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Ri’kara stumbled slightly, but limped inside, grumbling with irritation.
They had been clearing out the tangled mess that was the garden outside the little house, wrestling with a twisted dead tree tucked away amongst the weeds. Alarak had gone inside for just a moment, but she hadn’t wanted to wait, paying for her foolishness as the branch she cut fell and slashed her leg open just below the first knee.
“Stupid fucking thing…”
Alarak poked his head out from the living room when he heard her, eyes widening slightly as he saw the state she was in.
“What exactly happened?”
She sighed. “A branch fell, I didn’t get out of the way in time.”
“I was gone for a few moments, Ri’kara, I thought I suggested waiting before you did any more work.”
Quickly, he helped her properly inside, sitting her down and furrowing his brow as he looked her leg over. “That seems less than ideal.”
“It’s nothing, I’ll just—” She tried to get back up and winced as she put weight on it again, making a short, pained sound. More blood ran down her leg and she glared at it, almost as though it was its own fault for getting injured.
It was clear her companion was worried. He couldn’t even keep his expression in his usual, neutral frown, his brow upturning slightly. “No, it is clearly not nothing.”
“Alarak—”
He cut her off. “Ri’kara. Tell me what must be done.”
She knew it would be pointless to argue, so she sat back in the chair, gesturing towards the archway. “… Alright, in my washroom, there is a case. Bring that and some warm water.”
With a nod, he left, moving so quickly she thought he might break into a run. It was barely any time at all before he was back with the case under his arm and the bowl in his hand and had knelt in front of her.
“It needs to be cleaned first, yes?”
Blood pooled on the metal floor below them, seeping into his robes. She knew that she needed to see to the wounds quickly, but a part of her was embarrassed; she could do it herself, couldn’t she? Why the sudden fuss?
“Yes, but… You really don’t have to—”
“You have taken care of me. The very least I could do is return the favour, wouldn’t you agree?” Opening up the case, Alarak pulled out a cloth, dipped it into the water, and began to clean the gashes, frowning in concentration.
It stung, and she couldn’t help but wince again, keeping herself as still as she could. Even with the pain, though, he was surprisingly gentle, every so often glancing at her.
“I recalled that you put a certain substance into the water for wounds. I did the same; a few drops of it.”
“Y-yes, that’s correct…”
“If it requires stitches, I will take you to the medical facility.”
“I…” Ri’kara considered the large gashes. “I don’t believe it will; they seem shallow enough.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am sure.”
There was that look, the one he always gave when he wasn’t one hundred percent convinced. After the whole incident, it had irritated her whenever he used it, but right then, she felt herself crumple, giving him a bit of a smile and rolling her eyes.
“I’ll ask a healer at the forge tomorrow if you are so worried— Oh, sorry, ‘concerned’ by it. It isn’t anything I haven’t dealt with before.”
Alarak rolled his eyes in turn; he wasn’t going to rise to her playful antagonism at that moment. “Ri’kara, when did you decide that you weren’t going to take care of yourself anymore?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His whole face softened, and he started to chuckle, cleaning the last of the blood from her leg. “The lack of self-awareness is palpable; you sound like myself.”
She had no retort for that, feeling her crest and face warm with embarrassment. He was right, of course, she realised.
“Ointment next?”
“Correct.”
He handed the small pot to her to open, setting it on the table beside them and using his only hand to scoop some of it out to very gently apply as she clung to the sofa cushions. It was like someone had set her skin on fire, but she bore it until he was done, and it lessened to a dull ache.
“Are you alright?”
She nodded. “Yes. Thank you…”
The bandages were next. He carefully wrapped the white gauze around the wound, once again frowning in concentration. That buried feeling fluttered in her chest for a moment, and she sighed.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hm?”
“I’ve been so focused on finally just… living for myself that I’ve felt too proud to take help anymore. I suppose I finally understand you in that regard.”
“You have always pushed me to take help from others. If I have to do the same to you, then so be it.”
At that, she couldn’t help but laugh, waving a hand in front of her quickly. “By the void, no, I would rather us not completely switch places. I’ll be better from now on, alright?”
“’I’ll hold you to that’.”
Ri’kara shook her head, laughing a little at her own phrase being thrown back at her. “Now you’re just poking fun at me.”
Alarak smirked at her. “Perhaps I was. So were you.”
Once again, she couldn’t think of a retort, but this time it was because her chest felt far too tight, and she knew that blush was back tenfold.
His head tilted a little. “What?”
“N-nothing… Help me up?”
“Of course.”
She took his arm, standing up again. The pain had completely dulled, but the iron grip around her hearts hadn’t lessened; it always took far too long to go away.
“Thank you.”
“I believe we should stop for now, as much as you insisted on having that tree removed before the end of the day.”
“Alright… Sunroom, then? We could use a rest… though I left some of the tools outside.”
“I will retrieve them if you can walk.”
