Chapter Specific Characters: Gage Reeves, Skye
Chapter Specific Tags/Warnings: Cannibalism
"So now I can store radiation inside me and release it whenever I want." Ash said, having just finished a much fuller recap of what had happened in the ruins of Vault 111 the night before. "At least, that's what "The Mother" told me."
"So you're a walkin' nuke now." Gage summarized, sounding decidedly displeased.
"Well- I mean, sort of. That's the first thing I thought of too." Ash admitted, at least having the decency to look sheepish when Gage glared at him. "She said the power was only limited by my imagination though, so I think there's more to it than just using it like a bomb." He added, frowning thoughtfully. "She seemed pretty sure I'd use it to destroy stuff, though."
"Can't imagine why." Gage muttered sarcastically, frown lessening when Ash suddenly pushed him over and straddled his hips. They were still in bed, having just woken up, and had been laying facing eachother to chat. Now Ash had Gage's hands pinned beside his head and was staring down at him. Even though Ash didn't have much actual physical power over Gage, he sort of liked it when he did things like this, held him down or topped during sex. It was nice to sometimes feel like the under he was supposed to be instead of the equal partner he really was.
"I know the idea of me having access to nukes, let alone being a nuke bothers you, so if you don't want me to use the power, I won't." Ash assured, smiling a little when Gage's face softened some more. "I mean, I didn't earn the title of family disappointment for nothing, so I really don't mind." He added playfully, his smile dropping when that made Gage furrow his brow and frown again. "What?"
"Did your family really call you that?" Gage asked quietly, sounding as bothered as he looked.
"Well, I mean, not to my face." Ash replied, letting Gage go and sitting up on his lap as he looked away. "I heard things, though. I used to pretend to be asleep or busy with schoolwork alot while my grandparents were visiting so I wouldn't have to spend time with them and they were super judgmental about me in general." He smiled again, still looking away and starting to rub his upper arm a bit. "Especially my grandparents on Nora's side. I heard them tell her she should've put me up for adoption once she knew I was gonna be a "problem child" and she didn't really disagree with them."
Frowning deeply, Gage pulled Ash down into a tight hug. "I'd punch your whole family in the face if I could." He mumbled, smiling a little when Ash laughed. As good as it felt to make Ash laugh, it still bothered Gage how casually he discussed things like this, like he was desensitized and didn't realize how fucked up it all was. Gage had run away from home, sure, but he'd run away from a loving home, from parents who'd tried even if they'd been shit at life in general. He couldn't imagine how much more fucked up he'd be if he'd had Ash's home-life. It sort of explained alot about him, though.
"Yeah?" Ash asked, smiling into Gage's strong chest and unknowingly pulling the older man from his thoughts. "All of them? Even the old ones?"
"Especially the old ones." Gage confirmed, squeezing Ash briefly. "I'd knock some of their perfect pre-war teeth down their throat for talkin' bad about my wife."
After a beat, Ash pulled back, looking down at Gage with an expression of confused amusement despite the light blush dusting his face. "Are you jealous of my teeth, Gage?" When Gage looked away, Ash's eyes widened.
"Not jealous." Gage muttered, going to say more but getting interrupted.
"Gage! Why didn't you say something! I mean, I knew you didn't like your teeth, but I didn't realize you were jealous of mine!" Ash said, smacking Gage on the chest. "We live in a technological marvel even by my time's standards, I bet there's a way to get you new teeth. The synths all have teeth, that's a start."
"Synthetic teeth?" Gage questioned, frowning a bit and humming thoughtfully when Ash nodded. "I mean, I guess I wouldn't be surprised if it were possible."
Smiling broadly, Ash hopped off of Gage and then the bed, snatching his Pip-Boy from the nightstand as he did. "I'll whip us up some breakfast and then we can-" A shrill sort of beep-blare came from Ash's Pip-Boy as he clipped it to his wrist and turned it on and cut Ash off from what he'd been saying.
"What in the fuck?" Gage shouted over the sound, grimacing only slightly less than Ash was.
"I don't- how the fuck do you turn this shit down?" Ash huffed, finally finding a switch and sighing when the beep-blare stopped. "Fucking hell. It's never done that before." He grumbled, noticing that the vitals tab had an exclamation mark and frowning. That was also new. Switching over, Ash's eyes widened. "Oh."
