Tipped Bright Red (Esmeralda/Medea)
Title: Tipped Bright Red
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,770
Characters: Esmeralda Selwynn, Medea Yaxley
Prompt: 025. Forgive
Summary: After Medea pulls out all the stops to soothe Esmeralda, she learns that there are new rules to the game.
Warnings: Alternative Universe of lumos_founders.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling; though really, way more fleshed out and original. Set directly after this fic by silyara.
For a moment after she woke Esmeralda Selwynn did not know where she was. The entire room smelled different, the light was falling on her eyes and there was no cat curled up at her feet begging to be fed. Then the events of the previous day came back to her and she realized that she was in one of the spare bedrooms of Yaxley manor. Medea's home. She knew her knees up to her chest and propped her chin on them, staring out the window across from the bed. If not for the fact that she was still very, very upset with Medea then she would have smiled as she remembered the previous night. Everything had been absolutely perfect, from the dinner (Esmeralda would have to find out where Medea had gotten that white truffle sauce from) to the private ballet showing it had all been arranged to suit her tastes. By the time Medea had worked her way to the seat next to Esmeralda, the redhead had almost been willing to smile at her. If things continued to go that way then she would not need to
"Ms. Selwynn?" a house elf whose name she had forgotten had pushed open the door. "Would you like your breakfast now?"
"I need time to dress," Esmeralda replied, tilting her head a little to one side. "Is it in the same dining room as last night?" The last time she had been over they had used a smaller one for breakfast that overlooked the estate.
The house elf shook her head and stepped inside, carrying a covered tray. "Your breakfast is being brought to you, mistress." She leaned up to set it on the bed next to Esmeralda before bowing and hurrying back out. Surprised, she very rarely had breakfast in bed, Esmeralda lifted the cover off of the tray and nearly dropped it again. Everything on the tray, even the juice, used strawberries.
"Merlin," Esmeralda murmured as she took a bite of a strawberry waffle. "What hasn't she done?" The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, partially because Esmeralda was not used to talking to herself (that was what Selene was for) and partially because it was simply too delicious. By the time she was finished and getting dressed for the day she felt in a genuinely good mood, which was likely why she actually greeted Medea when the black-haired woman entered her room. The other woman's dress may have had something to do with it as well, cream trimmed with gold and green to bring out her eyes. I'm supposed to be mad at her still, Esmeralda reminded herself as she said, "Good morning."
"Good morning. Did you enjoy your breakfast?"
"I did." It was one of the best that I've ever had, she added silently, wounded pride not allowing her to say anything nicer just yet.
"The weather is warm, so I do not think you should need anything more." So they were going outside? Esmeralda nodded her assent and allowed Medea to take the lead, keeping her eyes on their surroundings despite the slightest of desires to look at Medea. And that desire was not, for the first time in weeks, accompanied by an image of the black-haired woman dead or severely maimed. Am I forgiving her so easily? But then... it's not really that easy, what she's done. The fact that she was even trying this hard after Esmeralda had informed her that she wanted her dead was quite impressive.
When Esmeralda actually paid attention to their surroundings she found herself surprised for the third time that morning. They were in a garden. "I did not know that your family had a garden."
"My mother wanted one, so my father consented to a small one in part of the forest."
"I like it." No, that was another understatement. There was something soothing and peaceful abouts gardens contained inside of forests that regular gardens simply did not have.
Medea was smiling. "It's a quiet, peaceful place."
Should I ask? "Who will inherit the property?"
"Either one of my sister’s husbands or a distant cousin who still has the name Yaxley."
Esmeralda looked off to the other side, eyes drawn by a patch of brightly colored flowers. "That's a pity." She would have liked to come back again... with Medea. When Esmeralda turned she found that Medea was holding a flower up for her. And not just any flower, but a magnolia, Esmeralda's favorite. Everything had been catered to her tastes, from the moment she arrived right down to the flower that Medea was holding and the outfit she was wearing. Now that she thought of it, the entire house had been in shades that she preferred, and she knew that it was not normally like that. And Medea was right there... Esmeralda took the flower and brought her other hand up to Medea's face, sighing at the smoothness. And the first non-surprising thing of the day happened when Medea submitted to Esmeralda's kiss, not even pulling away when Esmeralda bit down on her lip. "She never kissed you like that," Esmeralda murmured when she pulled away, trailing her fingers along Medea's neck. Smooth as silk. She smiled at the quickness of the black-haired woman's pulse as her fingers came to rest near the base of her neck.
