Work Text:
The sky was overcast, casting a slight grey shadow over the world as Jack-O' planted a kick in the outlaw's side. His eyes bulged and he wheezed heavily as all the air was knocked out of his lungs. She casually turned around, catching the other in the side of the jaw with the back of her fist. She glanced over at Sol, who was handling four outlaws, literally single-handedly.
The two of them had been traveling together and bounty hunting for a while now. It was easy money really; low life crooks really couldn't pose any threat to them. They had chased down these six scoundrels and Sol had run their pickup truck off the road with the Fire Wheel. They were trying to put up a fight but all they were really achieving was ending up exactly where they were always headed, just a whole lot worse for wear.
She glanced over at Sol and had to stifle a giggle. He appeared to playing a game reminiscent of marbles with the outlaws. Apparently he was seeing how many times he could send a charging attacker stumbling wildy out of control into one of his pals. She smiled to herself, when all of a sudden...
'Whack!' Something hit her across the back of the head. The outlaw had struck her with his club-like polearm. No harm was done of course but it still hurt. She turned to face him, rubbing the back of her head with a ticked off expression on her face. The outlaw shrunk under her uncharacteristicly intense gaze and took a step back. She jumped, planting a kick in his face and knocking him back and off his feet.
She was about to turn around when a sharp pain erupted across her back. She screamed out in shock and pain, falling to her knees. She gritted her teeth and grunted in pain. She could feel a warm wetness seeping down her back, and she realized that it was blood. She looked behind her to see the other outlaw holding his bladed polearm. He angled it to stab at her, but a massive hand clamped down around his neck. He dropped his weapon, choking and clawing hopelessly at the vice grip on his neck as he was lifted off the ground. He found himself being held face to face with Sol, whose face was contorted in bestial rage, his eyes burning with an unyielding fury.
The man was thrown across the road, denting their truck as he slammed into it before slumping to the ground, out cold and flat on his face. Realizing the wrath they had just brought upon themselves, the outlaws all scrambled for their truck. Sol stood frozen in place, caught between tending to Jack-O' and raining down hell on those who had dared hurt her.
He regained a bit of sense and went and knelt down beside Jack-O' as the panicked outlaws scrambled into the truck, starting it up and throwing their unconscious partner into the back with all the grace of a sack of potatoes in their terrified bid for escape. "Jack-O!'" he exclaimed, kneeling down behind her. She whined and let out a small groan as she pushed herself backward into a sitting position. "It's fine," she said. She let out a shaky breath, getting her breathing under control. "Easy. Just stay still," he told her with ncharacteristic gentleness. Jack'O healed extremely fast compared to a normal human. However, not nearly as fast as Sol, whose body would heal even a major injury in a matter of seconds.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There were a few moments of silence as Sol examined her wound. "It's not very deep," came his voice, back to its usual calm, unreadable tone. 'I still want to bandage it up, just in case it gets infected. I've got a basic first aid kit in the Fire Wheel. She stood up and followed him to the vehicle. He reached in and pulled out the small box of medical supplies. "Here," he said, "just sit down and try to relax, I'll sort everything out."
Jack-O' turned away and sat down on her knees as Sol knealt behind her. "I'm going to have to pull this down a bit," he said, his fingers gripping the front of her suits collar. Her breath cough in her throat at that, her cheeks dusting pink. Even though his voice portrayed it as something perfectly mundane, it still caused her stomach to flutter and her heart to race. "O-okay," she stammered out. He pulled her suit over her shoulders and down to the bottom of her waist, enough for him to tend to the wound. She let out an almost inaudible whine as she immediately felt the cool, evening air embrace and caress her bare, sensitive flesh.
Sol got to work cleaning the wound with antiseptic wipes. Showing an uncharacteristic gentleness as he worked. It stung a fair bit, but the pain was far from her mind, instead, all she could focus on his proximity and his touch. Even though he wasn't making direct skin-to-skin contact, it still felt like his contact left trails of blazing flame in it's path. Once he had cleaned the wound, he started applying antiseptic gel liberally to the gash. Now, actually feeling his fingers directly touching her, she was really having a hard time controlling her thoughts.
---
Jack-O' never saw herself as Aria, merely as a temporary placeholder personality until the original Aria's consciousness took over. She always told people that she didn't have emotions, at least, not real ones. Although lately, she was seriously doubting the truth of that claim. She definitely felt things. Strong things. That was for sure. She didn't know how to tell if they were real or not. They certainly felt very real. What she felt the most strongly for, was Frederick, or Sol, the name didn't matter to her. She had tried to be controlled and composed, but she had fallen in love with him, despite herself. That was why she desperately wanted the original Aria's consciousness to take over, so that Frederick could finally be happy.
