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+---- Thread: My best enemy (/showthread.php?tid=11562)
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-12-2025
[say]"Good morning,"[/say] she replied, rusty with sleep and a touch of the awkwardness that came with disrupted routines. Sitting up to free him from the role as her pillow, she needed a moment to pick crust from her eyes before she could look at Liam without seeing double. Which, she wouldn't mind but it seemed best to focus on singulars at this early stage in their relationship. [say]"Me neither. Must have been more tired than I thought."[/say]
He would find no disapproval within her eyes though, only the drowsy contentment of someone who had slept well. Staggering to her feet, she vanished off into the bathroom - rudely perhaps, but she really had to go - only to return a few minutes later with a toothbrush in her mouth. [say]"I put out a spare for you,"[/say] she offered, muffled and drooling a bit around the brush; not because she thought he needed it, but sugar crusting on teeth in the morning always left her feeling crummy. Besides - did anything say 'make yourself at home' more than your own toothbrush in the bathroom? Preemptive perhaps – definitely slicing apart the whole charming 'will they/won't they' trope so common in romance novels – but he'd said always, last night. So that's how she would act.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-12-2025
Liam hummed his agreement, though in truth, he wasn't sure if he hadn't just been so comfortable that the prospect of moving had seemed impossible. He watched as Maea rose from the couch, searching for any sign of discontentment, but she merely disappeared down the hall. It was almost like this was a normal, everyday occurrence, like there was nothing particularly profound about the fact that he'd stayed the night. He wasn't complaining; on the contrary, it was almost a relief. That they wouldn't have to dance about the awkwardness of first dates and maybe-next-times, that they could just settle into a relationship as though it had existed long before they'd even been aware of it.
When Maea reappeared, it was with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth, drawing a small smile from Liam. At the news that she'd laid out a spare for him, that smile widened. [say]"Thanks,"[/say] he replied, slipping past her and into the bathroom. Once he'd relieved himself and brushed his own teeth, he splashed water on his face and ran a wet hand through his hair. When he emerged a few moments later, it was with damp locks and still-rumpled clothing, though he'd tried to do his best to smooth the worst of the wrinkles.
Making his way to the coffee table, he gathered up plates and brought them to the kitchen. [say]"Do you have any eggs?"[/say] he asked as he placed the dishes in the sink. [say]"I can make us breakfast, but scrambled eggs and toast are about as far as my skills go."[/say]
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-12-2025
Standing by the kitchen sink when he returned, she gazed out the window while the tea kettle in her hands overflowed. Chewing absently on the brush dangling between her teeth, she seemed far away. Only when Liam spoke up right next to her did she come to with a little jump - hastily shutting off the water she rinsed her mouth and wiped it on the back of her sleeve. [say]"Ah, yeah. In the pantry."[/say]Rounding him like this was something they'd done a hundred times before, she hunched down next to the hearth and began stacking firewood into a pile.
[say]"Say..."[/say] Pausing for a second, prying at a splintered log to split it all the way, she half turned to glance at Liam over a shoulder. Her braid had begun to come undone in the back, though either she didn't know, or didn't care. [say]"Is this... weird? It's not like I'm not nervous at all, but... is it supposed to be this easy?"[/say] With a creak the strip of wood peeled away, leaving a splinter lodged by the base of her thumb as a parting gift.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-12-2025
He hasn’t meant to surprise her, and as he placed the plates in the sink, he shot her an apologetic glance. He wondered what had caught her attention, for her to have been so lost in thought, and he rather hoped that it wasn’t any sense of regret or second thoughts.
Walking to the pantry, Liam dug about until he found the eggs and some salt and pepper - breakfast, he thought, would be basic, but at least it was something. He turned to find that Maea had gone to stoke the fire. [say]”Hmm?”[/say] he asked, tilting his head as he watched her prepare a piece of wood for the hearth. Then, understanding, he considered her question.
His relationship with his late wife had been, easy in some ways, but he’d been plagued by his own inexperience at the time, constantly worrying about doing the wrong thing. It had taken time for them to grow together, until one day, his concern had seemed silly in retrospect.
Things with Maea were different. It wasn’t that he didn’t have some of the same worries, but he’d spent enough time with Maea to believe that they could talk through anything that came up. It was the difference between being friends first - there was a layer of camaraderie that he’d never experienced on the front end of a relationship before.
