Archive of Our Own

Things That Hancock Was Glad Hadn’t Fallen Off After His Toe Proved That That Was a Possibility

  1. His cock. For obvious reasons.

  2. His tongue. For obvious reasons, again, but also because without that he wouldn’t have the ability to indulge in the chems, liquor and late night talks he enjoyed so much.

  3. His fingers, allowing him to do all of the above, as well as hold a gun, and so many other things he took for granted.

  The last one Hancock was particularly grateful for as he slowly woke up, the first rays of sunshine starting to break through the holes in the decades old curtain that was hung in Nora’s house in Sanctuary. She and Hancock were tucked into the back bedroom of the place that she had commandeered after the war. Not her old house that held so many memories, good and bad, but the new one that she’d take the time to renovate before he even came into her life, made her own with through a combination of care, time, and scavenging for what she could find in the Wasteland. Somewhere outside there was the noise of the town that lived up to its name coming to life, the comfort of safety allowing for slow mornings where people could pretend that the world hadn’t gone to complete shit. And inside, Nora was gently playing with his fingers.

  They’d started sleeping in the same bed a few months ago on the road. The night had been particularly cold, the nuclear wasteland making the weather unpredictable and harsh at times, from rad storms to just plain old heat waves and cold snaps. It had been a rare night that they’d felt comfortable enough to start a fire, and found the shelter/supplies they needed to do so. And Nora had made herself perfectly comfortable in front of it, soaking up the heat that it radiated and swathed in a blanket they’d found in the house they were squatted in, Dogmeat at her side. But when it came time to leave the comfort of the fire and get into the cot to sleep, she’d grumbled at the idea of going from cozy warm back to cold. So, after a thought about whether she’d be truly upset about it (and deciding she probably wouldn’t), Hancock had simply picked her up and gotten into bed with her in his arms.

  She’d protested, of course. An upbringing that was focused on propriety resurfaced, and had her wriggling and making complaining noises. Besides, they’d spent enough time together that they were completely comfortable together, but this was an escalation she hadn’t quite been expecting. If she’d kept objecting, he’d have let her go in a second, respect for her (and anyone else who deserved it) running deep within his very bones. But he’d murmured in that raspy voice of his to give it a second, to see if she liked it, and dammit, she trusted him explicitly. So she’d done as asked, quitting her squirming, and it had taken less than a minute for her to realize exactly why he’d pushed her boundaries. Hancock was hot. And not just in a ‘sometimes I spend a little too long looking at the ghoul who’s supposed to only be my companion’, kind of way. In an actual, physical, ‘he radiates heat like it’s his job’ kind of way. Heat permeated even through her and his clothes, warming her bone deep in the same way that the fire had, but better because it was her ghoul, not an inanimate object.

  Hancock had felt her relax against him and had allowed himself a smile as he wrapped his arm around her, her face on his shoulder, and her arm snaking around his waist as she buried herself close, soaking up the heat of him. Through a quiet conversation, Nora discovered that it was the rads, the same stuff that had made him a ghoul, that made him a living furnace. They talked in hushed voices, not because they had to be quiet but because it suddenly felt like they were the only two people in the Wasteland and they wanted to stay in the bubble of this intimate moment. Hancock told her how it was convenient in times like this, but how he hated the heatwaves, his irradiated skin making it hard to sweat. How he loved the radstorms as they acted almost like a natural high, his body soaking up the radiation, but sometimes he worried that too much and he’d start transforming again, maybe lose another body part, even though he’d been assured by much older ghouls than he that that wouldn’t happen. For her part she listened, in the way he loved so much, in the way that made him feel seen and cared, that made him feel like John, not the mayor of Goodneighbor, or even Hancock. And the conversation just kept going, and as Dogmeat abandoned the fire and jumped into bed with them she told him about seasons, about how the old world had regular weather patterns, about things that didn’t exist anymore. They compared notes about how destructive and kind weather could be in both of their times, and John noticed after a while that he’d started to slide his hand up and down her shoulder, his fingers tracing patterns on her shirt, and she’d slung a leg over his, holding him tight to her. Eventually they realized that time had slipped by like it always seemed to when they were together, and they both really needed to get some sleep. This time Nora complained when he got out of bed instead of into it, but acknowledged that someone needed to put out the fire or they might be waking up rather abruptly, given the amount of wood around them. Then there was a shuffle as both of them got ready for bed, until eventually they found their way back together again, Nora curled into his side, Dogmeat at her back, and Hancock trying his best to deny a sudden and completely uncharted desire to press his lips to her head as he said goodnight.

  That was the first time they’d slept together in one bed, and it had been the first time that they’d crossed that line from friends to something a little more blurry. Maybe it wasn’t strange to a regular, real Wastelander, but for the woman who lived before the bombs fell it was a little odd to share a bed with just a friend, and Hancock knew and respected that. It meant… something. Yet neither of them knew exactly what, nor acknowledged the fact, just moving through life the same way they had before. It was just that, now, at the end of every day, they found themselves in bed together. Nothing more than cuddling, sometimes not even that if it was too hot of a night, both of them grumpy at the heat. But the comfort was always there, of having another person with them, the solid presence of someone who they trusted not only with their life but maybe their heart.

  The unspoken no-touching-beyond-cuddling rule was why Hancock was more than slightly surprised to feel Nora’s fingers on his own when he woke up. They’d ended up spooning, which wasn’t unusual, Hancock’s lean body wrapped around her, holding her through the night. It wasn’t even that unusual they they might brush hands, or even almost hold hands, during the night either. But this wasn’t that. Nora was very clearly awake, cupping his hand with one of hers, the other delicately tracing the dimpled and scarred skin of his fingers. Hancock was usually slow to wake, especially if he had been at the chems or was in somewhere he felt safe, though he’d been abstaining much more than usual from the former because he knew Nora wasn’t a fan of excessive use. And he was thankful that he didn’t bolt upright in the mornings today as he played into that, his brain slowly coming to full consciousness, forcing himself to stay relaxed and even behind her, curious about how this would play out. Her short fingernails, so much different now than when they had been perfectly manicured before the war, sketched down from the tips of his fingers, over his palm to his wrist. There were a couple moments as she kept moving that he almost lost it, her movements tickling his palm, his skin somehow still sensitive after all it had been through, and that sensitivity multiplied by a million times considering just who it was who was touching him.

