Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Au: Gladiator Au

Ship: F!Jesse Stella Petra

Warnings: None

It’s a lot of money to pay for the innkeeper’s silence. But Stella is the child of a successful - and somewhat dangerous- senator after all. Even if the man hadn’t been good friends with her hand maiden there is no way on Jupiter’s green earth he would risk her father’s wrath in an attempt to blackmail.

Still, Stella paid him generously and treated him kindly. As Jessie always said, honey was more pleasing than vinegar. 

Tonight however, honey sweet was a difficult state to be, for Stella was anxious.

“She should be here by now,” She stressed, pacing nervously back and forth.

“My lady-” Jessie began.

“Stop that, we’re alone now, no need for guise.” Stella whispered.

Jessie leaned in, “ Stella,” She whispered. “She will be here.”

“She almost died today,” Stella blinks back tears. She tries to bury down the horrid memory of their dear gladiator, wrenched off her feet as her opponent had grabbed her hair, “What if they had her killed, what if-”

“They couldn’t even if they wanted to.” A familiar voice purrs.

Stella whips around and immediately all the stress of the day vanishes in one trembling exhale, “ Petra.” she whispers.

Jessie is already in the strong woman’s arms, and Stella almost joins her, but she is taken aback. Surprised to see her lovers once rich long red hair has been cut short, as short as a man’s even.

“Your….hair…” Stella whispers as Petra gently pulls her into an embrace.

“It needed to be done,” The gladiator whispers.

“No matter your hair length we only want you alive Petra!” Jessie stresses, glancing at Stella for conformation.

Stella mutely nods, running her fingers through what remains of Petra’s hair. It is still soft and gentle, still Petra. “I missed you.” She murmurs.

Petra kisses her and Stella nearly melts with it, “I missed you too.” she extends her hands to both of them, “ Here, a token for you both.”

They are braids, elegantly woven and Stella immediately recognizes them as-

“Your hair!” Jessie gasps.

“For the maidens who own my heart.” Petra says quietly.

“Wherever did you find someone to braid your-” Jessie smiles as she plants a kiss on the woman’s scarred cheek.

Petra blushes a pinch, “Connections.” she mumbles.

Stella clutches the braid to her chest, “I love it.” she whispers, hugging her lover.

It is hard to be parted from her by the time morning comes, but with the braid now tucked safely under her stola, it would be a little easier from now on.

End.

Chapter Text

Au: None

Ship: Petra x Aiden

Warnings:  None

All he could do was gaze at her with affectionate eyes. His regular tuff guy external dissolved from his gaze as he watched her rest.

It looked like one of the cliche movie scenes, or something tacky from a romance novel…

The freshly golden rays reach through the open window. Causing her hair to resemble honey and gold and flame. Her skin was fresh from the shower she had the evening prior. Her flushed skin being in contact with his settling all his anxieties to ease.

 Holding her for some reason always did that, settling his fears, tucking away the insecurities.

His rough fingers softly trace her exposed skin. He traces her freckles; connecting the dots on her shoulders. 

Soon her eyelids raised to display her bright eyes, blinding blue turned murky by sleep. 

A delicate smile tugs on her lips when she sees Aiden. "Good morning," her voice hoarse from just waking up.

 Aiden mumbles a  'Good morning' back. He feels that faint warmth build on his cheeks, the tingle on his skin when she speaks.

Her long arms stretch out almost, hitting him in the face, and yawns. "How did you sleep," She brings up her finger and pokes his nose. His eyebrows push together for a second, then relaxes them, making her laugh. 

He simply shrugs his bare shoulders "I slept fine,"

She gives him a peck on the lips "Well I don't know about you, but I slept better than I have in weeks!" Her actions make his cheeks redden even more - it's a slight change, but enough for her to notice.

"Oooohhh, Someones getting flustered," She taunts him, her hand hooks him gently on the shoulder. Petra pulls him down,pecking his lips again deeper than the first, causing his face to redden even more.

"You're such a tease." He complains, though it holds no true form of displeasure.

"As if you didn't love it." She whispers, pulling Aiden close to kiss him once again.

Third time's a charm, he doesn't argue about the kiss. He's sweeping her up, craving her sunshine warmth and cuddles to spend the morning away.

Chapter Text

Au: Crawl Out Through The Fallout

Ship: Gill x Maya

Warnings:  None

Maya woke up halfway and knew it was still late, she could tell the room was dark without opening her eyes.

Granted the world didn't have much light to begin with but when you've been raised in the winter apocalypse you get a sense for the different kinds of dark.

The heavy hand on her back rubbed up and down slow, more instinctive than anything. The usual shoulder was under her cheek, the usual thigh under her knee, but she usually woke up against his back in the mornings.

“Why do I feel like your teddy bear?” she mumbled, finally blinking her eyes open enough to see Gill with the book balanced on his belly, the dim lantern light on the nightstand angled away from her face.

“That's a bad thing?” He leaned his nose against her hair.

Maya could barely see the words in the book, her vision was still blurry. It took her a moment to register that there'd been a question, still half asleep, barely aware of the shape of the bedroom, the fleece of their blanket…..

“Depends on how fluffy you say I am,” she finally grumbled, rubbing her cheek on his t-shirt. Gill had been baking again, or attempting to do so. She could smell the smoke on his shirt.

She might have blinked back into sleep. She didn’t hear Gill move before he rolled over half onto her, heavy and warm, slid an arm under her back.

