FSE

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Chapter 8

"Looming worries"

Act 1

It was just another morning.

Niles Hovan was standing in the shower, humming casually as he was turning down the water, leaving the silence inside the bathroom. Only the small, echoing sound of last waterdrops were heard against the floor, the lynx taking a quiet moment to think. It's just felt like there was some sort of a looming worry in the back of his head about some things. He had not seen his father the whole yesterday, and usually, he was around to give his lecture. The one, big lecture was still ungiven, the one that he feared. It was most likely already in Randal's knowledge that his son had turned down the job to the next overseer... And he knew that the counter-reaction would be strong. He had already given as many rebellious signs as he could about coming a preacher like him. The bible didn't interest him one bit, and he also had the other bigger reason.

The reason he had revealed to Jacob himself out of emotional hesitation.

Jacob had avoided him the whole rest of the day, clearly not wanting to continue the discussion where it left off. It was just nothing more worry to add to his mind. He trusted Jacob not to tell anyone about him and Ryan, sure... But could he truly? He and Jacob were never truly the best of friends. More like buddies that hanged around in the same group despite their arguments, just like Jacob was to Tio. All of this was just a risky game... And it felt like soon, there would be some kind of an outcome. Judgment. He felt so scared and angry inside him to know that no one would take positively on the news if it ever got out. That he was a boy who committed a sin that was seen as a crime against nature. Man should not lay with another man. That was the narrative he had known his whole life. But fighting against something you have felt as right since the beginning of your life was not easy. He wanted to believe that he loved Ryan Winchester. He truly did. And whenever they were intimate together, it was like heaven. But he felt like that heaven was going to shake them off the cloud one of these days. And he knew that if his father would hear... he would get more than bruises.

Niles gave a long, stressed exhale as he stepped out of the shower, wrapping the towel around himself as he looked at the mirror. The glass was half-covered in water spots due to moist heat around the room, so he had to use his paw in a circle motion to see his face clearly. He kept looking at the reflection for some while, feeling a bit numb as he tried to smile. It was a new day after all. But he couldn't really bring himself to smile. Just... Having this feeling.

(Alien isolation: Soundtrack 14 "dead silence")

CLICK

Before he even realized, the metallic door behind him opened.

And only the reflection from the mirror told him... That one of the moments he had been afraid of, was right here, right now. And there was no avoiding it anymore.

There was nothing but uncomfortable silence as Niles didn't have guts to turn around.

"... Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

That was Niles's father, Randal Hovan asking his son the question. And the firmness, disappointment and the disgust in his tone was so heavy, that Niles already wanted to cry. He quietly looked down at the sink without turning around, taking a towel from the cabinet.

"I'm sorry." The scared voice stated.

"You are sorry... That all?" Randal asked in anger.

Niles wrapped his white towel around his waist, turning to slowly look at his father.

And he could see the moment he stared at him, that he had drank something. It was the wobbling and the reek of whiskey that gave it out. The lynx looked dirty as always, his fur spiking up everywhere and ruffled, the cheek fur unattended and non-trimmed. Tired, intense eye gaze concentrated on him like a stain of something nasty.

"... Dad... What else do you want me to say? It didn't feel right... I... I just didn't want it-"

"It didn't feel right... FUCK how you feel, you pathetic, selfish piece of fucking shit." Randal said from the bottom of his heart like this had been the last straw. It was a long time coming.

"D-dad..." Niles began with a scared tone, his eyes getting watery.

"You killed your fucking mother... And now you deny your birthright? You are seriously... Doing this to me? Your father?!" The lynx asked loudly, wobbling a bit.

"... Dad, stop! I didn't..." Niles couldn't even finish his sentence, the fury in his father's eyes making him sob.

"You are worthless... You are not a Hovan. You... Are nothing. Do you hear me?!"

"I'm SORRY!!! It wasn't my fault-!"

"EVERYTHING IS YOUR FAULT! From the day that you were born! You, sinful bastard... You had a choice! To redeem yourself under the eyes of GOD! Your mother's memory! And you spit on it! YOU... And your fucking obsession to that Winchester kid!" Randal yelled, taking a step inside the bathroom.

The lynx's heart was hammering, feeling the tears starting to flow as the panic attack was hitting him in. He thought he was mentally ready for this undividable moment... But he was not. Not by near. Especially if his father was drunk, which always made things worse.

"... Please... I-I..." Niles began, not able to form any kind of defense as his father approached.

"YOU... I should have heard how angry and frustrated Calvin was when he talked about you! This one time, you could have done as your elders say! THIS ONE TIME! But no. You keep disappointing-"

"It's my life, dad!" The lynx yelled back in terror.

"Your life is... Wh-HAHAHA!! What is your life?! Tell me! Running around playing with metal sticks like a fucking autistic child?! You are eighteen years old! That fucking Winchester kid has brainwashed you!" Randal screamed in anger like a maniac.

"S-stop!" Niles cried in panic.

"STOP?! Stop what?! TELL ME WHAT I HAVE TO STOP?! TALKING SOME SENSE INTO YOU?! TRYING TO DIG OUT OF SOME FUCKING SHAME OUT OF YOU!?" Randal yelled, coming even closer, his paw trembling and balling into a fist.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Niles begged, crying his eyes out and scared out of his mind.

And before he even realized, Randal swung.

He hit Niles right in his stomach, taking all the air out as the lynx's eyes widened, making him collapse on the ground completely.

The older lynx looked at his son in fury, seeing him couch his lungs out on the floor. Randal crouched to be on his level, grabbing his son from the ear so roughly he mostly gave it a fracture. Niles cried out in total fear, Randal talking to him.

"You will go back to Calvin's office TODAY... And you will tell him... That you take the job! Do you understand me, you sinful little shit?" Randal asked with disgust.

Niles couldn't even manage to answer due to his constant gasps for air, just crying as his head was ringing.

"See how far those play fighting's you do get you? Nowhere, when a REAL MAN hits you. A little hand of god for you. Now... You will go to Calvin's office-"

"LET ME GO!" Niles yelled in panic.

That only agitated Randal even more.

He gave a firm smack with the other side of his palm right across the lynx's face while still holding his ear.

"LISTEN TO ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Randal commanded.

Niles just started to sob more, not able to handle this situation as his stomach kept hurting. That punch really had done some damage. He had no escape. All he had to do was to take it in.

"You... Will... Atone. Is that clear? You will fix this mess... And you will redeem under the holy light, oh yes you will. And you will become the next overseer to prove you are not completely useless. Am. I. Clear?"

Niles kept crying, whining and sobbing for his father to stop. After Randal realized he was not getting any answer out at this rate, he let go of Niles. Slowly, Randal stood back up. He kept looking at his son in pity, shaking his head as he kept gasping and crying, being in a total mess right now.

Niles slowly turned to look at his father after a while with tears flowing down his cheeks.

And as the older lynx waited for his answer... He saw something in his sons' eyes that he had not expected to see. It was fire. Small burning ember of hate, just like he himself had. Niles then spoke back quietly.

"I never... W-wanted to be your son... I-I don't care a-about god... Or you... I w-won't go to Calvin."

Randal's eyes slowly came to a realization of what his son had just said to him, making him speak with a low, threating tone.

"What did... You just say?"

Niles slowly tried to scoot up a bit from the floor, but couldn't. He then looked away from his father for a moment, talking with scared, yet defying tone.

"No matter how much you always hurt me... I-I won't be what you want me to be... You never loved me... S-so why should I ever do anything you say?" Niles said with an emotional tone, holding his stomach with his paw and still couching, turning to look at his father again with tears still going.

"I won't... Go to Calvin... I live my life... Way I want. And you can't control me... No matter how much you keep hitting me! You say that you love god! If God is okay with how you treat me... Then he is evil..."

"... You... Fucking... I GAVE YOU LIFE. I AM YOUR FATHER-" Randal began in rage.

"BUT I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE! I'M MOVING OUT!" Niles yelled from the bottom of his heart.

"HAHAHAHAH!!! Where!? Where the fuck you think you are going?!" Randal laughed sadistically.

"... You hate me... And you want nothing to do with me... So, I'm going to ask if I can live with someone who has been more father to me than you ever have!" Niles argued, meaning what he said. And they both knew that he meant Charlie.

"Don't you fucking dare-"

"I won't live here anymore next week... You give me a few days to collect my things... And I'm gone. You can disown me... I've wanted that for a long time! I can't take this anymore-"

Randal gave a firm kick right at Niles's chest again, making his back slam against the wall a bit, the lynx whining out in pain. Randal was furious, huffing and staring at his son. He didn't expect Niles to actually finally argue back like this. Sure, he had many times said he hates god and that he hated him... But this time... he was serious. He was going to actually leave and clearly had no intention of whatsoever to give up and become the overseer. If punches and kicks were not enough after all these years to intimidate him... It was clear that he had no real solution. Niles had enough.

Randal was quiet, looking at his son whimper in pain on the floor, crying again. He then spoke to him.

"You have only one day to do as you were told... You will go to Calvin... And if I don't hear from him that you were there, on your knees and begging..."

The old lynx turned around and spoke over his shoulder.

"Then there will be consequences. You can do runaways or spit on your family name all you want... But you will never be one of those Winchester's. THIS... Is your last chance to redeem... And be a HOVAN. One last chance."

"..." Niles couldn't answer in his pain. He just kept coughing and whimpering, the tears burning his cheeks.

Randal didn't waste time on looking at his son any second longer. They both had said their piece.

And within a few seconds, the metal door closed, leaving Niles cry alone on the floor.

And the only sound still remaining in the bathroom... Was the water drops, falling down on the shower floor.

ACT 2

The young brown-furred husky slowly opened his eyes, feeling... Rather... Calm?

Dion Winchester was slowly moving in his bed, rolling on his side and muttering.

"Just... A little more... Sleep..."

He started to woozily rub his eyes, realizing that it must have been midnight maybe. He felt well-rested. So well rested that he wanted to keep going on sleeping.

He slowly managed to get some vision around him in the darkness after ten seconds, scooting up slightly and lazily reaching for his nightstand table.

His pip boy was laying in there, the young pup trying to get it in his grasp. He finally got a firm grip on the device, clicking it after few attempts around his wrist.

He pressed the button to turn it on, blinking lights coming to the big screen. He needed to scoot up just a little bit more, yawning longingly as he tried to get his eyes used to the bright lights shining on his face.

After the screen loaded and brought up the usual panel... His eyes traveled to the corner of the pip-boy.

Mhh... It's... Six in the morning? Okay... Just... A bit more sleep then. Lovely.

He slowly was about to turn off the pip-boy, until he froze.

Wait.

Six in the morning? I went to sleep at ten in the evening...

WAIT.

Dion quickly scooted up, taking his eyes off the pip-boy and taking time to think by himself.

Something was off. Something was different. What was it?

Until it hit him like a punch.

I DIDN'T SEE THE BAD DREAM.

