This story was originally in the Drabbles but I decided it was too long and needed its own space!
The kid has never been drunk. Shes 19 and alcohol has never touched her lips. When I found this out I had asked, "Well do you want to get drunk?" She looked unsure but said, "Yeah, I wanna know what its like."
So tonight we had decided to go to Moritary's. We both needed a break anyways. She had expressed displeasure at drinking at Moriarty's. Kate hated giving him money, but I knew she wanted to see Gob and Nova. Gob beams as soon as we walk in the door. Kate takes a seat on stool right in front of him. "Hey Gob!" She beams back. I lag behind a little, until I see that shes noticed. Kate pats the stool beside her and smiles. Thats my cue to, "Quit being a grouch" as she says. I sit down beside her, trying to keep my distance. The bar is pretty empty, which is strange because its late. A few people are standing around. Thankfully I can see Moriarty in his office, which should keep her happy.
Gob smiles at both of us, but mostly her. I think hes still trying to decide if he trusts me. "So, what will it be?" He asks. Kate looks at me nervously, and then I remember shes never ordered a drink. "Can you make a Nuka and whisky? Kate's never had alcohol before." Gob looks surprised and Kate seems embarrassed. "Oh really? Well you never looked like much of a drinker, but…" "We had it in the vault, " Kate says, "I just…I don't know. They didn't let us have it until we were older." Shes 19 but she really still is a kid. It makes me feel worse. Not only is she a smoothskin but shes too young. Gob nods and begins making her drink. "What about you Charon?" He asks. "Just whisky" Kate looks at me with nervous eyes, but shes excited he can tell. "Is that okay?" I ask, "I know you like Nuka Cola, so I thought it would be good." Kate smiles and nods, "Yeah! I don't think I could handle anything straight anyways."
Gob places the drink on the counter in front of her, "There you go smoothskin. Try to go easy." Kate nods and looks to me for approval again. As if she needs to me tell her its okay to drink it. "Go ahead," I say, "Just know its probably going to taste bad at first." She takes and deep breath and sips on the drink gently. I expect to see her face turn, but Kate actually looks pleased. "Oh wow! It tastes just like Nuka Cola!" She says. I look at Gob warily, he wont meet my eyes. I gesture towards the drink, " May i? " She shakes her head and hands it over to me. Its all Nuka Cola and maybe a small shot of whisky. I smirk and put it back down on the counter.
"I didn't want to overdo it for her." Gob says meekly. "What's wrong with it?" She asks. I smile back, "All Nuka, no whisky." Kate looks disappointed, "But im supposed to get drunk." She says. Gob pours more whisky into the cup. When Kate tastes it for the second time her face scrunches up. "Ew." She whispers and puts it back down. I cant help but smile. "How can you drink a whole glass of that stuff?!" Kate is referring to my almost empty glass of whisky. "Ive been doing this for a lot longer than you smoothskin." She shakes her head and tries to drink it again. After a few minutes shes chugging it down. "This isn't so bad once you get used to get taste!" I watch as she drinks two glasses. And then she starts talking. "I cant believe I waited this long! This shit is so good." Gob smiles, "Just promise I wont see you in here every day." Kate shakes her head, "Hell no. I don't want…im not a drunk. I just, its good." Her eyes start to get heavy and she laughs at anything she can find funny. I work slowly on another glass of whisky. I cant get drunk, seeing that I have to keep her safe. Or in this case keep her from embarrassing herself.
She keeps asking Gob about all the different kinds of drinks that can be made. All of a sudden she interrupts him and looks at me, "Charon you're too far away." Kate attempts to get off her stool and slide it closer, but she almost falls right on her face. Her hand catches my thigh right as I reach to grab her. She smiles as I pull her back up. "Haha…whoops." I steady her back on the stool, trying to ignore her touch. "Maybe you shouldn't try to get up." I say. She pouts and uses her big brown eyes against me. "But you're so far away." I sigh and move my stool closer to her. "Is that better?" Kate smiles and finally takes her hand off of my thigh. My head is spinning. I can feel Gob's eyes on me, but I don't dare look at him. Eventually he leaves the front of the bar to do inventory. She doesn't stop touching me though. Now that we are sitting closer together and her balance is off, she leans against me. First its subtle, but eventually her head is rested against my arm. My face is burning with embarrassment, but I keep still and let her rest herself against me.
For some reason I decide to look down at her. Kate is smiling at me drunkenly, but god its beautiful. "You're warm." She says with a chuckle. I don't have words to describe how badly I want to wrap her in my arms. But instead I gulp and say, "Are you cold?" Kate shakes her head. I maneuver to where I can steady her, take my jacket off and place it around her. Her eyes light up and she smiles warmly as I slip the jacket over her shoulders. But even with my jacket around her, she still leans against my arm. Its almost worse now, with just my t-shirt on her cheek is now pressed against my "skin." Gob is still taking inventory, but he keeps looking over at us. And now Nova has taken notice too.
