#i think the idea of mr house making securitrons bring him out so he can see his giant ass portrait is kinda fun

[sleepysailorjunko]

Benny's Big Score

It turns out that New Reno was not a great place.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, a solution to his problems. But it wasn't.

New Reno was dirty, but not in the same glimmery-glittery way that New Vegas was. It wasn't like when he had come to Vegas for the first time, the Bootstraps with him. He was alone. There were no chairmen to protect him, no brothers willing to die with him.

Sitting in the dingy bar, he curses the courier under his breath.

"Oh, don't get me started on Couriers." a melodic voice chimed in. A smooth-voiced ghoul in a fancy pre-war tuxedo sat down on the barstool next to Benny. "You wouldn't know the half of it."

"A courier done you wrong too?"

"I gave as good as I got." the ghoul replied, and in him, Benny recognized that they were both well-dressed men who had been chased out by couriers.

"And yet we're still sitting here in this bar, ring-a-ding." Benny took a sip of his drink. Disgusting as it was (and expensive!), Benny's pride as a Bootstrap and leader of the Chairmen kept him from spitting it out. "Say, who are you anyhow?"

The ghoul rolled his eyes under the sunglasses he wore.

"200 years ago everyone knew my name. Dean Domino's the name, don't wear it out."

Benny's eyes widened.

"That for real? Where ya been hiding out all this time?" Benny questioned, leaning on the bar counter. "Could have used you back in New Vegas."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Dean answered smoothly. Benny prodded at him again in his "Ring-a-Ding-Ding" fashion, and Dean sighed before answering. "The Sierra Madre."

"Woah, let's keep it in the grove. You," He paused for emphasis. "Are the ghoulified version of prewar icon Dean Domino and you've been hiding out in the casino in the land of the dead?"

"Yes, I suppose if you put it like that."

"I'm the Ben-man, the kingpin of the whole Strip." Benny said, bitterly drinking from his glass. "Or I was."

"Taken down by a courier?" Dean snarked.

"Ain't that a kick in the head. You think you put one in the ground but then they follow you home and try and climb in your bed. Ruin your damn plans. But I'll be back."

"The courier-I never caught their name-banned me from Vegas. They threated to kill me if they ever saw me again. As if they'd get the chance."

"You and me, we're men cut from the same cloth." Benny said, and Dean looked over him.

"Are we really?"

"Yeah, we're both men screwed over by couriers when we could've been kings!" Benny rubbed his hand over his jaw, and then continued. "Y'know...we oughta get together sometime. We could get revenge on the Mojave Express and I have a lot of draw in New Vegas. I could even get you a job preforming in the Tops. Hell, even the Lucky 38."

"Why not?" Dean agreed. Thinking a moment, he asked. "That courier you knew, did they have a large scar on their head?"

"They did actually...a gift from me. Tie, I think that's their name. Well, it's what their boy-toy sniper-type called them when they weren't trying to jump into bed with me."

"Two birds with one stone." Dean said. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, pal."

It took time to get back to New Vegas. This gave them time to plan and plot and scheme about how to get their revenge on the courier.

More or less, it was easy for them to get into the Strip. After all, this was the land that Benny was Chairman of. He was also very skilled with computers, so it wasn't a challenge for Benny to hack into the securitrons.

Their first stop in Vegas was Mick and Ralph's. Throwing a cap to the crier boy outside the story, Benny asked "Are your old men inside?"

The boy responded and Benny strolled into the building like he owned it. Explaining to Dean, he added, "It helps to bring flowers home."

"Benny." Mick greeted shortly.

"Mick, my guy! How's the family?" Benny sidled up to the store owner. "Say, have you gotten any flowers in lately?"

Mick sighed and retreated to the back room. He returned with a wilted bouquet.

"I've only got these in because of Pacer. You know how he's gonna get, you're throwing of his plans with" Mick complained, but Benny cut him off.

"Tell him to send all his complaints to the Tops!" He exclaimed and snatched the bouquet. It was dry and wilty, formed from common Mojave plants rather than one made from Vault-Tec's greenrooms. It must have come in with Crimson Caravans, Benny thought, but Swank would like it well enough.

He shoved a couple caps into Mick's hand-underpaying people was something that got him into trouble before.

"To the Tops!" He called, and Dean followed him.

"Ugh. How things have changed." Dean groaned. "What have you done with the place?"

"Seal it, Dean-o! I've got a man to see. Our plan won't work without Swank."

