Another Rahm oneshot. I can't really seem to write anything halfway decent that isn't about these two right now, but here's hoping that this is decent! It's been storming a lot here, so that's where most of this came from. Before you get to read the story, there are a few things you ought to know. One, Rahne's dreams draw heavily on her comicverse background. Two, yes, Rahne's accent sucks. I don't really know anyone Scottish. Hopefully Sam's is better, since I have actual family living in Kentucky, but I make no promises. And three, all feedback is good, be it positive comments or constructive criticism, so please review. Yep, that's all. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. You really ought to have seen that one coming...
BOOM! Thunder crashed right on the tail of the jagged lightning bolt that ripped through the sky. For a second, it masked the shouts of the mob, but the moment the thunder quieted down, Rahne could hear their cries loud and clear.
"Kill the monster!"
"Satan spawn!"
"Get the demon child! Kill it!"
Rahne sped up. Her feet slapped the wet earth as she ducked under branches and swerved around tree trunks. She was more fearful now than she had ever been before. Her breath came in ragged gasps and tears ran down her face. She wasn't sure how much longer she could run away from them. Rahne chanced a glance over her shoulder: the men were hot on her heels, with Reverend Craig, her own adopted father, leading the pack. They were gaining on her, she was just a 13 year old girl who had never ran a straight mile in her life; there was no way she could escape.
"Oh dear God! Save me!" she cried as the distance between the mob and her grew smaller and smaller. With a loud cry, a man leapt forward and tackled her. Rahne panicked and tried frantically to change into a wolf, like they all knew she could, but she had bad control over her shape-shifting, even at the best of times, and she was unable to do anything but struggle wildly on the forest floor. Another roll of thunder boomed as the man bound her hands tightly and tied her feet together more loosely than her hands, but still uncomfortable tightly, so that she was still able to walk. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she was dragged back to the village, kicking and screaming the whole way.
When they reached the small village Rahne had always called home, they dragged her to the town center. Rahne's screams doubled in volume as she saw what was in the middle of the clearing: a pyre. They planned to burn her at the stake.
"Please, I beg ye! I'm nae a demon! I'm nae! Spare me!" Her desperate pleas were ignored as she was dragged to the pyre and tied to the stake by two men. "Reverend Craig, please, ye know I'm nae monster!"
"Silence!" he cried as another man poured oil onto the pile of wood just below her feet. Thunder crashed again over their heads. "I know you not, devil child!"
He walked up to Rahne and struck a match. He dropped it onto the sticks and logs below Rahne. The wood immediately caught fire, and burned quickly. (1) Just before the flames began to lick at her feet, she gave one last anguished cry.
Rahne sat bolt upright in bed as an almost wolf-like howl slipped out of her mouth. (2) She quickly covered her mouth, not wanting to wake her sleeping roommate. She quickly glanced at Jubilee's bed, only to find it empty. Jubilee had been forced to go on another one of Mr. McCoy's nature retreats, because her biology grade had been abysmal lately. Rahne whimpered. She did not want to be alone tonight, not after that nightmare and especially not while it was storming as fiercely as it was outside. And with Jubilee gone, that meant she'd need to find someone else to keep her company.
Rahne climbed out of bed and grabbed a blanket from on top of her bed. She walked towards the door, clutching the blanket around her shoulders. Silently, she closed the door behind her and padded quietly down the dark hallway. Lightning flashed and a roll of thunder echoed throughout the Institute. Rahne flinched and shut her eyes tightly but after a moment she pulled herself together and continued on her way. Soon she came to the top of the staircase and, shifting into her were-form, sniffed the air, trying to find someone to weather out the storm with. She couldn't detect anyone's scents downstairs: everyone was in their beds. Reverting back to her fully human form, Rahne continued in the direction she'd been walking before she stopped and made her way down the boys' wing. Nearing the end of the hallway she stopped in front of a door and knocked timidly, looking left and right immediately after knocking to make sure that no one was coming. Satisfied that the coast was clear, she raised her arm to knock again, but before she cold, the door swung open.
