bakerstreet | ｓｏｕｌｍａｔｅｓ

Entry tags:

[meme] shipping

ｓｏｕｌｍａｔｅｓ

soulmate meme ;
▸ post your character ◂
▸ you're now in a universe where destined soul mates exist! ◂
▸ rng for the type of au and for the ~situation~ ◂
▸ tag around ♥ ◂

type of au;

1. tats, your character has a tattoo of the first words the love of their life will say to them
2. familiars, your character has an animal tattoo representing their soul mate on them
3. glow, the first time your character sees their soul mate, their chests glow!
4. world in color, life is literally black and white, until you see your soul mate for the first time
5. choose your own, i'm definitely missing a milly because i'm lazy, pick your own

situation;

1. first meeting, you've never met this person before.
2. childhood mates, you've always known this person -- but on one particular birthday, everything changes.
3. together, you've been in a relationship for awhile now! happily wed or not, you decide.
4. not together, you've known you're soul mates for a long time, and yet have avoided a relationship.
5. choose your own, self explanatory c:

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[Jad Karadin. That's a name that rings a bell, mostly because the last time he saw the man, he got shot in the fucking eye. And he remembers that, with sudden clarity that can only come from being absolutely godsdamned pissed about finishing a shitty job only for a bunch of asshole nobles to hire another witcher to murder him for it. Another witcher from his own school, for fuck's sake-- sure, he wasn't bosom buddies or some shit with Karadin, but it's particularly cutthroat to take that kind of blood money without a single compunction. A prime example of the shit reputation of the Cats, Jad was.]

You talked to Jad? The fuck did he have to say? Tell me, I want to hear how the bastard justified it to you. It had to have been good, he's always had a talent for bullshit.

[He takes a gulp of that wine, for what good it does to calm his quick temper. If Karadin had two witchers coming to call, he can only imagine what the man would've said to try to take the heat off of himself-- literally anything. Anything that he would've thought would have gotten him out of the situation alive, regardless of who he had to throw under the cart.]

[Keira brings up a good point, too, and one that makes the already sour taste in his mouth even worse.]

He already was dealing in flesh. If you're going to try to buy a witcher, who else would you go to but a witcher who sells slaves?

[It would take a witcher to catch a witcher. Karadin was the perfect man for the job, if he could find the right mark.]

[Lambert scoffs.]

He had a wife and kids. Claimed he met her and fell in love, adopted her brats, that she was changing him for the better.

And the fucking lies he told me about you. As if you were a stranger, instead of the man I--fuck, he tried to tell me you took the contract money and ran! Said he and his gang were hired to get the money back, that they were only trying to talk, and you attacked first! That isn't you, though. You never would've left a job unfinished.

[He huffs a sigh and takes another long drink.]

Even Geralt knew he was lying. It felt so good to lop that bastard's head off. Between what he did to you and the whole slave business, Geralt had no problem letting me take him out. He even helped me track down the others! And I found your medallion on Karadin.

Fucker. Took the-- I finished that job! I lifted that girl's curse and Jad took a fucking contract to kill me for it. And from a bunch of fucking nobles who were pissed off that their power-play fell through, gods I hate politics.

[He'd taken an arrow straight to the eye socket, and for what? To pacify the egos of a group of entitled noblemen who tried to make sure that the duke's eldest daughter wouldn't be able to inherit. Stupid, all of it. But what was he supposed to do, let a fourteen year old girl die because some greedy old men found her inconvenient? Fuck that.]

[Once he'd sorted all this shit out with Corinthus, maybe he'll go back to that duchy. Maybe he'll walk right in, right in front of all the nobles who thought he was dead, and make damn sure that the girl he'd saved stayed saved and let all of them know that one day, he'd be back to check again. Let them all stew over that and maybe think twice about their bullshit political machinations.]

He kept it? Like some fucking trophy? [It's one thing to take a trophy from a monster, something completely different to take one from a witcher. If Karadin had been decent, he'd have at least given the medallion back to the Caravan, but that would require him to do something decent.]

[Aiden shakes his head.] I'm sorry you had to pick up after my mess, but I'm not going to shed any tears that Jad's dead. A quick death's probably more than he deserved.

Probably shouldn't have gotten involved. But I know you couldn't just leave a girl cursed...

