#My Heart's Delight (aes tag)

[ghoul-slime]

Mushy May Day 6 & 7 - You're Blushing & Gift Giving (Aether/Dew)

Did a little bit of prompt combining and swapping this time around! Thank you again @forlorn-crows for organizing this. Normally writing challenges are really hard for me, but I'm having SO much fun with this one. And thank you @ghuleh-recs for the adorable dividers!

Day 6 & 7 - You're Blushing & Gift giving, Aether/Dew, no warnings, 1426 words

PS - See the end of the work for notes/photos of what Aether and Dew got for each other!

It’s their summoning day - eight whole years since the day Aether and Dew were summoned together straight from the Pit to serve the ministry. As with all summoning days, the pack throws a huge party, inviting all the ghouls and siblings in the abbey to celebrate. Papa even makes an appearance to toast his two longest-serving band ghouls.

It’s a huge party, full of food lovingly prepared by Mountain and tasty cocktails served up by Sunny and Aurora. Swiss has appointed himself DJ for the night, knowing just what to play to keep everyone in the mood to party. There’s even a cake, and later, the pack goes around the room one by one, each giving Aether and Dew a thoughtful little gift. 

Finally, the night grows late and the celebrations begin to wind down, and Aether and Dew excuse themselves after exchanging a final round of bear hugs and big, wet kisses (Phantom is definitely not drunk, thank you) with the other members of the pack before heading back to their shared room.

They always wait to exchange their gifts for each other in private, a tradition they started just one year after their joint summoning. The same year they promised themselves to each other as mates.

As soon as their door is closed, however, Dew’s mood shifts. He seems anxious, eyes immediately darting over to the brown paper gift bag he’d set on the nightstand with Aether’s name written carefully across the tag.

“Can you go first?” Dew asks, uncharacteristically reserved. 

Aether smiles, unsure as to why the normally confident little fire ghoul might be so nervous, and passes his gift over. It’s wrapped simply in white paper with a red bow on top and the tag says “Dew,” with a little heart drawn next to it. Dew takes it and carefully tears into one of the corners of the paper with a claw.

“You didn’t!” Dew exclaims, immediately recognizing the mystery object. He rips through the rest of the wrapping with abandon and pulls out a hefty box set of DVDs in smart, red packaging.

“I did!” Aether beams, proud of himself and delighting in the way Dew is already ripping off the cellophane and flipping through the sizable book of disks with a massive grin on his pretty face. “Couldn’t have us running out of movies to watch on kung-fu night, now could we?”

“Yes!! You’re the best, Aeth!” Dew exclaims with delight, throwing his arms around the quintessence ghoul and showering his face in kisses. “Gotta pace ourselves this time though. We watched them all way too fast last time.” He looks back at Aether with wide, expectant eyes.

Aether nods in agreement and presses a kiss to Dew’s forehead. Happy that his nerves seemed to have calmed for the time being and ecstatic that Dew loves his gift so much.

Dew flips through the disks for another few moments, rattling off all the titles he’s most excited to see. Finally, he sets his gift down and reaches for the bag he has waiting on the nightstand.

“Ok, my turn,” he says, and all but shoves the gift straight into Aether’s chest.

Aether takes the bag and contemplates the little ghoul for a moment.

“You’re blushing,” he informs him, matter-of-factly.

Dew’s head whips up.

“Um, I am definitely not blushing,” he answers with an indignant little pout. 

“No, no. You are definitely blushing,” Aether assures him. “Should I be worried about what’s in this thing?” he teases, holding the bag up next to his ear and shaking it gently.

“Oh my god just open it already before I change my mind and throw it out the damn window,” Dew barks, blushing harder.

Aether leans over to kiss the other ghoul on the lips apologetically before turning his attention back to the gift bag in his lap. He carefully takes out the tissue paper and reaches in, pulling out what looks to be a large, leather-bound book. 

Dew holds his breath.

Aether sets the gift wrap aside to inspect the book, turning it over in his hands. It’s heavy, hand-bound in a supple black leather with a beautifully embossed crescent moon in the center of the cover. Below the moon are two alchemical symbols, also embossed, one for fire and one for quintessence, and around the edges and corners is an elaborate, twisting geometric design. Aether turns the book over in his hands. Along the spine are four brass rivets and in the center, a beautiful piece of brass antique hardware with scalloped edges and a natural patina. 

Aether flips the book’s cover open. There he finds beautifully hand-marbled paper with a bright purple scalloped pattern. There’s a hand-stamped bookplate affixed to the inner cover too, a black and white image of a crescent moon surrounded by a sky of stars, reading ex libris in Latin across the top. On the bottom someone has written “A+D” with a calligraphy pen. And finally, hanging inside and bound into the spine is a thin, black leather bookmark with a tiny brass star charm matching the look of the hardware on the spine. 

It’s absolutely beautiful and like nothing Aether has ever seen before. But despite the antique look of the book, it smells brand new. 

“Dew, did you make this?” Aether looks up at the fire ghoul in awe, mouth agape as he realizes.

Dew’s still blushing, and he reaches to rub the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Yeah… Mountain helped me with it. Showed me how to emboss the leather and bind all the pages together and everything.” He looks up at Aether. “I messed up a bunch though, so it’s not perfect or anything,” he explains, still rubbing the back of his neck. “I wanted to make a more elaborate bookplate too, but I ran out of time because I kept fucking up the paper marbling…” he trails off.

“There’s uh.. There’s more too.” He starts again. “If you open it.”

Aether carefully opens the book again, this time to the first proper page, where he’s greeted by a collage of photos, little pieces of paper, and other flat objects, lovingly and meticulously affixed to the pages. The first photo is of Aether and Dew, way back on their very first day in the band together. The very first day they met. They stand side by side, not close enough to touch, silver masks pulled over their faces and obscuring their expressions. Dew stands rigid straight with his chest puffed out and his bass strapped across his front. Aether looms tall next to him, shiny new black Fantomen guitar in his hands.

Aether flips through the book and sees their entire history laid out in front of him. Photos of Dew slouched over, fast asleep in his seat on the tour bus. Aether caught with a mouth full of ramen noodles at a restaurant in Tokyo. There are more than just photos too. A pair of their first guitar picks, lovingly used and placed beside each other. A pressed flower, the first flower Aether playfully passed over to Dew after catching it from an audience member. There are little scraps of paper torn from hotel room notepads with silly drawings on them. Pamphlets from tourist traps that Dew insisted they stop at while on the road. A menu from their favorite taco spot in Mexico City. Pages and pages of photos and objects full of cherished memories. 

An archive of them.

Aether can’t find the words, so Dew breaks the silence. “I only filled it halfway… since I figured we’ve got so much more to add in the future.”

Aether makes a choked sound, and Dew looks up at him for the first time since he opened the gift.

“You’re crying.” Dew informs him, a smug little grin creeping across his face. 

Aether sniffles. “No I am not…” 

“Ok, fine. Maybe I am a little bit,” he immediately concedes, wiping away the tears that start to stream down his cheeks. 

Aether sets his precious gift down on the bed and pulls Dew in for a hug, wraps his arms tight around the little ghoul and presses kisses and happy tears into the top of his head.

“Thank you, Dew,” he says after a while of holding his favorite ghoul in the world tight in his arms. “I love it so much, I don’t even know what to say.”

Dew reaches up and pulls Aether down for a kiss. He doesn’t even know why he was nervous at all in the first place.

Dew's gift. What I based Aether's book on, what the marbled paper looks like, and examples of what a bookplate looks like!

[sarahjswift]

Twin Wounds Chapter 7

Don't hate me!! I know it's been a while since Twin Wounds have been updated but I was kind of at a loss for what to write. Then I started my new fanfic and I got inspo for this one lol

Warnings: Language, Verbal Abuse/Manipulation, Mentions of Eating Disorders

Word Count: 1.3k

Tag List <3: @backtobl4ck, @aelinchocolatelover, @blue-bird17, @renxzs, and new member *drumroll*...@autumnbabylon! tysm <3

Okay, I hope you enjoy this episode! IWHAIWSA update coming soon :D

__

Three weeks after Aelin arrived at the Center, Rowan had only just seen her eat more than a small portion of food. 

He watched her eat - slowly but surely - a tray of mashed potatoes and fried chicken. Honestly, it looked pretty terrible, but he was just happy to see her eating. 

“This is amazing,” Eillia breathed beside him. As the nurse mainly stationed to Aelin, she’d voiced her concerns on Aelin’s food intake over these few weeks. After scheduling Aelin for some physical activities, she was finally hungry enough to eat. 

“You were right. Thank you, Rowan.” Eillia’s eyes were wet as she turned to the therapist, squeezing his arm. Rowan’s calculations had been correct - Aelin wasn’t trying to starve herself, she just didn’t have an appetite. After enough physical strain, she would finally regain that. 

“But - how did you know this wasn’t a case of an ED?” the nurse asked, frowning. 

Rowan looked at the beautiful woman sipping from a milk carton and smiled slightly. “I once felt that way.” 

___

“I cannot believe you,” Aelin grumbled into the phone. Her cousin’s laugh sounded through the receiver, and she glared at the wall.

Aedion still hadn’t picked her up, no matter that he’d said two weeks here and she’d be done. His feeble excuse, made a week ago, still rang in her mind - “I’m sorry, Ae. I just…you sound so much better. A few more weeks? Please?”

“Chill, cousin.” Aelin couldn’t help but smile faintly at the sound of laughter in her cousin’s voice. She hadn’t heard that - at least around her - in a year. “I’m coming to visit tomorrow.”

Aelin almost dropped the phone. “What?? You are?” 

“Yeah, I figured I’d drop by.”

Her joy over her cousin coming was quickly replaced with anger. “What, so you could’ve come to visit me this whole time and you just decided not to? What the fuck??”

Aedion gave a long-suffering sigh that made Aelin grind her teeth. “Yes, I could’ve, but I wanted you to adjust - give you time to make some friends.”

“I’m not your fucking kid, Aedion. I don’t need your help making friends!” 

“Well, it’s also a long drive away from my house!”

“Ah yes, one long suffering hour away from your fucking mansion. I guess one hour is too far to see your cousin who is fucking stuck in a rehab center!”

“Alright, cool it on the cursing.” Aelin snorted - he was one to talk. “I’m sorry. It was shitty. But I’m excited to see you?”

The nervousness of the last sentence made her heart soften - ever so slightly - and she loosed a breath and leaned against the wall. “Yeah, okay. That’ll be nice. And by the way…I have made some friends.” 

“Oh? Who?”

“Well, I go everywhere with my therapy group - like we go to lunch together, yoga, outside and shit. So it’s kind of hard to not..make friends. I’m closest to these two women, Lysandra and Elide. Selmer and Luca are both nice but they mostly hang out with Tiela, who…kind of hates me.”

“Why - do I even want to know?”

“Shut up, asshat.” Aedion laughed, and Aelin smiled too. Time to give her cousin all of the pretty little details. 

___

“How are things with Remelle?” 

Rowan shot his friend a look. Lorcan was deadlifting 500 pounds, and he gave a dark grin, his face red from exertion. 

“Fine,” Rowan gritted out. He was rowing 3,000 meters on the rowing machine, an exhausting workout. 

“Who is Remelle?” Fenrys gasped with delight. He had finished his workout and was stretching in the corner. The three men were in their usual spot at their gym that everyone knew was theirs. Even the strongest clients didn’t use their claimed spots. 

“This bitch Rowan’s sleeping with,” Lorcan informed him, doing another set of lifting. 

Rowan paused his rowing and glared at him. “That’s such a terrible thing to say, first of all. Don’t say bitch when describing a woman, please.” 

