#Rhys: I thought he was gonna punch me

[vorpalmuchness]

Cassian trying to talk Rhysand out of sending Feyre to the Weaver

[anarchiii]

The Shadowsinger’s lover-3 —ACOTAR AU

Part three | warnings: fluff, language, little bit of angst, | Azriel x Rhys!sister

Summary; Rhys’ sister comes home, finally, and the the new members of the inner circle are surprised to learn that she (we are gonna call her ‘Selene’) and Azriel are Mates and have been for over two hundred years.

Note; this is an AU it’s not in the books.

Masterlist / Series Masterlist

Selene’s POV

“Why do I have to meet them? I don’t want to” She groaned, Rhys wanted her to meet his mate’s sisters, “sel, they are apart of your family, you need to meet them. Do it for me. Please? I’ll let you hold Nyx.” Her brother pleaded. “Fine” “thank you!” He gave her a rib-crushing hug in return. she was only doing this for her nephew, not him, screw her brother. Besides, she didn’t particularly want to meet the second oldest Archeron, Elain. Azriel had told her about the sweet faced girl. And her little crush on her mate. She didn’t trust anyone that seemed to nice or friendly, they always turned out to be the most dangerous, she’d learned that from experience.

“Get off me, you brute” Selene hissed when he hadn’t let go in fifteen seconds, ten seconds was an acceptable amount of time for a hug, he needed to learn that, Rhys muttered a curse under his breath at her. She was feeling merciful today so she didn’t whoop his ass. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t fight him later, prick. “I’m going to ignore the insults you-oh-so-love to say to me.”

“I’m just telling the truth, mother always said that you should never lie, I’m doing what she told me.” She said while batting her lashes at him. He may know how to rile her up but she damn well knew how to do it to him as-well. She saw a muscle flicker in his jaw, that told her that it was working, “don’t use mother’s words against me, Selene. I don’t appreciate it.”

She saw raw, unfiltered power flicker in his eyes, and for a second, she felt fear course through her body. She sometimes forgot how powerful her brother was and how he only needed to snap his fingers and she’d be dead, not to mention that his entire inner circle was made up of lethal warriors—perhaps even Elain—that would do anything the high lord asked of them, he could obliterate the House of Wind and the surrounding mountains without losing a fraction of his powers. A chill ran down Selene’s spine at the fact. Maybe she shouldn’t mess with him, not right now, later perhaps.

“That’s what I thought” Rhys glared at her, she glared right back. Her knuckles turned white from clenching them so hard. She really. Really, wanted to punch him right now, but she couldn’t. She wanted to see her nephew, “your safe for now. You lucky bastard.” “Yeah yeah,”

Her brother smirked, he put a hand around her waist and the other on the back of her knees, she hated this part of flying, when anyone that wasn’t Azriel had to fly her, she didn’t like anyone else touching her—especially not her brother. For obvious reasons.

“Okay, hold on.” Rhys said, that smirk still plastered on his face.

“I swear to the gods, Rhys, if you drop—”

He jumped off the balcony and took off fast, the air whipping at her face making her unable to talk, she had to shut her eyes because the wind was making them leak with her tears. Selene grabbed her brother’s collar hard. She really, really, didn’t want him to drop her, she’s come to hate flying, it brought back to many memories of when she could fly. She didn’t often think about what had happened so many years ago. Sometimes she could still feel the weight of those beautiful ebony wings, everyone apart from Azriel thought the scars on her back had been healed. In reality. They were shielded away from sight with a glamour that was up at all times, the only times the shield was down was when she was alone with her mate, even then, Selene didn’t let him touch the scars too long.

Selene tried not to stare to long at the others wings, because then they’d look at her with that same pitiful expression, Rhys’ would be full of guilt and pain—like he could’ve stopped what had happened. She shuddered at the thoughts.

Rhys looked down at her, violet eyes met hers, they softened, “stop that.” Selene said, “people will think you aren’t as dangerous as everyone makes you out to be, you can’t have that happen. Now. Can you?”

“No” he answered back, “I suppose I can’t” she nodded her head in agreement, she looked down at the city that was growing in size the closer they got to it. Velaris was beautiful. Yes, there was no denying that but, she had seen and explored every nook and cranny of the city, she was growing bored of it. Velaris had never been her home. she’d always known that, she wanted to go somewhere new, a place where no one knew her name. A place where the citizens wouldn’t fear Azriel. A place where they could raise their children and not constantly worry that someone—or something—would want to harm them, but she couldn’t do that, this was her mate’s home, this where her brother and his family were. Gods forbid she leave and get a letter saying they had been killed. she couldn’t bear to lose another one of her family because she was selfish.

It was her fault Selene and her mother were going to go see Rhysand, she had begged and begged to see him, she’d missed him horribly, they were never apart when they were younger. She didn’t want him to grow up and be high lord. Rhys had never wanted to be in that position, she’s lucky her father never saw fit to betroth her.

And just like that, they were landing in-front of Rhys’ townhouse, her brother gently lowered her down until her feet touched the plush grass, he clapped her on the back before saying. “I can’t wait for you to meet them. You’ll love them, I promise,” he then guided her into the grand house, the interior was nice—clearly someone knew what they were doing, paintings were hung up all over the walls. The smell of flowers greeted her nose along with the smell of fresh bread. You could tell someone actually lived here. She could appreciate that, they walked through a room and they were then in a lounge, there were blankets and pillows everywhere, the crackling of the nearby fire met her ears. Cassian and the sharp-faced female were on one of the many chairs. The general had an arm around the woman’s shoulder—that was odd—he smiled when he saw her.

“My friends” he started, “I’d love for you to meet my mate, Nesta, Nesta this is my dearest friend—and sister. Selene. She is Rhys’ sister,” he gestured to her, the female—Nesta, smiled at her slightly before tucking herself into her mate’s chest. She wanted to be friends with her. She knew that much.

In the corner of her eye she saw Rhys’ mate coke around the corner, a babe in her arms—her nephew, finally, Feyre pecked her brother’s lips before turning her gaze to her. There was a certain sparkle that was in her eyes. As if the Sidra was a person, that’s what she looked like, her nephew squealed when he spotted her, that brought a rare smile to her face—one that didn’t go unnoticed by Rhysand, Feyre gently placed Nyx into her arms. He immediately latched his little arms around her and buried his face in her chest. She’d never been good with kids so this was a surprise, “oh my, I don’t think I’ve ever seen little Nyx get so attached to someone so quickly, poor Amren is going to be devastated when she finds out Nyx has a new favourite” she said giggling, Selene could tell why her brother had so easily fallen in love with her, it was impossible not too.

Feyre and Selene exchanged introductions eventually, them both getting on well with each other, surprisingly, that fact had Rhys smiling.

Just when things were getting good, another soul breezed into the room wearing a floral-pink dress and a bright smile—probably Elain, she was glad her mate wasn’t there, she didn’t particularly feel like having to pull the girl off of him. “Hi! You must be Rhysand’s friend, so nice to finally meet you!” Her voice was like honey. Dripping from her mouth, it was a wonder why she wasn’t residing in Spring or Day instead of Night, she was too sweet for this place, she was too sweet for Azriel, why she had rejected the mating bond too Lucien Vanserra she didn’t know.

Lucien was a good male, she had met him a few times, and on each of those occasions he had been nothing but polite and friendly, hopefully the reason for not accepting the bond was not because of the male she shared a bed with. “Actually.” Her brother said with a strained smile, “this is my sister, Elain, and I’d hope you’ll respect her as I would not like to hear that you are not,”

The middle Archeron’s eyes momentarily flickered to the high lord, annoyance clearly visible on her face, Feyre sighed, the youngest Archeron plucked her son from Selene’s arms. The babe started tearing up at the loss of contact. She wouldn’t admit it but she too, wanted to keep holding the boy, she’d always loved kids but they had never seemed to reciprocate the same affection, children was a bit of a touchy subject for her and Azriel so she rarely brought it up, though she did hope one day she would have the gift of bearing his children. Even if it would most certainly not be any time soon.

“Well, I’d love to get to know you more, Selene, but I have to go to the bakery, buh-bye now!” She said before turning on her heels and skipping her way out of the room. “I’ll have to go to. Sadly. I have to put little Nyxie to bed before he starts fussing,” she waved at her before leaving the room.

She’d barely met Elain and yet she already desperately needed some good wine, apparently Nesta sensed that because she pulled out a fresh bottle from the nearby liquor cabinet, Selene chuckled and grabbed a glass before plopping onto the lounge next to Nesta.

-

When she walked through the doors to their shared bedroom she immediately spotted her mate hunched over his desk, papers strewn across its mahogany surface, his hair was messy from what looked like fingers running through it, she walked up behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. Rubbing circles into the scarred skin. Undoing tight knots, Azriel sighed and threw his head back into her chest, she ran her fingers through his hair causing him to purr like a cat. “How did it go?” He whispered. “I suppose it went alright, Elain was an absolute joy to meet, I like Nesta, she’s nice” he laughed in response, “I’m sorry you had to deal with her. I’m proud of you that you managed to keep your cool.”

She leaned over him and kissed him forehead, that made him get up and lay her down on the bed, peppering her everywhere with sweet gentle kisses.

They were soon under the covers with their body as close as it could be, her face was buried in the crook of his neck, she heard his breathing become calmer. Its rhythm one she could fall asleep to anywhere. “Hey, Az?”

“Yeah?”

…

“Have you ever thought about having kids?”

The End.

Note: did you notice the reference to the song ‘too sweet’ by Hozier? I love the song, it’s not often I like songs that are recently made but this is truly one of a kind.🤍

-Taglist;

@daycourtofficial

@illyrianbitch

@milswrites

@itsswritten

@azrielslittleslut

@utterlyotterlyx

@thehighladywrites

@flickering-chandelier

[loonylooly]

at this point i'm wondering what sarah is thinking when writing her love interests, like ok it's clear she finds them hot but like....are they good people

Rhys:

UTM lap dance shenanigans

throwing Feyre into danger constantly (Weaver, destroying cauldron, getting the book from Adriata, etc etc)

Still not doing jack shit about wing clippings in Illyria?? Emerie is right there, Rhysand, go enforce your damn laws

Insulting his wife's sister constantly

Almost killed his wife's sister cause she dared give her important medical information

Locked Lucien (MY BOY!!) in the house of wind

Locked Nesta in the house of wind

Didn't give Mor any warning that time he made her face her abusers and she cried i think (ngl i forgot most of it)

Ignoring Hewn City even tho...Kier is like the only bad guy we've seen from there?? Surely there's decent people in Hewn City, don't gotta make everyone suffer

Nesta windhaven kidnapping intervention so she stops spending Rhys' money (if it was really about her own sake, they would've put a stop to it much earlier)

Seemingly alienates everyone in Feyre's life that could and would stand up to Rhys for Feyre's sake. Lucien? Nah, shoo. Nesta? Nah, shoo. Weird thought but Tarquin? Yeah, makes her steal his book.

And last but DEFINITELY not least; demon baby wife death

HE COULD'VE TOLD FEYRE... OR ATLEAST NOT THREATENED TO KILL HER SISTER FOR TELLING HER WHEN HE HOULD'VE TOLD HER IN THE FIRST PLACE??

THERE'S PROBABLY MORE BUT MOVING ON

Cassian:

Barely ever stands up for Nesta in the IC

Aids in kidnapping Nesta to Windhaven so she stops spending whysand's money

Laughs at Nesta when she falls down the stairs

Aids in punishing Nesta for daring to tell Feyre important medical info

Constantly going agaisnt Nesta's wishes and trying to "save her" when she doesn't want him to

That one time Azriel asked Nesta if Cass had pushed her down the stairs...Like are we gonna ignore that?? Personally I'd have a quarter life crisis if my closest friend, who is like my sibling and has known me most of our lives, seriously entertained the idea that i would physically assault the girl I like

general aggressiveness all of ACOSF

aids in bulldozing Nesta's apartment

Rowan goddamn Whitehorn (Who I've yet to see people bashing him somehow,,, HoF rowan was like if ACOSF cassian had a horrific murder baby

Left his pregnant mate alone during a war cause he wanted to prove himself....like..idk man if i had the choice between war and taking care of my pregnant wife i'd pick the wife (did he know she was pregnant? i've kind of forgotten by now)

Rowan's kid would've been hundreds of years older than Aelin.....just think abt that

Literally everything he did to Aelin during training in HoF

Their argument where he PUNCHED HER IN THE FACE

Threatened to whip Aelin...I repeat....Threatened to whip Aelin, an ex-slave....

Told Aelin it'd be better if she died 10 years ago (unprovoked?? bitch you met her like 2 weeks ago just cause she's getting on your nerves doesn't mean you gotta wish DEATH upon her)

Literally was relieved to find out she was only 19 because if she was a few years older she could've been THE CHILD OF HIS BEST FRIEND.

