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[Fic] Blanket Companions
Nov. 12th, 2008 09:05 amTitle: Blanket Companions
Fandom: The Dresden Files
Characters: Susan Rodriguez/Karrin Murphy
Word Count: 607
Rating: PG
Summary: It's love, even though neither of them will say it. And it's all Harry's fault.
A/N: Written for this meme.
It was all Harry's fault, really.
When things were at their worst Harry pulled them all together. Susan from South America, Sanya from Russia or the Baltics or wherever he had been, everyone he could think of. Karrin had felt more than a little out of place among so many magical people; it had been Susan who had helped her feel welcome with a few wry jokes about how, once upon a time, they could have been just mortals together. It helped her relax, a little bit. Harry's easy smile and one hand covering hers helped relax, too.
After Harry had disappeared during the battle she'd taken up the sword, for his cause. For lack of anyone else. She was known to most of the people he had worked with, she could be trusted at least to keep up her end of the bargain and do the right thing even if, as Marcone pointed out, that wasn't always a good thing to be known for. It made her a big fat target. Like Harry had been.
Susan took it upon herself to keep her safe. For Harry. She moved in above and beyond Karrin's protests, and to both women's surprise it began to work. It had been a long time since Karrin had lived with anyone. It had been even longer since Susan had spent any length of time around a straight, normal human. Karrin's stubbornness and sarcasm complimented Susan's subtle optimism and hard-won grace. It wasn't long before they were taken for granted as a duo, one rarely seen without the other.
Neither of them forgot Harry. Neither of them stopped looking for some sign, some clue as to what had happened to him, some idea as to whether or not he was still alive. Maybe he was in the NeverNever. In Faerie. In other realms Susan refused to talk about no matter how much Karrin insisted, shouted, argued, or badgered. In places that Karrin was very tight-lipped about, where she refused to divulge her sources except to say he wasn't there, either. They looked. They didn't stop looking. They cried on each other's shoulders and reminisced and clung to each other in ways that neither of them would ever talk about for fear of tugging on that thread and unraveling everything they had built.
Karrin aged. Susan... didn't, so much. She sat by Karrin's bedside as the other woman had nightmares and whimpered in her sleep, brushed her fingers through her hair and held her hand. Karrin, employing the use of tough love, locked Susan in the closet when she couldn't behave herself. After she let her out again it took about a day for things to settle down. Sublimation of desires. It became a routine.
They slipped away in that final battle together. Neither of them wanted it to be anything less than a climactic battle, for many reasons, among them because Harry hadn't shown up yet and they didn't know how much longer they could go on looking, but also because after ten years (longer than both Karrin's marriages) they didn't want to go on without each other. They'd lost so much in the war, and they'd always hung onto each other, always. It seemed unfair that one should fall without the other. After Susan went down beneath the press of bodies and didn't get back up again, Karrin took up the sword and charged in, grimly, smiling. She wasn't afraid. Harry would be waiting for her on the other side, at least she hoped he was. And Susan, too, wherever they ended up. They always went together, these days. Always.
Fandom: The Dresden Files
Characters: Susan Rodriguez/Karrin Murphy
Word Count: 607
Rating: PG
Summary: It's love, even though neither of them will say it. And it's all Harry's fault.
A/N: Written for this meme.
It was all Harry's fault, really.
When things were at their worst Harry pulled them all together. Susan from South America, Sanya from Russia or the Baltics or wherever he had been, everyone he could think of. Karrin had felt more than a little out of place among so many magical people; it had been Susan who had helped her feel welcome with a few wry jokes about how, once upon a time, they could have been just mortals together. It helped her relax, a little bit. Harry's easy smile and one hand covering hers helped relax, too.
After Harry had disappeared during the battle she'd taken up the sword, for his cause. For lack of anyone else. She was known to most of the people he had worked with, she could be trusted at least to keep up her end of the bargain and do the right thing even if, as Marcone pointed out, that wasn't always a good thing to be known for. It made her a big fat target. Like Harry had been.
Susan took it upon herself to keep her safe. For Harry. She moved in above and beyond Karrin's protests, and to both women's surprise it began to work. It had been a long time since Karrin had lived with anyone. It had been even longer since Susan had spent any length of time around a straight, normal human. Karrin's stubbornness and sarcasm complimented Susan's subtle optimism and hard-won grace. It wasn't long before they were taken for granted as a duo, one rarely seen without the other.
Neither of them forgot Harry. Neither of them stopped looking for some sign, some clue as to what had happened to him, some idea as to whether or not he was still alive. Maybe he was in the NeverNever. In Faerie. In other realms Susan refused to talk about no matter how much Karrin insisted, shouted, argued, or badgered. In places that Karrin was very tight-lipped about, where she refused to divulge her sources except to say he wasn't there, either. They looked. They didn't stop looking. They cried on each other's shoulders and reminisced and clung to each other in ways that neither of them would ever talk about for fear of tugging on that thread and unraveling everything they had built.
Karrin aged. Susan... didn't, so much. She sat by Karrin's bedside as the other woman had nightmares and whimpered in her sleep, brushed her fingers through her hair and held her hand. Karrin, employing the use of tough love, locked Susan in the closet when she couldn't behave herself. After she let her out again it took about a day for things to settle down. Sublimation of desires. It became a routine.
They slipped away in that final battle together. Neither of them wanted it to be anything less than a climactic battle, for many reasons, among them because Harry hadn't shown up yet and they didn't know how much longer they could go on looking, but also because after ten years (longer than both Karrin's marriages) they didn't want to go on without each other. They'd lost so much in the war, and they'd always hung onto each other, always. It seemed unfair that one should fall without the other. After Susan went down beneath the press of bodies and didn't get back up again, Karrin took up the sword and charged in, grimly, smiling. She wasn't afraid. Harry would be waiting for her on the other side, at least she hoped he was. And Susan, too, wherever they ended up. They always went together, these days. Always.
