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infamousalaska · 10 years

Text

Broken Strings || Alastemis

Note: a Chatzy para.

Alaska: She hadn't realized how much she would miss Artemis until had gone. The promise to return had felt like it had been made an eternity ago, and Alaska didn't even believe she would come back. She couldn't be blamed though, could she? Why on earth would Artemis come back? People didn't stay. She wouldn't either. After her conversation with Emmaline, she became even more adamant to get the hell out of Westwood the first chance she got. She lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling, and had her eyes shut, making plans inside her head. Plans that made more sense than the mess her life felt like lately. Of course, all those plans came to a swift halt when she heard familiar footsteps approaching. Alaska didn't open her eyes. She was probably dreaming up the familiar scent of Artemis' perfume. It wouldn't be the first time.

Artemis: A month had passed, time so stretched out that it felt more like a year to her aching muscles and lightly bruised skin. Artemis had taken a beating throughout her life whether intentional or not, her childhood never having been easy, but there was something within the pain that her body was enduring that held some kind of satisfaction; she was finally going somewhere in her life away from the eventuality of a six by six, stark white cell. Arriving at Westwood didn't seem like going home - not until she had seen Alaska' face, felt the soft locks of hair between her calloused fingertips and could be surrounded by her perfume once more. Her heeled feet took her towards the dorm room before she had solidly thought about the decision, knowing without a doubt that the other girl could pick up the familiar pattern of her footsteps. Kicking off her shoes in the doorway and throwing away all previous insecurities, Artemis crawled onto the bed silently. Alaska's eyes still didn't open. With her lips falling to hover over the other's, her first genuine smile of the month graced the lines of her mouth. "You're not going to fall asleep on me now, are yah?"

Alaska: She felt weight sink onto the mattress and her eyes opened, widening and a gasp escaped past her lips of its own accord. She hadn't expected it. Not the soft curves of Artemis' body against her and sure as hell not her mouth so close to Alaska's. "You're--" she stammered, hand coming up to cup Artemis' cheek, thumb stroking over a bruise. A frown dented her forehead but her eyes fell shut a moment again. Alaska needed to check whether this was a dream or not. It would hurt too bad if it ended up being her imagination. It was only when her lips caught Artemis' in a kiss that felt too real to be anything but did her muscles relax. She sighed and wrapped her arms around Artemis' waist, pulling her body flush against her own. "You came back," she muttered against the other girl's mouth.

Artemis: Leg’s tangling against hers easily with their bodies fitting together with the simplicity of puzzle pieces, her lips moved lightly against Alaska’s in a kiss that portrayed everything her words wouldn’t - couldn’t express. Artemis had missed the heat radiating between them, seeping away the memory of a cold military bunk and equally as frigid instructors. Pulling away nothing more than a centimetre, she placed another chaste kiss to Alaska’s lips before letting her lips pull into a full grin – One full of cheek and something that neither would name as love. “I promised I would, didn’t I?”

Alaska: The warmth flaring between them curled its way into the spaces between her bones. Alaska smiled back at Artemis automatically, like it was natural. Like it was no big deal that this was probably the first sincere smile that had made its way to her face in too long. It had been tough without Artemis. She hadn't been sleeping, either. She knew it showed in the bags underneath her eyes. Alaska had refused to take the help of pills - refusing to become her parents - and had suffered the consequences. It all faded into the background, though, as soon as Artemis' lips connected to hers. Her eyes fluttered open again and she smile a bit sadly then. "You know promises don't do much for me," she reminded Artemis.

Artemis: One of her fingertips, rough from manual work, traced the line of Alaska’s face. Over the sharp contour of her cheekbone to the delicate curve of her jaw, finally stopping just above the other woman’s soft Cupid ’s bow – Lips parted under her touch so that she could feel whispered breath on her skin. After a little time her hand moved to tangle in the other’s long hair, remembering that her’s had been cut short in camp and could barely brush her shoulders. She didn’t know how Alaska would feel about the change, in fact she expected that the bruise on her cheek would take more presidency. “Even when they come from me?”

