Chapter Specific Characters: Porter Gage, Skye
Chapter Specific Tags/Warnings: explicit cuddles, nyctophobia, decaying corpses, crying
As it turned out, Ash didn't know where Salem was. It took a few hours of walking from where he and Gage had been relayed in to find the museum and by then, the sun was starting to set and the air was only getting colder. To make matters worse, or actually better for Ash because he was rather fond of spooky shit, the front doors to the museum wouldn't open, leaving the only entrance being a door to the basement around the side of the building with a mutilated corpse laying nearby.
"I told you this would be fun, Gage." Ash said, nudging a few pieces of the corpse around before spotting a holotape among the remains.
"When it comes to killin', I have fun. When it comes to stealin', I have fun. When it comes to raidin' and conquerin' and all the other shit we do together, I have fun." Gage said, stepping up beside Ash and pointing down at the corpse. "This doesn't look fun. This looks like the kinda shit you and Dixie might get up to together."
Locking eyes with Gage, Ash put the holotape into his Pip-Boy and pushed play, holding one finger up to his lips as he listened to it. "Jeffries! Lee got the recorder working!" Came the excited voice of a woman, maybe the one they were standing above. "So this the sorta detail ya had in mind when you signed up for the Gunners? Hauling luggage from Lynn Woods for some robot butler? W-what was his name? Welliton? Wellingham?"
"Not now, Private. Where's Connors? He's not at his post." A man said, his gruff voice making Ash wrinkle his nose a bit. Gunners were only a step up from the Brotherhood as far as he was concerned and since all military jargon sounded the same, it was like being aboard the Prydwen all over again. Now there was a thought. Ash made a mental note to check on the Prydwen at some point, tuning back into the holotape he'd only been half listening to while he thought.
"-ound some tracks, wanted to check 'em out. Private Martin-" The woman replied, her tone serious before she was cut off by the man.
"Tracks? What track- what the hell is that?" The man said, Ash's excitement rekindling at the tone. Like an over-testosteroned, I refuse to show fear cuz I'm tough and a man kind of panic.
"Oh my- C-Connors? Where-where's the rest of him!?" A roar so loud it peaked the speakers on his Pip-Boy sounded and at that, Ash full-on grinned at Gage, practically bouncing in excitement. Gage rolled his eye, sighing.
"Jesus. It found us. Sergeant Lee, grab the case! Do not let that thing out of your sight! Everyone inside the museum! Now!" The man shouted, the sound of running evident under the voices.
"Major! Major, what found us!" The woman shouted, the tape cutting off abruptly after that.
"Holy shit, this is gonna be fun." Ash said, tossing the tape aside and practically flinging open the basement doors.
"We're really headin' in after whatever that was? It sounded big and it sounded angry." Gage said, following after Ash despite his protests.
"We can h-" Ash was cut off by loud footsteps and soft growling above them, the weight of whatever was stomping around up there making dust fall from the ceiling. "-handle it." He finished, quickly taking off his Pip-Boy and giving it to Gage. "Here, it's dark down here."
Sighing softly, Gage snapped on Ash's Pip-Boy and flipped the light on, the sense of dread that had been settling in his gut dissipating almost instantly. "Alright, fine." He muttered, drawing his gun. "But don't get too far ahead of me, alright?"
"Deal." Ash said, trying to walk quietly across the concrete floor and stopping when some pieces of corpse fell from a hole in the ceiling. There was some chomping and snarling and then the corpse started to move, whatever was up there eating it dragging it further into the room. After listening to the wet chomping and crunching of the corpse being devoured for a bit, Ash moved past the hole and into the next section, which appeared to be a classroom of sorts.
Some stomping above made Ash pause and he tilted his head down to avoid getting dust in his eyes as the stomping moved above him. It carried on into the hall outside the classroom and Ash followed it until he had to pick which direction he was going to go in, the path forward blocked by debris.
Gasping suddenly, Ash ran into the room on the right, Gage following after him. "What?" Gage asked, concerned until Ash held up a yardstick like it was a trophy. "What the fuck?"
"Ever been hit with one of these, love?" Ash asked, grinning at the older man and swinging it down to catch it in his hand when Gage groaned and started massaging the bridge of his nose. "I'm taking this."
