Maybe if I clear out my miscellaneous WIPs I'll update Bloodline eventually lmao.
Alright this one is a mixture of original Bloodline dialogue from chapters 15 and 16. As per usual I've taken the events written in Mika's perspective, stripped it down to the dialogue, and rebuilt from Renley's side. I've also added a couple sizeable chunks that never appeared in Bloodline at all. This chapter is also more sad than spicy, but A) Paris's passing took up 3 whole chapters of Bloodline and B) that caused Mika and Renley's dynamic to evolve A LOT in a short amount of time.
I'm not gonna lie and tell you this work is groundbreaking or innovative in any way, shape, or form. But this kind of thing is easy and fun for me to write, and it gives me a much-needed mental break. Because - tale as old as time - Bloodline is being Difficult again.
Enjoy! Or not. This is for me. (Ok maybe it's also for the small handful of Renley fans who enable this absolute nonsense).
Part 6: In A Minute It'll Be Over And Gone
Song:Rooting For My Baby by Miley Cyrus (Bangerz era am I right?)
When you wake in the morning and I can tell it's not your best side
No good morning today
I stay to the right if I know you're mad and on the left side
Stay out of your way
Just hold on
In a minute it'll be over and gone
Gone, gone, gone, gone
As Paris Skyle's funeral ceremony drew closer, it seemed increasingly likely it would be an event of record-breaking proportions.
The more the mountain filled up, the less frequently Renley lingered around Mika. Once Arrow and Vancha finally returned to the mountain, Renley didn't expect to see much of Mika until things died down.
Renley was minding his own business chatting with a recently arrived friend when they heard there was a straight-up brawl going down in the Hall of Princes. He thought surely the bellowing onlookers must have exaggerated the intensity of the fight that was taking place. But there they were, ripping each other to shreds right there in their own sacred hall, in front of at least a hundred witnesses.
Mika, Arrow, and Vancha were the three most evenly matched vampires you could possibly pit against each other. NHad the fight gone unchecked, there surely would've been at least one fatality - eventually. All were bleeding profusely and none looked ready to back down.
Renley didn't stop to consider the potential ramifications of inserting himself into the situation. All he knew was this was bad - and Mika was never one to not get the last word. So Renley dove into the fray just seconds behind Crepsley and Hale as they halted Vancha and Arrow, respectively. Renley braced himself as he tackled Mika, knowing Mika would never yield to him the way Arrow did for Hale. And he was absolutely right, Mika just about snapped Renley's forearm trying to break free. It took a few tries but Renley finally managed to get a grip on both Mika's arms and hold them behind his back.
Mika was livid, absolutely spitting mad. Renley had never seen him like this. While Mika was typically moody, bitchy even, he was never hot-tempered. He thrashed furiously in Renley's arms, and it was to Renley's benefit that Mika had already been bludgeoned so thoroughly by his opponents. Had he been at full strength, Renley wouldn't have had a hope in hell at keeping him contained.
"Get your FUCKING hands off me!" Mika bellowed, once again testing the structural integrity of Renley's arms. There was as much pain as there was anger radiating off him. What the hell could've possibly transpired between Mika and his respected, beloved colleagues? Renley held tighter yet, slowly but surely dragging Mika away from the others.
"So you can go back to committing three-way murder-suicide? I don't think so. It's for your own good, honey. You'll thank me later." Renley murmured with light sarcasm, his lips brushing Mika's ear. Renley shoved him into one of the pews at the front of the room, and clamped both hands around Mika's shoulders to keep him from springing back up. Mika stared up at him with pure loathing - no, betrayal in his eyes. Renley was pretty sure he wasn't getting laid anytime soon. But that was the furthest thing from his mind.
"I can't believe you... so out of line..." Mika hissed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Mika's entire body was shaking hard, undoubtedly from adrenaline. That wouldn't last much longer.
"Mika, look at yourself! Look at them! You're done for the day. You're all done. No one was winning that fight." Renley gestured at Arrow, who was sitting on a pew on the far side of the room, hunched over with his face in his hands as Hale sat beside him, cautiously dabbing at a cut on his face. And at Vancha who was lying sideways in his throne, face pale and eyes closed with Crepsley hovering over him like a grim mosquito. Mika's eyes narrowed as he glanced around at them.
"I'm warning you..." Mika growled, and Renley signed in exasperation. Mika tried to stand again, but Renley was ready for him.
