AN: You know you're super lame when you and your co-worker are singing the Tunnel Snakes song at work and dancing fiftes style in the kitchen.
Baaah, no life. Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and whatnot.
The kisses were rough to the point they left marks on his skin. He shuddered underneath the touches and wriggled around on the mattress until hands gripped his wrists and pinned him down. "Has Butch been hurting you again?" He asked gruffly, noticing some bruises as he pulled the zipper to his Vault suit down. He shut his eyes tightly, heart shuddering in his chest. If this was supposed to be normal, why did it feel so wrong and unnatural? He bit his lip as James latched onto his neck and sucked roughly, causing the small teen to moan. He could hear his father tugging the zipper to his own suit and the sound of it being undone made goosebumps crawl up his arms. His father roughly gripped the back of his long, thick green hair and tugged him forward, and...
Ace awoke coughing and shaking violently, his shirt stuck to his chest, and he realized he was drenched in sweat. He felt hands on him and realized he was pressed against something warm, a body perhaps. Feeling like a caged rabbit, he began to struggle and kick to get whatever it was off of him, and froze when Charon's voice rang out. "Dammit kid you're ripping my stitches!" Ace stopped and felt himself go limp. Charon's breath came in short, wheezed gasps. "You're running a fever, I've been trying to break it." He justified himself, not releasing his grip. "Just calm down."
This was out of the norm for Ace, being ordered around by his supposed servant. He recalled first buying Charon, waving the contract in his face before he could even say, "Talk to Ahzrukhal." Ace had sneered up at the ghoul and pointed to the paper, the words dripping from his mouth like venom. "You belong to me now, Charon."
Ace lay back, hearing the ghoul's strong heartbeat thumping in his ears and the raspy way the ghoul took each breath, almost feeling soothed. He recalled the nightmare and felt bile crawl up his throat, and struggled to control his weak stomach. He swallowed hard, trying to relax, when the fiery-haired ghoul spoke up. "You were talking in your sleep." His arms were loosely wrapped around the teen, and Ace didn't reply, sweat running down his forehead.
"This is not the first time you have done that, either. Is there anything you wish to tell me?" Ace felt himself tense up and anger boiled in his belly, as he practically barked out the words, "None of your damn business." Yet, he did not budge from the ghoul's loose embrace of sorts.
"I apologize for asking." Charon said in the same hollow tone he had always addressed Ace in. They stayed curled up beside each other for quite some time, neither speaking. A calm feeling had replaced the usual uneasiness the pair usually felt together, and Ace welcomed it, eventually falling into a dreamless sleep.
They had delivered the Sugar Bombs to the ghouls in a week's time, Ace giving Charon a little time to heal. They had restocked on ammunition, the raiders having had quite a stash. It was usual business between the pair, not a word shared between them about the night before. Pushing the heavy doors to Metro open, the chemicals within the lab wafted through the air and burned Ace's eyes slightly. Dogmeat whined and refused to enter the Chem lab, and sat outside the door with a low whine.
"Here," Ace said nonchalantly, dropping the box of cereal onto the table with a satisfied smirk. The ghoul had nodded hastily, pushing his glasses up his decaying nose with a single finger as he calculated how many caps he owed the green-haired teen. "I want some of your product," Ace finally spoke up after the caps had been handed to him and stuffed away in his bag. The ghoul had laughed, "That shit will kill your kind. No deal, errand boy. You just keep the boxes flowing and we'll stick to our little deal." However he had shortly changed his mind and been more than happy to give him Ultra-Jet when the teen had pulled a grenade from his pocket and threatened to blow his little operation sky high.
