Of all the places she'd taken him, Charon never imagined Tenpenny Tower would be one of them. But his smoothskin had apparently been planning this trip for a while. She heard about the bigotry and injustice, another wrong for her to right. All the noses had turned when the tiny Vault Girl showed up with her giant ghoul. Somehow, as she always did, she convinced them to let him in. They entered under the guise that she was "just visiting." The Tower's inhabitants had been quick to let her know how proud they were of their fine home.

Despite their separate rooms, Kate had insisted he stay with her. "I don't feel safe without my bodyguard." She had told the residents. They played down their real relationship and played up that he was under her servitude. Charon played the part well, he had after all been born to play it. The role of a slave wasn't one he was unfamiliar with. Kate however did have difficulty with pretending to be a slave owner. But once the door to their room closed, they were both able to relax.

In order to do that, Kate suggested a bath. It obviously wasn't his first time seeing her naked, their relationship had changed a little over a month ago. However, he had never bathed with her before. Especially not in a place like this. Their bathroom was almost pristine. The tub was still shiny and white, its clawed feet a sparkling gold.

Charon undressed quickly. He avoided the only slightly cracked mirror on the bathrooms wall and started the bath. His girl followed shortly, smiling at him as she entered the room.

The water was warm and clean, which was some sort of miracle in the Wastes. That accompanied by Kate stripping out of her clothes put Charon's mind at ease. His muscles relaxed as he watched her push down her shorts and panties in one go. Her shirt came next, revealing all of herself to him. Some parts of her beautiful flesh were tinted slightly pink from being in the sun too long. Others were as white as her teeth, kept under layers of armor for months at a time. But the combination didn't bother Charon in the slightest, he was just happy to once again see her in all of her beauty.

Kate took down her hair, long dark locks falling over her breasts. "Is that steam?" She asked, her eyes widened with excitement.

Charon had to pull himself out of his fantasy to answer her, "Uh...oh yeah. The uh-the waters hot here." He knew he sounded like a bumbling idiot, but it was impossible to speak coherently and look at her when she was like that.

Kate smiled wide and made her way over to the tub. "Damn, this is going to be a hell of a bath." She said, sticking her leg over the side and climbing in. Kate settled in front of him, her back resting against his chest as she let out a sigh. "We shouldn't be spoiling ourselves." She whispered, "Might end up like those airheads downstairs."

"I don't know if Megaton and cold water will cut it anymore." He replied, holding his head high in mocking.

Kate giggled and pushed him playfully, sending some of the bath water out on the floor.

"Careful now, thats precious." He replied, trying to keep a smile from consuming his face. It was hard when she looked at him like that. Especially when she laughed at his bad attempts at humor.

"You better be careful!" She teased, "You'll be no better than all those stuffy turned up noses."

"I can't." Charon pinched what was left of his nasal bone, "I don't have one."

In response, Kate just rolled her eyes and smiled. She turned her attention back to enjoying the warmth of the water, and he did the same. It was nice, little moments like this. Sometimes Charon got tired of the running and the fighting. Although it was exciting and exhilarating at the best of times, it made him worry for her safety. Kate got herself into more than a few dangerous situations, all of which involved him as well. It felt good to know that at least for once, she was okay.

Charon soon found himself rubbing his girl's shoulders. He remembered her saying on the way here that her pack was cutting into her shoulder blades. Charon thought the least he could do was try to relieve some of that tension. And he wanted any excuse to touch her. Kate sighed and pulled herself up to kiss the underside of Charon's jaw. "Thank you." She whispered, before moving out from under him to bathe herself. Charon almost protested, but found that he couldn't.

Tenpenny had real soap, not the slimy half assed shit people mixed up in the Wastes. It was nothing like that hard, cracked paste, this was the real deal. It created a thick bubbly foam that coated her skin. For some reason the sight made Charon's cock twitch uncomfortably. It didn't help that her ass was pressed up against it.

Charon watched her wet the soap and continue to create soapy foam all over her body. She smoothed it down her arms, her breasts, then to her small stomach. Kate covered her legs and even her feet, taking time to scrub at the spots that were caked with Wasteland grime. Charon just watched, awestruck and desperate with need.

It was safe to say it had been a while. Traveling didn't give them many good or safe opportunities to be intimate. The time away had not be easy. Charon's body tensed as he tried to keep thoughts of her away. He could still remember the last time he had her. It had been in one of the Metro tunnels at Jury Street. Not his first choice, but she had given him a look he couldn't ignore.

Charon ran his tongue across his teeth, craving the feeling of her skin under his hands. Kate, who had washed most of her body looked back at him briefly before lifting her her hair to coat her back. Charon took notice and helped, holding her brown hair off of her skin.

