Chapter Text
It was honestly more surprising that Norm hadn’t gotten ill in his nearly… what? Two and a half months on the surface? It had started off as a cough, something he could play off as the air quality being awful from the recent radioactive sandstorms that flew through their home, but he could pass up the nausea and high fever he got soon after.
It didn’t help that Thaddeus was also sick, but that was more of a thing he had grown to live with and got worse with some days. Today was one of those sick days, now with it being Mid-November and a chill had begun to fall over the valley, they were supposed to be huddling up for the incoming winter.
Thaddeus had been coughing and vomiting up blood for the last few days, which made Norm queasy and also vomit whatever solids had been left in his stomach. The younger man was freezing despite his high fever, clinging to the burning hot man who laid with him under the covers of their bed, as Thaddeus scratched his flaking skin raw and bleeding just to relieve himself from his itchy skin.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this sick before,” Norm grumbled into the shoulder he pressed his face into, thin arms wrapping around Thaddeus’s own arm and holding it close to his chest.
“Do you just not get sick in Vaults?” Thaddeus asked in a raspy grumble, scratching and picking at the aflamed flaking skin on his chest with bitten down nails.
“No, I’d get sick sometimes,” Norm sniffled, his eyes falling shut tightly as he sneezed, letting out a low groan from his rumbling chest. “Just not this bad, more like a little cold or the occasional food poisoning…”
“At least you didn’t have to deal with hand, foot, and mouth or chickenpox as a kid, ya’know they made a vaccine for chickenpox?” Thaddeus asked frankly, but before Norm could respond with yes, yes he did know that, the other man had gone on. “Well, I didn’t! Not until I was sixteen and went to my first ever vaccination appointment at this Follower’s clinic.”
Norm made a face at that, sniffling again. “You got your first ever vaccine at sixteen?”
“Yeah, you didn’t?” Thaddeus also made a face, more confused than Norm’s own heavily concerned one. “Don’t blame me, people where I grew up didn’t have a lot of access to medical care that wasn’t just ‘pray it away’ at the synagogue or ‘eat some plants, these help bring down a high fever’ kinda stuff.”
“That’s horrific,” Norm flatly muttered, pulling just a bit away from Thaddeus as he coughed violently again, spitting blood over his hand. Norm couldn’t help his fretting though, grabbing the rag they had been using to clean up Thaddeus’s blood and wiping the red coppery strands from the other man’s mouth and hand. “And unsafe, no wonder you got so sick as a child so many times…”
“Don’t worry, ‘cause when I’m a full Ghoul,” Thaddeus winked, and Norm couldn’t help but smile softly as he pressed a kiss to his rather charming lover’s cheek. “I’ll never get sick again.”
“How lucky for you,” A ring from the bell and Norm got up with a sigh, pulling a blanket around himself as Thaddeus just pulled a pillow over his eyes and ears. “Coming!”
Norm made his way down the stairs as quickly as his legs could manage him, making his way to the front desk door and opening it with his best customer service smile he could pull for the tall man who stood on the other side of the desk. “I am so, so sorry for the delay, sir, me and Mr. Hecke are both quite ill right now.”
A buttery smooth southern voice came from the man as he spoke, words brisk but not harsh even as those stained yellow teeth peeked over his non-existent lips. “I don’t mind the wait, my little posse an’ I ain’t in no big rush.”
“Thank you for your understanding, now,” Norm pulled out the makeshift step stool, quickly standing atop the turned over crate as he clicked away at the terminal he finally set up for the bed & breakfast operation. “How many people are in your party?”
“Me, a young lady, an’ our dog,” Norm nodded to the Cowboy’s words as the young man clicked away at the keys. “I remember this place from before the Bombs, an’ I can say it’s in a much better state from that junkyard.”
Norm picked up his cigarette box, pulling one out with ease and swiftly lighting it with the silver lighter he had strung up on a string. He took a long puff, letting out the cloud of smoke through his nose. “Well, Mr. Hecke and I have done a lot to make this place look nice so we appreciate you’ve noticed, and who’s name should I list this under?”
“Howard is alright,” the old Ghoul said calmly, like an old Hollywood movie star in a cheesy romance movie, his gleaming blue eyes crisp and meeting Norm’s own dark gaze. “An’ how much will this all be for a night, darl’?”
Norm couldn’t help his little blush. “One fifty with a twenty cap fee for cleaning, Mr. Howard.”
“Now, that’s a nice price for a night,” Mr. Howard smiled down at him, pulling out a small bag of caps from his trenchcoat’s pocket and tossing the small leather sack right into Norm’s waiting hands. “Do you an’ your friend happen to do that room service thing?”
“No, we don’t, but the bar part of our home does open in about an hour and a half so if you come in then,” Norm pulled the room key from the key rack, handing the jingling keys to the old ghoul with a smile. “I’m sure we could set you and your friend up with a nice meal and a drink.”
