La paz de tus manos

by pearlsephoni

Summary:

A good Primera would never sacrifice sleep to soothe a Segunda's reckless emotions. But a good lover would. That is the only role Dani cares to play when Carmen appears at her door in the middle of the night with trembling lips and shaky hands.

Notes:

this one goes out to Miranda, my irl bestie in geekery! This is all your fault 🫶🏾 Absolutely devastated that there aren’t more works for these two, or the books in general. Guess I have to do everything around here.

Dani recognized the shape of Carmen before she recognized the state of her. Otherwise she wouldn’t have greeted her with, “Is this a dream?” in a playful echo of the first time she had appeared at Carmen’s door without warning.

“No.” Carmen’s voice was hoarse, and as Dani’s eyes adjusted to her beauty in the moonlight, she caught other hints of distress: her wide eyes, her hair still dripping from a shower, the robe she held haphazardly around her body, with none of the typical grace she carried herself. “I wish it was.”

“Carmen, what happened?”

“Can I come inside?”

“Of course.”

Dani barely had time to step aside before Carmen swept past her, smelling of amber, flowers, and salt. She took her time closing the door and securing the lock, then moved around the room, closing windows and sliding the curtains closed. Only when she was certain that they were hidden, did she turn to Carmen.

A small thrill zipped through her at the sight of the Segunda sitting on her bed. But it was quickly overwhelmed by worry at how tightly she curled in around herself, a worry that was underlined by a sparking rage towards whoever did this to her.

She didn’t need to wonder whom. She already knew. But as she slowly moved to kneel in front of Carmen, careful not to jostle the bed too much, she was resolved to let Carmen tell her story. She had enough reason for fury towards their husband without inventing new ones.

So she remained silent as she took Carmen’s hands from her knees and coaxed her to melt out of her stiff position. Her touch seemed to remind Carmen of where she was, that she wasn’t alone, and when she blinked out of her distant stare at the floor, Dani’s heart squeezed at the tears shining in her eyes. Carmen spoke softly, but her low tone couldn’t hide the tremor in her words. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“You didn’t. Even if you did, you have nothing to apologize for.”

Carmen’s smile was a small, shaky thing, so unlike the sly smirks and secret grins Dani was so used to seeing.

It was enough to lower her voice with simmering anger when she asked, “Did he hurt you?” The thought of Carmen experiencing what Dani had that night…the helplessness, the frozen terror of being cornered by a hungry predator of a man with no escape…it was enough to darken the edges of Dani’s vision an enraged red.

“No!” Carmen’s hands squeezed Dani’s, bringing her attention to the fists they’d suddenly formed. “We haven’t— no, not like that. At least…not yet.”

“Then why do you look so scared?”

“I…” Carmen’s voice hiccuped. “I thought I could go back to him, to the duties I’m meant to carry out. I thought I could carry on acting like a perfect Segunda. But then he kissed me, and…it wasn’t you.” Carmen looked up from their joined hands to meet Dani’s eyes, giving her a perfect view of their shining depths. “My body isn’t his anymore. It’s mine, and I only want to give it to you, and I can’t, Dani. And it tore me apart.”

Guilt wrapped a fist around Dani’s throat and squeezed, rendering her words as no more than a pathetic croak. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t. Don’t apologize.” And oh, there was the Carmen Dani knew so well, a deadly beauty with her flashing eyes and hardened jaw.

“What can I do, then?”

“Touch me.”

Dani’s breath caught in her chest. It was a dangerous request, even in the dead of night. Carmen knew that. She knew Carmen knew that, just as well as she did.

But when her hand rose between them and rested against the smooth curve of Carmen’s cheek, and Carmen melted into her touch like a candle beneath a flame, Dani couldn’t care less about the rules they were supposed to live by. “More,” Carmen breathed, eyes fluttering shut and shielding her from the bright flush Dani could feel rising in her cheeks.

What did “more” mean? How much more? Curiosity, anticipation, and uncertainty warred in her stomach as she traced the plush lines of Carmen’s lips with her thumb. Heat spread through her from the place where Carmen parted her lips, letting a soft breath bead against Dani’s thumb. “More.”

This time, she didn’t give Dani a chance to wonder how much more. She covered Dani’s hand on her cheek with her own and guided it down, past the soft angle of her jaw, down her lithe neck, and along the collarbone that peeked out from the folds of her robe.

Dani thought her hand might catch fire from the mere proximity to Carmen’s heart and the vulnerable flesh protecting it. Every nerve in her body cried in protest when she forced Carmen to stop her guidance. She wanted what Carmen wanted, wanted to wipe away every place their husband had touched and replace the echoes of his touch with the warmth of her own.

