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The clink of a glass hitting the table drew Vulpes's attention away from the courier for just a second. He had been watching her for quite some time, and she had yet to notice him sitting by the bar. Not much valuable information had been obtained in these missions thus far, however.
He had been sent to try to find where her loyalties lay, but whenever he found her she was nearly always watching a show in the Aces theater or having something to eat, never speaking more than necessary even when she'd accept an odd job or offer help to another. Now, she sat at a slot machine, feeding it her chips, winning more on occasion just to stuff her earnings back in.
Whenever she had too long of a losing streak she'd switch to another slot as if that would increase her chances. He always tried to sit just near enough so he could make out a bit of her words without being overly conspicuous, but as of yet all he got were mutterings to the machines. On the occasions someone would approach her to —he would assume— proposition her, she would just stare at them until they became uncomfortable and left.
More was learned through the other patrons' reactions to her, dirty looks and threats thrown her way by gamblers from the NCR. At least he knew that even if she wasn't planning to side with the Legion, it didn't seem she'd be joining the NCR anytime soon.
She was a bit more friendly with the staff despite them being affiliated with her nemesis, Benny, and he could see why— a certain one would hand over caps each time she asked, allowing her to continue gambling them away. He wasn't sure why Caesar had such an interest in a profligate like her to begin with, but it wasn't his place to question him. It was no one's place.
He took the glass of liquor that was given to him and had a sip as he continued his espionage. He was getting used to the taste and feel of alcohol, no longer needing to prepare himself for the unpleasantly strong flavor and the strange warm feeling it would give him in his chest.
Though it was generally forbidden, frumentarii such as himself needed to blend in on the Strip, and a bit of alcohol was preferable to squandering his money by gambling or watching the prostitutes in Gomorrah. With his solemn demeanor it was easy enough to play the part of a profligate drinking his sorrows away, which had the benefit of keeping a good amount of conversationalists from him.
He was still learning his limits, drinking just enough to avoid standing out without muddling his mind and senses. People didn't spend much time in casinos if they didn't have some form of vice, after all. He decided this glass would be his last of the day, as he had overestimated his tolerance and was beginning to feel a bit more fuzziness in his head than he'd like, which he only noticed after he had already ordered the drink.
He glanced towards the doors. It had long turned dark, the street lit up only with moonlight and the flashy lights of the casino signs and securitrons. So much time had been wasted waiting for the courier to do something noteworthy, yet he felt that if he left, she'd start spilling all her secrets the moment he wasn't there to hear them. He couldn't go back to Caesar without any progress made.
He paid no mind to the man taking a seat beside him until he realized he was being spoken to, his eyes flitting to the NCR gambler. "Hey, pretty boy, mind if I buy you a drink?"
Pretty boy? And the Legion was the one that got the reputation for homosexuality. Vulpes leaned away subtly as the man shuffled his chair towards him. "I'll pass. I'm only here to check the place out."
"Nahhh, I've seen you here before. Always eyeing that girl," he gestured to where the courier sat, looking intently into the spinning slots like they'd hypnotized her. Not a good sign, that someone had recognized him in disguise. "You like her or something?"
"No, she—"
"Why don'tya go talk to her? You shy? Here, drink this up, it'll bring your confidence up." His glass was slid closer to him and the man interrupted before he could get a word in. "Y'know what? Hey! Get this guy the strongest thing you have."
"Really, there is no need for—"
"Don't worry, baby, it's on me. I got you." He winked.
Vulpes's eye twitched as he held back a sigh. The NCR soldier was watching him expectantly, and to reject a drink might arouse suspicion. Most profligates who frequented the casinos of the Strip would jump at any opportunity for free alcohol. He lifted his glass and drank it in one gulp, trying to get it over with, only for another to be set down before him.
He picked it up. From the smell alone he could tell this drink was not something he was accustomed to or would enjoy. He tried to keep his expression neutral as he lifted it to his lips and drank, trying to swallow it all down before the burning sensation and bitter flavor could be registered. The man beside him slapped him on the back as he set the empty glass down. "Attaboy. Aw shoot, your girl's leaving, don't let her get away!"
"Hmm—?" Vulpes turned himself around, standing too fast as he saw the courier heading out of the casino area and into a hall. His balance wavered for a moment and he had to grab onto the chair to steady himself before stalking after her.
On his feet, he realized just how intoxicated he really was. He had definitely overdone it with the alcohol, he thought as the walls seemed to sway at his sides. Perhaps it would have been better to refuse the drinks after all.
