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Chapter Text

Benancio “Benny” Lagarto’s grandmother had taught him every important thing that a person needed to know to survive in the Mojave: how to clean a pistol, how to turn a gecko pelt into leather, and how to tell if a two-hundred-year-old pack of Fancy Lads Snack Cakes was still decent enough for eating. The biggest life lesson she had ever given Benny, though, was on the importance of being God-fearing. ‘ Now you listen well, chiquito,’ she’d said the day his soulmate’s name had appeared on his arm. ‘ God can forgive many things - lying, stealing, and sometimes even killing, but he does not forgive those who mistreat their soulmates. They are a gift from the Almighty. Once you find this girl, you treasure her, you hear me?’ Like most teenage boys, Benny had thought himself far too wise and mature to take advice from an elder, but he had listened well to that bit of cautioning. He’d only clutched it more tightly to his chest once Abuelita had passed.

Her speech echoed through his mind as he laid prostrate on the ground in some dingy little cemetery on the outskirts of Goodsprings, his hand clenched around a dead woman’s wrist. Weeks of planning, months of careful calculation leading up to this night, and now it all seemed meaningless. Why her? Was this some sort of cosmic punishment, or did Benny just have the most rotten luck in the entire goddamn universe?

Benny could hear the Great Khans he’d hired awkwardly shuffling behind him, unsure of what to do about his sudden breakdown. “What the fuck’s the matter with him?” one of them whispered to the other.

Benny lifted his head from the sand and took a final look at the dead courier’s wrist. Her marking was much more lavish than his own, in a swirling electric green script. As if ‘Benancio’ wasn’t already a flamboyant enough name on its own. He had a fleeting thought about removing the bandana that covered the majority of her face, but he quickly crushed it. It was already enough that he’d have to see her name on his own wrist every day for the rest of his life and remember the terror in her eyes as they stayed locked on his gun. He’d absently and coldly noted how unusual her irises were as he’d taken aim at her forehead. They were brown yet incredibly pale, similar in color to a raw pinyon nut. The redness in the whites of her eyes from her tears had only made the feature more noticeable.

No, he couldn’t bear any more knowledge of her. He left her facial covering undisturbed and took one final look at his own name on her wrist before yanking her tattered shirt sleeve down to conceal it. “I’m so sorry, Aurora,” he whispered to the dead woman. There had to be a special place in hell for people who murdered their own soulmates. He pushed himself unsteadily to his feet and grabbed a shovel. His Khan companions gave each other nervous glances before moving to pick up the courier’s corpse.

“ Gently,” Benny warned. “Set her down gently.”

The Khan with the mohawk sneered at him, roughly slipping his hands under the dead woman’s shoulders. “What the hell’s it matter if-”

“Quiet, Jessup,” the other Khan interjected quickly. Another look passed between the two men before they set the courier in the shallowly dug grave. Benny insisted on burying her by himself, puffing through an entire pack of cigarettes as he did so. Ought to put a bullet in my own brain and have those finks bury me right with her , he bitterly thought. That didn’t seem right to him, though, didn’t seem just. No, he needed to live with what he’d done. Getting sent to hell would be easy. Having to wake up every day and look at himself in the mirror, though? That might just be the start of a proper punishment. He packed the dirt as tightly as he could manage. A half-decent burial was the least he could do for her. Afterward, he borrowed a knife from the less mouthy Khan and carved her name into the wooden cross that marked her grave. He tried to make it match the way her name was on his wrist, neat and angular. His abuela had told him that soulmate names reflected the qualities of the person they identified. What did that mean about Aurora, then? Was she a straight-shooter? Easygoing? He’d never know now.

Benny stared down at the freshly packed dirt for a moment as he fiddled with the platinum chip in his pocket. He’d killed a girl handpicked by the Big Man Upstairs to be his, and for what? A fucking fancy poker chip that he didn’t even know the use for. His whole scheme seemed like an utter waste now. How could he carry out his plans against House knowing the sin he’d committed to make it all possible? No, he’d shove that stupid chip somewhere he didn’t have to look at it anymore. Part two of his self-imposed punishment would be consigning himself to being House’s lackey for the rest of his life.

“We should get moving,” Jessup said, breaking Benny out of his ruminations. “Don’t want these hicks getting wise to what we’re up to.”

Benny took a deep breath that hitched in the back of his throat. He needed to get the hell away from these fucking tribals. “Change of plans. We’re splitting here.”

The other Khan - McMurphy, Benny remembered - twitchily began to scratch at his arm. “You sure? That might -”

“Whatever you say, boss,” Jessup interrupted with a sneer. “Just pay up the other half of our caps and we’ll be on our way.”

Benny clicked his jaw to the side, his fingers itching to pull out Maria and plant a bullet in Jessup’s chest. “You want full pay for half a job?”

Jessup quickly strode over and got in Benny’s face and began ranting and raving about what they deserved, like Benny gave a rat’s ass. He shoved the Khan to the ground, a snarl pulling at his lips. Jessup tried to jump back up, but McMurphy grabbed him by the shoulder and held him down.

“Let it go, Jessup,” he said, his eyes locked on the Chairman. Benny got the feeling that McMurphy could tell there was something else underneath his city boy facade. Good. Meant he didn’t have to kill anyone else tonight.

The Great Khans left Benny alone in the cemetery, scampering off to who cares where. He knew he needed to get moving too, but Benny stopped to look up at the moon for a moment before leaving. It was full tonight and bright as any Vegas light. He smoked one more cigarette as he tried to imagine how he’d looked from Aurora’s perspective. Had Maria glinted as he took aim at her head? Was his face unfeeling, or had she been able to see the reluctance he’d been trying to keep down? Did she cry because she was afraid of death?

That last thought had Benny doubling over to grab his knees. He suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore. He had to get the hell away from her grave, away from everything that had happened here. Returning to Vegas wouldn’t be much better, but at least there he wouldn’t have to look at direct evidence of the worst sin he’d ever committed.

“I’ll see you on the other side, pussycat,” he said to the grave marker. “I’d say I hope that you’ll forgive me, but I sure as hell wouldn’t, so I won’t hold my breath.”

Chapter Text

It had been two months since that fateful day in the cemetery. Two months of Benny getting up every day with his head pounding from a liquor-filled night to dull his shame. Two months of snapping at everyone for every little thing. Two months of sulking around The Tops, pretending like he wasn’t dying on the inside. Despite his constant lingering about, he didn’t put much effort into managing the casino or the other Chairmen. Swank did all of the day-to-day tasks now, along with all of the other work Benny was supposed to do as well. Most people probably would’ve been grateful to have such a capable right-hand guy, but Swank’s deftness and grace toward being hoisted all the work of running The Tops irritated Benny. He felt guilty enough without Swank treating him like some sort of depressed invalid. The truth of the matter, though, was that just making a round about the casino floor daily was exhausting for Benny. He hated having to smile and make small talk with the guests, acting like he wasn’t trapped in a hell of his own making. This is what he deserved, though.

There was a lull in the customers right now. That was typical around dinner time. Benny took advantage of the clear floor to go and do his check-in with Swank. As Benny approached, Swank came out from behind the front desk and gave Benny a warm clap on the shoulder. “Evening, boss. Good to see you out and about! How’s it shaking today?”

Benny swerved out from under Swank’s arm with an eye roll. “Fine, fine. How’s the floor looking?”

“Alright, but you don’t need to worry about things down here. I’ve got a handle on everything.” This had become Swank’s automatic response during the course of the past several weeks. He never bothered Benny with anything anymore. “Lots of pretty broads visiting today. There’s one over there by the slots with cans as big as-”

“Not interested, Swank.”

The inferior Chairman sighed and ran a hand along the back of his neck. “Okay, boss.”

Benny trudged from the front desk to the exit. He could feel Swank staring at him as he stepped outside. The sun was close to setting, casting the Strip in a hazy orange glow. People were starting to file into the street, beginning busy nights of gambling, screwing, and drinking until daybreak. Benny used to love seeing people’s faces as they took in the Vegas lights for the first time. He’d liked dancing with girls in The Tops Theater. He’d liked watching the Securitrons arrest rowdy NCR soldiers. He’d loved everything about his life on the Strip, aside from Mr. House’s meddling. Now, though, he just couldn’t muster the smallest interest in anyone or anything. Life itself seemed meaningless.

The only thing Benny saw outside that drew his attention in the slightest was a woman loitering near the entryway of The Tops. She was standing idly in the middle of the sidewalk, seemingly unperturbed by the pedestrians that had to skirt around her to file into the casino. Benny noticed that she had a Pip-Boy strapped to her wrist, blaring out some loud country tune that overlapped with the usual music that emanated from The Tops speakers. He thought it odd how poor her manners were considering how elegant she looked in her curve-hugging little black dress. As Benny got closer he noted that she had hard tan lines on her hands and neck, as if she spent a lot of time outdoors but covered up most of her body. Maybe a soldier on leave, then? Or a farm girl visiting the big city? Her dark hair was left long and straight down her back, indicating that she didn’t regularly visit a hairdresser. His curiosity was peaked enough that he decided to initiate a conversation, something he avoided like the plague nowadays.

“Hey there, little lady. Don’t like the music coming out of The Tops or something?”

He couldn’t see her brows or eyes behind her large sunglasses, but if the woman’s mouth was any indication, she wasn’t pleased that Benny was talking to her. “Not at all,” she said coldly, turning away in a clear gesture to make him leave her be. Benny was surprised by how twangy her voice was. Her accent was unlike any he’d ever heard before, even from the most remote Nevada natives. He wasn’t sure why, but something about this woman drew him in. He hadn’t felt anything but pure torment since he’d committed his cardinal sin that night in the graveyard. It felt nice to think about something else for a moment.

“Did you need something?” the mystery woman asked, hostility clear in her tone.

“No,” Benny said, straining a small smile. “I was just looking at you, that’s all. You seem…”

“Miserable?” she finished for him. “Well, ain’t you clever for guessing it?”

Benny was sure he looked like hell. He did force himself to do all the little things to maintain his appearance ⸺ bathing, combing his hair, all of that ⸺ but he didn’t sleep or eat enough. He knew he had dark circles beneath his eyes and a sallow tinge to his skin. Still, though, he hoped his typical charm would override those things enough that the woman would warm to him. “What’s a pretty broad like you have to be miserable about?”

Her red-tinted lips pulled up in a sneer. “Oh, what, because your company is just so wonderful it should instantly erase all my problems?”

Benny’s fake smile morphed into a face-breaking beam. He enjoyed her cutting remarks. Almost no one would dare be so openly rude to him. She must have absolutely no idea who he was. He took a pack of cigarettes out from his pocket and put one between his lips before tilting the open pack out toward her.

“I don’t smoke,” she huffed, obviously frustrated with him. “Can’t you take a damn hint? Leave me alone.”

“Newsflash, doll, you’re standing in front of my casino,” he said, gesturing to the front doors to drive his point home. “ You leave if I’m bothering you so much.”

The woman didn’t reply to him in any way. The only change in her irritated demeanor was that her head turned somewhat so that it was facing to the right of him. Without warning, she reached out and grabbed his wrist. She pushed his sleeve up to fully reveal Aurora’s name, something he kept covered religiously since the murder. Benny yanked his arm from her grip and tugged his shirt cuff back down. 

“Got a problem?” he hissed.

The mystery woman’s hand flew to her mouth to suppress a strange half-sob. Benny noticed that her lipstick transferred onto her palm when she finally put it back down. “Is…is your name Benancio?” she whispered, her twangy voice cracking slightly.

He stared hard at the woman, her unexpected change in behavior setting him on guard. “Yeah. Have we met before or something?” Is that why she was being so rude? Was she an old flame he’d forgotten about?

“No,” she said, her tone much warmer and softer than before. “I need… I should apologize.” Benny carefully watched her as she began undoing the straps of her Pip-Boy. Once it was off, she turned her arm around, her wrist facing him. He blinked, sure he must be hallucinating. The swirly green name on her arm didn’t change at all. His heartbeat became so loud that he could hear it over all the noise of the Strip.

“I would’ve been nicer if I’d known,” she said sheepishly. Benny barely even heard the words leave her lips. He was staring so hard at her wrist that his vision was blurring. How many times had he seen that wrist in his dreams, pictured it when he was torturing himself with thoughts of her? Benny was on the verge of panic as she pushed her sunglasses up on her head, revealing those haunting, beautiful eyes that were burned in his memory. The last time he’d seen them they had been filled with terror. They should’ve been filled with hatred right now, given what he’d done to her, but he saw nothing in them but wonder. About a million and one thoughts ran through Benny’s mind as they sat there gaping at one another, but the three most important were:

1. How in the goddamn was she even alive?
2. What was she doing at his doorstep?
3. Why wasn’t she pissed at him for putting a hole in her head?

“It’s nice to officially meet you,” she said at length. Meet him? Did his 9 mm blur out their first ‘meeting’, or was this some elaborate way of fucking with him? Benny had to swallow several times before he could manage to speak. “It’s… good to meet you too. I’m, uh, Benny.”

She cracked a real, genuine smile that somehow made her even prettier. “Benny, huh? Less of a mouthful than Benancio, I suppose. I’m Aurora, but I guess you already knew that…”

Ho-ly fuck. She really didn’t remember him. She didn’t remember what he’d done. His soulmate was here, alive, and she didn’t know that he’d shot her in the goddamn skull. It took a while to fully register, but slowly Benny realized, I have a second chance.

Benny snuffed out his cigarette under his shoe and extended a hand out to her, along with a wide smile. Her handshake was firm and exact. He noticed that although they were well-manicured, her hands were heavily calloused on the palms. His courier was a tough girl.

“Why don’t I show you my place, doll?” Benny offered. “We can have a drink while we get to know one another.”

Aurora let out a nearly hysterical giggle, like she couldn’t quite believe this was actually happening. “Alright,” she agreed. “Lead the way.”

Chapter Text

Benny tried to be quiet as he cleaned up all the glasses and food wrappers he and Aurora had strewn about his suite the previous night. She was still passed out on his couch and probably would be for a while considering how much she’d drank. When they’d first sat down, she’d emphasized that she’d have one drink, but after that atomic cocktail got into her she’d drained half his gin as well. Although Benny had been a little more careful, they’d both gotten rip-roaring drunk after a few hours and ended up crashing in his living room. Today, Benny had woken up with a hell of a headache, but for the first time in months he wasn’t completely dreading the day. The opposite, really. He was officially entering the most exciting time of his life, according to Abuelita. ‘ You’ll see, Benanacio. True love - there’s nothing else in the world that can compare.’

Benny cursed under his breath as one of the glasses slipped from his hand. That’s what he got, letting himself get lost in daydreams. The cup didn’t crack, but it did clatter loudly against the others in his dish basket. He looked up, noticing that the noise had startled Aurora awake.

“Sorry, doll,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Aurora’s eyes darted over toward him as she roughly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her thick brows were furrowed together as she glanced all around the room, her hands wandering along her legs and arms in little patting motions. She looked down at her snug black dress with confusion, like she had no idea how she’d gotten into it. Benny frowned while he watched her. “You alright, pussycat?”

Aurora completely ignored him. She stood and backed away from his couch, tripping over her abandoned high heels as she whipped her head back and forth. Benny came out from behind his bar and caught her by the elbow when she nearly fell over. “Aurora, are you-”

“ Don’t touch me!” she shrieked. Her chest heaved as she stared at Benny, wild-eyed and trembling. “Where the fuck am I? How did I get here?”

The Chairman’s mouth fell open in shock. They’d drank a lot last night, sure, but not nearly enough to black out all of yesterday. “You… we came up here after we met last night, doll.”

She didn’t seem to hear a word he said. She kept her gaze trained on him like he was a feral dog, like he’d pounce on her at any moment if she didn’t watch his every move. She backed up against his door and frantically felt around for the handle, falling into the hallway when it opened.

Benny crouched down in the doorway, wanting to help but afraid he might startle her even more. “Aurora, calm down. Do you really-”

She didn’t listen, instead violently using her heels to push herself back, putting more distance between them. Benny barely had time to stand as she pushed herself upright and took off down the hallway, seemingly having no other objective than to get away from him.

“Wait!” he called out as he chased after her. Aurora slid to a halt when she spotted the elevator, slamming her palm down on the button as she watched him approach. She threw herself in when the doors rolled open. Benny had just enough room to slip in before the elevator closed again to take them to the ground floor. Aurora pressed her whole body against the wall farthest from Benny, tension making her convulse as she bared her teeth at him, feral and petrified.

He held his hands up and stayed on the other side of the elevator, trying to show he wasn’t a threat. He only had a minute before they’d reach the first floor. “Baby, please listen.”

“Where am I? What’d you do to me?” she demanded, her gaze flickering between his hands and face.

“I didn’t do anything to you!” he snapped, offended at her implication. He regretted his anger almost immediately when he saw how much more it deepened her fright. He worked to keep his tone calm as he stated, “You’re in The Tops.”

Her nose scrunched, like she’d never heard of the place before. Benny didn’t have time to say anything else before the elevator dinged, indicating they’d reached the ground level. Aurora flew out onto the casino floor. Benny was glad there weren’t as many patrons out in the morning. Him chasing after a clearly terrified broad was sure to pull some stares. Aurora paused for a moment before turning right, toward the front lobby. Benny made himself run harder to try and catch her before she made it outside.

“ Swank,” he hollered, knowing his right-hand guy would be out at the front desk, “grab that girl running by!”

Benny grabbed the wall as he turned the corner to slow his momentum. Jesus, she was quick. His lungs burned from trying to keep up with her. Aurora was still in the lobby, but it wasn’t because Swank had managed to get a hold on her. Instead, Benny’s girl had her arms thrown around another man’s neck while she blubbered hysterically to him as the mystery guy pointed a shotgun at Swank’s forehead. The other Chairmen had their weapons out, ready to attack on command. Swank turned slightly and kept his voice easy as he greeted Benny, “Morning, boss.”

The gruff man clutching Aurora to his chest leveled his gaze on Benny, his eyes narrowing. He gave Aurora a little squeeze before he said to her in a twangy drawl like her own, “Go on outside now and read the first entry on your Pip-Boy. I’ll be out shortly.”

“But Pa-”

“Get on, I’ll be there in a minute,” he insisted. Aurora’s jaw tightened, but she exited the casino without a backward glance. Benny moved to follow her, but the man pointed the barrel of his gun at Benny’s chest to halt him.

“Hold it there, boy,” the man warned. “You and I need to have a talk.”

Before Benny could reply, Swank grabbed onto the man’s gun and yanked it downward. “Listen here, pal, you don’t get to come in here and threaten people, especially the boss man. Don’t think I won’t order my guys to rip some new holes in you right here, right now.” Swank turned back toward Benny, his hand still tightly gripping the shotgun barrel. “This is Mr. Raleigh Hixon. He came in looking for his daughter.”

His daughter. Of course. The similarity between them was obvious, now that Benny was searching for it. “I inferred as much,’ Benny chuckled. He waved his hand for Swank to lay off. He didn’t look happy about it, but Swank immediately let go and signaled for the other Chairmen to stand down. Benny closed most of the distance between himself and Raleigh and stretched his hand out. Raleigh took it, his bearded face locked in a hard frown.

“It’s a pleasure, Mr. Hixon, but we’ll need to have that talk later,” Benny said, laying on the charm thick. “You see, Aurora and I-”

Raleigh’s eyes ⸺ the exact same color as Aurora’s, Benny noted ⸺ flashed with such intense fury that Benny was stunned into silence mid-sentence. “Do you have cotton in your ears?” the older man scowled. “I’m talking to you about my girl. I’m going to make myself plain for you, mister. Leave my daughter be. She’ll be around the Strip, but you are not going to be spending any more time with her. Are we clear?”

“Sir, I think you’re misunderstanding. Look, Aurora got a little… confused when she woke up, but I’m not some random cat, you dig? I’m her soulmate.” Benny rolled up the cuff of his sleeve and showed Raleigh his wrist. “We just had a little too much to drink last night. Once I go out there and show her my arm-”

“ No! You can’t do that!” Benny jumped a little at Raleigh’s sudden outburst, but when he looked into the other man’s face there wasn’t any anger in it. Aurora’s father actually looked rather… sad? “Oh, son, I’m so sorry,” Raleigh sighed, finally holstering his shotgun. “You can’t show her your arm. It won’t help.”

Before Benny could speak, Raleigh clasped him by the shoulder and led him over to a bench in the lobby. The other Chairmen tried and failed to look as if they weren’t listening in.

“Listen, son, I know you mean well, but talking anymore with my daughter would just bring heartache for the both of you. Aurora… well, she… my girl used to work as a courier, you see? She was out on a delivery a few months ago and got robbed. The thief shot her in the head, but some good folk got her to a doctor quick. He was able to fix her up pretty well, but she’s had this…condition ever since. Every single morning, Aurora wakes up thinking it’s the day before she was shot. Something’s wrong with her brain. The Followers call it ‘Goldfield’s Syndrome’, say it’s a specific form of amnesia.”

Benny clamped his hand over his mouth as he listened to Raleigh speak. He felt horribly nauseous and wasn’t completely certain he wasn’t going to vomit. Of course there had to be a catch. Benny was stupid for thinking for a minute that God wouldn’t keep punishing him for his sin. He’d caused his girl full-out brain damage.

Raleigh mistaked Benny’s reaction as sorrow for Aurora rather than self-indulgent guilt. He rubbed a comforting hand on Benny’s back. “I know, son. Life just ain’t fair sometimes. It’s too bad y'all didn’t get acquainted before it happened.”

“What happens?” Benny asked, his voice barely even a whisper. “What happens every day when she realizes…?”

Raleigh replied, “Most days she takes it pretty well. She’s strong. Some days, though… yesterday was a pretty bad one. That’s part of the reason I saved up and got her a Strip passport. Most days she’ll raise hell about staying at the Old Mormon Fort while I work. I figured she could wander around here more safely than Freeside.”

Benny crushed the palms of his hands against his closed eyes and rubbed. The pressure strangely made him feel better. He looked down at his shiny polished shoes as he asked, “Isn’t there anything the Followers can do? Can’t they fix her?”

“They try, but her condition’s complex, and all the testing and therapies they try cost lots of caps. Even if they had every available resource, her memory might never work right again.” Raleigh stood and touched his fingers to Benny’s shoulder. “I’ve got to go get her settled down. Listen, boy, I’m awful sorry things worked out this way, but don’t go showing her your wrist again. It’ll only hurt you both.”

Benny watched as Raleigh pushed through the casino doors. He caught a glimpse of Aurora standing out in the morning sun, a shell-shocked look on her face as she touched her hand to a spot just a bit above her hairline. Benny felt hot bile rise in his throat when he realized she must be touching a scar from the bullet wound. The door swung closed, shutting him away from the sunshine and his soulmate.

What the hell was he going to do now?

Chapter Text

“Swank, do I look alright?” Benny asked as he nervously ran his hand along his gelled hair, feeling to make sure every piece was in place. He’d spent nearly an hour this morning getting ready. His suit was freshly pressed, his teeth brushed so hard that his gums hurt, hell, he’d even made sure his socks looked sharp enough. He wanted to look good today, just on the off chance…

“Uh, yeah boss, you look fine,” Swank replied hesitantly. “What’s the occasion, though?”

Benny licked his finger and began fussing with his eyebrows by the mirror near the front desk. “What kind of question is that? I’ve got to look my best in case I see my girl again today.”

Swank’s head snapped around. He gave Benny a long, hard look before closing the space between them, leaning in close and cradling his hand to Benny’s neck. The gesture was an old one, something Swank hadn’t done since Benny had become chief seven years ago. Sometimes the stratification of their positions made it easy for Benny to forget that Swank was older than him, almost a big brother in some ways. Three years his elder, Swank had taught Benny the necessary skills he needed to join their tribe’s hunting and raiding parties. Still, despite their lifetime friendship, Swank had easily given his deference to Benny once he’d become the leader. Now, though, with the older man an inch from his face, Benny saw that Swank still had that boyhood impulse to protect him.

“What about all that stuff her father said yesterday? I don’t think you ought to go messing with that girl, Benny.”

Benny ducked out from beneath Swank’s grasp and waved him off. “You don’t get it, Swank. I understand her dad, I do, but me and pussycat are soulmates. That means something. I can’t just act like she’s not here! Besides, I can talk to her without her seeing my arm.”

Swank sighed and tapped his fingers against the wooden table he was leaning on. He’d never been able to argue with Benny, even when they were kids. “Won’t it be a little… well, weird for you, pretending like you two are strangers?”

Benny didn’t respond to Swank’s question. He was too busy cracking open the front door to peek out into the street. He’d have the best chance of spotting her in the morning, if she swung by today at all. Less people frequented the Strip early in the day, as most visitors were still sleeping off a night of drunken gambling or whoring. And so, Benny grabbed a chair from the casino floor and planted himself right by the front door. Two hours passed of Benny peeking outside each time the big Strip gate rumbled to see if it was Aurora, along with two hours of Swank giving Benny you-look-like-a-goddamn-lunatic glares from the front desk. Benny was so bored that he eventually just tossed the door open, opting to watch the clouds roll across the sky for entertainment. He was watching a crow that had perched on the top of the big Strip gate when it began to roll open. He tried not to get his hopes up, but Benny’s pulse quickened with giddy anticipation that it might be her.

Benny’s shoulders slumped as he took in the person walking through the gate. Just some caravaneer, by the look of her stiff blue jeans and dreadfully practical floral button down. The caravaneer thumped her fingers against the brim of her cowboy hat that obscured her face to look about the Strip. Benny decided to be nice when she began walking toward The Tops and went to hold open the door for her. He was able to feign being a gentleman long enough to force a smile and say, “Welcome to The Tops Hotel and Casino!” The caravaneer surprised him by slowing to a near halt to give him a sincere “thank you” in a very familiar drawl.

Benny nearly tripped over his own feet following after her back into the main lobby. Now that he was behind her, he caught the sight of Aurora’s dark hair whipping back and forth across her back, secured in a tight plait. Swank looked up from his paperwork as she approached the front desk, his eyes widening ever so slightly as he dipped down to scan her face beneath the wide brim of her hat. Still, he put on a friendly grin and greeted her, “Welcome to The Tops! What can I do for you?”

Benny awkwardly darted around the front desk to join Swank. He’d been hoping to see her all day, but now that she was here he was so damned over-excited that he didn’t know what to do with himself. He watched with bated breath as she removed her cowboy hat to look Swank in the eye, her own drifting over to Benny for a fraction of a second.

“Good morning,” she said politely. “I was hoping to find some work here. Who would I need to talk to about that?”

“Well doll, I run the day-to-day around here, but Benny’s the real big-leaguer, so I suppose you’ll want to talk to him,” Swank explained to Aurora with a wide grin, clapping Benny on the shoulder and pushing him forward slightly.

She nodded and gave Benny an expectant look. God help him, she was so damned pretty. How the hell was he supposed to act like that little smile of hers didn’t affect him? Still, half a second too late, Benny managed to blurt out, “Tommy, our guy up in the theater, he’s been asking for some help finding performers lately. Why don’t I show you the way?”

She followed behind as he led her up the stairs to The Tops Theater. When he wasn’t looking at her face-on, Benny found he could think a little more coherently. “Not a lot of people hang around the Strip looking for work,” he said in an attempt to strike up conversation. “Just needing some caps?”

“I’ve got an… extenuating situation currently,” she replied. “I’m hoping to get a few quick jobs around here and Freeside.”

A brain-damaged broad wandering around Freeside alone. That sounded like a recipe for disaster. If this was all about money, well, he had more than enough of that. “Say, pussycat, if you want to stick around here and look pretty for me, I’ll throw enough dough your way that you won’t have to fret about caps ever again.” He looked over his shoulder and smiled down at her as he said his line, hoping his charm would work its usual magic. Other women seemed to like his sugar daddy shtick.

“Flattering,” she scoffed dryly, “but I prefer to actually be useful.”

“ Ouch,” Benny chuckled, trying to disguise his disappointment. “Whatever you say, doll.”

To his surprise, Aurora let out a warm, rich laugh and grabbed him by the elbow before he could go into the theater. “Sorry, I ain’t trying to hurt your ego, really. It’s just that I’ve just got a kid sister waiting for me in Freeside, so I need to make some real money, and day jobs are the best way for me to do that.”

Benny tried to pass off his fascination as polite, surface-level interest. “A sister, huh? Why not bring her onto the Strip with you? It’d certainly be safer for her here.”

Aurora laughed at him again as she grabbed the door handle to enter the theater. “And have her around that giant brothel that passes for a casino? Besides, the Followers take good care of her while I’m gone.” She clicked open the door and gave Benny a pointed look that made it clear she was done with small talk. “Anyways, thanks for pointing me toward some work. You said I should talk to a Tommy, right?”

“Tommy Torini,” he confirmed.

Aurora gave him a cordial tip of her hat before disappearing into The Tops Theater.

⸻

Benny lit another cigarette as he leaned against the wall outside of The Tops. It was getting late. Too late. Benny had managed to actually get some real, honest-to-God work done after Aurora had left the casino earlier in the day, much to Swank’s very annoying astonishment. But once night had settled in, Benny had planted himself in the corner of The Tops Theater to await Aurora returning to Tommy with some new acts. He’d waited one hour, then two, then three… She’d never showed.

It was almost midnight. Where the hell was she?

Aurora finally appeared when Benny was on his second pack of smokes. He wanted to dash down to her and ask what had taken so damn long, but of course since they were supposed to be strangers all he could do was give her a friendly nod. He held the door open for her just as he had in the morning, but right after she went through Swank came outside.

Swank waited for the door to close before he turned and gave Benny an exasperated look. “Alright boss, now that you know she’s okay, don’t you think it’s time to take a rest?”

Benny grumbled, “Don’t be such a mother hen.” Swank was right, though. It’d been over seventeen hours since Benny had woken up. He was running on fumes. His whole body felt heavy, and the neon lights outside were stinging his eyes.

The men both began the short walk to the elevator that would take them to the thirteenth floor. Benny was so tired that he slumped against the wall as they went up, his eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. Christ, city living was really making him soft.

When the elevator dinged both the Chairmen exited and began heading to their respective suites. They’d both only taken a few steps when Swank called out, “Boss, wait! You want to have a drink before we crash? You’ve had a hell of a day.”

Benny grumpily rubbed at his eyes and waved Swank off over his shoulder. “Can’t, I’ve got to get up in the morning!”

The last thing Benny heard as he closed his suite door was Swank groan, “You’re going to do this every day?”

Chapter Text

Three weeks flew by of Benny trying out new ways to ‘meet’ Aurora on the Strip. She sure as hell didn’t make it easy on him. He could never predict when she was going to pop by, although she did every day without fail. Swank eventually had the bright idea to order the greeter to stand outside the front door and keep an eye out for her so that Benny could actually get some work done on occasion. Days when she came by early were the best, kept him from getting too antsy.

Just because she came by didn’t mean he got to chat her up, though. Aurora would only stop to talk with Benny if she was already in The Tops and she was having one of her good days, which most were, thankfully. He’d learned pretty quickly that randomly approaching her in the street would earn him anything ranging from a polite smile with a, “Sorry, I’m busy," to a glare that could make the whole Mojave freeze over. Going into the Ultra-Luxe or Gomorrah would be a breach of the Family’s contract with House, so days she frequented those shit-joints were definitely the worst since he didn’t have a prayer of talking to her. On the rare occasion that happened, he always kept a vigil out in the street until he saw that she had safely left. He hated those creepy White Gloves and absolutely despised the degenerate Omertas. Those sleazy finks took advantage of any broad they could, so who knows what they’d do if they found out about Aurora’s condition?

Benny knew he was being overly paranoid on that front, though. Aurora never explicitly mentioned her condition to Benny or any of the other people he’d overheard her talking to. She was a clever woman, Benny’d come to learn. She was careful with her words, always direct and fair. She was kind too, unless he bothered her when she was in a sour mood. It was so strange, getting to know her through their limited interactions yet having to pretend like he didn’t know a damn thing about her.

“Boss!” Swank said, drawing Benny out of his thoughts. “You hear what I said? Aurora’s here. The guys said she went up to the theater.”

Benny followed Swank out of his suite and onto the elevator. They were silent as they rode down to the main floor, but Benny noticed Swank kept stealing glances at him.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Swank smirked. “You’ve just been looking better as of late, that’s all. Seems her coming around perked you back up.”

Benny didn’t respond, but he couldn’t help the grin that bloomed across his face. Brain damage notwithstanding, Aurora just being alive and around reinvigorated Benny.

After they arrived on the first floor the men separated. Swank headed for the front desk as Benny made his way up to the theater. Please let her like me today, Benny silently prayed as he slipped into the crowded room. It was only six o’clock, but several people were mingling about the theater this evening. Benny learned from Tommy that some scheduling conflict had meant he’d had to put one of their top acts, some guy who insisted on going by The Lonesome Drifter, in an earlier slot than usual. Benny didn’t really understand why the customers liked the guy so much. He found the comedian Aurora had recruited for them much more entertaining, but whatever got people in the door.

Benny eventually spotted Aurora sitting at one of the round tables near the front corner of the theater. There were several chairs densely crammed around the tiny table, but miraculously the one next to Aurora was unoccupied. He was glad the place was so packed, because it gave him the perfect excuse to go up and ask, “Mind if I sit here, doll?”

“Go ahead,” she said with a smile, her eyes never leaving the stage. Benny watched her as she tried to peek behind the curtains and spot the singer, then frowned at her Pip-Boy clock. Benny’d have to get Tommy to pencil in this guy for double performances if Aurora liked him so much. Eventually, one of the waiters working the theater noticed Benny and came over to their table. “Hey there boss, what can I get you?”

“Just a Sunset Sarsaparilla tonight, and whatever this girlie over here wants.”

Aurora finally tore her eyes away from the stage to shoot Benny a surprised glance. “I’ll take the same,” she told the waiter. The server quickly left then reappeared with their bottles. Aurora held hers up in a toast and flashed Benny a grin. “Thanks for the drink.” Benny clicked his bottle against hers lightly with a “Don’t mention it.” He thought she’d turn around to watch for the singer again, but it seemed he’d captured her interest for now. She examined him for a moment before sticking out her hand. “I’m Aurora.”

“Benny,” he replied, firmly grasping her palm as they shook hands.

The theater lights blinked to signal that the show was about to start, stealing her attention away from him. Benny couldn’t really be upset though, not with how happy she looked as she glued her eyes to the stage. People hooted and hollered as the singer came out with his guitar in hand, Aurora the loudest of them all. A hush overcame the customers as The Lonesome Drifter began his set, but slowly people began to softly sing along, then men took their girls by the hand to lead in dance. The singer’s opening number was a good one for it, lively and fast-paced. Benny quickly downed his entire soda, then stood and stretched out his hand toward Aurora.

“Oh no, I’m a terrible dancer!” she objected.

Benny didn’t give her the option to refuse. He took both of her hands into his and pulled until she was forced to stand. Aurora shook her head as he set one hand on her hip and intertwined his other with hers. “They’re your toes, I guess,” she giggled.

She really was an awful dancer. Benny’s shoes were going to need a hell of a polishing and his toes would be numb in the morning, but it was worth it to hear her laugh every time he twirled her fast and feel her soft hair brush against his chin. Eventually the song ended, but Benny didn’t let Aurora go, and she didn’t pull away from him. Instead, they adjusted to slowly spin to the sad tune the singer began, a morbid song about a cowboy dying in New Reno. Aurora let out a forlorn-sounding sigh and rested her head on Benny’s shoulder.

“Depressing number, isn’t it?” Benny said, annoyed that the singer had put her in an off mood.

“Yeah, but I like it.” She lifted her head as she added, “I’ve been to New Reno. It’s a depressing place, so the song fits.”

“Is it?” Benny asked. “I’ve heard it’s a lot like Vegas.”

Aurora twirled beneath Benny’s arm before spinning back toward his chest again. “In some ways it is. There’s casinos, hookers, every vice you could want. It ain’t like here though, with those fancy robots keeping the peace. Can’t walk ten feet without a man trying to shake you down or get in your pants. Vegas might be called Sin City, but Reno’s actually hell on earth.”

Benny wanted to ask her so many things, about all the places she’d traveled, the people she’d met, what she wanted out of life, but for now he decided to settle on asking her where she was from. That was an okay question for a stranger to ask, wasn’t it?

She smiled at his inquiry, her nose scrunching up. “Far off. You’ve never heard of where I’m from.”

