Fic: Valiant 25/38
Title: Valiant Chapter 25/38
Author: MeiLin
Characters/pairing in this chapter: Lucy, Tish, the Master
Rating for this chapter: PG-13 for language
Summary for this chapter: Lucy and Tish have a conversation in the bath, and the Master expresses a preference.
A/N for this chapter: A version of this chapter originally appeared as part of the story "A Paper Doll to Call My Own." It has been expanded and revised.
Valiant Central Page
Lucy sat in the bath with one heat-pink leg in the air, Tish holding it by the foot as she soaped Lucy's leg. Tish picked up the razor.
"Isn't that pretty," said Lucy dreamily.
"Sorry--ma'am--what?"
"Your hand, holding my foot. The contrast. I'm as pale as milk. You're the color of caramel candy, aren't you? That's a sweet combination. Dulce de leche, isn't it." Unsettled, Tish began shaving Lucy's leg.
"I know why he fancies you, little cunt." Tish shifted her grip on Lucy's foot. "Women, we know each other, don't we? Don't have to be queer to see beauty in each other."
Tish put the finished leg back into the water and picked up the other foot. "You are very, very beautiful." Tish began lathering the second leg. "It's all right. You can't help it. None of us can help anything now, can we. We never could. We just didn't know it, until he came."
Tish put the shaven leg down, gesturing for Lucy to stand. Lucy stood and obediently put one foot up on the rim of the tub, spreading her legs.
"Such soft little hands," Lucy murmured, looking down as Tish soaped her. "He hasn't had you yet, has he? No, I think I'd know. I think I'd smell you on him. I think he'd make sure I smelled you on him." Tish shaved in silence, setting her mouth in a straight line. "I wonder--does he ever smell you on me?"
The first time Tish helped Lucy dress, she found a mark the size of her fist on Lucy's outer thigh. She bruised easily, Lucy said, ran into a table. Silly, really.
Bruises blossomed all over Lucy in the months that followed, at first only where the Master--or Tish--would see them. Fresh purple, brackish brown, sickly yellow, marching down her pale upper arm where he'd shaken her. Pansies on snow, thought Tish, pulling out a longer-sleeved dress to hide them.
It was hardest when Lucy had bruises on her face. Tish would have to work serious magic with concealer and powder to mask them, working gently around the blackened eye or swollen lip that more and more often presented themselves to her.
Eventually Tish gave up.
"It's all right," the Master smiled, spinning Lucy like a top. Her full skirt swirled far out, nearly to the waist, revealing old bruises on her calves and new strap marks on the backs of her thighs. "Not to worry, little ladies maid, I prefer the natural look these days."
Author: MeiLin
Characters/pairing in this chapter: Lucy, Tish, the Master
Rating for this chapter: PG-13 for language
Summary for this chapter: Lucy and Tish have a conversation in the bath, and the Master expresses a preference.
A/N for this chapter: A version of this chapter originally appeared as part of the story "A Paper Doll to Call My Own." It has been expanded and revised.
Valiant Central Page
Lucy sat in the bath with one heat-pink leg in the air, Tish holding it by the foot as she soaped Lucy's leg. Tish picked up the razor.
"Isn't that pretty," said Lucy dreamily.
"Sorry--ma'am--what?"
"Your hand, holding my foot. The contrast. I'm as pale as milk. You're the color of caramel candy, aren't you? That's a sweet combination. Dulce de leche, isn't it." Unsettled, Tish began shaving Lucy's leg.
"I know why he fancies you, little cunt." Tish shifted her grip on Lucy's foot. "Women, we know each other, don't we? Don't have to be queer to see beauty in each other."
Tish put the finished leg back into the water and picked up the other foot. "You are very, very beautiful." Tish began lathering the second leg. "It's all right. You can't help it. None of us can help anything now, can we. We never could. We just didn't know it, until he came."
Tish put the shaven leg down, gesturing for Lucy to stand. Lucy stood and obediently put one foot up on the rim of the tub, spreading her legs.
"Such soft little hands," Lucy murmured, looking down as Tish soaped her. "He hasn't had you yet, has he? No, I think I'd know. I think I'd smell you on him. I think he'd make sure I smelled you on him." Tish shaved in silence, setting her mouth in a straight line. "I wonder--does he ever smell you on me?"
The first time Tish helped Lucy dress, she found a mark the size of her fist on Lucy's outer thigh. She bruised easily, Lucy said, ran into a table. Silly, really.
Bruises blossomed all over Lucy in the months that followed, at first only where the Master--or Tish--would see them. Fresh purple, brackish brown, sickly yellow, marching down her pale upper arm where he'd shaken her. Pansies on snow, thought Tish, pulling out a longer-sleeved dress to hide them.
It was hardest when Lucy had bruises on her face. Tish would have to work serious magic with concealer and powder to mask them, working gently around the blackened eye or swollen lip that more and more often presented themselves to her.
Eventually Tish gave up.
"It's all right," the Master smiled, spinning Lucy like a top. Her full skirt swirled far out, nearly to the waist, revealing old bruises on her calves and new strap marks on the backs of her thighs. "Not to worry, little ladies maid, I prefer the natural look these days."