A/N: I would just like you all to know that sickness thing I had like a week ago ended up literally sucking the life out of me. But I am on the road to recovery now, so that's good. Anyway, the prompt this week was Reflection. Since everyone seemed to enjoy my portrayal of Kat and Bolvar, and the song was just toooo perfect to pass up, I figured I would try out another one, just a short little drabble. So here goes. All rights to Blizzard, of course. Also, I don't think this is exactly related to my previous one shot for this pairing, but it doesn't necessarily contradict it either. If that makes sense. Okay, enough rambling from me.
Smut warning.
…
I wont pretend that I'm
Someone else for all time
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
…
There was no doubt that Katrana Prestor was beautiful. Angled jaw, high cheekbones, golden eyes that could pierce through anyone she met. Full lips that were either pulled down in a sneer or tilted up in a smirk, never anything more or less. Narrow waist, curved hips, pale skin stretched over bones that were perhaps a bit too visible. No apparent scars. Onyxia tilted her head to the side and stared long and hard at the woman reflected in the mirror before her. By all mortal standards, Katrana Prestor was beautiful. But all Onyxia had ever seen was the cage that held her.
At first, it had been strange, to look into the mirror and see the scrawny human. Katrana's body was weak, soft, lacking the natural defenses to which Onyxia was accustomed. She felt dangerously exposed to everyone and everything, as though all of the feelings she worked hard to keep concealed on her full display for all to see.
In time, however, she had learned new methods of defense. Where she had once had thick scales, she now had a cool demeanor that disarmed those around her. Claws were replaced with carefully timed gestures used to manipulate everyone around her. Sharpened teeth had been exchanged for harsh words that were sure to stop anyone from getting too close, to keep everyone away-
Except for him. Apparently, no amount of icy stares, no amount of sharp, biting remarks had been enough to keep him away. No, he had just kept pushing and pushing and pushing, and Onyxia wasn't even sure what it was that he wanted from her. She only knew that for years she had been trying to shove him away, and for years he had been resisting her. And somehow they had wound up trapped in this sort of cycle, and at some point she had found herself almost enjoying it. It had become a game meant for only them to place, a well timed smirk from across the hall, or his hand brushing up against hers in the throne room as they received visitors. It was a softly spoken word in passing that only she could hear. And then, slowly, somehow, it was more, until Onyxia didn't quite know what it was, but she knew the way Katrana's skin flushed when he dared to brush against it, or the way her heartbeat picked up when he flashed her a particularly devious grin.
Scowling at herself to try and shake away those thoughts, she pushed a hand through her mess of black hair. Onyxia had been living among the humans, living as a human for so long, that she had started to lose track of herself. And now, she found, that when she looked at her reflection, when she saw the weak, breakable body of Katrana Prestor, she wasn't entirely displeased. Katrana wasn't weak; she had merely found her strength in different ways. She had worked with what she had been given. She had made the best of a seemingly hopeless situation. She had survived for almost a decade among the humans and had never once been caught. Onyxia- Katrana- had done exactly what she had to do, in order to ensure the survival of her family. Her children, her brother, her entire Flight.
No, she was not weak.
"Kat? What are you doing?"
Except for when it came to Bolvar Fordragon.
Sucking in a shaky breath, Katrana turned away from the mirror and offered a small smile to the man that laid in the bed, half concealed by the blankets and reaching out an arm to the empty side of the bed where she should have been beside him. He had pulled himself up a little, just enough for her to catch his worried expression, the way it tugged at his brow and the corner of his lips. His eyes narrowed as they tried to pick out her form through the shadows and his own exhaustion.
For years she had been trying to shove him away, but at some point she had given up. Somewhere between the stolen glances and the secret touches and one particularly long walk around the city in the dead of night, Katrana had found herself here. And, honestly, she wasn't even sure where here was, but she didn't seem to mind it all that much. Maybe she should have. Maybe this was wrong. Maybe this was the only thing in all her life that had ever made her weak, because she found that no matter how she tried, she was powerless to stop herself from giving in to him. There was something about him that just broke through her walls, that just demanded entrance to all of the parts of her that she had tried to keep concealed. Perhaps it was just the fact that he was so gentle, so hesitant and careful with her, as though he was dealing with a newly hatched whelp instead of a full grown woman. And maybe after years and years of being strong, of holding herself together even when she desperately wanted to break under all of the pressure, maybe she enjoyed having someone treat her like that.
She paused at the edge of the bed for a moment before crawling back in, shivering a little as his fingers brushed up against her bare flesh. Bolvar had slung an arm around her waist and was pulling her back down against his side, using his free hand to pull the blankets up around them both. "Can't sleep?" He murmured, his hot breath against her face as she adjusted her position at his side, hand pressed against his broad chest, legs brushing up against each other under the weight of the fine comforters.