[He would've gotten involved, too. And if he had, if their roles were reversed, if he were the one missing his memories and enslaved by some sadistic mage, would Aiden have been the one to find him? Would his brothers even have known what happened? He'd never taken Aiden to Kaer Morhen, too afraid of what Vesemir would've done had a Cat shown up at the gates with his problem child.]

I did what you deserved. I got revenge on those fuckers, every last one. They killed you--well...I thought they killed you, so I had to go after them. I wish I'd had time to torture Karadin. Geralt probably wouldn't have let me, though...

[Keira shakes her head, laughing softly.]

Lambert, I doubt that. I've been traveling with you long enough to know you aren't the type. His wife and children were there. They were innocent in all of this, and I know you wouldn't want them to see that.

[Much to Lambert's annoyance, she's right. There'd been a split second there when he'd seen the woman and children and wondered if he really should go through with getting his revenge. In the end, he'd decided that, thanks to the marriage, it was okay because Leticia and the boys would inherit his estate. They wouldn't be left to fend for themselves.

He simply gives Keira a dismissive wave in response.]

He was going by an alias, Roland Treugger. A whoreson like that managed to step off the Path, find a wife and help her raise children, and was running a lucrative business. I doubt many people knew he traded flesh, but...it made me think. We once talked about it. N-not the kids part, but finding a place and trying to settle down, at least for a little while.

[Lambert's biggest issue with the idea had been that he didn't know what else he could do. He was raised to be a witcher. It was the only life he knew.]

[Lambert's annoyed at Keira's assessment of him-- at the accuracy of it, really. And Aiden can really barely say that he knows him, at least until he gets more of his memory back than just brief flashes, but he knows his own godsdamned self, and what he would've wanted. What he would want, he's not fucking dead yet.]

I wouldn't want you to do that, Lambert. You don't deserve that, and neither did his kids.

[Torture doesn't hurt just the person being tortured. Lambert's a decent man, he shouldn't have to go through that-- not for a dead man. Especially not for a dead man who isn't actually dead.]

[Then he goes on to talk about Jad's whole happy home situation and... a discussion that Aiden really wishes he could fucking remember. He doesn't remember much about becoming a witcher, but he does have the general idea that once you start witchering, you don't just stop. Granted, you're also not supposed to take another witcher as your lover, but fuck that.]

You... you wanted to run away with me? [And, granted, phrasing it that way makes it sound like something out of a ballad, but hell, it sounds like something out of one. Two soulmate witchers, fleeing their violent lives for something peaceful-- that's exactly the kind of dramatic shit that one bard would sing about, the one named after a flower who wrote that witcher song that got stuck in Aiden's head for three weeks straight.] What was the plan? Elope to Toussaint to grow grapes and make wine?

[And that's not even getting into the kids thing. Aside from the fact that they're both sterile and male, rendering any normal methods of child-creation impossible, Aiden has no idea what to do with a child or how to raise it to be, like, a not fucked-up adult.]

We weren't gonna "run away"! Just...take a break, maybe. You know I--fuck, I guess you don't anymore...

[Lambert shakes his head and looks away, finding some imperfection in the wood of the wall to stare at. He isn't a fan of divulging his past, and the last time he'd talked to Aiden about this, they'd been lying side by side in some farmer's hayloft, borrowing shelter from a storm.

He hasn't told Keira, because their relationship was mostly physical. He didn't want to get close to her, now that he knew what losing someone so close felt like. Between that, and the way Aiden asks about their plan, he's reluctant to remind the Cat.]

I was a child surprise. Payment to some witcher for saving my bastard father's life. Sick fucking joke, if you ask me. And a witcher's life is a shit life. The work is shit, the pay is shit, and the way we're usually treated is shit. I told you back then, I just wanted to see what it was like to be fucking normal. Or as close to it as we could get, I guess. 'S not like stepping off the Path makes us any less of a mutant. And I had no fucking clue what we would've done, so we never really tried.

[He looks back to Aiden, scowling.]

Then that godsdamned whoreson killed you. Or...almost killed you. You never showed up where we had agreed to meet next, and so I went looking in Ellander, because it's the last place I'd known you were headed. Asked around, finally heard that a Cat had taken a contract for a noble family and had been killed after completing it. A couple of the family's servants were kind enough to fill me in on the details.

