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fawnandshadows · 1 day

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How You Get The Girl

The Final Chapter - Chapter 26

AO3 ~ Masterlist

warnings: none

Word Count: 6.3K

“I’ve been thinking.” Elain said, her hand flat on Azriel’s stomach. His ripped muscles contracting under her touch as Elain gently caressed his skin.

“I love your creativity, Elain,” Azriel said in a deep, husky voice. “But I have to say you’ve tired me out, which I really didn’t think was possible.” His sleepy chuckle caused desire to run through Elain’s veins.

There was something about Azriel’s sleepy voice that elicited the desire to do the dirtiest things to him. It was so dark and warm that it fell over her like a velvet blanket.

A slow grin spread over Elain’s lips.

They were making the most of their time alone together. Having sex in almost every room of the house, Elain found she was especially fond of the sun room with its natural light – casting Azriel’s beautiful body in a golden glow – while Azriel preferred her sprawled out in front of the fireplace in the dancing light of the flames. They were trying to cram as much as they could into the days they had Rosehall just to themselves. Like two teenagers running around before the realities of the world separated them.

In a few hours, Rhysand and Feyre would be joining them, arriving right before lunch and Elain had already planned the menu for the meal she’d make for everyone. Something light and refreshing and subliminally begged her sister to not be angry that she and Azriel hijacked their time at Rosehall – not that Feyre would be upset, but Elain still wanted to make the effort.

Azriel turned out to be a great partner to have in the kitchen, cleaning up her mess without ever having to be asked. And Elain loved giving him little samples of her food because every time she asked him how something tastes, Azriel would think about his answer. Turning the food over on his tongue before giving his honest feedback. It was just nice that he took her so seriously. He was thoughtful in every aspect of his life, but it made her melt to be the focus of his consideration. Azriel was thoughtful in a way that made her feel cherished – thoughtful in a way no one else had ever been to her.

Elain suppressed a giggle as she trailed her fingers closer to his hips where the white sheet was tangled. The urge to take a picture of Azriel in his afterglow all sprawled in messy and mused sheets nipped at her.

“That wasn’t what I was thinking about,” Elain admitted, but she pressed closer into his side as the ache between her thighs pulsed in delight. “But I’m glad you think I’m creative.” She smiled shyly at him.

Everything with Azriel was different. She didn’t hide from him, and whenever she got an idea she shared it freely. The lingering insecurities would most likely always stay with her, at least for sometime, but with Azriel she knew she was safe from judgment or censure.

Azriel shifted onto his side, propping one hand under his head to look down at her, a soft smile on his lips. Wild, inky, bedheaded strands fell over his forehead and into his hazel eyes. He reached forward and grasped her kee to pull one leg over his hips.

“And you surprised me with your flexibility.” Azriel said into her neck, his lips moving over her pulsing veins.

“Yoga is the only physical activity I like.” Elain breathed as Azriel’s warm lips met her skin.

A small noise sounded from the back of Azriel’s throat.

“The only physical activity?”

Elain could feel his smirk against her neck as she raked her fingers through his thick hair.

“Ok, it’s my second favorite.” Elain said, grinding her hips into his and Azriel groaned at the movement.

“I think it’s best if you just tell me what you’re thinking, beautiful.” Azriel said, pressing a kiss into her shoulder and brushing back her tangle of golden hair. He pulled back to look at her face, sensing that whatever she said was going to be important.

“Well,” Elain started, taking a deep breath and pulling back slightly, delving further into the down pillow. “I already mentioned that I wanted to stop modeling,” Azriel nodded, watching her carefully to see where this was going. Encouraging her gently with his eyes. “And I’ve been writing more and more lately…I think I want to try to do it full time. Try and get something original published, you know? It could all blow up in my face, of course, we don’t even know if I can write original fiction, but I’d really like to try.”

Azriel wrapped his fingers around hers. His thumb gently rubbed circles against her soft skin.

“I think that’s amazing, Elain,” Azriel said softly, taking in the hesitant joy on her face. He’d read her work and genuinely enjoyed it. Mor was the one that monitored her fanfiction account for security purposes, but he’d always found himself going back to see if she’d posted. “Your fics get a crazy amount of interactions. You’re incredibly talented. And I happen to know for a fact that you could write original fiction.”

“You do?” Elain asked, raising a slim brow.

Azriel nodded and said, “When I read your work, it’s separate from the original source. The characters are familiar enough, but the way you create plots and wind everything together, it’s all you. And not to mention that your writing can stand on its own. You have talent, Elain.”

Elain’s heart stopped in her chest and she took in his words. A rosy glow swirled through her.

“You’re only saying that because you got laid.” Elain mumbled, blushing as she squeezed his hand.

“Hey,” Azriel said, his dark brows furrowed together, and he used his fingers to lift her chin up to meet his eyes. “Don’t do that. Don’t discredit your own talent.”

A stinging pricked at her eyes and an overwhelming sense of luck made her feel like she was floating.

“Thank you for saying that,” Elain whispered, her heart tying itself into a knot in her chest. She scooted even closer to him. “I’m grateful to have you in my life. I know my sisters love me, but I never really felt like I’ve someone in my corner like this before.”

Azriel's eyes softened as he ran a comforting thumb over her delicate chin.

“I love you.” Azriel said huskily in a thick voice, his eyes bright and golden and full of emotion.

“I love you too.” Elain said, leaning close to him and brushing her nose against his.

“I love you more.” Azriel teased, pressing his lips against her.

“Prove it.”

— — — —

“Ah, fuck,” Azriel said, furiously sticking his foot through the leg of his jeans. Balancing on one leg as Elain rushed around the room as someone feverishly pounded on the front door. “Don’t they have a key?”

Elain slipped her purple sundress over her head, fluffing her hair and desperately trying to tame any flyaways.

“How do I look?” Elain asked, her cheeks bright and pink and flushed. He wanted to take a bite of her.

“Like you just had the most intense orgasm of your life.” Azriel said, zipping his jeans and grabbing the wrinkled white t-shirt on the ground.

Elain groaned and hid her face in her hands, her golden hair curtaining her arms.

The knocking sped up another notch.

“Who the fuck died?” Azriel said in a clipped tone, annoyed that his time with Elain ended this way. He stepped towards Elain and gently grasped her wrists to pull her hands away from her face.

She gazed up at him with wide, vulnerable brown eyes.

“You look beautiful, Elain.” Azriel said honestly, relieved that some of the tension had eased from her shoulders.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the knocking sounded off again.

“Fuck.” Azriel said, rolling his eyes before spinning on his feet and charging out of the room.

“It’s just Feyre and Rhysand.” Elain said behind him. Her soft feet padded across the floor to keep up with him. “Probably.”

“Don’t they have a key?” Azriel asked, flying down the steps.

“Yeah.” Elain said, her voice trailing off and Azriel knew she thought this was as odd as he did.

Azriel whipped open the door to see a frenzied Feyre and Rhysand looking at them apologetically, a sleeping lump in Feyre’s arms known as Nyx snoozed heavily.

“We’re really sorry about this,” Feyre said at the same time Rhysand said, “We tried to stop them.”

Two more cars pulled into the long driveway, dirt and gravel kicking up into the air, and Elain felt her heart deflate in her chest. She recognized Cassian's car and registered that the long hair in the passenger's seat belonged to Nesta, but the other car could only belong to one other person.

Elain bit back a groan as she saw her parents exit the car, both of them pinning Elain and Azriel with the weight of their stares.

— — — —

Azriel was the first one that liked her post.

It made her smile even though she was tucked into his side, curled up on a loveseat in the corner of the room. Her parents were somewhere in the kitchen far, far away from the rest of the family, but Feyre and Rhysand were laying on the couch in front of the fireplace, and Nesta and Cassian were off doing something that Elain didn’t want to think about. Based on the heated looks that those two had been throwing each other's way, Elain had missed a lot in the one week she’d been away from the world.

“You really do have a talent. '' Elain whispered to Azriel, looking at the pictures she just posted and ignoring the steady flow of incoming notifications. The first was the one that he had taken of her in the garden on the day he helped her move — she never even saw him there, but he saw her. He had always seen her. And then she swiped to the second picture, the one that was leaked. She debated whether or not to post it, and after talking through it with Azriel, she knew she had to. Elain loved the picture that Azriel had taken and she wanted to reclaim it. Own it. She wanted to show off her boyfriend’s talent, and she wouldn’t let something so lovely be tainted. And the third and final picture. The one of her second tattoo, the tiny heart on her ribcage that Azriel had inked on her while they were at Rosehall…. Azriel and Elain were standing in front of a mirror and while Azriel was wearing a tight, black t-shirt, Elain was only wearing a pink, floral, flouncy skirt…and Azriel’s hands. His hands were big enough to hold all of her breasts, and Elain had made sure to crop the picture into a close up, so that only their forms in the mirror could be seen and nothing else in the room around them.

A high-pitched squeal sound from the couch and Elain couldn’t help the excited smile that spread across her lips. Butterflies were working overtime in her stomach.

Feyre’s head popped up from the couch in a way that reminded Elain of the Whac-A-Mole game. Her golden brown hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun and her blue eyes were bright and alert as she took in her sister curled into Azriel’s side - Feyre’s smile took over half her face. Rhysand slowly appeared behind Feyre, his face not nearly as lit up as Feyre’s, but he gazed at her in soft adoration.

The white light of her phone illuminated her face as Feyre read in delight, “‘LOVE OF MY LIFE?’ ‘MY BOYFRIEND IS TALENTED?’” Feyre threw her head back in a cackle and kicked the arm of the sofa in excitement. “Why don’t you just tell the haters to f off?” Rhysand pressed his lips into Feyre’s hair, hiding his smile over her enjoyment. “Hard launching your hot boyfriend while showing off how talented he is? I have to share it.”

Elain’s phone buzzed with a notification as Feyre liked, commented, and shared the post to her story. She knew if she clicked on Feyre’s post she’d see a slew of hearts and fanfare.

“Hot?” Rhysand said, his brows knitted together and his violet eyes fixed Azriel with a glare. Azriel just shrugged at him, but Elain got the feeling he was smirking.

Heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs with muffled voices speaking over each other.

“You bitch!” Nesta exclaimed, skidding into the room wearing Cassian’s boxers and t-shirt and somehow making it look fashionable. Cassian stood behind her in only gray sweatpants with a giant smirk on his face, both of their hair needed brushing. “You hard launched Azriel and didn’t tell me. Ugh, I would have tagged all those nasty bitches that called you a whore.”

“Nesta!” Elain shouted, hiding her face in Azriel’s chest, his strong arms wrapping around her, but his body shook as he laughed at Nesta’s words.

“Fuck, you guys look good,” Nesta said, zooming in on a picture. “Azriel showing off his eight pack looks hot as hell, and while also showing off his hand size? Flaunting your hot boyfriend is just the start of your revenge,” Nesta held up her hand palm-side out. “I’m not about Azriel accidentally leaking a dick pic, just so everyone can see how good you’re getting it.”

“Hot?” Cassian said, drawing back in outrage as Elain tossed a pillow at her sister.

“Dick pic?” Elain said, lifting her head from Azriel’s chest and staring at her sister.

“Well, yeah,” Nesta said, looking up from her phone and placing a hand on her hip. “People have been slut shaming you online for weeks now, and showing off how hot Azriel is just the beginning. We need a full blown plan of attack.”

“Hot?” Cassian said again, even louder than before.

“Yeah,” Feyre said, nodding and looking back and forth between Cassian and Rhysand. “It’s about time you guys learned that Azriel is very, very good looking.”

Azriel chortled into Elain’s hair. He whispered into Elain’s ear, so no one else could hear him, “Make sure Nesta never goes on my phone.” A shiver raked through her body, but she playfully elbowed him.

“I feel the need to point out that I agree,” Elain said, raising her hand and smiling brightly. “I’m going to love showing you off.” She looked over her shoulder to Azriel who was gazing at her with a smile on his lips and a blush on his cheeks.

Cassian sighed with his entire being.

“We know that Azriel is hot.” Rhysand said, causing Azriel to groan and hide his face in Elain’s hair.

“We were just hoping that you two,” Cassian continued, his index finger moving back and forth between Nesta and Feyre. “Didn’t notice.”

Rhysand nodded his head in agreement.

Heavy, less excited footsteps hurried down the hall and Elain felt some of the joy she was feeling dim out a bit. She steeled herself as her parents entered the doorway, her father carrying Nyx on his hip.

“Mama!” Nyx called out, his hands outstretched and making grabbing motions towards Feyre on the couch.

Her father slowly walked across the wooden floor, his expression neutral and he handed his grandson to his daughter.

Her mother’s manicured hands lifted to her hips and her eyes narrowed into slits.

“Are you pregnant?” She asked in a cold, detached voice.

Elain’s body froze and she couldn’t stop the “No?” that eeked out of her.

“You’re not sure?” Her mother asked and Elain felt about two feet tall.

“Of course I’m sure,” Elain asked, steadying her voice as Azriel’s hands tightened on her body in comfort. “I’m just surprised that you asked,” Elain paused for a second, and her irritation took over as she continued. “Azriel and I use condoms.”

“Yeah,” Nesta snorted. “Just look in the bathroom trash.”

Elain’s face burned, but Cassian quietly scolded her so Elain didn’t have to.

“So glad our family lake house was the perfect place for your sexcapades,” Her mother stated calmly through narrowed eyes, causing Elain to cringe and fight off the humiliation that was itching underneath the surface of her skin. “I —”

Azriel’s body tensed behind hers, and Elain dug her nails into his arm to keep him at bay.

“Ew,” Feyre cried, covering Nyx’s ears. “Mom, can you please not say that?”

“Well, your sister is the one who made our home into a den of iniquity, so I hardly I think —”

“Helena,” Elain’s father cut her off in a stern voice. A voice that Elain knew he tossed around during his business meetings, but she could count on one hand the amount of times she heard it used on family members. “Could you please retract your claws and stop attacking our daughter.”

Elain felt her jaw drop.

Her mother’s shoulders snapped back at the words and she fixed her cool gaze on her husband.

“Richard,” She hissed. “Your little girl has been shacking up,” Her mother gave an exaggerated shiver. “In our family house, and you’re defending her? I mean,” She held out a hand towards where Elain and Azriel were curled together on the couch. “Look at the man she has chosen to tie herself to. We were supposed to be planning her marriage to Graysen by now.”

“I have seen him,” Her father said, his blue eyes flashing towards where the loveseat and Elain leaned deeper into Azriel’s warm embrace. “And I’ve seen the way he’s protected her despite all the trouble it’s caused both of them, and I’ve more than seen and understood the reason that Feyre is alive because of him,” Azriel’s body tensed around her and a pall cutrained the room at her father’s words. “So, if Elain wants to spend her life with him, then we sure as fuck aren’t getting in the way.”

Her mother pursed her lips and leveled her father with a cool glare.

“If you say so, darling,” Elain’s mother said coldly, undoubtedly embarrassed to have been spoken to like that in front of an audience. “I know that’s what we agreed to before we came here,” Helena struck back her shoulders into perfect position, and Elain felt floored at the revelation. That her parents had not only spoken about her choices, but apparently accepted who she chose to spend her life with. It didn’t surprise Elain that her father had an easier time accepting Azriel than her mother did. “I apologize.” She jerked her head at Elain and Azriel.

“Thanks.” Elain said, feeling oddly removed from her body. She felt Azriel nod behind her.

“And we also wanted to let everyone know that dinner is ready,” Her father said, outstretching an arm to lead to the large doorway behind him. “Please dress accordingly.” He looked sternly at Nesta, who begrudgingly nodded her head and left the room with Cassian hot on her heels.

