Thunder, Lightning, and Cuddling

Knock! Knock! Knock!

…

…

…knock! Knock! Knock!

Who the ever loving fuck was knocking on her door at this time of morning?!

Dura grumbled as she tossed her bedsheets off herself and sat up, rubbing her eyes as she woke up. The half-orc hardly had time to adjust to the darkness of the room before another series of knocks sounded against her door.

“Holy fuck…” she grumbled as her dogs began hollering in the other room. “I’m coming! I’m coming! Cool your shit!”

She dragged herself out of bed and grabbed a robe on her way out of her bedroom. Tying it on, she grabbed a candle, lighting it quickly as she continued through her home.

Her head throbbed as her dogs continued barking. She had only gone to sleep around an hour or so ago, so she wasn’t looking the best right now. Finishing up some work regarding trade routes and business deals with other families. She was tired, to say the least. If she recalled correctly, she went to bed around one, and it was still decently dark so she could only assume that only around an hour had passed.

Eventually she made it to her front door. Her two dogs stood at the door, barking and hollering their hearts out. She sighed as she placed the candle holder down on the nearby table before she set about stepping between her dogs and the door so that they don’t try to maul whoever they think is trying to break in.

She finally unlocked the door and opened it with a few more mutters for her dogs to be quiet before they woke up the whole city.

Then she saw who stood at the door.

The tiefling was soaked to the bone in the cold rain. Clothing stuck to their skin uncomfortably, the white blouse revealing everything underneath it. For once they had forgone their usual corset and instead of the organized messy hair that Dura was used to but rather it was well and truly messy and tangled. They were deeply flushed and something tells Dura that the wetness running down her face wasn’t just the pouring rain.

It was London.

At her doorstep.

In the rain.

At two in the morning.

“…h-hey…” She was definitely crying. Her voice trembled and wavered as she sniffled, reaching up to rub her eyes.

“Hey,” Dura said, concern filling her voice as she leaned down to hear London’s weak voice better over the rain. “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m- no- I-” She stammered over her words. “I just…I know this isn’t one of our usual days but I just really need to be held right now…I know our relationship is strictly sex and I’ll leave if you don’t want me here. It’s just…” she heaves a trembling sigh, “Jyran is several hundred miles away and Aje is visiting our mom’s side of the family. I just really fucking need to be held right now, I’ll have sex if that’s what it takes but please, you’re the only person I could think of…” London’s arms wrapped around herself as she continued to stand there and cry.

Dura felt her heart break as she looked down at the shorter woman in front of her. It was so different seeing her like this. London was usually cocky and full of herself. Loud and brash. Seeing her like this, weeping at her doorstep, reminded Dura of the nights when London would beg and cry for Dura to keep going, to hurt her. Dura didn’t, of course, but it only continued to confirm Dura’s suspicions that something horrible happened to this woman in the past.

She didn’t bother answering. Instead she grabbed her coat off the nearby coat rack and held it over London’s head, blocking the rain from hitting her. London pauses as she looks up at Dura in confusion. Dura gives what she hopes to be her best comforting smile as she motions for London to come in with her head.

London blinked up at her for a second more before the booming of thunder jolted her into action as she rushed into the house. Dura sighed slightly as the sharp tang of alcohol graced her nose as London rushed in. Dura’s dogs, Oona and Amin, scrambled to get out of London’s way and away from the water being splashed into the house.

Dura watched from the corner eye as London stood in her front room as she closed and locked the door again, muffling the sounds of the storm outside. London hardly moved or spoke, save for her constant shivering and the occasional sniffle. Oona and Amin trotted around her, sniffing curiously at her soaked clothes.

Dura sighed as she hung up the coat before reclaiming the metal ring of the candle holder.

“Hey,” She murmured, trying to avoid startling the smaller woman too much. Despite her attempt, London still jumps as she looks over at Dura. “Let’s get you out of this. You’re only going to catch a cold if you stay in this any longer.”

She can see London hesitate before giving her a shaky nod.

Dura went to offer London her hand but hesitated. She wanted to help London, but normally she would brush off stuff like that. This whole thing is weird and new.

