Bo was in her room on the bed sobbing in Kenzi's arms.
Bo told Kenzi everything and Kenzi was able to determine that more or less what Tamsin told her was correct.
It hurt Kenzi to know that Tamsin was a victim for once and she worked really hard all her lives to not become one.
She also felt for Bo too. Bo had made up her mind that she would go with Lauren first, then after Lauren move on to Dyson.
As morbid as that sounded, it was what Dyson was hoping for while still giving Lauren that chance too. Bo needed people close to her and between those 2 it was more than a challenge to occupy her. But 3?
Things changed quickly after she left, Kenzi deduced. Bo needed to confide in someone without being held back by the relationship status and that someone was not surprisingly, Tamsin. Tamsin had earned Bo's trust much like Kenzi, but there was a twist.
Tamsin, Kenzi noted, not only became close like a sister but she quickly became more than that. Bo never fed from Kenzi not counting the time she asked her to heal Hale but Tamsin was quickly becoming her regular. Tamsin also slept with Bo consistently which made their bond even stronger because at the end of the day, Tamsin was who she bedded with even though she would roll in the sheets with Dyson, Lauren and others every so often. Bo never bedded consistently with ANY feeds but only with Dyson and Lauren. Oddly enough, Tamsin and Bo bedded many times without feeding which meant that Bo was connecting to Tamsin and it had nothing to do with feeding.
All this put Tamsin in the same category as Dyson, Lauren and even surpassed Reiner Kenzi surmised.
Bo, her sister, was a wreck. Kenzi still saw Lauren's stuff dotting the room. She had moved in sort of and she saw Bo pull out Tamsin's night wear from the night stand and clenched it close to her chest the whole time.
Bo finally found sleep clutching onto Tamsin's sleep wear and in Kenzi's arms. Bo had made arrangements so that Dyson or Lauren didn't show up that night.
"This is really effed up Bo," Kenzi murmured to a now sleeping teary eyed Bo as she herself drifted to sleep as well.
Kenzi found herself waking up every now and then to Bo just mumbling, "Do I love you, more than you know." Oddly enough, Tamsin was in love with Bo and made that very clear to her, so to say that meant WHAT exactly? Bo also didn't say the other part to it, 'But not like that' any more. But even if she did, it was contradictory. There was a deeper meaning which Bo wasn't verbalizing or she was just plain confused.
Kenzi woke up early in the AM to Bo deep in thought sitting at the edge of the bed.
"She HATES me Kenzi and maybe it's well deserved," Bo confessed loudly as calmly as she could.
"Oh, that's not true. She's just hurting and that is her way to cope," Kenzi comforted rubbing her eyes then stretching.
"I read her aura Kenz. Tamsin's aura use to glow so beautifully around me, even when we disagreed. Now, it's muted. Like a light switch, she just turned me off," Bo asserted factually.
Arin was right outside her door hidden in the shadows. She wanted Bo to be awake to see the end of her life but was there long enough to hear her mumble and cry out for her sister in her sleep. She also needed Kenzi to leave since Arin and Tamsin had nothing against her.
No wonder Tamsin was in that much pain Arin thought. Bo may have agreed to move on without Tamsin, but Bo's heart refused to let her go. WHY? Bo could always find another to fill that void. She was a succubus after all.
"Give her some time Bo. I am your sister and I am here for you. As for Tamsin, I know her too. You need to give her room to breathe. She is a person, just like you and has wants and needs," Kenzi bit her bottom lip not knowing what to say but continued, keeling behind her Bo and giving her a back rub.
Kenzi then asked, "Bo, do you want to be with Tamsin?"
Bo just thought that was a rather obvious question and just replied, "Of course, she's a good friend and she's family."
Kenzi knew she had to be a little more blunt, "No Bo. I mean do YOU want Tamsin?"
Bo thought about this was a little defensive but the back rub helped, "Yea Kenz, I do."
Arin drew her dagger and made ready to throw it. If that succubus said one thing wrong about her sister, she'd kill Bo regardless if Kenzi was there or not.
Kenzi then continued cautiously, "Would you feel jealous, if she was back, but went out with Dyson again?"
Bo hesitated but confessed in defeat softly hissing, "Yea."
Kenzi then logically asked, "Do you want Tamsin all to yourself?"
Bo put her hands up defensively, "It's not that easy….."
Kenzi interrupted, "Just ANSWER it Bo. Yes or No."
