Addicted

Epilogue

A radstorm ragged outside. The sky a hazy grotesque green, lightning shattering the length of the view, winds howling fiercely. With a exasperated sigh he turned around and looked at his empty room. His mind continued to wander as he sat down at his desk.

Since Lila had left things had changed quite a bit. As expected, when Arthur got back to the Prydwen in the early morning hours he was hounded by Kells as to the whereabouts of Paladin Smith. Arthur wouldn't budge, claiming he had no idea where she had gone. For about a month following that there were recon teams out in all corners of the Commonwealth. Of course, they turned up empty handed. They never went anywhere close to Far Harbour to even catch a trail of where Lila was headed.

Once it was decided that the Paladin was a lost cause Kells immediately started dogging Arthur to start looking for a wife. To everyone's annoyance, he couldn't be bothered. He couldn't have Lila so he didn't want anyone. Instead, he thrusted himself into his work. Keeping on top of missions in the Commonwealth and even started visiting settlements and partaking in small ground missions. It kept him distracted and it kept him physically strong.

The odd time he would make a stop in Diamond City as him and a small team would need to replenish supplies. While there he always made sure to check in with Piper. Piper was her fiery self, hot on the trail of all the latest going-ons in the Commonwealth. He would pry here and there of any news from Lila, but the answer was usually that there had been no news. In one or two cases there was the usual "all is well" or complaints about Far Harbour itself, but nothing of substance.

Two years after she left the High Elders at the Citadel decided it was time for the Prydwen and Arthur to come home. They had established a substantial base at the Airport, where a small group of Brotherhood soldiers would stay in the Commonwealth to continue keeping the peace and recruiting new initiates. Arthur was reluctant to move back to the Citadel. He knew that meant taking over his position as High Elder, and a continuing barrage of people telling him to wife up and carry on the legacy.

Sure enough, within less than a week of returning to the Citadel and starting to settle into a routine, there was constant bothering of what he was planning on doing. He continued to ignore the jabs as best he could, he was only 23 and there was tons of time to think about that later. He much preferred to continue putting his work in the foreground of his life as a distraction.

Arthur had been sure that by the time five years had gone by that he would have long forgotten Lila. Yet she still haunted his dreams, both day and night. It wasn't every single night, but it was at least once a month. A memory would conjure up scenes in his mind. He could see in vivid detail every aspect of her. The bright, deep, sparkling blue eyes that were framed by soft, freckled cheeks. A smile that made his heart warm. Flouncing, semi-curly auburn hair brushing gently on pale shoulders. Perfectly, imperfect body, hugged tight in a blue Vault suit most times. Other times, it was a bit more risqué. No matter what it was though, it left him aching for her.

Most people had given up on trying to convince him to keep looking for someone by the time the sixth year since Lila left had come. They figured either he was going to remain single forever or would come to it at his own pace.

It had now been just over eight and a half years since he saw her last that faithful day at Swan's Pond. She had said that she would see him again, but he was starting to lose hope that that was going to happen at all. He had no clue where she was or what her life was like now. It was highly unlikely that she was still in Far Harbour, so there was no point in starting to look for her. She was good at hiding.

He hadn't changed all that much in that time. Just on the verge of 30, there were a few wrinkles starting to make themselves obvious on his face. A few greys peeked into his hair here and there. He kept his physique well intact; he was thankful for that. Emotionally, he had become rough and rarely emitted much joy when he was in the company of others, or even while he was alone.