"Oh?" Gage demanded, getting out of bed and peering over Ash's shoulder before his own eyes widened as well. "Oh." He breathed, tilting his head a bit to get a better look, not quite believing what he was seeing. Ash's radiation levels were higher than the Pip-Boy had a counter for and his internal temperature was clocking in at a definitely lethal one-hundred eighteen. "Is it broken?"
"I-I don't think so." Ash mumbled, taking the Pip-Boy off and clipping it onto Gage. It showed normal readings. Barely any radiation and a healthy ninety-eight degrees temperature. "Nope. Not broken."
"So- do you feel alright?" Gage asked, feeling Ash's forehead and huffing when Ash smacked his hand away.
"I feel fine, Gage." Ash said, taking a step away from Gage so he couldn't go for his forehead again. "It's probably just from the blessing. Or maybe it's a new mutation. Either way, I'm fine." When Gage frowned more at him, Ash slumped a bit, his tone coming out more gentle. "I promise I feel fine. After everything that happened last night, I would tell you if I didn't."
After staring at Ash for a bit, Gage nodded slowly and went to take the Pip-Boy off. "Alright, I guess." He grumbled, stopping when Ash placed a hand over his own.
"Keep it." Ash said, motioning at the Pip-Boy. "It'd probably be easier to just live without the damn thing than to figure out how to recalibrate it and I can't deal with it screaming at me everytime I put it back on."
"But-" Gage looked down at the Pip-Boy, before raising an eyebrow at Ash. "You love this stupid thing. You're always messin' with it."
Waving a dismissive hand at Gage, Ash turned to head to the little kitchen in their room. "I don't love it, it's just convenient. It'll be just as convenient on you." He assured, opening up the fridge and looking over the options. "Maybe I'll set the synths on raiding some vaults for more of them and then I'll see about recalibrating a new one or something. Right now I can't risk breaking the only one we have." Ash finished, setting out some leftover radstag stew from the night before and heating it up on the stove.
Sighing softly, Gage sat down at the table, looking down at the clunky device on his arm. "Alright." He muttered, deciding Ash had a good point.
Smiling to himself as Gage wisely gave in, Ash poked around for something for himself and eventually decided on mutfruit smothered in agave nectar. He'd gotten the nectar from the same Mojave caravan that supplied Gage with the tequila he liked and found he liked it even more than he'd liked honey way back when. The caravan had also had honey, but Gage had cautioned him against it. Apparently whatever a "cazador" was, their honey contained a large amount of their venom and was really only used as an application for weapons, not for eating. "Unless you like the feelin' of havin' somethin' eat a hole in your stomach." Gage had added when Ash had pouted at him. That had convinced him.
The stew on the stove heated in the time it took for Ash to section up the mutfruit he was having and he fixed Gage a bowl, heading to the table with both bowls of food and setting Gage's down in front of him. He sat down and started eating his mutfruit, not bothering with a spoon and instead eating with his hands regardless of how sticky he'd be afterwards. Eating mutfruit with a bare hand also ran the risk of the juice dying any skin it came into contact with, but Ash didn't care. He was under the firm belief that mutfruit sections were the best when eaten by hand.
"It's a wonder your teeth ain't as bad as mine with the way you eat." Gage said after watching Ash and eating his own food for a bit. "I ain't never seen anyone eat as much sugar as you do."
Pausing with his index finger halfway in his mouth, Ash shrugged lightly. He finished sucking the digit clean of agave and picked up another piece of mutfruit. "Sugar is the only thing that makes food worth eating." He asserted, popping a few pieces of mutfruit into his mouth and licking up a bit of agave that was running down his palm.
It was then that Ash realized Gage wasn't eating anymore and simply watching him eat. When he stopped, Gage's eye flicked from his hand to his face and he flushed, making Ash laugh. "Having dirty thoughts there, love?" Ash asked playfully, grinning more when Gage looked down at his stew and kept eating.
"Maybe." He grumbled, shooting Ash a halfhearted glare when he laughed again. Then Ash suddenly got serious and Gage only had enough time to frown in confusion before Ash was pulling his arm close with his clean hand.
"What day is it?" Ash asked, flipping tabs on the Pip-Boy until he found what he was looking for. Grinning broadly, Ash let Gage take his arm back but sprung up and ran to the balcony before Gage could ask what was going on. He came back quickly and sat back down, looking excited. "Finish your food. I have a surprise for you." When Gage frowned, Ash looked at him pleadingly. "I know, you don't like surprises, but you'll like this one, I swear."