[say]”I couldn’t tell you,”[/say] he said finally. [say]”I’ve had one serious relationship, and it wasn’t like this. Is easy… bad?”[/say]
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-12-2025
Picking at the splinter until it came out, Maea flicked it into the ashes and sucked on the small drop of blood until the miniscule wound closed on its own. [say]"No... as long as it doesn't equal as boring. Which it definitely isn't,"[/say] she added hastily, before he began to worry about nothing. [say]"I guess..."[/say] Huffing a sigh at the slowness of her brain before breakfast, she struggled to put words to the nature of this feeling winding through her gut. Hazy as smoke, dark and unsettling, like a cloud attempting to dampen this unexpected joy before she got too used to it.
[say]"Maybe I'm just... scared."[/say]
A small flame flared up on her fingertip. Guiding it along straps if bark and kindling, something in the ritual of lighting a fire helped, the way keeping her hands busy always seemed to clear her mind. Only when the flames began to rise did she stand, and turned to lean back against the hearthstone. Her eyes seemed to absorb every detail as she gazed at him, raw in a way she'd only let him see glimmers of before. Once, upon a skerry on the Ahi Coast. And again, when they'd stood eye to eye on a battlefield, and she wasn't sure if her plea to leave would be heard. Even so, she still smiled; [say]"Most of the things I've cared for have been taken away... so if something seems too good to be true, I... I worry I won't be allowed to keep it."[/say]
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-12-2025
Maybe I'm just... scared.
Understanding blossomed on Liam's face as he watched Maea struggle to put her feelings into words. As she lit the fire, the movements practiced and steady, Liam set the eggs on the counter and turned to lean against it, bracing his hands on the edge. When Maea spoke again, it was to share a feeling with which he was all too familiar - that fear of all that was good in one's life slipping through one's fingers, because it had happened before.
To both of them, unfortunately.
Pushing off from the counter, he crossed to the hearth, where Maea leaned against the stone. Her gaze was raw and vulnerable in a way that he hadn't expected, and Liam took her hands in his, running his thumbs over her knuckles. [say]"I'm scared, too,"[/say] he rumbled honestly. And it would take time, he knew, for both of them to trust in this - not because it was too easy, and not because it wasn't right, but because of that fear that flickered in the backs of their minds. [say]"And I know that this is Caido, and things happen, and it's impossible to say what tomorrow brings, but... I will do anything in my power to make sure you don't lose me, Maea."[/say] He smiled crookedly. [say]"You can keep me for as long as you want me."[/say] Always.
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-12-2025
Yielding her hands to him, it was all she could do to hold on and let his promises sink in. The trust that had seemed solid and steadfast in candle light appeared threadbare and brittle now when held up against the sun. Not because she didn't believe him, but because she had heard these things before and knew - knew - how quickly they could be put to the test.
Daring to put her heart on the line anyway - now that was the real test. Perhaps that was the difference she felt, between this relationship and her previous one. She didn't worry so much about how she appeared in his eyes, whether she measured up to other women or if he would tire of her some day. If it happened it happened, she knew that element of entropy enough to understand that fearing it was pointless. It was the forces that pulled people apart against their will that frightened her this time. Gods and monsters and powers that could fling people to opposite ends of the universe - perhaps never to return. If that happened...
That was a terrible thing to contemplate first thing in the morning.
Still, Liam's word was good enough for now. Searching his eyes for courage, she found it and nodded with an expression of someone confirming a decision. [say]"Alright. Then, always come find me, if we're ever separated. Even if you change your mind some day, come and tell me eye to eye - anything else I'll take as lies and coersion, and I won't accept it. And if you can't reach me, I'll come find you. No matter what it takes."[/say] She'd pull him back from death if she had to, cross the stars if necessary. Maybe it was the raven in her drawn to a golden future he'd offered her that demanded it. Maybe it was a sleeping dragon rearing its head to guard a priceless treasure, or a tiger determined to dig her claws into anything that tried getting in her way, now that she'd found someone worth holding on to. The softest, tenderest part of her was a doe that finally had stopped running – and all the sharp-toothed, wicked shadows surrounding her heart were rallying to protect this fragile piece of joy, at all cost.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-13-2025
Liam had never been afraid of a little commitment; if he could be faulted for anything, in fact, it might be that he was too committed too quickly. But where he might once have wondered if this was real, if he was in over his head, if he felt far more than Maea - he felt only a solid certainty that this was right. There was no fear, not of the internal factors that could influence a relationship. There was only certainty, a calm and steadfast flame that burned in his hazel eyes as he looked at Maea.
