Favor
Noun: used with reference to a woman allowing a man to have sexual intercourse with her.
Author's Note: Alright, here's the final chapter. Not sure when my next work will come out. I just don't produce like I used. Still, hope this serves as proof that I'm not dead, as the internet had started to declare. Hit the Lore Check for details about the chapter.
And so Favor comes to an end. I never meant to rewrite the Dresden Files. Like I said, I was just exploring a way that I thought Lara and Harry could have developed an actual, trusting relationship. In the end, it required an attempted hit at a Burger King outside a porn shoot and about twenty one years, but hey, I always felt it would take something drastic for the two.
And enjoy, as Lara finally gets what she wants. And (un?)surprisingly Harry as well.
Time: Post Battlegrounds (post Twelve Months? Maybe)
"That was… intense," Harry muttered as the two of them entered their room.
"I've been invited to several Fey weddings," Lara admitted, sighing and reaching up to grasp her neck. Foregoing dignity, she popped it loudly to ease some of the tension. "However, this one was particularly enthusiastic."
"It felt like one of those pretentious celebrity weddings, combined with Vietnam," he muttered. "Hells bells, I've tried to kill and almost been killed by like half of the guests. Still weird to see them acting so politely."
"Your summation is not too far off," Lara reminded him. "It was effectively an alliance of three major powers, after all. Those who were not here simply to participate in the festivities were here to take survey of the potential political repercussions of the alliance."
"Three?" Harry questioned.
"You do represent your own faction, oh Warden of Demonreach," she reminded him. She frowned slightly. "Which is apparently one that many of great power desire to remain neutral to, if not in the favor of. Are you quite certain…?"
"Sorry, Lara," he shook his head. "But this is one of those secrets that's not just mine to give."
"Drat," she murmured. Seriously, just what WAS that island? None of her investigations had led to anything other than shut lips and warnings. "Perhaps I shall be able to seduce it out of you someday."
"Someday like today?" he asked cautiously.
"No," she denied. "Today's seduction is entirely personal. A professional one can wait."
"Above the belt, Lara," he laughed slightly, and she shook her head.
"No, my dear wizard, not today."
"No, I guess not," he conceded finally. He was watching her, cautiously. She didn't blame him. He had good predator instincts.
When she lowered the lights in her room, he tensed, but instead of approaching him, she circled the room. With the waiting matches, she instead began to light candles she had selected and arranged previously.
"There's champaign, by the table," she told him. "Make yourself comfortable. I will change into something more suitable and join you in a moment."
"I always half thought you were joking when you said that being serious for you involved candles and champaign," he admitted, slowly drifting to the table she had indicated. It was obvious that he still had an eye out for any kind of trap.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the trap had closed long ago.
When she did join him, she took note of the way his eyes traced her thin white silk robe. It ended high on her thighs, and was tied partially open to reveal swathes of her flesh. When she sat, she did not blame him for the way his eyes drifted to her décolleté. She had arranged the candles to illuminate them in the most tempting manner, after all.
He held the chair for her, and she smiled warmly at the gesture. He poured them both a glass of champaign before he sat across from her. He had removed his tie and tuxedo coat, the first few buttons of his shirt undone and his sleeves casually rolled back.
He raised a glass, but paused.
"You know, I have no idea what to toast to," he admitted sheepishly. She smiled.
"To our anniversary," she proposed, and he laughed softly, shaking his head.
"To our anniversary," he allowed, and they both sipped their cups. She had chosen a tasteful vintage, expensive, but not pretentious. "I can't believe you seriously delayed the wedding just so you could schedule it on this day."
"I liked the idea, and wished to make it a reality," she confessed.
"How did you get Mab to agree to delaying the last few months?" he finally asked. "She was pretty adamant about it being one year to the day she had thought up the idea."
"I advised her that the day would be more portentous and binding," she explained. "The Winter Queen is one that appreciates symbolism, and anything which would make the alliance firmer in her mind was worth the wait."
"Yeah, that would do it," he allowed. He trailed off, and Lara cocked her head.
"Nervous, ser Knight?" she asked, teasingly.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I suppose I am, your majesty."
"I have so many lines right now," she laughed. "'I don't bite, unless you want me to,' or 'I know this isn't your first time, but by the time we're finished you wouldn't mind if it was your last'. But somehow, I doubt they will do anything to calm you."