“C’mon pussycat, try me.”

“I promise you haven’t!” she laughed. “It’s a little nowhere spot out in the Chihuahuan Desert, in the remnants of Texas. It’s Legion territory now, but when I was a kid there wasn’t any civilization at all.”

Benny hadn’t looked at an Old World map in years, but he knew that the area she spoke of was far, far away from Vegas. She was even more well-traveled than he’d guessed.

Suddenly, Aurora dropped Benny’s hand, even though the song wasn’t over yet. She was looking at a spot just behind his shoulder as she exclaimed, “Pa? What’re you doing here?”

Benny whipped around to see Aurora’s father leaning against the wall, staring at them both with a very twitchy Swank by his side. Raleigh smiled, his eyes crinkling as his daughter approached him and moved in for a half-hug.

“Just stopping to catch the show before I handle some business. Who’s your friend here?”

“Just a guy I was sharing a table with.” Ouch. Benny didn’t even warrant a name drop. “Well, if you’re going to be hanging around here I’ll go back to the Old Mormon Fort with Adrianne.” Aurora turned and gave Benny a wave before pushing her way through the crowd to exit the theater.

Raleigh waited until he saw Aurora go through the doors before he addressed Benny. “Glad to see you heeded my advice,” he said dryly. “I need you to come with me to Freeside. I want to show you something.”

Chapter Text

Against Swank’s objections, Benny agreed to travel to Freeside with Raleigh. He was almost completely sure the guy wasn’t going to try to kill him. Almost. They were generally silent as they headed toward the Old Mormon Fort, but Benny could feel Aurora’s father watching him. Benny was using the opportunity to size up the other man as well. He noticed how wide of a berth the Freeside vagrants made around Raleigh, despite the desperate, envious stares they shot at Benny himself.

“What is it you do for work again?” Benny asked, feeling that he already knew the answer.

Raleigh kept his gaze trained on a particularly strung-out-looking junkie passing by as he replied, “I’m a bodyguard. Get city folk like you to the Strip in one piece.”

City folk like you. Benny could tell from the way he said it that Raleigh thought he was soft. Better than him suspecting the truth, though.

“Adrianne!” Raleigh called out as they approached the Old Mormon Fort. “What’d I tell you about hanging out outside this near dark?”

The girl who must be Adrianne looked up from the book she was reading toward the men. Whenever Aurora mentioned her kid sister, Benny had always pictured a younger version of her in his head, or at least something close. The teenager before him, however, looked nothing at all like her father or sister. This girl had rich russet skin with curly hair so big it added half a foot to her short stature. Benny noticed as the girl approached them that she didn’t even have the pale brown eyes that both Aurora and her father had. Instead, hers were a deep green that were magnified by a pair of glasses as thick as the bottom of a Nuka-Cola bottle. How strange that people could share blood yet look so completely different.

“Is this him?” Adrianne asked her father excitedly. She didn’t wait for a response before she leaned in close to Benny’s face and stared at him with fascination. “Are you Benancio?”

Benny grinned at her and stuck out his hand. “I am, but just Benny’s fine. You must be Aurora’s baby sister.”

Adrianne shook his hand, awkwardly turning his arm so she could gape at her sister’s name on his wrist. Rather than letting go, she tightened her grip on his palm and started tugging him toward the big doors of the Old Mormon Fort. “C’mon, me and Pa wanted you to see something.”

Once they were inside, Raleigh and Adrianne quickly ushered Benny behind one of the random canvas tents that lined the inner courtyard of the ancient fort. Adrianne held a finger to her lips in a shush gesture as she pointed toward the center of the courtyard. Benny spotted Aurora sitting on top of a table, one leg lazily dangling off the edge. Her dark hair was let loose from her usual braid and hung down her back, shining in the last rays of golden sunlight. A small smile was on her face while she sang quietly to herself, her attention trained on her Pip-Boy, which was off her arm and in her hands so she could use both thumbs to quickly click on it over and over again.

Raleigh leaned close to Benny and whispered, “Adrianne was snooping through the diary Aurora keeps on there and noticed she kept mentioning meeting a man on the Strip. We figured out she only sings on the days she meets this guy. I put two and two together pretty quick.”

Benny had honestly thought Aurora barely took note of him when they met. It made his chest feel hot knowing that he at least had some effect on her. “What’s she say about me?” he murmured to Adrianne.

“It’s different each time. I didn’t realize it was the same man every day until Pa put it together.” The teenager giggled as she added, “She says you’re handsome and charming sometimes.”

“I seem to recall ‘pompous’ and ‘conceited’ being used more than a few times as well,” Raleigh snickered. He then tapped Benny on the shoulder and gestured for him to follow. They went to an unoccupied corner of the courtyard that was hidden by several wooden crates so they could speak more freely, Adrianne following close behind.

“Let me ask you, what’s in this for you?” Raleigh questioned with crossed arms.

“They’re soulmates , Pa!” Adrianne interjected, as if that fact made Benny’s motives crystal clear. Benny had to smile at the childish simplicity in her worldview, especially considering that it was damn near right on the money. Aurora’s father would want a more serious answer, though.

“I’m not sure,” Benny answered honestly. “I just… want to be near her, even if it’s only for a little bit each day.”

“That is so romantic!” Adrianne gushed. Raleigh rolled his eyes, but Benny thought he saw some agreement behind the derision. “Stay inside now,” he ordered his younger daughter. “I’ll be back after I take Benny home.”

Benny assured Raleigh that he didn’t need an escort, but the older man insisted. About halfway between the Old Mormon Fort and the main Strip gate, Raleigh broke the silence by suddenly telling Benny, “When the girls were younger, I used to work part of the year as a caravan guard. I’d be gone for months sometimes. The girls’ mother would always sing on the day I came home.”

“Like Aurora,” Benny breathed.

Raleigh looked down at his wrist, his fingers lightly grazing along each letter of his soulmate’s name. Benny noticed that the name, Jasmine, was bold and lavish, just like Benny’s was on Aurora’s wrist.

“Adrianne has a real romantic notion about soulmates and love, I suppose from seeing me and her mother together. Aurora’s always been my more serious one, doesn’t really buy into things like fate or destiny. Her singing after meeting you every day, though… it makes a man think.”

Benny raised a brow at him. “You think she’s remembering me? Just a little?”

“No,” Raleigh quickly corrected, “that’s not what I meant. That’s not possible. ”

Benny sighed and plucked his pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket. He set the smoke between his lips and lit it, taking a long drag before he said, “I take it the Followers haven’t made any progress?”

“Son, I told you that her memory might never work properly again.”

Benny stopped walking, bringing them to a halt less than thirty feet from the Strip’s entry gate. “Let me ask you something. What’s going to happen down the line? It’s only been a few months right now, but time’s going to keep passing. She’s going to wake up one day and realize that ten years have gone by. What then?” Benny hadn’t let himself dwell on it, but he needed to know. He couldn’t spend the rest of his life pretending like he and Aurora were strangers when he saw her. Something had to give.

Raleigh gave Benny a hard, measured look. “You know something, son? I worry about that every damn day of my life.”

⸻

Benny stared at the ceiling of his suite, thinking about nothing and everything all at once. His head and heart were a mess, a jumble of emotions that he couldn’t even begin to untangle. Benny absently pulled the last puff he could off of his cigarette. He tossed the end of it into an ashtray before taking Maria out of his inner jacket pocket. He ran his thumb along the faded image of the Virgin Mary’s face stamped onto the grips and remembered the day Abuelita had passed their family gun down to him, and how happy he’d felt. How ironic that the same pistol he’d used to maim his soulmate could bring him comfort now. 

“I don’t know what I should do, abuela,” he whispered aloud. He looked up to the ceiling again, not sure if he was addressing his grandmother, God, or maybe just anyone in the whole universe who might listen. “Please, ayúdame. I don’t know how to help her. Please, please , please send me a sign to tell me what I should do.”

Chapter Text

“Could you at least try for the ashtray?” Swank grumbled at Benny, using his finger to flick the still-smoldering cherry from Benny’s cigarette into the ceramic dish from where it had fallen on the front desk.

“She’s come to the Strip every single day. Why not today?” Benny fretted, completely ignoring Swank’s complaint.

Swank looked at the clock on the wall behind him. “It’s only 9:30. She could still drop by.”

Benny scoffed and took another hard drag off his cigarette. Aurora always stopped by the Strip at least once a day, and it was always before sundown. Why was today different? 

“That’s it,” he sighed, stamping out the small remainder of his smoke in the ashtray. “I’m going to go to Freeside and talk to her dad.”

“Figured you would,” Swank chuckled goodnaturedly, giving Benny a light wave as he exited the casino.

A hundred horrible scenarios ran through Benny’s mind as he hurried over to the Old Mormon Fort. Aurora being hassled by some Freeside thug, getting ill from exposure to the Followers’ patients, or the most terrible, she went out into the Mojave alone and had gotten hurt or lost. She’d eventually have to go to sleep, and then she’d wake up frightened and confused… Benny’s feet picked up speed as his worries grew worse and worse.

Benny was panting hard by the time he reached the doors of the Old Mormon Fort, and his heartbeat was so loud in his own ears that it drowned out the various sounds around Freeside. However, it wasn’t loud enough to cover the shouts that were steadily coming closer and closer to the entrance. Multiple people were hollering, but Benny’s ears honed in on one voice in particular, the only one that mattered to him in the world at that moment.

“You ain’t got the goddamn right to keep me here, Pa! I’m a grown woman and you’ve got no right to keep me locked up here!”

“Aurora -” Benny heard Raleigh shout, sounding much farther away and calm than his daughter. “What’re- stop, damn it! You can’t leave!”

One of the doors suddenly burst open. Benny stepped back just in time so that it didn’t smash him in the face. Aurora stepped out onto the sidewalk. Benny’s relief that she was safe was quickly extinguished when he saw the hysterical gleam in her teary eyes and the way her shoulders shook with hard fury. She didn’t give him a single glance as she took off in a full-out sprint down the street, straight toward the gate to leave Freeside. Raleigh called out her name once more, but she didn’t slow at all. Benny turned to stare at his soulmate’s father, his mouth agape with shock. “What the hell happened?”

Raleigh turned his scowling face toward Benny, as if just noticing him for the first time. “Benny… You! You can go after her!”

“Me?”

“She might run if Pa goes to get her,” Adrianne said, peeking her head out from the doorway. “Please Benny? You can’t let Aurora run away! What if she doesn’t come back?”

Benny cast his bewilderment aside. It wasn’t important right now. “I’ll bring her home, I promise,” he swore to the distressed teenage girl. There wasn’t a moment to lose. Benny turned to tear off after Aurora, moving quickly despite already being tired from practically running all the way to Freeside.

Although she was faster than him, Benny didn’t have much difficulty locating Aurora after the Kings that lingered outside of Freeside’s main gate pointed him in the right direction. The flat, barren landscape of the Mojave didn’t provide many hiding places. He caught up with her only about two miles outside of the city. She’s slowed to a seemingly directionless walk, her pace and path changing erratically. Benny slowed to a gait barely quicker than her’s, both so he could catch his breath and so he wouldn’t startle her by approaching too fast. He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes to wipe the sweat from his face once he’d decided it was time to go talk to her, but when he opened them again, she was gone. Benny frantically scanned the whole area before him. It was all empty, flat desert aside from an old Sunset Sarsaparilla billboard to the left of him, only about forty feet forward. Benny jogged up to the billboard and dashed behind it, knowing logically that she had to be there but still anxious that somehow she wouldn’t be.

Big mistake. The second Benny was behind the billboard he was harshly thrown into one of the poster’s metal support beams. Before he could react, a hand closed around one of his wrists, and the other was literally pinned to the billboard by a knife through his jacket sleeve. God damn , that was going to be a pain to sew back pretty. Benny’s eyes darted down from his ruined suit sleeve down to his assailant, his very pissed-looking soulmate. “Why are you following me?” Aurora snarled.

He spread his fingers wide and kept his arms slack to show he wasn’t a threat. “Your little sister asked me to come get you,” Benny answered honestly.

Aurora’s eyelashes, damply darkened with tears, fluttered in surprise. She looked Benny up and down suspiciously. “Why?”

Benny paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. There was no other way of getting her to trust him right now that he could think of. “Look at my wrist, the one you’ve got nailed down with your knife.”

Even with the full moon shining down on them, Aurora had to stand on the tips of her toes and lean all of her weight on Benny to stretch close enough to read the name on his wrist. It was a stupid thing to notice right now, considering the position she had him in, but Benny could smell wafts of sweet, earthy agave on the wayward strands of Aurora’s hair that brushed past his nose. The Tops was filled with enough pre-war soap to last the Chairmen several lifetimes, so they had no need to make or purchase the yucca or agave soaps that the majority of people in the Mojave used. Benny hadn’t realized he missed the scent until he smelled it lingering on Aurora’s scalp.

Benny forced himself to focus on her face rather than getting lost in his infatuation. Aurora didn’t show any reaction to seeing her name on Benny’s wrist, her expression entirely blank. She yanked her knife away to free his pinned sleeve, simultaneously loosening her grip on his other arm. She stumbled several feet to the side, leaning heavily on the billboard for support. Benny couldn’t help but follow her, but he stopped himself from touching her in any manner. After all, he was a man she didn’t know.

After a long, long time of total silence, Aurora murmured, “The Followers said there’s nothing else they can do for me.”

“ What? ” Benny asked stupidly.

Aurora finally turned around, everything about her emanating defeat. “They did a bunch of testing and scans today, said they were all inconclusive. They don’t have the tech they need at their base to continue trying to fix me. Told me it would be a waste of everyone’s time to keep at it.”

“That’s bullshit!” Benny growled. “We’ll find you some better doctors if the Followers aren’t up to the task!”

“Some of their top specialists have examined me without any luck,” Aurora said dejectedly. “They told me tonight that there’s only one doctor any of them know of that might be able to help me.” Aurora looked down and clicked some buttons on her Pip-Boy before sticking her arm out so Benny could examine the screen. On it was a detailed map of the Mojave with the coordinates of several locations marked, both current and Old World. Aurora pointed to a spot in the uppermost left corner, a tiny dot far off from everything else. When she clicked on the spot, a note popped up next to it. Jacobstown - Dr. Henry (neuroscientist), friendly super mutant colony, route danger level: unknown.

“The Followers told me that this guy, Dr. Henry, is the only person who might be able to fix my head.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Aurora glared at Benny like he was a complete idiot. “Do you see how far this place is from Vegas? It’s a three-day journey, minimum. I can’t go alone, and Pa can’t come with me since someone’s got to watch over Adrianne.”

“That’s no problem,” Benny attempted to soothe. “We can send a letter to Jacobstown and ask him to come to you. I’ll pay whatever it takes to get him down here.”

Aurora let out a snort, her eyes drifting from Benny’s face down to his shoes. He was glad to see her smile for a moment, but the grin went as quickly as it came. “That wouldn’t help,” she sighed. “The Followers said that Dr. Henry doesn’t leave the mountain for any reason. I’d have to go to him.”

“Well, then I’ll take you,” Benny decided then and there. He’d do anything if it meant helping Aurora, and it gave him the chance to atone for his sin against her.

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t accept his offer. “How would that work? I’d be waking up with some strange man that I don’t know on a mission to receive treatment for an injury I wouldn’t remember getting.”

Benny pressed his lips into a thin line but didn’t argue. How could he?

She began to flick through other tabs on her Pip-Boy, settling on a page screen that was packed with lots of tiny text.

“You’re not in my journal. How long have we known each other?”

“About… a month? I usually don’t show you my arm, though, so you end up putting me down as some random cat you met.”

Aurora scrunched her nose. “Why don’t you show me? Did Pa tell you not to?”

She clicked her tongue when Benny nodded. “Well, that’s ridiculous. I’m putting you in my journal so I don’t forget you anymore, okay?”

“I’ve got to admit, it’ll be nice to not pretend like I’ve never met you before,” Benny smiled. He watched as Aurora created a new file on her Pip-Boy and entitled it ‘Benancio’.

“Just ‘Benny’ is fine,” he corrected.

Aurora obligingly changed the name and flashed him a grin as she said, “Less of a mouthful than Benancio, I suppose.”

“Yeah, you said that the first time we met, too.”

A hint of shock passed over Aurora’s face, but she seemed to brush it off. “Hold still,” she commanded. Benny blinked hard when her Pip-Boy suddenly flashed him with a bright light that was accompanied by a loud click!

Benny peered in confusion at the Pip-Boy screen as his eyes reacclimated after the flash. There was a photo next to the file named after him now — a picture Aurora had just taken of him.

“That thing can take pictures like a camera?” he asked incredulously.

“And play holotapes, too! The audio and visual kind. The doctor who patched me up after my accident gave it to me, or so my pa says.”

Aurora kept babbling about her Pip-Boy and father at Benny, but he only heard every other word. He’d prayed that God would send him some sort of sign on how to help Aurora, but it seemed the Big Man Upstairs had decided to sidestep all the vagueness for once and beamed an idea straight into Benny’s skull.

Ring-a- fucking -ding, he actually had an idea that might help her.

Chapter Text

The sunrise was beautiful. After House had moved the Family onto the Strip, Benny had become a creature of the night, only seeing the dawn if he’d stayed up all night partying. In his old life, however, when he walked the Mojave, watching the sunrise had been a daily ritual. No matter what else was wrong in his life — if there hadn’t been enough food for everyone the night before, if he’d gotten scolded by Bingo for showing cowardice while he scalped someone — Benny knew that at least he could lay down in the dirt and watch the sky bend and bleed a million colors as the sun rose. Benny’d given up those simpler pleasures when his life on the Strip began, though. He just felt like there wasn’t time for silly stuff like watching the sunrise every day. But now, as Benny waited in the Old Mormon Fort with Raleigh and Adrianne for Aurora to wake up, he allowed himself to take comfort in the early morning light.

Adrianne flitted around the table the two men were sitting at, setting out plates of food for their breakfast as she kept shooting nervous glances at the canvas tent Aurora was sleeping in. The teenager caught Benny watching her and gave him a smile so tight it verged on a grimace. “Are you sure the holotape you made will explain everything?”

“It’ll sure be a hell of a lot faster than her reading everything in her Pip-Boy files,” Raleigh answered his daughter in Benny’s stead. He turned his gaze onto Benny as he continued, “Although, I still ain’t sure she’ll want you to escort her to Jacobstown. Even with you explaining things in the holotape.”

Benny prayed that Raleigh was wrong. He’d thought of everything Aurora would need to be told every day and had Swank help him record and cut the video last night. It began with Raleigh explaining what had happened to her, from the robbery to her brain damage. It’d been hard for Benny to appear calm and collected while Raleigh recounted what it was like to get a letter that his daughter was in some strange town in Nevada recovering from a bullet to the skull. Benny hadn’t given Swank much direction on what to keep and edit from that part, but thankfully Swank seemed to mistake Benny’s guilt as aversion to hearing about Aurora being attacked. The second act was of one of the Follower doctors, Julie Farkas, explaining details of Aurora’s current condition and how the doctor in Jacobstown might help. The final part of the video was of Benny introducing himself and recounting some of their meetings on the Strip, then showing the marking on his wrist and promising to protect and help her however he could. He could only hope that the holotape, along with her diary entries, would be enough to help her understand everything, and to risk putting herself in his hands to visit the doctor.

They all sat still and quiet when they heard a shuffling come from Aurora’s tent. Raleigh had put the holotape in the designated slot in Aurora’s Pip-Boy, with its taped-on title, Watch Me! facing out. All she had to do was stay calm enough to play it.

Adrianne let out a relieved sigh when they all heard the audio from the holotape coming from the tent in quiet snippets. Benny and Raleigh shared a small smile, Benny’s a little wider since Raleigh had doubted Benny’s idea in the first place. The holotape really wasn’t that long, maybe seven minutes, but it felt like a lifetime waiting to see how Aurora would react once it finished playing.

Almost immediately after the audio faded out, Aurora finally emerged from her tent. Her expression was eerily tranquil. She swiftly looked out over the courtyard, her eyes quickly finding her family — and Benny — sitting at the nearby table. A peculiar squeak escaped her right before she turned around and violently vomited into a rusted bucket on the ground behind her.

Benny was up in an instant. Without thinking, he touched his hand to the small of her back in a comforting gesture. “You alright, baby?”

Aurora jumped at the contact and gave him a wild-eyed stare, her palm to her mouth. Benny dropped his hand to his side and tried to think of something to say, but Adrianne saved him any further awkwardness. “There’s a pump to go brush your teeth at over there,” she told her sister, pointing toward the water pump with a toothbrush. As soon as Aurora took it, Adrianne wrapped her hand around Benny’s arm and started pulling him away. “It’s best to give her a bit of time in the morning, so she can adjust.”

Benny allowed Adrianne to push his shoulders down so he’d sit in his chair again, but his eyes never left Aurora. She seemed to almost be sleepwalking as she walked over to the water pump and began splashing the trickle it offered onto her face.

Raleigh rapped his knuckles on the table to get Benny’s attention. “It helps if we act casual. She’s a tough girl, she’ll come over when she’s ready to talk.”

Adrianne and Raleigh had a much easier time going about their breakfast than Benny did. He didn’t taste his barrel cactus fruits or his bighorner cheese as he nibbled on them. He barely heard Adrianne telling her father about the new romance book one of the Follower guards had given her. He was entirely too focused on Aurora to notice or care about anything else.

Only after she’d washed her face, brushed her teeth, and gone into her tent for over fifteen minutes did Aurora join them at the table. Some color had returned to her face, but she wasn’t looking at any of them, for her eyes were vacantly focused on the table. Adrianne went and stooped by her sister’s chair to give her a squeeze around the shoulders. “Morning!” she said cheerily. “You alright?”

Aurora blinked and cleared her throat before patting the teenager’s arm. “Of course, little bluebonnet. You mind getting me something to eat?”

As the girl scampered off, Raleigh looked up from the magazine he was reading and casually queried, “So, the holotape. Did it explain things well enough? Do you have anything you want to ask us?”

Aurora looked back and forth between Benny and her father. “Um… how many times have I watched it? The holotape?”

Raleigh seemed surprised by her question. “Today was the first time. Benny thought it might help to have a video of all of us answering your questions instead of just reading your diary on there.”

“A diary?” Aurora flicked through the tabs on her Pip-Boy. Benny could see from his chair when she found it, along with a pinned note at the top, the one she’d named after him. When she clicked it, the photo she’d taken last night popped up along with a wall of text. Aurora quickly read whatever it was she’d written about him between a few stolen glances in his direction.

Adrianne returned with a plate of food as soon as Aurora had finished reading. Benny was relieved to see that she seemed to be regaining her composure. She dug into her breakfast ravenously, probably since she’d lost everything in her stomach earlier.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked, looking around the table. “For me getting to this doctor, I mean?”

“Well, that’s part of the reason we wanted to test the holotape,” Raleigh answered. “Obviously I can’t take you, since someone needs to stay with Adrianne.” The teenager started to protest, but her father gave her a warning look that made her quiet down almost immediately. “And it’d be dangerous for you to go alone, so Benny’s offered to take you. He thought that maybe the tape could help keep you on track each day til you make it to Jacobstown.”

To Benny’s shock — and probably everyone’s, really — Aurora instantly nodded. “Sounds as smart a plan as any. When are we leaving?”

Raleigh and Adrianne began to talk over one another in a confusing jumble. “Are you sure you don’t want to think-”

“You’ve got about two hundred caps in your footlocker for supplies-”

“Damn it, slow down Adrianne, she hasn’t even-”

“ Pa, you said yourself this was the only way-”

Benny could see Aurora’s lips quivering as she fought to keep them from turning downward, her eyes growing glassy. For God’s sake, did they have to overwhelm her more than she already was? Benny slapped his hand down onto the table to get their attention. “ That’s enough,” he snapped in a tone he normally only reserved for the most serious of scoldings toward his subordinate Chairmen. Adrianne gawked at him, looking rather shamefaced, which made Benny feel a little bad since she was just a kid. Raleigh, however, looked weirdly impressed. Benny could worry about them later, though. He gently rested his hand on top of Aurora’s on the table, keeping his touch loose in case she wanted to pull away. “We can leave whenever you want, but we should at least wait until the day after tomorrow so we can get supplies and I can make arrangements for my absence at the casino.”

Aurora flashed him a small smile and flipped her wrist around to give Benny’s fingers a light squeeze. “Yeah, that’d probably be best.” For just a second, with her warm touch against him like that, Benny could’ve sworn he heard a chorus of angels singing, because he was obviously in Heaven.

Chapter Text

It was cool, unusually so — that was the first thing Benny noticed. The second was that he could hear soft humming nearby. He turned around and saw his grandmother sitting in the dirt, the bright moonlight making her salt-and-pepper hair seem to twinkle just like the stars in the sky. The wrinkled corners of her mouth turned up as he crouched to sit with her on the dusty ground. She turned her attention toward the dirt in front of her and began to rake her fingers across it, removing a palmful of the earth each time.

“What are you doing, Abuelita?” Benny questioned.

“Oh, I’m just trying to help her out. You packed the grave so tightly, child.”

“The grave?” Benny examined the dirt before him more carefully. Although it had been packed densely, it was obvious that the loamy sand had been tilled recently. Benny had a strange, irresistible impulse to bury his fingers in the dirt. He almost felt as if it were calling to him as he tentatively poked into it, expecting a fair amount of tension and resistance from the compacted soil. Instead, his whole hand sank into the dirt as if it were as thin as water. Benny gasped and yanked his hand away, but it was too late. The grave had somehow transformed into a pit of quicksand that grew too swiftly to be outran. Benny grabbed Abuelita’s hand and tried to stand, but the earth was swallowing him too quickly. He clutched onto his grandmother as firmly as he could manage, prepared to die. However, just before his shoulders dipped beneath the surface he felt his body still. Benny saw that Abuelita was standing safely out of the quicksand’s reach, allowing her to keep him barely afloat with her delicate grasp.

His abuela’s face was impassive as she said, “Your lies are going to swallow you up, Benancio.” Before Benny could ask what she meant, his grandmother released her hold on his hand and watched as he fell into the crushing abyss.

Benny choked and gagged on the sand for what felt like an eternity, his thrashing and attempts to kick free of the quicksand seemingly having no effect, until Benny suddenly felt a different sensation with his foot. He desperately pushed toward the new feeling, eager to escape the tight pressure of the quicksand. He fought until he was able to break out into a new space, one bright and warm rather than being occupied by the ever-compressing earth. Benny blindly threw his hands outward until he felt a solid, stable surface. He yanked himself upward until he suddenly found himself emerging onto a mire of blood and viscera. Benny seemed to have entered a world where no other color existed than the vermillion of fresh gore. Panic hammered through him as he looked out onto a flat expanse that consisted of absolutely nothing other than that awful, instinctually frightening shade of red. He looked down, deciding that swimming aimlessly in the quicksand would be preferable to staying here. But now, when Benny pushed his hand toward the ground it had no real give, just a hardness slightly lessened by the squelch of tiny bits of flesh carpeting the earth. Even more terrifying than the realization that he couldn’t escape the same way he’d entered was the reflection Benny saw on the ground. The blood was so glossy that it was mirror-like, creating a nearly perfect likeness of the entire environment, Benny included. He could see how the blood had slicked his chin-length hair down to his face and neck, how it sank into the individual gaps between his teeth and made them appear animalistically sharp and prominent. The gore clung to him so thoroughly that it entirely drowned out the striking blue scales of the fire gecko pelt he wore around his waist, instead painting them in the all-encompassing red as well.

Without warning, Benny was flung several feet across the blood swamp. His ribs burned horribly and made a crackling sound with each of his ragged coughs. He forced himself to look up and identify his assailant. Across the hellish bog he saw a beast approaching him, a devil as thickly coated in blood as Benny himself was. It seemed as if the gore-laden ground had turned to glue, because no matter how hard Benny fought he couldn’t seem to stand. He had to watch helplessly as the shadowy devil came closer. The creature took its time, taunting him with its slowness as it neared. A beam of light moved across the mire when it was only a few feet away, allowing Benny to see it in all its terrible glory for the first time. He let out a horror-struck gasp as he realized his attacker was no creature or demon, but was in fact a man. A man he knew.

Bingo.

The chief loomed over Benny, a horrible sneer on his face. “Back here again, you little coward?” the large man boomed. Benny, still frozen to the ground, was roughly lifted by his arm so that he was forced to stand. Bingo walked a few feet away into one of the blood pools of the hell swamp, as if certain that Benny wouldn’t dare try to run. Bingo bent down and felt deep into the blood pool, having to go elbow-deep until he found what he was looking for. A sickening grin bloomed across his face as he lifted a woman up from the blood and tossed her at Benny’s feet.

The middle-aged woman was the very definition of pathetic, all the way from her matted copper hair to her extremely rotted teeth, down to her desperate cries to be shown mercy. Bingo kicked a foot into her frail hip, which jutted out from malnourishment. She screamed in agony and called out for help.

“Boy, boy, please don’t let him kill me,” she begged when Benny made eye contact. “Don’t let me die here!”

Bingo crunched down on her, allowing his weight to crack at her bones. “I’m not going to kill you. He is.”

Benny could hear his already fast breaths come in even quicker. He looked down at his trembling hand to see a knife there.

“I-I can’t!” he choked out. “Please don’t make me.”

He could hear objections leaving his lips, but it was as if he wasn’t in control of his own body anymore. Benny’s feet moved forward all on their own until he was standing right behind the haggard woman. One hand snatched her dirty curls into his grip while the other positioned the blade of the knife right along her hairline.

“Bingo, please don’t make me do this!” Benny screeched.

The woman let out a feral scream of agony as the knife began to cut through her scalp, releasing an impossibly gigantic gush of blood out onto Benny’s arm. Even though he willed his body to stop moving, his arm just kept sawing through the woman’s skin as if it were no thicker than paper. Benny watched in transfixed horror as her scalp finally tore loose from the rest of her head, sending her convulsing body in a heap onto the damp ground of the blood mire.

Bingo let out a thunderous laugh that seemed to reverberate through Benny’s skull. He shrieked, clenched his eyes shut at the painfully loud noise, and begged Bingo to stop.

Surprisingly, all the noise did cease. Benny opened his eyes to look at Bingo, but the horrid old monster was nowhere to be seen. Benny’s labored breathing slowed some, allowing him enough air that he felt he could think a little more clearly. He let out a shaky sigh and forced himself to look at the scalp that he held in his trembling hand. When he lifted it to eye level, the skin was attached not to a mess of tangled copper hair, but rather to a sleek length of coffee-colored tresses. Benny dropped the scalp he’d taken to the ground and snapped his head down to examine the corpse of the woman he’d just murdered. The pitiful old tribal was gone, but the spot where her body had fallen was occupied by another cadaver.

One with very familiar, lifeless pale brown eyes.

⸻

Benny awoke with a strangled sound somewhere between a wail and a groan clawing its way out of his chest. Sticky, hot sweat coated his naked body so thickly and thoroughly that it soaked his sheets and made them adhere to his skin. He angrily kicked them off and onto the floor as he tried to calm his pounding heart. Inhala, exhala, he reminded himself. Abuelita had always said that when his panic overwhelmed him. He took a deep breath and held it in his lungs for a moment before slowly pushing it completely out. It’s okay. She’s okay. I’m okay.

Benny looked at the little mechanical clock on his nightstand. It was already almost 7:30. He’d told Aurora that he’d come to the Old Mormon Fort at eight sharp to pick her up and begin their journey.

He showered and dressed quickly, not even stopping for a smoke or snack. The elevator ride down to the ground floor gave him enough time to settle the nerves his nightmare had frayed in him. He needed to fucking focus. He had Aurora to think about, and the trip ahead. This was no time for getting all freaked out over ghosts from his past.

“Heading out!” Benny called to Swank with a wave as he entered the front lobby. “Take care of the place while I’m gone.”

“Hold up a second, boss,” Swank said. He came out from around the front desk and unexpectedly opened Benny’s front jacket pocket to drop a little box of 9mm ammo inside.

“What, think I’m such a numbskull that I didn’t pack a little extra for the road?” Benny laughed.

“‘Course not,” Swank grinned. “It’s just… well, it’s been a long time since we’ve really been out there. Best not to get caught unprepared.” His smile faltered a little, his expression turning more serious. “I really hope that doctor can help your girl out.”

“Me too. But if he can’t, then we’ll just have to find someone who can.” Benny clapped Swank’s shoulder before continuing on his way out to the Strip.

Chapter Text

The Old Mormon Fort was a flurry of activity, as it seemed to be every time Benny stopped by. Still, Aurora and her family were easy to find among the sea of white coats. Aurora looked startlingly similar to how she had the night that Benny had ambushed her, completely armed to the teeth with a shotgun strapped to her back and knives in holsters around her thighs. She at least kept her face uncovered, although it was partially obscured by her well-worn rawhide cowboy hat.

“You’re really going to wear that to cross the damn desert?” Raleigh called out, waving to Benny from the crate he sat on top of.

Aurora slapped her father’s knee and hissed at him not to be rude. “I’m sorry about him,” she apologized. She took a tentative step toward Benny, her arms half-extended as if she might hug him. Benny reacted a bit late, unsure of how much contact she would welcome today. His hesitance seemed to make her feel awkward, because she dropped her arms and cleared her throat. “So…are you ready to leave?”

“Hold on,” Raleigh interjected. He cast another scornful glance at Benny’s outfit, his brows furrowed. “You at least got a waterskin and weapons hidden in the pockets of that flashy suit?”

Aurora cut her father another glare, but Benny couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, sir. I know how to stay alive out there. I’ll take good care of your daughter, I promise.”

“She can take care of herself. Just make sure she gets where she needs to go, okay?” Raleigh dropped the tough dad routine for a moment and held out his hand to Benny. He clasped Benny’s fingers tightly as he sincerely said, “Thank you for taking her.”

Raleigh gave Aurora a quick one-armed squeeze before stomping off. Benny could swear he saw a shine in the rough man’s eyes as he took one final look back at his oldest child.

Adrianne was much more excited about Aurora leaving. She was all smiles as she hugged her sister and whispered enthusiastically in her ear. Benny had a sneaking suspicion from how the teenager kept glancing his direction that he was the topic at hand.

“Okay, okay, I will!” Aurora chuckled in response to whatever it was her sister had said. Her expression grew somber as she took the girl’s face into her hands. “My little bluebonnet. I’ve got a present for you.” Aurora pulled a piece of paper out of her back jean pocket and unfolded it, revealing her Strip passport. Adrianne squealed with delight as she snatched up the pass and threw her arms around her sister again.

Aurora returned her embrace but said very sternly, “Now listen, I’m giving that to you because I know you’re going to use your good judgment and not get into any trouble over there. And absolutely no going anywhere near the Gomorrah.”

Adrianne nodded vehemently. Kid probably would’ve agreed to anything to keep that pass. She held it up in Benny’s face. “ I’m going to see the casinos!”

Benny felt a pang of worry about Adrianne exploring the Strip alone. She was certainly old enough, hell, he had kids her age working at The Tops, but the teenager really did seem a little young in her way. It’d be best to try to regulate her to The Tops, since the most mischief she could get up to there was gambling too much or sneaking a beer. “Either of you ladies got a pen?” Benny asked. Adrianne raised a quizzical brow at him but pulled a pencil out from her dress pocket. He gestured for her to hand over the pass. He scribbled a note on the back addressed to Swank and instructed his right-hand to provide the girl with unlimited chips and refreshments. “Ask for a cat named Swank and show that to him. He’ll hook you up, kid.”

Adrianne scampered off without a final goodbye, likely eager to go exercise her newfound independence.

Aurora looked after her sister with an amused scrunch to her nose and the corners of her eyes. “And here I was worried she’d be bored without me.”

“She’ll be entertained and safe at The Tops,” Benny said reassuringly. “So, you ready to hit the road, doll?”

Aurora took a final deep breath and held it in her chest as she looked up at the morning sky. “I am. Let’s go.”

⸻

Things were off to a slow start. It was easy to ignore the silence between them while they’d made their way out of Freeside, but as they strayed farther from the city and into open desert the tension was becoming overwhelming. Benny was trying to think of something, anything to say when Aurora suddenly let out a frustrated huff.

“Tell me something about you,” she pleaded. “Something I don’t already know.”

“Uh, sure!” Benny scrambled around in his own head, still coming up empty. “Ah, shit,” he laughed. “Maybe tell me what you want to know?”

