I'm Not Afraid

Notes

This fic is inspired directly from the song "I'm Not Afraid" by Tommee Profitt and I highly recommend listening to it if you haven't before because it is perfect for this ship in every way. Also, this is obviously Canon Divergent but the ending is more of a twist on what actually happened in canon during "The Last Threshold" so if you haven't read that book it could be spoilery/not make sense potentially. I will say that in this version of Canon "Companions" didn't happen. There is no reborn Companions of the Hall and while it's not really touched on in any depth I guess this canon has Drizzt as Mielikki's Chosen.

Also...Entreri's emotional constipation is the bane of my writing existence. Someone please let this man express himself in normal ways.

Anyway! Enjoy!

Musical Inspiration

Tommee Profitt Tracks

I'm Not Afraid

Vagabond

There's a Hero in You


The kiss came unexpected. In the middle of some spat that for the life of him he couldn't even remember clearly anymore. What was it they had disagreed upon this time that had led to the confrontation in Entreri's room? He'd been in the middle of explaining himself, there current course, and why he was right...

And then suddenly Entreri had grabbed him. He'd fought at first thinking he was being attacked...and maybe he was, he wasn't sure. Couldn't wrap his head around it just yet when the man had slammed him against the wall and kissed him. Rough and controlling as everything seemed to be with Entreri.

He'd frozen at first...not sure how he was supposed to react but as Entreri refused to back out, to give him any room, any choice but to accept it...he simply did. Drizzt closed his eyes and let himself fall into it more then he would have expected to. Then just as suddenly...it was over and Drizzt was just as stunned by him pulling away as he had been when it started.

"Shut up, Do'Urden. For once in your life...stop talking!" Entreri growled as he pulled out of the aggressive kiss.

Drizzt, pinned as he was against the wall, couldn't help but comply as the unexpected kiss had literally stolen his breath. The assassin's hands held him against the wall hard enough to leave bruises, finger tips digging into his biceps through his shirt. Entreri was breathing heavily and they were so close together that his breaths moved the elf's hair where it sat against his cheek.

There was a good minute where nothing happened and neither of them spoke. They just stared into each other's eyes and tried to catch their breath. Entreri's gaze was hard with a strength to it he'd never seen before, and Drizzt wavered under that intensity. He searched the assassins face for some answer...some explanation or deeper motive. Anything to answer the chaotic swirl of questions budding in his mind. He blinked and his head cocked slightly, brow furrowing, "...Entreri...wh-"

"Say, yes." the man said and there was something in the way he stared at him, the way he said it that killed the question on Drizzt's lips before it could fully form. In an instant Drizzt took in the man's form...the subtle tension in the way he was holding his body, the way his jaw muscle shifted in his cheek.

He suddenly came to the realization that he was being asked...not told. That if he said nothing or anything other than the word he wanted to hear, anything at all...then it would end. Entreri would let him go and walk away...and this would never happen again.

A million thoughts tried to crowd into his head all at once but he ignored them, pushed them aside to try and focus on what this meant. What it really meant...to him. No one else. Not the world...or the woman he shared his own room with...or the tasks currently at hand to be done.

...or the long dead...

Just him. Just him in that very moment with no thoughts of the future and what it could all mean in the end...if anything at all. His mind drifted back to the recent past, though the ordeal had felt a life time ago already, when Draygo had informed him of the fate of his new friends. The unexpected pain that had come when he thought of them being dead and gone...and that it hadn't been Dahlia who had pained him the most to lose. It was not her name that had come to his lips in sorrow...

Entreri's eyes narrowed and he let out a slow breath. He started to pull away. Panic flared through Drizzt suddenly at the thought that he had already waited too long, and if he needed no other answers that was enough.

"Yes!" He said, short and clipped and with more urgency than he maybe intended.

Entreri froze and he stared at him...as if he hadn't expected the response.

Drizzt swallowed hard, "...yes." he said and the word would barely have left his lips before Entreri was kissing him again. He was still stuck against the wall but Entreri had let go of his arms in favor of digging hands through his hair. Drizzt was no stranger to intimacy but something about this was different then his recent encounters. Something familiar in an old way, desperate, a feeling too long denied. Painful. Not in a physical sense but something deep inside ached in a way he hadn't felt since his first moments with Cat-

He stopped the thought before it could fully form and just let the feeling carry him. He didn't need to ask why or care about what it meant. He just let himself feel. Threw himself into the act with as much passion as the man in front of him and the two moved away from the wall. Entreri made a sound that seemed slightly surprised but it didn't cause him to hesitate in any way.

