Notes :
First fic in english (not my main language) so if you find any mistakes, tell me.
Warnings : None (fluff)
Summary : V's dealing with his feeling about this new situation.
Don't mind the summary for this one... I couldn't come with something...
(V's POV)
Lilith had been with Nico since sunset but the mechanic was alone when he spotted her in the van, swearing as she was working over the sorceress swords.
"She went back inside for what I know." She didn't glance at him once, focus on her work, "She looked pretty worn out so she might be in her room. You know the way."
The witch had probably walked back to the house unnoticed, her footsteps too silent for them to hear anything... She may have heard them discussing in the living room from what he knew, not that he had much to hide thanks to Dante.
Lilith knew everything and she was still there, kindness in her eyes whenever she looked at him, accepting him as what he was, even protecting him in a way from what Griffon had heard about her querel with Trish...
The demoness had warned him a few hours after the dinner, taking advantage of the temporary absence of the witch to 'talk' with him. She didn't let him speak thought, her eyes showing nothing but coldness whenever his past was mentioned and she remained doubtful about his feelings toward the young hunter.
I don't even know myself... It might as well be simple physical attraction...
'Oh come on ! Stop with that already!' Griffon hissed through his head, 'Don't know much 'bout human's feelings but you're in it pretty deeply. And physical attraction wouldn't make you worry so much about her safety, maybe what she thinks about you but again, not that much.' The bird paused, swearing about his master being a total dumbass, 'It never bothered you before, why is it different now if it's not 'cause you fucking are way over your head for the witch ?'
When did that mouthy bird became wiser than him ? The poet sighed and moved upstairs, the hall was silent and the two older girls were not spying on him for the first time of the day. He knocked softly on Lilith's door, surprised to see it opening with his touch. The room was dark, the only faint light coming from the moon outside, the chair wasn't there anymore and the witch half rested on the bed, arm crossed under her head.
Her eyes were closed, her braid falling over her back. The scene was adorable, how this charming girl had the power to ease his loneliness with her simple presence, to lift the sorrow from his soul from one smile of hers, warm his heart with few words...
The poet grabbed her shoulder, squeezing it to gently get her out of her slumber. Her eyes hardly opened, fighting the fatigue that suddenly showed on her face, her whole body seemed too heavy as she tried to move it and failed. Dark circle appearing under the dull ambers, her sickly look frightening the man.
"Are you alright ?" He didn't cared about showing worry, not with her anymore.
"I'm... Tired, that's all... Nuiid... Needs my energy to heal... Lekha can't help much during night..." Her voice was barely audible, less than a whisper, "I just... need to rest..."
The summoner helped her getting on the bed, keeping her close to prevent her from falling on the floor as her body automatically leaned forward. She mumbled something as V made her move under the sheets with him but the instant her head touched the pillow and his arms wrapped around her, she sighed in contentment, falling right back asleep.
V stayed awake a moment, making sure she was alright, checking her face from time to time, checking her pulse, feeling her breathing over his skin. She had spoken about the strength that was needed to host the two birds and the poet hoped she would support it.
'Being the host of one of them is already a big deal, their power are not easy to handle. To host both of the phoenix, the chosen must be strong in both mind and body, otherwise they will suffer endlessly and slowly die, eaten by the power...'
Lilith had a strong mind, V didn't doubt about it, she had been through a lot and was still fighting but for the body... She was looking so frail... Even if she could take a good amount of fights, battled on the front line with force and rage, she was still human. And humans were fragile comparing to demons, her bird's power could help her but in the end, it was her body that suffered from the exertion or fatigue like right now...
'Huh, V ? Don't go back to that road again...' Griffon's thoughts pressed against his, worried, 'You can't seek for more power again... Don't repeat the same fucking mistakes.'
Power wouldn't help him anyway, he wasn't the one that needed it right now but being stronger could help him protect her...
'Power isn't everything !'
Her own words echoed in his head again, would she still like him if he was more powerful ? Why was she liking him anyway ? Why being so nice with him when he clearly didn't deserved it ? Trish's words had hit a chord in him, he had to repent for his mistakes, not flirting with the sweet girl. His past was too bloody, too dark for her, she couldn't stay with him... Kind as she was, the sorceress would break herself for him, she already did it in a way with the giant riot...
