The Good Life: Dear Hearts and Gentle People (ch. 41) (Patreon)

“She's performing well,” Robin informed as I gazed out of a window, overlooking the portal as the various refugees and, more importantly, the scavengers that managed to return came through. The raids were a bit of a hit and a miss -- things had settled enough in the Old World that new powers were establishing themselves. Key points of interests, supplies, and so on. I had assumed we would keep the edge in terms of resources, but there were plenty of people with money and information that saw the writing on the wall.

We were still hands down the most powerful of them all, but their ability to needle us was becoming known. Especially considering that these groups with their secret bunkers generally had what we wanted to maintain our stability. To that end, there was a leader of the pack that was starting to pull ahead.

Taylor Hebert. A Supe. A ruthless one too. Four times she had ventured out into the Old World and four times she brought back everything on the list and more by subjugating the locals.

I watched her within my Room, her crew unloading what they had brought back. The crew itself was making their way to the VIP room that I had set up for winners, taking advice from Yoruichi -- their reward was pleasure. They got the best food, the best drugs, and they lived a nonstop party. Unlike the others, Taylor went to the Disciples, and while she wasn't an official member she was rapidly becoming respected by the bunch of crazed murderers. I was inclined to let her do her thing because, by all accounts, she was keeping them in line with naked force.

My attention was brought back to my more immediate concerns when I felt a tongue brushed against my balls while a gentle grip stroked my length. Looking down, my gaze met Cinder's as she juggled my balls with her tongue for a moment before dragging it across the underside of my cock. Her tongue swirled around the head for a moment before taking it into her mouth. My arms were spread wide across the couch, Robin seated next to me and leaning into my side.

Seems like someone was getting jealous of the attention. It was probably a poor idea to call attention to it because Robin hadn't exactly forgiven Cinder yet, and she didn't hesitate to make her displeasure known. An arm sprouted from the couch, grabbing Cinder by her mane of black hair, and shoved Cinder's head down until her nose touched my pelvis. Cinder coughed wetly, but she had long since gotten used to Robin's treatment.

Robin smiled thinly, controlling Cinder's pace as she sucked my cock, a wet sheen appearing on the pillar of flesh while involuntary tears started to form in Cinder's eyes, ruining her makeup. “She has potential, but she's not as ruthless as she wants to portray herself as. She's crueler to the Disciples than she is during a raid.”

“She has it in her,” I offered, not exactly disagreeing, savoring the sensations of Cinder's mouth around my cock. She already gave great head, but after four months of doing it, she’d learned what I liked masterfully. “She turned one of ‘em into a breeding farm for bloatflies.” That was some ice cold shit. The Disciples were a bunch of feral murderers that were barely human. Now, in terms of body count, I absolutely had them beat, but I didn't go decorating my house with desecrated corpses.

So, while it couldn't have happened to a better person, bloatflies were nasty little buggers. They reproduced by burying larva into the still living flesh of a host, which gestated for a short period, before erupting. It was a bad way to go. And I saw how she used it.

She used it the same way I used hearts -- the ultimate consequence of fucking around and finding out.

“Shall she be prepared for a leadership role?” Robin asked, looking down at Cinder, who stilled with my cock half buried in her throat. It wasn't an accident that Robin chose to start this conversation now. Robin didn't mind me sleeping around, as she knew it was my nature, but she did have a personal beef with Cinder. It was a subtle thing but it manifested in ways like this -- talking about giving another a promotion when half the reason Cinder was so eager to get on her knees was for the sake of that promotion.

I hummed in thought, uncertain. “She's a possibility,” I replied, mostly to play along with Robin. Cinder narrowed her eyes, and in a rather blatant attempt to bring my attention away from Taylor, her efforts redoubled. Her hand massaged my balls, and while Robin controlled the pace of her head, Cinder lavished her tongue around my cock. The truth was that Taylor was a hard maybe.

Four months. I had been in a brand new world for four months and I had barely explored it. The entire situation had been so tenuous that my direct presence was necessary at all times. More than once, I had to go back to the Old World to put the fear of me back into people.

Asami was losing her grip. She would have lost it entirely if it wasn't for the efforts of the Supes. There was an organized resistance now, and as much as Asami was doing, it wasn't enough. Not to them. When Asami rationed the water, they attacked the water treatment plants because they believed she was hoarding it, rather than trying to prevent the machinery from being destroyed. When she rationed food, they stole supplies, which worsened the rationing.

