They weren't at first. They pulled a few guns on me, so I had to come up with something quick.
[He cracks a smile.]
So instead of trying to take all of them on, I told them I had a bomb in my chest, and that I'd been rigged to explode. Put on my best Protectron voice and said, "Danger! Danger!" They seemed to be buying it, so I started walking toward the whole lot of them, going, "Beep. Beep. Beep."
[And then he laughs, remembering the scene: four raiders all geared to the teeth, scrambling to get away from a lone, unarmed synth.]
They gave her up willingly after that. Couldn't get away fast enough as they were falling over one another, tripping on their own feet.
[He can see why Rey might think he was pulling her leg, though. Looking back, he can't believe it worked either. He was lucky most folks weren't terribly familiar with synths at the time, though those kidnappers didn't seem to be the brightest, either.]
The girl was scared too, but she came around once I untied her and explained that I didn't have a bomb, and even if I did, I wouldn't be killing us both. She thought I might've been sent by her father, but even once I told her the rescue had been a happy accident, she wouldn't let me leave until she'd made sure I was rewarded. I wasn't going to let her walk all the way home by herself anyway, so off we went. That's how I ended up in Diamond City.
[If it were anyone other than Nick, Rey would absolutely assume that he's pulling her leg. Embellishing for the sake of telling a good story. But she knows Nick enough now that he doesn't need to try and impress her, sooo...]
...
Did you really just say "beep, beep" at those guys? And they actually fell for it...?
[He grins wryly, but he's all too aware of how badly things could have ended for that girl if he hadn't shown up when he did.]
Trust me, I didn't think they'd fall for it, either. I just didn't have any other options for dealing with four armed goons. I'd been wandering the Commonwealth by myself for some time, and wasn't exactly the savvy detective type you see now.
[The fact that things could've ended badly just highlights what a serious issue this was.
[However, a strange feeling creeps up from Rey's chest the more she thinks about it. At first it sounds like her usual scoff, but then it persists, and that's just weird. Shortly after, she slaps a hand over her mouth to stifle what can only be a fit of low-toned giggles. Certainly not a sight or sound that anyone, whether they be from Hadriel or home, would ever be witness to.
[That's when her hand clamps tighter over her mouth as she takes her chances at speaking between laughing bursts:] Sorry, sorry. That's just... That's really brilliant and I just can't... I mean, come on... [Trying to talk and breathe at the same time is hard. Why has no one ever told her that it's hard?]
Beep-beep!
[And she snorts, unable to stop.
[Rey might need to plead temporary insanity for a bit. She may have just lost her mind.]
[At first, Nick thinks Rey might be coughing; outright mirth is certainly something he doesn't expect from Rey, not even in light of his accidental, but amusing rescue. But no, that's definitely a sound that's familiar, and yet unfamiliar all at once: Rey is laughing.
And for a moment, it's contagious, and he finds himself laughing too.]
I think the Institute really missed an opportunity by not making that a feature in their synths. Their reputation as the 'Commonwealth boogeyman' would be very different if that was their regular strategy for getting what they want. Clients coming in my door, telling me they think a loved one has been replaced. And how do they know? They heard them beeping in the night.
[He shakes his head, smiling harder than he has in some time. The thought of being replaced by a synth is nightmarish, and an absolutely reasonable fear in the Commonwealth, but the thought of them pretending to be loaded with explosives in the most painfully phony way is something even he can't help but laugh at.]
[No doubt the actual experience is damn horrific. They also say that one of life's greatest coping mechanisms is humor. And it would seem that's what Rey needs right now.
[She almost manages to muffle herself long enough to allow Nick to speak. What he says only summons another rather unladylike snort into her palm.]
Stop, I can't--
[Laughter has not always been a positive thing. At least, not when it's Rey. Though it's a lot less foreboding this time when, in between her bouts of mirth, she is sneaking in a few more "beep, beeps" for good measure.]
Oh nooo, you've unveiled my secret!
[She's a beeping synth! Oh wait.
[Just. Goddammit, Nick. Go sit in the corner and think about what you did.]
[Rey takes a moment to try and get a few much needed breaths in before she replies. She's able to remove her hand from her face and exhale deeply, trying to force a sincere expression and failing miserably.]
