No vocab this chapter. Actually just two words:
klinē: a kind of couch/bed
perizoma : underwear
( ͡º ͜ʖ ͡º)
Eye of the Beholder
by Hazel Liebovsky
Chapitre Vingt et Un
The first time she kissed her, Lara came to the chilling realization that Kassandra had positively ruined her for anyone else.
(The second and third time had only confirmed her theory.)
And now wasn't an exception, Kassandra was kissing Lara with the kind of smothering urgency that made her legs buck and burn with restless energy at the same time.
The door closed behind them, both women navigating in the room bathed in the tangerine hues of candles Lara had lit up before joining Kassandra on the roof.
Her fingers wrapped around the hands that were cupping her cheeks, Lara breathed out a quiet sigh. She squeezed Kassandra's hands on her jaw, walking backwards as she led them to the makeshift bed on the floor.
Kassandra broke the kiss, dazed eyes flickering between Lara's lips to the pile of rugs, rough blankets and scratchy pillows. It looked like she wanted to object for a second but shook her head at the last moment.
"Are you sure?" her voice was low over the words, desire seeping through.
Lara was bloody damn sure, yeah.
She brought their lips together again in a bruising kiss, surprising the other woman when Lara's tongue slid into her mouth to tease hers.
"Yes," she said, understanding that Kassandra would still hold back until she got verbal confirmation. "Yes," Lara whispered hoarsely when her teeth started nibbling at Kassandra's chin. "Absolutely."
Lara felt the woman's hands trail from her jaw, a light caress of fingers running down her back and sliding under the shawl to touch her skin, up to her shoulder blades.
She whimpered, lashing onto her lips again, when Kassandra brought their bodies flush together, taking advantage of the motion to slide her bare thigh between Lara's legs.
Her body began a slow grind to alleviate the rising tension in her loins. "God…" Lara breathed out when Kassandra's tongue swiped and suckled at her pulse point, along the line of her neck.
She ran her fingers through chestnut strands, reaching to massage her scalp and bring Kassandra's head closer, feeling her low hum of approval all the way to her toes.
This was going too slow.
There would be a time for leisure exploration, because they were going to make this a thing - Lara very much wanted them to make this a thing – but that time wasn't now. She was burning with the kind of need that threatened to overwhelm her before they'd even started.
Lara let her hands fall from Kassandra's head to her hips, bunching the woman's chiton in her fists.
"Off," she said, detaching herself from Kassandra's heavenly mouth to look down. "Off, take it off," the need in her voice made the request sound like a demand. Lara closed her eyes and breathed in sharply through her nose, forcing herself to slow down and meet the woman's smothering gaze. "Please."
There was a twinkle of amusement in Kassandra's eyes, shining through the haze of want. "Always so polite," she raised her arms, leaving Lara to stand on her tiptoes, lifting her clothes up and above her head.
Short nails scraped up and down along Kassandra's sides, passing over twitching muscles and scars Lara was dying to kiss and learn the story behind.
(Not now. Later. When the fire inside her has subdued.)
Her eyes drank in the newly revealed skin, feeling the acute flush of her cheeks when her gaze lingered on Kassandra's rising and falling chest for a moment, traveling again to focus on the mole near Kassandra's navel. Lara's breathing slowed. "I've always been jealous of these…" her fingertips ran over Kassandra's abs, feeling them tense and relax in rhythm with her laugh.
"Really?" she sounded breathless, whether from anticipation or surprise the young woman couldn't say. "But you have them too."
Lara bit her lip, tearing her eyes away from those devilish muscles to look at Kassandra's blown pupils. Want. "Not as well defined," she raked her nails over them again, watching as Kassandra opened her mouth in a stifled moan. "And the scar…"
The damn scar.
Kassandra blinked the haze away, appraising Lara for a little while before she caught the young woman's wrist and brought Lara's palm to her lips. She let it fall, bringing her other hand to Lara's front, tugging on the strap a little. "Can I?"
Lara's nod was quick. Kassandra smiled, pecking her lips once, twice, three times before Lara caught her in a longer kiss. She felt Kassandra grin, fingers on her skin, running back and forth over her clavicle. The straps were off with a flick of Kassandra's thumbs, dress pooling down to her feet, exposing Lara to the night's light breeze.
