#wraithshells

dragon age / accepting !

@wraithshells

     that gives amélie pause. she keeps her cheek pressed against the back of his shoulder, grateful it’s there to block her expression of surprise. she feels her cheeks warm, feeling an uptick in the beat of her heart. the arm slung around his middle tightens its grip and amélie lets the palm of her hand run up and down his torso for a moment before she pushes up to sit. amélie stares at gabriel, hoping that the flush of her face has vacated (it hasn’t) and that he won’t call her out on it if it’s still there.

     “    commander reyes, i bet you say that to all the ballerinas.    “ she gives a smile, pleased that her voice sounds steady to her own ears. her hand falls to his knee, gentle.

the world may want my time, but you have my heart.

      amélie assumes he’s making a joke. “    what a flatterer you are.    “

     but are those fresh freesias sitting pretty in the crystalline vase on the nightstand next to your bed a joke, amélie ? have any of the several gifts he’s gotten you in all this time been a joke ? her head bows and allows her hair to obscure her features very briefly, before she looks at him again and finds him facing her completely.

     “    i couldn’t possibly impose. you don’t have to jump through hoops to come see my show if you can’t —    “ her words cut off , mouth still caught in that little ‘ o ‘ of explanation when she feels the pads of his fingertips at her elbow, almost shy.

     both of them almost shy despite the fact that they’ve seen each other naked.

amélie, i want to.

     she points her stare at her large windows, red curtains drawn back so she can see how the snow falls steadily outside. then amélie eases herself back down and snugly arranges her heavy comforter over them both ; it smells like her, soft and vanilla. there isn’t a lot of space between their bodies and that makes her take in a quiet breath. if gérard were here and not delayed on a flight, careful eyes watching her, amélie knows he would be beyond amused.

a woman under the influence / accepting !

@tankthebeast

     hana’s a bit dazed, mouth hung open in surprise. she knows it was an accident. she knows it was ! still, she keeps staring at the holo screen, watching the save file with her name wink at her with 0% progress when it’d been 85% the night before. shit is rough out here. hana takes a deep breath, going the cartoon route of pushing her mouth closed with her fingers.

     “    don’t worry about it.    “

    it’s a brand new game and not one of the vintage ones the pair of them like to mess around with. damn ! it’s not like she won’t catch up back to the progress she had with ease, and she knows yuna must feel terrible. hana sees it in those big brown eyes of hers. she fears for a split second that yuna might even cry or something. her and that big cotton candy heart of hers. hana reaches for yuna’s hands quickly.

blood lust / accepting !

@wraithshells​ , my  muse  accidentally  biting  yours  too  hard,  drawing  blood.   “ accidentally “

     amélie can’t help but get like this: an animal trapped in its own skin, vicious and clawing. she has one of her hands wrapped nice and snug around his throat, squeezing with the threat of claws until she relents. amélie doesn’t mind losing a fight. she can’t win all of them but still she tends to put her all into them until there’s nothing left for her to give. her breathing’s steadied enough but there’s a small catch when gabriel leans his face closer, leaving very little space between their mouths.

     admit it, mel. you lost.

     it winds her up again for all of a moment and she tries to exert more effort but….he’s right. she’s tired, bested this time. their marriage is a constant, even back and forth. “   do you want a medal ?   “ she tries for a petulant tone and just finds it as exhausted, at least to someone trained to catch how the notes of her words bob over each other. she’s still aware of the nonexistent space between them. amélie tries to keep herself somewhat focused ; a wasted endeavor when she feels his fingers glide along her throat. she shuts her eyes.

     nah. think a kiss will do just fine.

     she doesn’t need to look at his face to know that shit-eating grin is there. it makes his voice sparkle, like he’s about to laugh. “    fair enough.    “

     amélie doesn’t make gabriel wait. fair is fair. he was the better one this time. amélie brings her lips against his, nice and gentle. she can tell he’s relaxed. should never let your guard down around a spider. amélie moves to tug his lip in a move to be sensually playful — and she knows it works when she hears him make a low noise in his throat — before she bites down hard. it doesn’t take long for the tang of blood to make itself apparent on her lips.

     huh. guess you still have some fight in you, then.

dragon age / accepting !

@wraithshells

     “    it’s just a graze, gabriel.    “ she has her hand pressed to the wound, the red blood that leaks between her fingers shines brightly against the dull blue of her skin. that looks like more than a graze kind of bleeding. amélie locks a wheeze behind her teeth and gives him a sharp smile instead. amélie knows this isn’t the worst pain she’s ever been in. widowmaker didn’t get to experience the pain as it was inflicted on her, but amélie does now, searing lashes that whip her time and time again when she least expects it. her body, all memory foam.

     “    his aim was terrible. didn’t give him enough time for a second shot.    “

     amélie didn’t even give him a second of triumph. no chances to go back and claim that he shot widowmaker, their best. all he got for his trouble was a bullet between his eyes. she leans her weight against the door frame, widow’s kiss securely wrapped over her torso. it looks like a live animal instead of a gun. amélie’s careful when she shifts around, digging into the inner pocket of her suit, and brandishes a usb drive with a pleased smile. worth the bullet.

