as a healer you meet many people as part of your profession but when you are asked to heal a certain spymaster you are unprepared for the connection that comes with it.
♡ forever, my love
you and Azriel have seen many battles over the centuries but when something goes wrong and has a lasting impact on you, Az promises to take care of you.
besotted
Rhys and Feyre have asked you to babysit Nyx for the day, meaning you get to spend the whole time enjoying one of your favourite weaknesses: your mate cuddling cute babies.
domestic bliss
a series of scenes that give an insight into the domestic bliss you had built with your mate
summary: a series of scenes that give an insight into the domestic bliss you had built with your mate
warning: 18+, this is pretty much all smut no plot lmao. oral (m and f receiving), fingering, thigh riding, lots of p in v, unprotected sex (please wrap it before you tap it folks).
a/n: I got way too carried away with this one but here we are! thank you so much for the love on the first part - it means the world! so many of you wanted the smutty part 2 and I aim to please...! I hope you enjoy loves 🫶🏻
Part 1
"Distract me, Az." You breathed, tipping your head back to expose even more of your delicate neck to him, groaning when you felt his canines skimming along your skin.
"With pleasure, sweetheart." His voice was rough and low, causing your toes to curl as he pressed his lips under your jaw. You could feel his smirk when you felt him suck on that sweet spot, teeth roughly grazing your skin as his tongue soon followed to soothe the sting of the bite.
A garbled groan left your lips, and your hips undulated beneath him as a white-hot line of pleasure swept over your body.
He chuckled lowly when he pulled away, his eyes drinking in the way you were already breathless beneath him, pausing on the mark he had just left on you - a mark you knew would be visible no matter what you wore and what makeup you tried to cover it with. A signal to all of the males in that damned Court of Nightmares that you were taken, that you were his.
"Az." You whined with impatience as his hands stopped roaming your body.
"Begging already, Princess? Did the last three times not satisfy you enough?" He cooed in a teasing tone as he trailed his hands over the sinful curve of your hip and up your body before coming to rest underneath your breasts. Fire erupted in the wake of his touch, stoking the heat that was pooling in your lower stomach as you arched into his calloused hands, silently begging him for more.
He watched, enraptured as your eyes rolled back slightly when he brushed the rough pad of his thumb over your sensitive nipple. The delicious friction sent a shockwave through your body as you lifted your hands to grab onto his shoulders, scrabbling for purchase. You felt him harden even more against your inner thigh as his name breathlessly tumbled from your lips and your back arched, causing your breasts to brush against his chest and another sound to tumble from your lips at the sensation.
"My baby is already so worked up, and I've barely started. I bet you're so wet already, aren't you?" His words had you clenching around nothing, your body desperate for him as another rush of slick slipped out of you to coat your thighs.
"Why don't you find out?" You challenged, watching as Azriel's hazel eyes deepened with desire, a devilish grin catching on his lips. The other hand that wasn't palming your breast came up to grip your throat - not hard enough to cut off your airway but firm enough to know that he was the one in charge here, not you.
"Careful, Princess." He warned before he dipped his head and sucked your nipple into his mouth. A cry escaped your lips at the intoxicating feeling of Azriel's tongue on your sensitive skin, and when he grazed his teeth over your peaked flesh, you almost wondered if you would climax there and then.
"What do you want, my fingers or tongue?" Azriel breathed as he lifted his eyes to you, maintaining eye contact as he continued to lap at your nipple expertly. The sight was so sinful, so erotic that your brain turned foggy.
"Az…I—"Was all you managed to say, causing him to chuckle against your skin and the rumble to resonate somewhere deep in your stomach.
"Use your words, baby." He commanded before pinching the nipple that wasn't in his mouth between his skilled fingers and causing another bolt of pain and pleasure to shoot through your body - your hips undulating beneath him in a desperate attempt to get some friction in the place you were begging for him to touch you.
"Ah. Fuck Az. Your tongue!" You managed to cry out, your senses in overdrive at the feeling of Azriel on your breasts.
"Good girl," he muttered before pressing a soft, delicate kiss to your skin—so different from the touches he had given you moments before that it sent your brain into overdrive. "Turn around for me, sweetheart."
A soft smirk fell on your lips at Azriel's command, anticipation swirling in your body and soaking the covers underneath you further as you guessed what was coming next.
You sat up to press a chaste kiss to the lips of your mate, earning you an amused chuckle and a quick slap to your ass as you twisted in his arms. Slowly you lowered yourself so your face was cushioned in the pillow beneath you, and with a feline grace that had Azriel's mouth-watering, you slowly, teasingly arched your back and lifted your hips so you were ass up, presented to him.
"Fuck." He groaned as he knelt behind you. You twisted your head to get a look at his face as he gently used his knees to knock your legs further apart before grabbing your ass checks to pull them apart and view your glistening pussy. He knew you were turned on by the way he was admiring you as he watched more slick escape and trickle down your thigh.
He couldn't help himself as he lifted a finger to scoop up the wetness gathered there, his touch featherlight along your inner thighs and over your slit before slipping the digit into his mouth and moaning at the taste of you. An answering groan escaped you at the sight of him, the throbbing in your clit becoming more and more maddening the longer he took to touch you.
"All this for me, baby?" When he made eye contact with you, you couldn't help the way your pussy clenched. He watched out of the corner of his eyes as you fluttered around nothing and felt the pre-cum that was coating the tip of his cock at your reaction.
"Always, Az. Always." He didn't have words for the wave of emotion that overcame him at your words, knowing they were true and that this was his life - that he got to spend it with someone so beautiful and who loved him back with as much passion as he loved you. You watched as his eyes softened ever so slightly, that gentle flutter of something so innocent compared to the position you were currently in flying down the bond towards you.
He leant in, gently placing a kiss on your right inner thigh, then your left. His lips trailed over your skin until he was close to where you desperately needed him. Without warning and with a mischievous glint in his eyes that you couldn't see, he dove in.
A strangled cry left your lips as you felt the flat of Azriel's tongue lick you from clit to hole, a jolt of pleasure so strong bolting through you that you fell forward - only Azriel's firm hands on your hips keeping you in place as he began to ravish you.
With expert precision, only learnt from years and years of worshipping your body, he immediately found your clit - sucking the swollen bud into his mouth and causing that delicious pressure in your stomach to grow in earnest.
Azriel felt himself preen in sheer primal satisfaction as a cacophony of breathless moans, groans, and chants of his name left your mouth as he continued to swirl his tongue around your clit in a way he knew would drive you crazy. He was done teasing, was done playing around; he needed to feel you come as soon as possible - needed it for his own sanity.
Your mind was hazed; the only thought in your head was Azriel and how he was making you feel right at that moment. As you teetered towards that edge, your hands gripping the sheets beneath you as you sobbed into the pillow beneath your head, a guttural cry left your lips when you felt Azriel slip two fingers inside you as he continued to lick, suck and bite on your clit.
"Fuck Az, I'm. Shit. I'm going to come." You breathed, and the vibration of Azriel's answering hum against your clit, and the barely there touch of his fingers on that sensitive, spongy spot inside you was enough to send you into oblivion. Your hips bucked wildly against him, desperate to wring every last moment of your orgasm as wave after wave of pleasure slipped down your spine.
Az wished he could see your face right now, no doubt contorted in pleasure, but he faithfully continued to lap at your clip and pump his fingers inside you as you came on his face.
When your body fell limp, he gently removed his fingers and lapped at the mess you had made, causing another shiver to roll through you.
He couldn't deny himself any longer; he needed to be buried inside you.
A groan fell from his lips, and his head fell back as he slipped his cock through your folds to coat himself with your previous orgasm and your growing desire. He felt your hips hitch beneath him in an attempt to guide him to your entrance, desperate with the need to feel him inside you. He chuckled lowly at your reaction.
"Stop teasing." Your voice was hoarse and breathless from the orgasm he had already wrung from you. Without warning, he pushed inside of you, sheathing himself to the hilt. You groaned together as you clenched around him, adjusting to that feeling of him. Of being so full of him.
Curse words slipped from both of your lips as Azriel began to roll his hips into you, a slow and languid place that caused you to feel every drag of his cock, every brush of his tip against your sweet spot. A rising wave of pleasure began to crest in your body at his pace; your face pushed into the pillow as you felt every muscle tense at the overwhelming sensation of your mate coaxing your body into oblivion.
He sent his shadows slipping over the sweat-slicked skin of your back as he continued to roll his hips into yours. The cool wisps of smoke and night kissed your heated skin, caressing your curves as they wrung even more pleasure out of your body.
"You're doing so well for me, baby." He groaned into your skin as he bent over to place open-mouth kisses up your back, his hand snaking around your front. You thought he was going to touch your swollen clit once again, but when it instead trailed upwards before holding you firmly - yet with reverence - by your throat and lifting your body so your back was pressed against his chest as he continued to pump into you a sharp cry of his name left your lips.
At this angle, with every expert roll of his hips, he touched that spot inside of you that had your legs shaking and your vision going hazy. Pure ecstasy was filling your body, clouding every thought until all you could think about was him and where your bodies were connected.
"Look at how beautiful you are, baby. Taking me so well." He growled into your ear as he relentlessly pumped into you.
"Fuck Az." You groaned as your head fell against his shoulders, his lips coming up to press a kiss to your temple as a breathless cry fell from your lips when one of his shadows brushed your sensitive clit.
"Do I make you feel so good, sweetheart? Does your mate know how to fuck you just right, baby?
The filthy words dripping from Azriel's lips had that tidal wave of pleasure rolling through your body close to cresting - your hips undulating against Az's in an attempt to feel more, to chase that high that was seconds away from singing through your body.
Only one thought broke through the haze, clouding your mind and coating every sane thought. With the words he had spoken into your ear, with what you had to do tomorrow, you needed to feel him come with you. He needed you both to slip into that oblivion together.
With a cunning glint in your eye that you knew Azriel saw, you reached behind his head and ran a gentle fingernail down that part of his wing that you knew was sensitive. With a roar and a final snap of his expert hips, you felt that damn burst inside you and your orgasm washing over you as he slammed his lips on yours.
Pleasure so white hot, so all-consuming rolled up and down your spine as you felt Azriel come with you, felt him twitch inside of you and coat your walls - which only heightened your orgasm as you convulsed against him.
The kiss you were sharing with Azriel turned from messy and frenzied into something soft and loving as you both came down from your high, bodies spent with delicious sensations as he slipped out from you, and you felt both of your releases begin to slide down your legs.
Gently, ever so gently, Azriel lowered you both to the plush mattress of the bed. You knew in the back of your mind that you would have to get up at some point to clean the mess you had made, but your body was tired, and your mind was so content that you let your mate turn you around to face him and tuck you into the warm circle of his arms.
"I love you so much, Y/N."
"I love you too, Azriel." You muttered, pressing a kiss to his chest where you could still feel his heart thrashing.
"I am so lucky." He murmured above you, burying his face in your hair as you breathed heavily against each other. A warm smile was on your lips, and thoughts of what you had to do tomorrow were so far from your mind—a moment of peace created between just you.
"Me too, baby, me too."
…
Judging by the sounds that slipped under the closed door of Rhys' study, the party outside was still in full swing - even though the entire Inner Circle of the Night Court stood in that familiar room listening to their High Lord talk.
The debrief was absolute torture.
After Cassian and Rhys had sauntered off, it had taken you both five minutes to calm your breathing and make yourself look presentable before you could even consider meeting with your friends. Not helped by the white-hot bolt of anticipation and the flustered blush that crept up your skin, when Azriel leaned in to nip your earlobe and roughly whisper, "This is nowhere near finished, Princess."
Knowing grins and stifled chuckles were to be expected as you wandered into Rhys' office. Your friends were fully aware of what you were up to when you were seen leaving the party together. You had rolled your eyes at them and thrown a vulgar gesture their way before strolling over to the window—desperate for a lick of breeze to cool your heated skin.
Azriel had sensibly stood at the other end of the room, but as you turned to face your High Lord, who had begun to rattle off what intelligence he had managed to glean from the various conversations he had had that evening, you could still feel hazel eyes on you the whole time. Undressing you even now, they dipped from your toes to the tip of your head, hovering on every inch of exposed skin.
Azriel stood leaning against that bookcase, arms crossed over his chest and his face a mask of concentration as he pretended to listen to Rhys. But his mind was whirring, a roaring still filling his ears, desperately trying to cling onto any shred of decency as he fought the urge to take you right there and then in front of everyone. He could still feel the desire and lust drifting through that precious bond you shared and knew that you, too, were replaying what had just happened in the hallway, eager to return to it as soon as possible.
He couldn't stop himself as he dispatched a handful of his shadows to slither across the floor towards you.
He couldn't stop the corner of his lips from turning up in a satisfied smirk when you felt those cool shadows wind around your ankle and begin drifting up your calf - your body jolting and your eyes snapping to lock onto his. His smirk turned feral as he sent his shadows higher. He watched as they curled over the back of your knee before wrapping around your thighs. He knew his shadows had transformed from wisps of smoke to imitations of his own hands as he commanded them to squeeze your soft skin and was rewarded with your pupils dilating and your mouth slipping open slightly.
He watched, entranced as they began to trace idle circles on your heated skin and the way you shifted slightly where you stood, legs widening as if to welcome them higher. He obliged, sending the whispering shadows higher and higher until you felt them tracing your bikini line in a tortuously slow movement similar to the one you had experienced not 20 minutes earlier before they trailed slowly along your slit.