Mr. Howard pocketed the keys with ease, fixing his hat. “My little friend will love to have a bite, she’s been a bit of a bitch the whole day ‘bout our long walk from Goodsprings.”
“Woah, that’s a long way,” Norm took another long puff of his cigarette. “Where are you two off to? The Boneyard?”
“Santa Monica actually,” Norm raised a brow, taking a slower puff as Mr. Howard went on with a small laugh. “She needs to find something ‘ere an’ I couldn’t find any reason to not help her.”
“So, you’re a bounty hunter and she hired you for a job?” Norm smirked cheekily as the old ghoul let out a raspy laugh, those eyes shutting as he tipped his hat back.
Mr: Howard grinned, those sharp stained canines showing off and almost gleaming a putrid yellow in the room’s light: “Bingo, darl’, mighty perspective lil fella, aren’t you now?”
Norm preened under this appreciation of his abilities, smiling more bashfully now as he waved his hand about as if to deny his uncanny ability to read people. He pulled out their cap box, emptying the sack before handing it back to the bounty hunter. “Oh, I’m not that perspective, Mr. Howard, but it does help in this line of business.”
The Ghoul shook his head, chuckling as he turned to walk out the door with a dog that Norm hadn’t even realized was there following behind. “Send my thanks, lil Mister…?”
“MacLean, but you can just call me Norm.”
Mr. Howard paused, that friendly smile dropping for a split second. “MacLean?”
Norm’s dark brown eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Did you mishear?”
“No, can’t say I did,” and with that, the door shut heavily behind the Ghoul and Norm sat there a bit puzzled, watching as the Ghoul walked over towards the motel’s buildings with that dog close behind.
Strange…
𒊹︎> •~𐬾☢︎︎𐬿~• <𒊹︎
Norm had managed to get Thaddeus looking presentable, giving him a quick kiss before pulling on his gloves and a face covering to start cooking for their guests. Typically, Norm would be the one taking the orders and doing the drinks but his suspicions about the old Ghoul were getting to the better of him and Thaddeus agreed he’d do this part instead.
The ticket bell rang and Norm zoomed over, pulling the yellow ticket off its clip and looking at Thaddeus, who was awkwardly standing there with his eyes on the guests. “I swear I’ve seen that lady before, I dunno if she’s just a former ex of mine or what…”
“How many women have you dated?” Norm peeked over the counter, looking over to the table where the group had been sitting. At this angle, all he could see was the back of the lady’s head, her hair long and flowing down her back and with some small braids tied within the chocolate brown locks. She wore a pair of jeans that were just a bit worn down, boots that tied up, and a blue and gold leather jacket that was clearly makeshift from the obvious stitching.
The short man shrugged, his eyes falling to the adorable looking dog, who laid at Mr. Howard’s feet, with an almost giddy expression coming to his face. “I wonder if they’d let me pet their dog, it looks so cute..”
“I’ve dated only two but I’ve hooked up with my fair share of pretty ladies, before I realized I was a man, I thought I was a woman who liked other women and men alike,” Thaddeus admitted, looking the woman up and down. “Nah, she ain’t any of my exes, but she is pretty.”
“Well, don’t go barking up her tree, Mister,” Norm warned with a tease in his throat, looking over the ticket as he made his way further into the kitchen. “You’re stuck with me and I’m never letting you go, so don’t try me.”
“Ah, the jealous type, huh, Norm? I promise I won’t, I already have you so what’s the reason to ruin the good thing we have,” Thaddeus snorted.
“Damn right, Mr. Hecke. Now go do your job and leave an expert to the cooking,” Norm waved off Thaddeus with a roll of his eyes, who continued to chuckle as he pulled back from the meal ticket window to start on the table’s drinks.
What they had ordered was simple and easy. A cramburger with cave mushrooms and goat cheese with some fries, a medium rare radrat steak with tato salad, and a bowl of tasty squirrel stew. Simple and easy, just Norm thought, and he quickly ran about for all he would need.
He plucked up the ladder and pushcart, pushing it about as he scowled and pulled bags, cans, and plastic containers from shelves. He ventured into the freezer from his rat and squirrel, tossing them onto his pull cart with ease before skidding across the tiled kitchen floor to the griddle, which he quickly turned on and sprayed some oil upon.
Norm soon grabbed a knife and his favorite cutting board, slicing up tatos, carrots, squirrel, cheese, potatoes, mushrooms, and anything else he could get his hands on from his cart. He was almost like a machine, with his ease at being on the clock of a tight schedule and in cramped quarters.
The short man rubbed spices in the steak without a worry, grilled the tatos and tossed wedge cut fries into the frier with practiced ease, and kept his workspace as tidy as he could in a manner that you might have seen from a Pre-War fine dining experience, if it weren’t that this was in a downright filthy kitchen in the apocalypse.
He tossed a saucepan onto the stove when he deemed it ready, turning the heat up with ease as he sliced butter and poured goat milk into the sizzling pan along with his now finely cut mushrooms. He turned nearly at a ninety degree angle to the griddle as Norm smacked down his squirrel bits, seasoned rat steak, and cram patty onto the burning hot grill.
