Author's Note: To preserve the surprise, the tags and warnings will be listed in the end notes instead of here. Skip ahead to those if you're worried or impatient.
When Ash woke up, he wasn't sure how long it had been and when he went to check, he realized he couldn't because his Pip-Boy wasn't on his arm. Sitting up slowly, Ash looked around and saw that a few more drugs were missing from the handkerchief. After sitting there for a moment, Ash also realized that Gage wasn't there. The door to the room opened and Ash looked up, blinking slowly and frowning when his sleep-hazed, drug-fogged brain recognized Skye. There was a question on the tip of his tongue but Skye beat him to it.
"He's in his old room. I think you'll want to see this."
Frowning more, Ash grabbed a can of water and downed it on the way to Gage's old room. He opened the door and immediately sobered up considerably upon finding Gage spread out on the couch, absolutely covered in blood, only wearing his jeans, and- licking the blood off his hands like a cat. "Gage?" Ash asked softly, stepping fully into the room and looking Gage over for injuries. There was an almost entirely healed injury on his side that was that was still bleeding a bit, but there was no way all the blood had come from that.
Looking up leisurely, Gage grinned widely at Ash. "Hey, babe!" He said happily, making Ash furrow his brows in confusion. Gage had never called him that before. "I was wonderin' when you were gonna wake up." Pausing, Gage licked a long line from the crook of his arm, up his wrist, across his palm, and to the tip of his middle finger, which he then suckled clean, swallowing and smacking his lips lightly once he was done. "Jet really knocks you out. S'been hours."
Not really sure what to say, Ash shifted on his feet a bit. "Gage, is- that's not all your blood is it?" He asked after a bit, deciding to start with what might be the most pressing matter.
Snickering, Gage shook his head, stretching out on the couch leisurely. "Nah. Just some on the side here." He replied, motioning to his injured side. "Got stabbed a little. Didn't hurt though, don't worry." Gage offered Ash a far too happy smile and then seemed to realize his hands were still bloody because he went back to licking them.
"You seem alot more high than when I went to sleep." Ash said, coming closer and catching a good look at Gage's huge pupils.
"I am." Gage admitted, giggling in an unhinged way. "I mighta took a couple other things while you were out. Got kinda bored after watchin' you sleep for awhile."
"How did you end up covered in blood?" Ash asked, concerned like never before. Whatever Gage had done, Ash felt it was his fault for convincing him to get high in the first place. If Gage had simply gone on a killing spree, that wasn't so bad, but Ash had a bad feeling it was more than that, something worse, stemming mostly from how Gage was licking blood from himself like he was licking the frosting from a cupcake.
"Oh! I borrowed your Pip-Boy!" Gage said, rolling over to reach over the arm of the couch and then back over to hold the device out to Ash.
Taking it slowly, Ash set it on the table. It was also covered in blood. "Okay. Why?"
"Needed to go huntin'." Gage replied, giggling again and gasping when he found a chunk of gore on his arm. He licked it up and Ash's eyes widened as he swallowed it down with a pleased hum.
"Hunting?" Ash asked softly, concerned and confused and maybe even a little disturbed. He'd never seen Gage like this, after all. It was off. He was off.
"Mmhm. Been sooo long since I hunted." Gage practically moaned, laying his head back and licking his lips. "God, I missed the taste."
"What-what did you hunt, Gage?" Ash practically whispered, feeling a mounting sense of dread. Who the hell was this man wearing Gage's skin? Speaking in his voice? This wasn't his Gage. This creature sprawled out on the couch, drenched in blood wasn't his Gage. It was some demon the drugs he'd taken had let loose. A Hyde, Ash's mind supplied unhelpfully.
"Oh! I left 'im in the bathroom! Thought it'd be easier t'clean up in there." Gage informed, pointing in the general direction of the bathroom.
Nodding slowly, Ash walked into the restroom and his eyes went wide again. There was a dead body in the restroom. A mutilated dead body. There were pieces missing from the thighs and chest, the eyes were missing, and the abdominal cavity was open, most of the organs that had been inside also missing. Coming a little closer, Ash realized that the areas where the chunks were missing on the thighs looked an awful lot like someone had-
Suddenly Gage came up behind him and wrapped his arms tightly around Ash's waist. "Like it? He made me think of you. He was little and feisty." Gage buried his face in Ash's neck and nibbled lightly at his racing pulse. "I could never hurt you, but I've wanted to taste you for sooo long." Gage practically whined, lightly biting Ash's shoulder. "Figured pickin' out a little feisty raider boy would be as close as I ever got."
