#//slap did it for Rowan

[symphonicsoul]

[elderwisp]

also in regards to the last story post, atlas did not in fact do the monster mash with rowan, this mf right here is bruno. hi bruno! he won't be returning tho so bye bruno!

[sunshades]

i never did post these did i.

[savanir]

DP x DC ficlet

is it even a ficlet anymore, this thing has gotten incredibly out of hand...

So a while back I saw this

and I picked the Green Lantern one and then just kinda wrote a full fic so...

It had been a good party, official yes but despite that still festive enough and with just a bittersweet hint. as all good meaningful parties should be like, unless you’re looking to get absolutely shitfaced.

But hey Rowan deserved a proper sendoff for making it to this point and not dying in the process. Hal is going to miss the old pilot though.

"Hal, I got something for you, before I forget"

"Hm, what is it"

The old man puts a small intricate glass model of a f16 fighter in his hand.

"Back when I started I was given this for good luck and protection"

Rowan presses it down firmly and stands there all official like "may it grant you both as it did for me"

They both stand there for a second before laughing.

“Feel free to shelf the whole luck thing, what’s really important is skill and experience. Still, knowing you, you can definitely use the protection ”

Hal grins, "Thanks, I'll keep close"

"You better, the sentimental value is sky high" Rowan slaps his shoulder with another laugh.

Good lord what a dork.

The old retiring pilot wasn't paying attention, too caught up in everything else but Hal saw the faint and brief green hue coming from his hand.

In a panic he slammed his other hand over top. Completely missing the quietly whispered "protect"

Too busy cussing out his ring in his head, he swears that thing is trying to out him on purpose sometimes.

This time it wasn't the ring though, so it's a good thing it's an inanimate object and can't be upset at how wrong Hal is being right now.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah! Let's get back to the others"

The evening ends uneventfully.

---

It's really only until quite a bit later that things start to happen.

"Green lantern" its batman's business voice.

Both Hal and John look up.

"Jordan" ah shit.

"I'll catch you up later" and he leaves Hal behind, traitor.

"What's up spooky"

"You need to update your file, it is missing critical information, and on that note I wasn’t aware that the lantern suits grant you intangibility now"

"I... what..? It doesn't? What are you talking about spooks"

"Hrn" Batman pulls up a screen and shows him footage of the latest fight, in it you can clearly see something was supposed to hit Hal but went right through him "You're telling me you didn't know or notice this?"

Hal just looks kinda sick. That would have been a bad hit and he just straight up didn't even notice.

Batman just kind of silently looks at him and he must have come to some conclusion because the next thing Hal knows this comes out of his mouth.

"I've already ran your blood through the lab, it's not a sudden emergence of a meta gene so it's either from the lantern corps or you've otherwise externally been affected by something that's causing this"

Hal closes his eyes and internally counts to ten, it doesn't help.

Batman takes his silence to mean he can keep talking. The man is on an unusual roll. Hal would have been ecstatic if he didn't hate the topic quite so much.

"It would have been best if it had something to do with your ring however you seem to be completely unaware and I've also noted that the green of your ring and the green glow that comes with the density shifting are different"

He has examples with corresponding color codes, Hal is so tired.

“let's set a time frame…” Batman pulls up some documents and graph on the screen “seeing as you are unaware of this development I will set the starting point of this potential change as of now to right after the last time you have been known to be hit in a fight and before the first known instance of you being able to density shift, that leaves us with a full month.”

Hal really, really does not want to be here anymore.

“In this month you have not gone off planet so whatever caused this is on Earth” Batman pauses for a moment, “has anything significant happened during that time that springs to mind now?”

“no, nothing significant has happened during that time, frankly it’s been a very pleasant uneventful four weeks in which I finally managed to catch a break and it figures something crazy has apparently happened anyway”

Hal rubs his face with both hands, “but right now I couldn’t tell you what, anyway, does this have to be a bad thing? I for one am very glad that hit didn’t actually land”

“So far only Superman has had the privilege of having sudden emergence of new powers work out for him” Batman huffs, “it would be best to monitor this carefully, if anything springs to mind do not hesitate to inform me, the sooner this is figured out the better”

“awww you do care” Hal is using humor cope, sadly it’s Batman, so it’s not very effective.

“Jordan” now Batman sounds tired, he’s not the one with random surprise density shifting, Hal understand that Spooky’s crippling chronic paranoia must be exhausting but right now he’s the one freaking out considering this is apparently not a meta gene related development, it would have been so much easier if it was, oh and about that, just how and when did Batman get his blood exactly? he would like to know now.

---

sadly he does not get to know now. or anytime soon (or ever). it’s chaos right after, because of course it is.

knocked out of the sky and lying amongst the rubble, if their enemy spots him he’s in bigger shit than he already is, but he can’t fucking move and the next thing he knows he’s invisible.

and there is just nothing enjoyable about it.

Barry doesn’t know that though, “that was something else, just one moment and schwup and you were just gone, some sort of green lantern light bending? he looked right through you, thank god he did too” 

shit shit, “no that was..." it was like he just ceased to exist, movies and books and whatever other media always depicts it as such a cool thing but frankly it was terrifying. And he would prefer things that are terrifying not to happen to him, for obvious reasons, “honestly actually it’s complicated, stealth tech” Grade A bullshit.

“well it’s awesome”

“it was useful just now but not really my style you know” 

Barry slings his arm over Hal’s shoulder and gives him a one armed hug, “everything worked out” Hal can feel some tension flow out of his friend, “well! better get busy cleaning this mess up” and with a blink he’s gone.

Hal does not want to talk about this with Batman, but knowing him, he probably already knows anyway, it would be less of a headache to go to him than have him go to Hal. 

Hal wants to enjoy whatever this is, he really does, but he doesn’t know what caused this, he doesn’t know what triggers the new abilities or whatever they are, he doesn’t know what effects this shit is going to have in the future, he just doesn’t know anything, normally he doesn’t mind not knowing some things, he’s fine leaving the knowing to the people better suited for the more complicated knowing, but he would very much like to know more about this please.

---

Then they face off against an enemy and in the process Hal drains his ring completely and the next hit is going to be bad, so what will happen? Will he somehow go intangible again? Turn invisible and use the confusion to evade and attack?

No

Apparently this time he just gets a glowing green dome shield. Something very normal for him to have and use, if only it came out of his ring that is.

Nobody notices that something is wrong, nobody besides Batman that is.

"That's three new abilities that only appear during life threatening situations"

Hal has actually seriously gone over that month by now, but nothing, no answers. He's physically fine, mentally a little damaged but nothing new there, they all are. Every test he begrudgingly went through answered nothing. He was fine. Whatever was going on actually had nothing to do with him.

And at the same time it had everything to do with him because this is only happening to him.

As usual (by now) he takes out his little glass fighter jet and runs his thumb over the wings. It is soothing strangely enough. Like a stim toy.

"The last thing to try is a thorough examination by someone from the justice league dark"

Hal groans, magic, ok then, "Alright let's get this over with. Who knows maybe I'm just haunted"

It turns out he’s not haunted, this is a good thing... supposedly, Well let’s just say that Hal would have not minded being haunted or something if that meant it could be fixed, or just explained.

It doesn’t really need to be fixed, whatever this is has been very helpful after all, but he would do basically anything for an explanation right about now.

“you are not haunted or otherwise magically compromised, but I do sense faint traces of energy from the infinite realms” Zatanna is a godsent, finally something to work with.

“from the who whats?” Hal is worried, the occult field is definitely not his area of expertise. He's a space cop, not a space demonhunter… oh that would be pretty cool though, with like a hood and twin cyber crossbows, maybe he should incorporate that somehow.

“the infinite realms… have you recently been in touch with any death related realities?”

Well there was that time when he got booted to the death universe and he died and then he was a black lantern but he got better, that’s all very much very behind him.

She better not be about to tell him that stuff still has lingering consequences.

oh god dammit that’s exactly what is going on isn’t it?

"How recently?"

"In the past week?"

"Oh, no" Hal would have known if that was the case, death stuff tends to be hard to ignore.

Zatanna frowns, that's probably not a good sign.

"But you said I'm not compromised right?" Right now what Hal wants to know the most is if this is changing him. Cause it tends to be bad for him when that's the case.

"No this is just lingering traces of something or someone else using their powers near you"

???!!??!?

"What are the infinite realms?" oh hey there Batman, was wondering when you would show up again.

"It's the afterlife, or... more like a collection of all afterlives. The infinite realms is very literal in their naming. It is home to powerful dead entities. As a general rule magic users are discouraged from interacting with it.

"Hrn"

"What did you say happened to you so far Hal?"

"Uhm, density shifting, invisibility and then a green dome-like shield, a lot like my own energy constructs"

"that sounds like pretty standard stuff for a realms being"

"Soooo what, did one leave the afterlife and decide to follow me around or something?"

"I cannot conclusively say, I can only say that you've been close to one using its abilities"

Batman folds his arms over his chest, "We shouldn’t form theories on these findings alone, Zatanna are these realm beings dangerous?"

"Hard to say, they come in all manner of forms, some small and harmless and others on the level of world destroying gods."

Great great great, awesome, well it’s probably safe to say that whatever decided to stick around Hal isn’t small and harmless, cause small and harmless doesn’t sound strong enough to casually turn him intangible or invisible… he could be wrong though.

“I do advise caution, beings from the infinite realms also have the ability to possess someone, they call it overshadowing”

Batman’s lips thin and Hal tenses up, mind control of any kind is always awful.

“I’ll place a ward on you, as a precaution” energy starts to gather in her hands.

Batman moves for the door, “we might need to look into a way to force this being to reveal itself, it would be best if we could convince it to return to their realm”

“Well I mean-” Hal starts, “like I get that, but they have been a great help so far” 

“they are a security risk”

“I’m just saying, I am grateful that they kept me from being confined to the medical wing for who even knows how long, who knows they might just be shy, wouldn’t it be better to convince them to become our ally, like Deadman. instead of telling them to leave. just cause we don’t understand how they work yet doesn’t mean they are bad and should be booted out of our reality”

Batman narrows his eyes at Hal and turns to Zatanna who is finished with placing the ward on Hal, “Zatanna please send me all you have on the infinite realms, I will do my own research” and with that he sweeps out of the room, very dramatic.

“Ass” Hal whispers under his breath.

“He’s worried”

“well he’s being a dick about it, as usual” Hal’s fingers find his little plane once again “... hey do you think they could communicate through one of those oejah boards?”

Zatanna snorts, “it’s Ouija- and please don’t”

---

No information from the JLD has been useful so far in coaxing the realms being to reveal themselves and for the most part things just go on as usual.

“Whoever they are, they followed me when I went off planet and it might just be my imagination but I had a feeling that their stuff was a lot more… potent? out there? I don’t know it was kinda strange, it just felt stronger”

“but they didn’t reveal themselves to you?”

“nope, they must know that I know now too, so they have decided to just… go on as they always have I guess”

“hrn” Batman is leafing through files, because of this whole mess he’s uncovered hidden government organizations targeting occult entities as well as inhumane laws that stand directly opposed to the meta protection acts.

Why is he working with paper regarding this matter? Well it turns out there is a infinite realms being that can possess electronica and it was only because of the protections the JLD had put in place on the Watchtower that the entity didn’t overtake it in its entirety.

Watching Constantine freak out had been mildly entertaining but Zatanna had once again reminded Batman to be very careful, Batman had begrudgingly admitted he had made a slight misstep while digging for answers… in his head, not out loud, god forbid.

“this whole thing is turning out a lot bigger than we thought huh, good thing we are dealing with it now” Hal stretches his arms above his head, “anyway I am going to go grab something to eat”

“the rapport-” Batman doesn’t bother looking at him.

“yeah yeah” Hal doesn’t either while walking out of the room, dismissively flicking his hand, “don’t worry about it spooky”

Hal takes his little plane out on the way to the cafeteria and fiddles with it in his hand, once there he puts it on the table next to Barry before getting himself something to eat.

They catch up, Hal complains (bitches) about Batman, others come and go, Zatanna quickly checks up on the ward she placed which makes Barry raise an eyebrow at Hal, “Ghost protection”

“... no such thing”

Zatanna glares.

Hal can see them both gearing up to start the magic is just science we haven’t fully scienced out yet argument again, “alright! I’m full” he stands up, “if you need me I’ll be writing that rapport, later” and gets the hell out of there.

It’s when he has just reached his preferred spot to work on the boring paperwork stuff when the alarms go off throughout what he can only imagine must probably be the entire Watchtower.

It seems like something triggered all of the JLD’s defenses in one go.

Impressive, but also very worrying.

The rapport is going to have to wait.

People are gathering in the meeting room and Batman is already taking the lead, “status”

“as of a couple minutes ago there was a build up of as of yet unknown energy which then burst in the cafeteria knocking out Flash” Martian Manhunter says, “Zatanna says we are most likely dealing with another being from the infinite realms”

Superman groans, this means he’s out.

It’s a good thing they now have defenses against overshadowing though. Being effectively trapped in a space station (because currently the thing is on lockdown) where literally anyone could suddenly actually be the enemy is the kind of situation a whole slew of horror movies like to be about.

“We will need to be extremely careful while finding and then dealing with this entity”

It has certainly been quite some time since the Watchtower got directly hit like this.

Hal pulls out his little plane.

or, he would, if he still had it.

thoroughly distracted now he suddenly realizes it’s no longer on his person.

Spooky is probably not going to like it if during the infinite realms attacker hunt he takes the opportunity to look around for his missing little fighter jet.

well what he doesn’t know won’t harm him.

His plan of looking for the plane while looking for the ghost is working out well enough.

In fact it is working out so good that he finds both at the same time.

At that point Hal had started wondering if maybe Barry had picked it up for him at the cafeteria before the attack happened and that the little thing was now in the medical wing with him. 

