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The first time is out of exasperation.
Vastra is walking back and forth across the study, a restless soul who can not find peace. They've taken on a case and there doesn't seem to be a solution. The inspector had told them it was a hopeless case, and had asked for the Silurian's help. They've given her a pair of handcuffs, they must catch this man alive so he'll testify against fishes bigger than him. It is the first time she's had such an order from Scotland Yard, who usually don't care about what happens to the criminals the woman finds in her path.
Jenny looks for the umpteenth time at her mistress pacing in front of her and mumbling incoherently as she's done for the better part of the afternoon.
«Madame, it's making me dizzy. Fidgeting won't solve anything. Please sit down and we'll try to find a way.» The human offers but it falls in deaf ears as Vastra continues to pace back and forth without showing she even heard her speak.
Jenny is dizzy and nauseous, seeing her so restless is not helping her mood, and she begins to lose patience.
«Well, thank you very much.» She mutters, trying to focus only on the papers spread out on the desk. She's about to lift a newspaper article when Vastra drops unexpectedly on the desk, causing her to skip a beat.
«I know it does seem to be for nothing, but it rather helps me think.» Says Silurian before resuming her march around the room.
The noise of Madame's skirts becomes almost a pleasant background to listen to, her steps as light as those of any predator, powerful strides measure the room from one end to the other all the while the hum does not cease. Jenny can not concentrate on what they are reading, desperately trying to make sense of the notes that Madame is taking to help in her work, but her eyes can not focus seeing the curvy body of Vastra pass before her, her scent coming and going in waves so close and so frequently to stun her. She feels this strong attraction to the powerful woman and she can not explain what it is, she only knows that when they are in the same room for more than ten minutes her concentration goes to hell and all she can think about is Vastra's muscular body as they train in the basement. She takes a deep breath, she has to stop these fantasies about her employer and must concentrate, but it's awfully hard that afternoon.
«Madame, if you won't sit for at least five minutes I'll tie you up to that chair.» She says grabbing the first object she finds under her hands. «With this.» She says and then realizes she had grabbed the handcuffs.
Vastra looks at her and finally stops. A long second passes before Jenny realizes that the rustle of clothes has stopped. She looks up to her mistress when she realizes the questioning look, - perhaps even embarrassed? - the older woman has on her face, definitely a shade of darker green on the scales across her cheekbones.
Suddenly she realizes what she said can be interpreted in more than one way and blushes to the tips of the ears, immediately letting the handcuffs drop, suddenly red-hot in her hands. A cough from the bulky Vastra breaks silence.
«I'll go make tea.» Jenny gets up from her seat so quickly that her head spins, but she wants that weird moment to pass quickly, and so, with four strides she's out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
The second time is for safety.
They're out at night in search of a criminal who uses an unknown gas. That Being definitely does not come from the same planet of Vastra and Jenny.
The Silurian pushed the girl away from the creature, to make sure she's safe from harm, but in doing so Vastra in completely submerged in the strange gaseous cloud. When Jenny recovers she is immediately at Madame's side, trying to hold her up as she coughs convulsively.
«Are you okay?» She asks rhetorically, never having seen Vastra so distressed.
«Yes, help me get home.» She says to the young woman, leaning more on the human than she'd like. She'd normally refuse to be seen in such a weak state, but her head spins so much she could not stand up on her own.
«I have to stay conscious, Jenny whatever happens from now on you have to keep me conscious. Do you understand?» She says while the coachman spurs their horses at full speed into the desert London night. Jenny nods frightened, what does Madame mean exactly? How can she, being the fragile being she is, stand up to her mighty and strong mistress?
Home at last Jenny has to drag Vastra through the front door.
«I'm starting to hallucinate. Jenny whatever I might say to you, you have to make sure I stay in control. Promise me.» The Silurian is short of breath and looks terrified. Jenny has never seen her in such a state and tears sting dangerously close to the eyes.
«Ma'am.» She says with a broken voice a moment before having to dodge an attack as the woman falls prey to hallucinations. She draws out her teeth and claws against her while emitting a low and animalistic growl, but stops immediately coming to herself.
«No, no, no.» She repeats, holding her head in her hands and swaying back and forth sitting on the cold floor of the hall.
«It's all right ma'am. It's all right.» Tries to reassure the girl, coming close again and not knowing what to do.
«Jenny, help me, Jenny.» The strangled sound of the Silurian's voice breaks the girl's heart, she never would have wanted anything bad to happen to Vastra.
«I'm here Madame.» She says while the other lady has a new attack of hallucinations and clings to the door while a moan begins to form in the back of her throat and gets louder and louder. The fingers are contracted in a spasm while her body is shivering.
«Ties. I do not want to hurt you. Please tie me up.» She says in a moment of lucidity before letting out an inhuman growl.
