Chapter 22 - Changing Tastes
Marilyn frowned as she sat at the table, stealing glances over at Dick seated beside her. He pointedly paid more attention to poking the roasted radroach in front of him, making a face as one of its hairy black legs twitched. She'd been mentally kicking herself ever since they were doing the dishes, which was when he'd started acting a bit distant towards her. She knew why. At least, she was pretty sure why. He'd called her beautiful, and she'd more or less told him to shut up. She hadn't intended to come across like she was brushing him off, she was just too nervous. So she'd chickened out.
Ever since they'd had their very first kiss eight years ago, part of her had always sort of known her friendship with Dick was… well, unusual. She hadn't fully understood why until her eighteenth birthday, when he'd shown her the cameras. That was when she really realized that it wasn't just friendship she felt for him. But even knowing that she maybe did want something more from their relationship, something other than friendship, it never seemed like Dick felt the same way. He'd barely had a reaction at all to their first kiss and it was so rare for him to get genuinely embarrassed. Which was a shame to her, because she really did think it was cute when he blushed.
But then things had suddenly changed. Just like when they'd had their first kiss all those years ago, and she felt the whole world shift around her. She felt like their whole relationship had shifted again, somehow, after leaving the Vault. She'd thought maybe she was just imagining things at first, that it was only wishful thinking getting the better of her. But so many things had occurred lately. Unusual things, the likes of which would've never happened before.
Within the last 48 hours, she and Dick had cuddled, kissed, and even shared a bed. And she was so confused where this sudden change had come from. Had he always liked her in that way? Or was she just misreading the situation? It wouldn't be the first time. She wished he would just tell her directly how he felt. It wasn't like Dick to hide things from her, even embarrassing or secret things. That's why she could tell so easily when he was hiding something. It was so uncommon that it stood out immediately.
"Nessie's radroach steaks are rather famous around here," Brother Cole piped up, making both Marilyn and Dick jump.
Apparently, she wasn't the only one getting lost in thought.
"The way she sautees the brain fungus is just delightful," Brother Cole continued, smiling pleasantly despite the tangible awkwardness.
"Brain fungus, huh…" Dick wrinkled his nose, looking down at his plate wearily.
Marilyn glanced down at her own, picking up a fork. It smelled terrible, like burning rubber. But the pang of her stomach was tangible, and she was pretty sure she was going to faint if she didn't eat something soon. So with a deep breath to brace herself, she jammed her fork into the radroach, trying to ignore the way the carapace crinkled. It was hard not to gag as she pulled a mass of gray flesh free, biting her lip as the juices dribbled down across her fingers. Maybe it wasn't as bad as it looked, she tried to tell herself. Or as bad as it smelled. Or sounded.
Clearing her throat as both men watched her silently, Dick with a cringe and Brother Cole with that same pleasant smile, Marilyn carefully popped the fork into her mouth. Immediately, her tongue felt like it'd been splashed with acid. It was awful! Sour and bitter and far too salty. She hesitated to chew, doing so as slowly as possible. Her eye twitched as she forced herself to swallow the ungodly mouthful, wishing she had something pleasant to drink.
A beat passed before Dick quietly set the half-empty bottle of vodka onto the table beside her. Marilyn hadn't even seen him take off his pack and take it out, but she was already chugging off of it before she knew it. It burned and still tasted horrible, but it was miles better than the… radroach.
She nearly gagged at the thought, shutting her eyes tightly as she lowered the bottle to cough.
"It's… s-so good," Marilyn slurred, feeling herself drool a bit as her mouth continued to sting.
"I'm glad you like it," Brother Cole smiled obliviously, "I'll go share your compliments with the chef. Once you're finished eating, I will take you to our donation room and you may peruse the medical supplies."
Brother Cole excused himself back to the bathroom, leaving Marilyn and Dick alone. Alone, with two very unlucky radroaches. But Marilyn wondered if they weren't the unluckier ones.
"Thanks," Marilyn mumbled, nodding towards the bottle of vodka.
"Don't mention it," Dick mumbled back.
Marilyn frowned down at her lap, trying to think of what to say. Should she apologize? What for, exactly? He clearly was upset with her, even if he was doing his best not to show it. Dick was a good liar, but Marilyn knew him too well for that. Finally deciding to just bite the bullet, Marilyn sighed and looked over towards him.
"Dick," She began, hesitating when he looked over at her.
"Yeah?" He perked a brow.
"B-Before," She began, "I didn't—"
"Wait, hold on," He interrupted, "You got a little somethin'…"
Marilyn blushed as Dick leaned towards her and reached out, gently swiping his thumb over her bottom lip. She held her breath when his eyes flicked up from her mouth to her eyes, suddenly feeling like he was way too close. But she didn't lean away, even as all of her nervous instincts screamed for her to do just that. No, she wasn't going to make that mistake again. Instead, she leaned forward.
Her lips had just barely brushed against Dick's when he was the one to move away, surprising her. He leaned back against his chair and withdrew his hand, observing her with a studious expression. Like she was a puzzle, and he was trying to figure her out. Marilyn blushed fiercely, not knowing if it was from the scrutiny of his gaze or the fact that she had just tried, and failed, to kiss him.
"...Before what?" He asked after a moment, still watching her.
Marilyn blinked a few times, scrambling to remember what she was going to say before.
"Uh.. before…" She began slowly, feeling frazzled, "I was… I didn't…"
"Yeah?" Dick looked at her expectantly.
Marilyn opened her mouth to speak when the insistent rumbling of her stomach interrupted, and she looked away with a blush.
"S-Sorry," She mumbled sheepishly.
Dick paused, looking down at the radroaches with a softening expression. A beat passed before he smacked a hand against his forehead.
"...I really am an idiot," Dick sighed, moving over towards his backpack, "I completely forgot…"
"Huh?" Marilyn blinked, watching him set his pack on the table and open it, "What?"
"I told you, my dad gave me some supplies and stuff before I left," Dick explained, "And it ain't just water."
Marilyn's eyebrows rose as she peered over into his pack. It was nearly filled to the brim with a few dozen tubes of food paste, the sort used to fill the Vault's food synthesizers. Marilyn had never been so happy to see the tasteless pink goo in her life. There must've been enough for each of them for a month, probably even longer if they rationed them well.
"Dick," Marilyn said as she stared.
"Yeah?"
"Have I told you how great you are?" She smiled as she plucked one of the tubes.
"Hmm, maybe," He hummed, unable to stop himself from grinning when he added, "But I wouldn't mind hearing it again."
"You're the best," She looked up at him, "Seriously."
"Heh, don't I know it," Dick chuckled, not appearing anywhere near as smug as he convincingly sounded.
Marilyn found herself grinning back at him. The prior awkwardness was gone, at least for the moment. She had the feeling it wasn't the last time it would rear its ugly head, though. After all, they still had quite a few things to talk about. And that wasn't even including this most recent near-kiss. Thinking about that made Marilyn begin to blush though, so she decided she would ignore that for now. It wasn't really the time or place just then. But she definitely wasn't going to let it go in the long run.
Because, this time, something had definitely happened.
