Title: all that I have left
Disclaimer: All characters belong to DC. I *wish* I were talented enough to create such awesome characters.
Rating: PG (at best)
Pairing: Katherine Kane/Renee Montoya
Spoilers: 52, Blackest Night, Green Lantern Vol.4: #56
Summary: Renee takes Kate to a special place. Future!Fic. Mostly fluff.
Warnings: None.
A/N: Written for
aural_stimulatn, who is directly responsible for my love of this pairing, k? WORSHIP HER PLEASE. lol.
Nanda Parbat, spring
Kate pulled her coat tighter around her; the snow had begun to fall lightly as they trudged up the mountain.
She licked her dry, chapped lips, and told herself, she wasn’t doing this for herself.
In front of her, Renee was having a marginally better time (though she didn’t look it), trudging through the knee-high snow. You know, she thought to herself sourly, from all the times that Renee’d been here before. She didn’t like thinking about it very much.
Still, she thought, her lips quirking slightly, as she squinted through the falling snow at Renee’s back, even in the hideous winter wear, it was a nice view.
“Hurry up, Kate. We’re nearly there.” Renee called over her shoulder.
Kate grunted in response. Her training hadn’t prepared her for climbing snow covered peaks, and though she’d managed fine so far, she was beginning to feel the strain.
She’d just opened her mouth to complain, when the terrain suddenly levelled out. Renee stopped in front of her, and she picked up pace to catch up. She stopped and raised a hand to shield her eyes, through the white curtain of snow, she could barely make out a village.
The snow was falling faster now. She leaned forward and brushed a few flakes of Renee’s dark hair and waited for her to say something.
Renee was quiet for the longest time and Kate waited her out. Finally, she turned to her, and said, “We should go, they’re expecting us.”
Puzzled at her evasiveness, Kate frowned slightly, but followed Renee down the snow-covered road toward the village. She could smoke rising out of the chimneys, but the streets were empty, and there was an eerie silence. Kate shivered slightly, and not because of the cold.
They stopped in front of a dilapidated hut; Renee knocked and a wizened old woman stepped out. Kate watched in ill-concealed surprise as they hugged and then she smiled at Kate, and welcomed her to her home in broken English. Swallowing her surprised Kate nodded back, slightly lost and confused.
She beckoned them inside and led them to a small room, furnished with a mat.
Kate looked around uncomfortably at the sparse surroundings, feeling completely out of depth and then at Renee looking more than comfortable, as she was shrugging off her backpack. Sighing softly to herself, and remind herself that she was doing this for Renee, Kate dropped her own luggage, rotating her shoulders, to work the kinks out.
Renee wasn’t inclined wait for more than a cup of warm, savoury tea (that seeped deep into Kate’s bones, relaxing her and warming her) because fifteen minutes later, they were out the door again and making their way through the barren village streets.
A few times, Kate started to ask Renee where they were headed, but something in Renee’s demeanour stilled the words on her tongue.
They stopped at a grave on the outskirts of the city; the snow had stopped falling and a watery sun was beginning to filter through the grey clouds.
Kate came to a stop next to Renee, their shoulders brushing. Renee tugged at her coat, and licked her lips, as if gathering her courage.
Kate waited curiosity and impatience simmering beneath her skin.
“Kate, I...” Renee began looking unsure as she turned toward her.
Kate moved closer and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly, silently communicating comfort and support.
“I was so lost...for so very long, at the bottom of a bottle. I lost everyone I care about. You. I lost you.”
She stepped closer, wrapping her arms around Renee from behind, twining her fingers with Renee’s.
She leaned into Kate for a moment, inhaling her scenting, and drawing in her warmth; then stepped away and knelt in front of the gravestone, touching it reverently.
“Charlie was my best friend in the world.”
She looked back up at Kate, her eyes glassy. Renee smiled affectionately through her tears at Kate, and then turned back to the gravestone.
“Charlie,” she began, with a slight smile in her voice. “This is Kate....My wife.”
The wind blew a few strands of Kate’s red-hair into her eyes, and the pale sun shone over the peaks. In that quiet solitude, Kate watched with a small smile and the sunlight glinting of their rings, as Renee found her peace.