“How about… your last name?”

“Lagarto. It’s Spanish.”

“Lagarto… it means ‘lizard’, right?”

“Yeah,” Benny snorted. “You speak Spanish?”

“No, but I grew up around a lot of people that did. Do you?”

“ Si la belleza fuera un crimen, yo te hubiera sentenciado a cadena perpetua .”

To Benny’s delight, a big smile bloomed across Aurora’s face. “Your voice sounds so different in Spanish! What’d you say?”

“Something corny.”

She pushed against his shoulder in a familiar, demanding way, as if they always teased one another. “C’mon, tell me!”

“I said, ‘If beauty were a crime, I’d have you sentenced to life in prison.’”

“Oh God,” Aurora giggled. “That is cheesy.” She shook her head at him, but Benny thought that with the way her cheeks dusted over a little pink that she might’ve liked his stupid little pick-up line more than she let on.

“I like it when you laugh,” Benny said. He could tell he was embarrassing her now from the way she hid her reddened cheeks with her hands. He’d spent countless nights on the casino floor finding pretty girls to make giggle and blush with his compliments, but never before had he wanted to draw a woman out of her shell so much. “It’s… warm,” he settled on, not quite able to describe how her joy made him feel.

She cut her gaze to him, a nervous grin plastered on. “Do you make me laugh a lot?” she asked, her tone forcefully lighthearted. “Are you funny?”

Benny pushed out a sigh. It was going to be hard for him to remind himself that he was still a stranger to her during this trip, even with her knowing they were soulmates. He forced a smirk and patted her on the back in what he hoped came off as a friendly, casual gesture. “Doll, I think having to ask tells you the answer.” He feigned dejection at his supposed humorlessness and looked off dramatically into the distance, which really got her howling. Aurora held a hand to her side and told him — albeit poorly, considering the chortling — that she needed a rest. The pair settled on top of a flat sandstone rock slightly off of their path. Benny lit a cigarette and felt the nicotine relax him as the smoke filled his lungs. He’d forgotten that he hadn’t had a smoke all day. Aurora used the break to drink plentifully from her waterskin, letting out a satisfied ahhh after gulping down nearly a quarter of the container. She held it out to Benny and sloshed it temptingly. The water inside had a slight tang to it that was normally filtered out by the fancy sinks on the Strip. The taste reminded Benny of when he was younger and how happy everyone would be when they came across a working water pump. Tart, lukewarm water meant it came from a purified source. Meant it was clean. 

Once, when he was small, Benny and several of the other Boot-Riders had contracted some mystery illness. It was bad enough that the chieftain allowed for a doctor to be brought into their camp to treat everyone. The doctor said they’d drank some bad water that was contaminated with something called dysentery. Benny hadn’t cared about that, both because he was a kid and because knowing what the disease was called didn't heal the cramps that racked his whole body or stop his incessant vomiting. The doctor had given all the children and elderly that were ill pills, along with instructions for their caretakers on how to treat water for consumption, but most of the sick adults in camp had to brace through their illness without real treatment. Many died. Ever since that incident, Benny always made sure to thank God that he didn’t have to risk drinking from streams or choking down cactus juice anymore every time he took even a sip of water.

After they finished resting, Benny and Aurora continued on their path. They planned on making camp just a few miles out from the community of Westside, considering it the safest spot to keep a rogue Fiend from sticking a knife in them while they slept.

Chapter Text

Crunch.

Benny’s ears, attuned to pick up even the faintest of noises from his time roaming the Mojave, pricked at the sound of something disrupting sand nearby. His instincts woke him instantly from his heavy slumber to focus in on the noise and assess any potential danger.

Crunch.

His eyes snapped open. Adrenaline coursed through him, taking over his every movement and thought. It was like one of the neon Vegas lights was in his mind, flashing DANGER! over and over again. Benny sat up straight on his sleeping pad and glanced over at Aurora. Still asleep. He turned and looked the other direction, his eyes scanning far out into the desert for any threats. That was when a pool cue whipped across the side of his face.

“Fuck, Eliana, I thought you said they were asleep!” a gruff voice hissed.

“Woke ‘em up with your loud-ass walking, moron!” another answered in an angry murmur.

Benny suppressed a groan as he forced himself to look at his assailants. Three dirty Fiends, high out of their minds given their giant pupils and the fact that they were arguing out loud while trying to get the jump on Benny and Aurora. Of course they had to get attacked by some fucking junkies, people he couldn’t even try to reason with or bribe. Benny moved as quietly as he could while he pulled Maria out from his inner jacket pocket. Once he fired at one, the other two remaining Fiends were sure to descend on him, and in their drug-addled state, Benny couldn’t possibly predict how they’d fight. He’d need to shoot and move immediately if he wanted to get in between the remaining two and Aurora.

Benny decided to take the biggest one down first, the one who’d hit him with the pool cue. Benny pointed straight at the junkie’s dirt-crusted forehead and pulled the trigger, killing the man instantly. The other two Fiends jumped back from their companion with shock before fixing their wild stares over onto Benny. Fuck, fuck, he had to move! Benny pushed himself up from the ground with all the strength he had, his heels already turning as he stood so he could face the Fiends, but the remaining male raider somehow had the mental faculties to outmaneuver Benny. He slid his foot out and yanked Benny’s sleeping pad out from underneath him, sending him back toward the ground. The Fiend was on him in an instant, delirious laughter racking him as he pinned Benny’s wrists down. “That was sneaky! You were still too fucking slow, though.”

Benny growled and kicked his thighs up as hard as he could into the man’s pelvis, since the junkie was straddling him, but the raider was so high that the pain didn’t seem to register. He just kept laughing. Benny could hear Aurora and the female Fiend struggling, but he couldn’t see what was happening.

The raider that had Benny pinned down moved his hand up and started trying to yank Maria out of Benny’s grasp. The Fiend’s pungent, moist breath wafted over Benny’s face as he leaned in close and sneered, “That’s a nice gun. I think I’ll keep it after I kill you and fuck your pretty little bitch over there.”

A growl came from deep inside Benny’s chest as he gave one more attempt at freeing his arm from the Fiend’s grip. He couldn’t push or pull away from the raider; the guy was just too strong. But he could surprise him. Benny glared at the cackling man one more time before he launched his face forward and sank his teeth into the raider’s throat. A half-scream escaped the Fiend before Benny completely bit down and tore into his neck. Benny could taste acrid, hot blood filling his mouth as he ripped through sinew and muscle. He could feel the man’s pulse reach an impossible height, fluttering like a cazador wing against his lips before he tore the flesh away and spat it up into the Fiend’s face, spraying them both with blood and gore. The raider released his hold on Benny’s wrists to try and clamp down on the gaping hole in his throat, but it was just an animal reflex. The Fiend fell dead to the ground as soon as he crawled off of Benny’s legs.

Benny blinked hard to clear away some of the blood that had gotten in his eyes and distorted his vision. Although it sounded very strange and far away, he heard Aurora give a cry of pain that reoriented him, almost seemed to drag him back down to Earth. There was still danger. He shakily pushed himself up from one bent knee and stumbled toward the direction he knew Aurora must be as he tried to remove the red haze from his vision. When Benny finally wiped away enough of the blood that he could see, he realized he was standing less than ten feet from Aurora and the female raider. The women were evenly matched to the point that neither could hold the other, instead just rolling on top of one another as they fought to gain the upper hand. Both were sprayed with a mist of blood, but Benny couldn’t tell which of them was the injured one. As the Fiend rolled on top of Aurora once more, Benny dashed forward and kicked his shin out and into the raider’s ribs, resulting in a sickening cracking sound as she fell onto the ground next to Aurora. The woman wailed as she covered her broken ribs with a trembling hand and spun around to face Benny. “Wait,” she begged, “Please, don’t-”

He didn’t give her time to finish whatever pathetic plea she might spit out for him to spare her miserable life, instead shooting her right in the heart. Her upper body fell back against the earth with a light thump, her hand still secured against her damaged side.

A ragged breath filled Benny’s lungs as he stared numbly at the raider’s corpse. They were all finally fucking dead. The adrenaline slowly started to ebb out of his system, allowing him to breathe deeply and loosen the tight hold he had on his pistol.

A single thought entered his mind as he stood there, watching the sky bloom a delicate shade of lavender as sunrise approached: Aurora.

Benny looked down at his suit. The blood of the Fiend whose throat he’d ripped out stained the white checkers of his jacket a deep crimson all the way from his collar down to his second button. He could only imagine what his face and teeth looked like. When they’d gone to sleep last night, Benny had planned to wake up before Aurora so he could keep an eye on her from afar until she watched the holotape. He hadn’t wanted her to be scared, waking up with a strange man nearby.

How was that going to work out now that he’d just ruthlessly killed three people right in front of her?

He used his sleeve to wipe away some of the blood on his face before finally turning to face her. “Are you okay?” he asked, trying to keep his voice gentle, although it came out rough and raspy.

Aurora weakly nodded, her gaze fixed at a point next to Benny’s hip. He looked down and realized he still had Maria at the ready. He quickly tucked his gun back into his inner jacket pocket and held his hands up, palms facing out placatingly. “I’m not going to hurt you. I know you’re probably real scared and confused right now, but listen to me. That Pip-Boy on your wrist? It’s got a holotape in the slot that you should watch. It’ll explain everything to you.”

Her gaze flickered down to her wrist. Her eyes widened with surprise when she saw the holotape, but she still didn’t play it, instead keeping all her attention trained on Benny.

“I’ll, uh, go over there while you watch that, okay?” he said, pointing to the ruins of a pre-war house a few hundred feet away. He walked away slowly, waiting until he could hear her actually start the holotape before he committed to leaving her be.

Benny imagined that before the bombs, the house had once been a grand structure, probably three stories with big windows and pretty paint. Time had eroded most of the building away though, only leaving the skeleton of the structure and half of the second floor intact. The exposed wood was a weathered, dull gray with splinters sticking out, ready to poke into anyone that got too close to the walls. Most of the furniture that had undoubtedly once been inside had rotted away with time, save a metal chair on the first floor that looked like a tetanus infection waiting to happen. Damn near everything in the house had either degraded away or been pillaged, it seemed, until Benny went into the bathroom. It was the only room in the house with any indicators of what it’d once been, with the rusted tub and toilet still in place. There was a hole in the wall where the sink had likely once been with a mirror cabinet positioned above it. Benny opened the cabinet, expecting it to be empty, but instead found a pristine, in-the-package pre-war toothbrush and a half-used roll of toothpaste. Thank God.

The toothpaste had dried into a chalky powder from age, but a little splash of water from Benny’s canteen made it usable. It still even had a menthol-y flavor, like some of the pre-war cigarette brands did. Benny brushed his teeth vigorously, eager to erase any taste of the Fiend’s blood from his mouth. He only stopped when he started to feel the burn of the toothpaste seeping into little cuts the toothbrush made against his gums, still not feeling quite clean.

The pipes that had allowed water to flow to the bathtub were too corroded to function anymore, even if water still flowed to the house itself, leaving Benny with little option in the way of washing other than using his hands to scrub away the blood that coated his face and neck. It wasn’t ideal, but after a few splashes from his canteen, he did start to look more human. He could only hope Aurora would think so too. He took a final examination of himself in the medicine cabinet mirror. The man reflected at him was frightening-looking, no doubt about it. A wash of red still clung to his pores, his black hair had a fine layer of sand sticking to it, and to top it all off there was a nasty welt running from his temple down to his jaw from the pool cue whipping him in the face. Benny tried to make himself look less scary by softening his gaze and allowing his shoulders to slump down some, but he felt like an idiot just standing there posing for himself and stopped. The one upside to Aurora’s brain damage was that she wouldn’t have to remember him looking like this for more than a day.

He exited the house, expecting to have to walk back to he and Aurora’s camp, but that wasn’t necessary. Aurora was waiting for him outside, leaning against the siding of the house as she read some entry on her Pip-Boy. She looked up at him, a shy smile pulling at her lips. “Hey there.”

“Hi, doll,” Benny said awkwardly. “So, um…” What the hell was he supposed to say right now?

Aurora inclined her head, as if in agreement with him about something. “Hell of a way to wake up, huh?”

“ Not how I pictured our first night going, no,” he sighed. “Aurora, I’m so sorry.”

She scrunched her nose in confusion. Benny tried to not get distracted by how cute he thought it was. “Sorry?” she asked. “For what?”

“You know,” he cringed, gesturing to his blood-soaked jacket and their camp off in the distance. “ That.”

“You don’t need to be sorry for that. I’ve never met a man who wasn’t a killer. Besides, I was actually waiting out here to thank you.”

“Thank me?” he asked incredulously. “For what?”

“Saving me, of course,” Aurora laughed. Her expression became more somber as she explained, “That girl might’ve killed me if not for you.”

Benny was so relieved that she was okay, that things were okay between them, that he couldn’t resist reaching out and wrapping his arms around her to bring her in for an embrace. He tucked her head between his collar and jaw and breathed in the scent of her hair. Aurora’s arms slowly lost their stiffness and rested against his back. They sat like that for what felt like a long time before Aurora turned her face up toward his, a blush dusting her cheeks. “I looked at the map to find us a spot to go clean up. I don’t think either of us wants to head to Jacobstown with blood crusting on our clothes . It looks like the shortest detour would be for us to go to Westside.”

“Whatever you want to do, baby,” he murmured, entranced by that pink glow on her cheekbones. Without thinking, he ran his thumb along her face to feel that heat that had pooled there. For just a second, she tilted her face toward his palm, nuzzling against his touch. But then she quickly stepped away from Benny, her eyes pointed at the ground. “We should get going.”

Chapter Text

“Jesus fucking Christ, this place is a hellhole.”

Aurora snickered at Benny’s remark, but the man they were trying to rent a room from rolled his eyes and hocked a wad of spit onto the ground. “You want a room or not? Plenty of other discerning customers to rent at the Casa Madrid, if you’re just too high-and-mighty for my lowly building.”

“We’ll take any room with running water,” Aurora said quickly, her hand fluttering up to her neck to pick at the dried blood that clung to her skin. “You do hourly rates?”

“Nope, day rates only,” the building owner, Marco, said. “For a room with water, that’ll be a hundred caps.”

Benny pulled a hard drag off of his cigarette, then allowed the smoke in his mouth to blow out across Marco’s face as he leaned in close. “Bullshit. You can get a cheap room on the Strip for a hundred caps. Don’t be a goddamn fink. Give us your honest price.”

Marco's eyes drifted up and down Benny’s body before he offered a nervous smile. “Just messing with you, pal. It’ll be forty caps for the room.”

Benny reached into his pocket and pulled out the smallest bag of caps he had, only fifty clinkers in the little leather sack. He might’ve just given the landlord the whole bag if the asshole hadn’t tried to pull a fast one on them, but Benny was feeling petty enough that he counted out ten caps before giving Marco the sack.

“Second floor, the one with a purple streak across the door,” Macro said, waving his hand to gesture for the pair to leave.

As they entered the building and began to ascend the stairs, Benny realized Aurora was smirking at him. “What?” he asked.

“Kind of a tough guy for a pretty boy, ain’t you?”

He feigned indignation at her observation. “What, a good-looking man like me can’t be a badass?”

“Humble, too!” she snorted. They arrived on the second floor and found their room, a peeling line of violet paint smeared haphazardly on it for identification. The interior was just as rough as the exterior, with only a yellowed mattress in the corner providing any furniture. Benny entered the tiny bathroom and found that it did have a working shower, which was surprisingly free of grime, despite some mystery stains lining the tile floor.

He stepped out and found Aurora sitting cross-legged on the lumpy mattress, reading something on her Pip-Boy. “You want to go first, doll?”

Relief washed over her features, along with a smile. “If you don’t mind.” She kicked off her boots by the mattress and set her hat, bag, and Pip-Boy alongside them before hurrying into the bathroom. “I’ll be quick,” she promised.

After she closed the door, Benny flopped down onto the bed and lit another cigarette to puff on to pass the time. He glanced over at Aurora’s things and noticed her Pip-Boy screen was still glowing. The proper thing to do would’ve been to click the device off, but Benny’s curiosity got the better of him. She was always looking through her files on the little computer, presumably trying to piece together her life each day. He wanted to know what she kept in her entries, especially the ones about him. So, Benny grabbed the Pip-Boy and began reading the file she’d left the screen opened to, keeping an ear out to make sure she was still showering as he read:

INSTRUCTIONS:

Deliver the package at the north entrance to the Vegas Strip, by way of Freeside. An agent of the recipient will meet you at the checkpoint, take possession of the package, and pay for the delivery. Bring the payment to Johnson Nash at the Mojave Express agency in Primm.

Bonus on completion: 250 caps.

MANIFEST

This package contains:

One (1) Oversized Poker Chip, composed of Platinum

CONTRACT PENALTIES

You are an authorized agent of the Mojave Express Package until delivery is complete and payment has been processed, contractually obligated to complete this transaction and materially responsible for any malfeasance or loss. Failure to deliver the proper recipient may result in forfeiture of your advance and bonus, criminal charges, and/or pursuit by mercenary reclamation teams. The Mojave Express is not responsible for any injury or loss of life you experience as a result of said reclamation efforts.

Benny choked on his cigarette smoke as he finished reading the note. Why the fuck was she even still thinking about her delivery? Didn’t she think her brain damage negated her obligations to her employer? Or was there another reason she kept this note logged in her Pip-Boy?

Benny heard the shower cut off and set Aurora’s Pip-Boy back down where she’d left it. He’d have to be clever and think up a way to talk to her about the platinum chip without arousing any suspicion that he’d snooped through her stuff. For now though, he laid back against the mattress and took a drag off of his cigarette, trying to look casual as his soulmate entered the room. 

Well, at least he was, until he noticed that Aurora was wearing nothing but a thin white t-shirt and a pair of shockingly low-cut black panties. Seemingly totally unaware that Benny’s jaw was on the floor, she walked over to the only window in their room and jerked it open. She laid her wet jeans and button-up on the sill to dry, then shook out her damp hair as a breeze rolled by. The places where her dark tresses had been draped across the front of her shirt turned translucent from water saturating into the fabric, and Benny had to actually force his eyes to point at the floor. Was she trying to drive him fucking feral?

Without warning, she plopped down next to him on the bed, an amused grin plastered on her face. “Didn’t take you for the bashful type.”

“I’m not,” Benny said, swallowing thickly. “I just… I’ve never seen so much of you.”

“I didn’t bring any spare clothes, and I’m guessing you don’t have any backups either, so like it or not, we’re going to have to sit here in our delicates for a while until our clothes dry.” Aurora, still grinning, held her open palm out to him. She offered a little bar of crudely-made blue agave soap. “It won’t get the stains out of your jacket, but it’s better than having blood all caked in the fibers.”

Benny snatched the soap from her hand with a barely-muttered thanks. He felt way too hot, and it wasn’t just because the Casa Madrid didn’t have any central air conditioning.

Once in the bathroom, Benny took to peeling off his gore-crusted clothing while he waited for the shower water to heat up some, his heart thudding hard as he thought about Aurora’s glossy wet hair, her thick thighs, the way her t-shirt clung to every minute curvature of her body…

God damn, he needed to calm down.

Benny’d intended to wash out his suit first, but he tossed it to the floor instead. He entered the tepid shower and cranked the dial all the way to the coldest setting. The sting of the frigid water was uncomfortable, but it did help his racing heart. Benny lathered the soap bar Aurora had given him between his hands and scrubbed every inch of his body vigorously, carefully keeping his mind occupied with worry about why Aurora kept her Mojave Express delivery details on her Pip-Boy and absolutely no thoughts about how soft her thighs must be.

Once Benny’s shower water ran clear, he turned the water temperature back to the hot setting and took to rinsing out his bloody suit. All the white checkers that the blood had sank into were marred with ugly rust-colored stains, just like Aurora had predicted. Still, the agave soap removed the gore itself, and the awful metallic scent it had left behind. Benny could continue to Jacobstown in comfort, although not style.

Benny wrung out his suit as best as he could before gathering the separate pieces up to drape in the window in the main room. Aurora was lounging on the mattress, facing away from him as he laid his clothing alongside hers. He felt her jeans and was surprised at how much the breeze outside had already dried them. They’d likely be able to leave within an hour.

Benny came and sat behind Aurora on the bed. A cursory glance at her Pip-Boy showed that she was looking at her Mojave Express delivery instructions. Benny kept his tone light as he asked, “What’re you reading there?”

“Just a note from my old job,” she huffed, shutting off her device’s screen. “I suppose I’m hoping I’ll magically figure out… all of this,” she said, her hand making a crass gesture to imitate a gun being placed against her hairline.

Aurora finally lolled her head in the direction Benny was sitting, frustration clear on her face. That is, until it was colored over with surprise. Benny followed her gaze and realized she was blatantly ogling his chest.

“My eyes are up here, girlie,” he joked.

“Oh! I, um…” She began to bite at her fingernails as a tilted chuckle escaped her. “Sorry, really, I just wasn’t expecting you to be so brawny, I guess.”

“Thought we already covered that I’m more than a pretty face?” he laughed. Aurora’s cheeks bloomed red, exposing her embarrassment. Benny cleared his throat and set a hand on her shoulder. “I’m just picking on you, baby. I don’t care if you check me out.”

Aurora’s lips lifted into what Benny thought was supposed to be a smile, but it was twitchy and distorted, more of a grimace, like she was really upset. What had he done wrong?

“Can we talk about something else, maybe?” Aurora pleaded.

“Okay,” Benny agreed instantly. This was a good opportunity to turn the attention back to her Mojave Express note, anyway. “How about you tell me why you want to figure out why you were shot? Why does it matter?”

Aurora stared at Benny as if he were totally crazy. “What do you mean, why? I want to know why a fancy poker chip was worth trying to fucking kill me over!”

It wasn’t worth it, he lamented internally. “But baby, even if you were able to figure out who did it somehow, and they told you why they did it, what would it help? How could that possibly help you?”

Aurora’s chest heaved, quick and heavy with her uneven breaths. “Because I want some answers! That son of a bitch ruined my life! I’d really like to know that at least…” her words broke as fat tears started to well up in her eyes, her voice becoming thick with the sound of mucus pooling in her throat. “It might give me some peace if I knew that they at least had a reason. That they didn’t just kill me for the sadistic fun of it.”

Aurora let Benny pull her in for a hug as hard sobs racked her body. He held her tightly, feeling each ragged drag of air go in and out of her lungs. He pressed his lips into a thin line, both because his girl crying like this was really breaking his heart, but also because he had a strange urge wash over him that he was terrified he would act on if he dared speak at all.

Benny wanted to confess. Benny, who’d never admitted to a single wrongdoing in his life unless he was backed into a corner, who would never publicly acknowledge that he was even capable of remorse or shame, wanted to confess to his soulmate his sin against her. God help him, he wanted to tell her so badly. But right there, where that guilt was bubbling up in his chest, was another feeling, a stronger one: protectiveness. He wanted to shield Aurora away from all the hurt she was experiencing right then, and he knew that’s where the guilt was coming from. He also knew that admitting what he’d done wouldn’t actually help her, not in the way she thought it would.

He gently pushed Aurora away from him and held her chin in one hand as he used the other to wipe her tears away. “Look at me, Aurora,” he murmured. He waited until her watery eyes were trained on his before he continued, “I know that the person who did this ruined your life. I know how badly he hurt you. He’s an evil bastard, and he’ll definitely get what’s coming to him one day, but obsessing about this isn’t going to help you. Right now, all you need to focus on is getting to Jacobstown so the doctor can fix your head. Please, doll, don’t waste your time asking why this happened to you. It’s just… one of those things where you’ll probably never know.”

Aurora stared deeply into Benny's eyes after he finished, and he worried about what she saw in them. After a long time, she nodded her head and gave a crackly whispered, “Okay.”

Benny pulled her back in for another hug and let out a relieved sigh. No matter what else happened, as long as she let this thing go, they could be happy.

Chapter Text

Aurora was withdrawn as she and Benny made their way up Highway 95, only speaking to point out the rogue creature to watch out for or to say she needed to rest. According to Aurora’s Pip-Boy map, a cluster of abandoned pre-war houses laid near the intersection of Highway 95 and Nevada State Route 157, which would provide them with a proper shelter to sleep in before they made the final leg of their journey tomorrow morning. Benny was grateful that they’d have some walls between them and any Fiends that might be roaming the area, but he was too worried about Aurora to feel any real joy about it.

Slowly, some brown rooftops materialized in the distance. There were four houses of similar structure all situated near one another, only their half-chipped away paint providing any difference at all between them.

“Which color do you want, beautiful?” Benny asked, making his voice sound cheerful.

Aurora stopped and examined the houses with surprise, as if she hadn’t even realized they’d reached their location for the night. “Oh. Suppose it doesn’t really matter. The red one’s the closest.”

Benny sighed and picked up his pace a little so he could beat Aurora to the front door. He drew Maria out from his inner jacket pocket and opened the creaky wooden door as quietly as he could manage, ready to shoot anything hostile that might be hiding within the dark living room of the house. He performed a similar scan of the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom and found nothing. It looked as if the house had been abandoned since the Great War. He moved back into the living room and declared with a smile, “We’re all good!” Then, as if on cue to make him look like an idiot, a giant mantis appeared seemingly from thin air and jumped right on Benny’s face.

Before he had time to react to the green menace, the insect was flying off of his face. Benny stared with shock at the place the mantis was pinned to on the wall by one of Aurora’s knives, the blade centered nearly perfectly through the creature’s head.

She crossed the room and yanked the knife out of the bug carcass and held it up by the legs for Benny to admire. “Hope you like grilled mantis,” she said dryly.

Well, there really was no saving face after that one. Benny followed Aurora into the kitchen and sat at the decrepit old table as she tried all the stove burners. Luckily, one of the burners burst forth with a steady flame, so Aurora placed the whole mantis carcass on it to char. While it cooked, she rummaged through the kitchen cabinets. She flung empty boxes onto the floor, but then paused. Benny watched as she reached up high, on the very tips of her toes, to knock a glass jar down from high up. She caught it deftly and held it in the dying daylight streaming in through a window to examine its contents. Benny’d never seen anything that looked like the stuff in the jar. Its contents were a strangely orange-tinted brown, with little flecks of… something in it, maybe mold. Benny figured Aurora would set the jar aside, since the food in it was obviously spoiled, but she popped the metal lid off and used her finger to scoop the stuff into her mouth.

“Don’t eat that!” he warned. “You’re going to get sick!”

For the first time in hours, Aurora cracked a grin. “No, I won’t. It’s still good. Scratch that, it’s fucking amazing.”

“Baby, there’s stuff growing in it.”

Aurora turned off the burner beneath the giant mantis and tossed the hot carcass on the table by the creature’s antennae. She settled into the chair next to Benny’s and held the opening of the jar out toward him. “It’s just fig jam, Benny. I promise it ain’t going to kill you. Try it, it’s good!”

Benny was apprehensive of the unfamiliar food, but Aurora seemed confident that it was safe to eat, so he plunged his pinky into the contents of the jar and brought his digit to his nose. The stuff smelled alright, sort of sweet in the way that dried fruit did. He took a tentative lick, still half-expecting the jam to taste rancid, but was delighted by how sugary and bright it was. He quickly sucked the rest of the jam from his finger and felt the little flecks in the jam give easily beneath his teeth. Seeds, he realized.

“I said you’d like it, didn’t I?” Aurora said smugly.

Benny responded by delving two fingers into the jar and scooping out more of the sweet treat. He’d never eaten anything with a texture quite like the stuff, so sticky and viscous.

Aurora set the container down on the table so they could both dip into it as they broke apart the mantis’ exoskeleton and ate the delicate flesh from the bug’s legs. After a while, Aurora turned to fully face Benny, a bittersweet smile gracing her lips as she told him, “My pa’s soulmate used to make fig jam. She was really good with plants, seemed to be able to make anything grow. We had all kinds of fruits and herbs growing up.”

It was a nice memory to share, but Benny got stuck on her choice of wording. ‘ My pa’s soulmate.’ Benny’s confusion must’ve been clear, because Aurora lightly nudged him with her elbow. “What?”

“I just… why’d you call your mother that? Your dad’s soulmate, I mean? Kind of a funny way to refer to your parent.”

“Oh, well…” Aurora paused and looked at Benny, her nose scrunched up in the way that he loved. “Well, how much do you know about my family already? I don’t want to ramble on about anything you already know.”

“I’ve seen your dad’s arm,” Benny said, remembering how tenderly Raleigh had traced the letters of his soulmate’s name upon his wrist. “He told me that your mom always sang when he came home from work.”

“Yeah, she did,” Aurora chuckled quietly. “Jasmine…Ma was a wonderful woman. She was so good, so kind. She was so good that she treated me like her own daughter from the very first day she met me. Most people wouldn’t be thrilled that their soulmate already had a kid, but she treated me like family. She didn’t give birth to me, but she was the best mother I could’ve possibly asked for.”

Of course. This explained why Aurora and Adrianne looked so different. Benny wasn’t particularly surprised by any of this information. People died often in the Mojave, so blended families weren’t really uncommon. Benny placed his hand on top of Aurora’s and stroked his thumb across her skin as he somberly coaxed, “And your birth mother? What about her?”

“She’s dead.” Something in Aurora’s tone was off as she spat out the statement, almost heated. Benny would remember to avoid the subject in the future.

She let out a huff before offering him a conciliatory hand squeeze and asked, “What about you? Tell me about your family.”

“My folks both died when I was young, so my grandmother took care of me when I was a kid.”

“I’m sorry,” Aurora said. “That must’ve been real hard on you.” Benny was going to brush off her sympathies — after all, how else could she respond to something like that? But something in the intensity of her gaze made him feel like she really meant what she said, and he found himself wanting to open up more.

“It was hard sometimes, but my abuela was a good woman, like your ma. She tried really hard to teach me to be a decent man.” Benny flipped his wrist over and fondly looked at Aurora’s name on it as he added, “I still remember the day when I got my mark. She gave me this big speech about the importance of soulmates, basically told me I’d go straight to hell if I didn't treat you right.”

Aurora smiled and gave Benny a warm look that made him feel hot deep in his chest. “Well, if your grandmother’s goal was for you to turn out to be a good guy, I think she’d be more than proud of you.”

Although he disagreed, Benny knew the statement was meant kindly. Without thinking, he brought Aurora’s hand to his lips and placed a light kiss on her knuckles. “Thanks, doll.”

The pair finished off all of their food, their hands still interlocked and hanging between them. The last rays of sunlight had faded away as they concluded their meal, leaving Aurora’s Pip-Boy flashlight as their only way to see.

“I guess we ought to go to sleep,” she said begrudgingly.

“Not tired yet?”

“I just… I don’t want to forget today. I don’t want to forget you.”

Could she have said anything that would’ve made his heart melt more? “Just this last night, baby. Tomorrow we’ll reach Jacobstown and that doctor will fix your head.”

Chapter Text

Benny just couldn’t get over how wet the snow on Mount Charleston was. Once, when he’d been very young, snow had actually fallen right in the ruins of Vegas. Many of the Boot-Riders had been terrified of the unfamiliar, powdery substance falling down from the sky, but some of the elders, including Abuelita, had seen snow before and knew not to be afraid. Benny remembered how his grandmother had carried him onto one of the single-story shops so that they could watch the flakes slowly form a blanket over the entire city. In Benny’s mind he’d always remembered the snow as being crunchy, brittle almost, but the snow on the mountain path to Jacobstown was mushy. It melted quickly whenever he tried to gather it in his hands and stung his palms with its fierce coldness.

Twack!

Benny’s hand automatically flew to the spot on the back of his head where he’d been hit. He swiped away the tiny flakes of snow that clung to the hair at the nape of his neck before turning around to cut a glare at Aurora. “Cute.”

His soulmate smirked at his annoyance as she gathered more snow from one of the pine tree branches into her palm. Unlike the snow on the ground, the icy flakes that clung to the vegetation would actually clump together. Aurora brandished her snowball with a devilish grin before pelting it directly at Benny’s chest. The sludgy snow kept his feet glued in place, so she landed a perfect hit.

Benny couldn’t help but smile right along with her. He was just so damned glad that she was in high spirits today, and that there was still an air of playfulness in their interactions, even if she’d forgotten him all over again last night. Their moods were probably both lifted by this being the day they’d arrive in Jacobstown as well. Benny couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild with how things were going to be different after the doctor fixed Aurora’s head. They’d be able to spend their nights dancing and partying in the casino, wake up each day in one another’s arms… They’d finally get to have the relationship Benny’d always hoped he’d have with his soulmate.

Aurora held her empty palms up for Benny to see. “I won’t get you again if you come on. I’m freezing over here!”

Benny rolled his eyes with a sigh as he caught up with her once more. “Could’ve told me you were cold, doll.” He unbuttoned his jacket and stopped walking again to hold it open for her.

“That’s okay,” Aurora instantly rejected. “You’ll get cold without it.”

“It’s losing heat the longer you’re not wearing it. Besides, you’ll need to hand me your shotgun to put it on. We’ll call it a trade, if it makes you feel better.”

Aurora delayed for only another second before she gave in and loosened the strap of her shotgun and held the weapon out by the barrel for Benny. She slipped an arm into his coat as he grabbed onto the gun, relief flooding her face as Benny’s leftover body heat enveloped her. He was cold without his jacket of course, but it was worth it for his girl’s comfort. He slung the shotgun over his shoulder as they started making their way up the mountain again and suppressed a shiver.

Aurora lifted a brow as she observed Benny and said, “I think our ‘trade’ worked out more in my favor.”

“How so?”

“Do you even know how to shoot with one of those, pretty boy?” she asked doubtingly.

Benny scoffed and held the gun strap a little tighter against his chest. He was much better with knives and pistols, but she didn’t know that! “You want to know one of the things I’m most looking forward to after you get your memory fixed? You won’t have an excuse to always be so judgy about my good looks.”

Aurora giggled at his mock offense and teasingly bumped her hip against his. “I’m sorry. I guess I just never pictured my soulmate being so clean-cut.”

“What did you imagine I’d be like?” Benny wondered, suddenly very worried he wasn’t measuring up.

“Suppose I tried not to think about it too much,” Aurora mused. “I tried not to make any assumptions. Obviously failed in the looks department.”

“Lair,” Benny jokingly accused. “C’mon, I can take it. What’d you hope I’d be like?”

“Well, that’s why I tried not to think about you too much. I didn’t want to have a bunch of dreams that’d get smashed if you were an asshole.” Benny's doubt must’ve been plain, because Aurora added on, her tone much more serious, “If I’d found you, and you’d been a bad person, I didn’t want to be disappointed.”

Benny thought over what she’d said carefully. Honestly, it’d never even occurred to him once in his entire life that he might not like his soulmate. It just seemed a given that they’d be compatible. Why else would they be soulmates?

“What about you?” Aurora questioned, breaking Benny out of his ruminations. “What’d you think I’d be like?”

“I hoped for all the normal things everyone wants — someone pretty, nice, all that kind of stuff, but I guess it didn’t really matter to me too much in the end, either. I’ve known that I would adore you since the day your name showed up on my wrist fifteen years ago. Everything besides that seemed… secondary.”

Benny looked over and realized Aurora was giving him an intense stare, her cheeks flushed brightly with color. She looked away and cleared her throat. “Well, we know you definitely have the worse luck out of the two of us. You had to wait longer to meet me, and when you finally found me I’d gotten brain damage!”

“You’re wrong,” he smiled, taking her cold hand into his. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have you, even with your messed up head.”

“Are you still going to feel that way if this doctor can’t help me?” Aurora asked, her tone nervous.

“Jesus, be a little optimistic, doll! But… yeah, I’d still feel the same.”

Aurora’s mouth opened as if she were going to argue, but then she snapped it shut again and yanked her hand out of Benny’s grasp to point forward. Up ahead, Benny saw that they were within sight of a tall, crudely made fence that was guarded by a super mutant.

“Oh my God, Benny. We’re here!” Aurora giggled, hopping up and down with excitement. “We fucking made it!”

Benny began to laugh and holler right along with her, not caring at all about the super mutant watching them and scratching his big green head in confusion. Benny wrapped his arms around Aurora’s waist and spun her as they cheered and yelled. They were going to meet the doctor today. He’d examine Aurora and fix her head. Everything was going to change for the better. Benny would finally feel like he’d fully atoned for that fateful night in the Goodsprings cemetery all those months ago.

