bakerstreet | ( what you can never have )

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( what you can never have )

When two people come together in a relationship, it's a beautiful thing. What can be wrong with love, right? Right? Except when the union is completely and totally wrong, for whatever reason. Then things can get a little messy.

How To Play

1. Comment with your character, listing their name, canon, etc, along with any preferences.
2. Comment around to others, using the RNG to determine the scenario. It doesn't have to be a lovey-dovey relationship, obviously. There can be hate, sorrow, lust, whatever.
3. Thread! Have fun! Do things!

Scenarios

1. Warring Factions: You belong to rival organizations, armies, clubs, etc. Whatever it is, you're not on the same team.

2. Soldiers on the Battlefield: Or maybe you are on the same side, but this is the wrong time and the wrong place. Plus, attachments cause distractions.

3. Bodyguard and the Guarded: Just like the movie with Kevin Costner! One of you has been hired to protect the other for some reason, and feelings are starting to grow. Are you a professional and cut things off, or do you give in?

4. Prince/ss and Knight: Similar to the above, but with a whole 'nother level of wrong...one of you is royal. Courtly love is okay; still, don't forget your place.

5. Enemies: This vendetta is personal, and you totally hate this person! Don't you? Perhaps you're maybe just rivals, or something as serious as superhero and villain.

6. Family: The ultimate taboo. This person is related to you, so there's no way you should indulge this desire, even if it's the most pure love there ever was.

7. Age Difference: The years between you should keep you both at bay, but it's easier said than done.

8. Teacher/Student: Teachers and students have a unique bond, and to corrupt it is a dangerous thing. Will you dare to act on emotions that could put you both in a destructive place?

9. Already Spoken For: One or both of you are already involved with someone else, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Just know that you can't have your cake and eat it, too.

10. Not Compatible: Your personalities or jobs make it so it's hard for you to be together.

11. Not Compatible...in Another Way: You're both different species, which means you're either afraid to take your relationship to a physical level or you can't because of differences in biologies.

12. Not Ready for Love: You took a vow (or celibacy, of chastity, of dedication), you're married to your work, or you just don't want to be involved with anyone. Too bad!

13. Rich and Poor: One of you has the money while the other is from more modest means. Can the 1% and the 99% ever be bedfellows, literally?

14. Hurt Before: Your heart has been broken, and maybe there's been no time to heal. But here you are.

15. WILDCARD

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[ Her mouth opens as though she means to speak.

And stays open for a moment, words expected to gather on her tongue at any second. But then it closes, her surprise too great to move past just yet.

It isn't as though the idea of political marriage is something new to her. She has always been aware that it may be necessary.

And... it isn't as terrible a suggestion in theory as she wants to immediately claim it is. Uniting Fódlan through marriage would be much more efficient than warring across the continent. But-- ]

Dimitri, sometimes it seems you can barely even stand to be trapped in the same room with me.

[ If he does not share her ideals for the future this is the least of their concerns, but it must be said. ]

[ The look she gives him - and her words - make him flinch. ]

I know. [ There's strain in his voice. ]

I know, Edelgard. You've - I blame you for so much. And some of it I shouldn't and just looking at you - it hurts.

[ His gaze drops and he seems to curl up on himself for a moment. ]

They're always there, Edelgard. They're watching me. They tell me that I have to kill you, that they can't rest until you're dead-

[ It's the last thing she wants to do but she turns to face him fully, her chin tipped up so she can meet his gaze just as soon as he is willing to look at her again. The Leicester Alliance is still a concern and if the two them joined forces it would not be.

But that is a selfish thing to consider. ]

I would not want you to marry someone you hate, Dimitri.

[ Even if he also loves her. Lukewarm feelings are not unusual in political arrangements, but what he seems to feel for her is not lukewarm. It runs hot at either extreme. ]

It would be better than our countries burning themselves out in an orgy of bloodshed, wouldn't it?

[ He's tense now, coiled. Like he's a spring being wound too tight. ]

I don't - I don't hate you. I don't want to. But they won't be quiet. My father, my brother, all of them...

[ He peers at her, trying to stop his own internal moral compass from spinning too widely out of control. He steps forward and into her space, expression twisted. ]

You were my age when Duscar happened. That can't have been you, but they won't leave.

[ This is, apparently, one of his more lucid moments. ]

[ By all rights it should send a chill down her spine when he steps toward her with that agonized expression. She knows what it feels like to have him try to wring the breath out of her.

But she will not apologize for something she did not do. She reaches out again, her fingers wrapping around his. ]

I was a helpless child then.

