#reth and valia
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Reth and Valia — First Fight
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
“Why do I have to be here again?” Valia grouched, crossing her arms as she pressed back into the wall.
A rumbling laugh broke overhead, Reth grinning at her. “Aww, I love you too.”
Good God, why? “I mean, c’mon, you clearly don’t need me here watching you eat,” she tried again, hand gesturing at the metal tray propped on his knees, this close to empty like he was dragging it out.
“Well, you don’t have to watch me eat, but I totally understand if you do. I’m just that irresistible,” Reth shrugged, shoving a hunk of stale bread into his mouth and making Valia’s eyes roll.
“Do you have any manners at all?” she groaned, turning her head in disgust as Reth gave her a good long look at the chewed-up food. How old was he, five?
She was trying, she really was, but the day had been long and she fully lacked the patience for any of his antics tonight. Thankfully, Reth finished not long after, though not without near-constant teasing, and they both walked back to his cage in the evening light.
Having a looming form twice her height hovering off her shoulder all the way down the dark corridor was not her idea of ideal, especially every single night, but she could never get far enough ahead to be comfortable. It was like he knew exactly how big her personal bubble was and pointedly stayed inside it to tick her off.
Finally, they made it back, Valia twisting the dial and punching the button with a sigh. Back at full size, Reth relaxed against the wall, tossing a smirk her way. “Care to join me?” he asked, waving a hand at his abs.
“In your dreams,” she snipped back, shutting the door with a little more force than necessary.
“Go get your beauty sleep, then, sweetheart. Gotta look good for your big day tomorrow,” came the overly-cheerful reply.
“Oh, shut up,” Valia muttered without any real heat, trudging back down the sandy corridor to the dorms. Like she had time for sleep — good grades didn’t earn themselves.
The light in her dorm window burned long after the rest of the campus turned in for the night.
-.-
Valia woke to the sun in her eyes, making her squint at the unwelcome burn. With a moan, she rolled over to escape it, mind hazily whirring to life as she stared at the ceiling. The sunlight had crept down the wall, almost to the floor.
Wait…sun…floor…time…
With an undignified shriek, Valia launched herself out of bed, getting in a quick glance at the clock as she flew into the bathroom.
Their first fight was in fifteen minutes and Valia had overslept.
The next few minutes were a whirlwind of activity, Valia cleaning up and twisting her hair into a loose braid. Her uniform was wrinkled from being tossed over the back of her chair last night instead of hung up, courtesy of her near all-nighter. The cadet cringed as she threw it on. Hopefully, her superior officer wouldn’t be around to chew her out.
Hopping towards the door as she pulled her boots on, Valia snatched up her dorm key, the all-important cage key, and a protein bar, slamming the door behind her.
Then the door flew open again, Valia nearly tripping as she sprinted back to her room to get her gauntlet, breakfast between her teeth as she quickly locked the door on her way out. Forgetting that stupid thing would’ve been a one-way ticket to a competency evaluation and that kind of thing only led downhill.
Then it was a mad dash out of the dorms and down the main path to the arena, Valia ducking into the shadow of the barracks. Jogging along the corridor, she slowed at the low humming drifting from his cage, the imposing form within silhouetted in hazy sunlight.
Letting all her frustration and nerves out in one short breath, Valia scurried into the cage, hurriedly smoothing out her uniform and looking up to see Reth glancing her way. Since the ceiling was too low to stand, he was forced to kneel, continuing to hum as he knotted a blood-red sash around his waist.
Though he was still shirtless, his pants looked new, inky black against the pale sandstone — the higher-ups must have wanted him to look decent for the public. A second, less harried look let her notice the tough bandages wrapped around his hands and halfway up his forearms, leaving his fingers free.
“Late for your first fight? Not a good look, princess,” he drawled, finishing the complex knot and letting it hang near his hip as she stewed near the door, unwilling to get any closer than necessary. “I was even nice enough to give ya a heads-up last night.”
Of course, he would get right on her case.
“Who asked you?” she shot back, albeit halfheartedly — being late was one of her pet peeves and her failing burned more than the casual reprimand. “What am I even supposed to do?”
The barest smirk crept onto his face as he moved to sit cross-legged, sending light tremors under her boots. “Usually, my handler leads me into the arena and keeps an eye on me during the fight in case I…misbehave.” Arms crossed, he leaned forward slightly, making her subconsciously lean back. “You know where the arena gate is, right?”
“I’m not an idiot,” Valia snapped, twisting the dial and smashing the button with far more force than necessary. The blinding light the device so kindly emitted was significantly dimmer now — she’d finally found the brightness setting that the last idiot had left on high.
Dust swirled up as Reth swiftly shrunk to a manageable size, dusting himself off and flourishing at the door with a smirk.
“After you.”
She swept off with a huff, storming down the sandy corridor. Much to her annoyance, Reth kept up easily, hands in his pockets as he sauntered along off her shoulder. His presence so close by was still unsettling, to say the least, but Valia pushed it to the back of her mind. Having very little idea what she was currently supposed to be doing, it was best to be focused, right? Yeah, absolutely.
What little focus she’d scraped together was immediately shattered by a loud growl directly behind her. Valia nearly jumped out of her skin, whipping around to see Reth trying to hold back a laugh at her surprise.
“Sorry, sweetheart. Didn’t get any breakfast yet,” he shrugged casually, smiling down at her.
Her mouth opened to ask why, only to snap shut as the answer kicked her in the teeth. Embarrassment seared her face, Valia quickly hiding it as they continued down the corridor.
They arrived at the gate, the massive, cage-like anteroom connected to it possessing more than enough space for Reth to regain full size. Assuming parade rest with her back in a corner so she didn’t have to worry about being stepped on, Valia’s gaze immediately dipped to the floor, guilt eating at her.
She’d had one job and she’d failed. Her teeth worried at her lip, mind flicking through worry after worry. Would it be a disadvantage to fight on an empty stomach? Was he in more danger now that she’d neglected her duties? Would this be enough to end her probation as a handler, or even her career as a soldier?
As they waited, the giant rolled his shoulders, bouncing in place and making Valia wobble slightly, nervous eyes flicking his way as her train of thought derailed. He certainly seemed fine at the moment, though she wouldn’t take that for granted.
In spite of her uneasiness with being around him, Valia watched him limber up with no small amount of interest, taking note as his face settled into something more serious. Huh, so that’s what his game face looked like…
She quickly looked away as he caught her stealing a glance, practically feeling the smirk bloom on his face. But before he could say anything, another officer burst through a nearby door, exasperation clear.
“What are you doing down here? You’re supposed to be in the box,” the man lectured, gesturing for Valia to follow him. An embarrassed heat flushing her face once more, Valia skirted around Reth’s feet, making for the door. Not like they’d told her what to do. Was this a test, like dumping her in Reth’s cage had been? If so, she was failing miserably.
“Wish me luck,” rumbled out behind her, the faintest hint of playfulness audible. Pulled from her thoughts, the cadet turned in time to catch him making a show of cracking his knuckles before the door clicked shut.
“C’mon,” the officer said, leading her up a staircase several flights to another door, which lead out onto a small, empty balcony. Valia jumped as the distant clamor of an excited crowd suddenly crashed down on her senses, the formless mass resolving into a massive arena filled to the brim with people the more she blinked in the harsh sunlight. An abrupt, sharp burst of anxiety twisted her stomach.
“W-What do I have to do—” she tried, only to be bodily settled at the stone railing, the officer just rolling his eyes.
“You make sure he doesn’t try any funny business and bring him in when the fight’s over. It’s not rocket science, cadet.”
Before she could question anything else, he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him. Turning back, Valia took in the sand-filled pit below, noting the other gigantic gate set into the opposite wall.
Her fingers traced over the gauntlet, picking at the raised design embossed in the metal. She’d never been to an actual fight before, having only seen bits and pieces on TV. As terrifying as giants were, it was the brutality that had always put her off, the unnecessary blood and broken bones turning her stomach. Hopefully, this fight wouldn’t be as savage — the last thing she needed was to puke her guts out in front of twelve thousand people.
Before she could think on it further, a booming voice echoed through the arena, making her leap clear out of her skin.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ARE YOU READY?
The responding scream set Valia’s nerves on edge, the arena seating writhing with excited spectators.
TODAY’S MATCH UP IS A CLASH OF LIGHTNING QUICK AGILITY AND SHEER OVERWHELMING BRAWN! IN THIS FIGHT, SEVEN RANK TAKES ON EIGHT RANK IN AN EPIC CLASH OF TITANS!
Music swelled, pulsing through her head. Valia gripped the balcony, eyes locked on the opposite gate.
IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE THE CHALLENGER. HAILING FROM MYDRIOS, HE STANDS AT 58 FEET, WEIGHING IN AT 98 TONS, AND HAS MUSCLES IN PLACES YOU COULDN’T EVEN DREAM OF. GIVE IT UP FOR THE VIRIDIAN RIOT!
Massive wooden doors creaked open a fraction, only to violently explode outward as a giant form burst onto the sand.
“YEAH!! VIRIDIAN RIOT IN THE HOUSE!!”
Valia blinked as the new asset strutted to the center and threw his arms out wide, welcoming the crowd’s resulting cheers before flexing outrageously. “You know you want it,” he grinned, winking at the crowd and earning a round of distinctly feminine screams. He changed poses, tanned muscles bulging and fangs flashing, effectively whipping the crowd into a frenzy as the arena shook with a chanting roar of RI-OT, RI-OT, RI-OT.
