#mans gunna be putting that guitar down to finger other things soon enough

[ioniansunsets]

Hello!! I love all the heartsteel writings you have done recently , they are really delightful to read with the effort and time you put in thank you!! Would it be okay to request a secanrio i have in mind :

Where reader was listening to heartsteel kayns playing the guitar and she gets dreamy , he teases her and offer up to teach her how to play the guitar. He could also drag her close to his lap for close-up demonstration. Reader is very aware of his heartbeat and stuff and kayn could tease more!

Whichever you're comfy and feel free to change if youd like, and take ur time with it!! ♡

✖ Heartsteel!Kayn Teaching Reader the Guitar ✖

✖ Word Count: 891

✖ Tags: Established R/S

✖ A/N: Thanks for waiting! Sorry this took a while teehee I tried to make it fun for you.

----

It was a nice cool evening, the two of you just had dinner and you were lazing on his bed. Kayn was feeling like rocking out so he set up his electric guitar and was having a hell of a time just a few meters from you. You lean against the headboard, watching him from the bed. It was beautiful. Without a doubt. The soft expression on his face as he hums and strums, the way his fingers glide over the strings, the way his arm muscles tense as he presses down on the frets. You were in love, and if you weren't, just seeing him like this playing the guitar for you would have your heart stolen anyway. For someone so chaotic, he was almost angelically graceful when he gets so in the zone playing the guitar. It was so unlike his usual stage self like this. Playing a different tune from the usual genre you were used to hearing from him. Kayn calmly vibing instead of his chaotic high. It was Kayn playing this time, not the Rhaast you were used to seeing on stage.

His brows furrowed in concentration as his hands work away on the instrument. The way he seems so...at peace when he's playing the instrument. The beautiful melody and steady tapping of his feet just further draws you in. You can't help it, you really can't stop yourself from staring. He was beautiful like this. The way sweat slowly drips down his face. The small step he takes back as he balances himself when he really gets into it. No wonder he had so many fans. If you weren't so distracted you would have grabbed your charging phone and tried to sneak in a few photos. Smiling to yourself, you watched him intently, doing your best to commit this to your memory when his voice snapped you out of your daydream.

" Starstruck my love?"

He gives you a smug smile as he puts the guitar down by his desk and walks over to you. You wave off his comment and tell him how much you loved watching him play. It wasn't that you were starstruck, it was just that you loved him and he had his charms. Especially over you. Especially when he looked so cool...

" Do you want to try playing something? I could teach you. I'm generous that way."

He bends over the edge of the bed, giving you a chaste kiss before smirking again. Hands behind his head as he looks at you.

"A private lesson from the Amazing Kayn of Heartsteel is something most fans would die for you know~"

You wanted to scoff and reject him but honestly, it was a nice way to understand him better. A pleasant excuse to get closer, share a new hobby, how could you say no. So of course you agree.

Excitedly, he grabs you and pulls you over to his chair by his desk. Sitting down, Kayn pats his lap, signaling you to join him. You raise a brow but his arms are already snaking around your waist, pulling you down. He adjusts some things on the sleek guitar before placing it comfortably on your lap. Your heart races as his arms wrap around you to hold the instrument. Sure he was just holding the guitar in place but you could feel his breath on your neck, his strong chest against your back, the small twitch in his leg as you adjust yourself, the rhythming thumping of his own heart. Ok, you were going to try and commit this feeling to memory too.

" Hmm...let's start with something simple. We'll get you used to like, some easy strumming pattern or something first. Easier stuff."

Kayn's fingers ghost over yours, gently moving your fingers into place, lightly pressing them down onto the frets for you. His other hand passing you his guitar pick as he gently holds your wrist. He leans his chin on your shoulder as he helps you move your hand. A shiver running down your spine as you feel his warmth slowly spread across your body from the close proximity. Kayn's hand begins to move, rhythming a slow down down up down beat. A simple beat that you've heard in other pop songs before. It was nice to listen to, Kayn already humming a little tune before he stops to speak.

" Wow you're doing good~ "

You almost yelp as his deep voice whispers into your ears. Way to close than you were used to. The way his breath hit the edge of your ears just send an almost instant blush across your features. He notices you jump a little, another playful smirk now plastered across his face as he sees you turn red.

" Oh? Feeling more than the music darling?"

Another accursed deep sultry whisper into your ears. Kayn leaning in closer to give the edge of your ears a teasing lick before you turn to glare at him flustered.

