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Laudna and Imogen are cleaning up what's left of Zhudanna's dinner. They had a couple bites themselves, but had a heartier meal at the Spire By Fire Inn with the rest of Bell's Hells before they had returned here to spend some time with Zhudanna.
"You don't have to stay up for us, Zhudanna. Let us do the dishes and put everything away, you deserve some rest." Imogen insists.
Zhudanna gives them her crooked grin. "I'm not going to argue about that! Thank you. You're both such dears. I'll make breakfast for us in the morning, how does that sound?"
"That sounds delicious, thank you." Laudna gives her a quick hug. "Good night, Zhudanna."
Imogen gives Zhudanna a gentle hug as well. "Good night."
"Good night. See you in the morning! I'm making bacon." Zhudanna says gleefully as she shuffles off to bed.
Imogen groans softly. "Oh, I have missed her breakfasts. No taverns can compete."
Laudna smiles and moves the last of the dishes to the sink. "Me too. Except for perhaps Pretty, I haven't come across a tavern or restaurant cook who put their soul and love into what they make."
Imogen hums in understanding and moves to the left of Laudna, who automatically moves out of the way so Imogen can stand in front of the sink. They fall into their usual dishwashing habits easily.
Imogen washes since they had learned early on that it's not a great idea for Laudna to. Laudna’s skin plus water plus an abrasive sponge isn't exactly a pretty sight. So she's in charge of drying and putting away dishes, which suits her just fine.
Imogen finishes before Laudna and drains the sink before leaning against the counter. She watches as Laudna goes through familiar motions, absent-mindedly humming to herself. When Laudna finishes and looks over, Imogen is watching her with a beautiful smile and soft expression.
Laudna breaks into her own smile and holds out a hand for Imogen to take. "Time for bed, darling?"
Imogen squeezes her hand and they walk hand in hand past Zhudanna's room, where she's snoring, to their old room. Laudna steers Imogen to sit in front of the mirror atop the dresser. She pulls Imogen's brush from her bag and takes her place behind her, the familiar motions soothing her.
"Imogen, can we talk?" Laudna can feel her immediately tense and hurries to assure her. "Sorry darling, I keep forgetting you can't hear me. Nothing bad, I promise. First, that reminded me. Do you have control over your circlet? You have my permission to be in my head whenever you like. Like you said, we're each other's tethers. I know my mind was a safe space for you, and I'm not taking that away."
Imogen purses her lips as Laudna continues to brush Imogen's hair silently, letting her gather her thoughts. "I… I don't know. The usual way this works, someone can speak to me telepathically if I choose to let them. So maybe it can work the other way? I might be able to link our minds because I choose to do it, while still blocking out everything else. Do you mind if I try?"
"No, of course not! Go ahead."
‘Laudna. Can you hear me?’
Laudna's face breaks into a delighted grin. ‘I can! Is it weird that I missed you in my head?’
Imogen shakes her head, smiling shyly. ‘No, I understand completely. I'm not sure how it feels for you, but I feel connected to you like this.’
‘Yes, exactly! I love it. It's just… us. Plus, we're less likely to wake Zhudanna like this.’
Imogen laughs as Laudna finishes up her hair. ‘That's true, even though Zhudanna can sleep through a lot, as long as it's not around the time she wakes up.’
They move to the bed, Laudna first, then Imogen so that she can curl up against Laudna. Imogen rests her head on Laudna's chest before taking one of her hands and absent-mindedly tracing the prominent bones.
‘What did you want to talk about, darlin'?’
Laudna takes a deep breath. ‘Why now?’
Imogen doesn't have to ask what she means. She wouldn't have to even if she couldn't read Laudna’s mind. She turns her head so that she meets Laudna’s eyes as she speaks. “We’re each others’ tethers, and it’s been like that since we met. Before Bell’s Hells, it was just us against the world. And now we have a…found family. But it was still you and I inside of Bell’s Hells. Then we met Yu. And they asked me if we were a thing, romantically.” She pushes down the way resentment and jealousy courses beneath her skin and lets out a breath. “We were havin’ an actual fight for the first time, because I blamed you for something Delilah did. I… I’m sorry about that.”
Laudna runs her free hand through Imogen’s hair and smiles softly. “I know.”
“My first instinct was to say of course we’re a thing. We’re Imogen and Laudna. The romantic bit through me off, and I eventually told them no. Because we weren’t romantically involved, and that was the first time I consciously acknowledged that I wanted to be. They pursued you, and Gods, I was so jealous that they were the one making you smile and blush. Especially when I was still being stubborn and we hadn’t officially made up yet. You said you hadn’t accessed that part of your brain in forever. I don't know if you meant it that way, but to me, that told me you didn’t feel the same way I did. Which, as long as I still have you by my side, I can live with that.” Imogen lets out a shaky breath. “Then you died.”
Laudna flips over her hand to hold Imogen’s and squeezes gently. “I’m still here. Thanks to you.”
Imogen smiles sadly. “Maybe it’s just me that sees it this way, but it’s my fault you died. Orym and Fearne went down too, but she specifically targeted you. ‘Is she your favorite?’” She bitterly repeats Otohan’s words, tears rolling down her cheeks. “That will haunt me for the rest of my days. She killed you because of me. Because I care about you. Because I l-” Imogen lets out a choked sob, unable to finish the sentence.
Laudna holds Imogen to her tighter, her own inky tears falling. “I love you too, my darling Imogen.” She meets Imogen’s so that she can see how serious Laudna is. “My death was not your fault. Otohan killed me to hurt you, yes, but it’s not you who killed me. Otohan did. I don’t blame you.”
