Work Text:
Rocky
"Thango, unakku bore adikuthu na, nee poidu. Nammaku yaaraiyum force panni pazhakkam kadayaathu.." // "Baby, you can leave from here if you are getting bored. I'm not into forcing anyone.. "
Thorns coated his tongue as he spilled the words.
"I giving you full protection, okay?" He stood with braced thighs and intertwined arms, properly flaunting his muscular stature.
He was not ready to part from her yet. He had grown accustomed to her heady scent swarming the walls of the once forlorn Narachi mansion. Yes, they would ache for the jingle of her gold anklets. His heart warmed over when she had begrudgingly accepted the custom-made offering.
She sat on the bed, delivering nothing but the heavy breathing her lungs could conjure. Elegant fingers cinching the edge of the silk sheets, twisting it under her manicured crimson nails. The red dupatta she wore drew him in like a siren song, fluttering swan-coloured skirts sprinkled with silver dots. Reena was the very medley of fiery sins and sweet summer dreams.
Fangs tore at the tendons of his chest as he recalled colour fading from her face with each passing day and there was only so much he could do. The hand gestures only seemed to throw her off course in a heartbeat. It was too paltry of him to even consider this decision but he knew he couldn't hold on much longer.
Her eyes blared a bland brown, as if he sucked the life out of her with just his presence. With just his breath. When she furrowed her eyebrows, his innards leapt in a whirlwind. He punched his fist through the concrete. Over and over. Bloodying his fists until hurt sank through the teeth of his knuckles. Bruises kept him alive. Bruises were good.
As a tyrant trapping a songbird in a cage forged from gold, he had kept her here, long enough. Her hate knew no bounds and it came off in tidal waves. And he had finally given in. Nothing mattered anymore . All the gold in the world stacked at her feet didn't matter.
She doesn't love you, you miserable street rat. You will always be pathetic in her eyes.
The claws bit deeper with each passing second and it only hurt more to hold the reins tighter. It didn't matter anymore. Was that just it? Was this how their epic story would end? Maybe there wasn’t even a story to begin with..
Rocky didn't want to be her last resort. Someone she turned to just because her father was dead and he had ruthlessly murdered her ex, Kamal. Everything had fallen apart for her. Maybe this was the time to stick around and offer a shoulder to cry on? But he felt dirty even thinking about it.
To her, he probably seemed all shoulders and talk.
On the road to fulfilling his mother's promise he had hasped around with a woman who wouldn't even bat an eyelash his way. Except when it was to cast a glance at him which dripped with disgust.
It was okay. He will be okay without her. He has to be..
" I will missing Malamma too much.." An empty laugh followed. He smiled fondly at the memory of the woman who had raised Reena.
They were to move to another safe house until things settled around them. He had set it up in case a situation called for an emergency evacuation. Yeah, she would thrive there, maybe more peaceful than she was now and she could choose to move out when they were potentially not facing any threats.
Reena shook a little as he approached closer. "You fucking bastard.." she shivered with rage as she spoke from beneath her lashes.
There it was. Let the lioness out to play, Thango .
It was better than her silence. He knew what it was like to lose his Amma and he still fought with nightmares every wretched night. He patted the fabric of his suit, hunting his pockets for his cigarette box. His fingers seeked the tipping paper of the cigarette to calm his rattling nerves. He perched it in his lips.
She sprang from her coal-shaded bed and strode towards him, standing eye-to-eye. Chest rising and falling in tirades, eyes flashing with a fire brighter than the lanterns. Rocky ground his teeth on the cigarette.
Why the fuck did she have to look.. Like that?
She was fuming like a goddess scorned and he fought the urge to pin her to the nearest wall and paint her skin with his hot tongue until she screamed his name for all of the mansion to hear.
Dream on, Rocky. Dream on.
She pinned him with her eyes that spoke a thousand poems and his breath mingled with hers. Drawing him in like a balefire at ready to raze a forest. He wanted to chase after her cerise splurged lips on a mad chase. He stuck his beard out instead. Pulled out a match and promptly lit his cigarette, waving off the flame with utmost nonchalance.
" For months you trap me in this hell.. draping me in clothes you want.. Do you know how I feel when I wear them?" Tears brimmed her eyes and threatened to fall soon. She yanked at her dupatta for emphasis.
" Thango, your father raised you as a princess and I couldn't–" he took a drag trying to find the words to clout the space.