This wasn't supposed to feel so nice. This wasn't supposed to feel so safe. Onyxia should have been reeling, metaphorically kicking and screaming and trying to run away from this feeling even as Katrana was curling up closer to him and reveling in the warmth that his hold offered to her. She should not have wanted this.
But the instant Bolvar had angled his head to brush his lips against her forehead, she forgot all about what she should or should not have wanted, forget everything except this feeling, this moment, and how deeply she needed it. And if that made her weak, then so be it.
But really, she didn't think it did. Wanting someone didn't make her weak. Being strong wasn't the same as being alone.
Besides, there was simply no denying the fact that she most definitely wanted this. Maybe in the beginning she had tried to lie to herself, but any hope of that had long since passed. And quite frankly, Onyxia was tired of lying.
So instead, she rolled herself over onto his chest, a hand on either of his shoulders and not an inch between their bodies. Bolvar opened his eyes once more to peer up at her, a treacherous gleam in them as they met her own. Katrana smiled right back, and before he had a chance to speak, closed the distance between them as she kissed him deeply.
Bolvar's hand immediately found itself tangled up in her hair, holding her in place against him as his tongue darted out to trace the length of her bottom lip. How he had ever managed to find himself in this situation was simply beyond him. One day, it had been as though Katrana hated him, wanted nothing to do with him, scorned any attempts he ever made at trying to get closer to her. And then the next, she was flirting with him, standing dangerously close to him during meetings, asking him to escort her around the city on a late night walk...He certainly didn't understand it at all, the sudden change in her, but then, maybe that was just the nature of women. And he wasn't going to question it, not when she was all he had wanted for so long, not now that he finally had her.
In a swift movement, Bolvar had rolled her back onto the mattress and was hovering over her, grinning widely, one hand on her waist and the other reaching out to trace her jawline, down her neck, across her collarbone, and her hips were rising up to meet his, and she was giving him this wanting, pleading look, and he was more than happy to comply because she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and he had wanted her from the moment he saw her. And now that he had her, now that he could feel her warmth surrounding him, her body trembling under him as he leaned his weight in and rested it upon her slender frame, he realized that this was more than just a passing desire. This was some other emotion, one he didn't quite understand, one that demanded all of attention and that never seemed to fade away.
"Kat," he growled out softly, a low breath into her ear. She responded only in moans, perfectly timed to match the movements of his hips as they rocked back and forth against her. "Kat, you're so beautiful."
She opened her mouth in an attempt to respond, but the most she could manage was a gasp as he brushed against a particularly sensitive spot. Her nails raked down his back and left bright red lines behind as she clutched onto him, whimpering out some muffled sounds against his shoulder. Anyway, she didn't think there were any words she could have said, because as much as she wanted to enjoy this moment and this feeling, there was also this deep sadness welling up inside of her.
Katrana Prestor was beautiful.
Onyxia was something different entirely.
Only she knew the difference, and lately even she wasn't sure anymore. Onyxia had been Katrana for so long that she wasn't even sure there was a difference.
Determined not to ruin this blissful moment, she turned her head to catch his lips in another kiss. It was enough to push him over the edge, it seemed, and as he let go completely he gave a low groan into her mouth. Katrana replied with a moan of her own, quivering around him, holding onto him like he was all she had. And maybe he was, at least in this moment. And maybe that was okay. Maybe this wasn't weakness, but a different kind of strength.
Afterwards, she curled up on his shoulder once more, the sound of his labored breathing filling the air as her fingers traced the contours of his muscled chest. Swallowing hard, she lifted her head to meet his ever calming gaze once more, only to find his eyes were closed. "Bolvar?" She murmured, trying to ignore the way her voice shook as she spoke his name.
A sleepy grumble, followed by a whispered, "Yeah, Kat?"
A trickle of fear moved through her, drowning out whatever it was she had been about to say. She watched him for a moment longer, took in his peaceful expression, and let out a wistful sigh before lying back down at his side. She wanted so desperately to cling to this, whatever it was, but there was a lingering voice in the back of her head reminding her that soon it was all go up in flames. "Never mind," she muttered at last, rolling over onto her side, facing away from him.
A few seconds passed, measured in the steady beat of her heart, before she felt his arm wrap around her once again, pulling her back against his body. Now that he had her, he would not be letting her go, no matter how hard she tried to fight him. Because he knew what a beautiful, genuine woman she could be, no matter how hard she tried to hide those parts of herself. And he could feel how much love she had in her heart to give, no matter how hard she tried to lock it all away.
"I already know, Katrana," he mumbled at last, the words muffled against her hair as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You don't have to say it. I already know."