The entertainer was cooing an unfamiliar tune into the microphone on her small stand; her voice was lovely, and something Cross couldn't help but soak his bitter void into. The merc took a seat at the bar, ordering some whiskey to dull the throbbing ache he felt punching him in the chest. His eyes couldn't help but trace a line from his glass over to her swaying gently under the ambient lighting.
The song was over; there was a chorus of applause, and she took the seat beside him. "I think you owe me a drink."
Cross just stared at her stupidly for a few minutes. She was so different from Evelyn, in nearly every way. Dainty features; tamed, golden hair. A soft voice. That flowery aroma wafted over him, and he found his breathing quickened as she granted him a smile- there was that instant attraction firing off synapses in his body, again.
"Fuck you want from me?" he growled at her, kicking back his glass of alcohol in a single throw. "Ain't no way someone like you is interested in someone like me."
"Surprised?" the woman asked teasingly. A small glass of red wine was set at her elbow, and she gave a nod of appreciation to the bartender. "Thanks, Jack." She turned her attention back to the bounty hunter, smoothing down the emerald-colored fabric of her dress. "Are you always this adamant against women that take an interest in you?"
"Women like you don't take an interest."
"What about the other woman? The one you were dancing with a few nights ago. Was she an exception you made?" A coy smile, and she bumped his leg with her foot. "She was beautiful."
A warning growl, and he threw another glass back, giving a gasp as he sloppily refilled it. He couldn't for the life of him quell the shaking in his hand. He said nothing to her, and she finally grabbed the stem of her own drink and took a sip.
The bounty hunter took a deep breath, and closed his eyes against the world for a moment.
It was a clear, crisp night; cold, but thankfully dry.
Lydia gave a sneeze. The last few nights she willingly endured in the wastes sought to bless her with a cold. With an audible sniff of snot back up her nose, she trudged into the tiny settlement the others had made due for the night.
There was a trash bin with a lit fire. An old woman had her hands held to the flames, rubbing her hole-riddled gloves together and casting Lydia a suspicious glare as she illuminated under the heated rays.
"Mind?" Lydia coughed into her elbow, slowly inching her way forward until she began to feel the seep of something warm begin to chill her frosted bones.
The old woman said nothing but spit to the side, and the two succumbed to their private thoughts as they both sought sanctuary with the blaze.
Did he tell you to follow us?
N-n-no…I-
Lydia stared into the fire; her breath plumed white as she let loose a weary sigh. The sight of the ferryman's scathing gaze was burning just before her extended fingertips.
Then go back.
The clever girl had thought she was being stealthy enough; neither Campbell nor Evelyn had noticed her presence stalking them the past few days. But the damn ghoul…he always knew. He had nearly scared her to death when he had come upon her makeshift hideaway the first night. Lydia was a light-enough sleeper as it was, but Charon was a fucking ghost when he chose to be.
His suggestions fell on deaf ears, and she found meager supplies of water and food awaiting her at their abandoned campsite. Whatever reason the ferryman chose not to warn his companions of their parasitic follower was beyond her, but she hoped wherever their journey was taking them was just on the horizon.
The nights were growing cold.
The rattle of the bedframe came to a halt, and the woman was finally released from his grasp. The wisps of blonde hair clung to the sides of her face and neck as trickles of sweat rolled down her body, and there was a dreamy look upon her as she laid herself flat onto the mattress.
Cross sat on the edge of the bed, and he cradled his drunken head in his stalwart hands. There was a tiny hope that perhaps all he needed was a new body to erase the impression Evelyn's had left behind…but-
There was a nudge of her knee into his back. "Hey, you okay, Cowboy?" Her seductive voice was breathy, and in any other circumstance, it would have run a shiver down his spine. Another bump. "I don't mean to inflate your ego, or anything-" The ghoul slowly rubbed his hands down his face. "-but I knew she had good taste."
"Fuck that supposed to mean?" he growled, halfway turning to observe the pale glow of her figure in the dark.
A small, knowing smile gleamed white, and she tilted her head while reaching for her packet of cigarettes to the side. "It's not every day you see a ghoul with a woman like that…I was genuinely curious-" She set the end of the smoke between her lips, striking a match for a light. "-and now I know." An exhale of smoke was wafted towards him, and she held her cigarette out for him to take a drag. "Want to take me for a second round?"
