#Rowan and Aelin

[shadowhandss60]

If Aelin trained Dorian:

Aelin: FIGHT ME YOU EMO NERD ASS SLUT.

Dorian: At least try to sound sophisticated when you threaten someone.

Aelin: Dost thou wish to engage in a duel, my good bitch?”

Dorian: …Somehow that is worse.

[bombitart]

So I was thinking about doing some spicy arts and decide to start with some light version 😋😏. Hope you enjoy this beautiful scene with Aelin and Rowan🫣❤️❤️❤️.

Characters from “Throne of glass” series by Sarah J Maas 🔥🔥🔥.

[acourtofquestions]

"But maybe," he said, quietly enough that she looked at him again. He didn't smile, but his eyes were inquisitive. "Maybe we could find the way back together."

He would not apologize for today, or yesterday, or for any of it. And she would not ask him to, not now that she understood that in the weeks she had been looking at him it had been like gazing at a reflection. No wonder she had loathed him.

"I think," she said, barely more than whisper, "I would like that very much." He held out a hand. "Together, then." She studied the scarred, callused palm, then the tattooed face, full of a grim sort of hope.

Someone who might-who did understand what it was like to be crippled at your very core, someone who was still climbing inch by inch out of that abyss.

Perhaps they would never get out of it, perhaps they would never be whole again, but

"Together," she said, and took his outstretched hand.

And somewhere far and deep inside her, an ember began to glow.

[justascrollingghost]

Can we talk about how Rowan had to be restrained so he wouldn’t run into deadly darkness after Aelin and this was before he’d figured out he was in love with her

[nikethestatue]

You know who else wondered why he wasn't mated to the woman he was in love with?

Rowan.

He wanted Aelin. For months and months, he wanted her and questioned what she wasn't destined for him.

Reminds you of anyone?

What if the Cauldron was wrong?

Why was Elain given to another?

Rowan was also torn up by these thoughts and questions, and they never left them. He desired Aelin, thought that he couldn't have her, thought that he already had a mate.

Azriel is just as torn up by his dilemma and he wants Elain regardless of their lack of bond, and her bond with Lucien.

History repeats itself.

[brainrotcharacters]

tell me I'm wrong

[harperbrynne]

Aelin and Rowan appearing in Prythian with several bags:

Rhys: You came from another world.

Aelin: Yes. *wipes sweat from forehead* We’ve been jumping from world to world for what feels like hours.

Rhys: And you are seeking refuge here?

Aelin: Oh, no, we’re looking to have a vacation. Is this the world to do it in?

[aelinschild]

Paradigm; side by side

˙✧˖ March 3rd: Curtain

Main Masterlist | Paradigm; side by side Masterlist |

SYNOPSIS: Sick with knowing. Dying from chance. WORDCOUNT: 636 WARNINGS: Horny Rowan?

Written for @throneofglassmicrofics 2024 March Prompts. Go check out the other works over there!

He didn't notice the silence until it changed. 

Until the sheer curtains whispered to him, swaying in anothers trail. The clicking of door notches, the echo of unpacking, the murmur of a body. For years, it had been him. Reigning sovereign over noise; existing from his will. There were stretches of time where he had forgotten how to speak – that he could speak. More than his mind, a language conceived out of convenience, he would listen to the noise around him until it became him. 

Aelin – the roommate – was more for sanity than any extra cash flow. 

But, it had been like a sunburn, when he opened that door. Prepared for the strange woman to move in, coaching himself into passivity. He had shaved. Appearing less formidable, softening edges and combing over cracks. The noise made from his pacing through the small space, fiddling with decorations, pulling back the curtains again and again. 

The seconds slipped away like sand through ruddy fingers. Nearly ripping the door off its hinges in haste, opening it to firelight made human. It had soaked the oxygen straight from his lungs, reaching deep into him for more. 

Rowan knew what it was like to drown, and he would trade it for burning if he had the chance. 

Her eyes – gold, gold, gold – had stuttered over him, widening. When they fell down his frame, he had drawn constellations through the freckles on her face. Cygnus, like a cross over the bridge of her nose. A part of the universe. 

He had recovered, had pushed past the blockage in his throat, choked on awe. In a slow gesture, welcoming her in. She had asked for him, had asked as if he was not nearly at his knees in prayer, and he spoke to her again. I am Rowan. Like a declaration, but moreso a surrender. 

When night had fallen, hours after she had retreated to her space in his home, his mind was fractured. Nerves frayed and spilt, body lined with enough tension to shatter. All that he could think of was her. It was perverse; ghastly and vile. But his shirt smelt like lemon verbena and crackling embers, simply by proximity. 

He had shucked it off, shoving it as deep as he could in the antique chest of drawers in the corner of the bedroom. Frantically opening windows, hands heavy with strength; lithe with intention. The overnight bag had faced the brunt of whatever ran through his veins, burning and burning. 

By dawn, the smattering of hair across his jaw had inched its way out. The world sang a tune different than what he bore witness to most mornings, he was spun off-axis. By a woman he had barely spoken to. All night he lay awake, straining to hear the lightest of sounds. Trapped in forlorn fantasy that promised an ending so painful it would border on pleasure. 

He had nearly pulled his hair from the roots trying to write his note. I'm going away for a day, sorry. I'm needed elsewhere, I'll be back soon. How are you liking the house – it's all yours while I'm away. 

When he heard her bed creak, innocent and immemorable, he had left. Straight through the back doors, down to the pier, out onto Ferus. He had half a mind to grab the overnight bag and his journal before untying the boat and preparing to tack. Racing out into the sea, surrounded by a heady fog that resembled the unease in his head. Alone again, but the silence was different now. Now it rushed over him, pulling him down into what would muffle infinity. No longer an afterthought.