Once she was done, she sat up on her knees. As if teasing him, Kate rubbed the soap down the backs of her soft thighs, over the curve of her ass, and back around to her front. Charon could hardly contain a groan, which he tried to pass off as a cough. He could see in her eyes that her intentions were innocent. Girl still didn't understand a lot of what made guys tick. But Charon felt she had to at least know what she was doing to him. Kate had to be aware that parading around all soaped up in the bath wasn't innocent.

Still, she only gave him a soft smile as she settled back down into the water, rinsing the suds off. He was tempted to have her right then and there. To take her throat in his hand and pull her lips to his. But even while clouded by lust, Charon could see the tired look in her eyes. They had been traveling for almost a week. During that week Kate had slept very little. She had grown restless over finding her father, and guilt consumed her anytime her mind was left to wander. Charon knew his need was not the priority. It was her health and safety that mattered most.

He took the soap from her when she was done, quickly washing his own body. To his surprise, and slight embarrassment, she watched him too. Kate blushed when he caught her, muttering, "I like the way you look," into her pulled up knees. Charon smiled, he always loved hearing her say that.

They both dried off with a towel that was close to new. Charon let her go first, partly out of curtesy and partly out of wanting to enjoy the view. When Kate was done she tossed it his way and began brushing out her long wet hair. Charon dried off but soon felt cold. He missed the warmth of the water and his smoothskin. He smiled at her, watching as she brushed her hair in the mirror naked. Charon wrapped the towel tightly around his body and headed for the door. Being nude for too long made him uncomfortable. But before he could make it through the threshold, a thin pale arm stopped him. Kate wrapped herself around his waist, pulling him back into the bathroom.

To Charon's dismay she planted him and herself right back in front of the mirror. He turned his eyes up to the ceiling, refusing to look at his reflection. It was hard enough looking down at his hands, his legs, or worse, his manhood and seeing the effects of radiation. He didn't like seeing himself as a whole. Most mirrors in the Wastes had been shattered long ago. This had always been a solace to Charon, he never had to face the truth. It was even harder to look now knowing that he stood next to his definition of perfection.

Kate had the opposite reaction. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her smiling wide and staring their reflections in the face. She brought him even closer and hugged his torso. Kate looked...proud, if he could believe it. It didn't take long for her to notice he wasn't exactly overcome with joy, or looking at all for that matter.

She pulled on his midsection, urging him to tear his eyes away from the ceiling and on himself.

"Come on, we've got a nice room, nice bath, and an intact mirror for once." Kate sighed, "I wanted to see how we look together."

Abominable he wanted to say. He knew they looked like the perfect picture of revolting Wasteland immortality. Her pretty face and what was left of his skin didn't make for a nice view.

Despite his reluctance, Kate pushed until he ultimately caved, promising he'd take one brief look in the mirror. Sadly he couldn't cheat, she watched him with eyes like a Deathclaw stalking its prey. She also took the towel from him, assuring him he didn't need it.

Charon sighed and let his gaze fall down to the mirror that stood before them. He hadn't give it much of a first glance, but the mirror had a small crack running horizontal to the top. The next thing he saw was hair, first her brown curls, then his own patchy red strands. Then he saw their faces. Of course he saw his before her's, since he was taller. Her skin was shiny, still a little wet from the bath. His looked rough as always. Charon always hated the way the muscles under his cheeks showed through. He tried to ignore them and look more at Kate. She was, as always too good for him. Her body too perfect, her skin too smooth. She looked like an angel, and he the devil sent to ruin her.

Charon often thought about how inferior he was, but seeing it cemented it. He could never truly be enough for the woman he loved. Although he tried to ignore his doubts, keeping them quiet for her sake, they always came back and threatened to consume him. Charon, unable to stand the sight of his shame anymore, turned to look at Kate. He was surprised to see that she was not only still smiling, but a few tears were at risk of spilling down her cheeks. Kate stared into the mirror as if she couldn't bare to take her eyes away.

"We look cute." She said softly, looking almost as proud of him as the residents were of their Tower. Although Charon couldn't justify calling anything that involved himself "cute," he could see where she was coming from. Even amongst all of their differences, there was something that fit. Maybe it was just that their bond had become that deep. Everything they had been together showed through. From the countless fire fights and rescue missions to the lazy days spent at the Saloon or in bed. They looked relaxed next to each other, perfectly content and in love. The realization made Charon's chest bloom with warmth. Looking back at their reflections, he couldn't help but smile.


AN: Hope everyone likes this! I'm trying to slowly practice smut so I can write more of it. Feedback is always appreciated! :)