  Hancock had known well before that fateful night that Nora meant something more to him, though he hadn’t figured out exactly what it was for much longer. It was just hard to know what being in love was like when you’d never experienced it before, and quite frankly hadn’t ever expected to feel the emotion. It was inconvenient most of the time, since they hadn’t talked about what they were to each other, and it was particularly frustrating in that moment as he forced himself to stay still when everything in him was screaming for him to move. He couldn’t see what she was doing either, the sensation of touch even more pronounced as he felt her pick up his hand, carefully, slowly, her thumb tracing the inside as she curled his fingers over, holding them gently as she inspected him. He hoped he was living up to her expectation, or whatever she was looking for in her examination, though he had a feeling he did when she let out a happy, contented little noise, shifting back a little, pushing into him before stopping abruptly, realizing she was moving a lot and presumably worried about waking him.

  After that, he waited a while to let her know that he, too was awake, not wanting her to worry that she had woken him. There was also, possibly, a selfish element to it, Hancock enjoying the attention that he was paying to him. This was possibly the furthest that their relationship had stepped since ending up in bed with each other, and he was basking in the fact that she had been the one to initiate it. For a gal who spent her days shooting people and taking down deathclaws, she wasn’t the most forward person, despite the fact that he had a sneaking suspicion built from a lifetime of being really good at reading people that she liked him a whole lot more than she let on. Not that Hancock would ever push her or hold it against her. No, he was happy to live within her light, taking what he could get and enjoying the time they had together while he waited for her. After all, it was her company and her personality that had made him fall for her, and he couldn’t imagine himself getting tired of just spending time together.

  Eventually she worked up the courage to slide her fingers between his, interlocking them, using her free hand to curl his fingers around hers. A thumb still moved, feeling the valleys and ridges of his rads stained skin, but it seemed like she was mostly done with her perusal of him, and he figured it was more than time for him to let her in on the secret that he was awake.

  “Morning, sunshine.” Hancock’s raspy voice was even thicker in the mornings, and he’d noticed how much she usually liked it. Today, though, she started like she’d been caught doing something bad despite the way he kept his voice soft for her, not wanting to ruin the morning peace.

  He felt her tense against him, and thankfully he had the forethought to shift his hips back a little before she could feel just how much he’d enjoyed her undivided attention. But he quickly squeezed her hand where they were still intertwined, trying to calm her down. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, reminded her of her activities while he was sleeping, making her freeze in place, breath held.

  “Uh, morning, Hancock,” she replied, slightly rushed as she caught her breath again.

  “Everything alright?” There was a smile on his face at her antics, and he was sure that she could tell, but she was just too in her own head.

  “Just peachy. Was just thinking I should get up,” Nora said, moving to get out of bed already, trying to escape this situation before it got too revealing.

  Hancock had other ideas though. He always wanted to spend quiet, lazy mornings in bed, so it wasn’t that unexpected when he tugged her back down, curling himself strategically around her. The last thing he’d intended to do was get hard and have to hide how effected he was from her, but he was a simple ghoul, with the girl he loved in his arms and a distinct lack of any company other than his hand since the day she came through the doors of Goodneighbor, and things were bound to happen.

  “Stay a while, sunshine. You been up long?”

  There was a pause, a slightly guilty one, before she replied. “A little. Heard folks getting up with the sun, then a bit of it shone right in my eyes.”

  Nora went to gesture to the old curtains, and the hole that had allowed a perfect beam of light to hit her in the eye, then realized her hand still was occupied with his and deflated as she accepted that there wasn’t much she could do to hide this. Maybe, maybe if she hadn’t been so caught up, mesmerized by Hancock’s skin that was so different than her own, she could have played it off. Pretended that she had ended up like that during sleep, no foul play, disentangled herself without drawing attention to it or getting awkward. But alas, she, too, was simply someone in love, and caught in the act of expressing that in a way that they hadn’t discussed.

  “So you haven’t, say, been touchin’ all on my hands?”

  “You knew,” she accused, and he didn’t even bother denying it, the smile creeping back on his face as he enjoyed teasing her.

  “Mmm. Couldn’t help notice you investigatin’ me.”

  “I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you.” Always so worried about him, always putting others before herself.

  “Nah, I was already wakin’. You find anything interesting?”

  “I, uh, no. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just find you and your differences so fascinating.”

  Now it was Hancock’s turn to be awkward. He hadn’t exactly one to be insecure, even about his ghoulishness, but he also was far from used to people complimenting him on it. It was something that was more of a ‘look past’ thing rather than a ‘look at’ thing. And here was the, in his humble opinion, best and hottest person in the entire damn Wasteland complimenting him of all people.

  “No need to apologize, sunshine. I think fascinatin’ is the last word that most people would use for someone like me.”

  Nora shifted against him, finally unlinking their hands, something that Hancock immediately mourned, and worried that he’d done something to cause. But he perked up right away as she rolled over, turning to face him. Her hand landed on his chest, covered only by his shirt nowadays. It had taken a while for her to get comfortable with wearing less clothes to bed, and he went by how she acted, and as such by now they were only in shirts and pants, or in her case, shorts, as she allowed herself such a luxury in the safety of Sanctuary. The hand on his chest was moving, though, sliding up, over the skin that was revealed by the missing button on his shirt, up his neck to cup his cheek. The hand holding had been pushing it, but this was most certainly the most they had ever touched outside of life and death situations.

  “Then people are stupid.”

  Hancock snorted at her declaration.

  “How’d you figure that?”

  “It’s true!” she protested. “The differences aren’t anything bad, screw anyone who makes you feel like that. People would have to be stupid not to be interested in you. By you.”

  The last couple words were tacked on in a hurry as she realized what she’d said, and she barreled on, forging past her mistake.

  “Your skin is captivating, makes me want to touch you all over. And your eyes are so fucking pretty, they look like stars.”

  “Never been called pretty, sunshine,” Hancock rasped, the emotion inside him finally leaking a little into his voice.

  “An oversight I’m happy to rectify then,” she replied.

  Nora’s thumb had started to move, this time skating along the planes of his face instead of his hands, still eliciting the same response from Hancock, his heart beating erratically in his chest. He briefly wondered if this was bad for him, if his heart looked the same way inside of him that his skin looked on the outside, but quickly decided if this was the way he was going to go, then so be it.

  “Easy for you to say, you’re the prettiest dang thing in the whole of the Wasteland.”

  “Flatterer,” she responded, a flush along her cheeks that Hancock watched with pride. It wasn’t the first time that they’d flirted a little, Hancock unable to change his nature, particularly where Nora was concerned, and Nora always rising to the occasion. But everything looked a little different when they were in bed together, sharing the quietness of the morning, her hand on his face.

