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Nora hated bringing John here. The Brotherhood was a temporary alliance that she used to further her own agenda, but it’s not like she could just say that to whomever and risk the wrong person overhearing. So, she had, to some level, act like she agreed with what they were saying. She obviously warned John beforehand. They had been traveling together for a while, and she offered to drop him off at Goodneighbor while she took care of some business on the Prydwen, but he squared his shoulders and made a quip about how he wouldn’t have made it this far without building some thick skin, metaphorically and physically.
She’d offered him a smile, but she was still worried. The offhand comments she had heard some of the Knights say churned her stomach, and that was when it was just her. She just told herself they’d grit through it and go blow some shit up after to make themselves feel better.
Of course, Nora always was quick to temper. And since when did things ever go to plan?
They had made it aboard and John followed as she turned in those goddamn technical documents and viable blood samples to scratch up some easy extra caps. It had been going smoothly so far, but Nora didn’t want to push their luck so she took him to the end of the flight deck so they could sit for a bit, enjoy the view and eat some food. John sat on the edge, (because didn’t he always?) and let his feet dangle into the open air. His arms rested on the middle railing bar, his chin resting there.
“Want the last of my sugar bombs?” Nora asked, motioning the near empty box towards him.
“You know it, sister,” he purred.
Nora lay a few feet away, legs raised and resting on the railing. She swung her legs over and stood up, taking the few steps to hand him the box. He nodded his thanks before munching away.
Nora let out a yawn that she stifled with a hand.
“This wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” Hancock said, looking out at the view.
Nora heard footsteps approaching,
“Don’t speak so soon.”
A Scribe mechanic rounded the corner, welder and tool box in hand.
“Oh, hail Knight,” He set down the tool box to salute. Nora offered a half-hearted salute back and John let out a quiet snort. The Knight looked down at John, obvious disgust filling his features,
“With all due respect, ma’am, if your ghoul even looks like it’s going feral, I’m putting it down.”
John let out a huff and had a retort locked and loaded, but before he could respond, Nora had let out a barking laugh. The laugh completely contradicting the anger pulsating through her system. John looked up at her, unable to stop the hurt from crossing his face. He was used to other people making asshole comments, but Nora laughing at one? Fuck, he didn’t want to admit how horrible that felt. But his thoughts were interrupted because she was still laughing. Loudly. The responding chuckle that the Scribe let out trailed off into an uncomfortable silence.
Before the Scribe could react, Nora had kicked him in the chest forcing him to stumble backwards, back slamming against the railing. Nora was on the Scribe before he could recover.
“Oh hon, you think you’re so funny, don’t cha?” Nora whispered.
The man’s eyes were wide with fear, breath coming out in sharp gasps. When he didn’t respond, she punched him in the stomach.
“Don’t cha?”
He frantically shook his head and Nora gave a rewarding smile.
“Now you’re going to apologize to my friend here,” she instructed, voice soft.
“Only good Ghoul is a dead Ghoul,” he responded defiantly.
Nora kicked his feet out from under him while keeping her grip on his shirt, shoving him over the edge. John scrambled to his feet, but kept his distance.
Nora stepped closer to the railing, eye’s glancing down. She needed to ensure that he landed in the water, it would give them more leeway between now and someone finding the body. When she was almost positive she could make out the residual white foam from the splash of his landing, she pushed herself away from the railing.
“As long as they’ve earned it right?” Nora’s voice was tight with anger, fists clenched at her sides.
Nora looked back at the Scribe’s tools, she kicked over the toolbox, causing it to open and the tools go flying, some off the edge.
“They should really get more coordinated people working on the flight deck,” she added before plopping down next to where John stood, not looking at him, blood boiling.
“Fucking asshole,” she muttered into her arms and she leaned against them.
John slowly sat down next to her, unable to keep his gaze away from her, his jaw slightly ajar.
“Nora,” he started softly.
“Fuck, I’m sorry John,” she groaned, leaning her forehead on her arms.
“You have nothing to apologize for, that was the hottest thing I think I’ve ever seen,” he let out a quiet chuckle.
Nora turned her head to face him, the worry on her face slowly melting away.
“You started laughing, I thought,” John’s voice trailed off as the guilt of doubting her filled him. Nora groaned again,
“I know, I know. I can’t help it. I laugh when I get pissed or sad. It’s stupid and irritating.”
He chuckled and nudged her shoulder with his,
“It just took me off guard, Sunshine.”
She let out a chuckle and a quiet,
“That’s fair.”
“Look, I’m used to the comments. I usually try not to let it bother me. It just hit different when I thought it was you, that’s all.”
She turned to him, lifting and bending the closest dangling leg to follow her movements.
“John, you know I’d never think, believe, or ever say anything like that, right? I’d do anything for ya.”
He gently rested his arm over her leg, giving her a slight squeeze.
“I knew it before, and I sure as hell know it now,” he chuckled.
She smiled, unable to mask the adoration in her eyes as she looked at him,
“Good.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek, pulling back a few inches, somehow unable to pull away any further. His hand had tensed on her leg when she leaned in, and now she felt like she couldn’t feel anything else.
That was a lie.
She could feel his breath quicken against her cheek. She could feel the heat radiating off of him as they slowly gravitated towards each other and her nose brushed against his cheek. She could feel his lips slowly brush against hers as he whispered her name. And most importantly, she could feel his lips pressed into hers as they both leaned into a soft kiss.
His free hand lifted to cup her cheek as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. The kiss was languid, almost lazy. They slowly gave in to what they had been denying themselves for so long, savoring it now that it was here.
Nora would be lying if she said she hadn’t fantasized about what kissing Hancock would be like. She assumed it would be fast, hard, and passionate. This kiss was passionate, but so much softer than she had ever thought. It was so much better than she could have imagined.
She entangled a hand in his shirt and the other moved to his cheek where she ran her thumb across his cheek.
They broke apart when they heard the clanking of power armor above them, reminding them where they were. John leaned his forehead against her and let out a content sigh, pressing a quick kiss on her lips before saying,
“Well I guess we’re even now.”
Nora hummed,
“What do you mean?”
“I killed a guy for trying to hustle you and you killed a guy for insulting me,” he smiled.
Nora let out a quiet laugh and said,
“If we kill everyone who insults or tries to hustle us, there will barely be anyone left.”
“And definitely no one fun.”
They laughed and leaned into each other, enjoying the comfortable quiet that sat between them. After a few moments, Nora glanced down at her Pip Boy to check the time.
“If we head out now, we can make it to Nordhagen before dark,” she informed quietly, nudging his cheek with her nose. He hummed in response,
“You mean you don’t want to spend more time with the Knights? Feed the fish a little more?” He nodded towards the railing and the water below. Nora smiled,
“Oh, we will one day, trust me. I’ll bring the whole thing down if I have to. We’ll finally have a beautiful view of the coast without this heap of metal blocking the horizon.”
Nora looked out at the view before meeting John’s gaze.
“If I say that I have a beautiful view right now, will you hit me?”
Nora barked out a laugh and swatted his chest. Smiling, he caught her hand and kept it pinned against him.
“That's a yes.”