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you control the tide like the moon in the sky (you’re the gravity)
The thing was, Jin watched.
He watched, back with the giants, how fiery and wild Siegrun could be, growling and spitting angry lines like they were poison as she swung arms and weapons, completely aware of the power she wielded.
He watched as she came to the guild and reclaimed herself slowly through drinking and gambling and fighting valiantly - but also through working carefully with metal, her eye to detail just as experient as his own.
He watched her in silence, never understanding her words, but paying attention to her body language instead. He listened to the tune of her muscles shifting underneath her skin, the position of her feet telling him where her attention was, the ease - or lack thereof - of her shoulders telling him about how her day had gone, the grip of her hands on the mug of ale speaking of anxieties and anger she was holding, her eyes displaying for everyone who would look when her smiles and laughters were sincere or not.
The language barrier was a problem, yes, but Jin couldn’t help but feel attracted to her. She was a pillar of strength with a dark heart of gold, and all he could think about was reaching out and touching it.
So when Rodrik made a joke he didn’t understand and then translated it, Jin like his women big and strong , what do you think about that, Siegrun, Jin almost wanted to die from embarrassment. He couldn’t even speak to the woman! How was he supposed to prove himself to her?
But she clapped him on the back and said something that his brother translated - he was supposed to go on a hunt and prove himself worthy of her.
But how could he do that? She was a colossus, beautiful and unreachable, and all he did was swing a sword. He could never compete with Siegrun, especially not in this.
Then again, backing out would be disrespectful and, apparently there were more people investing in that relationship, if he could call it that.
“From what she told me,” The only woman there who spoke a little Giant, a new member of the guild who had green skin like Og’va, but didn’t quite look like him, said. “she already considers you honourable and dignified, which are both important qualities to her. She only wants to know if you’re as strong as her - and, from what I’ve heard, you are.” She had smiled at him kindly. “It’ll be alright.”
But it wasn’t alright. It was too soon, and to be quite honest, he was nervous - and that feeling was worsened by the fact that he knew he couldn’t show weakness in front of Siegrun, under the threat of being shunned by her forever as a weakling.
So he and Rodrik made their way to the forest behind her, ready to hunt down some manticores. Heavens help him.
She talked and laughed with Rodrik - which made Jin feel a little stab of something unfamiliar to his chest - until Jin heard something.
“Get down!” He yelled, but, of course, only Rodrik understood him, ducking.
Jin threw himself on Siegrun, hoping his weight was enough to tip her body town. Lucky him, it was because the manticore came a centimeter away from grabbing his neck with its tail.
Siegrun growled something at him, but there wasn’t any time - he did his best to pull her to the side, foreseeing the next attack of the beast with his intuition. Rodrik, to his side, was already on his feet, blade firm on his hands.
Jin also took his blade out and made gestures to show the barbarian where the beast would attack. She didn’t seem to understand at first, but followed the movement of his hands in blind trust, ducking another quick attack in the dark.
She laughed and yelled something, her axe swinging up side to side.
Him and Rodrik adopted a complementary approach to hers, Rodrik jumping and sticking his sword into the creature’s wing to hinder its flying capabilities.
Jin went for the throat, but Siegrun stayed in front of the animal, in range of its mouth.
“Get to the chest!” Jin yelled at her, met with a puzzled look from her. He tried to motion to her, but she was still swinging her axe, uncaring to the danger.
She screamed, a warcry if he ever heard one, and swung her axe on the creature’s face, severing its skull gravely - but completely forgetting to dodge its attack, which hit her where he knew she already had an injured shoulder.
The creature gave a loud shriek and tumbled down slowly, face first on the dirt.
Right after it, Siegrun fell, and, with her, Jin’s heart.
__________________________________________________________________________
Jin checked her bandages once again, just as a precaution. The only sounds inside the cave beside her breathing and the rain, were the cackling of the fire near them and Rodrik’s sword hitting the manticore’s bone and cartilage as he slowly dismembered it in pieces that were easier to carry, while still being useful to them.
After Siegrun fell, Jin had wrapped her arm with his own cloths and started chest compressions alternated with blowing air on her lungs through her mouth, desperate. He didn’t stop until he could feel a heartbeat on her, falling back with a relieved sigh as soon as he did.
“Will she be alright?” Rodrik asked from beside him, looking worried.
“Yes.” Jin answered, just then hearing the thunder cackling around them. “We should hurry.”
