Thorned Hearts, ch. 1 (1/?)
A/N: when you love two side characters so much that you basically start a fandom
Fandom: The Unlikeable Demon Hunter Pairing: Leonie Hendricks/Desiderio "Drio" Rossi Rating: M with hints of E Summary: Well, when all goes down, you need a half-demon to save the day
Dedicated to the wonderful @sambethe who willingly jumps with me into all these ships (I will get you into Billy Winston too, I swear)
It shouldn't be a surprise that they'd found her. Leo hadn't gone too far, and it wasn't long before Nava showed up, a beaten-up leather bag on her shoulder, an ancient witch trapped inside of her and tears in her eyes.
So here they were, in their pity party of two with gin and chocolate waffles, commiserating over the lack of third-party administered orgasms and obstinate Rashas. It wasn’t good but at least it was safe until Ari had barged into her room with Kane in tow.
Kane's features were blank as if he'd been just treated with the news of her nature and he was still processing it. There was a mix of pity and apprehension in his eyes and it was just about what Leo could take at the moment. The Brotherhood was getting on her last nerve with their brainwashing, first almost costing her two of the people she cared the most about in the world, followed by the best sex - and probably something more - she’d ever had. She wasn’t about to add more people to the list that refused to talk to her because of who she was.
Lifting her chin up, she treated Ari and Kane with the glaciest stare she could find. Kane could turn into glittery salty poison for all she cared, she would suck it out of him and throw it back to his face before he could blink. Just because she chose not to exercise her demon powers much, it didn’t mean she didn’t have them or didn’t know how to use them. She might be only a PD for them, but there were in for a run of their money if they thought she couldn’t fight back like the best demons out there.
Schooling her features to show she wasn’t afraid of them, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Ari, I have enough with one Rasha wanting to kill me. Did you really have to alert another one about me?”
Ari looked chagrined, his head lowering as a long exhale left him. He lifted his head, meeting her eyes again in an apologetic stare. “I'm sorry, I had no choice. There were extenuating circumstances.”
“The sex better had been worth you spilling the beans,” she bit out, not really giving a fuck. She kicked herself internally as she saw Ari’s wince and Kane’s nervous shifting. She didn’t want to be this person, the one lashing out at her friends - or the people she thought they were friends - but she was tired, horny and had to leave her entire life behind when she’d walked out of Nava’s room.
Ari kept looking at her, and a silent apology went back and forth between them before he finally spoke again, his voice barely a whisper. “It wasn't like that. Malik found us… he's still fuming over this entire thing, determined to know where Lily is and he’s taking things up a notch.”
“Or two,” Kane added in a low voice. It was only then than Leo realized how close they were standing, Kane hovering protectively over Ari, his hand resting on his lower back and his body half shielding him. Ari was all but leaning into Kane, as if he was pulling the strength from him. Whatever had happened, had been bad enough to snap these two out of their bullshit phase and finally bring them together.
“What did exactly happen?”
“It doesn’t matter, not now,” Ari quickly brushed aside, running a hand through his hair as if he were trying to find the words.
“Just tell her,” Kane murmured, exhaustion making his voice thick.
Ari nodded before meeting her eyes again, his eyes so wide that Leo’s blood ran cold. “It's Drio.”
Just what she needed. The one demon hunter she was sure would kill her to show up in her life again. “Please tell me the fucker didn't torture this location out of you.”
Ari took a few steps towards her. “Malik set out a horde of demons against us.” He took her hand in his, his voice breaking. “Leo, he's been poisoned.”
All the air was sucked out of her lungs. It couldn’t be. Not like this…
Her vision blurred out and she swayed on the spot, almost crashing to the floor. Ari caught her, his arms propping her up and holding her against him.
“Look, I - we know things between the two of you are strained.” There was a snort from Kane behind them and Ari sighed. “Ok, I know things are fucked up between the two of you, but nothing I’ve tried has worked and he has little time left…”
Kane met her eyes, his hand clasping Ari’s shoulder. “What twinslay here wants to say, is that you, Obi Wan-Goblin, are our only hope.”
Drio was dying. Drio, the guy that had fucked her into oblivion, made her laugh, and brought her a hand painted scarf from Rome before he threatened to kill her the next time he saw her. Drio, the guy that couldn’t cope with whom she really was.
The Demon Hunter she’d all but gone and fall for was dying. And she was the only one that could help him.
She took a deep breath as she pulled away from Ari and quickly tossed a few things on her bag, reaching to grab the scarf she hadn’t had the heart to part with. “That shadow portal thing better work fast, Katz. Because we don’t have any time to lose. Where’s Nava?”
“She’s on her way to Rohan already.”
“Good. Now take me to Drio.”
/-/
One thing was true, shadow portaling was an effective yet nauseating traveling method. Although Leo wasn’t sure if the nausea that was currently upsetting her stomach was the result of portaling or the Rasha protection wards she’d just trespassed thanks to Ari and Kane. She’d felt bad the last time she’d been here healing Nava, but this was ten times worse. But as she rushed into Drio’s room, she realized that part of the dread in her stomach had nothing to do with portals or wards.
It was the sight of him - lying on his bed, his olive skin dull and sickeningly pale, his blonde hair lusterless and his eyes closed as he squirmed in the bed - that made the bile rise to her mouth. Nava was next to him, holding his hand and trying very hard to do something with her magic. But Leo knew it was a futile attempt. She could feel it in her bones, in the deep part of her that she’d always tried to keep at bay.
Rohan was pacing back and forth at the edge of the room, and Leo turned her eyes to him. “How long it’s been?”
Rohan’s head snapped to her, his eyes red with lack of sleep and remorse. “Almost a day… we’ve tried every single trick in the book. But we are not able to identify the demon, so we can’t possibly know…” he trailed off, defeat in his voice.
All these Rashas, all these knowledge, and Drio was dying in a room that wasn’t even in his home city. Her eyes searched the place, the first time she’d been in his room. The tickets on the vanity caught her attention.
“Whitecaps tickets? What the fuck?”
“He was planning to take you. Before - before he found out - he wanted to do something nice for you.”
Nava’s words sliced through her and Leo fought back tears. A Whitecaps game that none of them got to see and yet the tickets were still there.
“Get out. All of you. I need time alone with him.”
“Leo, the wards-” Nava started but she caught her off.
“We can’t take him outside the wards, we’d be prey to all the demons that are out there looking to kill all of you. Just - leave me alone, I’ll be fine.”
“You will not.” That was Ari coming into the room, but one look from her and he was backtracking. “Leo, this is dangerous….”
“You brought me here, Ari, now get everyone out of this room and let me handle it.”
Kane stepped in, exchanging a quick look with Ari as he went to get Rohan while Ari went to Nava. “Come on, let’s give her some space.”
“Leo, you don’t have to -” Rohan started but Leo was no longer hearing him, her steps taking her to the edge of the bed, her fingers moving a hairlock from Drio’s forehead.
“Drio…” It was all she was able to do before a tear spilled down her cheek and she quickly dried it with the back of her hand. This was no time for tears, this was time for action.
There was a soft click on the door, but Leo barely registered as her hand caressed Drio’s arm and she started to assess the situation with her magic.
The poison was deeply rooted, taking his blood and flesh and refusing to let go without a fight. It felt thick, like tar that had solidified and was impossible to remove. She needed to heat it, melt the poison until it was a thick and viscous grime that she could start pulling out of him, little by little. The task was strenuous in the best conditions and here, within the Rasha walls pressing her chest like lead, it felt impossible to accomplish.
But she knew she had to try. Leaning in, she pressed a soft kiss on his damp forehead. “Hang in there, caro. I’m on it.”