Four months was enough that our harvest had been reaped, but it was barely enough to feed everyone in Nuka-World, which now boasted a population of two hundred thousand. There wasn't much we could kick over to the Old World, and even the little we did found its way into the pockets of people that skimmed off the top. Same case with the Nuka-Gen-Replicator -- Dr. McDermot survived his wounds, but we didn't have much luck recreating the cloning device.

In short, there wasn't much time left before the entire thing imploded. From there, we had one of two options -- a mass migration to this side of the portal… or we closed it for good. Asami, being the goody two shoes that she was, wouldn't accept the second option, which meant that we had to prepare for the first. Something that was complicated by the fact that Nuka-World was at capacity. Which naturally meant one thing.

Expansion.

And I had dibs on being one of the scouts, so that meant we needed someone else to help keep things in check. Robin was a natural choice, but she didn't quite have the reputation needed to keep the natives in line. She could, she just didn't bother. Cinder was the seeming best choice at the moment -- she was established, and she had a crew to call upon. That, and my gaze flickered up to Starlight, who spun naked upon a stripper pole set up in my penthouse apartment -- Starlight had what it took to be an enforcer.

Cinder had broken Starlight. She broke her in a way that I thought only existed in porn -- Cinder didn't have any leverage over her anymore, no natural power, but Starlight had completely given up to the point she hadn't even hesitated to obey Cinder's order to strip and dance to put on a little show when Cinder arrived to put her name forth to be Acting-Overboss. And Starlight was putting on a show, telling me that she had been practicing.

It felt a little early to be rewarding Cinder, though, I thought even as she slurped loudly on my dick, drool dripping down her chin and her mascara running. Which was why I was looking for another possibility and Taylor had inched her way up to be a forerunner.

“What I'm looking for is someone to take the reins to this place after we move on,” I continued, knowing that Cinder was listening carefully as I started to feel a tightness in my balls. When I did, I started to play with Cinder's pleasure -- after four months, I had gotten a lot better at it, to the point my previous uses were quite crude in comparison. It also helped that after four months, I got used to finding Cinder's pleasure, even if something like giving a blow job didn't coax much of it. Even if it was a thin strand, I could play it like a song and Cinder shivered when I started to play the familiar tune.

More than a lid being placed or dumping gas on the fire, I coaxed her pleasure every time she took me into her warm tight throat. And she began to do that so eagerly that she outpaced Robin. Robin watched her, leaning into me wearing a thin smile with just a touch for cruelty in it. Then Robin reached for my cheek, tilting my head and pressing her lips against mine. My tongue slipped into her mouth and she welcomed it, kissing me deeply even as my cock throbbed in Cinder's throat. By now, Robin clearly knew my tells well because she slammed Cinder's head down, holding her there as I erupted, spitting rope after rope of thick white cum down her throat.

I let Cinder cum then, a slow drawn out orgasm that left Cinder quivering rather than unleashing all the pleasure upon her at once. Her golden eyes still rolled back, and if it wasn't for Robin peeling her off of my cock, she probably would have choked. With an audible pop as my cock left her mouth, Cinder sighed before resting her head on my thigh, riding out her own orgasm.

Robin broke the kiss, “A long term decision doesn't need to be made now. How long do you intend to scout things out?” She asked me, leaning her head into the crook of my neck while one hand traced the length of my glistening cock with a finger, which remained standing through sheer force of will.

“A month, but that's probably being generous,” I admitted. There were a lot of things that I wanted to see. Deathclaws, Super Mutants, these ‘Vaults’, and every other odd and end that I could stumble across. “But, I expect I'll be called back sooner rather than later.” The trip sadly wasn't for pleasure after all-- it was for scouting future expansions in the Wasteland. Vaults, allegedly, had enough equipment and supplies to provide for a thousand or so people long term.

There were old factories, water treatment, power plants -- all that needed to be secured and restored. Especially the latter. The battery to the Dias was slowly filling back up, but with constant demand for power, it would be another four months before we could try to make another jump to another nearby world. And given how we jumped from a nuclear apocalypse to a ponu-nuclear apocalyptic world, I didn't have high hopes for our neighbors. So, we needed to secure another active power plant.

“Rumi will be going with you,” Robin said as Cinder quietly rode out her orgasm. I perked up, and Robin gave me a sly smile. “Asami's doing. To keep you honest, I believe.” To that, I chuckled. Asami was willing to work with me for the greater good, but she couldn't stand me. I didn't see betrayal in the cards anytime soon, but I expected her to cut contact the moment she thought she could get away with it. “Cinder and I can last a month while you take Taylor to see if she's worth consideration.”