Much to her surprise, as she pulled her hand back, London jolted forward to take it. She watched with wide eyes as London held it, looking down at the ground. Her tail flicked sharply behind her, betraying her anxiety.

Dura felt a gentle smile tug at her lips as her thumb gently rubbed the back of London’s hand. London squeezed tighter before pulling her hand up and holding Dura’s palm against her face. Dura watched as her eyes fluttered shut, nuzzling into the warmth of her palm.

It was strange. How she was both burning hot and freezing cold to the touch. Dura could easily tell the rain from the tears on her face, especially because while she was now out of the rain, the tears kept coming.

She set the candle back down as she instead leaned down to pick up London’s smaller form. London jolted as she flailed for a second before clinging tightly to Dura, going as far as to wrap her tail around one of Dura’s arms holding her. Dura simply adjusted her hold on London so that she could also reach over and grab the candle. She looked up at Dura, her eyes full of confusion.

“…b-but…you’re gonna…get wet…too.” London protested in a weak and trembling voice.

“I don’t mind.” Dura pressed a kiss to the top of London’s head. “I’m more worried about you right now.”

London gaped for a second before looking away. Dura could see the array of emotions in the smaller woman’s eyes but found herself unable to decipher them. It seemed that London was just as confused by them.

The walk to her room was relatively quiet, save for a few muttered curses on Dura’s end when one (or both if she’s particularly unlucky) of her dogs, typically Amin, run under her feet and nearly trip her. But outside of that, it was quiet. London rested her head against Dura’s collarbone, her fingers tracing along the scars that were there.

Eventually Dura walks into her room.

She gently placed London down on the chair by her desk before going to light up the room a bit more. Soon she has a few more candles going, lighting up the dark room as she opens her drawers, looking for something that would at least decently fit London.

“Why don’t you get undressed,” Dura called back to London as she investigated a shirt before sighing and folding it up before tucking it back into the drawer. “I’m trying to find something that won’t try and eat you alive, I promise I won’t look back until you’re ready. Just put your clothes in a pile by my desk and I’ll get them cleaned up and dried off.”

There was silence.

Then the sound of rustling clothes.

Dura made sure to keep her gaze on the task at hand, wanting to give the other woman all the privacy she needed in the moment. After a good few minutes of looking, she sighed.

“London, I’m gonna need to step out and find the shirt I’m looking for and grab you a towel. Can you grab the candle on the desk and bring it over?” She asked as she stood up and closed the drawer, keeping her back to London as she spoke.

London doesn’t respond but Dura hears movement behind her so she could assume that the woman heard her. She was left waiting for a minute or two before she heard quiet footfalls followed by a gentle tug to the sleeve of her robe.

“…here. I got it…”

Dura nodded as she reached over and took the candle by the metal ring, making sure that she kept her gaze away from London. “Thank you, I’ll be back in a minute. Do you want me to take Oona and Amin with me or do you want them to stay?”

London doesn’t respond for a few moments before answering.

“…th-they can stay.”

Dura nodded, “I’ll leave them be then. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Holler if you need anything.” She then left the room, closing the door behind her.

It only took her a minute to grab the towel, the bigger problem was finding the shirt. She had bought it a few weeks back and she hadn’t gotten around to returning it because it was too small for her. It would still be far too big on London but it could be worse.

Eventually she found it draped over a chair in the kitchen. She quickly grabbed it before heading back to her room. She went to open the door before pausing as she remembered London’s current state of dress. With a slightly flushed face as she realized what she had almost done, she knocked on the door.

“I’ve got the shirt and towel, am I good to come in or do you want to hide?”

She heard a yelp on the other side followed by muttered swearing. Then London responded.

“…yeah…um…shit…give me a second…”

Dura can hear some movement on the other side of the door. Mainly her dogs, but still, movement. Then she hears London speaking in a low voice followed by her dogs yipping a bit. Finally, London speaks up again.

“…you’re good to come in now.”

Dura nodded, despite no one being able to see her, and opened the door.

What she wasn’t expecting to see was London hiding behind her bed in a way that made it pretty much impossible to see her body from Dura’s place at the door. In fact, all she really saw was the top half of London’s face peeking over the edge of her bed, her horns, and her swaying tail behind her.

