#lucien looks hot in blue

[amandapearls]

꧁•⊹٭𝙻𝚞𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗٭⊹•꧂

I’m really excited to be able to post this commission today! It’s incredible artwork was done by @amiranaval

She did such an amazing job drawing Lucien! I screamed with excitement when I saw how good he looked!

I wanted to show him at the Day Court, maybe visiting his dad. Who knew Lucien could look so good in blue? 😏😉

Artist: @amiranaval ❤️

Link to Instagram Post

Character belongs to Sarah J Maas

[prythianpages]

Shining Like the Sun | Lucien x Reader

summary: Lucien walks in on you singing a familiar tune to your daughter.

word count: 1,200

warnings: fluff

a/n: This has been in my drafts for a hot minute and I decided to finally edit it. Here is another part of my ABBA x ACOTAR series (masterlist) where I dedicate a song to a character (: and a part two to this one-shot. It can also be read as a stand alone as this takes place many years after. I just wanted to take a lighter approach to this song since the first part was dark/angsty.

As the sun ascends to its highest peak in the beautiful blue sky, its bathes the court in a warm glow. It’s been years since Lucien officially moved to Day Court, accepting his title as Helion’s heir. Yet, he still finds himself getting lost in the beauty of it all.

It was not easy for him to come to terms with the truth and he was grateful to have you by his side. The one constant in his life. The one who loved him even when he couldn’t find it in his heart to love himself.

A soft, melodious hum echoes through the courtyard like a gentle breeze. Lucien’s lips curve up into a smile and he allows the lovely sound to carry him forward. His eye softens immediately when he finally spots you.

You stand in front of the magnificent crystal fountain, humming a familiar tune to your daughter as you gently sway her back and forth in your arms. The fountain is your daughter’s favorite place. Her tiny eyes love to watch the way the crystals catch the sunlight, entranced by the resulting rainbows that dance across the courtyard. She loves it even more when you bring her close, her hands always reaching out for the moving water in a silent request to let her touch it.

But your daughter is not focused on the fountain at this moment.

Her attention is solely focused on you... much like her father’s.

“Tonight the super trouper beams are gonna blind me, but I won't feel blue."

Lucien pauses as you begin to sing, admiring the scene before him. Your voice possesses an enchanting allure that never fails to draw him in. And so he listens, entranced and enamored, knowing that he would follow you to the ends of the Prythian over and over again just to hear the sound of your voice. 

“Like I always do,” you continue to sing, smiling when your daughter begins to scrunch her nose in delight. Lucien feels a tug in his chest–a sign that you’re well aware he’s watching. And then you’re finally lifting your head, meeting his gaze across the courtyard.

“‘Cause somewhere in the crowd there’s you.”

Sensing his warming presence, your daughter shifts in your arms. Her mouth parts as she spots her father, tiny hands reaching out for him. She is the spitting image of Lucien with her russet eyes and cascade of deep red hair that curls softly around her golden skin.

Lucien grins, finally bridging the distance between you. He graciously takes the infant into his arms, chest tightening when your daughter beams up at him. Her tiny hands grasp at his face, poking at his cheeks.

The way she looks up at him always makes his heart swell with such warmth. When she was first born, he worried his scars and mechanical eye would frighten her. But all he sees is pure awe and adoration reflected in those russet eyes.

Your eyes shine with mirth at the sight. “Someone missed you.”

Lucien playfully nips at your daughter’s fingers, eliciting the most adorable fit of giggles. So he does it one more time, chuckling with her, before turning to you. Your hair is swept to the side, leaving your back exposed and his gaze flickers toward the tattoo etched there. 

What once used to be a trapped bird in a cage is now a bird soaring free, its wings spread wide in flight. A powerful symbol of your journey and a testament to Lucien's promise fulfilled—to liberate you from the bargain that bound you to that wretched place.

You had been freed to follow your heart, to explore the world, and to love without restraint. And you did, your heart choosing him, overwhelming him with a feeling he had thought he'd never be able to feel again. It appeared that the Cauldron had also finally favored him when the bond snapped, revealing you two to be mates.

His thumb sweeps over the black ink before letting it fall to the small of your back. He presses a kiss to your forehead and then walks you both to one of the day beds.

“Just someone?” He asks, russet eye sparkling as he already knows his answer. You had sent a couple of tugs through the bond while he sat through a meeting with Helion and other members of the Day council. It was something you both did, a means to check on each other.

“Maybe, I missed you too,” you reply coyly.

Lucien scoffs. “Maybe?”

You only laugh in response but the surge of love that floods through the bond says otherwise. The hand at your back lowers until he finds your own, his fingers intertwining with yours. Lucien settles himself onto the day bed, your daughter secured safely in his hold while he tugs you along. You hesitate, a slight furrow to your brow.

“Don’t you have another meeting to attend today?”

Lucien’s nose scrunches at the reminder—a charming trait your daughter has clearly inherited. He glances up at you with a playful smile, tugging gently at your hand once more. “Can’t you just let me enjoy the sweet company of my girls?”

Your daughter coos in agreement, prompting Lucien to raise his eyebrow at you.

“Besides, I have at least an hour until then,” he assures you, russet eye lighting up when he feels your hand relax in his. “Now, come.”

You let him pull you closer, curling up by his side as his familiar, comforting scent envelops you.

“That song you were singing,” Lucien begins as your daughter begins to crawl up his chest. She presses one tiny hand against him to lift herself while the other tangles in the loose strands of her father’s hair. 

“I’ve always heard you humming it but I don’t think I’ve heard the words until now.”

“Really? It’s about when I first met you,” you say, lifting your chin to meet his warm and curious gaze. Blush rises to your cheeks. “I thought you knew. It's Sol’s favorite too.”

The two of you then look at the bundle of joy nestled between you both. Sol’s eyes crinkle, joyfully overwhelmed at the attention. “Sing it to me,” Lucien pleads gently, pulling the two of you closer to him.

And so you do. 

Your voice floats softly through the air, wrapping around the three of you like a gentle embrace. Lucien closes his eyes, savoring the melody and the meaning. Beneath the warm embrace of the sun, with his two favorite girls by his side, all his worries melt away. Your daughter follows suit, nestling her head into her father’s chest, her eyes slowly giving in to sleep.

“Still, I'm thinking about you only,” you continue to sing, smiling softly to yourself. Your daughter nestles deeper into Lucien’s chest, her eyelids growing heavier. With a tender caress to her cheek, she finally succumbs to sleep. “There are moments when I think I’m going crazy.”

“But it’s gonna be alright. Everything will be so different when–”

A light snore disrupts your song, and you let out an amused chuckle. Even as Lucien drifts off to sleep, his feelings of happiness and love flood through the bond you share. Your own eyes close, basking in the warmth of it all.

Surely, a nap wouldn’t hurt.

ABBA x Acotar Masterlist

I found a dreamy cover of super trouper and listened to it a lot when writing this.

tagging those who read the first part and were interested in a part two: @acourtofimagines, @flymetovelaris, @zeprussia, @mybestfriendmademe, @hardcoremarvelfan

@tele86, @secretlyhers, @sarawritestories, @evergreenlark

I would love to eventually write a part that is set in between the first part and this one that focuses on how Lucien saved you but I'm still trying to find inspo for that. Like I'm unsure if I want him to find reader again UTM or for Lucien to invoke the Autumn duel or for him to get Rhys involved. For now, enjoy this fluff bc Lucien deserves all the happiness in the world <3

general tag list: @scooobies, @kennedy-brooke, @sillysillygoose444, @lilah-asteria @the-sweet-psycho

[scorpioriesling]

Guilty as Sin?

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Pairing(s): Azriel x reader

Warnings: angsty asf

Summary: It wasn't hard to love your best friend; after all, you'd been through everything together. He'd seen every in-depth part of you, but now you were forced to give all of that up. All because of the stupid cauldron, and stupid fate.

SR’s Note: Brb going to get "mine" tatted on my upper thigh... this is so UGH anyways. I had to; I apologize in advance. This is one of my favorite new songs.

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The cauldron could boil itself at this point.

You weren't sure how to make the best of this situation; something you could normally do without fail. A talent everyone loved about you. However, that talent was failing you now.

Now that the bond had snapped, and there was no way out. No way of avoiding what you so desparetely wanted for years, and somehow it all ended up messed up in the end.

Lucien was a good male, you would give him that much; but that wasn't enough. Your life felt near over when your best friend revealed his hidden bond with the Archeron girl -- but now, you were in the same position. Somehow, you were cursed in more ways than one. Not only was your best friend mated to someone else -- but now so were you.

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"You're right, we should definitely get matching tattoos!" You laughed, bumping into Azriel's arm as you both stumbled down the Velaris streets. It was past midnight, and you were both buzzed from your night out at Rita's -- something you did at least once a week -- and the walk home turned into more of a walk through town.

He chuckled beside you, fingers curling around your elbow to help steady you. His wide smile was a sight you'd never tire of; he rarely let it show, but when he did, you made sure to illustrate it in your mind, holding onto the masterpiece forever.

"It isn't our worst idea..." he admitted, taking another swig from the bottle he held. You watched as his throat bobbed, swallowing the liquid and turning his attention back to you. You look toward the sky, trying and failing to pretend you weren't staring.

"What should we get?" You ask with a grin. He ponders for a moment, brow lifted in mockery. "Hmm.." he says. "What if we got eachother's handwriting?" You giggled, and he laughed with you.

"I'm serious!" He exclaimed. The tattoo parlor was coming into view, and you rolled your eyes. "I don't know if I trust you to literally write on me," you say. "We've been friends for far too long for me to put it past you to write something like "Azriel is so hot" or "Kiss my ass" on me-" You barely get it all out before laughing again, his gaze on you softening as he loops an arm around your shoulders.

"I promise I won't do something so vulgar," he says. You're now in front of the tattoo shop, the neon lights illuminating his face in a deep blue glow. He grabs the door handle and opens it, gesturing you to go inside.

"Ladies first." He smirks. You lightly smack his shoulder, and saunter your way inside.

"Fine -- but you have to go first." You throw over your shoulder. He enters behind you, and within minutes he's put in a chair and the tattoo artist is holding the needle gun over his forearm.

"Okkayyy, 'lil lady," he says, pulling up a stool to allow you to sit beside him. He hands you the gun, and places his hand over yours to help you with the process. "You ready?" he asks. You glance at Azriel, who now has his eyes lightly closed as he lays down on the bed in front of you.

"Are you ready, Azzie?" You say. He nods silently, a small smile playing on his lips. You release a breath as the gun whirrs to life, and the artist guides you to begin pressing into your best friend's skin. Stealing a glance at his face, you find him peacefully laying there, almost sleepy. That would make sense, seeing as you both drank a lot tonight.

After a few minutes of darkening the lines and wiping away the excess liquid, the artist powers down the needle and scoots back on his rolling chair. Your fingers lightly dance over the puffy black lines on his otherwise bare forearm, and he stirs at the sensation.

"Have a look," you say. He opens his eyes and sits up, delight overtaking his features as he sees your work.

"I choose you and me," he says aloud, reading over the ink now drying in his skin. He almost blushes, gazing at the ink and touching it lightly. His eyes meet yours, and in seconds he is hopping up and offerring you the bed. You sit on it, pulling the hem of your shorts up so it's easier to access.

"Heyy..." he starts. "You picked the spot for mine-" You huff.

"I want mine up here," you point to the upper part of your thigh, and he rolls his eyes. He shoots a look to the artist, and shakes his head.

"I've learned to just not argue with this one," he says, and you gasp at him. He laughs, his white teeth shining like stars inside the dim shop. The tattoo artist sighs, powering on the newly replaced tatto gun and handing it to Azriel. You place a hand on your leg, eyes wide.

"You're not gonna help him?" You ask the artist. He only shrugs at you.

"I've seen his work before -- he knows how to do a pretty damn good tattoo." Your eyes narrow toward your best friend, and he only grins down at you.

Sighing, you rest your head back against the cushion of the tattoo bed. "Az, you better not fuck this up-"

You're cut off by his fingers brushing against the skin of your leg, pulling on your shorts to move them slightly. Your breath catches in your throat, now staring wide-eyed down at the man you'd secretly fallen so madly in love with. His messy curls tickled the strips of skin between the hem of your baby tee and the top of your shorts as he stared intently at his work, needle lightly pressing into your skin. His other hand laid flat on your stomach, holding you gently in place.

You couldn't ever get rid of this sight unless someone quite literally ripped it from the archives of your mind.

He glanced up at you, noticing your labored breathing. His soft expression was one he only ever used with you; a stark contrast to the strong, unfazed front he presented to everyone else. You figured he was going to tell you to chill out -- little did he know you weren't focusing on the pain, but rather the striking male on top of you.

"Lay down -- you can't peek 'till I'm done."

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The air was warm as it rolled off the sidra, the salt air so familiar. You'd come down here for some peace; some time away. Since learning of the bond with Lucien, it was like you couldn't escape. You couldn't get away from the constant "Are you okay?"s and "Have you told Azriel?"s and "Do you think you'll accept the bond?"s. It was getting to be too much. No, you weren't okay. No, you did not want to accept the bond.

And fuck no, you did not tell Azriel. You remembered what happened last time when you found out his bond snapped, and you hadn't even seen him in months. There was no point -- it wouldn't change your situation.

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"I made you that strawberry cream cake, you know, your favorite?" Feyre's kind words filled the kitchen as you continued to pour glasses of lemonade, setting down the pitcher to meet her watercolor eyes. You gave her a soft smile.

"Thank you... but whatever for?" Her gaze dropped, fingers fiddling with one another as she looked around nervously. You arched a brow at her.

"Nothing, I just -- I thought you might like it. To celebrate the first day of Summer," she stuttered. You'd never seen her at a loss for words, but before you could think too long about it, Cassian barged into the room, eyes full of delight when he spotted the filled lemonade glasses.

"Ahh," he grabbed one and chugged it, putting it back on the counter after a few gulps as though it was a shot. You giggled, Feyre finding his interruption rather funny as well. He peered at you, sliding the glass over on the counter top.

"Fill 'er up -- Gods, it is so hot outside." He says, fingers fiddling with a small band tying his hair back. You top off his glass, and he takes it again, only sipping this time.

"Are you ladies joining us outside? Or what?" He asks giddily. You swear, if he wasn't a fae bat he would be a golden retriever.

"Absolutely," Feyre nods. He saunters out of the room, and within seconds you spy him by the edge of the Sidra tackling Rhysand into the river with him. They both come up within seconds, laughing and shaking their wet hair. Feyre peers out with you, and your heart catches when you see Azriel not joining in. He is sitting on one of the picnic blankets the group laid out, Elain's head in his lap as he leans back on his hands. She tenses, laughing at something he said. He gives her a smile; one you'd thought only he shared around you.

"I'll meet you outside in just a moment?" Feyre offers. She knew; she knew exactly how you'd felt for Azriel. But, she also knew that he was in some newfound, weird relationship since her sister arrived.

You tried to brush it off. Your best friend had lovers before; most of them only lasted a few weeks anyway, then they were gone. This one would be no different.

Finally making your way down to the river, tray of drinks in your hands, you were greeted by Mor as she helped pass out the drinks. She walked over to Feyre and Cassian; of course, leaving you to head over to Azriel.

You sighed, and walked over to the blanket where he sat. Her annoying laugh rang out again, and you winced. Azriel looked up, finally noting your presence and shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand. The unmistakable black writing on his forearm still reading "I choose you and me". Your heart swells just a bit.

"Y/N! Did you bring us drinks?" He asks nicely. You smile back, appreciating this side of him never failing to come out around his best friend.

"I just might have..." You say. Elain sits up upon hearing your voice, offerring a kind smile. You pass one glass to Azriel, and hold out another for her.

"Thank you Y/N! You must have known lemonade is my favorite," She takes it from you, beaming and turning to Azriel. He nods in agreement, sipping from his drink.

"Lucky guess." You say, grinding your teeth in a tight smile as you set down the empty tray on the grass. She giggles and continues conversing with Azriel, and you decide to not even try to engage this time.

You stalk over to the towel Mor is currently lounging on, her sunglasses set high on her nose. Your body creates a shadow, and she sits up grumbling.

"Ugh, Y/N, I'm trying to get a tan!" Her eyes finally adjust, seeing that you're stripping off your clothes, only a small emerald green bikini underneath. Her mouth pops open and she gasps, loud enough for everyone to hear. You're kicking off your shoes when she takes her glasses off and gapes at you.

"Girl, I'd let you stand over me any day -- you look good as fuck!" She squeals. You roll your eyes, her loud appraisal catching attention as she continues to compliment you.

