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Vault 69	By : sandman-nobody Category: +A through F > Fallout (Series) > Fallout (Series) Views: 107266 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout. I am not making any money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
A/N: here it is, the next chapter as well as some good news. A lot of you have expressed a lot of love for this story with one major problem… slow updates. Once every two months is a little slow and I apologize for that. Which is where the good news comes in. I’m not in a position to promise more than one chapter. But I can promise to try. So, on top of a garentied chapter every other month, I’m going to start trying to update both this story and sense of semblance EVERY MONTH.
Again, let us put emphasis on the word TRY. Please don’t yell at me if some months this is not possible. However, that said, please rest assure that chapter 9 of vault is already finished and will be released within the first week of next month. I hope this makes some of you slightly less impatient. If you could, please take the time to leave a review/comment once you finish reading. Good or bad, I will always love hearing from each and everyone of you. Have a wonderful day.
Tag(s): N/A
Words: 7713
Editor: Mr. G
Chapter 8
Tomas liked to think of himself as an adaptable fellow. Even more so since coming to the vault. It took a quick mind and relatively stress-free disposition to be able to simply accept much of what he'd been forced to learn to live with. That said, finding himself sat in front of his childhood friend and a teenage girl who suddenly professed a desire to carry his child… well, he hoped it wasn't unreasonable to want to ask a few questions. The most pressing of which—
"What are you even doing here?" Tomas turned an exasperated stare towards his friend. Camille looked up from her homework looking genuinely confused. Bland faced, as usual, she raised a speculative eyebrow before pointing a sharp number two pencil in his direction.
"You were the one who said you wanted to do homework." She reminded him, rolling her eyes at his stressed expression. Which, of course, only proved to increase his anxiety as he struggled to fight the urge to strangle his friend.
Obviously, that had been before the two of them had been approached by the strange girl currently staring at them as though everything was perfectly normal. It only made the situation even more strange, seeing her polite smile and calm disposition.
Surely, he couldn't be overreacting!
Taking a long breath, Tomas closed his eyes as he sighed, willing himself to calm down. He should know by now that expecting Camille to be reasonable was far more than he could ever hope for. This new girl, however, perhaps still had a chance.
"Um, hi." Tomas managed, turning his attention to the girl. She seemed perfectly happy to remain sitting there, idly looking around at the spacious living room with a somewhat wistful appreciation. At his attempt she focused her attention on him, the same polite expression unwavering as she answered.
"Hello." She nodded her head, only to go back to staring quietly ahead. More silence continued before she looked back at him. Blinking, she suddenly jumped, a hint of alarm pinching her brows together as she realized he was still focused on her direction. "Oh! I'm sorry. Is this… are we going to have sex now?" She said it just like that, as if being impregnated was something to do before laundry or before your favourite show was about to be on.
Tomas couldn't even answer her. Keeping his expression blank, he turned to Camille only to see she was looking at this new girl with a weird expression. Even she thought this was strange. Oh god, Angela was even worse…
"No…" Tomas finally shook his head, his tone cautious, like he worried for her mental health.
"Yeah, he has to finish his homework first," Camille added, the opposite of helpful.
Not even blinking, Angela just nodded her head courteously as though that were a perfectly reasonable thing to say before turning back to patiently stare into space, apparently content to wait until Tomas was ready for her. The sight sent a chilling shiver down his spine. This was reaching entirely different levels of weird. Tomas didn't know what he could even say. Thankfully, Camille seemed to sense this and didn't seem to mind helping her friend.
"You might as well join us," the olive-skinned girl offered. Face down, she was once again focused on her work. "This might take a while. I know Tom might not look it, but he's even dumber than you would guess."
Angela seemed surprised by the offer, faltering for the first time since she'd offered to open her legs. A fact that annoyed Tomas for some reason.
"I… suppose that would make sense." Angela finally conceded after struggling with a few moments of indecision. Looking at Tomas, and then down at his open textbook, she seemed to grow more confident, reaching for her own notebook and pencil.
Seeing her start to write out equations and focus on her work, Tomas turned to look at Camille and saw her doing the same. Now both young women were hard at work, utterly ignoring his flabbergasted expression. Feeling his anxiety peek… his expression twisted, blue eyes stretching wide. Only for a long sigh to hiss passed his clenched lips. It was like his entire body deflated, settling down as he recognized just didn't care anymore.
Fine. Let them both be weird, he wasn't going to think about it anymore. Babies, or no babies. He was just going to focus on his homework. Like he said… adaptable.
