#this is why Rowaelin is always going to be my favorite

[autumnbabylon]

He shifted his arm so he could brush her hair back. His fingers lingered along her jaw. “You make me want to live, too, Aelin Galathynius,” he said. “Not exist—but live.” He cupped her cheek, and took a steadying breath— as if he’d thought about every word these past three days, over and over again. “I spent centuries wandering the world, from empires to kingdoms to wastelands, never settling, never stopping—not for one moment. I was always looking toward the horizon, always wondering what waited across the next ocean, over the next mountain. But I think … I think that whole time, all those centuries, I was just looking for you.”

He brushed away a tear that escaped her then, and Aelin gazed at the Fae Prince who held her—at her friend, who had traveled through darkness and despair and ice and fire with her.

[rowaelinsdaughter]

what happens in the forest stays in the forest

this is one of my favorite fics ive written so far, but i needed to write something fluff and with rowaelin. i miss them so much.

WARNINGS; none, pure fluff

you were bored

bored and tired.

since you found out you were pregnant 5 months ago, rowan and aelin didn't leave your side for a second, so you couldn't go out on the street if you weren't with them and they didn't trust the guards and fenrys couldn't be near you without that rowan growled at him.

you were in your room waiting for them to finish a meeting, but you were tired of waiting so you decided to go find them.

carefully, you go down the stairs and reach the door where the meeting is taking place and gently knock on the door, you place a hand on your belly as if you wanted to protect the baby from the people inside. the door opens and rowan appears. instinctively, a smile appears on your lips and rowan hugs you carefully, leaving a soft kiss on your hair while one of his hands rests on top of yours.

"what are you doing here? you were supposed to be in the room.”

“and like you said yourself, i was,” you joke. “but i was bored and i wanted to get out of here and spend time with you.”

you hear the sound of a chair dragging on the floor and immediately aelin appears, leaving a kiss on your lips. “come sit down you-”

“you can stand for a long time” you imitate her.

aelin sits you in her chair and the people who were there stand there not knowing what to do until…

“everyone out”

“but your majesty, you cannot do this”

“i can and i want to. now everyone out."

one by one they leave the room under aelin's gaze, promising a slow death to anyone who says otherwise or looks at you wrong. once everyone has left, aelin kneels in front of you, at the height of your belly, and rowan sits next to you.

aelin's hands caress your belly and as always she speaks softly to her. "hi little girl. i hope you are not giving mom too much trouble and let her rest.”

your hand strokes her hair gently and she gets up to sit at the table.

“i thought i heard that you were bored and wanted to spend time with us”

you sigh. “i've been stuck here for too long, i've already read all the books we have, i want to get out of the castle” you look at the two of them “why don't we go for a walk in the forest?”

there is silence and you wait for them to say yes, mentally crossing your fingers. rowan breaks the silence. “okay but we have to be here before it gets dark.”

you smile widely and rowan chuckles softly as aelin helps you up.

________

oakwald was undoubtedly your favorite place. you love the smell of wildflowers, the shade of the trees refreshes the atmosphere and the animals run back and forth.

after much insistence and many comments about why you shouldn't go barefoot, you finally convinced them to take off your shoes (which were also destroying your feet).

barefoot and holding onto their arms, you breathe deeply, letting your senses calm down.

you reach a clearing with a small waterfall and sit down to rest with rowan and aelin on either side.

“you don't have to stay with me, you know? why don’t you go take a bath?”

“i don't think it's-”

“yes, that's a good idea, come on, i'm not going to move from here.”

at the end, you watch as they take off their clothes and aelin runs to jump into the water while laughing. with rowan close to the shore, aelin takes the opportunity to grab his arm and pull him into the water with her. you notice the joy and love coming through the bond and you couldn't be happier for them and for the life you are creating together.

you feel a presence behind you and you turn to see what or who is behind you. a white shadow passes through the bushes. you are curious and carefully get up and follow a trail of white flowers from where you were sitting to an ancient tree. and in front of it,  the lord of the north in all his splendor.

your breath stops and the lord of the north approaches with slow steps until he is in front of you. being careful not to hit you with the antlers,he caress your belly with his nose. you raise your hand slowly so as not to scare him and pet his soft fur. he turns away from you and looks into your eyes, tilting his head. respect. for you and your baby. the lord of the north looks behind you and you turn to see rowan and aelin, fully clothed. a silver line decorates rowan's green eyes, while tears run down aelin's cheeks.

with a final nod to them, the lord of the north walks away into the trees. you feel arms surround your belly and aelin leaves small kisses on your neck, tickling you. rowan stands in front of you and caresses your cheeks with his hands to kiss you softly.

“don't leave again without saying anything”

you roll your eyes “it was too good to be true”

tagging; @danikamariewrites @throneofsapphics @thehighladywrites @shadowdaddies @vanserrasswife

all rights reserved to ©rowaelinsdaughter. no tranlations allowed. no copy theme. don not copy my work.

[mariaofdoranelle]

Daydreaming About You

Rowaelin Month masterlist

@rowaelinscourt

Some of you may know this as the Teacher AU, the first fic I ever wrote! This story has a soft spot in my heart, but not its writing 🤣🤣 so I got tired of complaining and rewrote it. I still feel like something’s off HAHAHAHAH but the rewrite got worth sharing.

Warnings: mature talk, but SFW

Words: 1,6k

Rowan’s ass looked absolutely delicious today.

This classroom had a privileged view of one of the fields he used to teach his P.E. classes, and as the class’ monarch for the next forty minutes or so, Aelin decided to give her students an activity in pairs and subtly enjoy the sight.

His eyes were hidden by the cap, but she knew he was watching the students play like a hawk. The best part was when he ran along with them. His legs, as big as tree trunks, deserved all the appreciation Aelin gave them, and she couldn’t even begin to describe the sinful way his uniform’s trunks hugged his ass. His sweat was beginning to make Rowan’s shirt cling to his torso, defining his big, rock-hard muscles—

A throat-clearing made her jump on her seat, not expecting any student to seek her so soon.

“Sorry to interrupt, Miss G.” Evangeline’s smirk was way too wide for Aelin’s liking.

Feigning neutrality, she took the paper from the girl’s hand. “You finished that soon?”

“Yeah, yeah.” The girl waved her off. “Is it true that Mr. Whitethorn and Mr. Salvaterre are exes?”

“What? That’s ridicu—“ Aelin stopped mid-sentence, squinting her eyes at her student. “You know I shouldn’t talk about his personal life like this, Evangeline.”

She focused on another student who just got there, standing beside his classmate. Luca was looking out the window with wide eyes, his mouth ajar before he said, “When I grow up, I want to be just like Mr. Whitethorn.”

Aelin smiled, always pleased to see how much her students admired him, when she asked, “Reliable and efficient?”

”No. Jacked.”

Her mouth opened, then she snapped it shut, too afraid of voicing the things inside her head.

Aelin didn’t like to show to the students that her and Rowan were friends, let alone that she had a massive crush on him. Still, they caught up on it. Those little terrors always did.

It was no secret that Aelin and Rowan were best friends. Or that there were speculations about them. Some students even called them Rowaelin, for Mala’s sake. Rowan never expressed his opinion on the matter, and Aelin was secretly pleased people could see herself with him that easily, even though that kind of attention wasn’t appreciated.

The limits of what’s accepted inside a workplace gets far more flexible when it’s filled with teenagers, hence why some intriguing things tend to happen from time to time. For example, when they were the talk of the week because some students spread a picture of Rowan making poorly-interpreted heart eyes at her.

Truth was, Aelin’s love life would be a lot easier if Rowan was half as interested in her as people in this school suggested.

After the last class, she found Rowan and Fenrys, a math teacher, talking near the garage.

“Hey!” Fenrys greeted with his trademark grin on. “The Vaults tonight? I need a wingman.”

“You never really need a wingman.” Aelin wrinkled her nose. “And I have a bunch of papers to grade tonight.”

“But we had so much fun last time.” Fenrys leaned against the wall, arms crossed and a teasing gleam in his eye. “What about the guy from last week?”

“What guy from last week?” Rowan cut in, frowning with a strained expression.

"No one," she dismissed him before asking Fenrys about some school gossip. Guy From Last Week didn't get further than texting, and she wasn't in the mood to put up with Rowan's protectiveness over her love life.

Dating was easy until sophomore year of college. More precisely, until The Great Gatsbeer Party, when Aelin offered herself in a platter for him and was brutally turned down. But conversation kept going, and he soon became her best friend and favorite person.

She had been in love with him for years, so what? Aelin adapted, like she always did.

Rowan and Aelin were side by side, walking towards his car in the boisterous garage, loud with the chatter of students and parents who parked to get the little ones.

"I didn't know there was a guy from last week."

Aelin gave him a pointed look. "There was a guy from last week. We texted a little, he told me Taylor Swift is overrated, I ghosted."

"Okay.'" He darted a quick glance her way. "Sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

She snorted, finding some sort of amusement in Rowan's unease. "Yes, you did."

"Wanna grade papers together, then?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Sure. And Mario Kart when we're done."

Aelin wasn't the biggest Mario Kart fan, but it became their thing over time. She was competitive enough to get a thrill when she's playing, and Rowan liked it a lot.

~~

Rowan absolutely hated Mario Kart.

He wasn't as into video games as Aelin, but he loved to watch it when she shouted in front of the screen or threatened to end his bloodline when she's losing.

She's such a sore loser, his Fireheart.

A loud moan coming from the kitchen interrupted his thoughts.

“I love you."

Rowan closed his eyes, trying to calm down his boiling blood. He could deal with the love declaration, but not the moaning.

"Aelin, stop flirting with the cake," he shouted, making sure she'd hear him from the other room.

They'd decided she'd grab something to eat while he got the video game ready, and now Rowan was just waiting for her.

He wandered around her living room, analyzing her decoration for the millionth time, but only stopped when he got to his favorite piece.

A framed pamphlet of the party they met, his housewarming gift to her a few years back. Reminiscing about that life-altering day always brought a smile to his face.

“Aelin Galathynius. Hi.” She was swaying, but found her balance again by supporting herself against the wall. Aelin’s expression was earnest when she said, “I find we’re equally hot, and now I’m yearning to sing the passionate chant of the sacred nuptial rite with you.” Rowan was stunned silent, but she still extended a hand to him before announcing, “And I’d be honored to caress your one-eyed trouser snake.”

Rowan shaked his head, chuckling at Aelin's antics in college.

In his darkest moments, Rowan cursed himself for not making any kind of romantic advance, since he did nothing but talk to her and make sure she didn't do something she'd regret the next day. But at the same time, at least he didn't become one of the many men she got bored of after a few weeks and discarded.

She was so picky with the people she got romantically involved with, letting them go for the smallest reasons such as playing Mario Kart with Waluigi, Rowan probably ruined his chances with her at least twice a day.

He sighed, leaving her bookcase to sit back on the couch. There would be no getting over her with his daily dose of Aelin's tight skirts and sweet smiles, and Rowan was too weak to keep enough distance to not be in love with her.

If Aelin wasn't interested in him sober, he had no choice but to pine after her for the rest of his life.

His attention drifted to her coffee table, noticing her kindle didn't have its case on. Again. Typical Aelin. He grabbed the case to put it back on the device—

Rowan froze when he read the book cover.

Friends with Kinky Benefits.

With an increased pulse, he looked around to make sure Aelin wasn't close and turned the kindle on, curious.

It seemed to be just a story about a girl longing to find the dom of her dreams, who ends up having sex with her guy best friend—and lots of toys—over and over again, for almost 200 pages.

Holy rutting Mala, is this what she gets off on?

Rowan skimmed through the book, electrified with a newfound line of thought.

Is this something she daydreams about? Aelin could ask him if that's the case, no need to be shy. Rowan's feelings for her were deep and romantic, yes, but he was still a man. Even when taking a purely physical step with Aelin would inevitably break his heart

"Buzzard..."

He jerked towards her, barely breathing with the awareness that he was caugh red-handed snooping in her kindle. But Aelin looked stiff, her eyes darting between him and the kindle. "What're you doing?"

Rowan relaxed a little realizing a moment later that in Aelin's head, she's in a worse position than he is.

He smirked. "I always knew your books are steamy, but I never expected them to be so kinky too."

Those words were enough to make Aelin regain her movements, and she flung herself towards him. "Give me that!"

Rowan wasn't quite sure what made her so flustered, but he flailed his arm around, preventing him from getting the kindle back.

"But I was just beginning to understand how a cock cage works!" he mock-complained.

“Fuck you!”

With that, Aelin jumped at him on the couch while Rowan tried to hide the kindle behind him. To get the thing from behind his back, she pulled his hair and that's when time slowed down.

Aelin was straddling his thighs on the couch. One hand connected with his, both holding the kindle, and the other roughly grabbing a fistful of his hair.