But that wasn't happening, and Jack-O' had been seeing a ghostly figure that claimed to be another part of Aria. She had told her that the original Aria's mind had been destroyed by her time as Justice. She'd asked Jack-O' what value her own world held to her, and told her that if she couldn't find the answer, then Aria would disappear. This made no sense to her, and it frustrated her to no end.
---
Having applied more antiseptic than he probably needed to, Sol held the wound closed with one hand and started stapling it shut with the other. Once again the pain of the procedure was lost on her. All she could focus on was the warm touch of his rough calloused fingers against her naked skin; and the pain in her heart that she couldn't be with him. He placed the stapler down and began wrapping a bandage around her waist. "All right," he said as he finished. It was an admittedly sloppy job but he had done his best. He wasn't a doctor of medicine after all and he'd never done this before or even been shown how to do it. He pulled her suit back up before beginning to pack up the first aid kit. Jack-O' felt her heart sink. It was over, that intimate moment that meant so much to her that it had drowned out the pain was over. And it was unlikely that there would ever be another such moment.
Sol picked up the first aid kit and stood up to head back to the Fire Wheel. He spared a glance at Jack-O', and noticed how her shoulders were shaking and how it sounded like her breath was catching in her throat. 'Is she crying?' he thought to himself. He hurriedly walked in front of her and knelt down, placing the box on the ground. Tears were streaming down her face, falling and landing on the road below. "Jack-O', does it hurt?" he asked, concerned. "I'm sorry, I don't have any painkillers. I do have some gin in the Fire Wheel if-" "No! It's not that!" she cried out, no longer able to control herself.
She looked up at him, eyes overflowing with tears. "I can't help it anymore," she confessed tearfully. "Being this close to you, but not being with you, I can't take it anymore! I love you Frederick!" Thunder boomed across the cloudy, darkening sky. It began to rain, but neither of them paid it any mind. Jack-O' let out a choking sob. "I just want Aria to come back, so you can be happy again. But, th... there's... there's nothing I can do! Aria isn't coming back!" She hung her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "I'm so sorry, I'm so very sorry Frederick!"
There was silence, Jack-O's sobbing the only sound. "Have I ever called you Aria?" came Sol's voice, uncharacteristically serious and gentle. He placed his thumb and the back of his forefinger on her cheek, lifting her head up to look her in the eyes. "Aria, Justice, Jack-O', it makes no difference to me," He wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "You're a part of Aria. And any part of Aria, no matter how small, is more than enough for me,"
He shifted his hand to cradle the back of her neck. He leaned in, pressing his lips against hers. Jack-O' was frozen in shock, but not for long as she was simply overcome, her eyes closing as she melted into the kiss. She was enraptured by the feeling of Sol's rough lips against her own soft, tender ones. She placed her hands on the sides of his muscular neck as their kiss deepened, his tongue poked at her lips, asking for entry. She gladly obliged, welcoming his tongue with her own. Their tongues swirled and caressed each other. The two of them reveled in each other as the rain poured down on them. Jack-O' let out a soft moan, unable to resist pressing her fingers against the sturdy muscle of his strong neck. They were truly together again, for the first time in almost two centuries.
The two finally broke apart, a small trail of saliva connecting their lips that Sol broke by running his tongue along his bottom lip. They stared into each others eyes for a while, lost in a daze. Eventually Sol picked up the first aid kit and stood up. He held out his hand to her to help her up. "Come on," he said, "Let's go find some shelter for the night," She took his hand and he helped her up, not letting go as he walked them back to the Fire Wheel.
---
The sky was dark as they traveled along the road. Jack-O' was laying her head and hand on Sol's thigh. She had Sol's Jacket wrapped around her and pulled up over her head. It was so big that it felt like a blanket. Sol had insisted that she use it, saying that he didn't want her catching a cold. She knew he was stubborn and hard-headed as a rock so she didn't bother trying to talk him out of it. She knew it was impossible. She lay with her eyes closed, in a daze from the sheer bliss that she felt, enjoying his presence and his scent. She felt the haze of sleep closing in around her consciousness. Despite the pouring rain and the roar of the engine, being here, with him, was more than enough.