  “Just tellin’ the truth,” he replied with a smile and a wink, Nora feeling how the muscles of his face changed under his dimpled skin.

  They’d drifted closer as they talked, leaning into each other, the gravitational pull too hard to resist. His hand had gone from cradling her waist, slipping around to her back, holding her tighter now that he knew he could, not wanting to let a moment slip by. As always he was warm, the comforting feeling seeping through both of their clothes, something that had started to feel like home for Nora, the knowledge that she was safe and cared for because he was close by. His other hand, tucked under her head, found its way to her hair, playing with the ends, again, simply because he could. The only parts of them not touching were because he had his hips still strategically tilted back, not wanting that to ruin the moment or make her think that this was just him acting on physical desire.

  “Am I barking up the wrong tree here?” Nora’s voice was quiet, her eyes flicking between his, trying to gauge his reaction even before he spoke. It had taken a while for her to get good at reading both ghouls and just him, the former because they had more muted expressions and the later because he had too many of them, a lifetime of overcompensating and hiding his true self. But she’d been determined, and they’d grown so close, so she had a pretty good idea what he was going to say before he said it, her anxiety leaking away.

  “I certainly hope not, as I think I’m lookin’ at the same one.”

  “I just don’t want to fuck up what we have here.” Another quiet confession, shared in the small ever shrinking amount of space between them.

  “Sunshine, you and me got the kinda bond that doesn’t break. Thanks to you, I finally know the place I belong. Right here. Ain’t nothing gonna change that, I’ll always have your back,” Hancock’s hand pressed harder into her back, highlighting the point as his fingers dimpling into her, the solid presence of him as his words sank into her.

  “Same here, Hancock, you know you mean everything to me,” she replied, hand sliding along his skull, cupping the back of his head. “Just if we cross this, I don’t think we can go back. Or at least that I can.”

  “Sure, maybe not, but don’t mean I won’t still be there for you if things change,” he pulled her in tight, attempting to ground himself when he felt like his soul was about to untether itself, the excitement and happiness in his body too much to be contained. “Besides, if we do this I have a feeling you’ll be stuck with this ugly mug for as long as you want it.”

  “Didn’t I just call you pretty? Sounds like a good deal to me,” Nora smirked slightly, the corner of her lips tilting up, a tease in her eyes. But the expression didn’t last long, falling off her face as her breath caught in the closeness of their faces. It would be so simple to lean in, to press her lips to his and finally feel what she’d been quietly dreaming about for so long.

  So, in a moment of surprising daring for her, thats exactly what Nora did. Using the hand on the back of his head as an anchor, she leaned in, pulling herself closer, watching him as she did, needing the assurance that this was the right move. Everything in Hancock’s expression radiated eagerness and sureness, and she held onto that as she closed her eyes, her lips meeting his.

  Hancock couldn’t quite believe that this was actually happening, even as Nora gingerly pressed her mouth to his own, her nerves showing through a little. She was so soft under his thin lips as he kissed her, the juxtaposition to himself and everything else in the Wasteland apparent as her lips gave under his own. They moved together like they’d been doing this for years rather than seconds, the comfort of their relationship outside of this leaking into the kiss, and Hancock couldn’t repress a moan of contentment at how good she felt. This was hardly his first kiss, but he felt like it was, the sensations of her in his arms tenfold of anything that he’d felt in many, many years. Nora gripped him just a little harder, her lips parting against his as she deepened the kiss and he responded, feeling more turned on from a simple kiss than he had any right to be.

  The touch of her tongue against his nearly did him in, the two of them meeting in the middle as they had the same thought at the same time. He’d been letting her lead, but the more they made out, there confident he got, taking a little initiative as he slid one hand into her hair, and the other down, resting at the top of the ass that he’d spent so many hours staring at on the road. All this contact, all the feelings that Nora was invoking were enough to nearly kill a man, Hancock’s brain going empty as she let out a little noise as their tongues met again, the sound of pleasure going straight to his cock.

  The kiss slowed a little, Nora laying small, short kisses against him as she pulled away slightly, unable to help the smile that spread on her face as she looked back up at him. There was a matching grin on his face, and she was slightly surprised at the small giggle that she couldn’t repress, a sound like that hadn’t come out of her since before the bombs dropped.

  “Damn, sunshine, even better than I imagined,” Hancock said, his voice betraying just how effected he was as his rasp thickened, kissing her on her forehead as he pulled her close with the hand in her hair.

  “You’ve been imagining it?” Nora pushed back a little, just so that she could watch his handsome face as he replied, lost in the happy moment.

  “Only every day since you first came into Goodneighbor,” he admitted, a little tease in his voice and eyes.

  “When you stabbed a guy for me?” Nora chuckled, raising an eyebrow and matching his tease.

  Hancock huffed a laugh, taking the lead this time as he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers briefly, unable to keep himself from her as the happiness he felt leaked out of him. Just the fact that he was able to be so casual with her, steal little kisses from the woman who he dreamed of, was something from a dream. Literally.

  “Well I admit, might not have been quite imagining this specific scenario, maybe something a little less long term at first. But you’ve been inspiring impure thoughts from me this whole time, just got a whole lot more vivid and permanent the longer I knew you,” Hancock smiled down at her again, his hand squeezing her hip as he scratched her scalp. He didn’t have much in the way of fingernails left these days, but the feel of his hands in her hair inspired a shiver in Nora that had Hancock suppressing a groan as he imagined other ways to get that reaction from her.

  “Can’t say I didn’t feel the same way. Killing a guy for me was about the most romantic thing anyones ever done for me,” Nora grinned, but she was being sincere. It wasn’t often you found anyone in the Wasteland willing to go out on a total limb like that for a stranger. “Grew from there. Just had to get over how intimidating you were to start with.”

  “You? You were intimidated by me?” Hancock would have raised an eyebrow if he’d had any left to do so. “You’re the General of the Minuteman, the savior of the Wasteland, and lookin’ damn good doing it all. I’m just a problem ghoul with a chem habit.”

  “You’re joking, right? I’d heard all about you from around Boston, the Mayor of Goodneighbor, the place molded after its leader where you’re just as likely to find a helping hand as you are to get stabbed,” she looked at him pointedly. “You’re suave, charming, good with a gun, and I happen to find you pretty fucking attractive.”

