King: Lover's spat? Quite. If only they realized it! And I truly got a kick out of the visual of you leaping to your feet and disturbing your flatmates. I gave myself a few minutes for a personal giggle.

TheEnigmaticStranger: We already covered most of it in our conversation last night, but yes, I think without the events of the last chapter their relationship would have been much harder to breach. It was an accidental turn of good fortune I decided to write it the way I did, so thanks. Oh, and just to let you know, I did write the song in at the end. May the other readers forgive me Scarlet's silliness, but it was just too perfect!

Sip Fornicaras: Addictive, huh? You know what they say about drugs - you shouldn't do them. But in this case we'll let it slide, just as long as you keep enjoying the story. Oh, and I totally agree about him not being so against women. I can see him have that slight lean towards men being the stronger better sex, but I always saw him more intrigued by the courier than look down upon her in the game. (I never played a male so I don't know if it would be different or not, and if its not I guess that just proves he really doesn't care, lol.) I'm hoping that I can make him think more about love, too, and I also agree with the way you think he would be with someone. I think a lot of people forget that love can take many forms, not just the fluffy, lovey-dovey one most people like to consider as the end-all be-all definition of the word.

Chapter XIII

Volare!

It would be at least a two-day trek to Callville Bay from Nellis, so the unlikely pair that was Vulpes Inculta and Scarlet Hugues made preparations. Their traveling bags were filled with food and ammo. Their clothing was checked for weak spots and patched. Before the sun had even reached its peak they were ready to go, most likely because Vulpes had rose hours before the sun had and his movements had roused Scarlet who together worked diligently until they finished. Despite his newfound happiness they found that Jack had kept his promise and presented them with the finished rebreather when they went to retrieve it. Dark circles were under his eyes, indicating he had worked all night, but it seemed to have been a joyful labor for Janet was asleep on some crates not too far away, her head pillowed on a folded blanket.

"Thanks again." Jack whispered to the pair. "We talked all night! We share a favorite song!" His giddy excitement was contagious and brought a smile to Scarlet's lips. Vulpes watched with curiosity the curve of them, took in the rosy pink color and contrasted it to the tanned skin of her face. Even in the dim florescent lights her sun-kissed flesh seemed healthy and alive, which was a feat, for most people looked washed out under these kinds of lamps. He briefly wondered how her skin would look next to his own pale complexion, perhaps bare and glistening with sweat… He found his own lips curling now, but not for the same reason as Scarlet's.

A groggy voice turned their attention towards the heretofore sleeping woman. Janet rubbed her eyes a little and brushed a slender hand through her cropped red locks. "You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye were you?" Her legs dangled just a little over the crates she was sitting on.

"You were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you." Scarlet said. "We're going to be back in a few days anyway." When the other woman put one arm out in an indication of a wanted hug Scarlet walked over and obliged.

"You know you're totally my best friend now, right?" Janet smirked as Scarlet leaned back from the embrace.

"I better be girly!" Scarlet cracked.

"You know when you and your boyfriend are going to be back?"

There was a brief choking sound of surprise that followed Janet's question, as though it had grasp all words and air within Scarlet and squeezed. Uncomfortable didn't cover it. The half-smile on Vulpes' face turned into a fell-blown smirk at this point, wondering what her reaction would be. "Oh! He's not… He's not my boyfriend or anything. We're just friends."

"Oh." Janet said. "I'm sorry I thought you were since you were always together and you shared the same tent."

"Oh no. God no!" Scarlet's laugh was a little strangled and anxious. Vulpes' smirk completely vanished at the fervor in her words. And to think that seconds before he had been considering the many ways he was going to make her scream, and pleasurably; she didn't know what she was missing.

-X-

"God no."

Scarlet turned her head to look at Vulpes. He hadn't spoken since they had exited the hangar and made their way out of Nellis. They were almost to the little shack on the other side of the mountain road when he finally verbalized what had been going through his head the whole way. "What?" She asked, and felt that she had missed something important, but wasn't too surprised because she did that from time to time – well, okay, most of the time.