"Look, boss, I ain't into that." Gage sighed, cringing when the building creaked around them and a deep, rumbling growl came from somewhere above them. He'd never been good with this spooky shit. Especially not when there was something actually dangerous causing the spooky shit.
"Well, you can hit me with it, then." Ash said, grinning and bending over one of the desks nearby. "Doesn't that sound nice? You could punish me for making you come down here." He wiggled his hips when Gage started blushing and laughed when Gage grabbed him by the back of his coat and straightened him up.
"Y'know what sounds nice? Gettin' the hell outta this fuckin' museum." Gage grumbled, taking the yardstick from Ash and tossing it aside.
Sighing dramatically, Ash left the room, heading into the next room and then beyond where a corpse suddenly fell from a hole in the ceiling. Forgetting all about Gage being a party pooper, Ash grinned and came closer, seeing two more corpses near the hole. Just as Ash went to pass the corpses, there was a growl from above and some more stomping and dust. Ash practically ran to the stairs that would take him to the upper level and was downright giddy as they shook a bit from the stomping being nearby.
The only thing separating Ash and Gage from whatever was now on the same floor as them was a door. Drawing Sin Cannon, Ash crept towards the door and nudged it open, getting greeted by another corpse. Continuing on, Ash passed up a scene of a witch being burned at the stake and then passed another scene of a jury deciding the fate of a supposed witch. As he crept towards a witch being hung, he got his first glimpse of what had been stomping around and heard Gage swear behind him.
The deathclaw roared at Ash and Gage and charged immediately, Ash jumping out of the way and shooting at the deathclaw's side. He heard the sound of Gage's gun going off from a distance and kept shooting. The deathclaw quickly decided to focus its attention on Ash because he was closer, but Ash was fast and the deathclaw was bleeding. Ash got grazed by the beast's claws twice, once on his stomach and once on his thigh, but he and Gage managed to kill it before it could kill them.
Laughing in exhilaration, Ash looked down at his injuries. They were bleeding quite a bit, but they didn't hurt much. That was probably only thanks to the adrenaline though and Ash quickly shot up with a stimpak as Gage came over.
"Well, that was excitin', I guess." Gage muttered, huffing softly and offering Ash a grin. "You alright, darlin'?"
"Wow, killing really does lift your mood." Ash said, ignoring the question in favor of staring at the almost completely relaxed man before him.
Rolling his eye, Gage put his gun away. "I just didn't like not knowin' what was stompin' around up here. Now it's dead and we ain't gotta worry about it anymore."
"Riiight." Ash replied, laughing when Gage shoved him. Mid-laugh, Ash gasped and ran past the dead deathclaw to the hanging scene it was laying in front of. Getting the rope off the tree and mannequin was easy enough and Ash turned to Gage with his prize once he had it. "See? I told you there'd be rope."
After a bit, Gage averted his gaze. "You can keep that." He muttered, sighing and walking away when Ash whooped and slung off his pack to shove the rope inside. "Shit."
Freezing, Ash looked up. He didn't like that tone. Slinging his pack back on, Ash hurried over to where Gage was looking into a room at the end of the hall. "What is it?" He asked, freezing when he spotted what Gage was looking at. Eggs. All of them cracked. All but one. Letting out a breath, Ash's attention was caught by another holotape in the hand of one of the corpses in the room. Bending down, Ash picked up the tape and played it.
"A nest fulla deathclaw eggs. A dozen, maybe more, smashed to bits. Except- this one." A man's voice said. He sounded hurt, like every word was a pain to force out. "No wonder they wouldn't tell us what was in that case." His breath rattled like there was liquid in his lungs, probably blood. "If I'd known, I would've personally told the gunner bosses and that glorified liquor cabinet Wellingham to take those Diamond City caps and stuff 'em. Guess we know why that deathclaw tracked us all the way from Lynn Woods now." He laughed, a dry, mirthless laugh. "We stole her damn kids." His voice was shaky there, like he'd been holding back tears.
"Christ. Maybe-maybe if we'd just returned the eggs-" A snarl cut the man off and Ash looked out to the deathclaw now laying dead. "Oh, hey, mama. You lookin' for this?" He asked, sounding amused before the tape cut off.