But there was no fighting against the apprehension tightening her chest, reminding her of the risk they were taking from simply doing this much. One day, she promised herself, she would cover Carmen with so many kisses and touches that she wouldn’t remember what anyone else’s hands and lips felt like on her skin.

But for now…“No.” Something withered in Dani’s chest when Carmen’s face fell. “Not yet. Not like this.” She brushed a wayward curl out of Carmen’s eye, admiring the flutter of her lashes. “When I touch you— when we touch each other like that, I want it to be full of joy, mi amor. And I want us to take our time.”

Carmen stared at her for a long, breathless moment, before slowly nodding. “Okay.” She lifted Dani’s hand from her chest and pressed her lips to it. “Okay, querida.”

There was a certain restraint clear in Carmen’s slow movements, and Dani couldn’t help letting her lips tilt into a small smile. “There are still other things we can do.”

Carmen’s eyes flicked up to hers in an instant, bright with hope and curiosity. Dani answered her unspoken question with an unspoken answer, leaning in until the breaths that had cooled on her thumb now beaded on her lips.

And then she stopped, letting Carmen decide when to close the pinch of space between their lips. Too many decisions had been made for her today. It was only right that Dani let her decide on this, no matter how small the choice.

Carmen’s breath stuttered and her nervous swallow was audible. But when she tilted forward and pressed her lips to Dani’s, her nerves were nowhere to be felt. She was more experienced than Dani, that much Dani knew, but there was a childlike eagerness to her kisses that urged Dani into her own giddiness. Their kisses were slow, considered, but filled with little nips and playful flicks of the tongue.

Dani didn’t know how long they spent lost in each other. All she knew was that, when they eventually parted, her lips were swollen and her nightgown felt too coarse against her heated skin. Carmen’s cheeks were flushed with a matching heat, and she met Dani’s eyes with a soft giggle. “I wish we could do that forever,” she murmured, her laughter still coloring her voice so sweetly. “Or at least all night.”

“Me, too.” Those words were so small next to the rush of adoration and longing for the woman in front of her. Dani thought her chest might burst from how big her heart was. “But for now,” she added, stealing another peck from Carmen, “you need to get some rest. He will suspect something if we are both drowsy tomorrow.”

“I know,” Carmen sighed. She didn’t show any urgency at all, seemingly content to trace heavy-lidded eyes along Dani’s features. Would Dani ever get used to being gazed at with such adoration? Would the weight of Carmen’s eyes ever stop making her feel stripped-down, all her secrets laid out for her?

She hoped not.

It was a slow, wonderful process to peel Carmen from her bed and lead her to the door. Dani lost count of how many kisses they stole along the way. Reluctance curved Carmen’s shoulders in when she stepped into the hallway, but when she looked back at Dani, her eyes were bright with a conspiratorial spark. “Good night, Primera.”

There was a lilt to the word, a caress that turned it into a pet name on Carmen’s tongue. Dani’s own mouth savored her response. “Good night, Segunda.”

They had never spoken their feelings out loud, had only stumbled into this…relationship in a series of happy, dangerous accidents. But as Dani watched Carmen silently slip away down the hallway and breathed in the last notes of amber and flowers, she didn’t lament any of it. She had bared more of herself to Carmen in silence than she ever could in words.

She was being reckless, even dangerous. Perhaps regret would come in the morning. For now, though, giddy joy still sparked through Dani as she slid back into bed. The Garcia family could wield as much control as they wanted in the light of day. But at night, the gods draped a dark cloak over the world that protected Carmen and her, and Dani would relish every bit of joy she could steal.

After all…who knew which night would be her last?

Notes:

idk where this would fall in the first book’s timeline. I just wanted to give Carmen a respite from the devastating responsibilities she had as Segunda, even if she never had to fulfill all of them. Maybe it’s my trauma speaking, but there’s something heartbreaking-yet-bittersweet about a survivor chasing away the ghosts of unwanted touches with the touch of someone they love. If she and Dani don’t get some sort of happy ending (no book 2 spoilers pls), then I will actually end it all! Anyway, thanks for reading

Comments and kudos are very, very appreciated!!

This is far from my usual fare, but if for whatever reason you want to find me elsewhere on the internet, please check out my Carrd!

Disclaimer: I do not own We Set the Dark on Fire, including any of the characters or world-building. Please do not copy and paste any of this work on other websites, nor plagiarize any part of it. If you create any works inspired by this, please let me know! I'd love to see it! Thank you.