«No, Madame, you have to stay focused. If I tie you up you'll let yourself succumb to the poison.» She says grabbing her face with her hands. Her eyes are far away, lost in the visions in her head, and Jenny would cry but she knows she needs to be strong for Vastra.
A pained whine for help manages to make its way through the snarls and Jenny doesn't know what to do, then she does the only sensible thing and closely embraces her employer.
«I'm here. I'm here for you.» She murmurs hiding her face in Madame Vastra's clothes.
«Take the handcuffs.» The reptile suggests again, exhausted, but Jenny won't let her loses control of her mind, god only knows what might happen to her after that. The grip on her arms becames strong but she won't let go of the woman who now needs her so desperately. She feels her shirt tearing under the hold of her mistress ad even though her heart is beating out of her chest with fright, she doesn't lessen her hold on Vastra.
As suddenly as it started it all becomes quiet, both have shortness of breath and the Silurian's head leans wearily on Jenny's shoulder, who can finally breathe again normally. She feels the taller woman falling asleep exhausted while still held up in her embrace, and with the corner of one eye sees the glitter of handcuffs resting a few feet from her. It would have been easier to tie her mistress and leave her at the mercy of monsters but Jenny would not allow Vastra feeling abandoned even for a second. She stays there, cradling the crested head, more relaxed now that she can feel the woman's breathing smooth and quiet against her
The third time is a criminal's fault.
They knew that The Magician - so he was called - was known to the Scotland Yard police for his ability to escape capture at the last moment. The police had tried to get their hands on him for months and eventually had to ask for the help of the great detective and her assistant.
Vastra and Jenny now held victory in their hands, handcuffs ready to catch the man unarmed in front of them.
«You are done using your tricks to deceive people, Magician.» By now they had reached the end of that night's work that had seemed endless. The man smiled enigmatically behind his mask while Vastra grabbed his wrist ready to handcuff him. A sudden blackout for a moment, and the man was gone, vanished in his black tuxedo, leaving the two women again without their bounty, frustrated and handcuffed to each other.
«How the hell did he do that?» An exasperated growl from Vastra makes her blood boil in her own veins. They got so close, damn it, and now she finds herself handcuffed to her young maid.
«I'll better find the keys.» She mutters searching with her free hand through her clothes but the key seems to have disappeared into thin air as well as the man.
They make the walk home handcuffed and silent, both embarrassed for this forced proximity and angry for having a practically solved case slip through their fingers.
Once home Jenny thinks they are heading upstairs to her room in search of her lockpicks while Vastra points to the kitchen looking for something decidedly less sophisticated and more raw so that by pulling in two opposite directions Jenny finds herself hurled to her employer who loses her balance out of surprise and falls on the ground with Jeny in her arms.
Heads bang together and lips involuntarily meet.
Neither of them moves and their lips continue to remain on one another until Vastra lets her instinct take over and opens her mouth slightly to caress the girl's lips.
Jenny responds immediately to the kiss, the still cuffed hands grip each other while Vastra's free hand immediately flies to the human's hair.
It is only after several minutes that they fall short of breath. Jenny, still clinging to the body underneath her, still doesn't dare move, both escaping one another's eyes, embarrassed by the incident.
The first to speak, as always, is Vastra.
«Forgive me, I let myself get carried away.» She says and immediately after notices how Jenny's hand never left hers.
«I ...» The girl doesn't know how to deal with the issue but knows that might be the only chance she'll ever have in her life. «That's okay. That is to say.. that it's okay. » She admits, blushing red as a beet but smiling at the same time.
Vastra lifts her head again from the ground, still closer to her maid.
«So ...» Vastra finds it hard to find words with those tempting lips again within reach of her mouth. «It would be good if I did it again?» She asks trying to wait for any response without jumping her maid again.
«Absolutely fine.» Says Jenny quickly, longing to have that mouth on her again. Vastra doesn't wait a second longer and goes back to kissing Jenny as if her life depended on it.
It is now several hours later and they've rolled all the way to the stairs leading to the first floor, when they remember they're still tied together.
«We better find a way to untie ourselves.» Offers the Silurian as they both sit up.
«Let's go.» Says the girl as they help each other to get up, their hands never parting.
The fourth time is for protection.
«Untie me! Untie me IMMEDIATELY! » Jenny is furious tears of frustration in her eyes. Could Vastra be so foolish as to think that it would be better for her to remain locked inside their own home instead of being out there helping her catch and cuff that bastard Ripper? Jenny pulls with all the strength she has, but the railing does not move an inch. She doesn't want to be stuck at home with those stupid damned handcuffs. She wants to be out with Vastra, helping and protecting her love. How can she make sure she is safe if she's being locked inside their home as if she were the criminal?