Jin had carried Siegrun into the cave as Rodrik pulled the dead manticore. They settled in less than half an hour, putting up a fire to keep them warm during the night, as the storm gave no signs of breaking off anytime soon, and there was no way they’d be able to carry both the manticore and Siegrun under heavy rain back to the village.
Jin felt grateful that he didn’t need to say anything to Rodrik - his brother took care of the deceased beast while he was free to watch Siegrun breathe, just to make sure she was , indeed, still breathing.
“You really like her, don’t you?” Rodrik asked. Jin could feel his brother’s eyes glued to the back of his neck. “I thought it was a fluke, but you really like her.”
“I do.” He agreed, eyes never leaving the redhead’s face. “She… she’s everything.”
Rodrik made a sound and went back to working.
A couple of hours later the woman stirred on the bedroll, face contorting in a frown. “Wha-”
“Shh. You’re fine.” Jin said fruitlessly, despite knowing that she could not understand him.
She talked something to Rodrik, and his brother, Jin assumed, was translating what he told her.
Siegrun said something that sounded like a curse word and reached for her bag, taking a flask from there - one that Jin immediately intercepted despite her protest, sniffing it. Alcohol . He frowned and placed it out of her reach. “No.”
She spoke with Rodrik again, the other man translating what he had said.
“Bro, she really wants that drink.” Rodrik told him, speaking back in their native tongue. “Says it’ll help her sleep with the pain.”
“Tell her I said no.”
“I told her that, and she said she’ll rip your neck out if you don’t give it to her.”
Jin looked at her. She was frowning at him, looking angry and indignant, but there was an underlying sense of fragility there that he could not miss. She needed taking care of, regardless of whatever she thought at the moment.
She did not speak his language, but he was quite sure that she understood him when he took the flask and threw it out of the cave, permanently lost to night.
He didn’t need to understand Common to know that she was cursing him and his whole family, but when she looked at him and his stern expression, she flushed a little. It could pass as the warmth of the fire to anyone else, but Jin knew her.
She was reluctantly pleased.
“She’s asking if she can have some food at least.” Rodrik spoke after her, looking amused. “What are you doing, brother?”
“I’m taking care of her, whether she likes it or not.” He answered, taking the stew from the fire and serving a cup to her. “Tell her to drink it slowly. It’s hot, but it’ll help her heal. Manticore cartilage is great for the body’s healing capabilities, and the liver helps with blood loss.”
As Rodrik translated it, Siegrun flushed again, hiding it behind her cup as she slurped the stew. It wasn’t the best taste in the world, but he stood by it. It was efficient.
After finishing it, the woman said something to him that resembled a thank you and turned on the bedroll - his bedroll, as she never bothered to bring one to hunts, saying she’d rather sleep on the ground - and fell asleep. Rodrik settled a few minutes after her, falling asleep quickly.
Jin, however, woke up from hour to hour to check on her - if she had a fever, if the bleeding had started again, if she was sleeping soundly, as she should.
If her eyes followed him when he did so, well. He was just happy that she stopped struggling against his care.
________________________________________________________________________
Back at the guild, Jin left Siegrun under Abigail’s care, ignoring her protests.
“Dude, you know she’ll rip your head off when she’s out of there, right?” Rodrik asked. “You’ll miss your chance with her.”
Jin shrugged, determined. “As long as she’s safe.” He answered sincerely.
Three weeks later and she was out, apparently as healed as she would get under Abigail’s ministrations. Whilst on that, Siegrun hadn’t talked- looked, grunted, or whatever - to him at all. She just looked at him suspiciously when he came to visit, counting on Abigail’s telepathy to communicate with the doctor and make sure that Siegrun was out of danger.
Outside of that, Jin had worked on weapons, and Yasfa - the green lady who spoke Giant - had insisted on teaching him Common, spending almost her whole day around him, helping him with meanings and pronunciation. At the end of four weeks he wasn’t exactly fluent, but he could communicate efficiently with Barnaby and the invisible servants, which he counted as a win.
Five weeks after the manticore hunt, Jin was pretty sure that Siegrun decided he wasn’t worthy, after all - maybe because of the way he took care of her, undermining her authority over her own body; maybe because he kept checking on her, which would imply he thought her weak. He wasn’t sure what it was, but that long without a word and the man resigned himself to rejection, planning on moving on as soon as his heart stopped bleeding every time he heard her raucous laughter echoing on the walls of the shared dining room.