"Fuck." Ash breathed, dropping the tape once it ended and he'd ejected it.
"What do we do with it?" Gage asked, his brow furrowed.
Stepping forward, Ash gently took the egg, finding it was warm. "I think it's alive." He muttered, his suspicion confirmed when the egg shook a bit. "Gage, it's still alive."
Coming closer, Gage placed his hand on the egg and let out a breath when it shook lightly. "Boss, I'm-I'm about to ask somethin' completely out of character for me." He warned, looking over at Ash's glowing eyes. "Can we keep it?"
Later on that night, Ash and Gage were sitting next to a carefully put together nest in their room and watching over the egg they'd brought to Sanctum. Nubs was exploring the nest and Ash couldn't help but smile. "That's your new sibling." He said, holding Gage's hand when the older man laced their fingers together. Nubs didn't understand, of course, but she did apparently like how warm the egg and nest both were because she curled up near the egg and decided that was a good spot for a nap.
Smiling more, Ash laid his head on Gage's shoulder. "I can't believe this was your idea."
"I'd say I can't believe you said yes, but I'd be lyin'." Gage replied, laying his head on Ash's and smiling just as much as he was. "I always wanted one of these. I don't know how tryin' to train it to not eat us'll actually go, but I've always wanted to try."
"We'll have to make sure it's never hungry or it might eat Nubs." Ash muttered, glancing at his cat before his eyes went back to the egg.
"Fuck, I hope this works." Gage breathed, squeezing Ash's hand.
It made Ash's heart flutter to hear Gage so excited about something and he turned his head to kiss his cheek. "We're gonna make it work." He promised, pecking Gage's lips when he turned his head for a kiss. "What are we gonna name it?"
Flushing, Gage looked away. "Well, uh, I do have an idea." He muttered, glancing over when Ash squeezed his hand to find the teen looking excited. He huffed out a laugh, looking away again. "I was thinkin' Daisy." When Ash didn't say anything, Gage looked over and found he looked perplexed. "What?"
"I was- I was expecting something more- raidery, I guess." Ash muttered, quickly wrapping his arms around Gage when he started to flush again. "I love it, though. We'll call our new pet murder-lizard Daisy."
"Y'sure?" Gage asked, wrapping his arms around Ash's waist.
"I'm sure. I love it." Ash said, giving a nod. "One question. Why?"
Snorting, Gage shook his head, looking down at Ash and offering him a shrug. "I like deathclaws, I like daisies, Daisy the deathclaw."
A slow smile spread across Ash's face and it made Gage flush again. "That's the cutest reason for anything I've ever heard in my life." He practically whispered, sounding absolutely delighted.
"I ain't cute! I'm a raider! Raiders ain't cute!" Gage protested, face fully flushed as he glared down at Ash.
"You want to name our new pet murder-lizard Daisy. "I'm a raider" isn't gonna help you." Ash replied, mimicking Gage's accent as he gave the older man a blank expression.
"Lookit here, wiseass, I'm gettin' real sick of you copyin' my accent." Gage growled playfully, poking Ash's nose.
"Do something about it then." Ash replied smugly, letting Gage go to sit up properly.
Eye narrowing, Gage eyed Ash for a moment before speaking. "Y'know I'm a whole hell of alot bigger than you, right?"
"Yeah. But I'm quick and I fight dirty." Ash replied, looking quite sure of his chances, smug grin still in place.
"Fight- I'm a raider! Fightin' dirty is what raiders do!" Gage argued, narrowing his eye again when Ash snorted at him.
"Daisy the deathclaw. "I'm a raider" isn't going to help you tonight." Ash replied easily, mimicking Gage's accent again.
"Alright! That does it!" Gage declared, pouncing on Ash and rolling around with him very briefly before getting him pinned beneath him. Opening his mouth, Gage started to gloat but all that came out was a surprised moan and Ash arched his back and bumped their crotches together forcefully. His grip faltered just enough that Ash was able to switch their positions, now straddling Gage's hips and pinning his hands beside his head, face still quite smug.
"Damn, boss." Gage breathed, impressed and more than a little turned on. "You weren't kiddin' when you said you fight dirty."
"I could fight dirtier." Ash purred, lacing their fingers together and giving Gage's hands a squeeze.
