This takes place after they've arrived in Sedona and Rhen bought the mansion! I love Lars and Rhen, so I wanted to write a little something. This is more friendship-like, though.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Aveyond or any of the characters in this story!
EDITTED ON JULY 6, 2008!
--
Bonds
--
"I… I wanted to apologize for being so horrible to you."
"Thank you, Lars."
The sudden apology from hours before still echoed throughout Rhen's mind as she lay amongst the yellow covers of her new bed. She could still envision his face as he spoke the words… eyes downcast, lower lip gently twitching. Never before had she seen the all-confident, narcissistic brat look so… defeated? Lost?
And that's why, on first instinct, she almost laughed. She wanted to shove it in his face after having to listen to his whining and ranting about how she would never amount to anything; never earn the right to be considered something greater then 'Peta'. He'd given her nothing but hell throughout the entire journey.
'So why didn't I shove it in his face?' Rhen thought, blindly staring at the purple and gold rug lying on the floor, 'He deserves it.'
But, thinking about the little changes she'd seen within him during their voyage, she couldn't quite make herself believe that statement. Sure, he still threw around insults and put-downs, but something had changed. Those words were no longer filled with venom, his eyes no longer gazed upon her in disgust.
In fact, in their last big battle with Tawrich, she could have sworn she saw something akin to respect in those eyes after she landed the finishing blow.
But maybe she was hoping for a little too much.
She sighed and tried to burry her head deeper within the soft pillows.
"This is degrading!"
With the familiar voice ringing in her ears, Rhen lifted her head up and looked toward the hallway questioningly.
"Would you like me to bite you, child?"
A smile quirked at her lips upon hearing Te'ijal's sing-song response.
Moments later, Lars came into view, glaring over his shoulder while carrying a plate of goat cheese and salmon. With an undignified snort, he turned his attention toward Rhen and held out the plate.
Sitting up, Rhen looked at him skeptically.
"Te'ijal and Dameon said you skipped dinner. Now take it," Lars commanded, practically shoving it in her face. Rhen leaned back with a grimace before obediently taking the plate. Great, he was in another hostile mood.
"All of you should go to bed. We're heading up to the Northern Dock first thing in the morning," Rhen spoke, taking a bite of her cheese.
"What is with you people? Always trying to tell me what to do," Lars remarked, turning to head back down the hallway. Rhen grit her teeth.
'I should have shoved it in his face!'
And with that thought, she grabbed what was left of her chunk of cheese and flung it at the back of his head. Lars froze on contact.
"I'm not 'telling you what to do', you jerk!" Rhen exclaimed, seriously thinking about throwing the fish as well, "I'm trying to make sure you're well-rested in case an enemy attacks! Is it so hard for you to accept friendly advice?!"
The expected explosion of words never came from Lars. He didn't even turn to face her. His hand, however, did travel to the back of his head so his fingers could comb out the small chunks of cheese embedded in it.
There was silence for the next few moments.
'If he takes one step toward that hallway without saying anything, I really will throw the fish.'
But, he never did take that step. He didn't even yell.
He… chuckled?
Rhen stared, dumbfounded, at his softly shaking shoulders.
"Did you just…" A few more chuckles escaped him before he turned around to face her with an expression torn between being baffled and amused, "throw cheese at me?"
As the words sank into her brain, she could feel her face heat up. In the rise of her anger, throwing the cheese seemed like a perfectly plausible idea. But now, she could see how extremely… childish, if anything… it was.
Trying to save herself more embarrassment by letting him see her face grow to a tomato's shade, she turned so she was facing the wall.
"Just get out!" She exclaimed. She didn't hear any footsteps.
"Ok, so maybe I did deserve that," Lars spoke slowly, surprising her, "I did mean what I said earlier. It's… hard to break old habits, I guess."
Rhen's eyes widened.
"And when you do dim-witted things like throw cheese, it makes them all the more harder to break!"
Rhen promptly turned around and threw the fish.
Right in his face.
And later in the night, when the lights were out and her body was snuggly tucked under the covers, she smiled.
Lars would always be Lars.
And she could live with that.
--
So? Good, bad? Review please!