[Fuck, this is getting all kinds of personal, in a manner that Aiden kind of thinks maybe shouldn't be happening with an audience. Keira, likely due to those etiquette lessons to prepare her for a king's court, has politely busied herself elsewhere in the cabin. It's not really far enough for her to not hear, but it at least gives the semblance of privacy.]

[And it's a story that would've tugged at Aiden's heartstrings even if he didn't have any personal ties to Lambert-- fuck all those people that said witchers don't have feelings, he's got enough of them for goddamn everybody. Lambert didn't choose this life, and, hell, probably none of them did, and it's not fair that they should have to endure a thankless, violent life until they die a thankless, violent death. Who could blame Lambert for wanting to leave the Path behind for a while? Maybe not forever, but for a time.]

Lambert, I--

[It's not like it's an unappealing fantasy. And, hell, they're witchers. 'A little while' for a pair of witchers could easily be a decade or two, going to Toussaint to live fat lives and grow grapes isn't the most far-fetched possibility.]

[In the bottom of his pack, the one that he must have had on him when he'd been captured, he had a stash of coin and valuables that he'd been keeping separate from his everyday money. Witchers don't have a lot of reasons to have savings.]

Look, I. Do you want to go take a walk? I think I could use some air.

[Not that there isn't plenty of air in this hovel, but if they're going to start getting into the... personal things, the things that he should remember but doesn't, maybe they shouldn't have an audience.]

[Lambert sighs and scrubs his hands over his face. Talking about it had brought all those nasty feelings floating to the surface, and even if Keira had tried to be polite and give them a little privacy, a walk sounds like a better idea. So he stands and ignores the urge to reach for Aiden's hand.]

Yeah, let's take a walk.

[He lets Aiden lead. The young witcher is a little worried for his soulmate, considering how badly he'd reacted to being forced through that portal, being forced to go against powerful magic. He sticks close enough that he can catch Aiden if the other witcher falls or something.

And even if he'd done his best to cultivate this aloof asshole persona, deep down, Lambert knows his emotions never were burned out. It's all so fucked up, that they're meant to live a life alone, unfeeling and uncaring, a lawful sort of neutral. And yet, Destiny had seen fit to still give them soulmates?]

How're you feeling? Really?

[Aiden stands, one hand braced against the surface of the table to keep himself steady. He's had it rough but he's a witcher, he can take a rough day. He bounces back quickly, at least as far as the physical things are concerned.]

[He walks outside with Lambert in tow, out into the cool evening and down the dirt path that leads from Keira's door into the woods that surround her home. Aiden's cat eyes can easily see in the low light; he hears the rustle of some small animal in the brush, the heavy floral scent of the herbs that Keira planted for her work. There's an odd sour scent coming off of Lambert, and Aiden recognizes it as concern.]

[It's sweet. Under all that bluster and bullshit, Lambert's actually sweet, and it's stupidly endearing.]

[How're you feeling he asks, and that's a hell of a question. Just because Aiden apparently feels the full ridiculous spectrum of human emotions doesn't mean that he necessarily has names for all of them.]

Kind of... [He makes a vague, broad gesture that's supposed to encompass the emotional rollercoaster he's gone on since he woke up that morning.] This is a lot? I woke up this morning as an amnesiac assassin for a mage and now I'm free and I have a soulmate? And I almost died but I'm used to that. I don't know exactly what I'm feeling but it's--

[He scrubs his hands over his face. Underneath the eyepatch, the empty socket where his eye used to be aches dully.]

A lot. It's just a lot.

[A lot. That's how Lambert would describe it, too. He lifts a hand and squeezes Aiden's shoulder, trying to offer comfort. A shoulder squeeze is much safer than attempting a hug.]

I think I kinda know how you feel. I was starting to make peace with my soulmate being...gone...Then to see you across the market? To watch you run from me? Can't blame you. I should've thought about it, instead of rushing in like I always do. But, fuck, I've missed you.

[He drops his hand. He'd dreamed of somehow finding Aiden again, that the Cat had somehow survived and they'd be reunited, and everything would just fall right back into place. Having come so close, only to fall short because the man's memory had been wiped, having him right there and not being able to do much of anything about it, was a special kind of torture.]

