And we're back with another fic (and another incredible artwork by Jane). I just had to, because the idea of Cassian sporting a mustache would not let me go, and when the amazing @janearts drew one in a blue-green tartan (wink wink), I HAD to. So, enjoy a modern au cabin fic, with this lovely visual, full of my favorite tropes. Expect shenanigans, arguing, sexual tension, Nessian being dumb. All of the good stuff! Enjoy!
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Snippet below the cut
The sun bleeds orange through the pines when Nesta finally finds what she hopes might be the right road. By then all she has are Feyre’s directions, scrawled in purple gel pen on the back of a Starbucks cup sleeve, because her sister apparently still believes in whimsy even when Nesta feels like her world is ending. The GPS gave up somewhere past the state line, leaving her squinting at the looping handwriting, holding the sleeve at different angles to read the impossible combination of brown and shiny purple in better light, the overwhelming urge to murder Feyre growing stronger by the minute.
Left where the asphalt ends. Then it gets tricky.
Tricky had been an understatement. The roads have deteriorated from highway to the scenery route to something that barely qualifies as maintained.
Right at the boulder that looks like a sleeping bear. If you hit the creek, you’ve gone too far and you’ll have to return until there’s a fork in the road.
The drive was supposed to take five hours, but it’s taken her almost the entire day. Not even her bout of insomnia could drag her out of bed early enough to beat morning traffic. She hasn’t been able to do much of anything efficiently, truly, ever since the funeral three weeks ago. She’s also not used to driving long distances alone. She hasn’t needed to, living in a city where everything is a subway ride away. And on the rare occasion that she did embark on such an undertaking, she never used to go alone. Her father would come with her on trips like this, before things went to shit. He was always content to sit in the passenger seat with his crossword puzzle, occasionally reading clues aloud until she solved them for him, even though she knew he could almost always solve them himself. But that’s all past tense. She’ll never go on trips like that again, because she’s part of the dead-dad-club now. This drive has been the longest stretch of uninterrupted time she’s had with her own thoughts in three weeks. She’d made a playlist in an attempt to drown out her own racing brain, but after the second repeat she’d turned it off.
Another reason she’s quickly losing daylight is because she made so many coffee stops her back teeth appear to be floating. She’d stopped at rest areas, drinking terrible coffee from vending machines and taking bathroom breaks in an endless cycle, each gas station bathroom more depressing than the last, with its flickering lights and paper towel dispensers that wheeze out single squares. She’d sit in her car in desolate parking lots trying to remember why she thought this was a good idea. The question would be answered by Feyre’s voice in her head every single time. You need to get away, clear your head a little. Just for a weekend. Rhys has this cabin, which used to be his mom’s cousin’s. It’s very quiet and remote, somewhere upstate near the mountains. It’ll be good for you, having some time to yourself.
Time to herself. To do what? Fall apart where no one can see? Finally scream the way her body has been demanding for three weeks? Be alone without Elain asking if she’s eaten, or Feyre’s worried eyes following her from room to room?
The night is young and beautiful, but Azriel has a mission. A cruel threat looms large over the city, and he must team up with an unlikely ally to defeat it.
Also, they are um…both cats in this…
I worked so hard on this fic.
Cute photos of cats as my fancast for this fic from pintrest.
🐈🐈⬛ Enjoy the nonsense below at the A03 link, or read a snippit to catch the vibe. I'm 100% serious about this. I wrote 4,500 words of cat Azris. No warnings apply, though there's a bit where it gets really hairy for our sweet kittens . Even with the stress, this is pure fluff (because they are fluffly little cats )🐈🐈⬛
Catriz - NinaTheCowgirl - A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas [Archive of Our Own]
It was a beautiful, hot summer’s night, and Azriel was stuck inside, again. Outside, the stars across Velaris glittered, like little pinpricks in the sky. Streetlamps were glowing, and wind carried the late night chatter between friends. The possibilities of the night were endless.
The window on the top floor of the Night household was slightly ajar, and for the last ten minutes Azriel had been trying to figure out a way he could use this opportunity for his advantage. He was on the carpet floor, poised, looking for the ideal opening – a jump to the boxes on the left, then a climbing of the dresser, then a scrambling at the wall, and then – window. He took a deep breath, wiggled a little for the perfect position, and then - jumped. Excellent. He landed with grace, elegance, a faultless leap. Second jump – onto the dresser. He slipped a little, his paw catching on the shiny wood. A little tetter on the edge, but he made it, he recovered. He looked around - quick.
Ok. No one saw it. He was fine. It was ok. All good. Recovered.
Final phase of the operation. He scrambled up the wall, paws outstretched, managed to hook himself onto the windowsill. He pulled himself up, so perfect, so elegant, absolutely impeccable. The window was in front of him, the little crack between the townhouse and the beautiful outside. Azriel slotted his paw into the gap and started to push. He only needed to get his little head through, the rest of him would move like liquid. Just a bit more, a little push, just a little -
“Azzy!” A shout came. Azriel looked behind him. If cats could swear, you’d best believe every single obscenity would have been coming out his mouth at that very moment.
“Naughty little shadow!” Feyre walked over, and scooped Azriel up, and pulling him close to her chest “What are you doing my sweet boy?”
He struggled, pushing at her, but she held on tight, saying how beautiful and sweet he was. Azril did not care– it was a trap. She would take him downstairs, take away his freedom, and then call him a cutie-pie all while stripping him of his only chance at the outside world. And Azriel would not stand for this treatment any longer, no sir he would not. Desperate times called for desperate measures. He swiped at Feyre, claws out. She shrieked, and her grip loosened. He scrambled again, and she was holding on, and he swiped and then – he was out of her grip. He was on the floor again, and she was reaching down to grab him, but Azriel was too fast. Jump to the box, then the dresser, no time to worry about the little slip, scramble up the wall, and then forcing his way through the gap in the window.
“Azriel!” Feyre shouted, but it was no use – he was out. Out in the hot sticky night. And Caldron, if the air didn’t smell good. He slipped onto the roof tiles, and glanced behind himself. Feyre was scowling. She had opened the window and was trying to coax him back inside. Azriel sat, just out of reach, tail flicking. She fished around in her pockets and her hand extended again, something resting on her palm. The wind carried the scent. Oh. What a clever woman she was. His favourite, the little chicken treats, the ones that came in the yellow packet. Crispy on the outside, pillow soft on the inside – no, he must concentrate, he could not be dissuaded from his mission. Even if they did smell so delicious, surely one couldn’t hurt… Feyre shook her outstretched hand, and Azriel found himself leaning forward, then a bit more, gods just a little bite -
“Come on azzy-cat, come here. It’s ok, sweet baby.” She said in a sing-song voice. “Come back inside”
It was this last statement that shook him out of his stupidity. He couldn't. He couldn't have the treats. His freedom. His mission. That was more important. Feyre’s sweet face turned into a scowl, and she tried for a sterner approach.
“Azriel. Az. Get back inside. Now.”
Azriel meowed a soft goodbye, and then turned on his paws, jumping off their rooftop and onto the next, into the night. Feyre yelled behind him. He wished he could tell her not to worry – he didn't like seeing her upset. But this was necessary.
He would be back by sunrise. As long as the mission was successful.
one genre of fanfiction that seems to have mostly disappeared since i became an adult is shenanigans-type fics. like not exactly crack but just "the gang goes to 7-11" type, extremely low-stakes plot stories. the beach episodes of fanfiction. i just feel like i don't see those around so much anymore. whered they go. i miss them :(