"Normally you love it when I pin you down. Just sit still for a second. Breathe." Renley kept his voice even and unchallenging, and his grip gentle. When Mika finally went limp, Renley sat down and draped his arm around Mika's shoulders. Mika was still shivering, and Renley had been in enough fights to know that pain was taking over for adrenaline by this point. At last Mika leaned into him, a silent surrender.
"There. That's better...I got you." Renley murmured in the velvet tone he normally used to deploy the dirty pillow talk they both enjoyed so thoroughly.
"Wish you didn't." Mika growled back, proving once again that, no matter how sorry a state he was in, he always always kept spite on standby. The fucking brat.
Renley knew he was pushing it, sitting this close to Mika when there were still people in the Hall. But they were distanced from the rest, their backs facing the crowd. To anyone else it simply looked like Renley was assessing his friend's injuries, just as Hale and Crepsley were doing with Arrow and Vancha. (With that said, Renley was about eighty percent sure Hale and Arrow had a thing, but now wasn't the time to ponder it).
Within minutes, the Hall of Princes had been cleared on Seba's irate orders. Aside from the Princes and Seba himself, only Hale, Crepsley, and Renley remained.
Renley had heaps of respect for all of the Princes, but they still looked like a trio of sorry little schoolboys as they gathered around. The wise old quartermaster was madder than Renley believed possible.
"You three... the so-called noble sons of Vampire Mountain. Paris Skyle's chosen protégés. The remaining pillars of our clan... pathetic. I am disgusted with each and every one of you." Seba hissed. "Hale, Azerion - time to go. Larten, you are Sire Shan's proxy so you may remain for this."
"Anything you need to say, you can say in front of my star General. Hale stays." Arrow spoke up, narrowing his eyes at Seba. Hale blushed a little as Arrow vouched for her, but she hid it well and responded with a professional nod. (Okay, now Renley was ninety percent sure there was something going on there).
"Have it your way, Sire." Seba growled.
Renley glanced at Mika, arching an eyebrow ever so slightly. He knew better than to think Mika would speak up for him the way Arrow had for Hale. After all, Mika never hesitated to remind Renley he had no desire to be exclusive, much less publicly exclusive. But nothing is impossible. After all, who'd sat on the floor with him, for hours as he cried himself into a coma the night Paris died? Who checked on him every single hour in the days after that to make sure he was eating and drinking, because no matter how aloof Mika pretended to be, he'd run himself into the ground trying to be a rock for everyone else and completely sideline his own needs?
Renley didn't need or want recognition for any of that. At bare minimum, Mika was his friend. And Renley was a good friend. But maybe, just maybe, Mika was starting to clue in that no matter what they told each other, this was becoming deeper than recreational sex.
"I don't care if General Azerion stays or not." Mika informed Seba bluntly, with a vague gesture in Renley's direction. Renley rolled his eyes. He had no idea what he'd been expecting.
"At this point, neither do I." Seba huffed, sounding more irritable by the second. "I do not suppose anything I can say will embarrass you more than you have already embarrassed yourselves!"
So Seba verbally decimated all three Princes with a nuclear scolding. The royal trio seemed to agree on one thing - they weren't over it and they definitely weren't sorry for attempting to spontaneously annihilate each other. They were just sorry Seba was upset.
Renley couldn't believe this conversation was playing out, and he really couldn't believe he was here bearing witness to it. It went on and on. But the vicious words Arrow sneered at Mika when it was all said and done, couldn't hold a candle to the physical violence that had unfolded.
"Was Kurda worth it, Mika? Was he worth this?" Arrow snarled, fire in his eyes and venom in his voice. If Renley had been a perfect stranger, never in a million years could he have fathomed that Mika and Arrow had been best friends for almost three centuries. Because that was fucking harsh.
To recap: Renley didn't exactly have a high opinion of the notorious pacifist that left Vampire Mountain in an uproar. But he felt Mika's pain as his own in the visceral moment when Mika looked Arrow dead in the eye and said without a shred of hesitation,
"Kurda was worth ten of you."
Mika didn't stick around after that. His venomous parting words left a distinct chill in the air of the Hall of Princes. Arrow looked dangerously pale, and he didn't resist when Hale gently shepherded him off in the direction of the infirmary. Renley had no reason to remain in the Hall of Princes either, so he left Seba, Larten, and Vancha alone.
Renley already knew exactly where he needed to be. Whether Mika wanted him there or not.
I know, I know
That you go through a lot
I know, I know
That the pressure makes you hot
See I know, I know
'Cause you still know what you got
I know, I know,
I'm rootin' for my baby
"What?" Mika's voice drifted from the other side of the door when Renley knocked.
