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Destruction was a funny thing, Vereesa thought. It took, and it took, and it took until there was nothing more left to give. Destruction ripped things apart, violently and without remorse. Though, she figured, sometimes destruction wrought something more beautiful in its aftermath. Sometimes, but not always.
She dragged her fingers through Jaina’s hair, the white strands slipping through her fingers as the woman in question slept. White, a shade paler than her own hair, and a byproduct of the destruction of Theramore. The destruction of Vereesa’s whole world. Jaina’s too, she supposed, though it was hard to think past her own grief. Rhonin was gone, Vereesa knew it, knew it by the near continual ache in her chest whenever she thought on it too hard.
Jaina though. Jaina was an unforeseen complication, a momentary fill for the hole in her soul. Jaina had been there, watched Theramore fall, watched Rhonin die. She was the reason for his death, but Vereesa couldn’t hold it against her. Her husband had been noble and brave, and there was no way he’d have let anyone else die due to Hellscream’s treachery. Especially not someone like Jaina.
When Jaina had come to her, blue eyes made brighter by the tears, Vereesa had been tempted to turn her away. She’d told Vereesa everything she could, voice broken and ragged before her voice seemed to fail her. Rhonin’s blood resided on her hands but…she’d looked so desperately sad. Her hair had been bleached white, only a single golden strand falling into those pretty blue eyes.
In her bitterness, Vereesa had wondered if perhaps Jaina deserved the title of Little Moon now. It would be fitting, she supposed, for someone to take even that little bit of nostalgia away from her. Sylvanas’s warm smile had soothed away any sting the nickname had once brought. But Sylvanas, Ranger-General of Silvermoon was gone. A broken husk of her sister resided, fueled simply by rage and deceit. The destruction of Silvermoon had felt like it had taken everything from her then. The destruction of Theramore had felt very similar.
But Jaina remained. Vereesa counted the warm puffs of breath against her neck, felt the heavy weight of her pressed to her body underneath the covers. Vereesa’s fingers kept their slow stroke through Jaina’s hair. The buzz of the magic saturated strands forced her to tighten her fingers, her own eyes flaring brighter in response. Vereesa was no real magic user, but the High Elven people had always felt a particular lure to magical areas. Jaina’s whole body sang with it.
A soft noise escaped Jaina’s throat, and Vereesa tightened her hold more, feeling a sudden pang of violent possessiveness that left her momentarily shaken. She felt Jaina’s breathing shift, heard the thud of her heartbeat increase as she opened sleepy blue eyes.
“Hi,” Jaina croaked out, voice still rough with sleep, “What are you doing?”
Vereesa’s lip twitched, that same strange urge to keep her here flaring monstrously through her chest. She didn’t want to let more destruction kill whatever this was. She wasn’t going to let the woman Rhonin died for, the woman who had found the shattered edges of her soul and painstakingly pressed them back together disappear like so many others in her life.
“Looking at you,” Vereesa answered after a brief beat of silence. She relaxed her fingers, tamping down the ridiculous urges warring within her. Jaina wasn’t something to be claimed. Jaina was a woman, the Lord Admiral of Kul Tiras, as it were. Vereesa had no claim to her, no matter how much she wanted to fist her hair, yank her head back and bite viciously at her throat.
Her tongue moved across her canines then, feeling it drag and catch against the sharp edge. Her canines were so much sharper than Jaina’s, and a thrill shot through her at the thought of the pretty dark bruises they could make against the Lord Admiral’s pale skin. Swallowing noisily, Vereesa let her hand slip from the back of Jaina’s head, fingers moving around to sweep across her forehead.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you, I was just…” She sighed then, rolling her stiff shoulders as her fingers moved from Jaina’s temple down to her cheekbone. “Thinking,” she finished, eyes devouring Jaina’s puzzled expression.
“Okay,” Jaina drew out, pushing herself up to face Vereesa more fully. The sound of fabric shifting broke Vereesa from her stupor, and she let her fingers fall away from the Lord Admiral’s skin. “Thinking about what?”