"Rahne?" Sam eyed her blearily, evidently having just gotten out of bed. "What the hell are you doin' up this time of night?" He blinked a few times and reached up to rub his eyes tiredly.
Rahne blushed. In her initial joy to see someone, she hadn't realized that all Sam was wearing was a pair of plaid pajama pants, with no shirt. (3) She cleared her throat and tried to focus on why she was there.
"Ach, sorry I woke ye up. But I had a nightmare, and I dinnae want to be alone, and Jubes is gone."
Sam opened the door wider and stepped aside to let her in. "C'mon in, Rahne. Ya wanna talk 'bout it?" he questioned, concern showing through the fatigue in his eyes.
"Nay, I just wanna forget about it. But," she broke off, blushing scarlet again, "is it alright iffen I spend the night in here? I mean, if ye dinnae mind, er—"
"Sure thing, Rahne," Sam smiled at her, interrupting her stuttering. "You can sleep in mah bed."
"Thank ye very much, Sam, but where are ye gonna sleep?"
"Well, Ah would take Bobby's bed, but it is Bobby's bed, so Ah'm not sure if it's safe." (4) Rahne giggled at Sam's exaggerated shudder. "Ah'll just sleep on the floor. There's a sleeping bag in mah closet."
"Nay, I'll take the sleeping bag, ye take the bed," Rahne argued as Sam dug through his closet. "I dinnae want to turn ye out of your own bed!"
"Nah, you're a guest. Mah mama'd have mah head if Ah let a guest sleep on the floor."
"Are you sure?" Rahne asked uncertainly.
"Uh-huh. Positive." Sam finally managed to find his sleeping bag and he laid it out on the floor, right next to his bed. "Hey, Rahne, toss me the extra pillow on mah bed, would ya?"
"Sure. And thank ye soooo much, Sam!" she said gratefully as she handed him a pillow.
"Don't sweat it!" Sam responded, crawling into his sleeping bag. "Night, Rahne!"
"Night, Sam!" Rahne whispered back, before lying down in Sam's bed. She laid her blanket on top of Sam's covers and pulled his blankets up to her chin. She closed her eyes and was asleep almost as soon as she hit the pillow.
"Rahne! Rahne, wake up!" Sam called, as loudly as he dared, shaking Rahne's shoulders. She jolted awake with a startled cry, flinching when she saw Sam so close. She had a look of complete and utter panic and terror on her face, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Sorry, you were having another nightmare. Ah thought Ah oughta wake ya up, 'cause ya looked awfully scared."
Rahne sat up, rubbing her eyes. She looked around the room, getting her bearings. All of a sudden, she noticed that Sam was awake, and exclaimed, "Ach, did I wake you up? I'm so sorry!"
Sam brushed off her concerns with a wave of his hand and sat down next to her on the bed. He looked at her, and noticed that, even though she had calmed down considerably since she had woken up, her eyes were still wide with fear. He reached over and took her small hand in his own.
"Ya sure ya don't wanna talk 'bout your nightmares? It might help," Sam offered, rubbing the side of Rahne's hand with his thumb.
"Aye, I suppose it might." Rahne took a deep breath and began to explain her nightmares, which were both the same, and their ties to her past to Sam. Sam listened the entire time, holding her hand in support as the words poured out of her mouth, almost like Rahne was physically unable to stop speaking until the whole story was told. She slowed down when got near the end, and finally, she stopped completely. Sam squeezed her hand and smiled reassuringly at her.
"Did it help?" he asked.
"It helped some," Rahne admitted, "but not with everything. I dinnae think it will ever go away completely, the fear, that is. After all, we all have our own demons, and I guess this is mine."
"Ya never know. Ya've just gotta hope for the future," Sam comforted her, squeezing her hand again soothingly.
"I sup—" Rahne's response was cut off by a roar of thunder. She shrieked and jumped into Sam's arms, burying her face in his shoulder and clinging to him as if he was a lifeline.
"Rahne? Are you alright?" Sam asked, concerned. He had never seen his friend so scared before than he had that night, and it was really beginning to worry him.
Rahne picked her face up from Sam's shoulder and blushed. "Aye. It's just, I don't like the thunder much, not since, well, y'know, and I suppose I'm just a wee bit jumpy after that dream." (5)
"Don't worry. I gotcha," Sam whispered, pulling her in tightly for a hug.
