Chapter Seventeen
"Bad Moon Rising"
I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
I see bad times today.
Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.
I hear hurricanes ablowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers over flowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin.
Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.
Posey
It was remarkable how quickly the days blended into weeks, and how quickly Posey forgot that she was on the hit list of one of the Wasteland's most dangerous and influential inhabitants. But no move came from Mister Burke. No hitmen, no threatening notes, and soon Posey found her thoughts whisked away from her status as a marked man, or woman, rather. Jude, determined that they wouldn't be caught off guard again, began to coach Posey in all of the fighting tactics he'd picked up from both the Wasteland Warriors. He'd said before she was quick study, but she wasn't sure that it applied to the more physical side of learning how to get out of a choke hold.
But Jude was adamant, not to mention, a very diligent teacher. He'd time her on how long it took her reload her gun, encouraging her to be faster, more accurate. He took her out onto the floor where they'd danced together and wasted no time getting down to the basics of hand to hand combat. He'd spar with her until she was exhausted, then urge her to keep moving, because there was no way in hell a talon company merc was gonna care if her feet hurt. As the days went by, he started to surprise her, pulling her into gentle yet firm holds as she walked past to go brush her teeth, or record data for her dad, asking her how to get out of it. He stopped doing that however once she busted his lip open, when he caught her off guard when she was coming back from Rivet City for a supply run. Posey felt incredibly guilty but Jude had grinned at her, blood dripping off his chin as he said: "Not too shabby, Blondie."
He still insisted on sparring with her though, which is what they were doing now, while Doctor Li and her team were away working in the hydroponics lab in Rivet City. One those days there was very little work that got accomplished and her father would get anxious and a little grumpy. It was always best to let him bury himself in old notes when that happened.
"You're gonna be smaller than most opponents." Said Jude matter of factly as they stood, facing each other in their makeshift sparring ring. He reminded her of that constantly."And, no offense, probably not as strong."
"None taken." Panted Posey, brushing back the wisps of hair that had come loose from her braid. "Although you don't have to make a point of that every time." She was bouncing nervously on the balls of her feet, clasping her hands behind her back, and trying not to appear too anxious or out of breath.
"Settle down, Blondie." Said Jude, half his mouth twisting up in a smirk. "You're not getting graded on this." He said, echoing her words from before.
"Yeah, until I run into another bunch of thugs." Said Posey, fiddling anxiously with the end of her braid.
"That's why we're doing this now," Said Jude patiently, "So if you do run into anyone else, you can pass the kick ass exam with flying colors. Now," He stepped back, holding his arms out, "if I were to charge at you, like a Raider would, what's your first instinct?"
"Depends," Said Posey, "do you have a tire iron or a gun?"
Jude thought for a moment, "Tire iron." He decided,
"If I didn't have my gun on me, I'd run."
"That's actually a really good plan." Said Jude with a nod. "You're pretty speedy, and honestly, if some with a gun comes at you and you have nothing, if they're far enough away your best bet is to run. Hitting a moving target is hard. Really hard. Most people are pretty poor shots. And if they're not trained hitmen and you make it difficult for them to chase you down, most of the time they'll decide it isn't worth it. But, we're not really worried about your average Raider. So, new scenario."
"Okay," Said Posey nervously. "new scenario."
"I'm one of Burke's guys. Close quarter combat." He stepped up closer. "Now, assuming you can't get to your gun." He said looking down at her. "What're you going to do?"
"Hit you. In the throat"
"Good," Said Jude nodding, "always go for the throat or the nose. How do you hit me?"
"How? With my fist."
"No no," He said, shaking his head. He reached down and brought her hand up and ran his thumb over the heel of her hand. "This, right here. Remember? Use this. Always use the heel, and that goes for when you're kicking something too. And if you're hitting something, step back a little with one foot." He did so, planting his foot behind him. "You can push off the ground and throw all you've got into it. Really, when you're back is against the wall, you gotta go all out. This is a no rules kind of fight club. Don't worry about injury when you're fighting back, it's probably gonna happen, but you just have to remember one thing."
"It's me or them." Said Posey quietly and Jude nodded.