Rowan was plagued. Sick with knowing. Dying from chance. Leaving calcified footprints over a space once created for him, by him, evaporated under sunlight, noticed by constellations.

Taglist: @mariaofdoranelle , @goddess-aelin , @leiawritesstories , @renxzs

Let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist :)

[acourtofthought]

Love - SJM Style

Obviously the actual falling in love part is amazing but before her characters get to that point, we have a lot of this:

Rowaelin -

You are a child, and a spoiled one at that. And,” he said, those green eyes holding nothing but distaste, “you are a coward.”

And then she said one of the foulest things she’d ever uttered in her life, bathing in the pure hate of it. “Fae like you make me understand the King of Adarlan’s actions a bit more, I think.”

“First thing,” he breathed, “we’re not friends. I’m still training you, and that means you’re still under my command.”

Chaol / Yrene -

You didn’t seem to mind the privileges that came when you snapped your fingers and Kashin ran here. Perhaps he’ll grow tired of you stringing him along.”

“You’d be surprised the people that opiate makes you consider. Who you’ll find yourself willing to sully yourself with.”

“Did she pick Dorian, then? The queen. I’m surprised she could stomach either of you, given your history. What your kingdom did to hers.”

“Yet you were assigned to me because your Healer on High saw otherwise. Saw that no matter how high you climbed in that tower, you’re still that girl in Fenharrow.” A laugh came out of him, icy and bitter. “I knew another woman who lost as much as you. And do you know what she did with it—that loss?” He could barely stop the words from pouring out, could barely think over the roar in his head. “She hunted down the people responsible for it and obliterated them. What the hell have you bothered to do these years?”

Aedion / Lysandra -

She knew Aedion would agree to the plan, even if he still hated her.

“You can go to hell,” Aedion snapped. “You can go to hell, you lying bitch!”

Lorcan / Elide -

Aelin had been brutalized, their very location betrayed by Lorcan to Maeve, and still he tried to follow. Right through the sand still wet with Aelin’s blood.

Elide let out a soft, vicious laugh. “Of course you didn’t. Why would you have intended for your wondrous queen to sever the blood oath?”

Lorcan blinked at the words, the hatred in them, stunned enough that he let her walk past this time. Elide didn’t so much as look back.

“The only thing that I am jealous of, Lorcan, is that she is rid of you.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. But Elide’s face did not warm. “I don’t care,” she said, turning on her heel. “And I don’t care if you walk off that battlefield tomorrow.”

“I have never heard Lorcan apologize for anything. Even when Maeve whipped him for a mistake, he did not apologize to her.” “And that means he earns my forgiveness?”

Quinlar -

“She’s a spoiled party girl. What did you expect?” “She’s not stupid, Hunt,” Isaiah countered. “Everything I’ve seen and heard suggests otherwise.”

His teeth flashed. “I don’t care what you call me, Quinlan, so long as you do what you’re told.” Fucking alphahole. “Immortality is a long time to have a giant stick up your ass.”

Feysand -

Rhysand ran an eye over me. “I knew you liked to stoop low with your lovers, Lucien, but I never thought you’d actually dabble with mortal trash.” My face burned.

Even as he said my most private thoughts, even as I burned with outrage and shame, I trembled at the grip still on my mind.

I stared at him, sending as much hate as I could into my gaze. He’d been the one who’d caused all this. He’d told Amarantha about Clare; he’d made Tamlin beg.

I bared my teeth. “Go. To. Hell.” Swift as lightning, he lashed out, grabbing the shard of bone in my arm and twisting. A scream shattered out of me, ravaging my aching throat. The world flashed black and white and red. I thrashed and writhed, but he kept his grip, twisting the bone a final time before releasing my arm. Panting, half sobbing as the pain reverberated through my body, I found him smirking at me again. I spat in his face.

“Don’t get me started on what you did to me Under the Mountain.”

“I didn’t ask for your approval.”

“I think we can agree that I owe you nothing, and you owe me nothing.”

“I’m not your enemy, Feyre.” “Tamlin says you are.” I curled the fingers of my tattooed hand into a fist. “Everyone else says you are.” “And what do you think?” He leaned back in his chair again, but his face was grave. “You’re doing a damned good job of making me agree with them.”

“No, because it’s so much easier to pretend it never happened and let them coddle you.”

“Luck? Yes, how lucky for you,” I said quietly, but not weakly, “that the rest of Prythian was ravaged while your people, your city, remained safe.”

His laugh was bitter, soft. “I thought so. Perhaps you should take some time to figure that out one of these days.”

“At least I let them see who I am, broken bits and all. Yes—it’s to save your people. But what about the other masks, Rhys? What about letting your friends see your real face? But maybe it’s easier not to. Because what if you did let someone in? And what if they saw everything, and still walked away? Who could blame them—who would want to bother with that sort of mess?”

Nessian -

“What are you looking at?” Cassian’s brows rose—little amusement to be found now. “Someone who let her youngest sister risk her life every day in the woods while she did nothing. Someone who let a fourteen-year-old child go out into that forest, so close to the wall.” “Your sister died—died to save my people. She is willing to do so again to protect you from war. So don’t expect me to sit here with my mouth shut while you sneer at her for a choice she did not get to make—and insult my people in the process.”

“If that’s what a bastard-born Fae warrior can do, no wonder my sister has become so entangled with the High Lords.” Bitch. Bitch for the insult to him and to Feyre. “Did it bother you more that you wanted it, or that it was a bastard-born nobody who made you feel such things, Nesta?” “It’s been a long winter. Beggars can’t be picky, I suppose.”

What did he care? What did he care? He had enough shit to deal with.

