Complete
The soft beating of rain on the roof was a settling sound in a rather quiet apartment. It was something unfamiliar to Piers at a level, or at least he felt it was. Even after all these months it was still strange not to hear constant panic and combat, but damn if it wasn’t a change for the better. It drew him for some reason, and Piers couldn’t stop staring at it through the window, chin cradled in his hand as he leaned heavily upon the table to his side. He felt content at a level, but there was still something just… pulling at him. He couldn’t help but laugh at his foolishness. He must have looked so melancholy.
Soft whimpers and barks at his feet drew Piers’ attention from the outside world. He watched the dog that had been quietly sleeping beforehand rush towards the doorway, tail wagging as Nevada entered the room, box in hand as she greeted the hyper beast.
“I didn’t hear you come in. At least someone did.” A chuckle escaped his lips as Piers approached Nevada who had been eagerly greeting her dog.
“You not being aware? I’m surprised at you, you’re usually on top of these things Piers.” Nevada smiled, placing the box she had been holding down rather heavily, “You might be losing your touch, Killer.”
“Yeah, that’ll be the day.” The two embraced as Pies scoffed at her playful words. Nevada’s arms always felt so tight around him, he felt almost bad never being able to really and truly return the favor, despite how strong the phantom sensations might have been.
“I hope you haven’t been moping or anything.” Nevada pulled away, placing a hand on his head as she gave him a knowing look. Even as content as he might have felt, Nevada knew him better than he knew himself sometimes, and she knew this life didn’t suit him.
Still, Piers couldn’t let her know she knew that she knew. “You know that’s not my style. I’ve done what I can to keep occupied.” He was lying, they both knew, but he wouldn’t give her time to acknowledge it. “Why are you carrying that around?” He quickly diverted the subject to the box Nevada had entered with, fully aware of what it was, but unsure of what she was doing with it.
“Yeah I… wanted to talk to you about it.” Nevada left her partners side to open up the box, even if a bit hesitantly. Glancing down at its contents for what felt like an eternity, she eventually elected to remove the contents from its cardboard prison. Looking back towards Piers, there she stood, prosthetic arm in hand. “You… haven’t really been using it. I just wanted to make sure things were, you know, alright?” She knew he could be stubborn about these things, and she wanted to desperately chalk it up to him being difficult but something still wasn’t connecting.
“I just... haven’t really needed it. I need to be able to depend on myself and falling onto some removable aid doesn’t really sound like it’s going to help at the end of the day.” More lies, he thought, at least in part. It was true that it wasn’t ideal, but at the same time, there was more to it.
“That’s a very you kind of answer. But why don’t we try the truth here for a minute.” Nevada placed the arm back down as she sat down on the couch not far from them, motioning for Piers to do the same.
Surrendering to her know-it-all attitude, Piers joined her on the couch, giving her an honest and genuine look as they sat quietly for a moment. “While I may not find the whole thing… ideal, you seemed more rattled than me. Like back when your father—“
“When my father brought you back.” Nevada quickly and coolly finished his sentence, seemingly wanting to just get the fact over with.
“It made you uncomfortable. I didn’t want to put you through that again. Not after we’ve finally adjusted.” Piers’ voice held hints of concern, but his tone was one of compassion and honesty, a change from the hardened soldier she was so used to.
“I was… shaken and you deserve to know why.” Up until then, Nevada had done everything in her power to avoid her family, her problems, all of it. But she knew it wasn’t fair of her. She knew she could trust Piers with her life and her past, and it was time to take action on that. “I’ve never really gotten along with him, I’m sure I’ve mad that perfectly clear.”
Piers couldn’t help but laugh at Nevada’s words. She had been pretty brutal towards her father, even after all he had tried to do for her. Even so, it was never his place to pry into places he didn’t belong. “Beyond that much you’ve never really said much. I never wanted to ask since, well, again it made you uncomfortable.”
“Yeah, that’s the word for it.” Nevada chuckled to herself, shaking her head as she stretched herself out. “Well, hopefully story time will clear up any misconceptions.” Nevada began to rub her chin, considering where to begin and where to end. What mattered and what didn’t? “To put it plainly, he’s the reason for… what I am.”
“Can’t say he failed there too far. You’re not making a great case for yourself.” There was a bout of chuckles that filled the room at his statement, Nevada retaliating at his comment with a sharp but playful shove.
“I’m trying to be serious here you know.” She couldn’t help but smile, despite her words. She accepted a nod in apology before continuing on, the both of them allowing a more serious tone to take over. “What I mean is… the virus and everything else. I’m what people ever so affectionately refer to as a “designer baby.” I didn’t have a mother, as far as I know. My father cherry-picked through genes to create the best child he possibly could.” Nevada leaned forwards once more, becoming a bit tense just thinking about the subject. “Instead, he ended up with… me”
Piers could only continue to stare at Nevada as she spoke. He had no words he knew would be any comfort, but then again, he highly doubted comfort was what she was seeking. She was doing this for the sake of doing it. To let him know that she trusted him enough to speak of things she couldn’t bring herself to tell anyone else.
“He made me to further some grand… empire or something he was scheming for. And I didn’t want any part of it. He was never a father to me, and I was never his daughter. I didn’t want to be. Morgan was more a parental figure to me than he ever was, and we had zombies to deal with back then.” Nevada couldn’t resist the small smile that seemed to tug at her lips thinking back on the whole situation, but did her best to shake it off, getting back to the subject at hand, “When he showed up again, I was… scared. But when he had you? I’ve never been more scared in my life. I was terrified he was trying to use you, like he had tried to use me all that time ago. I’ve moved past that, yeah, but there was still the hesitation. It came back when he sent that arm.”
“That... I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been.” Piers placed a hand on Nevada’s back, rubbing it lightly as she ran a hand over her face, trying to keep composed. “I know things can’t always be fair but… that’s got to be especially hard.”
“And that’s exactly it!” Nevada jumped up slightly, shifting her position to look right at Piers, taking his hand in hers. “It’s not fair of me to deny you this… opportunity just because I’m “sad”, you know? I have no right to keep you from, you know, completing yourself! You deserve the chance for thins to be like they used to be.”
Piers took a moment to consider her words before looking back towards the arm. He took it in his grasp, glancing down at it with a hard glare. “I’ll… start putting it to good use. I promise you that.” Nevada’s face lit up with relief to a degree, but it quickly faded after watching Piers place the arm down once again. “But before that, I need you to understand something Nevada.”
Piers placed his hand to Nevada’s head softly, his warmth reassuring and his touch comforting as she placed her own hand over his. “You’ve never deprived me of anything, you’ve given it all to me. I don’t want things to be like they used to be. Because back then, I never had you so close. And more than anything, I don’t need some arm to make me complete. Nevada, you’re all I’ve ever needed for that, and no matter how long it took me to figure that out, it’s always been true. I owe your father everything. Not because I’m alive, but because of him, you’re here with me, before the virus and after. I wouldn’t change that in a million years.”
Tears welled in Nevada’s eyes as she desperately tried to hide them, but could only find comfort in another warm embrace. She buried her head in Pier’s chest as he held her tighter than he ever had, the phantoms no longer mattering has his sheer affection overpowered any insecurities that might have come up. “I love you. Nothing will ever change that.”