Soon everyone was hard at work, solving math problems and making their way down through the small mountain of work they'd all grown used to receiving at the end of the day. The metal room was quiet with the exception of pencils scratching at paper. It was an innocent scene, one that could have been found anywhere before the bombs fell. So why couldn't Tomas relax? Personally, he felt it probably had something to do with the elephant in the room everyone else seemed content to ignore.
"So, Angela. Tell us about yourself." Camille started idly. "I don't think we've ever had the chance to talk in class." Scribbling away at her worksheet, she looked up long enough to offer a comforting smile. Which only weirded Tomas out further. It was easy to forget that his friend could be normal when she wanted to. It's just that he was so used to how she usually was that seeing her as anything else seemed even more strange. Not to mention it only tended to happen when she was after something.
Poor Angela had no way of knowing, of course, and smiled at the polite interest, if a bit caught off guard. Blinking in surprise, she didn't seem uncomfortable so much as unprepared for the interest. Like she seriously expected to wait quietly until Tomas was in the mood for her to take care of him.
"Yes, I… I was homeschooled for all of my life before the vault. I'm afraid when it comes to making friends, I'm somewhat shy." Her cheeks flushed lightly, as though embarrassed to even admit that much. But all Tomas could think was, ‘Shy? Seriously?' Camille, of course, didn't skip a beat.
"I get that. But don't worry. It's not just you. A lot of girls in class are pretty hard to approach. I'm sure it's going to be a while until most of them are able to move on." There was the briefest pause as Camille finished writing out a formula. "How about you?"
"Me?"
"How have you been handling the transition?"
Angela hesitated for a moment before answering. "It’s… very different from what I'm used to. But, also not. I suppose I'm doing as well as can be expected."
"You used to live in some different underground metal tube?" Camille tried to joke but Angela didn't return the gesture. Allowing her pencil to come to a stop, she stared at the piece of paper in silence. Several moments passed before her writing continued and a much more quiet tone answered the two teenagers.
"Mother and father have always been a mite over-protective. Even before the bombs fell I wasn't allowed to leave home very often. I suppose, I'm actually used to enclosed spaces, as a result. Although, I can't say that I can appreciate the decorum very much. So much grey and yellow!" she wrinkled her nose like he was the most offending aspect of spending a life underground.
"Are you sick?" Tom couldn't help but ask, wondering if her pale complexion was the result of some illness. Thankfully Angela shook her head, long straight locks of near pure hair dancing around her elfin features.
"Oh, no! nothing like that."
"They were just strict?" Camille wondered. Again, Angela hesitated, her eyebrows drawing together in an anxious expression.
"Yes. Just a bit, I suppose. But I hope you don't think less of them. They've always wanted what was best for me. Considering our… position there really wasn't much of an option." Her writing once again faltered as her head dropped. It became obvious she was avoiding the two teenagers' questioning gaze. Eventually, she was forced to glance up, the silence becoming too long. And seeing the two pairs of eyes watching her, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"I had guessed you didn't know who I was, when you didn't react when I introduced myself. I apologize if you think it was my intent to lie to you. I supposed… well, honestly, I wasn't sure how to go about approaching you. In the end, I decided it would be easier if I were just another woman. I didn't expect to… talk."
"Are we supposed to know you?" Tomas furled his brow, doing his best to recall if the name Porter rang any bells. And—now that Angela brought it up—there was something familiar about it…
"Porter Energy…" Camille answered for the room, realization dulling her tone as she reverted back to the terse, indifferent young woman most knew her to be. And all the while, Angela just continued to smile her polite, somewhat sad smile, not even bothering to look away from the other girl's cool stare.
Tomas blinked. Porter Energy… wasn't that—? "Doesn't Porter Energy own, like, thirty percent of America's nuclear power plants?" He knew it powered their towns. Not to mention a majority of the east coast. It was damn near impossible to miss the large smokestack built towards the far end of town, the emblazoned ‘P.E.’ logo blown up enough for astronauts see.
"Only twenty-seven," Angela tried to argue. But seeing the stunned expression on Tomas' face, she couldn't help but blush. Suddenly everything was starting to make a lot more sense…
"Holy crap! You are a princess!" Recalling his earlier observation, Tomas all but gasped, much to Angela's embarrassment.
The way he stared at her and his overall reaction were exactly what she'd been trying to avoid. The few times she had been able to socialize with children her age almost always ended in the same way. Either they were jealous of her parent's money or they were too intimidated to so much as stand near her. Neither of which would help her now.