"Probably right," he admitted. He watched her, and this time his gaze was more appreciation then nerves. "You know, I've thought about this for years? What it would be like, being with you?"
"Oh have you," she purred, leaning forward. She had never doubted that he did, but hearing him admit it set a warmth in her. "What did you imagine?"
"All sorts of things," he admitted, blushing lightly. "Back before I knew you were of the White Court, I always imagined you would be wild, passionate, and probably pretty kinky. Once I learned who you were, I guess I just amped the whole thing up. Now that we're here, I guess I'll finally get to know just how much I over-hyped it."
"Hmmm," she cocked her head. "There will be plenty of time to explore, in the future. Though, if you had ever just watched my movies…"
"I'm sort of proud of the fact that I never have," he confessed. "Once I knew you as a person, it just felt rude, like an invasion of your privacy I guess."
"Well, we can always watch them together in the future," she pointed out. "I can assure you; we will never grow bored in the bedroom."
"You're probably going to enjoy corrupting me slowly, aren't you?"
"Less corruption, and more temptation," she corrected. "I confess, my dear, I do rather enjoy your personality as it is." She raised an eyebrow. "How about you? Will you now start your efforts to redeem me, bring me back to the light?"
"I know a bad bet when I see one," he told her. "Besides, I can't really imagine you any other way either."
"There is something," she noted, taking in his tension, his nerves. "Something is bothering you. What is it?"
"It's just…. We're married now," he admitted. "As in, your my wife, and I'm your husband."
She underestimated just how those words would hit her, and she suppressed a shiver. Her body reacted anyway, and she took note of his taking note.
"I… I don't know much about being a husband," he went on, dragging his eyes back up to hers. "I don't know how good I will be at it, or if I'm just going to make a mess of it. I suppose I'm worried about that."
"I doubt we will ever fall into the traditional molds," Lara confessed. "I suspect much of our lives will simply go on the same as they have previously. Just now, after we finish world threatening battles, or out maneuver manipulative forces seeking to destroy us, we have a reward waiting for us afterwards."
"So mind-blowing, life altering survival sex as a reason to pull through?" he quoted her. She smiled.
Good, he was paying attention all those years ago.
"I suppose being a husband will be much like being a father," she concluded. "You knew nothing of that, but you still try your best, do you not?" He nodded. "Then that's what we shall both do. I know I will never be able to fit the role of a traditional wife, after all."
She would never be able to be faithful to him. Monogamy was truly impossible for her, unless she were willing to feed on him. But there was a difference between an act of physical maintenance, and true intimacy.
"I suppose I can promise to put that much effort in," he told her seriously.
That he was effectively promising to try to care as much for her as he did his daughter made her breath catch slightly.
Lara was aware of just how much Harry loved his child. The world knew what would happen to it if anyone attempted to harm them, after all.
She didn't realize she had reached out to take his hand until a burning heat brought her attention to it.
She pulled back with an annoyed hiss, regarding her hand.
"When Mab ordered me to have my protection removed, why did you ask her not to?" Harry asked, half standing as though he intended to come help her, before realizing he would just make it worse.
"I had my own method to circumvent it planned," she confessed. She paused for a moment. "Though if the Winter Queen had offered the services of her Lady for it…"
"Are you seriously trying to hook me up with Molly now?" Harry demanded, giving her an exasperated look. "Right now, on our wedding night?"
"She was next on my list," Lara smiled winningly. "I expect I might have to delay it for a while, as you will naturally be quite besotted with me for a while. But maybe in the future…"
"Hell's bells," Harry sighed. "Why do I get the impression that I am never going to be ready for what being married to you will mean?"
"Because you are a smarter man than you look, and you know me better than any other," she listed for him, and he laughed helplessly. "However, I think it is time to show you." She stood, and began to walk towards her bed. "Come."
She heard him swallow nervously. However, before she reached her bed (an enormous, canopied thing that could hold many more than just the two of them. She had the mirror above it removed, but it was ready to be reinstalled at a later date.) she stopped, and kneeled next to the edge of a rug. She pulled it up to show the floor beneath it.
"Do you see this, wizard mine?" she pointed it out to him.
"Is that a circle embedded in the floor?" he asked, a hint of professional curiosity in his voice. Then a hint of caution came in. "Why do you have a circle around your bed?"
