Yasha sat under the overhanging roof of the ramshackle of a hut, freshly abandoned by a Vo villager heading back to their old life. She somehow found a way to tuck her long, muscular legs into her chest leaving the gap in her knees as a perfect resting spot for her chin. The rain was falling steadily, into a trench like puddle at her feet and she smiled goofily at the fresh memory of her and Beau tumbling toward a march larger replica at the top of the rock shelf. As a matter of fact, she had thought of little else since then.
The storm had been rolling past the island for a few hours now, the continual onslaught of deep blue and purple clouds on the horizon marked with periodic streaks of lightning. Normally, Yasha would feel every spark echo through her veins but there was a new peace in her blood. She was thinking on the reasons for this when one of the potential candidates appeared around the corner.
“Oh, Yasha,” Beau sounded genuinely surprised to see her. Yasha lifted her head to look at Beau but felt another irrepressible smile forming and turned her eyes back out toward the storm.
“Sorry, I, uh, didn’t mean to barge in on your brooding spot.” Beau continued.
Yasha laughed lightly, “Oh, I don’t think I was brooding, exactly?”
“Oh, no, of course not,” Beau’s words garbled into her signature attempt at backtracking on a comment that could be taken as offensive. “I didn’t mean it like -”
Yasha allowed herself to smile and cut her off, “It’s ok, there’s room enough for the both of us. If you...want to join me.” Her voice trailed off a bit at the end.
“Uh, sure. Yeah, that would be...coool.” Beau sat down gingerly, as close to Yasha as she could get while still maintaining a cross legged position.
They watched the storm for a short while, each forming thoughts about how to break the silence then deciding it would sound too dumb. Yasha sat relatively still, just looking out onto the horizon while Beau fitfully fidgeted with the items around her - untying and retying her sash, rubbing the soles of her feet, picking bits of grime off her clothes. In a moment of stillness, she and Yasha finally spoke at the same time.
“You-”
“You know -”
They both laughed and Yasha conceded with a nod, "Go ahead."
Beau’s smile faded slightly, “Oh, I was just going to stay that storms like this have been somewhat unnerving to me lately.”
“Hm, well if it’s the lightning that you're scared of, it’s not so bad. I’ve been struck a few times. And look at me,” Yasha chuckled softly at her own joke.
“Hah, yeah look at you.” Their eyes met briefly but Beau could only take the piercing multi colored gaze for so long before she had to look away.
“Well, that’s not what I mean exactly. I think they scare me because,” Beau’s words were atypically deliberate. She paused briefly to build the courage to finish the sentence,“...they mean that you might be gone in the morning.”
The words sounded sweet in her head, but the pained expression rippling through the Barbarian’s face suggested that they struck differently than intended. “I just mean..” she continued, “that was your thing for a while. A storm would come in and I then *boom* Yasha’s gone again...”
Yasha answered quietly, “I’m sorry. It wasn’t always my fault.”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry,” the wince barely lessened. “Oh gods, I’m sorry Yasha, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I don’t think it’s really about you at all. It’s just happened so often that I’m still getting used to you being here every time I wake up...and that’s something that I definitely want to get used to.”
Yasha’s expression turned to a slight smirk, “You know, that’s an awful lot of words just to say that you like having me around.”
Beau blushed slightly and opened her mouth to retort but paused and allowed her thoughts to catch up, “Yeah, I do have a habit of using more words than I need, don’t I?”
Yasha gave a slight nod in return.
“Well, I like having you around,” Beau gently punctuated each syllable by playfully striking the top of Yasha's thigh with the tip of her finger and as she began to pull it away, Yasha scooped it into her own. Beau's heart started pounding even harder than before. The thick, calloused hands engulfed her slender, deft fingers and Beau wasn't sure of the last time someone held her hand so tenderly.
“Good, and I think you shouldn’t worry so much about me leaving. I’m not..I don’t want to run away again.” Yasha always considers her words carefully but this declaration carried an even greater amount of resolve.
“Well of course not, you can fly now,” Beau easily countered the seriousness in her voice.
They both gently laughed again. “Yeah that was, phoo, I can’t wait to do it again,” excitement rose in Yasha’s voice and her eyes met Beau's again.
Beau matched her easily, “Me neither.”
She refused to look away this time and, instead, studied Yasha’s features more closely. She rarely wore this exhilarated expression. It was like looking at an entirely different person. Her eyes were still piercing but bright and full of light. Her cheeks, normally pale and colorless, were flush with the purplish tint of blood underneath. That color spread to her lips, now slightly turned up into a half crooked smile matching Beau's own. Gods, she wanted to meet those lips with hers, but she still wasn’t sure if Yasha was ready, if she was really ready for what that would mean.
Yasha shifted their hands and Beau briefly worried she was going to pull away again. Instead, she added her other hand to the top of Beau's and broke the silence, “Beau -”
“Uh yeah,” Beau was practically whispering. She didn't know how she was still conscious.
Yasha’s resolute expression returned, “I promise, I won’t leave again. I’m done running. I’m done being guilty and scared all the time.”
“Good, that’s good,” Beau stuttered, lost in Yasha’s skin and face and voice and entire presence.
“...and,” Yasha looked away briefly to build her own courage then came back to Beau.
“and?” Beau prodded gently with both her voice and her fingers, gently squeezing the thick palm holding her own.
“...and can I, um, kiss you?”
Beau nervously let out a brief, signature gutteral laugh then began nodding her head furiously, “Yes, yes pl-”
She couldn’t finish the word before Yasha’s lips were on hers. It was better than the both of them hoped. It was soft and hard and everything in between. Soon, their arms wrapped around each other and they continued exploring each other’s ebbs and flows as the storm raged across the distant sky.