"Seriously! Feyre, have you seen Y/N's suit? She is looking like fine wine-" She looks you up and down, and you notice behind her, Feyre has jogged over to where her friend Lucien has just arrived. Feyre turns her attention to you over Morrigan's whooping and hollering, giving you a thumbs up

"Looks good! I told you it would!" She shouts. She turns back to her Autumn court friend, but his eyes are drinking you in as though you are the wine itself. You steal a glance at Azriel, and boy are you glad you did -- he is pissed. He is glaring at Lucien as Elain babbles on, absentmindedly. She doesn't even realize he isn't listening to her anymore. You bend down, coming face to face with your bubbly blonde friend.

"Swim with me?" You say. She scoffs, tossing her sunglasses down and rising. You both walk to the bank of the Sidra, its gleaming water only inviting you in further.

"You know I'd never deny you, but I did want to lay out-" She is cut off by a strangled scream as Cassian yanks her in by the waist, her head reappearing moments later. Breathless, she pants.

"Cassian! Are you kidding?" Him and Rhysand only laugh, you shaking your head and chuckling along with them. You slowly enter the warm water, basking in the last few warm days the year has to offer. Mor wades past you, and makes to get out of the stream.

"Aww what! Where you goin'?" You whine pathetically. She runs her fingers through her soaked locks, huffing.

"I. Am not. Swimming. With those knuckleheads. Any longer." She stomps back over to her towel, and you stick your bottom lip out in feigned sadness.

"Aww, come on, Mor! You're already wet, just get back in and swim for a while!" You say. It isn't long before a splash to your left flings water near you, and you look around for a few moments before something grabs your ankles and drags you under. You come up a few moments later, Azriel resurfacing in front of you and laughing at your drenched complexion.

"I'll play." He says lowly. You shove his shoulder, and Mor waves a hand from her blanket, sunglasses already back on her face.

"Yes, yeah. Let Az play with you."

It isn't long before you're splashing around with your friends, everyone swimming besides Morrigan and Elain. Even Lucien has joined in, the water twirling his fiery locks over his shoulders. Maybe in another life, you'd fall in love with him.

But you're living this one, and you're still in love with your best friend.

"Hey, uhh," Azriel swims close to you, the sunset on the horizon illuminating his tanned skin. You can feel his hands creating water riplets around you to stay afloat, and you gaze at him. "Can we, like, swim over there? Maybe?" He asks, jerking his head toward the rocky alcove a few hundred feet away. Your eyes widen as you try not to think too hard about why he'd want you in there with him instead of his girlfriend; so you glance over to where everyone else is drying off and gathering their items. Elain is staring a hole into the side of your head.

"Sure," you say, timidly. Azriel grabs your hand under the water, his scarred fingers threading through yours with ease. You suck in a breath, and Azriel throws a smile towards Elain.

"We'll be in soon!" He shouts, and she returns the smile, almost a little smugly. She helps her sister collect the items from the grass, and Azriel stars swimming away, pulling you with him.

"Why did we need to come over here?" You ask, out of breath when he finally stops swimming behind a large rock. You can't see your friends anymore. You glance around nervously.

"Well, I had something I needed to talk to you about." He says. "Privately," he adds. Your cheeks heat. Its finally here, the moment has finally come.

"Oh, um. Okay. I think I have something I talk to you about too." You say. His eyebrows raise, and he smiles kindly at you.

"Oh! Alright. Well, why don't you go first then." He offers.

"I don't really... know... how to explain it." You fumble. The breeze blows over the water, pulling you away a bit. Azriel reaches for you, probably to hold you close but his hand grips onto your waist. He pulls a little too hard, and you're flush against his chest. His intense hazel eyes bore into yours, tiny water droplets dripping from the end of his onyx curls. Its silent for a moment, the mixed heavy breathing the only sound other than the nature around you. You gaze up at him, his eyes trailing down from your eyes... to your lips... then down to where your heaving chest rises and falls beneath the water's surface. Your eyes can't escape his full lips, and you snake your hands around his neck, pulling him in so impossibly close and close the gap.

Finally, after all these years, you get to taste those delicious lips on yours. You kiss him, softly, and when he pulls back, he looks at you with sorrow.

"Y/N... I..."

"I don't mind, Azriel. You know I love you; I want this. I would choose this. I choose you and me." Silver lines his eyes and you don't think you've ever seen him get so emotional. You pull him to you once more, kissing with more hunger this time, and he doesn't stop you. His hand scoops under your ass, squeezing and holding you tight, the other one flat against the side of your neck. His thumb brushes along your cheekbone as your fingers curl into his wet locks, when suddenly he rips away from you. He lets go as if he was a bug caught in a zapper, flinging himself away from you like you had electrocuted him. You instantly feel colder without his touch.

"W-what's wrong?" You ask, timidly. He runs a hand through his hair, and rubs his eyes with his palms, sighing.

"What is it, Azriel?" You ask, moving closer. He puts a hand out to stop you, and you begin to feel regret. No, not regret. Fear.

"Don't, Y/N." He says. You eyes close, near slits as you try and keep the sob rising in your throat at bay. He's never taken that tone with you before.

"Don't what? Be honest with you? Azriel, I love you, and-"

"I have a mate, Y/N." He cuts you off. You feel like you've been stabbed in the gut, thrown off a cliff; what was he talking about?

"W-what?" You ask. That sob is barely at bay, tears stinging your eyes as you try to keep from crying. He moves his hands to look at you, and immediately sighs and looks down at the water, hating to do this.

"Yeah... uh, Elain and I-"

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." You huff a humorless laugh and a single tear slips free. You don't bother brushing it away; you just cross your arms instead. He narrows his eyes at you.

"What is your problem with her?" He asks. The sinking feeling in your chest only intensifies as he defends her. You begin to feel angry, angry your best friend, who you'd die for, would defend another dumb girl who didn't know him like you did. Not even in the slightest.

"What is the problem with me?" You ask. He shoots you a confused look, and you continue. "Am I not quite good enough for you? Is that it? I'm not an Archeron, I'm not High Fae; I'm not officially in the Inner Circle? I don't-" You breathe, gasping for air as tears run down your cheeks now. "I don't look like her? I get it Azriel. I fucking got it. Loud and clear-"

"Shhh, shh shh. Heyy," he swims close, offerring you his hand. You want more than anything to fall into his chest and cry, just cry it all out; but you don't. You won't. He doesn't want you. He never did.

"You know none of that is true-"

"Don't bother." You say sharply. He sighs, dropping his hands in the water.

"Y/N, look I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, okay? You know how important mating bonds are; I just wanted to make sure it was real, and it would work and Feyre would be okay with it-"

"You... you already told. Feyre?" You seethe. His eyes widen, realizing maybe he shouldn't have revealed that information.

"I, uh... yeah. I did. And once she knew, it kind of got out and everyone knew," he mumbles. You clench your hands into fists.

Your favorite cake.

Elain's smug smile.

"Let Az play with you," Mor had said.

They all knew. No one told you. Not even your best friend. They knew you'd be hurt and not a single one of them told you. A small cry reverberates in your chest and you turn away from Azriel.

"Please don't be mad at me, Y/N. You know you're my best friend, you know I'd do anyth-"

"Save it." You say, wading toward the water's edge. "We're done here."

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You hadn't seen him since he accepted his bond with Elain six months ago; you couldn't even bring yourself to sit through the entire ceremony they hosted. It was all too much.

That was the first crushing blow. But then, to find out that not only had he accepted the bond and been happy about it, but now you were bonded to someone you didn't want either?

What a joke. The mating bond was a joke -- it had to be. All these years of believing that bonds were so special... it was all bullshit.

As you sit near the bank, you hear footsteps approaching behind you. You didn't quite care who it was; after all, you were so deep in loathing that you had grown distant from all of your friends over the past few months. It didn't help that the last words you'd hurled at them were unkind, but... maybe it's what they needed to hear. They did keep a huge thing from you, and you haven't even begun to figure out how to move on yet.

Moving on from Azriel sounded like it would be the end for you. You didn't know how you'd ever do it -- it was always him. There never was anyone else for you. You only wanted him.

And now he was honeymooning with his mate. Fucking her. Loving her. Allowing her to know him on a level only you'd ever been on.

Tears are streaming down your cheeks when a whisper pulls you from your thoughts.

"Y/N?"

You turn slowly, the last person you'd expected to see standing behind you. His hair was windblown, his skin tan from the Summer court sun. He had a few light freckles dusting his nose.

Upon seeing your upset state, he slowly approached you, and sat down beside you. Staring out at the water, you continued to let the tears fall, chin resting on your bent knees. His gaze was hot as he stared at you, taking you in fully.

"Y/N... this isn't okay... you're-" his voice cracks. "You're not okay." He whispers the last part, and your eyes meet his. Tears stream down his cheeks, dripping onto the cream colored button-down he's sporting. Typical Summer court fashion, but you should expect that as he did just spend time there.

He grabs onto your shoulders, pulling you to his chest. You have no choice but to sink in, open sobs emitting from your broken hearted chest. He breaths deeply, resting his chin atop your head. A drop of water lands on your shoulder, a tear. It's from him.

He holds you for a few minutes, allowing you to release all your emotions. He sighs, the sun dipping low alolng the horizon. You finally pull back and look at him. Nothing was going to change about your situation.

Your eyes caught on the black letters still imprinting his arm, fresh tears brimming your eyes.

"I hate seeing you like this," he says, sniffing. "You're my best friend Y/N. You always find the good in every situation, in everyone... that's why everyone loves you so much. You saw the good in me when no one else did." He says, rubbing your shoulder. You train your eyes on the grass below.

"I hate this too. But I love you," you say, not looking to meet his eyes. "If this is what is making you happy, I love that for you." He takes one of your hands in his.

"Y/N, it's just... Gods, this is a mess." He says. You let out a humorless laugh.

"Yeah. Even more of a mess now that I have a mate too." His eyes widen, and you look up just in time to see something swimming in those hazel orbs.

"Oh." He says. He drops your hand, but you reach over and place yours on top of where his now rests in his lap.

"The difference is, I would still choose you and me." You say, and he wipes a tear from your cheek. "I would always choose you and me. Because you're my best friend Azriel; and I love you. I don't know how to stop." You say. You lean back, resting your head in the grass as he gets comfortable laying beside you. His fingertips graze over the spot where he'd written on you -- marked you -- years back, reiterating the sentiment he'd etched there.

"And you're mine, too."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *

Part 2

[froggywizzard]

Bear with me, cause it's gonna be fun. I started wondering which piercings would suit ACOTAR characters.

I love having those random thoughts.

Lucien would rock a slutty nostril with a gold ring and many hooped ear piercings (maybe with charms on them). And a tongue piercing, he absolutely would put it to good use.

Honestly, Helion could have any piercing. U name it, he has it. I imagine him looking gorgeous heavily pierced with hoops, charms, chains and all.

Elain, besides lobe piercings, could have her belly button pierced. With cute jewellery, like a butterfly or a flower. And no one would know about it.

Mor seems like a girl to get a monroe, you know? And maybe a genital piercing, a christina perhaps.

I don't think Rhysand would have any piercings. Maybe little itty bitty lobe diamonds, but I don't think so. It just doesn't suit him.

Feyre, on the other hand, could have several microdermals with shiny rocks, so she looks like she has stars on her skin. I'm think collarbones, maybe sternum.

Azriel seems like a guy with an industrial piercing. He's canonically emo, so maybe lip piercings? He definitely has his nipples pierced. I imagine silver jewellery for him.

Gwyn would have the cool girl piercing, a septum. She would keep it hidden tho. Maybe pierced nips, why not.

Cassian would look dope with his eyebrow (eyebrows?) pierced. And maybe a labret, but idk.

Nesta is piercings free. Maybe lobes, but that's it.

It's gonna be very random, but Jurian could have a prince albert. I don't know why, but it very vividly popped into my mind.

And now to the honourable mentions. I see Tarquin with a medusa, blue opal ofc, Amren with her whole kitty cat pierced, Emerie with snake bites and Tamlin with a single lobe pierced.

Also, not a piercing, but LoA would look hot af 🔥 wearing a chain that wraps around her waist, goes in-between her breath and ends up as a necklace (thank @yennas-stuff for the idea)

[corroded-hellfire]

A little blurb I came up with in honor of our High Lady’s birthday and the winter solstice. This is modern!eddie x reader who seem to bump heads when it comes to their respective fantasy series: Lord of the Rings & A Court of Thorns and Roses. Thank you to @big-ope-vibes and @fracturedarkness for reading this over for me 💖

Words: 733

Dustin lets himself into your apartment as he always does. One of the very first things you and Eddie learned when you’d moved in was to make sure the front door is locked if you didn’t want hordes of teenagers just busting in at all times of the day.

“I can’t believe you think that’s better!”

Dustin hears Eddie shout from your shared bedroom and the younger man sinks down into a kitchen chair with a groan. Maybe he could make an escape before either of you noticed he was there. It’s not like you could have heard him come in over the volume of your argument.

“God damn it, not this again,” Dustin mumbles to himself as he stands up.

He isn’t quick enough though. Eddie stomps out of the bedroom, you hot on his heels. You notice Dustin before your boyfriend does and throw him a quick, semi-forced smile before turning your attention back to your boyfriend. Eddie gives him a nod in greeting before your reply.

“You have no taste! Arwen sounds like the name of a hotel maintenance repair guy! My daughter will not have that name.”

Eddie scoffs and shakes his head.

“And what, your top pick is so much better?” Eddie spits out.

“Yes!”

Eddie lets out a humorless laugh. He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Yet you say I’m the one with no taste?” he asks.

“Feyre is a beautiful name! What’s wrong with it?”

Eddie pulls out the old, worn blue chair that’s across the table from Dustin and plops down into it. He looks imploringly at one of his best friends, not even sure what he’s asking for. Backup? Agreement? Would either make a difference?

“What about Galadriel?” Eddie asks. “We’ll call her ‘Gal.’”

“That’s worse than Arwen!” you tell him as you walk to the fridge and grab a drink. Eddie opens his mouth to speak but you hold up a hand before he can get the words out. “If you say ‘Éowyn’ I swear to God you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”

Dustin rolls his eyes as Eddie stands up again, taking a few steps closer to you.

“Éowyn sounds like that other name you suggested!” he argues.

“Amren?” you ask. Eddie nods and you shake your head. “They are entirely different names. And I think I’ve given you some great options.”

“Haven’t heard a good one yet,” Eddie says as he crosses his arms over his chest.

One hand slams your drink down before it rests on your hip while the other you hold up in front of your face so you can count off the names on your fingers.

“Morrigan, Nesta, Elain!”

“Uh, you know,” Dustin pipes up as he begins to stand, “Elain sounds pretty reasonable.”

“Gimme a second, Dustin,” Eddie says, waving a dismissive hand at his buddy. The shorter man just rolls his eyes and plops back down in his seat.

“Samwise!” Eddie hurls at you, upping his volume. “It could work for a boy or a girl! Call them Sam.”

“If we’re going with that, we might as well go with Rhysand! Call him Rhys!” you shout back.

“I see we’ve moved on to boys now…” Dustin mumbles to himself.

“Legolas!” Eddie barks.

“Cassian!” you snap back.

“Aragorn.”

“Azriel.”

“Boromir.”

“Lucien.”

Eddie smirks and you narrow your eyes at him suspiciously.

“What about Tam—”

“You shut your damn mouth,” you hiss, pointing a finger at him.

Eddie scoffs and opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Dustin stands up, emanating a deep groan.

“You guys!” he yells, louder than both of you had been. It catches your attention and you and Eddie look over at him. “Will you two stop arguing over these names? Holy shit. You’re not even pregnant—you’re not having a baby! God damn it.”

Dustin shakes his head and walks towards the front door, clearly exasperated from just being in your home a few minutes.

“Maybe I’ll come back after you do have a kid and all this bullshit will be over,” he mumbles as he walks outside. The door reverberates as he slams it shut behind him.

A moment passes before you and Eddie tear your eyes from the door to meet each other’s gaze. Your boyfriend arches an eyebrow at you.

“So, the name Dustin is a no go?” he asks.

“A definite no.”

[moonlightazriel]

Chapter 8: Truths too hard to speak/// Azriel X F!Reader

Summary: At the Hewn City, traumatic memories start to bubble, but thankfully Lucien is there to help.

Word Count: 2,7K

Warnings: Mentions of trauma and anxiety attack.

Notes: This is one of my favorite chapters so far...

Main Masterlist

Worlds Apart Masterlist

Lucien knocked on her door, waiting to escort her to the living room. He heard the rustling of the fabrics on the other side, a loud thud and a string of curses following right after, making him giggle. She opened the door, and the two stood there for at least a minute in silence, looking at each other.