“Nyxie needs his dinner as well.” Helena said, her voice infinitely more soft when talking about her grandchild. Even though her mother wouldn’t have been happy if she was pregnant, Elain thought, she knew her child would be doted on by her parents.

“You got an empty belly, buddy?” Ferye asked Nyx, her fingers dancing over his rounded tummy, causing his little feet to start kicking.

Feyre and Rhysand quickly left for the kitchen, Helena following behind them.

Elain slowly stood from her spot on the loveseat and she knew that Azriel echoed her movements. She moved across the floor and wrapped her arms around her father’s tired form.

“Thanks Daddy.” She whispered as she squeezed him tightly. Emotion flooding through her in a way that nearly knocked her over. Overwhelming relief that almost brought her to tears.

She knew that there were battles that she and Azriel would have to fight down the line, but knowing this wasn’t one of them made her feel like she was standing in sunshine.

Her father awkwardly patted her on the back, slightly unsure of how to react.

“I just want you to be happy.” He said softly. Elain tightened her eyes shut and pulled him in closer before taking a step away and giving her father a watery smile.

“I am happy.” She said, reaching back to clasp Azriel’s left hand.

Her father gave a firm nod of his head before sticking out his hand to Azriel.

“I can’t remember if I ever properly thanked you for what you did for Feyre,” Richard said, his voice thick with emotion but somehow still stern. Azriel placed his hand in the open hand. “I know you’ll protect Elain.”

“With my life.”

“Hey,” Elain elbowed Azriel in the ribs. “That won’t be necessary.”

Azriel dropped her fathers hand before wrapping Elain in his arms and kissing the top of her head.

Sensing a private moment, Elain’s father quietly slipped out of the room.

Elain turned in Azriel’s strong arms and pressed a kiss to the underside of his sharp jaw.

“It’s the truth,” Azriel said, pressing another kiss into her soft hair. The smell of honey and jasmine lulling his senses. “If something was to happen to you…I’d make sure it’d happen to me first.” His voice was so quietly, deadly serious that Elain’s heart dropped to her feet.

“Just know that it would go both ways.” She said, looking up at him, her stare unwavering.

“Elain, I’m not worth—”

“Yes,” She said, firmly cutting him off and not-so-gently clasping his chin in between her fingers so that he couldn’t look away. “You’re worth it to me. To your mother. To Rhysand and Cassian. Feyre and Nesta. And Nyx. So, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re not as expendable as you think you are.”

Azriel’s eyes were bright as they narrowed at her, and Elain knew that there were ghosts in his brain knocking around his own insecurities, but she wouldn’t let them win.

She raised herself to her tiptoes and pulled him into a light kiss. They’re lips softly brushing against each other in tenderness.

“So it’s decided,” Azriel said against her mouth. “We’re both staying alive.” He gave her a slow, languid kiss that made her toes curl.

With his forehead resting against hers and their lips barely touching in what was the barest hint of a kiss, Elain had never felt more at peace. For the first time she was truly looking forward to what was coming next. Knowing that no matter what, she’d have Azriel by her side. Her rock when life got so tumultuous she felt like she was drifting. Her comforting shoulder when she’s was so full of emotions that they’re spelling out from her. Her source of sunshine on days she felt the darkest.

His large hands laid flat against the curve of her hips. Squeezing her gently as Cassian and Nesta passed by them, both appropriately dressed for family dinner. Cassian shot them a wolf whistle, and Nesta didn’t even scold him, she just looked at her sister with a knowing glint in her eye.

“I’m telling them tonight,” Elain said in a low voice, peering up as Azriel brushed a strand of golden hair behind her ear. “That I want to pursue writing full time,” Azriel’s dark eyebrows shot up his forehead in an unasked question. “I don’t want to hide anymore,” She said, feeling light and free. “Plus it will make for good dinner conversation.”

— — — — —

ONE WEEK LATER

“How does this taste?” Elain asked, holding a wooden spoon out to Azriel. Her free hand held palm up to catch any dripping red sauce.

His warm hand wrapped firmly around her wrist, steadying her as he brought the spoon towards his lips.

Azriel’s handsome face was a study in concentration. Dark brows pulled together in a knot between sharp, clear eyes. While Azriel was giving the sauce his full consideration, Elain was giving Azriel the same in return.

He looked even more handsome than usual in a crisp white button down shirt that looked delightful against his tanned brown skin, and if Elain looked really closely she could see the outline of Azriel’s abs. His black pants fit snugly over his butt that Elain couldn’t help but pinch it whenever he walked by. His sleeves were rolled up to show off some of the tattoos that were inked into his forearms, which combined with his ear piercings made the most delicious combination of formal and rebellious.

When they were at Rosehall Azriel had left the majority of his jewelry at home, so when they had gotten back Azriel had started playing with his piercings again. Elain was happy to see her favorite little paperclip back in place.

His pink tongue ran across his lips as he pulled away from the spoon.

“Perfect,” Azriel said, nodding in approval. “It tastes just like how Ma makes it. She’s going to love it.” He wrapped his arms around her small frame as she turned back to the stove, stirring the sauce.

“You’re sure? You aren’t just saying that to make me feel better? You can tell me if something is off, I want it to be perfect for your mom.” Elain said, not bothering to hide the worry in her voice.

Her golden hair was piled messily on top of her head – she was not going to risk feeding Azriel’s mom one of her hairs, she even thought about using a hairnet, but vanity won out on that one – and her pink floral apron did a beautiful job of keeping her dress clean. She wore a cobalt blue dress made of crushed velvet that stopped mid thigh and garnished her shoulder with little sheer cap sleeves.

“She’s going to be impressed.” Azriel said, his voice more than assuring Elain of his honesty. She relaxed enough to melt into his embrace.

The timer for the garlic bread dinged as the doorbell rang out.

Elain was already halfway across the room as she said, “You get the bread and I’ll get the door!” She tossed her apron on the hook and removed the slip from her hair, not wanting his mother to see how messy she got when cooking.

Elain swiftly opened the door to find Paloma, Azriel’s mother on the opposite side, wearing a wide smile and carrying a canvas tote full of ingredients to make tiramisu. Her silver-streaked black hair fell in wild curls around her shoulders and Elain would have bet that if straightened her hair would fall well below her hips.

“You look lovely, Paloma!” Elain greeted and opened her arms to take the tote, but Paloma pulled her in for a hug instead. Her fingers were heavily adorned with silver rings that Elain could feel their coolness through her dress.

“You’re beautiful, as always Elain,” Paloma said before pulling away and spotting her son walking across the floor towards them. “You both have that glow that only young love can bring,” She pressed a kiss on Azriel’s cheek as he leaned down to greet his mother – Elain noticed his cheeks had turned a charming shade of pink. “I have a feeling you’ll be asking for your grandmother's ring in no time.” She poked him in his pec and Azriel’s cheek flamed brighter.

— — — — —

ONE MONTH LATER

“Elain?” Azriel called out, stepping into the dark and quiet apartment, his eyes searching for his girlfriend. His arms loaded down with plastic bags full of Chinese takeout.

They were the only two in the apartment. Feyre was still deep into her training, so much so that she barely remembered to speak with anyone that wasn’t in her immediate vicinity. Whenever she got hyper focused on training, there wasn’t much room for anything else. Rhysand and Nyx were with her, supporting her and keeping her grounded, and Rhysand could never truly remove himself from his responsibilities – he cared too much, far more than he ever actually let on, so whenever he called or texted Azriel for updates, Azriel would manage to do the same in return. Soon after they hung up Rhysand would send out a picture of Nyx to the group chat, or let everyone know how Feyre was progressing. Feyre got the same when she was painting, but she didn’t have to seek the solitude of Rosehall for that, so it was easier for Elain to check in on her.

Nesta had been staying with Cassian, in the same building, so it wasn’t uncommon to run into each other. And Nesta would pop up in the apartment from time to time, but their relationship was still budding and Elain and Azriel were both heartened by how seriously they were working on their relationship. Azriel had never questioned how well Nesta and Cassian would fit together, how much good they would do for eachother, but they ran so hotblooded and passionate around each other that he feared one spark could blow the entire thing up. They had different challenges to face than him and Elain.

They had a double date planned with Nesta and Cassian later that week — Azriel had finally convinced Elain that she didn’t have to work on the weekends as well.

She was so deep into her writing that she was shut inside for most of the day, leaving her computer to prepare food, (something quick and easy, Azriel had to remind her that pop tarts weren’t true meals) go to the bathroom, or sleep. Elain had tried writing at a coffee shop or library just to get out of the house, but both times paparazzi had swarmed her within the hour. If she needed a change of scenery, Paloma was happy to offer her little courtyard to Elain, cutting off access to the public when need be for “maintenance”.

Azriel had asked for the ring, a simple band of gold adorned with a beautiful emerald, an elegant, classic beauty just like Elain, but it was tucked safely in his sock drawer.

Logically, Azriel knew there wasn’t a perfect time, but there was a right time and it wasn’t now.

Elain was so focused on her new career and he wanted to support her, not add any stress of planning a wedding or another new decision that would alter their lives. Because it would be different, being married wasn’t the same as dating. They would be married, eventually, but he wanted to enjoy every stage of their relationship. He didn’t want to skip ahead.

“Azriel?” Elain called out, her voice speaking of her sleepiness.

He flickered on the lights and Elain poked her head out of their bedroom doorway. She must have been writing in bed.

Elain rubbed at her eye with a small fist as she walked towards this, greeting him with a gentle kiss and taking one of the bags from him.

“You didn’t have to get dinner,” Elain said, placing the bag on the counter before pulling plates out of the cabinet. “We still have leftovers, I think, or I could have made us a salad.”

“You were working all day, Elain,” Azriel said, wrapping his arms around her and she fixed them plates. Elain wasn’t getting paid to write, and she had a tendency to downplay her achievements, but Azriel wouldn’t let her. “And I wanted to treat my girlfriend to one of her favorites. I even got you extra egg rolls and more than enough to carry us through til the weekend.”

“I love you,” Elain sighed before placing a kiss on the underside of his jaw. “I haven’t been neglecting you, have I?” She asked, dunking an egg roll in duck sauce before bringing it up to his lips.

Azriel bit down in a crunch.

“Of course not,” Azriel said, swallowing and squeezing his hold on Elain. “Just because you're focusing on yourself doesn’t mean you’re neglecting anyone else,” Elain nodded to herself, as if needing to hear the words and took a small bite of the egg roll. There was something about sharing food with Elain that always made him feel warm and doughy inside. “Now, do you want to watch a movie, or are you sick of looking at a screen.”

Elain nodded her head and said, “Something mindless, please.”

They fell into a routine. Elain spending her days writing while Azriel floated to whoever needed a bodyguard that day, and then they would alway pass their nights together. Either curled up on the couch or in bed together. Occasionally breaking their routine for a night out with their friends.

“Azriel,” Elain called out and her voice shook him. It was the most scared she’d sounded in a long time. He hurried out of the bathroom in only his boxers with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

“Babe?” Azriel asked, pulling his toothbrush out of his mouth.

Elain was standing in front of her mirror wearing a bra – Azriel tried not to ogle how her full breasts were pushing out of their cups – and unbuttoned jeans. Her cheeks were twinged with paleness that spoke of her worry as her fretful brown eyes met his in the mirror.

“What’s wrong?” Azriel asked, not seeing her in any pain and not seeing a spider he needed to kill. He vaguely wondered if something had been leaked again, but they had been careful and security ramped up their efforts.

“My jeans won’t button.” Elain stated and her bottom lip quivered a bit and she stared at him, waiting for his response.

Azriel knew he had to tread carefully, with her past and her relationship with food Azriel didn’t want to accidentally say the wrong thing. He’d love Elain no matter what her body looked like, and he had always appreciated the wide curve of her hips and the plushness of her body. Feyre and Nesta had leaner bodies, easier to tone and more geared towards athleticism, but during her modeling days (and due to her mother’s influence) Elain had forced her body to survive on the fewest calories possible. Now that she had stopped modeling and improved her relationship with food, her body had changed.

He wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand, not wanting to have toothpaste on his face for this conversation.

“It’s just,” Elain surprised him by speaking again. “What if my writing career doesn’t work out?” Her voice was low and uneven. “And I have to go back to modeling? I don’t … It wasn’t healthy for me.”

“Hey,” Azriel said, pulling her into his body and carefully holding his toothbrush away from her body. “You don’t have to model again. Ever,” He said gently into her ear, rubbing a comforting hand up and down her arm. “And if your writing career doesn’t take off, which it will,” He emphasized and kissed her bare shoulder. “Then you can try again. Whatever you want, I’ll be here for you.” He pressed a kiss to her collar bone and felt her shiver under his touch.

“And you…think I look ok?” Elain asked, her voice breathless.

Azriel pressed a kiss to the top part of her breast which was overspilling from its cup in a way that taunted him.

“You’ll never be anything but beautiful to me, Elain,” Azriel whispered against her skin, his voice full with arousal. “And after we get back from dinner I’ll show you exactly how much I love your body,” He pressed a warm, open mouth kiss over the skin of her breast and sucked until a wet, purple mark appeared. He heard Elain swallow as he picked up his head. “But we can’t keep Nesta and Cassian waiting. Maybe we can go shopping this weekend if you’d like, and I can always help you work out, if you’re interested.”

Elain nodded her head and smiled at him.

“I’d like that,” She said and kissed his cheek, her face bright and flushed. “Another way for us to spend time together.”

— — — — —

ONE YEAR LATER

Bright lights were shining down on Elain, but she refused to let them blind her.

After a year, she had finally agreed to be on the show again with one stipulation.

A name change.

It was no longer The Archer, The Valkyrie, and The Face, but simply The Archerons. Something that Feyre and Nesta had easily agreed to, in fact they had even stood behind her and said they wouldn’t film unless production had agreed to change the name. And with Feyre set to return soon to the Olympics, they couldn’t risk not filming.

There was so much for her to say, Elain thought, staring down the camera. For once, she wasn’t filled with dread, but rather excitement to talk about her own life on her own terms. In the past year, she had posted on social media so sparingly that she had somehow gained followers, and what she did post gained so much traction and buzz that she somehow accumulated more fame and attention.

Her book was one month away from being published. A fear so new and so different from what she had experienced before grew with each passing day. Elain was so proud of herself and scared to hear what the public thought about her work, but she was already well into her second novel. Another romance. Lucky for her, she thought as her mind drifted to Azriel who was standing somewhere behind the bright lights, she had a never ending source of inspiration.

A sense of pride and accomplishment grew within her and she gained a confidence that she hadn’t had before.

Yes, Elain thought, crossing her legs and cupping her hands over her knee, she was ready to speak.