The man in the check-in window looked up when Benny said his name.

"Shit, Benny. I haven't seen you in ages."

"Missed you too, Swank. You didn't even kiss me goodbye."

"You're not supposed to be here. I know you tried to kill that courier."

"C'mon, Swank. You've gotta let me explain." He gestured with the bouquet. "I brought you flowers."

Swank looked like he was conflicted, but then he sighed.

"Fine. Explain then, boss."

"Alright, so the courier. I did try and kill that courier, but I had good reason for it. You've got to believe me. I needed the platinum chip."

"You can't just keep saying I have to let you explain and I have to believe you. It doesn't work that way. But I'll bite. What's a platinum chip and why did you need it?"

"It's what we need. If we have it, we can upgrade the securitrons and then we won't need the NCR or the Legion or House to protect New Vegas." He smiled bitterly. "It would have been freedom for all of us."

Swank looked at Benny silently.

"I know why I failed now. I needed you and the Chairmen. I needed you."

That seemed to certify it for Swank. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled.

"Alright Benny. But this is the last time. You mess this up and it'll be the end-not just for you and me, but for all of us." He made cautious and firm eye contact with Benny. "What's the plan?"

"You're the man, Swank!" Benny shouted excitedly and leaned over the weapon-check counter to wrap a hand around Swank's shoulder and pull him down for a kiss. Releasing him, he continued. "Oh, it's a doozy of a plan."

Swank looked around and then signalled to another Chairman.

"You take over here." He said, and stepped out from behind the weapon check counter.

The plan was a doozy, Swank thought as he walked from the Tops to the Lucky 38. He hoped the Courier was staying there tonight. If not, he'd have to regroup with Benny and Dean to send them to the Atomic Wrangler instead.

Night had fallen quickly over New Vegas in the hours after Benny had made up with Swank, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted when Swank bumped into someone.

"Watch it," He barked. Looking at the young woman, he realized she was a courier-she had a courier's duster loosely over a purple shirt-but not the one they were going to kill.

"Eh? Did you need something?" She said, "I'm going to Show Low."

It was a dangerous route for a courier because it went right into Legion teritory, but Swank didn't care. It seemed like a good idea at the time, a solution to his problems. But it wasn't.

"Sorry. Good luck!" He said and continued on route to the Lucky 38.

"You too?" Swank heard, but there was a lot of noise. The Strip was loud.

Arriving at the Lucky 38, he let himself in. The collar weighed heavily in his pocket, but he knew that was just in his head. It couldn't weigh more than a pound or two.

"Hello?" he called. "I need to speak to the Courier? It's really important..."

There wasn't any response for a moment. Then the elevator chimed and two people exited.

One was the Courier, and the other was a bitter-faced sniper with an NCR beret.

"Oh...Mr. Tops?" The courier said. "Did you need something? We were just on our way out..."

"Yes, and it's very important. And it can't wait." Swank replied

The little computer on the Courier's arm beeped.

"Alright, what's going on?"

"Sit down, this is very important news." The courier sat down. The sniper stood to the side.

His hands were starting to sweat and he wiped them on his suitpants. Ugh, he could almost hear Benny scolding him for dirtying it.

"I've discovered..." He spoke softly...and the courier leaned into hear better. Just as they planned. "Sorry."

With that, he swiftly reached into his coat pocket and snapped the collar around the courier's neck. It latched closed and armed before they could even move.

They startled back, but it was of no use.

"Recognize it, courier?" a charismatic and smooth voice called as Dean Domino and Benny Gecko strolled into the lobby of the Lucky 38.

The Courier's face was fearful, but the sniper's eyes were full of rage. Their hands clawed at their throat, but it was futile against the explosive collar.

"I wouldn't do that, Pussycat." Benny's voice chimed in. "It's rigged to blow. But I'm sure you knew that. According to my new friend here, you've had some experience with them."

"Dean." They said quietly. " You were warned. I told you what I'd do if I ever saw you again. I'll kill you even if I have to take you down with me."

"Geez, Domino, what'd you do to make 'em hate you so bad?" Benny ran a hand through his hair. "I shot them in the head-twice, even-and left them for dead. And they still tried to sleep with me! Oh, and I wouldn't go making any moves there, friend, unless you'd like your little courier blown to bits. Or do, it would make it easier on me."

"I believe it was that I had their little friend's vocal cords ripped out. Or maybe it was the whole threatening to blow them up." Dean answered. "I never narrowed it down."

