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Nick never thought himself as territorial. He considered himself a very modern man, and everyone knew he was a gentleman. He had an air about him that made you think “This is a guy who knows what he’s doing, and I should listen to him!”, even if he was insulting you. Smooth, charismatic; it almost made you forget that he wasn’t human. Well, not in the standard package, anyway.
He was still Nick; a human consciousness put into a body that wasn’t. His veins were plastic tubes, reinforced with thin ribbing and coursing with coolant. His face was marred and marked with centuries of adventures and dangerous exploits. His chest was one of the few things still mostly intact, a slightly flexible polymer that was strong enough to resist bullets yet thin enough that if you touched it, you could feel the slight vibrations emitting from his core.
That was where Beth currently lay her head. She liked the warmth that seeped through his chestplate, and the soft, gentle purr that matched the rhythm and pace of the pulsations. It was almost like being near a human body of flesh and blood to them.
And he didn’t mind the sensation of having someone cuddling up to him, either. Beth didn’t sleep particularly soundly, Nick had come to notice. When she started to fuss, he’d stroke herr head a couple times and they’d go peacefully back to sleep for a little while.
Most nights he woke up before her, and this was one of those nights. Some mornings he got out of bed and got ready for the day, but this particular morning was cold. Colder than usual in the Commonwealth. And so, Beth had curled up as close to his chest as possible. She looked so cute, it was a hard decision to wake them up like usual, or let them stay asleep for however long they wanted.
But in the end, obligation outweighed comfort, and he gently shook her awake.
“Morning”, he said quietly, smiling at her.
Beth lifted her head, looked him in the eye, and silently lay back down, pulling the blanket over their head and pressing herself closer to his chest.
Nick rolled his eyes and tugged on the blanket.
“Come on now!”, he said, expecting the blanket to be pulled free from Beth’s hand.
“It’s cold”, Sole complained.
“Yeah, and?”
“And you’re warm. You do the math!”
"What are you, five?"
"Yes."
Nick sat up in the bed and Beth slid off of his chest and into his lap with an unhappy grunt.
Her head still facing down, she finally let out a frustrated sigh.
“FINE. You win”, she said as she raised herself up and sat up straight, releasing Nick.
These kinds of mornings were Nick’s favorite part about moving on. He could feel happy without feeling guilty. It felt normal, like some things in this world hadn’t changed. He didn’t know it, but Beth felt the same way.
“It okay if I don’t stay for breakfast? Ellie told me she needed me in first thing today. Something big and new, I guess?”, he said over his shoulder as he tried to do his tie.
“Sure; but if it’s so important, why didn’t she just keep you in last night?”, Beth asked, walking around the bed to face him.
“I dunno. She knew it was date night… Maybe that’s it?”
He fumbled with the knot a little longer before Beth swatted his fingers away and did it for him. He chuckled.
“Well, I’ll be a little late coming in, just so you know”, she said as she stepped toward the dresser for Nick’s coat.
“Yeah?”
“Yup. I’m gonna get a cut today. Been overdue for a while now…”
Nick slid on his coat and kissed Beth, putting a hand over their arm.
“Don’t change it too much. It’s one of the reasons I like you so much.”
Beth stuck their tongue out and smiled.
An hour later, Beth still hadn’t walked into the Agency.
Nick was starting to wonder. Just a trim, right? Trims don’t usually take this long, especially not when it’s only 10 in the morning.
“Ellie, I’m gonna go take a smoke”, he said in a hurried voice, gathering up his cigarette case and lighter.
“Okay Nick”, Ellie responded disinterestedly.
He walked to the center of the market and lit up a cig, looking around himself at the different stands for Beth.
And there she was, sporting a new cut and looking frustrated in front of a woman Nick had only seen few times. A caravan guard maybe? Relieved, he wandered over to them. Beth’s face lit up as she saw him approach and reached out a hand to him, making the woman talking to her turn around to see him as well.
This woman seemed less than happy to see him.
“Hello dear!”, Beth exclaimed, emphasizing ‘dear’ loudly.
“Uh, hi”, he replied, confused.
He turned his head toward the woman and nodded.
“Hello.”
“Hi”, she muttered.
“Where’ve you been? When you said you’d be late, I figured you’d meant a few minutes, not a half an hour”, Nick asked Beth, shifting a glance at the stranger.
She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the woman.
“We were just having a nice chat. I like Beth here’s hair”, she said with extra vinegar.
Beth shifted uncomfortably.
Nick gave her a doubtful look, and flicked the cherry off his cigarette.
“…Right. Well, “Beth here” has to go to work now. Come on.”, Nick said.
He was starting to lose patience with this stranger.
“We ain’t done talkin’ yet!”, she said with enough venom to kill a viper.
“Now listen-”, Beth began, angrily.
“Look, she clearly doesn’t want to be talking to you right now. Take a hint.”
“Oh yeah? Maybe you should take a hike and let her speak for herself!”
“How about we keep this down? For God’s sakes you two we’re in the middle of-”, Beth said, once more interrupted.
“I ain’t done with you yet, babe! How about we ditch this freak and-”
“Oh, real original! You come up with that one yourself?”
“You better watch yourself! I’ve put stronger synths than you in the ground!”, the caravaneer growled, advancing on Nick.
A security guard made himself known, slamming his bat into his cupped hand, making a loud slap that echoed across the marketplace. Only Takahashi was still busy at work by now.
The caravan guard stood frozen, and Nick immediately felt embarrassment sink into the pit of what would have been his stomach.
“Sorry, officer…”, Beth stammered quietly.
“Come on Nick, let’s go”
They pulled him by his arm all the way back to the agency, slamming the door behind them. She shot him a look before taking heavy steps towards the desk in the back of the front room, past a confused and concerned Ellie.
Ellie leaned over the front desk and put her hand next to her mouth, inviting Nick to come closer.
“Should I even ask?”, she whispered.
“Beats me”, Nick shrugged.
Beth snorted, obviously being able to hear every word.
“I’ll tell you all about it, Ellie. At lunch. Meaning not right now, or I swear to God your ears will be ringing so loudly from the screaming match that will come to play that you won’t be able to hear for a week!”, she threatened, half shouting.
'Yikes!' Ellie mouthed, going back to sorting through a file.
Nick opened his mouth to argue.
“Did I say a week? I mean a month!”
Nick quietly went back to work.
It was going to take some smooth talking to sort this one out.