I feel so wrong-footed. I know it's a lot, and you don't remember anything, and I remember everything, so...

[He shrugs. He'd never been any good at expressing his feelings, using sarcasm to cover it up and anger to push people away. And it hadn't exactly worked on Aiden. Lambert had given in to all the older man's charms, whether they were purposeful or not.]

[Lambert's hand is warm and solid on his shoulder, and it's... that kind of nice and familiar that itches at the back of his brain. He would have bristled at this kind of attention from anyone else, been suspicious of it even from other Cats. But not Lambert.]

[Like his skin remembers that he trusts this touch even if his head doesn't. Gods, wrap it up in prettier language and it could go in a ballad. When did his life turn into one of those ten oren bodice ripper romance novels?]

Shit, things'd be a lot easier if I remembered more. But... I've remembered a few things, right? Jad and the ogre and all that. Maybe the more I'm around you, the more'll come back to me.

[He really doesn't have any better plans, anyway.]

So I guess you're stuck with me for a while. Lucky you, huh? Surrounded by beautiful people. But I guess my mug's not quite as pretty as it used to be.

We don't get easy lives.

[It's a bitter statement, but his tone is warm, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.]

You have remembered a few things, and I'm happy to stick by your side as long as you want me to. And I'm gonna tell you the same thing you told me when my face got clawed--You're gorgeous as ever.

[He stops, deeming them far enough from the little shack, and reaches out to catch Aiden's wrist. Even if he doesn't want to push too much, Lambert can't help himself. He wants to take hold of the other witcher and never let go again.

But that simple, easy-to-break hold is all he allows himself. He doesn't tug, or press in close.]

Look, I know this is gonna be tough, and there's no guarantee you'll ever remember everything, but...I'm not leaving your side, Aiden. Not again.

My depth perception's shit now. [You really never realize how important having two eyes are until you lose one. It had taken him a while to get used to how... flat everything looks when he's only got on the one. At least he's left eye dominant, it'd be additionally shitty if he lost his dominant eye.] Hey, you might actually have a chance at out-shooting me.

[He doesn't specifically remember Lambert losing to him, but he has the bone-deep knowledge that he's good with a crossbow. Or, anyway, he was, before he went and lost all of his depth perception. Maybe he'll be able to fully compensate for the loss in time, but for now, he's working with a handicap.]

[Lambert's hand closes around his wrist and Aiden stops short. It's not tight and he could pull away without any trouble; it's not restrictive. Not trying to trap him. He stops anyway, because he doesn't really want to lose the feeling of his fingers against his skin.]

[I'm not leaving your side. Who'd have thought that a witcher could be such a sweetheart? Aiden smiles, and his voice has just a hint of a tease to it.]

Gods, does anybody else know how sweet you are, or is that just for me?

Edited 2020-09-18 21:28 (UTC)

I still suck with a crossbow, but if you think I could, I probably could.

[Lambert laughs then, a soft sound that is as rare as his current behavior.]

It's just for you, kitten. You kept pushing until I dropped the asshole act, and...things got all romantic, like in those cheap romance novels where even the filthy parts kinda make you wanna gag.

[He shifts awkwardly, looking away and scratching the back of his head, and his other hand slides from Aiden's wrist to his hand. His face feels a little hotter than it should. Which really isn't fair, because they've done far more intimate things than holding hands, and Lambert had never felt shy about those intimate things.]

And you could be just as sweet right back, before. But only when we were alone. In towns, in cities, if there was anyone else too near, we hid it. Our little secret.

[Any normal person would probably get annoyed at having to hide so much, but Lambert knew it was dangerous enough for them to just work together. It was just smart to keep their affections secret.]

[Look at this asshole-- standing there all self-conscious, holding Aiden's hand and maybe blushing just a little like a schoolboy with a crush. They've certainly done more than just hold hands, there's no way that Aiden hasn't ridden this man like a stolen horse and probably enjoyed every second of it, but you'd think that they were chaste and pure as fucking snow just looking at him. How dare he be adorable. How dare he make Aiden like him so much. He's a Cat witcher, they don't just like people.]