"Wow, Benny!" the Pip-Boy beeped. "I never thought I'd see you again! You keep some interesting friends!"

"Yes-Man?" Benny questioned, and then waved it aside. "Eh, never mind. When I've got the platinum chip, I can fix whatever they did to you."

"Yes-Man," Antietam said, dropping their hands from their neck "Could you keep it down? I'm about to get blown up."

"No, you're not." Boone reassured them quietly. "Gotta be some way to take these guys out..."

Internally, Antietam was weighing whether it was worth it to charge Dean and take him down with them. But there was a likelihood of Boone being injured in the blast, so it wasn't going to work out.

"Now, now Courier..." Dean said. "Where did you take the treasure when you ran off? You ruined over two hundred years worth of revenge."

The courier wanted to lash out, but they reigned their temper in.

"You ruined it...You ruined the whole Sierra Madre, did you know that? It could have been a safe haven, a shelter from the nuclear anihilation. But you couldn't tolerate what you percieved as an insult to your ego! And you ruined Vera's life-she was dying and you blackmailed her!" Their vitreolic rant paused. It wasn't the whole sad story, but the only one who knew that was Antietam. And they were too angry and biased against Dean to really care that their rant was biased. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Woah, let's calm down, Pussycat. You keep yourself under control or one of us might just forget ourselves and hit that button. We wouldn't want that, now would we? Let's get down to business." Christine and Veronica ran downstairs.

"Hey, what's going on? We heard commotion." Veronica said, and then when she saw the situation, she put her hands on her hips. "Are you guys having a party without me?"

Christine, on the other hand, growled.

"Dean." It came out in Vera's voice, and if Dean had skin, it would have gone pale with fear. As it was, it broke his composure.

"So it worked." He said finally.

"Alright, don't make any moves!" Benny shouted. "You try anything and I'll blow your friend to smithereens."

"Who are these guys?" Veronica asked.

"Some guys who tried to kill Tie before, I think." Boone answered

"Dean Domino, Swank Gecko-Pierce, and I'm the pro from Dover." Benny barked. "Now I want answers! Where's the platinum chip?"

None of them answered.

"I guess none of you value the Courier's life, seeing as none of you are providing answers." He pulled Maria from his pocket. "No matter. We'll start with the boy toy."

With that, he leveled Maria at Boone.

"Things are getting a little heated, Benny." Swank said, making eye contact with the checker-suited man.

"Stop." The Courier said. "I'll tell you where I hid the chip. Just let my friends go."

"Benny, this is getting more heated than I thought it would." Swank noted.

"Can it, Swank. We're about to get some answers!" Benny responded.

"It's in the dresser in the motel in Novac. Let my friends go, Benny."

"It's like it doesn't even matter to you!" Benny exclaimed. "It-" Swank cut him off by setting a hand on Benny's outstretched arm.

"Benny, calm down. We don't have time for his right now."

"Yeah, Benny, calm down." Dean chimed in, although it was clearly mocking him, which Benny picked up on immediately.

"You got something to add, Deano?" Benny snarked back.

"You know, Ben-man, I think I'm tired of playing accomplice. I'm so tired of playing second fiddle...I think I'll kill you and your friends and claim New Vegas for my own."

"Yeah, that's not happening." Benny fired back. He pointed Maria at Dean. "It's been real and it's been great, but it's not real great."

He fired.

"Shit, Benny, you missed." Swank said, to which Benny responded "Shut up, I know I missed."

He shot again and again and Dean didn't move, until he slumped to the ground, full of lead.

"Well, that's a bust." Benny said. "Hey, whataya say, Courier? We can burry the hatchet with this guy and work together. I won't kill you or your little friends and you won't kill me and Swank. Fair's fair, right?"

It was a stretch-even now, Christine and Veronica's nimble fingers were removing the explosive collar from the angry courier's throat. But Benny had always been a gambling man.

#benny new vegas #benny gecko #benny fnv #swank fnv #fallout new vegas #fnv #craig boone #courier antietam #courier 6 #courier six #dean domino #veronica santangelo #christine royce #if you find all the references to mash dm me and I'll draw/write you something as a prize! #i really wanted Benny's plan to work out-he has Swank with him now -so it should work right? #benny's big score #Benny x Swank

[danses-with-dogmeat]

Introducing My Fallout OCs!