That turned out to clearly not be the case once he found the tiny thing glowing green and floating in the middle of the hallway.

“alright ghosty, that’s really important to me and I would like it back undamaged”

the tiny plane turned to now point directly at him, hmm, yeah that's not creepy at all.

 “... please don’t launch yourself at me” he foolishly says which of course means that’s exactly what it does next.

He uses his ring to construct a net with a pillow inside to catch the tiny jet, completely forgetting that it’s overshadowed and can thus easily just go intangible and right through his creations.

Instead it hits him square in the chest, rather painfully he might add and then just stops glowing and drops, making Hal scramble to not have it fall and shatter in a million tiny pieces on the ground.

immediately all the sensors stop detecting the presence of a realms being and the alarms die down.

Whatever was in the Watchtower has left the building.

or…

Hal looks down at the tiny plane in his hands, his talisman of protection and has a sinking feeling in his gut.

“Hey there little guy, might want to explain yourself?” he says to the tiny jet.

It vibrates in his hands.

“... yeah I figured, shit”

---

“I say just smash the bloody thing and be done with it, preferably that takes care of it once and for all” Constantine glares down at the tiny jet.

Hal is almost halfway over the table to shield the little thing, covering it from Constantine’s sight with his hand, “don’t you dare” he growls.

“it would be best for everyone involved, for all we known you could have gone full liminal what with how long you’ve been carrying the blasted thing around”

Zatanna is going over the little thing with her own magic, “it’s trapped”

“In that case just straight up trying to murder it would be the worst thing to do” Hal glares at Constantine some more. Who clearly doesn’t give a shit, figures, all stressed out about dealing with things from the infinite realms but whenever he feels he has the upper hand he’s more than happy to go full nuclear.

“it would be best if we had a way of figuring out their intentions” Batman looks down at the tiny jet impassively.

“Well, another reason to just carefully release this creature instead” Hal responds.

Zatanna’s magic fades away, “I would say that the fact it’s been protecting Hal for as long as he has it is a positive sign”

“hrn, but now it has gone and knocked Flash out, so what does that say” Batman huffs, “it’s too risky”

“Constantine and I will set up everything we can so it won’t be able to escape or try anything dangerous” Zatanna stops looking at Batman and turns back to the tiny plane, “if it turns out to be malicious we could simply banish it back to the realms, killing it would be rather stupid, we do not know what kind of connections it might have within the realms, we might accidentally anger something far worse with such a rash act”

Constantine groans but accepts Zatanna’s reasoning, Batman nods as well.

It’s only then that Hal moves out of the way.

Any plans of attack or banishment fly right out of the window once the two magic users are done and a young boy manifests from the tiny fighter jet.

Hal pushes Constantine aside to get to the boy’s side.

“Jordan, are you insane! Get back here!” 

“Hey, kid, can you hear me? please open your eyes, slowly, take your time” 

Batman has also moved forward much to Constantine’s frustration. Don't these two morons get that their protections won’t do shit if you just casually stroll into the circle?

Batman is mostly concerned in being able to step in should the boy prove to be a hostile entity anyway, but at the same time… well, that’s a child.

The boy kind of dazedly opens his eyes, looks at Hal and then seems to become aware of his own arms and hands, after opening and closing those a couple times he looks back at Hal and lets out a breath that can only be described as relieved and promptly passes out into him.

Well, Hal figures that settles it then. He doesn’t know shit about looking after a kid, and definitely not one who is probably quite dead, but this one is his, back off Batman.

they all startle rather violently when rings of blinding white light pass over the boy and suddenly the kid in Hal’s arms is a bit warmer and seems to have a sluggish pulse and also his clothes are different and his hair is now black and-

Hal is up and moving towards the medical wing before his mind catches back up with him. He can hear Batman behind him, it seems like Constantine and Zatanna aren’t moving after him as fast.

Well anyway his life is already so goddamn weird, this might as well happen.

[mellowwillowy]

There was a cute blond in your class who always glanced at you when he thought you wouldn't notice him. He was a cute, timid boy who was smart enough for you to use him. He obediently did your homework when you asked, gave you his report willingly, and hurried to work on a new report just because you 'forgot' to do it. The cutest errand boy you could ever have to be honest.

You may be a bully but you were not a psychopath or a cold-blooded monster. You were just using the most out of this infatuated boy, what's so wrong could come out of this?

Medical malpractice? First-degree murder? Or a stolen autonomy?

You hurled yourself into half, wheezing in nausea and pain from the spiked drink Rowan gave you. The cute errand boy was trying to kill you and now he feigned ignorance and panic, a sneaky minx, a bastard who laced your damn favorite drink. Was he finally fed up with your attitude or did he finally realize he was being used?

The answer was neither. He was just a sick, cold-blooded monster, a psychopath. Or so you thought. But he denied it all by the time you woke up on a hospital bed. Upon seeing his brown eyes, you felt the urge to scream and spit at him, only to realize your vocal cord was ruined. How would you know that? You weren't sure but you knew something was wrong with it.

"I would never dream of harming you! It was just that... I don't like it when you..." Rowan looked away from you, his fingers picking on his hand, "I don't like it when you talk with someone else lovingly."

This son of a bitch was jealous? This fucking errand boy ruined your vocal cord just because of that? When he was not even in the position to be jealous? Reality snapped into you and you realized you were in no common hospital. No, this was a private clinic.

"My father's clinic. It'd be better if you behave..."

You felt your skin shudder to have him remind you like that. You couldn't raise your voice at him but you could throw profanities at him although it barely affected him. But it for sure as hell affected his father when he walked into you slapping his son. He had no resemblance to his son aside from their eye colors, face almost foreign to Rowan's.

Rowan might be oblivious to you using him but his father wasn't. At this point, you were more concerned by the sharp gaze he gave you, almost threateningly.

You roped yourself into big trouble, stuck in his father's clinic and under the father and son's mercy.

You should have been more careful when playing with fire.

Read more in Webtoon.

[strzxrin]

leo and rowan aren't brothers right?? because i wanna have a threesome. all day all night all hours of the week. make a sandwich, me chicken them bread

(you know who this is)

. . . whatever your type, baby, if that’s what you like !

in which . . . they think you are the prettiest when you are on your knees and servicing them.

cw. blowjobs, a bit of deep throating if you squint properly, praising.

pairings . lèo jaccoud x gn!reader x rowan collins

demon x reader , angel x reader , roommates x reader , childhood best friends x reader

notes . whore (affectionate)(derogatory) but i hope you like this silly little drabble

masterlist . character wiki

sounds of gagging and slurping filled the room as the two men groaned at the feeling of your mouth switching over to their cocks. you always did look so pretty when you’re on your knees and taking them both.

“that’s it.. you’re doing so good” the demon groans, his hand tugging your hair to pull you deeper on his cock. “breathe, mon amour.. that’s right, mhm..” he felt his tip hitting the back of your throat and his head now tilted back. he locked your head in place for a few moments before pulling you off and letting you breathe.

the angel coos softly, gently patting your head before bringing your face near his cock next. “mhm, making such a mess, bet you like that, don’t you?” he whispers, watching as you whimper. you were breathing heavily but they both swore they could see your pupils dilating into hearts as you took them both.

you wanted to please them so badly. so, even as you pant heavily, you did kitten licks to rowan’s already leaking cock, making the angel groan. “fuck, you’re so good.. always knowing how to use your mouth well” he praised which made you determined to gain some more sounds from him.

you look up at him, batting your eyelashes and rowan swears he could just cum from the sight. still, he persists and uses your head as leverage. “be careful with your eyes, darling. i might just lose it today” and you shuddered at the thought.

suddenly you feel your cheek being slapped by something wet and you glanced to see lèo staring at you with a grin “don’t forget me, mon amour” he chuckled which made you take your hand and rubbed him. “that’s it.. just like that” he groans as the both of them are lost in the pleasure of you.

they swear, tonight will be a rather long night until both of them are satiated.

[readychilledwine]

Breathplay

✨️Kink Education with Elizabeth✨️

If you're looking to add danger to your sex life, look no further.

Erotic asphyxiation, or breath play, is one of the most dangerous kinks in the BDSM community. Breathplay is the act of cutting off air supply during sex with the goal of achieving a more intense orgasm. There's mild forms of breathplay (hand or elbow around throat, closing partner's nose off during oral), less mild (forcing head into pillows or objects, hoods specifically designed for breathplay), to extreme (use of plastic wrap or plastic bags, waterboarding, forcing your partner's head into a body of water) and none of them are 100% safe.

Breathplay is dangerous for anyone, but if you have an underlying health condition, especially one involving your heart or lungs, it's best to possibly avoid this form of play. You can enjoy a hand necklace without the pressure, don't worry.

This form of kink play is not recommended by any medical professional nor sex therapists.

Please play safely💜

💕Peep the Valentine's Day list here💕

As always, NSFW below cut.

Rowan Whitethorn x Reader

Warnings - I picture Rowan as a mean daddy dom with a masochistic streak, oral m receiving, p in v, reader passes out, references to her being passed around the Cadre, references to forced submission, hints of degradtion, unedited because I was running a little behind today 🫣

Rowan’s head fell back, a soft grunt falling from his lips as he seated himself all way into your throat. One hand had you back the back of your neck, forcing you where he wanted you for as long as he wanted you.

Breathing was becoming difficult, vision blurring slightly as you did everything you could to take a deep breath with your air way constricted the way it was. “Struggling whore?” You felt yourself clench at his words, at the deep graveled tone of his voice.

Rowan was never gentle with you. He was strict, demanding, and a masochist. He enjoyed watching you struggle, seeing you in pain and begging. He loved watching you cry as he pounded into you withholding orgasm after orgasm until you were so over stimulated you could do nothing but lay there, pliant to his pleasure.

You knew he cared for you, but you were his small fraction of peace in this fucked up world. One he so desperately was fighting tooth and nail to make better.

You weren't a warrior, you weren't blessed with healing magic. You were just a simple fae female. Well, as simple as a female capable of shifting into any form could be.

You were his spy. A spy damn near useless for anything but scouting, but still a spy.

Besides, he found use for you. So many uses actually.

His personal lap pet.

His personal whore.

His personal toy he could loan out to his brothers when they needed stress relief.

Right now, though, your biggest use was being his.

He pulled out slightly, grip on the sides of your neck tightening as his other hand came to hold your nose shut. “If you are struggling this early, how am I supposed to have fun with you?” The lack of air was getting to you. You knew you could tap his leg twice, and it would stop, but you wanted to desperately please him, to be of service. “Such an eager slut. You are lucky I can tell you need to breathe, y/n.” He pulled out completely, letting go of your nose. He forced you up, hand moving to the front of your throat as you gasped for air.

Precious life giving air.

He pulled you to his lips, a messy harsh kiss cutting air back off for a second as his grip tightened again.

This wasn't fully what you had in mind when he said he wanted to try something new, something Fenrys told them he had tried recently.

You would have to talk to the wolf about his reckless endangerment of himself later.

Rowan turned you, letting go long enough to force you down on the bed, forcing you hips up slightly. “Such a pretty cunt,” he slapped your core, watching in sadistic glee as as you screamed and wiggled, wetness now spreading and dripping. “All mine, isn't she?” He shoved your head into the pillow, forcing you into shocked silence.

Forcing you to be unable to answer him. “I asked you a question. Is this pussy mine?” You could hear the smirk in his voice, hear him planning on how he'd punish you.

You felt the slaps land. Three consecutive slaps right to your aching needy center.

Your moans were muffled by the pillow. You tried taking a deep breath to still your body and calm back down, but your airways were mostly blocked again.

4 more slaps came before two thick fingers plunged into you. Rowan growled behind you. “Wyrd, you are so tight. You'd like after this long we would have ruined your holes by now.” He began pulling them in and out at a blinding speed, hand still holding you in the pillows.

Your vision was going black again, mind racing as it pleaded for oxygen.

His fingers curled, and out of nowhere, an orgasm tore through you, ripping a scream of his name and the rest of the oxygen from your lungs. Rowan was silent behind you, hand moving to your hair to pull you up.

“Status?”

You shook your head, throat so sore and body needing air so badly you couldn't answer. You tapped the bed once, a code you normally only used when your lips were wrapped around his throat to indicate you needed him to slow down.

“I figured. You have never done that. You have never come without my permission.” Rowan removed his fingers from you, wiping them on the bed. He went behind you, holding your hips in his hands.

You knew he'd be gentle for a bit as his cock entered your soft walls slowly inch by inch. He took you slowly, a finger playing with your clit until you were calm again, body welcoming and swallowing him.

You relaxed, enjoy each roll of his hips as it sent a wave and wave of pleasure through you. Of the Cadre, he would always be your favorite. His length filled every inch of you so perfectly, so snugly, sex with him felt more like a puzzle finally finding its last piece than it did the obligation you were actually sent to them to fulfill. "Daddy," you moaned out, hips meeting his in a practiced dance. "So good, Daddy."

He groaned behind you. "I know, princess. Daddy's cock always makes you so wet." His hand found the back of your neck again. "Take a deep breath, princess."

He was pounding into you with in second, head forced back into the pillows as he did. You felt your hands curling at the sheets as you writhed moaning and crying below him.

It felt so fucking good. Better than normal, actually. It was as if your body was too lost on where to focus, fighting for air or relaxing and enjoying the way Rowan was ripping you apart.

You felt yourself becoming lightheaded, body softening. Rowan, misunderstanding, smiled, thinking you had fallen into his favorite overestimated dick drunken state. Your vision was filled with black dots, mind focusing on the sounds of him above you. Of his moans, his groans, the growls.

Rowan felt the moment he lost you, pulling himself out of you and flipping you as quickly as he could. "Fuck! Princess, I need you to come back to me," he started rubbing your sternum, eyes wide as he took in your face.

Your beautiful face where blood vessels had ruptured as your body struggled.

Struggled because of him.

