"Why does this always happen to me?!"
Renee flung herself against the corner of a building in time to hear a bullet crash into the old brick. One of the Raiders tried to leap at her but she slammed the stock of her rifle into his head and he dropped, unconscious. "Sorry." She shrugged.
Then, she heard a faint hissing sound. It was getting gradually louder and soon she saw it: a grenade, sailing through the air right at her. "Oh fuck that." She took off in a sprint.
It exploded behind her, showering her in broken concrete, but she kept running. There was no shame in running away from danger, if it meant she got to live another day. Behind her, she could hear the Raiders giving chase. Another bullet whizzed by her head and she put on a fresh burst of speed.
Renee skidded around a corner and found a bridge over another road in the next intersection. Without another thought she jumped down to the lower road. As she landed, she felt her left leg wrench out from under her and she rolled along the broken asphalt. She hurried to press herself against the tunnel wall.
"Where'd she go?"
"Damn it!"
"Fine, keep your shit…"
She heard the Raiders make their way back to their camp, complaining about losing her. She exhaled in a rush and slid down the wall. Her heart pounded in her chest and her lungs burned. She dug around in her bag for a bottle of water, found it, and drank deeply. Water dribbled down her chin but she cared little.
Then, the pain registered. She growled out a curse and brought her leg close, wrapping a hand around her ankle. It throbbed against her boot. She sighed. A sprained ankle was better than getting shot, she supposed, but it did pose a problem. The last thing she wanted to do was go back to Curie, injured—again. There was only so much patience one person could have and Renee didn't really want to test the scientist's.
As much as she hated it, she rummaged around in her bag for a Stimpak. She had planned on giving it back to Curie to prove she was halfway competent, but thanks to the Raiders it seemed that'd have to wait for another mission. Her fingers curled around a syringe and she pulled it out. It was only half full, but it'd do.
She jabbed the needle in her thigh with a wince and pushed down on the plunger. A rush of cool relief spread through her body. She leaned her head back against the tunnel wall, closing her eyes. Gradually the burning throb in her ankle subsided to a dull ache and she stretched out her legs. It felt good to rest. Even if she knew it couldn't last long.
Renee emptied the water bottle next and tossed them both to the side as they were useless to her now. She shoved herself to her feet, testing her ankle. Pain crackled through the joint but it wasn't unbearable and she could at least limp back to Diamond City. The hard part would be making sure Curie didn't notice.
As she went along, she let her thoughts drift, mostly to the petite scientist. There was so much she didn't know about Curie, and so much she wanted to know. How did she come by her accent, anyway? Why was she so cryptic about everything? And god damn it why couldn't Renee stop daydreaming about her?
Her mind flashed back to their almost-but-not-really date the night before. A part of her kicked herself for not taking the chance to kiss Curie. What would the scientist taste like, she wondered. Sweet, probably. And the rest of her? Probably sweet as well.
Renee blinked rapidly. She had absolutely no right to think about her employer like that. Curie was a sweet woman, caring, and was only doing her job when she patched up Renee. That was it. No more, no less.
Oh, but Renee wanted it to be more. She never realized how much she needed those gentle touches until she got them, and she was greedy. Her ex didn't treat her half as well. Always more, more, more from her; never actually cared about her at all, in fact. But Curie cared, or at least seemed to care. Genuinely worried for her. Maybe she'd even be sad if Renee didn't come back one day.
The sun sank lower and lower into the sky, casting long shadows from the ruined skyscrapers around her. Renee took a few quick breaks during her journey, but as she came nearer to Diamond City she pushed through the sharp pain in her ankle and hurried. Even if she was only going to pop into the Home Plate and let Curie know she'd delivered the report, she still wanted to see the brunette. Her smile, mostly.
A guard nodded to her as she passed. "Hey, miss?" He said, eyes dark behind his helmet.
Renee stopped.
"Might wanna get that looked at before the Surgery Center closes."
She winced. She didn't realize it was so obvious. "I'll do that," she lied.
The guard nodded again and turned away.
Renee forced herself to slow her pace as she entered the Market. Anything to mask her limp, anything to keep Curie from noticing and worrying. She felt confident once she finally reached the familiar red door and took a deep breath to calm herself. Her hand gripped the knob and she opened it.
"Curie? I'm back." She looked around the foyer, seeing no one. The door closed behind her.
"Be right zhere—"
The sound of glass breaking cut her off. "Curie!" Renee rushed to the steps leading down to the basement, where she knew Curie had the majority of her laboratory. White smoke covered the room in a haze. "Curie, are you okay?"
Curie was coughing and waved her hand to clear the air. "Oof, zhat was…unexpected."
"What happened?" Renee noticed the broken beaker on the lab table and how Curie's coat sleeves were wet.
"I wasn't expecting it to react so, ah, violently." Curie shook her head. "Well." She looked up at Renee, her lips curled into a gentle smile. "You're back."
No matter how many times she'd see it, Renee knew she'd never get tired of that smile. Curie seemed happy to see her, earnestly, honestly. She nodded. "I'm back."