"Any dirtier and I might not wanna stop fightin'." Gage replied, smirking and bucking his own hips up.
"Promise?" Ash asked, leaning forward so his lips were nearly touching Gage's.
"You bet, darlin'." Gage breathed, closing the distance between them.
About an hour later, Gage was in the bathroom taking a shower and Ash was sprawled out on the floor, entering a few commands into his Pip-Boy. Ash knew precious few things about what Gage liked outside of a somewhat professional context. He knew he liked reading and that his favorite alcohol was post-war Mojave tequila that was hard to come by. He now knew Gage liked deathclaws, maybe lizards in general, and daisies, maybe flowers in general. Gage didn't know it, but Ash locked all the information he got about him away in his head for later use.
According to the commands Ash was entering into his Pip-Boy, there were about to be some synths assigned to flower-hunting. There was grass all over Sanctum, after all, and lots of human-based fertilizer to go around. The way Ash saw it, he could have some daisies planted and growing in no time. Smiling to himself, Ash finalized the order and sent it out, setting his Pip-Boy aside afterwards and getting up.
Collecting some comfy sleeping clothes took just enough time for Gage to have finished up showering and Ash took his place, washing off the day as well as the romp they'd had earlier. Once both men were clean and dry, they checked on Daisy one last time and then went to bed, Gage oblivious to the real reason Ash was in such a good mood as they snuggled up together and Ash switched off the overhead lights remotely. Gage used to not sleep well with the lights off, but they'd found that so long as he and Ash were together when he fell asleep, the dark didn't bother him enough to mess with his sleep. Luckily for both of them, Ash loved cuddling and Gage had found himself rather fond of it as well.
The next morning while Gage was in the restroom shaving, Ash called in a synth and got the details on the flower hunt. It had been successful, the team having found many flower samples including daisies. They'd already planted them and had followed Ash's orders to put the daisies in particular where he could see them from the balcony of his and Gage's room. The flowers would get the same supplements that the trees and grass did and wouldn't need sunlight, they'd bloom at the end of November. A whole month later. At first Ash was disappointed but it was promptly pointed out to him that daisies naturally bloom the following year after they're planted and suddenly a month didn't seem so bad.
The synth was leaving just as Gage came out of the restroom and he raised his eyebrow at Ash. "Trouble?" He asked, a towel around his neck and his eyepatch still on the nightstand, giving Ash the full view of his burned blind eye.
"Nope. Just a report on a project I have going." Ash said, walking over and having to lean up a bit to peck Gage's lips. He wasn't quite so short that he had to stand on his toes, but it was still a bit of a stretch without his boots on.
"What project?" Gage asked, looking suspicious. "I ain't even had breakfast yet and you're already up to somethin'."
Smiling, Ash shrugged and walked over to the little kitchen area in his room to whip up something for breakfast. "It's a surprise." He replied, deciding on toast and jam. Razorgrain bread toasted on an open flame and tarberries mushed up and preserved with a buttload of sugar and fat. It was his new normal, almost more normal at this point than using a toaster and eating blueberry jam. Everything clicked fully and perfectly into place when Gage wrapped his arms around his hips from behind and rested his chin on his head.
"I ever tell you how much I hate surprises?" He asked softly, a smile clear in his voice.
Humming contently, Ash set his breakfast aside and started making Gage's. Cubed up brahmin tongue and fried green tatos. "You'll like this surprise, I promise." He said, throwing the pre-chopped tongue into a skillet and breading the pre-sliced tatos. It was nice having maids who handled most of the food prep for him.
Sighing softly, Gage kissed Ash's head. "Sometimes I wish you were a little more stubborn when I ask you not to do shit so I could refuse to trust you more often." He mumbled, hugging Ash properly when he turned from the food to wrap his arms around his waist.
"Earning your trust is the only reason I'm not stubborn." He mumbled back, pulling Gage down by the shoulder for a kiss since he wasn't wearing a shirt. "Now shoo. Your tatos are gonna burn." Ash said, letting Gage go and turning back to the food.
Chuckling softly, Gage lightly popped Ash on the ass before leaving him to cook. "Sure thing, darlin'." He said softly, going over to Daisy's nest and making sure the egg wasn't too hot or cold. It felt good. Warm but not too hot, just like when they'd found it. "Think the scientists and shit livin' here before ever tried anythin' like this?" Gage called over, looking up from the egg to see Ash swaying to some unheard rhythm while he cooked.
