Another Unoriginal Oneshot Book

ED-E, My Bud

The Lucky 38, 2282.

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Boone liked ED-E.

The Courier would say that everyone in the presidential suite liked each other. But she was wrong.

ED-E got it the worst — Rex had a vendetta against him, and they rarely allowed themselves to inhabit the same room; Arcade had been vocal from the beginning about his mistrust for the eyebot and openly joked about doing away with him; Veronica was a little wary (when asked, she'd wonder where he came from, and who sent him. Boone figured it was some Brotherhood thing); Cass hated robots passionately, and refused to be near him or Victor; Raul liked him fine, but one too many inquiries about what circuitry needed to be rewired caused a bit of a rift between them; and, of course, Lily was just a little too touchy-feely for the robot's taste.

Boone felt somewhat isolated from his allies as well. He didn't dislike them, but he didn't really like them much either. The Followers and the Brotherhood were, respectively, nuisances and enemies to the NCR. He and Rex were at an impasse until Boone took off his beret or Rex decided to live with it, neither of which were bound to happen. Cass and especially Lily were weird. And Raul... was okay. Boone never really interacted with any of them unless the Courier was there to do most of the talking.

ED-E didn't talk, though. He didn't expect Boone to talk, either. Actually, he didn't expect anything at all from Boone. That was just fine by him.

When the Courier was gone, Boone went out with ED-E. He fit in with Boone's combat style perfectly. Quiet, long-distance, deadly. ED-E would occasionally interrupt the silence to play his battle anthem, but Boone could work with that. He didn't exactly think of himself as a nice guy, but he could be patient.

After all, they were the originals. They were the ones who'd protected Six when she was fresh out of the grave, still flinching at noises and weeping with headaches at night. She'd grown in confidence and experience, and started her habit of collecting people, but she still recognized Boone and ED-E as a team. When she travelled with one of them, she tended to bring the other.

The bot never slept, so Boone could travel alone for as long as he wanted without having to keep watch at night.

He was always humming as he bobbed placidly in the air. It drowned out the sounds of a battlefield when they crept in during quiet moments.

And according to Six, legionaries just hated him.

So Boone liked him. He'd seen some mileage, and taken some bullets, and some of his systems were fritzy. But he was around when it mattered, and Boone was happy to have a friend.

AN: This chapter was set earlier in the game. I'm sure they're all great friends by the end.