"Am I that unpleasant that the answer you must choose about our supposed coupling is 'God no!'?"

Both of her eyebrows shot up in surprise when she realized what had happened. It wasn't exactly hurt she saw in his eyes, but a little bit of anger mixed with confusion. It took everything she had not to burst into a fit of laughter. She had managed, without intending to, to strike a serious assault on Vulpes' psyche. It was quite a surprise actually, because she expected more of a reaction like that from someone like Jack, not Vulpes, who stood a constant reminder of power and confidence. Now he looked like a petulant child. Wait, no, she knew exactly what he looked like right then to her: Rex. He reminded her of Rex when she had to scold him, the almost sad eyes, the confused expression. The image of Vulpes as the poor kicked puppy nearly broke the last of her composure, especially when she realized the only thing that was missing from the picture was the Vexillarius hood he wore at times. She covered her mouth, but not the sound of her snicker.

"I'm glad you find this so amusing." His tone was almost mournful and she wondered if he even knew how he sounded right then.

"No, I'm not laughing at that, I'm—" She realized sadly that what she was laughing at was worse than what he thought she was laughing about so she let it drop. "Oh, never mind." They walked in tense silence for a few more minutes before she finally stopped and turned. "All right, enough of this. I'm sorry I bruised your precious little man-ego, ok?"

No words, but he was looking at her now with the strangest expression.

She continued, "let's stop pretending like I don't know that you know that I'm highly attracted to you." A sigh. "All right, intensely attracted to you. This whole situation is hilarious not because it in itself is funny, but when placed next to everything else its too ridiculous. Do you even look at yourself in the mirror?" She gave her comment a few moments to sink in before rolling on, "I mean where the hell is the man I met in Nipton, sarcastic and sure of himself. You know, the one that fucking took my breath away because I thought he was so gorgeous, or that could have been the smoke. Not to mention a voice that made chills crawl across my spine – and not because I was scared."

She laid a hand on his arm and she noted how his eyes flickered to the touch and then back up to her face. Such a small little movement really, but it told her a lot. "So, excuse me if I have a little private giggle because I told the truth. We're not together. You're not my 'boyfriend' as silly as that word sounds right now." And it did. The term boyfriend sounded so strange out here in the wasteland, mostly because it could have never applied to Vulpes, ever. "Right now, me and you," she pointed between the two of them, "we're business partners and that is it. I can enjoy the fact you're beautiful to look at and I'm sure you feel the same way about me – if I may be so bold – but frankly despite the fact that we both seem to have this unhealthy obsession with each other we're just orbiting…"

Vulpes watched her face as she spoke, took in the brutal truths within her words. Brutal because he knew that most of what she just said had taken much effort on both sides to keep under wraps. More on her part than his, for he didn't care if she figured out he desired to have her, although it was easier to hunt your prey when they didn't realize they were being hunted at all. He had a feeling from the way she put it though she still did not truly grasp his full intentions. No matter, for he was still surprised that she had admitted as much as her own feelings on the subject. He had been aware that she bore some intrigue during their meeting in Nipton but until now not known the true extent of which he had affected her.

Took her breath away? That's more like it. He thought, even though he had never considered himself a vain man. No, vanity was for profligate sissies and women. However, he wasn't foolish and had more than once been reminded that while he may not have been the handsomest man in the world he certainly stood out compared to the rest of the riff-raff in the Mojave. To his disdain it had also brought him certain attentions from women (and sometimes men) he would have preferred to ignore. This was one of the few times he found himself mutually attracted to his admirer.

Her comparison to them and a pair of celestial bodies was fascinating. It was also quite fitting. They did seem to be in some kind of orbit around each other, or perhaps they were two meteorites whose paths were running parallel at the moment. It remained to be seen if one of them would change course and collide into the other. If they did… when they did he would relish it.

He was formulating a response when she removed her hand and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, does that make you feel better or do I need to compliment you some more, you sexy piece of man-flesh you."

