Sorry this took a while, folks, but I had quite the busy winter break! Also, I know there's a large amount of chapters and we haven't gotten that far along in the story. Things should pick up pretty soon. Thank you, Lost Blonde, AralynnEvenstar, and How Like a Winter for your lovely reviews. They really do keep me going!

Enjoy.

"I want to show you something."

Charon allowed Leah to tug him along, corridor after corridor. She flashed him a smile over her shoulder and then pulled him around a corner, black hair whipping behind her as she turned. Amata had left her a Vault 101 jumpsuit, which she'd donned with not a little bit of reluctance. But Charon found that it complemented her figure quite nicely. She looked good in blue, he decided, as she came to a stop in front of a lit room off a side corridor.

Leah frowned, dropping his hand and sticking her head into the doorway. "Hello?"

A teenaged boy rounded the corner from the bathroom, gasping the instant he saw her. "Leah Montgomery? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Wally Mack? This is my room, asshole! Get out!" she shouted back, her hands on her hips. Charon tensed at once. Anybody that pissed Leah off pissed him off even more.

The boy glared back. "Not since you and your father left like a couple of jerks, leaving us to die here. So this is my room now. You get out."

It took Leah less time to cross the distance between them than it took Wally to blink. The second his eyes opened, though, he was greeted with the frightening image of Leah's fist.

The crunch of his nose breaking filled her with satisfaction. He crumpled to his knees and she turned on her heel. Charon smirked at her as she passed and followed her out.

"All right then," she sighed, shaking her hand out to ease the hurt in her knuckles. He grabbed her hand and gently rubbed the tender area, making her smile as they moved to a door at the end of the hall. Charon peered into the darkness through the windows.

"My dad's room," she whispered, opening the door and moving inside. He took a step in and blinked as the lights came on instantaneously.

The room had very obviously been long abandoned. A pair of reading glasses sat besides some pencils and clipboards on a desk opposite the door. There was also a photograph of a brown-haired James beside a very young girl. She was holding a BB gun like a pro and grinning ear-to-ear.

"This is you," Charon murmured, holding up the picture and peering into those ever-familiar blue eyes, twinkling even in an old photograph.

"Yep. The 'big game hunter,' my dad used to call me," she laughed from somewhere in the adjacent room. He idly traced her round, smiling face with his fingertip, finding himself smiling back. She was beautiful then, too. Still chubby with baby-fat, skin perfect and unblemished from the wild wastes. The roguish fire in her eyes was already there, though. He imagined that was always present from the day she was born. The sound of running water vaguely entered his consciousness.

"Oh, Charon," he heard Leah sing from across the room. He looked up.

And the photograph slipped from his hand.

One pale, slender arm was extended from behind the bathroom doorway, a certain article of clothing dangling from one long finger. She let the bra fall with a rare giggle, and then the arm disappeared behind the edge of the wall, door sliding closed after her.

Charon was already crossing the room, shouldering past furniture, all thoughts of Leah's father and Project Purity and that retarded fucking Butch kid flying from his mind. He smacked the button to open the door and sighed when he saw her.

Her body was so perfectly long and lithe, outlined as she was against the white tile of the shower. Steam rolled up around her skin, black hair slick and falling back from her face. She ran the toes of one foot up over the opposite shin, swinging her knee out to the side and giving him an oh so delicious view of his most favorite spot on her body. One hand was splayed back against the tile, while a finger on the other traced her lips. She sucked it into her mouth, plump lips round and sweet, and then trailed her fingertips down her throat, over her collarbone, across the sweet dip between her breasts. Charon's eyes followed its path, mesmerized, as her hand spanned the flat expanse of her gorgeous stomach and dipped into the wet folds of her sex.

Leah let out a soft moan, its effect almost palpable as she watched his face twist into an expression of agonizing desire.

"You want it?" she whispered, her voice so appealing, almost inaudible over the rush of running water and the fierce pumping of his blood in his ears as he unbuckled his armor with one hand.

Charon growled, making goosebumps rise on her skin. His eyes flared at her as he fumbled with the buckles of his armor. "I need it," he groaned.

Her lips curved up into her crooked smile. "Then come get it."

He was out of his clothes and under the spray of water before she knew it. A soft gasp tumbled from her lips as he pressed the length of his warm body against hers and nipped at her shoulder.

She shuddered beneath his touch. Her hand hunted down his abs, but he caught her wrist and stopped her.

"What –?"

Charon pulled his head back, exposing his wicked smile. "Not yet."

