|MASTERLIST|SHIP REQUESTS OPEN!!|One shot requests OPEN| Here are all the things that are not related to themselves. I write fanfics not tragedies. Gemini//Gryffindor//Thunderbird// Age: 24
Plot Summary: Things are looking rather bleak for Azriel as you remain unconscious
Word Count: 3,406
Ten days had passed, and your condition hadn't changed. Azriel rarely left your side. He would hardly eat or sleep. Simply watch you. He memorized every feature of your body.
He noted every change in your body after the transformation. Any imperfections seem to have gone away, and he hated it. Those minor things were what made you human. What he loved most.
Love. Ever since he admitted it out loud that he loved you, Azriel was able to map out clearly everything he loved about you. He missed you terribly and wished he hadn't fought with you before the trip. If he hadn't, then the two of you could've trained together. Could've talked to each other.
Sometimes he wished he had done a better job of getting you to stay instead of going on that mission.
Azriel got in the habit of talking to you. It's what brought him comfort. He'd tell you stories. Things he wanted to share with you but never did.
His family was worried about him. They always checked in on him. Madja would come in daily to check in on you (and Azriel).
“I know it's a long shot, but we were going to head to Rita’s tonight. Did you want to come?” Cassian asked, popping his head into the room.
Azriel shook his head. “You all go. I'll stay here in case she wakes up.”
His brother sighed. “You can't keep beating yourself up like this. She wouldn't want this.”
“You don't know what she would've wanted,” Azriel replied, his voice rising slightly as his wings flared a bit.
“You’re right. I don't know for sure, but ask yourself what she would say if she saw how you’ve been acting.” He tried to reason with him. To get him to see the truth he wasn't willing to realize.
Azriel huffed through his nose. Surprisingly, Cassian was right for once. Deep down, he knew you'd give him an earful, but he couldn't bring it within himself to leave your side. “She’d probably yell at me.” He said softly.
Cassian cocked his head to the side, then nodded. “That sounds about right.” He took a deep breath.
“I know you love her. I wish things had gone differently, and we will always be grateful for what she sacrificed, but we are worried about you." He paused for a beat."Plus, you're starting to really smell. Do you really want her to wake up to you stinking up her room? “
This made Azriel scoff, but after Cassian pointed it out, he could smell it. “Alright, fine. I'll bathe and go for one drink. For her. That's it. Then I'm coming right back here.”
Cass cheered."I didn't think you'd say yes. Nesta isn't going to believe this.” He ran out of the room.
Azriel shook his head as he stood up and stretched. He went to his room and bathed, not realizing how much he needed it. The fact that he enjoyed it felt wrong to him. As he washed away some of the tension from the past week, he thought about what to expect when you did wake up.
He feared you wouldn't be the same. That you wouldn't remember him. Azriel shook it off and tried for once not to think negatively.
Once he finished bathing, he got out and dried himself off. Azriel stood in front of the mirror and saw the dark circles under his eyes and the beard that was starting to grow. He thought about shaving it off, but he didn't have the energy.
Azriel got dressed and met everyone downstairs. “Holy shit, he really is coming,” Nesta said with her eyes wide in disbelief.
Cassian smirked."Told you.”
“Let's just go before I change my mind,” Azriel mumbled.
A few minutes later, the group Mor (who came back from her vacation in Winter) was severely confused and vowed to never go on vacation again. Nesta, Emerie, Cassian, Amren, and Azriel made it to Rita’s and got a table.
“I can't believe Rhys and Feyre are missing this.” Mor pouted as she ordered her drink
Amren shrugged. “Feyre wanted to stay in with Nyx, and it's Rhys’ turn tonight to interrogate the queen since the Spymaster hasn't been himself lately.” She shot a glare towards Azriel.
“I didn't come here for this. I can go.” Azriel spat out.
Everyone protested."Amren,” Mor looked pointedly at her.
She rolled her eyes."Okay, I will keep my thoughts to myself tonight.”
Soon, the drinks all came. Azriel quickly drank his and then got up. “Thank you all for the invite, but I should be leaving now.”
“Already?” Cassian asked in surprise."We just got here.”
“Yes, I told you I was going to have one drink and go,” Azriel replied.
“You just chugged that drink down. That doesn't count."
“You didn't say I had to savor the drink. I agreed to one drink. I left the House of Wind. Now I need to go back.” Azriel insisted.
Amren looked extremely agitated."What for? So you can continue staring at the unconscious female? Her state hasn't changed; she might never wake up.” Her eyes narrowed at him."Get over it.”
Azriel lunged towards her. Cassian and Nesta grabbed a hold of him."Azriel!” Cass shouted.
“Get Rhys’ dog away from me!” Amren shouted as she tried to put distance between them.
“You bitch! I have put up with you for centuries, but not when it comes to her! Never for her.” Azriel shouted at her. His shadows were scattered and frantic.
Cassian pulled him so they could be face-to-face. “Look at me. I know Amren can get to you. It's not worth it.”
Some of the anger left him as he sighed deeply. This wasn't like him. Azriel never lost control. He knew he needed to get a hold of himself, but it wasn't going to happen when you were still unconscious.
“I'm going back to the House of Wind.” Azriel finally spoke again. His head was down; he couldn't bear to look at anyone.
This time, there were no protests. He wasn't ready to face anyone yet. “I'll go with you.” Cassian offered.
“No, I want to be alone.”
“Are you sure?”
The Shadowsinger gave a single nod. “Thank you for trying.”
Azriel quietly left Rita’s and went to the House of Wind to find comfort in your presence. When he got to your room, he oddly felt excited to see you again, even if you weren't conscious.
“Little Storm? I'm back." When he opened the door to your room, his eyes immediately landed on your empty bed."Little Storm?!” He screamed in a panic.
The Shadowsinger ran up and down the halls of the House of Wind, calling for you."Bat boy?”
He heard your voice coming from the kitchen, and he swore it was the most beautiful sound he ever heard. Azriel ran into the kitchen to find you standing and eating an apple. A huge grin spread across his face.
You scrunched your face up in confusion and tilted your head to the side. “Why the hell are you looking at me like that? I think that's the biggest smile I have ever seen on your face, and it's disturbing me just a little.”
His eyes welled up a little. Then he felt it. That undeniable pull. As if something tied him to you. In that moment, everything fell into place. It all made sense.
The reason he couldn't get you out of his mind. Why he felt at peace the most when he was with you. Why his shadows crave your presence just as much. Why he didn't want to share you. Why he fell so hard and fast for you. You were his.
He was overwhelmed with joy before he ran to you and pulled you into a tight hug that almost suffocated you. “I missed you so, so, so much,” Azriel whispered as he gave you another tight squeeze.
The way he held you was shocking, but you would be lying if you said you didn't enjoy it. You hugged him back and melted into his touch. “What do you mean you missed me?”
He pulled away slowly. “Do you…not remember what happened?” He asked, searching your face.
The question had sent your mind into a spiral. What had happened? “I…the last I remember was entering the meeting point location with the book. We were successful…weren’t we?”
“Little Storm…” He took a deep breath as he tried to find the right words. Azriel’s eyes were on yours. Now that you were awake, he was able to see the way your eyes shone brighter than ever. “Come with me.”
He took your hand and led you to a nearby bathroom. “What are you doing? Why are you taking me to the bathroom?"
Azriel had you stand in front of the sink’s mirror and place his hands on your shoulders. “Look in the mirror.”
Your eyes landed on your reflection. Pointed ears, perfect skin, healthier hair, and bright eyes stared back at you. The face in front of you contorted into shock and some fear. You let out a scream.
Azriel covered his ears and grimaced. You turned to face him in horror. “What did you do to me?” You shouted.
His eyes widened. “I didn't do anything. You died!”
Your jaw dropped, and silent realization came to you like a tidal wave. Flashes of memory were flooding back. The ambush, the way Azriel and Cassian stormed in, how you fought, and finally the fear you felt when you saw that man coming up behind Azriel.
“I died…” You whispered, your eyes going out of focus as a tear slipped down your cheek. “I chose your life over mine.” Your eyes found his again.
He smiled softly as if to reassure you, but there was pain in his eyes. “You protected me when it should've been me protecting you.” Azriel’s beautiful scarred hands cupped your cheeks. “You should've never done that.”
Your breath hitched at the sudden intimacy. You felt your heart beat faster in your chest. He was impossibly close to you. “I… Didn't want to see you hurt.”
His face shifted into one that you couldn't read. “And you think I wanted to see you hurt instead?"
You felt your mouth go dry as you realized there was a sense of frustration in his tone."I'm not going to apologize for putting you first. I'd do it again.”
Now Azriel’s face contorted into anger."No, you won't. Never again. I'd rather die than let you get hurt like that because of me.”
“You don't get to decide that.” Your voice rose in frustration.
You began to pull away from him, but he gently pulled you back in with a hand wrapped around your waist. “I mourned you. I tortured myself daily because I was the reason you died. I rarely left your side. I can't do this again.” His voice cracked in the end. Tears slowly falling."I can't, Little Storm. I can't live without you.”
A gasp escaped you at his words. This felt all too intimate, but it felt so right."You shouldn't be saying that to me. We’re supposed to be friends.” You spoke softly."You have Elain…”
“Forget about Elain.” He growled."We aren't together anymore.”
“What?” You couldn't mask the shock in your face. “What happened?"
“You did.” He admitted. “She realized the truth.”
Your heartbeat was now ringing in your ears. “What's the truth?"
He pulled you close to his body as he looked down at you. “That I love you.”
Your eyes widened in disbelief. “You do?"
The corners of his lip tugged up into an amused smile. “I am in love with you. I love you so much that it scares me. I thought I had loved others in the past, but when it comes to you…nothing compares.”
“I…I don't know what to say.” You couldn't look at his intense gaze anymore. It was almost too much.
He pulled you into a gentle hug and rested his head on top of yours."It's okay. You don't have to say anything now. I'm sorry for bringing it up.”
“No, don't be sorry.” You replied against his chest.
“I am sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. You just woke up after being unconscious and found out you aren't human anymore. That was selfish of me.”
You pulled away from him to look at his face and studied it. That's when you saw the dark circles under his eyes and the beard he was starting to grow. Your hand went up to cup his cheek. Your thumb glides over the facial hair.
“You haven't been taking care of yourself.” Your eyes narrowed at him.
He sighed. “No, I haven't. I just couldn't bring myself to leave you.”
“Where were you then? When I woke up?"
His jaw clenched a bit. “Tonight was the one night I left. Cassian convinced me to go out for a drink. I wish I didn't.” He admitted already feeling guilty.
You gave him a reassuring smile. “I'm glad you went.”
Azriel nodded."I went because I thought of you. About how upset you'd be if I stayed.”
That made you laugh. He smiled immediately after hearing it."I missed hearing your laugh.”
Your cheeks began to heat up. “Nothing special about it.” You mumbled.
He shook his head. “It’s yours, and I love it. It’s my favorite sound.” You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “I mean it. I love your laugh.”
“Get your hearing checked.” You shot back.
“My ears work perfectly fine.” He flashed a too-wide smile at you. “You have no idea how happy I am that you’re awake.”
“How long have I been out?"
“Ten painfully long days.”
Your jaw dropped."Ten days?!”
He nodded slowly. “Yes, ten days. I was starting to get worried you wouldn’t wake up.”
Ten whole days you were unconscious while the world happened around you. That was ten days that Azriel stayed by your side. One thing you couldn’t deny was that the male was devoted to you. “Thank you for staying with me for so long.”
Azriel pressed a kiss on your forehead. “For you? I would have stayed an entire lifetime.”
At his words, you felt your chest crack open. You could physically feel a pull towards him. You felt somehow intertwined with him, making you gasp.
He smirked. “You feel it now?"
“What is that?"
“Our mating bond.”
You looked at him in confusion. “Mating bond?"
He nodded, took your hand, led you out of the bathroom, and brought you back to the kitchen. Azriel lifted you and sat you on the counter. His arms caged you in as he stared up at you.
“You ever wondered why we are so drawn to each other even before our bond snapped in place?”He asked.
You opened your mouth and closed it. “I always thought we just got along really well and had a mutual understanding.” You finally spoke.
Azriel shook his head and smiled. “No, my Little Storm. I mean, yes, we do, but it has more to do with our mating bond.” You remained silent, hoping for more information. “Mating bonds are between two Fae. The cauldron pairs them together. It's rare, and not all fae have one, and sometimes they aren't compatible, but they are equals."
“How are we equals? I'm just…well I was human.”
He smiled, caressing your cheek. “You were made by the tome; you might have been granted gifts that make you my equal.”
“The tome?” You asked in confusion.
“That's how you became Fae. The tome chose you and imbued its magic in you.” He explained.
Your jaw dropped. “The book is…a part of me?"
“Yes, it is.”
“Holy shit. “
He simply nodded."We were all just as surprised as you. No one has been made like that before.”
You sat back as you processed the fact that you somehow had a book become part of you. “What do you think I'm capable of?"
Azriel’s thumb circled on top of your thigh mindlessly."I don't know Little Storm, but I will be with you every step of the way while you figure it out.”
“Thank you.” You smiled softly at him. “Tell me more about mates.”
He smiled back at you sweetly, making your stomach do a backflip. “It's something I've always wanted. Especially now that my brothers have their own mates and are happy. It's said that the cauldron picks the mated pairs mostly based on whether they'd produce the best offspring.”
Your eyes widened immediately at the mention of children.
Azriel let out a laugh at your reaction. “Don't worry. I don't expect us to have children immediately, and if you don't want them, I'm okay with that too.” His smile slowly went away. “I don't think you’ll be able to bear my children safely anyway.”
You felt your face scrunch in confusion. “Why not?”
His wings dropped as he looked down in sadness. “The babe would most likely have wings like me. You wouldn't be able to push them out.”
“Oh… This is a lot to process.” You admitted.
He gave you a single nod.
You placed your hand on his shoulder."That doesn't mean that having a mating bond with you bothers me. I wouldn't want it with any other male.” You confessed.
Azriel grinned widely at you. He felt his heart swell up with love and pride. “Good, because you are the only female I want."
Despite being transformed into a High Fae, everything made sense. At least when it came to him. You smiled and leaned down slightly to press a kiss on his lips.
He looked surprised, but then he smiled again and gently grabbed behind your neck. Azriel pulled you close to him and kissed you. This time, neither one of you pulled away as you tasted each other.
Both of you melted into the kiss. Your lips fit together like perfect puzzle pieces. You both finally pulled away after a few minutes and pressed your foreheads together as you caught your breath.
“I don't think you realize how long I've wanted to do that,” Azriel whispered. His shadows wrapped around your waist.
You laughed softly. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it, but you were with Elain.”
“I've never loved another female as much as I have loved you.” He breathed out far too easily.
That ease and confidence in how he felt for you is what made you admire him. How could you not? Life for you before was just like lightning in a storm—bright flashes of light, so intense, with no direction to go. With Azriel, he was the thunder that followed after the strike of lightning. The sound that tears through the sky, accompanying the powerful loneliness. It fills the silence and creates that perfect moment that grounds the storm into something real.
You knew then that you loved him, too.
Your eyes were on his for a moment. You heard the thunder calling you before you pressed another kiss to his lips."You’re the only male I have ever loved.”
He pulled away quickly with a smile on his face as he looked at you. “You love me?"
A smile spread over your lips as you nodded. “I love you.”
Azriel pulled you off the counter and held you close in a tight embrace. “I'm never letting you go. You’re mine now.”
You let out a laugh."You’re going to have to let me go at some point, Bat Boy. You can't keep holding me forever.”
He put you down, then kissed you again."You know what I mean. You’re stuck with me.”
“You mean it?”
“I'm yours.” Azriel kissed the top of your head. “There's a tradition, you know, that when a female accepts a mating bond, she offers her male food.”
You raised an eyebrow at him, then looked around. Then you turned back to him. “I wish I had the ingredients for the pomegranate tea so I can make you that and give you cookies.”
The House suddenly provided you with both a mug of tea and a plate of cookies on the counter. “Thank you, House.” You grabbed a cookie and handed it to him. “Consider this, me accepting our bond.”
Plot Summary: Azriel has to try to come to terms with your death.
Warnings: Mentions of Death
Word Count: 1,732
Azriel was still leaning over you, not wanting to leave you. Amren had finally shown up. “What's taking so long? I’m not supposed to leave the-” She paused, seeing the shadowy cocoon over your body. “Oh gods.” She whispered.
Cassian placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Az-”
Queen Marzanna was laughing in the corner. She was struggling against the restraints Cassian placed on her. “Looks like your little lover died.”
Azriel slowly lifted his head. Anger was radiating off of him. “Az don't. We need to interrogate her.” Cass tried to reason with him.
“Did I hit a nerve?" She cooed with a smirk.
“Cassian, shut her up before Azriel kills her,” Amren ordered.
He nodded and walked over, grabbing a piece of cloth from her tattered dress and tying it around her mouth.
Amren's gaze landed on the cocoon of shadows surrounding you. “What are they doing?" She asked quietly.
Azriel stared at the shadows. “I'm not sure… I think they’re saying goodbye.”
There was a faint glow coming from your satchel. Amren knelt and grabbed it, pulling out the tome. The gem was glowing bright."Has this happened before?”
Both males turned to see the book glowing."No…only the pages have glowed. Not the gem.”
Cassian cocked his head to the side."It's the same color as your siphons.”Azriel's eyes widened slightly at the realization.
The gem flared brighter, and the book flew out of Amren's hands and landed beside you. The wound in your stomach began to glow underneath the shadows.
The three watched in awe. Then they heard it. The faint sound of your heart beating again. The shadows finally retreated towards Azriel, revealing your body transformed. Your ears were pointed, and your wound was healed. The tome had completely disappeared.
Marzanna fought angrily against her restraints. Azriel's scarred hand reached out to caress your cheek. “Is she…?” His voice was shaky. “This seems too good to be true.”
“The book somehow imbued its magic into her. She's High Fae now.” Amren whispered.
“It's gone.” Cassian pointed out.
Amren shook her head. “I think it became a part of her. It chose her.”
Azriel was clinging to hope as he wiped away his tears. “Why isn't she waking up?"
“We’ll take her to Madja. We need to go. This queen might have some more people coming here.” Cassian replied.
He nodded and picked you up carefully and held you close. “I'm going to fly her to Velaris. You two handle that bitch and the ship.”
Amren placed her hands on her hips. “Oh, so we get stuck cleaning your mess? Terrific.”
Azriel ignored her as he walked out with you in his arms. Once out of the building, he took flight and went straight to Velaris to see Madja. When he landed, he knocked on her door.
The older Fae female opened the door and gasped, seeing your limp body in his arms. “Please help her.”
She opened the door wider for him to let him in. He brought you in and rested you on a table. Madja stepped closer to you and examined your body and your shallow breaths. “What happened to her?" She looked up at Azriel, who was hovering.
“She was stabbed, pushing me out of the way. The blow was for me.” He said quietly, remembering the force you used to push him away from harm. “She was human and died.”
Her eyes landed back on you. “She was made?"
Azriel’s eyes stayed on your face as he held one of your hands. “I don't know. She wasn't cauldron made. The magic from an ancient tome got imbued into her.”
Madja’s eyebrows furrowed. “I've never heard of anything like this. Give me some time with her."
He finally looked up at her. “I don't want to leave her.”
“You don't have to leave. Just take a seat.” She replied.
Azriel sighed but nodded as he walked away to sit down, resting his head in his palms. His shadows were restless as they tried to reach over for you. After some time, Madja walked over to him. He immediately stood up.
Madja was frowning, which worried him. “What is it?”
“I don't know, that's the issue. I examined her thoroughly, but there doesn't seem to be anything physically wrong with her.” She replied. “I think the transformation took a toll on her mental state.”
Hearing this made Azriel's mind start to spin. “Will she ever wake up?"
She nodded. “I believe she will make a full recovery, but there's no telling when she will wake up.”
“I'm going to take her back to the House of Wind.” He muttered and then walked over to pick you up again. “Thank you.”
Azriel left Madja’s and flew you to the House of Wind. When he entered, he went straight to your room and rested on your bed.
Not long after, Nesta entered the room. “Azriel, you all are back? Where’s-” She gasped when her eyes landed on you. “No, no, no.” She ran to you. “What happened?"
“She was stabbed trying to protect me.”He said flatly. Azriel was angry that you had to step in to save him and angrier at himself for letting this happen to you.
Nesta took note of your ears. “She's not…human.”
He shook his head. “No, she's not.”
“I'm getting Feyre and Rhys. They're going to want to see this.” She walked out of the room, leaving him alone with you.
Azriel knelt beside you. “My beautiful Little Storm…” His eyes began to tear up again."I am so sorry. I failed you. I let you get hurt, and now you’ll never be the same again.”
His shadows wrapped around your arm as he held your hand again. He stayed beside you for what felt like hours when Rhys and Feyre entered the room. Nesta was holding Nyx outside of the room.
“Azriel?” Feyre’s voice broke through the silence.
He stilled, but his eyes didn't stray from your unconscious form. “It's all my fault.” He whispered.
Their hearts broke for him. “No, it's not,” Feyre assured him.
“She's like this because of me. I did this to her.” Azriel mumbled bitterly. He knew no matter what his family told him, that's what he was always going to feel. He finally looked away from you and looked behind him to see them give sorrowful looks.
“Do you want us to give you space?” Rhys asked.
Azriel nodded and turned his attention back to you. They all left completely at a loss on how to help him.
When nightfall came, Amren and Cassian practically took down the entrance of the House of Wind as they entered. Cassian threw Marzanna on the floor. She groaned in pain as she hit the ground.
Rhys, Feyre, and Nesta ran over when they heard the noises.
“Holy shit. You got one of the queens?" Nesta asked with her eyes.
Cassian looked up at his mate."Wouldn't have been able to without Shadowbait’s help.”
“What happened?” Feyre asked. “Azriel looks like a shell of himself. I've never seen him like that.”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Things went really wrong, really quickly.”
Elain entered the room now."Oh, good, you two are back. Feyre told me to give Azriel space and that something happened to his friend. What's going on?”
“We docked at the port, and she left to meet up with Lady Llyn to trade. Azriel told her to get in trade and get out.” Cassian began to explain."Two of his shadows went with her, but one of them came back and warned him that something was wrong. When we got there, they had her captive after ambushing her.”
“I stayed behind to keep watch of the ship.” Amren cut in.
Cassian nodded."When the asshole restraining her got distracted, Shadowbait got out of his hold. We were taking them all down, but Shadowbait saw one of them about to stab Az, so she pushed him out of the way.” He continued."She saved him, but got fatally stabbed in the process.”
The group listened to the story silently.
“That's when I got there. They were taking too long for my liking, so I left the ship to check on them.” Amren cut in again."His shadows were wrapped around her, and then the book started glowing and flew over to her and disappeared. When the shadows let her go, she was healed, breathing, and High Fae.”
Finally, after the retelling was over, everyone remained silent as they processed the information.
Elain shifted uncomfortably. It was then that she realized just how torn up her partner was over another female. “I should go talk to him.”
Everyone turned to her. “Elain, no-” Feyre began.
She shook her head. “I need to.” Before she could hear any other protests, she made her way to your room and softly knocked on the door.
“Go away," Azriel called from the other side, sounding utterly defeated.
“Az, it's Elain.”
He was quiet for a moment."Come in,”
She opened the door slowly and walked in."I heard what happened.”
Azriel didn't say anything as he kept his eyes on you, as if removing them from you would make things worse.
“I'm really sorry this happened." She spoke up again, hoping he'd say something. “Is she supposed to still be unconscious?"
