Work Text:
Malaya smiled gently as she raised a hand to Castti's cheek. For over a year Castti had thought Malaya dead, only meeting again by chance in New Delsta, where Malaya had recovered. Castti pressed her own hand to Malaya's face, brushing her thumb along the edge of the patch covering Malaya's left eye. Castti had yet to see Malaya without that eyepatch, and she had no intention of prying.
In the small apartment Malaya had gotten for herself, she and Castti were together upon the bed, and familiarity washed over Castti. Malaya lay beneath Castti, a more comfortable position for her weakened leg. "Castti," Malaya said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I missed you."
Castti shut her eyes a moment, and again tears threatened to fall. She and Malaya could grieve together and start again. After all that had happened, all that they had lost, and bringing back the dawn itself, she could not ask for more. "I won't lose you again, I promise."
A soft laugh fell from Malaya's lips, and she pulled Castti closer for a kiss. It was a gentle kiss, easing into the intimacy they had once shared. How long ago those days seemed now. It wouldn't be the same between them, but still Castti loved Malaya just as strongly. They kissed each other, and the feel of Malaya's fingers entangled in her hair was achingly familiar. Sometimes she had to remind herself that this was no dream, and some nights she feared waking before the dawn. Yet when she woke and saw Malaya beside her, she could be assured that she and her friends had truly brought back the dawn.
Castti took her lips from Malaya's, and Malaya smiled so sweetly at her. However, her eyes trailed downwards, seeing the black and purple scarring over Malaya's torso and arms, rough scarring much like her own. She could cure the plague of Trousseau's poison rain, but the pain could never be forgotten. She laid her hand on Malaya's shoulder, tracing the outline of a blackened scar, and Malaya let out a low moan.
"Does it hurt?" Castti asked, her hand stilling.
Malaya shook her head. "No, it's just…" She trailed off, and curled her fingers around Castti's upper arm, where Castti's scarring was most extensive. "We really have been through a lot, haven't we?"
"I wouldn't be alive if not for you," Castti whispered, and her shoulders trembled. "And I almost forgot everything…"
"Castti." Malaya laid her finger over Castti's lips, and smiled again. "We can't change the past, but I'm here for you now."
Castti could not help but smile as well, and she took Malaya's hand into hers and kissed the tips of Malaya's fingers. Malaya laughed, a small, quiet sound, and Castti bent her head to kiss Malaya again. From her lips to her jaw to her throat - all of Malaya was familiar to her, and no amount of scarring would change that.
As Malaya's hands explored her back, Castti pressed her lips to the curve of Malaya's breast, and she inhaled deeply to take in Malaya's familiar scent. They both still smelled of medicinal herbs - although Malaya no longer traveled, she still acted as an apothecary among the residents of New Delsta - and that familiarity was comforting. As she brushed her lips against another scar, she also cupped Malaya's ample breasts and ran her thumbs over hardening nipples, and Malaya's body squirmed beneath hers. Malaya's hands found their way to Castti's hair and pulled free the bun, letting strands of hair fall over Castti's shoulders.
The warmth of Malaya's body engulfed Castti's, and Malaya's hands were gentle and thorough as they explored Castti, not even hesitating when they touched a scar. Castti's scars were easily hidden under her clothing, but nude like this, she could hide nothing from Malaya, and the desire in Malaya's gaze was the same as ever. No matter the time apart or the scars they carried, some things never changed.
Castti drew lower, leaving a trail of kisses along Malaya's belly and toward her thighs, and Castti knelt beside the edge of the bed as Malaya spread her legs wider. Malaya's left leg was heavily scarred in particular, and Castti caressed those scars as she pressed her face between Malaya's thighs, and dark curls brushed against her nose. Malaya let out a sharp gasp as her fingertips glided across Castti's scalp, and Castti kissed just beside Malaya's clit.
"Castti…" Malaya moaned, and Castti could clearly see how aroused she had grown. "You never change, do you…?"
"What to do, what to do…?" Castti teased, running her hands over Malaya's thighs and hips. Again she pressed her lips to Malaya's vulva, and gave that swollen clit a gentle suck. Malaya's fingers tightened around Castti's hair as more sweet moans fell from her lips, and she thrust her hips against Castti's face for more, and Castti couldn't ignore such a passionate request.
Thus encouraged, she prodded her tongue against Malaya's arousal, and Malaya's soft moans only encouraged her further. She knew just how to unravel Malaya, and she would never let go of those memories again. Some things were still hazy and likely always would be, but how much she had loved Malaya over the years was clear as day.
Malaya came soon enough, and her barely restrained cry of pleasure was as familiar as ever. Castti felt how that pleasure shuddered throughout her body, and she twisted more strands of Castti's hair around her fingers, painfully and desperately. They were both alive, alive to greet each new dawn together.
As Castti lay beside Malaya on the bed sheets, a smirk spread across Malaya's lips and she slid her hand between Castti's thighs, and Castti nearly came right then and there. Malaya slipped a finger into Castti, and as their lips met for a hungry, desperate kiss, and another finger followed. The rhythm of Malaya's fingers was familiar, teasing and generous, and Castti soon came as well.
They held each other gently as their bodies calmed, and Malaya pressed her head to Castti's chest. "I dream of that night sometimes," she said at last. "Most people think it was just a nightmare, but…"
"The dawn will come again," Castti said firmly as she threaded her fingers through Malaya's hair. "My friends and I made sure of that."
"What an odd group you traveled with." Malaya chuckled quietly; she had met Castti's traveling companions during Agnea's most recent performance in New Delsta. "But they're good people too."
"It stills hurts, this grief." Castti thought of Andy, Randy, Elma, Trousseau, and all the others she hadn't been able to save. "I even grieved for you, and I forgot all of you…"
"You're right, it doesn't stop hurting." Malaya's breath was warm against Castti's skin, a familiar warmth. "We may be apothecaries, but there really is no real cure for grief but time, and sometimes even that isn't enough."
"Even so, I will always extend a helping hand to anyone in need." Castti's arms tightened around Malaya, drawing her closer; how Castti had missed this warmth. "And I'm grateful, Malaya, that I could find you again."
Malaya pressed a kiss to Castti's chest, over her heart. "Thank you, Castti, for everything," she whispered.