Texas - There are no strings on me. (strings_on_me) wrote in knowhereic, @ 2017-10-01 23:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | haloverse: canon: tex, supernatural: canon: castiel, the dresden files: canon: harry dresden |
Who: Harry Dresden, Tex & Castiel
What: Some well-deserved relaxation from tribbles.
When: The day after the tribble plot.
Where: Harry’s Place
Rating: PG-13
Status: Log - Complete
Over the last four days, Tex had been more quiet. Harry hadn’t seen her for nearly a week when he’d finally seen her about sixteen hours ago, in the clinic. Ever since she’d been stranded on that rooftop and the Spartans had donned their armor, she’d been more standoffish than usual, oddly withdrawn, and less snapish. She’d (obviously) gotten to Harry’s place first and had already been in her armor and waiting when the boys had shown. There’d been no real indication anything was wrong the first day. By the second, she’d been walking a beat slower and she’d been quiet-- Hell, she’d passed by Ed and hadn’t said a word. By the third, her stoic silence had been enough to make York ask and she’d just stared at him until he went away. Yesterday, she’d spent the entire day standing outside of Ed’s hospital bed and had given up a few pints of blood, just like Mustang. But Ed had gone home a few hours ago, so Tex had, as well. And Harry would just be getting home from dropping off something to York, when he’d realize the house wasn’t empty. Tex’s armor littered the ground in his lab, dropped in pieces leading up to the stairs, not put away neatly into a crate. The last pieces, the gauntlets, were dropped inside the apartment. Then the body suit was shed somewhere between the living room and her bedroom. The blonde woman was in the bathroom, the medical supplies all collected and strewn out on the counter. The wizard had bad timing. Tex was focused on the task at hand and hadn’t heard the footsteps of her NBA sized boyfriend, and as he came into her bedroom to find her, it would be easy to see her standing in that bathroom, in just a tank top, sports bra, and her panties-- with a bit of flesh showing on her back, the tank top obviously torn about waist-high, a hole there which showed part of her back. And after a few quick, measured breaths, the Spartan was twisting her hands near her stomach and pulling. It was an odd motion but would be explained seconds later as she jerked a piece of rebar out of her abdomen and dropped it on the ground. The blood that started seeping from the wound was almost immediate, and she pressed gauze to the front of her abdomen and held it there. It was clear the back needed one, too-- it’d gone straight through her-- but she could only do one thing at a time. So she began wrapping herself up a little to hold the gauze on, so she could patch the back, as well. It was meant as a stop gap to stem the bleeding.. Something the rebar had been doing the last few days. Hell, it’d even begun to heal some around the steel rod. But she sure as Hell couldn’t just leave it in there. And without any mirrors in the house, it was hard for her to see what she was doing. *** The armor on the lab floor was concerning. Harry had briefly considered pausing to put it away for Texas when he’d come in; by now he’d seen a combination of the three monsters getting in and out of it often enough (okay, just twice up close and personal) that he knew how it was packed to fit inside the crates. It was a game of tetris but done in a way that no parts of the suit was harmed. Today felt different though. Maybe it was the energy in the air after the alchemy Ed Elric had done, but Harry felt something off in the world. Well, ‘world.’ Knowhere was off. Maybe it was just his paranoia. Either way, the wizard locked the lab behind him--like hell was anyone coming in and stealing that precious black armor--and headed up into the apartment, where he found additional pieces of the techno-suit and then Texas herself. Harry stopped in the doorway at the perfect time to watch the woman pull a piece of freaking metal out of her torso. “Holy shit,” he breathed, and then he was rushing forward to grab the gauze off the counter to press it to the hole in her back while she fumbled with the front. “Jesus Christ, Texas, what the fuck?” Harry looked at her with wide brown eyes, his concern obvious. *** “Well,” she remarked with a soft grunt as he pressed the gauze painfully to her back. That hadn’t felt good. “If my boyfriend,” yeah, she’d said the word to make a point, “Hadn’t been too busy playing Dungeons and Dragons to get me off the roof of a Tribble-infested building, I’d be fine.” The smirk in her tone was evident. She wasn’t angry. But it did put a time-stamp on her accident. Had she really had that piece of metal in her for five days? Your girlfriend, Harry, was