Maya growled at him. It wasn’t much of a growl. She could shove him over - not like it would do much. These days he wouldn’t even fall off the bed; it was wide enough they made sure of it  But Gill was the kind of heavy and she was small. Besides, it wasn’t worth squirming her arms out into the chilly air. 

Gill nuzzled his face down against her throat. “I will call you squishy and you will be my squishy?”  she could feel his smile on her skin.

Some quote from some story no doubt. Probably one of Jesse's.

“No.”

“Mmhm?” he hummed teasingly, lips on her cheek. She felt the cold tip of his nose, prickly chin before another kiss.

Maya sighed with her eyes closed. These days she could fall asleep like this.

Gill somehow rolled them back where they’d been, resumed his book back to where he had left it before sliding his arm back under her again. She blinked heavily and the blanket was back up around her shoulders. The flannel of his pajamas were soft and warm against her bare legs.

“You need to sleep.” She slid an arm across his chest. Sometimes he couldn’t fall asleep at night, but they both reacted badly to sleep aids. Gill wouldn't touch those drugs with a ten foot pole anyway...

“Soon. It’s just not happening yet. I’ll take a nap later if I need to. I don't have any jobs tomorrow."

“Mm.”

Her eyes felt stuck closed again. Maya smiled when she felt his hand move to pet her back again.

Maybe being his teddy bear wasn't so bad.

Chapter Text

Au: Crawl Out Through The Fallout

Ship: Petra x Aiden

Warnings: Slight Mentions of Death and Horror

He wakes up cold, gasping for breath. Heart hammering in his chest, Aiden scrambles for purchase, hands gripping the sheets.

Being shocked from sleep by a nightmare isn’t unusual for him. It isn’t unusual for Petra to wake with him – She’s an incredibly light sleeper when she wants to be – and ask if he’s alright, instantly alert and shaking off any lingering drowsiness.

“Nightmare,” Aiden gasps, trying to catch his breath. He knows she understands. She gets them too. The nauseating images that had woken him stick in his mind, like a play only he can see.

“Do you need me to go?”

She’s already half sitting up, pushing the covers back and swinging her leg out of the bed.

It also isn’t unusual for Petra to offer Aiden some space afterwards. She’ll go and sleep on the couch, because sometimes he can’t even have her look at him when he’s like this without feeling as if he’s suffocating. 

It's nightmare's like this that scare him most.

He’s even lashed out at her a few times before now, violent, still caught up in the throes of whatever horror had gripped his mind in slumber. Aiden still vividly recalls grabbing his knife blindly and trying to defend himself. 

It kills him. Knowing he could hurt her.

This way, there’s no chance of that. No chance of him saying or doing something he’ll regret later out of fear or – God forbid – end up breaking down in front of Petra. Aiden had promised himself years ago that no one would ever witness that.

He knows Petra can be there for him.

He knows she can help him through this.

But he just can't. Aiden is too scared to risk it all. To lose it all. To lose her. And after particularly bad nightmares he needs time to build up his defences again.

Petra hauls herself up, but something makes Aiden stop her.

“Wait,” he says, sitting up. He swallows thickly, throat feeling tight. “I…I want you to stay.”

One thing that is definitely not usual about any of this is the dream that had woken Aiden.

Aiden Mercer has an absolute multitude of things to keep him awake at night. The PAMA vault where he was experimented on. His experiences there. All the people he killed to escape. The atrocities he’s seen by others, and the ones he’s committed himself. Horrors only comprehensible to those who have lived through them. 

Usually, he can cope by himself, even though it probably isn’t the healthiest of coping mechanisms.

But none of those scenarios are the ones that linger in his mind. 

He can still see it as clear as day. Petra, covered in blood and paler than the snow. And he can’t cope alone this time.

“Well I’m not gonna argue about that,” Petra says with a grin, that little grin she knows he loves. (It does help in making him feel better)

Aiden tries to focus on the warmth that seeps from Petra's body into his, their limbs tangled together. Her heartbeat is strong and steady under his ear. The scent of her, which usually sends him dizzy with wants and longing is overwhelmingly comforting.

 It’s almost silent, save for the sound of her slow inhalations, and Petra waits until Aiden's own breathing is back to normal before speaking again.

“Want to talk about it?” she asks gently. Aiden pauses, unsure how to answer.

“I was…alone,” he settles on. It’s the closest thing to the truth. 

Petra’s clever enough to guess he isn’t going to share much more than that, and she doesn’t press Aiden to elaborate. 

Heart clenching, Aiden tries again. “You were…” The words choke themselves off. He feels nauseous again, the panic bubbling in his mind.

You were dead. You wouldn’t wake up. I was alone. I couldn't save you There was so much blood, I could taste it-

“You’re not alone,” Petra reassures, holding Aiden a little tighter. “I’m here.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Aiden replies weakly, burying his face in her hair.

Deep down, they both know Aiden’s right. Those are the rules out here. Petra ignores it.

“Ever the optimist, I see,” she says dryly. She kicks him. But only a little.

Aiden doesn’t know how much time passes as they lay there in silence, with him trying to forget.

“I love you,” Petra murmurs in the quiet.

A sigh escapes Aiden's lips and he closes his eyes “I love you too,” he replies, it scares him to say it, yet feels so good.

She pulls him closer. She knows how hard it is. "I know."

Her fingers trace his skin, dancing over scars and metal.

"I'm here."