"Azriel." A shudder rolled down his spine at the warning you sent down the bond. Your voice sounded breathy and desperate, and it only had him hardening in his trousers, straining uncomfortably against the tight material.
Your body was practically writhing with the need to be touched; you almost forgot about the room full of people and nearly flew across the space to your mate and demanded he touch you. You felt like you were about to burst out of your skin when you felt one of those wicked shadows gently swirl around your throbbing bundle of nerves. The touch was barely there, but it didn't stop the wave of pleasure that shuddered down your spine or the breathless gasp that left your lips. Azriel's smirk turned feral as he watched Lucien's head whip around towards you, your friend offering you a questioning glance of are you alright?
Before you could answer and embarrass yourself by stuttering out some excuse, Rhys was suddenly dismissing you. Judging by the way he was hurrying you all out of the room, he no doubt knew what was happening and could smell the arousal of you and your mate. The coy smile and bark of laughter he gave after you had flipped him off was answer enough.
In seconds, Azriel was in front of you, his pupils blown with desire, his chest heaving with the need to touch you, his movements frantic and so at odds with the normally calm and collected male he usually is. You didn't say a word as he roughly grabbed your hand and practically dragged you out of the office and down the hallway towards the bedroom you shared.
Breathy pants left your lips thanks to the shadows that now roamed your body freely. They swept along your legs, traced patterns on the delicate skin of your inner thigh, brushed over the swell of your breast, swirled around your clothed nipples, and skated up the column of your throat. Your knees nearly buckled at the feeling of him touching you everywhere at once—only Azriel's rough hand tugging you along kept you upright.
A soft moan of relief nearly slipped your lips as you finally spotted the door leading to your bedroom, your heaven, your sanctum. Both of your bodies shivered in anticipation as Azriel's other hand gripped the door handle and roughly threw it open - pushing you inside and slamming the door behind him.
Within seconds, he had you pressed up against the rough wood of the door, his hips pinning you in place as he slammed his lips on yours in a bruising, claiming kiss. You answered back with fervour, hands spearing into his hair and dragging his body closer towards you. The kiss was far from controlled, pure passion and desire spurring you on as lips were nibbled, tongues collided, and teeth clashed, and it had your knees buckling and filthy moans - that Azriel swallowed with his mouth - slipping from your lips.
Azriel ripped his lips off yours, gasping in the air as he began to press open-mouthed kisses along your jaw, on that sweet spot behind your ear that had you moaning his name in pleasure and down the sensual line of your neck. His shadows continued to touch the rest of your body, wringing pleasure out of every breath you took - your entire body felt like it was on fire already, and you knew your thighs were going to be slick with the wetness that was pooling out of you.
"You drive me crazy, Y/N." Azriel groaned into your neck when you ground your hips into his, feeling the hard line of him beneath your clothes - desperate to get some friction and ease the throbbing between your thighs.
His words took you back to how he had teased you in Rhys' study not 10 minutes ago. Your need to repay the favour had you pressing your palms against Azriel's chest and pushing him away from your body. Confusion danced in his eyes but was extinguished and replaced with utter satisfaction as you quickly danced out of his grip before turning him around and pushing him up against the wall.
"That was very brazen of you, Az, back there in front of our friends." You sweetly teased as you dragged your hands down from his shoulders, over the impressive muscles of his chest and through the dips of his stomach you could feel through his dress shirt.
His breath hitched as you reached the waistband of his trousers, his fingers idly tracing the material and slipping underneath the band occasionally.
"We could have been caught." You muttered as you slowly, teasingly, popped the first button of his trousers open.
"They would have seen what I look like when you make me come." Pop, pop. His last two buttons came undone.
"Or is that what you wanted, mate?" Azriel's mind went into overdrive at the thought of his friends seeing him wring pleasure from you, see you fall apart in front of them from the way he touched you. The way his brothers wouldn't have been able to stop from touching themselves as they kept their gaze on your face, the way they might have been inclined to join in. But it would be him that would cause that wave of pleasure to crash over you, his name that you would be chanting when you came.
He was pulled roughly out of his fantasy as you locked eye contact with him before sliding down to your knees in front of him. You watched with feline satisfaction as Azriel's mouth dropped open, a moan escaping his lips at the sight before him.
Reverently, you slid Azriel's trousers and underwear down slightly before reaching in and wrapping your hand around him. A guttural groan slid from his lips as you began to run your hand up and down his shaft in a way he had shown you all those years ago, in a way that drove him crazy and had pleasure already shooting up his spine.
With a grin, you freed him from his underwear, your mouth watering as you took in his impressive length, his tip already red and leaking with precum. Not taking your eyes off Azriel's face, you leaned in and allowed your tongue to flick against the tip before running the flat side of your tongue from base to tip, earning yourself another moan of your name from his lips.
"Fuck Y/N." He moaned as you grinned at him, continuing to look up at him through your eyelashes as you brought your mouth to his cock and wrapped your lips around him. His hips bucked, unable to deny the pleasure shooting down his back and curling in his lower stomach as you swirled your tongue around his tip once, twice, thrice before dipping your head and taking him into your mouth as far as you could. A dull thud echoed around the room as he dropped his head back to lean against the door, his hand shooting out to grip your hair.
A chant of your name left his lips as you hallowed out your cheeks and began to move at a tortuously slow place you knew drove Azriel crazy. Your hand was wrapped around the bottom of his shaft, pumping him in time to the rhythm you were creating with your mouth.
You felt his shadows slip back up the skirt of your dress and slide along your inner thighs before swirling around that bundle of nerves that was desperate for attention. A ragged moan left your lips as pleasure shot up your body. Your legs began to quiver, the vibration of your moan causing Azriel to roll his eyes back as he watched you sink into the touch of his shadows, your knees spreading wide as you knelt there, knowing that he was making you feel so good with just the barest of touches.
He felt you tap once on his thigh, a signal decided between you when you had begun to properly explore how you enjoyed yourselves after that first initial claiming of the bond. One tap meant that you had adjusted, that you were ready. That you were prepared for him to be rough with you as you sucked on his cock. He didn't need any more encouragement as he adjusted the grip of your hair to push you further down on his cock, your nose now brushing the soft curls littered above his shaft as you choked around the feeling of him stuffed down your throat.
"Love it when you ruin yourself on my cock, Princess." He groaned as he watched tears leak from your eyes at the rough pace he was setting, and your hips undulate beneath him as you tried to wring pleasure the shadows that were now dipping in and out of your sopping pussy.
The hand that was not gripping onto his muscular thighs to keep you anchored slipped up to cup his balls, your fingers running across the sensitive skin there in the way he liked.
With a roar, he pulled you off his cock and yanked you up to your full height, now pressing you against the cool stone of your bedroom wall.
"I need to come inside you." He groaned, his hands already frantically pushing at the skirts of your dress in an attempt to get closer to you. You were still fully dressed in your evening attire but too frantic and needy to care.
"Then take me, Azriel." You moaned, and he paused to look at you. You could also see the wonder and pure adoration through that desire and lust darkening in those hazel eyes. You could feel it through the bond, and you revelled at the feeling of this male's eyes on you, just on you.
He closed the distance again with a kiss that was both passionate and loving, his plush lips moving in sync with you as you both wrung pleasure from each other, shouting down that bond how much you loved each other.
You felt his rough hands push your skirt up around your stomach before gripping the back of your thighs, and wordlessly, you followed his lead and wrapped your legs around his waist. He held you tightly against his body, a soft moan slipping from both of your lips when you felt him press against the warmth of your dripping core. You broke from the kiss, head hitting the wall and pleasure rolling through your body as you felt him slip twice through your slit to brush his throbbing cock against your swollen clit.
"Please, Az." You moaned. He watched, enraptured as he gently pushed into you as your face contorted in pure ecstasy, your hands scrabbling on his back and shoulders to find purchase as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through you. He gritted his teeth when he was sheathed fully inside of you, breathing heavily through his nose so as not to give into instinct and pound into you hard enough that he would find pleasure within seconds. He needed to make sure you found that heaven with him.
Even after all these years together, you have yet to get used to Azriel's size. They weren't joking about the importance of wing span, and you would chase that delicious burn you felt every time he pushed into you for the rest of eternity—never tiring, always craving.
"Move Az." You said around gritted teeth as that burn gave way to pleasure and anticipation that had you undulating your hips against him in an attempt to get him moving. He didn't need to be told twice, his hands shifting to grip your hips as he pulled out of you so only his tip was still inside you before slamming back into you and causing a cry to leave your lips as he hit that sweet spongey spot deep inside you with the angle he was at.
Pleasure shuddered up Azriel's spine at the feel of you clenching around him as he began to set a relentless pace with his hips. The sound of skin slapping against skin and the wet noises of your pussy was lewd and erotic and had him closing that gap between you two again to catch your lips in a sloppy, passionate kiss that had him seeing stars.
From the teasing he had been doing all night, you were so close - could feel that thrum of pleasure coursing through your veins, your body tensing as the fire began to build and build in your lower stomach. And just as you were about to demand more, you felt one of Azriel's shadows slip between you two to rub firm figures of eight against your throbbing clit.
You cried out his name as you flung your head back, so close to the precipice that you could feel tears slipping down your face and blurring your vision.
"Come for me, Y/N." The sheer demand in Azriel's voice had that band in your lower stomach, finally snapping and lightning striking. Wave after wave rolled throughout your body, causing your back to arch, your nails to scrap along Azriel's back, and your legs to shake around his hips as you came so hard all you could feel was him.
As you shouted his name through the bond, unable to voice it yourself as release shot through you, as he watched your face contort with pure, undiluted pleasure and the feeling of your pussy clenching so tight around him, he too came with a roar of your name on his lips as he wrung out both of your orgasms for as long as possible.
He continued to slowly fuck into you even after both of your orgasms had washed over you, breaths shaky as he breathed heavily as he leaned his forehead against yours - your body still shaking with the aftermath of your orgasms.
When you opened your eyes, your chest heaving with the tiny shockwaves of delicious friction still coursing through you in that afterglow, he was rewarded with a tired and satisfied smile that fell on your lips. He closed the distance to place a sweet kiss on your lips that had him humming in happiness.
"Come on, sweetheart, let's get you cleaned up." And with such delicate sweetness, so in contrast with the primal male he had been just moments ago, he gently pulled you into his arms and carried you towards the bathroom where he would run you both a soothing bath and whisper all the things he loved about you before you fell into a deep sleep.
…
He remembers so vividly the moment he had finished eating that delicious slice of lemon drizzle cake, his eyes not leaving yours as he chewed and chewed and that golden thread that now lay connecting you two gleamed and gleamed. He will never forget when he swallowed the last bite and saw the tears that lined your eyes at the soft smile on your lips when he gently said your name down the bond. He would always cherish that first bolt of love you had sent back along that thread, how it had stolen the breath from his lungs and then breathed life into him simultaneously.
He had noticed the way your hair tumbled down your back, the elegant stretch of your neck, the way you were wearing a pair of leggings that clung to every curve, and that you were wearing one of his white shirts.
How you were beginning to smell like him.
He had noticed the shift in you, too, how the newly accepted bond was making you feel - how it was making you both feel. You could feel it prowling under your skin, sinking into your very being, a chanting that was beginning in your mind and throbbing at the apex of your thighs. If you didn't get your hands on each other right now, you would both burst out of your skins.
"Come here, love." He had held out his hand to you, and immediately, you had shuffled closer to him on the sofa. He had taken a deep breath as you neared, smelt that beautiful scent he had always associated with you that was beginning to transform into something else, something intertwining with him.
He hadn't wasted time. His free hand had come up to cup your check as he had leant in and pressed his lips to yours. It took everything in him not to give into the primal part of his body that was warring at him to claim you right here and now. Still, he held it at bay to ensure the first kiss you shared as bonded mates conveyed his indisputable, irrevocable, and unconditional love for you.
He felt the tears that slipped down your face as he brushed his lips against yours, throwing all his feelings towards you down that newly formed, glistening bond. And how you had responded in kind.
But he had felt the wave of passion and desire building in his body. Could tell by the way you pressed into him, your hand curling on his thigh, that you could feel it too.
So, without another word spoken between you, he held you tightly in his hand, pulled you into that shadowy otherness, and cloaked you both in midnight as he transported you to a place far from prying ears and knowing smiles.
A gasp left your lips when you landed on the softness of a plush bed. You broke away from Azriel's lips just enough to quickly survey the room: the elegant furniture, the massive four-poster bed big enough to accommodate wings, the luxurious bathroom that you could see through the doorway on the other side of the room and his and her chest of drawers sitting flush against the wall.
In the quick second it had taken you to scan the room, realisation had dawned on you that he had taken you to that secret house he had kept all to himself. Even Cassain and Rhys hadn't been here, hadn't been able to see the small house on the Sidra that had been his unspoilt piece of heaven for hundreds of years. And now he had let you in, taken you to the most treasured room in the house, and even set up his bedroom to accommodate you without so much a word.
Pure, undiluted love filled every space in your body as you turned back to your mate - your mate - and saw the loving smile falling on his lips. A soft noise, between a sigh and a sob, left your lips as you closed the space between you again and lifted yourself off the bed to straddle Azriel's lap.
