Fandom: Horizon Zero Dawn Pairing: Aloy/Helis Rating: Explicit Warnings: Major Character Death Words: ~4000 Status: In progress
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She felt hands shaking her—gently, but insistently—pulling her back into consciousness.
"Aloy, can you hear me? Aloy?"
That voice... Those hands.
"Aloy?"
Even as pain flared up with her awareness, Aloy forced her eyes open.
"Your fever needs to break."
"Helis...?"
Why is he doing this? What does he want from me?
She wanted to scream at him, to beg him to leave her alone, to stop touching her. But aside from a feeble attempt to pull away, her body refused to obey.
"Shhh... Listen to me carefully. You're going to feel cold. It won't be pleasant, but it's necessary. Do you understand?"
"Helis..."
She felt herself lifted into strong, muscular arms. And only then—when their skin touched—did she realize there was nothing between them.
"My clothes..."
"You don't need them right now."
The confusion that thought brought was wiped away by the sudden bite of icy cold at her toes.
"... No... no!" Aloy whimpered, trying to squirm out of Helis's iron grip. Unsurprisingly, it was useless.
She felt her body lowered into freezing water—awful, and somehow, strangely soothing. Instinctively, she curled toward the heat of Helis's body, submerged there with her.
Was it the icy water that had shocked her senses awake? Maybe. Either way, within minutes, she began to feel a little better. The pain was still there—sharp, relentless—but numbed by the cold gripping every inch of her skin.
She managed to open her eyes fully. The room looked the same as before—the one she'd seen every time she drifted back to awareness. But now the sun had set, and soft candlelight glowed through the space.
That was when she realized her face was just inches from Helis's. She could feel his breath on her cheek. He was watching her, expression unreadable. Candlelight flickered in his eyes, reflecting in the ice-blue like fire dancing on a frozen lake.
"Helis..."
He held her tightly against his chest with one arm. With the other, he stirred the water, letting it flow over her shoulders, her arms. He brushed her hair back—from her forehead, from her ears, out of her eyes.
Aloy became aware that she was still wearing her undergarments. The thought—trivial as it was—comforted her just enough to find her voice.
"What's happening?" she managed, barely above a whisper.
His body was warm—steady, maddeningly so—while Aloy trembled from the cold shuddering through her limbs.
"Don't speak," he murmured, voice low, firm.
Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy. She tried to answer, to say something—anything—but her mouth wouldn't obey.
Instead, she clung to him.
And he held her tighter, almost crushingly, as if he feared she'd vanish if he let go.
In that moment, he was the only solid thing in a world that made no sense. The only weight keeping her from floating apart.
So she held on with everything she had.
Even though she hated him. Even though she wanted him dead.
Because right now, there was nothing else to hold onto. Only him.
He smelled clean, but something beneath it felt sharp—like fire, or sweat soaked into hot sand.
Aloy buried her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder.
The thought echoed in her mind, and the more she repeated it, the more she hated herself for needing him. The more she hated herself, the tighter she held him.
She wasn't used to being this close to anyone—least of all a man. But right now, she couldn't think about embarrassment or boundaries. The pain left room for nothing else.
"Don't... leave me," she whispered, hating the raw need in her voice—the dependence she felt for the man who had taken her father's life.
"I'm here," Helis answered.
His voice was warm. Gentle.
And that made her furious.
She wanted to scream, to shove him away, to tell him never to touch her again. But in the same breath, she begged him, silently, to keep holding her—just a little longer.
Unconsciousness crept in again, a fog closing over her.
She fought to stay awake. Her eyelids fluttered. Her lips brushed his cheek as she lifted her head weakly.
"Help me..."
The last thing she saw were his eyes on hers—the reflection of fire burning deep within them.
Then everything went dark.
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