" Sorry can't help it, you were too cute all blushy like that in my lap."

He almost purrs into your ears, you can feel the deep rumble of his voice against your body in the closeness. Ah, what did you get yourself into by agreeing to this. You close your eyes and sigh as he lightly presses a kiss against your neck.

[antiquechampagne]

Chapter 14

A few days later, Payne found herself in the ruins of Boston, Hancock in tow. He practically flew out the door, wanderlust pulsing through his veins. That, or the Psycho, Payne supposed. Payne had only been told where they were headed, The Combat Zone, and not much else. Once they were out of sight of Goodneighbor, she turned to Hancock.

“So, you gunna fill me in on what we are doing out here? What’s at The Combat Zone?”

“I know the guy who runs it, Tommy Lonegan.  He’s a tough ghoul with an entrepreneurial spirit, let me tell ya. He started an operation right in the middle of the Theater district. A blood sport arena right in the middle of one of the toughest parts of town. Anyway, he wants to talk about some kind of business arrangement.”

The two of them quickly dispatched a small nest of raiders, picking their bodies of anything useful. Hancock’s body language changed as they rounded a corner. “Be careful up here. We’re entering the Commons. You ever seen Swan?” Payne noticed writing scrawled on the buildings, advertising the dangers that lay ahead. She had never been to this area of the city.

“Seen a swan?”

“Not a swan. Swan.” He slowed down as they entered a large square with a placid pond in the middle. “Follow me and stay down, unless you want to end up as Swan’s dinner.”

They skirted the edge of what had once been a lovely garden pond. Now it lay in ruins, the trees bare and twisted and its wrought iron fence twisted and rusted. Hancock pointed toward the water. There in the middle of the pond looked to be a broken and battered white swan shaped boat stuck in a pile of debris and mud. It look Payne a moment to realize there was a gigantic contorted bluish black face hovering just above the water’s surface. The pile was not debris but the broad shoulders of a partially submerged super mutant. From the size, Payne estimated it was probably a giant behemoth. She swallowed. There was definitely a reason to be cautious here. They crept south and away from Swan’s pond as quickly as possible.

Once they were clear, Payne released the breath she hadn’t realized she been holding. “That is one big fucking Swan!”

“No shit! Raiders won’t even touch the place. I find if you don’t bother him, he tends to leave you alone. Too many newbies end up a pancake because they stumble into the pond or hot shots think they can take him out.” Hancock lit a cigarette and took along drag. He offered one to Payne.

Payne declined. “No thanks, never liked cancer sticks.” Hancock shrugged. Soon they found themselves facing the entrance of a theater with ‘Combat Zone’ painted in red across a white marquee. The walls of the alley leading to the entrance had several plywood boards filled up rules.

Hancock casually pushed open the doors and entered the small lobby. More lists of rules were plastered the walls. Payne could smell old blood permeating the place, putting her on edge.  Her hand hovered over her side arm as Hancock entered the theater itself.

Stepping in, the theater opened up into a massive sea of seats, all facing the dilapidated stage. Makeshift catwalks rose overhead, using the collapsed balcony as a base. Payne could see a bar, medical bay and maybe an unused shop tucked away under the ramps. All of them were empty.

Hancock called out. “Jeeze Tommy, I heard this place had gone quiet, but this is ridiculous!”

A ghoul stuck his head out from a booth above them.  “Looks like my new ‘guards’ are pieces of worthless crap!” He grabbed a nearby bottle and hurled it off in the direction of a slumbering man hidden spread across a few rotting red velvet seats.

“SHIT!” Startled awake, the man grabbed his gun and started waving it around clumsily. Payne drew her own, but Hancock seemed unconcerned. In fact, he was snickering.

“Jerry, get to work, you lazy jackass!” Tommy yelled over the banister as walked down to meet them, hands on his hips. “It’s so hard to find good help. You get what you pay for, I suppose.” Tommy wore a dusty tan suit with a stuffy striped tie. He thrust out his hand to Hancock, who returned the gesture. “How’s it going, Hancock?”

“Hey, Tommy. This place is looking a little dead, isn’t it? Having a little trouble since your prize fighter left ya?”

“That’s kinda what I want to talk to you about. Do you mind if we talk while I work up here? Trying to upgrade the sound system.” He put his arm around Hancock shoulders and guided him up the ramp. Payne followed. “Um, we’re going to talk business, honey. Feel free to help yourself to the bar or whatever. You might run into my two employees down there, please don’t kill them.”