It was Azriel's turn to moan as you settled on him, and you pressed your lips to his, swiping your tongue against his bottom lip before tasting his mouth with your tongue. The kiss depended from something soft and hesitant to needy and passionate. His hands moved to rest on your hips, and you could feel his nimble fingers dancing along the exposed skin there, tugging you even closer. A few moments later, Azriel pulled away for breath, attaching his lips to your neck and placing open-mouthed kisses up and down your skin. Each kiss he pressed to the exposed skin of your neck, along your collarbones and back up to skim your jaw was like liquid fire, burning your skin and setting your nerves alight simultaneously. You swear you weren't breathing as you tilted your head back to give him more access. You had been dreaming of this moment for so long, but nothing your mind could conjure was better than this moment.
You had clearly been shouting down the bond because Azriel mumbled, "Gods, I've waited so long to do that," against your skin. You weren't sure you had the brain capacity to form words to express your feelings, so you hummed before spearing your fingers into his hair and tugging to bring his lips back to yours.
A filthy groan left Azriel's lips at the sensation of you tugging on his hair, which caused your hips to roll against his and a soft moan to slip your lips at the delicious friction. Azriel was absolutely desperate to hear that noise tumble from your lips again; he was sure it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard, so he gripped your hips and moved them to brush against his now rock-solid erection.
He thought he might climax right there, and then, as you broke the kiss, tipped your head back and whispered his name like a plea as pleasure shuddered down your spine at the sensation of you rubbing your clothed core against him. He didn't stop you as you did it again, his hips rolling to meet yours.
"That's it, baby, take your pleasure." He was transfixed as he watched you grip his shoulders, your eyes closing as you found your rhythm, small noises leaving your mouth as you used him to reach your climax.
"Eyes on me, baby." He commanded, his hand snaking up to grip your chin and hold your gaze. Your eyes fluttered open to be greeted by the most handsome male you had ever seen, looking solely at you with a gaze in his eyes that screamed he was witnessing the most erotic thing in his long life.
Your hips canted faster and faster as you chased that pleasure that was building in your lower stomach. Judging by the wet patch you could see forming on Azriel's thighs as you wrung your pleasure, you knew you were leaking through your underwear and leggings. That, his command to look at you and the way he was watching you was enough for the wave of pleasure to crest and crash over you.
A scream of his name left your lips as you found your climax and shuddered against him, your hips sloppily chasing your high - Azriel's hands gripped your hips and guided them through your orgasm, prolonging it for as long as possible, utterly enraptured at the way you fell apart from just his thigh.
He swore he had never seen a more beautiful sight.
As you came down from your high, Azriel wrapped his arms around you and lifted you up and off his lap, gently laying you down on the plush mattress of the bed. As you returned to your body, you were aware of Az placing soft and loving kisses along the exposed skin of your shoulder and collarbone; the collar of the shirt you were wearing had slipped in the throes of pleasure.
A sweet feeling settled in your bones after the orgasm you had just experienced. Still, the throbbing at the apex of your thighs started up again, nowhere near satisfied and wouldn't be until you had consummated the bond properly. With a lazy, blissful smile, you interrupted Azriel's slow exploration of your exposed skin by gently gripping his face in your hands and bringing it up so you could gaze into those beautiful hazel eyes you had fallen in love with when you first met him.
"I need you, Az." You whispered and a smile spread across his lips as Azriel felt that pulse through the bond, the impatient want to feel him inside you.
You watched as Azriel dipped his head to continue pressing open-mouthed kisses along your collarbone, his tongue peeking out to lick up the line of sweat that had gathered there from your last orgasm. As his lips gave your skin attention, he gently popped up each button of the shirt you were wearing - his shirt. His lips followed his fingers, pressing kisses to the valley in between your breasts, over your sternum, down the strong muscles of your stomach and finally above your navel - so close to where you were desperate for him to touch you that you had felt him smirk against your skin when he had felt your hips writhe underneath him.
He gently slipped the material off your shoulders and discarded it on the floor before he shifted his weight to grasp the waistband of your leggings—his eyes on you, waiting for that nod for him to proceed.
His heart nearly cleaved in two when he saw that loving smile on your face as you nodded at him. Slowly, torturously, he began to pull the material over your hips and down your legs, his lips and tongue following his fingers once again, just like he had been doing with your upper half. He pressed reverent kisses to the curve of your hips, to both inner thighs, your knee, your calf and finally your ankle before throwing your leggings to join your discarded shirt.
His eyes landed on your clothed core as he straightened, a breathy moan filling the air as he took in the mess you had made to the white material. He couldn't help himself as he reached a finger out to trace the wet patch you had created rubbing against him earlier. A whine leaving your lips had him grinning again before he gently removed your underwear so you were bare before him.
The breath left his lungs as he drank in the sight of you before him, spread out, flushed and entirely bare. He was sure he could die a happy male now, that he would never see a more lovely sight before him.
A wave of embarrassment fell over you under his scrutiny, and automatically, your hands came up to cover yourself, your body curling in under his stare. His hands shot out, gripping your wrists to pull them away, to show yourself to him again.
"Don't," he whispered, "so beautiful." He mumbled before bending down to kiss your lips, a reassuring kiss that told you never to hide your body from him again. That he found you the most beautiful thing in the whole world.
He pulled back to stand and unbuckled his trousers; you watched, transfixed at the way his fingers nimbly moved before he shoved down his trousers and his underwear to reveal the proud length of him as he sprung free and slapped his stomach. Your mouth instantly watered, your lips partly slightly as you took in his impressive length and girth - his red tip already leaking with precum.
Instantly, you were pushing yourself into a seating position, your hand outstretched to touch him. A soft noise of confusion left your lips as he gently gripped your wrist to stop you from touching him, a slight shake of his head as you looked up at him.
"I want to touch you." You breathed.
"Later, baby, we will explore everything together later. But now, I need to be inside you." His voice had dropped to a rough growl as he began to crawl over you, your body falling back onto the mattress as he crowded you.
He connected his lips to yours, another bruising, passionate kiss that swept your breath away as he pushed you into the soft material of the mattress, his hand coming back up to knead your breast, and you arched into his touch. You felt him gently knock your knees apart so he could slip in between them as he hovered over you.
"Are you ready, my love?" He whispered, and you gently reached up to stroke his jaw again.
"You're so big." You couldn't help but blurt out, earning yourself a bark of laughter. You could also see the satisfaction in Azriel's eyes at your words. You had been with plenty of males before, but none this endowed, this impressive, and you could admit you were a bit nervous about how he was going to fit inside you.
"You can take me, sweetheart." He grinned as he dipped down to press another kiss to your lips, "I'll take it slow, ok?" You nodded, your heart thrashing in your chest as you watched him line up with your entrance.
Azriel thought he would burst out of his skin the moment he pushed inside you, his wings flaring behind him as pleasure rolled down his spine at the feeling of you enveloping him. He gritted his teeth, his eyes scanning your face to not give in to that primal part of himself beating widely in his chest, desperate to feel all of you at once.
He began rolling his hips into you, pushing further until he saw you wince and felt you clench around him. He stopped, dipping his head down to kiss your lips lovingly, "Sssh, relax, sweetheart." He mumbled against your skin.
Your heart could have burst out of your chest with how sweet he was being. You had been right, though; he was big. Bigger than you had ever had before, and that burn when he started to push in took your breath away. A gasp escaped your lips, however, when you felt him reach down between your bodies to trace firm patterns on your clit, expertly replacing that burning sensation with one of pleasure as his scarred fingers created the most delicious friction.
"That's it, sweetheart. Let me in." He murmured above you, his eyes never leaving yours as he felt you relax against him. When he saw you nod at him, he pushed even further.
And so it went as he gently rolled his hips into yours, sinking further and further into your warmth. When he came across resistance, he would stop, draw pleasure from your clit with his fingers before whispering, "Good girl," into your ear. The praise he was giving you was enough to have your toes curling, let alone the waves and waves of white hot pleasure he was drawing from your clit.
You were panting by the time he was fully seated inside you. Azriel groaned at the sensation as he held still, waiting for you to adjust in that final moment. He could have sworn he had reached heaven. The feeling of you pulsing around him was enough to make him grit his teeth in an attempt to stop himself from finishing right there like an inexperienced teenager.
You could feel Azriel everywhere. He was sitting, brushing against the sensitive spot inside you that you hadn't even known existed until he touched it with the final roll of his hips into you, and it made you see stars even as you adjusted to the burn of him inside you. You could feel his shadows skating around your body, circling your nipple, soothing your heated skin, brushing against your clit as you lay there. Soon, the burn of discomfort began to morph into impatience as the desire to feel him became overwhelming.
"Az," you whined, writhing beneath him as you tried to move your hips. So desperate for friction, "Please. Move, baby," You whispered, and those words were enough to unleash Azriel.
Twin moans escaped both of your lips as he slowly pulled out of you to roll his hips, burying himself inside you again, sitting flush against your body. You weren't inexperienced; you had had lovers before, but nothing could compare to the way Azriel's hips rolled against you, and you felt every delicious inch of him - how it consumed you and had licks of fire sparking up your spine, along the contours of your legs, down to your very fingertips.
He delighted in the soft sounds that were slipping from your lips, from the pain that accompanied the overwhelming ecstasy as you scrambled to get purchase on his shoulders, your nails raking down his back, scoring lines - marking him as yours.
He couldn't help but look down at where you were joined, watching him disappear again and again inside your perfect pussy, groaning at the lewd noises and the way you clenched around him.
"You're taking me so well, Princess." His words coaxed that fire in your stomach, and tears began to form in your eyes as your mind began to fog at the sinful pace he was setting.
He wasn't fast, his hips almost languid in the way they rolled against you, so unlike the males you had had before, with their pistoning hips and their nearly brutal pace that had had you barking in discomfort rather than pleasure. Azriel had no intention of this being quick; he was determined to make this perfect for you; he would make you feel every ounce of pleasure as he worked you up to that orgasm that was threatening to consume you.
"Look at you," he cooed, "So beautiful and all mine." His words set you alight as he dipped his head to press open-mouthed kisses to your throat. Sucking and nipping along your perfect skin as he marked you as his - he couldn't wait for other males to take one look at your neck and know you were spoken for.
"All yours, Az. Forever." His hips stuttered at the words that dripped from your lips like honey, a groan ripping from his throat as he felt you send how much you meant it through that new bond - he could hardly believe this was reality, and he wasn't dreaming right now.
"Say it again." A soft smile fell on your lips as you cupped his jaw again, bringing his face level with yours as his hips continued their tortuous, delicious pace.
"I am yours, Azriel. Forever and always." You whispered into the space between you, whispered it to the universe, and pushed it down that bond—twin circles of Illyrian tattoos now circling that spot on your ring fingers on your left hands, where no doubt pretty rings would soon sit atop them.
He crashed his lips onto you, sealing the words you had spoken. The kiss was all-consuming and only heightened the ecstasy coursing through you as Azriel hit that spot inside you that had your back arching and your feet locking at the base of his back.
"Az. Fuck." You whined when you broke away to catch your breath. He could feel you fluttering around him, knew you were close and was rewarded with a sharp cry of his name when he sent his shadows to brush against your clit, aiding you to bring you closer to that edge.
"Eyes on me, sweetheart." He ground out, his hips turning sloppy as he felt himself close to reaching that oblivion, "Come for me, baby."
With a sharp thrust of his hip, a sweet flick of his shadow against your clit and with the soft command that he had given you, you felt that roaring fire reach its peak, felt it turn molten as you shattered underneath your mate. White hot pleasure soared through your body, setting every nerve-ending alight as you rode out your high.
Azriel watched, absolutely entranced as he watched you writhe underneath him, your face contouring into the most beautiful sight he had ever seen as he watched you fall apart because of him. It was enough for him to find his release as chants of your name slipped from his lips as he slammed his hips into you and painted your walls with his release. He came so hard he almost blacked out; the only thing spearing through his spotty vision was your face as you watched him through hazy eyes - gentle fingers tracing those tattoos curving over his chest and shoulders.
He shook to keep himself above you as you both slowly came down from your highs, ready to bask in the sweet afterglow of a bond realised and accepted. Sweat dripped off his hair and slid down your body, but the smiles on your faces were mirror images of each other - the realisation that this was forever, that this was home.
"Come here." You whispered the hands that had been marking him with your nails previously, now delicately circling his broad shoulders to coax him down to your body.
He made no move to slip out of you - still semi-hard and knowing that there would be more rounds, that this frenzy was only beginning - as he rested his body against yours. His arms circled your spent body to hold you against him as your fingers found his hair and began to scratch his scalp.
Peace. That was what you were both feeling right now—utter peace—that this was right, that you had found each other, and that you would spend the rest of eternity beside each other.
Azriel lifted his head to press his lips to yours in a loving kiss, exploring that glittering, gleaming thread that sang between you - knowing he was finally complete and had a lifetime to enjoy it.
a/n: iiiiii don’t know how I feel about this one! it has been a long time since I wrote smut so I have no idea if that was any good...if you've made it this fare, thank you loves 🫶🏻 the final scene of domestic bliss (the 10-year anniversary) is missing but I am planning on making that it's own fic - I wanted to do it justice and felt it was too much to include in this one, so stay tuned!
Warnings: Slight angst, drinking alcohol, nightmares, slight mentions of death.
Summary: Sometimes it take's heartbreak to move on...or to realise what you've always had.
<< Previous Part
To celebrate your return, Mor insisted on a night out at Rita's. Despite your lingering exhaustion and the pull of a quiet weekend begging you to spend it sleeping and reading, you didn’t have the heart to say no to her.
That evening, you prioritised finishing your reports before joining your friends at Rita's. You had always been exceptionally dutiful in your role, taking immense pride in your responsibilities. Though Mor grumbled at your decision to work, she reluctantly agreed to meet you there later, with the rest of the group.
