Charlie noticed him grab onto him, and stayed closer. He made his way to a small vendor’s stand, and the man behind the counter waved to him.
“Hey Aech! Good to see you again.”
“Lemme guess, the usual? Just got another shipment in this morning. Who’s the new guy?”
“Yeah, the usual. His name is Bustop.”
“First time in the big city?”
The vendor asked while handing Charlie a bag full of items. Charlie checked the bag to make sure the right items were inside. He handed the vendor two (somehow untarnished) cans of Coca-Cola, and one bottle of Absolut vodka.
Bustop leaned out from behind Charlie, not looking over his shoulder because he was way too tall for that. "It is my first time! How'd you know?" he asked curiously. Looking down at what Charlie was holding, he tilted his head "What's in the bag?" he asked, trying to peek into it.
“You just have that look. Everyone has it when they first get here.”
Charlie rummaged through the bag. “Just random stuff, really….some drinks…..a little bit of medicine for me…..”
"Oh, cool!" he said, responding to both of them. He pulled at the trash bag on his chest. After the rain it began to fall apart, so he ended up taking it off, revealing his soft skin underneath. " That was getting kind of annoying." he stretched and his stomach began to rumble loudly, he blushed and looked back up at Charlie " Can we get food somewhere?"
He nodded. “Yeah, what do you feel like eating?”
Bustop smiled " I wanna try steak! I've never tasted it!" he shook his hands violently with excitement " I've only ever tasted roadkill!" he squeezed Charlie's arms affectionately " Can we get steak?"
Charlie smiled a little, nodding. “There’s a woman across the street that sells steak.” He began making his way over to the vendor, squeezing past the crowds.
“Mari! 2 steaks please!” He raised his hand in greeting.
“Comin’ right up, Charlie! Long time, no see, eh?”
Charlie leaned in, whispering. “She’s been around since before the bombs, that’s where the accent’s from. She lived here back when it was Charleston.” Mari either didn’t hear, or didn’t care. She looked vaguely human, but her skin was hard and cracking, and she only had three fingers on her right hand.
Bustop stared at her in awe "Coooool" he commented, his mouth agape " So she's like, reallllly old" he continued. He studied her features. She looked like one of the people in the magazines, no unique features except for the fact that she looked like she could turn to dust any second, and she had an odd number of fingers. "So, what exactly… is a steak?" he asked generally, hoping anyone at all could answer his question.
“It’s meat, but…. cooked a certain way, I guess? I’m not exactly sure…”
Mari handed the two of them their steaks, and Charlie handed her a few rolls of bandages. “We should probably go to my place to eat, there aren’t a lot of places to sit out here…”
" You have a PLACE?" Bustop asked in awe "In Strohgn??"
He nodded, laughing a little. “I don’t usually stay there for long, but I have an apartment, yeah.”
Bustop looked confusedly at Charlie "Why don't you stay often?" he asked "If IIII had a place in Strohgn, I would stay there til I rot!"
Charlie shrugged. “I get better business if I wander…. there are already a lot of vendors in the city, and people in The Vast are more likely to buy stuff, since traders might not come by often…”
He turned into an alley, walking up a set of stairs to a small apartment. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. It was a small place, with only three rooms; the kitchen and living area, the bedroom, and the bathroom. There weren’t many windows, but all of the lights from outside lit the rooms fairly well. A small stove sat on the kitchen counter, and there was a slightly stained couch against one of the walls. The bedroom had a decently sized bed, which Charlie had made by finding a king size bed frame and putting two mattresses on it.
Charlie plopped down on the couch, tired from his travels.
Bustop gazed around the room in awe, eyes wide and jaw dropped. "This place is AWESOME" he exclaimed, staring into every crevixe with excitment "What'd you have to TRADE for it?" He asked excitedly.
Charlie grew silent.
He stared at the floor, almost sinking into the couch.
"That's not important."
Bustop realized Charlie's discomfort and pulled away "Ah, sorry. Sensitive topic, I get it" He put his legs up on the couch, knees to his chest, his hodgepodge of a skirt barely covering his bottom, and he put his steak plate on his knees. "So… How do I eat this? Do I just…?" he took a bite like a shark taking a bite out of a seal and ripped a chunk off the steak, leaving sharp tooth marks on it. As he chewed, the juices from the steak dribbled down his chin and his eyes grew wide "Oh my wow. That is OUT OF THIS WORLD" he looked at Charlie, his eyes tearing up "What did I do to be left out of this heavenly experience for so long!" after that, he didn't say a word, trying to stuff as much meat in his mouth as possible, the juice spraying everywhere. Every so often he would let out a soft moan of pleasure, letting Charlie know he hadn't choked and died.
Charlie smiled a little, getting up to grab some napkins. He wiped off some of the steak juice from Bustop’s face, setting down his own half-eaten steak. He tried to ignore the moans. After cleaning him up, he placed a kiss on the tip of his nose.
HOW IS HE SO FUCKING ADORABLE H O W
(I finally got an actual character page done for Charlie: Charlie)
Bustop smiled at the kiss and blushed a little. He tried speaking with his mouth full "Fank Gu" more juice dripped down his chin and he grinned. He ate the rest of the steak and swallowed hard "So…" he stared at Charlie " What do you do in here? Do you have people over often?" he half-closed his eyes, staring suggestively " I bet you would" he sneered and laughed it off
Charlie’s face turned beet red. “….I-I..I don’t, a-actually….” He messed with his hands. “….I mostly just sleep here for a night or two, if I’m in the area…..”
why did he have to do that-
Charlie tried his best to push those thoughts out of his head, but he was very clearly flustered.
"Huh" Bustop remarked "Surprising" he smirked again, not specifying which fact he found surprising. He's really cute when he's flustered this is the first time he's really noticed Charlie being flustered, being beet red and all "Well, thank you so much for the treat man" he patted his stomach, though his waist remained relatively thin. He eyed Charlie's plate " You gonna eat that?" he asked, drooling a little.
He shook his head, handing him his plate. He decided not to speak for now, as that would probably give him away more.
Bustop took the steak and bit into it immediately, he finished it in a matter of a few seconds "Whew, thanks man, that was AMAZING" he burped and giggled, but his breath softened " Welp, I'm feeling kinda tired now…" and then he leaned on Charlie's shoulder, closing his eyes "Like really…" he sighed an incomprehensible word and yawned
Charlie smiled a little, putting the plates on an end table and picking up Bustop. He carried him into the bedroom, laying him onto the bed before laying down himself. He draped a blanket over the two of them, closing his eyes.
“Is this okay? I can sleep on the couch if you want the bed to yourself….”
Bustop yawned and held onto Charlie's arm "No, this is fine. I like this" he wrapped another arm around Charlie's, holding his face close to his shoulder. " It's… comfy"
