Fanfic "Flu Rhymes With Blue" - Fallout 4 [Spoilers ahead] [f!Sole/Piper]

[Marshmallow Peep]

After finishing Far Harbor on two different saves, with two very different outcomes, but both times, thanks to constantly needing to swim and the True Storms mod (added with Survival Mode illnesses I was always getting) I couldn't stop thinking "my god, [MC Name] must have the worst cold by now." And then it hit me, I need to write this out.

This takes place after the ending of both the Institute path and Far Harbor (with no specific ending mentioned) so please tread carefully if you're not wanting spoilers.

--

It was honest to say Piper's life had dramatically changed from the moment that vault dweller had stumbled into Diamond City without a clue of what was going on after accidentally shooting a security guard while fighting off a group of lughead Super Mutants outside the wall. It was funny how, almost a year later, Piper had gone from threatening her at gunpoint to chase her off, to sharing a comfortable (or at least, more comfortable than any old spring mattress) bed with the woman she now called Blue; beautiful, selfless Blue. There were times she didn't at all understand the actions of this pre-war newcomer-- far more than a few, actually. First was her occasionally sharp tongue, often charged by thoughts of her son, which got her into more trouble than the reporter would have liked. Then were her less forgivable decisions, like sending her girlfriend off so she could fire three mini nukes into the Railroad HQ and make a run for it, or choosing to defend a first generation synth while it made its way to corrupt the massive, destructive Liberty Prime, all so the Institute would be left unopposed. At first, Piper was livid. What if the Institute took Nat and their new director did nothing to stop them? A reasonable fear to have, but there were five words that really sunk in that managed to convince her to stay.

"I did it for Shaun."

The later weeks featured conversations and explanations; about Shaun's passing, about the child synth just as deserving of a loving mother as a human son would, about how said synth needed somewhere safe with capable adults to look after him. Blue truly did love her son, a love similar to what Piper had for her sister. It didn't change the fact she still had her anxieties over the Institute still looking in the shadows, but it made things easier to understand, not to mention it felt somewhat of a bragging right to know her lover could be the one to reform the very organization that often had the Commonwealth sleeping with one eye open.

Sleeping with one eye open was now Blue's job, which, in recent days, she was too deep in slumber to perform. The couple was lucky their home in Diamond City was so well secured by Dogmeat, the German Shepard who could be single handedly take on a couple of raiders for one minute and take a nap curled up with his favorite bear the next. The pup was even kind enough to guard Home Plate while Blue and Piper were out solving the Kasumi Nakano case in Far Harbor for Valentine Detective Agency just the other day, and boy, what an adventure that was.

To be home under a roof without getting drenched in the rain that typically followed the fog was a blessing now far more appreciated. Even Blue's incredibly soft pre-war body wasn't enough for Piper to warm up with when they were up north, but now she felt so much warmer, creating an imaginary "electric blanket" Piper had heard her go on so much about. It would be even better, however, if she didn't jerk forward so much whenever she coughed. Piper didn't pay too much mind to it, given Blue's heavy smoking habit, but it was a lot more than what was expected even from a smoker's cough.

"Blue, hey, if you could maybe... I don't know, stay a little bit more still, that would be great," Piper jokingly suggested, "I can't sleep through everything, you know?"

"What? I'm moving?" The two century old was barely half awake; it was amazing she could be sleeping like a log, considering her usual alertness. "Sorry," she sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her wrist, "my head's just felt so heavy lately, it's like one of your paperweights found its way in through my ear."

Piper quirked a brow. Blue sure had a way of describing things, didn't she?

"E'shchh!"

"Uh, gesundheit." Piper handed her lover a napkin she had stocked her pockets up on at the Dugout Inn. That was a sneeze, right? It was hard to tell; usually, anyone in the post-war Commonwealth at the very least gave a warning breath. Pre-war manners must be strange.

"Thanks." Blue immediately regretting pushing the coarse paper so close to her nose; it felt like sandpaper and it burned like hell, but it was better than constantly sniffing the offending contents of her nose back, which only made her cough and left the worst taste in her mouth. "What time is it?" She squinted, not even bothering to check the watch on her pip-boy.

