#alina was taken away from her home (mal) and taken somewhere she did not want to go

[capsiclesteebrogers]

the fact that antis don't understand the importance of the meadow flashback for malina says everything i need to know about them.

#malina #yes yes it was repetitive BUT FOR A REASON #all they have was each other #no other home but each other #that meadow was their safe place where they could go and just be and feel safe #alina was taken away from her home (mal) and taken somewhere she did not want to go #she lost the only sense of home she had #that meadow represented safety and comfort and a sense of familiarity #if you're mad your ship doesn't have a special place with a lot of significance for them just say it #but stop hating on the flashbacks when you clearly don't understand WHY they brought it up so much #shadow and bone

[jomiddlemarch]

what it is to be a thin crescent moon

Chapter 6

“I think I’ll like it even better cold,” Aleksander said. His dish was clean. He had a healthy color in his face and he was sitting comfortably on the bed, the table dragged over to stand between them. “But you must give the recipe to the head cook in the kitchens of the Little Palace.”

“What recipe?” Alina asked, eating the last bite from her bowl. “And you can be the one to tell him, because I think the best seasoning of this dish was hunger. And a breaking fever.”

“If it tasted of anything besides salt and grains of paradise, it was my relief that gave it savor,” he said. “Though I will be even more relieved when we are back in Os Alta.”

“You’ll feel better then, when we get there,” Alina said. She knew they would have to leave and that Aleksander was getting stronger; it was only a matter of days before he was able to mount and ride the stallion, even if one arm was wrapped around her waist.

“I will. To be back among my Grisha, to have what we need readily available, to know you are safe, yes, I’ll feel better for that,” he said.

“I guess so,” Alina said, biting her lip. When he said the Little Palace or Os Alta, her mind went blank, unable to imagine the actual places, to wonder whether the streets were cobblestones or what kind of trees were planted on the avenues. She could imagine riding with him again, his cape draped around them both, the tickle of his beard at her temple, but she couldn’t imagine an arrival other than a vague and pervasive dread, Aleksander disappearing and only General Kirigan somewhere, far away from her.

“What are you scared of, Alina?” he asked. Not why are you scared? as if she had no good reason and not you shouldn’t be scared, impatient or incredulous.

“The truth?” she asked, an unnecessary question. He shrugged and nodded.

“I hope that’s what you want to tell me,” he said.

“I’m scared of everything, except being here with you, like this,” she said.

“What do you mean, everything? And, except being here with me?” he said.

“A week ago, I was Alina Starkov, assistant map-maker of the First Army, orphan of Keramzin, Mal’s friend, that homely half-Shu brat Ana Kuya couldn’t wait to wash her hands of. And I didn’t have a very big place in the world but I understood what it was and what the days were going to hold,” Alina said. “Then I burned the maps and got sent across the Fold and without trying to, summoned the Sun. Then you called for me and asked me what I was and told me when I didn’t give the right answer. And then I was about to be murdered for it or sanctified. You were in such a desperate hurry to get me to the Little Palace and I have no idea what will happen there, especially since all Fjerda wants me dead and the Tsar probably wants me alive to serve him, but I don’t think I will be Alina there or Alya and I don’t think you’ll be Aleksander anymore. And certainly not Sasha.”

He sat quietly and there was not a hint of a shadow in the corners of the room, nor in his dark eyes. There was only the fading daylight that would soon require the candle to be lit.

“I understand this. Four walls, water to be fetched and drunk, food to be eaten. I know a healer could have taken care of your wounds better than I did and I’m a bad person, a terrible one, for not wishing for whatever would help you get better faster, but I’m still myself here and you’re here, listening to me, and I don’t think when we get to Os Alta either of those will be true any longer,” she finished. “I’ll be alone again and I won’t even know myself anymore.”

“Alina, when I came for you, when you were being attacked, I had no intention of leaving you to your own devices when we got to Os Alta. But now, it would be impossible,” he said.

“It would be impossible,” Aleksander repeated, “impossible for me to be far away from you, for me not to want to hear what you have to say, to answer your questions. To look for you in every room. There is no other room than this one for me, not anymore. I just hadn’t thought to speak of it so soon. It didn’t seem fair.”

“What about any of this is fair?” Alina said, then surprised herself by starting to cry, her hands flying up to hide her face.

“Nothing,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t wish it were. That I can’t wish to do more than keep you safe. Would you come sit by me now?”

“The dishes,” she muttered.