“And what do you deserve?” A slow smile, indeed a plains-cat readying for the kill. Then, “Certainly more than a bastard-born nobody.” Bitch. “What a fne partner you are, Nesta. Remind me to bring a book on military strategy the next time. Maybe you’ll stand a chance then.” A cold, fat look. “It’s easier, isn’t it,” Cassian breathed, crossing the distance again, not caring who saw them standing in the bay window “To wield the words and the coldness as armor to keep everyone from seeing where and who you failed and how you did not care until it was too late.”

Only hatred gleamed in her eyes.

“Well, I see it, Nesta Archeron. And all I see is a bored and spoiled girl—”

“Is it Nesta?” “Not everything in my life is about your sister, you know.”

Nesta had made it clear enough she had no interest in Cassian—not even in being in the same room as him.

“I’ve made my thoughts clear enough on what I want from you.”

He didn’t know why the hell he cared. Why he’d bothered.

She’d made it clear enough in those initial days after that last battle that she wanted nothing to do with him.

“I was dragged into this world of yours, this court.” “Then go somewhere else.”

“Stop following me. Stop trying to haul me into your happy little circle. Stop doing all of it.”

“Your sisters love you. I can’t for the life of me understand why, but they do. If you can’t be bothered to try for my happy little circle’s sake, then at least try for them.”

“You think I can’t hear that male in your bedroom, trying to quietly put on his clothes and sneak out the window?”

Elucien are coming along quite nicely -

“You betrayed us.”

Her eyes went frank and cold. “I was to be married in a few days.”

“She wants nothing to do with me.” / And as for here …” He shook off my grip and headed for the door. “I can’t stand to be in the same room as her for more than two minutes.

“You couldn’t say a single word to him? A pleasant greeting?”

“He brought you a present.” Those doe-brown eyes turned toward me. Sharper than I’d ever seen them. “And that entitles him to my time, my affections?”

“Where’s Elain?” “I am not always in this city to see my mate.” The last two words dripped with discomfort.

[shadowhandss60]

Chaol: Here’s a list of potentional champions. They’re all straight-laced and well respected warriors.

Dorian:

Chaol:

Dorian:I want the king of the Assasins.

Chaol: I-

Dorian: Scratch that, I want the 19 year old chaos gremlin who unalived a bunch of overseers with a pick axe for funsies so I can piss off my dad.

[bombitart]

Prince Rowan Whitethorn Galathynius from “Throne of glass” by Sarah J Maas.

[acourtofquestions]

How is rowaelin already every romantic trope in one before they even have their first kiss?🫶😂👏

[justascrollingghost]

Aelin: so like when you’re a hawk can you talk to all the other hawks? Have you got bird friends that don’t know you’re not really a bird?

Rowan: fireheart.. please.. it’s 3am.. go to fucking sleep

[punkassbookjockey26]

Show and Tell, Part 2

This has kind of taken a life of its own. Here's part 2. It's rough and relatively unedited, so please be kind.

Rating: Probably T or M - there's a spicy bit.

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

It was the end of the school day, and Rowan slowly put his things away in his messenger bag. He always went a bit slower than usual these days, even though the students had long left campus. If he were completely honest with himself, he might have acknowledged he had been waiting for a fiery blonde woman with an equally feisty daughter who just happened to be in his class. But it had been a month since that enlightening day, and while Everly remained a constant source of enthusiasm, he had seen neither hide nor hair of her elusive mother.

And he had looked. Every day for the past month, he stood outside the school helping children find their rides. If the principal thought it was unusual for him to take so many after-school duty shifts, she didn’t say anything. But each day, it was a person that was not Aelin that arrived for Everly. It seemed to fluctuate between a woman with dark brown hair and a man he had, somewhat embarrassingly, mistaken for Aelin initially. Once, it had been an older woman with striking features with those same turquoise eyes ringed in gold. But for the last several weeks, he had not seen her.

She had been a force to be reckoned with that day. Fiercely protective with a smart mouth that almost immediately set him on edge. As upset as he was at her blatant suggestion that he would allow bullying in his classroom, he was equally intrigued about the fire that so clearly burned underneath her skin. He had hated to be the one to dim that fire that day, but he was glad to see she recovered almost immediately, brushing off the embarrassment with sarcasm and bright laughter that he could still hear echoing in his ears.

He knew it was ridiculous, being this interested in a woman with whom he had spoken for all of five minutes, no matter how stunning she was or how she was so deftly able to put him in his place. It hadn’t helped either that he now knew what manner of help she preferred in her alone time. The utter mortification he felt that day had been burned away by visions of a woman on fire, deep in the throes of ecstasy as she repeatedly brought herself to the edge with a pink, glittery vibrator.

Great. He was now standing in his classroom sporting the evidence of his depravity. Rowan sighed and ran a hand down his face. He really needed to get ahold of himself. If she hadn’t returned in a month, she obviously didn’t feel whatever spark he thought he felt between them. Not that there could be a spark. Everly was still his student, and he was a consummate professional.

Even if his dick didn’t agree with that assessment.

His shame spiral was interrupted by a loud chirping on his phone. A brief flash of anticipation was quickly tempered when he reminded himself that Aelin couldn’t possibly know his cell number. He looked down at the screen and frowned at the message.

Fen: hey man, can you do me a solid?

Rowan quickly typed a response: what do you want this time, boyo?

Fen: can you get me some condoms? i’ve got a lady friend coming over later, and ya boy needs something.

Rowan: So get them yourself.

 Fen: No can do, chief. No time.

Rowan: Whose fault is that?

Fen: Looking this good takes time, Whitethorn. You’d know that if you spent more than five fucking minutes getting ready in the morning.

Rowan: Sorry, I’m busy.

Fen: I’ll do the dishes for a week.

Rowan pondered this. While he didn’t particularly enjoy doing the dishes, he kept it to a rigorous schedule. There was no way that Fen would be able to adhere to it when the man barely remembered to put his laundry away half the time. But that got him thinking…

Rowan: You have to deep clean the bathroom to my satisfaction. I want it sparkling, Moonbeam.