OMGGGG y’all, I can’t. I’ve apparently reached over 200 of you fantabulous followers and I am so ecstatic! I honestly don’t even know if this is considered a milestone or anything, but I was super psyched, so I'm doing something about it, dang it!

Also, just a heads up on me right now, I just started school again, so my posting miiiiiiight be a bit sporadic every now and then, but I’m determined to still try and get a few posts out every week, so we’ll see how that goes. I’m also pretty backed up on requests at the moment, I’m still accepting them for the time being, but I may turn off my asks if I’m finding difficulty getting to everyone.  

Anyways, I know I don’t ever really talk about my Fallout Original Characters, but I’m thinking of doing some stuff with them in the future, so this seemed like a good place to start  🤷‍♀️ So, here they are! One from each of the 3 FO games I write for. If ya’ll want to send in any asks about these folks, please feel free to do so! 

(Art for these peeps is pending potentially as well).

My Lone Wanderer: Hope

Appearance: 

- Basically like a black-haired, blue eyed Sarah Connor (y’know, from Terminator), she’s got a small frame, but is an absolute beast. She loves to change up her hair, but prefers the iron maiden, unladylike, or rude ridge styles and will often dye it bright-ass colors, cuz why not? She’s pretty pale considering the vault background and the fact she is constantly wearing full body combat or leather armor when she’s outdoors, and she has a few piercings she actually got before leaving the vault. 

What’s in a Name: 

- “Hope” was the name that her parents chose for her before she was even born, but she can’t stand it, she just tends to see it as a cruel joke in the world they live in. She instead goes by Effie (short for Ephialtes, cuz she’s edgy and dramatic and read too much in school). Hope tends not to tell anyone her real name, and if she does, you’d best not use it to refer to her, unless you like being enslaved. The only one who could ever get away with it is Jericho and a select few people from the vault (Stanley, and her father, but she’s still not happy about it.)

Sexuality: 

- Pansexual

Main Companion: 

- Jericho

Relationship(s): 

- She has a sort of “friends with benefits” type situation going with Jericho, but it ends up getting... complicated, and turning somewhat into a relationship.

Bestie(s):

- Even though he’s her boss, Hope likes to hang out with Eulogy when she’s in Paradise Falls. When she was in the vault, she spent a lot of time with Stanley, and was pretty close with Butch, Wally, and Paul as well. 

Fam Dam: 

- James and Catherine are/were her parents (obviously). But she also considered Stanley to be a sort of uncle to her. 

Karma: 

- Oh, the worst. She’s honestly awful. She steals, she murders, she enslaves, she blows up settlements, all of it. She’s got a lot of things she needs to work out...

Faction of Choice: 

- The Slavers of Paradise Falls. (Yeah... she sucks.) The Brotherhood and the Outcasts just never really struck her fancy, and her and Jericho found it was easy to make bank with the slavers. Hope also is a friend to Allistair Tenpenny and Mister Burke... and not the folks in Megaton. Cuz they’re all not really alive.

Vault Occupation: 

- Engineer

Fun Fact!:  

- Hope is really bad with empathy, and absolutely needs to experience something for herself before she can make any sort of judgement on it, or other people who have had that same experience.

My Courier Six: Sage

Appearence: 

- Sage doesn’t really consider herself very “flashy” in comparison to most folks in NV. She’s got shoulder length brown hair (blast back or clean cut style) and brownish-hazel eyes. She’s pretty damn tan (Mojave, you know) and doesn’t have many scars, but the ones on the right side of her forehead clearly indicate where she was shot in the head (thanks, Benny). She and Boone tend to twin quite a bit, with matching red berets and sunglasses.

What’s in a Name: 

- The poor girl has no clue what her real name was before she was shot, but she saw a box of labelled herbs in Doc Mitchell’s house when she was recovering from her headwounds and decided she liked the name “Sage.”

Sexuality: 

- Bisexual

Main Companion: 

- Craig Boone

Relationship: 

- Also Boone :) it’s a pretty darn slow-burn romance with lots of bumps along the way, but their love always seems to prevail. (Gross and sappy, I know)

Bestie(s): 

- Arcade, plus Rex, and ED-E. Also Victor and Doc Mitchell.

Fam Dam: 

- No clue, unfortunately. She eventually tries to find out something about her past and her family, if she has any, but she’s got a few things to deal with first (hint, one rhymes with pleaser’s fleegion).

Karma: 

- She may make mistakes along the way, but Sage really does try her best to be as good as possible. 

