Courtesy of a Fallout kink meme prompt. M for sexual content. Reviews/critiques are always welcome (I don't bruise easily). I apologize in advance for some campy lines.

May contain minor spoilers for The Replicated Man quest line.

As always, Fallout and characters, locations, etc. are property of Bethesda and respective owners.


He was haunted by the secretive smile that had played across her lips. He'd first seen it when he told her he intended to remain in Rivet City after she had killed Zimmer for him. He'd seen it many times since, but still hadn't puzzled out meaning from it. It was always the same. Slightly teasing, slightly amused, with a half-lidded gaze in accompaniment.

Harkness rolled over on his bunk. Sleep was unnecessary, but appearances needed to be kept. Usually, he went into suspended mode, but try as he might, he couldn't stop thinking of that smile. It made him feel restless as well as confused. But most importantly, it made him feel.

When she had said the command phrase that brought his memories back, he was sure his 'Harkness' identity would be swept away. Instead, he was more attached to it than ever. He found himself clinging to the semblance of humanity that it gave him.

Logic stated he should be as cold and emotionless as a machine, and yet he still felt human. Even his memories as a self-aware android were plagued with guilt and regret, and after living as a man for years, he found it couldn't be left behind so easily.

Harkness rolled out of the bunk and strode towards the upper decks. He needed some air, although couldn't explain why, even to himself. Even in the still of the night, there was constant noise in Rivet City. The ship itself brought noises of creaking metal, and the denizens within filled the rest of the night with a unceasing murmur of voices, laughter, and life itself.

His steps faltered as he stepped onto what should have been deserted decks. Patrols were infrequent, and most citizens preferred to spend their time at the Muddy Rudder when they weren't at the market or in their beds. In the dead of night, it should have been doubly deserted.

She cast a startled glance at him before her expression settled into an easy smile. She stood leaning against the railing in a relaxed stance. The vault girl was a mystery to him. The 'Lone Wanderer' they called her, savior of the Capital Wasteland. They said she had settled in Megaton, and yet, she was here in Rivet City more often than not. He was sure the boy Butch had something to do with that.

"Harkness," she murmured. She patted the railing next to her, indicating he should join her. She was one of the two people in the wasteland who knew who, and more importantly, what he was. He originally thought she was going to start treating him as though he was some curiosity to be studied, but she never once treated him as anything other than the man he pretended to be.

"What are you doing out here?" It came out more gruffly than he had intended, but she seemed not to mind.

"I like it out here." Her voice was hushed. "When I'm here alone, I can forget all about what's going on out there. I can forget all about expectations." For a second, he thought he glimpsed a trace of sadness in her smile, but it was gone before he could be sure.

"Expectations?" Harkness knew he should mind his own business, but he couldn't help probing. The woman knew all of his secrets, she could hardly begrudge him.

"Let's just say it's hard being my father's daughter sometimes." Her laughter rang false against his ears. She waved his question away. "It makes no difference. I come up here to be free of everything for a time, and I tire of introspection." She gave him a sidelong glance. "Now what brings you up here?"

"I..." He faltered. Telling the Lone Wandered that he was preoccupied with puzzling her out probably wouldn't go over well. "Just restless, I guess." He finished lamely.

Her laughter was genuine this time. "I imagine Commander Danvers is still hounding you." Her teasing smile was back.

Harkness shifted uncomfortably. His second in command had always shown an acute interest in him. He had been tempted to give in, but that was before...

He snorted in response. "And what about that boy Butch, he follows you around like a puppy. Lana's got nothing on the looks that boy shoots you."

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Chief?" She turned to face him, leaning her hip against the railing. Her teasing smile was back.

"I'm not even human. I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Was he jealous? Butch was a pain in the ass. Surely that's where his dislike came from.

"Oh come off it Harkness. You're more human than most in this wasteland, I can tell you that for sure." She stepped closer, and he couldn't help but notice how clean she smelled. "I've seen the way you look at me. And don't even try to tell me your interest is mechanical."

"You're imagining things." Harkness knew he should be leaving, but he couldn't make himself budge from her side.

"Am I?" Harkness stood in mute silence as she reached up and gently pulled his lips to hers in a light kiss.

He knew he should pull away, but knowing and doing were two different things. Her lips were a soft fount of heat against his, and he felt his abdomen tighten in response. Androids were slaves in the Commonwealth, and he knew a number of runners he had brought down were designed to accommodate all of their master's needs. Nothing in his memories gave him any indication that he had those subroutines as well, but it seemed as though his body had preconditioned responses.