Shameless, absolutely shameless. Valia leaned onto the balcony, hiding her slight blush behind her gauntlet as the giant strutted back to his gate, running a hand through short, swept-back hair that glowed green in the sun. Compared to Reth’s lean frame, this giant was a bit stockier, compact muscle on muscle built for power. Maybe Reth would have some trouble with this one—
AND IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE THE CHAMPION. HAILING FROM LITHIA, HE STANDS AT 60 FEET, WEIGHING IN AT 90 TONS, AND IS FASTER THAN GREASED LIGHTNING. GIVE IT UP FOR LITHIA’S VERY OWN MOUNTAIN DEMON!
The doors opened a little more reasonably this time, her asset ducking out and sauntering to the middle, hands in the air to receive the thunderous shouts at his entrance. The showboating wasn’t nearly as extreme, though he wasn’t immune to light posing and playing up the crowd. Apparently, the crowd liked the cool, confident type just as much as the sexy ball of energy, shrieking with approval and setting the cadet’s ears to ringing with an even louder roar of DE-MON, DE-MON, DE-MON.
Valia just rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as Reth made his way back to his gate. The wall wrapping around the arena came up to mid-chest, putting her at the perfect height for his flirty wink as he turned to face his opponent.
FIGHTERS READY!
Both giants settled into battle position, the Riot crouching into a wrestler-like pose while Reth shifted his weight back and brought his hands to bear. The silence before the bell was unbearable, the entire crowd deathly quiet as the tension grew to a breaking point.
*BONG*
Before the bell’s brazen echoes had even fully resonated, the Riot was off like a shot, sand flying as he closed the distance between them in milliseconds flat. Hands up to guard, Reth’s gaze suddenly shot upwards as the other giant launched himself into the air.
Valia’s jaw dropped as the Riot’s shadow fell over her, the giant crashing out of the sky with a superman punch that had Reth stumbling back.
RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE, THE RIOT LANDS A CRUSHING BLOW. HE’S LOOKING TO END THIS FIGHT BEFORE IT EVEN GETS GOING.
Not to be outdone, Reth ducked the wild haymaker that followed and responded with a quick combination to the torso, a flash of a grin appearing as the Riot retreated slightly.
The next couple minutes were spent trading blows back and forth, neither fighter really giving an inch. The crowd screamed the whole while, making Valia’s ears ring with their intensity until all she could hear was a dull roar. Yep, she would be deaf before the fight finished at this rate.
Then the crowd shrieked again, this time in shock, and Valia’s attention snapped back.
A tiny spark of worry zipped through her to see Reth down on one knee, arms up to block the rain of punches the Riot was so gleefully handing out. Her hands gripped the railing again, heart thumping just a little faster.
Then like a streak of lightning, Reth’s hands dropped to the arena floor, his leg lashing out to trip his opponent. The Riot went down with a THUD that rattled her bones and sent the crowd into hysterics.
OH, AND THE RIOT GOES DOWN. THE MOUNTAIN DEMON ISN’T PLAYING AROUND, FOLKS.
With a smirk, Reth jumped on his opponent, straddling him and throwing punch after punch. The Riot struggled underneath him, forearms going red with the beatings. In spite of herself, Valia leaned forward, silently urging Reth to finish the fight as the Riot seemed to stall.
Then in a split second, the Riot shoved Reth back, creating enough room to bring a leg up. Before the other giant could react, the Riot planted a foot in Reth’s chest and practically launched him across the arena. Valia had only a second to suck in a gasp before the massive body slammed into the wall beneath her.
The stonework exploded under her feet, a cry of unadulterated fear escaping her as Valia tumbled headlong into the arena. Time seemed to slow, debris filling the air around her — not that she had to worry about that, really. The fall would be more than enough to make a splatter out of her.
Was this how she died? Not quite what she would’ve wanted, though it was certainly dramatic.
Then something smashed into her back, knocking the air from her lungs and setting fireworks popping in her vision. Instinct kicking in in spite of that, Valia curled into a tight ball, arms protecting her head as crumbling stone cascaded around her and thudded dully onto the sand below.
Wait, below?
When the thunder of stone finally died off, Valia dared peek from under her arms, coughing at the dust clouds that roiled around her. Somewhere beyond the dust, the crowd had gone deathly quiet, holding their collective breath.
“You okay, sweetheart?”
Her heart skipping a beat, Valia’s gaze whipped up to see a dusty chest forming a shadowed wall overhead, Reth’s equally dusty face smirking at her from above. She quickly sat up, her hands pushing against rough cloth instead of sand as the hand beneath her shifted into the sunlight.
He’d caught her — in the middle of all that, he’d caught her and kept her from being crushed. How he’d even noticed her in the chaos…
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine…” she managed, wincing as various bruises, scrapes, and cuts made themselves known as she got to her knees.
Catching sight of the wall behind Reth — or what was left of it — nearly made her jaw drop. The walkway around the edge of the arena was completely obliterated, the giant’s back embedded in the thick stone just short of the actual seating and sparing the crowd the worst of the damage. A number of officers roamed the seating itself, checking the people closest to the damage and evacuating the entire section. Oblivious to her ringing ears, the announcer’s voice boomed overhead, probably asking people to remain calm and all that jazz.
The crowd’s murmuring steadily rose in volume, but above it came the calls of several other officers, asking if she was alright and to tell the asset to let her off on the wall for Christ’s sake, there were cameras!
“Go on then, sweetheart. I’ve got a fight to finish,” his low voice rumbled, her perch lifting to be level with the wall. Something squeezed her chest and Valia restrained the urge to touch one of the fingers partially curled around her for safety.
Stepping off his hand into the officers’ care found her a bit dizzy and as the adrenaline started fading, a building headache took its place. Hand holding her head, Valia turned to watch as Reth wrenched himself free of the wall, brushing off the lingering dust and debris as he stood. “Oi, mosshead, we’re not done here,” he called to the Riot, who was still blinking in surprise on the sand.
The last Valia saw of the fight was her asset’s muscled back, covered in sand, scrapes, and developing bruises while the crowd screamed in appreciation.
“Are you alright?” one of the officers asked, a hand on her arm to help her along the quieter corridors, but Valia barely heard it, too wrapped up in her brush with death and a now pounding headache to focus. She was starting to feel lost in a fog, her thoughts scattered and disconnected.
“That asset didn’t do anything to you, did it?” another snapped, a look of disgust twisting his face and making her frown.
What, like save her life? Valia tried to push through the confusion, surprised at the irritation that bubbled up. “No, he didn’t,” she replied after a few moments, almost immediately slipping back into a daze. Why would they ask that? That had nothing to do with…anything…
“Good. Otherwise, I might’ve had to beat some sense into it. Not that it doesn’t deserve that anyway,” the second officer muttered, Valia glancing at him in confusion.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re kinda spacey,” the first officer piped up again, his hand now holding her up more than guiding her.
“I jus’ need a minute. Head hurtsss…” Valia trailed off, a hand pressed to her aching head. A couple pain meds and maybe a nap…that would help…
She didn’t remember arriving at the medic station, suddenly blinking into a bright light trained on her eyes.
“Can you tell me your name, sweetie?” the older woman behind the light asked, moving it between her eyes.
Her name…Definitely started with a V…
“Valia…Valia Larke,” she managed, momentarily lost in the dark brown eyes gazing into her own.
“And how old are you, Valia?”
“18…no, 19. Birthday’sss in a month and I get to go home.”
The medic smiled, clicking the light off. “You get leave time for your birthday? That’s awesome.”
“Mm,” Valia hummed back, staring at the intricate braids hanging over the woman’s shoulder. “Can I take a nap now?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, darling. You have a concussion from your fall earlier.”
Oh yeah…
“I didn’t fall. He caught me,” she mumbled, gazing down at her hands, her index finger tracing over her palm. Right above where the latch for the gauntlet sat…
She stiffened at the bare skin under her fingers. The latch was gone, along with the rest of the gauntlet.
A spike of fear shot through her, her head whipping up. “Where’s my…” Valia trailed off as the word escaped her, showing her bare forearm in hopes that the woman would understand.
“Oh, your gauntlet? One of the officers took it for when the fight’s over. You’re not really in any condition to be a handler right now,” the medic explained, smiling sympathetically as she strapped a blood pressure cuff on Valia’s arm.
Oh. Well, at least she wouldn’t be verbally eviscerated for losing a complex piece of technology that cost more than her entire officer education.
They ran through the rest of her examination, Valia’s attention wandering from the medic to the wall of supplies to the room that she finally noticed was actually full of people getting treated for various superficial injuries and back again with no particular purpose. Once in a while, her eyes drifted down, brow furrowing as she absently brushed at her uniform. Wrinkled and dusty — the poor thing was not having a good day.
“There,” the woman finally finished, taping the last bandage in place with a smile. “You really lucked out, kid. Aside from a concussion, you only have a few cuts and scrapes that’ll heal in a few days.” She stood, moving to the supply cabinet and pulling a couple things out. “I’d thank someone if I were you.”
She probably should thank him, shouldn’t she? “Yeah…”
“I’d like to keep an eye on you for a little longer, but I have to go check on the boys, so I think I’ll just have you come with me.” The woman gathered up a few more things, flashing another smile her way. “The name’s Maederova, by the way, but you can call me Mae.”
“Valia,” the cadet replied, legs swinging absently.
“I know, honey,” Mae chuckled, slinging a bag over her shoulder and offering a hand. “Come on, let’s see how they fared. It was a pretty even match-up, so I probably have my work cut out for me.”
Valia stared fuzzily at the dark-skinned hand a moment before taking it and hopping off the table. She trailed along behind the taller woman as they stepped out into the sun, glancing up occasionally in curiosity. “So…you’re the giant doctor?”
Another chuckle, warm and amused. “Yeah, I take care of those big idiots.”