A stolen breath, then a tap to his shoulder as the shorter man was relaxing with his kitchen knife in hand. He flipped around quickly, knife raised threateningly but was just met with Thaddeus, who was now holding his hands up in defense of the shorter man’s ferocity with the kitchen appliance. The shorter man relaxed slowly as Thaddeus just continued to look down at him, Norm quite embarrassingly fixing his hair from his face. “Woah, you’re actually really good with a knife.”
“I’m sorry, I just got a bit…” Norm awkwardly put away his knife, going back to his grilling meat with a guilty expression. “Startled.”
“Nah it’s fine, I know you get a little lost in your head sometimes,” Thaddeus told him, pressing an adoring kiss to the nape of Norm’s neck as his hands eagerly went to his hips. “Do you need any help?”
“Why yes, it’d be great if you took the soup base out of the walkin freezer and heated it up,” Norm told the man behind him as he flipped the patty over, the processed meat sizzling away, Thaddeus kept kissing at his neck and at the edge of where his face mask didn’t cover his jaw. “It would almost certainly make my job easier if you stopped making out with my neck, because I can’t do anything with you kissing me and trying to tango while we have customers.”
Thaddeus huffed against his neck, nose pressing into his neck one last time as he kissed at his tanned olive skin, before pulling away with a pout. “Fine, fine… I don’t think I like Professional Mr. MacLean that much.”
“Oh yes you do, Mr. Hecke. You like him very much,” Norm teased in a sing-songy tone, smiling under his mask before sneezing as he flipped over his steak to start searing the other side. “You love it when I get extra professional with you outside of a professional setting.”
Thaddeus shook his head, smiling like goof when he made his way to the freezer, as the sound of scuffling came from below Norm’s waist. At first, he thought maybe a chicken had escaped, seeing how they liked to often escape when there were guests around, but when he looked down; he was met with a large dog’s lean face and soft eyes staring up at him.
“Hi?” The dog’s tongue lolled out, its tail wagging aggressively as Norm awkwardly stood there, spatula in hand. “Um, you have to wait for your meal… sir?”
A loud whistle and the dog ran off back into the main bar, zooming off towards their guests' table as Thaddeus nearly tripped over the dog’s zooming body, managing to stay upright as he slammed the tub of soup base onto the kitchen counter. “How did that dog get in here?”
“I don’t know,” Norm shrugged, going back to grilling his meats as Thaddeus groaned, making his way out of the kitchen and back into the main room with a frustrated expression on his face. He heard some shouting, some laughter, a bark, then Thaddeus came back in while stuffing a handful of caps into his pocket. “You didn’t…”
“Oh yeah I did,” Thaddeus grabbed a nearby pot from the pot rack, pouring the gelatinous soup base in and turning up the heat on the stove. Thankfully, he was also checking up on his mushroom sauce and pulled the fries out, starting to season them. “I didn’t even have to haggle, the lady just gave them to me as an apology for the dog.”
“How many caps do you think we’ll be making tonight?” Norm couldn’t help asking with his giggle, snorting behind his mask as he began to take the meat off the griddle and begin to plate.
Thaddeus joined in, stirring the now liquid soup and throwing in some spices and herbs, along with the tatos. “Well over three hundred at this rate, that old timer drinks like he depends on booze to live—”
A ring from the order bell caught both business men’s attention, the old Ghoul peering in with a cigarette hanging between his teeth. “How much does it cost to get an ole fashioned whiskey an’ a Rum and Nuka ‘round here?”
“I’m on my last bottle of whiskey so a fifteen for that and five caps for the R&N, just give me a little time,” Thaddeus explained, putting on his best smile and walking over to the old timer, who was still peeking in. “I’ll bring ‘em right to your table, don’t worry.”
“Short staffed, huh?” Norm glared at that jab, but Thaddeus couldn’t help but laugh along with Mr. Howard, snorting as he made his way outta the kitchen.
“We make due, now, let me get started on those drinks…” Thaddeus’s voice faded out as Norm went back to his mindless cooking, stirring the soup pot and lightly toasting the bun as he began to plate with a methodical approach that he couldn’t help. Placing each fry and each goat cheese-covered mushroom perfectly while setting up the cramburger, drizzling his spicy prickly pear and agave relish over the rat steak with an extra layer of care, and pouring the thick soup upon the squirrel bits base with precision.
Norm nearly cried real tears over his cheeks at the sight, wishing he had his camera on him to take some photos of these masterpieces he had created, as he brought them over to the heat lamp to stay warm under, clicking the bell. “Done!”
Quickly, the plates were taken and Norm melted against the countertop he was using as a stool, throwing off his filthy gloves and apron before closing his eyes. A triumphant smile came under his face mask, he could finally relax and nothing could stop that.