  Nora’s last couple of words were punctuated by her leaning in to kiss him, first along his jaw, then to his mouth, losing herself in him again. This time there was nothing brief about the kiss, both of them deepening it immediately as they picked up right where they left off. Hancock’s tongue swept into Nora’s mouth, playing with her, teasing and pulling back as he nipped at her lower lip. He might not have much of his lips left nowadays, but he never let it stop him, and Nora seemed to to have no complaints as she moaned into his mouth. Her whole body tightened muscles contracting and releasing as she tried to pull herself closer to him, bridge a gap that wasn’t even there. The only place for her to go was on top of him, lost in the kiss as she threw a leg over his hips. And Hancock was too far gone to think why that might not be the best idea, taking the opportunity to slip his hand over her ass, squeezing her with a groan as he rolled onto his back, pulling her half on top of him. Nora propped herself up on her elbows, giving herself an angle to keep kissing him, but didn’t swing her leg over enough to get a knee under herself, to take the weight off of his hips.

  The groan that left him was sinful as Nora’s inner thigh, bare in her shorts, brushed over his cock, the thin layer of his pants doing nothing to hide the feeling of him against her. Hancock had no control of the shudder than wracked through his body, his hands gripping her harder than he meant to, but he forced himself to breathe, pulling away from the kiss to try and get control of himself.

  “Ignore that, don’t mean anything,” Hancock chuckled, shifting slightly awkwardly. He’d never been one to feel any kind of shame or hesitancy around intimacy, but damn if Nora wasn’t making him feel like a teenager all over again. “Well, it does, just means you’re pretty damn irresistible. But we don’t have to do anything more, obviously.”

  “Do you want to?” Nora had a glint in her eye that Hancock had never seen before, deep seated desire and interest, her breathing heavier as she pushed up on her hands to be able to look at him better, his hands going to her waist as he held her.

  “ ‘Course I do. Never been more attracted to anyone in my whole fucked up life. But I just want to do what you want to. I’m a patient man, and the waitings half the fun.” Hancock felt his cock pulse in his pants at the thought of going further, and tried his best to hide it, but from Nora’s smirk he hadn’t done a good enough job. She wasn’t making easy, steadfastly holding her position over him, the look on her face bordering on wicked. Anyone else and she’d have probably been a blushing, hesitant, mess, and though he made her feel butterflies the likes she’d never experienced, he also made her feel more comfortable and confident than she’d ever imagined.

  “Well you know me, I’m not the most patient person in the world.” Nora’s voice was almost a purr, the noise going straight to Hancock’s cock.

  Wasn’t that the truth. Half the time Hancock spent his time running after her, making sure that she wasn’t getting too far throwing herself into danger without backup. Sometimes he wondered if the lack of self preservation harkened something deeper, something she only talked about around late night campfires. But in this particular instance, he wasn’t going to be upset if she was a tad more impatient than he was.

  “Well. Seemed to like my hands earlier… maybe I could show you what else they’re good for,” he told her, and watched as she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, her perfect Vaultie teeth running along it. Slowly, she nodded, and that was all Hancock needed to see.

  His hand slid back up her back, into her hair, and he used his leverage to tug her down, resuming their kiss with a groan. The hand on her ass tugged at her too, making her slide over so she was fully sitting on top of him. A push and pull had her rolling her hips, and he moved to meet her, his length pushing into her center, making both of them moan, splitting apart as they tried to stay in control.

  “Fuck, sunshine, making me crazy here,” he panted into her ear, tilting his head so he could kiss along her neck, nipping at her earlobe.

  “Haven’t even done anything yet,” Nora replied, dropping her forehead to the half flat pillow under his head, her muscles in her thighs tensing and releasing as she felt pleasure swim through her system. She hadn’t exactly had time or desire to do anything since she woke up in that dammed cyropod, and it felt like all the dormant desire that had only occasionally had the help of her hand for comfort roared back to life under the opportunity that was Hancock below her.

  “Thats just how much you affect me. But we can certainly remedy that,” Hancock responded, gripping her hips as he tipped her.

  Nora squeaked a little as her world suddenly flipped, but held in any more noise as she felt Hancock hold her, remembering that ghoul strength that he sometimes displayed on the road. If she had been asked before, she wouldn’t have said she was particularly into that, or even a particularly imaginative person in bed, but suddenly her mind was awash with ideas, all of which starred the ghoul in her bed. Meanwhile, he was maneuvering the two of them, rolling onto his side as he settled her on her back, but she couldn’t quite keep her hands off of him, tilting herself towards him, straining up to kiss him. He happily leaned in to meet her, lips meeting again. Their hands were moving much more urgently now, Nora’s on Hancock’s head and waist, his running down her back from her head and the other moving from her hip to her ass then back up, fingers catching on the hem of her shirt.

  With not a small amount of effort, Hancock forced himself to slow down, checking in with Nora’s movements and tells, worried he was pushing too fast, trying to keep her comfortable. But if anything she was encouraging him, and then her hand was slipping down his arm, feeling his mottled skin under her fingers before cupping his hand in hers. With Nora guiding his movements, Hancock slipped his hand into the lose shirt that she had commandeered for sleep, feeling the soft skin of her waist under his fingers. Her hand stayed over his until it ran too far up her back for her to bend, and Nora let him go on his own, continuing up between her shoulders. Shifting again had Nora resting her head on Hancock’s bicep, his arm on the outside of her clothes making its way around her shoulders and out of the way of the much more important hand that got to be inside her shirt.

  There, he paused, just enjoying the simple pleasure of making out with the girl of his dreams, having her shifting in his arms, doing everything she could to get closer to him, his body responding to her equally, pushing himself into her. Every point of contact was on fire, and when her hands made their way to his chest, taking the opportunity to unbutton some of his shirt he thought his heart might explode out of his ribs. But, he still hadn’t made good on his promise to use his hands on her, something that needed rectifying immediately.

  A little pressure from the hand around Nora’s shoulders had her rolling onto her back once again, breaking apart from his lips with a slightly confused look on her face. Hancock smiled reassuringly at her though, and leaned in again, this time to kiss his way down her neck. Though he couldn’t kiss like he could before he became a ghoul, he made up for it with tongue and teeth and sheer enthusiasm for everything that he did. A passion that he intended to keep up, with every touch and kiss to her body. The hand under Nora’s shirt slowly started moving around her torso, giving her some time to say no, but all she did was shift to tuck her hand under his head, cupping the side of his face as her back arched slightly, pushing herself into his touches.

