#nestamsand

[shadowqueenjude]

Anyway I promised everyone Nestamsand so here it is, inspired by @kateprincessofbluewhales ‘s idea

Nesta heaved her stuff over the front steps of the Spring Court manor before slumping down, exhausted. The Night Court had given her an ultimatum: go by their rules, or go to the human lands to die. Well, this was close enough to the human lands and abandoned enough that no one would look for her in this in-between space. She wondered if the owner of the house was even here.

Legs trembling with exhaustion, Nesta shakily pulled open the door. It wasn’t even locked. Like its owner had either left or was waiting for someone to kill them.

She dragged her bags around to the small alcove where a bunch of shoes were stored before slumping onto the ruined couch a few feet over. Oh what a relief to finally rest properly; it was the comfiest bed she’d had in days.

Having been dumped in the human lands by Azriel, Nesta had had to walk the distance to Prythian. It brought back an old memory of when she’d also been starving, yet she’d gone after Feyre when she’d been kidnapped by the owner of this very house. Now she was one of the High Fae and making this journey to save herself from the fate her own sister’s husband had damned her to.

“Who are you.”

Nesta leapt up from the couch, knife already flown into her hand and lashing out at the person before her. She’d slashed his face before she realized that the man had made no move to attack her or even stop her from attacking him.

Judging from Feyre’s descriptions, this was the man she’d been in love with. Only his hair wasn’t quite so lustrous, his green eyes were dull, and he seemed to have lost significant muscle mass. He was still quite bulky; Nesta imagined the Fae didn’t lose weight quite so easily as humans did. But he didn’t look like the warrior he had been before; more like a lumberjack who ate one meal a day.

“I am Nesta. Nesta Archeron,” she said. Probably a bad idea to say her true name considering what her sister had done to him, but he could likely see the resemblance to Feyre anyway. Plus he had seen her at the cauldron.

“The viper sister,” he said. Nesta raised her hackles defensively, but the words didn’t sound like an insult. More like a statement of fact.

“Yes.” It seemed the right thing to answer, anyhow. Tamlin began to walk away, but paused and looked back. “There’s some food in the kitchen down to your left. Courtesy of Lucien. He hasn’t come back in some time though. Not sure how long we’ll last.”

As sad as Nesta felt, she was suddenly struck by the possibility that she might be bringing damnation upon not only herself, but Tamlin as well. “I can find another place to-“

“No. Stay here. I can’t imagine a safer place for you anyway. I’m assuming if you’ve left Night that they hurt you,” Tamlin muttered, seemingly to himself.

Tears pricked Nesta’s eyes as she recalled the argument they’d had, the way all of them had voted on what to do with her as if she had no agency of her own. “Immensely.”

“Then stay. I am happy to sacrifice a little food for some good company.”

So they just sat there for a while, saying nothing. It was the most peaceful Nesta had felt in a while. All the voices in her head had quieted. The silver flames had retreated to their depths. For the first time in a while, she felt no anger whatsoever. Only peace.

They spent their days like that. Nesta discovered the abandoned library in the house and picked some books to read. She’d offered a few to Tamlin wordlessly, who’d accepted them. They’d sit there sometimes for hours at a time, simply in silence while reading a book or doing nothing.

A few days later, Tamlin returned with food. Nesta looked over with surprise. “You hunted,” she said quietly, smelling the game.

Tamlin shrugged, walking towards the kitchen. “I found something to live for,” he answered softly.

From that day onward, they slept in the same bed. They didn’t do anything untoward; they merely laid there together, feeling secure in the fact that even if the world was against them, at least they had each other.

A few days after that, Nesta woke up with a start. Her magic had sensed something amiss. She’d gently woken Tamlin up, gesturing with her lips to be quiet. He nodded silently, and Nesta crept like a mouse to the front door, Tamlin just behind her. When the door softly creaked open, Nesta leapt upon the intruder with her knife.

“AH! Tam- wait, Nesta? What are you doing here?”

Nesta was sitting on top of the High Lord of Night, her knife pressing against his throat. She glared down at the male who had exiled her from her home, after everything she had done for Night. After everything she’d done in the war.

“What are you doing here?” Nesta hissed. She pressed the knife in deeper, drawing blood. Rhysand had the audacity to glare at her. “We exiled you to the human lands,” he snapped at her. Nesta rolled her eyes. “You exiled me from Night and dumped me in the human lands. After that, you have no authority on where I go, since your precinct ends with your precious Velaris. Now answer me: I thought you hated Tamlin?”

Rhysand still looked affronted, as if Nesta wasn’t one wrong move from slitting his throat where he laid. “I happen to be his lover,” Rhysand drawled. Was he actually serious? Tamlin and Rhysand??? That was the last combination she would’ve expected to be together, and yet it would somehow make the most sense. Poor Feyre.

“And I happen to be his friend,” Nesta retorted. “And as his friend, I order him away from you.”

Tamlin’s hands were covering his face, presumedly in embarrassment as Nesta and Rhysand both bickered over him. At last, he yelled, “Ok both of you stop! Let’s try to enjoy one pleasant evening together, ok?”

Nesta got off of Rhysand, glaring daggers at him. He did the same back. It was going to be impossible to spend the night peacefully with that man with them. And she was not about to let that asshole steal her friend away from her.

[shadowqueenjude]

I think if I wrote a Tamlin x Rhysand x Nesta polycule the fandom dictators would actually faint so now I wanna write it😂