"It's me... Just let me in."
"It's not locked."
Mika was hunched at his desk, face in his hands. The fitted black t-shirt he was wearing meant his well-muscled arms were in plain view, and the bruising was truly remarkable. He didn't look up as Renley approached.
"I brought ice from the kitchen. How you feeling?" Renley murmured, knowing it was a redundant question. Mika let out a rather dramatic sigh, and slowly glanced up at Renley. He tried not to flinch at the absolute disaster unfolding on Mika's face. Between the swelling, bruising, and lacerations, he looked like he'd been run over by several trains.
"Gods, Ren... you know I hate stupid questions." He rasped. "We've been over this."
"You hate when people ask you if you're okay. Because you feel like there's only one correct answer, even if it means you have to lie." Renley countered calmly. "So instead I asked you how you're feeling. That way you're not limited."
Renley felt a twinge of smug satisfaction when Mika didn't challenge him.
"I feel like I had an entire mountain dropped on me."
"You fought Vancha and Arrow at the same time, so that's about the equivalent."
Renley cast his gaze around Mika's room - he'd never been here before. It was nice. In Mika's words, access to the royal suite was above Renley's pay grade. Which was bullshit because Arra and Kurda were also Generals back in the day, and they most certainly got to hang out up here. So Renley chalked his dismissal up to Mika being difficult for the sake of it. But we digress.
There were no other chairs in Mika's room, so Renley slowly eased himself up onto Mika's luxurious mahogany desk and made himself comfortable. Now he had a direct view of the damage to Mika's face, neck, collarbone, and arms.
"Yes, please feel free to sit on my desk." Mika told him sardonically.
"I'd sit in the chair, but you're in it." Said Renley, shrugging. Then he cautiously held up the bag of ice he'd brought. "May I?"
He half-expected for Mika to tell him he could shove the ice up his ass and get the hell out of here. But Mika nodded, and Renley called that a win. He studiously ran his eyes over the parts of Mika's body he could see, and decided the bruise on his left collarbone needed the most attention - he could practically see it darkening. He held up the ice pack and slowly applied it to the area. Mika let out a low hiss of pain and flinched at the sudden chill. He jerked back, but after a moment he relaxed, closing his eyes and leaning into the cold pressure.
"Good to see you're drinking water. I thought you'd be into the whiskey now." Renley remarked, noticing the glass on the desk.
Mika didn't open his eyes, but he chuckled tiredly.
"I'm full of surprises."
"I know you're being sarcastic, but yeah. You are, actually." Said Renley. And he couldn't help but smile.
"Oh?"
"If someone bet me you'd be involved in a three-way death match with your two colleagues, let's just say I'd have lost that bet."
"I wasn't just involved. I started it." Mika admitted with a hint of grim pride.
Renley whistled in surprise.
"You're lucky you were able to walk away! How the hell did it get to that point?"
Mika slowly opened his eyes, as though the effort required caused him serious pain.
"That's above your pay grade, General." He croaked out, flashing Renley a brittle smile despite the blood still caked to his lips.
"That line was only funny the first time. I'm serious. What could possibly drive you three to go at each other that hard? I love a good fight as much as the next vampire, but my gods, Mika... that was a shit show. And right before Paris Skyle's funeral?"
"It started as an argument. Words were said. Points were made." Said Mika evasively. He was pointedly looking anywhere but at Renley. Renley sighed, and extended his free hand and brushed his fingertips across Mika's cheek.
"Mika... Come on... talk to me." Renley whispered. His shoulders sagged slightly, and his front of chilly defensiveness seemed to thin. For such a notoriously standoffish individual, Mika sure melted for a crumb of affection if you happened to catch him at the right moment.
"We were all taking shots at each other." Said Mika slowly. "And I was no better than either of them, don't get me wrong. But one thing led to another, and it sent me back to a place I'd rather not go."
"I heard what Arrow said about Kurda-"
"Of all the things I DON'T want to talk to you about... I don't want to talk to you about Kurda the most." Mika growled. And just like that, the fuck-around-and-find-out wall was back up.
"Fine. I won't ask any more questions. All that matters now is you're in one piece." Said Renley. But he was relieved that Mika shut him down. He didn't want to talk about Kurda any more than Mika did. What Renley wanted was for Mika to know he could talk about Kurda if he wanted to.
"Debatable" Mika muttered. He pressed his forehead against his palm, wincing in pain as he did so.
"Well, you do look about ready to keel over and die... look at this, you're bleeding all over my perfectly good shirt!" Renley remarked offhandedly.