"YES!" Bo roared and paced frantically throwing her hands up in the air.
Kenzi knew to back off and just listen.
Arin kept on eye on the Succubus as her wits end.
"Yes I want Tamsin to myself but I can't have her! My love comes with a curse darnit! The LAST person I want to screw over is Tamsin!" Bo stated angrily.
"Dyson! I LOVED HIM. Then the Norn took his love and by the time I got it back, I had MOVED ON. Lauren! She cheated on me with Nadia and she then broke my freaking heart telling me that I'm the worst girlfriend ever and that I was NEVER really there for her! I LOVED HER TOO. Reiner! He fought for US. He fought for our relationship, but I might as well have KILLED HIM MYSELF when I took out the Una Mens!" Bo spat out in disappointment anger, and exasperation.
"So here I freakin' am!" Bo yelled to the whole world raising her hands to the sky. "Lauren is back and I can have a second chance with her. To be there for her and I want that. But noooooooo I can't stop there 'cus I'm fracked up in the head! Lauren is human and will have a human life span. Dyson will succeed her and do I want it? YES! I love them BOTH."
Arin was about to throw. That messed up slut of a succubus had no right to steal a Valkyrie's heart much less her sister's. She wanted everyone and everything. How selfish of her. She was toying with people's emotions and that incensed her. Tamsin was NOT a THING, but a PERSON.
"Tamsin. SHIT! She snuck up on me Kenz! I love EVERYTHING about her. I mean EVERYTHING! The way she supports me. Her, humor, honesty, her wit, and her bad ass-ness. She is my equal and we're not even talking about feeding or sex! Sure she did crappy stuff before, but she never faltered around me. And she tried to turn me into the wanderer, but she was coerced and even then she didn't go through it. She waited for me Kenz. SHE WAITED while every single other person MOVED IN on me or at least tried to. She's PATIENT. She took a bullet for me and wanted me to end her life so that she would die with honor. She's isn't self-serving after all. She took care of me although she is an instrument of death. She GENTLE and KIND. She has my back, 100 percent and as such, she protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. I…. I…"
Bo abruptly turned away from Kenzi toward where Arin was hiding and for a moment she thought Bo saw her and was talking directly to her. Bo's voice then transitioned from being at her wits end to one of sorrow. Arin knew that expression for she herself experienced it when Tamsin was cast out of the sisterhood because of the deal she made with Trick.
Bo hesitantly moved forward shielding her shameful actions, her regret, and her fear away from Kenzi and just stammered out, "I don't know …. If .. if what I just did to her, if she will preserve. Tamsin is strong, but I fear I killed her heart and…. And… vanquished her beautiful soul. Tamsin didn't know that love is like a flame. Good to keep you warm… but don't get too close, 'cus it burns like a mother effer."
"Bo Bear," Kenzi asked hugging her friend from behind, "Sounds like you found Ms. Right and not Ms. Right now."
"Yea," Bo said looking to the ground in shame, "I …. I.. got gun shy Kenz. Everything was going great until Tamsin called me her girlfriend…. Then… then… I freaked out and got … got… sc… SCARED! OK!"
Bo yanked herself free from the hug and approached her bed room door.
Arin pulled herself further into the shadows.
Bo roared, "I screw up ALL the relationships I am in and just when I thought I could be OK with Lauren and Dyson, BOOM! Tamsin pops up out of nowhere. NO ONE IS PERFECT! No one! So I settled for 2. Dyson and Laruen. You put the 2 of them together, that was pretty darn close. But SHIT! Tamsin. Oh my god. Things were great without the sex, but every time I fed from her, I literally forgot about EVERYONE. And when we made love, it was … was heaven….. I didn't know a good thing until it was gone Kenz. I'm a succubus, and Tamsin saw me as perfect, but no. It was the reverse."
Bo just sank into the bed next to Kenzi and just felt deflated.
"I hate to do this to you Bo," Kenzi meekly added, "But due to Tamsin being partially bonded to you, the more you miss and yearn for her, the more pain she will be in the farther away she is from you."
"WHAT," Bo asked seriously snapping her gaze to the small Russian.
"Tamsin revealed her heart to you and told you that she loved you. That is when the bond partially formed. It would have been fully formed if you proclaimed you loved her to back," Kenzi replied.
Bo then asked, "What the heck? What is the purpose of this bond?"
