Old friends- MacCready x Reader

Heading Back

The trek back to Diamond City was, for the most part, quiet. I knew that eventually it would break and then, hopefully, I could get him to spill what was on his mind.

By the time we got back to the gates, both of us were beyond exhausted. I assumed tonight it would be straight to Vadim's, then to sleep. At least we had looted enough caps to restock and get a room. Plus, tomorrow we would be able to sell the extra odds and ends we had picked up for even more.

We entered the dimly lit bar, and were greeted by the familiar accent Vadim had. "Looking for a room again?" He asked, looking at MacCready, then over to me.

I nod, pulling out the caps for one room. "Yeah, here ya' go..." I mumble, pushing them across the counter. What surprised me was when MacCready pulled out his own stash, adding them to the pile.

"Two, please." He said blankly, ignoring the obvious stare I was giving him.

After counting out the caps, Vadim directed us to our rooms, and again we walked in silence. When I reached the door for my room, I turned over to MacCready, this time getting eye contact. Suddenly it seemed like I was lost for words.

I opened my mouth to speak finally, but he had beaten me to it. "Goodnight, (Y/N)." He said, turning away and going into his room before I could stop him.

What. The. Fuck. How was I supposed to talk to him now? I entered the room and immediately took my gear off, practically collapsing on the bed afterwards. This was strange, not sleeping with him was one thing, but now having him in the room was a whole different feeling. I pulled the blankets over myself and laid in the dark, trying not to worry about it. But I couldn't stop thinking.

Maybe I had been too irritating today. Maybe I shouldn't have joked about the whole situation, acted so chipper about it. It was serious after all. Maybe I was just overthinking it, and instead of focusing on my own insecurities I should be thinking about how he's feeling right now. How do you stop your thoughts from spiraling like this?

I sit up, running my hands through my (H/C) hair. Part of me wanted to go knocking on MacCready's door. But the other part of me knew that wouldn't get me anywhere. Sometimes it's best not to push for answers, just to let it be. I decided to get up finally, I was still in my clothes from earlier. Pulling out fresh ones from my pack, I change and walk out back to the bar.

"Can't sleep?" Vadim asks upon seeing me.

"Apparently not. How much for a bottle of whiskey?" I respond, opening my bag of caps.

"I'll give it to you for 10 caps, just for tonight though." He says, pulling a bottle off the shelf.

I hand the caps over and take the bottle, thanking him before returning to my room. Opening it up, I take a long pull off the bottle, scrunching my face up as the liquor burns the back of my throat. It was relieving, but sickening at the same time. I know I shouldn't drink to ease my anxiety or to make myself sleep, but if it was just for one night I'd be alright.

I wish there was more to do than just take sips from my drink, but it was too late to go to the market, and it's not like I had anyone to talk to. Eventually, I feel buzzed enough to relax. Everything would be okay in the morning, we could talk then. Who cares that he didn't want to be in here with me? Everyone needs alone time.

I lay back down on the bed, making sure to set the bottle down out of the way so I wouldn't knock it over when I got up in the morning. Sleep came way easier this time.

***

Morning arrived quicker than I would have liked it to. It was a bit nice to not be woken up, but at the same time disappointing. I don't bother to change my clothes, they were still fresh from last night, so I slip my boots on and head out.

I knock on the door next to mine only to get no response. "Robby, open up!" I say, furrowing my brows. He had already shut me out last night and I was too determined to be pushed away this morning. Even if we didn't talk about what happened, I'd still be content to just hang out with him.

After the second attempt there's still no answer, so I open the door to find that while his stuff is still there, MacCready isn't. So I shut the door and head outside, feeling relief when I find him leaning against the building and smoking a cigarette.

"Goodmorning." I state, my (E/C) eyes meeting his blue ones.

"Morning, Sunshine." He responds, sounding more like his usual self. "How'd you sleep?"

"It was okay." I shrug, not wanting to explain how difficult it was. "I was thinking about going to the market to sell some of our extra stuff. Wanna go together?"

"Sure," he starts, taking a drag before flicking the cigarette away, "I'll go grab my stuff."

It didn't take too long for us to gather everything and gear up, and after thanking Vadim for the rooms, we went off to see Arturo. He always gave us the best deals when it came to ammo and guns. Next was Solomon, and we pawned off all the chems we had scavenged. Neither of us had any interest in trying any of those things, so we always sold them to get a few extra caps.

Finally we had finished our rounds and counting out our caps. "Not too bad." I said, looking back up at MacCready.

"For sure. I didn't think we'd make out like this, not that I'm complaining or anything." He chuckled. "What's on the agenda now?"

"Well, if we wanted to make more caps there's quite a few things around here people need help with?" I suggested, looking around the marketplace. Someone caught my eye though, a man in a bright blue vault suit, talking to Piper outside of her home. "I wonder who that is?"

MacCready looks confused for a moment, but then looks over at him as well, letting out a little hmm. "Couldn't hurt to see if they need help. It would be something new at least."

"Yeah, that sounds alright." I say, starting to head in his direction. We walk up right as they're finishing the conversation, and Piper gives us a little wave. I'm not sure she's met MacCready before, but we had talked a few times.

"Hey you guys! This is Nate. I'm writing an article about him, apparently he's over 200 years old! Straight from Vault 111." Piper chirps, gesturing towards the tall man.

"Nice to meet you. I'm (Y/N)." I nod, "This is MacCready."

"Nice to meet you guys as well. I'm glad the locals here seem nice." He responds, giving us a small smile.

"Yeah, everyone except McDoughna..." Piper mumbles, her face looking disgusted. "Anyways, you were mentioning something about a sanctuary?"

"Yeah, actually. It used to be my home. It's northwest of here, I'll show you on my map." He offered, extending his arm out to show us his Pipboy. It had been a long time since I'd seen one of those. "Right there. Not too far, but definitely a bit of a hike though. We have plenty of supplies there and are always looking for extra hands. You two are more than welcome to come check it out."

Mac and I look at the map, then exchange a glance. "Yeah, we were looking for something to do today. Might have to head up there." MacCready says, looking back at Nate.

"Like I said, you guys are more than welcome. It's just a few hour walk from here." Nate smiles, gesturing back towards the gate. "I'm sure you already know this, but be careful out there. I saw the guards getting into it with some Super Mutants."

"Well, thank you. We'll definitely watch out." I respond, returning the smile. He seems nice enough.

"Let's get going then, yeah?" MacCready interjects, looking over at me now.

"Yeah, let's." This'll be a good opportunity to have a conversation.