“Yeah, that’s lame, man,” Fenrys echoed, frowning. Lorcan shrugged, keeping his eyes over their heads. “Rowan, you give me the details.” 

Rowan sighed and glanced at his meter: 2,834 miles. That would have to do. He walked over to a bench, legs trembling, and collapsed. After gulping down some water, he began to fill Fenrys in. 

After he was done, Fenrys looked disturbed, not delighted like he usually was. “Rowan, my dude,” he began. “This girl sounds..not great.”

“Ah-ha! That’s what I said!” Lorcan near-shouted, grinning. He had finished his workout and was currently unloading the weights from his bar. 

Rowan pinched the bridge of his nose. Lorcan he didn’t care about, but Fenrys? The man knew how a woman’s mind worked, a skill Rowan wished he acquired himself. “Is she really that bad?” he asked weakly, hating the babish pain in his voice. 

His friends must have heard it too, as their faces softened and they sat on either side of him. “Look,” Fenrys began, then hesitated. “I know you’ve only had short flings since..”

Rowan felt his stomach empty out and a small ringing sound began screaming in his ear. He could feel his hands tremble and he squeezed them together, trying to focus on Fenrys’ words.

“...since, you know. And that’s totally fine - they were harmless. But this? This doesn’t feel good for you, for your health and your wallet.” 

Rowan looked at his friends and nodded slowly. “All right. I’ll break it off.” 

___

Me: Hey, can we talk?

Remelle: my shift isn’t over for 3 hrs can u just text? 

Me: I can wait

Me: That sounded weird I’m not going to kill you it’s just important

Remelle: k c u there babes. Kisses

Me: Uh, kisses

Remelle: old man lmao

___

It was eleven at night, and Rowan was pacing in a deserted parking lot. Not the way he wanted to spend the night, but oh well. 

He loosed a sigh of relief as he spotted Remelle strutting toward him, in her usual outfit. She giggled when she saw him, skipping up to him and pressing a kiss to his lips. “Hi muscles,” she said sweetly, batting her lashes. “What brings you here this fine evening?”

Rowan attempted a smile - but from Remelle’s expression, it was probably more of a grimace. “I wanted to talk.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Well, obvi. What’s up?”

Rowan hesitated. He fucking hated this part. “I..I don’t think this is working.”

Remelle sucked in a sharp breath and took a step back from him. He didn’t dare look up to see her expression, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he hastily continued. “I-I really do like you but I don’t think this relationship is healthy for either of us-”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Remelle interrupted. “Relationship?” She let out a laugh. “Oh my Gods, who told you that we’re in a relationship? This was nothing more than release for me.” 

Rowan felt mortification burn through him. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry. I just, I don’t think me giving you money is appropriate-”

“Oh my fucking Gods!” Remelle’s voice was shrill. “I’m a student! You’ve got a ton of money - honestly, that’s really shitty of you to say that. You think because you’ve given me money you own me?” 

Rowan coughed, his face burning, and he started as Remelle grabbed his face and forced him to meet her gaze. Her face was twisted with hate, and he felt his chest grow tight as her grip on his face tightened to the point of pain. “You,” she snarled, drawing her nails down his cheeks, “are such a piece of shit.”

“I-I know…I’m so sorry.” He felt nothing but shame now, shame and misery and she held him in a chokehold. At his words, she released him and he wheeled back. 

“It’s okay, Muscles. I forgive you,” she said sweetly, the beauty returning to her face. He felt relief at her words; She forgave me. It’s okay, she’s not mad anymore. 

Remelle hugged him, kissing him deeply. “C’mon. Let’s go find your car.” 

[ink-fireplace-coffee]

Motivating Monday Writeblrs Recs

(because I love my friends and everyone deserves to know them)

Today I want to make this huge list of writeblrs I know (maybe for a long time, maybe we just met) and who have literally made my days a hundred times better just for existing and sharing their wips with us!

(attention: this list might be long because I love a lot of people and I will forget a lot of people probably, but that's okay! You will be included in the next list!)

I am not going to talk about their wips, however, because I have that planned out for the next Monday; but expect sweet little messages of all of my inky friends!

@fuyugomori: if you aren't familiar with Kat, literally get out. She is the best, most amazing, incredible, smartest, kindest and most creative soul I've had the pleasure to meet. I love her, i love her writing and I am just glad that we've met. So, Kat, thanks for existing.

@enchanted-lightning-aes: Even if Enchant has been around for some time now, I don't think we had really talked until a few months ago. Three words: best decision ever. Their original writing is so good i am always lowkey jelaous, and they post so much content I feel bad for not having all the hours of the day to read it all and give them propper feedback. On top of that, they are supportive, kind, amazing and really easy to talk to (and that, coming from a girl who never made friends at school!). Enchant, thanks for existing.

@alexwritesfiction: if you don't know Alex, I've failed you. Xer taste in every single kind of media is exquisite and xer writing is even better (I didn't know that could be possible but it is). Alex and I properly met a few months ago and oh my god, I don't think I could go a day without thinking how blessed I am for being able to talk to xer. Alex, thanks for existing.

@akindofmagictoo: Zoe is the most awesome person you can probably find here. Her wips, her writing, and literally everything she writes, says or touches is automatically gold. If I don't go and bother her in asks that much is actually becuase I'm a bit intimidated (in the good sense of the word), but even from afar I still look up to her. Thanks for existing, Zoe.

@47crayons: what can I say about rose except that she has a heart bigger than the world? Aside than her writing is sublime and she delights us by participating in loads of last lines tags and other writing challenges? We've met recently, so there is still much joy to find in our friendship (can i call you my friend?), but still not including her in this list would be a really really bad mistake. Thanks for existing, Rose.

Since there are a lot of people I still want to thanks for existing and I want to talk about, I think I'm ending this post here, and I will make a separate one for the rest of the amazing people I've had the pleasure to meet.

Lastly, @viskafrer thank you for giving me the opportunity to brag about the wonderful wonderful people I've met on here. Thank you as well for existing.

[ladyvaderpixetc]

I was not actually tagged but saw this and thought OMG I WANNA PLAY so while I will tag a few friends (@dls-ao3, @theskyandsea, @emorgan5061, @gracerene09, @ktspree13, @starkissed1) please feel free to not play as you wish or have at it if you do!

How many works do you have on AO3?

59, with several misplaced en route from LJ and many WIP's yet to be published.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

705890

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Oy. *thinks hard enough steam comes out of ears* 1) Mulder/Scully - The X-Files 2) I thiiiiink I had a brief jaunt writing Rogue/Gambit but I don't know if that was just notes - X-Men Comics. 3) Legolas/Aragorn & Orlando/Viggo - LotR (& LotR RPF) 4) Harry/Draco, & one instance of Harry/Viktor - Harry Potter 5) Mohinder/Sylar - Heroes 6) Arthur/Eames, Dom/Ariadne & JGL/Tom Hardy - Inception & Inception RPF 7) Arthur/Merlin - Merlin (BBC)8) Sherlock/John - Sherlock (BBC) & 9) Thor/Loki - MCU

What are your Top 5 fics by kudos?

Pet (Arthur/Eames) Intended (Drarry), Consolation Prize (Harry/Viktor) Scattered Pieces (Arthur/Eames) L’Inconnu (Drarry)

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Whilst strictly a HEA merchant overall, I did make myself miserable writing Friend Like Me, sobbed all the way through it knowing I couldn't fix the ending without stomping all over the heart of the fic itself. Will always be grateful to @dysonrules for her excellent sequel that achieved what I could not *throws myself sobbing at her feet*

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Tragically yes, not even on my oldest, more gloriously clichéd and tropified cheese either ;P but simply because the reader objected so strongly to the pairing that they felt obliged to hate on every other aspect of the fic as well. This new generation of fans choosing hate over 'don't like, don't read' never ceases to astound and sadden me.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do indeed lol every kind from shameless ridiculous cheese to (hopefully) smutastically hot. I have a real tendency *coughproblemcough* with feeling like I have to write everything I'm seeing in my head, so my stuff tends towards being overly wordy, but hopefully conveys the filth that my brain likes to play me on loop at times ;)

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Several times actually, less in recent years but back before the original purge and AO3 I tended to have my Drarry smut ripped off quite regularly, the same fic in particular, Delicious (an actually RIDICULOUS smutfic) got stolen something like 4 or 5 times but fortunately someone always tipped me off, as people continue to do when my stuff ends up on Wattpad now also. Should it come up, and anyone sees any of my stuff about - unless it's a translation - I categorically have not given permission for my stuff to be posted elsewhere, if you know my stuff and see it anywhere but my ff/net acc or AO3 please let me know <3

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, several lovely people have translated my stories and I'm always delighted beyond words to be asked <3

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, back in the day @dreambastion and I co-wrote a few Drarry fics, though I'm not sure many of them ever saw the light of day ;) as we mostly came up with ideas from a Drarry RP journal we had during that time.

What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Gah. Whilst I frequently throw the term OTP around, I don't think I'll ever only have one OTP. I believe in the supremacy of some ships, and they have carved places in my heart that can never be erased whether I've stopped writing or even reading them: Drarry ftw, sorry Ginny but I'll never believe that epilogue, whether the fic is canon-compliant or not, I’ll always believe Harry/Draco is the endgame. ArthurEames is likely the closest I have to a true OTP, I’m sorry but that shit is canon and if Chris Nolan ever tries to convince me otherwise I will sit him down and point out all the ways he is WRONG. AE is the pairing that sparked my non-functional (nonfictional for that matter) brain back into being after a glitch with my hormones and a run-in with a bully masquerading as a beta scared me off of writing for a few years and I’ll always be grateful to it for that. I’ve dabbled in reading several MCU based pairings (Stony, Stucky, Clint/Coulson) but Thorki kicked the door down in late 2018 and refuses to be unseated as my current burning obsession with a ship, and for all the abuse I see the pairing take (seriously what is WRONG with the new-gen of fandom? Y’all would not have survived LJ) it’s where my brain goes to for comfort during these past few difficult years, and I adore it for that alone, if not for the bunnies currently chewing my brain to bits.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

*horror shudder of guilt and shame* Humbled & Struck. I have these wonderful intentions to do right by Struck every once in a while and then I open the notes and see just how very much of the fic there was still left to write and know I don’t have the wherewithal to re-enter a pairing I no longer have any verve whatsoever to write for. Someday I’ll post a neatened up synopsis so those who liked it can read what should have happened and have an ending, but Humbled is a casualty of both my original computer going BOOM and having to be wiped but also coincided with my brain blip, when my hormones basically shoved everything that made me creative into a box and nailed it shut and left me with a crappy knock off of the baby blues for not quite a year. I lost the verve to write but I also lost all the mental notes I had along with the physical one and genuinely can’t remember what was supposed to happen at the end of Humbled beyond them getting together. These fics are the reason I never post anything WIP now, if I’m posting it, it means it’s complete.

What are your writing strengths?

Gah, talk about a question designed to make everyone squirm. Honestly? Not sure lol. I remember a professor at Uni telling me I had a way of taking the narrative in a chokehold and never letting go, and I remember laughing with him, but as much as I recall him saying it as a positive, looking back I wish I’d asked him more about what he meant, cos it sounds like a negative too, sort of lol.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Well, I miss the days of mouseover on LJ for a start, without it I tend towards avoiding personally, but I think if you can do it, and do it well, then why not?

