Carlos looked at him. “You have something other than the frock?” he asked. He then added quickly, “That was meant to be a joke.” He sighed. “I… I mean, you don’t have to. I’m not going to make you. Do you… do you want to?” Carlos didn’t mind either way, but he had to admit that seeing Hancock in something else was at least a little bit intriguing.
“Of course I do, I just got a specific image to maintain.” He chuckled softly. “I’ll change, might as well dress up a little for our date night, hmm? Just give me a minute and I’ll meet ya downstairs, yeah?”
Carlos gave him an encouraging smile and nodded. “I’ll be downstairs, then,” he said. He leaned in to peck Hancock on the lips and squeezed his hands. “Don’t try too hard,” he then told Hancock. “You don’t have to with me.”
Carlos pouted at Hancock as he laughed. Yeah, Carlos’ reaction was probably over the top, but that didn’t mean Hancock had to laugh at him.
He let Hancock have the bottle back as he pulled out a Cherry for himself. “I’ve drank before – I think a lot of people have to at least try it in their lives. But no, I don’t drink very much. I get sleepy from alcohol. It’s pretty boring, for me.” He looked at Hancock’s bottle. “I had no idea that Nuka Cola made alcoholic beverages… that’s so strange, considering they were a soda company.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He said through a laugh as he saw Carlos’ face. “I don’t mean to make fun, I swear, I think it’s cute. And I’ve heard rumors about this stuff, rum and cola’s a classic drink, makes sense to me that they’d try to market it as a pre-made mix, y’know?”
Carlos cracked open his Nuka Cherry and settled in next to Hancock. “I guess it makes sense… but I thought Nuka-Cola was supposed to be family friendly. What if a kid were to pick up Nuka Dark when they think it’s something else? Like Grape?”
Carlos eventually did break the kiss, though he wasn’t quite ready to be away from Hancock. He hugged Hancock and nuzzled into his cheek.
“I’m so lucky to be here,” he murmured softly. “I’m not sure what I did to deserve a second chance, especially with someone I care about… but here I am. I’m… I’m so happy to be here, Hancock. I love you…”
Hancock was enjoying the moment, soaking in all the attention Carlos was willing to give him, but those last three words caught him off-guard. He froze, eyes widening and breath catching in his throat as he tried to process that and only succeeded in opening and closing his mouth a few times before sputtering out some kind of reply. “I–– you–– what? Really? Why? How….. how do you know?”
Carlos was confused by Hancock’s silence, and his breathing sounded weird. He pulled away to look at Hancock in confusion when the other spoke.
“You…” How did he know? That was… not what he was expecting as a response. “I just… know?” But then Carlos got a little worried – maybe he shouldn’t have said it. “I… do you really think I don’t know what it is?” he asked softly, his brow scrunched in concern.
Carlos looked up as the young woman approached. What was her name? Viola? They’d introduced themselves, but he was terrible with names. Also, did she approach him that loudly on purpose?
“Uh, well… yeah,” Carlos started to say. But he decided he should probably tell the truth. “Um, well… I’m feeling kind of… off. I need to turn in so… hopefully I can just sleep whatever it is off. You shouldn’t worry about me – I’m fine.” He offered her a slight smile, which he hoped would ease her mind
Her mind was not eased.
Violet lets out a breathy sigh, rolling her eyes,“ I used ‘ta work with my dad in a clinic, Carlos. I know things, so maybe I could ‘elp, yeah? “ she smiles, “ OrI could not leave ‘till ya tell me what exactly is wrong. S’yer choice. “
She’d seen many people die of sicknesses in the wastes – starting minor, sure, but then the irradiated landscape makes things worse until they ghoulify or die of sickness. She’d never seen it happen herself, and she didn’t plan to.
Carlos huffed out a sigh, though it was not meant to sound as annoyed as it did. “I… don’t know what it is,” he said honestly. “I just… I’m just not feeling well. I don’t know if it’s food poisoning or what…” He felt exhausted, but still his nerves seemed to crawl under his skin and he just needed to lay down. Get some sleep. Take the time to unwind, maybe…
That moon seemed so bright. And irritating.
“I just want to go lay down, okay? It’ll probably be better in the morning.”
Carlos sighed happily through his nose as he held Hancock close. He kissed him and kept kissing him, slow and careful. Carlos was just enjoying the texture of Hancock’s mouth and the soft, slick noises they made as their mouths moved together. He was struck momentarily by how happy he was that they were with each other. So many things could have kept them from getting together, but there they were. And Carlos was very, very glad.
The ghoul practically purred at all the attention, clinging to Carlos tightly as they kissed. He was tempted to try to push things further, but without knowing how the other would react, and remembering what happened the last time he tried, he held himself back. For now he was content with just being with Carlos in whatever way the other man was comfortable with.
Carlos eventually did break the kiss, though he wasn’t quite ready to be away from Hancock. He hugged Hancock and nuzzled into his cheek.
