I love you..."

“What…?” Desmond was caught off guard, as he looked away from the important act of steering, looking towards her.

Evelynn was there, standing tall, at least, as tall as she could, as she continued speaking, “We’re not under attack now, so no running… We’ve been together for nearly a year, so you can just tell me… Do you just NOT like me? I, I won’t be hurt… I just wanna know.”

“Look… I know that since I’m the first guy that’s ever saved you, you might’ve idolized me a bit… I just… You don’t really know me… What I’ve done. You don’t…” Evelynn interrupted him, tearing his head towards hers, as she kissed him deeply.

Desmond was caught off guard, as she spoke intensely, “Maybe I DON’T know you… But I will. And besides, if not you, who? A raider that’ll sell me for some caps or chems? Or… Have some even worse fate waiting for me?” As she said this, she nearly started crying, before interrupting his attempt at speaking, “YOU saved me from the raider… YOU kept me safe this WHOLE time… So yeah, maybe I did idolize you a bit in my mind. But why’s that a bad thing? You’re the ONLY one that’s ever shown me such kindness… So, maybe not today, but someday, I'll get you to say it back.” And with that, she walked from Desmond, and laid upon a cot that was in the bridge.

Desmond was caught up in his thoughts, as he was traversing the massive lake, unable to truly process what she’d said.

So, he chose to slow the ship down, release the anchor, stabilizing the ship the best he could, before walking over to the cot, and taking the spot beside her, and as he sat there, he grabbed her hand, shocking her, before saying his piece, “ I’ve killed hundreds, and that was way before the bombs fell. I’ve killed men, women… Children, I’ve killed them all, those who deserved it, and those who didn’t… Before the bombs, I couldn’t… I couldn’t connect to anyone, I couldn’t TALK to anyone. Every time I tried, I just, I saw everything I’ve ever done flash before my eyes, and sometimes I cried, sometimes I laughed, and then…” As he was near tears himself, Desmond kept going, “And then I just shut down. I kept to myself, before I was dragged across America, a showpiece for everyone’s eyes, and then, a whole lotta women came… But all they wanted to hear was how many people I’ve… ”

Evelynn stopped him mid sentence, “I understand… I haven’t killed as many, of course, but I’ve killed a bunch of people. The first time I killed someone was a year after I escaped the Vault. I slit a man’s throat to steal his food. I’d been starving, and he… He was talking to me before, that’s how I knew where he was… And then, when he fell asleep, I snuck over, and I…” She stopped, her stark white eyes brimming with tears, as she stopped speaking, and simply leaned against Desmond’s shoulder.

“I’ve done that before too… And that was BEFORE the bombs. And nowadays, that’s the norm. Not that that should make it feel better, but otherwise, you wouldn’t be with me… And we wouldn’t even have the CHANCE to get to know each other. So… Cheers to that.” Desmond handed Evelynn a stowed away beer, as he popped his own, drinking it all in a single swig.

“Cheers to him…” The teary Evelynn began sipping away at her beer, cringing at the taste, as she drank away regardless.

“Yeah…” Desmond was filled with anguish, but the person beside him made it slightly more bearable, and he hoped it was true for her as well.