The Lone Wanderer pulled away from him, her eyes searching his.

"I'm sorry Harkness, I really shouldn't have... That was unkind of me." The sad expression resurfaced for a split second before she buried it again. "I'll see you around, hey?"

His mind raced as she turned to leave. This was madness. She had men clamoring for her attentions and yet she was up here with him. Or would be. And here he stood, dumbstruck, like so many of the runners when he caught up with them a lifetime ago. His arm shot out of its own accord, blocking her retreat.

"This is such a bad idea" he muttered as he pulled her back into his embrace.

He had kissed women before during his 'human episode,' as he liked to call it, but he had armored himself in duty and never progressed beyond kissing and groping. His implanted memories contained more, but this kiss felt like nothing he recalled. Maybe it was because he was self-conscious about how she made his body respond. Preconditioning or not, he could feel himself stiffening as she clung to him.

Harkness let out an involuntary groan as her hand drifted from his torso to the bulge in his pants, pausing to tease circles in the fabric. Her light teasing touch was almost too much. He wanted nothing more than to strip her bare and fuck that little teasing smile off her face. Only doubt held him back.

"Relax Chief. You're not going to break me." Her breath puffed gently against his ear lobe. She punctuated her breathy declaration by capturing his earlobe in her mouth and flicking it gently with her tongue.

He consulted his implanted memories and used the knowledge he found there to guide his hand down the front of her pants. Her folds were hot and moist under his fingertips as he traced the seam. The Lone Wanderer shivered under his touch. Contact was broken briefly as she unclasped her pants and shimmied out of them and underwear both.

Her face was flushed as she pulled him back into a deep kiss, guiding his hand back into position. She obviously wasn't content with his light explorations as she cupped her hand around his and guided two of his fingers into her.

She moaned against his mouth as he began stroking her. He marveled at how slick she was. She began rocking her hips into his fingers and broke off the kiss to gasp into his neck.

"Ahh... Not yet." She used her hand to still his and guide it out. Her lips were captured between her teeth and she shivered as his fingers left her. Harkness felt the pangs of desire tighten in his abdomen as he watched a string of moisture followed his fingers out.

The secretive smile was back as she began to undress him. Her light, lingering caresses as she pulled his shirt off did nothing to stifle the growing impatience he was feeling. If anything, it made it worse.

With a grunt, he stopped her and before she could react, he lifted her and planted her ass against the railing. She threw her arms around his shoulders to balance herself as he used one hand to part her legs and the other to free himself from his pants.

They both moaned simultaneously as he thrust himself into her. His world narrowed down to her hot flesh clenched around him and the little gasps that escaped from her every time he buried himself inside. He barely registered her nails digging into his back as she clutched him.

All doubt was gone, washed away by desire to go harder, faster, deeper. Her legs wrapped around him seemed to beckon him on, her heels making him drive into her with increasing intensity.

When she threw her head back and let out an exclamation of "Oh God!" he found himself nipping at the place where her neck and shoulders met.

Everything else paled as he felt her clenching around him. Each spasm sucked at him eagerly. Harkness let go of his self control, his inhibitions, and thrust himself deeper. His body no longer seemed under his control. His muscles went rigid, and as the contractions struck, each wave seemed more unbearable than the last.

He sagged, spent, against her. Nothing in his memory banks had prepared him for this. His body seemed to thrum, and for the first time in recent memory, he felt completely relaxed.

Her chuckle startled him out of his reverie. "I didn't mean the 'you're not going to break me' statement as a challenge, Harkness."

He pulled back in alarm, almost upending her over the railing in the process.

"Did I hurt you?" He lifted her off the railing and eased her back onto her feet. He noted the way she still clutched him for support. Worry settled into his gut.

"I'm fine. Legs have turned into jelly. I just need a few minutes to recuperate." She eased herself to the deck floor and reclined back with her forearms crossed behind her head. Harkness fastened his pants back up and joined her.

"Sorry, I had never done that before. I didn't mean to lose control."

"Wait, what?" The shocked look on her face made him smile.

"Well, I mean, I had implanted memories of it. But I've never had sex myself. Hell, I wasn't even sure if I were capable."

Her look of shock melted into amusement.

"Oh ho, I'd say you're more than capable. But of course, we may need to repeat the experiment. You know, for science."

Harkness couldn't help but laugh.