She seemed to notice that she was being followed, as she picked up the pace without looking back, trying to reach an elevator. He stumbled as he attempted to catch up to her and she heard the impact, whipping around and looking as if she was about to bolt before she seemed to recognize him. "Oh! You're..."
He straightened himself up now that he had her attention. "Ah, Courier Six... how strange to run into you like this. I had been meeting— meaning to meet with you for some time now. We have much to... discuss."
He hoped she hadn't caught the slip-up of his words, but it wouldn't matter in the end. They came out slower and less clear than he intended.
"I thought legionaries weren't supposed to get drunk."
He scoffed as she approached, and was a bit offended that she was less scared now than when she assumed him to be a stranger. "Am not drunk. A good disguise may require one to engage in the vices of those he surrounds himself with... while knowing when to stop."
"Looks like you still have a bit to learn, then. Or is tripping around also part of your act?"
Her head cocked to the side just a bit as she took a moment to observe him, and he felt uncomfortable under her scrutiny. Apparently whatever she saw was not good. "Here, come with me, I have a room here you can stay in."
He backed away from the hand reaching out towards him. This woman was a fool if she thought he'd allow himself to be taken away from the public eye to where she could do Mars-knows-what to him without witnesses. And if she wasn't afraid of being alone with him, knowing who he was, then he had reason to be wary of her.
She continued. "Come on, don't tell me you plan to walk yourself back over to the Fort like that. Especially if you plan to go through Freeside. You wanted to talk, right? We can talk once you're better."
He wasn't given much of a choice as her arm moved around his back to steady him and she began taking him towards the elevator. He walked with her a few steps before coming to his senses and shaking her off. "No. We will speak now. You're the one who must come with me."
"If that's what you want. You'll forget anything I tell you by the time you're sober anyway."
He supposed she had a point... he was having enough trouble keeping a clear mind even without having sensitive information to keep track of, and sitting down sounded splendid right now. "Very well... we will continue this in this room of yours."
She took his hand and continued to lead him, and he muttered something about the physical contact not being necessary but she didn't seem to hear. Or perhaps she did hear, but couldn't understand his slurring words.
Inside the elevator, he leaned against the wall while she pressed the button to wherever it was she was taking him. He felt himself grow nauseous as it began to rise, the spinning of his vision and the feeling of being moved while standing still a dizzying, sickening mix of sensory input. His hand moved to cover his mouth to stop himself from retching, and the courier rubbed his back in what seemed to be sympathy— something that should never be offered to a man like him.
He could laugh at the very thought, and he realized he was doing so out loud when his own laughter reached his ears, a sound not even he was familiar with. It really wasn't that funny, which only made him giggle harder. Was the courier regretting inviting over a madman who laughed at nothing at all?
He hoped so. And it seems she was indeed, as her hand had fallen from his back and she looked at him like there was something wrong with him.
She was eager to get out of the elevator once it opened, but still pulled him along with her. He let his weight press against her side as they entered the presidential suite of The Tops, not caring to attempt walking on his own by this point.
"Couch or bed?" She asked, holding onto his waist.
"Mmm... yes, yes. Sounds good." He nodded vaguely.
"Which one?" She gestured this time to the sofa, then the door that led to the bedroom.
"Which... what? Ah. Neither. Caesar has a bed, but most of us sleep on bedrolls."
"That's not what I'm... okay, you know what? I'll let you on the bed until I need to kick you off to go to sleep." She half-carried him through the bedroom door and over to a large bed, letting him fall onto the sheets. He felt his shoes being removed from his feet. Yes, let the profligate serve him, as all would in due time.
He felt so tired, he tried to fall asleep right then with his face in the pillow but she propped him up against the headboard, cushioning his head and neck with the pillows before staring back down at him.
"So... now that I have you alone and vulnerable, what's the best way to take advantage of your impaired state?"
Vulpes looked up in contemplation. "Hmm... had I been in your position, I'd... let's see..."
"Alright, don't finish that thought. I was kidding. And I don't want to know." She went to the bathroom, giving him a chance to close his eyes, only for them to open once more at the feeling of something damp being dabbed against his face.
He tried to reach out to stop her wrist, but his movements were too sluggish to catch her. And really, it felt rather nice on his sweaty, flushed skin. He let his eyelids fall once more, the light in the room starting to make his head ache. She was being far too doting for his tastes, treating him like a sickly, fevered child instead of a dangerous man she hardly knew. He needed a bit of rest, not a babysitter.
