It was a very strange feeling, she decided.
Waking up calmly was a very strange thing for her.
No scream that choked her up, owning up all the space in her throat.
No nightmare that tried to chase her into reality, plaguing her every thought even as she regained consciousness.
No flaming arrow that pierced the night's sky and killed them all in a burst of flames.
No. None of that. None of the usual.
The usual.
Not having the usual for once was a very strange thing and made her feel very strange herself, yet Irelia knew she could actually get used to such an uncanny feeling.
She would love to have the chance to get used to such strangeness.
And, truth be told, she knew the reason why she would love to get used to it wasn't because of the lack of nightmares, for she was too used to them, already. She even dared say she'd miss them once they were gone.
Because fear and the eventual submission to it could prove comfortable.
Because she could deal with them, some nights.
And she would always claim that they helped her build her character, whenever they were unbearable and dealing with them wasn't an option.
Because fear helped her build her fearless character, even if it was only that; a character.
A façade.
A mask.
A lie.
So, no. It wasn't because of the lack of nightmares.
It was because of the other thing that was different.
The feeling of waking up in something else rather than solitude, for once.
The arms that were still wrapped around her torso.
The gentle rise and fall of someone else's breathing.
The warm body that laid beside her.
The owner of such a body, covered in scars, stories, myths and legends; strengths and weaknesses.
Like the weakness on her earlobe.
Or the one right underneath her jaw, where her pulse can be found.
Or the one on her inner thigh, which becomes more evident as you run your fingers up along it.
Or the one on her scalp, only obtainable if you pull her hair.
And the strength of her hands.
Her arms.
Her voice.
Her lips and teeth and tongue—
She let out a long exhale through her nose, freezing as the air that she expelled tickled the other woman's neck, making her shift in her sleep.
Riven still held her tight, despite the fact that she was unconscious, pressing her body against the Ionian's, Irelia's face hidden from the world as she laid close to her skin, her lips still pressed against the spot where her shoulder and her neck met.
Comfort made her eyelids flutter close, the Ionian not daring to even breathe as Riven shifted once more at the tickle of her eyelashes.
She did confess she had a light sleep.
After a bit of shifting, her grip giving away a bit, Riven settled and continued sleeping.
So, slowly, for curiosity proved to almost always get the best of her, Irelia pulled away, not wishing to release herself from the white haired warrior, but hoping to make enough room to see her properly.
Her attempt managed to make Riven grunt and move around again, pulling her in again as she rolled a bit in the opposite direction; not enough to completely turn, but enough to leave Irelia laying against her chest, above her.
Lucky accident.
She tried again and this time Riven did not move much.
Keeping herself above Riven with her elbow pressed against the mattress, Irelia allowed her eyes to roam.
They didn't move further than the former Noxian's face, though.
I've seen enough of the rest, last night.
And it was not everyday when she got to see the ruthless warrior from so up close and in so much calm.
Her nose wasn't scrunched up, her eyebrows weren't furrowed, her jaw wasn't locked.
She was calm.
In peace.
She remembered Riven suffered due to the nightmares, too. More than her.
To see her sleep in such tranquility…
Irelia decided it must be a rarity for Riven to manage to sleep properly for once.
She will feel even weirder than me when she wakes up.
Though she had to admit, the strangeness she felt kept increasing with each second that passed by.
To see Riven's face so devoid of her usual self…
Sure, the woman wasn't too expressive, but Irelia had learned how to see the subtleties.
And once you notice them, you can't really ignore them, anymore.
Being unable to see the mirth in those eyes, the way they'd narrow slightly when she doubted, the faint ghost of a smirk whenever she found something interesting…
...It was eerie, to say the least.
A good eerie, though.
It was nice to finally be able to see Riven relaxed, even if such a moment had to come when the other woman was unconscious.
At least this time it's not due to sedatives.
She remained still as she felt Riven's arms around her stiffen for a brief moment, her expression changing slightly as she frowned a bit, before her grip softened once more, her expression becoming neutral again.
She's just woken up.
And then, as if confirming Irelia's thought, those eyes slowly opened, hazy gaze instantly finding her despite the heaviness of sleep still operating on them.
