#formatting posts on mobile is a nightmare by the way let me move my fucking Images around

[tomtenadia]

A Little Braver - 17

So, as promised, part 17 is her.

Be prepared to submerge our bird boy with hugs, he will need them.

I promise the chapter will end in fluff and in a good note. The angst is only for the beginning. I need to douse it a bit since from ch 19 onwards the angst gremlin will be back with a vengeance.

I hope you will love it.

A big hug to all the people who commented, reblogged or loved this fic. Thanks to all of you.

A week had gone by and Aelin and Rowan had taken the official decision to try and go back and both deal with the mess of their lives. 

The week had been perfect. Rowan had taken her hillwalking everyday and slowly she had started to feel like herself again. His presence had helped immensely. In a very short time he had become her rock. Full recovery was still a long way ahead but she felt better and with him at her side she had no more panic attacks or nightmares. 

She felt sad at the idea of leaving the cottage in the mountains but they had promised to go back for some special occasion.

*

It was morning and Rowan was getting ready to go back to work. They had set a date for the inquiry on his student’s death and that would be the day.

For once Aelin was the one worried one. She could not forget his reaction to the movie or the night he came back drunk after Fuzzy’s death. She knew he had put up a wall but hoped he would at least let her in. 

“What are you going to do?” He asked her while adjusting his tie.

“I have a meeting with Dorian and the counsellor and then I will pop in at the station and say hi to the squad and apologise.”

“Good.” His tone was detached and she moved a step to him and hugged his waist from behind “are you okay?”

He sighed “nervous. This will mean revive the entire accident over and over again.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

He shook his head and kissed her “thanks for the offer but I will be fine. My squadron will be there and you have an important meeting as well.”

“Ok,” she wanted to believe him, but could not ignore his cold detached tone and Aelin had learned that it was his coping mechanism. He was not okay.

-

Rowan arrived at the airforce HQ and was met by Lorcan.

“Sir,” he stood to attention.

“At ease captain,” Rowan stood down from attention and placed his hands behind his back in a at rest pose “I am sorry it’s so quick. I knew you were coming back yesterday and I did manage to hold on until today.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Are you sure you are ready?” And for once Rowan heard concern in his CO’s voice “this is going to be brutal.”

“I know.”

“I am on the board too and we have Captain Walker from the 24th squadron and Captain Matthews from the 31st and two engineers. They have all copies of the inquiry sent to the board.”

“Who is the president?”

“Marshal Clark.” Said Lorcan in a preoccupied tone.

“Fuck. The man hates me with a vengeance.”

Rowan sighed again and sat on the bench just outside of the room used for the meeting.

His squad arrived a moment later and they patted each other’s back in support.

“We are all here.” Gavriel told him taking a seat at his side.

“Thanks everyone.”

One of the assistants appeared on the door and announced the board was ready to convene. Rowan quickly texted Aelin and switched off his mobile.

The marshal, being the president, was in the centre of the seating area. Rowan went to greet the other two captains with whom he got along nicely and had known for a long time. Then he went to the marshal and saluted as expected “at ease captain.”

Rowan went to his assigned seat and flipped through the folder in front of him. It contained all the documents they needed. His report of the accident, the reports from the engineering team and other supporting evidence.

Marshal Clark called everyone to attention and declared the board in session. He then proceeded to explain to the members the accident that had happened.

One of the engineers who had performed checks after the aircraft had been recovered was asked to present his findings “after the analysis of the recovered aircraft and after having studied the dynamics of the accident we have found out that the main cause for the engine failure was a disruption in the airflow in the port intake causing it to stall with enough yaw rate to induce a flat spin. Cadet Williamson, according to the records of the accident, flew in the jet wash of one of his classmate’s aircrafts. That caused the airflow disruption. The stall was unrecoverable.” explained the engineer reading from his report “with regard to the canopy, we have found a fault in some model of jets used by the students where the charges did not operate correctly, causing the canopy to separate incorrectly. All those planes are grounded and now being checked.”

“Thank you.” Said the marshal, then his gaze turned to Rowan “Captain Whitethorn, stand please.”

Rowan did so.

“Could you please re tell the board the events that lead to the death of the cadet?”

Rowan took a deep breath and retold step by step what happened. It was still vivid in his mind that it would take ages before he could forget it.

“Did you tell the cadet to eject?”

“I did, sir.”

“Why?” Asked the marshal with inquisitive tone.

“He had lost control of the aircraft. From the black box retrieved from his jet he had pulled 9g after he started spiralling. From my position I could see that he was about to pass out. Ejecting the seat had been the safest option. Little did I know that the canopy would fail.”

The two other captains nodded in agreement, knowing full well that they would have suggested the same thing.

“Would the cadet have survived if he had more high G training?”

“Sir,” Rowan almost growled at his superior “his jet was under 9g for almost ten seconds before crashing in the water. Not even an experienced and highly trained pilot can sustain or survive that.” He breathed again “and you know better than me that centrifuge training can be done only with some weekly limits due to its dangers.”

“Had the cadets received basic procedures on how to properly eject and when?”

“Yes, sir. It’s one of the first things they are taught. They are shown how to properly deploy their parachute and how to blow the canopy. Training is also done in different conditions to simulate possible combat scenery.”

“Training was not the issue here,” said Lorcan going in Rowan’s support “Captain Whitethorn is one of our most experienced instructors and hundreds of students have survived his crushing training and are still alive today because of what he has taught them.”

“The post mortem also backed the cause of death in the crash of the body against the canopy.” Added captain Matthews.

“What kind of training were you doing that day?” The marshal continued, ignoring the protests.

“We were going through some basic dogfight routines. The cadets were only five months out of the academy so we were just covering the basics as per fighter school curriculum.” Answered Rowan who felt lost all of a sudden.

“Would the manoeuvre you had practiced put the boy in a position to be in another jet’s wake? Didn’t you teach them how to stay away from the jet wash of another aircraft during a dogfight?” The marshal had an agenda, that was very clear to Rowan. He was trying to blame this on him.

Captain Walker stood angrily “why are we attacking captain Whitethorn? The problem was that the engine stalled due to the jet wash from another aircraft. An experienced fighter might have been able to find a way out of such deadly spiral, the gods know I have found myself in that situation and got out of it by pure damn luck. Not a cadet five months out of the academy. It’s our job to teach them such manoeuvres but only after they have mastered the basics.” He sat down again nodding at Rowan.

“A good instructor would have taught his students how to fly in close formation and to avoid the wake of a team mate. A captain should know what such manoeuvre could cause.” Continued the marshal who had taken the fight to Rowan.