a bit of a badass. “I’m fine. It’ll clot eventually.” If she didn’t bleed out in the meantime. It was a lot of blood, but it wasn’t dripping on the floor. Yet. “And when York has some free time, I’ll have him look at me.” The rusty piece of bent rebar laid on the white tile floors, stained red and with blood splatter along the tile from where it’d been dropped. *** Oh, jesus. She’d mentioned it, twice, that she was stuck on top of a building and Harry had disregarded it. Twice. Because he thought she’d be annoyed if he went in and tried to freaking save her. And because he was a dumbass, she’d gone and gotten herself injured. Five days. With a piece of metal clean through her torso and she hadn’t said a god damned word. Harry was impressed. Hell, he might just be in love with her. He could take a beating, too. But damn. What was that weird rush of pride right there alongside his worry? His girlfriend was a badass. “You’re not waiting for York to have a minute, Texas, you’ll die or get some kind of freaky infection that’ll make your hair turn pink while your blood dries in your veins or something,” Harry said. And then he did something he tried to avoid doing so as not to make Castiel feel like he was a tool to use in times of need… let’s be honest, though, he was a tool Harry used with high frequency, especially because his friends were morons. Castiel. Please answer. *** “I'm not going to die, if it hit any vital organs, I’d already be dead. I'm fine. I just need to clean it and patch it up.” Yeah, if Harry was willing to help, she didn't even need York. Really, York was far better, but Tex was proud. “Help me get my shirt off--” “Hello, Harry.” Castiel’s voice came from behind the both of them, suddenly. He was standing rather close, but not too close. The sudden intrusion made Tex turn abruptly and haul up the gun she'd left lying on the sink, bloody hand holding the grip tight and aiming it just past Harry, onto the angel. She pulled the trigger three times. Maybe Harry could manage to save Castiel from one or two by jerking his arm up and knocking the woman's arm aside, but at least one would slam directly into his heart. The brunette looked down at the place the bullet had entered, through his jacket, blazer, and shirt. Now they were damaged. Blue eyes came back up to the Spartan, then to Harry. “It's good to see you.” He remarked. If Harry didn't stop her, she'd fire a few more bullets into him out of pure instinct. He hadn't gone down? Seriously?! It set her heart racing. Nothing should have taken those bullets and not flinched. Her drive to live had her immediately taking that second set of shots. *** “Holy crap!” Harry blurted, because his focus on Texas didn’t allow him to prepare for Castiel’s arrival. It made him jump about a foot in the air, and then Texas freaking shot him. Double holy crap! Harry shouted something incomprehensible, that might have been a ‘Tex, no!’ before he reached out and grabbed her by the arm and redirected the gun. “Stop it!” Harry snarled, “he’s an angel, damn you, you can’t kill him with a gun.” Holy shit. Oh shit. She shot a freaking archangel. Harry put himself between Texas and Castiel, his fingers curling into her wrist with bruising force. “He’s here to help, I just called him. You’re making it bleed worse.” *** With her arm shoved out of the way-- and both of them having dropped the gauze they were holding-- the blonde woman grunted a little but kept her eyes on Castiel, even as she felt blood starting to drip, now that the pressure had been stopped. She had plenty of blood, she could spare some. But why was Harry gripping her wrist so hard? It was actually a little painful-- not enough to react, but it was a damn firm grip. As Harry stepped in front of Tex, though, Castiel tilted his head curiously. “Are you concerned for her safety? From me?” His eyebrows went up a little. “She’s perfectly safe, I assure you.” No need for concern. “You called him?” Tex asked-- she hadn’t seen Harry call anyone. “What’s he going to do, pray for me?” The Freelancer had no idea he could (or would) heal her. They didn’t have much information on angels in her time. *** Man, what had Harry done to rope himself into a conflict with the two weirdos of Knowhere? Castiel entirely unconcerned with anything that was happening and Texas who was willing to let her blood drain onto the floor while she shot something that couldn’t die. “No, I just don’t want her emptying her clip into your chest!” Harry replied tersely, not taking his eyes off of Texas while he tried (and was failing) to diffuse the situation. “Yeah I--no, he’s not going to pray. He’s--” What did he do? Harry didn’t know. He didn’t know how angels worked on the same level of understanding he had about his own magic. He hadn’t exactly picked apart the