#shevaults

[o-rusted-heart]

@shevaults.

"...Nora, you ever get the Fat Italian sub from Joe's Spuckies?"

He's been staring into the middle distance for almost five minutes before he announced his thoughts.

[o-rusted-heart]

@shevaults .

"You, uh... you doin' okay, Nora?"

Nick hadn't meant for the question to sound as grave as it did, but in the quiet moments of a long trek to an abandoned coffee roastery felt as good a time as any to get personal.

She'd been through a lot in a short amount of time: between the Minutemen, her ghoulish beau, and now a confrontation with the Institute and whoever was heading them... it all felt like a one woman emotional marathon.

"I know it might be a little silly to ask, considering, but... I'd like to help, if I can."

[mayormentats]

★ @shevaults ★

A new announcement was broadcasted on Radio Freedom, alerting those who were stationed across the commonwealth that the mission was successful and those who can, should convene at the Castle. It wasn’t like the nuclear blast was hard to miss. Before the sun was allowed to rise a hot white light blinded the surface, and then came the red. Hancock had never seen a mushroom cloud like that before, he assumed this was just a fraction of the reality for the day the bombs first dropped. It’d make even the most active pyromaniac's hands grow cold with awe and utter fear. It haunted him on his walk to the Castle. The ash fell from the giant dark mass in the sky, it coated everything under its shadow in black. Eventually the landscape turned cold, muddy and gray. The first snow, fighting for attention with the falling ash. 

Hancock wrapped his flag tighter around his face and adjusted his gloves as he trudged through the building slush beneath his feet. He travels with a few other Minutemen to meet the General, or to him, Nora. 

Nora just had to do it alone.

It bothered him. That conversation they had before she went to the Institute with Preston. The isolation of her mission had caused a wedge between them, but now when everything was on the line, she needed Hancock to stay on the surface. And for what? To twiddle his thumbs and wait for her to return? Had he known it was going to snow he would’ve taken up crochet in her absence, made her a scarf, anything to feel useful. Anything to keep his mind off of that conversation they had at the CIT. She was going to kill everyone. 

There were rumors about it among the Minutemen, that their General had shown no mercy. That no evacuation was issued. That she didn’t give anyone a choice. He’d be lying if he said that it surprised him. That his Nora had turned into someone who could do this. It disappointed him, even angered him, to know that this was likely why she put him on the bench. It was premeditated. But he needed to hear it from her. 

It was dark by the time they had reached the Castle and colder by the water. The walk, though long, was uneventful. It was as if raiders, mutants and even ferals had gone quiet with the blast. Like it was hardwired into their DNA to hide. Birds were not in the sky, instead they were macabre tripping hazards. Hancock barely believed they were real, and yet the scene still made him avert his eyes. 

The reality of the nuclear blast seemed forgotten inside the Castle walls. Warm fire light, hums of generators muffled by Diamond City radio, food, drinks and laughter. A jarring contrast against Hancock’s walk. It made sense though, the Commonwealth Boogeyman was gone. What else were folks to do? 

Nora could not be found immediately, and his weaving path through the inebriated made him nauseous. He had been sober this whole time, but now it was feeling rather moot. He told himself he’d have a glass after he spoke to Nora. Perhaps even a bottle. 

He tapped his wet boots against the stone archway, and then walked through the halls to the General’s office. It was quieter here, and there were Minutemen stationed outside the door. They blocked Hancock off with their laser rifles. 

“The General isn’t seeing anyone.” Is what they told him. 

Hancock undoes the buttons of his coat and uncoils the flag around his neck before speaking, “are you fucking serious?” 

“We are indeed fucking serious.” 

There was only so much bullshit Hancock could take, and this was about his limit. He loses himself to the color red and the growing nausea in his stomach. The next thing he sees is the double door swing open as he had a knife to one of the men and the other held a rifle to the back of his head. 

Hancock coughs into his arm before speaking, “heya sunshine…”

[mayormentats]

★ @shevaults ★

Finn had been getting on Mayor Hancock's nerves for a while. He was a disapproving look in the crowd, and the snide comment in the back of the bar all to test the patience of his Mayor. It was one thing to question authority, but it was another to pretend like you were the authority. The man was trying to bring the old ways back into Goodneighbor. The ways of Vic. So extorting the fresh faced vault dweller right out the gate was just the last straw. 

Fahrenheit had agreed it was a good call, but expressed disappointment in him not letting her take care of Finn herself. A sick woman she was, she'd just end up dragging the whole thing out if he let her. He loved her for it, but he was more interested in getting Finn out of the way quickly so he could size up that vault woman. He'd never seen someone so… perfect. Clear skin, flushed cheeks, curves that held weight. When she spoke he caught glimpses of what had to be the whitest teeth in the commonwealth. Hancock had gotten so distracted by her he hardly remembers their conversation with Finn's body growing cold between them. 

