hey so i’m sorry if this is too vague but can i get something that’s just? like a cure drabble of a young six and raul where there’s a kind of grandparent/uncle dynamic? like they’re super close and raul is very protective of them? i just rlly love my handy ghoul grandad <3
It’s not too vague, although if you want something specific, feel free to send another ask!
The courier will be 16 in this, because 16 year olds can be very annoying and then very mature two seconds later.
“Gotcha!” You shout, finally catching the baby gecko. You turn around and begin the trek back to your home base, just outside Goodsprings. When you arrive, you can already *feel* Raul’s disapproval. He didn’t understand why you insisted on having a gecko as a pet, but he couldn’t do much to stop you.
“Kid. Did you really go out… just to catch a gecko?” You hear Raul before you see him, but happily respond that, yes, yes you did. You hear him sigh as you drop the very fussy gecko into the pen. You turn on your heel and hug him, saying
“Trust me! This will go great!!” Raul hugs you back, and gives a half hearted
“Let’s hope so, because if it doesn’t I will not help you fix it.” You laugh and squeeze him before letting go, insisting that it would work! Raul sighs again and begins his way back to the house. You trail behind him happily, excited for dinner. Raul was a surprisingly good cook, although you suppose that it was because of how long he lived. You grin and decided to annoy him about that.
“So, Raul!” immedatly, you hear him groan, “Oh hush! So, I was wondering… How old are you? 50? 100? 200?” Raul just side eyed you, and huffed.
“You really wanna know, Kid?” You eagerly nod, excited to learn and tease him. “Fine. I am 234 years old.” You were so surprised at his answer that you stopped walking. He chuckled and kept moving, causing you to jog a little to catch up.
“Are, Are you really 234 years old?” You asked, disbelievingly. Raul nodded, amused at your reaction. You went very quiet, thinking to yourself.
“Then, you… you were alive before the war. Before the bombs. What was it like? Back then? Was it better?” you were hoping that it was. Then at least he could’ve been happy right? And, well… you wanted to know if life back then wasn’t so… fucked up. The wasteland was no place to live, let alone grow up in. Raul went quiet and chuckled lowly. Then, he started to explain.
“I had a family, and a ranch. We were happy, for a while. Until things starting going bad. When the bombs dropped, there were a lot of refugees that came to us, and we helped who we could. Eventually though, there was only enough for my family, and my father decided that we must come first. They, the refugees, were pissed about that. They… well. There’s a reason I’m the only Tejada left.” You gasp quietly, looking away and feeling bad for prying. Raul notices and continues,
“It could’ve been better kid. But hey, can’t exactly change the past. Come on, let’s eat dinner, I was waiting for you to get back.” Raul ruffles your hair and heads inside. You jump a little at the contact but brush it off, chuckling. He was right, the past didn’t matter anymore. There was nothing you could do to change it. The two of you were here now, and that’s all that mattered.
“Wait up, Grandpa! You better not start til Grandma Lily gets here!” You call after him, jogging inside. You hear Lily laugh and say
“I arrived while you were going to get you’re new pet dearie!” You laugh and shut the door behind you, the world feeling alright again. Anyone outside would know, while you three (four counting the gecko) were no where near a normal family, you were a family nonetheless. And You know what? In this day and age, that’s all that really mattered.