Fic: A Little Evil Comes A Long Way (Kahlan/Cara) 18/33
Title: A Little Evil Comes A Long Way
Author: raug_moss
Pairings: Kahlan/Cara
Rating: NC-17
A/N: modern AU
A/N2: yesterday hasn't been as awful as I thought it would be, so therefore I post a new chapter :D
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17
Chapter 18
They don’t talk while Cara expertly steers the car back to the city and through crowded streets. Kahlan doesn’t know where the ride is going, but she doesn’t ask either. The presence of the blond detective is utterly calming and reassuring after the events of the day. She wants to prolong the ride as much as she can and therefore remains silent until asked for directions. But apparently Cara isn’t trying to take her home or to the precinct, because she eventually stops in front of a small, clean building and gets out. She quickly hurries around and opens the door for the brunette.
Not a single word is uttered as they walk up to the main entrance and Cara unlocks the door. Everything looks much nicer than Dahlia’s apartment building, but then again, almost anything looks better than the building Kahlan now lives in.
“Just wait upstairs, I’ll be right up, okay?” Cara says quietly. Kahlan nods and simply ascends the stairs without further hesitation.
There’s a small hall and a door at the top of the stairs, and Kahlan furrows her brows when the sound of something scratching against the floor reaches her ears.
Soon enough a large furry dog bounces up the stairs and throws his entire weight against her legs. He wags his tail excitedly and looks up at her with large trusting eyes. Kahlan can’t help but smile. She scratches the dog’s head and looks up as Cara jogs up the stairs as well. “Spike!” The blonde hisses. The dog’s ears immediately turn in her direction and he takes a step away from Kahlan.
Cara hurriedly pushes the dog out of the way, reaches past the brunette and unlocks the door before ushering both of them inside.
The apartment is clean and very inviting. A spacious living room connects with a moderately sized kitchen and there’s also a balcony that overlooks the small yard at the back of the house.
Kahlan stands there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Spike sits down beside her and they both watch Cara as she takes off her coat, unfastens the gun from her belt and puts it aside.
“You can… I mean there’s a shower in the bathroom and you still have some… on your face.”
Cara’s voice cracks a little as she refuses to say out loud what exactly she thinks is on Kahlan’s face. The brunette had completely forgotten about it and now turns deathly pale.
Spike whimpers quietly and nudges her leg with his head. This little touch is enough to bring Kahlan’s thoughts back from the downward spiral of darkness. She takes a deep breath and tries to focus on getting through this situation without passing out or bursting into tears. There’s still some hardness as well as coldness inside of her and she needs to make use of it now.
She nods in Cara’s direction and walks over to the door that leads her into a darkly tiled bathroom.
Without further ado she shuts the rest of the world out and takes off her clothes. Placing them on a nearby laundry basket she turns on the water and steps under the spray. The feeling of the hot water splashing against her skin is so overwhelmingly wonderful that a moan leaves her throat without her being able to stop it.
She squeezes her eyes shut and tilts her face upward. She knows that the water that disappears into the drain is stained red. It wouldn’t be an unfamiliar sight to begin with, but she needs to take her mind off of what has happened and therefore refuses to look at it.
After using up more water than is probably appropriate she steps out of the shower stall and looks around. Instead of her clothes, there is now a fluffy white towel on top of the laundry basket, right along with a pair of sweats, a shirt and a warm cardigan. Drying herself off and quickly toweling her hair, Kahlan quickly slips into the clothes Cara has brought without her noticing. She puts the towel away and carefully opens the door of the bathroom. Peeking outside she is immediately tackled by Spike again. He wriggles his furry body in between her and the door, yelping for attention.
Kahlan grins and leads him back into the main room of the apartment where she kneels down and scratches his jaw with both hands.
Spike breathes into her face and then drags his tongue across her cheek. Kahlan chuckles quietly and leans into the dog. She can detect his unique animal smell and immediately feels better.
“He usually tends to be very suspicious of new people.”
Cara is leaning with her hip against the dark couch that takes up most of the living room. She has her arms crossed in front of her chest and a tiny smile is tugging at her lips. The dog’s ears immediately turn in his owner’s direction but he remains close to Kahlan, glad that he is getting some much needed scratching.
