I awoke the next day with a dull throbbing pain in the back of my head. God damn, what did I even drink last night? I even felt super disgusting, hoping I hadn't puked in front of Danse or anything. Where was he anyways?
I looked over my shoulder towards the couch, expecting to see his sleeping form. But he wasn't there.
I also then realized that it was my turn to get the couch too, whoops. Shit, I was definitely going to have to make it up to Danse later, the poor guy already has a lot of issues sleeping already. He never mentioned it to me, but he didn't really have to, I could just tell.
I slipped out of the bed, stretching my muscles as I went. Boy, did I really feel shitty. And I needed a bath or something. Since Danse wasn't there, I didn't really care about wearing clothes to the bathroom. I peeled the dirty vault suit off my body (god, I really should clean that later today) and made my way to the bath.
Honestly, you don't really appreciate a hot bath until you've gone a couple days without one. Dirt gets everywhere and just ends up in all the wrong places, shit I cringe just thinking about it.
Anyways, I lowered myself into the warm water and lay my head back. It felt so, so good. Sometimes it even helps you forget how shitty everything really is. I started to think about last night, god I hoped I hadn't talked too much. That was a problem I tended to have when I drink, I just keep talking and talking and...I can just go on forever. Nate liked to remind me of such things.
Speaking of Nate...I lowered my head thinking back to him. I couldn't deny that I missed him, but there was still that small of part that was never able to get over what he did to me. What was so wrong with me? Another thing, why did I even bring it up with Danse? I was beginning to worry that maybe I shared too much, maybe I overstepped my boundaries with him. I didn't want him to pity me more than he probably already does. And I definitely don't want him to think I was unstable or any crap like that.
I sighed and shook my head, focus on the bath, Isabelle. It'll make you relax. I turned on my radio on my pip boy to take my mind off things, switching it to Diamond City Radio. This station always played my favorite songs.
"Don't they know, it's the end of the world, it ended when I lost your love…"
Gee, what a fitting fucking song. I chuckled a little bit to myself and hummed along. It was my favorite song but it didn't always put me in a better mood. It brought back way too many memories, and not even of just Nate.
I started to wash my arms and relax myself more, I had to enjoy my bath while it lasted, and for as long as I could before Danse would return from wherever he was.
"Don't they know, it's the end of the world, it ended when you said goodbye…"
I really need another drink.
Isabelle continued to bathe herself before realizing that she'd forgotten...well all her clean clothes. In her rush to get to the bathtub, she left everything still packed in her bag. Shit, shit shit, she thought to herself and decided to weigh her options. She could press her luck and run out and just grab her things, but there was the risk that Danse would somehow barge in at that precise time (that was something he tended to do) and well...see everything. Or she could just wait...but what could would that do?
Turned out, it didn't really matter. Before she could even make a decision, Danse returned from wherever the fuck he'd been. Isabelle froze as she heard the door open, she was used to the slight (well slight is an understatement) lack of privacy considering they shared a room but this was a whole different story. "Isabelle, where are you?" He called out, as she heard him walking towards the bathroom.
"Uh...in here, but wa-" She tried to warn him, but he stepped in before she could finish. Damn, had he not heard of the concept of knocking? Or giving better warning? Anything but bursting in?
Isabelle quickly covered her chest by hugging her knees, hoping he hadn't seen too much. Meanwhile, Danse stood in the doorway, taken aback and having a huge "deer in headlights" look.
"Well, fuck, you could have said something, Danse!" She yelled, slightly annoyed. But now at least this meant he could bring her her things.
Danse began to stutter, "I- I- uh, shit. Sorry, I didn't mean to." He began to step back and cover his eyes innocently, and she couldn't help but let out a giggle.
"Relax...just, uh," Danse was already halfway out the doorway, trying to hide his blush from her, "Wait! Can you bring me a towel anyways? I forgot it…"
He cleared his throat and poked his head back in, absentmindedly, "Uh...sure." Danse merely agreed to get out of there faster, considering how beyond embarrassed he was. He was hoping he wasn't too red from seeing his subordinate half (well mostly) naked.