She wore a beautiful sparkly dress, like the stars hung from her body, hair in curls over her shoulder, some eyeliner and red lipstick. Earrings with a deep blue stone matching her eyes, high heels that made her a considerate few inches taller, almost just as tall as him. She pressed her hands over the fabric, her claws in display, it made her feel safer with this new outfit.

“Does it look okay?” She asked and Lucien could see the insecurity in her eyes. Gently grabbing one of her hands, he lifted it to his lips, placing a chaste kiss.

“You look beautiful.” She blushed under his gaze and he let go of her hand, spinning in place. “How do I look? A good match for such a beautiful companion?”

Lucien looked good wearing green, but he looked so mysterious in black. A pair of very tight pants and dark brown leather boots, a sleeveless black tunic with golden details to it. His hair was parted on the side, one cascaded over his shoulder in soft waves and the other side was braided, braids glued to his scalp and following the length of his hair, golden accessories adorned the braids.

“You might want to change, or I'm sure the healers of that place will be busy all night tending to the fainting females.” Lucien laughed, his chest moving with it.

“Then we shall give them a good show.” Y/N nodded and the two headed for the living room together.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

Cassian kept rambling about the same problems in the war camps while Azriel lazily sipped on his wine, the sweet grapery taste making the night a bit more unbearable. Elain was distant, he didn’t have the balls to talk about their relationship with her, and he was still thinking about what the whole ordeal with the dreams and the witch meant.

He took another sip, the liquid going down the wrong pipe as Y/N stepped in the living room with Lucien, she looked like a goddess. Her waist hugged by the dress in a way that left his fingers itching to touch her. Her breasts spilling from it, making his mouth water. She held Lucien in an iron grip, like she was afraid of showing herself to them.

“I knew you would look so hot.” Nesta squealed, running towards her and pulling her in for a hug, Azriel thanked her mentally for pulling the female away from Lucien for him.

“Says you, if Cassian doesn't watch out, I might steal you from him.” She joked, making Nesta blush. Cassian immediately got up, pulling Nesta towards him by the waist, a wing protectively wrapping around her.

“Just over my dead body.” He joked back, gasping as Nesta slapped her way out of the cocoon.

“I would never destroy such a beautiful couple.” She lifted her hands in the air.

“You look really good.” Feyre intervened. “But it’s time to go.” She felt a pair of eyes burning holes on her side, slowly locking eyes with Azriel before Feyre winnowed them away.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

The Hewn City was inside a mountain, making her shiver with the thoughts of Morath, and those dungeons that if it wasn’t for Asterin and Manon managing to reallocate her to the Ferian Gap, she would be still stuck, her corpse underneath the rocks as Kaltain Rompier exploded the place.

Lucien felt her shiver, placing a friendly hand on the small of her back, heat emanated from where he touched her, making her go still and bask in the feeling to calm herself down. She wasn’t down there, Morath didn’t exist anymore, they had won the war and she was safe.

“Are you okay?” He whispered in her ear as he felt her steps faltering.

“Places like this bring memories I don't particularly enjoy.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll be fine.”

“If you feel like it’s too much, just say the words and I'll take you somewhere else.” He reassured her.

“Thank you, Lucien. You’re an amazing friend.” The male smiled at her, and the door opened. Rhysand and Feyre entered first, followed by Nesta and Elain, then Azriel and Cassian, lastly by the two of them.

Faes gathered around in a ballroom, bowing to their leaders. Lucien held her by the side of her waist, as she still shivered, feeling the walls closing on her. Rhysand’s voice commanded them to rise and enjoy the feast. A few of them approached his throne, wanting to talk to him.

Y/N watched with curiosity as a male approached her and Lucien instead, he looked like an older version of the male by her side. Red hair falling to his forehead and an undercut. His eyes danced around the figure of his brother and the unknown female for a while.

“Brother.” He nodded his head, eyes quickly turning to Y/N. “And who’s this beautiful lady?”

“Y/N Blackbeak.” She introduced herself.

“Eris Vanserra, delighted to meet you, my lady.” He bowed his head a little, his tone slow and sensual in a flirting manner. That male reeked of confidence, he knew he was beautiful and took advantage of that to his own gain. A lazy smirk formed on his face.

“Look at them, all over her like a bunch of hungry foxes.” Azriel mumbled angrily and Cassian leaned onto him, patting his shoulder.

“What did you say, brother? Couldn’t hear you over the sound of your jealousy.” Azriel shoved Cassian to the side, prompting the male to laugh. “I know she’s the female of your dreams and shit, but you still have a real female to deal with.” He nodded towards Elain.

She had barely spoken to him, and he hadn’t made any efforts to talk to her either. He looked over at her, her arms crossed over her chest and a frown as she watched the three talk. He turned his gaze back to the female surrounded by the two autumn princes, she had her nails digging the skin of Lucien’s arm and her eyes scanned the crowd uncomfortably.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

“I can try, but I don't promise I'll succeed.” Eris said. Lucien and her had told him a very shortened version of what had happened and who she was, the male had agreed to help find whatever information he could back in the Autumn Court. Under the condition that he and Lucien met more often.

Eris missed his brother everyday, ever since he sneaked Lucien away to Spring. They tried exchanging letters but it was too risky, Beron had almost caught them a couple of times and things wouldn’t end up well if he discovered them. Lucien had immediately agreed to this, he also missed his brother dearly and was willing to do anything to mend their relationship to what it was when they were kids.

“Thank you for risking yourself, i have a debt with you, whatever you need, i’ll be there to help and clear my debt with you.” Y/N nodded, and the male shook her hand in a mutual agreement, he would help her and she would help him in return.

“See you around, brother.” He said, giving a pat on his shoulder and leaving towards the throne Rhysand and Feyre still sat.

“Do you want to dance?” Lucien asked, and Y/N found herself agreeing, why not? Everything to take her mind away from the fact she was trapped underground and the building anxiety.

This was different from the library, maybe it was because of the atmosphere, because of the threatening aura surrounding the people, the harsh gazes and the gossip. But this place looked exactly like Morath and she didn’t like that one bit.

She let Lucien guide the way to the dancefloor, one of his hands placed on the small of her back and the other holding her hand. Music filled the space, making people dance. He spun her around, their feet moving in synchrony. She hated that she knew how to dance because Ruvyn had taught her, but she closed her eyes, reminding herself that this was different.

Lucien kept guiding the dance, his hands held her waist, spinning her in the air, making the fabric of her dress fly around them. People stopped to watch the two of them dancing, the muscles of his arms contracting as he lifted her once more. Lucien looked at her with care and admiration, he was glad he had met her, a true friend.

The dance ended too soon, and Lucien excused himself to go get something for them to drink, leaving her alone on the dance floor. Someone bumped on her, and then she felt cold fingers wrapping themselves around her arm, forcing her to look at the unknown male.

“Come.” He commanded. “Dance with me.”

But the rest of his phrase fell to deaf ear, as her vision got blurry and suddenly she was back to that horrible place, the guard smirking disgustingly at her, his black eyes piercing her in place before he started to drag her towards the lower levels of Morath, to where those witches never got away from.

She heard the screams and saw the witches laying with their big bellies, forced to breed demons. It was going to happen to her, being locked there forced to conceive their babies for them. But then Manon came, flanked by Asterin and Sorrel, telling the guard that Y/N was being solicited by Duke Perrington to go to the Ferian Gap and prepare the witches there.

The male had quickly shut the door so the three wouldn’t see what was inside, and she was too stunned, too afraid to even say anything. He had shoved her against Manon, who quickly handed her back to Asterin. They stayed with her until she and her alliance were mounted on their wyverns and heading back to Ferian.

Y/N pushed the male, his hands burning her skin, she turned back on her heels, feeling her eyes heavy with tears, bumping against Lucien on the way to anywhere.

“Please, take me out of here.” She had begged, clinging to his tunic with both hands. The male nodded, grabbing her hands and pulling her with him towards one of the empty offices nearby.

Elain saw them leaving, their hands intertwined as Lucien urged them outside. She hadn't even registered that she was moving, but in quick steps she was close to him, her hands clutching his biceps harshly. He stopped, whipping his head towards her.

“Don’t leave with her.” Elain asked and Lucien’s face changed to a serious one.

“Not now, Elain.” He said, removing her hand and getting out of the door.

It stung, crushing her heart, tears welled in her eyes as she watched her mate leave with another female to do Mother knows what. Azriel was by her side in a second, pulling her closer to him, but he was not the one she wanted, so with tear filled eyes, she turned to him.

“We need to talk.” Azriel just nodded, escorting her out of the ballroom.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

Lucien kneeled in front of her, holding her face in between his hands, his thumbs wiping her tears as he guided her into breathing normally again. He had seen the male grabbing her, ready to tell him off when she bumped into him. The first empty office was where he had shoved her, locking the door behind him.

She was hyperventilating when he turned to her, squatting on the floor, hugging her own frame and shaking like a leaf in the wind. She had begged him to not let her end up like the others before she started to cry. He sat on the floor, pulling her against his chest, while she sobbed. He had no idea how long they sat there, in silence.

“The Matron always hated the bond I had with Asterin.” Her hoarse voice sounded, Lucien kept quiet. “It wasn’t something she had planned, neither something she could control, and she hated not being in control.” She pushed away from him, sitting in front of him with her knees pressed to her chest.

“She tried for years to destroy it and never could. I carry the marks of her attempts and Asterin did too. When we went to Morath, she chose me as one of their incubators. The witches that were chosen never saw the daylight again. They bred them somehow, and the same was about to happen with me if it wasn’t for Manon and Asterin going to Duke Perrington himself and telling him I would be of better use somewhere else.”

“I hate places like this cuz they remind me of what was about to happen to me, the sight of those witches, laying there. It’s something I'll never be able to forget, as hard as I try to…” Lucien couldn’t imagine the absolute terror of knowing your body would be used to carry babies until you finally died.

“I have no words to tell you how sorry I am that this happened to you.” He started. “I can’t imagine being put in that position, but you are safe now, nothing like this will ever happen to you again, you have my word.” Lucien promised, holding her hand in his. She looked at him, closing her eyes for a moment.

“You have my eternal gratitude for everything you’ve done for me in these past few days.” Lucien could live happily with that.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

“What is wrong?” Azriel had sat on one of the plush chairs of the empty office while Elain paced around in the room, the motion making Azriel dizzy.

“I don’t even know how to tell you this…” She began and deep in his heart he knew what was coming and despite expecting this sooner or later, it wasn’t less painful.

“You love him, don’t you?” He asked and she stopped on her tracks, her sweet brown eyes carrying a storm of despair in them.

“I don’t know.” She breathed.

“Please, don’t lie.” He rubbed his temples and Elain swallowed past the lump on her throat.

“I do.” He closed his eyes, letting the words sink in his heart, and it hurt, not as much as he thought hearing them would, but it hurt still. “Seeing him with her, and what she told me… I can’t keep lying to you neither to myself.”

“What did she tell you?” He asked and Elain sat in front of him.

“Either I claim him as is my right as his mate, or I let him go. I have pondered her words everyday since that day and she is right, but the thing is…” She took another deep breath. “I can’t let him go, I don't want to let him go. I refused him because I thought he would just be another thing forced down my throat, but he respected my boundaries, never tried to force anything I wasn't comfortable with, he even went away to the other side of the world to give me space and…” She stopped once more, tears falling down her eyes. “And I love him and I want to get to know him, open up my heart to him and accept him as my mate.”

Azriel was quiet, absorbing her words with care. He felt happy she felt comfortable enough to share them with him, he loved her like a friend, he knew that now, and all he could ask for was her happiness, whoever she chose.

“Thank you for being honest, thank you for loving me.” She got up, wrapping her hands around his neck and bringing him in for a hug.

“Thank you for helping me heal and showing me that I own my destiny and my life.” He smiled sadly at her.

“Are we still going to be friends?” He asked and she nodded.

“Of course, I would hate not having you in my life.” He hummed in agreement. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, go ahead.” Elain cleared her throat.

“Do you have feelings for her? I see how you look at her, it’s different. It’s yearning for something.”

“Honestly?” Elain nodded her head. “I have no idea.” And he was sincere in every word.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

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[itsphoenix0724]

Meet Me On The Ice (Azriel x Reader)~ Chapter 4

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1.2k

MMOTI Masterlist

A/N: Hi everyone! I just wanted to talk to everyone. ik I've been really noncommittal with this series, but I'm going to keep working on it bc I love it, and I hope you guys continue to love it too <3 I tried to build some insight into why Az doesn't like the reader in this chapter and I hope it came across okay, as always constructive criticism/feedback is welcome!

Disclaimer: DISCLAIMER: I am not a figure skater or a hockey player, so while I'm trying to be as accurate as possible, it's likely some things may not be correct and/or are bent a little to fit the plot!

You could say that a tentative truce was established between the two of you after your night at the arcade. So much so Alis finally permitted you to get out on the ice. 

“Don’t be nervous, the two of you have come leaps and bounds since last week.” She reassures you from her spot on the stands. “We’re gonna start with some basics, and then we work our way up to the lifts just like in the studio.” You shoot Azriel a nervous glare and he tries his best to send you a reassuring look. 

Even though you still feel like you’re walking on eggshells around him, it’s almost nice being around him sometimes.

 Reluctantly, Az has gotten used to your relentless positivity. Even if he can still hear your voice echo in his head sometimes. 

It happened when you were thirteen, and it was a stupid comment he wasn’t even meant to hear. He has tried to put it behind him so many times, but every time he looked at you it popped up in the corner of his mind like a buzzing fly. Reflexively his hands tucked in the pockets of his sweatpants as you skated up to him with your sparkly eyes and sunshiney smile. The version of you from years ago scatters like ash in the wind as Az takes you in, amusement lighting in his eyes as he takes in your hot pink leg warmers. 

“Is this an 80s workout video?” He chuckles and he likes the way your eyebrows furrow in false outrage. 

“For your information, they keep my feet super warm so don’t come crying to me when you’re freezing.” You poke him in the chest and he laughs. It feels nice, he thinks, to simply exist around you without hostility. 

The figure skates still feel tight on his feet, but practice is mostly uneventful after that. Azriel even manages to safely get you off the ground without losing his balance. 

“Great work!” Alis actually seems proud for a moment. “I need you two to stay for a moment so you can try on your costumes.” Azriel looks horrified at the thought of him having to wear leggings, but something cold thaws in his chest when he sees your excitement. You had to throw your old costume away after Lucien’s accident, the fabric was permanently stained red. Az goes first. His costume is simple, a black shirt and leggings with bands of blue around his wrists and chest. You try to put a lid on your bubbling laughter when Az comes out of the changing room, but it still boils over even as Az shoots you a murderous glare. Your dress matches the blue on his costume, with lace cutouts that expose your collar bones, and delicate fabric that flows like water around your upper thighs. The whole thing is delicately studded with blue and silver rhinestones like you wrapped yourself in the night sky. Azriel briefly feels like the air is sucked out of his lungs as he watches you examine yourself in the mirror. 

“Well, what do you think?” You twirl once for effect scattering stardust in your wake. “It’s not so bad is it?” 

“No,” Azriel coughs around a closing throat. “Not bad at all.” You nod, sending him a puzzling look. The two of you change back into your normal clothes and bid Alis goodnight before walking to your cars.

“We’re still on tonight for bowling with Rhys and Cas right?” You ask rocking back on the balls of your feet.

“Absolutely.” He agrees.

“There’s actually something I wanted to ask you about,” You start right before you’re about to split for your cars. Azriel nods at you to continue. “Lucien wanted to know if he could come tonight, he really needs to get out of the house, so he’ll be there too.” 

“Alright.” Az answers “See you later.” he tucks his hands in his hoodie pocket again before walking to his own car. 

₊˚｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊₊˚｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊₊˚｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊

Lucien somehow successfully gets into the passenger seat of your car casted foot and all. You didn’t realize how much you missed him until you were driving around like you always did, singing along badly and loudly to your driving playlist. Eventually, you pull up infront of the bowling alley, bright neon lights bouncing off of the hood of your car. You help Lucien out of the seat, handing him his crutches and slowly walking into the bowling alley. Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel are already inside having claimed a booth and a lane in the back corner. Cas greets you joyfully scooping you up and twirling you around immediately, he also claps Lucien on the shoulder and you’re grateful that at least someone is making an effort to make him feel included. Rhys ordered you nachos and a drink and got Lucien a soft pretzel immediately chatting up a storm about their shared business communication class. Az hasn’t even said hello to you, even though this is supposed to be one of your bonding experiences, he just gave the both of you a noncommittal head nod and shoveled pizza in his mouth. You try not to outwardly sigh because you thought you were making progress, you thought you were past this. 

You thought you were almost friends. 

Attempting to stomp down the flash of hurt you send him a tight-lipped smile and a nod in return. This is Lucien’s first night out since his accident, so you will remain positive for his sake. 

