Work Text:
It was strange to think that peace was in the world once more.
Especially after so much fighting and needless death.
Still, there was much recovery needed.
This much he knew despite being sat in the bar with another drink ready in his hand.
An injury meant that Captain Cullen Rutherford had been in a hospital when the war ended. Meaning that he felt he had let his squad down by not being there with them at the end.
Now released from military service, the bar had become a regular haunt for him. He couldn’t go back to Honnleath after all he had seen, no one would understand. No one could understand.
So hence how he came to be here, a little flat nearby despite how climbing the stairs aggravated his leg every time he went up or down. At least the drink helped soothe it more than the pills did.
Usually, his nights were quiet, as he liked it. But tonight seemed to have a buzz to it. And more people in. And by people, it was predominantly men. Huffing a little, Cullen shuffled over to the bar and semi-collapsed into one of the few seats left that had not many people around it. The barkeeper looked at him as he walked over. “Rough one, pal?” he inquired politely and Cullen nodded in reply. “You could say that… The usual please.” Was his gruff response before he looked about him. “So… What’s with the buzz tonight? Not usually this noisy…”
“The Dove shifted her time so she has a slightly larger crowd.” Was the immediate response and Cullen’s brow rose in question. The way the barkeep said it seemed to imply he should know who this ‘Dove’ was. “The Dove? Should I know that name?” he asked as the barkeep mixed up his drink with ease. All as a hum left the man as he poured it out and set the glass in front of Cullen. “Some call her the White Mage. You’ve heard her before, or at least been here while she sang before. Whether you actually listened, is not my place to say...” He replied as he cleaned up a seemingly invisible spill before continuing on while ignoring the glare fired his way. “But I tell you, she’s a true lady with a voice that can cast a spell. Any brawl about to break out, she just starts singing and whoever was arguing suddenly are instead weeping like babes being told off by their mama.”
A huff left the captain at that as he snatched up his drink. “I’ll believe it when I hear it.” He replied, not at all believing in such. That much was obvious as the barkeep snorted in reply, walking away to tend to another customer while uttering. “She’ll be back on in a few minutes. Be ready to pick up your jaw and pay your tab…”
Hazel eyes rolled in disbelief as he lifted his glass to take a sip. The day his jaw would drop like a green recruit again would be the day indeed as that sweet liquid relief started to touch his lips.
“Summertime,”
One word and his breath hitched.
Glass lowering from his lips in favour of listening to the mellow timbre.
Such a sweet tone. Soft in the ears, even slightly scarred ones like his.
“and the living is easy.”
A twist in his chair and, suddenly, the rest of the bar disappeared as hazel eyes locked onto a vision in white gracing the performance area, dark auburn hair curling at the nape of a slender neck while the bluest eyes looked out over the crowd, never quite connecting.
“Fish are jumping, and the cotton is high.”
Suddenly, those eyes locked onto his and he almost felt ashamed to be in such a gaze. But he couldn’t look away as a dainty hand seemed to reach out to him. Almost like she was pulling him into her song.
“Oh, your daddy's rich, and your ma is good-looking.
So, hush, little baby, don't you cry.”
He was, no pun intended, spellbound. Almost like those old tales of sailors being enraptured by the songs of sirens. And oh, he wouldn’t even mind if such was the case as a rare smile crossed his lips and he shifted in his seat, drink back on the side forgotten in favour of listening.
“One of these mornings you're gonna rise up singing.
Yes, you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky.
But 'til that morning, there's nothing can harm you.
Yes, with daddy and mammy standing by.”
He didn’t dare break his gaze away from that face, one almost heart-like in shape but with gently prominent cheekbones. He knew most men would attempt to look over her body. But he was just mesmerised by those eyes, so he could only really focus on her face. Her gaze turned away for a bit, as if remembering the rest of the crowd, and his heart ached at the instant break. But as she looked around the room, his body slightly lifted each time her eyes looked back at his, like she knew he needed her gaze once more to remember to breathe.
That was when he vaguely recalled hearing her voice before, in this bar, and how he seemed to have not really paid attention. And yet, he recognised her voice. How he was kicking himself now for not properly paying attention before.
“Summertime, and the living is easy.
Fish are jumping, and the cotton is high.
Oh, your daddy's rich, and your ma is good-looking.
So, hush, little baby...”
That long note pulled at his heart while he sat forward, hanging on the note as she was. Despite his doubts earlier, he didn’t want the song to end, nor this spell that he was willingly under. Not even her breaking her gaze again entirely broke it as her voice rang out.
“Baby, don't you cry.
Oh, don't you cry.
Don't you cry.