"You ate him." Ash whispered, eyes wide and heart pounding. The thighs looked like an awful lot like someone had bitten them. Bitten them and ripped the chunks right out.
"Daisy helped with the insides. Don't much like organ meat m'self. He was good, though. Had to clean 'im off first, 'course, raiders're so dirty, but it was worth the extra effort." Gage purred, suddenly pressing down on Ash.
Not really having much choice since Gage was stronger than him, Ash dropped to his knees, turning his head to look at Gage as he fell behind him. "Gage, what are y-" He gasped as Gage suddenly caught both of his wrists from behind and pressed him forward, forcing his hands into the lukewarm puddle of blood in the cadaver's abdominal cavity. "Gage-" Ash was interrupted again as Gage pulled back, sitting on the bathroom floor and pulling him onto his lap.
Gage crossed Ash's arms across his chest, bringing one up past his shoulder so he could start licking it clean before wrapping both of his own arms around Ash to hold him in place. Shuddering lightly, Ash let out a slow, uneven breath before turning his head so he could catch Gage's good eye. "Why didn't you tell me you were a cannibal, Gage?" He asked softly, getting a hum in response before Gage let go of the finger he was sucking clean to respond.
"Don't exactly go advertisin' it, babe." He whispered, licking the tip of the finger he'd just cleaned. "Haven't told anyone." Picking a new finger, Gage pulled it into his mouth and started to clean it.
Letting out a slightly more even breath, Ash looked back at the corpse and slowly laid his head back against Gage's shoulder, relaxing in his hold and getting a pleased hum around his finger for it. "How long?"
"Since I was a kid." Gage replied, removing the clean finger from his mouth to do so. "One winter some raider comes to my family's farm solo. Guess maybe he got kicked out of his group or somethin', don't matter. Dad shot 'im. We barely had anythin' but if there'd been more 'an one of 'em, I'm sure my folks would've let us all starve, but since it was just the one." Humming, Gage pulled another finger into his mouth, cleaning it quickly before releasing it to continue talking.
"We barely had anythin', so Mom and Dad made a decision. I didn't know it was wrong, o' course. "Don't eat people" doesn't come up in casual conversation with a kid. I just knew we suddenly had food." Sighing lightly, Gage sucked another finger clean. "Been fightin' the hunger ever since. Only slipped twice before. First an' last time I ever got drunk and first an' last time I ever got high, the hunger made me hunt." Giggling in that unhinged way that now raised goosebumps on Ash's skin, Gage cleaned the last finger on that hand and switched Ash's hands. "But now I done slipped again. Felt so damn good though."
It really was Ash's fault. "Are- do you know how this is going to affect you once the drugs wear off?" Ash asked softly, hoping that Gage would be more mad at him than at himself.
"Last times I felt pretty bad. That was 'fore I became a raider, though, so I think I mostly felt bad for killin' 'em." Gage replied, humming a bit as he thought. "Don't know how I'll feel. Feel real good right now." He said, taking another finger and cleaning it off. "Wanna hold you down and eat you up too, but I can't cuz I love you too much." He growled in Ash's ear, making the younger man shiver. "Never been in love before. Can't lose you."
As Gage pulled another finger into his mouth, Ash pondered the situation he'd accidentally created. He wasn't sure if the way Gage was acting was due to whatever cocktail of drugs he'd taken or "the hunger", but it was almost scary. Ash trusted Gage wouldn't hurt him, of course, even high he was in control of himself enough that he didn't so much as scrape his teeth across Ash's fingers in his cleaning, but Ash didn't like how willing to manhandle him Gage seemed like this. Still, despite what he'd thought earlier, this was his Gage. This was Gage's Hyde in the most literal way, he decided, a neglected side of himself suddenly given power, but it was still Gage.
While Ash thought, Gage cleaned, taking the silence as his opportunity to clean Ash's palms and the backs of his hands. He finished up after a bit and simply held Ash close, face buried in one side of his neck. Ash didn't move or speak for awhile and when he finally did, it startled Gage just a little despite the low volume. "Do you think you'll be mad at me?"
