Kept Walking - Furiosa/Praetorian Jack
She wonders if she would have kept walking if she knew then what going with him would become. He had said 'no questions asked' and while she had lowered the gun, she hadn't believed him. At that point in her life, promises or words of assurances didn't hold any weight; or at least the ones made or said after Ma didn't. Dementus, in the cacophony that was his very being, never seemed to not talk. To not make promises he didn't know how to keep and say assurances he didn't know the meaning of. It was his actions you had to believe in, and those never left her feeling at ease. Even the History Man with his own version of abundance didn't offer much stability in character. The last time she took a chance, as calculated as she could make it, had been answering Immortan Joe honestly. As she watched Dementus walk away she heard someone's voice, a voice her soul told her she should know, say in the back of her head 'better the devil you know than the devil you don't'. It wasn't until she walked into The Vault did she really understand what the voice was saying. Dementus had been her tormentor but at least she had known him; known his chaos and how to weather it. Now she had a new Devil to learn.
It didn't take her long to realize that Immortan Joe's control over Rictus only went so far, and while he had initially reminded her of Smeg with his child-like mind that's where the similarities started and stopped. Smeg, despite being Dementus' favorite pet, had never made Furiosa fearful. Rictus, on the other hand, had made the hair on the nape of her neck stand on end every time she saw him. And he saw her. At first, she had wondered if it was fascination with seeing a girl as young as her for the first time. At seeing someone embody the dolls he seemed so fond of. It wasn't until Kindred gave birth that Furiosa decided his attention laid firmly past just fascination with a new toy. She had been right of course, and during that first night of hiding she had allowed herself the satisfaction of it. The vindication of knowing that her gut had been right, her instincts hadn't lied, and she had managed to once again keep herself alive and whole.
She found it surprising how easy it was to keep her head down. Being in The Vault hadn't allowed her much freedom to learn how The Citadel worked, but it was simplistic in its efficiency and cruelty. So many of them were sick and dying that a scrawny mute didn't pique anyone's interest past her ability to do the job. She had already spent years in silence beside Dementus, she could easily spend more by herself. Being a Full Life afforded her more opportunities for advancement, whether she wanted to or not, and soon she found herself being assigned to The War Rig. She had been working on the main fleet for some time now, repairing the diesels that made it back from The Fury Road and salvaging the ones that didn't. It wasn't until Scrotus and Rictus showed up in the War Bay talking about building something Historic did Furiosa feel something she hadn't felt in years. Hope.
Of course, the Wasteland couldn't allow such a thing. The Octoboss attacked, Furiosa lost her transport, and The Praetorian Jack shoved her out of The War Rig. She had just resigned herself to once again figure out a way to survive when she heard his voice. He had said 'no questions asked' and while she had lowered the gun, she didn't believe him. She didn't believe him when he bribed the Organic Mechanic to declare her barren. She didn't believe him when he told Immortan Joe that The War Rig would be lost without her. She didn't believe him when he got her better and more rations. She didn't believe him when he moved her modest amount of things to the bed roll next to his. She didn't believe him when he carefully pulled her boot off to look at the ankle she had sprained when she hit the road. She didn't believe him when he got between her and Praetorian Flux before the knife could touch skin. She didn't believe him when he taught her where all the weapons were hidden in the cab. She didn't believe him. She didn't believe him. She didn't believe him.
She didn't believe him until she did.
'He looks so tired'. The thought had initially startled her before she realized how true it was. The run had been hard; the hardest they'd had in months. They hadn't lost the entire crew, but Furiosa had learned early on that any loss was too many for Jack. Their second engine had given up the ghost 30 miles from The Citadel, leaving them at a speed nearly perfect for the Buzzards to target her and Jack specifically. She had quickly lost track of how many times she'd kept him from serious injury, or him her, but she did keep track of what did make it through their defenses. The two of them had an unspoken agreement of dislike for the Organic Mechanic, so she knew they wouldn't be seeing him, but she also knew that neither of them could remain unattended. With her mind made up before realizing it, she had a firm grip on Jack's arm and was leading him up into The Citadel. Jack, nearly asleep on his feet, didn't protest as he followed behind her as fast as he could. He had said 'no questions asked' and sometimes he managed to surprise her with his commitment to that. His commitment remained even when he shimmied through the too-small crevice and ducked under the wedged boulder to stand before her oasis.
"So, this is where you disappear to", he had stated once his shock wore off.
"Sometimes", she'd told him, moving about the limited space to pull out the few medical supplies she managed to stow away.
Jack had shuffled closer to the pool, his eyes on the water running down the rockface from above, trying to track the origin of the precious commodity. "Crack in an aquifer pipe."
"I can't-" he had stopped himself with a short scoff. "No, I can believe that you found this place. Of course you did. I just don't…"
Furiosa had taken her usual spot beside the water, situated the supplies before working on pulling her boots off. She knew that he wanted to ask her how she found it. Ask her what circumstances had led her to even go the route they had taken to get there. She knew he wanted to ask but she also knew that he wouldn't. "I wandered a lot when I was smaller. Before I was a Dogman. Before I was anything. I found a lot of hiding places, but this is the only one like it."
"I always thought you were blackmailing Organic out of his aqua cola rations," he had teased as he joined her at the water's edge, still following her lead as he worked his own boots off. "Vanishing and reappearing looking like you'd never seen sand before. Mind-boggling."
She had allowed a small smile. "No. I blackmail him out of his soap," she corrected, gesturing to the off-white block next to her needle and thread.
Jack had blinked before a genuine laugh escaped him, the sound surprising both of them.
She wonders if she would have kept walking if she knew then what going with him would become. He had said 'no questions asked' and while she had lowered the gun, she hadn't believed him. She hadn't believed him until she did and then kept believing him and believing him and believing him. Believing him as he handed her a shotgun and told her that she was done. Believing him as Dementus looked her in the eye and didn't recognize her. Believing him as he pulled a knife from her shoulder. Believing him as he stitched the wound closed. Believing him as he-
"This place at the end of your map of secrets. Where is it?"
Her eyes had watered as she pulled her arm from his always gentle grasp.
He hadn't looked surprised by her response, giving a small nod as he let his eyes drift past her. He was quiet for a moment longer before: "My mother and father were soldiers. Even as the world fell, they yearned to be warriors for a virtuous cause. For them, it never happened."
Furiosa felt herself settle as they locked eyes again.
"I wanna help you find this place. Wherever it may be."
Believing him as he believed her. Not once had she stopped to consider whether he believed her or not. Not once had she stopped to consider his motives when he knew next to nothing about her or her map of secrets. Not once had she stopped to consider how much him believing her had mattered. For both of them.
She found it shockingly easy to remove the pit from its hiding place. To show him the small sliver of physical proof of her Green Place. To offer up the only thing she had managed to truly keep safe.
The fingers she had expected to take cradled instead in the same way Ma's had, and in that moment, she couldn't remember why she hadn't asked him before. Of course, Jack belonged in the Green Place. With that realization she allowed herself further indulgence in secret telling. In a move she thought for sure would startle him, she grasped the back of his neck and brought him forward, Praetorian grease meeting as she pressed their foreheads together. A small thrill ran through her when he offered no resistance to the touch, falling into it like he had been waiting for the invitation. An always gentle hand rose to mirror hers and the breath she had been holding let loose when she felt his fingers thread through her hair.
She wonders if she would have kept walking if she knew then what going with him would become.
