Alternative Methods.

[doubletap]

Has sex become repetitious? Feeling sore in certain areas? Well, good news! Your boyfriend has sent you on a quest to find different ways of having fun gay sex. Yay!

Find the following people and seek out their knowledge:

• Arcade Israel Gannon (=D)
  
• Jimmy (Westside)
  
• Old Ben (Freeside)
  
• Doctor Alex Richards (Novac)
  
• Ignacio Rivas (Helios One)

Good luck, Wanderer!

Comments

[teamdonotwant]

Ah, that--

The comprehension shows in Rivas' eyes, and he shifts his gaze down, remembering. Alex, who had approached him seemingly out of curiosity, had been Rivas' last hope. Fantastic, idiot savant that he was, was getting a little too close and the NCR wanted answers. Rivas had cajoled Alex to go to the tower, and Alex had asked why. Why he was being trusted with this when he could just fuck everything up.

"Because the possibility exists you might do anything else, you're the only choice I have."

He remembers saying that. Because his hopes had come to complete fruition. Because this singular man had done what thousands of other had not or would not--make the right choice. Alex Seattle Geer, to Ignascio Rivas, represented the epitome of the better man. And the fact that Alex remembered him, what he said, enough to repeat it and attribute it to some of his own acts....

He swallows, then looks back, nodding curtly, eyes softer. "...It means a lot to me, you telling me that. I'll help you."

[goodfight]

There's comprehension in Rivas. There's relief in Neil. The youngest of the three nods once, acknowledging the unsaid and the spoken.

Then remembers the utter absurdity of the "help" he requires. He grimaces. Hopes this won't sour one's views. "This will sound like a crazy man's request, but..."

He trails off, body bracing itself for the possible backlash. "I'm looking for alternatives," Neil continues. "Anything that's not what folks normally think of when it comes to a male having...relations with a male. If you, um, catch my drift."

God, just. Kill him now. Please.

[teamdonotwant]

. . . . . .

Rivas blinks, and Arcade epically tries not to burst out laughing. Noticing this, Rivas jerks a thumb at Arcade. "Gannon can't help you?"

[goodfight]

Rivas reacts as expected while Gannon looks like he's ready to laugh up a fucking storm. Good. Good for him.

Neil stiffens, wondering if he ever foresaw this predicament: asking someone with a crush on the Courier on how to have sex with the aforementioned Courier. "He did," he more or less mutters. "This request requires...more than one man's input."

Fucking hell, why is he even here?

Whatever restraint Neil has breaks at that thought. He finally flusters, and everything comes out in a rush. "Just. This is my very first relationship. And I'm getting really overwhelmed," he croaks. "I would normally try to read up on it, but there's barely any books on the subject. Then he insisted that I look you guys up. See if you had any alter--"

Shut up. Shut. Up. Bells whistle. His brain screams. Neil instantly freezes, mouth closing.

[teamdonotwant]

Ignascio is starting to understand what's going on here. And a part of him isn't surprised at all. Even so, he would never be cruel to someone who is trying this hard for understanding.

"Gannon. Out," Rivas states, a finger at the door they came through.

"But I--"

"I'm not going to do anything, I just want to talk with him without a peanut gallery."

"Hey," Arcade protests. "You don't know the past couple of days I had."

"Did you stay up for two nights regulating the power to Goodsprings?"

"Well. No. But--"

"Then talk to me when you do. Neil." Arcade dismissed utterly, Ignascio heads for the side room, that he still thinks of as his private office. "This way."

Arcade gapes for a minute, then throws his hands up. "You might as well. Like I said, he's a good sort. I'll just wait outside. Again. At least there's no prostitutes this time...."

"Too much information," Rivas calls from the other room.

[goodfight]

Something strange and unusual ensues between the two Followers, and Neil, still caught in his misery, only now realizes he's been called to a side room. Arcade states his intentions as the youngest finds himself walking toward the other room as directed.

"Yeah," he calls back blandly. "I'll see you in a bit."

[teamdonotwant]

The room is much the same, bland and featureless, a mattress against one side, a neat desk against the other. He stands in the middle of the room, arms folded, and feels an overwhelming sense of deja vu.

It makes him smile at Neil.

"So you love him, I take it."

[goodfight]

...Crap. There's that sense of being an asshole again.

Neil stands awkwardly, feeling smaller than he actually is. "Yeah," he says quietly.

[teamdonotwant]

Rivas asks the important question, instead of just answering Neil's.

"What are you trying to get out of this? What is your main motive for asking people these questions? And don't say just so you can alternatives."

