Fic: My Echo, My Shadow and Me, Chapter 3
Title: My Echo, My Shadow and Me
Chapter: 3. Little Small Town Girl
Character/Pairing: Charon, Lone Wanderer ("Kate"); Charon/Kate
Genre: Het, Pre-game and During-game (yeah, that sounds stupid, but whatever)
Rating: R
Summary: He is exactly what they made him to be, and he hates it.
Author’s Notes: I ♥ Ghoul Love. Also, at the pit of voles, here.
Spoilers: Multiple ones over the course of the fic concerning both main and side quests.
Warnings: Violence, swearing
Beta: sparrowinsky ♥
Am I just a small town girl
With big town dreams
That won't come true?
Thinking everything that means anything to me
Means something to you, too?
The Super Duper Mart was a one-story building decorated with the usual raider ornaments-mutilated bodies, blood-stained bones, decapitated heads, and all strung up with metal wire and hooks. Glancing at Kate, Charon wondered how much contact she'd had with raiders so far.
“Miss Kate,” Charon whispered, “We will, in all likelihood, encounter many raiders inside. Are you prepared?”
Kate nodded, though with great hesitance, and slipped her 10mm pistol from its holster on her hip.
Charon scrutinized Kate. “You have killed before, haven't you?”
The girl looked away, and Charon frowned.
“Of-Of course I have, Charon. Don't be silly.” Her voice wavered and Charon saw her hands shaking. She hadn't killed a human in her life.
Well, she was going to get a good lesson about the Wastes. It wasn't all mole rats and Super Mutants-there were people too. Horrible, evil people that could not be reasoned with, no matter how slick someone thought they were. Violence was the only suitable answer for dealing with them.
Kate gave Charon a sidelong glance, then stared at the ground, sheepish. “Charon,” she said, “could you please take point?”
Stubborn girl. She'd never simply admit that she had, as of yet, had yet to kill another human being with her own hands. She had damn near orchestrated Ahzrukhal's death, but she balked when it came time for her hands to get dirty. Typical first-timer fear. Eventually, she'd get over it and dispatch enemies without the slightest hesitance. At this point, however, Charon expected few kills and a lot of throwing up.
Charon didn't blame her for delegating him as point man-how could he? He could sense her terror from a mile away-she knew this was the point where she could no longer avoid it, but that didn't mean she was ready to throw herself right into the thick of it all. She wanted to live a little while longer yet, and having the more experienced of the two of them take point was the smartest move to ensure that.
To be completely honest, he wondered how she'd managed to avoid murdering other humans so far. Had the D.C. ruins truly become so overrun with Super Mutants that there were no humans inhabiting the area?
“As you command, Miss.” Charon unslung the shotgun from his back and leveled it at the door.
Kate copied Charon, her 10mm pistol aimed high, though her hands continued to shake.
“And Charon,” she continued, “please be careful.”
Charon nodded in response. Her words were unnecessary-he already knew quite well she would never wish death upon him (or anyone, for that matter), nor send him in as point if she thought he would perish. Kate was not the sort of person to sacrifice another in her place if Three Dog's rambling broadcasts were to be believed. And, she was confident in his abilities to keep her safe, that much was clear, even after only a few days of traveling together. It was clear in the way she huddled close behind him and copied his every action. It was clear in the way her shoulders seemed to relax a little, knowing she wasn't alone in this, that she had him to depend on. Mostly, though, it was clear by the sheer fact that she had purchased his contract. If she'd had no faith in his abilities, she would have never bothered. He was, first and foremost, her faithful bodyguard and companion-killing Ahzrukhal had simply been a bonus.
In unison, they sidled along the outside wall of the derelict grocery store, carefully stepping over piles of broken glass and rusted tin cans. Near the door, Charon gently pushed an old shopping cart away, its wheels screeching noisily. Kate was close enough behind him that Charon felt her tense up at the noise. Knowing it would bring her some form of comfort, he reached a hand back and brushed her knee, hovering on it for a few moments, before he felt Kate's fingers wrap around his own.
It was Charon's turn to tense. He hadn't exactly invited the girl to latch onto his hand, but if that's what made her feel at ease, so be it. He would allow it so long as it did not interfere with his duty to protect her.
He tugged lightly on her fingers, indicating he was about to move and she should follow. Her grip tightened but he ignored the increasing pressure on his digits. With a light bump from his shoulder, he jostled the right-hand door open silently, then slipped between the door and the metal divider, holding the door open for Kate to enter. Only a moment's hesitation and Kate was crouching in the foyer of the store, Charon right behind her, his back turned as he gripped the door and slid it back into its original, closed position.
Twisting around, Charon placed his hand back on its place, holding the grip of his shotgun. He glanced at Kate, then did a double take.
The girl had some pathetic excuse of a sad and forlorn look on her face as she stared at Charon. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth parted slightly in surprise.
There was a moment as Charon considered ignoring her, but he realized he couldn't. He'd always been a sucker for that hurt puppy dog look.