“The lady wants to talk to the chef, saying she wants to give her compliments personally for the great meal,” Thaddeus laid his forearms onto the kitchen window’s lip, smiling teasingly. “Should I say he’s ’too tired for compliments and pleasantries’ or would you actually wanna go out?”
“Please,” Norm pulled off his mask, taking a deep breath as he melted further into the cold metal surface as he used his foot to the bowl of leftover potato wedges.
“Of course, zeeskeit, eat those Jojos and take your well deserved break. I’ll deal with ‘em,” Thaddeus let out a soft sigh, ruffling up Norm’s hair before pulling back with a heavy groan to explain that Norm wasn’t up for any interaction at the moment.
“Thank you,” the short man managed to say before Thaddeus had left earshot, shutting his eyes for a moment as he pulled the bowl into his lap. Norm stuffed the wedges in his mouth with a slow blink, happily chewing away and only hoping this would stay in his stomach later. He was starving, still freezing despite his fever, and dealing with a headache that was only growing behind his temples with an alarming speed.
𒊹︎> •~𐬾☢︎︎𐬿~• <𒊹︎
A soft ring came to Norm through his illness-induced slumber, the moonlight streaming in from the window and over their sheets with a twinkling, light blue glow. His head had rested upon Thaddeus’s chest, hand laid over that slightly pudgy stomach and old scars, but now Norm was sitting up groggily, rubbing at his eyes.
Another ring and Norm whined, not wanting to leave the comfort of his warm bed and even warmer lover to deal with a new customer but he’d have to, so he pulled himself from the sheets, wrapped himself in his robe and mismatched slippers, and made his way down the stairs.
Norm wondered what possibly could this customer ask about, or even complain about at this ungodly hour. He snatched up his Pip-Boy, checking the clock as he walked across the parlor (the clock read three twenty-two am in slowly flashing green text), around the fire pit with a big yawn and tiny stretch, and towards the front desk door with a slow blink of his eye, trying to put on his best smile.
Norm opened it, eyes bleary and tired but still trying to look attentive and ready for this crapshoot. “Welcome to the Pitstop, I’m Mr. MacLean, how can I—”
“Norm?”
Norm’s eyes went wide, his eyes meeting Lucy’s own as she stood there, right in front of him with her hands hiding her mouth in shock.
“Lu… Lucy? What are you.. what are you doing here?” Norm hauled himself over the front desk’s countertop, flying into his sister’s open arms and crying into her neck as he gripped her shirt. “Oh my.. I can’t believe—”
“Why are you here, Lima Bean? You’re supposed to be safe in the Vault, Chet’s supposed to be taking care of you,” Lucy held her little brother close, kissing his forehead as she, too, cried over him. “What happened?”
“Gosh, so much,” Norm’s breath stuttered and shook, tears streaming down cheeks and running over his chin. “First of all… What did you do to your hair? You look like that one picture of Mom…”
Lucy sniffled, giggling brokenly with Norm as he couldn’t hold back his comment about her long hair. “I just haven’t had the time to deal with it beyond this, and you can’t complain about it, you have the patchest facial hair I’ve ever seen!”
They two went back to hugging and grasping each other, the floodgates of feelings and family love washing over the pair of the last standing MacLeans. It’s been over two months, over a month of not seeing his sister and knowing if she was even safe. Lucy held his face, wiping away his tears as he continued to sob and cry like he was four again and she was just trying to soothe him from his tantrum.
“Where’s Chet?”
“Vault 32, they did a whole reconstruction thing in there before I left,” Norm sniffled, rubbing his eyes as Lucy just held him close to her chest when running her palm over his hair. “Betty became Overseer again and.. and then the raiders were poisoned… Lucy, we were just pawns in a sick game of chess and Dad was a—”
“A crook and liar, I know, he was hiding everything from us and Mom,” Lucy shushed her baby brother’s fretting and worry with a calm hand, Norm just sobbing some more as he gripped her shirt with white knuckles. “He’s done so much evil, I can’t believe he could do anything like the things I’ve learned..”
Norm took a shaky breath, trying to not have his voice break. “What happened to Mom?”
“Dad.. he left her on the surface after she had figured out he was lying to her and everyone, she had taken us with her too and,” Lucy took a moment to compose herself, Norm helping her to one of the front desk’s chairs. “He killed so many people to see her suffer, to make sure she never came back… I got to see her, Norman, and she was suffering as a feral Ghoul tied to a wheelchair.”
Norm’s eyes shut and his ears began to ring, tears streaming down his cheeks, hiding away his face into his palms as his shoulders shook. He knew their father was a bad man, a liar and a crook who kept their community in the dark about everything, but now he was a terrifying monster who’s killed God knows how many people to make their poor mother suffer.
Norm couldn’t imagine how painful and heartbreaking his mother must have been going through that process. It was painful enough for him to watch Thaddeus go through this, that emotional state is something he could never wish upon anyone, even his darkest enemies.
“Gosh, I already can’t take Thaddeus becoming a ghoul but learning that Mom—”
“Thaddeus?”