Payne tensed her jaw but left behind when Hancock nodded her off. If Hancock felt he was safe enough to have her lounge around, then that is what she would do. She found a half bottle of whiskey behind the bar and a box of snack cakes. She left a few caps in their place, not wanting to ruffle any feathers. She brought her lunch and sat on the edge of the stage. This gave her the widest view of the theater. She could see Hancock and Tommy talking in what she assumed was the sound booth above. After finishing, boredom got the best of her and she started wandering around.

Poking around, she ran into two other people. They grunted their hellos and she continued studying her surroundings. She heard static crackle over the speakers while she looked around on stage. Behind the giant red curtains lay piles of pipe, wire fencing and coils of razor wire. On the large stage was the skeletal remains of a fighting ring. Several long pipes still stuck vertically out of the wooden stage, but whatever had created the walls had been dismantled. Another surge of sound came from the speakers, this time ending in a loud pop.

Tommy stuck his head out. “Jerry! JERRY!” Jerry emerged from a side room, snuffing out a cigarette as he meander out. “Go see if the mic is feeding properly.” Jerry hemmed at the request. “Get your ass over there and say something!” Reluctantly Jerry mounted the stage and started mumbling into the mic.

Swearing drifted down from the crow’s nest followed by Hancock’s resounding laugh. After a few minutes, Jerry’s voice violently erupted across the theater.

“…sting, one, two, three…Testing…” Jerry’s breathtaking performance was abruptly cut short. Over the sound system, Tommy’s voice cut in, reverberating off the walls.

“That’s enough.”

Stepping onto the stage, Payne noticed a half lowered trap door leading beneath the stage. Payne wonderer what Tommy hand in mind for this place. She placed her hand on one of the skeletal poles. She leaned against it, resting and looking out lazily across all the empty seats, her arms arched above her head. It has been a nice place once, filled with people.

Up in the sound booth, Hancock and Tommy had been talking. He had dismantled the fighting cage for some well-needed repairs but those had yet to be completed. He needed a revenue source in the meantime. Tommy proposed some half-baked ideas to try and lure folks through the doors, but none of them sounded to Hancock likely to prove fruitful. Most of Goodneighbor’s residents just wouldn’t take the risk of traveling through this part of the city just for entertainment. He knew why Tommy had asked him out here, but he wasn’t ready to invest in something that probably wouldn’t have any return on his investment.

Out of the corner of his eye, he had watched Payne laze around the stage as they talked. Tommy had also started to take an interest in Payne as well, stopping a moment to scrutinize her from a distance.

“You get tired of your old bodyguard?” Tommy flick a ghastly thumb down at the stage.

“Nah. There is more than enough of me to share.”

“Is she a local?”

“Nope. New Vegas.”

Tommy’s eyes opened wide at that bit of information, his square jaw flexed as mind started calculating. “She’s a long way from home, isn’t she?” His tone had changed and Hancock noticed. Tommy flicked a few switches on the vast panel before him. Music started playing lowly throughout the theater. Payne absent-mindedly swayed to it, still leaning on the pole. Tommy watched her almost predatorily. It was rubbing Hancock the wrong way.

“What are you up to, Tommy?”

Tommy held a finger up. He grabbed the small mic on the board, drawing it close to his thin lips. “Hey cupcake?” Payne turned icy eyes up at the booth. “You feel like giving us a little show?”

Payne stood up straight, her eyes narrow slits. She looked to Hancock. He shrugged. Clearly this wasn’t his idea.

Payne thought for a moment. How many times would she have this kind of an opportunity, on a stage no less? She put her hands on her hips. “My name is Payne, pal. I don’t perform unless I am paid. And I have to have an audience.”

“Why don’t we think of this as a little audition, sweetheart?”

Payne said nothing, walked back to the pole, leaned as she had before. This time gesticulating a middle finger out Tommy’s way. Hancock snickered. Tommy grunted in frustration. He put his hand on the mic.

“Can’t you make her…?” He motioned to the stage.

Hancock snorted. “I pay her to protect me and kill things. Performing isn’t really in the cards.”

Tommy returned to the mic. “Fine. Ronald; grabs some caps from the office. Jerry; get your butt in a seat.” Payne slowly walked to the edge of the stage, shedding her jacket and pack. Ronald appeared, dropping caps into her open hand before sitting down. Hancock settled into a seat, still watching from above.