"Maybe. I wouldn't put it past them. They created synth gorillas, after all." Ash replied, glancing over his shoulder to find Gage smiling fondly at him. Blushing a bit, Ash turned his attention back to the food that was almost done now. "I've been wanting to do some tinkering with our gear. We could take a lazy day. Do some database searching and weapon improving in between putting that rope I found to good use."
"Jesus Christ." Gage swore, shaking his head even as he laughed a bit. "Yeah, sure. Sounds like a plan."
Setting their food on the small table just off the kitchen, Ash offered Gage a smile and sat down, getting started on his toast. Gage joined him after putting a shirt on and they ate in comfortable silence. Once they were done, Gage piled up the dishes on the counter while Ash got into the Sanctum database on his Pip-Boy. He handed over the device once he was in and Gage snapped it on, hauling a comfy chair into Ash's workshop so they could still be together. Ash shamelessly watched Gage move the chair, admiring how easily he lifted it, and then grabbed their weapons, packing them into the workshop and getting started.
It took about five minutes for Nubs to realize she was alone in the room and she promptly joined the couple, hopping up onto Gage's lap and making herself comfortable. Gage absently stroked her while he read and Ash slipped out of the room under the guise of needing water so he could get his camera to capture the moment. Gage didn't know until the camera snapped and when he looked up and saw Ash lowering the camera, he just shook his head with a smile.
Once upon a time, Ash's normal had been hating everyone around him and feeling a gnawing emptiness constantly. Now this was his normal. The bombs falling might've been the end of the world as everyone knew it, but it was the beginning of Ash's life. Before the bombs fell, he'd only existed. Now he was happy and he felt alive and it got easier every day to ignore the voice in his head that told him it wouldn't last and that the emptiness was the only thing that was real. It would never go away, not without drugs that Ash was sure didn't exist anymore and that he'd refused to take so long ago, but so long as he had Gage, he could ignore it and that was close enough.
Gage for his part had certainly never expected to feel so content. Considering the life he'd had, he'd given up on the whole idea of domestic bliss a long time ago. Having a family and being a raider simply didn't mesh. Then Ash had waltzed into his life and taken him from the closest he'd ever been to rock-bottom and given him everything he'd ever wanted Nuka-World to be and more. For Gage, that was as good as having the world. Feeling secure and getting to be happy and, fuck, even being in love. That was better than he ever thought he'd have and it made it a little hard to focus on the documents he was reading.
By lunch, Ash had finished upgrading his and Gage's weapons and Gage had found that the Institute did indeed have information regarding the training of deathclaws. It was all from outside sources, but they had neatly compiled it all into one place for easy perusing. They broke for lunch and then got back to work, Gage making notes on things to try from the many documents in the database and Ash getting to work on their clothes.
By dinner, both Ash and Gage were sick of working and ready to relax for a bit before bed. That didn't end up happening as Gage offered to massage Ash's hands and things escalated from there. Needless to say, Ash made good on putting the rope to use. Finally, after the most exhausting day of rest they'd ever had, Ash and Gage went to bed, too tired to even get cleaned up but just as content as ever.
After showers and breakfast the next morning Ash had planned on taking Gage to see the airport and Prydwen, but had quickly found that he couldn't relay to their exact location. When the little alert appeared on his Pip-Boy, it cited "electrical interference" as the reason for not being able to relay him so Ash had to move the point around a bit before he managed to find a spot that would work. Once he'd found the sweet-spot, Ash grabbed Gage's hand and triggered the relay, the two raiders coming out close enough to the airport to see that it was clearly occupied.
Without really bothering to pay attention to who was shooting at them, Ash and Gage returned fire, making quick work of the people who'd spotted them. As more people began to swarm, Ash realized they weren't Brotherhood. Too disorganized. The military jargon being thrown around gave away easily who they were dealing with if not Brotherhood. The only other group who used that stupid jargon was the gunners.
It took Ash and Gage twenty minutes to clear the entire airport since it was so large, including destroying the EMP generators that were the reason they couldn't relay in. Once that was finished, Ash managed his first real look at the Prydwen. It had dropped in altitude a bit and drifted out a little further over the water it was parked above, but it was still there, floating high and imposing as ever.
