A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

“November 12th?” Carlos asked, using his own voice to help commit it to memory. “Alright… got you. And no… of course I won’t tell anyone. Not… especially not if you don’t want me to.” He stirred up the broth with his chopsticks, looking for more noodles. He huffed softly in amusement when he remembered something. “In… back in 1799, um… the first recorded meteor shower was observed in the United States on November 12th. Andrew Ellicott was the guy’s name and… he was sitting on a ship down in what was Florida at the time. I dunno what they call it now… probably ‘underwater’. Heh…”

“It’s–– I just…. I dunno, I get pretty low on that day every year, don’t really need folks makin’ the connection and committing the date to memory so they can fuck around when they know I won’t be payin’ attention.” He admitted softly, picking at his own noodles as he listened to Carlos’ little fun fact. “That’s…. actually pretty cool. I wonder why it took so long for folks to record it, I assume meteor showers have been happenin’ since the dawn of time, yeah?”

Carlos listened to the other’s reasons, nodding as he could
understand. Don’t make it a big deal then… he could do that. Too bad he missed
it the first time around, but… it explained Hancock practically disappearing on
him last month, now that he realized it. “Your secret’s safe with me, Han. I
promise.”

He then looked at Hancock and smiled at him. “And… as for
the meteor shower, that was just the first time it was recorded since the United
States became a thing,” he corrected. “That was maybe five hundred years ago.
Of course it’s always been happening, just… that was when the United States
first observed it and wrote it down.”

☮

TAK was a small puppy who, when Carlos had met them, had seen much better days. But upon the pups discovery – and once Carlos realized that somehow this was a dog that he actually wasn’t allergic to – Carlos couldn’t help but take them in and nurse them back to health at the expense of his own caps.

TAK was a very curious puppy. But they were also very cautious – one would mistake it for skittishness. Meeting new people, TAK would stay by Carlos’ side and just watch them.

And so that’s how it was, TAK standing stubbornly beside Carlos’ leg as they looked up and stared at the other wasteland wanderer and watched her. If they were an older dog, it might have been scarier.

@loving-lone-wanderer

Food for the Soul (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

“Wow,” Carlos said, actually kind of impressed. “I… forgive me, but I didn’t… think people could actually have such thing as a ‘good income’ out here. I’m sorry – it’s most likely my vault mentality still sticking, I just… I got the impression a lot of people had to struggle first before… doing any kind of settling down out here.” Maybe that was a sign that the wasteland was on the mend, as far as society went. Though… could it really be considered ‘on the mend’ when most of the people who experienced the downfall were dead now?

“It’s all relative.” He shrugged, as if that were any kind of real explanation. “Diamond City has been around a long time, folks there are about as comfortable as you can be out here and a ‘good income’ really just means they don’t have to be runnin’ out into the wasteland every day scroungin’ for whatever caps or scraps they can find. Mostly people there just sell shit and then pay scavvers to bring them more shit to sell so they don’t gotta risk themselves. Of course, I s’pose I probably fit into that category too now. Got so much here, I don’t know what to do with it, been makin’ shit up for folks who wanna work just to give ‘em somethin’ to do for caps so they don’t feel like they’re just leeching off’a me all the time.”

Carlos paused for a second, a little startled. “Uh… you didn’t put dust in your terminal on purpose so I could fix it for you, did you?” he asked, putting on a teasing smirk as he glanced at Hancock.

He was making a joke, but at the same time a really small part of him wondered if that’s why it took Hancock so long to get someone to look at the thing – because nobody with experience with terminals were in the ‘leeching’ part of the relationship. Not until Carlos showed up, that was.

“Oh- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you. I don’t want any trouble I promise, I just –” Carlos paused when recognition dawned on him. “Oh, um… hello again. Um… Kiara, right?” ((fallout au — i made him misremember her name on purpose ;3 I hope this is ok))

distantpagesandpapercuts:

the-perfect-scientist:

distantpagesandpapercuts:

There’s a small moment of confusion on her face before it is replaced with the same recognition. Kira smiles a bit, impressed that he remembered her at all.