Humming, Gage pondered that, rolled it around in his brain and weighed his words on his tongue. "Think I'll be scared." He said finally, kissing Ash's calm pulse. "Think I'll be scared you won't love me no more. Or that you'll be 'fraid of me."
"I'm not afraid of you." Ash whispered, testing Gage's hold and pulling away when Gage allowed him to. He turned and straddled his lap, wrapping his arms around his neck and humming softly as Gage held him tight again. "And I'll never stop loving you."
"You might have to tell me that again when I ain't so high." Gage said, smiling tiredly, his eyelids suddenly very heavy. "But that's real good to know. I love you so much."
"I love you too, Gage." Ash whispered, gently lowering Gage to the floor as he nodded off in his arms. Sighing softly, Ash got up and got his Pip-Boy from the other room. He cleaned it up quickly and then sent for some synths. As much as Ash wanted to, he couldn't physically clean Gage up, so he had the synths who arrived do it, ensuring they knew they'd be headed to the scrap heap if they didn't treat him very delicately. Ash considered getting more synths to clean up the blood and the body, but he decided not to bother yet. Once Gage was cleaned up, Ash had the synths take him to their room and helped them get him dressed before going to take a shower of his own, leaving Gage tucked in bed.
After cleaning himself thoroughly since Gage had been very bloody while holding him, Ash decided to spend some quality time with Nubs. He wasn't sleepy since he'd just woken up from his Jet nap so cat play-time seemed like a nice alternative. If nothing else, it would keep him from dwelling on whether or not Gage would be mad at him when he woke up. It would also, hopefully, keep him from thinking too deeply about how he felt about the new knowledge that Gage was a cannibal.
It was a few hours later when Gage groaned softly and started to sit up in bed. In that time, Nubs had lost interest in Ash and Daisy had tagged in. She'd also decided he was boring after an hour and Ash had spent the last hour or so sitting beside Gage in bed and doodling. Looking over, Ash set his sketchbook aside and held out a can of water for Gage as soon as his gaze landed on him. It took Gage a moment to process the offer, but then he sat up and took the water with a grateful grunt, nursing it slowly while Ash watched anxiously.
Once Gage had finished half the water, he looked over at Ash and frowned a bit at his expression. "S'wrong?" He slurred, still looking and sounding sleepy.
"We got high." Ash replied, deciding not to say more until Gage reacted to that. It took him a moment to process that and when he did, there was a very brief flash of panic in his good eye that he covered by taking a drink from his water. When Gage came back from the water, he looked calm as ever if more awake.
"Yeah, I remember that." He said, taking another sip of water. "You look like it didn't go well."
"You hunted." Ash said quietly, watching as Gage flinched and started to panic. Scooting closer, Ash touched Gage's arm gently. "I-I'm not mad. Or afraid." He said quickly, looking into Gage's eyes as he searched his face for something, seeming to calm down after a bit.
"You're not?" Gage asked softly, still looking and sounding uncertain.
"No, I'm not." Ash confirmed, crawling over and settling himself down on Gage's lap. "You don't remember anything that happened?" Gage swallowed and shook his head, averting his eyes as he slowly wrapped his arms around Ash's waist and pulled him closer. "Well, we talked while you were still high." Ash said, moving again so he was straddling Gage so he could wrap his arms around his neck. "You- well, you sort of admitted you've always wanted to taste me, but you didn't hurt me."
Cringing, Gage looked up at Ash guiltily, an apology on his tongue that Ash smothered with a light peck on his lips. "You didn't hurt me." Ash repeated, stroking a hand down Gage's mohawk. "I knew you wouldn't. I still know you wouldn't."
Swallowing hard, Gage nodded slowly and buried his face gently in Ash's neck. "I'm still sorry you had to find out. Especially like that."
"I'm sorry I convinced you to get high with me." Ash muttered, not looking at Gage when he moved his face to look at him. "If I would've just accepted "no" instead of pushing you-"
"Hey." Gage said sternly, cupping Ash's cheek and forcing him to meet his gaze. "I'm a grown ass man, I can make my own decisions. I'm the one who decided to get high even knowin' what might happen, that wasn't your fault."
