This was supposed to be a one-shot…then my brain decided to play a practical joke on me…

Charon opened the lockbox and sighed. It was still there, he reassured himself, in the same place beneath their emergency stash of caps and medical supplies. He was being ridiculous, a nightmare shouldn't have shaken him so badly, but he knew it was more than a nightmare. It was a possibility, a very real possibility that terrified him more than anything else in the world.

He closed the box and locked it tight, replacing it in the file cabinet and locking the drawer for good measure. He felt a tingle on the side of his face and looked toward the bed where Vizyn lay watching him. She absently stroked Dogmeat's fur, blonde hair disheveled and splayed wildly over her shoulders. A familiar warmth flooded through him. He smiled when Dogmeat gave her a sloppy lick and she whined in protest, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand.

She was beautiful.

"I love you," she whimpered, eyes fluttering shut in resignation. "I forgive you, I love you."

Charon shook his head with a slight growl and stood, shooing Dogmeat from the bed before taking his place beside his smoothskin. Vizyn immediately nestled against his chest, sighing contentedly when his arms wrapped around her.

"Charon, can I ask you something?"

"You just did," He murmured into her hair with a smirk. Vizyn giggled, relieved to hear the banter. She moved to meet his eyes, purring as his lips brushed against hers.

"Another thing then," She murmured against his lips. Charon's hands trailed gently down her back, brushing her rear and caressing her thighs, coaxing a leg to hook around his waist. This was the Charon she had missed for the past week, and she was determined to never be rid of him again.

"Anything," Charon tilted her head back, peppering kisses down her throat and Vizyn almost lost her train of thought.

"Why…mmm…why are you so caught up in your contract all of a sudden?"

The ghoul froze for a moment, then, raised his head from Vizyn's collarbone with a sigh.

"It's foolish," he said at last. Vizyn shook her head, eyes wide as though shocked he would say such a thing.

"Not to me. Please, I'm not going to make you tell me, but I'd like to know what's bothering you. All week you've been acting weird."

Charon grimaced, he hadn't meant to seem standoffish but he should have known that Vizyn would pick up that something was wrong. He sighed and lightly brushed her cheek with his knuckles.

"I've just had this thought stuck in my head," he said. Vizyn remained focused on him, even when it seemed like he'd just leave it at that. Eventually, he gave in and explained the dream that had been tormenting him, not sparing her the slightest detail. She listened intently to every word, not making a sound. "It's a very real possibility, Viv," Charon went on to explain. "Anyone could get their hands on it, and I'd have no choice but to follow them. That's the last thing I want."

Vizyn laughed.

Charon blinked, taken aback by her sudden outburst, confused and embarrassed. She seemed to feel him stiffen, but she couldn't stop her giggles. She resorted to wrapping her arms around him to keep him pinned until she could contain herself.

"I'm sorry, I'm not laughing because it's funny," she hastily explained. "It's just: earlier I thought it was because you wanted to leave me. But, it turns out it's because you want to stay with me. I'm relieved."

Charon frowned, "Why would I want to leave you?" When Vizyn shrugged, Charon pulled her into a tight embrace. "I love you, Viv. I hope you know that."

"I do," Vizyn sighed, burying her face in his chest. "I love you, too."


Ideas were a dangerous thing. They built empires and destroyed them in the same breath. They were more infectious than a plague and lasted long after the source's death.

Vizyn was relieved that Charon's strange behavior wasn't based on the desire to be rid of her. But, it opened up a whole new door for worry. He was right, she realized, so long as he had a contract, someone could steal it. She couldn't destroy it; in the first paragraph it stated that Charon must kill anyone who would try to mutilate the old document.

So instead, she found herself mimicking Charon's compulsive behavior, checking the drawer to make sure it was still locked tight whenever she made to leave to bedroom. There had to be something she could do to ensure the contract's safety, even in Megaton things went "missing" from homes and Vizyn thought she would surely die if she and Charon returned from a visit to Underworld to find the lockbox gone.

She sighed and closed her Grognak comic book, unable to focus on the half-dressed barbarian swinging around his massive axe. She rested her head against the back of the pink armchair and blew her bangs out of her face.

"You sure you don't want to go to Gob's while I'm gone?" Charon asked, strapping his gun to his back.

"Maybe later," Vizyn pouted, "have fun. Out there. On the wall. Shooting things. Without me."

Charon chuckled and kissed Vizyn's forehead.

"Stockholm needs a break sometime, smoothskin. I'll be back later tonight."