Instead of taking a step back to look at Lara, Kassandra surprised her by catching her mouth again, drawing Lara back against her with a gentle tug on her lip.
She shifted their bodies around until she was on the rugs, guiding Lara with her tongue.
The younger woman felt those lips travel from her chin to the dip of her throat, teasing her breasts for a too-short time. Kassandra kneeled, peppering a trail of littering kisses down to the seam of her underwear, expert hands undoing the straps and knots of her leather sandals. Kassandra's fingers made their way up, her nails leaving faint lines on Lara's legs, muscles twitching under their touch.
Almost completely nude, and with Kassandra kneeling in front of her, Lara was transfixed. Her cheeks flared bright red with the visual, as she held Kassandra's gaze. Knees locked into place, she felt a fresh rush of apprehension hitting her when Kassandra winked and smiled.
"Relax," she muttered, her hand slowly massaging over Lara's tense stomach. Hazel eyes flickered down, coming face to face with the cauterized scar near the young woman's hip. She gave a few experimental caresses. "Do you feel that?"
Lara swallowed, breathing deep. "A little," she'd definitely felt it elsewhere, too.
She was going to speak again, to tell her that it was okay, that the surgery had severed most of her nerve endings, but Kassandra didn't let her; lips latched onto it, her tongue swirled in the center where Lara had stabbed herself with the searing arrow. "Oh, God," Lara croaked out, hunching over herself, spasming with the rush of sensations. Her hands flailed around, finding anchor on Kassandra's shoulders as a jumbled mess of sounds came out of her mouth at every twirl and swiping motion.
Kassandra pulled away, her eyes shimmering with worry as she held Lara upright with one hand. "Are you okay?"
A small, breathless laugh came out of the young woman's mouth. "Yes," she ran her fingers through Kassandra's hair. "Yes, sorry. I… I didn't expect it to be…" Lara blinked, cheeks flushing again. "So sensitive, still."
That one she had felt everywhere.
Kassandra smirked, craning her neck when Lara bent down to kiss her again. Those lips were addictive, she could do this all day.
(She could do this all day, Lara realized. Every day. For as long as they had.)
"I will be careful," Kassandra muttered with a soft smile that bounced off in her soaring heart.
Fingers trailed along her skin until they settled on Lara's hips, slowly guiding her body down and across Kassandra's lap. Kassandra took advantage of the motion, retracing her languorous path with slow lazy licks from Lara's sternum up to her lips.
That first skin to skin contact was electrifying, Lara shuddered, feeling and hearing Kassandra's low moan when their bodies slid together. Soft flesh against soft flesh, their chests rising and falling in synchronization with each of their ragged breaths. Despite the distraction, her skin tingled, breaking out in goosebumps when Kassandra's fingers kept running from side to side, along the seam of her smallclothes. Her thumbs slid in and out, every time a little further, before retreating, teasing her to the point she drove Lara mad with lust and trepidation.
Eyes closed, she burrowed her head in the crook of Kassandra's neck and dragged her lips from the woman's collarbone to her jaw. Her arms locked around Kassandra's shoulders, hands playing with brown strands of hair.
In the haze of lust, Lara had half a mind to lean up a little bit and shove those devilish fingers down her underwear herself. She willed herself to calm down, letting out a shuddering breath that rippled through her and mingled with Kassandra's open-mouthed kiss, the slow strokes of her tongue barely quenching Lara's growing hunger.
Touch me.
Lara could feel the grin on her lips.
Sod it, Kassandra's teasing was deliberate and she was clearly enjoying herself. Lara could do it too.
In fact… she was going to turn her into a trembling mess. Just because.
"Oof," Kassandra's surprised gasp made Lara smirk; she hadn't expected to be shoved down on the rug and covers so quickly. Her laugh came out in short, breathless puffs, becoming gradually deeper.
Lara fought through the instinct to hunch her shoulders in and hide, cheeks reddening at how Kassandra's gaze traveled over the shadows dancing across her body. Instead, she sucked in a steadying breath and leaned back, straightened her posture, exposing herself to the night and the scorching hazel eyes drinking her in.