Bowling continues uneventfully after that. Azriel and Cas are seemingly in a heated competition over this bowling match, and you and Rhys are playing much less committedly. Rhys has been flirting with the girl behind the counter for the past fifteen minutes, and you had been half-heartedly throwing your ball down the lane when it was your turn. 

Lucien had been a good cheerleader from his spot in the booth, but you weren’t very concerned about the game, content to sip on the slushy you bought. The two of you are in the middle of a very animated conversation when Cassian calls your name, coming behind you and looping his arms around your shoulders. 

“Are you coming to the victory party this Saturday after the game?” He drawls, glancing at Azriel out of the corner of his eye. “I would invite you to Vanserra, but-” Cassian glances at Lucien’s casted leg but the red-head simply shrugs. 

“No offense taken here.” Lucien raises his hands in mock surrender, “That’s not really my scene anyway.” 

“Well, we are planning on crushing your brothers’ team anyway, too bad Azzy’s still benched.” Cassian croons and Azriel sends him a murderous glare from where he’s about to launch his bowling ball. “You should come, we’ll be drinking on the Smokehound tab anyhow.” It was a sort of unspoken agreement amongst some of the local university hockey teams, losers host an after-party, booze included. 

“I’ll think about it.” You promise, and Cas ruffles your hair before leaving to grab his bowling ball. 

You completely miss the silent daggers Azriel is sending Cassian from behind your back. He doesn’t want you anywhere near this party, and Rhys won’t be too happy about your attendance either. Cas does nothing but chuckles at him with a knowing glint in his eye that sparks his irritation. You look at him once over your shoulder, and you must mistake his glower for being directed at you because for a brief second hurt flashes across your eyes. 

Something pinches in his chest and Azriel can do nothing but shove his hands in his pockets and avert his gaze to the ground.

@sidthedollface2 @bionic-donut @lyinginameadow @feyretopia @natashachelsea @going-through-shit @mika-no-sekai-blog @hijabi-desi-bookworm @brandywineeeee @littlelunelunatic @gorlillaglue25

[robinette-green]

I used to get a lot of nose bleeds as a kid and even though I don’t get them anymore I can still remember how people used to freak out.

The way Sun and Moon would react is a little different from how Solaris and Lucien would react.

Solaris would gasp before franticly pulling a handkerchief from a pocket and holding it to your nose.

“Sit, sit, sit! What happened?! Are you alright!?” He’d fuss over you and kiss your forehead as he held your hair back and you let the bleeding stop and once it was all over he’d want to get you a treat.

If it were Sun and Moon:

Sun would freak! Hands waving franticly, he’d scramble to get the first aide kit as he babbles about how everything will be alright! It’ll all be okay!! Pulling the first aid kit free, everything goes flying out of it and by the time he’s finished franticly picking up everything and made it back to you, you’ve already got a paper towel held to your noise and have everything handled. In the end you’d have to comfort Sun.

For Moon I’ve actually written something alone the lines of what he would do. The bleeding is more from hitting the nose then from just a normal nose bleed but I feel the way be behaves here would be similar.

I cowered on the floor, hands clamped over my ears as Sun struggled and screamed, his shift over to Moon a painful one as Sun fought to prevent it. 

It took longer than I would have liked to kick myself to move. Sun's scream turned into a growl as I forced my legs underneath me and scrabbled at the floor to pull myself into a run. 

"You're up past your bedtime." 

I didn't chance a look as I ran for the closest play structure. Moon's voice was as raspy and creepy as it was in the game. There was a faint red glow behind me, then with an evil giggle, it was suddenly gone as Moon, presumably, using his cord to lift into the air. 

Dashing across the floor to the nearest play set, Moon dropped in front of me, and I had to skid to a stop and change directions. 

I could barely see the padded floor before me in the dark, so I didn't see the kiddie chair set to the side until I'd tripped over it. 

I was sent flying into one of the plastic walls of a play structure with a yelp. Smacking into it face first, pain rocketed up my nose accompanied by a metallic smell. 

This was pathetic. I was going to be caught, and I hadn't even made it into a structure. 

Slowly, I sat up, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes as pain radiated from my poor nose. 

A whimper left me as I lifted my hand to my nose and found that hot, sticky liquid was trickling down my face. Was that blood? Had I broken it? 

Then Moon landed next to me, and I panicked, scrambling away with a pathetic panicking noise. 

On my hands and knees, I dove for one of the tubes at ground level but got stuck, back hitting the top of the tube. I'd have to slide through on my stomach if I wanted to get any further, but I wasn't given the chance. 

"Stop. You'll hurt yourself more." 

Large hands easily halted my escape, snagging me around the middle and lifting me out of the tube and into the air. 

"N-NO!" I yelped, covering my nose and squeezing my eyes shut. 

Moon had caught me so easily. There'd been no chase; I'd just immediately put myself out of commission. Would he kill me now? Choke me to death like he did in some of the fan fictions I'd read? Maybe he'd take me to Vanny, and she'd kill me. 

Tears were pouring down my face now, body trembling, blood dripping into my hands from my throbbing nose, convinced that this would be my end. I'd lost the game so quickly, and there were no save files I could switch to. 

Carefully, the hands holding me set me down on the edge of the security desktop. 

My eyes flew open, and I looked up, confused and scared, into red eyes. With a soft, comforting noise, Moon carefully pulled my hands away from my face. I struggled, but the animatronic was much too strong. 

"Let me see what you've done," Moon murmured, his red eyes flicking over the tears and blood. 

A flash of blue light blinded me in the dark, leaving me squinting with an afterimage left in my eyes. 

"You didn't break it, but I'm sure it hurts." 

I was having a really hard time processing what was going on. Moon wasn't trying to kill me. Instead, he was caring for me as though I was a small child who had had a tumble. 

I did have a rather nasty tumble, but I wasn't a child. 

Though I am crying like one… and my nose really hurts. 

"I-if you're not going to hurt me, t-then why aren't you allowed to come out anymore?" I asked, voice muffled from my messed up nose. 

Moon just stared at me. That was probably not what he'd expected me to say in this situation. 

"Stay." He instructed before vanishing into the dark. 

He didn't answer my question. 

If Moon wasn't dangerous, why had Sun tried so hard to keep him contained? Or maybe switching between the two hurts, and that was all that was to it? But Sun seemed too nervous about the lights for that to be the only thing. I was missing something. Had something happened that made Faz co. forbid Moon from coming out with anyone in the daycare? That would explain the generators. But what had happened? 

Hugging myself, I trembled on the desktop, adrenaline still coursing through my body as I came down from my scare, blood dripping onto my knees as I let it flow, not wanting the hot red gross to flow down my throat. 

"Here." A paper towel was gently held to my nose, and I flinched, having not seen or heard Moon's approach. 

"Head down till the bleeding stops, then we'll use a cold pack on your nose for a bit to help with the swelling."

Holding the paper towel to my nose, I did as instructed and tilted my head down. Moon was standing just to the side of me, crouched slightly, his face plate level with my head, as he reached up to rub my back with one of his massive hands comfortingly. The stars on his puffy jester pants and the little nightcap on his head were glowing faintly in the dark. 

"Thanks…" I mumbled. 

Moon said nothing, continuing to watch me, hand still on my back. We sat there in silence until my nose stopped bleeding, then Moon brought me a cold pack to ease the swelling from my nose.

[ymaohohoh]

Elriel Masterpost

Elriel - Writing prompts & Masterlist. 

(reposting from my main)

Just some ideas I’ve been thinking about (over and over). Posting them to inspire others or I may take a stab at them myself. Completed fics are linked. Open to requests.

Completed

Elain is struggling with her first Fae blood cycle alone and refuses to ask for help because she’s embarrassed. Azriel leaves her a tonic. - oneshot

Their first time is obviously out in the garden - oneshot, M rated.

Azriel’s POV when they go to the Hewn City in Silver Flames. He and Elain steal a quiet moment together while Nesta dances. - oneshot with angst and smutty thoughts.

Azriel teaches Elain how to use a dagger. - oneshot

Azriel teaches Elain how to winnow and they end up angrily expressing their feelings. - angsty oneshot.

Elain learns about Rhys’s interruption on Solstice. She tells her brother-in-law to back off and respect her choices. Rhys, to her surprise, agrees to support her.

Elain and Azriel are about to die and confess their feelings. - oneshot, angst party

Elain asks the cauldron to take back her gifts, she wants Azriel instead. - oneshot

Prompts

Elain still finds it difficult to put her head under the water in the bath. She prefers her baths to be piping hot against the chill. 

Elain dancing at Nesta and Cassian’s mating ceremony – she wears cobalt blue and the stars are shining. 

Elain sees the sea for the first time. She wants to swim in it but she doesn’t know how. 

Mor spots Elain admiring the Illyrian boy’s wing’s and tells her about the wingspan rumour. Elain laughs until she cries. It’s the most she’s laughed since the Cauldron. 

Elain catches a bit of the Valkyrie training and admires the strength and power of the fighters, though she knows her own inner strength can match it.

Elain makes a pledge and gets her very own tattoo. It’s not in a place you see easily. Azriel has a look for it. 

Elain rejects the bond with Lucien and he's thankful. She feels a crushing sense of relief as the bond vanishes and they work on their friendship (they actually get along well now the drama is gone).

Elain sees her first Starfall. Azriel flies her somewhere to get a better view.

Elain tries on some Illyrian leathers for the first time. She can feel a certain person’s gaze on her. She looks just as good in a flowing dress though (and better yet - nothing at all).

Elain embroiders something for Azriel and he keeps it by his bed.

Gender Swap AU - Elain is the deadly shadowsinger and Azriel is the quiet gardener.

Elain and little Nyx play together. She thinks about children and motherhood and what it might mean for her.

[tadpolesonalgae]

Blurbs

Below, you will find:

Orchestra + Eris Rainy Day + Helion Drunk + Lucien Visions + Elain

Eris taking you to an Orchestra

Requiem Lacrimosa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (London Philharmonic Orchestra)

“How much longer?” You whisper subtly in Eris’ ear.

You’ve been here for what feels like hours, and he’s barely paid you an ounce of attention—hardly a flick of his eyes!

His lips twitch, hand discreetly sliding over your own, “this is a highly skilled orchestra, I’ll have you know.” You scowl at him playfully, linking your fingers with his own, but his attention remains below, on the musicians.

You stifle a groan. “Eris, come on,” you whine quietly.

He gives you a sidelong look, then leans into you. You stiffen as his lips brush the shell of your ear. “Consider this your punishment then, for that little stunt you pulled last night.” Warmth flushes your skin as you remember what, precisely, said stunt entailed.

A smirk tips the edges of your lips, shooting him a lustful smile. “Want me to apologise for my behaviour, Eris?” You ask, a mocking lilt to your voice as he stiffens beneath your touch. “Now, now,” he murmurs, gaze burning into you as he removes his hand from beneath your own, instead gripping your throat lightly. You almost purr at the action, entirely disregarding the music in the background.

“Why do I get the distinct impression you’re trying to get under my skin, fawn?” He asks, giving you an equally arousing grin. You merely bat your lashes at him, offering a mockingly innocent look. He snorts softly, rolling his eyes, releasing you. You fight against the disappointment as he goes back to the music.

You slump in your chair a little, folding your arms over your chest indignantly as he seems set on ignoring you for the night. But then it appears he changes his mind. “Behave until the next interval,” he whispers, making you start a little, having not noticed him leaning in again. “If you can do that for me, then we’ll leave early, and you can get what you want.”

Rainy day w/ Helion

Tokyo by RM

The rain pitter-patters on the ceiling, tapping lightly as you watch silently from the window.

It’s another grey day, dark and miserable. Despite the Day Court generally boasting clear skies, and blazing heat, the odd storm rolls in from time to time, and they can take weeks to pass. Sometimes it’s difficult to not let it get you down.

“What are you doing up so early?” A deep, male voice rumbles from your bedroom. You turn, smiling a little when Helion settles beside you on the sofa. “Couldn’t sleep. Didn’t want to wake you,” you murmur. His brow dips a little, taking in what are probably the deep lines beneath your eyes. “Well, I’m awake now, so how about we look at this weather together, huh?”

You smile, leaning into his warmth, nodding. Maybe it won’t be such a bad day after all. You always feel better when he’s around.

That is, until Helion decides to open his mouth again. “We’ll weather this storm, huh?” You groan, a reluctant smile stretching your lips as you turn to take him in. “That was awful,” you say, “utterly awful.” He returns your smile, not at all ashamed of the poor pun.

“I’ll be as awful as can be if it earns me a smile like that,” he murmurs, making you duck your head in embarrassment. He laughs quietly, gently gripping your chin so you’re looking into his eyes. The two of you watch one another for a while, and then he’s leaning forward.

You melt beneath his touch, basking in the hot press of his lips, the sturdy warmth of his body as he pulls you into his lap, kissing away your blue mood.

Drunkenly walking home w/ Lucien

Crush by Big Marvel

“How many drinks have you had?”

You offer him a slightly lopsided grin.

He sighs, hand tightening around your waist. “Why do I ever believe you when you tell me you’ll watching your consumption?” He asks, rhetorically. “Because you love it,” you laugh, tucking yourself into his side. Lucien smiles, indeed enjoying how you cling to him as he leads you to bed.

“You aren’t going to another party like that. For at least a month,” he mutters, pushing the door open to your shared chambers. You give him a smile that tells him you know he’s just saying that. “I’m serious,” he insists, “it’s not good for you to be doing this so much.”

You wave him off, managing to stand relatively steadily, making it the few stumbled steps to your bed. You turn to him, settling your ass comfortably down on the plush mattress. His singular russet eye burns with the heat of a forge and you can feel his heat and intensity from across the room.

A sweet, little smile plays on your lips as you give him a look that tells him exactly what you’re thinking. “Then it’s a good thing my husband takes such good care of me, isn’t it?”

Comforting Elain after a vision

Glassy sky by Cat Trumpet

“Hey,” you murmur, walking up to her side. “What are you thinking about?”

She doesn’t look at you, doesn’t so much as reply as she continues staring across the misty city. It’s early, the sun barely peeking over the horizon, yet she’s already awake.

You peer at her for a moment longer, her creamy skin seeming a little too pale, a damp shine across her brow, and—a tinge of fear on her scent. She had a bad night. That or another vision swept over her. It’s been a while since they’ve disturbed her so deeply, and you want nothing more than to pull her back to bed so you can pamper and care for her.

But sometimes, she needs silence. The quiet of the morning air the perfect solution. She doesn’t want to talk right now, and while it hurts you that you can’t give her that comfort, you can stand by her. You can give her company, the knowledge you’ll be with her, through whatever it is that has so deeply unnerved her.

So you walk to her side, looking out over the colourful rooftops, a few distant cries from some sea birds echoing. You slide your hand into hers—skin like ice—and squeeze gently. Just once, to give her a tether back to Velaris, should she need it. Her skin is clammy, her fingers trembling a little, but she gives a soft squeeze back.

At once you’re a little more at ease, a quiet breath escaping you.

She’s still here. Still with you.

She might be off in her own head, but she’ll return.

Taglist: @myheartfollower @tcris2020 @mali22 @amygdtjhddzvb @sfhsgrad-blog @needylilgal022 @hannzoaks

[icey--stars]

ACOTAR and TOG males in Corsets/Vests (Headcanons)

The High Lords of Prythian + 2 more ACOTAR males and then Rowan and Fenrys from TOG.

I think my self control just went down the hill because now I'm on pinterest looking at men in corsets and imagining which acotar/tog male would wear which. As well as vests (I have an addiction). So far I've come to the following conclusions: (doesn't include cass and az because I literally only see them wearing leathers/more formal leathers, not really a corset/vest. MAYBE az, but only for eris.)

If you want to see my lack of self control, feel free to look lol

Rhysand:

Would be so good looking in a corset. (However, Lucien, Thesan and Tarquin would be slightly better). However, I have to say that he'd probably be better looking in a vest than a corset 🫣 The purple one would match his eyes and well... his eyes happen to be one of my favorite physical characteristics of him.

~~~

Helion:

THIS male. Oh lordy. He'd ROCK a corset like none other and honestly, he's never going to wear a vest. I don't see him doing it. He'd wear the traditional Day Court robes but then he'd one day just walk out in the gold chains (far right) and everyone would not be able to take their eyes off him. And the gold?? The gold fits too well with his dark skin. I am UNWELL.

~~~

Lucien Vanserra:

I am panting after this male so badly. He would be the best looking in a corset, absolutely no competition. He would have everyone drooling over him and THEN he'd just pop out in a vest and it'd be the same. He looks way too good in either. He looks good in like every court's style too! I just can't with him. I could put him in any of the corsets on this post and he'd look FABULOUS.

~~~

Thesan:

Would absolutely have his lover panting after him in either a corset or vest. I like to imagine Dawn Court fashion with like soft yellows and oranges along with creams and browns?? I think that the first corset fits the best into that. But do I really need to say more? With his skin tone (a more asian one, darker. definitely not white at all) he would look HEAVENLY.

