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

[goodfight]

He never wants to have this Bitter Drink again, but vocalizing that detail requires far more effort than he's willing to expend. Instead, Neil watches Alex administer the medicine, one syringe at a time, his eyelids flutter tiredly. Exhaustion progressively takes its toll, and by the time he registers the command, Neil's dozed off for a good ten seconds.

His gaze falls on the hand, comprehension working through the drugs and the growing fever. After a beat, his mouth slowly works to gather liquid. It takes a minute, but Neil manages to spit as requested.

Or more dribble onto the hand. Same difference.

[doubletap]

A perceptible frown shifts over his face, before Alex shrugs, eyes rolling ceiling-ward. The spit-covered hand is wiped over the top of his PimpBoy. The device instantly alerts him to the presence of radiation, but despite the idea, he can't get a good read this way. Eh. It was worth a try.

Instead he reaches over to Neil, hand closing over his forearm. Alex pauses, as always. "Good with me accessing your PipBoy?"

[goodfight]

Eh. It was a try. Though, a spit-covered PimpBoy strikes a funny bone, and Neil laughs weakly. Something catches in his throat, however, and the laughter transitions to coughing.

Pressure on his arm alerts Neil to the question, and still coughing, he nods slowly.

[doubletap]

With one hand flicking through the screens on Neil's PipBoy, Alex's other hand moves up, arm wrapping around Neil's shoulders to lean Neil against him instead. He rubs Neil's shoulder idly, looking for the-- Ah, there it is. And thought so. Geiger counter's stating a little over 400, crazy ass kid. Which, retardly, is not good enough.

Still squinting at the screen, Alex wonders to Neil, "If I happened to have radioactive material--" An insulted beep from ED-E, which Alex ignores. "--would it be better to pour on you, or could you actually metabolize it without poisoning yourself?"

[goodfight]

The right amount of pressure in the right place allows the man to ease off the coughing. Neil leans heavily against Alex, taking wheezing breaths.

At the question, Neil has to pause, mind working backward through his memories. "Con...tact..." That would work; skin contact might be the safest. However-- He lifts up a hand toward the hovering eyebot. "He's...unhappy?"

[doubletap]

Alex backs out of the PipBoy screen and shifts Neil against him more firmly. "Because I want to take one of his toys. And he knows," Alex says pointedly, turning his head to look at ED-E. "That I will get you a new one. We have like two hundred. C'mon."

A buzzed beep sound is the only reply for a long moment, angry and low. It is a reminder that ED-E has been helpful and patient with Alex, and this is towing the line. "Listen," he says further. "You know I would never take your dinosaur or the sensor module. I just want the rocket. You know it's for a good cause or I wouldn't take it from you."

Another unhappy sound, less harsh than the last. "Hey," Alex says softly.

Another moment, then ED-E slowly floats closer, lowering so his compartment latch is in reach. Alex moves to run a hand over the eyebot instead. "Thanks, ED-E."

[goodfight]

Well. Neil doesn't know what the hell ED-E's saying, but he's pretty sure he gets the context. And in his weakened state, he feels a pang of something unpleasant as opposed to simple amusement. He drops his hand.

"You...sure?" To take away something from a kid who's been, as memory serves, ever so helpful. "Don't...want...to take...away..." God, it's murder trying to say each word.

[doubletap]

When Neil talks, Alex looks only at ED-E. The question is for him, after all. ED-E stares at Alex for a beep, then lowers himself further, close to Neil's face. The sound he makes is soft, non-grating. It sounds like a bell, struck once, then fades away.

It is reminiscent of something maternal telling a child to rest.

[goodfight]

The eyebot comes down to his eye level, and somehow, Neil cannot help but remember the kid's father. The actual father, Dr. Whitley. And how the mobile base on Adams Air Force Base lies in ruin.

Neil blinks at ED-E, absorbing the sound with gravity etched on his face. He gets it, he thinks. "Alright," he murmurs.

[doubletap]

ED-E hovers, bobbing up and down. Alex's friend agrees.

With understanding achieved, Alex reaches to pop the latch, reaching inside the chamber for the toy rocket.

You know the story--the one that was recalled due to the radioactive isotope inside of it.

He sighs, a heavy dramatic sound. "You have to understand that I love you when I'm willing to pour more radiation on you."

[goodfight]

As mentioned, it's a curious toy rocket that Alex produces. There must be some kind of radioactive liquid inside--what with all this talk about pouring it on Neil.

"No...shit..." Withholding a yawn, Neil attempts to straighten in his spot. The attempt proves more or less successful. "Can also just...touch finger...to it."

[doubletap]

ED-E pops upward, closing the chamber door with a jolt. He beeps conversationally, then zips off to Dogmeat, mumbling to himself about the whole ordeal.

