Here's chapter 3, I had to do a bit of research on getting tattoos...and got a lot of conflicting reports so I just had to guess. Just a heads-up, I will be editing my past Sunshine series stories, mostly just fixes for typos, grammar, etc. but some will have extra scenes or be completely revamped (Such as "Perfect") They will be edited in order of the Trilogy (Sunshine, The Ghost of You, and Lazarus), then Perfec. You Know What They Say, Hey Mambo! and Sugar Bombs were cracky stories, so I'm probably keeping them the way they are. Also, anyone else watch Fallout: NukaBreak on youtube? Got a major thing for Ben, just saying.

Charon sighed and marched up the ramp towards home. Watch was a boring job, but not too different from when he was a bouncer in "The 9th Circle." Watching was something Charon had become a master at, so when Lucas Simms approached him with the offer of being Stockholm's relief—along with the mention of 20 caps by the hour—Charon accepted. Still, it was as entertaining as bouncing the bar, less so since there were no rowdy ghouls to throw out on their asses. From the early morning to sunset, the only threat to approach the walls was a small company of mutated ants. Charon took out their antennae and watched them mutilate each other, but that was the only amusement he'd had all day.

At least the pay was decent. Charon counted out the caps again—not that he expected Simms to cheat him, it just felt nice to actually be paid for his services—an hourly wage wasn't something you got used to after centuries of being a slave.

With a proud smirk, he pocketed the caps and stepped into the shack. The living room was dimly lit, but all was quiet. Charon figured Vizyn and Butch had gone over to Gob's to catch up. He went upstairs and pulled the lockbox from the cabinet, pulling out the caps he earned for the day to place them with the rest of their savings. But, when he lifted the lid his heart dropped into his stomach.

The caps and medical supplies were accounted for, but there was no hint of yellow peeking from beneath. Charon hastily moved the other items around, searching frantically but he only discovered what he already knew.

The contract was gone.

The world around him seemed to fade to black, everything he ever feared was becoming a reality. It was gone, lost, taken. Who had it? What were they doing with it? Were they waiting for him?

Dogmeat sniffed at him in question and Charon turned on the hound.

"Find it," He ordered, "It has to be around here somewhere."

Dogmeat barked and began sniffing around the room, but he didn't make any indication that there were any foreign scents in the bedroom. Charon ripped open the other drawers, searched the desk and under the bed, anywhere the piece of paper could have drifted, but found nothing.

Downstairs, the door clicked shut. Charon hurried out of the bedroom and was greeted by Vizyn heading for the stairs. Her skin looked paler and her eyes slightly dazed, but when she saw him she smiled brightly.

"Oh, you beat me here!" She hurried up the rest of the steps and wrapped her arms around his middle, "Sorry, I thought you'd be home a bit later…are you ok?"

"It's gone," His voice was hollow in his eardrums, "the contract is missing."

Vizyn's confused expression evaporated and she gasped.

"Oh! No, no it's not!" She hurriedly assured him, reaching into her pocket to pull out the weathered paper. Relief flooded through the ghoul at the sight of it, never thinking he'd be so happy to see the accursed thing. "Sorry, I needed it."

"You needed it? What in the hell could you need it for?"

Vizyn winced at his harsh tone, gently touching his arm to try and calm him down before continuing, "I got an idea...I just hope it works."

"You took it out of the lockbox because you had an idea? Was it to give me a fucking heart attack?"

"Can I go sit down?" Vizyn asked timidly, "Nova gave me some Med-X and it's kind of making my head fuzzy."

"Med-X?" Charon's eyes widened and he immediately forgot about the contract, holding Vizyn still and checking her over, "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Not exactly…can I just get to bed?"

Charon picked her up and Vizyn winced.

"Tell me everything," Charon growled, gently laying her on the bed. His eyes narrowed when she gasped and rolled onto her side.

"Well, you got me thinking about that dream you had," she began, pushing herself up to sit on the mattress. She leaned down to untie her boots, but when he saw her wince again, Charon waved his hand at her, kneeling down in front of the bed to unlace them himself. After a small noise of protest, she continued, "I got kind of worried, too. I don't want you taken away from me, and I wish that was enough. I've been trying to think of a way to keep the contract safe for good, but I couldn't think of anything."

Charon moved to the other boot, not saying a word. Vizyn watched him for a moment, as though weighing what she should say, "So, then Butch showed up this morning. He had this thing on his arm, he called it an 'ink' and it gave me the idea."

"An 'ink'?" Charon asked, moving to sit beside her and meet her eyes with his. It was a word from centuries ago, but one that still had some meaning. She couldn't mean…?

Vizyn hesitated for a moment before tugging the zipper of her leather vest down to her navel. She shrugged it off and pulled the hem of her off-white tank top over her head, folding her arms across her bare chest. Before Charon's stare could linger too long, she turned and pulled her wheat-blonde waves over her shoulder, revealing her petite back to his wandering gaze.

What Charon saw made him speechless. Words were written into her pale flesh, the skin surrounding the black ink was red and irritated but he could read paragraph after paragraph unhindered. It was his contract, flawlessly recreated and printed permanently into his smoothskin's flesh. He cautiously reached out a hand and gently trailed his rough fingers along the words, hearing her hiss.