Valia’s eyes widened almost comically. “And you’re not…afraid?”
“Is there something to be afraid of?” Mae replied, a mischievous twinkle in her dark eyes.
And Valia didn’t have an answer.
“Well…” she finally mumbled, gaze on her feet, “they’re really big.”
“If there’s one thing I learned in life, it’s that size rarely ever matters,” Mae laughed, the cool shadow of the barracks falling over them as they walked. “They may be a lot bigger than us, but they’re still just people and should be treated as such.” Her brow furrowed the tiniest bit. “Of course, if you ask anyone else, they’ll think you’re insane. Giants are just slaves and weapons to them.”
They reached the cage, the young officer posted outside all too eager to hand off the gauntlet and key he’d been given and book it out of there. Mae just chuckled wryly, strapping the gauntlet onto her arm and unlocking the door. Inside, Reth was laid out on his back, an arm under his head. He glanced over as they approached.
“Hey, doc, what’s up?” he cracked a smile, getting one in return. Then his eyes flicked to Valia who had subconsciously stepped slightly behind Mae. “Hey, sweetheart. You feelin’ alright?”
Wait, why the hell was she acting like a shy toddler? She was an officer-in-training for crying out loud! Moving stiffly to stand next to Mae, she forced herself to meet the expectant eyes trained on her. “I’m fine.”
Her gaze dropped quick enough to miss his expression, the massive body carefully rolling over and making her shiver slightly at its proximity.
“She has a concussion, so she’s hanging out with me for a while,” Mae spoke up, gesturing for Reth to sit up. “You’re gonna be on your best behavior, right?”
“I’m sorry, am I ever not?” Reth grinned, towering over the both of them as he brushed the lingering dust off. Then he laid a scuffed-up hand flat on the sandy floor.
Valia’s jaw dropped as Mae walked right up into it with zero hesitation, even standing as Reth slowly lifted his hand level with his scraped-up chest.
“Glad to see you’re not as roughed up this time,” Mae commented, running her hands over a couple deep scratches as long as her arm. “Did Zekk go easy on you or something?”
“Only if using me as a wrecking ball counts,” Reth huffed out a laugh, only to wince and hold his bruised ribs. “You should see the arena.”
“Oh, I heard. I think they cancelled all fights for the next couple weeks till they get it repaired.”
Down on the ground, Valia wavered, uncertain what she should be doing, if anything. Mae didn’t look like she needed assistance, but it was so damn awkward just standing here third-wheeling the conversation. Her nerves weren’t in the best shape either, watching Mae stand so fearlessly in Reth’s hand and act like what she was doing wasn’t at all dangerous. She had to know Reth could drop or crush her in a second, accidently or otherwise, yet she was acting like it was perfectly fine.
Well…maybe it was fine. Reth certainly hadn’t done anything to indicate otherwise and he’d only ever been gentle with her — completely oblivious of personal space and not inclined to listen to anything she said, but…gentle.
“You okay, sweetheart?”
For a split second, she was back in his hand, gaze unconsciously snapping up. That same smirk looked back, Reth cocking his head slightly at her. “You look a little out of it.”
Unexpectedly, a light blush climbed her neck, her hands twining together as she looked away. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine.”
She really should thank him. He had literally saved her life today — he deserved that much.
It took a minute to get her legs to cooperate, but Valia finally walked a hesitant, wobbly line over to the massive hand pressed against the floor for support. She could feel his dark eyes following her, a quick glance up letting her glimpse his eyebrow raised in curiosity. The cadet managed to get within arms-reach of his fingers, unable to push herself any closer, heart fluttering softly with anxiety.
“I…I wanted to…thank you for earlier…” she started, gaze flicking everywhere but his face, trying to string her thoughts together through the low-level throbbing in her head. “I would’ve died if you hadn’t caught me, so…”
Just do it, V — do it and get it over with. Hesitantly, Valia reached out to the nearest knuckle, fingers quivering ever so slightly. “Thank y—”
Dizziness suddenly slammed into her, her vision flickering for a second as she lost her tenuous grip on her balance. A shout from Mae fuzzed in her ears, unintelligible.
Then something big whipped past her and she tumbled forward onto a calloused, leathery surface that gave just the smallest bit under her weight. Not the unforgiving stone floor, then. That was good; she hurt enough as it was.
Blinking the leftover stars from her vision, Valia sucked in a quiet gasp at the broad, battered hand cupped under her, her legs dangling past long fingers to just brush the floor.
A chuckle rumbled above her. “Whoa there. You’re falling for me pretty quick, don’t ya think?”
Bad jokes aside, her face burned so badly it was a wonder it didn’t catch fire. And yet Valia couldn’t really make herself get up, her brain apparently still trying to collect itself even as part of her desperately wanted to push away. To her mild surprise, it wasn’t anything personal. He was just…so much…
When she didn’t respond right away, trying to make her limbs work the way they were supposed to, the hand lifted, fingers propping her into an upright position, the index finger resting lightly on her shoulder to keep her in place. “You gonna be okay?” his low voice asked with a grin, sending a shiver through her when she could literally feel his words. “I know I’m a lot, but that’s just more of me to love.”
She hardly heard him, distracted by the soft pressure on her shoulder. Such a gentle touch from such a huge being shouldn’t have been possible and yet here it was. The same hand that had nearly pounded the Riot’s face in was now holding her upright, treating her like some precious thing.
She’d always known he’d meant no harm — she wished she’d figured it out before he’d scared the shit out of her the first time, but hey — but to save her twice in one day and then take care of her in a way she knew she didn’t deserve, especially after how she’d been treating him…
She had no idea where they’d come from, but the tears sliding down her face surprised her just as much as they did him. His fingertip lifted slightly, still just barely in contact with her shoulder.
“I’m sorry!” she suddenly blurted out, startling all of them, Reth pulling his hand back in surprise.
The silence that followed was tight with confusion. The stunned looks on Mae and Reth’s faces probably would’ve made her giggle if she’d felt at all like laughing.
Eyes flicking over her, Reth finally ventured a hesitant question, his expression verging on wariness. “…for what?”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled again, breath starting to hiccup. It was probably the concussion talking — emotions swirling, words jamming up in her throat, unable to spill out — but somehow it still felt necessary. “I’m sorry for…for…”
Dammit, she couldn’t get it out. Reth’s awkward silence wasn’t helping either, his uncertainty palpable even in her off-kilter state.
“Valia, honey, don’t push yourself,” Mae suddenly called from her perch on Reth’s hand. “Your concussion still needs to heal.”
She blinked, sniffing as the doctor’s words sank in. “O-Oh, o-okay,” Valia stammered, wiping quickly at her eyes in an effort to hide her profound embarrassment. Damn, now her nose was running. Could this day get any worse?
“Alright, let me down, hon.”
The scuff of skin scraping on sand caught her attention, Mae stepping back onto solid ground and fiddling with the dial acting as a welcome distraction. “Not too bad this time, boy,” she commented, tapping the button and pulling out some supplies as Reth shrunk to a more practical size. “Let’s get you bandaged up.”
Surprisingly, no sarcastic comment was forthcoming, Reth sitting in unusual silence as Mae started cleaning his wounds. The cadet would’ve thought further on his lack of a comeback, but her runny nose took priority — not to mention she didn’t want to think too long on her absolute failure of an apology.
Not wanting to get snot on her already roughed-up uniform, Valia searched her pockets, praying she hadn’t forgotten a handkerchief in her mad dash out the door this morning.
Instead, her searching fingers closed on crinkly packaging, Valia pulling out the protein bar she’d shoved in her pocket and completely forgotten about. She stared at it a moment, thumb absently rubbing at the shiny foil.
Then something clicked in her foggy mind and Valia gripped the bar a little tighter, moving determinedly towards the giant once again.
Reth glanced at her as she approached, his lightly furrowed brow and uncertain gaze making her eyebrows rise slightly. Some small part of her wanted to celebrate about finally making him uncomfortable for once, to get him back for all those times he’d teased and flirted with her until she’d wanted to scream.
Instead, she held out the protein bar, purposefully making eye contact. “Here.”
His eyebrows rose, eyes flicking from her to the bar and back, hints of wariness bleeding through his neutral expression.
“You didn’t get breakfast this morning,” Valia responded firmly to the unspoken question, lifting the bar higher in prompting. Where this sudden burst of confidence was coming from, she had no idea — probably the concussion again — but she was going to thank him, dammit, and no hesitancy on his part was gonna stop her.
There was another moment or two’s hesitation before Reth gently plucked the bar from her hand, staring at it in a manner that looked a lot like awe. Did he really like it that much? It was just a protein bar and not even one of the good flavors at that.
Then deft fingers peeled back the wrapper and snapped the bar in two, Reth holding out half in her direction.
Oh.
Valia blinked, slowly accepting the bar as their eyes met.
“Thanks,” he murmured, a hint of his smirk coming back as he bit into the bar.
The tips of her ears suddenly burning, Valia dropped her gaze to her bar. “No problem.”
Too busy with each other, neither of them noticed Mae’s little smile as she continued to bandage Reth up.
#g/t#g/t writing#d'angelo drafts#reth#valia#reth and valia#it's been a little bit since I've known what I'm doing#but here's some more :)
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Reth and Valia — Growing Pains
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Sweet Lord above, I’m gonna murder him. I don’t know how yet, but I’ll find a way.
It’s only been a week and already I’ve developed a twitch that kicks in with a vengeance whenever he’s brought up.
*sigh*
Where to begin…
Okay, so I realize being a handler is supposed to be a good thing. It shows I can handle my responsibilities and care for a living being without fail. It might even be enough for a promotion in the near future.
