Veronica stepped out of her room in the Lucky 38 suite, frowning at the nearly-empty room. She could see light streaming out from underneath the courier's bedroom door and wondered briefly why her companion was still awake. It was well past midnight, and the only reason Veronica was up was because her bladder had decided to protest the sheer number of Nuka Colas she'd drank the night before.
The scribe shook her head, padding over to the bathroom and closing the door behind herself quietly. After emptying her bladder and giving a sigh of relief, Veronica moved to wash her hands, her thoughts going back to the courier. For as long as the scribe had known her, she had been a voracious reader, grabbing up nearly any Pre-war book she could find. Staying up late reading would explain why the courier never seemed well-rested, but Veronica wasn't so sure that a good book was the reason.
The courier had picked up a strange radio transmission on her Pipboy and disappeared for a few weeks. Once she'd returned to the towering casino, she'd been more quiet and distant, which was quite a feat for the soft spoken woman.
Veronica frowned at her reflection in the mirror. She hadn't asked what had happened during the courier's absence, but she was beginning to wonder if she should have. The thought that her friend might be suffering in silence didn't sit well with the scribe, and she sighed again, drying her hands and exiting the bathroom.
Back in the suite's common room, Veronica noticed that the light underneath the courier's door had gone out, and felt a little rush of relief. She could easily convince herself that whatever had had the courier awake was just temporary and worry about it more in the morning.
The scribe was mindful of the noise she was making and crept back to her room as silently as possible. She was pleased with her successful trip as she felt for the door frame, slipping back into her room. The scribe had just rounded the corner and was heading toward her bed when she collided with something that definitely wasn't supposed to be there.
Veronica jumped back, fists ready to throw a punch when the object spoke.
"Veronica?" The courier's voice was surprised. "What are you doing up?"
The scribe lowered her fists, thankful for the darkness as her cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. "I had to pee."
The other woman chuckled softly. "I knew you shouldn't have had all those Nukas."
"They were good," Veronica countered, turning the original question back onto the courier before her beverage of choice came into question again. "What are you doing awake? And why are you in my room?"
The courier was quiet for a few moments, clicking her Pipboy light on after a moment. She moved around the scribe, turning on one of the lights in the room. Veronica cringed at the brightness, turning a quizzical look on the quiet woman once her eyes had adjusted. "You still haven't answered my question," she pointed out, hoping to worm an answer out of the other woman.
The courier nodded, refusing to meet Veronica's gaze. "I was... dropping something off," she murmured, rubbing at a spot in the carpet with her boot.
"Dropping something off?" Veronica repeated. "At this time of night?"
A shy nod passed as an answer from the courier. "I wanted it to be a surprise when you woke up." She lifted her gaze to meet Veronica's for a split second, her eyes going past the scribe a moment later.
To say Veronica was confused was an understatement. Her brow furrowed in a frown and she turned to follow the courier's gaze. A dark mass of fabric atop the footlocker at the end of her bed caught Veronica's eye immediately; it was definitely not been there when she had gone to bed earlier that night. The scribe shot her companion a questioning look, receiving another shy nod in return.
Veronica reached for the material, surprised at the smoothness of silk between her fingers. The wad unfurled and revealed itself to be a long black dress, accented with red along the hem. A red silk flower on the hip was an eye-catching accessory.
Veronica's mouth fell open as she stared at the dress her in hands. She gave the quiet courier an incredulous look, unable to stop an ecstatic grin from spreading across her face.
The courier was watching Veronica carefully, looking relieved when she saw the scribe's excitement. "Do you like it?" she asked softly.
"Is it really for me?" Veronica squealed, gazing at the dress again. "It's perfect!" She turned and flung her arms around the courier in a hug, careful not to wrinkle the dress. "Thank you so much!" She held the dress up to herself, spinning around and watching it twirl. It was the perfect dress, looking even more gorgeous than she'd dreamed. Veronica flashed another broad grin at her companion. "It's perfect," she repeated, trying to be a little calmer. "How did you...?"
The courier shrugged, a pleased smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I found it when... I found it at a casino. Belonged to some famous Pre-war singer. It needed a little patching, but I thought you might like it."
