As soon as she stepped through the front door of her home in Megaton, the Lone Wanderer knew exactly what her night would entail.
The house itself was mostly unchanged and still resembled the Vault aesthetic she had scraped way too many caps for to bring a piece of her past with her into the unrelenting Capital Wasteland. Metal walls, control panels that were mostly decorative and a working Nuka Cola refrigerator were all where they were supposed to be but the ever present Wadsworth wasn't hovering where he usually was with his typical greeting and witty remarks.
Instead he was silently floating, plugged into a nearby wall charger and out of the way in a nearby corner. The familiar thrumming of his thrusters was replaced with the sound of a slightly upbeat jazz song that drifted from the old jukebox upstairs. She stepped further into the living area and sniffed lightly at the air as she unbuttoned the light armor she wore and shucked off her boots.
A slow smile spread across her face at the familiar smell of lavender that burned from one of the precious few candles she had managed to salvage from her old Vault 101 bedroom from what felt like a lifetime ago. The smell no longer brought her a feeling of remorse but excitement at what lay in store for her.
"Charon?" she called as she stuffed her leather coat, hat and rifle into their relevant lockers. "Where are you?"
"Here," her companion rasped out. She whipped around to see the ghoul emerge from the kitchen with a small tray in his hands that was littered with a smattering of different foods, small cups of drinks and, most excitingly of all, a pair of steel handcuffs. He set the tray down on a small table that had been moved in front of the three seater sofa and wasted no time in approaching her, milky white eyes darting over her body in a familiar check for any injuries or unexpected marks.
She held out her arms and cocked a hip at him and said cheekily, "Made it back in one piece! I told you going to Moira's was going to be quicker than two shakes of a lamb's tail!"
"You've never even seen a lamb," he huffed but stepped back satisfied that she had indeed made the half mile trip without incident. "Did you get what you needed?"
She hummed an assent then pulled a thin roll of cloth from one of the pockets of her pants and unwrapped the bundle to reveal several strands of multicolored wires. She held the wires up for Charon's inspection. "I'll be able to increase Wadsworth's purified water output by one bottle, maybe two if I'm lucky." Charon eyed the frayed things with a raised brow but knew better than to comment, she'd jerry rigged bigger with less. The disarmed atomic bomb that sat in the middle of the town was proof of that afterall.
"I was planning on doing the upgrade when I got back but…" she looked pointedly at the hulking ghoul in front of her. "I'm guessing you have other, more exciting plans."
"I do," he said simply. "Go clean up and change then meet me back here." She nodded and made to move by him but a large hand clasped around her arm to still her. "Do not keep me waiting," he growled.
Her breath caught as she glanced up, up, up to meet his gaze head on. A beat passed, then two before she relaxed her shoulders and gave her longtime companion a gentle smile.
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Go."
She did as he instructed and took the stairs two at a time to rush into their bedroom. She yanked off the rest of her clothes, haphazardly folding them and placing them on a nearby chair as she usually did when Charon was in one of his moods then padded naked to the next room where a lukewarm bath awaited her.
A few days worth of grime and dust was scrubbed from her skin as she hummed along with the next record that started to play. Once she was done she pulled the plug on the drain and reached over the lip of the tub to heft a bucket of clear, cleanish water over the lip to rinse herself with. She patted herself dry as best as she could and took a few minutes to run a comb through her tangled mess of hair.
Once most of the knots were undone she debated a few seconds over whether or not to braid her hair or let it dry freely. She briefly considered asking Charon but ultimately grabbed one of her few remaining hair bands and snapped it around her wrist with the reasoning that if the ghoul wanted her hair a specific way then he could do it himself.
She walked back to the bedroom and eyed the silky chemise that was draped over bed with a shiver of excitement. She wiggled into the sexy slip of fabric. She turned and eyed herself in the tall, slightly cracked mirror that was in the corner of the room.
Her pupils were already slightly blown and her cheeks were flushed with anticipation of what awaited her. She bit her lip as the cool, soft material caused her nipples to harden and poke scandalously outward. She looked like the complete opposite of what she had been raised and told to be for over nineteen years.
A lady. A woman of the night.
A housewife. A call girl.
A mother. A whore.
"Are you okay?"
She flinched and peeled her eyes away from her reflection to stare widely at Charon who eyed her like one might a scared animal and she knew first hand how a scared animal looked. She'd encountered too many either by accident or with intent to kill for food but she couldn't stand being looked at like she was like them because that was what prey looked like and she was a predator, fuck, she had to be because if she wasn't then-
"Hey."
She jerked back or tried to at least but firm hands gripped at her shoulders and shook her once to pull her back from her spiraling thoughts and to the present where she was protected and safe and home. She reached up to grasp at Charon's forearms to ground herself and sucked in a few carefully deep breaths. Her nails dug into his red, patchy skin but he remained quiet as she gathered herself and slumped forward into his broad chest.
"You're okay," he muttered. "You're okay. I've got you."
The Lone Wanderer nodded against him, finding comfort in the familiarity of the cotton shirt he wore and the strength of his arms that had wrapped around her. Moments that seemed like minutes passed before she found the strength to step back and lift her head to whisper, "I'm okay."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded but he must've seen something different because the corners of his mouth pulled down in worry and he shook his head slightly.
