Disclaimer: I do not own Lost Girl, the plot is of my own imaginings, and any characters that are unfamiliar. (This is set AU of S3 episode 11—Lauren's job was not Fae related, and Bo's father has not yet gotten involved)
19 December, 2013
Kenzi bounced on the bed, "Six days."
"Six days, what," Dyson asked as he pulled on his socks.
"Six days until Christmas," Kenzi grinned brightly. "We need to get you a tree."
Dyson reached behind him and caught Kenzi's waist as she rolled away from him. She giggled as she was pulled towards him. When she collided with his back, Kenzi attempted to tug him back onto the bed with her. Dyson wasn't exactly easy to sway, he was quite firm…in more ways than one. Kenzi continued to tug only to have Dyson turn on her, pressing her into the bed.
"Us," Dyson told her lowly, "this isn't a 'me' thing, this is an 'us' thing."
Kenzi squirmed beneath him excitedly, "Does that mean we get to go pick out a tree?"
"Yes, but first we need to finish unpacking," Dyson told her firmly.
Kenzi scowled, "Whoa, I did my unpacking last night."
"Playing with my weapons is not unpacking, Kenz," Dyson laughed.
Kenzi had in fact helped unpack the bulk of Dyson's things after their nap. Dyson had actually been slow to wake. A little groggy and confused at the change of venue, he had calmed after a few moments of snuggling up against Kenzi. She had found the whole scenario a little laughable. But, she supposed, even a wolf was really just a big old puppy dog sometimes. Hell, Dyson had even started to kick his leg a little while he was sleeping and she was rubbing his side.
With Dyson reluctant to wake after his nap, Kenzi had set to work on the bedroom. She had managed to unpack everything without even disturbing the shifter. Then, she had helped herself to a shower, and god was it a good one. Dyson had actually woken while she was rinsing off and managed to slip in for a little show. That had earned him a wet towel to his face.
Kenzi was pulled back to the present as Dyson began to trace the line of her neck with the tip of his finger. "Where did you go," he asked with a soft smile, eyes searching her face for the answer.
"I was wondering if there was anything for breakfast," she grinned. "I'm starving."
"I doubt you're starving," Dyson stood up and pulled Kenzi off the bed and to her feet. "The fridge however, is stocked with a few things."
Kenzi pressed her lips together in a small smile, "Please say bacon."
"Bacon," Dyson whispered the word huskily.
Kenzi gulped, "That is so hot."
Dyson bit back the laugh and leaned a little closer, "Bacon."
"I love bacon," Kenzi groaned. "I would marry it if I could, but then I would eat it and become a widow."
"Sometimes you disturb me, Kenz."
Her pink tongue slid between her lips, pointed at Dyson in annoyance.
"Very attractive," Dyson teased.
Kenzi slipped past him, flouncing out of the bedroom. "I know," she called over her shoulder as she bounced down the stairs.
Dyson padded after her. She jumped from step to step, light on her feet. Her hair bounced around her shoulders with each impact. Long legs tensing and relaxing as she moved. He watched her, the subtle roll of her hips from side to side. She paused as she reached the ground floor. She stretched upwards onto her tippy-toes letting the streaming sunlight skim over her skin, warming it. The sunlight seemed to make Kenzi's skin glow from within. Her typically pale skin was lighting up in warm tones.
As she settled onto the couch yet another box to be unpacked before her, Dyson descended the stairs and towards the kitchen. Dyson flicked the radio in the kitchen on, letting the soft tones of music into the loft. Kenzi glanced over him and tossed him a flash of a smile before turning back to the box.
Humming softly, Kenzi began to unearth the books and albums from the box before her. When they had all been laid out on the table, Kenzi rose and began to set them on the built-in cases around the TV. Kenzi, being Kenzi, took her time, flicking through books and reading the song lists on album covers. It was a glimpse into who Dyson was as a human being.
There were books in foreign tongues, handwritten accounts of battles, and books filled with images of rolling fields and tall grass, of forests and curving streams, and of sparkling skies. Kenzi traced the words and the lines with care. These were aspects she had never seen in Dyson before.