As you worked alone, you cherished the moments of silence. After six months of solitude, acclimatising to the hustle and bustle of family life was both exciting and well… exhausting. And navigating your relationship with Azriel wasn’t the easiest, you were trying, trying really hard in fact. And although you had fallen into old patterns, it was still a little awkward at times.
Azriel had perhaps had the most enjoyable week he’d experienced since you’d left all those months ago. Everyone had noticed how the tension had eased from his shoulders, warmth had returned to his eyes and how finally, his lips would pull into a full smile again. Azriel hadn’t allowed himself a moment of happiness since you left, in fact he quickly realised in your absence how you were the cause of most of his smiles. So your eagerness to mend a bridge between you both had been greatly appreciated, and he had relished in having your company back.
Yet, despite the familiarity in your interactions– friendly banter, teasing laughter and comforting silence. Azriel still felt the weight of your confession, and what it had done to him. How it had peeled back the layers on himself, revealing something that threatened the very dynamic you had begged for when you came back.
Best friends again?
Your words reverberated in his mind, a relentless echo of your plea. Azriel had teetered on the edge of refusal, almost said no, on the brink of voicing his own desire for something more. Admitting that just being friends would no longer be enough. But he found himself frozen under your vulnerable gaze, he had faltered, he too, consumed with the fear of unsettling the delicate relationship between you. The idea of risking your friendship was too daunting, too uncertain. It was safer to remain friends, safer to keep things as they were.
So he had remained silent.
Azriel took another sip of his drink, listening to his family laughing around their designated table at Rita’s. You weren’t here yet, your usual spot next to him and Mor still empty. Mor had mentioned you were wrapping up some work, and a part of him couldn't shake the urge to seek you out. He was contemplating sending his shadows to check on you.
Again.
His shadows had been silent watchers since you came back, although you hadn’t you seemed to mind. In fact after spending six months with a few of the smoky tendrils, you actually welcomed their company. Each morning, you were greeted by at least one shadow curling around your cheek, or if you were away from the group for too long, a shadowy companion would appear to give you a light whispery kiss on your skin.
Whether they acted of their own accord or at Azriel's behest remained unclear to you.
He had always been protective of his family, but it only intensified with you since your return. It becoming somewhat obsessive. He couldn’t stop himself though, and you hadn’t rejected his shadows yet, so he took that as silent confirmation that he could continue.
“Gods, the girl has always known how to dress.” Amren said approvingly, her words pulling Azriel out of his thoughts. He followed her gaze to the entrance of Ritas, where a familiar figure seemed to capture the attention of the room.
You.
Dressed in a black lacy number, you exuded an alluring energy. In fact you always had, but Azriel in all his centuries of knowing you had done a remarkable job of ignoring it. The dress was classy in shape, but the sheerness added that Night Court sex appeal you always carried so well. A little black thong and bralette peeked through the sheer fabric, while the lace hugged all your curves.
You had always captured the attention of everyone, a trait of yours that had only become more endearing to Azriel as the years went on. But previously, he would bury those thoughts and feelings in the darkest recesses of his mind, never to be touched. Them only slipping out occasionally in his dreams.
Those particular dreams had plagued his sleep for centuries now, his deepest desires burying themselves in his consciousness to slide out when he drifted into a slumber. His suppressed desires manifesting themselves in vivid dreams, visions of you that often made him struggle with what was real or illusion.
Some dreams were innocent, filled with whispered conversations under the starry nights. Dreams of taking you flying while your melodic laugh filled his ears. It was those nights he slept soundly, his mind surrendering to the hazy false reality.
There were also those darker dreams. More forbidden.
The kind that made it hard for him to look at you the next day. It was those dreams he struggled to stir from, the kind of dreams where he’d find you waiting for him in his bed, or where he’d wake still hearing your moans and the taste of you on his lips.
He’d had more of those dreams since you’d come back, and he knew he would definitely have that problem tonight after seeing you in that dress.
Was it really a problem though?
He couldn’t pretend that those dreams weren’t some of his favourites. As guilty as they made him feel.
And now, after everything. Knowing that there had been a possibility you could have been his, that feeling you, tasting you could have been his reality– he found it hard to steer his gaze. Hard to ignore your allure. Hard to believe he ever could have been so blind.
Pretty, pretty, pretty.
His shadows coiled round his ear to chant, it was information he didn’t need. Because he already knew how beautiful you were.
He watched as you sauntered in, flashing a smile and small wave to regulars you recognised. A male had reached out, gently tugging on your arm for your attention, Azriel swore he heard him beg you to come dance.
“Maybe later,” you replied sweetly.
He was glad you rejected that male, glad he didn’t have to watch you dance with someone else, not that he had a right to feel that way. Azriel’s eyes followed the sway of your dress as it cascaded down to calf-length. He was mesmerised by you, and when he caught your scent he had to stop a quiet groan rolling up his throat.
Careful Azriel, you’re almost salivating there. It was Rhys’ talons that had clawed on Azriel’s mind, only for him to tease as soon as he was granted access.
Azriel shot Rhys a dark glare.
Fuck off.
Rhys merely laughed into Azriel’s mind. I’m just reminding you, that’s not how you look at a friend.
I said fuck off.
How you stayed composed all those centuries, to merely crumble now I’ll never understand.
Azriel was fast to push Rhys out his mind, while you took your seat beside him. “I got you a drink,” Azriel said to you, pushing your favourite cocktail your way.
“Thanks Az,” you beamed, picking the glass up to sip of the sweet concoction. A soft giggle left your lips as one of his shadows, coiled round the glass up your hand, to greet and pepper you with kisses.
He wanted to tell you how beautiful you looked, the words on the tip of his tongue but there was this fear holding him back.
“ME-OWW, I want a bite of you!” Mor teased, her fingers grabbing your waist pulling you closer to her on the bench.
“Was that Orion giving you those sex-eyes?” she spoke loudly, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. She had clearly seen the interaction you’d had with an old admirer of yours.
You shrugged nonchalantly in response, opting to sip your drink instead of answer.
“We aren’t the only ones to have missed you it seems.” Nesta purred from across the table, joining in on Mor’s suggestiveness.
“Put the poor male out of his misery and fuck him already.” Amren smirked, stating an obvious solution.
The table erupted in amusement, words of encouragement and teasing remarks filling the air. It was definitely an option, one worth considering. Especially after that crushing rejection from Azriel.
And Orion was undeniably attractive. He had that deep dark tan with vibrant blond hair that offered a stark contrast to Azriel. It would be a welcome distraction.
However he could never match Azriel’s beauty.
You noticed how strikingly handsome Azriel was looking tonight, dressed in all black just like you. Always so smart and chic, the pair of you always dressed that way. Mor had pointed out years ago, you both always seemed to coordinate effortlessly. Her comment had sparked a glimmer of hope within you, something you had desperately clung to. That maybe yours and Azriel’s connection was deeper, and a small part of you had fantasised at the possibility that maybe you were mates.
In the end it had just been wishful thinking. Fulled by your own affection and longing. You and Azriel were fated to be only friends.
And that would be enough.
You rolled your bottom lip into your mouth, glancing behind you with Mor to look at the male. A large shit-eating grin on his face as he winked at you. He was quite the charmer.
“Hmmm maybe,” you replied to your friends quietly as you turned back to face them, Mor bumping her shoulder with yours gently in response.
Maybe this was how you would move on from Azriel? By getting under someone else.
You’re not sure why you felt compelled to look, why you cared what he thought, but your gaze steered to your side. Gazing up at your handsome darked-haired friend. Azriel’s eyes were already on you. There was an intensity in his eyes that caught you off guard.
He didn’t appear impressed, neither angry nor happy. “You’re too good for him,” he stated quietly, before taking a sip of his drink again.
You wanted to respond, ask what he meant by that. Ask why he even cared, why it even mattered. Casual rendezvous’ didn’t hold some kind of standards, and your partners didn’t need to meet whatever expectations Azriel suddenly had for you.
“Oh shut it Az! She deserves to get laid, she didn’t get to have any fun on her trip and that was six months long!” Mor reiterated her rhetoric from the other day.
You rolled your eyes, about to interject to remind her once again you were not on some half-year vacation.
“It was not some trip but a high-stakes mission yadda yadda” Mor chimed, mimicking you.
You had to bite your lip to stop yourself from laughing, the female really knew how to open you up. Her teasing, her probing, was relentless to some. But had always worked on you. Pulling back those walls.
Giving her a playful glint you spoke, “I almost had some fun if you must know.”
For some reason, you found yourself stealing a glance at Azriel, curious about his reaction. He had never taken an interest in your romantic encounters in the past, so his sudden attention confused you.
Azriel tensed at your words, chewing the inside of his cheek before taking another sip of his drink. It was Rhys that was watching him with that infamous smirk. Azriel wanted to wipe it clean off his brother’s face.
I told you to fuck off.
Rhys only laughed back into his brother's mind.
“Give me all the details.” Mor squealed, clasping your hands in hers.
You shrugged, your lips curing into a soft smirk, retelling how you had met this mysterious male on your travels. “He was really cute…handsome…had these gorgeous eyes,” you sighed dramatically, your eyes gazing off into the distance, hand on your heart. “But he was the enemy, so I had to kill him.”
Your friends laughed in response, some of them shaking their heads in disbelief. Nesta leaned across the table with a dark glint in her eye, “You could have had a bit of fun first.”
You scoffed playfully at the notion, hand waving in the air dismissively. “Etiquette darling. I don’t like playing with my food before eating,” you purred.
Nesta shook her head with a smirk, “I’ve missed you, come dance.”
It wasn’t so much a request as it was a command when it came to Nesta and dancing. You rose from your seat, Mor and Feyre joining you eagerly as you made your way into the crowd, letting the music engulf you.
Azriel’s eyes, though, stayed glued on you.
"She's not going anywhere, Az," Cassian chuckled, downing the rest of his drink. It was easy for Cassian to assume Azriel’s obsessive nature had spun from your absence, from your dangerous mission, just Azriel’s natural protectiveness of all his family members, but of course that wasn’t the only reason.
He couldn't help but watch you, captivated by every movement. Not when you looked like that, when you moved like that, smelt like that.
Your confession had torn him a part, shattered his perception, forcing him to confront feelings he'd long buried. Make him acknowledge a possible reality he never considered himself worthy of. Azriel couldn't shake the image of what could have been, a world where it would have been your body swaying against his tonight.
Cassian had smacked his empty glass on the table now, shouting that he’d get another round in as he walked over to the bar.
“So what are you going to do, Azriel?” Rhys then asked, his own eyes never leaving Feyre who was dancing drunkenly with you.
Azriel glanced briefly at Amren, who remained at the table, swirling her drink absently. She didn't meet his gaze, clearly uninterested in being dragged into the complexities of her family's relationships.
"I don’t think you'll have four centuries to pine for her this time," Rhys remarked quietly. "I don’t think she'll wait that long."
Azriel drew in a sharp breath at Rhys’ words, his gaze still tracing the contours of your form. His breath caught as he realised your eyes had found him from across the crowded room. A soft smile forming on your lips, prompting him to give you one back in return.
If this was all he could have of you. Would it be enough?
❊
“Az…”
He heard someone calling his name. That familiar melodic tone.
“…Azriel wake up,” that soft sweet voice sang to him.
Only that voice could pull him from his deepest dreams and nightmares.
Azriel stirred, his consciousness slowly emerging from the recesses of sleep. Blinking groggily, he glanced around his dimly lit room, his mind clouded with confusion.
His head throbbed faintly, a dull ache pulsating behind his temples. Had he drank too much? He couldn't remember.
He turned on his side to face where your voice had called him, only to find you laying beside him. Why were you here? What had happened last night?
There was a soft smile gracing your lips. You were adorned in a delicate white nightgown, that seemed to shimmer in the faint glow of the moonlight filtering through the window. You were a vision of ethereal beauty— and you were in his bed. A sight that left Azriel momentarily breathless.
How had this come to be?
You were so close to him, only a breath away from his face. So close, he could feel the warmth radiating from your body. For a fleeting moment, he almost let himself get lost in your gaze. Those eyes, he loved so much. He often dreamt of them, lost himself in them, and searched for them in a crowded room. He loved the way they crinkled when you laughed. A sight he would never tire from seeing.
His mind was reeling though, he couldn't recall getting into bed. Or when you joined him.
"It's time, Az..." you whispered.
Azriel didn’t understand.
"Time for what?" Azriel mumbled, his brow furrowing in bewilderment.
Your words were sickly sweet, dripping with an unsettling ambiguity that sent shivers down his spine. But before he could make sense of them, your fingers were threading through his hair, and he found himself paralysed by the intimacy of the touch.
"It's just time," you murmured softly, your smile masking a deeper sorrow. Your voice echoing through the caverns of his mind like a haunting melody.
But time for what?
Azriel's confusion deepened, his heart pounding in his chest. Something was wrong, he could sense it.
Where were his shadows?
Before he could question you further, he watched as you closed the small gap between you, pressing your lips to his.
As your lips met, there was a sensation of weightlessness over Azriel. As if he was suspended in a realm where time held no sway. It was silent, peaceful and felt endless. He wasn’t sure why or how this was happening, but he couldn’t bring himself to question. Couldn’t bring himself to break away.
No, not now. Not now he had you.
His heart swelled with a mixture of joy and disbelief. You were finally his, finally in his arms.
He felt you against him. Your body plush to his, melting into his touch. A warmth vibrated through his chest, as your breaths mingled. Azriel’s arms wrapped around you tighter, as if terrified this would all slip away.