"So I couldn't really show you all the carnage I caused down here since those squatters went and cleaned it all up, but I bet the Prydwen is nice and ripe." Ash said, turning a masked grin on Gage and laughing at his wrinkled nose.
"Fine, but I want my respirator." Gage grumbled, taking the mask from Ash as he effortlessly fished it from his bag and held it out to him. "Sanctuary damn near killed me, I can't imagine what it must smell like up there."
Ash started to laugh but then he realized Gage was probably right and decided to swap his mask for his respirator as well. It'd been months, after all, "ripe" was probably putting mildly the state of the Prydwen. Using the coordinates displayed on his Pip-Boy map, Ash figured out where about he'd need to place the relay point to end up on the vertibird dock and grabbed Gage before triggering it. Calculations good, Ash and Gage were now aboard the Prydwen and Ash excitedly led the way inside.
The entrance wasn't too bad since everyone had come up when Ash had started shooting so long ago, so he climbed the ladder up, grinning at the decomposing corpses all over the place. Ash got out of the way and Gage came up after him, eye widening at the carnage laid out before them. There were easily several dozen corpses, all in various stages of decomposition depending on the size. Every one of them was well past the bloating stage and most of them were actively liquefying, creating puddles of brownish black sludge underneath them.
"Jesus." Gage muttered, looking around despite how it was sort of making him queasy. Not even raiders let corpses stay up as decorations long enough to liquefy, so he hadn't ever seen corpses at this stage of decomposition before. "I mean, I had an idea, but that video you showed me was kinda grainy. There's so many of 'em."
"Yeah." Ash said, a sigh in his voice. "This is the my highest body count yet. I'm hoping to top it some day, of course. A day I can't even really remember can't be my biggest slaughter forever."
"Ya can't remember all this?" Gage asked, looking at Ash, who shrugged.
"I took alot of drugs and there was so much adrenaline. Everything's kinda blurry when I think about it now." Ash replied, frowning a bit as he looked around again. "Watching that tape of me doing it was like watching a stranger the first time I saw it."
"Huh." Gage muttered, nodding a bit in understanding. "Well, now what? We didn't really come all the way out here just so you could show off, did we?" He asked, tone only half joking. He honestly wouldn't put it past Ash.
Smiling under his mask, Ash looked at Gage. "Busted." He muttered, triggering a few commands on his Pip-Boy. "No, I was thinking of having this murder-blimp cleaned up and repurposed." Ash looked around again, a few blue flashes signaling the arrival of a synth team who immediately got to work cleaning up the rotting corpses all around them. "Maybe call it Armageddon and outfit it with weapons in case I ever get into a serious fight or something."
"Plannin' on goin' to war?" Gage asked, coming closer to Ash so he'd be out of the synths' ways. "Please say no." He added more quietly, not quite ready for something like "yeah, we're taking over the rest of the wasteland now" this early in the morning.
Laughing, Ash shook his head. "No. But better prepared for nothing than just letting this bitch fall into the ocean, right?" He asked, eyes landing on Gage again. "I mean, worst case scenario, I have a giant murder-blimp at my disposal for nothing. Not a bad worst-case scenario."
"No, I guess it ain't." Gage responded, nodding a bit and looking around the ship before humming softly. "Maybe you oughta see if you can get some of them little planes I saw outside up and runnin' while you're at it."
"Why?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow at Gage. "If I already have the murder-blimp, a few vertibirds aren't going to be that helpful."
"The gangs could use 'em for transportation or somethin'. We get 'em all up and runnin' and send 'em to Nuka-World. Then whenever someone needs to head out to one of the outposts or the other way around, they could just call in a vertibird to take 'em instead of walkin' for a week." Gage replied, shrugging lightly. "Just a thought."
"No, no, that's a good idea." Ash muttered, considering it and nodding after a bit. "Yeah, alright. One vertibird taxi service coming up." He declared, grinning and nudging Gage. "I knew I kept you around for a reason."
Snorting, Gage wrapped an arm around Ash and pulled him close. "And here I thought it was because you loved me so much." He muttered, smiling as Ash blushed. He couldn't see it, but he could tell from his body language.