"Bacon's up," Dyson called as Kenzi stood back to admire her work. The shelves were filled with his books and his knickknacks, carefully arranged for order and visual appeal. The more important books and miscellanea objects on the higher shelves and out of reach.
Reaching the island, Kenzi pulled one of the stools to herself and hopped up as Dyson slid a plate filled with bacon and sunny-side up eggs. Kenzi dug in with gusto, chewing on the crispy bacon. "Bacon good," she sighed in between bites.
"Happy to oblige," Dyson laughed. "We only have a few more boxes to unpack, so after bacon we can finish up."
Kenzi sighed, "Can I just eat bacon for a living?"
"No," Dyson told her, "besides, if you could, you wouldn't love it nearly as much as you do now."
"Sacrilege," Kenzi gasped, thrusting her fork at the wolf-man.
"Truth," Dyson growled, biting into a slice of bacon himself. "Don't deny it. There comes a point where too much is too much."
"Not true, at least not always," Kenzi shook her head vehemently. "I will never get tired of fudgy chocolate ice cream, of coffee, or of drinking and annoying Trick."
"I didn't hear bacon," Dyson pointed out.
Her nose crinkled in irritation, "Shut up or I'll tell hale it was you who glued rats to his door."
"I had a feeling you were behind that little caper," Dyson tipped a finger at her. "So what inspired it?"
"Hale has just been a giant wedgie lately," Kenzi shrugged, "and we had cage of rats. So Bo and I got a little tipsy and found some superglue."
"Bo was in on this," Dyson questioned. "You two touched dead rats?"
"Well," Kenzi halted with a click of her tongue. "We may have convinced someone to help us."
"Oh, please don't say Tamsin," Dyson pleaded.
"I wasn't going to."
Dyson set his fork down and watched Kenzi's face twitch into a bit of a smile, "So who was it?"
"Well we didn't really catch his name, but we did catch his ass," Kenzi offered helpfully.
"Resourceful and alarming."
Kenzi scowled, "I think you mean clever and gorgeous."
Kenzi glanced at her phone, "There are only a few tree lots open today. And it will probably be slim pickings. Why did we wait so long?"
The engine rolled over as Dyson glanced over at Kenzi. He had no intention of going to a tree lot. "Don't worry, Kitten, everything will be fine."
"If we end up with a Charlie Brown tree, I'm going to kill you," Kenzi smirked as she tucked her phone away. It took her several long moments to realize they weren't headed towards the city. They were headed away from it. "Hey," she tapped Dyson's bicep. "I don't think we're going to find a tree in the middle of nowhere."
"Relax, and trust me," Dyson reached over and threaded his fingers with hers.
"Fine," she puffed, "but if I end up in some sort of craigslist killer movie or Christmas Slaughter Four, I will haunt your ass."
"Deal," Dyson lifted her hand to his lips, leaving a trail of kisses on the back of her hand.
Kenzi drifted in and out of wakefulness. She was curled up with her head on Dyson's lap. She smiled as his hand ghosted over her hip, her side, her shoulder and tangled briefly in her hair before trailing back down. From her slim view out the window, Kenzi caught the flashes of trees and sunlight. It was nearing ten in the morning and Kenzi was fighting to stay awake. They had been driving for nearly two hours.
A thumb swiped across her cheek, "Almost there, Kenz."
"Almost where," she asked, "because I've been going on faith for a while now, and it's starting to sketch me out."
"You'll see," Dyson chuckled.
Kenzi did indeed see as Dyson pulled the car over and helped Kenzi sit upright. They were in a fairly secluded section of the woods. They were on a dirt road, a dead end of a dirt road. Kenzi pulled herself upright as Dyson slid out of the car.
"Bundle up," Dyson called to her as he opened the trunk and began to rifle inside it.
Kenzi grumbled as she pulled on the mittens and scarf Dyson had forced her to put on along with the warmest boots she had. "This better be worth it."
"Come on, Kenz," Dyson set off into a copse of trees, Kenzi scrambling out of the car and kicking up dirt and snow as she ran after him.
"Wait," she called, shoving her hands into her pockets.