God help them all if Kate ever discovered the extent of her own sex appeal. Disgruntled, Charon sighed and rolled his eyes before reaching his hand back out to her. She clasped it immediately, a pleased grin lighting up her face, and fell into step behind him. Whatever it took to keep her calm, he supposed, though the closeness she seemed to be insisting upon was making Charon uncomfortable. How long had it been since he'd been this close to, well, anyone? Too long, he decided. His job normally required distance and an uncaring attitude. Kate was systematically changing what his job description was. The girl was hellbent on having Charon open up to her-on having him care, and damn if he was thinking she might be worth it, for once.
After all, it wasn't everyday someone was willing to touch him. It also wasn't everyday he willingly let his employer do so.
Damn her. He'd promised himself a long time ago that he would never feel this way about anyone again. Promised himself he'd never care again, and what the hell was she going and doing?
But all Charon could do was sit and watch as that four-letter word made him feel whole again. The snowball had been sent tumbling down the hill by a naive little Vault girl named Kate, and he was not a strong enough man to step into its path and stop it.
*
They were huddling behind the checkout counter near the front of the store, waiting for the voices of the raiders to fade away as they continued their patrol back to the far end of the store. Shortly after Kate had searched the fridge and shelves on the opposite side of the room for whatever it was that Moira had asked for (whoever "Moira" was-though she was most likely fucking crazy if she honestly thought there would be any edible food left in a well-known raider camp), the sharp laughter of a raider had caught their attention, and Charon had motioned for Kate to stay still. She'd frozen to her place by the fridge (though had the good sense to crouch carefully into its shadow), a frightened look plastered over her face, until the voices of the raider's became steadily louder, and Charon quickly gestured for Kate to book it over to him.
She did-as quickly and quietly as she could manage in her terror. She nearly tripped and collided with a large pile of empty soda cans as she reached Charon, but at the last second he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his arms. Awkwardly, they crouched there behind the counter, Kate pressed tightly against Charon's chest and Charon almost completely oblivious to their current closeness as he listened intently to the raiders.
“I think I'm going to swipe some shit from the fridge...”
The high-pitched laugher from earlier repeated itself. “It's your death wish.”
“You really think Rex would kill me over a little fucking food?”
“Hell yes, I do. Fucking crazy asshole.”
Charon stiffened and Kate whimpered. Without a word, Charon slipped his hand over Kate's mouth. He glanced down at his shotgun, sitting within quick reach beside him. His plan had been to get in and get out without alerting the bloody-crazy raiders, but it was impossible to hope for anything to go according to plan.
“Well...on second thought...”
“You're such a fucking pussy.”
“Hey! Shut the fuck up!” The familiar sounds of a scuffle breaking out reached Charon and he let out a relieved breath, letting his hand fall from Kate's mouth.
She took a deep breath and whispered an apology to him.
Charon took little notice of her words-he was focused on the sheer oddity in his arms. Most smoothskins, by now, would be scrambling away from him, disgusted looks on their faces. Kate seemed almost comfortable, as if nothing at all were strange about the situation-Charon, still holding Kate even though he really could have let her be by now, and Kate, pressed to Charon's chest as if the raiders just outside their hiding place were still a threat.
Which, he supposed, if he was in Kate's shoes, they still would be. Every raider in the Super Duper Mart was a threat to Kate, even if Charon considered them small fry.
“Kate,” Charon muttered in her ear, “we should continue searching while they are distracted.”
The girl nodded, but didn't make to move from Charon's arms. He sat there with her for a minute longer before finally relaxing his arms and reaching for his shotgun. Kate redrew her pistol and took a leery step away from Charon, perhaps afraid her legs might fail her. Charon could relate to her-he still remembered his first day out hunting with his father, the first time he'd been forced to kill another human being. Afterwards, he hadn't been able to stand or keep down what little was in his stomach.
Killing only got easier after that, of course. There was only one hurdle to jump, and unless everything went according to plan (doubtful), Kate would jump it today. He'd give her the boost she needed to get over it, but ultimately, it was up to her how she landed on the other side. Though whether she tumbled or kept her balance, Charon would be there. He had to be. He almost wanted to be. But fuck if he was ready to care again. Just because someone was smiling at him for once didn't mean he should be falling all over it like he was a Goddamned teenager again.
He now understood exactly how Gob felt. The poor fool.
Damn her! Was Charon the fool now, for falling for the exact same things poor Gob had? A sweet smile, some kind words, the feeling that someone cared? But even if he was, did he really care?
He watched as Kate shuffled to the door, trying to take some charge of the situation.
Maybe she was worth it. Who was to say?
Time would tell, and it wasn't as if Charon was lacking in that department.
*
Charon slipped against the opposite side of the doorway, giving Kate a sidelong look as she peeked around the corner.
“What are your orders, Miss Kate?” He shifted his shotgun in his hands, uncomfortable. It was dangerous to continue dallying in the raiders' makeshift kitchen, as the now-brawling raiders had proven. If it was any other situation, he'd say he was "proud" that Kate was taking charge, but the problem was she had yet to prove herself in combat against human enemies. She would hesitate-like she was hesitating now. She was still afraid, too scared to kill. The difference between an "animal" and a human was profound, and Kate was living proof of that fact.