  The extra space that she provided was immediately capitalized on, and Hancock pushed her shirt up, hooking a thumb in the hem as the fabric shifted up, revealing inch by inch of tantalizing skin. They untangled themselves just enough for him to pull the shirt all the way over her head, and then her top half was bare under him, leaving him almost breathless. He knew he was staring, but he couldn’t stop, admiring what felt like miles of gorgeous skin. Nora knew her body wasn’t quite the same as it had been before the war, hard life creating harder planes of her body, nicks and cuts and scars where she used to have smooth perfection. But none of that mattered when Hancock was looking at her like that, like she was the greatest gift he ever could have received, utter perfection incarnate.

  He’d known she wasn’t wearing a bra under her shirt, it was obvious in some of the cold nights, but being confronted by her naked chest was a whole other experience. Her breasts were, in his humble opinion, perfection, tipped with nipples that were just begging to be sucked. There was no denying how Nora had been affected, her chest rising and falling deeply, but when he glanced up at her face she was looking slightly out of her depth again. So instead of going for what he really wanted to immediately and putting his mouth on those beautiful tits, he leaned back up, kissing her with all the passion he could muster. Which, to be fair, was a lot, this was hardly a hardship to him, and he felt as she relaxed once again underneath him.

  When she seemed comfortable, melting back into the pleasure, Hancock moved again, trailing kisses down her neck, before moving along to newly exposed skin. Along her shoulder, then back down her clavicle, licking the divot in the center of her throat, wringing a gasp from her as she felt his tongue on her skin. Hancock felt her fingers tense, digging into the thinner skin on his skull, pulling him into her, and he smiled against her skin, loving her reactions. She was just so responsive, in a way that he’d never even dared to imagine, and he couldn’t wait to hear and feel what he could draw from her. His mouth kept moving, unable to stay in one place for long when such temptation awaited, kissing down her sternum before reaching her breasts.

  Proving his patience, he teased her slightly, licking along the underside of her breast, the swell of them utterly tempting. Making sure to pay both of them equal attention, he swapped sides, pushing himself over Nora just a little more, propping himself on his opposite hand. It wasn’t until he had kissed all over her beautiful tits that he finally gave into temptation, moving to her nipples, and laving his tongue over one of them. Nora’s reaction was instant, breath catching as she moaned, he flicked over the rapidly stiffening bud, keeping his tongue soft and pliable, swapping sides to tease her, just a little. His name came out of Nora in a drawn out moan as Hancock stiffened the tip of his tongue, flicking again, before taking pity on her and drawing her nipple into his mouth, combining his lips and tongue together to suckle at her, rolling the bud over his tongue even in the wet heat of his mouth.

  Nora was panting, her hands unable to stop moving, seeking some way of grounding herself as he brought her pleasure, her mind still trying to catch up with everything that was finally happening. Not that she was uncomfortable with any of this, quite the opposite in fact, but she’d been dreaming of this, both literally and during the quiet moments of their travels when her mind could wander, and the fact that this was actually reality was breaking her brain as much as it was doing the same to Hancock. There was a faint feeling that she shouldn’t be feeling so good, shouldn’t be reacting so much to him simply teasing her nipples, his hand getting involved now so that both sides got to feel pleasure at the same time, but she attributed that to her old world upbringing and told the voice in the back of her head to shut up.

  That was fairly effective, to the point that she actually felt empowered to grip his hand once again, sliding it off of her breast. She missed the contact momentarily, but she had thought of a better use for that hand. Hancock started to pull back, wondering what she had in mind, wanting to make sure she was ok, but she handily assuaged his fears as she pulled him back into her, and he was more than happy to keep paying attention to her perfect nipples.

  Their combined hands moved down, sliding over the soft skin of her belly, before she tucked them into her waistband. Hancock got the hint immediately, releasing her fingers and the combination of their hands pushing her shorts down and off her. He felt her do the same to her underwear, and couldn’t help his hands moving, skating over her hip to feel bare skin, up and down, slipping between her thighs to feel the soft skin there, reveling in the fact that he could touch her like this. As much as he’d been absolutely loving getting to use his mouth on her, he couldn’t help but raise up, propping himself up on an elbow so that he could get a proper look at her.

  Nora felt like she was going to explode if he didn’t touch her, her hips rolling and muscles flexing uncontrollably, the leg closer to him hooking over his legs where he lay next to her. It was so inappropriate, so sinful, opening herself up like that, but she couldn’t give a fuck, especially not when he finally took pity on her, unable to resist the way she was spread open like a gift just for him. The callused, rough skin of his hands slid down the silky skin of her inner thighs, tickling her in the best way before finally meeting her center. Hancock cupped her core, feeling a hint of her how wet she was, and moved his hand down, before adding pressure with two of his fingers, opening her up and feeling the way her cunt responded to him, soft and pliable as he was met with a mess of wetness.

  “Fucking hell, sunshine, all this for me?”

  “God, yes, fuck Hancock,” Nora moaned the back of her head pushing hard into the pillow as her hips pushed into his hand, seeking as much of him as he was willing to give her.

  “John, call me John,” he managed to grind out, attempting to not lose himself as he drug two fingers through the slickness of her cunt, running them along her entrance before splitting them to slip around her clit, not touching it just yet.

  “John,” Nora moaned as he repeated the movement, but this time he didn’t avoid her bundle of nerves, using her wetness to slid over her oversensitive clit gently, before moving his fingers in circles around it.

  Nora couldn’t quite get her brain to work well enough to figure out her body, to figure out why she couldn’t stop moving, squirming against him, hands moving and gripping, hips rolling, muscles clenching. It had just been so long since she’d felt so good, so relaxed, able to lose herself in anything, let alone pleasure, it felt like her mind was short circuiting, the threads she was trying to grasp at fleeing before she had a chance to form a full thought. The fact that the one in bed with her was Hancock… no, John, didn’t help at all, the culmination of such a long build up finally happening. And that it was the new version of her, the one that had taken on the Wasteland and conquered everything in her path, made it all the better, this version of her wasn’t embarrassed about being naked while John was still dressed, wasn’t thinking about what she looked like and if she was doing everything right, wasn’t wondering what she needed to do to make him feel good. No, this version of Nora was able to sink into the pleasure feet first, fully immersing herself in it and just along for the ride.