'Oh come on ! Stop that bullshit !' The demonic bird hissed, 'Being alone without someone who cared had done anything but shit to ya !'
Lilith's mumbling brought him back to reality, eyes tight shut, tears rolling down on the pillow, her hands were clenched on his shirt as whimpers escaped her lips. No real words formed but her whole body was tense and shivering, searching for comfort.
The poet pulled her closer, stroked her hairs and whispered words to her ears, he couldn't do much without waking her up but it seemed to work after a few minutes. She relaxed and snuggled even closer, hiding her head against his shoulder with a small smile on her lips as her arms wrapped around his waist.
'Can't do much but it still worked just fine. Stop beating yourself, that made my feathers aches... Not that you care anyway.' The avian familiar spoke quietly, 'Now time to sleep, Shakespeare. We'll figure things tomorrow.'
V woke up first, the sorceress still curled up in his arms, looking peaceful, no more dark circles under her eyes for what he could see. There was no sound yet in the house and the sun was slowly rising, spreading a reddish light through the room. The bright phoenix would soon be able to help the dark one and the witch would be alright.
She didn't move when he sat up in the bed, releasing Griffon and Shadow, taking his book left on the bedside table while the mighty cat hopped on the bed and settled herself on their feets, neither did she stir when the bird knocked her big book from the desk with a small 'oups'.
The notebook fell open on the ground, on a double page darkened with drawings and handwriting. The demonic familiar glanced at it and snapped his beak. "Woooo, look at that !"
"Better replace it before she wakes up." V could see some portraits on the page from where he was but not tell who it could be.
"Why ? Aren't you curious ? She sleeps like dead right now, take your chance." Griffon hopped on the floor to push the book close enough to the bed.
The poet glanced at the mocking bird on the carpet, proudly puffing up his feathers, then took the book, hearing his avian companion perching himself on the bedside table without dropping anything.
The pages showed two drawings of Lady, a portrait and a illustration of the woman fighting demons with some text under it. The sketches were very well executed, a lot of details and shading that almost looked like pictures in black and white, the witch was gifted. She had written some fact about the black haired woman, what she liked about her, how they met and other small annotations.
"I wonder if she wrote something 'bout me." Griffon squawked, making the poet frown and look at the witch who was still asleep, even with how noisy the bird was.
The previous pages had portraits and drawings of people, animals and places with explanations and names unknown to him except from Morrison, Dante, Lady and Trish. There was an old granny right before Dante that might be her grandmother, she looked as strict as the sorceress described her, her eyes shining like she was glaring at him right now for reading Lilith's book without her consent...
As he was about to close the book to put it aside, V noticed the bookmark, a sleeping cat illustrated with the same level of details as the other drawings, probably her doing too, and a white sheet of paper slipping underneath the next pages.
The bookmark led him to the representation of his familiars, all of them with smalls annotations too. Griffon sending lightning, Nightmare blasting out of a wall and Shadow. The mighty cat had multiples small sketches of her occupying an entire page while the two others shared one.
"The overgrown cat house isn't her favorite at all." Sarcasm was filling Griffon's voice, "Though, I'm fucking good looking like that. She totally got it, would've been better with roasted dudes around but I'll forgive her."
V chuckled and turned the pages. A portrait of him, reading his book, was on the left page, above a lot of handwriting and he could tell she had erased a big amount of it to re-write it again and again.
There was something strange about looking at this, it has the same level of details yet it felt different. From the angle he could tell Lilith had drawn this from her spot above Dante's desk, and the date under it...
Her first day outside of her room ? So she had been staring at me from that day ?
On the other side were a few sketches almost erased of him drinking tea, talking with someone, probably Dante from the clothing, and something darker coming from under the page. The poet curiously flipped the paper and moved the white sheet of paper covering the drawing making sure to note how the white paper was displayed to hide their curiosity later.