He had almost killed you.

And you had almost let him.

He didn't know if he was angry, aroused by your complete trust in him, or just scared, but that first breath, that gasp you took before your body shook in his arms, tears falling. He laid you back down, hovering above your face and stroking your hair back. "Deep breath, y/n. There you go. Good girl."

You were met with light and green eyes staring down at you. "What happened?"

Rowan kissed your brow. "You did not use our fucking safe word or tap system is what happened. I almost fucking killed you."

You smiled below him, eyes closing again. "Felt so good. I wanted you to keep going."

Rowan’s forehead fell to yours, a rare full smile on his face. "Only you would pick dying with my cock inside of you over having to take a quick break."

He heard you moan, lips tugging up at the idea. "I would die a happy female if I died on your cock. Seems like the best way to die, actually. You buried so deep inside me, using me, body spent from pleasure."

He kissed your temple. "You will be punished for this later. Rest, my love."

"Are you sure you want to wait?"

Brows went up as he shook his head at you. "I will be bringing help with me to keep your mouth shut. Rest and prepare, princess."

General Taglist:

@hnyclover @glitterypirateduck @slytherinindisguise @mischiefmanager @bloodicka @starsinyourseyes @the-sweet-psycho

@mariahoedt @rinalouu @sarawritestories @starryhiraeth @starswholistenanddreamsanswered

Valentines Day Taglist :

@sfhsgrad-blog @amara-moonlight @eternallyelvish @novaksangel @teenageeggscissorslawyer @thisblogisaboutabook @azriels-shadowsinger @amygdtjhddzvb

@justasillylittlegoofyguy @avajustreads

@littlestw01f @azriels-shadowsinger

[jabberpool]

elixir unbecoming

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62729353

Deadpool & Wolverine | Deadpool/Wolverine, Wade Wilson/Logan Howlett | E | 11.6k words | violence, valentine's day bang

His mind flicks to anything he might’ve eaten, consumed— That fucking cigar was offbrand. He’d recognise Correnti’s anywhere but the taste of that ash stick was nothing short of a cheap shot. In the back of his mind, a small reminder that he let Wade blow it into his mouth blares into existence. No choke-out, bitch slap or kick to the dick that would evoke the merc’s usual “dirty girl.” A railroad of internalised expletives run through his head as he drags a hand through his sweat-soaked hair and backs up against the wall.

Logan cannot fathom the idea of being in love with Wade. So, the natural conclusion to draw is that he's poisoned him. Right? Right...

HIHIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! god this was fun. anyway, this is my piece for the poolverine valentine's day bang!! @poolverinebangs please find linked below my lovely bang partner rowan (@k1ng-r0wan)'s art. he did an amazing job everyone go show him some love rn.

AND HAPPY VALENTINES DAYY!!!

[flaresemily]

Could you write a part 2 for the yandere platonic son x mother story?

Yandere son x Mother reader (platonic)

There will be no more part unless I feel like making a side story.

Part 1

Slap slap!

A loud slap can be heard and then followed by another slap.

“M-Mom please I'm sorry!” Daniel begged his mother (the reader). “Please, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to–”

“Shut up, shut up!!! You lie!! You lie!! You and your father are both the same!!”

“Mom, please…I didn't mean it… I was drun–”

Slap!

“You told me…if you ever behave like your father I can disown you…well then”

“Wait!! Mom! Please, I take it back! Please! I beg you, I'm your son right?”

“I don't have a son, I only have a daughter. And that is Rachel (the little sis) .”

“What about Julie?(Big sister)”

“I only have Rachel as my daughter. There is no such thing as someone named Julie as my daughter.”

Your oldest who heard this from outside the room only looks down in shame.

“Now…Daniel L/n…”

“Please, Mom! No! D-Dad please.”

He looks at your ‘husband'.

“Darling this is only–”

“I'm not your wife. Stop calling me darling. I don't have a husband, my husband is dead, and I only have a daughter and that is Rachel.”

You announced to them.

“...Very well my dear…I'll buy you some flowers?”

“I hate flowers.”

“Chocolate?”

“Disgusting.” (No hate for those who love chocolate. I'll tell you later why ‘you’ said that.)

“How about uhm---.”

“Daniel L/n, I hereby declare that you are no longer the rightful heir to the L/n and you are disowned by me once and for all.”

He looks at you with pain and guilt in his eyes.

“M-Mo—”

“Mommy~ look I rescued a cat today~” Rachel, who is just 16 years old, walked in while holding a bandaged cat.

“Good job darling let's go okay”

“Okay, Mommy~”

“James, escort them out and make sure their belongings are with them. Then prepared some tea for me and Rachel understood?”

“Yes, my lady” the butler bowed at you and then pushed those three out.

Timeskip

“Mommy? Why did you reject those flowers and chocolate?”

“....Those were the exact things that he tried to bribe me with.”

“Ignore it, Rachel."

“That's right…I have been having a very weird dream.”

“About what Mama?”

“About…you? You seem to be laughing at something with a very terrifying face. I wonder why and you are wearing male clothes?”

Hearing that, she clenched her fist.

“Probably just a nightmare, you know I never do that and male clothes? Am I in disguise or something~”

“Of course not, my baby wouldn't do that~” you giggled and kissed her cheeks.

She smiled in response.

The next day

News about the death of your husband, Julie, and Daniel was spread all across the kingdom.

“Mommy I'm scared!” Rachel hugs you while crying.

“What if they target us?”

“They won't! I make sure of it okay dear”

“Mommy will protect me, right? From the bad guys?”

“Mhm, I always will, even if it means killing someone just for you.”

“I love you Mommy~” she exclaimed.

“I love you too my dear thank you for being with me”

“.... Always”

Still here? Well, guess what? You are lucky, since there's a bonus flashback below this read.

The night before in Rachel's bedroom

She was humming to herself while she combed her long beautiful hair.

“Mama~ Mama~ you're mine~ mine~ mine~ mine~ all~ mine~”

She laughed.

“Annette~”

“Yes, my lady?”

“Did Mommy take her precious medicine?”

“Of course my lady”

“Good~ in no time she will be all mine~ I won't let anyone hurt her ever again…”

“My lady…it seems like your father sent another spy?”

“Kill him…kill him along with my oldest siblings.”

“...are you sure?”

“Yes, kill all 3 of them. They do nothing but bring bad luck to my Mom”

“Very well but my lady?”

“Lord…remember~”

“Yes, my lord…Lord Rowan”

“Good” Rachel or Rowan now said in his deep voice.

“Can't wait~ once she's mine no one can stop my love towards her”

He laughed.

“Serve you right!! Hahaha!!” He laughs and the maid behind him only smiles at his behavior.

‘typical behavior of my lord’

You guys must be wondering…what the fish just happened?

Well, you see…Rachel or should I say Rowan was not y/n real ‘daughter’. The real Rachel is dead. And by coincidence, Rowan looks like Rachel. Thus, he pretends to be her for years. Rachel died at the age of 3 and Rowan was born from a maid.

The very same maid that slept with y/n husband. But she doesn't know this.

Didn't I mention this was a Yandere son x mother reader (platonic) now… I think you can guess who's the yandere now huh?

[gabilina]

It's funny when ppl in tog fandom hate Chaol for serving King of Adarlan while potraying Rowan as this innocent soul who was forced into blood oath with Maeve, but completely ignoring what he said during his confrontation with Aelin when he said how ppl of Adarlan were forced into this war and that he himself never wanted to serve the King:

“This was my home too.” Aelin snaps. Chaol scoffs, “Some home you must have had. If all you talk about is burning it to the ground.” “Shouldn’t I?” Aelin asks, dangerously low, “Adarlan conquered my people, killed my family, made us slaves!”Aelin stalks closer to him, shoulders tight, “Don’t you think that’s worth burning it down for?” This time Chaol watches her, stares right into her eyes to find her answer—and laughs. Laughs so hard he’s nearly crying, nearly falling to the ground in hysterics. “Ohhhhh,” Chaol says, stretching out the sound almost maliciously, “so that’s what this is?” Chaol takes in a deep breath, that damned smile still on his face and asks, “Just tell me the truth. You just want an excuse for all your rage. You want to burn these streets? Fine. But don’t blame the people of Adarlan. They were just as much slaves to this kingdom as you were.”That rage that Chaol taunted her for boils over into something sharp and the fire in her veins becomes molten. Chaol’s head turns back with such force that she’s almost surprised that she’s slapped him. Almost. After a silent, tense moment, Chaol chuckles and the anger in his eyes almost looks like pain, “Is that the only way you know how to treat me, Celaena?” Her old name whispers against her heart, slithering its way into her soul, biting and poisoning her blood. It feels like an accusation. Horribly, it feels like the truth. “Don’t you dare,” she chokes on her fury, “Don’t you dare.”“Is it?” He asks quietly, all of his previous humor gone like it was never even there, before he begins again with hollow eyes. “My people were forced into this war, and were hunted down when they resisted. Magic was so newly stolen away that they didn’t stand a chance. You’ve forgotten, oh great queen, that the slaughter began here first.” Chaol steps closer, close enough that his breath mingles with hers, “Did you also forget that Adarlan also used its own people in labor camps, to make the war even possible? Do you know what family names were wiped out on that day? What children were put in chains for? Where they were buried?” Quietly, almost like a dying breath, he leans in closer and his words gut her like a dagger, “They don’t have graves. Or records. Or even anyone here left to remember them. To know their lives, to know their fucking names.”Aelin takes in a sharp breath, hating him. Hating him with all her broken heart. Hates the tears in his eyes, hates his last name, hates his grief. She burns and burns and hates. “If you really hate anyone, Aelin,” and something in her rips apart in the way he says her name, “you should at least hate the right people. After all, if you want to hate me for serving a king I never wanted to serve (…)

But you know Aelin is a better protagonist than Feyre and Bryce. She hates injustice. She's even better that Rhysand. Overall throne of glass characters are better than the acotar onces.

[throneofsapphics]

playing with pain

Rowan x f!Reader

Summary: Kinktober Day 31, Brat-taming with Rowan. 

Warnings: small hint of blood kink, bondage, brat taming, d/s vibes, pussy slapping, dacryphilia, smut, oral (m!receiving), minors dni!

A/N: only 36 days late! it feels like a hot minute since I wrote any smut

Rowan was tired of your shit. Especially because you were doing it on purpose, and he knew it. But, you couldn’t help winding him up sometimes. It was fun to watch his control slip, to watch the gleam and promise of violence in his eyes. 

Letting your hair flip over one shoulder, you turned your back to him, making your way across the dance floor. A low snarl came from behind you, but you didn’t hear him move. Waiting to see how far you’d go. You picked your victim well, a male who’d been eyeing some females a bit too appreciatively all night. It served two purposes, one - winding Rowan up, the second - having Rowan put the fear of death into him. Enough he probably wouldn’t look at another female for a few months. 

His eyes lit as you smiled at him, and he didn’t hesitate to stride towards you. Adjusting your hair over one shoulder, Rowan’s mark was hidden. Oh, that would infuriate him beyond reason. Maybe you were pushing it a bit too far, but you’d already dug your grave, already set yourself up for hell - but the temptation was always too great. 

As soon as his hands gripped your hips, your arms barely had time to reach up before he was ripped back by his collar. You missed what Rowan whispered in his ear, but he turned deathly pale and near sprinted away. A glare turned on you, and you crossed your arms. 

“I wanted you to scare him,” you murmured, as if it might appease him, loud enough to barely carry over the crowd. 

“I know,” his hands gripped your hips, your breath catching as you hit his body, arm winding around your waist to hold you into place. 

His hand brushed your hair away, raising his brow at you. A shrug, but a small bit of fear began to creep into you. 

“I should fuck you right here.” It’s possible you stopped breathing. “But that means everyone would get to see you, and we can’t have that.” His hand moved, gripping the back of your neck and tilting your head up to meet his eyes. Thumb moving over the side of your neck, he tilted his head at you, “you enjoy pissing me off, don’t you?” 

“Do I?” 

“Rhetorical question,” he snapped, looking around the room. Nobody had noticed the two of you, or they were purposefully avoiding looking at you. Arm still wrapped around your waist, he tugged you to his side, fingers digging in harshly enough to leave small bruises the next day. He didn’t acknowledge anyone as he half-dragged you from the floor. When the night air hit you, he threw you over his shoulder, one arm securing your legs. 

“Rowan,” you snarled, fist hitting his back. A sting. He’d slapped your ass - not bothering to hold back. Definitely bruised, your skin already felt tender. 

“You’ll already be screaming all night,” he hissed. “Don’t. Push. It.” 

You stilled. Maybe it was time to accept your fate. He was silent the rest of the way, probably thinking of the thousand ways he’d make you scream. You couldn’t quite bring yourself to regret it, not yet at least, that time would come. 

-

“My little devil,” he said, dropping you down on the floor, one hand gripping your shoulder to hold you in place. 

Sometimes, your games were amusing, but tonight you’d pushed him. Almost to the limit, but you found an infuriating balance. Touching that male was the last straw, even if he knew why you did it. Still, those pretty eyes looked up at him with a hint of fear. A cruel smile curved his lips, he could put fear into you, and he’d do it gladly tonight. 

“On your knees.” Your arms crossed. He shoved your shoulders down, your knees hitting the floor with a thud, and you studied the carpet in front of you. Gods, you knew he wanted you to look at him. “Your games are over,” one finger pressed under your chin, lifting your head back up. “Understood?” 

A tilt of your head, his hand moving wrapping around your neck with a light squeeze. 

“Fine.” 

“Try again.” Another light squeeze, not quite enough to cut off your air. 

“I understand,” you gritted your teeth. 

“No you don’t.” 

An unapologetic shrug, and threads of ice wound around your wrist, freezing and holding them in place, behind your back, another wrapping around your thighs, keeping you from moving. Easily, at least. He wouldn’t put it past you to try. 