  John, on the other hand, couldn’t get over just how wet she was, in a world where so much had become dry and dusty and what water you could find wasn’t necessarily even safe. But he’d found the fountain of perfection between her legs, and if she’d let him there he’d drown in it and die a happy man. He couldn’t wait to see where they would go after this, to kiss and touch and experience every inch of her body, bring her all the pleasure he could, to be there by her side just making her life better and being good to her.

  The pleasure was building in waves as John’s skillful hands and fingers moved against her pussy, paying attention to her clit mostly, before moving down, circling her entrance. That wave receded, just slightly, pulling her away from the precipice of her orgasm, before spiking again as John slipped a finger inside her. Nora moaned, hips bucking, chest heaving, her hand slapping up over her head to grip the pillow with white knuckles as she tried to ground herself against him and the bed, trying to not float away on the pleasure.

  “Beautiful, fuckin’ beautiful,” John murmured into her ear, “you’re gripping me so fuckin’ nice.”

  Nora’s only response was to grip his head, pulling her into him to meet their lips together, kissing him passionately as she revealed in how good his fingers felt pushing in and out of her soaked cunt. She was so turned on, so pliable, it didn’t take him long to push another finger into her, the ridges of his knuckles teasing along her walls as he fucked her with his fingers. The way he moved was precise, feeling how she moved and reacted, and adjusting as he went, starting slow but slowly speeding up, before slowing again and adding his thumb into the mix, nudging then circling her clit with it.

  There was no way she was going to last long like this, moaning into his mouth, her body tensing and rolling, seeking out his hands and mouth as he worked her body exactly perfectly. The combination of his fingers inside her and his thumb working her clit pushed her pleasure higher and higher, the wave of her orgasm starting slowly but persistently. Hancock could feel her, feel the way her body was moving, the way her cunt pulsed around his fingers, could feel the way she was so needy against him, taking everything he was giving her so perfectly.

  “You’re getting close, aren’t you, sunshine,” Hancock pulled back, speaking into her ear as she shoved her face into his neck, still seeking him out as much as she could. Her nose ran up his neck, trying to be as close as she possibly could as she climbed the peak. Speech had abandoned her, and she simply nodded against his skin, whining at the pleasure and contrast from the roughness of his skin.

  “Thats right, beautiful, I want to see you come for me, feel you squeezing my fingers.”

  The dirty talk in his gorgeous rasp wasn’t doing anything to help Nora, and she felt the swell of her orgasm hit, following through in exactly the way he’d been describing. Cunt squeezing and pulsing around his fingers, her back arching, she came beautifully, her vision whiting out while she moaned, letting the peak hit her. It was far from the first orgasm she’d had in her life, but it hit differently, harder, more freeing, feeling like a true release because of the man who was giving it to her.

  “That is the best fucking thing I’ve ever seen, sunshine. You’re so fucking perfect.”

  Hancock spoke to her again when it seemed like the rolling of her body was subsiding, the waves lessening to something smoother and softer, his fingers slowing inside her while he drew out her orgasm just right.

  “Not perfect,” she gasped, still trying to come down from her peak, trying to put her brain and body back together after an orgasm unlike any she’d had in her life.

  “You don’t get to tell me that, you’re perfect to me. And you aren’t seeing yourself like I am, right now. Never seen anything that comes anywhere close to you,” he was practically growling now, his voice completely lost to the scratchy rumble she loved so much.

  Slowly and carefully, Hancock removed his hand from her pussy, a wet noise making her blush as he pulled his fingers out. Nora wasn’t sure how she had any embarrassment left in her after what they’d just done, but the heat remained, and grew as she watched him bring his fingers to his mouth. Nora’s eyes widened as John’s closed, savoring the taste of her off of his hand, swirling his tongue around his fingers as he enjoyed himself, his cock twitching insistently. Though, that was hardly a new development, he was painfully hard from everything they’d been doing.

  “Can’t wait to taste you straight from the source, sunshine, if you’re that good on my fingers I can’t imagine how delicious that will be,” Hancock said, and Nora shuddered at the thought, arching into him as he drew his now clean and dry fingers down her side.

  “Never really done that,” Nora mumbled into his neck as his fingers slid back up, over her shoulder, coming to cup her chin, gently tilting her face so they could make eye contact.

  “You haven’t?”

  “Don’t make fun of me,” Nora huffed, her face heating. “Different world back then, John.”

  “Fuckin’ hell, sunshine, you’re going to be the death of me,” he replied, resting his head against her forehead. “Not making fun of you, just trying to not lost my damn mind.”

  “I think I already lost mine, so at least we’re in this together,” Nora teased, bringing her hand up to cup his face, running her fingers over the texture of his skin, up and over his head, then down, down his back while tucking her hand under his shirt.

  Then he was kissing her, again, and she was straining up into him, grabbing at him with both hands as he lost himself into the feeling of her against his skin. Before he knew it, they were breaking apart, his shirt coming off over his head before she was pulling him back in, their lips meeting as she explored the new skin that had been revealed. Nora couldn’t get enough of the feeling of him, the valleys and ridges of his skin, the difference between him and her never more evident, the plush softness of her vault protected body against his harsh lines built from harsh living. Of course, she hadn’t been unmarred since leaving the vault, but there was no substitute for the way that she had ben raised.

  For a much as Nora was enjoying herself, losing herself in the feeling of him, Hancock couldn’t help but be a little self conscious, noticing all the same differences that she was. But he wasn’t enjoying them in quite the same way that she was, and she noticed.

  “Whats wrong?” Nora eventually asked, feeling the way that he was hesitating, pulling away slightly.

  “Wondering what you’re doing with a washed up ghoul like me, you’re far too good for me, sunshine,” he admitted quietly, searching her eyes for any hint of hesitancy.

  “I’ll be the one to decide that, thank you.” Nora raised her eyebrow at him. “Would have thought just the fact that I’m naked in bed with you would have told you exactly how I feel. But just in case it didn’t, I think you’re pretty fucking perfect too. I don’t give a shit that you’re a ghoul, I care about the man who always has my back and who I trust with my life, literally. And who makes me feel like the sexiest thing to ever exist in this world.”

  Nora ran her hands over his chest as she talked, before slowly pushing her her hand down, fingers teasing his waistband, the tips of them running down to the sensitive, thin skin in the spot between his cock and his hips. He felt himself twitch in his pants, and from her little grin he had a feeling she did too.

  “Now, if you don’t want to do this, thats one thing. But if you do, I’d really like you to hurry up and fuck me. Please?”

