A quick prompt response for @rocket2saturn: casadaar, “the tender ache when you press against bruises”
Tangentially related to that cass/sera prompt I did because I’m garbage.
Cassandra found her sitting in front of a fire in the courtyard, drinking from a flask. Things had been strained between them since Cassandra had turned her down, and not because Taman was the one making it so. Since that day, Cassandra had found herself embroiled in a very personal and private war, one she was not certain how to resolve.
She approached hesitantly. "May I...join you?"
"Please," Taman gestured to the empty spot next to her.
Cassandra sat, trying to hide the stiffness in her legs. Taman offered her the flask, and Cassandra almost refused on mere instinct, but there was a terrible kind of tension, an all-encompassing anxiety coursing through her body, and she realized she could probably use the drink if she intended to sleep in the foreseeable future.
Whatever the stuff in the flask was, it was strong. Cassandra coughed and patted her chest as subtly as she could manage.
Taman chuckled, low and tired. "Put some chest on your chest, I think, is what the Bull says."
Cassandra scoffed. "Of course he does."
"How are you holding up?" Taman wondered.
"I am fine, thank you."
"Mhm." Without warning, Taman prodded her arm, in a spot where a bruise had surely formed, but she hadn't had the energy to examine the extent of her injuries if they weren't life-threatening.
Cassandra winced. "The gentle touch of the Inquisitor will be long regaled, I'm sure."
"The inhuman resilience of the warrior won't be regaled at all if she doesn't give herself a break once in awhile," said Taman, before she took another swig from her mystery flask.
"You are one to talk," Cassandra retorted.
"That's why you keep me around, isn't it?" Taman offered her a lopsided smile. "You've got me, and I've got...I don't know. Everyone we dragged into this does err on the side of workaholic, I guess. But I'm trying, anyway. For your sake."
Cassandra dared a sideways glance at her face, barely illuminated by the fire. She was smiling at Cassandra, looking almost hopeful despite the obvious exhaustion.
Cassandra felt her lips twitch. "Your concern is touching," she said drily.
But Taman took it as the reluctant concession it was. Her smile widened, and she wrapped an arm about Cassandra's shoulders. Cassandra startled--it was strange, to feel the strength in it and know that the gesture was not hostile. It had been a long time since anyone so powerful had touched her so gently.
From somewhere inside the tavern there came a piercing cackle. Taman chuckled softly, and Cassandra felt it resonate against her cheek. "Bet Sera still dreams about the time you laid one on her."
Cassandra made a noise of disapproval. "Perhaps you are projecting," she retorted.
"Oh, I'm definitely projecting," said Taman pleasantly. "I think I've made it more than clear that I'd drop everything and come running if you changed your mind."
Cassandra tensed.
Taman squeezed her shoulders gently. "Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."
"It...isn't that."
Taman inclined her head to look at Cassandra, silent, waiting.
"I..."
She was suddenly overcome by visions of Taman in the warm light of the tavern, watching her, wanting her so casually, as though it were obvious, as though it were nothing, when the feeling tore Cassandra apart. She was the one pressing on old bruises now, each memory a dull ache, an unpleasant twinge of all the times Cassandra had let life pass her by under the guise of devotion to her duty.
"How about this?" Taman offered at last, quietly, just shy of Cassandra's ear. "You don't have to say anything. We can just...pretend nothing was ever said."
Cassandra looked up, suddenly, seized by a strange kind of warmth, and her hand strayed to the strong set of Taman's jawline. She kissed her, before she could think better of it, quick and daring and forceful, and then she pulled away, and she waited for a reaction.
Taman rewarded her efforts with a dazed sort of grin. "Or you could do that. That's also acceptable."
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