Kahlan rises from the ground and rolls her shoulders. She knows that there’s an inevitable confrontation coming her way and yet she dreads the moment when Cara will regard her with disdain. There’s no way she’s going to get out of this without removing the blond detective form her life as thoroughly as possible. She can’t risk revealing what business she has with Dewitt and therefore endangering hers and Dahlia’s life. But has she really done something illegal? Except for driving a car around and flirting with a guy at a party, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the tasks she has been given by Rahl and Dewitt.
If there hadn’t been a shooting with three dead men as consequence, it might’ve even turned out to be a walk in the park.
“How are you feeling?” Cara asks carefully.
“Better. Much better. Thank you.” Kahlan smiles weakly and lowers her gaze.
“Would you like some coffee?”
The conversational tone Cara is using is far more unsettling than as if she was pulling out her handcuffs.
“I’d prefer hot cocoa if you have it.” Kahlan tries to answer just as casually.
Her voice however cracks a little when she sees her clothes neatly piled up in the hall next to a see-through plastic bag.
Evidence. She knows that’s what Cara sees when she looks at the blood stains. Of course she does, and yet Kahlan feels slightly disappointed at the detective’s pragmatic approach. She has only brought her to the apartment and offered her a shower so she could gather all kinds of information. That somehow hurt, although Kahlan can understand the motivation behind it. She is probably going to be a murder suspect very soon and she doesn’t even know if there’s a way to prove her innocence when the blood on her jacket matches the blood from one of the corpses. There’s almost a physical pull she can feel, urging her to run as far away as fast as she can. But one look into those sea-green eyes that regard her with calm serenity and all she can do is follow the blonde over into the kitchen.
Cara silently prepares some hot cocoa for her and puts the steaming cup down in front of Kahlan. The brunette carefully sips the hot liquid, enjoying the way it settles in her belly and makes her feel warm all over.
“Let’s sit down.” Cara suggests and walks over to the couch in the living room.
Exhaustion is clear in her body language when she lowers herself into the cushions, and yet her eyes are as sharp and aware as ever.
Kahlan sits down on the other end of the couch and raises her cup when Spike jumps up and settles himself across her lap. Now safely pinned to the cushion Kahlan leans back and looks at Cara, waiting for the question she knows is to come.
“How does it taste?” Cara nods her head toward the cup.
Blue eyes widen for a moment. “It’s…it’s delicious, really. Some of the best I’ve ever had.”
She dutifully takes another sip and smiles a bit. She takes a breath, puts the cup aside and rests both hands on Spike’s back. The dog has decided to take a little nap and Kahlan’s hands rise with every breath the animal takes.
Cara’s eyes flicker down to her dog and back to Kahlan before she focuses on the brunette.
“I would like to ask you some questions Miss Amnell…” Cara begins.
Her tone is careful, almost hesitant and she looks at Kahlan as if she expects her to burst into tears at any moment.
Given what has happened to the brunette, she probably should be an emotional wreck by now, but in fact she has been through worse. Blood, death and danger are not foreign to her, and she’s long ago learned how to cope with all kinds of gruesome scenarios. But there’s no way she can tell the blond detective any of that.
“Kahlan,” she eventually answers. “Call me Kahlan, please.”
Cara gives her a small smile and nods.
“Alright, if you call me Cara.”
They both smile at one another for long moments until the detective remembers that she actually wants to ask some important questions. Her professional mask slips into place and she is fully in interrogation mode as her green eyes bore into Kahlan.
Why she isn’t in a prison cell yet, isn’t entirely clear to Kahlan but she definitely feels far more at ease with only the blonde and her dog close by.
“Kahlan, what were you doing out there?”
A simple question. Nothing more than that, uttered in a calm tone, almost sends the brunette reeling. She has no idea how to answer and no way of doing so without endangering other people’s lives. She could tell Cara everything about Dewitt, the car, the shooting, but then what? Would Dahlia be found the next morning in some backway alley with a bullet in the back of her skull?
“I was just taking a walk.”
A lie, clear as day, and yet Cara’s eyes soften. She leans back and watches Kahlan how she nervously drags her fingers through Spike’s wonderfully soft fur.