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

I’m not sure Xfiles counts because I only ever shared it in yahoo group chats lol so my first posted fics were LotR.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Pet. Hands down my favourite, it’s like I had nothing to do with writing it, I vaguely remember being caught up in feel during it, and plotting out what would happen each month, and torturing myself with diff songs from my playlist to get my Arthur POV feels screwed to the sticking place lol but with enough time in between I can actually read/listen to it myself and still be surprised by some places in the story, I still squee when Arthur runs into drunk!Eames in the supermarket, and I NEVER squee over my own stuff otherwise lol I’m truly proud of it if only because it makes me so happy. I know Scattered is vastly behind on updates, and Thorki is hugely to blame for that, but I will NEVER abandon that ‘verse. I’ll be 60 and still thinking of new ways for my boys to be happy, and being happy in turn at just the thought of them <3

[nalgenewhore]

masterlist - part one - part two ½

“Oh, I could fucking snap that pretty little neck of yours.” 

Elide smirked and crossed her arms, “Keep it in your pants, Salvaterre. We’re still at work, baby.” 

From the other side of her office, Lorcan sent her a glare that could freeze Hellas’ fiery realm. He crossed the room in two large strides. His long, glossy hair was in disarray. Elide practically choked on her desire to smooth it back for him. She glanced around, quickly averting her eyes from Rowan’s pointed look. His fiancée beside him wore a delighted expression, almost as if she wished she was snacking on something right about now. “Lochan, c’mon. Listen to me. If we settle now, it’ll only allow big tech corporations to completely demolish software start-ups. You know I’m right.” 

“If we push, we could end up with nothing and bankrupt our client! If we settle, that leaves Nox and Luca with enough money to further their technology.” She stood up and braced her hands against the glass surface of her desk. “Lorcan, I know that you want to set precedent–”

“It’s not about setting precedent, princess,” he snapped. “I don’t give a fucking shit if people know my name or not. I’m doing the right thing here and it’s insulting that you don’t see that.” Lorcan dropped the papers on her desk. He stepped back and ran his hands through his hair before twisting his locks into a messy bun. “You’re fucking impossible, Elide.” 

Elide’s spine straightened, “ I’m impossible? This is my case and since the second I asked you for help, you’ve been–”

“You’re fucking it up, Elide! You’re scared of losing and leaving those kids with nothing so you’re playing it safe and–” 

“I am not playing it safe , Lorcan. I’m playing it smart. This is what we learned in school. It’s how we’re supposed to do it.” 

He scoffed, his words cutting, “Yeah, according to a second-year class. I never had you pegged as a coward, Elide. You’re scared and you’re hiding behind a gods-damned book . You know, I really used to think you were cut out for this, but I’m not so sure anymore.” Tears burned her throat. Elide flicked her watery eyes to the wall of windows and focused on the glittering city lights. Lorcan inhaled sharply, as if realising what he’d just said. “Princess, shit, I’m–”

“You’re not sorry, don’t you dare lie to me,” Elide whispered. She looked up at him, “You want the case that bad, Lorcan? Fine. It’s yours. Enjoy it, you bastard.” She shoved the case file box to him so hard that it slid off the smooth surface and on pure reflex, Lorcan caught it. Elide didn’t look at anyone while she strode out of her office. 

She took the elevator up to the roof and walked across the gravel-covered roof to the railing. Elide leaned against it and then, because she couldn’t help herself anymore, she let a sob fall from her lips. Elide buried her face in her hands. 

She cried softly until she heard the heavy metal door drag against the gravel as it was pushed open. Elide raised her head and hastily wiped her eyes, “If you’re here to grovel, I don’t want to hear it, Salvaterre.” 

“He’s not. Aelin’s chewing him out right now.” 

Elide turned, sighing softly. “What are you doing out here, Rowan? I want to be alone.” A gust of cold wind blew over her. Elide hugged her arms around herself and tucked her chin into her chest to conserve heat. 

Rowan walked closer and draped her heavy wool coat over her shaking shoulders. “I thought you might be cold. Might want some company, too.” He opened his arms and Elide leaned into him. “Yeah,” he said as he folded her into his warm chest and rested his chin on her head. “I know, Ellie.” 

“Every time,” she sniffled, pathetically, “every time I think we- we’re getting somewhere, we fight and- and lose whatever progress we’ve made. He isn’t even mine and I keep losing him.” 

“I know,” Rowan said, his brogue strong and comforting. Unbeknownst to Elide, his face was set in a deep frown, all directed at the man who sat floors below them, being berated by a woman he towered over by at least a foot. 

After a few minutes, Elide stepped back. She accepted the tissue Rowan procured and wiped her mascara tracks away. “I guess I should go back and… figure this out. Are you and Ae staying?” 

“No, we’ve got dinner with my parents.” 

Elide nodded and looped her arm through his elbow, “Let’s go, then.” Rowan wisely didn’t try to dissuade her and escorted her back down. Aelin was waiting by the elevators, her coat and scarf on. She carried her gloves and bag in hand and stepped up to hug Elide good-bye and fuss over her hair. “Ae,” Elide said, “I’m fine, really. Go, have dinner with Ro’s parents. I’ll call you tonight.” 

“Alright. But if you need me, I can ditch those losers and come over.” Rowan cleared his throat and arched an unimpressed brow. Aelin sent him a loved-up grin and kissed Elide’s cheeks, “Bye, honey.” 

“Good-bye, Elide,” Rowan said. 

“Night, you two. Say hi to your parents for me.” 

“Of course,” Rowan nodded his head and guided his fiancée into the waiting elevator. 

Elide turned on her heels and slowly walked back through the empty office to hers. She looked through the glass wall and saw Lorcan. He was sitting on the low, modern leather couch and bent forward with his forearms against his thighs. 

When she walked in, Lorcan shot to his feet, his eyes wide. “El, please, listen to me. I’m sorry. Really. I didn’t- I was- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. None of it is true, you have to believe me. You- you’re an amazing lawyer, Lochan. I’m so fucking sorry.” 

“I know, Lorcan. Really, I know. It’s not the first time one of us has said something we didn’t mean.” 

Relief flooded his face, “Ok, um, yeah. That’s good.” He flashed her a rakish grin. Elide felt her own smile grow at the sight of his. She wasn’t too stubborn to deny that Lorcan was attractive and quite possibly the most attractive man she had ever laid eyes on, but when he smiled… she could only describe him as beautiful. “And, listen, I know you think we should settle, but–” 

“Lor,” Elide laughed, “let’s order dinner before we get back to it, ok? I’m starving.” 

Lorcan loosened his tie and lifted his eyebrows, “You aren’t trying to wine and dine me just so I’ll agree with you, right?” Elide just hummed noncommittally and walked to her desk. She leaned back against the edge as she picked up her phone and dialed the number to their favourite restaurant. He laughed and sat down, “Right, like that would ever happen.” He paused, waiting for her response. “Right, Elide?” 

“Hmmm? Oh, yeah, never.” Never. Never. Never.  

She hated that the thought of them never being together made her heart crack. After she put in their classic order, she sat down next to him and they read briefs in a comfortable silence. 

An hour later, their dinner arrived. Lorcan sat down on the carpeted floor and rested his back against her couch. Elide kicked her heels off and sat down against the matching armchair, perpendicular to Lorcan. 

They spread out their papers around them, interspersed with boxes of Chinese takeout. Elide rested her feet in his lap, her brow furrowed as her eyes flicked back and forth across the page. Lorcan didn’t say a word and laid his hand on her ankle. His thumb soothed circles over her skin, “What is it?” 

“I think we should push.” 

“Lochan–” 

“You’re backing down, really?” There was a fluttering sound as she dropped the package. “Stop doing that. I told you I was fine and you’re right. If we settle, it’ll only allow other corporations to go after and attack small developers.” 

“I’m sorry, what was that?” 

She narrowed her eyes in warning. “If we settle–” 

“No, no, not that,” he said, smiling at her, “the thing before that. I’m what? ”

Elide rolled her eyes and flicked his nose with her index finger, “You’re right . I should’ve listened to you earlier.” 

Picking up a box of sesame noodles, Lorcan passed Elide her vegetarian dumplings. “What are you thinking?” 

Elide took the box and picked up her chopsticks to pinch one. She lifted the dumpling, but didn’t eat it. “About what?” They both knew he wasn’t talking about the case. 

Lorcan dropped his head back against the couch cushion, “Anything.” 

“I’m thinking that… this is nice. Being with you. I like it.” He looked at her and Elide frowned defensively, “What, I like your company. We don’t always have to fight.” 

“I know,” he said softly. “I like it too.” Her pale cheeks pinked and they shared a gentle grin. 

Elide poked his thigh with her toe, her heart pounding, “Tell me what you’re thinking.” 

His eyes were so dark, Elide swore she could get lost in them and willingly, too. Lorcan rubbed his hand up and down her shin, “I’m thinking maybe I don’t… hate you. Maybe I’ve never hated you.” 

She could barely hear herself think, blood rushing through her ears. Slowly, Elide rose onto her knees and straddled his lap. Lorcan didn’t say a word, merely steadying her hips as she shifted. “Well, maybe I’m tired of pretending we wouldn’t be great together.” 

Lorcan lifted a hand to cradle the back of her head and pull her close. They both leaned in and the tips of their noses bumped together. Her hands were surprisingly steady as she gripped his collar and tugged him that much closer. Their lips were a hair’s breadth apart when he whispered, “Let’s stop pretending then, hmm?”

+*+*+*+*+*+*

an: tee hee 

@mythicaitt @werewolffprince @schmlip-scribble  @empire-of-wildfire@ladyverena @ttakeitbacknoww @shyvioletcat @alifletcher2012 @tswaney17 @ourbooksuniverse  @flora-and-fae @thesirenwashere @queenofxhearts @maastrash @mynewdreamwasyou @cursebreaker29 @empress-ofbloodshed @b00kworm @hizqueen4life @silversprings98 @amren-courtofdreams @minaidss @superspiritfestival @sanakapoor @ireallyshouldsleeprn @spyofthenightcourt  @thegoddessofyou @more-espresso-less-depresso-xx @claralady @neonhellas @darlinminds @readingismyonlyhobby​ @autophobiaxx​ @silversprings28​ @myshadowsingeraz​ @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln​ @elriel4life​ @always-in-a-daydream​ let me know if u want to be added/removed from the tag list !!

[mrsalwayswrite]

Aes Sídhe (Finan x Reader) Part 2

Here is part 2! Yay! Huge thank you to everyone who liked/commented/reblogged part 1. Y’all are the best! 

Also, prepare yourselves. I’m rewatching The Last Kingdom so there will be more TLK fanfics from me! 

As always, can be read as reader or OFC. 

Warnings: None

Words:1600

Tags: @happyveday​ @lauwrite1225​ @geekandbooknerd​

Part 1

The sounds and stench of Wintanceaster were both familiar and abhorrent. Finan did not mind the city but dear God and all His saints did it take some adjustment after being in the fresh air of the road and smaller villages. 

 He leaned against a table, a cup of ale in hand and foot propped up against the bench across from him. The group relaxed outside of the alehouse. Uhtred was catching up with Father Beocca, Osferth listening intently. Clapa and Sihtric were both drinking silently like Finan, listening in to the conversation and latest news. They had spent the last three months traveling to different burhs and spending minimal time in Coccham. Now they awaited their new orders from King Alfred. 

 Abruptly, Finan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Someone was watching him. He knew that feeling. Subtly, he tried to scan those around. A few other patrons were drinking and talking at other tables. A man pulled a cart with a young boy by his side. A pair of priests, their large crosses dangled from their necks and bounced against their chests as they walked. A couple soldiers, a few women with baskets on their hips, some chicken and dogs scurrying around. Nothing unusual. Nothing to warrant this feeling. Yet he could not let it go. 

