the pier.

[doubletap]

Let him just say it now--the kid had a lot of problems.

I mean, not really a surprise or anything--Alex had found him dried out in a desert, for crying out loud--but god damn.

Let’s recap.

Alex Seattle Geer found himself in love with a Vault brat from the Capital Wasteland with a daddy complex the size of Hoover Dam. Said kid loves him back--sometimes. Said kid would probably rather put another bullet between Alex’s eyes rather than spend time with him, and didn’t this just go to show it. Neil leaves to check up a rumor, said he’d be back shortly--shortly became two days and by then Dogmeat was back, meaning Neil took off somewhere he was worried the dog would get hurt at. Two days turn into two weeks and counting, and by then, Alex has tracked Neil’s steps, found the fucking pier, the fucking tool of a woman looking for her child, and all of the pieces are too easily placed.

Neil left for Point Lookout. And Alex, ED-E, and Dogmeat are left hanging in the wind.

Alex has been fucking camping on the dirty sand and shit next to that pier, waiting for that stupid kid to come back on that stupid ferry the woman told him about. Tobar the fucking Ferryman, and Alex feels like shooting the asshole just for submitting to Neil’s request. Probably not the guy’s fault, but-- Hell. Yeah. He didn’t traipse all over the goddamn country just to be left in the dust. Is the kid even coming back? Who fucking knows.

Alex will just.

Wait here.

Until Neil comes back.

Yeah, that’s not pathetic at all.

Comments

[doubletap]

Ellis gets a Look, almost light. "Are you sure? I like to think of myself as pretty loose."

This is coupled with a sigh, then Alex turns his attention to Washington. "I said I was going to give you an explanation, didn't I?"

Surprised, the man starts cautiously. "...Yes?"

"Not going to give it to you yet," Alex continues. "But I'm going to say that it was bad. And a lot of people got fucked up from it, but Neil put a stop to it. But it was heavy shit. You following me?"

Washington stares, and behind him, Cooper nods once.

[vacuus]

Oh, Larry's sure. But there's humor somewhere in that reply, and he would would rather stick to the tone. "Ha," he starts evenly. "If that was your definition of 'pretty loose,' I'd hate to see actual tension."

He continues to listen, fingers running over the keyboard, inputting and extracting data. There is the insinuation that Park might have, to say the very least, gotten affected by whatever caused his condition. And that is no good by anyone's standards. Not in the slightest.

The knight straightens, bright eyes fixed on the Alex. "Yes," he gives.

[doubletap]

Good enough. He rotates his neck, then offers a belatedly reply to Ellis as he rubs at his sore joints. "Pretty much death all around would be the answer," he answers dryly, then continues on. "Though I got another favor to ask of all you guys."

One that he wouldn't have asked for himself, and would have talked Neil into giving up a few hours early. "Kid needs some air, but won't be up for the socialization part for a while longer. You mind clearing into the back so we can trek in and out? Maybe just for a half hour or so."

[vacuus]

Well, it is nice to know they're not at the 'death all around' state, but the Brotherhood of Steel knight is going to keep that comment to himself. Instead, Larry stands to full height, the corners of his lips pulling into a heavy frown out of veiled concern.

"The system's currently running an automated check that's going to take an hour," he replies. "And I could sure use a cigarette break." Or ten, which may end up being the case. "Washington, Cooper, you good for a respite?"

[doubletap]

Cooper grunts to the pair of questions, and continues to work on his project. Washington, usually the one lacking the understanding of subtlety, goes over to the other and taps the side of his foot against the machine. As expected, Cooper looks up with a snarl. To the seemingly extreme emotion, Washington raises his hands with a smile. "Break time, brother. Let up for a while."

The emotion fades, and after a moment, Cooper stands. "...I'll go find Drew to drag him in back," he mentions, then leaves to do as much. Washington rubs the back of his next.

Alex finds himself staring. "I didn't know he could make that kind of face."

"Well, you've only been here a couple of days," Washington replies. "Stand a while longer, you'll find all kinds of interesting things. Hey, though--"

The question is easy to read at his point. "Hard times, like I said. It'll be fine. I got this."

The guard watches Alex for a moment, then nods, turning to head out. Leaving Ellis and Alex alone for a minute. He turns toward the Knight, expecting a couple of questions.

[vacuus]

Cooper takes some convincing, and Washington's on point for once. Regardless, Larry soon watches both guards head toward the back, leaving the remaining pair to stare at each other.

After a beat, Larry reaches over to a nearby table and opens a drawer. From it, he produces a pack of cigarettes. "I'm not Park's friend," he begins, "but I've seen him enough times to recognize him by sight. Saw him first on the day his dad died." And 'heavy shit' reminds him of that expression, that hollowed out husk of a teenage boy.

The man allows a pause to fill the space as he opens the pack and fishes out a cigarette. "Is he going to be okay?"

[doubletap]

The question, somehow, makes Alex defensive. Invisible hackles rise up, and he finds himself straightening. "I'm taking care of him," he answers decisively.

The unsaid is perhaps only clear to Alex: I won't let him not be okay.

[vacuus]

That sort of response insinuates a lot, but he's perceptive enough to sense defensiveness. Enough to raise more questions than answers in the quiet space of his mind. Larry nods and pops the cigarette into his mouth, his hand again reaching into the drawer for the lighter.

Cigarette lit, he takes a long drag. The smoking is clarity to his thoughts, even as it is the opposite to his lungs. "And what about you?" asks Larry, white smoke swirling around him.

[doubletap]

Showing weakness is never a necessary evil, and to an enemy, only a sin. A BOS member would certainly count as that, but here also is someone who put aside Alex slaughtering his unit--who shot him and could have insisted on finishing him, but was instead wearing his clothes.

Alex barters for peace with truth. He sighs again, body relaxing from the tension that had been present. "...When he's all right, I'll be," he replies. "And I don't know when that'll be."

[vacuus]

The truth's appreciated to a man like Larry Christensen-Ellis, ideal circumstances or no. It allows him to let go of aspects that might have haunted his steps later down the road, especially in regard to the bodies laying prone in the basement of the Jefferson Memorial. The knight again nods before holding up the pack, cigarettes sticking out of the opening.

"Smoker?" If so, here's a peace pipe to share. Kind of.

[doubletap]

Alex gives a rueful smile, holding up a hand. "Straight-edge, sorry to say. My drug of choice isn't any you can barter for."

You can still hold it, though. Take it in your hands and try to keep it for as long as you can. As long as you're able.

[vacuus]

Larry snorts, finding humor in the response. The source is revealed soon after, as the man pockets the pack of cigarettes and starts to step toward the back area.

"You're the second guy I've met to turn down a cigarette," he says lightly. "But you were also polite, unlike the first guy." So that's fine. "Try to take care of yourself as well, alright?"