"And that was the last time that I went out with that guy. What kind of a freak tells his date that she makes his nose twitch?" Piper questioned, finishing up her story as the twosome travelled down the broken paved road. Nora shrugged with an amused grin.
"I don't know. I had a guy tell me that I buttered his eggroll. Whatever that meant," Nora recounted, chuckling a bit.
"That's kinda weird, too," Piper agreed with a laugh.
Meow!
"What was that noise?" Nora questioned.
"I dunno," Piper replied, and the two women looked around, trying to find the source of the sound.
"Aha. There's your culprit," Piper pointed with a roll of her eyes.
Nora followed Piper's finger and her eyes widened in surprise at the sight that met her eyes. A tiny, awfully malnourished kitten was standing beside a fallen garbage can, sadly sounding its displeasure and unhappiness at an astounding volume.
"Aww, Piper, a poor, little kitten," Nora cooed, squatting down and extending her hand carefully.
"Yeah. A cat. Well, we figured out your missing sound. Let's hit the road," Piper told her, grabbing the vault-dweller's arm and attempting to pull her up and along behind her. Nora hardly heard her and instead was completely focused on the animal not far from her.
At her apparent lack of success at pulling the vault-dweller away, Piper put her hands on her hips and furrowed her brow.
"Uh… Blue? You coming?" Nora was still nearly entirely consumed with the kitten's sad plight.
"Why are we wasting our time with this? It's just a cat," Piper finally said frustratedly. That statement drew Nora from her reverie, and she turned to look at Piper with a scornful frown.
"You could be a bit more sympathetic," Nora told her, scolding laced in the undertones of her speech.
"It's a poor cat. Happy?"
"Come here, baby. Come here," Nora gently called, attempting to sweetly coax the kitten into approaching her, and she diverted her attention from the reporter.
Nora heard Piper huff exasperatedly, briskly walking off. For just a moment, Nora glanced in Piper's direction to ensure the reporter wasn't going far. When she spotted her leaning against a wall of a nearby crumbling house, Nora smiled a bit and returned to her task of charming the kitten.
To her great surprise, the kitten had gotten closer to her and was looking at her, wide-eyed and nervous.
"Yes, angel, that's it. I'm not going to hurt you," Nora told it softly, smiling lovingly.
It looked at her with its pitiful expression and inched a bit nearer until it finally touched her fingers with its nose.
"There you go. That's it," Nora reassured, moving her hand carefully and gently stroking its back. It immediately warmed to her hand and began purring loudly, rubbing happily against the appendage.
Nora grinned widely, gently scooping up the kitten and cuddling it. It gladly snuggled into her embrace and softly kneaded the material of her suit.
She could feel her heart melting with its innocent sweetness. At that moment, she thought of the woman waiting not too far from her and how she seemed to be less than enthused with the idea.
Nora nuzzled the kitten and turned with a determined expression, heading for the reporter. The golden-tanned woman fully intended to persuade Piper to love the kitten as much as she did.
Nora walked up to Piper and stood in front of her, cradling the kitten in her arms.
Piper never looked up and instead seemed to have gained a sudden interest in her nails. At that, Nora simply held the kitten out for Piper to take.
The entire time, Piper remained looking down at her fingers.
The vault-dweller knew exactly what she was trying to do and she stepped a little closer to the reporter. The kitten reached its paw out and touched the younger girl's nose.
Piper immediately looked up. Nora grinned widely, raising an eyebrow.
To Nora's great surprise, the shorter woman's face began to contort into a horrid expression. Nora's eyes widened in surprise and she flinched a bit when a giant sneeze erupted from Piper.
The kitten shook its head vigorously in response, and Nora drew the kitten back to her chest.
After that sneeze came several more. Piper sniffled and wiped her nose with a fingerless glove.
"I'd really like it i-i-i-ACHOO! If you wouldn't put it in my face any more," Piper groaned, sniffing hard.
"Piper… Are you allergic?" Nora questioned, concern covering her face.
"Yeah, I am. I've been allergic to cats for as long as I can remember," Piper told her, her nose sounding stuffy.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get your sneezer riled up." Piper chuckled lowly in response.
"Eh, don't worry about it. It'll get better when I get away from the cat," she replied to the vault-dweller.
"But we can't just leave it out here," Nora said, looking at the small animal on her chest with a worried expression.
"You could give it to Curie. She'd love it," Piper sniffed, scratching at her nose.
Nora grinned widely, bringing Piper into a hug with the little kitten in the middle.
"You're a genius, Piper!" Nora complimented, holding her against her.
"Tha-ACHOO! Thank you. You think you could let me go? The cat's all up in my space." Nora drew away quickly, a sheepish smile on her face.
"Sorry."