"No," Medea agreed, carefully sliding her arms around Esmeralda's waist. "But it doesn't matter because I didn't want to be with her. I tried telling you it was necessary." She whimpered when Esmeralda's nails dug into her shoulder, but did not move away. "What was that for?"
Esmeralda raised an eyebrow as she maneuvered Medea to a nearby bench and pushed her down. "I haven't forgiven you just yet," Esmeralda informed her, settling down onto her lap with one arm looped about her neck, the other toying with the pendant she was wearing. I gave this to her when we graduated... The redhead rested her forehead against Medea's, eyes gleaming. "If you ever sleep with another woman then I don't care how useful you are to Augustus and Tom... I'll make you wish you'd never met me." She kissed Medea again, softer than the last, soothing the spot where her teeth had broken through. "Understand?"
"It was for a mission... what if another one comes up?" Esmeralda's eyes flashed and a line of scratches appeared on the side of Medea's neck. "It's a valid question!"
"It is no such thing," Esmeralda denied, her nails pressed against the bright red lines. "It should never have even been a valid option in the first place. There are others who could have done what you did."
"Not as well." Medea hissed and squeezed her eyes shut as Esmeralda's nails dug in deeper. "Like you would have told Tom no!"
"I would have found him someone else, which is exactly what you should have done." Esmeralda drew her hand away from Medea's neck, studying the bright red spots that were beginning to spread. "And it's exactly what you will do if it ever comes up again. I will not stand for it again, Medea Yaxley, and you are lucky I stood for it this time. Or rather that someone got in my way."
Medea chuckled nervously. "I never would have thought that you would want to be so exclusive, you never said-" Esmeralda interrupted her with a kiss. "You never-" Another kiss. "Are you going to let me finish?"
"Making up for lost time," Esmeralda murmured, slouching so that she could nuzzle at Medea's neck. "Are you objecting?"
"Never, I just think you're avoiding what I wanted to say."
Esmeralda glanced up at Medea and there was fire in her eyes. She took Medea's shoulders in her hands as she turned to straddle the other woman, leaning up so that she was looking down. "You are mine," she informed her. "And I was never very good at sharing. As I think is evidenced by what happened to that Mudblood." She refused to name the dead woman.
Medea rested her hands on Esmeralda's hips, her smile more certain now. "Does that mean I can be jealous if you ever sleep with someone else?"
"So few meet my standards that I do not think you have to worry."
"But what if one does?"
The redhead smiled and twirled a lock of Medea's hair around her finger. "Then I'll come tell you all about her and get it out of my system. And I expect you to do exactly the same." She leaned in and kissed the marks she had left on the side of Medea's neck, murmuring quietly as she did. "But if you ever hurt me like that again-"
"I know," Medea said quickly, tilting her head a little."You'll kill me slowly and painfully. But it wouldn't be near as bad as having to suffer through you not speaking to or touching me." She sighed. "My account is going to take years to recover from last night."
"But I was worth it." She laid a trail of kisses to Medea's mouth and hesitated. "Wasn't I?" It was the first time that she had shown any hint of doubt in herself and it caused Medea's eyes to warm.
Medea slid her hands up along Esmeralda's back until she found the tiny row of buttons. "You were worth getting the truffles." She undid one of the buttons. "You were worth hiring the ballet dancers." Another button. "You were worth being silent all night and paying no attention at all to the ballet because I was too busy trying to sit by you." She's thought all of this out, Esmeralda realized. "You were worth redecorating for the weekend. You were worth hardly any sleep because I was worrying if it was all enough." There was only one button left. "Hmm... what else are you worth..." Esmeralda pouted at her. "You're worth being exclusive for, love." The last button came undone as she leaned up and kissed Esmeralda, her intent clear as glass as she began to slide the dress off of the redhead's shoulders.
Esmeralda pulled away. "We're in your garden," she gasped. "Someone could come out here at any moment."
"No one will," Medea insisted, her fingers at some point having drifted down to Esmeralda's wrist. "And I really don't care, I want you now. Please, Esmi it's been so long." This has gone much better than I thought it would, Esmeralda thought as she complied with a kiss. I'll have to thank... At that point it became next to impossible for thoughts to form.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,770
Characters: Esmeralda Selwynn, Medea Yaxley
Prompt: 025. Forgive
Summary: After Medea pulls out all the stops to soothe Esmeralda, she learns that there are new rules to the game.