“We’ve nearly licked them clean, they can wait,” he said.

“Ana Kuya would have your hide for that,” Alina said but she got up, dragged the rickety table away from the bed and sat down next to Aleksander. She pushed a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

“What happened to your hair?” Aleksander said. She couldn’t blame him for wondering. When he’d rescued her, she’d had braided in keeping with First Army regulations. It wasn’t flattering but it was neat and unobjectionable which was no longer the case.

“I rinsed it out in the spring by the new cache and then bundled it back. It dried like this,” she said, reaching back to touch the tangled, lumpy mess she’d imagined chopping off except that it would mark her as even more of an outcast when they got to the Little Palace. She had been too busy calming Aleksander down and then preparing a meal to do anything about it.

“I could help you with it,” he offered.

“With your Small Science?” Alina asked. “I don’t see how shadows will make it better.”

“No, I can use a comb,” he smiled.

“That would be good if we had a comb,” Alina answered.

“Will you let me try anyway?” he asked.

“You don’t have to,” she said.

“I’d like to,” he said without any more explanation than what she saw in his eyes, the curve of his lips after he finished speaking. She nodded. “Turn around a little,” he said, “you’ll be more comfortable.”

Alina wondered for a moment whether he meant because she wouldn’t be facing him, watching him touch her, or simply because she wouldn’t be contorted so that he could reach her easily, but she only wondered for a moment, because then his fingers were combing through her tangled, hastily tied back hair, disposing first of the bit of ribbon and few pins she’d used and then, very gently, teasing apart every knot.

“This was a right mess, wasn’t it, Alya?” he said, his hands still moving steadily, pausing when a particularly robust knot defied him, a far cry from Ana Kuya yanking a brush through Alina’s hair and threatening to smack her bottom with it if she wiggled again. “That’s better,” he said, grazing now her temple, now her cheek, his fingers stroking the nape of her neck as he lifted the heavy mass of her hair to settle it down her back. She thought he was would stop then and she’d weave a simple braid but she felt his hands separating the strands and starting to plait her hair in a pattern she couldn’t recognize, far more elaborate than any she’d ever worn, not pulling or tugging at all.

“What are you doing?” she asked and he stopped, resting one hand on her shoulder.

“I was going to finish braiding it, so it didn’t trouble you as much,” he said.

“General Kirigan knows how to braid a woman’s hair?” Alina asked in disbelief. He laughed.

“Yes, though it was Aleksander who learned, not the General,” he said. “It isn’t so difficult, it just requires attention and patience and I’ll tell you a secret—it’s nice to do something with my hands that isn’t summoning. Shall I stop though?”

“No, don’t stop,” Alina said. He squeezed her shoulder slightly before he lifted his hands back to her hair, resuming the steady rhythm he’d had before, lulling her into a dozy calm that was threaded through with thrill when he touched her skin. He started humming softly, singing a few lyrics here and there in that same dialect she didn’t know, the melody unfamiliar to her, though she sensed it had something to do with a pair of lovers, with beckoning and returning after a long time apart. He finished braiding and stopped singing at the same time, tracing a finger along the braid at the crown of her head that was like a diadem.

“Beautiful,” he said and she might have thought he only meant the work of his own hands but then he added, “Not homely, not ever at all, Alynoshka.”

“Did you braid Luda’s hair?” Alina asked. He grew very still behind her and she felt cold within herself, a sunless day in the depth of winter. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything—”

“Yes, I did,” he said. “When she let me.”

Alina sat, clasped her hands together tightly, feeling miserable. “Aleksander—”

“It doesn’t hurt me to talk about her with you, Alya,” he said. “It was a long time ago—I’m glad someone else besides me knows her name.”

“You called it out in the night,” Alina said, a little less miserable. The hand he’d had at her head he dropped, reached forward to loosen her own in what should have been an awkward sort of embrace but wasn’t at all.

“When?”

“When I called you Sasha,” she said.

“Ah, well. That makes sense,” he said. “When she was killed, that was the last time anyone called me Sasha. Something was broken in me, past healing I thought, and I decided that could never happen again. That I could not live in a world where it might.”

“And now?” Alina said.

“I learned I was wrong,” he said.

“About yourself?” Alina asked.

“About myself, about the world. About how they can be mended,” he said. “I’m tired. Are you tired, Alya? It would be good to sleep now.”