"Yeah, well, maybe I had more than one reason." Ash muttered back, pushing Gage off when he chuckled. "Come on, jerk, I wanna show you the view from the cockpit."
"The what?" Gage asked loudly, looking at Ash like he was crazy.
Freezing just as he'd been about to mount the ladder, Ash frowned at Gage. "The cockpit." He muttered, frowning more when Gage raised an eyebrow. "It's what the front of a plane is called. I guess I'm not really using it right, but I don't really have another word for it."
"People before the war called the front of planes "cockpits"?" Gage asked, tone disbelieving.
"You- yes! I thought you were correcting me, not getting caught up by the fact that it's got "cock" in the name!" Ash shouted, huffing and frowning at the ladder. He decided to forgo it altogether and simply jumped, his boots absorbing the fall and sending a pleasant little tingle through his legs. To his surprise, Gage jumped down as well, landing with a soft grunt.
"I was gettin' caught up by this murder-blimp havin' a pit dedicated to cock." Gage grumbled, crossing his arms when Ash snorted hard and started laughing. "That's what it sounds like! How the hell was I supposed to know "cockpit" was the name of somethin' and not- shut up!"
Laughing harder, Ash held his sides, taking a moment before he calmed down. "What the fuck am I gonna do with you, love?" He asked breathlessly, smiling fondly at Gage and his smile only growing as Gage flushed.
"Educate me, I guess." Gage muttered, averting his gaze but squeezing Ash's hand immediately when the younger man grabbed him and started dragging him into a room across from the ladder. When they arrived, Ash leaned over some railing and pointed, Gage coming to lean beside him and whistling as he saw the Commonwealth from so high up. "Damn. That's one hell of a view."
"Worth the whole "cockpit" thing?" Ash asked playfully, getting a pop on the ass for his efforts.
"Yeah, I guess so." Gage grumbled, leaning against Ash when the younger man came closer.
They stood there admiring the view for a bit before Ash straightened up and started entering more commands into his Pip-Boy. He'd get synths working on those vertibirds right away and increase the size of the team cleaning Armageddon. Ash wanted to have his new murder-blimp done as soon as possible, after all, even if he didn't foresee ever having to use it. Being able to tell people he had a murder-blimp was its own reward, he didn't have to ever need it.
Just as he'd finished sending out the commands, something dawned on Ash and it made him frown. His heart started to beat far too hard as his mind started working faster than he could ignore it and the room suddenly seemed too small. Letting out a few ragged pants that got Gage's attention, Ash ran out of Armageddon, passing the vertibird landing docks and going all the way to the front of the flight deck before he stopped feeling like he was being crowded. Gage was hot on his heels, looking concerned and when Ash couldn't meet his eyes, Gage reached for him, only frowning more when he flinched away.
"Gage, are-are you afraid of me?" Ash asked before Gage could ask him what was wrong, removing his respirator as it suddenly felt like it was suffocating him. "Be honest."
Removing his own respirator as well so he could frown at Ash properly, Gage shook his head. "No. Why would y-"
"Why not?" Ash interrupted, tossing his mask aside and looking up at Gage with a furrowed brow, his eyes shining with unshed tears and his voice tight with emotion. "After everything you've seen, after all I've done, how- why not?"
Glancing back at the entrance to Armageddon's interior, Gage frowned more. "I- where is all this-"
"Answer the question!" Ash screamed, raising his voice higher than Gage had ever heard it which made him look back at Ash with wide-eyed surprise. The dam broke instantly, tears practically pouring from Ash's eyes as he quickly turned away. "I knew it. I should've known." Those were the only words Gage caught before Ash became too quiet to hear. He caught some things like "loose cannon" and "love" and "hated you".
Hesitating for a moment, Gage tossed his own mask aside and came forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Ash's arms on some instinct probably born from knowing Ash as long as he had. That turned out to be a good instinct, because Ash was halfway to the bone in his right arm from scratching it with his claws, having already clawed through his coat and shirt. "I was afraid of you for awhile." Gage admitted softly, holding Ash's arms to his chest tightly as he got a stimpak from the ones on Ash's belts and stabbed it into his mutilated arm. "But that was only for like the first month of knowin' you. I ain't afraid of you no more."