That's right, you caught me. I've actually been a fraud this whole time. What more, I was set to go off if you ever found out. Got any last words, Valentine?
[But he sees that look on her face and hears that sigh.]
... But so long as it's under control, I guess there's no sense in worrying about it now.
[That's his way of saying Rey is off the hook for now. He's not going to pry, trusting she'll tell him what he needs to know. That's how this partnership works, after all.]
[It also works when the other is assured that you're not going to go all crazysauce and detonate. She may be off the hook, as she can sense from that tone of his, but he's just going to keep wondering.]
Let me put it this way. When you're living with not only the memories but the emotions of eight very messed up, very broken women? That's enough to drive maybe anyone off the handle.
[If it's one person she can trust to understand what it's like to deal with thoughts and feelings that don't belong to you, it's Nick. At least, she hopes she doesn't have to explain to him what it's like in order for him to understand why it can be so maddening.]
Honestly, I'm not even sure if they were women, or if they were just data cooked up by the asshole who'd installed them into my brain-space from the start. Don't think he had the capacity to be that imaginative, though.
[The memories, sure. But the emotional baggage that came with them, from a synthetic man who didn't fully understand emotions? Probably not something he was capable of.
[She shrugs.] Can't ask him about it now. Since he's dead.
Like I'd said, though... Flipping on that proverbial "switch", feeling all of the things that they felt... Not safe. Last time that happened, I did more than a number on my father's face.
[Aren't you glad Rey realized that she was dreaming before she did that to you as well, Nick?]
[Nick absolutely knows what it's like to have feelings that aren't his. Despite that, they're so real -- were real, to the original Nick -- that the synthetic man can't help but be influenced by them as though they were his own. The fact that Rey handles the baggage of not one, but eight individuals, is a testament to her capability to "handle it."
And even then, she'd still nearly lost it. It's good she is who she is, or he might be in pieces.]
I can see why you didn't want me kicking in the door.
[The risk he'd taken in doing that, albeit an unknown one at the time, had been worth it, at least.]
[For someone who claims to have a questionable state of sanity, Rey has an impressive amount of self control.]
Didn't want to hurt you. [She still doesn't, and never wants to. No matter what this place does to them.
[She pauses, chewing the inside of her cheek before she adds:]
It's terribly selfish, but... for what it's worth, I'm grateful that you did.
[Who knows if they'd be sitting together now, laughing and talking like this if he hadn't. Never mind the possibility that she could have burned down the whole spire, but just having Nick knowing what he does now as a result of what he did. She feels relieved.
[Perhaps everyone is allowed to be selfish from time to time.]
[He gives her a wide smile. She might play it down, but she does care. It's good to have confirmation of what he's known all along.]
Me too, Rey.
[He leans back into the couch, relaxed, content.]
You could say I was the selfish one, though. I tried giving you space, but it's not as though kept my nose entirely out of your business. It's been nice to talk to another synth, even if we have a lot of differences between us.
[Despite her usually discomfort with the subject, Rey is visibly relaxed as well. Rather than her stiff posture, she's leaned forward.
[While it's true that Nick didn't give Rey the space that she wanted at the time, it isn't without his reasons, she knows. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Rey isn't exactly the best judge of what's better for her health, either.]
It's fine. I don't mind. [Her mouth twists into a grimace.] To be honest, I think we've got more in common than I do with my own brother.
[Which is to say, she doesn't blame Nick for being so damned persistent.]
[It doesn't help when those minds are, more often than not, conflicting with one another. No wonder Rey can be so contradictory at times.
[Tension makes its way back into Rey's shoulders at Nick's words, her eyes fixed on the floor. What would be considered a comfort to some is unsettling for her to hear.]
Don't think you'd want that. All I seem to do is hurt my family.
[Even the brother she speaks so fondly of has been hurt by her in one of the worst ways imaginable.]
[Rey might have a point. She did say she killed her mother, and she might do do worse to her father, if given the chance. Chances are the latter deserves it. But does that mean Rey is incapable of having a family? Should she be denied the chance for one because of what she's done, or what she is?]
You know, I didn't take much stock into the whole 'family' thing until that dream. I'd just resigned myself to not having any. They were something the original Nick might have, but not me. Wasn't sure you could even consider synths as related. They say you don't get to pick your family, but I think I will all the same.
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[He cracks a smile.]
So instead of trying to take all of them on, I told them I had a bomb in my chest, and that I'd been rigged to explode. Put on my best Protectron voice and said, "Danger! Danger!" They seemed to be buying it, so I started walking toward the whole lot of them, going, "Beep. Beep. Beep."
[And then he laughs, remembering the scene: four raiders all geared to the teeth, scrambling to get away from a lone, unarmed synth.]
They gave her up willingly after that. Couldn't get away fast enough as they were falling over one another, tripping on their own feet.
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[She blinks, gaping at Nick for a few seconds in disbelief.]
You're fucking with me.
[Pause.]
...Are you fucking with me?
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[He can see why Rey might think he was pulling her leg, though. Looking back, he can't believe it worked either. He was lucky most folks weren't terribly familiar with synths at the time, though those kidnappers didn't seem to be the brightest, either.]
The girl was scared too, but she came around once I untied her and explained that I didn't have a bomb, and even if I did, I wouldn't be killing us both. She thought I might've been sent by her father, but even once I told her the rescue had been a happy accident, she wouldn't let me leave until she'd made sure I was rewarded. I wasn't going to let her walk all the way home by herself anyway, so off we went. That's how I ended up in Diamond City.
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[If it were anyone other than Nick, Rey would absolutely assume that he's pulling her leg. Embellishing for the sake of telling a good story. But she knows Nick enough now that he doesn't need to try and impress her, sooo...]
...
Did you really just say "beep, beep" at those guys? And they actually fell for it...?
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Trust me, I didn't think they'd fall for it, either. I just didn't have any other options for dealing with four armed goons. I'd been wandering the Commonwealth by myself for some time, and wasn't exactly the savvy detective type you see now.
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[However, a strange feeling creeps up from Rey's chest the more she thinks about it. At first it sounds like her usual scoff, but then it persists, and that's just weird. Shortly after, she slaps a hand over her mouth to stifle what can only be a fit of low-toned giggles. Certainly not a sight or sound that anyone, whether they be from Hadriel or home, would ever be witness to.
[That's when her hand clamps tighter over her mouth as she takes her chances at speaking between laughing bursts:] Sorry, sorry. That's just... That's really brilliant and I just can't... I mean, come on... [Trying to talk and breathe at the same time is hard. Why has no one ever told her that it's hard?]
Beep-beep!
[And she snorts, unable to stop.
[Rey might need to plead temporary insanity for a bit. She may have just lost her mind.]
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And for a moment, it's contagious, and he finds himself laughing too.]
I think the Institute really missed an opportunity by not making that a feature in their synths. Their reputation as the 'Commonwealth boogeyman' would be very different if that was their regular strategy for getting what they want. Clients coming in my door, telling me they think a loved one has been replaced. And how do they know? They heard them beeping in the night.
[He shakes his head, smiling harder than he has in some time. The thought of being replaced by a synth is nightmarish, and an absolutely reasonable fear in the Commonwealth, but the thought of them pretending to be loaded with explosives in the most painfully phony way is something even he can't help but laugh at.]
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[She almost manages to muffle herself long enough to allow Nick to speak. What he says only summons another rather unladylike snort into her palm.]
Stop, I can't--
[Laughter has not always been a positive thing. At least, not when it's Rey. Though it's a lot less foreboding this time when, in between her bouts of mirth, she is sneaking in a few more "beep, beeps" for good measure.]
Oh nooo, you've unveiled my secret!
[She's a beeping synth! Oh wait.
[Just. Goddammit, Nick. Go sit in the corner and think about what you did.]
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I'd never known the truth about you until this moment. You've told me you were a synth a few times, but that beeping is the real evidence.
Unless you're a different synth who replaced the Rey I knew, and getting me out of that apartment and into a house was all a part of your plan.
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[Rey takes a moment to try and get a few much needed breaths in before she replies. She's able to remove her hand from her face and exhale deeply, trying to force a sincere expression and failing miserably.]
That's right, you caught me. I've actually been a fraud this whole time. What more, I was set to go off if you ever found out. Got any last words, Valentine?