"I looked it up, and the Valkyrie bond is meant to summon them when you need them the most. It also helps them predict your feelings and needs better. They become your strength where you are weak. It is meant to keep a pair of lovers together through thick and thin. However, if they bond to you even partially, they will feel your needs even though you didn't return their love. The bond will then punish them for not fulfilling those needs. This is part of the curse all Valkyries avoid, but Tamsin did it for you because…. Because….. it was worth it," Kenzi summarized trying to soften the blow.
"CRAP, so this whole time Tamsin was putting up a brave face but I was HURTING her this whole time?!" Bo shot up frustrated. "How do I get this to stop?!"
"Well either you tell Tamsin that you are madly in love with her and you two live happily ever after or you have to stop WANTING her," Kenzi just laid it down plain as day.
"LOVE from a succubus is already bad idea but even worse coming from me, Bo the Unaligned 'home wrecker' succubus. I just ruin things all the time and right now after all the CRAP I put Tamsin through with our freaking talk and now this bonding stuff," Bo looked away and began to weep profusely, as Kenzi put her arms around her.
"SAY it… Kenz.." Bo whimpered, "I'm a fucking horrid m… m….monsterrrrr!"
Bo kept repeating the word 'monster' over and over and Arin was actually moved by Bo's confession. Bo did love Tamsin too, but maybe it was just the wrong timing. Bo just needed more time to sort her life out too. Tamsin had life times to find out what she wanted, but Bo was still a very young Fae. Arin made the erroneous assumption that Bo knew what she wanted in a relationship, but in reality, succubi and incubi don't form those since they are purely lust driven. But oddly enough, Bo's description of love was about right and she DID know what love was after all. Tamsin, Arin deduced, did manage to capture the heart of a succubus which is unheard of but what to do now?
KILL Bo? No. Bo was ok for being a messed up succubus.
Let her live to keep torturing her sister indirectly via the bond? No. There had to be a way to keep Bo from yearning for her sister like that.
It looked like Bo was going to be there a while, so Arin sheathed her dagger and tip toed like a ninja down stairs. She silently crept into the kitchen then searched for some beer in the fridge and she found several bottles of Dark Belch, Tamsin's favorite. There she sat for at the bar for a time quietly formulating what to do with beer in hand.
Bo was still trying to compose herself and Kenzi got up to get her a glass of water when they both heard the front door open and close.
Kenzi and Bo looked at each other trying to figure out who it was when a familiar voice just stated loudly, "I'm raiding the fridge for beer! Don't even THINK about trying to kill me with your puny underdeveloped fighting skills."
"Tamsin?" Kenzi and Bo stated looking at each other in shock.
Kenzi jumped into action, "You get more presentable, and I'll see what Tammers is up to ok?"
Bo just nodded and scampered off into the bathroom to clean up.
Kenzi made her way down steps and skipped behind the bar to the fridge to pull out another beer and opened it. She took a sip assessing the Valkyrie in front of her. It looked like Tamsin except this Valkyrie was composed. The Tamsin she knew was a mess.
"Arin-nator?" Kenzi looked questioningly at the Valkyrie.
Arin just nodded back taking a drink but got to business, "Tamsin is in a deep sleep since Bo caused her so much pain that she wanted me to end her life after you both left Valhalla. I WAS here to kill Bo so that Tamsin's torture would stop."
"Emmmmm and now?" Kenzi asked warily looking for weapons in the kitchen drawers she slowly opened.
"Relax feeble human. If I wanted you dead I would have killed you both hours ago when Bo was balling her eyes out in her room," Arin clicked.
"Soooooo you heard it all huh?" Kenzi asked trying to find out what she knew.
"Yep," Arin took a drink, "Bo is just a messed up succubus that can't take perfection. No surprise there. You can't top the love of a Valkyrie, but as much as I'd like to chat, I need to wean Bo off of Tamsin so she doesn't live in constant pain. Tamsin is in no way ready or will she ever slink back to Bo because of the humiliation she endured. She needs lots of time but I don't want her to be in constant unbearable pain due to that slut succubus fawning after her every minute. SO. Pretend I am Tamsin and I will be Bo's friend even though she dumped then tortured my sister via the bond and is still doing so. I am not coming back to the gang, but I will hang out here with Bo every couple of weeks or so and stay the night. That way Bo will not feel a total loss for Tamsin."
"So you'll just start making yourself more sparse, extending your time away from us in hopes that one day Bo will be able to let you… emm Tamsin go totally?" Kenzi completed.