“I’m so lucky to be here,” he murmured softly. “I’m not sure what I did to deserve a second chance, especially with someone I care about… but here I am. I’m… I’m so happy to be here, Hancock. I love you…”
Carlos smiled sheepishly, squirming just a little under the appraisal. He gripped Hancock’s arms gently, wanting to pull him into a hug.
“I’ve been looking for an excuse,” Carlos admitted. “I saw this and just… I really had to have it. I was really hoping that you’d like it… though, that might be funny to say I guess. “
“I love it.” He purred and leaned in for another soft kiss. “Should I get changed too? I think I might have something laying around here somewhere.”
Carlos looked at him. “You have something other than the frock?” he asked. He then added quickly, “That was meant to be a joke.” He sighed. “I… I mean, you don’t have to. I’m not going to make you. Do you… do you want to?” Carlos didn’t mind either way, but he had to admit that seeing Hancock in something else was at least a little bit intriguing.
Carlos set his tote on the coffee table and started pull things out. “The usual,” he answered. “Some Fancy Lads, a pack of bubble gum – I was running low – A couple bottles of Nuka Cherry… oh, here’s some Nuka Dark. I don’t know what it is, but it came out of Nuka World, so I thought we’d give it a try. I also got us some cooked squirrel bits and carrots for dinner later.”
“Oooh!” The ghoul immediately went for the Nuka Dark, picking it out of the bag and studying the bottle. “I’ve heard of this stuff, supposed to be real good, near impossible to find though.” He twisted the cap off and sniffed it then took a sip and passed it to Carlos. “Got a little bit of a kick to it, actually.”
Carlos lifted an eyebrow as he recieved the bottle. “Like, what kind
of kick? Is it like the tang of Quantum?” he asked. Though Carlos
brought it up to his nose for a sniff. It did smell funny, but for
whatever reason he couldn’t place it.
Until he had a taste.
“Eek! That’s alcohol!” he exclaimed, sounding almost offended. He wasn’t actually offended however, just very surprised.
Carlos was nervous and scared. Honestly, he worried that his weight and grip would impede Standing Bear too much, but at the same time he really, really didn’t want to let go. His Pipboy clicked wildly, warning them of the rads in the water. Carlos wished sometimes there was a way to silence it.
“L-let me know if-if it gets too hard to swim,” Carlos murmured right next to the other man’s ear. He didn’t know what he’d do, but… he didn’t know.
Bear knew the sound but ignored it. Radiation sickness was just another part of life. He knew ways to make eating and drinking safer, but for now… Bear ignore Carlos’ comment, too. They would make it across. Standing Bear was not about to let Carlos attempt to swim himself, injured as he was. But Bear was injured as well. He was just better at hiding it.
They got to the other side, Bear looked paler, but helped Carlos onto the bank before crawling up himself. His red shirt was dripping with water, and blood, the wound to his side only briefly halted in bleeding from the cold river water.
Carlos got off of Standing Bear as soon as he could, though he did pull on his shoulder a bit as he did. Carlos couldn’t help the little whine he made as he dropped his bag and rubbed at his arm. However, looking back at Standing Bear had him concerned.
“Uh – Bear, are you okay? Oh no – how bad are you hurt?” Had Carlos not noticed it? He didn’t look good.
Carlos chuckled. “Glad I’m good for something,” he joked. His hand came up to touch Hancock’s cheek and guide the ghoul’s mouth to his own so they could kiss where Carlos really wanted to.
“You’re good for a lot more than that.” The ghoul hummed against his lips as Carlos pulled him in for a proper kiss. He hugged him closer and smiled into the kiss, more than happy with this little turn of events, regardless of how far it would actually lead.
Carlos sighed happily through his nose as he held Hancock close. He kissed him and kept kissing him, slow and careful. Carlos was just enjoying the texture of Hancock’s mouth and the soft, slick noises they made as their mouths moved together. He was struck momentarily by how happy he was that they were with each other. So many things could have kept them from getting together, but there they were. And Carlos was very, very glad.
Carlos tried not to grin too hard or seem to eager as he squeezed Hancock’s hand before running off to clean and dress up. Thankfully he’d had the foresight to trim his beard, but his hair did need to be brushed and his face washed.
But eventually Carlos came back, fresh as the morning wearing the shirt and vest. Even as he walked out though, he started to worry that he might be over-dressed.
For some reason, Hancock hadn’t exactly expected a whole wardrobe change, but when Carlos came back looking more put together than he ever had, the felt under-dressed. He whistled softly as he looked him up and down, a smile spreading across his face a moment later and he stepped closer to the other man, placing his hands on his hips and pulling him in for a kiss.
“I have to say, handsome, you clean up real nice. What did I do to deserve this little treat, hmm?”
Carlos smiled sheepishly, squirming just a little under the appraisal. He gripped Hancock’s arms gently, wanting to pull him into a hug.
“I’ve been looking for an excuse,” Carlos admitted. “I saw this and just… I really had to have it. I was really hoping that you’d like it… though, that might be funny to say I guess. “
The Perfect Scientist 