Entreri's hands moved down and tugged at Drizzt's shirt and they were forced to pull apart as the cloth was pulled over his head. He threw it to the side without a thought and suddenly he felt the back of his thighs hitting the foot of the bed. He didn't know when they'd moved that much but like everything else, he didn't question it.

Entreri made to push him backward onto the bed but Drizzt resisted, pushing forward into another kiss as he tugged at his belt impatiently to remove the rest of his clothing, and the assassin wasn't shy about returning the favor. There was a brief moment where neither wanted to be the first to take to the bed and Entreri broke away briefly, annoyance in his voice,"...do you want to do this or-?"

But Drizzt wouldn't let him finish before he had hooked one foot behind his and pushed him back onto the bed. He wouldn't give the human a chance to get back up before he would climb on top of him, straddling his stomach and leaning over him. His white hair fell around them like a curtain as he smiled down at Entreri, "You don't always have to be the one in control." he purred and his lavender eyes looked deeper than he ever remembered them before Drizzt pulled back, sitting upright.

Entreri was surprised but he found he didn't mind the position as much as he would have thought, "...have you done this before?" he managed to get out as he felt the Drow move backwards enough to grind against him teasingly...and it seemed very much like he knew what he was doing.

"...This?" Drizzt asked coyly and Entreri grimaced, "...with another man." he specified.

"...not another man, no." but the way he said it suggested he wasn't saying that he was unfamiliar with what they were about to do exactly.

Entreri frowned, "...Dah-" he started but the brief look of dark annoyance on the dark elf's face told him enough to not even finish the name. No...not her.

He suddenly had a bit more respect for the late Catti-brie.

As if just starting to mention the name of his current lover was some kind of trigger, Drizzt growled and fell over him, taking him into another, more aggressive kiss. Hands dug into Entreri's hair and pulled his head back so the Drow could trail kisses down his neck. Gentle at first and then he started using teeth. Nothing that would leave obvious marks...yet, but the threat was there. Even as he did that, he would rock his hips. Every roll forward Entreri could feel him, hot and hard against his stomach. Every roll back he would tease the man's own length until Entreri was breathing fast through his teeth to keep from moaning and his hands were digging into the outsides of Drizzt's thighs.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and he reached over, blindly, fumbling for his bag on the nearby table. Being so pinned it was a struggle but Drizzt noticed what he was trying to do and took pity on him. He let go of his head and reached over to grab the bag himself, easily finding what he was looking for and pulling out the bottle inside. It wasn't exactly something he'd planned on using for this exactly...but the oil he used to maintain his weapons worked just as well for this purpose.

Once again Drizzt took the lead and poured a generous amount of oil on his hands. He sat up and reached behind himself to grip Entreri, stroking him to coat him with the oil and this time Entreri did moan. He pressed his head back and couldn't stop himself from rolling his hips up in time with the ranger's strokes.

By the time Drizzt had prepared himself the same way Entreri was more than ready and it took a lot of effort to restrain himself when Drizzt pressed back against him, easing himself down onto the man slowly. Every few breaths he would pause and they'd both simply sit and try to breath as he adjusted to the size.

"...move." Drizzt breathed and Entreri wasn't going to argue, thrusting upward slowly as the Drow pressed back. Easing himself into the tight heat until finally he was fully sheathed within. Another moment where they both just sat, trembling and gasping. Entreri waited until he saw the slight grimace of discomfort on his face begin to ease and then he began to move again.

Drizzt hissed briefly at the brief sting then Entreri shifted his hips and the angle of his thrust and knew the instant he hit the spot he was looking for. The Drows expression shifted and his back bowed, hands coming down to press against the man's chest, "...ah...gods...there. Yes." he moaned, heading bowing forward.

That was all Entreri needed and he smirked. He reached up to grip Drizzt's hips tightly, moving with more force. Drizzt fell forward over him, hands gripping the covers of the bed under them as Entreri drove himself against that spot within him mercilessly. With himself pressed between both of their stomachs he didn't even need to touch himself.

