Jealousy in the Wasteland

Chapter 3 - About Last Night

*word count : 987*

~Nick's POV~

Y/N lays back in her cot, my head still in my hands. I don't know what the fuck that was. I have absolutely no explanation for why I did that. I get over myself, picking my head up to continue watching for the rest of the night.

It's a surprisingly quiet night. Some mongrel dogs pass by, but nothing other than that. I turn in my chair to see Y/N finally sleeping as peacefully as she can. I smile softly before turning back, watching until sunrise.

When morning comes, Y/N wakes up and carries on like nothing happened last night, so I follow suit.

"You ready to get back on the road? We shouldn't be too far now, according to my PipBoy." She says, stepping into her power armor once more. "Yeah. May as well get an early start."

We head out of the house and continue our journey to the Nakano residence.

~Y/N's POV~

The radio on my PipBoy is the only thing keeping me sane during this trip. I don't know what to say to Nick, if anything. Last night was... something. I'm not mad about it, but how am I supposed to feel? I didn't even know synths were capable of having those feelings.

"See anything interesting last night?" I ask, taking my helmet off to get some real air. Nick looks startled at my question at first. "Oh yeah- no uh... just a pack of dogs passing through. Only noteworthy thing that happened last night." He emphasizes his last two words.

"Nick, let's not make this awkward. You kissed me. We're adults, things happen, we move on. We can make it awkward when we get home, but right now we have a missing kid to save. Focus." I tell the synth, who suddenly corrects his posture and continues walking.

"I know. But can we at least talk about it at home? We can't just pretend it didn't happen, doll." I take his words into consideration, chewing at my bottom lip. "Yeah. We can."

I turn up the volume on my PipBoy, humming along to the radio. I look to my right and see Nick taking occasional glances at me, but decide to brush it off. I can't lose focus.

****Time Skip****

We finally make it to the Nakano residence and begin our investigation. Her parents are obviously distraught, so I let Nick handle them while I search for clues.

I find a variety of holotapes, and come across one titled 'Dreams'. Upon listening to it, I hear Kasumi say she's gone to Far Harbor to a synth refuge, as she thinks she may be a synth.

I head back downstairs, signaling to Nick that we need to talk. I drag him outside and tell him everything. "Far Harbor? No. We need time to prepare. If anything I've heard is true, we'll need a whole damn artillery to even step foot in that place. I'll tell the parents."

Nick heads inside to speak to the parents as I wait outside.

"Alright. Let's head back and stock up. We'll head back up in a week, so we should have more than enough time." Nick says, walking out of the house and past me.

~Nick's POV~

I had honestly hoped we would be up here longer. I hate having to walk away from a case, even just for a week.

"What if we just walk the whole way tonight? No taking any breaks. I'm ready to get home." Y/N chimes in. "If you were a synth, then maybe I'd consider it. But you need to sleep, doll." She looks at me through her helmet, "Fine. I'll go as long as I can before we rest, if at all. Got it?" That's what she said. I sigh, "I suppose that's fine."

The walk back home isn't terrible. We have to kill off a few super mutants and some bugs, but fine otherwise. We make it all the way to Boston Commons before I can see Y/N slowing down.

"Hey, need to stop?" I stop walking to talk to her. "No, we're already this close. May as well keep going." She says. I can tell she's exhausted, but she's not one to be messed with in that state. She gets kinda mean, if we're being honest. "Alright. Just say the words and we'll stop."

~Y/N's POV~

If fast traveling with someone was an option, I would've been home by now, but it isn't. Nick and I approach Goodneighbor and I decide to call it quits for the night. "I'm gonna go grab a drink and a room," I say to the synth. "you can come with or you can head home. It's up to you." He looks at me, taking my offer into consideration.

He makes his way towards The Third Rail, earning himself a smile from me.

Upon entering the bar, I immediately exit my power armor and order a vodka soda. "Just a coolant for me please." Nick says to Charlie before sitting on the tattered barstool.

I take a long swig of my drink, letting it warm me before finally relaxing. I let my eyes close, and let the burn of the alcohol seep in. "Y/N, about last night-" Nick speaks. I open my eyes to look at him. "You kissed me, Nick. You probably didn't even realize what you were doing. It's fine." I say, taking another drink.

He looks down at his coolant, pays our tab, and leaves.

~Hancock's POV~

I watched Y/N and Valentine enter The Third Rail, seemingly going unnoticed by both of them. I eavesdrop on their conversation, as I do.

"You kissed me, Nick. You probably didn't even realize what you were doing. It's fine." I feel my jaw tighten and my fists clench at my sides. He knew what he was doing, that's for damn sure.