Echo
Epilogue
There was a frisson in the air. It felt like static. Harkness waited for it to reach him, but it didn't. The disturbance in the air affected his rest and he opened his eyes. There was a warm weight draped over him, clutching onto his neck, breathing slow over his skin. Under him, the mattress was soft. So was the blanket covering his legs. Harkness shifted, feeling aches in strange places flitting in his skin.
The room was dark. But there was a glow pulsing across the ceiling. It faded in and out. Craning his neck, Harkness scanned the room, trying to locate its source. It was Butch's pip-boy. Its screen was casting a light on the ceiling and the walls.
A message. Right. The pip-boy had received a message.
Had he done that while they were…together? He prodded his system. No. There were no new messages he had sent. Harkness rolled over and grasped Butch's shoulder. Butch hissed in annoyance at being woken up.
"Seriously, what the hell –"
"Your pip-boy's calling for you," Harkness explained. Butch's eyes flew open.
In a second, he sprang up off the bed, separating himself from Harkness. Without a backward glance, he shuffled to the other table. He was still bare naked. When he pressed the switch on the wall, the whole room was flooded with light. Butch didn't even attempt to take his crutches, grabbing his pip-boy instead. Harkness watched as he strapped the gadget onto his arm and pressed a button. The pulsing light faded. Butch's eyes darted from left to right as he read.
"Want a drink, tin man?" Butch asked, distractedly. Before Harkness could reply, Butch opened the door and left, his vision glued onto the pip-boy.
Bullshit.
Was that Someone Else who contacted him on the pip-boy? It was, wasn't it? Shit. Something pitched in his stomach. He felt uneasy. Tense. Harkness rolled his shoulders. He smelled like Butch.
Soft footsteps made their way back. When Butch crossed the threshold into the room, he was holding a bottle of water. A cold one. Harkness could see the condensation forming on it. Butch didn't say anything to him, his eyes still looking at the pip-boy.
His system informed Harkness that he was 3 hours 52 minutes 16 seconds away from his next shift. Turning over, he could see their discarded clothes still on the floor. Should he pick them up? Put them on? Leave?
"It's Nosebleed," Butch broke the silence. Harkness looked up at him. Leaning against the table across from him, Butch uncapped the bottle and took a gulp. "He's sayin' that he just got back from some lookout place. Asked if I'm okay, if I'm still in Rivet City." Butch drank again. Harkness glanced at the pip-boy still strapped on his arm.
"What did you say?" he pressed. Butch pulled the bottle from his lips and re-capped it.
"Told him he could fuckin' check for himself or piss off cause I'm busy." Right. That was just like Butch to answer.
"Doing what?" Harkness asked. Butch placed the bottle onto the table and stared at him.
"You." Butch smirked. "I checked your schedule on the fridge, tin man. You ain't on duty yet." Butch paused. "I mean, y'know… if you're up for it."
Well…
He looked down at his own body and at the state of the room. Then he let himself admire the expanse of naked skin offered to him, hindered by the bandage around a fractured ankle and that pip-boy. Right. Harkness watched the light of Butch's pip-boy flash again. Butch lifted it up to look at the new message.
:SEND sys{A3-21} to BD01_SK; 15:37
- Come back.
end.
This story was written as a gift for Lilibombe. She had actually requested one sex scene which involved Harkness feeling turned on while Butch was working on his system. So, erm, I kind of expanded that and built a story around it.
You, though. Thank you for reading. Thank you for all the comments, reviews, follows and favs. Thank you everyone who has stuck with this until the end. I know this took some time but thank you so much for your support and patience. It means so much to me. I really am grateful for your presence, and probably wouldn't have made it without you. Take care everyone! See you again soon!