Rowan's heartbeat became erratic, and Aelin didn't look much better. Her lips were parted, her skin flushed. She blinked, her eyes searching for him as he desperately looked for any cue in her. A hint, a green light, an invitation.

He leaned in, giving her time to recoil. She didn't.

A tiny bead of sweat broke from her temple, running down her jaw and throat in a path Rowan longed to trace with his tongue.

He stroked her cheek with his thumb, another hint of his next step before he—

The crickets of Aelin's ringtone shattered their moment, and seeing who the caller was made Rowan's muscles tense.

He was going to kill Fenrys.

A/N: @leiawritesstories and I are probably the only people who care about this fic so far, so I sneaked an inside joke ours in there. So this A/N is a little nod to Leia. iykyk. Ily Leia.

You can get notified when I update by either turning notifications on for @backtobl4ck-fics or entering my (sometimes glitchy) tag list!!

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I couldn’t tag the people in bold, sorry!

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@autumnbabylon

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@wishfulimaginings

[writtenonreceipts]

Rowaelin Month Day 16 Mob Au @rowaelinscourt

Here is a moodboard of a fic that will likely never see the light of day. Mob/Mafia inspired fic. Random rambles beneath the cut:

im sharing this because i've been sitting on it for a while and i wanna talk about it even if it's just into the void

so originally, i wanted this to be a lysaedion fic, mostly because there aren't many fics about them out there and I wanted to try my hand at it

it was going to be a little darker with lots of death and murder and essentially about two individuals trying to find answers

Aelin is stuck in the Assassin's Guild, her entire life has been devoted to them and she is only alive and only the person she is because of them.

And then one day a new face shows up in town insisting he be let into the Guild. Now, the gang is very secretive, very careful, and they will look for any excuse to kill an outsider. So naturally the new person (rowan) gets the crap beat out of him

Leading to Aelin taking pity on him and the classic "who are you and why would you do this?" convo takes place. resulting in smirks and lies and call outs and the "im looking for someone" "who?" "ill let you know when i find her"

There's a gang war brewing and no one knows when it'll strike and what the catalyst will be: The Valgs have always been silent with the occasional body splayed out on cathedral footsteps, the Bane lurks on the outskirts of the city, only striking near the full moon (someone is very dramatic over there) and then there's the Cadre that is mostly just a myth because they've been quiet for ages now

and then a body shows up one that Aelin knows and she realizes something strange is afoot so she has to team up with rowan (she'll kill him later) to figure out what is happening and then huh look at that feelings

then comes the big reveal of aelin being the daughter of major crime lord Rhoe Galathyinius who really wants his daughter back and someone was supposed to find her and hey look at that, Rowan is looking reeeeeeal awkward

someone dies (fenrys cuz i've always wanted to kill him off and maybe connall too just because), near death experiences, "who did this to you", one bed, cleaning each other's wounds...

there's elorcan and lysaedion in the background

and yeah, i'll never write it probably

mostly because i've got no time and based on how previous long fics have gone, it would flop

chapter one is hidden deep in my docs and is probably one of my favorite scenes i've written in a while

it's been there for a year now but i just never could push past that first part. but it was fun to write

40s vibes, mayyybee 50s, id do some more research if i were to see her off the drafts stage...

[acourtofquestions]

Welcome page/post thx 2 A Court of Questions by @lavendarneverlands

This is my (secondary/“side”) blog for my first read (& adoration of) the Maasverse! — But take this as a heads up: I mix up the two pages frequently😅😂 sorry in advance for any confusion! — Think of this page like Potterless (except probably not half as cohesive & good as the podcast lol😂). I love enjoying the series with the fandom so please feel free to reach out or “read with me” (it’s why I’m on Tumblr; no one I know reads these). 🫶

LET’S FANDOM ABOUT IT

This is a Maasverse related blog, thus it does discuss the series & spoilers (depending on where you are in the books) HOWEVER I try to keep up to date with spoiler warnings (often in the form of: #tags, red, 🚨, or what I call the “more” bar of safety) & I hope it makes it accessible for all readers! I also really try to keep this blog inclusive & friendly for everyone (any character, any ship, any reader, any person… or fae I suppose too :-) & use proper content warnings (as I greatly appreciate that in others too) … so thank you!!

As I am unfortunately human here’s a lil up-to-date guide for what is & is not discussed thus far (& as I also try to avoid spoilers for the books I haven’t gotten to yet)

— I have read ALL of ACOTAR,

— & Currently am on a TOG series binge (everything so far up to KoA (including TAB); currently on Part 1 of Kingdom of Ash).

— None of CC (it’s next after the TOG series).

Be warned: I’m a rambler of posts & content posting, and autocorrect is my true enemy😂🤣 p.s. I’m new here & always trying to learn!😊 I do my best to do my due-diligence and properly credit. And use TW whenever I can (as I need it in my life too <3

I leave most “reaction” posts up from my first reads. Opinions of course change over time! I try to edit & update (& or re-tag) but some stay old.

Currently my favorites and majority are:

ACOTAR

I love the Archeron sisters (Feyre is dear to me, I think Nesta is an important kind of character, and I look forward to more Elain in what I’m calling ACOTAR 5&1/2)

THE Valkyrie (Gwyn esp.)

I can go any which way with the Elriel/Elucien/Gwynriel/ElGwyn/etc. “debate” (like I said though I’m here for all fans and prefer to keep it generally positive/friendly; we’re all just enjoying stories & art😊).

I love Feysand (sry Tam-Tam😅 I struggle with him)

TOG

I adore Celaena & Aelin (for posts on both I tend to call her “Aelin Sardothien” cause I love ❤️‍🔥 fireheart ;-)

Rowaelin is my fav ship (though you will find it was not an immediate love for “bird-boy”😂 from page 1😅) the “Team Chaol” force was once strong long ago (I don’t hate him now, I just like them as friends) though I’ve also shipped all the ships at some point🤣 (I like a lot of fandoms and have a very “SQUIRREL!” personality😅😂 so I do make a lot of references, despite this being my Maasverse page)

Dorian will ALWAYS be beloved as a character,

and Sam Cortland always deserves more (I love him & am still sad😅).

Lysandra is a favorite.

Manon and the 13 are killer queens (WE STAN).

— Abraxos & Fleetfoot (TOG) & “The House” (ACOSF) as characters hold a candle to no other. —

I know nothing about “CC” Crescent City (other than some positive reputations, kick-ass red heads, and intriguing covers!) … + a possible crossover (I hope)?!?

Thank YOU “fellow dreamers” for welcoming ME! into your feed & Maasverse!

& to my fellow “first time readers” Welcome to you too! 💕

+ All you old-timers THANK YOU for your loving guide notes & support (for ALL THE FANDOM FEELS😂)!

… And yeah… Hi! Much love❤️💚🩷🩵🧡 all are welcome!!! This blog does NOT discriminate & is a safe place to enjoy fandoms (because it’s about enjoying stories!) regardless of race, nationality, ability/disability, gender, sexuality, belief, age, etc. Feel free to message & tag😊 + if it helps in the matter of communicating: I identify as she/her (please always feel free to tell me your pronouns if you like :-) if you wanna call me by something other than my blog name/names you can call me Lila, I’m a Zellenial. I primarily speak English (though I know some others, they just aren’t Tumblr handy… and I kinda mean that literally as sign language unfortunately doesn’t translate well here😅😂). & I look forward to enjoying stories with you!

And there’s nothing left to say but…

— LET’S FANDOM ABOUT IT —

[pearblossommina]

ToG Read-A-Long, Tower of Dawn, day 11

Ch 60

Hafiza has gone missing

Why does this feel so sinister!

Ch 61

Deep in the tombs beneath the library, young, sweet, innocent Duva-the-pregnant-one was the villainess all along?

Oh, Yrene! Can you fix her? Is this the first test of your newfound abilities?

Ch 62

So much information

Yikes

Chaol being a HERO

Yeah! Hell yeah! My hero!!!!

Ch 63

ARE YOU KIDDING ME, she broke his spine AGAIN????

Poor Chaol - omg - after all of that!

Ummmm omg this is intense! He literally almost died, and she saved him with goddess magic

What was the cost?

(She better not have given up her goddess powers)(I’m gonna fucking lose my mind if she gave up her goddess powers)

Ch 64

The cost is convoluted, lol

Well…. All is well. Kind of. Except now Chaol can never fight, shoulder to shoulder with his men, now Chaol cannot die fighting how he always imagined he would, because it would mean she also dies. (And we can’t have that!)

And of course, he isn’t permanently healed. He is only going to be able to walk, and feel strong, when Yrene feels magically strong. (Hopefully that’s more often than not!)

I hope that Yrene can cast the valg from Duva. She got distracted and didn’t get a chance to do it - but hopefully, she still can

And hopefully, that unborn baby didn’t suffer during that intense battle

I hope everything will be alright

Ch 65

She did it!

Everything is alright!

Amazing 😭❤️

And they’re gonna join forces!

And they’re gonna save the world!!!

And Hasar stopped being mean!!!!

It’s a happy ending!!!! (For once!!!!!)

Ch 66

AND NESRYN CLAIMED THE RUK

AND HER FAMILY IS OK

THEY MADE IT TO ANTICA SAFELY 😭😭😭

AND SARTAQ WANTS TO GO TO WAR BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FOLLOW THE WOMAN HE LOVES

(MY HEART IS SO FULL 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️)

Ch 67

This is a pretty sweet little moment with Kashin and Yrene. I love it when you tell a guy you just wanna be friends….. and he actually values your friendship enough to want to do it, too.

Kashin, you’re a treasure.

This whole khaganate is really, really loveable. I hope when we get to the northern continent, we all survive this war, and our friendships last, and our alliances only strengthen through time, and everything turns out… happy!

My heart is full of hope, and I’m ready to fight.

Ch 68

AW! They got married! How sweet.

(Idk why this wedding is treated with more weight than Rowaelin’s)

(I just wanna be happy SJM)

(Thank you for the small moment of happiness)

(I need it)

(Chaol and Yrene need it, too.)

(Because now… we’re gonna save the world.)

(And it’s probably gonna suck, and I’m probably gonna be sad and upset and frustrated a lot)

(But it’s what we have to do….)

(So let’s go!)

This book was perfect! A nice pace, and altogether slower, softer and more emotional. It’s not what I expected at all, but I think it’s exactly what I needed. I tier it up there with my favorites for this series.

[thegreyj]

Thanksvember: day 30

Shoutout to my all time favorite fic(s) @rowaelinfandomlove

Because I've already shared so many of my favorite fics throughout Thanksvember 2022, here are some more of my favorites that I've yet to mention during the month of the wonderful Thanksvember.

Prepare - there's quite a few on this list.

Sacred Heart by @house-of-galathynius I remember finding this fic when there was just a few chapters and the wait was excruciating, because we had no idea where the story was going, it was so tense and painful. But so beautiful.

Remember Us by @tomtenadia The sadness, the rebuilding, regaining memories... Beautiful, brilliant and absolutely one of my comfort fics. Rowaelin family fics always make me smile, but this one broke my heart first. Then helped me smile again.

Fly The Black Flag by @leiawritesstories Sexy, sassy, horny pirates? Funny banter? Hilarious plot twists, deserved deaths? Some extremely inventive places for spicy times? These all are part of what makes FTBF so absolutely incredible and hilarious.

23A by @alifletcher2012 Oh, this fic took me on a journey which I will never forget. I keep going back for this - a brilliant fic of our precious Rowaelin meeting, hating and falling hard. Yes, please. Forever one of my comfort fics.

One Night Standards by @sassyhobbits I couldn't stop reading this one when I first came upon it - a brilliant, sexy, and such funny story with some of my favorite tropes: one-night-stand turned to more, arranged marriage and forced proximity. And the angst in this is so delicious.

Touch Me Like That by @heirofflowers The scene we definitely knew we needed but were denied in the books - you all know that moment in QoS... This magnificent piece of smutty art absolutely gives us everything we want, need and more.

My warrior queen by @tomtenadia This... this absolutely grasped me in a tight grip. I'm still holding out hope that this one gets continued, I absolutely loved, loved, loved this beautiful story about finding out about the mate bond, but not being able to act on it right away. It's worth it in the end though.

Majoring in Hate, Minoring in Love by @morganofthewildfire This has it all - absolutely fantastic angst, enemies to lovers, secret hookups/dating, college life and the struggles of learning to trust, breaking trust and building it back up? I love this so much and it kills me every time but I can't stop rereading this.

Beautiful Mirror by @rowanaelinn Aelin feeling down and not like herself anymore? Rowan showing her exactly what he thinks? The heat in this is enough to set the world on fire. But the beauty behind the entire thing is just why I love this little fic so much.

Plus so many more I just can't possibly list them all! Thank you all incredible Rowaelin creators for every single word you write, every wonderful art piece you share. You help keep our small fandom alive, day by day, and we wouldn't be here if it weren't for every single one of us doing our best.