Oh, don't you cry.
Don't you cry…..”
An applause began but a lifted hand paused them. Sounds of confusion echoed around the audience as those bewitching blue eyes looked with hazel once more before one last line rang out like a haunting echo.
“Oh, hush, little baby. Baby, don't you….. Cry….”
That last note triggered something in him as a stray tear rolled down his cheek. Yet he allowed it as his breath held until her song ended. Only then did his chest seem to remember to breathe amidst the applause as he watched this woman accept the cheers she deserved. A smile twitched at his lips at thinking back on what just happened and those blue eyes caught it, as if he were caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A bright smile appeared on soft rose-coloured lips before her focus was drawn away to sip at her drink.
Cullen sighed as he twisted back in his chair to the bar and he hummed in thought as the barkeep returned. “Well, jaw come off from the ground yet?” he asked and Cullen let out a huff of a chuckle, casting his eyes to the side where he saw The Dove take a drink. A hum left his voice as he looked back. “What is her preferred drink? I want to buy one for her.” He asked and the barkeep hummed deeply, thinking intensely about such a request. He then started to move around to grab things. “The Lady admittedly does not partake in beverages around singing, but, I know of a mocktail she has been known to enjoy.”
“Put it on my tab. My treat for her.” Cullen insisted with a smile as he watched the barkeep work his magic, mixing up a beautifully colourful drink and giving it to one of his waiters to pass along. Hazel eyes tracked the waiter where he whispered in the singer’s ear as she accepted the drink while tilting her head to listen.
Blue eyes shifted around the audience until they locked with his once more. A smile grew on her lips as she lifted the glass towards him in thanks, prompting a smile to reflect on his lips as his hand found his glass to toast her in return. All as the barkeep watched with a smirk.
Time ticked on where Cullen listened to the beautiful voice of this lady, not minding if the barkeep supplied her with another drink. While no long gazes were locking them, her voice was enough as he cradled his drink. Not at all realising that this was the same one he had started the night with, only having had perhaps the merest touch of it against his lips and then only one sip since then to wet his lips.
“Mind if I join you?”
That voice pulled him from what thoughts he had as hazel eyes found those captivating blue eyes now standing to his left while a smile grew on his lips. “Yes, o-of course! My apologies, I did not hear you.” He remarked as the lady accepted his offer and slipped into the seat beside him. A velvet coat now hid most of the white of her dress and yet Cullen could still see the hourglass figure that she was bestowed. But his eyes went back to her face to take in the details that were previously difficult to see. She had an almost noble kind of face, yet softened by her eyes as she waved for the barkeep to hand her a drink.
“It seems, despite my song saying so, you still cried.”
A hum left him as those blue eyes turned towards him with a teasing smile. All while Cullen detected the Irish lilt to her voice as he smiled sheepishly. “I’ll admit to that.” He confessed before he sighed heavily. “Honestly, I think your song actually permitted me to cry, for once in over a year…” he broke off as he turned away, throat growing suddenly thick with emotion. A dainty hand touched his, forcing his attention back to the woman next to him whose gaze seemed full of caring… And understanding. “Last year was painful for many. I know it was for me…” she mused, ending with a heavy sigh at the end. One that only made Cullen wonder what she meant as his other hand came to rest on hers. “I can only imagine, even without you telling me, it sounds like you’ve been through enough.” He remarked with a tender voice. A smile replied to his words before the two started chatting.
It was almost like he knew her once years ago as he and Carlotta (as he found out) talked. She found out about how he had been in the war but was in hospital when it ended. In turn, he found out about her previous marriage which ended with her husband’s death, leaving her with three children under the age of 6. “Charlise will have no memory of her father, she was born literally three days before he died.” Carlotta admitted as she sniffed, Cullen biting his lip before he wrapped his arm around her. “I am sorry.” He breathed out, handing her a tissue which she gratefully accepted. When she looked at the clock as her head lifted, she gasped sharply. “Oh no, I should have been at home two hours ago!!”
“Then let me pay the bill and I’ll walk you.” Cullen offered as he set down some notes for the barkeep before standing up. His hand hovered at her lower back as she got up before they walked out. Neither of them noticing the barkeep as he tried to hand Cullen back a couple of notes.
As they walked, Cullen gently pulled Carlotta under his coat flap to give the poor woman some more warmth. “I must admit, I am curious about why you started your show a little later than you usually do.” He queried as he looked down while blue eyes looked up at him. All as a pretty blush rose to Carlotta’s cheeks while her eyes asked a question, so Cullen cleared his throat while his free hand rubbed the back of his neck. “Umm, the barkeep told me how you usually perform earlier….”
