I sit with my legs crossed on the worn cusion of the bus seat, digging at the dirt under my nails, as Danse stares longingly at his power armor sitting outside the doorway, being gnawed on by a deathclaw. He wrings his hands together and lets out a soft moan of displeasure as its tongue slides over the helmet. "Danse, calm down. This was your idea, the point was for it to lose interest." I whisper, Danse looks at me from where he stood. "I am aware. I just didn't think I would have to leave my armor behind." He says, looking back to the suit. "I thought the door would have the capacity for such things." "Not many people wore power armor on the bus in my day." I joke, then pat the spot next to me. "Take a seat. I'm sure he'll leave soon."
He takes one last look at his one true love before releasing a heavy breath through his nose. He walks over, taking a gentle seat beside me, sitting up as straight as possible. "Relax Danse." I say, poking his side with my elbow. He looks down at me and gives a half smile, letting his back relax against the seat. We sit in silence as the deathclaw walks back and forth, making angry grunts and growls.
"So, um…" Comes Danse, watching the deathclaw carefully. "How often did people wear Power armor in your time?" He asks. "Never. Unless you were in the army, then only for battle." "So you had worn it before." He states. "No. I wasn't a Soldier then." He looks at me shocked. "Really? I can't imagine you as anything but a Soldier." "Nate was the Soldier" I say. "I was a science major." I shifted my weight, moving to see him better, his facial expression had changed to more serious.
"May I ask a personal question?" He asks formally, resting his hands awkwardly in his lap. "Sure." "You don't talk about your husband much. Why is that?" He asks hesitantly, looking past me. I nibble my bottom lip, thinking of how to answer. "Nate wasn't the best man… He had his good moments but…" I suck air through my teeth. "He went through a lot in his time in the military, and I think he felt trapped. We married because I got pregnant, and got pregnant by mistake. He started drinking, getting angry, and… hurtful." I didn't have to say anything more for him to understand. His brows furrowed. "I can understand why you wouldn't like to talk about him." I give a hum of agreement.
We sit in silence again, this time it sits more tense. "You know… I would never treat you like that if I was your husband." Danse whispers, His cheeks heating. My heart skips a beat. "My husband?" I ask, baffled. He rubs his hands over his face, hiding. "Do you like me?" I ask, my own cheeks starting to feel hot. "I.. um. I… I'm sorry. That was… Forget I said anything." He starts to stammer, I rest a gentle hand on his forearm, and lean up, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "I like you too." I whisper to him.
His eyes snap to mine, searching, seeing if I was joking. "You do?" He asks estonished, Placing a hand on top of mine. "I do." At my words, a smile crosses his face. "Outstanding." He whispers, I suppress my giggle. He leans down, looking at my lips, but hesitates. He finally learns the rest of the way in, placing a tender kiss on my cheek. I smile brightly, hiding my slight disappointment. I knew he might not be comfortable with this stuff right away, and I'm willing to wait for him to catch up.
He laces his fingers through mine, and inches closer. I give his hand a tiny squeeze, and I lean my head on his shoulder. His head comes down gently resting atop of mine. "Did you use the bus?" He asks lightly. "I did." I say, watching the deathclaw slowly walk away, and even when we couldn't see it anymore, we sat cuddled together, having a conversation about nothing, but hell. if it wasn't the greatest conversation of my life