"I've seen some pretty crazy fights." Stated Jude. "I've seen guys throw punches over everything and anything and they turn ugly real fast, but one of the worst ones I've ever seen was a girl against a Slaver. It was in Rivet City, in the galley. I was at Flak's stall when I heard the fight start, and let me tell you, that Slaver would have been dead if the guards hadn't intervened. She wasn't very big either, but she went all out. You need to go all out."
"Okay, but-"
"When guys fight," Interrupted Jude. " it's usually over something dumb. To impress a girl, or show who's the 'Real Man' of the joint. When girls fight," Jude shook his head, "it's usually for their life, because the world is a shitty place. It's fierce and it's to the death and believe me when I say this. Girls are deadly. You can handle yourself, Blondie."
"I just don't know if I'm going to be able to remember all this stuff if I do get backed into a corner or something." She fretted.
"What're you talking about, of course you'll remember." He stepped back, "You're a real Egghead, remember? Just make every move count."
"Practical and powerful." Repeated Posey, nodding and Jude grinned.
"Atta girl." He said, nodding. "But you already know all this. I've told it to you dozens of times. Why are you nervous all of the sudden?"
Posey let out a sigh and finally stilled, settling back on her feet and letting her shoulders slump.
"I dunno, I'm not nervous exactly." She said, "It's just...We've come to kind of a standstill with Project Purity, and I know how frustrating that is for my dad and I just..." She blew her wispy hair out of her face with a frustrated huff. Just, what a passive aggressive word.
"The weather is weird!" She burst out, and Jude drew his head back slightly scrunching his eyebrows down in confusion.
"What?"
"The weather," Continued Posey, gesturing towards the exit of the memorial. "It's cloudy and you can hear thunder and see lightning but it never does anything! My dad is frustrated and I've been out of the Vault for nearly three months but I feel like I just crawled out of there yesterday. I can't do anything for Project Purity."
"What're you talking about, Blondie?" Said Jude, "Without you there wouldn't be a Project Purity, and your dad would still be a German Shepard."
"But," Said Posey and Jude held up a hand, sending her into a begrudging silence.
"Come on." He said, stepping past her and heading for the exist. "Let's go."
"Go where?" She asked dully, and Jude gave her a smile but kept quiet, leading the way out of the pillared room, through the gift shop and out of the Memorial entirely.
The second they opened the door there was a low rumble of thunder and Posey looked up at the rolling grey clouds above them.
"What are we doing out here?" She asked as the wind tugged at her clothes and pulled her already frizzy hair out of its braid.
"Taking in the view." He said, tilting his chin up and looking at the clouds above him. "It never rains in the Wasteland you know. But we still get thunder and lightning." He looked back down at her with a grin. "Pretty neat, huh?"
Posey watched the swirling cumulus above them flicker with menacing light and felt goosebumps erupt across her arms.
"You think this is neat?" She inquired incredulously, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah!" Laughed Jude, raising his voice slightly above another peal of thunder. "It's just noise and light. It's not gonna hurt you."
"Lightning can hurt you." Argued Posey as Jude walked over to the metal ramp that lead up to the walkways snaking around the memorial building.
"Only if it comes down." Countered Jude as she followed along behind him. "But it stays up in the clouds, at least I've never seen it hit anything."
"That is a really horrible basis to a claim." She said,
"Relax, Blondie." He called, pausing and leaning against the railing of the catwalk, looking out over the river. "We'll be fine."
Posey joined him, looking down at the murky waters of the Potomac, wrinkling her nose slightly as its smell washed over them. They were standing directly above the enormous pipes that jutted out over the river and would, theoretically, bring the scummy water up and through the purifier before spewing it back into its bed, flushing the cloudy, irradiated stuff away. Theoretically being the operative word there.
"Come on, Blondie you gotta admit that's cool." He said, nudging her with his shoulder and pointing up to a sheet of lightning flashing across the horizon, momentarily silhouetting the figure of Rivet City.
"It's spooky." Said Posey, though she was smiling.