The hands on her thighs loosened and tightened, itching to move up, to touch and squeeze. The desire was plain as day on Kassandra's slack-jawed face, her eyes following the curves of Lara's breasts like the physical caress of fingers. It made her tingle, it made her feel strong and vulnerable at the same time.
She wanted this.
"You're so beautiful," Kassandra rasped out, finally allowing her fingers to make their way up Lara's side, to the swell of her breast.
She took Kassandra's hand, kissed the knuckles and fingertips and brought it to her breast, grinding her hips back and forth against Kassandra in a slow, tortuous dance.
Hazel eyes widened, overwhelmed by the sensations. Kassandra's free hand shot to her hip, thumb grazing over the scar while she guided Lara's swaying. The young woman let herself fall forward, curtaining both of them with her hair as she caught Kassandra's mouth in a deep kiss, leaving her squirming when she pulled away, peppering her cheeks, jaw and collarbone with small kisses and nibbles.
Kassandra's whimper made her grin. A small, needy and high-pitched exhale that would have - no doubt - been mortifying for Kassandra in any other circumstance. Lara dragged her lips across the sensitive skin, logging away every jolt, low moan and deep breath as her tongue found new sensitive spots. From one breast to the other, back and forth, back and forth as she mapped Kassandra's chest with open-mouthed kisses, licks, suckles and careful nibbles until the hushed moans in her ears turned into ragged pants and her hips rose to seek relief.
Only then, did Lara straighten herself again, appraising the other woman with a wide, teasing smile. Kassandra chased after her - almost delirious with want - muscles flexing, to cup Lara's cheeks and steal her breath in another kiss, before falling back on the rugs.
"What do you want," Kassandra rasped, hunger seeping through every spoken word and caress on Lara's back. "Tell me what you want."
You. You, you, you…
Lara swallowed thickly, touching her nose to Kassandra's, warm, frantic puffs of air on her skin, feeling the need in her darkened eyes.
To be asked outright, to speak of her desires openly had always been nerve-wracking. It gave her pause.
"Your mouth," she finally muttered, cheeks flaring at Kassandra's slow grin and eager nod.
The hands on her shoulder blades trailed down, nails raking - first gently over her scars and then roughly - to the small of her back, before Kassandra's fingers traveled down again, drawing a groan out of Lara when she squeezed at the supple flesh through her underwear.
Kassandra brought her palms to the side of Lara's knees, lightly kneading the muscles there for a moment, before she slid her hands to their underside and hauled Lara up along her lower body until she was perched halfway across her stomach. Then, she moved her fingers to slip in and out along the seam of Lara's underwear.
"Take these off, and come on up," she said with a wink.
Oh.
Oh.
Lara blinked a couple of times, eyes flickering between the wall in front of her and the smiling woman beneath her.
Okay.
Okay. She had never done it quite like that before, afraid of letting herself go and weighing down, of inadvertently hurting, but…
There was something obscenely arousing about the whole thing. Seizing control over Kassandra like that and setting the pace, being the instigator of her own pleasure. Rocking against Kassandra to chase after that blissful pressure. Lara's blood was thrumming, desire pulsing and spreading through her veins like wildfire.
"Lara?" Kassandra drew her back from her lubricious haven. Doubt was shimmering in her eyes.
She realized her prolonged silence had given Kassandra the wrong impression. Lara smiled, leaning down for a sweet kiss, as she removed her perizoma with one hand.
"Okay?" Kassandra whispered when they pulled away, her thumb grazing along Lara's cheek and the faint line of a scar there.
"Okay," she gave her another quick peck. There was a bit of fumbling as Lara inched her body up until her hips were just above Kassandra's face. Heat rushed to her cheeks again.
Lara gulped, her breath coming out ragged through flared nostrils. She straightened her back, hands braced against the wall. The muscles of her legs tensed in apprehension when Kassandra's hands ran over her thighs, back and forth until the younger woman mellowed under her touch, and Kassandra's fingers settled around her upper legs to keep her steady.
Hot puffs of air caressed her quivering inner thigh, quickly replaced by the soft press of lips.