Aleksander lay down, turned on his side. Alina moved to lie beside him, watching him settle his kefta over her legs and then his cape. She had just closed her eyes when she heard him speak.

“My favorite place at the Little Palace is the Observatory. You have to climb a narrow staircase for what seems like forever, but when you get to the top, you can see all of Os Alta below, the lights of the city like fallen stars, the golden domes of the Tsar’s palace nestled against the clouds. You can see beyond the city’s walls, into the countryside, Ravka ready to dream in the night. When we get to Os Alta, I’ll take you there, Alya, and you can see everything yourself,” he said.

*

When she opened her eyes, it was dawn and there were a handful of snowflakes falling. Aleksander was already awake, watching her, his hand warm at the small of her back. She hadn’t dreamt of an observatory but of a vast library, of looking up and finding Aleksander watching her in just the same way, of his hand reaching to caress her coronet of braids. She made a low sound of contentment, remembering there was broth to heat and sfera to cast, to make him smile.

“I’ve been lying here wondering about something you said. Why would a cartographer burn maps? I’m asking you now because someone will surely ask in Os Alta—Alina, are you a Shu spy? Whatever you say in Os Alta, tell me the truth now.”

#shadow and bone #darklina #there was only one bed AU #hurt/comfort #alina x aleksander #Alina gets angsty #Aleksander/Luda #shades of charles boyle #brooklyn 99 #who thinks the most romantic thing is washing a woman's hair #aleksander braids alina's hair #talking in bed #when you're not delirious #darklina fics

[amiramorozova]

Dual Summoner x The Darkling pt. 52

Pairing: Dual Summoner Amira Silina x Darkling General kirigan/Aleksander Morozova

Summary: Amira is pregnant and this chapter entails some of what she goes through. Along with the birth of their child.

Glossary: nichyevo('ya) - nothing(s)

After I was able to get out of bed, I wore my kefta around the little palace feeling more at home for the first time. Shadow walked beside me as I came across the other summoners who looked at me then down at shadow. Adrian came over and hugged me as I hugged him back knowing that for now, those things were not here. Aleksander could not call them without scaring our group and with the heartrenders, he was able to get his position back. 

"Your safe cousin? I heard you were sick." Adrian said as I looked at him when he stepped back. "I'm pregnant." I said as he looked surprised then looked down at Shadow "And you have a puppy." Adrian pointed out as I nodded. "She never leaves my side, she's already protective of me." I said as Shadow smelled Adrian and I watched her reaction as she looked up at him and wagged her tail. I smiled knowing that she accepted my cousin.

"Well, the General must be glad you have such a loyal companion." Adrian said as I knew I needed to warn him. People were still staring at us, I'd been gone for several weeks and they didn't know why. I put my arm around Adrian and led him away from where we could talk alone. "What's up cuz?" Adrian asked as we kept walking. "If you ever see creatures made of shadows, they are nichyevo'ya. Avoid them and never let one get ahold of you cause the wounds they make can't be healed by a healer." I said to him 

Adrian looked at me like I was a bit crazy but I knew there was not going to be any other chance for me to show him. A few weeks passed since this conversation and we were on the 2nd floor of the little palace, well I was with my three guards, my guards, and my cousin where we could see the opening of the little palace grounds. Fjerdans were trying to get in to capture a good amount of us and out there was my husband leading the Grisha. When some of them were hurt or thrown he was the only one standing. 

What will you do? use the cut or the nichyevo'ya? I thought 

I was safe and everyone on the inside was safe for now but then I saw his shadows coming to his call and I realized which one he was using. All of us were at the windows of the 2nd floor of the little palace watching as the shadows took form. I hated that he used this and it cost him when he did but to protect us we needed whatever we could. I was a liability in my condition so when the nichyevo'ya formed, he sent them after the fjerdans. 

"You weren't kidding." Adrian said as Nico didn't seem to like what he saw. "Isn't he becoming dangerous?" Nico asked as I sighed a bit. "I'll try to make sure these are the last ones he makes." I said to Nico as I knew I could influence but I saw the Grisha out there. They were scared and with every right to be those things were shadows like the shadow fold. Still, when the fjerdans screamed I had to look away and Adrian led me away. 

"All that blood, it's no different than the time we fought Fjerdans but things are different." Adrian said, I felt lightheaded again as I staggered and I felt eight sets of hands catch me. "You need to lie down." Nico said 

I was taken back to the war room but only Marie and Nadia took me in as I laid down. Baghra came to check on me and she seemed to have suspicions. "Could it be.." Baghra said as she had no way of knowing whatever she was thinking for sure. A lot was going on but that was how it was. She needed to figure out how to get past this part, it was going to be the worse she figured. 

