the tower.

[shortstraw]

It started in Novac, in that lovely Dino Dee-Lite Motel by the dilapidated gas station.

He had told her they could be found in the upper corner room, living the Post-War American dream. If not there, they had others: cabins, bunkers, safehouses, and the like. He gave her all the map points, confident in their future whereabouts. And above all, he was certain they would never be in the New Vegas, beneath the bright lights of the Strip.

The motel room had been empty. The Brotherhood safehouse and the cabin by Jacobstown also held no occupants. After traveling nearly the entire width of the Mojave Wasteland, moving from town to fucking town, she finally caught a whiff of him in Freeside.

The crier for Mick & Ralph's had seen a man matching Alex Seattle Geer's description lately, headed directly into the heavily guarded gates of the New Vegas Strip.

Judas, Sarah had thought. Blood betrayer. She then walked the road back to the Dino Dee-Lite Motel, to that cozy little upper room in the corner, and left Alex a very nice surprise.

Three days later, after finding the presidential suite of the Tops woefully empty, Sarah corners a man in the streets. Their exchange proves short, and with his pockets noticeably heavier, the guy walks the short distance to the center of the road. There, with the Vault Dweller looking on, he straightens to attention and produces a piece of paper from his pockets.

"Ladies and gentleman of New Vegas, may I have your attention please?" he reads, voice clear to the nearby bystanders and vigilant Securitrons. "It is my absolute pleasure to introduce to you a Very Important Person--" The man looks over his shoulder briefly, a quizzical look on his face. "Why is it capitalized?" he asks.

"Go on," she mouths, waving lazily at the gathering crowd.

He shrugs and continues as directed. "Someone who has traveled a great distance and sacrificed a good deal of time, bullets, and money to be here with you fine folks. She is the Champion of the Holy Thirteen, the Swan Song of the Master and His Most Unholy Unity, the Keeper of All Your Dogs, a Sometimes Friend to You and I... I present to you: The Vault Dweller!"

Comments

[duraframe]

In the forty minutes they had left the pair, Sarah the Vault Dweller had talked up the proprietor and bought large quantities of food. When ED-E had asked if that wasn't a bit too much, Sarah had cheekily replied that it probably wasn't enough. Therefore, ED-E hung out closely, keeping his processors split between watching her carefully for any shifting reactions and waiting for his primary family to return.

After those forty minutes, two heartbeats he recognizes stop in the alley outside the saloon, and after another moment, ED-E gets an incoming message.

We're good for now. When you can, come on out.

ED-E beeps to Sarah. Alex and Neil are outside.

[shortstraw]

Simplicity dictates the next forty minutes, and in that span of time, Sarah has procured enough food to feed a small army. That small army consists mostly of Neil Park, but if Alex Seattle Geer happens to feel peckish along the way, there should be food for him, too. Provided that the younger boy's appetite does not return in full force.

She's paying Trudy when ED-E alerts her to an update, one that has the old woman grinning beneath her mask. "Awesome possum," she gives, laying down the last of the caps on the counter. "Why don't you lead the way, kiddo?"

After a proper goodbye, they move to the alley between the saloon and the general store, toward the pair of misfit lovers standing together. Upon approach, she jingles a Vault-Tec lunchbox in Neil's direction. "I've bought enough to make ten caravan lunches for you. Be afraid."

[duraframe]

ED-E jolts forward when he sees them, buzzing happily around Alex before hovering behind Neil protectively. Everything okay? he beeps to Neil.

After a moment, he whistles to Alex, a high-pitched quick trill of sound that broken down means basically: What is the status? Any problems? What needs to be watched out for?

[doubletap]

After a bit more quiet cuddling and murmuring squishy things to each other, they decided to go gather the other two. Alex, correctly reading that Neil probably didn't want to be around people, pulled Neil into the alley next to the saloon, between the two workbenches. He typed up a message to ED-E on his PimpBoy, then drapes his arm over Neil's shoulders casually, allowing closeness if he wanted to come closer.

The excited beeping is their first warning. ED-E dances around like it's been weeks instead of not even an hour, and after asking Neil a question, makes a more complicated sound to Alex. So it's mommy and daddy taking care of baby Neil, then?

Alex wets his lips, then whistles a short reply. All clear. No problems. Stay on active watch.

Sarah shakes a lunchbox, and Alex raises an eyebrow. "Ever tried the trailmix they make out here?"

[goodfight]

They pass the time whispering sweet nothings with more meaning than half the books Neil's read lately. At the end of things, they move onto Goodsprings with the intent to pick up an eyebot and an old lady. Before Neil can begin picking apart the methods to approach Trudy and other patrons at the Prospector Saloon, Alex pulls him into the empty alley, draping an arm over his shoulders.

By the time ED-E and Sarah approach, Neil is close enough to Alex to rest his head on the man's shoulder, a shy expression lingering on his face. When the eyebot excitedly hovers between them, a question to Neil and something more complicated to Alex, the younger man simply smiles. "Everything's okay." Not everything, of course, but there's enough to be okay about.

Sarah, of course, threatens him with more food (Ten caravan lunches? Sheesh.) as Alex mentions the delicious snake that is the Mojave trail mix. Keeping quiet, Neil steps forward and takes the jingling lunchbox.

[shortstraw]

There is ED-E being an adorable mommy as Neil actually listens and accepts the lunch made specially for him. Sarah smiles, watching the trio, before shaking her head at Alex's query.

"Isn't that just Sugar Bombs and fruit?" she then asks.

[duraframe]

Neil is smiling, and ED-E accepts the words as they are. Alex's response carries more weight (All clear. No problems), and ED-E goes to contently buzzing behind the two, watching their backs.