"It's half past wakey wakey eggs and bakey, that's what time it is." Piper adored that phrase, even though apparently the eggs weren't supposed to come from mirelurks, and bacon was supposed to actually taste good, nothing was going to let Blue hear the end of that one. "C'mon! We're supposed to talk to Nick, remember?"

"We-We are? Shit!" Blue stumbled her way out of bed to get herself dressed, a task that was significantly harder to do with head congestion. Every time she bent over it was like she had just been pushed underwater, something she did not miss at all from her trip to Far Harbor; in fact, she'd be glad to never see water ever again. Not that standing back up made things any better, in fact, the rush of air only made her sinuses burn.

"E'chtt! Kchhtt! Exschtt!"

Maybe plugging her nose each time wasn't such a good idea either, now her hands felt far from cleanly, prompting her to quickly rub the awful substance into her pant-leg. After the apocalypse, self image wasn't such a big deal, anyway.

"Blue, you okay?" Piper put a hand on her lover's shoulder, only for it to be gently brushed away.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's move." Her answer was about as cold as the air felt around her. She had nothing more to say, so she simply gave herself a head start out the door, forcing Piper to try to catch up.

The trip to the detective agency took longer than those of the past. Blue kept stopping whenever the world started spinning too much, and Piper would ask her if she was alright, frequently met with a simple nod and starting up walking again. Why'd Blue have to be stubborn on a day like this? Why did she have to be so stubborn at all?

The neon heart sign was like an oasis of sorts to Blue, finally a place to sit down. Valentine didn't sleep, so there was always an unused bed available, too. The synth detective and his secretary were quick to greet the couple too, a good sign things could be done and over with soon so a nap could very well be in the near future.

"Hchshh!"

"Well, I was going to ask if you caught any new information on your trip to Far Harbor, but it sounds like you caught yourself a cold," Valentine smirked, pulling out-- finally a real handkerchief! "A runny nose usually distracts people when you're asking them questions. Here."

"Thanks, Dick--" Blue made quick use of the detective's offering, "N-Nick! I mean Nick!" As soft as the cloth was, noses had a particular talent to find just about anything one put against them irritating.

"Rudolph, what did you do with my assistant?" The synth detective laughed, before giving her as much of a pitiful smile a generation 2 synth was capable of making.

"Huh? Who's that?" Piper was out of the loop. Blue took mental note to add holiday icons to her list of 'pre-war things to explain to Piper' later, but for now, all she wanted to do was go home.

Ellie Perkins, being the saint she was, made her way to the woman she owed her employment to and placed a hand on her forehead. Sure enough, there was a fever; not as searing as how Valentine would get every so often from overheating, but she knew a fever when she felt one.

"I think it's best we put off this info-swap until you're feeling better. I suggest you make your way home now, or you can use the bed upstairs if you're not feeling up to walking." She turned her head to her employer, "is that okay, Nick?"

"I don't see why not. But," the dreaded 'but' was directed at Piper, "I'm going to ask that you not pester any potential clients with interview questions today, Piper."

"Fine," the reporter rolled her eyes halfheartedly, followed by a laugh. "Relax, Nick. I'm gonna be with Blue the whole time. It'll be like I'm not even here."

"Well, good. Now you ought to get her into bed soon; she looks like she's about to fall over."

--

End of Part 1

[Klingon]

this is pretty good so far!

 

[Hawkeye]

GASPS LOUDLY

I cannot even begin to express how excited I got when I saw "f!Sole/Piper" in the topic title! I recently (read: a couple months ago) finished Fallout 4 for the first time, and Piper is my absolute favorite companion, and the relationship between Piper and my f!Sole is my absolute favorite thing ever, and I'm just VERY EXCITED to see a Fallout fic here.

I'm normally not even into sickfics at all but I am LOVING this so far and cannot wait for the next part!!!

[webmeistro]

Is Far Harbor good? I want to get it but I've been hearing tales of show-stopping bugs.

Also, great fic. I love Piper too

 

[SexyGodlikeHair]

Everything about this is FABULOUS; the concept, the writing, all of it. I can't wait for more!!