"It's cool." Corrected Jude. "Listen." He held up a hand as there was a clarion of rumbling thunder that rattled the walkway beneath their feet. Posey jumped and latched onto Jude's arm as the railing settled again. She could feel Jude laughing and she looked up and saw him smiling up at the clouds again, his eyes bright.
"You really like thunderstorms." She stuttered, her voice warbling slightly.
"I do." Affirmed Jude, looking back down at her with a grin. "I use to be scared of them, when I was a kid, but...I guess I've come to appreciate them."
"Can we appreciate them from a slightly more stable location?" Asked Posey as a gust of wind rushed over the two of them, buffeting her closer to Jude. "Please?" She added, closing her eyes tight.
He chuckled, but he was drowned out by another crack of thunder. "Sure." He said, slinging an arm around her shoulders as another gust blew over them. He pulled her a little closer, shielding her against the wind before they descended the walkway, angling for the Memorial. To her surprise, she saw Doctor Li and her team making their way towards the memorial, similarly struggling against the eddies of wind.
"What are you doing back so early?" Posey called once Doctor Li was in shouting distance.
"I've got news." Cried Doctor Li, her voice sounding tinny and far away as it was carried off by the wind. "First, let's get out of this abominable wind."
Once inside of the memorial, Doctor Li turned immediately to Posey and said brightly, despite her ruffled appearance:"Go find your father, I've got great news."
Posey straightened up, a grin quickly growing on her face. "Is it the fuses?" She asked, leaning forward, "Did your people-"
"Go find James," Insisted Doctor Li, though she herself was smiling much brighter than Posey had ever seen her. "I want to tell everyone at the same time."
Posey let out an excited laugh before she could stop herself and gave Jude one shining look before turning and running down the hall, nearly falling as she rounded the corner and vaulting over the sandbag barrier still slumped in the room with the gift shop.
"Dad!" She called, clattering down the stairs of the basement. "Dad! Doctor Li is back! She says she's got good news!"
"She what?"
Her father poked his head out of the door to his room, eyes red rimmed and hair wild, like always when he was frustrated. He tended to run his hands through his hair a lot when he was stressed.
"She's back from Rivet City." Said Posey breathlessly, "She says she has big news!"
"Is it the fuses?" He asked, his eyes growing wide as he stepped completely out of his room, taking Posey by the shoulders. "Did her people find the fuses?"
"I dunno!" Said Posey, laughing at the almost comical look on her father's face. "She wants to tell you herself. Come on!"
Together they rushed up the stairs, bursting into the pilliard room where Doctor Li and the rest were seated around the table.
"Madison!" Cried her father as she got to her feet, brushing down her lab coat and skirt, wearing a wide smile. "Madison, is it-"
"They found them." Announced Doctor Li with a grin. "James, they found them. In the Commonwealth, they-"
But the rest of her sentence was drown out by a whoop of joy as James rushed forward and swept her into a hug, pressing a swift kiss to her cheek.
"Really James," Protested Doctor Li, blushing, but he was too ecstatic to pay any mind to her as he turned to Posey, laughing brightly and throwing his arms around her as well and hugging her with such exuberance she was lifted off her feet. Posey laughed in delight and squeezed him back just as fiercely, feeling his whiskers tickle her ear as he drew back and twirled her about the room.
"They've found them!" He crowed. "Oh, wonderful news! Where are they!"
"They'll be in Rivet City tomorrow." Said Doctor Li, straightening her labcoat and still looking flushed.
"Tomorrow!" Laughed James, "Oh, tomorrow! What a fantastic day!"
"What time, tomorrow?" Asked Jude over the exclamations of delight with a slight smile twisting his lips.
"They expect just before noon." Said Doctor Li. "We should send a team to meet them."
"Send a team?!" Cried James in shock, "We should host a gala for them!"
"I think that's a little outside our budget." Said Posey with a grin. "Jude and I can go meet them, if you like. I think we should go to be sure nothing happens to the fuses, in case someone tries to pull something."
"A great plan." Said James, "I'll go as well, I want to personally thank them. Madison?"
"I'll stay here," Said Doctor Li, "Make sure everything is ready for advancement."
