It was a rather normal evening for Hancock- he caught another raider gang stealing from Goodneighboor storehouses earlier in the week. He had ventured to put a stop to the raids altogether. He was tired though- lounging on the couch of the statehouse living room was making the exhauation in his body more evident.

A familiar voice rang in the hallway- it was sweet music to his ears. A jolt of energy pulled his body upright as he yearned to see her face. She entered the room- her raven hair tied into a french braid that trailed down the back of her head, her eyes mirrored the deep blue of an ocean in the summer. Her features were soft, yet her aura was as sharp as a blade.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is." He chimed- his heart humming in his chest.

"Hey, babe. How's the charming leader of Goodneighboor?" She sat next to him on the couch and he shifted in his seat. "Charming, huh? Haven't heard that one since before I went ghoul." He snickered. "How was your week?"

"Well, today I finished establishing the Castle for the Minutemen and helped out a settlement with som ferals. My least favorite of the irradiated bastards." He reached out to brush a loose lock of hair out of her face. "I wish I had known- I would have helped you out." She shook her head.

"Nah, I know you have a job here to do, plus, I'm sure you had an eventful day."

"Yeah, we got a lead on where the eastside raider gang was hiding out. We hit 'em hard today- I don't think we'll be runnin' into them again any time soon. No one from out of town steals from my citizens." The groughness in his voice signaled his annoyance.

"It's good though- you protecting Goodneighbor, I mean." He smiled faintly at her and she moved to lean her side against the back of the couch. "Oh! I almost forgot." She patted down a couple of her utility pockets before opening one and retireving a rectangular mass the size of a small brick. "A lady from one of the settlements gave this to me." She handed it to him, it had a creamy green color and felt waxy to the touch. "It's soap!" He then caught the green scent of the soap- with an undertone of sweetness. Her excitement contaminated Hancock.

"Damn. This is a commodity, even in Diamond City."

"I know! I want you to have it." The utter disbelief on his face did not deter the cheeky grin on her own. He looked her over to see if she was serious and noticed just how grimey she was. No one would have known that she had a peachy complexion. A woman handing a man a bar of homemade soap when she herself was filthy. It didn't register quite right in his mind and he couldn't accept it.

"W-what? No, hell no." He attempted to give it back to her, but she refused.

"Keep it, John. I mean it." She assured him and started to leave the room.

"You have worked so hard to keep the people of Goodneighbor safe. To give them hope and security in a world where chaos abounds. You deserve a little self-care." She stopped at the doorway with a smile. "Well, I have to go back to work. I need to check in on a settlement that went dark yesterday." The woman turned and walked toward the staircase.

"Johanna!" It was the first time he had used her name, so it made her stop in her tracks. He stood and approached her. With a quick gesture toward a guard- the guard vanished into one of the statehouse's many rooms. "Not so fast, buttercup. Don't leave me hangin' like this. Can't you stay? Just for the night at least." His tone was low and silky, just enough to entice her. Johanna thought about her options and she sighed.

"I suppose. We haven't had a chance to spend much time together lately." She reached up to fix the collar of his coat with a feather-like touch. "I have missed you." At her words, he slipped the soap into his pocket and took her hands. She obeyed his light pull toward him and gave his lips a kiss. The weight of her position as general of the Minutemen, a mother, a widow, a survivor, all seemed to melt off of her shoulders. She was weary. Despite all of her perseverence to make the Commonwealth a better place- the pressure of it all was slowly chipping away at her. Hancock had sensed it and he knew exactly what to do.

"Look, I gotta little surprise for ya anyway. It'll help you take the load off for a few hours. I think we both just need a night for ourselves. Whaddya say, darlin'?" Johanna gave Hancock's hands a gentle squeeze and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, ya smooth talker. You win this round."

He chuckled and leaned in for another kiss. "C'mon, let's relax for a bit." He pulled her into one of the hallways and past a guard standing in front of a door. In the room was Hancock's bed- a rare queen sized mattress made with a velvetty red quilt and some feather pillows. He let go of her hand and went into the bathroom. She began to unclasp the individual pieces of her combat armor. Puffs of dust lingered in the air from her patting off her jumpsuit. There was dirt and dust caked underneath most of her armor pieces. She had gotten used to being dirty. It had taken a long time for her to adapt to the uncleanliness that riddled the Commonwealth. Though, she did miss a cleaner way of life.