He sighed. “Madja said there's no way of knowing when she’ll wake up. She's physically fine, but the transformation has messed with her mind.” His voice was so quiet she barely heard him.
Elain has never seen him look so broken, and she finally understood. “You love her.” She whispered. It wasn't a question. It was obvious. Only love could cause someone this much pain when it's taken away.
“Yes,” There was no point in hiding it now. “I'm sorry.”
She took a deep breath. “It's okay.” Elain assured him."We were never meant to be together. If I'm being honest, I want to try things with Lucien.”
Azriel half listened as he continued to watch the rise and fall of your chest.
“During the last dinner, the bond snapped in place for me.” She went on. “I just want you to know that I won't be in the way. She’ll wake up. When she does, I hope you two can be happy.”
Warnings: Fighting, Mentions of Blood, Character death (please don't hate me, y'all. Trust the process.)
Plot Summary: It's time for you to trade with Lady Llyn.
Word Count: 1,928
After a week of training and you actively avoiding Azriel after your fight, you finally set sail. Rhys and Amren had arranged everything, and two weeks had passed since then.
You couldn't go alone, though, so Amren, Cassian, and, to your dismay, Azriel were traveling in the storage of your ship. He kept trying to talk to you, but you weren't having any of it. Cassian ended up telling him to give you time, and you'd come around when you were ready.
Azriel had been brooding since. Amren talked to you here and there, but she was irritated with Azriel and referred to him as insufferable and like a petulant child. You didn't say anything, but you didn't like how she talked about him because, despite everything, he still felt like yours to defend.
During this trip, Cassian kept training you, but Azriel was glaring as he watched the whole time. Not at you, but at Cassian. It was always him.
You were getting better, though. A lot better. Cass said you were a natural and a fast learner. You missed having Azriel train you, even though Cassian taught you the most.
After carrying around trading the random stuff Rhys got for you from Velaris, you finally got the attention of someone who said Lady Llyn wanted to trade with you.
You were given a small map and coordinates and were now docking. Once the ship was secure, you walked into the storage room where the three Fae were hiding. Azriel looked visibly nervous and agitated. “I'll be fine, Bat Boy. Relax.”
His eyes widened, hearing you talk to him and use the nickname you gave him. Under any other circumstance, he would've been thrilled that you were talking to him again; however, knowing you'd be going into possible danger was outweighing the good.
“You better be.” He whispered.
You grabbed your satchel, which had the ancient book. “You worry too much for your own good.”
Azriel looked down and nodded. “Maybe, but someone has to."
“I, for one, am proud of you, Shadowbait. I know you’ll kick someone's ass if you need to.” Cassian cut in with his arms crossed.
You rolled your eyes playfully. “I never approved of that nickname.”
Azriel was glaring at his brother, but he was grinning like an idiot. “Too bad, because I think it's great and I'm going to keep using it.”
“I can't believe I'm saying this, but I don't hate the nickname. Shadowbait suits you. After all, our designated shadowsinger doesn't like to stray far from you." Amren added.
You groaned. “Oh come on, I expected better from you, Amren."
She merely smiled and held her hands up.
“You two aren't funny,” Azriel said with a straight face.
“Alright, that's enough. I need to get going. Try not to kill each other while I'm doing this.” You said, turning to exit the room.
You felt a hand around your wrist, making you stop. The feeling eased your nerves. You didn't have to turn around to know it was Azriel. When you turned to face him, he held up a small dagger. “I want you to take this. I had it made for you."
Your eyes went down to the dagger. It appeared so sharp that you could've sworn it would cut you just from looking at it. The handle was wrapped in leather and had a blue gem on the end resembling his siphons.
You took the dagger in your hands and examined it. “It's beautiful.” Your eyes went to his, and you smiled softly at him. “Thank you."
He smiled back at you. “Hide it well. I'll have Bitty and Dim go with you. Remember, you’re only there to get their hiding spot. Do the trade and leave immediately."
You nodded. “Got it." You almost leaned forward to kiss him goodbye. The idea felt so natural, but you stopped yourself. “I'll be back." Then you left the room, tucking the blade in the back of your pants underneath your shirt.
Once off the small ship, you took out the map and made your way to the drop-off. From the corner of your eye, you saw the shadows trailing nearby. You walked up to a door in between two run-down buildings and knocked on the door.
A slit of the door slid open, revealing two eyes. “What do you want?” The man behind the door asked.
You cleared your throat. “I'm here to trade with Lady Llyn. I have something she might want to add to her collection.”
He huffed and shut the slit, then opened the door."Get in.” The man was tall and plump. He had a beard and wore baggy clothes.
You nodded, then walked in. The man peeked outside, looking left and right before shutting the door."What is it that you have?”
“An ancient tome. It has special properties.” You replied.
He squinted at you. “What kind of magical properties?”
“I think I’d rather show Lady Llyn. Where is she?"
The man crossed his arms. “Show me the damned thing, and I'll take you to her.”
You shakily pulled out the tome from your satchel, trying your best to control your nerves. “Here it is. It's extremely delicate, so it's best if I show it to her.”
“Give it to me.”
“No. Take me to her."
The man looked frustrated and tried to lunge towards the book, but you quickly pulled it out of his reach, then, with your dominant hand, you pulled out the new dagger smoothly. The dagger was pointed towards his neck. “Let's try this again. Take me to Lady Llyn."
Bitty immediately left the room and traveled back to the ship to warn Azriel that something might happen.
“Alright, let's not be hasty.” He tried to grab the dagger, but you side-stepped him, then went behind him and kicked him down.
You brought the dagger back to his neck."My patience is wearing thin. I just want to trade this off. Where is Lady Llyn?”
The man started laughing.
“What's so funny?”
Suddenly, you were surrounded by seven men in hoods. “Drop the weapon.”
You looked around and dropped the dagger, knowing you couldn't defeat that many opponents at once. The man picked it up. “Not really a fair fight. Were you that worried about being defeated by a female?”
One of the men ripped the satchel off of you, and another one grabbed your arms and held them behind your back. “Shut up and walk.”
They led you into a passageway behind a bookcase that they all came from. It was poorly lit, and you could hardly see a thing. “Where are you taking me?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
You huffed in annoyance, knowing that Azriel would never let you hear the end of this. Finally, at the end of the hallway was a large room and a pile of objects in the corner. They all ranged from jewelry, books, goblets, and other glittering things.
In the center was a large chair where a middle-aged woman dressed in black sat. She was frowning at you. “So you’re the daughter of the most infamous merchant couple?”
“Who's asking?"
“Queen Marzanna," she spat bitterly.
Your eyes looked her up and down. “In that case, go fuck yourself."
The man holding your arms back squeezed your wrists tightly. “Show some respect!"
You winced in pain.
“Did you really think my people wouldn't notice when a villager mysteriously disappears? Especially one whose parents were infamous in underground dealings?” She asked rhetorically."Then you stupidly appeared out of nowhere with goods to trade.”
The queen smirked."It was obvious to me you were working with Fae. I figured if I took you, I could lure whatever Fae you know here.”
Now it was your turn to laugh. “You really thought eight human males would be a match?”
“They are if they know the weaknesses of the Fae.”She replied. “You see, their weapons are laced with ash. They are weak to ash, not iron.”
Your smile faded. Then you heard the door down the hallway burst open.
“Looks like we have company.” Marzanna smiled wickedly.
Dim rejoined the other shadows, and whatever lighting was in the room darkened. The man holding you turned around and still held on to you. He held a cheaply made dagger to your neck.
Azriel stood furious and ready to murder everyone in the room. “Get your fucking hands off of her.”
“Or what?"
Cassian ran in now.”Only eight of you and two of us? You must be begging to die today.”
One of the shadows crashed into the collection in the corner. The man holding you looked at the pile. You took the opportunity that the man was distracted and stomped on his foot, making him let go of your wrists. You brought them back forward and put force on his arm that was holding the dagger. It flung out of his hand and slid across the ground.
You spun around and kicked the man in the groin, causing him to keel over. “You bitch!” He shouted in pain.
“I did the world a favor. You shouldn't reproduce.” You breathed out. When you turned around, you saw Azriel and Cassian fighting the other men.
One man was running up to attack you. You recognized him as the one who took your dagger. You quickly ducked and grabbed the other dagger that fell. The guy turned around to grab you again, but was met with a dagger in his side. You glared at him, twisting the blade and pushing it deeper.
He dropped to the ground. You plucked the dagger that Azriel gifted you from his pocket. Azriel was now beside you while Cassian was on the other side of the room. “Little Storm, you need to get out of here!”
You stood straight and were about to protest when you saw one of the men about to stab Azriel. There was no time to warn him. Without a second thought, you forcefully pushed him out of the way and suddenly felt a sharp pain in your stomach. You looked down to see a blade sticking out of you.
There was a faint ringing in your ears as your vision began to fade. You pulled the blade out of you and saw it covered in your blood. Suddenly, you felt your body hit the floor.
Everything sounded distant. You heard Azriel scream out your name. Your eyes kept opening and closing.
You didn't know how much time had passed, but finally you saw Azriel kneeling beside you. “No, no, no. Stay with me!” His cheeks were glistening as if he had been crying. “Why would you do that?"
Your hand reached up to him. The blood from your hands is getting on his face."Couldn't let you get…” You took a deep breath."Killed. The blade had…ash.” The words came out slowly as you struggled to speak.
“Azriel, she's not going to make it, you need to-”
“No! She can't die. I can’t lose her like this. Not like this.” He tried putting pressure on your wound, hoping it would stop the bleeding.
You felt tears rolling down your cheeks."It's okay, Bat Boy. It's…” You couldn't get the words out.
He kept calling out your name as he sobbed over you."Please, don't leave me.”
His shadows wrapped you up almost like in a cocoon as you felt yourself fading. In the corner of your eye, you saw a faint blue shine before your vision went black.
(Author's Note: Sorry for the short part; this one is more of a filler before the next part.)
Plot Summary: Amren finally comes back and forms a plan.
Word Count: 1,398
The following day, Azriel went back to training you, but he was oddly quiet. The silence was starting to bother you. “Are you okay?” You asked during a sit-up.
His eyes went to yours as he held your feet down. “Why do you ask?”
You lie your back down. “I don’t know, you have barely spoken two words to me since we started.” You tried to control your breathing as you sat back up.
“There’s nothing wrong, just want to focus.” His tone was too cold for your liking.
You scoffed laying flat again. “Right, I would hate for you to lose focus.”
Azriel looked down at your face as you lay practically beneath him. His mind betrayed him as his thoughts drifted into dangerous territory.
He thought about how good you looked under him. How much better you’d look without your training leathers. How soft you'd be. How you’d look if he slowly slid his hand… No, he shouldn’t be thinking of his friend like that. Not when you trusted him to care and protect you.
Azriel gripped your ankles gently and cleared his throat to ground himself. “If I’m not focused, then I might not catch if you mess up on something, and you could get hurt.”
You rolled your eyes as you sat up. “I get it, I’m human, and I’m weak. You don’t have to constantly remind me.”
“You’re not weak.”
“Compared to all of you, I am.” You shot back, staying up in the seated position.
He took a deep breath. “You’re simply at a disadvantage.”
A single laugh escaped you. “A disadvantage? Everyone here is stronger than me and has more stamina. I think calling this a disadvantage is a gross understatement.”
Azriel hadn’t realized it, but he was getting closer to your face. “That’s why we’re doing this. So that despite your disadvantage, you will be able to hold your own.”
“Training will only get me so far. I won’t be able to go up against someone stronger than me.”
“And I get told I’m too negative.”
“You are too negative. You’re just rubbing off on me.”
Azriel let out a laugh, and then you started laughing too. His eyes went down to your lips for the briefest second, but it was a second too long. He was imagining what they would taste like. Azriel wanted nothing more than to let go of his restraints. He felt himself leaning in, and he almost kissed, but the door to the training room opened.
Everyone stopped to look at the door. It was Rhysand and Amren walking in, headed directly towards Azriel and you. Azriel stood and helped you up.
The female surprised you with her height. You weren't exactly sure what you were expecting when you thought about Rhys’ second, but it wasn't anyone this short.
“Amren," Rhys started, then introduced you.
You smiled politely."Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you.”
Her eyes went up and down your body."It's not usually a pleasure to meet me, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
“Let's go to my study so Amren can see the book,” Rhys said.
The four of you left the training room. Some of the females watched with curiosity. Once in the study, the light stayed off.
“Amren. Have a seat. They have to stand next to each other by the book for the magic to work.” Rhys said, cocking his head towards you and Azriel.
She raised an eyebrow but sat down at the desk. Rhys laid the book down and opened it. Without thinking, Azriel took your hand in his and led you in front of the desk to activate the book.
As soon as you both were close enough, the pages glowed immediately. The pages lit up Amren’s face withtheirs glow. “I've never seen anything quite like this. This was in your home?" She looked up at you.
You nodded once. “Yes, under a floorboard. I think my parents must’ve come across it on one of their trades. I still don't know how it works exactly or why it only works for Azriel and me.”
She looked back down at the book. “I'm impressed with the condition of it.”
“From what Azriel and I could see, the ledgers that my parents wrote down show that those items were traded by Briallyn. There's a possibility that another one of the queens is using the same trading system under that alias.” You pointed to the ledgers on the desk.
Amren nodded in approval."Do you know where these trades were happening?”
You shook your head."No, I don't, but my parents frequented the same stops and would alternate between them.”
She hummed in thought.”The other merchants knew your parents well?”
“Yes, I believe so.”
“Did they know that your parents had a daughter?” She asked.
You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion."Yes, some of their closer friends knew.”
Her lips curved up a bit with a smile."I say we come up with something for you to trade with and attract the attention of the queens.”
“No. Absolutely not. We are not using her.” Azriel quickly protested.
Amren shot a glare at him."I don't remember asking for your input on this.”
Azriel glared back at her, his shadows pooled at his feet as his wings flared."I'm giving it anyway. I refuse to use her. She can get hurt if things go wrong.”
“That's why we will go with her. Can the Spymaster not hide in the shadows?” She crossed her arms.
The muscle in his jaw ticked in frustration."That's besides the point. She shouldn't-”
“I'll do it.” You spoke up.
Azriel looked at you quickly."Little Storm-”
“It'll be fine, Bat Boy.” You smiled softly in an attempt to reassure him.
He breathed out of his nose in frustration. “I don't like this.”
“Since when were you her keeper?" Amren asked with a raised eyebrow.
He turned to her with a scowl. “Amren, I swear to-”
“Azriel.” You raised your voice a little at him. He stopped and dropped his shoulders. “You’ll have my back and train me. We can do this.”
Azriel’s eyes went to Rhys in a silent plea. Rhys looked away. His eyes landed on the tome. “It's the only plan that could work, Azriel.”
He looked back at you, and you opened your mouth to say something. To reassure him, but he quickly exited the room. “Azriel!" You called after him. You turned to look at Rhys and Amren.“Excuse me.”
You ran out of the study to catch up with him."Azriel!”
“Not now, Little Storm.” He mumbled as he continued to walk away.
You managed to catch up and grab one of his wrists. “Bat Boy, please. Talk to me.”
He turned around quickly. Azriel had anger and frustration in his eyes. “What the hell for? You’re gonna do whatever you want anyway.”
You blinked back the shock. “That's not fair. I just want to help.”
“You already helped enough.” He snapped. “This is dangerous. I won't be able to forgive myself if something happens to you. You’re not like us, you’re-”
“Weak?"
“Yes!" It slipped out before he could stop it, and as soon as realization hit, his eyes widened in horror. “Little Storm that's not-”
You shook your head. “No, it's fine. I'm glad to see you can finally admit what you’ve been thinking.” You crossed your arms.
Azriel's wings flexed a bit as he shook his head. “You don't know what I’ve been thinking.”
“No, I don't because you’ve been acting strange with me.” You started pacing. “I don't know what the hell I was thinking, letting a stranger take me to a land I have never been to before. I don't even know you.”
The words hit his chest hard. “You do know me.”
You stopped and looked him in the eyes. “No, I don't.”
His shadows reached out for you. “Yes, you do. I'm still the male who stopped to help you during the storm.” He said quietly.
“No. You’ve turned into a male who treats me like a glass object.” You deadpanned.
“Little Storm…”
You shook your head. “Save it. I'm doing this thing with or without your approval, and I'm going to have Cassian train me with the Valkyries.”
Before Azriel could even protest, you stormed off, living up to your nickname.
Plot Summary: Your first morning in Velaris starts off in a way you weren't expecting.
Word Count: 2,002
In the morning, you were woken up by a knock at the door. When you opened it, you saw a woman with a braided crown holding folded clothes and a pair of boots. “Um… hi?"
“I’m Nesta. Azriel wanted me to give you these to change into so you could train with us.” She then thrust the clothes into your hands.
You blinked in surprise. “I'm sorry, train?"
“Yes, train. You should learn how to defend yourself.”
You stood there holding the clothes, still feeling confused. “Am I supposed to fight someone?”
“No, but you never know if you might be threatened.” She looked like she was starting to get annoyed with how perplexed you were. “Just get dressed and meet me in the kitchen for food.”
Nesta practically stomped away, leaving you speechless. “But I don't know where the kitchen is." You said more so to yourself.
You sighed, shutting the door and went to get dressed. You were given black breathable pants and a black sleeveless leather vest. You hadn't expected the clothes to fit you, but you were pleasantly surprised. Finally, you slid on your boots and fixed your hair up in a bun.
Once you were done, you exited your bedroom and looked around the house for anything remotely resembling a kitchen. After a good ten minutes of wandering around, you finally found it.
“Took you long enough. We’re gonna be late." Nesta crossed her arms.
“Sorry, I didn't know where the kitchen was.” You mumbled.
She hummed in response. “Fine. Just try to eat something. We won't be stopping until lunch.”
Suddenly, a plate of eggs and bacon appeared on the counter beside you. Your eyes widened.
“Looks like the house thought you might want that.” Nesta nodded towards the plate.
Your stomach growled, and you sat down to eat. The house conjured a glass of orange juice next. “Thank you, house.”
Nesta grabbed an apple and started eating it while she waited for you.
“Azriel mentioned you read romance books, too. Is that true?" You were hoping to break the ice and make conversation with her.
She glanced at you and smiled."Yeah, what book are you reading?”
“An Offer from a Prince.” You replied.
Her eyes widened. “You’re reading the Waterson series too?" She asked, enthusiastically,
You nodded, then ate a forkful of eggs and sipped your juice."I can't wait to read Romancing Mr. Waterson.”
“It's good, but When She Was Wicked was my favorite.” She smirked.
You raised an eyebrow."I heard that one was the smuttiest.”
Her grin widened."That's why it's my favorite.”
A few minutes later, you managed to finish your breakfast, and the plate disappeared. “Come on, let's go.”
You followed Nesta to a room that was clearly meant for training. You looked around and saw several females. They all turned to look at you. Some gasped, noticing that you had rounded ears, no wings, and were human. Your cheeks heated under their gaze. You felt uncomfortable with their stares.
“Ladies, we have a new trainee,” Nesta spoke up and introduced you.
Your heart was beating fast from the nerves, but you smiled shyly and waved. “Hello."
They all greeted you. Nesta turned to you. “These are the Valkyries.”
“Will I become a Valkyrie?" You asked, looking at her.
“I don't think you’ll be here long enough to learn everything; however, we will make sure you learn as much as possible.”
Soon, Azriel walked in with a male with longer hair that was tied up. You assumed this was his other brother. Azriel's eyes landed on you, and he stilled. Your breath caught as he took in your form in the training gear.
Cassian seemed to notice the way his brother froze, and his eyes followed where Azriel's went. When Cass saw you, he immediately smiled.
“So that's the human female Rhys told me about?” Cass glanced back at Azriel.
He turned back to his brother."Leave her alone.”
Cass smirked at him."Now, how could I possibly train her then?”
Azriel's fists were clenched to his side."I’ll train her.”
“Afraid of me training her?” His brother raised an eyebrow.
“Afraid you’ll fuck up.” Azriel spat defensively. ”She's more fragile, and you’re a brute. I'll be damned if you hurt her.”
Cassian opened his mouth to say something.
“Are you two ladies done bickering so you can train us?” Nesta called out to them, causing the other females to start giggling.
Cassian turned to his mate. “Just for that, you gotta do 50 push-ups.”
She groaned. “Oh, come on.”
“Did you want more?”
Nesta rolled her eyes and dropped down to start her push-ups."Alright, I'm going to train everyone today. Azriel is going to take our newest trainee and train her one-on-one.”
Your eyes landed on Azriel, and you felt your heart nearly jump out of your chest."Come here, Little Storm.”
The females all watched as you sheepishly walked over to Azriel. Your head was ducked down in a way to avoid looking at the others.
“Did you have to call me that in front of everyone?” You whispered, feeling your cheeks heat up.
Cass smiled at you. “Nice to meet you. I'm Cassian, and you are?"
You couldn't look him in the eyes as you introduced yourself.
“It's okay, I don't bite.” His eyes went to his brother. “Azriel would kill me before that happened." He teased.
Azriel glared at him before grabbing your arm and gently pulling you aside in the training room. “Ignore Cassian. Focus on us.”
“Us?"
He blinked, realizing the possible implication. “I mean me training you. You're behind. So I'll try my best to speed you up." He looked down at you. “I'm going to guide you through some warm-ups first.”
Azriel pulled up a seat. “You need to work on your balance. First, we’ll have you working on strengthening your feet. Sit down and take off your boots.”
You scrunched your face in confusion, but sat down and removed your boots.
“Good, starting with your feet flat, keep your toes flat, then raise your heels.” He instructed.
You followed and raised your heels off the ground, keeping just the balls of your feet and toes down.
He nodded. “Hold for 5 seconds, then rest them.”
For the next half hour, he had you alternate different warm-ups for your feet. Afterwards, you put your boots back on and stood.
Azriel later spent another 30 minutes helping you warm up and stretch your legs.
“This is rather tedious.” You mumbled.
He shot you a glance. “You haven't had any former experience in training, and you’re human. I can't very well start you off on something difficult. If you don't have the proper balance, an enemy can take you down and kill you.”
Your shoulders dropped hearing that."Do you really expect someone to come after me?”
Azriel sighed."I don't know, but if training you, even if it's a little bit, is the difference between you living or dying, then I'm training you.”
You were quiet, unsure of how to respond to him.
His shadows reached out and wrapped themselves around you in a comforting hold. “I care about you a lot. I don't want anything to happen to my friends. Especially you."
Especially you.
The words repeated in your head. It made you wonder if he was openly admitting he prioritizes you the most, but you pushed the thought down. He was with Elain. She was beautiful, kind, and Fae. You were just you. There was nothing special about you.
Your eyes landed on his, and you nodded.”I know, I'm sorry.” The words barely came out as your throat tightened.
“Don't be. I've been on edge now that I have you here. I'm worried something will happen to you and I won't be able to protect you.” He admitted.
“I thought it was safe here.”
“It is, but I still worry.” He said, looking down.
You grabbed hold of his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. “Hey, it's okay. Nothing is going to happen to me.”
He smiled softly back at you. “Let's work on your breathing.”
After some time, you were all dismissed. You went inside to get some lunch. Azriel had stayed behind because Cassian wanted to talk to him.
“So what’s going on between you and your Little Storm?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Azriel was cleaning up some equipment and scowled at Cassian. “Nothing is going on between us, and don’t call her that.”
Cass squinted at him suspiciously. “Right…nothing is going on with the two of you. So how come I can’t call her Little Storm?”
