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The fairground sprawled across the wide-open field that had once been an airstrip, a chaotic tangle of tents, trailers, and makeshift stalls with no real sense of order. Vendors sold their wares, everything from scavenged cyberware to hand-tuned engines, while clusters of nomads and mercs haggled over prices or swapped stories in tight-knit circles.
The air was thick with the scent of grilled meat, burning fuel, and heavy leather, mingling with the sharp tang of hot metal from a nearby garage. Laughter and shouting filled the spaces between, some of it from good natured deals, some from heated arguments over price gouging and shoddy craftsmanship. A couple of kids weaved through the crowd, nearly knocking over a grizzled old techie before disappearing into the maze of stalls.
V adjusted the strap of her rifle, eyes scanning the scene with an amused smirk as she trailed behind Panam, Cassidy and Carol.
“Gotta say, this is a hell of a lot livelier than any corpo trade show I’ve ever been to,” she remarked.
Panam shot her a sideways glance before falling into step beside her. “Yeah, well, unlike those vultures, at least here you get to see the scam happening in real time instead of behind your back.”
V huffed a quiet laugh, she really couldn't argue with that.
Carol let out a sharp snort, not even glancing over as she spoke. “I see someone’s still bitter about getting ‘scammed’ last year.” The air quotes were practically audible.
Panam’s head snapped toward her, but Carol kept walking, as if she hadn’t just thrown fuel on the fire.
“It was a scam!” Panam barked, her voice indignant. “That guy swore the radio worked—”
Cassidy turned just enough to give her a knowing side-eye, his drawl cutting in smooth. “And it did. For all of two minutes. Before it caught fire ‘cause someone thought splicing a pre-war circuit board with modern wiring was a real bright idea.”
Carol and V both let out a chuckle.
“Oh, screw both of you,” Panam grumbled, though the familiar smirks on her three companion’s faces told her they weren’t taking it to heart. They knew the fiery nomad too well.
She opened her mouth again, ready to fire back, but then exhaled sharply, jaw tightening. Whatever she was about to say, she decided it wasn’t worth it.
Instead, she turned her focus back to the fair, scanning the winding paths that cut through the sea of stalls. Her gaze sharpened as she took it all in.
“Alright.” Panam’s tone shifted, brushing aside the light-heartedness for something more businesslike. “We don’t have all day. We need parts, food, and whatever ammo we can scrounge up before the sun sets. After that, people get a hell of a lot harder to negotiate with.”
Cassidy rocked back on his heels, making a thoughtful noise. “Y’know, for someone who grew up around fairs like this, it always amazes me how you treat ‘em like a damn military op.”
Panam shot him a knowing side-eye. “That’s because if you don’t get in and grab what you need first, some other bastard will. And you two love to waste time.”
“Oh, I dunno,” Carol mused, her voice taking on a motherly tone. “There’s more to fairs than just business, Panam.”
Cassidy nodded sagely. “Like fun, for example.”
Panam let out a dry laugh. “Yeah? Where?”
V, who had been quietly enjoying the back-and-forth, grinned. “Maybe in all that happening around us?” She gestured vaguely at the crowd.
Panam rolled her eyes, unimpressed that V was siding with the older nomads. “We’re here for supplies, not a goddamn family reunion.”
Cassidy chuckled, shaking his head. “My poor, dull child.”
Panam ignored him, already moving. She turned back to the group.
“We’ll cover more ground if we split up.” Her voice took on a commanding edge. “V and I will take this side; you two hit the other. Meet back here in an hour.”
Cassidy and Carol exchanged a glance. One of those long, knowing looks.
Cassidy stroked his mustache, voice dripping with teasing approval. “You two go together. Of course.”
Carol, never one to pass up an opportunity, added with a perfectly neutral expression, “Brilliant plan.”
Panam’s eyes narrowed. She knew that tone. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s the same damn tone you used when you told me that going out of my way to pick up V in the middle of the night was ‘just me being a good friend.” Panam observed.
Cassidy grinned. “And it was you being a good...friend.”
“It… was.” Panam echoed, slower this time, like she was trying to convince herself even as doubt crept in. Her eyes flicked between them, scanning for any sign of sincerity.
V, standing behind them, raised an eyebrow but stayed silent, watching the mental gymnastics unfold.
Cassidy and Carol were still smiling at Panam when she waved them off. “Just—get going already.”
“Try not to get too distracted.” Carol muttered as she turned around, to get going with the task Panam set out on them.
V swore that she saw Panam blushing.
Panam looked to V like she wanted to physically shove the situation away. “C’mon. Let’s go before I change my mind and leave those two idiots behind.”