London seems to notice the confused smile on Dura’s face as she speaks.

“…your room is very unhideable.”

Dura paused, processing the words. Then a smile spread across her face as laughter racked through her body. After a minute she took a breath. “Apologies, I shall keep that in mind when renovating.”

“…that’s good,” London said, her voice slowly growing steadier. Dura also took notice that her crying seems to have slowed to a stop. “…always have a good hiding spot. Now you promised me a towel…?”

“Yep.” Dura tossed the towel over to where London was behind her bed. “Right here.”

She watched as London reached up to grab it, but it seems that she was still somewhat drunk as she didn’t have the best coordination. Instead it flopped down and landed on her head. Dura couldn’t help but snort slightly at the result.

Once London recovered from her slight shock, she reached up and snatched it off her head as she went about drying herself off. While she did that, Dura walked over and put the shirt down on the bed.

“I found something for you to wear, though it might be a bit big.” Dura explained as she shifted her body so that her back was to London. “I would offer more but I think everything else would just fall off.”

“…that’s fine,” London muttered as she finished up drying herself. There’s silence for a few more moments before Dura hears the rustling of cloth. It’s then followed by a quiet ‘holy shit’ causing her to chuckle.

“I won’t even need anything else,” London says after a moment, “Are you sure this is a shirt? It’s looking more like some sorta weird dress.”

Dura chuckled and shook her head, “I can certainly assure that it’s a shirt. It’s actually too small for me, hence why you can also keep it.”

“Really?” London asked, slightly muffled as she pulled the shirt on. “Just like that? No catches? Also I’m decent so you can look at me again.”

“Yeah,” Dura said, turning back to London. “It’s either you take it or I sell it to someone else and honestly I’d rather just give it to someone I know.”

“Huh,” London said as she climbed up into the bed. “Okay.”

Her eyes still looked slightly puffy from crying but at least she wasn’t actually crying anymore. She was still shivering slightly but was doing better now that she was out of the rain. The shirt half draped off her shoulders, far too big for the small woman but covering everything it needed to and more. Her hair was still dripping wet and in its braid, which was now beginning to fray.

Dura gently patted the bed in front of her and when London raised an eyebrow, she simply gestured to her hair.

“May I?” She asked, reaching into her nightstand and finding a brush. “It’d be better to brush it out now and get it dried so there’s no problems later.”

London hesitated.

Dura could see the spark of terror and fear that flashed by her eyes for a second. Her shoulders tensed as the gentle swaying of her tail froze.

“I don’t have to.” Dura put the brush down. She didn’t want to risk setting off the younger woman when she clearly wasn’t doing well at the moment. “It was just an offer. You don’t need to accept something you don’t want.”

London blinked before she shook her head, as if she were chasing her thoughts away.

“No, no,” She muttered, crawling over to where Dura was and sitting down in front of her, her back turned to her. “It’s okay. I trust you. Just don’t touch my horns, and…” She trailed off as her tail curled around to rest in her lap, falling into silence.

“…and…” Dura gently urged her on after a few minutes of silence.

London is quiet for another few minutes before she sighs, “…just…just be gentle…please…”

Dura processes her words before nodding. She leaned down to kiss London’s bare shoulder. “That should be easy enough. Is that all?”

London doesn’t answer. Rather she gives a hesitant nod.

Dura watches London closely. She’s come to realize that when London gets suspiciously quiet, it typically has to do with her pushing herself too hard. She contemplates what to do for a bit before sighing and reaching around to hold London’s hand as she speaks.

“Just squeeze twice when you want me to stop, okay?” Dura asked, rubbing her thumb over the back of London’s hand.

London gave another hesitant and trembling nod.

With another worried look and a kiss to the shoulder, Dura started on her hair.

It was a bit difficult with one hand, but Dura managed. It was half dry and half wet and VERY tangled. What the heck had London been doing before she got here? She tries her best to be as careful and gentle as she could be but London still ended up squeezing her hand after a minute.

Despite that, when Dura pulled back, London dived so that she didn’t go too far. When Dura sent her a confused look, London hesitantly spoke in a trembling voice.