Once he returned, he stood in the doorway, contemplating the best way to go about this. "Hey Danse!" She called out, "You gonna get my things or just stand there? I can tell you're there…" she added, jokingly. Hell, she was just as embarrassed as him, but it didn't matter considering he already saw what he saw.
"Yeah, uh, should I just close my eyes?" He felt himself getting red again.
She rolled her eyes and didn't bother crossing her arms this time, exposing her chest to him, "Just give me my things please."
He immediately turned his head to the side to avoid looking, though he couldn't deny wanting to get another peek. Don't even think about it, he thought to himself, she's your subordinate and a soldier.
Once he heard her mumble a quick thanks, he quickly scurried out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him. He could feel his heart beating in his ears, why the fuck was he so nervous? His time in the Brotherhood proved that you really didn't have much privacy, and he'd seen plenty of brothers and sisters half naked at one point or another, but he never thought anything of it. For some reason, this was different for him. He had to admit he did think about seeing her body once or twice before, but...he immediately pushed those thoughts away. It would be incredibly unprofessional of him to continue thinking like that.
Danse sat at the edge of the bed and sighed, damn this woman, he thought to himself. He hoped that this could be quickly forgotten, and rubbed the his stubble as he continued to think.
Isabelle came out of the bathroom, fully dressed this time, to which Danse was only slightly grateful for. She acted as if nothing happened, and to her, nothing did happen. So what if he saw her? There was no such thing as privacy in the Brotherhood anyways.
He stood up before her and began talking before she could say anything, "I wanted to apologize for intruding earlier...I hope you know that wasn't my intention, Isabelle." He looked away shamefully, not only for seeing her but for still imagining what it would be like to feel her all over, or to kiss her on her full lips.
She snorted a small laugh and waved off his apology, "That? Don't worry about it, Danse. It was just an accident, besides, think of it as a free show." She playfully winked, only to see a blush creep up his cheeks and up his face.
Danse avoided eye contact again and awkwardly cleared his throat, what did she mean by that? Did she know what he was thinking about? That wasn't possible, it couldn't be. Danse knew he was pretty good at hiding his emotions and what he was thinking about, there was no way she could see through him that easily. "That was not my intention, initiate," he straightened up and sharpened his tone, "I did not do that on purpose."
"Whoa, Danse, relax. I was just teasing you a little," she felt bad about teasing him about it, she didn't know he would take it so personally. "But really, it's fine. It was an accident, and accidents happen. That's how I was born!" She added at the end, hoping to make him smile. It was a rare sight, but she had to admit she enjoyed seeing him let go of the whole soldier thing for a moment and just smile.
Danse gave a small laugh but quickly returned to his "superior officer mode", as Isabelle would often call it. "I'm glad you forgive me." He sat back down on the bed, while she made herself comfortable on the couch, "So what are the plans today, soldier?"
She shrugged, "I'm not so sure yet...I was probably going to head over to see Nick and check if there's any new leads or developments. There has to be at this point, I can't imagine he's that busy…" she trailed off, wondering if today would be the day she would get closer to finding Shaun.
Danse remained suspicious of the synth, and a week earlier he probably wouldn't have wanted her to visit him alone, but he could tell the man - it - was genuine and would offer as much help as possible. "Just be safe, and report any findings back to me."
Isabelle stood up and slung her bag around her shoulder to head for the door, "Of course, Danse. I'll be back in a couple hours and will let you know the details." He nodded in response, and hoped she would find the answers she was looking for.
Before she closed the door behind her, Isabelle looked over her shoulder without turning to face Danse, "Danse?"
He looked up again, "Yeah?"
"Next time you want a peek, just ask." She smiled to herself, knowing how easily she made the Paladin blush and closed the door behind her before he could even respond.
What she didn't know was that his pants tightened slightly at the thought of seeing her like that again. But Danse had to, yet again, shake away those thoughts. Damn this woman, he thought to himself again.