Red eyes remained on her, unblinking still, "Dream or reality?" She asked her, her voice cracking on her each word she mumbled.
As a response, Irelia smirked and brought two fingers to Riven's neck—
Riven hissed as the blue haired woman pinched her as her own kind of response.
"Okay, reality it is." She concluded, rubbing the sore spot on her neck.
Irelia raised a brow, "Have you dreamt of this enough times that it could have been a dream?"
Riven's smirk mirrored Irelia's, though she narrowed her eyes when she asked, "Wouldn't you like to know?" And, as a thought struck her, she added, "What about you, though?"
"What about me?"
"How many times did you dream of—" Irelia didn't let her finish her sentence as she pinched her again, making Riven hiss, "What was that for!?"
Irelia shrugged, "Stupid questions allow for stupid responses. That was my response."
Riven tried to keep the angry, sleepy glare, but it quickly washed away. "Fine, I'll take it."
"Does it feel weird for you, too?" Irelia asked her suddenly, knowing very well she didn't need to explain herself.
Riven nodded a bit, "A good weird, though." She said, "Haven't had a good night's sleep since sleeping together on the ship," She confessed, "And this time, well," She chuckled, "It's even stranger than that time." She frowned, "Stranger than I ever dreamt it to be."
"Oh, so you did dream about this?" Irelia said with a sly smile, taking every moment she found to tease the former Noxian.
Riven rolled her eyes, gently pushing the other woman a bit, "Once or twice. Let me be." She remembered something, then, "Now, there's one thing I didn't dream and that was a certain kiss a certain Ionian gave me on a certain ship—"
"Oh gods," Irelia said, her palm smacking her own forehead, "You'll never let me live that down?"
Riven laughed, "Not until you tell me what the Hell had that been."
"I think it's pretty obvious."
"Well, not to my thick-skulled head," Riven said with a smile, "So, please, enlighten me. What were you doing, kissing me in my sleep?"
Irelia looked away as a blush covered her cheeks, "A woman knows her bodily needs."
"And your bodily need was to kiss me?"
"No, my bodily need was to finally kiss you." Irelia confessed, looking at Riven. "I had started training with you in hopes of making amends, finally burying that stupid hatchet of ours and, well…" She sighed, "I may have ended up finding that you actually are more than just of my liking."
"How so?"
Irelia closed her eyes, "You're exactly my type," She opened her eyes once more, mirth shining in them as she added, "Completely stupid."
Irelia laughed as Riven's face contorted into one of shock and surprise, covering herself as the former Noxian grabbed a pillow and started hitting her with it, straddling the Ionian so as to be more comfortable in her attack.
"How dare you call me stupid!" She said, before throwing the pillow to a side, "And what am I hearing of you having a type?" She raised a brow, "The Ionian leader fancies girls and I have to find out by a happy accident, instead of knowing it from the very beginning?"
"Oh, please, Riven," She said, rolling her eyes, "Men don't even dare approach me and, honestly? I like it like that. Besides," She shrugged, "Women are better."
Riven nodded her head, "Far superior, indeed." She let herself fall next to Irelia, keeping her head up with her hand as she asked, "So, you've been with another woman, before?" She asked, seeing Irelia nod her head. "Do I know her?" And when Irelia looked away, a blush on her cheeks, Riven's jaw dropped, "By the Moon, did you sleep with Sao—"
"Of course not, you freak!" Irelia said, completely disgusted, "She's like a sister to me, for the Sun's sake."
"Then?" Riven said, watching as Irelia looked away, her face getting redder— "By the Moon, please don't tell me you've slept with Akali."
"What if I did—" Irelia's face turned even redder, if such a thing were possible, when Riven started moaning out By the Moon, I can't believe this— "What's the problem with it!?"
"I literally cannot believe you've slept with her, out of all people," Riven said.
Irelia rolled her eyes, "Whatever, you're just jealous."
The former Noxian scoffed, "Of what, exactly?" She asked, looking at Irelia with a smug look, getting closer to Irelia's lips as she said, "I mean, it's me who has you in her bed, not her—"
"Okay, womanizer," Irelia cut her off, before obliging and giving her a quick kiss, "I get it."
"I will say, though, that she's not your type."