“It’s cold,” you hissed. 

“I don’t care.” You glared, and he tapped your cheek. “Beg, and I’ll consider letting you move.” 

“Please,” he saw just how much the admission cost you. 

“No.” 

Fury, and a hint of betrayal. 

-

The ice burned at your wrists and thighs, digging uncomfortably into your skin, and that’s exactly what he wanted. 

“No”. 

He was an asshole, a bastard, a dickhead, you cursed him a thousand names in your mind as he left. Not leaving the room, only taking a seat on the couch. Picking up a book. 

Giving up, you settled in, trying to find a comfortable position, embarrassing wetness pooling between your thighs. Every inch you shifted, the ice stung in reminder. You regretted wearing a dress with a slit on the side, but at least most of your thighs were covered, even with the cold slowly leaking into your skin. Nothing to protect your wrists.

The ice never melted despite the fire raging in the corner. Did he want an apology? If he did, it would take some more to draw it out of you. The way you were facing, you couldn’t see a clock to tell how much time went by. 

Deep breaths to center yourself, you got as comfortable as you could. Eventually, you sank into the discomfort, just like he wanted. Time and noise faded into the background, every sensation heightening. 

“Good,” you heard Rowan - after gods only know how long. The ice disappeared, drawing a sigh of relief from you. That was short lived, his hand twisted in your hair, yelping as he dragged you to your feet. “Did you really think that was it?” 

A shake of your head, and he dragged you off towards your bedroom, at least his grip slid to your wrist instead. 

Rope bound your hands to the headboard, others weaving around your legs, pinning your them together, tucked up against your chest, forcing your legs open and everything bared to him. He’d ripped your dress off, ignoring your protests. 

Fingers circled your clit, “are you ready to apologize?” 

“I already have,” you whined, feeling that coil build in your stomach, so close, a few more seconds and … Rowan pulled away. 

“I’m waiting for your tears.” 

Desperately, you rocked your body side to side, trying to generate some sort of relief or friction, but nothing. Rowan slapped … gods he’d slapped your cunt, now dragging his hand up your body, leaving a trail of arousal clinging to your skin, invading your senses. 

“Please,” you tried. 

“If I wanted you to beg, I’d tell you.” 

A sob left your throat, the beginnings of tears finally leaving your eyes. His body folded over yours, thumb brushing one of them away, before pressing between your lips. Tongue swirling around, you tasted the salt of your tears, the proof of your submission to him. Not yet. You did something stupid, something you’d regret shortly, but bit down on his thumb all the same. Hissing, his hand clenching painfully around your jaw and you released him. 

A small droplet of blood appeared on his thumb, and you grinned. Keeping a hand on your jaw, he brushed it across your lips, painting them in his blood. Your tongue darted out, cleaning up the taste, copper but undeniably him. Maybe it was sick or depraved, but you loved it. 

A slap, and it took the sting a minute to catch up with you. Jaw dropping, you gaped at him. Fuck that hurt. He did it again, and again. A scream finally left your throat on the tenth, combined with the arousal quickly threatening to come over you. Just from that.

“Do you think you deserve it?” A trick question, and you knew what he was asking. “Coming is a privilege, you’ve lost it.” 

You didn’t bother trying to beg, it wouldn’t do you any good in this situation, especially not as he twisted one of your nipples, adding another edge of pain. Beautiful pain - a combination you craved and loved. Something only he could give you. 

Rowan straddled your chest, thighs bracing your ribs, and undoing the laces on his pants. “Bite and you won’t walk for days,” he warned. 

You nodded your agreement, parting your lips. You wanted him - the taste of him, feel of him, anything he’d give you. With the desperation on your face and the satisfaction in his eyes, you both knew he’d won. For today. 

He hit the back of your throat, you fought the urge to gag, swallowing instead. A groan left him as tears began to fall down your face, gripping your hair tighter, pulling you up as he thrusted. Rowan pulled out, just in time to finish all over your face. You closed your eyes, squeezing tight to keep it from getting in your eyes, and he laughed. 

Seconds later, you felt the ropes around your legs come undone, followed by the ones around your wrists. His hands gently massaged your legs, bending and folding until you got feeling in them, a small bit of his magic healing the light burns left behind. One arm under your legs, the other around your shoulder, he carted you off towards the bathroom, running a bath, not willing to leave you alone for a second. Not when you were this vulnerable, when he’d broken you down like only he could. 

[letsgetrowdy43]

my house is warm (Rowan’s Version)—

I listened to the song "my house is warm" by Sombr and immediately was like "ADAM AND SUNNY BREAK CORE!" so please enjoy, and maybe give the song a listen cause it's really good!

Warnings: a little angsty, nothing too bad, just a hallowing in self pity Adam and a heartbroken sunny, some drinking/partying, lmk if there is anything I missed!

Au Masterlist!!

"I wanna call your phone with nothing in mind, just to hear you breathe on the other line. I try to reach for you but your skin's full of thorns. Oh, this town is cold but my house is warm"

The second Sunny left Adam's apartment that day, he knew it had all been a mistake.

He couldn't decipher if this break was something he needed or if it was a way to run away from the build-up of issues that were growing in his life. Afraid of burdening the ones around him, especially her, he just made it a clean break with a slight promise of a future.

He stared at his phone screen tapping through Instagram stories before landing on hers, a bright smile on her face as she celebrated the Umich football team winning the Natty. She was smiling, she looked so genuine, so perfect, so real, and to him she looked so happy, without him. Her nose scrunched with excitement as she hugged closely to her roommate, the two of them standing just before the TV in their living room, dressed in Michigan colours as they posed in front of the scene of the quarterback holding up the trophy.

He hesitantly hit the like button at the bottom corner of the screen before tapping off of her story to look at her account, eyes landing on the lack of their highlight. The compilation of photos that once was labelled with a little "A" followed by a heart emoji was gone, none of their memories over the past year visible on the account.

It kinda felt like a slap right in the face, but this is what he deserved, this was his punishment for ruining something so good.

He missed it, missed her, she was easily the person in the world he loved the most, and somehow he had managed to fuck up a relationship he cherished so deeply. Missing the ability to just call, to talk to her 'just because'. But remembering that towards the end, he wasn't ever calling her just because he could, he was becoming a chore to her.

He needed to free her.

Kent tapped Adam's shoulder as he caught him stalking the girl's profile, "we should get dinner soon," he said nodding towards the door as Adam just cleared his throat and turned his phone off. "Sounds good!"

★★★

"How did it end like this? I wanna talk to you, talk to you again. How did we get here so quick? I watch you walk right pass me like we never did what we did"

Luca handed the girl a drink as she sat on the sophomore's couch, her eyes wandering the room with a pout on her lips as she looked at the boy whose face dropped at the sight of her sadness. The whole team and a few alpha phi girls were pregaming before they headed out to the bar.

Her eyes had been glued to her phone screen most of the night, staring at a single notification saying that Adam had liked her story. It was moments like this, with all the fun surrounding her, where she hated him for making her fall in love with him. Something about having fun now felt foreign to her, it felt so distant, because she'd been on a constant loop of self-pity and emotions.

Her lips formed a straight line as she looked up at the guy who had become her best friend, "are you okay Sun?" he mumbled as he sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. She flashed him her phone and shrugged, "just miss him," she whispered, trying to keep her voice down around her friends, the topic of Adam and the breakup seemed to be the only thing they wanted to talk about, but she wasn't willing to talk about him in the light of the asshole ex-boyfriend, Adam was her everything.

"I understand," he mumbled, his hand rubbing up and down her arm reassuringly as she leaned against him, "but let's not focus on the sad tonight, let's get drunk and pretend like everything is okay, just for a few hours," he clinked his beer can with her cooler and took a swig. Sunny smiled as she mimicked his actions, "That sounds like a really fucking good idea," she smiled slightly as she looked around the room at her friends, Nick catching her glimpse and motioning for her to come join their game of beer pong, which she happily obliged.

'Just for tonight' she thought as she smiled and made her way across the room to the group surrounding the kitchen table.

★★★

"I can't right my wrongs but I can write another song, I can't take you out but we can get along. If I went away, would you chase the train? Oh, this town is dark but my house is warm"

Allstar week was meant to be a whole week of just relaxing and getting his mind off of hockey and stress, but as soon as Luca, Gavin, and Rutger convinced him to come back to Ann Arbour for the oof week he knew it would be nothing of the sorts.

The first sign of trouble was that the second he arrived at the sophomore house and was met face to face with Charlotte, Sunny's roommate, leaving Gavin's room, he knew that this week was going to be less tranquil then planned.

He smiled awkwardly as her face grew red and murmured a short bye to the boys before taking off.

Their lives were so intertwined at this point that there was no ignoring each other, they were doomed to run into each other at one point, and it was just a matter of time before they were face to face. Faces flustered and chests heaving with the raw emotion of this realization that they were no longer together.

That was sign number one, the second came only a few short hours later when he was sitting in the student section of Yost alongside Rutgers girlfriend. He was a little on edge, he loved this place, loved the atmosphere of the building and the crowd, but he had learned to love within the walls of this building, fought battles in the building, and even made a name for himself, and now he was back and there was this feeling of melancholy looming over this head. Adam had this gut-wrenching feeling that something was going to go wrong.

Then it happened, he saw her, for only a short few seconds. Her gentle eyes meeting his, Sunny was clad in his old Blue Michigan jersey, something he'd given to her for home games and never asked for back after the season ended, and she looked perfect. She looked almost glowing, cheeks nipped pink from the chilly air, her hair cut noticeably shorter with bangs, smile so wide as her roommate handed her the sheet of paper that listed out tonight's line up.

He was almost gutted that she looked so beautiful, and he looked like a shell of himself.

She was stuck in place for a second, her stomach dropped as they just stared at one another. But she was abruptly brought back to reality by her friend who tugged on her sleeve to keep walking.

Her cheeks grew increasingly pink as she sent him a slight wave, but someone got in the way of her little action and it went missed before she was dragged down the stairs to her seat by the glass.

Adam felt nauseous, his eyes meeting Kayleigh's as she watched him turn pale, "you okay?" she asked as her eyes went back to the game. "Yeah yeah, I just need some water," he said unconvincingly before taking off in the direction of the concession stands, his eyes searching the crowds for the blue jersey, but he couldn't pick her out of the sea of maize and blue.

He couldn't find her in the crowd, and that was enough for him to leave the arena and text the boys that he got sick.

★★★

"How did it end like this? I wanna talk to you, talk to you again, how did we get here so quick? I watch you walk right pass, like we never did what we did."

Three months is how long it took for Adam to reach out, and it all happened because of a short message Luca sent him.

"You need to get your shit together Adam," frustration filling his tone as he sighed, "Someone kissed Sunny, and I'm not calling to rat her out or to tell you that she is talking to other people, I'm calling to tell you that she is being tortured cause she can't move on from you cause she won't allow herself to, and you're not doing anything to relieve her from that pain," he paused for a second, "I love you man, but get your shit together, figure it out cause she's not going to wait forever, and you too have something too good to let go of," the line went silent as Adam stared at his desk in shock.

His brows furrowed for a second before letting his emotions get the best of him and dialling her number.

It rang once before she picked it up, confusion filling her senses as she put the phone up to her ear, "Adam? Is everything okay?" "No" "What's wrong?" her voice more alert as she tensed at what seemed to be anger in his tone. "You kissed someone, and didn't tell me!"

She blinked slowly, trying to gather all of the anger coursing through her veins at such an inconsiderate thing but was to worry her like that and then use that vulnerability to get upset with her over something so stupid.

"I'm sorry, you called, after ignoring me for months to get mad at me because someone kissed me, and I didn't tell you?" "I-" "No you dont get to do that Adam, you cut me out of your life, and I get it and I understand why, but you can't be mad at me for something that I for one didn't want and two had no way to tell you cause you iced me out."

She paused waiting for a response but was met with silence, "if you want to talk about it do it like an adult, tell me why you are upset and we can get through it," she sighed as he searched for the words. "I don't have anything to say, that was irrational and immature of me, sorry." She laughed at his formal tone which made him let out a chuckle, "good," is all she said as she stared at the promise ring on her finger that she never took off.

Words danced on the tip of his tongue as both ends went awkwardly silent, he considered the weight of them, how badly he needed to get them off his chest before he just spat them out, "I missed you," he said firmly causing her to smile. "I miss you too Adam," she whispered, as he settled into his bed.

"I've been meaning to call you," he sighed, "I just didn't know how to reach out, I've complicated everything Sunny, and I'm sorry that I was inconsiderate of how this all would affect you." Sunny sniffled on the other end, her hands wiping away the tears as she leaned against the headboard of the bed, "Thank you, but please don't apologize for putting yourself first, I just want you to be okay."

"Are you okay? are you doing better?" she asked, immediately hearing a soft huff on the other end. "I'm doing better, just trying to make it through the season," he shrugged as she hummed in agreement, "are you okay." "Not really, it's been hard," she answered truthfully, her voice cracked causing him to tense, "but I'm happy you called, I've missed hearing your voice." "I've missed yours too."

Adam and she stayed up talking for a few more hours, mumbling and spilling about all the life events they'd missed over the course of the three months they were no-contact.

As she went to hang up Adam stopped her by saying her name one last time, "I just want to say that if I'm holding you back Sun please don't feel like you need to hold onto me because you think that you have to," Luca's words replayed in his head, ones about him torturing her, like physiological warfare, "what I'm trying to say is that if this isn't working for you anymore, I'm okay with that, I just want you to be happy."

Sunny sat silently on the other end for a second, "That's not what I want Adam," she let out a little breathless cry "I love you so fucking much, I would never throw that away unless you want me to, if this is you trying to tell me to move on then I will do that for you," she said, the tears coming back as she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the stinging. "That's not what I want, I want you." "Good, cause I want you too" "Good," he said, a grin growing on his face as she hummed at their shared realization.