After that day once I reached two months I was sleeping more than walking around. Since the Grisha still respected Aleksander, he had to leave for a week so shadow curled up with me when I slept. She was more alert with me and that was clear to me, as she woke me when I would have nightmares. I didn't want to tell Aleksander that those nichyevo‘ya were giving me nightmares but watching what they did to Alina had left that with me.

I hadn't seen Alina or Mal since we'd returned so I could only assume they were locked up somewhere and that bothered me too. A sun summoner and a tracker with use locked up. I went to the bathroom and when I came out Genya was there. She gave me some soup as I took it and had it. "Are you excited?" Genya asked, I looked up at her with a smile knowing this was only the 2nd month. "If I keep up like this, it's not even fun. But no one ever said it would be." I said as there was going to be this little summoner running around the little palace in a matter of time when she or he could walk or run. 

When Aleksander came back he just made sure he made time for me, he was worried about me and the baby. I wondered if the sea whip had been partially part of my problem, but I didn't want it. He was able to stay with me for the next month, which was the three-month mark. The nursemaids came and checked on me every day, being the first time I was going through this. A week into heading to the fourth month Aleksander got called away. The worst was that he was going to be gone for three weeks and I was livid. I was angry and upset about how much he had to work still as I sighed. When he did return was when I was around the 4th-month mark.

I finally decided enough was enough and I walked out of the room, he was having a meeting with the Grisha soldiers and I walked in. I was in one of the dresses the materialeki had given me as I heard everyone gasp. Yeah, I hadn't been public with it but neither had he about what was going on. I knew I was showing as he got down from where he was standing and walked over to me as he put his arm around me. 

"You should rest, you haven't been the same since on the boat." Aleksander said as I looked at him. "No, I can manage just fine." I said 

When he turned everyone got the full look at me, Zoya made her way to the front and looked at us. I almost wanted to smirk seeing her anger in her eyes but I knew that wasn't necessary. Every girl desired this moment with him but he chose me..or his mother chose me for him. 

"You all asked why Amira stays in bed, this is why. Soon in a matter of five months we are going to be welcoming my child into the little palace." Aleksander said 

People just stared and I felt uncomfortable now but knew it was good they knew. Some of the people, those most loyal to him, were sending their congratulations but I didn't need that. I just needed him to be here with me. He dismissed everyone as we walked back to the room and he had me sit on the bed. 

"You need to take it easy." Aleksander said as I sighed, I knew that things were crazy but I put a hand on his cheek and kissed him. He kissed me back as I knew what I needed. He seemed to get the idea as we spent the next few hours together as I laid there by him later. "I never expected this to be the way things are.." I admitted as he hugged me the best he could and put a hand on my baby bump. "You're doing something amazing." He assured me

The morning sickness part went away so now I just had to wait out the rest of the months. What started Slow started to go faster as the day soon crept upon us. Aleksander was in a meeting with the heartrenders when I felt excruciating pain. Marie and Nadia had to take me to the medical area but I wouldn't let them help me until he was there. So Nadia had to go get him and disturb his meeting. 

Within minutes the doors came open, he was by my side as it all began. They guided me through it and all I recalled was the pain and almost thinking I couldn't do it. Mother said if she'd do it again it wouldn't be as bad and for a second I thought this was the worst pain. Still, time went by, and soon a baby crying was able to be heard as I breathed a little heavily. 

"It's a girl, General Kirigan." The healers said as they cleaned her and after I was able to sit up I was able to hold her. "Do you have a name?" They asked as Aleksander looked at me and he nodded knowing I'd chosen one. "Kira Alisa Kirigan." I said as they were all happy. "We never expected that there would be a birth in the little palace." they said as they were all excited

TagList: @lifeisingrey,  @houseoftoomanyfandoms

#general kirigan #aleksander morovoza #dual summoner #Amira Silina #marie #nadia zhabin #darkling x reader #Team Darkling #the darkling #darkling #baby summoner #shadow summoner #Grishaverse #shadow and bone fanfiction #shadow and bone #sunsummoner #tidemaker #ben barnes #fanfic

[tirkdi]

A Family Affair: Mal & the Darkling at a Family Reunion

The premise sounds like crack but the relationship is canon and I can’t believe we don’t have more of this. Featuring hacker!Alina, genetic analysis, and the Darkling’s Terrible Innuendos™. I’m not even sorry.

