Family Study

By LiteraryLitany

Chapter 1: Hello, Love.

Valek sat perched in the rafters of the cottage and enjoyed watching Yelena's tired, graceful movements as she put away the contents of her pack. Upon closer inspection, the weariness appeared more emotional than physical. She kept the spry, graceful energy of an acrobat. In addition, he had noticed Yelena kept tugging at the hair that hadn't yet grown back to her shoulders with a mournful expression. He couldn't help but grin. A sure sign she missed him.

Slipping soundlessly down to the floor, Valek arranged himself in a slouched position on the couch in front of the fire while she busied refilling the vial of Curare that she kept stocked in her bag. He'd have to ask her how she'd managed to use so much on a "peaceful" trip to visit her parents.

Yelena turned around, and when her surprise faded, he could see from the way her eyes swept his form, questions would have to wait. He was glad he'd broken with his principles about vanity to properly groom himself before coming to see her. The impressed, bordering on dazzled look in her eyes made all the discomfort worth it.

"Hello, love." He couldn't quite keep the husk out of his voice that her look had triggered. For once he let her approach him, not entirely trusting his legs under the burning light in her eyes.

She bypassed subtleties and slipped right into his lap, fitting snuggly and making his blood pump in his ears. "How's the Commander?"

He hadn't expected the question, but then, Yelena had a gift when it came to surprising him. "Quite well." He said, slipping his arms about her waist, relishing in the feel of her warm, feminine curves. She also had a gift for other things, which she reminded him of as she bent to press a blood-searing kiss to his neck.

His pulse grew louder in his ear, and as always with Yelena, his thoughts blurred as if from poison. "Mm." She hummed against his skin, and he agreed, inhaling her lavender scent with that heady musk of pure Yelena lurking beneath. "How long can you stay?"

It was frustratingly hard to follow these leaps in conversation she made when her mouth kept tasting his skin. "At least a month." He said with satisfaction, then, tired of remaining passive to the ministrations of her lips on his neck, Valek's hands secured a grip that had her gasping and flipped them both to a more prone position.

Then he kissed her and made sure she wouldn't be asking anymore odd questions the rest of the night.

~*~

The next morning, Valek was disconcerted to wake with no woman in his arms. He found her in the stables, brushing Kiki and feeding the other Sandseed horse, who he had "acquired" as his personal mount through the confusing months spent restoring order to Sitia. His sense of unease grew. "Yelena, love, what are you doing?"

She smiled at him while she fed each horse a treat. He recognized the twinkle in her eyes. It always signaled Yelena with a plan, which for once wasn't a reassuring thing to see. "Just tending the horses." She replied innocently, securing the last of the bags and brushing past him and back into the cottage. He followed, seriously considering cutting whatever losses he seemed to have accumulated before he found out what that gleam meant. She'd already packed his horse for him.

But she paused to kiss him, and all thoughts of leaving fled his mind as he watched her fumble to make them a good breakfast. His lovely heart mate may be a powerful Soulfinder, but she struggled a bit with cooking anything more complicated than travelling fare.

He smiled as he perched on the arm of the couch and watched her efforts.

"You haven't asked me about my trip yet." She said, in that tone somehow only women managed, that only a simpleton would mistake for a rhetorical statement.

"How was your trip, love?" He asked obediently.

A fierce glint in her eyes when she glanced up from her work and directly at him gave the unnerving impression that he'd just sealed whatever fate she had in mind for him and their horses.

"Well, it started out bad. Should have been a warning there." She flipped the eggs onto two plates and the warmed rolls next to them.

"Bad?" Valek prompted, curiosity overcoming his unease. He'd personally seen to it that she made it out of the clan territory without so much as a hiccup, even if she hadn't known he was there.

"Well, my heart mate was called away because the Commander was in grave peril. It's a relief to know he's quite well now." She said, pinning him with a deadpan look as she swept over to offer him his plate. He wished he'd watched her closer to see if she'd put anything "extra" in the food. He wasn't sure if he'd anger her more by testing the food for poison first.

She'd set the trap quite well, and he didn't doubt she'd probably seen through his excuse about an urgent mission when last he'd left. And from the look on her face she'd also guessed his reasoning. Her visit to her family, which had it not been for his swift departure, would have included him.

