Chapter 12: Consequences of Drinking
The assassin found her clothes and quickly got dressed after Caitlyn had left the room. Normally Katarina would be revelling at the sight of Riven drunk for the first time but she knew that there had to be a reason for Riven to get so drunk in the first place, most definitely a reason that Katarina wouldn't like to hear.
Katarina headed over to Riven, moving her slightly so she was no longer hanging half off the bed and then sat beside her, moving the exile's head into her lap. She sat with her for a couple of hours, stroking the side of Riven's head, savouring what would most likely be the last moments of being with her. She knew what would come next but didn't have the gall to sacrifice everything in order to stop it; she also knew Riven probably wouldn't let her. Eventually Katarina shook Riven slightly to wake her.
"Riven?" She asked as the exile stirred and opened her eyes.
"Yes?" She asked, obviously half asleep and probably still somewhat drunk.
"I figure you went and got yourself so drunk for a reason, and I figure that reason is that you've decided I'm not what you want. So I want you to just say it so I can leave." Riven frowned, she knew the aggressive tone was a front in hopes to prevent her own vulnerability from showing.
"It's not that I don't want you anymore, Katarina. It's that I can't be with you. I can't let you give up everything and possibly risk death just to be with me. Not when you survived on your own, thinking I was dead. It's better for you to move on to someone you can actually be with," Katarina slid herself off the end of the bed, standing to leave, "I'll probably always love you, you know." The assassin paused, reading the face of the exile before turning to leave. Riven caught a glimpse of sadness in Katarina's eyes, then the door slammed shut behind her. The noise of the door closing caused Riven to jump.
After a long period of wallowing in her own misery, the exile sat up, forcing herself off the bed, still somewhat unsteady. She drank the water left on her bedside table by Caitlyn, not sure whether it would actually help make her less drunk. Riven had never had much interest in alcohol, it dulled the senses and made it hard to protect yourself, but Riven had drank because she wasn't sure whether without it she would have been able to have the courage to do the right thing for herself and Katarina. The water, however sobering, didn't prevent Riven from deciding to go through with the idea that just entered her mind.
She opened her front door, headed down the main stairs and into the Ionian dorm floor which had no lights on, as most reasonable people were asleep. Riven knocked on Irelia's door and she saw the lights flick on with a groan coming from Irelia. The door opened, the Ionian woman's head popping out.
"Riven? What are you doing here? It's three in the morning."
"I know, can I come in?" Irelia raised her eyebrow, clearly annoyed to be woken up at such an hour but unable to hide the excitement she was feeling at the idea of a late night visit from Riven. She nodded in response, letting the exile in. Irelia caught the smell wafting from Riven as she entered the room.
"Are you drunk?"
"Yes, kind of."
"I didn't realise you were the drinking kind." She playfully ran her fingers along Riven's collar bone.
"I'm not really. I only drank to be able to end things with Katarina." Irelia's smirk, slowly turned into a frown.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I know that must have been hard to do." The dark haired woman's touched turned from flirtatious to comforting. Even if she were excited by the idea of an available Riven, she knew it must have been painful to split with someone you've been with for so long. "However, I'm not sorry to hear that you're available." She purred, trying to lighten Riven's spirits, earning herself a chuckle from the exile. That chuckle quickly faded, Riven began turning to leave Irelia's embrace.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come down here at this hour while drunk and bother you with my Katarina stuff, it's not fair on you." As Riven began to leave, Irelia pulled her back into a close hug.
"Even if it hurt me, I would want to be able to comfort you." She cupped Riven's cheek, running her thumb over the war paint on her cheek. She took the exile's hand and let her to the bed, lying down herself and patting the space in front of her, asking the exile to join her. Riven hesitated. "I'm not going to pounce on you while you're drunk and upset." Irelia rolled her eyes playfully as she said it.
Riven stripped herself of some of her extra pieces of clothing and laid down beside Irelia on the bed. Irelia dragged her finger tips lightly along Riven's jaw line when suddenly Riven was crying in front of her. The sudden emotional outburst surprised Irelia as she had never seen Riven be so expressive. Normally you get a slight smile or a slight blush or slight anger. Nothing more than slight anything. She pulled Riven in tightly, holding the exile's head against her chest as she cried. It hurt Irelia to see Riven crying, not just because she was crying about some other woman but because she didn't want to see her so upset by anything.
Eventually Riven stopped crying, falling asleep in Irelia's embrace, Irelia falling asleep shortly after. However Irelia's sleep was short lived, she was woken up by Riven's flailing and panicking in her sleep, having some kind of nightmare. Irelia tried a few different things to calm her including waking her up but the only thing that seemed to soothe the nightmare was holding Riven.
Riven woke up the next day in Irelia's tight embrace, she lay there for a brief moment, not really wanting to wake up Irelia. Eventually she caved into her need for a drink of water and woke up the Ionian.
"Irelia?" She said while jostling her slightly.
"Mmm?" Irelia replied, her eyes still closed.
"Can you let me go so I can get a drink of water?" The Ionian opened her eyes and blushed slightly, letting go of her. She hadn't realised that she had kept holding onto Riven throughout the night. She watched as Riven walked into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it with water.
"Do you always move so much while having nightmares?" It was Riven's turn to blush.
"I didn't know I moved at all really, haven't slept beside someone since they became a thing for me." She began sipping at her glass.
"You have them every night?" Irelia asked, concerned.
"Not every night, just most nights."
"What are they about?" Riven hesitated to answer.
"I wouldn't normally talk about this with anyone, but if I'm going to spend more time with you like this, I guess you should know. I have nightmares about having my flesh being melted off by Singed's poison, watching my men die and other stuff from the war in Ionia." Irelia frowned, she hadn't realised that Riven was so haunted by what happened to her and her own actions in the war in Ionia. She hadn't thought that she was a monster by any means, but she hadn't realised it plagued the exile so much.
"Are the chemical burns under all those bandages you constantly wear?" Riven nodded as her response. "Do they still hurt?"
"Sometimes, I wear the bandages not only to hide them but to prevent them rubbing against my clothing, it chafes and hurts otherwise. Sometimes they hurt regardless of wearing bandages."
"I may have something to help. Take your clothes off and come here." Riven's face went bright red. The woman in front of her had always been forward, but never quite that forward. She hesitated, not sure whether Irelia was serious in her command. Irelia saw this and met her concern with a pat to the mattress, gesturing for her to come.
"You sure about that?"
"Yes, I have a healing balm that might improve your scarring. Last time I checked, I need to be able to get to the scars to be able to do anything with it. So take your clothes off." Her authoritative tone caused a surge of arousal through Riven as she finally gave into her command, removing her shirt and bandages in front of Irelia. She stood there, topless as Irelia ran her eyes up and down the exile with a subtle lick of her lips. She patted the mattress again, getting Riven to move to her. Riven laid down on her front beside Irelia.
The dark haired woman grabbed the healing balm from her bedside table and straddled Riven's waist, opening the container in her hands. Riven blushed hard, hiding in the pillow, she was partly aroused and partly embarrassed to have Irelia see her scars. She jumped slightly as she felt Irelia's finger drag the balm along one of the large scars in the middle of her back. She heard Irelia chuckle slightly.
"You're a bit sensitive I see," The Ionian remarked as she rubbed in the balm along the scars on Riven's back and shoulders. She smirked as she noticed that Riven was desperately trying to hide her face in the pillow, "Am I turning you on, Riven?" The exile blushed harder, refusing to answer the question as Irelia already knew the answer, "Unfortunately for you, you'll have to take me on a date first."
What a sadist, Riven thought.