FOOCtober
7. Pre- & Post-Game Life (Upside-Down)
"Relative Realities"
Written by @radioactive-synth and @theartofblossoming
The early morning mist was starting to lift and the sun was just peeking over the ridge on his left, making the Red Rocket statue on the roof glow as if it were about to take off. Not one but three provisioners and their loaded brahmin were taking up the entire road, headed to Sanctuary.
He decided to leap up the hilly verge to the right, preoccupied with trying to remember if he'd left the part he needed at the Red Rocket workshop and hoping he'd find it there. He didn't notice the oddly enlarged, luminescent irradiated thistle, a bulbous growth lurking at its heart. He would have walked straight past it but his pet barrelled into him. His foot caught on the stem, the bulb burst open and emitted a cloud of particles. He drew a surprised breath, dragging the irridescent motes into his lungs and passed out.
* * *
When he came to, there was a man on the ground beside him.
Vaughn heard someone coughing close to him. When his vision finally cleared, he couldn't believe who he was seeing. Big shoulders, auburn hair, moustache in the shape of a horseshoe, all belonging to someone he knew so well.
He opened his mouth but no sound came from it. He felt his emotions overcome him when he heard the man speak.
* * *
Vin's head felt strange, sore where it had hit the ground but not really painful. He remembered his feet getting tangled in plant stems and dog body.
"Dogmeat!" he tried to yell. It came out as a coughing fit, then he remembered breathing something in. Pollen? His eyes felt sticky and reluctant to open.
As Vincent pulled himself up he became aware of a man laying nearby. He cleared his throat. "Hey, sorry buddy, you okay?"
Read the entire one-off here on Ao3!