Stupor
By: yume-chan29
Standard Disclaimers Apply.
A/N: I was shocked at the utter lack of Rath/Cesia stories in the DK section so I decided to squeeze some random plot bunny from my brain and crank it out.
Hopefully, it's as cute as I imagined it to be. Enjoy!
xxx
The snow was getting on his nerves again, bringing back memories he'd thought he'd buried deep inside of him. (Buried so deep in fact, that it almost physically hurt to have the images wrenched from his subconscious and plastered to the back of his eyelids.)
Rath sat up in bed, tossing a bitter glance at the snowflakes fluttering outside his window.
And he knew sleep wouldn't come tonight.
He sighed exasperatedly, but accepted the circumstances nonetheless. This hadn't been his first bout of insomnia on a winter night.
The teenaged young man then turned ruby eyes upon the bed to his right to find the gently breathing form of his companion under a heap of sheets.
"Cesia." He whispered into the dark. No reaction.
The Fire Knight's brows furrowed a little. "Cesia!" He hissed again. And as before, received no response.
Shit. That girl could sleep like a log.
"Tch." Rath gazed upward at the clock overhead and made out the time, 1:45 a.m. "Still early."
With that, the ebony haired young man got up and walked out the door of their motel room, determined to find a way to not waste his evening.
xxx
Golden irises woke to nothing really outstanding, but to the gut feeling that something was terribly awry.
The following registered in her mind in quick succession: It was 3:20. Rath's bed was empty. It was snowing. The front door had been left slightly ajar. Rath was gone. Rath was not in the room. OH MY GOD, Rath was gone!
The wind witch, threw the covers off of herself, staring hard at the tousled sheets and the slight imprint of Rath's missing body just to make sure that he really was not there.
She hurried over to the bathroom, throwing it open and flipping on the lights, uncaring to the fact that if he was there, she would totally be invading his personal space. He wasn't.
The girl even took a glance inside the closet, just to make sure he wasn't trying to throw her off by slitting his wrists in the most obvious place ever.
Cesia scurried once more to the window, worried eyes looking to the ground four floors beneath them. She was almost relieved at having not found his body sprawled down there, blood turning the snow red.
Keywords being almost relieved, of course. The fact that he was still very missing took away from the reprieve of it all.
'Rath, you stupid little—'
The girl threw on a coat over her nightgown, about to dash out the front door when suddenly, speak of the devil, Rath magically appeared before her.
She looked up, red meeting yellow for a brief second before she breathed, "Rath."
And then she exploded. "Where the hell have you been?"
She knew she sounded like an overprotective mother hen at the moment, but it was upon seeing him that the concern over his well-being and the frustration over her not being able to find him came pouring out.
Cesia fully expected some caustic remark, something ultimately along the lines of, 'None of your business.' (To which she'd already prepared a come-back.)
"Why? You worried about me?"
"Well, I'm making it my busine—!" She paused. And blinked. Wait. "What?"
Then it suddenly registered in her slightly sleep-muddled brain that he was smirking this very odd smirk at her…
"Sorry, Cesia. Won't happen again, promise." He winked at her.
She blinked once more. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait just ONE second. Had Rath just apologized…and winked? Flirtatiously?
Her brows furrowed at him, fists clenching and about ready to assume a fighting stance. "Who are you?" She rationalized that the man at her doorway absolutely could not be the Dragon Knight she knew. Rath did not wink flirtatiously. Rath did not talk flirtatiously. Rath did not do anything flirtatiously!
So the enemy who had obviously taken on Rath's appearance (right down to the incisor at the top left row of his teeth, too) had either stupidly taken on his own personality or had seriously misinterpreted their relationship.
To confirm her beliefs, he laughed. "Cesia, it's me. Rath."
He took a woozy step forward, and before she could yell at him to stay back, she smelled something. There was liquor on his breath.
He shut the door closed and she hurried to turn the lamp on. There was a bottle of alcohol in his left hand that she so blindly hadn't caught.
The normally stoic young Dragon of Fire smirked at her, hiccupping as he placed the Lefuryhelio on the table near one wall of the room.
Oh shit.
This was Rath. And he was drunk.
Again.
xxx
"I couldn't sleep…so I nabbed this from the lobby downstairs."
He smirked once more as he made his way over to her. She eyed him warily. He was never supposed to have gotten drunk again. Ever. What with the first time being so not pleasant and all.
On their last escapade of alcoholism he'd poured his soul out, sharing deep secrets that she really hadn't been ready for, hadn't been sure enough in the strength of whatever type of relationship they had to shoulder such a responsibility.