Alaska: Alaska shrugged from her position under Artemis' body, the movement somewhat feeble as her lip trembled under Artemis' touch. It was too soft, too lovely... too easy to miss. Alaska let her hand wander over the brunette's face, a soft sound -- caught between a sigh and a moan -- pushed past her lips when Artemis' fingers tangled in her hair. Her heartbeat faltered and Alaska hated it. Hated that she had been trying to not think about Artemis and was back to square one the moment her eyes fixed on her face. She hated that all she felt was peace when she should have felt anything else. Felt scared that she'd missed Artemis so much. Or felt sad or angry that she had been left in the first place. Anything would have been better than how she just melted into the soft touch- anything would have done compared to the easy way Alaska fell back into this. How could she not care about how much potential hurt each touch was heavy with? How could her instincts that should have made her push Artemis way abandon her so shamelessly? Why did her body only tuck her thigh between both of Arty's and kiss her again, soft and fathomless? Alaska didn't know when she had stopped having some reason for things. But all reasoning and logic had left her alone with Artemis. It had no more room to stay with the sliver of space between the two girls. Alaska tilted her head, looking at Artemis with warm eyes. "You know what I mean," she whispered.

Artemis: She could see the indecisiveness dancing within Alaska’s gaze and it hurt her in more ways than she would care to admit openly and even to her own mind. Artemis wasn’t one prone to lying, merely omitting facts was more her style. Most at Westwood knew that her brother and she were orphans, and many had come to the assumption that they hadn’t had the most glamorous childhood. It was all surface details, nothing more than a nail scratching the paint from the surface. Alaska knew some of the further layers and could guess at the darkest parts, but they never told each other everything for fear of the toxic mix it would create. And so, while curled so intimately close to each other, Artemis refused to lie to her. “I was left, Al. On the doorstep with my brother and no sign of my parents around. When I say that I’m not going to leave you then I mean it.” Pulling the set of temporary dog tags from around her neck, one’s that would be replaced when her active service started, she slipped them over Alaska’s head so that they rested on the other girl’s chest.

Alaska: Something inside Alaska melted at the easy honest revelation that came from Artemis. Alaska knew - better than almost anyone else who knew Artemis - that her childhood wasn't a topic on the table for discussions. Along with the previously easy nature of their relationship - the nature that had gone right to hell when Artemis had confessed her feelings to Artemis - Alaska had acknowledged and accepted that she couldn't prod the topic, no matter how curious she was. Alaska respected Artemis enough to not push. So of course, she knew how much it meant when Artemis made the admission. She nodded slowly and blinked away the gathering moisture in her eyes. "Okay," she answered quietly and let her hands hold up the chain Artemis had slipped around her neck. Picking up the dog-tag from where it nestled against her chest, she just looked at them before letting them drop back. She met Artemis' gaze head-on and smiled again, that peacefulness seeping into her skin again. "I missed you."

Artemis: Artemis curled onto her side, one arm behind Alaska’s neck while her fingers tips traced unseen patterns onto the skin of her bare shoulder. It was an absent gesture but one that she was prone to doing, the normal active nature of her hands leaving her used to fidgeting when she was otherwise still. There was a tiredness sinking into her bones; the combination of having Alaska safe beside her and a comfortable bed to lay on making her eye lids heavy with sleep. “I’ll never leave you like they left me.” Normally then she was the one to hold Al, yet that day she rested her head on the other girl’s shoulder without any sign that she was going to through up an façade to act tough - she was too tired and beaten to do anything but be the girl Alaska knew her to be. “I missed you too, you’re much better company then drill sergeants.” Artemis rested her free had on her stomach, playing with the hem of Alaska’s shirt.

Alaska: Alaska didn't know what to say to the next admission so she just let her lips curl and muttered, "I'm going to hold you to that." This position was familiar but the way it felt after their last conversation, it now felt like they were rolling around on uncharted territory. Where Alaska didn't know what to do with that, she also didn't care. The emptiness she hadn't been able to ignore despite even her most valiant efforts had started to subside and she felt like she was no longer suffocating. She didn't ever mind holding Artemis, and it felt good to do it again. Letting herself be softer than usual, she pressed a kiss to Artemis' forehead and chuckled softly. "I'd be offended if you stated otherwise," she drawled, tipping Artemis' face up with her fingers under her jaw. She just looked at Artemis, taking in how real this felt. The absent-minded way Artemis played with the hem of Alaska's shirt made her eyes fond and she didn't stop her hand from running down her side, thumb hooking in on her hip. "I got published," she shared with feigned casualness.