But good God, did it have to be him?
Yes, I know I shouldn’t complain. I was given a responsibility and I’m gonna fulfill it even if it kills me, which at the rate things are going is a likely possibility, but dammit, he can’t go a little easier on me?
Every day, it’s the same: get up, go take care of the giant bastard, nearly grind my teeth to dust, and then go about the rest of my day.
Until dinner, when I have to do it all over again. Rinse and repeat.
It actually wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t make it an excruciating point to get on my nerves every single minute of every single day. He just won’t let up; every other sentence out of his mouth is teasing, insulting, or downright flirting, and the whiplash from irritation to anger to embarrassment and back has long since given me a near-constant headache in his presence.
I just…I just don’t know how to act around him. His moods flip like a goddamn light switch, leaving me scrambling to keep up. Just when I’m feeling sympathetic towards him, he starts teasing me again, and the moment I’m ready to flip my lid, he sobers up or God forbid starts flirting.
That’s probably the worst part, feeling like I’m just another warm body for him to hit on. I realize he doesn’t get out much, but it feels so useless. Like, are you really getting something out of that?
I’m probably being too hard on him, but would it really kill him to stop trying to get a rise out of me for more than two seconds? It doesn’t help that he’s so good at it…freakin’ jerk…
With a heavy sigh, Valia pushed back from her desk, dropping her pen and stretching out stiff muscles. It was probably best that she stop that particular entry right there before it devolved into a spate of name-calling and increasingly violent threats.
A glance at the clock brought on another sigh and Valia reluctantly threw on a jacket, latching the gauntlet back on and grabbing her key before heading out.
Nights were cool lately, much cooler than the warm days they’d been having. The indigo sky above was speckled with stars, wisps of cloud barely visible in the dying light. Hands in her pockets, head craned back, Valia star-gazed until the barracks blocked her view.
Walking down the dark, silent corridor alone was never fun, Valia hurrying past cage after cage trying not to look inside any of them. She almost walked past Reth’s cage in the dark, turning on the little lantern light set in the wall by the door so she could see to use the key. Should really think about a flashlight…
The cage door squeaked open, Valia slipping inside and venturing a couple steps into the darkness beyond. The lantern light didn’t reach inside very well and her skin crawled at the impenetrable blackness filling the cage. “Anybody home?”
Not ten feet in front of her, a pair of teal eyes suddenly blinked open, shining eerily in the dim lamp light and scaring the shit out of her. Before she could beat a hasty retreat back to the door, however, a hand materialized behind her, dimly backlit and deepening the gloom around her. A toothy smile gleamed in the shadows, sending a shiver up her spine.
“Well, look who’s back,” came the low rumble she was slowly becoming accustomed to. “Wasn’t sure you’d be back after this morning.”
Ah, yes, this morning, when she’d basically stormed out the second his needs had been met, head ready to explode with frustration. “Yeah well, I have a responsibility to take care of you. I’m not going to abandon my duty just because you’re being a massive jerk,” Valia shot back, a thread of steel in her tone despite the lightest tremors running through her.
The hand withdrew with a chuckle, trailing light drag marks through the dust. “Ouch. Tell me how you really feel.” Sand and clothing shifted, Reth presumably sitting up in preparation. “What're we waiting for, then?”
Mouth thinning, Valia twisted the dial, smacking the button. The bright flash illuminated the cage for a second, an afterimage of a light dust cloud and a swiftly shrinking giant burned into her night vision. Then darkness returned, Reth soon sauntering into the dim light, hands stuck in his pockets. For once, he didn’t say anything, a fact for which Valia was secretly grateful as she led the way back down the hall.
Their first and only stop was the “cafeteria” — really just a fancy name for the patch-of-dirt courtyard across from the wash stations. Reth plunked down in his usual spot against the wall while Valia went to retrieve his meal. The tray was twice the size of normal ones, half-full of stale bread, a handful of slightly overripe fruits and veggies, a cut of jerky, and a cup of water. The cadet couldn’t help the wince as she hauled the tray back to the giant — at least it wasn’t gruel.
Reth accepted the tray like he always did, with a nod and a smirk. Valia just ignored him like she always did, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms as she scanned the courtyard. They were a little later than usual today, so only a couple other assets were around, finishing up their own meals. Their handlers looked bored as hell, hardly acknowledging their asset’s existence until they were done, then leading them back to their cages with hardly a word or even a glance.
Unexpectedly, a sliver of guilt slithered through her chest, watching fellow officers handle their assets so callously and sensing an uncomfortable similarity to her own actions. She’d never thought of herself as a cruel person, and from what Reth had said when they first met, she was different, apparently more kind than others had been. She had taken a strange sense of pride in that, having won the vague approval of a species that severely disliked her own.
But given how quiet and relatively compliant Reth had been lately, she wasn’t sure how well she’d kept that up. Indifferent could be just as bad as cruel, after all.
A poking sensation pulled her from her thoughts, Valia skittering to the side instinctively as she noticed Reth in her immediate peripheral, a hunk of bread in his hand. “Wha…did you just poke me with your food?” she sputtered, brushing at her uniform and scowling at the bread crumbs.
“Well, nothing else was getting your attention, sweetheart,” Reth answered lazily, tearing off another chunk of bread and holding out the tray with a smirk.
With a huff, Valia snatched it up, feeling heat climb her neck a bit as she took the tray back.
They made their way back to the cage without issue, Reth ducking inside and heading for the corner while Valia trailed some feet behind. Another twist, another click, and Reth was full-size once more, invisible in the dark as he presumably settled against the wall.
And that was that. Okay, time to head back to the dorms and hit the books for tomorrow’s quiz—
A yelp escaped her as a hand abruptly descended, cutting off her path to the door. Valia whipped around, staring up at disembodied teal eyes, mind racing for an explanation.
“Where’s the fire, sweetheart?”
She struggled with the spike of irritation. “I’m going back to my dorm. I have a quiz tomorrow.”
“And you hafta be studying every second until then, right?” She could hear that goddamn smirk as he tilted his head. “Do you ever relax?”
Breathe, Val, just breathe. “I do, actually. Thanks for the concern, if that’s what that was,” Valia snipped, pivoting on her heel and attempting to sidestep the long fingers in her way.
They shifted with her, making her teeth grit as she glared over her shoulder.
“I don’t think ya do.” His fingertip gently tapped her shoulder, making her jerk back. “How ‘bout you hang out with me for a bit so I can be sure?”
He couldn’t really want her to stick around; hell must’ve frozen over.
“What’s the catch?” was out of her mouth before she realized it.
Another chuckle, soft and amused. “You wound me, sweetheart.” His arm came down just like before, letting him lean down into the dim light and putting her level with his smirk. His warm breath just vaguely brushing past her, Valia resisted the overwhelming urge to step back, her back mere inches from his fingers, breath held as their gazes locked.
“…maybe I just appreciate your company,” he said quietly, making her freeze in place.
Hold up. Was this flirting? It seemed like flirting, but…
Her mouth opened once or twice, but her usual sarcastic responses didn’t seem appropriate somehow and she didn’t really have any others handy…
The silence stretched almost to the point of uncomfortable, Valia struggling to process as her face slowly flushed. Thankfully, it was enough for Reth to pull back with a snort, hand moving just off to the side, essentially freeing her. “Well, that’s a no. Don’t study too hard, kay?”
For the second time that night, guilt squeezed her chest as that neutral expression of his slid back into place. It didn’t take a genius to know why he wanted the company and used her wellbeing as an excuse, but she still couldn’t wrap her head around why he’d choose her. They hadn’t had a decent interaction the entire week she’d known him, barring that one moment when they’d first met, and even now, she couldn’t talk to him without wanting to punch him in his big smug face. Sure, she was around him the most, but he had to have somebody else to hang out with!
…right?
No, now she was just being stupid. He spent at least half of each day in the cage, interaction between assets outside the cage was frowned upon, and none of the officers wanted anything to do with the assets — there was literally no one else.
She took a deep breath and let it out.
Alright — time to start being the decent human being he apparently thought she was.
Before she could change her mind, Valia moved a little closer, hesitantly taking a seat on the sandy floor and catching his attention. “I guess I can stay for a few more minutes,” she mumbled, a finger swirling through the sand as she tried to avoid eye contact. “But you try to pick me up again and we’re gonna have a problem.”
A moment’s pause and she felt more than saw him lie down on the dusty floor, getting settled a comfortable distance away to her mild surprise. Eyes still on the floor, she missed the little smile that appeared.
“Yes, ma’am,” he murmured, and Valia’s heart skipped a beat as the words practically vibrated through her.
This was gonna take some getting used to.
-.-
Shutting her dorm door behind her, Valia stifled a yawn as she made her way to her desk, rummaging through her textbooks. Finding the one she needed, she plunked down and went to crack it open, only to catch sight of her abandoned journal entry just off to the side. A thoughtful pause had her toying with her pen, eyes tracing the neat, tight words.
It’d only been a few minutes and she’d pretty much hightailed it out of there, but…
Her pen scrawled another few words at the bottom of the page.
Okay, he’s not so bad.
Satisfied, Valia turned back to her book, settling in for a night of study.
The next morning, she went about her duties as usual, stopping in for breakfast before heading to the cage.
“Morning,” she murmured absently, mind occupied by the day’s schedule as she unlocked the cage door and stepped inside. It was a fairly light day and her quiz wasn’t until after lunch, so she could squeak in a review if she needed to…
The lack of response finally broke into her thoughts and Valia glanced up to see Reth propped up on an elbow, watching her with an unreadable expression on his face. He was unusually quiet, making her squint suspiciously. “What?”
A smug little grin appeared, Reth tilting his head. “Nothing.”