He sighed and rubbed his temple. “Just don’t call her that. I’m not explaining myself.”
The annoyance in Azriel’s voice amused Cassian. “I think I might just keep calling her that until you tell me.”
That earned him the dirtiest look Azriel has ever given him. “Do it, see what happens.”
His threat only made him laugh. “Az, it’s just a nickname.”
“It’s the one I gave her after we met. I don’t want anyone using it.”
Cassian crossed his arms. “You’re oddly very possessive over her, you know that?”
Azriel stilled completely. His actions stopped as he looked at Cassian. “No, I’m not. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He grinned. “I don’t? You nearly lost your shit when Nesta said something about her parents during our last family dinner, you refused to let me train her, and now I can’t use a nickname because only you want to use it?”
“Stop,”
“I’m just stating the facts, brother. Rhys took me aside and talked to me about the two of you after you exploded during dinner. It seems pretty obvious what’s going on.” Cass went on.
“Stop,” Azriel repeated, clenching his jaw.
Cassian shook his head. “You shouldn’t avoid this, I know it might be scary because she’s human and you’re still involved with Elain, but you sho-”
“I said stop!” His wings flared out in anger. “I don’t know what you think is happening between her and me, but you’re wrong.” He growled out.
His brother held his hands up in defense. “Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just worried about you.”
“Well, don’t. I don’t need you to.”Azriel stormed out of the training room to get away from Cassian before he punched him.
Meanwhile, as you sat down to eat your sandwich for lunch, Nesta sat beside you. “I have never seen Azriel be that gentle when training someone.”
You shrugged as you bit your sandwich. “It’s probably because I’m human.” You said ‘human’ in a mocking tone.
“Hm, maybe.” She said thoughtfully. “You know I wanted to hate you.”
Your eyes widened as you snapped your head over to look at her. “What? Why? What did I do?”
Nesta shrugged, taking a bite of her food. “Nothing personal, but I didn’t like how Azriel brushed Elain to the side yesterday after he arrived with you. She told me about it and rubbed me the wrong way.”
You scoffed. “Well, it’s not my fault.”
“You’re right, I should be mad at Azriel.” She sipped her water.
You shook your head. “No, don’t be mad at him. He’s been stressed out about bringing me here to show Rhys something we found. Bat boy told Rhys he didn’t want to get distracted by Elain when we went over the stuff.”
She raised an eyebrow. “So now my sister is a distraction?”
“No! Not like that. It’s just, this whole thing is complicated.”
Nesta stared out in contemplation. “The two of you seem awfully close for not knowing each other long.” She said, then looked at you.
You laughed humorlessly. “I wouldn’t call us close.”
“Then what would you call it?” She cocked her head to the side.
What would you call it? “I think we are a normal amount of close.” Was the best thing you could come up with.
Plot Summary: Azriel whisks you away to Velaris but you also get to learn a little more about him.
Word Count: 2,138
You hadn't expected to love flying with Azriel this much. He had held onto you tightly against his side as he flew you to Velaris.
The wind brushing against you felt freeing. “This is incredible!" You almost felt envious of Azriel for being able to fly whenever he wanted.
As he began to descend, your grip on him tightened slightly. He briefly looked at your face and couldn't stop himself from smiling.
Soon, he landed at the House of Wind and gently placed you on your feet. “That was so much fun." You turned to him with the biggest smile on your face.
“Flying is fun. Glad you enjoyed it.” His tone was warm, and his smile was soft. It was then that he realized he wanted to do anything he could to keep you smiling like that.
Your eyes took in the beauty of the House of Wind and the way it looked over Velaris."You live here?" You could hardly believe it.
Azriel nodded. “Sometimes, yes.” He then held his hand out."Come on. I'll show you inside.”
You took his hand as he led you in. Your eyes didn't know what to land on first.
“Do you like it?" Azriel shot a glance at you, he was amused by the awe on your face.
“I love it.”
“Azriel, you're back. You didn't tell anyone you were leaving yesterday for the—oh.” Elain had stopped her movements as soon as her eyes landed on you.
You felt Azriel quickly pull his hand away from yours. He didn't know if he felt guilty for pulling away from you or guilty because Elain was there. He thought to himself that he hadn't done anything wrong and that you were just a friend. Except friends seemed like the wrong word to use.
Elain took in your appearance and quickly noticed your rounded ears. She stilled. “You’re her aren't you?”
“I'm sorry?” You glanced at her and then at Azriel, not sure what she was referring to.
A wide smile graced her lips. “The human female Azriel talked about!”
You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. “I'm sorry, who are you?"
She gasped, clutching her chest. “Oh my, I got ahead of myself. I'm Elain, Azriel's partner.”
It was like a bubble had burst in that moment. “His partner?"
“Yes, we’ve been together for about two years now.” Elain smiled at Azriel.
Your heart sank, and you didn't understand why. Azriel was a friend. You even called him that. A polite smile graced your lips as you introduced yourself. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”
“You too. Azriel mentioned your parents were friends with my father.” She seemed really excited that your parents knew him.
You glanced over at Azriel. “Elain is my High Lady’s sister.” He clarified quietly.
“Oh, your father was the Prince of Merchants?"
She smiled sadly. “That was him." Elain then cleared her throat. “I have heard stories of you. When father would come home and talk about your parents, he mentioned you. I wish we had known each other sooner.”
“That would have been nice. To have friends growing up.” The sentiment seemed nice, but you weren't sure how that would've turned out. If you would have gotten along.
You heard footsteps and noticed a male walk over with amazingly violet eyes. “Azriel, you made it back already from the human lands?”
Rhys looked at you, then at Elain. His face showed clear amusement. “And I see you brought the human female with you.” He flashed you a smile. “Hi, I'm Rhys. Azriel’s brother.”
“So you’re the one who forced him to come back to the human lands?” You raised an eyebrow.
He let out a laugh. “I guess that would be me. Azriel wasn't kind enough to tell us your name.”
Your eyes flicked over to Azriel, who tried to hide the guilt on his face. You rolled your eyes at him, then gave Rhys your name. “Glad to finally get your name.”
He then looked at Azriel. “Mind telling me why you brought her here?"
You grabbed the satchel you had at your side and handed it to him. Rhys raised an eyebrow as he took it. He carefully looked at the contents and saw the tome. He grabbed it and looked at it, then opened the pages. “It's empty.”
“It's embedded somehow with magic, but we saw instructions on how to read it at least.” Azriel walked over to see that it did appear empty. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Strange. The words aren't there now.”
Elain walked over. “I wanna see it.” She tried popping her head over.
“Little Storm and I were able to read it when there were no lights,” Azriel mentioned.
Rhys glanced over at him. “Little Storm?"
He looked almost embarrassed as he realized that your nickname was now known to Rhys and Elain. “Uh, it kind of became my name for her after I found her during the storm.”
“Alright, let's go into the study and turn out the lights.”
You were all about to walk over to the study Rhys still had in the House of Wind when Azriel turned to Elain. “Lain, I’ll catch up with you later. This is something we need to do on our own.”
She paused with her mouth slightly open in surprise. “Oh, okay. I'll uh, go see what Nesta is up to.” Elain then walked off to find her older sister.
Rhys looked at Azriel with confusion. ”Why’d you tell Elain to leave?"
“I didn't want there to be any distractions. Besides, wasn’t it you who told me to keep the details of this mission to myself?”
The three of you made your way to the study. “Yes, but you brought a human female in here.”
“The very human you told me to question for information on the mortal queens.” The muscle in Azriel’s jaw ticked.
You awkwardly followed behind the arguing brothers. “You don’t have to talk about me like I’m not here.”
Rhys opened the door to the study and let Azriel and you in. “My apologies, Little Storm.” He emphasized the nickname with a smirk.
“Don’t call her that.” Azriel scowled, his voice dropping with a hint of anger.
His brother was having a little too much fun with this. “Why not? Is that not her nickname?”
“It’s my nickname for her.” He had to refrain from shouting.
“Okay, I have no idea what the hell is going on between the two of you, but I don’t want to stand here in the dark all day, so just open the damn book.” You were irritated and wanted to get this over with.
Azriel shot you an apologetic look while Rhys simply opened the book. “Nothing is happening.” He said, then Azriel plucked it from his hands.
“It was glowing earlier when we darkened the room in her house.” He stared at the tome in confusion.
You got closer to Azriel. “That makes no sense. Why did it stop-” The pages finally glowed as you stood right beside him. “That’s…unexpected.” You stood away from him, and the pages stopped glowing again.
Both brothers were stunned at the tome’s reaction. “Is it just you?” Rhys asked.
“Here, let me take it.” Azriel handed you the book, but it still wasn’t glowing. You frowned and then stood beside him, causing the pages to glow once more. “That’s freaky.”
“Set it on the desk and continue to stand next to each other while I look at it,” Rhys suggested.
You set the tome down while Rhys took a seat in front of it. Azriel stood right beside you while his brother started to read it. “So you two solved these riddles in the first few pages?”
“We did, as soon as the book was satisfied, it revealed the key to translate old fae and some other information about ancient magic,” Azriel answered his brother.
Rhys took a deep breath. “How did you get this tome?” He looked up at you.
“My parents had it hidden under one of the floorboards in my house.”
He appeared deep in thought. “Your parents were merchants?”
You nodded. “That’s how they knew Elain’s father.”
“It doesn’t answer the question of how they got their hands on something this old. I thought all of the books with old fae knowledge no longer existed.” Rhys looked back down at the tome.
That alone unsettled you. The book was proof that you didn't really know your parents. “My parents kept a lot of information from their trades to themselves. I just know that they told me not to trust the queens.”
He looked back up at you. “For how long?"
“About two years before the war.” You pointed to the ledgers and the notes set aside. “If we translated that correctly, those are what was being traded under Briallyn’s pseudonym.”
Rhys looked back down at the ledgers. He saw what your parents originally wrote down, then what you translated it to. “These are rumored relics. They shouldn't exist.”
“Which is why we brought these to you.” Azriel cut in.
“This could be bigger than we thought. We need to talk to Amren about this.” Rhys sounded irritated, then he looked towards you. “You’re officially a guest here until my second returns from the Summer Court. She's not due back until two days.”
You furrowed your eyebrows."I can’t stay. My animals.”
He raised an eyebrow."Your animals?”
“I have livestock I care for. Pigs, goats, chickens, and a cow. They're all I have.” You inwardly started to panic.
Rhys places his hands up."Okay, calm down. I’ll have them winnowed to the nearest farm.”
“Winnowed?”
He nodded. “Yes, I’ll grab and transport them.”
“Magically?”
“Yes, magically.”
“But you don’t know where I live.”
Rhys looked over at Azriel, then back to you. “I have the ability to enter your mind and get the memory of where you live.”
“No,”
“Az-”
“No, you’re not entering her mind.”
He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. “Do you not trust me?”
Azriel remained quiet as he tried to choose his words carefully. “You don’t need to enter her mind. I’ll lower my shields, and you can enter mine.”
Rhys was perplexed, hearing Azriel offering his own mind up instead. It was another thing he never did. “Fine,”
He took a deep breath, lowered his shields enough, and offered Rhys the memory of your house location. “Okay, I got it,” Rhys said, and Azriel quickly raised his shields again.
In a blink, Rhys was gone. “Holy shit,”
Azriel grabbed your hand and led you out of the study, where you nearly bumped into Feyre holding onto Nyx. “Oh, I’m so sorry-” You gasped when your eyes landed on Nyx. He smiled widely at you. “Well, aren’t you the most handsome little one?” You cooed.
Feyre’s eyes went to you and then to Azriel. “You brought her here?”
“Yes,”
You looked back up to Feyre and plastered a smile. “Sorry, I should introduce myself instead of just talking to your son.” You said, before giving her your name.
She smiled politely at you. “I’m Feyre, glad to officially meet you.”
“Likewise,”
“I know it might not mean much, but I appreciate the sacrifice your parents made to help my father,” Feyre spoke sincerely, and it warmed your heart.
“Thank you,”
Feyre turned her attention to Azriel. “Is Rhys in there?”
Azriel shook his head. “He went to the human lands to winnow the livestock.”
“I’m sorry?”
You grimaced. “That’s my fault. I was told I’m to stay here until Rhys’s second comes back, but I can’t leave my animals unattended, so he said he’d winnow all of them to the nearest farm.”
She blinked a few times as she processed this. “Ooookay,”
Nyx reached towards you and made grabby hands. Your face softened. “Aww, did you want me to hold you?”
He nodded again and leaned toward you. Your eyes went up to Feyre for permission. “You can take him, he’s heavy though.”
You smiled, taking the toddler in your arms. “He’s so cute, I can’t stand it.” Nyx giggled in your arms.
“Thank you,” His little voice got out, making your heart melt.
“You are very welcome.”
Azriel couldn’t keep his eyes off of you during this whole interaction. The way you interacted with Nyx made his heart nearly jump out of his chest. For a moment, he thought about what you would look like holding his child in your hands. As soon as he thought it, he panicked. Why would he imagine what your shared offspring could look like? Friends don’t do that.
“You’re really good with children,” Feyre said, seemingly impressed.
You glanced up at her. “Thanks, I surprised myself. I’m used to scaring them off in my village.”
Helion and Lucien finally arrived at the House of Wind, where Feyre and Rhys greeted them. “Helion, Lucien, it's so great to see you again,” Feyre said with a genuine smile.
“Likewise, Feyre,” Helion replied. The High Lord always looked dazzling. His dark hair complemented the gold headpiece he always wore.
Lucien appeared more handsome than ever before. The Day Court colors suited him. He even looked more confident, his head held high. “It's always great to see an old friend.” He spoke.
The three made it to the dining room, where everyone was already seated. Azriel and Elain were beside each other. Cassian sat on the other side of Azriel with Nesta beside him. Amren was at Summer, and Mor was visiting Winter.
As they sat down, Lucien made it a point not to look at Elain. He still cared deeply about her, but he couldn't stand to see her with another male. She, however, briefly glanced at Lucien. After all, she hadn't seen him in a long time. Not since before he joined Day.
Her breath caught. Elain’s eyes widened. This wasn't the Lucien she met before. The male who was eager to have found his mate. No, this was the Day Court’s princeling. Helion’s son, and now he really looked the part.
There was a pull for her. Something that wasn't there before. It was then that she remembered she preferred the light compared to the darkness. Lucien shone with a brightness that calmed her.
Azriel hadn't noticed. He noticed everything. It was his job. There was a shift in the air, and that's when Lucien finally glanced at Elain. Her eyes locked on his. She smiled politely at him. “Good to see you again, Lucien. How are you?"
Silence. Everyone stopped to look at Elain. Not expecting her to actually speak to Lucien. Even he looked surprised. His guard dropped for a moment, but he smiled back. “I'm well, thank you. How have you been?"
Feyre exchanged a look with Rhys. They were both speaking through their bond. “Is it me or did-”
“Yes, it finally did snap for her. Things definitely got more interesting.” Rhys replied.
She looked at Azriel. “He hasn't picked up on it.”
Rhys’ eyes landed on his brother. “Nope. I think his mind is still on a certain human female. If he did realize it, I'm starting to think he wouldn't care.”
The High Lady sipped her wine as Elain and Lucien continued their conversation as if no one else was in the room. “How was the trip here?” Feyre asked, looking at Helion and Lucien.
Only Helion spared her a glance. Lucien was too busy talking to Elain. “It was fine, thank you. How is little Nyx?"
She smiled widely. “He's so strong and growing too fast for my liking.”
“He's his father’s son,” Rhys spoke with a smirk.
Helion nodded. “I expected nothing less.”
The dinner went well until Cassian spoke. “Azriel, you’ve been a lot quieter than usual. You okay, brother?”
Azriel looked up from his plate of food, which he had been picking at. “Why wouldn't I be?" He hadn't meant for it to sound as cold as it did.
“I don't know, you’ve been avoiding everyone since your arrival from the human lands.” Cass shrugged.
A finger twitched on Azriel's hand."I have just been tired. It was exhausting.” He muttered.
“He met a human female.” Elain beamed, then looked at her sisters."And her parents were friends with our father.”
That grabbed everyone's attention."They were?” Feyre asked.
Elain nodded."Remember the merchant couple that father told us about?”
“Oh yes, I always begged father to bring them over so we could play with the daughter right before we lost the fortune," Feyre recalled. “But he said they traveled too much and he never knew where to find them.”
Nesta scoffed. “Where were they when we had no money? They didn't look for us.”
“Don't talk about them like that.” Azriel cut in coldly, willing everyone into a stunned silence."Her parents died fighting our war and helping your father.” He couldn't take back the venom he used when he spoke to her.
“And you don’t talk to Nesta like that,” Cassian said like a warning.
Azriel clenched and unclenched his jaw."I'm not hungry anymore, I'm leaving.” He growled out and stood up.
Elain furrowed her eyebrows in confusion."Where are you going?"
He didn't answer her, just stormed out of the House of Wind, then flew into the night sky of Velaris.
“What the hell just happened?" Cass asked in confusion.
Rhys sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Nothing that can be easily explained. I should've warned you not to talk to or provoke Azriel this evening.”
The end of the week came quicker than Azriel would've wanted. He avoided everyone masterfully since his outburst at dinner and had his shadows working overtime. His shadows always told him if there was anyone around.
Azriel finally flew back to the human lands and got to your house close to nightfall.
You paused the reading of your new book when you heard the flapping of wings. When you looked out the window, you saw the Shadowsinger land in front of the house. You gasped and shot up from your seat, dropping your book on the floor as you ran out of the house.
When his eyes landed on you, his heart nearly stopped. His shadows finally calmed down after a long, restless week. As you came running towards him, it felt like everything had slowed down. Azriel thought you were going to hug him, but you grabbed a nearby shovel and held it high to hit him.
His eyes widened, but he managed to catch the shovel before you could land a hit on him. “Whoa. Why are you trying to hit me, Little Storm?”
You furrowed your eyebrows. Anger radiated off of you as you glared into his eyes. “So you don't remember the fact that I was kind enough to let you stay in my house and offered you shelter?”
“No, of course I couldn't forget. No one has ever been so kind to me during our first meeting.” He spoke softly.
You tugged on the shovel, wanting to still bonk him over the head with it. “Then why in the hell did you leave without so much as a goodbye? You could've left a note.”
Your grip on the shovel loosened before both of you dropped it, letting the shovel clatter on the ground beside you."For a moment, I thought I imagined the whole thing. That I dreamt of meeting a Fae male. I thought I officially went crazy after being alone for so long, but I saw my hair ribbon on the gate and the two mugs.”
Azriel felt like a knife was twisting in his chest, knowing that he hurt you."I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that to you. Make you feel insane.”
“It's not just that. I thought I finally made a friend, and then you were gone in the morning. I couldn't even keep you as a friend.”You felt your throat tighten as you forced away the tears that wanted to fall.
He hesitated to reach out but then decided to go with his instinct for once and pull you into a hug. “I can't tell you how sorry I am for making you feel this way. I want to be a better friend to you.” Friend. The word sounded wrong in his ears, but he ignored it.
You hadn't expected him to hug you, but you ended up hugging him back, suddenly forgetting about the anger you felt a moment ago. “It’s okay, I forgive you…this time.”
A chuckle escaped his lips before he could stop it. “Thank you.” He separated from the hug and examined your face. You still looked the same as the first time he saw you. Except this time, a lot less muddy.
“Why’d you come back?” You asked.
“I…” He sighed. “My brother, Rhys, wanted me to ask you if you knew anything about the human queens.” Azriel practically mumbled.
Your head tilted to the side. “Is that the only reason why you’re back? If it wasn’t for that, would you have come back to see me again?”
His eyes widened. “No! I mean, I’m not sure, I…I would’ve liked to have visited you again, but I came sooner because Rhys requested that I question you.” It felt like a lie.
Your scowl returned. “Unbelievable, Bat Boy. So you’re just here to use me?” You asked, crossing your arms.
The Spymaster was officially panicking; he never panics. “No, absolutely not, I wanted to see you again. I didn’t want to involve you in my mission, but Rhys made it difficult for me to say no. I told him you wouldn’t know anything, but he insisted.”
“What makes you think I don’t know anything?”
“Do you actually know something?”
You looked around as if trying to spot any onlookers. “Come with me inside.” You said, before leading him into your house. “Are you in a rush to get back?”
He shook his head. “Not at all.”
“Sit, we can discuss this over tea.” You walked to the kitchen and made pomegranate tea again.
Azriel sat down on the floor, finding it more comfortable than trying to sit in the seat with his wings in the way. When you came back to the living room, you raised an eyebrow.
“My wings, I’m more comfortable on the floor.”
You nodded once before handing him his mug and joining him on the floor. His shadows immediately wrapped themselves around you like a warm embrace. “I missed you all, too.” You giggled at their excitement.
The way you interacted with the shadows made him smile softly. You took a sip of tea, then looked at Azriel. “So you know that my parents were both merchants, right?”
“Yes, I recall.”
“My parents did a lot of trading, and that included people close to the queens. They always told me to never fully trust them. That they aren’t looking out for everyone’s best interests. That’s one of the main reasons we live out here away from people and away from the influence of the queens.” You began to explain.
Azriel listened with great intrigue. “Why didn’t they trust the queens?”
You took a deep breath. “That’s not something they fully told me. Just that their tradings were inconsistent. I still have the old ledgers somewhere. My mother, ever the most organized, circled the name and signed off on those trades.”
“Can I see them?”
You gave him a nod, handing him your mug to hold as you stood back up and walked to your parents’ study to look for the ledgers. When you came back, you displayed them all on the floor as you sat down once again. “See this name here? Lady Llyn?”
“Briallyn,” He whispered. “But Nesta killed her.”
“Maybe so, that doesn’t mean that the trading has stopped. From what I understood, there was a network she was using. I just don’t know if it was just her or if the other queens utilized it.” You explained, looking at the ledgers and any notes scribbled.
Both of you looked together, and your eyes landed on some kind of code you'd never noticed before. Your eyebrows furrowed. Azriel noticed the look on your face, and his eyes followed yours. “This is written in old fae.”
Your eyes widened as you looked at him."How did your parents know old fae?”
You shook your head, not being able to compute this."I don't know, I…this doesn't make sense.” Your voice was barely audible."There's got to be something else I'm missing.”
“Do you have any books? Anything that your parents might've picked up when trading?” He asked, hoping there was a way to get to the bottom of this.
The question left you deep in thought. Then suddenly you stood up and walked towards the bookcase, and looked. “Nothing here.” You walked back into the study. Azriel set the mugs down on a nearby table, then got up to follow you in.
You were rummaging through the desk and pulled out papers that meant nothing.
Azriel went to step closer to you, but heard an odd sound from the floorboard beneath his right foot. “Stop,"
You stopped your movements to look at him in confusion."What?”
He lightly stomped on the floorboard. Both of you listened and heard a strange hollowness. Azriel bent down and knocked around the floor. It was just that floorboard that made that sound. He examined the floor and saw that there was slight lifting.
Azriel gently pulled up the floorboard to reveal an ancient-looking tome. It was Onyx black with a deep blue gem at the center. The tome looked unbelievably delicate. His shadows surrounded the book in intrigue. Azriel picked it up gently. He flipped it around and looked at the back.
Nothing was there. The only design was the gem in the front. He carefully opened the book to check its contents. You squatted down beside him to read it.
It was completely blank besides the first page which consisted of a riddle. “Knowledge enlightens, but in the dark it heightens.” Azriel read out loud.