Artemis: The long crescents of her lashed created half-moons when her eyes dropped slightly, feeling all too contented in the position she was held. A lot had been thrown out in the open between them before she had left, her admittance coming hard to both of them but mostly with relief to herself. She knew that Alaska cared for her, through words and pure body language alone, yet there was an understanding within her logical mind that Al would never openly say as such – It would take time for that. “Well they weren’t overly fond of my cuddling.” Teasing lightly, it was too foreign on her tongue for a moment. The other soldiers were a rowdy lot, it was a clear fact, but it was harder to tease a barrack full of burly males and only a handful of straight-laced military brat women. That place made her feel like the sane one. Thinking back on it safely, Artemis nearly zoned out enough to miss Alaska’s announcement and still little surprise passed her expression. Call it blind belief and hope. “Do I need to throw you a party? Or something more private?”

Alaska: "I wonder why. It's high-quality cuddling," Alaska responded to the teasing like it was second-nature. It happened so fast, she forgot to over-think that fact that this was dangerous. Alaska shouldn't have been responding or sinking into this. It was strictly not advised. However, she obviously didn't care about that as she pinned Artemis down on her back and straddled her hips easily. She looked Artemis with a full-on grin, the sort that had been gracing her lips before Emmaline had rained on her parade, and leaned down to press the tips of their noses together. "I've missed you," she repeated, pressing her lips to Artemis' fleetingly. "And I have missed kissing you..." she added, kissing her the same way once again. The dog-tags that now hung around her neck swung between them, as if linking them together with a string. "How about a private celebration first?" Alaska suggested, a small smirk making its way to her lips.

Artemis: The new change in situation left her laughing openly, not caring about the unrestrained display of happiness that brightened her features and danced in her green eyes. Artemis had her set of rules, the one’s that stopped her from becoming too close. But once they were in there was no letting go for her. Only few had managed to creep behind her walls, one being the girl straddling her hips and the other being said girl’s sister. Her thoughts didn’t stray far from Al though, neither did the roam of her gaze and lingering hands. With each kiss then her lips tried to connect back but she’d always leaned out just far enough that Artemis couldn’t reach, a predicament she wasn’t used too. Though it was unspoken, it was more common for her to take lead position; no complaints necessary within the change though, in fact something stirred in her chest while watching Alaska above her. “Here I thought we should try being exobitionists.” Her voice was drawling and full of sarcastic humour. “Now stop teasing I’ve been away too long and have to make up for a month away – Oh, and let’s not forget congratulate you.”

Alaska: Alaska grinned at the sound of Artemis' laugh. She hadn't realized that she didn't hear her laugh often enough until she had heard it after so long. It wa s anice laugh, though. Strong and lovely. It was like the rest of Artemis, really. The remnants of her upset mood after her encounter with Emmaline was pushed out of her mind as they slipped into their easy teasing. It felt like they weren't on foreign, uncharted land when it got like this. It was real easy to forget bad things when Artemis looked at her like that. Her heartbeat fluttered as she leaned down to catch Artemis lips in a kiss more heated than all the brief ones since Artemis had entered the room. This one was longer, firmer, and so much hotter. "I never said no to trying exhibitionism," Alaska panted for breath a while later. "I just want to have this first," she clarified, not teasing anymore as she pressed her lips to Artemis' again, biting down on her lower lip with practiced ease. They were making up for lost time.

Artemis: Surrounded by the scents of sweet perfume and the slightest hint of tobacco smoke, the tension eased away from her frame. There was still something coiled within her frame, a wariness that had followed Artemis all her life since childhood; only ever releasing inches to allow Alaska too see the easy-going nature that was her natural temperament. Her hand’s wound into the other’s thick locks, playing absently with the strands between her finger tips till she found the need to tug ever so slightly. Their lips barely moved from one another - They danced with a practised, almost natural, synchrony. Artemis shifted to tilt her head, aiming to deepen the already smouldering contact, but when her chest shifted so did her busted ribs, the inflamed muscles protesting enough that he ended up making a small groan of pain. “Fucking hell.”

Alaska: It was so easy to get lost in this. In the easy movement of their mouths together. So, of course, Alaska smiled as she slipped into it, making the slick drag of their lips together count. It only took one groan from Artemis to make her eyes fly open, though. It wasn't the right type of sound, not when it was one of pain, and she looked over the girl with concern in her eyes. "What happened, Ar?" she asked, eyebrows raised and a frown denting her forehead.

Artemis: “I fell off one of the- the climbing walls during the training course.” Wincing within her sentence while she moved again, it was a miracle that she hadn’t started all out cursing at that point. The only reason Artemis wasn’t refusing to move at all was because she was too used to pain at that point to be solidly effected by it. Her fingers curled around the edge of her own shirt, pulling it up and over her head so that the deep purple bruising of her side could be seen; a colour close to the plum shade of her bra. “I was technically sent back early to recover.”

