Rains of Castamere
Title: Rains of Castamere
Where: RPG but not canon????? I don't know?
Rating: R for swearing and angst.
A/N: RAE AND I WEIRD AND RAINS OF CASTAMERE IS REI AND JAMIE'S SONG JUST GO WITH IT OKAY!?
The song came easily, he'd listened to it, sung and quoted it enough that the words were practically tattooed to his brain. It had always had a certain impact, it was supposed to, and it was important in the grand scheme of things.
Or at least if you knew anything about A Song of Fire and Ice. Which Jamie did. That wasn't why the song was special though.
It had become their song. For a myriad of reasons. But mostly because it had been the start of everything.
Everything good anyway.
It was after the corruption of Metalia. After the Senshi and Shitennou had joined forces. After all the stupid petty drama.
They were friends again, good ones at that. He dared to say he'd call her his best friend (when Zoe wasn't present). Everything was comfortable between them, they chatted and joked, and had movie nights. He introduced her to American pop culture, and she spent hours dissecting it with him over beer and pizza.
It was good.
Great even.
He had been content.
Then he'd gotten the call at 2am on a Thursday. His dad was in the hospital. His mom had hysterically mentioned a heart attack, a triple bypass, and could he please come home. So he'd gotten on the first flight out to Oklahoma City, and then a tiny connector to Enid.
His uncle had picked him up. He'd had to leave a message for her, letting her know he couldn't make for their standing watch party.
A few days later his dad had been stabilized, but his mom was a wreck. The doctors talked about his father's diet and stress level, that he needed time away from work and to improve his lifestyle... less drinking, less puffing away on cigars.
His uncles and cousins were all worthless, he realized now more than ever. He never wanted to admit he listened to his father talk business, never wanted to admit he’d paid attention when he'd tagged along to meetings as a kid.
He knew all the corporate people, and they knew him. They liked him. They helped him. It was just for a short time, while his dad recovered. So he settled in for the long haul, the paperwork piling high, his family running him into the ground like they always had. The gay jokes never ending. It was just like old times.
He'd kept in touch with everyone back home though. Because New York City was his home. They'd all been understanding, his duties put on hold.
And she'd called him a lot.
That was how it had started.
He couldn't remember exactly how long he'd been in Enid, it had seemed like a lifetime. In actuality it had probably been two months. He was exhausted from everything, but the obnoxious notification coming from his iPad woke him from a deep sleep.
Blearily he reached over to pick up the offending thing from his nightstand. It was 8am on a Saturday, 9am in New York. It was Rei. He answered the facetime call.
“Just so y'know,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes to clear them, “I only answered because it's you.”
“Did I wake you?” she sounded worried, and he blinked open his eyes to look at her.
“Yeah, it's okay though.” He pulled up his pillow to support his head, iPad resting on his stomach. In the corner he saw his picture, hair a curly mop hanging over his forehead and sticking up at strange angles. He debated about grabbing a shirt but that involved getting out of bed, and really screw that. Rei looked beautiful though, as always. Fresh faced, her hair falling in a smooth sheath down her back. She had her glasses on, red-rimmed that matched her blouse.
It was good to see her.
It always was.
“I didn't get to bed until late,” he mumbled around a yawn. “Dad was discharged so what the fuck do you do but throw a raging kegger to celebrate. Okay, so there was better booze than a frat party, but you get what I mean.”
“I'm sorry I woke you,” she said, and he knew she was. “I didn't want anything, I was just calling to say hi.”
“If you're really sorry then why don't you sing me back to sleep?” He grinned at her widely before scooting down in bed, and closing his eyes. “I'm ready.”
She laughed.
There was a brief moment of silence before she cleared her throat.
And who are you, the proud lord said,
One blue popped open.
that I must bow so low?
He blinked at her disbelief, “Are you reall--”
She only grinned at him as she continued on, face straight, voice never wavering. He started laughing, his entire body shaking.
