Charon was out of the shower at this point. He'd never had a hot shower before; it was amazing how much dirt and grime had been on him. He heard Anastasia say his name and decided to listen in while getting dressed.

"He was employed at a bar in Underworld when I met him. I guess he just stood in the corner everyday and dealt with troublemakers from what Azrukhal told me. I purchased his contract for two thousand caps, and he follows whoever holds it, so he's kind of become my bodyguard since then."

She described their travels together, their inside jokes, the times they'd slept curled in each other's arms. She described the revenge and the kiss at Tenpenny Towers, their adventures in the capital building, and she ended when they received Amata's call.

"So you haven't…y'know."

"Done anything serious with him?" Amata blushed and nodded. Anastasia smiled and shook her head. "No, I haven't." There was a beat of silence.

"Would you?"

There was a beat of silence in which Charon felt like he should perhaps stop listening, that perhaps he should just put the rest of his armor on and wait until he heard her call. But it was much too late to stop now.

"Yes." Anastasia admitted, blushing, and Charon looked at the mirror to see his own relieved smile.

"How do you judge a thing like that?" Amata said halfway to herself, and Anastasia said.

"My father said that when it's a person you should give your love to, you'd know. I think I kind of know what he meant. With Charon it's just-"

"Anastasia, you're back!" Butch burst into the room, chains on his leather jacket jingling. She stood and hugged him.

"How's your mother?"

"Good. Great. No, she's fantastic, I-wow. How are you?" Anastasia laughed at Butch's excitement.

"I'm fine. Word is you want out of the vault?"

"Hell yes. I'm so ready to ditch this place."

"You think you can take what's out there? It's not a safe place. It's hard going, really."

"I can take it!" Anastasia smiled.

"We'll see. Charon?"

"Yes?"

"Please come out here, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Butch wasn't the only one astounded when Charon walked out. He wasn't wearing all his armor, but instead his black undershirt and pants with his combat boots. It was, Anastasia realized, the first time she'd seen Charon without all his armor on, and she blushed. The shirt outlined his muscled chest and showed off his strong arms. He looked at Anastasia expectantly. "Oh, um Charon, this is Butch. He wants to leave the vault, so I'd like you to teach him to shoot. There's a practice room down in the reactor chambers, he'll show you the way." Amata looked concerned. "Come on, I was always down there when my dad taught me to shoot, where else did you think I was?"

"In your room like everyone else?" Anastasia laughed.

"Yeah, right. Charon, go with Butch, then come back here after you have dinner, alright?"

"As you wish."

As soon as the door closed behind him Amata grinned.

"Ana, your face is redder than a Nuka-Cola truck!" Anastasia punched her on the arm.

"Shut up. I'm going to take a shower of my own now. I'll meet you in the dining area." She said, and Amata nodded, then left.

Anastasia noticed the rest of Charon's armor folded neatly on the floor when she entered the bathroom. She touched it, gently, remembering the feel of it. She took off her clothes and stepped into the warm water of the shower and as she scrubbed, she couldn't help but look at the armor. She didn't know why. It was a presence in the room, and she felt exposed, behind the clear glass of the shower.

Her thoughts were stuck on Charon. She tried to concentrate on anything else, her father, megaton, anything, but she couldn't.

Okay. Places. The vault my father is in. The vault I'm in. Megaton. My home. Tenpenny Tower. Betty's room. Kissing Charon. Damn it all.

"So…you're traveling with Ana?" Charon grunted. Butch took another shot and missed the target, but only by a bit. "Have you guys done anything?"

"No. Focus. You'd be dead if this was an actual fight."

"Hey man, cool down. I just wanted to know if I still had a shot." Butch said, winking.

"You don't." There was silence while Butch reloaded, and then he fired again, hitting it dead on this time.

"So, you got your sights set?" Charon was silent for a while. He hated nosy people.

"Yes. Reload faster." Butch fired off another round, and the target swung around.

"Well, I guess that makes me your competition. May the best man win." Butch replied, and he reloaded quickly, a huge grin on his face.

Anastasia didn't want to put all her armor on, but the only other option seemed to be one of the vault jumpsuits, which she'd grown to hate. So, she stood in the bathroom in her underwear, indecisive. She pulled the chain of Charon's dog tags over her neck and brushed out her hair, which took some time seeing as she had not done so in several months. By the time she got done, she was freezing, so she pulled on her armor anyway, sighing.