Hancock didn't know what it was about the woman that did it, but she was different. Not different in a bad way. Hell, he was sure her kind of different was good enough to kill him. Nora hadn't seemed especially remarkable. Sure, he had always considered her beautiful. The moment he put a knife in Finn he had been captivated by her big blue eyes and those wavy strawberry locks. Hancock figured her time in Goodneighbor could go one of two ways: she would trade and leave, or she would trade, he would somehow convince her to share his bed, she'd take what she could from him and then leave. He hadn't expected much more.

Thats how most people were anyways. He didn't hate them for it, no he didn't hate people at all. Really he felt like it was his fault. Hancock had always been too giving, too open and sensitive. He let almost anyone walk out with his chems and booze the morning after. Any messy feelings he had could easily be forgotten with Jet.

Nora had surprised him however. Her little run-in with Bobbi had proven that she was going to be much more than a drifter or a one night stand. She stood up for him, a ghoul she barely knew. At first he had chocked her reaction up to fear. Nora had only come out of ice five months prior, but most in the Commonwealth knew not to fuck with him. Despite his doubts, he offered to travel with her and surprisingly, she accepted.

Thats when he realized she was different. He actually enjoyed spending time with her. She was kind and giving, but ruthless when she needed to be. At first this was nice, Hancock had never expected to find such a good friend in Nora. Especially because she could have easily been his biggest enemy. What made it shitty was his damn heart fluttered whenever she looked at him. His mind turned to mush when she gave him that big grin of her's, and even more so when he caused it. After she helped that kid Billy find his family he knew he was a goner. People like that didn't just turn up in the Commonwealth every day.

The thing was he hadn't been emotionally or physically close with anyone in a long time. Hancock even kept Fahrenheit, his right hand at a certain distance. This proved harder to accomplish with Nora. She seemed to squeeze herself in every aspect of his life. They traveled together almost always, even spent most of their downtime together. And whenever she took Nick or Deacon, even MacCready along instead of him he felt jealousy rise up in his chest.

So, once again he pushed his feelings to the side. Ran away like always.

It must have been something about being a ghoul, but Hancock always knew when a Radstorm was comin' on. All except for this one. This one had snuck up on him. Usually he could keep Nora and himself out of the rain and radiation but not tonight. No, they had been just a little too far away from any cover. When they finally reached the Boston Mayoral Shelter Nora looked like she was about to pass out.

"Rad...away..." She said, unable to catch her breath.

It took Hancock a minute to locate some, but before he knew it he had the blood colored liquid in her system. Nora breathed a sigh of relief and settled back against an old arm chair. Hancock picked up a left behind bottle of whiskey from the kitchen, fished a canister of Jet from his coat and sat down beside her. Nora rolled her eyes and smirked as she watched him take a big hit. Hancock smiled back, "Want some?" He asked, holding the canister in her direction. Nora smiled but politely declined. "You know I don't do chems...a lot."

That made him chuckle. It was true, Nora had only indulged his little bad habit a handful of times. She had even had fun too, but chems weren't really her style. At least not the way they were his. Despite their different tastes in vices, she never judged him for using. That was something Hancock had come to respect.

While she wouldn't get high with him, she did ask to share his whiskey, which Hancock was more than happy to do. Nora took a big gulp and bit her lip. "That stuff bites." She whispered, shaking in her wet clothes. Hancock smiled and took another hit of Jet, chasing it down with the booze, "200 year old liquor at its finest."

Nora shivered again, "God...i've...i've got to get out of these clothes." She headed for her pack, rummaging through the contents and muttering about if she had a change of clothes. Hancock wasn't really paying attention. He was too caught up with the idea of her getting out of her clothes. The ghoul had fantasized about the former Vault Dweller. It wasn't exactly a habit he was proud of, but it had proven hard to break.

He watched as she started unbuckling her armor, sending each piece into a pile on the ground. All that was left was her bright blue vault suit. Hancock licked his teeth and tried not to stare too much. Which wasn't exactly working. Nora turned back to face him and flashed a small smile. "I'll be...uh...back in a minute." She pointed towards the bathrooms downstairs. Hancock could only give a slight nod, his mind betraying him. When she disappeared from sight he found that he too was uncomfortable in his rain soaked clothes.

Nora sighed as she made her way into the bathroom. He always made her damn head spin. The attraction had happened almost immediately. It was something about the way he carried himself, took up for her without even knowing her name, and extended his kindness. The rest of her feelings had followed when she got to know the man behind the old patriot's getup. Nora thought about the way he smirked at her when he was being a smart-ass. The look of pride he always wore when she did the right thing. Even the softness of his pitch black eyes when he was enjoying a particularly good trip.

She carefully unzipped the front of her vault suit, pushing it down and over her hips. Something about the feel of her bare skin and the thought of John Hancock made her blush. Nora had only ever been with one man, and that man was her late husband. Nate had been her first real love. He was the only man she had given herself to, but Nora and Nate's relationship hadn't been perfect. Nate had returned from war...different. She never blamed him for that, but their relationship suffered the consequences. Nora always told herself to be thankful. She had a husband and a son, no matter the situation she was blessed.

Even though Nate had been her first love, he certainly wasn't her last. That had been all too apparent when she started traveling with Hancock. Somehow he made the definition of love change for her. With Nate, love had been nice. Love meant stability and security until death do they part. Her and Nate had gotten along, and before Hancock, Nora thought what they had was special. With the mayor love was something completely different. She felt love when they protected each other in battle, when they stayed up late talking about their pasts. Love was the respect he treated her with. Almost everything they did together gave Nora butterflies.