"Wasn't your family, like, richer than the government?" Camille clarified. Of course, that wasn't as large an accomplishment as one would think. What with the constant war efforts and food shortages, trying to come up with enough resources to keep the country from collapsing on itself devoured a large chunk of the U.S. Treasury. When you combined that with the fact that the Porter family also owned a number of uranium mines throughout the country, the same uranium the same government often bought to fuel their nuclear-based weaponry, ships, and power armour, and it was easy to see how one family could benefit from so much chaos. Apparently enough to be able to purchase their way inside of a vault.
"I– Yes. I will admit that I have been able to grow up fairly privileged. But that doesn't mean anything now!" She rushed to reassure, sending a pointed look towards a still flabbergasted Tomas. "Down here, I'm the same young woman as the rest of the vault. Which means you have no reason not to… to—" Her cheeks flushed, showing the first ounce of shame since the pair of friends had met her. It seemed like she was more nervous about this whole ordeal than she'd been trying to lead the two to believe. Something about that comforted Tomas.
"But why?" Camille pressed, eyes suspicious as well as curious now that she knew more about their new friend. "You can't be much older than us. What's the big rush? I mean, I know it can't be this guy's looks, personality, or sense of humour."
"Hey!" Tomas interjected. Neither girls paid him any attention.
"Who cares about why?" Angela huffed, turning defensive. "Did any of the other women have to explain themselves? I just want a baby. Is that so hard to believe?"
"When that means voluntarily sleeping with this thing," she gestured towards the still frowning Tomas, "then yes."
"Hey!" Tomas repeated himself once again to no response, this time looking kind of hurt. Geez, and Candy thought Camille might like him?
"Not to mention, Tomas didn't need to ask the other women why. They all wanted to get out of their jobs. You though, what's the matter? Can't handle a little homework?" If she was hoping to rile Angela up, it seemed to work. Rather the rich girl finally managed to look the part, turning her nose up at such a suggestion.
"I will assume that was an attempt at a joke." Her eyes narrowed in offense. "I was meant to inherit a multibillion-dollar company as my father's only heir. I've had nothing but the best tutors money could buy since I was old enough to learn to speak my first word. I'm so far ahead of the rest of the class, I could finish these assignments in my sleep." And as if that wasn't enough, Angela seemed to take special pride in holding up the math worksheet they'd all been working on, only for Tomas and Camille to see she was already finished. "I can assure you, laziness has nothing to do with my choices."
Tomas couldn't help but look impressed. He wasn't even a quarter of the way through his own work. Camille managed to keep her reaction under control.
"Is that it, then? Are you rebelling? Lived your entire life listening to Mommy and Daddy's rules and now's your chance to get back at them?" Camille continued to poke for answers. Angela's answer would shock them both.
She laughed. It wasn't a true laugh, there was no joy in it. The sound was dry and almost cruel in the exhaustion that hid beneath. Closing her eyes, Angela just shook her head, looking more tired than Tomas thought possible. "If that's what you want to believe, then so be it." the platinum blonde eventually answered, settling once again into her hard expression. "Or perhaps, I was so swayed by our teacher's message that I've decided to do my part in supporting the future of the vault. Or maybe; I'm just a raging slut and miss the thrill of intercourse."
That earned some raised eyebrows, but Angela continued without faltering in the same cold, emotionless tone. "Please, let me know when I’ve found an explanation that satisfies whatever criteria you've established for those whom deserves the pleasure of your bed." This time she turned to Tomas, forcing him into the conversation as she looked him dead in the eye.
Tomas blinked, alarm registering in his heart as he found himself put on the spot. She was… kind of scary when she wanted to be. She'd been so demure and polite, but now he could see a bit of that multibillionaire CEO in the making. "I—" he started, hesitating only after he realized he didn't have an answer.
Technically… no, she didn't need to explain herself. If she wanted to have a baby, he didn't really see any reason to turn her down. She was young, sure. But did that even matter anymore? It's not like he'd been given a free pass. Plus, he would have to get to her eventually. He needed to sleep with everyone eventually. And as he looked passed her cold stare, he could see for the first time how hard it had been for her to approach him. A light crack in her mask. She'd put on a brave face, but she was scared. The fact that she'd still been able to go through with it spoke of how much this must mean to her. Whatever her reasons.
"No," Tomas finally answered soberly, eyes dropping towards the table. "Everyone… Everyone's just doing their best to make a life for themselves down here. If I can help you with that, if this is what you feel like you need, then it isn't mine," he sent a pointed glance towards Camille, "or anyone else's business to stop you."
Angela visibly relaxed, taking a moment to close her eyes and breathe a sigh of relief. When they opened, she was back to the calm, polite smile she'd no doubt learned after hours of practice. "Thank you." She breathed, something close to an honest smile teasing the edge of her lips.