★★★

"I still see your face in every single crowd. Oh, I just wanted to make your mama proud"

The rest of the year became a blur for Adam, the only thing he found himself looking forward to was playing the Redwings in Detroit one last time for the 23-24 season, knowing that his brother and best friends would be in attendance.

His eyes searched the crowd for Luca and Rutger, the two boys grinning and waving at Adam on the ice as he flashed them each a smile, his heart stopping momentarily as he looked next to them to see a girl with short brown hair sporting a Fantilli jersey, his heartstrings pulled as Cole bumped into him making him loose sight of her. By the time his eyes find his brother and friends once again, she's no longer there.

The game goes on, it's long and his plays aren't working as in favour as he'd hoped. The bluejackets were down by one and the tensions were high as the time counted down. Second by second, he felt the time slowing down as he got puck possession right in front of the Redwings net and took a slap shot right through the open area, the goal horn going off as his arms raised in the air out of excitement.

His eyes found the crowd again, searching for her, looking to Luca who was on his feet cheering, and then he saw her familiar face in the sea of people, but the second he blinked she was gone again.

his brows furrowed as his mind switched back into game mode as he went down the line of the bench to fist bump everyone loudly cheering now that the score was tied. he sat down, eyes looking back at the crowd, darting from section to section, seeing if he could catch a glimpse of her comforting face once again.

But he couldn't find her.

After the game, which went into overtime, and ended with a Kent game-winning goal assisted by Adam, he met Luca and the boys down in the visitor's tunnel.

A smile on his face as his brother pulled him into his chest, "nicely done Mo," Rut said from behind Luca, their grins contagious as Adam pulled the other boy in for a hug.

"Missed you guys," he said as Rutger ruffled his hair. "You're such a softy," he laughed causing Adam to shrug. "We missed you too," Luca elbowed Rut as he pushed him to the side.

Adam fixed the collar of his dress shirt as he looked at the CBJ merch his brother was sporting, remembering back to the game.

"Was sunny here?" Rutger stopped his loud rambling, his grin replaced with an awkward smile as Luca stared at his brother with confusion. "um no? I don't think so," he said watching as Adam's lips formed a straight line and he nodded curtly. "Oh, I thought I saw her in the crowd," he said trying to play it cool, but instead coming across as extremely unconvincing.

The guys stared at him with wide eyes, trying to decipher if they should ask before Adam shook his head and just smiled, “It's whatever, do you think guys wanna do dinner before I have to get on my flight?”

★★★

"Baby in another life I can, call your phone just to hear you breathe again"

He put the phone up to his ear, his hand rubbing his temples as he fought off the fatigued state he found himself in.

"Adam?" she said groggily, a sleepy haze in her voice and her heart beating at a fast pace from the startling ringing sound of her phone. "Sorry, I don't know why I called, just felt like I needed too," he whispered as she hummed in agreeance. "It's okay, just surprised me for a second," she mumbled, the heels of her hands rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she rolled over and propped herself up on her elbow.

It remained silent for a second before she spoke up, "Are you okay?" "I think I'm going insane" "Well I could've told you that," she joked, her lips pulling into a smile as he let out a huff. "I'm serious, I keep seeing you everywhere I go, like tonight at the game, I saw you with Luca, but it wasn't you," he confessed as she bit back a smile at the sound of desperation and confusion that laced his voice.

"Did you want me there?" He let out a groan at the question, she was playing mind games with him, "that's a dumb question, you know the answer" "I want to hear you say it," she persisted, the grin on her face grew as she listened to his deep breaths. "I want you with me at all times Sunny," he said in a 'duh' tone as she let out a noise of contentment.

It fell silent again, the confession taking up the space between them as they sat with the weight of his words for a second.

“I watched from home, so I was there in spirit,” she confessed, Adams grin growing “You still watch my games?” “Of course, I didn't stop caring about you the second I left that apartment Adam,” he nodded along with her words as he laid back down on his hotel bed.

he was struck by the comment, his heart beating harshly in his chest as it dawned on hims just how this all could've been avoided if he had just been a little less in his head, “I really fucked us up.” “You were just doing what you thought right” “Well I was very wrong, and I hate that I can't just call when I feel like it, or that my friends look at me like a kicked puppy when they talk about you, I was so wrong about everything” “Yeah?”

A comfortable realization sat in each of their chests, as Sunny stared at the promise ring that still sat on her bedside table, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she searched for the right words.

“Off-season is in a few weeks, and so is my summer vacation, we can talk about all of this then, okay?” “Okay,” he said, she could hear the smile on his face through the phone.

She stared at the clock on her bedside table looking at how late it was, eyes heavy as she ran her fingers through her bed head, “I have an early class so I have to let you go,” she mumbled. Adam nodded and let out a little hum, “okay, sorry for calling again,” “No I'm really happy you did, this was good.” “Okay,” he waited for a second before whispering a quick “love you.” “I love you too Adam,” she mumbled before hanging up to leave him with his thoughts.

-

-

-

[goddess-aelin]

Feels Like Home

For @backtobl4ck for the Rowaelin Yulemas celebration/ Secret Santa. For the second year in a row, I once again had the pleasure to write something for Maria! I was so excited when I found out I had you because we both loveeeee fluff and friends to lovers. So I hope you love this little gift and have a very happy Yulemas :) @rowaelinscourt

Masterlist

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: none!

Her hands were everywhere. Her lips touched his softly as she breathily moaned at his ministrations between her thighs. Silky blonde locks brushed his face as he made his way down the side of her neck. He never tasted anything so sweet, so right. “Rowan. Rowan. Rowan.” Her voice got louder and louder as he laid her back on the cushions of his couch, muscles straining to reign in all the things he wanted to do to her. He had to do this right. Move slowly. This thing between them was as precious as the sun’s warmth. “Rowan. Ro.” Her voice changed cadence, suddenly closer and louder. “Ro!” 

A stinging sensation against his cheek woke him. Like lighting, he shot up, catching the arm of the person who slapped him. Once he registered where he was and what was happening, the first thing he noticed were the depthless blue and gold eyes of his best friend. His best friend. Aelin. Who he was in the middle of having a sex dream about.

Rowan could feel his face flush as he became more aware of his surroundings. He silently thanked the Gods that he chose to cover himself with a blanket for this particular nap. Otherwise, it would’ve been painfully obvious just exactly what he had been dreaming about. 

“Must’ve been some dream, huh? Since you didn’t wake up the first twenty times I called your name.” Aelin raised an eyebrow. “Sorry for the slap, though. I just didn’t know how else to wake you up.” Aelin gave him a devious smile. 

Rowan rubbed at the still stinging area on his left cheek. The good thing was that the slap hid any blush that might’ve remained on his face. “Sure you are, Fireheart.” She pouted slightly, giving him her best “but I’m innocent” look. “Wait, how did you even get in here?”

“You gave me a key, remember?”

“Yeah, for emergencies. Not to barge into my house at…” He checked his phone. “4:35pm on a Thursday afternoon.”

“This is an emergency, Ro.” 

He raised an eyebrow and silently commanded, explain.

“Well ok…you see, I have this cousin. His name is Galan. Well he’s sort of my cousin but he’s also not. Not in the sense that Aedion is my cousin. But he’s still sort of close family, ya know? And I got the invite a few weeks back and I hoped that I could find a date but I haven’t yet and I just really think that maybe it would be a fun time and there’s going to be good food-”

“Hold on. What the fuck are you talking about?” Rowan couldn’t keep the humor and huff of laughter out of his voice. Aelin tended to ramble when she was nervous. So obviously this was something she was nervous about. He gently took her hand. “Start again and take a deep breath this time.”

For once, she listened to him. After inhaling and exhaling deeply, she tried again. “My cousin, Galan. He’s getting married and I have a plus one. I can’t go alone because my mother will have a fit and that will make her and my aunts scheme like hell to set me up with one of the groomsmen. But I 100% do not want that. I know Galan’s friends and they’re all dumbasses. I love my cousin, but his groomsmen all make really stupid, idiotic decisions. So no, thank you. So I guess my question is, will you go with me? As my plus one?” 

Rowan took a moment to process the information. What are the odds that he would have a sex dream about his best friend right before she asked him to be her plus one to a wedding? He was treading dangerous territory and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.

He must’ve taken too long to answer because Aelin hastily said, “As friends, of course. And you’d get free food, booze, and a night of dancing. You get to dress up, which I know you hate but it’ll be fun! Plus, you’ll get to have the most beautiful, amazing, graceful date on your arm.” 

That shocked him out of his stupor. Rowan let out a cackle. “Modest, aren’t you?” 

“Modesty is my middle name.” 

Rowan hummed in mock agreement. “Yeah, I’ll go with you. It’ll be fun. A night away, drinking, eating great food, and getting to watch the bridal party get increasingly drunk as the night goes on? I’m in.” 

Aelin beamed but quickly bit her lip. He knew her too well to know that it wasn’t just a nervous tick. There was something else. Rowan narrowed his eyes.

“It’s also like five hours away in Varese so we need to rent a hotel for the night.” She looked apprehensive, as if this new information was going to make him change his mind and say no. 

“O..kay? We’ve been on vacations together before, Fireheart. What’s different this time?” 

She blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I just know you don’t like being the center of attention and I know that my mom and my aunts are going to be all over you like vultures. So I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into before saying yes.”

Rowan shrugged. “How bad can it be?”

- - - - -

Bad. The answer to his question from a few weeks ago was just that: it could be bad.  The date of the wedding crept up steadily, he and Aelin hammering out the details of their stay in Varese. Aelin, of course, insisted on coordinating colors for their outfits, which is how he found himself standing at the base of the stairs in the grand ballroom attached to their hotel in a black tux and emerald green bowtie, talking with Aedion while waiting for the two ladies to make their grand entrance. Aelin insisted on the emerald green to match his eyes. He really didn’t care either way, he just hoped he was able to reign in his budding feelings when he saw Aelin in what just so happened to be his favorite color. And that if he somehow did accidentally let some of his feelings show, that it wouldn’t make it awkward for when they got back to their hotel room.

Oh right, that. The other predicament he was in. 

Once he and Aelin arrived at the hotel that morning, they were surprised to find that not only did their room only have one bed, it also had one of the most romantic views of Varese, overlooking the river that flowed through the center of the city and its beautiful architecture. Aelin was quick to insist that she had nothing to do with this and that she ordered a double room. At the time, the wedding was only a few hours away and Aelin shoved him out of their room towards Aedion and Lysandra’s across the hall, stating that she needed to get ready and she couldn’t have his broody self in the room while she was doing so. So he and Lysandra had switched places, Aelin assuring him that they’d remedy the bed situation later. 

He and Aedion took a whopping total of ten minutes to get ready in comparison to Aelin and Lysandra’s two hours. Rowan’s foot started tapping of its own accord as the time ticked closer to the ceremony. If Aelin didn’t hurry her ass up- albeit her very, very nice ass- they were going to be late. 

He was cut off from his thoughts by the two sets of clacking heels on the marbled floor coming from the top of the stairs. It took one look at the thigh slit of Aelin’s dress for his mouth to dry up. Another glance at the way it hugged her hips for his body to go wholly still. And one final glance to her beautiful, glowing face for him to black out completely. 

He must’ve actually blacked out since, in what felt like a single moment, Aelin was standing right in front of him. Her emerald green dress matched his bowtie perfectly, of course, the gold accent of her minimal jewelry complimenting her eyes. She didn’t need baubles and gems to make her sparkle. She, just as she was now, was an ethereal being, glowing from an internal, unseen star. 

Rowan tried so hard; so, so, incredibly hard to will his mind to say something, anything. And yet, words escaped him. How could he ever put into words how beautiful she was, how much she meant to him? As saliva started making its way into the dry desert that was his mouth, all he could manage was a “Holy shit.”

Aelin’s laugh was like twinkling bells in his ear. “Back at ya, Buzzard. You look…very handsome.”

Was it just his imagination or did she sound…breathless? He couldn’t help but become aware of every place her eyes drifted to, like they were emitting invisible fire and burning him everywhere. His hand subconsciously came up to rub at the back of his hair, trying to smooth out anything that was out of place. “You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?” He managed a small smirk. Or, he hoped he did.

Aelin’s eyes continued their unhurried perusal, mouth parting slightly and hand coming up to grab his own to stop him from messing up his hair even more. “No,” she breathed, “For once in my life, I’m not. I Promise.” Rowan could see her swallow hard.

Rowan had to take a deep gulp of air, otherwise he was sure he was going to pass out. Somewhere, deep inside of him, some air of confidence kicked in and gracefully allowed him to offer his arm for Aelin to take. Gently, she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, both of them silently making their way to the doors where the ceremony would be held. As they neared the room, Rowan purposefully slowed them down, falling behind Aedion and Lysandra. “Fireheart,” he whispered. “You look…you look stunning. It’s what I wanted to say earlier but I couldn’t find the words.”

Rowan could have sworn a blush overtook her face. But she beamed up at him, giving him a sweet, shy smile. 

“Thank you.” He could feel more than see her sharp intake of breath. A breath to recenter and refocus. “Well, shall we, Buzzard?” Rowan nodded and steered them once again to the doors.  

An hour later, the ceremony was over and Rowan’s stomach was rumbling. Loudly. Seated next to Aelin, he knew she could hear it and she continued to sneak glances and little smirks at him. The hunger he could deal with. The sly glances from Aelin? Not so much. She had been driving him insane since she floated down those stairs and it was slowly but surely causing him to lose his cool. That would be if he ever had it in the first place.

And as the night went on, the torture only continued. Throughout dinner, her arm would brush his as she turned to talk to Lysandra next to her, her leg would tap against his own when she told a joke, and she would find any excuse to touch him as often as she could. In normal circumstances, he wouldn’t mind. But they were here as friends. And these touches were making him want much, much more than that. 

