Work Text:
James would have said his night was going rather well until his wife and sister showed up bleeding at his door.
Matthew had insisted that the lot of them should go to The Devil Tavern. Cordelia and Lucie were scheduled for a night patrol, and Matthew insisted that this was a prime opportunity to revisit their old haunt. James had looked and Thomas, who nodded curtly. James concurred and Matthew clapped them on their backs, telling Thomas that Alastair was obviously invited if he pleased. Despite the vague notion that James had had that the outing would be modest, Matthew began mentioning it to everyone he encountered, and when Lucie discovered that her and Cordelia were the only ones that would not be in attendance, besides Grace who never deigned to go out to social settings after 7 PM, she was horribly offended, but James reassured them both that they’d go back very soon.
In truth, there were many reasons they hadn’t been to Devil Tavern in nearly a year. In the most practical sense, Matthew had been on his travels. Without him, James and Thomas had not visited the Tavern. Now that Math had returned, it felt cruel to invite him to the place he had so often overindulged himself in alcohol and revelry. It had been several months since Matthew had drank. He had been quite disappointed in himself when he wrote to James, telling him about how he had relapsed into his old habits in his travels in Amsterdam, but still was committed to freeing himself from the clutches of the bottle. He hadn’t drank since, but James knew Matthew was far from free. He would never be free, not truly. The reality was painful to consider, but it was easier than hiding from the truth. A trip to The Devil Tavern might be harder than Matthew realized. James figured that Matthew was inviting so many people to distract himself from this fact.
Most glaringly, they had not been back to the Devil Tavern without Christopher. James’s heart constricted at the thought of his cousin, but he relished in the pain, reminding himself of the love that he still had for him– love that would never really go away. He had found ways to manage. Christopher would never have wanted them to avoid one of their favorite places just because he was no longer there.
So, James, Matthew, Thomas, Alastair, James, Anna, and Ari found themselves in Devil Tavern, surrounded by the unique clientele once again. Matthew made his way around the tavern, greeting various Downworlders he had not seen in ages, telling them embellished stories about his travels and nursing a pint that James knew was filled with water. Anna and Ari stood in the corner of the room, seemingly commentating on the rowdiness of the partiers. Thomas and Alastair, on the other hand, had been engaged in an intent conversation with a werewolf for the past hour. James wasn’t quite sure if they needed to be saved from it, but figured they could fare well enough on their own. Jesse remained by James, and they mostly talked amongst each other, and Matthew while he was in between his laps around the bar. A few times, he’d come back wearing a hat or scarf that didn’t belong to him, saying something vague like “I don’t fancy myself a mauve person,” and deposit it on the table that James and Jesse sat at. They had accumulated quite the hoard of missing treasure. He’d made sure to smile at Matthew plenty of times. It was a reassuring smile that said, I see you, and I’m so very proud. Matthew’s responding smiles were luminous.
Occasionally, someone that James recognized would greet him, and he’d introduce them to Jesse, but he feared overwhelming him. A few of these times, someone would claim an article of clothing from the table, and walk away. Jesse, though, seemed quite content discussing poetry with James. He felt quite similarly, and was consistently amazed by the amount of literature he was able to get through during his years as a ghost, despite the countless times they’d had similar conversations.
After a few hours, James began feeling a bit tired, though still enjoying himself, and his friends still seemed to be quite sociable. He told Jesse and Matthew that he might head back home, extending the invitation to them as well, if they did not want to retire home themselves yet.
“Excellent idea, Jamie,” Matthew said, beckoning the rest of their group over. “Let’s all go play cards at Jamie’s house!” Everyone seemed to be pleased at the idea, although it was getting to be quite late already. James laughed to himself, shaking his head. Only his parabatai would be able to invite a group of his friends to his own house in the late hours of the night without him getting annoyed. But James still found himself in good spirits, happy to see his friends, although he felt the absence of Cordelia and Lucie.
James noted that no one suggested that they visit their private room upstairs. This seemed like a sort of elephant in the room, which naturally, no one addressed. James figured he’d visit it more privately with Matthew and Thomas some other day when he wanted to feel Christophers absence. Tonight, though, he’d let himself feel blissfully happy in company with his friends.
Once at James’s house, they’d found a fireplace blazing, left by Effie who surely was deeply asleep. They all sprawled out among the drawing room, Ari and Anna claiming spots by the fireplace, Thomas and Alastair dropped themselves on the velvet davenport, James and Matthew on the other, and Jesse claimed the armchair facing the fireplace. Their cheer was palpable, and James noted that no one seemed to have had more than one or two drinks at the Tavern. He wondered if this was for Matthew’s sake, or because they were enjoying each other so much that it wasn’t needed to enhance the night.
Once Matthew had taken out his scarlet playing cards, they argued for the better part of an hour over what game to play. They all seemed to have unreasonably strong opinions, but James suspected that the most secret yet widely held opinion was that they were enjoying the debate. It seemed to be a game in and of itself. At one point, James, with mock exasperation cried, “At this point, let us all play solitaire in silence!” The room erupted with laughter and interjections until finally Matthew dealed everyone into poker, without announcement.