"What should we do right now?" Asked Posey, checking her Pip-Boy for the time. It was a four thirty, and she new the next ten hours were going to be torturous for her father. Tortuous in the same way Christmas Eve was to a child eager to meet Santa Claus.
"Now?" Asked James with a grin. "Now we celebrate. Because after tomorrow, my dear, we put our noses to the grindstones. After tomorrow," He beamed, "well, nothing will ever be the same again."
Doctor Li had brought champagne. Where on earth she'd scrounged it up was a mystery. The radio was playing, Three Dog warning them about Talon Company Mercenaries, and Jude was smiling at her as there was a distant echo of thunder. Garza said something low to Janice, who blushed and giggled, and her father's eyes were shining as he and Doctor Li spoke, Alex listening animatedly. Posey felt a lightness in her chest, and she couldn't stop smiling.
"Hey Blondie," Said Jude, his voice low, the barest grate to it. "I think they're playing your favorite song."
"This is Butcher Pete, Jude." Said Posey with a laugh, "I hate this song."
"Dance with me anyway." He murmured and Posey could feel herself blushing.
"Are you drunk?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. Jude's cheeks did look a little rosy but he shook his head,
"Not even a little bit." He said with a smile.
Posey bit her lip and allowed him to lead her to the clear area where they'd been sparring just hours before, and they started swinging along to the quick beat of the rather gruesome song, both of them laughing, Posey at Jude's rather ungainly movements, and Jude just because he couldn't help but join in. Once that song had ended, Janice and Garza had joined them, as had Anna and Alex and Posey laughed in delight as Jude twirled her along to the tune of Swing Doors, while she heard an amused voice ask,
"Mind if I cut in?"
Posey smiled as Jude stepped back and let her father take his place.
"A bit different from the Vault's jukebox in the dining hall, isn't it?" He asked with a smile as they danced. "And I'd ask if you try to avoid standing on my feet this time."
"I can dance on my own now, Dad." Said Posey, rolling her eyes and smiling.
"I know that, you're rather good at it too." He said, raising his eyebrows. "Freddie Gomez really did teach you something, or perhaps it's just your mother's genes. She was an excellent dancer."
"Oh please," Posey rolled her eyes, "Freddie only danced with me once."
"His loss." James shrugged and Posey grinned.
"I'm really happy for you, Dad." She said, smiling earnestly. "I mean, for Project Purity too, but I know what it means to you. And hitting all those walls,"
"Water under the bridge." He said with a gentle smile. "Tomorrow, a fresh start. Tomorrow's are always fresh starts, but this one especially."
"You really think everything is going to change, after tomorrow?" She asked as they twirled across the floor.
"Most definitely," He said confidently. "perhaps not all at once, but it will definitely be the spark that's going to really set this Project blazing."
"I don't think I've ever seen you this excited about anything." Said Posey with another laugh.
"There have been few occasions where I have been this excited." Conceded James, "You were too young to remember most of them, or else not born yet. For instance, when your mother agreed to marry me, that was a good day. A very exciting day. Then, when she told me she was pregnant. Not to mention your first word, I was very excited for that. I'd been trying to get you to speak for so long."
"What was my first word?" Asked Posey,
"Duck." Said her father with a twinkle in his eye and Posey shook her head.
"Eloquent." She said with a smile.
"From the very start." Agreed her father with a grin. "Jonas was holding you at the time, reading you that farm book you liked so much, while I was filing patient reports in the office. He was just as ecstatic as I was. You were a very quiet child, and then once you started talking, it was in nearly complete sentences. I guess you were just waiting for the right time."
"And I thought duck would be the right one to start out with, huh?" Joked Posey,
"You were an old soul, right from the beginning." Said James with a smile. "Sensitive, and stubborn. My goodness you were stubborn. And your temper." He let out a low whistle. "It was fierce."
"What's this 'was' business?" Teased Posey
James shook his head, still smiling. "I remember now," He said slowly, "you use to clench your fists so tight when you were angry, you'd leave sores on your palm. Never heard of a child doing that before."
Posey bit her lip and looked down, suddenly very interested in the pattern on the tile below them.