“Did he now?” Carlotta asked with a bounce of her brow and a dangerously low tone of voice that made Cullen gulp quietly. Her sigh was a welcome relief though as she collected her thoughts. “I’ll admit… It was to see you.” She admitted softly, causing Cullen to hum in confusion in an almost silent request for clarification. “I’ve seen you come in at the end of my sets, the pain in your body, the mental scarring I could see… I…” she breathed out as she shook her head. “I just wanted to know about you and if you needed help?”
“If I needed help?” Cullen repeated as he looked at her, not realising his voice hardened until he saw her shrink a little. Closing his eyes a moment, he took a deep breath and then looked back at her. “I’m sorry. I was only meaning that…. You are struggling with three children, and yet you’re checking on me.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I’ve had so many people just dismiss me that… I am not used to someone looking out for me.”
“Well, now you do.” Carlotta smiled as she leaned a little against him before she spotted her door. “This is me.” She remarked before guiding him to her door where she pulled out her key to unlock it. Hearing the click, Cullen sighed as he stepped back to give her space, only to see those blue eyes look back at him in confusion. “Where are you going?”
An awkward motion behind him started his response but the shake of her head cut off any verbal response he had. “Oh no, I have a spare room, you’ll stay with me rather than walk the streets at this time of night. Come.” She instructed firmly while grabbing his free hand as she opened the door.
Stepping inside, he smiled as he was brought in while his free hand closed the door behind him.
~~~~~~
The soft rustle of leaves as a breeze blows through.
The slight smell of resting bread comes from nearby.
All as a small bit of movement rested against his chest.
Hazel eyes moved from the landscape to gaze down at the small body resting against his chest, deeply asleep with little care about the rest of the world. A smile pulled at his lips as his hand adjusted his hold of the infant to let him sleep. Some laughter and barking shifted his eyesight to watch three bodies playfully running from the German Shepherd that bounded behind them.
A sigh of contentment left him just as he felt a body slip into the seat beside him. “Despite having spent most of my life in one city or another, I do prefer this country life…” came the sigh that he anticipated as he tilted his head to nuzzle the auburn hair that graced him, inhaling her sweet scent. “Perhaps, mind it can be too quiet for a rambunctious soul. Hence why I left in the first place.” Cullen mused as he turned to gaze into the blue eyes of his beloved Dove.
Two years had passed since that fateful night, and yet Carlotta’s eyes still enthralled him. The months after she invited him into her home proved to be an unusual form of therapy for him as he moved from his flat to filling his days with helping her tend to her children (and his subsequent withdrawals from pain medication) and then his nights either resting from his overworked legs or indeed acting as an informal bodyguard or manager to his Dove when she sang. And in that time, romance and love blossomed between them.
Six months after they met though, Carlotta surprised him by revealing she was pregnant. While not what he intended, Cullen’s heart had filled with joy, especially when she said yes when he asked for her hand in marriage. It was around the anniversary of their meeting that Stanton was welcomed into their world while settling away from the city.
Now that little boy was lying against his chest, almost a whole-year-old, and already showing a shared look with him.
“You’ve gone quiet, my Lion. Where did you go?”
His hazel eyes moved from the little bundle back to the blue of his Dove’s eyes while flashing a smile. “The joy of these past two years, my Dove. The joy and peace you have given me.” He replied while seeing the smile grow on her lips while they looked out as Wynne, Elrand and Charlise played with the family dog. “Hard to think, Wynne is now 7, Elrend is almost 5, Charlise recently turned 2 and our little one here just turned a whole year old. Will be strange not having a little one against my chest.” He mused with a heavy sigh.
Oddly though, he felt a subtle shift in the air so he turned to look at Carlotta who was biting her lip and he grew concerned. “What is it? Did the doctors find something?” he asked, having been concerned about her recent fatigue and lack of appetite that he had her go see the local doctor while he stayed with the children. A heavy sigh left her as she tilted her head a little. “Well, ummm…. Would you be alright… Waiting about 7 months for a new little one?”
Such a question sent his mind spinning as he looked into her eyes. “Are you…. Meaning what I think you’re meaning?” he asked, to have her nod her head in reply as he breathed out. “We’re having another baby?”
“I… I know we had discussed it but…”
Any worries she had were quickly silenced by his lips upon her own. Any worries made to vanish as Cullen pulled away with a smile. “I love you, Carlotta Rutherford. You’ve made me a happy man.” He breathed out as he gazed at the beaming beauty that enthralled him two years ago, and was so glad for her stubbornness that had helped him become a better and healthier man as well as a husband and father.
Summertime really was living made easy.
