Trusting Her Comes As Second Nature, But Not Even Chris Can Stop The Nervous Flicker Of His Eyes To Nora's

trusting her comes as second nature, but not even chris can stop the nervous flicker of his eyes to nora's lowered pistol. it's hardly the first time someone's waved a gun in his face since he made it out, but it still surprises him from her. she's supposed to help.

❝ i — there was so much going on ... ❞ he trails off. ❝ those of us that were ready to go got rushed out in the chaos. before anything blew up. ❞

in hindsight, the institute's destruction seems almost anti-climatic. a rumble beneath his feet, and it all disappeared to nothing.

❝ i don't know how many, ❞ he admits, shrugging helplessly. ❝ less than twenty, if everyone made it out. once i got my bearings, i ran. ❞

he wrings his hands together, giving her a onceover. she looks different than before; something in her face, her eyes, strikes him as off from the woman he caught glimpses of in the institute.

❝ you saved me. all of us, ❞ he says finally. ❝ i owe you everything for that, so i'll tell you whatever you want, whatever i remember, which means i can tell you that i don't think the others will harm anyone. we just want to be free. ❞

@nuclearbinds said, "i really don't know very much. honest." — fallout sentence starters

nora's fingers itch on the trigger of her pistol but, ultimately, she lowers it. the other has been quite forthcoming about being a synth, and nora isn't here to cause any more harm to his kind as long as chris doesn't mean her any harm. she still isn't sure of that last part, however, so she narrows her eyes, fingers still wrapped around the pistol but no longer aiming it at him.

"how many of you are there?" she asks, wondering how any synths could have made it out alive after the carnage she created in the institute. she gunned everyone she possibly could down, mostly scientists; doctors; synth guards. there'd been no ill-intent towards the innocents, the synths forced into slavery, so there's a small slither of relief that at least one synth managed to escape. maybe they managed to get out after she killed father, even before she blew the institute to high heavens. almost on cue, nora demands, "how did you get out?"

she's happy to help. eager to, in fact. but she's spent hours chemmed up, awake in bed, wondering whether some synths might now hate her after she failed the railroad; god knows other people do. she's not going to take any chances with treachery, not now that she has shaun to think about ... not now they're finally clear of the institute once and for all.

random little details about chris:

he loves fixing things and, in all verses, is a wiz with technology and general manual labor (think plumbing, carpentry, etc.).

his favorite possession is the bits and pieces of a record player that he fully intends to make usable some day. bringing him parts or records for it will make you his best friend instantaneously.

loves all animals, but is particularly fond of cats.

can be dense at times, despite having a high emotional intelligence. sarcasm sometimes goes over his head, and he might not always realize when someone is being mean to him.

finds children/babies adorable but also lives in abject horror about how small and breakable they seem

he is a big ol' romantic and a huge sucker for pre-war dating culture, like giving flowers and going on dates

loves to read and will read anything. random instruction manuals included

yes, he is a grown man. yes, he will hit you with Puppy Dog Eyes, regardless

a weirdly good pickpocket, but he will only do it if prompted and for good reason

practicing coloring this god awful yellow/orange show aka screencaps that have me Thinking

thinking about the time i picked off a decent chunk of the brotherhood with a sniper rifle while doing a james playthrough, so i told myself i was just sticking to his canon skillset, when the reality is that i'm very bad at videogames and kept getting murdered on sight any other way

when did having big guns shoved in his face start feeling like old hat? pushing that thought aside for later, james resists a roll of his eyes, slowly raising his hands to indicate he means no harm.

his leads on shaun grow colder by the day, further convoluted by the institute's silent involvement in his kidnapping.

he would be lying if he said that hasn't made him increasingly desperate.

❝ my name's james. you're lea, right? ❞ god, he hopes this is lea, and that he hasn't instead stumbled upon some wasteland lunatic. ❝ i'm looking for my son. rumor has it you might be able to help me with that. ❞

@nuclearbinds x Nate

Someone's after her; it's no one she recognizes from the Institute and, unless they brought more humans in, it means it's either a synth or someone who has nothing to do with the Institute itself. Tesla cannon ready, just to be safe, she presses the button in her belt that is meant to activate the code that'll confuse the synth and make it go away, and since it does nothing, then human it is. Maybe he's not even after her, but one can never be too safe. "Hands where I can see them or I fry you," she warns, peeking from her temporary house's window. "Who are you?"

DAISY RIDLEY as Helena in The Marsh King's Daughter (2023)