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(Preston)
They were attached the moment they met- at first out of fear, and then for safety, and then for comfort. Nora found his presence healing in the hellscape all around her; he provided proof that not just Gods and monsters won wars. He taught her how to survive in this new world without being consumed by it, without being poisoned by its harsh realities and sick truths.
She would later come to find out that he found her presence just as healing.
And once they found that middle ground, that beautiful piece of acceptance and serenity, they couldn't be separated.
Nora liked the feel of his fingertips pressed against hers when they laid together at night, no matter where they were, or whether or not they had a roof over their heads. She liked the way they pressed fingertips, and slowly rolled their hands down to their palms.
She liked the way their fingers interlocked, warm and firm against one another, before he pulled her into a kiss.
(Glory)
Nora found herself attracted to the synthetic woman the moment they weren't staring at each other down the barrel of a gun. The woman, Glory, kept mentioning that her timing, not to mention her record, couldn't have been more intriguing to hear about- even if most of the information came from Deacon. As more and more successful runs were tucked under her belt, Glory admitted that, despite their rough introduction, Nora was good for the Railroad; they were more desperate for new agents than Desdemona was willing to let on- and her arrival had to be a sign of good things to come.
Their first run together had them blasting Raiders apart in the Malden Center- clearing the route just one last time.
"What do you say the two heavies join forces and rock the heavens a little?"
"And maybe when we're through here... we can rock something else."
Nora had never flirted with a woman before, she wasn't ashamed to admit that- but there was just something about Glory that made her want to try her hand at it. And for her effort, it went over well.
They shared the night on a mattress tucked away in the corner of the old North Church.
They shared one too few kisses, one too few touches as fingers stroked bruised cheeks and grabbed at steady jaws.
(Sturges)
Looks could be deceiving, and he was everything Nora didn't figure him to be.
From the first take, he looked to be a bruiser, a strongman, and nothing else. But he was soft-spoken, and smart- and talked often about how he didn't like to fight, didn't even like confrontations. When Preston said he looked big, but wasn't much good in a fight, Sturges didn't argue. If anything, he joked that Preston was actually the strong-arm, and he was just the guy behind the scenes- and also the eye candy.
He taught her how to take care of her Power Armor- how to add on attachments, and fix the old rusty spots. He knew a lot about them, but preferred not to be the one in them- he often teased that he preferred to see her in the armor anyways.
Nora fell hard for the way he'd show her step-by-step how to do things, how to construct new gun mods, and turrets. (He never told her just how exactly he knew how to do those sort of things either).
She fell hard to the look of sheer joy on his face whenever she brought him back a pile of junk for them to sort through. They'd spend hours taking things apart together, often times staying up well into the night doing so- losing track of time.
They cured curses with kisses whenever one of them cut their hand separating a piece of junk.
And kisses moved from fingers to knuckles, to shoulders and necks, before the junk was lost and forgotten about to the heat of lips and mouths.
(Desdemona)
Nora had come to respect the life-worn woman for everything she had done.
Any lesser person would've given up too quickly, too easily, but... not her, not Desdemona. She had a dedication streak that surpassed the Commonwealth. She continued to push forward, putting her life on the line for Synths she would never meet.
It was admirable- and Nora found her heart pounding hard every time she returned with good news for the woman. With news of another mission well done.
Her heart pounded every time she saw that smile on Desdemona's lips.
...
Nora's heart pounded when she leaned across the table to kiss her; the night had long set in, and most of their agents had gone to the mattresses for a few, quiet hours.
The taste of old Bourbon was still settled on her lips- a gift for a job well done.
And Desdemona kissed her back with loose Whiskey on hers.
(X6-88)
As far as Nora was concerned, he was the only good thing to come from the Institute.
He wasn't so much as stiff towards her at first, like many of the Scientists, but rather professional and unwavering; he was testing her, and himself to some extent- testing their compatibility. After all, you were as good as dead in the Commonwealth without a good partner at your side.
And whether he was aware of it or not, Nora knew about his talkings about her before her back. She knew about his compliments and his obvious approval of her combat skills- she even heard Justin Ayo himself remark that it was... unusual for X6 to speak so freely about someone.
She liked it- something about him giving her attention was... nice.