 He shifted, lifting the cup to his lips once again. A loud bang drew his attention in the blacksmith's direction. His eyes lazily drifted that way just to satisfy his curious, not expecting much. 

 Then he saw her. 

 He almost dropped his cup in his shock. 

 She stood next to a building across from the alehouse. Her forest green dress was partially hidden by a brown cape with the hood up, leaving only her face exposed. A basket was held in her arms. That face and eyes, he would recognize anywhere. They haunted both his waking and sleeping hours. She was just as mesmerizing as last he saw her.

 And she was staring at him. 

 "Oi." Finan smacked Sihtric's arm, making the Dane grunt and turn around. "You see her. Green dress, brown cape with a basket."

 "Yes...she is pretty. Do you know her?"

 Knowing she was not an illusion, someone else confirmed her appearance, he refused to let her escape him this time. He drained the rest of his ale quickly, practically throwing the cup back on the table in his haste. As he drank, she had started to walk away, her back turned to him. Like a hound having caught a scent, he followed. None too gently, he pushed those in his way, eyes refusing to abandon her form for fear of losing her in the mingling crowd. 

 "Wait, aes sídhe!" He easily caught up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. His breath stuck in his throat when she turned to face him. Up close she was even more radiant. The next words tumbled out of his mouth as he stood awestruck. "Ya are real."

 She giggled and he could feel his heart leap at the delightful sound. Slowly she pushed her hood back. "Of course, my lord."

 "Oh, I'm no lord, my lady."

 "Well, I am no lady."

 "What does that make us?" He teased, still in awe. She was here. She was truly real. Over the past three months he had begun to doubt but the small strip of white cloth he kept was the only thing to prove otherwise. 

 She shrugged, glancing around a moment before meeting his gaze once again. "Whoever we want to be?"

 They stood smiling at each other, in a bubble of their own making as people walked past them, like a rock that the stream forced to flow around. Everything faded away until the whole world just consisted of the two of them. 

 "Why did ya run? Last time."

 "You startled me…" she softly said, blushing, "...and I was in my undergarment. It would not be appropriate to hold a conversation thusly."

 He laughed, eyes crinkling. Oh, he very much remembered her standing there in the fading sunlight in her shift. Nothing would ever be as beautiful. But he doubted she wanted to hear that right now. "Aye, that makes a fair point. I am Finan."

 She replied her name and it seared itself onto his soul. A permanent stain that he would cherish for eternity. 

 "I need to take these herbs to a friend," she gestured to her basket, eyes remorseful. "I promised to bring them over before dinner. I am sorry."

 "May I escort you?" He blurted, not ready to leave her side. 

 "I would like that."

 The pair walked side by side, shoulders brushing occasionally as they maneuvered the streets of Wintanceaster. At her insistence, Finan told her about himself, his lord Uhtred and their life in Coccham. His humorous stories of some of their exploits and shenanigans caused her to reach out and grab his arm so she could keep upright and walk amidst her laughing. He decided her laugh was his favorite sound in the world. 

 She spoke about how her family just moved to Wintanceaster from an outlying village close to Mercia's borders. Her father feared for their safety due to Dane raids, so they moved to the heart of Wessex. That was how they had stumbled upon one another at the creek. She had slipped away from her family and those traveling with to cleanse herself and be away from the chaos of the caravan. So far down the creek she had not expected to come across someone.

 When she confessed there had been a small cave she had hidden herself in from him, he laughed and confessed he thought her a faerie and had vanished from sight. 

 "Is that what you called me?"

 "Mmm? Oh? Aes sídhe."

 "Does that mean a faerie?"

 "In a way," he confessed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I thought you were too beautiful to be real…"

 She blushed and tucked some wayward strands of hair behind her ear. "You are too kind."

 "Tis not kindness if its the truth."

 Bumping her shoulder playfully against him, she smiled. "Tell me more stories."

 So he did, as he followed her to a friend's house, whom she gave the herbs in her basket in exchange for some cloth. Then they started back the way they had come. 

 "...and that next mornin', we found my boots in the chicken coop with eggs laid in them. A terrible problem really, those hens thought I came to steal their eggs when I just wanted my boots back."

 She giggled. "And the others?"

 "Aye, Sihtric woke up that mornin' with a cookin' pot on his head and somehow Clapa's axes on the roof. Clapa had to boost Sihtric up, so he could retrieve them...only after they were both sober enough to stand up that is."

 They both laughed at the story, and to Finan, it seemed like the sun shown just a little brighter with her by his side. 

 Up ahead he could see Uhtred and his men were still at the alehouse. For a moment he felt guilty about running with a word then shrugged it off. It was worth it. 

 She stopped just before the alehouse, him following suit. They stared at one another again, lost in the other's presence and soft smiles. 

 "I must return to my family. I am sure your lord is waiting for you."

 "Can I see ya again?" 

 A moment of hesitation and it felt like his heart stopped beating. She looked down, biting her bottom lip. Before he could rescind the offer, she looked up smiling. "That would please me."

 He let out a breath he had not realized he was holding. "Where are ya stayin'?"

 "You'll have to find me. Use those warrior skills." She winked and took several steps back, still holding his gaze.

 He was not having that. His feet overtook the ground forward as she moved back. "I could just follow ya now."

 "That defeats the challenge then, does it not?"

 He opened his mouth to respond, loving the mischievous gleam in her eyes, but was interrupted. 

 "FINAN!" 

 The Irishman glanced over his shoulder to see his friends watching him. Catching his eye, Uhtred jerked his head. Apparently, they were done waiting. 

 "They must miss you."

 "Aye, I am not easily replaceable or forgettable."

 "No...no, you are not." She took one step closer until their chests were almost touching. Swiftly, she placed a quick peck on his cheek and whispered in his ear. "There's an inn that has a painting of a blue flower on it." With that, she turned and walked away. 

 His feet remained frozen on those dirty streets, watching her walk down a side alley. As if feeling his lingering gaze, she turned and met his eyes. A smile and shake of her head at him then she turned back around and vanished from his sight. 

 Only then did he feel freed to move. A stupid grin on his face, and heart soaring above, he turned and moved back towards his friends. 

 "Who was that? She was very pretty." Uhtred raised an eyebrow, leaning against one of the tables. 

 "Do ya know of an inn with a blue flower on it?" He ignored Uhtred's questioning gaze. 

 Father Beocca answered with a confused look. "I do. It is behind the church. It is mostly used by wealthy traders or traveling priests."

 Finan grunted, a plan forming in his mind. 

 "Who was she?" 

 He looked at his friend, usable to hold back the beaming smile. He clapped Uhtred's shoulder, looking back towards where she had disappeared just moments ago. "That, my lord, is my future wife."

[andoqin]

K-Dramas of 2020

Well, like the general mood of 2020, the dramas this year were uh, certainly an adventure. I was going to put all the dramas I watched this year here, but uh. This turned out longer than expected so I’ll guess I’ll separate K-dramas at the very least.

Putting this behind a cut because Long.

Completed:

365: Repeat the year: I barely remember this one, but I gave it 8/10 on MDL, maybe I should lower that, because honestly all I remember are the time-travel meet up set and the main actors.

CHIP-IN: A short who-dunnit, which has interesting characters, although the show was very wise to be capped at 8 Episodes, because the “mystery” was pretty predictable and also starting to wear thin. Still, the younger cast was stellar and I hope we get to see them in more.

Diary of a Prosecutor: The cases in this drama were actually legit interesting to me and I found the politicking surprisingly not bad. People were flawed in very human ways, but the drama gave us enough time with our main characters to enjoy getting to know all of them.

Do you like Brahms: Contender for worst drama of the year for me, good lord I hated the way this tanked its story line, its characters and the romance. Is it believable that the main characters might act this way? ... Debatable. Is it entertaining to watch? Hell fucking no. Don’t watch this one, unless you like stupid misunderstandings and non communication. 

Extracurricular: Short action-y show on Netflix that makes me hopeful for what Sweet Home might be. 

Flower of Evil: Lee Jun Ki gets to suffer prettily. That is All. Okay Moon Chae Won and LJK were great together, but it got almost makjang-y by the end. 

Hospital Playlist: Delightful Slice of Life Medical show, that despite its delightfulness never quite got me. Very enjoyable and at 12 episodes it doesn’t overstay its welcome, but it didn’t stay with me either. 

Hot Stove League: Pretty entertaining and as a drama about sports management seems reasonably accurate? (Not that I’d know of course). 

Hyena: Flawed as heck in some aspects (the lawyer-plotting got lulzy and boring at the same time), but oh my god some of the HOTTEST chemistry this way from sunday. Joo Ji Hoon and Kim Hye Soo just crackled anytime they were on screen together and Joo Ji Hoon as the high powered lawyer who falls head over heels in love with KHS’s character who is more reluctant to act on those feelings is just *chefs kiss*. Also didn’t suffer the Dreaded Plot Denuement of 2020 (DPD2020). Sure the latter half wasn’t as tight as the beginning, but it stuck the landing and that’s all that matters. 

Into the Ring: Weird camera angles and sometimes overly sharp edited shots aside, this had a solid romance, great characters, great romance and almost made me want to get into community politics lmao. 

It’s Okay Not To Be Okay (Psycho But It’s Okay): The first half of this show is just *amazing*, the way the scenes transition is pretty much film-like and the main character trio is stunningly well acted. Sadly the story with the mom is resolved in the weirdest fucking way, but the drama decides to do the smart thing and just forget about it once that’s done and the finale made me cry ;_;. 

Itaewon Class: Sadly also suffered the DPD2020. I was really into the first half, loved the way the characters found support in each other, plus: a main trans character! Handled really well! Also iconic OST. I was one of the few people who was into the romance of the main couple, but the way the latter half of the plot developed was just completely nonsensical and felt like the writer was just trying to tie off the lose ends as much as possible. 

Kingdom Season 2: The first season was stellar and this continues the trend! Although it doesn’t quite reach the highs of the first season I am still so looking forward to season 3! More Joseon zombies please!

Money Game: I... apparently watched this, and looking at the logo there is some vague feeling of “Yeah this is familiar”. But nothing else...

Mr. Heart: Okay-ish BL drama that has it’s cute moments but nothing that made me go “Ooooh”. I am glad SK is getting in on this trend though!

My Holo Love: So all of those Robot/AI shows that came before that I’ve seen and had the premise of “Oh no, I’ve fallen for a ROBOT” when it either turned out their object of affection was either human or actually a robot, but their human counterpart was so shitty that no sane person would like them worked pretty well for me. This one didn’t. From what I remember the heroine does very much fall for the holographic version of this guy, but the human version is *different* and yet whoops the main couple is still human/human. Granted you can’t really do romantic kiss scenes between a girl and nothing, but the switch-over felt abrupt and the way our main lady just transfers her affections to the dude never sat right to me. 

Mystic Pop Up Bar: Quite a few dramas this year went with 12 eps, and were all the better for it. Hwang Jung Eum is incredibly hit or miss with me (mostly it’s miss honestly), but in this one she’s used really well and I liked the way the premise was used!

Private Lives: I recently wrote a longer post about this, but honestly another victim of terrible writing and maybe DPD2020. 

Stranger 2: Love! Not as much as Season 1, but man this writer is *so* good at writing smart and interesting plots and looking at things from many different angles!

Tale of the Nine Tailed: Flawed but man do I ever love the OTP. Like really really love it. Plus it stuck the landing for me in a way few dramas did in recent months.

The School Nurse Files: So weird. So fucking weird. And yet, so very entertaining. Thanks to its short length ( I think) some plot threads felt very much unceremoniously dropped, but it has a canon lesbian couple!