“Action!”

~~~~~~~~~~

AN: Ok, I have never felt this bittersweet before. I have tears in my eyes and like the biggest smile on my face! It took me way longer than I thought to get to this moment, but this ending feels so perfect to me and I'm so glad I didn't rush to finish How You Get The Girl. Thank you so much to everyone who even read one chapter of this story and I'm sending the biggest, bestest hugs to anyone who has read through to the end <333333.

tagging: @123moiaussi @fuckmelifesucks @thefangirlofhp @sakurakittypeach @nikethestatue @tswaney17 @impossiblescissorspeachpaper @feyredarlinq @duskwhisperer @nyxreads @rinadragomir @secretpuppyflower @captainbrucebanner @ultadverb @irisesforelain @shedoessoshedoes @magnolia-blossom87 @sheenabeene @nivem565 @casuallivi @rhysiedarling @elain99-blog @athena-85 @swankii-art-teacher @reverie-tales @jujugirlfrombookstore @shadowflorecita @shy-violet-soul @thisloveseternal

#elriel #elain x azriel #elain archeron #pro elriel #azriel #elriel fanfiction #elriel fanfic #fawnandshadows writing #how you get the girl

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nikethestatue · 3 months

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How the Mating Went

(In celebration of the impromptu Elain Archeron Week, because I can)

There were things that Elain Archeron preferred to keep a secret. Her family was nosy and everyone liked being in each other's business. Yes, it was cute at times, adorable even, but also annoying and intrusive.

The things that she kept secret varied in terms of importance. For example, she didn't like that restaurant that Rhys insisted they go to. The restaurant itself was fine, and the atmosphere was lovely, but the food...Elain couldn't stomach the food. But she pretended that she enjoyed it. That was a small thing. A bigger thing was that she knew how to winnow--but she hadn't told anyone. Not her sisters, not her friends. She wasn't sure why that was exactly. Perhaps, she wanted to keep a bit of freedom for herself. The other small thing was that she really didn't like anything with cinnamon. When she made spiced cakes in the fall, she usually omitted it, and it didn't seem like anyone noticed it. Well, maybe he noticed it. But he never said anything. He never said anything to her anymore. It hurt her. It hurt her heart not to hear from him, not to hear his voice, not to have him address her. It hurt.

That was, perhaps, her greatest secret. A secret that she kept deep inside her chest and never dared to speak of. Not even to the twins. It was simple, really. She was in love.

Elain Archeron loved a man. Well, a male. She never wanted a male, and didn't think that a day would ever come when she'd desire one. She didn't want a mate or a male. But this one--he was the one she loved. And if he was her mate, she wouldn't have minded it. But he wasn't and he wouldn't be. She loved him in secret. She loved him in silence. She loved him through unshed tears, with a smile plastered on her face. She loved him into the void.

Lastly, another thing that she kept a secret, was her newly discovered obsession with nightball. It was Prythian's premiere spectator sport. Where she came from, there were sporting tournaments, and tennis, and jousting, especially among the wealthy noblemen. When she was young, she and Nesta and their parents would go to the races, watching and even betting on ponies. Once, she even won six gold coins. Her mother had said that it would go towards her dowry. Elain was seven years old.

Nightball was a simple game, played between two teams--the objective was to throw a ball into a net. it was basic enough, but magic could be used, so each team had two winnowers and two racers, who ran like the wind. There were two defenders, who could erect walls of fire and air, and two fliers, who were winged Fae.

Elain would sneak out to go to the stadium to watch the games. She lied to Feyre, telling her that she was going to help elderly Fae in the city. She didn't. Well, sometimes she did--but she also had purchased tickets for 24 season games and when her favourite team was playing--the Golden Dragons--she winnowed wherever they played and attended the games. She'd scream herself hoarse, sweat through her tunic, and have the time of her life.

Today, the game happened to be in Day Court--it was her second favourite Court, after Summer. Day was beautiful, and its citizens certainly took their games very seriously. Their stadium was magnificent, made of white limestone and with the capacity to house many thousands of occupants.

The game was nerve-wracking. The Golden Dragons were playing the second best team in the League, the Dark Knights. The score was up and down the entire game, with one of the winnowers being taken out, and both fliers being ejected from the field by the referee. Elain was stress-screaming so much, she'd lost her voice. But the Dragons won and she was blissfully happy.

Now, she was walking down the marble promenade which overlooked the sea. It was warm and couples strolled alongside her, most carrying banners and insignia of their respective teams.

"Elain, wait up."

She turned around so swiftly at the sound of his voice, she almost fell over. His hand clasped around her upper arm and he steadied her, but not before she bounced against his chest, face first.

"What are you...how do you...why? How did you...you know..." she began babbling incoherently.

"I watch you," he said simply.

"What? Why?" she exclaimed, completely flustered.

He wrapped his long strong fingers around her fist and walked next to her. An Illyrian Shadowsinger was an unusual sight here, in Day Court, and he was stared at. He didn't react.

"Why are you here?" she repeated.

"Because I can't look away."

"What...what do you mean?" she murmured.

"Just that. I can't help but watch you. And when I can't watch you, I worry about you. That you know how to winnow makes it even harder for me. So I watch you when I can. And when I can't, I am tormented by the worst thoughts."

"What thoughts?"

"That you are with another male," he admitted. "Or that you are hurt and I cannot help you."

"I don't want any males," she huffed irritably.

He smiled sadly.

"I know."

They walked in silence for a long time.

There wasn't anything to say.

But he didn't release her hand.

Once out of the promenade, they stepped out onto a plaza where food stalls sold everything from fried fish, to fruit pies, to drinks and ale.

"Buy me a sweet ice," she requested.

"Alright," he nodded, "what flavour would you like?"

Elain stopped to read the offerings--raspberry, cherry, lemon, orange, coffee, almond, pistachio.

"Cherry," she said. "What's your favourite?"

"Hmmm, I am not sure," his eyes scanned the sign. "Caramel, I think."

"You like sweet on sweet."

"When you aren't allowed even a dab of honey on your lips for the length of your childhood, sweet on sweet sounds very good," he told her.

She blushed. She shouldn't have said it. She shouldn't have said anything.

"So cherry then?" he confirmed, counting some coins in his palm.

He hadn't let go of her hand though.

"No, I changed my mind," she shook her head. "I want caramel."

"Oh, so sweet on sweet then?" he teased.

Once he paid, he handed her the sweet ice and they walked towards the sea. The sun was setting. Dusk. The sea was calm, the surf smooth and quiet, like soft brushes of paint on canvas.

Elain stopped, admiring the view. It was endless ocean and endless sky in front of her, and next to her, the only one she wanted to stand with. Endless life. Endless love.

He was quiet. As always.

She exhaled. The words fell from her lips.

"I think you are my mate'," Elain said clearly.

Then she handed him the sweet caramel ice.

Sweet on sweet.

"So eat."

He ate.

#elain archeron #elriel #azriel and elain #pro elriel #elain x azriel #elain #my Elain Archeron Week #elriel fanfic #my writing #mini fic

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dottielovegood · 1 month

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NO ONE HAS TO KNOW WHAT WE DO (ELRIEL)

I said, "No one has to know what we do" His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room And his voice is a familiar sound - Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams

Pairing: Elriel Word count: 6835 Tags: Smut, no plot, shadow play, wing play, a little bit of ribbon bondage, a hint of switch energy Summary: Elain and Azriel meet up at the town house. There is really no plot. Just smut.

───── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────

Elain cursed herself for not wearing a warmer dress tonight. She pulled her cloak tighter around her body and walked with her head bowed to avoid getting snow in her eyes. Velaris was truly beautiful during this time of year, but the weather was best enjoyed when curled up in a nice armchair next to the window, accompanied by a warm mug of tea and a good book. Not many things could get Elain to leave the comfort of her warm kitchen or soft bed in this weather, but the person who had sent her the note she was currently clutching in her gloved hand was definitely someone worth braving the weather for.

Town house. Tonight.

The small note had appeared on her bedroom dresser after breakfast. There was no name signed at the bottom, but Elain knew exactly who the note was from. After all, there was only one person who could make it into her room without getting noticed by anyone in the house.

Read the rest of this fic on AO3

#elriel fic #elriel #elriel fanfic #elain x azriel

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raesploveart · 1 year

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Day 7 of sketching Elain Archeron everyday until her book has a release date. This one physically hurt me. Also, this is the exact moment where I was like “well I guess I’m all in for Elriel” no matter what form that might take. Friends? One night stand? Secret lovers? Endgame? Ghosted? I just want to read about them okay. I don’t care what happens.

It feels good to be getting back to this sketchy deviant art circa 2007 style I drew and posted in as a teenager. I missed it a lot.

#elriel #elriel fanart #elriel fanfic #acowar #acotar #acosf #azriel #azriel shadowsinger #Shadowsinger #bat boys #elain archeron #archeron sisters

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tswaney17 · 4 months

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@elriel-month | Endless Possibilities

“𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝙰𝚣𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚕 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎.” - 𝙸𝙳𝙱𝚃𝚆𝚈 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟺𝟾

For the past 4 years, I’ve written a 300k+ word novel called “I Do Bad Things with You,” and to celebrate its ending, I wanted to have a very special artwork that I could use as the cover of this fic (because yes, I will be getting this bound). There’s nobody else that could’ve brought this idea to life for me. I’m so incredibly thankful to Katie for taking on this commission. It is truly so beautiful and I honestly cannot stop looking at all the details she was able to put in for me.

Thank you, Katie, for your expertise, your gorgeous work, and your friendship in creating this magical piece. 💖

You can read the entire fic, plus the prequels, here. 🌹🦇

🎨 theclever.crow (IG) | Comm by me

Characters belong to @therealsarahjmaas

𝗗𝗼 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁.

Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated. 🫶

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elrielbaby · 23 days

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The hope I carry with me.

Alright, folks. This is the first thing I’ve written in bloody years. It’s rough, I did it in about 20 minutes and I did it on the notes app on my phone bcos my laptop doesn’t get here til Sunday and the idea was literally not leaving me alone so I had to get it out - so I apologise in advance if there’s any spelling/grammar issues, I did go through it but the notes app is not the best thing to write in 😆 it’s based on a headcanon I have that Elain & Az will have to bathe after their secret rendezvous, in order to hide the others scent. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

As the sun rose over Velaris, Elain lay her head on Azriels chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. The gossamer curtains of the four poster bed were drawn around them, swaying gently in the breeze. They wore nothing but their skin and even in sleep, Azriel held her as if she might slip from his grasp at any given moment - gentle, but with a hint of aggression that threatened anyone who might take him from her.

Elain had begun to stir as the sun rose. She knew what was coming, and she hated it. She wanted to live in this moment for as long as possible, in the peace and quiet with the one who understood her best, the male who had captivated her heart and soul. A change in his breathing let Elain know that he was awake, so she began to draw light circles on his ribs and pressed a kiss to his chest.

“Good morning, my love” he murmured, resting his cheek on her head “what time is it?”

“It’s still early” she replied “we have time.”

A wicked gleam entered Azriels eyes and with that his hands were in her hair, his mouth was on hers and she was on her back as they began to make love for the fourth time since they’d reunited the previous evening.

The sexual appetites of the Fae had shocked her, but none more so than her own. She had wanted as a human, yes, that much was clear by her short lived connection with Greyson… but turning Fae had turned her hunger to starvation, and no one made her feel as famished as Azriel. It was one of the many reasons their relationship being a secret was so painful.

She wanted him so much it was agonising to be apart, to pretend at family gatherings. She ached for the day they could be together openly, with nothing and no one standing against them. She yearned for the mundane, Azriel coming home after a long day, or her returning from work to find him working on reports from their home. She longed to make dinner plans, for them privately but also for their family, where they could be open and honest about their love. She wanted nothing more than to be able to make small plans and decisions with him - what they should get Nyx for his birthday and solstice, if they should go on a couples retreat with Nesta & Cassian, what they were having for dinner, what colour they should paint the walls in the hallway, where they should place the portraits and where to plant the flowers in the garden.

After a particularly emotional reaction from the pair of them at the prospect of leaving each other again, Azriel had been ready to let the world burn for her. He had been ready to march into Rhys’ office and tell him everything - Elain had stopped him. It was too soon, after the birth of Nyx & the politics of Prythian were still all together too precarious. They couldn’t risk alienating Lucien, although she was sure he wanted as much to do with her as she with him, she needed to be sure, and to minimise the potential fall out.

“I love you” Azriel whispered, his eyes brimming with emotion as he looked at her.

“I love you” she whispered back, and with that they were both falling over the edge, coming together.

They lay entwined, sweaty, breathless, their foreheads pressed together.

“It’s time” he said, his thumb stroking her cheek.

She sighed as she heard the bath tub filling in the bathroom adjoined to their room. They had to do this every time they lay together. Scrub every inch of their skin, in order to remove the scent from the other. Azriel wasn’t as much of an issue, he could somehow hide much of his scent from others although he’d never explained how he was able to do that. Elain however, was covered in him. She loved it, and that’s why she hated this part. She was desperate for the world to know they belonged to each other, that they had chosen to be together - as mortifying as the prospect of her family knowing just exactly what she’d been up to actually was.

Azriel scooped Elain into his arms and walked her through the doorway to the bathroom, placing her gently in the water. The temperature was perfect, soothing the aches from their more fervent couplings, and it was scented with cherry blossom & tea rose, her favourite. Azriel sat on the floor, his head resting on the tub watching as Elain scrubbed at herself half heartedly. The sadness in his eyes wrecked her, and she knew that she wore a similar expression. Once she was done, hair and body washed thoroughly, Azriel gestured for her to stand as he wrapped her in a towel and drained the tub. He carried her back to the freshly stripped bed, and set her down gently.

“This never gets any easier does it?” She said, her voice thick with emotion.

“No,” he replied “it gets more painful with every passing day. I don’t have your powers of foresight, Elain. But if there’s one thing I know for certain it’s this - we won’t be doing this forever. At some point, the pot will boil over, neither one of us will be able to stand it anymore and we’ll tell everyone. Or, we’ll stop caring so much about what everyone thinks, or how everyone else feels, we’ll get sloppy and they’ll figure it out. I hope it’s the latter, but I don’t really care which way it happens, so long as this road we’re travelling ends with me being able to call you my wife, to love you openly. So long as it ends with us loving each other in the small moments and the big ones, and all the moments in between I will be happy. That is the hope I carry in my heart every day I’m forced to be without you”

The tears Elain had been keeping at bay spilled over, Azriel catching them with his thumbs.

She once again pressed her forehead to his and said “that is the hope I carry with me too”

#elain archeron x azriel #elriel #pro elriel #elriel fanfic #elriel fanfiction #elriel fic

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a-court-of-lust-and-stardust · 24 days

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Love on Ice: An Illustrated Semi-Modern Elriel Fanfic

Yes, you absolutely read that right.

Together, @chachachai17 and I have been working tirelessly to create something wonderful for not only our friends, but also fellow Elriels.

What happens when you put an artist and a writer together? You get an illustrated fanfic.

@chachachai17 has created so many incredible pieces of art to go along with the chapters. She is a wonderful friend of mine, and I’m sure some of you have already seen her beautiful work. You will be SPOILED. 💖

A few things to note:

I have permission from Charlie to be posting her artwork.

This fanfic and Charlie’s artwork will be posted on my Ao3 account ( obsidian_witch ) and my tumblr! Charlie’s artwork can also be found on her tumblr ( @chachachai17 ) and her twitter ( @cha_chachai )