Now there's an idea, I thought, smiling lightly at the prospect before going in for a kiss.

I didn't miss the look of triumph on Cinder's face when she thought I couldn't see.

…

“Of course I'm coming with you,” Yoruichi informed, dressed in the same outfit that we had arrived in. Her eyes twinkled with amusement, “You aren't the only one that's bored, you know. And I'm pretty sure Asami gave standing orders for Rumi to drop you the moment she sees the chance.”

“You think so?” I asked and Yoruichi rolled her eyes.

“You don't have to sound so excited. I thought you would have settled after Homelander,” she remarked and I felt a distant sting in my chest. She was partly right -- I had settled down a bit to clean up the mess I had made. There was a reason why I stuck around for four months in the park when there was a whole world to explore. But, in my heart of hearts, I ached for what I had with Homelander. As gay as that might sound.

Homelander was my adversary. My idol and my nemesis. He was the ultimate measuring stick and the one I had to topple. And I missed having that in my life because, so far, this world hadn't provided that. No, actually, I'm pretty sure that I was the Homelander of this world, and I became that on day one.

I was saved from having to respond by Rumi emerging from the portal in full gear. She had recovered from her injuries that she sustained from Cinder and Homelander, and since then, she had been keeping the peace in the Old World. This was my first time seeing her in months, and instantly, her ruby red eyes narrowed into a glare. “Heartless. Run out of orphanages to burn?”

“Depends. Do you have any in the Old World?” I shot back, cocking an eyebrow. Her nostrils flared and she rolled her eyes, less than amused but taking the jab for what it was.

Rumi came to a stop, looking around as it was the first time she had been on this side of the portal. She frowned a bit when she saw people running around with bomb collars but she said nothing. Crossing her arms over her chest, she delivered her verdict. “It's not as much of a hell hole that I was told to expect.” Hardly glowing praise, but I'm betting that Asami had painted a less than kind picture of the situation. Then her gaze flickered to me, “What are we waiting for?”

“Last member,” I answered, looking over my shoulder to see her arrive. She was wearing the same gear as we were, though it had a darker tint. Her insects, however, drew attention to her as she always had two giant soldier ants flanking her. Bugs could be cute when they were small, but when they were the size of a small horse, they were creepy and kind of terrifying. Beady black eyes seemed to gaze into my soul, black mandibles twitching and soft clicking from their exoskeleton.

She got them from a leftover hive that used to crawl around the Gulch. We had scoured the uppermost layer, but they were still ants, so there were miles of tunnels beneath our feet that were from their hive. And given that I felt more insect activity within those tunnels, I knew that Taylor was building up her numbers.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Rumi muttered as our rides trailed behind them and I was all smiles. I'm pretty sure I could secure a car or something, but it was an unnecessary expense. Instead, saddles were put on the ants so we could ride on them.

“Nope,” I replied, meeting Taylor's gaze through her cracked glasses. Her expression was indifferent but her gaze was sharp, watching me carefully and the others warily. She came to a stop before her gaze settled on me.

“They aren't tame,” she stated curtly.

“That's why you're coming with us,” I replied and she simply narrowed her eyes at me. She mulled it over before offering a small nod, giving no hint on what she felt one way or the other. I chuckled warmly as I looked to the ants and without hesitation, I threw my leg over one to find that the ant easily supported my weight.

A small thrill raced through me. After months of waiting, I was finally going to get to explore the Wasteland, on the back of a giant ants with two of my three companions wanting me a little dead.

It wasn't enough to fill the void that Homelander left behind, but it was at least something.

“Come on, let's get this show on the road,” I urged, holding Taylor's gaze as I knew she was considering something. There was a fire in her. Ambition. It was a different sort in comparison to Cinder, but she wanted it just as badly -- to be at the top. She wanted it enough that she joined up with some of the most vicious killers that I had ever seen and started wrangling them to fall in line.

Cinder had the slave market but Taylor had her raiders.

“Do you even know where we’re going?” Rumi asked, making no effort to jump on her giant ant while Yoruichi swiftly hopped onto hers. I think it was Yoruichi's presence that prompted Taylor to make a decision to wordlessly saddle her own ant.

“Course I do. We have most of the surrounding area mapped out with a few odds and ends marked,” I replied, knowing where we were going first. To my immense disappointment, there wasn't much in the way of a unified government in the Commonwealth -- in Boston, there was Diamond City, but that was just the largest town. There were smaller settlements scattered around that were a fraction of the size. And, from the sounds of it, Boston itself was a warzone between various factions and dangers.