"So- you're not mad at me?" Ash asked softly, tightening his hold on Gage's neck when he kissed him gently.
"No." Gage replied once he pulled away, sweeping his thumb gently over Ash's cheek. "I ain't mad at you."
"Or at yourself?" Ash asked, frowning when Gage pursed his lips and looked away. "Gage, you-you don't have to keep hiding it." He whispered, moving his hands down to lightly rub Gage's chest. "I've been thinking about it all night and I don't mind if you wanna eat people. I don't really get it, but I'm not gonna judge you for it."
Glancing at Ash out of the corner of his good eye, Gage shifted a bit. "I- you'd do that for me? Let me-" He swallowed, looking away again. "-let me feed the hunger?" Gage had never been in a safe enough environment to even consider feeding the hunger regularly. It wasn't safe to hunt alone and cannibalism was taboo even in most raider circles, so Gage had taken to ignoring it his whole life. If he was honest with himself, the prospect of getting to eat human regularly was- enticing, to say the least.
"Of course, love." Ash said, cupping Gage's cheek and smiling gently at him. "I want you to be happy. You shouldn't have to hide who you are, especially from me." Grinning slightly, Ash's voice suddenly became playful. "Especially since we're married now."
Eyes widening, Gage looked at Ash in shock. "We-" His eyes narrowed as he recognized Ash's tone and that smile. "No. No, I-" He pursed his lips and racked his brain, ignoring the way Ash laughed at his look of concentration. "I sorta remember that, we didn't make it official. It was just one of your weird, random questions."
"You called me "wifey", that made it official." Ash replied, suddenly sounding quite serious even as he kept smiling. "You're my closet cannibal raider husband and I'm your emotionally unstable raider wife." He hooked one arm around Gage's neck, pulling him close and stretching his other arm out, fingers splayed dramatically. "We're a power couple." He whispered, smiling happily when he got a laugh out of Gage and the older man pushed him away.
"You're fuckin' crazy." Gage said, shaking his head but still smiling. "Hell, alright. If you really think you ain't gonna come to your senses one day and upgrade from my old ass, we'll make it official."
Frowning deeply, Ash cupped Gage's face, suddenly actually serious. "Gage Reeves, I have never known happiness like spending time with you. I'm not settling for you, I'm choosing you." He said, more serious than Gage had ever seen him. "I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Even if we never actually make it official. I'm in this for the long haul, Gage."
Letting out a slow breath, Gage pulled Ash into a tender kiss. Several long minutes later, he pulled away slowly and offered Ash a soft smile. "Guess I'll just have to get used to thinkin' of myself as a worthwhile husband." He said softly, smiling when Ash nodded once firmly.
"You better. I won't have anyone talking bad about you, especially not you."
Laughing softly, Gage nodded. "Alright, calm down. You're gonna make me blush."
Smiling, Ash bumped his nose against Gage's. "Good. I like it when you blush."
Shaking his head, Gage pulled Ash close and rested his head on top of the shorter man's. After a bit of just sitting there, Gage spoke up again. "So- you're sure about this? 'Bout all of it? Wantin' to marry me and- the other thing?"
"I am." Ash answered easily, not moving out from under Gage. "I'm gonna make an honest man out of you and you're going to indulge the hunger whenever it strikes you. Fuck knows there's enough raider camps out in the 'Wealth for you to get your fill of little feisty raider boys."
Cringing, Gage laughed uncomfortably. "Is that what I said?"
"Mmhm." Ash hummed, pulling away to motion at the door. "I left him in the restroom in your old room. I wasn't sure if you were done with him."
"I'm definitely done with him." Gage said, pausing and shifting again. "I think I'd like to see him, though. Before you have someone clean him up."
"Okay." Ash replied easily, getting off of Gage and following him into the restroom of his old room. He watched curiously as Gage looked upon the carnage, looking grim.
"I see why I picked him. He-he looks alot like you." Gage paused, taking a breath. "You- you're sure this don't bother you?" He asked, looking over at Ash. "Knowin' that sometimes when I look at you, I see somethin' I'd like to eat."
"I'm sure." Ash confirmed, looking down at the corpse. "It's sort of flattering, actually. It seems like you're a very picky eater."
