I'd been tossing this idea around for a while, but I couldn't figure out how to get the ball rolling. And then the new fan art wallpaper came out and it was perfect!
Right now this stands as a one-shot, but if I get good feedback I might add another chapter.
And no, I haven't come into ownership of Blizzard content, aside from the actual game.
"I think it's rather sweet,"
Sidero grimaced and glanced at his companion. She was petting the little blue glowing flower, a small smile playing over her soft lips. Rolling his eyes, he snorted.
"Why don't you just follow him back to his igloo then. I'd bet you fifty gold he'll appreciate the gesture.
A stinging blow fell on his exposed arm. Rubbing the offended area, he glared at her, only to see her eyes filling and her own glare besting his.
"Why are you being like this?" she asked, brows twitching. Her lips wavered for a moment, and his steely composure nearly broke.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because the locals have been fawning over you for a week now. You've gotten more gifts from these people than from your whole family in years!"
"Well," she huffed, throwing her shoulders back, "maybe that should tell you something!" and she stormed past him into the snow.
"And what is that supposed to mean?!" he called, catching up to her easily.
Her white hair whipped around her face, the small clasps on her upper ears sparkling in the bright Northrend morning. Rosy lips pressed together, darkening their color as her luminescent green eyes narrowed.
"Maybe you could take a few lessons from the 'locals'! At least they know what a living woman needs!"
She turned away again, missing the sight of his crumpling features. "That was harsh," he whispered, his voice lost in the bay harbor winds.
"So like I said," he called, catching up again easily. Her robes were slowing her own movement, while his plate felt like nothing in the snow, "Why don't you follow him to his igloo? If they are such better at knowing what you need!" She stopped, and he waved at the flower she was still cradling. "Flowers and sweet smelling bark- how can these crude gifts make you melt Eirene?"
"It's a far cry better than you still, isn't it?" she hissed, though her eyes still threatened to spill over.
"What's so wrong with me?" he asked through his teeth.
Her foot stomped the snow, her fists clenching at her sides. "You're just… you're so infuriating sometimes!" Shaking her head, she started to walk away again, tucking the flower into a pouch, "I don't even know where to begin-"
"Dark Lady help me, why-"
"There!" she shrieked triumphantly, spinning back to face him and poke his chest. "That right there! That is what's wrong with you!"
He frowned at her digit, then looked to her face. "What? What did I do?"
Lips curling into a sneer, Eirene mimicked, "'Dark Lady help me, Dark Lady save me, by the Dark Lady' all the time! You're constantly swearing by her- a mere mortal!"
Sidero stared at her, jaw going slack.
Her eyes filled again. "It's like you're in love with her or something! Every time we visit the Undercity you run to her rooms faster than I've seen you charge into battle!"
"She's our savior-"
" That doesn't mean you love her more than you love me!"
Silence, but for the achingly cold winds, fell over the couple. Her lips were shaking terribly, even as she pressed them tightly together. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was losing any sort of order, but he still blinked at her stunning appearance.
"Is that, is that honestly what you think?"
The laugh she forced out was chopped and curt. "What am I supposed to think when you come back from her presence drenched in sweat and more sated than a fat cat? By the Light- when we have been away for too long, you whisper her name like a prayer when we make love!"
Shifting uncomfortably, he studied her shoulder, avoiding her eyes. "I don't love her, Eirene, I swear. She just helps me with my problems."
"Oh," she snapped, breathy "because that's so much better! What can she help you with that I, your girlfriend, can't? Or am I just, just second best to her?"
She was turning to walk away again, but this time his hand snapped out to grab hers. "That isn't it- please, listen to me my love!"
He almost knocked into her she pulled up so fast, but didn't turn to face him. Sighing, he shifted his stance.
"You're my world, I promise. But the Dark Lady knows… knows how to help us because she is one of us."
"So I have to be undead to be loved by you, is that it?" she cut in, and he bit down his frustration.
