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91.81% Steel Waste / Chapter 651: Ugly bumping

Chapter 651: Ugly bumping

Ulysses is escorted to one of the vacant rooms while he thinks about whether or not to accept Afton's offer. Obviously, had the offer not included the need for an operation, he'd have instantly accepted... But, he'd seen what could happen if you are lackadaisical when concerning implants, especially those which were meant to control someone, as opposed to improving them in some way.

Afton had explained what the chip would do when installed, but that hadn't alleviated Ulysses worries all that much. He didn't know Afton all that well, and giving someone permission to give him what basically amounted to a kill switch, definitely wasn't something you could take lightly.

The only reason he was considering it was because Tamia trusted Afton, and he'd grown quite the rapport with her over their travels through the Divide. There was also the possibility that he'd be able to remove the chip if needed, but he wasn't going to trust such a loose idea with this.

Ulysses was sent to one of Bulwark's more 'fancy' rooms, intended for VIP's and high ranking individuals, such as Tamia, Karl, and his other companions. Shani and Scorpion-Man also had VIP rooms, but this was more to foster loyalty in them, and make them more amenable to assisting in Psyker research, as well as operations that might require their skills.

After Ulysses had left, Afton escorted Tamia to the armoury so she could get out of her power armour. Her and Ulysses abrupt arrival had already made him miss a few appointments, so he'd had Glados shift everything to tomorrow, which should give him some time to relax and unwind from the rather busy week he'd had.

"Soooo... You and Ulysses... Anything there?" Afton asks as they walk through the street towards the armoury.

Tamia smiles but shakes her head, "He's a bit too uptight for me personally. Plus his age, I'd prefer someone ten or so years younger." he admits.

"He seems like a competent guy though, good thing you brought him to our side, it'd be a shame to let someone like that die." Afton says, already thinking of ways to acquire Ulysses DNA. His absolutely monstrous Stats likely meant that his genetics were superior in one way or another, so clones produced with it might be far better than anything else Afton or the other scientists could devise... Without using FEV of course, but that was another can of worms entirely.

Tamia nods, "Yeah... To be honest, it felt like he wanted to die at my hands... Even if he managed to kill me, I don't think he'd be able to escape anyway, that's why he lured all those marked men inside."

Afton shrugs, "Well, it doesn't really matter anymore I think. Whether he wanted to die or not is irrelevant now that he's got something else to aspire towards..." he trails off.

...

The rest of the way to the armoury is silent, the duo step inside and Afton breathes a sigh as he looks around at all the weapons there.

Tamia has machinery help take her armour off as she glances at Afton, "Something wrong?"

Afton turns from the weapons and shakes his head, "No, just glad I wasn't forced to personally take back my weapons from Marcus and his Supermutants. I let them keep the armour, but they were very reluctant to give the guns back..." he shrugs, "As much as I'd like to leave them with 'em, that technology needs to be protected."

...

Tamia rubs her wrists as she steps out of her armour, stretching her back, neck, and shoulders, "So, since you asked about my love lift, how's it going with Josie? Are you together yet?"

"Uhk!..." he freezes at the mention of Josie, sheepishly scratching the back of his head and he thinks about how he wants to address her question. "Uh, well. I..." he pauses, causing Tamia to frown.

"Are you alright?" she questions, wondering if he was having a stroke or something.

He nods, sitting on a nearby gunrack while squeezing his temples, "Yeah, fine... It's just that, maybe, getting into a relationship with her at this point was a bit hasty... I think?"

"What do you mean?" she questions, unsure of what he means.

He shrugs, "Well, I kinda promised her to be more attentive once the Battle of Hoover Dam was over, but ever since then I've kinda been ghosting her." he admits.

"Wait, why? Do you not want to spend time with her?"

"No! That's not it. We've had a couple dates and they were fine, but... There's always some tension there. Like, as if there was a barrier stopping us from properly connecting... Plus her insistence I drop most of my work to go tour places in the Mojave doesn't help either." he sighs, lamenting the relationship issues he'd bumbled his way into.

Tamia silently contemplates his words while leaning against another gun rack, "Do you not like her or something? Maybe you guys just aren't compatible?... Have you, uh, you know..." she trails off.

He crooks a brow and gives a slight smirk, "Rumbled in the jungle? Fanangled while spangled? Sipped the sweet syrup?... Do the monster mash?"

She laughs, "Shoot in her hidden valley?"

"Snu-Snu?"

"Doing some two-person push-ups?"

"Grooming the mole-rat?"

"Bumping uglies?"

"I wouldn't call them ugly, but yeah, we did all those and a bit more." he finally states, the both of them laughing at their silliness.

He wipes a stray tear from his eye, "As for compatibility? I'd say we matched well enough... I only wished she'd understand that everything can't be about her." he admits while leaning backwards.

"Yeah, I get what you mean... I once dated a guy who'd follow me around like a lost puppy... I think... Everything's still a bit fuzzy." she says, deciding to not potentially affect her relationship with Josie by bad-mouthing her. It's not like she couldn't understand her wanting to spend more time with Afton, but, the guy had a lot on his plate already and didn't need more piled onto it...


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :

ShinAmazake

Kingsprovince

Nazlican Erdem

Shameful69

JayJonnaJamison

next chapter

Chapter 652: Happy Surprise...?

