Reassurances

Dorien closed the door to his bedroom with a sigh. He felt kind of helpless in the current situation, as he had been forced to admit that curses were beyond the reach of his alchemical knowledge to fix. But Argent seemed confident that they could get Denise the help she needed and for now it seemed best just to stay out of the way and let the healer and magic types work on the problem. More people milling about would only add to the confusion. Besides, he had a feeling Misery might need some help too, even if just reassurances that this wasn't a common occurrence around him.

"Are you ok?" He asked her when they were finally alone again.

Misery sat on the edge of the bed, tense and anxious. "I'm not hurt, anyway. This time," she added with heavy emphasis. "But I want to know what the fuck is going on."

"Me too..." Dorien said with an understanding nod, "Obviously those things were fey. Maybe it has to do with us snooping around that mushroom farm. I swear, if I'd had any idea that this would happen..."

Dorien lowered his eyes apologetically.

"...I mean I would never purposely put you in harm's way."

"It's not your fault. At least, I assume it's not," she said with a dubious glare in Dorien's direction. "Whatever's going on, it probably would have been worse if we hadn't been there to stop it."

Dorien chuckled.

"Hopefully we made them think twice about messing with us again. You handled yourself pretty well, by the way. That was quick thinking getting those grenades."

"I should've got them all the first time," she sighed, "but I didn't want to waste all your supplies." She looked up at Dorien. "You were pretty badass with your gun, too," she said with a faint smile.

A shade of pink crept into Dorien's otherwise pale face.

"Thanks," he said, "That was actually a new trick I picked up. I've been working on infusing ammunition with different alchemical properties... just in case I got into another scrape like the one at the mushroom farm. I'm glad it worked, honestly. I was half afraid it would blow up in my face the first time I tried to use it."

He shrugged.

"If, ummm... if you want I could probably teach you how to make bombs. You know... for self defense. It never hurts to be prepared."

"I didn't think I was going to have to learn bomb-making in this gig, just drug-dealing," she said with a smirk. "But sure, if you want to show me how. If shit like this is going to keep happening, it's probably better to be well-armed."

Dorien frowned.

"I don't know if this is gonna keep happening. Maybe..."

He hesitated, as though trying to convince himself of what he was going to say.

"...maybe they're pissed at me for disrupting their operation. Maybe you'd be safer if... if you weren't around me. I mean... you already know most of what you need to know. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

Misery gave him a dubious scowl. "Look, first of all, I was the one who brought you to the weird trees in the Shade. So that's on me, if it's anyone's fault. Second, it sounds like this kind of thing was happening before that, and has been happening to other people too, so it can't all be about you, as much as it might make you feel special to believe it is. And third and most importantly, I'm not going to ditch the best lay of my life over a few pesky annoyances like getting stabbed or frozen." She reached out to grip Dorien's shirt and pull him closer. "Got it?"

Dorien gasped as he was pulled forward, caught off guard by Misery's outburst.

"Best of your..." he started to ask, but stopped himself when he saw the predatory gleam in her eyes, "I mean... yes, Ma'am."

"That's right," she murmured, and kissed him, pulling him onto the bed with her as she did so.

When they finally drew apart to breathe, she added, "Don't get cocky, it's not like there's been that much competition."

Dorien grinned, running his hand along Misery's stomach beneath her shirt.

"You know, it's a shame there's so many people right in the next room..." he said, teasingly.

"Mmhmm," she agreed, pushing his hair back from his face and giving him another kiss. "Maybe they'll leave in a while, or we'll decide we can be quiet. Until then, just being close like this is pretty nice. It's freezing, for one thing."

"Well, at least that I know how to fix," Dorien siad, pulling her closer to him.

Misery nestled comfortably into the crook of his arm, one leg draped over his thigh. "If anything, maybe you shouldn't hang around with me," she teased. "Shadar-kai getting targeted for blood magic rituals, creepy whispering trees growing in our neighbourhood - and that's not even getting into what your parents will probably think of us."

Dorien's grin faltered slightly. He had been studiously avoiding thinking about what his parents might say about his relationship.

"I'm not giving you up either," He said, firmly, "I just don't want to see anything happen to you. I've seen enough people hurt because of me. And also... how could I ever go back to my hand after sex like this?"

"Hey," she said, rolling up halfway on top of him to look him in the eye. "I get that you don't want me to get hurt again, and that's sweet of you. I don't want you to get hurt again either," she said, running her hand over his scarred shoulder. "But even if you were never with anyone but your hand ever again, you can't stop being close to people altogether, and that means taking some risks. So enjoy what you have while you have it."

Dorien nodded slowly. She was right. He knew she was right. But there was still that fear in the back of his mind telling him that everything was going to go wrong and that it was going to be his fault. For the moment he pushed those thoughts down and concentrated on the comforting feeling of her on top of him.

"I'll try," he said, honestly.

"Being with you makes me happy," she said more quietly. "That's not a common thing for me, and I don't want to lose it when I've barely had a chance to enjoy it."

I... I haven't been this happy in a long time either," Dorien muttered, his hands on her hips, "Right now my parents and the fey and the rest of the world can fuck off. I'm not going anywhere."

"I might need you to go somewhere," she said, squirming impatiently on top of him. "Fortunately it won't require leaving this bed."

"Are you sure it's going that you want me to do?" Dorien replied with a smirk. He pulled her down onto him and pressed his lips firmly to hers, effectively ending the conversation. Or at least the verbal part of it.