He took a deep inhale, and let the white haze curl around his mouth lazily. With a snort, he set the cigarette to the side, and outreached a hand towards her. His fingertips lightly traced the curves of her skin, leading down to her inner thigh; there was a pause; there was no scar, from a bullet he was certain that had killed her. His fingers traced upwards; there was no mark on her shoulder blade, either, from a legionary that had struck her with a spear. It was all flawless. He pressed his palm flat against his mouth.
The fluttering feelings he had been consumed with the past few days suddenly fell way to…nothing.
He raised his hands from her and blinked dumbfoundedly. A disbelieving chortle rose in his throat, and he crudely smashed his eyes with the heel of his palms. The mere thought of being so intimately close to a woman like this would've busted him off his rocker a month ago…but, now- he felt extremely nauseous, and he climbed out of bed.
"…what's wrong?" Her voice was confused, as though she could not believe someone like him was refusing someone like her. "Are…are you alright?"
There was the sound of shuffling as he made his way into his clothes.
"Are you serious?"
He didn't say a word but closed her door behind himself.
The light of his lamp flicked on, and some assorted things were tossed in a pile as he began to repack his bag; a shuffle of papers drew his attention. Almost uncertainly, his fingers curled under the leaflets of pages in Evelyn's journal. It was unmistakable.
There were hot tears forming at the edge of his eyes, and he let them fall to his hands as he leafed through her works. There was a dogeared page, and he paused, bringing the open notebook under the glow of the light for better viewing. It was a poem, and it was his. A few of the letters were distorted from what he assumed was drops of water, and he wiped at his face and coughed as a few more were added to the page.
Beneath it, was a message that had not been there previously.
Hey there, you big baby. I know you're snooping through this, even though I specifically told you not to…I still love you. They say you're supposedly the best bounty hunter there is, so when you're done being a whiny bitch, come find me.
I'll be waiting for you.
P.S.
I won't tell Charon how you broke my heart, but if you take your sweet fucking time, I will.
Beneath the message was a childish drawing of what he assumed to be Charon, shooting at an equally horrendous rendition of himself. There was an arrow pointing to his cartoon self, with the bold word of GOON written to the side. The bounty hunter broke out into some chuckles, before reducing himself into sobs.
The morning began to drift through the shuttered blinds, and she still had not awoken.
Charon dared not disturb her sleep; if she required it, he would let her sleep the entire day away. There was no outward disturbance from her the entire night, but she had subconsciously wiggled herself closer to him as the hours passed.
There had been a respectful enough distance between them at first, now, she was completely flush against him, and her gown had hitched dangerously high up her thighs. Her hands had wandered of their own accord over him a few times; he had grabbed her at one point when she had begun to stray too far down below. It was- unfair, for him, in this manner.
Evelyn was still a beautiful woman, and in all cases, he was still just…a man.
He could not help at the fact that some small, primal part of him desperately wanted her in that way…but that was not their relationship, and he necessarily didn't want it to be. Still-
She shifted, and he felt his nerves pull at their edges as she threw her one leg between his closer up along his thighs, and her fingertips came to swaddle around the back of his neck. His hands rubbed at the small of her back, and he forced himself to stop. It was not helping.
He tilted his head down to stare at her face; she always looked so much younger when she was asleep. The bounty of hair she had rolled in a tumbling valley along her pillow, and he couldn't help but value her features. The merc was very lucky to have someone like her at his whim; Charon still did not understand why she was so…hypnotized, by him- he was perhaps physically worse off outwardly than Charon was, and he had a stained history with his promiscuous ways.
A shuddering breath: she had twitched against him and furrowed her brows, rubbing her forehead against his shirt. A loud exhale breathed over him, and she blinked wearily as she attempted to create sense of her morning thoughts.
An immediate flurry. Evelyn sat upright with a strangled gasp, flaming a multitude of colors as she realized her proximity to the ghoul. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to-!"
She was scurrying away in a state of panic, and her eyes grew wide as her outreaching hand met nothing but empty air. A squeak, followed by a thump, and Charon glanced over the edge of the bed as she laid there, sprawled out on the floor.
"Ow…" Evelyn muttered under her breath, rubbing at her tailbone.
The ghoul raised his indifferent stare to the wall and let loose a disgruntled sigh. "Did you sleep well?"
A small head nod, and there was a loud creak as the ferryman left their bed and began to thrust his pants on, a small muttering of words wafting forth.
Evelyn's tousled head of hair slowly rose over the edge of the frame, and she blinked widely at the ghoul clasping the buckles of his armor. "…did you?"
A barked laugh escaped his lips; his fingers were busy donning an ammo satchel to the side of his waist. "You know I do not sleep."