Warnings: Alternative Universe of lumos_founders.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling; though really, way more fleshed out and original. Set directly after this fic by silyara.
For a moment after she woke Esmeralda Selwynn did not know where she was. The entire room smelled different, the light was falling on her eyes and there was no cat curled up at her feet begging to be fed. Then the events of the previous day came back to her and she realized that she was in one of the spare bedrooms of Yaxley manor. Medea's home. She knew her knees up to her chest and propped her chin on them, staring out the window across from the bed. If not for the fact that she was still very, very upset with Medea then she would have smiled as she remembered the previous night. Everything had been absolutely perfect, from the dinner (Esmeralda would have to find out where Medea had gotten that white truffle sauce from) to the private ballet showing it had all been arranged to suit her tastes. By the time Medea had worked her way to the seat next to Esmeralda, the redhead had almost been willing to smile at her. If things continued to go that way then she would not need to
"Ms. Selwynn?" a house elf whose name she had forgotten had pushed open the door. "Would you like your breakfast now?"
"I need time to dress," Esmeralda replied, tilting her head a little to one side. "Is it in the same dining room as last night?" The last time she had been over they had used a smaller one for breakfast that overlooked the estate.
The house elf shook her head and stepped inside, carrying a covered tray. "Your breakfast is being brought to you, mistress." She leaned up to set it on the bed next to Esmeralda before bowing and hurrying back out. Surprised, she very rarely had breakfast in bed, Esmeralda lifted the cover off of the tray and nearly dropped it again. Everything on the tray, even the juice, used strawberries.
"Merlin," Esmeralda murmured as she took a bite of a strawberry waffle. "What hasn't she done?" The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, partially because Esmeralda was not used to talking to herself (that was what Selene was for) and partially because it was simply too delicious. By the time she was finished and getting dressed for the day she felt in a genuinely good mood, which was likely why she actually greeted Medea when the black-haired woman entered her room. The other woman's dress may have had something to do with it as well, cream trimmed with gold and green to bring out her eyes. I'm supposed to be mad at her still, Esmeralda reminded herself as she said, "Good morning."
"Good morning. Did you enjoy your breakfast?"
"I did." It was one of the best that I've ever had, she added silently, wounded pride not allowing her to say anything nicer just yet.
"The weather is warm, so I do not think you should need anything more." So they were going outside? Esmeralda nodded her assent and allowed Medea to take the lead, keeping her eyes on their surroundings despite the slightest of desires to look at Medea. And that desire was not, for the first time in weeks, accompanied by an image of the black-haired woman dead or severely maimed. Am I forgiving her so easily? But then... it's not really that easy, what she's done. The fact that she was even trying this hard after Esmeralda had informed her that she wanted her dead was quite impressive.
When Esmeralda actually paid attention to their surroundings she found herself surprised for the third time that morning. They were in a garden. "I did not know that your family had a garden."
"My mother wanted one, so my father consented to a small one in part of the forest."
"I like it." No, that was another understatement. There was something soothing and peaceful abouts gardens contained inside of forests that regular gardens simply did not have.
Medea was smiling. "It's a quiet, peaceful place."
Should I ask? "Who will inherit the property?"
"Either one of my sister’s husbands or a distant cousin who still has the name Yaxley."
Esmeralda looked off to the other side, eyes drawn by a patch of brightly colored flowers. "That's a pity." She would have liked to come back again... with Medea. When Esmeralda turned she found that Medea was holding a flower up for her. And not just any flower, but a magnolia, Esmeralda's favorite. Everything had been catered to her tastes, from the moment she arrived right down to the flower that Medea was holding and the outfit she was wearing. Now that she thought of it, the entire house had been in shades that she preferred, and she knew that it was not normally like that. And Medea was right there... Esmeralda took the flower and brought her other hand up to Medea's face, sighing at the smoothness. And the first non-surprising thing of the day happened when Medea submitted to Esmeralda's kiss, not even pulling away when Esmeralda bit down on her lip. "She never kissed you like that," Esmeralda murmured when she pulled away, trailing her fingers along Medea's neck. Smooth as silk. She smiled at the quickness of the black-haired woman's pulse as her fingers came to rest near the base of her neck.