Sighing, Gage returned to eating, finishing his bowl quickly as Ash scarfed the rest of his down and washed his hands. He then stood up but didn't get to go far or even say anything before Ash bounded up to him again, looking more excited than Gage had ever seen him. It would've been enough to bring a smile to his face if he weren't so busy dreading whatever the surprise could be.
"Close your eye." Ash commanded, taking Gage's hand. "No peaking."
Sighing once again, Gage closed his eye and allowed himself to be led blindly. While he was sorely tempted, he didn't open his eye or even peak, keeping it closed tight until Ash stopped and gave him the go-ahead. Opening his eye, Gage looked over the railing of the balcony and his eye widened. Down below in the grass, there were flowers. Hundreds of little spots of color. Gage covered his mouth, not sure when exactly it had started hanging open. Most of the flowers were daisies. "Oh, Ash." He breathed, not even sure what else to say.
"Surprise." Ash said quietly, smiling happily at Gage's reaction. "You said you liked daisies so I thought I'd have the synths plant some flowers." He explained, looking over the railing instead of at Gage. "I told them to get mostly daisies, but-" Ash was cut off as Gage suddenly pulled him into a deep kiss. After his initial surprise, Ash hugged Gage and returned the kiss, deciding, despite how it made his gut twist, that the tears he could feel on Gage's cheeks were probably a good sign.
After several minutes of kissing, Gage pulled away and instantly hid his face in Ash's neck. "Proud of yourself, makin' a grown-ass man cry, you little heathen?" He asked softly, his tone half angry, half playful, and entirely overwhelmed.
Smiling, Ash nuzzled Gage's neck. "So long as they're happy tears." He mumbled, giving Gage a moment to wipe his face before looking at him when he pulled away.
"No one's ever-" Gage tried, clearing his throat when his voice wavered and motioning vaguely at the flowers. "You're just- you're somethin' else. I know I've said it before, but-"
Leaning up, Ash broke Gage off with a kiss, pulling away after a much shorter amount of time. "You're worth it." Gage looked like he might start crying again and instead huffed in annoyance and pulled Ash into another hug.
"I love you so fuckin' much. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." Gage murmured, happier than he would've ever dared dream he could ever be.
Now Ash started to tear up, barely stemming the rising tide by forcing out a laugh. "Now you know how I feel." He mumbled, smiling at Gage when he pulled back to look at him.
"Such a sappy little murder machine." Gage said fondly, cupping Ash's cheek and smiling more when Ash pouted at him.
"You started it with the sappiness!" He argued, leaning into Gage's touch despite his pout.
Scoffing, Gage raised an eyebrow at his husband. "Who planted who flowers?"
Flushing, Ash smiled, turning his face to kiss Gage's palm. "Yeah, alright. I'm sappy." He mumbled, taking Gage's hand from his face and holding it. "Just don't go telling that to people. I have a reputation to uphold."
"Don't worry, I won't." Gage guaranteed, smiling down at the man who'd changed his life. Despite all the little, and even not so little, bumps in the road, Gage decided easily that his life had definitely been changed for the better by the whirlwind known as Ash entering it.
"Okay, now that that's over with, we need to figure out how to get you some new teeth." Ash announced, quickly wiping the unshed tears from his eyes and giving Gage a moment to wipe his face again before taking his hand and leading him off. "I think we should start looking in Robotics since that's where the synths are made." Gage didn't respond, simply letting Ash lead him by the hand.
When the couple arrived in Robotics, Ash released Gage's hand and walked up to the synth overseeing production. She turned to him and opened her mouth to say something, likely some greeting or another, but Ash cut her off. "If I wanted to have all my teeth replaced with synthetic replicas, would you be able to do that?"
"Well, not me personally, but it's possible." The synth replied, frowning a bit. "You'd need to have your measurements taken by whoever is handling dental now and then I can create the teeth. The dentist would have to replace them, though."
Nodding once, Ash walked over to Gage and grinned at him. "Hear that? It's possible." He said happily, pressing his back against Gage's front and draping Gage's left arm across himself so he could use the Pip-Boy comfortably. "I just have to figure out where the hell dental is located and we can get this party started."
Smiling a bit, Gage rested his head on top of Ash's while he searched. "Still think it was convenient to let me keep your Pip-Boy?" He asked, wrapping his free arm around Ash's stomach and holding him close.