Chapter 19
Author: raug_moss
Pairings: Kahlan/Cara
Rating: NC-17
A/N: modern AU
A/N2: yesterday hasn't been as awful as I thought it would be, so therefore I post a new chapter :D
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17
Chapter 18
They don’t talk while Cara expertly steers the car back to the city and through crowded streets. Kahlan doesn’t know where the ride is going, but she doesn’t ask either. The presence of the blond detective is utterly calming and reassuring after the events of the day. She wants to prolong the ride as much as she can and therefore remains silent until asked for directions. But apparently Cara isn’t trying to take her home or to the precinct, because she eventually stops in front of a small, clean building and gets out. She quickly hurries around and opens the door for the brunette.
Not a single word is uttered as they walk up to the main entrance and Cara unlocks the door. Everything looks much nicer than Dahlia’s apartment building, but then again, almost anything looks better than the building Kahlan now lives in.
“Just wait upstairs, I’ll be right up, okay?” Cara says quietly. Kahlan nods and simply ascends the stairs without further hesitation.
There’s a small hall and a door at the top of the stairs, and Kahlan furrows her brows when the sound of something scratching against the floor reaches her ears.
Soon enough a large furry dog bounces up the stairs and throws his entire weight against her legs. He wags his tail excitedly and looks up at her with large trusting eyes. Kahlan can’t help but smile. She scratches the dog’s head and looks up as Cara jogs up the stairs as well. “Spike!” The blonde hisses. The dog’s ears immediately turn in her direction and he takes a step away from Kahlan.
Cara hurriedly pushes the dog out of the way, reaches past the brunette and unlocks the door before ushering both of them inside.
The apartment is clean and very inviting. A spacious living room connects with a moderately sized kitchen and there’s also a balcony that overlooks the small yard at the back of the house.
Kahlan stands there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Spike sits down beside her and they both watch Cara as she takes off her coat, unfastens the gun from her belt and puts it aside.
“You can… I mean there’s a shower in the bathroom and you still have some… on your face.”
Cara’s voice cracks a little as she refuses to say out loud what exactly she thinks is on Kahlan’s face. The brunette had completely forgotten about it and now turns deathly pale.
Spike whimpers quietly and nudges her leg with his head. This little touch is enough to bring Kahlan’s thoughts back from the downward spiral of darkness. She takes a deep breath and tries to focus on getting through this situation without passing out or bursting into tears. There’s still some hardness as well as coldness inside of her and she needs to make use of it now.
She nods in Cara’s direction and walks over to the door that leads her into a darkly tiled bathroom.
Without further ado she shuts the rest of the world out and takes off her clothes. Placing them on a nearby laundry basket she turns on the water and steps under the spray. The feeling of the hot water splashing against her skin is so overwhelmingly wonderful that a moan leaves her throat without her being able to stop it.
She squeezes her eyes shut and tilts her face upward. She knows that the water that disappears into the drain is stained red. It wouldn’t be an unfamiliar sight to begin with, but she needs to take her mind off of what has happened and therefore refuses to look at it.
After using up more water than is probably appropriate she steps out of the shower stall and looks around. Instead of her clothes, there is now a fluffy white towel on top of the laundry basket, right along with a pair of sweats, a shirt and a warm cardigan. Drying herself off and quickly toweling her hair, Kahlan quickly slips into the clothes Cara has brought without her noticing. She puts the towel away and carefully opens the door of the bathroom. Peeking outside she is immediately tackled by Spike again. He wriggles his furry body in between her and the door, yelping for attention.
Kahlan grins and leads him back into the main room of the apartment where she kneels down and scratches his jaw with both hands.
Spike breathes into her face and then drags his tongue across her cheek. Kahlan chuckles quietly and leans into the dog. She can detect his unique animal smell and immediately feels better.
“He usually tends to be very suspicious of new people.”
Cara is leaning with her hip against the dark couch that takes up most of the living room. She has her arms crossed in front of her chest and a tiny smile is tugging at her lips. The dog’s ears immediately turn in his owner’s direction but he remains close to Kahlan, glad that he is getting some much needed scratching.