  Her words shot straight to his cock and he groaned, dropping his head to kiss her, forcing the self consciousness down, ignoring the voice in the back of his head in favor of making the most of having such a beautiful woman in his arms.

  “Can’t resist such a sweet request, sunshine.”

  There was some shifting, Nora helping him push his pants down, leaving him just as naked as she was. There was another moment where John had to force his brain to shut up as the last of his clothes came off, removing the last of the things that made him look like a man rather than a ghoul, but Nora didn’t flinch, so neither did he. In fact, she did the opposite, allowing those roving, curious fingers of hers to come around his hip, the tips of them running up the underside of his cock before she wrapped her hand around him. Just the barest hint of contact made him shudder, something between a gasp and a grunt coming out of him, his hips pushing forward involuntarily.

  In between all of their movement, John had almost ended up on top of Nora anyway, and he shifted on his hands to move between her knees. He pushed up, leaning heavily on one hand so he could get both of them more comfortable, and was almost stopped dead in his tracks by how beautiful she was laid out underneath him. Her hand was still curled around his cock, her eyes flicking between his length and his eyes, other hand gripping his wrist as she moved her hips, legs encircling him as they got comfortable.

  “Might be a little rusty at this,” Nora said, the slight hint of self consciousness shifting to her this time as Hancock lowered himself a little, her movements helping his cock rub through her still soaked pussy.

  “You’ve seen outside, everything’s a little rusty and it ain’t ever looked like a problem to me,” he replied with difficulty, every brain cell focusing on the contact between their bodies. Despite that, he wanted to make sure she was still comfortable, still happy, and he was rewarded with a chuckle from her at his joke.

  That finally cut through his focus, the way that they were able to laugh even in this scenario, how easy things were between the two of them. He wasn’t sure he’d ever had a connection like this with someone, and he felt unbelievably lucky to have ended up here.

  “Well I appreciate it, cause I need some of that patience you mentioned. Its only been about, oh, 200 years, give or take, since I’ve done this,” Nora said, finally letting him think a little as she let go of him, averting her gaze. Something that he immediately rectified, nudging her to look back up at him.

  “I’m honored, sunshine, seriously,” he said, holding eye contact with her. He knew her, inside and out, knew what a big deal this was to her. Even more so now that he knew he hadn’t done this since her husband, since her entire world was ripped out from under her when the world ended.

  “Wouldn’t want it to be with anyone else except you,” she said quietly, running her hands back up his chest, to hold the back of his neck

  “We’ll take things at whatever pace you want, and as far as you want,” he promised, and Nora couldn’t stop herself from pulling him down once again, kissing him with what she hoped was enough passion to show him how much sentiment like that meant to her.

  “What I really want right now is to feel you inside me,” Nora shifted her hips, dragging his tip through her folds, angling so his cock pushed against her clit as he swiped through her wetness, causing both of them to shudder.

  “Far from me to deny you,” he replied, and pushed forwards as she moved, notching himself at her entrance before pushing himself inside her slowly.

  Both of them groaned at the feeling, his cock stretching her as he carefully entered her, pulling back slightly at any resistance before pushing in again, over and over, feeling his cock grow slick with her wetness, allowing him further in more easily. It wasn’t long before he bottomed out with how relaxed she was, how wet she still was from her previous orgasm. He paused when he was fully seated in her, letting her get used to the feeling, and she wrapped herself around him, one leg around his waist, the other hooking over his hamstring, hands around his shoulders and down his back. The feeling of him filling her was too move, and she squirmed, hips moving up and back as she tried to convince him to move, one hand cupping the back of his head as she pulled him down into a deep kiss.

  John needed no extra encouragement, slowly starting to pump his hips back and forth, starting with barely withdrawing his cock from her wet heat, not willing to leave heaven for long now that he’d found it. The feeling of them moving together was overwhelming for the both of them, the friction and movement of his cock dragging along her walls leaving them breathless as he started to move more and more. Each thrust he paused as he bottomed out, grinding into her oversensitive clit, forcing her pleasure to reignite after her earlier orgasm, and she pulled apart from the kiss, her head pushing back into the pillow. Eyes closing, she moaned, propriety forgotten, lost in just how fucking good he felt as he fucked her slowly.

  Granted, it had been a while, but Nora couldn’t remember sex ever being this good. Maybe it was her change in personality, that she wasn’t ashamed of feeling good any more, maybe it was how close and connected she felt to John, the man having saved her life so many times. Or maybe it was something so much more simple than that, just the fact that she could feel the same ridges that covered the rest of his body also covering his cock, the texture of him dragging over her walls. It felt unreal, and when he angled himself a little differently she gasped, feeling him pull over that sweet spot inside her, pleasure sparking behind her eyes.

  “Open your eyes, sunshine, look at me,” John growled, and she did as he asked, meeting those beautiful eyes as she panted. There might have been a little self consciousness fueling his words, wanting to make sure she knew who was doing this to her, but more than anything he wanted the eye contact, how close and comfortable they were with each other pushing him ever closer to his orgasm.

  With that in mind, he increased his pace just slightly, making sure to hit the spot inside of her while tilting over so that he could tuck a hand between them, determined to make her come again, to get to feel that. It wasn’t going to take much, Nora was so primed and turned on already, almost the first swipe of his fingers making her come again.

  “C’mon, I want to feel you come for me, want to feel you squeezin’ my cock as well as you squeezed my fingers,” he murmured into her ear, leaning down to try and stabilize himself.

  The comment made her cunt pulse around him, and he made sure to keep up exactly what he was doing, the combination of his cock inside her and fingers on clit pushing Nora to her peak before she could even really conceptualize that she had come twice in such rapid succession. John forced himself to lean up again, watching her come apart underneath him, feeling her clench around his cock so prettily.

  “Fucking hell. I must be dreamin’,” he said to himself, still not sure what the fuck he’d done in life to get to have this happening.

  John was rapidly realizing that he wasn’t going to last long, though. It wouldn’t have been long without her coming, but watching and feeling that had had pushed him closer than he knew what to do with. He waited until she was coming down, making sure to keep his movements steady so that he could draw out her pleasure as much as he could, before removing his fingers and talking to her.

  “I ain’t got anymore swimmers, thanks to my makeover, but we might want to be a little careful. Wouldn’t want you to start looking like me after we’ve, uh, finished having our fun, and I’m pretty irradiated. Need you to let me know where you want me to come.”

  Nora was riding a cloud of pleasure and happiness, but forced her mind to come back into her body as he spoke, a little grin slipping onto her face as she thought of the perfect answer to that.