"Sure," Tomas gave an embarrassed shrug. It kind of brought things back into perspective when he remembered he was basically allowing a woman to open her legs for him. And then, in a move the Tomas before the vault would have never been able to manage, the young man continued, "Besides… you're like… insanely beautiful, you know that, right? It isn't like I'm going to be the one suffering." That earned a response. Namely, the brightest blush Tomas had ever seen on a face not his own. Angela immediately looked down at her work, struggling to keep the embarrassment from becoming too obvious.
"I am… happy you will be able to enjoy yourself." She finally managed to get out. An awkward moment passed before she turned a bright smile towards Camille.
"Oh! And, of course, thank you as well." Smiling brightly towards the other girl. Only to become more somber as she continued. "I… I know it can't be easy seeing your boyfriend with so many other women. I know you're just trying to protect him." She gave an understanding expression. Silence was her answer, two beats of it before Camille answered in her perfectly monotone voice.
"What can I say?" she shrugged. "I'm a giver." Before turning an absolutely smug expression towards an aghast Tomas. Who, bewildered by his friend's answer, stuttered for a few moments before interjecting.
"Not dating!" he glared at his friend, who's smile only widened at his over the top reaction. "We aren't dating." he more articulately repeated. The sound of snickering could be heard from Camille's direction.
"You're no fun," she all but sighed, apparently disappointed she couldn't take the joke even further. Meanwhile, Angela was looking between the two, positively horrified.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to assume. I just always see you together. And… you were so protective of him. I just…" she didn't finish, cheeks warming as she stopped before she could embarrass herself further.
"Don't worry too much," Tomas ran his hand through his hair. "trust me, you're not the first person to make that mistake." he said without thinking. Only to stop short realizing what he said.
Cautiously peeking towards Camille, he wondered if that would get any kind of reaction. But she seemed as bored as ever, resting her chin on the table and staring listlessly ahead. "For the record," the olive-skinned teen looked up, "I could care less who this idiot sticks his dick in, okay? I just thought it would be fun to tease you for a while." Which, it had been. Finally, a smile managed to lift her cheeks, a stark contrast to the frown suddenly twisting Angela's fair features.
"Tease?!" the young woman all but demanded, looking about ready to get in a huff. "You certainly know how to take your jokes a little far."
By that point Camille was already standing to her feet, shrugging the girl's complaints off completely. "Eh, you'll get used to it."
Seeing the other girl walk away from the table, Angela's irritation evaporated, transforming into something much more nervous. "Oh, are you leaving? Is it already time to…" she didn't finish, glancing towards Tomas. He looked back at her, looking just as embarrassed before Camille's voice called out from the kitchen.
"Sorry to get your hopes up" Suddenly, she returned, arms full of fresh fruits and processed snacks for them to enjoy. "but, you'll have to keep your panties on for a bit longer. Try and keep from soaking through." Angela managed to keep her reaction down to a warm blush.
"I wasn't kidding when I said this idiot needs to finish his homework. He's been so busy lately repopulating and all that that he's starting to fall behind." She proceeded to dump the small pile of snacks at the centre of the table. "Since you're already finished, mind helping? Trust me, you'll do it if you want to get knocked up sometime this year."
"You really don't need to be so crass," Angela huffed, before standing to sit beside Tomas. He quickly made room, eyes slightly wide at her sudden proximity. He reached for a packet of sugar bombs to distract himself from the sweet feminine smell suddenly surrounding him.
"Actually, I do." Camille happily argued, taking a large bite from one of the many apples she'd pilfered. But offered no further explanation. Rather than push the issue, Angela just shook her head before turning to look at the boy to her right. Flushing for only a moment, she managed to quickly push down any lingering embarrassment over their soon to be coupling and focused on helping him with his homework.
"Is there anything you're having a problem with?" she offered, looking over the two problems he'd already managed to fill out. "Those seem to be correct, but it looks like you're having trouble on number three?" when Tomas nodded, she just smiled her kind smiled before beginning. "Alright, for these kinds of problems you need to remember to start by—"
Angela went into a slow description of the process Abigail had just gone over in class. Taking the time to outline each sequence in the current formula and how to plug in the numbers and at what times, Tomas made sure to pay attention, only then realizing how right Camille had been. He really was letting his studies fall behind. Thankfully, Angela was more than prepared to help him pick up the slack.
Halfway through the sixth problem, her soothing tone faltered, however, prompting him to glance in her direction. He found her eyes glancing away from the problem and towards the powdered sugar pellet he'd been about to shove in his face. Looking between the two for a quick second, he shyly pushed it towards her as an offering.
"You want to try?" Angela blinked at being caught but didn't try and deny it either.