The World of the Married: Makjang to the Nth degree, got kind of exhausting by the end, but Kim Hee Ae is so good. 

Train: Yoon Shi Yoon gets to suffer prettily! 

When the Weather is Fine: Kinda mellow and sweet and I wish I could live like the main character does (just have a bookshop in the middle of nowhere and still no money issues??? The Dream) but for that also not super memorable. 

Where Your Eyes Linger: SK’s first major Webdrama I believe? Cute and as a foray into this genre not bad, but I hope this is just a taste of things to come.

Dropped:

Hi Bye, Mama: So many people loved this, I couldn’t get over the basic premise and the way my brain tried to tie the logic in this together made my head hurt.  The King: Eternal Monarch: Maybe KES dramas just aren’t for me, I didn’t like the plot or the main couple. Woo Do Hwan and Kim Kyung Nam were amazing though and please please I beg both of you do more stuff. 

18 Again: Nope. Lee Do Hyun is pretty, but the setup drove me bonkers and I pretty much liked no one. 

Zombie Detective: Yikes no thank you. Complete mismatch of tones I wanted and the drama gave me. 

Romantic Teacher Dr. Kim 2: Zzzzzzzzz. I found the first one mildly entertaining at least but this one just made me fall asleep immediately. 

Black Dog: Yeah I watched like 2 Episodes of this and lost interest. 

Search: I’ve watched like 6 eps and I know there’s zombies, but I couldn’t tell you much more tbh.

Start-Up: I watched 2 episodes in the beginning, didn’t think I’d want to live watch this and then just popcorned the tag until it got insufferable with the ship wars and this dropped out of my watch list pretty immediately.

Record of Youth: Pretty much the same deal as with Start-Up only in this case there wasn’t so much a shipwar as the tag showing me that this drama would *not* be my bag at all. 

Still Watching: 

Kairos: Hmmmm timey-wimey stuff. The FL is this close to losing me though. The fact I thought it plausible that she would murder someone just based on a TEXT from someone else says it all. (She didn’t, thank god, and seems to have found a few of her lost braincells, but by god she was frustrating). 

Birthcare Center: I like what it’s trying to say and the main character and her husband are very cute, but a lot of the side characters don’t really interest me. It’s only an 8 ep drama, so I might finish this.

The Spies Who Loved Me: Honestly I’m this close to dropping it. Only my intense love for Yoo In Na and fondness for Eric are keeping me going. But she might not end up with Eric and I’m gonna be mad. Honestly if they just went OT3 I’d be really cool with this, but despite the small advancements in dramaland, they aint ready for that yet. 

Lies of Lies: I watched 2 eps and I might continue (the premise seems hilariously makjang and sometimes I’m into that, but it’s *very* much on the backburner)

The Uncanny Counter: Delightful Webtoon vibe, with some great visuals and actually nice action. I’ve only seen 2 eps so far but at least they don’t want to make me poke my eyes out or make me fall asleep. Let’s hope it avoids the DPD2020 plague. 

[witchling13]

Their Afternoons

A quick fic I wrote in the Throne of Glass world.

This is an AU where Aelin will not, or has not met Rowan yet and grows up with a normal childhood in Terrasen and falls in love with Aedion (and vice versa). It was pretty clear to me in ToG that there was sexual vibes between them even if they chose to maintain a platonic relationship. I wanted to explore that because it could have played out very differently and I like weird pairings (even though I don’t ship them). 

I never considered their connection incest-ish because a lot of people, including their family highly supported them getting married. (And, I know they’re second cousins, but it always seemed like that meant something different for Fae in their world than humans.) They’re like twin flames. 🔥

It’s a shower scene  *and it’s hot!

Tags: Lemon, nsfw, very explicit, etc. Chocolate cake makes an appearance. 

---------------------

Aedion huffed his way through the last 50 paces as he charged his way up the hill. This was his payback for showing off with Aelin yesterday. She was ahead of him by a full 30 seconds and already climbing the old ruins.

His hamstrings strained in protest. He was going to need a recovery day tomorrow. Ice baths. Soft bed. Big steak with a pile of mashed potatoes and garlic bread. And maybe some kabobs or that pasta thing Diana had whipped up last time when he stole Aelin’s leftovers and Diana had hit him with a wooden spoon.

Which was before Aelin got her revenge.

His chest heaved as he chuckled remembering the turmeric paste Aelin had smeared and let dry into the athletic cup-like crotch of his training gear. It was harmless, but it had stained his balls yellow for days.

He crested the hill and braced himself on his knees, panting. Aelin was atop one of the stone pillars of the ruins, shirt off, sunning herself in that thin breast wrap she insisted on wearing when she trained. There were no clouds in the sky and the air smelled of dried dirt and fresh grass. Early summer.

“You sound like a dying cat.”

“And you—” Aedion was only slightly panting now, “cheated by taking that short cut across the burrow.”

She hopped down from the edge of the pillar, walking the lines of a thick slab of crumbled rock until her feet hit solid ground.

“Yes, but I won.” She said, hands on hips grinning up at him as she sauntered over.

“I would’ve beat you anyways if I hadn’t trained with Elias this morning.” She was a hot mess of a sight. Her hair had acquired a few pine needles, but his eyes caught on the swell of her breasts, beaded with sweat, the smooth skin of her torso and toned abdomen. He quickly refocused his gaze to her face but caught her ogling his bare chest…and lower. He flexed his pecs with a cheeky grin to get her attention.

Aelin felt her face heat and rolled her eyes in amusement. A welcome breeze had peaked her nipples and she was momentarily distracted by the thought of shredding the wrap, pressing her bare nipples to his bare chest and letting their bodies take it from there.

“Let’s get back, I’m starved. I heard rumor that Diana made a chocolate cake for dinner.” Aedion turned, starting down the hill. Aelin let slip a happy groan that teased his mind and made his cock twitch. Without warning, she launched herself at his back, slinging her arms around his neck and locking her legs so fast, there was no way he’d get her off without a wrestling match.

Aedion righted himself, grumbling she felt like a sack of rocks and trying not to topple them both as he gripped her legs with muscled forearms. He paused and craned his neck to give her a bright and fiery grin, “you owe me for this.” She only pecked his tanned cheek, whispering sweet, indecent words in his ear that would keep him motivated for miles.

---------

It was an hour past noon when they finally strolled onto the castle grounds. They snuck into the kitchens and ravaged the ice box and cupboards for leftovers. There was no steak, to Aedion’s disappointment, but the leftover lemon roast chicken with rice and buttered buns they managed to reheat without burning down the kitchen were a delight. They snagged half the chocolate cake on a plate and made a run for it before they were caught.

Aelin cradled the cake with one hand as they crept through the hallways on light feet. “Your rooms or mine?”

Aedion squeezed the other hand she had lent him, “Mine. The bed is bigger.” He didn’t even try to hide the eagerness in his lowered voice. They both wanted to work off the edge, he could practically hear her heart beating out of her chest.

“I’m not taking you to bed completely drenched in sweat and grime. We’ll go to my room. The water pressure is better.” Aedion caught her impish grin over his shoulder and matched it with a sultry glare, trying to focus on his feet instead of the blood rushing to the bulge in his pants.

“Then why did you ask me which room?”

“Why are you protesting? You love my shower. You use it all the time when I’m not there. I’ve noticed.”

“Beside the point. Gods, Aelin can you walk any faster.”

They always playfully bickered like this. They had since they were children. As close as cousins could be who grew up in the same household, until Aedion had left for the wilds of Terrasen to train with the Bane in his teenage years. It wasn’t until they were apart that Aelin realized how much she needed and depended on him, her best friend and the protector of her heart. That summer after he’d returned, their childhood love and devotion blurred into a lust and longing to be with each other. Neither of them was entirely sure what the future held, but Aedion would always be at her side one way or another, she was sure. And that was enough for them both right now.

Finally in her chambers, she set the chocolate cake on her dresser and hurriedly began stripping off her shirt and leggings. Aedion almost lost his balance as he removed one boot and then the other, losing the leather strap that tied back his hair and raking his fingers through the thick, golden locks. Aelin fiddled with her breast wrap and Aedion approached her from behind to assist, losing her hair in the process and working out a few tangles before gently massaging her scalp where there was bound to be a sore spot.

Aelin sighed and turned to face him. He immediately captured her lips in a passionate kiss as he cradled the back of her head. She kissed him back with fervor, moving her hands along his abdomen and thumbing the waistline of his pants. At this rate they weren’t going to make it to the shower.

Aedion slowed their kiss and pulled back to look in her eyes. She smiled and waited for him to say something, but he just shred his pants in one quick motion and scooped her up instead. Aelin gently swung her dangling legs as he walked them to the bathing chamber and into the small shower room.

He set her down on the mosaic tiled bench along one of the square walls. Aelin leaned her head back against the cool tiles as he moved to adjust the levers, turning on the water and testing it until it started to warm. The shower room was relatively new compared to the ancient walls of the castle and Aelin thought it was one of Aedion’s brighter inventions once they worked out the kinks of the indoor plumbing.

She sighed as the water turned hot and steam began to cloud the air. It prickled her skin as her body warmed and her goosebumps faded. The water came out from three melon sized circular heads strategically positioned in the middle of the ceiling. Aedion had stepped into the stream that fell like solid rain, splashing his face and underarms briefly as the water cascaded down his hair and back. Aelin registered heat building between her thighs as she let herself marvel at him a moment.

His wide shoulders, his muscled calves and broad chest. The one dimple in his lower back. They hadn’t even removed their undergarments yet. It was some weird habit that had formed between them when they opted for bathing together; it felt like savoring the removal of those intimate shreds of clothing. They watched each other now, Aedion peeling off his wet undershorts before he paused, with predatory eyes turned on Aelin who rose to let the slip of a thong drop to her ankles.

He pulled her into his arms under the water and her blood was on fire at the feel of his hardened cock pressed against her stomach. He bent to nuzzle her neck with his nose and she tightened her grip around his torso as he placed open mouthed kisses along her collar bone and neck. A wetness completely unrelated to the stream of the shower was pooling between her legs.

Aelin pinched Aedion’s bicep. He scoffed, jerking his lips away from devouring her ear lobe. “What was that for?”

She cupped his firm ass, “I’m going first,” and didn’t wait for a response as her tongue trailed up the base of his throat.

He huffed and breathed hot in her ear, “You pinch me again and I’m going to pin you to that wall till you go hoarse shrieking my name.”

Aelin hoped he didn’t notice her heart skip a beat as she gripped him harder, “is that a challenge?”

He smacked her ass and held her naked body fiercely to his until her toes were barely touching the floor. She gasped and thread her fingers roughly through his hair, pulling his lips down to meet hers. Aedion’s breath hitched into her mouth and he was lost. It was a hard and soft and wanting; a bottomless pit of fiery need that tugged at his core.

He barely registered their feet splashing in water, only their kisses and moans as they stumbled and her back hit the tiled wall. His fingers splayed wide along her body, moving up the curve of her thighs, her hips. He planned to stay right here until he’d claimed her and pulled every incoherent sound out of her mind and mouth.

He moved away abruptly, leaving her panting and reaching for his warmth as he grabbed a bottle off the shampoo rack.

“Aedion, I need you now.”

His heart thundered, “I know, A.” His voice was rough and she tried to calm her breathing as he poured the oil onto his fingers and palms. Aelin’s breasts felt full and heavy as she anticipated where his hands would be seconds from now.