It feels nice. This group, close. It's still missing one, but the hole is smaller.

[doubletap]

With Neil close enough for his head to be touching Alex's shoulder, Alex is something close to content. Calm. Nothing's all right and a lot is wrong, but he has Neil, as close as he wants, and it doesn't seem like he's about to run off. ED-E is happy buzzing, and Sarah is debating food. "It's a good energy boosting food," he says to her, languid.

Neil moves away to take the lunchbox, and Alex steps up next to him, tugging him back into the position he was in. He tilts his head down, murmuring with a smile, glancing to Sarah. "You should probably start eating that. You remember her punishments for failing."

[goodfight]

Neil retrieves his food, and Alex pulls him back in. They stay as they did before, only now ED-E watches their backs as Sarah and Alex converse over trail mix. The scene registers as familiar, enough to prompt an immediate answer to the side comment.

"...She'd beat me with the lunchbox?" questions Neil as he opens the aforementioned object.

[shortstraw]

They exchange food facts like two Pre-War housewives as the eyebot happily hovers nearby. It is a picture-perfect Kodak moment, and Sarah Marks wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'll see if I can stomach it," she says, meeting Alex's eyes. "And yes, dear, I'd beat you with the lunchbox."

[doubletap]

"Did you know, Neil," Alex continues conspiratorially, if conspiratorially meant loudly and obviously. He grins again at Sarah, keeping his head angled close to Neil. "When mom came to visit, she almost got thrown out of Vegas. And in response, when I came out, she threw me on the ground."

ED-E chirps in amusement, and Alex nuzzles Neil once.

[goodfight]

Neil is procuring a can of Cram when Alex fires the first shot. A shot that will inevitably begin a ridiculous exchange between the Vault Dweller and the Courier, with the poor Lone Wanderer stuck dead center. He tries not to roll his eyes.

"Is that so?" Neil says, attempting neutrality (difficult to do with a guy nuzzling you lovingly). He hopes him fiddling with the can will help deter further participation on his part.

[shortstraw]

"Did you know, Neil," Sarah echoes in the same tone, eyes bright beneath the plague doctor mask. "Alex doesn't like anyone asking his precious roller bots about him, including his own mother. Apparently, you're asked to leave and never come back."

The nerve. "It was a very unpleasant affair. Mom had no choice but to use his own momentum against him."

[doubletap]

"Well, of course, she flipped me," he says pleasantly to Neil, before turning his gaze on Sarah. "But seriously? You're surprised that I don't want people asking questions about me. With my history, House's outcome, and the amount of dye I used to use in my hair?"

ED-E beeps in delight, and Alex rolls his eyes in amusement.

[goodfight]

Quietly, like he's not having any part of this conversation, Neil opens the can and starts eating its contents. After having consumed a mini mountain of food, cooked Cram's just another to add to the pile, but with its radiation wiped away, it has a nice texture his current state of being can be okay with.

"Do people actually ask about you?" he raises with mouth mostly full.

[shortstraw]

"Surprised? Hardly." Never surprised, just had that flutter of-- "Hoped you'd preemptively included special privileges for a mutant matching my description? Why, yes."

Sarah eyes Neil eating for a brief moment (ensuring his task is going well) before returning to Alex. "What if it was an emergency?" she continues, her voice rising in mock hysterics. "What if I needed to know your measurements so I could knit you a sweater? Would they have blasted me away? Shot me all the way back to Red Carpet County?"

She snorts at the mental picture.

[doubletap]

"ED-E," Alex starts, staring at Sarah with a feigned lack of amusement. "Please play back for Sarah the penthouse's recording from earlier today. About 11am. Conversation with me and Raul."

ED-E whirs in response, remote accessing the server. Unlike House, Alex is far more paranoid. Good for him? ED-E finds the audio file Alex wants and plays it, the sound somewhat staticked.

"Boss? Uh, got a problem with the Securitrons up front. They look like they're about to shoot up the people in the crowd."

"Just two.... Fuck me."

"Boss?"

"All good, all good. Might be down two Securitrons, though."

Alex points to the eyebot. "No one was blasting you. I had already assumed I'd need to replace those 'bots."

That done, Alex turns his attention to Neil. "'member Rory, of the 'I'm not NCR, just curious,' who was very much NCR and trying to find out nearly everything about me? Between that, two hacking attempts of the Securitron hardware, and just thinking about what I would fucking do, I have some security measures in place. People ask too much, touch too much, and the Securitrons can't handle it, 'bots go boom."

The Boomers would love it, and to be honest, he got the explosives from them. The guilty grin probably makes that part obvious to Neil.

[goodfight]

Idle chatter among loved ones (minus one) make for better tasting food, and Neil's just about done with his Cram. He places the nearly empty can back into the lunchbox, ears trained on the playback from ED-E's speakers. It has the man wondering if Alex had indeed lost those Securitrons and how beautifully they might have exploded.

Which brings them to the answer to his earlier question. Neil manages a lopsided grin. "Ha, Rory." He laughs, mind briefly submerged in the memories of Just Curious Rory. Of course, they pass like everything else. Neil notes Alex's guilty expression with humor, and he leans further into the other.

"You mean completely decimate everything within a ten-foot radius," he adds.

[shortstraw]

In the course of seconds, Sarah fixates on this Raul and his husky Hispanic accent, and she whistles lowly. "That's Raul?" she asks, thoroughly distracted from the image of Securitrons blasting her across the sky or exploding into smithereens due to unwanted prying. "Holy shit, that voice sounds nice."

The woman starts to nod, as if she was a bystander agreeing to that assessment.