It was all too perfect. It was like they were made for each other and Drizzt could feel himself building towards climax all too quickly.

"Artemis...gods...please." Drizzt gasped and the man reached up with one hand to grip the back of his neck tightly. The man pulled him down against him as his pace quickened and his thrusts drove deep, dragging against his sweet spot with clear intent. His peak came with a sudden intensity and his body stiffened and shivered in Entreri's grip. His mouth opened but no noise came out as he came across both of their stomachs and his body shook.

Entreri held him in place against him by the back of his neck even when he felt the warm splatter between them. He continued to thrust into Drizzt, pushing him through his orgasm and beyond that until the Drow finally did dig his teeth into him, a faint keening sound muffled by his skin. A couple more deep thrusts and the man finally came, emptying himself within the ranger with a shaky exhale.

Then it was over and they both laid there, limp and breathless in the aftermath.

Finally...after many moments, Drizzt pulled himself off of him and flopped onto his side next to him. The ranger shifted onto his back and they both stared up at the wooden beams of the ceiling trying to recover themselves.

"Ok...so...who won that one?" Drizzt asked somewhat breathlessly. Jokingly referencing their old obsessive need to find out who the better fighter was. Entreri couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.

"Let's call it a draw."

Drizzt turned his head towards him and smirked, raising an eyebrow at the suggestion that implied. None of it could end until they had an actual winner after all.

He cleared his throat and pushed himself up. They both knew they couldn't just stay like this. Not without drawing unwanted attention from their companions...or one at least in particular.

"You should clean up before you return...Dahlia might have some unwelcome questions otherwise." Entreri pointed out.

Drizzt grunted as he started pulling his clothes back on and sent him a sidelong look, "...but now she and I have more in common."

It was a jab Entreri wasn't expecting, "...you knew?"

"About you and her? Yes..." but he didn't sound angered by it. More resigned than anything else.

Entreri relaxed a bit and contemplated the Drow as he dressed, "...you don't care?"

Drizzt let out a long sigh as he dropped his shirt over his head, "I don't blame anyone...and Dahlia enjoys her games." he sounded tired.

Entreri pushed himself up on his elbows to watch him better, "...but you don't care." he stated with more emphasis.

Drizzt frowned and gave him a long look, "...Entreri...our current course is the right one, yes?"

"It's the necessary one." Entreri agreed though he was confused by the sudden change of subject.

"...and when it isn't?"

"We can cross that road when it comes."

Drizzt nodded somewhat absently, but it was clear by his expression that there was still a lot on his mind.

"What are you thinking?" Entreri asked.

"That this...it's...different."

"Going to the Dale?"

Drizzt nodded and gave him a look that had more open emotion in it than Entreri was entirely comfortable with, "If my course...becomes separate from theirs..." and he paused again.

Entreri thought he understood where this was going, "You mean to leave us?"

But Drizzt shook his head, "I didn't say that."

"You implied-"

"I imply nothing...but...Artemis?"

Entreri's eyes narrowed at the comfortable familiarity in his use of his first name in casual conversation like this.

Drizzt continued as if he didn't notice, "...If I choose a course that is apart from them...will you stay beside me?"

Entreri didn't know how to respond to that question right away. He knew what he was actually saying. What he was asking.

...and Entreri didn't know what his answer was.

He cleared his throat and pushed himself up into a seated position, facing away from him, "...you should get back to your room before anyone starts suspecting something."

Drizzt blinked and did a good job of not letting the hurt caused by that clear dismissal show but Entreri saw the way his expression fell, the way he tucked away the naked emotions on his face when he nodded. The elf turned away and his hand was on the door handle when Entreri's voice stopped him again.

"...I'll...consider it."

Drizzt looked back at him over one shoulder and smiled faintly.

"...because you ask it of me." Entreri continued, echoing the Drows words from more than a year before when the ranger had previously asked him to stay by his side. Then it had been purely for his own benefit...or so he'd told himself.

...and who was to say it still wasn't?

Drizzt's smile became wider, more genuine, and then he slipped out the door.