No issue with marrying the cousin of his best friend's child....Imagine if he hadn't met Aelin first.. If he'd met Aedion first, Aelin would've always been the relative of his friend's son to him

FOR THE RECORD i hate all of the SJM age gaps but rowan and aelin's specifically irks me because Aelin LITERALLY CALLS HIM OLD throughout the WHOLE SERIES

Literally tells Aelin he doesn't care about what she's been through and that she is nothing to him after she confronts him for leaving her

Puts Luca in danger by sticking him on to a frozen lake with a monster inside where he'll DIE if Aelin can't save him

Funnily enough, some of the only seemingly decent person guys in SJM 1. Are completely forgotten about in the books or 2. SJM had to make them violently unlikeable

Like we've got:

Tarquin, seemed like a pretty good guy, rightfully pissed that the IC stole his family heirloom, shows up like twice in the books (LET HIM COME BACK SARAH I LOVE HIM)

Tamlin, was pretty decent in book 1, was made violently unlikeable in book 2 onwards

Chaol, very strong morals, generally a good person, loves his wife, made violently unlikeable and boring in late CoM, HoF, and QoS (ToD is one of my favorite books in the series, will praise ToD till the day I die, my boy EARNED his own book)

Aedion, seemed like a good person, strong morals, spent years trading his dignity for the sake of Terrasen, loved his cousin above all else, made violently unlikable in KoA (even tho I think he was justified in being angry about it, i'd be SO pissed)

Sartaq, good guy, strong morals, Nesryn's chapters were some of my favorites in ToD, Sartaq is one of my favorite SJM love interests, i'll never forgive author lady for forgetting about him in KoA (tho i guess she forgot about everyone from ToD? Yrene and Chaol are the only important ones, she barely even mentions Nesryn even though Nesryn's BEEN an integral part of the gang since QoS, giving her the Suki from ATLA treatment)

[bubybubsters]

Love of My Life part two (Azriel x reader)

A/n - Hey so some people asked for this, I haven’t thought about this much so gonna be mostly winging it. Also someone needs to tell me how to link part one without just putting the link. And how to make a master list. That probably didn’t make sense, my bad.

Ouch, I feel like I’m antagonizing Azriel.

⚠️- language otherwise nah

masterlist part 1 part 3

It’d been exactly a year since you had found your mate and of course, he still couldn’t figure out why you’d spend so much time with him. Why his shadows searched for you in every room, why his shadows caught you glancing at him to often to be normal.

After a few weeks of your arrival, you’d gotten to know the Court of Dreams and Keir had stopped demanding for you to go home. You’d immediately connected with your sister, Amren, but mostly Nesta. Nesta’s fire had interested you and the two of you had become fast friends. Cassian had started training you one on one because you’d quickly surpassed the skill of the Valkyrie unit. Rhys and Feyre were training with your power and working on shielding and attacking minds. But Azriel, Nesta had told you, was dating Elain. Elain had been nothing but nice to you since you’d came and you could only assume she and Azriel still didn’t know about the mating bond. You’d almost punched Elain when Nesta had told you but instead went up the the training ring and trained the whole damned night.

You’d wanted to go to the Hewn City with your friends before solstice to show your old family you weren’t a helpless idiot but Azriel had put his foot down on that idea. The first time he’d been so bossy when it came to you.

That solstice you’d walked into the river house and found Elain waiting for you in the doorway. You raised your brows to prompt her to speak but she inclined her head to a balcony.

Once you were out she spoke up. “Y/n, I see how you look at Azriel and Feyre told me you’re mates, but please don’t interfere with our relationship. I care for him and if he chooses you, I will respect his decision.”

You nodded. “Elain, if he chooses me, I will be happy beyond reason but I would ask you to give Lucien a chance. He’s a good male.” You’d met Lucien a few weeks after you’d come to Velaris and the two of you had quickly become good friends. You may have fallen in love with him had it not been for the mating bond between you and Az.

Elain smiled and nodded and the two of you walked back to the living room in comfortable silence. You sat next to Lucien and grabbed the bottle of wine from his hand, you tipped it back and chugged the rest.

“Little early for that isn’t it?” The two of you hugged and you opened your mouth to respond but the bottle was ripped out of your hand and Lucien was pulled away from you.

“Don’t touch her.” Azriel was in Luciens face.

“Az-.” You tried but he was pulling you out and onto the balcony. You turned to him. “Az what the hell! What is wrong with you??”

He just stood there staring at you. You realized that the mating bond must have snapped in for him as well. “Y/n, you…youre my mate.” You just stared at him, waiting for the realization to set in. “You knew?! You knew and you didn’t tell me?

“Az- let me explain.” But he was already gone, back in the living room. Back to sitting next to Elain. You knew he’d do that, choose Elain. He’d never choose you even if it was in between you and the fucking Suriel.

As you walked back in and sat next to a very worried looking Lucien, Azriel pulled Elain into his lap and kissed her. His message was clear, you may be my mate, but I can still choose whoever I want, and I don’t want you.

Lucien had gone still in his chair and the whole room had fallen silent, looking between you and Lucien, and Elain and Azriel. You and Lucien stood up in the same movement and walked out to the balcony. You were starting to hate this balcony.

“Well that does it, she doesn’t want me, never will. What does she get from the Spymaster that she doesn’t get from me!?”

“The giant wings?” You used the question to try to ease the tension but Lucien looked at you as if you had a good point. You went on, “Well what does he get from her that he can’t get from me?”

“Nothing,” Lucien states, “but he still chose her. They haven’t rejected the bond yet so why does it feel like my heart is breaking in two?”

“I don’t know, we’re like a band of rejects.”

Lucien smiles and his smile almost takes your breath away and suddenly you’re very aware of how close the two of you are standing.

“Uh well, we should probably get back in before someone comes ou-”

“Are you guys okay!? Rhys called Az into his office and I’m pretty sure he’s getting a verbal lashing right about now.” Mor stops and looks at our faces. She looks at Lucien and he nods to you before disappearing through the balcony doors.

“Y/n, do you need anything?”

“I’ll be fine Mor, I promised Elain I wouldn’t interfere, we basically said we’d let Az choose and he chose her….” Tears are falling down your face and Mor pulls you into a soothing hug.

*****

You jolt out of sleep as an impatient knock sounds at your door. Mor is still asleep next to you, having held you and listened to your rambling until you fell asleep. You smile down at your sister for a moment, enjoying the peace etched in her body. But the knock sounds again and you open the door to find Azriel of all people outside. Stepping outside as to not disturb Mor, you raise your brows to prompt him.What you were not expecting was for him to lean forward and kiss you.

The kiss lasts a second at most and is desperate and demanding but you lean into it, kissing him back furiously. But he pulls back suddenly and starts to walk away.

“Absolutely not sir! You are not leaving until you explain what the hell just happened!” You’re still slightly dazed by the kiss but you manage to keep your voice strong and steady.

Azriel doesn’t even turn around but he stops walking. “I kissed you, you kissed me back. Before you ask, I did it because I needed to see if I was making a mistake choosing Elain. And I am going to break up with Elain so I can be with you.”

You stared at him, what the hell!? His face betrayed nothing, no love, no joy, absolutely nothing. “You don’t get to choose her, then kiss me and then decide to choose me! I will not be your second choice, I will not be yours because you liked kissing me better. You can’t have both.” You step back into your room and shut the door.

Breathe, you close your eyes and focus on the mind stilling the Valkyries taught you. In, out, in, out, in out.

What feels like a few minutes later you finally open your eyes and see Feyre, Nesta, and your sister gathered in your doorway with a pack in each their hands and an extra pack on the floor.

“We’re taking a girls week out, would you like to join us?” Feyre’s question is answered with a nod. Mor springs forward and hugs you as Feyre says, “Elain didn’t wish to join us but Gwyn and Emerie are waiting at the balcony. Mor and I will winnow us to a point between the Illyrian Steppes and the Illyrian Mountains. Ready?”

You smile at your friends and gather your pack following them out onto your balcony. You’re afraid to open your mouth to speak, you aren’t sure what might come out so you let Mor take your hand because everyone knows you’re in no shape to winnow yourself.

The smell of cedar and juniper hits you first as you open your eyes. Everyone is lookin at you but it’s your high lady who asks, “Will you be alright?”

The care in her words breaks some dam and you drop to the floor and weep as if you’ll never stop.

Part three will exist one day, comment to be added to the taglist. I didn’t proof read it btw. I also feel like this is a horrible story….

TAGLIST

@glaciuswduo

[icey--stars]

Stories To Be Told: PART 15

Series Index

A shadowsinger, a warrior, an Illyrian, that's what she was. Trained by one of the most formidable female warriors. Escaped the Illyrian camps and her clipping when she was barely sixteen and is now the holder of 6 siphons. What happens when she tries to sneak into the City of Starlight? And starts down a whole new road of chaos?

a/n: im gonna be honest ya’ll. im giving MYSELF backlash with this damn writing lmao. one second she loves az. the next second she’s back to cussing him out. i love it and hate it so much right now. but dont worry. itll end soon.

↢ 『 ☾ 』 ↣

I didn’t sleep that night either. Nothing could quell these thoughts in my mind. The walk had done nothing. Azriel had done nothing. My thoughts were not only hitched on that stupid dream I had, but the few memories I had of… the event. Gods, I needed to find a way to refer to that. Rather than just the “event”. 

The next morning, with my eyes sunken in and my head feeling so incredibly weird, there was a knock on my door.

I stood up, limping a little bit less as I cracked the door. Azriel, of course, was on the other side of it. I opened the door a bit more, leaning against the frame as I stared at the hazel-eyed male.

“You look tired,” he observed. “Did you manage to sleep last night?”

I sighed, rolling my eyes. “If you’re coming here to check on my well being again, I’m fine. The fact I told you I was thinking at all is a miracle.” The thread in my check yanked again and I grit my teeth hard.

“I’m aware, I’m not here to push it. Cassian canceled training today, so I was going to invite you. Since you wanted to continue training and all,” he explained.

I cocked a brow. I did remember saying that. Az was here to actually make good on that promise?

“Why’d he cancel?” I asked curiously, opening the door a bit more as I moved to grab my leathers.

“Unrest in Illyria, Rhys went with him. And seeing as you’re already not taking Madja’s advice seriously, I figured training couldn’t be too bad, since you walked nearly 15 miles in the forest.”

I narrowed my eyes, jerking my head to meet his gaze. “How do you know that?”

“Shadows can do a lot more than you think.”

I rolled my eyes, strapping on my last dagger before following him through the halls. He didn’t go to the balcony, where we would fly up, instead, as if still concerned for my healing, he led the way up the stairs to the training area.

The fresh breath of air I got when we finally got up onto that little plateau, was relieving in the best of ways.

“Would you like to work with mitts first? Or something else?” Azriel asked, stretching out his wings a bit as a wind blew from the left.

“That sounds fine,” I replied, hiding a yawn behind my forearm as Azriel went to retrieve the equipment we needed.

“By the way,” He said, walking to me. I’d settled myself into one of the fighting rings. “You’re wearing your leathers for the Day Court meeting. Along with the other Valkyries.”

“Alright.”

Azriel seemed a lot different than a few days ago. We had been arguing before the event. And now he has gone a lot more… placid and compliant to my requests to leave things be. Which, don’t get me wrong, I appreciated it, but it just made me wonder.

Was he getting tired of forcing himself to deal with me? Or was I really just being that sensitive? Maybe I’d spent too long away from actual civilization. Maybe this was actually all totally normal. Maybe-

I cut off my thoughts as I wrapped my knuckles with a bit of cloth offered to me.

Azriel had protective sparring pads on his hands, and braced himself carefully, and then gave me a challenging look. “Let out whatever you’ve been holding. If you need to work off the strain working your body to the bone, we can deal with the fallout.”

My lips tightened, and then I settled into a stance and threw the first punch. Azriel didn’t budge, just had his arms out in front of him, preparing for the next. So I kept it up. I threw the next punch with more force behind it, and then another. I kicked high, my body basically splitting in half, and then righting myself quickly, punching skillfully again.

I didn’t focus on who was behind the pads, just… I just let go. Punching became the silence I needed. Kicking became my release. It almost felt like I was back with Rainne. Training with her again.

Distantly, I thought about what she’d told me right now.

“Little bird… you need rest.”

“I can’t rest!” I argued.

She clicked her tongue, pulling the pads back up. “Then hit. Until you cannot anymore. Until your thoughts are no longer too loud. Remember to breathe. Follow through. Whatever hurts you… let it flow through.”

I knew the shadows were whispering to me, telling me to stop. They weren’t always unkind. Sometimes they worked to keep me from losing myself. It just wasn’t common. The kind ones were never as loud as the ones who claim to have better decisions than I. 

The pads dropped. With it, my focus.

I looked up to meet Azriel’s eyes. “What?”

“Are you… alright? Your shadows are going insane or something. Even I can hear them from right here,” he admitted.

I glanced back. The shadows were large and flowing around me, and I heard them basically screaming. “Shut up,” I ordered quickly. “I’m fine you little pests.”

The shadows calmed after a few moments of placating. I pulled them closer and then turned back to Azriel. At least whispers of my failures hadn’t been coming through them, I thought distantly. That was always a good thing.

“I’m fine. How long have we been doing this?”

“Almost an hour.”

That shocked me, my eyes widening. “Didn’t mean to get so much into that,” I admitted. “Do you want a turn?”

“I’ll only take a turn if you’re certain you’ve worked off whatever is up with you.”

“I’m fine,” I lied and began unwrapping my hands.

Azriel put one of the pads to my hands. I raised my gaze. “You sure?” He asked.

I sighed. “I’m alright Az. Your turn.”

We switched equipment and I braced myself carefully, and let Azriel get in his own punching as well. My body ached distantly from all that I’d been doing. Goddamn. Ever since I got caught up with this Inner Circle, I’d have the most crazy ride of emotions and events. It was nothing like the forests, or the years that passed by in just the blink of an eye. No, I’d been here for a while, but it hadn’t even been that long. The days dragged instead of passed.

But you wouldn’t have met any of them if this hadn't happened. Nesta, Emerie, Gwyn, you wouldn’t have met any of them. Know them at all even.