Aurora pulled back some so that she could set her forehead against Benny’s. Her eyes were soft and her smile sweet as she looked at him. His breath felt stuck in his lungs, as if her beauty had knocked the wind out of him. Suddenly, she tilted her head to the side and pressed her lips to his. Despite the frigid air, Benny’s skin felt hot where their skin made contact. He felt himself slowly exhale against Aurora’s lips as she kissed him harder, more ardently.

Fuck, he loved her.

Aurora broke the kiss first, drawing a groan from Benny. She laughed lightly but not unkindly and touched her chilly fingers to his cheek. “Thanks for getting me here. I’m grateful, if you couldn’t tell.”

Before Benny could respond, the sound of someone clearing their throat distracted him. Both he and Aurora looked over to where the super mutant that had been guarding the fence now stood just a few feet from them. “Sorry to interrupt. I just thought I’d come and greet you both. We don’t get many humans up here. My name’s Marcus. Welcome to Jacobstown.”

Chapter Text

“Subject appears to be in fair health prior to all testing and procedures. The subject is female, twenty-three years old, has AB positive blood type, presenting memory issues in the form of Goldfield’s Syndrome, according to the subject herself. Will scan temporal lobe for further diagnosis.” Doctor Henry continued to mutter medical information into his holotape recorder as he probed and prodded Aurora. Benny was trying to stay out of the doc’s way, but it was hard for him to let some stranger — especially one that was as abrasive as the old neurosurgeon — examine her like she was some science experiment.

Benny had to move next to the gurney Aurora was sitting on so that the doctor’s research assistant, Calamity, could wheel a big whiteboard over that was covered in x-ray pictures. Doctor Henry immediately began rambling on about neural pathways, hippocampuses, electrostimulation, and a bunch of other crap that didn’t make a lick of sense to Benny. Calamity gently touched the doctor’s arm and gestured for him to slow down before giving Aurora and Benny an apologetic smile. “What the doctor is trying to explain is that there appears to be minimal scarring on the brain tissue itself. He believes that your memory may be restored through some low-level electroconvulsive therapy.”

“What does that mean, electroconvulsive therapy?” Benny asked. “What are you actually going to do to her?”

“Shock treatment is a procedure where an electrical current is sent through the patient’s brain in order to stimulate temporary seizures with the goal-”

“ No,” Benny interrupted. “You’re not doing that to her.”

“Benny, calm down,” Aurora said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “If that’s what-”

“ No. God, if electrocuting you would’ve fixed your memory, the Followers could’ve had you stick a fork in a light socket! These people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about! I’m not letting them do something like that to you!”

Benny turned as he heard Calamity’s shoes scrape across the floor. He flung himself in her path, like the gentle old ghoul might suddenly attack Aurora. Calamity smiled before taking Benny’s hand into her own scaly one and gingerly patting it. “Sir, I understand you’re concerned for your soulmate, but I assure you that Doctor Henry’s performed this procedure several times before. She’ll be under general anesthesia the whole time, so she won’t feel a thing.”

Doctor Henry roughly cleared his throat before adding on, “The poorest possible outcome is that the electroconvulsive therapy simply won’t work, so it’s not as if she’d be any worse off.”

Benny turned and looked up at Aurora. He could already see in her face that he couldn’t convince her to not go through with it. He still couldn’t help but try, though. “Baby, please don’t do this.”

Aurora sighed as she shook her head. “I have to, Benny. For me, and for you.” She hopped down from her gurney and gave him a tight hug before pulling away. She shook off his coat and handed it back to him, along with her Pip-Boy. Wouldn’t want to fry the electronics in it while they cooked her damn head. “You should get out of here for a while. Go smoke, maybe look around the lodge.”

“I don’t want to leave you, doll.”

“Benny, go,” she urged. “I can handle this alone.”

Calamity curled her hand delicately around Benny’s elbow and led him to the main door of the room that served as Doctor Henry’s research center. She gave him an apologetic smile as she shut the door. Right as it fully closed, he heard the distinct clink of the door being locked. He’d officially been kicked out.

Benny roughly yanked his pack of smokes out from his jacket pocket before he put his coat back on. He stuck the one and only remaining cigarette he had between his teeth before tossing the empty box down onto the floor and childishly stomping on it, drawing stares from the super mutants milling about the lodge. He made his way out the front door to seek solitude in the cold mountain air. There were only a few super mutants outside, most of them congregated near the entryway of Jacobstown’s perimeter fence. Benny went to go nurse his cigarette and hurt ego over by the bighorner pen within the town, his mouth twisted into a scowl so severe it actually hurt his facial muscles.

“Jimmy?” a booming voice suddenly called out, its owner startlingly close to Benny. He gaped in surprise at the giant blue super mutant next to him. How had such a big creature snuck up on him like that? The mutant leaned down and shouted, “Little Jimmy! My, how you’ve grown up. So good of you to come and visit your grandma!”

Grandma? Could… could super mutants even have children, families? How long did they live, anyway? Not really knowing what quite to do, Benny awkwardly muttered, “I, uh, think you’ve got me confused with someone else.”

“Now little-” the super mutant adjusted its — her? — sunglasses before speaking again. “Oh, of course I have, dearie. How silly of me. Grandma just forgot to take her medicine, that’s all. You certainly do look a lot like my grandson, though!”

Benny absently nodded before turning his attention back to the bighorners with a sigh. He really hoped Doctor Henry knew what he was doing.

Without warning, the old lady super mutant set her gigantic hand on Benny’s shoulder. She probably had the strength to crush his bones with zero effort on her part, yet her touch was as light and fragile as an elderly human woman’s. “Now pumpkin, why do you look so sad? Tell Grandma Lily what’s wrong.”

Benny wasn’t really in the mood to talk, but he couldn’t be rude to an old lady, even one that was eight feet tall with blue skin. “My soulmate’s getting treated for a head injury by Doctor Henry. I’m just really worried about her.”

Lily crouched down so that she was at eye-level with Benny and gently squeezed his upper arms with her massive hands. “Doctor Henry’s a very smart man, dearie. He gives me my pills to help keep me calm, and he studies the brains of those nasty nightstalkers all day to try and help cure the schizophrenia we Nightkin get from using Stealth Boys too much. I’m sure a smart man like him will be able to fix your soulmate’s head in no time!”

Lily suddenly pulled Benny in for an embrace, sending his feet dangling from their height difference. He felt his face flush with embarrassment, but hell, who was really around to see anyway? Benny stiffly patted the old woman’s back until she set him down. Lily took Benny’s hand into her own gloved one and started leading him to the gate of the bighorner pen. “Now, how about you come help Grandma feed her bighorners until your little friend’s done with her doctor’s appointment? Be careful, though! Bighorners are sweet, gentle creatures, but sometimes they can get ornery — just like my grandkids!”

⸻

Helping Lily tend to her animals had been a surprisingly time-consuming, strenuous task. Benny supposed that was probably a good thing, because by the time he was finally able to go check on Aurora he could barely trudge along, much less kick up a fit at the doctor like he’d done earlier. Even so, when Calamity allowed him into the research room, his chest tightened with panic when he saw Aurora lying unconscious on her gurney.

“She’s completely fine,” Calamity assured Benny. “We gave her a sedative to keep her asleep for the night. She’ll recuperate faster if she rests some.”

“Did…did it work?” Benny asked, his throat so dry that the words came out barely louder than a whisper.

“Well, we can’t be sure until tomorrow, but her scans afterward showed promise. Even if she isn’t fully healed, there at least appears to be some improvement.” Calamity began to quickly remove some devices that were hooked up to Aurora, presumably to track her vitals. “There’s really no reason she needs to stay here all night. Why don’t I help you take her to a room so you both can properly rest?”

Benny gave her a grateful nod before they both started to guide Aurora’s gurney into a room on the bottom floor of the lodge that Calamity said was okay for them to stay in. Calamity promised Benny that Aurora’s sedative would keep her knocked out, but he was still slow and gentle as he lifted his girl from the hard stretcher and placed her on their mattress for the night. Calamity bid him goodnight and took the gurney away, leaving Benny with nothing to do other than set he and Aurora’s belongings on the nightstand — the only other piece of furniture in their room — and crawl into bed.

His eyes drooped heavily as soon as he was lying down, but Benny didn’t let sleep overcome him. Instead, he turned onto his side so that he could take in Aurora’s face. There was always a certain hardness about her when she was awake, even when she smiled and laughed, but it was entirely erased in her slumber. He ran a finger tenderly along her jaw, slack and open as she lightly snorted. He curled close to her to press his lips to the spot on her hairline where her scar was and murmured, “Please baby, don’t forget about me.”

Chapter Text

Benny was terrified as he willed himself to finally wake Aurora up. Each moment he wasted combing his fingers through the soft length of her hair and watching the sunlight play across her skin through the window only intensified his fear. What if the shock therapy hadn’t worked? What if this whole trip had been a waste? How was he going to deal with her forgetting him every day after that kiss?

Benny sighed and shook his head. He was being a coward. She’d remember him, or she wouldn’t. There was nothing else he could do other than wake her up to see if the procedure had worked.

They were lying side by side, positioned so that they were facing one another. Benny pressed a kiss to Aurora’s forehead and inhaled the scent of her hair for a final time before he gently began to shake her shoulder. “Aurora, baby, wake up.”

Her light snoring ceased as her eyebrows knit together and her eyelids fluttered open to a squint. She groaned as she shut her eyes once more and buried her face in her pillow.

Benny wasn’t really sure what her reaction meant. She didn’t panic when she’d taken a brief glance at him, but she could’ve still been in a fog from just waking up. He spoke a little louder as he shook her shoulder again. “Doll, it’s morning.”

Her hand flew up and smacked his away. “Benny, it’s too early. Leave me be.”

His name. She’d said his fucking name, plain as day. “You know who I am?” he choked out.

A mix of annoyance and confusion crossed her face before Aurora’s eyes finally snapped open. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and stared at him with pure astonishment. “I…I do. I do!”

A hysterical laugh bubbled up in Benny’s chest that shook his entire body as he wrapped his arms around his soulmate. She remembered him. She fucking remembered him.

He felt Aurora’s fingers tangle in his hair as she began to laugh too, her smiling lips pressed into the crook of his neck as she clung to him. The only words he could manage to say were, “ Gracias a Dios,” over and over again like a mantra.

Although she kept one arm securely against his back, Aurora pulled back from Benny so that she could look at him. Her smile faltered a little. Before Benny could ask what was wrong, she was cupping his cheek in her rough palm. He felt her fingers glide along his skin with ease, a wet feeling to her touch. Only when she moved her thumb up to wipe beneath his eye did he realize that the moisture was coming from his own tears. Benny hadn’t cried since he was a boy, but now he was weeping openly, entirely without shame. He was just so goddamn relieved that she remembered him.

Aurora softly shushed him as she continued to wipe away his tears. “It’s okay. It’s alright.”

Benny caught her hand with his and took to kissing every part of her — her fingers, palm, wrist — until he turned his attention to her face. He touched his lips to her chin, jaw, and cheeks. It was like all the emotion he’d had to restrain for her sake all these weeks came gushing out. He loved her more than he ever had anyone else, and he had to show it.

Aurora grabbed his face, stilling his erratic movements. She kept her gaze leveled on his as she gave him a tender peck, her mouth curled into a grin. They sat locked in one another’s arms for a long time, not speaking, only clutching onto each other.

Their long embrace was interrupted by Calamity knocking as she opened their bedroom door. Aurora instantly disentangled from Benny, but she allowed him to clutch her hand in his.

“Well, you two seem to be having a pleasant morning! I take that to be a good sign,” the ghoul woman said cheerfully. She sat on the edge of their bed near Aurora and took out a small flashlight and shined it into Aurora’s eyes as she asked, “So, are you experiencing any confusion? Any at all?”

“I don’t think so.”

Benny leaned his chin onto Aurora’s shoulder and flashed Calamity a wide smile as he told her, “She remembered me this morning.”

“Good! Very good. If you’re both ready, Dr. Henry’s prepared some tests and scans in the research room so we can see how well the therapy worked. We’ll also need you to confirm just how much of the prior day she’s retained, Benny.”

Aurora gave Benny a nervous grin that verged more on a grimace. “You ready to go see if my head’s working right again?”

Benny caught a wayward strand of her long hair in his fingers and tucked it behind her ear. “You’re going to be completely platinum, doll. I can feel it .”

⸻

Benny could feel how anxious Aurora was in how hard her pulse thumped beneath where his thumb grazed her wrist, but each time she looked at him she still flashed a big smile.

“So?” she asked Doctor Henry. “How’s my brain look?”

The old man started jabbering on about repaired neural pathways, successful rejuvenation of scar tissue, and a bunch of other stuff that went right over Benny’s head. He looked over the doctor’s shoulder to Calamity for clarification. She nodded her head with a thumbs up and a grin to indicate that whatever Doctor Henry was saying was good news.

Doctor Henry noticed his assistant’s movement behind him and gave her a withering look before turning his attention back to Aurora. “So, any lingering symptoms of the treatment? Dizziness, headaches, nausea, anything?”

“Well, I guess my scalp’s kind of sore…”

“That will subside soon. The electric current is irritating to the skin.”

“And I keep getting these… flashes. It’s almost like a memory, but not quite. I don’t know how to perfectly describe it, but I’ll see something in my mind for a moment and feel scared, but after a second it goes away.”

“Flashes?” Benny fretted. He touched his fingers to Aurora’s forehead, like he could identify what was going wrong with her head just by looking at it. He kept his eyes trained on Aurora’s as he asked Doctor Henry, “You can fix that, right?”

Calamity and the doctor shared a tense look before the old neurosurgeon addressed Benny’s question. “That might not be a problem, per se. Aurora, you said your trauma came from being shot while being robbed, correct?”

“So I’ve been told,” she replied dryly.

The doctor removed his glasses and sighed as he cleaned them off with his shirt. He seemed to have a hard time making eye contact with Aurora after he put them back on. “It’s rare, but sometimes after a traumatic brain injury, the memory of what caused the injury will surface, sometimes fully, sometimes in bits and pieces.”

Doctor Henry and Calamity cast Aurora sorrowful looks, but her face lit up like a neon Vegas sign. “That’s wonderful!”

“ Wonderful? Baby, that’s awful,” Benny exclaimed, entirely confused by her reaction. Aside from the fact that he didn’t want her to have a memory of a certain someone’s face during one of her flashes, he also just didn’t want her to remember something so horrid.

Aurora didn’t even hear him. She was so giddy that she was shaking, almost vibrating. She hopped down from her gurney and gave Doctor Henry a peck on the cheek, sending the old man into a fit of throat clearing and awkward mumbling. She gave Calamity a hug and thanked the ghoul for helping her before spinning around to look at Benny with a face-splitting grin. “I’ve-I’ve got to… I’ve got to go. This worked out better than I could’ve possibly hoped for!”

Aurora almost seemed to be in a haze as she started to quickly strap on her Pip-Boy, set her hat back on, and gather all of her belongings. She moved with a wild, uncontrolled haste that unnerved Benny.

“Hey doll, slow down a minute,” he said, grabbing her by the elbow to halt her. “Just where are you wanting to go? What’s the rush?”

“The Goodsprings Cemetery,” she answered with a crazed giggle. “It’s where they found me buried. Maybe seeing the place will dredge up more memories.”

Benny’s whole body filled with icy terror at the thought of even going near that place again. Thinking about Aurora actually remembering what happened there, though… that filled him with a panic so overwhelming that he could barely even see.

“ No,” he managed to choke out. “You can’t.”

His tone seemed to finally snap her out of her strange frenzy. Her brows furrowed together, but her eyes were filled with concern as she looked up at him. “What? Why not?”

Benny grabbed her tightly by her upper arms and pulled her close. He had to restrain himself to keep from shaking her, his desperation so violently clawing at him to say or do anything to keep her from returning to that wicked place.

“Baby, you told me you’d let this thing go. You promised me. Going to that cemetery won’t make you feel better.”

Aurora gave him a hard look before her eyes darted over to the other two people that Benny had completely forgotten were in the room. “C’mon, we’re going to talk about this outside.”

Benny followed her out of the research room and through the main doors of the lodge. Jesus, he’d never wanted a cigarette so bad in his life.

Benny expected Aurora to be pissed, to scream and yell at him that he wasn’t the boss of her, that he had no right to tell her what to do, but all she did was wrap her arms around his waist and set her head against his chest, right above his hammering heart. He rubbed his hands up and down her back as they hugged to try and keep her warm. “Baby, you promised me.”

“Benny, you know I can't even remember doing that,” she sighed. “Besides, that was before we got my brain working right again, and before I started to actually remember.”

Goddamned stubborn woman. “What if we get to the cemetery and you don’t remember anything? Hell, what if you remember everything?”

Aurora pulled back and looked Benny in the eye as she touched her hand to the side of his neck. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I ain’t going to go on some revenge quest, no matter what happens. I’ve just got to see the place where this all started. I’ve just got to.”

Of course Benny wanted to beg her not to go there, but then he thought about what he’d do if he were her. Would he be able to resist the draw of seeing the place, the closure of seeing the exact point where his life was changed irrevocably?

“Okay, he said. “Okay. I don’t think you should, but okay.”

“It’ll be alright, Benny,” she assured him, so confident. “And, listen… I ain’t asking you to go with me. I know I’ve derailed your life enough as is. I’ll meet back up with you in Vegas after I’ve handled this thing.”

Benny let out a huff and yanked her back in for another hug. “Girlie, you’re out of your mind if you think I’m letting you haul it to Goodsprings by yourself.”

She chuckled at his offended tone as she admitted, “I’m glad you want to go. I’d like to learn about my soulmate from something other than journal entries on my Pip-Boy.”

Let’s just hope you don’t learn more than you really want to, Benny thought with a shudder.

Chapter Text

Benny’s anxiety only seemed to multiply the closer he and Aurora drew to Goodsprings. If she noticed, though, she didn’t say anything. In fact, Aurora seemed to grow happier the longer they were on the road. Sometimes she’d just pause and turn her face up toward the sun and spread her arms out to soak up its light, like a bird that’d been freed from a cage.

Their journey from Jacobstown to Goodsprings was actually a relatively easy one. Aside from the occasional creature sneaking up on them, they ran into almost no resistance. The only times they stopped for extended periods were to sleep, hydrate, and eat. Those times were Benny’s favorite, both because it meant that there was just a smidge more time until they’d arrive in Goodsprings and because they were when Aurora would ask him the most questions. Now that her head was on straight she wanted to know everything about him. He tried to answer as honestly as he could, but he did skirt around some of the details of his youth. He never mentioned Bingo or anything directly relating to his tribal past, but he did tell her about Abuelita, Swank, and pretty much everything from his favorite color down to his cigarette preferences.

Another thing that made the journey easier was how easily Aurora offered affection along the way. They’d be talking and she’d reach out and lace her fingers together with his or plant a kiss on his cheek like it was the most natural thing in the world, like she’d been doing it forever.

The only nonessential long stop they made was about halfway through their journey when Benny spotted two figures hanging by their necks on some short lengths of rope from a ridge wall. As they got closer, Benny realized the figures were both male and dressed in crimson tunics. Legion. Aurora must’ve realized it too, but she just kept walking toward the hanged men.

“Shit doll, we’ve got to get out of here. What if these guys' friends come by and think we did this to them?”

“They won’t be back,” Aurora said somberly, her arms crossed as she looked up at the corpses. “The Legion did this to them.”

“How can you tell?”

Aurora pointed up at a small point Benny hadn’t noticed on one of the dead men’s skirts. There was a haphazardly painted pink triangle just above his left knee. On the other man, the same marking was placed on his right sleeve.

“It’s a symbol to identify gay men.” Aurora’s finger trailed up to the large spikes that were pounded into the sandstone ridge that the men were hung from. “See how shiny those nails are? Means they were hammered in recently, just to string these boys up. My guess is that their squad caught them together.”

An image played through Benny’s mind, violent and gory, of the men being pushed from the top of the ledge, their necks snapping against their nooses. “Their friends killed them just for fooling around together?”

“Caesar’s orders. Homosexuality is punishable by death in the Legion.” Aurora curled her finger to usher Benny closer. “Give me a boost. I’m going to cut them down.”

Benny turned around to survey the desert behind them. He couldn’t detect any movement, any sign that the twisted creeps that had done this were coming back. He wove his fingers together and firmly held Aurora’s boot as she reached for the nooses with her knife. After both of the men were cut down, Benny followed Aurora’s lead as she adjusted one of the corpses into a sitting position against the ridge. They sat the men side by side and used a bit of water to smear the pink triangles from their clothing. They were able to close one of the men’s eyes just by brushing his lids down, but Benny had to place two bottle caps on the other’s to keep them from fluttering open.

Benny stepped back to look at the corpses. They both had obvious bruising from their nooses, but at least they weren’t strung up as spectacles anymore. “Poor bastards.”

He looked over at Aurora and thought about the time he’d asked her where she was from. She’d told him it was Legion territory now. She seemed to be really affected by the mutilation the two men had suffered. He thought about inquiring more about her past to find out why she looked so dismayed by the deaths of these two strangers, but he decided against it. They were likely to reach Goodsprings by nightfall, and Benny was keenly aware that he may well have just a few hours until Aurora might be making that very same horrified expression at him. So he took her by the hand and gently tugged her toward the road. “C’mon, doll. We’re losing the light.”

⸻

After they’d stumbled across the Legion men, Benny and Aurora were both quieter, lost in thought, though Benny suspected for different reasons. With time, though, Aurora cheered again, growing giddier as they closed in on the cemetery. She let out a laugh when they were in sight of the old water tower that loomed above the cursed place and raced toward the hill, like nothing in the world would be more thrilling than seeing her own grave. A shudder ripped through Benny when he looked up and realized, as the very final rays of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, that a full moon was out. Just like the night he’d shot her. Too many details were aligning, making everything feel too familiar.

They climbed the steep hill that the Goodsprings cemetery sat on and hopped the weathered wooden fence that surrounded the area. Aurora walked quickly among the graves, her eyes alight with some emotion Benny couldn’t identify as she searched for her own empty one. He didn’t know how she didn’t see it right away. That hole seemed to call to Benny, making it impossible for him to keep his gaze from drifting to it. The marker he’d created was still sticking out of the ground with Aurora’s name on it. He could at least be grateful that his carving skills were shit, so she hopefully wouldn’t notice that he’d tried to replicate the way her name appeared on his wrist.

When she finally found her burial place, Aurora stood by the edge of it for a long time, just staring down into the abyss. Benny willed himself to go to her, to try and offer some comfort, but his body was rigid. He stood back several feet from her, carefully assessing her for any change that might indicate she was remembering the night they’d met.

And he could see as he looked at her that it wasn’t clicking. Whatever images were running through her mind weren’t giving him away. He could see it in the frustration, the misery, the fucking anguish that clouded her pretty face. But only when she angrily tossed her hat into the sand, exposing her face to the moonlight as a shimmery tear ran down her cheek, did Benny finally realize the true reason he’d been so afraid of coming back to this place.

How did Benny ever think that he was really going to get away with this? How had he thought it for so long? He’d stolen from Mr. House and coveted his position of power, told hundreds of lies to the other Chairmen, people that were supposed to be his family. He’d abandoned his duty to his tribe and cast off his work onto Swank so that he could wallow in liquor and self-pity. He’d shot his soulmate, the woman who was gifted to him by God to be his other half, and then buried her in a shallow grave. He’d hurt so many people in his pursuit of the platinum chip. He’d ruined Aurora’s life for months, and then he’d looked her in the eye every day like he wasn’t a vicious murderer. Her murderer. God’s punishment for Benny wasn’t that Aurora’d sustained brain damage. That was just a test. The Big Man Upstairs was just getting Benny’s attention with that. The real price for Benny’s arrogance was going to be what he had to do next.

“Aurora,” he choked out.

Concern washed away all the other emotions that were playing across her face as she registered his tone. She closed the distance between them and set a hand on his cheek, her thumb skimming across his jaw. 

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked. She smiled a little as she tried to cheer him with a joke. “You didn’t see a ghost or something, did you?”

Benny was trying to speak, but his throat felt thick and hot, like he’d swallowed a mouthful of fire. Aurora petting his face so sweetly was only making it worse. He grasped her by the wrist and pulled her hand away. “Aurora-”

“Should’ve told me cemeteries give you the spooks. You could’ve waited at that bar down the way while I-”

“It was me,” he spat out in a rush, terrified the words would suffocate him if he didn’t get them out. “I’m the man who shot you and stole your delivery. It was me.”

She took a step back from him, her hand limply falling down to her side. “I don’t… that doesn’t make any sense.”

A grimace ripped across Benny’s features as a sob worked its way out of his throat, tight and wild with a frenzy of differing emotions. His words tumbled out unconstricted now, like a dam giving way to the pressure of a flood. “I didn’t know who you were when I did it, baby, I swear to God I didn’t know. You were just some nameless Mojave Express courier, and I needed to take your package, and I couldn’t leave any loose ends. It… it fucking killed me when I realized what I’d done, Aurora. It tore me open from the inside having to live with it.”

She kept stepping further back as Benny was speaking, her gaze fixed on him until she was standing in the exact spot where Benny had forced her to kneel when he’d taken aim. Like that very night, her pale brown eyes were rimmed with red as panicked tears streamed from them. Benny stepped toward her, desperate to stop her crying, but she held a shaking hand up and growled, “Don’t you dare come near me.”

He halted and suppressed another sob. His desperation to make her understand grew more wild, making him pace back and forth in a tight line horizontally to her as he wrung his hands in his hair. “When you came to the Strip, baby, I was so fucking happy. You can’t know what a relief it was to see you that first time. When I realized you didn’t remember me, I really felt like we were getting some sort of second chance.” Bitterness crept in as he thought about how stupid he’d been all this time. “Can you believe that? I seriously thought that I was just going to get away scot-free with this. I thought that you’d never have any idea how bad I really am.”

He wasn’t even really sure if Aurora was hearing him. Although she was looking at him, there was a far-off look in her eyes like she wasn’t quite all the way there. She slowly sank down into a crouch on her knees as he spoke, again mirroring that first time they’d met in the cemetery.

“Take out your gun,” she commanded numbly.

“What? No!”

“I can’t…” Aurora pressed her fingers to her temples and squeezed her eyes shut. “I can almost see it, but…” When he didn’t move, she shot him a glare so full of fury, of flat-out hatred, that Benny let out a groan. “Goddamn it, Benny! Take it out! ”

His hands trembled violently as he pulled Maria out from his inner jacket pocket. The metal on the pistol felt horribly cold to him as he pointed the barrel down toward the ground, just a few inches away from his foot. He thought back to the night he’d tried to kill her, how callous and cold he must’ve looked just moments before he took his shot. What did she see now as she looked at him, fighting convulsions that ripped through him as he tried to hold himself together, unable to tear his gaze away from her pain-stricken face?

He could see the picture finally coming together in her head. She swayed forward, her hands splayed against the ground as she gasped for air. Back before he’d revealed himself as her soulmate, it had hurt when she’d walk into his casino and look at him as if he were a stranger. But the way she was staring at him now, like she had no idea what to think of him, that absolutely destroyed him. A deathclaw could’ve been standing in his place and she probably would’ve looked less petrified.

Aurora was unsteady as she stood again. “How could you do it?” she croaked. “How could you even stand to be near me knowing what you’d done? How could you just lie about who you are like that? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Don’t you think I know there’s no excuse for what I did? Is there anything I could’ve possibly said that would’ve justified it?”

“Why now? Why are you telling me this now?”

“Because I love you, Aurora, and I just… I couldn’t deny you knowing what had happened anymore. Not when it was so important to you.”

She let out a humorless laugh. “You love me?” She closed the distance between them again, stopping only when she was so near that the tips of their shoes were touching. She tilted her head to force him to face her. Her nose brushed his as she spat, “You’re as cruel as the Devil himself to say a thing like that to me right now.”

“I’m sorry,” he said weakly, his words barely above a whisper.

“You’re goddamn right that you’re sorry,” she hissed. She backed away from him and went back to her grave to retrieve her hat from the sand. As she bent down to grab it, she spotted some of the cigarette butts Benny had left peppered nearby. She shot him a bitter smirk as she ground one of them between her fingers, pulverizing the dry tobacco and paper into nothing. More tears started to roll down her cheeks, and Benny could see that she was trying very hard not to start fully sobbing. She’d probably stab him for getting too close, but he didn’t care. He started walking toward her, arms extended. “Aurora, I’m so sorry.”

“Stay away,” she ordered, her twangy accent becoming thicker as she became more panicked as he drew nearer.

Benny faltered for a moment, but he kept walking toward her. “Baby, we can fix this. We have to.”

Aurora stumbled backward until she collided with the cemetery fence, her hands gripping onto the wood so hard her knuckles turned white. It was only then that Benny realized that she wasn’t just rightly furious with him, she was also afraid. Afraid of him.

He reached out, palm turned up. “Aurora-”

Even this small gesture was enough to send her over the edge. She flung herself over the fence post with a shriek and fell onto her back before taking off in a sprint down the hill. She ran into the open desert with seemingly no actual destination other than away from Benny.

Benny called out for her to wait as he gave chase. Who knew what she could run into out in the wilderness, the darkness obscuring so many dangers? The moon provided enough illumination that he easily kept her in his sight, although she was quickly putting far more distance between the two of them than he was comfortable with in this unfamiliar place.

Benny’s lungs were burning as Aurora slightly altered her course, veering to the left a bit. He looked up and ahead and noticed a metal shack up on the crest of a sand dune. He tried to push himself to move faster, but Aurora beat him to the shack by several seconds. He didn’t even try to open the door when he reached it. She’d surely locked or barricaded the entrance.

He leaned against the shack, prepared to continue to try and explain himself, but he paused when he felt the door give a shake. He pressed his ear to the door and listened carefully. It was soft, but he could make out Aurora’s muffled cries. Whenever a particularly hard wail escaped her, the door would lightly vibrate. She had collapsed just on the other side, and she was crying so hard that it was shaking her whole body, along with the corroded aluminum that the shack was composed of.

Benny sighed and sank down with his back pressed against the door, feeling his soulmate’s sobs shake the very core of his being.

Chapter Text

Benny’s eyes stung as he awoke to the early morning sun shining directly on his face. He tossed a hand up to try and block some of the too-powerful rays as he slowly reoriented, the previous evening coming back to him in a nauseating rush.

He stood from where he’d slumped over into the sand and turned to face the shack, his hand half-poised to knock on the door and beg Aurora to let him in.

The shack door was thrown open. Inside, the place was empty, save some dirty furniture. Aurora was gone.

Still not completely awake, Benny took off in a run for Goodsprings. She wouldn’t have just left. She was in the town having breakfast, refilling her water canteen. She wouldn’t leave without him. She just wouldn’t.

Benny burst through the doors of the Prospector Saloon, earning him the stares of every single bar patron and a wary look from the woman behind the main counter. “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?” the gruff woman asked him.

He ignored her question, his panic making him rude and curt. “I’m looking for a broad, wastelander type, long hair, speaks with a drawl. Was she here?”

The bartender eyed him up and down as she asked, “Why should I tell you?”

Benny flung a small sack of caps down on the bar as he leaned in and hissed, “She’s my soulmate, that’s why. Where’d she go?”

The woman took a step back despite the bar separating them, Benny’s dangerous tone setting her on guard. She chewed her lip for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders and huffed, “I suppose a girl like that can handle herself. Don’t see much harm in telling you.” The bartender took Benny’s bag of caps and poured them into a box with a security lock as she described the conversation she’d apparently had with Aurora in the early morning hours, about 3 AM by the bartender’s estimate. Aurora had come to the town for an opinion on the safest route to Vegas for a single traveler. The locals had instructed her to travel through Nipton and Novac before heading up to the 188 Trading Post.

She’d really just left him. No note, no goodbye. What else should he have expected, though? This is exactly what he deserved.

Benny turned and left the saloon without another word. He felt oddly numb and hollow inside as he walked, like nothing around him could quite reach him. He barely noticed the hot sun beating down on his head, the sounds of birds cawing to one another in morning greeting, or even that Goodsprings was steadily getting smaller and smaller behind him as he trudged along the cracked asphalt road. He must’ve been walking for well over an hour when he finally even realized that he was heading toward Nipton.

It was over a day’s walk to the small town, and Benny knew it was unlikely that he’d catch up to Aurora even if he traveled all night, but his body moved all on its own. It was as if Benny were possessed by some animalistic draw to be near her, to lay his eyes on her and know that she was safe, even if the logical part of his mind knew that she was likely to attack him for even coming after her.

As the sun started to sink toward the horizon, the air began to feel abnormally thick, almost sticky with humidity. It was a rare sight to see dark storm clouds roll across the desert sky, but Benny was looking right at them. Just a few minutes after the whole sky was blanketed in a cold, cruel gray, thunder started to ominously rumble, gentle at first, but it quickly began to boom so loudly that Benny couldn’t hear anything else. Soon, fat raindrops started to pour down, soaking into his hair and clothes as it turned the earth beneath him into a dense sludge that tried to suck the very shoes from his feet. The storm distorted and dimmed the landscape so severely that he could barely tell where he was anymore, and exhaustion was creeping in. His tongue, parched from being denied even a sip of water that day, skimmed along his lips to lick up the raindrops that rolled down his face. Benny fell to his knees before rolling onto his back to face the angry heavens, a sudden hopelessness engulfing him.

Benny let his head loll to the side, uncaring of the gritty feeling of the sand scratching against his cheek. It was then that he spotted a building in the distance, a modest wooden structure barely the size of his suite at The Tops. As a streak of lightning cracked across the sky, providing a moment of electric blue illumination, he saw that the roof of the small building was decorated with a golden cross. An old church.

He crawled for the refuge, too tired to even fully get up. Only when he reached the five small stairs that led into the church did he find the energy to grasp the bannister and rise, and even then his walk was a pathetic stagger.

He stumbled into the dry sanctum of the church, tripping on rotten books and uneven waves in the scuffed flooring. He scanned the place for any sign of supplies as he made his way down the center aisle, finding nothing but empty pews. He was on the verge of collapsing again when he reached the podium that was positioned at the head of the room and had to grasp its sides for support. It was then, as he tried to concentrate on his hands to alleviate the spinning of the room, that he noticed the words God Bless! were carved into the pulpit, along with an arrow pointing down. Benny let out a cry of relief when he spotted the box that was placed on the storage shelf of the podium.

He crashed to his knees and yanked a bottle of water from the box. His parched throat burned from the sensation of the lukewarm water going down, but he drained the bottle in one long swallow. He snapped the lid off of the second bottle and drank just as greedily from that one, barely managing to stop himself when he was halfway done with it. He decided to save it for after he rifled through the remaining contents of the box.

Benny picked up the two cloth sacks inside, both made from a rough but seemingly recently-made textile, given its durability and thickness. He peeked into the sacks. One contained jerky, the other dried pear slices. The food was still good and could probably last several weeks in the protection of the sacks. Still, Benny was surprised that someone had left the supplies recently.

A memory came to him from when he was young, about ten or so, of a lesson Abuelita had imparted about God and signs. He’d been hungry — all the Boot-Riders were. Famine had struck the Mojave, and even with extra raids on the caravans and smart rationing, food had run low. Benny had found an abundance of prickly pear while exploring, something that had confounded him at a time when it seemed every other bit of vegetation in the desert was withering to death. His abuela, while happy to be led to the fruits, wasn’t the least bit surprised by them. ‘Sometimes it is difficult to see the plan that God has for us. It can feel as though we have been abandoned. But if you look and listen, Benancio, you will see that God is always giving us signs that he’s watching over us. If you ever feel lost, try to find the signs. They are God’s way of speaking to you.’

Benny didn’t know who had left the supplies in the church or why, but he did know what their appearance meant. He couldn’t give up, not when he’d come so far. Aurora might despise him, but he was meant to pursue her. They were soulmates, and that meant that they were supposed to stick together, through thick and thin, drought and rain.

Benny used his new resolve to set to work immediately. He found a mostly intact ceramic bowl in the church to set outside to gather rain while he finished off the remainder of the supplies that the mysterious angel had left for him to find. The food and water gave him renewed energy, and he used the rainwater he’d collected to refill his canteen for the journey ahead.