Entreri stared after him for a good few minutes, trying to orient his thoughts. They had a long road ahead of them still...and he suddenly had a lot of thinking to do.


/


Entreri couldn't help but watch after Dahlia as the woman walked away from their camp site. A look of deep concern creased his face as he considered their brief conversation. He'd seen Drizzt move away from the group but that hadn't been surprising. It was easy for himself and the others to shrug off what had happened to them. What's a loss of twenty years to some magic forest when all of the people you care anything about, and who care about you, are with you?

It was different for Drizzt. Coming here had been coming home for the Drow, he knew...and now suddenly...that home was taken away from him. Everything he had worked hard for...stripped away in his absence. For the people of Ten Towns it was easy enough to lay blame on the Drow...but for Drizzt, in his mind he had been gone only days. How was he really handling the idea of going from hero to hated exile once again in the one place he considered home? To have to earn their trust all over again...if it was even possible.

He knew enough about the elf to know the answer to that question.

It was easy for him to agree when Dahlia asked if they would be leaving when this place meant nothing to them. He could agree he had no personal desire to stay and it was certainly true enough, but the way she had instantly jumped up and left in the same direction he'd seen Drizzt go, as if he had made moves in some game without being told he was even playing. He didn't like that.

...and Dahlia did this all too often for him to trust her motives.

His instincts told him something was very wrong...and leaving those two alone right now was a terrible idea. His mind drifted back to the conversation he'd had with her about her earrings and as the minutes passed by with no sight or sound of either of them, that feeling got worse.

If I choose a course that is apart from them...will you stay beside me?

The Drow's words drifted back to him from that night they'd spent together and he suddenly couldn't wait anymore. Without a word to the other three he was on his feet and following the path the other two had gone.

"...what that be all about, ye think?" Ambergris pondered as they watched the Assassin leave, but the others could only shrug and shake their heads.


Entreri had planned on following to simply observe but when he arrived, he found the two already too engaged to be aware of him even if he'd simply walked up. It was hard to be fully aware of your surroundings when you were throwing weapons at each other as quickly as words. At first it seemed trivial...not the first time for sure that Dahlia had taken out her frustrations on the Drow through physical force. Not even the first time she'd drawn blood doing so.

Quickly he realized this was different. The snap of electricity when their weapons hit was unexpected and Entreri knew that Dahlia at least was serious. She wasn't pulling her punches and if she hit him she meant to do damage. Drizzt on the other hand was working on the defensive...ignoring every opportunity he had to retaliate and finish the fight which Entreri knew he easily could have.

He wouldn't...of course he wouldn't and Entreri was moving the second he realized that fact. Dahlia slumped as if defeated...and Drizzt let his guard down. In a second, faster than he could arrive to stop it, the split staff cracked into the ranger's head and sent him tumbling over the cliff side. Dahlia was too distracted by her own raging emotions and bloodlust, yelling after the fallen dark elf to notice the assassin stalking after her now.

Drizzt knew now that he was in trouble, that Dahlia meant to actually kill him...but he was in a sorry state. Entreri couldn't see the full extent of his injuries but he could tell one leg wouldn't hold his weight, he only used one hand to draw a weapon, and half of his face was masked heavily in blood. He stood as if he meant to fight for only seconds before he was on the ground again.

Dahlia was over him by then...and Entreri did what he had to. What Drizzt could not. It didn't matter that he cared about the woman...or that he could sympathize with her pain. It didn't matter that they had shared a connection at one point or another in their journeys together. She'd made this choice and if Drizzt was not strong enough to do what needed to be done then he would do it for him.

She raised her weapon and Entreri's sword took her through her spine. The tip came out between her ribs just under her left breast and her voice broke off into a garbled gasp. He held her up enough to angle her away from them so that her body did not fall on top of the Drow. The night would be traumatic enough without that.

When he turned back to Drizzt he was now almost completely prone and the scimitar had been dropped to the ground, though he didn't seem fully aware of his lost weapon as he looked up at the man standing over him.

"...Artemis..." he gasped and there was more pain in that single uttering then he could ever remember hearing in the elf's voice before.

Entreri grimaced and shook his head, "Not now. Let's get you back to camp." Emotional fallout could be dealt with later...he was far more concerned with his physical injuries right now. His head wound in particular looked bad and the sooner broken bones were set the better. He was glad they at least had a cleric with them capable of helping.