"--You couldn't, what? Wait to compete with that madman and do exactly as he did all those fucking years. Is that it? Or go toe-to-toe with a weakling you shot in front of your partners? " She was seething now, cheeks flush with an ire that put the gates of hell to shame.
" Kamal was a useless tool–" Rocky started and this time he hadn't noticed he was being cornered.
His back hit the cold wall and he cast a cocky stare her way. Reena pulled the edge of her skirt, flashing a long shapely leg and his brain whirred a little, fuzzed at the sight of her exposed bronze thigh. Breath trapped in his chest as he beheld the leather holster strapped around it.
Cold steel dug into his epiglottis and Reena's finger inched right outside the trigger. She discarded his cigarette in a clean swipe and grasped the edge of his collar with one hand.
"-- Setha paamba adichi enna palan kadachidhu unakku? Enna power kamikiriya? Illa un sotthaya?" // "-- Exactly , you killed an already dead snake! To do what precisely, show me your power?! Or just how much wealth you have amassed? Was that it?" She spat.
" I wanted to keep you safe ." He locked his midnight eyes with her light brown ones.
The coolness of the gun comforted him and a small part wished for death if she was the angel who reaped his soul.
"By imprisoning me here. Yes, that's your logic isn't it. And now you want me to go and be 'safe' somewhere else when it suits you. Got tired of me real soon, eh?" Her voice began to shrill over with each growing second and he grabbed her shoulders trying to soothe her.
" Thango , don't get tension ." He started and she yanked his hair back only for him to let out an unmediated howl.
" Are you done playing, Rocky? " She begged with her eyes and her lips quivered with rage, still tugging at his hair, a little harsher than he had expected.
He'll be damned if it didn't turn him on.
"I want to be your only choice, Thango. Not only option. " He clicked his tongue.
Confusion spasmed in her eyes.
"Intha sevurugal unakku sogatha thavira vera edhayum kudukala. Adhunala, thango. Nee po. Poi happy-ah iru." // "These walls have given you nothing but grief.. so go, I won’t stop you. Be happy. " He bent his head as her fingers relaxed in his hair. For the first time, he groped for a witty remark and came up with nothing.
She dropped the gun to her side and clasped his bearded cheeks with petite fingers. Forcing him to meet her gaze.
" If you had looked at me for more than two seconds you would know I was already fucking in love with you. But no.. you didn't give a shit because I was your.. entertainment. " She choked on her tears, burning salt fell on his balled fists.
"Gold odey savu. Illa unno oruthi odey kuthu adi. I don't give a fuck anymore. Na kuruka nikka mataen." // "Go die with your bars of gold. Or fuck around with another woman, frankly, I don't care. I'll be out of your way. "
A calm click sounded, denoting that she turned off the safety in her gun. Air cracked. A few bullets poured into a sofa cushion beside him.
“ That’s your thorax .” She howled and shot again. “ One for your dumbass mouth ,” Glass from a nearby lamp splintered, cluttering next to his leathered feet.
“ Oh, and how could I forget your pigeon brain?!” The last of the bullets were buried in the floor.
She whirled around and took one step further, anger clouding her eyes and chin sticking out. Red blotched the marble floors as she walked ahead.
He came alive, peeling from the walls and lifted her in his arms, wordlessly. She hissed. Turning away from him.
He placed her on the still sheets ridden with her nightmares. Words caught in his throat, chafing at the trachea and he grunted. Bent by the wooden canopy of the bed, he took her foot gingerly in his hand, yanking out the tiny shrapnels of glass poking out of her red, sticky heel. He grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and dabbed at the surface with a clear precision.
Her jaw clenched, and nails dug into his shoulders. It was conspicuous that she was biting down the screams.
" Romba valikutha, Thango ?" // " Does it hurt a lot, love?" Dandelion petals crawled into his voice.
" Illa ." // " No . " She nodded curtly.
For a split second he stared at her lips, indecisive as ever. A thousand thoughts soared from regret to longing. Fuck it.
His fingers found the carbon silk of her hair in urgency and he crushed his lips to hers. He licked a swipe on her lower lip, pleading with her for a taste. Wishing she would just kiss him back, only in that instant. Rough beard complimented her petal-scented skin, and she let out a low moan, nails digging crescents on his gaping neck.
