Disclaimer: I don't own the Lunar Chronicles.
Summary: "Ze'ev," she says, breathless and daring, "I love you. All of you. No matter what." Or, Scarlet comforts Wolf during a moment of self-consciousness. WolfScarlet, set after Winter, oneshot
Okay, so these two snuck up on me while I was reading the last book in this series. Like, I don't know when I started to live for their interactions but it happened. I adore everything about Wolf and Scarlet. They are pretty much tied for OTP status with Cress and Thorne, but I digress. I decided my first fanfic in this fandom would be about them, so there's that. I hope that y'all enjoy. I'm a little bit rusty after not writing for almost a year. I would love a little feedback. Thanks so much for reading!
Skin Deep
Wolf scowls at himself in the mirror.
Scarlet knows he can sense her just outside the door, waiting, watching. She can't form the words as she looks at him - he has always had that affect on her, after all. But this time it seems as if things are particularly sluggish in the word-making department.
"It doesn't matter what you look like, Wolf."
"Yeah? So what if you look like this totally intimidating wolf dude?"
"You are so freaking gorgeous, have I told you that?"
"Want some tomatoes?"
Fuck, she is horrible at this.
She runs a hand through her unruly red hair, tangling her fingers in the strands. She lets out a soft growl, which causes Wolf's olive eyes to dart her way. He doesn't look surprised, just embarrassed.
"Wolf..."
He snarls and looks away, down at his feet, misshapen and animalistic. Large and powerful and capable of doing so much damage the victim would not recover from it. He runs a hand over his face, cringing at what his fingers find.
The alterations the Lunars had done had inflicted so much damage - not just emotionally, but physically - that Scarlet wasn't sure what she needed to do. Often, she'd find him staring in the mirror, just like this, staring at himself as if he wanted to rip his own throat out. She would try and distract him - take him for a nice walk through her flourishing garden, at the least - but he'd always cringe away when she wanted to walk to the pub or the market. It made her heart constrict painfully in her chest.
"Hey," he replies, carefully nonchalant. His fingers twitch at his side, his mouth forcefully turned away from the grimace it wants to form.
"Are you okay?"
"'m fine."
The gruff answer causes Scarlet's hackles to rise. But, no, she doesn't need to attack. That wouldn't be the best course of action. She really needs to have a conversation with her subconscious about every first reaction being that of fight.
"Wolf..."
He flinches, almost as if the sound of his name reminds him of...everything.
She shifts. "Ze'ev..."
His shoulders relax as if a weight has been lifted from his chest, as cliche as that sounded. She steps closer, closer, so she is in the room with him. Her fingers worry the hem of her hoodie, and she finds herself biting her bottom lip. Always so fidgety, she can hear hear grandmere's voice in her ear. For a moment, pain strikes her so acutely she almost forgets what she is doing, but then she sees those pain-stricken eyes in the mirror before her and all her nerve endings fray and splinter.
"Stop." Her voice is firm, unrelenting, fire deep within the intonations of the singular word. "Stop this now."
Wolf glances up, cocking his head to the side, looking as confused as she's ever seen him. The lost puppy look suits him. Well, any look suits him, but she digresses.
"Stop looking at yourself and dreading what you see," she insists, stepping forward and clamping a hand down on his arm. Her fingers meet his flesh and he visibly shivers. It's empowering, knowing that she can make him feel this way, and vice versa. He's the only one who makes her feel as if she has fire running in her blood, the only one that sets her off in this manner. "I realize it's a long process to accept...what they did to you...and I'm here for you every step of the way, but...staring in the mirror like that isn't going to help, Z."
Wolf gives his lopsided smile at the endearment. It makes her heart stop, the beauty of it.
"I know, Scarlet," his voice is rough with emotion and a little something else - speaking around the elongated fangs has been a struggle for a while now. "I am sorry."
She slides her hand up to cup his cheek, not flinching at the modifications in the slightest. Wolf does, though, and she just lifts her other hand in a mirroring gesture. He averts his eyes, but Scarlet does not back down.
"Ze'ev," she says, breathless and daring, "I love you. All of you. No matter what."
Something in Wolf crumples at that statement. His face loses its helplessness and what Scarlet finds in his features is something along the lines of gratitude. She knows this isn't nearly enough to patch the hole the Lunars had created, but it is a start.
Wolf leans down and gently - so gently - presses his lips to hers. He's afraid of hurting her, she knows, and with good reason. But Scarlet trusts him more than she trusts anyone on this planet - or any others - so she deepens the kiss, uncaring of the bite of his elongated canines as they press into her full mouth, and wraps her arms around his neck, molding her body against his. The groan Wolf emits borders on a sigh.
However, Wolf finds his arms winding around Scarlet's thin frame, bringing her closer, closer still, unable to resist her pull - among his many accomplishments, that is the one thing he has never been able to do.
"I love you, too, my Scarlet."
Scarlet smiles against his lips and twines her fingers through his hair. "Good."
A rumbling chuckle escapes Wolf, and Scarlet smiles brighter.
Lingering in the embrace, they stand like two bright sentries, daring anyone to tear them apart.
End.