Imogen buries her head against Laudna’s bony shoulder for a bit, letting the tears come in the safety of her arms before she continues. She turns her head so she can be heard better. “When we brought you back, everything was going to shit. But you were back, and I felt guilty as all hell. We barely had the chance to talk one-on-one. Right before the solstice, I almost got the courage to at least tell you. That way, if I died, you at least knew that you’re lovable, in a romantic sense too. I know we both struggle with that kind of thing. But then I chickened out.”
“And we were separated,” Laudna murmurs.
“We were bamfed across Exandria from each other, and I didn’t know if you were alive or not. I kept trying to message you, but all I got were headaches. Sure, we were busy and able to distract ourselves temporarily, but you never strayed from my mind. I’ve missed you before, but not knowing made it so much worse.” Imogen pauses then lets out a quiet breath. “It didn’t help that I was traveling with those lovely chucklefucks.”
Laudna giggles. “Interesting terminology.”
“It works,” Imogen smiles at her for a moment before her face turns more serious as she continues. “And I am in no way trying to have a pity party for myself, just explain what led to here and now. FCG, who went with us and Fearne on our date with Pretty to learn about love and datin’, ended up finding their first love and getting a boyfriend. Chetney’s old flame from two centuries ago was traveling with FRIDA and ended up in a werewolf threesome with him and Fearne. And what Deanna went through was different, but she was also brought back from the dead.”
Laudna gives her an understanding smile that’s almost more of a grimace. “Another reminder that I wasn’t there.”
There’s a brief pause before Imogen speaks again. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy that the others found or refound love, or at least had some X-rated fun. That last night, they were having a threesome and FCG and FRIDA were nearby canoodling or whatever they were doing… I haven’t felt that alone since before I met you. I missed you like someone cut a hole in me. Everything I was afraid of before the solstice that kept me from telling you felt trivial. As long as I can have you by my side, romantically or not, that’s all that matters. And I knew that no matter what your response would end up being, we’d have to readjust our relationship anyway, but we’d be okay. I’d be by your side, where I belong.”
Laudna moves her hand that’s not holding Imogen’s and directs her face to tilt so that she can kiss her. Their lips press together softly and Laudna leads, kissing Imogen reverently. When they briefly pull apart, she can feel Imogen’s lower lip tremble as she exhales and Laudna leans back in to gently nip at it before pulling back, admiring how Imogen is so relaxed and happy. Imogen’s eyes reopen and they're so full of emotion it makes Laudna’s slow beating heart resemble more of a normal heartbeat.
“Gods, I love you so much.” Imogen breathes out, her smile warm and genuine.
“I love you too.” There’s a beat where Laudna cocks her head at Imogen like a confused puppy. “Why at the marketplace, darling? I’m by no means complaining, but it was rather unexpected.”
Imogen laughs as she remembers Laudna’s deer-in-headlights look when she asked if she could kiss her. “For me, it felt perfect and I didn’t want to wait any longer. I couldn’t hear your mind, I didn’t know what your response would be, but…” She takes a moment to find the words. “That’s exactly the future I want with you. Going out and getting groceries, listening to you talk about literally anything.”
Laudna’s smile widens to inhuman proportions that would creep out almost anyone else. “Having a home with you, doing dishes together after dinner, doing crafts while you read and we sneak glances at each other…”
“After this solstice nonsense is over with, that’s all what I want.”
“Then we’ll make sure it happens, my darling Imogen.”
Imogen pulls Laudna’s face closer again and their lips brush against each other as she speaks. “Together.”
Before Laudna can agree, Imogen leans up that extra centimeter and kisses her. It’s slower and deeper, like they have all the time in the world to explore each other.
Laudna pulls back slightly, breathing harder than Imogen’s ever seen her. “How… How should we let the others know?”
Imogen has to take a moment to bring her brain away from just wanting to kiss Laudna. She thinks for a moment and then chuckles. “I mean, we could be little shits if we want to be. When we were first traveling with them, almost every one of them thought we were already datin’, just being shy about showing it by kissing. We are rather affectionate. We could just do what they thought were doin’ in the first place. Just keep going on like normal. But our new normal.”
“Honestly, I don’t think we’ll change our interactions much. Perhaps more physical affection than before,” Laudna muses. She meets Imogen’s gaze. “I’m never going to stop telling you how amazing you are, and bragging to anyone who’ll listen.”
Imogen’s cheeks flush and she smiles shyly. “I wouldn’t expect you to stop. I’m still going to look at you like you hung the stars in the sky for me, I’m not saying we hide anything. Just… not tell them until either they figure it out or ask.”
Laudna laughs delightedly. “That’s going to drive them nuts. I bet Orym is going to notice immediately and figure out what we’re doing.”
“Absolutely, and I don’t think he’d tell. We need a little bit of the fund kind of chaos right now.”
Laudna hums in acknowledgement and her eyes take in Imogen’s face. “I will say that you are beautiful, Imogen. Absolutely gorgeous. And now that I know you’re an amazing kisser as well, it’ll be hard to hold back.”
Imogen presses a kiss to the back of Laudna’s hand, the warmth lingering on her cold flesh. “Unless I need to talk to someone else, and you’re alright with it, our mind link could be more of a consistent thing. So you could always send thoughts my way. And Laudna, kiss me whenever you’d like to. Fuckin’ with our friends isn’t worth not being able to kiss you. Hell, I might be the one that breaks first.”
“I would love to stay linked to you. And… let’s fuck with our friends.”
Imogen laughs delightedly, the smiles on her and Laudna’s making it difficult as they press their lips together again.