"What… is it?" she sounded positively bewildered.
"Sugar bombs." Tomas laughed at her reaction. "They're good, promise.
"Are there any artificial flavours or preservatives? Mother doesn't allow anything that isn't natural or organic." She seemed disappointed by the admission as if reminding herself of the fact.
Tomas blinked, owlishly before feigning to look at the back of the package. "Actually, I think those are all the ingredients." He winced. As did Angela, disappointed. Seeing her reaction, Tomas just shook his head, before pushing the treat back in her direction.
"Eh, don't worry about it. Pregnant ladies get to eat whatever they want, remember?" He even offered her a wink.
"But I'm not—"
"Just call it early cravings."
Angela bit her lower lip, looking at the sugary pellet like Tomas was handing her hard drugs instead of junk food. Eventually, her expression widened into a guilty, sneaky grin as she accepted the food from his fingers. Feeling the powder and the soft bread inside, she gave him one more glance before popping the round ball into her mouth. Immediately her eyes lit up like he'd never seen.
"!" a small chirp sounded from her nose as she exclaimed at the taste, clearly delighting in all the trans fats and artificial flavourings. She chewed the small bite quickly, opening her mouth only after swallowing. "That was delicious!" She all but giggled, making Tomas want to laugh right alongside her. "May I have another?" She looked at the bag hungrily.
Snorting to himself, Tomas didn't hesitate to hand over the entire bag, reaching for a new one in the pile. Abigail quickly started on what was left of his snack, popping orb after orb into her mouth while seeming well-bred and a pig at the same time.
"You've really never had them before?" Tomas asked, eating three at a time. There was both pity and disbelief in his tone.
"I've never had the chance!" Angela admitted, her small pink tongue peeking out to lick at the powder clinging to her pale lips. "I've only ever eaten what the chefs made for me. Well, until the vault. But these are wonderful!" she reached into the bag for another sweet treat, humming to herself as she felt the sugar melt into her mouth. The overall effect on her face was too amusing not to enjoy.
"Oh great, another one." Camille all but groaned. Which only earned a smug grin from Tomas.
"Don't listen to her. Her tongue just doesn't work. Tragic illness, but she's had it since birth, unfortunately." He gestured to the other snacks still on the table. Including an unopened bottle of Nuka-cola. "Help yourself to whatever. Sounds like you have some empty calories to make up for."
Smiling to herself, Angela did just that. It was all such a new experience. Sitting there, doing homework with people her age. Talking to people her age. Thank goodness it didn't take long for them to get over her old life. Being able to just talk like they were, to eat the food she'd never been allowed to eat, it was nice. Incredibly so.
It wasn't anything like she imagined the day going, of course. But, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At least now she had some memories to enjoy. Of what it was like to be a normal teenager. Realizing that's what this feeling was, she smiled to herself a secret smile, making sure to stop and appreciate the time for as long as it lasted.
In the end, Angela would try most of what Tomas had stacked in his kitchen. From chips to gummy candy to soda and so on. The temptation was too much to give up. And throughout it all, the three teenagers continued to talk between intermittent periods of homework.
About what wasn't especially important. Just simple topics and questions, usually revolving around life before the vault. Angela certainly had her share of stories to tell, the life of a princess who lived in a mansion being only slightly more interesting than the two suburban nobodies. And nervous at first, the realization that her explanation of her life wouldn't bring back any of the initial anxiety or unease allowed her to open up. If anything, Camille seemed to jump at the chance to keep teasing the new girl whenever the opportunity presented.
"Wow, so you were stuck with only four butlers for that half hour? Man, I hate it when that happens."
"So they actually tried to serve soup before fish? The barbarians!"
And of course, simply, "Oh, fuck off…"
Growing red in the face with each exchange, the initial shock and embarrassment of Camille's behaviour slowly wore off as Angela realized the other girl's intent wasn’t to mock or be hurtful. It helped that Tomas often snorted the girl's remarks, quickly followed by a guilty glance in her direction. For the first time, the isolated young woman understood what it meant when people said laughing with you, rather than at you. And she did laugh… eventually. But only after she realized what they were after and began to offer the truly ridiculous exploits of her lifestyle.
They, of course, returned the favour explaining their much more mundane lives. Neither of them expected Angela to really be interested in what they had to say, merely feigning curiosity in the interest of being polite. But they could not be further from the truth. Because rather than hearing about the boring life of two teenagers, Angela found herself enthralled by the stories of lives she'd only been able to dream about.
Staying up late? Classes filled with children their own age? Free time to do as they pleased? To her sheltered existence, the very ideas seemed as fantastic and distant as her own wealth must have come off. Her honest joy and smiles only encouraged the two friends, inspiring their own smiles as they went.