Lorcan stood angrily “That is enough.” He shouted.

“I would suggest you to sit down, Air commodore.”

“Not when you accuse my best instructor of being the cause of the death of a student.”

“It is my job as president of this board to try and figure out what happened.”

“I told two of my students they were too close. I advised another one not to drop below hard deck. I care about the safety of my students.” Rowan almost growled at the marshal “also, I stand by my decision to order cadet Williamson to eject. Had the canopy worked he’d be alive now.”

The marshal nodded and with a bored expression he then went back to the engineering team and they discussed the canopy issue.

Rowan let them talk and his brain disconnected completely and tried to ignore the pain from what had just transpired.

He sat in silence listening to the rest of the board discuss in the background. 

The marshal eventually called the board to attention “Following the evidence provided by the engineering team and the testimony of captain Whitethorn I declare that the death of cadet Williamson was caused by the port engine stall due to airflow disruption in the intake. The commission also noted that the flat spin in which the cadet went in was not recoverable. Captain Whitethorn is cleared of any faults.” Rowan noticed the disappointment on the man’s face for the fact the had been cleared of any faults.

The marshal then turned to Lorcan “Commodore, I expect you to keep the students grounded until the training jets have been fixed.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The board is dismissed.” Clark stood and walked out.

The other two captain went to Rowan “I had no idea the bastard would try to blame you for this.”captain Matthews added with fury.

“I would have told my students to eject as well. It was the only option.” Added captain Walker.

But Rowan was not listening. It hurt too much, knowing that someone had tried to blame the death of his student on him. That the marshal had to question all of his choices and possibly his training methods.

Lorcan and his squadron were at his side as soon as the room was clear.

“The arsehole has some guts.” Commented Fenrys but Gavriel elbowed him.

Rowan stood in a daze and left the room ignoring the voices of his team calling him.

*

Aelin’s meeting with Dorian and the counsellor had gone better than she expected. Thanks to Rowan she had been able to open up and talk to them about what happened and how she had been before her escape and what had prompted her to flee. She admitted to them her fears.

She felt much better but she had confessed that she did not feel ready to go back in action. She felt okay about going back to the station and work from the office but was not ready yet to be in a fire. She was still too scared for that and Dorian and the counsellor accepted her admission.

So they had agreed for a transition period. Aelin was told as well to attend weekly sessions with the counsellor to track her progress and her mental health recovery. She would be on desk duty for a while and after that, Dorian was willing to send her back out but just at his side in a fire emergency allowing her again to be close to the fire scene and if that went well they could work on a plan on sending her back in. 

She had agreed with the final decision and had left the room with a smile and a light heart. She stopped in the corridor to check her phone but no news from Rowan. The meeting should be over by now. She hoped he was okay.

Happily she drove back to her squad and everyone was eager to catch up with her. Then Aedion stopped in front of her “never again,” he told her and Aelin went for a hug. He remained stiff for a moment, then his arms enveloped her in a bear hug “looks like your captain fixed you up nicely.”

“Hey, I would recover from anything if I had such man looking after me.” Said Ansel and everyone laughed.

“He has been nice to me.” But all she could think was his face from that morning.

 *

Rowan had been walking without a direction for a while now. He felt as if he had lost his rudder, he had spent the last twelve years of his life working for people who had been ready to blame on him the death of a student. He looked at his uniform and for the first time since he had worn it he felt no pride in it. He had been so tempted to resign his wings on the spot. No matter that he had been cleared, it stung so much, even if it had been the opinion of one man.

It had been too much. He knew the marshal was never a fan of his. The first student he had lost had been his son. But at the time as well the board had declared it had not been his fault. It had been the pilot’s mistake. The marshal never forgave him. Seeing him again at a board for a student’s death he had probably tried to punish him for what happened to his son.

In the distance he spotted a pub and decided that a drink might help. He got in and sat at the counter and ordered a whisky, but once the drink was in front of him he could not drink it. In his current state he would spiral down again to the same level of self destruction of many years before when he lost the marshal’s son and he could not do that again. He could not put Aelin through that pain.

So he did the only sensible thing. He called her.

Aelin was in the common room with the squad and they were having fun and the guys were telling her about some of the calls they had and then they were teasing Luca and his upcoming exam.

She was about to tell them to stop picking on him when her phone went off. It was Rowan and her heart stopped. 

She quickly left the room and went outside, sitting on the bumper of one of the engines “hey,”

“Hi,” his voice was low and flat and she feared for him.

“What’s wrong.”

Silence.

“Ro, are you okay?”

“No.”

Shit. She stood and started pacing “where are you?”

“At a pub.”

“Which one.”

He told her the name.

“I am coming. Just stay there.” And closed the conversation and almost laughed at the irony of the situation. A week before she had been at the receiving end of such conversation.

She ran back to the squad “guys, I need to go. Rowan. It’s not good. I just have to go…”

She didn’t even wait for an answer. She just rushed back to her car and drove to him. He did not sound drunk so maybe it was not all lost.

She arrived at pub not long after and stormed in. Rowan was sitting at the counter staring at a glass of whisky in front of him.

“Ro.” She walked to him and his green eyes fell on her. There was pain in them, so much pain.

“You are not drunk,” she told him.

“He ordered the whisky two hours ago and had been staring at it ever since.” Said the bartender.

“Hey,” she caressed his head and he closed his eyes at the touch “what happened?”

He shook his head “not here.” He stood and Aelin followed then came back and chugged down the abandoned whisky and went after him.

He was walking away and she ran after him “wait, you have long legs, damn you.” He extended an arm behind him and Aelin grabbed his hand “fine, we are outside, spill the beans.”

She definitely had no tact.

He walked silently a bit longer until they reached a small park and he sat down on a bench and Aelin took a spot at his side never letting his hand go.

And then he told her. Everything that had happened in the room. The results of the inquiry, the marshal’s accusations. The identity of the first student he had lost and his desire to quit.

“I wanted to throw my wings in the marshal’s face.” He looked down dejected “I feel lost now. I want to go back to my students, I owe it to them, to teach them how to be safe. But everything else… I don’t care about it anymore.” his head leaned against her shoulder and Aelin brushed his head with her hand and kissed it tenderly “Ro, how can I help you?”

Rowan turned his head to her and she thought his eyes were wet with tears “what you are doing just now is enough. Having you with me helps.”

“Do you need to go back to the airbase now?”

Rowan nodded sadly.