Even if incorrectly, it was close enough.

“Kira, but yeah.” She nods happily, “It’s been awhile, I honestly didn’t expect to see you ever again!” A small giggle escapes her, “I’m afraid I cannot recall your name, I’m horrible with names. But I remember, from Concord right?”

“Well, uh… I’d really like a cup of coffee,” Carlos admitted
to her with a sheepish smile. “I haven’t had one of those since leaving
the vault… But I understand that that’s hard to come by, so I don’t
mind much if you don’t have it or you don’t wanna offer it. And you
don’t have to go into your clean water supply for me… I’m alright.”

He
was surprised when she said she’d buy a book from him however. “You’d
really buy books off of me?” he asked her. “For how much?” He started to
wonder if the caps he could get would be worth him carrying around the
pre-war tomes until he reached Diamond City again. He also had to
consider how often he’d actually make it to Diamond City – the old city
around it was crawling with hostile gangs and monsters so making the
trip was considerably dangerous.

Of course he wants the only thing she doesn’t have. Kira holds back her urge to sigh or groan.

“I don’t drink coffee, but you’re in Diamond City Carlos.” She smiles, “It is carried in these parts. I will be right back, think nothing of it. And I don’t want to hear any complaining.” That smile widens as she turns to him and heads to the front door and opens it before walking away. Merely leaving the door open as she heads next door for a moment. Sun carried coffee, it’s how he stayed up so much.

It was only a few moments before Kira came back through the door and bumped the door behind her closed with her hip.

“Coffee.” She notes holding up the can for a moment before making her way back to the boiling water. Emptying some into her glass with a tea bag and making a cup of coffee for the other. She knew he’d feel… awkward about it. But she wanted to be hospitable in the very least.

“Oh yes.” Kira nods, putting their cups on a tiny tray and carrying it over to where he sat. Now setting the tray on the coffee table before them she looked to him once more.

“I will buy books off of you if they can be saved. Totally burnt ones are of no value to me however. They’re kinda heavy sometimes. How much would you want for them? Also, do you want anything for that? Sugar perhaps?”

Carlos was shocked when she immediately offered the coffee
and before he could even utter a word she was gone. Oh, dammit… she really didn’t
have to cater to him. He… he wasn’t worth it. He was really just trying to make
small-talk and be funny (at his own expense). He couldn’t help but think that
he shouldn’t have said anything.

As ordered though, he didn’t make any complaint. He just
gave her an awkward smile and a nod in thanks as he took the cup. When she
asked him what he wanted he hesitated for a moment. He had to drink the coffee
now, of course, but it would be an awful waste if it wasn’t done anywhere close
to the way he liked it.

“Um, if… if it wouldn’t put you out too much, some sugar and
a bit of milk would be great,” he admitted softly. He cleared his throat a
little anxiously. “Um, if… it’s up to you how much you are willing to pay for
the books. I, uh… I hate to say this, but the old city isn’t fun trying to
navigate through. I’m not sure how often I’d make it through to come to Diamond
City. The business… it needs to be worth it… do you understand what I’m saying?”
God, he hoped he didn’t sound mean or anything. He thought it was a reasonable
response but who knew with some people.

A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

Carlos smiled at him, trying to shake off the pesky intrusive thoughts about ~~the raging bitch~~ his mother. “I’ll mark it on your calendar for you,” he told Hancock. “Though really… I’m absolutely happy with everything you’ve given me. I really am.” He started to tuck into the last few mouthfuls of his noodles, slurping them up quicker as they’d gotten colder and trying to savor the sodium chloride and other flavors.

“I’d appreciate that, sunshine.” He paused, taking another bite of his noodles and taking a few moments to chew and swallow before continuing. “And uh…. my birthday’s November twelfth. You’re the only one around here who knows that besides Fahrenheit, I’d appreciate it if ya don’t spread that information around.”