It would be three hours before everyone was finally finished and the last of their snacks were thrown away. Finally, the time for fun drew to an end. And Camille found herself standing up to leave for real this time.
"Well, it was kind of nice to have a chance to actually hang out for once." The three of them stood at Tomas’ door. "Try to remember to take a break every now and then, yeah?" With her back to the door, Tomas and Angela stood beside each other, knowing that they still had something to finish.
"Okay, okay," Tomas sighed looking guilty. "Sorry if it seemed like I've been blowing you off. I'll make sure to make more time to hang out from now on."
If he was expecting Camille to look happy for his effort he would be disappointed. Instead, she looked to Angela next, appearing to size her up by looking her from head to toe. Apparently coming to a decision, she spoke up. "You too." She met the other girl's confused stare. "Don't be a stranger. You should start having lunch with us some time too." The offer was clearly not expected by Angela who continued to stare.
"But… I won't have to hang out with you guys anymore after today. I'll be…" she made a vague motion towards her midsection. Camille watched and just nodded, her expression and voice as impassive as ever.
"Yeah," she shrugged. "Doesn't mean you can't if you want to, though." Glancing away, she made a show of appearing uninterested. "Today was kinda fun. And if you're actually looking for friends, well, Tom and I are pretty much bottom of the barrel socially speaking, but you could do worse. Again, if you want. The offers open."
Angela didn't say anything right away, just looking from Camille to Tomas who didn't appear to have any problems with what his friend had offered. Remembering the past few hours and all the fun they’d had, Angela couldn't stop the smile from fighting to her face. Swallowing against her emotions, she finally nodded. Obvious joy twinkling in each eye.
"Thank you," the proper young woman genuinely appreciated. "That sounds… lovely." But Camille just waved her off, turning around to open the door to walk out into the hall. Before starting towards her family's dorm, she couldn't help but turn back to smile at the odd couple she was leaving behind
The two stared at the door another moment in silence. Eventually sliding closed itself, Angela was still smiling when she turned towards Tomas. "She's nicer than she wants people to think." Her tone was impossibly warm. Enough to earn his own smile.
"Yeah," he chuckled to himself. “Always has been. I know she takes some time to get used to, but there isn't anyone else I'd rather call my bestfriend." Angela's smile slipped somewhat at that becoming almost envious, but the emotion was quickly wiped away. Instead, she turned away from his proud gaze to stare bashfully at the floor.
"I'll leave you guys alone after this if that's what you want." She promised. It had been… so nice of Camille to offer her friendship, but it was impossible not to consider how what was about to happen might affect their group dynamic. Part of her was sure that Tomas would rather not have to see her after their jobs were done. It didn't get much more awkward than that. But to her amazement, his response was a brief shrug and sideways lilt of his lips.
"I mean, I don't mind if you don't." He managed to keep from seeming too awkward. "Besides the whole, seeing each other naked thing, I don't see why too much needs to change. Today was fun. You were a little stiff at first, but you managed to loosen up. Believe it or not, I understand what it's like not being great with people." He shot her a look, trying to get her to look up from her boots. Unfortunately, hearing the words, ‘see each other naked’ had quickly dwarfed anything else that followed. At the moment, her cheeks were molten beneath her pale complexion. Tomas would have laughed if it didn't look so familiar.
"Look," he reached out while careful not to touch her, "we don't have to do anything if you want. We can wait if you’re having second thoughts. There's no reason to jump into this when you don't have to." Angela didn't answer right away, an expressionless mask stealing her features as she stared at the floor. After a few breaths, she managed to look up, a small smile fighting for life on her lips.
"No," she shook her head. "I'm ready." And even though Tomas could see her struggling, he just nodded his head before motioning towards another door in the back of the dorm.
Tom's bedroom wasn't all that different from where his family had started. He still had to share with his mother and sister; the three beds taking up the majority of the room. But the most extravagant thing that stood out was the mattresses his family had been afforded. Whereas most of the general population still had to sleep on cots or mats disguised as bunk beds, they had the luxury of sleeping on good old spring beds. A treat no one had appreciated until they'd had to spend two weeks in cots.
Seeing the wealth, Angela's eyes widened, forgetting for a moment what was about to happen as she touched the soft surface with obvious longing. She remembered herself a moment later, pulling back and turning to look at Tom with a wide expression. But he just smiled at her, glad to see she was relaxing somewhat.