V grinned, falling into step beside her. “You sure that’s a bad idea?”
“Don’t tempt me.”
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Cassidy and Carol wandered through the fair, weaving between booths stacked high with scrap, ammo, and assorted junk, half of which probably only worked on a good day.
Cassidy stopped at a stall cluttered with old radios, picking one up and turning it over in his hands. “Reckon this one might last a solid five minutes before catchin’ fire. Think we oughta get it for her?”
Carol smirked, arms crossing. “Sounds like an upgrade from Panam’s. I’m in.”
As Cassidy started haggling with the vendor, Carol’s sharp eyes flicked across the fairgrounds. Something caught her attention, making her slow to a halt.
Nestled between a weapons dealer and a stall charring meat on an open flame was a booth with a brightly hand-painted sign:
FAIR’S CUTEST COUPLE – SIGN UP NOW!
Cassidy, catching the look on Carol’s face after wrapping up his purchase, followed her gaze. The second he saw the sign, a slow grin spread across his face. He let out a low whistle.
“Well, now. Ain’t that somethin’.” His tone dripped with amusement, clearly seeing exactly where Carol was headed with this.
“You think that might be a bit much?” she asked, though her smirk said she already knew the answer.
Cassidy chuckled, shaking his head. “Carol, that’s exactly the right amount of too much.”
Without hesitation, they strode over to the booth. Behind the table sat a nomad woman, looking about three seconds from passing out, flipping lazily through a faded magazine. She barely lifted her head when they approached.
“You here to enter?” she asked, voice flat and uninterested.
Cassidy leaned against the table, tapping a finger on the sign. “Actually, we’re here to volunteer a couple of lucky contestants.”
The woman arched a brow. “They know you are?”
Carol scoffed. “No. That’s what makes it fun.”
Cassidy took it a step further. “You got a lot of sign-ups?”
“Not really. Turnout’s slow for this. No real serious submissions.”
Cassidy hummed, then casually slid 200 eddies across the table. “So, if I were to… say… add a little incentive your way to maybe favour these two, would that work?”
The woman sighed, setting her magazine down before sweeping up the eddies without so much as a second thought. “Sure. Don’t actually care about this gig anyway,” she muttered, reaching for a clipboard. “Names?”
Carol leaned in slightly, barely holding back a grin. “Panam and V.”
The woman jotted the names down without hesitation, not even blinking. “Alright. Results are in about an hour.” She nodded toward a nearby stage, where a group of nomads was playing a set.
Cassidy grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Perfect.”
“You reckon she’s gonna kill us?”
Cassidy chuckled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Oh, darlin’, she’s gonna try. But I reckon we’ll live.”
With that, they wandered off into the fair, already looking forward to the storm that was about to hit when Panam found out.
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Panam moved through the fair with purpose, her sharp gaze scanning for anything useful. V trailed beside her, hands stuffed in her pockets, more entertained by Panam’s intensity than invested in the shopping itself.
They stopped at a booth stacked with spare vehicle parts, and Panam crouched down, sifting through a pile of cables. She picked one up, running her fingers along the wiring with a critical eye. “Finally, something decent,” she muttered. “Might actually be worth a damn.”
V smirked, watching her work. “You look downright happy.”
Panam scoffed. “Happy? No. Just relieved I’m getting things crossed off the list.”
V leaned against the stall, crossing her arms. “Wouldn’t it feel kinda nicer to just browse? You act like someone’s gonna put a gun to your head if you don’t find all the items on that damned list.”
Panam ignored the merc and tossed the cables onto the counter. “How much?”
The vendor, an older nomad, barely looked up from where he was tinkering with an ignition coil. “Fifty eddies.”
Panam let out a dry laugh. “You high? This ain’t worth more than twenty.”
The vendor snorted. “You deaf?” He mimicked her tone right back. “I said fifty, I meant fifty.”
Before Panam could fire back, V nudged her elbow and transferred the money over, cutting the tension with an easy grin. “C’mon, let’s not fight the man over some wires.”
Panam muttered something under her breath, snatching up the cables and threatened the old nomad. “If these don’t work, I’m coming back.”
V chuckled as Panam stalked away, shaking her head. “This fair’s robbing people.”
“I mean… that’s kinda the point.” V teased, falling right back into step beside her.
Panam ignored her, already scanning the next set of stalls. They made their way through the fair, Panam methodically grabbing supplies, a few rations, some ammo, and a replacement part for her bike’s fuel injector.