Secrets that ultimately made her feel guilty because her ears hadn't been meant to listen to the darkest parts of his soul.
"Did you miss me?" Rath suddenly questioned, grinning.
She stared at him. Ok. So obviously, this was a different type of drunk!Rath. The last drunk!Rath she'd encountered had been broody, outspoken about his feelings, and a tad bit more violent (as he had threatened to skin her alive that night). This drunk!Rath was…dareshesayit, a flirt.
Cesia didn't know whether to be relieved. Or not.
She backed up a little as with each unfocused step of his the space between them shrunk.
"Because I really missed you--!" He suddenly tripped on the carpet and Cesia pondered for a second of just how drunk he must've been for him (a fit, trained, and often times, relentless demon-hunter) to be this uncoordinated.
Then her reflexes kicked in and she made to catch him.
"Oomph!"
For such a lean guy, he was pretty god damn heavy.
She huffed, moving her arms under his to get better leverage. Damn it, she knew she was taking on his whole weight. Why the heck wasn't he helping her—
"Ah!" She squeaked as she felt something peculiar against her neck. "Rath!"
The teenager smirked against her, enveloping her smaller form within a loose embrace. He continued to breathe against her jugular.
"…You smell nice."
And Cesia blushed. Hard.
"Rath!" She yelled, pushing him into the nearby chair. "Stop! Breathe! Just breathe first!"
Dusis, how much more of this could she take?
He did as told but the sly grin on his countenance refused to disappear. "Did I say something wrong?"
Cesia took a deep breath of her own, considering his question. "Well, technically…uh…no…"
"So can we do it again?"
"No!"
Wow. So this new drunk!Rath had a knack for making her feel all flustered. Wonderful.
Not.
Without another moment's notice, Cesia stood up, wisely stopping herself from grabbing at his hand. She ushered him towards the door.
"Where are we going?" The drunk teen wondered curiously.
She closed the door behind them. "To find something to help with that drunkenness."
Because if they didn't get Rath back to normal soon, she feared he would've surely made a tactless comment, or worse…brought up a sexual innuendo.
xxx
It was amazing really. Just when she thought the night couldn't have become more of an embarrassing disaster.
The lady had been nice enough really. Just a little dramatic and…assuming.
The minute she had walked up to the help counter (after leaving Rath in a chair nearby), the woman had immediately asked, "What can I get for you and your boyfriend, m'dear?"
"Oh, um, he's not—" Cesia had started.
"Some extra pillows? Blankets?" She smiled chirpily as if totally unaware she had just interrupted her.
"No, thank you—"
"A free complimentary Romantic Comedy?" The elder woman winked, mouthing 'Couples Only.'
"Um, No, that's fine. I just need—"
The older woman smirked a little, scanning the room as if to check if anyone was in earshot, and bending down a bit to whisper in her ear, "A condom?"
"NO! No, No, No, No, NO!" Oh wow, who would've imagined that someone's face could turn that particular shade of red? "PLEASE, I'd just like some hangover treatment for my friend over there."
The lady was quiet a moment, shocked a little by the younger woman's outburst.
Then to Cesia's amazement, the lady smiled as if nothing had fazed her and sang, "Sure thing. I'll send in one of our nurses right away, m'dear!"
The ebony haired young woman sighed tiredly, rubbing a throbbing temple.
After this was through, she could finally get back to sleep. With the thought of her nice warm bed in mind, Cesia looked up at the woman and smiled, "How much?"
"Well, I usually charge 8, but for you and your boyfriend, dearie, I'll make it 6.59."
Cesia nodded gratefully, not bothering to refute the second boyfriend mention. She took out a 7 and gladly handed it over, watching as the perky lady waddled off to the back room to get her change.
The wind witch looked thoughtfully over her shoulder, "Rath, out of the kindness of my heart, the hangover stuff's on…me…" Having fully turned around, Cesia suddenly became aware of another presence in the room.
Another woman had stridden in, smooth brown hair waving behind her in a plait and dark blue eyes so focused on Rath, it looked almost as if she wanted to eat him. She was the nurse, judging from her uniform. …If you could call the ensemble a uniform, that is.
The dress was made of something shiny, like leather, and was so short, you could catch glimpses of her lacey white lingerie as she moved. The outfit came complete with thigh high nylon stockings, white little ankle boots and the little hat with the trademark red cross.
The nurse smiled at the drunken Knight, patting at his face with a warm cloth.
Honestly, she was so made up, that Cesia could hardly believe it was 4:30 in the morning.
Why the hell did they have to send in the slutty nurse?
The wind witch looked to the clock and tapped her nails impatiently against the counter. How long did getting 41 cents take, really?