Chapter 1 will be posted tomorrow.

Blurb and Cover Art for the fic below 💖

A few months before Prythian’s Annual Ice Dancing Competition, Elain Archeron’s partner Lucien Vanserra drops out of the competition, leaving Elain to scramble for a replacement. Desperation drives her straight into the arms of Azriel, former ice dancer turned star hockey player. Teaming up with her teenage rival is certainly not her first choice, but Azriel’s skill, precision, and grace, coupled with the undeniable chemistry between them, may be Elain’s only shot at winning the gold.

#elain archeron #azriel shadowsinger #elriel #elriel fanfiction #elain archeron x azriel shadowsinger #elain and azriel #elain x azriel #elriel fic #elriel fanfic #elain archeron fanfic #azriel fanfic #elain fic #azriel fic #modern elriel

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bright-side20 · 23 days

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Little Things

This soft scene between Elain and Azriel (before the BC) is inspired by a poem called Little Things by Nizar Qabbani.

Azriel had been avoiding Elain for days now, keeping his distance to avoid the tension growing between them whenever they were near each other. He had convinced himself that it was for the best, that maintaining that space would help him keep control over his feelings towards her.

But when she invited him to tour the garden she had built at the townhouse, he couldn’t bring himself to say no. Maybe it was the softness in her voice when she asked, or the way her eyes lit up when she talked about the flowers she had cultivated with such care. Or maybe it was simply because being near her was something he could never truly resist.

They walked side by side, close enough that her hand occasionally brushed against his. Every touch sent a jolt through him, and he had to fight the urge to take her hand in his, to give in to the pull that had been growing stronger with each passing day. He remembered all the times she had taken his hand before, how natural it had felt, how right. But now, he forced himself to keep his distance, even though every part of him ached to be closer.

Elain led him down a winding path lined with fragrant flowers and lush greenery, her golden-brown hair gleaming under the sunlight. Her voice was light and cheerful as she pointed out different plants, sharing little stories about how she had nurtured each one. The rose bushes, stubborn and thorny, the ivy that kept climbing even when she cut it off. Azriel tried to focus on her words, but his mind kept drifting back to the feel of her hand brushing against his, to the memory of his hand wrapping hers.

He kept glancing at her, the soft curves of her body tempting him more than they should. Her dress clung to her in all the right places, her hair curls gently caressing her waist whenever she moves and when she bent down to touch a flower, he caught a glimpse of her neckline, the smooth skin there, and it nearly undid him,thinking of how it would feel to touch her, to pull her against him and press his lips to her throat, to feel her melt into him.

As they rounded a corner, he noticed them... the moonflowers. Their pale buds were tightly closed, waiting for nightfall to bloom. The sight of them brought back the memory of the last Solstice when Elain had brought him a gift, when he spent the rest of the night listening to her gardening plans, when he became sure that whatever had been growing between them wasn’t just friendship anymore.

He pointed to the flowers, his voice a bit softer as he said, “The moonflowers… You said they’d make the garden beautiful, even at night.”

Elain looked up at him, surprise flickering in her eyes. “You remember that?”

Azriel nodded, his gaze softening as he studied her. “I do. You talked about planting them during Solstice.”

She looked at him, her brows knitting together in thought. “I talked so much about the garden that night, I’m surprised you didn’t fall asleep.”

A soft chuckle escaped him. “I couldn’t. You described it so vividly, I could almost see it, the moonflowers glowing under the stars, the garden alive even when the rest of the world is quiet. It stuck with me.”

She blinked, caught off guard by his recollection. “I didn’t think you would remember such detail . It was just an idea… a way to make the garden special, no matter the time of day.”

“It’s more than an idea,” Azriel said. “It’s a reflection of you. How you see the world… even in the darkness, you find beauty.”

Elain’s cheeks flushed, and she glanced down at the flowers around them, her fingers brushing against a delicate bloom. “You should come and see the garden at night. It really looks so beautiful with the little jasmines spreading their aroma through the garden. I love its scent.”

Azriel nodded, wondering if she knows that she literally smells like jasmine, mixed with a hint of something sweet and intoxicating, something that made his blood thrum in his veins. He swallowed hard, keeping himself from telling her that he loved how her scent filled his lungs, how he wished he could bury his face in her neck, inhaling her, his tongue slowly tracing her throat, tasting her... His gaze trailed down her throat, the soft column of skin there, and he realized he had been staring too long. Elain noticed too, the blush that crept up her cheeks was now also coloring the delicate skin of her chest, and it made his restraint waver.

For a moment, they just looked at each other. Elain’s brown eyes held his, deep and warm like the velvety earth after a fresh rain. Then, she reached out and took his arm. The touch was gentle, but it sent a shockwave through him, his pulse quickening as her fingers curled around his forearm. Even through his Illyrian leathers, he could feel her warmth, a heat that seemed to sink into his skin and spread through his body. How such a simple touch could affect him so deeply, he wondered.

It felt like she was asking for more, like she wanted him closer. He wanted to slide his hands down her back, feel the curve of her waist beneath his palms, press her against him until there was no space left between them. But he fought it, fought the overwhelming urge to give in to the hunger that had been simmering for so long. He couldn’t... shouldn’t, but she made it so hard to remember why.

As they continued walking, Azriel’s mind was a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts, each one more dangerous than the last, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull away from her touch. Not when it felt so right, so necessary.

As they neared the end of the garden path, Elain finally broke the silence. “Will you come to the family dinner tonight?” she asked, her voice hesitant. “It’s been a while since we’ve all been together.”

Azriel opened his mouth to say yes, the word almost slipping out before he remembered. Lucien. Her mate. He would be there. The thought hit him like a punch to the gut, reminding him of all the reasons he had been keeping his distance in the first place.

He hesitated, searching for an excuse. " I have some work I need to finish,” he said, his voice a little too stiff. “Reports to go over, a mission to plan. I don’t think I’ll make it.”

Elain’s face fell slightly, she knew exactly why he was avoiding her, why he made excuses, but she quickly masked it with a small smile. “Of course, I understand."

They stood in silence for a moment. Elain’s hand still rested on his arm, her touch warm and comforting, and for a brief moment, he allowed himself to savor it. To imagine what it would be like if things were different, if he could be with her the way he wanted to. How he craved these soft moments with her. Maybe she could rest her head on his shoulder, and he could wrap his arms around her, pulling her close, letting his hand play with her curls while they waited for dusk to watch from her garden. Maybe they could share some secret moments here…

But then reality tugged him back, reminding him of the boundaries he had set. He couldn't let himself be swept away by these desires, not now, not with everything at stake. He gently pulled his arm away, though he lingered a moment longer, letting his fingers brush against hers.

“Thank you for the tour,” he said quietly. “The garden turned out exactly as you had planned, it’s so beautiful.”

She nodded, her smile bittersweet. “Thank you. I’m glad you could see it.”

With that, he spread his wings before her. “Would you like me to fly you to the River House?” Her large brown eyes were staring at his wings, her mouth slightly open. He liked how she always seemed mesmerized by them, somehow, it sent a sense of pride through him. She swallowed, finally glancing back at his eyes. “I still have to visit a Fae garden nearby, thank you for the offer,” she said, smiling at him.

He smiled back at her, then launched himself into the sky, his wings cutting through the air as his heart twisted painfully. Leaving her behind always felt like losing something precious, like parting with a piece of his soul. Yet, amidst the ache, there was solace, he had created another memory with her, a fleeting moment to treasure. These small fragments of time, delicate as they were, would sustain him through the long, empty nights. He would hold on to them, these little details, nourishing himself on the echoes of her presence for months, perhaps even years...

#You can't imagine how excited I get when I think about listening to Nizar's poems while reading the Elriel book #pro elriel #elriel #elriel supremacy #elain x azriel #elriel fanfic #elain archeron

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ja-chr23 · 14 days

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Hello everyone :)

Waiting for an announcement from sjm … I wrote a fanfiction about elriel. A slow burn. A forbidden love. I'll just give you the summary below:

Elain and Azriel haven't exchanged a single word since the last solstice, but the tension between them is still palpable. Each carries in silence the weight of this unfinished bond, a forbidden love that seems ready to boil over. One day, in the hushed calm of the library, the fragile barrier between their desires almost collapses. Elain, haunted by enigmatic visions, knows that something irrevocable is approaching. In the light-filled garden, she waits for him, her heart beating to the rhythm of a truth they can no longer escape.

the link to read it :

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58797736

The content is mature, so you need to press ‘yes’. Don't hesitate to leave a like or a comment if you liked it, it would help me a lot in my improvement :)

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fauxdette · 2 months

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✨The Procurist is on AO3✨

Shout out to @violetasteracademic for encouraging me to join and as a result of re-reading my work I’m back in the writing mood so here’s a lil sneaky peek of part 7 😘

•••

"She is my mate," Lucien snarled. "You're not going in there. You and those wraiths have done enough.”

“Is that what this is about, Lucien?” He shook his head. “What scares you more? That we’ve turned your mate into a spy or that she likes it?”

•••

👁️ 👅 👁️

#elriel #azriel x elain #elain archeron #azriel #elriel fanfic #shadowsinger #elain x azriel #elriel wip

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fawnandshadows · 5 months

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Guilty as Sin?

For @elriel-month and the "New Beginnings" prompt

Warnings: Language

Word Count: 7.4k

AO3

“Have you met your new neighbor yet?” Cassian’s staticky voice crackled in Azriel’s ear, his phone held in place by his shoulder and ear as he furiously searched his apartment for his keys.

“Not yet, just saw the back of her head once when she was closing her door.” Azriel said as he toppled the couch cushions and ran his fingers through the deep crevice on the side. “Where the fuck are my keys?” He muttered, his fingers trailing over long forgotten crumbs that had slid down the side of the cushion. “Were you eating Doritos last time you were here?”

“Uh,” Cassian’s voice caught in his throat. “What happens if I say yes?”

Azriel rolled his eyes and said, “Nothing other than supergluing a trash bag to you as a bib next time you’re over.”

“Wasn’t me, man. Must’ve been Rhysie.” Cassian brushed him off.

Azriel barely mustered a “hmmmm” in acknowledgment as he lowered himself to the ground to check underneath the couch, hoping to see the metallic glint of his keys and only seeing dust bunnies.

“Anyway,” Cassian said in his ear, cutting out for a second before coming back in full volume. Since he had perpetual shitty service, Cassian felt the need to make up for it with shouting. “Your hot new neighbor, do you think you could give her my phone number? She was definitely making eyes at me last time I was there.”

“Was she?” Azriel asked, barely paying attention as he hunted for his keys. He pushed himself off of the floor, his gaze scanning the open space. Where the hell had he put them? He came home dead tired from a shift last night and he remembered fumbling with them out in the hall — there had been a crash from his neighbors apartment that had distracted him, his head already pounding from the drinks he had with Cassian, and he remembered the sound of his keys hitting the ground — did he leave his keys in the hall?

“Are you listening to me?” Cassian asked, his voice sounding far away as Azriel headed towards his door, his duffle bag already there and waiting for him.

“Of course,” Azriel said, opening the door and spotting his keys in a lump on the floor. “You want me to set you up with my hot neighbor.” He bent down, his fingers looping around his keys as he heard a high-pitched “Oh!” from across the hall.

Azriel’s entire body stilled as he turned his head and saw the most beautiful wide brown eyes and flushed pink cheeks.

He blinked at her. No wonder Cassian wanted him to give her his number. Fat-fucking-chance.

“Hellloo?” Cassian asked in his ear like he was trying to wave his head in front of Azriel’s face.

Azriel just hung up on him.

“Sorry about that,” Azriel said, coming to his full height and shoving his phone in the back pocket of his jeans. “I – My friend – He saw you the other day and, um, he has a crush.”

Those brown eyes blinked at him and kicking himself seemed like too kind a punishment.

He was two seconds away from blurting out “I can’t blame him” just to end the agony of silence, but his new neighbor must have had a merciful soul because she beat him to it.

“I just wanted to introduce myself,” She said in the sweetest voice Azriel had ever heard and it wasn’t until then that he noticed she was holding out a pie. “Since I’ve been making so much racket I wanted to apologize.”

“Don’t apologize,” Azriel said, his hand surprisingly steady as he reached for her peace-offering. “I’m not home enough to be bothered by it.”

“Oh.” She said, looking down at her feet, her golden brown hair sweeping down around her.

“I just mean that there’s nothing to apologize for,” Azriel rushed out, her eyes peering up at him and his heart started fucking racing. “I work down at the local fire station, so I’m used to chaos.”

She bit her lip, her eyes dropping down to his muscled arms for a moment as she asked, “You’re a firefighter?”

“Yeah,” Azriel said, sticking out his hand. “I’m Azriel.”

“Elain,” She replied with a soft smile and placed her small hand in his. “It’s nice to meet you,” Azriel never wanted to let go. Her eyes flicked to the duffle bag on the floor behind him. “I don’t want to keep you.” She started to pull her hand away.

“No worries,” Azriel said quickly. “I was just going to meet up with some friends at the gym. Do you want to come in?” Azriel nodded to his apartment behind him. “I make espresso that goes great with pie.”

Elain took her hand back.

“Thank you for the offer,” Elain said with a small smile, taking a step back and reaching for the door knob to her apartment. Azriel felt his body screaming in response as she moved farther away from him. His eyes taking in the purple sundress she was wearing. “But my boyfriend is coming over soon.”

Azriel’s body steeled at the words. Boyfriend?

“Boyfriend?” Azriel asked out loud and Elain nodded her head.

“He’s coming over to see my new place.”

“He didn’t help you with the move?” Azriel already hated him. For probably more reasons that he didn’t want to think about, but what loser didn’t help his girlfriend with a move? Did she move in all by herself? Now that he thought about it, other than a few people from a moving company he didn’t see anyone else moving her in.

She shook her head.

“He was busy.” Elain said simply and Azriel hoped he kept his glower off of his face.

“Well, if you need any help you can always knock on my door.” Azriel offered, forcing a smile and he was delighted when she gave him one in return.

“Thank you,” Elain said, opening her door, and almost shutting it before she poked her head out. “And I love espresso.”

Azriel stood in the hallway, staring at her door and holding the pie and wondering what the hell just happened.

— — — — —

“No, no, no, you don’t understand, he was really pretty.” Elain said to her sister over the phone as she rushed around her apartment.

“How pretty?” Feyre asked, her voice crackling from the poor cell service in Elain’s new building.

“I-forgot-about-Graysen-pretty.” Elain said, adjusting the bouquet of spring flowers on her coffee table. Residual guilt gnawing at her bones. Her boyfriend of two years. She forgot about her boyfriend of two years because of a pretty face. And muscles.

Something clattered on over the phone and Elain knew that her sister dropped a paint brush.

“Oh my God.” Feyre said, stunned.

“I know!” Elain cried, repositioning the silverware for the tenth time.

“Can you send me a picture?” Feyre asked.

“Well, I don’t have one, but just imagine the most good looking man you can think of and then like double that. And imagine him as a firefighter.” Elain said and rushed across the apartment to stir her bolognese sauce.

One interaction with Azriel and she was buzzing around her apartment not knowing what to do.

“I need to throw you a housewarming party just to see him.” Feyre said, laughing over the phone.

“This isn’t funny!” Elain pouted, stirring her sauce. “I almost went in for espresso.”

“You hate espresso.” Feyre said, and even though Elain couldn’t see her she knew her sister was smiling.

“I know.” Elain replied with a sinking feeling and stifled a sigh.

She couldn’t be friends with Azriel. He was too pretty. And by all accounts he was nice. She got the sense that he actually would help her if she needed it. That he wasn’t just saying that to be polite.

For some reason she wanted to stomp her foot like a child. She had to practically beg Graysen to see her new place.

“What are you going to do?” Feyre asked.

“Nothing.” Elain said abruptly.