Snorting, Gage looked away, shaking his head. "Of course you'd find this flatterin'. Good lord." Sighing, Gage suddenly pulled Ash close, kissing the top of his head. "I fuckin' love you. Have I mentioned that lately?"
Smiling, Ash leaned into Gage, too trapped to hug him back but nuzzling against him as best he could. "Maybe, but I like hearing it." He replied playfully, smiling when Gage chuckled and squeezed him briefly. "And I love you too, by the way." After everything that Gage had witnessed, after all the things he'd learned about Ash, he still loved him. Ash knew he loved him. That had made the decision an easy one once Ash had actually stopped to think about it. He wouldn't lose Gage over something as silly as what he ate and he certainly wouldn't stop loving him over it.
After a bit of hugging, Gage released Ash, glancing at the raider corpse one last time and grimacing before turning fully away from it. "You can have someone clean that up now if you want."
Nodding, Ash put the order into his Pip-Boy and took Gage by the hand in order to lead him back to their room. They got settled on the couch and their children quickly joined them, Nubs taking Ash's lap and Daisy taking Gage's. After a nice bit of silence, Ash spoke up quietly. "So, I sort of have a secret too." He glanced up to see Gage eyeing him with a frown and looked back down at the happy cat in his lap. "Do you remember when Daisy hatched and I let her bite my lip?"
"Yeah." Gage said slowly, frown becoming more pronounced.
"I've- sort of been able to see in the dark since that happened." Ash mumbled, glancing at Gage again and cringing at his wide-eyed surprise. "I didn't tell you cuz I didn't wanna go to the doctor again." He admitted, looking away once again. "But I also started feeling different so I thought I should tell you before something happens."
"Different how?" Gage demanded, realizing his tone was a bit harsh when Ash sort of shrank into himself.
Sighing, Ash set Nubs aside and got up. "Follow me." He said, walking out onto the balcony.
After allowing Daisy to scramble up to his shoulders when he tried to move her, Gage followed Ash, watching him warily. "I'm not gonna like this, am I?"
"Probably not." Ash admitted, climbing onto the railing of the balcony and swatting Gage's hand away when he reached for him. "Just watch. I'll be fine." He assured, lowering himself into a crouch and looking up. Gage realized what Ash was about to do but couldn't stop him before Ash jumped up, getting surprising height and easily catching the railing of the balcony above his head. He watched as Ash hauled himself up with little trouble and then leaned over the balcony railing a bit so he could crane his neck up. Gage couldn't see Ash though, and that was concerning.
"Stay there, I have more." Ash called from above, Gage faintly hearing the sound of his footsteps getting further away.
Frowning anxiously, Gage straightened up and waited for something else to happen. Suddenly Ash ran past him, Gage watching in shocked horror as the teen leapt onto the railing he was in front of and launched himself all the way to the balcony on the other side of the massive gap between the two points. He didn't land gracefully, rolling a bit once he cleared the railing and hit the floor, but he sat up quickly and poked his head over the railing so Gage would know for sure he was at least still alive.
Ash, for his part, couldn't tell what kind of expression Gage had on, but he had a feeling he was about to be in for it. When Gage stormed off their balcony and disappeared, Ash sank down, sitting against the railing and deciding to just stay there. Gage was a heavy sleeper when they were in Sanctum and Ash had been having a hard time sleeping lately, so he'd been exercising at night while Gage rested. He'd figured out his body was changing during one of his exercising sessions and he'd been exploring what he could do since then. Keeping the secret from Gage was part of the reason he was stressed enough to want to get high. That and the other secret he was keeping, the reason he was having a hard time sleeping.
"You better be alright so I can strangle you!" Gage yelled from the entrance of the room, Ash hearing his stomping footsteps getting closer to the balcony. He briefly entertained the idea of jumping the railing and taking his chances with the drop, but decided to shrink into himself instead, pulling his legs close to his chest and waiting for Gage to appear, decidedly pissed, in the entrance to the balcony. When he saw Ash curled up, though, his face softened somewhat. "Are you hurt?" He asked, surprisingly gently.
"No." Ash muttered, watching Gage as he knelt beside him.
"Please tell me you ain't been doin' shit like that while I ain't been lookin'." Gage said, clearly still angry but trying not to sound so harsh.
