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]

A moment. He lets it pass. He continues.

"Downstairs." In the bed. "You said you wouldn't tell me no, then, either. When that's what you lived and breathed for."

[goodfight]

"Hm."

That moment, when Alex had presented an actual choice, Neil had spoken much the same. He finds humor somewhere in that thought, and the man chuckles lowly. "Guess I've changed." To become something he can't recognize.

Neil breathes deep and opens his eyes. "You probably think this is weird as shit."

[doubletap]

"I think it's different," Alex clarifies. "And I just want to make sure it's not from some fucked up sense of paying me back."

It's not something he can say. Not like this. If it was like that, just obligation and paying a debt. He thinks he might be hurt too much from that. But he can't... That's not something he can let himself say.

[goodfight]

"Different," is his repeat. "I suppose you're entitled to that." Alex has the right to ensure that Neil's priorities are in the correct mindset, whatever that happens to be.

The sensation of glass grinds beneath the sealed scar on his forehead. His heart pounds hard against its cage. Neil makes a small noise before biting his lip, swallowing down the agony.

[doubletap]

At the noise, Alex shifts in front of Neil, hand hovering over Neil's head as the other hand reaches for Neil's hip to keep him steady. "Hey, you okay? Talk to me."

[goodfight]

Somewhere in that, Neil loses a minute. He comes to Alex standing close, concern dripping heavily in his voice, and it somehow hurts more to hear that.

"Medicine's wearing off," Neil gives immediately. "That's all."

[doubletap]

Alex's hand goes to his own hip, to one of the numerous pouches on his assassin suit, and comes back with a stimpack and med-x between his fingers. He touches Neil's cheek, then moves to push up one of the kid's sleeves, injecting the pain med before the immune booster.

[goodfight]

Needles come and needles go, and Neil's just a bundle of burdens on another man's shoulders. A weakness in another man's hand. He looks ahead to the kids playing tag as Alex administers one after the other.

"I pushed you away," says Neil without prompting. "I fought you. I caused melodrama when it wasn't needed. I know you're going to tell me that's just me being a kid, but I'm sorry."

[doubletap]

Alex continues as Neil speaks, pulls his sleeve back down even as he moves to cover Neil with his body, pressing him into the wall. He leans to nuzzle Neil's jawline, then kisses there once, murmuring close. "If I'm not what you want, you can push me away. You can fight me. I'm not going to force you--"

His brain stutters, freezes. He continues.

"--Force you to stay with me. Don't feel like you have to."

[goodfight]

But where would I go?

It's a thought that strikes and strikes hard, overpowering everything. Rising above the medication, even the lips on his skin, the body pressing close, Neil only thinks he would be alone. If they parted ways, separated permanently--

He exhales, his breath trembling. "What I want..." ...is what's here. Isn't it? Is that the god-given truth?

"...I don't know what I want. But I'm not going to fight against you."

[doubletap]

Alex pulls back, enough to cup Neil's cheek. Enough to look him in the eye and have his own emotions shown easily across his visage.

Concern. Pain. Worry. Something deeper aching inside of him.

"And I'm not going to take advantage of that. I'm not going to do anything to mistreat you, kid."

[goodfight]

They watch each other, eye to eye, and Neil crumbles at the affect shown in the other's grey-blue eyes. He reaches to grab Alex's shoulder, fingers pressing into the suit.

Somewhere, Neil gets it. Understands what's being unsaid.

"You've never mistreated me, old man," he says in a rush. "Don't think you've ever done wrong by me."

[doubletap]

This is a repeat. A repeat from down below, and Alex is not going to fight the points again. It's enough. Enough that Neil is grabbing him tightly, speaking with emotion. Things changed while Neil was gone. But it's possible that not all of them were bad.

He moves into Neil's grasp, dips down to cover Neil's lips with his own; giving this without being a prelude to sex or something for fun, but only a fucking manner of devotion--

There's a sound like a squeak, something choked, and Alex spins without thinking, one arm back to hold Neil against his back and the other out straight, Plasma Defender aimed at--

ED-E beeps behind Drew, Dogmeat sniffing at the kid's pants. Alex doesn't lower his arm. "...You just have to keep fucking up, don't you, kid?"