Fen: …

Fen: Fine. Now get me the damn condoms

Rowan: You’re lucky I needed to go to the store, anyways.

----------

Thirty minutes later, Rowan was staring at an aisle full of condoms. It had been a while for him, but he was sure there hadn’t been this many types the last time he picked some up. The last time had been with Remelle about two years ago, not that she let him forget it. He had been taken in by her cool confidence and found out quickly that she was a petulant narcissist. He had immediately ended the relationship, much to her ire, and she had been relentless ever since. She was not a mistake that he would make ever again.

However, that still didn’t solve his present dilemma: procuring condoms for his flatmate.

Rowan knew he should just grab a box and finish it. If Fenrys had an issue with the condoms that he purchased on his behalf, he could get over it. Or better yet, get his own. But some part of him, some annoying big brother type, wanted to ensure that even though Fen had a different partner every night, he was safe with them. So he focused on his task.

Just as he picked out a box, a bright voice carried over the din of the store. “Teacher, Teacher!”

Rowan turned his head down the aisle and paled at the sight of two blonde pigtails trailing behind a small child with a grin that took up half her face.

“Hi, Mr. Teacher! Whatcha doin’?”

Rowan gulped nervously. “Um…Hi Everly. I’m just, uh, doing some shopping.”

“Cool! Me too!” Everly beamed happily at him.

Just like that day in class, Rowan couldn’t help but marvel at the absolute innocence that Everly displayed when faced with something not quite so. She was standing in an aisle full of all manner of adult items, including all manner of vibrators, and didn’t even bat an eye. When did stores even start selling these things? He couldn’t remember ever being able to pick up a vibrator at a grocery store, yet just a brief glance told him that, yup, it was there.

“Whatcha got?” Within seconds, the tiny child in front of him looked at a box of condoms in his hand, and Rowan wished he could die. Everly reached out her hand to grab the box he held. While usually, he would reprimand her for trying to take something that didn’t belong to her, he was still stunned by her presence to do anything.

“Oh yay! Balloons! Are they for school?” Everly was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, joy radiating from her. Her hand grabbed onto the box tightly.

Rowan cleared his throat, trying to wrench the condoms away from her. “Sorry, no. These aren’t for school, Everly.”

Everly paused momentarily and seemed to ponder his response, but the bright smile returned to her face a moment later. “That’s okay!”

And she grabbed the box in his hand and ran down the aisle, leaving Rowan staring open-mouthed behind her.

“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath and went down the aisle after her. However, no sooner than he turned the corner did he run into the woman that had been living in his mind since the last time he saw her.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Aelin smirked at him. Rowan froze as he watched Everly turn and face her mother, still holding the box of condoms in her hand.

“Look, mama! Balloons!” Everly lifted the box to mother, and Rowan could feel dread sink into his stomach like a stone. Aelin took one look at the box in her daughter’s hands and laughed out loud.

“They’re not mine!” Rowan sputtered. He felt heat creeping up his neck as he glared at the offending box in Everly��s hands.

“Oh?” Aelin quirked one amused eyebrow at him. “And pray tell, how did my child get her hands on these?”

Rowan ran his hand over the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I was buying them for my flatmate, and Everly took them out of my hands.”

“Did she now?” Aelin seemed to stifle a laugh as she turned down to her daughter. “Everly, sweetheart, why don’t you hand those back to Mr. Whitethorn and go pick out a treat from the toy aisle.” Her daughter politely handed him back the condoms without much to do and walked the next few aisles over.

Once she was out of earshot, Rowan sighed with relief, his shoulders sagging. He could feel the heat lingering on his face as he turned to look at the woman who had haunted him for the past month. The last time he saw her, she had been in an impeccable business suit, without a hair out of place. She had been beautiful then, almost intimidatingly so. But this time, she was dressed in a pair of skin-tight jeans and a bright red shirt that bared her shoulders. Her golden hair flowed down her back with a gentle curl at the end, and her stunning turquoise eyes focused on him and filled with delight.

“I swear to god, I did not give her those. I would never.” Rowan pleaded with the woman standing in front of him. She only laughed again and smiled at him. His breath hitched in his throat as he took her in and realized that he had missed that smile, even though he had only seen it once before.

“Mr. Whitethorn, both you and I are well aware of how my daughter can sometimes be.” Rowan watched as a bit of red flushed her cheeks as she spoke, and his mind returned to their last meeting. Rowan chuckled a bit, even if he was dying on the inside. This now made two embarrassing interactions with this woman; he really wasn’t putting his best foot forward.

“Yes, I am only too aware at this point.” He said in a self-deprecating tone. “But they truly aren’t mine.”

Aelin laughed again. “Mr. Whitethorn, after our last meeting, it wouldn’t matter if they were yours or not. My five-year-old daughter seems intent on driving us together in the most awkward situations possible.”

Rowan loosed a breath and smiled at her. “Glad to see that you were able to take things in stride. And please call me Rowan.”

“Of course,” she replied. “Growing up with a cousin hell-bent on embarrassing me every chance he got meant that I developed some thick skin.”

“Cousin?” Rowan froze. It couldn’t possibly be the same one. “Does he happen to look like you?”

Aelin raised an eyebrow. “He might as well be my twin. My parents used to get us confused all the time growing up.”

“Ahhh…I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.” Rowan scratched the back of his neck again. “I, uh, may have confused him for you one day when he was picking up Everly from school.”

Aelin laughed again, clutching her stomach. “Oh my god, you were the teacher that hit on him!”

Shit. That flush he felt earlier grew into a fire on his face. “I also hoped he would have kept that one to himself.”

“Oh, no, not a chance.” She smirked at him. “Aedion and I share everything. Seems I left a lasting impression last time I saw you?” She didn’t seem perturbed, though, that he tried to woo her cousin. Quite the opposite, in fact. Rowan breathed a sigh of relief.