His jaw slowly started to drop down as he came into total realization, going back to his dreams.

I... I dreamed about Jill! And the date with her! And... AND REGULAR STUFF!

I DIDN'T SEE NIGHTMARES!

Dion's eyes widened. It... It felt so unreal!

He had actually slept better than he had in the past two to three weeks!

Was he back to normal?!

As he sat there for a full minute, winding back his pleasant dreams, the smile started to come on his face like a light turning on slowly.

"I... It's over... It's finally over!"

The happy husky slowly hopped out of his bed, throwing his blanket aside as he quickly sprinted towards the nearby wall. He clicked the lights on in his room.

But for some reason... They didn't come up.

Dion pressed the button for a few times, giving it up and muttering in wonder.

"Light's must have broken down from the room... Huh."

But this small odd situation didn't have any effect on his mood. He was just as happy.

Smiling in the dim room, using the light of his pip-boy, the husky was feeling so full of joy.

What could this mean? Was it all truly over? Were the most horrible dreams gone?

Amir has to hear about this! I don't know what he would think about it... Maybe I don't need therapy sessions anymore? As much as I enjoy Amir's company, so far, the sessions have felt rather... Non-helping anyway.

Not that it was his fault. But now... I don't need some miracle drugs to help me. I'm finally free. Or am I? What if they come back?

The smile slowly faded only slightly, the husky wondering all of this through. All he knew that he was so full of energy now and happy mood that everything else didn't feel like it mattered. Eesh... Why is it so cold in this room?

Dion slowly noticed that the temperature felt... Off? At least to some degree?

It just felt like the overall heating system was feeling a bit broken. Huh. Lights. Heating? I feel bad for Jacob's mom, she might have to come over to fix all of this.

Eh, oh well. I'm so damn happy right now...

No more shadows whispering. No more seeing my father...

No. Don't even rewind back to those memories. They are gone now. No more of horrors of night. Just...

I feel like things are finally going to go better for me now... And.

The date.

The smile that had faded for some now came back at full speed. The husky slowly closed his eyes and felt his heart pumping faster. My date with Jill...

It's TODAY!

The husky couldn't hold it anymore. He just had the sudden urge to feel like dancing and skipping around the room. The girl he had fallen for years ago was now finally going to give him the chance.

A girlfriend... Maybe... Even...

Dion just couldn't stop smiling. He was all over the place. It's crazy how much a good night's sleep can affect you. There was no reason to be depressed to any degree anymore.

Just as he was about to look at his pip-boy again to browse his loved music options... Something took his attention.

(Metro 2033 Soundtrack: Hope (1 min version))

Diiiiioooonnnn

His fur bristled right away. The husky slowly looked around himself. Almost like he had not heard right. The husky stuffed finger in his ear, wondering if he had some clogging or something.

"Huh?" The husky muttered in confusion. Almost like someone... Had he called his name out?

There was brief silence. Dion took the finger out of his ear. He then started to feel almost as if the floor beneath him got colder.

What on earth is going on with this heating system? Ugh. I don't like cold.

Diiiioooonnnn

There it was again. This time Dion was rather sure he had heard at least something.

"Is... Is someone there?" Dion yelled in small confusion.

It just felt so distant. The calling of his name. Rather... Chilling even. This room just started to slowly turn into a freezer.

The husky's smile died as he slowly went close to his door, pressing his ear against the door.

Did the noise come from the other side? Was it most likely Ryan playing around? No... Or could it be?

Dion didn't really know what to feel like. He waited to hear the voice again... He waited for a half a minute... But it didn't come.

I was so sure that I heard something... Like... It sounded almost a bit haunting. Maybe... I just have trouble with my hearing. Maybe it was something else?

Dion then slowly was about to open the door of his room, just to check to be sure that no one was in the living room. And the moment he was about to press the button... It came from behind his shoulder... Cold as ice.

DIIIOOOOOOOOOONNNN.... SSAAAAAAVEEE HIIIIIMM

The husky quickly felt his eyes widen, turning around completely and his back hitting against the door as he looked around his room in panic.

His heart rate had gone off the rails as he huffed, looking around himself in total scare. This time... It was not imagination. It was something he had truly heard.

"Wh-who's there?!" He asked in a panic.

There was no answer. The husky had turned from happy into terrified in a matter of seconds, looking around the room with quick gazes of paranoia.

Nothing happened... And no one answered.

And slowly... His feet started to get warmer.

Dion's rapid breathing started to get easier. Yet, he was still looking around. Slowly, he gathered the courage to take a few steps forward, away from the door.

"H-hello?" He asked quietly, still rather scared. How could he not be? The Last thing he wanted was his dreams to follow him in real life... Yet, this voice was not something he had heard in his dream. This was different. Almost... Sorrowful.

"A-anyone t-there?" Dion asked, rubbing his paws together. There was no answer.

The floor started to get warmer. Everything around him started to, in fact. The air got less chilly. It was like the overall warmth around the air started to get back to normal.

Like... Something had been here... Then it was just gone.

Dion couldn't really get a word out anymore. He started to look around himself uncomfortably, taking steps around and trying to figure out what had just happened.

What on earth had I just heard? Was this still a dream? No... No, I am wide awake. I...

Just as Dion was about to slowly get his attention back to the pip-boy of his... The door behind him opened. He yelled out quickly as reaction, feeling his heart catch his throat.

"OH MY GOD!"

The husky jumped rather quickly, quickly turning around and staring at the doorway.

Ryan Winchester was standing right there, looking straight at him in total confusion.

Dion let out the longest inhale ever, freezing on the spot and holding his paw against his chest in relief.

The fox brother of his was just staring at him with a puzzled face, breaking the silence as he spoke.

"Yo... You okay, big bro?" Ryan asked with a studying gaze.

...

Dion answered quietly, still trying to calm down his breathing.

"Y-yeah... I... D-did I wake you up?" Dion huffed.

"... No. I was doing a workout in my room and heard you yell something. So, I came through to check. Why do you look so startled?" Ryan asked, sounding worried.

"... Well, I mean... You just scared me! Again! This is the second time you have just barged into my room and jump scared me." Dion argued back innocently.

"Yeah... So it seems. Sorry about that, I guess." Ryan said, shrugging his shoulders.

"... Look, I'm... I'm okay... I just..." Dion huffed, feeling like he was getting back his bearings.

"... You just what? Stand around in your room six in the morning, yelling by yourself?" Ryan asked like it made no sense.

"Wh... What did I yell?" Dion asked, knowing damn well what he had yelled.

"You yelled about someone being in here. I'm pretty sure that is what I heard at least."

"... I... I might have yelled something like that... I think... Forget about it. It's nothing. I was just a bit paranoid. I think the pipes have something in them or... Something. They just made scary noises." Dion tried to figure out, not really knowing what to explain. He had a hard time believing what had just even happened.

"... The pipes. Dion, there is nothing wrong with pipes. And there is no one in the room. Look, I've noticed that something has been up with you lately. Can you try to fill your brother in here or what?" Ryan asked, rather annoyed that Dion was clearly keeping something from him.

"... I... I think I just saw a nightmare. And it felt so real that I might have... Sleepwalked?" Dion figured out as a quick lie.

Ryan looked now even more worried, walking in and closing the door behind him.

He was quiet for a moment and spoke.

"... That sounds freaky. What was the nightmare about then?"

"... Nothing. I-I mean, I don't remember anymore." Dion said quickly.

"... You don't remember." Ryan repeated.

"Look, I'm fine, Ryan. You can... Go back to your workout. I'm really sorry that I bothered." Dion said, sounding really sorry.

"You weren't bothering. You were making me worried." Ryan then said emotionally.

"N-no need to worry for me. I'm... I'm rather fine... Actually... I feel great." Dion said, smiling a bit.

"... Okay?"

"yeah... I... I think I had the best sleep I've had in ages." Dion admitted, wagging his tail a bit.

"... You just said you had a nightmare." Ryan said, looking at Dion with doubt.

"... I... "Dion realized he had just ruined his quick lie.

"Brother... Can you stop lying to me and just say what the hell is going on with you? You speak less when you are with your friends. You spend time at Amir's clinic every day. Yeah. I've seen you go there. And you barely go read with Tio anymore. I've noticed that as well. And this is the second time I've caught you being up in your room this early, looking like you have seen ghosts. The first time I just shrugged it off as you being as weird as you sometimes are, but now? Ryan... Since when haven't you been able to trust your own brother? If there is something bad going up with you, just tell me. You clearly can't talk with dad. Try me." Ryan said, clearly truly worried for his kin and not letting this go.

The look on Dion's face told it all. He clearly had something going on with himself. Ryan sighed and clicked the panel on the wall.

"Ryan, the electricity is not-"

And before he could finish, the lights came up in the room normally.

"... Working." Dion finished in confusion, covering his eyes with his paws for a moment. He took his time to peek, getting used to the bright lights and seeing as Ryan walked to sit on his bedside. The fox took his time, looking at Dion and waiting for an explanation.

"The lights work, Dion. They always do." Ryan said like Dion should know that.

"..." Dion didn't really speak anything right now.

"Take your time. But don't lie to me. I'm not leaving this room until you tell me what is up with you. Consider this as a brotherly service."

".... Ryan, nothing is up-"

"Yes yes, and I am straight. Speak. This time, I'm not letting this conversation go." Ryan commanded firmly.

Dion knew that Ryan wasn't going anywhere before he at least gave him something. But truly... He could somewhat at least speak half a truth. He didn't need to go into details. Not enough to truly distress him and in the worst case, make him go talking with their father. Before Dion could answer, Ryan suddenly asked.

"Dion... Has Farin hit you after...?"

"Wh-what? N-no... He... This isn't about Farin or Maurice."

"... Look, I know that the last time we talked together in this room was a bit overdramatic, you know? Just don't start crying again about anything. Try to tell me what is going on with you, if it isn't Farin?"

Dion was quiet for a while, rubbing the back of his head as he spoke, not looking at Ryan.

"... I've had really... Bad dreams. It's been going on for weeks now. You remember that last time I told you that I had a bad dream... Well, it's been... Yeah... Bad."

"... Okay." Ryan just said after a while, nodding.

"... I've been talking to Amir about those nightmares."

"... Amir. Right, why not dad, like I suggested last time?"

"I... Don't want to bother him. He... He is always busy." Dion lied.

"Not really," Ryan said right away.

"Look, it's just... Amir... He helps me out."

"... It helps you out. How?"

"I... Talk to him... He is like my... I... I believe the term he uses is psychiatric."

"... You talk with a doctor about your dreams? That sounds rather weird. What do you think he can do about them?" Ryan asked, trying to make sense of the odd explanation, wondering if Dion was just making stuff up. But in the end, this would explain Dion's visits to Amir.

"He... Well, to be honest... It just helps me to talk with someone about my nightmares. He listens and... Just tries to find deeper meaning or some... Look, the details don't matter-"

"What happens in your nightmares if it's that hard to handle?" Ryan asked with interest.