~~~

Kallias:

Would look best in a vest, BUT if anyone is going to look ANY good in a dark blue/white corset, it's definitely Kallias. Now, the middle one wouldn't be paired with black of course, but he'd look DAMN GOOD in it. Am I going insane? Probably.

~~~

Tarquin:

This male would canonically wear corsets daily. The vest just doesn't do it for him. Sure, he looks amazing but it's also too warm in Summer to wear it! He'd be wearing the corset with nothing under it (or for court proceedings, a white dress shirt) but literally- he'd look so hot. Thus far, the rankings for corsets are: Lucien, Tarquin, Thesan, Helion and then Rhys. Everyone else is irrelevant.

~~~

Eris Vanserra:

We are going to skip Beron, I'm sorry. If you can't tell by the number of times I've ruthlessly had Beron killed in my fics, then you should know I hate him.

So, Eris Vanserra, High Lord of the Autumn Court is definitely someone who I'd rather see in a vest. But a corset? If he finds the right one, he'd look damn good. Just like his little brother. Though, I feel like he'd be so tired after ruling Autumn that he'd wear it mostly to help his posture lol

However, when he's not tired and wears a vest, he'd look like a god incarnate and I'd get down on my knees to worship the ground he walks on.

~~~

Tamlin:

We believe in Tamlin in vests around these parts. (and forgiveness, but that's not what these weird headcanons are about) He'd be drool worthy. His hair?? PERFECT to match the first vest or the corset. I swear, he'd look so good that I'd be panting if he walked by me.

~~~

Rowan Whitethorn:

Rowan? Rowan would wear a corset and have Aelin panting after him the entire day and absolutely nobody would be able to focus that day. Like literally, if you even get a glance, your mind is BROKEN. I would personally just get down on my knees and beg. I don't know about you guys, but if I imagine his tattoo as well, it only serves to make it worse. And a vest?? If you imagine the right with the green and then a more silver color... yeah, I think you get the point. Rowan is drool worthy ALWAYS.

~~~

Fenrys Moonbeam

Do I really even need to say anything?? DO I? Fenrys. Corset. I am melting. He could fit into so many colors and styles and look amazing? I'm not even going to provide a vest picture because any fancy ones that I look up would automatically look good on him. His onyx dark eyes just make it easier!!

~~~

Okay... well that was longer than anticipated but I hope you all enjoyed those thoughts. I think I've gone feral by looking at all these images and imagining the acotar/tog men in corsets.

[goforth-ladymidnight]

A Second Chance, Ch. 14

@praetorqueenreyna @thrumbolt @achaotichuman @taymartiart @northern-polaris @zivotzaruzi (Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged or untagged.)

Pairing: Tamlin x Lucien

Wordcount: 7.9k

Summary: Tamlin breaks some hearts (and no, I will not spoil it by saying whose), and Lucien and his brother learn more about their family's company audit

Read on AO3, or read here below the cut:

Click.

Tamlin lowered the camera with a sniff and tried to wiggle his numb nose. He’d been out in the cold for nearly an hour now, and he hadn’t seen anyone matching Vassa’s description, aside from the round, red-capped finches he was pretending to be so fascinated by.

He glanced over at the busy coffee cart on the other side of the park, with its jolly holly-green umbrella and bright red coffee cups. He sighed wistfully, and his breath was visible in the chilled air. Some hot coffee would be just the thing on a cold day like this. The sky promised more snow later, as if they didn’t already have enough.

As he trudged through the ankle-deep snow, he readjusted the strap of the camera bag bouncing uncomfortably against his frozen hip, and grumbled at himself for coming up with such a brilliant plan.

At least he had Lucien’s scarf to keep him from becoming a walking, talking snowman.

As he fell in line behind two young women, he lifted the scarf to his nose and gratefully breathed in the faint, orange-scented cologne. Now that his mouth and nose were beginning to thaw, he could start thinking clearly again.

He was doing this for Vassa, he reminded himself. Vassa was Lucien’s friend, and Jurian’s girlfriend, besides. No matter how much Jurian might try to deny it.

If the Scythian mafia was after her, no matter what their reasons were, it was reason enough to keep her out of their clutches. But was it worth the risk if it meant putting another redhead in harm’s way?

“Hi! Two peppermint lattes, please,” the young woman in front of him cheerily told the coffee cart attendant.

Tamlin glanced over the black chalkboard menu, at the options written in a curly white script. He usually got a black coffee, but would it be gay if he tried a peppermint latte for once?

He shook his head and scolded himself. So what if it was? Hadn’t he just had—as Lucien put it—hot gay sex, the night before?

Even the memory of it made him blush.

“What can I get you?” the attendant asked him.

Tamlin startled, then stepped forward. “Oh, yeah. Hi. Um… Two black coffees, please,” he said automatically, and was suddenly disappointed in himself. Why would anyone care about his order, anyway? He was the one drinking it, not them. When the attendant reached for two red coffee cups, Tamlin stopped him. “Actually, could you make them peppermint lattes, instead?” he asked shyly.

“Ooh, nice choice,” someone remarked.

He turned his head to see the same two young women standing nearby, sipping at their own peppermint drinks. They were dressed in blue and green puffy jackets and white leggings, complete with woolen legwarmers and stocking hats with fuzzy pom-poms on top. They made standing out in the cold look a lot more fun than it actually was.

“We don’t really see guys go for the so-called girly drinks,” her friend continued, and shrugged shyly. “It’s cute.”

“Well, you two inspired me,” he said, smiling. “It never hurts to try something new, right?”

“Right,” she said, while her friend nudged her. They both looked like they were trying very hard not to giggle. Had he said something funny?

“You’ll have to tell us what you think,” her friend said brightly, then gestured to the other and continued, “Cat usually goes for pumpkin spice, but it is almost Christmas, so…”

“‘Tis the season,” Tamlin agreed conversationally, as if they weren’t complete strangers. Still, it didn’t hurt to be friendly.

“Indeed,” she said with a smile.

As he returned her smile, he noticed that she had bright, teal blue eyes, and coppery red bangs peeking out beneath her stocking hat. If it weren’t for her freckles and pale skin, she could almost pass for Vassa…

“That’ll be ten,” the clerk said, bringing him back to the present.

“Oh, that much, huh?” Tamlin said with a shy laugh, and pulled out his wallet.

As he pulled out the correct number of bills, the redhead remarked, “They have some of the best coffee in town. It’s worth it, I promise.”

“I’m sure it is,” he said affably, then took the steaming cups in hand with a nod of thanks.

As he stepped aside to make way for the next customer, he tried to think of a tactful way to ask for her picture, but the talkative redhead didn’t give him the chance.

“So, what do you think?” she asked him.

“About what?”

She and her friend exchanged another one of their barely contained smiles. “Of the coffee?”

“Oh,” he said, and carefully managed a sip. As the warm brew slid down his throat, he licked his lips. “It’s uh… peppermint-y,” he remarked, unsure of how else to describe it. “But it’s not bad.”

“Not bad at all,” her companion—Cat—said, and took a sip herself.

The redhead glanced between them, looking thoughtful. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Cat—with dark hair and equally bright blue eyes—nearly spat out her coffee. “Gwyn!” she chided, and smacked her arm.

The redhead—Gwyn—gave her an innocent shrug. “What? You were taking forever to ask him out, so…” She nodded at Tamlin, as if to say: I did you a favor; you can thank me later.

Tamlin’s lips twitched into a shy smile, and he found himself blushing. “Look, it’s not that I’m flattered, but…”

“You see?” Cat said quickly. “He has a girlfriend. I knew it. Can we go now, please?” Her cheeks were as pink as Tamlin’s felt, and not just from the cold.

“The thing is, I don’t have a girlfriend,” he tried to explain.

“Oh, you don’t?” Cat said, sounding somewhat hopeful.

Tamlin winced and sucked in a cold, sharp breath between his teeth. “I actually have a boyfriend. Sorry.”

Both girls groaned and exchanged sad, disappointed smiles.

“How come all the cute ones are gay?” Cat complained with a pouting lip, which only made Tamlin blush harder.

“Az isn’t gay,” Gwyn told her, sounding somewhat annoyed.

“Yeah, but he’s taken. By you.”

Gwyn turned to Tamlin with wide, hopeful eyes. “Do you have any brothers?”

Tamlin chuckled as Cat squawked in protest, and brushed a stray hair from his warm cheek with his wrist. “They’re married,” he said ruefully, but even if they weren’t, he wouldn’t wish them on anyone, straight or otherwise.

“Figures,” Cat muttered, then gave Tamlin a polite smile. “Thanks, anyway.”

“Anytime,” he said automatically, which made no sense, given the circumstances.

“Tam? Hey, Tam!” a familiar voice called out, and he turned in shock to see Lucien, of all people, trotting up to greet him.

“Lu?” Tamlin said with a surprised laugh. “What are you doing here?”

Lucien grinned, and his cheeks were flushed from jogging in the cold. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and said, “I was just across the street and thought I’d get some coffee, and… well, here you are, getting coffee!”

“Yeah… Wow…” Tamlin shook his head in amazement, then noticed the two girls watching them. “Oh, yeah. Lu. Let me introduce you to… um…” His mind went blank.

“I’m Gwyn, and this is my sister, Cat,” Gwyn offered kindly, and Cat silently saluted them with her coffee cup.

“Nice to meet you,” Lucien said, and introduced himself.

“Hi,” Cat said politely, but it was clear she had no interest in chatting. Tamlin didn’t blame her.

Gwyn wasn’t quite ready to leave, though, since she turned to Tamlin and said, “I don’t think I caught your name, actually.”

“Oh, it’s Tam. Tamlin.”

“Tamlin,” she repeated with a smile. “That’s a nice name. I think I heard it in a song once.”

Before Tamlin could say that’s where his mom had gotten it from, Lucien interrupted and gestured to the three of them.

“I’m confused… how exactly do you all know each other?”

“We just met, actually,” Tamlin said, shrugging shyly with the coffee cups. It wasn’t much of an explanation, but what else could he say that wouldn’t embarrass anyone?

Luckily Gwyn was there to fill what could have been an awkward silence. “We got the same coffee order,” she said simply, then turned the question around on him. “What about you? How long have you two known each other?”

“Oh, Tam and I go way back,” Lucien said, giving him a small, secret wink.

That wink made Tamlin feel brave. “Actually, we just started dating,” he told the girls, smiling shyly. “And, actually, he’s my boyfriend.”

Lucien’s eyebrows rose at this public admission, but before he could say anything, Cat nudged Gwyn with her elbow.

“I told you,” she muttered. “Cute. Gay.”

Lucien chuckled at this. “Uh, thanks. I think.”

Gwyn suddenly pointed at him. “You said your name was Lucien, right?” When he affirmed that he had, and that he was, she grinned and said, “You’re Eris’s brother, aren’t you.”

Lucien’s head jerked back in surprise. “Yeah! How’d you know?”

“He comes by the theater all the time,” Gwyn said brightly. As an aside to Cat, she explained, “He’s the one dating Nesta.”

“Oh.” Cat rolled her eyes. “Yeah. See? That just proves my point. If he’s cute, he’s either gay, or taken.”

Tamlin and Lucien let out awkward chuckles.

“Yeah, it’s usually the opposite for me,” Lucien said quietly, then turned his attention to Gwyn. “So, uh, how did you know Eris was dating Nesta?”

“We’re part of the same dance company,” Gwyn said brightly. “The Valkyries?”

“Oh,” Lucien said with an impressed nod. “Sure, I’ve heard of them.”

Tamlin hadn’t, so he let them talk and took another sip of his peppermint latte. Even though he wasn’t sure he would ever order it again, he was glad he’d tried it. Best of all, he didn’t feel any more or less gay for having done so. It was just a drink, after all.

“We’re performing Swan Lake this season,” Gwyn went on. “You two should come by and see us. It’s not as popular as The Nutcracker this time of year, but…”

“Sounds great,” Lucien said quickly, before Tamlin could say anything about the show they’d missed.

“Great!” Gwyn agreed. “Well, if you ever want to swing by, just tell the Ticket Office that Gwyn—and Cat—Berdara sent you,” she said, gesturing to her sister. “—and they’ll give you the Friends and Family discount.”

“Oh my god, please kill me now,” Cat muttered, covering her face with her free hand.

Lucien ignored her, or at least he pretended to. “Berdara,” he repeated, and Gwyn nodded, beaming. “I’ll remember that. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Cat tugged on Gwyn’s elbow before she could say more. “Come along, now, Gwyneth,” she said brightly, though her next sentence was said through gritted teeth. “Before I murder you.”

“What did I do?” Gwyn whined as her sister led her away, and Tamlin and Lucien chuckled.

“Well, that was an interesting conversation,” Lucien remarked, giving Tamlin an amused smile. “Let me guess, one of them tried to ask you out?”

Tamlin blushed. “How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess.” Lucien brushed a stray hair from his face. “But honestly, I’m not surprised. What woman wouldn’t want to take a bite out of a studmuffin like you?” He winked.

Tamlin blushed harder and breathed a laugh, then his smile faded. You must be beating off the girls with a stick, the dean once told him. He sighed, and it clouded the air. Would the nightmare of Amarantha ever stop haunting him?

“Hey,” Lucien said, tilting his head to catch his eye. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Tamlin said, shaking off the wisps of memory like fallen snow on his hair. “Just tired. I didn’t get that much sleep last night, as you well know.”

A slow smile grew on Lucien’s face, and his warm brown eyes sparkled. “I’d apologize, but I’m not that sorry,” he teased, then nodded at the cups in Tamlin’s hands. “Besides, that’s what coffee’s for.”

“Oh, right.” He’d almost forgotten about his order.

As Tamlin took a sip, Lucien asked, “So, what did you get?”

Tamlin swallowed. “Peppermint lattes,” he said with a shy smile, then held out the other cup. “You want one?”

“Oh… Sure,” Lucien said, accepting it with some surprise. “Who was it for?”

“Jurian, but I’m not sure he’d like it. He takes his coffee blacker than black, so…”

“So does Alex,” Lucien agreed, then lifted the bright red cup for a sip. “Mmm. It’s good. I prefer pumpkin spice myself, but… It’s good.” He licked the foam from his lips and smiled. “Thanks.”

The sight warmed Tamlin more than the coffee had, and he smiled back. “You’re welcome.”

Lucien gestured to the coffee line. “Do you mind keeping me company while I get something for Alex? Or do you need to get back to work?”

“Oh, no. It’s fine,” Tamlin said, waving dismissively with his now free hand. “Work can wait.”

“What kind of errand were you running anyway?” Lucien asked as they joined the back of the line. “If you don’t mind my asking.”

“Errand?”

“Yeah. Jurian said you were running an errand for him, so…”

“Oh.” Tamlin blinked, and thought quickly. “Uh… Coffee run,” he lied, smiling nervously all the while.

“Huh, okay,” Lucien said with an understanding smile, then slipped his gloved hand in Tamlin’s. “Is this okay?”

Tamlin glanced down at their joined hands, then gently squeezed. “It’s more than okay.”

Lucien smiled, and squeezed back. “Okay. Good.”

As the line moved forward, Tamlin thought back on his conversation with Jurian. He still felt like he was Bi instead of Gay, but it didn’t really matter anymore. Even though those two girls were clearly interested, he hadn’t tried to pretend he had a girlfriend instead. It hadn't occurred to him to try. Lucien was his boyfriend, and that’s all there was to it. So what if he had missed out on his chance to take Gwyn’s picture? He and Jurian would have to come up with something else to distract Koschei, which made him wonder…

“When did you see Jurian, anyway?” Tamlin asked.

“Oh, about ten minutes ago,” Lucien said, lifting his cup for another sip. “Alex is talking with him now. I wanted to give them some privacy.”

“Because of his wife?”

Lucien winced. “Yeah.”

Tamlin sighed. “Was I wrong to suggest that? For him to see Jurian, I mean.”

“Of course not,” Lucien assured him. “It’s better that he finds out sooner rather than later, especially before they start having kids.”

“Yikes.”

“You’re telling me.”

They moved forward another place in line.

“So, what’s with the camera bag?” Lucien asked, nudging him gently.

“Birdwatching,” Tamlin said automatically.

Lucien gave him a bemused smile. “Birdwatching,” he repeated. “I didn’t know you were into that… Did you see any good ones?”

“Not really,” Tamlin said dismissively. “It’s mostly just sparrows, and finches this time of year…” He gestured with his cup. “Hence, the coffee.”

