Touch in me grief and comfort Who: Vi and Lachlan When: Monday evening, June 27th, after her journal conversation with Beau What: Debrief Where: Lachlan’s place
It was not lost on Viola that she was yet again heading over to Lachlan’s place while she was in a mood. This time, however, she was determined not to cry over any of this. What was there to cry over anyway? Siblings fought. It happened all the time, and so what if Beau thought she was a horrible hypocrite who didn’t like him. Beau thought a lot of things about her that were patently false (though, to be fair, the hypocrisy wasn’t one).
Besides, there were far more pressing issues to discuss, like what she’d seen and heard at the Palace the night before, and Llewellyn’s departure from the Manor. It was possible -- perhaps even likely -- that Lachlan knew of this already, in which case, it was all the better to celebrate. And, given her recent meeting with Blair, Viola had the perfect way to cinch that celebration.
A celebration that included a rather lovely lingerie slip and an Aurellian-style dress, both of which, Viola thought, would be a rather compelling distraction from the havoc that Blair had wreaked the night before. And that was on top of the other bounty she was bringing him.
She arrived at Lachlan’s quarters with Ellevra thrumming through her veins, and relished how easily she swept through the door. Despite her penchant for surprise, however, she materialized immediately after entering his room, though she did move forward to embrace him. “Hello, Pirate,” she intoned, and then opened her fist to show him the pills she’d brought him, wrapped up carefully in a handkerchief. “Look,” she said. “Your treasure.”
***
Viola had certainly given Lachlan a lot to think about after her last journal message. Whilst it was impossible to deny how much he was looking forward to whatever the surprise was that she had up her sleeve, her other news was too troubling to be eclipsed entirely by his anticipation. Whatever his personal feelings were in regards to the fool that was Lukas Fox, he did not believe the bedmate deserved even a fraction of the horror that had been visited upon him. Adler and her ilk had to pay for what had happened. He knew this even without having yet spoken to Reagan, who seemed to be of the same mind if Viola’s belief in her upset was even remotely true. Lachlan was quite sure it was. Vi wasn’t the sort of person who invented something out of nothing, and if she believed Reagan was upset then he did too. He would have guessed as much even without being told, this was a situation that demanded vengeance, even more so because it had happened so close to home. The damned Septics couldn’t go on thinking they were safe to do as they pleased because their Marshal had made a few arrests.
Lachlan rose from his seat when Viola materialised at his door. Even though he had been expecting her, the sudden, silent arrival never failed to impress. Few Gifts carried with them such a dramatic effect, and she had made it look effortless.
The space between them did not last long as they both moved toward each other. “Captain,” he greeted warmly as they embraced, though the pretence of piracy was difficult to maintain when Viola revealed the neatly wrapped handkerchief in her open palm. “My treasure?” he repeated, suspecting quite rightly what was on offer as he peeled away one corner of embroidered fabric. “I have never before heard of a pirate who would willingly split their plunder with another.”
Surely Belmont hadn’t sent more Ellevra to the Rosiers. What had been given to them was a finite supply, at least until it was released onto the Clovennian market. Surely she did not have enough to share.
***
For all the heavy things that Viola had to talk about, she couldn’t help but smile in partial triumph as he called her Captain. “So you admit it,” she joked lightly, kissing his cheek. “I’m a generous pirate,” she said. “And besides, a good captain shares with her first mate. Besides,”
She leaned in to kiss him lightly and whispered against his lips, “There’s plenty of plunder to share.” Another kiss, then, before she pulled back. “I don’t know how it’ll mix with Fade, though,” she said, apology heavy in her voice. “But I wanted you to have some. If you needed it.”
***
Lachlan had never been one to concede defeat easily, but he couldn’t be expected to continue to deny Captain Rosier when Viola smiled the way she did at the title. “I suppose I do. There comes a time when arguing otherwise is an exercise in futility.” He turned his face into her kiss, pressing one of his own to her cheek almost immediately after he felt her lips warm on his skin, and he huffed a soft sound of pleased amusement at being deemed first mate.
Without conscious thought his hands fell to Viola’s waist, drawing her closer and enjoying the feel of the fine fabric of her dress beneath his fingertips as she kissed him again. Leaning into that embrace felt more important than any questions that might follow about her suddenly bountiful plunder.
There was no way to play off what she offered though as some sort of fanciful treasure. Lachlan’s eyes flicked up from the little white pills to meet Viola’s gaze when she apologised for something she had no business apologising for. He would make those who were responsible regret the parts they had played, but she was not counted amongst their number. “What about you, is there still enough for you?” As much as he yearned to take the pills, to counteract the poison in his veins and ensure an item of such value made its way to Swallowtail, he wasn’t about to forget the woman who offered it to him in the first place. The Ellevra did more than just facilitate their nighttime rendezvous. With the pills, Viola had some degree of protection from the Septic hellcat that was Adler. After what the damned creature had done to Luke, Lachlan could not abide the idea of Viola going unprotected.