He gave her ten seconds before grunting in displeasure and reaching out to grab her hand and yank her through the doorway. She squeaked, surprised, but it didn't matter-the fighting raiders were causing a loud enough ruckus that they could, for the moment, be as loud as they pleased without being noticed. Charon squeezed Kate's fingers hard, urging her to keep up with him, to move quicker and keep her attention away from the raiders. There was a dim light bulb illuminating the aisle up ahead that they would have to pass under, and he needed her right behind him and then through it, in case there were any raiders skulking about to see them illuminated for that short amount of time.
They stopped at the edge of the light, and Charon turned to Kate. "We must move quickly under the light, while those idiots are still fighting," he motioned to the cans, bottles and other various garbage littering the aisle, "and we have a cover of noise on our side. Stick to the shelves-I will be right behind you."
Again, her hesitance shown as she stared at the circle of light ahead of her. Charon growled, his patience growing thin. The girl needed a good lesson in using the surrounding environment to her advantage while it lasted, and Charon was about to teach her, the only way he knew how.
He shoved her and ignored her surprised yelp as she stumbled out of the comforting cover of darkness and into the light. She moved against the shelves in the aisle swiftly, causing a hell of a racket as she kicked up the garbage on the floor but the noise blended with that of the fight. She held her pistol in her quivering hands, though pointed uselessly at the ground, and as soon as she once again reached the darkened section of the aisle, Charon heard her slump down, breathing hard.
As Charon began his hasty trek through the aisle, the moment his foot collided with the massive pile of empty soda cans and bottles, he realized that something was wrong. In his preoccupation making sure Kate made it safely to the other side of darkened aisle, he'd tuned out the more distant sounds of the fight and then focused on the immediate sounds around them. Far too late, he realized that it was now deathly quiet, and he was crashing through a thick jumble of the loudest trash imaginable.
Irony was a bitch.
*
"Hey! Who the fuck is that?"
"Don't ask questions-fucking shoot, stupid!"
Charon ran faster than he'd run in a long time. He paused just long enough to grab Kate by the shoulder and lift her to her feet, telling her to fucking run, and to shoot anything that moved. She nodded, held her gun out in front of her and took off down the aisle. Running behind her, his upper body twisted around to watch their ass, his shotgun leveled at approximately chest-level, he hoped the fucking kid was prepared for this, because he definitely did not want a bullet in the ass.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are..."
The voices of the searching raiders were closer now, as they reached the end of the aisle and paused, awkwardly pressed against the shelves.
Kate peeked around the corner (good girl-she was learning) but ducked her head back around just as quickly. A pattering of gunfire erupted over the linoleum tile to her left and Charon let out a chuckle.
“Watch your head,” he said and Kate shot him a look.
She scowled. “That's not very funny, Charon.”
“Whoever said it was a joke?”
She continued to glower at him as she asked for his tactical appraisal. "What should we do?"
Charon turned to keep his eye on the illuminated end of the aisle. "We need to know what we're up against, first and foremost." He glanced back at Kate momentarily, and nodded to her end of the aisle. "What did you see?"
"Three... no, four raiders. The one that shot at me had a... an... SMG?" Her face burned a deep red. "Is that what it's called?" Was she honestly embarrassed about not being knowledgeable in an area? Charon didn't give a shit whether she knew the difference between an SMG and an assault rifle-as long as she knew how to use them, what did it matter? Too many years locked up in that vault had given her the perception that what mattered in the world was intelligence, and not knowing was taboo-something to be embarrassed about.
He didn't mention it-he wouldn't want to embarrass her further, after all. Even if seeing her all flustered was amusing.
"Yes," he answered. "Were the others unarmed?"
Bravely, she took another peek. No bullets flew toward her head this time, but she still ducked back behind the shelves as quickly as before. "No. The other three all have clubs of some sort. I think one had a pool cue..."
"Good," Charon grunted. "See that room over there?" Kate followed Charon's pointing finger to the small, walled-off area across from them. It was much like the register area they had hidden in earlier, but, with luck, it would provide Kate and himself more cover than the shelves of the aisle would.
Kate nodded, indicating she understood the area he meant.
"Then go!" With a start, Kate was off, scrambling out of the aisle, ducked low and moving fast. As soon as she had left the aisle, Charon whipped out after her, leaning around the cover of the aisle and take aim at the nearest raider. At fifteen yards, one slug from his shotgun knocked the raider back and straight to the ground. Charon hadn't hit a vital organ (not for lack of trying), but the raider wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
The remaining raiders cursed and scattered. Two retreated into an aisle and the third rolled behind an old freezer.
Charon walked carefully across the distance between the aisle and where Kate was currently taking position-ducked down behind the counter, just barely peeking over it with her arms and pistol resting on top. He paused, peering into the darkness, searching for the hidden raiders. There was a slow, careful movement, just off to the left, and he took aim and fired. The raider let out a bloodcurdling scream and Charon grinned. It was too dark to tell where he'd hit, but wherever it was, it had hurt.
