Begin Again

[ cont from here with @revengexdriven ]

"That's really cute that you think I have the upperbody strength to not shatter my entire shoulder with this thing. No way!"

West looked it over, handing it to Keegan before scrambling out of the dumpster. He was well built enough, but still a relatively small guy. Things like power fists and power armor where incredibly interesting to tinker with, but nothing he cared to keep for himself.

"We could sell it for a hot price. Unless you wanted to test it out?"

[ closed starter for @inthisfire-ifindrain ]

West hadn't said anything, catching Fiona outside behind the house, praying to gods he thought she had left behind in Caeser's camps. He hadn't disturbed her at all, waited until she was done and quietly walked around to the front door again, waiting until she was back inside to "come home early". It wasn't the surprise he was willing to upset. He kissed her and just went about their usual day. Fiona said nothing about it. Neither did West.

He wasn't upset she was hiding this from him. He was upset with himself that she felt that she had to.

This wasn't the same as her occasional blood lust and ruthlessness. It was a slightly different shade than West's could be and he didn't fault her for that. Her learned hatred of ghouls and synths was something he didn't tolerate, arguing with her over that "Legion thinking". West could compartmentalize and pick and choose what to love about her and what to ignore and what to show her was a better way of living...

But something like this he felt was his fault. How much did she really trust him? Maybe she was afraid of him, in a way, not that he would harm her, but that he would without love or leave her entirely.

He couldn't see a world where that would happen. He thought of it, imagining the absolute worst thing Fiona could do, reminding him of her past, her 'old ways' but it was always Fiona leaving him because he couldn't handle or accept it. That he was too weak. Not the other way around.

The book he had found because he'd gone looking for it in some old abandoned library he liked to scour on occasion. The Dewey Decimal system was a bit hard to suss out with the faded signs, but he managed. West didn't want to just confront Fiona about what he'd seen that day, her little ritual that she probably did when she knew he'd be gone for a stretch. That felt like some kind of betrayal or secret, too.

"Hey, babe?" West called to his wife one morning as she had ventured out of the bedroom, letting him dig in the dresser, under his clothes, pulling out a book wrapped in torn fabric. A present. It was a book of Greek and Roman mythology.

"I found you something yesterday."

[ closed starter for Lucy @savingthrcw ]

"You must be pretty badass for a Vault dweller," West Parrish was trying to get the woman to talk to him. He remembered more, now, trekking to DC and back again to New Vegas. It felt more like home, despite everything. There was no place in his home Vault 101 for him anymore. And he didn't want to be there. The east coast held far too many regrets. Everything bad that happened to him on the west coast? Not really his fault and that was somehow more palatable.

He had set up at the Aerotech Office Park, living here, making a decent living helping junkies get clean and back on their feet and doing some general fixing up as a doctor and mechanic for the NCR that milled about, outside of the Strip.

"I should know. I grew up in one. Way back east. Sorry-- don't turn your head." West had finished cleaning the wound at her collar bone, injecting a stimpak. It had been pretty deep, lucky the bone wasn't broken too badly and the stim would do the heavy lifting. He went about sewing the wound closed.

“Radio Freedom needs a new disc jockey. New holos. Something without a damn violin. What about some of those old American Patriotic standards you know? Instead of feeling like we’re stuck in colonial days? And is it recorded or is some poor fiddler stuck playing 24/7? Get a banjo in there! Mix it up!”

[ cont from here with @butnobodyhome ]

"I know I don't know you super well, but, I figured everyone deserves a birthday present... I hope you don't already have one." West looked a little excited and a little nervous. She was a classy kind of lady, maybe she'd hate it. Or maybe she'd be too polite to say she hated it. He could offer to repair something for her instead if she did.

"Ta-da! Many happy returns!" West pulled out a Dinky Dino, wrapped in a piece of clean (as clean as he could get it) cloth.

closed starter for @tabellariume from like a year ago :3 oops

"Hey," West leaned against the Mojave Express counter, looking at Fawn as she signed off on the latest package delivery. Johnson Nash scoffed behind a small smile. West had been doing this all day to couriers coming in. It was a rather obtuse way of getting more information about himself. Rather dumb, if you asked Nash. Either they knew him and he'd pretend to be joking, or they didn't and of course then didn't want to with him acting so damn weird about it. The boy had changed, whatever had gone on to cause that scar on his head.

"Don't I know you?"

@brokenreality--x sent...

"Damn." He nudges the fellow. "Take a look at her. I bet she's wild in bed." { jax talking about judy to west lmao }

"You wanna talk about my girlfriend with a little more respect?" West pulled the large knife from his waist, looking it over as if inspecting it for sharpness. He's cold glare leveled on Jax, challenging. Judy was across the Diamond City market place, either trying to get them lunch or trying to teach the Japanese speaking robot English, or both, West couldn't be sure from here.

But he knew he wanted to gut this guy for saying that about her. His girlfriend. He hadn't called her that before, not to anyone, not even himself. And he knew Jax. He kind of even liked him, the dipshit he was. But the implication over Judy's innocence, which West loved and desired about as much as any other trait she had, was under attack. Fuck this guy. West imagined gut stabbing him and wiping his knife on Jax's jacket before joining Judy at the Noodle Bar, with her none the wiser.

But they were surrounded by people and even he wasn't that stupid.