For a while, they just sat there with their arms around each other. Sam rubbed Rahne's back and she put her head back down on his shoulder. Rahne felt safer with Sam than she had all night. Outside, the rain kept falling, punctuated by brief cracks and flashes of thunder and lightning, but Rahne barely noticed it. Soon, she let out a long, drawn out yawn.
"Well, Ah think we'd best get to bed now," Sam said, breaking away from Rahne and getting to his feet.
"No, don't go!" Rahne called, grabbing Sam's wrist as he stepped away from the bed. At Sam's questioning gaze she elaborated, while once again flushing bright red. "I mean, would you sleep up here, with me? If ye dinnae mind, that is. It's just, ye've been keep my fear away. I dinnae think I'll have any nightmares iffen you're up here, with me."
Sam also flushed red, but he nonetheless nodded and made his way back over to Rahne, after he snatched his pillow from the ground. "Happy to help," he responded, fixing the pillows and adjusting the blankets. He slipped under the covers and Rahne crawled in after him.
"Thank ye, Sam," murmured Rahne, after they had gotten comfortable. "Ye didnae have to do all this."
"Don't worry, it's not a problem."
Rahne took a deep breath, turned to face Sam and, before she could lose her nerve, leaned over and kissed Sam, right on the lips. Sam blinked stupidly at her for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around it all. Rahne Sinclair had just kissed him, Sam Guthrie. He could barely believe it: he had secretly liked since right after he had met her, but he was sure that she didn't return his feelings. However, he was thrilled to be wrong. Quickly, he realized that she was turning away, a hurt look on her face, and he acted immediately. He reached out to cup her face in his hand and he leaned in and kissed her again. It was sweet and romantic, everything that a first, or, in this case, a second, kiss should be like. When they separated, he grinned at her, and she grinned back at him.
"So, Rahne," he began, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I really like you, a lot, and I was wondering: would you like to go out sometime? On a date? As mah girlfriend?"
Rahne leaned in and kissed him again. When she pulled away she smiled at him, saying, "I'd love to. How about this Friday, New Boyfriend?"
"Sounds perfect, New Girlfriend."
They grinned at each other for a moment before leaning in for another kiss. When they finally came up for air, still holding each other close, their foreheads pressed together, they just laid there, grinning widely at each other. However, fairly quickly, the moment was killed when Sam let out a massive yawn, which was soon followed by Rahne's equally large yawn.
"Guess we oughta go to sleep now. Again," Rahne told Sam, still smiling happily. (6)
"G'night, Rahne," he responded, before kissing Rahne on the cheek.
"Good night, Sam."
Rahne snuggled into Sam's chest, very glad he was here with her. Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. They both closed their eyes and settled down; each of them happier together than they had been when they were apart. Soon they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, and they each slept better than they had in quite some time. Needless to say, Rahne's dreams for the rest of the night were much more pleasant. (7)
Aww, Rahm! Aren't they the cutest? And yeah, nightmares suck. Once again, I apoligize for accent destruction. On a completely unrelated note, I was thinking about maybe writing a Jubby. Yes? No? Outside opinions would be greatly appreciated, since I'm not sure if I actually want to write one or not. Anyways, I don't really have anything else to say, so on to footnotes:
1) Yes, the wood was wet, but wet wood will burn, it just doesn't do it well. However, adding the oil/gas or whatever makes it burn a lot better, even if it's wet.
2) Possibly the worst dream sequence transition ever.
3) No, this doesn't matter in the slightest. I just wanted to write about a shirtless Sam. :)
4) You can never be sure with Bobby Drake. I love Bobby dearly, but he's still a teenage boy. That means his bed is automatically a bio-hazard zone, no questions asked.
5) The "y'know" was referencing the fact that she was almost burned at the stake in a thunderstorm, if I didn't make that clear enough.
6) They're smiling an awful lot right about now...
7) That ending kinda sucked. It was uber tacky and cheesy and all that junk, but whatever. It was the best I could do. Endings aren't my forte.