Work Text:
When Satina stumbled through the front door of Ael’s apartment, she was greeted by the flickering of candles and the warm scent of something cooking on the stove. She closed the door behind her as gently as possible and leaned against the coat rack for support.
“Hey,” called a familiar voice from the kitchen to the left. “Perfect timing, the stew’s almost ready.”
Ael emerged from the room next to the entryway, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. Her hair had been thrown up into a ponytail and the sleeves of her work blouse were rolled up to her elbows, the top few buttons undone. The smile on her face slowly melted into a look of concern when she took in Satina’s form.
“Hey…” Satina replied, letting go of the coat rack and trying to move toward the other woman, but quickly realized her mistake when she stumbled against the wall.
“Gods, Satina…” Ael muttered, moving forward to wrap one arm around her partner’s waist, trying to stabilize her. Satina sucked in a sharp breath as her hand came in contact with her tender ribs. “Are you ok?”
“I’m fine,” Satina winced as she limped forward, leaning against Ael for support as she went to the kitchen and sat on one of the wooden chairs. “You should see the other guys. There were some bullies threatening a merchant at the market on the way here. I managed to get them to leave her alone, but they didn’t seem to like that very much,” Satina chuckled softly.
Ael kneeled down in front of her and reached up to run her thumb over Satina’s busted lip. “Why didn’t you go to a healer?”
Satina grabbed Ael’s other hand and held it in hers. “I’m ok, I promise. And besides, I didn’t want to miss out on dinner.”
Ael looked down at their intertwined hands, noticing a red stain spreading on Satina’s pants above her left leg, the fabric torn to reveal a messy gash. Satina followed her eyes and swallowed with difficulty.
“Um, they had a knife too. But don’t worry, it’s not that deep. I’ve had a lot worse.”
Ael let out a shaky breath and squeezed Satina’s hand in hers. “You’re making it really hard to not worry about you, Satina. As strong as you are, I don’t believe that you’re able to just shrug off getting stabbed.” She tried to push away the ripped fabric to get a better look at the wound, but Satina hissed in pain when her fingers grazed it. “Ok, that’s it, I’m going to patch you up if you aren’t going to let me bring you to somebody.”
When Ael stood up, Satina moved to say something, but the uninjured woman raised her hand to stop her. “If you say that you’re fine one more time, you won’t be getting any stew.”
Satina shut her mouth.
Ael gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and walked to the bathroom. She came back holding a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a cloth, and a sewing kit. She placed the materials on the table and pulled up a chair to sit directly in front of Satina. “Ok,” she sighed. “We probably need to get those pants off.”
Satina managed a laugh, wincing slightly due to her bruised ribs. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
Ael rolled her eyes, but a hint of a smile floated across her lips as she helped Satina slide her cloth pants down her legs, revealing the stab wound on her left thigh. It was barely half an inch deep and a few inches wide. Ael walked over to the sink and dampened the cloth before returning to the table and gently starting to clean the dried blood from around the wound. Her other hand rested on the inside of Satina’s right knee, rubbing gently back and forth. Once she had removed most of the excess blood, she doused the cloth in the rubbing alcohol and pressed it to the wound. Satina hissed, gripping the table. Ael looked up with concern in her eyes.
“Sorry,” she muttered, pulling the cloth away. “Is that too much?”
Satina shook her head, clenching her teeth. “No, it’s fine. It has to be sanitized, I get it.”
Ael nodded and set the cloth on the table. She poured some more alcohol onto it and used the fabric to wipe the thin needle, and did the same to a section of thread.
She took a deep breath. “Okay. It’s been a few years since I’ve had to sew anybody up, so I might be a little out of practice.”
Satina reached her hand up to tuck away a stray hair that had fallen out of Ael’s ponytail. “It’s all right. I used to have to do it for myself all the time, so I’m sure you’ll do much better than me. Besides,” she chuckled. “I wouldn’t say no to a new scar.”
She looked up at Ael’s face when she didn’t hear her return her laughter. The other woman sighed and set down the needle, reaching over to hold Satina’s hands in hers. “Listen, Satina. You are the strongest person I know. But you don’t have to pretend to be invincible all the time anymore. Not around me.”
Satina’s easy smile fell for the first time that night. “I know,” she whispered back, gripping Ael’s hands. “Old habits die hard I guess. I just didn’t want you to worry.”