"I wanted you to be aware of it before you crossed it," she reassured him. "And as for why…"
She trailed off, and took a step, entering the circle. She suppressed a flinch, and took a deep breath.
"Come find out," she invited him, holding her hand to him. She had crossed it first to show him that it meant no harm.
He didn't move for a moment, before he took a deep breath, and a step.
That he trusted her enough to do so…
Her thoughts were interrupted as once he had completed his step, he suddenly staggered. She had been ready for it, and instantly slipped under his arm, supporting him as he nearly fell.
"Hell's bells!" he swore.
"Let's get you onto the bed," she assured him. The process was more awkward than she had anticipated. He was just so damn tall, and heavy, and she was suddenly not as strong as she was used to.
"What the hell is this, Lara?" he demanded as she got him seated.
"It took me some time to research it, and cost quite a bit to have it installed," she began, as she reached under the bed for the tool she had prepared. "But it is a circle meant to suppress supernatural influence, and limit the abilities of those within it."
"Why, Lara?" he demanded, gritting his teeth.
"For this," she told him, and placed her hand on his cheek.
It took him a moment, before he realized that she was not being burnt by the touch.
"It is shameful of me," she explained as he stared at her. Working quickly, she had begun unbuttoning his shirt, pulling it open. She took in the sight of him, lean and muscled as she continued. "But I find myself… unable to suppress my Hunger around you. I knew that I would not be able to fulfill my promise of not feeding on you as things were. To do so, I had to take steps."
From beneath the bed, she pulled out the contraption she had prepared.
"I thought we agreed no sex toys on our honeymoon?" he asked nervously at the piece of equipment she began to wrap around him.
"I was aware of your previous injury to your back," she explained. "I considered it possible that the mantle of Winter Knight would be suppressed like my Hunger. While I had consulted your medical examiner and was aware that you're injuries had healed greatly since you incurred them, I had him proscribe a back brace to ease the pain while we are in the circle."
"Wait, you talked to Butters?" Harry allowed her to strap the rigid band around his waist, sighing in relief as she tightened it.
"Indeed," she nodded. "He is… quite the interesting little man. Though there was one thing that I found repugnant about him."
"Wait, you didn't like Butters?" Harry asked, genuinely surprised. "Why? I thought it was like physically impossible to not like Butters!"
"While he was nervous of me initially, once he realized the seriousness of my concern for you, he invited me to a session of role playing with him," she scowled. "I will never, I repeat, never engage in that ludicrousness."
He stared at her for a moment as she stood up, leaning over him to check that the brace was on properly, before he started to laugh helplessly.
The laughter trailed off as she turned to retrieve their glasses of champaign, swaying her hips as she did so. When she returned, she handed him his before sitting herself gently on his lap.
They both knew the same thing: the hunt she had begun over twenty years ago was coming to an end.
"Well, ser Knight?" she asked softly. "Shall we begin?
He swallowed. "At your majesty's leisure?"
There were many crude ways to describe what Lara intended next. However, Lara had plans. She would not be fucking. She would not be feeding her Hunger. She would not be having sex. She would not even be making love.
Tonight, Lara was going to create art.
*Scene Break*
"Wow," Harry finally spoke.
Draped over him, gloriously disheveled and satisfied with herself, Lara simply smiled.
And caught her breath. Without her Hunger, she only had the stamina of a normal human. It had presented an interesting limitation, one she had to be creative to overcome.
One of his hands was in her hair, and the other was still entwined with hers. With his back as it was, she had to be the more active of the two. It had allowed her a great deal of control in guiding the culmination of their long acquaintance.
Of which there were many: culminations. For both sides.
She moved, just right, to check on whether or not more culminations were upcoming.
"I think you drained me dry, you succubus," he groaned. She would have half expected it to be a pained sound, after how thorough she had been. However, she was very pleased to note, it had come out more impressed. "I think I need to get something to drink, maybe to eat before I even think about more."
"Hmmm," she teased. "Lightweight."
"It's dawn," he pointed out. "We were at this for somewhere between six to eight hours!"
"Hmmm," she repeated. "Lightweight."
"It's going to be a very short marriage if you kill me with snu-snu on the first day," he retorted. She laughed slightly, and rolled off of him.