She comes out from her little corner and is circling the bar. "Hey sweetie." She says, patting Kate's shoulder. "Nova!" She exclaims and reaches up to hug her. The absence of her body against mine makes me feel cold. Nova hugs her back and winks at me. "This is your first time being drunk?" Kate shakes her head, "Its great! " She says. Nova smiles "You are so cute. I bet theres a lot of things you never did being trapped in that vault, huh?" This apparently makes Kate think a lot, but eventually she shakes her head. "Yeah I guess you're right." Nova moves around to the inside of the bar and rests her elbows on the counter. Gob notices her and moves back over towards us, wanting to be near her. "Ive never smoked either…or done any chems. I mean…not that I really want to do that shit, its bad for you." Kate says, but then notices the lit cigarette in Nova's hand. Her eyes get big, but Nova just laughs. "Trust me, I know." She says and she puffs on the cigarette again. Kate puts her head back against my arm. This makes Nova smirk.
"Anything else you've never done?" She asks Kate, but shes looking at me. "Well…" Shes trying hard to think even though shes drunk, "Ive never been kissed." She says innocently. Oh shit. If shes never even kissed anyone…. "So you're a virgin?" Nova says. Kate, completely transparent shakes her head and smiles. Shit. How could I have not seen this? Shes so innocent, but I was sure that she had at least lost her virginity. Probably to someone in the vault, but no. I feel even worse now. It was already bad enough to have a girl so young traveling with someone like me, but now everyone will think im going to take advantage of her. I don't dare look at any of them, I keep my eyes fixed on anyone else in the room. But that's when I notice something much worse. The few people left in the bar are staring at her. And all of them are men. Nova smiles, "Aw, there weren't any boys in the vault you liked?" Kate shakes her head no, "They were all really mean…none of them liked me either. " I decide that if I ever come across any of these vault boys I will deck them in the face. Which is exactly what im about to do to the men in the bar.
"What about out here in the wastes?" Nova asks, and looks directly at me. "Boys don't like me here either. Or they like me in like…the wrong way. Like they just want this." She gestures towards her body awkwardly. Its true. Most men we've encountered in the wastes try to touch her or make disgusting comments to her. Ive made sure to put a stop to any of that. "Who's the last guy that hit on you?" For this she looks to me, her big brown eyes hazy from the booze. "When…what happened last Chare?" I sigh, pretending to think. Truly I already know the last man that tried to put his hands on her. I don't forget their names, I don't forget their faces. Finally I say, "Ronald Laren, Girdershade." Kate's face shows that she too has remembered, "Oh yeah! Ew, that guy was fucked up." I shake my head in agreement. The way he had looked at her made me want to kill. I had watched his eyes linger upon certain parts of her with seething anger. But when he reached out to touch her I had fucking lost it.
"What did he say to you?" Nova asks, "Trust me, Ive seen my fair share of gross men." Kate tries to piece what she can remember together. "He wanted me to lie to Sierra, but Sierra is my friend! Shes super nice, but she might be an addict…. I don't know! Anyways…Ronald…Ew I don't like saying his name." She looks at me for help, so I finish the story.
"Bastard wanted her to lie to this girl named Sierra about getting her Nuka Cola Quantum's. He wanted Kate to do all the work, but him take credit for it." "Yeah! And then he said something about my butt!" Kate is sitting on her knees now. The stool wobbles, and I steady her. Girl can't be still for a minute. "He was like…uh, Charon what did he say?" Kate asks. I sigh, not wanting to relive the words. "Something about…watching you walk away. I cant really remember." Kate tries to scoot her stool closer to the bar, still seated on her knees. "It was weird." She tells Nova, who is all smiles. "Sounds like a real asshole." Kate's eyes get big, and I know shes just remembered how this story ended. "Oh oh, and then he tried to touch me after I told him to fuck off and Charon broke his nose!"
Kate beams at me, and I cant deny that im proud. The sick fuck had reached for her wrist with one hand and her ass with the other, after she specifically told him she wasn't interested. I had tried to keep my anger at bay, but I saw the look in her eyes when he came towards her. She was scared. A feeling I had known far too often before she bought my contract. A feeling I never wanted her to feel. I had slammed him up against his shack door and purposefully shattered his nose with my fist. Which, knowing me, meant he got off extremely easy. I should have beat his face into a bloody pulp. When he screamed and opened his eyes, I had growled, "Never," in his face and let him fall to the ground. Nova's eyes get wide and so does her smile. I knock back more of the whiskey, "I hope it heals crooked." I whisper.
Kate laughs and tells Nova about how funny it was. "That was a really nice thing Charon did for you." Nova says. Kate smiles big and shakes her head. I wish that Nova would stop here, but she just presses on. "Do you even know anything about sex?" Kate thinks, "I mean…I know. Like I know what happens…but…." She trails off and im not sure what shes thinking about. "Dad just always said it should be someone special." Kate whispers. That's not me I tell myself. Im not the special person her father would want for her. Hell, im sure if we ever find him he will ask that she gets rid of me. "Well, " Nova prods, "Have you ever met anyone special?" Kate smiles almost stupidly, "Of course! All of you are special to me. You, Gob, and Charon!" Nova's eyes are on me, but I just keep staring at the bar wondering how long this will continue.