Archangel’s power when he’d carried it for a few days. Somehow whenever he did anything he just did it with the intuitive understanding that it would work. “He’s going to heal you,” Harry explained. “Right, Cas?” Harry risked a glance over his shoulder at the shorter man. “She’s hurt, Cas, she’s been playing host to a steel bar for a week.” He pointed at the rebar on the ground at their feet. “It wasn’t my fault.” *** “No, it wasn’t your fault. It was just bad luck.” Castiel agreed with a glance back up at Harry. “And I’m going to heal you.” He told Texas in a simple, matter-of-fact way. It gave Texas a moment of confusion. “Heal me? No, I don’t need any of that.” Like Hell someone was messing with her again. “You’re bleeding all over the floor.” The archangel informed her in that same calm tone. “I don’t care. It’s my floor, it’s my blood, and it’s none of your business.” Wow, she was angry now, wasn’t she? She didn’t need to be taken care of, she could take care of herself! Sighing, Cas just reached out and touched two fingers to her forehead-- it caused Tex to jerk a little and growl at him.. But then the pain was gone. The pain was gone. She backed away just a step and looked down at herself.. The hole in her lower abdomen. It was.. Gone. Fierce, pale eyes came back up to the angel. Careful, Harry. “The hell did you do?” *** Harry let her go when she backed away and then took a step back himself to give her some room. An animal cornered was an animal afraid, and while most people didn’t like to consider their girlfriends as an animal, Harry knew the predator lived inside her. He raised both hands in surrender and watched her carefully, still standing between her and Castiel, though the angel was just to his left. He had to reach around Harry to touch her, after all. “He healed you,” Harry explained in a calm tone. “Nothing is different, he just sped the natural process about a bajillion times faster than Delta does for York. A walking, talking healing unit.” He smiled a little. See? Nothing wrong here. *** A few long, lingering seconds passed, then she let out a small, displeased sound. “Don’t do it again.” Demanded of the angel, who just continued to watch her. He was clearly not threatened by her. Why would he be? Then, Tex let out a huff of breath and turned those cold eyes back onto her boyfriend. “I said I was fine.” Those words, however, were not harsh. She wasted no time in tugging her shirt off over her head and dropping it on the floor. Then her bra came off and she turned to start up the shower. Castiel wasn’t phased by any of this and set his attention back onto Harry. “I’m far more than a healing unit.” He reminded, even as Texas straightened up and started taking her underwear off, right there, unabashed. She wanted a damn shower, then she’d sop up the blood. *** Harry watched Texas begin undressing and while Castiel made no indication this was any problem one way or another, Harry blinked and glanced over his shoulder once--then did a double take, “Hey!” he said, and actually reached up to grab a towel, shaking it out so he could hold it up like a curtain behind Texas as she stripped naked. He held it until she was finally in the shower, then folded it in half and dropped it onto the back of the toilet so when she got out she could dry off. Turning back to Castiel, Harry touched his shoulder and gestured him out, “Come on, man, stop ogling my girlfriend,” even though the archangel had done no such thing. It was the principle of the matter. You didn’t stand there and stare while another man’s girlfriend got naked. “And I know you are, it’s just easier to frame it that way with her so she doesn’t freak out. Healing units are something she understands.” Angels? Not so much. But Harry didn’t always get them, either. *** Tex glanced back at him, then grinned slowly and shook her head, before climbing in the shower. Castiel allowed himself to be steered out after that, back into the woman’s bedroom-- rarely used. “Alright.” He agreed, nodding once. He understood that as well as Texas understood ‘healing unit’. “When did she become a girlfriend?” The angel asked next, a curious look turned onto Harry once the pair were alone in that bedroom. “Are there congratulations in order?” Wasn’t that customary? Didn’t people say that when you found a significant other? *** Did he just.. What- “Uh, yes,” he answered, even though it wasn’t a yes or no question. “A couple weeks ago.” Harry closed the bathroom door behind himself, then set about gathering up the discarded items Texas had trailed into the room, he’d have to clean it. Well. No. She could clean the armor, since it was hers. He was reluctant to touch it just in case he broke something technological. “And no congratulations, it isn’t a big deal. You aren’t going to ask me if I’m