"I haven't been." Ash assured, releasing his legs in order to cross them and looking down at his lap. "But I haven't been sleeping very good so I've been exercising at night and that's how I figured out I could jump like that."
"Why haven't you been sleepin' good?" Gage asked softly, sitting down and taking one of Ash's hands gently. When Ash didn't answer for a solid minute, Gage gently squeezed the hand he was holding and used his free hand to get Ash to look at him, frowning when Ash still wouldn't meet his gaze. "Darlin', you know you can tell me. After what you just found out about me, after what you just accepted about me, I ain't in any position to judge you."
"I'm not afraid you'll judge me, I just don't want you to worry." Ash mumbled, pulling his face from Gage and looking at his lap again. He sighed deeply and gave Gage's hand a gentle squeeze. "I've been having nightmares." When Gage didn't reply for a bit, Ash looked over and he saw that Gage looked perplexed.
"I-" Gage started, frowning and seeming to mull over his words before trying again. "Look, I ain't tryin' to seem insensitive or nothin', but I ain't never met a raider who didn't have nightmares. I have 'em just about every night. It just comes with the life."
Sighing again, Ash looked back down at his lap. "I keep having the same nightmare everytime I sleep. And it started happening the night my eyes started glowing."
"Oh. Yeah, I see why you think I'd be worried." Gage said, sounding oddly calm.
Raising an eyebrow, Ash glanced over in confusion, seeing that Gage looked as calm as he sounded. "Are you worried?"
"Oh, yeah, for sure." Gage replied, letting go of Ash's hand. "What with the whole reason your eyes started glowin' in the first place bein' because of radiation and all that. I'm kinda freakin' out a little."
"You don't sound like you're freaking out." Ash replied, trying not to but smiling a little as he looked at Gage fully.
"Tryin' to keep it in." Gage said, standing and pulling Ash to his feet. "We're gonna go see Dr. Amari now."
Yanking his hands away, Ash glared at Gage. "No."
"Boss-" Gage started tiredly, getting interrupted by Ash.
"No! No, don't boss me, I'm not going!" Ash shouted, mimicking Gage's tone and accent on "boss". "She's just gonna talk forever like last time and then tell me what I already know! Blah blah radiation, blah blah deathclaw spit, blah blah trauma." He mocked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not going." Gage narrowed his eyes.
"Well, the physical symptoms are definitely due to the deathclaw saliva interacting with your mutated cells." Amari said, looking down at her clipboard instead of at the grumpy teenager sitting across from her. It had taken a full hour for Gage to argue and barter Ash into submission but he'd managed. "I've heard rumors of things like this happening, but I've never seen it myself or really even believed it was possible." Amari continued, finally looking up but looking at Gage instead of Ash.
"Suppose that means you won't be able to tell me if he'll be alright or not." Gage said, sighing a bit when Amari looked apologetic and shook her head.
"The only thing I can do is tell you to keep monitoring him. If the only thing that comes from this new mutation is enhanced physical abilities, I don't imagine that's a cause for much concern, but there's no standard for anything like this." Amari replied, finally looking at Ash. "As for the dreams, they may very well be caused by trauma, or they may be another symptom of the mutations."
"Helpful. Thank you." Ash muttered sarcastically, getting a sigh from Amari and a nudge from Gage. He'd agreed to do this, he'd never agreed to be pleasant.
"Yes, well, since you refuse to tell me about the dreams and insist you haven't been through anything to trigger what they're about, there's little else I can do for you." Amari said, a slight annoyed tone starting to chip away at her thus far professional demeanor.
"Well, that's that, then." Ash declared, getting up and setting his customary pouch of caps on the table beside the chair he was in.
Shooting Amari an apologetic look and a grateful nod, Gage followed Ash out of the office and then out of the Memory Den. Once they were outside, Ash stopped abruptly and Gage nearly bumped into him. "Boss, wha-" Suddenly Ash grabbed Gage by the collar of his jacket and forced him to look where he was looking. Over towards the end of the street near the Hotel Rexford, there was a bit of a crowd gathered around a Handy robot that was currently giving someone a tattoo.
"Think post-apocalyptic tattoo robots are sanitary?" Ash asked, shooting Gage and excited look, his mood having completely turned around from being in Amari's office.