And then, on the morning of the first day of the sixth week, she came alone into their working area. Rodrik was out for supplies, Yasfa was out there teaching someone else… something , he wasn’t quite sure, that woman had a teacher bone in her body, and there was no one else around - which absolutely did nothing to explain why she was walking like that - like she wasn’t certain of her next step.
Jin had never seen Siegrun like that. And, trust him, he looked .
“Yasfa told me she taught you Common.” Were her first words to him.
“Hai.” He answered, nodding. “Yes. Yasfa taught me some.”
Her eyes widened a little. “It’s weird to hear your voice like that. Usually you make these… sounds I don’t understand.”
He didn’t know what to say to that, so he said nothing, just watching.
Her eyes kept finding the floor despite her trying to look at him directly, and her posture, while straight, didn’t look as cocky as usual. There was something softer behind her words.
Had she come to let him down easily? He felt his heart break a little more in disappointment. Well, at least she decided to be considerate. He was at least worthy of that in her eyes.
Jin braced himself for the certain blow.
“So.” She started again, shifting her weight from one leg to another. “About the money…”
“Oh!” He remembered, moving to his working station and taking the bag from underneath it. “We parted it three ways. I held onto your share for you, but forgot to deliver it.” Jin bowed down respectfully. “I am sorry, miss Valahar.”
“You can call me Siegrun.” Her voice made his eyes snap back to her face. “Cause you saved my life and all.”
Jin shook his head. “I was not strong enough. You gave the beast the killing blow, and almost died for it. All I did was tie your wound.”
“Rodrik said you did more than that.” Her eyes moved from one of his ears to the other, trying to trick him into believing she was looking him in the face. “He said that you… kissed me, and made my heart beat again, somehow.”
“It’s a simple technique.” He assured her. “You blow air into the fallen person’s lungs and press over their hearts on the count of four, alternating.” He bowed down again. “I am sorry I have wasted your time, miss Valahar. I was not worthy of your affections and could not keep you safe from the beast. For that, please, forgive me.” He straightened his posture again, keeping his eyes down in respect. “I hope you can forgive me, and that we can keep on being friends-”
“Oh, by the gods, will you shut up? ” She growled and pulled him in by the lapels of his robes.
The kiss that followed her statement was nothing short of a revelation. He thought Siegrun would kiss like she fought - for dominance, with hunger and that characteristic ferocity of hers - but, instead, while still intense, it felt like an invitation. Like she was just as curious about how he would taste as he was about her.
Jin threw caution in the air and placed his hands on her naked waist, enjoying the feel of her bare skin underneath his fingers, calloused from working so much with metals and the heat necessary to bend them.
And while he had no intention of bending or molding or even taming Siegrun, like his brother translated people’s words about her over and over while conversations happened around them, he also knew that the strength and resistance necessary to withstand the heat of a forge without breaking down or running away was an ability that Siegrun had looked for in a man. And that, he could easily do for her. He had lost the fear of being burned long ago.
“You proved to me that you’re worth my while, Yamamoto.” She said after breaking off the kiss, still as breathless as he was. He couldn’t contain the small smile from blooming on his lips as he noticed how deliciously wrecked she sounded. Thankfully, she ignored it. “And I am willing to share my hunts, my bed and my time with you, if you still want me.”
Jin’s hands slid to settle on her lower back gently, pulling her body forward. She let herself be guided against him with a small grunt. He could see through her annoyed expression, though - the discreet flush on the top of her cheeks, the way her eyes darkened ever so slightly. She liked him, and she liked that he wanted her close and was not afraid to reach out and take her anymore.
Not to mention that he could feel how the skin of her back rose in goosebumps, effectively betraying her attempt to look aloof.
“I would be honoured to have anything that you are willing to offer me, miss- Siegrun .” He corrected himself, tasting her name on his lips for the first time.
It tasted like… everything .
A small gasp escaped her chest. Jin had been ready to bow down and apologize again when she pushed him recklessly over the stone table they used to work on swords. He was not about to complain about a couple of scratches, however - not when she straddled him and proceeded to ravage Jin with all of her might, which was… quite a lot.
Jin was more than happy to provide, though. He had been sincere when he told her that he would be happy with whatever she wished to offer him, and would certainly offer his everything on a silver platter for the valkyrie. It was nothing less than she deserved.
After all, Jin looked . He looked , and he found her, and she was everything .
All he could hope was that what he gave her in return was enough.