“Oh, uh, the man who runs this place and lets me stay, he must’ve introduced himself as Johnny, I’m sorry,” Lucy still looked a tad confused as she watched her little brother fumble with his words, wiping his eyes.
“No no, not that, I met him before,” Lucy cut in. “That’s why I recognized him! I met him once a month and a half back, when I was looking for our father.”
“Y-you what?”
Lucy nodded, Norm sitting there stunned beyond belief. “Yes, I met him when he got a crossbow bolt lodged into his neck when he was standing off with my husband, his former… comrade, I guess? He was a Squire in the Brotherhood.”
“The Brotherhood? No no, Lucy, he was just a part of a small military organization, and he left due to personal reasons, how could… ”
Lucy awkwardly hissed through her teeth, rubbing her palm over his back to stop Norm’s confused eyes from tearing up more than they already were. “It’s alright, Norm, it’s alright. I didn’t even know my husband’s real name until he saved me from some crazy people in another Vault.”
Norm’s head was reeling, his mind racing and his face set in a blank expression of total confusion and stress.
“How long have you been up here?” Lucy asked next, pushing some of his hair behind his ear.
“Little more than two months now, Thaddeus found me when I passed out dehydrated in the desert,” Norm mumbled weakly. “He saved me and I.. I was going to go find you but…”
Lucy started to sob, her expression breaking and her eyes watering as she held her brother tightly to chest. “I was going back to go find you, Lima Bean.”
“I'm just glad you’re safe,” Norm’s eyes shut again, this time though, he was content and at peace with a part of his mind that had been making him suffer so much, that guilty part finally squashed. “I’m just glad you’re here, Corn Kernel.”
Lucy pressed her forehead against his own, cupping his cheek with her now calloused palm. “I’m just glad you’re alive and found a man who can keep you safer than that Vault ever could’ve.”
Norm smiled softly, holding his big sister close as she ran her thumb over his jaw and cheek bones. They sat in complete silence for a while, just holding each other and listening to each other’s racing heartbeats in the darkness of the front desk office before Lucy broke the room’s peace with an innocent question.
“Do you love him, Norm?”
Norm nodded slowly, a small blush crawling up his neck and over his cheeks. “I do, I love him a lot.”
“Well, ain’t that a sweet sight for sore eyes. The last two standing MacLeans, crying in a shitty motel lobby in the middle of fucking nowhere, it’s almost beautiful for a family name that’s fallen so far.”
Norm and Lucy both looked towards the old Ghoul who was standing in the doorway, nursing a cigarette in his gloved hand, blowing the smoke from the hole that had once been where his nose sat.
“Oh, Coop, stop being so cynical,” Lucy told the old man, holding her brother close with a shake of her head. “Don’t mind him, Norm, he’s just a big old pessimist with a grudge against the world.”
“Says lil miss ‘Cannibal Sunshine’ right ‘ere, I call my attitude just playing with the cards I was given,” Mr. Howard smoothly shot back, Norm’s eyebrows shooting up as he frantically looked towards Lucy, who now looked quite guilty.
“You ate someone?!”
“Multiple people, in fact,” Mr. Howard added, blowing a ring of smoke into the air. “Made some mighty fine ass jerky with those poor souls…”
Norm looked disgusting and revolted, looking at Lucy as she tried to catch up with her own words. “We didn’t have much food and… they were already dead when we found them, it was for survival’s sake.”
“That’s still horrible,” Norm commented as he covered his mouth, feeling a bit queasy at the thought of his sister eating the dead bodies of multiple sentient people. “I couldn’t even stand eating the dead goat that Thaddeus had to kill because we had to..”
“Aww, you guys have goats? Are they cute? Are there any little baby goats?” Lucy asked as she made a pleading expression, her voice straining to become high pitched as Mr. Howard let out a dry cough.
“I saw you an’ that drying jerky up ‘ere got some horses too, pretty lil mustang you got hitched with,” The Ghoul commented on. “Must have cost a pretty penny.”
“Only six hundred caps actually. Total bargain,” Norm retorted with ease, Mr. Howard nodded and took another puff of his cigarette, as Norm pulled his robe around himself just a bit tighter. “But besides that, why did you ring the front desk bell? It’s almost four am…”
“Okay, uh,” Lucy scratched at her neck, as the other hand pushed back her long hair with a little laugh. “The water wasn’t working in our room so we were asking if we could switch to one that does work?”
Norm groaned, rubbing his tired eyes as Mr. Howard let out a dry laugh, teeth clicking together and his wheezing was heavy and harsh. “That’s what you wanted to ask ‘bout? Some little shower head not workin’ like it should an’ you go crying to your little brother?”
“Oh shut up!” Lucy threw one of Norm’s slippers at the old man, who just took the hit and kept laughing like a deranged, raspy bird. She turned to Norm, taking his hands into her own with pleading eyes. “Please? Pretty please?”