For an instant he considered being offended by her sudden change of attitude, but when the soft smile crept over her lips he realized she was not being mocking, just playful. Instead he just gave her a derisive snort, as if she had been imagining the whole thing. "I don't need your approval."

Her mouth twisted into a bemused smirk as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay, whatever."

-X-

Night had fallen and they were forced to make camp. Scarlet supposed they could have continued on through the night, but between her exhaustion from being up so early that morning and the throbbing pain that was now inching up her leg she didn't argue when Vulpes had pointed off into a small circle of boulders that could provide them cover from predators and other travelers. She had waited until she was sure he was completely out before she grabbed her bag and rolled up her pants to check her leg wound. Inside she knew what she was doing was foolish, keeping the pain from him when it was probably just silly aches as it healed. Still, that fear that he would find her weak and useless for needing to mention it was strong.

Delicately she pulled the old bandage off of her leg and gave a sigh of relief as the pressure it caused was released. Underneath it she could see the patches of skin that were healing. Some of it was still a little raw, but in many places it was mending quite well. The only problem area was a fist sized bruise, which she remembered with unease had been smaller earlier that day. Upon further inspection she realized it wasn't quite a bruise as a mass of infection boiling beneath her skin. That would explain the redness, the swelling, and the over all feverish nature of her leg at times. With a frown she touched the tender spot, testing it. The effect was immediate and she hissed loudly enough to snap her head over to see if Vulpes had woken.

Luckily he had not and she went about pulling from her bag her self-made first aid kit. Inside it was a very clean sharpened scalpel and some more bandages and gauze, as well as some other items, but they would not be needed tonight. She picked the scalpel up with dainty fingers and hovered above the swollen injury with a bit of uncertainty. She'd picked bullets from her body and had self-treated more times than she could count. What made this time so different? It all felt kind of off really, or maybe that was the headache that was boring into her skull from lack of sleep. Dragging her courage to the surface she brought the scalpel down on her skin and sliced down the wound for a few inches, face wrinkling with disgust as the skin split open and out poured a mix of blood, palettes, and pus.

How the hell did mom do this shit on a regular basis, gross!

The good thing was that as the repulsive liquid oozed from the cut the pressure she had been feeling began to lessen even more. That would make walking on it so much easier. Using a few pieces of gauze she wiped away the infection until the stream began to slow and then reached to dig through her bag once more. With dismay she found that she had not packed any alcohol, knowing that the Legion looked down upon such things she had left them behind. Now she regretted that, for she could at least use it as a disinfectant, like she needed to do now. Aw, hell. She chose the alternative, a bottle of purified water, and poured it over the site until it seemed clean enough. One last piece of gauze was used to dry the area before she administered a stimpak. When the pain from the needle to the already sore wound diminished she set about bandaging it. As she disposed of all the evidence of her late night medical treatment she considered giving herself an injection of med-x as well to help with the pain and assist in sleep, but chose against it.

Her other method was less instant, but still pleasing. She lay on her side and watched her companion sleep, taking in the soft rise of his chest as he breathed and the orange highlights dancing through his dark hair as it was cast by the last of the fire's glowing embers. Much like the night in his tent, that seemed like forever ago really, his features appeared more angular, but unlike then they were smoothed over with slumber and she barely recognized the man who she knew to be a cold-hearted soldier. The smile that graced her lips at the thought of him was wistful. Earlier she had told him she thought he was beautiful. She still thought that now. More than ever.

-X-

Callville Bay glittered before them like an azure jewel as the afternoon sun spilled its rays upon its surface. It was breathtaking and peaceful. No wonder why the area around it was littered with campgrounds and shops and restaurants that had long ago closed their doors for an extended atomic winter. In a way she was glad that those days were gone. The beauty would have somehow been ruined by the presence of so many other people, the sound of cars, the blare of radios as the beach-goers and boaters frolicked. She almost couldn't imagine what life was life before the bombs and for an instant felt a terrible selfishness as she realized she was glad what had happened had indeed happened. Bombs fell, killed millions, probably billions, and then left the survivors struggling. Still, somehow, in her mind, this seemed better that the image in her head of before. She had seen holotapes from back then and didn't see what the fuss was about. Maybe it was just the same stuff, only with a sparkly sheen to just make it seem like it was less ugly.

