On Fire [Ari/Open]

[Arianna Blackthorn]

He looked so fragile laying on the bed. A thin piece of paper tarnished from age. A light wind sweeping over him would blow him to dust. She bit her lip as she watched him, assuming that he was sleeping. She still loved him but she was afraid. Terrified of the future. What little they had. He'd be dead in a decade or sooner. He couldn't give her children or he wouldn't. A large family had been her dream. Create her own traditions, make up for what she hadn't had as a child. It couldn't happen. Not together. He would never see their child grown. He'll barely see Max.

Tiny claws dug into Ari's heart as she watched. Why, did he have to be so ill? Why him? She hadn't been there more than a minute when his dry voice croaked. He was angry. At first she thought that it could be because of the pain he was in. But no. He knew who that woman in the hall was. Knew her fragile lies. At the time the issue had come up she hadn't thought it would hurt him. Everyone thought her mother was dead. It was easier that way.

"What do you want? Would you like to take anything else from me? My sanity, my dignity, my love and my secrets can't possibly be enough. My son as well, I suppose. He never stops talking about you anymore. Or are there any more lies you'd like to tell me? I've already got this one about your mother and the whole 'for better or worse' thing was obviously a bust..."

She flinched at his tirade. Especially at the accusation that she had more lies. lies...not necessarily. did she tell him the entire truth no...She knew she should tell him about the lost baby. That she should have told him sooner. Just like she should have told him about her mother.

"I came to see how you were," She said softly, biting her lip. He probably would laugh at that or cut into her skin with a retort on why she should care. He probably believed that their entire relationship was a life.

"I'm not here to take anything from you. I don't want to steal your son away. Max's your son. I'm just a step Aunt." It hurt to think that Curse thought she was trying to steal his child. Before, she knew who Max's father was it probably was the truth. Max had been a lonely child who was all but ignored by his mother and step father. She had extra love and he needed it. Now, Max didn't really need her. He had Curse for the time being. But she would be there for Max when he needed her.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you the woman who gave birth to me was locked away in a mental institution. It isn't the kind of thing one mentions on a date. But that woman you met in a hallway hasn't recognize me as her daughter in nearly a decade. In her mind, Arianna is forever a baby. I'm just some stranger who claims to be her daughter. The girl with the demon eyes." Bitterness poured out of Arianna like a plague. She shouldn't have let out her emotions on Curse. He wasn't stable enough for a conversation like this. During her speech she had walked into the room a bit. Now she was standing halfway between him and the door.

"I don't want to fight. I came to see if you were alright."

[Curse Kameren]

"I came to see how you were."

Curse scoffed, his glare going back to the ceiling as he let himself drop. A pang of pain hit him as he did it, the pain moving through his body from the point of impact. He was tired and angry and in agony, and he needed an outlet. Arianna had become that outlet. When she had come back he had been kind to her, never telling her about the Hell he had to go through after she had left. She walked out on him when he needed her most, he wasn't going to let her just come and feebly make up for it now. He didn't need her anymore, he could get better by himself. And if he couldn't, then he would die alone, but it was better to die with his physical pain than to have to go through the emotional pain again. He couldn't just go in circles with Arianna again.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you the woman who gave birth to me was locked away in a mental institution. It isn't the kind of thing one mentions on a date."

"Its something you tell the man you're marrying." He cut her off in his anger.

"But that woman you met in a hallway hasn't recognize me as her daughter in nearly a decade. In her mind, Arianna is forever a baby. I'm just some stranger who claims to be her daughter. The girl with the demon eyes."

"And I'd never understand that?" He looked over at her, his anger switching into frustration. He had told her about his own rocky family, from how his mother used him to Cedric's murders and their meeting in Azkaban. Their problems weren't the same, but they were similar enough that he could have helped her, and understood if she'd told him. He could hear her getting closer, but his eyes stayed on the ceiling. He didn't have the energy to fight with her right now, but it didn't change the fact that he was angry at her. "I told you everything, everything you wanted to know because I wanted you to trust me. Apparently that still wasn't good enough."

"I don't want to fight. I came to see if you were alright."

"I'm alright, of course I'm alright. I'm always bloody alright," He replied through grit teeth. He looked over at her bitterly, but couldn't keep eye contact with her for long. He returned to the ceiling again, breathing out harshly as he did."It killed me when you left. The only way I could get better was by pretending it never happened. Now you're back and--" He cut himself off, overwhelming himself with the pain in his body and the emotional charge of their conversation "--I don't know what to do anymore."

[Arianna Blackthorn]

They were standing at a crossroads. To one side an easier path that lead away from each other. It was very tempting. All Arianna had to do was walk away again. Leave him with no explanations on why she had never corrected her earlier lie. Why, after he had explained his own crazy family, her own mother remained "dead". The other road was dark, covered in tangling weeds, branches and thorns of their past. The ground would have to be cleared before they could make any real progress on that road. This was a horrible time to choose but it had finally come. For weeks they had avoided talking about anything about the past. They barely touched the issue on why she had left. Now it had come to a head all because she hadn't told him that her mother was indeed alive. It was a story she had told anyone who had asked about her mother. Merlin, even Peter thought her mother was dead. It made it easier.