Lara's breath caught in her throat, not quite a whimper, not quite a groan. She shuddered again and sighed, closing her eyes as Kassandra took her time, trailing her lips from one thigh to the other, kissing her way upward, easing Lara into it and setting her body aflame with anticipation.
Her hips rose instinctively, seeking more of that touch, more of those lips that kept eluding her. Kassandra's teasing had become almost unbearable at this point, drawing quiet whimpers and deep breaths out of Lara.
Kassandra's mouth was everywhere, until it wasn't.
The caress disappeared altogether, leaving her completely puzzled and trembling all over.
Lara opened her eyes, just in time to see Kassandra glancing up at her. She felt it then, the velvety touch of Kassandra's tongue running flat along her. A toe-curling stroke that drew a deep groan from Lara's throat, forcing her eyes shut again.
God, she had forgotten how good this could feel.
Her head shot up, mouth falling open in a strained moan to the ceiling when Kassandra's tongue started flicking and swirling just so. Lara wasn't even aware that her hips had started a gentle sway again, chasing every bit of pleasure Kassandra was offering. Her body was twitching and pulsing with need.
Lara gasped and almost lost her balance when Kassandra's mouth enveloped her, eager but gentle, hums echoing all the way from her trembling thighs to her toes. She braced herself fully against the wall. One forearm keeping her steady, her other hand shooting down, running through Kassandra's hair and keeping her in place without force as Lara's hips picked up pace, moving in time with each burning caress of Kassandra's tongue.
"God… oh God…"
Her body had relinquished control to the woman under her. Lara was completely at her mercy, feeling each breath, each swirl and stroke Kassandra's mouth in crashing waves that kept hitting her one after the other, driving her to the edge.
Lip trapped between her teeth, Lara's moans were strained, breathless whimpers as her hips grinded against Kassandra, wanting more, more, more. She hadn't even realized she'd said the words out loud, mingled with unintelligible attempts at something that vaguely resembled her lover's name.
"Oh G—!"
Kassandra held Lara at the tip of her tongue. Relentless, she kept her on the brink and writhing, jaw hanging open. A violent shudder rippled through Lara when the first glimmers of bliss tugged at her brain.
She let out a strangled gasp, barely audible as her body trembled, fire exploding from between her legs, spreading like a crashing wave, muscles quacking around Kassandra's head, Lara floated, overwhelmed by the onslaught of sensations, faintly aware of the vice hold she had on Kassandra's hair and her ragged whimpering.
Kassandra had slowed to languid strokes, bringing her down gently. Barely keeping upright on her knees, Lara slumped against the wall, breathless pants coming out of her mouth. Her legs felt like jelly, too shaky to move, even if she wanted. She resigned herself to stay there, enjoying the caress of Kassandra's hands along her thighs and the cool ruggedness of the wall against her cheek's overheated skin.
God… this was… it wa—
Lara's thoughts came to an abrupt stop, her little haven crashing once she realized her full weight rested on Kassandra's neck and that she probably couldn't breathe.
"Oh God, your head!" she swung her quivering leg over, fumbling awkwardly and falling to her side in a heap of limbs.
Kassandra's dazed eyes blinked at the ceiling a few times, her hands hanging in the air where Lara had been just a second ago. "What?"
Lara rearranged her position, leaning on her side as she took in the mess on Kassandra's face, cheeks flaming with embarrassment. "Y-your head," she stuttered, pushing through her self-induced shame. "That was your head. I could have killed you."
Kassandra gave her a pointed look, absentmindedly licking her lips. "There are worse ways to die, trust me," she grinned. "For once I don't think I would have minded."
Her statement did nothing to alleviate Lara's embarrassment; the flush spread across her cheeks, reaching lobster red. She hid her face in her hands, letting out a pathetic whine when the other woman laughed. Lara heard Kassandra move away, wipe her face and turn back. Her fingers trailed up Lara's skin, sweeping strands of hair away to kiss her gleaming forehead before pulling away.
Lara watched her through the space of her fingers. "I'm sorry," she said in her palm before she let it fall, gesturing vaguely at Kassandra's face.
Kassandra's eyebrows shot up. She chuckled again, sliding her arms around Lara to bring her closer. "I'm not."