Suddenly, to his right, Kate was firing at the raider with the SMG from earlier. Her shots went wild, ricocheting off the floor and far away shelves. The raider was approaching slowly, his SMG raised. He'd wait until he was up close and personal before ripping her to shreds with it.
"Kid!" Charon yelled. "Calm down and aim!"
She did. A bullet hit its mark, grazing the raider's exposed thigh. The raider paused, clutching his thigh and wiping away the blood.
"If it helps any," he called, "they're basically animals anyway." Charon wasn't sure whether it helped or not, but Kate's next bullet hit too. It went straight through the raider's shoulder, forcing him to drop his SMG. If she could take down a super mutant with minimal help, a raider was nothing. All that kept her from doing it was the fear of murder-perhaps even the fear of the repercussions, if he took into account her vault experience. Murder would have been a crime in the vault. It was no wonder she was freaked out.
Charon blasted the raider in the chest and he fell, dead.
"One left," Charon announced. "Why don't you come out and fight me?" It was a weak taunt, but a raider came rushing at him anyway, enraged to the point of madness (and probably high on Pyscho). Charon dispatched him without a second thought.
As Charon slipped four new slugs into his shotgun, he turned back to Kate, giving her the once-over. When he was satisfied that she was unharmed, he cocked his shotgun and raised it to his shoulder, preparing to sweep the area.
But a sudden crash behind him and a death cry sent him whirling around-
-and face-to-face with a baseball bat. With a startling crack, the bat splintered over his head and sent him tumbling to the ground.
He blinked blood out of his eyes while everything in his vision doubled and attempted to bring his shotgun up to, at the very least, smash across the raider's face, but he was finding it increasingly difficult to figure out which image was the real raider.
The raider pounced on Charon, slamming into his chest and knocking the wind out of him. A fist slammed into his cheek, and he retaliated on impulse. The punch caught the raider off guard, but the two gunshots that zipped over Charon's head and straight through the raider's caught Charon even more off guard.
Charon shoved the dead raider off his chest and then laid there, just breathing.
He could see Kate's outline, hovering above him, before she quickly knelt down and was digging around in the pouches strapped to her belt.
“Miss Kate,” Charon said, gritting his teeth as he held back a groan, “nice shooting.”
“Quiet,” she snapped. She pulled something out of the largest pouch circling her and gingerly pressed it to his bleeding forehead.
Charon closed his eyes. “Are you going to be all right?” Well, wasn't he the chivalrous one today, he thought, disgusted.
Kate momentarily drew away the cloth she was using to mop up his blood away from his head momentarily, and with his vision clearing up, he could see her hands were shaking. Slowly, Charon drew he gaze up to her face and saw the tears soaking her cheeks, and a distinct coldness in her eyes.
“You've...you've got to do, what you've got to do, right? I...” she paused and took the second of silence to return to dabbing at his forehead. “I knew I'd have to face it someday. I just...”
With extreme patience, even as she was pushing against the growing lump on his forehead, Charon waited for her to finish.
“...I didn't think it'd be so easy. I thought...I thought...”
He scoffed at her. “What did you think was going to happen? Had she killed me, it would have been you she came after next.” Charon watched as Kate grabbed a bottle of purified water from another pouch and poured it over the bloodied rag. “I think you know you made the right choice. And this will not be the last time you must make this choice.”
“I know,” Kate sighed. “I'm sorry, Charon. I shouldn't have left everything to you. I was just...scared-right out of my fucking mind. They don't prepare you for this sort of thing in the vault, you know. Hell,” she grumbled, “they don't prepare you for anything at all.”
“It is of no consequence.”
Kate winced, but Charon pretended to ignore it. If she had a problem with the way he treated his life as of little importance, she could consult his contract. “When you are done with my injury, we should make haste to search the remainder of the building and leave, before others arrive,” he suggested, and Kate nodded.
She finished applying a temporary fix to Charon's head wound-which, with the few medical supplies she carried on her at all times, consisted of little more than a stimpak to stop the bleeding and some Med-X to dull the pain and keep the swelling down. She slapped a bandage over it for good measure before standing and extending her hand to him.
He grasped it, and with surprising strength, Kate helped pull him to his feet.
But she didn't let go of his hand. Instead, she wiped the tears off her face with the other and then looked him straight in the eye, a determined look falling over face.
“Charon, next time, I swear-I will not falter.”
Charon quietly watched as Kate's vault innocence began to crumble.
Author's Notes:
(1) I learned recently that the Capital Wasteland does indeed appear to have winter, or at least did at some point. However, since no further information is available, let's say it doesn't anymore.
(2) Thank you to my lovely beta, sparrowinsky, for both beta'ing and being overall amazing. :D
(3) Chapter title and lyrics from, as always, the song of the same name by The Ink Spots.
(4) Charon is using slugs instead of shells for his shotgun. Why, you might ask? Because he's so damn accurate with that thing in the game, theoretically, you'd think he would be. If you're wondering what the hell the difference is: a shell consists of a bunch of tiny projectiles that scatter before impacting with a target. A slug is one projectile intended to provide rifle-like performance. You'll have more range than with shells, but less range than if you were using an actual rifle.