“Lots of things,” Vereesa sighed, mirroring Jaina’s position and letting their knees touch as she sat cross-legged in the bed. “Silvermoon. Theramore. Rhonin. Sylvanas. You.” Her eyes fell to her lap, fingers itching to reach out and touch that magic inundated hair again, to feel the spark of it against her fingertips.
“Nothing good, it seems,” Jaina said with a self-deprecating laugh.
Vereesa’s eyes snapped up, and she gave in to her baser urges, fingers tangling in Jaina’s hair once more as she secured the Lord Admiral’s head.
“Stop that,” she said, the snap of command in her voice, “One thing is not like the rest.”
It sounded weak even to her own ears. She commanded the rangers now, but she knew that she’d never possessed the ability to command a room as Alleria and Sylvanas had. How Sylvanas and Alleria still did. Even the broken husk of the middle Windrunner sister could bark orders that were obeyed without question, Vereesa had seen it firsthand. As for herself…well. Vereesa figured that it was only a sense of duty that made her rangers listen to her, not so much the charisma oozing from her pores.
Jaina looked as though she wanted to say something, went so far as to open her mouth before snapping it closed once more. A frown marred the skin of her forehead, and she dropped her gaze, jaw clenching as she gave a tight nod. Vereesa kept her fingers clenched, unwilling to let Jaina go. Humans were unpredictable at the best of times, Jaina Proudmoore even more so.
“I was dreaming,” Jaina said, making Vereesa blink suddenly in surprise. Like she’d said. Unpredictable.
“Oh?”
“Mhmm. I dreamed of your sister –“
“Oh good,” Vereesa remarked dryly, “That’s what I want to hear.”
Jaina laughed, the sound easing some of the tension Vereesa hadn’t even been aware she’d been holding. “Hush. I dreamed of her. Of thwarting her, mostly. But that shifted into dreaming of the tides.”
Jaina’s expression grew dazed, and Vereesa felt her fingers tighten. That drew another interesting sound from Jaina’s throat, and Vereesa resisted the urge to pull harder.
“I dreamed they whispered, warning of some coming evil that the Alliance alone would be powerless to stop. It…” Jaina trailed off, and Vereesa let the silence stretch, a strange heaviness settling between them. “It urged…peace or something, I – I don’t really remember, it’s all starting to fade, but…” She snorted, a graceless thing, but fixed Vereesa with a grin so fierce that it turned her insides to mush. “Can you fucking imagine? Peace between us once again? I think I’d encourage King Wrynn to put you in charge of peace talks with Sylvanas.”
“Perish the thought,” she drawled out, allowing her fingernails to scratch against Jaina’s scalp. She tried to ignore the way it made Jaina’s eyes flutter, the dark soot of her eyelashes fanning out across her cheeks. “I think I burned that bridge long ago.”
“Do you miss her?” Jaina asked, eyes still closed. She shifted, bringing her head to rest against Vereesa’s shoulder. “Keep going,” she urged, left hand brushing across the inside of Vereesa’s right elbow. Her fingers flexed again, nails scratching over skin.
Vereesa paused, the practiced answer coming quickly to her lips before she swallowed it down. This was Jaina. This was her friend and…something more, though neither of them had labeled it. “Yes,” she answered honestly. “I mean – I know she’s horrible, that she’s done awful things. That she’s doing awful things as we speak. I know that whatever happened to her changed her fundamentally but…” Her throat tightened, and she dropped her head, pressing her nose against Jaina’s hair and inhaling deeply. “She’s still my family,” she murmured into Jaina’s skin, “And I still love her.”
Jaina’s hands came up, smoothing down Vereesa’s sides. Vereesa felt her nod, felt the warm press of lips against her collarbone. “I know you do. But I’m glad to hear you say it.” She leaned up, pressing forward until she was nearly in Vereesa’s lap. She draped her arms over Vereesa’s shoulders, tired eyes warm as they regarded her. “I’m glad you trust me enough to not lie to me.”