She tugged his loose strands and chased after his lips amidst the mess of his beard with a newfound frustration. And that was encouragement enough for the monster that raved in his belly.
He sensed her discomfort, rose from his spot as he lifted her along with him. Slumped his ass on the bed and seated her in his lap for better access.
" Ippom okay va, chellam?" // " Is it okay now, baby?" She slapped his shoulder in response and he simply chuckled.
Seeking palms ravaged her feminine curves and he wondered if his hands were created for that very purpose. Worshipping her skin like there were only seconds to live.
His growing need became more pronounced and his canines lined against the shells of her ears. " Thango .. nee venum.. " // "Baby, I need you so bad."
She drowned his groans with her lips painted on his, nibbled his lower lip with an agenda of her own. Rocky growled with the touch of her tongue piercing electric rods into his abdomen. He rolled his hips in response to her squirming in his lap, thumb dangerously lining against her ribcage.
"Romkfh.." She mumbled against his lips.
Precipitously, she began to pull from him, tapping against his shoulders. Rocky reluctantly let go of her lips with a pop, taking a whiff of her neck against his better judgement. That fucking vanilla.. and roses? Mmm.
" Stop .. we should stop.." Reena rested her forehead against his, nails raking the olive fabric of his shirt and fisting over it. She was utterly at a loss of breath.
" Na.. Na doctor kupudren.." // " I should get the doctor.." His discomfiture led him to draw deep breaths and she chortled, trying to smother her mouth.
"Easy, tiger." She whispered in his ear and his face flushed hot.
He lifted her with ease and placed her on the edge of the bed. " Uh.. I coming back soon."
Rocky grabbed a cushion and slapped it on, marching out with a straight face. Reena's laughter haunted him across the room and he dashed out as soon as his feet touched the threshold.
—
The doctor neatly tightened the bandages around her foot and squirmed under Rocky's looming gaze.
" Innum vali iruka, Thango ? Nee free-ah udu, unakku vali lira varaikum indha doctor-u inga thaan irupaan." // "Does it still hurt, baby? Just say the word and this dude won't move an inch from here." His voice thundered around the tinier man's shaking form.
" Rocky, for god's sake. Stop it . " Reena chided him but this time, he caught the tugging grin at her lips and warmth washed over him. He was so giddy it hurt to see clearly.
" Neenga ponga doctor, pain killer back-up kuduthuteengale. I'll manage." // "You carry on, doctor, since you've already given me a set of painkillers as back up. I can manage by myself. " She placed a reassuring hand on the poor man's shoulders and he gathered his equipment, shoved them in his bag and flitted out the door.
" Why do you do that? " She accused him with a shrug of her shoulders.
" Thango, what I doing, now? Why you take unnecessary tension?" He flipped his hair and sat down, squeezing next to her on the bed.
She had a puzzled look and scooted over, giving him space. Rocky pulled the blanket over both their feet and chucked the pillow at her back, patting it down like a mother-hen, ensuring she rested well. His bare arm rubbed against her skin and he swore he could hear her gasp.
He grasped the chance to take her hand in his, warm and soft as opposed to his callous palms. Her eyes doted on his. Rocky placed her palm on his chest, grazing the lining of his dark tank top.
"Unna pakalana.." // "If I don't see you.." He patted her hand right above his heart, beating himself over and over for hurting her before. "Idhu velai seiyadhu." // "This doesn't function."
"I want to go.." She started and his face fell. And for a second there she had him fooled..
Reena combed her hand through his beard and said, " God, you can be so dumb for such a smart man. " Grief laced her form as she continued. " Take me to Appa."
He merely nodded, tongue turning to lead as her thumb rubbed against his cheek. " And then we can come back."
Rocky's face lit up like the vibrant streets during Deepavali .
" My home .." She whispered against his forehead, ".. is here." As if petals stroked the fire in his chest, her hand rested atop his heart now galloping with hooves of current.
"Thango, ippadiye nee pesuna, namma pogave matom. " // "I don't think we will leave if you continue to talk like that.." His tone turned gruff with desire.
She drew back and punched his chest this time, packing a larger force. " Ow. Okay, okay. I'll get Saleem to fire the chopper."
Reluctantly, he pried himself off the bed before he was tempted to rile her up again, just to see her cheeks blush pink and revel in her scent. Today, his heart brimmed with a newfound piece of happiness. Something he would cherish till the day the black earth greedily embraces his still heart.
—