Blinking in surprise, Gage brushed Ash's hand off his collar and gave a shrug. "Probably not but if the Pack can ink up like they do without all dyin' of infection, I think you oughta be fine."
"We." Ash corrected, grinning at Gage. He had officially decided to stop wearing his mask, though he still carried it with him, having decided he no longer cared if people realized how young he was and that he liked that Gage liked being able to see his face. "We're gonna get matching tattoos instead of rings."
"Oh." Gage said, flushing a bit and looking away. "Alright."
"Really?" Ash asked excitedly, face lighting up.
Chuckling softly, Gage nodded, smiling fondly at Ash. "Yeah, let's do it. What'd ya have in mind?"
"Something simple." Ash replied, looking back towards the crowd. "Somewhere visible." He hummed in thought before taking Gage's hand and leading him up to the crowd. Once one person noticed him, the crowd shifted apart so he and Gage could pass and Ash noticed a woman standing near a sign advertising the tattoo robot and showing prices. He caught her eye and she grinned at him, motioning him over.
"Lookin' t'get inked up?" She asked, her voice thick with a typical Boston accent.
Coming closer with Gage, Ash nodded. "We both want one."
"Tight." The woman said, taking a book from behind the sign and handing it to Ash. "These are all the designs it's got pre-set. I can also program designs into it if you wanna combine designs or have somethin' of your own. Custom designs are tricky, though. No refunds if it don't come out the way you were hopin'."
Taking the book, Ash flipped it open and started going over the designs, glancing over them and waiting for one to pop out at him. He didn't get far before an infinity symbol did just that and he paused, humming a bit. Looking over, Ash pointed at the small symbol. "What about this?" He asked, looking up at Gage.
"It's neat lookin', I guess." Gage said, shrugging.
"It means "forever"." Ash informed, grinning when Gage started to flush again. "This is perfect." He told the woman, pointing out the design and handing the book back. "We want them in black and I want mine to say "Gage" under it and his to say "Ash" under it."
"Can do." The woman said, motioning them over to the robot who'd finished with the patron it had been tattooing and was now hovering idly. "I'll put in the command and as soon as you confirm it looks right, you can pick where you want it and the machine'll get started." She said, walking over and typing at a small keypad on the side of the robot.
Taking Gage's hand again, Ash led the older man over and turned to look at him, placing a finger on his chest right about where the charm of a necklace would lay if he were so inclined to wear one. "I was thinking of putting them here." He informed, smiling up at Gage's red face.
Seeming unable to find his voice as he tried not to think of all the people seeing the big bad Overboss of the Commonwealth act like the romantic he was behind closed doors, Gage simply nodded.
One of the Handy's eyes blinked and then a projection of Ash's tattoo appeared. He looked at it against his hand and smiled. "That's perfect." He confirmed, pointing to where he wanted it.
"Alright. Just hold still and the machine'll do its thing." The woman said, typing in a few more commands and then motioning Gage over to another arm as the one got started on Ash. Once Gage moved into position, she showed him his design and he gave it a nod of approval.
"Same spot." He muttered, sliding his hands into his jacket pockets so he didn't fidget while just standing there.
Giving Gage a nod, the woman put in the final commands and then stepped aside, going back over to her sign while the Handy's other arm got to work on Gage. Ash was taking the rapid pokes of the needle while the machine inked him like a champ, not so much as grimacing. He rather liked the small repeated pricks of pain, though, so that helped. Gage let out a hiss at the first few rapid stabs but then bit the inside of his cheek to keep from making any more noise as he was inked as well. He'd never even considered getting a tattoo before now. Life was too short, there wasn't any point. But, it was hard for him to say no to Ash. Especially when the prospect of getting one had instantly put Ash into such a good mood.
The tattoos were completed all too quickly for Ash and took far too long for Gage, but eventually they were finished. Ash craned his neck to look at his and then looked at Gage's and his grin was almost as bright as his eyes. "Perfect." He said happily, getting out the required caps and handing them off to the woman. Ash had already calculated how much the tattoos would be based on the prices on the sign and had included a generous tip. He knew how Gage felt about his habit of overpaying people, but it wasn't like he needed all the caps he had. It was one of the things they just had to disagree on.