The only time he felt like he could breathe was when Aelin got up to dance with Lysandra to an upbeat pop song, leaving Rowan and Aedion sitting alone at their table to chat. Rowan had a few drinks already but he was nowhere near drunk. A nice buzz was flowing through him but he was still very much so in control of his actions.

At least, that’s what he thought until Aedion cleared his throat. Rowan broke his stare from Aelin’s sensuous dancing. Did she even know what she looked like to him? How much she was torturing him just by being herself? He wasn’t sure if she was aware. But Aedion sure as hell was. 

The blonde man gave him a knowing look and raised an eyebrow. Rowan just rolled his eyes and allowed his gaze to maneuver back to Aelin. He caught the moment when she threw her head back and laughed, the sound making his bones feel like they were both on fire and also a pile of mush. It was a feeling that he was unaccustomed to, having only felt anything of the sort with his high school girlfriend. But if that feeling was a good one, this one made him feel like he was flying. Made him feel a need so deep that he wasn’t sure he would ever recover. He needed every inch of her. Not only her body, but her soul, her smiles, her laughter, her tears. He wanted everything.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. 

Beside him, Aedion chuckled. “You’re only now just realizing it?”

Rowan could do nothing but stare at the table, knowing that if he looked at Aedion, his secretly harbored feelings would be completely out in the open for the other man to see. And if he looked up at Aelin, the same outcome. So yeah, he was fucked. 

“I know you’re having a complete crisis over being in love with her but I’m glad you finally figured it out. Took you long enough.” 

That made Rowan look toward the man sitting next to him, brows furrowed. 

“Yeah, we’ve all known this for ages. I feel like it was obvious to anyone with eyes, to be completely honest. Some of us even have a bet on how long it’ll take for you two to finally admit that you’re in love with each other.” 

  Rowan made to open his mouth with a denial but Aedion held up a hand. “Nope, dude. Save the bullshit. I know just by looking at you that you’re so far gone for her, it’s unreal. And I know that Aelin has never been as happy as when she’s with you. She never laughed this freely until she met you.” Aedion let out a small huff of breath. “You have my blessing.” 

Rowan just repeated his earlier statement. “Fuck.” 

Their conversation was interrupted by a breathless Aelin sitting in the seat to Aedion’s right, where she promptly picked up the half-full glass of wine and chugged it. 

“So what are you boys gossiping about over here that has poor Whitethorn all red in the face?”

Internally, Rowan was panicking. Aedion opened his mouth to say something that Rowan was sure to be snarky but before he could, Rowan blurted out, “birds!” 

The corners of Aelin’s mouth quirked up slightly. “Birds…?” Rowan could tell that she didn’t fully believe him but luckily, Aelin was already half drunk. He hoped she would just let it go. 

The first mistake Rowan made was making eye contact with her. She always had an uncanny ability to read him like an open book, despite most people not understanding him. As she narrowed her eyes, the part of their souls that has always been intertwined translated for him, as if to say, I don’t believe you and think you’re full of shit, Buzzard.

So Rowan sent his own thoughts back, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Fireheart. 

The second mistake was continuing to hold her gaze. Not because he gave anything away to her but rather because it prompted the man sitting in between them to throw his hands in the air and exclaim, “Oh no. Oh helllll no. This isn’t happening right in front of me.” Aedion quickly shoved his chair away from the table and got up to leave. Before walking away completely, he turned around and pointed right at the two of them. “I’m tired of this bullshit. You guys need to get it together and just fucking make out already. Gods.” And with his piece said, Aedion stalked away, directly to the bar where he knocked back a shot immediately. 

Rowan turned back to Aelin, whose eyes were wide and brows furrowed. 

“Umm, what just happened?”

The only thing Rowan could do was shrug. He sure as hell wasn’t going to lie to her but he wasn’t sure that he could outright confess his feelings, either. He was saved from deciding by the transition to a slower song, one he knew Aelin liked. As he looked back over at her, her eyes had drifted closed and her shoulders were swaying slightly, moving along to the lilting melody of the song. 

Rowan shoved his chair away from the table, extending his hand toward her. Blue eyes met his own and held his gaze with an intensity that could’ve set him on fire. “Dance with me, Fireheart.”

Aelin managed a small smile and took his hand, following him to the dance floor where Lysandra and Aedion and her parents were already coupled up and swaying back and forth. He gently guided her hand to rest at his shoulder, laying his own on her waist, and cradling her other to his chest. 

Looking down at her, he felt like he could do this forever. Her bright teal eyes were hazed with alcohol and something else, as if she felt content, safe. Slowly, she tilted her head so it rested on his chest. Of their own accord, Rowan’s lips gently placed a kiss to her hair, inhaling her sweet lemon verbena and lavender scent. Aelin always smelled so good. So…comforting. Like home.

Through the haze of their otherworldly bubble, Aelin murmured something. 

“Hmm?” he asked.

Pulling her head back, she answered him, “I said ‘are you going to tell me what that was back there at the table? With Aedion?”

He tensed, Aelin tensing along with him. “It was nothing, Aelin.”

She raised an eyebrow in protest. He knew she was disappointed. She could tell he was lying through his teeth. “It obviously wasn’t nothing. Just tell me. Did my mom say something? She and my aunts have been watching us all night like hawks.”

“Really, Fireheart...I…It’s nothing. Everything’s good.” He gave her a tight smile, hoping she would let it go and they could go back into their bubble. But, of course, this was Aelin. She tensed even further, pulling her hand off of his shoulder and making to pull away from him completely. But before she could walk away from him, he grabbed her hand and as gently as he could, pulled her back toward him. She was caught off guard, Rowan could easily tell that much. 

He slowly began to sway them back and forth again. Not caring about the eyes on them, he murmured “I’m not good at this.”

Aelin’s brows furrowed together. “At what?”

Rowan’s shoulders shrugged up and down of their own accord. “This. Talking about…about my feelings.”

Aelin’s head tilted in that way of hers that told him she was thinking. “And what about your feelings are you having a hard time with?”

“I’m not having a hard time with my feelings, I just…I can’t–” Rowan sighed. “For fuck’s sake.” It was at that moment, when Aelin was looking up at him with her eyes that could see everything, her beautiful mind that could work out any problem, that he grabbed her face. “Aelin–I love you. I’m in love with you.” Rowan felt as if his heart was going to beat out of his chest, his breathing so ragged as he waited in anticipation for what she would say back. But the answer didn’t come after a few seconds. And then it didn’t come after a few more. Aelin just stood there, wide-eyed and mouth opening and closing as if she couldn’t find the words, either. And bit-by-bit, Rowan was beginning to give up hope. 

   Slowly, he loosened his grip on her face, meaning to step back and give her space. But before he could pull away completely, Aelin threw her arms around his neck, dragging his head down forcefully and attaching her lips to his own. If he was being honest, it was probably the least romantic kiss he’d ever experienced but it didn’t matter one bit because it was Aelin. 

The kiss was over before it started and Aelin pulled back slightly. Just enough to murmur, “I love you, too, Buzzard.” 

He couldn’t help the smile that overtook his face. Properly this time, he held her face between his hands and brought her mouth back to his. This kiss was entirely different from the first. Gone was the urgency and desperation and in its place was genuine love and devotion. Would he ever get enough of this? He could’ve died in her kiss a happy man right at that moment. But he hoped that he would get many more chances to experience Aelin in all her glory.

Cheers and clapping broke them out of their reverie, startling them both back into reality. Rowan assumed it was cheering for Galan and his wife but as Rowan’s gaze roamed over the crowd, they all seemed to be watching…him. Aelin’s mother was at the head of her sisters, all five of the Ashryver sisters looking toward him and Aelin. All with smirks on their face. He could’ve sworn he heard a few swoony sighs as he and Aelin made their way back to their seats, faces aflame. 

Once seated, Aelin leaned in close, putting her hand dangerously high on his thigh. “Well, I’d say it’s not such a bad thing that our room only has one bed, wouldn’t you Buzzard?” 

Rowan narrowed his eyes. “Did you plan this, Fireheart?” 

Aelin shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Who could ever know.” Rowan pinched her side, making her giggle. “I will say, though, that my wheels might have started turning the moment I walked in on you having a nice little smutty dream about me.”

Rowan gaped. “Wh-what?!”

Aelin shot him an answering smirk. “Oh yeah, did you think I didn’t know? You were literally moaning my name in your sleep. How else was I supposed to take that? Unless there’s another Aelin in your life, which, if that’s the case, excuse me, I’ll let you two be alone.” She feigned getting up from the table but he pulled her right back down, bringing her face close to his. 

“And so what if I was, Fireheart?” He murmured in her ear. He both saw and felt the shiver that made its way down her body. 

“Then, Buzzard, I’d say its a very good thing that our room has a king bed.” While his blood heated at her promise, he couldn’t help but think that this was the start of something amazing. Something that felt like home.

Tagging:

@cretaceous-therapod @morganofthewildfire @tomtenadia @live-the-fangirl-life @charlizeed @violet-mermaid7 @euphoric-melancholyy @kritical24 @rubyriveraqueen @dealfea @wellofnothing @ayaashryver @moonknight-spector @leiawritesstories @whoever-you-choose-to-love @holdthefrickup @heirofflowers @thecrispypotatochip @shanias-world @rowanaelinn @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity @hanging-from-a-cliff @fantacysoup @swankii-art-teacher @thegreyj @fromthelibraryofemilyj @westofmoon @lovely-dove-zee @books4eva04 @cookiemonsterwholovesbooks @backtobl4ck @dreamer-133 @elentiyawhitethorn @writtenonreceipts @shyvioletcat @aelinchocolatelover @captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship @athena127 @tothestarsandwhateverend @highqueenofelfhame

[moony2moon]

Arc of a Scythe Incorrect quotes pt 3 Aka Me Seeing How Many Tags I Can Slap Onto a Single Post pt 3

Faraday: I have a new hoodie.

Curie: Wrong. WE have a new hoodie.

Citra: Why are your tongues purple?

Faraday: We had slushies. I had a blue one.

Curie: I had a red one.

Citra: Oh.

Citra: OH.

Rowan: You drank each other's slushies?

Citra: Ya'll always talk about E-boy this and E-girl that, but no one wants to talk about the E-conomy. Marican capitalism is a fundamentally flawed system-

Constantine: BEHOLD! The field in which I grow my f*cks! Lay thine eyes upon it and thou shalt see that it BARREN!

Mandela: If you got arrested, what would be the charges?

Citra: Theft.

Curie: Disturbing the peace.

Faraday: Aggravated assut.

Morrison: Arson

Rowan. All the above. In that order, probably.

Goddard: You know what? You're in timeout! GET ON TOP OF THE FRIDGE! GET UP THERE!!!

Rowan: *Climbing on top of the refrigerator* THIS HOUSE IS A F*CKING NIGHTMARE!!!!!

Greyson: *Alone in his room and talking to the Thunderhead* You are my da-ad! YOU'RE MY DAD! Boogy woogy-woogy!

Volta: Do not come over to my room. If the room is on fire, you may knock once, if I don't answer, assume I set the fire and I want to burn to death.

Greyson: No, this is not a mess. You know what I consider a mess?

Thunderhead: Your life?

Greyson: I- well, yes, but-

Scythe ocs Incorrect quotes!

Newton: Did you get the eggs like I asked?

Bly: Even better!

Newton: What the f*ck did you-

Bly: *Holds up chicken* Her name is Fluffy.

Bly: Honk.

Newton: WHAT?

Bly: HONK!

Newton: WHAT THE F*CK DOES HONK MEAN THIS TIME, YOU WHIMSICAL PIECE OF SH*T!!?

[mariaofdoranelle]

The Courtship Deception - Part 7: Fight or Flight

Fic masterlist

Written for @throneofglassmicrofics

Sorry I disappeared, my mom is running for vice-dean at our uni and the elections got me so hyped!! Keeping track of the gossip alone could be a full-time job heheheheh

Anyway this chapter might go to the top 3 most unserious things I ever wrote lol

Warnings: duel with no depictions of violence; gay pining and heartbreak at its peak

Words: 1011 (oops!)

Aelin sat nestled under Rowan’s arm, both of them waiting at 6:58 p.m. in that forgotten temple. The sun was setting in different hues of blue and orange past crumbled walls, and her lover’s fingers combing through her hair were the only reassuring thing that day; they said, I’m here. I’m here for you.

The rejection of her marriage proposal wasn’t taken to heart—marrying Rowan right now would be a mean to an end, that being living on her own terms. It didn’t surprise her that he didn’t want that for himself.

What did surprise her is that, after all that, he still agreed to fight her suitors. Just because I’m not getting engaged to you this month, it doesn’t mean that I want other dudes to, he previously explained, and there he was: waiting for Chaol and Dorian to show up. After scolding Fenrys for making duel propositions on his behalf, of course, but he was still here at the end of the day.

“So…” Dorian trailed, announcing himself, and beelined his way to them by dodging the temple’s ruins. “How many people did Rowan propose a duel to?”

“Gods.” Chaol coughed, keeping some distance behind Dorian. “I better not die in this shithole.”

Aelin grimaced, just now remembering his allergies—between ancient stones and the moss-covered floor, things weren’t looking good for him.

“Evening, suitors.” Fenrys paced before what was supposed to be the altar, hands clasped behind his back. “As an unofficial coordinator of Aelin’s courtship, I arranged this—“

“I thought it was Rowan’s idea,” Dorian interrupted.

“Rowan challenged you two on a thruel.”

“A what?” Rowan asked.

“A thruel.” The “coordinator” sighed. “A duel of three.”

Chaol frowned. “How does that work—“

“Perfect.” Rowan slapped both hands on his thighs to get up. “Swords or guns?”

Her lips parted slightly. So he knew his way around a sword and a gun both. That’s… fuck, that’s definitely hot.