“…j-just…just…just give me…give me a moment…I just need a moment…”

Dura nodded as she simply held London until the smaller woman nodded, in which Dura would continue brushing. They had to stop a few more times but eventually Dura was able to tame the tangled mess that was London’s hair.

She put the brush down and pulled London’s trembling body close, gently brushing her bangs from her eyes as she murmured gentle praises to her. She was crying again. She clung to Dura, her face pressed to her chest as she cried.

Dura felt her arms tighten around London.

Who the hell hurt this woman?

Who the hell did she have to kill?

How dare they do this to her?

Dura shook away those thoughts.

She needed to help London.

Her arms tightened as she adjusted her hold on London. London hardly reacted as Dura picked her up and grabbed the candle by the ring as she walked out of the room.

She entered her living room. Sitting in the far wall was a fireplace. Still holding London close, she squatted down to get a better look into it. The wood had long gone cold but Dura easily relit it, tossing in some newer wood to help feed the flames. She then stood again, holding London as she walked over to one of the chairs that was sat around the fireplace, grabbing a blanket off the nearby footrest as she passed it.

She went to set London down on the soft velvet but the smaller woman jolted as she clung tighter to Dura. Dura could hardly make out London’s garbled begging mixed with her crying. After a minute of thought, she managed to decipher it.

London was begging her not to go.

Dura set the candle down, then she gently continued setting London down, murmuring gentle words of encouragement as she did so. She grabbed the blanket to wrap London up in it as she peppered the woman in kisses.

“I’ll be back,” She murmured over and over. “I’ll be back, don’t worry. I just wanna grab something for you.”

London had stopped in her begging but she still clung to Dura, her face pressed to the crook of her neck.

“I promise,” Dura murmured, rubbing her back, “I’ll be back. Just let me go and grab this. Aren’t you hungry? I know you don’t eat anything substantial while you drink, so I could only imagine the last time you actually ate anything. I’ll get you something nice and warm to drink as well. Tea, maybe?”

London didn’t answer for a bit, her sniffling and crying calming down as she realized that Dura wasn’t abandoning her. She still clung to Dura but her death grip had loosened slightly.

“…yeah…tea sounds…good…”

“Good,” Dura murmured, “I can carry you if you still want, but I thought that you might rather stay by the fire where it’s warm.”

London seemingly thinks for a bit.

“…yeah…”

“Okay,” Dura murmured, kissing London gently, “I’ll be back soon then.”

“…okay…please…” London said as she finally released her hold on Dura.

Dura nodded, leaning back as she allowed London to get comfortable. Once London was done moving around, Dura grabbed the blanket and made sure it was pulled fully on top of London. She watched as the smaller woman practically melted into the soft grazing touches as well as the softness of the blanket that now surrounded her.

Once Dura was sure she was comfortable, she pressed one last kiss to her head before grabbing the candle and leaving the room.

The walk was quiet. Her dogs had chosen to stay with London, seemingly sensing her emotional distress, leaving Dura alone with her thoughts as she walked to the kitchen.

The main one being: what happened?

Why did London choose to come here?

Yes, she said that Jyran and Aje, her adoptive brother and younger sister respectively, weren’t here but what caused her to want to come to someone in the first place?

And why was Dura her third choice?!

If anything, with how flippantly London was about their whole relationship, Dura thought she would’ve been the last person London would go to, just barely above her enemies. But no. Here she was. In her house. Begging Dura to stay.

She sighed as she entered the kitchen. It just didn’t make sense. London didn’t make sense. Why did Dura put up with this?

…

Because she loves her.

She set about making tea and some easy to digest food for London.

She was head over heels in love with London.

She watched as the water began boiling.

She doesn’t know when or how, but she fell in love.

She poured the water into a cup with a small cage filled with calming herbs.

She fell in love with someone who’s never going to love her back.

Her heart ached as she began cutting up some fruits.

Gods she really had the worst possible luck, didn’t she?

She paused in her cutting to take several deep breaths. She couldn’t be crying right now. London needed her. London was waiting for her.

She could handle this heart ache.

