But He Stopped Pt 2

Love is Ancient Artifacts

She smacked me in the back of the head, her face contorted in a frown.

"Be polite, Hancock!"

I grinned at her. She was finally using my name. I wasn't just 'Hey, you!' or 'Ghoul face'. I was Hancock. It sounded delicious rolling off her tongue. She rolled her eyes, shrugging emphatically and stalking off after Wiseman. It made me glad to see that some of the ghouls I couldn't save had made their way in the world. A part of me felt redeemed, contributing to my giddy mood. My smile widened when I saw the tarberries in the pond.

"That's amazing." I gruffed, slapping one of the workers on the back.

The guy turned to face me, pride on his face. It wilted quickly when he recognized me.

"H-hancock! I swear I'll get you your money." He held his hands up. "It's just taking me a little more time-"

I stifled the sigh. I had no fucking idea who this kid was. I could feel the eyes on us thanks to this joker's overreaction to me being here. I resisted the urge to wipe a hand over my face.

"You'd better." I growled, "Or there won't be a next time."

I turned to walk away, running straight into Rosie. Her brow raised angrily.

How much more can I fuck up in a day? I sighed, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"We're guests." She hissed at me, her eyes locked on mine. "And this is how you treat our hosts."

I straightened to my full height, looking around before grabbing her arm and dragging her to the side of the building, out of view of the workers.

"Look Sister," I released her arm, "I didn't start that scene, he did. I was just saying how great the pool was. A true stroke of genius to grab the corner on an untapped market. That's besides the point, I can't let people like that make me look weak out here. You know better than anyone, weakness is death. People start thinking I'm not up to snuff and guess what?"

"You're dead."

I nodded, "I'm dead. Or worse, Fahrenheit is dead." I held up my hands, "I didn't ask to be in charge of all this, I didn't make people take chems from me and not pay."

She rolled her eyes, cocking a hip and facing away, "You didn't turn them down either."

"That's bad business." I grinned, crouching down to catch her eye, "Don't you agree?"

She smiled reluctantly. "I'm still angry. I really respect Wiseman."

I nodded, "As do I, but that doesn't mean I'm letting anyone walk all over me. Do you think Wiseman would let his crew treat him like a door mat?"

She frowned, "That's totally different."

"How?"

She looked away, rubbing her arm and chewing her lip. "It's just different."

She caught my gaze again, "Look, Hancock, it's almost winter and... I, I was thinking maybe we start heading back to Goodneighbor. We've been traveling aimlessly for a few weeks. Maybe it's time we think about leaving."

I was stunned, I didn't know what to say. It thought we'd been doing well, I thought we were getting along... but she was bored of me. I sighed, hiding my disappointment with the brim of my hat. I looked up as she sighed and turned to go. Desperately I reached out.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was stilted.

My hand had captured hers, "When you have time, when we aren't busy, I'd like to... talk with you more."