"Are you kidding? If this is how I'm gonna get to use it everytime, my only regret is not giving you the damn thing sooner." Ash replied, finding what he was looking for and tilting his head back to kiss Gage under the jaw. "Looks like we'll be walking past some flowers on the way to dental."
Smiling more, Gage allowed Ash to take his hand once more and followed him out of Robotics. He wasn't entirely sure if Ash was telling the truth about their path naturally taking them past the flowers, but he certainly wasn't complaining as they stopped to admire them. Whoever Ash had gotten to plant them had done a good job of speckling the daisies with just enough more colorful flowers to create a truly eye-catching little field. Gage had certainly never seen anything like it, not even in any of the pre-war books he'd ever read.
After they'd looked their fill, Ash continued to lead the way. They made it to dental and the synth leading it took Gage's measurements with a series of x-rays. Ash took them back to Robotics while Gage waited in the dental area, getting the rundown on what the operation he was going to have would entail. Ash returned in twenty minutes with the teeth in a holder that showed where they went and handed it off to the dentist.
"Before we begin, I need to know how recently you've eaten." The synth said, setting the teeth aside and looking at Gage.
"'Bout half an hour ago." Gage replied, already sitting in the chair he'd be getting his surgery done on.
Pursing her lips in thought, the dentist nodded after a bit. "In that case, we can get started right away. It should take about half an hour to get your teeth out which will only require a numbing agent since they're already so decayed, and by then you'll be good to go under anesthesia for the placing of the new teeth." When Gage gave a nod of understanding, the dentist started putting her gloves on. "Do you have any questions before we begin?"
"Nope. I'm good to go, doc." Gage replied, laying back in the chair and smiling over at Ash when he pulled up a chair beside him and took his hand. He wouldn't admit it, but he was sort of nervous about this. He'd never had anything like this done before, after all. His nervousness must've shown as the dentist was filling a syringe because Ash squeezed his hand.
"Don't worry, Gage. I'll be here when you fall asleep and I'll be here when you wake up. Nothing bad will happen." Ash assured, smiling when Gage raised an eyebrow at him.
"I ain't worried." He lied, looking forward again. "It's just a little surgery." The pinch of the needle entering his neck made Gage flinch just a bit since he hadn't been expecting it and everything quickly got fuzzy. The fuzziness lasted for awhile and then, at some point, Gage was knocked out with anesthesia, the fuzz fading nicely into darkness. When Gage woke up, he came back to the world slowly, the darkness fading back into fuzziness and then finally into a slightly-warped-around-the-edges clarity.
The first thing Gage became aware of was the fact that he couldn't really feel his face. Next, he became aware of a tapping sound and when he managed to get his bleary eyes to focus enough, he realized Ash was pacing back and forth beside their bed, which he'd apparently been moved to while he was out. Ash was decked out in his work clothes which would have certainly stricken Gage as odd if the next thing he noticed wouldn't have been a familiar gnawing emptiness he could feel all the way down to his bones.
"Babe?" Ash froze instantly and his head snapped to Gage, his eyes wide. Gage sounded different, his voice a little higher than usual, and when Ash looked at him, he saw that he looked different too. Not to mention he'd only ever called him babe when- "'M hungry." Gage said softly, trying to sit up in the bed but falling back down when the room started spinning.
"I know, love, but stay down for a couple of minutes, okay?" Ash asked gently, now standing at Gage's side and smiling softly at him when he nodded slowly. The moment Ash had heard that Gage would be getting anesthesia, he'd had a feeling he'd wake up high and hungry. According to what Gage had told him, the hunger was a constant feeling that only ever went away for awhile if he gave in and ate human, but it was easy to ignore after years of practice, only flaring up badly occasionally. It had been strong enough to get Gage to speak up only once since Ash had told him he could sate the hunger whenever he wanted.
Ash knew from experience, though, that the hunger was stronger when Gage's walls were down. It was the worst when he was high, followed closely by drunk, but Ash had seen it sometimes during and after sex too, or when Gage was just waking up in the few moments before his brain was fully aware. Ash wasn't sure if Gage was aware of it for those last two, but he'd gotten good at recognizing when the hunger was the strongest and he tried his very best to be supportive to both sides of his husband by walking the line of taking care of Gage when he was hungry enough to eat human and not being too pushy when he wasn't.