“I should be fine.” Ri’kara took a few experimental steps, skirting around him to get to the archway that led out into the hall. At least it stopped her chest from feeling so constricted once there was distance between them. “See?”
“Fine. Go, I will be a moment.”
She nodded, limping slightly into the sunroom at the bottom of the small flight of stairs and flopping herself onto one of the mats, getting comfortable on her back in the large patch of afternoon sun.
It took a short while, but the door opened, and Alarak walked in, sitting to take off his prosthetic and lying to the right of her so he didn’t block the sun.
They were quiet for a while. The sun was gentle and warm, and she felt her eyes slowly slipping closed. She wasn’t quite able to sleep, however, still far too aware of how close they were. It was getting quite painful again, that squeeze in her chest, and she sighed.
“Out with it.”
“… It’s nothing, I…”
Alarak turned his head to look at her, raising a brow incredulously.
“I’m just… This reminds me of when I used to rest on the grass with Inzar on Aiur.” She laughed a bit. “I’d use him as a pillow, and all the younglings would bundle up around us… I miss those naps.” Her next sigh was far more wistful.
He considered her for a moment and then let out a short laugh. “There are no younglings in here, but there is nothing to stop you from napping.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re… Well, there’s no Inzar, either. I’m lacking the pillow part of that equation.”
“Perhaps you are. Perhaps you aren’t.”
The way he spoke was oddly nonchalant. It made her narrow her eyes even more.
“… What exactly are you implying?”
“Nothing at all, Ri’kara.”
It took her a moment, but suddenly, the idea of what he might be trying to say wormed its way into her brain, and she nudged him.
“Alarak are you suggesting—”
“What if I was?”
There was a pause while she tried to process this, frowning briefly. He was acting strangely, that was for certain, but…
“I… Look, that’s—” She passed her hand over her crest and tried to compose herself. “You’re set on toying with me today, aren’t you?”
“It was a simple offer.” He shrugged. “If you do not wish to take it, that is your choice.”
He was… almost bashful. She could feel it below the veneer of matter-of-factness that he tried to display. It reminded her of…
“This feels like that midsummer celebration all over again.”
With a soft frown, he looked away from her. “We agreed never to speak of that.”
“Well, there’s nobody to ‘find out’ now, so I feel like I can mention it.”
“… How is your leg?”
“Don’t change the subject!”
It took a few moments, but Alarak sighed, shifting from a frown to a half-smile. “… Perhaps it is like that, though I am hardly asking for a kiss this time, am I?”
“… No…” It was her turn to be bashful, and she quickly waved a hand in front of her dismissively as she tried not to remember. She was failing. “On second thought, don’t say it out loud. My leg is fine, it just aches a little.”
That made him chuckle. “Now who is ‘changing the subject’, hm?”
“You’re insufferable.”
“As are you.”
They shot each other a smirk, though it was more of an affectionate smile, and then let out a laugh each.
“… As you miss your friend, I simply decided to offer a sort of comfort. I understand if you do not wish to be so close.”
The ‘with me’ wasn’t spoken, but it was implied, and she softened.
“No, I… Of course, I was never so close with you, but that was because of politics, and the fear of being watched, found out… And… other things, but never because I did not want to.”
“Somehow that is… comforting to hear. I suppose.”
“Besides anything else, you flinched whenever I even spontaneously touched your arm to get your attention. I know from experience how difficult it can be to accept any sort of touch after… Everything.”
“Well, I have no excuse not to become used to it now.”
“Only if you want to try.”
He moved the stump of his arm out of the way, looking up at the ceiling rather than at her. She couldn’t help but hesitate, and then shuffled over to him, awkwardly resting her head on his side. For a moment, he flinched at the contact as he always had, but seemed to calm down quickly. She kept her arms tucked against her chest, feeling her face flush all over again.
“Comfortable?”
“… Yes.”
“Alright.”
The silence was as tense as it had been to begin with; Ri’kara knew that she wouldn’t be able to do the napping part of her plan, but she still, at least, closed her eyes.
She could hear, muffled, his hearts hammering, but his arm moved, the stump gently resting against her back, shuffling her close enough that she had to rest one hand against him by her head. He didn’t flinch that time.
After a short while, she properly relaxed. It was easier if she imagined it was just Inzar; her hearts finally calmed their own hammering and her chest loosened. It had been a while since she had any sort of comforting contact, and once the awkwardness subsided, she experimented with opening her eyes again.
“… You’re just as much of a heater as ever.”
“And your hands are still as cold.”
“Sorry.”
He put his only hand over hers and sighed in an exaggerated fashion, as though it were the most inconvenient thing in the world. “There. Warm up.”
They were quiet again for another little while, though she could have sworn that, once she focused on it, she could hear him purring. It was a soft rumbling noise deep in his chest.
“Are… you asleep?” She couldn’t bring herself above anything more than a whisper.
No answer. Ri’kara didn’t dare move just in case she disturbed him, so she just settled again, closing her eyes.