Vulpes was standing beside her and she was painfully aware of that fact. He, too, was looking out at the water, although she could not read whatever emotion was behind his eyes, if there was any at all. Despite his apathetic appearance she couldn't help but consider how, if they had been more than just a Legionary and a Profligate, this would have been a perfect moment to reach over and touch him, perhaps even kiss him. It was too perfect really, so perfect she was afraid that he would see this, too, and knowing the way her mind worked would guess that she was standing there thinking about it – like a silly little girl.

"Well, we're finally here!" She said, breaking the silence. Once the words came out she knew they sounded awkward. "Watch out for lakelurks, will you?"

"What… wait!" He called out to her, but it was too late. She was already running to the end of the dock, fully clothed. Seconds later she disappeared beneath the surface, the only evidence that she had even been there with him at all being her bag by his feet and the ripples tossed up by her entry into the water.

Almost a minute passed as he stood at the end of the dock, eyes flickering over the water and searching for any sign of the girl. She'd left the rebreather and all the equipment with him so she couldn't have been intending on going to the plane already. With a growl he realized that she was playing around and found himself irritated with her. Only a minute piece of him could understand her wish to act like a child at times, while the rest of him just wished she would grow up like the rest of the wasteland.

When she finally did pop her head up, gasping for breath, the biggest smile was on her face. With a laugh she said, "the water feels so cool! You should come in with me."

He frowned at her. "We have work to do."

"Aw, come on. You don't seem to have any fun." She crossed her arms over each other at the end of the dock and leaned her head against them, giving him a pouty look.

"Its already late afternoon, Scarlet," he reasoned with her, "we need to get this finished before the sun goes down. After that it will be difficult to watch for enemies and I dare say it might be impossible to navigate down there."

She thought for a moment. "I guess that's true, but while I get stuff together that doesn't mean that you can't take the time to have a turn out here. It really is great." She went to swat at his ankle in a playful manner but was surprised by his reaction. He took a few steps back, very quick steps, and his usually narrow and calm eyes had flashed wide and uncertainty. The look was gone as soon as it came, but she had seen it and thought she understood. Gripping the dock she pulled herself back up onto the planks and turned to him. "You can't swim, can you?"

Chaos. Liquid death churned around him, suffocated him. It spilled into his lungs and weighed down his body as he reached desperately for the surface. His hands were small again, not the hands of a man. He wasn't strong enough; he was going to die. "That's ridiculous." He spat. "Of course I can."

"No you can't. I saw that look." For once she was being the serious one, her lips drawn into a straight line. It had disturbed her, that look on his face. It was so close to fear she thought the world was crumbling around her into anarchy. Vulpes Inculta feared nothing.

"What if I can't? Does that make me seem less to you?" The sneer on his face was one she hadn't seen in a while. All defenses were going up. She was no longer his traveling companion, or the courier he was sent to watch. She was a dissolute again.

"This is the Mojave, Vulpes." Scarlet said softly, hoping his name would bring him back around. "Not a lot of people know how to, or even need to. I actually would have been surprised if you did."

"You know." He pointed out, as if to say she was just humoring him.

Scarlet huffed, wringing the water from her hair. "Yeah, I do, but I'm not from the Mojave. I'm from California. Little seaside settlement. Used to be some big-time resort."

He regarded her for a few heartbeats. It was the most she had ever said about herself to him. "How did you end up here?"

Apparently that would be all of Scarlet's history lesson for the afternoon, for she gave him a pained grimace, which might have been her attempt at a forced smile, and replied, "that's a long story, and if you want to really get this done then I suggest we skip it for another time, yes?"