Fenrys had a devilish grin on. “Guns.”

“But right now?” Chaol looked around, seeking reassurance. “We don’t want to frighten Aelin, right?”

“Don’t worry,” Aelin said, moving to find a better sight of the whole temple. “Aelin isn’t frightened at all.”

None of the men seemed excited about the thruel, but they stood still, waiting for Fenrys to retrieve the guns. Between her three suitors, her bodyguard gave each an odd-looking gun. Aelin squinted her eyes as an attempt to get a better look, make sense of their bulkier build and little kidney-looking black thingy on top. Then he pulled out a bulletproof vest of sorts, but it looked so flimsy.

Wait a second.

“We’re choosing my future husband over paintball?” Aelin shrieked, incredulous.

Not that she was actually marrying any of them, but she had to play the part here.

“Yes,” Fenrys said, eyes hard. “It is an act of bravery, since it bruises like a bitch, and the last thing I need is a prince and a lord dying on my watch.”

“Or two princes,” Chaol added.

Rowan snorted, barely managing to keep his thoughts to himself.

After Fenrys revealed the true nature of the thruel, her suitors had a new lightness on the way they carried themselves, each finding a spot behind the ruins so the game could start.

Dorian even winked at Fenrys, and Aelin had yet to find out what that was about. By the way Chaol’s jaw clenched as he watched, the thruel was heated before it even started.

“Game on!” their designated referee signed.

With cautious advances, Chaol focused on Dorian. The other man did the same, so keen on attacking each other that they seemed to forget that this was a duel of three.

Rowan, who hadn’t moved an inch, sent Fenrys a confused look. A shrug was the only response he got.

Chaol ran to a nearer pillar, firing off a series of shots before he slid into cover again.

“Shoot me!” Dorian shouted, got up from behind his cover, and theatrically threw his gun on the floor. “What’s a paintball bruise compared to what you did to me?”

“What I did to you?” Chaol’s gaze slid from Dorian to Fenrys. Uh-oh. He continued, “You think I should be sorry? Well, I am! I really am sorry I was so hooked on you it upended my entire life—“

“But we were so close!” Dorian said. “I was fighting for you, and I was this close to convincing my mother about our worthiness when I found out about this… ploy to marry Aelin. Seriously, Chaol? My best friend?”

“Oh!” The lord let out an incredulous laugh. “I’m sorry, I thought I was your best friend!”

“You might’ve been in the past, but I don’t love you like a best friend anymore!”

Chaol’s face softened. “You love me?”

The two went on, too wrapped up to notice Aelin leaning closer to Fenrys and whispering, “Should we give them some privacy?”

“Nah.” A pause so her friend could catch on part of their dialogue. “I’m too curious about why they were chasing you.”

Aelin thought it was out of parental pressure like in her case, which probably happened with them too, but it seemed to be also to affect each other. She met Rowan’s gaze from the other side of the temple, and the poor guy looked lost, still in his thruel position.

Dorian soon caught up on his lack of privacy and led Chaol out of the temple so they could talk more, and only then Rowan left his spot behind a ruin. “Did I win?”

Aelin sighed, a fake wondrous look on her face. “My hero,” she joked.

He laughed and tugged her to him, trailing pecks from her face down her neck.

“You won the last round,” Aelin admitted before picking up Dorian’s gun from the floor. “Wanna lose the next one?”

His eyes glinted with amusement. “Do you want to lose it?”

They had been on dates—as much as a hard-working outcast prince and a sheltered heiress could within the span of twelve days—but none of them were as interesting as paintball at an abandoned temple.

“Hey!” Fenrys shouted, running their way. “I wanna play too!”

A/N: i can’t believe that it's finally me and you and you and me just us and your friend Steve DODODODODODODO STEVE

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[highqueenofelfhame]

rowaelin // 5.3k words // ciwyw mastlist // playlist // masterlist

It had been a frustrating day to begin with. After failing to sleep for more than a collective two hours the night before, Rowan had tried to carry on with his day like he would any other Sunday. The conversation with Aelin, and more importantly her response, pounding with every slap of his shoes against the treadmill. Not even a full leg-day workout could dispel the dreadful, anxious energy brewing at the forefront of his mind. 

Lorcan had showed up at the house early in the afternoon and chewed his ass out for the red card. He was fully in Team Captain mode for the full lecture, barely letting Rowan get a word in edgewise. At some point he gave up on defending himself and let Lorcan get his rant out. Once he was finished, he’d flopped onto Rowan’s couch and gestured vaguely with his hands.

“Alright. Your turn. Talk about it.”

“I already told you I was sor–” He’d started, hands bracing his knees as he debated groveling on his knees for Lorcan to let up. It had been a long enough weekend and he couldn’t handle another half hour. Sure, he deserved being called a stupid, selfish bastard, but he was tired. There wasn’t much left for him to say other than he was sorry, and he’d already done that multiple times.

“I’m not talking about the match. The girl. Something’s bothering you, so talk. The other idiots aren’t here to give you shit about it.” The man had a point. Without everyone else there to make subtle digs, it was easier for him to nod his head and dive headfirst into the clusterfuck of a situation he was in with Aelin. 

To his credit, Lorcan listened to every word until it was all laying before them like a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces were hard to put together because there were about a million of them, all tiny, and several of them were missing entirely. Rowan couldn’t find the corners and didn’t know which way was up or down. Lorcan listened anyway. The migraine that had been coming on for the last few hours hit in full force when Lorcan compared it all to a fucking onion. 

“Give her space. Give her time. The shit with Lyria is a lot to unpack on its own. Add into it that you’ve found yourself in a similar, however different, situation with Aelin… it would be a lot for anyone. It’s an onion, mate. Shit has fucking layers to it.” Rowan had given him a flat look that caused Lorcan to raise his hands in front of his chest. “I’m just saying. Might also be a lesson to check the expirations on those rubbers before you use them, too. Twice in one lifetime? You are one unlucky bastard.”

“You’re not helping,” Rowan glowered, eyes narrowed into little slits. Even if it was good advice, it didn’t do him a lick of good at this point. So much for not getting any shit about this.

“What brand did you use? I need to avoid those fuckers like the plague.”

“Lorcan,” Rowan sighed exasperatedly, all ten fingers raking through his hair until it was a mess of tangles. 

“Just give her the space she asked for, Ro. She told you what to do. So do it.”

“It’s hard to give her space when I just want to be with her all the time,” he finally admitted, slumping back against the sofa. The position did nothing to help the throbbing in his head, but he didn’t move. 

“I really need to meet this woman if she has you, of all people, wound so tight you look like you’re about to explode,” Lorcan said with the shake of his head. “Do you think she’s worth all the trouble?” 

Rowan didn’t have to think about it. The answer was a huge, resounding yes. She was worth fighting for. He said as much and Lorcan nodded, eyes focused on the empty fireplace. 

“For what it’s worth… I’ve never seen you as happy as you are when you talk about her. Don’t get me wrong, until she cuts you a break and gives you a real chance, she’s on my shit-list. But she makes you happy. I’ve never seen you this way about a woman and I think… I think she pulls out the best parts of you.” Lorcan’s confession made Rowan’s chest feel a little tight. “Except for when she’s the reason you’re so pissed off you get carded.”

They had both shared a quiet laugh at that, then spent the rest of the evening sipping beer and watching the major sports channels for highlights of the other games that happened over the weekend. 

Hours later, Rowan truly was about to explode. Sleep was already hard to find despite scouring every drawer and pocket in his brain. When his phone pinged, hope had swelled that it was Aelin. As much as he loved to see her smiling face lighting up his phone, it was not what he had in mind. 

Rowan Whitethorn liked to think of himself as a man with self control and reason. Amongst his teammates he was known for being level-headed, someone that thought things through and didn’t jump the gun. To his core, he always had been those things– until he met Aelin Galathynius, and he was unraveling quicker than a dropped spool of thread. 

You know, the one that rolled under the bed and there was no hope of getting it back unless you kept pulling on the string. The spool would re-emerge from the shadows once the thread was in a mess of a knot at your feet and there was absolutely no hope of getting it wrapped back around its little home neatly. In fact, you might even scrap the whole thing and throw it in the garbage because the reward didn’t outweigh the tedious task at hand. 

Rowan felt like that unraveled spool of thread as he stared at his phone screen at two in the morning, the simple plastic phone case groaning under the pressure of his white-knuckled grip. The edges of his vision were hazy because he hadn’t blinked a single time since he saw the picture that Fenrys sent him. 

Mala fucking help him, he was going to murder his teammate. A brutal, bloody murder. Rowan had never been so sure that he was going to end up in fucking jail. 

Aelin was radiant– something that had been missing from her the last time he saw her. The woman in the picture was exactly the woman that had ripped his heart from his chest before he even knew what was happening. The more muted version he’d had over the weekend still held his throbbing, bleeding heart. But the woman beaming in the photo was the one who stole it in the first place. 

Her hair was down, the golden waves cascading over her shoulders and out of frame. With rose-kissed cheeks and plump, sensual lips spread wide in one of the smiles she used to give him, she was devastating. A little tipsy from his afternoon with Lorcan, Rowan had to physically restrain himself from tracing the shape of her mouth with his fingers. Gods, when did he become such a sap?

The first photo was just her. A tiny cocktail straw was between her teeth, eyes closed from the force of her smile. Her eyelashes seemed to graze the top of her cheeks they were so long. Because of the angle of the photo, taken from a lower, upturned angle, one of the golden lightbulbs gave her a halo. It was fitting, because she was a fucking angel. 

>> She’s even more beautiful in person. 

Rowan knew that. He was well aware of how fucking beautiful she was. But why did Fenrys know that? Why was he discovering the truth of it at two in the godsdamn morning? 

>> What the fuck? 

<< I mean, if you’re not going to, she should get it from somewhere. You haven’t had sex in her bed yet, have you?

>> Fenrys I swear to the fucking gods if you touch her I’m not responsible for what happens to your face.

The picture that followed made him want to throw his phone across the room and hope it shattered into a million pieces he couldn’t put back together. Someone across the table had taken it, probably Connall if he had to guess. Aelin’s arm was around Fenrys’s neck and they were cheek to cheek with matching smiles. Mischief was wild in Fen’s eyes while Aelin just looked… happy. 

And then he noticed, just at the edge of the picture, how low on her hip his godsdamn hand was and he thought he was going to lose his mind. Yep. He was definitely going to be arrested for homicide in a few hours. The mugshot would be in every newspaper in the country, across the world, and he didn’t care. 

>> She’s just wearing minty lip balm. My face will be nothing but hydrated and tasty.

<< You motherfucker

>> Well… not yet 😉

And then Fenrys stopped replying. 

The self-control and level-headedness he had once prided himself in was nowhere to be seen. He tried to pull on the thread of his sanity, to tell himself it didn’t matter, that all of this was fine. Yet every time he looked back at the screen, every muscle and tendon in his body was so taught it felt as though one movement would have them all in ribbons. 

Rowan hadn’t ever had a relationship where he felt the need to protect as much as he did with Aelin. Maybe it was partially because of the baby, but a roaring silence filled his head at the thought of her with another man, least of all Fenrys fucking Moonbeam. If Fenrys respected any kind of friendship code, he wouldn’t even act like he was thinking about toeing that line. 

It felt stupid. They were barely dating and only knew the tip of the iceberg with each other. Still, there was something so different with her. For the first time in almost a decade, he had let his guard down. There were no mile high cement walls around his heart with nowhere to grasp to climb up and over. He was just Rowan, an unopened book with unexplored pages begging to be read.  

It was highly unlikely that he was the only person that found himself inexplicably drawn to her. She was sweeter and more intoxicating than any drug, than any brand of alcohol money could buy.  Aelin Galathynius had the energy of someone that you just wanted to taste once, because once she was gone you wouldn’t experience anything like her ever again. Coming so close to losing her, Rowan was keenly aware of that fact, and he wasn’t sure how he would ever move on if they didn’t really give themselves the chance to explore it. They were opposite ends of two very strong magnets. It was impossible that she didn’t feel that, too. 

Rowan Whitethorn didn’t open up to just anybody. He didn’t let people in. Aelin wasn’t just a fluke. He was absolutely sure of it. 

The thoughts wouldn’t stop chattering through his brain. Words flashed behind his closed eyelids a thousand miles a minute, leaving nothing but explosions of stars and colors where he tried to rub them away. Every time he looked at his phone, the desire to get in his car and drive to Aelin’s grew stronger and stronger. It was becoming an itch that he couldn’t he couldn’t ignore, and once the sun finally started to peek in through his blinds, he was rolling out of bed and nearly running to shower and change clothes. 

By the time eight rolled around, he had forced a small bowl of cereal down his throat and downed what was probably too many cups of coffee. By eight-fifteen, Rowan was in his car and speeding toward the highway to Varese with something that belonged to Aelin sitting in his front seat. 

~*~

Rowan felt… Well, he felt insane. 

Not for the first time, he was asking himself what the fuck he was doing as he knocked on the door to Aelin’s apartment. At several red lights through the city, he debated going home. Halfway up the staircase, he had paused and gone down three steps, only to turn around and march right back up and to her door. The echoing of his fist on the wood had him hesitating once again, wondering if he should just get in his car and go home. He had no clue what he was doing here, besides just needing to see her and make sure that both she and the baby were okay, regardless of her late night activities. 

That’s what he was telling himself, anyway. 

In the ten agonizing seconds it took for him to head footsteps from inside her apartment, he almost turned and bolted. Rowan was well aware that he was being a territorial fool. Evidently there was no reasoning with that very stupid and very irrational part of his brain, even as the clicking and sliding of locks had him wondering how quickly he could make it down a flight of stairs without being caught. 

