Archive of Our Own ^beta

I startle awake from yet another nightmare and wrap myself around the warm body in my bed. It’s been the longest two weeks of my life since the Battle of Draithus. Garrick is still missing, Jax is dead. Quinn and I keep ourselves busy during the day and find the only solace we can at night curled up together in bed.

As Quinn tightens her grip on me, I decide we are not spending tonight like all the other nights.

Instead of spending every free minute of my day searching in vain for Garrick, I decide to spend my time searching for something to entertain us tonight. 

Before I begin my search, Aaric hands me a round metal container promising I’ll need it. I carry it around with me all day, unable to identify its purpose. A whispered hint sends me on my way.

It takes some investigation, and then some sweet talking, and finally outright threatening, but eventually I’ve gathered what I need. I meet Quinn outside our bedroom and lead her down the hall to an empty storage room that I’ve had set up for the occasion.

We snuggle on the couch I procured from Xaden’s unused office. I try not to think about how many of his and Sorrengail’s fluids are soaked into these cushions. Quinn doesn’t ask where I got it from and I’m glad I don’t have to tell her.

I use my lesser magic to begin turning the wheels of the new machine I found hidden in a storage room behind the Assembly Room. “This is called a movie,” I explain to Quinn as images begin to appear on the wall opposite us.

We both watch in fascination as the images flow out of the machine whose wheels are slowly turning next to us. It is a little like Kaori’s signet that we’ve seen many times in Dragonkind, but like everything we are seeing was drawn rather than an image captured from real life.

The girls projected onto the wall are such badasses I feel like they belong here in Aretia with us. If only slaughtering the venin was as easy as taking out the demons. But the Krovlish Pop tunes couldn’t be catchier.

When the movie ends, Quinn and I are both beaming. “This was much better than our usual nightly routine,” Quinn says.

“Of course it was,” I say, brushing off her praise.

“I wish we could be them,” I say absently, wanting to stay right here in this happiness before we have to return to reality.

“Why can’t we be? You’re obviously Mira,” Quinn says with a smile. 

“Ugh! I don’t want to share a name with a Sorrengail!” I protest.

“Well the personality fits, but we can call you Problem Child if you prefer,” she offers with a wink.

“You’re the worst!” I bump her shoulder. “Who would you be?”

“Zoey obviously!” Of course she would. The bubbly personality fits.

“Okay, so who’s Rumi?” I ask.

“Well Violet fits with the long hair…” she suggests. 

“Xaden is not going to share his wife with us. Pick someone else.” We had realized our first night snuggling together that Violet was all alone in her bed and considered inviting her to join us, but it didn’t feel right. I found out later that she spent that night with Mira anyway. Of course, now that Drake’s around, I suspect Violet is back to her own bed.

“Sloane has long hair too,” Quinn offers, pulling me out of my reflections. “The blond color would even be easy to dye. Think we could convince her to wear it purple for a while?”

I huff a laugh. “That might be easier than convincing her to join our bed, given the way she keeps looking at Aaric.”

Quinn smiles. “Yeah, they’re definitely fucking.”

I sigh, reluctantly shutting down the movie projector and putting the movie back in its metal storage container.

We walk back to our bedroom hand in hand, doing our best to ward off the heaviness that will inevitably settle upon us.

“You’re all I can think of,” Quinn starts singing as soon as we close the door behind us.

“Every drop I drink up. You’re my soda pop. My little soda pop.” She smiles at me and tries to coordinate her shoulders to alternately rise in time with the tune.

I roll my eyes as I prepare myself for bed, but she’s not done.

“Cool me down you’re so hot.” She fans herself, stalking toward me.

“You know…” she says, turning serious. “Neither of us has anyone to kiss at the moment.”

I smile, recognizing that she knows I will be kissing Garrick the second he returns safe and sound. Though I haven’t yet decided if it will be before or after I take him to the mat and kick his fucking ass for scaring me for so fucking long.

I pull her close to me and kiss her firmly on her lips. “You know Garrick wouldn’t even mind if we kissed.”

“He would mind if he didn’t get to watch,” she responds with a smirk. 

“Well then he should have been here,” I growl as I push her down on the bed and lay claim to her mouth again.

We both know it’s only temporary, but we both welcome the distraction from the hell our lives have become. As our mouths find a rhythm together, she groans and I can’t hide my smile against her lips. She pulls back with a curious look. 

“I always told you I was phenomenal in bed.” 

My smile is wider than it’s been in weeks.