"Yup. And don't mess up or I'll kill you and Bo. And whatever you do, keep the weak human doctor and Bo together. The way to get over someone is to be under someone. At the very least make sure she is steady with someone else. In the meantime, I'll make sure that Bo and Lauren stay together as well. Do you accept my generous offer where you both get to live and not endure the wrath of a Valkyrie unleashed upon you both?" Arin sang out.
Kenzi just clenched her fists together in front of her and softly yelled pretending to be incensed looking up to the ceiling, "Khannnnnnnnn!"
"You watch waaaay to much Star Trek, Ricardo Montoban. Do you AGREE?" Arin pushed Kenzi for an answer.
"Yes, but I really hope Tammers is ok with this. She still loves my Bo-bin-ator," Kenzi thought out loud.
"Well, jeeeee. She fucked that up a couple days back and now we really don't have a choice do we?" Arin scrunched her face to the sounds of Bo descending the stairs.
"Places everyone," Kenzi mumbled out drinking her beer leaning nonchalantly against the table.
Bo took a long time to get prepared since she was just in her robe and her eyes were blood shot from crying. She just pulled on her leather pants and blue tank. Even put some eye drops in her eyes to reduce the redness.
She could hear Kenzi and Tamsin having a very low key conversation and that was good. At least Tamsin didn't fly off the handle and come there to kill her or Kenzi or both.
She pulled on her boots and made her way down stairs. She just hoped to god Tamsin would let her back in.
Bo also hoped that the pain she caused her didn't force her to come back. She already had a life time worth of shame right now to deal with.
Bo just approached Tamsin as confidently as she could who just calmly sat and drank a beer and smirked ever so slightly at Bo.
Kenzi was in the fridge and pulled out a beer for Bo and set it right next to Arin posing as Tamsin.
"Hey Tamsin," Bo smiled.
"What's up succubus?" Arin lazily replied.
"I heard from Kenzi that I am hurting you the more I miss you. I really sorry and it feels that is all I do these past couple of days," Bo confessed taking a drink looking at Kenzi who just held a smile but made note holding up a single index finger.
"So you 2, BE NICE. I gotta get some of my items I forgot from my room," Kenzi stated putting down the beer and skipping away to the stairs.
An uncomfortable silence fell over them as the sounds of Kenzi rummaging upstairs was the only sound that filled the room.
Arin just asked, "Bo, you're hurting me BUT I can take it. I know what we agreed to in Valhalla Bo but WHY do you still miss me? You have Lauren…. And Dyson.. and whoever else you want?"
Bo just looked at her hands embarrassed to admit it, "I miss you Tamsin and I feel horrible for making your decision to break from the family on our status alone."
"Bo, be honest with me please. I think I have earned that," Arin droned out. "You are heartbroken because even if I do return to the happy sun shine gang, I will never return to you."
Bo just looked over to Tamsin who didn't hold any punches back and admitted, "Yes."
Arin just pushed forward, "So you want Lauren, Dyson and me to be in your bazaar love square which could become a polygon if Reiner was still around?"
Bo just immediately interjected, "No, it's not like that." However, Bo was stuck.
"Then please tell me what it is like. Enlighten me on something my plethora of lives hasn't…. Crap. Go ahead Bo, that wasn't that nice of me. It was a little much," Arin mentioned keeping her snarkiness in check.
Bo looked away and finally locked back onto Tamsin and just confided, "Yes I want everyone you just mentioned. I love all of you, but I can't have it all. I … I guess I get everything I want but getting everything I want is…. Is unhealthy."
"Well," Arin noted, "It is only unhealthy if everyone you mentioned was ok with polygamy. Even then, you will probably have a favorite. I know some states that are Pro-Harem which we can ALL move to," Arin stated with an evil smirk and a click. She hated all this serious talk after all and she didn't want to bring Bo to tears again which of course would hurt Tamsin through the bond.
Bo just chuckled at that comment. How she loved Tamsin's wit. "Look, I don't want to keep hurting you and you came here to ask for something. What is it? I will do what it takes to make us right again."
"I … I need to move on and be with my kind Bo. I so miss them too and now that I am no longer on a black list, it's something I want to do for myself. This would have happened with or without you," Arin stated flatly.
"OK," Bo knew that the other shoe was going to drop.
Arin then chided, "I want to live the life of a Valkyrie once more and that means that I will be traveling a lot. This would have happened sooner or later so don't think that you are the center of the universe ok?"