As Benny stepped out onto the steps of the church, determined to catch up to Aurora, a ray of sunshine broke through the stormy sky and shined down directly onto Benny as the downpour lightened to a faint drizzle. He closed his eyes and took in a lungful of the damp air and felt like he’d taken his first full breath of the day.

Chapter Text

Benny was silent as he crept along the side of the small pre-war house. He kept his body low and Maria at the ready, very aware of the danger he was putting himself in to explore this awful place.

When he had still been hours away from Nipton, he’d seen the white plumes of vapor-like smoke rising into the sky. He’d paused, unsure of continuing toward the town. The pale color of the smoke meant that the fire was extinguished, yes, but anything that had managed to still burn after that incredible storm had to be big. Benny’d guessed the entire town must’ve gone up in flames. Aurora wouldn’t risk going near a burning settlement, would she?

The worry that she would — she was compassionate enough to cut down hung legionaries, after all — is what led Benny to sleuth through the place initially. But when he’d seen the piles of charred bodies upon still-smoking tires and the crucified skeletal remains decorating Nipton, Benny realized that his fear of fire was nothing compared to the real danger that might still linger in the town. So he’d kept to side passages and made his way toward the center of Nipton with the shadows of pre-war houses disguising him, on high alert for any signs of life.

Benny was lying flush against a residence right next to the town hall when he spotted her. She was walking right down the main street that ran through Nipton, like there weren’t a million-and-one signals screaming out at her that the Legion was near. Benny wanted to scream at Aurora to get the fuck away from the scorched town, but something in him nervously itched, warning him to remain hidden for now. So he stayed low, carefully watching the street for any sudden signs of crimson. It took every bit of control in him not to jump out and fling himself in front of her when a group of five legionaries came tumbling out of the town hall.

The man that had left the building first stood in the center, his arms crossed with an amused grin plastered on his ghostly pale face. “Don't worry, I won't have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates,” he purred in a too-velvety voice. "It's useful that you happened by.”

The legionary looked as though he might continue speaking, but Aurora let out a disgusted scoff, causing the legionary to snap his teeth together. Benny prayed internally that Aurora would just let them talk, that hopefully the twisted fucks would just leave her be, but of course she had to provoke them.

“Just who the hell are you supposed to be?”

“I am Vulpes Inculta, of Caesar’s Legion. I serve my master as the greatest of his Frumentarii. We Frumentarii are soldiers of a different stripe, you see, capable in battle, but skilled infiltrators as well — hence our presence in this town of whores.”

Aurora spat on the ground and tilted the brim of her hat back. Benny could see her dirty glare even from where he was lying in wait. “Fancy way of saying you’re a spy.”

A menacing grin crossed Vulpes Inculta’s face, as if he were delighted by her obvious hatred of him. Once again, before he could continue speaking, he was interrupted, this time by one of his own men.

“I’d hold my tongue if I were you, Aurora Hixon.”

Benny flitted his gaze over to the legionary who’d addressed her. How the hell did he know her name?

“You know this profligate, Marcus?” Vulpes Inculta asked, his growing interest clear in his voice.

“Yes,” the legionary named Marcus answered. He stepped toward Aurora and grabbed her by the chin to tilt her face up. His touch wasn’t harsh, but it had Benny pointing his gun directly at the man’s head. “I wasn’t sure until I saw her eyes. They’re just the same as when you were a child.”

Aurora flexed her fingers in and out, but she made no moves for her knives or shotgun. Like Benny, she was likely hoping they’d decide she wasn’t worth their time. Benny heard her give a choked gasp as she examined the legionary’s face, recognition settling in her features. “Lone Star.”

“It’s Marcus now. I shed my old name along with my dissolution back when your mother surrendered to the mighty Caesar.”

Aurora’s chest heaved in and out slowly, like she was trying very hard to maintain her cool. “I’m… I’m so sorry that she did this to you.”

Marcus, Lone Star, whoever the fuck he was, leaned close as he yanked Aurora forward. Benny’s finger nearly squeezed down on the trigger of his gun, but he was afraid he’d miss and hit Aurora.

“We were a band of savages before our assimilation into the Legion, woman. Your mother understood that Caesar would give us purpose, no one more so than herself. Her fate as his mate freed us all from the bondage of our barbarity. Don’t you dare pity me, not even for a moment.”

“Let me go,” Aurora pleaded as she wrapped her hands around his wrist, fear clearly coloring her words.

Marcus spoke aloud now, a sneer pulling up his lips as he kept his stare on Aurora’s terrified face. “Brothers, you’re looking at the daughter of our lord Caesar’s mate! What honors do you think would be bestowed upon us for bringing her back to her dear lady mother?” He turned around to face the other legionaries, a dark chuckle escaping his lips right before Aurora buried one of her blades deep in his neck. He released his hold on her jaw as he desperately pawed at the gaping wound in his throat, but it was pointless. He fell to his knees as his blood poured out and onto his chest before flopping lifelessly to the ground.

For just a moment, the world seemed to move in slow motion for Benny. He was able to fire off a shot, instantly killing another legionary as Benny’s bullet went clean through his skull. Two down, three to go.

Now that the Frumentarii were aware of Benny’s presence, they turned their attention on him, their machetes at the ready. Except for Vulpes Inculta. The son of a bitch had a fully operational fucking chainsaw. Benny might be able to make it out alive with a few machete slices, but one blow from that thing was sure to kill him.

Benny was firing at the legionaries while walking back, trying to keep a safe distance from them. Aside from some moderate grazes, he just couldn’t seem to actually nail his opponents. He quickly ran out of bullets and had to try to reload all while fleeing and trying to ascertain where Aurora had gone.

Suddenly, one of the legionary's heads was blown into a hundred pieces, a shotgun shell cracking his skull into tiny, gory little bits. Aurora stood just a few feet back from where the man had been standing, her gun pointed menacingly at the other unnamed legionary.

The legionary let out a growl as he tried to slash her across her torso. Aurora reacted just quickly enough to use the barrel of her gun to deflect the attack. She fell to the ground as she tried to push his blade away, but he was quicker than her. The legionary straddled her as he continued to push down with his machete, keeping Aurora from defending herself, her hands locked at opposing points on her gun as she tried to keep him from crushing it against her throat.

Benny was on him in an instant. He used the momentum of his sprint toward the legionary to bring the man crashing to the ground several feet away from Aurora, Benny’s arms locked around the legionary's chest. The man knocked his elbow into Benny’s stomach to force him to release his hold. Benny fought a hard gag as he scrambled backward to deflect any more blows, but the legionary was viciously quick. He grabbed Benny by the collar and lifted his machete into the air, perfectly poised to cut Benny’s head clean off.

Just as the legionary’s arm started to swing down, Aurora’s second knife flew through the air and landed right in the man’s ribs. He howled with pain as he dropped his weapon and positioned his shaking hands to pull the blade from his body, but Aurora appeared at his side before he could. She grabbed the knife’s hilt instead and twisted it, hard and fast enough to elicit an audible snap from the legionary's fragile rib bones before she yanked it free from his flesh. He screamed as he tried to press down on the wound, but Aurora silenced him with a knee to his chin. The blow was exact, violent. The man scrambled away from her as he cupped his dislocated jaw, his tortured wails distorted by his mouth injury. Benny was entirely transfixed as Aurora crouched down by the man, a cruel glint in her eyes while she watched him squirm for a moment. She screeched as she buried her blade into him again, this time stabbing him straight in the heart. Blood sprayed out into the air in a terrible mist, coating everything within a three-foot radius of the legionary. Though he drew his last breath as the knife was yanked from his heart, Aurora plunged the blade right back in. Then she did it again. And again. She hacked into him over and over until his chest was nothing but an undefinable cavity of gore and viscera. The longer she stabbed, the more undone she became. Benny crept toward her as she began to keen, the sound nearly inhuman with mortification and horror.

Benny grabbed onto her upper arms and gently tugged her away from the corpse, just a few inches. At first she still wildly hacked and screamed, for the delirium of the threat she’d just suffered still overcame all her good sense. Benny managed to force her fingers to open so she’d drop her weapon. She watched her blade clatter onto the blood-soaked ground with gnashing teeth and an unrestrained shriek. Benny shushed her and drew her in for a tight embrace. He cupped his hand on her cheek and tried to rub away some of the thickest gore that clung to her skin, but all he managed to do was smear her skin with more red. As the heat of the fight ebbed down, Aurora’s screeching winded down into ragged sobs. Benny whispered stupid comforts that he knew she likely didn’t want to hear in her ear. “It’s okay, it’s over. You’re safe now, vida mía .”

It felt like a lifetime that they sat there.

After several minutes of silence, Aurora suddenly clung onto Benny’s jacket. Her lips trembled as she whimpered, “ Vulpes Inculta.”

Benny’s gaze flickered to each legionary corpse as her meaning dawned on him. The leader of the Frumentarii was not among their kills. At some point during the fighting, he’d managed to slip away undetected.

Aurora pulled away from Benny and pushed herself into a shaky stand. “We’ve got to get the hell out of here before any more of them come.” She fluttered around the smoldering town to retrieve her knives and hat, which had fallen off during the battle. After hastily gathering her things, she returned to Benny and tightly interlocked her fingers with his. “We need to go, Benny!”

He pushed his surprise aside and gave her a nod of confirmation before they started to flee down the central road that ran through Nipton. For now, at least, it seemed that he was forgiven.

Chapter Text

It was past nightfall when Benny and Aurora finally ended their flight from Nipton. The sky was unusually dim, the stars obscured by a hazy veil of dark indigo clouds. A creeping, humid chill hung in the air, a likely remainder from the storm. Benny began to snap off twigs from a sagebrush shrub to start a fire, but Aurora stopped him before he could use his lighter to set the tiny branches ablaze.

“Don’t. They might see it.”

Benny looked from his crouched position to where Aurora stood. Her back was to him, her gaze kept southwest in search of legionaries coming to finish them off. She shivered as she looked out into the desert and pulled at the hem of her shirt, causing her blood-soaked blouse to make a noise like a wet sheet being flung out on a clothesline to dry.

Benny rose and peeled off his jacket for her. “Here, baby. You’ve got to be freezing.” He gently wrapped the jacket around her shoulders, but she shook it off with a frustrated huff.

“What are you even doing here, Benny? Why’d you follow me?”

“We’re soulmates, doll. What other choice did I really have?”

“I’m pretty sure firing a bullet into my skull makes the whole soulmate thing null and void.”

Benny cringed at her bitter words but pushed on. “It’s a damn good thing I did follow you — considering. Wouldn’t you say?”

Aurora finally turned to face him, her lips pulled back in a snarl so severe it exposed her teeth. “No, I don’t say! Do you have any idea what those men would’ve done to you if they’d decided to keep you alive? Any idea at all?”

Benny forced himself to take a deep breath to try and keep his anger in. “You really think I’d let you take on a whole squad of legionaries alone just to save my own skin? Seriously?”

“It was foolish. They could’ve strung you up on one of those crosses or cut off your fucking fingers for fun. They ain’t like the Fiends or Freeside thugs. They’ll do much, much worse to you than kill you. I didn’t need your help.”

Benny clicked his tongue against his teeth and let out a harsh laugh. “I guess you would’ve been alright, huh? Since your mother — who you told me was fucking dead — is apparently Caesar’s goddamn soulmate .”

Aurora grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut. “You heard?”

“Yeah, I heard! What, did you get a little mixed up on the fact that your mother was a tribal? Or that she's apparently alive and breathing?” Benny was damn near screaming; he was getting so worked up. “Or was the part about her being the most notorious woman in the Legion the part that you got confused about? Which is it, girlie?”

Even in the darkness, Benny could see Aurora’s cheeks flushing with fury. “Who the fuck are you to get angry with me for lying? You of all people have no right to lecture me on that!”

“Oh, don’t think I don’t recognize the hypocrisy, baby. But now I’m finding out that it wouldn’t have mattered if I’d kept lying or not. You never trusted me. I… fuck, Aurora, I know I’m a fink, but you really kept a secret like that from me? I’ve been trying to get close to you for all this time, I tear across the Mojave to get you to a doctor to try and fix my mistake, and you lied to me about your mother being dead? Hid who she was? Did you ever trust me, even a little?”

Benny didn’t wait for a response. He knew he was being completely unfair. Aside from lying about shooting her, Benny’d also hid his past from her. She knew nothing of his former life, what he’d done to gain control of his tribe, but fuck. She had still had brain damage when she’d told the lie, but it cut deep to know that she’d considered him too much of a stranger to reveal the truth about herself. He stormed off and slid down against a nearby boulder as he set his head into his hands. Guilt, hurt, anger — all his emotions were jumbling inside him again. Nothing his grandmother had told him could’ve possibly prepared Benny for the way Aurora could turn him inside out.

After several minutes, Benny heard Aurora walk over to him and settle down onto the sand next to him. When he didn’t look up, Aurora set her palm against the back of his neck and gave him a soft squeeze to encourage him to face her. She looked him square in the eye and took a deep breath before she began speaking.

“I didn’t lie to you because I didn’t trust you. I lied because I’m ashamed of her, and I didn’t want you to think differently of me because of her. I tell everyone that she’s dead because she’s dead to me. Almost no one knows the truth about my mother, other than Pa and… the whole Legion, too, I guess.”

Benny let out a long sigh as he leaned forward to touch his forehead against hers. “I know a thing or two about feeling shame, doll. But you don’t ever need to feel that way with me. There isn’t a thing you could ever tell me that would make me love you any less.”

Aurora closed her eyes and let out a shaky gasp. For the tiniest second, her lips ghosted over Benny’s. The idea of a kiss, almost. Her voice trembled as she said, “I really thought they were going to kill you. I couldn’t even see straight while I was dragging that legionary off of you. I was so terrified, and so furious … I could’ve ripped him apart.”

“How do you think I felt when they all crowded around you like that?” Benny murmured, tangling his fingers into her hair as he spoke. It had big knots in it and a stringy texture from dried blood gluing pieces together, but to Benny there couldn’t have been any better feeling than combing through her long tresses. He buried his face against her neck as he pulled her in for an embrace. She reeked with the metallic scent of gore and sour sweat, but he drank it in. She was with him. She was safe, and she wasn’t running from him.

“Doll?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to leave me again?”

She paused for a long while before answering. “No. One of us is liable to wind up dead if we part ways. We’ll go back to Vegas together.”

He pulled back to look at her face as he asked his next question. “Do… do you forgive me?”

She scrutinized his face as she carefully thought through her answer again, a pained set to her features. “I want to.”

“But will you?”

She shook her head as a sniffle escaped her. “I shouldn’t. I don’t know why I want to, why I feel this way about you. I’ve only actually known you for a few days. It should be easy for me to walk away, so why don’t I want to?”

Benny cupped her face into his hands and soothingly ran his thumbs up and down her cheeks. “You’ve known me a long time, baby, that’s why. You’ve just got to look back at those old Pip-Boy entries of yours to see for yourself. Besides that, you’ve been destined to know me forever, even before our names appeared on each other’s wrists. We meant to be together.”

Despite the tears forming in the corners of her eyes, Aurora chuckled. “Lord, you sound like my sister, talking all romantic about fate like that.”

“I’m serious, Aurora.”

“I know. I’ll… I’ll think about it, okay? That’s all I can say for right now.”

Benny might’ve argued with her, but another shudder racked Aurora’s body. Benny pressed his fingers to her blood-soaked shirt and almost winced at how cold it was.

“Lose the blouse, doll. You can wear my jacket instead.”

“No,” she instantly rejected. “You’ll be cold without it.”

Benny couldn’t help but smile. “You know, you and I have had this exact same argument before.”

Aurora’s brows furrowed, then lifted as she grinned. “On the way to Jacobstown.”

“And I won then, just like I’m going to now.” Benny sat back some to give her room to peel away her outer shirt. Her white t-shirt beneath was bloodstained too, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as her button-up. Benny held his coat by the shoulders as Aurora shimmied into it. After she was bundled, he laid back against the rock they’d sat next to and opened his arms for her to snuggle against his chest. He tucked his arms beneath the jacket and around her waist to try and maintain some warmth. Almost as soon as they’d relaxed into a comfortable position, Benny fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Awkward.

That’s the only way Benny could describe how he and Aurora’s journey to the 188 Trading Post had been, plain fucking awkward.

Benny didn’t know if it was because Aurora was still mad at him or if the lack of conversation came from pure exhaustion, but either way it sucked.

One bright spot was that once they’d actually arrived at the 188, securing a bath had been easy. The girlie behind the bar’s eyes had practically bulged out of her head when Aurora’d slung off Benny’s jacket and tried to barter for a new shirt. The girl handed Aurora a soap bar, free of charge, and led both of them to a water pump surrounded by some flimsy canvas sheets that were pulled taut on some wooden post. A fairly large section of the canvas barrier was left open to serve as an entry and exit for the bathing area, so Benny stood guard as Aurora rinsed away all the blood that caked her body.

“Tell me something,” she suddenly said to Benny’s back.

He was so surprised to hear her directly speak to him that Benny nearly turned around to face her. He thought better of it at the last minute and directed his gaze out into the desert. “Anything, doll.”

“I was reading some of my Pip-Boy passages from before we reached Jacobstown. One of ‘em mentioned we had to go clean up after killing some Fiends.”

“That’s right,” he replied hesitantly.

“I get the impression that it was pretty brutal.”

“They outnumbered us. I did what I had to.”

“Was it to protect me?”

Benny couldn’t help but crack a smile. “That the impression you got from your Pip-Boy entry?”

Aurora let out a snort, but her voice was soft and serious when she confirmed it. “Yeah, something like that.” Benny turned around when he felt her tap his shoulder. Her hair was dripping wet, soaking into the Nuka-Cola t-shirt the 188 Trading Post girl had given her at a discounted price. At least she had blue jeans on. Benny eyed the NCR soldiers playing cards next to their tent about fifty feet away. One of the men looked over, his gaze lingering. The soldier dropped it once he noticed Benny staring right back.

Aurora waved her hand in front of Benny’s face and held the soap out for him. “Ain’t you going to clean up?”

“Yeah. Don’t wander off, okay?”

She chuckled as she moved to occupy the space where he’d been standing. “What, don’t want anybody to catch a glimpse of your ass cheeks?”

Benny was too engrossed in scrubbing away all the filth that clung to his skin to laugh with her. He flung off his clothes with haste and filled the bucket in the bathing area with tepid water from the pump. He lathered the soap in the water until it was filled with suds and proceeded to scour, wipe, and scrape at his skin as he watched murky brown water roll down his body. God, he couldn’t wait to be home. He was going to take an hour-long shower first thing once they made it to the Strip.

After Benny finished cleaning himself, he turned his attention to his checkered jacket. It was going to be a miracle if the laundry ladies at The Tops could get it back into pristine condition after this trip. It was likely the white checkers would always be discolored by the rusty bloodstains.

As Benny was crouched and wringing the water from his coat, still naked from bathing, a male voice rang out and startled him.

“Hey there, pretty lady,” the deep voice drawled. “How’s it going?”

“Woke up on the right side of the ground, so fair enough,” Aurora said amicably. “Need something?”

Between a narrow slit that ran between Aurora’s body and the canvas divider, Benny could spy the soldier who’d taken notice when she had exited the bath. Fucker had some gall, Benny’d give him that.

The soldier gave a wide smile that set off alarm bells in Benny’s brain and set his hand onto the post next to Aurora before leaning in close. She automatically took a step back, her hand raised like she might push him away.

Benny was up in an instant. He used one arm to move Aurora aside as the other shot out to clap the soldier on the ear. Benny didn’t want to hurt the guy too bad and get into a fight with all of his other bootlicker friends, but nobody was going to come and try to put the moves on his girl right in front of him.

“You want to die, kid?” Benny growled. “ Get the hell out of here!”

The man cupped the side of his face and gawked stupidly at Benny. “Christ, alright! I’ll go.”

“Goddamn right you will,” Benny muttered. He turned around and focused his attention back on Aurora. “Are you okay, pussycat?”

She nodded but didn’t look at him. Her eyes were trained meticulously at the ground with one hand half-shielding them. A bright flush was spreading across her cheeks and neck. It was as he noticed this that Benny also realized he was standing out in the open, naked as the day he was born, for all at the 188 to see.

He stepped back into the confines of the canvas tarps. “ Whoops.”

Aurora shook her head as silent laughter rocked her shoulders. It continued to build until she was full-on cackling with such vigor that she had to set her palms on her knees to keep from falling over.

“Glad you find me making a fool of myself so funny,” Benny smirked, barely able to keep from laughing himself.

“Oh God, don’t talk,” she wheezed. “I really can’t breathe.”

Benny redressed as Aurora’s hysterical giggling slowly ebbed down. He flung his still-damp jacket over his shoulder so it could dry in the breeze behind him and tapped Aurora’s back. “I’m clothed now, I promise.”

“No encore for everyone?” she joked, her nose crinkling up as she smiled.

“You’re a real riot, girlie,” he said, his words lacking the sarcastic bite he meant for them to have. He was too distracted by the blush that still dusted her cheeks, the brightness in her pale eyes as she looked up at him.

He set his hand so that half of it rested against her cheek and the other half was buried in her wet hair. “You’re really beautiful, you know that?”

Her smile grew wider even though she cast her gaze down in embarrassment. “You’re pretty alright yourself.”

Everything in him wanted to lean in and kiss her. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and squeeze her tight while he told her sweet things that’d probably make her gag they were so mushy. He fucking loved her, worshipped her, and he wanted her to know it.

But he couldn’t tell her anything like that. She wasn’t even sure if she was going to forgive him yet. She’d barely been able to talk to him for the hours-long walk to the 188. He couldn’t say something stupid and ruin the little progress his accidental flashing had made.

“ Te amo,” he said softly.

She quirked a brow. “What’s that mean?”

“Nothing important. Ready to hit the road again?”

Chapter Text

“You’ll break your neck if you keep craning back like that,” Benny said with a laugh.

Aurora didn’t even acknowledge him. She just set a hand on top of her hat to keep it from falling off as her eyes continued to trail up the length of the Lucky 38. “Ain’t ever seen buildings this tall before, not even in New Reno!”

“Well, technically, you have seen all the casinos before. You just can’t remember.”

Aurora rolled her eyes at his teasing as they walked through the now fully-opened gate. “Ha-ha.”

Benny cracked a grin and took her hand into his so they wouldn’t lose one another in the hustle and bustle of the Strip. They were halfway between the main gate and The Tops when a unique Securitron Benny’d never seen before rolled directly in front of him. Rather than the cartoon pre-war cop face that all the other robots wore, this one looked like a caravaneer or rancher. It had a cowboy hat similar to the one Aurora wore and a permanent cigarette poking out from his smiling lips.

“Howdy there, partners!” the Securitron drawled. “Y'all have come a far piece, haven’t you?”

The robot chuckled when Benny damn-near threw himself in front of Aurora. “Woah, didn’t mean to startle you, Benny boy! I’ve just got a message for the little lady here from the head honcho.”

“Who the hell even are you?” Benny demanded.

“Allow me to introduce myself!” the Securitron said, pleasant as could be. “My name’s Victor, and I just happen to be the one that dug the missus here up in the bone orchard outside Goodsprings.” The robot leaned to the side so that its monitor was directly facing Aurora. “I thought you'd gone up the flume, but that Doc Mitchell knows his trade. It's good to see you up and around, right as a trivet!”

Aurora raised a brow at Benny’s jumpy reaction to the robot, but otherwise she kept her face perfectly serene. “Suppose I should thank you then, Victor.” She held out her hand to the Securitron. He laughed as he gently took it into his giant claw and pumped her arm up and down in the closest he could come to a handshake.

“No trouble, miss. Now, listen here. My boss, Mr. House, is just itching to make your acquaintance. He’s up in that big ol’ tower right there that’s shaped like a roulette spinner, the Lucky 38.” Victor’s electronic voice dipped low, as if in a whisper. “Now, between you and me, this ain’t an invitation a lot of people get, so I wouldn’t dawdle. House wants to see you first thing!”

“What for?” Benny questioned. He was trying to keep his cool, but this entire situation set his teeth on edge. He had no way of knowing exactly why House was inviting Aurora into the Lucky 38, but it didn’t spell good news — for Aurora or Benny.

“I really couldn’t say, partner. Suppose the only way you’ll know is if you let her head on up to the big man’s suite.”

“Benny can’t come with me?” Aurora asked.

“No ma’am. The boss man was clear — only you can come into the casino. Don’t worry, I’m sure your beau here won’t mind waiting a spell over at The Tops for you. Now, let’s hightail it up to see House!” Victor’s claw-hand suddenly launched forward and closed around Aurora’s upper arm. He immediately began ushering her toward the Lucky 38. Benny didn’t even have time to react before she was already nearly through the door. She certainly wasn’t doing anything to slow the Securitron down. Abuelita sometimes used to tell Benny he looked like a kid at Christmas when he got so excited that he was practically floating on air. That’s how Aurora looked right now. 

“Baby!” he called after her.

She turned around and gave Benny a reassuring smile and a wave. “Hey, if you see Pa or Adrianne, will you tell them I’m alright? I’ll catch up with you later!”

He didn’t respond as he watched the heavy door close behind her. He’d been back on the Strip for less than five minutes and had already managed to let his soulmate get fucking robonapped by his boss. Some homecoming this was turning out to be.

Benny stood in the street for a moment, unsure of what he should do. He certainly couldn’t try to bust into the Lucky 38 to chase after Aurora, and waiting outside for her wouldn’t rush along House’s meeting with her. Hell, the fucker might spy Benny worrying through one of the Securitrons and drag the whole thing out just to grate his nerves. He couldn’t even begin to decipher what the sudden appearance of that Victor cat meant. The longer Benny stood outside, the more it dawned on him that there genuinely wasn’t a goddamn thing he actually could do other than go wait for Aurora at The Tops. House had sprung that Securitron on him at the perfect moment to keep him trapped and sitting on his hands, praying that House didn’t want anything more from Aurora other than to holler at her about her failure to deliver the platinum chip. That two-hundred-year-old bastard was more clever than Benny gave him credit for sometimes.

⸻

As the elevator doors slid shut, Benny sighed and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and rubbed them hard. It had taken him forever to even reach the damn box, because as soon as he stepped foot into The Tops, half the Chairmen working the floor that day decided to accost him with questions about his whirlwind romance adventure through the Mojave. He hated how excited they all looked as he described the gory details of the Fiend attack, the rabid animals they’d encountered throughout their journey, and even the sight of the executed legionaries. Benny’s friends, his Family, supposedly now-civilized tribals, still salivated at the mere prospect of violence. It revolted him that they could still yearn for the old days — the days of scalpings, raiding, and hunting like a pack of wild dogs — when they were sitting cushy at the height of luxury in Vegas. Benny didn’t know what the hell was wrong with other people. They were just so goddamn small. They didn’t see Vegas for all it could be, if the city had someone to properly run the place.

The elevator dinged as the doors slid open. Benny exited and immediately headed for his suite. He needed a long shower and some clothes that didn’t faintly reek of sweat and old blood before he could think straight.

Benny turned his doorknob and found it already unlocked. That wasn’t particularly unusual. He frequently forgot to lock it behind him when he left, and there was also the possibility that one of the cleaning girls was tidying up in there. He entered his living room and scanned it to find it exactly as he had left it. Exactly as he had left it, including some cigarette ashes being left on his coffee table along with some used glasses. That was unusual. Why hadn’t any of the maids come and cleaned his room?

His gaze snapped over to his kitchenette area as he heard the squeak of a shoe on tile. Benny looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of Swank’s furious expression right before his right-hand man smashed his fist straight into Benny’s face.

Chapter Text

The force of Swank’s hit sent Benny reeling backward, sharp pains shooting through his shoulder blades when he crashed into the door behind him. Bursts of color filled his sight, making it impossible for Benny to prepare for the next attack. He blinked in a desperate attempt to clear his vision as he felt Swank’s hands bunch around the lapels of his coat. The whole room spun as it came back into focus, making Benny groan as nausea overthrew him. Swank’s face slowly came into view. It was still horribly blurry, but that could’ve been from the punch or just how damn close the guy was. Benny gave a weak attempt at pushing him away, but that just made Swank sneer and press even closer. His nose brushed against Benny’s as he growled, “You’re a real goddamn fink, you know that?”

“The fuck’s the matter with you?” Benny demanded. “Why’re you doing this?”

Swank’s mouth fell agape, like he couldn’t believe that Benny would even ask such a thing. He released his hold on one side of Benny’s coat and gave him a backhanded slap with the confidence of an Omerta pimp. “I found your pet Securitron, you fucking asshole. Yes Man told me all about your little plan to overthrow House.” Swank’s voice dipped lower, almost quavering with disgust as he added, “and he told me what you did to Aurora.”

Benny vehemently shook his head. “I didn’t know she was my soulmate when I shot her. I would’ve never done something like that to her if I’d known.”

“That’s why you were moping around for all those months, right? Your conscience was getting to you? God, you know I actually felt sorry for you when she first turned up? ‘ Poor Benny, ’ I thought, ‘getting the short end of the stick from Lady Luck.’ ” Swank scoffed, his glare cold as he assessed Benny. “How the hell could you even look her in the eye, knowing what you’d done?”

“I couldn’t,” Benny said, his voice thick. “I couldn’t keep lying. I ended up telling her.”

That seemed to catch Swank off guard. His hold on Benny loosened slightly, giving Benny an opportunity to finally push him off. Swank’s hand twitched for his pistol, but he hesitated when Benny made no retaliatory moves.

“So, where is she, anyway?” Swank asked. “She leave your sorry ass after you told her?”

“House summoned her when we got back to the Strip,” Benny replied flatly.

Swank chewed his lip as he thought that over. “Think he knows? You know, about… well, you?”

“I didn’t get shot on sight, so no.”

Swank gave a relieved sigh. “Thank Christ. I doubt he’d believe that none of the rest of us had anything to do with this shit.”

Benny felt a pang of guilt as he thought about what House would have done if he’d caught Benny scheming against him. Swank was completely right. The old man was as shrewd as they come. He wouldn’t have risked letting the other Chairmen run The Tops after one of them tried to make himself King of Vegas. The whole Family would’ve been cast out for Benny’s ambition.

There was a long silence before Benny finally asked, “So, how’s this all going to shake down? What’re you going to do?”

Swank pressed his fingers to his temples and rubbed hard, his eyes clenched tightly shut. “I don’t even fucking know. I’ve got to tell Aurora about all of this, wouldn’t be right not to. But after that, I just don’t know.”

“I already told Aurora I’m the one who shot and robbed her.”

“Does she know why, though?” Swank waited for Benny to respond and snickered when he remained silent. “Yeah, didn’t think so. You’ll have to forgive me for not trusting you to give her the full scoop.”

“Quit acting like you know everything,” Benny retorted, annoyance seeping into his tone. He took a deep breath and forced himself to speak more calmly as he said, “So, her family.” Particularly her shotgun-wielding father. “Did you tell them?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Don’t fucking ask me why. You know why.”

Benny thought back on all of the most important moments that he and Swank had shared throughout the years. In his mind’s eye, he could see them swimming together in the lake as children and taking potshots at geckos with a stolen handgun. Benny remembered how excited he’d been to show Swank his soulmate’s name on his wrist at fifteen because it meant that he was finally old enough to join the raiding party, meaning the two of them would get to maurade the Mojave together. He also remembered how Swank had stayed behind when Bingo left Benny alone as he cried and begged the corpse of the first woman he’d ever murdered to please forgive him. Swank didn’t make fun of him like the other men had. Instead, he’d waited until Benny wore himself ragged with regret before he crouched down and washed the blood that soaked into Benny’s skin away as he assured him that the killing became easier each time.

Swank had always been Benny’s best pal. It was why Benny made him his official right-hand when he became the chief of the Boot-Riders. But only now, as he watched rage and hurt war for prominence on Swank’s face, did Benny realize what a true ride-or-die friend he was. Benny had done less and less to deserve that kind of loyalty over the years. Swank’s support should’ve been completely extinguished the moment he found Yes Man in Benny’s secret room, but instead he’d stayed in Benny’s suite to ensure the robot remained a secret.

Benny turned around and grabbed the doorknob. He’d wanted a shower more than anything, but the headache he was developing from Swank’s sucker punch was making booze seem more like the top priority at the moment.

Benny looked back at his best friend over his shoulder. “Hey. I don’t think I’ve ever said it, but… gracias por siempre estar ahí para mí.”

Swank shifted awkwardly, seeming to be uncomfortable with Benny’s sudden expression of gratitude. “You’re the boss. It’s my job to look out for you.”

Benny smiled but decided not to make things any more gushy than they already were. “Sure, pal.”

⸻

“Well, well, well, look-y who’s back! How’s it shaking, boss man?”

Benny nodded to acknowledge Tommy Torini as he slid onto the bar stool next to him in The Tops Theater. “Hey, Tommy.”

“Frank! Get the boss a Sunset Sarsaparilla!”

The bartender set the ice-cold soda down in front of Benny. He put the bottle against his jaw to relieve some of the swelling from Swank’s punch. “We got any of that wasteland tequila left?” When the bartender nodded, Benny ordered two tumblers of the cheap liquor.

“Didn’t think you drank the rough stuff anymore,” Tommy said with a laugh.

“What can I say? I’m in an esophagus-burning mood.”

Tommy smiled at Benny, but the gesture didn’t quite reach his remaining eye. “I meant booze in general. When that girl of yours started coming around, seemed like you traded out beer and whiskey for Nuka-Cola. Nothing wrong with celebrating your return with a drink, though.”

The bartender returned with two glass tumblers of tequila. Benny picked up the first cup and drained it in one gulp. The liquor felt as if it were scorching his insides as it went down. He instantly followed suit with the second tumbler and ordered another round.

Tommy stared at Benny, his lips pulled in a thin line. “Looks like you got roughed up out in the wastes. What happened to your face, boss?”

“Tommy?”

“Yeah?”

“Leave me the fuck alone.”

Benny’s words were rude and harsh, but his tone held nothing in it but exhaustion and misery. Tommy’s final glance at Benny before he left the bar was full of concern, which only made everything seem all the worse.

Benny held his third glass of tequila under his nose before he took a sip. The scent was sharp, biting. It made his head swim as he inhaled. He tilted the glass back and poured the poison down his throat. His whole chest burned hot as the liquor slowly started to take effect, a fuzziness creeping into Benny’s consciousness that made all the shittiness in his life seem a bit less soul-crushing. His problems seemed less severe, his mistakes less foolish. It was like a weight was lifted from him by each sip of tequila, and Benny desperately wanted to keep feeling better. He ordered drink after drink and swallowed each so quickly that he lost count of how many he’d had after the sixth glass.

The neon lights around the bar started to warp and spin, causing Benny’s stomach to lurch. He spun around and stood from his bar stool in an attempt to soothe his nausea, but his feet were being strangely uncooperative. He grabbed hold of the bar’s edge to keep himself from falling flat on his face and groaned as his whole world tilted.

Suddenly, something cool touched Benny’s burning cheek. The sensation grounded him enough that he was able to lift his head without gagging. His bleary gaze landed on the Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle that was pressed to his face before traveling over to the arm that held it there. It was pale and extremely thin, almost gaunt. Something about it seemed familiar, but Benny couldn’t exactly think why that was.

The coldness of the bottle was replaced by something much hotter and softer. A slight squeeze made Benny realize a hand was pulling on his face.

A trilling, girlish voice let out a snicker. “Geez Louise baby, how many have you had?”

The voice helped Benny’s eyes focus on the woman in front of him. She was blurry at first, but she came into focus the longer Benny looked at her. Small features popped out at him. Her perfectly coiffed black hair, the devious peer to her dark eyes, the rattle of several bracelets up and down her skinny wrist.

“Holy shit,” he slurred. “Yumi?”

His old fling grinned at his drunken realization, her red lips pulling back wide over her teeth. “In the flesh, handsome.”

Chapter Text

Benny’s head started to spin again the longer he looked at Yumi. He stumbled back until he fell onto a bar stool. She slid onto the seat next to his, laughing at his lack of coordination. She ordered a couple of Rum and Nukas for them. The bartender warned Benny that maybe he should sit this one out, but Yumi set her finger beneath Benny’s glass to encourage him to drink. After swallowing so much tequila, the rum in the cocktail barely had any bite to it at all.

“You haven’t changed a bit, Benny,” Yumi giggled between sips of her drink. “Still a party animal!”

“No, not really,” Benny said quietly.

“No? Is that why you’re getting totally loaded, then?”

