They had been walking some lonely street in the evening, the sun was starting to lower and the air was cooling. It had been most uneventful, the roads in this area were unusually clogged up with fusion cars, the side of the road was lined with small stands that were dilapidated and a small cluster of those battered blue tubes that used to be advertised on the TV. Nate used to talk about them non stop when she would call, it was something she quickly learned to tune out.
Currently MacCready and her were walking over to a settlement that the General had sent her a message about, something about needed to get a garden established so that they could worry about other things. Cready wasn't the happiest about having to help a settlement but was persuaded when Riona mentioned the possibility of getting paid.
Things had been going smoothly, they had been chatting lazily keeping a lax watch around them, Riona had sent Dogmeat ahead to meet them there. They had heard a crash from behind them as they watched a Deathclaw tumble into the roadway they were on. Riona had already drawn her pistol and meant to take aim but was startled when another one crashed into the one that had crumpled a car. It was huge and stood on its hind legs and let out a chilling howl. She felt MacCready grab her arm and pull her towards the side of the road, and she felt her blood run cold at the “Pulowski: Nuclear protection on a Budget!” And the closing of the door as he wedged them into the tube.
Deathclaws typically were not something that Riona would bother avoiding, she would much rather just deal with the creature than hide from it. Unfortunately there was one too many for her and MacCready to deal with at this moment.
Although she would have prefered to try instead of MacCready just pulling them into one of those old pre war Pulowski tubes. She nearly screamed when it closed around them, trapping them in cramped darkness that wasn't meant for two. She had gone very still and pressed herself into the wall of the container, unable to drop down into a smaller position, she could hear her breathing became erratic and could faintly hear MacCready asking if she was okay.
She could hear the faint clattering of chains against bolted shelves, could feel the stain on her wrist and her back from being forced to remain in a stretched crouched for hours on end could smell the room, and taste the blood in her mouth. It swarmed her. She needed to leave.
“Riona!” his voice a harsh whisper cut straight through. Her eyes twitched towards his, his face was etched with worry.
“Cready! Cready we have to go.’ She was shaking, her grip on her sword was faltering, she could hear it clattering on the walls of the tube. He shook his head and moved so that he was in front of the release panel.
“You know we can't do that.” He gave her a sad look, He couldn't let them leave, not until the Deathclaws left or there would be no returning anywhere. She had tears welling in her eyes, and she reached out to him. He settled her against his chest and tucked her head under his chin, his arms wrapping around her. He could feel her crying against him, and she was mumbling something that he couldn't catch.
“Not much longer, everything is going to be fine. We’re safe in here, nothings going to happen.” He was working on settling them on the ground. It was awkward but they managed. She was practically sitting on his lap and his legs were pressed awkwardly against the walls but it was sounding like they were in for a long hall as he could hear the Deathclaws trashing the old fusion cars and the trees lining the road they were walking on.
Riona was slowly starting to get a grip on her breathing, her fingers were buried into his scarf and she had her ear pressed against his chest. He was running his hand over her back slowly and occasionally brought his other through the loose sections of her hair.
He hadn't thought he’d see the day when something like this could draw out such a reaction, almost everyone in the commonwealth today had to deal with cramped spaces, they were the only things left often times. He wanted to bring it up to her but didn't want to create a rift between them, she didn't seem like one to want to share much about her past and she would likely deny that this happened in the future. She built up frustratingly thick walls around her that MacCready desperately wanted access to but refused to pry.
Instead he took to playing with her hair, having pulled it from its bun so that he could run his fingers though its full length, he could feel her gradually slowing her breathing down and loosen up on his scarf. He had started braiding small strands of her hair repetitively and braiding those strands together and slowly undoing them. Riona silently adjusted herself that she was more comfortably straddling his lap, and had tucked her face into the crook of his neck and wrapped one of her arms around the underside of his shoulder, she could still hear the deathclaws moving about the cars and hoped that they would take their leave soon.
“How long do you think they'll be there?” She whispered and he could feel her talking. He shook his head and tried to stretch out his legs further.
“I don't know. I would have thought they'd leave by now.” He hadn't thought he’d seen them travel in very large groups but they way that one had callout out shook something in him, he knew it down in his bones that more were coming and it was best to just sit them out. They could stay in here till morning without trouble so long as they did not make too much noise or draw their attention. “I think we might have to stay here for a while, I think that one called others.” He felt her whine and her grip on him tighten, he just ran his hand over her back humming slightly. “We’ll be okay.”
She shook her head and tucked in against him more, trying hard to not think of the janitors closet, the chains or the month locked away. Instead she tried to focus on MacCready, the way he ran his hand up her back or through her hair, or how he immediately knew to wrap himself around her and settle them to the ground. How he let her rest on him and be a grounding force to her. She was grateful to him to know what to do in these moments and not to pry. She didn't know what would happen if he tried to delve into that right now while she's trapped her, but she was certain that it wouldn't be good.
She sat up momentarily, and tried to pull off her pipboy but had to let MacCready help her unlatch it from her wrist so that she could set it on the ground. She mumbled a thank you before turning on the dim screen to check the time.
It had been an hour and they could hear the Deathclaws become more rowdy, it was likely they were staying here for the night. And while she absolutely hated that she still had responsibilities to fulfill, one of them was messaging the settlement of their predicament. MacCready was watching her fiddle with the pip boy that lit the cramped area with a sickly green, which highlighted the stress and tear lines that contoured her face, and it took a lot in him to not clutch her back to him and try to relieve that stress but he didn't want to cross that line.
She sat up further leaning back on his bent knees to look at the surrounding tube with the light the pip boy cast, she noticed how banged up the tube was lots of dents littered the walls and loose wires hung down from the top and the fan that looked rusted still. It was completely different than the janitors closet, and she took comfort in being able to see the difference.
“Can I keep the light on?” she looked down at MacCready who was silently observing her as she looked around the room.
“Sure,” He nodded and took the pip boy from her hands to set it down next to them, pointing it upwards.
“I think you were right about having to wait till morning.” her voice was more steady than before but was clearly drained, She pulled her hair from out of her face and let it settle down her back before she tucked herself back into him. “Thank you” she spoke into his shoulder and was slowly starting to relax into him as he started running his fingers through her hair again.
“It's not a problem Riona,” he spoke into her hair and let the mostly quiet of the shelter settle over them.
MacCready had tried to stay awake as long as he could in case something happened or Riona jerked out of sleep, but the quiet of the outside, and soft breathing of Riona lulled him into sleep. His fingers still in her hair and an arm thrown over her back to keep her from moving too much, a faint peaceful smile graced his face.