"You don't still do that, do you?" Asked James aghast, suddenly stopping their dancing and turning her hand over. He ran his thumb over the tiny, white half moons punctured into her skin, then looked up at her reproachfully, "Posey-"
"It's been a stressful couple of months." Said Posey defensively, closing her fingers over her scars. "I haven't done it in a long time."
"I'd hoped you would have grown out of that habit." Said James, looking from her closed hand up to her face. "Why would you hurt yourself like that?"
"I don't mean to." Said Posey with a shrug, "I just get-"
"Angry." Finished James quietly, and Posey nodded, refusing to meet his eyes. "Posey, promise me you'll stop that. It's a deplorable habit. Anger doesn't do anything for anybody. Even if you think it's righteous anger. Especially if you think it's righteous anger."
"But-"
"Promise?" He said, tilting his chin down and forcing her to meet his gaze.
"I promise." Said Posey quietly, and James searched her face for a moment, before slowly beginning they're simple swaying once again.
"When you first started speaking," He began, carefully guiding them past the other dancers. "you use to ask me if I was happy."
"Were you happy in the Vault?" She asked, "I never even asked when I was older. You never seemed to be unhappy."
"Well, I had bad days." Said her father with a shrug. "Days when I missed your mother so much I felt paralyzed. Days when I wanted to feel the sun on my skin again. Days where I wanted to wring the Overseer's pretentious, pompous neck but," He smiled down at her, "even on my worst days, I always had you. Even when you were being a little terror, which believe me, there were many of those days."
Posey scowled and James laughed, "But you would always give me that little smile, and crawl up in my lap, tell me all about your adventures at the end of the day before you went to sleep. Quite the imagination."
Posey smiled gently, "I knew I was your favorite daughter." She said triumphantly. James chuckled and eased to a stop as they danced.
"Yes indeed." He said warmly, stepping back and giving her a smile. "Well, it's late, I suppose I ought to let Mr. Hiller have you back for the last dance."
"You should go get some sleep." She said, "Real sleep," She continued, giving him a meaningful look. "Tomorrow is going to be a busy day."
"Yes it is." He agreed, "So don't dance the night away, Cinderella. You'll turn into a pumpkin at midnight."
"I'm no Cinderella," Laughed Posey. James simply gave her a smile and left, after a quick:
"Goodnight, Posey."
"Night, Dad."
She turned back around and saw that most of the others had left as well, except for Jude, who was seated on the sagging sofa, his arms draped over the back and looking thoughtful.
"Penny for your thoughts." She said softly, taking a seat on the end of the couch and bringing her knees up to her chest. "Or rather a cap, I suppose."
Jude's lips twitched in a smirk though his gaze still remained far away and out of focus.
"It's nothin', Blondie." He said, looking over at her at last. "It's just you don't see many healthy father daughter relationships out in the Wastes. I guess you could say I was observing, for scientific purposes."
"Well you haven't been taking any notes." Said Posey, raising her eyebrows and stretching her legs out on the couch in front of her, resting her booted feet in his lap.
"Don't need to." He said, tapping his temple. "I've got it all up here."
"Faulty recording equipment." Said Posey with a smile. "Memories tend to fade, or else we sugar coat them, and buff away the sharp edges. Or sometimes make them sharper."
"Not me." Said Jude, shaking his head and moving his arms down from the back of the couch, folding his arms across her shins. "I have a good memory. Too good."
"What is your earliest memory?" She asked, settling back more comfortably against the couch.
"I dunno," Said Jude, "probably something from when I was a kid. Just because I have a good memory doesn't mean I want to go digging around back there. I've got some scary stuff squirreled away."
"I think my earliest memory," Said Posey slowly, trying to gloss over the awkward situation she almost caused. "Huh... I don't know. No, actually, I do. I was pretending to read something to my dad, out of one of his medical journals, and I have no idea what I actually said, some off the wall thing that kids say, and my dad laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes. So I just kept saying it, over and over again and he just kept laughing, then the power went out and I don't think I'd ever been so scared in my life. I mean, I was probably four years old, but still."
"Did the power go out a lot down there?" Asked Jude, looking back at her.
