Quite the Match (Cady Corbett/Phoebe Brennan)
For @aceshepard for OC Kiss Week! After working on this, I kinda want to ship them for reals. They are honestly so adorable (in their own way). The grump and the fool = <3
Months had passed since they’d last seen each other. The time they’d spent in Vault 101 together felt like it’d be eons ago and while it was good to see someone she’d known so well before, Cady Corbett was a little unsure of what to make of Phoebe Brennan now. The Wasteland had certainly taken its toll on the young woman. The pink dress that Phoebe loved was now frayed and stained. The leather jacket she usually threw across her shoulders was dirty and excessive exposure to the sun had faded the color. However, the pink in her hair was as vibrant as Cady remembered. How she was keeping up with it was a secret Cady desperately wanted to know. It may help her make more brightly colored lipsticks which would certainly be helpful.
The fire crackled between them, keeping them warm as the temperature around them dropped. Night had come on fast after their encounter with a small group of super mutants. Despite being young women wielding baseball bats, they’d had taken them down easily. Life in the Vault hadn’t prepared either of them for the world outside, but they had learned rather quickly.
Cady had finished eating a while ago, but she noticed that Phoebe hadn’t touched her food. She seemed upset, but then again, many things could make Phoebe Brennan upset. It was a matter of just finding what it was that bothered her the most.
Cady chewed on her lip a moment, pondering what she would say to the fiery woman across from her. When she finally decided to speak, she knew that no matter what Cady had to say, Phoebe had already decided how she would respond. “Is there anything I can do?”
Phoebe glanced away from the fire, her large gray eyes watching Cady suspiciously. “Why would you even offer to help me with anything?”
Her reactions always confused Cady. Why was she offering? “Because we are friends, Pheebs. Friends help each other. No matter what.”
Phoebe fell silent, her gaze returning to the fire between them. She sighed softly and ran a hand over her face, exhausted from the fight or the conversation… maybe both. “You may not want to help me with this.”
Cady was determined. She chanced the threat of Phoebe’s brass knuckles to sit beside the ginger haired woman. Neither said anything for a few tense moments, the fire crackling loudly in the quiet night. Finally, Phoebe moved so that she could look into Cady’s green eyes. She was deadly serious and that almost sent Cady scampering back to her previous spot. She didn’t deal with serious well and the possibility that Pheebs’ problem was grave, well that was even more worrying.
“I have a problem with this woman, ok? She’s irritating. She’s foolish. She’s silly.” Phoebe sounded almost angry, but wistful at the same time. Almost as if she was… envious?
“Silly? That’s quite the problem.” Cady joked, but when Phoebe glared at her, she sobered. “Can’t you just… I don’t know… ignore her?” Cady suggested, having to look away from Phoebe’s penetrating gaze.
“That’s the problem. It’s not that I can’t ignore her… I won’t.” Phoebe clutched a handful of her pink skirts in her hands, the skin of her fingers rough and splintered from the bat she carried. Cady had to quell the urge to take those hands between her own and smooth the rough skin. Phoebe wouldn’t take kindly to being touched without permission.
Cady tapped her foot against the dusty ground. “Why’s that?”
A log fell into the fire, sending sparks into the air in a tornado. Cady watched them fade into the darkness, turning to ash before finally settling on the ground beside the fire-pit. It was then that she realized that Phoebe had never answered her question.
Glancing to her left, she saw that Pheebs was watching her with a strange expression. It was somewhere between fear and intrigue. Not a look she’d associate with Brennan. “Phoebe- why won’t you ignore her?”
Her eyes fluttered for a moment as if she’d been in a daze. “I… Because she gives me hope. Makes me think. And it’s because of her that I realize that this wasteland is more than a shithole… it’s the future. My future. Because of her, I love this disgusting place and that pisses me off.”
Cady smiled at the anger in her voice, knowing it wasn’t a true rage, just frustration. Phoebe wasn’t in control of herself and as much as she hated it, it only made her human. “And who is this woman that you hate but love?”
Phoebe’s eyes widened at the question. Cady was sure that there may have been a bit of blush on her cheeks as well. “You haven’t figure it out yet?”
“What are you talking about?”
Phoebe, with a groan and eye roll, leaned forward and captured Cady’s lips with her own. Her lips were demanding at first but became softer when Cady responded quickly. Little had Phoebe Brennan known, but Cady had only been waiting for this moment. Since they’d met back up, it had been the only thing on the wanderer’s mind. Apparently she hadn’t been the only one to think about it.
When the kiss ended, Cady gasped dramatically. “Oh! It’s me!”
Phoebe laughed, pulling Cady into her embrace and enjoying her own second-hand embarrassment from the revelation. “Yes, it’s you, fool. You can be daft at times.”
Cady playfully nudged her in the shoulder. “And you can be insufferable.”
“We make quite the match.” Phoebe mused, closing her eyes and enjoying the moment a little longer.
Cady hoped the sun would hold off forever. She didn’t want the night to end.