Alaska: Alaska's eyes widened almost comically when Artemis begun to peel off her shirt after her admission. She winced, unable to help herself, at the vividly coloured bruise and crawled off of Artemis' body, instead taking a perch beside her on the bed. She bent her head and pressed a soft kiss to the bruising and looked at Artemis with sad eyes. "Tell me you aren't going back," she said, her voice quiet and her eyes not meeting Artemis' because she knew the answer to her own question before Artemis spoke. Alaska just couldn't help but wish.

Artemis: Artemis moved from her lying position, holding an arm over her stomach as a brace before she could sit straight. She’d never wanted to worry Alaska, yet in the same then she didn’t want to keep things from her – the two battled within her conscience, but her promises overruled her own desire to avoid seeing the shock within Al’s eyes when she peeled the material away “I couldn’t stay even if it was in my mind too, I’d have to pay to get out of it and it’s money that I don’t have, Al.” The short strands of Artemis’ newly cut her brushed against her cheekbones when she shook her head. “It was an accident… Reckless really.”

Alaska: Alaska's eyes fell shut and she sighed, nodding slowly. "Don't worry," she said, a little bit dejected. "I didn't expect you to stay. It's just that-- I don't know, Ar. I mean, I get it. I understand why. I don't like it. But I do understand. It's just--" Alaska shook her head, looking away from Artemis completely now and instead focusing on the ground, toeing at it. "It is hard without you here," she finally said after a few beats of heavy silence. "I got used to it, I suppose."

Artemis: Brushing the back of her knuckles along Alaska’s arm softly, the look upon her features turned unreadable. “It’s eleven months at most and then I’ll be back.” After that it would be her choice as to whether she went back again, and that truly depended on how much had changed with Alaska since she had gone. “You can send letters while I’m there… Or not if you don’t want too.” Her brows pulled together, fingers still upon Al’s skin lightly. “We don’t have to be kept in the dark about each other.”

Alaska: "What good will it do?" Alaska asked, looking at Artemis then, brows furrowed in a frown. "It won't matter. Of course, I'm going to write to you, but what good will it do, Artemis? With you being wherever the hell you will be and me here. How do I get to rant into your skin about how Em looks right through me or how things between Mackenzie and I are getting better or how do I get your reaction when I get the call from my publishers telling me, yes, your dreams are coming true," as she talked, frustration seeped into her words. "It won't be the same, and you know it," Alaska got up off the bed, her bare feet hitting the cold ground. "And I don't know if you'll be back. I can't take you at your word. I can't."

Artemis: “Would you rather say the other side of the truth? The side where I leave and never come back, the side where officers come knocking on your door to tell you the news, the side where I die thinking of everything I regret but being relieved that I never have to think again. Because if I was to be selfish and so truly honest with you then I’d say that I don’t care which side befalls me.” Artemis didn’t move from where she sat, didn’t blink nor look away from Alaska’s frustrated features for a moment. To look away was to lose her nerve. “It’s you Alaska that makes me want to live, that makes this whole thing so much more important to me. At the moment I’m surviving, this isn’t life for me. Out there is living, helping others in the way that I actual have a talent. And when I get back to see your face again, to kiss you, it will be much sweeter and without any grievance or an ounce of regret.”

Alaska: Alaska shot an agitated scowl Artemis' way at her words. "Great, Artemis. First you leave, and then you tell me that the other option is you could die and not come back at all. Really lovely, thank you," she ground out, sarcasm dripping from the last words. A part of her, the part that had cried during their last conversation, throbbed and ached and clawed on her insides at the words Artemis said to her. It was like when she had called Alaska a home- called Alaska her home. It still burned her as she thought about it. But there was a larger part of her, one that didn't understand or believe or even want to believe Artemis' words that continued to resist the affection that the girl was offering. And her confusion made Alaska a monster. "Every time you go, you get relief. You get no regrets. And I get to what, Artemis? I get to wait for you? Sounds like a real offer," she snorted, the sound bitter as the words on Alaska's tongue.

