Aru Shah Oneshots (requests!)

[10] • I Need to Vent

can't wait for @sleep-can-wait to publish her aru storiessss ;)

☆☆☆Hira☆☆☆

Hira mindlessly twirled the small green vial in her slender fingers, staring at the full moon outside. She knew she shouldn't be handling such a powerful potion that could destroy someone with such carelessness. She had to admit she was alarmed that such a small object could do such harm. It makes sense my father would concoct such a thing, Hira thought bitterly. But why..?

"What are you thinking?" breathed Brynne beside her.

"Nothing," Hira lied.

The tall woman stood at the foot of the sofa for a few minutes, pondering the rakshasi's answer. Then, she took her seat next to Hira and snuggled close. "You're a terrible liar."

"I hate you."

"I know you're lying."

Hira sighed. She rested her head on Brynne's shoulder, who stroked Hira's hair. This was the first time since Aru and Aiden barged into their apartment that the two women had been so close to each other, all alone. Hira wondered if Brynne noticed that.

Suddenly, Hira noticed she hadn't told Brynne about meeting Ganga or Nandini in her dreams. She quickly decided those were best kept secret, going against her advice to "talk about it." And Hira definitely didn't want to explain hunting down Aru in a forest.

Instead, she started, "I've been thinking: what was my father's business with this potion? How did he know Gauri and how did he know she was dangerous? A lot of things don't add up."

"Who even is Gauri?" Brynne sprouted airily. "I mean, I know she's my real mom and that she's after power, but... why?"

Brynne was right. Forget Prakash, there was still a lot they didn't know about what force they were supposed to fight. If they didn't understand Gauri well enough, they didn't stand a chance against her.

"Why does she care? So. Goddamn. Much." With every word, Brynne pounded her fist on the armrest. Instinctively, Hira held Brynne's hand in hers. Though they'd been married for over a year, and dating for many years before that, Brynne's hand in Hira's felt so unfamiliar. So alien and new.

"And---" Brynne stopped.

Hira waited. "And..?"

Her wife's head drooped as she said in a trembling whisper, "And what happens to me when I finally meet her?"

It was the question they'd all been wondering about but didn't have an answer to. Hira tried to answer, but no answer could do Brynne justice.

"I don't know," admitted Hira. "I don't know, kanna, and it's ripping me apart from the inside." She wasn't talking about Gauri. She was talking about murdering Aru in the forest in her dreams. She didn't know what that vision meant. Was it referencing the future? Her doom? Finally, she said, "Brynne, I have to tell you something."

Her wife looked down at her shoulder. "Okay."

Hira spilled about that one night when she dreamt about Ganga in the interrogation room, Nandini, and finally... the forest. Brynne waited patiently for her to finish, but Hira could tell she was horror-struck. She was prepared for her wife to stand up and leave or smack her straight across the face.

But instead, what Brynne did shocked Hira. Brynne leaned in and kissed her, a slight brush of the lips. Still, Hira could feel Brynne tremble against her body. "What the hell?" the asura whispered.

Hira nodded. "'What the hell' sums it up quite perfectly," she agreed.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Hira stayed silent for a few seconds. Why hadn't she told her? "I didn't know how you'd react. Besides, you had your visions to deal with."

"I told you, I'm not getting them anymore---"

"And it's not just that. I need to vent. It's Aru and Aiden." The words tumbled out of Hira's mouth before she could stop them. "They practically invited themselves over and stole you from me. And I don't mean to sound possessive or anything, because I know to share. But it really seems Aru doesn't!"

Brynne knitted her eyebrows. "Kanna, what? What do you mean?"

"I mean---" Hira exhaled sharply, "---that when I'm there, I'd like to be acknowledged. I was completely ignored when I was trying to say something! I know this is coming off like I'm an attention-snob, but... I don't like living in the shadows. I don't like being a shadow."

The rakshasi could tell Brynne was getting defensive. "That's not true! Aiden talked to you---"

"Your Aiden killed my father. He was only talking to me because he felt sorry for me," the rakshasi snarled. Her voice was getting louder, but she didn't care if she woke Mini, Aru, and (especially) Aiden in the next room. "He and Aru think I'm useless anyway, forgetting I'm the most dangerous person here."

The asura simply stared. Hira continued, "I can do more than just shapeshift. If I could kill Navdeep and Tarun when I was fourteen, they have no idea what I could do to them now."

The tension in the room rose. Brynne recoiled from Hira, letting her go. "Hira, what are you saying? And... who are Navdeep and Tarun?"

"Navdeep was my foster brother and Tarun was... a monster," she decided with a shaky breath. She did not want to go back to those memories again. "I'll... I'll tell you when I'm ready. But that's not the point," she said, waving her hands dismissively.

"Hell yeah, it isn't. That's my sister and my best friend! What are you going to do to them!?"

Hira scoffed and placed her hands on her hips. "I love how you care about them more than your own wife," she said coldly.

"I care about the well-being of others. Clearly, you're a threat to that."

The air left the room as Hira stood in front of her wife, shocked at what she'd just said. "I---I'm a threat to you?" she said slowly like a toddler learning to speak. She chewed on every bitter word. Hira impatiently ran her fingers through her hair. "Is that what I am?"

"Yes!" Brynne whisper-shouted. "You're a ticking time bomb that's waiting to go off! And when you blow up, you won't just ruin yourself but others, too!"

"Then you should probably just dispose of me, then!" Hira challenged. "Just like my father did to me. Just like Nandini and Navdeep's family and---and you." She glared at Brynne. Hira didn't know what was going through her brain. This wasn't like her at all; Hira was known for her patience and kind words. So why was she lashing out at her wife? It was as if she was slowly turning into that monster who killed Aru in the forest.

Brynne stopped short. "Hira." She took a step toward the rakshasi. She brushed her hand against Hira's cheek and leaned her forehead on the other woman's. "Goddamn it, threat or no threat, I would never leave you."

"So why does it feel like you're getting farther and farther away from me every day?" Hira sobbed, her voice barely audible.

"I'm right here, Hira." Brynne brought Hira close as the rakshasi buried her face into her's wife's neck. "You obviously don't understand how important you are to me."

"Shut up."

Their embrace was interrupted by a glass tink! as the vial rolled off the sofa onto the floor. The potion rolled near the glass window-door and glowed a bright, golden color as the moonlight shined upon it.

Hira pulled away. "Brynne, look!" she pointed. She crouched down and picked the vial up. To her surprise, the vial was freezing. It was so cold her fingers started to burn like she was touching dry ice. "Ow!" Carefully, with her foot, Hira prodded it away, and the light from the moon that reflected off the vial was splayed on the wall behind the two women.

On the wall, in bright, golden letters were the words,

Her light was clouded by greed, and her love was mistaken for war.

"Come, dear Tvarika," a sweet voice oozed like a sticky, melting popsicle. "I've wanted to see you for so long."

Brynne shuddered at the sound of her middle name.

Hira knew there was only one person this could have been: Gauri.