[acourtofthought]

Ooh interesting!

Admittedly, I struggle to attach myself to blonde characters (certainly stems from growing up black in white spaces, and how dominant white narratives are in fantasy and ToG in particular), but outside of the loose ties I have to Aelin, I couldn’t get over Rowan punching her in the face.

I’ve read a lot of dark romances and horrors, where the MMC does a lot worse than a punch like that, but I think it was also Aelin’s state at the time. It would’ve cost nothing for Rowan to approach the whole training thing differently, and even though they made up and obviously care deeply for each other, that forever tainted my view of Rowaelin.

I loved Chaol as well, and really enjoyed ToD. At first I was in agony over Elorcan and not knowing what was going to happen to them, but I appreciated how different the culture was, and how the world expanded. It was heartwarming, seeing how Chaol and Aelin never lost their care for each other when they reunited. That gave me more peace over the ending of that relationship.

💖🧼

❤️ I always appreciate you sharing little bits of your personal life and experiences in these messages. Though I am sorry for the difficulties you had growing up in that situation. ❤️

I guess Rowan is silver haired rather than blonde but I agree, the punching felt highly unnecessary. Regardless of what Aelin said to him he as a centuries old warrior should have had better control over his reaction. I can't see Sarah writing a male main character doing that at this point in her career so maybe it was a result of writing in her youth.

I do understand why he was her endgame but I can't say overall I enjoyed their relationship more than Chaol. Which is surprising, usually I love the endgame person. I think that's only happened one other time in a book I've read, where the original love interest was my favorite.

[morganofthewildfire]

Hey :) how about a fic based on sparks fly?? You always write amazing ts song fics so I thought of you to ask, it’s just that whenever I hear “get me with those green eyes” I never fail to think of rowaelin. This song is a little ambiguous so however you would want it to go!

Sparks Fly

your wish is my command 😁

~2k words

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

Rowan Whitethorn was magnetic. Aelin didn’t know what kind of force it was, if it was fate, if it was just pure attraction, if it was something more, but for whatever reason, she couldn’t stay away.

She’d met him in the first year of high school, and hadn’t been able to get him out of her head. She’d walked into her homeroom midway through that freshman year, a new student at the school, coming from a background that only continued to separate her from everyone else, but he’d looked up at her and smiled. 

And his eyes, his eyes. A deep, pine green, so unbelievably gorgeous and enthralling she couldn’t look away no matter how hard she tried. 

He’d been the only one to introduce himself to her, essentially the only one who didn’t bully her, and he soon became her best friend. Even if right from the moment they’d met, she’d been hurtling fast into love.

Now, junior year of college, they were still just friends, but Aelin still wanted to be more.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Rowan’s voice drifted through her thoughts, something poking her in the arm, and Aelin blinked heavily, rubbing her eyes as she sat up, meeting those laughing green eyes sitting at the desk next to her.

Oh. She was still in class.

“Class ended a few minutes ago,” Rowan said, leaning over to grab his backpack, and hers. “You fell asleep about ten minutes in.”

“Shit,” Aelin grumbled, pushing herself to a weak stand. Luckily it was a lecture hall, and they sat in the back, so the chances that the professor had noticed were slim to none. If he’d even care anyway. “Any chance we can stop and get coffee?” She rubbed at her face again, trying to wake up. 

Rowan just snorted, slotting into place at her side as they headed out of the building. Spring was falling over Doranelle, and the University campus was beginning to bloom, warming up but still holding onto that lingering chill from winter. 

“Any reason why you’re so tired today?” He questioned instead of answering, and Aelin just shrugged, refusing to look at him. Truth was, she’d barely gotten any sleep the night before because she’d started crying over him and couldn’t stop. Aelin didn’t even remember what had triggered it, something she’d watched on TV that’d made her think of him, and sent her spiraling down into those thoughts of hopelessness once again. 

But she couldn’t tell him that.

It was getting harder and harder to pretend she didn’t feel the way she did, but she had to. Because she couldn’t lose him.

“Just busy studying,” she said instead, forcing a teasing smile. “I’m gonna beat your score on this next exam.” 

“Oh really?” Rowan said, cocking an eyebrow, a look that did terrible things to her body. “Are you sure about that?” She looked away, trying to hide the way her cheeks flamed. 

“Yep,” she said, “you’ll see in our epic study extravaganza tomorrow. I know everything.” 

The epic study extravaganza was something they’d started freshman year. They’d get a bunch of junk food, the only time Rowan ever ate it, and more caffeine than was healthy, and studied the entire day before the day before their exam. The day before, they relaxed, confident that they were prepared.

It was one of her favorite traditions, not because of the effectiveness of their studying, but because it was a full day with him, days that had caused some of their best memories. 

“About that,” Rowan said, and a pit of dread formed in her stomach. “You know that girl in my history class, Lyria?” 

Lyria. Right. That’s why she’d been crying her eyes out the night before. Lyria. A pretty, sweet brunette in Rowan’s history class, the one class they didn’t have together. He’d met her the first day of the semester, and had mentioned her a few times here and there. 

And he’d told Aelin yesterday that she’d finally asked him out for coffee, and he’d said yes. Yes. 

“What about her?” Aelin asked, kicking a rock as she walked down the sidewalk. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rowan string a hand through his hair, a clear sign of his nerves, but she still refused to look. 

“She can’t get coffee on Friday anymore, so she asked if we could go tomorrow instead,” he said, and Aelin’s heart squeezed painfully. 

“Oh.”

“I’ll still be able to come over after that,” Rowan hurried to say, and she just nodded absently. “Just not as early as usual. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, nodding her head. Even if her heart begged to say something differently. “No worries. It’s fine.” 

He looked at her like he didn’t believe her, and she couldn’t blame him. She didn’t sound convincing. But she couldn’t handle his concern right now.

“I just remembered,” she cleared her throat. “I have to meet Lysandra for something real quick. I’ll see you later.” 

“Ae-”

She grabbed her backpack back from him, not letting him finish as she turned and walked the opposite direction, heading anywhere but back to where he was standing, hiding the sudden resurgence of tears streaming down her face.

It was fine. She was fine. Right?

-----

The next day, time seemed to move exponentially slower than usual as she waited for any news from Rowan. Aelin had gone out to the store in the morning, gathering the junkiest junk food she could find, and a pack of energy drinks and coffee, pretending like everything was normal. 

Then she’d gotten back to her apartment and set out the stash of food on her kitchen counter, laying it out for easy grabbing. 

Then she’d turned on her speaker, jamming out to some Taylor Swift as she got her school stuff ready. It was the one day a year that Rowan would willingly listen to her music, though he’d stopped complaining when she turned it on in the car. He was a secret swiftie, and she was determined to get him to admit it.

And then, once all of that was done, she waited.

What was the point in starting without him? 

Noon rolled around, and then 1, and then 2, and she let herself eat a little bit of the food, glancing at the clock as she did. 

He was supposed to meet her at eleven, what could really be taking that long? 

She paced around her apartment, chewing her lip to shreds as she fought back yet another round of tears. 

3… 4…

She finally decided to try and study by herself, but she couldn’t concentrate, the words blurring on the computer screen. 

She shut the lid in frustration. 

5…6…

Aelin collapsed on her couch, staring up at the ceiling and letting the music soak her senses.

“Stupid girl, I should’ve known, I should’ve known,” taylor swift sang, “that im not your princess, this ain’t a fairytale-“

Aelin reached for her phone, shutting off the music. She couldn’t listen to it anymore. A single tear slipped down her face and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Was this her life? Was she damned to be a fool in love with someone who never even looked her way? Rowan never saw her like that, never. She was stupid for even hoping. 

A sob escaped her and she curled up in a ball, letting the despair take over yet again. 

And then, her phone rang.

Aelin hesitated for a moment, letting it ring out. But as soon as the call ended, it rang again. She sniffed and pushed herself up to a sit, reaching for the device. 

Rowan’s name flashed across the screen, and she considered not answering, but her traitorous thumb hit accept. 

“Aelin, I’m so sorry,” his voice came through the speaker, clearly distressed. Aelin just fell back onto the couch, rolling onto her back as she held up the phone. 

“It's okay,” she croaked, an absolute lie. 

“It's not okay,” he corrected, “I'm sorry it took me so long. We got coffee, and then we were both hungry so we got food, and then she needed help on something for class and I just got distracted and - im on my way now.”

She closed her eyes, a sense of clarity finally settling in her. 

“No, it's fine,” she said, “go back to Lyria, I'm fine studying by myself.”  She could practically feel his shock. “I’m not going to beg you to spend time with me. I'm worth more than that. So if you've found something you think is better, then I’m happy for you.” Her voice broke. “But I'm not fighting for second place.”

“Ae-“

She hung up, tossing her phone to the side. And then for the fourth time that day, she cried. 

——

Hours later, the sun had set and the clouds had rolled in, showering the world in heavy rain. 

Aelin settled into some sort of despondent state, laying there and fading in and out of reality. She’d spilled the truth, kind of. It was left to him to decide what to do with it. 

If he never spoke to her again, that was his decision. Yet, she couldn’t help but wish that he’d show up at her door in the pouring rain, and sweep her into an all consuming kiss on the sidewalk as she came outside. 

And just take away this pain.

Gods, was she quoting Taylor Swift now? This was the real world, it wasn’t a song. If Rowan wanted to do something, he would’ve by now. 

No, she was just left alone here, listening to the raindrops pattering against her windows. 

“Aelin!” A familiar voice yelled through the rain, paired with a knock that was apparently not the rain like she’d thought. 

“What the hell?” She said as he shouted her name again, pounding on her front door. She stood up quickly, hurrying over to the apartment entrance. 

But she hesitated before opening the door; did she want to see him? 

Yes. Always yes, no matter what he came here to say. 

But she didn't expect what came out of mouth the second she opened the door.

“You’re never second place,” he said, his green eyes breathtaking in the rain. “You’re never anything but the most important person in my life, Aelin. I love you.” 

She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but stare into his eyes. His silver hair was flattened on his forehead, his clothes soaked with rain water that kept pouring down, crushing the bouquet of flowers he held in his hand. 

“You-“ she managed to say. “What?” 

“I love you,” he declared again. “I have for years. I thought it was hopeless, so when Lyria asked me out I said yes to try and move on, but it's always been you.” He shook his head, his voice cracking. “I stalled today because I couldn’t face you after wishing all day that it was you I was on a date with instead of her. But I-“ he loosed a breath. “I was an asshole for it, and I’m here to apologize and beg for a chance again, and if there is anyway you can maybe love me back I-“

She cut him off by stepping out into the rain and pulling him down into a searing kiss. 

Aelin had no words for the feeling that rushed through her at that simple kiss, like a thousand fireworks shining in the sky. 

Like sparks flying. 

She giggled at the thought, pulling away from the kiss. But she didn't let him get far, resting her forehead against his. 

“I love you, too,” she whispered, barely audible above the rain now soaking her. A blinding smile grew on Rowan’s face.

“Yeah?” He asked, like he couldn’t believe it. She nodded, smiling back.

“I love you so much,” she confessed, “so much.”

An incredulous laugh escaped him and he lifted her into his arms, kissing her deeply. And then he spun her around, rain flinging off of them both. 

“We’re idiots,” he chuckled as he set her down. Aelin smiled up at him, smoothing back a strand of his wet hair.

“Yes we are,” she agreed, “but we’re idiots in love.”

Finally.

----

@shyvioletcat 

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@leiawritesstories 

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@westofmoon 

@mariamuses 

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@poisonous00

[leiawritesstories]

rowaelin print for you: they have been friends since middle school or high school and they have both felt something for the other but never acted on it and Aelin assumed he didn’t like her and dated other people but Rowan was almost always single save for a few dates here and there but only when she’s been in a commuted relationship now they have finish college and have real adult jobs and everything Rowan asks Aelin out and confessed to always liking her and so she asks why he never said anything before and he responds with “I saw somewhere that you are more likely to end up with someone you we’re friends with in high school instead of someone you dated in high school and I wanted you forever not just from ages 16-18 so I waited”

friends to lovers, my weakness

word count: 1,321

warnings: some language, lots of feelings

Forever And A Day

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aelin had had a hell of a day. A hell of a week, really. She loved her job as an editor, loved working with her clients and getting to read and discuss their work, but gods, deadlines were far too much stress on everyone involved. And it didn't help at all that the head of the publishing house was an absolute bitch. Especially at deadline time.

She needed a drink.

So she found herself catching a taxi downtown, handing the driver some cash when she got out and walked the last few blocks to her favorite bar, texting the girls groupchat as she went. Anyone up for Mistward tonight?