Without breaking eye contact, Angela moved to turn and sit on the edge of the bed. Feeling the soft cushion beneath her rear, Tomas watched her swallow nervously, obviously waiting for him to make the first move. A notion that he was unused to…
Just then Tomas became aware of the position he was in. Up until this point it had felt like he was perpetually playing a game of catch up with his sexual partners. First Abigail had to teach him the basics of sex, and then all of his partners that followed had been much more mature and experienced than himself. Something about Angela though, told him he had the upper hand for once.
Without speaking, he moves slowly towards the bed, sitting close enough that their knees touched. He didn't make any other move to reach for her, folding his hands in his lap and staring forward.
"This is your first time, isn't it?" The answer seemed obvious, but it seemed polite to ask. Shyly peeking in his direction, Angela bit her lip, but manage to nod.
"I… didn't exactly have a lot of opportunities to socialize before the vault. And any chance I had to leave the house was always chaperoned. It's kind of hard to talk to boys when an armed man in a suit is staring over your shoulder. Not that I would know what to say regardless." The last part was more to herself, although Tomas couldn't help but chuckle.
"I don't know what you're talking about. You didn't seem to have any problem approaching me." He still couldn't help but shake his head remembering just how she'd managed that. Angela seemed to feel the same way, her face lighting up in a pained grimace of humiliation. Seeing her flinch, Tom's smile evolved into a full chuckle.
"I've been trying to work up the courage to approach you for the last three days," she admitted, face firmly set in her hand. Parting her fingers, she peered through to glance at his wide smile. "I didn't know what else to say. I just thought it if I was polite you might be more inclined?" she sighed, shaking her head. "Was I as awkward as I think I was?" Tomas chose to answer with silence, producing yet another low groan.
"Can I ask if you've done… anything?" It wasn't necessary to know, but part of him found himself curious about this strange, beautiful girl.
Taking a deep breath, some of the colour in her cheeks faded as her expression turned more thoughtful. Her pained grin became melancholic before speaking. "I've… been kissed. Just once. One of my father's shareholder's sons. It was at a banquet meant to raise funds for the local food shelters. So many people were going hungry…" her voice faded away, letting the train of thought die. "We'd never met before, but he was nice to me. Really nice. Nice enough to approach me when everyone else seemed content to let me spend the entire night sitting at our table."
Her eyes grew fonder as she continued telling the story, drawing Tomas in, making him imagine the royal like scene. "We danced a few times and talked a bit. Believe it or not, I was even less articulate back then, but he never laughed at me. And when it was time for the night to end, he pulled me away before I could reach my family's car and… kissed me. Just for a second, but I've never been able to forget it."
Her eyes were distant now, no doubt seeing back to the fabled night where she'd been allowed to feel like a normal teenage girl. Tomas watched her feeling conflict in his stomach. How bittersweet could it be talking about her first kiss knowing that same boy was now no doubt little more than irradiated ash?
"You never saw him again?" Tomas asked.
Angela shook her head, more bitterness than sweet shining through as she stared ahead. "His father was relocated the next week overseas to Europe. It just wasn't possible to try and stay connected to him without my parents catching me. If they hadn't already found out. The move was so sudden, and I've wondered for a long time if my mother had a hand in it. It wouldn't surprise me."
"I'm sorry," Tomas felt the need to apologize. Sorry for not being this special boy who managed to make her night. Sorry that her first time couldn't be with him, someone she actually cared about. But Angela just shook her head, finally coming back to herself as she turned to look at him.
"It was a while ago," she admitted, although smiling for his compassion. "Besides, you've been kind to me as well. Which is more than I hoped for. I was very nervous about what kind of boy you would be. If you would take advantage of me more than you needed to. If you would… hurt me. But, you haven't. and I've spent enough time with you to know that you won't."
Her hand began to reach out for his, slowly and shaking. "I don't know if this means anything, but I am thankful that if I need to do this that it gets to be with a boy like you."
Tomas felt a weight on his chest at Angela's words. Didn't know if it would mean anything to him? It means… quite a bit, more than he could ever convey. He'd spent a lot of time hating that he was stealing something so precious as this girl's first time. If there was anything he'd done to make up for that privilege, it only put him at ease. He looked at her, seeing her bashful expression, and could feel his heart start to warm.
It was a rare moment of silence that followed, comfortable as the two of them just sat, growing used to each other's presence. Tomas took the opportunity to look at his next partner, admiring the beauty and strength of such a fragile girl.
She met his stare, beautiful blue eyes staring up at him through long, dark lashes. Feeling his hand in her own, her bottom lip fell between her teeth in a nervous gesture he was beginning to recognize. Her expression was hesitant but reassuring at the same time. Exactly what he needed to see.