“Fine,” Norm sighed out, getting up and moving towards the front desk and vaulting himself up onto the countertop and over. “Just don’t do this again, I still have to sleep…”
“I’ll keep her in check, just go back to that little hillbilly of yours,” Mr. Howard jabbed, crushing his cigarette out as Norm clicked at the terminal to update the room log, plus a reminder for himself to fix up the pipe. “Don’t need him gettin’ trigger happy now.”
“He’s not trigger happy, and he’s not a hillbilly,” Norm retorted, shutting down the terminal and handing Lucy the new keys, Lucy giving back his slipper and the old keys to their room. “Have a good night, Lucy.”
“Have sweet dreams, Norm,” She gave her brother one last smile, ruffled up his hair, and soon left outside with Mr. Howard on her tail, the spurs on the back of his boots clicking gently.
His sister was alive and well, but Norm worried for his future either way. What if Lucy wanted Norm to leave with her on whatever journey, to drop everything and come with her, that old ghoul, and that dog?
What if Lucy didn’t want to stay here with him and Thaddeus, didn’t find the peaceful, safe life that this bed & breakfast provides her with a fulfilling life like it did for Norm?
What if Lucy asked him to leave this life he’s made up here, to leave Thaddeus behind and to join her in a journey that will take them to God knows where?
Norm tried not to think about that as he crawled his way back up the stairs and back into bed, snuggling right into Thaddeus’s arms and soothing the small grumble from the larger man with a sweet peck to his cheek. “Shh, handsome, I’m back, don't fret…”
“Mmm,” Arms entangled him, Norm’s head now lying upon a strong bicep as Thaddeus kissed at his face and his mustache teased over his face. It was as if one of the kids was kissing his face, just a lot better smelling. “Bubbaleh..”
“Honey…” Norm couldn’t help but giggle, running his hand through his lovely boyfriend’s hair. When he pulled his hand back however, a concerning amount of strands of auburn hair came with, Norm trying to shut out the sight by just shutting his eyes and focusing on his lover’s warm breath across his skin. “Sleep well…”
𒊹︎> •~𐬾☢︎︎𐬿~• <𒊹︎
Norm hummed, cracking more eggs over the griddle as Lucy helped with toasting up the bread they’ll be eating, talking about all the misadventures she had gone through.
“I nearly got eaten, four times in fact!” Lucy giggled out, “and only once was by actually an animal. All the other times it was by these… people who wanted to eat me. Have you had to deal with that? Or do I just have rotten luck?”
“No, I haven’t, unless it’s random men thinking I’m a prostitute and asking me for sex counts as people wanting to eat me,” Norm huffed with a roll of his eyes, cutting through the whites and yolks and scrambling his pile of eggs. Lucy made a face, and Norm quickly added with a blush face. “W-which I never took up! I’m still… y’know… and I plan on staying a.. y’know… which um…”
“I know you’re not a virgin anymore, Norm,” Lucy cut off his fumbling and stumbling with his words, the sizzle of the thick cut of butter she had sliced from the stick onto the griddle filled the awkward silence. “And all I want to know is if it was safe, if you enjoyed it, and if Thaddeus was kind to you… so?”
Norm awkwardly blushed, ears, cheeks, and even the tip of his nose turning bright red. “He was really nice, really sweet.. um.. and it was as safe as it could be, in the Wasteland, I guess. I did like it, I.. I liked it a lot actually…”
“Phew! Good because,” Lucy said with a smile, leaning over to pinch her baby brother’s blushed cheek. “I really didn’t want to interrogate your boyfriend about this, he seems like a good man and I don’t wanna use my brand new guass pistol on him.”
Norm choked, nearly falling over. “What?”
Lucy looked blankly down at him, smiling innocently. “What?”
Norm made a concerned noise, trying not to choke on his own breath as Thaddeus came in from the chicken coop, more eggs in his basket and a hen nuzzled close to his chest. Lucy awe’d at the sight, coming over to the chicken and wiggling her index finger at the puzzled hen.
“Isn’t she just so cute! Does she have a name?” Lucy asked as Thaddeus sat the basket next to Norm’s workplace upon the kitchen top. “Can I hold her?”
“Well, you can but she likes to bite,” Thaddeus commented, gently running two of his fingers over the small hen’s back. “And she doesn’t have a name, can’t think of one right now anyways..”
“I think Henriette is a good name,” Lucy commented, scooping up the chicken from Thaddeus’s arms and bringing her slowly to her own chest. “She’s a lot heavier than I thought she’d be…”
“That just means I’m a good caretaker,” Thaddeus snorted, resting his hands on his hips as Lucy petted over the chicken’s soft feathers, scratching under her chin. “Fatter and happier the chicken, the better it looks on you being a good farmer. My Pa would say that a lot whenever he was happy with the farm’s income being stable.”
“You were a farmer?”
“Fly farm up north, but we also raised Brahmin, chickens, goats, and horses next to the flies,” Thaddeus leaned against the countertop’s lip, hands moving about as he spoke. “Flies mulch the shit those animals and we create, create protein for us to sell and use as a fertilizer for our crops, and we get a steady income.”