"For the second time this week, let me remind you I didn't ask you to sit here babysitting me."
Renley supposed Mika had a point there, and he smiled.
"The fact that it happened twice in a week is pretty fucked up. But it says more about you than it does about me, you absolute disaster." Renley kept his voice low and soothing, knowing Mika was perceptive enough to pick up on the affection hidden in his flippant words.
Mika looked like he was about to smile for a moment before winced again, closing his eyes in pain as Renley applied pressure to one of the deeper cuts on his forehead.
"You're lucky I was there. This could have been so much worse." Renley added more seriously. Because it was true.
"Of all the vampires in this mountain right now... It had to be you." Mika sighed.
"Aside from the two who were trying to knock your head off, I'm the only one in this place who's not afraid to manhandle you." Said Renley with a shrug, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Hey, let's get you to the medics. Yeah?"
"I'm good here, actually."
"Are you, Mika? This is your definition of 'good'? Because from what I can see-"
"Ren?" Mika cut him off, just a touch of plaintiveness in his voice and on his face.
"What?"
"If you really have nothing better to do than sit here, I need you to do it quietly."
"Counter-offer: I'll be quiet if you let me clean up some of those cuts." Said Renley diplomatically.
"You're the boss, apparently." Mika muttered, conceding to defeat.
"Alright, this balm will kill whatever germs are in there. You don't want an infection." Said Renley as he prepared to get to work. "Once the wounds are clean I can seal them up with some spit."
Mika nodded stiffly, eyes closed again.
"I remember they slathered me up with this after I got ripped to shreds during one of my trials." Renley reminisced. "The way it burned was almost worse than the Path of Needles itself. Hurt so much I threw up."
"Thank you for the commentary." Said Mika icily. He shuddered as Renley began to gently apply the stuff to his cuts.
"Sorry… sorry…" Renley murmured like a soothing mantra as he treated each laceration, wincing in sympathy each time Mika flinched away from the burning sensation. "It's okay… you're doing great. Here, you can hold my hand… or not. Okay, I'm almost done… just a few more to go, you're so close… aaand, finished! You did it!"
Mika kept his eyes closed and ignored Renley, catching his breath as the last of the pain subsided. Renley gave the balm a few minutes to do its job before moving back in and running a spit-slicked finger over each wound. Soon the majority of them had disappeared completely, leaving only a handful that were too deep or wide for vampiric healing saliva to knit back together. Ideally those could use stitches, but for now they were clean. And that was better than nothing.
"There." Renley breathed as he admired his handiwork, gently running his hand over Mika's cheek and through his hair, obsessed with how smooth those jet-black strands felt between his fingers. "No new scars for that pretty face. I mean, sure you're still black and blue but there's not a lot I can do about that."
"Thanks, Ren." Said Mika quietly - a rare display of simplicity-sans-sarcasm.
"Don't mention it. Any other external injuries I can mop up here and now?"
Mika grimaced and shook his head.
"Everything else is internal." Mika sighed, experimentally running a hand down his side and visibly cringing at the slightest pressure on his ribs.
"Then all you can do is rest." Said Renley. "I know you want to get back to that Hall and do your job, but-"
"I don't, actually." Mika cut him off.
Renley arched an eyebrow, puzzled by that.
"No?"
"Arrow hasn't been back since council, and Vancha the one before that. They can figure it out on their own. Or trash the place for all I care. I'm done with both of them."
"No you're not." Renley murmured. "For today, sure. But you're not done. You'll never be done. That's not who you are."
Mika shot Renley a moody little glare, but didn't seem to have an counter-argument. He did have a yawn, though.
"Bedtime." Said Renley firmly.
Mika rolled his eyes and swayed as he stood up, and Renley was certain he would've fallen if he'd been alone. But he wasn't alone.
Renley eased his arm around Mika's waist, careful to steer clear of his ribs. The trek from the desk to the coffin seemed to span miles rather than meters. He leaned heavily into the support Renley's strong arms offered, and with every step it became clearer that Mika was still hurting. He didn't say a word, though. His trembling limbs and ragged breathing were the only indicators of how wrecked he was. Renley practically had to lower him into the coffin lest he stumble and smoke his head on the lid. Mika exhaled a heavy sigh of relief as his body was finally able to lie still in his nest of warm blankets and thick pillows.
"I'll leave you in peace now. Get some rest. You're gonna need it." Said Renley in an undertone. He crouched beside the coffin and gently adjusted Mika's blankets. Dare we say, tucking him in?
"You can stay... if you want. I don't care." Said Mika just as softly. Those were about the last words Renley had expected to hear. He cocked an eyebrow innocently as he smiled down at Mika's bruised face.
"I thought you didn't like sleepovers. You've made it clear on several occasions you prefer the 'rail-then-bail' approach." Renley teased, despite the fact that his heart was melting.
"Doesn't count if we skip the 'rail' part."
"Damn, now I know you're really concussed. Maybe I should call a medic."
"I mean, we can rail if you want." Said Mika, far more smoothly than he should have been capable of in his condition. "I'm almost positive I can still make it work."
"Oh my gods, Mika! I am not fucking you like this. It might just kill you!" Renley laughed. He couldn't help it.
"Wow. You have a lot of faith in yourself, Ren. Now I kind of want you to try."
"Do you remember that night at your homecoming feast? I kissed you in the hallway and then you were like-" Renley lowered his voice and took on a mocking, pompous tone to mimic Mika's typical serious manner. "-'I am NEVER going to fuck you, Renley'-"
"In my defence, you were truly obnoxious that night. I could've killed you."
"- Then three months later you basically come crawling into my arms, all needy and touch-starved. Do you remember that?"
Renley remembered it. He remembered the hell out of it. Every last beautiful moment.
"If by needy and touch-starved you mean bored and vaguely horny, then sure." Mika replied impassively.
It took all of Renley's strength not to laugh.
"Shut up and move over."
He didn't know why Mika had a coffin about four sizes too big for him, but Renley didn't complain because there was plenty of room for two. He lowered his body into the coffin next to Mika as slowly as he possibly could, mindful of the injuries he couldn't see. It was strange to lay beside Mika like this, both of them fully-clothed and keeping it that way. It was hard to tell on the dark fabric, but there was almost certainly a good amount of blood caked into Mika's shirt. But shedding his clothes would've taken energy and flexibility that Mika clearly did not have at this point in the night, so Renley didn't pay it any more mind.
"I probably shouldn't be saying this, but watching you fight is easily the hottest thing I've ever seen in my life." Renley whispered into the darkness as he reached beneath Mika's shirt to stroke his back.
"Then why'd you stop me?" Came the dispassionate response.
"It was the right thing to do, and you damn well know it. Doesn't mean I wasn't a little turned on." Renley's palms continued to make their way around Mika's back, savouring every sculpted contour of muscle they'd already memorized.
"Happy to put on a show for you, General. If you ever want a repeat performance, just say the word. I'm here all week."
Renley chuckled under his breath and leaned closer so he could blaze a trail of delicate kisses down Mika's neck and shoulder, revelling in the way Mika relaxed at his touch. Within minutes, they'd both drifted off.
If you were here
I'd get you a beer and I would hang your coat
You wanna be home
So you roll up your sleeves and you sweat and breathe
This is a long road, so much more to go
Renley woke up early; he had several meetings to attend. If it was any other day in any other circumstance, Mika would've gotten out of bed with or before him because he simply did not sleep in. But to Renley's surprise and relief, Mika made no effort to get up. Renley welcomed Mika into the day with a "Good morning beautiful" and a lazy kiss, and smiled when he received a disdainful grunt in response.
Renley went about his business for the next several hours, and when he had a spare moment he snuck back to Mika's room with breakfast in tow. He was relieved to see Mika sitting up at his desk, but less relieved to see the glass of whiskey in his hand.
Seriously? Hard liquor at this hour?" Renley chided him. But he couldn't help but laugh. "You know what, never mind. That doesn't even make the top five most depraved things I've seen you do."
Mika glanced up at him, and a fleeting smile illuminated his still-bruised-still-flawless face.
"Out of curiosity, what are the top five?" Mika inquired causally.
Renley was more than ready to answer that question, in ascending order from innocent to x-rated but he didn't get far.
"For starters, the time you ate a handful of coffee beans-"
"I didn't have time to make coffee. Thanks, by the way." Mika interrupted as he delved into the edible offerings Renley had brought him. We've covered that Mika's a sucker for back rubs, but those only come second to a good snack. Especially if it's breakfast food.
"Don't thank me yet. Seba said you have to be in the Hall of Princes in half an hour." Said Renley apologetically.
"Well, I'm Seba's boss, actually. So I don't have to be anywhere." Mika scoffed.
"Whatever. I'm just the messenger."
Mika shrugged and rolled his eyes, but then stiffened.
"Wait, why are you the messenger? Did you tell people you're checking up on me? Do people know you slept here?" He snapped, eyeing Renley suspiciously.
Renley's heart sank at how quickly Mika tensed up while his face darkened in half-disguised fear that someone somewhere was onto them. Renley shook his head and touched Mika's shoulder in reassurance. Even though he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, he'd take their secret to the grave if it was what Mika wanted.
"Come on, Mika. I wouldn't do that to you. I know you want to keep your private life private and I don't blame you. Seba just saw me walking out of the Hall of Khledon Lurt with the plate. He knows we're friends, that's it. So asked me if I was on my way to you - and I wasn't about to lie to the Quartermaster. Then he said, and I quote-" Renley cleared his throat and adopted a stiff, formal tone to mimic Seba's: "'Sire Ver Leth does not deserve breakfast in bed. But that is very nice of you, General Azerion'."
"Well, he's correct on both accounts."
"Anyway, nobody knows about us. It's fine. Don't worry."
That seemed to be enough reassurance for Mika to relax - for now. But there was still a strange, faraway look in his eyes.
"Paris knew. I didn't tell him - he just figured it out. It was one of the last things we ever talked about." He admitted at last.
Renley experienced a strange feeling take hold in the pit of his stomach, a feeling he couldn't immediately identify. But it was intense.
"Fuck... I'm so sorry." He murmured. He instinctively walked closer to Mika and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, knowing the topic of Paris was likely still as sore as Mika's body. "We don't have to talk about-"
"No. It's fine." Mika cut him off calmly. He paused for a moment, as though internally debating the merit of returning Renley's physical touch. Then, with deliberation, he reached up and placed his hand on top of Renley's. Another pause, another silent but obvious internal battle before Mika spoke again: "He said you were good for me... and he was happy that I was happy."
Renley couldn't believe the words he was hearing, and almost resented himself for the childlike wonder that tingled through his body at the prospect of Mika maybe feeling more than he'd let on.
"…You told him you were happy?"
"No. It was implied." Said Mika. Both his tone and his expression were unreadable.
"...I make you happy?" Renley murmured. He didn't even try to keep himself from smiling.
"Put it this way, you haven't made my life any worse."
"Wow. Coming from you, that's practically a confession of love."
Renley heard the mistake as soon as he said it. Predictably, Mika flinched. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed Renley reproachfully. Inside, Renley kicked himself for using the L-word so carelessly.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Poor phrasing. But you know what I meant, right?" Renley corrected himself carefully. But Mika didn't seem interested in picking the statement apart any further, now that Renley had been given a warning. And to Renley's relief, Mika smiled. It was tense, but a smile all the same.
"Yeah. I knew." Mika sighed. "Well, I'd better get back at it. I'm sure Seba has a few more words for us before the funeral tomorrow."
"I thought you were Seba's boss."
"Only in theory. Just like how the Princes are technically equals - but we all knew Paris was king. Just one of the many secrets we don't tell the Generals."
Renley threw his head back and laughed.
"Oh, we knew. It was painfully obvious." He chortled. Mika shot him a withering glare and Renley sobered up for a moment. "Look at the difference in age and experience between Paris and the rest of you. Of course there was a power imbalance. But now he's onto his next great adventure, and that leaves you three to figure out who's going to fill that role. And I only say three because I can't picture Darren stepping in the ring with you, Arrow, and Vancha."
"No one's going to fill Paris's shoes." Mika argued, shaking his head. "That's not how it works. We're all on the same level."
Renley frowned slightly as he gazed back at Mika. That math didn't add up.
"That's not what it looked like yesterday." Said Renley. He expected Mika to snap back with some retort but he only sighed wearily and ran his hand through his hair as he always did when he had too much going on in his mind.
"I can't really argue with that." Mika admitted. "Speaking of yesterday... I can't hide out in here any longer. As much as I'd like to."
Mika stood up slowly, visibly wincing as his body dealt him a sharp reminder of the reckless choices he'd made less than a day ago.
"You sure you're alright?" Renley asked, knowing it was redundant.
"I'm the best." Mika replied, with a mystifying blend of sarcasm and pure conviction that no one else in the entire world could've quite pulled off. As if Renley could forget for a single second how obsessed he was quickly becoming with this man, Mika just had to whip out that attitude right now. With every passing day it became harder for Renley to play it cool. Gods, this was bad.
"Whatever you say." Said Renley, hoping it could pass for cool indifference. Mika nodded slightly, and Renley knew Mika knew neither of them were buying it for a second. He also knew Mika was as heartbroken right now as he'd been seven years ago when the alleged love of his life put a knife in his back. Then of course came the constant dread as the clan waged a seemingly hopeless war, the distance separating Mika and his human daughter, Desmond Tiny's disturbing prophecy, the loss of Paris Skyle, and finally the vicious civil war that had flared up between Mika and his two closest colleagues. It was enough to destroy even the strongest leader from the inside out.
"Hang in there, angel. It'll get better." Renley added on impulse. And maybe it would've been better received if he'd accented it with a bit of sarcasm. But he meant it with his whole heart and that very much came across in his tone. But it broke the spell. Mika grimaced in disgust as though someone nearby was microwaving tuna. "Seriously?" Renley added, rolling his eyes. "You're truly demented, you know that?"
"Huh?" Was Mika's utterly poetic comeback.
"You make that face any time I refer to you as anything other than -" Renley briefly ran down the list of some of the more vulgar terms of endearment they'd traded during their more heated moments "- but gods forbid I call you baby, or honey, or-"
"What's your point?" Said Mika, arching an eyebrow impatiently.
"I have no idea." Renley sighed, accepting defeat but grinning all the same. It was true - he didn't know what he'd hoped to accomplish with that. "Never mind. Have a great day at work... slut. There. You happy now?"
But Mika laughed, and it was genuine. And then nothing else mattered to Renley because that sound made everything else worth it. To cap it all off, Mika even pulled Renley in to give him a lazy, comfortable kiss on the temple before he left.
"Thanks for putting up with me." Said Mika quietly. "See you later."
Just hold on
In a minute it'll be over and gone
Gone, gone, gone, gone
I know, I know
That you go through a lot
I know, I know
That the pressure makes you hot
See I know, I know
'Cause you still know what you got
I know, I know, yeah
I'm rootin' for my baby
Mika spent the rest of the night with Vancha and Arrow, collaborating on whatever outstanding finishing touches Paris's sendoff required in the home stretch. Renley went to bed in his own room, not expecting to see Mika til the ceremony tomorrow. But it wasn't the first time Mika came wandering into Renley's room as if he owned the place, just as Renley was on the brink of dozing off. What was unusual was how Mika didn't say a word as he walked in.
"You lost?" Renley greeted him, smiling sleepily. "Get over here."
He lifted the edge of his blanket invitingly, and Mika silently lay down beside him, a few feet away. Renley respected the unspoken boundary - Mika was only cuddly on his own terms. Facing away from Mika, Renley closed his eyes again. And within minutes he felt Mika shift closer til his forehead was against Renley's back as though trying to borrow some body heat. Renley took that as his green light to roll over and fully envelop Mika in his arms like he'd wanted to ever since he heard the door open.
"How'd it go?" Renley whispered into the darkness as he held Mika against his chest.
"It went." Mika mumbled back, speaking for the first time since he arrived.
"Punch anyone?"
"No."
"Good. Anyone punch you?"
"No."
"Even better. Did you make nice with the others?"
"Vancha and I are fine now. But Arrow can still go to hell."
"One out of two isn't bad, I guess." Renley chuckled as he kissed Mika on the cheek. Then he added more seriously, "You ready for tomorrow?"
Mika let out a strained breath of laughter that didn't contain an ounce of actual humour.
"No."
Renley anticipated Mika's next move with razor-sharp precision, and he was proven correct when Mika tilted his head upwards to kiss Renley deliberately. Soft and slow at first, but being a master of efficiency he picked up the pace within seconds and it took all of Renley's willpower to pull away. Mika dead-eyed him with abject scorn, as though trying to figure out where Renley found the audacity to not reciprocate.
Renley sighed in fond exasperation. It wasn't the first time Mika appeared in this bed to distract himself from a personal calamity, but it was the first time Renley shut him down. Not that there was ever a moment where he didn't want to have sex with Mika. But the man still had multiple cracked ribs and almost certainly a concussion, so Renley felt compelled to do the right thing and cockblock both of them.
"It's not what you need right now. Sorry." Said Renley gently but firmly.
Mika emitted a low groan of disappointment but he accepted defeat surprisingly quickly and went limp again, settling for being snug and warm against Renley's slightly broader frame.
"We'll make up for it in a few days. Promise." Renley grazed his fingertips lightly across Mika's still-bruised face. "If it makes you feel better, you're still smoking hot even when you look like you got hit by a train."
"I guess I have to have something going for me." Mika chuckled wearily into Renley's collarbone.
"You're more than just a pretty face. Did I mention meetings don't move nearly as fast when you're not the one facilitating them? Gods, it just dragged on and on while you slept in." Renley added. "I have enormous respect for Sires March and Arrow, but their talents seem to lie beyond the realm of logistics and administration."
"You can just say they're disorganized idiots. You don't have to be polite." Mika grunted.
"Fine. You're smarter than both of them put together."
"Thank you."
"Beauty, brains, and brawn… the gods weren't playing when they made you." Renley added. He said it with a sarcastic laugh, but he meant it so hard.
But Mika clearly wasn't having any tenderness tonight.
"Charna's guts, Ren. Are you gearing up to ask me for a kidney or something?"
"Can I not give my favourite fuck-buddy a compliment?"
"Not when you make it weird like that." Mika snorted. But then he relaxed and teased Renley with a smug smile. "Glad to know I'm your favourite, though."
"To be fair, there's no competition. Literally." Said Renley.
Mika shifted his body so he could lay eye-to-eye with Renley, their faces barely an inch apart. They'd been hooking up for months, yet this type of intimacy was still brand new. He could count on one hand the number of times Mika had made eye contact with him during sex, and almost all of it was by accident. This made Renley's spine tingle in a way no amount of emotionless sex ever could.
"I'm the only one you're fucking?" Mika asked. There was a simple innocence to the question, a tone Renley had never heard from Mika's lips. Why he looked so surprised was well beyond Renley's comprehension.
"Since that first night, yeah. Don't look so shocked. You really think I have the energy to go rail somebody else after you're done with me?" Said Renley offhandedly. Because Mika wasn't the only one who could throw up an impenetrable wall around his heart when he needed a defence mechanism in a hurry.
Mika mulled that over as though they were simply trading ideas in a strategy meeting.
"You're right. I'm high maintenance. Still, interesting."
"Why? Don't tell me you have a side piece." Renley chuckled.
"You are my side piece." Said Mika decisively.
"Side of what?"
"Me, myself, and I."
"That's a really roundabout way to say we've actually been committed to each other this whole time." Renley smirked. But once again, before the words were out of his mouth he knew he'd overstepped. It was clear in the way Mika's body stiffened as he rolled out of Renley's arms, putting enough distance between them so that Renley could have a clear view of his reproachful glare.
"I didn't mean-" Renley began to backpedal redundantly.
"You know I don't do that. I can't. Not anymore. I thought we were on the same page. That was the whole fucking point of this." Mika cut him off, sounding more frustrated than outright angry. And maybe just a touch panicked. And just like that, back to square one. Renley took it all in stride, and backed down. It wasn't the time.
"We are, Mika. I'm sorry. Bad joke." Said Renley soothingly. "You were right, I'm only in this for career advancements." He added playfully. Mika didn't laugh.
"Sometimes I wish that were true, Ren."
"How do you know it's not? I could totally be trying to fuck my way to the top."
"Even if it worked like that, there's no way putting up with me would be worth a hypothetical promotion."
"There's a fine line between self-deprecating humour and a thinly veiled cry for help, sweetheart." Said Renley sardonically. "And you dance on that line at least eight times a day."
"Says the guy who doesn't even acknowledge the much less fine line between fuck buddy and psychotherapist." Mika snorted.
"This is your nightly reminder that the door is literally right over there." Said Renley. He feigned impatience, but the truth was he could've done this all night.
"Can we just go back to you objectifying me while I pretend it doesn't turn me on? Simpler times."
Renley laughed and pulled Mika back in, peppering his neck with tickling kisses. Mika pretended to struggle for all of three seconds before curling up with his forehead tucked against Renley's chest as if he owned it. And fuck it, at this point he pretty much did.
"You're un-fucking-believable, you know that?" He murmured in Mika's ear as he held him.
"I just have to survive this week, Ren." Came the sleepy response. "Soon this'll be over, and everything will go back to normal. You won't have to save me any more."
"Does that mean you'll go back to being cuddly as a cactus and affectionate as a wild boar?" Renley asked offhandedly as he ran his fingers through Mika's hair, hoping against all odds that wouldn't be the case.
"Hopefully." Said Mika.
"Then I'll enjoy this while it lasts."
Mika lifted his head and looked strangely up at Renley, like he was doing some heavy-duty contemplation. His lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
"What?" Said Renley softly.
Tell me, baby. Come on. You can tell me anything.
Mika rolled his eyes, then rested his head on Renley's chest once more and sighed,
"Never mind."
Renley minded.
He minded a lot.
See I've been dreamcatchin'
I caught that this is everlasting
Life filled with you, me, love and laughter
Happily ever after
So hold on
In a minute it'll be over and gone
Gone, gone, gone, gone