Chapter: 3. Little Small Town Girl
Character/Pairing: Charon, Lone Wanderer ("Kate"); Charon/Kate
Genre: Het, Pre-game and During-game (yeah, that sounds stupid, but whatever)
Rating: R
Summary: He is exactly what they made him to be, and he hates it.
Author’s Notes: I ♥ Ghoul Love. Also, at the pit of voles, here.
Spoilers: Multiple ones over the course of the fic concerning both main and side quests.
Warnings: Violence, swearing
Beta: sparrowinsky ♥
Am I just a small town girl
With big town dreams
That won't come true?
Thinking everything that means anything to me
Means something to you, too?
The Super Duper Mart was a one-story building decorated with the usual raider ornaments-mutilated bodies, blood-stained bones, decapitated heads, and all strung up with metal wire and hooks. Glancing at Kate, Charon wondered how much contact she'd had with raiders so far.
“Miss Kate,” Charon whispered, “We will, in all likelihood, encounter many raiders inside. Are you prepared?”
Kate nodded, though with great hesitance, and slipped her 10mm pistol from its holster on her hip.
Charon scrutinized Kate. “You have killed before, haven't you?”
The girl looked away, and Charon frowned.
“Of-Of course I have, Charon. Don't be silly.” Her voice wavered and Charon saw her hands shaking. She hadn't killed a human in her life.
Well, she was going to get a good lesson about the Wastes. It wasn't all mole rats and Super Mutants-there were people too. Horrible, evil people that could not be reasoned with, no matter how slick someone thought they were. Violence was the only suitable answer for dealing with them.
Kate gave Charon a sidelong glance, then stared at the ground, sheepish. “Charon,” she said, “could you please take point?”
Stubborn girl. She'd never simply admit that she had, as of yet, had yet to kill another human being with her own hands. She had damn near orchestrated Ahzrukhal's death, but she balked when it came time for her hands to get dirty. Typical first-timer fear. Eventually, she'd get over it and dispatch enemies without the slightest hesitance. At this point, however, Charon expected few kills and a lot of throwing up.
Charon didn't blame her for delegating him as point man-how could he? He could sense her terror from a mile away-she knew this was the point where she could no longer avoid it, but that didn't mean she was ready to throw herself right into the thick of it all. She wanted to live a little while longer yet, and having the more experienced of the two of them take point was the smartest move to ensure that.
To be completely honest, he wondered how she'd managed to avoid murdering other humans so far. Had the D.C. ruins truly become so overrun with Super Mutants that there were no humans inhabiting the area?
“As you command, Miss.” Charon unslung the shotgun from his back and leveled it at the door.
Kate copied Charon, her 10mm pistol aimed high, though her hands continued to shake.
“And Charon,” she continued, “please be careful.”
Charon nodded in response. Her words were unnecessary-he already knew quite well she would never wish death upon him (or anyone, for that matter), nor send him in as point if she thought he would perish. Kate was not the sort of person to sacrifice another in her place if Three Dog's rambling broadcasts were to be believed. And, she was confident in his abilities to keep her safe, that much was clear, even after only a few days of traveling together. It was clear in the way she huddled close behind him and copied his every action. It was clear in the way her shoulders seemed to relax a little, knowing she wasn't alone in this, that she had him to depend on. Mostly, though, it was clear by the sheer fact that she had purchased his contract. If she'd had no faith in his abilities, she would have never bothered. He was, first and foremost, her faithful bodyguard and companion-killing Ahzrukhal had simply been a bonus.
In unison, they sidled along the outside wall of the derelict grocery store, carefully stepping over piles of broken glass and rusted tin cans. Near the door, Charon gently pushed an old shopping cart away, its wheels screeching noisily. Kate was close enough behind him that Charon felt her tense up at the noise. Knowing it would bring her some form of comfort, he reached a hand back and brushed her knee, hovering on it for a few moments, before he felt Kate's fingers wrap around his own.
It was Charon's turn to tense. He hadn't exactly invited the girl to latch onto his hand, but if that's what made her feel at ease, so be it. He would allow it so long as it did not interfere with his duty to protect her.
He tugged lightly on her fingers, indicating he was about to move and she should follow. Her grip tightened but he ignored the increasing pressure on his digits. With a light bump from his shoulder, he jostled the right-hand door open silently, then slipped between the door and the metal divider, holding the door open for Kate to enter. Only a moment's hesitation and Kate was crouching in the foyer of the store, Charon right behind her, his back turned as he gripped the door and slid it back into its original, closed position.
Twisting around, Charon placed his hand back on its place, holding the grip of his shotgun. He glanced at Kate, then did a double take.
The girl had some pathetic excuse of a sad and forlorn look on her face as she stared at Charon. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth parted slightly in surprise.
There was a moment as Charon considered ignoring her, but he realized he couldn't. He'd always been a sucker for that hurt puppy dog look.
