Sweat trickled down Nora's back, the thin fabric of her t-shirt clinging to her skin. Even without masses of armour added to her frame, the Commonwealth heat never ceased to be so painfully awful. Wiping a hand across her brow only served to make her feel even worse, her hand coming away damp and sticky.
Beside her, Piper let out a low groan, head drooping. "I swear, this heat is going to kill us. Maybe we should find somewhere to camp out - an extra day of journeying won't kill us."
Nora tilted her head up, hair clinging to the back of her neck, and she squinted against the beaming sun. "Then Nick will get cranky and worried. You know how he is." Honestly, nothing sounded better than a quick nap somewhere cool, maybe a quick Nuka Cola Cherry to stave off dehydration. Still, they had travelled in much worse conditions. "Besides, I'd rather keep moving while we know there's no raiders around."
Piper cast Nora a tight lipped frown and adjusted her grip on the rifle tossed over her shoulder. "Come on, Blue - I'm dying here."
She couldn't help the little grin at the whine in Piper's voice, or the adorable pout sent her way. How could Nora say no to that? With a snort of laughter Nora shook her head. "Fine. Let's scout out somewhere to hole up."
"Yes!" Piper let out a cheer, fist raised to the sky. With her eyes closed and a bright smile across her features, she looked beautiful.
So beautiful that Nora couldn't take her eyes off her - until her foot connected with a chipped slab of concrete. Her legs dropped from underneath her and she went down, hitting the broken sidewalk littered with debris.
Piper paused mid-step, eyes wide with surprise - until her eyes crinkled at the corners and she let out a burst of musical laughter. "Really, Nora?"
Her cheeks flushed scarlet, whole face warming as she tried to wave it off. "Sorry, I got… uh, distracted." Nora's eyes dipped away and she quickly hauled herself to her feet. Then, before Piper had the chance to enquire further she pointed to a little house and said, "that building over there looks sturdy enough."
Sure enough, the building in question, surrounded by other squat brick houses, was a little more intact than the others. With its crumbling roof it wouldn't offer much refuge in a storm - but it would do them in this heat, at least.
Piper was still hiding her smile behind her hand, but she nodded in agreement. "Fine by me, Blue. Lead the way. Just don't trip again, okay?"
Nora's cheeks darkened further, but Piper was oblivious as she carefully stepped around an enormous chunk of broken road and strode off toward their new safe house.
Nora just sighed as she watched Piper pick her way across the ruins of the town. Sometimes she wondered why Piper stuck with her at all. She was clumsy, slow and terrible with any weapon that wasn't a pistol - and Piper was just… perfect. A great writer, a beautiful and kind person, an amazing friend… and yeah, okay, maybe it would have been nice to be more than friends. Like that was ever going to happen.
Whoever Piper's soulmate was, they were damn lucky. Whoever Nora's was… well, good luck to them.
Just as Nora's thoughts began to spiral, Piper turned, hand raised to block her eyes from the blinding sun, and ushered her over. "Come on Blue, I thought you wanted to rest?" Even with the distance between them. Piper's broad smile was clear.
Nora felt a smile of her own dance across her face and a slim hand reached out to wave her off- and then she froze.
Behind Piper, behind the cluster of dilapidated buildings that had once been little square houses, a broad shouldered man rose to his feet. Nora couldn't see his face or his clothes - but she saw the glint of a pistol reflecting in the summer sun.
Nora's heart stuttered, her eyes going wide as she watched him slam a fresh magazine in his pistol with the practice of an expert. Her brain was a buzz of activity, screaming at her to run, to call out to Piper - anything - but her body refused to cooperate. It was as if she was frozen in time, watching the scene unfold but unable to interact.
The man was too far away, just a blur of colour against the infinitely grey backdrop - but somehow Nora saw the leering grin as the pistol raised.
And Nora burst into action, chest hammering so fiercely she felt sick. Her legs charged without thinking, so fast her calves burned and she couldn't see a thing except for Piper as her smile slipped from her face, realisation slowly dawning.
The gunshot crackled in the air, so fearsome Nora felt it like a physical force and the air seemed to bristle around her - and then there was silence. She stumbled, a gasp leaving her as her eyes locked onto Piper - but she was unharmed. Thank God, that guy must have been a terrible shot…
She took a step but her legs felt heavy, strange warmth spreading through her thigh and then suddenly the world was spinning, vision blurring as her knees folded. She hit the ground, dimly aware of the crimson soaking through her jeans and her hazy brain struggled to grasp just what that meant.
Piper called out but the words were lost to Nora - and then she was running, feet bringing up decades of dust and rubble to drop by Nora's side.
