what in the goddamn!

IT’S CALLED A HUSTLE, SWEETHEART! don’t you know not to take it so personal? 

A  SOFT  EXHALE  ,  fingers continue their gentle touches in his hair  ,  leans to press another soft kiss against the other’s mouth  -  all soft love  ,  a promise of forever.  i’d do anything for you  ,  cross the ocean and burn down the world.  she shifts in his lap  ,  presses herself closer.  “  you love me.  ”  her smile is soft  ,  bumps her nose against his.  marci relents  ,  finally  ,  hand dipping into his pocket.  “  this better not.  scare me.  ”

     in passing, he presses a thumb to his lip. ‘ -- i shouldn’t hope so. ’ 

     he hopes, he hopes -- you know, he’s never done this before. ( never really loved. never really coveted anything past power and a silver gun named maria -- ) there isn’t a box, there isn’t a show, but there’s a ring of old, shining gold tucked away in the pocket. his breath hitches at the touch of her hand. benny ducks his head, allows his gaze to linger against the sight of her settled comfortably astride him. is this what it is to be shy? he can’t name the feeling. ‘ it’s, uh -- outdated. ’ the concept. the tradition, he means. but he wants, he wants. 

of course she loves him  -  has written him love letters only to stuff them away  ,  hidden in books and in between her mattress.  confessions of love underneath them when they sleep together in the same bed.  love on top of love.  “  i love you.  ”  there’s a promise of forever with the tilt of her head  ,  another reassurance.  tries to get closer , a small shift against his lap - wants to kiss him  , so she does  (  she guesses they have hesitations in different areas  ). slow and gentle , hand against his chest.  words spoken against his mouth.  no malice  ,  a gentle tease.

“  your hands aren’t br-broken.  ”

“ i can’t marry you. ”

@ownvegas.

her head tilts , expression is curious.  hands continue to stroke against his hair - her tongue laced with a tease.  that’s not a question , she wants to say , you’re bad at asking questions.  but there’s something soft in the way he speaks , she leans forward to bump her nose against his.  an adjustment in his lap , marci seems to calm , settle in the comfort of his presence. 

her smile is soft , no tease in her words - just truth. “  i do love you.  ”

     it isn’t a question, she’s right. ( she’s always right. ) it’s a precursor. it’s hope lain bare, hidden in the stroke of his hand, palms settling down against her thighs. her breath is warm against his mouth, the weight of her solid and wonderful against him. he almost wants to delay, almost wants to close the distance and taste her instead. he nods, his tongue darting out to wet his lip. he folds one of her hands within his, presses it to his chest. there’s something tucked into the inner pocket of his coat, a ridge beneath their hands.

fast push of air past her throat - teetering on a laugh.  slight adjustment in the comfort of his lap , a hand comes to press tangled curls over her shoulder.  her arms drape across his shoulders , eyebrows raise.  distrusting of the glint in his eyes - lower lip juts out again (  hopes he doesn’t notice the small shiver that runs up her spine at the drag of his finger.  doomed , isn’t she ?  )   fingers curl at the back of his neck , ghosting along the ends of his hair. “ oh - oh . . .   m-may have - have an answer .  .  .  ”

     the fine hairs against the back of his neck stand at attention, coaxed upward at the slow brush of her fingertips. delicate, with mussed curls and an expression like muted sunshine. he doesn’t know much about faith, but to think of the wonders of a star fallen to earth, just to curl up soft and warm in his lap -- maybe someone has been looking out for him.

a quick glance over her shoulder , lower lip juts out.  seems to consider for a long moment.  “   YOU  c’mere.  ”  but she’s standing anyway - looms close , presses her hand in his.  “  hi.  ”

     it’s enough to prompt a snort, but he uncoils himself from the cushions in a moment’s movement. small, just enough to get a grasp on her waist -- just enough to pull her down and into the couch with him, a warm, welcome weight atop his lap. his thumb brushes against her hip. the glimmer in his eye creases any attempt at looking purely noble.

new vegas ( also referred to as the strip. ) is run by three gangs, the chairmen, the omertas, and the white glove society. when referred to as a whole, they are known as the three families. 

mr. house is the head of all three combined. think of him as the king of new vegas. he is also referred to as ‘the overboss’. all three of the gangs ( who were previously referred to as tribes / tribal gangs. ) do not keep up much direct contact with him, except for transfer of his cut of profits.

the chairmen run a casino called the tops. benny is their leader. swank is benny’s second, oversees day-to-day operations, and is primarily at the front desk of the tops.

VERY BRIEF SLAVERY, SEX TRAFFICKING, AND NON-CONSENSUAL DRUG USE MENTION IN THIS BULLET. the omertas run a casino called the gomorrah. their primary trade involves sex work, not all of which is consensual. ( the workers are kept hooked on chems and therefore dependent on the omertas. ) before they joined the strip, they primarily focused on the enslavement and murder of unsuspecting travelers. they are extremely secretive and protective of their power. trading information with outsiders of the family is punishable by death. the gomorrah is run by nero and big sal, his right hand man.

VERY BRIEF CANNIBALISM MENTION. the white glove society runs a casino called ultra-luxe. the ultra-luxe is extremely high end and extremely snobby. the casino is run by marjorie, with mortimer as her right hand man. he’s the hotel manager and works front desk. marjorie also runs their main restaurant, the gourmand, which is exclusively meat-oriented. they are, surprise, cannibals.

anyway: the chairmen. benny’s boys.

the chairmen used to be a gang called the boot riders. before new vegas formed, they were approached by a single securitron sent by mr. house to invite them to the strip. it was destroyed on sight. mr. house retaliated neatly by sending twenty securitrons, instead, to negotiate an offer. while most of the gang did agree to accept his offer, the current leader, bingo, refused. benny challenged his refusal in a proper duel, wherein benny overpowered him quickly and won, taking on the role of the gang’s new leader. any dissent is taken care of quickly and quietly.

afterwards, the boot riders are henceforth known as the chairmen. 

benny’s long-term goal is to control new vegas. the odds are very much not in his favor, but it’s been a work in progress for years. 

at some unspecified point, benny attacks one of mr. house’s securitrons with a pulse grenade and, after bringing it in, hires a woman named emily ortal to inspect it and reprogram it. ( in exchange, she was meant to have broken into mr. house’s databases, but benny deigns not to fulfill his end of the deal once he gets what he wants, breaking off the arrangement instead. ) henceforth, the securitron is known as yes man, and is programmed to obey every single command given to him. unfortunately, this command is open-ended, and yes man will obey anyone who orders anything of him. 

taking advantage of yes man’s now compliant nature, benny interrogates him on everything he knows about mr. house and his schemes. benny learns that mr. house has a bunker hidden underneath the fort, ( an enormous and very heavily fortified base for caesar’s legion. ) which is unlocked and powered only by the platinum chip. ( beneath the fort is where mr. house has stationed his secret bunker, wherein he uses the chip to install upgrades in his securitrons. ) 

the platinum chip, directly before the events of the game, is currently en route to the strip via a courier. there are six decoy couriers, as well. yes man discovers the route in use by the courier, and benny is able to track them down. he hires three great khans to help him with the job. the courier is kidnapped, bound and gagged, and after a swift monologue, benny steals the chip, shoots them in the head, and leaves them for dead. he betrays his accomplices and returns to the tops, under the protection of his gang once more. 

except there’s one more thing.

@soulrites.