[closed] the only constant is change

[capcious]

Who: the Fallout AU crew
Setting: the Commonwealth
Summary: BoS things, institute things
Warnings: Fallout warnings, smut
Other: [original notes] [first post] [second post] [third post] [fourth post] [fifth post] [sixth post] [seventh post] [eighth post]

- minor timeskip to when the BoS has its feet under it again, shaun asks riley to go up and keep an eye on them and deacon goes with
- they get assigned to a BoS squad composed of AU versions of chancellery guards (paladin archimedes o'hallan, knight-captain anthony norris, lancer-sargeant alex reyes, knight riley reynolds, knight everett wynter, knight henry "hal" saller, aspirant 'jack' "deacon" 'priest')
- maybe some minor quests involving getting to know them, gotta get some solid Bonding going
- sarrith (sarah, secret enclave remnant) and sal's romeo and juliet romance
- that one quest where you get the nukes from the glowing sea for the BoS
- wynter's mistake and gradual ghoulification and the position it puts the squad in
- blind betrayal

- shaun announces ferran officially as his successor
- ferran dealing with the short institute quests that result from that
- shaun discovering ferran's a slut and trying to talk to him about it
- zetta freaking out bc they're spending all this time waiting for her to recover and dealing with the BoS, and not having the time to try to figure out a way to save shaun
- zetta, in general, driving shaun slowly up the wall because she's cooped up and needs to be kept occupied or else Bad Things Start Happening, why is this shaun's life, this was not what he was expecting at all
- ferran going on missions with x6-88 / house divided, warwick
- nathan and zay's one night stand with ferran becoming not a one night stand any more
- at some point we need to have nathan call deacon a mongrel to his face so zetta can go positively nuclear
- zay finding out nathan is taking buffout

- build towards the railroad and institute being on better terms (not *stable*, but they need to be in a position where they're willing to make an alliance at the battle for bunker hill and afterwards to take the BoS down)
- probably need to do a meeting with dez and carrington, bc jfc (and ferran being the next director makes it easier to make negotiations on the institute's behalf though shaun probably doesnt fully trust him with that wrt the railroad yet, shaun needs to see ferran make decisions that benefit the institute OVER the railroad for that)

- mass fusion happens before battle for bunker hill, lighting a fire under the brotherhood's ass (still use it as the faction cut-off point?)
- at the battle, brotherhood wins -- keeping them a legitimate threat and serving as the push for the institute and railroad to work together against them

[image] [lyrics]

well, oh, it seems you're a lot like me
you dug yourself into places you never thought you would be
but don't you fret, and don't you mind
the only constant is change,
and you never know what you'll find

yeah, tomorrow i might wake up nice and clean
and i might believe the things i said i didn't mean
and this might turn and wind up just the way we'd dreamed
and i might become the things i swore i'd always be

Comments

[recalcitrare]

[Nathan is putting his weapon away. Zay supposes that means he should probably stop clutching at him like a safety blanket. ... even if he doesn't want to. Zay slowly relaxes his grip, but he doesn't end up fully removing his hands from Nathan. One lingers at his back, a point of contact, of grounding, familiarity. (Safety.)]

[bostoncrossing]

I was passing by. It made more sense to shelter here for the night than to find a settlement and then come back again tomorrow.

[Deacon would be proud of that lie. Although on second thought, it's far to prosaic for Deacon's usual tastes in mendacity.

Carrington had spent all day travelling from the Old North Church back to Switchboard so he could arrive in time to clear away what evidence he could of Railroad involvement with the place.]

[recalcitrare]

[So they aren't actually going to have the place to themselves tonight. ... damn. Aside from the obvious reasons for disappointment, Zay is displeased that there's going to be the consistent presence of a stranger for that long. He firms his touch on Nathan's back, and hopes he reads it as the reminder it's intended to be. They ought to do introductions, at the very least. But Zay doesn't want to initiate it.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan sighs. He'd been hoping to find the facility's command center and fuck on the desk of whatever General had been in charge here. Nathan had plans. But now his plans have to switch. He has to re-exert control here.]

In that case, I expect a report on conditions in the bunker, since you've been here long enough to have conducted a preliminary assessment. But first, this is Dr. Zellweger. Dr. Zellweger, this is Dr. Singh. He was a researcher back in the Capital. Deathclaws was it?

No, effects of stealth fields on human tissue.

[recalcitrare]

[Deathclaws? No, wait, that's not the part he's supposed to focus on, here. Zay inclines his head in greeting. He opens his mouth, but then pauses, suddenly uncertain how he should address Nathan in front of his men. He makes a mental note to ask first chance he gets. Instead, he says,] I was... invited, to come along and meet the group, in case... emergency calls.

[bostoncrossing]

Yes, I saw what sort of emergency Captain Lone requires you for.

You know if one of the old commanders had caught you, you'd be disciplined for that sort of behavior. Or worse: married off.

[recalcitrare]

[Zay's fingers now curl in the back of Nathan's coat, irritated and possessive. More of his teeth show as he talks.] Charming. [He barely manages to bite back something scathing about how he'd expect nothing less from an organization on the surface -- that would be Nathan's pride and joy he'd be attacking, and he doesn't want to upset Nathan just because he wants to headbutt back. Instead, he goes with,] And here I meant a situation of life and death, but go on, have your laugh. I'm sure it's much more important.