She knew that she should have told him but it had never felt like the right moment. Coward. She hadn't wanted to ruin what they had created by telling him that one of the first things she shared had been a lie. She'd been afraid that he would doubt the foundation they had built their relationship on. Now, he was doing the very thing she had feared and she deserved it. She barely flinched as he berated her in anger. The cool, calm collected Arianna Blackthorn stood there taking her due punishment.

Then she snapped. Pretend? He tried to pretend that they didn't exist? It was futile, pretenidng wouldn't make their past go away. Pretending that they had never been lovers hadn't worked for her and it angered her. They had created a child together, but he didn't know that. Her lips burned to tell him but again she waited.

"It killed me when you left. The only way I could get better was by pretending it never happened. Now you're back and--""--I don't know what to do anymore."

Neither did she. They were both trapped, half in the past partly in the present. It was a vicious cycle but she was not going to leave this time. That had been a mistake, a selfish one. She had been thinking about her problems when she had left. Focusing on her own good and not about anyone else. It had made her lonely, bitter and afraid. She was not going to be that weak again.

"Don't pretend anymore. We have a past and we need to work through it. You're right I should have trusted you, told you she was still alive after we became close. But I did not entirely lie to you. All those memories I shared about how she cared for me, how fragile she was. That was the truth. I can tell you a thousand reasons why I didn't tell you later but they'd only be excuses. I screwed up. I hurt you and I'm sorry. But I’m not leaving."

[Curse Kameren]

It was killing him that he couldn't stay mad at her. He frowned, his face hard as he kept his eyes upward. He should be mad at her for this. He deserved to. After everything she put him through, building him up and then ripping his foundation out from under him. Lying to him, right from the very start, was something he shouldn't be able to forgive. He could feel himself already starting to, looking at her made him want to forgive her. He kept his eyes on the ceiling, afraid of what might happen if he looked at her again. What he might say.

"Don't pretend anymore. We have a past and we need to work through it. You're right I should have trusted you, told you she was still alive after we became close. But I did not entirely lie to you. All those memories I shared about how she cared for me, how fragile she was. That was the truth. I can tell you a thousand reasons why I didn't tell you later but they'd only be excuses. I screwed up. I hurt you and I'm sorry. But I’m not leaving."

Curse let out a long sigh. He couldn't trust her apology, no matter how much he wanted to. He was in pain, he was tired, and he didn't want to fight. He never wanted to fight Arianna. As much as he wanted to stop, he still loved Arianna. Things were complicated with them, but as easy as it would be to walk away, the last few weeks proved to him that neither of them could. He had no choice but to give her another chance. He couldn't function any other way. His anger calmed for the night, being eaten up by the pain in his body. His face stayed steady, but he finally turned his eyes back to Arianna.

"You better not." He rasped, holding out a shaky hand for her. If they were going to get better, he wasn't going to let her run away this time.

[Arianna Blackthorn]

One flying purple fire breather, two flying purple fire breather, three flying purple fire breath, four flying--- Her mental counting stopped the second Curse held out his hand to her. Immediately she placed her own in his, walking to his side. This was it. The turning point in their relationship. The beginning of something new.

There were still trust issues on both sides. Nothing was perfect and there was no clear path ahead of them. This tension between them could just end up as friends, lovers, or heartbreak. It was too soon to tell, but it was a start. Over the last couple of weeks she had seen a different side of Curse. He was still struggling with his illness but he had something to live for. He was winning. There was more to this man now. He was different and yet the same. She knew that she couldn't save him but she could help him. There was a difference between the similar words. One person could not truly save another, especially from insanity. She had left because she had realized that the first time around. There was no saving him because he didn't need saving, that implied that he was helpless and so much more. He needed help, assistance, guidance etc. Together, they could overcome their problems.

"I know now that running away solves nothing. Curse,---I have to tell you something that happened shortly after I left but here, this isn't the right moment. Can we have dinner when you are recovered from this treatment? I will tell you then. I only bring it up now so you don't think I'm keeping another secret. It's just...this isn't the place to say it."

[Curse Kameren]

A warmth ran through him when Arianna took his hand. The pain seemed to settle a bit. He was angry and in pain and things were still a mess between them, but they had a chance to make changes. He closed his eyes, the mixture of his physical pain with the relief building up in him hurting his head. He wasn't up for any more talking tonight, but she was holding his hand, and that said enough. His breathing slowed as her voice came in and out of his hearing.

"...Can we have dinner when you are recovered from this treatment?..."

He nodded, not opening his eyes. They were too heavy to open, and forcing it would hurt. "I can't give you a day that I'll be able, but we can," He said, his fingers slowly closing around her hand. "Plan around Max." He half-smiled tiredly, the pain numbing as the hospital faded from him, and he drifted into unconsciousness with his hand still in hers.

[Arianna Blackthorn]

He didn't hate her. Nor, did he demand she leave his room and never come back. Instead he agreed to dinner and continued to hold her hand despite being in pain. The healer had explained a bit of the treatment to her. He was in terrible pain and she could do nothing about it. Except remain there. Even after he had slipped into sleep she held his hand. For hours Arianna sat there thinking about their future and their past. So much had changed. A few months ago and she never would have thought they'd be on the verge of reconciliation. Now, there was a slim chance.

Ari nestled into her chair, gently messaging his hand with her thumb as she watched before slowly drifting off to sleep.