"I had a feeling you'd be hungry after the surgery." Ash said, rubbing Gage's chest gently. "I have another surprise for you, but you have to drink some water first, okay? If you don't you'll only get dizzy again."
After pondering his position for a bit, Gage gave another slow nod. "Okay." He mumbled, his voice a bit slurred from the lingering effects of the anesthesia and the pain-killers he was on. Everything indeed got more stable as Ash helped him nurse a can of water and by the time Gage had drained half, the world had stopped spinning. Then Ash helped him sit up and Gage smiled a triumphant smile when he managed it without any negative side-effects.
"Your surprise is over here." Ash said, stepping aside so Gage could see the body lying on their dining table and smiling when Gage let out the cutest, happiest little gasp Ash had ever heard from him. Then Gage's eye turned to him and Ash's smile got a little nervous around the edges. "I wasn't sure if he was right, but I remembered your type and I went hunting for you." He explained, hoping that he'd done alright with the raider he'd picked out.
"Oh, babe." Gage breathed, pulling Ash down easily into a tight hug. "He's perfect."
Letting out a relieved breath, Ash hugged Gage back and then led him carefully over to the table. "He was very feisty, by the way. He shouted and swore the entire time I was taking him down." Ash assured, helping Gage sit down. When he noticed Gage looking the raider over with a slight frown, he also frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"How'd you kill 'im?" Gage asked, looking up at Ash. "I don't see no blood or nothin'."
"Oh! He's not dead." Ash explained, smiling at Gage. "I wanted him to be fresh, so he's just unconscious. I wasn't sure if there was a special way you liked to kill your food or anything like that. I didn't wanna mess him up."
Smiling lovingly, Gage looked back at the raider and indeed could see now that his attention had been drawn to it that he was still breathing slowly. "You cleaned 'im off, too." Gage gasped, suddenly realizing how naked and clean the man was.
"I did." Ash replied proudly, suddenly biting his lip and looking a little nervous again. "So- if you'd rather be alone, I understand, but, if you wouldn't mind, could I-could I watch you eat him?" He asked uncertainly, shifting a little as Gage looked at him.
"'Course y'can, babe." Gage replied with a smile that quickly grew to show his new teeth. "You could try a piece too. Might like it." He added brightly, his excitement making Ash feel a little bad for the uncertainty he instantly felt.
"I-I don't know." He mumbled, looking at the raider on the table. "I mean, I guess I've thought about it. Thought about what it must taste like to make you crave it so much."
"I don't think one bite'll get ya hooked." Gage coaxed, tilting his head a little at Ash.
"Well- alright." Ash said, still not feeling entirely certain of his decision but deciding to just go for it. "Did you want a knife or something to kill him with?"
Suddenly Gage grinned and it was so predatory that it made Ash take an instinctive step back. "Nah." He breathed, surprising Ash further by climbing onto the table and going for the raider's throat. Ash watched with wide eyes as Gage ripped the raider's throat out, letting the chunk of flesh fall from his mouth once he was done. The bite woke the raider up, but he didn't have long to struggle before he then choked to death on his own blood. "I've always wanted to do it like that." Gage admitted, licking off some of the blood now covering his entire lower jaw.
Ash opened his mouth to respond but instead a shaky breath left him. Was that supposed to be as arousing as it was? Probably not, but Ash was definitely turned on. He eventually dragged his eyes from the gushing wound that was now the raider's neck to Gage and regretted it when he saw how intensely Gage was watching him. It was like he knew and when he offered Ash a small, bloody smile, Ash swallowed audibly. He suddenly felt like an appetizer, or maybe dessert, but it was- well, he certainly wasn't getting any softer as Gage eyed him like he was next.
"C'mere." Gage breathed, and Ash felt himself coming close before he could even think about it. Even like this, even with the way Gage was eyeing him like, appropriately enough, he supposed, a piece of meat, Ash trusted that his husband wouldn't hurt him. "Pick a piece." Gage said, gently tilting Ash's face towards the corpse. "I suggest thick muscle, but I'll carve you out any piece you want."
Swallowing nervously, Ash looked the corpse over and eventually pointed at his stomach. The raider had a flat stomach, likely from malnourishment, but there was some muscle definition there from the hard living of the wastes. It seemed like a good place to start, especially since the skin on the corpse's stomach looked so smooth.