The Scientists at the Institute warned her about the way she looked at him- reminding her again and again that he was a Synth, and nothing more. Despite how much time they were spending together, despite any kind of connection she might be feeling between then, it was all fake. He wasn't real, he wasn't able to produce thoughts or feelings of his own.
But all they had to do was gain his trust, and they would know how untrue that was.
They would know that he had preferences; for instances, he preferred to kill Gunners over Raiders since they put up the bigger fight- although not by much. He didn't like Assaultrons because they reminded him of the Gen-1 Synths. He also didn't like water, and always conveniently seem to find a way to avoid it- but only after she had jumped in herself.
He liked to hold her head in his hands after a nasty fight- 'checking for facial injuries, ma'am', he would always claim.
And when she needed to sleep, he'd let her sleep in his lap- never admitting out loud that he liked that too.
Just like she would never admit out loud that she liked the subtle trail of his fingers down her back when he thought she was asleep.
(Magnolia)
Nora had had one too many at the Third Rail, trying to drown away her sorrows and confusion- trying to drown away the person that she used to be. Despite her initial gut-reaction, she came to like the place; she liked the atmosphere, hell, she even liked that asshole White Chapel Charlie.
But more than anything, she like that the other patrons ignored her when she was there.
It let her grieve and sit in her own misery.
But then fingers brushed her shoulder, dark eyes met hers, and a heaven-defying smile pulled her out of it all.
Red dress.
Black heels.
And a voice that could sink ships sent her absolutely spiraling.
"The Acoustics sound the best in here," Magnolia mused; her back against her room door, one hand on the doorknob, while painted lips fluttered against Nora's. "I always get this room when I'm around."
Nora knew where to come every time she was in town now.
And if she thought Magnolia's singing in the bar was heaven-defying... her songs in bed, amongst hot skin and tangled sheets, was even better.
Nora loved the way she laughed quietly into her bundled up pillow as Magnolia sauntered around the room, serenading her with love spells as she plucked her clothing from the floor.
(Duke)
When Nora first ran across the hot-rod painted, walking piece of Power Armor, she nearly broke an ankle trying to get away from it.
Something about it had seemed so surreal... Amongst giant molerats, mutated lizards, and bears, this was where she was going to draw her line of reality- with a set of Power Armor painted like a hot wheels toy.
But she heard him give out a whoop, and pump his arm as he removed a portion of the engine of an abandoned vehicle in front of him. Nora watched him hold it up into the light, turning it over in his hands, before he carefully packed it away.
He apologized to her when she finally got the nerve to walk up to him; he told her that the car was already stripped clean now- but if she needed parts, then he could give her directions to a place to find them.
And when she eventually did need parts for her own suit, and couldn't find pieces to substitute it with, she headed there.
Words couldn't express her surprise at what she found- an entire garage of makeshift power suits. And a group ripped straight out of the leather-jacket era, who were all the more willing to help her.
Nora traded what she could for pieces and parts that she needed- and did errands for the parts that she didn't have enough for.
And somehow, someway, Duke was there every step of the way- and occasionally, he'd just happen to find the 'right' part that she was looking for while he was out scavenging on his own.
They shared endless hours together, sometimes not even working, but rather just talking, or exploring the Commonwealth's glorified dumpsters together in silence.
(Curie)
Nora taught the woman how to breathe, and how to keep breathing when she first came out of the pod in a new body.
She reluctantly taught Curie how to hold a gun, how to defend herself in close combat- taught her how to properly punch and how to break a nose (all the things Preston had taught her when she first arrived). Nora helped her try to figure out her emotions, her reactions- helped her to stop shaking when she killed her first Raider. It was a cruel world, something they were both learning; they just had to learn together how to fight back.
Nora helped her find empty books and countless pencils so Curie could record everything that she remembered from pre-war memories- all her medical and scientific knowledge. The woman spent countless nights just writing, and writing... and Nora ended up falling asleep during most of them.
Sometimes Nora woke up to the gentle brush of lips against her forehead, and she'd smile lightly- and fake sleep in hopes of getting another kiss.
When Curie finally finished taking everything down, storing all of her books safely in her bookcase, she announced that she was finally ready to move on and start her new research on the new world. She listed things she wanted, and needed to do, such as preparation plans, radiation research and clean-up, illnesses and infections. And love.
And Nora promised that she would help where she could.
With the entire list.