“Elain,” Feyre said gently. “You called me just to talk about how pretty your neighbor is.” There was so much unspoken in Feyre’s voice that Elain felt the weight of it on her shoulders.

“It doesn’t matter,” Elain said, forcing away the rush of emotions. “I’m with Graysen.”

There was a moment of silence over the phone.

“It’s not a crime that you find another man attractive, Elain.” Feyre said and Elain felt herself nodding along.

“I know.”

A knock sounded from the door.

“I have to go, Graysen is here. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Ok-love-you-bye!” Feyre rushed out before Elain hung up.

— — — — —

“I can’t believe you followed me home.” Azriel said, fishing around in his duffle bag to pull out his keys.

The thump of Cassian bouncing a basketball beat steadily behind his back as Azriel unlocked his door.

“I didn’t follow you home,” Cassian said and Azriel shot him a bland look over his shoulder. “We’re hanging out, it’s what friends do.”

“And your being here has nothing to do with Elain?” Azriel asked, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at Cassian who had begun to spin the basketball on his index finger.

“Of course not, I—”

The ball slipped from Cassian’s finger and flew across the hall, smashing against Elain’s door. How the ball managed to move perpendicularly through the air, Azriel never knew.

Half of Azriel wanted to rush into his apartment and slam the door to leave Cassian to his own humiliation, but the sound of a male voice behind Elain’s door made Azriel stay in place.

Two seconds later they watched as the door swung open to reveal someone Azriel could only assume was The Boyfriend standing there with Elain peering out at them behind his shoulder.

The Boyfriend…did not look happy as he took in Azriel and Cassian standing in the hallway.

“Hi Azriel,” Elain said with a polite smile as she curiously looked at him. The eyes of The Boyfriend snapped to her and narrowed. “Is this yours?” She went to reach for the stray basketball, but The Boyfriend’s hands shot out and grabbed it first.

“You should be more careful next time.” He said, holding the ball out to Azriel, his eyes weary and smile plastic as he sized Azriel up.

“My bad,” Cassian said with a charming grin as he took the ball that Graysen was holding out after it became obvious that Azriel wasn’t going to. “Azriel has better control over his balls than I do,” Cassian took a step back and slapped Azriel on the back, but when no one laughed he stuck his hand out toward Elain. “Cassian. Nice to meet you.”

“Elain.” She replied kindly, her eyes flickering to Azriel as she accepted Cassian’s outstretched hand.

“I was on the phone with him this morning.” Azriel said and nodded towards Cassian, his lips twitching as Elain’s eyes widened.

Everyone noticed the way her cheeks flushed and the way Cassian smiled hungrily.

Elain sheepishly drew her hand back as she asked, “Are you a firefighter as well?” Her eyes dipped to his t-shirt which boasted the numbers of the local fire station.

“You know it,” Cassian’s grin widened. “Someone’s got to rescue all those kitties trapped in trees.”

Elain laughed at that, but The Boyfriend bristled.

“We should get back to lunch.” The Boyfriend said with false cheer.

“Of course,” Elain said, blinking. “It was nice to see you both.” She nodded at Azriel and Cassian.

“I’m having some friends over next week,” Azriel rushed out as Elain was turning away. Her wide brown eyes curious as she looked at him over her shoulder. “Saturday. You should stop by.”

“I’d love to —”

“We have plans.” The Boyfriend cut her off, and Azriel couldn’t stop himself from glaring at him.

Elain’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she said, “But I asked if you wanted to get brunch and you mentioned a business lunch?”

Azriel’s jaw hurt as he ground his teeth together.

“We can head over once that’s wrapped up.” The Boyfriend said, his smile not budging from his lips.

“Elain can come whenever she wants.” Azriel said, his voice not exactly dark, but full of meaning. Enough meaning that Elain’s cheeks turned ripened pink and The Boyfriend outright glared at him.

Azriel didn’t back down from his stare, keeping his face completely neutral even though he knew Cassian was wearing a shit-eating grin next to him.

“That’s very kind of you,” Elain muttered, tugging on her boyfriend's arm. “I’ll see you later?” She asked hesitantly, and Azriel nodded in confirmation.

“It was nice meeting you!” Cassian called out as Elain was closing the door, but they managed to see the small smile on her lips before they were shut out.

Azriel and Cassian stood in the hallway, Azriel looking at the door intensely while Cassian’s eyes flitted between the door and his friend.

“Fuck that guy, right?” Cassian said.

“Yeah,” Azriel nodded. “Fuck that guy.”

— — — — — —

“And you haven’t seen him, right?” Graysen asked over the phone, his voice suspicious and casual in a way that made Elain roll her eyes.

“Not even in passing.” Elain said, flipping over her pancakes. For some reason she was craving something sweet as soon as she woke up — she didn’t even bother changing out of Graysen’s old Wharton’s shirt and her boy shorts she slept in.

“Good.” Graysen said, his relief evident over the phone.

“I don’t know why you hate him so much.” Elain muttered, moving her pancakes off of the heat and getting ready to add more batter to the hot pan.

“He was coming onto you right there in the hallway, right in front of me, and you weren’t exactly telling him to back off.” Graysen said irritably.

“You’re exaggerating.” Elain said, but the creeping, gnawing feeling of guilt wormed its way underneath her skin. She might be able to lie to Graysen, but she couldn’t lie to herself. And the fact that she could lie to Graysen sent alarm bells blaring in her mind.

“Yeah, well, don’t go over there on Saturday without me.” Graysen said in a way that made Elain bristle.

“You don’t even know what time your lunch will be over,” Elain said, her voice hitting an unbecoming whine. “And I’m free all day, so why wouldn’t I go over?”

“Because he wants to fuck you, Elain.”

“He does not!” Elain roared over the phone, her cheeks burning as she angrily flipped her pancakes. “And besides, there will be lots of people over there so it’s not like we’ll be alone. And after years of dating I’ve given you zero reasons not to trust me.”

Graysen sighed into her ear.

“I’m sorry,” He apologized and Elain felt slightly mollified. “I just don’t like that he lives across from you.”

“You have nothing to worry about.” Elain said in resignation, but she wondered if she had the willpower to push Azriel away if he made a move on her.

“I know.” Graysen said, but Elain could tell he didn’t quite believe the words.

She opened her mouth to speak, but a knock sounded from the door.

“I should go,” Elain said, taking the pancakes off a little too soon so they wouldn’t burn. “My breakfast is ready.” She didn’t tell Graysen about the knock, having a sneaking suspicion it was Azriel on the opposite side of the door.

“Enjoy, baby.”

“Thanks.” Elain said, hanging up before her guilt could consume her.

She rushed across the hardwood floor, completely forgetting the fact that she was in her underwear, and opened the door a crack to see Azriel on the opposite side of the door.

“Hi.” Elain said breathlessly, taking in his wet hair and clean scent and gray sweatpants. His white t-shirt clung to his torso in a way Elain shouldn’t have noticed.

“Hey,” Azriel said in a low voice, his face touched with kindness. “I was wondering if I could borrow some sugar?” He held out an empty measuring up.

“Oh,” Elain said in surprise. “Of course, come in.” She opened the door wider and stepped aside.

As soon as Azriel clocked what she was wearing his eyes darkened and he visibly swallowed.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Azriel said, his voice slightly scratchy.

Elain shook her head, her golden curls moving with her head, and said, “You’re not interrupting. I’m just making some breakfast…I always make too much…do you want some?” She nodded to the plate of towering pancakes.

“If you don’t mind.” Azriel said, a small smile winding on his lips.

“Of course not,” Elain said, gliding back to the kitchen in a rush. “Please have a seat.” She motioned towards the table without looking at it.

She piled four pancakes on top of each other with little pads of butter between them and drizzled a generous amount of maple syrup on top before placing it in front of Azriel.

“Coffee?” She asked and as soon as Azriel nodded his head, she filled up a mug and got out the half-and-half and set it down on the table.

“Did I forget anything?” Elain asked, looking around. “Oh! Do you like blueberries?” She was about to take off again when Azriel’s warm hand clasped around her wrist.

“Elain,” He said gently and Elain felt herself melt. His hazel eyes were amused and kind as they captured her attention. “I don’t mind, but you might want to put some pants on.” His eyes flickered down to her legs before he forcefully pulled them away.

“Oh,” Her eyes widened. “Oh! I’m so sorry! Excuse me!” Elain scampered off to grab the first article of clothing she could find - her well loved plaid pajama shorts. “Please just ignore the last three minutes!”

Her cheeks were pink as she made her way back into the common area, but even though she should be dying of humiliation since she was walking around pantless in front of someone she’d talked to for a collective ten minutes — she had a feeling this story would be re-told with charm rather than embarrassment.

“You’re not eating,” She stated when she returned to the table, her brows coming together. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m just waiting for you.” Azriel said with an easy grin.

Her heart stopped as if it understood his words and didn’t quite believe it.

He was waiting for her. How many times had she made a meal for Graysen and he just started without her?

“I’m sorry,” Elain muttered, averting her eyes. “I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” She quickly gathered her own pancakes and coffee and sat next to Azriel — well adjacent to Azriel since she sat at the head of the table and Azriel was directly to her right.

“Don’t apologize,” Azriel said, leaning forward to place a warm hand on her bare knee. “I’m just trying to be polite.”

Her eyes locked on his brown hand on her pale thigh. Little scars scattered the length of his skin to create something beautiful, but she was taken by the mere size of his hand and the way it emitted warmth.

“Sorry.” Azriel quickly took his hand back as if she burned him. “I know they can freak people out.” His cheeks were red as he cut into the fluffy pancakes with his fork, little puffs of steam floated through the air as he took a bite. “Delicious pancakes, thank you.” Azriel said as he dug back into his breakfast.

“No,” Elain said belatedly and Azriel looked at her in confusion. “I was thinking about how large your hands are,” She held up her own hand, palm facing him and wiggling her fingers. “My sisters always made fun of how small my hands are. See?”

Azriel blinked at her.

“Your hands are perfect.” Azriel declared and Elain blushed.

“Well, so are yours, but that doesn’t mean mine aren’t freakishly small.”

Azriel snorted at her.

“They’re not freakishly small, they’re just…small.” Azriel said, smiling and Elain rolled her eyes in affection.

“Let me see yours.” She motioned for him to lift his hand up and he slowly, almost sheepishly, exposed his scarred and calloused palm to her. Elain laid her palm directly against his, indulging in the feel of his hand. The warmth. The strength. She tried to not think about his hands gripping her hips, or his fingers writing on her body. She really tried not to think about that.

“Hmmm.” Elain hummed as she took in the size difference of their hands. Her fingers barely touching his and his palm noticeably larger than hers. “I can’t tell if my hand is freakishly small or if yours is freakishly big.” She half-heartedly joked.

“I don’t know, I think they fit pretty perfectly together.” Azriel said almost thickly, and Elain tore her gaze away from their hands to see him intensely staring at her.

“Me too,” Elain said, slowly — begrudgingly — taking her hand back and using it to pick up her fork to stop herself from reaching for him again. “I can reach the bottom of the Pringles can and you can open any jar. We’re a match made in heaven.”

Azriel slowly smiled at her.

“I’d have to agree.” He turned back to his breakfast, smiling into his next bite.

Conversation flowed easily after that. They talked about how Elain worked with a local florist and would love to open up her own shop one day and how she’d also worked on her social media brand online, which explained her odd working hours. Azriel talked about how he had known Cassian since they were children and that she’d meet their other friend Rhysand on Saturday — and he even mentioned the fact that Rhysand convinced his family to take Azriel and Cassian in at a young age and how the three of them were closer than brothers. Elain mentioned her two sisters, whom she loved more than life itself, so Azriel extended them an invitation to his gathering on Saturday which caused Elain’s world to instantly brighten.

“Thank you again,” Elain said as they stood by her door hours later, her hands clasped behind her back as she peered up at Azriel. “I’m sure my sisters are going to be thrilled. We never get to do anything together anymore.”

Azriel’s dark brows pulled together.

“Why’s that?” He asked.

“Graysen doesn’t really like them,” Elain explained and Azriel couldn’t stop the scowl on his face. “Anyway,” Elain pushed on before he could comment. “Thanks again for stopping by.”

Azriel raised a brow at her and said, “I ate most of your breakfast and you’re thanking me?” It’s true. Azriel went back for seconds. And thirds. But Elain smiled as she watched him enjoy her food.

“You saved me from leftovers. I have bad habits when it comes to breakfast food. I love it too much.”

“Yeah,” Azriel said, leaning in conspiratorially, “I’m like that with baked goods.”

Elain grinned widely at him.

“Those are my specialty…I’ll have to bring something on Saturday.” She bit her lip to try and stifle her smile.

“I can’t wait.” Azriel said, grinning.

They stood there grinning at each other, neither one of them moving to open the door. Both of them ignoring the still-empty measuring cup that Azriel had brought over.

“I meant what I said the other day,” Azriel said, tilting his head at her. “You can come over to my place any time.”

“I am curious to see what it looks like.” Elain admitted.

“You can come over now. I —” An alarm bursted through the air, coming from the phone tucked inside of his back pocket. Azriel sighed, his body deflating. “My shift starts in 40 minutes.”

Elain couldn’t stop the wave of disappointment that swam through her.

“Some other time than.” She mumbled.

“Some other time,” Azriel agreed and pressed his lips into her soft, plump cheek before he could stop himself. “I’ll see you later, Elain.” He said, his breath tickling her overly-sensitive skin.

“Bye.” Elain said breathlessly, watching him leave with wide eyes.

She swayed for a moment in place before she fell against the door.

— — — —

“Are you sure about this?” Feyre asked, using her nail to clean up her lipstick in the mirror.

Elain’s entire bathroom was covered in beauty products as she and her sisters got ready to go over to Azriel’s place. Even though it was casual and there was no need for them to spend so much time on hair and make up…but the Archeron sisters liked to look good, and they liked getting ready together. Some of Elain’s most favorite memories involved them getting ready together, whether it was for prom or just to go shopping. It was when they felt the most like sisters.

“Of course.” Elain said, careful not to look at Feyre or Nesta because they could easily see right through her.

“Twenty bucks says Elain gets laid by the hot fireman by the end of the week.” Nesta said slyly, carefully coating her eyelashes in mascara. The black striking against her blue eyes. It took everything in Elain not to hip check her.

“Stop it!” Elain cried, but fighting a smile as she did it.

“How many times have you done it in your head?” Feyre asked with a cat-like grin as she fluffed her golden brown hair.

Elain pursed her lips together, not willing to give either of them the satisfaction of knowing that Elain had pictured her and Azriel together in vivid, graphic detail. She simply ignored them and reached for her favorite perfume.

“A-ha!” Nesta exclaimed, sticking the mascara wand out at her sister. “That’s sex perfume!”

“It is not!” Elain laughed as she sprayed her neck. And hair. And wrists. “I just felt like this one today.” She brushed off the fact that it was her most seductive scent.

“Mmhmm,” Feyre sounded, not hiding her smile. “And then explain the sundress?”

“And the fuck-me-heels?” Nesta added on.

Her sisters smiled knowingly, almost smugly, at her.

Elain opened her mouth and closed it again, feeling oddly like a fish.

“I just want to look nice, is that a crime? And these are hardly fuck-me-heels.” Elain said and looked down at the shoes in question. “They’re wedges, so they’re casual.”

“Your nails are painted red,” Nesta said with a devious grin. “And they have straps, so you know your hot fireman will think about undoing them.”

“Please.” Elain tried to scoff and push the thought out of the room.

“She has a point,” Feyre said, nudging Elain gently with her elbow. “But it’s nice to see you all dressed up.”

“And you’re due to a good fucking,” Nesta said, finally capping the mascara. Elain started to protest but her sister continued. “Are there going to be other hot firemen at this thing?”

“Probably.” Elain said with a smile.

The sisters made their way towards the door, all of them looking beautiful in their own right. Elain wore a flower-yellow sundress which she thought made her look tan and emphasized her brown eyes. Feyre was beautiful in her denim skirt and loose cream sweater. And Nesta was stunning in tight black jeans and sleek black top. Even though they goofed on Elain for her “fuck-me-heels” she chouldn’t help but notice Feyre and Nesta also wore heels. She smiled fondly as she shut the door behind them and went over to knock on Azriel’s door.

They waited all of three seconds before the door swung open and they were greeted by an exceedingly beautiful man. One that wasn’t Azriel. Or even Cassian.

His violet eyes looked at her knowingly before breezing past her and locking onto her sister. His grin grew as keen interest sharpened in his eyes. A crisp, white button down — which seemed it was perfectly tailored to his body — was tucked into jeans, and Elain was certain his outfit cost a small fortune.

“Hi,” Elain said, forcing herself to speak up. “I’m Elain — I live across the hall. Azriel invited us over.”