Wait, something was wrong. But Azriel, lost to your touch, couldn’t remember what.
The softness of your kisses against his lips was like a sweet melody, stirring something deep within him. He craved more, his hunger for you insatiable, as if he could never get enough to quench the burning desire within him.
This was what he had been searching for all those years. All those times he got it wrong, thinking it was someone else. It had in fact been right in front of him the whole time– you.
He could feel you pulling away. Azriel looked at you now, noticing that sorrowful expression on your face again.
“It’s time…I have to move on now,” you smiled sadly.
"Move on...what do you mean?" he managed to ask, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I've waited so long, Az...too long," you replied, your words laced with a haunting sense of finality.
Unable to find the right words, Azriel watched helplessly as you began to slip away, sliding out of his arms and off the bed. He tried to move, tried to grab you, stop you, pull you back but you were slipping through his fingers like water.
A cold breeze swept through the room, sending goosebumps over his body. The air seemed to grow thicker, heavier, as if the very atmosphere was connected with your emotion.
Panic gripped his chest, like a claw had clasped his heart and it was squeezing it with every heartbeat. Desperation was flooding his senses as he reached out for you, his voice cracking with emotion. Something was wrong.
“Wait don’t leave y/n, I’ve been meaning to tell you–”
"Will you make me wait another 400 years, Azriel?" your voice echoed in his mind, the haunting tone of your voice shaking him.
His body felt as if it were encased in stone, every movement sluggish and strained. No matter how hard he tried to rise from the bed, he could only manage to shift to its edge, his limbs refusing to obey his desperate commands.
In the doorway of his room, you stood, your form bathed in an eerie half-light that cast strange shadows across your face. Fear etched lines of worry into your features, your eyes wide with a terror that mirrored his own.
Something was wrong. You needed to come back to him, back to his arms where it was safe.
"I may not live that long," you cried out, your voice raw with anguish, the sound of it tearing at his soul.
Azriel tried again, ragging his limbs to try to get closer to you. Then in that moment, time itself seemed to warp and twist, as if the hands of fate were turning the clock.
Azriel could only watch in horror as you began to age before his eyes, each passing second drawing lines of time upon your skin. Your once youthful visage contorted and twisted, suddenly you began to wither, flesh peeling away like petals from a dying flower.
Your scream was piercing through his skull, your hands trying to hold onto the pieces of flesh that were burning away until there was nothing left.
Tears were streaming down his face as Azriel stumbled off his bed, his heart pounding with a frantic urgency. His rapid uncoordinated footsteps matched his heartbeat. He felt drugged. But that didn’t matter, he needed to find you. He ran out of his room into a darkness that seemed to swallow him whole, his voice a desperate plea echoing through the empty halls.
"Come back...please," he cried out, his words carried away by the chilling breeze that surrounded him. Each step he took felt heavier than the last, his limbs weighed down by a crushing weight. "I won't make you wait…please...please," he begged, his voice suffocating with painful emotion.
“Azriel…” he heard a voice.
“Y/n,” he cried out again. But only darkness answered him.
“Azriel! Wake up!” It wasn’t your voice, no, someone was shouting. Someone was shaking him.
Suddenly the darkness faded, and the face of his brother speckled into his vision. Rhys had his hands gripped to the side of Azriel’s face.
Rhys and Mor had stayed up for the night, lounging with some faerie wine, reminiscing as the house slept silently. But then they’d hear screaming, and before they could even move Azriel had stumbled down the hall screeching your name. It was clear to Rhys, that Azriel was entrapped in some disorientating nightmare, and he had used his talons to pull him from the deathly grips of the dream.
“It’s a dream brother, only a dream” he tried to reassure him.
But Azriel’s eyes were searching, looking for you.
Azriel was slumped on the floor, his knees under him. Rhys and Mor pulled him against a wall, hoping the cool stone would bring him to his senses. His shadows were frantically buzzing around him. Attempting but failing to console him.
“Where is y/n?” he managed to choke out.
Not here, not here, not here. His shadows whispered in his ear.
Mor stepped forward, concern on her face “She’s with Orion. You know this…” she spoke softly.
Slowly slivers of reality seemed to sink into place. His dream had felt like eternity, and yet it had only been a few hours since you had all left Rita’s.
No you hadn’t left, you had stayed. Stayed with him, stayed with Orion.
He had been too late. Too late to find the courage, too late to speak his truth.
That male. Orion, had found you on the dance floor. Ensnared your attention for the evening, had charmed you. Charmed you enough that you hadn’t returned with your family, that you had stayed to seek the comfort of him that night.
Not Azriel. He had been too late.
Azriel had curled in on himself, knees brought to his chest as sobs began to rack through his body. The talons of the nightmare still clung to him, dragging him back into its clutches. Senseless words left his lips, your name rolling off his tongue repetitively.
"I was too late…" he cried, his voice choking with anguish. "Rhys, you have to save her… she… her face… Rhys… she was dying."
“I think you might need to call for y/n, Rhys,” Mor suggested, her concern evident as she crouched near Azriel. He was trapped in a dreamlike state, caught between the realms of reality and imagination. When she reached out to touch him, he only flinched away, lost in his own torment.
Azriel was drenched in sweat, his body burning with fever as he struggled to distinguish between what was real and what was not. As much as Rhys tried, Azriel’s mind was a mess. He couldn’t decipher what was right in front of him and what was in his mind.
To him you were gone, he’d seen it with his own eyes. He had failed you.
"What's going on?" Your voice cut through the tense air, drawing the attention of Mor and Rhys.
You stood in the doorway of the lounge, your hair tousled and your nightgown askew as if someone had forcefully dragged you from the depths of your own dreams. In fact that is exactly what had happened. Azriel’s shadows were circling you, pulling and tugging you relentlessly, just as they had awoken you.
You could tell from their desperate plea something was wrong, and it had only taken you a matter of seconds to run from your room.
"We thought... I thought you'd gone home with—" Rhys began, but you shook your head, your expression filled with concern as you took in Azriel's state. Without hesitation, you moved quickly to kneel beside him.
You could have gone home with Orion, almost did. Was tempted, but there was something about the way Azriel had looked at you as they all departed for the night that had gnawed at you. A look of a broken male. His expression, a mixture of sadness…and well, longing. It was confusing.
And unfair. He had rejected you after all.
Yet, there was a vulnerability in his gaze that you couldn’t ignore. Despite his rejection, your heart ached for him. After an hour in Orion's company at the bar, you couldn't shake the feeling of unease. So you called it a night and came home.
It had been a long time since you’d seen Azriel caught in a state like this. Azriel didn’t sleep much, but when he did there had been a few times in your years of knowing him that he'd find himself trapped in the liminal space between dreams and reality.
“Hey Az…” you moved to the space in front of him, crouching between the space of his kness. His eyes were skittish, looking at you but through you. It was as if he didn't register your presence at all, trapped in a world of his own making.
“I waited too long…” he breathed out, his fingers tangled in his hair pulling and ragging at the strands.
“Azriel,” you spoke gently but firmly, your voice a lifeline in the darkness that engulfed him. You needed to coax him out of this. “It wasn’t real, only a dream”
A torrent of incomprehensible words spilled from his lips, and you exchanged a glance with Rhys and Mor, who stood nearby, frozen in place.
Over the centuries of being part of this family, you'd all encountered moments like these. Moments where the nightmares and traumas racked over you. However, Azriel had always been more private about his inner turmoil. You realised that this might be the first time Rhys and Mor had witnessed this part of him.
It wasn’t your first time, though. One of the earliest moments you realised you loved Azriel was after he had helped you through a debilitating nightmare, one that had left you screaming in your sleep. From then on, he had always been there to offer comfort in those dark moments.
And you had always been there for him in return.
“I’ve got this…” you reassured them with a soft smile, and they nodded, reluctantly leaving the room. They didn’t want to abandon Azriel in such a state, but they trusted you, trusted that you would only ask this of them if it was for Azriel’s best interest.
You waited for them to leave, the room enveloped in a heavy silence, save for Azriel's incoherent whispers that echoed off the walls.
“I was too late…” he repeated, his voice strained.
“Hmmm were you? What were you late for Azriel?” Again you voice, firm but sweet resounding through the room.
He blinked, finally recognising your presence. His brows furrowed as tears streamed down his face.
“I lost you, I was too late” he choked out.
“You haven't lost me, Az. I'm right here,” you reassured him, your voice a soothing balm.
But Azriel shook his head, haunted by the vivid memory of seeing you slip away before him.
“Tell him, tell him I’m right here.” You spoke, this time towards his shadows.
She’s here. She’s here. They sang.
Azriel’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment, as he listened to his shadows. They had never deceived him before, always guiding him with honesty. So surely what they were saying was true?
You tilted your head slightly, a soft smile gracing your lips as you reached for his hand. His eyes widened at your touch, but he didn’t recoil. He watched as you gently placed his hand against your chest, just above your heart.
Real, real, real. His shadows continued to sing in his ear. Their own feather-light touches caressing his body, cooling him down.
He could feel the steady rhythm of your heartbeat beneath his touch.
Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump. The vibrations of your heart were sobering under his palm. And there was something about the way this felt, so different to the version of you in his dream. Everything was heightened, every sense felt multiplied.
“I’m real Az, and I’m here. It was just a dream, okay?”
Azriel felt a shaky breath leave his lips as his own breathing synced with yours. His rapid heartbeat gradually slowed to match the steady rhythm of yours.
You weren’t gone. But you had chosen someone else.
“But…but you chose someone else,” he sputtered out.
You weren’t sure what he meant. Whether this someone else was what he had dreamed of, or if he meant Orion. But you leaned forward, drawing closer until your faces were mere inches apart, so close that he wouldn’t be able to look away.
“I’ll always choose you, Azriel.” It was the truth. You knew he needed to hear this, he needed reassurance to pull him from the grasp of his nightmare, but it was also unequivocally true. You would always choose him.
You had tonight.
In the opportunity of comfort and pleasure of another, you had chosen Azriel. Even in his rejection. Even if that made you a fool. You would always choose him.
“Really?”
“Always.”
You both sat there for a while, Azriel syncing his breathing to yours as the cloudiness of his vision cleared and he began to feel reality pinching him. It felt so real, that nightmare. A version of his future he never wanted to face.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, gently moving his hand from your chest as embarrassment seemed to finally wash over him.
“Don’t ever apologise for this, Az,” you spoke softly.
“No,” he shook his head. “I just mean I’m sorry for everything, for hurting you before, for not seeing what was right in front of me all along, for not being honest…”
Your brows furrowed as you looked at him, but you let him speak.
“I’ve been trying to find the right words to say to you for the past six months.” He laughed then, not the laugh you loved. A self-deprecating laugh that made your chest ache. “I had six months to find the right words, and I was still too late…” he trailed off, his voice heavy.
“Ever since Mor introduced you almost four centuries ago, you’ve had me mesmerised. I thank the stars every day you came into my life…”
You thanked the stars everyday for him too.
“Azriel, I feel the same…” you began, but he interrupted you.
“No, I don’t think you understand, y/n. I adore you. I’ve always adored you.” Azriel's voice wavered slightly as he spoke, his hands trembling as he reached out to take yours.
He hesitated with his words, still struggling to find the right way to say this. You felt the roughness of his scars against your soft skin, but it was welcome, you had always found his hands beautiful. His touch, comforting.
Right now though, something felt different.
The way Azriel was looking at you was unlike anything you had seen before. It was as if he was seeing you for the first time, truly seeing you.
“You are so wonderful, so beautiful, smart, hilarious. You’re the best of all of us.”
You weren’t sure how to respond, it was a notion your family had always told you. Azriel through the years, claiming that statement more times than you could count. But this time the words felt different, they weighed heavier, they revealed so much more. And you feel your cheeks heating under his intense stare.
“You are. You’re the best of us, better than me. Too good for me.”
“Azriel…” you said softly,
“That’s why your confession came as a shock, I just never considered myself good enough for you. Never thought I’d be the kind of male worthy of you.”
You felt your throat tighten at the idea. The thought that Azriel had never considered himself good enough for you, when he was exactly everything you wanted and needed.
“I’ve been deflecting my feelings for years, ignoring them, because I didn’t think I deserved you…”
Azriel's hand tightened around yours, his thumb tracing soothing circles on your skin.
"But I don't want to waste any more time," he confesses, his voice barely above a whisper. “I know you were with Orion–”
“There’s no one else,” you cut him off quickly, the realisation dawning on you. A realisation of what was happening, what your dear friend was admitting. Something you had hoped and wished for so long.
Your heart was now the rapid one and you could feel it beating through your chest.
"If there's a chance for us, I want us to take it." Azriel concluded, his confession final.
"Really, Az?" your bottom lip quivered slightly, your eyes becoming glassy as tears threatened to spill.
"Really, my love."
“I love you…” The words tumbled from your lips, soft and heartfelt.
With gentle strength, he pulled you into his embrace, your head finding its place in the curve of his neck. He inhaled deeply, savouring the familiar scent of you.
“I love you more than words can express, more than you may ever realise,” he whispered, his voice brimming with tenderness. “And I promise to make up for lost time.”
You leaned back slightly, your eyes meeting his. A soft smile was on his lips, one you gave back, as a tear rolled down your cheek. He moved gently then, leaning down to press a tender kiss where the salty tear had escaped.
Then, as if drawn by an invisible force, a force he had ignored for hundreds of years, his lips found yours in a long-awaited embrace. Time seemed to slow as you shared that kiss, your lips melting into one another. Finally, the kiss seemed to speak of.