"All day," Vizyn continued to drone. Charon smirked and shook his head, turning for the front door as a knock echoed through the living room. "I got it!" Suddenly full of energy, Vizyn dashed for the door, sticking her tongue out at Charon when she touched the knob before he did. She twisted the lock and pulled the handle, blinking slightly at the rush of morning sunlight flooding through the doorframe.

"Well good morning, Sunshine," a familiar voice greeted. Charon groaned.

"Butch!" Vizyn threw her arms around the man's neck. "It's great to see you!"

"You too, Sunshine," Butch looked to Charon and nodded once, "Hey there, Cheryl."

Charon growled and Butch shifted, "Uh…Charon."

"Stop being such a jerk, you just got here," Vizyn reprimanded, releasing her old schoolmate. Charon moved for the door and sighed.

"I see you'll have company after all," he grumbled, "Though far from preferable."

"Yo, pal, I'm right here!"

"I'll see you later, Viv," Charon bent down and kissed her once before pushing past the obnoxious smoothskin-boy, Dogmeat trailing close behind him. Butch watched him walk off, wrinkling his nose.

"Y'know, I ain't never going to get used to that."

Vizyn rolled her eyes, "So, what are you doing here?"

"Well, Rivet City was getting to be a bit too small for me. I decided to take my barber shop on the road and figured Megaton would be as good a place as any to start. Care to be my first customer? I'll do it for free, for old time's sake."

Vizyn grinned and lead him into the living room, "What's the catch?"

"I need a place to crash."

Vizyn hummed in thought for a moment, her forefinger tapping her lips gently.

"I could ask Charon about you staying in our spare room, but we only have a couch in there. If not, I can bring you over to Gob's. He and Nova might give you a discount since we're friends."

"Aw shucks, Sunshine," Butch grinned, throwing his arm around Vizyn's shoulders with enough force to make her stumble, "you're a real pal."

"Get off," Vizyn giggled, trying to regain her balance, "you smell!"

"It's just the jacket," Butch defended, "my man-stink is nothing but pleasant."

Vizyn pushed him away, shaking her head. Butch sighed and unzipped the cracked leather jacket, slipping it down his toned, sun-kissed arms. Vizyn blinked and cocked her head to one-side, staring at his bicep.

There was something there, painted on the skin...In the skin, she realized. A woman, dressed in blue and white robes looked demurely down at her clasped hands. What appeared to be rays of light fanned out behind her. It was beautiful, and vaguely familiar. Vizyn's brow furrowed in contemplation and she gasped. It looked like the mural of the Virgin Mary they'd had down in the Vault chapel.

But how?

"Butch, what is that?" Vizyn asked, pointing at the portrait. Butch hummed in question and followed her finger, he grinned.

"Oh yeah! You like my ink?"

"Ink?"

Butch nodded and flexed, stretching the virgin mother to disproportion, "Yeah, there was this guy in Rivet City—said he used to be a raider or some bullshit like that. Anyway, he taught me how to do it. He said that these were pretty popular before the bombs fell, though how would he know, right? I just think it makes me look bad-ass."

"Did you draw it?" Vizyn hesitantly reached out a finger and touched it, shocked when the ink didn't smudge under her finger.

"Nah, not this one, He did it for me. Hurt like a bitch, but worth it, don't you think?"

"Why'd you get this though? Why not a snake or something?"

Butch scoffed, "The Tunnel Snakes are old news, Sunshine," he shrugged and looked at the tattoo, "I miss the vault sometimes, y'know? But, after all this time out here, I barely remember a thing about it. I remember this, though. I used to sleep underneath it when ma got too drunk to be around."

Vizyn frowned and nodded softly.

"Does it wash off?"

"Nope, it's as permanent as my good-looks and charm. You want one, Sunshine?"

Vizyn shook her head, "No, I don't think—" she paused. "Butch, can you get anything inked?"

"Sure, as long as the person doing it knows how to draw it."

"How long does it take?"

Butch arched an eyebrow at her, he hadn't expected her to actually consider it. "Depends on how big it is. It can take a few minutes or a few hours. But, I'm telling you, Sunshine, it hurts."

Vizyn looked up at him, her face stern, "But it's worth it, right?"

Butch hesitantly nodded and Vizyn pushed her hat forward, lower lip jutting out determinedly.

Let's do this before I chicken out…

Next chapter is smutty, don't say there was no warning. Also, I meant to upload the story based off the "Trouble on the Homefront" mission but...this got done first. Oh well.