Meanwhile, V picked up whatever caught her eye; a neon bandana, a cheap pair of sunglasses, a snack. Things Panam dismissed as useless. By the time they started making their way back to the rendezvous point, V had a bag slung over her shoulder.
“You done now?” Panam asked, glancing at her.
V grinned. “Not sure. Feels like we should check out a few more places. You know, soak it in.”
Panam huffed in frustration. “We got what we need. What else is there to ‘soak in’?”
V shrugged. “The fine art of impulse buying?”
Panam snorted. “Yeah, real fine art you got there.” She nodded toward the ridiculous bandana sticking out of V’s bag. “That for a job, or just trying to make a fashion statement?”
V smirked, pulling it out and tying it loosely around her neck. “Both.”
Panam let out a laugh, shaking her head.
She had to admit; it was kinda sweet, the way V tried to blend in, picking up little things she saw nomads do and making them her own. V had seen one just like it on Ellie, tied the same way around her neck, dust-covered and well-worn from years on the road.
And it wasn’t just that. V had started doing other things too, like helping set up camp without needing to be asked, knocking twice on a car door before getting in, something all nomads did to make sure they weren’t surprising someone inside.
She wasn’t mocking it. Wasn’t just playing nomad for a day. She was trying to fit in. And for some reason, that sent a weird, unfamiliar but warm feeling twisting in Panam’s stomach.
She scoffed, reaching out to tug at the bandana around V’s neck, her tone gruff to cover whatever the hell she was feeling. “You know that’s just for keeping the dust outta your mouth, right? Not a damn fashion statement.”
“And yet, I still make it look good.”
Panam laughed again. “Overconfident much?”
V just grinned. “Yeah, but you find it charming.”
Panam didn’t argue.
“There y’all are!” Cassidy clapped Panam on the shoulder with a grin. “We were startin’ to think y’all got lost.”
“Yeah, well, this one decided to go on a shopping spree.” Panam shoved V lightly, shaking her head.
Carol arched a brow, her smirk knowing. “Oh, so when she does it, it’s fine.” Her tone was smooth, pointed, and left no room for denial.
Panam opened her mouth to protest, but Carol didn’t give her the chance. “Speaking of sprees, I think we’ve got one or two more stalls to check out.”
Panam sighed. “But we already got everything we need.”
Cassidy rubbed the back of his neck, backing Carol up with a feigned thoughtful look. “Well, now, don’t be so hasty. Gotta make sure y’didn’t miss nothin’.”
Panam narrowed her eyes. Something felt off. V raised an eyebrow, catching the subtle way Carol and Cassidy were acting just a little too casual.
“Uh-huh,” Panam said flatly, arms crossing. “And what, exactly, do you think I missed?”
Carol shrugged, all feigned innocence. “Oh, y’know… things.”
“Real important things,” Cassidy added with a solemn nod.
Panam’s frown deepened. “You two are up to something.”
Carol smirked. “Ain’t we always?”
V, watching them with growing amusement, nudged Panam. “C’mon, what’s the harm? Let’s look around a little more.”
Panam turned, giving her an incredulous look. “You too?”
Cassidy slung an arm around Panam’s shoulders, steering her toward another section of the fair. “Ain’t no harm in killin’ a little time, Panam. Y’been runnin’ ‘round all serious-like—take a moment, enjoy the fair.”
Carol, walking ahead, glanced back with a sly smile. “Yeah, what’s the rush? You got a hot date or somethin’?”
Panam scoffed, shoving Cassidy’s arm off her. “You two are asking for trouble. Spit it out, what are you planning?”
Cassidy placed a hand over his chest, expression wounded. “Darlin’, that accusation cuts me deep.”
Carol, on the other hand, didn’t bother playing innocent at all. “Look, just humor us for another half hour, alright? There’s somethin’ we wanna check out.”
Panam’s eyes narrowed. “I swear—”
Cassidy cut her off smoothly. “Y’can swear all ya want, just follow us. It’ll be fun, promise.”
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Panam had let Cassidy and Carol drag her around for the last half hour, pretending to be interested in whatever useless junk they pointed out.
A stall selling old cowboy hats. Another with a pile of knives that Carol took way too long inspecting. A food stand where Cassidy insisted they had to try the smoked jerky. None of it was important. And Panam knew it.
She shot V a sideways glance. “You see what they’re doing, right?”
V, casually chewing on a piece of jerky Cassidy had so graciously bought for them, just smirked. “Yup.”
Panam huffed. “And you’re just going along with it?”
V shrugged. “Yup.”
