"It's......Its beautiful." You whimpered, Eyes filled with tears as you stared down at the scene before you.

Nuka World restored to its former glory.

A truly beautiful sight indeed

"Never did I think I'd ever see this place up and running again, boss." Gage admitted, from next to you "You didn't?" You asked, "Sure- Colter didn't exactly bring out the optimistic side in anyone, The selfish bastard." He said, gazing out at the theme park "Nawww! I don't believe that for a minute!" You joked, a teasing smile on your face as you pushed yourself off the panel, beaming as you caught sight of Gage trying to hide his grin "Hmm, of course ya don't-" he teased back, causing your eyes to twinkle, lips pulling up into a huge smile "Poor Colter didn't know what he had, when he had it." You admitted, {E/C} eyes staring at Gage with pure admiration "That so?" He asked, and when you blinked back your surprise at his booming voice, that's when you noticed the look on his face...It was something you didn't expect from someone like Gage...Not because he didn't have feelings, because he really did. But...He was rather adamant, that he shouldn't think of you as something more, but from the look on his face right now...It made you question everything.

"Gage?" You asked softly, eyes scanning his face, knowing there was something more to the look he was giving you "Boss." He replied, both of you staring at each other "You uh...You've got a little something...There."He said, hand reaching out gently, to let his thumb stroke your cheek, causing your entire body to tense, eyes wide, and face quickly turning red, before his hand pulled away, and that's when you saw a smudge of red on his thumb "Blood?" You choked out, practically caving in on yourself "We did have to fight our way here-Remember?" He laughed, a sound that made something jolt throughout your body "O-Oh yeah." Bloody Nora, you could feel your cheeks heating up by the second.

"Y'know Boss, I've been thinking....-" he began 'Oh Gosh, he's going to ask me to completely take over the commonwealth isn't he?' You thought to yourself "Ever since you took over....You've give everyone here a fighting chance." He began, smiling softly, something you didn't think you'd ever see really, not with how Colter left things anyway "I have?" You asked, face heating up once again, as your eyes darted away, heart racing at the compliment "Sure boss." He said, head bobbing as he nodded, "we're lucky to have you." He piped up, causing your eyes to dart back to him "I...Thank you Gage." You smiled softly, feeling giddy at his compliments.

But instead of answering, he sent a gentle smile your way, and the two of you stared at each other for what seemed like eternity "Gage-" you began "Boss-" he interrupted, immediately causing you to chuckle nervously, feeling bad about the fact that you cut him off, although- he did the same to you. So who was really the one to blame? No o- Oh, who cares! You had two of the most beautiful views in front of you, and you wouldn't want to waste it, despite your burning cheeks and the nagging feeling in your chest.

It was times like these, that you wished you wasn't so awkward, because even as you wanted to watch Gage, who was staring down at Nuka World, you knew you couldn't, because you was becoming increasingly jittery. Thoughts swirling around your head, causing you to turn away from the second in command, and instead, place your gaze upon Nuka World. Still glinting like a gem. Begging to be enjoyed

In a place, full of hatred, pain and loss. It was a symbol of hope...And joy.

Although, the gangs wouldn't see it that way, No. they'd see it as a way to make more caps. Not surprising, but not your cup of tea.

And whilst your interests did indeed conflict with the Raiders, there was a certain charm- They had.

Maybe it was the fact that you finally had something to care for?- After all, you had been alone for quite a while now and-

"Boss?"

You immediately snap back into reality, {E/C} eyes darting to Gage "Huh?" You choked out "You okay there?" He asked, nodding towards you causing you to smile softly "Oh, I'm fine Gage. Thanks for askin'......How about you?" You finally ask, waiting for his cheery reply, but all you get is silence, causing you to look back at him in worry "Gage?"

"Boss...There's something I've been meaning to tell you." He suddenly admits, causing your entire body to freeze, terror spreading through every cell of your being at the statement. Usually, when somebody said that...It meant something bad. And you didn't know if you could take any more bad news-

"When Colter died and you took over...I honestly didn't have much faith in you ever changing the park- I mean, Our gangs were at each others throats, just waiting for an excuse to lunge...and Colter couldn't give two shits about his people anymore." Gage began, causing you to watch in silent intrigue "Seeing the distress the others were in, I knew I needed to do something about it...We needed someone who wasn't afraid to get their hands dirty- Someone who could hold their own." He continued "-And that just so happened to be you boss." He said, smiling wistfully at the memory of you stumbling into the arena to fight Colter "I took a serious gamble on you...Hell, it could've turned out either way, but boss...I've gotta say-" he finally turns to look at you, and you feel your breath catch in your throat "I couldn't of asked for a better outcome...Not only have you done what we deemed impossible, But you've showed everyone, that there is hope...That we can survive through this." He said, smiling softly "I might not be the most emotional guy around boss, but I'm not afraid to tell you that I admire everything about you." He admitted, and at first, you wanted to scrunch your face up and tease him, but then you quickly decided against it, After all, it had taken countless tries to get Gage to open up, and now, it seemed like he was doing it on his own

"A-Admire?" You choked out, feeling your heart racing, and the soft chuckle that Gage released only made it worse "You're going to make me say it aren't you?" He asked, "Say what?" This was by far, that most embarrassed you've ever been

"That I care about you more than I should." He admitted "W-Wha'?- Because I-I'm the overboss?-" you began, obviously about to protest, after all, you didn't like Gage feeling like he owed it to you, because you was in charge of the park

"A few weeks ago, I would've said yes" he admitted, staring at you as he leaned against the panel "And whilst I...I'm not a..Uh, I'm not exactly the most loveable guy- it doesn't take a genius to know what I feel." He said, causing your eyebrows to shoot up in surprise, not expecting Gage to suddenly open up like this

"What is it that you feel Gage?" You asked softly, feeling like you was on the verge of passing out, "You uh, You know what I feel." He said, practically begging you to understand, but the fact is, you didn't want to get your hopes up "I'm afraid I don't, Ga-" before you could finish, Gage practically lunged forward to close the gap between you, and as a squeal of surprise threatened to leave your
Mouth, Gage had already silenced you, with his lips on yours.

And as your eyes remained open in surprise, it didn't take long for them to flutter closed peacefully, and as you kissed back softly. It was abundantly clear what Gage was trying to get across.

He loves you.

————————————————————————

BarbatosAndMC2008 Thank you so much for the request! 🥳I'm just sorry with how it turned out. And for that, I humbly apologise.