"Would you just calm down and listen to me?"
At his tone, she turned sideways to him, mouth set and brows furrowed.
"Alright. I say her name like a prayer because she is the closest thing we have to a god- and I'm not the only one. All of the Forsaken swear by her. But it isn't by Sylvanas. It's by the Dark Lady. The idea of the ranger who defied the Lich King."
She didn't move, so he took a breath and continued.
"I visit her because she gives me advice on things that… that are complicated. How am I supposed to know if it is the Lich's voice in my head, or some other thing entirely? And she helps with the nightmares- but I come to you for help too." Sidero squeezed her hand slightly. "And sometimes she needs help also. I think it's my duty to aid her where I can, not that I am the only one there either."
Eirene harrumphed, but said nothing, eyeing the ocean.
"Darling?"
"It's obvious, really."
He blinked at her.
"The solution. I just don't understand your world, and you don't know how to fit into mine."
His heart tried very hard to beat faster, despite the fact that its arteries were scarred from death. However, his hands had no problem breaking into a sweat.
"There's just one way for us to fix this, so we can finally work together without worries."
How did this happen, he thought, knees trembling. His free hand strayed to his bag. It's almost as though she knew he was planning this.
"We should have thought of this sooner, but I don't really mind the trouble." Here she sighed, and looked at him.
Their mouths opened at the same time, but each said a very different thing.
"I think this relationship should end," she stated, as he said
"Marry me, Eirene," and dropped to his knee. From his bag he pulled a small box, and in that box sat an elegantly ornate ring, gem encrusted, with a sparkling diamond nestled in the middle.
She didn't see that, though, because she had blinked away and had taken two steps through the churning snow before his words sunk in.
About a minute passed. He knew because counting seconds had become a habit of his, a sort of meditation. He couldn't feel the cold, so he didn't mind to just stay kneeling at the spot.
And when she turned back to see him in such a position, he figured it was better to be at a lower height than her. It was an interesting perspective.
His mouth was slowly opening, and her own jaw slackened. Her mind, usually running at a ridiculous rate because scholars, she told him more than once, couldn't afford to merely stop thinking, had come to a screeching halt. And as a result, several pockets of snow melted around her from random fire blobs forming and dropping around her.
She took a step towards him, trying to wrap her head around the fact that he just proposed to her and that ring was huge and he actually managed something romantic and-
Another step followed the first, though she really didn't know what she was doing. A bubble of arcane inflated by her right knee slowly, then popped with an echoing zing, and she recognized somewhere in the back of her mind that she should really gather control of her mana, but he was still kneeling there, waiting for her to say something, or do something.
It was too bad she had no idea how to react.
Without moving any extra muscles, he asked softly, "Do… do you not love me then?"
Her cheeks flushed deep crimson, but he didn't know if she was mad or not. He cringed, just in case.
"Sidero…" she sighed, and he saw tears streaming down her face.
Right. Not angry then.
With only a few strides he was standing before her and wiping away her tears hastily. "You can't afford to cry around here, your tears might freeze."
She chuckled wetly and smiled up at him.
"…am I going to get an answer or do you stand by what you said?"
With a smirk, she folded her arms. "Is this why you've been acting all snappish lately?"
"Maybe." He shuffled his feet.
The pieces of the puzzle were falling together in her head, which was still trying to regain order. "And this is the help you've needed from Sylvanas lately? Picking out a ring?"
He hunched his shoulders. "I didn't know who to ask."
"Oh Sidero… you're so cute when you're uncertain of yourself."
Snorting, he retorted, "It's a rare occurrence, one that I'm not overly fond of."
She leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck. He responded slowly, still wary that she hadn't given him a yes or no.
When she broke away, her smile was dazzling.
"Was that a yes, because you've really been throwing me off lately and I honestly can't-"
"Yes, it's a yes, you bonehead!" she snapped, and kissed him again.