Benny laughed at himself right along with Yumi. A hard hiccup escaped him, stifling his drunken chuckles. “Really, though. I cut down on that kind of stuff after I found my soulmate.”

Yumi gave him a surprised blink, her scarlet smile growing even wider. Something about the change in her expression seemed off, but maybe Benny’s intoxication was making him confused.

“Well, that’s just wonderful!” Yumi cooed. She spun around on her bar stool, looking about the theater. “Where is she? I’ve just got to meet her!”

Before Benny could respond, someone called out his name. He couldn’t determine the direction that the call came from, but eventually his eyes landed on a bobbing head of curly hair coming toward him. Aurora’s little sister, Adrianne, pushed her way through a group of gamblers to come meet him at the bar. The teenager threw her arms around Benny’s neck and gave him a tight hug.

“You’re back!”

“Hey, kiddo,” he slurred, returning her embrace.

“Where’s Aurora? Was your trip okay? Did the doctor-”

“Oh my, is this her?” Yumi exclaimed, interrupting Adrianne’s barrage of questions. She patted a hand down on the teenager’s hair and laughed when it sprang straight back up. Yumi adjusted Adrianne’s glasses and poked the tip of her nose, the way one might with a very small child. “Why, she’s just a little girl!”

Adrianne swatted Yumi’s hand from her face, her brows drawing in together. “Is this lady your friend, Benny?”

“Yeah, old friend of mine,” he said, his words sounding strangely garbled in his own ears. “We were just having a drink while I’m waiting on Aurora to come back.”

Yumi’s eyes snapped back and forth between Adrianne and Benny, a peculiar smile gracing her lips. Her grin widened as she held up a wagging finger at Benny and clicked her tongue to her teeth. “It seems like one drink turned into ten, huh? I can’t let your new girlfriend find you here like this! I should take you up to your suite so you have some time to sober up.”

Benny scratched at his hairline. Hadn’t she bought him a Rum and Nuka? Maybe he was getting mixed up. He stood from his bar stool once again, sending the whole room twirling. “Yeah, that might be a good idea. I don’t feel so hot.”

Yumi moved to take Benny by the arm and help guide him, but Adrianne stepped in her path. “I… I don’t think you should be taking him anywhere.”

Yumi’s smile flickered down into a scowl. “Mind your own business, little girl. Grown ups are talking here.” She stuck her thin arm out and shoved Adrianne aside to take a hold of Benny’s elbow.

He looked down and frowned at her. Well, at least he was trying to. He was seeing double, so he couldn’t be completely sure. “H-hey, don’t…don’t be like that.”

Yumi gave him an indulgent smirk, like he was being silly. Maybe he was getting confused again. “C’mon, handsome. Let’s get you to your room.”

Benny turned to Adrianne to assure her that everything was okay, but the girl’s attention wasn’t on him anymore. He followed her gaze over to the theater doors and saw that Aurora had finally come back. He tried to take a step toward her, but his body felt abnormally heavy. He had to cling to Yumi’s shoulder to keep on his feet.

Despite her sister’s return, Adrianne still looked upset. “Aurora, help!” she shouted.

From the sound of her sister’s cry, Aurora was able to easily pick out their small group. She instantly went to Adrianne’s side, but her intent stare stayed trained on Yumi, particularly where her hand was curled around Benny’s arm. Fuck fuck fuck. That probably looked bad.

“What’s wrong, bluebonnet?” Aurora asked, her tone perfectly calm. Too calm. Scary calm. Benny was so screwed.

“That woman’s trying to take Benny up to his room, but he’s-”

“Wasted,” Aurora finished, a dangerous squint coming to her pale brown eyes. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she snarled, “Are all the guys you pick up barely able to walk?”

“Baby, this isn’t what it looks like,” Benny nervously chuckled.

She didn’t acknowledge him as she took two broad steps up to Yumi, towering over the shorter woman. The wide brim of Aurora’s hat cast her face in a dark shadow, and Benny noticed for the first time just how strong she looked. By the twitchy grin on her face, Yumi noticed it too.

“Hey girl, I know this looks bad, but-”

Aurora didn’t even let her finish. Her fist shot out and collided straight into Yumi’s delicate little nose with an audible crunch. Yumi fell back and sprawled out on the floor as blood streamed from her broken nose. She shrieked at the pain and pitched her hands in a tent to hide her injury.

“You fucking cunt! What’s wrong with you?!”

Aurora gave her a hard sneer as she bent low, her hands placed on her knees as she crouched and said, “If I ever catch you anywhere near him again, I will fucking end you. Do you understand?”

Yumi’s eyes went wide at Aurora’s threat. Women got into cat fights all the time on the Strip, but they didn’t actually punch each other. They certainly didn’t threaten murder. Yumi launched up from the floor and started to run, her heels making her unbalanced.

Aurora turned her fierce gaze onto Benny. “Are you alright?”

He tried to nod, but even that small motion had his whole world turning. He gagged as hot bile climbed up his throat, acrid with an alcoholic tinge. Aurora grabbed a spare bucket of ice from the bar top and held it out just as Benny threw up.

Adrianne rubbed a comforting hand on his back. “Is he going to be okay?”

“He’ll be fine. I’m going to take him to his room to sleep this off, though. If you see Pa, will you tell him I’ll catch him tomorrow?”

Aurora bid her sister goodnight and took Benny’s hand to guide him out of the theater. Their progress to the elevator was slow, considering all of Benny’s stumbling, but eventually they were able to make it to the thirteenth floor. By the time they were at his suite door, Benny could barely even stand up straight on his own. Aurora had to half-drag him in. Swank wasn’t in his room anymore, thankfully. Benny didn’t think he could handle anymore drama tonight.

After she laid him down on the bed, Aurora began to untie Benny’s shoes. He stared at her hard, trying to remember what had driven him to drink in the first place. “You met Mr. House.”

“Yep.”

“What’d he have to say?”

For the first time that evening, Aurora smiled. “There’d be no point in telling you right now. You probably wouldn’t even remember if I did.”

“Was he mad that you didn’t deliver the platinum chip?”

“Sugar, tomorrow,” she said gently.

“Are you going to stay with me tonight?’

“Obviously. I can’t leave you alone like this! Wouldn’t be right.” She pulled his blanket on top of him, tucking it in slightly. Aurora sank to her knees beside the bed and combed his hair out of his eyes with her fingers. “Why’d you get so damned drunk, anyhow?”

“Uh… oh, yeah, Swank punched me in the face. It hurt.”

Aurora ran her fingers across Benny’s skin. He hadn’t looked in a mirror yet, but based off the feeling he knew he had a hell of a bruise. “Yeah, looks like he popped you pretty good.”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“He met me in the lobby before I found you. Seems nice, I can see why you like him. He and I had a talk.”

“What about?”

“Benny.”

“Yeah?”

“Go to sleep. We can talk tomorrow.”

Benny reached out and stroked a thumb across her cheek. “Will you sleep in here with me? Please?”

Aurora nodded and went over to the other side of the bed. She kicked off her boots and removed her hat and Pip-Boy before climbing under the covers with him. Benny curled in close to her, burying his face against the soft skin at the base of her throat. He quickly fell into a deep, dreamless slumber as Aurora stroked a hand up and down his back, softly humming him to sleep.

Chapter Text

A sharp pain shot through Benny’s skull the second he opened his eyes. He groaned and clenched them shut again, only opening them in slow increments as he tried to get his bearings once more. His room was thankfully dim with only the floor lamp on to provide any light, but with his hangover even that seemed like too much. Flickering moments from the previous evening ebbed into his mind as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. He remembered getting into a fight with Swank… drinking with Tommy in the theater… had Aurora punched someone at the bar? Benny didn’t have the energy to make sense of any of his memories yet. He groggily looked around his room, a foul odor catching his attention. Benny sniffed, searching for the source of the sour scent. As he leaned forward, it became stronger. He tentatively lifted his arm up and inhaled. Holy hell, that was him.

Benny stood from the bed and tossed his dirty suit to the ground. When was the last time that thing had actually been washed with real detergent, anyway? Benny went to the other side of his room to retrieve some spare clothes from his dresser — a plain pink shirt and some pinstripe pants — before heading to his bathroom. He scrubbed every inch of his body with near-scalding water, glad to finally have the opportunity to truly clean himself. Afterward, he brushed his teeth, flossed, gelled his hair, shaved some scraggly stubble that had appeared on his chin, the whole shebang. When he was finished, he stared at himself in the mirror, feeling for the first time in weeks that he actually looked like himself.

Benny went back into his bedroom to retrieve a pair of loafers from his dresser. As he pulled the shoes on, he noticed that some of Aurora’s things were still piled in the corner. That was right, she’d slept with him last night. Benny rose and went toward the door that divided his bedroom from the living area of his suite, hoping that maybe she’d still be there.

He smiled as he quietly opened the door. She was sitting on his couch, a steamy coffee mug in her hands. Her hair was let loose from its usual braid and hung down the back of the sofa like a velvety dark curtain. As Benny opened the door further, he saw that Swank was sitting on the opposite end of the couch, also sipping on a cup of coffee as he continued the story he’d been in the middle of.

“So the gambler’s high out of his damn mind, right? That’s making it a little difficult for us to explain to the idiot that while you might be able to do something like that to the lady folks over at the Gomorrah, that kind of shit ain’t going to fly in our casino, dig? Anyway, the guy starts kicking up a fuss about getting kicked out, takes a few swings at our bouncers. We’d only been open to the public for, hell, a few weeks at that point, so we didn’t quite have the Chairmen vibe perfectly curated yet. Well, Benny gets sick of this creep’s whining and hollering, so the boss goes over and grabs that fucker by the wrist, slams it down onto the game table, takes out a knife, and tells the guy that if he wants to go around pinching the girls’ rear-ends that-”

Benny loudly shut the door behind himself, effectively cutting off the rest of Swank’s tale. Benny gave his right-hand a very pointed shut-the-fuck-up glare before he went behind the sofa and gave Aurora a light squeeze on her arm. “Hey there, doll. Glad you’re still hanging around.”

“I did leave for a bit this morning to talk to Pa. Come sit down and have some lunch.”

Benny glanced at the wall clock. Christ, it was already noon. He’d really overdone it last night. He skirted around the couch to take the seat between Swank and Aurora, but stopped short once he was directly in front of his girl. She looked absolutely beautiful. Aside from her hair being freshly washed and brushed, she had on an entirely new outfit, a pretty red gingham dress that poofed out around the bottom like the petals of a flower in bloom. Her legs were tucked beneath herself, but Benny could see by where her toes poked out beneath the skirt of her dress that she had on sheer black pantyhose. A blush crept onto her cheeks the longer he stared. When she tucked a strand of wayward hair behind her ear, he saw that she even wore clip-on pearl earrings.

“Quit gawking,” Swank complained. “You’re making both of us uncomfortable.”

Benny ignored his friend as he sat down, all his attention still trained on Aurora. “Baby, you look gorgeous! I mean, you always do, but… wow.”

Aurora tried to hide her grin behind a sip from her coffee cup. “Thanks. I asked Swank if I could borrow some clothes that would make me stand out a little less, and the next thing I knew I had an entourage of women making me pretty.”

“What’re you talking about?” Benny demanded, mock offense in his tone. “How’s a broad as beautiful as you supposed to not stand out?”

Swank made a gagging noise and stood from the couch. “God, you’re going to make me hurl with that corny crap.” He clapped Aurora’s shoulder in a friendly manner as he passed her. “I need to go see how things are going out on the casino floor. I’ll tell you what Benny did with the guy’s fingers after he cut them off later. That’s the real juicy part of the story, anyhow.”

“Goodbye, Swank,” Benny said sharply.

Aurora chuckled but waited for Swank to leave before she pet a soothing hand along Benny’s arm. “Don’t be mad at him. I asked him to tell me some stories about what it was like for all of you to start running The Tops after Mr. House recruited y'all.”

“He could’ve picked one that painted me in a better light,” Benny grumbled.

Aurora ignored his pouting and grabbed a clean ceramic cup to pour him a coffee. Benny noticed that Swank had brought up several sandwiches and a plate of pre-sliced fruits. He forced himself to swallow small pieces of bread, afraid that anything with more substance might make him sick. Aurora watched him as he drank and ate. “You seem to be feeling alright enough, considering the crazy hangover you must have.”

Benny sighed, shaking his head at himself. “I didn’t humiliate myself too much last night, did I?”

“Ha! I knew you wouldn’t remember anything!”

He gave her a dry smirk as he tried to think back on anything he actually could remember from the previous evening. None of it seemed quite concrete. “Your meeting with House… How’d that go?”

Aurora chewed her lip for a moment before responding to him. “How about I make you a proposition?”

“A proposition?”

“Yeah. You see, I want to go on a date,” she said, smoothing a hand down her skirt for emphasis, “but you want to talk about the heavy stuff. What if we make a trade of it? You take me out on the town, and for each activity we do I’ll answer a question you’ve got.”

Benny mulled this exchange over in his head. All of his questions would still get answered, and he’d get to have the best woman in Vegas on his arm all day. “I like it! You ready to start now?”

⸻

Benny scanned the slot machines that lined the perimeter of the casino floor. While he’d gone upstairs to get some chips, Aurora had picked out a corner slot. He settled onto the chair in front of the machine next to hers and handed her a small stack of chips.

She inserted the fake money into the machine and cranked the handle. “I don’t get it. Whether we win or lose, this is your casino. Doesn’t the money go to you either way?”

“Well, yeah, but it ain’t about that, doll. Any good time in Vegas starts out with some gambling. Vices are what this city is built on. We’ve got to show our proper respects to Lady Luck, that’s all.”

Aurora rolled her eyes but continued to play, huffing in disappointment each time she lost.

“So, are you going to answer my question about House?” Benny asked.

“Do you always go intense this early into your dates?” Aurora laughed. “Start lighter.”

“Alright then, be honest. How embarrassed should I be about last night?”

Aurora gave him a too-sweet smile, making Benny groan. “That bad?”

“Half the people in here are stumbling around drunk. I doubt anyone noticed you in particular.”

“Yeah, but you saw.”

Aurora rolled her eyes at him again before revealing her empty palms. “I’m out. What’s next on the roster?”

Benny grinned widely as he took her hand to guide her up to The Aces Theater. As they ascended the stairs, the music from within gradually became louder. “I’m taking you dancing!”

Inside the theater, the band was playing to a quick beat with jaunty lyrics. Several couples were spinning on the dance floor, creating a separate tune of shoes clacking against linoleum.

Aurora’s mouth fell agape at the fast pace that the dancers maintained. “Uh, this might be a good time to mention that I have two left feet.”

“I know.” Benny pulled her into the crowd and wrapped his arms around her waist. She let out a shrieking giggle as he lifted her up and twirled her around, her feet lifted a few inches off the ground. Benny spun her all around the floor fast and with finesse, all while Aurora laughed and clung to him. She let out a yelp when he dipped her low, his thigh positioned securely behind one of her own to keep her from falling. He had a hand behind the knee of her lifted leg and could feel her blood pumping hard beneath his fingertips. Her face was flushed a bright pink from giggling so much, and her chest heaved for breath. Benny had never wanted to kiss someone so bad in his entire life.

“Question two: did you rough someone up in here last night?”

Aurora blinked at him as he pulled her back upright. “Okay, I’m a little surprised you don’t remember that. Yes, I did punch your smarmy little girlfriend in the nose. She totally had it coming, though!”

Benny smirked a bit at the jealous note in Aurora’s tone on the word ‘girlfriend’. “Don’t worry, baby. I promise I’ve only got eyes for you!”

She scoffed and lightly swatted his shoulder. “Oh, please! I just didn’t want that creepy bitch to diddle or rob you.”

Benny continued to tease her as he took her by the hand once more to lead her outside for the next portion of their date, a walk around the Strip. Some people preferred the Strip at night when the neon lights were at their brightest, but Benny enjoyed Vegas best in the dying light of a sunset. To get a good view of the city, the pair climbed a rusty ladder to the top of Michael Angelo’s Workshop. The building was situated in the perfect spot to view the entirety of the last sector of the Strip, but Aurora turned to face outward into the Mojave. Up so high, the whole world was painted in an orange haze from the slow descent of the sun. It caught in Aurora’s eyes and hair as she stared into the desert and inhaled deeply, as if the scent of creosote and sand could possibly reach her above the smells of the city.

“Okay,” Benny said with a soft sigh, caught between wanting this moment to remain still and his burning curiosity. “Are you going to tell me about how your meeting with House went now?”

Aurora let out a sigh of her own as she nodded. “Mr. House was… impressive, just like that casino of his. I’ve never met someone quite like him before. He’s smart. Observant. He knew damn near everything about me before I’d said a word to him. Knew a lot about you, too.”

“What do you mean?”

Aurora turned to fully face Benny, the bitter smile on her face twitching like she was trying very hard not to cry. “He knows that you’re the one who stole my delivery. He’s known ever since you shot me.”

It felt as if all the air had been knocked straight out of Benny’s lungs. “He… he knows? He’s known this whole time? Why didn’t he ever do anything about it?”

“I got the impression that he didn’t have a way to get the chip back from you without drawing a lot of unwanted attention. That is, until I got my head fixed, anyway.”

Aurora covered her face with her hand as a sniffle escaped her. Benny automatically went to embrace her. “So, what? He wants you to bring it back to him? We can go get it from my safe right now.” Benny hated to see Aurora so upset. Was she worried that he wouldn’t return the platinum chip to her, after everything that had happened? “Don’t cry, doll.”

“I had to make a deal with him, to keep him from punishing you for stealing the chip in the first place,” Aurora said hoarsely. “I have to make a final delivery for him.”

Benny pulled back from his soulmate some to look her square in the eye. “C’mon, baby, talk to me. I know a trip around the Mojave isn’t what’s got you so worried.”

Aurora pulled in a shaky breath. “Benny… sugar… I’ve got to deliver it to Fortification Hill. I have to go to the Legion’s main encampment. It’s the only way House will agree not to banish you from Vegas.”

Chapter Text

A harsh ringing filled Benny’s ears as he stared at his soulmate, completely horrorstruck.

“No,” he managed to breathe out. “ No, that’s not happening.”

Aurora squeezed her eyes shut as she rubbed at her temples, exasperation seeping into her tone like she’d been anticipating an argument. “Benny, it’s the only-”

“ No. You are not going anywhere near Legion territory. I don’t care if House comes and flays me open on the steps of my own goddamn casino, you are not doing that.”

Aurora let out a huff and turned away from him to look out over the desert once more. “I wasn’t asking for your permission. I was telling you because I thought it’d be worse if I just left.”

Benny had to grind his teeth together to keep himself from flying off the handle at her. He still wasn’t able to completely suppress his frustration, though, and found himself kicking a rusted metal bucket that had been left on the rooftop. It sailed clear over the edge of Michael Angelo’s Workshop and clattered against the fence that surrounded Vegas before crashing to the ground below.

“What about your old man, and your sister?” he demanded. “They can’t be keen on you paying the Legion a visit either.”

Aurora’s shoulders slumped in, like she just might cave in on herself. “I ain’t going to tell them. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t, either.”

“So you’re just going to leave without saying goodbye? You’re just going to leave all of us?”

“Benny, I have to do this. House was clear: the only way you and the rest of the Chairmen are going to be allowed to remain on the Strip is if I deliver the platinum chip to Fortification Hill. It’s as simple as that. I have to do it.”

The other Chairmen. Benny should’ve known that House would be cruel enough to leverage them against Aurora. So many lives were on the line because of Benny’s ambition. Swank. Tommy. Angie. Joey. Julie. Archie. Carol. Was there a single person who’d gone unscathed in Benny’s pursuit of power?

Benny looked toward the setting sun, resignation washing over him. He had a real talent for ruining everything.

“I really fucked up your life good, didn’t I?” he said with a bitter laugh.

“What? No-”

“I shot you in the goddamn skull, giving you long-lasting brain damage, and now I’m putting you in danger again. All of your problems are because of me. It would’ve been better for you if we’d never even met.”

“That’s not true!” Aurora insisted sharply. “Benny, I barely even had a life before I met you.”

He shook his head, wiping away an angry tear that had rolled down his cheek. “I understand if you hate me.”

“Hate… hate you? Benny, for God’s sake, I fucking love you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone else in the world. Why the hell else would I be doing this?”

Benny let out a groan at her declaration. After all this time, this was when she finally said she loved him back. She might as well have stabbed him right in the goddamn heart.

Benny thought back to when Aurora’s name had appeared on his wrist when he was just a teenager and Abuelita had given him the big talk about soulmates. ‘ You’ll see, Benanacio. True love - there’s nothing else in the world that can compare.’ He hadn’t realized it then, but his grandmother had been giving him a warning. The way that Benny felt about Aurora — that crazy, overwhelming need he had to protect her at any cost — went beyond reason. Soulmates were something holy, consecrated for the very madness they elicited. Benny was a selfish man when it came down to it, but his love for Aurora overshadowed the million facets that his selfishness broke down into. His love for her overroad his greed, his ambition, and all the worst parts of him, leaving only a relentless need to protect her behind.

He looked at her and smiled, scrubbing away another wayward tear as he did so. “You know you’re everything to me, right?”

Aurora let out a single broken sob before clamping her hand over her mouth. She gulped her cries down and nodded.

Benny opened his arms to her and buried his face against the top of her head when she accepted his embrace. He inhaled the soapy scent of her freshly-washed hair as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “ Mi vida.”

Aurora looked up at him, smirking a bit at his Spanish. Her expression became more somber as she ran a thumb across Benny’s jaw. Her pale eyes stayed trained on his as she cupped a hand on his chin and gently pulled him downward. She touched her lips to his softly, a light gasp escaping her when their skin made contact. Benny tangled his fingers in the dark tresses of her hair as he closed his eyes and deepened the kiss, catching her bottom lip lightly between his teeth. Aurora kissed him back more fervidly, her arms anchoring around his neck to bring him closer. Benny’s hands explored the length of her body, moving between resting on her hips and back as he desperately pulled her torso flush against his. Heat bloomed in Benny’s chest as he moved his wild kisses from her lips to her cheek and down to her neck in a frantic frenzy of adoration and reverence.

They were both panting for air when they finally broke apart, still locked in a tight embrace.

“Will you stay with me again tonight?” Benny asked.

Aurora carefully examined his face before her gaze flitted over to the open Mojave.

Benny tilted her chin back in his direction. “Please?” he begged.

“Okay,” she agreed, voice thick with emotion. “But you have to give me the chip when we get to your room. I have to leave early in the morning.”

“I will. I swear.”

⸻

Once they were back in his suite, Benny refused to let Aurora go for even a moment. He curled his arms around her waist and guided her over to the couch with him, pulling her onto his lap. He nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck and gently pressed his lips to her soft skin. She sighed and combed her fingers through his hair as he moved up to her jaw. He kissed her chin, the tip of her nose, her eyelids.

“I love you,” he purred against her lips.

“I love you, too,” she smiled. Her face fell just a fraction as she added on, “So, the platinum chip?”

Benny let out a huff as she climbed off of him, but he rose and went to his safe. He quickly entered his combination and opened the shallow box. He had a few babbles in it, but they were all there to block the chip, the only item with any real value. He pushed aside everything else and stared at the chip for a moment, thinking sourly about how it was the source of all his troubles. He held the shiny poker chip up for Aurora to see before setting it down on his bar.

“I think we ought to have a drink,” Benny suggested.

“I don’t know, you think you’ll be able to handle just having one?” Aurora smirked.

“Ha-ha. What would you like? I’ll make you anything you want, baby. An atomic cocktail?”

“Sure.”

Benny pretended to rummage around in his cabinets for the ingredients for the cocktail, but he already had those ready above on the bar top. It took a moment, but he eventually found what he was looking for: his chem box. Benny made a point of almost never indulging in hard chems, but he did keep a variety of them on hand in his room in case he ever had use for them. He quietly opened the container and found his syringe of Calmex. As he was mixing Aurora’s cocktail, he discreetly shot half a syringe’s worth of the tranquilizer into her drink. Calmex was a better choice than Med-X, and safe to take orally. He looked over to her and smiled as he shook everything together with some ice before pouring it into a glass. The purple Calmex blended seamlessly with the liquor and Nuka Victory, and any flavor would be disguised well enough by the soda.

Benny handed Aurora her cocktail and clinked his glass with hers. “To you, doll.”

She raised her glass and gave him another peck on the cheek before taking a swing from her drink. Aurora curled against him and sipped on the cocktail as she chattered about random things that crossed her mind. Slowly, her speech grew slurred, her movements uncoordinated. She’d just drained the last sip of the cocktail when she finally slumped against his shoulder, completely passed out.

Benny carefully disentangled from her. He laid her down on the couch and covered her with a quilt as he placed a final kiss on her forehead. “I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered.

If he didn’t leave right then, Benny was worried that he might lose his nerve. Without turning back to look at Aurora’s sleeping form, he grabbed the platinum chip from the bar and headed out the door. As he took the elevator down to the main casino floor, he checked that Maria was in good condition — and was completely loaded with bullets — with only one thought on his mind: he had to get to Fortification Hill and deliver the stupid fucking chip himself so House would quit putting his girl in danger.

Chapter Text

Thwack!

Benny let out a groaning gag as the legionary’s fist struck him in the stomach.

“You’re holding out on me, profligate.”

“I already told you everyth-”

Another strike, this one to his ribs. The hit was hard enough that it sent Benny’s whole body spinning, the hook that held his tied feet to the tent support beam abruptly stopping him when he’d turned ninety degrees. Benny knew that they’d opted to hang him upside down to add to the torture, but at this point it seemed to be working against them. All the blood rushing to his head was making him dizzy, less cognizant of pain. Except behind his eyes. God, they felt like they were going to pop right out of his skull.

Benny knew that delivering that damned chip to Fortification Hill was going to be hard. Hell, he had known there was a fair chance he’d die trying to sneak into the place. It was why he’d cut that legionary’s throat at the boat dock and took his clothes. Hiding in plain sight had seemed like a good enough bet. It had worked for a while, too, until someone noticed that Benny’s hair was gelled. To think, he was caught because of being conceited about his hair. His abuela had warned him that vanity was a sin. 

Benny braced as he saw the legionary rearing up to punch him again, but a voice rang out and distracted the man.

“Hello, Lucius. Busy, I see.”

The legionary fell to one knee and smacked his arm across his chest in a weird salute. “ Ave, ma’am. Caesar has ordered that I interrogate this profligate within the confines of his tents. It may be… an unpleasant environment for you here, for the time being.”

The sweet voice let out a trilling laugh. “Oh, Lucius, you think me too soft!” The source of the voice, a pretty older lady, came into Benny’s view as she squatted next to him. She smiled brightly as she asked, “So, what’re you doing here, my dove?”

It took a minute, but it dawned on Benny who this woman must be. Why the legionary was so deferential to her.

“You’re Caesar’s soulmate,” he said without thinking.

“I am,” she confirmed in her gentle tone. “And who are you?”

“He is the man I saw your daughter with that day, ma’am,” another voice cut in. Benny didn’t even have to see the guy to know that velvety voice. It was burned into his memory, just like the stink of the burning bodies in Nipton.

The woman’s mouth went slack with shock. After a moment, she grabbed at Benny’s tied wrists and pulled at the ropes. He hissed at the pressure, for they dug in hard when she yanked.

The woman let out a nearly hysterical giggle. “There’s her name, right there! Aurora’s name!” She released her hold and bent down to put her face right in front of his. “You must tell me everything you know about her!”

She couldn’t be fucking serious. Benny let out a snort before croaking out, “I’m a little busy dying here, lady.”

A smack to his calf. “You will speak respectfully to-”

The woman held up a hand. “It’s alright, Lucius. Please get him down from there.”

Lucius hesitated, his hand half-poised in the air to follow her command. “Ma’am, lord Caesar ordered me-”

“And now I’m ordering you to do differently,” the woman interrupted sharply.

The legionary sighed as he reached up and lifted the hook that held Benny in place away from the wooden beam. Lucius dropped him to the ground, making Benny cough as his body crumbled to the floor, the thin rugs providing little to cushion his fall.

The woman commanded that a knife be brought to her. As they waited on Lucius to retrieve one, the lady propped Benny up against one of the many stakes that created the main structure for Caesar’s tents.

“My name is Bluestar,” she said with a smile.

Now that he wasn’t upside down — and his brain didn’t feel like it was going to explode — Benny could actually get a good look at… what exactly was he supposed to call the estranged mother of his soulmate? Benny’s head hurt to even think through it. Either way, Benny was able to finally get a good look at her. Bluestar was a gorgeous woman, no doubt about it, but that’s where she and Aurora's similarities ended. Where Aurora’s hair was dark and straight, Bluestar’s elaborate updo was wavy and light, the color of razorgrain. Where all of Aurora’s exposed skin had a golden tan, Bluestar’s pale skin seemed more prone to freckling. Benny already knew that Aurora got her strange pinyon nut eyes from her old man, so he wasn’t surprised to find that even this feature was different. Bluestar’s irises were like the sky, both in terms of color and just how all-seeing they seemed to be. Benny couldn’t help but look away when she stared. It was like she could see straight into his soul.

Bluestar set a finger beneath his chin, forcing him to look back up at her. She cleanly sliced through his ties with the knife Lucius had brought for her, finally freeing him from the rough rope.

“Aren’t you going to tell me your name?” Bluestar asked.

“Benny. Benancio.”

She grinned again, taking his chin into her hand as she tilted his head around. “You’re rather good-looking. Are you from Vegas?”

“The Mojave, yeah.”

“And how old are you, dear?”

“Thirty, about.”

Her eyes snapped up at that. Benny tried to figure out what that could’ve possibly revealed, but he couldn’t think of anything. Bluestar flashed him yet another smile. “Caesar is a bit older than me, too. Aurora and I have that in common.”

She sighed when Benny didn’t respond, but she didn’t have too long to be upset about it. Everyone in the tents, from Bluestar to the legionaries down to the slaves, turned toward the entrance of the tents and bowed as a guard called out, “Our lord Caesar is coming!”

Benny couldn’t help but tut his tongue when the old bald fucker came in. How much of a crazy did someone have to be to enjoy such an over-the-top display of reverence?

When Caesar paused next to Bluestar’s prostrating form, he held a hand out for her to take. Her pink-stained lips curled up in another smile as she took it and followed him to his throne, where he pulled her onto his lap.

"What were you doing talking to that ex-tribal trash?” Caesar demanded, an amused note in his tone.

“I was questioning him about my daughter, my love,” Bluestar cooed back.

Caesar nodded, shooting Benny a smirk that made his stomach clench.

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” the dictator declared. He pointed at Benny, an evil glint in his eyes. “Do you know why I decided to not kill him?”

Bluestar glanced back and forth between Benny and her soulmate, that stupid smile still on her face. Her whole demeanor reminded Benny of a goddamn dog. A blindly loving, dumb dog.

“He’s live bait,” Caesar said smugly.

“Bait?” Benny echoed. He was ignored by everyone, of course.

Caesar grinned at Bluestar’s confused expression. “Bring them in!” he barked to the guard near the tent entrance.

Everyone looked to see what ‘surprise’ the old weirdo had been talking about. Benny had a sinking feeling he already knew, but he could at least hope that he was wrong. 

The guard disappeared for a moment, then came back in, leading a very pissed-looking Aurora and scared-as-shit Swank behind him. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

They were both unarmed, but Aurora’s hands kept fidgeting along the outsides of her legs, like she was ready to reach down and grab her blades at any moment. Her fingers brushed along her empty knife holsters as she scanned the tent, all the color leaving her face when she spotted Benny slumped in the corner.

“Motherfucker!” she hissed, her eyes snapping over to Vulpes Inculta, who’d been so quiet Benny had honestly forgotten he was there. “You said he wouldn’t be hurt!”

“I distinctly remember saying that to my knowledge -”

The legionary’s sentence was cut off by Aurora’s fist colliding straight into his jaw. Swank grabbed her waist and yanked her back before she could hit him again, but the damage was already done. Lucius strode up to her with long steps and slapped her across the cheek with such force that she fell straight to the ground. Benny was up in an instant to try and take the legionary down, but he was still far too weak from a full day of torture. Lucius easily brushed him off and snapped for two more guards to hold him as he turned, rearing to strike Aurora again as Swank fell to his knees and tried to shield her body with his own.

“That’s enough,” Caesar boomed out, clearly annoyed that his ‘surprise’ had gone so awry. Bluestar frantically dashed up from his lap and over to Aurora. “Sweetheart, it’s alright. It’s me.”

Aurora’s eyes rolled as she focused in on Bluestar. Her cheek was inflamed a stinging red where the slap had landed. Bluestar lightly trailed her fingers on the injury as she spewed out a barrage of greetings and cheery pleasantries about how glad she was to see her daughter. Aurora gave her a chilling glare as she spoke, one full of pure loathing. Bluestar’s fingers went to a spot on Aurora’s lip where the slap had broken open a small cut. Aurora responded by hawking bloody spit onto the woman’s hand.

“I’m not here for you,” Aurora snarled. “Get the hell away from me.”

For the first time, Bluestar’s over-the-top sunshine mask slipped. Her plush lips twisted down as she gripped Aurora’s jaw hard in her hand and hissed, “Don’t be foolish , girl.”

Aurora wasn’t intimidated in the slightest by her mother’s sudden change in demeanor. She brushed the woman away and groaned as she shakily stood, her hand cupping her sore face.

“Your spy said you were willing to negotiate for Benny’s freedom,” she said to Caesar, her head held high. “I’m here. What do you want?”

The old creep let out a cackle that raised goosebumps on Benny’s arms. He and Swank shared a panicked glance before training their attention back on Aurora.

“I see you’ve inherited neither your mother’s manners or good sense,” Caesar responded. “You want your soulmate back, and yet you come into my tent, strike one of my soldiers, desecrate my wife, and speak with such disrespect? I should have you killed where you stand.”

“ What do you want ?” Aurora demanded again, her teeth clenched hard.

Caesar sighed, as if simultaneously exasperated and amused. “But you are rather plucky. I like that. I have use for it.” He snapped, prompting a legionary to come to his side and place something in his palm. Caesar held up House’s chip. “Down the hill, at the west edge of camp, is an old building. It was here when the Fort was taken in 2277. Inside the building is a hatch, and inside that hatch are two steel doors that bear the sigil of the Lucky 38 casino. That same sigil is on the platinum chip Benny was carrying when we captured him. Isn't that interesting?”

Aurora opened her mouth to speak, but Caesar held up a hand, shooting her a dangerous look as he continued. “Even more interesting, there's a slot about the same size as the chip on the console that opens the hatch. So you know what I think? I think the platinum chip opens those doors - doors that can't be pried open or drilled open or blasted open. Because of all that, I tried. Point being, none of my men can enter. That leads to you, and your task. I want you to take the platinum chip, go to the bunker or whatever it is, and destroy whatever gizmo-happy brahmin shit you find down there. Do not return until this task is finished, or you’ll find your soulmate decorating a cross.”

“No!” Benny cried out. “I’ll fucking do it. Don’t make her-”

He fell silent as Lucius smacked him across the cheek.

Aurora’s hands itched along her knife holsters. Her whole body shook as she watched Benny slowly recover. Her eyes never left his face as she asked Caesar, “You’ll let him go if I do this for you?”

“Are you insulting me yet again by insinuating that I’m a liar?”

Aurora sighed, shooting Benny a final glance as she stomped over and retrieved the chip from Caesar. Swank moved to follow her, but she pointed instead to Benny. “No. Stay with him.”

Both Benny and Swank immediately protested, but Aurora shushed them with one look. “Benny needs your protection more than I do. Whatever House has in that bunker, it can’t possibly be more dangerous than what’s in this tent.”

Chapter Text

The sky hung oppressively dark and ominous over Benny’s head as he waited for Aurora to return. He paced the open courtyard of Caesar’s tents as his worry snaked in his stomach, clenching on his insides and making him nauseous. Bluestar was trying to appear calm, but Benny had caught her chewing on her cuticles several times between stitches on the tablecloth she was embroidering. Only Swank managed to rest, although his slumber couldn’t possibly be deep with only the thin rugs of the tents to act as his bed. Benny was just about to beg Lucius to let him go join Aurora in the bunker — for the fifth time since she’d left — when the ground suddenly trembled.