Friends. I hadn’t had friends for a long time. And now I have three sisters. Not by blood, but it felt impossible. I’d lived the majority of my life either alone, with Rainne, or mourning for her. And now it was like a whole new life I had. Whether for good or for bad. So far, it's been both. Training and being with my friends was great. Azriel, work and the event had been absolutely terribly confusing or painful to think about.

“Be here,” Azriel said suddenly, breaking me of my stare with his wrapped fists. “You keep getting that look that you’re thinking about something that’s in the past.”

“How would you know?” I countered, taking his next blow with ease.

“I get the same way,” He admitted, looking up for a moment before sending a winding kick. “You keep thinking that much and you won’t like what you find. So be here. Right now.”

He flared his wings as he moved to punch again. I grunted as he hit true. Strong damn Illyrians, I cursed.

“See now you look frustrated. That’s better than the thinking look you have,” Azriel commented. “If you’re thinking about the events that have happened, you have to find a way to stop. Find a way to not… zone out or whatever. If you have to, use your anger to keep you centered. Or something, anything else. Thinking does you no good if you’re just upsetting yourself.”

“How do you know I’m upsetting myself?” I countered, moving to the side of him, forcing him to move with me. “How do you know? What if I’m just thinking about the creatures I met in the woods yesterday?”

“You get… a look when you’re upset. That’s all,” Azriel replied. “What creatures did you meet?”

“A lot of wolves,” I replied. “And something that was dangerous, but it was the one who can’t climb.”

“A Fright?” Azriel guessed. “I’ve seen a few.”

“I think that’s what they’re called,” I answered. “Only see them in the Night Court.”

“They have other creatures in other courts.”

Azriel paused after a bit. He and I kept sharing a few words. I shared a few about creatures I saw in the Winter Court. He shared his from the times he was tasked to check out reports of them and then deal with them. 

“Would you like to continue, or are you done?” He asked, unwrapping his hands as I slid the pads off.

I lowered my gaze to the sandy ground. Did he want to continue? Or was I once again burdening someone else?

“I’m good,” I answered. “I’m going to go find Nesta, see if I can do a dance lesson.”

He raised a brow. “Nesta’s teaching you to dance?”

I nodded.

“Good luck then. I’ve seen her skill for myself, so I hope you can keep up.”

I rolled my eyes and left him as he put back the equipment, wanting away. I just keep avoiding people, I noticed.

I spotted Nesta reading in one of the chairs of the common room. “Nesta,” I regarded as I approached.

She lifted her gaze, and her lips raised in a smile. “Y/N, how are you doing? Your injuries mostly healed?”

I nodded. “It’s only some slight pain. I was hoping to uhm- maybe do a dance lesson?”

She stood, placing the book on a side table. “Yes,” Nesta said, grinning. “Yes, that sounds amazing. That book was getting boring anyway.”

“Just pining after each other endlessly? Or ignoring each other's presence until the end of time?” I guessed.

She gasped. “How did you know!? Yes! That’s exactly what they’re doing! Both!”

I chuckled. “Their the most endless tropes I know of. Only reason I ever read them is because they tend to have a good confession scene.”

“You read romance, I like you even more. I didn’t even think that was possible,” She chuckled, walking towards me. “Alright, follow me, I know where we can start.”

Nesta grabbed onto my hand and began to drag me after her. I stumbled a bit but quickly jogged beside her quick pace.

“Have you never danced before?” She asked.

“Rainne tried to teach me one formal Winter Court dance once. I think we just forgot to practice. Or we decided to not go to the Solstice celebration that year.”

“Better than nothing. I learned all the formal ones, so I’ll teach them to you. In case you ever end up needing to know them. I practice with an instructor down in Velaris sometimes, but normally I just tend to steal Cassian.”

I scoffed, amused. “What are you stealing Cassian from?”

“Brooding, or paperwork. I don’t know- he’s the general, so general-y things.”

I chuckled. “Yes, general-y things.”

She hummed. “Do you want to learn the female side of the dances only? Or would you like to learn both? We can steal Az and get him to help with those.”

I shook my head immediately. “No- no, I’ll just learn the female ones. I can learn the male ones by watching.”

She and I walked into an empty room that was pretty large. Nesta walked confidently toward the middle of the room, pausing as she turned back to me.

“Alright. First order of business!” She declared. “Hand placement.”

Dancing, it seems, was actually quite complicated with the specifics like hand placement, and where you go with the dance and all the more complicated steps. But it seems that the grace I displayed with my footwork when fighting, actually was quite similar to these formal dances Nesta insisted I try. My thigh twinged uncomfortably on a couple moves, like the spins or dips, but I just grit my teeth and continued. Luckily, my wings proved barely a problem. Besides the dip, when a male’s arm generally goes behind your back. Nesta managed to work it in a way that comfortably rested on the small of my back. 

My shadows, however, fell in love with the movements instantly, swirling around me as if they were learning to dance themselves. Some still remained wreathed around me, writhing happily as I completed a movement successfully, while others tried to do it themselves in the shadows that my wings cast on the ground.

Nesta was stronger and more confident in her moves than me or my shadows. Distantly, I thought about what she would be like with a skilled partner. Probably very regal and graceful, I guessed.

“You did well on your first day!” She insisted as we walked out of the room. “It's just memorizing the dances now. Think of them like battle maneuvers. Except instead of fighting, you’re dancing with a partner.”

“Yeah,” I hummed. It was almost dinner.

“By the way- Rhys asked me to ask you if you were going to become a Valkyrie. Do you know?”

I smiled. “Yeah, I think I will. Azriel told me as well. I have to cut a ribbon, right?”

“Yes.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard. You think I can sneak into training tomorrow and get it done?”

“With Cassian banning you from training? No,” she chuckled. “Just wait.”

I rolled my eyes. “I can deal with Cassian,” I insisted.

“Y/N,” she warned. “Heal first.”

“Fine,” I grumbled. “But first day back and I’m cutting it.”

Nesta chuckled, smiling. “Yeah, you do that. We can dance again tomorrow if you lose that pain in your thigh you keep wincing from when you spin.”

I scoffed. She gave me a look. “Fine,” I conceded. “I’ll wait.” 

↢ 『 ☾ 』 ↣

TAGLIST (see post for getting added)

@mis-lil-red, @bunnymallowo, @judig92, @biblophilefox82, @azzydaddy, @thegirlintheshadows101, @whatupmydudes01, @feyres-fireheart, @elizarikaallen, @xenlynn, @panzees-bizarre-adventures, @starswholistenanddreamsanswered, @baebeepeach, @nyctophiliiiiaaa, @brekkershadowsinger, @officiallyunofficialperson, @bookslut420, @margssstuff, @bluephoenix908, @goldentournesol, @rebloggiest-reblogger

[velidewrites]

Ok babes I finally caught up on the last chapter of RWMIL and so it’s time I send all my thoughts, feelings, and theories!

So glad that we got a Rhys POV! I’m very curious who he was talking to, I’m sure everyone has said this but I’m thinking eris based on vibes… but also the talk of shadows obviously seems like Azriel so idk!!

Also wondering who he is trying to protect back home. Are his mother and sister going to be alive in this au?? Or is it the bay boys and mor? Along with that I’m excited to find out if they’re gonna end up being victors/tributes from another district during the quarter quell, or if they are people from back home, or something else entirely.

The similarities between Rhys and Finnick are so heartbreaking. For that whole conversation I felt like I was waiting for a punch to the gut and thinking he would mention needing to get back to Amarantha or something 😥

My heart broke for Feyre in this. When she was crying and saying they could make a wish to the stars 💔 Uhg and I’m so glad you included the painting/putting flowers around her part, that was always so beautiful to me.

Despite how sad this was I’m excited to see badass angry Feyre with a bow take out the careers and then the capitol! Go off bestie!

Thank you for writing this, I have been enjoying it so much and I hope it has been fun for you as well 💕

I’m so sorry it took me this long to respond but I wanted to keep your ask in my askbox and just stare at it for as long as I can 😩

I’m so happy you liked Daddy’s POV. I had so much fun writing it that I edited chapter 8 to add it in again. It’s also fun to see everyone guessing the man he was talking to was either Eris or Azriel. I can only say one of them is the correct answer 😌

I LOVE hearing your theories (as always) and I’m very excited for you to learn more about Rhys and his story as we move on from the first Games. Also, I love that people are picking up on the parallels between him and Finnick!

Anyway, Feyre has a bow now and shit is about to get real. I’m so excited for you to see it and as always, thank you so much for popping into my askbox to share your thoughts 🥹💕

[presskmewleroux]

I'm just gonna rant because the ACOTAR fandom annoys the shit out of me and nothing is gonna change until SJM releases the next book and they stop being bored (although I bet they'll still be annoying because what they want to happen, won't ever happen)

I genuinely don't know if anti-cassian/nesta/nessian people didn't actually read the book or they went into it having seen other anti posts before so they went into it already having preconceived negative thoughts. Or they lack reading comprehension skills and can't understand the tone in which things are being said/done. Or they're just simply overly critical for no real reason other than the fact they had thoughts on how these books were supposed to go and are upset with SJM's direction, in which case I would say: ok then stop reading this story.

I genuinely don't think anything Cassian did or said was bad, especially in the way some people make it out to be. He said some hurtful things? Yes, sure. He also IMMEDIATELY apologized. Is that not healthy? He said things in anger, Nesta said things in anger. It is literally stated in these books how much she used words to hurt him, though it was to protect herself and push him away.

It's not like he punched her in the face and called her a waste of space, that everything would be better if she had died (bringing up Rowan and Aelin from TOG because I literally never see anyone hate on him after he did that the way I see people hate on Cassian for saying two (T W O) mean things to Nesta throughout the entire series.

"Oh but he didn't say or think that he loved her." This is how I KNOW they're not reading or are just being stupid on purpose. It is literally a literary technique to SHOW NOT TELL. I've said this before: it is better to end a scene with a kiss after one party's love confession rather than end it with the 2nd party verbally reciprocating. If you read all these ACOTAR books, you should know Cassian loves Nesta.

And don't bring that BS of "he only wants a mate." They all want mates! It's a blessing in their culture. He had suspected they were mates when they met while she was still human. Did he push it on her? No! It had been 2 years of them knowing/meeting each other before the events of ACOSF.

Don't even get me started on the people saying he's abusive lmao like WHAT!? Also saw someone say this and used Azriel as "proof" when he asked if someone pushed Nesta down the stairs, which was LITERALLY said with "amusement." Meaning Azriel was joking, he wasn't serious. This is why I don't think these people understand tonality and lack media literacy. This is 1 of the many examples of you not understanding the text, whether that be on purpose or just through not paying attention.

You can dislike the events of ACOSF, you can dislike how Nesta's problems were handled but that's just a matter of opinion because anybody who has dealt with a loved one's substance abuse will tell you one of two things: either you cut them out completely and let them destroy themselves because they need to want to help themselves; or you give them tough love and do whatever you can to get them through it because the alternative is letting them waste away and die. You can argue the logistics with Nesta's fae anatomy blah blah blah, everything she was doing was a way of self-harm. She wasn't drinking or screwing around because she was a party girl having fun. She was punishing herself and they all let it go on for almost a year, thinking she would snap out of it if they let nature take its course. So when that didn't happen, it was time for another plan.

I understand that there will be different interpretations to literature, but at this point it's beyond that. People are ignoring what is actually happening in these books and making unsupported claims that are just based on their own fantasies.

I've read everything SJM has written and there's not one character in ACOTAR (aside from the actual villains) that I dislike. Rhys, Feyre, Amren, Mor - I like them all. I couldn't care less that not everyone gets along all the time or sometimes someone was mean to someone else. Literally do not care that the Archeron sister's had beef. I am the youngest of 4 kids, I have 2 older sisters and an older brother. My older sisters H A T E D each other growing up. I don't know why some readers act like it doesn't happen or that their relationships with one another shouldn't be depicted the way they are. It's one of the most real things SJM has ever written lol. If you associate a character with someone in your personal life that has treated you poorly, well I'm sorry but that's exclusive to you and not something you can or should force on other readers. By the time the story ends, all the characters who were mean or nasty to each other are gonna be the best of friends. I would bet money on that. Watch Mor and Nesta become as close as Aelin and Lysandra did.

Now for Eris. Y'all can like him I guess, but there is literally no reason to support any of the headcannons being made for him. "He belongs with Nesta, he would treat her better." WHERE? Where did you come to that conclusion? Where was their chemistry I'm somehow missing??? Nesta was very clearly playing him the entire ball. It literally says she forces herself to swallow, to shiver. She's putting on a show for him like she was asked. Like the OP says, "Had he [Cassian] really believed what he’d seen on this dance floor?" Meaning her reactions/interactions with him were not R E A L. And the amount of people who think SJM will do ANOTHER Tamlin/Feyre/Rhys type of romance is crazy lol that would be BEYOND lazy writing and just plain boring. Also - have we just not been paying attention to Nesta's character at all? Eris was interested in her from a political/social standpoint...something Nesta has been groomed for her whole life. She doesn't want that! And lets talk about Beron abusing the lady of autumn. Helion says it continues but Beron knows to abuse her in places that are easily hid. Does Eris stop that? I've seen someone say he does defend his mother, but literally all signs point to NO since again, Helion acknowledges that the abuse has been ongoing. Does this seem familiar? Like how Thomas Mandray didn't defend his mother from his father's abuse? No necessarily saying Eris and Thomas are on the same level, especially since it's hinted Eris may not be as bad as he seems. But again, saying he's anything other than what we've been shown so far is literally just fanfiction headcannons you WANT to happen.