“Ok, I’ll drive you.” Aelin stood and Rowan followed but before moving he pulled her to him and drew her in for a kiss “I love you.” He said quietly.

She flicked his nose “let’s go.” She offered him her hand and together they walked back to her car.

They arrived at the airbase not long after “do you need me to come in?”

Rowan shook his head “my team is there. I will be fine. Gav will stop me from doing anything stupid.”

“Good. I am going back to the station.” She leaned forward to kiss him “Will you be okay? I am worried about you.”

“I am a big boy.” He joked.

“Ro…”

He leaned forward and kissed her “I do love so much when you call me Ro like that…”

Aelin smiled against his lips “don’t do anything stupid and tomorrow you can ravish me all you want. You can even be super creative.”

“How can I refuse such proposal?” He kissed her again “I will be fine.” His hand went to the door handle and opened the door “I will see you tomorrow morning at home. Have a nice night shift.”

Aelin’s heart swelled with joy at the word home. Their place. They hadn’t made it official but her house had become home. Their home. And she loved the feeling of it.

“Think creative, captain.”

He winked at her and left the car. Then he waved at her and Aelin left, he put his cap on his head and headed back inside the airbase.

-

Rowan made his way to Lorcan’s office and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

“Come in,” came from inside.

Rowan entered the room and Lorcan looked up at him and he did notice the expression of disbelief in his CO’s face.

“Rowan —” but the other man stopped him.

“Thank you for today. For the support.” Rowan said quietly sitting on the chair in front of his CO.

“The man was out of line.” Lorcan growled “he knows what kind of instructor you are. How strict you are. The man was trying to get you sacked as a punishment for his son’s death knowing full well that again it was not your fucking fault.”

Rowan looked away, shutting away the painful memories.

“I already sent orders to start working on the canopies and check them all.”

Rowan nodded silently.

“I know what we can do to cheer you up.” Rowan turned his head staring at a surprisingly cheery Lorcan. Elide was really doing miracles.

“Grab you gear and let’s get out in the air, this man here needs to fly. It’s been so long that it’s a miracle I can still be called a pilot.” And he chuckled.

Rowan stood “Fine, be ready to be crushed.”

Lorcan grinned and stood as well “Oh, I submitted a proposal to allow women to serve in the airforce.”

Rowan’s head whipped to one side “who are you and what have you done with Lorcan Salvaterre?”

“The captain and Elide. Turns out we have both chosen very strong women.”

“I like that.”

“Me too.”

Rowan was doing his pre-flight checks when he noticed Lorcan joining him. The man had always exuded charisma.

“You should really send Elide a picture of you in a jump suit. I know how much Aelin likes it, I guess Elide might appreciate it too.”

Lorcan lifted an eyebrow while he reached his jet and popped open the canopy “you think?”

Rowan nodded “how is it going with her by the way?”

“She is incredible. She is tiny but fierce and stubborn and quite amazing.”

Rowan could not believe it, Lorcan was in awe of someone a feat that he thought was impossible.

“You are in love with her.”

“I think so.” said Lorcan hiding the words in a cough, almost embarrassed by his admission.

“Good.” Then he stared at Lorcan and he realised that going out out for a flight had been a good idea. They were evenly matched in skill and it was going to be a fun one. They had a few turbulent months but he had more or less always got along with him. Flying together again felt like the good old times.

“You missed a spot.” Rowan pointed at one section under the wing. 

Lorcan replied with a middle finger and it felt nice to have their old banter back when Lorcan could finally put aside his CO mask for a while.

“I am not a cadet, I know how to do my pre flight checks.”

“Well, you are not following the order we were taught at flight school, cadet Salvaterre.”

“Stop being a smartass, cadet Whitethorn.”

Rowan climbed in his jet and finished his checks inside and communicated with the tower to finalise the flight plan and get the authorisations required.

“Come on Lorcan, you are so slow. Tower gave us the all clear and the flight plan is in. Are you sure you still remember how to fly? Do you need any pointers, Chaos?”

Chaos was Lorcan’s callsign and he had earned it very early in his career for his flying skills.

Eventually they were both ready and the two jets got taxied away and not long after they were in the air.

“Rules of engagement: anything is allowed and two out of three?”

“Copy that, Iceman.”

“Good, be ready to lose.”

The two jets broke apart and went in different directions and for a while they just ran in circles above the airbase to study each other.

Lorcan hadn’t wanted to admit that he was a bit rusty and Rowan was indeed a nasty customer. 

Gavriel and the three young pilots were walking along one of the long corridors on the airbase when they heard the sound of jets in the air and ran to the next window to look who it was. The classes for the cadets were still grounded and the three of them were on ground.

“Holy fuck,” muttered Gavriel when he realised who was out flying.

He ran out to the viewing tower followed by the twins and Vaughan.

“Is that who I think it is?” Asked Connall speechless.

“Rowan and Lorcan.” The older man turned to the three young guys “you are in for a treat, they can make you feel like a newbie.”

Gavriel saw Rowan pull in a vertical and flying into the sun, roll on his back and continue in  straight line flying just a meter above Lorcan, finally flipped his jet once again and placed himself at Lorcan’s six.

Lorcan tried some evasive manoeuvres but Rowan did not let go, always at his tail attempting to get a lock on his CO.

Lorcan felt trapped and as a last ditch he went into a high G barrel roll to try and shake off Rowan.

“Rowan is going to overshoot,” said Connall who was silently watching the dogfight between their superiors.

Then Rowan pulled a trick out of the hat and kept his jet in line with Lorcan’s then rolled and found himself upside down and fired at the other man.

“Holy fuck,” was Fenrys’ comment at the scene.

“What did just happen? How did he even manage that?” Added Vaughan.

“That is Rowan for you. Now you realise why we can’t ever win?”

“One nil for me, Chaos.”

“You are a sneaky bastard, Whitethorn. And where did you learn such manoeuvres?”

Rowan laughed over the comms “get your act together, Commodore, and you can probably get me.”

The dogfight between the two went on for much longer. Lorcan did manage to win an engagement but Rowan still won 2-1. They landed back and they found Rowan’s team waiting for them.

“Good to see you two flying again. The youngsters never had the chance to see the pros at work.” Said Gavriel relieved that the two men seemed again at ease with each other.

“Oh, yeah. Our dear CO was a bit rusty and I took him out to stretch his legs and I handed out his arse to him twice.”

Lorcan gave him the middle finger in response.

