The First Time Ada And Marazhai Dine Together......

the first time ada and marazhai dine together...... <3

'Come, my little pet. The recent incursion among your subjects has filled my territory with fresh meat. I've set aside the ringleaders and am eager to indulge. You will join me.'

Ada stared up at Marazhai, collecting herself as she processed the sudden intrusion on her hitherto quiet evening. The only thing more surprising than the Drukhari's arrival was his unusually affable demeanour. After a beat she pulled the fork from her mouth.

'Right now?' she asked, her mouth still full of the braised grox that had been brought for her supper. She was reluctant to leave it almost completely untouched on its bed of honey-glazed carrots and leeks drenched in sauce made from some cheese whose name she couldn't pronounce, but apparently one bite was worth more than a noblewoman's dowry.

Marazhai's gaze narrowed, but the tilt of his head and the lingering spark in his eyes, told her that he wasn't actually irritated, at least not yet. 'You have something better to do with your time?'

She made a show of giving the question some thought as she chewed. The delicately seasoned meat melted against her tongue and she savoured the tenderness a little longer than necessary before she finally swallowed it down, answering him before the humour in his expression began to wane.

'Can I finish up here first?'

The dark eyes narrowed further, his lip curling in a show of playful disdain with which she was now intimately familiar.

'You would delay our pleasure for such paltry indulgences as these?' he scoffed, leaning over the small table and gesturing at the food set out between them. Such scorn roused her irritation. Before assuming the title of Rogue Trader, Ada could only have dreamed of enjoying such a meal.

'Wouldn't you rather I was well fed and energised for our feast?' she asked, pointedly spearing another mouthful of meat. She brought the heavily laden fork to her lips, her eyes trained on his, only to have Marazhai reach across the table with the speed of a hunting serpent, capturing her hand between his armour-clad fingers. She frowned, and tried to pull her hand away, which only made his smile curve higher and his grip tighten. Defiant, she leaned forward to try and eat the mouthful. In response, he pulled it just beyond her reach... and then further...

'Wait! Don't you da- '

Too late. The meat, dripping with jus, disappeared behind sharp teeth and pale lips, and when he released her hand the silver prongs came away bare. She stared at them in silence. It took her several moments to settle herself as she wrestled with old memories of having scraps of mouldy bread snatched from her fingers, or her cup of rancid bone broth kicked and spilled across the floor before she'd even taken one sip. No doubt he savoured the emotions those recollections conjured even more than...

Her anger deflated at that realisation, and at the smug look he cast her way. Bastard... of course that was his intent.

'Let me guess...' she said as he swallowed. 'It doesn't compare to the screaming agony of your victims?'

He chuckled, the sound warm and satisfied. 'Of course not. But for mon-keigh fare... I at least have the satisfaction of knowing my pet is adequately cared for.'

Void, he was effortlessly insufferable. But Ada could feel her own smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, though she fought valiantly to hold it back.

'High praise indeed,' she retorted. And then, in a moment of brazen forwardness that she would later put down to the half-empty glass of dammassine sitting by her plate: 'Does that mean you won't be too insulted if I invite you to join me?'

Insulted? No, that was certainly not the reaction she saw briefly rush behind his eyes before he carefully covered it over. But could it really have been genuine surprise?

'I suppose. Since I have nothing better to do with my time...'

Ada did a far less commendable job of hiding her own astonishment as he slipped with easy grace into the seat opposite her. She watched as he picked up her crystal glass and took a sip of its dark contents, while she helped herself to another bite grox and then prepared a forkful to offer him. Sharing her meal did not quite spark her outrage as watching him steal it from under her nose had done. She held the meat up to him, briefly contemplated teasing him with it, and decided against.

'Something wrong?' she asked when she saw his expression falter as he chewed.

'I prefer my meat rarer,' he said simply, taking another sip of the dammassine and then handing it to her. For the most fleeting of moments, their fingers touched. 'Remember that... for next time.'

She looked at him over the rim of the glass, and was glad that she could hide behind it as she lost the battle to hold back her smile.

'Next time.'

Thank you @amasec for this prompt! It kind of got away from me, but was really sweet to write (I love Marazhai being an insufferable gremlin)!