[ That tragedy killed her own mother, a woman he had a chance to know better than she ever did. Most of the time what troubles him is so far removed from the truth that it bothers her less. Right now, with her defenses lower than usual, it stings.

She sighs. ]

This is potentially a less bloody option, but it is only something to consider if I don't think you will succumb to what haunts you.

Or... if we continue to live separately.

[ She should not even be weighing how it could be made to work. It seems irresponsible, dangerous, and unfair. After a moment, in a lower voice, she adds: ]

If we joined together I believe I could help you find your vengeance for Duscur.

[ Another dangerous thought. If she stops cooperating with those who slither in the dark she may find it more difficult to defeat Rhea. ]

[ His form trembles and his hands lift and then fall to his sides. He's caught between two extremes, both of which have a hold on him. He puts his head in his hand and takes a deep, agonizing breath as he tries to figure out what he's going to do. How he can do it.

She mentions Duscur and the world slows down. ]

...what do you actually know about that?

[ His eye is wide and staring and he steps in to grasp her by the shoulders, grip hard. ]

What do you know about Duscur? [ He's suddenly focused, anger and hatred sharpened to a point. ]

[ Her shoulders tense, her hands rising between them and ready to shove him away if necessary. In this gown, with her hair down, she seems smaller than usual, but she has no intention of letting him walk all over her. ]

The same group of people behind my scars are ultimately responsible for what happened at Duscur.

And after I dismantle the Church I will destroy them as well.

[ His expression twitches, somewhere between disbelieving and sheer, unbridled rage. For once it's not direct at her but that doesn't make it any less frightening. It's like a storm or a wild animal - you don't want to be near it. ]

Who are they?

[ His voice is low but it still carries barely control anger and menace. It starts to rise as he continues. ]

I'll tear them apart. I'll kill them-

[ His mood-swings may have improved a little since their last meeting, but it's not enough. ]

Dimitri.

[ And now she has lost him. Her heart was right to speed when he first stepped into sight. ]

Dimitri.

[ If his voice gets much louder they may rouse someone from sleep after all.

She rises up on her toes and tugs at the front of his cloak so hard it's a wonder it stays intact. The last thing she should be doing is putting herself right in front of him while he goes into a rage, but her lips crush against his in a kiss.

It may quiet him, for a moment. ]

[ The sound of his name starts to cut through the anger, but it doesn't stop him from starting to see red - at least not until there's a sharp tug against his cloak and she leans up and presses a kiss against his lips. He gasps against her, hands grasping at empty air for a moment before he wraps both of his arms around her in a crushing hug and tugs her close as his energy and anger suddenly find a place to go.

The kiss is bruising, tempered by a sense of caution that wasn't quite there the last time. ]

El-

El, I'm sorry.

[ He mutters the words with a shudder, even as he wants to have her close and feel the heat of her body. ]

[ Tugged against him, she feels almost as aware of the angry pulse beneath his skin as she is of her own heartbeat. Even when the rough kiss is broken and he mutters an apology against her upturned face, she lets him do it without complaint. No pulling away.

This time, just this once, she does not hold the use of her old nickname against him. One hand leaves his collar and moves to the base of his skull, fingers in his hair. ]

You must stay quiet. If we are to consider this at all, no one else can know yet.

[ The fingers in his hair feel gentle, soothing, and he wants to sink against her smaller frame. To find comfort in it, even if he knows it will be temporary and short-lived and the whispers and the ghosts and the anger will be back. He's tired of being broken. He's tired of war. He's tired of it all, but he can't rest.

He never wanted to be king. ]

Do you think - do you think they'll accept it?

[ He murmurs against her lips, nose brushing against her own. ]

Edelgard, I never wanted any of this.

[ She is not sure which 'they' he means in this case: the general public, the allies gathered here with them, or... perhaps even the angry wraiths that dog his steps.

They do not need to be nose-to-nose to keep this conversation a secret but somehow she can't bring herself to move yet, her eyes locked on his face. ]

I know you didn't, Dimitri.

[ He has never wanted it, not even when the battles were only meant to test what they had learned at the academy. So unlike her, the girl certain she would have to step over his body one day. ]

I think--

[ She thinks their immediate allies would be more upset to stumble across them like this, embracing like lovers, than by the announcement of an obviously political marriage. ]

--people will accept peace. I imagine five months of it has whet their appetite for it.

[ His grip on her shoulders tightens. Almost bruising. It doesn't seem like it's hostile - more that his control has slipped a little, back into that manic headspace that seems to come and go. ]

They will accept it. I won't - I can't - let them get away with this.

