It’s here!!!! Shoutout to @nalgenewhore for the cute moment with Dee Dee and the plant and for the adorable moment with the pendant.
Summary: It’s a Coffee Shop AU meets Rival Tattoo Artists AU meets Elorcan - do I even need to say anything else?
Warnings: Light smut (but heavy dirty talk) and language.
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Walking out of the bathroom, Elide smirked at her reflection as she caught a glimpse of herself in the full length mirror that hung in the hallway. Her boyfriend was definitely going to like her outfit of choice.
She stepped into her bedroom, eyes falling on both of her cats where they were snoozing on her bed. “Alright, babies,” she greeted, reaching out to pet both of their little heads, “listen up. We’re going to have some visitors this weekend, so you’ll have to play nicely, okay?”
Jett gave her a long slow blink, burrowing deeper into the blankets as Elide fixed her tiny purple shirt. Jello merely rolled onto her back in an attempt to get more belly rubs, which she happily obliged.
Careful not to mess up the perfectly messy bun she managed to wrangle her hair into, she snuggled both of her cats until she heard a knock on the door. “Here we go,” she squealed, causing both of the cats to give her curious looks, though neither of them bothered to follow her out of the bedroom.
Positioning herself so she was behind the door as she opened it, she greeted Lorcan and Dee Dee with a wide smile. “Hi babes, come in, come in.” She took a moment to stare at him as he walked in and tossed his bag on the counter, taking in how good he looked even when he was dressed for a night in. From his Cadre Ink hoodie to his grey joggers to his hair, which he’d pulled half-up in a very messy bun, he looked ready to spend a night on the couch with her - and he’d never looked better.
Leaning down to kiss her as she shut the door, he groaned when his hands slid over the silk of her robe as he grabbed her hip. “Mamas, I’m barely in the door and you’re already trying to kill me.” He groaned again when he pulled back to look at her, and she indulged him by twirling around once - which gave him the briefest hint of the lingerie she was hiding underneath the black robe - before dropping down to pet Dee Dee.
“It’s because I know you’re commando under those pants and that does things to me,” she replied, not taking her attention away from the dog, who had rolled over to let her pet his belly. “So I thought I’d torture you. Is it working?”
Lorcan crouched down behind her, molding his back to hers so he could breathe in her ear. “If we didn’t have to introduce the pets, I’d already have you bouncing on my cock on this big island of yours.”
She couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her. The things that came out of his mouth - the things he did with that mouth - could take her apart in a matter of seconds. “I missed you, baby,” she murmured, turning so she could kiss his jaw.
Although she would’ve been content to stay pressed against him, he was right - they needed to introduce their pets. Lorcan’s landlord had decided to do some remodeling work in the building, and rather than put up with the construction noises, he’d decided to see if he and Dee Dee could stay with Elide for the weekend. She’d readily agreed, though they were both a little worried about how the animals would get along. She wasn’t too concerned about Jett - that cat loved everyone and everything - but Jello was a different story. Lorcan was just concerned because Dee Dee was so shy.
“Looks like we’re about to find out if they get along,” Lorcan rumbled, his fingers trailing briefly over her ass before he was motioning to the living room.
Turning, Elide saw that Jett had finally come to see who was at the door. She walked right over to them, no hesitation or fear as she carefully stretched out her little nose to sniff Dee Dee. Though he’d seemed a little startled by her presence, he sniffed in her direction a few times before reaching out and touching her nose with his. That was all it took before Jett was rubbing against his legs and the two of them were curling up on the floor together.
“That went well,” Lorcan chuckled, standing and offering her a hand up.
“Yeah, well,” she started, already moving in the direction of her bedroom, “that’s not the one I was worried about.” Marching back into her room, she hauled Jello off the bed and carried her back toward the door. “Lazy little thing,” she huffed at the cat, laughing when Jello’s only response was to nudge her in the chin with her head.
Crouching down by the other two, who were already halfway asleep in the oversized bed she’d always kept next to the island for her cats, Elide turned Jello to face them. “There’s someone you need to meet.”
Jello tensed in her arms, her tail fluffing out like it did when she was unsure of someone. Almost like she could sense her indecision, Jett lifted her head from where it had been resting on Dee Dee’s paw and gave her a long, steady look. That look must have meant something to Jello, because she walked over to the two of them and began sniffing Dee Dee. For his part, the puppy stayed very still, careful not to move too much when he sniffed in her general direction, almost like he could tell how unsure she was.
