10. Missed You
After finishing with Varel, I make my usual 'rounds' to check in on the other Wardens, at least the ones who are here. Aside from Nathaniel, Declan's out patrolling with Sigrun and a couple of the new Wardens Weisshaupt sent us. Apparently, the First Warden is concerned about me commanding a sub-par garrison or something. So he sent an additional four-person team. Just in case. I guess we're still close enough to the Blight for stragglers to be a concern, but I'm not sure I needed a whole new team. Still, he's the boss, so all I could do was shrug and welcome them. They're all pleasant enough people, and they get along well with the rest of us, I just wonder if there's another garrison that got cheated out of something it needed when they were sent here.
My rounds don't take long; just quickly popping into rooms to let people know I'm back and make sure everything is okay with all of them. I'm only mildly surprised when Jerin's not in his room, and even that only lasts until I check the library. He and Velanna and Ariane are all grouped around a desk, chattering in elvish as they discuss a familiar and very broken-in journal. I smile to myself, because of course the book of stories came up, Jerin finds a way to work in into almost any conversation, he's so proud of what Velanna's done with it. And Ariane definitely seems appreciative, so I leave them to their conversation and continue on.
After I've talked to, or at least seen, all my Wardens, I head to the infirmary to see if I can find Mal. Neither he nor Brandel were in his room, so the infirmary is the most likely next place to find him. Sure enough, he's there, curly brown hair tied back from his face as he shreds elfroot. Brandel is, as always, curled up on top of Mal's feet.
Elf and mabari both raise their heads at the sound of my footsteps. "Welcome back," Mal greets me, grin creasing his face.
I've long since given up trying to figure out how he tells people apart based off of their footsteps, so I just thank him. "You doin' alright?"
"Aye. Y' weren't gone tha' long, Rahna. And th' extent a' my troubles is still this lout-" he nudges Brandel with one ankle-"thinkin' he's still small enough tae not crush m' feet."
The mabari whines and licks Mal's leg, making the mage chuckle.
"Ah, I still love ya, y' daft beast." He reaches down and scratches between Brandel's ears. "I just wish you would lay elsewhere." Brandel just huffs at that and curls more tightly atop the mage's feet.
"Doesn't look like he has any intention of changin' his ways," I laugh apologetically.
"Aye, you're probably right." Mal's grin is back, if a touch rueful, crinkling the edges of clouded eyes. "Though he's a little young for old dogs and new tricks to apply."
"True. There may be hope for him yet. But I won't distract you any longer."
"Ah, you're not a distraction," he assures me.
"Enh, I do have other things that need doing, though, so I'll be on my way." I back out of the doorway. "You two have fun now."
Mal laughs. "We'll try. Good luck with the rest a' your day, Rahna."
"Thanks."
oOo
By the time I've finished all my 'Commanderly' duties, I don't feel mentally up to eating dinner in the main hall with everyone else. There's a slight twinge of bad hostess guilt as I collect my share of the meal from Cook, but I cannot eat in the loud and chattery dining hall tonight. I trust both my Wardens and the Vigil soldiers to make Finn and Ariane feel welcome.
And so, food in hand, I retreat to my room. The people I'm in the mood to talk to know where to find me. However, I can't say I mind when I get almost all the way through my meal before I'm interrupted by the rap of knuckles against my door. "You can come in," I mumble though my last bite of shepherd's pie.
Jowan enters, closes the door behind him and leans against it. "Missed you at dinner."
I swallow my food and tease, "More than you did over the past three weeks?"
He snorts and crosses the room to join me on the window seat. "I know part of your reason for going after your friend alone was to help with keeping us from becoming one of those clingy couple who have to keep each other within arm's reach, but I feel like that, um, may have backfired just a little."
"Oh, yeah?" I set my empty dishes on the floor and hug my knees into my chest.
"Mm-hm. 'Cause now I never want to let you out of my sight again. Or at least not for a very long time."
I rest my chin on my knees. "Why? None of us even got seriously injured-which is a minor miracle with me involved." I grin at him. "No brushes with death."
"I'm so relieved," he deadpans, scooting closer. "I just... missed having you around is all. Life's really boring without you."
"Aw, thanks. Even with Sigrun here?" I shuffle closer to him.
"Even with Sigrun here," he confirms, nudging me with his shoulder.
I chuckle. "See this is the part where, in one of said dwarf's trashy romance novels, we would confess our undying love, blah blah blah. Since we've already done that part, can we skip straight to the kiss? Cuz I missed you somethin' awful, too."
Jowan shakes his head, laughing hard enough he can barely get the words out. "You are too much, Rahna."
"It's part of my charm," I grin. "Just kiss me."
"Yes'm," he snarks, one hand curving around the back of my neck as he obeys.
I lightly swat his shoulder before my fingers move to tangle in his hair. "Mmm... you know I love you, right?"
"Thought we were skipping the confession," he teases, forehead resting against mine.
"Yes, skip. As in, reordering so the kiss comes first," I shoot back, shifting to tuck my legs under me.
"Ah. Well, in that case, I love you, too."
"I know," I whisper impishly before stealing another kiss. One that winds up far deeper and longer than I intended-not that I'm complaining-and before I'm entirely aware what's happening, I've moved from sitting next to Jowan to sitting in his lap. And then straddling him, both of us with fingers dug into each other's hair. We're a pair of right messes when we finally separate, flushed and disheveled and breathing hard as I rest my forehead against his. "Jowan?"