Those ocean eyes simmered slightly. "Fine…did you, lay-there-quietly-in-the-dark-doing-absolutely-nothing well?"
A clink. His pant buckle was snapped together, and he reached for his fingerless gloves. He seemed to be in considerable thought for a moment, and Evelyn could feel an uncomfortable heat creep up her neck.
"Yes…it was, relaxing." He offered her somewhat honestly, and the ghoul had an amused glint to his eyes as she appeared genuinely awkward. "Your appearance seems considerably better-"
A strangled gasp. "Is that your way of telling me I looked like shit befo-"
"-but that is to be expected after having an actual night of sleep." The ghoul paused, and although his facial expression was passive, there was a knowing air stifled between the two.
The light tan of her face grew dark, and she was reduced to embarrassed, sputtered blubbering's as he turned to reach inside of his bag.
"I thought I told you to stop-" Her voice grew insanely high towards the end, and she sank back below from view as driveled whining floated to his ears.
The ghoul clenched his jaw so tightly he felt the muscles pop, and after having stripped his shirt from his body, he crumpled it into a tight ball. There was the sound of his feet stomping over to her, and her annoying gibberish was smothered as he hurled his clothing at her face.
"You chose to leave him behind," Charon growled down at her. "If it makes you this upset, we can either go back, or we can continue forward." The shirt was removed, and he was left with a wounded Evelyn as his harsh words flogged her like a whip. "What is it that you want? I cannot help you, otherwise."
She was purposefully avoiding his coals for eyes, and she huddled her knees to her chest and gave a shrug.
"You are nothing but a child, then," he ground out with finality. "A stupid child."
He only caught a glimpse of her shattered resolve before she buried it between her legs, and her shoulders trembled. Her hands were slowly clenching into fists, and the ghoul came to a crouch before her, the waves of his body heat enveloping over her from his closeness.
"Evelyn." His tone was as gentle as he could manage it, and he tenderly cradled the sides of her head in the worn gloves of his palms as he lifted her to meet his gaze. The tears were expected, but the trail of blood smeared down her chin rekindled the fires of his smoldering wrath.
"Stop it," he commanded, and he shook her head so violently she was reduced to a blur and clacked her teeth together loudly.
Her hands found their purchase around his wrists, and he halted his actions as her eyes swam in a dizzying spell. A few moments passed as she sought to regain her weighted balance in the world, and he licked his thumb and gave rough strokes across her chin and mouth to wipe away the blood.
A light, quivering shudder involuntarily escaped her parted lips as his ruined thumb tip grazed over, and her hands slightly journeyed up his forearms. There was that very, minute flare inside of him that longed to progress the situation into something more…and before he could chain those troubling desires away, she had witnessed his secret turmoil.
His lips found themselves against her own, and for the second time in their entirety together, they shared a kiss.
Bang bang!
"Open up, kid!" Cross growled from beyond the empty room, wholly ignorant to the fact Lydia had departed days prior.
Bang bang!
A cough in a gloved fist, and the merc turned the knob, a hint of surprise registering in the back of his brain to find it unlocked. The door swung open, and he found its contents empty. A snarl vibrated through his trachea, and he slammed the door back shut.
"Maybe, you'll think of me, when you are all, alone…"
The saloon was practically empty in the morning hours; the only constant assurances one could find being the bartender on shift and the tunes rolling from the rocking jukebox.
"Kid, this tall-" The ghoul placed a hand below chest level. "-got a look on her face like she's damn lost. Seen her?"
"Maybe, the one who is waiting for you, will prove untrue-"
The bartender gave a thought, followed by a lazy shrug. "Yeah…think so. Stubbled head, right?" A squint of his eyes as he traveled down memory lane. "Left a few days ago now, I reckon."
"Then what will you do?"
"Hn!" Evelyn squeaked as the toe of her boot met with an immovable piece of debris, and she was derailed from her steady pace and began to fumble sideways.
An arm as solid as stone wrapped itself around the lower side of her chest; a massive hand a little too close to her left breast as Charon held her upright, giving her a moment to regain her balance before allowing his anchor to fall away back to his side.
She would not meet his eyes, but she felt his own radiating an almost lethal burn into her. They had not spoken a word after their intimate moment, and something internal had kept both at bay from growing the affair into something a little more sexual. Evelyn was being threatened to be torn in half with her conflicting desires; there was the raked-over coals of her lost love- would Cross actually come for her as she hoped? The mere thought of his brash nature, and how depressed he had been when she had left him standing there in that torrent of rain- the recollection was enough to freeze her in her steps.
