Nora took a deep, steadying breath as she watched Nick ever so carefully remove his tie. His latex hand was slow and careful with the ancient clothing; hit metal hand clumsier but just as gentle. What would they look like removing her clothes?

She groaned and covered her burning red face with her hands.

"Something wrong, doll?"

Peeking through her hands, Nora shook her head. "Nope. I'm absolutely fine."

Oh. He was shirtless now. Totally bare naked from the waist up. His torso was separated into large hexagonal panels, thick grooves disappearing into the hem of his trousers. Not human, but certainly not bad either. Nora let her gaze trail down his chest, drifting down his stomach before coming to rest on a deep crevice above his left hip. Something had taken a chunk out of him and left only a wire filled hole with ragged edges.

"Not a pretty sight, huh?" Nick joked, but his voice sounded… odd. Distant.

Nora's stomach knotted painfully as she glanced up, lip curling into a frown. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare! I just… I didn't realise you'd been injured." She let her thumb ghost over the sharp ridge over his hip where fake flesh ended and metal began. "Does it hurt?"

Nick jerked away from her touch, glowing eyes widening in the semi-darkness of the unlit room. He said nothing, lips pursed tightly as if trying to stop himself from making a sound. Eventually he released a breath. Did Nick even need to breathe? She was pretty sure he didn't. "It doesn't hurt, doll - but it feels… strange. Like trying to stand when you have pins and needles."

Nora nodded silently. That wasn't all, and she knew it. A person didn't react like that because of any pins and needles she had ever experienced. But as her eyes drifted back to the ragged hole in his side, she felt something heavy form in her stomach.

She couldn't help with that, but she could at least help fix what the radstorm had caused. Maybe she could even fix some of his emotional scars, too. God knew she had been trying.

Taking another slow intake of breath, Nora held it for a moment before releasing it in one slow huff. "Okay, how do I remove the front panel?"

Nick took a deep drag of his cigarette before replying. "Lift up the bottom and it'll come loose. There's a tab underneath you can hook your finger under, and the whole thing should come off."

Okay. Easy enough. Nora's hands shook as she nudged the bottom of the largest panel and her fingers slid underneath it with ease. See? She was fine. Nothing to worry about. Her fingers found a little metal tab and it only took a feather-light touch to unhinge it. In moments the outer panel came away in Nora's hands.

Nora shuddered as she carefully set it aside. That was part of Nick. Part of him that she had just removed as if he was some kind of object. It left behind a dark hole where his chest and stomach would have been, if he was human. It was a mess of tangled wires and strange chunks of metal held together with thick layers of duct tape. At the very back she could just see a long, segmented string of silver. A metallic spine?

It's fine, she told herself, doctors do this all the time. Her fists clenched around a handful of her t-shirt until her knuckles turned white.

"Doll?"

Heart stuttering in her chest, Nora flicked her eyes up to meet Nick's. "Yeah, sorry. I'm good just… tell me what to do." She kept her eyes studiously on Nick's face, dark brows knitted together.

"Before we start I uh… want to ask you something."

Uh oh. She inhaled a sharp breath, eyes widening. "Go ahead Nick. I'm listening." Even to her own ears, the tightness in her voice was clear.

Nick shuffled away, consciously turning his body away from Nora as if that could somehow hide the cavern in his torso. "This… well, I don't think there's any way for me to say this without being awkward, so I'll just come out and say it. I hope you seeing me like this isn't going to change anything between us."

Her heart sank, settling deep inside her gut, weighing heavily inside her. Without thinking she took his hand in hers - the metal one, the one he so carefully kept away from her - and gently guided him back to face her. "No way, Nick. I offered, remember? It's not like I didn't already know you were a synth."

"It isn't the same, though," he replied, nose crinkling. For someone with limited facial movement, he did a good job of looking disgusted. "Like this, I feel even less of a person. I don't want to scare you off - I wouldn't know what to do without you, doll." Nick forced a smile, but the corners of his lips didn't curl up in that mismatched way Nora loved.

God, Nora was so dense! How hadn't she seen it before? Of course this was going to be awkward and weird, but it wasn't just because he was self conscious. Did he really think she was going to run off the second the reality of his non-humanity settled in?

I wouldn't know what to do without you. Was it possible Nick felt the same about her as she did about him?

Despite the heavy feeling still nestled in her gut, Nora felt a grin spread across her sharp features. "You won't get rid of me so easily, Nick Valentine. I'm here for the long haul. For one, you're not ditching me in the middle of an important case. We have Shaun to find, remember."

"That the only reason you keep me around?" He smiled a little wider - and this time his lips did tilt in that lopsided way and Nora melted at the sight of him. She really could get lost in those lips, in the way the corners of his eyes crinkled…

Clearing her throat, Nora ducked her head so she could pry open the tool kit with unsteady hands. She just hoped he didn't notice the dark flush spreading across her tanned face. "Of course not! The company is good, and you're pretty easy on the eyes." No. Why did her brain have to think that - worse, why did her mouth have to say it? She was honest to god flirting with Nick, right after he had bared his heart to her - literally and figuratively.

She was a disaster of a human being.

Nora felt Nick's glowing eyes on her and she caught his stunned expression, brows furrowed, before he relaxed into a smile again. "Flatterer. Thanks, though, for helping ease an old synth's worries."

"Any time, Nick. Now, where do I start?"

"Look for a bundle of wires on the left. If you find any frayed ones, tape them up."

"Tape isn't really a permanent solution," Nora pointed out, narrowing her eyes, I don't want to shorting out on me, Valentine."