Faction of Choice: 

- Mr. House and the Followers of the Apocalypse. Would like to get rid of House, but can't bring herself to become responsible for everything once he's gone. She considers herself his personal empathy and tries to assist with the goings on of the Mojave even after the battle of hoover dam. Fucking wiped out everyone in the Legion. Her and Boone are a force to be reckoned with. And she never really cared much for the Brotherhood since she had such little interaction with them. She has a good relationship with Freeside and most of the settlements/other towns as well.

Previous Occupation: 

- Courier? She has no idea what else. But she’s oddly really good with medicine 🤔

Fun Fact!: 

- She supports Mr. House for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest is that she doesn't want to lose Victor. He saved her, and she considers the securitron to be her oldest friend (besides Doc Mitchell). She knows it's a little selfish, but she can't bring herself to put an end to him after he pulled her from her own grave and helped bring her back from the brink of death.

My Sole Survivor: Jolene Arvanidis-Ryan

Appearence: 

- She’s got auburn hair she usually keeps cut short (clean cut) or in a bun, green eyes, pale skin with a good amount of freckles and has exceptionally straight teeth (braces suck, but you know.) When traveling with Cait, people tend to think they’re related. Jolene tends to wear a black beret and, if she has the time and resources, she likes cat eye style eyeliner. 

What’s in a Name: 

- Her first name runs in the family... plus her dad really liked Dolly Parton, so that helped cement the first name for him. Nate’s last name was Arvanidis, and she tends to use that as her last name exclusively, she rarely reveals her maiden name (Ryan) to anyone. 

Sexuality: 

- Straight

Main Companion: 

- Paladin Danse

Relationship: 

- It takes a long time (post BB), but she ends up being with Danse. 

Bestie(s): 

- MacCready and Cait

Fam Dam:  

- Pre-war, her father was a carpenter and her mother was a major in the US military, she had no siblings and was very close with her father since her mom was often away on deployment. 

Karma: 

- Decent. Tries her best to do what’s “right,” but she sometimes has a hard time determining what that is. Is good at following orders, even if she doesn’t always agree with them (BB is the exception in this case).

Faction of Choice: 

- Brotherhood of Steel, at least until BB, then she tends to focus more on the Minutemen, but still stays by the BOS’s side when it comes to taking down the Institute. Despite her loyalty to the BOS, she always regrets what she did to the Railroad, and how she ended things with the Institute, and she holds quite a bit of resentment towards Elder Maxson for ordering her to pull the trigger that ended her son’s life, and the other lives within the Institute. 

Previous Occupation (Pre-War): 

- She was a Gunnery Sergeant in the US Military. (Trying to follow in her mother’s footsteps).

Fun Fact!: 

- She hates killing feral ghouls, but keeps it under wraps since she tends to travel with MacCready and Danse the most. After that random encounter where she found herself murdering her own neighbors, she can’t bring herself to look into the eyes of any feral ghouls she has to kill. 

Bonus! Fun Fact!:  

- She started out as my sort of "throw away" playthrough where I wanted to do a BOS run, just out of curiosity, but she ended up being my main playthrough… probably because Danse is just the best and I can't get enough of that tin can thesaur-ass.

#fallout #fallout 3 #fallout new vegas #fallout 4 #original character #fallout oc #thank you guys again #ily all so much #thank you for reading #you all are the best

[lone-survivor-six-tales]

Ain’t That A Shot in The Head Ch.6

The walk to the strip was mostly uneventful other than the people that would stop and stare at the group that consisted of one courier, an ex NCR soldier, a follower of the apocalypse, a nightkin, a cybernetic dog and an eyebot. As they walked past the strip security and into the strip, a familiar securitron rolled up to greet Six.

"Howdy partner! Glad to see you finally made it!" Victor cheerfully greeted the group while Boone and Arcade eyed the robot suspiciously.

"What's with the robot?" Arcade whispered to Boone while Six chatted with Victor.

"I don't know, it's been following Six since I've met her. Apparently it's the one that dug her out of her grave." Bonne explained eyebrows furrowing when he saw Six. Boone was able to pick up enough of the conversation to put together what the securitron was asking her to do.

"I don't think it's a good idea to go in there alone." Boone told Six, eyeing the securitron before setting his sights on the Lucky 38.

"Sorry partner but Mr. House said only she can come in. You can wait outside for your friend to be done!" Victor's cheery voice made Boone wish he could use the bot for target practice.