Because this felt so much better than not having London at all.

Once she was done she placed both the cup and bowl of fruits and sweetbread on a tray, placing the candle on it as well as she headed back towards London.

Reentering the room, she found London staring at the fire, her eyes seeing but unseeing. She barely reacted as Dura approached, only the slightest flick of her pointed ear when she heard her.

Dura set the tray down on the side table as she took a seat on the foot rest, she gently cleared her throat to try and get London’s attention. She almost thinks that London didn’t hear her.

That was until she climbed into Dura’s lap.

She sat there, staring up at Dura with those unseeing eyes, almost dull. Their usual glow was seemingly gone. Dura took notice of how the collar of the shirt had seemingly slipped lower and went to fix it. London watched her quietly.

As Dura went to grab the tray, London finally broke the silence.

“Why haven’t you told me to have sex with you yet?” London asked, out of the blue.

Dura has to do a double take. “Pardon?”

“Why haven’t you told me to have sex with you yet?” She repeated her question.

Dura is left floundering. What kind of answer did London expect outside of the obvious one?

“Because you said that you didn’t want to have sex. And it’s common decency not to have sex with someone who’s not in the best mental place at the moment. Why else?”

London adjusted the shirt so that her breasts were practically on display.

“And what if I do this? Would I be wanting it then?”

“London, fix your shirt.” Despite her words, Dura fixed it for her. “And no, how you wear your clothes says nothing about whether or not you want to have intimacy. Why are you suddenly asking this, London? Did something happen?”

London glances away.

“London.” Dura felt her blood run cold. “What happened?”

“I had too much to drink.”

“I know that London,” Dura said, “You left my bar already drunk. Did someone try something as you were leaving?”

“No.”

“Then what happened?”

London trembled in her hold.

“London, please…” Dura felt sick with worry.

“…I didn’t wanna go home…” London said after a minute, “…Aje wasn’t home, I would be alone…so I went around after your tavern closed, bar hopping…I just wanted to find someone to spend the night with since you were busy and I didn’t wanna bother you…I got shitfaced…was vomiting a bunch…there were these guys…I don’t remember their faces, it was a blurry mess…everything was weak and hurting…”

Dura stopped breathing as London told her story.

“…I…I think there was something wrong with my last few drinks…I honestly think they fucked with them…but I didn’t care at the time…I was just happy to not be alone…they then offered to take me home, said it was getting late…I said yes…after several minutes, I noticed that they weren’t listening to my directions…I tried to get them to stop and listen…they didn’t…well…they did…and they didn’t like it…”

“…oh my gods London…”

“…they dragged me into a nearby alley…said I was being a bitch…they were touching me…I tried telling them to stop but they didn’t care…it happened before…I don’t know why I was so scared…it happened before…I don’t know why…I just…froze up…I couldn’t move…if they hadn’t broken my corset in getting it off…I don’t think I would’ve been able to snap out of it and get away…I managed to push them off me and threaten them with my dagger…then I ran…I didn’t know where else to go…so I came here…you were the only person I could think of…I could trust…”

Dura isn’t sure what was more horrifying. The fact that this happened in the first place, or the fact that it had happened before.

“Where was this?” Dura was shocked by her tone of voice. Cold and firm.

London shrugged, “Some place east of here…I don’t know…”

“And you can’t remember who these people were?”

“No, but I got one of them pretty good in the face.”

“Good but you should’ve aimed for the dick.”

“Yeah…”

Dura’s arms wrapped tightly around London. She was horrified. She saw London just a few hours earlier, how did this happen? If she had known that this would’ve happened she would’ve had London come home with her instead.

She buries her face in London’s hair as she holds the woman, silence filling the room.

“Do I dress like a whore?”

The question broke Dura’s heart.

“No London. You dress how you like to dress. No one gets to say what is and isn’t allowed.”

“Oh.” Her voice sounds as if she wasn’t expecting that answer. “One of the guys said that I shouldn’t have my tits on display if I didn’t wanna get a dick stuck between them and have them fucked.”

Dura made a mental note to research castration.

…

Nevermind.

She didn’t need research.

Just a good knife.

