I bathe, scrubbing my body with the soap bar until the water is murky. I climb out of the bath and dry off with the ratty, frayed towel Gage left me. I pull on underwear and a Black Nuka Cola wild t-shirt we found in Dry Rock Gulch. I strap my PipBoy to my arm, buckling the belt in place.
I walk over to the rusted Radiation King television and turn the knob. The screen crackles to life, the hair on the back of my arm standing on end for a moment. I press the play button on the front of the television. I hear an electrical whirring as it starts to play the holotape in the deck. An old Western movie with Cooper Howard begins to play.
I sit on the couch, Dogmeat climbing onto the ripped leather beside me. He rests his head in my lap. I stroke the soft fur on his snout. He sighs deeply, his eyelids slipping closed.
I turn my eyes to the black-and-white video playing on the cracked screen, the edges of the image fading into the side of the television. Cooper rides through the desert on a horse, whipping past cacti and thorny bushes. He chases after another rider who robbed a bank.
I lean my head against the back of the couch. I begin to yawn, my eyelids growing heavy.
I become conscious, my eyelids slowly slipping open. I blink a few times, peering across the mostly dark room to see the TV still playing Cooper Howard reruns. I feel warm, and notice Dogmeat has curled himself behind my legs. A ratty blanket covers me.
I sit upright slowly, propping myself up on my hands. I can hear shuffling across the room and the aroma of cooking meat and bread fills my nose.
I get up, wrapping the blanket around my body, and walk to the kitchen. I find Gage standing at the stove, cooking meat and eggs on an old frying pan. He lifts the pan, giving it a shake to loosen the food on its surface, before setting it back down on the burner.
I walk over to the table and sit on a creaky wooden chair. Gage turns around, peering over at me with surprise.
"Make some noise when you enter a room next time, will ya?" He says, then he chuckles. "Fuckin' startled me."
I can't help but laugh, too.
"Ya hungry?" He says, using a metal spatula to scoop some eggs and meat onto a plate. He throws a couple of pieces of sliced tato beside the eggs and places the plate in front of me. He turns back around, gets some tarnished silverware, and places them on the table beside me.
"Starving." I respond, my mouth watering at the sight of warm food.
He serves himself and sits across from me.
"No tatos for you?" I ask, eyeing his fruitless plate.
"Ya gonna spank me if I don't eat my veggies?" He says, peering across the table at me, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He chuckles and gets up, grabbing the rest of the tato and tossing it onto his plate.
"Eating your vegetables is a new rule." I respond with a chuckle. "Or yes, you get spanked."
For a moment, the flirtatious joke feels wrong. But I am technically no longer married. The realization hits my heart in a painful way. I take a deep breath and shovel eggs into my mouth to hide my expression.
"Did you cover me up?" I ask after a moment, motioning to the blanket that's still wrapped around my shoulders.
"Yeah, boss." He responds. "You were curled up. Shivering every so often. But I guess that's what happens when you fall asleep in your drawers."
"Pants aren't comfy. Especially not wasteland pants." I retort.
"Hey, I didn't say I had a problem with it, boss. Wear or don't wear whatever ya want." He says.
"I'm glad you approve." I respond jokingly. "Thanks for covering me up."
"'Course, boss. I'll take care of ya anyway I can."
His words catch me by surprise. I never expected kindness from a raider.
"Food's good, too." I say, putting another piece of brahmin chops in my mouth. "How'd you learn to cook like that?"
"I got sick of eating the shit they used to serve in the cafe so I got Colter to get us a better cook. We ended up being friends so I watched him cook a lot. Picked up some tips and tricks here and there."
He finishes his plate before I do. He carries it to the sink and places it down. He returns to the table.
"What area of the park do you wanna focus on tomorrow?" He asks.
"Let's go to the Galaxy zone. I have a feeling it'll be one of the more difficult areas. And I don't want to see what animals are waiting for us in the safari."
"Got it, boss. Place is overrun by fuckin' bots. I'll get some plasma pistols and EMP grenades to take em out with from the market."
"Anything you think we have to worry about?"
"Probably those bots that look like NukaCola machines. They hide in plain sight and pack a powerful punch."
"Got it." I say with a gulp, suddenly nervous for our endeavor.
"Don't worry about it, boss. With the right armour it'll protect us. You could wear your power armour, too."
"Do you have a suit?" I ask as I stab a piece of tato with my fork and place it on my tongue. The tangy, sweet juice spreads across my palate.
"No, but there's a suit locked up in there I wouldn't mind getting my hands on." He says as a hungry look darkens his brown eyes. He rubs his large hands together.
"We'll get that armour." I say with a wink.
I finish my food and take my plate to the sink. I turn the stiff nobs and water sputters out of the tap before slowly dribbling into the sink. I pick up the dishrag hanging over the faucet and dish soap. I pour some of the runny green liquid on my cloth and wash our dishes, setting them in the dish rack to dry. I feel his gaze on my back as I work.
"Ya know, boss. You don't have to do dishes."
"You cooked for me. It's the least I can do." I respond, scrubbing the thick iron frying pan from the stove, watery grease running down the drain with soap.
"Thanks, boss." He responds with a soft voice. He clears his throat and gets up. "I'm gonna grab a drink. Ya want one?"
"A NukaCola orange, please." I respond over the sound of running water. I wash my hands and turn off the tap. I sit beside Gage on the couch. The Cooper Howard rerun has ended and the TV shows a blank screen.
Gage hands me an ice cold, rocket shaped bottle of orange, fizzy liquid. The lid has already been popped off. I take a swig of the sweet drink, the bubbles still present after two centuries.
"I'm gettin' tired. Gonna hit the hay, soon. You should get more rest before tomorrow. We got a busy day ahead of us."
"I'll go to bed when you do." I respond, taking another swig of pop.
YOU ARE READING
Conquerors
Fanfiction"Do you think we could conquer the world?" "Nuka world? Of course, we can." "No," I say, my voice soft. "I mean, the earth." "Let's just stick to the Commonwealth and then move from there."