Mouth agape in shock, Drew makes no motion of response. Dogmeat takes this as some kind of sign, and lifts his leg to let a stream of piss arc up against Drew's leg. This is enough to knock him out of his reverie, and he leaps away with a curse. Alex lowers his arm slowly, muttering about stupid kids and their timing.

[goodfight]

It is a repeat, and Alex seemingly accepts. He ducks down to kiss Neil, pressing lips together in a deeper meaning than a mere opening to something else. And Neil--

And Neil would accept if not for an interruption, and it's a beat too late that he recognizes another's presence. By then, he's pressed against Alex's back, confusion settling on his expression. At least until his perception catches up to him.

Neil peeks over the lumbering Courier to find a gangly guy in a Rivet City guard uniform. The guy appears young, likely younger than even Neil. This detail is further cemented by Alex's words. Another kid, huh?

And this kid appears shocked, like he just saw a damn ghost. Neil squints at him, attempting to figure out the source, until everything hits him with the force of a fistful of pre-war coins. Another, no one who knows the nature of their relationship, had just seen them fucking smooching against a wall. And Neil remembers what Alex had once said. About how the general public feels about males loving males.

"Oh, Lord," he says as Dogmeat lets off his glorious stream of piss. "This is one of those bad things, right?"

[doubletap]

See, Drew had been delivering notices to Rivet City. Therefore, when Cooper went to find him, and saw the kid wasn't back yet, he thought things were fine as they were. Drew Marion, always late and fucking up, decides this may be the worst time to realize his errors.

Alex lets go of Neil and slips the Plasma Defender back into its over-sized pouch. His hand goes to his shoulder, then, for a most intimidating weapon of choice: La Longue Carabine, a beauty with history. Just as he likes them. He smiles angrily at Drew, and moves to step forward.

[goodfight]

Like a raging bighorner on the cusp of a rampage, Alex holsters his weapon to grab another at his shoulder, the scoped level-action rifle with something of a story (or so Neil assumes). There's a dangerous expression on his lover/friend/complication's face, and if this wasn't aimed at an already terrified guy, Neil might have prepared to watch a beautiful disaster.

As the intruder's from Rivet City and, well, very much terrified, Neil has the obligation to stop the disaster before it starts.

He reaches to hook Alex's arm with his own, using his unwieldy strength to keep it (and the owner) in place. "Dude, wait," he says, exasperated. "Is that really necessary? He looks like he's going to shit his own pants."

[doubletap]

In an instant, Alex sees an opportunity. The anger slips to cleverness instead.

He whips his head around as if angry, then makes a face at Neil, smiling to show all is fine. "This kid's been a thorn in my side since we got here."

Play along, Neil Park. This kid doesn't know you personally--and he doesn't like Alex. Let Alex be the bad cop, and Neil be the good-- And show Drew Marion that the Lone Wanderer is still the fair protector that Washington hero worships or something.

[goodfight]

There. There's that look, that silent coaxing. Neil understands that he's to play along, and rather than ruin whatever fun and purpose Alex is attempting to achieve, Neil acquiesces. He gives in further to the exasperation, now appearing properly annoyed.

You better not be trolling, Alex Seattle Geer.

"That's no reason to blow his head off," Neil argues, lessening his hold. "He probably didn't mean to interrupt." Interrupting them pressing lips together passionately, that is. It reminds him of that first time, of a certain ghoul stumbling in.

Ugh. Just ugh.

[doubletap]

Neil lessens his grip, and Alex flashes a quick smile of thanks before turning again, walking a few steps to the side and holstering his gun.

In the interim, Drew rushes to fill the silence, after a wary look at the dog. "No, I-- I was just coming back because Ellis was--" Mad at him, and-- "Washington wanted me--" Out of the way-- "To deliver a package. I didn't know-- Didn't know you were even up. You're-- The Lone Wanderer, right? Wow, I--" No, don't say it-- "Thought you'd be taller."

Shit, say something else. Anything.

Panicked, Drew's mind slips backward. "Are you guys doing it-- Uh, I meant, together, I mean, that's none of my business, I just thought you were like his dad or something--"

Fuuuuuuuck me.......

[goodfight]

...So the guy Neil's pretending to defend is a rambler. The most dangerous kind, he is sorry to find. This is a one that's running on pure nervous energy, and nerves can take a person, well, anywhere. Usually down. Neil stares, eyebrows rising higher and higher as the young man spirals downward, creating the (not-so-beautiful) disaster he anticipated from before.

