'What the hell, Legion?' the Courier hissed, as she was yanked back from the alleyway's entrance by a none too gentle tug on her wrist. She narrowly avoided stumbling on loose rubble, and it took her a moment to get her balance back; when she did, she glared daggers at her companion. Vulpes just glared silently back, before sharply jerking his head towards the sunlit street beyond their dark alcove. Six followed the gesture, and understood. A pair of NCR soldiers were patrolling – and not only were they patrolling, but they seemed to be questioning everyone they saw.
'Shit,' she whispered, realising all at once that the 'alleyway' they were in was little more than a small niche for the door they'd just come out of, which was, on cue, bolted shut behind them. 'Shit.'
Six grimaced at the predicament they were in: there was no way they'd be able to move from the shadow of the alleyway into the brightly lit Freeside street without being noticed, and all it would take was a passing glance into their shallow cover for them to be seen. If they tried to run for it they'd be considered suspicious and chased, and any gunshots would draw more attention. There was no going back, and there was no going forward.
'Shit on toast,' she cursed again, fear beginning to bubble at the bottom of her gut.
Vulpes was still silent, his blue eyes slowly narrowing as he too ran through possible scenarios, dismissing them one by one, until he suddenly stiffened all over. He was still holding the Courier's wrist; she turned to him, feeling the tension, only to find him staring intensely at her. She was about to spit something venomous when he pulled her towards him so suddenly, and so hard, that she stumbled again, falling roughly against him as he pressed against the wall, as far into the shadows as possible. She was about to ask him what the fuck, exactly, he thought he was doing, but all her protestations turned to ashes on her lips as he snaked his free arm around her waist. Sheer shock rendered Six speechless as she looked up at the legionary, across a space of barely a few inches, which soon closed as he brought his lips to her ear.
'If they recognise us, we're both dead, Courier,' he purred. Drawing back, a smug smirk hung off his lips as he saw understanding, then revulsion seep into Six's features.
'You bastard,' she whispered, reaching up to untie her hair so that it fell in a curtain to one side, hiding their faces from the street, where the NCR troopers had moved on from their last interrogation.
'You think I want this any more than you do?' Vulpes retorted brusquely, his other arm finding its way around her middle nonetheless. He glared down at the Courier before lowering his head towards her, the breath of his final words brushing her lips. 'Kiss me like the profligate whore you are.'
So she did. With all the leverage she could muster, Six slammed him back against the wall, relishing his grunt of surprise before crushing her lips to his and hooking her arms more tightly than necessary around his neck. Both of the NCR troopers were male, so she knew that if they made enough of a show they'd likely remain undisturbed, as long as they gave the men something to look at. Perverted cretins, she thought viciously, as Vulpes' hands ran up her back, pulling her vest from her shorts and revealing skin. It was a good thing they weren't wearing armour, or the tactic would never work.
The rough kiss broke for a moment, and Vulpes chanced a sideways glance at the street as they both tried to catch their breath. The troopers had stopped, and seemed to be looking in their direction. They'd been seen.
'Showtime,' he growled, and when his eyes locked with the Courier's, there was something distinctly predatory there. The timbre of his voice sent an unexpected shot of arousal down Six's spine, and it must have shown on her face, because she could feel Vulpes smiling into the next kiss he gave her. That, of course, only served to make her utterly furious, and she bit hard into the skin of his neck at the next opportunity, savouring the metallic taste of blood on her tongue. Even more satisfying was the tiny gasp it elicited from her opponent, and she lowered evilly at him even as she raised a leg to allow better access to her naked thigh. Vulpes didn't miss a trick, and his hand was there immediately, pushing upwards against the bottom of her shorts.
Six, unable to turn her head for fear of moving the protective shield that was her hair, began to wonder how long they'd have to keep this up for, when Vulpes' hand slid up from her thigh to her torso. His long fingers caught the bottom of her vest on the way up, revealing her hips and stomach to their audience, whilst he palmed a breast through the rough fabric. This had to be the end game. Much to her consternation, the moan that escaped the Courier as Vulpes thumbed a nipple to attention wasn't entirely fake, nor even, truth be told, intentional. Feeling him smirk against her lips incensed her again, and she decided that two could play at that game, as she ground her hips against his crotch and was rewarded with a rumbling, shuddery hiss.
He looked down at her angrily, irritated that she was playing him at his own game – and managing it so well – before burying a hand in her hair and kissing her ferociously. This time it was Six's turn to smile against his lips; she could taste his acrimony, and couldn't help but enjoy it.
Finally, from somewhere to her right, Six heard the catcalls and whistling that meant their NCR companions were finished enjoying the show, followed by booted footsteps retreating. Relief flooded her system, and her arms relaxed around Vulpes' neck; she let them slip down to splay her hands against his chest, whilst his own hand dropped from her breast back to her waist. The pace of their kiss slowed, and Vulpes' other hand disentangled itself from the Courier's hair with a gentleness she hadn't expected, tugging her vest back down to decency as it went. He continued to hold her against him, a slender index finger tracing lazy circles on the exposed skin above the band of her shorts, and Six unconsciously leaned into him.
When their lips broke apart some thirty seconds later, they remained where they were, both slightly dazed by the combination of adrenaline and arousal now draining out of them. It was Vulpes who came to his senses first, removing his arms from the Courier's waist and looking down at her expectantly once he had composed his face back into its accustomed neutrality. The removal of his hands made Six look up, and reality hit her full force like a cazadore sting to the gut. She backed away quickly, nearly tripping again in her haste to hide her blush from the legionary, and they both stood in awkward silence. Neither wished to confront the fact that the encounter had lasted longer than strictly necessary, and that both parties had thoroughly enjoyed it.
There were only a couple of feet between them in the small alleyway, but it felt like a chasm, and when their eyes met across it, both knew something had changed. Six gulped, and Vulpes smirked.
Well, she thought. That's torn it.