Gage and I sat our favorite booth at the Grille, each with a bottle of Nuka -Cola Dark in front of us.
"Here's to you, Overboss. The Commonwealth is yours now."
I clinked my bottle against his.
"May the caps and blood flow freely."
I took a gulp of the sweet drink. This is the way it always should have been.
...
After each having several bottles, we were much looser with our words and actions. I put a hand on Gage's eyepatch.
"You know... this can't be comfortable. How about these?"
I took his patch off before he could react and replaced it with a pair of sunglasses. I sat back and smiled at myself.
"What are you smilin' at?"
"It's just... been a while since I gave someone a pair of sun-"
I hiccuped in the middle of my sentence. Gage pushed the glasses better into place.
"And they look good?"
I nodded to Gage.
"Very good."
He shifted uncomfortably on his bench.
"Do ya mind if I take off the armor? Seein' as I probably won't need it."
I nodded.
"Go ahead."
"And, uh, one more thing?"
I took another gulp of the sugary drink before nodding again.
"What?"
"Got a change of clothes?"
I stood up and steadied myself against the booth. I walked to the dresser, only stumbling a few times. I opened the drawer and pulled out a set of clothes. I shuffled back to the booth and dropped the pile in front of Gage. He took them and left the room. I took a bottle of beer and opened it with my knife. The tip punctured the skin on my palm, and I held the wound up to my mouth. I licked the blood off, then wrapped it in a washcloth that was draped over the railing. I walked over to the room Gage was in and knocked on the door.
"What is it?"
Gage called to me.
"I just wanted to tell you. To tell you, you don't have to call me Overboss. Just boss is fine."
I sat back in the booth and drank some of the beer. The door creaked open and Gage's footsteps got closer. I looked him over in his new outfit. He wore a pair of boots, jeans, and a leather jacket. On his head was a pompadour wig. That must have been in the pile I handed him. My eyes stung as he leaned against the doorframe.
"How do I look, boss?"
I wiped my eyes, refusing to let the tears fall.
"You look great. You look... just like Deacon."
I sniffled, holding my beer too tightly.
Gage rushed back to the booth, as quickly as he could without toppling over. He put his arm over me.
"Hey, it's okay. I can take it off."
I shook my head.
"No, I'm fine. I'm fine."
I leaned on Gage and closed my eyes.
...
I woke up on my bed with Gage on the other side. I rubbed my head and tried to sit up. My head was pounding, reminding me I had too much to drink last night. I laid back down. How much did I actually remember from last night? Because I definitely do not remember getting into my bed. Gage rolled over so he was facing me. His eyes were still half closed.
"Mornin', boss."
"Overboss."
He yawned.
"Ya said I could call you boss."
"I changed my mind. How did I get in bed?"
"I carried ya. You fell asleep sitting up. I figured I would stay here to keep an eye on ya."
I got up, my legs still unsteady.
"Well, I'm fine. You don't have to stay here."
Gage got up. He was still wearing the outfit I gave him. I took the wig off his head and kicked him out. He left the room, taking his armor with him. I put the wig back in the dresser and sat on the bed.
I should be nicer to him. He is my partner, and is trying to help. And we are friends.
I walked to the railing and called down to Gage.
"Gage! You can come back. I have something to say."
He took the lift back up to the restaurant. When he was face to face with me, I gave him a quick hug.
"Thank you. For being there for me."
I pulled back and cleared my throat.
"You're welcome."
"I didn't want to admit it, but we are friends. I thought getting too close to you would be dangerous, but I know that me pushing you away is the problem."
Gage tilted his head slightly.
"I'm not your boss. I'm your friend. So please, call me by my name."
"I can do that."
"How about we spend the day going on some rides? We earned some time for fun."
Gage smiled at my suggestion.
"Sounds good to me."

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It's the End of the World
Fanfiction-The second installment after Crawled Out Through the Fallout- (Read that first.) After the Institute is taken down, life changes drastically for everyone involved. Sole Survivor searches for meaning and answers to her life story, while making some...