Ash didn't say anything and Gage could tell he was barely breathing in an attempt to keep from making any noises while he cried. "What happened? What even made you think to ask?" He asked gently, a fair bit concerned by Ash's sudden change in mood.
Letting out a shuddering, angry sigh, Ash hung his head. "I remembered how-how I hit you that day when you wouldn't apologize to me." He said, getting the words out surprisingly easy for how hard he was crying. "I remembered how much I enjoyed hitting you and watching you submit." Ash tried to pull away from Gage and took several steps away when Gage let him go reluctantly, hugging himself and still not looking at Gage. "And I thought about how sure I was that you'd never feel anything romantic towards me because I showed you what a monster I am and then I was wrong but it's all just too perfect- you're too perfect! So-so you're lying, you have to be, because you're afraid. Because I laid it all out and you were afraid of what I'd do if you rejected me so-so-"
Making up the distance between them, Gage spun Ash around and grabbed either side of his face before pulling him into the softest kiss he could manage, accidentally knocking Ash's hat off in the process but not caring. Ash froze but Gage took his time, his lips working gently on Ash's until Ash slowly responded, kissing him back. Running his fingers gently through Ash's hair, Gage deepened the kiss and Ash made a noise he'd never heard from him before, almost a whimper.
After making sure Ash didn't have enough breath to keep talking, Gage pulled away, keeping one hand on Ash's face and one hand on his hair. "Did that feel fake to you?" He asked softly, watching Ash search his face a bit before shaking his head slowly. "I thought you were gonna try to stop listenin' to the voice."
Eyes widening as he realized Gage was right, he'd cracked and listened to the voice who told him to die and promised his happiness wouldn't last, Ash let out a shuddering breath, the tears having stopped for now. "I-"
"Shh." Gage said softly, stroking Ash's cheek gently and smiling a little when he leaned into it almost hesitantly. "The day I realized I wasn't afraid of you anymore was the day you killed Mason. When you rounded on me outside the Raider Radio Station, I thought you were gonna stab me, and when you didn't, I felt like you wouldn't ever." He said softly, stroking Ash's hair and watching the glow flicker like the fire Gage had always seen in his eyes even before they actually glowed. "Then you let me hug you and I knew for sure that I didn't need to be afraid of you, that you wouldn't hurt me."
Slowly, Gage pulled Ash close and when Ash hugged him slowly, he wrapped his arms tightly around the shorter man. "And that day at the ferris wheel, I knew I loved you. I ain't never felt panic and anger like that day. And you apologized and you let me get away with slappin' you for it and- well, I worry about how easily you go right to hurtin' yourself, but I ain't afraid of you for me, darlin'. Never for me."
Breaking into a fresh wave of tears, Ash buried his face in Gage's chest and allowed the older man to comfort him. It took him several minutes to calm down enough to speak, but when he did, he pulled his face free of Gage's chest. "I'm sorry, Gage. I love you. I-I don't know what I'd do without you." Ash stammered, looking up at Gage with those big, amber eyes that always melted Gage.
Smiling gently, Gage brushed the back of his hand softly against Ash's cheek. "I love you too, Ash. You ain't never gonna have to figure out what to do without me cuz I'm gonna be with you 'til the bitter end, I promise." Hiccuping, Ash nodded but didn't appear to have anymore tears to cry, simply burying his face in Gage's chest again and holding Gage like his life depended on it. "And I forgive you, by the way."
Giggling softly, which surprised a smile out of Gage, Ash nodded. "It was implied, but I appreciate you telling me." He said softly, tilting his head up a bit to kiss Gage gently. Gage kissed him back and after a bit of that, Ash was finally okay. "What should we do now? There's not much left to do here until the synths finish cleaning and repairs and all that." He asked, sniffling softly and going to messing with his Pip-Boy, clearly trying to brush off what had just happened.
Recognizing the attempt for what it was, Gage collected their masks from the deck and grabbed Ash's hat, putting it on Ash's head and watching him adjust it so it didn't hang as far over his eyes as it usually did. "Guess we could-"
A zap interrupted Gage and then Skye was there, standing with them on the deck. "The egg is hatching." They informed, relaying Ash and Gage back to Sanctum with themself before either man could say anything.