At the mention of her name, Violet Eyes snapped his attention back onto her.

“I’ve heard so much about you,” He said in an amused voice and stuck his hand out to her. “I’m Rhysand. Azriel will be pleased that you’re here,” Rhysand leaned in close, and Elain could feel Feyre leaning forwards as well, wanting to be included, while Nesta just stood back and observed. “You know he threw this entire party for you.”

“Hey, don’t fuck with her,” Azriel's familiar voice floated through the air, and Rhysand’s grin had a wicked quality as he moved out of the way to let Azriel in. “And it’s not a party.”

Rhysand rolled his eyes.

Elain felt breathless as Azriel’s hazel eyes trailed up and down her body, his eyes catching on the part of her leg that touched the hem of her sundress.

“Hi.” Elain said softly as her eyes connected with Azriel’s.

A slow grin unfurled on Azriel’s lips.

“Hi.” Azriel replied, his eyes heady and smoldering.

Nesta gave a not-so-subtle clearing of her throat.

“These are my sisters,” Elain rushed out, her cheeks flaming. “Nesta,” Elain nodded her head. “And Feyre.”

“Come in,” Azriel said, sticking his hand out to Nesta and Feyre. “Nice to meet you both.”

They all found themselves crammed into the entry of Azriel’s apartment, with Elain pressed against Azriel’s side. She could feel his muscles through the thin cotton of her dress and his hand naturally settled on her hip.

“Do you guys want a drink?” Azriel asked, his mouth close to her ear. “We’ve got beer, wine, and something Cassian made called ‘jungle juice’ which Rhys and I haven’t been brave enough to try.”

Nesta let out an amused scoff.

“Is this a frat party?” Nesta asked, a hair too mockingly, but after certain looks from Feyre and Elain, Nesta shrugged and said, “I like frat parties. It’s the only place we can do body shots in public.”

Rhysand and Azriel both chuckled at that and shared a look.

“Come inside.” Azriel said, gently pushing Elain by the small of her back.

It thrilled her to be touched by him and the fact that it felt so natural and comfortable almost squashed the hair of guilt she felt worming inside of her.

Azriel wasted no time getting her alone — she barely counted the number of people that filled his living room before he got her into the kitchen which was overflowing with coolers and snack foods.

“We’re grilling burgers and hot dogs later, but I have some chicken if you’d prefer that — there’s not enough for everyone, but I can grill it just for you. Or Mor brought some pasta salad and I think there’s humus out there if you don’t eat meat. You do —”

“I’ve never heard Azriel talk this much in my life.” Cassian’s familiar voice came from behind Azriel’s irritated form.

Cassian joined them and slapped Azriel on the back.

“Elain, you’re looking stunning as ever.” Cassian said with a smile. Elain could tell that whatever interest he may have had in her fizzled out (thankfully) and he only flirted with her to get a reaction out of Azriel.

“Thanks Cassian.”

“Can we help you?” Azriel asked him irritably, and Elain was entirely too affected by the fact that he wanted to have her completely alone.

“Just getting Nesta some of my famous punch.” Cassian said, entirely too flippantly. Elain had only known him for a short amount of time, but “flip” and “Cassian” didn’t mesh together.

Azriel grinned at that, his annoyance bleeding away.

“Trying to get her drunk already?” Azriel teased and Cassian cheeks turned pink.

“Dude,” Cassian started, looking at Azriel with wide eyes as he grabbed a red plastic cup. “She actually dared me to do a shot off of her —” Azriel kicked him and nodded his head towards Elain. Cassian shot her a pained look. “Sorry Lainy.”

Elain waved him off and said, “My selective hearing is one of my best qualities.”

Cassian grinned at her, but Azriel took a step closer to her and leaned against the counter and Elain felt herself being pulled into his side by some magnetic force. Cassian kept talking, but Elain wasn’t entirely sure what about because she kept imagining Azriel putting his arm over her shoulder — and was her mind playing tricks on her, or was he gripping the counter to stop from reaching for her. If he did put his arm around her shoulder, then would he pull her in close? Would he massage the back of her neck or place his fingers in her hair? He was so close that Elain could smell his aftershave and Elain fought herself from taking a long, deep inhale.

Suddenly, Elain was hit by the weight of her crush.

She felt like she was back in high school with the giddy butterflies swarming her stomach.

“So what does she like?” Cassian’s voice finally broke through, or maybe it was the fact that Azriel kindly nudged her with his elbow.

“Huh?” Elain asked, a bit dazed from where her thoughts were taking her.

Cassian grinned at her, as if knowing exactly what she was thinking.

“Nesta,” Cassian confirmed, not commenting on how spacey Elain was being. “What does she like?”

Elain thought for a second, tossing and turning ideas over in her mind.

“Her bark is worse than her bite,” Elain said softly. “And she can be a bit prickly if someone gets too close, but she really just wants someone to like her for who she is. Someone that doesn't back down. And someone who makes her laugh.”

Cassian nodded, a drink in each hand, and Elain knew he was taking what she said to heart.

“Thanks,” Cassian said with a kind smile — which quickly turned more devious. “I’ll get of your hair before Azriel kills me like I know he wants to. He was so cute, planning this thing all week and getting pissy when we called it a ‘party’ and —”

“Alright,” Azriel said, pushing off of the counter and steering Cassian out of the kitchen with by his shoulders “Time to fuck off.”

Cassian threw his head back in a laugh, his curls flying, but he didn’t put up a fight as Azriel forced him out of the room.

When they were alone again Azriel finally turned around to face her and Elain couldn’t stop the smile that bloomed on her lips.

“I have a question,” Elain said as Azriel made his way back to her, his strong arms crossed over his chest. “Did you really do this for me?” Elain asked, her voice slightly too breathy.

Azriel moved in closer.

His nose just a hair's breadth away from her.

“Elain, I’ve lived here for four years and never had more than four other people here at a time, but now I’ve called every friend of a friend I could think of just as a cover so no one would think twice about me inviting the beautiful girl next door into my place. I even have a fucking beyond burger on deck just incase you don’t eat meat. Cassian had to talk me out of buying flowers for tonight but…” Elain couldn’t breathe. Azriel took a step away from her and opened the fridge and Elain saw a beautiful bouquet of tulips. “But Rhysand said to just give them to you tomorrow.”

“You got me tulips?” Elain asked, the air in the room turned hot and humid and thick.

“You said they were your favorite.” Azriel said, looking slightly confused.

“And you remembered.” Elain felt her face crumbling.

Graysen always got her roses. She was always grateful because it was a nice gesture, but she told herself that it was nice enough to get flowers and she shouldn’t be so picky…but it had taken Azriel an entire week to get her a bouquet of her favorite flowers. It wasn’t asking for too much to want something, and in all of two seconds Elain realized just how little she had been settling for.

“I just thought you’d like them.” Azriel shrugged and brushed a stray wavy lock out of his face.

“I love them. I —” She was about to say that she was going to break up with Graysen. Because she was going to at the first chance she got. She was tired of settling for the merest hint of attention and every scrap of affection that he bothered to throw at her. And it was so incredibly important to her that Azriel know that she’s going to end her relationship.

“Elain?”

Invisible ice slid down her back as she looked behind Azriel to see Graysen standing in the doorway, his eyes bouncing back between Elain and Azriel. An accusatory look in his eyes, one that wasn’t unfounded, but was thankfully left unspoken.

Azriel simply nodded to Graysen and closed the refrigerator door.

“Hey,” Graysen said to Azriel and walked over to Elain, interlocking his fingers with hers. “Thanks for inviting us.”

Azriel leaned against the closed refrigerator door and crossed his arms.

Elain wondered if this was something to cry about.

— — — —

She had no idea how she made it through the party, but she did. A broken heart heavy in her chest as she smiled her way through polite conversation — she felt awful watching Graysen chat and talk and be friendly knowing she was going to end what was between them. Every time he locked eyes with her he looked a bit confused and he asked if she wanted to leave about three times, but she kept saying no, not wanting to cause any type of suspicion.

They didn’t leave until almost midnight, and even then there were still people loafing around, but she had completely lost track of Feyre and Nesta. Azriel was backed into a corner by some blonde and Elain avoided the way he was desperately trying to seek her eyes as she left.

As soon as Elain closed the door to her apartment she watched as Graysen flopped onto her couch and kicked his feet onto the coffee table.

“Thank fuck that’s over.” Graysen groaned, letting his head fall back onto the couch.

“Graysen.” Elain said, unable to keep the crack out of her voice.

His body tensed as he opened his eyes, and Elain knew that he knew.

He sat up and placed his feet firmly on the ground and clasped his hands together between his knees.

“Did you fuck him?” Graysen asked, a quiet anger in his voice.

“No,” Elain said emphatically, walking over to him. “Of course not?”

“But you thought about it?” Graysen asked, his voice tight like a spring wound too far.

“I —” Elain couldn’t bring herself to lie about it, she just stood there with her hands limply at her sides.

“Fuck.” Graysen exclaimed, launching the vase of flowers on the table across the room with the flat of his hand.

Elain couldn’t help the shriek that escaped her — out of surprise more than anything else.

“I knew from the way he fucking looked at you, and the way you looked at him…I haven’t seen that look in your eyes since…well, since you looked at me for the first time.” Graysen sounded hurt and defeated and angry and Elain felt about two inches tall.

A heavy thumping came from her door followed quickly by Azriel’s voice calling out for her name.

“Great,” Graysen said, standing and gripping his hair. “Fucking great we can’t even break up without him being here.”

Graysen took a step towards the door, but Elain held out a hand to stop him and rushed towards the door in case he made a charge for it.

Elain cracked open the door to see a worried and concerned Azriel.

“Are you ok?” Azriel asked, his eyes looking her over from top to bottom to make sure she wasn’t harmed. “I heard you scream.”

“I’m fine,” Elain assured him and forced a smile. “Just, um, surprised. But I’m ok. I promise.”

Azriel’s intense hazel eyes looked behind her, zeroing in on Graysen, and Elain watched as a dark cloud descended on his face.

“We’ll talk tomorrow?” Azriel asked and Elain nodded, quickly shutting the door.

Elain turned around and rested her back against the door.

“At least you’ll be in good hands.” Graysen said bitterly, walking towards the door.

“Grayen,” Elain pleaded, staring up at him. “Don’t end it like this.”

He smiled cruelly at her and said, “You’re the one that ended it.”

He didn’t push her out of the way necessarily, but he definitely pushed past her.

For some reason, Elain followed him into the hall, it seemed like the polite thing to do. Like she was sad to see him go — and she was sad. She wasn’t sure if she was sad Graysen was leaving or sad that she spent so much of her life with him and now he was going to be nothing more than a memory.

“Oh great, you’re here,” Graysen said, almost laughing in absurdity. “Of course you’re still here.”

Azriel’s eyes didn’t move from Graysen, carefully tracking his every move.

“You didn’t have to stay.” Elain said, melting a bit at the gesture.

“I wanted to.” Azriel said, his face and voice utterly neutral, making it clear that he didn't want to escalate anything.

Elain watched the muscle popping in Graysen’s jaw, and he took one step at Azriel before turning and storming down the hall.

“She’s not worth it.” Graysen muttered before turning the corner.

Elain and Azriel stood in a heavy silence, broken only by two drunken party goers leaving Azriel’s apartment and he nodded goodbye to them as they stumbled down the hallway.

“We broke up,” Elain blurted out as soon as they were alone again. “I broke up with him,” Azriel nodded, his eyes wide as he processed what Elain said. More drunken revelry was happening in Azriel’s apartment and before they could be interrupted again Elain motioned to her apartment. “Want to come in?”

Azriel nodded and followed her inside. His eyes immediately took in the broken glass, water, and limp flowers on the floor.

“The scream?” Azriel asked with a raised eyebrow and Elain nodded shyly.

“I was surprised.” Elain said, about to spring into action to clean up the mess, but Azriel was already kneeling down and picking up the shards of glass.

“Don’t cut yourself,” Elain rushed around getting the dustpan and trashcan before kneeling next to him. “You don’t have to do this, Azriel.”

She swept up some of the glittering pieces of glass and Azriel dumped a handful of them in the trash can.

“I want to help you, Elain,” Azriel said meaningfully, and Elain felt two hot, salty tears slide down her face. “In any way I can.”

“Thank you,” Elain said, clearing her throat and clearing it again because somehow it became harder to breathe. “Thanks.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Elain.” Azriel said softly, picking up the last few large pieces of glass. After a quiet pause he softly asked, “What happened?”

Elain couldn’t look him in the eyes as she wondered how to answer him.

“You,” She said as she swept a sad-looking rose into the dustpan. “Your tulips. I just — I realized how much our relationship was over, you know? How empty it actually was. I just couldn’t pretend anymore.”

Elain swept up the last of the damage before finally looking Azriel in the eye.

“You remembered I liked tulips,” Elain said with a shrug. “He never did.”

“He’s a fucking idiot.” Azriel said gruffly.

Elain shrugged and was about to say something in response — she wasn’t sure what, but somebody hollered for Azriel out in the hall.

“Are you ok?” Azriel asked, standing. Outstretching a hand to Elain to help her stand.

“I’ll be fine.” Elain said, forcing a smile. A smile that melted into a very real one before Azriel placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

Azriel’s name was called again and he begrudgingly left her apartment.

Elain took a shower and tried not to think too much about what the hell happened, and listened to music that both helped her wallow in her sadness and made her feel a little less alone and eventually she managed to fall asleep. Before she slipped into her dreams she remembered the plate of cookies she made especially for Azriel, wanting to hold off until the party was over to give them to him.

When she woke up the next morning, it was to Azriel knocking at her door holding a bouquet of tulips and a little shot of espresso.

#The Tortured Bats Department #elriel #elain x azriel #elain archeron #pro elriel #azriel #elriel fanfiction #elriel fanfic #fawnandshadows writing #elriel month #elriel month 2024

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elriel-month · 8 months

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Elriel Month Prompts 2024!

Hi everyone!

We are so excited to present the official prompt descriptions for the fourth-ever ELRIEL MONTH!! Like last year, we will have two prompts per week that center on different aspects and scenarios of the relationship between Elain and Azriel. We aim to foster a positive space for us to celebrate our favorite Seer and Shadowsinger. Head to our Instagram for Spanish and French translations of the prompts! We cannot wait to celebrate with you! 🦇🌸💙🗡🌹

Tumblr ✷ Twitter ✷ Instagram ✷ TikTok

🎨 Artist and comm. credits are listed on all of the artwork. 💕

Rules and bi-weekly prompts under the break!

RULES:

✷ Participation of each day/prompt is optional!

✷ Ideally, post your art/work on the week of the prompt. However, if you cannot post on time, post whenever you can.

✷ Elriel month will be across Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

✷ If you want to be featured on this blog please tag @elriel-month in your posts so we can reblog them

✷ On Tumblr while posting your piece of work please use the following hashtags: #elrielmonth #elrielmonth24 #elrielmonth2024

✷ No hate or slander towards other characters!

✷ Your submission can be a fanart, fanfics/oneshots, edits, gifset, moodboard, playlist - anything you deem acceptable.

✷ The final prompt is free choice - you can indulge your own prompt or Elriel fantasy!

✷ Be respectful of other people’s work. Do not repost without permission and credit.

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dottielovegood · 14 days

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HEAT (Elriel)

Pairing: Elriel Tags: Smut, omegaverse, praise, maybe a little breeding kink, and more! (see all tags on AO3. And as always, please mind the tags.) Summary: When Elain found out that she was an omega in her mid twenties, she thought that going through heats twice a year was going to be the most horrible part of her new life. But that was before she lost her job, her boyfriend and her home in less than 24 hours.

Suddenly, she found herself desperate for a job - any job - to pay for her new shitty apartment. How lucky for her that her brother in law, Cassian, had a friend that needed help to clean his house. The fact that the friend was an alpha shouldn’t be a problem right? At least, that’s what Elain told herself.

So what if he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen? So what if she wanted to bathe in his scent?

Elain didn’t mix business with pleasure.

…or did she?

OR: What happens when one goes into heat at work and the person you work for is the sexiest alpha on the planet?

───── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────

Read the first chapter on AO3

#elriel #elriel fanfic #elriel fic

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airelementall · 16 days

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Satin and Steel

Chapter 9: Read on AO3

Azriel and Elain have trouble sleeping.

A knight/princess Elriel AU.

#elriel #azriel x elain #elriel fanfic #acotar #pro elriel #pro elain

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duskandcobalt · 1 month

