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Published:
2023-10-24
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2024-08-26
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30/?
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Made for you

Chapter 30: Fire

Notes:

As always, I don't own anything you have seen on TV. The mistakes are my own.

Chapter Text

Chapter 30:

Tally’s POV:

 

Tally didn’t know what was scarier, the overwhelming grief bursting through the General’s mental walls or the sudden silence. After Anacostia had gone in, Tally had plopped onto the stairs leading into the gym. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and gently rocked back and forth to keep herself warm. She was determined to stay there until the two women came out and she couldn’t even bring herself to move when it started to pour. Shivering, she buried her head in her arms, trying desperately to keep her thoughts to herself. She had started running through multiplication tables to keep herself busy and somewhat calm. She had gotten up to the nines when the door behind her burst open.

 

“Ana, is she oka-” She had been rising to move towards Anacostia when she was suddenly slammed into by a firm wall of muscle. “Sarah? Are you okay? I tried not to listen, I swear I did.” Tally gasped out. Sarah had immediately engulfed her in a hug. She couldn’t see the woman’s face but she could feel her touching almost every inch of her body. Sarah was gently crying and Tally did her best to awkwardly pat Sarah’s arm from where she was trapped. “Sarah, what is it?” But Sarah just continued to cry.

 

Finally, the woman pulled away enough to look Tally in the eye. She ran her long nimble fingers through Tally’s hair. “Tally, my darling. I want to grow old with you. I want to be handfasted and have children, and all of it. All of you. All I want in this world is you. I will retire and we can have a house and we will do anything that you want to do. Travel. Teach. Anything as long as I can be with you.” Sarah’s words came out in a jumble and Tally was so surprised that all she could do was stand there like an idiot. There was an awkward pause as Sarah seemed to run out of steam. “U-unless that is not something you want…” The older woman mumbled.

 

“No!” Tally blurted out, making Sarah’s eyes bulge. Tally realized this may have been a confusing answer and tried to better explain herself. “I mean yes? I mean… it is something I want. I am just surprised. Up until the centipede bites, you didn’t seem interested in pursuing this. In fact I remember us fighting before I was debiddied  because you wanted to release me from service and have me hand fasted to someone else.” Tally tried to keep her tone level. She didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth but she also needed to know what had scared Sarah so badly that it had overwhelmed her mental shields and what her motivations were. 

 

“I- uh- You are right.” Sarah sputtered out. “I was not welcoming of our bond at first. It was not because of you or who you are. It was because I- I didn’t like the idea of growing attached to you and having a life together and then having to watch you…” Die. Tally gave a small nod at the unspoken word. It made sense that it would be hard for someone who has lived over three centuries to know that the people around her were much closer to death than she and that she would have such a short amount of time with them. 

 

“What has changed? I want to be with you but I need to know.” Tally gasped out, moving her hands to gently rest on Sarah’s hips.

 

“Knowers.” Sarah said with a small laugh. “Izadora confirmed that I am aging. And if I am to grow old and wrinkled then I want to grow old with you.”And with that Sarah cupped Tally’s jaw and pulled her into a deep kiss. Tally gave the kiss everything she had. She tried to pass as much comfort and need and happiness along the bond as she could.

 

 Being around Sarah was always exciting. She had loved their recent afternoons together and she felt like she knew nothing about her and everything about her simultaneously. Like  Sarah was a person just for her. Everyone knew the General but no one else would get to catch Sarah staring at them when she was supposed to be doing paperwork or would get to catch the occasional lilt of her old English slipping into her voice while sitting next to her on the couch, talking about her family. She tried to push these feelings along the bond as she gently bit at the General’s lip.

 

The rain around them had transformed from a drizzle to the beginnings of a thunderstorm. Tally could feel the sudden electricity in the air and could feel her hair beginning to stand on end. It felt dangerous in a sinful way. As Sarah ran her hands along Tally’s arms, the energy in the air seemed to mirror the movements. When Tally sought entrance into Sarah’s mouth, there was a flash of lightning and a boom of thunder that seemed entirely too close, pulling them from the moment.

 

“My room?” Sarah questioned. Her fingers traced along the edges of Tally’s face, barely touching her.

 

“Yes.” The word escaped Tally’s mouth in a sensual hiss. She quickly found herself being pulled by the hand towards the Admin building. The rain had become a torrential downpour and Tally laughed at the thought that she, little, clumsy, private Craven, had the General so eager that she was about to flood the entire base if not the entire state. She surged forward, surprising the normally composed General and pulling her into a run behind her with a small giggle.

 

As soon as they got into the Admin building, Sarah was on her again. As they stumbled up the stairs, nimble fingers began undoing the buttons on her jacket while Tally did her best not to trip on the stairs. They had made it to the hallway containing the Generals’ offices when Sarah stopped to pin Tally to the wall. Sarah trailed kisses along her jaw before moving to attack her neck. It felt delicious and Tally dug her fingers into the taller Woman’s shoulders just to stay upright. 

 

“What the hell is going on out here?” Tally froze and Sarah placed one last small kiss to Tally’s throat before pulling away and moving to address their visitor. Tally’s hands rushed to right her hair and uniform and moved slightly to duck behind the older woman.