There was an exotic beauty to her, a purity that only matched the pale quality of her skin and hair. Just looking at her he could see that she didn't belong here. She didn't belong to a guy like him. But he was still allowed to have her. It didn't seem fair. He knew it wasn't. And part of him hated how happy the knowledge made him. But he was. Because of the vault, because so many other fathers and sons died, he was going to get to have sex with this girl so far above his own life.
And that terrified him.
"I… I don't know how to start," Angela flushed, but managed to keep their connected stare. "Would you mind, um," she faltered, looking for the right word, "guiding me?" she ended with a half-hearted chuckle, almost afraid he would laugh at her.
Tomas only smiled encouragingly. It hadn't been that long ago he'd been in her exact position, nervous and afraid and forced to trust someone else to guide him through the trials of sex. Abigail and Candy had gone out of their way to make sure he knew what he needed to know in case he faced just this situation. For once in his life, Tomas was confident in what would happen next. He took solace in that he was able to be someone for this kind-hearted girl to lean on when she needed him.
"Well," he started, sitting up straight tightening and his hand around hers. "We can go about this one of two ways. So, just let me know which would make you more comfortable." And seeing her hesitant nod, he continued. "First is… we can do this quick and finish as soon as possible. We'll get naked, you'll close your eyes and lay there, and I'll do my best to not make the experience longer than it needs to be." Angela didn't blink, just nodded.
"And second?" her words were once again soft and fragile, belying the nervousness she worked so hard to keep hidden.
"Second," and this time Tomas pulled her hand to his cheek where he laid a brief kiss against her palm, forcing her startled expression to look into his. "We can take this slow. It's your first time. Possibly your only time, unless you decide you want more kids. If you want, I'll do my best to make this enjoyable, pleasurable even. You don't love me, and I don't love you. But we don't need to. We can just pretend this is something you want. I'll be gentle, and at the end maybe it can be a fond memory for you to look back on." With nothing else to say, he fell silent, watching her process his words.
Angela didn't say anything for a while, but neither did she pull her hand from his soft cheek. Instead, she focused on the small space between them, staring down at the blue covers of his bed as she tried to understand what she wanted from this. There was so much conflict inside of her stomach, twisting and furling in a way that made her regret eating so much junkfood. Finally, she managed to meet his patient stare, her decision clear.
With her life and her family, she'd long since given up hope of being a normal girl who got to go on normal dates and go about finding a husband the normal way. If not for the bombs, it was very likely her parents would have arranged something in only a few years with another of their wealthy business associates. Essentially selling her for company stability and a wider control of the power industry.
She didn't love Tomas; he was right about that. But… she did like him. A lot. He was going to be a great friend, both him and Camille. And maybe that was enough. Just this once, maybe she could allow herself to pretend to be in love. There were worse ways this could have gone, much worse. And the fact that Tomas cared enough to give her the choice at all warmed her heart.
Tomorrow they would be friends. Tomorrow she would eat lunch with him and Camille and tomorrow she would follow them back to Tomas' dorm and just hang out without anything else hanging overhead. Tomorrow they would be teenagers. But today… today they would be lovers. And maybe that didn't have to be so bad.
"You'll go slow?" She whispered, voice quivering in anticipation. Without even realizing, her body had already started leaning towards his eliminating the small space between them as she leaned on his sturdy figure. "You'll have to teach me. And… and a kiss. I want to be kissed before I—we…"
Tomas felt a warm breath burn from his nose as he released a slow sigh. All he could do was focus on the sweat on her palm as his pressed against his face. Her fingers were suddenly so warm. All of her was so warm. And soon he would get to feel that warmth pressed against his own. "I can do that," was his answer, gentle and soothing as he moved to cup her pale cheek.
Her entire face was blushing as he forced her to look at him, warm blood flooding the surface of her skin. Her entire face had changed, unintentionally appearing sexy and lustful. Tomas couldn't look away. The mood had changed. They could both feel it. No longer were they friends joking about how they'd met. Now they were just a pair of hormonal teenagers acting as nature bid them.
She was waiting for him to make the first move. He needed to be the one to take charge. He couldn't hesitate, not today. So, he didn't. rather, he collected the confidence Ms. Green and Candy had gifted him and move to capture the softest looking pair of lips he'd ever seen.
A/N: Okay, there it is. Once again, keep in mind you can look forward to the next chapter within the first week of the next month. I’m going to try my best to keep this going, but please be patience with me if I stumble a bit. I promise you, I struggle to always give you all my best. That said, if some of you could take the time to leave a small review of this month’s chapter, nothing makes my days brighter. Hoping to hear from you soon.
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Vault 69