This was it.
This would be enough, because this was everything.
fin.
a/n: Sorry to make you all wait so long for this! I was in a really bad writing slump, and wasn't sure how to make this work, still not 100% on it but hey-ho (but thank you to my love, @illyrianbitch for her continuous support every time I changed my mind and scrapped an idea lol, and to @milswrites for her lovely words that helped me get out of my slump)
Anyway I hope you all got the ending you wanted ;) but yeah let me know if you want any one-shots from these two! I'd be happy to explore their dynamic a little more if you've got a scenario in mind <3
Slightly random question but how long does it take you write a fic? looooooooooooved domestic bliss btw! xxx
Hi love! Thank you 🫶🏻. When I really focus and sit down to write...anywhere from a couple of hours to a day depending on what I've got on, if work has been busy and if I've got inspiration/writers block! I think a healer's touch and forever my love took a day. Besotted and domestic bliss took a couple of hours I think?
so when can we expect part 2 of domestic bliss???? 👀
Hi love! hahaha I am currently drafting it now, I'm hoping to put a bit of a skeleton draft together tonight. I am away tomorrow, but I am then off work on Friday so I'm hoping to get fine tune it then and get it out Friday night or Saturday?
For some reason I can’t reply to comments or reblog with comments but just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the love on a healer’s touch and forever, my love! New cute Az fic incoming hopefully this weekend 🫶
annoyingly this is still a problem...if it looks like I haven't replied to your comment on one of my fics or if you've mentioned me in a fic recommendation post and I've ignored it, I promise you I have tried to reply and I love and appreciate all your lovely comments! 🫶🏻
hopefully, Tumblr can fix it after reaching out to their support a couple of times now...
Oh my god, there are so many! I am constantly living in the Azriel x reader tag!
Anything by the following authors:
@azrielbrainrot particularly their Azriel band member au. I never knew how much I needed band member Azriel in my life until now.
@itsswritten, Naughty little shadows is a personal fave and their newest fic Gone has broken my heart and repaired it in the best way possible.
@daycourtofficial every single fic of theirs gives me life but I absolutely adore falling in love on the fourth floor.
@writingcroissant writes so many of my favourite Azriel fics, I legitimately stayed up one night reading everything. I am very excited for their The Lies of Windhaven series.
@illyrianbitch every. single. fic. is. perfection. Obsessed with Death and His Reaper. An Education in Malice was life changing.
We're vvvvv blessed as a fandom to have some of the best fic writers.
warning: suggestive language but no actual smut. just lots and lots of fluff!
summary: a series of scenes that give an insight into the domestic bliss you had built with your mate
a/n: oh my goshhh thank you so much for all the love and so sorry I've been a bit MIA. I'm in the middle of a couple of wips that I'm struggling to piece together so wanted to give you something quick whilst I get my act together. I hope you enjoy it loves 🫶🏻
Part 2
A soft breeze and warm sunlight trickled into the room through the open floor-to-ceiling doors leading out to your room's balcony. The sounds of the birds chirping outside and the busy city below created a peaceful atmosphere that soothed your soul as you lay stretched out on your bed, book in hand.
A noise akin to a purr escaped the lips of the fae male sprawled across your body, head resting gently on your stomach, as you combed your fingers through his luxurious midnight black curls. Your lips tilted up in an affectionate smile as you continued to soak up the words on your page. As you gently scraped your fingernails along his scalp, another deep groan elicited, leaving you giggling and your toes curling.
Sundays like this were your favourite. Slow, lazy and steady. Filled with quiet moments of simplicity. When Azriel wasn't busy off doing god knows what, god knows where, and you didn't have to attend any stuffy meetings or pour over lengthy negotiations and treaties as the emissary of the Night Court. When your mate could spend the day with you lounging in bed, just enjoying each other's presence.
"Why did you stop?" Az grumbled as you lifted your hand away from his head.
"I was turning the page, dummy." You chuckled at him.
"Well, hurry up."
"Big Illyrian baby," you cooed, a soft yelp leaving your lips when you felt Azriel gently bite down on the stretch of bare skin he was resting on. A satisfied sound left his lips—and caused your eyes to roll—when he felt your fingers back in his hair.
You, however, couldn't help the pulse of love and affection you sent down the bond when the next time you had to turn the page, one of his shadows appeared to do it for you.
Another chapter of your book was read before he spoke again, dispersing the soft, comfortable silence that had fallen between you. You had been convinced he had fallen asleep as you played with his hair.
"When do you go to the Court of Nightmares?" He mumbled against your skin, his lips pursing to kiss your hip quickly.
"Tomorrow." You sighed. It was your least favourite job as the official emissary, the one you dreaded doing every couple of weeks. Like Mor, you had been born under that particular mountain, crafted in its dark shadows, a dreamer bred to be a nightmare. It had taken years of wit and cunning to get to a position to meet the High Lord, years of barely surviving until you could petition him for a job—anything to get out of there.
"Do you want me to come with you?" He lifted his head slightly, his hazel eyes meeting yours. Silver nearly lined your eyes as you took in his soft, gentle expression. Azriel understood just how much going there took out of you. He knew that you would return home hollow and would require the rest of the night to be cooped up in bed with his arms around you.
He also recognised that you could absolutely do it alone. That you didn't need him beside you. You were strong enough to face your past head-on and would leave whatever meeting you were attending with Rhys and Feyre with the winning cards in your hand. But that didn't stop him from offering a comforting hand to hold throughout your time there.
"Please." You whispered. His lips stretched into a gentle smile as he lifted his body off you to scoot up the bed and press his lips to yours in a loving kiss.
"Of course, my love." And you knew that was that. No explanations, no words needed to be exchanged with Rhys. When it was time to travel to the Court of Nightmares, you would find your mate beside you, a reassuring hand in your own as he stood quietly beside you.
Azriel could see the tumultuous thoughts flitting across your brain, so he did the only thing he could. He bent down once again to press his lips to yours, pouring as much love and affection as he could down that beautiful, gleaming bond you shared.
Kissing Az never got boring, even after all these years together. He captured your bottom lip in his plush, slightly chapped lips, tugging slightly to elicit a soft groan from you, which he swallowed with his mouth. You lifted your arms to circle his neck, gently playing with the soft hairs there - your book long discarded and falling to the floor. He sighed against you as he wrapped his arms around your bare torso, pulling your chest flush against his as he deepened the kiss into something fiery that had a slow, dull ache beginning between your legs.
You could feel him against your inner thigh and smirked against his lips as you reached a finger towards his impressive wings and carefully dragged a fingernail along the underside of his right wing where they met his back, a spot you had discovered many years ago. A primal part of you stretched out in satisfaction as you felt Azriel shudder against you at the touch.
"So eager to go again, my love?" He teased, alluding to the several times he had already taken you that day as he gently nipped your skin before torturously slowly pressing open-mouthed, hot kisses along your jaw and down the column of your neck.
"Distract me, Az." You breathed, tipping your head back to expose even more of your delicate neck to him, groaning when you felt his canines skimming along your skin.
"With pleasure, sweetheart."
…
The noise was almost deafening, the room packed to the brim with politicians, courtiers, nobility and High Lords and their entourages. It was enough to overwhelm anyone, but Azriel watched from the edge of the room as you dazzled person after person, drifting from one group of fae to the next, completely and totally in your element.
You enjoyed nights like these when you got to flex the skills you had built up as an emissary to the Night Court, speaking to old friends, charming acquittances, and building friendships with those you had yet to meet. The beautiful deep black gown you wore also helped.
Azriel watched as you stood amongst courtiers from the Winter Court, catching up with some of the gossip from one of your allies. A flute of champagne dangled from your fingers; half drank as you tipped your head back to laugh at something one of your friends had said. The dress you wore tonight was some torture explicitly designed for him. It was sleeveless, showing off the delicate curves of your shoulders and décolletage, the high swell of your breasts threatening to spill over the top of your dress every time you drew breath. The slit that every now and then gave Azriel the view of the smooth curve of your leg was maddening. But what was true torture was the choker around your neck, encrusted with gems the same colour as his siphons—a reminder of where his hands had been last night.
He had almost sent a mental note to Rhys that the pair of you wouldn't be attending the party tonight when you had emerged from your bathroom and asked him to zip you up—favouring the idea of ravishing you right there and then. It was only the thought of watching you so expertly work the room, charming everyone so thoroughly, but knowing that only he had the privilege to take you home, that had him attending tonight.
As if you could hear his thoughts, your eyes drifted from the fae before you to lock eyes with your mate across the room. Matching smirks danced on your lips as he nodded at you, and you nodded back - an inside joke between the two of you started on that first official party you had been forced to attend when the mating bond was still so new.
A fire built in your body, beginning in your stomach and dipped lower and lower as you watched him push off the wall he had been leaning on and stalk towards you. He never once dropped eye contact, his shadows twirling before him and telling him where to step, creating a direct path to you.
You tracked him across the room, your skin burning from his gaze. When he stopped just in front of you, his shadows dispersed to dance among your skirts and play with the hair that cascaded down your back.
"Emissary." He greeted, bending his body into a tight bow whilst that playful smirk danced on his lips.
"Shadowsinger." You purred.
"Rhys has asked to see you urgently." The desire swirling in his hazel eyes made the grin on your lips widen as your stomach dipped in anticipation.
"Excuse me." You politely bowed your head to the people you previously held court with, dropping your now empty glass on a nearby table as you followed Azriel out of the room.
Your heels clacked on the beautifully tiled floor as you closed the distance between you and Azriel. You were still walking behind him but close enough to brush your hand against his. He turned his head slightly to smirk at you, and you felt his hand beside you curl and unfurl as he resisted the urge to touch you in front of everyone.
After moments of strutting through the House of Wind, you reached a part of the house away from the centre of the party, with fewer and fewer people milling around. It was only then that, with lightning-fast speed, Azriel's hand whipped out to grab yours and pull you into a shadowy alcove.
With firm hands, he pushed you against the wall, his shadows swirling to hide you from prying eyes, as one of Azriel's hands dropped to your hips and the other reached up to grip your neck. You groaned in delight at the feeling of his hands on you, the messy, feverish kisses he was now peppering along the bare skin of your neck, shoulder and collarbones.
"Az." You moaned as you felt his canines drag along that sensitive junction where your neck met your shoulder, his tongue following to soothe the slight sting.
"Fuck Y/N." He groaned into your skin, relishing in the way you tasted - so sweet. Even after years of being together, he would never get tired of tasting you, of his lips and tongue on your flesh, on your lips and in between your thighs.
"What if we get caught?" You managed to say, your chest heaving as you breathed heavily, hands gripping Azriel's broad shoulders tightly.
"That's never stopped you before, love." He teased as he ran his lips across the swell of your breasts, his touch feather-light, causing a shiver to run down your body and your eyes to roll to the back of your head.
The hand that was holding your hips in his grasp moved to slip under the slit of your dress, skimming down the curve of your leg, tracing over your knee and down your calf before wrapping around your thigh to lift it and hook it over his hips.
"You were torturing me out there, Princess." His voice had become deep and husky, and he elicited a groan from your lips as he was able to press his hips into yours with the new angle. Your body was set alight as you felt his straining erection through the material of his pants as he pushed into you.
"Looking delicious in that dress for everyone to see." His words caused molten lava to pool in your stomach, the throbbing at the apex of your thighs to become incessant, and the wetness gathering there began to drip down your thigh.
Anticipation curled in your stomach as you felt Azriel's hand travel from your thigh to your hip, skimming so lightly it was pure torture down your bikini line before reaching your swollen and slick sex - freezing when he realised he had unrestricted access.
"You've got to be kidding me, no underwear? Fuck you're killing me love." He groaned against your neck, roughly nipping at your jaw and causing a moan of your own to slip past your lips.
"All for you, Az." You whispered, throwing your head back against the solid wall behind you as he traced your slit, gathering the wetness pooling there.
"There they are." Rhys's unbothered drawl broke through the hazy atmosphere you were creating in your shadowy alcove, shattering the moment and causing you both to freeze.
"I knew those lovebirds hadn't gone far." Cassain chuckled from beside Rhys. You knew Azriel's shadows were keeping you covered, that they couldn't see anything and could only recognise you both because they knew how his shadows felt and what they looked like to the untrained eye.
"Piss off, Cass." Azriel snarled as he slowly extracted himself from you, carefully dropping your leg and trying to straighten your dress.
"Someone's cranky," Cassain teased, and you rolled your eyes as you watched Azriel's face turn into a murderous expression. Azriel was usually so calm and collected, not easy to rattle at all, except when it came to you.
"You know not to interrupt a male and his mate." You sighed as you gripped the front of the dress and tried to rearrange it over your chest. You noted the still-hungry look in Azriel's eyes as he watched your every move. A promise in his gaze that told you this wasn't over.
"If you wanted to enjoy each other's company in the hallway, that's totally up to you; we get it - looking beautiful as ever Y/N -," Rhys added as Azriel dropped his shadows once you looked presentable, "but we're doing a debrief in my office, and then you're all done for the night so you can move this to your bedroom if you wish…"
"We'll be there in 5 minutes," Azriel managed to grind out, his eyes still on yours, desperately trying to calm down.
"Is that all he lasts?" Azriel's eyes flared, and you knew Cassain had overstepped. You gave them both an eye roll, territorial fae bullshit.
"Cass," you warned as you heard your best friend chuckle at the snarl that ripped out of Azriel's mouth as he sauntered back down the hallway.