***
Viola gave an equally pleased hum when he made the smart choice to concede Captain to her, but she didn't gloat any further, instead focusing on the gift she was giving him. She expected some skepticism from him about using the pills, but what he returned with instead hadn't crossed her mind at all.
Is there still enough for you? he asked, and despite her insistence that she wouldn't, Viola immediately wanted to cry. She was so much better protected than he was, with her Gift at full strength, and somehow, this extraordinary man still thought of her first, even before his own comfort. Had anyone else ever done that for her before? She tilted her hips toward his, her head nuzzling into the crook of his neck. "More than enough," she assured him. "Beau and Courtenay won't touch it and we've just come into a bit of a surplus besides."
She couldn't help but smirk, tilting her face up toward his as she let him in on the secret. "I made Blair pay me in Ellevra."
***
Unlike many in the village who did not know her, Lachlan didn’t harbour the mistaken belief that Viola had lived an easy life. He knew (what was no doubt only a fraction of) what she had faced back in Belailles, and he knew she hadn’t been crushed under the weight of that oppressive society when so many others had been. She was strong and incredibly resilient, but she was not a product of war. The Ellevra would be a guard against the monstrosity over in Belmont Manor, the one who could hurt someone Gifted with a phasing ability that prevented most others ever laying an unwanted hand on them. Even with his hands in figurative chains, Lachlan was not defenceless. He would choke the enemy with the chains they bound him in before he fell victim to them, and he did not want to leave Viola in harm’s way by taking her best line of protection.
He needed the pills, the Resistance did too. But if that came at her expense, he would find another way. They always did.
But it seemed as though they didn’t need to. Lachlan’s hips instinctively shifted to meet Viola’s as she nuzzled close, but then he drew away ever so slightly so he could look into her eyes. “How exactly does one come into a bit of a surplus?” he asked, not quite knowing why he found the idea entertaining, but being coaxed along by her alluring little smirk.
He hadn’t been given enough time to dream up possible reasons for Viola’s sudden bounty, but he likely wouldn’t have guessed at Adler being forced to settle her debt in drugs. The cat-clawed lady had more money than she knew what to do with, but the Ellevra was a precious resource for the moment. Viola really had made her pay. “I hope she didn’t do you insult by writing off what you did as worthy of a few pills. The more that are out of her destructive hands, the better.”
***
“That was my thought too,” Viola said, pleased that they’d had the same thought. Lachlan was so clever. “I asked for all of it. I’m sure she didn’t give that much, but it certainly was a generous sum.” She kissed his lips again lightly. “A risk, certainly. Tuck and Alex will find it missing eventually, but I’ll just say that I meant all of her store of it and had no idea that she’d gone and raided the family’s safe.” She let her jaw go a little slack, her eyes widening in expertly feigned concern. “What a dreadful misunderstanding.”
She smirked again, her sharp-eyed look returning. “It probably won’t last forever,” she sighed. “But with any luck Tucker will just ask his father for more and we’ll get to keep at least some of the surplus. The point is,” she met Lachlan’s eyes. “I’m sure there’ enough to spare some. And there’s no one I’d rather give it to.”
***
Lachlan hummed approvingly upon hearing that Viola had the same thought as him, but it was not really surprising. He had never been one who was drawn to a pretty face alone. Viola had that, of course, but it was her wit and cleverness that really attracted him to her. That might have been reason enough to stay away, for fear that she would discover his many secrets, but Lachlan had never been the most reasonable of men. Those men were the ones who weighed up the force of Clovenne’s government against Aurelle’s and figured the most reasonable course of action was to not fight, that they had no chance of winning.
But if something or someone was worth fighting for, Lachlan would do so no matter the odds or risks involved.
A look of admiration shone in his eyes upon hearing that Viola had managed to secure a generous sum of Ellevra, even if it wasn’t all of it, whilst the resistance fighter in the back of his mind cheered the news. “I would say you need to work on your acting skills, Captain,” Lachlan began upon seeing her wide-eyed act of concern. “But that is only because I don’t underestimate you. That lot do, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they did believe you hadn’t meant to get your hands on the whole lot.”
It seemed strange that Belmont would need to ask his father for more pills, and Lachlan raised an eyebrow slightly. “Are you saying that neither Belmont nor Tyrell know how to make the drug? Or is it a matter of not having the facilities to do so?”
When their eyes met, Lachlan took Viola’s face in his hands. His skin was toughened by a lifetime of manual labour and her cheeks were porcelain smooth, and the contrast felt right, rather than seeming like a sign that they were from worlds that were too different. He kissed her then, with none of that lightness of her own sweet kisses, and it was some time before he pulled away. “Thank you,” he said, and he meant it. “I wish I was able to do something for you in return.” It was becoming more and more clear that he needed to rid them both of Calvin Llewellyn, but even if he did manage to do that, he wouldn’t ever be able to claim responsibility for that infinite relief. What else could compete with such a wondrous offering?