Any longer, what with that nurse being all over him, and Rath, in his current…state of mind, by the time she got her change, they probably would have already gone to the nurses ward and…
Her eyes widened. Shit.
It was not ok to put a flirty woman and a Rath who, because of low alcohol intolerance was probably just as flirty, together, right? For some irrational reason that Cesia chose not to explore that night, the thought made her angry.
"Here's your change." The lady cheered as she finally reared in from the back room.
Geez, that took forever!
"Thanks!" Cesia said quickly before hurriedly looking over to Rath and the nurse. The sight surprised her.
The nurse was doing all she could to entice him as Cesia had expected, but the black-haired teen was being extremely…unresponsive? Even as the girl leaned over him (probably to give him a better view of her assets, the bitch) he wasn't moving.
And it relieved her.
Perhaps the effects of the drunkenness had worn off?
Cesia walked over, acknowledging the nurse with a slight nod of the head. The nurse lifted a condescending brow before going back to her task of attempting to feed Rath some special stew.
The minute Cesia walked into his vision, however, he seemed to perk up. He was all smirks again, showering her with an odd sort of stare that she'd only caught on him a few times before.
"Cesia. Feed me?"
The nurse (to Cesia's delight) looked appalled and sniffed, "Didn't know you had a girlfriend…"
It was too much of a hassle to refuse these people's assumptions, Cesia conceded. She smiled at the other girl, "I'll take it from here, thanks."
The nurse haughtily sauntered away.
The golden-eyed girl turned to her a little-less-drunk-than-before friend and said, "Let's go back upstairs."
Rath nodded, leaping up from his seat. And before she could do anything about it, he was suddenly holding her hand. He grinned at her, amazingly oblivious to her struggles in his grip.
Ok. So from what she could assess, it seemed the flirty, drunken Fire Knight would not work his charms on anyone but her. Before she could stop it, the thought roused something warm in her chest and a smile on her lips.
"Have a goodnight, dearies!" The Help Counter Lady called out to them in a suggestive tone, accompanied by a highly conspicuous wink.
Cesia decided she would smack Rath upside the head for that one later, when he wasn't drunk and was, decidedly not as sweet.
xxx
"Ok." Cesia mumbled as she read the contents of the bottle in her hand. "Last thing to do is to take a tablet. And then down a glass of water."
The young man nodded, popping the last of his treatment into his mouth and then drinking his cup.
Cesia smiled in satisfaction. Damn, she was tired, but she'd successfully convinced Rath that hell yes, he was well enough to feed himself. The girl sat at the edge of his bed, watching as he finished up the final part of his hangover treatment.
It was 5:00 already but she figured she could use even a few hours of sleep.
As he set his empty glass on the table, he looked over to her.
And Cesia had no idea what had happened in that spontaneous instant, but his eyes changed. His pupils weren't as dilated, the color had turned conspicuously brighter. He smiled something small but sincere and he looked so much like his usual sober self that when he mumbled a quiet, "Thank you" another blush managed to tint her cheeks.
In a flash, his drunken stupor face returned, his eyes darkening, an attractive smirk on his lips.
And then he tripped.
Again.
Only this time, as she attempted to catch him, she fell back onto the bed, his weight on top of her.
"Rath!" She squealed, the redness on her face darkening enormously. He didn't make to move off of her this time. He only chuckled, taking in whiffs of her scent. "Rath!" She shouted once more, a little angrier this time. She continued to yell a while, poking and prodding his sides.
Only to be answered later with…quiet snores.
He'd fallen asleep.
She glared slightly, not out of spite, but because that's just what she did when she was embarrassed, before absently playing with the single white lock in his hair.
She vaguely noticed how he hadn't made to kiss her the whole night. (Not that she was disappointed or anything. Really.) Maybe there was something in just being close to another person that Rath secretly yearned for…
After a yawn (and a quick swig of the Lefuryhelio Rath had left on the side table) Cesia realized that she wasn't awake enough (or perhaps brave enough?) to delve further into such thoughts. And even though she had this sneaking suspicion of just how much of a coincidence it was for him to fall twice within the span of a few hours, she adjusted herself to get as comfortable as she could and promptly fell asleep.
xxx
About 4 hours later, Rath awoke to the hugest hangover in the history of demon-kind.
As well as a sleeping Cesia, laying under his arm and leg and snuggled into the warmth of his chest.
What happened last night? Something about snow? Lefuryhelio? Thigh-high nylons?
Rath conceded that he had too big of a headache to really care.
Anyway, she smelled nice. (Not that he'd be telling her that any time soon.)
xxx
End
xxx
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Review Please!