Smiling, Gage took Damnation from Ash's belt and used it to carve Ash a hunk of abdominal muscle, handing it over and hilting the knife once Ash took it. He watched with baited breath as Ash took a tentative bite from the hunk and couldn't help but smile more when Ash had a hard time getting a chunk off. "Ya gotta bite it like ya mean it, babe." Gage coached gently, watching Ash put more effort into his bite and start chewing once he finally got a bit off.
"How did you ever manage that with your bad teeth?" Ash asked between chews, deciding he didn't hate the taste of human, it was boring like any other kind of meat, but that the texture was really, really bad.
Chuckling softly, Gage shrugged. "Guess I was always too high to notice if it hurt." He said, easily plucking the eyes from the corpse and putting them happily into his mouth. Gage crunched down on them and smiled contently when they squished audibly into his mouth.
"That makes sense, I guess." Ash said, looking down at the meat in his hand before setting it down on the table. "It tastes alright, but I don't know how you eat it raw like that."
"It's the best raw." Gage said, getting carefully off the table and spreading the corpse's legs in order to sink his teeth into its inner thigh. Ash slowly sank into a chair beside Gage and watched in rapt attention as he tore chunk after chunk from the corpse's thigh, chewing each new mouthful and swallowing it down like it was the best mouthful of food he'd ever had. Once Gage finished with the thighs, he seemed a bit more sober, but he still stood up and got to work on the corpse's chest, sort of squeezing the small pectorals there to make them come up enough so he could bite them.
Dimly Ash realized he probably should've tried to get Gage to let his new teeth rest before he let him go sinking them into a person, but the teeth seemed to be holding up fine. Furthermore, Ash had never seen Gage enjoy food and it was sort of nice. He'd seen Gage eat, of course, but he imagined the way Gage looked eating was the way he himself looked most of the time. Gage only ate anything but the food he actually enjoyed because he had to, just like Ash.
After finishing the choice bits of meat, Gage leaned back in his chair, belching and covering his stomach with a content smile. "I couldn't eat another bite." He muttered, definitely still high but also sounding more like himself than before he'd eaten.
Smiling softly, Ash got a rag and a bowl of warm water and straddled Gage's lap. Maybe it was hypocritical or selfish of him that he hated being doted on but loved doting on Gage, but Gage certainly wasn't in any position to complain. He gently wiped off Gage's face and neck before removing Gage's blood-soaked shirt and cleaning up his chest, the water in the bowl clouded with blood once he was finished. "You're a messy eater." Ash teased gently, smiling at Gage and getting a smile back.
"Thanks for takin' care'a me, babe." Gage said, holding Ash close and burying his face in his neck. "One'a these days I'm gonna take you up on your offer to take a bite outta you, I promise." He added softly, surprising Ash. At one point Ash had "jokingly", it hadn't been a joke and Gage hadn't taken it as one, offered to let Gage take a piece of his thigh sometime during sex or something and Gage had only glared at him so Ash had assumed it wasn't going to happen and had nearly forgotten about it. Apparently Gage hadn't.
"Yeah?" Ash asked, pulling back and looking at Gage when he didn't answer only to see that the older man had fallen asleep again. Smiling softly, Ash got off of Gage's lap and called in a couple of synths to get Gage back to bed. He'd need some time to sleep off his pain meds and Ash had a deathclaw corpse-removal service to contact anyway so he didn't mind. Daisy certainly didn't mind either, and it was actually pretty funny to watch her dig into the corpse's stomach in search of the organ meat like a dog trying to get at a buried bone. The mess she made while digging was less funny, but that wasn't Ash's responsibility so he still didn't mind.
Several hours later Ash was dealing with reports on his terminal when a pair of strong arms wrapped around his neck and a head rested gently on his own. He smiled happily and quickly finished up the last bit of the report he'd been reading so he could spin his chair around and hug Gage. "Did you sleep alright?" He asked, hugging Gage around the middle and nuzzling into his stomach.
"Slept like the fuckin' dead." Gage mumbled, pulling back in order to pick Ash up and steal his seat. He settled Ash on his lap and kept holding him. "You're gettin' heavy."
Laughing, Ash snuggled happily into Gage's hold. "Thank you." He replied, kissing Gage's cheek and sweeping his thumb gently over the burn scars under his exposed blind eye. "Do you remember your meal?"
"Mostly." Gage replied, resisting the urge to flinch or cringe. It was still hard to believe that Ash was so okay with his unnatural hunger. "It's all sorta blurry, but I remember it."
