wasn’t going to give him what he wanted, even with her body physically demanding her need for him, she wanted to show him that she could play this game just as well as he could. Nimble fingers toyed with the hem of his pants and as she felt his fervour rise and his guard lower - she plunged her hands into the pockets of his slack leather pants and pulled out the tin of mentats and a small bottle of something unfamiliar.
Maya quickly bounced back on the pads of her feet and made some distance between them, so he didn’t have the chance to retaliate even if he wanted to. With a glance at the flowery label that decorated the turquoise bottle, she saw the name of the mystery chem:
Daytripper.
Maya had only ever heard of this one before the war and had never had the pleasure of seeing it in the flesh. With a raised brow, she squinted curiously at the small pills inside. Then without asking and before Hancock had a chance to explain what they were - She unscrewed the lid and popped three into her mouth without a heartbeat of hesitation.
Once more this evening, the ghouls eyes widened in intrigued surprise, and once more he found himself impressed by her spontaneity. That devil-may-care attitude she wore like a mask reminded him of himself, something he didn’t know if he respected or pitied her for. Either way, she was fierce and she did impress him, and out of all the countless people he’d found himself spending a night with, he’d never found someone quite like her before.
But knocking back Daytripper like it was Buffout? Hancock folded his arms and waited for his favourite chem to kick in for her. Agonizing seconds passed, then suddenly he saw it - That look that washed over everyone’s face the first time they were taken down the rabbit hole that Daytripper created. Even if the trip itself was different for each person, that look was always the same.
He was about to go over to her, help her to a seat so she could ride out the next twenty minutes of whatever the high was doing to her in peace, when without warning, despite how freezing she had been before she’d taken it: Maya began shedding her clothes.
First his coat, then her own, then the hat, and then finally the vault suit.
The rain persisted in beating at the muddied ground outside. Still glowing with the remnants of the opaque fog that was now travelling west and making its way back to the sea where it belonged. Maya ran a shaky hand through her hair and, without a single lick of fabric to cover her, she walked out into the moonlit storm.
Each step felt like water, as if gravity had started to disperse with the fog. Maya became hyper aware of the rain hitting her and raised her arms in the air to watch it travel. Little fireflies exploded into ripples as they bounced off her skin, engulfing her in their radioactive glow. If there was one thing she loved to witness more than anything since waking up here: it was how the rain seemed to glow. It was only ever subtle for an average shower, but when the radiation from a storm consumed the sky like tonight? That was when you’d see the wasteland come alive.
Maya began to spin around slowly, feeling the shower of droplets cleansing her through to her very soul. The perfect way to ride out the most intense high she’d ever experienced.
After reminding himself that she had indeed taken a fuck-ton of Rad-X before she went outside, Hancock grabbed his clothes and the case of Mentats that she’d dropped before her departure. With his coat and hat back in their rightful place, he popped the small pills into his mouth and chewed up the fruity chalk before pacing over to the entrance. The ghoul leaned lazily up against the doorway and watched as the most ethereal being he’d ever seen, high or sober, spun around in the rain. He had half a mind to strip down and join her, but the view of her exposed body was too good a sight to pass up, it was like witnessing the embodiment of free living.
“Hey Emperor,” He called out, lighting up a cigarette with an amused smirk, “Love the outfit."
The girl spun around biting her bottom lip playfully, violet eyes illuminated by the moonlight as she grinned at him. Her drenched, charcoal locks turned into snakes that clung to her scalp, the static in the air making them seem alive as they stood on end despite the weight of the water. It was almost as if she were gliding as she came towards him. Once again her arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed her body against his as she kissed him. The moment she pulled away he was presented with a pout.
"I thought we talked about sharing..."
Hancock laughed. “Really think I wouldn’t share? Not that you need them right now.” He opened the small container and pinched a couple pills between his fingers. Instead of giving them to her, Hancock placed the Mentats on his tongue then leaned into kiss her, fingers tangling in her hair as he pulled her close.
Orange mentats tasted so much better to her when they were from his mouth. Making the buzz so much sweeter. Electricity crackled from each gravelled syllable, as if he were born from the storm too. The moment the pills slipped from his tongue to hers, he shifted his hands down her dripping wet skin and peppered a trail of kisses along her jaw and down her neck.
“Mmm. that feels nice.” A slur as she melted into his touch. She loved her neck being kissed, but the way he knew just how she liked it was unprecedented. Even without the chems, it was as if the ghoul mayor knew her on a deeper level than anyone she’d ever met. “This… You’ve been holding out on me…”
“Heh, after that display, I think it’s you who’s been holding out on me.” Hancock couldn’t help but chuckle. “But you did take my Daytripper without asking, I can’t just let that slide, sunshine. People are gonna say I’m going soft. You owe me something good.”
Maya furrowed her brow, but before she could ask, Hancock took her by the hand and pulled her back outside to the song of the glowing rain.
“Dance with me?”
As he asked the question, a rather aggressive gust of wind blew by, nearly blowing Hancock’s hat in the process. He caught it just in time and in the same instant, Maya pressed herself against him as her answer. Wispy strands of smoke coaxed slowly from his nasal bone as he took the cigarette from his lips and placed it in between hers, all the while slowly spinning her to the silent music.
Soon the warmth of the high started to dwindle and Hancock noticed her small frame shudder beneath his hands, her pearlescent skin erupting in goosebumps as the seconds passed. Barely a moment later and she was shivering violently. Once more Hancock shrugged off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“As fun as this is, I think we should get you back inside. Daytripper only lasts a short while and can make you a little, uh... susceptible to your baser instincts.”
Without waiting for her reply, he lowered himself and hooked an arm under her knees. In one swift motion, he lifted her to his chest and began walking with her back to the shack.
The heat of his skin permeated through his shirt and made her cling to him as it shielded her from the cold. Each step lulled her further, making the weight of her eyelids unbearable as the intensity of the high faded into nothing.
By the time he laid her down on the bed, she was already dead to the world. For the first time since he’d met her, she didn’t have that mask on that she always wore so well. She looked content, even at peace... and she looked more beautiful than he ever imagined possible. With a smile and a fresh inhaler of jet, he strolled over to the aged sofa and put up his feet to watch the still of night return.