Another searing kiss and she threw her arms around his neck as he pressed her into the wall once again. Aedion pulled back so they shared only breath and snaked a large hand between their torsos until he groped her slit. He thread his fingers between her folds, massaging them back and forth, exciting every nerve. The pads of his fingertips circled and swirled along every groove, spreading copious amounts of oil. Aelin released a guttural sound. Moments of the pleasure passed and she was sure the lips of her sex were delightfully swollen.

She opened her eyes to stare into Aedion’s, their colors a mirror of her own. The same need reflected in his expression, tears of water on their lashes, trickling down their brows and noses.

Aedion’s blood was on fire and his cock was throbbing, ready to sink into her soft body. He removed his hand from Aelin’s folds and worked his shaft with the remnants of oil and fluids before gripping one of her thighs and hefting it high. Her knee wrapped around his hip.

His lips met her forehead and released a groan as he prodded her opening and pushed in. The shower was so steamed up they could barely see a foot away. He slapped a hand against the wall next to Aelin’s head as he used the last of his self-control to fill her, pushing in and pulling out inch by inch. The oil was sensuously slick and he knew this method made her unravel as she felt every slow stroke move inside deeper and deeper until she could take no more.

He was thick and she was naturally tight. The first few times they’d had sex had been challenging as her body adjusted to the size and feel of something so very full.

She squeezed her leg around his middle and hung her head into the crook of his neck.

“Please, oh please…..It’s so good.” Aelin begged barely above a whisper, relishing the snug fit.

Aedion grunted into her hair, “I love you” and began to move inside her. He thrust to the rhythm of her breaths in his ear, his back muscles clenched and already sore from their workout.

His wet hands possessed her, wild need building them up until her sounds were high pitched somewhere between groan and whimper. His lungs heaved, and he knew when the moment came, he was going to come fast and hard. Intent fingers massaged her clit raw as his cock pulsed and her heat pulled and pulled at his shaft.

Aelin writhed and shrieked, clawing red scratches along his back as he angled her leg higher and thrust hard over and over. Their eyes blazed and she knew he felt it too, the warmth, the utter completion of their joining.

Another deep stroke made her knees go weak as she crested. There was no abating as he rode her there. She arched into him, her mind disorienting, her body forgetting to breath. Her legs began to quiver, and she wasn’t sure the exact moment her mind came back around, only registering him buried inside her and the thought that she wanted it again already. Thankful for his strength holding her leg, she clung to his wet body as Aedion pounded into her with final erratic thrusts. The spurt and waves of his hot seed filled her. The primal grunts accompanying his release that echoed in the shower made her want to laugh and kiss him all over.

When they finally pulled apart, his cock sliding free from her folds, arms gently releasing her leg, they collapsed onto the shower bench, Aelin’s head falling onto his shoulder.

He began to shake with laughter and Aelin joined him, pressing tender kisses to his face as she climbed into his lap.

“You’re going to be the death of me.” He flashed her a wide grin as his arms encircled her loosely and she braced herself against his chest.

“We better scrub down before someone bangs on my door demanding to know why every drop of hot water has been drained from the entire castle.”

“You’re probably not wrong.”

They washed each other’s hair and bodies in silence. When they finally turned off the water, their strength somewhat recovered and the room still full of steam, Aelin backed Aedion onto the bench with more kisses and rode him there. He was able to surrender for a few moments before losing himself again and lifting his hips to meet her stroke for tender stroke.

They had to do a quick rinse once more, but finally resolved to let their exhausted bodies rest. Aedion combed Aelin’s hair, towel drying her blond locks and patting down her body before doing the same for his own. They shoveled a full mouthful of cake before collapsing in a half-dried heap on her bed, limbs intertwined, breathes turning shallow. Aelin’s peaceful half-conscious smiled inwardly as a soft breeze floated past, lifting the billowy curtains leading to the balcony. These were her favorite types of happy afternoons.

@theilliumbluebell10

[dolce-cupid-blog]

I cannot fix all your problems,

But I promise you will not face them alone.

{2 am and can’t sleep so why not make a moodboard for Calli?}

[jellyfitzjelly]

Baby boy [Eugene/Dong-mae/Ae-shin]

ok lmao this was supposed to be a vignette on this OT3 but instead I ended up focusing on Dong-mae and Eugene, with Ae-shin away. I promise I’ll write a proper OT3 drabble next time. Maybe.

OT3, established relationship, rated G. for @randomingoftherandomness who has kindly tagged me in their last ficlet! thank you!

“You alright, baby boy?” Dong-mae heard as he tried to get his breathing under control.

Eugene’s cool hand over his heart finished to dissipate the nightmare that had clutched him.

“It’s nothing. Get back to sleep.”

He hummed softly in response. Dong-mae put his hand over his and, feeling utterly safe again, also went back to sleep. It was only the next morning that his mind went back to Eugene’s foreign words. English was a reflex in him. Dong-mae didn’t understand a word of it, despite Ae-sin’s efforts to teach him. He did, however, recognize two words. Two words he heard often, though he ignored their meaning.

Baby boy.

Eugene had always refused to tell him what they meant. Even Ae-sin, usually so eager to show off her English, resisted all his attempts to interrogate her. The words would surge spontaneously, when Eugene’s eyes were soft with tenderness and his smile easy and relaxed. Dong-mae knew it was at least partly involuntary on his lover’s side: each time he said the words, he would look embarrassed. What could be their meaning?

“What does it mean?”

“What?” answered Eugene after a moment, focused on getting in his uniform.

“What you told me last night. Baby boy. What does it mean?”

Dong-mae saw the telltale sign of his shoulders tensing. Eugene pretended to be absorbed in knotting his tie as he answered:

“I don’t remember. Did I talk in my sleep?”

“Stop taking me for an idiot and answer me.”

“Ae-shin’s train will be there shortly.”

Dong-mae leaped out of the bed to catch his arm.

“I want my answer, Yu-jin. You won’t leave this room until I know what these words mean.”

Eugene turned to look at his lover. Seeing the determined look in his eyes, he sighed in defeat.

“Baby boy.”

“What?”

“It means baby boy.”

His lover blinked, silently confused.

“Are you- Are you mocking me? Are you saying I’m a baby?”

“Of course not! It’s just affectionate!”

“It is affectionate to call someone a newborn?”

With a heavy sigh, Eugene passed a hand on his face.

“You- Look, in America, when you love someone, sometimes you call them things that are precious or beautiful.”

Dong-mae snorted, clearly unconvinced.

“What? Are babies really so precious there?”

His lover gently cupped his cheek, bringing his gaze into his.

“Yes. A child is seen as a gift from the heavens. So… you may not be a baby, but you are precious to me.”

To his delight, Dong-mae’s face reddened.

“If you say this in front of anyone, I will kill you,” he said, trying to look threatening and failing completely.

Eugene smiled and kissed him on the corner of his lips.

“Anything you want…baby boy.”

[stillebesat]

That’s How You Know

Sander’s Sides: Roman, Virgil, Patton, Logan Blurb: Roman is feeling low after not getting a part he auditioned for and desperately wanted.  Fic Type: Fluff (I promise) Song!Fic Song: That’s How You Know from Enchanted (some lyrics have been changed to fit the story) Tags: @sidewritings​

He shouldn’t be taking the news so hard. It wasn’t like he’d failed to get roles before when he’d gone to the tryouts. But this role. This part. Roman had been so confident that he’d get it. 

Everything in the audition had gone right. He’d had the director laughing. He’d had great chemistry with the people trying out for the other lead role, he’d even gotten multiple callbacks!

It had been one of those moments where he’d felt born to play that part, and had known he was going to get it. So to find out that the lead had gone to another...had been like a slap to the face. 

Roman pulled the collar of his red and white jacket up against the evening breeze that had picked up, shoving his hands deep into his pockets as he paced around the park. He should have been back home a couple of hours ago, but he hadn’t yet been able to bring himself to face the others. To tell them that he hadn’t got the part. He’d talked it up so much, been so confident...to go back and face them and tell them he’d been wrong, that he hadn’t...Roman inhaled raggedly, scrubbing at his burning eyes with the palm of his hand. How could he face them after this? How? He was a failure. A shining star that had been smothered too quickly it’s light doused almost as soon as it had been lit. Faintly over the wind, a chime like melody reached Roman’s ears, familiar to him because how could he not recognize a Disney song within two notes of it being played? He kicked at a pebble in the path. “How do I know, you love me?” He sang softly in the following silence, hunching his shoulders, unable to make himself louder because he knew his voice would crack if he did. “How do I know you’re.” His voice cracked anyways. “mine?”

“How do you know that I love you?” Patton sang, as the metallic chimes of one of those metal drums sounded behind Roman.

Roman jumped in surprise. Patton?! He whirled around to see Patton standing there in the middle of the path arms held out wide. On either side of him were Logan playing the melody Roman had just been singing on a metal drum, while Virgil on Patton’s other side joined in with a wooden drum...just like...just like in the movie. Roman inhaled, blinking rapidly, his heart pounding “H-how do I know...that you love me?” Patton eyes softened and he grinned, dancing forward to embrace Roman in a tight bone crushing hug. “How do you know that I really, really truly love you?” “How do I know that you love me?” Roman whisper-sang clinging to Patton. 

Patton pulled back, taking Roman’s hands, spinning him in a circle. “How do I show you I love you?” He asked, eyes sparkling, as he pulled Roman back to the others. “How do you know that we really, really, truly love you?” He let go of Roman’s hand to throw his arms up in the air. “It’s not enough to take the one you love for granted,” He sang loudly, full of cheer. “You must remind him or he’ll be inclined to say.” He raised an eyebrow to Roman.

Roman found his lips spreading in a trembling smile. “How do I know you love me?” He asked trying to keep his vision clear of tears as he glanced to Virgil and Logan. Logan didn’t look at him, focused on keeping the rhythm of the drum Roman hadn’t even known he could play. Virgil smirked, his bangs in front of his eyes as his fingers tapped out the beat on the wooden one. “How do you know that we love you?” He sang in a quiet baritone, shoulders hunching when Roman put his full focus on him. Roman’s heart seemed to swell. Virgil. Virgil was singing, in a public place. That was. That was-- Virgil looked away, a blush on his cheeks. “How do we show you we love you?” Roman took a breath, the weight on his shoulders seeming less heavy. His own voice strengthened as he continued his part. “How do I know you’re mine?” Patton took his hand again, pulling him away from the path into the open grass. “How do you know that we really, really, truly love you?” He asked, turning back to Roman, briefly gripping his shoulders. He winked. “Well, does he leave a little note to tell you you are on his mind?” He asked turning Roman to Logan, who had a pink tinge to his cheeks as he lifted his hands from the drum. Logan slipped his fingers into his jacket pocket and pulled out a paper handing it to Roman. There, written in gold ink was elegantly scrawled: You are admirable, Roman. “Logan.” Roman held the note close to his chest. A compliment? Even now? “Send you yellow flowers.” Patton spun Roman around before he could react further to Logan’s note to face Virgil who was holding out a bouquet of daffodils and sunflowers. “When the sky is grey-ee-a-ae!!” Roman grinned wide in delighted surprise. “Really, Dark and Gloomy?” Virgil rolled his eyes. “Just take it and continue singing, Princey.” He muttered, flushing further. “He’ll find a new way to show you.” Roman sang without further prompting as he took the flowers holding them up to his nose to get a wift of their happy little scent. “A little bit everyday.” He looked to Patton who danced around Roman, throwing red rose petals over him. “That’s how you know.” “That’s how I know.” Roman agreed, warmth spreading through his chest. “I’m your love.” “We’ve got to show you we need you.” Logan half spoke the words, his voice wobbling on hitting the right notes as he lowered the drum to the ground. “To not treat you like a mind reader.” He cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses. “Each day doing something to led you to believe we...love you.” 