Alex reaches his other hand around Neil, squeezing the top and twisting until the plastic cracks. No wonder kids drank the garbage down. It takes all of ten seconds to break it. "Cup your hands over the edge of the table, then."

[goodfight]

ED-E runs off while Alex breaks open the rocket, and it is here that Neil finally notices the discrepancy. He tentatively brings a hand over the edge of the table as instructed, fingers curved to form a cup.

"Why...does...that...have...isotope?"

[doubletap]

Alex raises his eyebrows, then, sighing, pours out a small amount of the glowing substance into Neil's hand. "If you can ask about science, I should assume you're going to be fine." He meant it to come out humorous, dry, but the statement only holds affection.

"Pre-War toy," he answers anyway. "Kids thought the stuff was Nuka-Cola Quantum. Had a famous recall or something." He's distracted. Tired, yes, but-- Distracted. Relieved. His hand tightens on Neil's shoulder, and Alex tilts his head down, nuzzles lightly into the back of Neil's hair.

[goodfight]

Somehow, the observation fills Neil with embarrassment, even in his feverish state. He bows his head as his skin soaks up the radiation from the substance dripping down his hand. "I like science," he mutters nonsensically.

He likes science enough, apparently, to fight through his shame and listen. Alex presses lightly into the back of his head, and Neil thinks to tell the other about Nuka-Cola Quantum. How he discovered it has strontium-90. Instead, he leans back into the touch, a tired sound escaping from his lips.

[doubletap]

Alex smiles into Neil's hair, then straightens, watching the tired kid. "I like that you like science," he states, in the same tone. "Not a lot of people are interested in that stuff. It's interesting."

A couple of more minutes with the damn radiation--that is making Alex's Geiger Counter mad at him, but hey. What's Rad-Away for anyway?--then he'll start getting the kid ready to actually rest.

[goodfight]

Neil blinks back until he cannot withhold both his exhaustion and approval, and he breaks into a lopsided grin. "Well," he starts before falling away to silence, his body's condition finally taking over. He shakes his head carefully, as to convey his own uselessness.

Two hundred more points takes 200 seconds--a little more than 3 minutes. Soon, the counter on hits 600, and even Neil, who can barely talk, can feel the difference. His breaths soon come easier, enough for the man to again start dozing off, his hand starting to tip the liquid onto the floor.

[doubletap]

When Neil's body slackens, Alex reaches for the cloth that had been folded behind Neil's head when he was laying, grabbing it to wipe off and mop up the rest of the shit off of Neil's hand. The cloth is dropped to the ground, much like everything else. "Hey, babe," he says quietly, continuing to hold him. "Do you want to wash up first, or just go straight to rest?"

[goodfight]

He jerks at the voice and notes something has changed, but his brain does not skip a beat. Neil continues as if he had been waiting at full attention. "Will...wash...first," comes the murmur. "Feel...hot."

Aside from the layers of swamp crap, sweat, blood, and toy rocket goo, the fever is rising. Rising fast. Cool water sounds good, much better than rest. Than those fucked up dreams.

[doubletap]

Alex shifts, straightening off the bed, while keeping his hands to support Neil. He leans down and kisses him, something like a reminder. "Gotta take your clothes off, then," he says, quietly amused. "Going to fight me for old time's sake?"

[goodfight]

A kiss is enough to stir the fragile bits inside Neil, and he smiles sadly at the older man. "Thought you liked..." He makes a gesture, indicating conflict. Resistance.

Satisfied, he begins to zip down his leather jacket and the vest underneath.

[doubletap]

"Sometimes," he says, charmed by the small show of discourse. He brushes Neil's hands away and continues the slow motions of undressing, slipping the upper garments off one by one. His fingers trail over bare skin. "Sometimes I'd rather just do nicer things to you."

Things that are slow and saturating, things that can't be done if one's partner is mostly adverse to their connecting.

[goodfight]

The help is appreciated, and unlike the present topic of conversation, Neil does not resist. He simply looks up at Alex, his dark eyes jumping between glazed over and mildly alert. Again, something moves within him.

"...Sorry," he gives gently. "I'm a...horrible guy." He lacks what others may label as kindness, especially to those who most deserve it.

[doubletap]

Alex snorts, shaking his head. "You're not," he says simply. "Nothing close to it."

He shifts to crouch, undoing buckles and laces on shoes, and pulling those off along with socks. All of these clothes, Alex decides cheerfully, are going to be burned.

[goodfight]

Neil can't help the weak chuckle at the dispute. "After this." A hand gesture. "Dunno." Not many can say he wasn't horrible after putting his lover through this.

Everything becomes lighter and heavier at once, and it's a wonder he's still sitting up in some way. "I wore...tribal wear," he says suddenly, the non-sequitur fitting smartly in his mind. "Made...that swamp...bearable."