 

“Petra.” Sarah ground out. “I will be canceling my meetings tomorrow morning but will be making an announcement at the staff meeting after lunch.” Sarah grabbed Tally’s hand and began to move quickly towards her office door, unceremoniously towing Tally behind her. “Please ensure that all Colonels and above are there. Enjoy the rest of your night.”  Petra just stared at them and Tally didn’t really know what to do so she gave a little wave as she was pulled through the door to Sarah’s office. Petra returned it with a small wave but quickly dropped her hand with a disgruntled look as if it had moved without her consent. 

 

As soon as the heavy oak door was shut, Tally pulled her hand away and continued to undo the buttons on her jacket. Her hands were shaking so her hands were moving slower than Sarah’s had been on the stairs. Her breath was coming out in pants and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. “Whiskey.” She coughed out. Needing a little distance from Sarah while she calmed her mind. She was excited for what was to come but also ridiculously nervous. Her experience in this arena was limited to Gerit and that had been the disappointment of the century while Sarah, on the other hand,  had been having very public sex at Beltane with some of the most powerful witches in the world. She struggled to shrug her jacket from her shoulders but as soon as her hands were free, she was suddenly passed a glass tumbler. The General was leaning against the edge of her desk, reminding Tally of a bird of prey watching its next meal.  She threw back the gently sloshing liquid and closed her eyes for a moment at the gentle burn. 

 

When she opened them again, Sarah was still watching her but her mouth was slightly agape. Feeling brave, Tally set her glass on the nearest table before walking up to the woman and gently freeing her from her glass. Tally again threw back the glass of whiskey. It didn’t burn as much this time and she had begun to feel a wave of heat racing through her body at the gentle burn. The General reached for Tally, pulling her to stand between her legs and freeing the now empty glass from her hand. 

 

“Is this what I can grow to expect, you stealing my whiskey?” Sarah rasped out, running her fingers along Tally’s jaw. 

 

“You don’t mind.” Tally laughed. She leaned in to gently kiss the older woman until she gasped. She quickly pulled away with a smile before continuing to move towards the bedroom. 

 

“Goddess wept, girl. If it makes you taste like that, you can have my entire collection.” It was said as a joke, Tally suspected it wasn’t. She pulled her combat tank top over her head before tossing it at Sarah playfully. She heard an intake of breath and the sudden movement of boots as Sarah began to follow.

 

 Sarah’s POV:

 

When Sarah entered her bedroom, she was surprised to see Tally standing in the middle of the room staring at her bed. The girl's face was closed off but Sarah could sense the turmoil within the bond. Mindful of the girl's shirtlessness, Sarah moved to hug her from behind, careful to only touch her with the sleeves of her uniform. As much as she wanted to run her hands over every single inch of bare skin, she did not want to overstep the mark and upset the girl further.

 

“Tally?” Sarah husked, resting her cheek against Tally’s silky hair. She felt the shorter girl shift all of her weight back into Sarah.

 

“I am okay, just thinking.” Tally whispered back. Her hand came to rest against Sarah’s around her middle.

 

“We aren’t going to do anything you aren’t comfortable with.” 

 

“I know. I am comfortable just… nervous,” she finished lamely.

 

“Do you need anything to feel more at ease?” Sarah gently pulled away so she could turn the younger woman to look her in the eye.

 

“No, I am feeling just suddenly very aware of how out of my depth I am.” She whispered, averting her gaze. “I want this to be good for both of us but I also don’t know how to do that.” 

 

“Tally, being with you in any capacity is going to be wonderful. I am not worried about enjoying myself.” She tried her best to sound supportive but she was internally a little shocked. She had suspected that the girl had only been with the Buttonwood boy but she hadn’t really considered what that would mean for them. She gently placed her hands on Tally’s waist and tried to stroke gentle circles with her thumb.  “We will just take it slow and just tell each other what we need. If at any moment we need to stop, then we stop. No, questions asked. Okay?”

 

“Okay.” Tally acquiesced with a small nod. She had raised her hands to rest on Sarah’s shoulders but they timidly moved to reach for the top button of her uniform. Sarah raised her chin to make it easier before moving to kiss the redhead. The girl quickly responded but soon became frustrated with the buttons on the General’s coat. With a small smirk, Sarah batted her hands away before quickly divesting herself of her jacket. She momentarily broke the kiss so she could remove her own tank top. She hadn’t thought much of it until she had tossed it aside and turned to look back towards Tally who had rid herself of her shoes and pants. The other woman’s face displayed such an intense yearning that coupled beautifully with the wide expanse of suddenly bare skin causing Sarah to momentarily freeze in place. Taking Sarah by surprise, Tally walked confidently towards Sarah making her stumble backwards onto the bed. She fumbled gracelessly with the buckley of her belt while Tally worked off her boots. Sarah quickly found herself in just her underwear and straddled by a very flush Tally.  The redhead’s courage must have worn off because she suddenly looked rather bashful even though Sarah thought she looked like some sort of mystical creature that people told stories about.

 

“What do you need?” Sarah whispered, brushing wayward locks of hair behind Tally’s ears. The girl looked suddenly stunned as if she didn’t know what to say. She finally cleared her throat before giving a small smile.

 

“Just you.” Sarah was overwhelmed by the amounts of joy and need that pooled into the bond. It felt like being on fire and she couldn’t think of anything but feeding the flame as she pulled the girl back down to her.