#it keeps Getting Cold Again so they've not been growing vigorously but... soon......

[alackofghosts]

looks like spring ii

[lauwrite1225]

Somebody to die for.

Finan x OC; The Old Guard inspired Alternative Universe

Summary : Victoria's life is rather simple until she has a car accident from which she ends up miraculously unscathed. A series of weird events animates her daily life, everything seemingly bringing her to a strange man. Until this very man knocks at her door.

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A/N : Happy Finan Friday!! Moodboard a little special today as it's Sophie and Osferth centred instead of the story this time 😉

Warnings : fluff ;) and mention of death!

Chapter 10 : This is not what you wanted

Vicky is getting used to how her dreams work. The first night, she dreams of the person's death, waking up abruptly with an erratic breath after having felt the coldness of death running through her veins. Then the following nights it’s a mess of memories from a huge variety of periods of time. She sees so much during this phase that she rarely remembers everything, but she wakes up at the same emotion that the person felt. 

That’s how one early morning, when the sunlight shyly starts to fight the darkness, she wakes up with tears in her eyes and a deep sadness tearing her heart apart. Finan’s hand is on her cheek, his thumb wiping her tears as she breathes slowly to make the emotion fade.

 “Are ya alright?” He asks when she finally meets his eyes in the dark.

“Yes, I’m fine. Sorry for waking you up.” She apologizes, turning on her side to face him, his hand leaving her face to rest on her waist.

Over a week has passed since the night they first kissed and even if they haven’t yet made it official to their hosts, Finan keeps sleeping with her. He also steals her kisses when they are just the two of them which amuses her a lot, making her feel like they are teenagers. However, she knows that the bond, no matter how confused it still is, that ties them together is far more than an infatuation.

“It's alright.” He smiles briefly before he starts to look more concerned. “Ya've been tossin' around for awhile now.”

She bites her lower lips as memories of her dreams emerge and she moves to settle against him. She closes her eyes, his fingers playing with her hair kindly, easing the tension in her body. Slowly, she remembers the story. It was cold, very cold and Sihtric was walking in the snow, his clothes wet and sticking to his skin. By his side there was Osferth, in a pretty much similar state, holding his rifle tightly against his chest. The two warriors looked miserable as they were shouting a name that she can't remember. They walked for hours in the forest until they suddenly stopped in front of a body. The man was laying in the white snow, a puddle of blood freezing around him, his chest perforated multiple times and his blue eyes opened wide to the sky. It was Uhtred.

Now she remembers what Osferth told them the day they arrived. Sihtric fell to his knees next to his Lord, shaking his body vigorously, wanting him to come back. The Dane furiously shouted at him to wake up, slapping him. Tears warmed his cold cheeks as they trickled down his face. Osferth kept questioning him in panic on why Uhtred didn't come back yet and Sihtric only yelled at him angrily that he didn't know. And so they waited hours in the cold winter, shivering under the heavy rain that started to fall. But Uhtred never moved, his skin turning blue and his eyes still contemplating Valhalla.

Finan's hand that grazes on her arm brings her back to reality. “I dreamt of Uhtred's death.” She finally tells him and she feels him freeze underneath her.

He doesn't ask any questions and she doesn't talk more of it, both of them knowing the wound is still too recent for the Irishman.

The days are pretty much like usual, starting every of Victoria's mornings with her training. She is getting better with the rifle, and even if she misses the feel of Finan behind her to guide her, she is proud to be able to succeed on her own. She also improves in close combat, now knowing where to hit to force her opponent to bend double. Sometimes, when she's making another task she whispers the combination of movements he taught her earlier. However, her practice has a tendency to raise a tension between them when they fight that hasn't yet been resolved.

“I win.” Finan whispers in her ear, out of breath after making her fall, keeping her firmly on her stomach against the floor and folding her arm behind her back.

She tries to hit him with her free hand to free herself, groaning when he easily grabs her wrist and presses it in the mud. He chuckles at her attempt and leans until his chest grazes over her back. She gasps a breath at his closeness, a warmth growing low in her belly as his lips hover over the shell of her ear.

“Do ya give up?”

“I never admit defeat.”

He laughs again despite the determination in her tone and frees both of her wrists. He holds himself above her as she rolls onto her back and she shivers when she notices the heat in his eyes. Her tongue snakes between her lips, the sight of it making a smirk grow on Finan's face. She grabs his shoulders to pull him down to her and he closes his eyes in anticipation of meeting her lips. But instead it's her knee that meets his stomach, hitting him right in the liver. Finan growls in pain, falling back beside her in the dirt, his arms wrapped around his waist. She can't help but giggle as she straddles him proudly.

“I told you I'm never admitting defeat.” She tells him when his features twisted by the ache start to ease.

They quickly separate when they hear Sophie's car approaching, both of them sitting in the mud when she gets out of it. She stares at them with wide eyes when she closes the vehicle's door. “Eh bah, have you seen yourselves?”