She stopped, staring at the suit pooled at her feet. It was a reminder of who she used to be. A reminder of Nate. Even though she knew he was gone, and that their relationship hadn't been ideal, Nora still felt guilty. She blamed it on old world conventions. Her marriage made her feel tied to him for eternity. As if she was still expected to mourn him for the rest of her days.

Nora shook her head and kicked the suit out from under her feet. There was no use in thinking like that. Besides, she didn't even know how Hancock felt. Nora wasn't stupid, she had heard the stories. A few days in Goodneighbor and the women in The Third Rail had told her all she needed to know. Hancock didn't have girlfriends. He didn't date like Nora had dated Nate before they married. She had figured just as much. Hancock didn't give off the impression that he was easily tied down. It would have to be someone special. Although she had accomplished great things since waking up after 200 years of cryosleep, Nora didn't feel all that special.

Without entertaining another thought Nora pulled on an old t-shirt and some worn pants. She hung her suit up to dry, hoping it wouldn't take too long. When Nora ascended the stairs what she saw surprised her. Hancock was still perched in the same old arm-chair, but wearing less. His bright red coat was slung over the back of the chair, his tricorn laying at its feet. He simply wore his once white undershirt and the flag he always kept around his waist. With an inhaler of Jet between his slender fingers he smiled at her before taking a long hit. Nora swore he was going to be the death of her.

"You feelin' better?" Hancock asked, bringing the Jet to his ruined lips again. Although he preferred her suit, she looked good. It was nice to see her more relaxed. Nora smiled shyly and shook her head, taking the seat beside him. "I never thought rain could get worse, guess I was wrong." She curled up in the chair, pulling her knees up to her chest. Hancock liked her like this. Of course he loved when she brought justice to the Commonwealth, but happy relaxed Nora was a rare favorite.

Hancock held out the whiskey but Nora shook her head at it. "I think i'll pass."

He frowned, "Not gonna have fun with me?"

Nora smirked, "Don't pout. I was...I was thinking maybe something else."

Hancock's eyes lit, a huge grin overtaking his face. "...you're not saying...you're jokin-"

"What do you have on you?" Nora sighed as if he had defeated her. Hancock reached for his coat, the grin still planted on his face. She only did chems when it was her idea, not that it bothered him. Hancock figured that was the way things should be. Her body, her bad decisions.

"So, what's made you so impressionable tonight?" He teased. She always had a reason for using. The first time she had asked to take part in his bad habit had been out of curiosity. The second had been from guilt. Hancock knew it ate her up inside sometimes. Honestly, he couldn't blame her. Losing a husband and a son all in one go had to be earth shattering. While he had his own problems to cope with, he really did feel for her.

"Just show me the goods." She said with mild annoyance, but a smile never left her face.

"With pleasure." Hancock pulled everything out of his coat pockets, stacking chems on the old coffee table. Jet inhalers, Mentats of several flavors, Buffout, and a few Psycho. He inspected the syringes and tucked them back in his pocket. "You,uh probably don't want any of that," He said. Nora shook her head, eyes wide and looking over his collection. "Yeah...yeah...I...I have no clue where to even start."

Hancock thought for a moment before reaching for a tin of Grape Mentats. "Here," He said, "These should do. You liked 'em last time, right?" Every time Nora indulged in his favorite pastime Hancock would pick something out for her. She didn't really know too much about them, and as she had said before, "You're the expert, I trust you."

"Yeah," She said with a smile, excitement lighting up her eyes, "Those were fun. We talked about 19th century literature for three hours." Hancock snorted, "I didn't even know I'd ever read any of that shit!"

"But you did!" Nora giggled, "You said that Catherine Earnshaw was an idiot."

"She was!" Hancock laughed, "Fuck tradition, fuck social standards. If you love someone none of that shit matters." Nora stopped laughing. Hancock watched as her smile fell, replaced with a look of concern. They just sat there for a moment, enveloped by silence.

"Heh, yeah..." he said, trying to break the awkward tension around them, "I just read that stuff because Daisy gave it to me. She wanted someone to talk to about it." Nora perked up at the mention of who he hoped was her second favorite ghoul.

"I like Daisy." She said with a smile. Hancock opened the Mentat tin and took a few tablets out. One for Nora and three for himself.

"I think Daisy likes you too Nor." He said, still looking at the tin. Hancock enjoyed using her old world nickname. The fact the she had even suggested he call her that in the first place had made him feel special.

"I like all of Goodneighbor." When he looked up Hancock realized she was staring right at him. Her gaze was soft, almost as if she was admiring him. But the ghoul knew better. A woman like her would never looking lovingly upon something like him. Although it didn't help with the fact that his heart was beating out of his chest.

"You gonna take this trip with me or not?" He teased.

Nora smirked and held her hand out. Hancock obediently dropped one tablet in her palm and slipped the other three in his mouth. "Just one...for now," He said with a wink.

Nora just shook her head, "Nicky's right, you are a bad influence."

AN: Yay i'm back! :) Sorry for being gone for so long but i've been playing Fallout 4 (obviously). Of course this doesn't mean i'm giving up on my Fallout 3 fics. I'm going to continue writing those as well.