“Huh,” Lucien said, then he shrugged. “Maybe you can take me birdwatching in the spring,” he offered. “Then you can show me all the good ones.”

“If you like,” Tamlin remarked, surprised. “It’s really not that interesting.”

Lucien’s head jerked back. “Then why do it?”

Realizing he had been caught in a lie, Tamlin’s face flushed. “I do it for Jurian’s sake,” he said quickly. “He’s the one with the checklist, and I’m the one with the camera, so…”

“Oh.” Lucien nodded thoughtfully, then he smiled. “We’ll find something to do that we both like, then.”

“Sure,” Tamlin agreed, relieved.

After Lucien had ordered two black coffees—for Alex and Jurian, he said—they turned back for the office. With their hands full, they couldn’t hold onto each other anymore, but they did match each other’s leisurely stride as they strolled through the park.

“I’m really glad I got to see you,” Lucien said, smiling warmly. “You were in such a hurry this morning, I didn’t get the chance to give you a proper goodbye.”

Tamlin couldn’t help his blush. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. It worked out better this way. Alex and Jurian get their time to talk, and now so do we.”

“Yeah,” Tamlin murmured, then took a deep breath. “So, where are you going after this? Back to work?”

“Nah,” Lucien said dismissively. “I’m taking the day off. Alex and I are going to lunch, though. I’m taking him to Annie’s, actually. You want to come along?”

“Oh.” Tamlin blinked in surprise. “I, uh, sure. I have to clear it with Jurian first, but…”

“There you are,” an annoyed voice said.

Tamlin and Lucien looked up to see Alex standing with Jurian in the parking lot.

Alex pushed himself away from the expensive-looking car he’d been leaning against. “I thought you got abducted, or something,” he told Lucien chidingly.

Lucien only rolled his eyes. “Will you relax,” he drawled, then held out the extra coffee cup. “I got you a black, two sugars.”

“Oh… Thanks,” Alex muttered, and begrudgingly accepted the peace offering.

Tamlin broke the awkward silence by offering Jurian the extra coffee he’d been carrying. “Dark roast,” he said. “No sugar.”

“Thanks, Tam,” Jurian said, accepting it gratefully. He’d been standing with Alex in his shirt sleeves; he probably hadn’t anticipated having to wait outside this long.

Not wanting to make the situation more awkward by apologizing, Tamlin took another sip. As did they all.

“So,” Jurian announced loudly, when they’d all drunk. “Tam. We have a new client. Who I’m sure you’ve already met.”

“Yeah,” Tam said, nodding at Alex. “Hi, again.”

“Hey,” Alex murmured, then sighed. “Look. I’m sorry…”

Tamlin waved him off. “No, it’s, uh… It’s okay… I didn’t realize you were out here waiting, so…”

“That was my fault, anyway,” Lucien interjected. “I ran into Tam across the street, and we got to talking…”

“Yeah,” Alex said quietly, then sighed again. “Well, Lucien and I should probably get going, so…” He stuck out his hand to Jurian, who shook it. “Thanks, again.”

“Sure,” Jurian said kindly. “I’ll be in touch.”

Alex nodded, then stuffed his hand into his pocket. “Keys.”

“Oh, right,” Lucien said quickly, and shoved his hand inside his own coat pocket.

While he dug, Alex turned his attention to Tamlin next. “In case I don’t see you for a while, good luck… with everything. I hope you get the help you need.”

Tamlin’s head jerked back in surprise. “Help?” he repeated. “Why would I need help?”

“Ah-ha-ha,” Lucien said quickly, and shoved the found keys at his brother. “Here you go,” he said in a sing-song voice that sounded a lot like Shut up now.

Alex fumbled with the keys and his coffee. “Hey—What? What are you doing?”

“Lunch. Car. Now,” Lucien said quickly, trying to herd him toward the driver’s side door.

Alex stepped back and looked at him askance, however. “You didn’t tell him, did you.”

“Tell me what?” Tamlin asked, looking between them.

Even though Lucien tried to shush him, Alex said, “About Eris? Taking on your case?”

Tamlin’s bemused smile faded. “What case?” he asked, looking to Lucien.

His boyfriend grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fucking fuck,” he muttered, then took a deep breath. “I wasn’t going to say anything until I was sure…”

“Sure?” Tamlin echoed. “About what? What is he talking about?” His heart started to sink without quite knowing why.

Lucien took a moment to swallow. “Eris is a lawyer, you know? One of the best. Anyway, I… I sort of asked him to look into what happened to you… You know, seven years ago.”

Tamlin fell back a step, stunned. “You told him?”

Lucien spread his hands wide, at least, the hand that wasn’t holding his coffee. “I just wanted to know if there was a way for you to get your life back… To win a-a settlement, or something—”

“A settlement?” Tamlin echoed. His voice sounded hollow and far away. “You mean going to court? Against that witch? Are you fucking serious?”

Lucien flinched and turned pale. “Tam, I just wanted to help—”

“No. No,” Tamlin said, backing away. The awful memories came back in a rush. “I am not going through that again. You can’t make me.”

“Tam—”

Jurian stepped in. “I think you need to leave,” he told Lucien coolly. When he got like this, it was easy to imagine him in an official uniform and wielding a baton.

Lucien faltered, and tried to skirt around him to catch Tamlin’s eye. “But… But I—”

“Now.”

“Come on, Lu,” Alex said quietly. “We should go.”

Tamlin couldn’t look at them. Any of them. The pancakes he had made that morning threatened to make a reappearance, and he pressed a hand to his mouth.

Lucien sounded broken. “Tam, I’m… I’m so sorry…”

Jurian remained unmoved, however. “If he wants to talk, he’ll call you,” he said firmly, then over his shoulder, he told Tamlin quietly, “I’ll meet you inside.”

Tamlin managed a nod, then opened the door to the building without looking back. He made it just inside the lobby before he started shaking.

Not a minute later, Jurian followed, sans coffee cup, and pulled Tamlin into his arms and let him break down and cry like the frightened child he was.

* * *

“Look, I said I was sorry.”

Lucien glared out the passenger window as hot tears continued to roll down his cheeks. “That doesn’t bring back my boyfriend now, does it?” he said tightly.

Alex sighed as he made a turn down a residential lane. “I didn’t know you hadn’t told him,” he said sorrowfully. “I didn’t know he’d take it so hard. Besides, you were just trying to help—”

Lucien scoffed. “Obviously it didn’t work,” he muttered, and sniffed as he swiped at his wet cheeks. “And now I’m never going to see him again.”

“You don’t know that,” Alex chided. “Give it time, I’m sure he’ll come around—”

“Yeah, in seven more years,” Lucien said mournfully, watching a line of festively decorated houses roll by. “We were going to spend Christmas together.” His chin began to quiver. “And New Year’s.”

“Come on, Lu,” Alex whined. “Don’t do this. You’re supposed to be the one comforting me, remember? I might be getting a divorce. You’re not even married.”

Lucien buried his face in his hands.

“Yet,” Alex added hastily. “You’re not married yet. You never know. This might be a funny story you tell at your wedding someday.”

“Fat chance of that,” Lucien muttered, but he lowered his hands and managed a sniff. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“Mom’s house, remember?”

Lucien groaned.

“Oh, no. Don’t give me that,” Alex warned, turning onto a familiar street. “You’re the one who kept suggesting I come here,” he said, then pulled into the driveway of an old-fashioned, two-story house. “Now, we’re here.”

“You could have warned me,” Lucien complained. “I thought we were going to lunch or something first.”

Alex sighed and turned off the car. “I didn’t think you’d be hungry.”

As his brother dug his duffel bag out of the trunk, Lucien stood back and left the shopping bags where they were. Violin strings and rosin. For Tamlin.

Fresh tears filled his eyes, and he forced himself to look away. Would he ever be able to give them to him? Would Tamlin even accept them? Or would he have to live with the fact that he’d broken Tamlin’s trust in him forever?

“Alex?” Their mother’s voice drifted toward them from the covered porch. “What a surprise! What are you doing here?”

Alex smiled at her and closed the trunk. “Hey, Ma,” he called back. “I thought it was about time we came to visit.”

She gasped audibly at the sight of both of them. “Oh, Lucien, my baby!” she called out happily, then trotted down the steps to meet them.

The former Mrs. Vanserra was a pleasantly plump woman with long auburn hair she wore in a chignon. When she wrapped her arms around her two boys, she smelled like cinnamon, chestnuts, and warm apple pie.

“Mm, it’s so good to see you,” she gushed, giving them both a squeeze. As she pulled away, she looked between the two of them. “Where’s, um, Ianthe?” she asked politely.

Their mother didn’t like Alex’s wife any more than the rest of them, but she at least tried to make an effort.

“It’s a long story,” Alex said with a grim smile.

“Oh,” she said, then noticed the bag in his hand. “Oh, I see,” she said with a wince, then turned to Lucien. “How about you, sweetheart? Are you…?” She trailed off when she noticed Lucien’s red eyes, and tear-stained cheeks. “Oh, dear.”

Lucien didn’t have the heart to tell her that he’d found a boyfriend and lost him all in the same week, but his mother probably already knew that. She knew a lot of things.

“Well, come inside, both of you,” she said brightly, giving her sweatered arms a brisk rub. “I just made some gingerbread cookies.”

As she turned her back to lead them into the house, Lucien gave Alex a knowing look. “Told you,” he mouthed.

Alex gave him a resigned shrug, then followed after their mother, and Lucien shoved his hands inside his coat pockets and trailed along behind.

His childhood home looked and smelled much the way it had when he was growing up, like warm bread and furniture polish. It wasn’t exactly the same, of course, since it had been sold the same year his grandfather died, when Lucien was about eight years old. The Autumn Corporation had been willed and given to the former owner’s three daughters, but his only son-in-law was named the new owner and CEO: Beron Vanserra.

The Vanserra family had led a comfortable life before, but suddenly the modest, red-brick home was too small for such a wealthy business executive, so Beron sold the house and moved them all into the heart of the city.

Lucien had really liked it at first. He finally had his own room, they went to plays and the ballet, and he could get whatever he wanted for Christmas and birthdays… But his mother no longer sang as much, and she baked—and ate—a lot more than she used to. Looking back on it, Lucien knew that his father blamed her weight gain as the reason he started sleeping around, but that wasn’t really true. Beron liked being important. He liked the attention.

Just not the sort of attention having a gay son gave him.

And Lucien despised him for it.

It wasn’t until years later, when all the boys were grown, that Beron’s ego was finally taken down a peg. Once Eris had his law degree, he helped their mother get a legal separation from her husband, and a proper settlement besides. He helped her buy back the house that she had so dearly loved. He had helped her get her name back. She was no longer the nameless wife of the CEO, Mrs. Beron Vanserra; she was once again Laura Autumn, baker extraordinaire, and mother of seven, in that order. She was finally herself again.

Lucien would always be grateful to Eris for taking that kind of risk. Beron nearly fired him when he found out, but he reconsidered once he realized that Eris could end up working for his competition. So he kept Eris close. He kept all of his boys close, even Lucien. Not in a familial way, of course, but at least the job paid well. And it came with a nice expense account… When he was allowed to use it, anyway.

While Alex took his bag into the living room, their mother bustled around the kitchen. The radio was playing a soft version of Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire. The still-hot oven filled the tiled kitchen with warmth and the smell of cinnamon. Rows of gingerbread cookies were moved from cooling racks and onto decorative platters for icing later.

Watching her, Lucien felt like a little kid again. After a long day of school, he’d come home out of the cold and kick off his shoes and drop off his backpack by the door, then clamber up onto the stool and let his socked feet dangle while his mom puttered around the kitchen. She would listen to him complain about math or how the mean kids had made fun of his lisp again, then she’d let him lick the stirring spoon, or give him a fresh cookie with a glass of milk to help him feel all better. It always helped.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the sort of problem that even homemade cookies could solve.

He let out a sigh and shrugged out of his coat, then draped it over the back of the barstool before sitting down at the counter. Just like he used to do when he was little, he hunched over and rested his chin on his fists. “Hey, Mom?”

“Yes, hon?”

Lucien sighed again. “Have you ever made a huge mistake?”

She smiled to herself as she wiped her hands on her apron. “Oh, lots of times.”

He quirked his mouth to one side. “Did you ever make one so big it ruined your whole life?”

Her warm brown eyes twinkled with amusement as she met his gaze. “Nothing that dramatic, I assure you.”

“What did you do?”

Her smile faded and grew thoughtful. “Well, I married a man far too old for me, but… I was eighteen, I was in love, and I thought I knew better.” She sighed as she untied her apron strings and went on, “Now, I do know better, but the knowledge came with more wrinkles and more stretch marks than I’d care to admit.” She pointed at Lucien as she went to hang up her apron on its wooden peg. “But I want you to know that I don’t regret having a single one of you boys… I love you all to bits, even if you do turn my hair gray sometimes.”

Lucien huffed a laugh, even though it hurt a little. “I couldn’t tell.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way,” she said, giving him the same smirk that he and his brothers shared. She gestured to his own auburn strands. “You’ll get your own gray hairs soon enough. I can promise you that.”

Lucien wrinkled his nose and sniffed. “Probably a lot sooner than you think.”

“What do you mean?”

Alex walked into the kitchen, dusting off his hands. “Hey, Ma,” he said. “Did you get rid of the old couch?”

“Yes, I decided a loveseat was a better fit for the space.”

Alex looked truly taken aback. “When was this?”

“Oh, about three months ago,” she mused, moving some dirty dishes to the sink. “If you came to visit more often, I’m sure you would have noticed.”

Lucien and Alex exchanged a guilty wince. It had been a while.

At their silence, their mother quirked her mouth to one side and placed a hand on her hip. Tapping her elegant fingernails against the countertop, she said, “All right. Who’s first.”

They startled.

“First for what?”

“What do you mean?”

She arched an eyebrow. “I’m lucky if I see one of you boys once a month, and now two of you are here on the same day?” She gestured between them. “There is something going on, and you are going to tell me. Now. Who’s first?”

Lucien took a deep breath, but Alex spoke first.

“I’ll go.”

“No, I’ll go,” Lucien insisted. “It won’t really make sense unless I start from the beginning.”

“How far back are we talking?”

Lucien swallowed. “About seven years.”

* * *

Tamlin glanced up from his seat at the desk as Jurian walked through the office door, bearing a takeout bag with Annie’s logo on it.

“Hey,” Jurian said kindly, setting it on the one clean spot on the desk. “I’ve got Corned Beef on Rye, and Annie’s famous apple pie,” he offered, shrugging off his coat. “Oh, and Alis said to tell you Hello.”

Tamlin swallowed, but he still had no appetite. “Thanks,” he said quietly, then returned his attention to the piles of papers he’d been sorting. He’d needed to file them for a while now, and now was the perfect time to take his mind off of… well, everything else.

Jurian sighed, then closed the door to hang up his coat. “So, any calls?”

“No.”

“Any calls from him?”

Tamlin shook his head this time. “No.”

Jurian considered this, then gently lowered himself into the empty seat across the desk. “You want to talk about it?” he asked gently.

“Not really.”

“Okay,” Jurian said, sitting back in his chair. He took a deep breath and twiddled his thumbs. “What about that assignment I gave you before. Any luck?”

Tamlin sighed, and ran his thumb over the papers’ stapled edge. “I couldn’t do it,” he said quietly. “There was someone there, in the park, who looked like Vassa, and I couldn’t do it.”

Jurian lowered the chair to the floor. “There’s no shame in that,” he said gently. He seemed to be considering his words carefully. “Maybe… maybe we shouldn’t be doing this, anymore.”

That got Tamlin’s attention. “What do you mean?”

Jurian took a deep breath. “I made some calls today,” he said slowly. “There’s a Scythian embassy in the northeast part of the country. It’s going to take some time, but… the guy I spoke to on the phone, he’s interested in working with us… He wants to know more about Mr. Koschei.”

Tamlin’s brows rose in shock. “What about Vassa?”

Jurian shrugged. “Any information we can give him, he’ll take, but I don’t think we have to give Koschei anything else.”

Tamlin let out a sudden breath. It was the best news he’d heard all day. “So we’re free? Just like that?”

Jurian chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that far,” he said wryly, “but essentially, yeah.”

“No photos?”

“No headshots. No nothing,” Jurian finished, smiling tightly. He shrugged again. “I thought you could use some good news, after today.”

Tamlin’s smile faded. “Yeah,” he murmured, and dropped his gaze. “Thanks.”

“Of course, this means we won’t be getting a new couch,” Jurian remarked. “So, if you’re okay with that…”

Tamlin’s heart twinged, as did his neck. “Yeah, it’s okay.”

Jurian sighed and shook his head. “You don’t have to lie, you know. You can say it fucking sucks, because it does. It really does.”

