Chapter Text
Kotallo tossed and turned on his bedroll, his phantom arm aching intensely. He was trying to keep his grunting to a minimum; a warrior of the ten like himself, maimed or not, should be able to handle this pain.
He was too deep in his thoughts, his eyes screwed shut, to notice the woman next to him moving, lighting a candle that was next to her. It was only when he felt her cool hands touch his face did he open his eyes and then he opened his mouth but was cut off. “Shh, my warrior. It’s okay.”
He let his lips lift into a small smirk before falling as his arm stung once more. He was never going to get used to the pain. He still felt as though he had his other limb, felt his fingers moving, when in reality it was all in his head.
“Let me change your bandages for you.” He shook his head at his lover and declined her help, only for her to move her fingers slowly to his lips, caressing them. “You do so much for me all the time, my warrior. Let me, please.”
She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, giving him only a few seconds to respond before pulling away. “Fine.” He muttered, moving to sit up and lean back against the metal wall of the base.
“I’ll be right back.”
He watched as she stood and touched the glowing blue symbol on the nearby door, waiting for it to open before walking out. It had only been a few minutes before the door opened again and she re-entered with a handful of salves, bandages, and water.
He was grateful for her. He had trouble expressing himself, but to her it seemed to come easier than most. Him being a warrior made it hard for him to be emotional, but without her, he’d probably had gotten himself killed long ago.
He followed her figure as she walked back over to him and lowered herself onto his lap. Most would find this sexual in nature, but his partner has always sat like this. In most cases, it was sexual, and he missed being able to grip her hips; bring her down to his lap, but that’s harder to do now with only one arm.
“You’re thinking too hard.”
She cut his thoughts off with her quiet voice, reaching for the nub of his severed arm to unwrap his bandages. “What makes you say that?”
“Your eyes. You have this look about you when you’re in deep thought.” He winced as the bloodied bandages pulled from his flesh and looked down at the nub. “You know me too well.”
Laughter filled the air like music, and besides her moans, that is his favorite sound. “What are you thinking about, Kotallo.” She began to use water to clean up the blood as gently as she could without causing her lover any great pain; she looked up at him from under her lashes to let him know she was listening.
“I’m maimed. I can’t do what I used to do… I can’t… hold you like I used to.”
Kotallo watched intently as she put the now bloodied cloths to the side and reached over to grab the salves, getting a generous amount to apply to his damaged skin. “You’re still a warrior. You still fight with all you have.”
Placing the salve back down, she grabbed the bandages with one hand and grabbed Kotallo’s hand with the other, guiding it to her waist, where he slithered his arm around her back and pulled her closer.
“You still hold me just as well. You’ve adapted my love.”
Still leaned against him, she maneuvered slightly so that she could begin wrapping his arm back up. “It’ll never be the same, though.”
He caressed the middle of her back, watching as she tied off the ends of the bandage before she leaned entirely against him, her arms resting around his shoulders with a small smile. “Perhaps you should take Gaia up on her offer to help.” He huffed in response, taking a moment to think. “What do you think she could do?”
With a grunt, his lover sat up and pressed her finger to her focus, swiping through countless data before stopping and swiping a file toward Kotallo. “In the Old World they made new metal limbs for those who lost them. Surely, we could get the parts from machines and Gaia could help you make one. I’ll help too.”
“Do you truly think it could work?” He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he really did what to have his arm back, even if it was metal.
Just then, Gaia’s voice rang through both of their focuses, causing them to startle slightly. “Indeed, I’ve done some research and have found the parts needed for your new arm. If you can gather the materials, I could guide you in making it.”
Kotallo’s eyes widened, and his lover smiled brightly. “See?” she then looked up to the ceiling and addressed Gaia, “That’s amazing, we will talk more about it tomorrow and begin gathering the parts.”
“Very well."
“Gaia,” Kotallo started, swallowing hard. “I’m grateful.”
The powerful entity made a noise of recognition before saying her goodbyes. With that, Kotallo was eased off the wall and moved back to their bedroll. He made himself comfortable and opened his arm out to his other half, welcoming her to snuggle into him, which she did happily.
“Tomorrow will be a long day; we better get some rest.” Kotallo hummed in agreement, taking her mouth with his in a languid kiss. One that took her breath away as it usually did.
Resting her head into the crook of his neck, her fingers splayed out before delicately tracing over his chest. She stayed awake until his breathing evened out beneath her, then pressed her lips to his neck and closed her eyes.
“Sleep well, my warrior.”