"Was it good?" Ash pressed, still trying to walk the fine line of being supportive without being too pushy.
"Oh yeah." Gage admitted easily enough, laughing softly. "Might have you pick for me more often. You did good."
Beaming at the praise, Ash nuzzled his face into Gage's neck. "I wouldn't mind that. Maybe next time I let you convince me to try some, I'll try it cooked."
"It tastes different cooked." Gage said quietly, not looking at Ash when he pulled back to look at him. "Just sayin'."
Nodding slowly, Ash gently made Gage look at him and kissed him. Gage returned the kiss in a way that felt distinctly grateful and Ash decided that meant he was done talking about his eating habits. He'd make Gage comfortable enough to discuss it casually eventually, but until then, part of being supportive was knowing when to shut the fuck up, so Ash just kept kissing Gage. After a few minutes, their kiss was interrupted by a knock on the door. Pulling back reluctantly, Ash looked at the door. "Come in."
Surprising absolutely no one since most of the synths weren't brave enough to bother Ash when the bedroom door was closed, Skye came into the room, looking unphased by what they'd clearly interrupted. "Armageddon is finished." They informed neutrally, face as blank as ever as Ash excitedly turned back to Gage.
"Feel like going out?" Ash asked, smiling when Gage raised an eyebrow at him.
"To finally see your new murder-blimp? Of course I feel like goin' out." Gage replied, smiling when Ash got off his lap and started getting dressed.
"Our new murder-blimp." Ash corrected, showing his usual amount of concern about Skye still being there as he stripped out of the comfy clothes he'd changed into while Gage had been sleeping and back into his work clothes. "We're married now. We share everything."
"Right." Gage said, his tone amused as he grabbed his own clothes and retreated into the restroom to change. He didn't care how disinterested Skye looked, he wasn't going to change in front of them. No matter how hard he tried, Ash would never convince him that there wasn't more hidden under that whole stone-face routine they had going on. Gage could see it in their eyes sometimes when he dared to look long enough and the fact that Skye was so good at keeping themself so blank all the time was creepy as fuck. Not even Shank was that good at keeping his emotions down.
Once both men were dressed, Gage returned and put in the coordinates for the relay. He had Ash look it over to make sure he'd done it right before taking Ash's hand and triggering it, though. They came out of the relay in the airport a little ways away from Armageddon so they could get a good view and Skye appeared beside them shortly after. Armageddon was mostly white, looking sleeker now and definitely more high-tech. What really caught Ash's attention though, was the giant logo spray-painted onto the bulk of the actual balloon part of the blimp.
The top of the logo was purple with "Nuka-World" written in the usual cursive in black and with a little star above the "a". To the right, was the Operators insignia backgrounded in bright yellow. Under that was a yellow atom with a radioactive sign in the middle in black and backgrounded in nuclear green. To the left was the Disciples insignia backgrounded in a rusted reddish orange. Under that was the Pack's insignia in the green they sometimes used instead of their usual pink and backgrounded in their usual pink. Finally, in the center was the Institute's insignia backgrounded in light blue with a darker blue circle behind the head. All the colors blended with eachother where they were close to one another thanks to how close each insignia was to eachother and it created a colorful, eye-catching display.
"Holy fuck." Ash breathed, unable to look at anything else now that his attention had been caught by the logo. He hadn't asked for anything like that and he certainly hadn't been expecting it.
"That was my addition." Skye said, looking up at the airship with what could almost be called a smile. They even sounded a tiny bit proud. "The Atom symbol was a last-minute addition, but I think it pulls everything together nicely."
"How did you even hear about that? It just happened last night." Ash asked, looking over at Skye in surprise.
"I have my ways." Skye replied without looking at Ash, neutral as ever once again.
Too pleased with his new murder-blimp to be annoyed, Ash laughed and looked up once again, grinning broadly. "It looks fucking kickass. Good job, Skye."
Skye simply nodded, looking down to fiddle with their wrist device. "Shall we inspect the interior?"
Looking over at Gage, Ash received a grin and a nod and he nodded at Skye. "We shall."
Before Gage could get a new relay set up, a vertibird started landing nearby. "We also got the vertibirds you wanted up and running." Skye mentioned casually, the vertibird also being white and sleek now. It had gatling lasers mounted where the miniguns used to go and on the side, there was the same logo as up on Armageddon but smaller.