"I don't –," she began to protest, but he pinned her gently against the tile while his mouth left hot kisses down her collarbone, stopping for a moment to suckle on each tender nipple, peppering the stomach he adored with wet attention, softly nibbling on each hipbone, before Charon came to a stop on his knees before her.

Leah was breathless as she stared down at him, red in the cheeks. Her fingers curled into the remainder of red hair on his head. "Oh," she breathed, leaning her head back and trying not to hyperventilate.

She could hear the echo of a ghostly chuckle, and then felt one of his hands run down her stomach and cup her wet sex. A guttural moan of desire was definitely a good sign, so Charon gently opened her to him, exposing that little bud that was now swollen with need. Glancing up at her flushed face, smiling, Charon lowered his face and his hot mouth made contact with her core for the very first time.

"Ah!" Leah cried out, her voice ringing out across the shower as her hips jerked involuntarily against him. His hand came down, gripped her shin, and drew it up over his shoulder. The hot water rolling down her skin fell completely forgotten as Charon's tongue rolled up over her bundle of nerves. His mouth lavished her with attention and drove her wild. She became a puddle of desire beneath his tongue and hands until her pleasure built to an almost unbearable level. Her hands clutched weakly at his shoulders as he probed her with his tongue and ran it up over her clit once more. A burst of pleasure caused white spots behind her eyelids and she arched her back up from the tile, her pants rising to a high keen as her orgasm unraveled within her navel and sent little tingles all over her body.

Charon kissed the inside of each thigh as she shuddered against him. When she went limp, he rose back up to his feet and pressed his mouth to hers.

Leah gave a weak chuckle and cupped his face with her shaking hand. "Oh, my God," she sighed, her head falling back against the tile. She lovingly rubbed the back of his neck. "Where did you learn that?"

Charon just chuckled into her throat, pressing his lips to her neck. "I'm glad I could satisfy."

She laughed, surprising him when she pressed her hips against his arousal. "Who said I was satisfied yet? Saddle up, buddy." She wrapped her arms around his neck. He planted his big hands at her hips, clenched, and lifted her up so that she could lock her legs around his waist. It took her a moment to steady her body, slack as it was from her orgasm. When her hold strengthened, he trailed sloppy kisses up her throat to whisper throatily in her ear, "Ready?"

"Mmn, ye – ooh!" she gasped as he pushed into her. He slapped one hand to the tile beside her head for support, the other sliding under one of her knees to keep her up. Leah's back was slumped against the shower wall, putting strain on her spine, but she could have been floating on a cloud for all the discomfort she felt as Charon sheathed himself fully within her. His cock twitched and throbbed, filling her so, so deliciously.

Charon paused for a moment to savor all of the sensations: the water running down his body, her soft panting in his ear, and, most importantly, the tight grip of her core, hot and slick around his arousal. Leah was a biter and he fucking loved it, loved to hear her moan and whine around his skin as his hips smacked furiously against hers. She threw her head back, banging it sharply against the tile but she just couldn't fuck care. Her fingers scraped against the wall as Charon's hand ran forward under her ass, squeezing the flesh there. He groaned deeply, pushing himself to every limit his body had.

Because when was the last time he'd fucked somebody against a shower wall? He didn't exactly have a lot of practice with it. He certainly had the muscles for the job, but his hips just weren't so accustomed to the fucking motion of it all.

Luckily, Leah had her legs clenched so tightly around his waist that he couldn't have fallen off-balance if he'd tried. One of her hands raked down his chest, the sharp sting delicious. He buried his face in her throat and bit down, eliciting a feral screech as she bucked her hips against his. It was so fucking hot, listening to her desperate mewls, her core tight around him, and then, faster than she ever had, faster than he'd thought possible, she was coming—and hard—screams reverberating around the bathroom as her walls clamped down around him.

She cried out his name, fingernails biting into his shoulders hard enough to draw blood. The water stung on his new love-wounds, adding pain to the rush of pleasure building within him, deep in his belly. Leah was so goddamn beautiful when she lost control in climax. His hand on the tile clumsily moved to cup her face, shaky as he shoved into her. His touch made her open her eyes and when their gazes met—blue and electric and thick with passion and more—the ball of fire in his navel exploded.

Because she was panting and gorgeous and gasping his name—his fucking name—begging him, needing him to come and how could he deny her anything when she looked like that and maybe he even loved her and –

Charon grunted, his last few thrusts sporadic and then one last, deep plunge before he throbbed and spilled his climax within her.

"Ah," Leah sighed, feeling him burst in her core, hot and thick. He ducked his face into her neck, panting heavily as his hands loosened their death grip on her body. "Ooh, I am going to be sore," she stated roughly.

