The clap of thunder overhead was followed by a horrendous, blinding flash of lightning. Both companions taking refuge under a tiny metal awning squinted against the visual raping spectacle, their retinas burning without consent. Heavy rainfall pattered so loudly it drowned out all sound; the ferryman felt his employer shrug farther down inside her coat; they were sitting on their haunches, backs flush together to share the small shelter until the storm passed. He felt her wiggle again, this time with some urgency, and he half-turned his head to peer behind himself.

"I need to pee," she said in a raised voice without meeting his glowing eyes.

Another flash heralded across the darkened sky. Another loud boom.

Charon ignored her and went back to facing forward; he shifted his weight from having sat for nearly thirty minutes, folding his arms over his knees. A third squirm, and he jabbed her with his elbow, earning a muttered 'ow'.

"Hold it," he grunted.

The landscape was practically drowning; he couldn't see shit five feet in front of his face. He necessarily didn't need to hold her hand for moments like these, but coupled with the fact he wouldn't be able to hear any dangers approaching, it was an unwise move to be made.

The heat of her spine pulled away from his own. The towering ghoul half-turned, nabbing at her forearm before she could disappear behind the thick curtain of rain.

"Hold it," he repeated in an undisputable tone of don't fucking make me say it again.

"But I like really have to go," she said exasperatedly.

His other arm snapped up, a thick index finger pointing to a spot a few feet away from themselves. Her jaw dropped, and she brusquely shook his hand off of her.

"No!"

"I will not look."

A humorless laugh barked from her lips. "That's not the point!"

Charon brought his arms over his chest, staring back out into the endless fall from the heavens. "Then you can hold it."

Evelyn bit the pale, pink flesh of her lower lip. "Five minutes."

Charon exhaled loudly through his cavernous nostrils. After a moment, he slightly turned his head to the side, his expression bored. "Five minutes."

She didn't waste another second; when the ghoul was given a time limit, he meant it. Literally.

Charon stretched his spine in spot, listening to her boots splashing through the torrenting flood as she put distance between them. A slow, methodic tap began on his bicep, counting in beat to the seconds ticking away. He had only managed a total of three minutes and fifteen seconds before a blood-curling scream met his ears. The ghoul was on his feet and sprinting, squinting through the wash of water cascading down his face.

"Evelyn!" he barked, whipping his head around as he scanned the area for any sign of her struggle.

"Charon!" she screamed, and he spun ninety degrees to the direction of her wail.

The massive ghoul came upon the scene; his employer had scrabbled to the top of a small boulder, a few ants chittering about her feet. She had unintentionally disturbed the entrance near their nest, gaining a few friends for her troubles. She picked up a rock and pelted it at the nearest insect, missing completely for it to splash in the mud.

The ghoul rolled his eyes so hard he may have stolen a peek inside his skull. With a disgruntled sigh, he raised his weapon and let off a few shots, effortlessly dealing with the pests. He then holstered his shotgun and stormed up to her. She outstretched a hand for balance as she went to jump from her perch, and he grabbed at it, whisking her so quickly from her spot the rain misted from her shoulders.

"What did I say about that?!" Charon growled, pointing a finger in her face as he curtly chastised her. "You cannot scream for me for fucking bugs, Evelyn!"

"…sorry," she mumbled, tapping her index fingers together as she bowed her head in shame.

Charon shook his head, wiping a hand down his face as he turned to continue back. When she didn't follow, he snapped his head around. "What is it?"

Evelyn blinked from inside the shadow of her hood. "I still need to pee."

The ghoul fully faced her, crossing his arms defiantly and merely standing there. He may as well have been a statue; only his eyes seemed to have life to them as they burned through the grey haze of the storm.

Her own widened. "You are not-!"

"I suggest you proceed quickly," Charon interrupted her, his voice completely flat and expression smoldering. "If there are a few, there will likely be more."

She gasped, looking around anxiously for any sign of unwanted visitors, and in an attempt to hide away from his glower. "Well, at least, turn around!"

Her companion finally complied with an air of reluctance, grumbling incoherent nonsense to himself that was inaudible in the deafening tempest. There was the sound of a zipper and buckles clinking, and then the minutes passed on…and continued to do so.

"Are you done?" Charon asked irritably. He was fucking soaked.

An annoyed huff was directed at his backside, and he could hear her decency being put back into place. "…I can't go."

Charon closed his eyes, roughly rubbing at them with his fingertips until he saw stars. "Why?"

"Because you're fucking standing there!"

A loud roar swiveled their heads around. There was a faint outline of something big trudging through the rain; a deathclaw was investigating the prior shrieking.

"I think I can hold it," Evelyn said quickly.

Charon threw her a nasty glare, and then reached down for her hand as they made a hasty escape.