[He could be sweet to this man, he thinks, when there are no hostile prying eyes around. A shame to keep it all behind closed doors, perhaps, but it's for the best. One witcher could be tolerated, two witchers, especially ones working close together, made even tolerant communities nervous. And, hell, how many places would even have work for two witchers? A job here and there might be rough enough to need another man, but the usual drowner or wraith contract? Two witchers is overkill and for hardly enough coin for one. Even their behind-closed-doors meetings would've had to be brief, coming together for a night or two before going their separate ways again. No wonder Lambert had wanted to take off for a while.]

[Aiden tugs on Lambert's hand and takes a step closer to him, right into his personal space. Lambert's taller than he is by a fair bit-- blame the highly variable Cat school mutations-- so he has to look up at him.]

We're pretty alone right now.

[Nobody around but a couple of rabbits in the underbrush and a whole lot of droning insects. Not a human nor nosy sorceress in earshot. Good a time as any to test the Lambert exposure hypothesis.]

[Aiden grabs Lambert's collar with his free hand and pulls him down, tipping his head to catch his lips. Might not be the gentlest or most coordinated kiss they've ever shared, considering that one half of the equation isn't expecting it and the other only has one good eye to aim with, but maybe it'll jog something loose in Aiden's blank-slate brain.]

[They are alone, and being tugged closer puts Lambert at a disadvantage, because he isn't expecting the Cat that nearly gutted him in an alleyway this morning to suddenly want to get so close this way. If he'd had his way, Lambert would have pressed him to the wall in that alley and gotten thoroughly reacquainted with his mouth.

But again, dagger, threat of gruesome death, amnesiac soulmate under crazy mage's spell.

The Wolf is further caught off-guard by the awkward-yet-endearing way he's suddenly kissed. He melts after a moment, free hand snaking around Aiden's waist to pull him even closer, to press him against himself as their mouths slot together. Aiden's hand is released so Lambert can cradle the back of his head, fingers curling around dark locks. He even dares to swipe his tongue forward, teasing the other briefly before retreating like the little shit he is.

He isn't expecting this to work like a fairy tale, where True Love's Kiss magically rights everything in the end, because he isn't some naive child. But it does calm the part of him that had been quarreling over how he should treat Aiden.

Before things can be taken too far, however, Lambert's pulling away just enough to look Aiden in the eye, cocky little smirk plastered on his kiss-reddened lips.]

Well? This doing anything for you? Because I'd be more than happy to keep trying~

[Things that Aiden is learning today: Lambert is actually a pretty decent kisser. He'd like to think that this is his own doing, that he wouldn't tolerate a man who doesn't know how to kiss him properly, but that's purely vanity on his part.]

[Lambert's arm is strong and firm around his waist, pulling him up against him-- is this a Wolf witcher thing? Are they all just brick walls made of muscle, or is Lambert the exception? Either way, he definitely appreciates it, he is very much appreciative of how physically powerful his soulmate is, and he shows his appreciation by running his hands over Lambert's chest and shoulders. True love's kiss might be bullshit, but who knows, maybe true love's grope is a thing.]

[Lambert looks like a cocky little shit when he pulls back, all of that self-consciousness from before completely gone, and okay. Fine. Past Aiden who had all of his memories has decent taste in men, he'll admit it.]

Oh, this is doing a lot for me.

[In multiple senses of the word. Aiden drags Lambert back into a kiss again, brief but intense, with teeth and tongue.]

[(He remembers pulling back from Lambert's face, some time that must have been early in their dalliances, and there's blood on his mouth from where Aiden had bitten his lip. Not all of their kisses had been sweet and tender in the beginning.)]

Would it be weird if I said I wanted you to pin me to a wall? Because I do. Or not a wall, I guess, we're in the fucking woods and the closest wall is Keira's and she'd probably be just as pissed if we fucked right outside her house. [No fucking in her hovel probably also extends to directly outside her hovel, too.] Fuck, you're strong.

[Gods, this isn't fair! It feels like they're right back to the way they were before, all that fire reignited with such a simple kiss. Maybe Aiden's body remembers.

There's no way he can stop his grin from growing at that question.]

You always did like being pinned to the wall. Or a tree, or a rock. Whatever I could trap you against while I made you scream my name~ Almost got us kicked out of an inn a few times.

[He turns them quickly and crowds Aiden against a sturdy-looking tree, then reaches for the Cat's hips to hoist him up. Among all the scents of their outdoor surroundings, Lambert can smell the spice of arousal, and he leans in to kiss and nip along Aiden's neck just to get more of it.]