There were very few things in this world that would successfully tear Liam from her side, and he would do his best to circumvent them, for both their sakes: death, for example, was something he wished wholeheartedly to avoid. But this was Caido, and tomorrow was not a guarantee, despite his best efforts. But for as long as he drew breath, he would strive to keep this promise to her, to prove himself worthy of her, to be beside her.
[say]”I will always find you,”[/say] he said seriously. [say]”Unless Mort himself has claimed me - I will be there.”[/say]
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-13-2025
It was enough. Should be enough, yet somehow the one reservation he held over returning to her side didn't sit right. Was it because of the wife and the children that waited for him in Mort's halls? Reuniting with them were, in fact, quite easy given the dangers of this world, but unreasonably she didn't want to accept that death from anything less than natural causes at the end of a life lived to the fullest should be what kept them apart.
Pale eyebrows pinched together in a frown. Tightening her grip on his hands, Maea raised them one by one and and touched her lips to his knuckles; flushing softly under the sheer intensity of her own emotions. [say]"And even then... if you find that even in Mort's halls you would like to come back, call out to Remi. Tell him where you are. He will hear you, and Ronin will revive you, if he can."[/say] Should be able to, at least. And if not him, then someone with a life-giving feather, or herself by whatever means available - Mort was kind, and death was perhaps not quite as permanent as it once had been. Ask her how she knew.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-13-2025
Death, in Liam’s mind, was final; it was easy for someone who had lost everyone they’d ever loved to forget that it was not as irreversible as one might think. So as Maea lifted his hands to her lips, reminding him that there was a possibility, even from Mort’s halls, to return to her, he smiled. [say]”Even from Mort’s halls, then,”[/say] he replied, lifting one hand to brush his knuckles along her cheek.
And he meant it, too, for even if he could one day be reunited with his late wife and children, his heart now held love for Maea, too. And while he could imagine that his family were well cared for in Mort’s realm, it was harder for him to think of leaving Maea to fend for herself, especially after having promised her forever. If he failed to keep that vow, what was that but living a lie, after he had promised Maea honesty?
It was a tangled web of thoughts and emotions, but there was nothing but quiet determination in Liam’s eyes as he gazed at Maea, fiercely devoted, now, to her.
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-13-2025
Some might call it obsessive, unreasonable, or too much. One night in and already it wasn't 'till death do us part' but 'until we don't want this anymore', and to the abyss with gods and order and anything that got in the way of that. Maybe it was slightly unhinged; but as Maea gazed up into her partner's eyes and saw how serious he was – intense in a way she'd never quite seen before - it eased a knot of ingrained apprehension towards the depth of her own emotions. If he wasn't repelled by her greed... then the rest of the world could think about her what it wished. She wasn't asking for anything she wasn't ready to give in equal measure, anyway.
Nudging her cheek into the brush of his fingers, she pushed away from the hearth and closed the distance between them, slipping her arms around his waist. [say]"I really care about you, too,"[/say] she murmured against his sternum, choosing the same word he'd used last night. [say]"I'm glad it's easy. I'm glad it's you I fell for..."[/say] Glad to have found hands that didn't hesitate to hold all she would pour into them, today and tomorrow and all the days to come.
As if the clearing away of this concern only now left room in her belly for other sensation, hunger began to gnaw at her. Drawing a deep breath, she perked up and cooked her head back so she could gaze up at Liam. Her man. [say]"Do you prefer black tea, or green?"[/say] If he was a coffee drinker, she'd have to stock up the pantry.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-13-2025
It was a lot; Liam knew that it was a lot, and yet he saw the depth of his emotions reflected in Maea's eyes, and couldn't bring himself to care. He'd never been one to do anything by halves, and this was no exception. Besides, having found love once before, Liam was self-aware enough to know his own feelings, now that he'd allowed himself to have them. Maybe it would have happened sooner, had he not walled off his heart against further hurt. Either way, he was all in - and it only made him more so that Maea seemed to be, too.