"No, I don't think what I had planned is a good idea.."
Her heart dropped at that but before she could protest Charon pressed a finger against her lips.
"Ah, ah. Let me finish." He waited a beat then removed his finger and said, "I want to go slow tonight. I want to take you to the edge and back so many times that you forget your own name, is that clear?"
"I feel like I don't remember my own name most of the time," she admitted and how fucking sad was that?
Charon remained quiet for a time. He never stopped touching her whether it be to play with one of the delicate straps of her nighty or to rub his hands soothingly over the slightly chilled skin of her arms.
Finally he said, "'To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.'"
She tossed the words around in her head a bit and smiled. "Wise words from a wise man?" she asked.
The ghoul grunted, "Hell if I know but I think you fit them pretty well." He cradled her cheeks in his hands and made sure they were both looking each other in the eye as he said, "You are more than this Wasteland, hell, this world deserves and you better pray that I never meet whomever put those shadows behind your eyes because I can't promise I won't break a few teeth if I do."
"Charon-"
"No, you listen to me," he ordered. "'Every fucking day I'm thankful that you pulled me out of that corner in Underworld and I would have spent one hundred more years stuck in that godforsaken corner if it meant being brought to you, do you understand me?"
He swiped at the tears that spilled from her eyes and bowed down until their foreheads touched and they breathed the same air as they fought for control of their emotions. Once their breathing had calmed and they no longer gripped each other as if they were the last people on Earth, Charon whispered three, familiar little words that had the Lone Wanderer shaking with relief and repeating the same words back with just as much heartfelt emotion.
Everything was a little more bright and steady as they released each other. The Lone Wanderer, the Paladin of the Wastes and, once upon a time, the Vault Doctor's daughter led Charon from the room and down the stairs to the careful set up Charon had put together while she had bathed.
There were a few more candles and, to her surprise, a vase full of pressed flowers that awaited them. She quirked a brow at her companion and grinned at the unexpectedly abashed look he had.
"You like flowers," he grunted as she sat in the middle of the sofa then patted the seat next to him. She settled at his side, bare legs pulled up and out of the way as he gathered the tray from the table and eyed the contents. "Should still be good." He decided then grabbed one of the amber filled glasses to tilt toward her lips for a quick sip. The whiskey pooled and warmed her belly which was quickly followed by a few crackers topped with Cram and dried strips of Brahmin steak. The last bit of food was chased with another sip of whiskey that had her mind fuzzing pleasantly at the edges.
A half filled, cool glass of water was pushed against her mouth which she sucked greedily on until all she could enjoy were the last drops of liquid that she licked free from her lips.
"Come here, pet."
The Wanderer glanced toward Charon who had a thin pillow laid across his thick thighs which was all the invitation she needed to maneuver herself over his lap. She adjusted herself until she was comfortable, her body already falling into a comfortable position with her head resting against another small pillow and her arms wrapped gently around it until her hands grasped lightly at her own wrists, carefully avoiding the irritating metal of her Pip-Boy 3000. Her eyes slid shut as the hard won feeling of trust and relaxation fell over her.
An arm rested lightly against her back and warm fingers started playing gently with the hairs at the nape of her neck. She felt Charon start to rumble along with the lyrics of the song playing which helped her mind to fade away until the only thing that mattered was the man whose lap she was draped over.
It started agonizingly slowly.
Those same familiar, warm fingers drifted down her back and toward her naked bottom. His hand cupped one of her ass cheeks and squeezed delicately at it before moving further down to brush lightly over her naked core then to the back of her thigh, calf and curved part of her foot. He repeated the process with her other side in the same teasingly slow manner that had her thighs pressing lightly together to relieve some of the pressure gathering between her legs.
A soft smack against her bare ass had her stilling in an instant, the warning clear as a bell that she headed at once and forced herself to relax.
"Good girl," he praised, then resumed his gentle petting.
She was just drifting off again when those thick fingers started sliding down to play with her wet pussy lips.
"Look at how wet you are," he said softly. "Such a good pet for her master." She opened her eyes to see two of his slick covered fingers held in front of her face. She opened my mouth and was rewarded with him letting her taste myself and the natural salt of his skin.
Once she had sucked and licked him clean he went back to playing with her once more and that time she wasn't reprimanded for squirming in his lap. Contrary to a few minutes before, her body's every twitch encouraged him to make her release several throaty moans as he worked his fingers diligently inside her. He knew her body more intimately than she did and it didn't take long before she was inching ever closer to an orgasm.
She hadn't realized exactly how close she was until he slowed his motions to a stop and a pathetic whine began to build in her throat.
A damp hand clasped against one of her ankles and a quiet, "Settle, pet," barely registered through the fog of pleasure that surrounded her. "Are you with me? What is your color?"
"Mhm, yes," she panted. "Green."
"Good girl. I need you to settle a bit, alright?" He gave her ankle another squeeze. " You're only going to cum once tonight and it isn't going to be now."
He waited until she let out a slow breath and a quiet. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Let's start again, shall we?"