Roman’s fingers tightened on the flowers. Logan trying to sing, to express his feelings. He lifted his head, squaring his shoulders. “Everybody wants to live happily ever after.” Roman threw his arms wide, spinning in a circle, looking up to the sky. “Everyone wants to believe their true love is true.” He glanced to the others who’d fanned out around him, curious to see what they’d do throughout the rest of the song. “How do I know you love me? How do I know you’re mine?” Patton winked, taking the flowers and setting them aside before taking Roman’s hands again to spin him around in a small waltz. “Well does he take you out dancing-” He spun him into Virgil who flawlessly continued the dance without missing a step. “Just so he can hold you close?” Roman widened his eyes in surprise. “I thought you didn--” Virgil smirked. “I don’t dance.” He winked. “With just anyone.” he added, as he broke away, sending Roman into Logan’s arms. “Dedicate a song with words meant just for you-oo-oo-oo” Patton sang. Logan rolled his eyes. “I don’t sing.” Roman chuckled. “Wasn’t expecting you to.” What little he’d done earlier had been surprising and heartwarming enough. Logan smiled back, and passed him back to Patton. Patton moved in closer, reaching his hands up to Roman’s head. “He’ll find his own way to tell you.” He sang and Roman felt something cool slip down to his brow. “Your crown, needed a crown.” He teased, twirling away. “With the little things you’ll do.” Roman reached up feeling the handmade wire diadem sitting there. He could barely get the next words out due to the lump in his throat. “That’s how I know.” “That’s how you know.” Virgil and Patton joined in, with Logan mouthing the words. “You’re our love.” 

“You’re my love.” Roman agreed, moving forward as the others gestured for him to follow them through the trees to a more secluded area of the park. “That’s how I know you love me. That’s how I know it’s true.” He lightly touched the crown once more. “Because you’ll wear my favorite color, just so you can match my--” “Style!” Patton sang out, pulling out a golden cardigan to wrap around his shoulders. Virgil unzipped his hoodie enough to show a red shirt with Roman’s emblem underneath it, while Logan pulled out a baseball cap that was white, red, and gold, placing it on his head. Roman’s throat closed up again, his breath hitching at the surprising gesture. “Those are magnificent.” he said hoarsely. Patton grinned slyly at him and gestured to a blanket underneath a tree with a movie-esque picnic already set out. “Rent a private picnic.” Logan snapped his fingers and a string of twinkle lights sparkled into life in the branches above. “By the fire’s glow-oh-oh-oh.” Virgil sang, fiddling with the strings of his jacket. 

Patton placed his hands on his chest. “Our hearts will be yours forever.” He sang sincerely, meeting Roman’s eyes.                                                                                        Roman found his voice, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes, this was all...too...wow. “Something everyday will show.” They’d done this all for him. Despite...despite everything. “That’s how I know.” He pulled the other three into a tight hug. “That’s how you know.” Patton rested his head against Roman’s chest. “That’s how you know.” Virgil agreed, tense in the hug, but not pulling away. He patted Roman awkwardly on the back. “That’s how you know.” Logan half spoke/sang managing to be in tune, despite his voice being muffled by Roman’s jacket. “You’re our love.” They all sang together, harmonizing like a choir of angels. Roman broke off the last note, half laughing half crying as he pulled back. “Guys that was….” “Magnificent?” Logan asked “Super Sweet?” Patton supplied hopping over to the picnic basket to pull out a cake. “Cheesy?” Virgil retorted. “It’s cake, kiddo, cake isn’t cheesy...unless it’s cheesecake!!” Logan groaned rubbing his eyes. “Patton. Please. Don’t.” “All that with superbly wonderful mixed in.” Roman laughed, wiping at his eyes. “Thank you.” “Hey, what are we here for if not to boost you up when you’re feeling down, Sir-Sing-a-lot?” Virgil asked, sprawling out on the blanket, pulling his hood up. “No matter what, Roman, you’ll always be the Lead in our lives.” Patton said, squeezing his arm. “The hero! The champion! Our Idol!” “He gets it, Pat.” Virgil muttered. “Yes, no matter what roles in your…uh...theatrical pursuits may or may not happen, you’re still important to us.” Logan added, adjusting his glasses as he carefully knelt on the blanket. “Just because this opportunity didn’t happen doesn’t mean you’re a failure, you will just have to learn and grow from it and find a bigger opportunity in the next...ah...audition.” Roman sat on the blanket, adjusting the diadem on his head. “I’ll...I’ll have to remember that...again.” He truly would. How could he have ever thought they’d think less of him for not getting the role? “Thank you, guys.” He said sincerely looking to all of them. How had he gotten so lucky in having them in his life? “For cheering me up in the best way imaginable.”

[moononastring]

Spirit Meets the Bones XV

Find it all here.

Genre: Angst/Romance  Warnings: Mentions of physical abuse. PLEASE NOTE: This chapter will contain physical abuse with some implied language may be found triggering. Author’s Note: Feedback is always welcome and very encouraging :) I love knowing what you think so thank you for reading! Big shoutout to my boo @aurips who read through for me and helped me bounce ideas to keep going! Thank you so much for your patience!!!!!

Tagging: @aurips | @quinlars | @helion-ism | @illyrianvalkyrie | @arielle-reads | @gwyns | @highladyofdawn @ae-lingalathynius | @gingerwritess | @live-the-fangirl-life | @positivewitch | @readthelastpaage | @highladyoftheday | @thewilderheart | @deez-thrillerkiller16 | @rarephloxes | @ladyelain | @rainbowcheetah512 | @rainbowsnowflake | @bookologist | @gwynberdara | @lattristanketchup | @spell-cleavers | @sheisnotwriting | @sophilightwood | @yourlocalbookwhore | @applestrudeldoo | @story-scribbler | @velvet-rays | @pascale-the-bard | @lord-lochan | @cinnamon-mentos | @cynicalpotato95 | @ellies-iced-coffee | @snickerdoodlechittybangbang | @cassianstan | @lovelywxxb | @acourtofbooksandfantasy | @sea-hag-dominion | @halaberdara | @ifinallygavein | @highqueenevankhell | @readingwithshelley | @a-court-of-illyrian-wingspans | @weesablackbeak | @ahsokasanity | @atlasofdreams | @sfae | @spinachtz | @kingandfireheart

The promise of death had slipped out of his mouth before he could process what was happening, and Eris’ jaw clenched as he glanced at his father-in-law, thinking of the time he had wasted playing his father’s games.

Eris had known his father would fuck around to keep him from being here when Lord Aron arrived, but he hadn’t realized the asshole had slipped in early undetected.

All the High Lord had said was, “Stay. The sight of you brings me joy, son.”

And Eris had been forced to stand in silence as his father ignored him, while Iris met with her father alone.

But if Eris pushed, Beron would only delight in twisting this nugget of information. And Eris couldn't risk it.

Although none of it mattered in the end.

Anger and a slight panic had fueled his steps, knowing his father was likely laughing his ass off after he finally released him, but it was as he set foot into the hall leading to their chambers that he froze and every single nerve in his body went on high alert. Because Eris heard Iris.

He had felt her calling for him and didn’t stop to think about how when he felt her panic course through him.

Eris winnowed directly to the front of their door and froze again, listening for a moment — listening to the sneering of her father. To his threats against her. So many threats and Eris saw red.

Now he was crouched before his wife, his Iris, who was on the floor with bruises. Who had flinched back from him because of her father.

His wife, whom he had promised to be here with her when this piece of shit came.

He’d welcome Lord Aron warmly alright.

“Can you stand?” he asked her ever so gently and Iris massaged a hand to her throat then nodded. He held out a hand and waited as Iris watched him, her eyes looking at him with an expression he certainly couldn’t read into now. An expression that made the beating of his heart turn erratic.

But then Lord Aron snorted and Iris flinched back, her hand shooting back to her side, her eyes snapping to her father. Eris’s hand slowly curled into a fist and he spared the Lord one look before his eyes fell back on Iris.

“I’m going to have a word with your father. Would you like to be here for this or go elsewhere?” he asked her quietly and Iris licked her lips, shaking her head.

“I’m staying.” she said hoarsely and he nodded. He had expected nothing less from her.

Slowly, Eris straightened as his father-in-law stared at him.

“That isn’t the warm welcome I expected, Eris.” Lord Aron replied then cleared his throat. “That statement is a threat.”

“Yes. It is.” Eris said simply, his eyes cataloging every detail about the awful male in front of him. His mind drifted back to every foul thing Iris had told him about her father. “Bow.”

His father-in-law blinked then flushed. “Is that necessary? We are family.”

Eris cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Do you bow to the High Lord?”

“Of course. He is the High Lord.”

“And I am the High Lord’s son.” Eris said coldly. “I do not consider you my family, Bertillon. Bow.”

Lord Aron’s flush deepened, and he shot Iris a glare. “Look what you’ve done you stupid bi —”

A growl slipped from Eris’s lips, cutting the lord’s rant off and he held himself taunt enough it was almost painful. It took every ounce of Eris’s will power not to rip the male apart. “I strongly suggest you not finish that statement.” Eris hissed and finally, his father-in-law had the decency to have some fear in his eyes.

Swallowing, Lord Aron shot Iris one more look of contempt before bowing his head towards Eris.

“Lower.” Eris snarled lowly.

The Lord hesitated for a heartbeat before bending at the waist.

Eris surveyed him then hummed. He glanced at Iris, still on the floor a few feet away from where both he and her father stood, watching her father with disgust. It eased his tension only slightly that her bruises had already started to fade but didn’t stop the guilt — the anger — that she had them in the first place.

His mother’s bruises flashed in his mind and Eris looked back to the second male who he would daydream about viciously shredding to pieces.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Eris spoke calmly. “I will give you one chance to answer this correctly.” he began and Lord Aron’s eyes narrowed. “Why, exactly, are you here? Other than to tell lies about your daughter.”

“I don’t have to answer you when you speak to me that way, Eris.” Lord Aron snarled and shot Eris a glare.

Eris smiled.

“Oh, but you do, Bertillon. The only reason you’re still standing where you are and not dead is because of your daughter.” he said, his tone a lethal calm and Lord Aron’s mouth twisted.

“Your father wouldn’t like that.” he replied quietly and Eris’s smile darkened.

“I suggest you worry less about my father and fix that face. I’m not one you should be looking at like that.” he said quietly. “Especially when my fire could wrap itself around your throat and I could so easily...let it burn.”

Lord Aron blanched then cleared his throat, attempting to fix his jacket for a quiet moment before answering. “I came to make sure my daughter isn’t giving you a hard time.” he replied and despite the lack of color in his face, he shot Iris another look of disdain. “I know she has the tendency to overstep her boundaries often.”

Eris blinked, feeling the very tight leash on his anger very close to snapping, his rage building and building and building. How many times must he watch the people he cares about deal with this? He already had his father to deal with and now...this vermin seemed to think he could come in here and put his hands on his wife. He took a step towards the male as the room drastically heated. “Who gave you permission to come in here?”

Her father blinked. “As your father-in-law, I assumed I was welcome to come see my daughter.”

Eris let a heartbeat of silence pass, the fury whirling in his body, giving his father-in-law a moment to realize just how badly he had fucked up. A moment passed before he said too quietly and too calmly, “You assumed wrong.”

And then Eris was on him.

Fire encompassed them both as Eris wrapped a hand tightly around the lord’s neck and slammed him into the ground, hovering over him.

“No one has permission to be in here. No one.” he snarled softly. “Did my wife want you in here?”

“Let go of me.” his father-in-law hissed but a deadly smirk found its way to Eris’s lips and his grip tightened.