…
Azriel padded through the quiet hallway of the home he shared with you. His feet were cool as they touched the dark wood floor, a nice contrast to the heat pushing up against the windows from the summer sun outside. His shadows flitted and danced around him as they coaxed him to follow them, to follow them to her. His lips curled up in amusement at their behaviour as he neared the kitchen, where he could hear you humming and the soft sounds of you bustling around the kitchen.
He rounded the corner to lean on the doorframe; strong arms crossed over his bare chest as he took in the scene before him. His heart almost stopped dead at the sight of you standing at the large island in the middle of the room, mixing bowl in front of you and wooden spoon in hand, your glorious hair pulled half up into a messy bun tied at the back of your head - tendrils falling around your face and gleaming in the sun -, wearing nothing but one of his shirts.
A deep and primal part of him purred at the sight of you in his clothes, knowing that it was unlikely you had anything under that soft cotton. The fit was incredibly baggy on you, the hemline falling to your mid-thigh, the collar threatening to slip down your shoulder, and the sleeves so long you had had to roll them up. He delighted in being taller than you, bigger than you. A small part of him always soared when he bundled you up in his arms, being able to protect you with just his body. He knew, more than anyone, that you could handle yourself. In a tight situation, you could take down as many enemies as he could. But there was something so delightful about your body being so much smaller than his.
A soft melody slipped past your lips, and Azriel joined in as he pushed off the doorframe. Unable to contain the need to touch you any longer, he approached you. You jolted slightly at the feeling of his large, warm hands on your hips, and a soft yelp left your lips when you felt Azriel bury his head in your hair and press a chaste kiss to the skin of your neck.
"Morning, love," Azriel mumbled into your hair, breathing in your intoxicating scent.
"More like afternoon, babe; we spent all morning in bed!" you joked as you turned back to the task at hand.
"And whose fault is that." Azriel teased as he pulled away from your neck to reach around and gently nip at your earlobe, which sent a lick of fire straight to the apex of your thighs.
"Yours." You shot back, angling your head slightly to look at your mate.
"Hmm, I'm not so sure about that," he smirked, his beautiful hazel eyes dancing with mischief and desire as he dipped his head to press your lips in a searing kiss. Kissing Azriel was like this: all or nothing. Either his kisses were chaste, quick things meant to convey a simple hi or, more often than not, a quick acknowledgement of you during conversations or as you passed each other in corridors or hallways. His other types of kisses were slow, leisurely and utterly torturous, and he poured every ounce of love he had for you into them. His lips moved lazily with yours, licking across the seam of your lips and begging for entrance before licking into your mouth - your knees almost buckling at the intoxicating sensation and the fire burning in your body. He knew what he was doing, as was evident when he pulled away with a smirk on his lips, "what are you making?"
He grinned when he watched your eyes drift back into focus, your body slamming down to reality after a kiss that was so heady but given so casually.
"A lemon drizzle cake." You replied somewhat breathlessly, which made him chuckle, and you felt his chest rumble on your back.
"My favourite." He said as he returned to his spot behind you and wrapped his arms around your torso, bringing your back flush to his chest as you continued baking.
"I know, love." You softly spoke as you began to stir the mixture before you. Judging by the smile in your voice, he knew you were thinking of that moment a handful of years ago when you had both accepted the mating bond with a lemon drizzle cake.
It had been your first time to the Court of Nightmares since you had escaped and been made part of the Night Court. You had been secretly dreading it, knowing that your usual skill set as emissary would all fall apart in that place when your eyes would land on your family and those familiar snarling faces. And it had. Everything had gone to shit the moment your family had spotted you beside Rhys' throne and had smelt that mating bond on you. It had started with shouting and had escalated to your family barging their way up to the throne and threatening to gut you for turning into a whore.
Rhys had pulled rank and ordered everyone to leave, and you had been quickly winnowed to the safety of the townhouse, where everyone had rallied around you and tried to distract you. Rhys and Azriel had gone back to calm the situation and assess the aftermath. You had been cooped up in the arms of Cassain for the evening, a loving and supportive brother figure you had never had before. But deep down, you had wanted only one pair of arms around you to soothe you and remind you that your family do not dictate who you are.
Everyone had eventually retreated to bed, but you had stayed, needing to see him, knowing he would return at some god-forsaken hour. He had found you then when he winnowed to appear in the living room of the townhouse, curled up on a sofa in front of the fire with a book in your hand. At his appearance, you slowly put the book down to look at him.
The bond was newly snapped in place, but he could feel your emotions faintly and was so overwhelmed by the fact that you had stayed up for him that all he could think to say was, "Good book?"
He had watched fascinated as your lips curled into a soft smile, the first since the incident so many hours ago. "Couldn't put it down."
He chuckled lowly but didn't move from his spot as you slipped a bookmark into the page and popped it beside you, swinging your legs off the sofa to sit facing him.
"Az, I think we need to talk." He watched as you outstretched your hand, gesturing for him to come and sit with him.
His heart had sunk as he had walked over to you, joining you on the sofa. He knew you needed to talk about the mating bond and how you moved forward—you had been friends for so long, and he had been yearning for you since the first day he met you. And now he was terrified that you were about to reject the bond, reject him, and he was going to lose the woman he loved and the friendship he cherished with you all in one go.
"Y/N, you need to do the right thing for you - please don't accept something because you feel bad for me. We can work it out. I can perhaps get Rhys to station me in the Illyrian mountains so you can stay here, and I-"
"Respectfully, what the hell are you talking about, Az?" You stared, baffled, at the male before you as he rambled on. He couldn't look at you, and his expression conveyed such sadness.
"The logistics of you rejecting the bond—that's what you want to talk about, isn't it?" A bark of laughter left your lips, shocking him and causing him to snap his head up to look at you in confusion.
"Oh Az, no honey, that's not what I wanted to talk about," you softly said as you held one of his beautiful, scarred hands in one of yours and brought the other to cup his cheek. You watched, fascinated, as he internally debated whether to lean into your touch, "Stay here a second; I'll be back."
He watched, confused, as you flashed him a warm, comforting smile before dashing off the sofa and disappearing into the hallway outside the living room. The wait may have been seconds, minutes at most, but it felt like hours to Azriel. His heart had stopped dead when you returned, a dish in your hand in which a delicately decorated cake sat atop it. He watched keenly as you walked back to him, smiling sheepishly and nervously, and sat back beside him on the sofa.
"This is for you. I want to accept the mating bond." Those words, spoken so softly in the dead of night, in a house that had seen so much joy and heartache before, were enough to set Azriel alight. He had no words to describe the feeling that was coursing through him as he looked between you and the cake you held out towards him.
His hands moved on their own accord as he took the dish from you, noticing the sugar icing that had been meticulously drizzled onto the soft sponge and the sweet little decorative flower you had piped into the centre. Just from looking at it, he could tell you had baked this cake and poured every ounce of feeling into it, and he felt himself getting choked up at the thought.
"Are you sure?" He whispered, and the vulnerable look on that face was enough to break your heart.
"Yes. I have loved you for years, Az and the snapping of the bond in place made it seem as if the Mother and the Cauldron had finally listened to all those prayers I sent them. I baked this earlier to give it to you after we had returned from a successful meeting at the Court of Nightmares," his lips quirked ever so slightly at the sarcasm that dripped from your voice, "it may not be the moment I intended; but it's still perfect anyway. It's a larger version of those lemon sponges you love from that bakery we found last year. The owner gave me the recipe. I want you, Azriel."
Azriel had given up on finding his mate, resigned to always wondering. When you had crash-landed into his life a handful of years ago, he had silently hoped it would be you, and when he had tripped and fallen head-first in love with you, he had begun to beg that the mating bond would snap one day. So many years of yearning for you, unaware that you felt the same, that you were begging for it to be him as well. So many wasted years. And when the mating bond had finally snapped, when you had returned from a month-long summit at the Day Court and taken one look at him, he had almost fallen to his knees then and there.
He had finally found you, and you wanted him back. Words would come to him later, spoken against the soft sheets of your bed, in between feverish kisses and in the afterglow of what was to come, so for now, he held your gaze as he lifted the small slice you had cut for him and took a bite.
"Az, baby. I need to put the cake in the oven." Your words brought him out of the daydream he had been enjoying and back to the present moment. He chuckled and kissed your temple before unwinding from your body and taking a step back so you could move to put the cake tin in your hands and into the oven.
He leaned back against the counter as he watched you carefully manoeuvre it inside before triumphantly shutting the oven door and turning back to him with a satisfied smile.
"Come here." He held out his hand, a gesture so similar to the one you had given him all those years ago that a smile danced on both of your faces. You let him pull you against his chest, one of his hands falling to your hips and the other coming up to cup your cheek, his thumb gently brushing some flour that had somehow made its way to your face.
"Happy 10-year anniversary, love." You whispered into the gentle silence, and the shadowsinger gave you a beautiful smile.
"Happy 10 year anniversary, sweetheart." He whispered back as he closed the distance and gently pressed his lips to yours in a loving kiss that held 10 years of the most beautiful memories.
summary: Rhys and Feyre have asked you to babysit Nyx for the day, meaning you get to spend the whole time enjoying one of your favourite weaknesses: your mate cuddling cute babies.
a/n: thank you so much for the love, it's been so lovely 🫶🏻. this fic is completely self-indulgent - I don't even want children but the thought of handsome men with babies? lord have mercy. My inbox is always open for a chat or fic suggestions /requests. Enjoy loves.
Velaris was truly stunning in every season, every weather, at any time of day, but for you, your favourite time in the city was during the height of summer. When the weather was perfect, the warmth not too stifling, and the evenings cool, the sun glistened on the smooth water of the Sidra, and the air was filled with the soft chattering and laughter of its citizens that lasted well into the evening.
A soft grin played on your lips as you strolled through the streets of the city you had grown up in, the warm breeze gently blowing the gauzy material of your trousers and licking at the stretch of skin exposed at the waist due to the cropped top you wore - the beautiful outfit a gift from your close friend Amren who shared your sense of style. Your confident and sure steps took you past familiar shops, filled to the brim with their exquisite wares as you approached the handful of shops you needed to visit.
As you neared the first shop you needed to visit, you turned your head slightly when you felt one of those familiar shadows that followed you everywhere. It slipped up your arm and affectionally curled around the skin between where your shoulder met your neck. The darkness cooled your warm skin, causing a soft smile to fall on your lips when you thought of the man to whom they belonged. Since being mated to Azriel, a handful of his shadows were always with you, and you had grown very fond of your own little shadows. According to the spymaster, they had left him on their own accord, feeling as protective of you as their master did. They acted almost as a messenger service between you and your mate.
"Are you okay, babe? One of your shadows just tapped me on the shoulder." As you entered the small shop, you spoke gently through that sparkling, glimmering thread you shared with your favourite person in the whole wide world.
"When are you heading back?" His deep, midnight-laced voice slipped into your mind, and you had to hold back the involuntary shudder as you touched one of the children's toys hanging on a rack before you.
"Why are you missing me already, Az?" Judging by the chuckle you heard that echoed in your head, he could practically hear the teasing smirk in your words.
"Always, sweetheart." There was a pause, and your eyebrows furrowed. You realized that something was actually amiss, and he wanted you home. "Nyx is fussing, and I don't know what to do."
This time, you chuckled out loud as you grabbed the toy from the rack and took it to the counter at the back of the shop to pay for it. You smiled gently at the shopkeeper, who warmly greeted you.
"He's probably hungry, babe; give him one of those bottles Feyre left. They're in the fridge." Rhys and Feyre had to attend a last-minute meeting today with the Court of Nightmares and Eris from the Autumn Court. They politely asked if you and Azriel could babysit Nyx on short notice. Initially, Azriel had put up a bit of a fuss, arguing that he needed to be there at the meeting, but Rhys had reasoned that Cassian would be there, as would Mor and Amren. Plus, he would show Az everything through his daemati ability. Feyre had sweetened the blow by telling Az you and him were Nyx's favourite aunt and uncle and that they trusted him the most to look after their precious son.
You had beamed at Azriel's shocked face, winking at Rhys as you had shared in your amusement. Azriel was absolutely besotted with the tiny babe and would protect him with his life if needed. You had no doubt Azriel would immediately sacrifice his life for Nyx, no questions asked. Privately, you had agreed entirely with the idea of you and Azriel protecting Nyx from a security perspective - both of you ready to use your extensive abilities to protect the tiny fae - but also because it meant you could watch Azriel cuddle the baby. In the last couple of months, it had become one of your favourite weaknesses when it came to the shadowsinger.
"Oh yeah, ok." Relief washed down the bond as he moved towards the kitchen and grabbed the bottle from the fridge, remembering how to warm it and test its temperature.
"You've babysat Nyx before, Az; you're a natural at this—trust your instincts, babe." You assured him as you passed the money over to the shopkeeper, gave her a warm smile, thanked her, and took the small bag she set on her counter. Wishing her a goodbye, you left the shop and stepped back into the warm streets of Velaris, heading towards the next shop.
"I've never babysat him before on my own!" You could practically hear the panic in his voice, and you shook your head absentmindedly at his lack of confidence in something he was exceptionally good at.
"You're his favourite uncle for a reason, Az! I won't be long, promise."
"Hurry back, sweetheart. I miss you too." A warm caress reached you through the bond, accompanied by the feeling of his shadows sliding up your thigh, the phantom feeling of his hands on your skin causing you to jolt ever so slightly. Wicked little things.