‘Family’ was still a new concept for Malyen Oretsev.

He’d heard of families all his life, of course – mostly in the context of his not having one. Growing up in an orphanage had been rough at the best of times, but even in his darkest moments Mal had never let himself imagine that there was a family waiting for him somewhere out there.

To look around at them now was … unreal.

When Alina had come home a few months before from her new job at a fancy-and-secretive tech company with a couple coupons for free genetic background analysis, Mal hadn’t thought much of it. He’d scoffed at the cheek swabs but she wanted to do it and he wanted her to be happy so he’d sent his sample in along with hers. When the emails arrived saying their results were ready, they logged into Alina’s account first.

Alina was, the site had said, a carrier for several western African and Ashkenazi genetic diseases, a fact seemingly at odds with the heritage summary that had reported her genetic makeup as split evenly between a region of central China and an unspecified indigenous South American group.

Alina Starkov, the site had proudly announced, you have 0 potential relatives on our site. And then, in moment of exceptional cruelty: Click here to order some kits for your family!

Mal’s results had been less surprising – the site reported that his brown hair and blue eyes came from some combination of the usual west and north European suspects. More unexpected, though, had been that he had five potential relatives on the site.

“Click to see who they are!” Alina prompted, but Mal had hesitated, unsure. In the morning, though, he had a message waiting from one of them.

Dear cousin, it began, and suddenly there was wind or maybe dust in the room because Mal’s vision started to blur.

Ginny, his cousin a few times removed it turned out, had been doing a large scale genealogy project on her own family and had hoped that some people from branches for whom the records petered out might show up on the site. She was beyond thrilled to learn that he was an Oretsev.

She had told him about a family reunion she was planning the next month, conveniently close to where they lived. With Alina’s new job (Mal understood just enough to know that it involved security, computers, and was very, very impressive) they could, for the first time, afford to travel. Unfortunately, Alina was practically chained to her laptop; she’d had to fight just to get the day off to come to the reunion. (“It’s on a Saturday,” Mal had said. Alina had rolled her eyes. “Our CTO says hackers don’t take weekends.”)

They’d rented a car and driven, nearly a three hour trip including a few routes more scenic than they’d meant to take, and they’d arrived late. Mal had gone to apologize to Ginny, but when she saw him she had just thrown her arms around his neck and hugged him.

Maybe this is what family is, he’d thought, amazed.

He and Alina had spent the last half-hour on the lawn, shaking hands with members of his very extended family. The Oretsevs were a bit of a lost branch and he hadn’t met anyone who had a common relative closer than four or five generations back, but everyone was happy to meet him, welcoming and warm.

Alina was beautiful in a sundress and charming in a way he almost never saw her. She typically preferred to be behind her computer screen, often grumbling that she had more in common with hackers in other continents than with their neighbors. But here around his family she seemed energized, somehow, excited – none of the nerves that he had, all of the joy.

She squeezed his hand. “I’m going to go see if Ginny has any more of that lavender lemonade. Want anything while I’m in there?” Mal shook his head and she smiled, kissed him lightly on the nose. “I love you.”

That was enough. It had always been enough.

Mal turned to see another late arrival to the party, inwardly relieved that he and Alina weren’t the last ones to show up. A man, suited, escorted a much older woman with a cane – his mother, Mal supposed. The woman took a seat and was immediately engaged in conversation (or at least talked at) by several other matriarchs. Mal walked across the lawn towards the man.

“Hi,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Mal.”

A glance of cool grey, a nod towards Mal’s name tag. “I can see that.”

Ooookay. He smiled gamely and pointed at a nearby table. “If you want one, name tags are over there.”

“I’m aware.”

New strategy. “So you have much contact with this branch of your family?”

“None, actually.”

Somehow Mal wasn’t surprised. “What brings you here then?”

“My mother wished to come.” He responded to Mal’s look with an even gaze. “Haven’t you ever done anything to make your mother happy?”

One part of Mal’s brain reasoned that this man couldn’t possibly know that he was an orphan. The other part of his brain insisted that he had intended that comment to hurt every bit as much as it did.

Mal had never been so relieved to see Alina as when she stepped out of the house at that moment. She saw him and smiled, her face lighting like the sun – just for a moment, before her expression was replaced by something much darker.