“Answer. The. Question.” he demanded softly. “Did she give you permission to be in here? Because I certainly didn’t.”

“Your father —”

“Isn’t here.” Eris snapped, his fingers digging into Aron’s throat. “Answer. The. Question.”

“No.” Aron choked out and Eris’s hand heated around the lord’s throat.

“Then it seems to me,” Eris began, and it was the wrath of a god streaming from his fingertips. “That if anyone has the tendency to overstep their boundaries here, it’s you.” He spat and leaned in closer. “You forget yourself, Lord. You forget that while you are in the home of the High Lord and in his pocket, whatever permission my father gave you, doesn’t — apply — to — me.”

Eris leaned back again and whatever damper he usually had on his anger was loosened slightly so that nothing but fire could be found in his gaze.

“You made me break my promise.” he said in a deadly calm. “And then you put your hands on my wife.” Slowly, without breaking eye contact, he slid his free hand to Aron’s and with the truly sinister smile he was known for, Eris twisted his arm back and simply...snapped it.

The lord howled and a savage grin bloomed on Eris’s face.

“Yes, you should scream.” Eris said quietly. “You decided to come in here and put your hands on my wife and then have the audacity to think you’d be able to do it again. She flinched back from me because of you. And well...I didn’t like that.” Eris tightened his grip on Aron’s twisted arm and the lord let out another yelp. “I really, really don’t like it. So now, I’m going to break every bone in your body.”

“She’s my daughter.” her father-in-law snarled. “You can’t do this! I’ll tell your father.”

Eris let out a low laugh. “On the contrary, you can’t do anything.” he said and slid his hand to Aron’s broken one and then one by one, bent his fingers back far enough to break. Eris watched with feral delight as the lord screamed in agony, thinking of Iris’s bruised cheek. Thinking of her bruised throat.

“Consider everything I’m going to do to you as payback for everything you’ve done to her over the years.” he snarled softly and any color left on the lord’s face disappeared as the stench of his fear filled the room. “Oh yes, I’ve heard all about it. I’m going to make you regret every waking moment of your life until now.”

“Eris — son, let’s not —”

But Eris didn’t let him finish. A fist of flame slammed into Aron’s face and it sent him flying back into the table then he crumbled to the floor with a groan, his broken arm hanging useless on his side.

Eris ran a hand through his hair and rolled his shoulders back as he watched Lord Aron pitifully try to sit up. He watched him struggle, watched and knew how his cheek would swell up and that blackened eye would remain closed for a while. Delighted in the slight burn marks on his neck like a pretty necklace.

But it still felt too little. It didn’t feel like enough. He had touched his wife. His wife who he was supposed to protect and had failed. Because her father decided to overstep just like his father tried to overstep. The urge to kill and kill and kill consumed him.

His feet moved on their own, flame licking at his feet, until he crouched in front of Aron again and gripped him by his hair, yanking his head back. “Do not ever call me son, Bertillon. You are nothing to me.”

“Enough.” the lord rasped. “T-this is enough.”

Eris slanted his head, assessing him calmly. “Is it? You put bruises on my wife. You threatened her with more.” He leaned him closer to Bertillon who flinched back and a wicked smirk found its way to Eris’s lips. “Did you think you could walk out of here the same way you walked in? With no consequences?”

“Eris — we can —”

“Didn’t anyone tell you?” Eris spoke and it was almost like he was in a trance as he let his fire wrap around his father-in-law’s neck once more. “I really, really don’t like it when people think they can overstep their boundaries with me, and you are too confident for your own good.”

He watched Lord Aron swallow thickly and his smirk widened.

“I - I’m sorry — let’s just —”

Eris clicked his tongue and Aron silenced immediately. “You shouldn’t be apologizing to me. You should be apologizing to Iris.”

Lord Aron’s face flushed, and he sent a glare towards Iris, who watched all this in stunned silence.

“I have nothing to apologize to her for. She’s my daughter. I will treat her as I see fit.”

Eris said nothing for a moment, simply watching the male then nodded. Tightening his grip in the male’s hair, Eris slammed him back into the table once more then pulled him closer.

“Let’s try that again.” he said calmly. “Don’t be stupid now, Bertillon. If I tell you to apologize, you will apologize.”

Lord Aron blinked a few times, the slam to his head clearly dazing him. Eris only watched him as he blinked again at Eris then his eyes flickered to Iris, his gaze hardening. “Why would I apologize when she puts me in positions like this?”

“These are the consequences of your own actions. Your mouth and hands put you in this position, you scum.” Eris snarled softly. “You are the only one responsible for your choices so apologize.”

Aron attempted to glare, barely able to with one eye swollen shut. His lip curled in disgust, glancing once more at Eris then back at Iris.

“I can say the words all you want,” he spoke quietly, his eyes never leaving his daughter. “But I will never mean them. I am sorry for nothing, you useless girl.”

Eris blinked then smiled slowly, ever so gently tugging his father-in-law’s head back, bringing his gaze back to meet his eyes. “I see.” he said softly. “I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way then.”

Aron licked his lips quickly, glancing between Iris and Eris before opening his mouth to speak. “W-wait —”

But Eris tightened his grip and Lord Aron blanched, falling silent immediately. Eris let the blazing flame in his gaze rest only on Aron, he let his hands heat around his throat once more, taking a deep breath.

“I wonder,” Eris began, his voice as soft as a lover’s. “Where should I begin with you?”

Aron made a choking sound as Eris dragged him by the throat closer to him, watching as he turned slightly blue.

“Should I start with your spine? I know exactly where to break it so you don’t die too quickly and suffer properly. Make sure you really feel it.” he said with an unhinged smile. “What about a few burns? We can start right at a second degree then quickly go deeper. Maybe some permanent damage? I could give you a permanent facial deformity. Your physical appearance should match how disgusting you are on the inside, no?”

“Eris — wait —”

Eris slammed Aron’s head back into the table again, earning him a groan. “You know what? Let’s start with your other arm. You don’t really need your hands anyway.”

And Eris saw nothing, registered nothing else aside from his fists and his magic unleashing themselves on his father-in-law. He was vaguely aware of him snapping Aron’s other arm. Recalled briefly the feel of his nose crunching beneath his fist. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t enough.

He wanted his blood to fill the halls. He wanted every bone in his body to turn to dust. He wanted him to shrivel into ash.

Most of all, Eris wanted to take back every moment Iris had been alone with him, take back the panic she had felt — that Eris had felt.

The panic Eris had felt at his own father’s smug smile from earlier. His father, who Eris had no doubt, allowed this idiotic male to walk around this cocky.

A scream of agony tore through his thoughts, and it made Eris grin as a sound of bone crunching followed. The feeling of the bastard’s blood coating his knuckles as his fist collided again and again and again until —

He heard something else.

“Eris.”

His name.

A gentle hand touched his shoulder through the flame encompassing him. Flame that would burn anyone else but one —

Only when her voice said his name once more, did he pause and turned to look at his wife slowly.

She was standing before him, her eyes wide but Eris saw no fear in them, just — just concern.

“Eris, it’s okay. You can stop now.” she said softly, her hands still on his shoulder.

He blinked. “He hurt you.” Eris said simply and Iris licked her lips as she squeezed his shoulder gently.

“I know. But I think that’s enough.” she said, and her gaze flickered to her father for a moment before meeting Eris’s gaze again. “I think he’s learned his lesson.”

“He’s owed more than this.” Eris replied, his gaze locked on her beautiful face, still healing. “He made me break my promise.”

“I know.” she agreed and didn’t break his gaze, giving him a tight smile. “But I don’t want him ruining the carpet. I think you can let him go.”

Eris blinked again and the corner of his mouth lifted. He kept his gaze on his wife and when Iris nodded briefly, he nodded back. He turned back to her father and gave his swollen, broken figure a look of disgust.

“Consider this a warning,” Eris began coldly. “You are no longer related to Iris. You will have nothing to do with her or with me. You will not come near either of us. You will not ask about her, attempt to visit, or attempt to contact her at all.” He turned to Iris. “Does this sound reasonable to you, wife?”

She blinked in surprise then nodded. “Yes.”

“Good.” he said with a smile that was anything but kind as he turned back to his father-in-law. “If I find out that you even thought about crossing those boundaries, I will tie you to a column in the middle of the courtyard and torture you in all the methods you think the High Lord has tried and more. Do I make myself clear?”

The lump of flesh that was Lord Aron gave a weak nod. Satisfied, Eris stood then dragged the limp body of his father-in-law and opened their chamber door to find several of his sentries waiting there.

“Dump him in an empty room. He isn’t allowed to see a healer for a few hours. I want him to be reminded of this pain every moment until then.” he commanded. “If anyone asks, tell them it’s my business. Should they ask again, I’ll gladly pile them right next to him.”

Eris glanced down at what was left of Lord Aron and granted his father-in-law one last look of burning rage. “Consider yourself lucky to be alive, you filthy piece of shit.” he swore and crouched down to meet his trembling gaze. “This time you got off easily. Next time...there won’t be anything left of you to find. I can promise you that.”

He watched his father-in-law twitch slightly, a small whimper slipping from the male’s lips and savage satisfaction coursed through Eris’s veins. Using one finger, the Prince of Autumn pressed into his father-in-law’s throat and let a little heat surge through it. The lump that was his father-in-law made a choking sound that only caused Eris to smile darkly. “You are very very lucky your daughter wanted to grant you a little mercy. I don’t consider it in my nature when it comes to filth who overstep their boundaries, especially when you don’t deserve it.” he snarled softly. “I pray you aren’t foolish enough to approach Iris again because I will simply delight in showing you exactly how much I like to let it burn.”

With that, Eris straightened and waved a hand, watching as his sentries dragged what was left of Lord Aron.

Eris let a ragged breath shudder out of him before turning back into their chamber and closing the door behind him. He needed to calm his rage. Calm the level of anger and tension coming off him in waves. He knew the room had heated the moment he stepped back into it but was hesitating to turn around, hesitating to find Iris and see fear in her eyes. Turning slowly, his eyes immediately found Iris who was staring at the spot where her father had been, the flecks of his blood splattered on the floor.

He swallowed hard then cleared his throat and said, “I’ll have someone clean it.”

Iris’s head snapped up to him and Eris paused in place. His throat bobbed at her assessing gaze and he clasped his shaking hands behind his back. He knew he looked rumpled, wild even, knew he was still running on a lot of anger, his body coursing with so much adrenaline at the way his magic had thrived to be released.

He had always held himself on a tight leash and this wasn’t the way he wanted Iris to see him unrestrained. Not in a way that could instill fear. Only last night she had told him she was still scared and now —

Eris waited, watching her with a look that matched the intensity of what he was feeling. He couldn’t help the cascade of emotions coursing through his body when he looked at her, cataloguing how she stood. The feeling of it was about to bring him to his knees. He took a quiet breath, relaxed his shoulders, and let his hands fall to his sides as he waited for Iris to speak.

But he said nothing. And she said nothing.

Iris watched him as he watched her, and a faint sense of dread began to slide its way through his bloodstream. After a moment, she took a hesitant step towards him then froze as her gaze fell to his hands and Eris felt his heart drop. He watched her swallow then turn and silently made her way to their bathroom. He watched her go and waited for a tense moment, wondering if she would lock herself in there to stay away from him. Had he gone too far? Had he scared her?

He swallowed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to handle her avoiding him again. Not after last night. Not after everything that just happened.

He felt that dread start tingling in fingertips and make its way steadily up his arms and his chest — he felt too much. And he wasn’t ready for something he had barely begun to enjoy to crumble.