Bo laughed. How she missed her humor.
"So," Arin exclaimed snaking her arm around Bo which actually made her gag a little since she was not into this emotional, touchy feely stuff. She did need to do this however, to help Bo accept her proposal.
"I will stay the night every couple of months so you and I can just catch up. Just no succ-sex, no feeding and none of this relationship drama. Let's pretend it never happened. I don't have time for the gang OK? As for your partner or partners, I won't get in the way," Arin rattled off.
Bo loved being held in Tamsin's warm embrace and for once she saw Tamsin's aura change to something more caring and sincere. It wasn't like before, but it was a start. Bo however never just accepted anything at status quo.
"Make it EVERY month Tammy. PLEASE," Bo asked in earnest with her puppy dog eyes.
Arin growled slightly, "You're pushing it succubus."
Bo just put her arms around Tamsin and hugged her, "But I like undoing, I mean, pushing your buttons."
"Booooooooo….. PLEASE be more than your species or I'm gone," Arin growled really uncomfortable in the hug. Images of how to nudge her off forcefully came to mind but resisted.
Bo just held her ground holding onto a harbinger of death.
"Ugggggg FINE! Once a month, but you'd better be stocked up on Vodka and Beer here," Arin exhaled exasperated. "AND IF you so much as look down my top or your eyes turn blue for me, I'll have to kick your ass. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT."
Bo thought that was really nice of Tamsin to not break away from her abruptly like that after all she subjected her Valkyrie to but was more than happy to accept.
Bo was all smiles and perked up meeting her eye to eye, "Yes, I accept."
Without a word Bo yanked a very uncomfortable Valkyrie along to the couch and plopped her down on one side and Bo sat right next to her like a giddy school girl.
'Oh crap, she's either gonna feed, in which case I need to kick her ass or she will spout forth TONS of words. I HATE words,' Arin brooded. In either case, she was in trouble.
Bo just spat out everything that was her mind about Hera, Zeus, the ancients even glossing over Lauren a little. Now that Tamsin was ok with being her friend, it actually made her talk more since there was no fear of hurting her feelings. Bo felt free.
Arin just sat there just listening and that is apparently what Bo needed. Someone to just acknowledge her.
Kenzi came down and joined in a little before she went out for food for everyone. She winked to Arin right before she left which meant Kenzi would probably take her time.
Arin slouched back into the couch thinking about how to get Bo to stop talking so she could go to her room or leave but Bo just kept going.
It came to a point where Bo started to get tried and before she knew it, Bo was resting her head under Arin's chin on her chest.
Silence never seemed so blissful when Bo just mumbled something and stopped. Arin just thought to herself, 'god this is hell. How does Tamsin put up with Bo and this thing called conversations?'
It took 30 seconds of silence for Arin to know something was wrong. She finally propped her head up and looked on at the succubus. She was sound asleep.
"OK," Arin murmured to herself, "Time to go."
Arin slowly started to scoot Bo off of her when Bo all of a sudden mumbled something and hugged her even tighter.
Arin tried again, and even with Bo somewhat asleep still held on tight.
Arin got a little impatient and was about to try again, but Bo mumbled, "Tamsin, I love you. More than you know. Stayyyyyyyyyyyyy."
"Uggggg," Arin just gave up and just lay there limp in defeat.
'Arin, Hey. Where you are you?' Tamsin's voice popped in her head via the link.
'Uggg on a mission. I HATE waiting,' Arin responded attempting to be truthful but general. In no way could Tamsin know what she was doing on her behalf.
'OK, but get your ass back here. We got lots of catching up to do. I feel GREAT all of a sudden. Bye bye succu-loser and HELLO to Mr. Daniels. JACK DANNIELS,' Tamsin communicated happily.
'You bet, see you soon. Go pamper yourself a little sister,' Arin smirked.
'Already am. In the Sauna now to get the succubus scent out of my pores. Love it. Join me soon. K?'
'Yep,' Arin communicated with a click over the link.
Doing nothing was boring, but what choice did she have? At least her sister Tamsin was back to her old self.
Arin found that she did doze off and barely registered the door opening. It was probably Kenzi with food but what took her off guard was that she was now spooning with Bo in front of her.
She opened her eyes ever so slightly to see who it was and was prepared to reach for her dagger on her back. A Valkyrie could never be too careful.
LAUREN.
A/N: Fav and follow! Comments much appreciated!