They frown before looking at each other and noticing the dirt on their faces but also clothes. “Collateral damages.” Finan grins as he stands back to his feet and stretches a hand out for Vicky to grab.

Sophie rolls her eyes. “You two should wash before we eat.”

It's only when they are cleaned that the French woman allows them to sit at the table for lunch, much to Vicky's joy whose belly is aching.

“How's your dreams going?” Osferth asks her when he puts salad on his plate before handing her the bowl.

She hesitates a moment, remembering her last dream. “It's still confused, old memories. But it will soon be more recent ones and I'll be able to have real clues on where he is.” She explains.

Osferth nods and stares down to his plate. “It's really strange, once I met you, I stopped dreaming of you.”

“I did too. Once I'll have met Sihtric, I should be rid of it.” She shrugs and rests the bowl in the middle of the table.

“Really strange.” The monk repeats, a long silence taking his words away.

Though, to everyone's surprise, Finan breaks the silence. “Maybe it's because we are meant to meet each other.”

Victoria looks up from her plate to find that Finan is staring at her from across the table, his gaze intense but nonetheless soft. She tries not to blush, knowing she had the same thought a few days ago, that everything may be written.

His words stay in her mind until night time, when she watches him poke the fire before heading to bed. He removes his hoodie and lets it drop to the floor, doing the same with his t-shirt. Even if she has seen him a few times shirtless since they met, right now seeing the flames' light dance on his scarred skin really does something to her. For a week they've been teasing each other but never a step further but now she has enough of it. She stands up and grabs his wrist before he can take his sweater for the night. He raises a surprised and confused eyebrow at her, opening his mouth to speak but he doesn't even have the time to say a word before she captures his lips. He growls in their kiss when her palms graze over his chest to curve around his neck or to let her fingers curl in his hair.

The feel of his warm skin under her hands makes her crave to feel it against hers. She chuckles when he grips her hips to guide her to the bed. She drops on it, bringing him in with her fall. She hums when he kisses down her jaw and neck, closing her eyes to relish the sensation. Their breathing gets heavier and their hands grow more adventurous, eager to discover each other.

But when Vicky grabs the end of her pullover to get rid of it, Finan suddenly covers her hands to stop her movement. She frowns at him as he looks in the direction of the front door intently, looking alert.

“What is it?” She asks him, her breath still heavy.

“I've heard a noise.” He whispers and when she opens her mouth to demand more information about it, he prevents her with his hand. “Hush.” He orders her and she reluctantly obeys.

He removes his hand and leaves the bed, grabbing his sweater to put it back on, which makes Victoria roll her eyes in an annoyed. He takes the Colt resting on a furniture and carefully walks to a window, his back against the wall to not make himself visible from outside. Vicky stares at him intently, still waiting impatiently for more explanation. But the sudden sound of a vehicle arriving in the clearing startles her and Finan growls a bunch of Irish insults when a white light starts to alight the room from outside.

“What’s that?” She asks him in panic as she stands up but he doesn’t answer.

Finan moves to knock at Osferth’s door, but it opens before, revealing the confused monk. The two men exchange a nervous gaze before taking Finan’s previous position against the wall. Sophie joins Vicky near the bed, her teeth biting nervously into her lips. They can hear the agitation outside, men shouting orders to encircle the house while the blinding car’s light keeps alighting the area.

“Are they the men that attacked you in London?” Osferth asks after glancing outside.

“I don’t know, but I doubt they want us any better.” Finan grumbles, his fingers scratching his beard nervously.

Victoria makes a step further to catch the men’s attention. “We need to get out of here.” She declares, even if it’s a pretty obvious fact to all of them.

“The house is encircled, Vicky.” Finan replies, his finger making a loop. “It’s too risky.”

“But we don’t die!” She frowns, ready to run away at any moment, not fearing the bullets that could reach her if the men are armed, which they undoubtedly are.

Finan’s jaw twitches at her sudden rise of confidence but he doesn’t have the time to contradict her when Osferth replies: “But Sophie does.”

The three immortals turn their eyes to the French who just looked at them alternatively. “Don’t look at me like that!” She orders them, hating to be their weak point.

Finan shakes his head and stares back at Vicky. “It would be too risky anyway. If they are good shooters, the time we’ll need to come back will be enough to get caught. We need a bet-”

A voice rising in the sudden calm outside stops Finan in his sentence.

“We don’t want you any harm!” A man shouts with what Vicky guesses is a light german accent. A simple look at the two warriors is enough to tell her that they already disbelieve him. Though, they don’t reply and listen as he continues to speak. “All we want is Victoria Davis. We know she’s here.”

Vicky’s breath runs short at the mention of her name, her heart beating faster in fear as memories of London come back to her, a shiver running down her spine when she remembers the cold edge of the gun against her temple. Finan mumbles a bunch of insults, trying to have a better look on the outside.

“Do you think it’s them again?” Osferth asks the Irishman again and this time his answer is more certain.

“It must be.”