Artemis: Anger spiked through her eyes, agitation building up in the set of her muscles like that was a wounded and wound up wild cat. Artemis wasn’t going to let herself sit back and be crafted into the one at fault, when it was both of them that caused the issues. She’d spent hours on the flight back thinking on how this scene between them would go, but the irrational flurry that was Alaska swept all her plans away without a hint of recognition. “You think I can do this anymore, Al? Come to you and see you smile because I’m here only for all off my affections to be thrown back at me. You’ve saved me from the edge only to slowly push me back there again with the looks you send to other people, how you push me away and tell me about all this business with Ryan like it won’t make me jealous – You think that it can only stay casual after years? You think that’s the life I want for myself? Dying is simpler than trying to understand where we are. Any physical beating it better than the whipping you give me every time I state something that I want. Because everything’s about you, it’s always about you, Alaska.” At this point then she had rose from her position on the bed, facing Al with her shirt In hand as though she would storm out the door at any minute. “You either let me in or let me go, because as much as it’ll break me to walk from this room then it would rip me to shreds to stay like this.”

Alaska: "What am I supposed to fucking do, Artemis?" she snapped, eyes flashing and the emotion that so rarely showed up to crack her facade flooding her expression and highlighting her features, her mouth curved downwards in a frown now. "It wasn't supposed to make you jealous," Alaska hissed, arms thrown and then anger in her eyes, too. "It was supposed to be easy. You were the one thing in my fucking life that was supposed to be easy... and you-- I didn't ask for this, Artemis. I did not ask you to feel something and I didn't tell you to push past my fucking walls, alright? So don't you DARE turn into Emmaline and tell me that it is all about fucking me. With me? Yeah. It is going to be about me. Because I'm the only fucking one who I have ever had and always will have!" she yelled, getting up and facing Artemis, too, refusing to even acknowledge how her eyes had begun to sting. Nobody got a rise out of Alaska the way the woman in front of her did. She growled under her breath and looked at Artemis, fire in her eyes and set to her insides. "Again. About me? I'm the only one at fucking fault here? I am so fucking sick of your goddamn ultimatums, Artemis! I don't know how to be your home or how to do this with you because you aren't supposed to-- we aren't-- I don't know what to say to make this stop. All of it. I can't be anything for you. Always about me? Well if you are so fucking tired, then leave. S'what you are good at doing just like everyone else!"

Artemis: “Then let’s make this simpler shall we and stop with all the poetic words.” Her hands were clenched, eyes flashing dangerously close to becoming malicious. “I’m fucking tired. I’m tired of my own attitude to all this, I’m tired of the way that people see me and flinch as though they expect me to hit them. I’m tired of feelings scared to let others in because it’s just going to end up like this. I’m not Emmaline, Alaska, I never will be – I’m not saying with is all your fault, I’m saying that it’s my fault I fucking care so much that your opinion affects me. Maybe for once you should treat me like everyone else, psychoanalyse me and realise what I’m truly saying.” The tone she held had turned seething, voice not raising above her usual height. “You don’t have to know how to be anything to me, you just are! I just want you to stop living in your head and realise what’s right in front of you for once. Life isn’t easy, I’m not easy. You should have fucking realised that when you pulled me from that bath – If you wanted easy why didn’t you just leave me to die like I was supposed to?” That’s what it all came down to, that one moment little over a year before – She’d gotten low and only saw darkness, was so sure in her plan and that no one would care for her death; Alaska had ruined it all, pulled her from the water for her own selfishness.

Alaska: "I don't care if you aren't saying it because you literally just implied that I am horrible. And that is fucking fine. I am no delicate flower, Artemis McKenna and I can handle another unflattering opinion about me," she raged, her teeth grinding together. "I'm not supposed to," she said, throat choked up as she said the words but she refused to do this. Refused to cry again so they would snap back together and fuck so Artemis could leave again. Alaska wasn't setting herself up for inevitable hurt. Not in this lifetime. She wanted to scream and Artemis, yell at her and tear her to shreds so she would just leave and not come back, stay away so Alaska could drown herself in enough things to make the memory of Artemis Lilith McKenna fade from her mind. "Don't--" she stammered, and she felt uncomfortable. She felt heinously alone, more so than she had done whilst she had been missing Artemis. She had felt a lot of things for Artemis in all the years they had known each other, but never this broken. Never because of Artemis. That was gone now, too. Another person she wasn't enough for. Story of my life, Alaska thought bitterly. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say-- what I'm meant to do-- I don't want to do this, Ar. I don't want to hurt you," she said softly, just loud enough for Artemis to hear, all the rage flitting out and leaving her deflated.