He laughed breathlessly, the gruff sound sending chills down her spine when it vibrated against her skin. "You should not have teased me, smoothskin."

"I never said I minded a little soreness."

Charon slowly rubbed over the red spots of skin where he'd clenched her. She sighed and hummed under his touch. The water was quickly getting colder and Leah extracted her stiff arm from between their wet bodies to twist it off. Once the feeling returned to her body, she unfastened her legs from around Charon's waist. He caught her before she could wobble and collapse, hoisting her smoothly up into his arms. She snatched an old towel from her bag as they passed it.

Charon dumped her, squealing with laughter, onto the bed. She bounced and giggled, scooching over and patting the spot beside her. "Come join me, stud."

Chuckling, he shook his head and began to rub her dry, tenderly patting the towel to soak up the moisture on her skin. She wriggled, forcing him to catch her ankles in one big hand and keep her still as he finished drying her. Once she was done, he quickly dried himself and then dropped onto the bed beside her. She kissed him and whispered a thank you.

Leah fell asleep in his arms, in his warmth, beside his heartbeat, where she belonged.

"After everything she's done for you? For the Vault?" Butch demanded, rounding on the new Overseer with fury in his dark eyes. "I can't believe you!"

Amata blanched under his glare. "I don't have a choice, Butch. I'll do what's best for the Vault, no matter how hard it is for me or you or anybody."

Butch shoved past her, knocking her shoulder as he passed. "I can't – Jesus, Amata, you have no fucking idea what you're doing! Kicking her out? She saved this Vault!" he shouted over his shoulder.

"Butch, wait –!"

Leah woke up to the smell of smoke. She was sitting up in an instant, her hand snapping out to wake Charon beside her. If there was a fire, she was making sure the most important man in her life was saved from it and –

There was no fire. She squinted around in the darkness and saw no flames. No, wait, there was one flame, there, near the doorway, a small circle of light.

A cigarette.

Butch.

She felt suddenly very cold and looked down to notice she was completely naked. With a screech, she tugged the blankets up around herself, upending her own body from the bed and landing on the ground with a dull thud.

"Smoothskin? Leah?" Charon shot up, staring over at her side of the bed. "Leah!"

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR ROOM!" Leah hollered at Butch, who was already up on his feet, flicking the lights on.

"Maybe you should sleep with some clothes on!" he yelled back, flinching as Charon began to growl. "Christ, I know you're a horny girl, but can you go one night without fucking somebody? It's not the best situation here, ya know!" He chanced a look at Charon's hulking, furious figure and blanched as he saw the ghoul was also completely naked.

"Holy shit," he mumbled before he could help himself, and then he was bolting out of the room, calling over his shoulder, "Amata's kicking you out, though! Come see me when you're fucking dressed!"

There was a thick, pregnant moment of silence. Leah broke it first with a sigh and dropped her head into her hands. "Jesus Christ, I can't believe that boy is still the bane of my existence."

Charon exhaled as well, rounding the bed to help her up to her feet. She smiled her thanks and kissed his chin, then set about finding their clothing. It was all in the bathroom where it had been thoughtlessly discarded and she threw bits of armor and clothes haphazardly out through the doorway.

"You were in a relationship with him?" he called as casually as he could manage while he picked up his things and began to dress. He knew the instant that she reacted, because she stopped tossing out the clothes—there was also an instant shift in the air, one that he'd been around her long enough to recognize. After another silent passing of time, Leah stepped out of the bathroom, wearing her pants and a bra. She bit her lip, eyes flickering up to meet his from across the room.

"It was a long time ago," she muttered, looking away and pulling her shirt on. Charon crossed the room and touched her arm, making her flinch and glance back up at him.

"How many men must I compete with for your attention?" he said in what he hoped was an obviously joking tone, adding a half smile to make it clear he wasn't angry.

"None," she answered at once, her face serious. "There's no competition. It's only you."

Her response left him stunned for a moment, giving her a chance to straighten her shirt and rake her fingers through her hair. By the time he'd unfrozen, Leah had their bag slung over her shoulders and was waiting patiently by the door. He moved in a flash across the room, pulled her into his arms so tightly her feet were lifted from the ground, and planted a kiss on her lips the likes of which she'd never experienced before: passionate, sweet, tender and insistent all at once, the cocktail of emotions going to her head faster than three shots of whiskey—but leaving her feeling just as tipsy.