Hesitation shimmered in her eyes, only for a second before Lara leaned in to capture her mouth. If she wasn't already riding her wave, the kiss would have turned her into mush. Soft, and slow with just enough pressure to stroke the coil of want in her belly.
Lara reached up, burrowing her hand in Kassandra's hair. "My legs are still shaking," her voice came out breathless, a little embarrassed despite the shy smile on her face.
It had been a while.
Kassandra smirked at the remark, but kept silent to her surprise. Lara felt the woman's fingers run up and down her spine, hazel eyes tracking the motions of her calloused fingertips as they ghosted over her scars, retracing them one by one for a long while. The caress was almost enough to lull Lara to sleep.
"You're beautiful," Kassandra whispered on her shoulder. "All of you," she said, kissing the scar closest to her, eyes bright with genuine affection when they met.
Lara gulped, blinking until the edge of tears behind her eyes subdued. Intimacy after Yamatai had been a complicated affair, it had taken one (fully clothed) disastrous attempt after some internal nudging and a whole lot of alcohol for Lara to cross it off her list for good.
She hadn't been ready to be with anyone ever again. To let them see who she'd become.
Trinity had been a great distraction; two years and it hadn't even crossed her mind – not until she'd seen Jonah and Abby. The spontaneity of their interactions, how he fumbled around his words, how absolutely charmed she'd been at his corny jokes.
Seeing him—them acting like this, the slow back and forth of seduction and their mutual attraction had been an eye-opener to Lara. That part of the real world that she had disregarded had come back to slap her straight into the face – showing her what she had been missing.
But missing it was one thing, it was the acting on it that terrified her. It meant getting out there, talking, sharing, being vulnerable. Being charming.
All the things she didn't know how to do these days. If ever.
And how would she go about explaining the scars, the insecurity, the absolute fear she had of sleeping every night? How would she go about explaining the outbursts, the corpses littering the path of her past? That danger followed her wherever she went?
"Hey," Kassandra drew her out of her musings again, like she always did. "Are you okay?"
Beautiful idiot that she was, resilient and unwavering in bringing her back from the introspective black hole of insecurity she was always teetering into.
Lara didn't answer, instead shifting her body and sliding half of it on top of Kassandra as she kissed her, cupping her cheek with one hand and forcing Kassandra's mouth open with her tongue in a searing kiss.
She felt her sigh and moan into it, felt her hands stroke the scars criss-crossing along her spine all the way to her still quivering thighs, back and forth, before Kassandra tried to flip their position. Lara didn't budge.
She pulled away just far enough to whisper, "Let me."
It was selfish really, Lara wanted to indulge. To worship every inch of Kassandra's skin, and commit her body to memory.
The hunger swirling within her found its echo in those hazel eyes, shimmering with genuine tenderness underneath the haze of lust. Kassandra nodded, her lips quirked up in a smile, leaving Lara to take her wrists and bring them above her head.
She raked her nails along Kassandra's arms, watching her reaction carefully, and planted another kiss on her lips. Lara took her time, exploring Kassandra's mouth, suckling on her tongue and swallowing her content sighs.
Lara's hands traveled along her sides, fingertips crossing over the raised skin of a puckered scar lodged between her ribs. She touched it again, retracing its shape with a finger before curiosity got the best of her.
Lara pulled away from the kiss to look down at the round edges of the scar, its fainted pink lines standing out against the skin there. It wasn't flat enough to be a sword. The outer zigzagging around it reminded her of bullets. But that was impossible; Kassandra told her she'd never scarred since taking on the Staff.
"Boar horn," she heard her say. "That maláka impaled me. I almost bled out."
Lara glanced back at her with a baffled look on her face. "A boar did this to you?"
Kassandra took a deep breath, blinking several times to clear the fog of lust clouding her mind. She smiled, bringing her fingers to Lara's jaw.
"It was a big one. If you'd seen it, you would know. Kept lunging at me."
And trying to smother her with its poisonous stench.
"Is that why you don't eat them?" Lara grinned, remembering her vehement refusals to have a bite of the meat she had cooked, back in Mykonos.
