Piper groaned into her noodle cup for the third time that morning. She'd planned this day out perfectly; she'd stayed away from the sugar bombs, laid off the Nuka-Cola and had even put off her writing so she could sleep early. All so she could wake up bright and early to have some quiet time with Takahashi and a bowl of noodles. Instead, her morning had been interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Nat had reached the door before Piper could even roll out of bed, but the sound of Blue's voice at the door erased all thoughts of sleep from her mind. Piper listened carefully from her loft as Blue exchanged a few terse words with Nat.
"Where's Piper?" she asked, her voice soft but strained. A sleepy-eyed Nat took a moment to reply.
"She's upstairs, sleeping." She said. Piper ducked low in case Blue decided to climb up. After a minute passed without the sound of footsteps creaking up the loft ladder, she rolled her eyes and flopped back into bed. What a stupid thought. Blue might occasionally crash at her place while in Diamond City, but that didn't mean they were roommates. And it sure as hell didn't mean they were anything more than friends.
A familiar heat welled up in Piper's stomach and she felt herself beginning to blush. The thought of them being more than friends…
She groaned out loud, trying to erase the racy thoughts that followed whenever she thought of Blue. Just because the General was in town didn't mean she couldn't still get her early morning noodles, right?
The sound of heavy footsteps behind her brought Piper out of her daydream. That was the fifth Minuteman she'd seen, clad in a suit of blue T-51 power armor. The moment she'd stepped out of the Publick Occurrences, a swarm of armored Minutemen had approached her. When they found out their General had decided to rest in her home, they'd surrounded the place, covering every potential angle of attack. Atleast the noodle station is still free. Piper thought to herself as she finally took a bite of her cold noodles. Even that solitude wouldn't last, as a familiar trenchcoat-wearing figure sat down beside her.
"No." he said automatically, before Takahashi could even ask. He turned to her, and Piper did her best to look disinterested.
"Did you hear the news?" Nick Valentine asked, as he lit a cigarette.
"In case you didn't notice, the 'news' found me." Piper said with a sigh. "I've never seen Blue pack so much security for a trip to Diamond City."
Valentine rolled his eyes and puffed on his cigarette.
"It's rather embarrassing for the city's only reporter to be the only one out of the loop, isn't it?" Nick asked with a smile.
Before Piper could reply, Nick continued.
"Big ambush down South. First Ghouls, then Raiders. General was taking some Minutemen out for training when it happened." He explained.
"Was she hurt?" Piper asked, unable to keep the concern out of her voice. If Blue was injured, she should be at Dr. Crocker's clinic, not her home.
"No No of course not." Nick said reassuringly, taking a long drag of his cigarette. Heard she even took out two raider gangs by herself."
Piper bit her lip as a wave of guilt washed over her. I should have been there. She thought, tasting blood as she clenched her fists in anger. Beside her, Nick eyed her warily.
"Listen, whatever is going on between you two, it has to wait." He warned, his voice growing dangerously soft. "Curie went missing during the battle. I don't think you need me to tell you what's going through her mind right now."
Piper looked down at her cold, bland noodles before deciding she'd had enough Power Noodles for the day.
"Where are you headed?" Nick asked, sounding only mildly concerned. As a Detective, his job ended once he'd given his clients all the information they needed. What they did with that information was entirely up to them.
"Somewhere. Anywhere." Piper mumbled, dropping a few caps on the table. "Can I leave Nat to you and Ellie?" she asked nonchalantly. Deep down, she knew she wasn't being fair to Nat, leaving her without a word. But for some reason, the thought of going back to her home and running into Blue scared her. All she wanted to do right now was get away from Diamond city, get away from the hordes of Minutemen and the awestruck citizens that were crowding the streets.
"You know Ellie's not going to mind." Nick replied, putting his hat back on and snuffing out his cigarette. He'd made his point, and he was sure Piper got the message. There was nothing more for him to do.
"Have a good one." Nick said, his words wasted on empty space. Piper was already halfway up the stairs out of Diamond City.