«I can not take the chance, my love.» Says the Silurian, aware that she is hurting her dear human, but at least sure she won't get herself killed on the streets of London tonight.
«Please.» Jenny is in tears, sobbing, begging, but Vastra simply turns away and leaves the house without spearing her more than a glance.
Jenny stays there locked, tied to the ladder. She slips to the ground while her arm stays up, linked as it is by those stupid contraptions. She cries with frustration for close to an hour but then the headache gets too strong and she curses herself for crying so much and now, if possible, she's even angrier than before. She understands why Vastra did what she did, but she shouldn't have the sole vote on her life thinking she's somehow saving her.
Vastra deceived her by crushing her against the staircase, touching under her gown, causing Jenny to lose contact with reality only to find herself suddenly tied to the railing,
Her lock picks too far away from her grasp, her only hope a hairpin from her chignon.
When Vastra gets back home that night she'd not surprised that Jenny isn't cuffed to the stairwell anymore. She knows the girl probably will give her the cold shoulder for a few days but she's just relieved her Jenny was spared facing that monster tonight. She herself didn't easily get out of it. She can fell the blood pouring from her nose, her shoulder and jaw sore from an iron bar blow to the face. All she wants is for Jenny to run towards her and welcome her home that night but she knows she'll have to do without.
She gathers her remaining strength to get to the bathroom upstairs to wash herself before dropping on sheets that that night she suspects will be cold. She only takes a few steps when she feels Jenny's presence at the end of the stairwell, looking down on her. She knows she hurt her, her face blotchy from too many tears is too easy to read and for as much as she know she did the right thing, she feels herself terribly guilted by those reproachful eyes. Maybe she could have simply explained but Vastra know that Jenny Flint is the most stubborn being on the face of the Earth and that words wouldn't solve anything.
That's why she always liked her, her stubbornness that has always pushed her to the limit of her own capabilities and beyond. Her stubbornness in staying with her even through the quarrels born out of their sharp edges colliding. She is grateful to Jenny for being so stubbornly there but sometimes Vastra must understand that she can not afford to lose her or all she is, all she knows, will be lost.
Even if she doesn't know it, without Jenny, Vastra feels lost and she doesn't really want to risk the girl's life, ever, for no reason at all.
«Come here, let me fix you.» Jenny's voice is a pleasant surprise and on her lips can only appear a smile of realization that her beautiful human has forgiven her or has at least begun to understand her motives. In a hurry she gets up the stairs that separate them and lets Jenny take care of her.
The fifth time is to never let go of each other.
What they are doing is a ritual almost as old as the earth itself. Vastra wraps the red satin string around Jenny's wrist with such devotion and care that it seems time has suddenly stopped around them. The girl does the same thing to the Silurian, with the same care. It is the rite of marriage of Vastra's tribe and Jenny is so excited to live it with the woman she loves that her heart seems to jump out of her chest with its strong beats.
Jenny is beautiful in her white silk dress. She's never had anything so expensive in all her life, but it is her marriage and Vastra demanded a dress suited to the beauty of her human. The Silurian has, if possible, an even more regal poise in her dress uniform. Every guest is silently watching the couple with sincere smiles on their faces and even if there is no one who delivers them the Doctor will make up for both the brides' families.
«I consent and gladly give.» He says grabbing both women's hands and linking them together in an eternal promise. The Doctor smiles at the two women who look tenderly into each other's eyes aware of what just happened and what it entails to have an interspecies lesbian marriage in Victorian London. Their wrists are still tightly bound by the red string that joins them as the Doctor gives permission - even if he has no idea of who it is directed exactly of the two - to kiss the bride.
Obviously there's a party after the ceremony and Amy Pond doesn't miss the opportunity to thank again Vastra and Jenny for their help in Demons Run. It's been a little over two years for them since they saw the little newborn Melody and there she is now, sated on the Doctor's lap, her husband. There is Strax going around offering sorbets and grenades to the guests while Rory seems to be agitated in the house of a Silurian but smiles as he watches with interest all the sontaran medical devices. The head of Dorium Maldovar fell asleep during the ceremony but I really can not fault him for it.
The two brides remain tied at the wrist even after the ceremony. They really are not going to be separated, not even for a second that day.
«Is it tradition to remain tied even after?» Asks Jenny, who's not not exactly familiar with the whole rite.
«No.» whispers Vastra in her ear, not to be heard. «But only I, and maybe the Doctor, know that.» She smiles at her new wife, who smiles back and tightens the grip in her hand.
Once alone, having the Doctor brought Strax away from the house with him, Vastra lifts her wife in her arms and leads her to the bedroom.
Jenny squeaks with surprise, clinging to her wife's neck, and, noting that the handcuffs on the shelf have disappeared, a mischievous look crosses her face.