"No," Medea agreed, carefully sliding her arms around Esmeralda's waist. "But it doesn't matter because I didn't want to be with her. I tried telling you it was necessary." She whimpered when Esmeralda's nails dug into her shoulder, but did not move away. "What was that for?"
Esmeralda raised an eyebrow as she maneuvered Medea to a nearby bench and pushed her down. "I haven't forgiven you just yet," Esmeralda informed her, settling down onto her lap with one arm looped about her neck, the other toying with the pendant she was wearing. I gave this to her when we graduated... The redhead rested her forehead against Medea's, eyes gleaming. "If you ever sleep with another woman then I don't care how useful you are to Augustus and Tom... I'll make you wish you'd never met me." She kissed Medea again, softer than the last, soothing the spot where her teeth had broken through. "Understand?"
"It was for a mission... what if another one comes up?" Esmeralda's eyes flashed and a line of scratches appeared on the side of Medea's neck. "It's a valid question!"
"It is no such thing," Esmeralda denied, her nails pressed against the bright red lines. "It should never have even been a valid option in the first place. There are others who could have done what you did."
"Not as well." Medea hissed and squeezed her eyes shut as Esmeralda's nails dug in deeper. "Like you would have told Tom no!"
"I would have found him someone else, which is exactly what you should have done." Esmeralda drew her hand away from Medea's neck, studying the bright red spots that were beginning to spread. "And it's exactly what you will do if it ever comes up again. I will not stand for it again, Medea Yaxley, and you are lucky I stood for it this time. Or rather that someone got in my way."
Medea chuckled nervously. "I never would have thought that you would want to be so exclusive, you never said-" Esmeralda interrupted her with a kiss. "You never-" Another kiss. "Are you going to let me finish?"
"Making up for lost time," Esmeralda murmured, slouching so that she could nuzzle at Medea's neck. "Are you objecting?"
"Never, I just think you're avoiding what I wanted to say."
Esmeralda glanced up at Medea and there was fire in her eyes. She took Medea's shoulders in her hands as she turned to straddle the other woman, leaning up so that she was looking down. "You are mine," she informed her. "And I was never very good at sharing. As I think is evidenced by what happened to that Mudblood." She refused to name the dead woman.
Medea rested her hands on Esmeralda's hips, her smile more certain now. "Does that mean I can be jealous if you ever sleep with someone else?"
"So few meet my standards that I do not think you have to worry."
"But what if one does?"
The redhead smiled and twirled a lock of Medea's hair around her finger. "Then I'll come tell you all about her and get it out of my system. And I expect you to do exactly the same." She leaned in and kissed the marks she had left on the side of Medea's neck, murmuring quietly as she did. "But if you ever hurt me like that again-"
"I know," Medea said quickly, tilting her head a little."You'll kill me slowly and painfully. But it wouldn't be near as bad as having to suffer through you not speaking to or touching me." She sighed. "My account is going to take years to recover from last night."
"But I was worth it." She laid a trail of kisses to Medea's mouth and hesitated. "Wasn't I?" It was the first time that she had shown any hint of doubt in herself and it caused Medea's eyes to warm.
Medea slid her hands up along Esmeralda's back until she found the tiny row of buttons. "You were worth getting the truffles." She undid one of the buttons. "You were worth hiring the ballet dancers." Another button. "You were worth being silent all night and paying no attention at all to the ballet because I was too busy trying to sit by you." She's thought all of this out, Esmeralda realized. "You were worth redecorating for the weekend. You were worth hardly any sleep because I was worrying if it was all enough." There was only one button left. "Hmm... what else are you worth..." Esmeralda pouted at her. "You're worth being exclusive for, love." The last button came undone as she leaned up and kissed Esmeralda, her intent clear as glass as she began to slide the dress off of the redhead's shoulders.
Esmeralda pulled away. "We're in your garden," she gasped. "Someone could come out here at any moment."
"No one will," Medea insisted, her fingers at some point having drifted down to Esmeralda's wrist. "And I really don't care, I want you now. Please, Esmi it's been so long." This has gone much better than I thought it would, Esmeralda thought as she complied with a kiss. I'll have to thank... At that point it became next to impossible for thoughts to form.