Nekoholic

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Leith glanced at her, but then chuckled and said, "Well, yeah, the grass was green back then. But it was still dangerous because, well, we had the habit of using pesticides and such." He laughed. "That's what we did with everything good--we poisoned it, added unnecessary risks. But there were good times. You've got a point on that." He adjusted his back against the wall, becoming more comfortable before he continued. "Let's see, uh, I grew up in Atlanta. You know that big city near the dead center of this state, yeah? Well, it used to be the capital. It's too dangerous to get into now, of course--super mutants took it over a long time ago, and only God knows what else might be crawling around in there. I don't really want to find out, either."

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Leith was quiet, but then said, "Just like it is today, Kaye. People are just more honest about the darkness in their hearts than they were back then. We cleaned up nice, but we were just as willing to cut strangers' throats and stab friends' backs as we are now."

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

"Uh, they were television shows," Leith explained, "Of the comedic nature." He sighed forlornly, eyes almost glazing as he became more and more enraptured with the past. "We'd watch them together every Saturday night. As we drew closer and closer to war, though, most of them were cancelled in favor of drills, governmental announcements, propaganda, and the like. You see, our government argued that communism was bad, yet they usurped our own freedoms in order to 'protect' us from the Chinese threat. People who were suspected of not agreeing with the government were arrested and tortured for information, deported, you know, that sort of thing. When you wanted to go into the bigger cities, then you had to go through a station. They'd ask you questions, check your person--they had the authorization to go through your vehicle entirely, if they thought you to be anything but a true, down-to-earth American. In the last year before the bombs fell, I was checked every morning at work, considering that I worked for the government; before even then, we had new security installed, as well. It was...terrifying. The horror stories of them malfunctioning, of not believing your ID. You know those sentry bots? Think about doing your work while having one of those hovering over your shoulder, bombs and lasers at the ready if you made the slightest move that it detected to be 'threatening.'"

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

He nodded. "Yeah, there was my wife, Christina, and our daughter, April. I worked in human resources, back in the day; it was a government job, though I was certainly no politician." He smirked at the thought. "I earned a decent living. We had a little house in the suburbs. It was...pink. I'd disagreed on the color, but Christina had been stubborn and insisted upon it; imagine me, Kaye, living in a pink house with a white roof because, well, it happened." He smiled at the thought, laughing softly as the memories resurfaced. "She kept it so warm, though, and full of life. Sometimes, I'd come home late and she'd be waiting up for me. I'd come inside, all exhausted and frustrated with my boss, but there'd she be with a bottle of wine and a smile." He sighed, leaning his head against the tin wall of one of the buildings. "God, she was beautiful. And mean. Oh, she could be mean when she wanted to be--never hesitated to share her opinion on a subject. Then again, she was right the vast majority of the time and just made me out to be the big idiot that I really am. She'd fold her arms over her chest--like, like this," he continued, trying to imitate her, "And quirk one eyebrow up--pretend that I have eyebrows--and it'd be like in those sitcoms, where the husband did something really stupid that the wife specifically told him not to do. Probably where she got it from, actually."

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Leith remained quiet, but then smiled and wrapped one arm around Kaye, bringing her in close for a half-hug. He then said, "I'm proud of you, Kaye. You may have a few loose screws jangling around there in that skull of yours, but you grew up into a fine, young woman." He then pursed his lips, contemplating briefly on whether or not to broach the topic that'd been on his mind for the last couple of days, ever since those two boys had dug up a past that he'd much rather run from. But, if he kept running, then he'd just be a hypocrite, wouldn't he? He sighed. "Kaye, you remember me telling you about how I was alive before the war, yeah?"

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Leith looked up at Kaye, and was silent for a long moment before he finally sighed and said, "Kaye, we've known each other for a...long time now. Look at you, girl. You grew up on me and I absolutely hate it." He lapsed into silence for a long moment before he chuckled. "You're a grown woman now, Kaye. You should be thinking of settling down somewhere, setting up a store, getting married, having children. Yet you don't. You've never even mentioned doing anything of that sort. Instead, you stick around with someone like me, who's rarely allowed into a town, shot at on sight by more than seventy-five percent of the wasteland, can't have kids, is hard to even look at. Why do you let me just...hold you back like that, when I'm being selfish to even want you around at this point? When I see something in you that is...selfish of me to see?"
He was fumbling all of this, and he'd just gotten started, too.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

"He was just joking, okay? Now come back in. He promises to keep his dark humor to himself, right?" Basil looked pointedly at the doctor, who nodded eagerly.
In a chipper tone, he said, "Right!"

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

The doctor flinched violently when he leapt away, but shouted after him frantically, "Wait, I was just joking with you! You're fine! All you need is some stitches and disinfectant!"
"Wrong sense of humor to have, doc," Basil said, giving the doctor a "what the hell is wrong with you?" sort of expression.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

The doctor laughed, then reached over towards a tray. "Well, you see, I just need to hack off a little bit of your entire arm, is all." He then lifted up a syringe and a bonesaw, all smiles.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

"Oh, I'm so sorry for that. I just become so absorbed in my work that I sometimes forget," the doctor apologized hastily as he examined the arm.
"Come on, be nice," Basil scolded lightly.

"Boy, you don't even know loss until you've seen your entire family suffer pointlessly until they die," Leith said, grabbing his wrist as he shoved him back into his chair. He then stood. "You better learn to be damn appreciative of those around you, even if they aren't exactly who you thought they were or somehow fell short of your expectations. Because one morning, you may wake up, and you'll come to the realization that everything has fallen apart and that you're the only goddamn one left. That no matter how hard you tried, that everyone's dead and you wasted what time you did have with them because you were too busy crying about how unfair it all was." He clenched his hands into fists, but then exhaled slowly and loosened them, lying his palms flat against his thighs.
He then said, after a brief moment of hesitation, "I'm sorry, Jace. That was...we've all experienced loss out here, just in different ways, I suppose. And more than likely, you've seen just as much messed-up shit as the next. But that doesn't change the fact that you're letting those past experiences, whatever they are, blindside you from the good things that you have around you. The past is the past. Learn from it, respect it. But don't take the present for granted because what you have today, you may not have tomorrow or ever again." He then turned around, heading towards the door. He paused for a moment, seemingly about to speak more, but then simply shook his head and left the establishment.