Elide, Manon, Ansel, and Lysandra showed up less than ten minutes later, meeting Aelin at their usual booth and packing into the worn, cracked leather seats. Fenrys was working tonight, and Ansel blew the blonde bartender a kiss as she went to collect the tray of shots and drinks they'd all ordered. Gods, the two of them were so blatantly flirting it was all Aelin could do to restrain herself from conveniently locking them into the bathroom together.

Several shots in, and Aelin felt the stress of the week slipping away, replaced by bubbly, tipsy laughter as her friends shared work stories and told awful jokes that only got dirtier with each drink. She'd just returned from the bathroom, having to pee or risk peeing herself from laughter, when she stopped short, a flash of silver across the low-lit, packed bar catching her eye. She'd know that hair, know the man who wore that hair, in a heartbeat anywhere she saw him.

Rowan Whitethorn.

Just like that, she was fifteen again, pretending she didn't have a crush on the guy she'd known since he was a gangly sixth grader who'd somehow turned cute. And not in an "aww" way, in a "he makes my stomach flip" way.

Just like that, she was seventeen, still squashing down her crush on Rowan as she dated Chaol Westfall for a few months, trying to convince herself that here was a guy who really liked her. And he did, he did like her, just...he wasn't Rowan.

Just like that, she was eighteen and going off to college, never expecting to run into Rowan during her first week at university, since the campus was so big and they were in different fields. She was the nervous freshman trying to figure out all these adult things while dealing with the sudden rekindling of her crush on Rowan when he asked her out.

Just like that, she was back in college, the few casual dates she and Rowan had gone on burning brightly in her heart, but not quite as brightly as her new relationship with Sam Cortland, who told her he loved her, who showed her he loved her. She'd forgotten about Rowan for a while as she dated Sam, let that flame die down into old friendship to make way for her boyfriend.

Just like that, all the memories of running into Rowan in the city came crashing back, along with all the force of what she felt for the man. No longer could she deny to herself that she loved him. Loved him for his quiet strength, for the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed, for the way he'd always been there when she needed a warm shoulder to cry on after she and Sam broke up. Loved him for the way he protected her, even just as friends, loved him for never pushing her to do anything she truly didn't want to do.

Rowan turned in his seat, his pine-green gaze dancing across the bar until it crashed into hers where she was still frozen in place, overwhelmed by the tide of memories that seeing him in the bar had brought down upon her. Aelin? he mouthed, pushing up from his seat, striding through the people in the packed bar.

"Aelin?" His voice grounding her, bringing her out of the sea of memories.

"Hi, Rowan."

For a long moment, neither of them spoke, just stared.

Then Rowan gave her his hand, led her to his booth. "Aelin, I--"

"Tell me how you are," she blurted, settling into the seat. "Ro, it feels like I haven't seen you in forever and a day."

He chuckled a little. "Well, I'm all right, I guess. I work in real estate, and good gods above, it's killing me right now. I've got three deals I'm working to close and two of them are going perfectly but the last one is--" He broke off to draw a long swig of his beer. "Fuck, the last one's going to be the end of me, I swear. Sorry to rant."

"You know I'm always here for you to rant to," Aelin returned, waving Fen over to bring her some water and a few shots. "Hell, I'm trying to decompress too, it's deadline season and if Maeve doesn't get off my ass and stop harassing my authors, I'm this close to throwing her out the fuckin' window."

Rowan lifted his beer. "I'll drink to that."

"I'll do you one better." Aelin slid him a shot glass. "It's tequila."

She tapped her shot to his and tipped it back, the burn of the alcohol sliding down her throat.

He whooshed out a breath. "Tastes like college."

She snickered. "Don't remind me."

His expression softened as he set down the shot glass, the mention of college bringing back the same kind of memories she'd been hit with when she saw him. "Ae?"

"Yeah?"

Now or never, Whitethorn. "Can I take you to dinner?"

She blinked. "Rowan..."

"Gods," he groaned. flushing red. "No, no, forget it, I'm an idiot."

"Yes." She cut him off. "Of course you can take me out." She reached across the tabletop, sliding her hand into his. "But...why now, Ro?"

His flush deepened. "Because I've liked you forever and a day but never had the balls to properly say it."

"You have?" Her eyes wide with shock, with joy.

"I have." He gave her a crooked little smile. "Fuck, Ae, I liked you since I first emerged from the puberty fog and realized how gorgeous and brilliant you are. I've liked you since we were just kids in high school, liked you when you were dating those other guys and all I wanted to do was throttle them because they'd never love you like I would."

Aelin was on the edge of happy tears. "Why didn't you ever say anything?" she breathed. "Ro, all you had to do was ask me one time, and I would have said yes forever."

"I--um..." His flush deepened even further.

"Spit it out," she teased, squeezing his hand. "You know I'll never, ever judge you, Ro."

"Well, you know how I was an impressionable young idiot?"

"As we all were," she laughed.

"I, um...I read somewhere that you're more likely to end up with someone you were friends with in high school rather than someone you dated in high school, and I wanted to end up with you forever, not just in high school, so...I waited." He was crimson by the time he'd finished speaking.

Tears--of laughter or otherwise, she didn't know--gathered in the corners of Aelin's eyes. "We're both such idiots," she whispered after a long moment, a grin spreading across her face. "Ro, I thought that you only wanted to be friends, since you never said otherwise. So I dated Chaol for a bit, dated Sam in college, all because I thought you just wanted to stay friends." She flicked a rogue tear off her cheek. "It's always been you, Rowan Whitethorn. My heart has always belonged to you."

His answering grin set her heart aflame. "I love you, Aelin Galathynius. I will love you forever."

"Save that for after you're truly my boyfriend," she giggled. "I love you too, Rowan."

~~~

A/N: and they lived happily ever after

~~~

[hamsterboos]

Going to You

I wanted to make this a longer project, but I don't have the time nor the energy to add to my WIP lmao. But either way, I really hope that people enjoy this cute little (not so little?) story about long distance friends meeting!! Also the banners I'm making for these are so trash but I'm rolling with it lol. As usual, let me know if you'd like to be added to my tag list for TOG!

