But He Stopped Pt 2

Prayers In the Street Light

We scaled up the cast iron stair way. My boots were still slick with Mirelurks guts, my hands wet with Raiders blood. The rain fell down like a soft blanket. More a heavy mist than a real rain.

It was miserable. The cold seemed to come in the stone tower through the tiny windows and get stuck, making it soul chilling.

"Just up ahead." She grinned, trotting in front of me with a cheerful abandon that melted all my reservations.

She faded from view, racing ahead. I kept a slow and steady pace. It had been a while since Rosie had mentioned Shaun. After her time in the Glowing Sea she hadn't had much to say to me. She had shown up in Goodneighbor, blown through my office doors, and had kissed me with such reckless ferocity I was sure my descendants would be born blushing. She looked aged but refused to speak about it; her face tight, her skin grey. I didn't mind, I was sure I'd driven Fahrenheit half mad with my moping and pining for my Vault Dweller. It had been good to catch up on the town, to show my face and remind the people that they had nothing to fear, that I hadn't abandoned them to the warmongering ways of my daughter.

I was a bit surprised to see that Fahrenheit had more than managed the town, she'd made some marked improvements. After a weekend of rest Rosie suggested we head back out on the open road, she wanted to show me things; she'd needed to unwind, take her mind off her troubles and damn if I didn't mind being her distraction. She'd taken me on a trip across the Wastes to regale me with all her past conquests; starting with Kellogg's hideaway and working her way back from there. Despite the joviality and general lightheartedness of the trip thus far; littered with stolen kisses, jokes, affection - I could feel a part of her being withheld from me.

"Hancock!" She whispered harshly, her hand just grazing my face.

I felt the electricity shoot through me at the contact, shooting my gaze to her face; her eyes were bright and gleaming, if missing the fire I could feel smouldering inside of me. God if nothing else about her drew me, her eyes were hypnotic. She turned away and disappeared around the corner. I followed her out onto the clearing, above the cloud though I could still see the expanse of Earth below and around. It looked mystical, the mist hanging low, shrouding the valley from the world around it, the bodies of the men we'd killed on our way here lay weirdly silent and nondescript. Truly apocalyptic.

"It's beautifu-Augh!" I covered my nose, "What in the fresh Hell is that?!"

She looked at me innocently, "He didn't smell that bad when we first were here."

"And that was how long ago? A year? More?" I looked skyward, asking whatever higher being there may be for strength before resting my eyes on the corpse again. The flesh was half melted away by decomposition, whatever skin was left was in turns withered by heat, frozen by winter, and water logged by the fierce Spring rain. I shook my head, "You slept next to that?" The alarm in front of me curiously silent. "What's that do?"

She got this grin. Man, I swear I felt electricity in my toes. Her eyes sparked wild with mischief, her skin damp but radiant. Her body flushed with the cold and exertion. I would NOT ravage her beside a dead body. She wanted us to stay friends. For the most part I was able to fall into that role. It was easy to be her friend, I loved her company and we shared a lot of similar interests. But then there were the moments that slipped from joking into romantic, from comfortable to sensual. And... damn if I didn't struggle. Especially now that she was so much more free with her affections, each touch, each innocent kiss brought me that much closer to giving in to her previous suggestion to 'no string attached'. But dammit I wanted strings, I wanted all the strings. And I wanted her to beg me for them before I gave them to her.

"If you wanna know, you should pull it." Her grin was wide and slow, snapping me from my thoughts. "C'mon 'Zombie King'. Unless," She paused, eyes going wide, lips open slightly in a mocking 'o'. The things I would do with that mouth one day. I stepped forward, she was a breath away, and tangled my hand in her cropped hair. "unless you're scared?"