going to marry her, are you?” He stood straight and eyed Castiel suddenly. That would be awkward. They’d just transitioned into girlfriend and boyfriend, the last thing on the wizard’s mind was that. He brushed it away and then gathered the soiled articles, dropping them into a pile by the door for Texas to deal with when she was done. “But thanks, Cas, for coming and you know, for helping my girlfriend not die.” *** “Why would I ask that?” His tone was confused. There was a pause, then he continued (and just when Harry thought it was safe to go back into the water..): “I was under the impression that the purpose behind human courtship was the finding of a mate, which could then be wed, with offspring produced as a result. Isn’t the entire reasoning behind having a girlfriend actually to test out of the relationship is viable, so that a next stay may either be taken to further the relationship towards marriage, or dissolved so that both parties can move on to find other relationships that might eventually lead towards the ultimate goal of marriage?” Enjoy that, wizard. *** Harry stared at Castiel, dumbstruck. Was his mouth hanging open? It felt like it was hanging open. He rubbed his face and discovered his mouth was closed. So he frowned, furrowed his brows and then coughed awkwardly. “Uh, no, who told you that?” he asked. “That isn’t it at all. We just..” He thought back on his model of relationships and realized he had no solid ground to argue from in either direction. Charity and Michael Carpenter were the image of perfection and they’d been married for thirty years and had the perfect family. That was the ideal Castiel was referencing and one Harry had never been a part of it in any capacity. Karrin had been married twice before. She didn’t want a third husband in Harry. And Susan had-- Well. Susan was complicated from the start. And even Luccio was a farce, she’d been manipulated into pursuing him. The wizard forced all of that back into denial-land and peered at Castiel. “No,” he said. “It’s just easy with her. Neither of us has to pretend and right now… that’s just about the best thing I’ve had in a long time. But we aren’t heading toward anything else. Not that that it’s a bad thing, I mean kuddos for those that do.” He wasn’t against it, it just.. .wasn’t likely in his life. “So, thanks for asking.” *** “Oh.” A pause. “My apologies.” He’d thought he was grasping this whole.. Human thing. Maybe he didn’t have it as well as he thought he did. A long silence stretched between them before the Archangel lifted his chin some, those blue eyes focusing firmly onto Harry. “Then if there’s nothing else..” He’d leave the wizard alone. “I suppose I’ll see you when you’re ready to begin working again.” Which, he imagined, might be awhile, since everyone would have to try and put their lives back together after all of this mess. He didn’t think many people would be looking for Harry’s services just yet. *** It was an awkward silence. Harry peered at Castiel then grimaced. Work, yeah. Shit. He rubbed a hand over his face and wondered where he was going to come up with the money to pay this month’s rent. It had been a bad month for business these last four weeks and the more wizards that appeared on Knowhere the less his services became necessary. Whatever though, he’d solve that problem some other day. So he just smiled at Castiel and nodded, “Yeah, okay. I’ll call you. Thanks, Cas,” He pat the angel on the shoulder. And when Castiel was gone, Harry stood there looking around for a moment before he flopped onto Texas’ rarely used bed and waited for her to come out. She’d been injured for five days and said nothing. That bothered him. *** It took another five minutes before the water turned off and Texas came out , having dried off her hair as much as possible with a towel (it still clung to her cheeks, forehead, neck, shoulders and back). She was actively drying off her naked body-- free of any wounds-- as she came into the bedroom. She paused, though, as she saw Harry and lowered the towel some, holding it casually in front of her at about waist height, caught in both hands. “What’s wrong?” She asked after a long pause. *** Harry opened his eyes and looked at Texas when she stepped out of the bathroom. She looked beautiful, she always did. Especially not having a giant hole in her abdomen where her insides could escape out of. He pushed himself to sitting and pat the bed beside him. Normally her standing there naked would urge his libido into control of his brain, but there was something about the moment that kept his hormones at bay. “Nothing’s wrong,” he said. Which was mostly true. “Not anymore.” Thanks to Cas. “I was wondering why you didn’t trust me enough to tell me you were hurt.” Five days. He quirked a brow. “Kind of makes me wonder what