“You could say that.” His voice deepened, and he saw her features soften toward him. Perhaps she did feel that same strange tug he felt, and maybe he could bend the rules just this once –

“Mama! I found a toy!”

Everly’s voice broke the moment as she waved a doll towards Aelin. Rowan watched as Aelin bent over to pick up her daughter, clutching her close to her chest as she turned to him. “Well, Rowan, it’s been nice to see you again. Perhaps next time, we can do it on purpose.”

She winked at him and pushed her cart away, Everly waving cheerfully at him over her shoulder.

------

Rowan slumped on the couch, leaning his head against the frame. He was an absolute mess. He set rules for a reason and dating his student’s mother was one of those rules. It muddied the waters, making it hard for him to remain impartial regarding the students in his class. But even after two embarrassing meetings, he still felt utterly enamored with Aelin Galathynius.

The door to the flat opened, and Fenrys strode in a girl hanging off his arm. Rowan lifted a terse eyebrow at him, and Fenrys saluted as he made his way down the hall. Rowan had thrown the offending box of condoms on his bed, and even though they got him another chance to speak with Aelin, the embarrassment was enough to keep him from handling his flatmate directly.

His phone chirped next to him. Not wanting to deal with Fenrys’ passive aggressiveness, he reached over to turn off the ringer when he saw a message from an unknown number.

Unknown: Mr. Whitethorn, this is Aelin Galathynius. I found your cell phone number on the teacher information handout you sent home. I was wondering if we could set up a time to meet one on one regarding Everly’s behavior in your class.

Rowan had never saved a phone number faster in his life.

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

Tag List:

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@faerie-queen-fireheart

@1islessthan3books

@superspiritfestival

@jesstargaryenqueen

@ireallyshouldsleeprn

@morganofthewildfire

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@story-scribbler

@whoever-you-choose-to-love

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@livsdriverslicense

@elentiyawhitethorn

[brainrotcharacters]

[mariaofdoranelle]

Look at Us Now — Ch. 2

Fic masterlist

Thank you for all the love on the first chapter!! I hope you like this update <33

Warnings: language, parents fighting, Fenrys

Rowan heard the chorus of Fenrys’ students before he even got to the place.

“Thank you… Moonbeam!”

He stopped for a second and then hurried up, curious to know what was going on in that class.

When Rowan graduated as an engineer, it didn’t even cross his mind that he’d end up working as a drill instructor for the Air Force. And liking it.

It started organically. His subordinates were trained well enough, but something was off with their coordination while marching, or sometimes they thought it was okay to show up with a stubble. Rowan was doing this job even before being offered the position, or so Colonel Darrow pointed out a few years ago.

It wasn’t what he’d planned for himself, but it worked out perfectly. Rowan was reaching the age of settling down. His cousin Sellene was currently facing a difficult pregnancy, and the thought of being deployed and leaving someone at home like that didn’t sit well with him. Instructing new recruits gave him the stability he wanted without having to leave the Air Force. It wasn’t perfect, but it was exactly what Rowan needed.

His current issue wasn’t the newbies, though. It was the instructor.

“Thank you… Moonbeam!”

“Thank you… Moonbeam!”

Fenrys was sat on a chair, grinning like Hellas himself while all of his students were shouting “Thank you… Moonbeam!” while doing push-ups.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Rowan whisper-yelled so only Fenrys could hear.

His friend turned to him smiling, unfazed. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m training my little munchkins.”

Unbelievable.

Fenrys was fucking unbelievable.

“So you’re telling me that you borrowed my drive last minute for your class,” Rowan snarled, “Only to get here and teach my class instead?”

“But it’s the military! Exercising is everyone’s class.” He did a double-take on Rowan’s dissatisfied face and continued, “I went through hell as a newbie, it’s really fun to do the same to them. It’s a psychology thing, you should look it up online.”

“You’re supposed to be teaching them gun safety.” Rowan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “Starting tomorrow, if I hear a word that you taught them something that doesn’t involve guns, and safety—“

“Okay, okay.” Fenrys waved him off. “There’s no need to snitch me to Salvaterre. Let me fix this.”

Before Rowan could stop him and say he didn’t have time left to start his actual class, Fenrys turned to the 40 new recruits who were still chanting Thank you, Moonbeam and shouted, “Okay, instead of my name, you’ll say Whitethorn. Now!”

“Thank you… Whitethorn!”

Rowan stared at them speechless. Whenever he thought Fenrys couldn’t be more unserious, his friend outdid himself.

“Thank you… Whitethorn!”

“Thank you… Whitethorn!”

”That’s not what I asked you to do at all, Lieutenant.” Rowan added, a hint of resignation in his voice. Sometimes giving up was the smart thing when it came to Fenrys.

“You deserve it. By the way, did I tell you…” he trailed. “Fuck, I lost count. How many push-ups do you think they’ve done already?”

“One more reason you should stick to your job. You suck at doing mine.”

Fenrys chuckled. “You little shit.” Then turned to the recruits again. “Galathynius!” Fenrys shouted. “I want push-ups, jumping jacks and crunches. I want twen-“ He sneaked a glance at Rowan. “Thirty of each! You’re counting for me this time.”

“Yes, sir!”

Rowan’s whole body froze.

He knew that voice. Rowan had long, wet daydreams and nighttime fantasies about that same voice saying Yes, sir to him again, but in a completely different tone and situation. He never thought he’d see her again.

His heartbeat was going a mile a minute when he slowly turned around, and there she was. Fierce blue eyes already trained on him. Rowan forced himself to look back at Fenrys.

“Did you say Galathynius?”

“Oh, that’s what I was going to tell you!” His friend’s eyes sparkled like they did every time he had good gossip. “She’s the class’ nepo baby. Brigadier Galathynius’ niece.”

