Chapter Text
Six months. Six goddamn months on the road, but they finally made it to Boston. Cooper could hardly believe it. Well. There were a lot of things he could hardly believe. Like the fact that he and Lucy hadn't killed each other yet, for example. A total of eight months of traveling together, killing her father together, wandering for miles and miles and miles, having each other's backs. And still they were hardly more than strangers. They'd barely talked about anything not related to their immediate survival, like where to make camp, when to stock up on supplies et fucking cetera. Hell, Lucy didn't even know his real name. And Cooper didn't know why she was still hanging around after everything was said and done. This next quest was his, not hers. She'd only wanted closure and maybe revenge, after that he'd expected her to go back to her vault. At least that was what Cooper thought. Yet here she was, by his side, taking aim at one of the Super Mutants up ahead, who were blocking their path.
There were three of them in total, two with the pipe pistols the Commonwealth seemed so fond of clutched in their meaty hands and one swinging a large board. Cooper raised his pistol too and as if on unspoken command he and Lucy fired. Triggered by the shots Dogmeat charged ahead and threw herself at the third Super Mutant with a vicious snarl. She bit down hard on his arm and held him fast while Cooper and Lucy reloaded.
All in all it took them no more than five minutes to dispatch the Mutants. Cooper checked the surrounding buildings while Lucy rifled through the Super Mutants’ meager belongings, pocketing ammo, drugs and anything else they might be able to sell off.
“There's not much here. We'll have to stop at a settlement soon”, she said, dusting off her knees. She still wore her Vaultsuit. Sometimes Cooper wondered if that was another thing they had in common: sentimentality. After all, he still wore the same clothes he had on when the bombs dropped.
“Your fancy pipboy pick anything up?”
Silently, Lucy fiddled with the thing. At first only the grating sound of static could be heard before there was a sudden click and then:
"Galaxy! News! Radio!"
Cooper raised his eyebrows (or what was left of them and his eyes met Lucy's. For the first time in a while there was a spark of curiosity in her gaze. There was a record scratch and the radio broadcast continued:
"Calling all Silver Shroud Fans! I got an urgent mission. If you're a true fan stop by the Memory Den and t-talk to Kent Connolly. The Silver Shroud needs you!"
Cooper barked out a laugh. “I'll be damned! The Silver Shroud's still on the radio.”
Lucy cocked her head. “You know what this is?”
Nodding, Cooper shook a cigarette out of its carton and stuck it between his lips. “Was a radio show back in the day. They were gonna make a movie of it and offered me the role, if you can believe it.”
“Why wouldn't I believe it?” Lucy scratched Dogmeat behind the ears and looked at him with those big doe-eyes of hers. Turning away, Cooper lit his cigarette and took a deep draft.
“Listen to an episode and you'll see, sweetheart. They just wanted my name attached to it.” Right as Cooper finished, the pipboy piped up again.
"When evil walks the streets of Boston, one man lurks in the shadows! Shielding the innocent! Judging the guilty! That guardian is... the Silver Shroud!”
Lucy seemed enthralled by the story and a strange feeling scraped at the back of Cooper's ribcage as he watched her, the way she listened so intently to the superhero's adventures. She hadn't been this present in a good long while and that something banging around his ribs… he'd almost call it tender, in another lifetime.
Blowing a cloud of smoke her way, he asked: “So. This Memory Den show up on that map of yours? I'm thinking we might be able to get some supplies there.”
Lucy bounced a bit on the soles of her feet as she clicked around on her pipboy again and it was almost like that first time he'd seen her, back in Filly. Of course it was risky, following a radio broadcast like that, but to hell with it. If someone tried to fuck with them, Cooper figured they'd get what was coming to them. The law of the Wasteland and all that. He smirked to himself. A golden rule, if you will.
“Huh. According to the coordinates embedded in the broadcast the Memory Den is actually… right around the corner from here.”
“That's awfully convenient.” Cooper twisted his cigarette between his fingers, looking around. “And uncomfortably close to the big boys here.”
Nodding, Lucy looked up at the crumbling skyscrapers all around them, scanning them systematically. Her sharp mind was already calculating risks, possible scenarios and seeking out ambush spots. Pride swelled in Cooper's chest, pride that she'd learned to survive on the surface, that she'd become a little killer. His little killer, even though he'd never say that out loud. Hell, he barely even acknowledged that fact to himself. But there was also a twinge of sadness in him, small but unshakable. Ever since that little incident at the Super Duper Mart Cooper couldn't shake the lingering regret. She'd taught him something that day, showed him that innocence and kindness were still possible, even in this shithole they called their world.
“What's the verdict, darlin’? We goin’ or what?” Cooper stomped out his cigarette, slung his thumbs through his belt loops and looked at his Vaultie expectantly.
“I would say it's best if we camp up there for the night”, she said slowly, pointing at a skyscraper several feet ahead of them. “The building looks sturdy enough and if the map is correct, which it usually is, we should be able to overlook this Memory Den from there.”
“Scope the place out and learn what we can. Sounds good.” Tipping his head, Cooper turned around and cocked his gun, heading for the building Lucy indicated.
“Thou shalt get sidetracked by bullshit”, he murmured, smirking to himself as Lucy and Dogmeat followed closely behind.