"Youknow, she wasn't that clingy before, but after that incident with Macka and... Usanagi's interest in me..." he mutters aloud while in thought.

"Have you tried talking to her about it?" Tamia asks, getting a shrug from him.

"I may be willing to fight Deathclaws barehanded, but getting into that kind of discussion with her? I'd take my chances in a Tunneler hive... Naked."

"Maybe that's the problem then? Relationships are supposed to be about communication... Or something, I think I heard that once and it sounded about right...?"

"Easier than it sounds then..." he shakes his head.

The duo continues to talk until their stomachs start growling, they head off to a local restaurant and enjoy a relatively pleasant afternoon, Afton taking the time to update Tamia on recent things that'd happened in the Mojave, as well as his and House's plans for the future.

Half an hour into the discussion Afton sees someone enter the establishment and feels the urge to bury his head in the menu... Josie had walked inside with an odd expression on her face, looking around as if hunting for prey.

Quickly, she spots Tamia, as well as the, slumped over pile that could only be her boyfriend. She marches over and stands next to Afton with crossed arms, her expression slowly getting worse as he continues to duck his head.

"Er, hey Josie? Something up?" Tamia asks, confused at her friends rather awkward actions.

Josie flashes a small smile but hides it as she looks back down at Afton, "I heard you'd just gotten back and wanted to grab Afton to say hi... Seems like I shouldn't have bothered." she states.

Afton sits up and shoots her a glare, "What's with you? Can't I have dinner with a friend without my minder coming to check on me?" he asks in irritation.

"Minder?" she growls, "Maybe I wouldn't have to keep a close eye on you if you took my feelings into account! You keep making up excuses as well!"

"Your feelings? What are you even talking about?..." he glances at Tamia, "Is this about Usanagi?" he questions, remembering his talk with Tamia earlier.

Josie snorts, "Of course it is! Why was it so hard for you to see?"

"See what!? She's a colleague! What do you want me to do? Avoid every other woman to ease your nerves?"

She shakes her head, "No! That'd be stupid and crazy! I just want you to seriously take us into account when you work... Do you know how sick I felt when you and her locked yourselves away in your lab for two days? Imagine me doing the same with a guy I dated in the past!"

Afton shakes his head, "That's not the same-"

"Actually... It kinda is," Tamia adds from the side, getting the duo's attention. She looks to Afton and shrugs, "You didn't mention that part when you were explaining your troubles, Afton... I think I'd be a bit pissed as well... Why did you need to isolate yourself for two days with Doctor Usanagi anyway?" she asks, and Josie's glare felt like it was stabbing Afton in the side of his head.

Afton sighs, "It was for Anja, alright? The Cybernetic eyes we are developing were incredibly light-sensitive and needed strict and regulated conditions while we worked on them. Plus the fact we needed to see if Anja's status as a Ghoul would affect the procedure in some way... I wanted to get the project finished as soon as possible, and kinda forgot to sleep the entire time." he admits before shaking his head.

"You could have come to visit at any time though, nothing was stopping you." Afton states with crossed arms, "You're just making a big deal outta nothing."

"What do you mean 'nothing was stopping you', your AI wouldn't let me into the lab!" Josie accuses.

...

"Wait what?" he mutters with a confused look, "Glados, did you restrict Josie's access to the lab?"

"Affirmative. I wished to assist you with... What is it called, 'philandering'? I have observed that men who engage in such activities experience a higher quality of life on average." Glados newly appeared drone explains, getting dumbfounded looks for the trio.

"You what!? Is this payback for not letting you shoot the orbital laser at the NCR congress?" he questions, but Glados remains silent, electing not to incriminate herself... Unfortunately, that's all that Afton needed to... Not hear?

He releases a long sigh and sends Glados away while squeezing the bridge of his nose, "As you two can see... This is just a big misunderstanding... And no, I'm not fucking Usanagi." he states absolutely.

He then locks eyes with Josie, "Now, will you tell me why you've been acting so weird lately?"

...

Josie frowns at the question but musters up her courage after a moment, "I'm late... My monthly, I mean." she states, shocking both Tamia and Afton.

"Congratu-" Tamia starts but is interrupted by a voice next to her.

"Fuck." Afton reflexively mutters, paling slightly at Josie's hurt expression.

Josie marches out of the restaurant, but as much as Afton wants to stand and follow her out, he finds his legs simply unable to move... He hoped it was just from the shock of her announcement, otherwise he might actually be having a stroke... "Er, Tamia, is my face drooping at all?" he quietly asks...

Tamia stands with a frown and tosses her napkin on the table, ignoring the waiter who was carrying their main course, "Worry less about your face and more about your potentially pregnant girlfriend you idiot." she states as she moves to follow after Josie.

"Urgh..." Afton groans as he leans back in his chair, the waiter standing beside him with the food. "Do you want me to box this up for you?... So you can eat both meals alone in your apartment..." the man jokes, wanting to take some revenge on this lucky bastard who appeared to be playing with two women.

...

"Do you not know who I am?... Ugh," He shakes his head, "Eat it yourself... And no, you aren't getting a tip." he says as he leaves the restaurant.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

Tbh, I'm not really too keen on drama, but I felt it was kinda needed here. :P

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.

Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :

ShinAmazake

Kingsprovince

Nazlican Erdem

Shameful69

JayJonnaJamison

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