Nora opened her mouth, trying to tell Piper to move it before the raider shot again - but all that left her lips was a dull, pained groan. She stepped forward - and then the ground rushed up to meet her as her legs collapsed.
Suddenly Piper was by Nora's side, voice so high and desperate the words were lost to her.
Something firm pressed against Nora's thigh, the warmth trickling down her leg slowing. When her lidded eyes glanced down, vision fuzzy, Nora realised Piper had torn away the leg of her jeans and pressed tan hands firmly against a bloodied, gaping hole in her thigh. Her heart stuttered - but her mind couldn't comprehend just what that meant. Piper's grip tightened - and everything jerked back into focus so suddenly, so jaunting, that Nora gasped. Pain raced through her leg; hot, fiery agony and for a moment her vision went white.
When her vision focused, Piper was staring directly at her with wide, dark eyes and it was like she was seeing Nora for the first time. "Nora, look."
And she did, head spinning as her eyes focused on the pulpy mass of her leg, blood soaking through the remains of her jeans. But there was something else, hidden underneath the blood and gore - tiny black markings, the perfect shape of fingerprints. Piper's fingerprints.
"We're soulmates."
Her mouth opened, but only a low, pained groan escaped Nora's lips as she collapsed back onto the ground, her head spinning so furiously she felt bile rise in her throat.
Distantly, the clamour of voices reached Nora's ears. Raiders. She saw one from the corner of her vision and when she tried to move, fire erupted in her leg, a shuddering gasp leaving her lips. Lifting her head she tried to warn Piper, to say anything to let her know to move, now - but her vision swam, head pounding with the effort of just moving an inch-
Then everything went black.
Nora's eyes shot open as she lurched forward, breath leaving her chest as loud, heavy wheezing. She was met with darkness and silence save for the thudding of her own heart. Shifting, she felt a thick blanket over her legs, something soft and worn underneath her. A bed? Sofa? She couldn't tell.
"Piper?" she called softly, breathlessly. Where was she? Why was it so dark? Where were those fucking raiders and how wasn't she dead right now? The questions whirled in her mind, interrupting each other with such speed Nora barely had the chance to finish a single thought. "Piper?" she called again - and her voice rang out in the silence. Too loud. If anyone was nearby, waiting…
"I'm here."
A shriek slipped from her lips, Nora's hand immediately reaching for the knife strapped to her hip - but then she relaxed, sinking back into the soft cushions of what was definitely a sofa. "Piper, where are we? What happened. All I remember was raiders, and collapsing, and… oh my God, we're soulmates!" The word left her mouth as a gasp. She searched for Piper in the darkness, but all she made out was the soft silhouette as Piper settled down on the sofa. The warmth of her body against Nora's legs was so soothing she immediately felt her body relax.
"I know, Blue. I'm just as surprised as you."
"I saw your fingerprints on my leg. Was that really the first time we touched?"
"Apparently. You do always cover up pretty well."
Nora laughed, but it sounded weak even to her own ears. "I get cold," she supplied with a shrug. Not that Piper was able to see it. "Can we put on a light? I'd feel better if I could see you."
"Sure." The sofa shifted as Piper's weight lifted, and there was a moment of silence as she rummaged in the darkness. Then soft, yellow light blossomed, lighting up the tired but grinning face of Piper herself. "Better?"
Nora's eyes swept her surroundings. A tiny room, no more than four walls and a crumbling roof. The only furniture was the sofa she lay on, a metal cot in the corner, and an empty cupboard. "Yeah, thanks. Wish I was met with a nicer sight than this, though."
"You have me," Piper teased, and when her smile widened it was so beautiful that Nora's smartass reply lodged in her throat. "So, about this whole… thing."
"You mean me getting shot, discovering we're soulmates, and then passing out on you?"
"That." Piper ducked her head as she flopped back onto the sofa. The movement jostled Nora's leg and she sucked in a breath, but Piper sent her an apologetic grin as her hand dipped down to squeeze her arm beneath the thick jumper Nora always wore. "Sorry. I used a couple of stims, but I don't think you'll be walking tonight."
"I guess we'll be camping out here longer than planned. How did we get here anyway?"
Piper bit her lip, a tiny gesture that Nora had long since learned meant she was thinking; deeply, too. Eventually she huffed out a breath, sinking into the ancient sofa. "Well, I took out two of the raiders before they got to us, then I had to lift your ass and carry you here before the others spotted us. Let me tell you, Nora, you're heavy." There was a light, teasing edge to her voice - but her smile slipped. "I didn't think I could do it. If those raiders had been just a little bit closer…"
"Hey," Nora's murmured, a soft smile crossing her lips, "you saved my life. The what ifs don't matter. Besides," Nora's hand drifted down to her thigh, gently gracing over her wound. She felt thick bandages underneath her fingertips, "there's more to talk about than my near death experience."