*

Elide was in the ambulance doing some inventory checks when her phone pinged. She opened the text from Lorcan and almost fainted on the spot. It was Lorcan in his jump suit beside his jet and the man actually had a hint of a smile on his face. The second image was of him and Rowan standing back to back, their arms folded at their chest and both had a goofy smile on.

She jumped off the ambulance and ran to Aelin who was in the equipment room checking out their gear “Ace, look!” She shouted as she stormed in.

“What?” And she looked at the two pictures on Elide’s phone.

“Interesting…” Aelin stared with curiosity at the picture of the two men.

“He is soooo hot, I have never seen him in a jump suit and gods I don’t know? Want to remove it one bit at a time?”

Aelin laughed “that’s what I would do to Rowan right now if we were together in a private place. I would peel that jump suit off him until he is naked in front of me.”

She saw Elide blush “Lorcan and I haven’t… passed the kissing stage yet. He has never touched me. He is very considerate of me. But a few times he hugged me and I… felt him.” And she made a gesture and Aelin understood.

“Elide that is normal. How do you feel about the next stage? Like exploring each other’s bodies?”

“As in naked?”

“Yes, but you can start with keeping your underwear to have a barrier on if it makes you feel better.”

Elide sat on the bench beside her “I don’t know how to do this. How do I touch him?”

Aelin could see panic rise in the woman “ask him to show you and then once you feel brave enough to try just give it a go. It can be quite fun.” Aelin stopped for a second trying to find a way to tackle the next issue “Elide, have you ever… you know… explored your body? Down there?”

Elide blushed savagely “no.”

Aelin took the woman’s hand “take a nice warm bath and then…” Aelin wiggled her fingers “just put a hand between your legs and see how it goes, what you feel.”

“Oh.”

“At least once you two take the next step you have an idea of how it feels.”

“And Lorcan does that as well?”

Aelin nodded “yes, and if the man is as good as the others claim he might leave you a satisfied mess just with his fingers or mouth or both. A sort of appetiser before the main course.”

“Do you and Rowan…?”

Aelin nodded “and not just him to me but me to him as well.”

“This sounds so much.”

“Elide, look at me.” Aelin placed her hands on the woman’s shoulder “you do not have to take the next step until you are okay with it. Talk with Lorcan. Explain to him that you are getting curious and want to try more. You can use a safe word so that when you start to become uncomfortable, you shout that word and he has to stop.”

“Oh.”

“He hasn’t rushed you or anything?”

Elide shook her head “no, he has been so understanding, and never pushed.”

“Good. You set the pace. You are the one who needs time so he adjusts to you, remember. But if you feel like you are ready for another step just tell him.”

“Is it… is it as good as everyone says? Is it worth it?”

Aelin nodded “with the right person is something incredible. The intimacy… the connection…”

“Do you have that with your captain?”

“Yeah, and some.”

“Uhhh… are we getting serious?”

Aelin looked away for a moment “I loved Sam. A lot. We were good together but it was never like this. Never this deep.” She threw her head against one of the jackets “I don’t know how to explain it but my feelings for Rowan are so strong that sometimes I feel like I can’t breath.”

“I want that too.”

A moment later the conversation was interrupted by Lysandra entering the room “Here you are, why are you hiding?”

Elide showed Lys Lorcan’s picture.

“Oh mama…”

“Elide is feeling… curious.”

Lysandra hugged the woman “that is wonderful, darling. With such a specimen I’d be curious too.”

“Lys.” Shouted Aelin laughing.

“What? Fine the man can be an arsehole but I can’t deny that in that picture he is one hot bastard.”

“Show her the other.”

Elide showed Lysandra the picture with both Rowan and Lorcan.

“Ok, I really need a cold shower now.”

“I am pretty sure Aedion is available. Just keep it quiet.”

Lysandra laughed “don’t you think I tried? He said it would be against the rules.”

“I am almost done with equipment checks. This room will be free soon.”

“You are a wicked woman.” 

Aelin winked.

“Did you do it in here with the captain?”

“No, but his office is quite comfortable.”

“Nice.” Commented Lysandra.

Lys then took Elide’s hand “come on, we got a couple of things to finish.”

Once the two ladies left she phoned Rowan and he picked up at the first ring.

“I am jealous, Lorcan sent a picture of the two of you to Elide and I don’t get a copy?”

“You liked that?”

“You were both smiling.”

“We talked,” added Rowan “Lorcan was even more pissed than me. I think Elide did the miracle.”

Aelin laughed and relaxed at his admission “how so?

“He chuckled. Lorcan chuckled.”

She heard mirth in his voice.

“And the man is totally in love with Elide. I swear I never heard the man talk like that about a woman.”

“Interesting.”

“Also, apparently he has decided to support my idea of having women in the airforce and submitted a proposal to the higher ups and he is prepared to fight for it.” He told her, knowing she would love the news.

“Ok, I might finally start to like the man. What changed?”

“You and Elide apparently.”

Aelin smiled smugly “so he does listen, I am impressed. I don’t think I can cope with the idea of Lorcan not being the bad guy.”

“His job is very stressful and I don’t think I could be able to cope with the amount of shit he has to deal with.” He sighed “put me in a cockpit surrounded by enemies and I will be fine. But the idea of being stuck behind a desk playing the political game day in day out…. no. I will retire before it happens.” He added sadly.

“So, what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day, captain?”

“I am helping him with a few things. Then do more prep work for our performance review.”

“Do you think you are ready for that?”

She heard a lot of noise in the background and she guessed he was back in the hangar.

“Aye, we are good to go.” He was silent for a moment “I have to go, Fireheart.”

“Sure. Be safe and have a nice drill.”

“I love you. Have a nice night shift.”

“Send me that picture, Whitethorn.”

“Yes ma’am.”

She closed the conversation and relaxed heavily. Rowan sounded so much better and she was smidge less worried. With a big smile she went back to her work.

*

It was past 9pm and Aelin was in her office working away on some paperwork Dorian had sent over. She had a good day. It had felt good being back and she realised that Rowan’s help and their time away had helped very much. She felt saner and being at the station did not cause any problems. She was not ready yet to go back fighting fires, of that she was well aware. That was the last challenge she had to face but she and Aedion had discussed a training regimen that would slowly allow her to find the courage again to go fully back on duty and she felt excited at the idea.

She had been so engrossed in her work she did not hear the knock on the door. When it happened a second time she slowly raised her head “come in.” She said flatly and almost annoyed. 

A head of silver hair appeared on the door and she stopped “am I interrupting?”

“Of course captain. How dare you?”

He smiled and took a step in “I can go if you are working.”

Aelin rolled her eyes “get your arse inside and give me fifteen minutes of silence.”