Her words barely made it to his mind as she spoke again. "Try not to fall asleep."
He hummed in response, forcing his eyes open in a squint. He felt a bit less like he was being spun around in a blender with them open anyway. "The light..." he groaned.
"Is it bothering you? I'll turn it down in a bit, let me just get you some water."
He heard the sound of the sink faucet before she returned with a glass of water, switching off all the bedroom lights and instead allowing the ambient light from the living room to keep a bit of visibility. The bed dipped beside him as she sat down and held the glass to his lips, and he began to drink.
He wiped his mouth after swallowing, speaking when she remained by his side with no signs of leaving. "Why're you still here?"
"Just making sure you don't choke or hurt yourself." She set the glass down and got into a more comfortable position on the bed.
"You must think me a fool. You underestimate my abilities..." His sentence slurred off into unintelligibleness.
"I'm confident in your ability to become a danger to yourself and others."
He was more interested in her silhouette than her words. She'd blur in and out of focus, and it looked as if she were two hazy figures blending together rather than one. He reached out with his hand to feel whether she was indeed swaying or whether it was a trick of his eyes, and she at first drew back at the contact before allowing it, curious about his behavior.
He pawed clumsily at her arm before his hand slid to the front of her shirt, grabbing it and pulling her closer. He liked to think it was his own strength that moved her, rather than her leaning in on her own accord. It wasn't often that he got the opportunity to touch a woman who wasn't flinching away in fear.
More confident now that she wasn't resisting, he let his palm brush over her stomach and chest, feeling the fabric of her shirt. Only when he nudged a bit too hard against her breast did she remove his hand, and he let it drop down onto her lap. He kept it gripping her thigh to avoid falling on his face as he lost control of his balance for a second, and she sat closer to his side to allow him to steady himself.
"I think that's enough of that. You know, Benny tried to trap me here and have me killed when I found him, the little snake. He's gone now, though, so I get to stay here whenever I feel like it. Wish I had more people to bring sometimes, though. Such a big space, all for myself..."
She continued to talk past the point where Vulpes tuned her out, her voice becoming white noise to his ears. The sound paused for a moment as his head hit her shoulder, feeling like it was too heavy to keep upright.
He didn't remember falling asleep, but he must have at some point, as he woke up alone on the bed. He was lying on his side and tucked in under the covers, and as he lifted his head to make sense of his surroundings, a wave of dizziness and nausea washed over him.
He had never drank enough to become hungover before. The sound of his pained moan and his shifting on the bed alerted the courier, who he found lying on the couch in the living room, the door between them left open so she could hear if he had trouble.
He heard her voice suddenly beside him after he buried his head into his hands.
"Good morning! I know I said I'd kick you off the bed, but I realized too late that you were too heavy to move while asleep, and I couldn't wake you enough to get you to the couch. I was going to just push you off and let you sleep on the floor, but that seemed a little mean and I didn't want you to come after me once you were out."
He grit his teeth, her relentless speaking only exacerbating his headache. "How... kind of you."
He was starting to wish she was as quiet around him as he had observed her to be around others. He'd have to question her another day, he couldn't bear to listen like this. "I don't suppose you have more water to spare?"
She at last seemed to notice his discomfort. "Awwh, are you feeling unwell? Poor thing. I'll get you some, don't worry. I'll bring you something to eat from the diner too."
He finally had a moment of quiet as she left, as well as a chance to question his decisions. What had possessed him to accompany a profligate alone and let himself sleep in her presence? In what was apparently her territory, where she had the advantage, no less? He was lucky to have woken up unharmed. Caesar made the right choice in forbidding liquor from his soldiers.
He considered leaving now while the courier was gone, but he really did need hydration and didn't trust himself to make it all the way back to the Fort at the moment. Instead he sat rubbing his eyes and trying to massage the pain out of his head. His rest was cut short as the courier returned with a seared Brahmin steak and a bottle of water.
He resisted the temptation to snap at her for disturbing him as the plate was set on his lap. The water bottle was of more interest to him, and he took it from her hands and drank deeply until his thirst was soothed enough for him to swallow food.
He considered offering to share the steak as a means to keep her mouth occupied so she wouldn't begin another ramble, and in that moment memories of his intoxicated behavior began to return to him, making him wish he could kill them both to eliminate every witness.
He ran into the NCR soldier once more on his way out, who waved and called to him.
"Hey, I saw she took you to her room! Looks like you got lucky last night, good on you."