Was she put off by him? Had she ever seen a Ghoul before? It wasn't till much later in the third rail did it cross Hancock's mind that to the vault dweller he probably looked less like a capable leader, and more like a jack-ass of a politician who was excited to shank his own people. 

He scoffed into his drink, slamming it down and sliding it over to Charlie for a refill. When his second drink came he got cozy on one of the main room couches with Fahrenheit, an arm wrapped around her shoulder and his legs draped across her lap. He had asked her to keep an eye on the Vault Dweller's whereabouts in their town. The memory den was an interesting choice. He'd have to pester Amari for the records in the morning. Curiosity was all it was. At least that's what he told Fahr. But the way he shifted away from his close bodyguard when he saw the woman in blue descend down the stairs told another story. 

He was interested. 

His dark eyes followed her as she weaved through the other patrons to get to the bar. He lifted up his drink and stared at her distorted figure through the bottom of his glass. 

“Don't wait up.” Hancock told Fahr, giving her a good pat on the shoulder and pinch of the cheek. He was sure she hated that, but he liked teasing her. 

He slid into the chair next to the mysterious new woman. His empty glass got passed over to Charlie again. 

“I'll take whatever our guest is havin'” Hancock told him, then adjusted his attention over to her. “Long day, sister?” He gives her a toothy grin, showcasing all the gold in his mouth. “Ya know I never caught your name…”

[mayormentats]

★ @shevaults ★

When can we do something just for us?

It was a request made in passing. He hadn't been in the most focused state, laying there in bed with Nora. He couldn't remember what he told her. Likely just a nod of agreement, general suggestion of soon, and then he got handsy. But the question had been rattling around in Hancock's brain for the last three days. And as much as he believed in what they were doing, sometimes Des could get on his nerves. It finally felt right to steal Nora away for the evening.

He took her to the only place he knew that could be just for them. There were some stains on the stairs that suggested where the mutant meat bags had been sitting. Dogs must have swept through and scavenged. The typical ecosystem of the commonwealth.

"Never got to properly thank ya' for clearing out the library for Daisy," Hancock brushed away some dried meat bag blood with his boot. He held his tricorn hat to his chest while he pressed his ear to the large double door to make sure it really was empty on the inside. With how things were going he was partially expecting institute synths to be holed up in here waiting for them.

Once satisfied he tipped his hat back on and opened the double doors, allowing Nora to go inside first.

"So consider this a proper Mayoral thanks, and a personal one..." As Nora stood in the arch way he placed a kiss on her cheek, following her into the library.

Unexpectedly there were no super mutant bodies. They should've been there where Nora left them, rotting and stinking up the place. Most of the mutant structures were taken down, leaving the library in a more orderly state if you were willing to look pass all the broken furniture, dust, ruined books, smashed up glass and typical garbage.

"Hired some folks to sweep through here after you, get the Boston Public Library feelin' more public again." Hancock explained. He picked up some burnt book, wiping away the char with his hand hoping that it'd be legible under it all. It wasn't so he tossed it, "now it's lookin' more like it used to when I was runnin' through here."

He looked back at Nora. He had more to explain about why he had brought her here of all places, but the setting sun was shining through the busted windows, and Nora was glowing.

[hollywoodbountyman]

@shevaults - something simple from the ghoul.

Everyone needed something in the wasteland. A mark taken care of, a bounty completed, escort to and from places. He'd been gunslinging these parts for long enough to recognize when someone was approaching to ask him something. "I ain't exactly sure what you think I can do for ya." The ghoul says, looking up from where he'd been stitching the inseam of one of his gloves. It wasn't new to be sought out, but he's not sure he's a fan of the trend. "If y'got a bounty, I'll think about it, but I ain't exactly the travel companion type."

[mayormentats]

★ @shevaults

This was everything. Everyone she fought, every question she asked, every friend she made, everything she built, condensed into a single moment. And all he could do was watch. 

Hancock believed in the railroad. Synth liberation had been on his radar for a while, and he did what he could to support the cause. Then in comes Nora, taking the liberation into her own hands with the sole purpose to find her son and somehow Hancock is swept into her current. He didn't think that she could survive a day, but she did. He didn't think she'd find a way into the institute, but she did. And there he was at the Mercer Safehouse watching Tinker Tom secure wires to the teleporter. Dare he think that this wasn't going to work? 