It's fucking tragic, circumstances aside. The guy "thought" Neil would be taller? What the hell did that even mean--

Without a glance at Alex, Neil raises his hand and wiggles a finger at the actual question, as if to silence the rambler from continuing. "It is none of your business," he says, tone neutral. "And yeah, I'm the guy they call the Lone Wanderer."

[doubletap]

Drew rambles in fear, and it makes Alex a little regretful that he apparently scared the shit out of the kid. It's making a mess, one that's bordering on insulting, but it's not unforgivable--

Scratch that.

Alex is deaf to Neil's reply, and only turns slowly to look at Drew. "You 'thought' I was his fucking father? How the fuck old do you think I am? And that fucker was a complete asshole, and I am nothing like--"

Alex. Alex Seattle Geer. Are you getting emotionally upset in front of a stranger?

Alex lets out something like a loud growl and spins around to knock his head against the wall, leaving it there as he begs for calm. ED-E, upset on Alex's behalf, starts a series of reprimanding beeps, getting in Drew's face about it and making him step backwards.

Which makes him inadvertently step on Dogmeat's tail. The dog yelps and jolts, in the process getting Drew's legs tangled together, making the kid fall hard on his ass.

He stays there, head in his hands, without a word.

[goodfight]

Forgiveness might have possible for the rambler, even as the world around Neil descends into chaos. Even as Alex and ED-E grow increasingly animated and upset, as Alex's response pricks the fragile parts inside him, Neil was willing to overlook it all and gently guide the young guard toward the gift shop entrance.

Then the very same guard steps on Dogmeat's tail. Causes the poor dog to yelp in pain, the first sound he's uttered in a long while. All bets, as they say, are off.

His jaw and fists clench shut as Neil steps toward the guard, his anger fierce and swelling. He's planning not to stop until he's at that quiet form, where he'll reach down to collar the offending creature and shake the living daylights out of him.

[doubletap]

There's chaos behind him, a mess of sounds and ED-E beeping in admonishment. What a good friend the bot is. Alex doesn't deserve him half the time. It's almost reassuring enough to--

There's a sharp yelp, a sound from Neil's friend instead of Alex's, and in a beat, Alex is swinging around to cut the movement off that he knows would come from that; an arm around Neil's chest as Alex swings them in a circle, making Neil face the brick instead. He keeps the arm around Neil's front in something of comfort. What the fuck does it matter? The guy saw them locking lips.

He whistles a stanza, and ED-E breaks off, zipping down to Dogmeat in concern and cajoling him to come over to their side. Once the two return to their respective parents, Dogmeat creeps to Neil's side, tail curled between his legs.

"Drew," Alex calls out. "The only thing Neil loves in this whole damn world is his dog. I would work on that apology now."

Startled, Drew scrambles up, almost taking a step forward before stopping. The kid makes a face of pain, but listens. Again, it seems, his only redeeming feature is his willingness to listen. "...You know I'm a fucking mess. I didn't mean... any of it." At Alex's raised eyebrows, Drew focuses on Neil's back. "I'm really sorry, Mr Park."

[goodfight]

He knows. He knows he's seeing red over an accident, but fuck, he can't stop. Neil will not fucking stop because his sad little guy had to get hurt in the process. Dogmeat deserves better. Deserves everything good in the world for having to put up with Neil's bullshit.

But Alex cuts Neil off, brings him back to face the wall, and Neil stops. He stays facing the brick and mortar, the red slowly easing down to the washed out colors of the Capital Wasteland, until nothing remains. Until he notices Dogmeat at his side, looking so fucking sad. He wiggles out of Alex's hold to comfort the damn dog. To pet and to hold and to never let go.

Somewhere in that, Neil hears the exchange. He catches the apology he had planned to shake out of the guard. Here, without effort, he would note two things: (1) Very few have ever addressed him by name. There is something redeeming in that. (2) Alex is wrong. There is another thing that Neil loves.

But that is neither here nor there.

"You're lucky you didn't break his tail," Neil speaks tersely without looking up from his pup. "Be fucking careful next time." Though from his tone, it's quite obvious that there will never be a next time.