What was his deal this morning? Valia just rolled her eyes, spinning the dial. “Whatever.”
#g/t#g/t writing#d'angelo drafts#reth#valia#reth and valia#I've given up knowing what I'm doing XD#so here's the next bit
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Reth and Valia — The Morning After
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? You look terrified.”
The voice echoed around her, her head on a frantic swivel as she tried to track its source in the inky black. Heart pounding in her ears, breath caught in her throat, her hands searched the darkness for a weapon, any weapon to defend herself.
Not that it would do much against—
A low, dangerous chuckle rattled in her chest, Valia shuddering violently as a scarred hand suddenly materialized from the shadow, the dark smirk behind it full of razor-sharp teeth. Before she could escape, long fingers wrapped around her small form, slowly squeezing the life out of her.
“N…N-No-o…” she gasped with crushed lungs, unable to scream as the teeth parted—
Her alarm clock buzzed, jerking Valia from sleep, yelping as she almost fell out of bed. Panting for breath, she brushed messy bangs from her eyes, adrenaline fading as she took in her perfectly normal room, her perfectly normal roommate snoring away in the perfectly normal bed opposite hers. Okay — she was okay. That giant bastard wasn’t trying to eat her, she was perfectly fine.
…yeah, right. She moaned, burying her face in the pillow.
This was not gonna be a good day.
After a few minutes lying there regretting her life choices, she reluctantly dragged herself out of bed to face the day anyway, being careful not to wake her dormmate. The dawn light peeked through the curtains, catching in her hair as she tied it up into a pony tail and pulled on some running clothes. A good morning run always cleared her head, smoothing over any poor sleep and jumpstarting her brain for the day. If she was lucky, maybe it could help her forget about him for a while.
The crisp, almost-but-not-quite autumn air filled her lungs as she stepped out onto the cobblestone, taking a couple minutes to stretch and loosen up. Then she was off, the long, paved path around the edge of campus slowly disappearing under her sneakers. The steady rhythm was soothing, allowing her to focus on nothing but her deep breaths and her slowly increasing heart rate.
Half an hour later, she arrived back at her door, heart thumping pleasantly in her chest as she cooled down.
There — now she could face the day.
A hot shower made her morning even better, exerted muscles relaxing under the heat. Once she was cleaned up and dressed, Valia gathered her stuff together, locking her dorm room behind her and heading to the main office.
They’d let her know last night that her new schedule could be picked up the next day, and as Valia glanced over the piece of paper the tired secretary had halfheartedly pushed at her, her brow furrowed. Her new responsibilities were gonna cut into her precise, streamlined routine — expected, but no less disappointing.
Stuffing the paper into her bag with a heavy sigh, the cadet headed for breakfast, squinting in the early morning sun as she walked across the main campus to a long, low building.
As usual, the mess hall was packed, cadets and younger officers all taking the opportunity to grab some breakfast before heading to class or other tasks. Picking up her own tray, Valia meandered through the crowd towards her regular table. Per their routine, her friend was already there, a loaded fork halfway to her mouth before she noticed Valia’s presence.
“Valia, hey! Where did you disappear to yesterday? I couldn’t find you all day!” A hand brushed dusty auburn bangs out of her eyes. “I didn’t even hear you come in last night either, if you came in at all!”
A sigh escaped her. Yesterday…she didn’t even wanna think about yesterday.
“I did come in last night and as usual, you were snoring like a freight train — just like this morning, in fact. How do you always get here before I do? You weren’t even up when I left for the main office.”
The other cadet grinned widely. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
Shaera Blackwen, or just Shae as she liked to be called — one of Valia’s squadmates, her best friend and roommate for the last year, and the bane of her existence when it came to lying about anything. Or boys.
Valia cast a longsuffering look up at the ceiling. “Anyway, a few senior officers pulled me aside after the ceremony for a couple things. No big,” she finished, her tray settling with a clack as she sat across from the other cadet.
Hazel eyes narrowed behind round glasses. “Liar. You were gone for hours!” Juice spurted as one of her sausages was violently impaled and waggled accusingly in Valia’s face. “What were you really doing?”
Rolling her eyes, Valia bit the tip off the sausage, ignoring the indignant yelp about stolen food as she chewed. “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”
A devious smirk bloomed on Shae’s freckled face. “It’s what I’m here for. So, were you with a boy?”
Oh, this was gonna be good. “In a way.”
Valia sighed again as pure joy lit up her friend’s face. “No way! What’d you do?! Did you kiss?!”
The very thought made her cringe. “Uh, no. We talked for a while.”
“That’s it? C’mon, girl, you were with him for hours.” Propping her chin on her hands, Shae leaned forward with an expectant gleam in her eye. “So, what’s he liiiike? Is he handsome?”
The tips of her ears felt like they were burning, but her friend didn’t seem to notice. “I guess you could say that.”
“How tall is he? You’re probably gonna need a stepladder no matter what,” Shae grinned, laughing as Valia flicked a bit of egg at her. Just because she couldn’t top 5 feet…
“He’s usually about 60, I think.”
Shae’s eyebrows rose. “Inches?”
Lifting her glass, Valia smirked over the rim. “Feet.”
Shae’s eyes went so wide Valia almost choked on her orange juice. “Y-Y-You…an asset?!” the other cadet hissed in shock, practically crawling across the table as she grabbed for Valia’s shoulder.
“You’re gonna get food on your uniform,” Valia lectured, pushing the cadet back into her seat. “Yes, an asset, but not how you’re thinking. I was selected to be a handler and I had to spend some time with him as a test.”
And wasn’t that just peachy? As explained to her after they’d finally let her out of the cage last night, the entire ordeal had been a test from her superiors to see how she handled being thrown into a potentially dangerous situation involving an asset. Her resulting performance, utter terror notwithstanding, had netted her probationary handler status, something she was still trying to grasp even as she relayed everything they’d told her.
“I have a few more duties now, like making sure he eats and behaves,” she finished, not entirely sure how to feel about the starry look in her friend’s eyes.
“I can’t believe you get to work with an asset!” Shae gushed, then gasped and grabbed at Valia’s hand. “Which one is he? Can I come visit sometime?”
Yeah, she’d been afraid of this. Shae’s personal name for the current roster of male gladiators was “The Boyfriend Catalog” — this conversation had nowhere to go but down.
“He’s the Mountain Demon—” she started, only for her mouth to snap shut at Shae’s fierce inhale.
“No. Freakin’. WAY! How’d you get one of the hot ones?!”
And they were off. A little stunned, but far from surprised, Valia just watched the other cadet melt in her seat. “Those arms are amazing! And have you seen his abs?!” Shae’s enraptured sigh practically pulled dreamy hearts and sparkles out of thin air, dragging another sigh from the blonde.
“Yeah, I have seen them…was forced to sit on them, actually,” Valia muttered to herself, trying to tamp down the embarrassing memories as her friend continued to rave.
“And his hair! There have to be laws, I can’t even…” Slumping in her seat, Shae let out a content sigh. “You’re one lucky girl, Val.”
Valia shrugged as casually as she could manage. “I wouldn’t say that…”
Hell no, she wasn’t lucky. Her new responsibility was three-quarters ass and would require her to give up precious study time to essentially babysit him. The only upside was how good it was gonna look on her resume, which in turn could lead to a promotion.
At least Shae had seemed to forget about visiting for the moment — just thinking about a hardcore fangirl gushing about the fights to Reth was digging a pit in her stomach.
“Wait’ll I tell Cyrin! He’s gonna love this!” Shae’s little squeal brought Valia back to the present.
Valia sighed, dropping her head into a hand. “I actually don’t think he’ll be that interested. Where is he anyway?” she asked, glancing at the vacant seats on either side of them.
Shae’s hand flapped dismissively. “He had a meeting with our history professor. Something about extra credit.” She crunched on her toast, a few stray crumbs flying. “He’s got a different lunch period too.”
“Our schedules are so different this year,” Valia murmured, poking at her eggs. “Guess we won’t see him till dinner.”
“Anyway, don’t go getting too attached to the extremely hot asset now,” her friend grinned, getting fully back to her food. “Heaven knows that wouldn’t work out.”
Valia’s eyes rolled. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”
-.-
So talking with Shae hadn’t helped. At all. In fact, it had probably made things worse.
An exasperated sigh gusting from her, Valia trudged down the barrack corridor, coming to a stop in front of the cage. The dimmest light through the tiny row of windows above illuminated the massive form within, stretched out on his stomach and head resting on his arms as quiet breathing filled the cage. For a moment, she just looked at him, fingers caught thoughtfully on the bars.
In all honesty, yesterday hadn’t been that bad, excepting the part when she’d thought she was gonna be an afternoon snack, of course. Bits and pieces of her nightmare tried to resurface, but Valia shoved them back down. It was all just baseless fear anyway, and she had a job to do, starting with dealing with her newest headache.
“You gonna stand there all morning?”
Valia nearly leapt out of her skin as the soft baritone rumbled from inside. Shit, she’d thought he was still asleep.
Embarrassment heating her neck, she unlocked the door, stepping in just in time to see a messy head of blue hair lift. Dark teal eyes found her tiny form, a lazy smile forming. “Lost in thought, sweetheart?”
God, something about him just unfailingly rubbed her the wrong way. “Don’t think that’s any of your business,” she snipped, arms crossing defensively as she stayed near the door.
“Good morning to you too,” Reth chuckled, propping himself up on his elbows. “You taking me out to eat, then? Could make a date of it.”
The heat crept up to her ears. “You’re not my type.”
That goddamn smirk appeared, just oozing self-confidence as he cocked his head. “Sweetheart, I’m everyone’s type; they just don’t know it yet.”