A smirk curled the corner of Vereesa’s mouth, and her palms found purchase against the swell of Jaina’s hips. She didn’t want to stop pulling her hair, but touching Jaina anywhere was always a thrill. “At this point, Lady Proudmoore, I’d trust you with anything.” It was teasing, meant to draw a smile from the woman in her lap, but the ring of truth was harsh even to Vereesa’s ears.
The silence was deafening, and Vereesa felt her ears pin back against her head, heart thundering a staccato beat through her chest. She felt Jaina shift, press closer, and Vereesa suppressed a shudder at the close contact. She could feel her, every inch, her warm body pliant under Vereesa’s moving hands. She didn’t even know when her hands began wandering, but she didn’t want to stop them. She let them slip up to Jaina’s waist, taking the thin nightshirt with it. Warm skin met her fingertips, and Vereesa delighted in the slow, shaky breath Jaina released. She felt lips press to her ear and she stilled her movements.
“I know your head gets loud sometimes,” Jaina whispered, “Mine does too. Why don’t we just –" Jaina cut herself off, tilting her head back and sighing as Vereesa’s hand found her breast.
“Do that?” Vereesa murmured, using her free hand to tug Jaina’s shirt over her head.
“Do that,” Jaina agreed, flattening her tongue and dragging it slowly up the lobe of Vereesa’s ear.
A ragged moan caught in her throat, and the hand on Jaina’s breast squeezed in response to the stimulation. The Lord Admiral shifted in Vereesa's lap, expression dazed and hungry as she worked to slide her clothes off. This was always Vereesa's favorite part. Jaina was always so eloquent, so intelligent. She'd watched the Lord Admiral diffuse situations with any amount of flowery language, saying next to nothing masked in sugar coated words and hard smiles. Vereesa was never sure if the men she turned that on knew and were unwilling to call her out, or if they were just distracted by the easy way it rolled off Jaina's tongue. Either way, Vereesa found she couldn't blame them. The Lord Admiral was very good at using words to get what she wanted or to end heated discussions. It was the byproduct of Jaina's quick mind and Vereesa knew it. There was something so absurdly heady about stealing that from her, about making Jaina's thoughts shrink to a pinpoint of singular focus. She liked to steal those pretty words from Jaina's mouth with messy kisses, liked watching Jaina's eyes glaze, her entire world shifting as she chased pleasure Vereesa was only too happy to give her.
With that in mind, she dumped Jaina unceremoniously off her lap, shifting to lay against her. She gave in to the urge she'd had earlier, fitting her mouth over Jaina's shoulder and biting down. She was careful to aim it so Jaina wouldn't have to answer any prying questions, but Vereesa secretly hoped to see the bruise her teeth were sure to leave. Jaina's soft sigh sent a warm drip of pleasure down her spine, and she worked her way down, hands busying themselves with ridding Jaina of her pants. She closed her eyes as her mouth met her destination, relishing in the strangled groan Jaina let out. She worked until her jaw ached, hands smoothing over Jaina's thighs. The soft touches to her ears, the way Jaina’s left hand rested atop her head, keeping gentle pressure, it made Vereesa feel set to explode.
When Jaina’s trembling thighs stilled, Vereesa propped herself up, cheekbone resting against the Lord Admiral’s hip. Watching was almost as good as doing, and this moment highlighted that fact. Jaina’s eyes were closed, a flush spreading from her hairline all the way down her chest. Her expression was blissful, and Vereesa felt a sharp surge of pride for giving that brilliant mind a break, blanketing it under a haze of pleasure so that Jaina could just breathe.
She pressed a kiss to her protruding hip bone, her sternum, and finally Jaina’s lips. The Lord Admiral kissed her back lazily, fingers carding through her hair. It didn’t take her long to recover, and Vereesa yelped as Jaina flipped their positions, the sharp lines of her fierce grin sending a jolt through her.