He nodded and walked to her bookcase, giving her his back. His hand behind his back, his spine ramrod straight and his feet slightly apart in a perfect at ease position. She grinned. You could take the man out of the military but not the military out of the man.

She stopped working and rested her chin on her hands and a pen in her mouth. She studied him from behind and was impressed how still he could stay. A feat that had alway been impossible to her. 

Rowan grabbed one of her manuals and started flipping through it. It was only fair, she had done the same to his flight manuals. 

“A chemistry book?”

She eventually decided to stand and join him at his side.

“I hated chemistry in school. I was good at it but never liked it. I preferred physics.”

Aelin smiled and grabbed another book: fire science “this one might be more interesting.”

He had a look through it and smiled at her “can I take it at home or do you need it here?”

“You can take it home.”

Rowan smiled and placed the book on the sofa then cupped her face “hi, by the way.” And he kissed her.

“About time. I thought you were more interested in my books than me.” She teased him, pulling away briefly.

“You told me to stay silent for fifteen minutes. I was just following orders.”

“Screw that.”Aelin switched off her computer and walked to him, palm upturned, offering him her hand “follow me captain.”

“Do I need to be scared?”

She glared at him.

They walked along the corridor of the fire station and it was so silent and quiet compared to what he had seen during the day “where is everyone?”

“Resting. We got beds, you know? But Brullo and Ress are probably up watching tv as usual.”

They walked through the common area and as Aelin suspected the two guys were watching some  series on tv.

“Hi guys,” she greeted them.

They raised their heads “hi boss,” then noticed Rowan “oh captain, you found her. Good.”

“When I walked in I announced myself. I could not just waltz in.”

“Come on,” she grabbed his hand. Aelin dragged Rowan to the area where they kept the fire engine and the truck. She moved to the engine and opened a door on the side and pulled out two thick blankets then with them under her armpit, she started climbing the ladder at the end of the rig “Come on captain.”

Rowan looked at her puzzled.“Where are you going?”

He saw her rolling her eyes “on top of the rig.”

“If the alarm—”

“Captain, if the alarm goes off we have enough seconds to get our arses back down. They will not drive away with us on top of the rig. Do you trust me?”

He looked at her in a strange way.

Aelin threw the blankets on the top of the engine and climbed back down and marched to him, grabbing his hand “move.”

With force she dragged him to the ladder and prompted him to climb. He did as ordered and once at the top he stopped. Aelin stopped behind him, then in a swift motion she pulled her leg over the engine rail and climbed on its roof.

She took the blankets and placed them on top of all the hoses “it smells a bit of smoke. You’ll get used to it.”

He climbed over and stood for a second admiring the view from on top of the engine. When he turned he saw Aelin laying down on the blankets, her arms extended to him and a goofy smile on her face. He joined her and took a place at her side.

She nested against his chest and his arms looped around her frame.

“I come up here a lot on a night shift. I don’t sleep, I just relax, I love to imagine I am laying on the grass and that if I look up I can see the stars.”

“I do that when I am on an aircraft carrier and I am not on standby. I just walk on the deck along the rail, although is not as quiet as here as there are still flights happening, but it’s less busy. I just lean against the handrail, near the island and look out at the sea and I my case I can see the stars.”

Aelin turned in his arms and faced him “can you navigate by just using the stars?”

“We don’t use it much, GPS is a very handy tool, but it’s a skill we learn in case something fails and you are left with no GPS or any other electronic help.”

“What about you? Had a good day at the station?” He kissed the top of her head.

Aelin nodded eagerly “yes, I admitted I had a problem out loud and both Dorian and Aedion have offered to help in anyway they can.” She looked up at him “and you… you helped so much… and still helping…”

He smiled tenderly “it goes under my job description for boyfriend, I assume?”

She caressed his face loving the sound of him calling himself her boyfriend.

“Say it again,” she whispered to him.

“What?”

“That you are my boyfriend.”

He went for a deep kiss “I am yours.”

Aelin smiled against his lips “those are powerful words, captain.”

“They are true, though.”

Aelin’s heart raced and her hand went to his chest and found his doing exactly the same.

“I love this. Us. I really do…” she stuck her head in the crook of his neck inhaling his scent “but it still scares me because it happened so fast. One day I wanted to punch you, the next I wanted to kiss you. And it frightens me. I want this to work. I want us to work out.”

His hand covered hers still on his chest “you are not alone. This is a lot for me as well. But I am done fighting my feelings.” He hugged her closer “I love you, even when this world is a forgotten whisper of dust between the stars, I will love you.”

Aelin kissed his chest “you are so cheesy it’s disgusting.”

Rowan pushed her away and she rolled on her back at his side, her hand still in his “I was trying to be romantic and you ruined the moment.”

She smiled “sorry, I used to do that with Sam all the time. He would say something super romantic and I would respond with a joke. When he proposed I replied that I had to check with my lawyer first.”

“You are a brat.”

“It was so funny. Then I texted him and said that my lawyer had agreed.” Aelin brought their twinned hands to her mouth and kissed them “I showed him later on that night in bed how much I wanted to marry him. He did not complain.”

“You really are a handful.”

“I know, but now you picked me and there is no turning back.” She said against their hands fearing she had gone too far.

“I love a good challenge.” He rolled over and was now half on top of her, his hand on her side caressing her gently.

Aelin grabbed his face in her free hands and kissed him stupid but Rowan pulled back when he remembered where they were. He was still terrified they would drive away with the two of them on top of the engine.

He lay back down and his hand started trailing along her injured arm exposed by the short sleeved shirt. The burns had healed but the skin remained marred. He traced the length of it and leaned over to kiss it.

“Does it bother you?”

“No,” he said softly while continuing to kiss her injured arm and her scars “you are my brave and fierce Fireheart. It scares me that I almost lost you. But you scars…” another gentle kiss “they don’t bother me.”

She snuggled closer and he enveloped her in his arms.

“I forgot.” He propped himself up on one elbow “I have received an invitation.”

“Oh?” Aelin did the same and faced him.

“This weekend the navy is throwing a launch party for the new aircraft carrier, down at the dockyards before she is set at sea for the trials and then off to deployment.” He explained “Me and the guys have been invited and I can bring a guest. Fancy being my plus one?”

“Are we going public, captain?”

“If you want to.”

Aelin thought about it “I could wear the stunning black dress I bought in Doranelle.”

Rowan remembered that dress and the effect it had on him when she wore it in the shop.

“Are you trying to give a heart attack to the whole Terrasen military?”