Word Count: 2729 CW: cursing Read on AO3 Rowaelin Month 2022 Masterlist

Day 3 of Rowaelin Month Prompt: Travel/Vacation

~~~~~~~~~~

>> Look, it’s you! I appreciate you. *Attachment: a picture of a hawk trying to pick up a tortoise with the caption: ‘HAWKS. Born to make you feel smarter’*

<< Aelin. 

>> Yes?

<< Shut up.

Aelin laughed out loud as she locked her phone and tucked it away into her pocket before walking into the conference room for her meeting. It was always nice to get a laugh in by teasing her best friend when her day was dragging , especially when she knew that he wasn’t going to get his feathers ruffled just from a simple joke. 

Even as the thought crossed her mind, Aelin had to suppress another laugh. She wished that she could’ve seen his reaction in real time but alas, that was the way things worked with them — texts, phone calls, the occasional video calls. 

She had met Rowan Whitethorn accidentally a year ago, and if she were being honest, she felt as though the fact that the two of them had met was simply a stroke of fate, not an accident. 

It was one of many late nights that Aelin had been spending at work, waiting for a client to respond to her email, when she decided to waste time on Instagram, and as she got further and further down her scrolling spree, she came across book editor Rowan Whitethorn’s page about current popular books on social media and how social media was causing waves of trends amongst the book community. She messaged him about the video, something that she normally didn’t do. The most Aelin would do to interact with others online was like the reels and posts she would see.

She still didn’t understand why she had decided to click on his profile and message him, but that was what kickstarted their friendship. The four hour time difference between Terrasen and Doranelle made it so Aelin’s late night was merely Rowan’s early evening, and somehow they made it work. The single message had spiraled into a conversation that lasted for hours, and Aelin had left at nearly eleven that night, despite finishing the last bit of work an hour earlier. The next morning, she had awoken to a few more messages from Rowan, seeming incredibly hesitant as he wondered if they could continue the conversation. 

Aelin wholeheartedly agreed.

Soon enough, the conversation had moved off of Instagram to texting as they shared phone numbers, and then whenever Aelin was driving home from work, she’d call Rowan and they’d talk on the phone, and on weekends, they would video call too. Within a year, everyone around Aelin had spoken to Rowan at least once and they all knew that he was her best friend. They were essentially penpals, but it was also so much more. Rowan was her rock, her home away from home, and every day she would look forward to the moments when they could get a few messages in. 

To be fair, half the time the messages would involve Aelin teasing Rowan for being such a fussy, old man — she didn’t even care that he was thirty years old, four years older than her twenty six. There was one time where Aelin was sick enough to sleep through the day, and Rowan swore he thought she had gone up and died without telling him. Needless to say, he now had her cousin, Aedieon’s, phone number, and she had gotten herself a worrywart across the ocean. 

It wasn’t as though she would trade that for the world, though, because even though she had never met Rowan in person, she was fairly sure that he was her favorite person in the world, and the feeling probably extended past friendship, but Aelin would be absolutely batshit insane to ever tell him that, especially over text . 

But despite everything, she wanted to do something special for the two of them, so ever since Rowan had mentioned that he needed a weekend off away from his normal life, she decided that she would take it upon herself to plan the perfect little weekend vacation that they could use to meet up as well.

Aelin had booked the tickets to a small group of tourist friendly islands called Mistward last night and was waiting for the perfect time to forward the ticket information over to his email, and what better time would it be than to do it when he knew he couldn’t call her and chew her out because she was going to be in a meeting? Deciding to bite the bullet, she opened up her email, entered Rowan's email address, and hit forward before setting her phone on vibrate and pulling up a notes app on her tablet as the meeting began.

Sure enough, within minutes, her phone started vibrating. Discreetly looking down at her watch where the notifications were also coming through, all she saw was her name coming from Rowan, and she suppressed a smile at the thought of how angry he would pretend to be.

It took longer than expected to get back to Rowan thanks to the meeting running longer than the allotted forty five minutes, but Rowan had responded as soon as she did.

<< Aelin.

<< Aelin.

>> I thought you told me to shut up, so I did!

<< You did not just pay for two tickets to an island destination for this weekend.

>> I most definitely did, buzzard.

<< I can’t expect you to pay for me like that

>> Get used to it because if it were up to you, you’d never take a break

>> Says the woman working sixty hours a week?

<< Shush this is my moment to make sense

<< Just accept it! This is our moment to meet, Rowan

Aelin had to wait a couple of minutes before Rowan responded, and the entire time she was waiting, she tried not to chew her thumbnail down to the very nub, and thankfully she succeeded, but just barely.

>> Fine, but I’m paying for dinner.

<< It’s a date.

~*~*~*~*~

In mere minutes, she would be seeing Rowan Whitethorn for the first time.

In mere minutes, she would be touching Rowan Whitethorn for the first time.

In mere minutes, she would be with her best friend for the first time, and Aelin absolutely could not deal. 

She never realized that it could be strange, the feeling of meeting someone for the first time despite having known such deep and sincere things about them. 

She had known the pain of loss that he had felt when Lyria had died, just weeks after getting engaged to her, and he had understood the guilt she felt when Sam had died due to a drunk driver because he was trying to pick her up from a party one night. 

Aelin knew Rowan, but it was incredibly weird to think about how she didn’t really know him at the same time? She didn’t know if he cracked his knuckles frequently like she did or if he liked to twitch his leg; however, she desperately hoped all of that would change over the course of the next two days.

The two were expected to land within thirty minutes of each other (which was a miracle in of itself considering the time difference of leaving on a Friday afternoon) and had decided to meet up at the baggage claim area, and so there Aelin was, sitting on her suitcase with her phone in hand as she scrolled through Rowan’s Instagram pictures, trying to visualize his small photos as a real, live human before deciding that the entire idea was stupid and she needed to get her shit together.

He was going to be here in…three minutes, and she felt the pterodactyls rushing her stomach. Oh god, she could not throw up here. That would be such a bad way to meet someone for the first time. Instead of thinking about all of the nerves, she focused on looking at her notes app and checking through the itinerary of what they were planning on doing. As soon as they got out of the airport, the plan was to get to the hotel that Aelin had booked where they had connecting rooms and immediately go out walking without a plan to find the little nooks and crannies of the area with the restaurants without lines going out the door. Those places tended to be more authentic and not geared towards tourists. Obviously, they were going to do all the touristy things later on during the rest of the weekend before they had to leave Sunday night for the flight. It was in the plan that they would be going to the Oakwald Wilderness Park and swimming in the local waterfalls. After that, they would also be going to the beach and just spending a while tanning in the sunlight, but for the most part, Aelin wanted the chance to relearn her best friend in person . 

She was so lost in looking at her phone that she jumped when she felt someone touch her shoulder. Whipping her head around, she startled as she took in the man standing in front of her with a slight nervous smile. His tan skin was a contrast against the silver hair that Aelin had only seen through screens. The tattoo running down his left arm was exposed as well, another thing that Aelin had only seen in detail through her screen as he showed it to her through the camera. Finally, she looked into his pine-green eyes, and it finally hit her that the man in front of her was Rowan. 

Her Rowan.

“Oh my god,” she breathed, standing and turning around at the same time, nearly tumbling off the suitcase. Rowan grabbed her gently by her forearms to steady her, and they stood there for a moment. Aelin was aware that they probably looked like a pair of idiots pretending to be in a movie, but it felt as though time had stopped for her as she took in Rowan until she had the presence of mind to speak.

“Hi, Buzzard,” she greeted with a smile, her heart filling up with emotions she was starting to parse through and understand was excitement and happiness and the nerves of seeing a man she liked. Rowan let go of her with a laugh, but he didn’t go far. 

“Hey, Fireheart,” he greeted back, and she let out a laugh of relief. He was in front of her, and they were going to do this. 

At first it was a bit strange to be talking to each other in person, but eventually they fell into a familiar rhythm of teasing each other and talking about literally anything. Even as they got settled into their respective hotel rooms, they left the connecting door open to scream across as they unpacked. Eventually they made their way out of the hotel and started walking around. There were moments that she wished Rowan would just take a hold of her hand, but the more rational part of her brain knew that it would be weird. 

“So, this is weird, right?” she finally gave in and asked as they continued to dodge other tourists walking around the pathway as the sun was slowly setting, casting an orange glow over the buildings.

Rowan looked down at her with a smile. “Yeah, but it’s a good weird.”

“How is weird ever good?”

“I mean, you’re weird.”

“Excuse you,” she retorted in an offended tone and a hand on her heart. Rowan just laughed again, and Aelin couldn’t get over how rich it sounded in real life.

“I can’t get over how I can just reach over and touch you,” he explained, a genuine wonder in his expression as he poked her cheek gently with his index finger. 

Swatting his hand away, Aelin hummed in agreement. “I’m mad that you’re so much taller than me.”

“It’s amazing how you’re so small, honestly.”

“I’m tall for a woman my age!”

“Is five feet tall?”

“You’re an asshole. I’m five seven!”

“Yeah, tiny,” he retorted as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side to avoid a bike rider that she hadn’t seen until he was basically past them. “And blind, apparently.”

A meek, “Shut up,” was all that Aelin could manage after being pressed up against the hard muscles and ridges of his body. She didn’t immediately move away, but he also didn’t let go of her as they finally found a small cafe type restaurant without too many customers inside. 

Dinner was full of brushes of their hands as they passed dishes amongst each other, partially because it was accidentally, but also partially because Aelin still couldn’t believe he was in front of her. She had a sneaking suspicion that Rowen felt the same way because as soon as they stood up after he paid, he had laid a palm on the small of her back, and slowly, very slowly, the hand had moved to rest around her waist. There was a hesitation in his motion, as though he were waiting for her to move or to say something against it, but there was no part of Aelin that was against it. The lights of the night sky on the island, the fresh breeze, and the scent of the snow emanating from Rowan had her feeling the most calm and comfortable that she had in weeks. 

They didn’t feel the need to spend the walk back to the hotel by talking, and instead just basked in the others’ presence. The rest of the trip followed a pattern where they would talk when they had things to talk about but it wasn’t as though they were under an obligation to fill the silence. The new thing about the two of them, however, was the touching. It was normal for Aelin and Rowan to leave calls or video calls on when they ran out of things to talk about, just to have companionship, and obviously they couldn’t touch through a screen, but Aelin wasn’t expecting that she would constantly be looking for an excuse to touch him. Rowan never said, either. They walked arm in arm through the Oakwald Park, and the thought of the lingering touches to her bare waist as they went swimming through the waterfall still brought heat to her cheeks. 

When it came time for their Sunday night flights, Aelin didn’t want to go, but more importantly, she didn’t want to let Rowan go, either.

“I had a great time,” she said as they stood in front of a Starbucks in the airport. “I wish this weekend weren’t ending.”

Rowan raised his hands to cup her cheeks before softly rubbing circles with his thumbs. “Me neither,” he quietly said. 

“Is it bad to say that I’ve had more fun with you over the last two days than I have in a really, really long time?” 

“No,” he answered with a smile. “I did too. I also…don’t want to let you go. I want to keep you by my side.”

“Then don’t,” she responded with, as a last ditch effort. “I like you, Rowan. I really like you,” Aelin confessed. 

Her heart filled with hope as she took in his responding bright smile. He didn’t respond, though, with words. The pterodactyls were back as his lips brushed hers gently once, twice, before pulling back when they called boarding for his flight.”

“I’ll see you soon, Aelin. I promise.”

He smiled at her before kissing her forehead and squeezed her hand once before he walked away, taking a part of her heart with her. 

Until a minute later her phone pinged with a notification. Pulling it out, she let out a loud laugh as she looked at the email notification.

Congratulations, Mr. Whitethorn! We are happy to officially extend an offer for you to work in the Terrasen branch of our publishing house, starting in two weeks.

She didn't even finish reading the rest of the email before texting the man.

>> Rowan.

>> Rowan!

<< What?

She could practically hear the laughter in his voice. 

>> You couldn't have told me this sooner?!

<< It was too much fun seeing you upset over me.

>> Rude.

<< I'll see you soon, Fireheart. Have a safe flight.

Aelin snorted even as she tried to stop herself from bawling like a dumbass in the middle of a very public airport.

>>  You too, Buzzard.

Taglist: @thegreyj

[yabai-korra]

The reasons why we're getting Manorian book

There has been a lot of speculation whether SJM is going to favor us with book/novella about Manon Blackbeak and Dorian Havilliard, recently I saw some fans doubting it, so here's a list of logical reasons why it's happening.

1. It's SJM

This woman writes two 500+ pages books per year, for her it would be a piece of cake.

2. There have already been books focused on side characters

a) Chaol and Yrene - Chaol was one of the most unpopular characters before Tower of Dawn (which made me love him hehe) and she still wrote a 600+ pages long book about him, just imagine what she'd do with the most popular character (Manon) and one of the most popular ones (Dorian).

b) Nesta and Cassian - this is ship is the closest to Manorian equivalent in ACOTAR series, aka starting from a physical relationship that develops into a sentimental one. Also 6th ACOTAR book will be focused on a new characters (most probably Elain)

3. Favoritism

SJM has talked multiple times about her love for these two. When asked about her favorite TOG character, she said Aelin, but Manon was a close second place and she said that she absolutely loves writing her.

In another interview, when asked who she would go on a book tour with and a few similar questions, she answered Dorian.

Now, I haven't seen all of her interviews ever and I'm not sure how much she loves Nessian and Cahorene (seems to love Nessian a hella lot tho), but it's definite that Manorian are some of her favorite characters and it's just logical that she would write about them.

4. Unfinished story/Unresolved feelings

Ships at the end of TOG:

Rowaelin - married

Elorcan - engaged

Lysaedion - engaged

Chaorene - married with a baby on the way

Nestaq - engaged

Manorian - hug and "we'll see"

All the ships basically got engaged in the last chapter (it's not like I didn't like it hehe) and their stories, romantic-wise, were pretty much finished and they have no unresolved tension between them. Manorian on the other hand, have enough of it for all the ships lol.

KOA spoilers ahead!

Keep in mind, Manorian relationship was mostly a sexual one, and they don't quite yet have a way of communicating their feelings properly. So there is a lot of unaddressed between them, even though they obviously care a lot about each other.

The unresolved things between Manon and Dorian:

"“And if I asked you to stay?” / “I’d need a very convincing reason, I suppose.” / “Because I don’t want you to go.” - they just fucked and Dorian left for Morath later, which impacted Manon a lot but they haven't discussed it

"I even care about you." - Manon got up and left

"There is only one witch who will be my queen." - Manon doesn't know about this

Manon saved Dorian from Valg demon even when Aelin couldn't. It was the worst thing to happen to Dorian and he still bears scars from it, yet he didn't have an appropriate situation to thank Manon for it

Dorian knows that Erawan lusted after Manon, which got him pissed of course, and he didn't have a chance nor time to ask Manon about it. It might be nothing, but if I were Dorain and my girlfriend who doesn't show feelings was locked up with a crazy guy who has a thing for her, and have seen the way he treats women, I'd be concerned. Erawan was a Valg king, a tough opponent even for Manon. If he had done something to her, and he had plenty of means and opportunities and wish to do so, Manon would never openly tell anyone (maybe Asterin) about it, because it would imply opening up and being weak, which is Manon's worst fear. Again, SJM, as the Queen of Foreshadowing, wouldn't just randomly throw in the main villain having a thing for an important character, everything in her books always has a meaning and purpose.

"Would you miss me if I didn't [come back]?" - Manon didn't reply

This is how SJM described Manorian marriage: "She would be his wife, his queen. She was already his equal, his match, mirror in so many ways. And with their union, the world would know it." - and you're telling me it's not deserving of its own book? Not just that, Manon asked Dorian for marriage and they, again, just had sex, with Dorian loving the idea but deep down knowing that Manon would feel caged in a marriage. And that attitude won't just change out of the blue. It takes time and development which is something SJM writes amazingly.

With the Thirteen gone, beside Abraxos Dorian is the only creature Manon cares about.

Dorian's mortality (although as you'll see in point #6 I'm sure he's not human)

The dreaded "You could just marry each other." / "We'll see." (Thanks Yrene :)

5. Foreshadowing

Listen here, SJM IS THE QUEEN OF FORESHADOWING. She thought of a detail (Dorian's dad's name) in the first book that would matter in the last book. Of course, there are many many many more examples of that, but if we got "We'll see." then we'll fucking see it happen.

6. Unresolved things about Manon and Dorian as individual characters.

Manon and Dorian and both pretty broken at the end of KOA.

Manon lost the Thirteen, the only people she cared about. That is a huge trauma that needs to be addressed, especially with someone so reluctant to show feelings and heal like Manon.

Dorian can't be human?? He has fae abilities due to his relation to Gavin and Elena even though he's not even called a demi-fae. He possesses powers no one else does, phantom hands for example, which he didn't steal like shape-shifting. And Maeve pointed out that due to his father being possessed by Valg when Dorian was sired, it's possible he got some of the Valg abilities. (Also she said that he's stronger than Aelin) The main villain, especially written by Queen of Foreshadowing, wouldn't just let drop it there and that's it. Also not to mention Dorian's own struggle with depression and self-worth.

They have both just become rulers of their kingdoms, completely new to it. Dorian has spent a big part of KOA imagining what kind of a king he wants to be (one that will have a witch queen hehe) and it was a major point of his character. And addition to that affecting them as characters, the future of Adarlan and Witch Kingdom could make a good plotline.

7. Other TOG characters

Although pretty much all the readers would die to see Chaorene baby, Lorcan in Perranth, Aelin and Rowan ruling Terrasen, Lysandra and Adeion officially adopting Evangeline, Nesryn and Sartaq becoming Khagan and Empress of Antica, all of these don't make enough of a plot on its own. They are great side-plots.

We know all of these characters love each other and are happy together, there isn't that much to be added to their personal stories other than kids. (same way Feyre and Rhys got a baby in Nessian book) Manorian however, they haven't even kissed without it leading to sex, they hugged at the end of KOA and it was the pique of their relationship. Their relationship is merely at the beginning, whereas others have pretty much reached their ultimatum (ofc SJM can decide to add some drama with betrayal, kidnapping, pregnancy etc. but for now everyone is good and settled beside Manorian)

Not to mention the way other relationships would affect them. Chaol, Dorian's brother, and Yrene, Manon's wannabe bestie and Manorian shipper, would bring their baby to meet his/her uncle Dorian and aunt Manon, and imagine Manon with a baby lol.

SJM loves Aelin and other characters way too much not to give us an insight on them as married couples, but since her books are huge and it's her, it needs a plot with drama, addressing traumas, repressed feelings, worldbuilding, and sex, and Manorian's got all of that.

8. Abraxos

We need more Abraxos, that's just a fact.

Wow that was a long one. Anyways, in conclusion, we're getting that Manorian book. Pretty sure it's gonna a book rather than a novella (TOD was also planned as a novella but then guess what) because there is just SO MUCH possible content.

[bookofmirth]

Actually why is Aelin so special? Why is she the main character? Especially when, after the extension from 3 to 6 books to make way for Rowaelin, the plot has nothing do with her anymore? Is it because of her power? But that means nothing if Dorian has raw magic that he can make into whatever he wishes (apparently), so wouldn’t that make him arguably stronger than Aelin? Because it’s certainly not because she’s fighting for the oppressed when she kind of didn’t care for years and then expects to be handed armies and her kingdom despite her not having any leadership skills at all because she was eight. That’s not to negate the fact that… she was eight and grew up to live a horrible life and was afraid to go back, but she really just expected to be welcomed with open arms… for why? She wasn’t doing anything in secret for the good of the oppressed until it became very clear the oppression was knocking at her door… Even though it’s the reason her whole family is dead and the reason for the story anyway. It’s like why is Rhys the most powerful high lord when his powers are the literal same as other high lords?

Let me not say she wasn’t needed for plot because she was to close the gate, but all the other characters do things… for Aelin/Terrasen, and not necessarily to “make the world a better place” because in their definition a better place is Aelin’s way or no go in but why? Why? I know she was healing in HOF, but it took her the genocide of mostly POC slaves to decide she wanted to do something? (Only for her to joke around about colonization two books later, but whatever.) Not anything from her life before she was forced into assassinry? She does nothing but gets all the praise somehow. She didn’t even show up to the battle in her own kingdom until late because she was picking out rings and armor, I mean? Really? That’s the equivalent of Feysand having sex while people are literally dying outside and all for them so why? Why is she so special?

Also sorry if those asks come off as rude, I definitely don’t mean them to be haha! I was just thinking about how all Sarah’s main characters are super OP for no reason

Hello!

I should start this by saying that I love Aelin, Aelin is probably my favorite of all sjm's characters, but I know that opinion is not shared by everyone! I know that her behavior rubs some people the wrong way and I get it, because the things that people say they dislike in Aelin are the things that I dislike in Bryce.

I think you sent this after my Bryce rant, and I see Bryce as a pale, poor imitation of Aelin. Where Bryce has zero motivation and zero awareness of how other people suffer, Aelin is self-sacrificing to an extreme degree. Aelin absolutely did care about others - at 16 she was saving slaves in the one story about her and the pirate dude. Rolf. Sam didn't even know what she was trying to do until he was sucked into her scheme. I can see the argument for her not acting until Nehemia was killed and that feels like a separate issue, but the deaths at the slave camps were 1) not her fault, so it feels odd to use that as a criticism of her, and 2) affected her deeply, but happened when she was already in Mistward training so she could get what she needed from Maeve.

I would argue that Aelin always cared, and felt a deep sense of shame that she was unable to basically be an adult and take care of everyone after her parents' death, even though that was literally impossible for her to do so. She was a child when her parents were killed, and the way that Adarlan took over everything was a massive scar, and something she felt unduly responsible for.

but she really just expected to be welcomed with open arms… for why?

This actually made me think of another question - what would Darrow & Co. have done if Aelin had come to them all shy and downtrodden and meek? Humble? They would have rolled their eyes and been like "great, some fantastic leader we've been strapped with". I can't really see a way that Aelin could have approached her court that would garner their respect. Since she's the heir, I don't think that coming to them and asking for her rightful place would have been a good sign to them because they would probably expect - and want - someone with authority and confidence. I think however Aelin approached meeting them, she was damned either way. She's young, she's a woman, she's been away from the court since she was a child, they have zero reason to trust her. It wouldn't have mattered what she did, so the least she could do was act as if she belonged.

She does nothing but gets all the praise somehow.

She gained alliances and trained with her magic and gathered armies and figured out the magic to break the lock.

She didn’t even show up to the battle in her own kingdom until late because she was picking out rings and armor

Armor is kinda important in battle. Granted I still haven't reread KoA, but it took her quite a while to heal from all the torture and to travel. It's not as if she could single-handedly defeat an army. I just don't see finding wedding rings before battle being the same as having sex while listening to men die. There is a hopefulness in Rowan and Aelin getting those rings, and to me it definitely lacked the crassness of feysand tent sex ft. the blood of dying men.

Also sorry if those asks come off as rude, I definitely don’t mean them to be haha!

Hey, say what you want about fictional characters! I don't take it personally. We all have strong opinions about these things, or else we wouldn't be here!

I do agree with you on the hyperbole re: all of sjm's main characters. They are all so overpowered that often, their power becomes meaningless because it's canceled out by the fact that everyone is also The Most Powerful. Or the Most Beautiful, take your pick. Ultimately, I look past that because the things I enjoy, I enjoy more than the things that annoy me. If that makes sense haha

You are making me want to reread ToG 🤣

[writtenonreceipts]

🕯🍄 ❄ 🧩?

thanks for asking friend!!<3<3<3

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that? >>It depends on the type! I love developmental editing and going through and looing for plot or character things that could be fleshed out and improved on and tie things together better. I do love prose and language and bringing beauty to the written words, so it's fun looking at those technicalities. So I'd say with those, around 8! I am really hesitant with copyediting and proofreading...I am in an editing certificate program and learning those steps to improve etcetc, and I do NOT feel confident with it. 3. Maybe 3.5.

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings >>Hmmm. Elorcan is definitely one of my favorites, haha. I have a few different things. I love the idea of Elide returning to Perranth and taking over as she becomes a leader in her own right. And from that how Lorcan would always support her and do what he can to support her in those endeavors. I may be wrong on this, it's been a little bit since I've read the books: But I don't think Lorcan has the most experience in this arena. So together they learn and grow together to become better leaders. Oh, and they have a mini army of boys that adore their mother.

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best? >>Ooooooo...Hmmmm...I...Ok. So I have a Feysand idea I started a year ago and it's been collecting dust. It's got darker themes and is a big canon divergent and mostly Feyre-centric kinda exploring a different side of her before she makes it to the night court after getting lost in the woods, accidently making faerie deals, etc etc...It would be a mix of an acotar retelling/divergence really. SEVERAL other acotar writers have workings of this one going, so I've got plenty of stories to fawn over and fill my measly imagination, thank goodness! >>Also, I love the idea of a Sword in the Stone Retelling--Rowaelin edition! I started it (never finished bc its me) but I think you! @westofmoon would do wonders with that plot! @leiawritesstories could knock it out of the park!

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately? >>Characterization...I try not to! We have different ways of interpreting characters and showing that on page, but sometimes when I see a characterization I don't agree with or that's just not my cup of tea, and I back out. But I really try not to let things bother me (#iamthebiggestculpritofthisiknowiknowimsorry).

>>writers ask game<<

[acourtofquestions]

I keep on thinking about the “You left me” scene…

As painful as it is (and NOT one of Rowan & Aelin’s finer or healthiest moments; probably one of if not my LEAST favorite for them) there is something so guttural, telling, & crucial beneath the surface. … Especially the more I analyze many aspects of this VERY layered scene…

So, let’s break it down:

Now this may be my own abandonment issues talking😅but as someone that knows I see this argument (as drastically different as they sound) as two sides of the same coin (as Rowaelin often/always is) both sides rooted in abandonment issues & a consequential fear of love/the loss of it; hence ending up in one of two responses (even in a situation as seemingly ‘simple’ as this; triggering) either: clinging to someone with everything you have, begging, fighting, desperately trying to stop it from happening again. Or being the one to leave so you are not the one left saying “I didn’t care anyway” so you don’t have to feel like you lost anything to begin with.

… Sound familiar? It’s what’s happening here.

Unfortunately, this is one of the moments where these two are too much alike; it’s triggering them both (two people who can go from 0-180 & when it comes to flight or fight triggers are very prone to fight) they are arguing with themselves & their own fear/self-loathing more than each-other (thus hitting exactly where it hurts; because they are hurting themselves; for Rowan it’s punishment through self-sabotage, for Aelin it’s proving she’s unworthy of anyone’s care even someone who could be cruel to her) while also simultaneously using it as a form of ‘self-protection’ (they are trying not to care (further mad at themselves for already caring) & terrified for the other because every person they love has left; loving them feels like a death sentence & they have to protect the other by making themselves unlovable; before they get hurt again).

For Aelin, it’s a last resort; fear is a crucial part of her mindset, (upbringing), & survival. She lives in fight or flight, fawn or freeze, (leaning towards the natural inclination of the first latters) this is her fighting, desperately clawing (like a wounded animal), & on her last leg; because if he cannot choose her, cannot stay, will not; if as she describes, “She didn't know why it happened, because she had been so dead set on hating him, but... it would have been nice, she supposed. It would have been nice to have one person who knew the absolute truth about her--and didn't hate her for it. It would have been really, really nice.” If he who knows her unlike anyone ever has or could (from best to worst) has seen it all and found nothing there worthwhile then how can she possibly argue that with herself/anyone? Right then, you see how little she cares for herself (how she stays even when it’s hurting her because she doesn’t know anything else (how would she?) & because she believes every word of it (he doesn’t realize until later just how much she meant every word; because he didn’t, not fully at least, not in the same way she did). She feels that she has “nowhere else to go” because as she said “I have no one left. No one.”) you see how desperate she is for an end to the same trapping heartbreak that keeps repeating again & again. & If she loses him than there is truly nothing left. She is drowning, and this is all of it catching up to her at once — she’s screaming at him as much as everyone she’s ever lost — she’s pleading with Sam to let her look out for him, screaming at Chaol to let her in to trust her (& be worthy of his trust) so she could’ve saved Nehemia; an extremely raw wound (as shown in the broken echoing words she finally gives voice to in the next chapter), screaming at Nehemia for choosing to leave her, at Arobynn for betraying her (even if she can’t admit it yet, unleashing one begins unleashing them all) screaming at the very universe itself (the world that already broke every ‘natural’ promise; stolen all the ones she wasn’t ‘supposed’ to lose) screaming for her parents, her Aedion, her kingdom, herself. — At herself for not being able to save them, to stop it, to be fast enough- -to be enough. And begging for it, for anyone- -anything not to take this too because this is a final breaking for her.