She stomped over to where he was, furious, and he didn’t understand why until she walked right past him to the suited man, grabbing his arm and turning him around.

“What happened,” she practically shouted, “to 'hackers don’t take weekends’??”

It took Mal a moment. Then he looked at the man, back at Alina. “You’re the …”

“He’s my CTO.” Alina scowled.

The man seemed unperturbed. He was silent for a moment before turning to Mal. “That stands for Chief Technology Officer.”

“I know what it stands for,” Mal ground out. Alina had been complaining about the CTO nearly since she started the job; Mal was beginning to understand why.

She narrowed her eyes. “It’s quite a coincidence that I take one day off in the last three months and you show up to my boyfriend’s family reunion.”

“Your boyfriend,” the man repeated. He glanced between the two of them and something like relief crossed his face, replaced quickly by something like irritation. Then boredom. Mal wasn’t sure which he liked least.

He didn’t have a chance to decide, however, because Ginny chose that exact moment to appear. Her mouth formed an excited O as she looked up at the man in front of her. “You must be one of the Morozovas!” His lack of response didn’t discourage her, and she continued: “You look just like the photos of your grandfather Ilya.”

“Fascinating,” the CTO replied.

Ginny beamed despite his tone, either ignoring or failing to notice the fact that he hadn’t looked at her once. All his attention was on Alina, who glared back at him, hands clenched to fists at her sides. Ginny waved at someone across the lawn and excused herself, leaving the three of them alone again.

“On my way here, I received word that that contract we’d been hoping for came through,” the man told Alina, his tone deliberately casual in a way to indicate that it was anything but. “We’ll need to get started immediately.”

Alina’s fists didn’t unclench, but her eyes widened just enough to dim her scowl.

“What sort of project?” asked Mal.

“The classified sort.” Morozova hadn’t looked his way and Mal thought he wouldn’t elaborate, but after a beat he continued. “The reporting structure will be different for the duration of this project – Alina will be working directly under me.”

Mal furrowed his brow. Did he just –

The CTO turned towards Mal, met his eyes. “It’s going to require a lot of long, hard nights.”

Mal’s jaw dropped. HE DID.

Alina’s scowl was back. “Come on, Mal,” she bit out as she grabbed his hand. “Let’s go talk to someone from the non-asshole side of your family.”

Mal let her lead him away and glanced back at the CTO who seemed, shockingly, almost amused. “I’ll see you at the office this evening, Alina.”

She waved back at him using one particular finger and led Mal straight across the lawn. Mal regained his capacity for speech somewhere past the table full of tiny cucumber sandwiches. “He’s even worse than you said.”

“I know.” She dropped his hand, put hers on her hips and scanned the yard, a deep line formed between her brow. “But I can handle him – other than that, it’s my dream job.”

“Won’t he fire you if you talk to him like that though?”

Alina exhaled loudly and shook her head, frustration evident in her movements. “No, he needs me too much.”

Mal knew he should keep his mouth shut, and he tried to – and failed. “Long, hard nights kind of need you?”

If she had stormed off and taken the car back to the city, leaving him in the yard in the middle of nowhere, he would have deserved it. For a second there, he thought she might. But then she laughed, and this time when she shook her head it was light. “More like I’m the only reason we got that contract in the first place. I think I’m going to go see if Ginny has anything stronger than that lemonade. Can you drive us home?” She grabbed his hand again, and at her touch he felt the tension in his chest release.

He smiled. “Anything for you.”

She smiled back before leading him across the yard to a table with drinks where more family members waited, eager to meet him, unlike the one they’d left behind. I guess you really can’t choose your family, Mal thought, amazed at the aptness of a saying he’d never thought would apply to him.

When, sometime later, Mal looked back towards where the CTO stood, the man was still staring at Alina. Mal was about to mention it to her when the man’s gaze shifted towards him and something about his expression made Mal think better of saying anything at all and anxious to leave. It wasn’t until a couple hours later, relieved to have concrete passing below him at 70 miles an hour and Alina snoring lightly in the passenger seat, that he realized that he hadn’t really escaped, that family was the one thing he wouldn’t be able to just leave behind.

Alina shifted towards him, maybe dreaming, and Mal sighed, turning back to the long stretch of highway in the approaching dusk. After a moment he reached towards her, the only family he had chosen, and grasped her fingers in his. In her sleep, Alina smiled.

#the grisha trilogy #malyen oretsev #grisha fic #the darkling #sun soldier #alina starkov