"Pleasure doin' business witcha!" The woman said chipperly, shaking the pouch and grinning before putting it away. "If you ever decide you want another, I travel between most of the outposts in your turf so you'd prolly be able to find me that way." She informed, shrugging when Ash gave her a surprised look. He'd assumed based on her friendly attitude and lack of fear that she didn't know who he was. "Raiders're good for business. 'Specially the colorful ones. I think they call themselves the Pack? Man, they practically keep me in business." She said, laughing a bit.
"Right." Ash said, suddenly very stuck on the fact that he was a recognizable figure. "I'll keep that in mind." He reached back and caught Gage's hand without looking, triggering the relay and taking his hat off to run his fingers through his hair once they were inside Sanctum. "Gage, am I famous?" Ash suddenly asked, looking up at Gage with a frown.
"Uh, infamous, more like, but yeah, I guess so." Gage responded, raising an eyebrow at Ash. "I mean, look at everythin' you done, boss. The only people who gossip worse than raiders are caravans. At this point, I'd be shocked if even people outside the Commonwealth didn't know your name."
"Holy shit." Ash muttered, having never thought about it before and now realizing Gage was most likely right. "I'm like a legit king or some shit. This is my kingdom." He muttered, not catching the confused look on Gage's face as everything hit him all at once.
"Hell of a time to realize that considerin' it's been months." Gage said, coming closer and brushing some hair out of Ash's face. "You alright?" He asked softly, pulling Ash close and looking a bit concerned for the shocked expression on Ash's face.
"Yeah, I just- I guess I never realized-" Letting out a sigh, Ash started to look up at Gage but his gaze was caught by the tattoo on his chest. Smiling a bit, Ash pulled away from Gage and led him by the hand into the infirmary part of Sanctum. "I'm alright." He said more firmly, pushing Gage to sit on one of the beds and fetching some bandages and antibiotic from a cabinet.
"You sure?" Gage pressed, watching Ash as he gently smeared some paste on his tattoo and then covered it with a large bandage.
"I'm sure." Ash confirmed, starting to do the same for his own tattoo but stopping when Gage reached up to take over. He smiled as Gage returned the favor and then hugged his husband, oh, and he was never going to get tired of saying that now, tightly. "I just hadn't really thought about it until now. I'll get used to people recognizing me like me that eventually."
"It ain't like that's the first time that's happened." Gage said, smiling in amusement at Ash now that he was sure Ash wasn't having a crisis over it or something.
"Yeah, but it was only ever settlers who recognized me before and that made sense; I was taking settlements, they were in danger. For some random wastelander to recognize me-" Ash cut off, frowning a bit at how utterly amused by all this Gage was. "Shut up." He muttered, straddling Gage's lap and continuing to hug him. "We're supposed to be honeymooning right now, not talking about our infamy."
"Honeymoonin'?" Gage asked, eyes widening and face going red again when Ash whispered what exactly that usually entailed in his ear.
"Buuut," Ash started slowly, starting to pull away from Gage with a sly grin. "I know how you feel about pre-war traditions, so if you'd rather just skip it, I-" His teasing words were cut off by a squeal of joy as Gage suddenly picked him up and started carrying him upstairs.
"Oh no, I think this is one tradition I can get behind." Gage replied, grinning at Ash who was clinging to him and smiling one of the prettiest smiles Gage had ever seen in his life. "Gotta make us officially husband and wife, right?" He asked, remembering how Ash had called himself his wife and seeing the evidence that he indeed liked it with how Ash's face turned as red as his own. Gage wasn't sure why Ash liked being called his wife instead of his husband, but he didn't mind and if Ash liked it, he minded it even less.
Once they reached the bedroom, Gage fell into the bed with Ash still tangled up in his arms and they got to work consummating their marriage, both of them forgetting all about the stresses of the past day or so in exchange for focusing on eachother.
Chapter Specific Characters: Skye, Porter Gage, Dr. Amari
Chapter Specific Tags/Warnings: cannibalism, blood drinking, bloodplay, finger-sucking, tattoos
Author's Note: This chapter kicked my ass! It took me forever to figure out how to get it between the three major plot points! Gah! I did it though! I fuckin' did it! Time to play some Skyrim to celebrate! Haha!