Chapter Text
For what seemed like hours, Uhtred and Brida stayed that way, in front of the fire, drinking from not only the skin of ale but from each other’s warmth. The long winter nights seemed to be never-ending that time of year. They laughed, they cried, they fell into companionable silences as only those joined in the soul can do. Regardless of all the ugliness that had come and gone in their relationship over the years, they still loved each other.
It wasn’t an ordinary, fluffy, romantic love. It wasn’t just like a love between long time friends or lovers; their lives were intertwined with one another. They were connected in a primal, basic way… the way a body needs air or a tree needs the sun. The three spinners had taken their life strings and knitted them together in such a way that they could not be torn apart, regardless of how they tried.
As the fire began to die down, Brida could not help nodding off. These last few days of extreme sorrow had caught up with her. It was as if her body was telling her that it was okay to finally rest. Uhtred gently nudged Brida, leading her to their bedrolls. She initially protested about them lying next to one another but finally gave in to common sense, given how cold the night air was - even for two warriors raised as Danes.
When they lied down next to one another, the first time in many years, Uhtred pulled his cloak up to her chin, already warm from the fire. She couldn’t help but become even more sleepy. He laid their other furs on top of them as they settled in for the night. Brida looked into Uthred’s clear blue eyes, illuminated by the last remnants of the fire. Tracing the scar on his temple given to him by Earl Ragnar, her index finger slid down until it rested on his full, bottom lip. This hardened shieldmaiden, who had taken many lives without regret, finally allowed herself to soften, if only a little bit.
“Thank you, Uhtred,” she said, in barely more than a whisper. “I couldn’t do this with anyone but you. Despite me questioning your loyalty over and over again, you are here; And I believe Ragnar knows it too.” Before Uhtred could muster a reply, she curled into his chest and drifted off to sleep.
Brida had seemed to fall into a deep peaceful sleep. Uhtred was relieved as he knew how tired she must have been; not just physically but emotionally and mentally as well. He himself however found that sleep was hard to come by. As a general rule, while sleeping in the woods, his warrior instincts never let him put his guard down completely. Serpent- Breath was at his side and Wasp-Sting was still attached to his right hip. In addition to that, his guilty feeling over Ragnar’s death kept assaulting his mind every time he managed to drift off to sleep.
In the early morning hours before dawn, when the sky has just a hint of gray on the horizon, Uhtred was startled from his light sleep. Instinctively he grabbed for Serpent-Breath but quickly realized she was not needed. It was Brida. She was still asleep but whimpering and moaning incoherently, her face contorted in fear. As Uhtred reached over to grasp her shoulder she shouted Ragnar’s name despairingly. Uhtred’s touch jolted her awake as she turned and buried herself into his embrace.
“Shhh… Shhh…” Uhtred whispered, his face buried in her hair. “It was a dream, no more.” trying to comfort her as he pulled her tight, rubbing her back with soothing circles.
“How do I go on?!” Brida cried, her fists clenched his tunic and pushing against Uhtred’s chest.
“You will go on because it is what he would want for you. He would want you to be happy!”
Without thinking, Uhtred gently brushed his lips across Brida’s forehead, lightly kissing it. He then kissed her tears away from her eyes, then the tip of her nose. As he went to kiss another tear off her cheek, Brida turned her head so her lips met his. It was as if no time at all had passed since their last kiss, so many years ago in Wintanchester. The two of them fit together and they always would. As they drew apart, Brida looked up at him, her head cradled in his strong grip, ragged breaths coming from both of them. They could speak to each other without words. Flashes of their past flew by in both of their minds. Their destiny did not include the two of them being together for the rest of this life, but tonight… tonight had a fate of its own.
Brida, voice hoarse with emotion, managed to whisper “Make me whole again, Uhtred.”