Tamlin breathed a laugh, but it was a sad laugh. “Yeah. I know.”

* * *

The kitchen was almost peaceful as Lucien sat at the table with his mother and his brother, drinking hot tea and nibbling on fresh gingerbread as they looked out at the snowy backyard. Twittering birds flitted from birdfeeder to birdfeeder, fattening themselves up on nuts and seeds before perching on the same snow-covered swingset that he and his six brothers had played on all those years ago. It would have made the perfect Christmas card… if Lucien had not just finished telling his mother the story of what had happened to Tamlin all those years ago.

Crack.

Lucien winced as yet another walnut shell shattered under his mother’s forceful nutcracking.

Shells littered the table like shrapnel, but she didn’t seem to notice as she dropped the kernel into a separate bowl and reached for yet another walnut.

“If that devil woman ever dared to lay a finger on one of my babies—” She put the nut between the jaws of her metal pliers. Crack. “—She’d be marking the days on her jail cell wall with chalk held between her toes.”

“Ma,” Alex said cautiously from the other end of the table. “Don’t get so worked up. You’ll give yourself a heart attack, or—or arthritis, or something.”

She glared and reached for another nut. “Don’t worry. I’m perfectly fine.” Crack.

Alex sighed and shook his head, and Lucien sighed, too.

As he crumbled gingerbread crumbs between his fingers, he asked her, “So you don’t think I was wrong to ask Eris for help?”

Crack.

Their mother huffed. “No,” she said quietly, reaching for yet another nut. “But, really, you shouldn’t have kept it a secret from your boyfriend. If you had told him what you wanted to do from the beginning, he might have been upset, but I think he would have come around. Eventually.” Crack.

Lucien leaned forward. “See, that’s what I wanted to do, but if Eris didn’t think he had a case, I didn’t want to risk upsetting him.” He glared at his brother. “Then Alex had to go and open his big fat mouth.”

“Hey!” Alex squawked. “Don’t pin this on me,” he said, pointing. “You’re the one who stuck his nose where it didn’t belong.”

“Me? You’re the one who kept pestering me with so many questions.”

“That’s because you never tell me anything.”

“For good reason!”

“Boys,” their mother warned.

The two of them sat back andcrossed their arms and mumbled an apology.

“Sorry, Ma.”

“Sorry.”

Their mother drew a deep breath, then set the nutcracker aside. As she wiped off her hands with a clean dishtowel, she declared, “It was an unfortunate accident. What’s done is done. The only thing you can do now is… well, wait for him to come around.”

Lucien sighed again, and shoved his plate aside to slump forward and rest his folded arms on the table. “What if he doesn’t? What if I never see him again?”

She gave him a sympathetic smile and rubbed his shoulder. “I’m sorry, baby. But that’s up to him.”

“It could be worse,” Alex offered. “He could be cheating on you and giving you the silent treatment at the same time.”

“Is that what happened to you, sweetheart?” their mother asked gently.

“Yeah,” Alex mumbled, glumly swirling his mug of tea. “Well, maybe. I know Ianthe is pissed at—sorry, Ma—I mean, mad about me staying late at the office, but that’s not my fault. Dad’s been hounding me over the numbers for this stupid audit.”

“Oh, has that started already?”

“Not yet, but—” Alex sat up. “Wait. How do you know about the audit?”

“Because I called and asked someone to look into it.”

Alex gawked at her. “You mean you called the press?”

“They weren’t my first call,” she remarked, reaching for her tea, “but, yes, I did.”

“You, wha—Were you going to tell us this?”

She smiled sweetly. “If I did that, then that would ruin all the fun, now, wouldn’t it.”

“Fun?” Alex echoed.

“Mm-hmm,” she said, still smiling, and took a sip of tea.

Lucien sat up, stunned. “Why an audit? Why now?” he asked her.

She rested her elbows on the table as she cradled her mug, looking thoughtful. “That’s a good question,” she mused. “I suppose I decided to do it this way when your father’s picture appeared in the paper last month. You know, at the city’s annual charity dinner?”

“Sure,” Alex said, but he looked as confused as Lucien felt.

“I didn’t go,” Lucien said with a shrug.

“Neither did I, but do you know how much your father paid for a plate at this particular dinner?”

“No.”

“But I can guess,” Alex offered.

She didn’t give him the chance. “It was more than he gives me in a month.”

Lucien’s mouth fell open. “What?!”

“No way,” Alex declared, leaning forward. “I’ve seen the books. You should have gotten a lot more than that…”

She smiled a tight smile. “I know.”

Lucien and Alex exchanged worried glances.

When neither of them spoke, she assured them, “Don’t worry. I have plenty of savings. I’m perfectly all right.” She shifted in her seat, then went on, “But, per the terms of our separation agreement, Beron agreed to pay me a generous monthly stipend. He would never agree to divorce me, because my father wrote that into his will. If Beron left me, for any reason, he would get nothing. Unfortunately, the same was true for me.”

She smiled sadly and ran a thumb over the handle of her mug. “My father wanted me and my sisters to have some security,” she said softly. “After my mother died, he was never the same. He knew I was making a mistake by choosing Beron, but… he wanted me to be happy. And at the time, I was.”

She sighed and shook her head, then continued, “I first noticed my stipend decreasing this past summer. Beron said sales were down, and I chose to believe him. Every company has its ups and downs. I know that. Besides, Eris made sure I was comfortable.” She paused to take another sip. “But then, last month, my stipend was almost half of what it was. The holidays are the busy season. They always have been,” she said firmly, then smiled a cool, calculating smile. “So, if sales are truly down, then an audit is the least of Beron’s worries, wouldn’t you say?”

Lucien huffed an amazed laugh. “Damn,” he said appreciatively, then winced. “Ooh, sorry Mom.”

She chuckled as she lifted her mug. “That’s all right, baby. I’ll take it as a compliment.”

Alex rested his chin in his hand. He suddenly looked very tired. “I wish you had told me,” he complained. “Then maybe Ianthe wouldn’t be giving me such a hard time right now.”

Their mother gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. But you can always call her. Provided that she doesn’t tell Beron about the audit. And I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you both to keep this a secret from your father, too.”

“I thought secrets were a bad thing,” Lucien pointed out, even though he had no intention of telling his father anything.

She gave him a wincing smile. “I know. But I just don’t want to give Beron the chance to retaliate. He would burn the Autumn Corporation to the ground before giving up control, especially to one of you boys.”

“Can we tell Eris, at least?”

“I’ll tell him myself,” she promised. “But only after the audit starts. Then Beron will have no reason to suspect he was involved.”

Lucien sat up with a start. “Hey, Mom, did you ever do any research, or hire a private investigator before you got started, or…?”

She looked surprised, but shook her head. “No. This was all my idea. That’s why I don’t want your father to know.”

“So, Tamlin wasn’t involved at all?”

“Did you think he was?”

Lucien felt a relieved smile grow on his face. “Eris thought he might be, because he works for a private eye, but…” He breathed a laugh. “He’s not, is he?”

She shook her head. “Not as far as I’m concerned.”

Lucien grinned, then pushed himself away from the table. “I need to go see him. Can I tell Tam about the audit? I promise he won’t tell—”

“Lucien.”

He paused at his mother’s firm tone.

She took a deep breath. “Does your boyfriend know that you suspected him of being involved?”

His hopeful smile faded. “No.”

She gave him a sad smile in turn. “Then you shouldn’t tell him. He needs time to be alone. Just give him that. Can you do that, for me?”

Lucien sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“I know this is hard,” she said gently, “but it’s for the best.”

She pushed herself away from the table to take the bowl of nuts over to the counter. As she began cleaning up, she offered, “Why don’t you stay for dinner? I have some pasta in the fridge, or there’sthat charming little pizzeria we used to go to when you were little. How does that sound? I’m sure they still deliver.”

He managed a smile. “Sure. Thanks, Mom,” he said quietly.

The pizza was as good as he remembered, but he still didn’t have much of an appetite. When dinner was over, he asked Alex to take him back to his apartment. He agreed without arguing, for once.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right by yourself?” his mother asked as he and Alex put on their coats. “You’re welcome to spend the night, you know.”

“I’ll be fine,” Lucien assured her, buttoning up his coat. “I’d rather sleep in my own bed, anyway. It’s been a long day.”

She sighed. “I understand,” she said kindly, and rubbed his arm. “Call me when you hear something, all right?” When he said he would, she pressed a bag of cookies into his hand. “And here’s something for when you get home.”

He chuckled, and accepted the cookies, and his mother’s hug. “Thanks, Mom,” he said, bending his head to kiss her cheek.

Snow was just starting to fall when Alex’s car pulled up under the awning of Lucien’s apartment. Alex kept the car running while Lucien retrieved his bags from the trunk. Before he could go inside, though, Alex rolled down the passenger side window and called him over.

“Hey, Lu?”

Lucien trudged over and leaned in. “Yeah?”

Alex gave him a tight smile. “You take care of yourself, okay?”

Lucien nodded, even though his heart wasn’t in it. “Yeah, okay. Be safe out there.”

“I will.” Alex tapped his thumb against the steering wheel. “Listen. I’m sorry again, about your boyfriend…”

Lucien shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Mom’s right. I just need to wait it out.”

Alex sighed. “Yeah. Well, if you ever need to talk…”

“I’ll let you know,” Lucien agreed, nodding. “See you at work tomorrow?”

Alex sucked in a sharp breath and winced. “Probably not. I think I need to avoid Dad for a little while. You know how shit I am at keeping secrets.”

Lucien snorted. “Yeah. I noticed.”

Alex smirked. “Hey, at least I wasn’t the one who told you Santa Claus wasn’t real.”

“Wow. Anything else you want to say to ruin my day?”

Alex chuckled and made to put the car into gear. “See ya, Lulu.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

Alex was still laughing when he rolled up his window and drove off into the snowy twilight.

Lucien shook his head and smiled, but it had faded by the time he made it up to his floor. It was a lonely walk back to his apartment, and it was going to be even lonelier when he went inside. As he unlocked the door, he thought about having a glass of wine, and maybe watching a movie to unwind.

As he remembered the movie he and Tamlin had ‘watched’ the night before, he decided to havetwo glasses of wine. He’d have one hell of a hangover the next day, but at least it would give him an excuse to call off work. Then he wouldn’t have to face Eris, or their father… or the memories.

He sighed as he dropped his keys onto the little table by the door, then set his bags underneath. As he straightened to unbutton his coat, he paused. He hadn’t had any wine yet, so why was he seeing double? There were two sets of keys on the table, and the fireplace was lit, which could only mean…

“Hey, Lu.”

He gasped, and his heart leapt to his throat as Tamlin pushed himself out of one the easy chairs in front of the fire.

Tamlin managed a tight smile as he slowly wrung his hands. “Can we talk?”

[bubybubsters]

Three Shadow Boys

a/n: good day. Meh. I’m skipping homework for this. Sorry I’ll update something at one point.

masterlist

wc: 1450

summary: just 3 shadow boys hanging out! Ruhn, Azriel, and Xaden.

*****

Crescent City- Ruhn

Ruhn grinned at his new found friends as he lead them around the city. They’d already been to see Bryce and his sister had flirted shamelessly. After an hour of Hunt, Xaden, and Azriel having a pissing contest, Bryce kicked them out to make it up to her boyfriend. So he gave the idiots a tour of the city and naturally, they insulted and laughed at everything that was Ruhn’s. Like how his headphones were navy blue instead of black because apparently ‘we’re the shadow boys, you’ve got to get black.’

When he introduced them to Tristan and Flynn they got along perfectly! Not even a pissing contest over Flynn’s hot girlfriend! They were currently playing poker and Azriel was winning with a giant stack of chips triple everyone elses.

“I swear, he’s cheating,” Xaden’s complaint was met with much agreement.

“I would never! I’m an honorable shadow boy!”

Ruhn grinned, “let’s see how ‘honorable’ you are when we start drinking.” They all laughed and continued their loss of money.

“I quit! Ruhn show us to those guns, please, before I jump that cheating ass.”

“I’m not cheating!”

Ruhn just shook his head and dealt out the cards once again.

By the end of the next round, Xaden had reached his limit and leapt across the table to see Azriel’s cards.

“He’s not cheating! That’s impossible.”

Ruhn joined him and they both stared at down at the smug shadowsinger with a look of pure disbelief.

“Ruhn! Stop giving him all the good cards! I should start dealing!”

Ruhn gaped at Xaden. “You’re blaming this on me!? I can’t control what cards I give who!

“Just cheat!”

“You know what, guns sound great right now. At least I’m the best at that because you idiots can’t shoot.”

***

“What happened to ‘you idiots can’t shoot?’” Azriel grinned at Ruhn as he hit bullseye after bullseye.

Xaden groaned. “I can’t shoot!”

“Why is Az good at everything, it’s not fair.” Ruhn growled in frustration as he missed the bullseye by half a millimeter.

“You can’t be groaning! At least you can hit the damned target.” Both Az and Ruhn laughed as Xaden’s shot went wide and hit the deer head decorating the space 50 feet above the targets.

“Not my fault you won’t accept my help. I’ve told you a million times! You’re holding the gun wrong!”

“I am not! I’m not that stupid.” Rhun raises his brows as Xaden proceeds to hold the gun by the barrel instead of the grip where it’s quite obvious a hand should go.

And he hits the ceiling.

“You want that help now?”

“Fuck you.”

*****

Velaris- Azriel

The biweekly Friday family dinners Rhys had organized came with few rules. One: attendance was mandatory. Two: you could bring up to three friends. Three: if you brought friends, everyone else had a right to be busybodies.

It just so happened to be that Friday in which Mor was back from Vallahan and Elain and Lucien were visiting from the Day Court. Everyone was there to interrogate Xaden and Ruhn. The poor shadow babies had no idea what they’d be facing.

“What do I wear? I’ve got to impress your family.” Ruhn was scanning Azriel’s closet in a desperate attempt of last minute dressing.

“You’ll be fine, they really don’t care.”

“Yeah man. Just bring your own clothes next time.” Xaden was dressed in the flight clothes that came from his fancy-dragon world.

“Azriel said I wouldn’t need anything!”

“And since when has Azriel been right?”

“Hey! That’s rude.” Az put a hand over his heart in mock hurt. He grabbed a black shirt, black dress pants and a belt from his closet. “Just where this, it’s better than that pink Crescent City t-shirt.”

Ruhn glared. “This was fifty dollars! It’s a good shirt!”

“If you say so.” Azriel and Xaden shared a smirk as Ruhn put on the clothes given to him.

They descended the stairs to the dining room and found everyone else already there.

Xaden elbowed Ruhn. “You made us late.”

“Did not.”

“Did so.”

“Nuh uh.”

“Yes you did!”

Azriel watched with a healthy dose of amusement and embarrassment as the room fell quiet to look at the two arguing. Finally after letting the two get embarrassed he poked Xaden in the shoulder.

Xaden looked up. “Shit.” Raising his voice he said to Rhysand. “My apologies, it was merely that this idiot next to me took an hour deciding what to wear instead of a sparkly, pink shirt.”

That got his family laughing.

***

A while later as they were sitting on the couches, drinking wine and exchanging embarrassing stories the interrogation finally started.

Cassian leaned in. “So Ruhn, we have a few questions for you to get to know you better. If you don’t know the answer you may say “no” and we’ll just assume you’re an idiot.”

“Who’s your father?”

“What’s your job?”

“Favorite color?”

“Best friend?”

The questions started innocently enough and Ruhn answered them each with a joke and easy grin. But Azriel knew he’d be saying a lot more “no”s.

The question came from Mor. “Sooo, Ruhn. Who was the best person you’ve ever bedded?”

Ruhn gawked at her and Azriel and Xaden burst out laughing. Mor shot a look at Xaden, “You’re next man. The questions will just get more detailed.”

Xaden grimaced. “I’m really tired today, all that traveling is rubbing off on me. I think I’ll go sleep.”

“Nuh uh uh.” Feyre wagged a finger at him. “Describe, in detail, your first time of having sex with your girlfriend.”

*****

Aretia- Xaden

Xaden smiled proudly as Sgeayl landed on the field. His smirk grew as both Azriel and Ruhn paled and backed away nervously.

Scare them please.

With pleasure.

Sgeayl blew fire at the ground barely ten feet away from his friends. Their eyes widened as the heat hit them full on.

“Uh Xaden. Can we go back to meetin your girlfriend? She was a little less scary.” Azriel pleaded, adding his puppy eyes.

Sgeayl sniffed indignantly and blew a puff of steam.

“Nah. I think you guys could spend some time together, ya know bond with my dragon. Make sure she doesn’t hate you or burn you to dust?”

“Uhh… Think we’ll pass thanks.” Ruhn was slightly less afraid than Azriel and was staring at Sgeayls blue scales as if trying to memorize them.