"Mm?" He sounds dazed and equally breathless, which makes me grin.
"If this is gonna go where I think it is-" Where certain parts of me definitely want it to-"wouldn't the bed be more comfortable?"
Jowan's eyes instantly sharpen into focus and he turns an even deeper shade of red. "I-I wasn't trying to- I mean, we can i-if you want, but..." He stops himself, worries his bottom lip. "Do you?"
In answer, I straighten, peel off my shirt in one-mostly-smooth motion, and lob it to the far corners of the room before kissing him again, teasing his lower lip with my teeth as I pull back and whisper, "Maker, yes. ...If it's what you want."
He nods, pushing himself into a more upright position without breaking the kiss for more than a fraction of a second.
The distance between the window seat and the bed is giggle-inducing awkward, because we don't particularly want to stop kissing, so between the height difference and trying to remove the rest of our clothes, we nearly trip over each other multiple times.
"Sorry," Jowan mumbles when we finally tumble onto the bed.
"Nothin' t' be sorry about," I assure him, grinning as I press close for yet another kiss. I leave the rest unspoken.I always did like a man who could make me laugh...
oOo
I wake the following morning to Jowan pressed close against my back, and grin into my pillow. So it wasn't just a very good dream.
The mage mumbles something in his sleep and the arm draped around my shoulders tightens its grip. I rub my fingers up and down his forearm, tracing the one scar I've never asked about and he's never really explained. But I don't need an abundance of details to know that any situation where someone got close enough to a mage to cause a wound like that must've been bad. So I'm pretty sure I don't want all the details. It was bad, bad enough he doesn't want to talk about it, and I'm going to leave it at that.
I glance toward the window, estimate the time by how bright it looks, and conclude with extreme reluctance that I should probably get up. "I'd rather just stay here forever," I whisper to the sheets. But I can't. I know I can't. Even without the arlessa side of my duties to worry about anymore, being Commander of the Grey gives me enough to do than an early start is a good idea.
And so I wriggle out from under Jowan's arm and the sheets, shiver a little at the morning chill, and pull on the first article of clothing I can get my hands on-Jowan's shirt. It hangs almost to my knees and the sleeves are entirely too long, but it's comfortable. So I pull on my smalls underneath and head down to the kitchen, praying it's still early enough that no one else will be up.
oOo
To my immense relief, I don't encounter a living soul outside of the lone cook's assistant who apparently drew the short straw and is starting breakfast preparations. I nod good morning as I prepare two cups of tea, complete with biscuits to nibble on as I dig into the pile of letters waiting on my desk. But first... I detour back to my room, find pants, and leave one of the cups of tea for Jowan. All I get when I nudge him is a mumbled, "Rahna, j'st lemme sleep...", so I grin, tuck a note under the saucer, and pray it's still warm when he wakes up.
oOo
Fortunately, most of the letters are just reports, whether from other bases or my own Wardens from their patrols, and none really demand action. I finish far sooner than anticipated, and take my breakfast up to the wall to eat, as equal part reward and keeping an eye out for the people who are still out of the keep.
Despite the fact it's exactly what I'm looking for, I'm still mildly surprised when I catch sight of a lone figure returning from the city. Nathaniel's been taking serious advantage of the relative peace over the last several months and visiting the city for increasingly longer periods of time. Even though Varel told me he'd be back any day, I was anticipating it being more like a week before we saw hide or hair of our resident archer.
So, of course, I intercept him just after he passes through the gate. "Welcome back."
He gives me a wry smile. "I could say the same to you, Rahna."
"Very true," I laugh. "So how are things going in the city?"
Nate sighs, but indulges my curiosity as we walk toward the keep. "Rather well, actually. Delilah and Albert have the new store built, so now they're focusing on stocking it, Eli is healthy, though both my sister and Violet spoil him rotten. Vi's working in Albert's store for now, she said yes, and since they've almost finished rebuilding the houses-"
"Wait a minute, what was that last one?" I demand, stopping in my tracks and grabbing his arm so he stops too.
Nathaniel's already grinning. "She'll have her own place to live soon, because they've-"
"Nathaniel Howe, I meant the one before that, and you know it," I growl, crossing my arms.
"Ahh. She said yes, you mean?" He's toying with me, and I could strangle him for it.
"Yes, that. Yes to what?!" I think I know the answer, but I want to hear it from him.
He just grins even wider-which I wouldn't think possible-and flips open the empty ring box from his belt pouch.
A/N:So, yeah, a lot happened in that chapter. And there's some big changes coming... XD Someday, I would love to write a 'Courtship of Violet Henley' type thing and go more into the details of her and Nathaniel's romance, because the cute little snippets that find their way into Rahna's story really are just the tip of the iceberg. They both favor the 'Flirting disguised as polite conversation' trick, and neither one's shy about how they feel. (Delilah has many stories she could tell :3)
And then there's Rahna and Jowan. I've been plotting that scene and where best to insert it for far longer than I should probably admit. But, as always, I had to wait for the characters to be ready. (Fortunately, the only deadlines you have to worry about with fanfic are the self-imposed kind)