  “Sounds like the perfect use for some radaway I’ve been hoarding in my bag for the right occasion.”

  “Fuck, sunshine,” Hancock groaned, his body shuddering, eyes closing momentarily before he snapped them open again, not wanting to miss anything, “you have no idea what it does to me that you just want me as I am, no changes.”

  “Wouldn’t change a thing about you, hopefully I’m showing you that,” she replied, pushing her hips up to him when he had stuttered to a stop, his brain trying to catch up with his body, “I want to feel you come inside me, John.”

  The man in question cursed again, colorfully, before leaning down, kissing her fiercely, his hips moving again as he snapped them back and forth, truly fucking her now. He knew to not be too intense, not wanting to overstimulate her so soon after her orgasm, but that was the extent of thought that he could manage as he felt his cock go in and out of her, over and over again. It didn’t take long for his orgasm to build, not long before Nora felt him seize, then felt his cock pulsing inside her as he came. Head dropping to the pillow next to her, John squeezed her tightly, and she repaid the favor, fingernails digging into his overly sensitive skin, which only made more waves of pleasure roll through him.

  Eventually, he felt like he could catch his breath again, and John tilted his head, kissing Nora all over her neck, her shoulders, anywhere he could reach without putting too much effort in, seeing as he felt like all the energy had been sucked out of his body as he came. She giggled quietly at his movements, or lack thereof, and he chuckled with her, pushing up so that he could kiss her again, enjoying the warmth and happiness in her gaze when he pulled away.

  Slowly, and very carefully, he pulled out of her, happy when she only winced just slightly, before collapsing again, this time at her side. Nora swung a leg over him, cuddling into his side, feeling the furnace of his heat from all the over exertion. They were quiet for a while, but eventually he couldn’t keep that mouth shut that had got him in trouble so many times.

  “Good enough to wait 200 years for?” he teased, and she laughed, tilting her head up to look at him.

  “You know, what, fuck yeah. That was about everything I could have wanted.”

  “Only about? I’ll have to work harder,” he replied, eyes twinkling like stars when he looked back down at her.

  “If that wasn’t trying, remind me next time to schedule an entire day off.” 

  “So you’re thinking there will be a next time?” He knew there would, just from the way she was looking at him. But he couldn’t help but tease her.

  “Yes, of course, are you crazy? You’re not getting rid of me that easily. However, I do kind of need to clean up,” she added, grimacing as she shifted, feeling the mess between her thighs.

  “On it, sunshine,” Hancock replied, kissing her forehead as he rolled out of bed, sliding on his pants as he did.

  They quietly moved around each other as they both cleaned up, John bringing her a towel that she made note of that she’d have to clean later instead of giving it to the entrepreneurial settler who had started a laundry service. The silence wasn’t awkward, instead it was the opposite, comforting and warm as he set up a radaway bag for her, and he grinned as she grabbed his shirt, slipping it over her head with nothing else on. When they’d gathered some more comfort items, he sat down in the big armchair that Nora had saved from lord knows where, patting his lap indicating for her to sit with him. An offer that she happily accepted, curling up in his arms as he tucked himself around her, helping her get the medicine pumping into her veins.

  “I think today is going to be pretty boring, I’m sorry. I have a million things to catch up on with running Sanctuary. The problem with running around the wasteland for too long,” Nora sighed, catching John’s hand as she talked, playing with his fingers again, like they had started the day.

  “Sunshine, you underestimate jus’ how much I simply enjoy spending time with you. Besides, I like watching you do all that settlement stuff. Like to watch you problem solve, you’re a good leader. Gives me some ideas.”

  “Funny you say that,” Nora said, leaning back a little, settling into John’s lap as she leant against the arm of the chair. “I took a lot of ideas from Goodneighbor at first, after I found y’all. Sanctuary was still pretty new, and you helped me figure out a direction.”

  “Didn’t think my little den of inequity would be any kind of inspiration for anyone,” John tightened his arm around her as she shifted, holding her waist so she’d be as close to him as possible.

  “You might be a little unorthodox, but you did something amazing with Goodneighbor. I loved that everyone felt welcome and safe, wanted to bring some of that here. And that everyone could be heard, but still had respect for the leadership and your ability to keep it moving in the right direction.”

  “You flatter me, sunshine,” Hancock hummed, kissing her on the side of the head, “you’ve done all that and more here.”

  “Not flattery. Just the truth.”

  The conversation continued, the two of them able to talk as freely and comfortably as they always had, the only thing that had changed being the way that they were able to touch each other now, gentle caresses and random kisses throughout. Eventually the radaway had flowed through Nora’s system, and she stretched in his lap, doing all kind of interesting things to the way her body moved over his. Unfortunately, she stood instead of returning to him, and he took the hint to dress at the same time as she did, minus a quick side quest when he pulled his shirt off of her, and suddenly she was very naked once again, something he couldn’t ignore completely. It didn’t progress far though, but in a way, both of them enjoyed that more, the freedom to be so comfortable with one another.

  After a while, stomach starting to rumble, Nora led the way to the kitchen, where they picked up Dogmeat who had taken up residence on a beaten up couch. Nora greeted her best friend with a coo and some pets, and the dog stretched out for belly rubs as John grabbed some dried food they’d bartered with when they’d first gotten into Sanctuary. Food in hand and dog at their heels, Nora made for the door, but she didn’t quite make it before John grabbed her again, spinning her into his arms a last time.

  “Not quite ready to give you up just yet,” he murmured into her neck as he held her close.

  “Who says you have to?”

  “Didn’t know if this was a between the two of us kinda thing,” John replied, and Nora peeled herself off of him enough that she could look up at him.

  “What was it you said? I’m stuck with you now? Well, same here. I have no doubts, and I want everyone to know I finally managed to lock you down,” Nora teased, a grin on her face, one that Hancock matched as he leaned in to kiss her again, content and comfortable with her.

  “Hell of a way to start the day,” John hummed, feeling like his heart might burst. It wasn’t quite a declaration of love between the two of them, but it might as well be.

  “Mmm, I certainly can’t think of anything better. Might be able to convince me to do that again,” Nora replied, reaching for the doorknob behind her, opening them to Sanctuary proper and the still early morning.

  Dogmeat trotted out of the door first, and John kissed the side of her head as they exited together, her hand in his, the same way that they had woken up, unafraid of who might see them together.

  “Can’t wait, sunshine.”