“Oh,” came her surprised voice, wide eyes and raised brows to match. It was his very favorite version of Aelin that opened the door. All of her golden hair was in a messy knot on the top of her head, a few pieces framing her face. Much to his satisfaction, he realized she was wearing the shirt he’d told her she could keep a few days prior. A pair of little black shorts peeked out from the hem, and the long expanse of her bare legs had him almost forgetting why he was there in the first place. “What are you doing here?”

Her voice brought his eyes back to her face. There was no evidence of the makeup she’d had on the night before and though he could tell by looking at her that she was exhausted, he could also see that she had at least a few hours of good sleep. The skin around her eyes was a little puffy and a few lines were tattooed on her cheeks from her pillow or the blanket. 

“Did I wake you up?”

“No, no. I’ve been awake for like half an hour. Just haven't gotten to dragging myself out of bed yet since I’m not going to the office today.” Right. It was Monday. In his hazy stupor, Rowan had entirely forgotten that she should have been going to work.

“Are you too sick today?” Rowan was immediately on edge, searching her face and body for any sign of what would keep her from working. There was no point– she was downright glowing today. A healthy blush heated her cheeks and he could almost make out the small smattering of freckles across her nose from where he stood across the threshold. 

“No,” she said simply. “I feel really good today, actually. You didn’t answer me. What are you doing here, Rowan?”

“You forgot your toothbrush at my house,” he said lamely, patting at his pockets. Fuck. “It was purple? I left it in my car.”

“I did leave it at your house because that’s the one you bought for me to keep there.” There was laughter in her words as she spoke, like she was bringing up an inside joke they’d made. Mirth danced in her brilliant turquoise eyes despite her face contorting with confusion as she asked again, her tone softer this time, “What are you doing here, Rowan?”

What a loaded fucking question. He sure as hell didn’t know. How many times on the way here had he asked himself the same thing? 

He didn’t have to answer it directly, though, because he realized her shower was running down the hall. Before he could stop himself he blurted, “Is that Fenrys?” 

“Fen– what?” There was so much disbelief in her voice, but she started laughing. “You drove all the way up here to see if Fenrys spent the night with me?” 

Rowan wasn’t sure if the laughter was a good thing or a bad thing. It was impossible to tell if she was laughing at him for being so stupid he thought he had any right to know about her private life when he wasn’t around, or if she was laughing because the idea was so stupid and he had nothing to be worried about. He was inclined to think it was the former, because even though Fenrys liked to rile him up, he didn’t know if he would push Rowan quite so hard.

“Hey, bub? You hungry?” A voice, one that was distinctly not Fenrys’s shouted from the bathroom. In that one, tiny pet name, Rowan’s entire heart sank through the floor. If he looked down, he was sure he would be standing in a puddle of his own blood. The world had gone very quiet, his fingers suddenly freezing as he stuffed them into his pockets.

“Yes,” she called back, her eyes not leaving Rowan’s face.

Aelin was seeing someone else. It wasn’t a thought that had ever occurred to him until those texts from Fenrys, but now it was glaringly obvious. She had already said once that their relationship wasn’t supposed to turn into anything serious. Had she been seeing other men the whole time? It wasn’t like they’d ever talked about being exclusive in any shape or form. They had plenty of time away from each other. He never would have known. It couldn’t even be considered cheating. 

“Rowan,” she said, bottom lip tucked between her teeth to swallow her smile.

“I’ll… I’m sorry. I’ll let you get back to the guy in the shower,” he half-mumbled, crossing his arms to hide his shaking hands. 

And then she was well and truly laughing. It was a bright, melodious sound that under any other circumstance, he would have loved to pull out of her, to bottle up and get drunk on it whenever he pleased.. But right here, right now? Rowan was fucking gutted, and she was giggling like he’d said the funniest thing in the world. 

Rowan had just turned to start walking away when she collected herself enough to say, “You mean my cousin?” 

Time stopped. His blood was pumping in reverse to turn back the clock, to take everything he’d just said and wipe it from existence. Even his movements felt slower as he looked at her, fire licking up his neck and covering his face. The tips of his ears would be nearly purple and if he walked out into the humid air, his body would be steaming. She could probably feel the heat of his body from where she stood in the doorway. 

Rowan had never been so fucking embarrassed in his entire life. 

“Yeah, I– I am so sorry. I’ll talk to you later,” he grumbled, turning on his heel to make his swift exit and go die in peace. Recovery wasn’t an option. There was absolutely no coming back from this. 

~*~

The plan with Fenrys had either gloriously backfired, or he put much more into the prank than expected. She made a mental note to text him about that later, but there wasn’t time for that now. 

Aelin stepped through the door and caught Rowan’s hand before he was too far away. He felt feverish, like his immune system was trying to burn out the embarrassment before it could settle too much. It took a lot of tugging but he stopped trying to escape her presence. His footsteps were heavy on the old wood floors as she dragged him back toward her apartment.

“I really just want to go,” he told her, tattooed fingers sliding through his hair. It was down for once, not braided or tied out of his face. 

“Look at me.” But he wouldn’t. Green eyes stayed glued to a spot well above her head, looking at anything but her. Yes, it had been funny that he thought that Aedion was a random hookup. But the devastation on his face had done nothing but wreck her in return. The laughter was partially an involuntary response to an awkward situation, but also because it was cute that he was so worried about it. Rowan had absolutely nothing to be worried about. 

“Aelin–” The more she reached for him, the more he leaned away. He took one step back and she took one forward, refusing to let him leave while so upset. Aelin reached up, her cool hands resting on his warm cheeks as she gently guided his face to look at her. Before he could protest or slip further from her grasp, she rocked up onto her tiptoes and pressed a soft, sweet kiss to his lips. All ten of his fingers were shaking when they came to rest on her hips and it broke her heart. 

“Take a breath,” she whispered, sliding her hands down his neck and over his chest. Rowan’s eyes were still closed as he rested his warm forehead against her own, but he obeyed. “Fenrys was just fucking with you. Clearly he took it way too far and I am so sorry. We will most definitely be having words about that.” 

Before he could respond, from the depths of her apartment Aedion once again shouted for her and Rowan’s hands flexed on her hips. Aelin sighed and grabbed his hands, walking backwards with him until they were inside. Her fingertips were able to reach around him to push the door shut, sealing him inside with her. 

“Aedion, can you shut the fuck up and come out here and talk to me like a normal person? You’re freaking out my boyfriend and he’s been through enough for today.” Aedion’s hurried footsteps down the hall and the click of his door shutting was the only response she was given, likely to hurry and dress for their sudden company. 

Rowan looked inclined to agree with her sentiments, but didn’t say anything as she walked to the kitchen to get him some water. There was something off about him, and not just because of the trauma Fenrys had inflicted on him, nor the embarrassment that still stained his cheeks. He seemed almost… dim. All of the energy he’d had mere moments ago was vanishing before her eyes. His posture was a deflated balloon hovering inches from the ground a week after the party. 

“Are you hungry?” She asked, taking his hand and guiding him to the couch. Rowan shrugged as she nudged for him to sit in the corner while she curled onto the middle cushion beside him, her legs leaning against his thigh. If anything, she hoped it would ground him from the hell he’d been dragged through in the last few hours. “When was the last time you slept?”

Rowan exhaled, his cheeks puffing out with the gust of air. Dark circles haunted the skin beneath his eyes, which were bloodshot, making the green of them all the more piercing. Aelin frowned at his lack of response, tugging on his sleeve until he looked at her. 

“The fact that it’s taking you so long to figure it out tells me enough.” As though they couldn’t help themselves, despite her telling him she needed space, her traitorous fingers reached out and brushed his hair out of his eyes. 

“It’s been a few days,” He admitted, attempting to rub the tiredness away with his thumb and forefinger. “And my head is fucking killing me.”

“Let’s eat some breakfast and then we can nap, yeah? I’d tuck you in right now but I’m starving and I think you probably need to eat a bit, too.” 

A crease appeared between his eyebrows, lips pursing into a line as he looked over at her and said, “Is that… okay? You said you wanted space. I’m not exactly giving it to you by showing up like this.” 

“Considering I’ve barely been awake for an hour and could already use a nap, I’m going to go with yes. Besides, I do want you to meet Aedion while he’s here.” Thank the gods, his lips quirked into a small smile. Relief fluttered through her chest. She had never been so happy to see somebody smile at her before. 

Just as he opened his mouth to respond, however, Aedion’s door opened and he appeared in the archway to the hall. Aelin looked over at her cousin with a look that threatened violence if he tried the man beside her even a little too hard. Much to her surprise, Aedion gave a short nod before walking closer to the couch.

“Aedion, meet Rowan. Rowan, this is Aedion.” Aelin was a little surprised that Rowan mustered the muscle power to stand and shake hands. “Rowan is very tired so save the groveling for later, please.”

“I think you should be telling him to save my ass-kicking for later,” Rowan amended, sitting back on the couch. Aelin grinned as he looked over at her. “I can assume you told him what I’ve done.” 

“And that you’re very sorry,” she added sweetly, but her glance at Aedion was sharp as a dagger. Though his mouth had opened, likely to throw his own little quip into the sparring ring, it shut immediately.

“We’ll talk about it another time,” Aedion said simply, dropping onto the sofa beside Aelin with enough force that she bounced. She scowled at him, her hand immediately going to cover her stomach. “What are we eating?” 

Half an hour later they had brunch delivered to the apartment, the three of them sitting knee to knee on the couch. The sofa in question had been chosen for the luxurious aesthetic it provided, but she made a mental note to look at sectionals. There was no way she could have any other visitors with only this and the overstuffed chair in the corner for seating. 

Though he said a few things here and there, most of the conversation was Aelin and Aedion’s casual banter. While they did talk a little bit about the game he was carded in and what he expected for the rest of the season, as the conversation went on Rowan seemed to keep drawing further and further into himself. His broad shoulders were caved in and that wrinkle between his eyebrows got deeper and deeper. It looked like it was taking an astronomical amount of effort to keep his eyes open.

When they finished, Aelin and Rowan settled back against the couch while Aedion cleaned everything up. She had intended to just check a few emails before getting Rowan to bed, but he dozed comically fast. The email was half-read when she locked her phone and contemplated the best way to wake him gently. 

“This is the man that got the first red-card of his career for being so fucking pissed on Friday?” Aedion asked incredulously. 

“So it would seem.”

“You’ve never seen him play–” But Aelin cut him off with a shake of her head.

“I have. I watched the game until he got kicked out and then drove to Doranelle.”

“Before that,” his hand cut through the air, dismissing her. Aelin gave him a flat look before looking back at the man snoozing beside her. “He’s a demon, Aelin. When he’s on the field every move is calculated and with purpose. His face is always harsh and his body is always locked and loaded for the next play. Yet here he is, falling asleep on your couch with his mouth open. He might start drooling.” Aedion put his hands on his knees and leaned forward to get a closer look. 

Aelin grinned, eyes cutting back to Aedion. She couldn’t help it. “Be nice, he’s getting old.”

She knew it was true. Ever since uncovering the truth about his job, she had spent an embarrassing amount of time watching highlight videos of his career online. Every photo she saw that was snapped mid-match, his face was all hard lines and angles like he was in the middle of a battlefield fighting for his life. On the soccer pitch, he looked like a warrior that had been honed for battle. Here, on her couch asleep,  he just looked like Rowan. The real Rowan, and she was pretty sure not many people saw this side of him. 

“He looks younger like this,” he observed, eyes squinting as if he could see the soccer persona in his face if he tried hard enough. It was nowhere to be seen, though.

“Probably because he isn’t awake to frown at me.”

“Yeah, no way this is the same guy that fought his way to a red-card before halftime,” Aedion concluded. Aelin snorted, her hand flying to her mouth to muffle the sound. Rowan didn’t so much as twitch. 

“I’m pretty sure he almost cried when he heard you yell at me from the bathroom. He thought…” Involuntary giggles bubbled through her chest and out of her mouth, “He thought you were a hookup from last night.”

“That’s gross.” Aedion’s lips were downturned as he straightened, arms folding across his chest. “He almost cried?”

“That’s where it gets not-so- funny. Whatever Fenrys said to him really fucked him up.” She sighed then, reaching to trace his cheekbone with her fingertip. Rowan did stir then, eyes blinking rapidly as he took in a brute of a man staring down at him curiously and the feeling of Aelin’s skin on his. “Come on. Let’s go take a nap.”

In the most adorable protest of the century, Rowan started grumbling incoherently in the old language. Aelin smiled, only catching a few words here and there that equated to him insisting he wasn’t tired and they could nap later. His eyes betrayed him. They were heavy, blinking slowly and trying to roll back in his head. 

“This is one argument you sure as hell aren’t going to win.” Aelin pulled him to his feet and guided him to her room. When she plopped him onto the edge of the bed his protesting started up again. 

“What’s in it for me?” Sleepy, bleary eyes looked up at her as he refused to lay down. Aelin was standing between his legs with her hands on his shoulders, an eyebrow cocked to silently tell him he was being ridiculous.

“Besides sleeping for the first time in a couple days?” Rowan nodded, his fingertips grazing up her thighs and settling on her hips. She laughed, pushing his hair behind his ears. They would definitely be talking about his sleepless nights later.  “What do you want?”

“A kiss, please.” His response was so immediate it made her heart play hopscotch in her chest. Sleepy Rowan might just be her favorite thing in the entire world. Not even cotton candy could make her feel so light and sweet. 

“Okay, deal,” Aelin leaned down and pressed her lips to his forehead. Rowan swore in the old language but laid flat on his back and let her pull the blankets over his body. 

“Should have been more specific,” he mumbled, pulling on her hand until she crawled over him to the other side of the bed and nestled into the sheets beside him. She let him pull her close until they were pressed flush together. A weight she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying fell from her shoulders,  replaced by his arms around her body. Aelin didn’t pull away but snuggled into him as much as she could, her face against his chest as she deeply inhaled the scent that was so completely Rowan. The scent that was home. 

“You should have,” she agreed, but Rowan was already asleep.

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