Dion froze, sighing internally that he never really had any escape tactic, to begin with, just wishing Ryan wouldn't grasp the most obvious question.

"It... It doesn't matter. Not anymore. Because this morning... I didn't see nightmares. I feel... I feel really good. Like... I slept really well." Dion assured.

"And yet you said that you were sleepwalking just now, yelling in your sleep for someone," Ryan said with a bored tone.

"I_I... I think it was just... My wild imagination. I saw a really good dream this time. I really did."

"... Uh-huh. So, let me get this straight. You have seen nightmares for weeks in a row, now they stop... And you for some reason still think that they didn't matter? Come on, humor me. Tell me what happens in your nightmares." Ryan pushed.

"Ryan, I know you try to help... But... I've already told about my nightmares enough to Amir day after day. I rather wouldn't revisit them. I... Now that they are most likely over, I just want to forget. You know?" Dion explained with an awkward smile, truly meaning what he said.

"... How do you know they won't come back?" Ryan asked.

"I... I don't. But I just... Have a feeling that they are gone." Dion muttered.

Ryan was quiet for a while, sighing in small frustration from his brother clearly avoiding the subject, the fox rolling his eyes.

"... Okay. If you say so. Must have been one hell of nightmares tho, to make you act all absent the past weeks. You sure you aight?" Ryan still asked.

"... I'm sure... Yeah... You know what day it is by the way?" Dion asked with an excited tone.

"What day?" Ryan asked in confusion.

"It's my date with Jill!" Dion said, hopping in the air from excitement and wagging his tail as the smile came back to his face, hoping this would steer the conversation to a more pleasant way.

Ryan couldn't help a small surprised smile as well, then talking.

"You planning to finally lose your virginity?"

"RYAN!" Dion huffed, the smile dying right away.

"Ey, don't wake dad up... Or eh, what the hell. He most likely spending the night over at that Sandy-"

Ryan's words then caught his throat when he realized what he had just said by accident.

"... Huh?" Dion asked in confusion.

"I said nothing. Forget it."

"... You just said that-"

"Look, it's nothing. I just blabber. Just woke up, you know?"

"Why... Why would dad be spending the night with Sandy?"

"..."

Ryan was now quiet, looking at concerned and confused brother of his for a while, looking down at the floor and sighing.

"Dion... You can't really be this blind, can you?" Ryan asked with weirded out expression.

"... Wh-what do you mean, Ryan?" Dion asked in concern.

"... You must have known, right? Come on. He... He smells like cigars sometimes and only one that has them-..."

Dion was just not able to really process what Ryan was hinting to him. The fox rubbed his nose bridge with closed eyes in frustration, hitting Dion with hard facts.

"Look. Our dad is in a relationship with Sandy Marston."

"..." Dion was quiet, this reveal hitting him like a shock.

"Brother, don't look so alarmed. It's his life-"

"You... You are saying... That he is unfaithful to our mom?" Dion asked with a sad tone.

The fox sitting on his bedside now looked like hearing that hurt... because he had exactly expected the reaction from Dion the moment, he had slipped the news out.

Ryan then tried to defend the situation.

"... Dion... Our mom abandoned us. It's been TEN years. I know it sounds fucked, and I miss her and I love her... But I can't even remember her voice-"

"I can," Dion said, feeling emotional and betrayed now.

Ryan felt sad and even guilty to some extent after hearing that, then speaking quietly.

"... It's normal to fucking move on. You can't be angry at him. Neither can I. Ten years... It is a long time. It's not cheating-"

"He still keeps the ring on. He never takes it off." Dion said right away in anger.

"... Dion, what do you want me to say here? God damn. What he does is his own business. Mom isn't coming back. And we will NEVER see her again. You know that." Ryan tried to argue like his big brother was delusional.

"No, I don't. Neither do you. She might come back any day now to open that door and join back to us-"

"If you believe that, you are fool, Dion. She is gone. I cried for years after she left, just like you did. But we have stopped crying now for a reason. We accepted it."

"That is really hopeful of you. She would be proud that you just forgot her." Dion said in sudden anger, not even knowing where that came from. Before he realized what he had just blurted out in his emotional defense, Ryan's face turned from shock to anger.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?"

"You... You don't want to believe that she is coming back... But I do." Dion said back, feeling rather alarmed and scared now as he knew he had really hurt Ryan now without thinking his words first.

"... Then you are a fucking retard like you have always been. Fuck you. You trying to make me feel guilty about this? -"

"N-no! I-" Dion began stuttering, not wanting Ryan to get angry at him but clearly, the fox was trying hard not to get emotional.

Ryan then hopped off from the bedside, starting to poke Dion's chest with his finger.

"Then what was that all about? She would be proud, that you just forgot her, THOSE WERE YOUR WORDS FROM YOUR MUZZLE. Look. Fine, I sweep that fucked up attitude of yours under the rug. But stop acting like an innocent saint about everything and judging me or dad. He chose to move on. Just like me. You are delusional by not doing the same."

Ryan stopped tapping with his finger against Dion, walking past him and towards the door.

"R-Ryan- look I'm sorry-"

"Yeah, yeah... You are sorry. Great. Look, I'm going to go finish my work out and go train. See you after class. It was a good talk, big bro." Ryan said with a sarcastic tone.

"R-Ryan, don't go. I-"

"Dion, bye. Have fun with your date." Ryan muttered, opening the door.

And before Dion could say another word, his little brother was gone, having closed the door right after him and his footsteps continuing on the other side.

Dion thought about going after him, but he knew that once Ryan was agitated, it was not a good idea to follow. He really had a short temper... But Dion knew that he had for the first time in years said rather meanly to his little brother.

"I- I didn't mean it..." Dion muttered with a sad tone, shaking a bit and standing in his room.

Even after an amazing sleep... His morning had gone off to a rocky start.

ACT 3

"... Dion... That is great news!"

The young husky boy was smiling as he was sitting on the examination chair, waving his feet back and forth happily as he was done telling about what happened.

The bunny doctor was smiling and talking.

"Must have been incredibly relieving to finally sleep well. But still..."

"Hmm...?" Dion hummed in question.

"Are you sure that you don't still want to keep coming here? You never know if your nightmares start to happen again? Well, in the end, I'm always here, so... You just come back here if they begin again, okay? Just promise to come back here, if your night sleep is getting ruined once more." Amir suggested, biting the end of his pen as he was laying his notes down.

"Yeah, sure... Amir, thanks for listening and... Trying to help so far. But I just think that for now, I'm back to being myself again. My mind feels so much clearer."

"That is very good to hear. To be honest, I kept having the trouble of trying to go through our files for any possible medicine that could have helped your issue. Let's just hope that it's smooth from here on out... You sure that you still don't want me to tell your father about all this?"

"Yes," Dion said quietly, his smile fading away a bit as he looked the bunny doctor in question.

"I understand. But as your psychiatrist, I need to ask that question each time. But I got it... Well, it's been fun to train this part of my profession, but I think you are free to go, for now."

"Yeah... Thank you, Amir." Dion nodded, hopping off from the chair.

"I must say though... Your nightmare to some extent has been rather fascinating. In its own somber way. I have written down everything up in my notes so far. I go through every segment you have remembered... It's odd that something like this... just enters into your mind for weeks and then just... Disappears in one night." Amir thought as he was reading through this paper sheet.

"I... Guess?" Dion asked, not really knowing what to answer or think about that.

"... It's just so... Vivid. Raw and descriptive." Amir muttered.

"Y-yeah... It... Amir, you okay?" Dion asked suddenly, a bit weirded out by Amir's focus on reading through Dion's nightmare memories.

"... Hmm. Yeah. Just... Trying to find deeper meaning into all of it... I guess." Amir muttered, really focused on the paper.

"... Well... I mean, that is what we have tried to do so far. We already ruled out childhood trauma-"

"Being separated from your mother at a young age is a trauma, Dion. We all know that Charlie's wife couldn't come here, but we just don't ask questions about it. And you have told a few times that you truly don't know yourself why she didn't come here. But you have to admit to yourself, that experience was a trauma."

"I... Don't really... I mean... Yes, it was really traumatizing... But... I want to believe..." Dion muttered, realizing that the odds of this subject coming back to his morning twice was really odd and rather spooky.

"... Believe... What?" Amir asked with genuine interest, finally taking his face off the paper.

"... That she might one day come back." Dion said with a hopeful tone, but his morning banter with Ryan made him realize that maybe he truly was delusional and just denied things in his head.

"... Well... I don't think Calvin would happy of such an instance, but I would think everyone else would be more than happy for you and Charlie. It would be nice to meet her. She must have been a good person." Amir said with a happy smile, hiding the sadness as he knew how unlikely it was for that vault door to ever open again.

"She... She is... Amir?" Dion then suddenly asked, something troubling his mind.

Dion thought about telling about the voice he had heard this morning. But in the end, he felt like it must have just been some sort of... After the effect of his intense nightmares finally fading away? It felt like some kind of answer if he needed to think of one. Sure, it was worrying to hear someone call your name over and over... And that odd command... Or... It sounded more like begging.

"Save him"

The way he had heard that voice still make his fur bristle in scare... but what if he was really sleepwalking? And Ryan woke him up?

It was hard to truly rely on his own personal mental health was these days... But for some reason... He felt absolutely amazing.

His mind felt brighter than ever and he felt happy... Even after the argument in the morning with Ryan.

He didn't want to over complicate things for himself. He wanted to see if he truly was better... And for now, block and deny the memory of this morning's ghostly echo.

Just... Don't tell Amir about it. Nightmares are one thing but hearing voices while awake would freak him more than it did me. It just... I feel great. You are fine. You have to be. Just don't mention it to him.

Amir was looking Dion in question for a while now, starting to look a bit worried for some reason. Until Dion spoke.

"Why does Calvin dislike my dad?" Dion asked with a sudden, concerned interest in his tone.

"... What?" Amir asked.

"Ryan and... Some others have said time to time that my dad doesn't get along with the overseer. But my dad always assures everything is okay between them... Why?" Dion asked, this particular subject clearly bothering him. But he was also happy to steer the conversation out of his mom, which was not a pleasant thing for him to talk about.

"... I guess... The answer to that is just simply Charlie not wanting you to trouble your mind with it. I mean, they get along to some extent, especially these days for what I know... I mean, for what I heard Calvin let him choose Tio as an overseer to come. That is a great thing to hear. So, they must be doing better now together than they used to. But they had a lot of banters over the years about many things, I must admit."

"B-banters? Like... What? Do you know?"

"... Yes. In fact, my father told about those banters to me before his cancer took him. You know that he was very close to Charlie. They used to have meetings with Calvin together, arguing frequently about... Well..."

"... I-I'd like to know. Can you please tell me?"