God help them all if Kate ever discovered the extent of her own sex appeal. Disgruntled, Charon sighed and rolled his eyes before reaching his hand back out to her. She clasped it immediately, a pleased grin lighting up her face, and fell into step behind him. Whatever it took to keep her calm, he supposed, though the closeness she seemed to be insisting upon was making Charon uncomfortable. How long had it been since he'd been this close to, well, anyone? Too long, he decided. His job normally required distance and an uncaring attitude. Kate was systematically changing what his job description was. The girl was hellbent on having Charon open up to her-on having him care, and damn if he was thinking she might be worth it, for once.
After all, it wasn't everyday someone was willing to touch him. It also wasn't everyday he willingly let his employer do so.
Damn her. He'd promised himself a long time ago that he would never feel this way about anyone again. Promised himself he'd never care again, and what the hell was she going and doing?
But all Charon could do was sit and watch as that four-letter word made him feel whole again. The snowball had been sent tumbling down the hill by a naive little Vault girl named Kate, and he was not a strong enough man to step into its path and stop it.
*
They were huddling behind the checkout counter near the front of the store, waiting for the voices of the raiders to fade away as they continued their patrol back to the far end of the store. Shortly after Kate had searched the fridge and shelves on the opposite side of the room for whatever it was that Moira had asked for (whoever "Moira" was-though she was most likely fucking crazy if she honestly thought there would be any edible food left in a well-known raider camp), the sharp laughter of a raider had caught their attention, and Charon had motioned for Kate to stay still. She'd frozen to her place by the fridge (though had the good sense to crouch carefully into its shadow), a frightened look plastered over her face, until the voices of the raider's became steadily louder, and Charon quickly gestured for Kate to book it over to him.
She did-as quickly and quietly as she could manage in her terror. She nearly tripped and collided with a large pile of empty soda cans as she reached Charon, but at the last second he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his arms. Awkwardly, they crouched there behind the counter, Kate pressed tightly against Charon's chest and Charon almost completely oblivious to their current closeness as he listened intently to the raiders.
“I think I'm going to swipe some shit from the fridge...”
The high-pitched laugher from earlier repeated itself. “It's your death wish.”
“You really think Rex would kill me over a little fucking food?”
“Hell yes, I do. Fucking crazy asshole.”
Charon stiffened and Kate whimpered. Without a word, Charon slipped his hand over Kate's mouth. He glanced down at his shotgun, sitting within quick reach beside him. His plan had been to get in and get out without alerting the bloody-crazy raiders, but it was impossible to hope for anything to go according to plan.
“Well...on second thought...”
“You're such a fucking pussy.”
“Hey! Shut the fuck up!” The familiar sounds of a scuffle breaking out reached Charon and he let out a relieved breath, letting his hand fall from Kate's mouth.
She took a deep breath and whispered an apology to him.
Charon took little notice of her words-he was focused on the sheer oddity in his arms. Most smoothskins, by now, would be scrambling away from him, disgusted looks on their faces. Kate seemed almost comfortable, as if nothing at all were strange about the situation-Charon, still holding Kate even though he really could have let her be by now, and Kate, pressed to Charon's chest as if the raiders just outside their hiding place were still a threat.
Which, he supposed, if he was in Kate's shoes, they still would be. Every raider in the Super Duper Mart was a threat to Kate, even if Charon considered them small fry.
“Kate,” Charon muttered in her ear, “we should continue searching while they are distracted.”
The girl nodded, but didn't make to move from Charon's arms. He sat there with her for a minute longer before finally relaxing his arms and reaching for his shotgun. Kate redrew her pistol and took a leery step away from Charon, perhaps afraid her legs might fail her. Charon could relate to her-he still remembered his first day out hunting with his father, the first time he'd been forced to kill another human being. Afterwards, he hadn't been able to stand or keep down what little was in his stomach.
Killing only got easier after that, of course. There was only one hurdle to jump, and unless everything went according to plan (doubtful), Kate would jump it today. He'd give her the boost she needed to get over it, but ultimately, it was up to her how she landed on the other side. Though whether she tumbled or kept her balance, Charon would be there. He had to be. He almost wanted to be. But fuck if he was ready to care again. Just because someone was smiling at him for once didn't mean he should be falling all over it like he was a Goddamned teenager again.
He now understood exactly how Gob felt. The poor fool.
Damn her! Was Charon the fool now, for falling for the exact same things poor Gob had? A sweet smile, some kind words, the feeling that someone cared? But even if he was, did he really care?
He watched as Kate shuffled to the door, trying to take some charge of the situation.
Maybe she was worth it. Who was to say?
Time would tell, and it wasn't as if Charon was lacking in that department.
*
Charon slipped against the opposite side of the doorway, giving Kate a sidelong look as she peeked around the corner.
“What are your orders, Miss Kate?” He shifted his shotgun in his hands, uncomfortable. It was dangerous to continue dallying in the raiders' makeshift kitchen, as the now-brawling raiders had proven. If it was any other situation, he'd say he was "proud" that Kate was taking charge, but the problem was she had yet to prove herself in combat against human enemies. She would hesitate-like she was hesitating now. She was still afraid, too scared to kill. The difference between an "animal" and a human was profound, and Kate was living proof of that fact.
