Peace amidst War
1x2x1-oneshot. Fluff and sap. Unbetaed.
1x2x1-oneshot. Fluff and sap. Unbetaed.
How can a solder find peace amidst a life of constant battles and war?
What would be strong enough to pull together a shattered soul, after years of training?
Who could willingly hold me in their arms and not be afraid of what I could do?
The answer lies warm against me; puffs of slumbering breaths stirring the fine hair at my navel. His braid twines over his shoulder and across the dips of the soft skin of his stomach to stop just at his hip; undisturbed as the breath makes his relaxed belly rise and fall. The rumpled blanket is strewn across our legs, too badly tangled to actually cover his feet, which stick out at odd angles with one ready to fall off of the mattress. He is still in his sleep with his face turned to me; his body relaxed even as he knowingly rests alongside a killer.
Adversely enough, I know that it is that same thought that brings his mind to peace. He knows that I would protect him if any danger should befall us while he was sleeping. There have been many instances that I have awoken sharply during the night, senses alert, gun ready in one hand and knife in the other, but none of those instances have ever involved him waking me. When he calls me softly into consciousness, I wake slowly, blinking as his softly smiling face comes into focus. My body is usually heavy with sleep and my senses dulled. It’s almost as if my unconscious self knows that he, albeit another trained killer, would never harm me, even in the midst of war.
I suppose that is what he will think in a few hours when I rouse him; I have seen it happen many times. He will stir slowly, as he always does when I wake him. His nose might twitch; then his eyes will flutter open sleepily and blink at me, before a warm smile spreads itself across his face. He is always so…warm during times such as those. Warm in that he is completely at peace, content to hug me in a loose but firm embrace and tell me how much he cares for me. It is also then that I can almost feel the warmth of his soul entwining into my broken one, pulling the shattered fragments back together and sewing them with stitches made from his love.
But it is also the most dangerous thing he can do for me. If he were to die in this godforsaken war, his soul and those intricate stitches would violently be ripped out, leaving me weak, broken, and ruined beyond repair. I would still continue to fight to win the war, but my soul would be a charred skeleton of what it had been before.
“’Ro?” He whispers, his lithe body moving against mine as he pulls himself closer to my face.
“You awake?” He asks me, sliding the comforter up, against the chill of the room. I hadn’t realized how cold my skin was until he slipped his warm arm to lay on my waist; his soft skin whispering against mine. Much like how I hadn’t realized the extent of the damage to my soul was, until he began breathing life back into me.
“Yes.” I tell him, tracing his soft cheek lightly with my fingertips. He catches and kisses them before snuggling against me, his warm face against my shoulder; his breath gliding across the skin of my chest.
“Well cut it out,” He grunts playfully, hugging me tight. “We’ve got a mission after classes tomorrow and I don’t want you to be tired.”
I am silent against his reasoning; as I have none of my own. It is not that sleep evades me—I can force my heart to slow and my brainwaves to slip into a sleeping pattern—but I would much rather be awake in these rare moments of peace, when my soul feels sheltered in the one thing I have always lacked during the duration of my life—love.
“’Ro?” He asks with slight concern; I can feel him lift his head to look in my eyes.
“I love you,” I whisper to him knowing words would never be enough. But I caress his cheek at the same time, allowing all my inner feelings to slip into that faint touch; my eyes locked with his in a silent communication much more powerful than anything I could ever say.
“I know.” He says in a warm, smiling tone. He sits up enough to place a kiss on my chest before settling back down, completely at ease. I can’t help but feel the touch of his lips linger on my skin even as his breathing slowly evens out as he slips back into sleep. My heart beats steadily under that ghost of his touch.
“I love you too.” He murmurs, more asleep than awake. And I know I have found that ever-elusive peace.
Fin.