Aelin giggled “just going to show all those posh boys what an amazing taste in women you have.”

“That I do.” He flicked her nose.

Aelin was about to reply when dispatch alarm went off and she bolted on her feet and pulled Rowan up and grabbed the blankets “come on, captain.”

She climbed down super quickly and by the time he made it down, the blankets were back in the truck and the squad was getting ready to go.

“Showing the captain your special spot?” Joked Aedion.

Aelin nodded and patted his shoulder “keep the guys safe and you stay safe too.”

“Always.” Quickly Aedion ran to the truck and a moment later the squad was gone.

“It’s hard to see them go and not being able to be with them.”

He pulled an arm around her shoulder “come, I’ll make you hot chocolate.”

She followed him “that’s exactly how you woo a woman, captain.”

TAGS:

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[writingducks]

Cordelia Cut the Fucking Bracelet

what’s up i got three people asking for this story which it good enough for me. i don’t write stories or fanfic a lot and i never post it so this is a first. I’ll put the story under a read more if i can figure it out. I almost exclusively use mobile so 👍 anyway, the format got a little fucky but oh well, i hope you enjoy

One year. That was the deal. One year of marriage, and then divorce. She would be free. Her reputation would be intact. And it will only take one year. And that year was almost up.

After months of their sham-marriage, James and Cordelia were almost finished. James imagined that she was ready to leave. They’d never had a real marriage. If nothing else, he was preventing her from finding a real marriage, a real husband. Besides, James had Grace. He loved Grace; he always had. He loved Grace, not Cordelia.

And yet, he found himself dreading the end of their marriage. After months of being with Cordelia, James had become comfortable. At least, that’s what he told himself. The truth was more complicated. He didn’t love her, but the idea of Cordelia marrying someone else was disheartening. He didn’t like the idea of someone else holding her, but he couldn’t tell why. He sat, deep in his thoughts, while Cordelia sparred with a training dummy. 

She was a picture of violent grace, her hair a blur of fire as she whipped her sword around her in a flash of gold. James watched, mesmerized. He knew what it felt like to thread his finger through that fire, to press his lips against hers. It had always been a ruse, something to convince everyone that they were in love. But maybe, James thought, it had worked too well. Maybe he had convinced himself, too. 

“James?” Cordelia’s breath was heavy from training, her skin glistening with sweat. “Is everything alright? You seem troubled.”

“Daisy,” James rose to his feet, striding across the room. “My Daisy,” he said as he reached her, his hand lifting to cup her cheek. “I-” his words caught in his throat.

“James?” Cordelia was staring up at him, confused. 

“Daisy, I,” he took a breath, steadying himself, “I find myself hoping that we might continue our marriage, beyond the year.” He spoke slowly, the words coming in segments. “That is,” he added, “if you would like to as well.” He gaze held still on her face, waiting for her response.

Cordelia knew that her marriage was a lie. But she still dreaded the end of it. She had hoped and prayed over the last year that it might become real. She and James had been friendly: reading, talking, laughing, but they had never been in love. At least he hadn’t. But he had always been kind about it, always trying to make her happy. But he couldn’t. Not when he didn’t love her. Nonetheless, he had stayed close, whispering, holding hands, holding her when she needed it. But never anything more. After the first few months, the pain had dulled from a sharp point to an ache, and his closeness had become comforting. Familiar. Constant.

Until it wasn’t. Over the past month, James has slowly been drawing away from her. Less touches, less jokes. Eyes darting away every time she caught him looking at her. Occasionally, she’d catch him gazing at her out of the corner of her eye, something like longing on his face. But it wasn’t longing. It couldn’t be. Could it? Cordelia dismissed his odd behavior, telling herself it was simply due to their marriage coming to its close.

Yet now, Cordelia couldn’t believe her ears. She had dreamed of this moment, a time when her husband would declare his love, real love, for her. And here he was, standing in front of her, the Mask gone entirely. And he was asking for her. 

But it wasn’t real. Cold silver circled his wrist; she could see it sparkle in the corner of her eye. He didn’t love her. He couldn’t. But here he was, asking her to remain married. And she couldn’t wrap her head around it. He still loved Grace; she knew he did. But right now, he was looking at her, face open, eyes brimming with hope. Those golden eyes that she loved so much. She could be like this, be with him, forever. He was asking her to be. And yet,

“No, James.” Although it broke her heart all over again, she pulled away. She couldn’t say yes. She couldn’t have a husband, a real husband, who loved someone else, even if he loved her, too. She turned away, ready to flee, but he caught her hand.

They stood, frozen, for a moment. She felt her hand slip out of his grip as he said, “I understand. Forgive me, I’ve overstepped your boundaries. It’s just, for a moment, I could imagine a world where we were… together. For real.”

Cordelia felt her breath hitch. She saw the world he described almost every night, in her dreams. If he could see it, too… But that wasn’t the only dream she had. Some nights, she was plagued by images of Grace. Dancing with James, talking to him, kissing him. The images drove her from sleep. She’d lay awake, James beside her, so close yet so far. And she’d contemplate curling into him, letting him protect her from her nightmares. But she couldn’t. Not when he was the subject. Not when he was the source. And although they often awoke closer to each other than when they had fallen asleep, Cordelia would not allow herself to move closer. Not while awake. She wouldn’t let herself get used to something that she was going to lose. She could suppress her desire. It was only for a year.

“I shouldn’t have assumed you could envision the same,” James was still talking behind her, begging her forgiveness.

“James,” she turned to face him, “I can envision that world. But it is not the world we live in. I’d lie to say I have never thought about it. About our lives if we stayed beyond the year. But I cannot.” She reached out, taking his hand into her own. “I find I wouldn’t mind to remain your wife, but I cannot be married to a man who loves me second.” She brought his hand up, showing him the bracelet on his wrist. “You love Grace, James. You always have. You always will.” She was surprised her voice kept steady. Her mind drifted back to the time, almost a year ago, when Grace had taken the bracelet back. James had kissed Cordelia, in the Whispering Room, so fiercely that she had allowed herself to believe it had been real. But it hadn’t been. 

“I love Grace,” he repeated softly, staring at the bracelet. “But I,” He cut off, turning his gaze back to Cordelia. “Daisy,” he whispered, his gold eyes dark with something she couldn’t make out. “Daisy, I-”

She brought a hand to his mouth. “Jamie.” She had kept him, trapped him, in a marriage he didn’t want, for almost a year. She would keep him no longer. Grace may have been engaged, but she had time to break it off, turn around and marry James if she so desired. “I have kept you for a year. I will not keep you any longer. At the end of the year, you will be free to marry whomever you wish,” she told him, “As will I.” He tried to respond, but she didn’t let him, “You love Grace. Far more than you could ever love me.”