"Are you hungry?" Hancock called from the bathroom and she shook her head. "No, I had some stew a couple hours ago." He grunted in reply before coming into the room. When she had taken off the last piece of armor, he seemed to descend upon her with a passionate fire. She had to drop the piece of armor to the floor to steady herself from his assault. The final kiss started off slow and progressively became more desperate and wet. A giddy hum came from her and Hancock had to pull away. "You're doing that thing again. I can't french you if you're smiling like a clown." He teased and she laughed- her balance teetered as she let him hold her against him. "It's really hard to not smile." He shook his head- "I don't understand it." She paused to look into his eyes with endearment. "I love you. I love being with you. I can't not smile about it." Hancock's face erupted into a smile himself and he shook his head again. Slipping his hands down to unzip her jumpsuit and peel it off of her sweaty skin. He kissed her neck a few times and she moved to take off his coat.

One by one- articles of clothing were discarded onto the floor between their exchange of kisses. Soon they were both bare and Hancock scooped his lady into his arms and carried her to the bathroom. "The bed is that way-" She pointed casually and he scoffed. "I aint sleepin' with you when you're crusty with mud, hon." He teased lightheartedly. "You most certainly would." She laughed. "Yeah, but this is for you- not me." He countered and she spotted the bathtub. The water was steaming and clear. The tub had obviously been scrubbed clean. He lowered her into the water and she let out a sigh of relief. "Oh my god." He chuckled and she splashed at him, giving him a look. "Get down here, mister."

He sat down so that she was in between his legs. The smile on her face warmed him on the inside. It had been a long time since he'd felt that kind of warmth. He got comfortable and began to splash water onto her back and rest of her body to wash off the grime. His firm hands massaging her shoulders to release the knotted muscles from their vice. "Babe, where did you learn to use your hands like this?"

"Mmh, no idea. Comes natural, I guess." "Right." She snickered and felt her hair being tugged out of the braid. The dark locks had crimpy curls in them before he scooted her forward to gently dunk her head back into the water to get her hair wet.

She relaxed against him again- a look of total bliss on her features. He had her right where he wanted her- dazed in such relaxation that he could wash her hair with the soap. He knew she would be pissed the moment he used it on her instead of himself. He slyly got the soap sudding and started running the suds through her hair. The clean smell hit her nose and she got stiff.

"Hey! Stop it! Stop!" She was too weak to pull away though and he laughed at her feeble attempt. "Look, honey. You deserve this piece of heaven just as much, if not, more than I do. Let's just share it and be done arguing over it." Again, with his low and husky voice, he coaxed her into cooperation. She shook her head with a grin and leaned back into him- running her hands along his thighs under the water. He finished washing her hair and moved from her head to her shoulders and slowly working his way down. He found it hard to resist touching her more intimately, but kept his hands mostly to himself. He didn't want her to think he was taking advantage of her, so he waited. She turned around after cleaning in between her toes. "Alright, ghoul boy, your turn. Switch places." Before long she had cleaned him up as well. It was the first time she had really seen his body. It was essentially a healed wound. It amazed her that the human body was able to adapt to such adverse environments. Hancock was different from other ghouls in that his transformation was self-inflicted rather than radiation poisoning like most ghouls. Regardless, he was different than any guy she had ever been with before. What attracted her to him more than anything was his personality. He was quick-witted and sharp.

"Hancock." "Hm?"

They were drying off from the bath. "How did you manage to.. forge your past into a strength and move on from it?" The question made him gaze at her in thought, continuing to dry her off. "I may seem like I'm strong, I do it for the people. I really have no idea, Jo. I just try to focus on the here and now. What needs to be done. Things like that."

She nodded slowly- slipping on a nightgown that he handed to her. He had gotten dressed in a red robe that looked darned to fix holes in it more than once. "You know, Jo. That's exactly why I fell for you. You pressed on. You went through so much in your life- yet you set that aside to help others. I think we have that in common." Johanna smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, swaying slightly. "Mh. I think we make a good team."

"Have you- have you thought at all about... us, in the long run?" He asked out of the blue- his arms coming about her waist.

"I have." She gazed at him, searching his face as if she was looking for something. He kissed her lips and caressed her lower back. "I want to be with you for as long as I live, Jo. I don't want to live in this shitty hell hole without you. I can't do it. I'd rather die of a chem overdose than face a world without you in it."

"Don't say that, John."

"It's true." A pause held the tension between them and she pressed her cheek against his, closing her eyes.

"Do you think it's even possible? What if I am so heinous to look at that I scare away ferals and rats?" He chuckled. "It doesn't matter to me. You're a beautiful woman now- and you will be even as a goul. I know it."

She smiled. "I want to. I do want to live a life with you until we're both gone from this earth." He sighed- a sigh of relief, love, and warmth.

"Now, we get a finale for the night, right?" She laughed and kissed his ear, whispering. "What's the catch?"

He grabbed her and hiked her upward to lay her on the bed.

"You have to take me with you wherever you go."

She laughed at his proclamation.

"Accepted."