"Among other things," Kassandra nodded, cupping her face with both hands to bring Lara up again. "Kiss me," she muttered.
And Lara happily obliged, still marveling at the feeling of those lips moving against hers. Kassandra melted into her, breath hitching when Lara's hands settled on her chest to knead her breasts gently.
She was still sensitive there, it took only one flick of Lara's thumb to make her jolt, and nip the younger woman's lip in surprise.
Lara grinned again, logging away the information for future use. Her mouth retraced the path of her fingers, delighting in the taste of Kassandra's skin. Lara made her jolt again when her tongue traveled along the curve of her breast, forcing Kassandra to breathe through her teeth.
Lara didn't realize her meticulous exploration had turned into inadvertent teasing until the writhing against her became deliberate. Kassandra tried to shift them again, this time not giving up until her legs hooked around Lara's hips and gave them a tentative roll, but Lara wriggled away at the last second.
Kassandra tried again and again, but Lara kept evading her, raising her hips, moving sideways while grinning at her increasing aggravation and frustrated noises.
This little game went on until an exasperated growl rose up from Kassandra's throat. Ankles locked together and heels digging in the small of Lara's back, Kassandra trapped her, applying just enough pressure with her thighs to keep her in place without bruising.
Lara couldn't help it, she giggled at Kassandra's pursed lips and smoldering eyes narrowed in a squint.
"Eager?" she dropped a kiss on the raised line of her throat, chuckling in the crook of her neck.
Kassandra huffed in affront, ready to lie her teeth out about it but her trembling body was betraying her. She was squirming with need, blood pumping wildly in her veins.
She changed tactics, "Keep this up, and I swear on my mater's head to that I'm going to do it mys—"
The rest of her sentence was cut short by the relieved – albeit surprised – groan spilling out of her mouth when Lara ground onto her. One of her hands trailed down, reaching Kassandra's knee and slid it away, shifting her body around, fumbling a little until she found the right positioning.
Another roll of her hips and Kassandra cried out. Lara braced herself on her forearms, hovering over Kassandra's face as they settled into a rhythm.
She watched, entranced by the sight; the gleaming flush of her skin had spread all across her chest. Lara dipped down, suckling at her pulse point, hearing as much as feeling Kassandra's groan on her lips. Having her there, her body pliant against her, yielding for her was intoxicating; Lara couldn't help but answer Kassandra's moans with her own.
Clouded and delirious with need, hazel eyes squinted open just long enough to see Lara watching her. Kassandra was barely able to hold her gaze, lost in the feeling of their carnal dance, grounding her writhing body, glistening under the flickers of candlelight.
Kassandra's arms rested against her neck, one hand snaking around Lara's shoulder to clutch her back, the other burrowed in her hair to bring her down and catch her lips; half-kissing, half moaning into Lara's mouth when they picked up pace again; Kassandra's movements became increasingly erratic. Lara could feel the muscles shuddering against her skin, and ragged pants washing over her face.
It took a bit of maneuvering, propping herself up on one arm while her other hand wriggled between their bodies, but Lara managed. Her next thrust had Kassandra snap her eyes open, wide as saucers, looking back at her in surprise, then delight at the first incandescent touch of fingers between her legs.
Her hips swayed, chasing Lara's caresses after each thrust, urging her on with keening whimpers in the young woman's ear when Lara lowered her head to suckle at her pulse point again, before traveling to her chest.
One flick of her tongue was all it took.
Body taut, the tension within Kassandra snapped, rattling with shudders. She moaned to the ceiling, long and drawn out, breathless under Lara's continued caresses. Kassandra's hands were everywhere; clutching at Lara's shoulders, running down her spine, holding onto her hip as she rode the aftershocks of her release. Lara teased out every bit of it, alternating between slow thrusts and swaying until Kassandra loosened her vice grip on her, legs falling, sprawling apart on the covers.
Lara's lips retraced their path, peppering her skin and nibbling at Kassandra's chin until she reached her mouth.
Kassandra's eyes were foggy, slowly coming into focus, a lazy smile firmly plastered on her lips when she took Lara in. Kassandra had to hold her breath to kiss her properly and that was enough to make Lara's heart flutter in delight.