The bracelet. James had forgotten about the bracelet, the pale silver cold against his skin. He had forgotten the world beyond Cordelia. 

“Daisy, please. I-” he choked, “I love you,” he said desperately, shocked at how right the words felt.

“No, James,” she dropped his hand, “you don’t.”

He watched her turn, scooping up Cortana on her way to the door. The silver circlet burned against his wrist.

“Daisy,” he ran after her, not daring to touch her. She froze nonetheless.

“James-” she turned around, facing him once again.

He spoke before she could continue, “Let me prove it to you,” he said, his hand rising, fingers coming to the bracelet on his opposite wrist.

“James, no,” she said, staring in shock as he followed the loop of the bracelet, searching for the clasp.

What was he doing? He was breaking his promise to Grace. Every part of him screamed at him to stop. Every part except one. And that part won out. He was a Herondale. Herondales love fiercely, completely. If his heart was the one telling him to take off the bracelet, to show her, then he would listen. He saw Cordelia tense, watching silently as his fingers fiddled for the clasp. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. The way her hair glinted like fire in the witchlight, her brown skin against the gold of her sword. 

His fingers had found the clasp. They worked around, trying to undo it.

And nothing happened. Cordelia released her breath, sounding slightly disappointed. The sound tore at his heart. He tried again. Still nothing. Cordelia turned wordlessly, once again heading for the door.

James was frozen. His eyes darted to the silver on his wrist. His fingers had the clasp, but when he tried to unsecure it, it wouldn’t budge. Something was wrong. He tried again and again and again. To no avail.

“Cordelia,” his voice came out hushed, no more than a whisper, “Cordelia, I can’t do it.” He felt panic edging into his voice.

“I know, James.”

“No, Cordelia. It won’t come off.” 

She could hear the panic rising in his voice. She spun around, appearing at his side in half a second, “What do you mean it won’t come off?”

“I can’t undo do the latch.” He was fumbling, hands unsteady in a way that was so unlike him. “I can’t take it off. I can’t-” he felt himself sink to his knees. “It won’t come off.”

“James,” she started.

“Help me.” It was a simple request, but he heard the desperation in his voice. He had scratched his wrist in his futile attempts to remove the bracelet, his skin becoming raw. The bracelet taunted him, sliver upon red. “Cordelia,” he said, her name like a prayer on his lips, his eyes rising to her face, “please. Help me.”

“Okay,” she said, “It’s okay, James. Let me.” She held a hand out to him. He placed his wrist into it. Relief flooded through him. Cordelia was a calming presence. He was aware of her hand against his arm. He was still panicked, but the overwhelming sense of wrongness was lessened by how right her touch felt. He stared into her face for a moment longer, taking in her features. Her brown skin. Her face was set, but her eyes shone with fear. Her hair spilled over her shoulders as she bent her head, reminding James of a fire burning through a cold night. He held his breath as she tried the clasp. Nothing. She tried again. And again. And again. And again. She kept trying until he drew his hand back. “Okay,” she said, her voice teetering with unease, “okay. It’s okay. Everything’s okay.” She had gotten up and was pacing back and forth. “We’ll send for Christopher. We can find Magnus. Magnus will be able to help. We can tell your parents-”

“No,” he cut in, “No, Cordelia. Please.” He was gazing up at her from the floor. She stopped short.

“James, we have to.”

“No, Cordelia.” He met her eyes. For a moment, the world held still. Time folded in on itself as James sat staring. Pleading. “Cordelia,” he said, “I’m scared.”

She froze. Time continued its crawl as he waited for her to do something, anything. 

Eventually she moved, coming to a crouch beside him once more. “James,” she said, “We need help. We can’t get this off you on our own.”

“I can’t,” he said, realization dawning, “but you can.”

“James, no,” she said, backing away. Was he crazy? For the second time in the past hour, Cordelia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was dreaming. She had to be. This was nothing more than a new, twisted nightmare. But the way James looked up at her made her heart skip a beat. His gold eyes staring at the wall behind her, brimming with confidence. In her. He kept that confidence as he told her the stupidest plan she’d ever heard.

“But you can,” he had said, rising to his feet. “Cordelia,” he fixed his eyes on her.

She knew exactly what he was thinking. And she couldn’t do it.

“Cordelia, you can cut the bracelet off.”

“No, absolutely not.”

“It’s the only way. Cortana can cut through anything.”

“Including your wrist, James!” She marched up to him, meeting his gaze. “I can’t do it. I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered.

“You won’t,” he said, wrapping her in his arms. “Please, Daisy. Please do this for me.”

She was shaking in his arms. She couldn’t do it; she was shaking too hard. She couldn’t hurt him. She shook her head against him, “I can’t.”

His hands landed on her shoulders. He was suddenly holding her away from him, his eyes boring into hers, wild in desperation. “You can,” he said, “I know you can.”

Her heart tightened in her chest. He looked at her like she was the only person in the world. No one existed beyond this room, this embrace. “I can’t hurt you.”

“You won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Then you can give me an iratze.”

“But what if it’s not enough.”

“It will be.” He looked at her with such intensity, she found she would have believed anything he said. “Please,” he whispered.

He sounded confident, but he was shaking all over. His eyes were wild; he spoke too fast. His movements were choppy, not at all graceful like his usual self. She imagined he would have vanished into shadows if he could. She numbly scooped up her sword. Cortana. Forged by Wayland the Smith. It can cut through anything. Not everyone believed it, but Cordelia had seen it firsthand. She had cut through the stone of Tower Bridge. She had shattered the barrier between worlds. She had plunged it into the chest of a greater demon, a prince of hell, Belial, James’s Grandfather. Surely she could cut a bracelet.

Cordelia took a shaky breath. She didn’t want to, but if he believed she could do it, she believed him. Forcing herself to meet his eye, she heard herself say, “Okay. Okay.” She sounded more confident than she felt. “But if this goes wrong-”

“It won’t.”

But those times had been life or death. They had been forceful swings, intended to harm, to maim, to kill. To protect James from the demons trying to manipulate him. How much force would it take to sever the bracelet? More or less than it would take to sever his hand?