Damn, he’d made an art out of pissing her off. Her teeth gritted as she glared at him, tongue digging into her cheek out of frustration as she did her best to bite it.
“You—!” Anything she might have said trailed off into a murderous growl, hands clenching like she wanted to strangle him. “Fine. Whatever. Let’s go.”
She twisted the dial, smashing the button and shoving down the awe that surfaced as Reth shrank down. Picking himself up, he slapped the dust off, sticking his hands in his pockets and nodding at the cage door. “After you.”
Valia turned with a huff, marching out the door.
Only to stop dead in the hallway.
She had no idea where the assets ate.
Her boots wavered, one way then the other. She hadn’t technically been given an official tour or even a briefing yet, and the general layout of the asset barracks from her orientation a year ago was hazy at best. It would have to be nearby for efficiency’s sake; maybe at the other end of the hallway—?
“Having trouble?”
Valia bit back a scream at the voice just inches from her ear, spinning around to see Reth bent over next to her, casual smirk in place.
“Cafeteria’s that way,” he continued, straightening and jerking his chin down the hall, back the way she’d come.
Words failed her, the combination of anger and embarrassment too much to articulate, so she just glared at him, pivoting to stomp in the direction he’d indicated.
Reth just sauntered along behind, smirking just off her shoulder.
-.-
With a huge sigh, Valia collapsed into a seat, her lunch tray tossed onto the table. Was it possible to be this exhausted by another living being? And it was only noon!
She picked up her sandwich and irritably bit into it, chewing fiercely as her earlier runner’s high was slowly replaced with vexation. Her morning hadn’t gotten better after finding the asset cafeteria, unfortunately. Shower day was a thing too, apparently, and her face had been beet red the entire time, Reth teasing her endlessly. Sure, he’d been in a crude wooden shower stall of sorts and she hadn’t come close to seeing anything, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t been uncomfortable as hell.
By the time she’d put him back in the cage and just caught her first class of the day, her mind was too full of other things to focus on the lesson. Going over what they’d learned later tonight was gonna be a pain.
Ah well, she was practically married to her textbooks anyway, as Shae liked to put it — what was another couple hours of study? Speaking of study, her field maneuvers class was in 20 minutes and her supervising officer was a hardcase with punctuality.
She shook her head in resignation, taking another bite of her sandwich. Was this how every day was gonna go? She wouldn’t last a week at this rate.
-.-
Valia stared at the squad manifest, eyes running down the page until they picked out her name. She was heading a team again this year, almost the same one as last year but for a couple member changes. The name below hers pulled a sigh out of her — of course it couldn’t have been him transferring out.
“Sarge,” a sarcastic voice said from behind, making her stiffen a moment before rolling her eyes.
“Sergeant Claybourne,” she replied, not bothering to turn and take in that sneering grin he was surely wearing.
“Squad ready for inspection.” His barely contained scorn was not lost on her, Valia mentally drawing in a fortifying breath before turning. As usual, he was closer than he had to be, easily looming over her with his hands in his pockets. Subtly rebellious and enjoying every second of it.
She nodded, keeping her face blank. “On my way.”
When he made no move to head for the door, she restrained an irritated huff, slipping past her second-in-command and heading out to the parade ground.
Oh, that she could get Drener Claybourne written up — harassment, insubordination, anything to get him out of her face for a while. Leading a squad was hard enough without a narcissistic asshole deliberately undermining her authority.
Awaiting her at parade rest was her squad, six other cadets in her year. Eyes ahead, Shae snapped a salute in sync with everyone else.
“At ease,” Valia ordered, assuming parade rest herself. Despite Shae’s best efforts, personal friendship had no place here, only rank and orders and comrades-in-arms.
They spent the next hour going over basic rules and drills, the new squadmates starting to fit in like the old ones. Every once in a while, Shae would wink at her and Valia would roll her eyes in response.
Good thing today was only general orientation and such — she didn’t quite have the wherewithal to focus on anything more complex, not with a head full of new, complicated things trying to mesh with the old, familiar things. Her brain would settle down eventually, organizing her world back into neatly labeled boxes, but it would take time.
Even longer if a certain asset kept his antics up.
“Alright, squad dismissed,” Valia called, giving a nod as her cadets jogged for the ready room to pick up their stuff and head to their next classes. Shae lingered behind, falling in step with Valia as they followed everyone else.
“Feels good to be back with the crew, even with new people,” the other cadet murmured, shooting a glare at Drener, who just smirked at her and tossed his bag over his shoulder. “Though I could still do without him.”
“You and me both,” Valia agreed, double-checking her schedule. Still a couple periods until she had to get back to Reth.
“How’d you sleep last night, anyway? Your eyes are looking a little dark,” Shae hummed, leaning in until Valia gave her face a gentle push.
“I’m fine. Just getting used to being back at school, that’s all.” She was tired, but that was to be expected, what with all her responsibilities, both old and new — nothing to be concerned about yet. Both Shae and Cyrin would read her the riot act if she let herself get anywhere near complete exhaustion anyway, so she wasn’t too worried.
Everything was gonna be just fine.
…yeah, she probably shouldn’t have thought that.
-.-
History was always a nice class.
Golden sunshine poured in through the atrium windows, making the polished wood of the lecture hall positively glow. The quiet hush of whispers between cadets provided a soft white noise, perfect for concentrating. It was typically here that Valia allowed herself to slow down and actually enjoy her studies, as well as take a break from her busy day…although getting to sit down was nice too. Head propped on one hand, she was currently poring over her textbook, reading ahead a bit to prepare for the lesson.
“Hey, Val,” a soft voice said, a large form looming on her right.
Valia glanced up to see her other friend sliding onto the bench seat next to her, the corner of her mouth tilting up. “Hey! Missed you at breakfast.” A bit of fatigue lifted from her shoulders as she straightened, crossing her hands over her book.
A warm smile crossed Cyrin’s face, textbooks thumping onto the desk. “Yeah, I was discussing extra credit for my history project.” Once seated, he leaned into her, nudging her slightly. “Heard you had an experience last night.”
Damn, Shae moved quick. “Tell you at dinner,” she murmured back, eyeing their professor as he walked to the podium, saying something about homework to the verbal dismay of the other cadets.
An hour later, they were headed to mess, Cyrin getting a step ahead to catch her eye as she stifled a yawn. “Shae told me you met a guy.”
“Of course she did,” Valia huffed a laugh, gaze flicking up to her friend’s expectant face as she stretched her stiff muscles. “Don’t faint or anything, but I’m working with an asset now.”
It took a couple seconds to process, but Cyrin’s mouth eventually fell open, ice blue eyes ridiculously wide. “An asset?! How in the hell did you swing that?!”
“Shh!” Valia hissed, swiping a hand at his mouth which he dodged easily, being at least a foot taller. “I don’t want everyone to know!”
“Well, sorry, but this is kind of a big deal!” he whispered loudly back, incredulity melting into a wide grin. “Congratulations!”
A dry laugh escaped her, almost lost as they entered the chaos of dinner. “Don’t sing my praises just yet. He’s a real headache.”
Curiosity knit his brows together as they each grabbed a tray and wound towards their table. “Really…how so?”
Trays clacked onto the table, Valia glancing around conspiratorially. “Don’t tell Shae, but I really thought he was gonna eat me at first.”
Embarrassment colored her face as Cyrin tried to keep a straight face. “Don’t laugh!” she snapped, giving him a shove. “You’ve heard the stories!”
“I’ve heard the rumors, which is all they are,” Cyrin replied, voice shaky from holding back laughter.
Pouting, Valia hunched over her food, stabbing at her carrots. “Fine, if all you wanna do is laugh at me—”
Immediately, a hand was on her shoulder, Cyrin swallowing down a giggle. “No no no, I’m done laughing, I swear.”
“Better be,” the cadet threatened, switching to an overhand grip on her fork and jabbing it a couple times in his direction.
Cyrin just chuckled, easily snagging her wrist and redirecting her fork at her food. “So what was it like?” the blond asked, turning to his own food.
Her fork stilled, then picked around her potatoes. “It was…weird. But not all bad.”
“Bad?”
“Dude, they just tossed me in there with no warning and locked the door. I was in there alone with him for hours.”
“Ouch, that sucks.”
“But we did talk, so I guess that was okay.”
“You have to work with him now, right? Make sure he eats and all?”
“Yeah. Nothing like being a glorified babysitter.”
“I dunno, Val. Feels more like an opportunity to me.”
Valia glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Opportunity how?”
“Well, who else gets to spend regular time with an asset? Think of what you could learn being around him.” Cyrin paused, then flashed a grin. “He is good to you though, right? Cause if not, I’ll have to beat the shit out of him.”
That got her laughing, her shoulder nudging his side. “Good to know.”
-.-
By the time she dragged herself down the barrack corridor for the second time that day, the setting sun bright in her tired eyes, Valia was more than ready for a break. Her entire day had been absolutely crazy from start to finish, what with the start of the semester and getting the crew back in working order after break. Classes weren’t so hard, but running her own squad had its own set of difficulties and they never failed to exhaust her.
Trying to hold back a groan, she unlocked the cage door, slipping inside only to stop dead at the sight that greeted her.
Scarred muscle flexed, abdominal muscles bigger than her standing out as the giant body banged out crunch after crunch in the cramped cage. Soft exhales were the only sign of exertion, Reth’s face focused and almost contemplative as he worked.
Her fingers squeezed the bars just a little tighter. She knew she shouldn’t stare, but…wow.
Finally tearing her eyes away, Valia suppressed a jump when she found his eyes watching her. The tiniest smile in the corner of his mouth, Reth knocked out a few more sit-ups before acknowledging her. “Like what ya see?”