Getting him back to his feet proved more difficult then Entreri expected. His injured leg couldn't even be moved without significant pain and his one arm was twisted and swollen in a way that confirmed more than a few broken bones there as well. The change in position sent the rangers head reeling dizzily and he vomited into the snow. Entreri didn't judge him for this as it just confirmed what he already suspected of the seriousness of his head wound. He wrapped Drizzt's uninjured arm around his shoulders to support him and they began the slow trek back up the side of the mountain where their friends were waiting.

He wasn't sure how long it had been when he started to truly worry. They were going too slow...and as time went by Drizzt was staying upright more and more only because of Entreri's support. He thought at first he was imagining it but no...he was sure now. Drizzt was getting weaker quickly and the wind was picking up. He smelled snow on the frigid air.

"...Artemis...do you...hear that?" Drizzt's voice was weak enough that he only heard him because it was practically in his ear but he made an irritated grunt as he paused in their attempt to climb up some rocks. He adjusted his hold on the elf, ignoring the way he winced at the movement.

"...I hear nothing but this blasted wind. Save your breath." he growled back at him.

"...the music."

Music? That made Entreri stop what he was doing and he felt the hair on his neck stand on end in sudden alarm. For the first time since they'd started their climb he turned to get a proper look at his injured companion. He felt his heart turn to lead and drop like a stone into his stomach. Drizzt's face was listless and his eyes were unfocused, dark skin holding an unmistakable yellowish kind of pallor to it even in the darkness.

He knew this. He knew exactly what this looked like.

He turned away from him, twisting around slightly to look behind them. They had left a trail through the snow and it wasn't just from the fact Drizzt was dragging one leg as they went. This was dark...and he realized for the first time that they were trailing a not insignificant amount of blood behind them. There was no way this had come from his head wound. Drizzt was bleeding to death from somewhere.

How had he not noticed this?!

He let out a long string of curses under his breath as he moved them back down to a sturdier ledge and sat him down against a boulder. His head hung forward and his breathing was too fast and shallow. His eyes drifted shut and Entreri grabbed him roughly by the shoulder, shaking him, "Drizzt! Keep your eyes open!"

He could feel panic gripping him and he took a couple breaths to steady himself. It wasn't like him to lose control of himself like this. It wouldn't help anyone. He told himself this repeatedly as he ran his hands over Drizzt's body trying to find where he was bleeding. His arm looked ugly...but while it was swollen more than it had been the skin was unbroken. It was only when he came to his leg that he noticed the way it pushed outward in one spot beneath the clothing and the dark wetness that soaked it down to his boot.

He let out a breath and already had a pretty good idea what he was going to find. That didn't stop him from pulling out a knife and cutting the leg of his pants up all the way to his knee. A deluge of blood poured out from the uncovered wound where the shattered bone had torn through the flesh of his leg and stuck out grotesquely in the dim light.

It was worse than he had feared and the rhythmic way the blood continued to pump from the tear told him more then he wanted to know. He sat back on his heels as the blood formed a pool in the snow around them.

Drizzt was going to die here.

There was no way he could get him to help fast enough.

The break had torn the primary artery in his leg and he was bleeding out as he watched.

The logical part of his brain told him that.

And yet his hands were moving on their own to pull off his belt and wrap it around Drizzt's leg just above his knee. He pulled it as tight as he could manage but he still knew that it wouldn't be enough. Too little too late.

It couldn't end like this. The gods couldn't be this cruel. What was the point of it all?! Why drag them through all of that...just so it could end now?!

"...Artemis..."

Entreri ignored Drizzt as he scowled and grabbed at the Drow. He pulled his good arm back around his neck as if he intended to pick him back up again.

"...Artemis...please...I can't..."

"Come on...we need to get you to Amber-"

"Entreri!"

This time the voice cut through the growing din in his mind and he looked down at the ranger, the elf's dead weight pulling him into a crouch next to him. He had the look of someone who knew his time was over. Who had accepted it.

"...It's ok."

Entreri shook his head and glared at him, "No...you can't just-"

"I'm not afraid." and he smiled at him as he said it.