& For Rowan, this feels like a loaded gun. It's his connection to her (despite his trying & denying it; he realizes it had already become a relationship & not just to him but to her) it’s him screaming “You are nothing to me, and I do not care.” to try and make it true because after centuries of not caring about anything or anyone (of feeling only ice), of not having anyone care (or need him for that matter; he’s realizing for better or worse she does)… Here it is (someone who cares & someone who needs him; someone who he cannot turn away because she can bear all of his ice & still understand him; he hates her for it, he hates himself for it “There is nothing that I can give to you. Nothing I want to give to you.”)… Here she is… Begging him to stay (just like Lyria), wanting him to stay (something he does not feel he deserves — “Aelin, you deserve better than this-than me.” — & is trying to prove to her as protection & punishment; to be the monster), caring enough about him to want him to stay in the first place (something he truly thinks they are better off without; he's reminding himself as much as warning her when he says, “The people you love are just weapons that will be used against you”— another key word will —he believes it all is already inevitably doomed. So, while she is desperately giving a last try, he has already given up on trying.) He is a wild animal trapped into a corner; if she cares—if he cares; because it will end (she will leave; because she is capable & will learn & be back on her way, gone again while he will still be stuck with Maeve the same as before (he twists it to sound different but the meaning is the same when he says, “the sooner I can be rid of you”.); or worse she may very well get herself killed (the way she’s going) the way he knows why, (why do you think he spends so much time trying to get her to fight for her own life?- -To scare her, provoke her, anger her- -anything to shake her from her stupor… he says as much later on “You're learning.” “You get baited by me every now and then, too, you know.” He gave her a look that said, I let you bait me, in case you haven't noticed."… anything to make her make it out alive) & he has not helped that either because he can’t help himself. So, either way, he feels stuck in the same mistake again & again; is he failing her the same as he did Lyria? Is he failing Lyria by repeating it (worse; is he betraying Lyria in the fact he may care for someone else?) — if he is, how does he survive that?). … He has been trying to tell himself 'she's just another soldier', yet, here he is again raw with Gavriel tattooing even more names of grief (because 'just a soldier' doesn't make it hurt less). & She is not just another soldier; he (an ‘all-knowing-immortal’) was wrong; he is missing something about her (this “girl” doesn’t add up; this fight doesn’t add up) & He is feeling the weight of every mistake; even as he makes another one; to hurt her now thinking; it’s better than getting her killed, (it’s better than him caring & losing her) It’s what he ‘deserves’ (he hates himself for it, even as he breaks her heart; it’s why he says, “and for a heartbeat he hoped she’d left, if only so he didn’t have to face what he’d said yesterday.” because he knew he was wrong & he hated himself for it; he does it to punish himself as much as to protect himself & her). It's his last attempt at pushing her away (and ultimately the one that makes him realize he cannot).

It's not an excuse, but it is a reason. One that makes sense the more I read, re-read, & continue the series. This fight is in some ways their first real fight; because they are both vulnerable because this is more than a biting surface (because they have always been more than that). And it forces them to realize & reconcile; to go to their true worst until there is nothing left but to piece together something else.

For two people so fearful & without option they needed to hit the rock bottom together; to have no doubt that they were chosen at their true worst; to learn almost losing the other did not leave them better off; & know that they cannot turn away, & will not because if it would have happened, it would have been then (& there is no more point in being afraid anymore; it is too late to take back what’s been forged; “Something molten rushed through her, pouring over every crack and fracture still left gaping and open. Not to hurt or mar--but to weld.”)… Without it Rowan would never have checked himself, he would have trained her on nothing more than begrudging orders of Maeve, & he would never have cared to ask or learn more… She would have either bet everything on him & thrown herself into another relationship to outrun everything else, & end up broken again because she cannot learn to sit with (nor accept) herself. She was forced to pick life or endless nothing, to stop freezing or fawning or running, to care & fight for it; & find something more worth fighting for (to accept her anger & also learn to be more than just angry) To let it out & let go; to stop drowning on the words that have been suffocating her for months; to stop being afraid to say them. … And while they cannot quite say all those words; I’m sorry, I care about you… They can know they won’t say the other again… They are not expected to be more than they can give. There is finally an understanding (the start of a friendship… & maybe ‘more than’ friends) because they stop running from it & instead run in headfirst. … Through the most dividing thing they are finally not alone. The final stand stands. There is no more fight against each-other. It cannot get worse, they can survive it, and now they are really what they are.

[elentiyawhitethorn]

Getaway Car | Part One

Rowaelin Month, Day 5

I accidentally hit you with my car @rowaelinscourt

CW: language, kissing, breaking & entering, general lawbreaking, police

Rowaelin Month Masterlist//Part Two//4967 words

Aelin slammed on the gas. Shit, shit, shit. She needed to leave now.

And where the fuck was Rowan?

Her tires screeched as she swerved around a gods-damn stop sign. She was well beyond caring about traffic laws right now.

Aelin desperately searched around the parking lot, looking for Rowan, but it was nearly useless. The darkness was too heavy, the lights too sparse and dim. Fucking hell.

Aelin turned once more, and all of a sudden, a thump sounded. Against the front of the car. She hit something. She hit somebody.

Aelin started hyperventilating as she braked, fighting off tears. She didn’t do this. She was a good person. She got all As and helped her neighbors carry their groceries and volunteered at the local nursing home. Aelin never should have let herself be pressured into this, into doing this, because gods was it all going wrong.

—

Nine Hours Earlier

Aelin hid her smile as Mr. Malakai passed out their graded exams. 96%. She had studied.

A couple of groans sounded in the back, and Aelin felt she had a pretty good idea of who hadn’t studied.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, and Aelin triumphantly grinned as she stood and slung her bag over her shoulder. She noticed a couple of people glaring at her, as they tended to do when she did well in class and they didn’t. Sore losers.

She hurried out the door, eager to get home and get studying out of the way so she had time to start her new book. Aelin followed the crowd of students as they pushed through the door and out to the hallway, dissolving into the flow of people.

Aelin made it outside, and it wasn’t until everyone had gone to their cars or buses that she was alone again, one of only a few students who walked. She marched down the sidewalk, turning and then weaving through trees, trees because she cut through the park on the way home.

Reaching the middle of the park, Aelin stopped. She always did, getting whatever work she had done and then reading for a bit before going home. She settled on a bench near a particularly tall tree, her favorite spot, and pulled out a textbook.

Not five minutes had passed before a voice drawled, “I thought I might find you here, princess.”

Aelin tensed. She would recognize that voice anywhere. Slowly, the image of nonchalant, Aelin bookmarked her page and closed it, setting the textbook to the side. Then she leaned back and glanced up.

Rowan Whitethorn leered down at her, leaning similarly against a tree nearby. School bad boy that still managed to do annoyingly well in school, he was the bane of Aelin’s existence. She tended to hate people from afar, but Rowan always noticed her silent glares and sent a smirk her way, infuriating her further.

“What do you want?” Aelin asked bluntly.

“Don’t be so touchy, baby.”

Aelin crossed her arms. “Do not ever call me baby again or I will rip out your tongue and feed it to the crows.”

Rowan choked on a laugh. “Feisty, too. I made a good decision coming here.”

“Somehow you making a good decision feels like an oxymoron to me.”

A grin was all she got from him.

“Do you just harass people in your off time, or is there actually something you want from me?”

Rowan didn’t fucking stop smiling. “I have a question for you.”

“And, pray tell, are you going to ask this question or are you going to drag out this encounter further?” Aelin retorted.

“How much do you hate Miss Maeve?”

Aelin blinked. That was not a question she had been expecting. “Why do you ask?”

“Just tell me. I want to know.” Rowan’s tone turned serious, and Aelin frowned.

“I hate her even more than I hate you,” she stated plainly. Miss Maeve was her AP World History teacher, the one who said they needed to learn to have different perspectives on the world, instead of just believing all the opinions the school system shoved down their throat. Aelin had actually liked the woman for the first week of school, finding this to be a fresh outlook on learning history. Until Miss Maeve had told the class maybe the Nazis weren’t so bad, and then the loathing had started.

It had only increased with each racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, whatever-else-phobic thing she said. Aelin often argued with her, raising her hand to share her own opinion and then dissolving into a heated exchange with the teacher while the rest of the class looked on, entertained. Aelin had received more than a few detentions because of her, and it was annoying as fuck.

Rowan, sadly, was in that class. How he managed to balance studying with being an asshole, she didn’t know, but he was in almost every advanced class that she was.

“Good,” Rowan said finally.

“Why good?” Aelin questioned. “Taking a survey?” Her voice was dry and sarcastic.

Rowan snorted. “I need your help with something.”

“Again, please elaborate. I have better things to do,” Aelin replied stiffly.

“Miss Maeve took something of mine,” Rowan said. “I want it back.”

“And what do I have to do with this? Cut to the chase, Rowan.”

“I want you to help me break in and steal it. And maybe desecrate the place while I’m there.”

Aelin let out a startled laugh. “Absolutely not.”

Rowan stalked forward and sat on the bench next to Aelin.

“I don’t recall inviting you to sit down.”

“I don’t recall you owning this public bench.”

Aelin’s scowl deepened. “I’m not going to do some illegal shit and get myself thrown in jail. If you go through with this, I’ll keep my mouth shut because Miss Maeve fucking deserves it. But I will not help, and I have no idea why you are under the assumption that I will.”

“Live a little, baby. Come on, I just need you to drive me there and back. You don’t even have to leave the car.”

“Why would I help a dumbass like you?” Aelin insisted. “I don’t know how you haven’t dropped out by now.”

Rowan didn’t seem fazed. “Maybe this is how.” He slipped a sheet of paper out of his bag. The exam. Rowan had gotten a 98%, two points higher than Aelin. And from the look on his face, he knew it, too.

Rowan chuckled. “Not feeling so clever now, are you, baby?”

Seething now, Aelin scooted closer to Rowan, so close their legs bumped. She leaned in, gazes locked and breath mixing. “I would rather rot in hell than help you with anything,” Aelin whispered. “Don’t. Call. Me. Baby.”

She stood in one swift movement and grabbed her bag, already moving by the time she had it on her shoulder.

“Aelin,” Rowan called after her. “Wait up.”

She kept moving, but soon enough Rowan was beside her. She ignored him—until he grabbed her wrist. “Slow down.”

“Let go of me,” Aelin snapped, ready to throttle him.

To her immense surprise, Rowan immediately complied, going as far as to hold both hands in the air defensively. “I just want to talk.”

“You did talk, and you tried to convince me to commit a felony, and you failed. That’s it. Get over yourself.”

“It wouldn’t be a felony. That’s my job.”

“Aiding and abetting a felon is still a felony!” Aelin cried.

“It’s only a felony if you get caught.” Rowan sighed. “Look, this is really important.”

“Why, do you have people you urgently need to talk to? Social media platforms to take by storm? I thought you spent your time doing other things? Like committing crimes.”

“She didn’t take my phone.”

Aelin frowned. “What did she take, then? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.” She spun around and started walking, and Aelin was relieved not to hear his footsteps behind her.

Until he called after her, “She took my little sister’s laptop.”

Fuck. Messing with Rowan’s little sister, Lorina, was as good as declaring war.

That was the another annoying thing about Rowan Whitethorn. He, in his junior year of high school with Aelin, was a total piece of shit. But Lorina was a freshman, and she was the sweetest little kid you ever did see. The school had a buddy system, and she had been assigned Lorina’s mentor at the beginning of the year. Knowing her brother, Aelin had expected a spoiled brat, instead finding a new friend. Rowan was the only downside to that little arrangement.

Aelin slowly turned around, facing Rowan once more.

“I’m in.”

—

Hastily, Aelin wiped her sweaty hands on her leggings before emerging from the dark and into the light of a streetlight next to Rowan’s car. He was leaning against the vehicle, dangling the keys in his hand and whistling softly.

He tracked her movements, smirking. “Nice outfit.”

Aelin scowled, not deigning to respond. After he had given her the barest details in the park, they’d parted ways with an agreement to meet here at 11:30. But she had called after him, saying she didn’t know what to wear when committing a crime. “Just something dark,” he had said. Aelin had taken him at his word.

She was clad in black leggings, a black long-sleeve, black socks, black shoes, a black watch that could illuminate, and a black hair tie, holding her hair together under a black beanie. She was even wearing black underwear, not that she would ever admit that to Rowan. At least she’d forgone the black lipstick.

He was just wearing dark jeans and a hoodie, and Aelin tried to hide her blush. “Let’s go.”

Chuckling quietly, Rowan tossed her the keys, and she barely managed to catch them. It would have been humiliating if she dropped them. He was only a few feet away.

Aelin gestured for him to move with a glare that meant get the fuck out of my way. Rowan, grinning, walked to the other side of the car, and Aelin opened the door and got in the driver’s side.

Aelin took a deep breath and inserted the key into the ignition. Her hands were shaking, and she fumbled slightly. Aelin made it a point not to look over at Rowan.

She mentally steadied herself and started driving. Once they were moving, Aelin glanced over to find Rowan lounging in his seat, unbuckled and smiling obnoxiously at her.

“How do you plan not to get caught?” Aelin asked, not wanting to spend even the next five minutes in this awkward silence, and also genuinely curious. “If Lorina’s laptop goes missing, she’ll know it was you. It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t have evidence; she’ll make your life a living hell.”

She didn’t look over again, but Aelin could feel the demonic grin directed her way. “I’m not just taking the laptop. I’m taking everything. Every phone, granola bar, and scrap of paper. And just for the heck of it, I’m anonymously giving everything back to the students. There are quite a few of them.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed. Don’t forget to grab my water bottle. It was expensive.”

Rowan chuckled. “Will do.”

“What did Lorina do, anyway?”