She was beautiful like this too, with heated intent in her eyes, hair wild and face flushed. It wasn’t quite as satisfying as stealing thought from Jaina entirely, but Vereesa still counted it as a win. At least her mind was still singularly focused on one thing. She was sharply reminded of just what the focus was as Jaina’s fingers moved south, lighting her nerve endings on fire as she went.
It didn’t take Vereesa long, worked up as she was, but she wrapped herself up in Jaina nonetheless. Her forehead pressed to Jaina’s shoulder, and she felt feather-light kisses across it as they rocked against one another. She felt the release building, pressure settling low in her stomach. Her breathing picked up, body flushing with sudden heat as she dug her fingers into the muscles of Jaina’s back. The Lord Admiral lowered her mouth to Vereesa’s ear, murmuring sweet praises as her fingers curled. She didn't know if it was the praise or the angle that did it, but Vereesa heard a strangled cry from deep within her chest and then she knew nothing. She slumped bonelessly to the bed, hands falling from Jaina's shoulders, cool air flooding into the space between them, chilling the sweat slicking her front.
When her heart slowed, Vereesa took a look at Jaina. Her flush had faded, but sweat darkened the hair at her temples. Jaina's expression was reverent, her fingers tracing the outline of Vereesa's ribs. Something about the look in her eyes made something weak and cold break within her chest, warmth flooding through her in a way Vereesa hadn't felt for ages. She cupped Jaina's cheeks, kissing her with as much unspoken emotion as she could. Vereesa wasn't sure what floodgate had opened up and didn't feel courageous enough to face it head on just yet. It was so much easier to fall back into the familiar routine.
She rearranged them, pushing at Jaina's shoulders to get her to flip over. She ended up with her hips resting between Jaina's thighs, her cheek pressed to Jaina's chest. She let her eyes fall closed, the strong, steady beat of Jaina's heart a welcome sound in the silence. She was content to drift off, a soft sigh escaping her lips as Jaina's fingers swirled patterns through the sweat on her back. It felt nice, and she hummed out her approval, blanketing herself in the rush of endorphins and the warm safety of Jaina's arms.
"I love you."
The world stopped, Vereesa's breath stilling in her chest at the strong, confident admission. She'd expected to hear the rapid thud of a heartbeat, to feel Jaina's hands shaking against her back, but none of that happened. Her heartbeat was steady, breathing even and hands smooth and firm, swirling against her skin. There was an uncomfortable tightness in her chest, a fear that almost put that weak, cold barrier back up. She couldn't deny the way that the warmth flared brighter within her though, giving a name to the rush that had recently flooded her. But it didn't matter. She wasn't ready. Everything she'd loved, aside from her boys, had been taken away from her, wrenched from her clutching hands. She wasn't ready to love Jaina back, to push the poison of it upon her.
Breathing deep, Vereesa nodded against Jaina's chest, shifting her head and pressing a lingering kiss above her beating heart. Jaina didn't reply, and Vereesa waited with bated breath to see if she'd be upset. Her heart kept it's steady thrum though, her hands gentle. She scratched her nails down Vereesa's spine, staying blissfully silent. It made her squirm, her heart lurching, the responding phrase flying to the tip of her tongue. She wasn't ready. She no longer felt guilty, knowing Rhonin would want her to move on, that he might even approve of her current...whatever it was. Giramar and Galadin were pleased to see Jaina whenever she came around, pestering her for attention and a showcase of her magical talents. But Vereesa wasn't ready to lose her, and her love felt like a beacon to anything awful out in the world. She didn't think she was strong enough to go through something like that anymore.
Destruction took, but sometimes left beauty in its wake. Vereesa wasn't sure she'd call them beautiful, with all their sharp, broken edges stabbing into one another. But she did know that Jaina felt familiar and safe, and she looked at her like she mattered. She knew that she delighted in Jaina's brilliant mind, her strength, the way her stomach swooped when Jaina smiled at her. Vereesa knew, deep within her shattered soul, that she loved Jaina too.
With enough friction, perhaps, even all their sharp edges could dull.