The double page showed a huge illustration of a man, from behind with only a small part of his face visible, standing in a ravaged street, one hand raised in front of him, a huge cat on his right and a big bird flying on the left, near his head. The man was facing what looked like sketches of empusas and death scissors. The details were incredible, from the swirling tattoos perfectly placed, the hairs flying lightly, the laced cord on the back of the sleeveless vest, the book and the reflection on the cane in the man's hand to the texture of the fur or the pattern on the bird's wings.
The softness of each stroke, each shadow blurred, the work on his expression, she had implied something while drawing him like this. There was kindness in all of her works but this one...
"Oh oh, should hide the book, V, she's wakin' up." Griffon whispered as the form on V's side stirred.
V put the book on the bedside table, under his own and watched with a bemused look his avian companion launching himself to the desk as silently as he could, hiding his head in his feathery wings in an attempt to feign being asleep. Shadow eyed him for a moment then lasily rested her head on the sheets, eyes closed.
Golden orbs met his green ones a few seconds later, blinking slowly open as the sun filtered through the curtains to brighten them with flashes of pure yellow mixing with orange. He could lose himself in those orbs when she looked at him like that, with that tenderness, red colored cheeks and shy smile on her lips.
She still looked tired, the dark circle faintly visible, the way her body appeared heavy from every movement she was making to sit.
"How are you feeling ?" With one hand, he caressed her warm cheeks, never breaking the eye contact.
"Fine... Tired but fine." She leaned into his touch, eyes closed, sighing with contentment. This simple action made his heart beat a bit faster.
"Isn't this too much for you ?" V replaced a strand of hair behind her ear, "You spoke about how hard it was to deal with one bird's power earlier."
She shook her head and opened her eyes, "It's fine. I just need time to... get used to it. Plus, Nuiid is still... weak."
There was concern in her voice, her golder orbs drifting to the side, darkened by sadness before she chased it away to look at the black panther that rested at her feets. A sparkle of joy flashed in her eyes, joined by a small smile on those dark pink lips, she definitely liked the panther.
She looks way better with a smile.
V glanced at Griffon who hadn't moved an inch, still falsely asleep but the poet could have swore that he heard him chortle. The sorceress seemed to have noticed it too as she eyed the demonic bird with a suspicious gaze, moving slowly to sit on her feets and face him. Then something caught her attention or maybe was it a missing object that made her gasp, scanning the room with haste.
Her gaze stopped on the bedside table for a moment, confusion written on her face, then she glanced at him through her lashes. He waited for her to speak but no words came out.
"Is there any problem, Sparrow ?" V innocently looked at the bedside table when something crushed on him. All he saw was a mass of blond locks followed by a weight on his torso pushing him backward, his back pressed on the headboard. Instinctively, he grabbed her to stop the motion, sensing her breath on his shoulder and a small surprised gasp escaping her lips.
"S-Sorry, I... I lost my balance." She whispered as he helped her straighten up a bit, her body hovering his with trembling arms grounded on each side of him.
Shadow was glancing at them, startled by the sudden movement in the bed but seeing no danger she went back to sleep. V's hands were still on her waist, her face inches away from his, those lovely eyes wide open, surprised and embarrassed.
They stayed still for what felt an eternity until the poet slowly pulled her closer, sliding a hand on her back toward her neck, earning a sharp breath as his fingers touched the skin between her neck and shoulder and their chest pressed together.
He watched her face the whole time, ready to stop if she looked scared or anything but she didn't, heart hammering in her ribcage as she clumsily repisitionned her legs above his, face all red, biting her lips and gradually leaning forward while their eyes were still locked together. V could feel her breath on his lips, the same look in those golden orbs that she had on the beach, searching, curious and wanting...
So tempting...
This time, no one interrupted them and his eyes closed the moment his lips brushed hers, gently, softly, faintly pressing harder to make sure this was real. The poet felt her lean more into his touch, shy and hesitating at first but quickly growing bolder. Curiosity mixed with eagerness as her hands grabbed his shoulders from behind and her body pressed itself even more on him, his own hands cupping her cheeks and stroking the soft and warm skin.
The whole world faded as he kissed her, memorizing the texture of her full lips, explorating the overwhelming feeling that grew in his chest and spread warmth through his whole body. It wasn't her power this time, no, it was something else, powerful and delicious. Making him want more, more of this sensation that shortened his breath, that filled his mind with joy, that drove him crazy with just a simple kiss, with the weight of her body on him, that lifted the sorrow and aching of his soul. His heart was hammering in his chest, in unison with hers. This was everything. She was everything. This sensation was everything and the summoner never wanted it to end.