"Whoa," Kassandra mumbled when they parted, then chuckled.
"Yeah," Lara breathed out dreamily, her forehead resting on the other woman's shoulder. She let her fingers roam, drawing patterns over Kassandra's skin for a while until one inadvertent move on the scar that almost crossed her nipple made the woman buck unexpectedly and gasp. Lara froze, "Sorry," she whispered and kissed the skin above her heart.
They were sensitive, alright.
Kassandra gathered Lara in an embrace and dropped a kiss on the crown of her head. "Why did we wait so long," she whispered into it.
All Lara could do was shrug helplessly. She savored the moment, the feeling of Kassandra's hair tickling her skin, breathing in the smell of them that was lingering in the room.
There were no words between them, only the slow rise and fall of their breathing and the faint whispering of drizzling rain outside. Lara focused on it, letting the pitter-patter of droplets lull her into slumber.
Kassandra looked through the window, dawn's early light bringing with it the first chirps of birds and the brisk smell of misty dew. Back against the wall, she ran her fingers over the raised line that crossed Lara's thigh on her lap before turning her head back, an eyebrow rising up in a silent question.
"Bomb," Lara puffed at her from where she was, half propped on klinē's headboard. "I scraped it with my knife when I was trying to get out."
"Mykonos?"
"Syria," she shook her head, an amused twinkle in her eyes at Kassandra's gobsmacked face. "A couple of years ago."
Kassandra halted her caress on Lara's thigh. Her gaze shifted back and forth between the young woman's impassive features to the scar, then back again. "You went to a war-stricken country and survived bombing..."
"Just after a car crash," Lara chuckled, holding her fingers up in the air to count. "Three choppers, two plane crashes, several cave ins, hostile fauna—"
"I was in a car crash once," Kassandra raised her hand in the air to stop her. "And I died. Several times, trying to get out," which had been enough to scar her for life and made her hands clammy every time she had to climb in one of those open coffins. Being 'carsick' was just polite wording for 'absolutely terrified'.
Despite the graveness of her revelation, Kassandra's tone was light. "I don't know how you do this," she continued, running her fingers along Lara's skin again. "And you don't even have the luxury of immortality."
"Luck?" the archeologist tried with a chuckle.
"You're reckless," Kassandra corrected.
"As are you," Lara countered, moving forward and shifting to sit across Kassandra's lap. "And don't even tell me it's because you can't die. We both know you were like this long before."
Kassandra snorted, leaning in her touch when Lara cupped her cheek. "You're spending too much time with the Eagle Bearer."
Come to think of it, tonight had been the first time they'd had more than a few hours together here and there since coming here. Kassandra had been busy, while the archeologist ambled about the city. She hoped her younger self was at least providing good distraction.
Her easy smile was infectious. Lara returned it, and pecked her mouth. "I know you," she muttered, small puffs of air washing over Kassandra's lips.
Her thumb trailed down, ghosting over Kassandra's skin between her breasts. A teasing caress that ended its course on the side of Kassandra's leg.
"What about this one?" Lara asked, retracing the scar's oval-shaped contours.
Oh, this one Kassandra knew well, she gave her a lopsided grin, eyes clouded with memories. "A huge lion's claw. Very big."
Lara blinked and blinked and blinked but Kassandra's face hadn't moved. "You're not kidding?" she shook her head, and Lara scoffed in disbelief. "What did you do? Go at it with your bare hands?"
"Almost?" Kassandra beamed at her. She'd had her spear and sword. "Dual pistols are hard to come by here."
Lara swatted her naked shoulder; a smack more loud than actually painful. Its sound bounced off the walls of the room along with Kassandra's hearty laughter.
"I walked around with the claw lodged deep inside me until Daphnae got it out," she continued, while scratching her cheek. "Not even Barnabas managed."
"The lion was for her," Lara nodded in understanding.
"The pelt, yes." Kassandra hummed, fingertips hovering over the small of Lara's back. She didn't know what to expect, bringing up Daphnae in their conversation, but all Lara did was nod again and smile.
The hand that had been on Kassandra's thigh now moved up to her face, to tap her chin and touch her lip. Kassandra's slow grin made her reconsider.