A nudge was pushed firmly into her shoulder, and for the first time since they continued on their journey, she glanced upwards to catch the…patient stare of her ferryman.
She did not think Charon had actually withheld any affections for her in that way…he was, just Charon. He was a constant in her life the past year, he was always at her side as a reliable companion, as he had verbally told her so. But he was…complicated. His contract was infuriating to come to terms with. And though he would never admit himself, he still grieved over the loss of his dear friend Adam- the Lone Wanderer. Evelyn knew the feeling all too well, and she had hoped the past months of simple busywork in traversing the wasteland would prove useful for his way of coping.
It was clear it did not.
Another nudge, and she refocused herself, drawing away from her inner thoughts as she rubbed at her eyes. They spoke not a word to the other, for the look on his face relayed everything to her that he needed to tell.
I will give you as much time as you need; I am here for you.
There was a quiver of her chin, and the ghoul pushed her gently to continue walking forward. The hour passed in silence, and the wiry merc paused.
"There she is…Braxton." Campbell spat a long stream of tobacco to the side.
The city loomed into view, and everyone stood around quietly as they partook in their own thoughts.
Evelyn gave a sigh and turned to the mercenary. "Thank you, Campbell…I appreciate it."
A spit. "Just doing what I was paid for."
Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "You merc's really are all the same."
Charon bumped her roughly with his elbow. "Come, we should continue. The storm is on its way."
Penny was overlooking the recently filed report when word razed through; a ghoul was at their gates, and he had a smoothskin woman with him. Ten years ago, was suddenly yesterday. She dropped her ceramic cup of coffee; it shattered at her feet and winded a small river towards the glowing ghoul, who was already shrugging into his jacket and making for the door.
The rain was light; they trudged through the puddles of water and came upon the scene; there was shouting and a standoff between the company of two and the Braxton brigade.
"You got a whole lot of fuckin' nerve-"
"You're not going to have anything if you keep fucking talking to me like that!" It was the smoothskin talking, and Thomas halted in his steps.
"No." The glowing ghoul was now rushing, and he parted through the sentries. "Evelyn, what the fuck are you doing here?!"
Everyone immediately stopped; the pitter-patter of the rain gently thrummed down upon them.
"Do…do I know you?" Her voice was uncertain, and she was staring at the glowing ghoul with suspicious eyes. It was quite obvious she was reeling through her memories for some sort of recognition.
"You know her?" Thomas felt the pink ghoul at his elbow look up at him with concern. She then looked back to Evelyn, and her eyes met with Charon's.
It really was ten years ago.
Thomas suddenly felt regret for opening his mouth to begin with, but he couldn't help but blink stupidly at her face. It had been so long; she was obviously older, and yet, she was still very much the same. He felt a nudge in his ribs, and he looked back down to his second lieutenant.
He cleared his throat. "You are not welcome in this city." He gave a pointed look to the ferryman, who returned it with a hard stare. "Leave now, or-"
Too late; she remembered.
The air left his lungs as she rushed him and embraced him tightly. Everyone's weapons suddenly drew out and were pointed all around, the clicking of their configuration mingling with the sound of rain.
She was sobbing into his jacket, and he sighed loudly. "Holster your weapons."
Penny's hand shook, her barrel pointed at Evelyn's head. "But-"
"Do it," he growled.
Penny huffed angrily to the side, stowing her piece back into its holster. Everyone else slowly followed suit. "Thomas, what is going on?"
Evelyn released the glowing ghoul, drawing a fist back and decking him in the face. Penny gave a gurgled gasp, and the ferryman winced at the hit. It had to have hurt. Thomas fell to the side, holding up a hand to indicate a no threat situation as his men went back to their weapons. Penny's fingers itched at the butt of her gun.
"You fuck!" Evelyn screamed; she was soaked from the rainfall, and her braid slapped angrily over her shoulder as she stomped towards him. She suddenly took a dizzy step and dropped to her knees. "Ugh."
Charon immediately stepped forward and was subsequently blockaded by the guards, and he growled loudly as a warning. "You gave her radiation poisoning," Charon rasped, and he pointed a finger threateningly at the sentries. "Move, I will not ask again."
"Let them in." The glowing ghoul was back on his feet, rubbing at his jaw tenderly. He gave a defeated sigh and peered down at Evelyn cradling her head. "Let's get her some medical attention; then, we can talk."