He gave her ten seconds before grunting in displeasure and reaching out to grab her hand and yank her through the doorway. She squeaked, surprised, but it didn't matter-the fighting raiders were causing a loud enough ruckus that they could, for the moment, be as loud as they pleased without being noticed. Charon squeezed Kate's fingers hard, urging her to keep up with him, to move quicker and keep her attention away from the raiders. There was a dim light bulb illuminating the aisle up ahead that they would have to pass under, and he needed her right behind him and then through it, in case there were any raiders skulking about to see them illuminated for that short amount of time.
They stopped at the edge of the light, and Charon turned to Kate. "We must move quickly under the light, while those idiots are still fighting," he motioned to the cans, bottles and other various garbage littering the aisle, "and we have a cover of noise on our side. Stick to the shelves-I will be right behind you."
Again, her hesitance shown as she stared at the circle of light ahead of her. Charon growled, his patience growing thin. The girl needed a good lesson in using the surrounding environment to her advantage while it lasted, and Charon was about to teach her, the only way he knew how.
He shoved her and ignored her surprised yelp as she stumbled out of the comforting cover of darkness and into the light. She moved against the shelves in the aisle swiftly, causing a hell of a racket as she kicked up the garbage on the floor but the noise blended with that of the fight. She held her pistol in her quivering hands, though pointed uselessly at the ground, and as soon as she once again reached the darkened section of the aisle, Charon heard her slump down, breathing hard.
As Charon began his hasty trek through the aisle, the moment his foot collided with the massive pile of empty soda cans and bottles, he realized that something was wrong. In his preoccupation making sure Kate made it safely to the other side of darkened aisle, he'd tuned out the more distant sounds of the fight and then focused on the immediate sounds around them. Far too late, he realized that it was now deathly quiet, and he was crashing through a thick jumble of the loudest trash imaginable.
Irony was a bitch.
*
"Hey! Who the fuck is that?"
"Don't ask questions-fucking shoot, stupid!"
Charon ran faster than he'd run in a long time. He paused just long enough to grab Kate by the shoulder and lift her to her feet, telling her to fucking run, and to shoot anything that moved. She nodded, held her gun out in front of her and took off down the aisle. Running behind her, his upper body twisted around to watch their ass, his shotgun leveled at approximately chest-level, he hoped the fucking kid was prepared for this, because he definitely did not want a bullet in the ass.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are..."
The voices of the searching raiders were closer now, as they reached the end of the aisle and paused, awkwardly pressed against the shelves.
Kate peeked around the corner (good girl-she was learning) but ducked her head back around just as quickly. A pattering of gunfire erupted over the linoleum tile to her left and Charon let out a chuckle.
“Watch your head,” he said and Kate shot him a look.
She scowled. “That's not very funny, Charon.”
“Whoever said it was a joke?”
She continued to glower at him as she asked for his tactical appraisal. "What should we do?"
Charon turned to keep his eye on the illuminated end of the aisle. "We need to know what we're up against, first and foremost." He glanced back at Kate momentarily, and nodded to her end of the aisle. "What did you see?"
"Three... no, four raiders. The one that shot at me had a... an... SMG?" Her face burned a deep red. "Is that what it's called?" Was she honestly embarrassed about not being knowledgeable in an area? Charon didn't give a shit whether she knew the difference between an SMG and an assault rifle-as long as she knew how to use them, what did it matter? Too many years locked up in that vault had given her the perception that what mattered in the world was intelligence, and not knowing was taboo-something to be embarrassed about.
He didn't mention it-he wouldn't want to embarrass her further, after all. Even if seeing her all flustered was amusing.
"Yes," he answered. "Were the others unarmed?"
Bravely, she took another peek. No bullets flew toward her head this time, but she still ducked back behind the shelves as quickly as before. "No. The other three all have clubs of some sort. I think one had a pool cue..."
"Good," Charon grunted. "See that room over there?" Kate followed Charon's pointing finger to the small, walled-off area across from them. It was much like the register area they had hidden in earlier, but, with luck, it would provide Kate and himself more cover than the shelves of the aisle would.
Kate nodded, indicating she understood the area he meant.
"Then go!" With a start, Kate was off, scrambling out of the aisle, ducked low and moving fast. As soon as she had left the aisle, Charon whipped out after her, leaning around the cover of the aisle and take aim at the nearest raider. At fifteen yards, one slug from his shotgun knocked the raider back and straight to the ground. Charon hadn't hit a vital organ (not for lack of trying), but the raider wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
The remaining raiders cursed and scattered. Two retreated into an aisle and the third rolled behind an old freezer.
Charon walked carefully across the distance between the aisle and where Kate was currently taking position-ducked down behind the counter, just barely peeking over it with her arms and pistol resting on top. He paused, peering into the darkness, searching for the hidden raiders. There was a slow, careful movement, just off to the left, and he took aim and fired. The raider let out a bloodcurdling scream and Charon grinned. It was too dark to tell where he'd hit, but wherever it was, it had hurt.