Also there's kind of a pattern with SJM books/character relationships: if there's like long drawn on explicit scenes between characters, that is usually the endgame. Celaena/Chaol had their one moment, barely anything explicit in that. Aelin/Rowan there's more spice. Tamlin/Feyre have a couple of scenes, again it's barely explicit and it's barely a paragraph. Can you imagine SJM disregarding everything in ACOSF and trying to convince people that relationship was a fluke and we must all become attached to a new ship? Never would happen lol.

Also may be isolating a lot of fans on either side with this take but the way people are so quick to believe him over Mor or believe he didn't do anything wrong and she's lying or fabricating the story seems really homophobic and misogynistic to me. I can understand SJM may have dropped the ball acknowledging Mor's sexuality/queerness and didn't do it in the best way but idk the hatred for her is so weird and forced to me. Also forcing the potential betrayal storyline on her. Like if I'm wrong in the future feel free to call me out on here but I don't see any of the IC or MAIN characters betraying anyone. If a betrayal is gonna happen it's gonna be with a secondary character. It may very well be Eris betraying Beron or him betraying the Night Court. Like I think y'all are giving SJM way too much credit with these plot twisty storylines lol.

Speaking of SJM's writing and y'all giving her too much credit: there's no way this series is killing off any main character, especially the ones that have been the focus of the series. Rhys, Feyre, Nesta, Cassian are safe and you can't convince me otherwise. Because unlike some, I've read TOG and I know the core characters are getting their happy endings. Also think the rest of the IC, Elain, Emerie, Gwyn and Azriel are safe because again: they're gonna get their happy endings. SJM is a happy ending writer. The TOG characters that were killed off were secondary and although they may have had big impacts on the overall story, they were just never main characters and you knew that. If any "main" character is gonna die it'll be Tamlin if he doesn't get a redemption (which I don't think he will because the story is just not about him anymore. It's more likely for him to die than get a redemption storyline, although you can argue that his redemption will be in his death.)

Speaking of Tamlin idk where the sudden surge of defenders of him came from. The way people hate on Cassian who didn't do anything wrong aside from say two somewhat hurtful sentences, but go to the mat for Tamlin is insane to me. You can like morally grey characters, you can like characters who have done bad things but it's the hypocrisy that gets me.

OK rant over. Agree or disagree, who cares lol this is literally just a rant if you're looking to pick a fight and argue back and forth over which one of us is right please look elsewhere

Anti Cassian focusing on sentences like "everyone hates you" or the damn "shackled" or the dance scene with Eris.

As if there was no after...

Yes Cassian said "everyone hates you" but the next day he said

“I didn’t mean what I said last night—about everyone hating you.” She halted, her blue-gray eyes frosting. “It’s true.”

“It’s not.” He dared one step closer. “You’re here because we don’t hate you.” He cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair. “I wanted you to know that. That we don’t—that I don’t hate you.”

Shackled. But then this happens.

“No. I was angry—it’s not true.”

“You are my mate, Cassian,” she said against his lips, and kissed him softly. “And you’re mine,” he said, kissing her in turn.

She smiled, and damn if it wasn’t the loveliest thing he’d ever seen. “You.” “You’ve had me from the moment you met me.”

Nesta even admitted that she faked everything with Eris, the man that wasn't even able to be this interesting to distract her from the music.

Eris being interested in Nesta just for her power is red flag.

Nesta was more focused on the music than Eris. That's a fact.

Had he [Cassian] really believed what he’d seen on this dance floor?

Antis always the first to say "read between the lines" and they're blinded when it comes to Nessian.

Nesta with Cassian is just...

It softened some crucial piece of her...

His eyes did not, would not, leave her face.

Cassian smiled at her, and the world faded away. The music was no longer the most beautiful thing in existence. He was.

Antis "forgetting" those scenes, Nesta's own words, Nesta's own reaction -even if they claim her to be their favourite- and Nesta's feelings, just because they don't like Cassian.

It's poor.

It also means that being unable to take pieces without manipulating or decontextualizing them.

[awkwardgtace]

Hide And Seek

day 9 hide. again more pre trauma streamer family time. A bit of a look at how Mira was before the incident

Hide And Seek

“Where are you?” a deep voice called. Mira covered her mouth to try and hide her breathing. She had a good hiding spot the giant wouldn’t find her this time. “There’s one of you.”

“No, no!” Rhys called. She gasped as he screamed from the giant finding him. She covered her ears to miss where he got placed after.

“Now who’s next?” The voice sent shivers down her spine. The heavy steps knocked her off her feet. She yelped a bit. “Oh, what was that?”

She tried to crawl away and hide again. She didn’t want to be found. A heavy step landed next to her hiding place making her shriek. She climbed to her feet and tried to run but a huge hand appeared to block her. Fingers pinched her sides and she was pulled out from beneath the couch. She had been positive she was safe.

“Oh, must be a rare one with such bright hair,” he said. She tried to act scared, but couldn’t stop laughing as Vitus rubbed his nose against her chest.

“No!” she shouted. Her laughter made it sound more like a shriek. She pushed against his nose and fingers until giant slender fingers slipped her from his hold.

“Another one for jail then,” Dabria laughed. Mira pouted as Vitus nodded.

“Just one little human left to find.” His smile knocked her pout away.

“Ash run, he's gonna find you!” 

“Better hurry Vitus, don’t want one of those pesky humans reaching the goal.” Her laugh made Mira start laughing again. Dabria and Vitus were fun to play with. 

Dabria dropped her into her palm and held her close. The fingers curling over her felt safe. She never understood how her parents found this dangerous. Mira was set down next to Rhys in the ‘jail’ for their game. A bunch of pillows piled up on a table with some human sized snacks and drinks. Rhys had already made himself comfortable, splayed out in the center of the pillow pile.

“You’ve been captured by the evil giants too?” he asked. She made the best serious face she could.

“Yes, Ash is our only hope. They need to reach freedom,” she answered. Dabria chuckled as she walked away. Mira grabbed one of the drinks set out for them and sat down next to Rhys.

“Where are you little human?” Vitus growled out. She smiled again.

“Your dad is great. He really plays into the scary giant thing.”

Rhys sat up using his elbows for support. He smirked at her. He had been bragging about hide and seek with his dad for weeks. She had to beg her parents to let her play with them. They thought the giants would be too much of a risk. Vitus and Dabria were so nice. They even told her to just use their names.

“I told you this would be the best hide and seek. Should have listened to me sooner,” Rhys flopped back down. She punched his arm.

“I tried,” she whined. “My parents kept saying it was too dangerous. They always say giants are dangerous and I should avoid them. They only agreed when they saw you and Ash were totally fine. They still think your parents might be dangerous.”

“I mean, I know you said you were from an all human town, but is it really that big of a deal?” 

Mira sighed before putting down her drink. She didn’t know how to explain it to him. Rhys grew up with giants around him. She thinks giants are cool. They’re so big, but stay careful for humans. Her parents always say to be cautious though. There’s no telling when a giant might change its mind. She made a face before leaning back and resting her head on Rhys.

“There you are!” Vitus called. Rhys and Mira laughed as Ash called Vitus a monster.

Dabria brought Ash over to the ‘jail’ and set them down. She smiled as Vitus walked over and hung an arm around her shoulders. Mira didn’t see how her parents could think people like this were dangerous. They laughed as Vitus crouched down to be closer to their height.

“Well Dabria, we caught all the humans now what?” he asked. Mira widened her eyes, she didn’t know there was something after they were caught.

“Hmm,” Dabria started, she crouched down to look at them too. “I think we’ll have to torture them with a movie while we make dinner.”

“I think that’s a perfect punishment for trespassing little humans.” Vitus reached out and carefully ruffled the hair on each of their heads. Mira stared up at the two in awe. Her parents always just moved on once the game was done.

Vitus stood back up and started to pick out a movie. Rhys was extremely vocal about which he wanted to watch. Once it was on both of them left and Mira tried to focus on the movie. She had seen it plenty of times already though. Her parents left her watching movies or shows on her own a lot. When she was home alone she didn’t have much of a choice.

“Hey Rhys,” she said, he hummed in response. “I don't think it’s that big of a deal, but my parents do. They always say a giant could change in a second and decide to hurt you… I don’t think it’s true…”

“Oh,” he whispered. Ash moved her over to lean on them. They wrapped an arm around her in a half hug. They knew her parents were out a lot and she got left alone. Neither wanted to tell Rhys, he thought she was lucky to have her parents there still.

Vitus frowned as the three human kids stopped talking. He walked over to watch Dabria working on human size food. He couldn’t believe her skill with such small ingredients. He sighed and she stopped to look at him. She had a knowing look in her eyes.

“It’s like we thought, isn't it?” she asked. He nodded and she went back to cooking. “It’s not that surprising, they moved here from an all human town. Most of the humans there have some horrible views on giants.”

“She doesn’t and I’m worried,” he said. “Her parents might push it so she’s scared of us.”

“No, I think we’ll be ‘not like the others’ to them. I just hope she doesn’t get like that.”

“Why do you think that?” She smiled at him.

“They called a few minutes ago to ask if Mira could stay the weekend while they handle a business trip.” Vitus’s eyes widened. He never expected that.

“Well, I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of her than we thought. I’m a bit relieved. She seemed almost too adult when she walked in today.” Dabria nodded, she’d been almost too formal when she introduced herself. Even explaining her hair was natural since she knew they would be curious.

“I can take over for a bit if you want to tell them she’s staying for a few days.” Dabria shook her head.

“I think the giant monster who had been hunting them should talk about his prize.” 

He laughed, pushed off the counter and made his way back to the three humans. They wound up in a pile all together. He smiled seeing how happy they looked. They seemed so comfortable and relaxed. They didn’t even react as he moved to sit on the floor behind them. He grabbed the remote and paused the movie. The three looked back at him, two with pouts, one just curious.

“Mira, your parents called and said they have a business trip this weekend,” he said. She dropped her pout and seemed to get weirdly somber. “They said you could stay with us while they’re gone.”

“Really!?” she shouted. She climbed to her feet and slipped on the pillows to climb over to him. He offered her his finger for balance. She was so small next to him. Her excitement seemed to die down. He swore she looked about to cry. “I-is that really ok?”

“Of course,” he smiled and scooped her up. He brought her close for a hug, holding her over his heart. “You can come here whenever you want. You can stay over too.”

He pulled away and flattened his hand on the pillows. She climbed off and he smiled at her. He set the movie to play again and rested his folded arms on the table. He placed his head there and watched the movie with them. Rhys freed himself from the pile the three had formed and came to rest against his arms.

“Thanks dad, she doesn’t know I know her parents are gone most of the time,” he murmured. Vitus pulled his arm from under his head and ruffled Rhys’s hair. They would try and give Mira a safe place to be when her parents were gone.

[ocean-blue-whump]

Not Worthy, But Good Enough For Now

For @whumpawoman Angstpril! Day 22 - Threats

Sunny + Star Masterlist

Sunny and Star Crew: @ashintheairlikesnow @whumpinggrounds @whumptakesthecake @justplainwhump @whumpfessional @winedark-whump @painful-pooch - let me know if you want to be added/removed!

CW: pet whump, BBU, EXPLICIT NONCON, MINORS DNI, NSFWHUMP, derogatory language, dehumanisation, guns, Rhys is his own content warning, lady whump

***

Rhys is on her in a second, slamming her head against the headboard and wrapping his strong hands around her throat. “You fucking bitch,” he hisses. “You stupid fucking animal.” 

A bruise is forming on his cheek, sharp and angry and swollen. 

Star laughs. “That hurt, bitch?”

She hates his fucking accent, hates how rough it is in her ear as he growls, “Not as bad as you’re going to be hurting.”

“Isn’t the punishment supposed to fit the crime?”

He slams her into the headboard again. “Oh, you shouldn’t have done that.”

“Didn’t…fucking…do anything, you Irish bastard.”

Rhys starts putting pressure, cutting off her air. “Bitches don’t talk. Bitches get fucked, you cunt.”

Star has given up on surviving this, her bonded is safe and she wants this bastard far, far away from her. “Gonna kill you,” she chokes out. 

“No. You’re going to take my cock like the fucked up Romantic you are. Understand?” His grip tightens. 

She smirks up at him, her face turning red. “The fuck are you going to do if I don’t listen? Fuck me? Hurt me? You’re going to do that anyways.”

“I’ll take your bonded,” he hisses into her ear. “I’ll take him and I’ll ruin him and I’ll give him back once he’s a fucking shell of who he used to be. I’ll make sure when you look into his pretty eyes, there’s nothing there. He’ll just be a walking corpse.”

Star’s mouth goes dry. “Sir wouldn’t…”

“I wouldn’t test that theory. He gave me you for the night, didn’t he?” Rhys lets go of her throat, roughly grabbing her breast. “I think there’s a lot your Sir is willing to do to have my protection.”

“Your protection doesn’t mean shit, seeing how you got punched by a pet.” She makes a pouty face. “Can’t even protect yourself from a whore like me?”

“That’s right. You are a whore. At least you know that much, you stupid bitch.” Rhys takes his hands off her throat to tie her hands to the headboard and pull out a knife. “I’ll take your bonded. I’ll make him mine. Wipe any thought of you out of his head. Because you’re not actually in love. You’ve just got all those stupid programmed thoughts in your head. I’ll wipe them out. I’ll make him love me.”

