52 Weeks prompt #6: Romance
I'd hoped the site would be back up by now, but it isn't, so, some days later than I intended to post it, is 52 Weeks prompt #6: Romance.
Viva New Vegas, Gunnar/Arcade, SFW. Probably the same night as Prompt #3, Hurt/Comfort, after Arcade has gone back to work and returned later, but can stand alone.
They sat on the couch, which Arcade had moved so they could view the city, such as it was. Arcade had then carried Gunnar over, not nearly as easily as Boone had done during those terrible times in the Mojave, but he managed. “To be young again,” he sighed.
“Tell me about it.” Gunnar put an arm around Arcade’s shoulders. “But that’s not an option, so. Guess we’ll just have to grow old together.”
“That’s something I never expected in my life.” Arcade leaned his head against Gunnar’s shoulder. “So… tell me about them.”
Gunnar twisted to face Arcade. “What?”
“Tell me about them. David and Armas.”
“…Why?”
“Because I want to know? What’s got you so antsy about this?”
Gunnar began to say something, visibly changed topics before one word was spoken, and said instead, “Because people don’t want to know about your… priors.”
“Please tell me you weren’t going to say ‘exes’.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Well, I’m asking, so I want to know. What more do you need? Written proof?”
Gunnar smiled despite himself and settled again against Arcade. “Fair enough. I guess I got kind of single-minded about ‘don’t tell’.”
“I know. Took me a while to realize being in love with you wasn’t the end of safety for me.”
“Because of your people?” Sometimes Gunnar felt safe mentioning the Enclave, and sometimes, like now, some little voice told him to speak around it.
“Yes. But you’d already accepted that part. At the time I wondered if you knew what it meant.”
“I do now, and I still accept that part. You had nothing to do with it.” Gunnar’s fingers stroked Arcade’s shoulder.
“So. Tell me about them.”
Gunnar was silent.
“Or not.”
“No, no, it’s… It’s hard to know where to start. I told you some of it. I think I’ll write it down, though. Tonight or tomorrow. Like you said, I should do that.”
“Good. If you won’t tell me, tell your diary. I’m not hurt at all by your lack of trust in me.”
Gunnar laughed, and they watched the sequence of lights on the Tops casino sign for a while.
“I picked out a site for your church,” Arcade said at last.
“Did you!”
“Yes. It was a church before, I think. I’m not sure which kind specifically; that part of history was never my interest.”
“I’m not surprised, given how little religion there is out here.”
“But you’re still going to have one built.”
“Yes. … it isn’t a big building, is it?”
“It’s not much of a building at all, but what’s left appears to be a church, and no, it isn’t too big.”
“Good. I want to make it inclusive, if I can.”
“Inclusive? You really do dream big, don’t you.”
Gunnar pinched Arcade’s shoulder, not too hard, but enough. “I mean,” he said, “I don’t know which one saved me, but it doesn’t hurt to spread out the thanks and cover all my bases.”
“You’re a very weird - what are you, anyway? I’d thought you were Christian, like most prewar people, but you don’t sound like it.”
“Catholic converted, but…” Gunnar sighed. “It’s complicated. I don’t even like calling myself ‘Christian’, because that had a lot of negative connotations before the war. And probably they’d see me as an idolator or… what’s the word…”
“Heretic? Pagan? Sinner?”
“You stop that,” Gunnar mock-chided, and kissed Arcade’s cheek. “And probably all of those, yeah. Like I said, it’s complicated.”
“Sounds like it. But you were going to let the Kings take care of weddings, right?”
“Yeah, Vegas has… had… a history of… that sort of thing,” Gunnar said, as though distracted.
“Please don’t tell me you’re planning a wedding.”
“What? No. Just started to think about city planning.”
“Ah, my weakness!”
“And you’re mine.” Gunnar looked at him with soft eyes. “I mean that in the nicest way.”
“I know you do.”
They kissed.
“It’s a funny ol’ world, isn’t it?” Gunnar sighed.
Arcade took Gunnar’s other hand in his. “But it’s ours. Depressing as it may be sometimes.”
Gunnar chuckled. “Yes. It’s ours, to rebuild.”
“Yours to rebuild.”
“You’re not getting out of it that easy, mister.”
“That’s ‘doctor’ to you.”
“You’re not getting out of it that easy, doctor mister,” Gunnar said.
“I hope not. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else except here. Well.” Arcade half-shrugged. “Let me clarify. With you. Being here without you wouldn’t be nearly as nice.”
“Mm.”
“Tomorrow, if your knee’s better, let’s try for Freeside. Make an appearance and all that. You haven’t been to the Fort in weeks. You should probably check in, as an actual Follower, you know.”
“What, giving jobs to half of them and donating supplies isn’t enough? Sure, we’ll go. And check in at Mick and Ralph’s while we’re out.”
“Still hoping for holotapes?”
“Or books. Gotta build that public library too.”
“Oh, Ponix,” Arcade sighed. “While I do love city planning, sometimes I wish you wouldn’t bring your work home with you.”
“I can’t help it, I live in my office building. But point taken. No more work talk.” Gunnar pulled Arcade a little closer. “I love you.”
“It’s mutual.”
