characters (c) their respective owners
Pairing: Sarafan Au Dumah/Raziel
Fandom: Legacy of Kain
Type: Yaoi
Promt: Gentle Strength
Warnings: Allusions to physical and sexual abuse
Night grew quiet as it seeped into dawn. The Sarafan solders were back home in their fortress by now, desperately trying to get into their beds. The tired human soldiers were exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep. This was Raziel's only agenda for the morn but it was hard to go when someone was holding you down in your own bed, nothing but a pair of sleeping robes between you. He snarled angrily up at Dumah, who was sitting on his hips. Raziel tried to pull his hands free of Dumah's hold but could not get him to budge.
Forest green eyes glared up through ebony bangs at Dumah. Despite the dirty looks, Dumah refused to move. He simply ignored them, keeping his mind on his task. He gently ran the fingers over the smaller male's chest, trailing scars that were not from battle. Raziel flinched as Dumah touched a new scar that ran from his navel down past the waist tie of his robe, causing Dumah to pull his hand away.
"Dumah, I am your commanding officer. You will get off me this instant!" The command loud but lacking in authority from his exhaustion. Dumah frowned softly; he could feel Raziel quivering under him but did not get off. He simply ran his touch gently over the smaller male's chest before reaching over, brushing Raziel's bangs out of his eyes.
"No, Raz. Not right now. Right now, you're my friend that I've known since we were drafted when we were young." Dumah leaned down and pressed his nose to Raziel's throat, talking against his skin softly, "But, I have to ask you; where's the sweet boy that gave me my first kiss when I fell into depression?"
His response came as a snarl from Raziel as he struggled uselessly under Dumah's muscular weight. Dumah could only pull back and sigh softly as he securely held him down, ever so careful not to hurt him. He hated doing this but he needed to talk to Raziel and the older soldier had a way of worming out of conversations he did not like. Their history made this easier but it still pained Dumah's heart to have to use force just to talk to an old friend.
"You never answered my question, Raziel." Dumah gently stroked Raziel's short, dark hair as he tried to get him to respond. Raziel huffed and turned his face away gruffly.
"You know exactly what happened, Dumah. They broke him so I had to take over." The words were hesitant and exhausted, "He was weak and he was crushed. Someone stronger had to take his place."
Dumah frowned softly at his friend's words. He hated how cold and dead he always sounded, psychotic almost at certain times. It broke his heart to see how their superiors had twisted his sweet friend into a heartless murderer who did whatever it took to get his job done.
"Raziel, things that are broken can be put back together." Dumah gently released Raziel's wrists, rubbing the circulation back into them, "I let you help me all that time ago, won't you let me help you now?" He watched nervously as Raziel did not move, simply laid there blinking as he let thoughts flow through his mind. Dumah watched him in worry, gauging his reaction. Suspicious green eyes shifted to look up at him.
"What's in it for you? Who put you up to this?" The questions made Dumah sigh softly, combing his fingers through Raziel's hair gently.
"No one had to tell me to do this. I hate seeing you the way you are, it's not right. I should have helped sooner, before the break. I owe you my life but I could never repay you properly until now." He smiled softly and leaned down again, resting his forehead against Raziel's. He linked fingers with the older male, humming gently, "Raz, you're not broken, just a little bent. So, what do you say? I may not be Melchiah but it's been said that I have a healing touch."
Raziel's anger and suspicions started to give way to nervousness and fear. Uncertainty could easily be seen in his eyes, he felt lost and unsure. He shakily strengthened the link between their fingers, biting his lip slightly.
"I-I do not know what to s-say, Dumah.. I-I think it has been too long, I think I cannot be fixed. There is a bit too much blood on my hands now and nothing will wash it away."
"No one is perfect, Raziel, especially in Nosgoth. You just have to look past that."
"There is no looking past anything. One night will not fix anything; they will simply redo everything you have undone." Raziel barely mumbled the words as he looked away. Dumah's lips curled up as he chuckled softly, moving to take Raziel by surprise with a kiss to the throat.
"Raziel, who ever said this would be a one night thing? You're stuck with me until it kills us." Dumah gently slipped off of him and moved to sit beside him instead. Raziel mewled in protest as the larger knight pulled him onto his lap and smirked at him, "Trust me, Raziel. The others are going to do ever irritating thing to make this work for us. When the head inquisitor's happy, we're all happy. Am I correct?" His reply came as the first honest laugh he had heard from Raziel in years. Dumah grinned stupidly before suddenly kissing the older male. He was pretty sure that this was going to work out alright.