Oh, that’s great.

Fucking a student was completely against his moral code as an instructor, but Rowan wouldn’t blame himself since it happened before he knew anything. That student’s uncle happened to be the man with highest rank working inside this Air Force base, but if nothing happened in the six weeks following Aviator’s Ball, it wouldn’t happen now.

These weren’t Rowan’s biggest issue.

His biggest issue was wanting to do it again. Which was completely off-limits.

“Rowie, you listening?”

He wasn’t, and Fenrys knew that.

“Sure. Go on.”

“So I’m trying not to be too hard on her because I really want her to put in a good word for me—“

Rowan’s eyes bulged. “I cannot believe you’re giving her special treatment because of her connections to the brigadier—“

“What?” Fenrys barked a laugh. “No! I’m not giving her special treatment because of her great-uncle.” He tilted his head. “He kinda gives a daddy vibe, though… but I’m doing it because her boyfriend’s playing hard to get.”

Rowan could swear his heart stopped for a beat. “Her what?”

Fenrys let out a heavy sigh. “Her boyfriend, Dorian. Hottest man on earth. We matched on Tinder a few months ago. I just explained you the whole thing.”

Months ago. Plural. Which means they were already dating when Rowan slept with her.

Did Aelin use him to cheat on her boyfriend that night? Rowan had vivid memories of her saying she wasn’t married.

He sensed the building ache of his fingernails digging into his palms, hands clutching into a fist.

She didn’t exactly lie, but he felt as if she did.

Rowan should forget about Aelin and her boyfriend. They weren’t his problem.

“So he’s cheating on her?” Rowan asked.

Fenrys shrugged. “He told me they’re in an open relationship, but I don’t really care. If I’m nice, she’ll like me. If she likes me, she won’t mind me fucking her boyfriend.”

“I don’t think that’s how relationships work, Fenrys.”

Relationship. The word felt heavier than Rowan predicted before he said it.

“You have very little faith in what a pretty face and dazzling personality like mine can do, Rowie.”

Forcing himself to not slump his posture in front of the new recruits, Rowan just closed his eyes and lowered his head, rubbing one temple. He felt tired. He didn’t want to argue with Fenrys now about something as meaningless as this.

“Just give me the flash drive, Fen.”

He turned to the newbies again. “Galathynius! I need the flash drive on the desk near the door.”

Great.

If Rowan didn’t play his cards right, he’d have ten weeks of hell ahead of him. A lifetime, depending on which part of the Air Force Aelin was going to after her basic training.

Analyzing her stance now, she seemed a lot sharper the day they met. Recruit training did that to people, though, and the first few weeks always felt particularly ruthless.

Rowan had an extended hand, ready to get this over with, when she shook it.

She shook his hand instead of giving him the flash drive.

Rowan dropped her hand as if it’d burned him.

“Ten on the floor.”

Aelin blinked. “What?”

“Ten push-ups on the floor, Galathynius! Now!” Rowan shouted.

He was right on track, considering this is the same treatment he usually gave to the other recruits. She was supposed to salute him, not make physical contact. These were the rules, and tough was part of the job. Rowan wasn’t teaching children, he didn’t need to be soft.

Aelin didn’t think so, from what he saw as she rose up from the floor. Her fierce eyes were burning into him, eyebrows scrunched.

Rowan would be lying if he said it didn’t send a thrill through his spine.

He didn’t acknowledge it, though. Just grabbed his flash drive and left.

He had been dreaming about another man’s girlfriend. For six weeks. It didn’t sit well with him. Staying the hell away from Aelin Galathynius. That’s what he needed to do. 

Rowan flexed his hand, still feeling her touch against it.

Today’s reaction was just the shock of seeing her again, ignoring Aelin would be easy. If he kept it together, he could finish these ten weeks and walk out like this never happened.

~~

“Look, Dada, I ate all the broccoli.”

Rowan kissed the crown of his daughter's head, trying to give her attention while low-key freaking out. "Well done, Mai."

He had completely forgotten to buy Maisie's strawberry yoghurt. Should he go to the store with her and destroy today’s sleeping routine? Ask to borrow some from Aelin's and destroy his pride? Or maybe not get the yoghurt at all and destroy his sanity tomorrow morning, when she inevitably throws a tantrum.

The latter wasn't an option, though. Mais already had a hard time before going to school, she deserved that strawberry yoghurt.

"Daddy, the ice cream?" she asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

Maisie sighed, as if she was explaining something obvious. "I was a good girl and ate all the vegetables. Now you give me ice cream."

Aelin.

This new rule had Aelin Galathynius written all over it.

Rowan took a deep breath. “Mais…” he trailed, trying to think of a good way to explain this to her. “I can’t give you ice cream every time you eat your vegetables. It’s not good for your body.”

"Daddy."

"What?"

"That's not showing love."

Rowan pinched his lips together, somewhere between frustrated and amused. Getting cranky on a sugar withdrawal and arguing with him. Her mother’s daughter through and through.

"I don't even have ice cream here, Mais."

"We can walk to Mommy's. She always has ice cream.”

He knew it.

Maisie crossed her arms. "I'm going to count to three. One... two... Don't let me get to three, or...”

"Or...?" Rowan raised an eyebrow.

Maisie's little green eyes drifted around as she thought of an answer, then she shouted, "Or I'll call you!"

It was like time had stopped, his chest feeling tighter each millisecond.

I’ll call you.

He and Aelin argued about their calls every week, but he was so careful about not letting their daughter listen to their fights. How in hell did she pick up on that?

"Honey, I'm home!" A familiar voice sing-sang from the living room, making Maisie leave the kitchen running.

Rowan relaxed for a minute, sighing. This wouldn't solve any of his issues, but it was enough to distract his daughter from the ice cream issue.