“November 12th?” Carlos asked, using his own voice to help commit it to memory. “Alright… got you. And no… of course I won’t tell anyone. Not… especially not if you don’t want me to.” He stirred up the broth with his chopsticks, looking for more noodles. He huffed softly in amusement when he remembered something. “In… back in 1799, um… the first recorded meteor shower was observed in the United States on November 12th. Andrew Ellicott was the guy’s name and… he was sitting on a ship down in what was Florida at the time. I dunno what they call it now… probably ‘underwater’. Heh…”

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

Keep reading

Keep reading

Carlos looked at it and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s hope it’s still
kinda warm. Heh.” He finished kicking off the rest of his vault suit and Carlos
quickly picked it up from the floor and put it on the back of a chair. He made
a mental note to wash it that night so he could dry it. As for his underwear…
Carlos hesitated for a moment, but he took a quick breath and dropped them
before kicking them toward the chair to be washed later too.

He turned to glance at Hancock and give him a slightly
nervous smile before heading for the tub, not giving the other much time to look
him over before he actually got in the tub. The water was still kinda warm,
which was good, and Carlos didn’t waste time crouching down and sitting pressed
against one end of the tub.

Food for the Soul (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

“It can be bad,” Carlos said. “But it depends on the place it’s kept in, I guess. If there isn’t a lot of ventilation, then there’s less chance of weathering and less chance for things to dehydrate. That phone I tore apart had some great wires where the rubber hadn’t cracked or become brittle, which was a great find.” He glanced at Hancock. “Were your folks well off? I think it would cost quite a bit of caps…”

“Huh, never knew that, but I guess it makes sense.” He shrugged. “As far as wastelanders go, we were pretty comfortable, didn’t live in the upper stands, but that’s more ‘cause there was more room to build down on the field, we had all the caps we needed when we needed ‘em, weren’t struggling or anything. I mean, shit, livin’ in Diamond City ain’t exactly cheap anyway, y’know? Gotta have a pretty good income in order to afford to stay there.”

“Wow,” Carlos said, actually kind of impressed. “I… forgive me, but I didn’t… think people could actually have such thing as a ‘good income’ out here. I’m sorry – it’s most likely my vault mentality still sticking, I just… I got the impression a lot of people had to struggle first before… doing any kind of settling down out here.” Maybe that was a sign that the wasteland was on the mend, as far as society went. Though… could it really be considered ‘on the mend’ when most of the people who experienced the downfall were dead now?

A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos giggled again and shook his head. “No, uh… it’s the 11th. I was born on Mother’s Day… again, if that means anything to you.” He made a slight face. “It certainly did to my mother…”

“I’m surprised that wasn’t a thing around here, but it wasn’t, heh. Lots of traditions went to the wayside after the bombs dropped, think a lotta folks tried to hold on for a while but life got in the way, y’know? I’ll try to remember that though, I’d like to make the day special for ya.”

Carlos smiled at him, trying to shake off the pesky intrusive thoughts about ~~the raging bitch~~ his mother. “I’ll mark it on your calendar for you,” he told Hancock. “Though really… I’m absolutely happy with everything you’ve given me. I really am.” He started to tuck into the last few mouthfuls of his noodles, slurping them up quicker as they’d gotten colder and trying to savor the sodium chloride and other flavors.

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist:

Keep reading

Keep reading

Carlos’ face started to warm, even as there was a twist of
disbelief in the pit of his stomach. “Gosh… you’re awfully sweet, Hancock,” he
murmured, finally chancing to meet his eyes with a shy smile. “You know just
what to say…” Carlos still had his left arm stubbornly crossed over his lower
chest, but he gingerly reached his right arm out to grip Hancock’s shoulder to
show that he appreciated it.

A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

Carlos nodded to him, leaning into the other man’s shoulder. “Um… well, my birthday’s in… May.” He chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood again. “I’m a Taurus… if that means anything to you.”

“Am I supposed to celebrate ya the whole month then?” He teased lightly, happy to have the focus off of himself for the moment. “What day? Or are ya uncomfortable revealing too much?”

Carlos giggled again and shook his head. “No, uh… it’s the 11th. I was born on Mother’s Day… again, if that means anything to you.” He made a slight face. “It certainly did to my mother…”