Nothing if not predictable. “Not particularly,” she replied, voice calmer than her heart pounding in her ears would imply. Good — he didn’t need to know, especially since she was too tired to deal with him normally, much less extra flirty.
“Ooh, that’s cold. So much for working on my six-pack.” Shifting back to lean against the wall, Reth gave her a once-over, a half-smile on his lips. “So, honey, how was your day?”
Her eyes rolled at his sarcastic tone. “Just fine, thanks. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to my dorm to study, so can we make this quick?” The dial spun as she spoke, light flashing and dust billowing.
For a moment, Reth just stared at her from where he’d shrunk, though she hardly registered it as she was already on her way out. Just get this over with and get back to her room for a nap and a study session, that was all she had to do.
Halfway down the hall, Valia didn’t notice the approaching hands until it was too late. A panicked yelp escaped her as she was scooped up, held bridal style in arms thicker than her legs. On instinct, she flailed, only to be tucked against a broad, muscled chest like an unruly toddler.
“What the hell are you doing?!” she hissed, wanting to push away, but also not wanting to touch the bare chest pressing into her shoulder. Where the hell was she supposed to put her hands?!
“You looked tired. Figured you’d enjoy the ride,” Reth grinned back, easily holding onto her despite her struggles as he walked unhurriedly to the cafeteria.
“Put me down!” Deciding the chest was off-limits, Valia swiped at his face, teeth gritting to find it just out of reach. “Someone’s gonna see us!”
“So what? S’not like you’ll get in trouble. We’re ordered to do stuff like this all the time.”
Valia stilled at that, gaze finally finding his face. This…this was new. Handlers actually ordered their assets to carry them around with batting an eye? Forget lazy, that was just humiliating, and judging from the hint of resignation in Reth’s eyes, no one cared.
It wasn’t like Valia to feel conflicted. Once she made a decision, she ran with it, for better or worse. Deciding to devote a chunk of her life to the military was one of the bigger ones, made even easier by its honorable, upstanding, and nationalistic nature, the keywords there being “honorable” and “upstanding”.
But for something like this to supposedly be a regular occurrence in such a place, combined with her new, up-close-and-personal perspective on the assets, was…disconcerting.
It seemed she still had a lot to learn about the assets and the soldiers who handled them, but for now…
“I don’t want to be seen like that,” she murmured, avoiding the gaze she could now feel on her. And then even quieter, “…I don’t want you to be seen like that…”
The silence was almost unbearable, footsteps the only sound aside from her thumping heart. God, that was so cheesy, he was never gonna take her seriously—
“Okay.”
It was a single word, but it certainly spoke volumes. Surprised, Valia relaxed muscles she’d hadn’t known she’d been tensing, gaze turning expectantly to the floor.
“But you’re too cute to put down, so I’m carrying you anyway.”
That goddamn bastard.
-.-
Tossing her last textbook onto the precarious stack on her desk, Valia crashed face first into bed. Oh, that she could sleep forever and never have to deal with anything ever again.
“Rough day?” Shae asked, throwing back her own covers and dropping into bed herself.
“Understatement,” Valia groaned back, turning her head just enough to breathe. “And I have to do it all again tomorrow.”
“Preaching to the choir, girl.” Pulling the covers up, Shae rolled over to face the wall. “Get some rest, Val. You earned it.”
The thought of having to brush her teeth and pull on pajamas almost made her cry, but she hauled herself up anyway, taking a few extra seconds to hang up her uniform instead of throw it over the chair like she desperately wanted to.
When she could finally drop into it, her bed was soft and comfortable, Valia curling up and sighing in contentment.
Alright, so the day could’ve been worse, but all in all, it hadn’t been so bad—
The image of Reth’s abs popped unbidden into her head and Valia muffled a squeal of frustration in her comforter.
So much for sleep.
#g/t#g/t writing#d'angelo drafts#reth#valia#reth and valia#still not completely sure what I'm doing#but here's some more :D
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Reth and Valia — Encounter
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
First day back from leave and she already had problems.
Most third class cadets would have been left to their own devices after the ceremony, but not her. No, for some reason, she was being taken directly to the assets.
How could they possibly think she was qualified for this? Sure, she had graduated top of her class, sky-high marks in practically everything. Academically, it was understandable that she of all people would be chosen for anything right off the bat.
But why the assets? She was starting to wonder if she hadn't ticked someone off because no fresh-faced rookie with two years of officer training under their belt got to work with the assets. Hell, only graduates were even allowed to see them, let alone work with them. There was a reason all the assets’ handlers were seasoned veterans.
Maybe they wanted her to get eaten.
And oh yes, wasn't that just a pleasant possibility? Just like every other cadet, she'd heard the stories told after lights out. Stories that chilled the blood, gave her nightmare after nightmare, and were half the reason she had sworn never to work with the assets.
So why, on her very first day as a newly sworn-in third class cadet, was she being taken to the assets?
Valia couldn't help the shiver down her spine as she and two senior officers passed under the massive archway into the assets barracks. Contrary to what she had expected, the building itself was quite bright, the sun glancing in through tall windows cut directly into the sandstone. It was also pleasantly warm and dry, a far cry from the wet, disgusting barracks of the stories.
Her guides were silent, unnerving her enough for her to run nervous fingers over the gauntlet latched to her arm. It had been quite strange to be pulled aside after receiving her three-barred comet and have an odd, silvery piece of technology locked onto her arm with little useful explanation, but it had felt...special somehow.
Though now that she was in asset territory with no idea why, it was starting to seem special in the worst kind of way.
Further in, another archway gave way to a vast hallway with sweeping vaults and a roof that seemed miles away, which while understandable, only made her feel that much more insignificant in comparison.
And lining the hallway were massive cages, less than half of which were actually occupied.
She tried not to show her rising fear as they walked past cage after cage, multiple sets of shadowed eyes following her every move. Some weren't interested at all, sparing her a momentary glance before ignoring her completely, but others crept closer to the bars, watching her closely.
The creepiest part was the silence. Apart from their tiny, echoing footsteps, nothing made a sound in the vast chamber, which did nothing to settle her nerves.
Finally, after an interminable walk, during which her heart tried to beat itself right out of her chest, the officers stopped at one particular cage, one of them producing a key. A harsh jangle of metal preceded the door swinging open and before she could react, Valia was none too gently nudged inside.
She hadn't been looking too closely at the cell's occupants thus far, as her nerves were already kinda shot, but upon stumbling to the other side of those protective bars, her head whipped up, eyes wide.
A massive head turned from the bank of tiny windows that overlooked the colossal arena outside and she nearly fainted as dark teal eyes locked onto her small form.
Before she could fully register the gigantic shadow settled in the corner, a clash of metal sounded behind her, boots scuffing the dusty floor, and she spun to see her guides walking unconcernedly back the way they had come.
Without her.
"Hey, wait!" she yelped, sudden panic ratcheting her voice up several octaves as she plowed into the door, shaky hands clutching at the bars. "Where are you going?! How am I supposed to get out?! Come back!"
"They ain't coming back, sweetheart."
The low rumble sent a shiver down her spine and Valia flattened herself against the bars.
Oh right. Giant.
He hadn't moved since she'd started yelling, apparently content to sit and watch her have a mini meltdown. It gave her a good chance to really look at him at least, since she couldn’t tear her terrified gaze away anyhow.
He was freakin' massive for one, taking up nearly the entire corner of the rather cramped cell. Maybe 60 feet tall, if she had to guess. He was shirtless too, a fact that had her blushing as he shifted to face her more fully and set his muscles rippling. Crisscrossing those muscles were a variety of scars, countless deep gouges and pale scratches tracing through his flesh.
Thankfully, he was wearing ragged black pants of some kind of rough material — seeing a naked giant on her first day wouldn't have been the best of starts. White hair with the faintest blue tinge and darker turquoise streaks running through it stuck up in a style she termed "artful porcupine", though one or two stray locks hung over his forehead.
If she wasn't currently terrified for her life, she might have said he was handsome.
And vaguely familiar.
All those thoughts fled as he shifted again, leaning over some as if to get a better look at her. Valia shrank back against the bars, struggling to keep her shaking legs under her as he got close enough for her to see her reflection in his dark eyes.
He studied her for a long moment, eyes as big as her head curiously taking in her every inch. Then they widened slightly, and she quaked on her feet as lips drew back to reveal some very sharp canines in a grin.
"So you're a handler, huh? Didn't think they let girls as cute as you handle the likes of us." His breath washed over her, ruffling her blonde braids, and she nearly collapsed right then and there. Her heart thumped so loud she was sure he could hear it.
It almost burst out of her chest when he decided to lean in even closer, one arm settling like a wall in front of her for support as his mouth dropped level with her head. Sweat rolled down her back at the heat he was putting off this close, pure unadulterated fear making her quiver violently.
His head cocked slightly, the tip of his tongue just barely poking out for a second like a snake testing the air, and his smirk got a little bigger. "Yeah, we're gonna get along just fine," he murmured in her ear, mere inches from her tiny form, and Valia squeezed her eyes shut.
Yep, this was where she died. Right here, in this cage, being eaten by a flirty giant. Not exactly the fate she had pictured for herself, but beggars can't be choosers.
Her knees practically knocked together, she was shaking so bad, and it was all she could do to pull in an even shakier breath. Here came her untimely death! Goodbye, world!
Then the overwhelming heat she'd been baking in vanished, and Valia dared open her eyes, expecting to see a gaping mouth ready to swallow her whole.
Only to blink at the giant currently relaxing back against the wall, an eyebrow raised in genuine confusion. "What are you doing?"