[Aiden grins, all toothy and sharp. What isn't there to like about all that muscle and strength being brought to bear, and for the sake of his pleasure?]

Only almost? I'm disappointed in myself.

[He steps back as Lambert pushes, until there's the rough bark of a tree against his back and he's stuck between that and the hard planes of Lambert's body. His hands wander down to Aiden's hips and he knows just how to help-- a little hop and his legs wrap around Lambert's waist, his head tilting back to expose his throat for him.]

Yes. [He draws out the s, long and sibilant, and pushes his hands into Lambert's short, slicked-back hair, not particularly caring if he musses it out of its style. Lambert's mouth seems to know all the best places to bite and suck on his throat, almost as though he had targets painted on them. Aiden laughs, just a little breathless.] Oh, we have been fucking.

We were~ [He growls it low against Aiden's skin, following it with a particularly harsh bite. It's not enough to break skin and Lambert's immediately soothing over it with his tongue.

He hasn't forgotten what his Cat likes.]

Gods, it's been too long. I think I need to just lock us both in a room for a week.

[He pushes a hand under Aiden's shirt, so that his fingertips lightly trace over skin, lips trailing back up until he can kiss Aiden properly.]

[Aiden groans at the teeth that bite into his neck, not hard enough to make him bleed but definitely hard enough to feel. Might even bruise, at least until his healing took care of it. Kind of a shame that they healed so fast-- he might not have minded having a few marks that would last until morning.]

[Lambert's hands are warm and confident as they work their way underneath his shirt.]

I'd let you. [Not that either of them have the cash to rent out a room for a whole week, but, man, what a dream. A whole week and the only thing on the agenda is to screw each other into exhaustion.] Might eat you alive, but what a way to go, yeah?

[He gets shut up after that by Lambert's mouth back on his, and it's good enough that he forgets that he should be keeping the Wolf's hands away from his chest-- more specifically, from the scar that bisects his torso from sternum to groin, the unmistakable branches that arch up towards his shoulders. That Y-shaped incision that you see on some of the bodies in the morgue at Oxenfurt, but healed over.]

[Aiden's own hands are busy trying to tug up Lambert's own shirt, too. He's the only one here not getting his hands on some skin and he aims to rectify that. It's not enough just being able to feel his strong chest and sturdy arms through a layer of fabric, after all.]

[Lambert groans at the thought, because that really would be the ideal way to go out. And technically, that would make Lambert the first witcher to die in his bed. Or at least in a bed.

It's not important.

What is important is how eager Aiden is to get his shirt off, and how badly he needs to run his hands over every inch of skin he can touch. Lambert has the feel of his lover's body memorized, even after so long apart, and he's delighted to find that his touch still has the same effect.

His fingers stray toward the center of the Cat's chest, and Lambert has every intention of pulling back in a moment to allow them to both get their shirts off, but he encounters that line of scar tissue.

He pulls back, a look of concern drawing his brows together as he speaks.]

This is new.

[He follows the line of the scar up, pushing the hem of Aiden's shirt up as he goes so that he can get a proper look, until he reaches the point where it forks. Whatever happened, it obviously wasn't enough to kill Aiden. He's very clearly alive. Lambert can hear his slow heartbeat, can feel the warmth of his skin, can see him, smell him, and taste him. He's worried nonetheless.]

Aiden, this--[Sighing, he sets the Cat down so he can tug his shirt off and get a better look. He recognizes what the scar is, then, and rage very quickly boils up in the Wolf's chest. Not at Aiden, never at Aiden. At what he likely knows, but is refusing to believe at the moment.] This isn't from a fight. What happened? What did he do?

[Lambert looks up to Aiden's face again, pinning him with that wolflike stare.]

[Lambert's hands wander over towards his chest, and for a moment, Aiden doesn't think about anything other than how good his hands feel against his skin, the warmth, the rasp of sword callouses. He doesn't realize until it's too late that they've strayed too far, his fingers tracing along the prominent ridge of scar tissue and following it long enough that its origins are undeniable. He figures it out immediately and Aiden curses under his breath. Stupid, stupid. Couldn't keep it over-the-clothes for five fucking minutes, could he?]