You stood straight, then went to turn out the light in the study. The pages began to glow now. “Holy shit.” You whispered. Azriel sat down on the floor with the tome you sat next to him
“A language buried is not a language lost. To learn the truth, it comes with a cost.” He read out loud again. The idea of paying the price for something unsettled both of you. Azriel flipped the page. “The cost is small, yet rarely free. To speak one truth, you do not see.”
You scrunched your eyebrows."So that's it? We have to be truthful about something? That seems too easy.”
Azriel's gaze snapped to you. “Not if your job is to keep secrets.”
“It could be any truth, though, right?” You asked. “Something meaningless? Like my favorite book?"
He shook his head. “I think… I think it wants something you'd want to keep buried. Or a truth you avoid.”
The book glowed brighter. Azriel looked back down at it and sighed. “I didn't want to come back here.”
Your eyes snapped to him."What?”
“It's not because I didn't want to see you again. It's because I needed to see you again. My shadows refused to still themselves until I got here. I don't understand it, and it disturbs me.” He admitted quietly.
You remained in a stunned silence at his confession. How could you respond to that? Your gaze landed on the book again. The line was repeated."To speak one truth, you do not see.” You read it out loud."I think I need to share something too.”
It left you in deep thought. Not sure what you were willing to confess in front of Azriel. Your eyes flicked back over to the Shadowsinger; his eyes were still on you. “I wasn't actually scared when I first saw you. Yes, you startled me, but I wasn't scared of you.”
He raised an eyebrow at that.
“I oddly felt…ease? I didn't understand it. Still don't, and I guess that's pretty disturbing too." You said, barely above a whisper.
The book turned its page on its own after taking the two truths. Both of you stared at it wide-eyed. As you read the newly revealed pages, it explains in great detail the old fae language and ancient power that isn't common knowledge.
You stood up and brought the note from earlier over to try to decode what it was that Briallyn was trading. “Everything she had in her system is rumoured to have traces of ancient fae magic. Possibly as old as the cauldron itself.”
As soon as you set it, a chill went down your spine.
“I need to bring this to Rhys,” Azriel said.
You nodded in understanding. “I should come with you.”
He looked at you, feeling unsure about bringing you into his world.
“Please. You wouldn't have found out about this if it weren't for me. These are my parents' things.”You pleaded with him.
Azriel sighed. “Alright, fine. I hope you don't have a fear of heights.”
Warnings: If I mess up any details, let me know. I listened to all of ACOTAR, but I also have ADHD and may or may not have zoned out here and there, so bear with me.
Plot Summary: After meeting you, Azriel goes back to Velaris except the Inner Circle notices he isn't quite the same.
Word Count:2,113
The following morning Azriel changed back into his Illyrian leathers before silently exiting the house and flying straight to Velaris.
The whole flight back he was cursing himself for not saying goodbye to you or leaving a note. He had told himself that he didn't owe you anything then instantly regretted it. You offered him shelter. He shook his head attempting to snap out of it as he landed at the House of Wind.
Azriel entered in haste. His mind wandered to the last 24 hours. He paced around and his shadows were restless.
“You’re late.” He didn't need to turn to see who it was. Rhysand stood there, silently observing his brother with his arms crossed.
Azriel glanced over briefly. “Merely delayed.”
Rhys squinted. “Why? What happened?"
“Nothing worth reporting.” He replied.
“That's not an answer.”
Azriel didn't want to say anything to him. Revealing you to his high Lord felt…like sharing something private. “I…met someone.” He finally said reluctantly.
Rhys cocked his head to the side. “You met someone?"
“A human.”
That's what caught Rhys’ attention. “A female?”
There was a pause before Azriel nodded. “Yes, it was raining. Heavily. She was outside trying to gather livestock.” He remembered seeing you on the ground, cursing to yourself.
The way the mud clung to you. The look on your face when he first landed in front of you.
“And you helped her." He didn't bother asking.
“I couldn't leave her like that.”
“But you stayed?” Rhys asked.
Azriel nodded again, not willing to look his brother in the eyes. His shadows kept moving around at his feet. Curling up to themselves but occasionally reaching out for something that wasn't there.
His brother hummed in response. “Seems unlike you."
He looked at Rhys almost in shock. Not sure if it was shock at his brother saying that or the fact that he was right."She offered me shelter because it was raining.”
“You’ve flown in the rain before,” Rhys pointed out.
Azriel had nothing to say, so his gaze returned to his shadows.
The High Lord’s interest was definitely piqued. He has never seen Azriel so…resigned? He was definitely avoidant. More than usual. “Was it raining all night?"
“No,” Azriel spoke softly. “She told me I could spend the night. Said I shouldn't travel in the dark.”
Rhys raised an eyebrow."And you didn't say anything? You fly the most at night.”
He was right again. Azriel wanted to stay, so why did he leave like that in the morning? He opened his mouth to say something, but a pair of arms wrapped around him tightly. “Az!"
A soft smile appeared on his face. He looked over his shoulder to see the sweet female. Her doe-shaped eyes looked back at him. “Lain,”
There was a wide grin on her face."I thought I heard your voice. I'm so glad you’re back.”
Azriel turned to face her fully now and kissed the top of her head."Me too.”
Rhys stood watching as Azriel's shadows quickly moved away from Elain.
“How’d it go?" She asked, pulling away from him.
He cleared his throat."Fine. There's still no information on the human queens. I might have to go back to the human lands again soon.”
Elain pouted at the mention of him traveling again.
“It won't be for a while. Don't worry.” He assured her.
She smiled again at him."Good, I want to show you something I've been working on in the gardens.”
Azriel turned to Rhys as if asking for permission…or maybe a way out.
“Go. We’ll debrief later.” Rhys said, giving him a nod.
He let Elain lead him out to the gardens. Though the smell of the ground brought him back to you. His stomach twisted. “Isn't it beautiful?” She asked enthusiastically.
There was a flower he had never seen before. It was purple in color and appeared like a tower. Azriel tilted his head to the side as he took in the appearance. “It is, what is it?”
“It's a Delphinium. Also known as Black Knight. I grew it thinking of you.” She turned to him. Pride is evident on her face.
He looked back at her. Azriel felt a tight squeeze around his heart. A practiced smile graced his lips. “You think of me as a Black Knight?"
“Well, you kind of are. At least to me. Do you like it? Please tell me you do.” She pleaded, holding onto his arm.
Azriel kissed her lips, something he did often in routine. “I love it. Thank you.”
She kissed him again. “The Day Court is supposed to be visiting later. Specifically, Helion and his son.”
He grimaced."Lucien,” Her mate. The one the cauldron made for her.
“We are all supposed to sit together for dinner. As a United front. Nesta wasn't happy that I had to be there too, but Feyre assured me that Lucien wouldn't speak to me unless I spoke to him.” Elain explained to him.
He nodded slowly, his mind wandering to every possible way this dinner could play out. Azriel sincerely hoped it wouldn't end disastrously.
Elain sat down at the nearby bench. “Let's not worry about that. I wanna hear more about the human lands. It's been so long since I've been.” She patted the bench next to her.
He hesitated. His body shifted to move forward and sit beside her, but he felt unsure at the same time. Azriel finally decided to sit down beside her. “What would you like to know?"
She took a deep breath as she thought."Do they still hate the Fae?”
Azriel let out a breath through his nostrils."Some still do. Some fear us. I tend to avoid interacting with them.”
Elain reached out for him. He forced himself not to flinch from her touch."You’re focusing on the negative things again. Were any of them kind to you?”
Your eyes flashed in his memory at the question. Then he heard your laugh and tasted your pomegranate tea. “Just one," His voice came out barely above a whisper.
She smiled again. “Really? That's great. Tell me about them.”
His shadows were whispering, not wanting him to reveal anything. They didn't want to share you with anyone else. Azriel cleared his throat. “There was a storm that I was flying through.” He began to recall. “I heard a female cursing.”
Elain nodded as she listened intently.
His eyes flicked over to her before he continued. “When I got closer, she had fallen into the mud. She was just trying to get her animals back after they escaped. At first she was…untrusting.” A small smile crept onto his face without his permission as he remembered the way you threw mud at him. “She thought I was a demon.”
That made Elain laugh. “Oh no!” She held her stomach as she laughed. “Although I could see why she might have thought that with the appearance of your wings.”
Azriel nodded. “After talking to her for a while, she lost her fear…although, I'm not sure she was actually ever really scared.”
“Then what?”
“I helped her. Got her animals back in. She was extremely grateful. Then she offered me shelter to avoid flying in the storm.” He said, finally. “Mentioned her parents both passed, aiding your father.”
Elain gasped. “They knew my father?"
He nodded. “According to her they were old friends. A merchant couple.”
She furrowed her eyebrows and thought for a bit. “Yes! I remember my father telling me about them once or twice. They always traveled together and had a daughter my age. He lost contact with them when we lost our fortune.” She was eager to hear about someone connected to her father."I’d love to meet her.”
His heart panged. Elain and you meeting? Why did it feel wrong?"Maybe one day.” The words felt like dirt in his mouth.
Hours later, right before dinner, Rhysand pulled Azriel aside to get more information from his mission. “I don't like how quiet the queens have been. There was absolutely nothing you could find out?"
He shook his head. “Their cards are close to their chest.”
Rhys pinched the bridge of his nose. “I need you to go back sooner. There must be something you’re missing.” He thought for a bit."Why don't you ask the human female if she knows anything?”
“No,” It was too quick.
That earned a raised eyebrow from the High Lord."No?”
“No, she wouldn't know anything. She says she never leaves her village and doesn't speak to the other villagers. No,” Azriel didn't want to discuss this.
Rhys let out a humorless laugh."Funny, the Spymaster I know would use any resources available to him.”
“She's not a resource.” He almost growled out.
His brother was amused now. The poor Shadowsinger truly was clueless. “Just go back and ask. You don't lose anything if you do, or are you afraid to see her again?"
The muscle in Azriel's jaw ticked. “She's just a human. There's nothing for me to be afraid of." There was a wrongness in his words that he couldn't understand.
“Good. Then at the end of the week you're going back.” It wasn't up for debate. Rhys’ tone showed that.
Azriel squeezed his eyes shut and took in a deep breath. “Fine, but it's going to be a waste of time.”
Rhys simply shrugged."Then it's a waste of time, but we would have tried everything.”
Then Azriel quietly stepped out of the room, his shadows following him solemnly. Rhys sighed and walked out to the balcony. The interactions with Azriel all played out in his head.
“You seem to be thinking too hard. What's going on?"
He heard the voice and smiled. His mind eased at his mate’s presence. “Azriel,"
She got closer and stood beside him. “What's wrong with Azriel?"
Rhys exhaled through his nose. “He met someone on his mission to the human lands.”
“Did they hurt him?” Feyre asked.
He shook his head. “No, it was a human female.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Oh?"
He then shot a glance at her. “He came back here late because he stopped to help her, and she offered him shelter to avoid flying back in the rain.”
Feyre raised an eyebrow. “Hasn't he flown in the rain before?"
“Exactly, then he stayed the night because I guess she thought it was too dark for him to fly.”
Her face pinched in confusion. “He's the Spymaster of the Night court. As a shadowsinger alone, he thrives in the dark.”
“My point. I just got done talking to him about the mission. He said there was nothing on the queens, so I asked him to try asking the female if she knows anything, and he said no flat out.” Rhys recalled.
His mate’s eyes widened."He said ‘No’ just like that?”
He nodded."Azriel is never opposed to trying every outlet to get what he needs. He didn't even weigh the options or try to calculate the risks like he usually does.”
“Hmm. Do you think she might be dangerous or working with the queens?” Feyre asked.
Rhys smirked slightly."No, that's not it. She might be dangerous to him, but not because of that.”
She was quiet and tried to assess what he might be implying."Do you think that she's…”
“The thought crossed my mind. Several times.”
Feyre’s eyes widened slightly.
“He's been very defensive about her and avoidant. Told me the bare minimum. Not even her name.” Rhys started. “At first I thought maybe I could be wrong, but his shadows…they had been restless and recoiled when Elain came to greet him. The shadows have never tried getting close to her, but have never acted like that before.”
Feyre nodded. The information was all pretty damning."If this is what you think it might be…this won't be easy for him.”
He sighed, feeling sympathetic for his brother. It wasn't fair.
“He's going to outlive her.” She spoke quietly. “And then there's Elain.”
Rhys took a deep breath. “He's going to resist this as much as possible. Azriel has no idea. Either that or he's refusing to even let it cross his mind.”
Feyre bit at her bottom lip. She loved Azriel as a brother and was worried for him."So is he going to ask her about the queens?”
“I told him he needed to go back at the end of the week, but he wasn't happy. I think he would've preferred avoiding seeing her.” He said.
She gave a single nod."Dinner is going to be…interesting.”
(A/N: Not that anyone asked for this but I have hyperfixated on Azriel and birthed this out. I originally wanted this to be an unrequited love fic based off of the song Si Antes te Hubiera Conocido but it became some else. I've been nervous to post this. I really hope you guys will enjoy it. Also no use of Y/N.)
Plot Summary: You were an outsider in your village with no family. Being alone was something you were used to and preferred. One chance encounter changes everything for you.
Word Count: 4,387
It was a stormy evening. Nothing you hadn't experienced before. Except this time you were outside, trudging in the mud, cursing under your breath.
You were freezing and completely drenched as you searched for your livestock. Originally, you had been warm by your fireplace, drinking tea and reading a book, when you heard it.
The animals had been running out of the enclosure you had them in. When you turned your head to look out the window, you saw them all escaping in different directions.
You immediately shot up out of your chair and abandoned your book. Not stopping to change out of your night gown, you ran to the door and slipped on your boots before exiting the house.
The storm prevented you from seeing anything. “For fucks sake!" You hollered out, unable to wrangle any of them. Suddenly, you felt something in front of your foot obstructing your path and tripping you. The mud and the cold wetness were all you felt when you landed on the ground.
There was a part of you that wanted to just stay there on the ground. Maybe the mother would allow the storm to take your miserable life. Afterall, you were on your own. No family. No one. Your parents died trying to aid the Prince of Merchants in the war.
The rain almost distracted you from the fact that you were crying, that and everything around you had gotten darker. It seemed unnatural. The storm still wasn’t bad enough to cause this amount of darkness.
“Do you typically lie on the ground during storms?” You heard a male’s voice. Deep, almost melodic.
A gasp escaped your lips. You looked up to see a man enveloped in shadows. Except he wasn’t a man. He had massive bat wings on his back. This person had beautiful golden skin and hazel eyes. Your body finally responded, remembering you were in the presence of a stranger. You flinched away, crawling backwards to create distance from him. “Stay back!”
The stranger stepped closer. “Easy there, I-” He was then interrupted by you throwing a clump of mud at him, hitting him square on the chest. “Did you…just throw mud at me?”
“I said, stay back, demon!” You shouted at him again.
He placed his hands out as if trying to talk a wild horse down. “I assure you, I am no demon.” He slowly inched forward again. “Please calm down, I-” You threw another clump again. This time hitting his face. “Are all mortals this difficult?”
You squinted at him. “Just the untrusting ones.”
There was a slight tug on the corner of his mouth. His eyes showed a hint of amusement at your response. “I’m not here to hurt you. I was traveling, and I couldn’t help but notice you were the only one out here in this storm.”
“Not by choice. I’m trying to catch my livestock.”You pointed to the general direction the animals had gone.
He looked over to see some of the animals still scattering. “Would you like help?”
You simply scoffed. “I am not accepting help from a demon.”
The man looked back down at you. “I already told you. I am not a demon.”
“That’s exactly what a demon would say.” You shot back.
Now the stranger looked up at the sky. “Mother above.” He muttered, then brought his attention to you again. “I am a Fae male.”
You pointed at his back. “Then explain the wings.”
“I’m Illeyrian.” He replied.
“You say that as if I am supposed to know what that means.” You deadpanned
The stranger appeared to be taken aback. “I suppose you’re right. It’s a race of Lesser Fae. We are born with wings.”
You sat there in the mud. Pressed against the soft, mushy ground. The smell of the dirt is almost overwhelming.
At that moment, he reached his hand out to you. “Let me help you.”
Your gaze landed on his outstretched hand. You tilted your head to the side to examine it. That’s when you noticed it was severely scarred.
His gaze also went down to the hand now. He pulled it back. You instead attempted to get up on your own, but your boot slid beneath, causing you to nearly lose balance. The man reached out to grab hold of you before you landed on the ground again. “I’ve got you.” He spoke softly as he held both of your arms and helped you straighten yourself.
You looked up at his face as he observed you. Being closer to him, you realized he was devastatingly handsome. No human man looks this appealing. His beauty nearly knocked the air out of your lungs.
“I'm Azriel.” He whispered, giving you a kind smile despite having remnants of mud still on his face. After hearing his name, you provided him with yours. He chuckled softly. “I think Little Storm is more fitting.”
“Real funny, Azriel. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a herd to gather.”You said pulling away from his stabilizing hold.
He let out a breathless laugh. “Interesting.”
There was a sense of confusion when you looked at him. “What?"
“The way you say my name doesn't sound like someone who's afraid of demons,” Azriel said with a smirk.
You rolled your eyes at him. “Don't read too much into it, bat boy.”
He threw his head back and barked out a laugh. It was the most beautiful sound you'd ever heard. “Bat boy?” He asked, looking back at you.
His gaze made you feel like you were under a microscope. “It felt fitting. Since you gave me a nickname.”
Azriel’s lips spread into a wide grin. “I like you. For a human, you definitely have a fire in your belly."
“And for a demon, you’re not so scary." You shot back.
He opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden flash of lightning stopped him. Seconds later, a clap of thunder nearly shook the ground. “We should gather your livestock before it gets worse.”
You furrowed your eyebrows."We?”
“Yes, both of us.”
This strange Fae man wanted to help you? You who had thrown clumps of mud at him and accused him of being a demon."Is this a trick in order for you to take me as a slave?”
Azriel's face turned into a scowl."We don't take slaves, and I certainly would never dream of it.”
You placed your hands up in defense."Sorry, I've never met any fae before. They are usually spoken about like a cautionary tale.”
“Funny, I could say the same about humans.” He replied.
You wanted to say something else. Something intelligent, but his appearance was distracting you. The way his Hazel eyes stayed on yours. The corner of his gorgeous lips still slightly curved upwards in amusement.
The sound of a goat in the distance took you out of your thoughts. You turned to see the animals running back towards you.
They all ran towards the broken enclosure. You didn't understand it. Your eyebrows furrowed, and you saw dark shadows guiding them in. “Are you doing this?"
Azriel was silent as he walked over to the enclosure and examined it. After shutting the gate, he looked at the lock. “Do you have anything I can fasten this with?" He asked, turning to you.
“Let me check.” You ran inside your house, tracking in mud as you looked for anything to secure the enclosure.
You ran back out with an old hair ribbon you haven't worn in years. “Here, try this.” You suggested, then handed him the ribbon.
He looked at the ribbon and raised an eyebrow as he glanced at it, then at you. “Aren’t you going to miss this?”
“Absolutely not, I don’t wear ribbons anymore. That’s from when I used to be soft-hearted.” You replied, not wanting to elaborate further.
Azriel turned to tie the ribbon to keep the gate closed. “It’ll hold for now, but you need something stronger.” He stood straighter and walked up to you.
You held your chin high as you looked at him. “I could’ve done it myself.”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but you would’ve taken hours and gotten sick. I don’t like getting in the habit of leaving females alone when I could help them.”
“Female?” You repeated, incredulously.
“Yes, fae don’t use man or woman. We say male or female.” He explained to you.
You tilted your head to the side in contemplation. “Thank you, bat boy.”
Azriel offered you a soft smile."You should get inside. Warm up.”
“Would you like to join me? Until the storm passes?” You offered. After all, it was the least you could do.
He seemed deep in thought, then nodded."Sure, until the storm passes.”
You led the handsome Fae male into your house. It was quiet. The fire you had going earlier was dying. You grabbed the bellows beside the fireplace and squeezed out air to get it going again.
Azriel watched behind you. His eyes landed on the book you abandoned earlier in your haste to catch the livestock. He walked over and picked it up. “The Knight Who Loved Me?" He read out loud.
You gasped and turned around, yanking the book from his hands."That's private.”
He tried and failed to cover the amusement on his face."Well, it was out in the open.”
“I wasn't expecting company.” You mumbled and walked over to your bookshelf and placed it on the shelf."Had I remembered about leaving it out, I would've thought twice before inviting you in.”
Azriel let out a laugh. “Don't worry, I'm not judging your choice of reading material. My brother's mate, Nesta, reads these types of books all the time.”
“Sounds like she has good taste." You reply, then start to shiver.
He glances over at you."You should probably get out of that night gown.”
You snapped your head over to him."Do you typically ask for a woman to undress for you the first time you meet?”
His eyes widened."No! I didn't—cauldron help me—I meant for you to get into drier clothes.” The male was flustered. He was doing everything he could to avoid your gaze.
“Relax, I was only kidding. Something tells me you aren't the type of man-”
“Male," He corrected.
“Right, male to ask a female to do that.” You finished.
Azriel nodded in agreement.
“Maybe the second meeting." You smiled as you teased.
He shot a glance at you."You’re a real comedian.” His voice sounded unamused.
You shrugged.”It's one of my charms.”
Azriel still managed to give you a comforting smile as he seemed to observe you. Dark shadows appeared around him, some creeping towards you.
The sudden movement made you yelp, then jump back as they moved towards your feet.
“It's okay, they're just curious about you.” He explained. “They won't hurt you.”
You glanced at him, then back down to the shadows. “You…control shadows?"
He nodded once. “I'm a Shadowsinger. It's a rare gift to possess.”
You squared down to look at the shadows. Your hand reached down slowly. The shadows wrapped around your wrist. There was a coolness as they danced around your arm now. You giggled, enjoying the feeling.
“They like you." He said as he observed you.
You tilted your head up to look at him. The way he looked at you gave you a warm feeling in your chest. You cleared your throat as you tried not to think about how compromising this position really was. “Did they tell you that?" Your tone was completely unserious.
The corner of his lip curled up ever so slightly. “They did, actually."
“They speak to you?” You ask incredulously.
He simply smirks at you."Yes.”
You stood up straight now."Do they talk to you often?”
“They do, some shadows more than others.”
The idea of talking shadows didn't make sense to you. Then again, you never thought you'd be talking to a Fae male alone in your house."Do they…have names?”
Azriel let out a breathless laugh."No, they don't.”
You looked shocked."You talk to them all the time and haven't decided to name your shadows?”
“Didn't think it was necessary.” He said with a shrug.
Your gaze went back down to the shadows wrapped around your legs."Have you ever thought of asking them if they had names? Or if they would've liked names.”
He slowly shook his head. “Uh…no, I can't say that I have.”
“You oughta be ashamed of yourself.” You knelt back down to look at them. “You poor things. He doesn't even care about naming you.”
Azriel looked down at you with wide eyes. “Don't tell them that.”
“Why not? It's true.”
“No, I sometimes use different shadows,” he tried to explain.
You hummed in response. His answer didn't sit right with you. There were four shadows in front of you. “What would you all like to be called?" You asked them even though you couldn't hear their reply.
Azriel sighed."They said they'd like you to name them, and they told me I am to use those same names when I speak to them.”
You pointed to the one on the left.”I'm naming you, Blottie.”
“Blottie?”
You looked up at Azriel. “Yes, if you don't like it, you should've named them yourself."
He rolled his eyes at you. “Fine, continue.”
You then pointed to the one on the right of Blottie. “I'm naming you Hush.” You then pointed to the next one."And you, Dim.” Then you pointed to the last one, the smallest shadow."And you are going to be Bitty.”