The generators were loud. He couldn't hear the yelling voices of Des and Tom or the barking of dogmeat, not that he wanted to. He just wanted to see her, afraid it may be the last time. Through the blue light of the molecular field he squinted, trying to get a glimpse of Nora's face. She was scared. Then she was gone. 

Things went quiet, all except dogmeat. It was awkward after, for Hancock at least. He was sure Deacon attempted to say something to him but he was too focused on strapping on his shotgun and gathering his things. Hancock and Nora had promised to meet each other again at Goodneighbor. Leaving Deacon hanging was not a problem on even a regular day. 

Departing the safehouse reminded Hancock of this location's particular namesake. The rotting corpse hung in front of the gate. He stared up at it for a moment watching the buzz of flies. If Nora came back she'd probably want this removed. He loaded up his shotgun and aimed at the rope that suspended the corpse. In a single shot, it frayed. The body plummeted. At least mongrel dogs could get to it now. One less thing for Nora to worry about and one of the last things he could remember doing on the road. 

How he got back to Goodneighbor was beyond him. He had shut off his brain and he didn't want to think when he got back to the statehouse. He took almost every chem that he had left laying about, but much to his disappointment a lot of the containers were empty. In a foolhardy attempt to get rid of them he had ripped the boards off one of the windows and tossed the used up jet canisters, needles, and mentats tins into the square. Broken furniture started to follow. Fahrenheit had ran up the stairs thinking he had gone insane, but according to her, he was relatively calm just…high. 

“Spring cleaning” he told her, “for Nora… if she comes back.” 

After an hour or so, the high started to fade, and Hancock had tired himself out. The statehouse didn't look any cleaner. Just more empty with a large pile of junk outside the building. Fahrenheit, taking pity on her mayor, had let him go through this in private. She directed the neighborhood watch to keep a distance until further notice, then, when it got particularly quiet, brought in some blankets, a vase and some candles. 

He was sprawled out on the floor with just his shirt and underwear on, he appeared to have attempted to get naked but got tired. He held a hammer close to his chest, and rusty nails beside him. 

“I wanted to take off more of the boards…but I realized in the mornin it’d hurt my eyes” Hancock mumbled. 

“I know you're trying to do some renovations. I don't think you'll do everything tonight. But here's this.” Fahrenheit placed the vase and candles on the coffee table. Then the blankets on one of the couches. “Decor I guess. Sure Nora is one of them fancy types but this is all we got right now… you could press the couches together, try to make a bed or somethin” 

The idea stuck with him. And before she knew it Fahrenheit was helping him rearrange the furniture that he didn't throw out the window. By the time Fahr left, Hancock was situated in the couch bed sleeping with Dogmeat. She had seen Hancock in various levels of pathetic, but not quite like this. 

He awoke to the faint patter of rain and dogmeat licking his face. There was a dull sense of relief that he managed to take care of the mutt while Nora was gone. As he rubbed Dogmeats head, he got shocked. Static ran through the dogs hair. Hancock sat up quickly. Blue light began to cast through the window he had unboarded. He stumbled out of the couch bed to the window, having found that exiting the thing was rather difficult. 

There in front of the statehouse, Nora was back. Blipped into existence, illuminated in brilliant blue that reflected in the wet street.

Hancock grabbed his frock coat and rushed down the stairs. He ran out the statehouse with bare feet, missing toe and all. He avoided all the needles that he was responsible for tossing and brought Nora underneath his coat, ushering her inside. She felt weak. Lifeless. Behind the door he let his coat fall to their ankles. He brought wet hands to her face, looking her in the eyes. The security watched in silent awe of this display, having never seen Hancock act this way in front of anyone. 

Something was wrong. Nora was different. Was she replaced with a Synth? With an arm around her he guided her up the stairs. 

“Uh Hancock your coat–” one of the watchmen began, holding up the red velvet. 

“Just do my dry cleaning. Hundred caps I don't care,” he snapped back.

Once back into the room, dogmeat came running. The click of his nails against the hardwood floors. Hancock tried to settle him down. Getting Nora seated on the coffee table. At this moment he realized couch bed wasn't a great idea with how difficult it was to get in. He needed to invest in an actual bed frame. 

“Hey…” Hancock said softly, crouched beside her, “are you hurt?”

His hands tapped along her body, scanning for lumps, bumps and bruises.

[protectxthem]

@shevaults asked: ❛  i never realized how much i needed you until you weren't there.  ❜ for nate!!

🐝  *  ―  𝑷𝑰𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮 / 𝒀𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺. | Accepting

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I missed you, Nora. A lot." Nate speaks, smiling at her a bit. He steps closer to her, reaching a hand out to touch her cheek and brush some of her hair behind her ear. "What did you do when you needed me?"