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"So tell me again. Why are we out here arse deep in bloodbugs?" Cait grumbled. Mud sloughed off her boots, leaving ugly wet patches in the dirt.
"I told you." Nora crouched, sight focused through the scope on her rifle. "We need to clear this building out and fix the pump so Graygarden has clean water."
"You mean ta tell me we're riskin' our hides over some mutfruit? I know you go through each day with a death wish, but I'm not nearly high enough for this."
"Don't you think you should go a little lighter on the chems, Cait?"
"Not sure if I can, runnin' all over the Commonwealth with you. One day it's feral ghouls, next it's Gunners, and-"
"Today is Super Mutants," Nora sighed. She clenched her jaw, her muzzle carefully following the hulking green body moving amongst the perimeter of the building.
"For fucks sake! Why can't we just do normal shenanigans? I'd take a bar brawl any day over these brutes." Cait muttered strings of colorful curses as she reloaded her weapon.
Nora frowned, steadying herself against a charred tree stump. Why didn't I just ask Preston? Maybe there was some weird sisterly instinct taking over, some part of her that wanted to help Cait. Or maybe she just saw a tiny sliver of her younger self in the pit fighter.
"Ready?" she asked, her cross hairs meshing directly over a Super Mutant's head.
"As ready as I can be for missiles to fly over me head."
Nora pulled the trigger, nearly biting her tongue at the recoil. She steadied her sights, a grizzly smile creeping up her lips at the view of the collapsed body. Shouting and growls erupted from the building, the sounds reverberating in her gut.
"Nice shot," Cait said, flashing a grin before charging into the fray.
"Are we almost done in here? This place smells worse than a latrine." Cait held her nose as she followed behind Nora.
"Just one more..." Nora trailed off, wiping years of dust and muck off an ancient control panel. She leaned over a decrepit monitor, tapping a few buttons until a satisfying combination of beeps and clicks sounded. "There. That's it. Let's get out of here."
"Best thing I've heard you say all day."
The pair slipped out of the building, trudging their way up the hill toward Graygarden. Afternoon light filtered through thick cloud cover. Long, haunting shadows lurked behind the stubby trees that managed to take root. Nora glanced at her Pip Boy, wiping off the last sheen of grimy water from the screen.
"If we hurry, we can get back by nightfall."
"Better scrub yourself down first. I don't think your lover girl could stomach a shag with how you smell."
"M-my what?" Nora stuttered, turning abruptly to face Cait. Her cheeks burned red, the blush trailing all the way down the sides of her neck.
"Don't be daft. I know if someone were lookin' at my arse like that, we'd definitely be rolling in the sheets." Cait smirked.
"I...I don't know who you could be talking about." Nora gulped, her eyes searching for somewhere else to land.
"Oh c'mon now. You know as well as I do that Piper wants in those pants as badly as you want in hers." Cait crossed her arms, her brow furrowing in irritation. "You really haven't told her? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I just - I, uh, it just hasn't come up in conversation?" Nora shrugged her shoulders. Her voice creaked, thoroughly unconvincing. She couldn't tell Cait she was terrified of the topic coming up in conversation. That it had been so many years since she allowed herself to feel this way about a woman. Not just any woman. Piper Wright. The woman who had her stumbling over her words and blushing from the first moment they met. She couldn't tell Cait how many nights she'd woken up sweating and all too warm from dreams about the journalist, how she could barely make eye contact the following days and Piper would think she did something wrong. And she definitely could not mention how she may or may not have made the nights a little less lonely by herself (which only made them worse).
But she knew from the way Cait's mouth curled downward and the narrowing of her eyes that Cait was not buying any of her bullshit.
"Listen here, because I'm only gonna say this once." Cait grabbed Nora's shoulders, forcing their eyes to meet. "I know your head's all wrapped up in the world you came from. But you're not there anymore. This is the Commonwealth, and she'll chew you up and spit you right out in a second. You could have a bullet 'tween your eyes tomorrow. And you'd die knowin' you never got a taste o' the one person that makes you blush like a little virgin. Stop foolin' around with your own thoughts and start foolin' around with her. Is that clear?" Cait swiped at the side of Nora's head, a dull thunk enunciating her words.
Nora swallowed, slowly nodding her head.
"Yeah. That's...that's clear."
"Damn well better be. Otherwise I'd have to take measures into me own hands."
"Please don't, Cait. Really."
The pair arrived back in Sanctuary just as the sun fully dipped behind the horizon. A small bonfire blazed not far from the bridge connecting the little village to the rest of the world. Most of the settlement's members had gathered around, their smiling faces dancing in the firelight as Nora and Cait sauntered in.
Nora's heart lept into her throat. Piper already noticed the pair, eyes and smile equally warm and welcoming as she approached. Nora begged her brain to stop staring.
"Hey, Blue. Cait. Didn't have too much fun, did you?" Nora put her hands up defensively, eliciting a curious glance from Piper.
"Don't get too close. Not until we've washed up."
"What she means to say," Cait cut in. "Is that we both smell like 'lurk shite and swamp."
"Oh, wow. That is - wow - maybe I should heat some water up for a bath?" Piper crinkled her nose, the smell inevitably wafting her way on the northeastern sea breeze. Her features contorted in an attempt not to laugh.
"Don't bother," Nora said, shaking her head as she moved toward the back of a ruined house. Preston made sure to build a wash station as soon as people started flocking to the settlement. "I won't be long."
"And who said you could get it first?" Cait glared at the other woman, arms crossed tightly over her chest.