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Everywhere, Everything: Chapter Seven

Chapter Summary: Elain heads back to Velaris for Christmas after rejecting Graysen's marriage proposal.

Word Count: 6.6k

Warnings: mentions of dv (please see authors note below), smattering of smut (18+ pls)

Missed the first six chapters? You can find the Masterlist for this fic here 🥰

A/N: *peaks out from the hole I've been hiding in* heyyyy 😅

Once again, I must begin by saying thank you for all your lovely comments and messages about this fic and all the others. I cannot appreicate how much it means to me. A special thank you to everyone who's checked in with me over the past few months and given me kindess, support, and patience. There are some lovely people on this app and I am so honoured that you choose to read and engage with my fic.

Please note that there is a very brief mention of domestic violence in this chapter within the context of a conversation. If that's something you'd rather skip reading, please feel free to do what's best for you.

ENJOY XX

Read on AO3

The fire was dwindling down, empty cups were scattered on every available surface, Christmas music played over the speakers, and wrapping paper was strewn on the floor of Azriel’s living room.

It’d been a Christmas like all the others - drinking and eating and lots of gifts exchanged, though Nyx had made out the best of anyone, spoiled rotten by all of his aunties and uncles. They’d played a few games, exchanged a bit of gossip about mutual acquaintances, and throughout all the festivities, Azriel had kept a careful eye on Elain.

He watched her now, his brows pulling together above the rim of the whisky glass he’d raised up to his lips. She was sitting quietly in her usual spot on his couch, lazily tracing circles around the rim of her nearly empty wine glass.

There was something different about her tonight that he couldn't quite place but he was determined to figure out. While everyone else had been enjoying themselves, he could sense a peculiar cloud of something sad that seemed to follow Elain around no matter how hard she tried to smile and laugh and pretend like everything was okay when it was clear - to him, at least - that things were far from fine.

His first sign that something was wrong was when Elain had walked into his house earlier, avoiding eye contact and barely even bothering with a proper hug as she muttered a ‘Merry Christmas’ and a ‘thank you for hosting’ all while hiding behind a pile of gifts stacked tall in her arms. Even when she'd come back home with Graysen in tow she hadn't held back from him like that and her iciness had caught him completely off guard.

He’d been so anxious to see her again after all this time, that he hadn’t fully considered the reality of the situation. Azriel knew that the last time they’d seen each other had been tense but it hadn't ended badly by any means. And sure, he hadn't spoken to her properly in well over half a year but she replied to his sparse texts and he still woke up to a voice note from her on his birthday so he’d figured that that had to count for something. That maybe that was to be their new normal. He’d resigned himself to taking what he could get - that’s what he’d told her after all on Nesta’s porch that night. He wanted her in his life in whatever way he could have her.

The second thing to clue him in that something was wrong was that right after she’d placed the presents under the Christmas tree, Elain had made a beeline to the kitchen and poured herself a shot of whatever bottle of alcohol her eyes had landed on first.

It wasn't that he wasn't used to seeing her drink, although she’d certainly never been a drinker in the way the rest of their friend group indulged, but he’d never once seen her drink like this - knocking back shot after shot when she thought no one was watching. It was rare for her to even pour a drink without asking if she could. Almost a decade of knowing her and Elain always asked permission no matter how many times he insisted that she help herself to whatever she wanted.

Azriel had counted at least seven trips to the kitchen tonight - all for a drink, none for food. Even the speciality cheese she adored and that he’d purchased just for her after she confirmed her attendance, sat untouched. But for having downed a minimum of seven drinks, she didn’t really appear to be all that drunk. He had to give her credit because she held her alcohol surprisingly well - the only real give away that she was drunk was a slight stumble as she stood up from the sofa the last time she went to the kitchen and a droop to her eyelids that could be attributed to exhaustion.

Elain had sat quietly most of the night, speaking only when spoken to and channelling most of her attention on Nyx when he’d been awake but now that her nephew was fast asleep on the sofa next to her, Shadow curled up at his feet, she had no real distraction and Azriel watched curiously as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, opening her mouth a dozen times as if to speak only to seemingly decide against it and retreat back into herself.

He’d planned on once again cornering her to try and figure out what the hell was going on and to see if there was absolutely anything he could do to ease whatever clearly ailed her. He’d intended to follow her into the kitchen the next time she went to drown her sorrows but he never got the chance because after a prolonged moment of silence amongst the group - she finally spoke.

Azriel all but froze as Elain cleared her throat and wrung her hands together in her lap, tugging at the sleeves of the long sleeved black top she was wearing. Her empty glass of wine had been carefully placed on the coffee table in front of her.

“Graysen proposed,” she hiccupped, nervously tucking her hair behind her ears as she delivered her news without even a second of preamble.

The two words were softly spoken and she’d said them in one breath with no break in between but Azriel heard her loud and clear.

His stomach dropped, the three or four drinks he’d consumed turned sour in his stomach and did very little to ease the pain of his heart slamming against his chest as Nesta and Feyre began firing off question after question - all of which were ignored by Elain and none of which he could actually hear over the incessant buzzing in his ears.

He prayed that he’d heard her wrong. Prayed that there was no way she’d actually said what he thought she’d said. It wasn’t until he saw Feyre reach for Elain’s left hand that Azriel forced himself to focus, his eyes zeroing in on her fingers - at the vacant space where one would expect to find a ring after an announcement such as the one Elain had just made.

“I said no,” she whispered, catching Feyre’s confused expression as her sister’s index finger slid over Elain’s bare skin.

No.

She’d said no. She’d said no. She’d said no.

Azriel repeated the words to himself over and over again as it was his own personal mantra, drilling it into his head as he finally allowed himself to breathe. He couldn’t look at her face, couldn’t bear to find out what expression he’d find there. All he could do was stare at her hand - at that perfect, unadorned finger - no glimmering diamond to be found.

“A few months ago,” he heard her tell the girls.

“Why’d you say no?” Nesta asked, her voice soft although Azriel could hear the smallest inkling of relief in it that mirrored his own feelings. He wondered if maybe Nesta had seen through Graysen’s facade as well and had quietly hoped that her cousin would come to her senses and leave him.

Azriel tore his attention away from Elain’s fingers and up to her face only to watch as her eyes lifted to meet his for a fleeting moment before she quickly looked away from him and back to Nesta.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “We hadn’t even talked about it and I was caught so off guard. It just didn’t feel right.” She took a deep, staggering breath, Azriel could see the shimmer of tears beginning to well along her lash line. “I don’t think I ever really loved him…. I never really like them all that much.”

She said the last part to herself, a drunken admission whispered to the floor. It was a confession that she’d spent her entire adult life with men that she didn’t even truly care for. Azriel couldn’t bring himself to wonder why she did what she did or why she’d finally admitted it. He wouldn’t let himself consider that maybe she found herself staying in meaningless relationship after meaningless relationship for the same reason he found himself avoiding them all together.

“I think… I think I may need to lay down,” Elain muttered after a moment of tense, awkward silence. It was clear that no one in the room quite knew what to say or do. Feyre and Nesta were staring at her dumbfounded. Cassian and Rhys were exchanging mildly panicked looks as they tried to figure out what to do in this situation. “I feel a little dizzy all of a sudden.”

“Come upstairs,” Azriel was on his feet before he could even think to stop himself, speaking without even consciously meaning to as he bypassed Feyre and Nesta to get to Elain. He stepped forward, one hand outstretched towards her.

He didn't miss the look Feyre gave Nesta. A silent enquiry as to whether they should let him take her upstairs - as if the two of them knew what had happened the last time he and Elain had been left alone on Christmas. Nesta just nodded, one subtle dip of her chin that had Feyre watching in stunned silence as Elain placed her hand in Azriel’s.

Neither of the girls had ever said anything to him about that night other than to acknowledge that Elain had, in fact, flown home the following morning. An emergency at work was the flimsy excuse Nesta had given him the following day when he’d called her and done his best to enquire about Elain’s whereabouts without raising any suspicion.

Azriel carefully pulled Elain up, keeping her hand in his as his other arm wrapped around her waist to keep her upright as he slowly and carefully led her up his stairs, guiding her to the guest room a couple doors down from his own bedroom.

He flipped back the duvet and sat her down on the bed. He could feel her eyes on him as she silently watched him lower himself to his knees so he could unzip her boots and slide them off her feet.

“Lay back,” he tapped gently on her calf, hands hovering around her in case she needed help.

“Not the first time you’ve said that to me,” Elain quipped, flopping back in a less than graceful manner before turning onto her side to face him. There was the tiniest smirk on her lips, the smallest bit of amusement shining in her sad eyes. He almost found himself smiling at the drunken comment until her expression changed, those pretty lips of hers turning down at the corners.

“Az.. will you stay with me? After everyone goes?”

Azriel grimaced, ignoring the pull from the part of his heart that was ready and willing to bend to her every whim. “I can’t, Elain.”

“Why?” Her eyebrows pulled together to create a small crease on her forehead. He fought the urge to reach out and smooth away that visible line of tension with a gentle pass of his thumb. “You always used to stay with me.”

“It’s different now,” he exhaled, shoulders dropping as he absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair. “You’re not mine, Elain.”

“That’s not true,” Elain frowned, fighting to keep her eyes open. “I’ve always been yours.” She said it with every bit of drunken sincerity in the world, whispered soft and sweet even as she lost the battle to sleep and her eyes began to flutter shut.

Her words were like a knife to his heart. He knew she never would’ve said it if the amount of alcohol in her bloodstream didn’t outweigh her good senses. He had no idea whether she’d even remember any of this in the morning.

“Why did you stay with him? If you didn’t love him? If you didn’t like any of the others? Why would you stay with them?” Azriel couldn’t help but ask, going against his better judgement to seek an explanation for the questions that had haunted him for years even if he knew that whatever answer she gave him, it was unlikely to offer him any semblance of peace.

“It’s easier to pretend if there’s someone else,” Elain’s hands came up to her throat, her fingertips mindlessly searching for something. She frowned when she came up empty, her nails digging into the space between her collarbones instead. The sight unsettled Azriel enough to momentarily distract him from what she’d just said.

The necklace he’d given her on her birthday a few years ago, the one she’d worn religiously every day since, the one that tethered her to him, was missing from her neck and it was like a punch to his gut.

“The chain broke,” Elain whispered, having followed his line of sight to where he’d been openly staring at the place the gold pendant had sat against her skin for half a decade. “It’s in my bag, I was hoping you’d be able to fix it.”

Azriel nodded, relieved that she hadn’t actually taken the necklace off herself. He stood there, arms hanging uselessly at his side for a couple more seconds until her eyelids drifted shut once again. He walked towards the door, deciding to let her sleep this off, but he paused before he could leave, turning towards her once more.

He thought maybe he was a sadist because asking these questions, pushing for these answers, would only serve to expand that ever growing crack in his heart. Still, he couldn't seem to help himself.

“Lain?” Part of him hoped that she’d already drifted off to sleep, that she wouldn’t answer and he wouldn’t get to ask his question and have to hear her response..

“Yeah, Az?” The corner of her eyes crinkled as she looked at him, squinting.

“What did you mean?” He asked. “When you said it’s easier to pretend?”

She paused for a moment, teeth scraping over her bottom lip as she turned so she was on her back, her eyes focused on the ceiling.

“When I’m with someone else,” she started, voice so quiet that he had to strain to hear her over the music carrying up the stairs and under the gap in the door. “It’s easier to distract myself from the fact that sometimes I want you so badly, I think it might kill me.”

The ache in his chest was so sharp and so immediate that he had to grip the handle on the door harder just to feel like he had some sort of control over his body. He had no idea what to do with that information. Had no idea what to say back. He’d waited what felt like a lifetime to hear her say those words to him, he’d just never imagined that it would be so painful.

He couldn’t speak, could barely even remember his name. He hadn’t realised how long he’d been silent until he noticed that she’d fallen asleep, her head now tilted towards him.

Azriel set his shoulders and backed out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. He took a deep breath, pushing back every bit of emotion that he felt, before slowly making his way back downstairs.

Elain stuck an arm out from under the covers, her fingers blindly reaching to her nightstand for her phone. It wasn’t until she felt the sharp corner of a wooden surface instead of the rounded edge of her own bedside table that she realised that she wasn’t at home in her own bed. She peeked out from under the covers, taking in her surroundings with one blurry eye.

Light was beginning to filter in through a pair of cream curtains covering a rather large window. The bed she was in was comfy and not completely unfamiliar, the bed linen looked similar to a set that she’d helped Azriel choose back when they’d gone shopping for…

“Fuck,” Elain groaned, sitting up and dragging her hands over her face.

She wasn’t at home. She wasn’t in her designated room at her sister’s house. No - she’d been fast asleep in Azriel’s guest bedroom.

It didn’t take much to figure out just how she’d ended up here. The pounding in her head and the dryness in her mouth were enough to tell her that she’d maybe taken it a little too far with the alcohol last night.

She’d started drinking before they’d even left Feyre’s, just a couple of glasses while getting ready that she told herself were for liquid courage. She’d known the second that they pulled into Azriel’s driveway that she’d need far more to get through seeing him again under a whole new set of circumstances that only she was privy to and so she’d thrown caution to the wind and had been throwing back drinks any chance she got.

She really hadn’t even been planning on telling anyone about the proposal but after an hour or so of drinking, she’d felt the urge to say it - to let them know what had happened. To let them know she and Graysen were done. Elain couldn’t remember much past the moment she’d drunkenly blurted out the news.. she remembered Feyre and Nesta’s surprised faces and the faraway look on Azriel’s face when she’d dared to glance at him but everything past that moment seemed to be a blur.

If she really tried to push for details, she could vaguely remember being helped up the stairs because she was too far gone to manage on her own but that was all her hungover brain could string together.

“Lain?” The low register of Azriel’s morning voice rumbled through the door as a knock lightly sounded on the surface. “You up? Can I come in?”

“Yeah, come in!” She called back, wincing at how sore her voice sounded in her ears.

Elain sat up, quickly running a hand through her tangled hair as she propped up a pillow behind her and let the duvet fall to her waist. It was so much colder in this room than she’d expected and she didn’t fully register why until Azriel walked in.

“Morning, how you feeling? I brought some -” he’d been halfway through his sentence, sleepy eyes scanning over her until they widened at the exact same time the tips of his ears went red.

She’d lost her top at some point during the night - something she hadn’t realised until the cold morning air had hit her bare skin. Azriel turned around quickly, the glass of water in his hand sloshing over slightly with the speed at which he averted his gaze. “Fuck. Sorry! I thought.. You said to come in and I thought… fuck .”

Elain quickly tugged the sheets back up to her chin, fighting the urge to pull them over her head altogether and suffocate herself from embarrassment. Twice now, she’d woken up in Azriel’s house on the day after Christmas naked in one of his beds. Maybe next year she’d check off the last remaining room.

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t even realise I - wait, you can turn around…” she fumbled with her words, watching as he slowly turned to face her. His cheeks were pink and the hand that wasn’t cradling a glass of water and an entire pack of headache tablets came up to fidget with the worn neck of the old t-shirt he’d chucked on this morning. “I always get so hot at night and I usually sleep with a fan and I just must’ve… taken it off. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I should’ve gotten you a change of clothes but I didn’t want to…” he trailed off, coming closer to hand her the water as he opened up the packet of tablets and slipped out a few. “I barely saw anything, if that helps.”