Dyson did wait, but when Kenzi reached him she skidded to a stop, eyes wide. He reached out for her, but she sidestepped him, skipping around him lightly.
"Kenz."
"The axe is really not convincing me to walk into the deep dark woods with you," Kenzi chirped.
He laughed, startled, and swung the axe up onto his shoulder. "These woods are protected wolf-shifter land. My clan has land in nearly every country these days."
Kenzi stopped moving away from him and let him wrap an arm around her waist. "Really?"
Dyson nodded, "This where I come when I need space, or I just want to run."
Kenzi leaned into him, head twisting as she tried to take in every aspect of the dense forest. The trees reached towards the sky, towering above them. Even though there was layer of crisp snow it was still dark, the snow and the sun seemed to be blotted out by the canopy of leafy boughs.
The wolf tugged her a little closer, urging Kenzi to walk a little deeper into the woods. Kenzi allowed it, peeking over her shoulder only to find the car and the dirt road becoming quickly eclipsed by trees.
Dyson led Kenzi deeper into the forest, letting her go only when they had found a copse of evergreen trees. They were just the right size and age for a Christmas tree. Dyson let Kenzi walk amongst the green trees, giving her final decision. He wandered a little further away from her.
Kenzi brushed her mitten covered hands through the branches, snow shaking off the green needles in chunks and heavy flakes. She loved Christmas time. The scent of pine, the warmth of fires, the twinkling of lights and garland…it was wonderful.
"Dyson," Kenzi called, eyes locked on one particular tree.
The crunch of snow was the only sign Dyson had heard, Kenzi spun to see Dyson smiling, hair mussed and axe at the ready. "Stand aside, M'lady."
Kenzi giggled as he bowed briefly, gesturing for her to step aside. Kenzi did, backing up as Dyson lifted the axe in preparation to strike the tree Kenzi had selected. Kenzi watched in glee as Dyson brought the axe down in powerful swing after powerful swing. He was all power and grace. It didn't take much more than a few swings to fell the tree, Dyson laughingly calling out 'timber' much to Kenzi's amusement.
She sighed as he began to bind the tree, "I always did have a thing for lumberjacks."
Task, for the moment, done, Dyson set down the axe and beckoned Kenzi forward, "I want to show you something."
Kenzi followed Dyson, pushing at his hands when they managed to sip over his eyes. He stepped closer, guiding her through the snow and over the fallen branches and the dips in the ground.
At last, in a small clearing, Dyson lowered his hands. Kenzi gasped. There before them was a gigantic tree, its trunk littered with carvings. Kenzi stepped forward and gazed upward, the carvings stretched up farther than Kenzi could see.
Dyson kissed her cheek filling her with warmth, "For centuries lovers have come here and carved their names into this tree, trees like this are sacred."
A frown stretched across Kenzi's face and Dyson pulled her closer, drawing her attention to a fresh carving. There in the center of a heart were both their names.
"What," she breathed shakily. "Dyson, this is…" She wasn't sure what to say. He had told her it was a sacred tree. Now, Kenzi may have dabbled in some defacing of objects and buildings, but she didn't deface sacred things, and she didn't know what to think of what Dyson had done.
"Kenz," he pulled her to him, "I have loved you for too long now and remained silent. I'm done. I won't lie to myself, to you, or to anyone else. I love you, Kenzi."
She jerked backwards, only to have Dyson step with her, closing the gap and kissing her roughly. She breathed his name against his lips, the words that she wanted to say stuck in her throat.
Beneath a sacred tree for lovers, Dyson unburdened his heart and begged for her acceptance. That was all he wanted. For her to know, to not have to hold back those words. Words he had buried and ignored. Urges and sensations he had shoved aside. He was done. But they were just beginning.
"Unquestionably, it is possible to do without happiness; it is done involuntarily by nineteen-twentieths of mankind."
- John Stuart Mill quotes
A/N: 19/25. The storm that has been hanging over me seems to be coming to an end. As such, my creative juices were a little quicker today. Tomorrow I'll hopefully be posting even earlier! Gyah, sorry, the fluff sort of snuck up on me and now I'm a little loopy. Lots of love!