He could hear Maisie squealing before he got to the living room. Fenrys was checking the mail Rowan left on a side table while Dorian gave Mais his trademark bear hug.

“You need to change your address at work,” Rowan quietly complained as they watched Dorian pretend to wrestle Maisie and roar like a bear while she shrieked with laughter.

It took Rowan a long time to adjust to Dorian being around, but as Aelin always says, every kid needs a cool, rich uncle with no kids. He was good with Maisie, so Rowan sucked it up until he got used to it.

“You know I won’t,” Fenrys finally answered.

Rowan looked at his friend dead in the eye. “You’ll come here to get your mail for the rest of your life?”

“You’re so dramatic, Rowie.”

“You moved out years ago.”

“And you love my visits,” Fenrys cheered. “So does your little munchkin.”

Well, Rowan had begrudgingly accepted that Fenrys wouldn’t change his address at work before he retired. But Maisie? She loved those two idiots. Probably because they had the same level of maturity as her.

An idea struck Rowan, so he quickly gripped Fenrys’ arm and leaned closer.

“Do you think you can watch Maisie for a minute?” Rowan quietly asked. “I just need to get her yoghurt—“

“Babe, we’re babysitting tonight!” He screamed to Dorian, then crouched on Maisie’s direction. “Munchkin, why don’t you show me your new toys?”

Rowan had no expectations of those two making Maisie follow through her nighttime routine, but this would do. He quickly thanked Fenrys and Dorian, then left to the store closest to the Air Force housing complex he lived in.

Since Maisie was relatively well-assisted, he decided to wander through the aisles and get a thing or another that was also running out.

Rowan could swear he saw a very familiar blur of golden hair, but it was gone before he knew it.

He was thinking about getting some new foods and seeing if Maisie accepted them. He’d recently found a pediatric dietitian online that gave great advice—

Right there, examining every bottle of wine available.

He frowned. Why was Aelin buying wine on a Thursday? Did she have plans for the weekend? That couldn’t be, this was her turn to spend the weekend with Maisie.

Rowan was ready to go talk to her and talk about today’s ice cream issue, but he saw her peeking at him from the corner of her eye and focusing back on the wine.

Oh. That’s how it’s going to be, then.

Well, Rowan didn’t care. She didn’t want to talk to him? Fine. He was busy anyway. They would talk tomorrow after pick up.

He went to the cereal aisle. He got Maisie’s favorite, but what if he tried giving her a more nutritious one?

He started reading the nutrition facts. Picks one up, too much sodium, puts it down. Picks another one, too little vitamins and minerals, puts it down as well.

“Tough choice, huh?”

“Sure.”

This one seemed nice. It also helped that there were some cartoon animals on the box, so—

Rowan felt a hand gently stroking his arm, which made him jerk it away and snap his gaze to the person next to him. A woman. Pale blond hair, pale blue eyes.

“Do you need help to choose?” She asked.

Rowan relaxed. She probably worked here, even though she wasn’t wearing the staff uniform. Maybe something happened with it? He tried to remember himself that some work environments were a lot more forgiving than the military.

“I’m trying to choose a cereal.”

“I always pick that one,” she said before pointing at a box near them.

Organic, vegan and gluten-free. There was no ice cream in the world that could make Maisie eat that.

Rowan grimaced. “I’m not sure my daughter would like this one. I’m actually between these.” He showed her the two boxes and its nutrition facts.

“You have a kid. Cute.” She sneaked her hand on his arm again. What was wrong with the staff today? “Let me show you something…”

Then the inappropriate employee showed him an app that scanned the bar code and rated the food from zero to one hundred.

Rowan’s eyes widened.

This was fucking genius.

He thanked the woman and started scanning everything.

She stayed close for a while, then went away once she was sure Rowan was well-assisted by the app.

Right now, Rowan was no better than Maisie when she got a new toy. How had he never read about this app?

He scanned some to decide, and others just to be judgmental and prove his point. He knew those colorful little things were worse than sugar cubes. He should tell Lorcan know about this app—

“Where’s Maisie?”

Aelin snapped him out of his thoughts, squinting at him with crossed arms.

Oh, she wanted to talk to him now?

“At home. With Dorian and Fenrys.”

She looked unimpressed. “Well, I didn’t know you liked to leave your child to flirt with other women.”

“Are you kidding me?” His mouth opened, then closed again. “I was talking to an employee.”

Aelin’s eyebrows rose up. “You want me to believe that? She clearly doesn’t work here!”

Rowan frowned. Was Aelin telling the truth? The arm thing was weird, maybe she was trying to flirt. Over cereal?

“You know what? I’ll tell you if you tell me what’s all this wine for.” He pointed to her small cart.

“I do not need to tell you what I’m doing during my days off!”

She only wanted him to question what she was doing on her days with Maisie? Sure, he’d do exactly that. “Fine. Then at least tell me why does Maisie think she will get ice cream every time she eats vegetables.”

“Because she’s a kid! She’ll try anything to make you do what she wants.”

Rowan crossed his arms. “You’re telling me you have nothing to do with that?”

Her mouth fell open. “That’s exactly why I don’t want to talk to you between pick-ups. I need a fucking break.”

Rowan let out an incredulous laugh. “A break from your daughter?”

“No, a break from you.”

Rowan pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course. How could he ever forget that Aelin needed space because he was the cause of all her issues?

“Could you please…” he breathed deep. “Just please, give her less ice cream?”

She inched closer. “Could you please, just please, not question the way I take care of my child every fucking day?”

“I don’t—“

“Yes, you do! She’s four-year-old girl who threw a tantrum because she wants ice cream. It’s not rocket science.”

Rowan looked away for a second, trying to calm down and talking in a gentle tone this time. “Okay, but maybe she wouldn’t do such a big tantrum if she had healthier dessert.”