"... My dad and your dad were trying to give a point across to Calvin. To me, it sounded a bit too extreme. They wanted to talk about training the younglings to... Fight and even shoot. And he talked about opening the vault door. These arguments were happening many years ago though. I guess Charlie was just restless and had a hard time getting used to his new home for some reason. I mean, they gave up on these banters eventually since Calvin didn't like those ideas at all. And to be honest, I can't blame him. Our fathers had some pretty weird ideas about the future of the vault residents."

"... I... I never even knew..." Dion said, feeling a bit speechless.

"Well... For whatever reason he isn't telling about those banters to you, I'm sure he had his reasons. I mean most knew that they were always arguing in the overseer's office, but not about the subjects itself. Maybe it was better that way."

"He... he really wanted to go back there. But... Why?" Dion asked, wondering if Amir had an answer.

"... Well... You are really asking the wrong person here, Dion... But my best guess would be... For as long as I've known Charlie Winchester... He has always struck me as a man who deals with a lot of things inside his mind... And has a hard time settling down in one place. He just... has that odd aura about him."

"... Aura?"

"... I don't know what the words are that I'm trying to reach over here. By the way Dion... You are soon missing your dads' class." Amir pointed out, clearly wondering if he had started to talk a bit too much and plating worrying thoughts in Dion's head now by accident.

"... I... Yeah... I better get going..."

"... Dion, sorry if all this troubled you. I was just trying to speak honestly to you here. As is my job as your psy-... Well, momentarily EX psychiatrist. Do remember what I said. You see the nightmares of any kind anymore that trouble you, you come back to my clinic. Always welcome here. I'm not that busy these days anyway. Almost no one gets injured here these days... Well, except for Niles this morning. Poor fella."

"... Huh? N-Niles got hurt? Is he okay?!" Dion asked in worry.

"Dion, he is fine...Well, I mean... He had a bad bruise on his stomach. He had apparently slipped on shower and hit it in the sink corner. I gave him some hard painkillers and send him on about his day. Nothing worse than that. I told him not to go train with Ryan with his hobby, but I doubt he will skip it. He and your brother are just inseparable and hard-headed. Sometimes I wonder if Niles is Winchester related, hahaha..." The bunny chuckled.

"... But... Niles trains his balance with Ryan many times a day... Odd that he slipped like that." Dion muttered in wonder.

"Well, when you are sleepy you don't always pay attention to wet floors. Glad that he didn't slip any worse. Besides, maybe he needs to do the balance training way more than he does now. Just a suggestion to Ryan as his... Well, mentor?" Amir admitted.

"H-how so?"

"... Well, this just isn't the first time these months or the past year... I mean, Niles trips around a lot. Sometimes he says though it's due to training with Ryan. The bruises I mean. He has had a lot of them. Sometimes I've thought about talking to Charlie and telling Ryan to go easier on him with their kung fu play... That boy really taking a beating sometimes. And falling down around time to time on top... Niles must have eaten more than a few of my painkiller jars during these past two years."

"... I ... But... He never really shows any pain when Ryan fights with him. And Ryan always is actually... Well, very good at controlling his strength! I really need to talk to Ryan about this when I see him. That is not healthy for Niles. I can't believe what I'm hearing..."

"Well... Niles is a tough and strong-willed kid. Maybe he doesn't just want to in your youngster's slang appear as "whimp". But it's good that you bring this up with Ryan. I would bring it up with Randal, but he would most likely not care that much. You know. But hey, your fathers' class is starting soon. Shouldn't you be going already?" Amir pointed out with a smile.

"... Yeah... I... I better go. I'll talk to Ryan about it. He needs to be more careful... And hey... Thanks, Amir... For being honest and telling about... All of this."

"My pleasure... By the way... There is a rather odd stench coming out of your clothes... Have you washed them lately?"

"W-what?" Dion asked with a puzzled smile, the question getting him a bit by surprise.

"It... It smells like... Smoke? Like... Almost metallic. I noticed it this whole time but I just had to point it out. Can't you smell it?" Amir asked in confusion.

"I... I can. And I know where it comes from too. I... It's my new hobby." Dion said suddenly.

"... Interesting! What hobby is that?" Amir asked.

"My dad is... Well, he said it's okay to tell anyone. I was about to tell Ryan this morning but I forgot. My dad is teaching me to shoot." Dion said proudly.

There was a brief silence followed, Amir lifting his eyebrows.

"He... Teaches you to... Shoot?"

"Y-yeah. He said I can train later this evening again. I'm... I'm still considering if I should. My fingers kinda hurt from all the trigger pressing. And I have things... To do..." Dion muttered, almost having a wide smile again when he remembered the upcoming date with Jill.

"Wait... Are we...? Just to be clear, are we talking about an actual gun here?" Amir asked with a rather alerting sound.

"Yeah... It's... I mean it's scary and I don't know if I could do it alone without dads supervising me. But... he said I might have some hidden talent in doing it. It... It's actually rather simple. A-and he makes sure I'm safe and the whole thing is not dangerous-" Dion tried to defend.

"Dion. You are saying that your father is actually teaching his son to shoot around with guns?" Amir asked with a very disturbed voice.

Dion now started to talk back with a bit confused tone.

"... H-he said that it's a totally normal thing... I-I think I kind of like it. It's scary but... Exciting." Dion admitted.

"... And Calvin is aware of this?" Amir asked with a serious tone.

"He said he got permission from him yesterday after personally visiting him," Dion assured.

"...." Amir stared at Dion for a while. But saw that Dion clearly was telling the truth.

"S-so... C-can I go now?" Dion asked awkwardly.

"... Yes, Dion. You can go. Have a good day." Amir said, the serious gaze turning into smile slowly on his face as he relaxed.

"I sure will!" Dion yelped happily, turning around and taking his leave.

The rabbit doctor followed with a smile as Dion opened the door and closed it after, leaving the clinic in silence.

And after the room had become quiet within a few seconds... Amir's smile faded into worried look, the bunny talking by himself, shaking his head.

"Charlie... You are one scary role model sometimes."

ACT 4

(The Ink Spots - Do I Worry)

Calvin Marston was standing in his office, zoning out on his old, wooden vinyl player. He kept looking at it mesmerized and listening to the classic Inkspots tune as he had as a habit when he needed to calm down.

He knew that this calming feeling would be soon gone. He wanted to live in this moment as long as he could. Forget himself in the music. But he knew that he had to act as professional now as he could. He had no intention to do as Charlie had commanded but he knew it would be the right thing to do as an adult. Yet, he couldn't help but to feel some sort of way about all this. He didn't feel comfortable as he would have if it would have been Niles. With him... He could have tried to be gentle even.

But now... He had no idea truly what was waiting for him. He didn't know the youth of this vault that well. He had given up on the idea or the effort to get to know any young person in this vault since...

He just didn't like the positivity around them. The hassle and energic attitude. It annoyed him... and to some degree made him jealous. He wished he could be in their age again... And do some things different. But that option was not there.

It felt like his options on anything these days were limited as they could be.

"Umm... Calvin?"

The voice spoke from the intercom, disturbing Calvin's peace as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Calvin... You there?" The voice asked again.

The weasel sighed deeply, turning off the music.

He then started walking over to his desk, clicking the button.

Before he could even answer, the voice spoke again on the line.

"Tio Tampico is here waiting for you."

The weasel winced in annoyance as he didn't need to be vocally reminded. He knew that Tio would be here just in time nine in the morning, as was agreed.

"I know, Elliot. I told you he would be coming. You didn't need to state the obvious. Let him in."

"Understood, Calvin. Sorry." The voice apologized on the line.

Calvin stood with his paws behind his back formally as the metallic door opened on the opposite side of the room.

The weasel saw as a rather slightly nervous wolf tried to play his situation off by putting up a front, clearly trying to act adult. He walked in with formal and slow steps.

After he was about two meters away from the door, Elliot closed it behind him.

And so... The silence was left inside the office.

The weasel just measured the young wolf with his gaze, not moving an inch.

"... Morning." Calvin said rather quietly and without emotion.

"Morning, overseer Calvin," Tio said rather quickly, giving a slight bow to Calvin's way.

The weasel squinted his eyes just slightly, speaking out.

"... What was that?"

"... Lo Siento?" Tio asked, no understanding the question. He saw the visible eyebrow raise on Calvin's face right away for some reason, guessing it was the slip of foreign language. He then corrected himself.

"I mean, beg your pardon?"

The weasel slowly continued.

"... What you just did. Did you just bow?" Calvin asked, his tone clearly somewhat mockingly amused by the overdone formality.

"... I... Yes, I did, Sir." Tio said.

"... I see. Interesting... Are you nervous, Tampico?" Calvin asked, clearly not having trouble noticing it.

"... N-... I believe that I might be... To some degree."

"To some degree. Ah." Calvin repeated, clearly just studying Tio's reactions very cleverly.

The wolf was now quiet, keeping his poker face and just trying not in any way embarrass himself. He was humbly here to learn. But the way Calvin was looking at him made him clearly somewhat stressed. It was like the weasel was reading a book.

"... Pardon. Sir. To some degree... Rather uncommon words to be used by the boy of... Which was your age again?" Calvin asked, starting to slowly move closer with small steps.

"Twenty, sir." The wolf said formally.

"... Winchester told me that you read a lot of books. Guaranteed it to me. It seems that there might be two realities here. Either you quickly tried to learn big words and manners this morning in a rush to impress me... Or you are just smarter than others. Which one is it, Tampico?"

"..." Tio looked like he was about to speak, feeling rather confused by the questions. He slowly spoke back with a bit nervous tone.

"I would consider myself somewhat smarter than the average person of my age, Sir."

"That so. No rehearsals? Remember, lying to your overseer is punishable offense."

Tio tried to relax under the studying eyes, talking back formally.

"No rehearsals, Sir," Tio assured.

Calvin was quiet for a while until he stopped walking and gave a slight nod.

"... Good. What kind of books you would describe as your expertise?"

"... I could name a few." Tio said quietly.

"Well, I'm waiting," Calvin said with eyeroll.

"... Games people play was rather interesting. Read that about two times now." Tio said formally.

"... Psychology lessons by Eric Berne? Really?" Calvin asked with a peaked interest.

"Y-yes, sir."

"... Surprising. I could talk about that book for ages. What else, Tampico?"

"... I... I liked The Nature of the Chemical Bond... By Linus Pauling. The book piqued my interest even if I didn't understand the basics of it first. For my luck, I found Pauling's other book, The General chemistry. Reading that helped me understand the comprehension of matter better before diving into his more detailed and wider body of work. Even if some words and ideologies are very hard to comprehend, I tried my best. Science has always taken my interest as has phycology. Mostly when it comes to a matter of chemistry. Unfortunately, ways to practice it in the vault without proper available equipment isn't open for use, as fascinating as the subjects can be." Tio explained formally.

Calvin was slightly awestruck, trying not to show it to the wolf. He had clearly asked more than he had no bargained for. Even till the point of frustration and jealousy, as the wolf was clearly being genuine about his intelligence. Slowly, Calvin focused himself and spoke back formally.