She pushed off the heartstone and closed the gap between them, and as she wrapped her arms around his waist, Liam folded her into a comfortable embrace, one arm around her shoulders, and the other cupping the back of her head, just where her now-messy braid had begun to fall apart. [say]"Me too,"[/say] he murmured, his heart full to bursting with the adoration he held for this woman.
It was so easy to fall back into normalcy, having now pledged themselves quite irrevocably to one another. [say]"Black, usually,"[/say] he replied, gazing down at Maea as she looked up at him. [say]"But I'm not picky."[/say] But, truthfully, tea was the furthest thing from his mind; having such an intense conversation had only made him want to hold Maea closer, and his gaze flickered down to her lips briefly. From this position, she was so close...
But he'd asked to take things slow, so he forced himself to give her one last squeeze before reluctantly releasing her. [say]"How do you like your eggs?"[/say] he asked as he made to move back towards the kitchen. [say]"I may need to learn how to make them to your liking. I only ever really scramble them for myself."[/say]
RE: My best enemy - Maea - 07-13-2025
For a breathless moment their eyes locked, and the warm comfort of being wrapped into his arms turned electric. Her breath caught as she noticed how his attention strayed to her lips, his eyes betraying a desire she shared. Pulse racing she grew very still, anticipating –
But with that final squeeze Liam let go, and left her standing breathless, quietly reeling, to pick up the scattered remnants of whatever thought she'd held a moment earlier. The warmth of his hand lingered on the back of her head... thrumming faintly like some part of his spirit still held on. [say]"Uh, I'll eat 'em all the ways,"[/say] she replied, somewhat on autopilot, [say]"but favorite... Fried on both sides, with the yolk gummy but not runny?"[/say]
Collecting her thoughts from whatever gutter they'd been trying to slide into, the kettle was collected and placed on the fire to warm. Collecting tea and honey from the cupboard, she began setting the table for breakfast. Passing by Liam without reaching for him was a challenge. His presence acted on her like a magnet, relentlessly pulling her in. In a weirdly inverse way, their promises seemed to only heighten her awareness of him in every way, making her take notice of things she'd intentionally distanced herself from before. His scent, his stance, the easy strength of sun-tanned hands that moved a skillet she struggled to lift like it weighed nothing. A damp curl of hair fell just so along the side of his neck and called her to twine it around her finger, and as he looked up a ray of sunlight fell into the iris, turning hazel into a kaleidoscope of green and brown as deep and enchanting as this forest. Had part of it moved in beneath his skin over the years, turning him into a part of it? Doubtlessly the soldier belonged in this land, this village, this kitchen, and picturing him anywhere else came only with difficulty. Perhaps because her own heart rejected the notion.
Ah, it was hopeless. Even without vows and promises of forever, there was no way she'd be able to resist him. What fortune that he was a knight and a gentleman, because if he wanted to Liam could ruin her completely.
RE: My best enemy - Liam - 07-13-2025
Walking away from Maea in that moment was easily one of the hardest things he'd yet to do; the sudden loss of her warmth was tinged with a wrongness that he couldn't quite shake, as though in his arms was where she belonged. Immediate regret was the name of the game, but now that he'd done it, he couldn't very well reverse course. Besides, this was what he'd said he wanted. Even if he was rather cross with himself for setting that particular boundary just now.
In any case, Liam set to work in the kitchen as Maea moved easily around him. It didn't take long for him to find a bowl and crack several eggs into it, adding in salt and pepper and beginning to whisk it up with a fork. [say]"I'll keep that in mind for next time,"[/say] he promised with a smile. Perhaps he'd have tried frying one today, but he didn't want to waste her eggs on getting it wrong.
Even with his hands occupied, it was a struggle to keep from reaching for her every time she ghosted by to grab this or that; instead, his eyes caught on her movement more often than not. The way the firelight painted her pale figure in golden hues as she put the kettle on; her braid falling over her shoulder as she rummaged through cupboards to find tea and honey, only to be stirred by the morning breeze wafting in through the open windows; it all added up to a picture he wanted to paint in his mind's eye to keep forevermore. In the end, he had scrambled eggs and slightly overdone toast to bring to the table - he'd been caught up in admiring the way a ray of sunlight cast Maea in an ethereal glow, and had very nearly burned the bread as a result.
Not, perhaps, the breakfast of champions, but something to eat all the same.