It took a few minutes, but eventually Jello touched her nose to his and curled up on his other side, purring as she rubbed her face against him.
“Look at that,” Lorcan murmured, gripping her by the hips and pulling her ass against him so she could feel how hard he was. “They get along.”
“Indeed they do - they must know how much we wanted them to.”
He nipped at the skin of her neck, grinding his hips into her. “They must know how badly I want to get my hands on your tits and my tongue in your pussy.” He paused to groan as she pushed her ass back into him. “Fuck, E, think they’ll be okay on their own for a while? If I don’t have you naked and screaming for me soon I’ll just fuck you right here, right now, in your lingerie.”
Elide nodded, not quite sure she was capable of coherent thought. Somehow, though, she managed. “Go wait for me in bed,” she whispered, cupping the very evident bulge in his pants as she pulled out of his arms. “I’ll be right there.”
“You better be,” he growled, kissing her quickly, “or I’ll come find you.”
She watched as he walked away, pulling his hoodie over his head and tossing it on the couch. Clenching her thighs at the sight of his sculpted back and his absolutely sinful arms, she waited until he’d disappeared into the bedroom before pulling her hair free and shaking it until it tumbled over her shoulders the way she wanted. Because it had been damp when she pulled it up, it had a slight curl to it, which she knew was Lorcan’s favorite.
Walking slowly to where Lorcan was waiting for her, she stopped just outside the door and slipped the robe off her shoulders, letting it pool on the floor. She adjusted her lingerie until it was perfect, and then she walked through the door, groaning when she realized Lorcan was naked and stroking himself slowly on her bed.
“Fuck me, mamas,” he moaned as he drank in the sight of her. The lingerie set she’d chosen was cobalt blue, and she knew it was striking with her dark hair. The top, though the same style as a regular bra, barely covered anything. The fabric was so thin that both of her piercings were clearly visible - which was half the reason she’d chosen it, as she knew what it would do to Lorcan - and there were cuts on the bottom of each cup that left the underside of her breasts exposed. The thong was barely more than a scrap of lace, but she knew that wasn’t what had caught his attention. No, that would’ve been the garter belt, which sat around her waist and attached to two thin bands of cobalt fabric that encircled each of her thighs. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”
“So,” Elide started, climbing on the bottom of the bed and crawling toward him slowly. “I know you’d like nothing more than to pound me through this mattress right now. But,” she leaned down to press a kiss to the head of his cock, swiping her tongue over it to lick up the precum that was already beading, “I really think I should give you a blowjob while I’m still all dressed up.” She cupped his balls, kissing his tip again. “And then, because I know you like the garter belt,” she paused to giggle when he nodded emphatically, “I was thinking you could strip me out of everything else,” another kiss, another swipe of the precum with her tongue, “and fuck me with the garter belt on.”
He groaned, tangling his fingers in her hair as he bucked his hips toward her mouth. “Gods, Elide, fuck, yes, whatever you want, just get your mouth on me.”
She began licking up and down his length, spitting on his dick to get it nice and wet. “You could even come on my pussy - think about what a pretty sight that would be with the belt still on.”
Lorcan’s hips were practically rolling beneath her, but she waited until he groaned a barely coherent “fuck me any fucking way you want” to take his cock deep into her throat.
It was going to be a good weekend.
~*^*~
After he’d had his wicked way with her - or maybe she’d had her wicked way with him, he wasn’t quite sure about anything other than the fact that being with her was everything he’d never known he’d needed - he cleaned her up (first with his tongue and then with a warm washcloth) and helped her change into more comfortable clothes. Once she pulled on her sleep shorts and one of his hoodies that she’d stolen, he carried her out to the couch, the two of them curling up under a blanket before they were swarmed by their various animals. Their pets had settled on their laps, quickly falling asleep.
“They’re so sweet,” Elide cooed, stroking Dee Dee’s nose. “I’m happy they get along.”
Lorcan nodded at her words, petting both of her cats as they snuggled closer to his dog. He couldn’t agree more - the fact that their pets got along so well was such a good sign. It only cemented his belief that he and Elide were meant for one another. “Me too, baby.”
Settling into the couch, he scrolled through his girlfriend’s Disney Plus - she loved Disney movie marathons and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t too - while she busied herself with playing with the strings of his hoodie. Eventually, he decided on Tangled, leaning down to kiss her forehead as the movie started. Her fingers skimmed the skin of his neck as she reached up to play with the chain he wore every day. It was something she’d started doing on their first date, and then she’d just never stopped.