“Was it a family business?” Lucy asked, petting the chicken as if she was petting a cat.
“Eh, it’s complicated,” Norm rolled his eyes as he flipped more toast and eggs, and began to place them onto the large plates with some salt and pepper. “My Pa’s side of the family came here just before the Bombs as refugees from some place called ‘Bavaria’ which was a part of this ‘Daytshland’ or something like that.”
“Oh! Do you mean Germany? That country looked so pretty in all the photos I saw in my textbooks. That must have been during the European Civil War when your ancestors left Germany,” Lucy said gleefully, cutting off Thaddeus but quickly shutting up. “Sorry, please continue, Thaddeus.”
“Uh… Anyways,” Thaddeus went back into his story, pushing back his hair with a sigh. “My Pa's family came from there and lived in some big city with all these people from all over the world, and left that place after the Bombs apparently killed most of the people living there. Those who did live well… ‘zey farvarfin di tseyn oyf di bentanes ober eyner dem tsveytn’ is all my Pa would say…”
“‘They had nothing to eat but each other,’” Norm translated for his sister easily while picking up an egg, the sizzle of whites and yolk hitting the hot griddle filling the quiet that came over the room.
Thaddeus ruffled up his hair suddenly, smiling wolfishly despite the dark subject matter. “Hey, you have been catching onto the Yiddish! Your pronunciation sucks, babe…”
“People ate each other to survive so your ancestors left? What happened after that?” Lucy sounded almost too excited, and Norm couldn’t help himself but sigh as Thaddeus excitedly continued on for his captive audience.
“Well, then they spent like fifty years traveling about the Wasteland for a place to settle. They never truly found a place until making it to Portlandia and staying there for a good few decades, sadly though, they were forced out again by…,” Norm shut off the griddle, picking up a slice of buttered toast and beginning to eat the buttery soft bread as he took the plates out to the main room, Mr. Howard was drinking his coffee and Dogmeat (as the pup had been named apparently) was chewing on an old piece of plastic that had been laying around.
“That man can talk an ear off, can’t he?” Mr. Howard let out a long sigh, sipping from his mug. “Now, how does a lil Vaultie with nothing but his wit an’ the clothes on his back get an ex-tin-can-in-training who’s turnin’ into a nasty bowl of matzo ball soup as a business partner? Bet you’re the one who came up with this whole schtick an’ he just went along with it.”
“Passing out in the middle of a supermarket is how you get a man like that,” Norm grunted as sat the plates down onto the bar top, hauling himself into a chair and plucking a cigarette from the pack that the old Ghoul had set out, lighting it quick and taking a long puff. “And he made all of this long before I came around; not me. I just set up the computers and all so when… when I leave he can make this place extra efficient.”
The Ghoul let out a wheezing laugh, Norm grumbled as he took another puff from his much needed cigarette between bites of his toast. “You ain’t ever leaving this dump, darl’, you’re stuck with Mister Boschmann over ‘ere til you get too grossed out by his rotting body to wanna keep fucking it.”
“I love him more than just for his body, Mr. Howard, you do know that, right?” Norm gave the old man a glare, exhaling the smoke from his lungs through his nose like how a cartoon character might. “He’s a kind, thoughtful man who’s been through a lot and who showed me that I’m more than just a disappointment to my father.”
“He must be dickin’ you down pretty well or have something nice packed down ‘ere if he can keep you this naïve and innocent about that whole ‘love’ thing,” Norm groaned louder with a blush appearing over his cheeks (that he tried to hide with covering his face with his arm), head landing onto the bar top while he crushed his cigarette into the ashtray’s basin. “Darl’, hiding away isn’t making your case look any better.”
“Shut up for a minute, please,” Norm gritted out between his bared teeth, covering his head with both of his arms now as he took a minute to breathe and relax.
A familiar hand came to his shoulder, a pair of chapped lips kissed his knuckles, and a gentle voice asked him a question in a quiet whisper. “You okay, Norm?”
“I’m alright, Thad, just a bit tired still,” Norm peeked out from behind his arms, looking up at Thaddeus, who gave him a sweet smile and another kiss, this time to his forehead.
Thaddeus took some eggs and toast, chomping away as he sat next to the older Ghoul with a smile. “So you were from before the War?”
“Yea, born an’ raised in a little state called Alabama an’ I got way to the top of that Hollywood life with my all-time classic ‘Under the Covers’ with the beautiful Miss Vera Keys,” Mr. Howard cooed, downing back the last of his coffee. “Loved that movie, Keys was a fantastic co-star in that movie with a singing voice of pure gold, I really wished she had done more than just be with that Sinclair pig in his death trap of a casino.”
“Isn't that place supposed to be haunted by ghosts and stuff?” Thaddeus shivered, drumming his hand against the glossy wooden bar top. “Place gives me a heebie-jeebies, my Uncle would always go on about how scary and how many people died looking for it.”