"No." She shook her head, "But for a while, when I was around seven, it would go off at least once a week for a few hours. I didn't have my Pip-Boy yet so I didn't have a flashlight and I'd be off playing and then suddenly it would be pitch black. I remember once, Amata and I had a fight over something stupid that kids fight over, and I ran off to one of the lower levels so no one could see me cry when the power went out. It was out for five hours, and I was terrified."
"Did your dad find you?"
"Eventually, yeah. But actually, Butch and I found each other first."
"Oh good ol' Butch." Said Jude with a smile.
"Yep, good ol' Butch." Said Posey, smiling wryly. "He was down there to get away from his mom, and we nearly scared the pants off each other, but we stuck together, and eventually my dad found us, huddled together on top of some old storage crates."
"And that's when it all started," Said Jude dramatically, "you're secret romance with the Vault's resident bad boy, Butch Deloria."
"If I weren't so tired I'd punch you." Said Posey with a scowl.
"If you're tired why aren't you in bed?" He asked with raised eyebrows.
"Because that requires effort." Yawned Posey, snuggling deeper into the musty cushions.
"What, you gonna sleep up here? Because that was my plan, and I was here first."
"Why are you going to sleep on the couch?" Asked Posey with a slight frown. There was the slightest rumble of thunder and Jude grinned, pointing to the roof.
"That's why." He said, and Posey shook her head.
"You are an odd man, Mr. hiller." She remarked. "Very odd."
"Coming from the girl who once tried to get a closer look at a Deathclaw, then later in the same day, screamed bloody murder when a radroach flapped its wings at her."
"You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?" She asked, and Jude shook his head,
"Not in this lifetime, Blondie." He smirked. Posey rolled her eyes but was silent for a moment, listening to the muted and distant peals of thunder. Jude did the same, leaning back against the couch and looking up at the ceiling. He was quiet for so long, Posey nearly dropped off to sleep, but she finally heard his voice, low and soft, "You wanna know my earliest memory?"
Posey looked at his profile, illuminated by the still faintly buzzing overhead lights. He was so still, not even an eyelash twitched.
"Yeah." Said Posey, in not quite a whisper, but something just above one.
He was silent, and Posey watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. His eyelashes fluttered as he blinked.
"Watching dry thunderstorms with my mom." He said at last.
The overhead lights suddenly went out and Posey jumped, but she felt Jude's reassuring hand over her knee.
"It's alright, they're on a timer." He said, his voice rumbling out of the darkness. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden black, and when they did, she could see Jude hadn't moved an inch, except for his hand on her knee. All she could really see was the barest hint of his outline against the solid black around him, and the dull green glow of her Pip-Boy highlighting bottom of his jaw,
"Your mom liked thunderstorms?" She asked quietly.
She saw Jude's outline dip as he nodded.
"She'd always go outside when one came around. They're not very common, except in late summer. She'd always stop whatever she was doing, and go watch them. She'd take me with, and say that God was putting on a light show, just for us."
"She believed in God?" Said Posey in slight surprise. That was unusual, out in the Wasteland. She knew her own mother had been religious, but she was definitely in the minority.
"Oh yeah." Said Jude, his voice a little more gruff than usual. "Taught me how to read out of the Bible. Made me say my prayers, every morning and every night."
"What happened to her?" whispered Posey. In the dark, she felt even more necessary to be quiet.
"Nothing good." Said Jude, and she heard his breathing hitch, and he cleared his throat, shifting slightly on the couch. She felt his hand leave her knee, and heard it rub down his face, scratching the stubble there. The place where his hand had been suddenly was freezing. "Which wasn't fair. Isn't fair." He muttered, "She made everything good, even my piss poor excuse of a dad was worth something around her."
She sat up, swinging her legs off his lap.
"Where are you?" She asked, getting carefully to her feet and taking a hesitant step forward.
"What kind of a question is that?" He asked, and his voice was steady but still gravely. "You were just using me as a foot rest."
"I don't trust too sudden of movements on that couch." Said Posey, stretching her arms out in front of her and inching towards his voice.
"What are you-"
Her fingers encountered stubble, rough and hard under her skin.
"Don't poke my eye out, Blondie." Came his voice, and she could feel his breath on her wrist.