Everyone in the tents paused and looked around, trying to confirm what they’d all clearly felt. Then the earth gave a violent jolt so strong that it sent cups flying to the floor from the table. Bluestar hissed when she accidentally buried her needle in her fingertip. Swank gave a disoriented cry as he frantically scrambled onto unsteady feet and called out Benny’s name.

And then, everything was still.

“She did it,” Lucius breathed. “That woman actually did it.”

After that, it took less than an hour for Aurora to return. Benny hopped on the balls of his feet by the tent entrance when the guard announced her arrival, eagerly ready to embrace her.

As she came in, Benny immediately noticed that something was off. Aurora’s long, confident stride was replaced with a sluggish trudge. Her sun-kissed skin had a strange, almost green pallor. Each time she inhaled it was as if air were traveling through a corroded metal pole.

She tilted up the brim of her hat and looked at Benny with bloodshot eyes. “You’re okay,” she smiled.

And then she collapsed.

Benny caught her just before her head hit the ground. “No, no, no. Aurora, baby, open your eyes!” he screamed. He frantically pulled at her clothes and searched for some sort of wound or break, something he could fucking fix and make better.

Bluestar and Swank both joined him. Bluestar was of no assistance, instead opting to wail and moan about the unfairness of life while her daughter still laid alive at her feet. Swank, however, remained calm enough that he thought to check Aurora’s Pip-Boy for signs of what was wrong.

“She’s got rad poisoning,” he croaked.

Bluestar crouched down and cupped her hands beneath Aurora’s arm and gestured for Benny to grab the other one. To Swank, she quickly instructed where he could find some RadAway in a chest in Caesar’s quarters.

“Edwa..Caesar keeps some medications in he and I’s room for personal use,” Bluestar explained as she and Benny moved Aurora so that she was propped up against one of the tent’s large stakes.

Benny ignored her and took the RadAway needle from Swank, who found a nail to hang the bag of medicine from so that it could slowly drip into Aurora’s bloodstream. Benny carefully inserted the needle into the dip at his soulmate’s elbow the way their tribe’s healer had shown him how to when he was a boy. He removed her hat to look for some improvement and found none.

“Why isn’t it working?” he snapped.

“Give it time,” Bluestar said. “Feel her hands. They’re cooling down.”

Benny placed his fingers in the palm closest to him. Slowly but surely, the feverish heat beneath her skin was ebbing away. He watched as the sickly color drained from her cheeks, leaving behind the rosy blush that he loved so much. He gave a relieved sigh and adjusted their bodies so that Aurora could lay back against his chest while the medicine took effect. It calmed him to be able to feel the brush of her hair on his chin and throat, to be able to hold her in his arms and know that she would be okay.

⸻

Benny was awoken by Aurora fearfully calling for him. It was a quiet sound, but something in her tone set off that primal part of his brain that screamed at him that he had to protect her. His arms automatically tightened around her as his still sleep-heavy eyes scanned the tent for danger.

“What is it, doll?” he asked.

“What happened? I was in the bunker, and then…”

“Rad sickness can make people confused,” Swank reminded Benny. Swank grinned and gave Aurora a pat on the thigh before pointing up at the now drained bag of RadAway. “You’re a real tough broad, you know that?”

“That’s right, there was a leak in the bunker,” she nodded. She slipped the needle from her arm with a wince as she looked around. “Fucking Christ, we’re still in this hellhole?”

Benny ran a soothing hand along her arm, but Swank gave a deep laugh. “What, were we supposed to haul your ass all the way to the boats while you were actively dying?”

Aurora smirked and playfully kicked at his ankle. “Well, I’m fine now, so let’s get out of here.”

Bluestar, who’d been standing silently by for who knows how long, stepped out from the shadows of the inner tent and into the moonlight. “You cannot leave tonight.”

“Caesar said we were free as soon as I dealt with House’s bunker,” Aurora replied flatly. “We’re leaving.”

“You can’t. The cursor can’t take you back across the river at night. You must remain in the camp until morning.”

Aurora let out a snarl as she climbed to her feet. “ Fine. We aren’t staying in here, though.” She curled her finger at Benny and Swank as she turned to the tent entrance.

Bluestar lifted the long length of her skirts and chased after Aurora. “Daughter, wait! I haven’t seen you for nearly seventeen years. Don’t you want to use this opportunity to spend some time together? I want to know everyth-”

“I am not your daughter!” Aurora exploded. “Don’t you dare call me that! I don’t know why you’re pretending to care about me all the sudden just because I’m trapped in this godforsaken place with you, but stop. My life has been perfectly fine without you, so stop trying to wedge your way in. We are strangers. We don’t know each other, and I don’t want to get to know you. We’ll never have to see each other again after tomorrow, so leave me alone.”

Tears pooled in Bluestar’s eyes as she tried to reach out and touch Aurora’s hand. Aurora snatched it away, her whole body shaking. Benny quickly grabbed her and enveloped her in his arms, both for comfort and to keep her from attacking her mother. He tilted his head to signal for Swank to head out as he gently ushered his soulmate through the tent flaps.

Aurora gave a relieved gasp when they were finally outside, as if being surrounded by hundreds of legionaries was somehow an improvement over being trapped in Caesar’s tents.

“Are you okay, doll?” Benny whispered.

She gave him a miserable shrug. “I will be, once we’re away from this place.”

“Where are we going to go?” Swank asked. “Daylight won’t hit for another seven hours at least, and I don’t think this place has a motel we can shack up at.”

Aurora looked about the camp. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I still have that medal that Vulpes Inculta gave me back in Vegas. Hopefully that’ll keep the soldiers from bothering us, at least. We might have to find some corner to lay low in and sleep in watches.”

Their prospects didn’t seem good from the high point on the hill. They debated on whether it would be more wise to hunker by the slave pavilions, which laid a short walk below Caesar’s tent, or if they should risk seeking shelter among the swaths of blue tents reserved for the legionaries.

“Seems smarter to go with the slaves,” Swank said. “There’s mostly women and kids over there.”

Benny thought that over. “But a legionary might mistake Aurora for a Legion woman if we’re over there. It’s safer for her if we stick closer to the men.”

They all somberly began to follow the path that led from the top of the hill into the legionaries’ main encampment. Benny kept his hand firmly placed on Aurora’s hip and made her walk close as he watched soldiers’ gazes drop to leer at her. She kept an impassive look on her face, but Benny could hear her breaths coming in shallow little swallows as more men’s predatory eyes trailed over her body. Benny wanted to slaughter each and every one of the creeps.

When they were in the heart of the encampment, a loud clinking of metal could be heard ringing out behind them. Swank and Benny shared a terrified glance as they protectively crushed Aurora between them and turned around to follow the stares of the legionaries.

Behind them stood the tallest man Benny had ever seen in his life. The man’s height was made all the more intimidating by the all-covering suit of pure metal armor he wore. Benny thought back to some of the NCR propaganda posters that he’d seen occasionally outside the Californian embassy on the Strip. He’d seen this soldier before. It was the Legate, the second-in-command and leader of the Legion’s military. He was legendary among NCR troopers and caravaneers alike for being one of the most ruthless and sadistic people in the entire Legion.

“Come forward, woman,” the Legate commanded, his deep voice reverberating through his mask.

Benny stepped in front of her. “She’s a guest of Caesar’s.”

“And she has his Mark,” Swank added. “We were promised safe passage.”

Before Benny could stop her, Aurora broke out of his grip and took several long strides toward the Legate. She held her balled fists still at her sides as she asked, “What do you want?”

The looming legionary closed the space between himself and Aurora. Swank subtly pinched Benny’s jacket sleeve, a warning not to panic yet. They both watched as the Legate’s leather-gloved hand snatched around Aurora’s chin. She let out a hard huff as he tilted her head up, her eyes fiery as she boldly stared up at his concealed face.

The Legate seemed to examine her for a moment before releasing her jaw. He positioned a hand on either side of his helmet and lifted it by the metal horns from his head.

A long mane of curly, bright orange hair spilled down onto his broad shoulders. Benny had heard that the Legate was some sort of monster, that he had some grotesque deformity beneath his mask. The rumors couldn't have been farther from the truth. Between the freckles that densely dotted his skin and his striking blue eye that almost seemed to glow in the torch light, the Legate had a face comparable to that of a pre-war movie star. For Christ’s sake, the guy even had dimples when he flashed a smile at Aurora.

She let out a choked sound as she blinked up at him. “ Lubbock?!”

“It’s Lanius now,” the Legate corrected. “But yes, it’s me, cousin.”

Aurora’s eyes fell as she took all of him in, her gaze lingering on a splatter of dried blood on his forearm. Her lips trembled as she threw her arms around his neck, a sob breaking out when he embraced her back.

A murmur broke out among the legionaries at this display of familial affection. Benny could faintly hear Swank speaking to him, but the words were muffled and without meaning.

Not only was Aurora’s mother the infamous soulmate of Caesar, but her cousin was the most prolific murderer in the whole Legion.

Chapter Text

The campfire crackled loudly as the burning logs shifted, sending sparks of fire floating up in the air. The Legate tossed a thick bundle of branches onto it with ease. Even though he’d removed his metal suit of armor, the guy was still massive. It set Benny’s nerves off to have Aurora sitting so close to someone who just reeked danger the way her cousin did, but she’d plopped down next to the guy. Benny sat close to her, his leg pressed against hers and their hands interlocked.

Aurora broke the silence, her voice soft and melancholic as she said, “I thought for sure that the Legion killed you when they took over the tribe, Lubbock. I thought they killed all boys over twelve.”

A faint smile pulled at the corners of the Legate’s lips at Aurora’s usage of his forbidden name. The expression quickly faded into a hollow mask. “My blessed Aunt, as our lord Caesar’s mate, was able to negotiate for mercy upon our tribe. All boys fifteen and under were spared, as well as all men who swore allegiance to the Legion.”

Aurora rolled her eyes. “Wow, she really drove a hard bargain.”

Lanius shook his head at her, even as he grinned. “You are just as you were when you were a girl. Too quick of thought and eager to say whatever comes to your mind. It’s a trait that gets people crucified here.”

“What, they won’t even try cutting out my tongue first?”

The Legate let out a booming laugh and wrapped a giant arm around Aurora’s shoulders. Benny’s fingers automatically clenched tighter around her hand, but she wasn’t afraid. She laughed right along with her cousin, affectionately patting his cheek as he hugged her. Aurora gave Benny’s palm a comforting squeeze and sat up straighter, her eyes dancing in the firelight as she looked to the two Chairmen sitting near her.

“This here is Swank,” she said, reaching over Benny’s lap to smack Swank’s thigh as she introduced him. Lanius gave him a cursory nod.

When Aurora moved on to Benny, his heart swelled at the clear pride in her voice when she said his name, her cheeks a florid pink.

“Ah, the captured one,” Lanius snickered, earning him a slap to the chest. He tugged on a strand of Aurora’s hair as he teased her about Benny’s failed espionage attempt. Benny cast Swank a confused glance. Swank’s lips were twisted down like he had a bad taste in his mouth, but he only shrugged.

Benny leaned in close to Aurora. “Is this the first time you’ve seen him since your mother’s tribe joined the Legion?” he whispered.

She nodded. “Yeah. Back then, Lubbock used to get stuck babysitting me a lot since my parents were so busy and he was a lot older than me. We were best friends.”

“ I was your best friend,” the Legate scoffed. “ She was an annoying little girl that followed me everywhere.”

Benny politely smiled as the two of them chuckled. After a brief lull in the conversation, Lanius asked, “How does your father fare? Is he still alive?”

“You know Pa’s too tough to die. He’ll probably turn into a ghoul and live to be five hundred.”

The Legate smiled at this information. “Good ol’ Uncle Raleigh’s still around, then.” Benny noticed how Lanius’ accent shifted into one closer to Aurora’s, one with a more natural drawl.

“Why wasn’t Raleigh forced to join the Legion, like you and Bluestar?” Benny was emboldened to ask. Lanius’ gaze snapped over to him, sending a jolt through his whole body like he’d been struck by lightning.

“We were not forced to do anything. Bluestar, as the leader of our tribe, went to Caesar to negotiate the preservation of our people when the Legion came to our lands. However, when she realized they were soulmates, she understood that it was our fate to submit and integrate.”

“That’s bullshit,” Aurora snarled. Her lips were pulled back over her teeth as she looked to Benny and spat, “She didn’t even try to stop their invasion. Once she realized Caesar was her mate, she got weak-kneed and caved immediately. She sacrificed the lives of everyone who depended on her, of her family, for one person.”

Lanius flexed his hands in and out as he stared into the fire, his tone barely controlled as he said, “I do not know what your father has told you, but that is not what transpired. Bluestar loved Raleigh, but he was a roaming man from the east. He was not a part of our tribe and always spoke of bringing you to the civilized lands. When the Legion came, Bluestar realized that her relationship with your father had to end, and she sought the best opportunity she saw for you by leaving you in his care. How can you blame her for this? It seems as though your life has taken the exact course it was meant to. You found your mate in a Vegas man. You returned to us at precisely the moment Caesar needed an outsider-”

“My pa’s never said a bad word about that woman all these years,” Aurora interrupted hotly. “She’d more than deserve it if he had, though! She is the goddamn devil, and worse than that, she’s a coward. Why the fuck are you defending her? I thought legionaries hated the weak.”

Something flashed across the Legate’s face, something quick, violent, and frightening. He raised his hand, the back of it facing outward as he snapped it through the air to strike it against Aurora’s cheek. Benny was just barely able to shoot his own hand out in time to grab onto the Legate’s wrist to prevent him from executing the slap.

Lanius looked to Benny with a strange glint in his eye, as if he were really seeing him for the first time. Benny had to bite back the urge to say something harsh for fear that they’d get themselves into worse danger than they already were. He kept his gaze trained on the Legate’s as the legionary dropped his wrist, carefully examining the other man for any signs of further attempts at violence.

Benny watched as Lanius’ hard stare slowly drifted back to Aurora. The brutality in his blue eyes slowly faded into something softer, almost remorseful, though nothing else in his expression changed. Benny flickered a glance over to Aurora and saw no horror or alarm in her features, only unbridled disgust.

She gave a tight shake of her head before spitting into the fire, refusing to look her cousin in the eye any longer. Lanius opened his mouth, but Aurora abruptly stood and stomped away from them all. Benny rose to follow after her, but Swank gently grabbed a hold on his pant leg.

“Let her go, boss. She seems like she wants to be alone.”

“I can’t leave her alone with these people!”

“No one would dare to touch her when she bears the Mark of Caesar,” Lanius said.

Benny spun around on his heels, no longer able to fully subdue his anger. “ You were about to.”

The Legate nodded. “A rash impulse, but one that you prevented. No common legionary would attempt to harm her, though. They are aware of what the consequences would be for such a slight against our lord.”

Fuck you and your fake demigod. The thought nearly made its way to Benny’s tongue, but he was able to bite down on his lip before his rage got the better of him. He set his hand on Swank’s hair before gently pulling his pant leg out of his friend’s grip and retreating into the depths of the camp to search for Aurora.

⸻

He’d had to search for over a full hour before finding her. It might’ve gone faster if he’d asked anyone if they’d seen her, but Benny hadn’t wanted to make it known that she was alone and unprotected if the legionaries weren’t aware already. But finally, on his third pass around the same stack of crates near a cluster of tents, he spotted her boot peeking out over the edge of the tallest crate. Benny climbed the series of boxes to reach her, not making any efforts to quiet how much noise he made so that he wouldn’t startle her when he finally made it to the top.

Aurora had her knees tucked up by her chin. Her hat obscured the top half of her face, making it impossible for Benny to get a read on her expression. But her arms were wrapped around her legs, and her knuckles were pulled a taut white from how hard she clenched her fists.

“Hey,” Benny said lamely as he sat down next to her.

Such a long silence stretched that he thought she might not say anything, but then she suddenly grabbed the brim of her hat and slammed it down onto the wooden crate. Her eyes were swollen and slightly red, revealing that she’d been crying.

“I don’t know what the hell’s the matter with me,” she said in a cracked whisper. “I know I should play nice to try and get us out of here, but Lubbock and my mother and this god-awful place, I just… I just get so mad. All my sense just seems to turn off.”

Benny set his palm against her back and gave her a comforting rub. “We’re going to leave soon, baby. Come back to the fire and get a few hours of sleep. It’ll make the dawn come faster.”

“And then what? We pretend like we didn’t see this place? What these people do?” Aurora slid her body right next to Benny’s so that their sides were touching. She brought her lips so close to his ear that they brushed the outer shell when she began her low and breathy murmur:

“I talked to Yes Man before Swank and I came to rescue you. He told me the full plan you had to take over the Mojave. He told me that he’d calculated that the Legion would make a play for Hoover Dam soon, and that they were likely to beat the NCR. He said your plan relied on taking over House’s defense systems, both here and on the Strip. You never asked what I actually found in the bunker.”

“What does it matter?” Benny whispered back. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but the hairs on his neck were standing up. “You destroyed whatever he had down there. I felt the ground shake.”

“I’d planned on it,” Aurora admitted. “But when I was actually in the bunker, I realized that House has hundreds of additional Securitrons stored down there. I followed Yes Man’s advice and upgraded them. There’s literally a whole army lying in wait right beneath us.”

Benny’s throat felt unbearably dry. He had to clear it before he could manage to speak again. “So you followed through with what House told you to do, then?”

“I didn’t do it for House,” Aurora said, her words low and deadly. “I’m not going to help him take control of Vegas, not after he threatened you and the other Chairmen.”

She sat back some, giving Benny a moment to examine her face. She looked tired, and a little scared, but under it all there was an almost frightening zeal.

“I’m going to help you go through with the plan you made with Yes Man,” she said firmly. “We’re going to get rid of the Legion, the NCR, and especially House. We’re going to take Vegas for ourselves.”

Chapter Text

Benny, Swank, and Aurora were all silent as they made the short trek to Caesar’s tent. It was such an early hour that the sky was still spotted with stars, though the orange light of the rising sun was steadily breaking over the horizon.

Maybe Bluestar wanted to say goodbye before we left, Benny hoped internally. Maybe Caesar just had to give them some words of parting wisdom. Whatever happened, Benny just hoped to God they were going to be allowed to finally leave afterward.

Caesar’s tent was surprisingly bustling for how early in the morning it was. Several Praetorians occupied the corners of the meager canvas structure, far more than seemed necessary considering that Lanius was standing right behind Caesar’s throne. His steely blue eyes cut over to Aurora when the guard announced their entrance, his brow lifting ever-so-slightly before his expression went entirely neutral again. If Aurora cared at all that her cousin was there, Benny couldn’t tell.

“You summoned us?” she said to her mother, making no attempts at disguising her irritation.

Bluestar looked to her daughter from her seated position on a plush cushion beside Caesar’s throne. The cushion was obviously well-made and likely extremely expensive. Wine-colored velvet and golden thread weren’t easy materials to find in the wastes. Most women in the Legion had probably never even set eyes on something as nice as that cushion.

But she was still sitting on a cushion on the ground at his feet, like a goddamn dog. It made Benny feel ill to look at her.

“Yes, I sent for you,” Bluestar confirmed. “Am I correct to assume that you were still planning to leave as soon as the cursor was able to take you?”

Aurora gave a tight nod, making Bluestar sigh. The older woman looked to her soulmate, who seemed completely bored with their conversation.

“Get on with it,” Caesar barked at his wife. “I have better things to do with my time than deal with this bullshit.”

“Yes, my love.”

Benny gently touched his hand to the small of Aurora’s back as Bluestar rose and approached them. She carefully arranged her long skirts in one hand before sinking down onto one knee, her face tilted up so that she could meet Aurora’s gaze. Benny expected the woman to look upset, and though the corners of her mouth were locked in a grimace and her shoulders were slumped down, something about her just didn’t read as sad.

It took a moment, but Benny realized why her expression felt familiar to him. He’d seen that same look on his face plenty of times in the mirror these past few months.

Bluestar looked guilty.

“What did you do?” he demanded, stepping forward so that he was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Aurora.

Swank glanced at Benny with a lifted brow, but Aurora kept her gaze trained on Bluestar, who had dropped her own eyes down to the ground. The Legion woman took a deep, controlled breath before she looked at her daughter again, her features hard and cold.

“What did you do?” Aurora whispered. When Bluestar didn’t immediately answer, Aurora fell to her knees and grabbed her mother by her arms and violently shook her.

“Mama, what the fuck did you do?” Aurora screeched.

“I see now that I was wrong to leave you in your father’s care all those years ago,” Bluestar said, her voice empty of any emotion. “I should have kept you with me. Life in the Legion would have given you structure, purpose. You are entirely right to resent me for abandoning you, Aurora. I intend to correct the mistake I made so many years ago. You — and your soulmate and your companion — will remain here with me in the camp. In time, I hope you’ll come to understand that I have always done what I thought was best for you.”

It felt as though all the blood in Benny’s veins had turned to ice. He was frozen. Motionless.

“ What?” he managed to croak out.

Benny’s eyes automatically swept down to follow the movement of Aurora’s hand, which had fallen down near her boot. He was just able to catch a glint of light before Aurora suddenly pulled a long, thin blade from out of the shaft of her shoe. Less than a second had passed during the time it took her to yank Bluestar toward her chest and press the knife to the woman’s throat.

Every legionary, including Caesar himself, took a step toward the mother and daughter, all enraptured in their violent embrace.

“If anyone moves again, I will kill her,” Aurora warned.

Benny risked a sideways glance at Swank and was more than a little impressed to find his friend was also armed, though only with a .22 pistol.

Benny watched as Aurora twisted her fingers tightly in her mother’s hair, pulling Bluestar’s scalp taut to force her to keep looking up. The Legion woman let out a pathetic sniffle as Aurora forced her to her feet.

“If you want her to live, then you’ll let us through the gate,” Aurora snarled to Caesar. “Tell your men to stand down.”

The tyrant’s lips pressed into a thin line, a vein on his neck jumping out. “Stand aside!” he barked out, his gaze never straying from his soulmate. “We cannot interfere while the profligates hold Bluestar hostage.” To Aurora, he hissed out, “Lanius will accompany you to the gate to ensure her safety.”

The Legate gave no signal that he understood his orders other than stiffly plucking his helmet off of the table next to him and placing it on his head. Maybe it was nothing, but for a moment — just as the mask of the helmet was slipping down over Lanius’ mouth — Benny could’ve sworn he’d seen the legionary wince.

Aurora, yanking her mother right along with her, was the first to exit the tent. Swank tilted his head for Benny to follow before he walked through the tent flaps too, his small pistol pointed directly at the Legate as all five of them slowly made their way down the packed-earth path toward the main gate. Slaves and soldiers alike stopped and held still as they moved through the camp, all their stares trained on their revered leader’s soulmate and the wild-eyed free woman that held her hostage. It felt as if not a singular person dared to let themselves breathe.

Once they reached the gate, Benny shuddered out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a choked cry. The noise startled him with the way it cut through the heavy silence in the air. Aurora flashed him a twitchy smile that he imagined was supposed to be reassuring before demanding that the gate guard allow her to pass. The young legionary turned his petrified face toward the Legate, his hand half-poised over the gate’s opening lever.

“Allow the profligates through,” Lanius growled.

The boy quickly obliged and threw open the gate door, carefully standing as close to the fence that surrounded the Legion encampment as possible to give them a wide berth. Benny, Swank, Aurora, and Bluestar all passed through without resistance.

“You’ve made it to the gate,” Lanius said, his voice booming out and reverberating through his metal mask. “Now, allow my aunt to return to the confines of The Fort.”

“Aurora, you can’t,” Swank hissed under his breath. “We’re too deep in their territory. They’ll kill us the second you let her go.”

“No, no, that’s not true!” Bluestar whimpered out. “They wouldn’t-”

“Shut up!” Aurora snapped, giving her mother’s hair a hard tug. Her terrified eyes flitted over to Benny, her expression torn. “I told them I’d set her free at the gate.”

Benny looked down at the spot where Aurora’s blade touched Bluestar’s throat. There was absolutely no way in hell that these creeps were going to let them get away with taking their god’s soulmate hostage. Benny and Swank would be lucky to be crucified, but Aurora? He cringed just imagining what sort of twisted punishment they’d come up with for her.

“Swank’s right,” he said. “We’ve got to take her with us at least as far as Cottonwood Cove or we’re dead.”

Aurora’s jaw clenched at his words. She shook her head, her eyes shut tightly.

And then she retracted her knife and released Bluestar’s hair.

All hell broke loose the instant that Bluestar was out of the direct line of fire. All at once it was as if time moved faster, like a holotape playing at 3x speed. Bullets hissed through the air as the legionaries guarding the boat dock shot at the three of them, their desperate Latin shouting no doubt alerting more soldiers to come and kill the profligates. Swank picked off two of the legionaries with his .22 as he gave Aurora a shove and screamed at Benny to head for the boats.

Benny grabbed Aurora’s hand and yanked her along behind him as he sprinted for the pier. Swank took down as many legionaries as he could  as the three of them ran, but the sheer quantity made it impossible for him to take them all down with a small pistol. A soldier charged Benny, his machete hoisted in the air. Benny let go of Aurora’s hand and pushed her toward Swank.

“¡Llévala a los barcos, hermano!”

Benny didn’t even have time to turn fully around before the legionary was within striking distance. He ducked just as the soldier swiped his blade through the air, missing Benny’s head by mere inches. Benny shot his fist straight into the legionary's stomach, making the soldier double over just long enough that Benny was able to knock him onto his side before plucking a large rock from the ground. Benny let out a guttural cry as he bashed the pale rock into the legionary’s skull over and over again, not stopping until the soldier’s face was an unrecognizable concave of gore.

“ FOR GOD’S SAKE BENNY, GET IN THIS FUCKING BOAT!”

Benny looked from the dead legionary over toward the pier, where Swank and Aurora were both standing in one of the small barges. He stood, panting hard as he sprinted to rejoin his soulmate and screaming friend. He’d just made it to the shoreline when Swank shouted, “ Move!”

Benny darted to the side as Swank took aim with his .22. Benny turned around and saw that the Legate was less than fifteen feet away, a hatchet in his gloved hand. Benny waited for the shot from Swank’s gun to ring out, to see a bullet pierce a hole in his metal armor.

Instead, all he heard was a dull click. Swank was out of ammo.

Lanius let out a hard, singular laugh as he lifted his hatchet high over his head. “Goodbye, cousin.”

Benny didn’t even have to think about moving. The same way that his lungs took in oxygen and his heart pumped his blood without any conscious thought, Benny’s whole being automatically did what was necessary to protect soulmate. The Legate released his hatchet, sending it soaring straight for Aurora. Benny stepped in its path, blocking the small axe with his body.

A shrill shriek filled the air. Benny’s shoes dug into the wet sand beneath his feet as he turned to examine Aurora, to see what had made her scream like that. He didn’t see any blood on her, any wounds.

He followed her gaze, which was trained on the center of his chest. The blade of the hatchet was planted right in his sternum. The longer he looked at it, the more foreign the cold sensation of the metal in his body felt. Ever since he was a child, Benny had been told the importance of not removing a blade from a wound without a healer present. ‘ You could make the injury worse, or bleed out,’ his Abuelita used to warn him.

But how was he supposed to just leave this fucking axe in his chest? Benny gripped the handle tightly and took a deep breath before pulling the hatchet from his torso with one swift motion.

He looked up from the gaping gash in his body over to Aurora, allowing himself a small smile for successfully keeping her safe.

Her horrified expression was the last thing he saw before he crashed face-first into the water, everything going dark as the cool wetness enveloped him.

Chapter Text

A ray of sunlight across his eyes had Benny squinting. He held a hand up to block out the brightness, his gaze darting to the ground in an attempt to protect his sight.

“If you aren’t ready, then turn away from the light, Benancio.”

Benny turned around at the call of a familiar voice. He grinned as he came face-to-face with his grandmother. He rushed forward to embrace her with a laugh. She returned his hug with a chuckle of her own, her fingers brushing through the hairs at the nape of his neck like she’d always done when he was a boy.

“Abuelita! What’re you doing here?”

She pulled back, her brows scrunching together as she set a hand on her hip. “You should be asking yourself what you are doing here, mi cielo. It wouldn’t be right of you to leave Aurora and Swank right now. They’re going to need you very soon.”

“Aurora and Swank… what? Abuela, I don’t understand. Where are they? Where are we?”

His grandmother smiled again as she took his hand into hers and began leading him in a new direction. Slowly, the rust-colored sand of the Mojave started to give way to an endless plain of waist-high green grass beneath their feet. Benny reached out and tentatively ran his palm along the top of the meadow, the soft brush nothing like he’d ever imagined it would be, for Benny had only ever seen such places in Old World photographs. He looked up to ask Abuelita how such a place could exist in their native desert, but his words caught in his throat at the sight of her. 

With each step they took deeper into the grassy plain, years of age seemed to rescind from his grandmother’s being. Her salt-and-pepper hair regained all of its color, slowly morphing to a deep black that matched Benny’s own. Her sun-weathered, wrinkled skin pulled taut over well-developed muscles as it regained the strong elasticity that diminished as a person grew older. They came to a stop deep in the meadow, and Benny finally looked upon his abuela’s face, his mouth falling agape when he found a woman of about twenty-five years standing before him.

“I’m so glad that we were able to have this time together, my Benancio,” the young woman sighed. “But you really must be getting back now.”

“Back? Wait, Abuelita-”

“The next time we meet, you’ll be as old as I am!” she said with an easy laugh. “It will seem a long time for you, but time moves differently here.” His young grandmother smiled and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Remember, my dear, to live your life well. Goodbye, for now.”

Without warning, his grandmother’s hands, which were gently wrapped around his arms, shoved him hard. He didn’t even have time to cry out as his body went plummeting backward. Abuelita gave him a final wave as his back hit an unseen pool of shockingly cold water, her face disappearing as darkness swallowed him up whole.

⸻

Benny drew in a hard gasp as he bolted straight up, the motion making his head spin. He automatically leaned back down on his elbows to steady himself, his chest aching with each breath he took. He blinked at the bright blue sky overhead, the quickness with which the clouds moved only making him feel even more disoriented.

And then Aurora’s face came into view. It was shadowed by the hunched angle she took to look down at him, but absolutely nothing else about her expression could be described as dim. Her smile was wide, her tear-pricked eyes bright. Her shoulders shook with silent laughter as she caressed a hand across his cheek.

“You’re awake.”

“Hey there, beautiful.”

Aurora said nothing, her laughter turning almost hysterical as hot teardrops rolled down her face and splashed against his own.

“Still alive back there, you crazy fucker?”

Benny smirked at Swank’s remark before pushing himself up into a sitting position with a groan. He finally had his bearings enough now that he could actually examine his surroundings.

It wasn’t looking good.

They were in the Legion boat that they’d stolen, nearing the end of the journey down the Colorado River if Benny’s memory was correct. That meant that they’d still have to journey through the Legion base at Cottonwood Cove, and that they’d have to haul ass in order to return to New Vegas.

Just the thought of it all had Benny flopping back down against the bottom of the boat.

“You lay down and rest,” Aurora said, her voice tinged with worry. “Swank and I’ve got this.”

Benny glanced back at her as she reinserted her paddle into the water. Her palms and fingers were roughened to a bright red color from the friction of the abrasive wooden handle. He turned around and carefully pried the oar away from her, disguising a wince when the motion made his chest burn.

Swank turned and gave Benny a peek over his shoulder, the focus required to steer the boat not allowing anything more.

“Got to admit, boss, I really thought you were about to meet the Big Cat Upstairs for a minute there. Not a lot of people survive being sliced in the goddamn chest! You think that’s why you two are soulmates, maybe? You’re both just real sturdy? ”

“Ha-ha,” Benny said dryly, a light hiss escaping him when he used his paddle to cut through the water. That hatchet had landed deep. “You’re a real riot, pallie. Now, how about you keep focusing on getting us on dry land again instead of terrorizing me?”

⸻

The brief walk through Cottonwood Cove had been — thankfully — uneventful, for it seemed that imminent death had motivated Swank and Aurora to navigate the river quicker than the legionaries that were certainly pursuing them on Caesar’s orders. Aurora and Benny both breathed sighs of relief when they were above the rocky slope that protected Cottonwood Cove from the rest of the Mojave, but Swank grimaced as he leaned back against a boulder, his eyes shut tight as his shaking hand grasped at a bloody hole in his pant leg. Benny had noticed the wound as soon as they’d exited the boat, but Swank hadn’t done anything to hint that it was more than a graze.

Benny bent down and tore the hole in the pant leg wider to examine his friend’s thigh. A gnarly, scarily-red puncture had torn through his flesh, damn near right in the center of the thigh.

“What the fuck, Swank? Why didn’t you stimpak this?”

Aurora crouched and examined the wound herself, her eyes darting over to meet Benny’s before returning to Swank’s leg, her fingers carefully feeling the inflamed skin around the injury. Benny touched it as well, a shudder nearly overtaking him at how hellishly hot Swank’s skin felt.

“We were only able to sneak in one stimpak,” Aurora said. “After we dragged you into the boat, I used it on you. I didn’t even think-”

“Sweet Jesus, I’m still kicking, you know!’ Swank chuckled, the sound rough and forced. “I, uh, I think I’m going to need a doctor before we go home, though. I could ignore my leg when we were sitting down, but it’s hurting pretty bad now that we’re walking.”

Benny searched his mind for a safe haven for his best friend, his thoughts clouded by exhaustion. “Maybe… there’s, um…”

“Novac!” Aurora blurted, her attention focused on the screen of her Pip-Boy. “There’s a town called Novac an hour away! Let’s take him there!”

Benny and Aurora both moved to either side of Swank, allowing him to set his weight against them for the long trek ahead. Swank tried to grin, but Benny could see how his friend’s eyelids drooped, and could feel how with each step his entire body tensed.

Benny had been fighting alongside Swank ever since they were boys. He’d seen Swank get injured countless times, knew exactly how he reacted to various forms of pain.

Even though he was trying to put on a brave face, Swank was very, very hurt.

Chapter Text

Benny blinked rapidly as more sweat dripped into his stinging eyes, the giant lizard statue in the distance going blurry once more.

“You okay?” Swank croaked out.

Benny turned his head — as much as he could, anyway, with Swank’s body draped around his shoulders like some giant stole — and flashed his friend a grin.

“‘Course I am. Ain’t the first time I’ve had to carry you like this, hermano.”

Swank let out a delirious, over-the-top laugh at the comment. “I think I might’ve been a little lighter during the tribal days, buddy. Or maybe you were just stronger?”

Benny tightened his grip on his friend’s wrist and a knee as he trudged forward. He hoped to God Aurora would find someone decent enough to come help haul Swank the rest of the way to Novac.

“You know, I don’t think I’ll need stitching up or nothing,” Swank continued on. “My leg doesn’t even hurt no more.”

“It… it doesn’t?” Benny panted out, coming to a stop again. He gave Swank’s leg a hard squeeze. “Not even when I do that?”

“Nope! I couldn’t even feel it!”

“ Benny!”

He looked forward again at the sound of Aurora calling his name and saw her dashing toward him, a black-clad mercenary type in tow behind her.

“There’s a doctor in town,” Aurora said when she reached him. “I told her about his leg, and that he’s got a bad fever. She’s prepping her tent for him right now.”

 The mercenary set a wooden pole wrapped in fabric on the ground nearby and rolled it away, revealing that he’d brought a canvas stretcher.

“Duncan,” the mercenary said shortly, his gaze barely flitting up to meet Benny’s. “I work for Dr. Straus. Set your man down and I’ll help carry him the rest of the way.”

Benny groaned as he squatted down and tried to roll Swank onto the stretcher as carefully as possible. As soon as Swank was situated, Duncan lifted the side of the stretcher nearest Swank’s head. Benny moved to take the feet side, but Aurora nudged him out of the way and grabbed the poles instead.

“You’re exhausted, sugar. We’ll get there quicker if I carry him.”

Benny nodded, too tired and worried to even argue.

The remainder of the journey to Novac passed much more quickly with Duncan and Aurora carrying Swank. Soon, they were all in Ada Straus’ tent, setting Swank’s limp body on a surgical gurney as he babbled about the light streaming into the tent through the small holes in the fabric. The dark-haired lady doctor barely waited for him to be situated before she popped a handful of pills into her hand and tossed them into Swank’s mouth. His hands rose to try and knock her arm away, but she was able to keep it clamped tightly around his mouth.

“ Swallow,” she commanded.

