☔ Raeda Oneshots 🌟

Affliction

"You aren't lookin' so hot, Raine."

"Probably because I'm freezing." Raine retorted, rolling their eyes. Eda patted their arm comfortingly, pulling one of the many blankets around their shoulders.

"I know dear. You've told me fourteen times." Raine squinted at her.

"You were a lot less condescending when you thought I was dying."

"I am capable of being nice y'know," she leaned into them slightly, burying her fingers in their recently longer hair, "Life-or-death situations bring out the softie in me." She added with a slight irk in her voice.

Raine chuckled, "I thought it was very sweet," they paused, "Well, I think I thought that. I don't remember much."

Eda frowned, recalling her panic at their confusion and the long list of words the healer had rattled off to her a few short days ago.

"They're displaying many common symptoms of septicemia," The healer had said, "confusion, low blood pressure, low body temperature, shortness of breath, fever..." Every addition to the list was another pang in Eda's heart.

Belos had, of course, left his mark on many witches mentally, but the physical states of the population were the most crucial in the immediate aftermath of the final battle. Raine, the stupid, selfless bard they are, insisted they were fine until it was almost too late; the detrimental infection to their bloodstream had them nest-ridden for days. Eda only ever left them when asked (forced) to by her kids or her sister. They were on the mend now, but the first few days had seemed fruitless, their recovery had not been the bounce back that Eda was hoping for.

"I do remember some things though," Raine's interjection interrupted Eda's thoughts. She knew the smirk in their voice and quickly pulled away to find a mischievous smirk on their face.

"Oh, what was it you said?" They put a finger to their chin in mock thought, "I think it was something like," They pushed the front of their hair back into a puff and gathered their best impression of their girlfriend, "'Honestly, it's kinda hot that you have to rely on me so much now, and B-T-W when I told you last week that King peed on the toilet seat, it was actually me.'" The tips of Eda's ears quickly grew red as her mouth fell into an 'o'.

"THAT'S what you remember? You've got to be kidding me." She figured what they recalled would be something unintelligible, or at least not embarrassing.

"Well," Raine started, "I do remember a few other things." Their smirk dissolved into a fond smile.

Eda threw up her arms in exasperation, "To be completely fair, I had some apple blood in my system the night I said those things and—"

"Oh no, these were different," Eda's face was still blanched so Raine continued, "I don't remember them word for word, but I know that the house was quiet, and your voice was the only thing I could hear." They gently took her hand in theirs, leaning back into her as she listened.

"You were telling me that everything was going to be okay, that I would be okay," They gently squeezed her hand in theirs, "And that you weren't going anywhere," They wiped at their eyes, "You said you loved me, Eda." She sucked in a breath at their admission but didn't even think about pulling away from them.

"I was in such a bitter place for so long, I just didn't think we would get the opportunity to come back to this, to us."

Eda brushed a tear from her eye, "I meant it, y'know," she said, "I love you so much, Raine." They looked at each other with watery eyes as she brought their hand to her lips.

"I love you too, Eda," Raine replied, leaning in to kiss her soundly, "More than you know."

Eda wrapped her arms around the bard, pulling them on top of her on the couch, "Well now that 'Eda's Embarrassment Hour' is over, maybe we can get some long-awaited sleep." She chided as they snuggled into her collarbone.

"And you can be my personal heater," Raine added, already falling into slumber.

"Forever and always, Rainestorm."

See https://archiveofourown.org/works/54548224 for notes on this story...