#rotfics

they both met in a bar fight where they noticed they were the only two actually taking lives, not just throwing punches, and sort of teamed up in the moment. after that they just...followed each other around and got closer over a few months. never takes long with these two no matter what au it is

very dependent on one another since then, to an almost alarming point that is only apparent to people around them. the two of them either dont care or dont notice. its not a bad relationship, honestly its beneficial in ways but its also just very dependent on one another

they will freak out if you try to separate them and holy shit help you if you accidentally succeed in getting them apart because one of them is gunning for your ass doesnt matter who but you are dead. even if you reunite them theyre gonna be mad about getting split theyre both gonna kill you

zoey is an ex-raider boss/queen who took over the gangs in nuka world but got bored of all of them (or possibly just annoyed) and when dredge spoke up about actually hating slavery she just killed every last raider in the park. dredge helped, but mostly let her enjoy herself. did not lay a hand on the slaves, just left with dredge

zoey is addicted to overdrive and takes it for fun mostly, but also during a fight. will take it multiple times during a fight, making her an absolutely fucked up maniac. she also uses psycho or anything to up damage. dredge uses literally everything he can find it is a wonder how theyre both still functioning

it is possible that zoey is a synth. dredge knows this, she told him this, and he let her know that he really does not care and just loves his only and best friend in the world (that made even her feel a little emotional)

the both of them force their way into any raider joint they see and slaughter everyone for sport, not to stop them from hurting people, its just fun for them. also, theyre raiders. to the two of 'em, they're thinking 'no one is gonna miss these people'.

that being said zoey does take live raider captives back to her and dredges hideout to torture them for fun, or to make them fight against other creatures they have no hopes of winning against. shes still zoey, she still tortures people because she finds it amusing. dredge has no interest in torturing, the noise is annoying.

zoey doesnt do her full-mouth grin with teeth, but she does constantly smile and also has the 'smile scars' on her mouth that she did to herself. dredge still has no nose and wears his mask, his body has the typical scars he has but worse looking.

they both have sharp teeth, they filed them for the sole purpose of being able to use as weapo- im joking they want to bite people. plus they are both cannibals. dredge likes to eat bugs a lot though. zoey finds it gross.

zoey wears black tea shades or tinted goggles. her right eye has a giant claw scar over it that made her blind in that eye from one of her deathclaw pups accidentally hurting her. plus dredge told her that it looks creepier if someone cant tell if shes staring at them and she LIKED it

oh yeah they have a deathclaw farm. they raise them. there are a LOT of them outside of where they both live. all of the deathclaws there recognize them as essentially parents, and do not get attacked. (also beta wave emitters help) dont go there you wont survive idc how many nukes you got your ass is done

zoey is still mute, dredge can still understand her from looks, gestures and body language, also sometimes she just kinda sends him messages on her modified pip-boy. only him though. refuses any type of communication with anyone else bc shes a dick

theyre both scarily good at making weapons when it comes to chemical warfare (paralyzing agents, things that dissolve human skin, gasses, etc) but dont do it at the main hideout bc...shit could explode

zoey is the main weaponmaker/engineer of the duo, being leagues more intelligent than dredge is. he helps by gathering any materials she needs, carrying them, and holding things when she needs more than two hands.

dredge usually makes the chems even though zoey can on her own; but something he does with them makes them hit a bit harder. he wont tell. zoey does usually check on him out of care but there are normally no mistakes. and he always makes her chems first to make her feel important (aww how weird)

sleep in the same filthy mattress with each other, normally dredge on zoeys front but sometimes they like to curl around each other when they get cold. dredge runs hot, so he warms zoey up. a few times after a night of drinking or taking chems they wake up with their faces touching...sounds like a kiss. it aint. they got to wipe the drool off and go get something to shake the hangover

been on a rampage for around 5 years since they met, actively hunted by a LOT of factions out there (especially BoS who has wanted posters of them all over the place) but either wipe out the hunting parties/bounty hunters or hide too well. no matter the au, the two of them are horrifyingly in sync with the other

You've been having a difficult time lately. Mood swings off the charts, frantic energy, you name it. The dead guy you shared an apartment with was usually a jerk, but was noticeably softer with you when you went on one of your episodes. It was nice, but...a little weird. For him.

He found you in the living room once, going through what can only be explained by a rage-depressive fueled fit as someone you knew for a while had basically let you go completely. Dredge sat beside you, staring forward before you grasped onto his arm for something to ground you. His eyes looked down at you.

A large clawed hand held onto yours as he listened to you spill your guts about whatever was bothering you. It never really occurred to you how good of a listener he was before, and he even threw in some soft comments here and there. Encouraging. Downright affectionate.

You let out a soft sob. His head rested on top of yours.

"Breathe."

Nodding, you let your breathing even out as you kept your face in his sleeve. You were getting tears and a little bit of snot on his coat, but he didn't seem to really care. You went on to explain why you were upset; Talking about how you knew this person for years. Confused to why they just..dropped you. Dredge grunted. His brow furrowed.

"They can go fuck themselves."

"Wha-"s

He turned to look down at you. "They can go fuck themselves."

A small whimper left you, and you tugged on his coat sleeve. He rested his head back, looking up.

"You won't need them. Not if they do some shit like that. Even if you knew them that long.." He paused to shift you a bit, a soft claw brushing your cheek.

"They left. I'm sorry it hurts now, but in the long run..it's probably better. For you. Dunno what type of dumbass did that, but...you shouldn't give a shit about someone who does that to you."

Dredge hefted you up onto the couch with him, laying on his back with you sprawled on him. You could hear his dead heart beating...it was kinda nice.

"And I'm here." He propped up to look at you. "I care about you."

He made a point to make direct eye contact before speaking again. "And I am really hard to get rid of. You'd have to do some real abysmally fucked up shit to get me to let you go."

A smile graced your face since he began talking to you, and he let out a small laugh.

"Really, though." His expression seemed to fall. "...I know what it's like to be left alone without anyone. Get hurt by someone you loved. I was murdered by one. So. I don't let it happen to anyone I care about."

A small silence went on for a while with you on his chest, just listening to his heart. You wondered how that worked, exactly. He explained before, but it didn't...really make sense to you. Nor why he was so nice all the time when you were in such a state where others had made it clear they could not handle you. He even held you still when you were having an especially messy, physical episode, just talking you down.

"Thanks..."

He let out a small sound before putting his hand on your back, and the weight grounded you. His hands were pretty heavy, but just the right weight to feel comforting.

"Mhm. Feeling any better?"

"Not really. I knew them for a while....we were so close."

A shrug left him and he nodded.

"That kinda pain is a bitch and a half to go away, but it fades. Not all the way, but mostly."

You gave a soft agreement and put your cheek back on him. Even though he was a total dick usually, he was a pretty good source of comfort. Hm. He mentioned getting hurt, you wondered what happened outside of him getting killed. A sigh left his chest and he looked down at you again.

"Doesn't matter how bad it gets. I'm here. Don't plan on leaving."