He produced the chips seemingly out of thin air and at that point, even Alastair, who had been advocating vehemently for Jolly Misfits, grumbled in resignation, earning him a smile from Thomas. At this, they all gave a polite round of applause and committed themselves to the game, although Ari made sure that everyone knew that she’d never played before and wasn’t sure this was a fair game to play, anyways.
As it turned out, no one was very good at poker besides Anna and Jesse, who were quite impressive at bluffing. Jesse had won the first round in an impressive twist of fate, Anna the second, and they were working on the third round when a loud knock interrupted them. James exchanged a quick glance with everyone, wondering if they had been expecting anyone else, besides maybe Cordelia, who’s patrol was not yet ending until sunrise.
James stood up, and the pounding persisted, getting louder and more frantic. He was vaguely aware of his friends following him to the door, right before he opened it.
It was Lucie and Cordelia.
Their faces were both smeared with blood, and ichor had singed holes in their fighting gear. Cordelia drooped downwards and onto Lucie who was struggling to keep them both upright. Cordelia’s face was startlingly pale, and her eyes kept opening and closing slowly as if she were barely conscious.
“Daisy!” He cried, and surged forwards, to support Cordelia’s other side.
Lucie exploded into tears, “Jamie!” She cried in relief, “I wasn’t sure if you were home, but it happened so closeby–” Jesse and Alastair pushed their way through the doorway, grabbing onto Lucie, and helping her and Cordelia cross the threshold and into the house. James lowered Cordelia onto the floor and sat behind her, her body now limp against his.
“Lucie, what happened ?” His voice was fierce, but he looked at Lucie, pale and leaning on Jesse for support and felt a jolt of remorse. “Are you alright?” He frantically ordered, “Math, call Uncle Jem!” Matthew snapped out of the daze he’d been in, watching the events unfold and nodded, running into the parlor, Thomas at his heels. As this happened, Anna determinedly stepped in, stele in hand, and kneeled next to Cordelia, examining her as Lucie explained what had happened.
“Patrol was so quiet tonight,” she began, stumbling on her words. “We hadn’t seen anything all night. My guard was down, I was so stupid –”
“Luce,” Jesse said soothingly, “Don’t blame yourself. Tell us what happened.”
She nodded and swallowed, gazing at where Anna had pulled up Cordelia’s tunic to reveal a bloody puncture wound– likely a demon bite. “It seemed like the Ravener demons came out of nowhere. Cordelia saw them first and she shielded me. We both fought them off but once they were all dead she just collapsed –” Her voice broke, and she knelt down beside Anna and reached for Cordelia’s hand. “We were only a few blocks from here so I was able to get her home but–”
“Thank you, Lucie,” James said, leaning forward and kissing her head. “I’m glad you’re alright.” Anna, assisted by Alastiar, had used scraps of bandages James and Cordelia kept in a closet to suppress the bleeding.
“It doesn’t seem so bad as it looks,” Anna muttered, mostly to herself. “The iratzes seemed to slow the bleeding.” James cradled Cordelia’s head in his lap, pushing her hair out of her face.
“Hang on, my Daisy. Lucie is going to give you a few iratzes so you feel better. The Silent Brothers are on their way.”
Lucie had produced her stele, attempting to steady her shaking hand to apply iratzes onto Cordelia’s arm. They held firmly, to the silent relief of the whole room. Lucie sagged backwards and Jesse knelt down, wrapping his arms around her from behind, and urging her to take deep breaths.
“Where are the Silent Brothers?” Alastair snapped impatiently.
“I sent a fire message,” Matthew said, pacing back and forth across the main foyer. “They should be here soon.”
Cordelia's eyes fluttered open, and met James’s. “Daisy!” He caressed her hair, “How are you feeling, darling?” The room erupted in a chorus of sighs of relief and leaned in for her response.
“I’ve felt better,” She managed, then coughed, wincing at the pain in her side. Lucie crawled forwards and took Cordelia’s hand again, squeezing it.
“Daisy, I’m so sorry,” She cried, “You probably think I’m the lousiest parabatai in the world. I feel so awful, I should’ve been able to protect you.”
“Luce, don’t be ridiculous. Don’t you think I wouldn't feel the exact same way if it was you hurt?” Lucie’s eyes gleamed. “Besides, you brought me home to my family.” She smiled, almost drunkenly, at her friends, who peered down at her. “I couldn’t ask for a better parabatai .” Lucie only nodded, as if she didn’t trust herself to say more.
Cordelia looked much better than she had only a few minutes ago and she was in the middle of asking Alastair if he could help her sit up or take her to a chair when Brother Zachariah stepped through the front door, scanning the room in a way that revealed that he was evaluating the damage of what had happened. Alastair and James finally helped move her to the drawing room, laying her carefully on the sofa and stepping aside so Brother Zachariah could take over and survey Cordelia’s wound. He spoke sparingly, only interjected a few times to ask Lucie more information on what had transpired, but otherwise he was focused. James held Cordelia’s hand, turning it over in his. She gazed up at him in a way that made his heart burst, fear still cold in his blood. She was always breathtakingly beautiful, even now.