Benny could see Swank’s throat contract as he forced the pills down his dry throat. When the doctor released his mouth, he let out a whimper and gave a pitiful attempt at rising from the gurney. “Don’t hurt me!”

Benny stepped up beside the gurney and gave his friend a comforting squeeze on the shoulder as he pushed him back down. “It’s okay, pal. She’s going to heal you. Soon you’re going to be right as rain.”

Some of the sickly dilation of Swank’s eyes recessed as his cheeks ebbed from a vivid red down to a dull pink. “I… yeah, she’s going to help.”

Benny turned his head, the sound of Dr. Straus digging through a bag catching his attention. He cocked a brow when she rose, her hands holding leather belts rather than stimpaks or more medicine. She handed Aurora and Benny one of the belts and ordered them to strap down Swank’s upper body. Benny was careful to not secure the strap too tightly around his friend’s torso and arms. After he clamped the buckle of the belt in place, he turned to ask Straus why this was necessary, his blood running cold when he came face-to-face with a large saw.

“Normally I would’ve waited to reduce his fever until after the amputation, but with the state he was in he might’ve died before I could finish,” said the doctor with a shrug of her shoulders. “Now, would you like to give him some liquor before I begin? I’ll have to charge an additional fee, of course, but I would recommend it to dull the pain.”

Aurora moved between Straus and Swank, almost like she was afraid the apathetic doctor would immediately move into hacking apart their friend.

“ Wait!” she choked out. “There isn’t anything else you can do for him? He just got shot, for Christ’s sake! Can’t you give him stitches or something?”

“No, I cannot,” the doctor stated simply. “His nerves and tissues are far too damaged. If the leg doesn't come off, he will die. Now, about the liquor-”

“Goddamn it, Ada!” Benny turned his gaze onto Duncan, whose expression was twisted with disgust. The guard pulled a flask from his pocket and lifted Swank’s head to pour its alcoholic contents down his throat. Swank coughed between sips, but he continued to drink, his eyes never leaving the saw in Straus’ hand. Duncan allowed Swank to drink down to the last drop.

“ Free of charge ,” Duncan hissed to his employer.

The doctor rolled her eyes as she bent at the waist to position her forearm on the edge of the gurney near Swank’s thigh. Her gaze darted over to her patient for a moment. “I’d recommend looking away.”

Swank’s already too-fast breaths quickened to near hyperventilation. Benny took hold of his jaw and tilted his face up before grasping his friend’s bound hand in his own.

“It’s going to be okay,” Benny promised, his voice far more calm than he was inside. How the fuck were they all going to get out of here with Swank being crippled?

He heard the doctor release a controlled breath. Her voice held a clinical detachment when she spoke again. “Beginning amputation.”

For just a second, just a horrible second, Benny could hear the squelch of flesh being sliced through. And then Swank began screaming.

Benny snapped his teeth shut, his molars painful from how hard he clenched his jaw as Swank crushed his fingers. Benny refused to pull away, though. He had to be there for his friend.

Quite suddenly, the pressure on Benny’s hand lessened. Swank’s thrashing came to a halt, his agonized wails quieting to dull groans as his body went entirely limp. Their eyes met for a moment before Swank’s glassy irises rolled back in his head, his lids shutting. The terrible noise of flesh being sawed through continued on without falter.

“S- Swank?” Benny shuddered out.

Duncan grabbed hold of Benny’s shoulder to prevent him from turning around to face the doctor.

“He just went into shock,” the guard explained. “See his chest? He’s still breathing.”

Benny gave a tight nod as he released Swank’s slack hand. He turned and exited the tent, careful to avoid seeing Straus at work. He blinked as he stepped back out into the bright Mojave sun, the heat of the day almost taunting in its relentlessness. He scanned what he could see of Novac — which was most of it, considering the size of the town — for signs of Aurora and thankfully didn’t find her anywhere. She didn’t need to see him right now, not with the state he was in.

Benny stormed over to a gas station near the outskirts of Novac, a seemingly unpopulated building that appeared to have not been repurposed since The Great War. A corroded truck was still in the garage, various tools and such still hanging on its inner walls. Benny plucked a large wrench off of one of the peg boards, the tool’s weight heavy in his hand. He faced the truck and met his own gaze in his reflection in what remained of the passenger side window. The man in the reflection was almost unrecognizable. Who did that snarl belong to? The hot rage in those dark eyes? With a tormented roar, Benny lifted his wrench into the air and brought it crashing down into the truck window, sending a flurry of glass shards flying.

Over and over again, he smashed the ancient truck with the wrench, leaving dents and small tears in the rusted metal of its doors and hood. He pictured the faces of all the people he hated most, the people who’d hurt him or threatened Aurora, as he beat the vehicle. House. Caesar. Bingo. Bluestar. Lanius. He even imagined killing Ada Straus, even though a small voice in the back of his head tempered his fury, reminding him that although she was the one cutting off his best friend’s leg, she wasn’t the cause of the amputation.

Sweat coated Benny’s skin by the time he dropped the wrench to the concrete floor. His breaths came in dry, swallow pants, a numbness filling his chest. He stepped out of the garage and felt a shiver rack his body.

The sound of sand and gravel shifting made him look down. Aurora was sitting right there, her back against the wall of the gas station. He didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there, but by the look of concern on her face he could guess that it had been a while. She pushed herself up to stand, her eyes never leaving his face.

“I… hey,” she said softly. She reached into her pack and pulled out a bottle of purified water. “I got some supplies. There’s some mutfruit and-”

He ignored her and continued on his path toward the doctor’s tent, his teeth grit so hard that his jaw hurt. He’d made it about five steps before Aurora grabbed him by the elbow. He stopped walking, his gaze trained on the ground.

“Look Benny, I’m sorry. You can’t know how sorry I am, okay? I would’ve…. I didn’t think this would happen.”

He yanked his arm away from her hand and continued on toward the tent, his pace quickening so that she couldn’t touch him again. He couldn’t trust himself to not say something to her that he couldn’t take back.

As hard as he tried to suppress it, a bitter thought still crept into Benny’s mind.

Is ‘sorry’ going to make Swank’s leg grow back?

Chapter Text

Benny felt absolutely nothing as he laid eyes on his casino.

It should’ve felt good to be back at his old stomping grounds, to finally step into The Tops and feel safe again. It should’ve.

Yet all Benny could think of was his best friend, left behind in Novac with the Legion hot on their heels. It alleviated some of his guilt knowing that the unusually sympathetic merc, Duncan, would help Swank catch a ride on a caravan back home, but Benny still felt like a beaten-down coward. They’d tangled with the Legion and won, but at what cost?

Benny followed as Aurora continued into the casino. They’d exchanged less than twenty words the whole way from Novac to Vegas. He didn’t know if she was pissed or ashamed, and right now he just couldn’t muster up the goodness in him to care. It was better this way. He knew he’d hurt her with his rejection back in Novac. It was better to stay silent so that she didn’t know the awful thoughts burning in his head.

Once they were in the lobby, Benny and Aurora were both heartily greeted by every Chairman in the vicinity. Through the swarm, a tall figure with teary pale brown eyes pushed his way in until he was within arms’ reach of the soulmates. Raleigh, though he was one of the most stereotypical gruff waste-roaming types Benny had ever met, openly cried as he yanked Aurora in for a hug and clasped Benny on the shoulder.

“Hi, Pa,” Aurora muffled against her father’s shirt.

Raleigh wrapped his arms around her even tighter and pressed his lips to her hair as he continued to sob. “Oh, my girl. Wasn’t sure I’d ever hear your voice again.” He lifted his gaze and flashed Benny a grin as he added, “Guess you really are tougher than I gave you credit for, boy.”

Benny managed a smile and leaned in to give his soulmate’s father a side hug. Aurora leaned away from them both, awkwardly clearing her throat when Raleigh’s gaze snapped back over to her.

“I’m going to go see Adrianne. I’ll find you again soon, okay Pa?”

She didn’t wait for a response before wedging her way through the Chairmen that were still gathered around to see them. Raleigh watched her go with a lifted brow before turning his confused face to Benny.

“C’mon, let’s go have a sit at the bar for a minute, just us men.”

The pair ascended the stairs up to the theater. After a quick hello to Tommy, Benny wedged in to lean against the bar with Raleigh, neither man sitting since actual customers were occupying all the stools. Raleigh ordered a Scotch, but Benny opted to nurse a cigarette and soda. He was beginning to get the idea that him and alcohol weren’t exactly a pretty mix, and he didn’t need Aurora hauling him up to his suite again.

The older man held up his tumbler in a toast. “Welp, ya’ll went straight into the lion’s den and made it out in one piece. Not a lot of folks who can say that.”

Benny took a long pull off of his smoke, not meeting Raleigh’s eyes. “Not all of us.”

Raleigh sighed and set his drink back on the bar. “So, is he dead?”

Benny shook his head. “Got shot while we were running out of there. Bullet fucked his leg. It had to be cut off.”

Raleigh cursed under his breath and downed his glass. “I guess I’d been hoping that… she would’ve protected you kids. Stupid of me to think she would’ve cared.”

An angry sneer pulled up the corner’s of Benny’s lips at the mention of Bluestar. “Oh, she cared all right. She cared enough that she was going to keep us imprisoned in that camp with her and that lunatic soulmate of hers. It’s why we had to fight. Aurora kept a knife stashed and was able to grab hold of her, take her hostage until we got to the end of their camp. That’s the only reason we probably ain’t all dead.”

Raleigh’s tanned cheeks blanched, his eyes wide as the scene Benny described played in his mind. He tapped his glass to signal the bartender to refill his drink. He stared into the amber liquid as he asked in a quavering voice, “Did she… Did Aurora have to kill her?”

“No. Aurora let her go at the main gate. Swank and I thought it’d be smarter to take her with us, but Aurora’d told Caesar that she’d free that witch at the entrance.”

Raleigh let out a bitter laugh and took another sip from his Scotch. “Ya’ll don’t know much about the Legion if you thought that would’ve worked. Caesar teaches the Legion to avoid capture at all cost — even if that means killing themselves. You think Bluestar’d be any different? She probably would’ve capsized your boat in the river trying to drown herself.”

A pang of shame stung in Benny’s chest. These past few days he’d been blaming Aurora for not taking her mother hostage, thinking it would’ve prevented Swank from being shot. But if what Raleigh said was true, then she might have actually made the best decision she could.

Benny tossed his half-smoked cigarette into his soda to snuff it out. “I need to go do something, but I’ll talk to you again later, okay, sir?”

Chapter Text

‘Yes, I saw Aurora! I told her the next phase of the plan — to get Mr. House out of the way! She seemed really excited to head over there and get started. I guess she’s just ready to get my  neuro-computational matrix installed on the Lucky 38’s mainframe!’

Yes Man’s chipper words played like a loop in Benny’s mind as the Chairman burst through the doors of the Lucky 38. No Securitrons were there to stop him. A quick glance around the dusty, desolated casino floor revealed that a minimal struggle had taken place. A few tire scuffs and bits of broken glass left a trail to the remnants of one trashed robot, its screen shattered by a shotgun at close range. Benny skirted by the scrap heap and smacked his hand on the elevator button until it finally opened. Why, why, why would she try to do this alone?

A cold shiver ran up Benny’s spine when he went to examine the floor number buttons and saw a bloody fingerprint on the one labeled ‘The Penthouse’. He pressed it in, coating his own finger in the thick liquid. It was still warm.

Benny dashed out of the elevator as soon as there was a crack wide enough for him to slip through. The move nearly sent him barrelling down a pristine white staircase, but the body of another defeated Securitron tripped him just enough that he was able to grab hold of the railing to save himself. Barely slowing, Benny rose and jumped down the stairs two at a time until he came to another room, one with a large blank screen taking up most of the space. He looked around and spotted a few droplets of blood on the floor that led to an opening in the wall. Benny ran past two more junked Securitrons, both of which didn’t seem damaged other than their screens being on the fritz, which pointed to Aurora using pulse grenades. The only other thing of interest in the small room was a set of heavy metal doors with the Lucky 38 logo on them, a terminal just off to their side. They didn’t have handles at all, and a good push wouldn’t open them either. Benny hissed out a curse and clicked the power button on the terminal, fully expecting for it to lead to some sort of encryption screen.

Welcome, Mr. House.

>Unlock Control Room elevator?

Well, that was surprisingly simple.

This elevator ride was by far the roughest Benny had ever been on. Clearly, Mr. House hadn’t accounted for visitors when creating this portion of his casino. Benny’s stomach was in knots by the time it dinged to a stop, spitting him out in a dimly-lit giant metal room that echoed off the blare of an alarm every other second. After his eyes adjusted to the poor light, Benny could make out the outline of a familiar feminine shape in a cowboy hat. A green light glowed around her for a moment when she tapped a button on a control terminal.

“Aurora!” he called out, already running toward her.

She spun around to face him, her arms opening just in time as he slammed into her with a hug.

“Benny? What’re you doing here?”

He ignored her as he took to frantically examining her body. “Where are you hurt? I saw the blood. How bad is it?”

She ran a soothing thumb along his wrist as he cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face up and down and side to side. “I’m okay, I promise. Look.”

Aurora held up her right pointer finger to Benny’s face. A thin line barely any more severe than a paper cut ran right along the tip of it. A strangled sigh of relief left him. He kissed the bloody digit before yanking her back in for another tight embrace.

“Why in the hell would you come do this alone, doll? You nearly gave me a goddamn heart attack!”

“I didn’t mean to worry you. I’m sorry.”

Benny looked down as he felt her squeeze him harder. He lowered his head to meet her gaze, allowing his hands to fall and hold hers as he did so. “Talk to me, pussycat. Why?”

“I…” She squeezed her eyes shut, a shuddering breath racking her before she continued on with a breaking voice. “I know I fucked up real bad. I just thought that if I handled House for you then maybe, I don’t know, that it’d fix things somehow? I know that doesn’t make sense out loud, but I-”

“Hey, you didn’t fuck anything up. If either of us did it was me.” Benny sighed and set his forehead against hers. “Look, Swank getting hurt like that, and then us having to leave him in Novac? It was one of the most awful experiences of my life, I won’t lie, but none of that was your fault. I know I made you feel like it was, but I was being angry and stupid. I never, ever want you to feel like you’ve got to do anything to keep my love.”

A tear spilled down onto her cheek. Benny tried to wipe it away, but Aurora gently grabbed his wrist and held his hand away.

“What happened to him — it is my fault. You don’t have to deny that just to make me feel better.”

“They would’ve killed us if you’d taken her. Hell, she might’ve killed us, crazy Legion broad. I should’ve trusted that you knew how to handle the situation best. You definitely know more about those people than I do.”

“Benny, I didn’t do it because I thought it was the smartest thing for us! I did it because I didn’t have the nerve to take her! I knew that even if we made it across the river with her we’d either have to lock her up somewhere or kill her. And… I just didn’t have it in me to do either one. I was too weak.”

“Aurora, baby, that woman might be a total lunatic, but she’s still your mother. I can’t blame you for not wanting to hurt her.”

More tears pooled in her eyes. This time, she let Benny catch them as they dripped down her skin.

“I almost got us all killed,” she whispered. “I can’t ever hesitate like that again, not if we’re going to take Vegas. I have to be stronger.”

She turned away from him to face the terminal monitor again. Another click of a button, and suddenly some weird pod just a few feet ahead of them was spurting out some sort of steam into the air that left an unpleasant chill in the air. The door of the pod swung open, then a large platform rose from the interior and swiveled up and around to present them with… well, Benny couldn’t quite say. He thought the thing hanging in front of them was a person, but its appearance was closer to that of a pre-war Halloween decoration than a human being. Its skin was a washed-out gray color similar to that of a corpse, its bones jutting out so severely that they looked as if they might cut through the thing’s skin.

“Is that… Mr. House?” he asked incredulously.

Aurora seemed too disgusted herself to respond. The creature, however, let out a raspy scoff as it turned its beady, pale eyes onto him.

“Benancio… you little snake. Of course you’d want to witness my death. I shouldn’t have expected anything less of you.” House’s leathery face pulled into a grimace as he mustered the strength to point a decrepit finger at Aurora. “But you, child, why have you done this? Centuries of preparation, so much good undone by your hand…”

“You threatened Benny and all the other Chairmen to get me to do your bidding. I can’t let you live, not if I’m going to help Benny take the Mojave.”

House’s papery lips pulled up in a nasty grin over his browned teeth. “A vanity project, doomed to fail…”

A horrid cough racked the ancient man. He really was just a talking corpse, bound to life by nothing more than a machine. There was something perverse about his very existence. This is what his boss truly looked like? This thing is what Benny had admired as his savior seven years ago? This relic was supposed to rule over Vegas as some sort of god, his body and mind decaying more and more everyday as a machine kept him alive? A blistering rage curled around Benny’s heart, the very same rage he’d felt that had set his plan in motion in the first place.

“Fuck you old man! You don’t get to own the Strip forever just because you hid it under your skirt when the bombs fell a thousand years ago! Why shouldn’t I run the Strip, the whole goddamn Mojave? I’m from here, I know the people and how they think. I see the city for what it is — unlike you, I’m not going to be chasing the past. Aurora and I will make Vegas a better place than you ever could, you greedy bastard.”

Benny was trembling as he finished his speech, but House looked utterly unamused. He settled his thin hands onto his chest and shook his head, as much as was possible, anyway, with him being hooked up to the pod.

“May there be a hell for you, a Tartarus! Bleak, unending…”

Aurora set a hand on Benny’s shoulder and pulled him back behind the terminal with her.

“Goodbye, Mr. House,” she said, her words ringing with an unmistakable finality.

She clicked a button on the keyboard, her gaze leveled on House. Benny turned his attention back just in time to see white-hot bands of electricity zip out of the platform that held his skeletal body. House violently twitched as the electricity coursed through him, charring and blistering his flesh. A memory of Nipton flashed through Benny’s mind, the smells of death so similar that it made him gag.

“Let’s get out of here,” Aurora mumbled, quickly turning on her heels to head for the exit.

Chapter Text

The Strip was bathed in the golden light of the setting sun when Benny and Aurora walked out of the Lucky 38.

Benny breathed deeply, letting the scent of sweat and booze and faint creosote fill his nose. Knowing that House was out of the picture made him feel a sense of lightness. The old bastard couldn’t threaten Aurora, Benny, or any Chairman ever again.

Benny flashed Aurora a grin before clamping his arms around her waist in a tight hug. She laughed as he spun her around a few times.

“We’re really doing this thing!” he whispered excitedly in her ear as he set her back down.

She nodded, her expression flitting between afraid and electrified. “We really are. Things are going to get really crazy now.”

He smirked. “Like they weren’t already?”

The clap of sneakers on asphalt alerted Benny to someone running behind him. He turned around to see Adrianne barreling toward them.

“Aurora!” She crashed into her and embraced her tightly.

Aurora smiled and buried her face in Adrianne’s coily hair. “Hey there, little bluebonnet.”

Benny could see Raleigh slowly making his way over from The Tops, a look of pride on his face as he watched his daughters.

Benny wrapped his arms around the sisters as they hugged and gave them a squeeze, making Adrianne shriek with laughter.

“Mr. Hixon!” Benny called out. “What do you say we rustle up a fancy dinner for our girls? I’m thinking brahmin steaks, roasted potatoes, and flambéd mutfruit!”

Adrianne clapped her hands together. “Oh, that sounds good! What’s a flambé, though?”

Benny was about to answer, but a twitch in Aurora’s cheek caught his attention. Her eyes darted to the side, her smile fading slightly.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, instantly on guard.

Raleigh finally joined them, his gaze shifting between the two soulmates. Aurora released Adrianne and gently pushed her toward the men. She toyed with the brim of her hat for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking at each of them with sad eyes.

“I’m leaving again. Tonight.”

Raleigh and Adrianne immediately erupted with protest.

“You just got back-”

“What could be so important-”

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” Benny demanded, his voice filled with more force and emotion than he’d intended to let out. “Where are you going?”

Aurora shoved her hands into her jean pockets. “Yes Man gave me a list of all the big groups in the Mojave that we’ll need to talk to. We’re going to need allies if we want our plan to work. There’s five that we really need to worry about: the Boomers, the Brotherhood of Steel, the Great Khans, the Omertas, and the White Glove Society. It’s a lot of people to get in touch with, and we just don’t have a lot of time. I figured the best way to handle things would be for Benny to deal with the Strip families while I contacted the three out in the Mojave.”

Benny stared at her in horror. She laid out the plan so casually, as if she wasn’t suggesting that she was going to go galavanting around the wasteland alone.

“No,” he said simply. “I’m coming with you.”

Aurora sighed and reached for his hand. He interlaced their fingers, like he could trap her at his side . “We don’t have time for that. Haven’t you been paying attention? The Legion and the NCR are going to go to war again soon. The only way we can make our plan work is if we split up.”

“To hell with the Omertas and White Gloves, then!” Benny spat. “I’m not letting you go into the desert alone! We’ll deal with the Strip Families when we have to, but I am not leaving you on your own!”

Aurora opened her mouth to argue, but her father cut her off.

“She won’t be alone. I’m going to go with her.”

Aurora instantly tried to decline. “Pa, you can’t. Adrianne-”

“-is a young woman who probably doesn’t want her dad and sister hanging over her shoulder all the time.” Raleigh looked at Benny with a smile and clapped him on the back. “Besides, she’s still going to have family around.”

Aurora’s mouth puckered into a frown. “I don’t know…”

Benny and Raleigh looked to one another and shared a firm nod. They were going to be a united front on this.

“It’s me or dear old Dad, pussycat,” Benny shrugged. “Either way, you’re taking someone with you. We’re a family, and that means we stick together.”

Even though her shoulders slumped down and her nose scrunched up, Benny could see that Aurora didn’t completely oppose the idea of having some back up.

“Alright,” she finally agreed. “I hope you’re ready for this, Pa, because we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

Turning her attention back to Benny, she gave him a breathtaking smile before opening her arms. He stepped forward and clung to her ferociously, already beating himself up internally for the fact that he was actually going to let her walk away.

“I love you,” she murmured, her lips brushing his ear.

He sighed and kissed the high point on her cheek, still keeping her close to his chest. “You’re not just my girl, you know that right? You’re literally my world. Everything starts and stops with you. Come back to me quick.”

Aurora chuckled and pulled away from him. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out an unmarked holotape. She held it out toward him.

“This is a copy of every journal entry of mine that includes you, before and after my memory got fixed. I made it before Swank and I went to get you from the Legion camp, in case I… well, anyway, I ain’t always the best at saying how I feel out loud, but I think if you read a few of those you’ll get a picture.”

Almost as if she were afraid she’d change her mind if she waited any longer, Aurora swiftly yanked Adrianne in for an embrace before taking off for the main gate. Raleigh kissed his younger daughter’s forehead and shook Benny’s hand before following after her.

Benny waited until they’d walked through the gate to see if she’d turn around a final time.

She didn’t look back.

Chapter Text

Day 71

I went to the Vegas Strip today. From what Pa and Adrianne tell me, I go there often.

But I think even if my brain worked right that I’d never stop feeling like I was seeing those lights for the first time. I’ve seen so many places in my life… The wilds of Texas, the Legion territories in New Mexico and Arizona, Utah, and the NCR… none of them compare to New Vegas. Despite everything, I feel lucky to have seen it, to keep experiencing it as if it were a whole new place every day. Even before the Great War it was a neon oasis out here in the desert, yet when I try to picture it being even more grand and beautiful I find myself coming up blank. How could anything more have ever existed?

That isn’t to say it’s paradise, though. A lot of the people are assholes. Self-important men from California, strange locals (note to self: avoid the Ultra-Luxe tomorrow ). 

I ran into the most dreadful man of all in the entryway to one of the casinos. I’d hardly had time to blink before he came up to me and started laying on the charm too thick. He was a real pretty guy with a good smile and a funny way of talking. He just kept talking and smiling, like at any second I was going to fall over and swoon for him! I shoved him out of my way and told him to leave me the hell alone. I peeked over my shoulder and saw him staring at me like a kicked puppy while I walked away. Serves him right, I think, considering he probably sits there all day waiting for random women to accost.

Some of the Follower doctors examined me when I came back to their fort. No change.

No progress.

Not much in the mood to write. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Benny chuckled as he removed Aurora’s holotape from his terminal before walking out into the living room of his suite. He plopped down next to Adrianne on the couch, earning him a dirty look as she fumbled to keep her open book in her hand.

“I just read another one of Aurora’s journal entries. Can you believe she actually thought I was some sort of creep early on? Me , creepy!”

The teenager’s eyes didn’t lift from the page. Aurora had only been gone for two days, but Benny constantly spoke of her. Adrianne had given up on trying to cheer him up.

“You know, it’s a very common romance trope in novels for soulmates to dislike each other when they first meet. It’s a sign that the two people have a strong affect on one another.”

“Wish we were in some sappy book. Then I’d know we’d get a happy ending.”

Adrianne sighed and set her book down on the coffee table. “Benny, she’s going to be fine. She survived a bullet to the brain! Aurora’s very strong. I trust that she’s okay out there, and you should too. If this plan of yours is meant to go well, then it will. Have faith.”

Benny forced a grin. “You’re a real smart kid, you know that?”

She returned his smile, her voice sweet as she said, “You think so? Because if you do, then you should listen to me and figure out what the hell you’re going to do about the White Gloves and Omertas. Make. A. Plan. ”

He threw his head back against the couch cushion and let out an exaggerated groan. “C’mon, kid, I’ve been trying! Master plans don’t just spring up in your head fully formed, you know!”

“Yeah, plus Benny’s hair might catch on fire if he tries to think too hard.”

Adrianne and Benny both looked toward the door they hadn’t heard open and gawked at Swank, who was leaning against the frame casually.

Benny sprang up and across the room to embrace his friend before he could even fully process what he was seeing. The pair hugged one another in the fierce manner that only brothers could and laughed.

“Been worried sick about you!” Benny exclaimed. “I was starting to wonder what was taking so long!”

“I would’ve been back a little sooner, but Duncan thought it’d be smart to stop by the clinic and see if the doc over there could do something about my leg. Glad we made the detour, considering.”

Swank bent at the waist and rapped his fingers against his leg. A hollow-sounding metallic cling rang out.

Benny stared down at the extremity, which was hidden by Swank’s pant leg and shoe. “You’re… standing.”

“Just noticed that?” Swank teased. The corners of his eyes crinkled when he pulled on the knee of his slacks slightly to reveal a shiny metal rod where his ankle should’ve been. It had a rolling joint to allow for some mobility before it connected with a larger, much sturdier-looking piece that was the main leg.

“I’m part Protectron now, dig it?” Swank joked.

“That’s amazing! I can’t believe some sawbones was able to give you a whole new leg!

“That woman’s a goddamn miracle worker! I was pretty skeptical, but Duncan’s gotten a few implants from her before, so I figured it was worth a shot. Uh, we do sort of owe him a few thousand caps for the leg, by the way. I obviously didn’t have the cash on me, so he went ahead and paid for it. I promised him a good suite here.”

A gruff voice from behind the open door startled Benny. “I already told you that you didn’t owe me anything.”

Benny peered behind the door and saw Duncan, the mercenary from Novac, standing in the hall with a cigarette hanging from between his teeth.

Huh, Swank normally bitched at Benny for smoking without an ashtray nearby.

Duncan took a long puff from his cigarette before reiterating his statement. “I didn’t do it to gain any favors.”

Benny let out a low whistle. “Then you’re the most generous cat in the whole damn Mojave.”

Duncan shrugged noncommittally. It might’ve seemed an arrogant move by most guys, but the gesture seemed more like a lack of care when the mercenary guard did it. As if maybe he was a walking saint, but it didn’t matter much to him.

Benny waved the two men into his suite. Swank plopped easily down onto the couch next to Adrianne, but Duncan hovered near the doorway with a bored expression even after Benny offered him a seat and drink.

Swank spun the Scotch Benny had poured for him around in the glass, his dark eyes narrowing before he tilted the tumbler back and downed the drink in one go. Benny was tempted to do the same, but he’d decided that he needed to lay off the drinking for a good long while. It didn’t do anyone any good for him to have a blurred mind right now. His abuela had always said booze was the devil’s drink, anyhow.

“So,” Swank said with a sigh. “Before we had to go rescue you, I gathered from Yes Man that the next phase is to go after the other Strip Families, see if we can’t make ‘em our allies. Is that where Aurora’s got off to?”

“No.” The word was barely audible when they left Benny’s lips. Hoarse. Fearful. “Yes Man decided we needed to make contact with all the biggest players in the Mojave. Aurora… she thought it’d be best that we divide and conquer. She wanted me to stay and handle things here at home.”

Swank smirked. “Tough broad. Can’t really ever tell that one “‘no’, can you? Alright then, what is our plan here? C’mon boss, you’ve got to at least be knocking around a few ideas.”

Benny started to speak, but his eyes wandered over to Duncan.

“Uh, maybe we should get your pal set up in his suite before we talk about this…”

Swank blinked, seeming confused for a moment at Benny’s reluctance to talk. “Oh, don’t worry about Duncan blabbing. He’s not a fan of the NCR.” Swank gave a sheepish grin. “Plus, I kind of already blabbed to him when I was high on painkillers after I got my leg attached.”

“Goddamn it, Swank!”

“It wasn’t on purpose-”

“I can keep a secret,” Duncan interrupted, his lit cigarette still held at an angle between his teeth. He turned his bored glance to Benny as he added on, “You know, you seem about as sharp as a marble. I hope that soulmate of yours has a good head on her shoulders, otherwise we’re all screwed.”

Adrianne and Swank both began laughing. Heat bloomed across Benny’s cheeks, but he didn’t bother to give Duncan a retort. He glared at the mercenary for a moment, but an idea slowly started to form in his mind. Benny — and most of the other Chairmen, for that matter — would be quickly sniffed out if they went into the Ultra-Luxe or Gomorrah to do some reconnaissance. Duncan, however, was a nobody on the Strip. He could blend in, just another gambler looking for a good time.

Benny smirked, leaning back in his chair as he struck a match to light a cigarette. “Say pal, how’d you like to make some serious caps?”

Chapter Text

“You’re fucking with me.”

Duncan’s hand shook as he took a lit cigarette from between Swank’s fingers. The mercenary met Benny’s gaze, his harrowed expression unchanged by the disbelief in Benny’s tone.

“They were going to eat the kid, man. They’re fucking cannibals. Maybe not all of them anymore, but they all used to be. Poor little rich boy’s just lucky I got there before they could start slicing into his ass cheek.”

Benny’s eyes flitted over to meet Swank’s, both of their mouths drawn into tight frowns. When they’d roamed the Mojave, there had been a scary story that the tribe’s elders would tell the young children in hushed whispers around the light of a low-burning fire. It was the tale of a young boy, just on the cusp of manhood, who was afflicted with a dangerous sense of curiosity. The boy snuck away from the tribe unaccompanied to explore a cave, unaware that the hole was already occupied by a gang of feral man-eaters. They killed the child and desecrated his corpse, preparing bits and pieces of him as casually as if he were a gecko to grill. The obvious question, of course, was how did the elders know what had happened to the boy? Benny still remembered the horror in his grandmother’s voice when she’d revealed this part of the story to him: the child’s shoes and broken fragments of his skull were placed outside the entrance of the cavern, along with a thank you note.

Benny cleared his throat and stared at the floor as he spat, “Those White Gloves have always given me the heebie-jeebies. Should’ve known they’d be hiding something. A person can be too polite, you know?”

Swank sighed. “I guess that knocks them off the list of potential friends. I’m glad you made it out of there okay, Duncan. Seems like it could’ve been a real bad scene.” He tried to flash a reassuring smile, but the pull of his lips was more akin to a grimace as he squeezed Duncan’s shoulder.

Benny’s brows flew up in surprise when, instead of returning Swank’s simple gesture, Duncan gave Swank a tight hug. Maybe they’d gotten a little closer during their journey from Novac than Benny’d initially understood.

Swank’s arms hung awkwardly in the air for a moment before he returned Duncan’s embrace, his hands patting the other man’s back too quickly. He pulled away, putting some distance between the two of them.

“How about we all go downstairs and get a drink, take our minds off things for a while?”

⸻

The Tops Theater was so densely packed that the men were forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder at the end of the bar to order. Benny was in the middle of taking a sip of his Sunset Sarsaparilla when Swank suddenly clamped a hand down on his shoulder and joyously shook him, laughing wildly.

“Holy shit boss, look who’s here!”

Benny grimaced and coughed as some of his soda went into his sinuses, the bubbles irritating his delicate inner tissues. His eyes scanned the people that surrounded the bar until they landed on a familiar face.

“Mr. Hixon!” Swank yelled. He laughed again and waved.

Raleigh couldn’t hear them over the noise of the theater. Benny watched as he continued to take a long swig from his beer bottle, draining it before adding it to a small cluster of brown bottles in front of him on the bar top. The bartender went by and handed him another beer without prompt, which Raleigh immediately popped the cap off of with too much force before he took to draining it.

“Stay here,” Benny said to the other men. He frantically shoved his way through the crowd until he was able to reach Raleigh. Benny slammed his palms down on the bar top and the back of Raleigh’s chair, his shout sounding more like a hoarse whisper among the thrum of the theater as he asked, “Where’s Aurora? Why’s she not with you?”

The older man barely glanced at him. He licked his lips, his eyes locked on some point ahead of him as he hissed out, “She’s fine. Went up to your suite as soon as we came in.”

Benny blinked at the anger that laced Raleigh’s tone, but he didn’t allow himself to dwell on it. She was here! Everything in Benny was screaming at him to go to her, desperate to lay eyes on her and see for himself that she was okay. He turned and raced out of the theater for the elevator, his mind reeling as he was forced to wait during the long ascent to his floor. Would she be okay? Had she been able to make contact with the Boomers, the Khans, the Brotherhood? Most curiously, what had gone down between her and her father?

Once the elevator reached the thirteenth floor, Benny raced toward his suite. He threw open his front door, disappointed when he didn’t immediately see Aurora. He started toward his bedroom to search for her, but as he was walking he noticed a sliver of light shining out from the bottom of the bathroom door.

“Aurora?” he called out, gently rapping his fingers against the door.

“Benny?” The relief in her voice made his chest swell, his heart aching at how soft and wild his name was on her lips.

He entered the bathroom, a hot blast of steam hitting him as soon as he opened the door. Aurora was in the bath tub, her body sunk low so that only her head peeked out from the thick layer of suds that floated on top of the water. Benny glanced at the filled sink, which held Aurora’s boots. The water was tinted an unsettling translucent-red color, almost like Nuka Cherry. Little lines of sand and grit fell away from the wet leather, leaving dirty trails in the red water. Benny tore his eyes away from the curious shoes and sank to his knees by the bath tub, an involuntary smile coming to his face as he looked at his soulmate. No matter what had happened, she was safe. Everything else was secondary to that.

Benny had so many questions. What had happened while she was in the Mojave? How had she handled the groups they’d hoped to gain as allies? Why hadn’t she come to see him the second she got home?

But he could tell, with no words exchanged, that she wasn’t ready to talk. Instead Benny picked up her wrist and brought her palm to rest on his cheek, the heel of it pressed to his lips. He breathed in the smell of her freshly-washed skin and sighed. My girl.

Benny’s comb was poised on the edge of the bath tub. He noticed, now that he could spare some attention for details, that her long hair was in rats. He picked up the little plastic comb and the cup he kept in the bathroom for washing. Aurora sat up and rested her chin on her knees. Benny poured the soapy bathwater over her head, saturating her already dark hair to an even deeper brown. He started to carefully brush out the knots, starting from the bottom and working his way up. Aurora’s eyes were half-lidded as he worked, her head lulling slightly.

When he was about halfway done, she finally broke the silence.

“The Omertas? The White Gloves?”

“Legion-sympathizers and cannibals.”

“Fuck.”

“What about yours? The Boomers, the Brotherhood? Hell, I’d even be happy to have the Khans at this point.”

Aurora clenched her eyes shut. “The Khans and Boomers will stand with us.”

Benny’s hands stopped moving. “And the Brotherhood won’t, I take it?”

“No,” she whispered. She cleared her throat, making her voice barely any stronger. “But we don’t have to worry about them interfering with our plans, either.”

He waited for her to continue, but Aurora stared blankly at the bathroom tiles. Benny started to comb her hair again, his movements overly deliberate. He had to swallow before he could speak.

“What’s that mean, doll?”

“They’re dead. I killed them all.”