Tommy’s voice crackled over the speakers. “Any requests?” Payne shrugged.

It was Tommy’s turn to snicker to himself. He flipped through some holotapes and popped one into the machine.

Low slow and somber notes filled the air, almost dirge like. Tommy thought he had outsmarted her, but Hancock saw a crafty smile on Payne’s face as she turned around, her head lilting to one side. She slowly reached up and unpinned her hair. Her black locks showering down languorously.

Play the guitar, play it again, my Johnny

Maybe you're cold but you're so warm inside

Payne moved slowly and rhythmically to the music. Gently, she painted the very image of a heartsick mistress with her body. Her arms and legs traced empty tender arcs through the air. She reached back to the pole, pulled herself to it. Arching her back, she draping against it like a lover.

What if you go, what if you stay, I love you

But if you're cruel, you can be kind, I know

Hancock lost track of the music and just watched her, each move speaking to the pain of unreturned and misunderstood desire. The dirty pole was no longer a bit metal frame, but this desperately wanted but heartless Johnny Guitar. Her legs wove delicate patterns over the cracked and crumbling wood. Her arms clung desperately to the pole. Her face a mask of sweet yearning.

As the last refrain ended and the guitar strummed to the finale, Payne reached above her head and, holding onto the pole, lowered herself slowly to the floor. The theater was completely silent. Payne looked up, a huge shit-eating grin on her face and flipped two middle fingers right in Tommy’s face.

Hancock reached over and stole the mic, Tommy momentarily speechless.

“I think you passed the audition!” He boomed.

The two lackeys clapped pitifully from the audience. Hancock smirked as he noticed Jerry rummaging through his pockets to put a few more caps on the apron of the stage.

Tommy turned the sound system off and turned to Hancock, a serious look on his face. “I want to get to brass tacks with you right now, John. How much for her contract?”

“What?” Hancock was taken aback. “No.”

“I’ll buy it out, whatever amount you ask.”

“No… no as in I don’t own her. And no, that is fucked up, Tommy.”

“That’s how this business works. Look, John, I need an act like that. Did you just see what I saw? She would get people from the whole Commonwealth to walk through the fucking Glowing Sea to see her. Just name your price.”

“I’m not her Goddamn owner, or pimp… or whatever screwed up concept you have in mind. Though, you can certainly try to convincing her to stay. You probably won’t have much of a chance, cupcake!” Hancock got up, turning to leave. He didn’t feel like looking at Tommy’s desperate anymore. “I think we are done here.”

Tommy backed off. “It’s getting late. You guys are more than welcome to stay the night.”

After a quick discussion, they decided to stay. Jerry tried to flirt with Payne throughout dinner with few results.

Tommy suggested retiring to the balcony. They found a few old bedrolls tucked away in a corner.

“Tommy wanted me to ask you something.” Hancock ventured as he stretched out on the floor.

“Let me guess. He wants me to dance for him?” Hancock nodded. “Fat chance in hell.”

He stared at the ceiling. “It sounded like he would pay you well.”

“I’ve never worked for a pig like him, and I’m not going to start with him.” Payne smiled. “Besides, could it be any more obvious that he is wearing a wig?”

Hancock snorted. “You prefer your ghouls au natural?” He rubbed his hairless scalp with one hand.

It was Payne’s turn to snort this time.

The next morning as they packed up to leave, Tommy pulled Hancock aside. He knew had overstepped. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday but I don’t think you know who you might have with you. I’ve been stewing about this all night. Payne says she is from New Vegas. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, that’s what she said. ‘Vegas’.” Hancock didn’t see the point of this conversation anymore.

“Listen to me. No, she’s not. She’s not from New Vegas, John. She’s from Las Vegas.”

Hancock stopped.

Tommy continued. “I don’t know how, but she is prewar. It’s the way she moves, I’ve seen it before.”

“How?” Hancock turned to face Tommy, his eyes narrow and full of caution. “Why do you think that?”

“Listen. Back before the war, I had a bookie buddy who worked out of Las Vegas. He and I, we were close, like brothers. I visited the strip maybe half a dozen times a year. The gals out there, the way they moved…” he closed his eyes “They were something else. I haven’t seen it since, but I remember it. Her face…” He opened his eyes and stared right into Hancock’s eye. “Payne is extraordinary. Did you at least bring my proposition up with her?”

“Yeah, but I’m afraid she’s still not interested.” Hancock returned to Payne and they left drenched in the morning sun.