The shadows curled around you as if hugging you. You got back up."Do they like their names?”
Azriel pressed his lips into a thin line."They love them. In fact, I think they now prefer you to me.” His gaze fell on them again. “Yes, they said they do like you more.”
You let out a laugh. “Do they usually like other people more than you?"
He shook his head as he looked back up to you. There was almost a look of confusion. “No…they don't care for others.”
You blinked back the shock you felt. “Really? I'm flattered.”
“I'm surprised. This doesn't happen. Ever.” Azriel looked taken aback.
You simply shrugged, thinking nothing of it. The storm was going strong outside the house."Why don't you take a bath? I can get you my father's old clothes.”
He glanced at you with furrowed eyebrows. “You should first.”
“But you're my guest.”
“Yet, you’re the one soaked to the bone and covered head to toe in mud.” He countered.
You hummed as you thought. “Suppose you’re right.” You walked over to grab the old blanket you were using earlier. “Here, cover yourself in this for now while I bathe. I'll try not to take too long.”
Azriel reached for the blanket and slowly grabbed it."Thank you.”
“It's the least I could offer.” You replied with a soft smile.
You walked over to your bedroom and grabbed a change of clothes. Another nightgown and a robe. You then walked over to the bathroom and shut the door. Once the door was closed, you ran a warm bath and began to strip from the mud-clad gown.
It took about a good 30 minutes to scrub out all the mud from your skin and hair. You got out of the bath and dried off, then got dressed again. You cleaned the remnants of mud on the tub and then stepped out of the bathroom.
You made your way to your parents' old bedroom. Everything was the same. You walked over to a drawer where your father kept his clothes and pulled them out. They might have been a bit small, but they would have to do. You left the bedroom and walked towards Azriel.
When you walked over to the living room, you saw Azriel putting up a book. “Did you find something worth reading?” You asked with a raised eyebrow.
He glanced over at you. “Was just curious about what it was you were reading. There is…a surprising amount of smut.”
Your cheeks burned at his revelation. “They…entertain me.”
“Hm. Well, now I know what kind of books Nesta probably reads. I'll ask her if she has read this one yet.” Azriel walked over to you.
You cleared your throat, then handed him the change of clothes. “Here. My father was a small man, but you can use them until these clothes dry.”
He took them cautiously. “Are you sure he wouldn’t mind if another male wore his clothes?”
“I can’t exactly ask him that; he’s dead.” You deadpanned.
His eyes shot open. “I-I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
For whatever reason, the flustered look on his face made you laugh hard. Your laughter filled the air of the otherwise quiet house. “It’s okay. I probably shouldn’t be laughing at that. I’m not the best when it comes to talking about death.” You said then your smile went away. “But I have to laugh, or I’ll start crying.” Your throat cleared. “And I don’t know about you, but I don’t think crying in front of my guest will be a good idea.”
Azriel reached his hand out, almost as if to offer a calming touch, but he stopped and put his scarred hand back down. “Thank you.” He then walked to your bathroom and closed the door.
“Do you like tea?” You called out to him.
“I’m not opposed to it.” He called back out. Then you heard the sound of something getting knocked down. “Sorry! It's just my wings.”
“Are you okay?"
“Never better,"
You walked into the kitchen and began to prepare pomegranate tea for the male and yourself. You hummed softly as you finished the tea and put it into the mugs. By the time you finished in the kitchen, Azriel was stepping out of the bathroom. The shirt was haphazardly put on and looked a little cropped. The pants looked too tight on him. “Oh dear.”You tried to stifle a laugh.
He looked up at you. His face was riddled with embarrassment. “This isn’t funny.”
“On the contrary. This is hilarious.” You said with a huge smile, then handed him his mug. “Drink. This will help warm you up.”
Azriel reluctantly took the mug and sipped from it. “I've never had pomegranate tea. It's good.”
You smiled softly. “It was my mother's recipe.” You sat down in your chair by the fire.
He sat across from you, silently observing you. Though he did appear to struggle getting comfortable due to his wings. His shadows made their way over to you and curled around your legs. “Are both of your parents…”
“Yes, they both passed. My parents were merchants. They traveled a lot together. My father was good at understanding the quality of products, while my mother was best at bargaining.”
You smiled fondly as you thought back to the duo. “My father was originally the only merchant between the two. When he met my mother, she talked sense to him, saying he wasn't getting the best deals out of the products.”
Azriel kept his eyes on you as he listened intently.
“My father knew he had to marry her when he saw her make another merchant cry. So they got married. They sailed for a while until I got pregnant with me.” You said sipping your tea."They settled here. Raised me. My dad went on some solo adventures when necessary, but as soon as I was old enough to care for myself, they were out on the seas again.”
“Did it ever get lonely? Being alone?” He asked.
You shook your head."No. I would take care of the animals. Sometimes I even spoke to them, still do. They didn't talk back, obviously, but I never felt lonely. I don't really like people. I prefer my own company.”
“Or the company of animals and Fae males.”
A smile spread across your face."That too.”
There was a comfortable silence between you two. You watched the fire crackle as you sipped your tea.
Azriel cleared his throat."What…happened to them? If you don't mind me asking.”
You took a deep breath."An old friend of theirs called himself the Prince of Merchants. Asked them to help him in a Fae war. They didn't bother saying goodbye to me or telling me in person. They sent a letter.” Your tone became bitter."By the time I received it, it was too late.”
Realization dawned in his face."The prince of merchants? That was my high lady’s father.”
Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion."Your high lady is human?”
He shook his head."She was. It's complicated.”
“Could anyone become fae?" Your curiosity had gotten the best of you.
Azriel shook his head again, taking another sip of tea. “No, she died. Then she was brought back to life by the High Lords of Prythian. Each one gave her a spark of their power. That revived her and turned her into a High Fae.”
“Wow. That's…incredible. Of course not, the part of her dying.” The idea of becoming a Fae female intrigued you deeply."I wish I could’ve been born Fae. Being a human is so…trivial. That's why I don't bother talking to the others in the village.”
The male eyed you in wonder."Do the others in the village ever come out here?”
You let out a laugh at the idea. For the number of times you avoided the people of the village, they avoided you twice as much."Absolutely not. I am the outcast living just outside the village alone.”
“What of it?”
“My refusal to join the others in the village unsettles them. The children think of me as a witch.”The thought of being called a witch made you smile. “To be fair, I don't help with the allegations.”
He raised an eyebrow at you. “Are you purposely scaring the children?”
You side-eyed him, then took a sip of your tea.
“You are? Now, why would you do that?" He asked, sounding amused.
Your mug was held against your lap. “Okay, it's not like I mean to wake up and choose to scare children. If the village wants to paint me as a scary outcast, then I'll play the part.” You merely shrugged. “Keeps them away from me.”
You brought your legs up on the chair and curled them beneath you. “Every now and then, there will be a few brave ones who come by to see the local witch. So I just make my silliest face, and they go home running. Their parents know I'm not a witch, obviously. Otherwise, I think I'd have an angry mob.”
He smiled a bit.
“So what about you?" You asked.
Azriel tilted his head to the side. “What about me?"
You playfully rolled your eyes. “I've been talking all about myself; you haven't shared anything about yourself. Any family?”
There was a long pause. A battle was shown in his eyes before he opened his mouth."I don't really talk to my relatives. Other than my mother. I don't visit her enough, but I love her.”
“That's sweet that you’re close to her.” You gave him a genuine smile.
“It wasn't always like that. Not by choice.”He admitted.
You didn't ask him to elaborate. Azriel pegged you as a very private person, and you didn't want to push. “I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad your relationship with her has improved.”
He looked taken aback by your response. His shadows curled around your lap. The feeling of them being with you was oddly nurturing. You didn't know how else to think of it, but there was a rightness.
“I was the bastard son of an Illyrian Lord. My stepmother despised me. I was only allowed to see my mom once a week.” Azriel explained.
Your jaw dropped. “What? That's awful. You didn't ask to be born. Why would she keep you from your own mother?"
“I try not to think about it much. It wasn't easy for me.” He looked away from you.
You felt your heart clench from his admission. “I am so sorry you went through that, Azriel. That isn't fair.”
His eyes went back to you. “I…thank you. I never really talk about myself, but it's nice to let someone new in.”
“I appreciate you feeling comfortable enough to tell me your story.” You said, giving him a reassuring smile.
Azriel went quiet again whilst his shadows remained around you. The storm finally passed, but it was nightfall now. “Did you want to stay overnight, or did you have somewhere you needed to be?”
He looked outside, then backed at you."I was supposed to head back home from a mission.”
You tilted your head to the side in confusion. “A mission?"
His eyes widened. “I probably shouldn't have said that.”
“I won't say anything. I don't have family or friends, but I guess I'm still a stranger, so I understand if you don't trust me.” You tried to reassure the male shifting in his seat.
Azriel shook his head. “That's not it. I just…I’m usually better at keeping these things to myself.” He cleared his throat. “But oddly, I trust you. I'm the Spymaster of the Night Court.”
You nodded slowly, even though you had no idea what a Night Court was."Okay…”
He sighed deeply."In Prythian, there are seven courts, each ruled by a High Lord. The High Lord of my Court happens to be my brother.”
You remained silent.
His lips were pressed in a line."We trained in camp together when we were young, along with our other brother. Rhys is the High Lord, and Cassian is a commander.”
“And you are the Spymaster.”
He nodded."I'd tell you more, but I shouldn't, and the politics of Prythian are complicated. Even more so for…”
You rolled your eyes."A human? Thanks.”
“If it makes you feel better, you’re my favorite human,” Azriel said, trying to bring you some form of consolation.
That made you laugh. “And just how many humans do you know?”
Please continue Elastic Heart. ♥️ just finished it and it’s AMAZINGLY angsty.
Thank you! I really want to post another part for an ending and an alt. This fix was kind of therapeutic to write. It's loosely inspired by my own life events. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Warnings: NSFW (It's the honeymoon), dirty talk, pregnancy sex, cock riding (forwards and backwards), titty play?, mentions of lactating?, mentions of marking via hickey. Clark being possessive af, daddy kink, clit play?, cum eating, fingering, oral f receiving. one singular pussy slap
Clark drove you to the Airbnb he rented for the night. Once you were there, you both unbuckled your seat belts.
"Wait here." He said before exiting the truck and walked towards the house. He walked up to the door and lifted up a potted plant. Clark pulled out a key and unlocked the door.
He went in and you saw the lights go on in the house. You snorted realizing he was making sure everything was perfect before you came inside. A minute later Clark walked back outside and came to the truck. "Give me another minute."
Clark then proceeded to grab all the luggage from the back of the truck and quickly brought them inside. You were full on laughing at this point now.
Finally he came back out once he was done and came to your door and opened it. "Well hello my beautiful wife." He said smiling at you. Clark gently pulled you out of the truck and held you bridal style.
You were grinning widely at him. "My strong and sexy husband."
He carried you to the door that he left open just a crack. Clark gently kicked the door open further so he could walk in with you.
Your husband now took you to the bedroom. Once there he set you on the bed. He stood back and took a good look at you. "So pretty sitting there for me baby."
"I got a surprise for you. I wanna show you the other gift Cat bought me from the bridal shower." You said standing up.
Clark furrowed his eyebrows. "You brought Cat's gift here?" He asked in confusion. The poor man was oblivious to what it could possibly be.
You nodded and had a mischievous smile on your face. "Yes. Sit on the bed close your eyes. And absolutely no peaking."
He still seemed confused but he sat down anyways and shut his eyes tightly. You quietly took off your hoodie and sweatpants then slipped off your shoes. You smoothed out the tulle on the bra and took a deep breath. You stood right in front of your sexy husband that you still couldn't believe was yours.
You cleared your throat. "Okay, you can open your eyes."
As soon as he did his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Holy... Sweetheart you look... I mean." Words were escaping him.
You twirled in front of him. The tulle moving with you. "Do you like it?" You asked stopping to face him.
His eyes were fixed right on your tits that threatened to spill over the bra. Clark nodded slowly, his jaw still on the floor. "I love it." He said barely above a whisper. He cleared his throat. "Remind me to thank Cat. I think I'm gonna buy her a gift basket." Clark muttered.
He looked like he was hypnotized. You put your hand on your hip. "Well, are you gonna do something and maybe take it off of me, or are you going to sit there and gawk at me until you cum in your pants?" You teased.
Clark didn't say anything. He pulled his suit jacket off and undid his tie. Then he unbuttoned his shirt. During all of this, his eyes never left your body. If it were anyone else, you would have started feeling uncomfortable with all the staring.
You knew Clark was staring because he wanted to commit this image to his memory. He stood up briefly to pull his pants down with his boxers, throwing them to the side somewhere. His cock was already rock hard and leaking precum. "Come here."
You walked over to him slowly. It was too slow for Clark. Once you were close enough, Clark grabbed your wrist and pulled you over to him. "Straddle my lap. I want you riding my cock while I bury my face in these tits." He demanded.
Clark guided you to his lap. He hooked a finger on your crotchless panties. "These panties are genius. I want all of your panties to be like this."
You let out a laugh. "Noted. I'll be on the lookout for more of them."
He lined his fat cock at your entrance. "Ready?"
"What? No prep?" You asked, he was usually pretty good about prepping you before sinking his cock in you, especially because he knew how big he was.
Clark cursed under his breath, seeming impatient. He spat on his hand and stroked his cock a few times. "Now? I'm really not sure if I can take waiting any longer."
You snorted. "Okay, fine. So desperate to have your wife riding you." You said and sank down on him. You grimaced as you felt him stretch you out. It wasn't as comfortable this time around, but you didn't mind the tinge of pain; it felt kind of good.
"Fuck sweetheart, you always feel so good for me," Clark mumbled and then leaned his head in to bury his face between your tits. "I think I'm in heaven."
You let out a laugh as you picked up the pace. "You know my tits are only gonna get bigger during my pregnancy." You whispered.
Clark reached around to grab your ass cheeks and gripped tightly. He looked up to you, his glasses now crooked. You took them off and set them down a few inches away. "You really mean it?" He asked, sounding like a child asking if their parents were really going to take them to the candy store.
You smiled at him. "Mhm, they'll fill up with the milk I'll use to feed our baby."
He buried his face again. "Best decision I have ever made." You heard him muffled. He then kissed the tops of your breasts.
Clark grabbed your hips and pulled you up and down on him, guiding you. Your legs were burning as they got cramped up. "As much as I like this closeness, my thighs are burning, babe."
He grumbled. "Turn around and sit on my lap then."
You got up for a moment and turned around. You sat back down on his lap allowing him to fill you up again. "Yeah that's better." You sigh out.
Clark wrapped his arms around you grabbing at your breasts as you continued to ride him. "Feel so good sweetheart. My perfect little wife."
You leaned back into him allowing him to bury his head in the crook of your neck. He kissed and sucked on your neck hungrily. "Baby, you're gonna leave a hickey on my neck." You moaned out but the idea didn't bother you, not when he was deep inside you and holding you like this.
"So? I want to mark my wife." He left another kiss. "You're mine." He growled out before gently biting your neck as he thrusted up into you.
You nodded. "All yours. Don't want anyone else." You barely could form words too distracted by the feeling of your husband's cock bullying your cervix.
He gripped your breasts a little tighter. "Good. You're not gonna have anyone else. Never."
You gasped at the way he grabbed you. "So aggressive."
Clark loosened his grip. "Sorry."
You let out a laugh. "It's okay baby. I love the way you man handle me."
"I'm gonna manhandle this pussy." He mumbled against your neck before taking a hand down to your drenched cunt.
Clark started rubbing circles on your clit. You moaned your head laying back over his shoulder. He could hear you making the sweetest sounds right by his ear.
"My beautiful wife sounds so sexy. Does that feel good?" He asked smugly. You could only nod."Am I fucking you dumb, sweetheart? "
"Uh huh." You moan with half-lidded eyes. "So good, Daddy." You muttered.
You were already so close to cumming and Clark could feel it. "You gonna cum for your husband already? Cum all over my cock? Such a dirty girl." He whispered in your ear before gently nipping at your earlobe.
"Nnngh—oh! Fuck!"You squeezed your eyes shut as the rubber band snapped. "Clark!"
He kept rubbing circles on your clit, and you tried pulling your legs together. "Nuh uh. Open those fucking legs." He let go of your right breast and used that to stretch your legs open. "There we go, baby. Keep riding, Daddy. Doing such a great job for me."
You gasped as you continued to ride him. "Feels too good." You mumbled.
Clark smirked. "That's the point. I want my wife to feel good." You nodded, slowing down your movements, getting a little tired already, but he kept rubbing your clit. "You look so pretty like this. Bouncing on my cock."
You honestly couldn't speak anymore, just kept making fucked out sounds. Clark chuckled. "Are you with me?"
"Barely." You whispered out.
He left another kiss behind your ear. "Good because I'm gonna make you cum on my cock again."
You whined as he grabbed you by the waist and pulled you up and down on him, using you like a fleshlight. His cock was driving itself and kept hitting your G-spot. You felt yourself getting close.
"Touch yourself sweetheart. I wanna see you play with your pussy while you cum on my dick." Clark said dying to see you get off again.
You brought your left hand down and started rubbing circles on your clit to the same rhythm of his thrusts. You started getting really loud as you got closer and closer to your second orgasm.
Clark kept his eyes on your hand as you played with yourself. "Look at you. My dirty wife is playing with her clit while I bounce her on my cock. You look desperate. You're gonna cum aren't you?" You nodded eagerly."Cum for me, sweetheart. Milk daddy's cock. "
You screamed as you came hard. Your pussy gripped Clark like a vise. You heard him let out a string of curses under his breath soon he was cumming too. "Fuck baby girl take my cum." He kept bouncing you on him as he continued to fill you up.
Once he was done he picked you up and laid you on the center of the bed and climbed over you. He reached his hand out to caress your cheek gently. "You look so beautiful like this baby."
You smiled softly barely able to keep your eyes open. "I love you Clark."
"I love you more." He said giving your lips a kiss.
You snorted. "Impossible." You whispered against his lips.
He smirked. "I'll show you." Clark kissed the tops of your breasts again then kissed down your stomach.
You still weren't showing yet, but you weren't as squishy on your stomach as before.
"I can't wait to see you get big." He mumbled giving one more kiss right above your naval. Then moved down to kiss your inner thighs.
You let out a small laugh. "News flash Clark, I'm already big." You then felt him gently nip at your thigh. "Ow! Hey!"
"You know how I feel about you talking down about yourself." He said eyeing you as he kissed your thigh again.
You rolled your eyes. "It's not talking down, it's just the facts. You married a big girl, Clark."
He nipped your other thigh now. "And I love it. I have more of you to grab." Clark said, gripping your thighs. His eyes were on your leaking pussy. "Gosh, my cum is just leaking out of you. Looks so good. My cum belongs in you."
You whimpered at his words, feeling worked up again. Clark got really close to your pussy you felt his breath on you. "Clark, please. I need you."
"For what baby? What do you want?"
"Anything please. Do something." You begged.
Then you felt his tongue dart out. "I can taste both of us on my tongue."
He collected his release on his tongue and pushed himself inside you.
The feeling had you grinding yourself on his tongue. "I love when you look so desperate for me. Look at you tryna shove your pussy in my face."
"Clark please—Shit!"You yelped when he stuck two fingers in you.
He was smirking against your pussy as he sucked your clit in his mouth. "You always make the prettiest sounds for me. I want you to get really loud."
Clark continued his assault on your cunt. He curled his fingers up inside you making sure to hit that spot inside you. He kept licking and sucking on your clit until you arched your back up and yelped as you came undone for a third time.
"There you go sweetheart. Cum on your husband's fingers." He pulled his fingers out and licked them clean. You stared at him as he cleaned both of your arousals off. Clark looked at your glistening cunt and left a few kisses on your clit before getting up.
"How are you doing, sweetheart?" Clark asked hovering over you his face above yours.
You smiled at your husband then leaned up to kiss him. The taste of both Clark and you on his lips. "I'm amazing. What about you?"
He gave you another kiss. "Any day I get to worship my beautiful wife is a great day and trust me sweetheart, I love worshipping your body." Clark smiled and kissed your lips sliding his tongue in your mouth.
You moaned into the kiss. He didn't waste time in fondling your breasts through your lingerie. Clark helped to sit you up a bit to get the bra off of you. Any other time he'd rip it off impatiently but he loved it and wanted to see you in it again sometime.
Clark rested you back flat on the bed and shifted his attention back to your breasts. He kissed and sucked each nipple. He swirled his tongue around the nipple rings hungrily. "You think I can try some of your milk when you produce it?"
You looked wide eyed at him. "You want to drink my breast milk?"
He shrugged. "It's only natural for a man to want to try his wife's breast milk. After all, I'm the one who got you pregnant."
Your mouth was agape. "I...well, I'm not sure if natural is the word I'd use, but I'm not stopping you."
Clark smiled widely and leaned up to kiss you. "Let me clean you up. You've been up all day; you should rest."
You gave him another kiss. "I'll never get over how lucky I got to marry you. Do you know how many women fawn over you daily?"
He shook his head. "No, they fawn over Superman. I'm more than the cape."
You playfully rolled your eyes. "I'm just glad to be your only wife and not in some secret harem."
Clark looked at you sideways. "Oh hahaha. I'm sure, much to my real parents' dismay, I'm monogamous. That means I'm sticking to one pussy for the rest of my life."
You let out a laugh. "I'm so flattered that the great Superman chose mine."
He kissed your nose. "Yup. I love it so much. That's why I eat it whenever I can." He said before lightly slapping your pussy, causing you to squeal.
"You're a menace."
"I thought I was the great Superman?" He smirked.
You playfully rolled your eyes again. "Yeah, and you're also my husband."
Clark smiled widely. "Say it again."
"You. Are. My. Husband." You said kissing his lips after each word.
"I think I can die happy now." He teased.
You shook your head with a smile still on your face. "You better not, I can't have this baby without you."
He let out a laugh. "Okay I promise I won't die on you. For the record, I think you could if you wanted to."
You scrunched your face up. "Well I don't want to, you better not plan on leaving me Kent. I'll kick your ass."
Clark laughed again then kissed you. "No sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere. That kid is doomed to have both of us as helicopter parents for the rest of their life."
You snorted. "Speak for yourself. I'm gonna be a cool mom."
He shook his head and got up to get you a wash cloth and clean you up. When he got back Clark cleaned you gently. "Thank you."
Your face contorted in confusion. "I feel like I should be saying thank you for cleaning me up."
He smiled. "No, I mean thank you for saying yes to marrying me. For carrying our child. For loving me, for letting me love you. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."
"I love you so much, more than I ever thought I could love a person. We have been on a wild ride together but I wouldn't trade it for the world."
Clark came back to you and leaned his forehead against yours. "I love you too sweetheart. I can't put it into words but I will always try my best to show you."
You caressed his face with your hand. "Good, that's all I ask."
The three of you were at the fortress after a nauseating flight in Clark's arms. He didn't bother changing into his super suit, just claimed it was night and no one would see him.
"Superman-" Gary started but got cut off when Krypto lunged towards Kara destructively.
Kara started laughing as she played with him.
You smiled seeing Krypto again. "Hi, Krypto!"
He stopped to look at you. He then tilted his head to the side his eyes landed on your belly.
You instinctively put a hand on your stomach, then looked down. "Can you tell there's a baby in here?" You asked.
"Superman, your girlfriend is expecting a child?" Gary asked.
Clark shook his head. "No."
You looked at him confused. "What do you mean, no? I'm pregnant."