we’re doing here.” *** “Trust you?” The confusion that settled on her face-- it was a new expression on her. It wasn’t often Texas was confused. Stepping forward, she came to sit on the edge of the bed and dropped the towel into her lap. “What does trust have to do with anything? I didn’t tell you because it wasn’t important at the time. You make it sound like I was hiding it from you.” And that certainly wasn’t the case. In fact, the entire situation was a little strange. He thought she didn’t trust him? Well, he’d never asked her for his trust, had he? He’d never really displayed that he wanted it, either. Sure, she’d put him in situations where he needed to trust her, but the tables had never been turned. It was almost like Harry didn’t care if she trusted him or not. And now this. Kind of makes me wonder what we’re doing here. Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden was the stupidest man on the planet. Her jaw tightened. “What are we doing here, Dresden?” Ouch. *** It wasn’t important at the time. Harry furrowed his brows and looked at Texas when she sat, reaching over to brush her damp hair from her shoulder, his fingers brushing over the skin. “You’re important to me,” he told her. And that’s why it bothered him that she hadn’t said anything. She prioritized everyone else and relegated her own safety and comfort to the back of the line. Which, okay, fine, Harry was guilty of doing the same damned thing. But still. He frowned. What are we doing here? He didn’t know. He hadn’t thought about it. But they were in a relationship and that meant something. Didn’t it? He wanted it to. Harry leaned against her, kissing the woman’s blonde hair. “It’s something I would have liked to know, that’s all,” he said instead. “It would have taken two seconds to call Castiel earlier so you didn’t have to go through that for a whole week.” *** You’re important to me. Tex couldn’t remember her former life, not really-- not in anything but bits and pieces that she’d read about. Nothing solid. Nothing real. So she couldn’t remember anyone ever telling her that she was important to them.. Or that they loved her. It was strange. Not that Harry said he loved her, but still. “What would you have done if you knew? Worried about me? Sent your pet angel to heal me? I’m not weak, Harry.” Amazingly, her tone wasn’t accusing, but calm. She understood he hadn’t meant any offense. She had no reason to feel defensive. “I didn’t need to be healed. I’m strong.. And a little pain now and then reminds you that you’re alive.” She wasn’t weak. Winter wouldn’t see her weak. It couldn’t. It never would. “It has nothing to do with trust. It wasn’t life threatening, it wasn’t important. I was able to continue on without it hindering my performance, it didn't interrupt the plan, and you weren’t sitting around worried for days about something that didn’t matter and you couldn’t change.” Because it mattered to her that Harry not be left to worry for days. Not over her. *** “I think a piece of metal going through your body constitutes more than a flesh wound, Tex,” he said seriously. “I don’t think you’re weak,” how could he? She’d never once displayed a moment where he thought otherwise. She was one of the strongest people Harry knew, even though she liked pretending she didn’t care about people. She was beautiful and brilliant and strong every damned day. Harry stared at her for a moment and then took her hand in his, twining their fingers together there in her bare lap. “I still worry, you idiot,” he told her, but his tone wasn’t harsh. “I don’t like feeling powerless and that…” He looked at the place on her abdomen where the wound had been. That had made him feel helpless. He wasn’t a physician and he had no medical magical knowledge somewhere inside his head. But, he reasoned, she was okay. And that’s the part that mattered, not his feelings on the topic. So the wizard nodded his head vaguely and shut up. *** There was a long moment of silence, with Tex just watching Harry, those pale eyes set directly onto his dark brown, unwavering. After she apparently found what she was looking for, her hand came up to rest over his, then she dragged it up, over her abdomen and her lower torso, to cup that large hand over a breast-- before she leaned in and pressed her mouth against his. Her free hand raised to thread into equally dark hair, holding him close there as they kissed. And then for the first time (the very first time, which was sort of a milestone, considering how many times they’d had sex), the Spartan shifted her body to bring her legs up onto the bed, then began to lay back, dragging Harry down with her, so he’d have to bend awkwardly over. Texas, on her back, instead of astride the taller man. He felt powerless? She could help with that. *** She drew his hand