“You can’t,” she hisses, fear overtaking her senses. 

Rhys begins slicing apart her shirt, baring her skin to him. “Pretty tits.”

“Fuck off.”

“Watch your mouth or I’ll give you something good to do with it.” He pulls the shredded pieces of her shirt away and starts teasing her waistband with the knife. “Let’s see if you’re worth all the stress you cause Hunter, hmmm? If you’re a good Romantic slut. Because you’re sure not a worthy one.”

She spits in his face. “Your definition of worthy is fucked.”

Pure rage shoots through his eyes, and he reaches up to wipe the spit off his cheek. “Stick your fucking tongue out, cunt,” he growls. “Or I’ll fuck you with my knife and make your bonded watch.”

Star can barely comprehend the terror rushing through her, but shakily, she sticks her tongue out. 

Rhys sets the knife down, pulling out a gun and turning the safety off. “Go ahead. Lick the gun.” He puts it out, rubbing it against Star’s tongue. 

The bitter taste of the metal makes her gag, but she gives the gun kitten licks. Her gaze is angry and defiant, and she looks at Rhys, trying to let him see that she won’t break. 

Rhys laughs. “Good cunt.” With no warning, he shoves the gun into her mouth. “Hold it. If you drop, your bonded is mine.”

Star gags at the intrusion, but closes her lips around the metal obediently. She doesn’t want to die, and even more, she doesn’t want Sunny to break. 

Rhys roughly yanks her panties down, picking his knife back up to trace the crease of her thigh. “Now I see why you’re a Romantic.”

She glares at him. She can take this, it’s what she’s meant for. 

Rhys undoes his pants, lining himself up with her entrance. “Don’t drop the gun. Or…”

He doesn’t need to finish his sentence. 

Rhys thrusts in and Star bites down on the gun, metal scraping her teeth. Fulfilling her purpose for Sir. Like she’s meant for. 

***

“Was she good?” Mr. Bianchi asks Rhys. 

Rhys shrugs. “Tight. Defiant, but I fixed that.” 

“What’d you do?”

“Put a gun in her mouth.”

“That’ll shut the whore up.” Mr. Bianchi finally looks over at the corner of the living room, where Rhys had discarded Star after using her. “Time to go home, puppy. Your bonded is in the car.”

Sunny. Star perks up at that, dragging herself to her feet, her inner thighs still sticky with Rhys’s spend. 

Mr. Bianchi clips a leash to her collar. “Call me about our business deal tomorrow morning.”

“Sure. Thank you.”

Mr. Bianchi nods and pulls Star out the door. “Finally, you didn’t get a bad report.”

“Because he’s fucking terrifying,” she whispers, voice hoarse from the gun. 

He slaps her across the face. “Dumb bitch.” 

Star is tossed backwards by the hit, and he takes the chance to throw her into the car and climb in after her. He taps on the slide to let the driver to start going.

Star grabs onto Sunny, holding him tightly. “Don’t ever leave me,” she whispers. He’s here. He’s okay. She was good enough to save him this time. 

“I, I won’t,” he responds, gently rubbing her back. 

She did it. She kept him safe, no matter how ruined it made her. Star tightens her grip, trying to ignore the watchful, lustful gaze of Mr. Bianchi. 

They all know what’s going to happen when they get home.

[howthesleeplesswander]

Every time Rhys dared to think Hey, wow, okay, I might finally be getting the hang of things! the universe threw something else at him that knocked him on his ass like it was hellbent on making him the butt of as many jokes as possible. There was no other explanation for how he'd ended up sitting across from the last surviving body double of Handsome Jack: aka the absolute mother of all ridiculous, uncomfortable situations.

Finally thought you could catch a breather after dealing with Maliwan? Nope! Time for the cherry on top!

And yeah, duh, obviously Rhys knew that Timothy wasn't Jack. But wow was it hard to remind his stupid brain of that when he looked and sounded exactly the same.

At least the tablet in front of him spared him from attempting eye contact. It had been propped towards him against the edge of the table since he'd sat down, definitely because he was engrossed in something very important and not because he'd spent the last five minutes of stilted conversation clicking back and forth between the same two programs while trying to get a freaking grip.

Thank God Timothy wasn't wearing anything resembling holographic blue or Rhys would've had a heart attack from catching a glimpse in his peripheral.

"I mean—yeah? That pretty much sums it up. What more of a reason do you need, right?" Rhys forced a laugh and hated how hollow it sounded in the tense air. "Amiright? Aha...yeah...y-you get it." Ugh, it'd be more merciful if the ground opened up and swallowed him whole.

But before anything dramatic could save him, there the universe went again, and man—how was that fair? This was already weird beyond all measure, yet all it took was the tiniest inconsistency to sucker punch him with how ridiculous that was.

Technically Rhys had never known the real Jack, but Nakayama's AI had felt real. It was impossible to not get to know someone who was a constant presence in your head. By the end, Rhys had learned more about Jack than he'd ever dreamed...like why the entire galaxy beyond his blind Hyperion followers hated him.

Reason #1 (of approximately 971398): Jack would never have apologized for anything.

Which was why those five little letters of "sorry" from Tim's lips sent the CEO reeling in a different way as his brain screamed Wrong! This is wrong!! Jack's voice had never known remorse, but this person who was the spitting image right down to every stupidly attractive detail wasn't Jack, so what the hell was wrong with him?!

"No, no no—you're fine," he managed after a mental slap in the face. "It's...it's not you, trust me." In more ways than one...yeesh. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but I definitely don't want you to blow up. Atlas prosthetics are second-to-none, but we haven't figured out how to replace a missing face, so, uh...Definitely don't chance it."

Finally, he forced his gaze up from the screen. An attempted smile felt stiff on his face, creeping into a self-directed grimace...which only grew more pronounced at the realization of how it would look from the outside.

"Look," Rhys breathed heavily, his free hand burrowing into the crook of his neck, "I'm not gonna pretend it's not weird, 'cause yeah, it...it really is—" he half-coughed, half-groaned at himself mid-sentence, "b-but again! That's...that's not anything to do with you, so really: don't worry about it, okay?"

He could only hope that the reassurance worked better for Timothy than it did for himself. "We'll add the whole 'face bomb' thing to the list, though. But first thing's first." Eager for a distraction, Rhys nodded at the bandaged stump so casually stretched between them. "Mind if I take a look?"

@howthesleeplesswander || plotted starter for rhysie cup! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

“So, uh . . . Yeah, like—? What made you decide to rebuild Atlas and not, uhm . . . I mean, you were a Hyperion guy for awhile, weren’t you?” And you’re making small talk, aren’t you, Timmy Boy? Attempting. Important distinction. We’re attempting, kiddos. Call yourself a friggin’ actor . . . God.

Look, Timothy had been in his fair share of awkward situations. He’d been the cause of about 90 percent of those situations, which was pretty freakin’ funny when you thought about it: Handsome Jack being “awkward” . . . But, well, something here was awkwarder than usual. Like some higher power had taken that dial and turned it all the way to one end and forced these two poor souls to figure their shit out while said higher power kicked back, made himself a bowl of popcorn—hey! Maybe even ordered an entire pizza . . .

Ugh. Tim didn’t want to think about pizza for the next year at least. Scratch that.

He fidgeted. He’d been doing a lot of that since the Vault Hunters left him here on Promethea. You know, kind of like he was some stray cat they found digging through the nearest dumpster who should have just been ignored, but they weren’t heartless enough to leave him and figured You know what? Let’s toss this pathetic pile of matted fur onto some other asshole’s lap and wash our hands, be done with it. Even in their company, Timothy had felt the tension in the air between him and Atlas’s CEO (who was incredibly attractive for a guy who probably just sat behind his desk and cackled maniacally at the expense of others, by the way—? Why didn’t the damn VHs feel the need to warn him?). Now that the two of them were alone . . . ? Tim wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Maybe both. Internally.

Externally, stumbling his way through a semi-normal conversation with probably the first semi-normal dude he’d met in what felt like centuries was the way to go.

“Stickin’ it to ‘The Man,’ or whatever?” Tim prodded after a pause. (“The Man” here very obviously meaning the jackhole everyone knew and the sane people hated at this point; Timothy didn’t need to spell that one out.) “God, sorry, I— I-I get it.”

Want to know the weird thing about losing a hand? It still somehow felt like it was there. Imagine the scenario: some disheveled, absolutely trashed representation of what was maybe a man at some point lifting his pathetic little stub of an arm to subconsciously futz with those damned latches on this stupid friggin’ mask only to realize . . . Well. Play it cool. (Which, by the way, meant doing that universal thing everyone did where he just flexed that arm in what was meant to look like a convincing stretch.)

Tim didn’t meet Rhys’s gaze. Funnily, he was pretty sure neither of them were doing great in the “eye contact” department (among about two dozen other departments). With a shake of his head, all he offered was “Listen, I’d . . . I-I’d remove the mask right here and now—might make all this weirdness, like, one degree less weird, but uh . . . hah.” Now the laugh was external, but not at all humored. “Really not convinced something won’t still explode if I try, so . . . Yeah. Sorry about the reawakened horrific trauma, I bet. I promise that's totally unintentional. If I was the real Jack, ya know, it'd be . . . it'd be intentional. But I'm not. So.”

[mmvalentine]

Okay, so would you be able to write that best friend kiss challenge with Feysand? Like Feyre films herself kissing Rhys (her best friend) just as a joke but then Rhys is super into it and then she’s super into it and it gets spicy😏😏

(obviously she turns the camera off before things get interesting)

Oh you kids and your tiktoks, back in my day tiktoks were called snapchats, and we more or less used them to send nudes. But seriously this trend makes me feel SO ANXIOUS because sometimes they get rejected and I feel it way too hard?! ANYWAY this is fine because this one works out, right????

I Didn't Know

Feyre was addicted.

She had lost count of how many versions of this tiktok she had seen, but she did know that about twenty minutes ago she had to pee and thought 'just one more,' yet here she was, still sprawled across the bed watching best friends kiss for the first time and riding the rollercoaster of second-hand nervous anticipation and then either gut twisting joy or empathetic mortification. Her bladder was not impressed.

It was Mor who had sent her the first one, and then it was all too easy to go down the scrolling rabbit hole. Of course, at the time Mor had added 'You should totally do this to Rhys, I would pay to see his reaction.'

At first, Feyre had thought there was no way that was going to happen. Rhys had been her best friend for the past 7 years, if they were going to date, surely it would have happened by now. Also, she was fairly certain that most of these were set up, because so many seemed to have a shockingly calm reaction to being kissed by someone they had supposedly been platonic with for years. That's just not how things felt when you were best friends.

Of course, she was impressed with how much engagement these videos got, set up or no. And so the next day, when Rhys was spent half the day teasing her about how many more followers he had than her, all she could think about was one very effective way of shutting him up. With Rhys's jawline, she just knew it would do well on social media. And of course it would be a joke. Just a joke.

It happened in the evening. Rhys was going to drop by her place after his last class, since he had finals coming up and his frat house was hardly the ideal study environment. Mor was at her girlfriend's place for the night, so Feyre had the apartment to herself. She set up her phone on the dining room table, propped up against a pile of text books and secretly recording. She made a whole plan of it- first she'd have to stall him by the door to keep him in the shot, and to have enough recording so that she could match the kiss up to the right spot in the music. And she'd have to make sure he was facing the right way so that his reaction would be clear in the shot.

At 6.30pm when Rhys was due to arrive, Feyre texted Mor. I'm doing it, she said. I'm gonna do the best friend kiss challenge on Rhys and he's gonna FREAK.

Mor replied immediately. No fucking way!!! Yes girl get it!!

Feyre laughed. Can you imagine? she wrote back. This will shut him up for sure, he's gonna be standing there looking like a fish with his mouth opening and closing. Like when Az played that prank and gift wrapped every item in his room before Christmas.

Somehow, I think this is going to top that... Mor wrote back.

I just hope he doesn't punch me out of reflex or something, Feyre joked. At that moment, footsteps neared the door from the hallway outside. Gotta go, this is gonna be hilarious, Feyre sent off. She quickly turned the camera on and put it back in its place against the book stack as the knock came.

"Girl I have so many snacks," Rhys said when she opened the door. "I am ready to study." Feyre laughed at his armfuls of assorted packages.

"I didn't realise you were planning a 3 day study lock-in," she said, and stepped out of the way. Rhys headed toward the table, and Feyre panicked. "No!" she yelped. Rhys looked at her, surprised.

"No what?" he asked.

"Uh, give those to me, and you can stay and take of your coat." She hurriedly scooped the bags of chips and chocolate out of his arms and dumped them on the table, while Rhys eyed her suspiciously.

"Okay, you weirdo," he said. He shrugged out of his coat and threw it over the arm of the couch, more than comfortable enough in Feyre's home to know where to put his things. He stepped forward, but again Feyre blocked him. He raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Um, maybe we should study here on the couch," she said. Rhys raised his eyebrows.

"Instead of on the nice big dining table that I can write on, and where you've just moved all my snacks?"

"Yes. I mean no. I mean..."

"Feyre," Rhys said with mock concern. "You are seriously losing it."

"I... ah," Feyre scrambled. Oh what the hell, she only needed to fill a few bars and surely there was enough now. Before she could chicken out, Feyre stood on her tiptoes, grabbed his face in both her hands, and mashed her lips against his.

A heartbeat later, Feyre let go. She realised she had been holding her breath, and exhaled with a whoosh, giggling as she did so. She could feel herself going red, and covered her face for just a second before biting her lip and looking back for Rhys's reaction.

