Post by PeroxidePirate on Sept 2, 2010 22:15:00 GMT 10
Title: Getting Settled
Rating: PG
Prompt: 29. Getting Settled
Summary: The heart heals at its own pace.
Inside, it took a moment for Daja's eyes to adjust to the dark. When she could see, she found a pile of blankets on the wagon floor. Polyam was stretched out in the bed.
Well, that's settled, she thought. She wondered how she could be relieved and disappointed at the same time.
“Hey.”
“Oh – hey.” Daja stood, awkwardly, in the middle of the wagon. “Thank you for the blankets.”
Polyam shifted, propping herself up on her good elbow. “Sit down.” She patted the bed. “What if we oversleep? What will the Tswa'ha say about me if anyone finds out I let a mimander sleep on my floor?”
Daja sighed. She had to concede that point. “What happens if we share the bed?” she asked. The words came easier, now it was fully dark.
“What do you want?” Polyam's voice was low, but somehow reassuring. It was good to hear Trader-talk spoken so easily, without deliberation. “What don't you want?”
Daja rubbed her face with her hands, turning Polyam's questions over in her mind. Finally she said, “I don't want to use sex like Briar does, to cover pain I'm not ready to feel.” She turned toward the other woman, reaching out to touch her face. Her fingers brushed scars and patches of smooth skin. “I couldn't even if I wanted to. At least, not with you.”
Polyam covered Daja's hand with her own.
“And I'm not ready for anything more. Polyam, I'm... I'm just not.”
When Polyam spoke, her voice was understanding, tinged only a little with regret.“I won't ask you why, and I won't push.” She turned Daja's hand over in hers, kissed it, and let it go. “I'll stay on my side of the bed, then. I, um, take up less space than you'd expect.”
“Oh, of course – your leg.” Daja shrugged out of her overshirt, hanging it on a hook she found beside the bed. “Scoot over, then.”
Rating: PG
Prompt: 29. Getting Settled
Summary: The heart heals at its own pace.
Inside, it took a moment for Daja's eyes to adjust to the dark. When she could see, she found a pile of blankets on the wagon floor. Polyam was stretched out in the bed.
Well, that's settled, she thought. She wondered how she could be relieved and disappointed at the same time.
“Hey.”
“Oh – hey.” Daja stood, awkwardly, in the middle of the wagon. “Thank you for the blankets.”
Polyam shifted, propping herself up on her good elbow. “Sit down.” She patted the bed. “What if we oversleep? What will the Tswa'ha say about me if anyone finds out I let a mimander sleep on my floor?”
Daja sighed. She had to concede that point. “What happens if we share the bed?” she asked. The words came easier, now it was fully dark.
“What do you want?” Polyam's voice was low, but somehow reassuring. It was good to hear Trader-talk spoken so easily, without deliberation. “What don't you want?”
Daja rubbed her face with her hands, turning Polyam's questions over in her mind. Finally she said, “I don't want to use sex like Briar does, to cover pain I'm not ready to feel.” She turned toward the other woman, reaching out to touch her face. Her fingers brushed scars and patches of smooth skin. “I couldn't even if I wanted to. At least, not with you.”
Polyam covered Daja's hand with her own.
“And I'm not ready for anything more. Polyam, I'm... I'm just not.”
When Polyam spoke, her voice was understanding, tinged only a little with regret.“I won't ask you why, and I won't push.” She turned Daja's hand over in hers, kissed it, and let it go. “I'll stay on my side of the bed, then. I, um, take up less space than you'd expect.”
“Oh, of course – your leg.” Daja shrugged out of her overshirt, hanging it on a hook she found beside the bed. “Scoot over, then.”