to her and then they were kissing. Harry’s brain struggled to catch up but eventually his hormones decided that the soft flesh of her breast under his hand was much more interesting than the rest of whatever he’d been thinking about. As was the press of her mouth on his and the fact it was pulling away when she…. When she settled back onto the bed and urged him down with her. He let her. Of course he did. Harry was gung ho behind everything she wanted when it came to bedtime activities. He did anything she pleased so this? Well, this was unexpected and new territory because she was usually in charge. Not that she’d stopped being in charge from her position. It was just also not what Harry meant when he- Oh who cared? Because she was warm and her skin was damp from the shower and her kiss was intoxicating as was the flesh under his hands. So Harry stopped thinking and let nature take hold, his hands cupping her hips as he pressed between her thighs, pulling her closer to the cradle of his body. “You’re not changing the subject,” he managed to say. But then he stopped talking and really let nature run the show. Harry’s girlfriend was a badass, beautiful woman. *** Yes, yes she would. And the blonde thought this might make Harry feel a little bit more in charge of his life, strange as that might sound. More than that, it was a show of trust. He hadn’t really asked for it, but she was still offering it up. She trusted you, Harry. There weren’t many ways she could show it, but this was one she knew he’d understand. Hell, it was one she could convey to Winter in the same stroke. She was still in charge, but she could give a little now and then, to satisfy all parties involved. Texas liked Harry. Hell, she wouldn’t even make him take his clothes off, she’d just do her best to urge him into a small frenzy. He could take all that worry and turn it into something.. Far more fun. This man was amazing. *** Harry’s libido hip checked his brain out of control, so that base instinct and desire won out, and with a beautiful woman underneath him there was no thought required. Well, no okay. There was a thought required but that thought was set firmly on pleasing the woman in his arms. Which he happily submitted to. Happily and in exactly that frenzy she’d aimed to stir up, which wasn’t difficult. He was already on edge having seen her injured, so the whole occasion was… much more raw and passionate than it otherwise might have been. And when they were thoroughly satisfied (yes, Texas, he knew how to do this from the top, thank you!) and lay in a heap of limbs and half discarded clothes on Harry’s part, the wizard held the woman close and listened to the solid sound of her breathing. *** Yeah. It was satisfying. She was surprisingly satisfied. She hadn’t expected it to be that good. The few times she’d let a man atop her, it hadn’t been good. This? This had been more than good. She was impressed. “I have to admit,” the Spartan remarked after a few long moments of post-coital silence, “I was a little worried you didn’t know what to do from the top.” Lifting her chin some, she mouthed lazily along his jaw. Now and then, she bit, just to remind him she wasn’t a wilting flower. Once she got to where jaw met neck, she moved to the curve of his ear to speak quietly. “Don’t ever accuse me of not trusting you again, or I’ll have to teach you a proper lesson about it.” It was a playful threat-- one that implied she might.. Spank him or something equally strange and sexual. A punishment she deemed fit for a man who disobeyed. Yeah, Tex could tease when she wanted to. *** Harry growled lazily when she bit him, squinting one eye at her when she spoke in his ear, sending a pleased little chill down his spine. He didn’t need instruction or help having wild monkey sex, thank you. But her …. Threat? Her promise? The challenge? Whatever it was, it was pleasing, and it sent a jolt of thrill down to Harry’s toes. He clutched the woman closer to himself, hands running down the smooth surfaces of her body. The wizard laughed and then he kissed Texas square on the mouth. “Then don’t ever tell me not to worry about you and we have a deal.” He pushed his fingers through her blonde hair and held her head firmly in his hands, pulling back just a little to stare into those pale blue eyes. He could love her. *** “Then we have a deal.” She agreed, staring back at him for a long few seconds before she finally dropped her eyes to his mouth and leaned in to kiss him again. “Be careful.” Came her soft warning, before she set her head back down and let her eyes close. It was a little odd, being in her bed instead of his. The sterile, boring room. And without Mouse, who always ended up in the bedroom once the festivities were over, so he could find himself a spot on the foot of the large bed. |