"I don't mean like that sweetie," She says with a laugh. Kate reaches for her glass to take another drink but misses and knocks it over. Gob hears and rushes over. "What happened?" Kate's in tears, the alcohol increasing her feelings of guilt. "Im so sorry Gob!" She tries to find some way to clean it up. But shes off balance and almost falls off her stool again. Once again she reaches blindly for me, her hand falling on my shoulder. For some stupid reason I reach out and grab her waist. I try to avoid making eye contact with her as she positions herself back on the stool. Once shes settled, I remove my hand as soon as possible. Gob is cleaning up her drink from the bar, all while assuring her its okay. "I just don't want to get you in trouble." She sniffles. Gob smiles, "Its okay kid." Gob would take a beating for her. I look back into Moriarity's office, he hasn't moved a muscle. We haven't disturbed the peace, but I feel like its time to head back. Kate is looking sleepy, as well as extremely drunk. It would be bad if her next "accident" was puking on the bar. Moriarity might notice that.
I pull myself up from the bar and she gives me this worried look. "Are you leaving me?" Kate's voice is so sad, it hurts. As if I would run off into the wastes without her. I smirk, "You know I psychically cant." She looks confused. "The contract." I remind her. Kate shrugs, as if its nothing, "You could always leave if you want to." She says disappointed. I don't feel like fighting her. At this point she wont understand how I don't have the option of leaving, even if I wanted to. "I just think its time for us to go. You look tired." Kate looks toward Gob and Nova, "I think we're leaving." She attempts to pull out her bag of caps and pay, but I end up having to help her. "Thanks Chare." She mumbles drunkenly as I place the money on the counter. Gob takes it, looking at me as if hes confused about most of what has happened tonight. On the other hand, Nova is giving me a wicked grin. Another reason to be thankful that we are leaving.
Once we have paid a new problem presents itself, Kate cant walk. At least not well. She takes a few steps and almost trips. "Will you…will…." She says, holding her arms out to me. She wants to be carried. The thought of her in my arms like that makes me feel warm. I crave it, but its wrong. Ideally, I want to get her out of the door before I result to throwing her over my shoulder, but she cant make it. I scoop her up quickly, hoping to avoid any more eyes on us. But even though I cant see them, I feel the stares. Kate isn't making it any easier. She wraps her arms around my neck, her warm breath tickling against what skin I have left. Its maddening. I know I have to stay focused. Kate waves and whispers a "Bye," in Gob and Nova's direction. I can hear Nova laugh as she returns the goodbye. Once we are out the door I am more than thankful.
Kate isn't heavy, but the walk back to her home feels like it will never end. I only feel safe once the door to the house is shut. I take Kate up to her bedroom and lay her down gently. The combination of exhaustion and alcohol has almost put her to sleep. I tuck her in and try to leave, but she stops me. "Charon," I hear just as I reach the door. I smile and turn back around, shes waving me back over towards her. "Yes?" Her face turns sour, "I don't feel so good…." I immediately reach to pick her back up, "Are you nauseous?" She shakes her head meekly. In the moonlight that seeps through the walls, I can see her face is pale. I take her into the bathroom and hold her hair as she proceeds to puke up everything shes drank that night. It must burn, because she starts crying softly and whimpering, "It hurts." The second time her stomach purges itself I notice its coming out of her nose as well. No wonder shes in pain. I pat her back and whisper, "You gotta get it out smoothskin. It will be over soon." Kate shakes her head and finishes. "That was bad." She says simply and falls back against my shoulder.
I let her hair down and pat her back once more. "I shouldn't have let you drink so much." When I help her stand back up, I notice shes thrown up on the front of her vault suit. Kate notices as well, and proceeds to start unzipping it. "Jesus, Kate wait a second!" I close the toilet lid and sit her down on it. But shes already got the zipper down to her bellybutton. And the tank top she wears underneath is doing a bad job of concealing her breasts. I force myself not to look at her and run into the next room to find some clothes. I return with some pajama pants we had found a few weeks ago and a t-shirt. I leave them for her and let her change in privacy. When shes done I tuck her back into bed. "Sorry you have to take care of me." She whispers sleepily. I smirk, "Its okay." In a way I enjoy it. She's a handful occasionally, but I care for her. Kate is the only thing that makes my life worth living.
She asks me to stay there with her until she falls asleep. "Please don't leave me." She whispers. If only she knew how much of an impossibility that was. How I would rather die. But I simply say, "Never." As I watch her drift off I wish I could tell her how happy she makes me. I know she'll never see me the way I see her, but for some reason I don't care. I just want to always be with her.
AN: Thanks for reading! :) The title is inspired by Rum and Coca Cola by the Andrews Sisters.