[goodfight]

Oh. Oh, shit. Why that of all questions?

But the choice is already made. Since the moment he approached Arcade, Neil has locked himself into this comical, almost surreal misadventure of a lifetime. He inhales. Remembers a question for a question can be a fair trade.

"...I want to balance things," he says lowly. "Instead of just reacting passively, waiting for this...relationship to pass, to get old--" To die a wasteland's death. "--I'd rather make it grow. Do something for him, even as insane as...this."

[teamdonotwant]

Rivas blinks at Neil. "You don't think you're already doing something for your partner?" How interesting. "You don't seem the type to leech off of another."

[goodfight]

Neil smiles, the expression mirthless. It falls away after a beat. "I don't think I'm using him for money or anything," he gives. "There was just a lot of my personal crap he had to wade through in the past year. Now everything between us seems so...out of whack."

Good. Better than it was before, Neil would say. Yet everything remains out of equilibrium, and he needs to do something about that. Wants to do something.

[teamdonotwant]

In the past year. A period of time in which the white-haired Courier has been incognito. And even with Rivas' trips to Novac for supplies, he hasn't seen Alex at all.

So let's throw it out there.

"How would you say your relationship is with Alex?"

[goodfight]

Nope. Not turning red. He's just naturally like this. Yup.

"You mean...quality-wise?" Neil presses a hand over his mouth in consideration and part-embarrassment. "...Better, I think. We're not misunderstanding or fighting as much."

[teamdonotwant]

Neil is at least twenty-five and seems able to take care of himself. If he had walked in that day two years ago, Ignascio would likely have offered him the same plea. And yet this person is turning red like an innocent, blushing at discussing his first relationship. It shifts something.

"Arcade said you were from DC. That's a long way. Did Alex help you with what was following you?"

The past, the dead, sins, or a melody. For someone to walk across country, there was something chasing him.

[goodfight]

That's a long way. From Vegas to D.C. And Alex Seattle Geer chose to walk that road and back, all on one man's whims.

Neil still doesn't know what he's running from. He couldn't rightfully say what's driving him to wander, what is refusing to settle. It exists, persisting even after part of his grey matter was ripped from him, but--

"He helped," he murmurs. "Yeah."

[teamdonotwant]

"He does that." Help.

It's short and succinct, to the point and nearly painless, but it's acknowledgment all the same. And thus, Rivas considers. Less on what act would be the largest turn on, and more of what would help two people bond further.

"To answer your question," he continues, after a long moment. "Frottage."

[goodfight]

It ends, short and sweet, and Neil Park finds only confusion from the uttered term. Why do these things always sound like a fancy-ass drink?

"Frottage?" he echoes, uncertain.

[teamdonotwant]

"If you've talked to other people, they've probably told you about penetrative sex, masturbation, or oral sex. However, with those, there is always a dominant partner and a submissive partner, though the roles may change depending on personality.

"Frottage is, bluntly, rubbing your organs together. You're face to face, up close and personal, and there's still friction where it needs to be. But you're more able to enjoy the closeness of another. You can use your hands to hold both, or just move your hips, but either way, it can be a nice experience."

[goodfight]

Okay, Neil Park. Try not to picture it in your--

Too late. And it's kinda too bad he's only learning this now because he's pretty sure that they've done the hands-on bit in the past. The blood beneath his skin boils, but Neil continues his scholarly approach.

"...It's more intimate is what you're saying." More equal.

[teamdonotwant]

Rivas stares for a long moment, expression neutral and piercing.

Eventually, he opens his mouth. "That seems to be what you are looking for."

[goodfight]

This guy has to just drive the point home, doesn't he?

Attempting to ignore his body's blatant giveaways, Neil proceeds. "...It is," he mutters. Then allows this awkward moment to straighten to his full average height.

"...Thanks, Ignacio," he gives. "You had every right to throw me out, but you didn't. That means...a lot."

[teamdonotwant]

"Why would I throw you out?" he asks honestly. "You're not hindering my work or threatening people that I know. In fact, I should consider you a friend."

A beat.

"If you're supporting our mutual friend, that means quite a bit with the changes going on within the Mojave."

[goodfight]

Surprise touches Neil's features.

"Well-- You see--"

A pause.

"I kinda hope you would," he says quietly. "Consider me a friend, that is." To set him straight (or otherwise) when it comes to the Courier. Alex, that good guy in a world of suck.

[teamdonotwant]

Another beat of pause.

"...Arcade said you were interested in science. Does that include alternative energy sources through the means of solar panels and Poseidon Energy technology?" Highly specific, but he's trying.