"Fascinating. Anything else you read?"

"... The old man and the sea." Tio said genuinely after a few seconds of thinking.

"... I've read the book as well." Calvin said with now more unimpressed tone, but somewhat relieved it wasn't overly smart in context.

"... I... I guess I could go through a few more titles-"

"No need. That is enough. Thank you. I just had to check where your expertise is. I guess we have something to still work on. But this is a start. At least you are not a complete idiot like the rest of your age." Calvin said normally, turning around.

Tio tried not to visibly show his surprised expression of Calvin talking so harshly. But he just stayed quiet and didn't comment on it.

The weasel slowly walked to sit behind his desk, taking a good and relaxed position on his chair.

He then looked at Tio with gaze that already should make the wolf realize what he was silently saying. He then gave a hand signal, speaking.

"Come closer."

Tio slowly got his nervousness back again from the way Calvin was looking at him, taking slow and determined steps towards the desk.

After a few seconds, he arrived, standing there and waiting for any kind of conversation opener.

"... I ought to make something clear here." Calvin said.

Tio said nothing, just nodding with an unsure expression.

"... I didn't like your grandfather personally. Nor do I really like your father either. So far, the Tampico family hasn't had that much of a good reputation by their roots in this vault. Are you aware of this?"

"... I... No, sir." Tio said with apologizing and confused tone, not having any clue about what Calvin was revealing to him.

"Mhh. Well, I guess you have to be the game-changer on that front. Becoming an overseer is quite a leap from where your family lies now. You think you have what it takes to sit on this chair, Tampico?" Calvin asked in a challenge.

"... I... Can't be sure, Sir. But I'm going to try my best to succeed your expectations." Tio said nervously, trying to keep himself headstrong under the judging eyes.

"Not just MY expectations... This vaults expectations. These people are going to have to rely on you when you take my place. That is not a small thing." Calvin tried to intimidate.

"Yes, sir," Tio said quietly.

"Yes, sir, as in you understand?" Calvin asked with a serious tone.

"Yes," Tio said back nervously.

"... You are not used to talking a lot, are you?"

".... Only when I have to, I think. I'm a man of few words." Tio said, trying to sound very strict.

".... A man of few words... I'd like that self-description if it actually came from an adult. You are not a man yet, Tampico. In my eyes, anyone who is under the age of thirty is a boy. Now..." Calvin began, leaning on the table with his elbows and talking.

"Get yourself a chair."

"... G-got it." Tio said. He tried to keep as calm and collected as he could, but clearly, he was struggling slowly. Calvin was giving him constant pressure like a tension that was all over the room, and all he could do was to go with it. He had never talked with Calvin before in his life, and he had no idea what to expect. But what he got, was something he felt like he wasn't prepared for.

The wolf took a small chair from the corner, bringing it closer to the desk. After a while of adjusting it to be near to the table as possible, he ended up sitting down and staring right at Calvin.

The weasel was quiet, and after the wolf had sat down... Everything became quiet.

The room kept that way, and Tio clearly wondered if he should say something. The weasel just kept staring at him back nervously, not liking the constant eye contact.

Suddenly, Calvin moved and looked away from Tio, starting to tap the monitors that were installed into his desk.

He just kept looking at the screens, tapping the different buttons and looking concentrated now.

Tio kept sitting on his chair, still not saying a word. He restlessly kept his back straight, slowly looking around the office a bit. He kept paying details around him. The bookcases, the vinyl player... The big rugs, elegant wooden desks and armrest having, comfortable-looking chairs with red satin covers. The plastic plants in the corners, and the bright ceiling lights. He then looked at the round, big window on his left side. And from where he sat, he could see at the back of the dining hall. In order to see his friends who were closest to the window, he would have to walk closer. He could hear some muffled sound of dining when he really paid attention. Along with small chatters. And right now, sitting here in this office... He somehow did get somewhat of a somber feeling of not being there to dine with his friends like usually.

"... It never gets any different." Calvin said quietly as he was still clicking the monitors.

"... Qué? I-I mean, what?" Tio asked suddenly, broken from his line of thought.

Calvin looked at Tio now slowly with small annoyance, speaking strictly.

"... You don't speak Spanish here. In this room, we speak English. I'll let that one slide this time."

"I-I apologize," Tio said quietly now, feeling like he was being on thin ice the more he answered to anything.

Calvin then hummed quietly, repeating what he said.

"I said that it never gets any different. The noise. Hearing young people enjoying themselves every morning. They don't know how easy they have it. This job... It takes everything you got. When you become an overseer, like me... It gets lonely. Because these mammals don't see you in the same light anymore as they did when you were just a vault citizen. They look at you differently. They speak to you differently. They talk behind your back about you all the time. And you simply bear up and accept that harsh fact of being the leader in here. It's lonely. That sound you are hearing now, it's the closest you might feel about your old life than what you get. Once you get this title and I retire... You are going to have to deal with what comes with it. People spoke about me kinder when I was still a citizen."

"... I believe that." Tio said quietly with an understanding tone. But realizing what Calvin had just stated, made him feel somewhat uneasy, despite not being that social.

"... Are you a social person, Tampico?"

"... Only when I need to be. I don't really like people." The wolf said, trying to sound honest.

Calvin raised an eyebrow to that, clearly taking somewhat liking on the fact that Tio didn't even try to deny it.

"... Huh. Then you have an advantage to some degree. If you didn't like people before, you won't mind as much when you realize that they don't really treat you the same anymore."

"..." Tio didn't answer, not knowing how to feel about that.

"I have a feeling that you didn't exactly expect to hear all this. The only friend that I have now on this job is Randal, due to him being my brother in law. This job distances you from others. I even lost my wife, because I didn't have enough time for her and all she wanted to do was party. I had my own sorrows that made me not enjoy my time among others. Because I wanted to be dedicated and change things and rules. The stress from this work is unbearable sometimes. Everyone expects you to lead and run this place like a clockwork, but they don't really care about how you are handling things on an emotional level. You become a robot to them... A robot they fear, respect, or despise. But they do not love you. If they did once, not anymore. The same has applied to every single overseer during the dawn of time in this vault. They all suffered the same depression while others were too busy having fun. No matter who you were before you took this job... There is no room for happiness."

Tio was quiet for a while, feeling like there was something that bothered him on Calvin's logic. But he thought maybe it was better for him not to.

"Speak," Calvin said suddenly.

Tio looked a bit alerted first, as the weasel continued.

"You clearly feel some type of way about what I just said. You are here to learn, so back and forth is necessary. Just say what you think."

Tio swallowed a bit, looking at the window and pondering his words a bit before laying them out.

"... Maybe it only applies to people like you and me?" Tio asked genuinely.

"... Elaborate." The weasel said.

"With all due respect, maybe you could be somewhat... Wrong in your logic. I am not popular among the people of my age. I am... Too nerdy for them... I am bad at talking to girls. I spend all my time on books and feel like I hang around my friends because it's just what you do to not feel completely isolated..."

"So far I can relate to what you are saying, Tio." Calvin suddenly admitted and sighed as he spoke.

"My childhood here was rough. I was smarter than others, I was quieter than others, and I got bullied for it. The bullying is not as big of an issue right now in here as it was back then. Or even time before me. I had no girlfriend, and I only had a few friends. This job... As much as it distanced me more from others, it came me some sort of a feeling of being healed. To be untouchable. But even more lonely." The weasel said with a somewhat sad tone like he was going through all of it again.

"... I-I didn't know." Tio said back quietly, sounding apologizing.

"There as you can see, you prove my point. People don't care about who you are or were as a person. To them, you are a robot." Calvin sighed.

The quiet mood stayed between them for a while, until Calvin continued.

"I believe I interrupted you. Did you have a point where you were going earlier?" Calvin asked with a slight interest, leaning back on his chair now and crossing his arms.

Tio hesitated for a while and spoke quietly.

"... I... I think all I wanted to say is... Maybe it's just because of our nature."

"Nature?" The weasel asked, not understanding.

"Maybe they don't treat the overseers different out of it being some automatic system they put on. It would apply to me most likely as it did to you because we are antisocial. But if the person was truly loved by everyone and very social before becoming an overseer, I doubt they would act that much bluntly towards that person. I... I know that this job takes a lot of your free time but walking among people daily and sparing time for them still would help, no?" Tio asked like it made sense.

"... People that have called for this job since a young age are rarely loved. We are dedicated and fall into the nerd stereotype. So, it follows up by somewhat the same treatment every time. Shunning overly wise and antisocial, nerdy people is a norm for the people with low intelligence. You don't get love in this job, no matter who you were. Trust my word. My great grandfather was loved by half of the population until he managed to be seven years as the overseer... And killed himself due to the depression with med x overdose."

"... I-I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't know." Tio said back with a shocked tone.

"... Not many in here do. People just forget you. You get soaked in by doing terminal work, managing the rations, logging in the water storage, taking care of people's overall health, controlling breakouts of violence, set rules that they might not follow, keep eye on illegal activities, be judge as result of crime, write down logs of everyday events, listen to the complaints of people that storm here with their selfish needs... Dumb all this one man's shoulders and watch him become someone completely else."

The weasel sighed after laying his heart out a bit. He found it pleasing that Tio was at least listening with proper respect and clearly thought about what he had heard. But then suddenly, Tio carefully spoke out.

"... What about Mr. Winchester?"

And right at that moment, Tio realized he had changed the energy on Calvin out of accident. The weasel tensed up, clearly feeling annoyed deeply from even hearing the name.

"What about him?" He asked slowly.

"I... If there would be a scenario of him becoming an overseer, I doubt people would treat him... Like you said people usually treat the overseers... I don't think it would apply to him. I think he would still be loved. And he wouldn't be feared or treated as a robot." Tio said, clearly believing in that fact.

"... Are you saying this as an objective matter of opinion or out of your personal admiration for him?" Calvin asked bluntly.

"... I-I think both." Tio said hesitantly.

"... You think that Charlie Winchester would be a better overseer than me?" Calvin asked with pressure.

Now Tio looked a bit defensive, realizing he had most likely just unintentionally offended Calvin.

"N-no, not at all. I'm just trying to point out that... If you would have... Had Charlie's nature... Maybe people wouldn't treat... I-I'm just saying that I sometimes I wish I had his courage or... Just... I wish I was better with people. Then maybe I wouldn't end up being... Lonely when- IF I become an overseer... I... I guess that was what I was trying to say, but maybe I articulated myself wrong."

"What you are trying to indirectly state here is that my logic is shit and the only reason people didn't like me after I became an overseer was because they never liked me in the first place like they do in Winchester's case. And I should only blame myself for it, is that it? You think that because I have a muzzle, I just pour out words without meaning?"