Rowan snorted, but Aelin knew from the steel in his voice that the amusement was faked. “She wore a gay pride shirt to school. Apparently that offends Miss Maeve’s sensibilities.”

Aelin tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “Motherfucking bitch,” she muttered.

“You’ve got a mouth on you, baby.”

“If you don’t stop saying crap like that, once we leave with the stuff you’re dead. You’re literally, fucking dead.”

Rowan smiled apologetically. What a bullshiter.

Aelin sighed and focused on the road in front of her. They’d met near the school, as there was no reason for her to drive a long ways, so the high school soon neared. Aelin already had the headlights off, and she pulled up where Rowan instructed her to.

“Hurry,” Aelin said as she parked.

“I’ll try not to stop for a nap while I’m there.”

She frowned. “I’m serious, Rowan. No wandering around doing whatever the hell you please. This is time-sensitive. Be as quick as you can.”

Rowan sighed, but nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Aelin chose to ignore that.

Rowan opened the door and closed it again quietly, sauntering over to the front door with a wave. His hood was up, so from the angle he was at, Aelin supposed the camera couldn’t make out his features. Still, she had expected something a little more subtle, like a window. She couldn’t imagine why she had assumed Rowan would be anything resembling subtle.

He pulled something out of his pocket, a pick, Aelin assumed. She had learned how to pick locks on YouTube after the thirtieth time losing her keys, so she couldn’t really judge him for that, at least, but it still irked her. There didn’t need to be a reason. It was just Rowan.

He had the door open in record time, and was now inside the building. And Aelin suddenly realized she had to sit here and wait for gods knew how long.

Time passed. It felt like an hour, but it was probably only a minute. Checking her watch, Aelin tried to remember what the time it had been and estimated a good thirty seconds had passed. Groaning, she scooted in the seat, glancing out the rear view mirror.

What was that?

Aelin froze and peered out the window. A security guard? A police officer? An FBI agent?

She searched the car for a weapon, finding only an umbrella, then turned back to the shape.

Oh. It was a bush.

Thanking the gods that Rowan hadn’t witnessed that momentary lapse in mental stability, Aelin dropped the umbrella in embarrassment and stared straight out the window toward the building. Her fingers began tapping on the steering wheel of their own accord. Her feet did the same.

Aelin was easily able to drive through and out of the parking lot. So no adjustments needed there. The back right window was down for Rowan to toss the duffel bag he’d brought for the stuff, so nothing she could fix there. The passenger side was unlocked. Aelin mentally reviewed her job. Wait until Rowan got in the car. And then drive.

“Fucking fuck,” she muttered under her breath.

Aelin’s watch was slow. It was very clearly slow, because by the time Rowan returned, seventy hours later, her watch said eleven minutes had elapsed. What utter bullshit.

He emerged from the same door, jogging over to the car. He dumped the duffel bag, Aelin assumed full of all the students’ taken belongings, in through the back window as he had planned. But he paused rather than immediately hopping in the front seat.

“What are you doing?” Aelin whispered, ignoring the fact that being quiet was not necessary right now.

Rowan grinned at her, just barely visible in the dim light. “I’m going back in. I haven’t trashed the place yet.”

“I thought you were joking!”

“I never joke about such serious matters. I brought the bag out so that I wouldn’t have to carry it in case, you know, the cops show up.” Aelin almost cried. “The fun is only just beginning,” Rowan said maliciously, pulling something from the backseat. A baseball bat.

“Rowan, wait,” Aelin hissed as he started to move away from the car.

“Sorry, I need to—”

Aelin cut him off. “I want to help.”

“What?” Rowan was too far away from the car for Aelin to see him, but she heard the disbelief in his voice.

“You heard me,” she said. “I want to wreck the place.”

Rowan laughed. “What have I done to you?”

“Shut up.”

“You should stay in the car.” Aelin was about to protest, but he added, “Next time I’ll let you go wild.”

Aelin only realized he was gone when she glanced back over, too caught up in her smile to berate him further. Damn him, but all the same… Aelin didn’t stop smiling as she leaned back in the seat and tried to relax.

That attempt at relaxation instantly vanished the moment Aelin heard a noise. Glass shattering. It was very faint, but it was there. Aelin’s mind summoned an image of the glass cabinet in the back of Miss Maeve’s room, and cursing herself all the while, Aelin smiled gleefully.

Another noise sounded, and Aelin froze. This was coming from the opposite direction. And it was a very distinctive noise.

Sirens.

Aelin took a gasping breath a looked over her shoulder. It was too dark to see anything, but she was certain of the noise. She needed to leave.

Leave Rowan? Leave him here to get arrested?

Not a chance.

Aelin turned the car on drive and slammed on the gas, speeding to the senior parking lot in the back. Hopefully Rowan would hear the sirens and take the cue.

Just as Aelin turned the corner of the building, lights flashed in front of the school. She had barely made it.

Praying to every god she could think of, Aelin kept moving, headed to the back entrance to the building. Rowan needed to come out there or they were both screwed.

Aelin got closer, only to panic. The door was wide open. Was he already out here?

Aelin started moving around the parking lot, but the lights were so dim back here. Her breathing picked up as she aimlessly careened around the lot, searching desperately for Rowan.

And so the thump sounded.

And so it went.

The brakes, the hyperventilating… how so much had happened in nine hours was beyond Aelin’s comprehension.

Aelin unbuckled as soon as she reached a full stop, yanking the door open and hurrying over to the front of the car.

Don’t be dead, please, don’t be dead.

Someone was standing. Illuminated by nothing, as the headlights were still off, Aelin couldn’t see who. But she wasn’t stupid. Still—“Rowan?”

“Who else?” he replied, and Aelin almost passed out from relief.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“No, I’m not okay. Get in the fucking car!”

Aelin turned, but Rowan added, “Grab the bat. It has my fingerprints.”

Aelin went to where he directed her and grabbed it. She didn’t want to wonder if Rowan didn’t get it himself because he couldn’t bend over.

Rowan was already clambering into the car, and Aelin jogged back over and tossed the baseball bat in the backseat as she slipped in.

“Go!” Rowan yelled, as the sirens approached.

“Obviously, dipshit!” Aelin yelled right back. She put the car in drive and started moving.

“Where are you going? The exit’s that way.”

“I’m aware,” Aelin snapped. “But there’s a fucking cop car right there, and I’m not interested in getting arrested.”

Rowan cursed, but Aelin ignored him, even as he started shouting at her, asking if she thought she was going to drive away through the woods. But she knew what she was doing. Aelin screeched to the far corner of the parking lot, then took a sharp turn onto a bumpy dirt path.

“What the fuck is this place?” Rowan asked.

“I don’t know!��� Aelin cried, more stressed than she had ever been before. “I just found it one day.”

She flipped her headlights on high, yelping as she turned the split-second she could see, narrowly avoiding a tree. Aelin raced down the path, freaked out of her mind by the fact that the sirens didn’t seem to be getting any quieter.

“Where does this lead?”

“A back road? I don’t remember!”

“Calm down, baby. Just breathe.”

“Don’t call me baby!”

“Is it really the time for this?”

“If we get caught I won’t have any other chances, will I?”

Rowan actually had the audacity to laugh. Aelin was now convinced he needed to see a therapist.

Just then, the road evened out as Aelin made it over the hill and to pavement. She only floored it, not daring to pause.

Aelin had read books where the main characters craved the feeling of speeding, watched movies of drag races, heard stories from friends of powering along the roadway, the illegality making it all the more exciting.

Aelin did not understand those people.

Aelin wanted to curl up in a ball and die.

She didn’t dare look at her odometer, knowing she would have a mental breakdown if she saw the number. She just drove.

The road led them to the stoplight. It was red. Aelin, entirely on instinct, stopped.

“Aelin! Go!”

Aelin felt a tear slide down her cheek. “I didn’t sign up for this!”

Rowan groaned as she not only stayed stopped, but pulled her seatbelt on. The light flashed green, and Aelin started moving again, this time under the speed limit.

“Aelin—”

“Shut the fuck up. There are cameras everywhere. We’re out. We’re done. Everything is fine. Everything is fine. Everything is fine,” Aelin started to chant, gripping the steering wheel like it was her lifeline.

“Hey, are you okay?” Rowan asked, genuine concern in his voice. He must have spotted the tears sliding down her face.

“Am I okay? I fucking ran you over with a car!”

“It’s not that bad.”

“I beg to differ!”

Rowan sighed. “Alright, stop screaming. I’m just little bruised up, that’s all.”

“You could be bleeding internally,” Aelin insisted, the word “calm” no longer in her vocabulary. “You probably are.”

“I was turned sideways. You just hit my arm, and I fell over. You were going slowly anyway, since you were turning.”

“I’m taking you to a doctor.”

“You are doing no such thing,” Rowan demanded, suddenly sounding as worried as Aelin felt.

She took a deep breath. “Rowan, I would rather get arrested than kill someone.”

“I’m not dead.”

“You could be soon!”

“Aelin, don’t fuck around with me. I’m not going to a hospital.”

She suppressed more tears as she turned on a random side street. “Well, I know a doctor. She might help.”

“Dammit, Aelin.”

Dammit indeed.

—

Yrene Towers was a friend of the family. She took one look at Aelin’s tear-stained cheeks and Rowan’s pained face and ushered them inside. Yrene patched up Rowan’s arm, wrapping it in something, then touched certain places and asked a bunch of questions.

She tried to convince Rowan to visit a hospital because she wasn’t able to check for internal bleeding with what she had, even though she was pretty sure he was okay. But he refused, so Yrene gave him her number and made him promise to answer her twice-daily questions about how he was feeling.

Then Yrene had pulled Aelin into a separate room and told her she didn’t ever want to know what she had done and hell would be raised if she tried to do it again. Aelin had hurriedly nodded, relieved Yrene wasn’t going to call her parents.

Then they had thanked her and left.

Rowan had attempted to drive, but Aelin gently swatted him away and said she was the uninjured one and he could suck it up or sleep on Yrene’s front steps.

He snorted softly and climbed back in the passenger seat. Aelin silently obeyed Rowan’s directions to his house, filled with both relief and dread. She told herself that the dread was because she didn’t know if they were out of the woods yet, not because the night was ending. Of course it wasn’t that.

“Just up here,” Rowan murmured.

Aelin drove up the road, the rather steep road, wondering where Rowan lived. As far as she knew, this was not a residential area. She pulled up, finally confronting the space in front of her.

The stars. Oh gods, the stars. Like a sea of living, breathing, life, the sky spanned across Aelin’s field of view. She gasped in amazement.

They were at the top of a hill. The road was a dead end. Which meant… “Where the hell did you take me, Rowan?”

Aelin parked and looked at him, arms crossed.

Rowan smirked. “I only lied a little bit. I don’t live here, I just wanted you to see the stars.”

Aelin scoffed in disbelief. “You couldn’t have said so? Why lie?”

“I thought you might say no.”

“I probably would have.”

They both smiled, then Aelin looked back at the sky. She unbuckled and leaned forward to get a better veiw. “I love it.”

Aelin breathed it in for a moment, then turned back to Rowan. He was staring at her intently. “What are you looking at?”

“The veiw,” he said with a grin.

Aelin snorted. “Please.”

“I mean it.” Aelin’s heart fluttered at the seriousness of his tone.

Ignoring those pesky things she was starting to realize as feelings, Aelin instead brushed off the comment by saying, “The view. That’s the cheesiest, most clichéd pickup line in existence.”

They both looked at each other for another moment, then burst into laughter.

The laughter faded eventually, and Aelin’s gaze flicked the Rowan’s lips. Lips that were turning up at the corners. Aelin looked back up to find him amused. Obviously. She glanced away from him, back at the sky.

“What now?” she asked.

“Now maybe we can be friends. Call it a truce?”

Aelin glanced back over at him. “That’s not what I meant, and no. How do I not spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder?”

A faint blush crossed Rowan’s cheeks at his first response. She smirked.

“Aelin, you didn’t kill anybody. They’ll drop it soon enough. No surprise ambush from the police twenty years from now, I promise.”

Aelin exhaled. “What if they’re at my house right now? Waiting for me?”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.”

Aelin bit her lip, struggling to maintain her composure. “I’m going to jail. I’m going to spend the rest of my life in jail. My parents will disown me, and I won’t make it to college. I won’t even graduate high school. I’ll just eat prison food and take prison showers and talk to prison people forever until I die from old age. Or maybe because someone shivved me.”

Rowan knit his eyebrows. “Well, if you really think so, what’s something you want to do before you can’t anymore? Skydiving? Parachuting? Want to see a Shakespearean play?”

Aelin buried her head in her hands. “I don’t want to die a virgin.”

“I can help with that.”

“No!” Aelin yelled.

Rowan started laughing. “Baby, you’re not going to die.”

“Stop it! Stop it! I have a name, and my name is not baby. This isn’t Dirty Dancing.”

Rowan frowned. “What does that mean?”

Aelin groaned. “You don’t know anything.”

Rowan smiled. “I know I had fun tonight.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I won’t deny that.”

Aelin glanced at the duffel bag in the bag. “When are you going to give everyone their stuff back? And how?”

“I was thinking later tonight. Strike quickly and all that. And as for how, I also stole this from the front office.” Rowan reached back and pulled a few sheets of paper from the back. Student addresses.

Aelin laughed. “Like Santa Claus.”

“I was going more for Superman. You know, saucy by day, hero by night.”

Aelin choked on air. “I hate you so much.”

“I don’t believe you,” Rowan replied, smiling.

“You’re right. I don’t.” Aelin didn’t stop to let Rowan say something, surprise evident on his face. Instead, she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled his face to hers.

Rowan gasped into Aelin’s mouth, but his hands instantly found her sides. He took over the kiss, moving his lips against hers passionately. Aelin stopped moving, just letting him kiss her senseless.

When Rowan pulled back, she was panting. “I’ve never kissed anybody before,” she confessed before she could think better of it.

Rowan grinned. “I figured,” he said, and Aelin blushed. “Don’t worry, baby, you can use me to practice any time you want.”

Aelin looked away from him, still breathing hard. What a day. What a night.

“You never explained why you needed my help, of all people,” Aelin said, suddenly realizing that there were a million other people Rowan could have gone to for a ride. She looked back at him. “And why did you even need anyone to drive you at all?”

He grinned. “You know, you’re not as bright as you think you are if it took you this long to realize that.”

Aelin scowled at him. “Why me?”

“Because, baby,”—Rowan grinned—“I wanted to see if I could covert the school princess to the wild side. I always like a challenge.”

Aelin swatted him on the arm, but she couldn’t contain an amused smile. “Seriously.”

He sent her a crooked smile. “Because I wanted to spend time with you. Because if I go to jail, I want you to come with me.”

“I don’t know if that’s romantic or just creepy,” Aelin stated. She wasn’t breathing, trying to replay the conversation and decide if he had just said what she thought he said.

Rowan hummed noncommittally. “Go on a date with me, and I’ll let you decide.”

Aelin blinked. “What?”

“You are the one who kissed me, right?”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess so.” There must be some sort of short-circuit in Aelin’s brain. She couldn’t tell if this was real, or it was all a really weird dream.

“So? Coffee? Kisses? What do you say, baby?”

“Stop calling me baby and we have a deal,” Aelin snarked. Then she added, “Unless I say you can.”

Rowan grinned knowingly.

“So, maybe…” Aelin took a deep breath. “Maybe we can do that kissing thing again?”

“How could I ever say no to a pretty face like that?”

———

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