# Love Me As Though There Were No Tomorrow (Chapter 6) Author: STRONG Tags: Anthro, Cute, Fallout, Human, M/F, Nightstalker, Snekdog, Snuggles, Violence After a successful hunt, Boomer and Gracie head off to start there hunt for parts. Chapter 6: Something Just Like This \>Loud foot falls startle you awake, causing you to grab your LMG and Aim towards the noise \>Adrenaline courses through your veins as you look down the sights \>A few NCR troopers Stop what they are doing to look at you, fear painting their faces \>"Calm down Boomer, Standard drills" you Hear Major Dhatri's voice to your right \>You look towards it and see him walking towards you \>"Sorry, should have warned you last night, but I suppose we're lucky you don't have a missile launcher or a fat man with those reflexes" \>Gracie has woken up as well and cloaked, although you can still feel her weight on you as well as a few trembles \>You sigh and lower your LMG, setting it down carefully \>"Drills? against what?" you ask as you stretch \>"Anything really, just because we're near the strip doesn't mean we can get complacent" \>You set a hand on Gracie's cloaked head gently \>"Tell that to the gate guard who can't figure out how to clean his rifle" you say with a frown \>You had been sleeping so well, but there was no way you were going to fall back to sleep now \>Too much adrenaline, too much activity \>The weight of Gracie's head disappears from your lap and you watch a shimmer in the air appear before you \>Looks like she's getting dressed \>Your mind wanders to her wide hips and....Assets \>You shake you head of these thoughts and stand up \>your armor creaks a bit and so do a few of your joints \>This wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep \>Concrete on top of concrete with a bedroll doesn't make the best bed, but it was better that out in the wastes \>Gracie uncloaks next to you \>"Can we leave here Anon? These guys are too noisy and keep staring at my butt" \>You had noticed that too \>NCR Troopers staring at Gracie, not only because she was an anthro, but because she was "Extra thicc" \>You had heard that in passing at some point \>"Yea Gracie, Let's get out of here" you say as you begin packing up \>A quick rumble of your stomach reminds you to eat before hitting the road \>Were you above stealing food? \>Nope.jpg \>You beckon Gracie close with a finger \>"You think you can cloak and grab us some food Gracie?" you whisper into one of her long ears \>She smirks and disappears from view \>"One sec" you hear a quiet whisper in your ear \>The shimmer that is Gracie moves quickly, but eventually you lose sight of it \>How that man yesterday was able to track her so well is beyond you \>You continue packing up, no need to stare \>Gracie said she used to rip-off raiders before she met you so this wasn't too different \>The NCR weren't your friends by any means \>They were a means to an end, a stepping stone \>You finish packing up and lean against the wall, waiting calmly \>A tug on your sleeve and a short hiss surprises you \>"I got some food, Lets go, I'm gonna stay cloaked" \>You nod silently and head towards the gate \>So far so good, no one notices anything odd as you slip out the gates \>"HEY BOOMER!" \>You scowl and look around \>It's the inept gate guard who can't keep his gun clean \>"What?" you say annoyed \>"OH uh.. Where's your friend? The cute Anthro?" he asks looking around \>"She went ahead of me to scout out another bounty, I'm gonna meet her there" you lie through your teeth to him \>"Oh.. Well put in a good word for me to her, she's a cutie!" \>Why does that annoy you more than it should? \>"Uh huh yea, can do" you say as you leave \>You walk and follow the walls of the camp then east as soon as they let you \>"Come on out" you call to the sands \>Gracie appears before you with a pleased grin on her muzzle \>"I got some good stuff!" she touts, handing you 3 MRE's \>She holds an open one, eating the contents with her paws \>"It's good! it says meal on the bag!" \>You smile \>MRE's were great for food, high calorie count; perfect for travels \>You stash 2 and pull open the 3rd \>Pouches fill it plus a water activated heater \>Water is too much of a resource to use to heat the food so you use the plastic spork to eat the "tort-a-lee-ne" whatever that was \>Tastes good regardless \>"Good grab Gracie" you say in between mouthfuls \>You see her tail wag frantically \>"Thanks Anon! Where are you off to now?" \>You look at the screen of your pip-boy \>"The Gun Runners will has a silencer for your gun, I'm sure. We're headed there then to vault 11" \>She smiles and you both walk, eating your MREs \>Lucky this area is patrolled by the NCR after the battle of Hoover Dam \>It makes travel fast and easy, plus paved and maintained roads help a ton \>Before noon even hits your passing the