"I-my intention was not to offend, Sir. I was just-"

"You were just... What? Telling me that I am an asshole? I'm trying my best here to be patient with you when I didn't want you for this job in the first place. So far, as promising you have been on an intellectual level for this job, you have managed to annoy me by questioning my words-"

"Lo siento- I MEAN! I apologize, Mr. Marston-" Tio began, panicking now a bit.

Calvin clearly was tipped off a bit by the slipped Spanish, but as he clearly saw that it had slipped by accident, he stopped Tio's talking with hand suggestive, sighing and leaning back towards the wolf, laying his hands on the table and speaking.

"Enough. I'm just going to set one rule straight between us right now. Charlie Winchester's name will not be spoken in this room any longer. Not unless it is absolutely necessary. I despise that man. And I do not want to hear about him. Is that absolutely understood?" Calvin asked, looking at Tio with intense eye contact.

"... Yes... Understood, sir." Tio said, rather confused how on earth was Charlie such a bad subject for Calvin. He knew that they didn't like each other, but not on this level.

"... Mmh. Tell me... Tampico... Do you really want this job?"

"... I do." Tio said after a while with a convincing tone and nodded.

"... How long had you wanted this then?" Calvin asked, calming down slowly.

"... I... I didn't realize how much I saw it as my calling until mister-... Until you know who talked about it. I just... There really isn't that much variety on the jobs here in the vault to choose from... N-not when it comes to my capabilities at least-"

"Let me stop you right there. You have wanted this job for one day?" Calvin asked with amusement.

"... Sir, it feels like whatever I find as an answer to your question, it only makes your opinion of me worse. How about I prove myself and we could... Start?" Tio asked, almost sounding begging as he tried not to sweat under the judging eyes.

"..." Calvin was now quiet, leaning back slowly on his chair and eyeing the Mexican wolf, clearly seeing how stressed and on the verge of breaking down the wolf was. It could be seen that he was never used to talking this much on one sitting.

The weasel finally took his eyes off from Tio and sighed as he looked at the round window.

"Did you know that the man who shall not be named came into my office yesterday, demanding rather strictly that I would show extreme patience and goodwill towards you?"

"... W-why would he do that?" Tio asked in confusion.

"... You tell me. I consider myself strict but fair. Because that is the nature of this job needs. Did go over to cry to him about being scared of walking into my office, Tampico?" The weasel asked mockingly.

"Absolutely not, s-sir," Tio said, the uncomfortable feeling under the continuing judgment making him want to walk out of the room.

"You sure? You seem rather nervous. Are you afraid of me, Tampico?"

"N-no, Mr. Marston," Tio said, trying to convince himself. He was so full of anxiety, not understanding how their rather calm discussion and even mutually relatable moment had turned all the way into this direction after even mentioning Charlie.

"You should be. Because I am the one who decides if you are worthy of learning my everyday tasks. You need to be learning to respect me more. Lying doesn't help your case. Did you go and talk to Winchester about being afraid of me?"

"... I promise you, sir. I did not!" Tio said rather loudly, making Calvin's eyes widen a bit.

The silence settled in once more, the weasel contemplating and speaking quietly.

"... Your lesson for the day is over. Have the rest of the day free." Calvin said, grunting in an annoyance.

"... Que?" Tio asked until he realized he had accidentally answered in Spanish, the weasel slowly closing his eyes and looking like he was about to boil.

Tio slowly rose up from his chair, starting to explain himself in panicked defense.

"Look, Mr. Marston! I didn't mean- I am not normally like this! I speak my mother's language when I get angry or stressed! I... I apologize if I have offended you in any way! I just want to be worthy of being your apprentice!... I promise I won't mention Winchester anymore! A-and I see that you clearly find me annoying, but I am trying my best here! I didn't ask for any help from Winchester, and I didn't... Please, Mr. Winchester... I want this job, and I want to be worthy of it!... B-but pressuring me like this makes me all riled up and I feel uncomfortable if someone looks at me for too long, it's not your fault it's my fault, but I assure that if you let me-"

"SHHhshshs, jeeeesus christ... Stop right now!" Calvin ordered, the wolf stopping his panicked yelling and huffing like a mess.

The weasel waited for the wolf to even somewhat calm down his breathing. In a sense, he slowly started to wonder if he had been too harsh. But he just felt like something was off about the wolf in front of him, and he didn't like it. He always trusted his hunches. And right now, he felt like all the energy was draining out of him when it came to teaching Tio. He started to think if this would even work at all, but Charlie had not left him any choice. He would have to get along with this boy. But not today. He needed time to think.

"... I accept your apology, Tio. But you have to understand, this is not something I enjoy. Training you, I mean. Or even the idea of it. I wanted Niles. I didn't get him since he didn't want the job. I am stuck with you. You are smart and you show promise... But... I am going to need you to leave so I can gather myself. What I mean by that, I need a bit more time to contemplate how we are going to make this work."

"... S-so you want me to leave, correct?" Tio asked carefully, sounding relieved but also ashamed that this meeting had gone rather horribly. He had already expected to learn how to use the monitors today. But Calvin clearly wasn't in the mood for such by a mile.

The weasel sighed and took a slow spin on his chair, facing the back of his seat at Tio now. He then spoke.

"... Yes. Return to my office nine in the morning tomorrow, just like today. I'm going to need some time alone. Go and have fun with your friends while you still can, Tampico. You are soon going to be too busy for such."

Tio felt like he was a total failure, the negative tone on Calvin making it clear that he was not going to enjoy this training by Calvin for a long time.

"... I... I just wanted to say that-" Tio began with an apologizing and quiet tone.

"Tampico. Fuck out of my office." The weasel said bluntly.

The wolf felt like he had just been struck with a back of a verbal hand. He quickly turned around, giving one last apologizing, and even an angry gaze at Calvin's way, before he was at the door.

The weasel listened as the door opened, and slowly after, it closed.

Calvin could even hear the confused guard ask something from the wolf, but Tio didn't answer anything as he started to walk down the stairs.

The door closed slowly after, the sound of metal clicking itself down making the weasel breath out like it was a release. He slowly muttered with closed eyes.

"God... Why are you punishing me over and over?"

The weasel took a breath, slowly opening his eyes and rising up from his chair. He slowly started to walk towards the vinyl player, not hesitating to turn the music on within few seconds. Soon, the earlier tune started to play again in his room... And the weasel felt his whole posture relax, muttering by himself.

"... Maybe he was right... Maybe I am just an asshole after all..."

ACT 5

(Ann Peebles - Trouble Heartaches & Sadness)

As children, vault fifty-five would be the best possible place for hide and seek. That is something Dion and Ryan learned rather fast after getting accommodated into the society underground. The vault had so much room but was underpopulated. Some areas around the vault were not on constant nor daily use at all. In truth, only about seventy percent of the areas were stood during the day, when some rooms and living areas stayed absent of use. Some small cafeteria rooms were abandoned, some living quarters stayed locked down, and some of the toilets were not in general function when it came to water flow or electricity. So there simply were some dark areas in the vault in order for them to keep electricity use smart and durable. If there were no living mammals living around some places, they were simply out of use in every possible way. Most likely even dusty and unorganized.

Right now... Dion Winchester was standing outside one of these areas. It was a closed down cafeteria, the windows next to the door very absent of revealing the interior. It was simply dark and unused living space.

Dion wasn't completely sure exactly why this was the meeting place. Jill's friend had come to tell him to show up in this exact location and sit tight. So, Dion just did as he was told. He would assume that at least one of the guards would stroll around this area as a routine. Most likely even asking what Dion was even doing around there. But so far, there was no one here. The clock was ten in the morning already. Charlie had thought his students about pre-war money this morning. It wasn't really as exciting as his subjects of the week so far, but it was an otherwise enjoyable class, as always. The only thing that bothering to some extent, was that Tio was not there anymore to sit with them. Jacob clearly had been somewhat restless now that he didn't have anyone to hassle or tease around, so the German shepherd had settled on Sam and Dion as targets. Which wasn't as successful and entertaining for the dog.

After the class was over, Sam and Jacob took their leave to hang out with Ryan and Niles under the maintenance deck. They wished well for Dion in his date, and he promised to join their company later on the day.

Only thoughts Dion really had among with being stressed out of his mind as he waited for the Siamese cat to arrive on the spot, was this morning's odd and ghostly sounds... And Tio.

He shouldn't have maybe lied to Amir. He started to regret it. The more he thought about the situation that he had, the more he started to wonder if he really just had mental illness that evolved in some sort of... Stages. There were no nightmares but now he heard voices while awake... Or did he? It must have been at least something. Someone whispering your name coldly around you isn't exactly nothing. But he didn't see anyone. And that... That odd coldness... It was like the heating had broken down in the room. Maybe it was just a dysfunction in the vault machinery or something... And the lights... And... Am I making excuses now? Or am I just... God, I just hope my nightmares are over and they won't come back.

Even if... It's the only thing that reminds me daily how my mother sounds like... Even if it's horrifying to hear her so scared for some reason.

And I still can't put myself to understand... Who is Owen? Why did she scream that name?

Nothing about the nightmare makes sense.

Okay, don't think about all this too much. You still have a date ahead of you. And you have to apologize to your brother about what you said this morning.

... Or... Do I really?

I want to... But it... Wouldn't take away the fact that I said what I felt at that moment.

And Tio... I hope that Tio is doing great on his first day at the overseer's office. He seemed so dedicated yesterday... And maybe this new job will make him even happier to some degree. Who knows? ... I look like an idiot just standing around here.

What if I bump into Farin and Maurice while I'm in here? I would get so badly beaten. I just have this nervous feeling in my gut. But I have to wait for her to come so I-

Just relax. Don't start to act weird now like you always are. Try to act finally normal once in your life. She doesn't want some weirdo to be his potential-

"Hi, Dion."

And right at that moment, the voice made him feel weak, as he turned to look right next to him.

His heart started racing and the awkward, blatantly nervous smile came on his face.

"O-oh, I didn't notice-"

"Nono, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sneaked up on you like this. You just looked so concentrated on something and-"

"No, you don't have to apologize, I was just-"

They both stopped their nervous rambling at the same time, the husky feeling like he could sink under the earth at this moment, still having the same smile on his face like his muzzle was glued to stay in that position.

Surprisingly, the cat could only burst out to laugh a little bit due to the silliness of their reaction, apologizing on top of each other. Dion clearly didn't know if the laugh was a good sign or no, but Jill spoke after a while.

"I guess we sound a bit silly here. Umm... What were you thinking about, if I may ask?" The Siamese cat asked innocently.

"... Oh! Uhhh... Now that you mention I... Yeah, it passed. It was nothing important." Dion muttered, rubbing the back of his head and trying his best to relax, but it was damn hard due the heart racing and feeling like it was about to catch his throat.

"... I see. Hey... You okay? You look a bit tense. More than usual." The girl pointed out with a genuine worry.

"It's... I've never been... On a... Yeah, you know. You know?" Dion muttered awkwardly, feeling like he was the worst date already in history.