Cassidy, having heard the conversation between the pair, spoke. “Sugar, you always assume the worst. Why can’t we just wanna spend some quality time together?”
Before Panam could fire back, a voice boomed over the fairgrounds.
“Alright, folks! Gather ‘round! It’s time for the moment you’ve all been waitin’ for—this year’s Fair’s Cutest Couple contest!”
Cassidy and Carol turned to her at the exact same time, matching grins stretching across their faces.
“Oh, hell no,” Panam said, taking a step back, putting two and two together real quick.
“Oh, hell yes,” Carol corrected, steering her toward the growing crowd in front of the stage.
“What the fuck did you two do?”
Cassidy slung an arm around both Panam and V like he hadn’t just committed a crime. “Now, just hear ‘em out.” he said, like this was some casual favour and not absolute betrayal.
V, having just finished the last bite of her jerky, blinked as realization finally hit.
“Wait… you signed us up?”
Carol smirked, unrepentant. “Sure did.”
V blinked again. Then, to Panam’s growing horror, her mouth stretched into a slow, delighted grin.
“Oh, this is fantastic.”
Panam whipped her head around, eyes wide. “You’re enjoying this?”
V grinned, a little too wide, a little too eager. “I mean… why not?” She tried to downplay her emotions. “It’s just a dumb contest, Panam. No big deal.”
Except it was for V. She and Panam weren’t together—but standing next to her, the idea of being shoved into a couple’s contest, with her, sent a spark through her chest.
Carol smirked, watching the whole thing unfold like she had planned it down to the last second. “Told ya this would be fun.”
Panam barely had time to respond before the host continued, reading off the names.
"And the winners, this year’s Cutest Couple…" The woman who had talked with Cassidy and Carol dragged it out for dramatic effect. "…are Panam and V! Come on up, lovebirds!"
The little crowd that had gathered erupted into cheers. Panam felt the blood drain from her face.
Carol let out a sharp whistle. Cassidy clapped her on the back, grinning like he’d just struck gold. “Well, would ya look at that.”
Panam spun to face them, eyes blazing. “We are going to have a serious conversation when we get back to camp.”
Carol, completely unbothered, waved a hand dismissively. “Sure. Whatever you say.”
Before Panam could turn and flee, V grabbed her hand, fingers intertwining effortlessly, and pulled her toward the stage.
“C’mon, lovebird. No backing out now.”
“I am not—”
“Oh, come on!” someone in the crowd shouted. “Let’s see ‘em!”
V’s grip was firm but easy, like this wasn’t a big deal, like it was the most natural thing in the world. But for Panam, it might as well have been a live wire pressed to her skin.
Her instincts screamed at her to pull away, to shove her hands into her pockets and act like this wasn’t affecting her, but she didn’t. Despite the heat crawling up her neck, despite the way her stomach twisted into a knot, V’s hand was warm and comfortable.
V leaned in, her breath warm against Panam’s ear, and whispered in a teasing, damn near lethal tone. “Unless you want people to think you’re shy…”
Her pride kicking in like a survival instinct, she straightened up and shot V a glare, one that probably would’ve been more effective if her ears weren’t burning. “Not a damn chance.”
With absolutely no way out, Panam stomped up onto the stage, dragging V along with her.
Once they were both on stage, the host stepped forward, microphone in hand. “Look at ‘em, folks! Picture-perfect, huh?”
Panam’s pulse pounding harder than she wanted to admit. She wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or annoyance. The host grinned wide, the mic crackling as she shifted closer.
“Alright, folks! Let’s really put these two to the test. Panam, this question is for you.” He skimmed her notes before looking back up. “What’s something V does when she is sad?”
It took Panam surprisingly very little time to find the answer to the question. She scoffed, shaking her head. “She will try so damn hard to not let people see it.”
She leaned into the mic just a little. Her gazed toward V for a second before settling somewhere ahead, like she couldn’t look for too long or she’d give something away.
“She doesn’t do obvious sadness. She still cracks jokes, still throws out that cocky-ass grin like she’s got everything under control. And most people buy it.”
Panam closed her eyes for just a second, not to hide, but to picture it better. “But how I know she’s sad? She blinks too much when people are talking. Like she’s listening, like she’s there but she’s not. It’s just a split-second hesitation, like she’s trying to push something down before someone sees it.” Panam shifted her weight, her lips pressing together briefly before she continued.
“And her smile...” Her voice softened. “It’s wrong. It’s off. Usually, it makes the corners of her eyes crinkle, makes her whole damn face light up. But when she’s sad...” Panam shook her head. “...it’s too slow. A little too rehearsed. Like she’s making sure she gets it right instead of just… feeling it.”
