Trial by Courtesy

Author's Note: This one's a little different, as it's lacking any erotic content except for a few oblique references to the main characters gettin' it on at other times. And maybe there's just a touch of "hurt/comfort" kink in here, if that's your bent. Thanks to @writing-prompt-s on Tumblr for the inspiration; I've reproduced the original prompt below so you have as much context as I did when I started writing. (Come follow me on Tumblr! Link's in my bio.) Hope you enjoy!

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Story Prompt: You're an orc woman. Your human fiancé, somehow, survived the pre-marriage trial of beating three of your brothers in bare-handed combat to prove himself as husband and is now being treated by the healers. Now, according to tradition, you're going to his clan to prove yourself as wife to him.

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Trial by Courtesy

Kara strode towards the medic's tent with a pace that she hoped didn't look as desperate as she felt. The guard pulled the tent flap side with a sneer, but she paid him no attention as she ducked under the crossbar and went inside.

He was an absolute mess: bandages on his torso, bandages on one knee, a splint immobilizing the other ankle, a broken hand, and a patch over one eye. But despite all his wounds, his smile lit up when he saw her coming. He tried to lift himself to a sitting position but could only manage to shuffle slightly backwards, groaning with the effort.

"I did it," he croaked.

"You did it, love," she echoed.

She sat next to the bed and ran her hands over his chest, making him wince. The clan's doctors had done a good job; human anatomy wasn't all that different from an orc's, really, but still Kara was pleasantly surprised. Still, his bandages were already spotted with blood and anything that wasn't covered with bandages looked bruised and swollen.

"Oric says you should heal up okay so long as you keep your weight off that foot."

"Bah, medics. I can heal while we travel."

"Travel? You're out of your mind. You need to rest."

"Fancy hearing an orc say that to a human."

"I'm your orc and you're my human, thank you very much. And there's no way you're traveling right now. You can't even walk under your own power."

"Who needs to walk? I can ride."

"Not with three broken ribs, you can't."

"They're only a little broken."

"That's not what Trog said."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Remind me which one is Trog?"

"The youngest."

"Ah, the short one with the stubby legs."

"Yes, the one who threw you through a stone wall, that's right."

"He's got a low center of gravity. He got under my guard."

"You won, Will. You don't have to make excuses."

He smiled. "They let me win, you mean."

"What do you mean? You knocked Durkon out cold."

"He practically threw his face into my elbow. Are you sure he wasn't drunk?"

"Are you accusing my brothers of throwing a fight?"

"Kara," he said, grabbing her shoulder with his not-broken hand and pulling himself upright. "I love you very much, and I am telling you that there is no way on this earth that I am capable of beating the three toughest orcs in this clan in a fight when all's fair."

"Well... okay, they might have been a little drunk."

"I know. I could smell the grog."

"So what? No human has--"

"'Has ever taken the Trial of Marriage and survived', I know. I heard your father's speech. So how was I the first? What makes me so special that your brothers threw a fight for me?"

"I think you're pretty special," she said, brushing the hair out of his eyes with the back of her hand. He beamed that smile at her again, and she briefly thought about rolling on top of him before realizing how much damage that was likely to do. "Isn't that enough?"

"Enough for you, enough for me, yes. But enough for your brothers? Enough for your father?"

"You worry too much. He likes you, you know."

"He likes me? He threatened to throw me to the wolves the first time you brought me home."

"And the second. And the third. And you kept coming back anyway."

"Of course I did."

"Don't you see, Will? That's why they like you. You're not the first human to show up and claim they wanted to marry one of our clan, but you are the first to come back after learning about the Trial. You didn't back down even when you knew there was no way you were going to win. But winning and losing was never the point; my brothers get into rougher fights than that for fun. The point was that you showed up. Do you realize that no human has ever taken the Trial in the first place?"

"I knew it!"

"It's your fault that Dad has to come up with a new speech now. He'll be grumpy about that, but if anything he respects you all the more for it. You're one of the bravest people I've ever met, Will, orc or human. And around here that counts for a lot."

A tear formed in the corner of his eye. "Dammit, Kara."

"What?"

"Every part of me hurts right now, and that's the only reason I'm not dragging you into this bed with me."

"You're not the only one who's thinking about it, love."

"Seeing me lying here all bruised and battered turns you on, doesn't it?"

"You liked getting beat up as much as I like seeing you like this."

"I never."

"Freak."

"Sicko."

"Orc-lover."

"Oh!" he shouted indignantly. "Wait, is that an insult in Orcish?"

"No, you fool!" They fell into laughter together, doing their best to embrace each other despite the awkwardness of his injuries and the sick-bed on which he lay. She pulled him into a hug from the side, resting her forehead against his and closing her eyes, letting their breathing fall into sync.

"I guess we can stay here for a little while," he said.

"You don't have a choice," she smirked.

"My parents are expecting us in two weeks."

Her eyes widened and she pulled away from him. "Oh, no. Is that going to be a problem?"

"I mean, Mom is kind of a stickler for lateness, but I think--"

"I'll send a messenger!"

"It's not that important--"

"No! I'll find one right now!" She stood and started to search the medic's tent for something to write on.

