A/N: I do not own Fallout 4. Also, the title comes from the song "Orange Colored Sky" by Nat King Cole, which I just love so, so much.
Blue is… a phenomenon. Even off the top of her head, Piper could list several things that firmly set him apart from the rest of the folk in the Commonwealth, notwithstanding the fact that he lived before the bombs or spent the last 200 years frozen in time in a vault.
For one, he actually listens to her. When most people wouldn't even give her the time of day, Blue always welcomes her sudden ramblings and curious, nosy, sometimes inane, questions about plenty of things. It didn't seem to matter whether she shares another spiel from her life or asks about the differences in taste between irradiated gumdrops and the fallout-free ones of yore; he'll just… be there, lending an ear or providing Piper with a helpful, thoughtful answer.
Occasionally, though, it's him who's a little extra inquisitive. But unlike her with her wandering line of questioning, Blue mostly only focuses his queries around her. He really doesn't ask anything deeply personal; he just never misses the chance to ask her how she was feeling or if there was anything particular floating around in her head. Admittedly, it's incredibly flattering for Piper to have him care this much, to say the least; aside from Nat and the other remaining few key people in her life, nobody ever bothers to do that anymore.
Which brings her to another Blue-centric feature in her book—his amicable spirit, his gentle warmth, his sincere kindness reserved not only for her, but also for those that he barely even knows. It's really a wonder how he can be so inherently compassionate. Selfless people are just too rare nowadays, and Blue unfailingly choosing to be one is honestly a breath of fresh air.
But of course, living in the Commonwealth means that no bad or good deed will go unpunished. Even doing the right thing brings trouble; sometimes, even more trouble than it's worth.
"RUN, PIPER!"
This last task was supposedly simpler compared to everything else they've done today; that is, helping defend settlements, lugging scraps across the wasteland for those settlements' needs, and solving everyone's problems for them. Tiresome work, sure, but it was definitely worth the effort to see those radiant smiles on the settlers' worn faces.
Both of them were obviously beat from it all, but Blue, being classic, benevolent Blue, had an idea of stopping by the ancient public library to scout for any salvageable books to donate to Mr. Zwicky's schoolhouse before heading back to Diamond City. They've long since cleared the place of super mutants for Daisy anyway, and with his talent for somehow unearthing "treasures" among heaps of garbage, it should have been relatively easy for them to find what they were looking for and be back in the great, green jewel just in time for dinner.
Except on their way there, they accidentally managed to rouse a horde of very fast and very angry feral ghouls and are now running for their very lives.
There are several pops of gunfire that rose above the growling from behind her, and Piper assumes—hopes—that it came from her companion's pistol; though it wouldn't be a surprise if any raiders were now hot on their heels, too. Life just thinks it's funny that way.
She instinctively ducks her head and continues sprinting but doesn't risk looking over her shoulder for fear of tripping over some stray debris or crack in the road. When she finally does, however, Blue is nowhere to be found. Shit. She snaps her head back and considers going back for him when she passes by one of those old, pre-war preservation shelters and is suddenly yanked inside.
She barely has time to even let out a gasp before she's crashing into a sturdy body, which she promptly discovers to be her missing partner. A hand reaches into his pack and another quickly pulls the pin on the grenade he fished out, smoothly rolling it outside just as the door slid fully closed.
The ghouls had apparently caught up, and the walls clamored with their collective, cacophonous screeching and violent thrashing. There's a tense moment where Piper thought they were actually going to get through when the muffled blast of the explosive finally going off jars the metal around them, effectively silencing the wild pack of radiation zombies.
It takes several panted breaths for her to calm her racing heartbeat and register the resulting peace, but a crooked grin still makes its way to her lips. "Can't say I've had better misadventures before you came along, Blue."
Piper catches the faint glimmer of wry amusement in his eyes at that remark, and he snorts and responds in sheepish, sonorous laughter that fills the air in the cramped space they shared. The sound is soulfully warm and wonderful and altogether so beautifully distinctive, ultimately leaving her inexplicably enchanted and very confused.
Blue has always been different. Piper just isn't sure when she started seeing him differently.