Her voice dropped lower now, something quieter, closer. “And if you ask her if she’s okay, she always says the same thing—”
V’s couldn’t help but chuckle at the observation, she already knew what was coming as she had said it very often lately.
“...‘I’m just charging up my social battery.’”
She finally turned back to the host. “So yeah. I know.” She huffed. “And I hate that she thinks I don’t.”
A slow, creeping awareness settled in Panam’s chest, like she’d just handed over something important without meaning to. V was staring at her now. Not in a teasing way, not like she was amused, but genuinely looking at her.
Panam forced herself to turn away, shrugged her shoulders like she could shake off whatever the hell was happening inside her. “It’s not that hard to figure out,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone.
“Beautiful answer!” The host was pleasantly surprised.
She was still processing her own damn answer when the host turned to V, her grin stretching wide. “Alright, V, your turn. And let’s really see if you’ve been paying as close attention to Panam.” She paused for effect, letting the energy settle before she delivered the question.
"What’s the one thing about Panam that makes you certain she cares?"
She had been expecting something easy, something she could brush off with a quick answer to keep things playful, keep it safe. But this was different. Her breath caught for just a second. How was she supposed to say this out loud? She could feel Panam watching her now, that sharp, expectant gaze locked onto her.
V leaned into the mic, tilting her head slightly, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. Not because she was amused but because she knew Panam was already bracing for whatever came next.
"She gives." Her voice was steady, deliberate. "And I know that sounds simple, but coming from Panam, it’s something special."
She felt the faintest twitch of Panam’s fingers, still wrapped around her own.
"She won’t say it," V continued, voice dropping lower. "Not in words, anyway. But you don’t need words to see it." She let out a slow breath, barely realizing how tight her chest had gotten.
"She acts like it’s just convenience, like she’s not going out of her way but it’s bullshit. She always goes out of her way." V exhaled a quiet laugh, shaking her head at the memory. "Like when my bike was running like shit, and I told her it was fine. That it’d hold. Well...next morning? She’d already torn the whole damn engine apart, fixed things I didn’t even know were busted. And when I tried to thank her..."
She turned, meeting Panam’s gaze directly.
V swallowed, her voice softer now, more serious. "She fights for the people she cares about. Pushes, argues, stomps her way into your business even when you don’t want her there because she cares too much to let you fuck yourself over." There was something in her tone, a mix of admiration and exasperation.
Then, after a beat, she dared to say it.
"And if you have her total trust...even when she’s pissed, even if you give her every reason to walk away...she stays.”
The host chuckled, still grinning. “Well, that was one hell of an answer. And y’know what? You two deserve a little something for it.”
She pulled a card from her pocket, holding it up.
“A romantic dinner for two, courtesy of Nomad’s Bite, best damn eatery this side of the Badlands.”
A round of cheers and good-natured laughter followed, but V barely heard any of it. She was still riding the aftershock of what she had just felt.
Panam, beside her, seemed to be processing the same feeling. It didn’t seem as she was uncomfortable exactly, but most definitely working through something. Her hands had let go of V’s after the announcement and were now crossed, a classic Panam defence move. They stepped down from the stage into the waiting presence of Cassidy and Carol, who were both grinning.
“Well, shit. That was a little too real, sweetheart.” Carol gave Panam a knowing look. “You sure you two aren’t actually—”
“Nope.” Panam cut in fast.
V knew that Panam was rattled, not something that happened often. But instead of making a big deal of it, V just smirked.
“C’mon, Panam. Free meal, best food in the Badlands… candlelight…” She turned her head, eyes gleaming with mischief. “Sounds kinda date-ish to me.”
Panam groaned. “I hate you.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” V’s voice was light, teasing.
Cassidy and Carol were still watching them, amused in that way only people who knew about these two could be. Panam, still standing there with her arms crossed, exhaled sharply. “Great. Let’s just get this over with.”
Cassidy chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry. You got time. Gives you two lovebirds time to pick out somethin’ nice to wear.”
“I swear to—”
V threw an arm around Panam’s shoulders before she could start cursing Cassidy out, ready to poke the bear. “Aw, don’t be shy, Panam. Candlelight, best seat in the house, a nice little dress…”
Panam shoved V off her so hard she nearly stumbled. Cassidy and Carol both laughed.
“I should have left you back in camp today.” Panam muttered, already turning to leave.
V, still grinning, followed. But not before catching Carol’s parting words:
“One way or another, you two are gonna figure it out.”
Panam definitely heard it, too, but she didn’t look back.