"Let me guess, you headbutted a bull."
They both chuckled, Kassandra dropped a kiss on her cheek before shaking her head. "Try… face-planted a tree."
Lara raised a bemused eyebrow. "Very anticlimactic."
"I was six?" her smile and eyes were bright, still.
"Oh." It took a second for Lara to connect the dots; she blinked several times, looking back at Kassandra with a pained expression and flailing hands. "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to—"
"Lara," Kassandra cupped her face, holding her gaze. "It's okay. It happened a long time ago," she trailed off, lips quirking up. "Even longer for me."
She'd gotten her revenge. She'd made them pay, all of them.
Almost all of them.
But Iokaste and the Pythia, the instigators behind her and her brother's death sentences, had met their end. And that was what mattered.
Lara nodded wordlessly, retreating into her head for a bit, and Kassandra let her, happy to let her own fingertips roam over the young woman's skin. It was still surreal to be allowed to do it, the taste of her still lingered on Kassandra's tongue when she breathed deep enough.
They had certainly come a long way since that first meeting in Rintomos.
Kassandra smiled to herself, noting the goosebumps on Lara's bare shoulders. Her eyes drifted back to the window, at the shimmering rays of the early morning – she grabbed a handful of the sheet bundled around Lara's hips and brought it up to cover her shoulders.
"You're shivering," she poked Lara's nose with her index finger, using her other hand to wrap the sheets around her.
"Oh," by the look on her face, Lara hadn't even noticed, and would probably have called it mild discomfort. "Thank you," she flashed her a grateful smile nonetheless.
"She's still angry," Lara told her after a while, breaking the peaceful quiet of the room. "The Eagle Bearer, I mean."
"And she will be. For a very long time, especially after Athens," Kassandra nodded. "When I lost Phoibe, I was beside myself."
Ire had run fierce and burnt wild in her veins; she'd hunted Cultists all across Greece, of course. But Kassandra remembered the acute bites and burns of punches and split knuckles, starting unprovoked fights in taverns, and taking on more assassination contracts in the year following Phoibe's murder than she had ever since leaving Kephallonia. Her body had been calling for it, her mind too. Bloodshed had followed everywhere she went until the beast within was satiated.
"I've done things I'm not proud of," she mumbled, her lips pursing in a grimace as she glared at her hands. "Killed when I didn't have to..."
"Hey," Lara whispered, lifting her chin to search her eyes. There was no judgment in hers, only understanding. "I've been there too," she wet her lips and said, "I let a man burn alive. And many more. When they wanted me to end it, I just walked away."
Lara smiled suddenly, as if just remembering something. Kassandra's frown deepened when she let out a small laugh.
"What?"
"I had the same conversation with her, earlier. At the symposium."
Kassandra's smile was wry. "Same person, same issues," she tilted her head, a question burning on her lips. "What did you tell her?"
Lara took her time to answer, her eyes appraising Kassandra for a long while, before she spoke. "I said you were enough."
Kassandra's heart stopped, lightning crackling through her veins. She frowned, going over the words in her head until they blended together in her stuttering brain. Kassandra opened her mouth, forcing air through her lungs and finally, finally she smiled. A small, quivering thing as fragile as the emotions bubbling up within her.
"You really think so?" she heard herself ask. Just to make sure.
A big grin appeared on Lara's face – the biggest she had ever seen yet. One that made her whole visage lit up as bright as the rising sun outside.
And it was all the answer Kassandra needed.
Ahem.
I hope you enjoyed those ten (!) pages of filth because I've been sitting on this for months; every time writing a little bit of it and waiting for the right moment to post. This is one of the few things that never changed throughout the course of this story. I always wanted Lara and Kassandra's first time play out like this, with a focus on emotional intimacy - even if the physical is definitely on the vanilla side. But hey, they can't get freaky from the get go!
I mean, they totally can! But I wanted them to be acquainted with each other's bodies that way first; scars and all (especially for Lara). It made more sense given how their relationship evolved and where the previous chapter ended.
I know smut-heavy chapters tend to attract a lot of traffic and few comments because of the subject matter, that being said: DON'T BE SHY :D I'd love to hear your thoughts on the overall chapter.