"If he wants to see her so much then he should come down here himself." Arcade replied, huffing when Victor didn't even glance in his direction.

"It's alright guys." Six said, looking back at them with a small smile. Boone frowned and gently grabbed Six's arm, pulling her closer so he could speak to her without Victor hearing.

"You don't know what's in there, what if it's a trap?"

"Just give me half an hour. I promise I'll be fine Boone."

Boone wasn't reassured but he reluctantly let her go to walk into the building. Unfortunately the securitron stayed with them and seemed content to watch the group as they waited for Six to return.

"As much as I don't like the idea, we're just going to have to trust her that she'll be fine." Arcade attempted to reassure Boone before making his way back to the strip entrance. "I'll be back, I need to check with the caravans about a delivery."

Boone watched Arcade leave as he sat down on the steps of the Lucky 38. Lily had wandered off to look at the decorative plants with ED-E while Rex sat next to Boone, resting his head on Boone's knee. He gave Rex a scratch behind the ear as he watched the people walk by. He wondered if Rex was just as worried about Six as he was.

"It's ok, she said she'd be fine."

--------------------------------------

Six's nerves were running high as the elevator slowly climbed to the penthouse. While she told Boone she would be fine, she mostly said it to reassure herself. She didn't know why House would want to see her but the sooner she sees him then the sooner she can return to her friends.

Stepping out of the elevator into a large open area. After talking to the female securitron waiting by the elevator, Six walked through the curtain and was shocked to see a large screen with an image of a man staring right at her.

"At last, you've come a long way haven't you. Before we continue I have a question for you; what do you make of what you've seen?" A voice from the screen echoed through the room and Six quickly summarized that this must be the infamous Mr. House.

"Honestly, I've never seen anything like it but I think I prefer the Wasteland."

"Oh come now, don't start preaching to me about the virtues of life out in the wastes. You do realize there's nothing out there except for a radioactive desert." House scoffed, while the image was still on the screen, Six could almost feel House rolling his eyes at her statement.

"Not everything is a desert." Six replied, thinking about the few memories she has from the capital wasteland. "I'm sure you didn't call me here to discuss our preferences so what is it you want from me?"

"Ah straight to the point, I like that. One of my employees has stolen an item of extraordinary value from me, and I want it recovered. I believe you know this man well enough. After all, he's the one that attacked you and your companion and left you for dead."

"Wait, you know about Charon? Do you know where he is?" Six tried stepping closer to the screen and was blocked by the two securitrons flanking each side of the monitors.

"I'm afraid I don't know the location of your companion, Benny should know what happened to him since he organized the attack on you. I don't care what happens to Benny but when you bring the chip to me I will pay you four times the amount of your delivery bonus agreed in your contract."

"Why me? Why do you need this chip so badly?" Six had so many questions but was given nothing in return as one of the securitrons began pushing her out of the room.

"All will be explained when you return the platinum chip to me." Was all house said as she was pushed into the elevator and sent on her way.

--------------------------------------

"Anything yet?"

Boone tossed the tennis ball Rex found to the dog before looking up at Arcade who was approaching the building. ED-E beeped happily and floated around Arcade while Rex bounded over, hoping Arcade would toss the ball to him just like Boone.

"Did you get what you needed?" Boone asked as Arcade sat down next to Boone. He whistled for Rex who kept trying to push the saliva soaked ball into Arcade's hand, much to his displeasure.

"Unfortunately no, apparently the caravan I hired has been dealing with attacks recently." Arcade frowned as he gave ED-E a pat while he pondered his next course of action. Their convenience was interrupted by a sound coming from Victor behind them.

"Your friend is done with her meeting with Mr. House! You've now been invited to stay in the high roller suite during your stay at the strip. You can find her in the cocktail lounge near the top of the tower, " Victor explained before rolling away. Boone and Arcade looked at each other before getting up and calling Lily over. Boone was the first to enter the building, looking around for any sign of danger before approaching the elevator. The group entered the elevator and rode up to the level marked cocktail lounge. Boone relaxed when the doors opened and he saw the familiar beret of Six sitting at one of the couches by the windows. Boone walked over to Six and noticed she was staring off into space with a worried look on her face.

"Six"

Six jumped and looked up at Boone with wide eyes. Immediately he noticed the streaks of tears that cut across her dirt covered cheeks. He sat down next to her and while he didn't say anything, Six knew he was wondering what was wrong.