And for a long list of reasons, some of which he barely admitted to himself, having a nice long visit with Yelena's family was far from appealing to him. The significance of the packed horses was now all too clear.

"Yelena…" He said slowly, glancing apprehensively down at his plate. She ignored him and swept over to sit on the couch. Silently he sat next to her, resisting the memories of what they'd done to each other on that couch the night before so he could try to think his way clear of Yelena's plans. Somehow he didn't think leaving before she could drag him along was going to help him in the long run. He needed a more permanent solution.

"What did you pack the horses for?"

"A trip to my parent's. For both of us." Her expression dared him to disagree.

"I thought you already visited them." He said, pure innocence.

She looked disgruntled. "I didn't even make it to Booruby."

The fact she had had to refill the vial of Curare returned to his mind. "Trouble?"

"No," She said defensively. "Why do you assume it was trouble?"

Not one to reveal his sources, Valek gave her a sardonic grin. "It is you we're talking about, love."

She grumbled something under her breath, and he had to prompt her again before she returned to her explanation. "Every town I entered wanted to throw me a feast." She sounded as if this were a personal insult. "The Great All-Powerful Soulfinder here to cure our ills and bless our town." She intoned with false gravity, gesturing dramatically with her fork. He simply raised an eyebrow. She blushed. "Well, sure, it's nice the first time, but after that…" She trailed off with a shudder. "I had to make speeches."

The thought of Yelena forced address a crowd of happy villagers would have had him laughing if she didn't look like she'd skin him if he tried.

Then she ducked her head. "…So I came back here to borrow one of your disguises."

He eyed her normal, Yelena-like appearance. "You couldn't find where I kept them, could you?"

She looked affronted. "Of course I could." He simply looked at her until her face turned red. "With Kiki's help." She finally admitted.

He'd have to remember to give that horse another peppermint. Valek got a feeling she saved Yelena almost as much trouble as he did. He might feel jealous, if he wasn't happily certain there were many things he could do that the horse couldn't.

"So you found the disguises…?"

"And they worked." She didn't seem happy about it.

Valek sighed. "How so?"

She shifted in mild embarrassment. "I apparently resembled a well-known thief."

He raised an eyebrow. "And that doesn't count as trouble?"

Her shoulders slumped a bit. "It was some kids who caught me."

Valek paused, exerting a self-control that was harder earned than any of the medals of his dress uniform. Not so much as a strangled chuckle made it past his lips.

She eyed him defensively anyway. "It's not like I can go using my self-defense tactics on a ten-year-old!" Her expression shifted, bad news for him. "However, the delay did allow news to reach me of how the infamous Valek saved a baby from a runaway wagon in a village mysteriously in the opposite direction of the Commander's castle."

He scrubbed his face, unsure whether the chagrin came from the trouble that put him in with Yelena or the frighteningly heroic tone of that story. How was he supposed to maintain a reputation for good assassin work with stories like that floating around?

Yelena's frown deepened. "You haven't touched your food."

Valek regained his composure and calmly tested the food for poisons before eating. She scowled at him. "You think I'd poison it?"

"Of course not, love." He said soothingly, but a sardonic sparkle lit his gaze and she considered him with narrowed eyes.

"It's not a bad idea, now that I think of it." She mused, flashing him a dangerous smile.

He remained stony-faced. "Keep in mind who taught you everything you know, love."

She flashed him a heated look, but it was mostly amusement. "Is that a challenge?"

He couldn't help it and grinned. "So long as you remember, turnabout is fair play."

She waved a hand dismissively. "I never play fair, Valek."

Setting aside his plate and wrapping his arms around her waist, his lips wasted no time in finding her neck. "You did learn from the best."

~*~

Author's Note: Okay, I've had this little gem in my archives for awhile now, and I'm just posting it now (mostly because finally has a Study section) and no, that doesn't mean the fic is finished. I have about the first two chapters done, and once I get into the thick of it it's always harder to write so I may be a bit slow with updates, but they *will* come. This opening chapter's probably a bit long but I loved the ending here. Anyway, hope you enjoy!