Leah clung to him a moment afterward, exhaling softly as her eyes searched his face. Being around Butch had shifted her perspective, put everything into the right place, exposing to her emotions and truths she'd never been able to see before. She wasn't the young girl with a cement soul anymore, existing but not living, navigating but unseeing. Charon had taken a hammer to that hard center, shattering it and leaving her real core exposed.

How could she explain her feelings? The sensations that he summoned within her? When those eyes fell on her, eyes that had once been so blank and now sharply saw, not just looked but saw, it felt like her heart was aflame. It was so goddamn cheesy, but she really couldn't think of any other description but a flaming heart. A light in her chest, shining so brightly it was almost blinding at times.

Times like now, in fact.

"Charon," she murmured, those blue eyes fastening on his and freezing him in that trance she sometimes forced upon him. "I . . ."

"Hey, you two fuckin' lovebirds finished in there?" Butch snarked, his presence opening the automatic door to the room. The couple turned and gave him the deadliest glare he'd ever had the misfortune of receiving.

"Don't look at me like that, Amata's the one ousting you two," he snarled, hitching a thumb over his shoulder toward the clinic.

Leah sighed, feeling, if anything, just nostalgic. She'd kind of expected it. Instead of angry, she just felt déjà vu. How familiar that an Almodovar would be shunting her from the Vault she'd just essentially saved from civil discourse. They moved silently down the hall, Leah looking around and realizing that there was nothing in this Vault to memorize and cherish before she left. Nothing at fucking all.

They entered the clinic, where Amata was helping the others stack mattresses and clean up discarded food items. She looked up as Leah entered, pushing her hair out of her face. She took in Butch's presence and her expression turned wary.

"Yeah, he told me," Leah said, leaning against the door frame and taking in her best friend. "Guess this is goodbye, then, Overseer. Funny how much that title can fuck with a person, isn't it?"

"Stop," Amata insisted quickly, shaking her head. "This isn't what I want, Leah, it's just what I have to do. You did kind of torture a Vault officer. You've also been exposed to the Wastes for too long. You live by Wasteland rules now. You probably don't remember how to live in a Vault. It's not the same, Leah."

Anger clutched at Leah's heart like the monster she knew it was, but she had the strength to push it away. She exhaled tightly to expel it from her body and rolled a deep glare at her friend. "I would rather die than live in this vault again, Overseer. And frankly, I feel sorry for anybody who doesn't feel the same. You'll see once you start venturing into the 'wasteland.' It's not the same, Amata," she said, sarcastically throwing Amata's words back at her. When her best friend flushed red, Leah sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this, Amata. I really am. You know I'll always love you . . . for who you were." She turned on her heel and stormed out, pushing past Butch and grabbing Charon's hand. She squeezed his fingers hard, expressing so much without any words. He rubbed her hand with his, sympathizing.

To her surprise, but not anger, Leah found Butch following them. He trailed along all the way to the Vault exit, peering bravely out into the cave toward the big, bad Wasteland. Leah paused and glanced at him.

"You really coming with us?"

The Tunnel Snake straightened his shoulders and nodded. "You bet your sweet little ass I am, Leah. I see what the Wasteland did to you and . . . I'm . . . proud of you." He seemed to barely get the words out, and his expression indicated they left a bad taste in his mouth. Leah rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder.

"Ow," he whimpered, rubbing his arm. "If anything, it's given you killer muscles and I could always tone up a bit. I'm coming with you."

Leah turned to her ghoul, kissing the exposed skin of his upper arm and batting her long lashes up at him. "Do you mind if he comes, Charon?"

The ghoul sighed, looking very put upon. "If he dies, it is not my fault."

"Well, that goes without saying, really. I mean, if he gets gutted by a raider or nibbled on by a mole rat or turned into a super mutant or raped by a feral ghoul –,"

"Or crushed by a behemoth or ripped apart by radscorpion –,"

"Or, God help him, tickled by a radroach . . ."

"You assholes," Butch cut them off with a glare. Leah burst into laughter, Charon chuckling beside her and kissing the crown of her head.

"I'm coming with you and that's final."

"All righty, then," Leah sang, shrugging at her old semi-friend. "We're going to Rivet City. It's a long trip. Are you ready?"

He pulled two pistols from his pockets and held them out proudly. "Nicked them from a couple dead guards."

Leah inspected them skeptically, then nodded. "They'll do for now. Use them at the same time, if you can. Are you ready?" she asked, turning to her ghoul.

Charon smiled and traced her lower lip with the pad of his thumb. She smiled and kissed his finger. "You'll never have to wait for me, smoothskin."