"... On a date?" Jill asked with a sly smile.

"... That's the word." Dion let out with a huff, feeling like he needed time to catch breath.

"... Dion, I've never been on a date either." The cat admitted with a shy smile now, trying not to squirm.

"S-so, you are not nervous at all?" Dion asked.

"... To be honest? So nervous that I could die, but I guess I'm just really good at hiding it. You know? Like, if you prep yourself to something for a long time, you kinda create a visible wall and... Okay, that sounds a bit too much. It's like I would convince myself to act like I normally wouldn't-"

"Nonono, I get it, I get it. It's like... Yeah, now I don't even know how to answer." Dion said, giving an awkward chuckle and feeling like he couldn't just manage the grasp on proper English language itself today.

"... Actually, Dion... You are making this easier for me. Without most likely meaning it. But I'm just saying... You being so visibly... Well, stressed. It makes me cope with this whole date thing better. I've thought about this moment many times... Have you?"

"... So many times, I can't count." Dion said, feeling like it was something he could let out with true honesty in his stress.

Until he realized how dreamily the words had come out and along with affection.

And that made the cat visibly have the reaction on her face, her eyelids lowering a bit as he spoke with a quiet and pleased tone.

"I see."

Dion felt like his temperature raised a bit too high after realizing how passionate he had sounded by accident. And it clearly had worked on his favor to some degree.

Jill started to slowly approach him with careful steps and alluring look.

The dog tensed up instantly, feeling his heart rate starting to race again when it just was about to go slower.

The cat stopped right about a foot away from the dog, making a smooth spin and looking at the door right next to the dog, Dion confused about sudden act. The cat looked over her shoulder and speaking innocently.

"Excuse me for a moment but... I need to open this lock. We are not supposed to go in here, but I've always wanted to see what there could be behind one of these doors. This cafeteria might be dusty, but at least it gives privacy, you know?"

"Pr-privacy?" Dion asked, suddenly having a thousand questions at once.

Jill gave a wink and suddenly went on her knees, starting to tinker with the locking mechanism and muttering.

"You know, to have the date. I mean, standing around here isn't that exciting, and if we would go to the dining hall or pretty much anywhere else, people would just come to pester us around. Everyone by now knows that we are about to have a date." Jill reasoned.

"I... T-that makes sense, WAIT did you say everyone?" Dion suddenly asked in worry.

"Boys talk. Girls talk more. You know how it is." Jill sighed, suddenly stopping tinkering the lock and looking at Dion slowly. The dog looked more than concerned.

"A-are you okay with this? I'm sorry, is this a bit too much? W-we can go somewhere else if you know a place." Jill said, looking embarrassed right away.

"I-it's not- No, I'm fine with... I didn't just know that you know how to... Lockpick things..." Dion muttered, more than surprised clearly.

"It's... A weird side hobby, I know... Not something girls usually do. I'm pretty good at it tho." She said proudly with a smile.

"... That's... Cool." Dion said, giving an unsure smile.

That made Jill quiet for a moment as the proud smile turned into small worry.

"... Y-you won't tell anyone, right? I know I would get in serious trouble for-"

"Nonono, I won't tell! I promise! It's cool. We cool. All cool." Dion muttered, the awkwardness creeping into him. He had never done anything forbidden like this. What Jill was doing, unexpected, but more than that, it was highly against the vault rules.

"... Good. Thanks, handsome." Jill said with a relieved smile, turning around and starting to tinker the lock again with a concentrated face and poking her tongue out in the process.

Dion was just standing awkwardly as guard, watching around in the case of anyone coming to surprise them on the spot. There were no sounds to be heard from anywhere around them, for their sake. Only the sound of bobby pin scrambling the lock.

Dion couldn't help but smile despite the great amount of anxiety of this odd situation, due to Jill just calling him handsome with such tone. So, what if this was not a legal thing to do in the vault? Dion, stop being a whimp and just act cool for once. She clearly knows what she's doing. Be cool once in your life and don't tell anyone... We are so screwed if we get caught.

CLICK

The metal door opened.

Dion almost jumped a bit in reaction, Jill hissing in a small victory.

"Yes!"

"Woah... You really got it open." Dion said in awe.

"Easy peasy. This lock was rather low quality." Jill said with a confident tone, raising back on her knees slowly and turning to look over her shoulder at the dog who was smiling back awkwardly again.

"... Yeah... I... I-I guess we should peep in then, huh?"

"Probably a good idea... Jacob's dad might patrol around here any moment." Dion said nervously.

"... Agreed... So... Khrm... After you, Mr. Winchester." Jill said with a shy look but the gaze was filled with nothing but flirt.

The dog fumed a bit from the words, swallowing visibly as he gave a small chuckle and slowly walked past the cat and into the abandoned cafeteria room.

Jill slowly made sure there was no one looking at them. She took few cautious gazes around the area, then slowly walking right after the husky and closing the door after them, leaving total silence on the hallway.

FEW MOMENTS LATER

Dion was sitting in a comfy but dusty booth seat, wiping the table nervously with a piece of towel he had found. This room had most likely not been used in the last fifty years. It wasn't awfully dirty, but you could clearly get your feet in some dust as you walked around the place. There were just a few tables and booth benches around, his current one being the cleanest looking. It was right next to a window that would normally have a clear vision to the hallway if it wasn't for such dim light and dirt on the window overall.

The pip-boy that Dion had placed next to him gave nice and soothing light around the interior, making everything somewhat to be seen in a nice sized cafeteria.

The brown-furred husky kept squirming nervously, cleaning the table and muttering about how dusty it was, all the while as the female cat was looking at him longingly, letting him do his thing. She suddenly spoke out of small shy interest.

"Dion... Why are you exactly... You know, cleaning the table? It's not like we are going to dine here anyway. Besides we just ate two hours ago."

"O-oh. Right. Yeah. I umm... I just am not used to... I guess it just came out as a reaction or something. I don't want my elbows covered in... You know what, maybe I should stop, it's just dust." Dion muttered, placing the towel away. The small table between them was mostly cleaned already, and now he was just trying to scrub it into perfection. The dog started to tap his fingers on the table, awkwardly giving a look at Jill and wondering what to say. But the words didn't come out. Jill then spoke carefully with an equally awkward smile.

"... I am still stressed too, Dion. Maybe we should just... You know... Chill?" Jill asked as suggestion, clearly seeing that the dog was just doing this out of not being able to hold eye contact or figure out any interesting conversation.

"Yyyyyeah... I... I've never been on a date with a girl before, I should be so much better at this but I can't lie, I'm... struggling." Dion chuckled, rubbing his face a bit with his paw and staring at the dirty window a while in the dim room.

"... You ever been on a date with a guy then?" Jill asked teasingly.

"W-what? No!" Dion suddenly answered as a wake up after realizing what Jill had just asked.

"It was a poor joke. Sorry. I'm... Practicing to be funnier. My dad tells jokes all the time and it has kinda stuck on me over the years." Jill explained.

"... That's... Cool. Jokes. Yeah." Dion muttered back with a smile, feeling like he wanted to slap himself for not being able to talk back smoothly, no matter how much he tried to put himself to it.

"... Soo, umm... Your dad's class was nice today." Jill said slowly, trying to make the situation speed up.

"Oh, yeah, it was... To be honest, the subject in itself was kind of... I mean, he has talked about pre-war money at least three times before."

"... yeah, I know. I just always kind of found the idea interesting. How many people do for a piece of paper."

"... a lot of bad things most likely... Sometimes I actually worry that... Could it be that one day my dad runs out of things to teach?" Dion suddenly asked, almost like Jill as a classmate could answer the question he had been thinking about for some time.

"What makes you think that?" Jill asked with sudden interest.

"It just sometimes feels he has a hard time figuring what to tell anymore. Maybe I'm just paranoid but... when it comes to classes... He circles around the same subject's time to time. And he looks a bit restless these days. I dunno..." Dion muttered, wondering if he was just overtalking it now.

"... Huh. I think I've never noticed it. But he is your father, makes sense if you realize these things better." Jill stated, even if she clearly wasn't sure fully if she agreed.

"Yeah..." Dion said quietly and looked at Jill again. The cat was just smiling back innocently until she spoke again.

"... It's funny, you know?"

"Huh?"

"How people usually say that in dates, males should take the lead. But when it finally happens, I find myself struggling with this whole thing just as much." Jill said with amusement and shrugged.

"Nonono, I think you are doing great. The fault is in me."

"Aaand then the men take the blame. Come on, I am boring."

"What?! No, I am boring. I can't literally figure out anything to say. You are not boring at all, you... Are like... The most interesting person I know here." Dion explained quickly almost as in defense.

The cat clearly liked that, looking a bit bothered pleasantly.

"... Is that so?" Jill asked with a shy smile.

"... Yeah." Dion said, trying to look confident but failing miserably.

"I always thought you were interesting too... And I mean, not because your father being the coolest guy in the whole vault but because you were always kind of... Mysterious?"

"Mysterious?" Dion asked, now slowly taking courage back to look at Jill.

"You always had that strange aura around you. I always thought you seemed a bit... Secretive? You and your brother have always stood out from others." Jill explained as best as he could.

"... Really?" Dion asked like he didn't understand.

"To some degree at least. I mean... I'm quite sure you know what I mean. You two are not the same as everyone else by behavior."

"Is that... Bad?" Dion asked with an eyebrow raise.

"... No. It's quite the opposite. It's intriguing." Jill admitted, looking at the window with a smile and waving her tail around enchantingly, making Dion follow it's mischievous movement and spoke back slowly with a genuine smile.

"... Well... I always thought of myself as pretty normal."

"Not to me. And I don't mean that in an offensive way. I guess what I am trying to tell is, you are interesting." Jill said, looking back at Dion.

The dog closed his eyes and smiled awkwardly as he brushed back of his head.

"... T-Thanks. I guess... But... I don't really see it."

"... I guess it's just the self-criticism in us all." Jill admitted.

"Tell me about it..." Dion said with a small chuckle, realizing that he started to slowly feel his tensed-up body somewhat relax. Jill was surprisingly good at making one feel comfortable during small talk.

"... Are you still regretting we broke in here?" Jill asked carefully, absent of a smile.

"I-It doesn't bother me... I just... I've never..." Dion tried to explain, trying not to seem like a whimp.

"Broken the rules of the vault?" Jill asked carefully.

"... Yeah." The dog admitted finally.

"... Do you want us to leave? You know we can." The cat suggested nervously.

Dion then turned to look at Jill and smiled a bit.

"... No. You went all the trouble through with the lock and... It is kind of calming here. Quiet."

"... Agreed... Umm... This is so weird, don't you think?"

"... This whole date thing orrr?" Dion asked, clearly thinking the same.

"Not... Exactly the date itself but... Just this feeling. I've wanted to have this moment with you for so long and now that we finally sit here... I can't figure out anything truly to say." Jill explained.