Artemis: “You aren’t horrible, Alaska, never have been. No wonder you don’t analyse me, you’re terrible at it.” Artemis leaned back against the wall, green eyes flat and cool as emeralds. Cut solidly with a cold precision that wasn’t even a mask to her. “How am I supposed to give my opinions to you when words get twisted? If I say I’m not good enough then I’m blaming you, if I say I anything else then you’re not good enough for me. I told you that I wouldn’t leave you, not forever, and perhaps there was a lie in there but then I am my parent’s daughter after all. All these years and we never tell each other our stories because we don’t want to burden each other with it, when truly it’s just made us a ticking bomb. Each hint is a tick, and the arguments another. I’m too hurt for you to damage me further, Alaska, how much further can I be driven then to the point I’m at?” Clarity was coming to her, a deafening sense of finalisation that she couldn’t place a name too. There was dread settling in her stomach, the part that had her sensibilities, telling her that to leave then would be signing away her life to death – She was far too low to think straight, now when her mind was so solidly focused on the thought of the roof above. “I should never have been born and you should never have saved me, that’s the truth of it. No one knew what to do, what to say, but I did, and then you foiled it. You’re not the one hurting me, I’m just hurting myself.”

Alaska: "Just not used to analyzing you. Because part of me knew I let you in before I consciously acknowledged it upon your... confession of feelings. So I didn't want you to analyze me, either," she shrugged, chocolate eyes looking just plain sad now. Her body moved of its own accord when she moved across the room to Artemis, not giving her a chance to protest as she tugged her shirt out her hands and pulled her into her arms, her hands touching Artemis like an apology as she sighed into her hair. "I never meant to fall this far, you know? This is uncharted territory, Ar. I don't know what to do. I don't know what feels right. And I don't know what should feel right. I am confused and my plate is really, really full right now," Alaska murmured into the skin of her neck, talking more openly when Artemis can't see her anymore. "I really care about you, okay? And I don't know what to do with it. With any of this. Can you please just stay? Like, pause this. I've missed you. A lot. And I haven't been sleeping. And I haven't been feeling sleepy. Not until I felt you again and now I feel really, really tired. So can we just lie down and... hold me, please?" she requested quietly, knowing she had no right to but asking anyway.

rtemis: “I’m not used to people caring, or even caring for that matter. Foster care was all about surviving on your own.” The potentially dangerous body she held was just putty to Alaska’s touch, letting the other woman take the shirt away and, in turn, melt into the embrace – A tension still solid and coiled in her back from the realisation of all that she’d said during her outbursts. “It’s not exactly intentional on my side either, Al. So this is me asking you, not telling you, that maybe me leaving is a good thing for now? You can think on everything, clear your plate and deal with all of this Westwood stuff and getting published. And when your mind is clear you can meet me at the airport when I get back and if you’re not there then, I’ll know where I stand. It’s your choice.” The slow decrease in temptation to leave seeped away with the softness of Alaska’s hands, thoughts being pulled away from lingers on the roof. “For now I’ll stay with you, because even if you’re stubborn and so frustrating then I missed you all the same.”

Alaska: Alaska didn't know what to say to that. To any of that. So she just nodded, shooting Artemis a small careful smile and kissed her, soft and slow instead of the fast=paced raw passion it had been before and tucked her hair behind her ear, pulling her mouth away to kiss Artemis' cheek. "Okay," was all she said, and laced their fingers together delicately, tugging Artemis back to the bed and lay down, looking at the girl with soft eyes now.

Artemis: There had been a layer of exhaustion creeping up of her for some time, finally making itself known when the adrenaline of their argument simmered into smoulders. She replied just as softly to the kiss, savouring it in an internal worry that she would lack feeling Alaska’ lips for some time. Her smile was small, tinged with a sadness which held no point to put behind any barrier – Al knew how she felt about her life, and that was enough to allow some hint of melancholy. “You don’t have to be so guarded…” Artemis murmured into the other’s collarbone, tiredness spreading and lingering in her mind and aching body. Her eyes were closed, thoughts foggy when she muttered the last few words. “It’s just me.”

Alaska: Alaska kissed her again then, as they lay on the bed, and again it was soft as a whisper. "Force of habit," she offered, shutting her eyes and letting her exhaustion hit her again, holding Artemis closer, letting her feel like the only real thing in the world. She was tired of hurting Artemis and feeling so empty and sad. She wanted to forget all the bad things and just indulge herself. Indulge herself with this tiny bubble she could be safe in with Artemis. "Thanks for coming back," she whispered into Artemis' mouth, fading into slumber knowing nothing but the beating of their hearts together, Artemis' skin under her hands, and the smell of home that smelled like Artemis' shampoo and perfume amalgamated.

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