Sharecropper fields, grabbing the occasional fruit or veggie \>They know you well enough to let you grab a few crops \>Gracie watches as you point out each crop and explain what they are used for \>Corn, Mutfruit, Barrel cactus, and Agave \>As you're explaining how to use honey mesquite pods when you hear loud sniffing \>"Anon! D-do you smell it!? It's.... It's her!" \>Her? \>Before you can ask Gracie runs off shouting back to you \>"She's Here Anon! She's really here!" \>You don't know what she's talking about but you know you're near the Gun Runners booth \>You run after Gracie, hoping for answers \>When you finally catch up to her you're out of breath and she's looking around, sniffing wildly \>"I-I smelled her! She was here! Sister was here, I KNOW she was! But where is she!? I was so sure!" \>You look around with your hands on your knees, panting slightly \>No one is around except the Gun runners Protectrion \>You swear you hear a "Order confirmed" from it over Gracie's Sobs \>"Payment accepted" \>No one is there though \>But that isn't what bothers you \>Gracie has fallen to her knees, tears pouring from her eyes \>"I-I thought I found her! I know that smell! W-w-w-here is sheeeeee?" \>She breaks down crying \>For the first time in a longer time than you remember, you feel your own heart ache \>Not since your Grandfather died, since you left Nellis \>You don't know what she's talking about, you smell nothing \>But seeing the usual happy-go-lucky, clingy Gracie reduced to tears \>That breaks your heart, more than you ever thought it would \>You Wrap your arms around the Crying Nightstalker, pulling her closer than you ever have before \>"It's ok Gracie, it's ok... I don't.. I'm here" \>How do you comfort someone when you don't even understand why she's crying? \>You try your best, you guess \>She sobs into your shoulder, hugging you tight \>"I-I-I Wanted to meet her Anon! I know her smell! But s-s-she's not here!" \>"I'm sorry Gracie, I'm here though, I'll always be here" \>Are you willing to make that promise now? \>Feeling her tears soak through your armor, tell you yes, you are \>You've felt this same sadness \>On those lonely nights when you realized you can't ever return home, when it hit you harder than normal \>Both of you are kneeling, in front of a booth and protectrion \>As you try so hard to console her, you feel something \>Wind? A dust devil? Sand? \>It gently wraps itself around you both \>You don't know or care though \>All you care about is her, making her feel better \>"I'll be watching" \>A voice you don't recognize, as faint as the wind blowing grains of sand \>So faint it might be the sand \>You feel Gracie's ears twitch against your cheek \>What was bothering her, you might never know, but you don't care \>All you know is the tears and the sadness \>"It's Ok Gracie, it's ok, we'll find her" you tell her, pushing her hood down and running your hands down the scales on her head \>The only audience you have for this spectacle is a robot, what do you care!? \>She needs you now \>You feel her cries slow and a few hiccups \>"I've got you, I've got you, it's ok" you coo, rubbing gently \>Before long you feel her pull you in closer, her tail wrapped around you as far as it can \>"Thanks Anon" you her her murmur \>You pull away slightly \>The tears fall slower from her eyes \>Slow enough for you to wipe away with your thumbs \>"I've got you, Gracie, I've got you" \>Her mismatched eyes look at you; blue and yellow, round and slitted, looking into your own boring normal eyes \>You manage a pained smile \>You might not know what she's talking about, but you know what she's going through \>And you can try to help make her feel better \>A few hiccups and sobs later, Gracie is still wrapped around you, albeit a little less tightly \>"T-thanks Anon, I thought I smelled one of my older sisters" \>Older sisters? \>You had enough trouble dealing with one Snekderp \>But that's not on your mind now \>You stand with her in your arms \>"We'll find her someday Gracie, I promise" \>It's a promise you aren't sure you'll be able to keep, but one you'll still make \>She runs her forked tongue across your cheek \>"Thanks Anon....I'll find you soon ZX-13" \>What does that mean? \>Doesn't matter   \>You hold Gracie's paw and lead her to the Gun Runners booth \>"Lets see if we can find you a silencer or something" \>She holds your arm as you sell the Fiends weapons you picked up as well as unusable ammo for you \>As well you sell all the chems you found from the fiends that Gracie picked up \>Fuck Chems and fuck people who made them \>Finally you can start looking at their wares \>No silencers but there is a 10mm SMG that is silenced \>"Sleepytyme" it's called \>"Gracie want to trade your Gun for a silenced one? I'll cover the caps for the extra" \>She puts a pad to her chin and thinks