"I don't have a girlfriend, though; I have a wife." He said with that goofy little grin you'd get to see for the rest of your life.
Kara groaned at him. "You're sick, you know that?"
"Yeah, lovesick."
You bit back a laugh at the grimace on Kara's face.
"Superman, I'll have you know that, for having advanced technology here, it's not good enough to keep up with your personal life anymore." Gary spoke.
Clark looked at Gary. "What do you mean?"
You swore that if Gary were human, he would be putting his hands on his hips in exasperation. "First, you get a new girlfriend, she's pregnant, and now you mean to tell me she's your wife?"
He gave the robot a tight-lipped smile. "You seemed to catch up just fine."
"It's a good thing I don't have emotions for me to care enough to ask about you marrying her so soon," Gary said. "Did you bring her here because of the fetus?"
Clark nodded. "Yes, Kara informed me that Kryptonina pregnancies last for 12 months."
"And that you needed to bring her here since you hadn't had her get seen yet." Kara chimed in.
"Superman, your cousin is sober," Gary said, suddenly going off topic.
This made Kara cross her arms. "What an astute observation."
"Yes, Gary, I'm aware she is sober. Once she found out that my wife is pregnant, she sobered up. Then my wife urged her to remain sober and come to our wedding." Clark explained.
Gary looked at you. "Impressive, not even Superman could get his cousin to stop partying."
You simply shrugged. "I didn't do much. I treated her like family and made an effort to make her feel welcome. That's why she was always out; she didn't feel like she belonged."
"Holy shit, you're right," Kara said. "Y/N are you secretly a psychiatrist moonlighting as a journalist?"
You opened and closed your mouth for a second as you thought of words. "No? I thought it was obvious."
The robots, Clark, and Kara all stared at you. "What? What did I say?"
"Let me examine you." Gary spoke breaking the silence.
You lie on the exam table. Some of the other robots surrounded you to help run diagnostics. "Y/N, you are the first female in history to be carrying a kyrptonian/human hybrid." A female robot spoke up. She had the number 12 on her.
"Should I be worried, Becky?" You asked her.
"Oh, you remembered my name." If you didn't know any better she sounded a little happy.
You smiled at her. "Well, of course I remember, I named you."
The number 5 robot appeared. "Hey Johnny." You named him after Johnny 5 from the movie Short Circuit. Felt fitting.
"The pregnancy looks extremely healthy. It's impressive." Johnny spoke. "The fetus is growing faster than any Kryptonian pregnancy recorded."
You looked at Clark then back at Johnny. "What does that mean?"
"Being that this planet has a yellow sun the baby is able to develop faster. The expected gestation period will be shorter." Gary explained.
You let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. How long will it be then?"
"That's what we aren't sure about. The baby's growth is moving exponentially but we can't track it. From the looks of it possibly in 7 months. Maybe a little less." Johnny spoke.
"Okay I can live with that. I am so glad it won't be a full year."You said feeling a weight come off your shoulders.
Clark smiled at you aso feeling relieved. He felt so guilty that he got you pregnant without knowing you could have been pregnant a whole year.
"Well I have never been more glad to be wrong about something." Kara said. "I'll be back in 6 months just in case. Krypto, come on."
Krypto perked his ears up and barked excitedly.
"I'll miss you Kara." You spoke up.
She turned to look at you and Kara looked like she was trying everything within her power not to cry. "You will?"
You nodded smiling. "Of course! You're like a sister I never got to have."
Kara rushed over to you and gave you a big hug. "Thank you. For everything." You heard her sniffle. "Fuck my eyes are leaking."
You let out a laugh. "Those are called tears."
"I know. I don't cry. I never cry. Not even when Krypton blew up." She said.
You glanced over at Clark. He looked surprised by her admission. She pulled away before one final squeeze. Then she turned to Clark. "Take care of them both. Don't let anything happen to her Kal-El. I will never forgive you." She said after wiping away tears. Her voice was stern.
"I promise, I will keep an eye out for my wife." He said with a crooked smile. "I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to her and the baby."
He went to reach out for a hug but Kara put her hand up. "I don't do hugs."
Clark's jaw dropped. "What? You just hugged my wife."
"Yeah but she's the exception. I like her more and she's caring my niece or nephew." She replied with a matter of fact tone.
It was then that he didn't know if he should feel proud that you are so well loved by his cousin or offended that she wasn't willing to hug him. Both? Both was good.
He shrugged. "A little hurt you won't hug me but I'm glad you're fond of my wife."
"You'll be fine. Bye bitch." She said before giving him the middle finger and walking out of the fortress with Krypto shortly behind.
Clark simply shook his head then looked at Gary. "So Y/N is healthy?"
"About as healthy as she can be." He replied. "Try and visit every month for regular check ups. She needs to spend a lot of time outside and get plenty of sun exposure. For now, we can help her soak it up." Gary pressed some buttons and suddenly the fortress opened up some more.
The rays of the sun were now much more direct as they shined on you. "This feels like I'm in a saunaor trying to get a tan."
Clark snorted at that. "Well I hope you're comfortable."
"Kind of."
Gary tapped some buttons again and the fortress closed back up. "How do you feel?" Clark asked you.
You shrugged. "No different. Just warm."
"You won't feel anything but the fetus will be healthier for it." Gary said.
"Good. I want little Jonathan to be big and strong." Clark said with a smile.
You snorted. "Or little Loralai."
Clark's eyes softened. "That's the name you chose if it's a girl?"
You smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Loralai Martha Kent."
He didn't say anything but picked you up bridal style and carried you out the foretress. "Clark what are you doing?"
"Taking you on our honeymoon. I still want to fuck my wife." He replied before taking flight.
You shut your eyes tightly as you held onto him. Not long after the two of you were back on the Kent farm. Everyone seemed to have gone home. You both entered the house to grab your belongings.
"Clark, is that you?" It was Ma.
He sighed softly. "Yes, Ma. It's me. "
She turned on the light and was sitting in her chair. "Clark Joseph Kent, you left your own wedding. You didn't even say goodbye. We had no idea you left."
You bit the inside of your cheek. "Sorry. That was my fault." You said sheepishly.
"No it was mine. Kara mentioned something about the pregnancy that really worried me so I took her to the foretress to get checked." Clark said. It wasn't a lie. Granted you both originally left to try and get the honeymoon started but Martha didn't have to know that.
Ma's eyes softened. "Good heavens, is she alright? Is the baby okay?" She was concerned now that there was something wrong with her grandchild.
Clark put his hands up for her to slow down. "Yes Y/N and the baby are both healthy."
"Then don't scare me like that! I don't want anything to happen to my grandbaby."
He tried not to laugh because she was frustrated but he found it amusing. "No, Kara just mentioned that Kryptonian pregnancies could last a whole year and pointed out Y/N still hadn't been seen during her pregnancy."
Ma placed her hands on her hips. "Your wife is how many months pregnant?"
"A little over three months." You spoke up.
"Three months and she hadn't been seen yet?"
You and Clark looked at each other then back at Ma. "We hadn't gotten around to it with the wedding planning and also making sure no one knew about the baby." You said.
That was the moment Pa chose to talk in. "You're pregnant?"
Your eyes widened but you nodded. Pa snapped his head over to glare at his son. "What did I tell you about being careful?"
"She was already pregnant when you talked to me about it. We just didn't know." Clark said putting his hands up in defense.
Pa squinted his eyes. "How far along is she?"
"Three months." You replied.
"Three months that was..." You could see the gears turning in Pa's head and then his face contorted in realization.
Ma shook her head. "Oh what does it matter? They're married now he's not our little boy anymore Jonathan."
Pa huffed. "Suppose you have a point." He muttered. "Although you left your own wedding and left the rest of us cleaning up."
Clark looked down.
"He needed to take her to get checked out. Do you know that poor girl is going to be pregnant for a whole year? I'll tell you what Clark, you better consider yourself lucky that she loves you." Ma said pointing at her son with narrow eyes.
You let out a laugh. "The good news is that the robots said that thanks to the yellow sun we have the pregnancy won't actually take that long. Which is great because I was planning on this being the one and done."
Clark looked at you with a raised eyebrow. "Does that mean you are considering more children?" He asked.
You looked at him. "Uh...lets have the one and see how I feel?"
He smiled softly at you. "You should tell them the name you picked out, if its a girl."
For whatever reason your face heated up at the thought. Both his parents eyes were on you.
You looked at Ma. "If it's a girl I wanted to name her Loralai Martha Kent."
She gasped and her eyes watered. "You wanna name her after me?" You smiled and nodded at her. She rushed over and hugged you. "Sweet girl. That's a beautiful name. Thank you." She then kissed the top of your head.
You let out a laugh. "Well you did help raise the man I fell in love and the father of my child. Thought it was only right."
She pulled away from the hug. Ma had tears streaming down her face. "I'm just so happy Clark got to marry such a lovely woman." You smiled and tried now to cry yourself.
"I can't wait to meet my grandbaby."She looked down at your stomach. Between you and me, I hope you're a girl. Your dad will spoil you. But if you're a boy it will be okay. Just don't get into any trouble."
You looked at Clark who had that side ways smile that made you want to sit on his face. No Y/N,this is supposed to be a sweet moment with your in laws. Stop thinking about riding your husband's tongue. The thought made you squeeze your thighs just the slightest bit. An action that didn't go unnoticed by Clark.
"Well we should probably head out. Y/N and I just wanted to grab our stuff so we can go enjoy our honeymoon." He spoke up.
Ma pouted. "Aw, are you sure you both don't want to spend the night? It's late."
Clark glanced over at you. Then you glanced at him. "Uh...We have a flight that we need to catch." He said. Now that, was a lie. You two had a reservation at a nearby air bnb for the night.
The thing is, however, Ma and Pa raised him. They knew he was lying. He was a shit liar.
"What time is the flight? We can take you." Pa suggested.
Clark's shoulders dropped. He looked at what would be a watch on his wrist but he didn't have one on. "Oh no. Looks like we missed our flight. Guess,we'll just stay the night." He said snapping his finger in mock disappointment.
"There was no flight, was there?" Pa asked.
"No there was not. Y/N and I were planning on staying at an air bnb for the night." Clark admitted.
Pa furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "An air b and what now?"
You tried not to laugh. "An air bnb is just a house someone rents out for travelers." You cleared your throat. "We just...ahem wanted...privacy."
"Oh? Oh! Well why didn't you say so? Of course!" Ma said in realization. "I remember what it was like when your Pa and I first got married." She said and looked off into the distance fondly.
Clark grimaced. "I think we're just gonna go. Thank you for everything and letting us have the wedding here."
Ma smiled as she looked at Clark. "Of course! It was my—I mean our pleasure."
You both packed up your suitcases again. While Clark was in his room finishing up you got out of your wedding dress and put the bra from the lingerie set Cat bought you. Over that you put on a baggie hoodie and sweat pants. You then put on your sneakers.
You smirked in the mirror in the guest room. You wanted to lure Clark into a false sense of security before you jumped his bones.
You walked out with your suitcases. Clark was already in the living room waiting for you. He gave you a loving smile despite the fact you were wearing baggy clothes now that hid your body from him.
"Ready?" He asked.
You nodded and got on your tippy toes to plant a kiss on his lips. "Let's go."
"Bye Ma, Bye Pa! I'm borrowing the truck! I'll bring it back in the morning before our flight!" Clark shouted out for his parents as he grabbed your hand and pulled you out of the house.
Warning: Some casual mentions of sex? Licking of clit
After everyone had eaten their dinner, the DJ, who looked a little too much like Pitbull, announced it was time for you to toss your bouquet. All the single women, young and old, gathered behind you on the dance floor. "Everyone ready?"
The woman and all cheered in response. You took a deep breath and threw the bouquet behind you. You quickly turned around to see who caught it. You saw some women trying to dive for it, but it landed right in Lucy's hands. She stared at the bouquet wide-eyed.
You let out a laugh and applauded her. The other women applauded as well. Some looked more disappointed than others. The women went to sit down.
Now it was time for the garter toss. You grabbed a chair while Clark came up to you. He had a slight blush on his face as he stood in front of you. You were sitting in the middle of the dance floor, staring up at him. "You good? You look like you're going to pass out." You asked him quietly.
He cracked a smile. "Yeah just a little shy to do this in front of everyone."
You snorted. "Noted, you're not into voyeurism."You teased him.
His face reddened more at the mention of the sexual act.
"Groom, are you ready?" The DJ asked Clark via his microphone. Clark nodded, not taking his eyes off you. "Alright, dale."
Clark quickly got on his knees in front of you, lifting the skirt of your dress, trying not to lift it up too high and exposing you.
You felt like your whole body was on fire as people whooped and cheered. You felt a kiss on your inner thigh where the garter was, then another one a little higher. That was soon followed by a quick swipe of the tongue on your clit. You were wearing the crotchless panties from the lingerie set Cat got you. You fought back a moan, but then gasped when you felt a nip on your thigh before the garter was pulled off of you.
Clark made his way out from under your dress. The garter was in his mouth as he stood up. He grabbed the garter in his hand and grinned at you smugly. Yeah, you were gonna consummate the shit out of this marriage later.
"Alright, all single men, come to the dance floor." The DJ announced pulling you from the intense eye fucking you were giving Clark.
You got up and put the chair back, and went to the bride and groom table to watch the men. Clark stood at the center, and when everyone was ready, he tossed the garter. Of course, he was able to toss it far, and it made it to the back of the group and landed on Jimmy's face.
Jimmy plucked the garter from his face and held it out with his thumb and index finger, staring at it. His jaw dropped then he turned his head to look at Lucy in the crowd who started laughing as she shrugged.
People soon made their way to the dance floor, while you and Clark went around to each table and thanked everyone for coming. You made it to the Daily Planet table. The guests at the table included Lois, Jimmy, Cat, Perry, and Lucy as an honorary member.
"Thank you guys for coming," Clark spoke first.
Perry nodded. "You've done well, Kent. L/N is a good one. Don't mess it up."
You blinked in surprise, not expecting Perry to say that. At no point did you think that you made such a big impression on your boss.
"Trust me, I don't plan on it." Clark turned to look at you with a sweet smile on his face.
"Thank you, Perry. That means a lot." You said. "I had no idea you thought so highly of me."
He puffed his cigar. "You've done a lot of good for Kent. He's gotten better at getting to work on time. I take notice."
You smiled at the compliment. Clark took your hand and rubbed gentle circles with his thumb.
Lois cleared her throat and gave you a polite smile. "I know we didn't get off on the right foot, but I'm glad to be here. You look beautiful, Y/N." She said.
You gave her a huge smile. "Thank you! I'm glad you're here, too. It's good to be able to leave the past behind us." You noticed her boyfriend wasn't with her. "I'm sorry you couldn't bring, Jack."
She smiled sadly. "It's all good, he said he had work. He just got this job; it still hasn't hit 90 days." Jack Wheeler was the guy Lois was seeing. Not much is known about him other than he lived in Gotham before and was now living out in Metropolis.
"We understand." You said.
After talking to your coworkers plus Lucy, Clark then walked you over to the Justice Gang. Clark had them in the furthest table in the back, and it was dimly lit just to prevent anyone from recognizing them. They were wearing civilian clothes, and Metamorpho disguised himself to look human.
"Guys, I never introduced you officially to Y/N," Clark spoke up to his other job's colleagues.
You smiled and waved at them. "Nice to officially meet you guys."
The woman at the table nodded towards you. "Right back at ya. I'm Kendra." She said.
"I'm Michael." Said the man you figured was Mr. Terrific.
Then the guy with the ugly haircut smiled politely at you. "Hi, I'm Guy."
Then lastly a man just waved at you with a quirky little smile. "I'm Rex."
"Thank you guys for coming. Also, thanks for looking after, Clark out there." You said, flashing a smile at your husband.
He smiled back and kissed your temple.
Most of the table seemed to grimace at the two of you.
"You guys are sickeningly cute." Kendra said.
"Mostly sick," Michael spoke up.
"I think they're adorable," Rex said, trying to defend you guys.
"They're okay I guess." Guy shrugged.
Clark only pulled you into his side. "Are you guys going to be fine while I'm away on my honeymoon?"
Guy scoffed. "Please, the Justice Gang will be just fine. We won't even notice you'll be gone."
You tilted your head to the side in thought."Is Justice Gang really the best name you guys could come up with?" You asked, not knowing what asking this question entailed.
Kendra slapped the table. "Thank you! I told you it was a terrible name." She said pointing at Guy.
Guy glared at you. "We're getting off on the wrong foot."
You smiled uncomfortably. "Sorry, it was just a question."
"You try coming up with a name if it's so bad."
You thought for a bit. "I don't know. You don't have many members, but if you expand, you'll have enough people to form a league. Maybe work with that?"
Kendra shot her eyes wide open. "The Justice League?! That's a great name!" She whispered, shouted.
Guy looked less than pleased. "That name is okay I guess." He pouted and crossed his arms
"It's better than okay, Y/N you might be in charge of naming stuff from now on." Kendra said.
Your face heated up. "Oh I don't know I was just throwing it out there."
She shook her head. "Nope, you're in charge."
"I...okay sure." You said sheepishly.
You both went to the other guests, but Clark snorted on the way to the next table. "Well, I think Kendra loves you."
"Yeah but I think Guy hates me now." You reply.
"I wouldn't worry about it." He replied.
"You're right. He has other things to worry about... Like that fuckass bowl cut." You replied
Clark bursted out laughing. "You're the best."
You laughed too. "Thank you."
After you finished talking to your guests, Clark took your hand and led you to the dance floor. "What are you doing, Mr. Kent?" You ask with a huge smile on your face.
"Dancing with my beautiful wife." He replied, pulling you into an embrace and swaying with you.
You enjoyed being in your husband's warm embrace. The world was forgotten as the two of you swayed. "I love you so much." You whispered. "I like hearing you call me your wife."
Clark smiled and kissed the top of you head. "My beautiful wife. I don't know how I got so lucky."
You nuzzled your head against him. "I wonder the same thing." You lifted your head up to look at him. Clark had the softest most loving look on his face.
He leaned down and kissed your lips. "Do you think it would be terribly rude if we left early?" He whispered against your lips.
You grinned. "It's our wedding. I think we can do whatever we want."
"Have I told you how much I love you?" He asked with the most loving eyes.
"Only every chance you can get, but I don't get tired of hearing it." You said and kissed him.
Clark went up to Jimmy. "The Mrs. and I are heading out. Can I trust you to make sure everyone gets out okay?"
Jimmy furrowed his eyebrows. "You guys are leaving already?"
Clark tilted his head to the side. As a way to say. "Come on, man, help a buddy get laid." Then Clark flicked his eyes to you. Jimmy then nodded, seemingly understanding now. "Got it, you want to start the honeymoon early."
He nodded at his best friend. "Yes. Thank you." He looked at you."We should say goodbye."
"We could...or we can try my favorite way to exit an event." You replied.
"What's that?"
"The Irish Goodbye."
He looked confused, but then you grabbed him by his tie and pulled him away and led him out of the backyard. "Feels like you have me on a leash."
"I do, for the rest of our lives."You teased.
Clark made a satisfied sound. "Mm, yes, Mrs. Kent." He said, fully staring at your ass now. At least whatever he could see that was covered by the dress.
"Hey, you guys are leaving?" You both turned around to see Kara.
She had a bewildered look on her face when she saw that you were pulling her cousin by his tie. "Uh...yes. We are ditching the wedding." You said.
"Why are you pulling him like that?" She asked.
You both were completely quiet. The air was thick with an awkward tension. You still had the tie in your hand.
"Oh my God, you guys are abandoning your own wedding to fuck?!" She asked a little too loudly. "Holy shit, my cousin is secretly a freak?"
"Shhh!!!" Clark shushed her loudly and looked to make sure none of the guests heard. "I don't want all of Smallville to know."
"I don't know if anyone would believe this. I don't believe this." Kara said in absolute disbelief.
You eyed Clark, then looked at Kara again. "I mean... I am pregnant." You said rather pointedly, as if to say, "The baby got there because Clark was a freak."
Kara opened her mouth and closed it as she tried to find her words. "I just...Well, I guess it wasn't an immaculate conception, but I didn't think..." She shuddered in disgust.
Clark almost looked offended. "Why is it so hard to believe that I...like to make love?"
You side-eyed him, knowing full well most of the time the two of you fucked, and you only started slowing down after finding out you were pregnant.
"Because you say dorky stuff like 'make love,'" Kara said, crossing her arms.
"Would you prefer I say I want to fuck my wife?"
You turned to look at him with your eyes wide and your pearls clutched. Kara appeared beyond flabbergasted.
"What?" He asked. Clark, looking beyond confused, is what finally made you laugh. He furrowed his eyebrows. "What's so funny? You act like you haven't heard me say 'fuck' before. I say it very often to you."
Kara actually looked like she wanted to step into another plane of existence and vomit. "You know what? You two enjoy yourselves. I'm sorry to interrupt."
You covered your mouth in an attempt to stifle your laugh. "Thanks for being here at the wedding, Kara."
She gave a tight lip smile. "I'll be back before the baby is born." She looked like she was about to take off.
"Wait, where are you going?" You asked.
"I'm taking off with Krypto. I think it's time I travel without booze on my mind." Kara replied. "I promise I'll be back in 9 months."
You furrowed your eyebrows. "What do you mean? I'm already 3 months pregnant."
Her mouth was agape. "Oh...Kal-El didn't tell you?"
Both you and Clark looked at each other in confusion, then back at Kara. "What was I supposed to tell her?"
She stood there and shifted her stance as if debating whether or not to take off then and there. "This is why your parents wanted me to look after you to make sure you know everything that those damn robots don't think it's important to tell you." She huffed.
"Kara." Clark said almost like a warning.
"Kryptonian pregnancies are supposed to last 12 months. You are the first woman to have a natural Kryptonian pregnancy in 30 years. Before that was Kal-El's mother, Lara. Besides that, these pregnancies were...taboo. There isn't much knowledge about them, but I do know your mom was pregnant with you for 12 months." Kara explained.
You covered your mouth in shock. "I'm...this whole fucking time I was thinking I only had six more months. I have nine whole months?! Do you know the number of people who already know I'm pregnant? Not a lot, but still! Oh my God, they are going to be so confused if I'm still pregnant for an extra three months. What do I tell them? I was wrong about the date of conception?" You started rambling.
"Sweetheart. Breathe. We will figure it out like we usually do." Clark said, taking your hands in his.
You glared at your husband. "You did this to me."
His mouth was wide open. "I am so sorry. I had no idea."
"You're lucky I love you." You mumbled.
"Did you take her to the fortress since the pregnancy started?" Kara asked.
"... No."
Kara looked like she wanted to hit him. "Take her to the robots. You idiot."
"Hey, that's not nice. I figured I could take her after the honeymoon." He said quietly.
She face-palmed. "Just take her now."
Clark sighed. "Fine."
"Come with us?" You asked.
She nodded. "Alright, fine. I'll go but only because I have to pick up Krypto anyways."
The following morning Clark had woken you up gently. "Sweetheart. You have to get back to the guest room and get ready."
You opened your eyes and gave him a small smile. "We're getting married today."
He smiled back and kissed your lips. "We are getting married. Maybe around Christmas we can tell everyone about the baby." Clark said and rubbed gentle circles over your belly.
"Yeah that would be nice. I'll be glad when we don't have to hide it anymore." You got up and out of bed and snuck into the guest room.
Kara was opening her suitcase when you walked in. "I'm glad Clark told you about the baby. I was worried he wouldn't."
You nodded. "I'm glad too. Still not happy about having to give birth in the Arctic but if it means Loralai will be safe then I'll live with it. "
She looked at you. "It's a girl?" She asked.