"I instructed the staff to leave breakfast by the door," she told him languidly. "Won't you be a dear and get it?"
"Married one day, and already I'm being ordered around," he grumbled, before groaning and crawling to the edge of the bed.
She made sure to enjoy the view, and also made sure than when he looked back she was arranged most artfully so he could too.
She was new to this marriage thing, but felt that it should be something both sides should enjoy.
When he shook his head, muttering under his breath about 'sexy vampire tarts', it only made her smile widen.
As Harry retrieved the trolly from outside the room, she stood herself, carefully wrapping a blanket around her. Quietly, she walked to him.
When she left the circle, she felt her Hunger return to her. It was low, more muted than it usually was in his presence. She had half feared that its return would only be exacerbated by her experiences last night, that it might be jealous.
However, regardless of how she anthropomorphized it, in the end her Hunger was just that: hers. An aspect of her that she could never truly do away with, but still a part of her.
And she was very satisfied at the moment.
Harry didn't notice her until she was right behind him, but when he did, he jumped slightly.
"Lara, what are you doing?" he asked in confusion.
"Just a minor experiment," she told him, softly. Slowly, she raised her hand. She hesitated for a moment, before she brushed the back of her hand against his bare chest.
She was prepared for it, and made no sound. She instead simply looked at the bright burns which had appeared when she had touched him.
Harry understood in only a moment.
"Wait, the protection is still on?" he asked, confused. "After everything last night… did the circle even prevent that from removing it?"
"No," Lara shook her head. "It did not. This protection isn't the one you had. It's new."
She knew what the implications of that fact were.
She would never say them aloud. But she knew.
In the end, she was just as foolish as her little brother.
In a way, she was fine with that. In fact, she was almost pleased with it. Harry would have much to do with her Court, and the thought that it was HER who would keep any of them away made her Hunger triumphant, almost gloating.
A part of her would be there with him. Protecting him…
Even from herself.
She would never be able to feed on him, and yet he would always be hers.
Just as she wanted.
She was broken from her thoughts when strong arms reached around her, wrapping the blanket she had on tighter as she was unceremoniously picked up off the ground.
"Harry, what do you think you're…!" she began, indignant as she found herself carried across the room, but she was cut off as she was simply thrown from the edge of the circle to near the center of the bed.
"…How dare you…!" she began, outraged at being manhandled so unexpectedly, until she caught sight of Harry stalking towards her.
"Round two," he demanded simply. "Right now. Breakfast can wait."
Ah. So Harry got the implications as well.
And was apparently well pleased by them.
She had half a thought that she should point out that round two had been quite early on in the night, and that she actually wasn't quite sure what round this was, but before she could, Harry was on her.
She smiled. Well, she could put him in his place later. For now…
It was time to grant her favor to her good Ser Knight.
Lore Check
So, Fey weddings. I know they're a thing, from the short story where Harry has to stop Jenny Greentooth from marrying Bill, but I don't think they go into it much outside of the fact that the fey marry for life and take it very seriously. Consequentially, I just sort of let it happen off screen.
Again, whether Lara knows about Demonreach or not, for the sake of my story she still does not. Even if it's been a few years now, I'm attributing that to no one wanting anything to do with the place (out of a very real fear they might end up locked in it) and thus being unwilling to even talk about it.
The circle I used to block Lara's Hunger. Now that's where things get a bit odd. Per Ghost Story, a White Court vampire's hunger CAN be blocked by a threshold. From that I inferred that it's a supernatural element which can be affected by mystic phenomenon independent of their consciousness. In Changes, Lea shows that she was to affect Susan's vampire hunger as well, putting it to sleep directly, which furthers that assumption.
So with those two points, I'm assuming that there IS a method for Lara to restrain her Hunger in a way which does not impede her ability to function. The circle I used is something I made up (so no cannonical proof there) but I think the the assumption is rational and possible.
The back brace is for Harry's spine injury. By the time this chapter takes place it had been about five years since his injuries. They never clearly give a speed for wizard healing, but I think five years is enough for the spine to reconnect. In addition, he's been up and running thanks to the mantle, so he never had to worry about atrophy to his limbs or anything.
Finally, Lara giving her protection to Harry. We know it can happen. And finally, even Lara can't deny it anymore. She still won't say it out loud, but she knows it.