AN: Yay! I finally updated! Special thanks to my anonymous reviewer (here's some more!), Killergal100 (your review helped kick my butt in gear!), and my hubby (who listens to every chapter as it is being written and throws in his two cents)! Hope you enjoy. You'll notice the romance is slow going, but I promise I have an outline for where this is headed, and it'll be hot!

NOTE: Sorry about the first post. It did something wonky.

Chapter 3 Honesty and Cigarettes

His new employer decided to drop off their stuff by the bed/cubicle she had rented from Carol before getting a bite to eat. He didn't like the way it looked.

As they walked out of the tiny "room" to the dining area, Sophia asked him what he wanted to eat. He turned to look at her and blinked.

"Whatever you think is best." he replied.

"What does that mean?" Sophia asked putting her hand on her hip and stopping to stare up at him.

"Whatever you think is best, I will eat."

"You'll eat whatever I buy? You don't have a preference?" She raised an eyebrow and stared at him. He felt cagey and on edge.

Charon shook his head and replied, "Whatever you think is best."

She shrugged and made to move, but paused. She cocked her head to the side and asked, "Is that how Ahzrukhal treated you?"

"No." Charon took in another breath to speak, but hesitated.

"No?"

He decided honesty would be the best course of action. "At best he chose to provide me with one meal a day. I scavenged the rest."

Sophia looked appalled. She seemed to realize all at once that he was uncomfortable and coughed. "Well, not with me. I like to eat and I don't eat alone when I have a partner. Besides, who can concentrate on much of anything when they're hungry? What do you LIKE to eat? And I swear, if you say 'whatever you think is best', I might murder you." She stared at him with a steely saccharine smile.

Charon blinked. "Uh, meat." He scratched at one of the odd patches of skin and hair left on his head. What else DID he like? "I like InstaMash and apples."

"We can work with that!" She smiled up at him as she took a seat.

Charon stared down at the little courier. She pointed to the seat across from him and began to order their food. As he sat down he tried to remember the last time he had a meal with someone. She was weird. Odd. Had a few screws loose. That had to explain why she acted the way she did. She didn't make sense. Who treated their slave like a partner? As she finished ordering, she started messing around with the pipboy on her wrist.

"So, we've got a few deliveries to run today. It's only 11:00, so we should be able to deliver a few items before supper." She looked up at him with a smile as Greta brought them food.

"Thanks, Greta! It smells great!"

"Yep. Get it while it's lukewarm," she muttered. Greta looked over at Charon and raised her brow. Charon stared hard at the waitress and cook. She huffed and walked away.

"Spam isn't bad, but it isn't my favorite." Sophia began eating her plate of spam and InstaMash while he started in on his steak.

Sophia looked over at him beneath her shaggy bangs in between bites. She noticed he kept glancing at her to ensure he was keeping pace with how fast she was eating. She remembered the time she rescued some slaves from the Legion. She gave them some extra food she carried with her. They ate it like they didn't know where their next meal was coming from. This man didn't. It felt more like an alien trying to figure out how best to fit in with the locals.

"So, where are you from?" Sophia asked.

Charon stopped eating and answered, "I've lived here for most of my...existence."

"Ooookay, sugar. How about, where did ya get that accent from?" Sophia felt like getting information from this man was like pulling the stinger from an adult cazador!

"I grew up on the northeastern shore of the United States. About a week trip from DC."

"Is it near New York City?" Sophia had heard of the large metropolitan area. It had once been a hub for international trade and commerce. Now it was full of yao guai, rad roaches the size of small children, super mutants, and the enclave. Most of it was a crater the size of The Strip and radiated to hell, though. Definitely not a place she wanted to visit.

"Just over the river." They finished eating in silence. Sophia felt like he didn't really want to talk about himself. Before they headed back to her little rented area, she paid Carol for another bed. She knew she'd be tired when she got back and wouldn't want to figure out those sorts of things. Carol told her to just push two beds together and adjust the dividers. Once that was finished she began packing for the day's journey. While she packed she filled the silence with her nervous chatter.

"I'm sure you can tell by my accent I'm from the south. Grew up just outside of Texas. My momma's family grew up in a vault in the Carolinas though. Lots of mean mirelurks and gators! I used to want to see one. Then, when I got the chance to on a job, I could see why my momma left. Daddy grew up NCR. Killed by Legionaires. I ended up moving to New Vegas when I heard about them needing couriers. I was good at traveling and liked seeing new places. But, honestly, all it did was get me into trouble. Seems like trouble follows me like a deathclaw. Luck isn't too bad though." She pushed up her bangs and turned her head at the ghoul.

He grunted when he saw the scar near her hair line.

"Gun shot wound. 9mm?" Charon looked over at the woman sitting on the bed. She was a hell of a lot tougher than she looked...or luck really was on her side. To walk away from a bullet to the head was impressive for anyone.

"Yeah." Sophia let her bangs fall and closed up her pack.

"I was tangled in a horrid mess. Part of the reason I took a few jobs that would take me way out here. I needed to get away from everything. Shall we head out?"

Charon adjusted his new jacket and gave a curt nod.

As they headed out of underworld, Sophia smiled and waved at Willow.

"Hey there darling. Anything you need while I'm gone?" Charon noticed she walked up to the guard with more of a sway in her hip. Did she bat for the other team?

"Don't you try to butter me up, tourist. Just because I helped you that one time..."

"Well, I've always relied on the kindness of," Sophia started flipping her braid over her shoulder, laying it on thick, but Willow was having none of it.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bring me back some cigarettes, tourist." Willow's face was a little redder than usual and she seemed to be brushing what was left of her hair back self-consciously.

"Alrighty!" Sophia smiled and continued walking.

Charon stopped next to Willow as Sophia walked away.

"I swear," Willow said under her breath to Charon as soon as she was out of earshot. "If I didn't think she was equal parts sincere and sarcastic, I'd lay her on the ground and show her what I used to do to sweet little tourists that would come up to visit the capital before the war." Willow pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. "Good luck out there Charon. With that fine ass of hers, you're going to need it."

As Charon jogged to catch up up to her, Sophia looked back at him and smiled. Luck and a steel will, he thought as he heard the bellow of super mutants and readied himself for a fight.