***
Viola smiled, leaning her forehead against Lachlan’s for a moment. No, he certainly didn’t underestimate her, not the way so many others did. It was disheartening, that he was one of the only people that didn’t, but that couldn’t be helped. And besides, it was a strength, at least in this regard. It meant that she could get away with so much more. “I don’t know if they can synthesize it at the Belmont house,” Viola said thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t put it past Belmont or Tyrell to know the recipe. But I doubt even they have the resources to make too much of it in that lab of theirs. Regardless, it would likely be easier and safer to just ask Tuck’s father for more.”
Viola melted into his kisses, her arms tightening around him as he held her. She badly wanted to say something coy at his wish to do something for her in return. I can think of a few things, she might have said, nudging him to take off her dress. But as much as she anticipated good sex, there was too much on her mind to jump into it right away, and so she said, “There might be.”
She broke away from him just long enough to lead to the bed, though instead of rolling down onto it, she sat on its edge instead, cleaving close to him. “Beau’s still angry with me,” she said, her voice quiet, lightly melancholic. “I expect he will be, for a while. He wrote me in the journals to tell me that he’d fired Llewellyn, but he clearly wasn’t happy about it, and he’s angry with me for lying to him. He doesn’t understand why I didn’t just tell him what was happening, and he’s insisting that I only lied because I don’t respect him. I don’t know how to make him believe anything different.” She sighed heavily, letting her head loll onto Lachlan’s shoulder. “Do you think… there’d be any chance…” she tipped her head up a little to look at him. “Would you talk to him?”
***
Given how transitory their meetings were, Lachlan should have been rushing to rid Viola of her dress, to feel as close to her as possible for as long as possible. But their time together had the curious quality of never feeling rushed. He suspected this had a lot to do with how captivating Viola was, that he was so focused on her that he was less conscious of the passing of time before they would need to part once more.
Lachlan followed Viola over to the bed, lowering himself down onto the mattress slowly as he watched and waited to hear what it was that he could do for her. He didn’t immediately catch on to what Viola was asking for when he heard her brother’s name, not like he had when he had seen her cursive rendering of Reagan’s name in their journals.
Not knowing what was needed of him kept Lachlan quiet for the time it took for Viola to say what she needed to say. His hand came up to cup the back of her head as it came to rest on his shoulder, gently brushing his fingers through her hair for a moment before looking down to meet her searching gaze. “I can,” he agreed softly. Privately, Lachlan wasn’t confident his perspective on the situation would help Beau to see Viola had done no wrong when her brother likely counted him as a biased opinion, but he would try nonetheless.
Besides, for all that Beau was a Clovennian Lord, he was not in the same league as Belmont and Tyrell. If Lachlan could make him see that firing Llewellyn had been the right choice then that would be better for all concerned. “If you think there is a chance he would be willing to talk to me?”
***
Viola leaned her head against Lachlan’s shoulder, her body beginning to unwind now that she was beginning to feel safe. Even if Lachlan’s having a conversation with Beau didn’t make a difference, some part of her was sure that he would be more likely to listen to Lachlan than to her. Or at least he would be willing to listen differently, since he didn’t feel betrayed by Lachlan the same way he felt betrayed by her.
“I’m sure he would,” Viola said. “He likes you. Even if it’s just a journal conversation, I’m sure he’d… be more likely to listen.” She nuzzled against his shoulder. “I don’t know how to talk to him now. I’m sure he’ll be upset with me for the… Blair situation, the Ellevra. I suppose I should tell him about that too.” She closed her eyes, unhappy. “I wish the world weren’t so complicated.” She nestled into him a little more. “For you, especially.”
***
For all that Lachlan was lethal in a fight and had been dangerous for most of his life, there was no safer place Viola could have been in Glynn than right there in his arms. He let her nuzzle as close as she liked, revelling in the intimacy instead of shying away from it as he turned to press a kiss to the crown of her head. “I don’t see how he could be upset with you about the Ellevra. Anyone with sense can see that -” Lachlan had to catch himself before calling Blair any number of foul names not fit for Viola’s ears. “ - Adler should not have that drug in her possession. Tell him what happened, but don’t rush yourself into the conversation or neither of you will get anything out of it. Let the dust settle a little first.”
Lachlan shared Viola’s wish for a less complicated world, and he lapsed into silence as his thoughts went back to how things were when he was a child. The land he had lived in that was governed by the gods and the church, rather than a foreign country that their worst interests at heart. “And for you,” he said softly after a time. If speaking to Beau would make things a little less complicated for Viola, then that is what he would do.
***
“Good advice,” Viola murmured. Which it was. Letting the dust settle wasn’t the kind of thing that Viola had historically been very good at, since she so often thought of it as a retreat. But Lachlan was right. Time would be an ally here. And so, as usual, would Lachlan.
There was probably more to say. They should talk about Carnivale, she knew. Talk about boundaries and expectations. But she didn’t want to do anything more right then than to disappear into his arms, to feel the warmth and strength of him. So she tipped her head up and looked into his eyes for a few seconds, and then said, “At least we have this.”
She kissed him long and sweet, nudging him down with her, inviting his hands to work open her dress and find the lingerie she’d worn for him beneath it. As if nothing was complicated at all.