“Well it isn’t.”

London didn’t answer.

She just sat there.

Dura grabbed the blanket and adjusted her hold on London. She then sat down in the chair, wrapping the blanket around London as she did so. Once London was all wrapped up, she grabbed the tray and brought it over, making sure to set the candle onto the side table.

London perked up slightly at the smell of the sweetened tea and the bread. Her once dull eyes brightened, seeing the food. Dura couldn’t help but chuckle slightly.

“Is this for me?” She asked with that distinct tone of voice she used when she was hungry. “It looks good.”

“Yeah,” Dura nodded, “All for you. I had to whip up some tea but I already had the bread from my last batch so I thought that you’d like it. The fruit is so you can have that extra stuff to digest and hopefully help with the oncoming hangover tomorrow.”

London winced at the thought. “It’s going to be one hell of a hangover, isn’t it?”

“Yep.” Dura nodded, “So you need to start getting some stuff down now.”

When London nodded, Dura grabbed the fork from the tray. She stabbed a couple pieces of fruit onto it and when London raised an eyebrow Dura offered it to her.

“I’m not three!” London immediately started complaining much to Dura’s amusement. “I can feed myself! Lemme outta here!” She began struggling in the blanket cocoon that Dura had skillfully wrapped her up in.

“And risk you getting a cold? No.” Dura hummed, “Now hush down and let me pamper you.”

London huffed and glared at Dura. Then she sighed.

“You’re not letting me outta here, are you?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“…alright.” She muttered as she accepted the bite.

They continued in silence, Dura carefully feeding her so that London doesn’t have to move from the warmth of the blanket, though she did let her get out to drink the tea on her own. She didn’t want to risk accidentally pouring it on her. She needed to be warm, not burned.

Once she was done, Dura took the mug from her before placing it back on the tray with the rest of the dishes. She then set it to the side to be dealt with in the morning.

Well.

Later in the morning.

It was likely well past 3 or even 4 at this point.

Either way, they both needed to sleep.

So…

Dura scooped up London, blanket and all, before grabbing the ring of the candle and heading back to her room. Now that London was seemingly doing a bit better, she was slowly returning to her usual spunky self. She complained as Dura carried her back to the room, saying she could walk on her own. And yet…

Dura found herself chuckling at how despite the smaller woman’s words, she was constantly nuzzling closer to Dura. Dura didn’t dare say a word though, London would immediately stop, even if she liked it, just to prove a point. So instead, Dura enjoyed the closeness all the way back to her room.

She laid London down on the bed first as she entered the room. She watched as London squirmed a bit before flopping down a giving up. She chuckled a bit before snuffing out a couple of candles, leaving only the one she still held, lit.

Once she was done, she set the candle down on the nightstand before getting into bed as well, laying behind London. She carefully undid the cocoon and scooted under the blanket with London. She rested an arm around her waist before reaching over to snuff the flame on the candle.

She was half expecting London to try and squirm away as she normally did but to her pleasant surprise, London actually snuggled closer to Dura. Dura gently pulled London closer, enjoying the naturally fiery warmth she held before reaching down and tugging her bedsheets up and over the both of them.

She pressed a kiss to the top of London’s head before speaking. “Do you need anything else?” She asked into her hair.

London’s quiet for a bit before Dura feels her tail flick and wrap around her leg.

“No. Thank you. Goodnight, Dura.”

Dura gave a slight nod. “Okay, goodnight to you too, London.”

And with that she allowed sleep to finally take her.

~

Dura was ruggedly beautiful.

London stroked brown hair from Dura’s face. It was unexpectedly soft to the touch. London wanted to feel more but she didn’t want to risk waking up the clearly exhausted woman.

Instead she allowed herself to stew in her thoughts.

Mainly, what did she feel about Dura?

What had become of their relationship that was originally just some fling?

Why did London want to trust Dura?

Why did London want to have this beautiful woman as more than a sex partner?

How much more?

What happened to the distrust and anger that once fueled her?

Why was it so absent in Dura’s arms?

It didn't make any sense, but gods damn it if it didn’t feel good. She wanted more. She wanted to feel more of this.

She wanted more of Dura.