This entry was originally posted at https://laridian.dreamwidth.org/3070414.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Viva New Vegas, Gunnar/Arcade, SFW. Probably the same night as Prompt #3, Hurt/Comfort, after Arcade has gone back to work and returned later, but can stand alone.
They sat on the couch, which Arcade had moved so they could view the city, such as it was. Arcade had then carried Gunnar over, not nearly as easily as Boone had done during those terrible times in the Mojave, but he managed. “To be young again,” he sighed.
“Tell me about it.” Gunnar put an arm around Arcade’s shoulders. “But that’s not an option, so. Guess we’ll just have to grow old together.”
“That’s something I never expected in my life.” Arcade leaned his head against Gunnar’s shoulder. “So… tell me about them.”
Gunnar twisted to face Arcade. “What?”
“Tell me about them. David and Armas.”
“…Why?”
“Because I want to know? What’s got you so antsy about this?”
Gunnar began to say something, visibly changed topics before one word was spoken, and said instead, “Because people don’t want to know about your… priors.”
“Please tell me you weren’t going to say ‘exes’.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Well, I’m asking, so I want to know. What more do you need? Written proof?”
Gunnar smiled despite himself and settled again against Arcade. “Fair enough. I guess I got kind of single-minded about ‘don’t tell’.”
“I know. Took me a while to realize being in love with you wasn’t the end of safety for me.”
“Because of your people?” Sometimes Gunnar felt safe mentioning the Enclave, and sometimes, like now, some little voice told him to speak around it.
“Yes. But you’d already accepted that part. At the time I wondered if you knew what it meant.”
“I do now, and I still accept that part. You had nothing to do with it.” Gunnar’s fingers stroked Arcade’s shoulder.
“So. Tell me about them.”
Gunnar was silent.
“Or not.”
“No, no, it’s… It’s hard to know where to start. I told you some of it. I think I’ll write it down, though. Tonight or tomorrow. Like you said, I should do that.”
“Good. If you won’t tell me, tell your diary. I’m not hurt at all by your lack of trust in me.”
Gunnar laughed, and they watched the sequence of lights on the Tops casino sign for a while.
“I picked out a site for your church,” Arcade said at last.
“Did you!”
“Yes. It was a church before, I think. I’m not sure which kind specifically; that part of history was never my interest.”
“I’m not surprised, given how little religion there is out here.”
“But you’re still going to have one built.”
“Yes. … it isn’t a big building, is it?”
“It’s not much of a building at all, but what’s left appears to be a church, and no, it isn’t too big.”
“Good. I want to make it inclusive, if I can.”
“Inclusive? You really do dream big, don’t you.”
Gunnar pinched Arcade’s shoulder, not too hard, but enough. “I mean,” he said, “I don’t know which one saved me, but it doesn’t hurt to spread out the thanks and cover all my bases.”
“You’re a very weird - what are you, anyway? I’d thought you were Christian, like most prewar people, but you don’t sound like it.”
“Catholic converted, but…” Gunnar sighed. “It’s complicated. I don’t even like calling myself ‘Christian’, because that had a lot of negative connotations before the war. And probably they’d see me as an idolator or… what’s the word…”
“Heretic? Pagan? Sinner?”
“You stop that,” Gunnar mock-chided, and kissed Arcade’s cheek. “And probably all of those, yeah. Like I said, it’s complicated.”
“Sounds like it. But you were going to let the Kings take care of weddings, right?”
“Yeah, Vegas has… had… a history of… that sort of thing,” Gunnar said, as though distracted.
“Please don’t tell me you’re planning a wedding.”
“What? No. Just started to think about city planning.”
“Ah, my weakness!”
“And you’re mine.” Gunnar looked at him with soft eyes. “I mean that in the nicest way.”
“I know you do.”
They kissed.
“It’s a funny ol’ world, isn’t it?” Gunnar sighed.
Arcade took Gunnar’s other hand in his. “But it’s ours. Depressing as it may be sometimes.”
Gunnar chuckled. “Yes. It’s ours, to rebuild.”
“Yours to rebuild.”
“You’re not getting out of it that easy, mister.”
“That’s ‘doctor’ to you.”
“You’re not getting out of it that easy, doctor mister,” Gunnar said.
“I hope not. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else except here. Well.” Arcade half-shrugged. “Let me clarify. With you. Being here without you wouldn’t be nearly as nice.”
“Mm.”
“Tomorrow, if your knee’s better, let’s try for Freeside. Make an appearance and all that. You haven’t been to the Fort in weeks. You should probably check in, as an actual Follower, you know.”
“What, giving jobs to half of them and donating supplies isn’t enough? Sure, we’ll go. And check in at Mick and Ralph’s while we’re out.”
“Still hoping for holotapes?”
“Or books. Gotta build that public library too.”
“Oh, Ponix,” Arcade sighed. “While I do love city planning, sometimes I wish you wouldn’t bring your work home with you.”
“I can’t help it, I live in my office building. But point taken. No more work talk.” Gunnar pulled Arcade a little closer. “I love you.”
“It’s mutual.”
This entry was originally posted at https://laridian.dreamwidth.org/3070414.html. Please comment there using OpenID.