“Did you just really just sing the Rains of Castamere as a fucking lullaby?” he asked when she finished, wiping the corner of his eye.
“Mmhmm,” she nodded primly, reaching forward to pick up her tea.
“See, this is why I fucking love you,” he blurted and froze. He did, of course. But he was content with what it was, and he didn't want to screw it up. He didn't want to lose his friend. “I mean as a friend. I love you as a friend.”
Rei choked on her tea, covering the awkwardness by clearing her throat. “.... I'll take that as a compliment. So, how is your father doing?”
The change in conversation was jarring, but they picked up like they always did. A day later she was on his parents’ doorstep, surprising him out of nowhere, saying she’d been worried. She had stuck out like a sore thumb, and no one - family or friends - knew what to make of the beautiful Japanese woman in their midst. He hadn't know what to make of her either.
Then feelings were admitted, and her surprise visit made sense. It had been the start of something new, something wonderful.
And it had started with that damned song.
Their song.
So of course it came to mind right now, in this moment, the words muttered past bloodied lips. It was funny too, in a twisted sort of way, given the original context of the song, that he should be humming it now at the end. Their end.
They'd known going in it would be fruitless. They weren't strong enough. They were on their own and they weren't strong enough.
Jamie coughed, pain spreading through his chest, blood in his mouth. He spat. Rei was only a few feet away, but it might as well had been miles. He reached out toward her, and she copied the movement.
Yes now the rains weep o'er his hall, and not a soul to hear.
“I can hear, you idiot.” She smiled at him.
“Yeah, you can.” He wanted to touch her, needed to, but his body was broken and would not comply with the dire wish. “Rei-san?” he said, a teasing smile curling his lips.
“Yes?” her voice was quiet, far away.
“I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
He kept his eyes on her for as long as he could, drinking in every curve of her battered face. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever known. His eyelids were heavy though, and darkness seeped in along the edge of his vision.
Then there was nothing. Not even her.
It could've been minutes or hours or days. He had no way of knowing. All he knew was that his lungs expanded as he drew in a deep breath.
It didn't hurt, not like before.
He coughed and sputtered, taking another breath.
Jamie swallowed and rolled onto his back, looking up at the sky. It was dawn. Most of the sky was a dark, bruised purple, streaks of red and pink and orange shone in the distance.
“What the shitting fuck?” he moaned. He was alive. He was fucking alive! “I knew superpowers would come in handy one day.”
He moaned and sat up, his body stiff and sore. “Do you think we'll get any brownie points for this? Like maybe we unlocked the next level? Rei?”
She hadn't made a sound and he turned toward her, expecting to find her trying to get her bearings again. But she wasn't.
She was still on the ground, in the same fallen position. Her hair was spread out around her, her leg bent at an odd angle, the white of her senshi uniform redder than her skirts.
“Rei!” His voice broke on her name as he scrambled to her side. “No Rei. Hey, come on, wake up.” He placed his fingers gently on her cheek. It was cold. She was cold. She was never cold. She burned hot like a furnace.
He lifted her up, gentling cradling her head in his lap, calling her name, pleading with her to open her eyes. His vision blurred, tears spilling down his cheeks, burning.
“Rei, come on babe. You can't do this. No no no no.” He rocked her back and forth, pulling her to his chest, burying his face in her hair - it smelled like ash and smoke and blood and sweat. It smelled like death.
It was hours later, the sun riding high in the sky, when the others found them. Jamie barely noticed them at first, his attention still on Rei in his arms.
They called to him, trying to gain his attention but he never lifted his eyes from Rei's face. It took both Neil and Kristoff to pull him away, and he fought them the entire time, lashing out like a wounded animal.
“No,” he wailed, voice broken, eyes hollow. “I have to stay with her! I HAVE TO STAY!”
He only stopped struggling when Amy gave him a sedative, even then he never took his eyes off of Rei's face. Darkness gripped him again, but it was not a welcome darkness like before. Because a tiny voice in the back of his mind told him the painful truth.
When he woke again, she would still be dead.