Which is why one of my first stops was on the way to Boston itself -- Vault 81.

There were probably better starts, if I was being perfectly honest, but the Vaults were high on the priority list. At worst, we would have to refurbish them, but at best, they were already equipped to take in hundreds of people. So, scouting out the Vault and deciding if it would be worth the trouble to rebuild, had natives that were willing to accommodate us, or if we would have to take it over was valuable information.

“Were going to a Vault -- one that has some dealings with traders, according to rumors.” I said and the ants began to march along, heading out into the open wastes. I led the group, Taylor behind me, Yoruichi to my side, while Rumi walked on the other.

“Are we taking it over?” Taylor questioned and I shot her a winning smile.

“Blood thirsty little thing, aren't you? But no,” I answered and she didn't react. “Just checking things out. Greet them with an open hand before we try the fist,” I decided. We weren't in position to actively expand.

I felt both Rumi and Taylor's eyes on my back and I chuckled warmly.

This was going to be fun.

…

The Wasteland was a vast nothing for the most part. I had an old map of the surrounding area that was liberally marked with points of interest, but in general we would follow the busted up road heading into Boston itself. There were collapsed and dilapidated buildings, rusted out skeletons of cars, and even a few bodies hanging from rusted billboards and street signs.

We did find some mosquitos for Taylor when we passed by a blood bank, funnily enough. They were about the size of a dog, and they looked like if one drank deep enough, that would be all it'd take to kill you from blood loss. The sound that mosquitoes made was still there, and it was annoying, so Taylor sent them to scout ahead a considerable distance. She was hiding her true range, I suspected, but she still sent the mosquitoes nearly a mile ahead.

Conversation was sparse and terse except for Yoruichi. Small talk with Taylor was about as pleasant as pulling teeth. Rumi only had snark. So, it was something of a relief when Taylor reported that she found the cave that marked the location of Vault 81.

I hummed a tune to myself, eagerly ushering the ant forward and Taylor played along, picking up the pace. Trying to give the impression that she didn't have absolute control over the insects, I suspected. It was only twelve hours after the journey began that I saw it.

“Oooohhhh…!” I uttered, hopping off my ant steed as we entered the cave, my eyes adjusting instantly to catch my first glimpse at one of these so called Vaults. And, even with a passing glance, it impressed. It sat on the far end of a cavern, and I saw more than a few bodies that were gathering dust at the base of it. Bones of ancient people clawing to get inside.

The door itself was a titanic gear -- it probably weighed no less than five or six tons of metal and emblazoned on it was 081. I approached it, uttering ‘Room’ under my breath and my awareness expanded. The door wasn't one that I could force open. It was simply too heavy. Though, maybe…?

“Is that… a doorbell?” Rumi questioned, looking at a panel at the runway to the Vault. It had clearly suffered some damage over the years, but I saw signs of repair. So, with a mental shrug, I pressed the doorbell.

Better to be invited in than kick down the door.

We waited a minute for a response before hearing a cackling from the speaker. “What business do you have with Vault Eighty-One, strangers?” A male voice questioned, sounding wary and business-like.

“We come from a settlement up the way and we were hoping to talk over a trade deal of some kind,” I lied easily. “We don't have that much on us, but we come as representatives.” There. That sounded like the kind of thing that got the attention of the boss of this place.

“A moment, please,” he replied and I turned my attention to what lay beyond the door. My Room eclipsed it easily enough, but I couldn't really hear anything. The stone and metal was too thick and air tight. I did, however, know that the man that we were speaking to sent a runner to bring the boss over. “Please state your names.”

“Law, Yoruichi, Rumi, and Taylor,” I answered obediently and, much to my amusement, Taylor seemed genuinely surprised that I was cooperating so easily. Her face hid it, but I caught a glimpse of it when the emotion was fed into her ants and mosquitoes. I wouldn't have otherwise.

There was another long minute of waiting before I sensed a woman approaching the control panel. “This is Overseer Gwen McNamara,” Gwen introduced herself. “We shall allow a single representative into the Vault, unarmed, to negotiate in person. The remaining three will be required to vacate the cavern, and any attempt to enter beyond the stated terms will be treated as hostile action.”

Hm.

“We agree to these terms,” I said, looming over to Taylor with a smile. Oh, I had absolutely no intention of obeying them. Not when I was so interested in the inner workings of one of these Vaults. But this was an excellent opportunity to see how she handled the pressure.

After all, she might inherit this world once I was gone.