Elain took the tablets from him. “Barely anything, huh?”

She took a small bit of satisfaction from the way he frowned in confusion before he caught on, the blush that had finally subsided from his cheeks came back full force.

“ Not what I meant,” Azriel shook his head, raking a hand through his hair as she tossed back the tablets. “There’s plenty to see… just the right amount.”

“I’d stop speaking now if I were you,” Elain rolled her eyes. “Thank you for the tablets and the water and for letting me stay the night.”

“It’s nothing,” Azriel shrugged, gingerly sitting on the very edge of the bed. His eyes scanned over her again, lingering on the bare skin of her shoulder that had escaped the cover of the duvet before they slid to her fingers and then back up to her face. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Could be better,” she answered, realising that she hadn’t actually gotten around to responding the first time he’d asked her. “Can’t drink like I used to, I suppose.”

“You’ve never drank like that, Lain.” Azriel chuckled. “I think that’s part of the problem.”

He was right. She was notoriously a lightweight when it came to alcohol and had never needed more than four or five drinks before she was just the right amount of drunk.

“A shower and some food and I’ll feel brand new,” she sighed.

“I’ll grab you a towel and some clothes,” he nodded, fingers mindlessly tapping at his knee. “Have a shower and come down, I’ll make you some breakfast and then if you’re up for it we can go over to the studio and I’ll fix your necklace. Fresh air might do you some good.”

“You don’t have to do that, Az. I’ll call Feyre to pick me up and get out of your way.” Elain started to look around for where she might’ve tossed her top, suddenly anxious that she’d been here too long. That she was eating into his day, once again taking up time that she didn’t deserve.

“I know that I don’t have to, Elain. I want to.” He insisted, voice gentle as ever as he looked over at her. “You aren’t in my way.”

Elain didn’t say anything, just looked down at her lap as he stood up, adjusting the waistband of the plaid pajama pants he had on. “Chocolate chip or blueberry?”

“What?”

“Pancakes,” Azriel clarified, a shy grin on his lips. “Chocolate chip or blueberry?”

“Blueberry, please.” Elain couldn’t help but mirror her grin, especially when her stomach audibly grumbled at the mere mention of food.

An hour or so later, Elain sat quietly, perched on a bench top in Azriel’s workshop. She was warm from the scorching shower she’d taken and clothed in an assortment of clothes that he’d handed her with a towel this morning - his shirt, his sweatpants… a lacy pair of underwear she recognised as the ones she hadn’t bothered to search for when she’d snuck out of his house the previous year.

She watched him as he took a seat, sliding a frame of protective glasses over his eyes before he fired up a small torch. He situated himself, leaning forward as he began to carefully solder Elain’s necklace back together.

She told herself she was just watching a master at work but her attention had drifted from the actual work being done to focus on the movement of his deft fingers, the shifting muscles of his strong back and shoulders. She studied the side of his face - the slope of his nose, the concentrated furrow of his brows, the way his lips pressed together as he worked.

She didn’t realise just how intensely she’d been staring at him until she found herself looking into his actual eyes rather than just his side profile. Elain quickly sat up straight, rolling her shoulders as she lowered her eyes and tried to keep her cheeks from flooding with colour.

“You said the necklace broke while you were changing,” Azriel stood up, pushing his glasses back, using them like a headband to keep his thick hair off of his forehead. It was ridiculous that he managed to look good even like that.

“The way the chain was broken,” he spoke carefully as he approached her. “It didn’t look like a simple snag, it looked like there was some force behind it.

Elain swallowed, her cheeks now burning for an entirely different reason. She turned to look out of the window to her right, pretending to watch the snow as it drifted lazily from the cold, gray sky.

“Lain?” Azriel tried again. He was standing in front of her now, just inches from her knees. “How did the necklace really break?”

Elain paused, unsure how to proceed or what to even say. She couldn’t lie to him. Not again. She’d told herself in the shower this morning - after she’d had a small cry and wallowed in self pity - that this needed to be a new start, that she couldn’t keep shutting him out. Especially now that she no longer had the excuse of having a boyfriend in the picture.

“Graysen… he didn’t like the necklace very much,” she started. “He always had an issue with it, even before he met you. He didn’t like that I never took it off or that it was from a friend . It only got worse after he came home with me and saw us and then when I… when he proposed and I said no, he said that if I didn’t want to accept the ring, I needed to take off the necklace. I guess to prove that I cared about him even if I didn’t want to marry him just yet.”

“You didn’t take the necklace off,” Azriel stated, eyes boring into her even though she couldn’t quite bring herself to look back at him.

“I couldn’t do it,” Elain’s voice shook slightly as she thought back to that night. “He obviously wasn’t happy with my choice and so he just… he reached forward and pulled it off of me.”

Elain’s eyes were shut, her heart racing at the memory of how she’d felt that night. How alone she’d been, how momentarily afraid. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Azriel that she’d woken to a small, raised scar on the side of her neck the next morning. She hadn’t realised that she’d been crying until Azriel’s hand cupped her face, the rough pad of his thumb gently sweeping across her cheek to brush away hot tears.

“I’m so sorry,” she mumbled.

“What are you apologising for?” Azriel asked.

She could hear the restraint in his voice, the underlying anger that he carried on her behalf.

“I don’t know,” Elain finally looked at him, giving him a sad smile. “I’ve just been so awful to you for so long now.”

“You haven’t,” he assured her. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Lain. I just hope you know that how he acted - pulling this off of you - that’s not okay. You didn’t deserve that.”

“I shouldn’t have led him on…” she shook her head. “I wasted his time. I wasted yours… he was right to be angry with me.”

“Look at me,” Azriel demanded, palm sliding from her cheek down to her jaw so that he could tilt her face up towards his. “None of that matters.”

“It does though because I -”

“Elain, did he ever…” Elain’s eyes travelled to the clench of his jaw, the way his throat flexed as he trailed off. “If he put his hands on you…”

“No, Az.” Elain lifted her hand up to cover his where it still cradled her face. “There were words occasionally and he’d… when we… never mind,” she blushed, swallowing away the bitterness at remembering what the sex had been like after an argument or whenever he’d been jealous. “It was never… he never hit me.” She said finally.

Elain studied Azriel’s face carefully. Let him see that she was okay. That the only marker that anything had happened was a broken necklace that was easily mended.

She knew where his mind had gone - knew his fears of her being treated the same way his mother had been treated.

He’d confided in her years ago - told her about what he’d witnessed growing up and the anger he felt towards the man he didn’t even care to call father. Explained how ashamed he felt at being too small to really be able to do anything to help.

Elain couldn’t bear the thought of him feeling like that again. Certainly not over her.

“Azriel,” she squeezed his fingers to get his full attention. “He didn’t hurt me. I promise.”

“Okay,” he nodded eventually, worried eyes meeting hers for one more moment as if to confirm that she was in fact unharmed before he leaned back and picked up her necklace from where he’d sat it on the bench next to her hip. “Here, just like new.”

Elain didn’t reach for the necklace, instead she just gave him a shy smile and echoed the question she’d asked him when he first presented her with this necklace all those years ago. “Put it on me?”

Azriel returned her smile with one just as shy, waiting as she gathered her hair and twisted it up to move it out of the way. His hands slipped around her neck, the chain cold against her skin.

Azriel’s head dipped so that he could see what he was doing, his cheek skimming her hair as he took his time fastening the necklace. She’d missed the feeling, the reassuarance that the small bit of gold nestled against her chest provided her.

“Last night… Did you mean what you said?” His question was so quiet, half hushed by the way his face was tilted into her hair.

“Oh god,” she groaned, dread seeping through her veins.

She’d been wondering all morning what had happened last night, had been trying to fill in the blanks between the bits she could remember… which wasn’t all that much. She was scared to even ask - afraid to know all the ways she might’ve embarrassed herself the previous night. “I don’t really remember what was said, to be honest.”

He finally pulled back and straightened up, hands reaching forward to gently maneuver the necklace until it sat just right around her neck. Each brush of his fingers against her skin made her shiver in a way that she couldn’t possibly hide from him.

The way that he was looking at her certainly didn’t help. Neither did the drag of his thumb against her neck, right over a pulsing vein that gave away her racing heart.

“Right,” Azriel gave her a nervous smile that made her stomach drop in anticipation. “When Nesta asked you why you said no…”

“I do remember that part,” she cut him off, unable to bear hearing it again although she knew it could only get worse.

“Well, when it was just us upstairs, after you’d asked me to stay -”

“Jesus, Az, I’m sorry -”

“Not something to apologise for,” the fingers of his other hand tapped out a pattern on her knee that caused yet another shiver to zip up her spine. “I asked you why you stayed with Graysen or with any of the others if you didn’t even actually like them and you told me that it was easier to do that than admit that you, um… wanted me.”

Elain bit the inside of her cheek as she glanced away from him yet again.

“Is that true?” Azriel prodded her for an answer and when she found the courage to look at him again, the look in his eyes, the unmistakable heat, threatened to stop her heart altogether.

“What happens if I say yes?” She felt breathless, a little dizzy. Just like she felt a year ago when she’d been in a very similar situation - sat on a countertop, Azriel standing in between her knees. Their entire world balancing on a precipice.

She wasn’t sure when she’d started to lean into his touch. Couldn’t pinpoint when her face had moved so close to his that his nose practically grazed hers. She had no way to tell if he had leaned down or if she had keened upwards, her body arching up to him like a flower seeking the sun. She didn’t know when any of it had happened but she didn’t fight it as her eyes fluttered shut and her lips parted in anticipation.

Waiting. Wanting.

He didn’t answer her, only smoothed his thumb over her throat once more before repeating his own question. “Is it true, Elain?”

“Yes,” she breathed, her voice verging on desperation.

Azriel swallowed once, eyes tracing a slow path from her eyes to her lips before he answered her with action.

Their lips met, clumsily at first though they fell into rhythm quickly, muscle memory kicking in as their mouths came together in a way that bordered on frantic. Her hands tangled in his hair while his ventured to her waist, pulling her into him while simultaneously pushing her further back onto the workbench until she was practically flat against it, his body pressing hers down.

“Elain…” Azriel’s voice was almost pained as he said her name, his lips coasting along her jaw, a different kind of restraint in his tone than the restraint he’d spoken with a few minutes before.

“Please,” she all but whimpered, desperate to feel his lips on hers again.

“Can’t do this if you’re going to run again afterwards, Elain.” He told her, his hands still wandering, sliding under the soft fabric of the shirt she wore. His shirt.

“I mean… my flight is booked for tomorrow,” she couldn’t help but joke, squealing and squirming as his fingers pressed into her side as punishment.

“S’not funny,” he grumbled.

“Sorry, sorry…” she schooled her face into a serious expression. “I do have to go tomorrow but it won’t be because of this, Az. Not this time. I promise.”

“We have a lot of talking to do,” Azriel told her, all the while his hands travelled further up her torso until his fingers grazed the soft skin of her breasts.

Just that slight touch had her tugging him down towards her as she leaned further back once more, presenting herself to him. His for the taking.

“Later,” she told him. “Talk later.”

She knew it was stupid - to once again go down this route without having properly spoken about what they were doing. What this was. If it was even anything. All she knew was that she was tired of pretending. Tired of being afraid of the unknowns, of the what ifs. She wished she had any idea how this would all end, how it would play out. But that was a conversation for another day. Right now, all she wanted, all she needed , was this.

“Later,” Azriel agreed, smiling into the crook of her neck before coming back up to kiss her again. This time it was unrushed, almost lazy. He took his time familiarising himself with her mouth the same way he took his time circling her nipples with his thumbs. She moaned into his mouth - half at the blissful feeling of his hands on her skin, half at the memory of what that same motion had felt like when he’d slid his hand up under her skirt the last time they’d done this.

“Always want you like this,” she admitted, mind hazy as his mouth travelled down her neck and over her sternum as he pushed up her t-shirt until his lips were on the bare skin of her stomach.

“Yeah?” his fingers tucked into the waistband of her sweatpants, tugging them down as she lifted her hips to aid in the process. Her underwear was pulled to the side, his fingers gliding over her entirely too easily with how wet she was for him. She heard him swear under his breath, in awe at his effect on her.

“Always,” she reiterated, gasping as he slowly slid a finger inside her. “For you. Always like this for you. Az, please can we just -”

She was speaking complete gibberish, anxious to get what she’d been coveting all this time even if she hadn’t wanted to admit it to herself. She didn’t want to waste any more time.

“Don’t have a condom with me,” he told her with a kiss to the inside of her thigh as he continued to touch her. She was distracted from her disappointment when he added another finger - tested the stretch of her.

“You don’t have any here?” The lack of a condom hadn’t been an issue last time but it had been a year and she knew Azriel had a rotation of girls that he occasionally saw so when he didn’t follow up with a but I haven’t been with anyone, she didn’t let herself linger on it for too long.

“Don’t really make it a habit to have sex in my workplace very often, or ever, to be honest. Safety concerns and all…” he trailed off, his breath hot over where she ached for his touch. “So this might just have to do for now, wanna make you co-”

His words were cut off by a shrill ring from somewhere besides them.

“Ignore it,” she told him, hips tilting up in search of more as she flung a hand out to the side in search of her phone. Her fingers blindly fumbled on the screen until the ringing stopped.

Azriel continued, fingers curling in just the right way as he circled her clit with his tongue - ever so slowly bringing her closer and closer to the edge.

“Az, oh my God, I think, I think -” Elain gasped, grasping at his hair. She wanted to tell him she was close, to not stop, that she was going to come. But the shrill ring of her phone sounded again, effectively ruining the moment.

“You should probably get that,” Azriel reluctantly pulled away, fingers slipping out of her. He sighed deeply, forehead resting against her bare thigh as she reached for her phone and glanced at the screen.

Two missed calls and fourteen unread texts. If it wasn’t for previous trauma of missed calls and texts, she might’ve let it go and urged Azriel to continue. She tapped on the screen a little harder than necessary.

“Hello, Nesta.” Elain huffed as she sat up, gently pushing Azriel away as she adjusted her underwear and pulled her pants up and her shirt back down.

Azriel grinned, shamelessly watching as Elain made herself decent to speak to her sister while she tried to pretend like she hadn’t been splayed out on his workbench half naked, with his mouth in between her thighs mere moments ago.

“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been texting you all morning, it’s almost one in the afternoon. I’m glad to know you’re alive.” Nesta rattled off, exasperated. “Azriel wasn’t answering his phone either.”

“I’m alive. I’m with him. I’ll be home soon.” Elain’s words were short. She couldn’t keep the annoyance out of her voice at having their time so rudely interrupted.

She knew the moment was over, that she’d need to go back to her sisters and explain herself. God knows they’d be anxiously waiting for answers now that she’d sobered up. But her disappointment faded because the way Azriel was watching her with bright, happy eyes and lips swollen from kissing her more than made up for it.

She half listened to whatever Nesta was saying, too focused on the man in front of her - his dark, messy hair. His broad shoulders and strong arms. His calloused hands. All those tattoos that snaked up his arms and over his chest - old, familiar ones and a few new pieces that she longed to learn about. His enviably long eyelashes. Those kind emerald flecked eyes.

This was Azriel. Her Azriel. Her best friend.

How could she have ever thought this was anything but exactly right?

#elriel fic #everywhere everything #my writing #elain x azriel #modern au #acotar fanfiction #elriel fanfic #elriel smut #once again posting at 1am on a work night #oh well what can ya do #overlook any and all mistakes actually that’s what you can do #no one yell at my girl nesta #shes simply concerned for her sisters wellbeing #the chapter in which elain and azriel find at least one singular braincell to share between them #i say this with love #okay bye its bedtime

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