But there was no reaction.

Not at first. For a good three seconds he just stood frozen, and then he found her eyes. Stared at her in complete wonderment, and then with more gentleness than she had ever seen on him, he reached out his hands and lifted her chin back toward him.

Feyre barely had time to register what was happening, when Rhys's lips found hers once more.

This time, instead of the rushed surprise attack Feyre had used on him, Rhys kissed her soft and slow. Feyre's eyes widened, then slid closed, as Rhys's arms wrapped around her waist. His lips were cold from the frost outside, but when her body pressed against his it was warm in his arms, and when he tilted his head and deepened the kiss, she felt the heat of his mouth all the way in her belly.

Feyre wasn't coherent enough to be shocked. She was overwhelmed by the way her body was reacting to Rhys's kiss, and before she knew she had lifted her hands, she had his dark curls between her fingers. He tasted so good she couldn't get enough, and when she lifted up onto her toes to get closer, his fingers dug into her sides. And then the first touch of her tongue had her knees buckling.

"Feyre," Rhys moaned between kisses. "Feyre what are we doing?" He licked at her lips. "I didn't know," he whispered. "I didn't know you wanted this."

"I... I didn't know either," Feyre gasped, and then he brought his mouth back to hers before she could say anything else.

Suddenly, seven years felt so long. How had they not been doing this the whole time? How had they stood being this hungry for all these years, and how could they make up for it now? Feyre breathed in the smell of him, and loved the groan that slipped from his throat when her teeth hit his bottom lip.

"Bedroom," he struggled out, and Feyre only nodded as she untangled herself to move down the hall. Rhys caught her two steps later, pulling her back in to kiss her again.

"I thought you wanted to go to my room," Feyre said breathlessly.

"I did," Rhys mumbled against her lips. "But I first I just gotta-" He finished the sentence by licking her tongue and sucking on her bottom lip. Feyre wanted to laugh, but a second later she couldn't remember why. Besides, her mouth was busy.

"Bedroom," Rhys said again, and this time he took the lead and towed her by the waist.

Feyre only just remembered to grab her phone and hit the lock button, closing the camera off as they went. If she had had the presence of mind, she'd already be embarrassed by how much was recorded, but what did it matter? What did anything matter when her lips were swollen from being bitten and every step took them closer to bed, and Rhys, and Rhys in her bed.

They stumbled down the corridor, then one moment Rhys was roughly pushing the door shut and the next her back was hitting the mattress. Their movements were messy, frenzied. Feyre yanked off Rhys shirt, and he lifted her higher up the bed, and then suddenly there they were.

Feyre's head on the pillow and her legs wrapped around Rhys's hips. Rhys staring down at her with pupils blown wide and kiss-reddened lips. A heavy hardness pressing between them and a still, silent realisation of where they had landed.

They stayed frozen like that for a while, and then Rhys lowered his head slowly and kissed her again, soft and with his eyes open. Is this okay? the kiss said. He lifted his head, but Feyre put her hands gently on either side of his face and pulled him back to her.

More than okay, she tried to tell him back.

Rhys's body turned liquid then, rolling into hers so smoothly that it pressed the air from her lungs so she sighed into his mouth. Feyre knew he had tattoos, but it wasn't often they were on display like this and she couldn't help but think he was beautiful. Rhys changed the angle of the kiss, and moved again. This time his hips grazed hers and that unbearable pressure between Feyre's legs had her arching her back up to him, chasing the wave of his warmth. Rhys growled in his throat, and the vibration of it sent a shiver that echoed to her fingertips.

"Where have you been all my life?" Rhys groaned, as his hand slid under the hem of her shirt. The contact on her bare skin raised goosebumps and then she was feeling him everywhere. Suddenly her t-shirt was too rough, and her jeans intolerable.

"I've been here," Feyre gasped, hands reaching for Rhys's back and chest and shoulders. Needing to feel his skin, too. "I've been right here."

She lifted her arms to help Rhys get her shirt off, pulling him back down to her as soon as she could. He kissed her again and this time the line of contact down the bare fronts of their bodies burned between them.

"How did I not know?" Rhys asked, seeming to be talking to himself more than her. He slid a hand behind her back to get at her bra clasp, and then she was shivery and naked before him. She only had a second to be self-conscious about this before he squeezed one of her breasts in his hand, and put his mouth over the other. And then all she wanted was him touching her.

Rhys moved his tongue slowly over her nipple. Flicked back and forth over it, and the feeling somehow seemed to repeat itself in the apex of her thighs. Feyre's fingers tightened in the thick mop of his hair, and Rhys shifted across to the other nipple. She was just thinking she could die from pleasure like this, when he kissed in between her breasts. Down her sternum, slowing as he reached her belly. Almost reverent when he nipped at her navel, and traveled lower still.

Rhys undid the button of her jeans without lifting his lips from her skin. His hands tugged at her waistband, and when Feyre raised her hips for him to get them off, his mouth slipped downward again, and his kiss landed over her clit through her underwear.

Feyre jolted up toward him, and Rhys slid her jeans the rest of the way off her feet. He licked against the cotton of her panties, until she was panting beneath him and squirming to get closer. Finally, he pulled off the last of her clothing, and when his tongue hit her bare pussy she could have sworn she blacked out for a second.

"Mmm," Rhys hummed against her. "You taste like fucking heaven." Feyre's hands scrabbled in the sheets and then gripped Rhys's head as he moved, first in broad, rough strokes with the flat of his tongue, then flicking faster over her clit with the tip like he had on her nipple. He reached out a hand to squeeze at her breast, and the other one smoothed over her chest to hold her down.

"Can you come like this honey?" Rhys asked her, before taking her clit into his mouth in slow, suckling kisses. "I would love it if you came on my tongue." He slid it deep inside her. "Please Feyre." Returned to flicking over her clit. "Do it, please, for me."

And to Feyre's absolute surprise, she did. Came with her fists in in Rhys's hair and her legs wrapped around his head. She never came on the first time with someone. Then again, Rhys wasn't just anyone. Rhys kept his tongue moving as her hips came up off the bed, not letting her down until her climax had faded into ragged breaths.

Rhys stood then, and unzipped his own jeans. As soon as he was leaning over her again, Feyre reached down to palm his cock through his black boxer-briefs. Rhys moaned softly, and buried his face in her back as he pushed himself into her hand.

"Yeah baby, touch me," Rhys whispered, and guided her hand under his waistband.

If Feyre was honest, she would have to admit that it had crossed her mind before what Rhys might look like naked. Her eyes had snagged below his hips when he was wearing sweatpants, or was fresh out of the ocean. They had been friends a long time. And how could you not notice when Rhys looked like this?

But having her hands on him was something entirely different. Feyre curled her hand around him, and when she stroked up and down the length of him she felt first a little intimidated by his size, and then second deliciously in control when a light groan was coaxed from his lips.

"Like this?" she asked. Rhys moaned louder.

"Yeah, just like that," he said, and the muscles in his chest flexed above her. Rhys's eyes closed, and he bit down on his lip as she twisted her hand around him. It was so sexy, Feyre was moving her free hand down her own body to touch herself at the same time.

It only took a minute for Rhys to notice, and then a wicked grin was tugging up the corner of his mouth.

"You need some too, huh?" he asked, and then he took both her hands and laced his fingers through hers. Laid them either side of her face as he settled himself back down between her legs, and then lifted her hands around his neck as he kissed her.

Rhys looked her seriously then.

"Is this okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Feyre breathed. Rhys rolled his hips against her, and watched her lips part and her head tilt when he did it.

"You want more?" he asked.

"Yes," Feyre said again, and felt his cock twitch between her thighs.

"You want me inside of you?" he asked roughly.

"God yes," Feyre said, and then Rhys was lifting his hips and pushing inside her.

Their eyes locked, and they exhaled together as Rhys hit his hilt. Then Rhys's gaze flicked to her mouth, and he moved, out and back in, and the stretch of him was the sweetest ache.

"Fuck, Rhys," Feyre whimpered, grabbing his shoulders. He looked at her quickly.

"Okay, honey?" he asked. She laughed breathlessly and then nodded, and Rhys thrust again and she gasped as her head fell back against the pillow. "Am I hurting you?" he said. Feyre shook her head, and arched her back to get him deeper.

"Shit," Rhys barked. His hips snapped forward and his palm hit the mattress. He drew a breath through his nose, seeming to get himself under control, and then began a smooth rocking that had Feyre's eyes rolling back in her head.

"I wish I had known," Rhys said, and the words were almost despairing. "I wish I had you like this every day." Feyre's hands fluttered at his chest. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologise," Feyre frowned. She lifted her hips to him. "I want you."

"You've fucking got me," Rhys said, and then pulled out only to flip her over and come back from behind. Feyre moaned at the way he got deeper this way, and dropped to her forearms.

"You feel so good," she breathed.

"Oh yeah?" Rhys asked. He reached around and put two fingers over her clit. "What about now?"

Feyre got louder as the pleasure got sharper, and then her vision was clouding at the edges.

"You gonna come again for me baby?" Rhys said. Feyre couldn't answer. "You want it a little harder?"

"Yes," she gasped.

"Will you come if I fuck you hard?"

"Yes, oh god yes. Please Rhys, please."

"I'd never say no to you," Rhys said, and his free hand gripped her hip tight as he pounded into her while those fingers, now dripping wet, moved over and over her clit. "You're gonna make me come," he panted. "You look so good like this." His hips sped up. "But you gotta come first, honey. Come for me."

Feyre's spine stretched and her back arched as release found her. Rhys was so deep in her she could feel it in the bottom of her stomach, and then he was falling right behind her, and the sounds he made when he came were so damn hot she broke out in goosebumps.

Finally, Rhys dropped to the bed beside her, and pulled her down onto his chest. Feyre breathed deeply and was gratified to hear Rhys's heart going as fast as hers. She smiled into his skin, and breathed in the warm smell of him.

"Is this weird?" Rhys asked after a few minutes. His thumb stroked at her elbow.

"No," she said truthfully. She looked up at him. "Is it weird for you?"

"Honestly?" Rhys tucked an arm behind his head. "It now seems weirder that we weren't doing this the whole time." He looked at her. "What made you finally make a move?"

And that's when Feyre remembered the tik tok.

Her eyes went wide, and she felt herself going red. Rhys was bewildered. "What?" he asked. Feyre just shook her head. "You really can't tell me after we just did that?"

"Uh. I was um. Doing a tik tok?"

"You were what?"

"You know. The best friend challenge. I wanted to video your reaction if I kissed you."

Rhys pulled back suddenly. "Wait so you didn't actually want to kiss me? You just wanted a reaction video?"

"No! Well- yes, but I didn't know!" Feyre wailed.

"Know what?"

"That I wanted you so much."

Rhys blinked at her. After a tense second, his mouth twitched.

"So," he said, "in actual fact, you filmed your own reaction."

"What do you mean?"

"You surprised yourself. That's really embarrassing." He settled back down. Feyre picked up a pillow and whacked him with it.

"Shut up," she mumbled, and Rhys laughed a beautiful laugh and kissed her so sweet it made her dizzy.

****

Sweet and spicy, order up.

PS I just want to say that in modern AUs I usually make sure to like make some kind of condom reference because I'm trying to be realistic/ a good role model but this time I just COULDN'T BE BOTHERED sorry have safe sex kids.

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST: @ghostlyrose2 @highladysith @stardelia @feysand-loml @tillyrubes10 @ratabrasileira @live-the-fangirl-life @maybekindasortaace @annejulianneh111 @thebonecarver @rowaelinismyotp @loosingdreams @whythefuckdoiexist @inejsarrow @swankii-art-teacher @sjmships @courtofjurdan @teddytdr @positivewitch @thalia-2-rose @darling-archeron @rapunzel1523 @fairchildjace @philosophorumaurum02 @story-scribbler @allthecolorsneverseen @asteria-of-mars @fandomstalker27 @realbookloverproblems

[staytiny-yaps]

hi! can I request a Rhysand from ACOTAR x reader where she is actually his mate but he had made his choice with Feyre and she is just soo heartbroken by it but instead later on she and Azriel fell in love and it all works out in the end? thank you!

A/n: Sure you can love, I am so so sorry for how long its taken ne to get to these. My inbox is so full and I'm just useless. Hope y'all enjoy- constructive criticism is welcome, but as always please be polite 😊🥰

The Next World

Rhysand looked over the small female. She was High Fae, but her stature was petite and fragile.

She was beautiful, but in his eyes, she was no Feyre. He had already comitted to Feyre, already vowed himself to her.

He loved Feyre, but he did not love the female in front of him.

Why did it have to be this way? She was so nice, so deserving of love and so deserving of a mate. And now he had to break her heart

He glanced at her eyes for a moment, then looked away. This isn't fair. His mate wasn't coming. That's why he chose Feyre in the first place and now there can be no one else.

Her eyes were welled up with tears and despite her begging, she knew what was coming.

Rhysand forced himself to look her in the eyes as he spoke, no matter how much harder it made things.

"I'm sorry. I've made my choice. You should probably go." He tried to say it gently, but the words sounded harsh even to his own ears.

Rhys winced, it was as if he could see he heart in her eyes, it was as if he was watching it physically break.

Without another word, she turned and walked towards the front door of the estate, no tears left her eyes until she felt the fresh breeze of the city on her face.

Why did her mate find a love away from her? How was that fair at all? How was she going to face the Inner Circle tomorrow, knowing about the bond.