Kahlan rises from the ground and rolls her shoulders. She knows that there’s an inevitable confrontation coming her way and yet she dreads the moment when Cara will regard her with disdain. There’s no way she’s going to get out of this without removing the blond detective form her life as thoroughly as possible. She can’t risk revealing what business she has with Dewitt and therefore endangering hers and Dahlia’s life. But has she really done something illegal? Except for driving a car around and flirting with a guy at a party, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the tasks she has been given by Rahl and Dewitt.
If there hadn’t been a shooting with three dead men as consequence, it might’ve even turned out to be a walk in the park.
“How are you feeling?” Cara asks carefully.
“Better. Much better. Thank you.” Kahlan smiles weakly and lowers her gaze.
“Would you like some coffee?”
The conversational tone Cara is using is far more unsettling than as if she was pulling out her handcuffs.
“I’d prefer hot cocoa if you have it.” Kahlan tries to answer just as casually.
Her voice however cracks a little when she sees her clothes neatly piled up in the hall next to a see-through plastic bag.
Evidence. She knows that’s what Cara sees when she looks at the blood stains. Of course she does, and yet Kahlan feels slightly disappointed at the detective’s pragmatic approach. She has only brought her to the apartment and offered her a shower so she could gather all kinds of information. That somehow hurt, although Kahlan can understand the motivation behind it. She is probably going to be a murder suspect very soon and she doesn’t even know if there’s a way to prove her innocence when the blood on her jacket matches the blood from one of the corpses. There’s almost a physical pull she can feel, urging her to run as far away as fast as she can. But one look into those sea-green eyes that regard her with calm serenity and all she can do is follow the blonde over into the kitchen.
Cara silently prepares some hot cocoa for her and puts the steaming cup down in front of Kahlan. The brunette carefully sips the hot liquid, enjoying the way it settles in her belly and makes her feel warm all over.
“Let’s sit down.” Cara suggests and walks over to the couch in the living room.
Exhaustion is clear in her body language when she lowers herself into the cushions, and yet her eyes are as sharp and aware as ever.
Kahlan sits down on the other end of the couch and raises her cup when Spike jumps up and settles himself across her lap. Now safely pinned to the cushion Kahlan leans back and looks at Cara, waiting for the question she knows is to come.
“How does it taste?” Cara nods her head toward the cup.
Blue eyes widen for a moment. “It’s…it’s delicious, really. Some of the best I’ve ever had.”
She dutifully takes another sip and smiles a bit. She takes a breath, puts the cup aside and rests both hands on Spike’s back. The dog has decided to take a little nap and Kahlan’s hands rise with every breath the animal takes.
Cara’s eyes flicker down to her dog and back to Kahlan before she focuses on the brunette.
“I would like to ask you some questions Miss Amnell…” Cara begins.
Her tone is careful, almost hesitant and she looks at Kahlan as if she expects her to burst into tears at any moment.
Given what has happened to the brunette, she probably should be an emotional wreck by now, but in fact she has been through worse. Blood, death and danger are not foreign to her, and she’s long ago learned how to cope with all kinds of gruesome scenarios. But there’s no way she can tell the blond detective any of that.
“Kahlan,” she eventually answers. “Call me Kahlan, please.”
Cara gives her a small smile and nods.
“Alright, if you call me Cara.”
They both smile at one another for long moments until the detective remembers that she actually wants to ask some important questions. Her professional mask slips into place and she is fully in interrogation mode as her green eyes bore into Kahlan.
Why she isn’t in a prison cell yet, isn’t entirely clear to Kahlan but she definitely feels far more at ease with only the blonde and her dog close by.
“Kahlan, what were you doing out there?”
A simple question. Nothing more than that, uttered in a calm tone, almost sends the brunette reeling. She has no idea how to answer and no way of doing so without endangering other people’s lives. She could tell Cara everything about Dewitt, the car, the shooting, but then what? Would Dahlia be found the next morning in some backway alley with a bullet in the back of her skull?
“I was just taking a walk.”
A lie, clear as day, and yet Cara’s eyes soften. She leans back and watches Kahlan how she nervously drags her fingers through Spike’s wonderfully soft fur.
Chapter 19