"I did. Just now. I get it first." Nora stuck out her tongue, turning her back to the redhead. "I stink more than you anyway. I swear, I think I'm gonna have to burn these clothes. No amount of washing will clean them."
As soon as Nora slipped around the corner of the house, she peeled each layer off one by one. Scruffy leather coat, pants with three different materials patched together, hole ridden shirt - all of them splattered with things she didn't want to think about. She dumped the clothes into a pile, then turned her attention to a cracked ceramic tub. Above it hung a bucket with holes drilled into it, while a water pump sat nearby. She filled a few spare buckets, slowly dumping one over herself. Icy water poured over her skin, washing off the most obvious of filth. She grit her teeth, holding back the desire to yelp in pain at the way her skin prickled.
A few minutes of scrubbing later and she had herself mostly clean. She stood in the tub, working a lather into her hair.
"Hey Blue, Cait said you needed me-"
Nora froze, arms stuck above her head. All the blood drained from her face. Her eyes, widened in horror, locked onto Piper's. The journalist stared openly, slack-jawed, her face growing more and more red by the second. Realization finally dawning on her, Piper spun around, hands covering her face.
"Oh god. I'm - I'm so sorry. I didn't. I mean, Cait didn't say. I had no idea you'd still be bathing. And naked. Like, really, completely naked. Wow. I, uh-"
"Piper."
"I mean, it's not like I've never seen a woman naked before. Myself, I mean. Not, you know, just anyone. You're special - not like that, you're just the only-"
"Piper."
"I shouldn't have listened. I should, uh, I should probably walk away-"
"Piper!"
"Yeah?"
"Why are my clothes missing?"
Piper turned, her eyes quickly darting to Nora and back to the ground. She put a hand over her face, her blush growing brighter. Nora sank onto her knees, crouching into the tub with her arms wrapped around her chest. Her own face burned hot in the cool night air. The water surrounding her feet suddenly felt very cold and uncomfortable.
"There...aren't any clothes here? I saw Cait walking away with an...armful of...oh shit..."
"I am going to kill her." Nora stared hard at her feet, mentally slapping herself for not watching her belongings more carefully. Suds dripped from her hair onto her shoulders. She still needed to wash off before she could deal with Cait. "Can you, uh, just stick around for a minute?"
"You sure about that?" Piper asked, her voice soft and tentative. She peeked through her fingers, sheepishly keeping her gaze fixed on the ground.
"I kind of need something to wear." Nora stood up, turning her back to Piper. She lifted another bucket of cool water to the makeshift showerhead. "I never really wanted all of Sanctuary Hills to see me like this."
"I'm so sorry, Blue." Piper sighed, rubbing her face.
"Don't worry. At least it was just you." At least it was just the one person I couldn't imagine being caught in such a compromising situation with, Nora corrected herself. She dumped the last of the water into the larger bucket, gasping as the freezing liquid trailed over every inch of exposed skin. She dared not look at Piper as she rubbed her hands over herself, rinsing away the last of the soap. She groped around on the ground beside the tub, finding a rough scrap of fabric designated as a towel. The cloth barely covered her midsection, falling just at the tops of her thighs. Great. This leaves nothing to the imagination.
"Here." Piper moved closer, her fingers hurriedly undoing the buttons of her trench coat. "You shouldn't stand out here in the cold. Put this on." She slipped her trademark red coat off, shoving it toward Nora while keeping her gaze fixated on a very interesting tin can. Nora reached out, her fingers gently brushing over Piper's. Still warm, she thought as she slipped her arms into the coat. A mix of wood smoke and fruity bubblegum hit her nose as she slid the fabric around her. Unconsciously, she held the collar close to her face, taking in the dizzying mixture of fragrances. She wiped her hands on the towel, very aware of the fine layer of sweat covering her palms.
"Thanks," Nora muttered, stepping out of the old bath tub. "I'll give it right back. Promise."
"Take as long as you need, Blue." Nora watched Piper turn to leave, her shoulders sagging. "But we probably should get you some real clothes. I'm sure that thing feels a little drafty. Given, ya know-"
"Yeah," Nora mentally kicked herself for her near-squeaky tone instead of her usual cool confidence. She darted ahead, Piper just a step behind as they made their way to the ruined house that Nora once called home. Real smooth. The most gorgeous woman in the whole Commonwealth just saw you in your birthday suit and the best voice you can manage ranks worse than all of puberty.
Revenge plots swirled around in her head as the pair made their way into the house. Piper waited nervously at the doorway, footsteps echoing back and forth. Nora scrounged around in what remained of her room, digging around for the cleanest articles of clothing.
"I could...I could give you some, uh, privacy. If you need it." Piper's voice rang from the threshold of the hallway.
"You could. Or you could help me think of a good way to get back at Cait."
Nora heard a slow inhale, then silence. Soft steps sounded near the door. She barely thought she heard Piper speak. Barely.
"I almost feel like I should thank Cait for the view." Silence again, then a scuffling of boots and nervous coughing. "Sorry, Blue. Rain check maybe? I'll, uh, I'll think of something real good by morning. Good night!"
Nora stared at the floor. Hard. She could barely move as the muttering she thought, she swore she heard replayed in her mind. Maybe radiation exposure affected your hearing after awhile. Or maybe, maybe, Piper Wright just admitted the one thing her confidence needed to move this ridiculous crush forward.
God dammit, Cait, she thought. I'm not sure if I should punch you or hug you.