Laughing happily, Ash ran up to the vertibird and boarded first, excitedly taking one of the gatling lasers even though he wouldn't get to use it for the short trip up to Armageddon. "I'd give you a raise if I were paying you!" He shouted to Skye as they and Gage boarded after him, Skye taking a seat and Gage standing behind Ash. Ash wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to admire the view from the door as well or if he didn't trust him alone hanging halfway out of the vertibird, but he was in too good of a mood to question it or feel insulted when Gage's arms wrapped tightly around his waist and instead chose to enjoy the extra attention for the ride up.
"Next time we head to Nuka-World, let's take one of these." Gage said in Ash's ear while they were headed up. "The view'd be worth the extra time."
Looking back, Ash nodded excitedly and held on tightly to the gatling laser in front of him as the vertibird shook during the boarding process. He then waited for Gage to let him go and hopped off the craft, excitedly running past the flight deck and practically bouncing as he waited for Gage to catch up before going inside Armageddon. The interior looked exactly like he'd expected it to, like a miniature floating Sanctum. There were synths busily bustling about and everything had a sleek, clean feeling to it. No one would know from looking at it that it had been filled with liquefying corpses just a month ago. The only clue was the strong smell of cleaning chemicals still lingering in the air.
"All of the practical equipment is running more efficiently than ever and the air will be cleared up after a full cycle." Skye informed, hands folded behind their back as they walked a bit behind Ash. "The weapons are also fully online and ready for use. Keeping with the theme and reputation of the Institute, I had the synths outfit Armageddon with mostly laser weaponry, but keeping in mind your particular tastes, I also had them include several bombing hangers on the lower levels." They stopped with Ash and Gage in the cockpit and stayed back while the couple admired the view from the freshly cleaned and reinforced windows. "I've also taken the liberty of locating a cache of Mark 28 nuclear warheads to arm the hangers with. The team I've assembled to retrieve them just require your approval to move out."
Tensing up, Ash glanced at Gage before turning to face Skye. "I appreciate the thought, but-"
"Approve 'em." Gage said, also turning around and smiling a bit at Ash when he looked at him in surprise.
"Are you sure?" Ash asked, grinning when Gage shrugged at him.
"Might need 'em. Not like I think you'll go bombin' the wastes for no good reason." He replied, smiling when Ash started practically bouncing again.
"Send out the team." Ash said, looking to Skye again and raising an eyebrow at them when he noticed the way they were eyeing Gage almost curiously. They had the decency to look almost embarrassed when they realized Ash had caught them but simply nodded once.
"Understood. Do you have any questions or notes for me?" They asked, waiting patiently with their usual blank expression while Ash eyed them.
"No. Dismissed." Ash said after a bit, watching them leave before turning back to the view Gage had already returned to.
"Told you there was more under all that restin' bitch face and leather." Gage mumbled, glancing over at Ash with more amusement than Ash would've expected.
"Yeah, I guess you were right." Ash replied, looking back down and grinning again before pushing off of the rail he was leaning against. "Wanna check out the upper level with me?"
"'Course." Gage replied, following Ash up the ladder and marveling at the lack of corpse smell even there. The synths really knew how to get a place clean. It looked like they'd replaced the floor but Gage wouldn't have been surprised to find that they'd gotten the stains from the puddles of liquefied bodies out as well.
After checking out everything from the gen three barracks to the infirmary, Ash and Gage found their way to the rooms just beyond the ladder. The central room, the biggest one, was clearly for Ash and Gage. It was furnished with a fairly large bed and a desk with a terminal among other things. Gage gravitated towards the mini-fridge in one corner of the room and whistled at the assortment of alcohol it had been stocked with. Ash, however, went for the ham radio on the desk with the terminal and clicked it on.
Both he and Gage were shocked when a voice came through almost instantly. "Prydwen? Come in, Prydwen. This is the Citadel. We've been trying to contact you for months." A grin split Ash's face and before Gage could say anything in support or opposition to his decision, Ash was reaching for the receiver.
"Hello, Citadel. The Prydwen is currently unavailable and will be for the foreseeable future. This is Armageddon."
Author's Note: Since I'm not allowed to link to outside sources on here, here's a kinda link to a bad approximation of Armageddon's logo: (put Twitter's web address before this and it should come up) /CynicalLion555/status/1306393109547438081