"I feel like I'm getting dragged into something big. It feels like I've been in the same situation before and I don't know what to do." She pulled her legs up onto the couch and buried her face in her knees. She heard Rex whine age felt his tongue licking her fingers in an attempt to comfort her. After a few moments of silence she felt Boone shift next to her and his voice sounded closer than before.

"You know, I used to have a dog."

Six looked up to see Boone had moved closer to her to let Rex on the head. His other arm was draped over the back of the couch and she could almost feel the heat radiating off him from how close he was.

"Found her in the fields behind our house when I was ten. I tried hiding her in my room but mom found her real quick. I think I spent three days begging mom to keep her. I still don't know if she gave in because she realized I really wanted a dog or because she wanted me to finally be quiet."

Six chuckled softly, tilting her head back and resting her head on Boone's arm. "You know, the more you talk about your past the more I can't see how that goofy kid turned into your brooding ass."

Boone was silent, looking out at the strip below them. He hadn't been to the strip since his marriage with Carla. He can still remember how he met her after stumbling out of Gomorrah with his first recon buddies and bumping into Carla. He wondered if she'd still be alive and happy if he never ran into her at all. Though if he had never met Carla, he probably never would have lived long enough to have met Six.

"Maybe I'll tell you another time." He finally said, looking down at Six who had fallen asleep curled up against him.

"I'm pretty sure she didn't sleep at all on the way back from Jacobstown." Arcade said, walking up and passing Boone a glass of whiskey. Arcade sat down on the open couch across from him and took a sip of his own drink. "House must have said something that got to her."

Boone nodded, taking a large mouthful of whiskey before placing the glass down on the table between them. "Do we have any idea how she's going to even get close to this Benny guy?"

"Actually Six and I planned that out on the way back. Unfortunately the thing we need for this to work was supposed to be delivered by that Cassidy Caravan service that was hit. We're going to have to find that package before we can do anything. But for now," Arcade gestured to Six who had unconsciously clung to Boone's shirt in her sleep. "We should let her get some rest. I think the robot said we can stay in the high roller suite."

Boone agreed as he carefully picked up Six. Carrying her reminded him when he was rushing to save her after her cazador attack. He could see the scar still visible peeking out from under the shorts Six wore as he placed her in the bed of the largest room on the floor. He had to gently pry her fingers off his shirt before he could leave as Rex who had followed them up jumped into the bed next to her.

"Watch her back for me, okay boy?" Boone asked, getting a soft yip from Rex in confirmation before he left the room to return to the longue. When he returned he poured himself another glass of whiskey, hoping to silence the voices in his head telling him if he wasn't around then Carla would be alive and Six wouldn't have almost died to a cazador.

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Six was confused when she woke up in a soft bed instead of the couch. As she sat up she was attacked with kisses from Rex which caused Six to laugh while trying to push the dog away.

"Alright, alright. I love you too now let me go."

Walking out of the room, Six checked the other rooms to find Arcade and Lily asleep in beds in another room. When she didn't find Boone she headed up to the longue to look for Boone. She found him asleep on one of the couches. An empty bottle of whiskey sat on the table next to him. As she moved closer she could hear him groaning and wincing in his sleep. Thinking he was having a nightmare she reached out to shake his shoulder.

"Boone, wake up."

She tried shaking him harder when suddenly her wrist was grabbed in a tight grip. Six winced and tried to pull her hand back which only made his grip tighten.

"Boone wake up, your hurting me." Six called out to him, raising her voice. She tried to tug her wrist back and cried out in pain when she felt a sharp pain shoot through her wrist.

"Boone!"

Rex growled and kept up and bit down on Boone's ankle, making him let out a pained shout as he shot up awake. Six stumbled back, tripping over the corner of the table and falling to the floor.

"Rex what the hell? Six? What happened?" Boone's gaze moved from Rex to Six and finally to the hand she was clutching against her chest. Boone felt sick as he stood up and walked over to kneel next to Six.

"Did I do that?"

Boone knew the answer when he saw Six flinch when he tried reaching out to her. Boone was silent as he looked away from Six and stood up, walking to the elevator. When Arcade woke not too long after, he found Six in the lounge trying to wrap her sprained wrist. There was no sign of Boone except for his beret and sunglass that were left forgotten on the table.

#fallout fanfic #fallout OC #fallout new vegas #fallout 3 #craig boone #arcade gannon