The World is Tiny

[rhiannon_lee]

With a wadded up hand towel, Rhiannon wiped fog from the mirror in Cian’s bathroom and looked at herself. Her hair was wet from the shower, and there were raccoon circles under her eyes, remnants of yesterday’s makeup. She spun some toilet paper from the roll and used it to wipe away the mascara. As she tipped her face left and right, she saw the mark that Cian’s mouth left on her neck; it was somewhere between a bite and a bruise, but it was faint and wouldn’t last the day. There was a comb near the sink. She parted her hair and brushed the tangles out of the lengths.

It was after noon. Early in the morning, Cian had left the cabin to take a boat of passengers on a day cruise. Rhiannon just rolled over and went back to sleep, tucked safely in covers that smelled like the two of them and their lovemaking. When she woke up again, she was surprised to have been out so long, and she sat on the edge of the bed feeling disoriented by heavy slumber and a bad dream she couldn’t quite remember.

Rhiannon pulled on her sweater, jeans, and boots and rummaged through Cian’s cabinets until she found what she needed to brew a pot of coffee. She took a mug of it onto the front steps and sat down, blowing across the steaming surface.

Comments

Re: The World is Tiny

[cian_oneill]

The two names were already carved into his memory, the scent of the Julianna woman still able to be recalled, and stored with the name. Duncan would be another issue altogether.

He nodded once, acknowledging her veiled request for him to not think any more of it. Instead he drew her close, arms going around her shoulders as he held her against his chest. "Are there any others I should know about?"

Re: The World is Tiny

[rhiannon_lee]

“No,” she said.

Was it a lie? Should she tell him about that ethereal creature who had found her that night in the desert, the one who alluded to a darkness that Rhiannon belonged to, or were some secrets meant to be kept for a while longer? If she opened up about all of her skeletons, would he hold her a little less tightly?

Rhiannon was finding that being held that way, by Cian, mattered to her a great deal.

She slipped her arms around his neck.

“And what about you? Anyone I should be on the lookout for? Demons, bad witches, pretty blondes in low-cut blouses?”

Re: The World is Tiny

[cian_oneill]

He studied her face for a long moment, feeling there was something more, but sensing it wasn't deceit holding her back.

He shook his head. "Only demons are th' ones in here," he told her, tapping the side of his head with a finger before returning his arm to holding her.

Re: The World is Tiny

[rhiannon_lee]

Rhiannon considered that. There wasn’t anything to be done about his personal demons, no protecting him from them anyway. They were entrenched. But hearing about them might help her understand him better.

“I hope someday you tell me about those. If we’re going to watch one another’s backs, we need to know what we’re dealing with. Inside and out.” Her hands squeezed his shoulders lightly.

As she said it, she knew it went both ways. While it was frightening, this idea of sharing things with Cian, what made her more nervous was that they might come to hold one another accountable. They might disapprove of courses of action. Or, even more interesting to consider, they might agree, might influence or even amplify one another’s power.

It had been a long time since she shared that kind of relationship with anyone, and never a lover. And even those relationships that Rhiannon had thought were honest turned out to be false. Right then, she made up her mind. He’d hear everything, see everything, no matter where it took them, because she’d rather risk losing him honestly than keeping him dishonestly.

"I haven't always wanted to do the right thing, Cian. I just want you to know that now."

Re: The World is Tiny

[cian_oneill]

He looked at her quizzically, arms still around her, and nodded slowly. He knew his own sense of 'right and wrong' might not match up with most people's ideas, his sense of justice somewhat more crude. He knew only too well that circumstances can bring a different ideal to each one, dependent on their past, and couldn't imagine that Rhiannon had been in any different situation that should make her more answerable for her actions than he was for his.

"Wantin' an' doin', they ain' always the same. Like one man's right ain' always another man's."

Re: The World is Tiny

[rhiannon_lee]

"Yeah." It was a gray world, full of blurry situations. Rhiannon appreciated his perspective, especially remembering back to her younger years of thinking in absolutes of right and wrong. Things weren't always so simple.

"I'll never lie to you, okay? My word." How much that was worth to him now, she didn't know, but its value would grow in time. They were still new to each other and untested. Thus far, their pairing existed in isolation. They always slipped into a bubble the moment they came into contact with each other.

Re: The World is Tiny

[cian_oneill]

"'s good enou' f' me," he replied, nodding once. He leaned his head down till his mouth was a few inches from her ear. "'nd y' got mine, too," he murmured, closing his eyes for a moment as he pressed his cheek against hers.

Re: The World is Tiny

[rhiannon_lee]

She breathed slowly and clutched her fingers together behind his neck. To trust someone. To depend upon them. To need them. It was more nerve-wracking than entering a den of demons blindfolded, and humbling, too. But she believed Cian to be a person of his word, and that was something she wanted badly. No matter how solitary she had been living, deep down, that wasn’t what Rhiannon wanted for herself. If not Cian, she would inevitably link arms with someone else, and that someone else might be a bad idea.

“When we met, I asked where you came from. You said what mattered was where we were going. I still think you’re wrong. It matters to me.”

Re: The World is Tiny

[cian_oneill]

He stared at the ground, face still pressed against hers as he wrangled with that inner demon she was wanting to know about. "C'd take a while," he murmured, voice a little tight in his throat.

Re: The World is Tiny

[rhiannon_lee]

“There’s no amount of time I wouldn’t give you.” She turned her mouth to the hollow in his cheek and kissed it. “Okay?” The warm skin, the spicy smell of him, the rumble of his voice, all of it felt like a blanket she wanted to fold herself into and stay.

Re: The World is Tiny

[cian_oneill]

He lifted his head enough to turn it and meet her eyes. A small nod accompanied the spoken, "Okay."

He released his hold on her, one hand reaching up and taking one of hers, interweaving their fingers and looking at them and turning back toward the cabin steps, leading the way up. He scooped up her coffee cup and the basket, and crossed the deck to the front screen door, turning to look at her for a moment.

"Y' sure y' want t' know, knowing what I am?"

Re: The World is Tiny

[rhiannon_lee]

“Why would it make a difference?” Since his hands were full, Rhiannon took the screen door latch in her thumb and forefinger, prepared to walk inside when he did. “You’re only one thing to me, Cian.”

Re: The World is Tiny

[cian_oneill]

He eyed her, an eyebrow arching. "And that is?"

Re: The World is Tiny

[rhiannon_lee]

"Mine."

The look on her face said, 'This should be obvious,' as she entered the cabin.

Re: The World is Tiny

[cian_oneill]

He couldn't help but grin at the expression on her face, catching the door with his elbow and following her inside. "Glad we got that clear," he murmured.

He carried the basket to the kitchen, grabbing another croissant out and eating it quickly before putting the basket on the island bench. "Want some more coffee?" he asked, his nose telling him the pot that was on the warmer was still drinkable.

Re: The World is Tiny

[rhiannon_lee]

She had put her cigarette out before entering the cabin and she tossed the filter in the trash can now.

"Sure."

She went to the couch and sat cross-legged on a cushion there, her hands grazing her knees through the denim pants.