"Kara!" he shouted, stopping her in her tracks. "It's okay! It doesn't matter. You can send a messenger tomorrow. It's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. We'll just tell them it's going to be another week." A sudden coughing fit sent him into spasms and she sat down next to him again in concern. "Or two."

"Oh, love. You're never going to be able to sleep tonight. I'll get you something to drink."

"No, wait. I mean, yes, but not yet. There's something you're not telling me. Why are you so upset about this trip? What's got you so worried?"

Her eyes fell away from his. "I... I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do. This isn't about my recovery; you'd carry me in a litter by yourself if you had to. You don't want to go."

"Of course I want to go! You passed my clan's trial, and now I will do the same for... your village."

He tilted her chin until she was looking at him again. "I told you, sweets, there is no 'trial'. It's a party! It's supposed to be fun! There's nothing to be nervous about."

"I'm not nervous!" she shouted, pounding the bed. The mattress bounced underneath him and he fell into another fit of coughing. "Oh gods, I'm so sorry."

His coughing subsided into a chuckle. "Never thought I'd see an orc get scared off by something as simple as a party."

"A party, I could handle! Believe me, this clan knows how to party -- I grew up drinking and fighting with my brothers all the time! But if I have too much wine and hit your sister with a blindside hook, I don't think she'll be keen to stand next to me at the wedding. No offense to Janet."

He laughed. "No, you're right. She can't take a punch as well as Trog, and I'd like her to not have a black eye when we tie the knot."

"If we even get that far," she sighed.

"What's going to stop us?"

"What if I offend your mother? What if the village thinks I'm a dumb brute who doesn't deserve you? I don't know what even happens at a... a..."

"A bachelorette party."

"Yes, that. I just don't have any idea what I'm supposed to do!"

"Well, I can't say I've ever been to one either, since they only invite the ladies."

"I'm hardly a lady."

"No, you're a cegnuk."

She looked at him suspiciously. "You've been studying your Orcish again. But Dad's not a 'warlord', and I'm hardly a 'princess'."

"Is there a better word for the daughter of the clan's chief? Look at it this way: you outrank anyone else who's going to be at this party. Unless the Lord Mayor decides to send his wife, which he won't."

"This is not helping."

He took both her hands in his. "Okay, then try this. You said that your clan respected me because I showed up, right? All I'm asking you is to do the same. I don't want you to go this party and be the perfect human wife, because that's not what you are. You're you. If you go, and you act like an orc who's about to marry the love of her life, everyone there is going to see that. And that's going to get you a lot farther than holding your teacup with the right fingers, or whatever other ridiculous ideas you've got about human society."

"Wait, there's a correct set of fingers to use when you're holding a teacup?"

"No! I mean, probably, but I don't care!"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You haven't been trying to take an entire crash course in how to behave in front of my parents for the last two weeks."

He blinked. "I haven't? Then what were we doing every night on the journey here?"

"... fucking in front of the campfire?"

"Okay, before that. I meant the sparring."

"We do that all the time."

"Yes, but you don't usually mimic your brothers' moves and show me how to counter them."

"I was trying to boost your confidence, so you wouldn't be too scared by the time we got to the village."

"Right! Exactly."

"So why is it so hard for you to understand that I want to learn about your village's customs, too?"

"I..."

"I know you think I can just show up and be who I am and everyone is going to love me as much as you do, Will. I want to believe you, but you know it isn't that simple. Has your village ever thrown a bachelorette party like this?"

His eyes flashed mischievously. "No one's ever survived to tell the tale!"

She tried not to laugh. "Come on, I'm serious. I bet no one's even brought home an orc before."

"Not that I know of, no. But that's the thing, Kara. Most folks who leave... once they leave, they're gone for good. We don't get a lot of kids coming back at all, much less ones who bring a partner with them. That's why Mom's so excited about throwing this party for you, and it's why you don't need to worry so much. I promise she won't throw you to the wolves."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. You will probably have to meet our dogs, though."

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

"If I can get along with Fenrir, you'll do okay with Snout."

"Keep throwing sausages to him and you'll be fine."

"Exactly."

She sighed. "If going to this party is the thing that stands between us and getting married, I wouldn't miss it for anything. But I'm sure going to be nervous about it until then."

"I get it. And the fact that you care enough to learn our customs means a lot, to me and to my mom. I promise, if there's anything I can possibly think of that might help, I'll tell you. But in all honesty, Kara, if the village idiots decide that you're not good enough for me, they can keep it to themselves. Nothing is going to stand in the way of us spending the rest of our lives together, okay? Not the ladies of the village, not my mom, not anything."

"You romantic sap. It's a good thing you didn't become a minstrel."

"Never could play the lute. And you always were better with words."

"Don't you forget it." She punched him in the shoulder, and he yelped in pain. "Damn. Sorry, love."

He laughed weakly. "It's fine. After what your brothers did to me, it barely registers."

"Ooo, you...!"

"Didn't you say you were going to find me something to drink so I can sleep tonight?"

"Hmph. Fine. I'll take it out of your hide once you've healed up."

"Promises, promises."

She stood up, looking over his battered form one more time before turning to leave.

"I love you, Will."

"Love you too, Kara."

"Sorry I'm such a mess."

He gestured weakly. "That makes two of us."

"I'll get over it."

"I know you will. And I'll heal up."

"I know you will. But I still want to know what fingers I'm supposed to use to hold a teacup."