You shrugged. "I don't know but I like the name. Clark chose Jonathan if it's a boy and I am thinking Loralai if it's a girl."
Kara smiled at you. "It's a beautiful name."
You beamed at her. "I thought so too! Loralai Kent. I think it has a nice ring to it. Maybe Loralai Martha Kent. Is that a mouthful? I need to practice yelling it out. Loralai Martha Kent!" You tested it and nodded."Yup that's it."
Kara laughed. "Why did you practice yelling it?"
You simply shrugged. "If she ever gets in trouble I would call her by her full name. Radically more effective that way."
She snorted at your response. You went to take a shower and came back to the room to get dressed. While you were getting dressed Kara went to take a shower herself. You heard a knock on the door.
"Sweetheart? You haven't eaten at all this morning." Clark spoke from th otherside of the door.
You looked in the mirror as you did your makeup. "I'm too nervous to eat anything."
He huffed. "Well you need to eat something. Do you want me to cook you something?"
"No, you need to get ready."
"I'm more worried about you. Y/N, you need to eat."
You could tell he was getting frustrated. "Hon, it's fine. I'll grab a granola bar or something later."
"A granola bar?!"
"Or something."
"Hey what's with the shouting?" You heard Ma's voice now.
Clark sighed. "She won't eat."
Ma clicked her tongue. "The girl is just nervous. She can eat all she wants after the ceremony. I couldn't eat that morning I married your father."
"Yeah but she needs to eat. She's eating f-"Clark cut himself off as he realized what he was about to say.
"Oh my gosh she's pregnant." She clapped her hands together excitedly. "I'm gonna be a grandmama." She then smacked her son's arm. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Clark rubbed his arm even though he didn't feel anything. "Because we aren't married yet. You and Pa are traditional. So are her parents."
"Does your Pa know?"
He shook his head. "No."
She smiled. "Then it's fine. I would have been real upset if you told your father something again without telling me."
Clark snorted. You opened your door and popped your head out. Ma turned to look at you and smiled. "My beautiful daughter. You're having a baby."
You plastered a smile on your face and then shifted your eyes to Clark. "Sorry, it slipped. Wouldn't have happened if you ate."
You squinted your eyes and glared at him. "So it's my fault?"
Ma held her hands up to stop you two. "Y'all I'm not mad. I'm excited. Now, Y/N I know you are nervous but he's right you need to have something. How about I make you a smoothie?" She offered with a smile.
You smiled softly and nodded. "Yes, I'd love that."You looked at Clark. "Is that good enough for you?"
Clark looked a bit amused. “Yes that is good enough. It’s not ideal, but if it means you having something in your system than I’m good with it.”
Ma smiled. “Alright that settles it. I’m going to make you a smoothie. Now you should go back to getting ready. You do know it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding.” She said looking at Clark.
He looked over at his mom with furrowed eyebrows. “You don’t actually believe that, do you?”
“Yes. Now go on, git.” She said shooing away her son earning a chuckle from him. She then turned to look at you with a wide smile. “Now I know why you’re glowing. I’m sure this isn’t how you’d picture things to unravel with you and Clark, but I think having
a baby is a blessing.”
You opened the door more and let her in the room. “Can I be honest?”
She entered the room and sat on the bed. “Sure honey.”
You took a deep breath as you paced around the bedroom. “I’m really nervous about having the baby. Let me rephrase that. I’m excited to be a mom but Clark told me I’ll have to deliver in the fortress of solitude. Alone.”
Ma clicked her tongue. “You want your mama with you, don’t you?”
You gave her a small nod. “I made my peace with not being able to have her with me. I’m just nervous about any complications.”
She patted the bed beside her. “Sweetie I know this is scary, especially since you’ll be a new mom. You’re carrying the first half Kryptonian baby out there.”
“Is this supposed to cheer me up?” You asked sitting beside the older woman.
Ma snorted. “I’m getting there. Be patient.”
“Sorry.”
She gave you a soft smile. “It’s okay sweetie. You and Clark are embarking on this journey together. I know it might feel like you are alone but you don’t have to be. He will be with you every step of the way.”
You took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m worried about his other job. I never was before because I know Lois made him feel bad about it and I took on new hobbies or worked on my column research so I wouldn’t feel the weight of his absence. Adding a baby to the
mix is different though. We didn’t talk about what this would mean for him and I don’t know how to bring it up to him.”
Clark heard all of your concerns and sighed deeply. He knew he needed to show you he was serious about having a family with you.
“Honey, you need to tell him how you feel. You’re gonna start this marriage on the wrong foot if you can’t communicate with him.”
She was right and you nodded. “Okay, after the wedding when we have the time I’ll talk to him.”
Ma gave you a smile and kissed your temple. “I’m gonna go fix you that smoothie. Gotta feed my grandbaby.”
You laughed. “Thank you, Ma.”
“My pleasure, sweetie.” She said and got up.
You put on your wedding dress. It wasn’t anything extravagant but it was a long sleeve off white tulle dress. You smoothed out the dress in the mirror and smiled at your reflection. You pulled the dress down to be taut over your growing belly. “Hi baby. You’re coming with me so I can marry your daddy. We’re so excited to meet you. I’m sorry for being nervous but I love you very much.”
Clark smiled softly from his room as he heard you talk to the baby.
Kara walked in at that moment. "Are you talking to the fetus?" She looked confused.
You looked over and nodded. "Yes. I heard that when you talk to the baby during pregnancy they will recognize your voice after being born."
She scrunched her eyebrows. "You think it can hear us? From inside the womb?"
You shrugged your shoulders. "It doesn't hurt."
Kara tilted her head to the side. "I suppose not." She walked over and stood in front of you. Then crouched down. "Hello baby. This is your aunt Kara. I hope to meet you soon."
You smiled widely at her. "That's good."
Soon you heard the door of the house open and close. "Y/N! We're here!"
It was your mom. You ran out of the guest room and hugged her tightly. "Mommy!"
She staggered back and wrapped her arms around you. "You almost knocked me over." She laughed.
You started laughing too. "I'm just so happy to see you."
"What am I? Chopped Liver?" You heard your dad ask.
You seperated from your mom and went to hug your dad. "I'm happy to see you too dad."
"You look so beautiful, angel." Your mom said.
You pulled away and beamed at her. "Thank you. I feel beautiful."
You twirled a little in your dress. Then you put a hand over your mouth. "Probably shouldn't have done that." You quickly ran to the bathroom and threw up whatever was left in your stomach.
Your mom came in the bathroom behind you. "Angel, are you okay?" She gently rubbed your back.
You nodded and threw up again. "I'll be fine. Just got dizzy."
You heard Ma walk up in the background. "Aww, honey. Do you want some water?"
You spit into the toilet. "Yes please." You coughed a bit.
Your mom leaned by the bathroom counter. "Angel, be honest with me. Are you pregnant?" She asked in a whisper.
Well shit,so much for keeping it a secret until after you were married. "Yes." You said quietly.
She let out a gasp. "Are you serious?"
You turned your head to look over at her. "Are you mad?"
She shook her head. "At least you're still getting married. I had a feeling you might be pregnant when Clark asked you to marry him so soon."
You cracked a smile. "Funnily enough he actually proposed before we knew I was pregnant."
Your mom blinked in surprise. "Really?"
"Yes. No one believes me when I tell them that."
Your mom furrowed her eyebrows. "Who else knows."
That's when you felt your face heat up. You knew she was going to be more pissed that other people knew before she did. "Not...a lot of people."
"Who else, Y/N?"
You thought for a bit. "My coworkers which is Cat, Lois, and Jimmy. Lois' sister Lucy, Clark's cousin Kara and his mom."
Your mom gasped again. "His mom knew before I did?"
You waved your hands up. "It was an accident. She literally just found out."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Your mom asked.
You started to get up and flushed the toilet. "You always told me you didn't want me pregnant until I walked down the aisle. I didn't want you to be upset or disappointed. We were getting married anyways so I figured we can hold off on telling people until then. Unfortunately it kept slipping up and more and more people were finding out."
Ma finally came by. "Sorry got held up with Pa asking where they key to the shed was. He wanted to show your dad something." She handed you the water.
You smiled taking it and took a sip. "Thanks Ma."
She smiled back at you. "Anytime. Now let me get back to that smoothie." She said walking away.
You and your mom walked out of the bathroom and headed to the guest room. "You seem to have a good relationship with his mom."
"She's a sweetheart. She seems to see me as the daughter she never had." You replied. "Of course I'm still closer to you though."
Your mom smiled and pulled you into a hug. "Good."
You went back to the guest room where Kara was dressed in her semi formal dress. "Aww, Kara you look so pretty in that dress."
She gave you an awkward smile. "You think so? Not a little strange?"
"Not strange at all." Her eyes glanced over to your mom. "Oh, Kara, this is my mom, Wendy. Mom this is Clark's cousin, Kara."
Kara gave her a polite smile and waved. "Hi, nice to meet you."
Your mom smiled back. "Nice to meet you too."
"You have an amazing daughter. I actually don't think I'd be here if it wasn't for her." Kara admitted.
You pouted your bottom lip out. "Aww, that's so sweet."
She waved you off. "I'm serious. You pushed for me to be here. I think I'd be going off somewhere to get drunk again."
Your mom lifted an eyebrow.
"I have a bit of a drinking problem. Long story. Y/N urged me to come to the wedding. Said she wanted me to be part of the family. She didn't have to. I personally think she's too good for my cousin but she wants to marry him anyways." Kara explained.
You let out a laugh. "Kara you can't say that about your cousin."
She snorted. "Why not? It's true. He gave up on me. You didn't."
You shook your head. "He didn't give up on you."
"Yes. He did. I don't blame him. You saw how I was. I'm still a bit of a stranger to him and I pushed him away." She said.
Ma came in with a green colored smoothie. "One smoothie for the bride to be. Wendy, can I get you anything?" She asked your mom.
Your mom looked over. "Oh no, I'm okay. Thank you, Martha. Can I help you with anything though?"
"Yes,I need some help putting some finishing touches on the decorations outside." Ma said and both of them walked out of the room.
After an about two hours of you in the guest room with Kara and people arriving to the house and sitting down your dad came to tell you it was time.
Kara went out first and took her seat at the back of the bride's side.
"Ready?" Your dad asked you.
You nodded and smiled nervously. "Yeah. How do I look?"
Your dad looked like he was trying to hold back some tears. "Like my baby girl playing dress up."
You snorted. "Dad. I'm being serious."
He sniffled. "You look beautiful."
He offered you his arm and waited for the cue to walk you down. There was only the maid of honor and best man. The maid of honor being your best friend from and the best man being Jimmy.
"You look beautiful." Your best friend said.
You smiled at her. "Thanks."
Her daughter went first to throw the flower petals. Then your best friend joined arms with Jimmy and walked down the aisle and took her place. Finally it was your turn. You looked over at your dad. "It's time."
He gave you a soft smile and walked you down the aisle. You looked around at all the guests then your eyes landed on Clark who looked like he was trying his hardest not to break down into tears.
You had a huge toothy smile on your face as you looked at him. As soon as you reached the altar your dad kissed your cheek and sat went to sit down beside your mom.
You held Clark's hand with your free hand. The other was holding your Boquet of Pointsettias and baby's breath. "Gosh you look beautiful." He muttered.
Pa, the officiant cleared his throat as he spoke. You honestly weren't paying attention to what he was saying you were to focused on Clark and the way he looked at you so lovingly.
"Do you, Clark Joseph Kent take, Y/N M/N L/N to be your lawfully wedded wife, through sickness and-"
"Yes. I mean I do. I definitely do." Clark said cutting his father off.
"Son you didn't even let me finish." Pa said causing everyone of the guests to laugh.
Clark smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."
Pa just shook his head then turned his attention to you. "Do you, Y/N M/N L/N, take Clark Joseph Kent to your lawfully wedded husband through sickness and in hea-"
"I do." You said with a huge smile on your face.
"Yeah you're meant for my son alright." Pa said earning some more laughs from the guests. He looked at Clark. "Well go on. Kiss your bride. Your husband and wife now."
Clark pulled your wrist gently getting you closer to him so he could dip you.
Your Boquet dropped to the floor as you squealed. He smiled widely before kissing you in front of everyone. Everyone cheered and applauded. Clark pulled away and had that goofy grin you fell in love with. "Hello Mrs. Kent."
He said to you and that made your grin up at him. Clark pulled you back up. You faced all your guests with a huge smile. You both raised your join hands in the air in victory.
You and the guests went under a gazebo the Kent's fixed up for the reception. "We are married. I get to call you my wife now." Clark said as he sat you down next to him at your designated table.
"Well now you're stuck with me. I'm not going anywhere." You replied and grinned mischievously.
He snorted at your response. "I wasn't planning on letting you out of my life ever." Clark leaned over and kissed your cheek. "You're mine." He practically growled in your ear making you giggle.
Warning: Angst! No fix. Scott being an asshole. Being led on. Sexual flirting. Not proofread. Might edit later. (Let me know if I missed anything)
(A/N: Idk if this will be multipart series or not but I felt like writing an angst would be a bit therapeutic for me. Been obsessing over Elastic Heart by Sia and I wanted to write something inspired by it. I'm also writing a bit about something that I experienced...at least its loosely inspired by it. Hope you enjoy.)
You were in love with him. The Enigma that was Scott Miller had filled up your senses and you were whole heartedly in love with him. You weren't exactly sure what was it that made you love him. You silently enjoyed being around him.
You met him by chance when you were driving your pick up truck trying to avoid a pending tornado. He was on the side of the road completely drenched in mud. You slowly pulled up beside him.
"Need a lift?" You asked.
He glanced over at you. "I don't take rides from strangers."
You snorted. "You plan on walking somewhere? There's a tornado coming. Just tryna be nice. Have a great day." Then you began to roll your window back up.
"Wait!"
You smirked and rolled the window back down. "Taking a ride from a stranger doesn't sound so bad now, does it?"
"Just take me into town." He walked around to the passenger side and got in.
You smiled at him. "Nice to meet ya, I'm Y/N."
He only grumbled to himself. "Just drive."
"Well aren't you a real peach. Remind me never to pick up strangers." You replied and started driving.
Scott directed you to the next town over where he was staying in a motel. You parked the truck and cleared your throat. "Um thank you."
"So you do have manners afterall? I'll be damned." You reply looking at him. "Gonna tell me your name or are you gonna stay a mystery mud man?"
He huffed. "Scott. My name's Scott."
"Scott." You repeated testing it out. "Yeah you look like a Scott. Bit of a tight ass sounding name."
He shot a glare at you. "Yeah that look screams Scott. So does that make you the stick in the actual mud?" You ask cracking up at your own joke.
"That's not funny." He said.
"I thought it was hilarious." You replied. "So how'd you end up in the middle of the field drenched in mud?"
He sighed out. "Got in an argument with my business partner. He left me out there."
You nodded. "Sorry about your breakup."
Scott shot you another look. "It wasn't a break up."
You shrugged. "Whatever you say. So what do you do?"
"Storm research. I try and get as much information about these twisters as I can." He explained.
"Sounds cool."
He scoffed. "It's more than just cool. It's revolutionary."
"So revolutionary your partner left you?"
"Javi didn't like the way we got our funding but it worked."
You raised an eyebrow. "How did you get your funding?"
He looked at you. "My uncle. He buys properties from families who lost their houses in storms. He invests in us and we give him the statistics."
"Yeah I don't blame this Javi fella. Sounds like your uncle preys on people's tragedies."
Scott rolled his eyes. "He gives them second chances. They are getting money."
You clicked your tongue. "Oh please. You can't tell me your uncle is giving them a fair price for the land he is getting."
The two of you argued until you said something that made him laugh.
"You know you can argue with me until you turn blue in the face but that changes nothing." You glanced over at him. "You are turning into a crustacean before my eyes." You say noticing the mud is drying on him.
For whatever reason that made him laugh. "Crustaceans are a subspecies of animals you know."
You shrugged. "Yeah. I know, but thats the best thing I can come up with. The mud is drying out and it's getting crusty."
He looks down at himself and he started to move realizing he was in fact crusty. He sighed.
Suddenly a few tricks pulled up in the parking lot. You saw a Hispanic looking man with light eyes and freckles on his face get out of one of the trucks. Scott's face distorted into one of anger. He got out of your truck quickly.
"Javi!"
The man turned around with wide eyes. "Scott? You made it back? I-"
Then a fist went flying into his face. You gasped loudly and jumped out of the truck. "What the fuck, Scott?" Javi asked holding his face.
"That's what you get for leaving me for dead." He said about to take another swing.
For whatever reason you decided to jump in front of Scott with your hands up. "Scott-" The hit landed on you instead and you dropped to the ground.
Everyone in the parking lot gasped. You heard voices all around you. "Y/N?" You couldn't keep your eyes open it hurt too much but you knew it was Scott.
"Really Scott? You'd hit a woman to get to me?" It was Javi's voice.
"It was an accident! She stepped in front of me."
"Who even is she?" Javi asked.
"I don't know. She picked me up in the side of the road and drove me here." Scott spoke."She told me her name was Y/N."
"You probably need to take her to the hospital or something to get checked. You hit her pretty hard." You heard a woman's voice.
You groaned as you held your head. "Scott?"
You felt someone get real close to you. "Yeah?"
"Remind me to never pick up strangers again." You replied.
"I am so sorry."
"Y/N, can you open your eyes?" You heard the woman ask.
You groaned in response. "Not really." You tried to open yours.
"She might have a concussion. I'm not so sure."
"Since when did you have an extensive knowledge of medical care, Kate?" Scott spoke sarcastically.
You heard the woman scoff. "I don't but the way you landed that hit on her anything is possible."
You finally managed to get your eyes open. All you saw were heads leaning over to look at you but it was a little blurry. Scott appeared the most worried. "Y/N,are you okay?"
Your eyes landed on his face. "I have had better days."
You started to sit up but everything was spinning. You held your head. "Ugh."
"Hey take it easy." Kate said rubbing your back.
"I'm fine. I think I'm okay." You then turned your head and puked on Scott's shoes. "Sorry."
He sighed deeply. "I think I deserved that."
"Okay that can't be good. Y/N,I'm going to take you to the hospital." Kate said kneeling beside you.
You shook your head. "Hospital is gonna be full of people affected by that tornado."
"Doesn't matter you need to be seen." Kate said. "Besides it didn't hit this town."
Javi and Scott helped you up. "I'll take her. It's my fault." Scott said.
Kate glanced him up and down. "You are covered head to toe in mud and you have vomit on your shoes."
He huffed. "Fine. Make sure to bring her back here after, okay?" His tone was surprisingly soft.
Kate nodded. An attractive blonde man walked up. "You really think it's a good idea to go out there? You just got out of a twister where you literally crawled out of a truck."
She looked at him. "Tyler, it's fine. I'm fine. She needs medical attention right now."
The man sighed and nodded.
Kate walked you to a Stormpar truck and helped you inside the passenger seat. You held your head groaning. "God this hurts like a bitch."
Kate ran to the other side and started driving you to the nearest hospital. "So you drove Scott to the motel?"
You squinted as you thought about it. You started hearing some ringing in your ears. "I can't remember right now."
She glanced over at you seemingly worried. After about 20 minutes you made it to the hospital where you were checked and taken care of. The did a CTscan of your head and saw you did in fact have a concussion. They told you that you'd be fine and just needed rest and to take Tylenol.
Kate took you back to the motel. You saw Scott leave his room as soon as he saw the truck. You opened the door and got out. Kate helped you to stand right. "How is she?" Scott asked as he approached you.
"Docs said you have her a concussion."
Scott glanced at you with regret in his eyes. "Will she be okay?"
Kate nodded. "Yeah. She just needs rest and Tylenol. She can't drive so she'll have to stay here."
That's when Scott looked back over to Kate. "She has to stay here? With you?"
"Yeah she can stay with me. Is that a problem with you?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
He cleared his throat. "No, I just think she should probably stay with me. It's my fault she's concussed."
"Do you not trust me to look after her?" Kate asked.
He let out a mock laugh. "That has nothing to do with it."
"I was the one that took her to the hospital. I think I can keep an eye on her." Kate said placing a hand in her hip.
Scott rolled his eyes. "I told you that's not why."
Kate huffed out. "You know what? I don't have the energy to argue with you. I need a shower. Have her stay with you. Just don't be your usual self."
He glared at her but she didn't say anything else as she walked away. "Tryna get me alone?" You asked teasing.
Scott looked at you in a way you couldn't describe. It was almost angry but something else. "No,"
He started walking you to his room. "So you're here to finish the job?"
"Finish the job?"
"Yeah, you're gonna kill me off aren't you?"
He turned to look at you. "There's something seriously wrong with you."
You only smiled at him. "It's one of my endearing qualities."
Scott snorted in response but he had a smile on his face.
That night you stayed with him and slept in the same bed. He argued he would sleep on the floor but you insisted you could share the same bed and that there were probably bugs. The thought scared him enough to agree.
That was then the start of a great friendship with him. Scott gave you his number and the two of you would always talk on the phone after that and you were never afraid to call him out on his bullshit. In turn he'd always find a way to tease you. That's how your friendship worked.
It's been about a year of friendship. You'd fallen for him since. You were at work in your bakery when you got a call. It was him. "Hey Ava, I'll be right back. Gonna take my lunch." You told your employee/best friend.
"Is that your boyfriend again?" She teased.
You rolled your eyes but with a huge smile on your face. "He's not my boyfriend Ava. You know that."
She stuck her tongue out at you. "He might as well be. You guys talk almost everyday and he always puts that huge grin on your face when he calls."
"Mhm gotta go." You said taking off your apron and stepping to the back. Then picked up your phone. "Scotty."
"My favorite pain in the ass."
You let out a laugh. "You know I'm at work."
"So am I."
You grabbed your lunch box. "You should probably do your job then."
"It's a slow day. No storms in forecast. I'm bored." He replied.
You snorted. "So you decided to bug me while I'm at work?"
"Hey you're your own boss. It's not like you'd get in trouble." He argued.
You started grabbing your food from your bag. "Can't run a business if someone keeps calling me."
"You act like you don't love it when I call you." Scott replied.
You let out a laugh. "You think entirely too highly of yourself, Scotty."
You were the only person in the world allowed to call him Scotty. With those rights you used them often.
"I do because I know you love me." You knew he was smirking from over the phone.
You felt your cheeks heat up. "You're a cocky little shit."You say as you take a bite from your sandwich.
Scott laughed over the phone. "What are you doing thinking about my cock, Y/N?"
You damn near choked. "Scott!"
Now he was full on cackling. "You're so fun to tease, doll."
You rolled your eyes. "I'm revoking your discount at the bakery."
He gasped. "Ah come on baby don't be like that."
"Nope. I made up my mind." You said taking another bite of your sandwhich.
"It's too early in the day for me to be getting Y/Nphobia. I'm getting really itchy." He said.
He made up a new phobia one day and used it whenever to tease you when ever you'd call him out on shit. He thought it was hilarious.
"Bullshit you know you have Y/Nphilia." You countered.
Scott only laughed. "I'm never admitting to that."
You smiled. "It's okay, you don't have to. I know you have it."
"I love you, Y/N."
Your face heated up again. "I'm not admitting that I love you."
He snorted. "That's okay. I know you love me too."
"Fuck off, Miller." You replied.
"But then I wouldn't get to have this great phone sex with you. Keep yelling at me I'm so close." He teased.
You felt like your body was on fire. "You're a menace. You know that?"
"That's what you love about me."