Aelin frowned. “Healthy dessert?”

“Yeah, like grapes, watermelon—“

“FRUIT? You’re giving Maisie fruit and telling her it’s dessert!?”

“Fruit is dessert.”

“When it’s on top of a pie, Rowan.” Aelin’s eyes bulged like he’d just told her the most absurd thing.

Rowan bit his lip, trying not to laugh at her observation. They had talked about this many times already, and he still didn’t know if he found her stubbornness on this subject more comical or frustrating. Probably the latter, at least depending on the day.

He glanced at his phone. Fuck, it was so late. Time really flies with that food-ranking app.

“I have to go now, but I’ll call you—“

Aelin shook her head. “Personal space. Boundaries. We just talked about that.”

Rowan pinched his lips together, then remembered Maisie’s words from earlier. I’ll call you.

“Tomorrow after pick up, then?”

“Sure.” Aelin nodded and went away.

He did a mental note to see if someone could watch Maisie tomorrow evening. They’d probably end up having a huge fight about needing to have fewer fights. It’d be a shitshow.

*

The real shitshow was getting Maisie to go to bed, though. At least that was how Rowan felt when he was finally ringing Aelin for her goodnight call with Mais. He didn’t know what felt heavier, his limbs or his eyelids.

After grocery shopping, Rowan arrived home to the loudest state his home has ever been. Maisie’s squeals sounded louder than the TV. There was half-eaten chocolate in the couch. Fenrys was holding Maisie by one arm and one leg, spinning her sideways by the sound of *You Spin Me Round* while Dorian filmed everything.

Right before bedtime.

Rowan immediately felt his stomach fold into a tight knot inside.

This was every parent’s nightmare.

The rest of the evening went on exactly the way Rowan predicted the moment he stepped his foot into the house.

Maisie didn’t want Fenrys and Dorian to go. She cried when Rowan told her it was time to wind down and stop playing. Her uncles told him they didn’t bring the chocolate, but Maisie refused to tell him where she got it from.

By the time Rowan almost literally wrangled his daughter into bed, he was afraid he’d sleep in her tiny bed during story time before she did. It happened before.

He was now outside Maisie’s bedroom, giving her privacy with her mom. Aelin would complain about his calls the whole week, but Rowan was a dead man if he didn’t call her to say good night to her daughter.

“Daddy?” Maisie had her hand outstretched when he peeked into the room. “Mommy wants to talk to you.”

Rowan forced himself not to sigh, squared his shoulders and grabbed that phone. An officer going into battle.

He felt too drained to have another fight.

“Just so you know, I don’t give her ice cream every day.” Aelin’s voice sounded a little too quiet, or maybe it sounded like this to him because she wasn’t screaming.

He relaxed. ”Okay. Good.”

“I don’t keep track of how many times I give her ice cream, but it’s probably a lot less than you think.”

“That’s good to know. Thanks.” Rowan meant it. Not knowing or not being able to control some things left him more uneasy than he’d like to admit. Aelin probably knew that.

The silence stretched a little, and he tried to figure out if there was something else he needed to warn Aelin about.

“Good. Rowan, I need to—“

“I found some illicit chocolate today,” Rowan interrupted. “I think Maisie found your new stash.”

Aelin sighed. “That kid is outsmarting me.”

“She is.” He snorted.

“Rowan.”

“What?”

“I need to go.”

“Sure. See you at the pickup.”

“‘Kay, bye.” She hung up when the silence stretched for too long.

Rowan put his phone down and managed to lay on Maisie’s tiny bed. She hugged him, but only settled after squirming a little.

“I miss Mommy.”

“You’ll see her tomorrow.” It was a common thing, Maisie missing one parent while staying with the other. The trick was to acknowledge his daughter’s feelings, but not prompting her further enough to start a meltdown.

“She gives better cuddles.”

Curious, he chuckled and asked, “Is that so?” He’d never not be amused at his daughter’s bluntness.

Maisie nodded. “Mommy’s all squishy and comfortable.” Then she poked his abs so hard he grimaced.

He wasn’t focusing on Maisie’s sudden show of strength, though. He was currently fighting the wave of nostalgia flooding him after his daughter’s comment. Rowan used to know Aelin’s body like a kid knows their favorite toy, and he wouldn’t call it squishy. It must’ve changed after the pregnancy. He wouldn’t know.

He forced himself to focus back on Maisie, who was still frowning with her head laying on his chest. 

“You can’t comment on your mom’s body like this, Mais.”

Her frown deepened. “But she comments on mine!”

Rowan held on a sigh. She was a very argumentative little girl, this one. Much like her mother. The ‘but she’s your parent’ explanation was never well-received, so he had to try another tactic. 

“But she’s a doctor. She can comment on people’s bodies, it’s her job.”

“I don’t like it when she says I have baby cheeks. I’m not a baby.”

Rowan snorted. “So you’re reading on your own like a big girl tonight?”

Her eyes went wide. “Daddy, you’re mean! I can’t read.”

He chuckled and kissed that light blonde hair. “What am I reading to you, then?”

“No reading!” She exclaimed, “I want a story from your head.”

Rowan hummed and scratched the back of his neck, stalling. God, he was terrible at this.

“There was a family of birds—“

“Doggies.”

“Okay, doggies. There was a family of doggies. There was the Mama Doggie, the Dadda Doggie and Doggie.”

“Doggie needs a name, Daddy.”

“Okay, the dog’s name is—“

“Fleetfoot. Now tell me the rest of the story.”

And Rowan would do, if Maisie hadn’t slept halfway through it.

Which left him time to think about his day. And Aelin. And how they needed to talk about what Maisie said today during dinner. Rowan already knew what he had to do, though. He needed to distance himself from Aelin. Boundaries, like she always says. Forget about the fact that this had already been his goal for a good part of the last five years.

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