She could feel herself shaking as she held out her hand once more. James placed his hand, palm up, into it. She drew the two of them to the floor, turning his hand over and closing his fist. She held it steady below the wrist. She brought her sword up with her other hand. She slid the end under the chain, laying the blade flat against the back of his hand. Despite her shaking, Cortana was steady in her hand. Cordelia glanced at James. He was staring at his wrist, shuddering under Cortana’s golden surface. She followed his gaze. The bracelet seemed to burn against her sword. Silver against gold, but the gold keeping the silver at bay. She took a deep breath and held it. She moved the sword ever so slightly to the side, catching the bracelet. She put more pressure on the sliver, increasing it slowly, trying to avoid any sudden jerks of the blade. The chain pulled, digging into his skin. She heard his breath hitch. She pushed harder. And harder. And harder. Until.

The sword pulled free, moving in a wide arc. The bracelet hit the ground with a dull clink. James closed his eyes as relief flooded his senses. He let out a shaky breath before opening them again. Cordelia was in front of him, her sword flung out behind her. Her hand was supporting his wrist, sending waves of lightning up his arm. He knelt there, frozen. She dropped her hands, laying her sword on the floor. Her hands flew to her belt, fumbling for something. A moment later, she was holding a stele to his arm.

“What are you doing?” he said breathlessly. “You didn’t cut me.”

“I know, but you scratched your wrist to hell, you idiot!” She was shaking, her voice tinged with relief. She pressed the stele to his skin, still despite her shaking. She drew the mark slowly, like she was afraid to make a mistake. Not that James could ever imagine her making a mistake.

He felt as though he had had an albatross draped around his neck, and Cordelia had cut it free. Her hand lingered on his skin for a moment. He could still feel her touch. She sat back on her heels, watching him, her expression guarded. He stared at her, their eyes meeting. He was dimly aware of his ragged breathing, the absence of the bracelet. But he was focused on Cordelia. Her eyes searched his, her hair swept around her, her lip between her teeth, like she was holding back a question.

He knew what it was like to kiss those lips. He remembered the first time he visited the Hell Ruelle. The way she looked in her bronze dress, dancing on stage as a distraction. It had been a very good distraction. And then later, in the Whispering Room. He thought about the way her lips felt against his, her waist under his hands, her leaning into him, pressing their bodies together.

Suddenly he was moving, grabbing her hands and pulling them to their feet.

“James?” she asked. The way Cordelia said his name made his heart stop. He longed to pull her closer, to kiss her the way he had in the Whispering Room. But he didn't know if she wanted it, so he did nothing.

“Daisy,” he said, his voice hushed. It was the only sound he could muster. The only word he wanted to say. "Daisy."

He must have been pulling her without realizing it, because she stepped closer to him. Before he knew what he was doing, he pulled her into him, drawing her into his chest. She looked up at him, confused. But her expression held more than just confusion.

“James,” she started. 

He looked down at his wife. By the Angel, his wife. They were married. She was his wife. Obviously, he knew that, but it was dawning on him what that meant. They were married; they had been for almost a year. And he had wasted all that time. He realized that now. Now he knew that standing here, in his arms, was his wife. His face broke into a smile. It felt like the first time he had smiled in a year.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Of course I am,” he said, smiling down at her, “Am I not allowed to be happy with my wife?” He watched her face ripple. They had only referred to each other as husband and wife around company. She looked confused, and that looked deepened when he said, “I find myself, in this moment, very happy with you, Mrs. Herondale.”

He was about to lean in to kiss her when she drew away. “But James,” she said, breathless, “Grace.”

Grace. He had forgotten about Grace. Grace, who he was supposed to love. Who he was supposed to be willing to do anything for. Who gave him the bracelet. He thought about her, trying to bring back any of those feelings. He remembered feeling them, but now he couldn’t even imagine them. He couldn’t imagine loving anyone, anything, more than Cordelia.

“Grace,” he said. “I don’t love Grace.” The words came slowly. He realized with a start that they were true. He didn’t love Grace. He wasn’t sure he ever had. But, he had, right? He remembered loving her. But he remembered it the way he remembered a dream: hazy, disconnected, and a little bit ridiculous.

“What?” Cordelia asked in shock, “James, you love Grace. You said it yourself.”

“No, Daisy. I don’t love Grace. I know that I used to, at least I think I do. But not now. Right now, I can’t imagine loving anybody in the world more than you.”

“James, I-” she started. She was staring into his eyes, as if she was looking for a reason not to believe him, that this was all a sick joke.

She never finished her thought. James moved without realizing it. Before he could think, he was kissing her. Her lips parted in surprise. She was still for a moment, before leaning into him. She threaded her fingers into his hair. His hands moved to her waist. He traced the outline of her lips with his tongue and felt her shudder. He grinned against her lips. She locked her fingers behind his neck and pulled him down. They stood, locked together, and let the world fade into the background.

When they finally came up for air, neither of them spoke. They held each other close, as if they were afraid the moment might end, and they would find themselves right back where they started.

“James?” Cordelia said at his ear. She drew back to meet his eyes, “What was that?”

He felt his smile falter, “What was what? The kiss? If you didn’t enjoy it, I promise to never do it again.” And he wouldn’t. Even if it killed him, James would never so much as touch her again if she asked him not to. He prepared himself for the worse. Which never came.

“No, I did enjoy that,” she said, blushing violently. “I was talking about the bracelet.”

“Oh.” One uneasy feeling had been replaced by another. What was that? “I’m not sure,” he admitted, “but I sure would like to.” He watched as she crouched down and picked the broken chain from the floor, holding it by one end away from them. “Why wouldn’t it come off? Do you think it was enchanted?”

“I’m not sure. We can send for Magnus. He’d be able to tell.”

“Yes. We’ll call Magnus.” He smiled down at her, “My wife is a well of great ideas,” he told her, sending her blushing again. “Maybe he could help me find a replacement. I get the feeling we should get on like none of this happened.”

“Oh.” She dropped her shoulders.

“I mean,” he added quickly, “in company. I think I should appear to still have the bracelet.”

“Oh.” She sounded relieved. “So, we could be…” 

“Husband and wife. For real. That is, if you would like to.”

“Yes!” she answered quickly, “I mean, that sounds… pleasant,” she corrected.

James smiled at his wife once more, “So do you think we might remain married?”

“Oh James, I would love nothing more.”

He drew Cordelia into his arms once again. She laughed as he spun her around. Later, they would send for Magnus. They would tell their friends their marriage had become real. They would discover the truth behind the bracelet. But today, right now, they would make up for lost time. They would lose themselves in each other. But they wouldn’t rush themselves. They wouldn’t have to. They no longer only had a year. Starting now, they would have the rest of their lives.