Stealth Boy and Girl

seven

DEACON

That night, I ran. I had ran all the way to Goodneighbor without realizing it. This was the first place I had met Vex. I ground my teeth and immediately left the town. I knew this would be the first place they looked for me. Well, the first place Vex would look for me. I decided to use a different approach. I would hide in a secluded area. Maybe I would make a little shack out by the beach, No one would think to look for me there.

That was my intention, but I couldn't bring myself to leave the gates of Goodneighbor. I stood there, exposed and in the open, like an idiot. When I told myself to take a step, my body froze up. Images of Barbra flashed in my mind's eye. Eventually the images turned into Vex. It was like I was losing my wife all over again. I really grew to care for the girl over the time we spent together. I didn't trust her because I was afraid she would die and leave me in this life alone. Alone with only my intense guilt. I couldn't deny what I felt anymore. I cared for Vex deeply. I drug my feet the other way, back into the city. I leaned against the wall, exactly where I was the first time she walked through the gates. And I wanted.

I didn't have to wait long. She burst through the gates not even an hour later. She wore the same flannel and jeans she did the first time coming here. Surprise splayed across her face. She ran over to me and grabbed my arm that was crossed over my chest. "I didn't really expect you to be so obvious." Her hushed tone was angry.

I smirked. "I wanted you to find me."

The muscle in her jaw jumped. "Then what the hell? You have everyone at HQ in a fuss. 'Oh, go find Deacon, he left unannounced'," she grumbled. Her green eyes let me see the anger she felt.

I looked away and pulled her hand down to my own, so our fingers intertwined. Without a word, I lead her to the Hotel Rexford and walked up to the second floor, in a room I know no one rented. She didn't protest. She wanted privacy as much as I did. I locked the door behind us and turned to Vex.

She yanked her hand away and hissed out "What do you want then, Deacon?"

"The Railroad has you now, Vex, I don't deserve to be in it."

After a long pause, all she said was "What?"

I sat on the edge of the bed. "I don't deserve to be in the Railroad. You're better at Intel than me now. They don't need me anymore."

"Training me was your plan to leave? What do you mean you don't deserve to be in the Railroad? Don't be stupid," she said. Her tone was harsh. If we weren't in a stolen hotel room, she would have been screaming at me.

"I used to be in this gang," I started. I didn't look at her. The words were falling out of my mouth. "We called ourselves the Deathclaws. We tracked down people we thought were synths and we roughed them up. I was a scumbag. One day, we went as far as killing one of the synths. I don't know if he was actually a synth, but after that I left. I couldn't stomach it anymore. I settled down. I even became a farmer. Can you imagine?" I chuckled and looked at her. Her green eyes were practically poisonous.

"There's more, right?" She snapped.

I cringed and didn't dare look at her again. I regret opening my big mouth. "Yeah. I met a girl. Barbra. She was the love of my life. We got married and even tried for kids. But my old gang showed up. Babs was a synth. They killed her. I don't really remember what happened after that, but I'm pretty sure I slaughtered all of them. Soon after that, a Railroad agent came and recruited me. They must have liked my ruthless display. They never found out that I used to be one of them. After that, I vowed never to refuse someone who needed help. Especially a synth. I never felt I deserved to be in this organization though. Never."

I felt the bed shift and a hand on my back. I looked at Vex from the corner of my eye. She didn't look angry or disgusted. She just had her normal, unreadable face on. "I was going to do my own digging, but I'm glad you told me."

I shook my head. "I'm not going back to the Railroad."

"Then I won't either."

My heart sank. "You can't!"

"I want to be by your side," she said quickly. Her eyes shone with determination.

"Vex," I whispered.

"Call me Camilla."

My lips twitched up to a smile. I reached over and brushed some of her loose hair behind her ear. I kept my hand on her cheek and she leaned closer to me. I closed the rest of the space and our lips met. It was a gentle kiss, but it left my heart beating hard. She rested her hands on my chest and our foreheads touched.

"Ryan."

She opened her eyes and looked a question at me.

" Call me Ryan."