Moment 021: Lost and Found

Three years is a long time in the Commonwealth; long enough for any settlement to be founded and wiped out at least a dozen times over, for hopes to live and die by the thousands, and for most any corpse to fully decompose. Luckily, it isn't near long enough for distress pulsers to be destroyed without some other kind of interference, so no matter how far-fetched the idea of actually finding a sign of the last Brotherhood recon team sounded, Blue's Pip-Boy still manages to pick up a signal; even if it's only after several hours of aimless wandering and way more ferals than Piper is comfortable with.

"Jesus." In spite of what Blue is saying, her voice is low and shocked enough that it sounds like she's cursing, and Piper keeps her pistol out and her eyes peeled while Blue approaches the crater that used to be a house and crouches; gingerly running her fingers over a badly damaged chunk of power armor. "This thing is completely fused together. What the hell were these guys up against that the blast was that hot?"

"Suiciders, maybe?" Piper hazards; casting a glance towards her companion when she feels her skin prickle. "Ooor some kind of mini nuke. Watch the rads, Blue; don't want wrinkles before your time."

"I'm fine," comes the easy dismissal, and Piper swallows a sigh, but does roll her eyes since Blue isn't watching, anyway.

A large part of her hates the fact that they're out here to help the Brotherhood; a faction that certainly has the resources to help itself in direct contrast to so many others in the Commonwealth. Another large part, however, knows that no matter their relation, these are – were, most likely – still people, and they deserve to be found even if they weren't people that she personally would have seen eye to eye with.

There's a soft snap behind her followed by silence, and she sends another glance over her shoulder to see Blue now kneeling by the one, whole suit of armor that lies further from the crater's center; her neck bent and her eyes closed, one hand settled on the armor's helmet while her lips move soundlessly in the light of a fading afternoon.

Yeah. Piper presses her lips together. Were.

"Varham," Blue sighs when she lifts her head again, and unfolds the fingers of her other hand to let a set of holotags fall and dangle from them; the metal glistening under the reddening sun. "He had a log on him, at least." The side of the Pip-Boy snaps open, and Piper doesn't comment on the fact that Blue rubs at her eyes before loading the tape in. "Let's see if he can point us towards some of his buddies."

"Hey." The silence is reassuring enough that Piper leaves her watch; instead crossing over to Blue and crouching in front of her before she can start the tape playing. "First things first, okay?" She pulls a small bottle of Rad-X from her pocket, and pops one pill into her own mouth before offering a second to Blue.

Who frowns. "It's not that bad, Piper. Really, I'm f-"

Piper folds the pill into her palm, and stops the other woman speaking by placing a finger to her lips. "Humor me," she insists softly, and lifts her eyebrows. "Please? Who knows what else we'll run into."

Blue watches her a for a long moment, but gives a quiet, little sigh and nods. "Alright." She holds out a hand for the pill, but Piper simply slips it back between her own fingers and presses it against Blue's lips; feeling them relax and accept it, and tracing her thumb gently over their softness while Blue swallows the dose.

Things between them haven't really changed that much, she muses, since that first day aboard the Prydwen. The just touch each other a little more often and in some new, more personal ways. And kiss. Sometimes.

"You really do worry too much," Blue tells her.

"Well, that's only fair," Piper rejoins, and sticks her tongue out in exchange for a low snort. "I mean, jeez, Blue; you're pretty much carrying the entire Commonwealth and then some. At least let me worry about keeping you healthy while you haul all that weight."

That earns her a chuckle and a smile, as well as a pleasant, little shiver down the length of her spine when Blue catches her hand and kisses it. "I guess that is pretty fair," she agrees, and twines their fingers in a slow slide of soft skin. "Thank you."

Labor of love. She doesn't say that out loud, of course; keenly aware of the fact that if she reveals that much, their very affectionate friendship will probably go back to how it was before the Prydwen, if only because Blue wouldn't want to lead her on. Piper doesn't want that indefinable distance back, because even though this is a purely physical thing from Blue's side, losing it has been one of the best things to ever happen.

Blue reaches out to her more often, the way things are now. She speaks up more often; starts a new conversation or changes the topic of a running one far more than she has in the past. She talks about things that Piper hasn't dared to bring up herself; of Nate, of life as it was before the war, of Shaun when he was a baby. She takes Piper's hand when they're walking along and the world around them is intermittently peaceful, and pulls her away from their chosen path when something catches her attention because she wants Piper to see whatever it is, too.

Blue seems so much more comfortable around her now, even if she certainly didn't seem to be uncomfortable before. So yeah, Piper is keeping mum. She isn't going to run the risk of taking away this new level of openness; no matter how much Blue's revealing of her – at times – astoundingly short attention span slows them down overall.

This; the two of them just sitting together in the middle of loss and destruction and there still being a smile on Blue's face and warmth in those lovely eyes? That's worth it. Every single moment.

So they follow Varham's pointers deeper down the rabbit hole – Piper reminds herself to ask Blue just what the hell a rabbit is and why it would need holes – and continue their searching on behalf of the Brotherhood.

God, what a mess.