a moment \>"It'll make bad guys not be able to hear my shots?" she asks, looking at the Gun \>You nod "yea that's the idea" \>"Ok! I'll keep it safe!" \>You give her the gun then buy some ammo for you and her to use \>"Alright Gracie, time to move on to Vault 11" \>Her sadness seems gone as she bounces along next to you \>"Ok! I can't wait to see what humans used to live like during the war" \>You check your pip-boy, luckily the brotherhood had told you where vault 11 was \>South from where you are now, but north of Helios 1 \>There are roads there for the most part anyway \>The walk with Gracie is quick and peaceful, her telling you about the Big MT \>She wandered it for years, gathering food, learning how to hack computers \>She told you of plant men, weather control and a mini deathclaw \>You told her of your travels \>How you went to vault 34 where your people were from \>Told her your run ins with the Legion, how you decimated Cottonwood cove \>All the while she stayed right next to you, her paws occasionally gripping at your sleeve to point out various plants \>Some of them were edible, some were poisonous, a few were just tumbleweeds \>You point out a group of Bighorners, and she jumps for joy \>"OH! Lemme get one Anon! This'll be great!" \>Before you can say anything she disappears \>You watch her shimmer move around \>Gotta admit having a partner that can go nearly invisible is really handy \>You hear a few silenced shots and the bighorner bull collapses with a loud "MAHHHHH" \>Unfortunately the rest of the herd scampers \>Gracie uncloaks, leaning against the body with one paw and a huge smile on her muzzle \>"I got the biggest one!" she boasts \>You smile \>"You sure did, I can already taste the Steaks we'll have tonight!" you say \>After about 10 minute of carving you have enough steak to last for a while, plus a big pelt \>Could be useful \>You start walking again, and motion for Gracie to follow you \>"Why are we going to Vault 11, Anon?" Gracie asks as she reloads her gun \>She should have done that as soon as she was done shooting the bighorner but you let it slide \>"There is supposedly a Robobrain there, we need it's treads to build the Treadnaut" \>You still had you mind set on building that, it was a better goal than wandering aimlessly \>"Do you really think we can get it built? It would be nice not have to walk everywhere" Gracie says as she kicks up a bit of sand \>You nod, "I'm sure we can, together I'm sure of it" \>She grips your arm, a smile covering her Muzzle \>"I'm glad you found me in that Cave Anon" \>You put an arm around her waist as you walk \>"So am I Gracie" \>The sand beneath your boot crunches as you walk onto the dry lakebed in front of the Vault \>How were people supposed to get to this vault before the war? \>Its set on the edge of a lake, hidden in a cave \>High rollers only maybe? \>Leave the rest of the population scrambling and dead? \>You had no clue how the rest of the world fared \>Maybe the US was devastated and the rest of the world survived \>Leave a whole continent as a memorial to a war, believing everyone was dead \>Meanwhile they could be in space, traveling the stars \>The thought doesn't bring you any comfort as you walk through the vault door, left permanently open \>Close quarters \>Shotgun time \>You pull out your riot shotgun and begin walking through the vault \>"Be ready Gracie, no idea what's in here" \>The sound of fluttering wings tells you that you aren't alone \>A few flashes of green in your peripherals \>You turn and fire your gun, earning a loud squeak of surprise followed by a dull thud as Gracie hits the floor behind you \>She's playing dead, you could clearly see you hit a Giant mantis with your buckshot \>"Get up Gracie, its ok, we got more food now" \>Her blue eye peeks open at you \>"What is THAT Anon?!" she says as you pull the legs off the mantises body \>"Giant praying mantis, good with salt and butter" you say holding up the legs \>They were actually quite good to eat \>You help Gracie to her feet \>Paws? footpaws? \>It's hard to tell what to call them \>"Stay on your toes Gracie, those bugs might be small but they swarm and can overwhelm you if you aren't ready" \>Gracie draws her SMG and follows behind you \>The vault is like a maze, everything looks the same \>But there are bodies; skeletons holding guns and other makeshift weapons \>More than once you had to stop Gracie from walking under a grenade bouquet \>Jesus fuck, what happened here? \>Posters line the walls for elections, for a new overseer \>People; no not people anymore, barricaded into rooms \>Starved to death from the looks of it \>All the while you walk through, killing Giant mantises and giant rats \>What happened here? this was supposed to be a place where humanity survived \>Instead you find more bodies that you can believe \>Gracie holds your arm with one paw, her SMG with the other as you walk room to room \>Eventually you find the Overseer's office and a still working computer \>Cue Gracie, who forgets her fear for a moment \>"OH! I'm good at computers one sec!" \>She rushes to the desk and begins tapping away at the computer, muttering to herself while you stand with your shotgun ready \>Her tapping gets faster and faster while you grow more and more impatient \>Fuck this computer, you were ready to shoot it \>"Got it!" \>A tunnel opens as she hits a button on the computer \>You're actually impressed, you thought she was bluffing about the computer thing \>Shotgun raised, you go down the tunnel \>At the end is a room and a projector and a chair \>Gracie Immediately sits in the chair, much to your annoyance \>A slideshow starts, talking about life and one's role in it \>You frown as you watch an listen to the voice drone on \>This gives you a terrible feeling so you put away your shotgun and draw out your LMG \>Too much talk of life and death \>"Close your eyes now and imagine what joys await you in the next life - the afterlife. Can you see them? Good." the voice over says \>As it finishes you hear whirring behind the walls \>"GRACIE GET DOWN!" you call to her as walls lower revealing several RoboBrains \>You open fire while moving constantly, dodging lasers while Gracie disappears, adding more bullets to the walls of lead your firing \>In the end you stand panting, a laser shot has burned through your left arms armor, leaving a bad burn to the bone \>As well a bullet from an automated turret has hit your thigh, making it hard to maintain your balance \>Gracie uncloaks near you, looking at the robots \>"We got them! I knew we coul-" \>Her words are cut off when she turns to you and her eyes go wide \>"A-Anon are you ok?" \>You attempt to wave away your concern with your left hand but find it unresponsive \>"I could use a bit of help Gracie" you choke out through the pain \>She walks to you as you slump against one of the robobrains \>Your left arm falls uselessly as you attempt to use your pip-boy \>"Hold my left arm up, I need a few super stimpaks" \>She hesitantly grabs your hand and forearm \>Pain washes over you as she holds it up for you to see \>Put on a brave face, she doesn't need to see you in pain \>You ignore the searing pain and use your right arm to get a super stimpak and a regular one \>"Use this on my leg" you say handing her the normal stimpak \>Feels like the bullet fractured your bone \>A quick look at your status on the pip-boy confirms that \>She looks confused, looking at the wound and the stimpak \>"What do I do Anon?" \>"Stab it in the hole and inject it all" \>You grit your teeth as she stabs it in \>Almost instantly you feel whatever is in those things working \>With your good arm you stab the super stimpak into your arm and squeeze the liquid in, the burned flesh peels away quickly and new, scarred skin forms \>The scar would fade in time \>Maybe \>It takes a moment for the pain to subside and for you to stand back up on your own \>"Good job Gracie, we got them" you say with a smile \>She stares at your arm and leg; worry painting her muzzle \>"Is that normal Anon? Do you always get hurt?" \>You sigh \>"Gracie, you've seen my body, you know the answer to that" \>Your body is covered in bullet wounds and burns from lasers \>She looks at her own body \>"Will that happen to me too?" \>"If you use the Invisibility intelligently, no it won't" \>You've already begun working on grabbing the tread system off the nearest robobrain \>Gracie sniffing you intensely jerks you away from your work, you turn to her and see her flustered, paws covering her face \>"I-uh Anon, I-" \>You move closer to her, worried \>"Gracie, what's up? Were you hit?" \>You attempt to get closer to her only to have her back away from you \>I- uh- I need to go!" \>With that she runs out of the room, leaving you dumbfounded \>You can't run quite yet, so you follow her at a much slower pace \>"GRACIE?!" you call out after her \>As you emerge from the tunnel you hear bones rattling and then a door Shutting and locking \>"I need to be in here for a while Anon! Please don't try to come in!" \>"What's going on Gracie?!" you call through the door \>"I'll tell you later! Just please trust me!" \>You frown and lean against the wall nearby \>"Promise you're ok?" \>"I-I'll be fine Anon" \>You sigh and head back to the robobrains \>Guess you're gonna be here a while. Source: https://sofurry.com/s/k1VvAKY1 Part of the series Love Me As Though There Were No Tomorrow Previous: https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1505037-love-me-as-though-there-were-no-tomorrow-chapter-5.md Next: https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1527434-love-me-as-though-there-were-no-tomorrow-chapter-7.md