Sync

“Maya.” He called. Maya stalked forward and ignored him. Her shoulder throbbed from the impact with his staff, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. “Maya!” He called again. She increased her pace to get into the forest and away from the campsite. She stayed long enough to make sure none of them were injured which was more than she needed to. Now she was leaving for her watch. She didn’t have to answer to him. She wouldn’t. So what if they were out of sync in the last battle? She could have handled it on her own. They had no idea of what she has had to handle on her own.

“Maya, will you slow down?” She picked up speed, starting to run. She’d never admit to running from him, but she was in no mood for talking. She could hear his sigh of frustration as he picked up a run behind her and she grit her teeth. Would he not leave her alone?

“Maya!” He yanked on her arm-her injured arm-and she yelped as he spun her around. Fine then. She dropped her staff and swung with her fist. He dodged out of the way and tossed his own staff to the side. “You can’t keep ignoring us.” He said as he lifted his arm to block her next punch. “This fight was proof. We’re out of sync. You’re hurt because of me.”

“I’ve been hurt worse because of you.” Maya countered. Arthur stepped back twice as she tried to hit him again, and then he put his own fists up.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He said.

“You left me for dead.” Maya snarled. “How much more do you think you can hurt me?”

She was sloppy. Talking to him instead of focusing on the fight. He ducked under her next punch and then his hands wrapped around her midsection as he tackled her to the ground. She let out a breath and he pinned her down.

“Do you think I wanted to?” He asked, but Maya was in no mood to listen. She twisted her hips and flipped their position. He hit the ground with a thud and she climbed over him, punching his side twice and then punching him across the face. He moaned in pain before cursing and Maya smirked. His hand came up and hit her injured shoulder in a way that made her see white. She grunted as he hit her other shoulder next, and she couldn’t stop him from rolling them over again. “Is this all you know how to do now, fight with us?”

Maybe it was. Maybe talking with her fists was easier. Maybe all he deserved after leaving her was pain.

He was pulling his punches, but she didn’t care. He had no idea the punishment she could take. She rolled them over again and took out her anger on his body without remorse. He moaned in pain and then his hand reached up and he wrapped his fingers around her neck.

Unlike others, fighting with Arthur always led to one thing, so she wasn’t as surprised as she should have been when angry punches turned into angry kisses. She tasted blood on his lip and wanted more, so she bit them. His hand moved from her neck to her hair and pulled. His other hand pulled her hips closer to his.

This was yet another battle though, and Maya let the animosity in her heart come out as aggressiveness in her actions. She undressed him roughly, and he took no care in the way he pulled her clothes off of her. He was as hard as he always was after fighting her, and she wasted no time sitting on top of him.

Maya had been empty in so many ways for years but this was at least something she could fix.

“I hate you,” Maya breathed, and it felt so good to finally say the words out loud to him. No more pretending that things were going to go back to normal now that she was with them again. No need to act like being left behind was no big deal. “Now fuck me.”

She captured his hurt sound with her mouth as she continued to move on top of him. Arthur faltered in his movements, but Maya refused to stop now. She leaned down and captured another kiss, pouring out every one of her emotions into the action. Arthur moaned into her mouth, one hand tightening on her leg and the other pulling her hair so hard that she gasped in response.

“Fine.” Arthur growled into her neck as he picked up his pace and he finally was as rough with her as she needed him to be. He finally ditched the pretense of caring about her that they both knew wasn’t true. His teeth bit hard enough to mark and Maya let out a strangled sound that she wasn’t sure was pain or pleasure. She didn’t want Arthur to stop until she figured it out.

For all that’s changed over the years, this wasn’t one of them, and it takes almost no time at all for her to turn into a shuddering mess above him.

She debated getting up and leaving him there on the forest floor, now that she has taken what she wanted, but his hands wrapped tightly around her hips like he knew her thoughts. She stayed. She chased another high as he climbed towards his own peak.

When he was done, spent and panting on the ground, she stood and put her clothes on without a word. Thankfully he didn’t say anything to her. She rolled her aching shoulder before picking up her staff. She left him there alone and purposefully didn’t look back to see if he was watching her. It wouldn’t matter if he was.

“What in the world happened to you?” Darrell exclaimed, moments later, before starting his healing chant as Arthur walked back into camp. Maya smirked from her spot in the tree as Arthur said nothing in response.