When you travel with someone for three months straight, you tend to pick up on their little things; like how Blue stuck out her tongue ever so slightly when she was working with her hands. Or when she rubbed the back of her neck it meant she was either tired or nervous. Perhaps Piper's favorite insider knowledge on the vault dweller was how Anais would hum or lightly sing to herself when she was bored.
Of course, Piper had also picked up on the even smaller details. Case and point, when Anais's eyes unfocused and her gaze fell away on something without seeing it, Piper knew she was having troubling thoughts. Right now, for example.
"Blue?"
It was another thing Piper had learned. If you called out to Anais softly, brought her from her thoughts much as she used to pull Nat from her nightmares, you would often get a gentle reaction.
She waited until Anais focused her eyes on her before continuing.
"Everything okay?"
Calling her out on her distant behavior only drove her away further. That had been a difficult lesson to learn, but over time Piper had become a master pupil.
"Yeah, just tired."
Anais was always "tired". At first Piper had thought it was because of how little sleep the woman got, though the woman seemed to prefer it and was accustomed to only a few hours rest. After nearly two hundred years asleep, Piper couldn't blame her. Then Piper had come to understand that Anais used "tired" as an encompassing term. "Tired" had come to mean a lot to Piper.
Some days it meant that Anais's scars and old injuries were acting up from the heat or the long day's work. The woman would never admit when she was in pain, but she would admit that she was "tired" and needed to rest.
Other times, Anais had used the term "tired" to mean she was mentally exhausted from the human race and could not suffer through speaking to anyone, though this did not include her, Nat, or Valentine for some reason.
Then there were those moments, like this very one, where "tired" was used much like a sigh; to replace the silence you wished to sit in with some hope of giving name to the thousand and one ways you feel in a single moment.
"You're thinking of home again." It wasn't truly a guess. Often than not, when Anais wore the pained look in her eyes and fiddled with some pre-war scar on her palm it meant that she was prisoner to her memories. Calling her out on this gave her some comfort. Having someone who seemed to read her thoughts helped Anais feel seen. This Piper had learned early on.
"Yeah. I can't help but wonder what my dad would do in my situation." Anais pretended as if something were in her eye to wipe away at the tears. It may have fooled Piper the first few times, but now she knew enough to look away and give the woman her privacy. Anais hated crying.
"From what you've told me, he'd probably have a whole village built by now. May have rounded up a few dozen people or animals, started some weird work centered community that doesn't know how to sit back and relax. Who knows? Maybe he would have run for mayor of Diamond City?"
Piper's intentions proved successful as Anais shared in a soft chuckle.
"Him at a desk job would be comparable to a scuba diver in space." Anais chuckled again, but her eyes still held their sadness. "Mom would have made a good mayor. She'd lose a fight to a rad roach in a heartbeat, but she was incredible at diplomacy. Taught me a lot without realizing it. If she was mayor, she'd spend the rest of her life trying to clean and organize Diamond City."
"Sounds like she would be a welcomed edition to the Diamond City office."
"Probably the best of the lot of us."
"I don't know Blue, I think you'd make a great mayor."
"And why's that?" Anais turned to face her, a puzzled look in her eyes.
"Let me see." Piper pulled out her note book and flipped through some pages.
"Ah. here it is. Qualifications of Blue. " Piper pretended to read from a blank page.
"Natural born leader. Charismatic. Kind-hearted. Hard worker." Piper licked her fingers and flipped the page, continuing the pretend list.
"Always willing to help a friend, within reason of course. Great with people. Loves baseball. Not afraid to speak her mind. Never sleeps. Easy on the eyes. Stubborn as hell. " Again Piper turned the page.
"Oh here's my favorite." She cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders as if preparing to give some long winded speech.
"Loyal to a fault, maintaining the traditions of a lost world while walking among this one as a beacon of hope." Piper squinted, "Huh, I swear that looks like it says 'takes good care of herself' but that must be a misprint."
Anais shook her head and chuckled. "Very funny Red."
Piper cracked a smile. "Other than that, I'd say you'd get the votes in Diamond City."
"I'd make a terrible mayor. Too much paper work. Besides, my ass would go numb from the chair alone."
Piper chuckled. "You'd be a great mayor Anais." A wicked look crossed her features.
"Oh no you don't." Anais shook her heard. "You are not about to write an article on that!"
"Too late! I've got all the notes I need right here!" Piper held up her notebook triumphantly.
"Give me that!" Anais dove towards the notebook, half tackling Piper as she turned to escape.
"Never! Freedom of the press!" She giggled, trying to get to her feet to run only for Anais's arms to wrap around her waist and pull her back down. "Help! Anyone! I'm being oppressed."
The two women were in stitches as they squirmed in one another's arms. Eventually the laughter made it all but impossible to keep up the charade.
Somehow Anais ended up on top of her, hands on either sides of her face and the woman's knees straddling her hips. Piper could feel the blush creeping along her cheeks and down her neck as the woman held her gaze.
"Thank you Piper." She huffed, still trying to catch her breath.
"For what?" Piper too was out of breath.
"For pulling me from my troubles." Anais gave a warm smile that sent Piper's heart fluttering.
Piper's body moved of it's own accord. Before she could stop herself she was planting a gentle kiss on the tip of Anais's nose.
"Anytime Blue." She whispered before reality crashed back onto her.
The woman above her blushed and began to stammer.
"I...uh..."She crawled off Piper.
Silence weighed on them as they sat upright. For a moment, Piper worried she had gone too far, let her emotions get the better of her judgment. Then Anais took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She knew then that everything was alright between them.