[His feet touch the ground again and his shirt gets pulled off, revealing skin that has about the amount of scarring that you'd expect to see on a man who routinely hurls himself at deadly monsters for a living. That, and the vivisection scar, the one that's making Lambert's brow wrinkle up in concern. Aiden tips his head back and looks up at the darkening sky, but even if he can't see Lambert's face, he can tell from his scent that he's getting angry at the sight of it, just like he thought he would. Can't really blame him for it, it's a fucking vivisection scar on his soulmate, probably any reasonable person would be upset about it. But it's just-- he was enjoying himself, up until this moment. It was nice. He'd like to have a nice thing, you know?]

Pretty sure you're not stupid, Lamb. [That sounds right, coming out of his mouth. He's called him things like that before, and Lambchop, and his lamb in wolf's clothing. He's not very lamblike right now, though, with rage climbing acrid and sharp in his scent. It makes Aiden's nose twitch.] You know what it's from. He's interested in mutants and mutations, I told you that already.

[What else would a mage who's interested in mutations do when presented with such an excellent subject as a witcher? And a Cat witcher to boot, one who would have interesting mutations because of the school's notorious experimentation with their formulae. Too good an opportunity to pass up, and with a subject who wouldn't just expire on the operating table in the middle of things. One that you could open up again and again, as many times as you needed.]

What do you want from me, a blow-by-blow? Because that might take a while and I'm a little fuzzy on some of the stuff that happened in the middle. Getting cut open doesn't do great things for my memory, even without my whole issue in that area.

[Guilt and shame twist his gut as he catches the scent of disappointment and frustration coming off Aiden. Of course, he knows. He doesn't need to ask, he doesn't need a blow-by-blow. He's pretty sure if he got one, he'd burn down everything in between himself and this Corinthus bastard. Looking away, he tries to will himself to calm down.]

Sorry. I just didn't expect...y'know, that.

[He looks back to Aiden, looking as much like a scolded puppy as a grown witcher possibly can. With one ill-timed little tantrum, Lambert's ruined what was likely to be a very nice evening walk. He thinks he can salvage it, though. If Aiden will let him. It wouldn't be the first time the Wolf's quick temper derailed their activities.]

I'm not stupid, I know what he did, but it's still a shock. It's bad enough your memory was wiped.

[He reaches up to brush black curls away from Aiden's forehead, pressing his lips to the exposed hairline and inhaling the other's scent. Reminding himself that his soulmate is alive. As he pulls away, he lets his fingers slide down along Aiden's jaw, until they're under the Cat's chin, gently urging him to look at Lambert again.]

You said earlier you didn't wanna talk about him, at least not until you felt better. I should've...fuck...

[Should've what? Ignored his anger and continued in his mission to get Aiden naked? Acted as if nothing was amiss? Pretended he didn't know what vivisection scars were, that he didn't recognize the very apparent proof that the one person he cared about more than himself had been put through a living hell while he'd tried to move on with his own life?

None of those thoughts sit well with Lambert. But he suddenly isn't feeling so cocksure and mouthy, because all he wants to do is make things right, and to do that, he has a mage to kill several times over.

Why were they never taught how to navigate such delicate situations?

He picks Aiden's shirt up and offers it to him.]

I should just shut the fuck up and follow your lead, kitten.

[Gentle fingers, a soft kiss. Fuck, Lambert's sweet to him, even when his temper's up. He's like a goddamn puppy, eager to please and looking for affection. Aiden lets Lambert's fingers coax his face back down so that he's looking at him again-- he can't really be upset at the Wolf for his reaction. Doubly so when he's apologetic for his perfectly reasonable, if untimely, anger.]

[Let him be angry later, when they go after Corinthus. It'll be useful then.]

I was going to tell you, but not like this. Sometime better. With booze.

[He isn't exactly sure how that conversation would've gone down, it just wouldn't have started with Lambert finding a giant vivisection scar on him while they were in the middle of taking off their clothes. Huge mood killer. So preferably it would've occurred after they got reacquainted, maybe with the rest of that bottle of wine that Keira opened.]

[Aiden takes his shirt but doesn't put it back on.]

You're right, you should. [He pulls Lambert back in.] So shut up and follow my lead.

[And kisses him again.]

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