Although, most of his insides were held together with frayed strips of tape. Her chest felt heavy with the knowledge that, unlike humans who needed doctors, there probably wasn't anyone who knew how to fix him up properly.

They didn't have any spare wires though - Nora really was trying to curb her junk hoarding habit - so they had to make do. With a deep breath Nora carefully slid her hand inside Nick's torso, taking a gentle handful of white and red wires. There was a little cluster beginning to fall apart, so Nora tore off a piece of tape and gently wrapped it around the wires.

"You're doing good, kid. See if you can find a thick black one - feels like it's come loose. Hope the rain didn't damage it too much."

Nora winced at his words, delicate hands stumbling with the handful of Nick's wires. Sure, radiation was bad for her - but a quick Rad-X solved that problem. If Nick got soaked, it was game over.

She brushed past more metal and wires, methodically sifting through them until her fingers brushed a thick black wire dangling near the back. Hand inside as far as it could go, she struggled to get a hold of it for a moment. Damn, why did the important bit have to be so hard to get to?

Finally, finally, her fingers curled around the wire. "Aha! Okay, where does it go?"

"See the fourth vertebrae on my spine? It has a little notch the wire slips into."

So it was his spine Nora spotted earlier. Despite herself, she shuddered. Nora knew she was treating Nick like delicate china - but when she looked at him, all dented metal and rust, it was difficult not to imagine him falling to pieces underneath her gentle touch. She swallowed the lump in her throat and slowly slid the black wire into its rightful home.

Relief flooded here the instant she drew her hand away, an audible sigh leaving her. Phew! She wriggled her hand out of Nick's torso, hand bumping against an intricate cluster of gears and metal where a human heart would have been. It was warm to the touch - almost hot, like an overheating phone. Not like that analogy would have meant much to anyone post-war.

Beside her Nick froze, back arching. He let out a small hiss between clenched lips.

Immediately Nora drew back, eyes wide with horror. "Oh shit Nick, did I hurt you? I'm so sorry!" She scooted back on the sofa to get a better look at him, bright green eyes searching his face for any signs of discomfort.

He avoided her gaze, digging around in the pocket of his trousers for the gold plated lighter. With a quick flick, another of the never ending cigarettes lit up in his skeletal hand. "No, not exactly doll. That's uh, well, a sensitive spot."

Brow quirked, Nora asked, "if it doesn't hurt, then what?" Hopefully she hadn't knocked something out of place or messed with his sensors.

Nick couldn't blush without blood, but the way he ducked his head, eyes downcast, she was sure he would have. "It's nothing."

She let out a small, snorting laugh and shuffled forward. "C'mon Nick, now you have me curious! Don't keep a lady in the dark." Head tilted to the side, a few strands of dirty blonde hair fell in her eyes, brushing against her small button nose.

Nick couldn't hold her gaze; instead he took a deep drag of his cigarette, watching the ash gather at the end. "You really want me to say it? When you touch that spot it's…arousing."

Oh. Oh! Nora's cheeks flushed dark crimson. "Really?" A devilish grin spread across her lips as she leaned forward, one hand hovering above the ragged edges of his torso. "So every time I dothis," she paused to reach in, brushing the edge of the metal core with delicate fingers, "you basically get a synth orgasm?"

"Doll," Nick warned, golden-yellow eyes narrowed to slits. "What are you doing?" She brushed his core again and he tensed, flesh hand gripping the arm of the sofa as if his life depended on it.

Nora was so close - another few inches and she could have kissed him. Her left arm, the one almost elbow deep inside Nick's chest, felt stiff, forced at an odd angle as she crept closer, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was Nick's scent; thick with cigarette smoke and greased gears and aged metal. She inhaled, a small sigh escaping her-

And then her lips were on his. He tasted of copper and tobacco, lips warm but much firmer than a human's. She sighed into him, enjoying the feel of his bottom lip captured between hers. Her free hand reached up to cup Nick's face, thumb tracing over the edge of the exposed parts of his jaw. Her other hand slid free of its hold on his core, sliding down to his waist, pulling him close.

God, she had waited so long for this.

Then Nick jerked away, stumbling to his feet and almost tripping over a rotted floorboard. "What was that?"

"Huh?"

All of a sudden, reality came crashing down on her. Cheeks flushed, tears pricking the corners of her eyes, she sank into the sofa. If only it could bury her completely. "I-I thought you…Fuck. I screwed this up, didn't I? Shit, Nick, I'm so sorry." Her hands gripped the hem of her shirt, knotting it tightly around thick fingers. She glared at them, lips curling into a scowl.

Silence. She heard Nick gather up the repair kit, snapping it closed, and then felt the air move as he brushed past her - apparently giving her as wide a berth as possible.

"You should get some sleep. I can do the rest of the repairs myself. See you in the morning, doll." His voice was tight, withdrawn.

"Yeah, Sure. I'll unroll my sleeping bag in the other room." Nora pulled herself to her feet, ignoring how her legs felt stiff, body heavy, heart slowly sinking into the pit of her stomach.

She didn't look back as she left the little living room, softly closing the door behind her. She tried not to think as she let her feet carry her to the next room, tried not to let her mind drift back to Nick, the feeling of his lips against hers, her hand caressing the side of his jaw…

Outside the radstorm still raged strong, battering against the crumbling walls, shaking the windows in their frames. She couldn't hear Nick over the storm - and maybe that was for the best. What was he doing now, unable to sleep, left alone to think?

With a heavy sigh Nora kicked off her boots and crawled into her bedroll. Usually the softness of the pillow was comforting, a sign of a good night's rest after a difficult day - but she knew sleep was a long,longway away