Xaden sighed, giving in and leading his friends away to see the sparring ring.

Go hunt sheep with Andarna.

You know you don’t give me orders, puny human.

Xaden grinned back at Sgeayl and she sniffed at him before flying away, likely to hang out with Tairn.

***

Thirty minutes later Xaden was watching Azriel beat up Ruhn on the sparring mats. He eyed the shadowsingers stance, it mainly relied on centering his feet. He took notice that Azriel was fluent with both sides but his right side was just slightly stronger. That’d be a good thing to look out for when Az challenged him.

And only a few minutes later, Azriel challenged him.

“Don’t you want some rest before I beat you up shadowsinger?”

“You won’t beat me up, I can beat you in my sleep.”

“Really??”

“Just fight already, pricks.” Ruhn turned out to be a very sore loser as proven but the poker and sparring.

The two circled eachother and Xaden made sure to not give away a single weakness that could potentially be use against him. Azriel launched, going for a simple one-two combination but Xaden was ready for him. He shifted left a bit and let Azriel’s punches hit his right shoulder at an angle that caused the least damage. He swept out his right leg and knocked Az off his feet before jumping on top of him in a way that made it hard for Azriel to switch their positions. He kneed the Illyrian in the crotch and traced a finger lightly against the tip of Azriel’s wing until Az groaned and yielded.

Xaden got off him and was met with a clap on the back from Ruhn, who had somehow managed to find popcorn.

“How’d you know my wings were so sensitive?” Azriel was frowning at him.

“At your family dinner, Nesta kept brushing the tip of Cassian’s wing with a featherlight touch and he kept jerking away while simultaneously leaning into her touch.”

Az groaned. “Damn Cassian. I had a plan to win as well! I was about to flip you over when you touched my wing and all my thoughts went straight out the window.”

Xaden grinned. “Fair fight I say.”

“No fucking way, I want a rematch.”

*****

a/n: not my worst.

taglist:

@thelov3lybookworm @profound-imagination

[froggywizzard]

I was bored and started wondering what car would ACOTAR characters drive. So here are my ideas.

Btw I know nothing about cars, so don't come for me.

Rhysand, of course, is driving a ridiculously expensive car that screams opulence and luxury. Something like Bugatti Chiron in matte black. He probably has a whole basket of lint rollers in the trunk.

Feyre would choose something more causal, but also luxurious like Cadillac Escalade in customised color (maybe midnight blue). She needs to have space for her art supplies and friends.

Cassian drives a black Jeep, duh. No car screams more "IM A MANLY MAN" than a jeep. There are empty beer cans on the floor and stinky workout clothes on the back sit.

Azriel has something fast and stealthy, like a BMW i8, black, of course. It's a hybrid, so he can be stealthy if he wants to.

Mor is driving a red Porsche 911 Cabriolet. Sexy and elegant to pick up all the girls and take them on hot vineyard dates. U go girl.

Nesta has something big and bold, yet elegant, in silver, like Range Rover Sport. It's always clean and she loves to keep Cassian away from it.

Elain doesn't drive, I'm sorry. If she did, she would probably choose a Mini Cooper in fun spring colors.

Tamlin has a green Porsche 718 Cayman he drives to meetings, but when no one is looking he's pimping up a 1990s Ford Ranger.

Lucien is driving either a red 1970s vehicle like Chevrolet Camaro or a hippie-mobile Volkswagen Bus with a mattress and soft, fluffy blankets in the back that he takes on adventures 😏 His vehicles smell like leather, cinnamon and cedarwood.

So yep, that's it. If you have other ideas, I would love to see them!

[andyxd151]

More YV OC lore bits

Oliver- Sugar boo (he/him)

Rina- rook (she/her)

Amari- Casper (she/they/he)

Ryuko- Sunflower (she/they)

Dante-Starshine (he/they)

Cyrus-Angel (they/he)

Kaliska- buddy (she/her)

Firstly, all of my OC’s are color coded if you haven’t noticed: Oliver is green, Rina is pink, Amari is blue, Ryuko is red, Dante is purple, Cyrus is yellow, and Kaliska is orange

Oliver is an absolute cologne whore, like he is absolutely ready to drop his draws at the drop of a hat for some Aqua de parfume (I think that’s how it’s spelled) that’s actually a pretty big reason why he fell for Alphonse, was because he smelled so good

Cyrus had an awkward anime phase when he was in middle school, he’s just thankful there’s no photos of him during that lime so that way Lucien can’t find them and ask about it

When they were still getting to know each other, Dante would pretty much stalk Faust’s socials just to see more of him. He won’t admit it but he still feels embarrassed because he knows how creepy and weird it was, Faust has no idea and Dante doesn’t want him to think he’s creepy so he just has to pray he never somehow finds out he did that

Rina and Dante are like bffs and “playfully” shit talk each other whenever they meet up

In HS, Amari once got into an argument with someone who was making fun of Charlie and ended up simply throwing a desk at said person, she was suspended for 2 weeks and Charlie was dying from guilt

Rina has a ragdoll Siamese cat named Nyxey (Nix-ey)

Ryuko has a part-time job as a tattoo artist artist and has a sunflower back tat that she a friend of theirs did for them in college, her mother will NEVER find out about it

When Kaliska was 9, her dad had taken her and her siblings to Las Vegas, and she saw the pretty women that her dad had brought over to the motel room when her older sister took them to the pool to leave the adults be (I’m sure you can assume why) seeing those women ended up being her trans awakening, they were so beautiful to her, she wanted to look just like them. She still thinks about that from time to time

Oliver’s father left the picture when he was around 3-4 years old so he has very little memory of him, but his mother and family always say he looks just like him, especially after his transition. He hates it

Rina is a sucker for old love music and melts every time she hears it, Auron has in fact taken notice of this

Cyrus actually had a hobby in cooking and baking when he was younger but was made fun of by his parents and older relatives, saying it was a “women’s job to do that” and “it made him look too girly”. He’s completely comfortable with being “girly” now but he still hasn’t been able to enjoy it the way he used to, so he just enjoys watching Lu do the cooking instead

Amari was premature and has a heart murmur ( projecting abit)

Amari made their nickname “Casper” into “ghost” and uses that for all of his socials

Kaliska actually majors in Scientology and Jack thinks she’s super duper smart and cool for it, she is in fact super smart and cool

Ryuko calls everyone babe but calls only calls Finn “sunshine” and “sweetheart” he loses his mind every single time

When they were younger, Amari, Rina, and Oliver used to practice jumping over fences and brick walls with the older kids on the street for fun (projecting again)

I gave those three those colors bc of the power puff girls

Ryuko and Amari had a bit of a situationship in college, they’re friends now tho

Ryouko’s vibe is more or less based off of Marceline from Adventure Time

Rina actually bumped into Auron once in hot topic at the mall when she was in high school, she was actually infatuated with him for a solid week and called him her “emo boy” to her “pretty scene girl” she still has no idea it was him she bumped into that day (I hope y’all get the song refs)

Dante had a habit of chewing his nails so in order to stop it, Faust started painting his nails for him every other weekend. It worked bc Dante didn’t want to ruin the work Faust work so hard on for him

Amari spoils the ever living sh*t out of DD and Charlie gets a little bit hurt when DD goes to them whenever he’s cuddling up with her and DD just wedges themself between them

Cyrus has had to buy Lucien those cheep Obama phones you get outside of the Well-fare office simply because Lucien accidentally breaks or burns his phone and CANT be trusted with an actual phone

Imma end this here, I might add more but I’m tired and on day 2 of my.

So I’ll do that later

[separatist-apologist]

What do you think about the theory that Rhysand was never supposed to be the main love interest? I can kind of see it, but was curious about your thoughts.

I disagree vehemently, and I would argue that there were a million obvious hints in ACOTAR that show Feyre was always going to end up with Rhysand. I think two things can be true: that she loved him and he was always going to be her first love AND that Rhysand was always meant to be her last love.

But just to back it up:

As early as page 15, the infamous:

I slung off my outer clothes onto the sagging dresser- frowning at the violets and roses I'd painted around the knobs of Elain's drawer, the crackling flames I'd painted around Nesta's, and the night sky-whorls of yellow stars standing in for white- around mine.



And then again, on page 31 when discussing why she'd chosen Isaac as a lover:

Relatively handsome, soft-spoken and reserved, but with a sort of darkness running beneath it all that had drawn us to each other, that shared understanding of how wretches our lives were and would always be.

When Lucien pays Feyre his backhanded compliment on page 53, he uses familiar night imagery often used to describe Feyre:

Your eyes are like stars, and your hair like burnished gold.

Here, on page 87, an amusing bit of foreshadowing about Feyre's future:

Prythian was ruled by seven High Lords- perhaps this she was whoever governed this territory; if not a High Lord, then a High Lady. If that was even possible.

When Feyre is faced with the Bogge and wants to look, she soothes herself (pg. 90):

I stared at the coarse trunk of a distant elm, thinking of pleasant things. Like hot bread and full bellies....A starry, unclouded night sky, peaceful and glittering and endless.

On 116, when Feyre finds the map of Pyrthian of all 7 territories, only one is spared any detail outside of the place she currently resides:

The other six courts of Prythian occupied a patchwork of territories. Autumn, Summer, and Winter were easy to pick out. Then above them, two glowing courts: the southernmost one a softer, redder palate the Dawn Court; above, in bright gold and yellow and blue, the Day Court. And above that, perched in a frozen mountainous spread of darkness and stars, the sprawling, massive territory of the Night Court. There were things in the shadows between those mountains- little eyes, gleaming teeth. A land of lethal beauty.

On 125, Feyre considers what she might want if she were immortal:

Did Tamlin or Lucien ever grow tired of day after day of eternal spring, or ever venture into the other territories, if only to experience a different season? I wouldn't have minded endless, mild spring while looking after my family- winter brought us dangerously close too death every year- but if I were immortal, I might want a little variation to pass the time. I'd probably want to do more than lurk about a manor house, too.

The first time Feyre really starts to relax around Tamlin and find joy in Prythian and her circumstances is at the pool made of starlight, which is such a long passage I'm just glossing over. Tamlin does comment she makes TWO jokes that day, and I'm choosing to draw a parallel between this moment and in ACOMAF when Feyre smiles for the first time after her ordeal under the mountain during Starfall. Feyre feels most at peace surrounded by starlight. [pg 159ish]

On 169, when Feyre thinks of her nightmares:

And though my dreams continued to be plagued by the deaths I'd witnessed, the deaths I'd caused, and the horrible, pale woman ripping me to shreds- all watched over by a shadow I could never quite glimpse-I slowly stopped being so afraid.

When Feyre can't stay away on Calanmai / mating bond language that SJM loves (pg. 183):

There was a string- a string tied to my gut that pulled me toward those hills, commanding me to go, to hear the faerie drums...

And then obviously this, on page 188:

Standing before me was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen

Like Feyre, Rhys is couched in Night imagery (pg. 189):

As if he'd been molded from the night itself I could have sworn tendrils of star-kissed night railed in his wake (190)

On 235, when Rhys goes to visit Tamlin, he alludes to the fact that he has his reasons for aligning with Amarantha, which are later explained in ACOMAF:

Her whore I might be, but not without my reasons

Also Feyre describing Rhys through the entirety of the scene in the Spring Court dining room is like...a brick to the face (starting page 234): 

Rhysand smiled- heartbreaking in its beauty.

His voice dropped to a whisper- an erotic caress of sound that brought heat to my cheeks

Rhysand laughed- a lovers laugh, low and soft and intimate

And from the way darkness seemed to ripple off him, from those violet eyes that burned like stars...

No- I would never dare to pain that dark, immortal grace-

Rhysand, when he realizes Feyre (who he is beginning to suspect might be his mate) is there (pg. 237):

A flicker of excitement- perhaps even disbelief- flashed across his features

Again, described in the same night imagery:

The sunlight didn't gleam on the metallic threads of his tunic, as if i balked from the darkness pulsing from him

on 310, when Amarantha demands Rhys explain the mix-up with humans, she thinks this when he lies:

Humans all look alike...I didn't believe him for a second. Rhysand knew exactly how I looked- he'd recognized me that day at the manor.

On 312, once again hating Rhys but thinking this about him:

She must have allowed him more power than the others, then, if he could still inflict such harm while leashed to her. Or else his power before she'd stolen it had been...extraordinary, for this to be considered the basest remains.

The obvious on 328:

"Yes, I'd say almost my entire court bet on you dying within the firs minute; some said you'd last five, and"- she urned over the paper- "and just one person said you would win."

Amarantha frowned at her list, and she waved a hand. "Take her away. I tire of her mundane face. " She clenched the arms of her throne hard enough that the whites of her knuckles showed. "Rhysand, come here."

The bargain of chapter 37, too numerous to detail (this is already so long)

The entire scene of Feyre in his bedroom, but especially this on page 342:

Indeed, it was still Rhysand's face, his powerful male body, but flaring out behind him were massive black, membraneous wings- like a bat's, like the Attor's. He tucked them in neatly behind him, but the single claw at the apex of each peeked over his broad shoulders. Horrific, stunning- the face of a thousand nightmares and dreams. That again-useless part of me stirred at the sight, the way the candlelight shone through the wings, illuminating the veins, the way it bounced off his talons.

344:

They grabbed for me, but he bared his teeth in a mile that was anything but friendly- and they halted. "No more household chores, no more tasks," he said, his voice an erotic caress. Their yellow eyes went glazed and dull, their sharp teeth gleaming as their mouths slackened. "Tell the others, too. Stay out of her cell. And don't touch her. If you do, you're to take your own daggers and gut yourselves. Understood?

When Rhys is trying to get a rise out of both Amarantha AND Tamlin on 349:

The Faerie Queen straightened a little bit- even Jurian's eye seemed fixated on me, on Rhysand. For the rest of my life- he said it as if it were going to be a long, long while. He thought I was going to beat her tasks.

Page 355, when they're talking (more mating bond foreshadowing):

Sadness flickered in those violet eyes. I wouldn't have noticed it had I had not...felt it-deep inside me.

His help in the second task, but especially this pep talk when she's breaking down over the thought of nearly dying on 366:

Don't let her see you cry. Put your hands a your sides and stand up. Stand. Don't give her the satisfaction of seeing you break. Good. Stare her down- no tears. wait until you're back in your cell. Count to ten. Don't look at Tamlin. Just stare at her. Good girl. Now walk away. Turn on your heel- good. Walk toward the door. Keep your chin high. Let the crowd part. One step after another.

369, this feels blatant:

It took me a long while too realize that Rhysand, whether he knew it or not, had effectively kept me from shattering completely.

Rhys visiting Feyre after that kiss and explaining why he's been making her dance, and what he hopes to accomplish on page 384:

Regardless of his motives or his methods, Rhysand was keeping me alive. And had done so even before I set foot Under the Mountain.

-and-

"When you healed my arm...You didn't need to bargain with me. You could have demanded every single week of the year." My brows knit together as he turned, already half-consumed by the dark. "Every single week, and I would have said yes. " It wasn't entirely a question, but I needed the answer.

A half smile appeared on his sensuous lips. "I know," he said, and vanished.

390:

Darkness rippled near the throne, and then Rhysand was here, arms crossed- as if he'd moved to better see. His face was a mask of disinterest, but my hand tingled. Do it, the tingling said.

394, Feyre once again drawing our attention to Rhysand during this horrible moment:

Rhysand's face had gone pale- so, so pale.

399, obvious foreshadowing:

Rhysand yelled my name again- yelled it as though he cared

400-401, more mating bond language:

Rhys's arms buckled as he fought to rise, and blood dripped from his nose, splattering on the marble. His eyes met mine. The bond between us went taut. I flashed between my body and his, seeing myself through his eyes, bleeding and broken and sobbing.

Chapter 45, when Feyre is dead but tethered to Rhys's soul, like COME ON.

412, more mating bond language as Feyre goes to Rhys:

I was pulled from sleep by something tugging at my middle, a thread deep inside.

414-415, two final scenes:

"You never told me you loved the wings- or the flying." No, he'd made his shape shifting seem...base, useless, boring.

He shrugged. Everything I love has always had a tendency to be taken from me. I tell very few about the winds. Or the flying."

-and then-

His eyes locked on mine, wide and wild, and his nostrils flared. Shock- pure shock flashed across his features at whatever he saw on my face, and he stumbled back a step. Actually stumbled.

Sorry this was so long. It escaped me BUT Feysand was always right there from the beginning. They were always going to be together, from book 1. SJM is a fated mates writer, and I think it's a blatant misrepresentation of the book she wrote to say ACOMAF is a retcon, and Feysand was never going to happen. People are free to disagree with me, of course, and say I'm wrong (but I'm not).