"I won't. I just..." She faltered, feeling suddenly foolish. "I just thought you might want..."
"Want what?"
She didn't know. Above them, thunder rumbled across the sky.
"C'mere." He murmured, and she felt his hand on her wrist, slowly pulling her down onto the couch next to him.
He was warm, and she could feel the soft cotton of his tee shirt against her arm.
"Your fingers are cold." He said. "Let me see."
She held out her hands, and in the dim light of her Pip-Boy, she could see him a little better this close. In the already green light of her Pip-Boy, Jude's eyes were unearthly. He took her hands in his, chaffing them together to warm them up.
"Do you miss her?" Posey asked quietly.
What a stupid question. Of course he missed her.
"I don't know." He said, looking down at her hands in front of him. "I spent so much time training myself not to think about her. I...I forget, sometimes." His voice caught and Posey bit her lip.
"Makes me a pretty terrible son, doesn't it?" He said thickly.
"No." Said Posey feverishly, shaking her head. "You're not a terrible anything, Jude."
"You don't know that." He muttered, "You don't, really."
"Well, you're not a great dancer." admitted Posey quietly, "But you just need some practice."
Jude snorted and took a deep breath.
"Your fingers feel better?" He asked, still holding them.
"They're much warmer, thank you."
"You're welcome."
She was quiet for a moment, and she could see barely Jude, still looking down at her hands, once again using his thumb to trace the back of them She could feel his other fingers, brushing the inside of her wrist.
"Jude," She murmured, "I'm-"
His hands were framing her face. She had a split second to process the warmth of them, to feel the callouses there before he was kissing her.
No one had ever been as warm as Jude was. No one had ever been as alive as she in that moment as she as Jude moved his lips slowly against hers. Warmth spread from her lips, searing across her skin as she brought her hands up to his neck, feeling his pulse thunder under her hand as she ran her fingers through the short hair at the back of his head. She could never recall anyone touching as gently as he was, careful of his stubble, so it wouldn't scratch her as he kissed her. Kissed, the word itself sent goosebumps across her skin.
He drew back, his gaze searching, his thumb brushing her cheek. His eyelids half obscured his brilliant green irises, and he looked at her as if she wasn't real. As if she were something magical. Her lips still tingled, and for a moment, she thought perhaps she was.
"I'm sorry." She said at last, feeling breathless. "About your mom."
"I am too."
Posey undid the latch of her Pip-Boy and set it on the floor near the couch. Jude laid back against the arm, and Posey lay beside him, facing him in the darkness that was so complete, she couldn't see him anymore. But she could feel him. His heart beat steadily beneath her scarred hand.
"Are you going to stay?" He asked, and she could feel his voice under her palm. Another roll of thunder caused the memorial to tremble.
"Do you want me to?" She murmured, moving her hand up to his face, carefully brushing her finger under his eyelashes.
"Yes."
"Then I will." She said simply, feeling his lashes brush her fingertip as he blinked.
"For how long?"
"As long as I can."
An:/ Heya fellas. My updating schedule is going to be pretty whack because my life is pretty whack and so I have about two and half maybe three chapters that I'm going to post all at the same time. Lucky you! I suppose I could combine this chapter and the next but I just think this is a good length and a good place to stop.
Also...THEY KISSED! And for the record, that TOTALLY wasn't planned. It was not in my outline AT ALL. It kind of just snuck up on me and it felt right, you know? Maybe it didn't feel right. I don't know. I'm gonna say it was right because, I'm the author, and I have that right. Just kidding. It could have been a mistake. I don't know guys, ughhhhh HALP. Tell me what you think!
This song is by Creedence Clearwater Revial Band, and it is a good 'un. One of my fav songs to be honest.
New chapter up REAL soon! Ridiculously soon. As in, within the hour soon.
Also, ENORMOUS shout out to Latisha McPeanuts. Looks like you got a little bit more fluff, which was totally unplanned :) Seriously though, shoutoutshoutoutshoutout. She helped me out with some serious 'behind the scenes' stuff.
Also my other reviewers, you know who you wonderful peeps are. I love y'all!
Xoxoxo
Living Pretty