Wildfire - Elder Maxson x reader - Part 1

1

I've got a cold heart and cold hands,

I'll make you wanna be where I am,

If you only knew my plans,

Oh, if you only knew who I am.

- Let Me Touch Your Fire

Bunker Hill was supposed to be safe.

As she fumbles for some rad-away, Uri hacks up the radioactive smoke clogging her lungs. The battle had been intense... and surprising. Soldiers of all kinds surround her; pieces of synths and brotherhood power armour are strewn across the ground, twisting together, contrasting oddly against the makeshift walls of the caravaner-based settlement. Well, at least some good scavenge can come of this. A lot of the settlers are still taking cover, but Uri has always known better than to wait around - especially in a place full of scavvers.

The fight is still ongoing, and Arthur's heart is beginning to sink. He's not used to failure. It's a tough pill to swallow - but the Institute seem to be more dangerous than they had first anticipated. His soldiers have come across the synthetic humanoids those meddling scientists created before. But with how many are here, still shooting at his people... It's worse than they imagined. It makes him wonder how fast they can pump these monstrosities out, and how long they've been pumping them out in the first place.

He regrets coming here without his power armour as a lucky robot gets a shot in. It hits him on his lower torso, tearing the air from his lungs and singeing his uniform. The skin underneath stings hotly, and he deals with the abomination with a quick shot to the head. The only gunfire he can hear is that outside the walls, so he proceeds.

That's when the grenade goes off.

The Brotherhood Elder isn't close enough to lose a limb, but the shockwaves throw him off his feet. His left side takes the brunt of it. He hits the crumbling monument just feet away, and with a sickening lurch he realises his dominant arm has been dislocated.

Yes, he regrets leaving his power armour.

If it was just the arm, it might have been ok. He can shoot with his right hand - and well, at that. But his ears are ringing from the explosion, and his head is clouded with a mix of sickness and pain. Arthur grinds his teeth, determined that he will not vomit.

Uri had been reaching to steal a dead synth's laser rifle when the grenade exploded. She had been a little further from the blast, but had watched as the man not that further ahead of her was knocked off his feet. She winces as she watches his body smash into Bunker Hill's tower, and then he's still. He's clearly Brotherhood - the side that seems to be done for, as synths pick off the rest of the lot. Watching him fight the pain as he tries to stand touches some long-dormant part of her pre-war self... She lets out a low growl and, against her better instincts, runs over to the downed soldier.

Then, as she reaches him, more fighters appear. She has seen enough of the Commonwealth to recognise these ones - they belong to the Railroad, and they're taking out synthetics and Brotherhood soldiers alike. She starts to assess the damage. Wound to the torso, dislocated shoulder... As she slips his right arm around her shoulders, she wonders why he's not in any power armour.

He lets out a pained huff as he regains some sort of bearings. His pride feels bruised as he lets the stranger help him.

"Come on, soldier boy," she hisses, "We need to get inside. You're a goner if they find you."