Finan glances at Vicky, with a worry she didn’t expect but it clearly increases hers. She can’t understand what they want from her, and why when they are encircling Osferth’s house they aren’t even asking for him. Questions without answers multiply in her mind and she feels her lungs starting to have difficulties filling with air. The man outside speaks more urgently and Finan looks back to Osferth.

“They can hide in the basement and we just try to convince them that she’s not here.” Finan proposes, which sounds like a lopsided plan but also their only one.

“What if they take you instead?” Sophie questions them, her hand resting on Vicky’s shoulder to try to ease her.

“They don’t want us, maybe don't even know us, the worst they can do is to kill us which isn’t that much of a problem.” He wryly answers before turning to Osferth to have his opinion.

The monk agrees, seeing no better way and they head to the hatch leading to the basement. While Osferth opens it quickly, Vicky grabs Finan’s arm nervously. She is the reason for this whole situation, of the risk they are taking and she is hating that. She couldn’t bear it if something happened to one of them. Maybe she should just obey the man to keep them safe. But she has no idea of what they want from her, why she is so precious to them that they have to engage the great means. She thinks of it, balancing the pros and cons, her fingers tightening around Finan’s arm.

“Vicky?” His voice makes her blink, coming back to reality. Sophie is already climbing down the ladder, Osferth handing her the oil lamp. “It’s goin’ to be alright.” Finan takes her chin between his fingers to force her to look at him and he smiles confidently.

She wishes she has the time to tell him how unsure she is about this plan but he kisses her forehead softly before pushing her to the basement opening. She joins Sophie downstairs, the room illuminated by the only weak flame of the lamp. It’s cold and she wraps her arms around her chest while Osferth closes the hatch. They can hear them push what Vicky supposes is the bed over the opening and she can’t help but bite her inner jaw, if they don’t come back, they are both stuck here.

In the basement, the time seems to stretch. Victoria knows it’s been only a few minutes since they are here but she feels like she’s been staring at Sophie pacing the length of the room for an hour. Vicky would like to find the words to reassure her, but she’s tormented by her own worry. So she sits on the floor, her back against the wall and tries to listen to what's happening outside. But it’s barely possible, the stones muffling any voice. Though, they perfectly hear the shot resounding in the whole forest. Sophie stops suddenly, her hands covering her mouth while Vicky looks up to the ceiling as footsteps create a real cacophony. Her heart beats terribly hard in her chest. Is it one of the men who’s been shot? She doubts it, so it must be Finan or Osferth. She knows they’ll be both fine in the end, they must be, so she just tries to slow her breath, as if the men upstairs could hear her if she dares to breathe too loudly.

After too much time to both women’s opinion, the footsteps fade and engines sound arise before a complete silence finally settles. It lasts for long other minutes during which Vicky can even hear her heartbeats in her ears. Sophie still hasn’t moved from her spot, her teeth sinking into her index to calm her anxiety. When they finally hear the bed being pulled away from the hatch, they both let out a heavy sigh of relief and walk to the ladder.

“They are gone.” They hear Osferth say as he opens the door.

“Osferth!” Sophie climbs up first and Vicky is outside as well, the French is hugging the monk tightly, his arms around her waist. “Are you fine?” She asks him, her voice breaking after sobbing. She takes a step back to check herself if he is indeed healthy, and her face falls when she notices the blood on his clothes. “Mon Dieu, you’re bleeding!”

She tries to take a better look at his wound but he catches her hands. She glares at him and before she can protest he cuts her off with a soft kiss. It releases her shoulder from a part of the tension she’s been carrying and when he moves away she is smiling shyly. Though, Osferth's expression doesn’t ease, his brows slightly furrowed and jaw strongly clenched. Vicky notices it before Sophie and starts to look around, though she already knows the answer. Finan isn’t here and Osferth is the one having been shot. Her throat tightens and her eyes start to sting as she feels the tears filling them at each of her blinks.

“Where’s Finan?” She finally asks Osferth, her breath stopping until he dares to answer.

“I… I don’t know.” He says, looking down shamefully. “They killed me and when I came back, they were gone and Finan too.”

Vicky doesn’t even give him the time to finish his sentence when she starts to walk to the front door, stepping outside and ignoring the breeze that is wrapped into her clothes as she starts to call Finan. She shouts his name while walking around the house and in the forest until there’s too many tears in her eyes and sobs prevent her to breathe correctly. Her heart is aching, torn apart between despair and guilt, and she has to lean against a tree to not fall over. She stays there for a while, sitting in the mud until Sophie comes to fetch her to hide from the starting rain.

A/N : Every peace comes to an end :((

Thanks for the comments! It's such a pleasure to read them and to answer them!! You are the bests 🥺💕 If you have any theory or even vague idea of what could happen next, I'm very curious to read them 👀👀

Tag :​ @for-bebbanburg @osferth @maggiescarborough ​ @finansarms ​ @dumbledoreisnotmyhubby @solinarimoon