But they had to, if only to breathe. V pulled away, slowly, staring at the witch with a smile as she opened her eyes, lips parted and turning into a small shy smile, cheeks red, the look in her eyes could have made him fall on his knees, the adoration, the tenderness, the joy... From what he could remember, no one had ever looked at him like that, with that intensity and those emotions.
Silence filled the room, the strange feeling that had grown between them since their first night together even stronger, the energy passing through them whenever they were close sparkling under his skin.
V was the first to talk, passing his fingers over her soft lips, "I am afraid Trish and Lady might be even more suspicious about us, my sparrow."
"Hum... I'll talk to them if needed..." She suddenly looked away and cleared her throat.
Adorable.
Her faint whispers came to his ears, "What now ? I-I mean... What are we going to do ?"
V playfully hummed, sliding a hand to her lower back, "I fear we can't stay here like this all day..." The dark haired man chuckled, feeling her shiver under his touch was delightful but now wasn't the time, "For now, you only need to focus on healing your wounds and rest. You are still extremely tired and training right now would do you no good."
"I know... I just... Maybe it was his plan all along..." She sighed, "I feel that he knew I would heal the dark bird first, even if I have to do without their power for a long time..."
"You are so kind toward everyone that, unfortunately, it makes you predictable." His hand brushed her hairs, "But don't see it as a flaw, that kindness of yours is a threat, a rare thing, especially in this world. Focus on resting for today at least, we'll figure things tomorrow."
She finally nodded, getting out of the bed carefully to not wake up the familiars, thought V was certain the avian demon wasn't sleeping.
They spent the rest of the day outside after lunch, walking on the sand, reading or simply sitting on each other's side, letting the rest of the crew to their own occupations.
Trish and Lady had left in the afternoon, hoping to bring back Dante, and Nero had settled on training on the beach after being kicked out of the van by Nico. The mechanic was still locked in it since the previous day, working on weapons for everyone with a priority for the witch.
The fact that she couldn't use the bird's power against the dark mage or her own magic had caused a stormy discussion between them both earlier. It would have been better for her to stay away and heal but she refused, arguing that she needed to be there, to end this. Lady was the first to ask her to stay away, letting the information the poet suspected split and revealing to the group the link between the sorceress and the black mage, the shock silencing the group for a moment before resuming the discussion. The more they tried to dissuade her from fighting, the more stubborn she was, repeating the same words over and over till they gave up.
Later that day, a few hours after the sunset as the sorceress was snoozing on the couch, Lady had called him from the shop, wanting to talk about his relationship with Lilith. The poet hadn't really spoken, not really knowing what was happening between them, therefore, Lady was the one speaking here, warning him.
"... I won't excuse myself for worrying for her." Lady told him, "Thought, I saw that it hurted her so... I'm not gonna interfere between you two. Just know one thing, harm her in any way and you won't have another life to regret it. Must she hate me, I'll make you regret it. Got it ?"
He agreed, a bit annoyed but he could understand their wishes to protect Lilith.
"...I don't like the idea of Lilith fighting her own father... And worse, killing him... Try to dissuade her, to make her stay away, she won't recover from that..." Her tone was full of regret and bitterness, reminding him of Arkham, Lady's awful father...
V politely said her goodbye and hung up to gently squish Lilith's shoulders and helping her go to bed. Giving her some privacy to let her change her clothes, resisting the urge to turn when he heard her stumbled and grunted, then sat on the bed next to her as the sorceress examined her wounds. Most of them were closed or already gone, leaving only a dark pink line or a faint scar like the one on her wrist left by the dark spell in the shop but he saw her wincing once or twice, a hand on her stomach.
He helped her get under the sheets and joined her, asking if she was alright but gaining no answers as she had already fallen back asleep, too tired. The poet watched her sleep for a moment, carefully searching for any sign of discomfort, checking her pulse from time to time, still uneasy about the situation.
"You really are something, my little sparrow..."