"It hurt a lot when he was putting it on," she confessed, "Now, it just kind of stings and itches unless I stretch my back out…then it hurts again." Charon remained silent and Vizyn bit her bottom lip, shivering at the feather-light touches caressing the back of her spine. "Charon, please say something."

"I don't have any words, Viv. This is…The fact that you would do this…" The ghoul shook his head, "Come here."

Vizyn turned to face him and Charon captured her lips in a deep, searing kiss.

"I love you," he growled.

"I love you, too," Vizyn sighed as he began to kiss down her jaw and neck, "More than anything."

Charon's hands ran up and down her back as his mouth ravished her flesh. His fingertips danced over the words he had cursed and despised for so long, now treasuring and worshipping each letter and syllable as though they were some rare, beautiful poem composed for his eyes only.

"You do know that you can never be rid of me now, don't you?" He asked, tangling his fingers in her hair as his other hand brushed up her bare stomach. Vizyn smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him lightly and resting her forehead against his.

"That's the plan, big guy."

Dogmeat stared at his masters and barked loudly, head titled to one side.

Vizyn blushed and covered herself, as though the dog had the decency to be embarrassed at seeing her bare-chested. Charon glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes.

"Get!" He ordered, pointing for the door. Dogmeat whined and pawed at the floor, his ears flat against his head and tail tucked between his legs. Charon scowled and Dogmeat barked once more, whimpering and glancing out to the stairs and back with a cock of his head. "What's your problem, mutt?" Charon growled.

Vizyn looked over her ghoul's shoulder at the dog and gasped.

"Oh, he must be starving! You've been out on the wall all day," she ducked under Charon's arm and scurried out the bedroom door with Dogmeat happily following at her heels, leaving Charon to stare dumbfounded after them.

After a few moments, Charon shook his head slowly.

"Cock-blocked by a damn mutt," He grumbled.

"What'd you say?" Vizyn called up from the kitchen below. Charon sighed and grabbed Vizyn's shirt from the floor, raising his voice.

"I said: Next time keep the damn door shut!"

Vizyn's giggle bubbled around him and a small smile teased the corners of his lips. He tossed the old tank top onto the bed and unzipped his leather jacket, peeling it from his hot skin with a grimace. The yellow paper of his contract caught his eye, abandoned on the floor near Vizyn's dusty boots. He bent down and picked it up, staring at the old words and faded ink. The paper felt as though it would crumble to dust in his hands at any moment, ancient and fragile. But, no longer a threat. No longer a liability. He felt an odd sense of peace as he stared down at the paper that had governed his life for centuries, like it could no longer ensnare him with its twisted words.

True, the essence of the paper was replicated word for word into his smoothskin's flesh. For as long as she lived, so would his contract. But, he wouldn't have to worry about it falling into unworthy hands. Vizyn was always important to him, but now she was truly the sole purpose of his existence. She was his contract now, his life, his will, his conscience.

Nothing could take that away anymore.

As his eyes roamed over the withered paper, satisfaction swelled in his chest. The document, once an empowered, youthful dictator was nothing more than an exhausted old man with no breath left to control. He gripped the top corners of the page in his fists, dropping to sit on the edge of the bed.

Vizyn padded back into the room, shutting the door behind her. Charon lifted his eyes to meet her as she glanced at the contract in his hands. For a few moments, she watched him expectantly. When it seemed as though he wouldn't go through with it, she sat down next to him, wrapping her soft arms around his bicep.

"You can do it," She encouraged softly. Charon paused for a moment, hesitant and suddenly fearful. What if it wasn't enough? Vizyn had gone through the pain of transcribing the contract into her skin, but that could all have been for nothing!

Vizyn's soft hand trailed down his arm to rest against his own. Charon met her eyes, knowing that his were betraying all the doubt that had sprung on him like a coiled snake. Vizyn pursed her lips, eyes narrowing in determination.

"I'm your contract now," She said. "You can only have one and you can't rip me in half. Go on."

Charon set his focus back on the paper in his hands. She was right. With a feral growl, Charon jerked his hands apart, hearing the old contract rip in half. The sound melded with the thundering in his chest and he stared at the destroyed page in awe.

He was alright, a bit anxious from the pumping adrenaline, but alright. The worthless piece of paper was destroyed.

The world didn't end for the second time.

Charon began to laugh, a nervous, slightly manic laugh as he let the ripped halves flutter to the floor. A grin spread across Vizyn's lips and she threw her arms around Charon's shoulders, embracing him and peppering the side of his face with kisses.

The ghoul smiled, slipping an arm around her waist to pull her onto his lap so he could catch her lips in a proper kiss. Vizyn purred, leaning into him and pressing her still bare chest against his black t-shirt.

This was as free as he was going to get, Charon knew. He would always have a contract, but knowing that it would never leave Vizyn's possession sparked a flame of joy in his chest. Never breaking contact, he lay down on the sheets and held Vizyn on top of him, groaning as she shifted to straddle his waist.

He was hers and she was his. Now, that would never change.

So, obviously I chickened out on writing the smut part…I had one written but it just felt out of place and I felt like it took away from the story. I don't know, sorry for those who were looking forward to it. You can always read the edited Perfect (which so far is looking much better than it initially was, thank God) once that's posted if you're looking for VivixCharon smut.