Clutching the drugs with a wide smile on his face, the teen stomped around excitedly, trinkets on his belt jingling. The sun was gleaming and shining on the broken windows in the abandoned buildings by Metro, not a soul stirring outside. Ace stretched his arms up and popped his back, turning a lopsided smile to the reddish ghoul, who stood stiffly not too far from him. "Are you hungry? Because I'm starving." Charon snorted, not used to the chem addict stopping to take the time to eat. Arms crossed, he watched as the teen sat down on a bench and began to shuffle through his bag for a meal. Pulling a bag of chips from his pack and two Nuka-Colas, he looked satisfied until he realized he needed to feed Dogmeat, too. The dog sat next to him, thumping his tail against the ground and waiting patiently for his food. Ace sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair, finally finding a few chunks of leftover meat. "Here," He said, tossing it to the ground. The dog stuffed the food into its' and searched for a more private place to eat.
Handing a Nuka-Cola to Charon, he pulled the cap off of his own with his teeth and began to guzzle it down. Charon drank with more reserve, his milky eyes scanning the horizon as usual. Ace stuffed his face, and between bites asked the ghoul if he had desired anything to eat. Charon shook his head and took another swig of his soda, licking the excess off of his lips. "You're not really going to take that shit, are you?"
Ace looked up at the ghoul, a little shocked. "What did you just say?" He stood up from the bench, going toe-to-toe with the ghoul. Charon didn't budge, eyes meeting with Ace's soft blue. "Don't ever tell me what to do, you fucking zombie!" Charon's lips curled for a moment, not recalling ever telling the ignorant addict what to do. The reddish ghoul's eyes squinted in the light as a cloud rolled past the sun and exposed it. Ace still stood in front of the ghoul, and Charon presumed he was trying his best to assert himself. He hadn't realized they had been competing for who was apparently the leader, wasn't it obvious?
"Listen," Charon started to say, and was completely taken by suprise when Ace had slugged him in the face. Ace smirked as the ghoul stepped back a little from the shock more than the initial force of the hit, but he didn't lose his footing. He clutched his face in annoyance, staring at the green-haired brat before him. This was getting a little rediculous. "Hit me back, you fucking corpse." Ace sneered, his blue eyes dark and slightly tinged with malice.
"Ace," Charon began as calmly as he could before the quick little bastard slugged him in the face again, now apparently making a game out of this. The flesh was a little firmer than Ace had presumed, he had always imagined the ghoul's face would feel soft and damp, like a fresh corpse.
If Ace had ordered him to, then so be it. Charon struck Ace across the side of his face and sent him to the ground with a thud, then spat in disgust. "Happy now?" He said, obviously trying to keep his calm demeanor.
He was a little surpised when Ace hopped back to his feet and retaliated by kicking the ghoul as hard as he could in the stomach, and Charon grabbed his leg, fighting the urge to gasp for breath that wouldn't replinish his lungs for some time. He threw the teen to the ground again and kicked him roughly in the ribs to ensure the little bastard would stay down. His lungs struggled for breath and he finally wheezed, "You done yet?"
He noticed Ace's shoulders moving back and forth and at first, and presumed him to be silently sobbing. Charon stared down at the teen in a mix of disgust and bewilderment as he slowly pulled himself from the ground, blood trickling from his mouth an nose. The fucking kid was laughing, silently, but laughing. The wind had probably been taken from him too, but it didn't stop him from peering up at Charon with a twisted smile on his face, as blood seeped from the places inbetween his teeth. He peered up at him from the ground, eyes hidden behind his green locks, and finally pulled himself to his feet, forgetting the fight had even been initiated as he returned to his meager meal on the bench.
Charon frowned over at the teen as he rubbed his face, feeling a little numb. It would probably swell up tomorrow, more than likely. Their were no apologies exchanged, and neither spoke for the rest of the night. Ace lit up a cigarette after some time, smirking to himself. Charon leaned against a building nearby, keeping watch as he always did.
Things couldn't keep up like this for much longer, that was for sure. Contract or not, he wasn't going to be smacked around by the little idiot anymore. Charon spat again, inhaling the tained air and waiting to depart once more on another pointless journey.
R&R!