"I love it," Veronica assured her, unable to wipe the grin off her face. "I'm totally trying this on tomorrow!" A few things occurred to her all at once. The first was that the dress was the reason the courier had been staying up late, and the knowledge made it all the more special. The second was that she had nothing to give her in return.
The courier noticed Veronica's face fall and her expression twisted with concern. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Veronica said immediately, not wanting to upset the courier. "I just don't have anything to give you."
The other woman's shoulders sagged with relief. She gave the scribe another shy smile. "Don't worry about it. I just wanted you to have it."
There was an inflection in the courier's voice that wasn't normally there: affection. Veronica heard it and her cheeks grew warm.
"Thank you so much," the scribe murmured again, giving the dress another awed look. She grinned a little, glancing at her friend. "Beats scribe robes any day. Try getting a date in those," she joked. "It's like wearing sweatpants."
The courier lifted her shoulders in a shrug, studying the carpet with mild interest. "I didn't think they were so bad," she mumbled.
Veronica wasn't quite sure how to respond to that comment, so she opted to find a place to hang her new dress. The courier had never been one to say much, and picked the few words she did say carefully. While she wasn't necessarily eloquent, her words carried a lot of meaning. The way she was speaking now was as close to flirtatious as Veronica had ever heard from her, and the scribe ignored the fluttering feeling in her gut.
After finding a hanger and hanging the dress up, she gave it another giddy smile before turning back to the courier once again.
There was a frown on the messenger's face, and she bit her lip before glancing up at Veronica. "I know you may not be... well, Tommy Torini over at the Tops said something about a gala and... I mean, if you wanted to go," the courier stammered, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Veronica tried her best to not look surprised. "Are you asking me out?" she teased weakly, not quite sure what she wanted the answer to be.
"I... yeah, if you want me to be, I mean."
Considering that acknowledging their mutual love of the fairer sex had been their initial bonding moment, Veronica wasn't terribly surprised by the idea that the courier was asking another woman to a dance. The idea that it was her that the courier was interested in was a complete shock.
After a moment of silence, the courier risked a glance up at Veronica, cringing a little and ducking away. "You can say no," she offered. "I know I'm hard to get along with."
"It's not you," Veronica protested immediately, biting her lip as she searched for words. "I'm just... no one's ever asked me something like that before. It's usually 'Veronica, go get this' or 'Veronica, you're in the way, leave me alone'. I'm surprised you've let me tag along as long as you have." She smiled a little, grateful for all the things she'd gotten to see while accompanying the courier. "People are usually annoyed by me, so I'm... are you serious?"
The quiet woman gave Veronica an incredulous look, followed by a shy smile. "Yeah. I'd like it if you wanted to go with me." She glanced at the dress she'd gifted minutes before. "You could show off your new dress. And... and I'd have the most beautiful date on the entire Strip."
The scribe blushed, the fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach coming back twice as strong as before. "Shut up," she retorted, unable to stop a smile from forming on her face. She pretended to mull the proposition over dramatically, finally sighing. "Okay, fine, I'll go."
The courier sagged with relief, shooting Veronica a genuine smile. "Great." She glanced at her Pipboy and looked slightly surprised, giving the scribe a sheepish look. "It's late."
Veronica shrugged, not really caring what time it was as a giddy feeling began to sweep through her.
"Sorry. I didn't realize." The messenger offered Veronica another shy grin, glancing at the dress one more time. "You really like it?"
The scribe nodded enthusiastically, practically beaming. "I love it. It really is perfect. Thank you so much!"
The courier returned the smile, all but radiating relief. "Thank you for agreeing to go with me," she returned, biting her lip uncertainly before stepping toward her companion and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "Good night."
Veronica echoed the sentiment as the courier slipped out of her room and pulled the door closed behind herself. The scribe gave her new dress one last giddy look before flicking the lights off and crawling back into her bed. She snuggled up with her pillow, waiting for sleep to come again, despite being perfectly content with the images of herself and the courier swirling together on a dance floor, holding each other close.