"... You are not alone in that... I'm working my brain right now to say pretty much anything." Dion explained shyly.

"... Yet in the end... Why do we always see it as a necessity?" Jill asked with innocent interest, looking at the window, pretty sure that she saw someone's shadow pass by. Most likely a guard.

Dion noticed it as well, staying quiet for a moment, and talking when he felt like the person was gone.

"... What do you mean?"

"To overthink and figure out tons of things to say like the whole occasion was meant to be all robotic and pre-written?" Jill asked, still looking at the window.

"... I guess it's a habit." Dion guessed, not really knowing the answer.

"... I feel like we both just are trying too much right now. I am genuinely just happy that we can finally... You know. Hold a conversation together, even if we both find it awkward." Jill said, turning to look at Dion with a smile.

"... But shouldn't guy usually... Take the lead in these situations? By now, I should have... Figured out at least something interesting to say about-"

Jill then stopped Dion's rambling, giggling and speaking quietly as Dion stopped talking.

"Maybe that's the problem. The rules. Whoever shaped them to be a thing... Was a hell of a more confident. You know what? Maybe we should do it other way around." She suggested playfully.

"... Huh?" Dion asked, tilting his head a bit.

....

The cat slowly started to look shyly away as she moved her paw on the table, reaching for something awkwardly. Dion wasn't sure what she was implying first... Until he looked down and saw that Jill was reaching for his paw.

The dog's heart started to race a bit as he swallowed, shaking a bit as he opened his paw slowly, and moved it just a bit closer...

And the cat slowly and gently felt it against hers, wrapping her fingers around Dion's.

Slowly they worked it out, holding each other's paw and slowly lifting their gazes to look at one another.

They both just smiled, Dion feeling himself still stress but feel so warm over the kind and intimate gesture. She then cleared her throat and spoke.

"So... Is my next step to go and boast to my gals... Yo, I held paw on a first date-" Jill began, imitating some buff guy with her voice.

"HAhaahha!" Dion let out in surprise, not expecting those as the first words. As the dog kept laughing, Jill just continued with the voice.

"I-it happened so quick! I was just like YYEeeah, this was everything I ever wished for. It's just as good as everyone says." Jill spoke in sarcasm, ending up giggling for her own attitude. But more than glad that Dion found it funny as well.

"Aaaahh... Ahah... Wow. Are you assuming that will be the first thing I would do after this date?" Dion asked, still chuckling for the naughty joke.

"... You don't really strike me as someone who would." She said genuinely.

"That's... Putting it mildly. I don't think I even want to tell about any of this. Not all things need to be talked about." Dion promised.

"Jacob is your best friend though. You trying to tell me that you wouldn't tell him about our date if he insists?" Jill asked with a grin.

"... Yeah, he is pretty effective on insisting things." Dion admitted both laughing.

"I've noticed. What was that situation about recently in the dining hall?" She suddenly asked.

"What situation?" Dion asked in confusion.

"Jacob... Everyone saw him getting all aggravated in the dining hall and yelling at Tio. He looked so uncomfortable."

"... W-why was he yelling at him?" Dion asked in confusion.

"Well, not exactly straight up yelling but raising his voice and looking a bit angry. He yelled that Tio didn't care about anyone in the table or considered them as friends. I didn't hear all that but it was passed down along the tables. You know how it goes with us. Considering you guys are the most known group out of everyone." Jill explained carefully.

Dion was quiet for a while, clearly more than concerned.

"... N-not even Ryan told me about anything like that. I've never seen Jacob yelling let alone angry... Except this one time with Farin and Maurice, but... Why would he think Tio doesn't care about us?"

Jill then answered back with an honest tone.

"I don't know. I just... Assumed you had some insight into it all... It's odd that no one told you. But in the end, it's not my business at all."

"... Sometimes I wish it would... I-I mean..." Dion started to speak slowly, him looking shy now.

"What?"

"I think I'm just trying to say that... Sometimes I wished that you hanged out with us. All the way from the beginning. Sometimes I wonder if you would have fit in." Dion admitted with a genuine smile.

"... I don't know. Maybe? I guess some would look it oddly if a girl was hanging in a guy group all the time." She admitted with a smile.

"... I guess it's the rules someone set once again." Dion pointed out with an awkward chuckle.

"... You might be right on that one." Jill said with an amused tone.

Suddenly, both went quiet again.

They were looking down on the table, Dion holding Jill's paw and both caressing each other a bit, clearly trying to figure out what to say again. But for a moment, it felt like they didn't need to. Dion and Jill both felt small confidence as they smiled, looking at each other still shyly.

"... Since we were talking about Jacob... There was this one thing that he personally suggested for me to do."

"... Oh?" Jill asked with interest.

"... Yeah, but... I... I don't think I should do it." Dion admitted, looking away from Jill now and visibly regretting he even opened his muzzle.

Jill's face lighted up with interest as she spoke now.

"Nonono Dion, you can't do that. You can't just bring up something that interesting and drop it. What did Jacob suggest you as dating advice?" Jill asked with a genuine interest.

"... It's dumb, and I... It wasn't exactly advice... I should have stayed quiet. Just forget about it."

"I don't think I will. I think you are picking up my interest by the seconds, charming. You want to leave me guessing through possible options?" Jill teased.

"... I... It's silly. Look, even this awkward silence is better than his suggestion-"

"Mmmmhh, well your smile says otherwise. Besides, Jacob has been on plenty of dates with my friends." Jill pointed out as a fact.

"Maybe he tried out his own advice and it explains why he isn't currently in a relationship," Dion said with a small laugh, feeling horrible right after saying it, Jill laughing in surprise.

"Ooooh, that is meeean, Dion. How would Jacob react to such a verbal backstab?"

"Don't tell him I said that. I just... I tried to be funny but I suck at it." Dion admitted, wanting to hit is head on the table.

"Well, you are not here as my entertainment. It's not a comedy contest." Jill pointed out.

"... I know... I just... I guess I just want to impress." Dion stated with an embarrassed tone.

"Why do you sound so embarrassed? So far you have done quite well on this whole date thing." Jill tried to encourage.

"... But have I really?" Dion asked honestly, looking at Jill and sounding self-disappointed.

Jill was quiet, feeling a bit sad as the husky boy clearly was feeling like he was letting Jill down so far. She then gave a small and comfortable squeeze on Dion's paw, speaking back.

"You know what? That suggestion that Jacob gave you... Just lay it out for me. See my reaction. I promise I won't laugh."

"And I thought I almost slipped away..." Dion muttered shyly, looking away from Jill.

"Na ah. This is too interesting. Come on. Just say it." Jill insisted.

".... He... thought that we should try..." Dion began, rubbing the back of his head.

"... What?" Jill asked, almost exploding from anticipation.

"... Dancing." Dion finally let out.

"... Dancing. With like... Music?" Jill asked, clearly amused and not expecting this answer.

"See? That was so silly-" Dion began, letting go accidentally of Jill's paw and waving his hands in apology as he chuckled awkwardly.

"Wait, you clearly liked the idea!" Jill pointed out with a smile, almost like getting Dion off guard.

"I didn't say I did-" Dion began in defense.

"But sometimes you can just see when someone did. You said to him you would do it, didn't you?" Jill asked, almost like Dion was a bit easy to read at the moment.

"I might have told him I would do it, just to make him quit talking about it. But... It doesn't mean that..."

"Do you want to?"

"... W-what?"

"I can dance with you," Jill said like it was settled.

"B-but I haven't even-"

"Come on, it will be fun! I can totally dance with you if you want to." Jill now said, feeling excited.

"... A-are you saying that just to be kind-"

"No. I'm saying it because I mean it. I've never danced with a guy before and I'd love to try." The Siamese cat said excitedly, her tail dancing around already.

"... But you have danced with girls then?" Dion said back with an awkward smirk, trying to be a smart ass.

"Maybe... Can you dance?" Jill smirked right back.

"... I... I think so." Dion said, clearly trying to downplay it. But Jill saw through it.

"... Uuuh, self-confidence after all. So... What are we dancing to? You got a song?" Jill asked.

"... I can choose a song?" Dion asked in surprise, clearly having thought it would be in Jill's choosing.

"Be my guest. You still okay with this, right?" She asked carefully, trying to calm down her overexcitement.

Dion looked at the window, trying to hide his face as he wagged his tail, feeling like he was about to jump back on the hallway from the stress. But yet, he felt so warm and happy that Jill was taking a liking into him this much. She was clearly leading this date, there was no way around it. But somehow, she still made him feel comfortable despite that side fact.

"I'm so nervous that I could die and my heart is about to catch my throat, but otherwise, yeah... I-I'm okay with this. "Dion said quietly, looking at Jill with the awkward smile.

"... You are not the only one that is nervous, Dion... But I think... Sometimes you just have to jump into situations to make them lead somewhere. That's what my mom always tells me."

"I... I guess you are right." Dion said quietly.

"Thank you. Now, take your time with the song, handsome. I'll wait." Jill said, leaning against the back of the booth bench and looking at Dion with an alluring look. She was clearly enjoying the husky's innocent shyness.

Dion started to tinker with his pip-boy, going through his collection of songs.

After a while, he seemed to have found something fitting.

The cat followed with her gaze as the dog rose up from the seat after scooting out of the booth.

Dion took a long and deep breath loudly, trying to clear his mind and not panic, as he slowly handed out his paw.

His paw was open as a gesture for the cat to stand up as well.

Jill gave a small and shy smile, standing up herself as well from the bench.

She didn't hesitate as she slowly grabbed the paw gently and smoothly, coming a bit closer to the dog. It was almost like they could hear each other's loud heartbeat in the silent and dim room, looking at each other and suddenly feeling so much more nervous now that they were so intimately close to one another.

Until... The song started to play from Dion's pip-boy.

(Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man)

Slowly and surely, Jill started smiling more, her other free paw slowly coming closer to Dion's shoulder, finally laying it on top of it to rest.

Dion swallowed visibly and tried not to sweat as he reached with his free paw as well. And slowly but gently, it found it's way against Jill's side, making the cat's eyelids relax slightly as she purred slightly in reaction.

The two looked at each other, not moving yet.

Dion tried to figure out something to say but was too concentrated on keeping his gentleman act together. He had never been this close to a girl before.

She quietly whispered.

"Dion... Thank you for going out with me."

"... T-thank you for being the one who had the courage to ask for it." Dion said back with an embarrassed tone but gave a truly genuine smile afterward.

The cat looked at the floor for a moment and spoke quietly as she came even closer at Dion.

Now the two started to do small movements because of the spirit of music.

"... I've never heard this song before."

"... It's one of my favorites." Dion said quietly.

"... I like it." She answered back as a whisper.

No more was said as the two closed their eyes slowly... And Dion couldn't help the most accomplished and relieved smile as the cat slowly rested her head against his chest, the two starting to slow dance in the dark, enjoying the magnificent tune and losing themselves in the memorable moment.

THE END