"Yeah, one of the reasons."
"Aha! So you admit it, you do love me."
You groaned. "I don't understand why you aren't like this with everyone else. I get the most annoying version of you."
Scott sounded giddy on the other side. "Because there's only one of you, and I have to give you my best."
"Ha! If this is your best I'd hate to see your worst." You replied
He cleared his throat. "Well you've seen that part of me too. Remember? The first day we met I was covered in mud, I accidentally punched you and you puked on my shoes."
You gasped covering your mouth. "I forgot that I puked on you."
"I could never forget. That was the best foreplay I have gotten." He teased.
You grimaced. "You're disgusting."
"Yeah? What else?" He asked.
"A huge pain my ass."
"Fuck keep going." He faked a moan.
"Pig."
"But you'd still fuck me."
"So what if I would?" You challenged him.
He made a satisfied sound. "Want me to stop what I'm doing and head over to you before your lunch is over?"
You rolled your eyes. "Yeah right."
"I know where you live and work, doll."
You felt your heart pang. He was never serious. This is how he was. You'd play flirt with each other but be wouldn't do anything about it. You were used to it. That didn't make it hurt any less. "Uh, Scott, I have to go."
"Aww do you really h-"
You hadn't let him finish you immediately hung up. You let out a big sigh and put the rest of your food away not being able to eat anything else. You took deep breaths as you tried not to cry.
Soon you heard foot steps. "Hey, Y/N, are you still on the-"Ava started then looked at your face. "What's wrong?"
You looked up at her and your eyes started watering. "Nothing." You said but your voice betrayed you. A tear slipped down your face and you quickly wiped it away.
"Why are you crying? Did Scott say something?" She asked you.
You sniffled. "It's stupid."
Ava looked behind her to see the bakery was still empty. Then she turned her attention back to you. "Talk to me. What happened? You were so happy to talk to him."
You took a deep breath. "Nothing, it's just the same shit, different day. We talk like we usually do but he always gets me flustered and I hate it because he never means it. Any of it. This is his way of joking with me. I feel like I constantly kid myself into believing he's actually interested in me."
Ava shook her head. "No, my love, I really think he is interested in you but you know that man is married to his job. I'm sure he just can't balance romance and work right now." She tried to assure you.
You sighed wiping away another tear. "I just... I wish if he did really want to be with me he'd tell me. He shouldn't make that kind of decision himself if that's the case."
Ava gave you a sympathetic look. "He doesn't seem like the most logical guy out there when it comes to the spectrum of normal human interactions."
That caused you to snort. "He sucks at communicating his feelings, I believe that."
She looked back again to double check that the shop was still empty (it was). Ava looked back at you again. "How about this, Scott is gonna in that other town for another two weeks, why don't you write him a letter being 100% honest about how you feel? See what happens."
You furrowed your eyebrows feeling really unsure. "I don't know, Ava."
"You'll put the ball in his court and he gets to decide for sure where this goes between the two of you." She said. "Make it really personal."
You nodded. "Fuck it, why not?"
She clapped and fist pumped the air. "Alright! I'll leave you to finish your lunch."
"Wait, why'd you come in here in the first place?" You asked her.
Ava furrowed her eyebrows. "Honestly, I don't remember." She laughed then went back to the register.
You shook your head with a smile on your face.
That night you started writing your letter to Scott. You started it off with a song recommendation which was Honest by Mali Koa. Then you wrote the rest. It took you almost all week to write what you wanted but once you had what you wanted you felt proud of it. At the end of the letter you made it perfectly clear and asked Scott that if you had no chance then he needed to let you know. As a finishing touch you sprayed your favorite perfume so he'd remember what you smelled like.
You anxiously put your envelope out to get picked up by the mail that night you finished the letter. The following day it was picked up and you were anxious since then.
Two days later you got a text from Scott.
I got mail from you. I haven't been able to sit down and look at it but I'll let you know when I do.
It's really important, can you read it ASAP?
Can't yet. I promise I'll read it ASAP.
Your anxiety levels were at an all time high but you tried to push it all down. He'll read it when he gets the chance, you kept telling yourself. It bothered you that he didn't want to just take a minute to read it. It was just a letter.
You secretly cursed, Scott for not prioritizing your letter. Ava tried talking you out of your panic about the letter and reassured you that he was a busy man. Which is true. He could get really busy with his job and research. The problem is, if he cared about you like you thought he did, he would read something that was important to you, right?
A week had went by and you didn't talk as much with Scott. He hadn't been calling you and you certainly weren't planning on calling him. So you both were at a stalemate.
That weekend you went with Ava to the local bar. It wasn't much but you were feeling sorry for yourself and you practically drank yourself to death and danced. Your heart still called for Scott so you pulled your phone out.
I like yih so mucchhhhh
Big smoooo has to u
Huh?
Kisssssyyy
Wherrreeeeeee
You put your phone away and you started feeling sick. Suddenly you booked it to the nearest trash can and vomitted whatever was in your stomach. Ava ran up to you and rubbed your back.
"Y/N, are you okay?" She asked you.
You wiped your mouth. "That was the most expensive vomit of life." You muttered.
She tried not to laugh at your comment. "Okay let's get you home girly. You're done for the night."
"No I don't wanna." You whined.
Ava started dragging you out of the bar. "I'm taking your ass home come on."
She managed to get you in her SUV and drove you to your apartment (it was above the bakery). Ava struggled but helped you climb up the stairs.
She helped you get comfortable and into bed. Ava grabbed ibuprofen for you and a glass of water to put it on your night stand. She took one last look at you and sighed before she walked out.
The next morning you woke up with a headache and a vague memory of the night before. You turned to see the ibuprofen on your night stand. You popped three pills and chugged the whole glass of water.
You then grabbed your phone and opened it to see the messages you sent to Scott last night. Your eyes nearly shot out of your head. "Oh my God!"
I am so sorry about that! I was seriously not myself last night 🤦♀️🤦♀️
I read your letter that was sweet
Good song choice
Thank you
I feel like the blood just left or I'm going to pass out. I'm not sure 😀
Oh god
Don't oh God me
But that was it. You weren't sure how to feel. He read your letter. Including the part where you explicitly told him to let you know if you didn't have a chance with him. He didn't say yes but he didn't say no.
That's when you called Ava. "Ava, he read it. He read my letter."
"And?"
"Well he said it was really sweet and he liked the song choice but that was it. He didn't say he wanted to be with me but he didn't reject me either. I don't know what to do." You explained.
The line was silent for a moment. "Well he didn't say no...so maybe he really is interested in you."
"Should I ask him?"
"Maybe not yet. Give him some time."
So you gave him time. You did try setting up dates with him but it felt like he kept making excuses about why he couldn't come. Mostly because he was busy with work so he told you that you would need to set up a time you both weren't busy.
Well you know I have short hours on the weekend. Just let me know
Yes ma'am
But he never did. You started to feel like he was slipping from your fingers and it was slowly driving you crazy. You wanted to confront him about his behavior but you were terrified of losing him all together. Nothing you were texting to him was coming out right anymore.
Sorry, can't talk much. One of the radars got lost and it's messing with my readings. Nothing has been going right.
All these issues you're having this tornado season and you still haven't reformed StormPar fully. Guess you'll never be a real company.
That's fucked up. There's no way to say that respectfully. You don't know what I have been dealing with. I only tell you some stuff.
Wait Scott that's not what I meant. You have to know I was kidding. I know you're working hard to rebuild StormPar after Javi left.
But he never replied after that. You were in your bed crying and trying to self sooth but you felt like you were losing a good friend and you didn't know what to do. You loved Scott so much that it hurt.
Being a bigger you never felt like people paid attention to you but he did. Even he wasn't serious he made you feel something. You were struggling to hold onto it.
Another week passed and the tornado season ended which meant he had to travel back home soon and wouldn't be miles away from you anymore.
I don't know if you're still mad at me but I hope you had a good end to the season.
I'm not mad at you, Y/N. It was a good end. Thank you.
Despite him texting you that. You guys didn't talk as much anymore. Finally one day you said fuck it.
Hey Scott, I know you’ve got a lot going on, and I’ve been giving you space because I don’t want to ever stress you out. But I’ve been feeling a bit uncertain and anxious since I shared my feelings with you in my last letter. If you don’t feel the same way, I completely understand, and that’s okay. I promise I will be fine. I just need a bit of clarity so I know where we stand. It would really help me to have some peace of mind. You don’t have to feel pressured to respond right away; just let me know when it’s convenient for you. I'd greatly appreciate it.
You thought he would take a while to respond but he didn't.
In the most loving and respectful way, I see this as a friendship ❤️
You felt your heart drop and the tears form in your eyes.
Thank you. That's all I needed to know. Thank you for your transparency
You should have ended the friendship there. Cut your losses but you told him you'd still be his friend and just needed space and he told you best wishes.
For a while you were still friends. It was almost the same as it used to be. Ava told you that sometimes friendships can develop into something more. That he might need time. You tried to be positive but your heart was breaking.
I'm sorry Scott. I really thought I could do this but I can't. I really don't think I can be friends with you anymore.
If that's what you want.
If that's what you want? Was that all he had to say? That broke you completely.
Without much other thought you blocked his number. You started your healing journey from there. It felt like you were going through a break up but the most embarrassing part was that you were never together.
You were almost sure he didn't care until you got a text from Kate one day. You did keep in touch with her every so often.
Javi says Scott mentioned you to him. Well actually Javi was asking about you to Scott. Said he hadn't heard from you in a while to which Scott said you stopped talking to him and that he didn't get it.
Was this joker serious? He didn't get it?
Funny.
You then sent her screenshots of your text messages with Scott. Where he said he read your letter then you sent her the last part of your letter where you asked him to be honest with you if you didn't have a chance. You then sent her the plans he said he would make with you. Then you sent the message where you asked for clarity after his mixed signals and how he replied as seeing it only as a friendship. Then finally you sent the last messages to each other before you blocked him.
If that's what you want? Seriously? I knew he was an asshole but I thought he was different with you.
I thought so too. My mistake
I'm so sorry you went though that.
It is what it is. I'm more mad at myself for wasting my time.
Wait Javi and Scott are on speaking terms again?
Yeah they decided to try and be adults since they'd be seeing each other on the field. Javi started another company.
Good for him.
It is. I'm proud of him.
The months had passed and you were growing. You threw yourself into your business. It was nice. You finally felt like yourself but sometimes you felt that phantom pain from not having Scott to talk to.
More than anything you just wondered to yourself why could you never get this love thing down. Scott was just another disappointment but you were really hoping he was the one.
What hurt the most was that you saw and noticed the red flags but you just wanted him so bad you ignored them. If he wanted to be with you he would have made time. He would have hung out with you. Scott would have made it clear from the start and not give you mixed signals.
You slowly began to realize that Scott had breadcrumbed you. He would give you enough attention to keep you around but not enough to have to make a commitment. You still felt anger about it but you were glad he couldn't hurt you anymore.
Tornado season came around again. Nothing new. It happened every year.
Hey girl, in town again. Wanna meet up for drinks?
Sure!
That night you met Kate at the local bar and you were so excited to see her again.
"Y/N, you look great!" She said giving you a hug.
You smiled widely then pulled away from the hug. "Thank you, I feel great."
"I bet, don't have that asshole in your life anymore. You look like you've been living your best life." She said.
You tried not to drop your smile at the mere mention of Scott. "I have been. Business is good. Still no luck in romance so I decided to marry my job." You said and let out an almost pained laugh.
A moment later you Javi walk over. "Hey Y/N, long time no see."
Your jaw dropped. "Holy shit, Javi! It's been a minute. You're in town too?"
He nodded pulling you into a hug. "Yeah I am. Kate didn't tell you she's working with me?"
You turned to look at her. "No she failed to mention that. Only said you started your own company." You said then looked back at him.
He smiled at you. "Yeah, I did, both Kate and Owens are helping me with it. Making sure I get the right investments unlike another companies."
Keep smiling, Y/N. Keep smiling. Don't think about him. He's not worth it. He didn't break you. You're okay. "Well that's good."
"Kate mentioned,what happened between you and Scott. I'm sorry he did that to you." Javi said.
You cleared your throat. "Thank you, but I'm not here to talk about Scott."
He put his hands up in defense. "My bad. Let me buy you a drink then."
You scrunched your eyebrows at him but shrugged. "Sure, why not."
"What would you like?"
"Malibu coconut rum and coke."
He raised an eyebrow but seemed curious and nodded. He looked at the bartender. "Can I get two Malibu coconut rum and cokes?"
The bartender nodded and started preparing the drinks. "Opening a tab or just these?" He asked.
"I'll open a tab." Javi replied and handed him a card.
A moment later you saw Owens come up. "Hey Y/N, how are you?"
"Hey Tyler. I'm good. Living life day by day."
He only nodded but he turned his attention towards Kate. "Wanna come with me to dance?"
She scrunched her nose. "I don't know."
"Come on it'll be fun." He took her hand and led her to the dance floor.
You smiled softly at the two of them. They made a cute couple you had to give them that.
"Two Malibu coconut rum and cokes." The bartender said as he placed the drinks down in front of you and Javi.
You turned back around and smiled at the bartender. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." He said before walking away to attend another patron.
Javi grabbed the drink and sniffed it. You let out a laugh. "Don't sniff it! Just drink it. I promise it's good."
He shrugged then took a sip from his drink then looked up at you in surprise. "Hey that's not half bad."
You smiled. "Right? My signature drink. Well besides a good margarita."
"Nothing wrong with margaritas." He replied. "Why don't you sit down with me. I don't think you're gonna get any taller." Javi pulled out the stool next to him at the bar.
You thought fuck it and sat beside him. "So how's it been, running your own business?"
"I'd say it's been going pretty well. He's been beating me out of all the good storms."
Your heart dropped to your stomach at the sound of that voice. You let your face drop too. When you turned around you were face to face with a ghost.
"Good to see you, Y/N."He said giving you a smile but something about it seemed completely fake.
You glanced him up and down. "Scott."
"This seat taken?" He asked grabbing the empty stool on your left. Before waiting for a response he sat down.
"Looks like you already made yourself comfortable." You muttered before taking a huge sip from your drink.
Javi cleared his throat. "Always a pleasure to see you Scott."
"Wish I could say the same Javi."
You glanced at Scott. "Hey, he's just tryna be nice."
"It's fine. Javi knows I'm not serious."Scott said. "You gonna give me Y/Nphobia this early in the night?"
Javi furrowed his eyebrows. You didn't say anything as you sipped your drink. This was how he was going to play it. Act like nothing happened. As if he didn't break your heart.
You didn't know what to do. He was entirely too close to you. Your heart felt like it would beat outside of your chest. You took a deep breath and looked at Javi. "Well I'm glad your company is doing good."
He smiled softly at you. "Thank you."
The bartender walked back over. "Can I get you anything?" He asked Scott.
"Just a beer and another drink for my friend here." He said and used his thumb to point over to you.
You waved your right hand making a slicing motion by your neck. "Oh no, I'm fine with the-"
Scott grabbed your left hand. "No, I insist."
You wanted to protest but no words came out as you pulled your hand away from him. "Fine."
The bartender grabbed a beer from the cooler behind him and handed it to Scott. Then he prepared your second drink.
You silently finished your first drink. You side eyed Javi and could tell he was starting to get uncomfortable. You then side eyed Scott to see that he appeared completely unphased.
This was so like him. He fucked everything over but he gets to live life untouched. Unaffected. Without blame. You wanted to tell at him. To push him. Cuss him out. You were tired. Emotionally exhausted. He drained you.
The bartender took your empty glass and put your second drink in front of you pulling you out of your thoughts. "Thank you."
"So how have you been, Y/N. Haven't heard from you in almost a year, right?" Scott asked you."You look good."
You didn't look at him but you felt his eyes on you. "Thank you. I've been, fine. Just working." Short and sweet. You were hoping he'd catch the hint that you didn't want to talk to him.
"Still have that bakery?" He asked.
You simply nodded before taking a sip from your second drink.
Javi cleared his throat. "You know I still haven't made a trip to your bakery, Y/N."
You turned to look at Javi. "You should. I came out with tornado cookies recently. Mini cow figure flying in it included with each cookie."
That made Javi laugh. "A mini cow figure?"
"Yeah I found little tiny toy cows that I like to stick in the cookies. The customers get a kick out of them and the kids love them." You replied with a proud smile.
"You were always so creative." Scott spoke up making your smile drop.
You took another sip from your drink. "Thanks."
After another minute of awkward silence and you practically chugging your second drink Javi looked at you. "Hey, Y/N, do you wanna dance?"
You smiled. "Yes I'd love to."
Javi took your hand and led you to the dance floor.
"Thanks for the rescue. I don't know what the fuck his problem is." You said as Javi pulled you in for the dance.
Javi let out a single laugh. "Yeah Scott has a way of getting under people's skin." He said before twirling you.
For a split second you glanced at Scott who was still sitting at the bar. He was staring right at you with a clenched jaw.
"Y/N! So glad to see you dancing." You heard Kate say.
You turned to look at her with a smile. She was swaying with Tyler. "Yeah. Javi asked me to dance but it was a good excuse to get away from Scott." You tilted your head towards the bar.
Kate glanced at the bar and saw Scott sitting there staring at you. Her jaw dropped before she looked at you again. "I can't believe he's even here. At the motel we were saying we were gonna go to the bar and he said he didn't want to come. That's why I invited you because he said he wasn't coming."
Tyler had a nervous smile in his face. "I might have accidentally mentioned that Y/N was gonna be here in passing."
"Seriously, Tyler?" Kate asked looking up at her boyfriend.
"I'm sorry. He was saying something about you not wasting time to go the bar since this is our first night so I said you were looking to hang out with Y/N,more than anything. I didn't know Y/N would be his deciding factor to come." Tyler explained.
Kate groaned. "It's fine, Kate I promise. I'm barely talking to him." You assured her. "It's more awkward than anything."
She glanced at the bar again and saw he was still staring at you. "He won't stop staring at you." Kate said leaning close to you.
You glanced over at him briefly to see that yes he was in fact still staring. "That man has audacity."
Kate nodded. "I have to run to the bathroom, can you come with me?"
"Yeah, let's go."
Kate smiled. She turned to Tyler gave him a quick peck kiss before grabbing your hand to pull you towards the women's restroom. "I think he's jealous."
You tilted your head in confusion. "Who?"
"Scott. I think he's jealous that you're talking to Javi and dancing with him." Kate went inside one of the stalls.
You scrunched your face up. "You think so? I don't see why. Javi is just being nice."
Kate snorted. "Y/N, I've known Javi for years. He's not just being nice. He's interested in you."
Your jaw dropped slightly. "Interested in me?"
"Yeah girl, you're a catch."
"Me?"
"Yes you. Why is that hard to believe?"
You shrugged. "I don't know, after the whole thing with Scott it kind of just messed with my confidence. I already had issues before him. He kind of made things worst." You looked at the mirror above the sink. "To be honest, I still can't stop replaying that stuff in my head. When I sit back and look at all the mixed signals I can really see how he led me on for so long. I really thought he was interested, ya know?"
Before you knew it tears were running down your face. "Sometimes I think he did actually like me but he didn't like that I was plus sized so he kept me at arms length." You admitted.
You heard a flush then saw Kate come out of her stall. "Aww sweetie I'm so sorry he made you feel that way." She walked towards the sink. You stepped back to give her space to wash her hands.
"Honestly, it is what it is. Moral of the story, I don't think he's jealous. I think he just got a major blow to his ego." You explain.
Kate dried her hands. "I can't believe you were ever into that asshole."
You sighed."Me neither but he was my asshole, ya know? He in his own way always made me feel special. I guess I liked that."
The both of you walked out and were going back to the dance floor when Scott approached you. "Y/N, we need to talk."
"I don't think we have anything to talk about."You said trying to get past him.
"Okay how about I talk and you listen." He said blocking you.
You shook your head. "It okay, Scott. I don't want to listen to anything you have to say."
"Scott, leave her alone. You've done enough." Kate said.
"This has nothing to do with you. This is between me and Y/N." Scott said raising his tone.
You sighed. "Kate it's fine. I'll be there in a minute."
"Are you sure?" She asked.
You gave her a nod. As she walked away you turned to look at Scott. "Y/N, you have no idea how much I have missed y-"
He was cut off by a slap to the face. "Fuck you, Scott."
He held his face he looked so surprised. "What was that for?" He asked and the craziest part was that he had the audacity to look confused.
You let out a laugh. "You seriously don't know? Scott you broke my fucking heart. Then when I tell you I couldn't be your friend anymore you didn't even fucking care!" Don't cry. Don't cry. He won't see you fall apart.
"Baby, I'm sorry. I-"
"Don't call me baby. I'm not your baby. I'm not your anything." You spit out like venom.
He sighed. "Y/N, I'm sorry. I hate to admit it but I miss you. I know I wasn't a good friend to you but I want to make it up to you. I want to fix us."
You almost laughed. "Wow. So it takes me leaving and cutting ties for you to realize how much you liked having me in your life?"
Scott had a face of discomfort. "I know it was shitty of me. I should have fought for a friendship."
"That probably would have been a good idea, yeah. I would have also appreciated it if you didn't lead me on for as a long as you did."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "How did I lead you on?"
That question did make you laugh. "Does me writing a letter about my feelings for you not ring a bell? I told you to let me know if I didn't have a chance and you never did. I still had this hope that one day you'd tell me we could be together like a fool. I had to ask you explicitly to tell me the truth."
Scott shifted his feet seemingly unsure how to respond. He had no excuse. "I was afraid you'd stop being my friend."
You scoffed. "So how long would you have let me go on like that?Following you like some dog that needs water."
He was hesitant to answer. "I don't know. I was hoping one day you'd get over me."
"How? How do you think I was going to get over you? You flirted with me constantly. As someone who works all the time and never goes out you were the only one who gave me that kind of attention. What do you think that did to me?"
Scott was completely silent.
"Tell me something, what do you miss the most about me?" You asked.
You saw his Adam's apple bob in his throat. "You were always there for me when I needed you. I was always your number one priority."
For whatever reason the answer made you smile. Not because it flattered you but he proved you right. "You don't miss me for my company, you miss me because I always came running to you."
"That's not true."
"It isn't?"
"Y/N, I loved you. I still love you." He tried to reach out to grab your hand.
You stepped back. "Go fuck yourself."
Javi saw you step away from Scott when he tried to grab you and he came rushing over. He wanted to give you space but he knew now he needs to help. "Scott, come on leave her alone."
Scott glared at him. "Fuck off, Javi. Stay out of it. This is between me and her."
"Well now it's between you and I. Y/N wants nothing to do with you."
Scott scoffed. "So it's not enough for you take my storms from me now you want to steal my girl?"
His girl? This asshole was delusional.
"How is Y/N, your girl? You were a shitty friend, you led her on, finally had the balls to reject her, and broke her heart. You haven't spoken to each other in a year. Y/N isn't yours and she never was." Javi said.
Scott breathed heavily through his nose. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I love Y/N. I was afraid. I..." He looked like he wanted to say more but he struggled to get the words out.
"Scott, it's too late."You speak up from behind Javi. "It's over."
He shook his head. "No, it's not over. It can't be over. I need you."
You didn't say anything to him you just walked away.
"Y/N! Come back! Please! I'll do anything!" He called after you.
He wanted to grab you and keep you there with him but you were already gone.
That's when you knew for sure that Scott didn't break you. You were still fighting for your peace but you had thick skin and an elastic heart. You'd bounce back from this.
kaledo-art
origamiaround
theartofmadeline
areudirty