Piper's hands were void of the usual black gloves, the sleeves of her red coat rolled up to her elbows. When she reached out, hesitant, Nora met her half way. As soon as Nora's hands brushed against the bare skin of Piper's, little black dots flourished across Piper's tanned, freckled skin.
Nora felt the beaming grin spread across her face, felt the way her heart skipped a beat, the joy coursing through her veins. She forgot the pain in her leg as she jolted up, grabbing Piper by the shoulders and crushing their lips together.
Piper's lips were warm, soft as Nora moved against her. Her hand cupped the back of Nora's head, bringing her ever closer, lips all but devouring her. Heat courses through Nora as she leans into Piper, hands clutching the fabric of her ancient red coat. This was everything she's ever dreamed of and more, and God Piper felt so good pressed flush against her, chest heaving with each breath.
Piper was the first to pull away, and even in the dull light cast by the lantern her flushed cheeks stand out rosy red against her skin. "Woah," is all she said, and she smiled that silly little grin that Nora knew meant she was overwhelmed.
"Woah is right," Nora replied, and there was a giggle in her voice that made her sound like blushing schoolgirl, but damn if she didn't feel like one too.
Piper softly bumped her forehead to Nora's, eyes slipping closed as she let out a quiet, content sigh. "You know something, Blue? I've wanted to do that for so long."
"Then why didn't you?" Nora quipped back - but in the back of her mind, she knew the answer. These days, people didn't wait around for their soulmates like they did in Nora's time. But Piper - amazing, wonderful Piper - knew she was pre-war, knew she was brought up in a time and place where people didn't hook up or date unless they knew it was with their soulmate.
Piper didn't reply - didn't need to - but she let out a small huff as she ghosted a kiss across Nora's forehead. There was a question on the tip of her tongue and Nora felt it, but Piper made no move to express her concern.
So Nora answered without needing to be prompted. It was strange, how all of a sudden she seemed to know Piper's thoughts, her feelings - everything. "Nate wasn't my soulmate. We were oddities, getting married even without a soulbond. But he's gone, and I know that. Now I have you." The one Nora was always supposed to be with. The knowledge made her heart skip and the beaming grin across her face must have looked ridiculous but she didn't even care.
Piper's own grin was so bright, so luminous her entire face lit up. Nora had always thought she was beautiful - but now she looked more lovely than ever. She opened her mouth to speak, lips curled up - but interrupted herself as a yawn slipped from her mouth. "Uh, sorry Blue."
"Don't be," Nora replied as she reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Piper's ear. Her skin was warm, her hair so thick and bouncy it felt pre-war. "We've had a tough day. Maybe we should try to sleep?" A yawn of her own rose in Nora's throat and she let out a small giggle. "I'll scootch over to make room."
Even in the darkness, the flush blooming across Piper's tanned skin was clear. Her eyes widened, flickering across the tiny sofa. "Are you sure? You're injured, and I don't want to-"
"Piper. Stop being a baby and lie down," Nora replied as she shuffled to make room. She cast her a warm smile, patting the little space beside her. Piper was a small woman, she would fit.
Piper kicked off her boots and tossed her hat onto the floor. Soon enough her jacket joined the pile - and then Piper slipped down to join Nora on the sofa. Their bodies pressed together in the tight space and Nora curled an arm around Piper's waist to pull her closer.
She had thought this would feel so strange, such intimacy with her best friend. But they weren't just best friends any more - they were soulmates, whatever that entailed. Bonded for life; and Nora knew that no matter what happened to either of them, Piper was the one person in Nora's life she wanted to be with.
Piper shifted, her slender legs entwining with Nora's as she nuzzled into Nora's arms. The soft yellow glow of the lantern cast dancing shadows across body, the flickering making her look almost otherworldly.
Nora all but sank into her touch, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "Hey, Piper?"
"Yeah?" Her voice was thick, sleepy, but her answer was immediate.
"As soon as we get back to Sanctuary, I'm telling literally everyone I know that we're soulmates. Nick is going to have a blast with this info."
Piper chuckled, and her breath was warm against Nora's skin. "Oh yeah, he'll never see it coming." She paused, an arm reaching out to flick off the lantern. As they were plunged into darkness, only the silhouette of her slim body and thick waves of hair were visible. "Goodnight, Nora.
"'Night Piper."
Notes: