Playing God
By GoldenEagle
Author's Note: Again I'm a little late at this section. But I do hope you enjoy! -GE
Chapter Eight: Playing at the Sleep over
By the time Dilandau Albatou had returned from his unsuccessful attempt at killing the king of Fanalia, he was more than a little unhappy. He was enraged, in fact. The only real thing good that had happened was the damn Schezar had taken a blow that would hopefully kill the bastard. His men had come back, received any blows he had decided to throw at them loyally, and then returned to their own rooms for the night. Dilandau had no yearning to see Siren for the night, since she grated on his nerves so much. So he returned to his room, his fists clenched, his entire body aching from stress. He was surprised to find that the lights to his room were on when he entered and even more startled to find some sort of creature jumping onto him and running up and down his body. He struggled to grab the creature as it jumped to his head then disappeared down the front of the breastplate of his armor, and then went back to his head, where it chose a different course. It chattered in his ear as it ran about and the general tried to grab hold of it unsuccessfully. "Get the hell off me, you little beast!" He yelled out. Was he losing his edge? Could he not even destroy a small rodent?
With one final burst of effort, Dilandau threw the demon creature from his back. It skidded on the slick, cold metal floor, screeching the entire way. A string of curses left his mouth and he slammed his fist into the wall, only to add to his rage as sudden pain echoed up through his knuckles. Damn that Schezar, damn the evil rodents, but most of all, damn that Van Fanel!
"You really should watch your temper, Dilandau." His head snapped up at the slightly slurred words. How had he not noticed anyone in his room? His hand went to the hilt of his sword before a slight movement in the deep shadows of the doorway to his private restroom stopped him. "George was just trying to get to know you."
"Siren, what the hell are you doing in my room?" He half growled and half hissed as he made out the petite form that was slowly moving into the light, into view, that vile monkey on her shoulder, bobbing up and down curiously.
"I thought we could talk." She said with a vocal shrug. Dilandau took a step forward, his throbbing hand curled tightly into a fist. He opened his mouth to say something soon forgotten, raised his right hand as if to hit her...
And she stepped into the light.
He froze. The entire left side of her face was three times the size it should have been, a deep purple. Her jaw was swollen, making it hard for her to form words. Her left eyelid drooped down just a bit, her lip had stitches in it. Her face was a bruise on the left side. His words evaded him. None of his Dragon Slayers had ever looked as battered as this after he had physically reprimanded them.
"Shocked, Dilandau? Don't be. It's just a bruise, though I think, by the look on your face, you really didn't know you had hit me so hard." She muttered, her words slurred together because of the swelling, as she saw the expression on his face. She started into a smirk, but that soon turned to a sharp grimace, and then she forced her face to fall calmly barren. Her jaw was clenched, though, and there was the slightest twitch in her right cheek.
"What do you want?" He asked bluntly as he turned from her. Despite his pride and obvious strength, his torso seemed to slump forward a little bit from exhaustion. He really had no time to deal with her right now... He took off the top most of his armor and suit, leaving him in the mucky leather pants and a damp tank top. He threw himself onto his large bed, no longer caring if the Mystic Moon freak saw his obvious intentions for rest or not. In fact, it should be a hint to her that she needed to leave. Soon.
"I thought maybe we could make a deal."
"A deal? What kind of deal?" Dilandau asked, pushing himself onto his elbows as he focused in on her curiously.
She seemed to fidget uncomfortably as she scratched the back of her head. He imagined her expression would have been that of a sheepish smile if it had not been for the state her face was in. "It's kind of embarrassing... But I grew up in a big home and had to share a room with two of my siblings. Even when I went to... prison," (she seemed to choke slightly on this word, as if it were poisoned), "I wasn't entirely alone. The room you've put me in is rather... empty, I guess, and some of the common guards told me that the electricity to the dorms are shut off to preserve energy at night-"
Dilandau's sudden laugh interrupted her. He had momentarily forgotten his earlier fight with Van and the Heavenly Knight in this unexpected form of entertainment. "Are you telling me, oh great murderess, that you are afraid of the dark? Afraid of being along?" With that he laughed again. She arched an eyebrow in annoyance, then hissed in a breath with a grimace and let her face settle back down.
"Look, all I'm saying is that I can't sleep in that room, and a sleepy me is a dangerous me. I don't know any of the others, so I was wondering-"
"Oh, no." He interrupted her again. "You can go sleep anywhere you choose, but not here. No."
She would have jutted out her bottom lip to pout if it weren't for the bruising. "But Dilandau, I have a generous offer, and you're the only one I know. I offer my services for just a few hours of sleep in here. I could lay out on the floor..."
Dilandau flopped back down onto the large mattress. "No. I don't want your services, whatever those may be. You can go sleep with Nariya and Eriya, for all I care."
There was a long pause and then he felt a part of the mattress next to him dip down with extra weight. He had no time to react before a body was pressed down into the small of his back. Is she sitting on me? And even before he could object, she spoke. "Nariya and Eriya? You don't mean those freaky cat things?" She said in disgust. So she's been out exploring since I've been gone... Dilandau thought in mild amusement. "They're disgusting. Quit squirming, Dil. You're too tense."
He felt her hands slide beneath his tank top and begin to press into his back. He tensed a moment before he relaxed. This felt quite nice. She kneaded the muscled in his back with a certain expertise. Pains, aches, and stiffness that he had forgotten had once not been there subsided beneath her touch and he let out a low growl of pleasure as her fingers and palms continued their work. Heat spread through him, like a fire, from her touch, calming him. A small tremor caught him by surprise, a tremor that was too familiar from the dining hall scene, rippling through him, making him shutter. His eyes snapped open and he went rigid. "Why so stiff all the sudden? It's not healthy to be so wound up." Siren said quietly. She leaned over him and he could feel her body pressed tightly against the curves of his back. Another quake, another tremor... Gods damn it, quit it! He yelled at himself mentally. "This is what I could do for you, every night. You'll fight better, have more concentration... All it costs is a small square of space on the floor in your room." She whispered, her breath in his ear, her lips brushing against the skin on his neck, her hair tickling his cheeks. Her arms snaked around his torso gently so she could conform even more to his shape. This didn't help calm Dilandau's momentary bursts of quaking.
"And what if I demand you come? My order is all powerful on this ship." He hissed out, not moving his head, his voice somehow lost in the shivers that sprang up his spine. His pupils were turned to the corner of his eyes and he could just make her out above him.
"Then I'd find ways to hurt you. I know quite a few ways to give you some pinched nerves. Come on, Lord Dilandau." She had regained some control of the pain originating from her face, and her lip jutted out slightly, her words dipping low into a pout. Dilandau sighed.
"We'll try it out." He said wearily. He felt her allow a slight smile against the sensitive skin of his neck. She then pulled herself up and resumed her work on his back, his arms, and later his chest. Her hands cramped as she continued to massage the stress from him.
He did not tell her to leave after she had finished because he had fallen asleep beneath her fingers. So she spent her first night of many on the floor, George curled against her side. And the next morning Dilandau Albatou woke a little more at ease, and his Slayers wondered at his lighter mood. He trained better that day, the stiffness melted away by the heat of her touch. She returned the next night, with blankets and a pillow from her original room, and set about her work of massaging him down, even after he fell asleep, until she was done, a slight sweat at her brow from effort. She then lay herself on the floor, her last dim thoughts in the pitch darkness of the room was how much better she liked Dilandau, in his calm state, when he lay asleep, and not when he was awake.
Author's Note: If any of you didn't get that, Siren's basically become Dilly's little massage therapist in return of some shared rooming (cause she's afraid of loneliness and darkness... awww...) And so there it is! Please review!
