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...