He didn't want to talk about why he didn't like water; she didn't want to discuss her reason for ending up in the Mojave. With a nod he helped her to her feet, "let's get this finished then."

-X-

Everything was ready to go. Vulpes checked the rebreather one last time to make sure all the seals were holding up, and as expected they were. Jack did a good job; the Legionary would give him that. "It seems to be—" He turned to announce his findings but felt the breath catch in his throat. Even though he tended to be a quiet man he had not been struck to speechlessness before. Scarlet had stripped down to her underwear and a threadbare tank top. Beneath the layered clothes she always wore hid an athletic body, just the right mix of muscle and softness. She was delicately curved in all the right places, especially her hips, which were wide enough to be referred to as "child-bearing" but still slender enough to stay in proportion to the rest of her lithe frame. The skin he had been admiring the day before was even more stunning here in the sunlight where he could truly see that the tone had, despite the wasteland's best efforts, remained fairly even with few flaws to tell. In spite of the bra she had on underneath the shirt he could still make out the faint outlines of the pair of pert nipples and had to violently shove down the immediate sense of arousal his body was trying to force on him.

"Huh?" She was strapping on a leather belt for which she had tied the equipment she would need. Her face showed all signs that she was innocently unaware of the thoughts pooling into the crevices in his brain.

He cleared his throat and brushed a hand through his hair. "The rebreather. It seems to be in good shape."

"Delightful!" She chirped. As soon as it was in her hands she made her way to the end of the dock and surveyed the water. "I hope I don't run into any nasty creatures down there."

Vulpes' eyes slid down her back, taking in the curve of her shoulder blades, the gentle slope of her spine as it passed through the small, and onto to the firm shape of her buttocks. He had never been quite sure if the Legion's god Mars was real or not, but in that moment he thought maybe he was, and that he was a merciful god, one who rewarded his flock most generously. If there had been any doubt in his mind that Scarlet would one day belong to him it was flung quite viciously out the window. "I'll watch your back." He told his partner, a devious purr tainting what was supposed to have been a genuine assurance.

-X-

Scarlet walked back and forth along the dock, holding the detonator in her hands and trying to get it to activate. Loyal had told them that when it got the signal from the ballasts it would begin to beep and then they could set it off. She had been at it for a few minutes already, having resurfaced not long before. Vulpes stayed back out of her way, not wanting to interrupt her determined pace. He was beginning to realize that she had an obsession with things that exploded. It tended to lift her mood even higher than it normally was. As of that moment she was humming something, and then the humming turned into singing under her breath.

"My bonny lies over the ocean. My bonny lies over the sea." The device stuttered and began the beep. She hadn't stopped in time and had to backtrack a few more paces. Ah! There is was. "My bonny lies over the ocean." She was grinning as she sang and then waved the device along with the words, "Bring. Back. My. Bon-ny. To." She lifted it up and pressed the button. "Me!"

Out in the bay the water exploded as the old bomber rose from the blue depths. It seemed to gasp for air as it popped to the surface. Seconds later it settled gently upon the rocking waves. Scarlet was cheering happily. Vulpes thought that he would never be able to understand this woman. Not in a million years. And for some reason he wasn't bothered by it, just mildly amused.

I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with this chapter at first, but I think Vulpes told me in his own way that he wanted you to know that he was a man, a human one, with insecurities and fears and urges just like all the rest of us. The Vulpes not knowing how to swim thing even surprised me, but after I wrote it an origin story for him came to mind, one that I will, at a much later date, divulge. Regardless of his tragic beginnings he still grew up to be a rather naughty boy. Somehow I doubt he'll ever be punished.

Next Chapter: A Man About a Dog - After a few days of celebration with the Boomers for bringing the old lady from the sea from the briny depths Scarlet insists they head up to Jacobstown to see a man about a dog, only instead of being a turn of phrase she means an actual dog. Vulpes meets Rex, Scarlet pisses off some mercenaries, and the two of them play a little game, one with an interesting side bet...