Brother Zachariah asked Lucie to draw a few more iratzes , which she did eagerly. With each rune Cordelia’s complexion returned closer to normal, and she was finally able to sit up, first leaning on James, and then on her own. Brother Zachariah reassured them and concluded that she needn’t spend the night in the Silent City. “ I will be back tomorrow to check on you, Cordelia .” He said. “ Rest .” With a nod, he left as quickly as he’d arrived.
Dawn was not too far off, and now that the adrenaline of the situation was fading, James could see the fatigue had finally begun to set in. Lucie had finally allowed Jesse to give her an iratze for the scrape she had gotten in battle, and she sat staring out, a bit hollowly. Jesse, naturally, remained at her side watching her carefully. Thomas' head leaned on Alastair's shoulder, where he had begun dozing off on the carpet leaning on an armchair. Anna, Ari, and Matthew slowly began picking up the playing cards that had been abandoned and thrown on the carpet in a hurry, along with the poker chips that had rolled into far corners of the room.
James caught Matthew’s eye and understanding shone between them. Matthew picked up the final card, put it into his pocket and cleared his throat, “Now, although that was quite a thrilling evening I think that we had all better get going home to rest, hm?” A few grumbles of agreement and movements to stand followed. His friends gathered their belongings, and wished James and Cordelia a good night. Alastair gave Cordelia a kiss on the cheek, and glaring at James in a way he thought said, You’d better take care of my baby sister , before leaving with Thomas. Anna and Ari fussed over Cordelia once more, before heading home as well. Matthew promised he’d visit in the morning, which James thought went without saying since he’d pay them a visit at Curzon St. most days regardless of the situation.
That left Lucie, still caked with Cordelia’s blood, and some of her own, staring blankly at the fire. “Do you want to stay here tonight, Luce? You and Jesse could take the spare bedroom if you’d like,” he offered. This wouldn’t have been the first time that he’d made this offer for Lucie and Jesse. Naturally, Lucie spent plenty of time at his and Cordelia’s home, often quite late into the night where walking home seemed like an unnecessary hazard. Jesse and Lucie’s house was quite close, but as tonight had shown them, there was always a risk.
She shook her head, balling her hands in her lap and then rubbing her palms on her trousers. “No, that's alright. I think I need to go home tonight.” Jesse helped her up and she gave Cordelia a kiss on the cheek where she sat on the sofa. Before she stepped back, Cordelia flung her arms around her, in a rather reckless way that made James wince. Lucie seemed to melt into the hug, burrowing her face into her shoulder. After this, Lucie seemed a bit lighter, although Jesse still watched her with a concerned gaze. He met James’s eyes before taking her hand, wishing them a good night, and walking out the front door and to the night beyond.
Their house seemed to echo in the absence of noise. He had never been able to decide what he liked more– when their house was filled with their lively friends or when it was just him and his wife in the privacy of their home. Now, he felt relieved they were finally alone, since the pit of anxiety that had opened when he saw her covered in blood had been so ruthless and slow to recede.
“I hope she doesn’t blame herself,” Cordelia said, once they could no longer hear Jesse and Lucie’s footsteps outside their door.
“She does,” James said plainly. Cordelia looked at him intently, eyes dark. “I would if it were Math. You would if it were the other way around.” He squeezed her hand. “I just hope she is able to let it go. It serves no one to hate yourself for things out of your control.”
Cordelia nodded slowly, gazing blankly at the front door. “I’m sorry for scaring you.” She whispered so softly that James nearly didn’t hear her.
“Daisy,” James said, voice raw, “Do not ever apologize for getting hurt. You saved my sister, and I wish I would’ve been there to protect you instead of playing poker here but–”
“You were playing poker?” Cordelia interjected, curious.
“Yes.”
“Did you win?”
“I don’t see why this is relevant right now,” James said dismissively. “I’m trying to tell you that I would do anything to protect you because I love you so much.” He began peppering her face with kisses.
Cordelia giggled pushing his face back so that she was squeezing his cheeks with one hand and his lips puckered involuntarily. “Mm, I only heard that my husband is not a very good liar and is hopeless at playing poker.” She leaned forwards and kissed his lips, bringing her hands to the back of his neck, where she ran her fingers through his hair. She broke the kiss and leaned her head on his chest, and he felt the heavy weight of her exhaustion.
With little announcement, James lifted her up, and carried her up the stairs to their room. She was still filthy from her battle, so he ran her a bath, and helped her in and out, as she was still a bit shaky. First light had begun shining through their velvet curtains, but they paid it no mind. James brushed Cordelia’s hair and put it in a sloppy plait like she’d taught him to do. They were mostly silent, Cordelia blinking so slowly he’d thought that she was surely dozing off in between opening her eyes.
Finally, they got in bed, and James fell asleep to the smell of Cordelia’s jasmine soap and her hand pressed to his heart.