“Someone in ‘81 managed to get in,” Norm bit down onto some eggs, grumbling still as Thaddeus looked enamored by Mr. Howard’s story. “Took all that gold an’ all those riches from the Vault under the casino, left nothing in ‘ere but a single dollar bill before bouncin’ back to Vegas.”
“Was it the Courier? I bet it was the Courier,” Thaddeus leaned over the bar counter to grab himself a Sunset, uncapping it easily as Mr. Howard let out a wheeze. “No, no, I’m sure it was him, like… who else would survive that!?”
“Who or what is ‘the Courier?’” Norm asked, stuffing his face with another slice of buttery crisp toast as Thaddeus smiled wolfishly.
“Just the most badass, coldest motherfucker the Wasteland ever created! He got shot in the head and lived, he’s gotten lobotomized, turned into a cyborg, became a Great Khan chieftain, and ruled Vegas under the House’s jurisdiction for years,” Thaddeus practically shouted out in glee, spilling his sarsaparilla onto the countertop. “He’s the sickest man ever! He’s like a goddamn national hero amongst the Brotherhood,” the old Ghoul started to wheeze, laughing at Thaddeus, who then glared at him, “what’s so funny?”
“First off,” Mr. Howard gently sat his mug upon the countertop, leaning back in his stool with his hat tipped back over his eyes. “The Courier was a fine little lady with bright red hair like a fire an’ darkest black eyes you’ve ever seen; Not a man. I met her once in Sac-Town while she was boxin’ a Super Mutant with a power fist. An’ second off, she didn’t work for that House; she worked for the people of New Vegas and for her own people.”
Thaddeus looked starried, his turquoise eyes gleaming and mystified by the older Ghoul meeting a person who he held highly.
“No, they were something in between,” Lucy said, sitting in a chair with the chicken still in her lap comfortably. “That man we talked to in Vegas said he met them and they weren’t a man or a woman.”
“Ya mean that cracked out tweaker from Goodsprings we met? You believe that man over my word, Ms. MacLean?” Mr. Howard almost seemed offended by this, stained teeth bared as Lucy turned her nose at that.
“He wasn’t on drugs, he was a nice man who was willing to help us on our journey,” Lucy countered, running her hand over the chicken’s feathers affectionately.
Norm snorted, chewing on his slice of toast. “So this person was a revolutionary, freedom fighting mailman, how should I react to this person who I know nothing about?”
“Because he was the best thing that ever happened to the Wasteland, and especially for the Mojave Wasteland,” Thaddeus claimed, fist landed onto the bar top with this look of determination upon his smiling features. “I wish I got to see New Vegas before it went to total shit, I would wanna see Gomorrah and if it’s true what they said about it…”
Thaddeus made a little giggle with some blush creeping onto his cheeks, thinking about something filthy that Mr. Howard joined in with his own comments about Sin City.
“That place was filthy but the ladies an’ gentlemen were pretty an’ talked so sweetly if ya had the caps, nice legs too but nasty Med-X or Jet addictions,” Mr. Howard commented on, leaning over the counter to grab a bottle of whiskey, before Norm could grumble, ten caps were in his palm as the old man uncapped the bottle and chugged.
“Do they really wear like… nothing? I heard they’d wear frilly lil lingerie if playing up the sweet kinda stuff and leather for the hardcore crowds. I still wanna know if the whole pole dancing thing was real or my friends back in the Brotherhood were just pulling my leg,” Thaddeus was still just blushing like he wasn’t talking about the idea of half naked women (and men) putting on a show for him. Norm made a frown, stuffing the caps in his pocket as Thaddeus made note of his reaction. “I-I wouldn’t sleep with any of them, I just wanna know if it’s real or not…”
Norm arched a brow at that, and Thaddeus let out a defeated grumble.
“Okay, it’s more than just wanting to know if it’s real, but… wouldn’t you be tempted if a nice looking guy in barely anything was being all sweet to you and calling you handsome?” Thaddeus pleaded, big eyes soft and almost pleading, and Norm couldn’t disagree with that (he’d probably die before even stepping into the place, even going to that bar with Thaddeus had nearly mentally killed him after the fact). “I know if a lady or a guy or really anything did that to me, I’d melt on the spot and fold like a piece of paper.”
“I bet you’d like it if this little man right here was dressed like one of those strippers, huh, Hillbilly?” Thaddeus choked on his sarsaparilla, Norm choked on his third slice of buttered toast, and Lucy gasped very loudly that sent the hen’s into the air with a loud scream from her chest. “I ain’t wrong an’ you all know that! It needed to be said before some downright nasty sex was had in this here bar, up in that loft you two call a bedroom up there—”
“COOPER HOWARD, YOU NASTY OLD MAN!” Lucy looked queasy at what the nasty old man was saying, Norm was trying not to run into his workshop for a good scream and cry, and Thaddeus was now trying to get the screaming hen away from the barking dog, who was probably trying to eat the poor chicken.