Better start swimmin', Ronja rövardotter, Ronja/Birk
Title: Better start swimmin'
Fandom: Ronja Rövardotter
Pairing: Ronja/Birk
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Written for copper_on_mars for adventchallenge using this prompt. This is the first part of something that is probably going to be quite long, and I didn't really fulfill the prompt as such. See it as a promise of more good things to come.
Title from Dylan.
Ronja had thought she would grow out of wanting to live in the cave, had thought she'd settle down somewhere, be a responsible adult, because that was what everyone had told her would happen. She didn't want to be a robber, couldn't ever be a robber, and she would have to get a job to support herself. And Birk. Well, Birk could support himself, but he wouldn't be a robber, and they might as well support themselves together. They could have stayed in Mattisborgen with their parents, and be supported by them stealing things, but she didn't want to. She wanted to make her own way in life, and Birk wanted what she wanted. Or so he said. She secretly thought he didn't dare to stand up to both Mattis and Borka. So they both packed their things and rode to the nearest city to see if they could make their luck there.
It wasn't easy in the beginning, they didn't have any skills that were good enough to make money out of, until Ronja learned that she could cook well, and they started up a place where people could come for a meal, and some beer. They soon got a reputation for cleanliness, and order, since Ronja didn't like it when people got too drunk in her place, and no one dared go against her. They still visited their parents every now and then, and things were good for a while. They even got married, mostly so people wouldn't talk about them living in sin, but it was nice too, promising to love each other and getting to wear a nice dress. All the robbers attended, and both Lovis and Undis cried at the ceremony.
The second spring though, Ronja started to get restless. There wasn't a lot of customers in summer, and she felt trapped inside the town, with its houses and the people. She longed for the forest, for clear air, and silence, for the waters and trees. She even longed for rumpnissar, stupid as they were. She wanted to run with the wild horses, catch fish and scream as loudly as she could.
One day she just couldn't stay anymore. She wrote a note to Birk, telling him where she was, packed some things and rode off. It took a day to get to the cave, having to go through strange paths and over mountains where the smallest misstep could cause death. She made it just in time for sunset. It was beautiful, and she watched until it got dark before unrolling her packing and curling up in her blankets and furs.
She awoke the next morning and saw Birk sitting on a rock with his back against her.
"So, you thought you could just leave me", he said, bitterness in his voice. She swallowed heavily.
"No, I just..." she said.
"You just had to get away and you didn't think about me at all. You didn't think that maybe I wanted to go too, you didn't think that maybe I didn't want to be left behind?"
"I had to get away, there is an itch inside of me, I had to leave", she said, angry at him and and herself. "Don't you see?" He sighed heavily.
"Me too. I have get away too. What you feel, I feel too", he said. "Sister. Wife. We're connected. I feel as you feel." He turned to look at her. His face was dirty, and he looked so tired, she thought.
"Come on, come to bed and sleep some, and let's continue this fight later. We can clean the cave and yell at the same time", she said, and lifted the blankets to invite him. He didn't look very happy but still curled in with her.
Fandom: Ronja Rövardotter
Pairing: Ronja/Birk
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Written for copper_on_mars for adventchallenge using this prompt. This is the first part of something that is probably going to be quite long, and I didn't really fulfill the prompt as such. See it as a promise of more good things to come.
Title from Dylan.
Ronja had thought she would grow out of wanting to live in the cave, had thought she'd settle down somewhere, be a responsible adult, because that was what everyone had told her would happen. She didn't want to be a robber, couldn't ever be a robber, and she would have to get a job to support herself. And Birk. Well, Birk could support himself, but he wouldn't be a robber, and they might as well support themselves together. They could have stayed in Mattisborgen with their parents, and be supported by them stealing things, but she didn't want to. She wanted to make her own way in life, and Birk wanted what she wanted. Or so he said. She secretly thought he didn't dare to stand up to both Mattis and Borka. So they both packed their things and rode to the nearest city to see if they could make their luck there.
It wasn't easy in the beginning, they didn't have any skills that were good enough to make money out of, until Ronja learned that she could cook well, and they started up a place where people could come for a meal, and some beer. They soon got a reputation for cleanliness, and order, since Ronja didn't like it when people got too drunk in her place, and no one dared go against her. They still visited their parents every now and then, and things were good for a while. They even got married, mostly so people wouldn't talk about them living in sin, but it was nice too, promising to love each other and getting to wear a nice dress. All the robbers attended, and both Lovis and Undis cried at the ceremony.
The second spring though, Ronja started to get restless. There wasn't a lot of customers in summer, and she felt trapped inside the town, with its houses and the people. She longed for the forest, for clear air, and silence, for the waters and trees. She even longed for rumpnissar, stupid as they were. She wanted to run with the wild horses, catch fish and scream as loudly as she could.
One day she just couldn't stay anymore. She wrote a note to Birk, telling him where she was, packed some things and rode off. It took a day to get to the cave, having to go through strange paths and over mountains where the smallest misstep could cause death. She made it just in time for sunset. It was beautiful, and she watched until it got dark before unrolling her packing and curling up in her blankets and furs.
She awoke the next morning and saw Birk sitting on a rock with his back against her.
"So, you thought you could just leave me", he said, bitterness in his voice. She swallowed heavily.
"No, I just..." she said.
"You just had to get away and you didn't think about me at all. You didn't think that maybe I wanted to go too, you didn't think that maybe I didn't want to be left behind?"
"I had to get away, there is an itch inside of me, I had to leave", she said, angry at him and and herself. "Don't you see?" He sighed heavily.
"Me too. I have get away too. What you feel, I feel too", he said. "Sister. Wife. We're connected. I feel as you feel." He turned to look at her. His face was dirty, and he looked so tired, she thought.
"Come on, come to bed and sleep some, and let's continue this fight later. We can clean the cave and yell at the same time", she said, and lifted the blankets to invite him. He didn't look very happy but still curled in with her.