"What did Nate 'ave to say?"
Ah. That killed the mood a bit, but Renee swallowed her bitterness. "He said he was happy with your progress."
Curie brightened. "Magnifique. I shall continue with my experiments, zhen." She looked down at herself and sighed. "Per'aps tomorrow. I am…feeling a bit tired of work after zhat." She shrugged out of her coat and placed it on the table.
Renee glanced at the steps. "I don't blame you. If you don't need me, I'm going to the Dugout. I had kind of a big day."
"Of course, of course. You should rest." Curie stretched her thin arms high above her head, her face scrunched up adorably. It reminded Renee very much of a cat.
Renee turned to go back upstairs. She made it about halfway up before she heard Curie clear her throat. Oh no. But she was being careful, surely Curie didn't…
"What did you do to your leg?"
Damn it.
She stopped, her feet on two different steps. "Oh, that. Funny story, really. So I was running away from these Raiders—"
Curie scaled the steps and gripped her elbow to help her up to the first floor.
"—and I, you know, I tripped. Nothing serious! The Raiders were ticked that they lost me, but hey, I'm just that good."
Curie ducked under Renee's arm and wrapped a hand about her waist.
"Curie, please, it's fine. I jabbed myself with a Stimpak. I'm still a little stiff, that's all."
"You are limping. You are not fine." Curie's voice had an edge. "Lean on me."
Renee didn't argue. She let Curie lead her back to the couch, sitting heavily on the worn cushions. "I just twisted my ankle, I'm not dying."
Curie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You 'ave a wonderful sense of illusion regarding your own well-being, 'as anyone ever told you zhis?"
"If you mean do people tell me I need to take better care of myself and watch where I'm going? Then yes, yes they have." Renee got to her feet. "You don't have to do this—"
To her surprise, Curie gripped her shoulder and shoved her down. "Clearly I do, since you refuse to!" Curie's eyes were narrowed and she leaned over the redhead.
Renee swallowed hard. "…Sorry." She glanced away, more of those inappropriate thoughts running through her head.
Curie released her hold and turned. "Stay right zhere. I'll be back."
While she was gone, Renee took the opportunity to at least make herself comfortable. She slipped off her shoes and wriggled out of her jacket, placing it all on the floor next to her bag and her rifle. A sigh of relief slipped through her lips. Her body felt sore from walking all day.
It didn't take long for Curie to come back. She sat on the couch and gripped Renee's calf to rest it in her lap. "You said you used a Stimpak for zhis?"
"Yeah. I had a half of one that I used. Probably why it still hurts." Renee leaned back on her palms, her good leg tucked under her.
"Stimpaks are not meant to be used as a cure-all. Not yet, at least." Curie rolled up her jeans to mid-shin and felt over her ankle, gingerly prodding around the bone.
Renee winced as she pressed on a particularly tender spot but otherwise felt little pain. Curie's fingers were gentle, soft, and Renee could tell the woman was doing her best to make sure the examination wouldn't hurt. She felt her face flush at the thought of what it would feel like to have that touch on other parts of her body and not just her injured foot. Oh dear lord above, this woman…
Curie seemed oblivious. She trailed her touch further up. "Does zhis hurt?" She asked, brushing against the cuff of Renee's jeans.
"N-no, it doesn't."
"Bon." Curie tried to manipulate the joint, stopping when Renee squeaked out a protest. "Well, you were right; it's not bad. But, it is sprained, and you should rest it."
Renee glanced away. "Fine. I can do that."
Curie dug around in the small bag she brought back with her and pulled out a small roll of bandages. "Next time zhis 'appens, you need to keep your weight off it as much as you can." She began wrapping Renee's ankle.
Renee reached to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "Can't exactly do that when I'm running for my life."
"Just…" Curie sighed, her hands stilling. Her jaw clenched and she took a moment to gather herself. "I…worry about you," she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"You don't have to worry about me." Renee leaned forward. "I'm fine. Really. I'm always fine. I've always been fine, even when I look like I'm not."
Curie pulled the bandage taut before continuing her work. "How long until you come home and you're not fine? I can sew up a cut, or set a broken bone, but I can't bring you back to life." She clipped the bandage in place.
Renee's shoulders slumped forward. She never gave much thought to her well-being, it was true. And that probably contributed to her getting hurt so often. She didn't know how to explain that she didn't have much of a reason for caring about herself; her ex made sure to beat it out of her ages ago. She absently ran her tongue along her teeth and felt the familiar empty space where, once upon a time, one of her molars rested.
"I don't mean to put undue pressure on you, Renee." Curie placed her hand over the arch of Renee's ankle. She looked over at the redhead. "I just can't bear to see people suffering."
Renee felt her chest ache. "I'm sorry. I'll try harder, I promise. I'll be more careful."
Curie opened her mouth to reply when they were interrupted by a loud clap of thunder. The next moment rain came pounding down on the roof. Both women looked up in surprise before looking at each other. Renee chuckled. "You wouldn't happen to have an umbrella, would you?"
"Why? You aren't going anywhere."