[timesbureaucrat]

Jealousy is unbecoming, Doctor Singh.

[Nathan gives Singh an arch look. I know that you know what I mean. Not jealous of Nathan or Zay specifically, but jealous that Nathan was able to have relationships, while Singh closeted himself. Nathan knew.]

And really, we're wasting time discussing my personal life, which is, indeed, personal.

[recalcitrare]

[Jealousy? Zay's eyes flick to Nathan and his brow furrows slightly, the only outward signs of his confusion. Surely not. Perhaps Nathan means having the connection at all. Still, when Zay's gaze returns to Singh, it's with narrowed, suspicious eyes.]

[bostoncrossing]

[Carrington's shoulders tense and jaw tightens.]

Alright, then let's speak of public matters. Such as the Institute. Wasteland rumor has it that the Institute is controlling Diamond City. Is that true?

[In addition to changing the topic, if Carrington has to be here he might as well try to squeeze useful information out of the situation.]

[recalcitrare]

[Zay can't help it; he finds himself rolling his eyes.] I wouldn't know, [he answers dryly,] I hardly pay attention to whatever SRB natters on about. What does it matter?

[bostoncrossing]

I imagine it matters very much to the people of Diamond City.

[Nathan pinches the bridge of his nose.]

To most of the scientists in the Institute, the surface world might as well be...Belgium. They have no interaction with it and it's essentially a distant foreign land.

[recalcitrare]

And I fail to see how it has any relevance here. Isn't this supposed to be some... [Zay makes a vague gesture with his free hand. (His other is still on Nathan's back.)] Strategy meeting to deal with the Brotherhood? [Diamond City, and whether or not it's under Institute control, has nothing to do with that.]

[bostoncrossing]

As Captain Lone pointed out, that meeting isn't until tomorrow.

[But Carrington's already feeling on edge. How much worse it will be tomorrow, when there's all of them.]

And I had a long day travelling, so if you don't mind, I'm going to bed now. And if you do mind, I'm going anyway.

[recalcitrare]

[Zay snorts. That sounds almost like something he'd say. But it's hardly as if he cares whether Singh stays or goes. Well, no, that's not true. He'd rather Singh go. But he doubts he needs to say as such.]

[timesbureaucrat]

Dismissed, Doctor.

[The R&D division, and Singh in particular, was never very good at following the military chain of command and Singh's gotten even worse after ten years living on the surface with near anarchy. But Nathan has to at least try to maintain some order.

He waits until Singh leaves and then turns back to Zay. He's not sure he can recapture the mood that was shattered when Singh arrived.]

Well. I wouldn't call Singh the crazy uncle. That's probably Torvald. The pretentious cousin, perhaps? Welcome to the family.

[recalcitrare]

Lovely. I suppose it could have gone worse. [Zay allows his hand to settle back on Nathan's hip again, a more casual hold, more comfortable, more personal.] Unfortunate we won't have the full privacy you expected tonight.

[timesbureaucrat]

Tomorrow.

[Nathan murmurs as a promise and raises on his toes to brush his lips over Zay's.]

After everyone is gone.

[recalcitrare]

[A slight shiver runs down Zay's spine.] Mmmm. Patience is not one of my virtues, [he murmurs back. It's not entirely true, but that's not the point. He means as far as tonight is concerned.]

[timesbureaucrat]

We'll have a private room tonight, even if we don't have the whole base to ourselves. Can you be patient until we're in it? Or is even that too long to wait.

[He slides his palm over Zay's chest and drops kissing along his jawline.]

[recalcitrare]

[Zay can feel himself relaxing, soothed by the affection, all the prickles that Singh raised finally lowering. His hands circle around Nathan's waist until they meet at the small of his back, and he loosely laces his fingers together there.] I suppose I can manage.

[timesbureaucrat]

Good.

[He gives Zay one last kiss and then steps back. They can't walk to the personnel quarters if they're tangled together.]

Then let's go.

[recalcitrare]

[Zay reluctantly allows his loose hold to break. But if they're to ever actually indulge, they need to move. Get somewhere actually private.] Lead the way.

[timesbureaucrat]

[It doesn't take Nathan long to find the housing quarters for the facility. Pre-War military bunkers all tended to follow similar design patterns. He picks a suite from among the larger rooms reserved for high ranking officers and they don't leave it until morning. And although he doesn't get to fulfill his fantasy of fucking on a 3-Star General's desk, he likes to imagine that this was a 3-Star General's bed.]

[crowspy]

Knock knock, [Bellamy calls into the empty central command room. He should cut an unfamiliar figure to the others -- It's been years since he's seen most of them, to be fair, but considering the number of layers of clothing and armor he's wearing, and his gas mask... Yeah, he's really hoping he isn't gonna get shot at. His arms are tucked away in his layers, his hands stuck in the pockets of a ratty old hoodie. In his hoodie pocket is a pistol -- nice, small, easily concealed. Doesn't pack a big punch, but it doesn't need to.] Come on, there's no way I'm the first one here.