     “    list of talon donors no one is supposed … to know about. not even people in the organization. i’ll probably have to give this to sombra.    “ no doubt about that.

soul kiss / accepting !

@wraithshells

     amélie has her back to him. she remains on her side and there’s no indication that she’s awake ; she breathes so slow in regular moments she might as well be dead. that’s how she feels when she’s like this. amélie focuses her attention on the wall in front of her, taking his words in with a ring of her ears. if she doesn’t answer soon it’ll make him panic.

     hah ! who is she kidding ? amélie hasn’t moved since last night ; the note of panic already quietly laced through his words. amélie can imagine him (feels him) staring at her with his brows furrowed with a hand halfway out unsure if he should touch her. but it’s her. it’s amélie. she gives a small shift when she feels the pads of his fingertips on her bare shoulder. gabriel knows her well enough to know touch is the best way to get through to her.

     amélie turns around slowly — like it’s hurting her — and blinks at him with cried out eyes. sometimes the tears come and they don’t stop coming and she’s very good at falling apart quietly when she wants to. ten years of emotional and physical enslavement will do that to a person.

     she hates when he looks at her like that. worried, a little scared and like he isn’t quite sure what to do and he hates that he doesn’t.  “    i’m tired.    “ amélie’s hoarse voice breaks the silence.

     amélie is downright goddamn exhausted. she’s worse for wear but that’s a permanent state, really. always getting busted up in one way or another. worn down at the fact that gérard’s birthday is right around the corner and he’s not here like he should be.

     “    i’m tired,    “ amélie emphasizes with a crack of her voice that doesn’t bode well. she doesn’t fight the next wave of her emotions that make her ball her hands into fists and have her breathing out through her nose, head slowly shaking.

     “    i don’t want to know one hundred different ways to fucking kill someone. i want to go home. i want to go back on stage —    “ there’s a rough pause as her chest heaves, first sobs breaking through. amélie already feels a roiling guilt coating her stomach. she hates making him see this, but that’s marriage. they knew what they signed up for. amélie wouldn’t change that for the world.

     “    i don’t want to feel like some fucking impostor. that would be wonderful.    “ the words tear from her throat, shredded quickly by the wobble of her voice. she knows she’s amélie, but she’s not really, is she ? she feels like a very good imitation of the woman talon stole. but amélie knows the truth: that woman died the moment talon kidnapped her. so much of what she does now is nothing she would’ve imagined for herself. the only part of it that makes any god damn sense is gabriel, always there.

     her blue skin sports splotches from her sobbing. amélie fixes her eyes on gabriel. i’m sorry.

     “    why couldn’t they’ve just finished the job ? why ? why would they do this ? i did what they made me do. why couldn’t they’ve just fucking killed me ?    “

     the wobbling, croaking tone continues while she succumbs to her grief, curling in on herself again. amélie doesn’t want to die, not really. she already tried the one time.

he forgot to say goodbye / accepting !

@wraithshells

      amélie pauses, hands stalling in the middle of putting her long hair up. she turns around somewhat from the mirror to look at him ; her reflection shows the intricate detail of her tactical suit, each thread well-crafted to give her the space to do what she needs to do. amélie pretends to ponder gabriel’s words, as if she’s never felt that before. she has.

     she turns back around, keeping her silence long enough to finish fiddling with her hair. then she’s sauntering over and moving to sit at the edge of their bed with a frown, hurt gathered in the corner of her mouth.

     “    of course,    “ amélie answers — rather, tries to answer, voice scratching and fizzling out in her throat. she tries again.

     “   of course.    “

     talon’s left her all too familiar with the feeling. sometimes, it leaves her in a state of ruin, unable to move for long stretches of time. he’s seen it enough times. amélie moves closer, never hesitant to be in his space. the two have known each other for too long for such a hesitance to exist. she settles her hand against his cheek, fingers soft on the curve of his jaw.

     “    i have time to talk. if you want to.    “

     she knows the widow’s kiss isn’t going to get up and walk from the table she put it on this morning. she’s going after abigail’s father tonight. a favor. she’s been tailing him, observing him. amélie knows what his favorite drink is.

a woman under the influence / accepting !

@wraithshells

     “    gabriel.    “  that’s it. just his name, and a scrutinizing look as she cleans the remaining blood from his skin with care. she isn’t even sure how much of it is his. she moves to put the washcloth on the edge of the sink. the blood is bright against the beige of the cloth. she returns to him and lets her hands pat him down, just to make sure that he’s all right. she knows he’s real, but sometimes she likes to make sure. has to make sure, even. a cold hand rests on his shoulder as she looks at him, slowly studying the face she’s known forever. she brings her other hand with the ring up ; shards of colorful light splash across the wall as she shimmies it.

     “    remember this ? this is my license to worry about you.   “ even when it wasn’t, even when he was commander reyes, she worried ! always telling gérard to keep a close watch on gabriel and himself. the hand on his shoulder skates up the column of his throat, then comes to rest on his cheek.