Piper woke up still feeling tired. She rolled over with a grumble and reached for her clock. That couldn't be right. Noon?
Half-falling out of bed, she reached around for her day clothes. Why was she so tired? Her vision, blurred from sand in the eyes, slowly adjusted. The house was silent. Nat was probably at school.
She thought back to Nat the previous night. Her excitement. The way she'd jumped up and down, clapping her hands in excitement about the—
Motor. Right.
She buckled her trenchcoat and made her way downstairs. No sign of Blue, but her memory was coming back to her.
Blue had shown up at their doorstep the previous evening. With an electric motor. For their printing press. Unbelievable. Piper could see the motor — there it was, right next to the press — and she still couldn't accept that it was real. She knelt down to touch the thing, as one might check the reality of a dream.
Kneeling rapidly turned into sitting on the floor. She really was wiped.
It was probably her own fault. She recalled Nat's face of positive dismay. Her sister had actually gone and hugged Blue, right around the torso. She remembered the redhead's face. Her look of helpless confusion. How she had blushed so hard her skin nearly matched her hair.
Piper had melted out of happiness for her sister. Nat had so few honest friends. Sure, a woman like Blue was certainly uncommon company for a preteen, but she wasn't going to judge or discriminate on as trivial a matter as age. Nat was already so mature — well, most of the time, anyway. Piper wasn't exactly a paragon of adulthood herself. She'd snuck off with Nat's teddy bear more than once, on nights where the pain of life had hurt particularly hard.
Sitting on uneven floorboards was starting to hurt too, even through her pants and leather trenchcoat. Bracing one hand against the press, she slowly got up to her feet. She wasn't aching, she just felt... drained, like she hadn't gotten a full night's sleep. Not even close.
The couch looked incredibly inviting. As she made her way over, she was surprised to find her trusty press cap lying on the floor beside it. "What're you doing down here, buddy?"
As she curled up on the sofa and sank comfortably into it, she found herself thinking back to when she'd been here last night. Nat had started asking questions about where Blue had gotten the motor from. One thing had led to another, and pretty soon Natalie Wright was extracting Blue's entire history on a level that Piper would have never dreamed.
She remembered trying her best to eavesdrop on the details, but she'd also been preoccupied with cleaning out their only kettle to make tea. Blue was apparently more sensitive to radiation poisoning than most, and she'd heard that boiling water sometimes made it easier on the body.
She remembered when she'd joined them and sat down — herself and Blue on opposing ends of the couch, and Nat on the coffee table, arms wrapped around her knees. She remembered the honesty in Blue's smile, and how much she enjoyed the tea. Piper had finally found something that Samantha really liked!
Blue, for her part, seemed to enjoy the company as much as the hot drink. She talked about her journey up to Sanctuary. The sights she'd seen, the fights she'd dodged. About a Mr. Handy she'd known from back before the War, and how it was still tending to the ruins of the house it once belonged to. Piper wanted to ask so many questions, but anxiety got the better of her.
Fortunately, Nat had not yet developed those kinds of inhibitions, and while Blue had given Piper the occasional sidelong glance, there wasn't a single question she didn't answer. No, dreams were not caused by radiation — they dated back as far as human history. Yes, there were dogs before the war — lots of them, more diverse than humans, even. No, she hadn't been into space herself — apparently only a handful of people ever had.
Yes, she missed her home.
Piper had lost herself in the bottom of her tea mug by the time that last question came around. She'd looked up to find her gaze entwined with Blue's. Nat decided that she was tired around that time, and had said goodnight to the both of them, with a repeated extra special thanks to Blue.
Piper remembered how she'd felt in that moment. Part of her was scared to be alone with Blue. Most of her was overjoyed.
They made quiet small talk for a while, until Piper checked that Nat really was asleep. Then their conversation took a turn for the philosophic, sharing sentiments about the fate of humanity and the effects of the War. It was a lot for each of them to process. Neither one seemed entirely able to believe that the other was real. In a way, she'd reflected, neither of them really belonged in the other's life.
She remembered Blue's reply. "Piper, nothing belongs anywhere anymore. I don't care what could, or should, or would have happened differently. I'm here. I'm now. And... honestly?"
The look she'd given her. Those steel-blue eyes.
"I'm glad that you are, too."
She remembered how much she had stammered to come up with a reply. How Blue had laughed and suggested they call it a night. She remembered not wanting to go to bed, but not being able to come up with an argument to the contrary. She'd offered to pay for another night at the Dugout, but Blue had insisted on using her own caps for once.
The memory faded. The butterflies didn't.
Piper got up from the couch and donned her hat. She decided to see about making herself another mug of tea. She wasn't normally a fan for the stuff, but after last night, the idea of it seemed just a tad bit sweeter.