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No words, save for a final request that you detonate outside. I've seen the kind of redecorating you do, and we did just move in.
[Don't be a dick, Nick.]
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[The laughter does weaken into a couple coughs.]
Full disclosure, though. I really can "explode".
[She nearly erupted back in her old apartment, which would explain away the stifling heat that drove Nick to break down her door in the first place.]
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[Hes just been waiting for the opportunity to ask about it.]
That what happened?
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Y... es?
Um, I may have... almost blown up my apartment. And possibly the whole building.
On accident.
[That last part is important.]
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And you have that under control, right? You never did tell me what happened to you.
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[Rey likewise frowns when he starts probing about the incident. Come on, Nick, don't sully her mood with ~*feelings*~ and shit.
[Sigh.]
You mean in general, or what happened back at the apartment?
[May as well dance around the subject. Delay the inevitable.
[To answer his question, though:] And yes, it's under control now. No worries.
[Always worry.]
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[But he sees that look on her face and hears that sigh.]
... But so long as it's under control, I guess there's no sense in worrying about it now.
[That's his way of saying Rey is off the hook for now. He's not going to pry, trusting she'll tell him what he needs to know. That's how this partnership works, after all.]
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Let me put it this way. When you're living with not only the memories but the emotions of eight very messed up, very broken women? That's enough to drive maybe anyone off the handle.
[If it's one person she can trust to understand what it's like to deal with thoughts and feelings that don't belong to you, it's Nick. At least, she hopes she doesn't have to explain to him what it's like in order for him to understand why it can be so maddening.]
Honestly, I'm not even sure if they were women, or if they were just data cooked up by the asshole who'd installed them into my brain-space from the start. Don't think he had the capacity to be that imaginative, though.
[The memories, sure. But the emotional baggage that came with them, from a synthetic man who didn't fully understand emotions? Probably not something he was capable of.
[She shrugs.] Can't ask him about it now. Since he's dead.
Like I'd said, though... Flipping on that proverbial "switch", feeling all of the things that they felt... Not safe. Last time that happened, I did more than a number on my father's face.
[Aren't you glad Rey realized that she was dreaming before she did that to you as well, Nick?]
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And even then, she'd still nearly lost it. It's good she is who she is, or he might be in pieces.]
I can see why you didn't want me kicking in the door.
[The risk he'd taken in doing that, albeit an unknown one at the time, had been worth it, at least.]
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Didn't want to hurt you. [She still doesn't, and never wants to. No matter what this place does to them.
[She pauses, chewing the inside of her cheek before she adds:]
It's terribly selfish, but... for what it's worth, I'm grateful that you did.
[Who knows if they'd be sitting together now, laughing and talking like this if he hadn't. Never mind the possibility that she could have burned down the whole spire, but just having Nick knowing what he does now as a result of what he did. She feels relieved.
[Perhaps everyone is allowed to be selfish from time to time.]
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Me too, Rey.
[He leans back into the couch, relaxed, content.]
You could say I was the selfish one, though. I tried giving you space, but it's not as though kept my nose entirely out of your business. It's been nice to talk to another synth, even if we have a lot of differences between us.
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[While it's true that Nick didn't give Rey the space that she wanted at the time, it isn't without his reasons, she knows. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Rey isn't exactly the best judge of what's better for her health, either.]
It's fine. I don't mind. [Her mouth twists into a grimace.] To be honest, I think we've got more in common than I do with my own brother.
[Which is to say, she doesn't blame Nick for being so damned persistent.]
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I might not even have a brother anymore, and that's if he really did exist in the first place. Hell, I'd say you're as close to family as I've got.
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[Tension makes its way back into Rey's shoulders at Nick's words, her eyes fixed on the floor. What would be considered a comfort to some is unsettling for her to hear.]
Don't think you'd want that. All I seem to do is hurt my family.
[Even the brother she speaks so fondly of has been hurt by her in one of the worst ways imaginable.]
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You know, I didn't take much stock into the whole 'family' thing until that dream. I'd just resigned myself to not having any. They were something the original Nick might have, but not me. Wasn't sure you could even consider synths as related. They say you don't get to pick your family, but I think I will all the same.
[And so he's picked his.]
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