He let his arm fall away from his neck, barely registering that it remained resting on his hand where it lay. Drizzt let himself rest back against the rocks and his head fell back allowing him to look up at the stars that peaked through the clouds. There was a lingering silence and Entreri found he couldn't look at the dying dark elf any longer and turned his gaze skyward as well.

"...why did it take us so long?" the unexpected question pulled him back and he found Drizzt looking back at him with a sad expression.

A lump formed in his throat which he swallowed against painfully even though he ignored the question. He knew the answer...but it meant nothing now. Pride. Simple foolish pride. The elf had held out a hand to him more times than he could count...and he had returned it with a blade, or an equally sharp rebuttal, each and every time. How different could things have been...

He shook his head and shook away those thoughts at the same time. They did no one any good now.

Drizzt sighed and then grunted with the effort it took to move his own arm, breath quickening as he struggled to reach into one of his pouches and pull something free. He stopped, unable to finish, and gasped, "...take her...please."

Entreri looked down and realized what he had tried to pull free. Guenhwyvar.

"Keep her...safe...for me?"

He picked up the statuette but gave Drizzt a look of disbelief, shaking his head, "Drizzt...I don't think-" he started to say that he doubted the cat would ever listen to him...she was as likely to eat him the second he dared try to call her then ever be his friend but Drizzt interrupted him, seemingly reading his thoughts.

"You will earn it..." he said with a small smile, his head fell back again and he slumped weakly. He was fading fast now and every breath seemed like it could be his last.

Drizzt swallowed and looked to struggle for a moment, his breath suddenly hard to come by, staring up at the stars as he felt himself drifting away,"...don't..." and Entreri had to lean forward to hear him over the wind, "...don't...forget me."

And as his breath escaped him with those words the light faded from his eyes. He didn't take another.

Entreri thought he was prepared for this. He'd get up and walk away as he always did when life went ass on end for him...go back to the group, tell them they killed each other. Move on from this icy hell.

He immediately flinched.

Don't forget me.

But that's not what he meant...because how could he...how could he forget someone who had invaded his life constantly since the day they met. Who had changed the very course of his existence the instant they first clashed. He didn't mean him personally.

Don't let me be forgotten.

Don't let who he was disappear. Don't let the lies become his truth. Don't let the people of the Ten Towns become the world.

And here he was...not a minute after...and his first instinct had been to lie! As if the only reason Drizzt was lying here as he was wasn't because he would never have struck Dahlia with that kind of intent.

Suddenly something snapped in him. He couldn't do this! How dare he put this on him! How could he possibly do what he asked?! How could his words, the words of a killer, do anything more then make matters even worse?

He abruptly reached out and grabbed him, shaking him, as if that would do anything to change what was happening, "You can't do this!"

He looked down, away from him. He was angry...but he wasn't...because that's not what this was. A vice was clenching his chest and throat in a way he hadn't felt in a very long time. In a way he denied himself far too often...and even now he felt he would likely rupture something if he didn't let the pressure out.

Then a faint sparkle caught his eye and he realized it was his dagger. The ruby set in its hilt caught the faint light of the night sky and glittered. A sudden thought, a realization, hit him.

Would it be enough? Was it too late? Did he have enough to give?

...if he didn't...did he care?

He scrambled to pull the dagger free from its holding and pressed the hilt into the palm of Drizzt's uninjured hand, curling the ranger's fingers around it. Entreri held it like that with his own hand for a moment.

Please. Please work.

Then he slid his hand down over the blade, letting the edge cut into his skin enough to draw blood.

He held it like that...but nothing happened. The dagger didn't activate and Entreri's eyes closed. He wasn't a religious man. He had no god he called his own...but at that moment he prayed.

Not for me...

...for him.

There was music on the wind suddenly. Soft, but familiar, and when he opened his eyes there was the faintest stream of blue light forming around Drizzt's hand and as he watched it extended towards him, wrapping around the blade and his own hand. For a brief moment he felt a warmth as if someone was holding him there...then the light faded away.

He had only a second to ponder at this mystery before the blade in his hand pulsed and he felt an agonizing pull as the dagger ate at his life force. He'd used the thing many times in his life...but he'd never actually felt it's sting first hand. His first reaction was to let go...

...only he couldn't.