[ He breathes out, good eye searching her expression. ]

Is this what they wanted? us at one another's throats?

[ His grip does not make her flinch, but it is hard enough to coax her own fingers into tightening in his hair. ]

Chaos works to their benefit. Hubert calls them "those who slither in dark." You have seen part of what they can do, replacing people as they did Tomas and Monica years ago. Experiments that lead to demonic beasts, madness, death. Their only use lies in the fact that they want the Church destroyed, just as I do.

But I will make them pay for their disregard for so many lives, for what they did to my family.

[ For what they have done to her. ]

Let me help you.

[ He breathes out and his grip eases a little. ]

We can do that much, can't we?

[ Can they?

For a moment her eyes are very large and very soft. She barely even wants to entertain the idea that they could do it, that they could be allies in this.

But he has every reason to want to, and their joined forces could accomplish much. And... it would be so nice to have someone understand, to have someone to work with.

The question is how well he can redirect his anger. ]

Perhaps we can.

[ There's a long, slow breath from him. Breathe in; breathe out. His body is still otherwise. And then he leans down to press a kiss against her lips. It's softer than before. Plaintive, desperate, and wanting.

He so badly wants this to work. ]

[ This still feels unwise.

She should not kiss him now any more than she should have kissed him five months ago, but just as before there's something cathartic about it. Something desperate and half-yearning, defiant and indulgent. The best and worst of distractions stands right in front of her, chin dipped to meet her as though all that matters is their lips reuniting. ]

We should get out of the hallway.

[ Regardless of whether their next step is rational discussion or repeating past mistakes, it needs to be done more privately than this. ]

[ He sighs. She's right. He glances up and down the hallway; he half-recognizes this place and he drops his hand to hers and turns to head down it with a purpose. They both know what they're about to do.

That won't stop them.

But he won't say it either, because if he does that might break it all apart. ]

In here-

[ Every hurried step she takes beside him says don't do this, don't do this.

But she does, her fingers laced so well with his that her knuckles ache, and the tight anticipation she feels in her stomach is the exact opposite of the mantra in her steps.

She's quiet until they duck into a room and creak the door closed behind them. Then she recognizes the faded banner on the wall, a blue-maned lion on a blue-and-white field. In spite of every instinct she has, she feels her lips curve. She casts a sly appraising look up toward his face. ]

Was this on purpose?

[ She doesn't wait for an answer. ]

Show me where you slept.

[ His hand squeezes tight and then he skids to a bit of a halt as he stares up at the banner. He hadn't realized - he hadn't intended - he glances at Edelgard and his face darkens in a blush. ]

No-

[ She pushes on and then he does too. He pulls her along to a door hanging half-open. There are too many memories here, but right now he has eyes for Edelgard. He pauses inside. Most everything is scattered and gone, but there are bits and pieces of his old life. ]

...it was here. Not much left.

[ Hmm. She can still make him blush.

It seems such a contradiction now, after their last meeting, that her smile threatens to widen.

He's right, of course: this place is not what it once was. In her opinion, it is for the better. He may not agree, but she drops his hand and helps herself to a seat right there on the edge of his old bed. It may be that she can give him one happy memory of this place.

Or maybe it will only serve to further confuse his feelings for her, but it seems a bit late to linger on that thought now. ]

Join me.

[ A small hesitation. ]

We must be quick, in case our absence is noticed.

[ Anyone here will think they fight again, and the alternative may not seem better. ]

...alright.

[ The word comes out of him, a little tired, but wanting. Needy. He settles on the bed next to her and shrugs his cloak off, letting it pool on the bed behind them. He stares at her in the dim light for a very long moment and then he leans in, cupping her cheek before he kisses her again.

Like a few moments ago, it's almost sad. Wistful. Wanting. There's less of that feral hunger she might dimly remember from all those months ago. ]

El.

[ Five months ago that hand went for her throat instead of her cheek, the words out of his mouth furious instead of subdued.

The faint guilty twist in her belly is no less present now, but he's... more manageable so far. Almost sweet.

Her hands find his shoulders and this is her favorite difference so far: he isn't armored. She can feel muscle and bone and his stubborn pulse. Her kiss isn't chaste. She wants him, whether she likes it or not, regardless of how embarrassing the last experience was. Smallclothes ruined, tucked in her boot. She wishes she could say she never thought of him in the months since then, never remembered his biting kisses, never recalled the stretch of being filled by him, never thought of him saying her name in a lust-thick tone.

Hopefully he will never ask. ]

I want you to touch me.

[ She rises up her on knees, lifting the hem of her gown until it's at mid-thigh. ]

Perhaps without ripping anything.

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