For some reason, a blush crept up her neck and burned at her ears, and she fought to keep her voice level. "Ummm...n-nothing?"
A tiny frown settled on his brow and he heaved an exasperated sigh, like he was about to endure something truly soul-sucking. "You think I'm gonna eat you."
"N-No!" she sputtered, somehow taking offense at his tone even if he was completely right.
"You totally do."
"No, I don't!"
"Yes, you do."
"No, I DON'T!"
That smirk was back again, quirking the corner of his mouth. "You're cute when you're angry."
Her mouth dropped open, both from embarrassment at this completely unexpected situation and shock at his audacity, and he laughed, a deep rumbling sound that echoed and reechoed in the sandstone chamber. "They sent me a real winner, didn't they?"
Oh, how dare he. She certainly hadn't wanted to get tossed in here, so he had no right to start insulting her!
Her mouth snapping shut, Valia glared at him, actually pushing off the bars to take a couple steps towards him. "And you're such a saint yourself?"
A shit-eating grin crossed his face, his head cocking slightly to rest on a fist. "Finally, a little fire! Do it again, I wanna see if you get any cuter."
The crimson stain spreading across her face was more a product of rage than embarrassment at this point, and Valia stomped right up to his thigh to scowl at him, fists clenched tight. "Like I'd do anything for you, you gigantic bastard!" she ground out through gritted teeth.
He laughed again, quieter this time, and crossed his arms high above her head. "Whatever you say, sweetheart. Ready to be a handler now that you got that outta your system?"
Her anger ground to a bumpy halt, mind whirling as she processed his question. A handler? She was a handler now? Oh wait, he had mentioned that earlier, hadn't he? Back when she'd been scared shitless and not really paying attention.
As if reading her mind, he nodded down at her. "Yeah, you're a handler. Why do you think they gave ya that fancy gauntlet?" He snorted, glancing out the window once more. "Certainly not an accessory."
She was a handler.
But she was also a cadet.
But she was a handler.
And now her brain hurt.
Before she could even begin to start sputtering her way through her conflicting thoughts, a hand descended and she nearly jumped out of her skin under its shadow.
"Relax, I'm not gonna hurt ya." An index finger half her height curled under her arm, lifting the gauntlet slightly. "You know how to work this thing?"
Her eyes narrowed in irritation. Of course she didn't know how to work it! They'd simply slapped it on her wrist and marched her down here ten minutes after her entrance ceremony!
"What do you think?" she snapped, a small part of her still shocked at her audacity to throw sarcasm at a giant as she yanked her arm away.
He just grinned, those sharp canines peeking out again. "Set the dial to ten and try the red button."
A glance at her gauntlet revealed three buttons set on the back of her hand, blue, green, and red, with something like a safe dial set into her wrist. Glancing up in hesitation, she nevertheless twisted the dial and cautiously poked the glowing crimson button.
Immediately, the gauntlet exploded with crimson light and Valia flinched, covering her eyes with her free hand.
When it finally dimmed, she peeked out between her fingers, only to have her jaw drop.
For there, picking himself up from the sandstone floor and dusting off his pants, was the giant, only...a lot shorter.
…sorry, what?
Bewildered, her gaze snapped from the gauntlet to the mini giant and back again several times, mind spinning in place.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, the much smaller giant sauntered over with a grace that was surprisingly captivating, a smirk visible as he got closer.
"Works like a charm, don't it?" He stopped in front of her and though he was only about twice her height now, she still had to crane her head back to see his face. "Works in reverse too, as you can imagine, though I wouldn't set it for more than eighty in here." A grin spread across his face, less feral than his previous ones. "You like?"
Words tumbled through her mind, so many questions that needed asking and confusion that needed clearing up, but one thought rose to the surface quicker than the others. "I always thought the ability to change size was inborn..." she murmured, trailing off as that tiny little frown reappeared.
"Yeah, well, the higher-ups don't like to share that kind of thing. Tends to make people mad." He turned away slightly, one hand coming up to run through his untamed hair, and wow, did he look good in silhouette...
Nope, no way, not going down THAT path. Shaking her head vigorously, and feeling a vague sense of deja vu, she ventured another question. "So then...are you actually a giant or..."
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, like he was watching for her reaction without making it obvious. "Yeah, I'm a giant. This stuff doesn't work on humans. Or so I've been told."
The clipped tone to his voice told her not to press further, so she chose a different tack, studying the gauntlet and the dial currently spun all the way to the left. "This is as small as you can get, right?"
He visibly relaxed, his hand dropping as he faced her once more. "Yep, ten feet's the limit. Any smaller and I'd explode, I guess...or something like that. I never really paid attention when it got mentioned."
Then that stupid, shit-eating grin made another appearance and he took a quick step forward, scooping her into the air and dragging a surprised gasp out of her. "Makes doing this a whole lot easier!"
Valia's eyes went wide, her legs tucking up automatically as she dangled in his grip, fingers digging into his forearms. Then shock immediately shifted to annoyance and she squirmed, tiny hands pushing against him. "Put me down, you bastard!" she growled, then yelped as he pretended to drop her, causing her to cling once more.
"Sorry, didn't catch that," he teased, mischievously swinging her around like a small child. “You know any insults besides ‘bastard’?”
Valia's eyes narrowed, a string of choice words blistering the air and pulling a laugh from him as she tried to catch a boot in his well-defined abs, missing by more than a few inches and further fueling her irritation.
"Put. Me. DOWN."
Mischief danced in his eyes a moment longer, then he gently set her back on her feet, dodging her boot again and shoving his hands in his pockets once more. "You really are cute when you're angry."
Before she could even think about getting worked up, he motioned with his spiky head at her gauntlet. "Mind resettin' that to sixty? Being this small is really weird."
She almost refused out of sheer spite, simply for his treatment of her thus far, but something in the tilt of his head changed her mind and she twisted the dial once more with a scowl.
"Blue button," he prompted with a smirk, and she stuck out her tongue before tapping it.
This time, cerulean light flashed from the device, but she stuck it behind her back so she could actually see the process this time.
It was so fluid she couldn't help but stare. His body expanded upward and outward, smooth and quick, everything lengthening to an incredible degree. About halfway through, he had to sit or risk knocking his head on the rough ceiling.
Her small form dwarfed in his rapidly expanding shadow, Valia quickly understood the meaning of insignificant, mouth falling open in awe.
Then it was over, the light faded, and he relaxed back into the corner again, propping his arm over a raised knee as he smirked at her.
Mouth snapping shut, she glared back, imagining boring holes through his head with her burning gaze. Like hell she would be impressed in his presence.
Unperturbed, he flicked his wrist, waving her closer. "So now that that's outta the way, you wanna tell me your name, sweetheart?"
Oh no, no way. Valia crossed her arms stubbornly. "You first."
He grinned again. "So touchy. Name's Reth."
Reth. It was actually a nice name. She tried to make eye contact, but that smirk made it impossible. "Valia."
"Ooh, pretty name. Perfect for that pretty face 'a yours."
Then his hand was suddenly there, fingers gently wrapping around her tiny form, and she was airborne.
She barely had time to release a startled gasp before she was plopped onto his stomach, catching herself on one of the many defined muscles as he shifted to sit further down the wall and tucked his hands behind his head.
"So whaddya say we get to know each other a little better, huh?" Reth smiled, canines flashing again as Valia jerked away from his six-pack, throwing a scowl his way yet again.
Then it hit her — that smirk, the hair, the natural grace he carried himself with, why he felt so damn familiar. Her wide eyes stared up at him, mouth parting slightly.
"You're...you're the Mountain Demon."
Immediately his demeanor changed, eyes darkening, expression locking down into something more neutral as he stared for a few silent seconds.
"So you watch the fights."
And now he was back to scary. A hand nervously crept to one of her braids, twisting it slowly around her finger. "Not me. Some of my friends..."
He grunted in acknowledgement, gaze shifting away. "I guess two giants beating the shit outta each other does make for decent entertainment."
How was someone supposed to respond to that? She’d never watched the gladiatorial fights — a couple minutes at a friend’s house had been enough to know she wanted nothing to do with them — but she knew plenty of people who did and quite enjoyed them. Betting on the fights was certainly a popular pastime — hell, kids even collected the trading cards someone had come up with, creating mock battles and pretending to be their favorite fighters.
Suddenly feeling very guilty and struggling to find a reply, Valia's eyes drifted down his chest, taking in the multitude of scars marring its surface. Up close, there were a lot more than she'd first noticed, cutting through the muscle at random, all different shades and states of healing. A few looked like claw marks and Valia winced, sympathetic pain curling through her.
Being an asset, a soldier in the loosest sense of the word, was one thing, but to be forced to fight for sport...
Slowly, hesitantly, her fingers reached out to trace a particularly large one running under her knee, bigger than her arm at its widest.
She could feel his attention settle on her a moment later, heavy on her shoulders as she focused on the rough texture of the long-healed wound. Her palm gently flattened over the ragged skin, her gaze meeting his, her heart quailing slightly at the quiet intensity in his eyes.
She still didn't know what to say, but it felt right, letting the silence hang. Like nothing needed to be said.
He stared at her a moment, still neutral, still carefully blank, still feeling her out under that mask. She waited, riding gently up and down with his silent breath.
Then the corner of his mouth lifted in a soft smile.
"I guess they did send me a winner."
Her previous blush had nothing on this one — no part of her skin was left untouched, her face and neck taking on the color of a freshly-bloomed rose.
"Bastard," she spat quietly, head quickly turning away from the wide grin that spread across his face.
#g/t#g/t writing#d'angelo drafts#reth#valia#reth and valia#what am I doing#I have no idea#hi all have some g/t
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