He had begged a Goddess to save the rangers life...offered himself...and she'd accepted. He didn't get to say no now.

As the dagger continued to pull at his life force, he couldn't help but let out a faint, bitter chuckle. Of course...the one time the gods cared to think of him...it'd be the death of him. He shook his head...because...he found he didn't actually care. If it worked...he didn't care.

Drizzt didn't look any different at first...but then he shuddered and his hand gripped the dagger tighter. He gasped in a shallow breath and instantly his color began to improve. Entreri saw the blood begin to run from his leg again but it became less and less as he watched, until it stopped bleeding completely. A loud cracking noise and the broken bone suddenly set itself.

This was enough of a shock that Drizzt's eyes abruptly cleared and he let out a strangled scream, curling forward. He pulled on the dagger and it pulled Entreri off balance. He tried to catch himself but he was too weak.

Drizzt gasped for breath and tried to orient himself to what was happening, then Entreri was falling against his legs. Memory told him that it should have hurt but instead the wound that had come very close to taking his life only ached vaguely at the rough movement. He felt energy pulsing up his arm and he turned to look. It didn't take him long to understand what had happened...what Entreri had done and, horrified, he dropped his hold on the weapon.

Entreri felt the pull stop just as his vision had started to waver. The force that had kept him holding it vanished when Drizzt let go and the dagger fell unceremoniously into the blood-spattered snow. So Mielikki hadn't forced him to die for her ranger after all...she'd simply put his life in Drizzt's hands.

So Drizzt stared down at Entreri and Entreri stared right back, neither having the strength yet to move.

"...Entreri, you-"

"Don't." Entreri snapped, stopping him from whatever sentiment he was about to spout, "...I'm not...cleaning up your messes." he said, trying to sound appropriately angered though he could tell by the look of understanding, and deep affection, in the Drow's eyes that he wasn't convincing anyone.

He huffed and forced himself to sit up, off of the elf's lap, though he grunted with the effort it took, "...your leg?"

Drizzt blinked and flexed the leg in question. He still winced as the muscles cramped, "...still hurt...but no longer broken I think-"

"Great." Entreri said without waiting for him to fully finish talking and, with far more effort than he liked, regained his own feet. He took a moment to blink away the lightheadedness that followed, "We should go...before we end up freezing to death instead."

When he turned back he saw the look of quiet exasperation on the Drow's face and Drizzt didn't instantly take his hand when it was offered. He did eventually but it took them both a good minute to get him fully back upright without one of them collapsing. When he was finally upright Drizzt tentatively put his weight down on his leg but hissed and grimaced.

"Never mind...It's still broken."

Entreri simply shrugged and didn't even hesitate to pull Drizzt's arm around his neck to help support him. He scowled when he saw the surprised look Drizzt sent him which turned into a smirk, "...what?" Entreri snapped.

"You're in danger of becoming a good man, Artemis Entreri."

His eyes narrowed at that, "...I will throw you off of this cliff again, Drizzt Do'Urden."

Drizzt just continued giving him that damned look of affection and Entreri couldn't deny anymore that the feeling was mutual.

"...what did you do?" Entreri asked as they started moving again and Drizzt's smile faded abruptly. He flinched hard and Entreri almost felt sorry for asking.

"...I told her I meant to stay here." Drizzt explained quietly.

"With or without her?"

"Preferably without her..."

Entreri sighed and shook his head as he realized the full depth of Dahlia's insanity...and the true meaning of the studs in her ears. How many lovers had met the same fate the moment they decided they no longer desired the title?

"...chasing ghosts?" Entreri asked, an accusation Dahlia had used often when it was clear that Drizzt had not given up on his old love despite his relationship with the elven woman.

But Drizzt shook his head and smiled at him, "...no. No more ghosts."

Entreri stopped to regard him curiously and the look he was getting told him enough, he opened his mouth to protest but Drizzt interrupted him with a kiss. This wasn't like the ones they'd shared before. There was no aggression here. No frenzied need.

He didn't pull away from it.

"...damn you." he said simply when he was once again able to.

Drizzt just looked amused, "...you had your chance."

Entreri just shook his head and they continued their climb.

"...and Entreri?"

"Hmm?"

"...give me back my cat."