“You don’t have to be brave for me. I don’t want you to ever hide your pain around me, Satina.” Ael reached up to cup Satina’s face, her thumb brushing away a small tear that ran its way down her cheek.
Satina nodded, taking a shaky breath. “I know,” she whispered. “Thank you, Ael. I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Ael smiled before leaning in to gently press her lips to Satina’s. The two shared a tender kiss before pulling away. Satina used her thumb to wipe away a bit of blood that stained Ael’s chin.
“Okay,” Ael muttered as she picked up the needle and thread once again. “Are you ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Satina replied, grabbing onto the table and her knee for support.
Ael’s steady hands made quick work of the stitches. Satina did her best to keep her breathing steady, as Ael stalled every time she let out a sharp intake of breath. When she tied off the thread, Satina let out a deep sigh.
“Much better,” she said, smiling gratefully at her partner. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Ael replied, pressing a quick kiss to Satina’s cheek before putting the needle and thread away. “But try not to make this a habit.”
“I’ll do my best,” Satina chuckled.
Ael returned with two bowls of rice topped with the beef stew. She cut into a loaf of bread that was already set on the table and handed Satina a glass of wine, pouring one for herself as well.
“Apologies if the stew is cold,” Ael said as she took a seat at the table to the right of Satina.
“It’s all right,” Satina chuckled, swinging her chair around to face the delicious-smelling meal in front of her. She took a bite of the stew, the warm tender meat sliding easily down her throat. She let out a contented hum. “Oh gods Ael, this is incredible!”
Ael smiled. “Thank you,” she chuckled, raising her wine glass. “To an uneventful rest of the night.”
Satina laughed and raised her glass to clink against Ael’s. “Cheers to that.”
The two ate and the conversation flowed easily, talking about Ael’s work and their upcoming visit to Old City. After they had both finished, Satina grabbed their bowls and limped over to the sink, ignoring Ael’s protests. The room fell silent as she washed the dishes. As she was drying their bowls, Satina looked up to find Ael staring back at her, a soft smile on her face, wine glass in hand.
“Silver piece for your thoughts?” Satina inquired, leaning against the kitchen counter.
Ael chuckled and finished the last of her wine before bringing their empty glasses up to the sink, beginning to wash them as well. “I’m sorry if I was too hard on you earlier. I just get worried sometimes, that’s all.” Satina grabbed the glasses and dried out the insides, putting them away in the cabinet. “You’re always the first one to jump in and protect those who can’t protect themselves, and I really love that about you.”
Satina smiled and turned to Ael, grabbing her hands. “No matter what, I’m always going to try my hardest to come home to you, Ael. I promise. I’d be an idiot not to.”
Ael smiled softly and wrapped her arms around Satina’s waist, pulling her into her chest. Satina returned the embrace and nestled her face in the crook of Ael’s neck, breathing in the intoxicating smell of forge smoke and lavender soap that she had come to associate with her partner.
Ael pressed a kiss to the top of Satina’s head. “Do you want to head to bed? I can get the fire started.”
Satina leaned back. “That sounds great.” She gave Ael a quick kiss before drawing back her arms and letting Ael move over to the fireplace in the living room. She limped her way over to Ael’s cozy bedroom, undressing and putting on one of her partner’s soft sleep shirts before wiggling under the covers. Ael joined her shortly after, changing herself before pulling back the covers and sliding into bed. She grinned when she saw Satina’s choice of sleepwear. The two shared a kiss before Ael wrapped her arms gently around Satina, pulling her closer. Satina hummed in response.
“You know, I’ve been talking with Gasha about ways to set up a smaller personal forge if we wanted to move in the future.”
Satina leaned back and looked up at Ael’s face. “You’d really be okay with leaving New City?”
Ael smiled softly and rubbed her hand up and down Satina’s arm. “I know that you wanted to build a home outside the city. I’m starting to think that it might be nice to settle down one day.”
Satina smiled and leaned in to press her lips to Ael’s. “I would love that.”
Ael wrapped her arms back around Satina, running one hand gently through her curls. “I always feel like I’m at home when I’m with you, Satina,” she whispered. “But I admit it might be nice to have a place to call home someday too.”
Satina rubbed circles into Ael’s upper back. “That sounds perfect.”
The two sat there for a while, holding each other as they began nodding off.
“Good night Satina,” Ael muttered, her eyes closed. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”