Knowing that it will never be accepted. Feeling as though she will never be accepted.

She felt numb. But she also hurt.

How can you feel nothing, but also be hurting at the same time? How was that fair?

She seemed to be asking herself that question a lot lately, and as she pushed open the door to a bar hoping to drink away her sorrows, she realized: nothing is fair.

Not in this world and not in the next.

Sighing, she makes her way to a secluded little corner at the bar, trying to avoid being seen by Cassian, Azriel and Mor who were all laughung and drinking together.

It felt like a taunt, they were happy now and they could go home and sleep well and the next day when the time came to visit Feyre and Rhys, there would be no hesitation. They would be greeted with smiles and hugs.

They would be greeted with love. And she would not.

When the bartender brought her her drink she smiled and slurped half of it down in one go. Her face felt cold from residual tears and her eyes felt stiff and dry.

She looked back up to the group she was trying to avoid only to realise that Azriel was no longer there.

Probably gone home, maybe with another female, or even a male. To be happy, or at least content with another for tonight.

The concept felt so far away, she felt as if she'd never be happy again. Especially with someone else.

A warm hand covered her shoulder and she turned around quickly, whipping out a fisted hand, only for her wrist to be caught.

Shadows curled around her wrist and reached up her arm. With a gasp, she inspected the intruder's face and realised that Azriel was standing behind her.

"Why the long face?" He asked and as much as she wanted to retort back, as soon as she opened her mouth, her throat closed up and tears burned behind her eyes again.

She looked away from the male and stared into the half-empty cup in her hands.

"What's up buttercup?" He asked again, sliding into the stool next to her and craning his neck to see her face.

She looked back up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Did you just say 'What's up buttercup?'?" She asked and he gave a small smile as he nodded.

"What's wrong with that?" She shook my head at his words.

"Nothing. It's just stranger hearing the word buttercup slip from the spymaster's lips in such a playful way." She told him, wishing she could smile.

She enjoyed being around Azriel, he made her laugh and he made her feel comfortable. But right now, it felt so impossibly hard to feel happy.

"I'm not the spymaster right now. I'm Azriel, your friend and I'm here to help. Now, you gonna keep a secret from the spymaster?" He nudged her side and she ket out a sigh.

"I thought you weren't the spymaster tonight?"

"Well not actively. But it's not like I can just turn it off." He shrugged cockily. If it was any other day she would've laughed. She tried, but it felt as though she would never laugh again.

"Az... Rhysand is my mate." Shock clanged through him at her words.

"What?"

"He's my mate. And he doesn't want me."

"Oh my god."

🔸️

It had been a week since Rhysand's rejection and no one from the Inner Circle had seen Y/n since.

Except for Azriel.

She didn't show up for lunch the next day and she didn't appear for any meetings or meet-ups.

Mor and Cassian were worried and guilt was eating at Feyre, she felt it was her fault.

Rhysand was destroyed by guilt, he hadn't seen her in person since everything went down, but though the bond was quieting, it was as if he could feel her heartbreak through the bond.

But he could also feel something else, he didn't know what it was, but he thinks it is the reason he can feel the bond breaking.

Azriel had been spending all his spare moments with her, dedicating himself to making her feel better and helping her realise that she doesn't need a mate to be happy.

She doesn't need Rhys.

And she knows. She doesn't need Rhys, she has never needed him. The bomd had made her mind go whacky.

If she had let it continue taking over herself, she may have needed him. She was ready to as well, then Azriel put his hand on her shoulder.

Azriel smiled at her and got her to tell him what was happening.

Azriel called her a buttercup.

She hadn't smiled that night, but when she went to bed she questioned herself.

Why dodn't she smile that night? Azriel makes her smile. Why is she letting Rhysamd get in the way of that.

Of everything.

He doesn't want her and while it hurts, there is nothing she can do about it.

But she can find someone who does want her.

Her friends want her, maybe not in the way she would've been with a mate, but they love her and they want her.

A knock sounded on the door and everyone fell silent. They knew the scent and they knew who was at the door.

Feyre went to answer.

The group couldn't see what was happening, but they could hear the words exchanged.

"Y/n..."

"Is everyone here already?"

"Y/n I-" Feyre was cut off by a thumping noise.

Did she punch her?

The group got off the couch and walked into the entry hall to see Y/n and Feyre standing there wrapped in a hug.

Feyre was whispering 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.' and Y/n was just shaking her head.

Rhysand gave a soft smile at the scene in front of him. Through the slightly crumbling bond between them, he could feel Y/n healing.

When Feyre and Y/n pulled apart, everyone wanted their turn. There was almost a line in front of her while they waited for their hug too.

Rhys could feel Y/n's hesitation amd he didn't want to push it so he didn't get in line.

Then it was Azriel's turn.

He engulfed her and her small body pretty much disappeared into his as they hugged.

He squeezed her tightly and they stayed like that for a long moment, longer than the rest, inhaling each other's scents and revelling in the comfort of one another.

Rhys noticed. And he smiled. He knew why she was healing.

🔸️

It had been almost five months since Rhys had rejected the mating bond between him and Y/n.

If you looked really, really hard, it was still there. But it was faint and he could no longer feel her emotions, hear any words she let down the bond. It was pretty much non-existent.

And Y/n no longer cared. Of course she cared about Rhysand. They were still friends, in fact they were quite close after everything that had happened.

But she didn't need him the way she might've. She did need Azriel though.

And Azriel needed her.

They sat together on Azriel's couch, well, they layed together.

Azriel layed on the couch and she lay on top of him, his arms around her waist and keeping her from slipping off.

"Y/n?"

She hummed in response, but her eyes were still glazed over sleepily.

"Do you ever wish Rhys had picked you?" His voice was quiet.

"No." She replied with absolutely no hestitation.

"Why?"

"Because I love you and I am happier with you than I could ever be with Rhys. It's almost as if I left Rhys in the world behind me. You are my new world. And I would never wish for anything else." Her words were sweet, her voice was smooth and her eyes were soft.

Azriel was overcome with the love he felt for her. He lifted his wings up and wrapped them around her body tightly.

She felt warm and safe wrapped up in his arms and wings, surrounded by his scent and his love and also his shadows.

They weren't mates, but it didn't matter. They were in love.

[starlightrows]

The Lady of The House

Pairing: Boba Fett x fem reader

Word Count: 1.4k 

Warnings and Tags: swearing, not a lot of Boba reader interaction, mostly reader just asserting her position as queen

Summary: Two guards, my original characters Tems and Rhys, have been tasked with informing crime boss Boba of an intrusion... but there’s one problem. It’s the middle of the night and he’s currently with his wife sleeping.

AN: Happy Monday! This blog is getting a bouns fic today!

“I don’t wanna go in there Rhys...” Tems said shakily. 

“The boss said he had to be informed immediately if someone was caught trying to break in to the palace, if the alarm on his ship ever tripped, or if the Mand’alor hailed him.... and all three happened over the course of 20 minutes. We have to tell him Tems!” Rhys waved off his patrol partners fretting and made for the handle on the large ornate door leading to Boba Fett’s private chambers “he will feed us to the rankor if we don’t go in there” 

“Look, you’ve only worked here for three lunar cycles. You ever wonder why there was a job open?” Tems grabbed his arm, yanking him back. The Rhys narrowed his eyes, and gave a shake of his head. “You’re all happy to point out the rules the boss has about being informed. But what is the other, number one fucking rule he has?” 

The realization struck him and his eyes went wide, he gave a silent “ohhh” 

Boba Fett’s number one rule, mostly for his business partners, but also his staff: Do not disturb the lady of the house. Boba Fett’s wife.

An unassuming woman, she was kind and gentle, slightly out of place among dangerous and somewhat violent bounty hunters and crime families that frequented the upper halls. She spent most of her days working on fixing the lower levels of the run down palace. She kept to herself, with the notable exceptions of her husband and his loyal bodyguard, Fennec Shand. The rule seemed to be, if she spoke to you, answer respectfully and do as she asks. But if you bother her, get in her way, or insult her... there would be hell to pay. 

“W-what happened to the last guy?” Rhys shifted nervously on his feet. He honestly hadn’t considered why there was a position available when he accepted the job. 

“He barred the lady from entering the throne room when the boss had guests. He didn’t know the guests were there by her request, but that doesn’t make him any less dead right now” Tems told him, looking uncomfortable at the memory. 

“Well we just won’t wake up the lady then” Rhys said “we’ll be really quiet. We’ll only wake up the boss, alright?” 

Tems still wasn’t convinced “Do we both have to go in there?” 

“You’re a fuckin’ coward,” Rhys threw up his hands in exasperation “every second we wait to go in there, the more angry he’ll be that we waited. I’m going in there, you can stand out here like a little bitch if you want to,”

Tems was tempted to throw a punch, this guy had no idea just how dangerous Boba Fett really is, or how scary he could be right after waking up. Nonetheless, he followed as his partner made for the door again. 

The heavy door swung open silently, surprising given how massive it was. The room was dark, lit dimly by the silvery light of the moon coming through the small window high up on the wall. Against the far wall, was an enormous bed where both guards could see their employer sleeping soundly with his wife tucked securely to his bare chest. 

Tems wanted to die. Every step he took deeper into these chambers felt like a step closer to a painful demise. While Rhys was excited, he had never seen any of the residential chambers of the palace. And this one was huge. 

Rhys creeped up to Boba’s side of the bed, while Tems stood awkwardly by the entrance to the chambers. As Rhys approached, reaching out to shake the bosses shoulder, Tems seriously considered making a run for it. Rhys made contact, giving the large scarred shoulder a few good shakes. 

“Sir?” Rhys attempted to whisper. Boba made no movement towards wakefulness, he just continued softly snoring. 

Your eyes flew open and a fearful gasp left your body. You backed up, trying to put distance between yourself and the supposed intruder. 

“Oh my god. No no no no. I’m sorry! I’m so sorry ma’am,” Rhys backed away, hands raised. Tems practically blacked out but stayed frozen in place. 

I’m gonna fuckin die, and it’s all that idiots fault  he thought 

Your eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and you recognized the young guard. You drew the covers up to cover yourself, you felt exposed in your thin nightgown. 

“What are you doing here? These are private rooms” you whispered harshly 

“I-I- I have orders,” Rhys stammered, knees knocking together in fear “To-to get the boss if” Rhys lost his voice. He could not seem to get the words to come out of his mouth 

“Get out,” you whisper “Go back out there and do not move. I will be there shortly,” 

Your tone was authoritative and stern, leaving no room for questioning. Rhys practically sprinted out of the room, dragging a paralyzed Tems with him. The door slammed shut behind them, making them both cringe. 

Tems doubled over, placing his hands on his knees and heaving with labored breath. “Oh by the maker... we’re gonna die. We’re gonna fucking die. I’m gonna be sick. We’re gonna die” 

Rhys was pacing back and forth, hands gripping and pulling his own hair. “Shit shit shit shit shit.... you were right. We’re gonna die,” 

The large door swung open once more, and shut again firmly. Both men snapped their heads towards the direction of the sound of the door closing, awaiting the blaster blot that would surely end their lives. But it didn’t not come. Instead, there you stood, in a long robe tired securely about your waist, arms crossed over your chest. 

“Alright, what’s all this about then?” You asked tiredly. Neither man spoke a word, staring blankly at you. You grew annoyed, and tapped your foot impatiently. 

“Oh for heavens sake!” You exclaimed “He sleeps like the dead when he’s had a glass of wine before bed. He won’t be coming out here to throw you in the rankor pit anytime soon, but if one of you doesn’t speak up I most certainly will,” 

“The Mand’alor hailed for the boss,” Tems said quickly. 

“And the alarm on the bosses ship tripped,” Rhys choked out 

“And a scavenger was caught at the southern entrance trying to get in,” Tems added. You blinked at them in surprise. 

“That’s a lot of information to take in,” you said “Okay gentleman, first things first, has the scavenger been dealt with?”  

“Yes,” Rhys piped up

“Yes ma’am,” Tems avoided your gaze, staring meekly at his own two feet. 

“Lovely, and the ship. What tripped the alarm?” You asked, feeling slightly less angry by being awoken. If anything you felt a little bad for these two. 

“We’re not sure ma’am. The guards in the landing bay couldn’t find anything wrong with the ship, and couldn’t find any intruders,” Rhys said, taking Tems’ cue to use a respectful title when speaking to you 

“So then it can wait until morning for a follow up,” you noted “and the Mand’alor? Did he give a particular reason why he was hailing my husband?” 

“No ma’am, but he said it was important,” Tems supplied 

“Hmm, Djarin is a bit of a drama queen. But if he isn’t hailing repeatedly, or flying here himself, then I’m sure it can also wait until morning,” you mused. Rhys and Tems were visibly shaking with anxiety. 

“Well, if that’s all settled then I would love to back to bed. Goodnight gentleman,” you said turning to go. 

“My lady, I’m sorry” Rhys blurted out. You turned back to look at him. 

“For doing your job?” You asked 

“For disturbing you. For breaking the bosses cardinal rule,” he said “I should have listened to my partner. I shouldn’t have gone into your private chambers,” 

“Your job is to follow the orders you have been given. Protect this palace. And report when circumstances deem it necessary, no matter the time of day,” you stated evenly “you’ve done well. And your loyalty will not go unnoticed by my husband,” 

“Please don’t tell him,” Tems said “please don’t tell him it was us,” 

You cocked an eyebrow at him “I won’t if you truly do not want me to, but tell me why,” 

“My lady if the boss knew we came into your chambers, disrupted your sleep...” Tems shook his head “please don’t tell him my lady, I beg you” 

You heart softened, you forget sometimes how truly frightening your husband could be. And these men were genuinely afraid of his wrath. You nod gently. “You have my word,” 

“Gentleman,” you nodded quietly, slipping back through the door. 