Irelia raised a brow, "How come?"
"Despite what little respect I hold for her, I must admit she's not completely stupid."
Irelia's eyes widened in recognition of her own words, before she chuckled, "I don't have a type."
"That's not what you said a few minutes ago."
"Oh, my gods—" Irelia cut herself off as she grabbed a pillow and hit Riven with it, "You're annoying!" They rolled around until Irelia ended up on top, still hitting Riven with her pillow. "You gods damned brat!"
"Let me be, woman!" Riven said, before grabbing the pillow and throwing it to a side, quickly bringing Irelia down as she hugged her tight and pressed her against herself, smiling as she heard Irelia laugh.
Irelia pulled away a bit, mirth slowly fading away as she looked into Riven's eyes.
"I never thought I'd like you," She confessed, eyes scanning Riven's features once more, this time as the woman was awake. "I thought I'd always find a link between you and what had happened that night. I believe I still find that link there but, if anything, now it reinforces how much I need you. To grow, to let go, to move on."
Riven's hand found her cheek, "The thing is, Irelia, that you've never needed me, though," She admitted with a fond smile. "If anything, I've helped you realize things weren't as okay as you thought them to be."
"As I fought to make everyone believe them to be," Irelia corrected her.
"That," Riven agreed. "But the fact remains that there are ghosts that haunt you and you've ran away from them for too long. It was high time you turned to face them."
Irelia nodded her head. "Maybe that's why I was so against your presence in Ionia, at first," She said, looking into Riven's eyes, "You reminded me of too many painful memories."
"You must live through that pain, Irelia." Riven told her, "Maybe I took that one step too seriously and too far, but I'm also learning from it and moving forwards." She smiled once more, "I promise I'll be by your side as we advance through our ghosts, together."
Irelia's smile mirrored her own. "I promise I'll be by your side, too."
"And now that that's cleared…" Riven said, raising a brow. "If you didn't need me, then it means you wanted me."
Irelia rolled her eyes. "I've grown too fond of you."
"And of my body, it seems."
The Ionian smirked, "Can you blame me?" Then, she huffed a laugh, "And what do you have to say for yourself?"
Riven shrugged, "I think you're the last person in Ionia to know I was in too deep for you."
"Riven, you tried to kill me. Literally."
"Okay but that wasn't me, that was the insanity! I'll have you remember, you knew what you were signing up for the day you met me again and invited me to Ionia."
"And yet I did that." She sighed, "Maybe you're the one whose type is completely stupid."
"Hey!" Riven said, before hitting Irelia with a pillow, "Don't talk about my Captain like that."
Irelia smiled, "I must admit, I really like that."
Riven nodded her head, "I noticed months ago."
They laughed, they talked.
About themselves.
About what pained them.
About what they loved.
They didn't mention each other in that last topic, though, for they were ready to accept some things, but they weren't ready to face them like that, just yet.
They knew they were bound together, though.
And, for a while, they forgot the world around them kept on spinning.
The illusion could only last for so long, though.
It lasted up until the moment Irelia's phone rang.
She picked it up and looked at the caller's ID, "It's Vi." And she was about to pick up, but Riven took the phone from her hands and hung up, "What was that for?"
"By now, she should know what we're up to," Riven said. "And she should know that we're short of time before we have to wake up from whatever dream we're living and we have no other choice but to face the music, so let her be on the dark for a bit and let us enjoy the rest of this hour, at least, in this blissful ignorance." She smiled, "What do you say?"
And the Captain of the Guard would have told her that no, that such a thing was impossible, considering all the things they had to do, the people they had to fight.
But, at that moment, Irelia was not the Captain of the Guard.
And Riven was looking at her in such a way…
So she snuggled up to her, hiding a smile against her neck as she said, "Okay."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
HELLO! This little update was NOT planned, for this chapter was actually meant to be longer, but I wanted to say bye to 2019 with a small update so, enjoy!
In other news, I'm going to be writing a full ass original story in 2020. I will keep you posted about it if you're interested, and I'd really love to have y'all read that one too, if you trust me as a writer, that is!
And in OTHER news! Get ready for what comes in this story bc it will be... bad LMFAO.
Happy new year!