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Stirring awake, Maximus let out a content sigh, feeling the warmth of Lucy's body curled to his side, right where she had been when they had first fell asleep. Her head was laying peacefully on his chest, her dirty, sweaty hair splayed haphazardly around her face, on his body and over his arm. He couldn't remember the last time either of them had slept that well. They had cleared out the nest of mole rats that had taken refuge in that substation.
They had even lucked out and found an old mattress shoved behind a control panel that no longer worked. It was worn out and filthy but had beat sleeping on the hard linoleum flooring of the station. That little bit of cushion had been heaven. It had been a tight squeeze, Maximus thought in his head as he looked down first at Lucy, a smile lighting his features and then at Thaddeus. The petite man was snuggled up on his other side, but his face was on the mattress-not plastered to his chest.
His arm was slung around his waist, but was mostly laid across Lucy's hip, to her back. He felt the weight of it and part of his body was touching at the arm laying at his side. Thaddeus was usually more fitful in his sleep, but they often rested on the ground outside or on the floor in an abandoned building. The mattress had been a godsend to his other lover who'd slept most of the night-with very little position changes.
Maximus felt rested enough to take on the world, which they tended to do a lot of in this wasteland. Curling tighter to Lucy's form, he placed a soft kiss onto the top of her head. That had caused her to shift slightly, pulling her from her deep slumber. Lucy's brown eyes opened drowsily, but a happy little grin came across her face when she spotted Maximus gazing lovingly down at her. She had tilted her head upwards and the two kissed gently.
A yawn broke the kiss, and while she was either starting to wake up or settle back down for sleep, Maximus had turned and nuzzled his face into Thaddeus hair. His lips naturally puckered and peppered the top of his head with kisses. A lazy smile found its way onto his face, and Thaddeus body stretched out. He collided into Maximus side, but he was able to relieve the pressure sleeping in one place for so long by popping a bone just under his shoulder.
"Five more minutes." Came his sleepy reply.
Thaddeus rarely asked for more time, he was usually awake before he was and would shrug and tell him he was uncomfortable but got enough sleep to function and that he was fine. He was more than happy to give him some more time, and he slowly untangled himself from his two lovers. Thaddeus scooted towards the middle, seeking out the warmth his body left behind, and Lucy curled into Thaddeus resettling in his arms, looking nearly as comfortable as she had been on him.
Life in the wasteland sucked, but these moments made him feel like life was still worth it. For them.
Stretching his own arms up and over his head, he cracked and loosened his stiff muscles and then he opened the door and stepped out into the morning air. It was as musty as any other morning, and the breeze had kicked up a lot of the sand they were moving across. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the Ghoul leaning on the side wall of the station, his ankles were crossed, he had his gun laid across one arm, as he crossed them across his chest. The brim of his hat hung low over his eyes, and he wondered if he had been resting his eyes and using his hat as a shield against the moonlight and now the rising sun.
He'd been their lookout for the night, and he trusted the ghoul to keep the riffraff out during the night so the rest of them could get some sleep. He approached him, standing just to the side of him, and let his own back hit against the wall. "Any trouble?"
"A couple of scavs two hours ago. They went up and over that ridge. Haven't seen 'em since. Heard some feral dogs and the skittering of radroaches. But nothing came close enough. No sense in firing my weapon and waking you all up for a couple radroaches or dogs."
A sly smile crossed Max, as he gave him the side eye. The ghoul often expressed that all he wanted from their trysts was sex and not to read anything more into it. However, he'd then proceed to go out of his way to make sure they could get some sleep or find some way to be considerate though his actions if not by his words. And it made Maximus feel like there was something there, buried, that the ghoul was too stubborn to admit to.
"You know. You constantly pull away from us. But I think deep down we're a part of you every bit as much as you are a part of us." Max mentally patted himself on the back for explaining it the way he was sure Lucy would have. He believed he'd even gotten her wording down.
"Well." Cooper drawled. "I hate to be the barer of bad news, but I'm afraid y'all are going to be disappointed."
Max didn't frown at his words; he'd gotten quite used to the ghoul constantly talking about how he cared nothing for them. The fact of the matter that the ghoul had slept with all three of them, one on one, together, and every possible combination in between, didn't seem to faze him. Max knew it was possible to have sex and not develop anything in return, but he didn't believe that was what was happening. He saw the affection carefully veiled by sarcasm and a gun. He saw the fight the ghoul put up.
If it was just about sex, why did he fight and get defensive so often?
Max tracked his fingers down the ghoul's flesh, the soft, almost squishy feeling going to tautness around his wrist was something Max had to get used to, but now he didn't think he could live without it. He knew Cooper hadn't given up finding his family, they were walking through states, joining him on his quest to find them. And all three of them knew if he did find his family the dynamic would change. That they would have to adjust when that time came, but none of them wanted to abandon the ghoul.
Leaning in, he deflected that so called disappointment, with a kiss along Cooper's lips. It was nothing more than a fleeting bit of affection. The same he'd given to Lucy and Thaddeus a couple minutes ago. Giving Cooper another grin, Maximus shook his head. "I think you're wrong. But go ahead. Keep fighting it. Keep fighting us."
"Me against the three of you?" Cooper ran a finger just under the brim of his hat, and he gave his first smirk for the morning. "I like those odds."