The with door now shut, a heavy silence settled over the palace. Tems still felt violently ill, and Rhys was quite sure the boss would kick down the door any second despite the reassurances of his wife. 

“Rhys?” Tems said 

“Yeah?”

“I fucking hate you,”

[elucien22904]

honestly, ic sometimes is not it.. they're placed on this pedestal and they do alot of questionable shit like yes they do care abt each other but anyone that's beyond their little circle isn't treated right. and that includes elain and boe and even eris to an extent. I feel like they can be very judgemental and toxic. they'll treat someone within their circle who's had trauma with so much care and space but if someone else outside their grp has the same trauma none of them would give a shit. biggest eg. is feyre and lucien. y'all literally fought tooth and nail to get feyre her freedom, but send lucien back to his abuser. he's been abused physically, verbally and sexually, and none of y'all gave a shit.

elain needs to get the hell outta there. ma'am pack a bag, grab your mate and leave, don't even say goodbye, trust me ur better off.

YES I AGREE BEAUTIFUL!!!! i think that it’s actually pretty realistic how the ic can be hypocritical n contradict the statements they make. to build off what u said above, how they pride feyre n mor for being strong enough to leave their abusers but then send lucien right back to his bc it helps them sleep at night. don’t get me wrong, i love feyre n the ic… but they’re not perfect n i have my moments (literally all of acofas) where i can’t stand them. i just saw a post by @darklove9314-blog w additions by @whereisvaughan that reminded me of even more of their hypocrisy especially when it comes to armen. like in what world would using one sister to manipulate another is okay?? n then saying “well sometimes you need to do bad things for the greater good 🥺” like shut up elain literally volunteered n y’all (azriel) shut her down.

they also have no problems using eluciens mating bond against them.

“perhaps lucien being elains mate would help-somehow. i’d find a way.” -pg.621 acowar

like i love rhys but after he said that i wanted to punch him. like u value ur mating bond sm but literally moments after lucien n elain see each other for the first time ur already plotting how to manipulate elain against lucien?? u n i r speaking the same language- elain needs to leave. i hate when ppl say that “sjm isn’t just gonna uproot her from the night court she loves the night court!!!” that may be right- but feyre thought she was going to spend her life in spring n it took her like two months to leave. (also ppl act like sjm cant make major changes to her plot….. have y’all read throne of glass it took like two paragraphs to change celaena to aelin)

this got a lil long lol but to sum it up- there’s no way elain can stay in the night court while living her life in a healthy way. i like to make jokes abt it but it’s not good that she just genuinely doesn’t do anything, n it’s even worse when the people around her only value her when they need someone else to do their bidding. they don’t see her as an individual they see her as a means to an end. the ic isn’t her family n i don’t even think she’s good friends w any of them. you can still love ppl n live far away. her leaving doesn’t have to be the result of an awful falling out…. she can just realize that she needs a little distance to grow n live her own life (w lucien) happily.

[novacomette]

Sneak peak from Dance from my Heart - Gwynriel

"You're saying that that woman is making you work overnight!?" Asked her friend sharply.

"You know Merrill, my dancing skills aren't enough for her apperantly. I have to keep practicing." Gwyn said to her friend as Nesta shook her head in disapproval.

"Next time I see her, Imma break her kneecaps." Gwyn flinched at her sudden threat. But chuckled, which made Nesta grin. "There you go!.." She added. "Never let that smile die. I mean it."

-

"Finally found you. I thought I was gonna see you at the party" Cassian said a bit out of breath. Was he running? He walked to Azriel and sat next to him, legs hanging form the roof's edge. "I thought you were dead by now-"

"I'm certainly not. How did you even fimd me?" Azriel didn't even look at him.

Cassian blew out a breath. "This is the only place I know you'd be because you come here for two reasons. To either escape from people or to dance whenever the weather is favorable, that includes rainy days." He said. Azriel kept quiet for a moment before his other brother in arms added. "Still sad that Rhys is getting married?"

"Hey, I'm rather glad that he found someone. I really am.." Azriel's face was unreadable but his voice gave him away. "Guess we either a duo or we part ways... Things change man.."

Cassian elbowed him. "Things change.. that's a fact. But that doesn't change what we got. Brothers are brothers like it or not." His smirk brought a small smile on Azriel. Cassian looked up as in panicked. "Hold on, is the sky falling or did you just smile!?" Azriel laughed at then and punched his shoulder.

That's enough for today! Hope this gave you hyperactivity 😏

[much-obliged-timothy]

Heirs

I almost didn’t post this because I really just wrote it on a whim after my Dad Tim & Uncle Rhys shorts made me wonder what it’d be like for Tim if Jack had another kid. So, here’s a snapshot take on that idea! 

Tim wondered when the bizarre life he was living had become normal to him.

There was the whole being a doppelganger working for the world’s biggest psychopath part of it, of course. But if you’d told him years ago he was going to be, essentially, a nanny for the psychopath he was a doppelganger of, he would’ve laughed in your face.

Now, he just scooped the beer he’d been drinking off the coffee table and tossed it up on the counter where kids couldn’t reach. He kicked his dirty laundry under his bed and took a quick look around to make sure nothing of imminent danger was left lying about. 

He’d been horrified when Jack accidentally got Nisha pregnant. Even more horrified when Nisha decided to keep the kid. The last thing the galaxy needed was a mini Jack/Nisha running around.

The horror had grown to an overwhelming amount when Jack decided to use Tim to look after the kid when he was too busy to do it himself. 

Tim had absolutely dreaded it, waiting for the kid to get old enough to use him as a punching bag or torment him the way Jack did. No way the offspring of Handsome Jack and Nisha Kadam would ever have a kind bone in their body. 

There was a knock on the door and Tim called out a lazy, “Come in.”

The door opened and in bound a small boy who was a disturbing mix of Jack and Nisha. His tutor followed behind him.

“His homework,” the tutor said, handing a folder to Tim. “I had permission to take him on a bit of a field trip today, so he never napped. I’d either let him sleep an hour now, or else start that homework early and let him go to bed earlier than usual.”

“Jack’s got him for bedtime,” Tim said, taking the folder. “If he’s cranky by then, it’s not my problem.”

The tutor shrugged and left Tim’s apartment. Tim tossed the folder down.

“Liam!” he called as the boy took off for the kitchen. “Come start your homework.”

It was a minute before Liam reappeared with a juice box and a small bag of chips. He shook his head at Tim, thick black hair tumbling across his forehead.

“Nu-uh, Uncle Timmy! I gotta see Angel! I gotta!” He shot Tim his wide-eyed look, which seemed to work on every adult except Tim. “Please. I gotta.”

Tim pointed. “Homework. Or it’s my ass your dad will beat.”

He abandoned the wide-eyed look and instead settled for an imitation of Jack’s stern look. “I gotta see Angel.”

“Nah, kid,” Tim said. “You gotta do your homework.”

“I’ll bring it,” he tried. “Please, Uncle Timmy!”

Tim sighed heavily. But Liam didn’t get to see his sister often, and he knew Angel was probably his only sane family member.

“Fine. But you don’t get to throw a fit later when you’re tired and you have to finish your work,” Tim said, snatching the folder up, knowing full well that Liam wouldn’t touch it while they were visiting Angel but needing to try anyways. “Let’s go.”

A bright smile broke out on Liam’s face, so happy and pure. Tim hated that he still held out hope that the kid would be better than his parents someday. 

But Liam launched forward, throwing his little arms as far around Tim’s waist as he could. “You’re the best, Uncle Timmy!” 

“Yea, yea,” Tim said, taking his hand and leading him out of the apartment.

They went to the nearest fast travel station. Tim set it for the Bunker, being one of the only people authorized to fast travel there now that he was so often in charge of Liam.

It had been horrifying to learn Jack was going to have a child. Even more so to learn that his baby with Nisha wouldn’t be his first. 

But Tim had adjusted slowly to Angel. As they flashed inside her chamber, he was heartbroken but used to the sight of her and the Eridium injectors hooked into her body.

This poor girl. Tim tightened his hold on Liam’s hand, wondering if he could secure a better fate for Jack’s second child.

“Timothy,” she said in surprise. “Liam.”

“Angel!” Liam released Tim’s hand to run forward. “Angel, I went on a field trip today!”

“Did you?” she said, so easily able to hide the jealousy she no doubt felt. She was trapped here, doomed to die without Eridium, while her little brother got to experience the world. 

Liam nodded eagerly. “Uh-huh. We went to see skags! But they were, um, they were...d...d...d-something.”

“Domesticated?” Tim offered.

“Yea!” Liam was nodding eagerly again. “I got to see all kinds’a skags and stuff. And- And there was this one guy and one of the skags bit him.” He laughed at the thought, Tim and Angel sharing a look. The signs that Jack and Nisha were getting to him were glaringly obvious at times. “He started cryin’, like a baby.”

“Well, it probably hurt,” Angel said. “You shouldn’t laugh at people when they get hurt. It’s mean.”

He ignored that, still laughing. “I petted one! They felt all weird and gross.”

“You pet one,” Tim said. “‘Petted’ isn’t a word, kid. This is why you need to do your homework.”

Liam ignored that, too. “And there were baby skags! Mr. Wilson let me name one!”

“What’d you call it?” Angel said.

He was basically vibrating with excitement. “Angel! I named her Angel!” 

Tim and Angel shared another look. He could tell she still held out hope for him, too.

“That was really nice of you, Liam,” she said softly. Tim couldn’t quite read the expression on her face; it might’ve been pain, or sadness, or love. Maybe it was all of them. He looked away rather than suffer trying to interpret it.

“They made her a collar with her name on it!” Liam said. “I’m gonna ask daddy to give her a bodyguard so she’s always safe.”

Tim closed his eyes, clenching his fists. He hated his own hope. He hated it so much, because he knew this boy’s kindness would never survive.

Angel had to take a moment before speaking again. “I hope she gets to grow up strong and see the whole world.”

“I’m gonna take a picture next time we see her. Mr. Wilson said I can see her again!” he said. “I’ll show you the picture.” He hesitated, looking anxious. “And maybe daddy will let you come see her. I’m gonna tell him she’s named after you. So maybe he’ll let you come with me next time.”

“I would love that,” Angel said, because it was honest and it was kinder than the reality of telling him why she couldn’t. “I really would, Liam.” 

He pressed his hand to the chamber enclosing her. She pressed hers to it as well, so little separating them, so much separating them. His hand was so tiny, swallowed up by the image of hers against it. His bright blue eyes met hers, their most striking shared feature they’d inherited from the man who kept them apart. 

“Tell me more about your trip,” she said, only the faintest tremor to her words. “I want to hear everything.”

His smile was huge. He went on and on about his trip and everything he saw, sometimes getting so excited that he’d repeat himself. But Angel never pointed it out, and neither did Tim. They let him carry on, swooping in with questions when he seemed ready to stop talking.

Finally, though, his lack of a nap caught up with him. Tim was sitting on the ground, and Liam went over, crawling into Tim’s lap as his yawns grew more frequent. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep.

“Please, Timothy,” Angel said quietly, her eyes fixed on her brother. “I have no chance. But he does. Look out for him.”

“I’m trying,” Tim said, looking down at the small child in his lap. 

“When dad told me Nisha had a boy, I was so happy. It meant he would never share my fate,” Angel said, looking away from them both. “But he can use Liam in other ways.”

“Angel,” Tim said. “Did you pick his name?”

Angel nodded. “Yes. Dad let me pick his name.” She gave a weak smile. “He hated what I chose. But I just...It means ‘protector’. I want...I want him to be a force of good in the world, Timothy.”

She could’ve been, too. But Jack had locked her away and used her for his own selfish gain.

“I’ll do everything I can to keep him from being the fucking nightmare his parents are,” Tim promised.

That earned a surprised laugh from Angel. “Thank you. I wish I could take care of him myself. I’m glad Jack chose to trust you with him. You’re a good man.”

“That’s debatable these days, but I’m at least a better man than Jack,” Tim said. He bit his lip. “I can, uh, bring him here more often. If you want.”

That look in her eyes he couldn’t read again. “Yes. Thank you, Timothy. I would like that a lot.” 

They fell silent after that. Angel watched her brother sleep. Tim thought about how unfair the world was.

He’d seen Jack interact with both his children. Tim believed Jack did love both of them. But Tim also believed that when Jack loved something, he felt compelled to break its will so he could control it. After all, a thing could never leave him if he shackled it to him.

Tim and Angel did not wake Liam, even when Tim’s legs fell asleep from the position the little boy was in, and even when Jack called to see where they were. Waking him meant bringing him back to Helios, back to everyone who had a plan for him, who wanted to chip away at his kindness to make way for cunning and cruelty. 

Angel wanted to tell Tim everything, but she refused to put him at risk. She knew it would all be over soon; she would betray her father and help the Crimson Raiders defeat him. Jack would die, and so would she. She only hoped Tim fled with Liam and raised him.

Handsome Jack had stolen freedom and any hope of a normal life from Angel. She would not let him do the same to her brother.

So they sat in silence. It was the calm before the storm, and they knew it. But there was nothing to do now, so Tim stayed beside Angel’s prison and let Liam sleep, the only comfort he could offer the children Jack had damned.