Suddenly, to his right, Kate was firing at the raider with the SMG from earlier. Her shots went wild, ricocheting off the floor and far away shelves. The raider was approaching slowly, his SMG raised. He'd wait until he was up close and personal before ripping her to shreds with it.
"Kid!" Charon yelled. "Calm down and aim!"
She did. A bullet hit its mark, grazing the raider's exposed thigh. The raider paused, clutching his thigh and wiping away the blood.
"If it helps any," he called, "they're basically animals anyway." Charon wasn't sure whether it helped or not, but Kate's next bullet hit too. It went straight through the raider's shoulder, forcing him to drop his SMG. If she could take down a super mutant with minimal help, a raider was nothing. All that kept her from doing it was the fear of murder-perhaps even the fear of the repercussions, if he took into account her vault experience. Murder would have been a crime in the vault. It was no wonder she was freaked out.
Charon blasted the raider in the chest and he fell, dead.
"One left," Charon announced. "Why don't you come out and fight me?" It was a weak taunt, but a raider came rushing at him anyway, enraged to the point of madness (and probably high on Pyscho). Charon dispatched him without a second thought.
As Charon slipped four new slugs into his shotgun, he turned back to Kate, giving her the once-over. When he was satisfied that she was unharmed, he cocked his shotgun and raised it to his shoulder, preparing to sweep the area.
But a sudden crash behind him and a death cry sent him whirling around-
-and face-to-face with a baseball bat. With a startling crack, the bat splintered over his head and sent him tumbling to the ground.
He blinked blood out of his eyes while everything in his vision doubled and attempted to bring his shotgun up to, at the very least, smash across the raider's face, but he was finding it increasingly difficult to figure out which image was the real raider.
The raider pounced on Charon, slamming into his chest and knocking the wind out of him. A fist slammed into his cheek, and he retaliated on impulse. The punch caught the raider off guard, but the two gunshots that zipped over Charon's head and straight through the raider's caught Charon even more off guard.
Charon shoved the dead raider off his chest and then laid there, just breathing.
He could see Kate's outline, hovering above him, before she quickly knelt down and was digging around in the pouches strapped to her belt.
“Miss Kate,” Charon said, gritting his teeth as he held back a groan, “nice shooting.”
“Quiet,” she snapped. She pulled something out of the largest pouch circling her and gingerly pressed it to his bleeding forehead.
Charon closed his eyes. “Are you going to be all right?” Well, wasn't he the chivalrous one today, he thought, disgusted.
Kate momentarily drew away the cloth she was using to mop up his blood away from his head momentarily, and with his vision clearing up, he could see her hands were shaking. Slowly, Charon drew he gaze up to her face and saw the tears soaking her cheeks, and a distinct coldness in her eyes.
“You've...you've got to do, what you've got to do, right? I...” she paused and took the second of silence to return to dabbing at his forehead. “I knew I'd have to face it someday. I just...”
With extreme patience, even as she was pushing against the growing lump on his forehead, Charon waited for her to finish.
“...I didn't think it'd be so easy. I thought...I thought...”
He scoffed at her. “What did you think was going to happen? Had she killed me, it would have been you she came after next.” Charon watched as Kate grabbed a bottle of purified water from another pouch and poured it over the bloodied rag. “I think you know you made the right choice. And this will not be the last time you must make this choice.”
“I know,” Kate sighed. “I'm sorry, Charon. I shouldn't have left everything to you. I was just...scared-right out of my fucking mind. They don't prepare you for this sort of thing in the vault, you know. Hell,” she grumbled, “they don't prepare you for anything at all.”
“It is of no consequence.”
Kate winced, but Charon pretended to ignore it. If she had a problem with the way he treated his life as of little importance, she could consult his contract. “When you are done with my injury, we should make haste to search the remainder of the building and leave, before others arrive,” he suggested, and Kate nodded.
She finished applying a temporary fix to Charon's head wound-which, with the few medical supplies she carried on her at all times, consisted of little more than a stimpak to stop the bleeding and some Med-X to dull the pain and keep the swelling down. She slapped a bandage over it for good measure before standing and extending her hand to him.
He grasped it, and with surprising strength, Kate helped pull him to his feet.
But she didn't let go of his hand. Instead, she wiped the tears off her face with the other and then looked him straight in the eye, a determined look falling over face.
“Charon, next time, I swear-I will not falter.”
Charon quietly watched as Kate's vault innocence began to crumble.
Author's Notes:
(1) I learned recently that the Capital Wasteland does indeed appear to have winter, or at least did at some point. However, since no further information is available, let's say it doesn't anymore.
(2) Thank you to my lovely beta, sparrowinsky, for both beta'ing and being overall amazing. :D
(3) Chapter title and lyrics from, as always, the song of the same name by The Ink Spots.
(4) Charon is using slugs instead of shells for his shotgun. Why, you might ask? Because he's so damn accurate with that thing in the game, theoretically, you'd think he would be. If you're wondering what the hell the difference is: a shell consists of a bunch of tiny projectiles that scatter before impacting with a target. A slug is one projectile intended to provide rifle-like performance. You'll have more range than with shells, but less range than if you were using an actual rifle.