You had been hesitant to leave the Town House, which you and Az now called yours, this afternoon, but with Nyx arriving at such short notice, you needed more time to get some supplies in. You desperately needed some baby stuff and food for both yourself and your mate. You were just exchanging money with the butcher when you felt another frantic pulse through your bond.
"Babe, he's crying again! He's had the whole bottle." You sent your mate a pulse of affection through his bond, trying to calm him down as you slid the package of food you had just brought into one of your bags.
"Sweetheart, you need to burp him now." You gently reminded him.
"Oh shit yeah." You laughed at your mate, drawing some strange looks from passersby, which caused a slight blush to rise on your cheeks.
"No cursing around the baby!" This time, you felt Azriel's amusement through the bond, a warm beat of laughter that you would spend forever trying to coax from him - his laughter, deep, rich and full, was one of your favourite sounds.
"He can't hear me." He reasoned, his voice now calm now that you had given him a plan of action. He thrived in coordination and planning, able to adapt in times of chaos, but he preferred a detailed and methodical approach to everything. Even in the bedroom.
As you stepped out of the final shop, your purchases swinging from your hands, your face turned up to catch the afternoon rays as they gently warmed your face, you felt another shadow creep up your arm to practically tap on your shoulder.
"Fuck, now he's crying so loud I think he might bring the roof down!" Azriel was panicking again, and you could imagine him running his slender fingers through his hair - tuffs of midnight black standing up in a messy array as he started to pace.
"Az, calm down - he needs to sleep." In the Town House, Azriel felt a wave of calm wash over him as he listened to your levelled voice. No hint of irritation or annoyance in your voice. Even after all these years, he still had to fight his instincts that told him you would get tired of him and his pestering, overprotectiveness or panic, but you had been steadfast the entire time. Making sure he felt supported and loved through everything, and he could never be so grateful for the connection you had built together, the love you shared and the life you had crafted with each other.
"I've tried putting him down, but he screams louder." He sounded tired, and you had to stop yourself from teasing, knowing that wasn't what he needed right now.
"Pick him up. He probably wants you to cuddle him while he falls asleep." If you were being honest, you couldn't blame Nyx. Nothing, and you mean absolutely nothing, compares to Azriel's cuddles. You always felt so safe, so protected, and so comforted in his arms.
"Ok, yeah, I can do that. Gods, why are you so good at this love." You chuckled at the exasperation in his voice. Azriel must have been so agitated because, through the bond, he sent you images of him gently picking up a crying Nyx, his sweet face red and crumpled as he cried, and holding him to his chest. You tried so hard not to focus on those broad, beautiful, strong, scarred hands as they firmly held Nyx, thoughts of how he had held you last night entering into your mind unbidden and causing you to stumble on the uneven cobblestones of the path you were walking, "Careful love." You felt Az chuckle.
"Ass." You felt his amusement through the bond and his relief as Nyx began to calm down and snuggled into Azriel. "You're a natural at this, Az, though. I'm nearly home."
"See you soon, love." At the sound of his husky voice, filled with love, you felt your pace pick up as you made your way towards the beautiful home you shared, eager to get home to your waiting mate.
…
The Town House was quiet and bathed in darkness when you stepped inside. Trying to make as little noise as possible, you carefully set your bags on the entryway floor and slipped your shoes off, the cool wooden floor of the house soothing your hot feet.
A handful of shadows flew through the air towards you, darting around your body and playfully getting tangled up in your hair and clothes. They whispered at you to be quiet and told you that Azriel and Nyx were in the main living room.
With a grin on your face, you tip-toed over to the doorway to the living room and leaned against the frame as you took in the heartwarming scene before you. You had to physically stop the tears brimming in your eyes as you gazed at your mate, gently napping on the sofa with a content and fast asleep Nyx resting on his chest, softly snoring in the way only babes can.
The scene before you was so soft and sweet that you indulged yourself for a moment, picturing your own child fast asleep on your mate's strong chest. You stared for a while, marvelling at the beauty of Azriel. His strong arms were exposed due to his sleeveless top, his Illyrian tattoos proudly swirling around his dark skin - arms you know would hold you close in the dead of night, keep you standing when you were weak and protect you until the ends of the earth. His soft, slightly curled, midnight hair gently fell on his proud forehead, making him look almost boyish and not the formidable man he presented to the rest of the world. His soft, full lips that were parted slightly in sleep. His strong jaw and proud nose, his sculpted body and thick thighs. He truly was heaven-sent.
"I can feel you staring." He mumbled through the bond, and you had to stifle a soft laugh. Of course, Azriel wouldn't be entirely asleep - he rarely was; at least some part of him was always awake and alert. You think the only times Az had ever wholly given in to peaceful sleep was those precious weeks after you had accepted your mating bond when he was so tired and content to be next to you and holding you close that he couldn't resist falling into a deep slumber. But only after he had made sure the wards protecting the secluded cabin were still secure, ever the spymaster.
You pushed away from the doorframe and padded towards where your mate was sitting. He opened his eyes slightly, still sleepy from his brief nap, and his lips curled into a warm smile as you approached.
"Hi, love." You whispered as you bent over the back of the sofa to grip his face and press your lips to his in a sweet kiss. Kissing Az was something you would never get over, even after decades together. The feel of his plush but slightly chapped lips against yours, his delicious taste and scent enveloping your senses, had your toes curling against the cold wooden floor.
"I'm so glad you're back." You beamed at him as you stared at his upside-down face, gently stroking his jaw and feeling the slight stubble against the soft skin of your hands.
"Seems like you've got it handled," you teased as you turned your attention to the sleeping child on Azriel's chest. You reached out a hand to gently brush Nyx's soft hair off his forehead, desperately holding in the coo that threatened to leave your lips as he let out a soft sigh and nestled further into Az's chest. Who could blame him, you thought? You had the exact same favourite sleeping position.
"You're definitely better at this than me," he mumbled as you skirted around the sofa to sit beside your mate. He ever so slowly and ever so gently shifted so as not to wake Nyx so you could tuck yourself into his side. His arm curled around your shoulders to bring you closer, planting a gentle kiss on your temple.
"How long has Nyx been asleep?" you whispered as you snuggled closer to your mate, hand reaching out to gently stroke up and down Nyx's back in a soothing manner you knew he liked.
"About 20 minutes." You hummed, proud of Azriel for handling the situation. He had been so nervous around the babe when he was first born—so conscious of the tiny, breakable fae he now felt some reasonability for.
"I'd say you've had it completely covered, babe." Nyx stirred ever so slightly, and you knew from experience that you had exactly 5 minutes before he woke up and was agitated again due to not sleeping enough.
A soft hum filled the quiet air as you got up and gently took the sleeping child from Azriel, whispering soothing noises. He stirred slightly as you manoeuvred him into your arms. You bounced ever so slightly on your toes, continuing to hum a lullaby you had heard Feyre singing to him the other day as you walked over to the travelling crib Azriel had set up next to the sofa. Ever so gently, you lowered Nyx into the plush mattress, stroking a finger down his cheeks in a way you knew he liked as you watched him settle back to sleep.
Azriel just sat back, arms spread out on the back of the sofa behind him, as he watched you so expertly soothe Nyx. He could practically feel his eyes turning into hearts as he watched you, almost unable to control the all-consuming feeling of love that was threatening to spill from him. He loved you so much and had done so for hundreds of years, but in recent months, watching you become so enamoured by your nephew, a new tentative love grew.
You turned around, and Azriel offered you one of his sweet smiles before holding out an outstretched hand and silently bidding you to return to his side. With a matching grin, you took his hand and let him pull you in beside him before shifting you both, so you were lying down on the sofa, both facing Nyx as Azriel wound his arms around you to pull you flush against his chest.
A feeling of absolute contentment flooded Azriel as you lay there, breathing in your sweet scent and kissing your soft hair. You shifted closer to him, fingers stroking over his hands wrapped around your waist, holding you close. Mirroring smiles danced on your lips as you watched your nephew and enjoyed the comfortable silence that had settled over the Town House.
"I love seeing you with Nyx Az." You whispered into the soft silence, and you felt a pulse of utter adoration through the thread you both shared.
"Hmmm, do you, love?" He mumbled into your hair, an ear-splitting grin stretching on his lips. He was unable to deny that primal part of him that basked in the glow of your words—that you had admitted enjoying seeing him with children.
"It's my ultimate weakness." He chuckled softly.
"Seeing you with him is mine, too," he confessed back, his arms loosening as you turned around to face him. For a minute, you just looked at him, eyes drinking in his handsome face, flitting over his lips and his nose before settling on his hazel eyes, which were gazing at you with such emotion that a lump formed at the back of your throat.
Slowly, lazily, you brought your hand up to trace the features of his face before gently pushing a soft curl of his hair that had fallen over his forehead. The ring he had gifted you nearly 60 years ago glinted in the dim light.
"Have you ever considered it?" You whispered shyly. It wasn't a topic you had discussed with Azriel much; there simply hadn't been enough time. Shortly after the bond had snapped for the both of you - after years of pining and yearning for each other - Rhys had gone under the mountain. You had spent those long years trying to hold everyone together, and then Rhys had returned, and you had been focused on bringing him and Feyre back from that dark place where they had found themselves. Then, the devastating war you had all been plunged into. It had not been an environment you could ever bring a child into.
"What?" He knew what you meant, but he wanted to hear the words come from your lips.
"Having children of our own?" The words felt fragile between you. Deep down, you knew you were both on the same page, but still, this was not a conversation you had had before. The soft smile dancing on Az's lips soothed you, however, as he, too, brought his hand up to delicately trace your features.
"I didn't think I would ever get the opportunity to be a father, certainly didn't think I would be a good one. But seeing you with Nyx these last couple of months…yeah, I have." His confession was soft, and you couldn't help yourself as you closed that small distance between you two to press your lips to his in a kiss that held a promise and contained all of the love you could ever feel for the male. His arms wrapped tightly around you again as he held you close and lost himself in the delicious feeling of your lips on his.
You broke away gently, slowly, languidly, eyes still closed as you leaned in to press short kisses to his lips. Resting your forehead against his, you stayed there, breathing him in, hands softly caressing his face. "You will be such a good dad, Az. You will be patient, kind and considerate. Fun when you want to be, firm when you need to be, and comforting when they're sad or frustrated. I've thought about it too." You made sure you delivered the words whilst looking him in the eyes, conveying just how much you meant the words.
"Yeah?" His voice was hoarse, and you spotted tears brimming in his beautiful eyes, your heart breaking in your chest at the fact that he had so desperately needed to hear the words. You leaned in to kiss his lips again, hand resting on his chest to feel his thundering heart as he breathed in a shaky breath.
"I don't think I'm ready just yet. I still want to experience life with you," you whispered, an amused smirk playing on your lips. You hadn't had enough time with Az yet. There was still so much of the world to see, so many things you wanted to explore with just your mate before you put down roots and grew a beautiful family of your own.
"I feel the same." He reassured, pulling you closer again, desperate to make sure not a single inch of space was between you two.
"But when the time is right, when we are ready. It would bring me nothing but joy to have children together." A stunning smile you had not seen before stretched across Azriel's face, and you gasped at the powerful pulse that reverberated down the bond from your mate. It was pure light—beautiful, gleaming light—such happiness radiating from between you two that you imagined both of your skins glowing with it.
"I love you so much, Y/N." He said reverently.
"I love you too." The distance between your lips closed again as you placed a sweet kiss on his lips, tilting your head slightly to deepen in - determined to convey just how much you love him, how thankful you are to the Mother and the Cauldron for giving you, Azriel as your mate. You felt him moan softly as you slipped your tongue past the seam of his lips, gently licking into his mouth as you swallowed the soft sounds you were both making. You pulled away with a mischievous grin dancing on your lips, "Gods, our kids would be cute."
"Do you think so?" He asked, pushing your hair behind your pointed ears so he could see your face clearly.
"What, you don't?" You asked in mock shock and horror, causing another chuckle to rumble through his chest.
"As long as they take after you, sweetheart, they will be the cutest children Prythian has ever seen." You laughed at him, but secretly, you hoped they looked nothing like you and took after the incredible man you had been mated to for all of these years—that they had his kind eyes, gentle smile, and luxurious locks of soft midnight hair.
"I can't wait." You whispered as you laid your head down beside him, nuzzling into his neck and breathing in his scent of mist and cedar, the smell of home.
"Neither can I, my love." He whispered back to you as he held you close, kissing your hairline and temple. You both let your heavy eyelids droop as your limbs tangled on the sofa. Nyx continued to sleep softly beside you. One day soon, it would be your child in that crib, you promised yourself and Az through that golden thread deep in your heart before you both fell peacefully asleep.
Just dropping by to say I'm so glad I stumbled across your work! I do have a question for you though...Elain or Gwyn?? 😉
Neither of them, me. Obvs.
Hahaha no I'm joking! I think I lean more towards Gwyn buttttt I can see both sides of the discussion and I can see both stories playing out - Elain and Az choosing to love rather than having a bond, like calls to like with Gwyn etc. etc. As long as our boy gets his own book and his story is done justice and it's good, I can't say I'm overly fussed!
You've only posted Azriel stuff, would you post anything about any of the others?
I've been thinking about it! Azriel is my fave and the one I always daydream about tbh hence why I've been posting mainly him but I could give Cassian a go - might take me a while to get his tone right!
Rhys...hmmm not sure. Rhys and Feyre mean so much to me I'm not sure I could do him justice or write a Rhys x reader style fic. BUT never say never!
Suggestions are welcome, to push me in the right direction!