Soon after, their pets got tired of the two of them shifting to be closer to one another and jumped down. Jett and Jello curled up on their bed, and he expected Dee Dee to follow, since the three of them had been practically inseparable since they’d met. However, his dog sniffed the air and walked over to the planter in the corner of the room. Shifting onto his back legs, he stretched up and sniffed the leaves of the plant.
“El, is he okay to be sniffing that?” Lorcan used the arm he had wrapped around her shoulders to point to the corner of the room.
Lifting her head from his shoulder, she nodded as she watched Dee Dee curled up next to the plant. “Yeah, he’s good! That’s my prayer plant, which is safe for pets. All my plants are pet-safe.” She watched him for another moment before settling back against his shoulder. “He must just like the way it smells.”
He nodded, happy that his dog was already so at home in his girlfriend’s apartment, and turned his attention back to the movie.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed - he had a tendency to watch her rather than the movie - though he was vaguely aware of a bar full of thugs singing about having a dream in the background when Elide gasped. “Lor,” she breathed, her eyes shining when she looked up at him, “what is this?”
Looking down, even though he knew what she meant, he traced his fingers over the three things hanging on his chain. Two of them were dog tags, which he’d had on there for years. He had one for himself, with his name on it, and one for his mom, which had her favorite flower engraved on it. He’d always worn them because it had always been just his mom and him - the only family he’d ever needed.
But now there was a third pendant: a delicate silver “E” with a crescent moon hanging behind it. “It’s your initial, love.”
“Because I love you.” A single tear spilled from her lashes when he said that, and he caught it with his thumb. “This necklace represents my family - and you’re part of my family now. I wanted to have a part of you with me all time.”
“I love you so much, Lor,” she breathed, surging up to kiss him hard. “You are… you’re everything, Lorcan. Everything.” Elide kissed him again, and he cupped the back of her head, holding her to him.
When he finally pulled away after pressing his lips to hers once, twice, three more times, he knew his own cheeks were streaked with tears too. “You mean the world to me, Elide.”
“It makes me so happy that you wanted to have a daily reminder of me,” she murmured. Her hand slid down to his left arm, tracing over the newest tattoo that was covered by his sleeve, the one that she’d inked into his skin. “And now you have two.”
“And you have one of me, too.” Reaching for her right arm, he pushed her sleeve up so he could admire the ink he’d given her a little over a month ago.
“I can’t believe we’re finally doing this,” Elide squealed, settling onto his table in his suite at Cadre Ink. Though she’d wanted to do their tattoos at Terrasen Tattoo, Lorcan had insisted he didn’t want Aelin anywhere near him while either of them were holding a tattoo gun. “I’m so happy!”
“Me too, mamas,” Lorcan agreed, setting up the outline on her arm. “Ready?”
“Beyond ready,” she confirmed, leaning back in the chair and closing her eyes as the buzzing of the tattoo gun filled the room.
He lost himself in the ink, noticing nothing except the feeling of her eyes watching him work. He’d never been more worried about getting a tattoo perfect before, but he’d also never been more confident in his abilities.
When he was done, he slid his chair back, giving Elide a minute to take in the words now permanently inked on the outside of her right forearm - Hellas below - which she’d chosen specifically because it would match the one she’d already given him. He glanced down at the outside of his left forearm, at the tattoo she’d given right before he’d started hers - Anneith above.
It was perfect for them, and he couldn’t believe she’d been so willing to show their love on her body like that when he suggested it.
He was so lucky.
“I still love them as much as I did that day,” Elide told him, shifting until she was straddling him on the couch.
Lorcan gripped her waist, bringing her hips down against his until they were perfectly slotted together. “I’m still in awe of them - I’m in awe of how much you love me.”
She smiled at him, leaning in to kiss him gently. “I love you infinitely, Lorcan.”
Guess who’s back with a new story?? It’s me! Before I even get started with the intro, I need to say a massive thank you to @nalgenewhore - and if you like this story, then you should too - because this would not exist without her. She’s responsible for like 75% of the things that happen here, because her ideas are the best and I would be lost without her. Even as I’m typing this, she’s on the doc adding even more wonderful ideas to my outline. She wanted a coffee shop AU, and I wanted them to be rival tattoo artists, and this is what happened.
Summary: It’s a Coffee Shop AU meets Rival Tattoo Artists AU meets Elorcan - do I even need to say anything else?
Warnings: Pretty sure it’s just language for now, friends.
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Lorcan was scrolling through his appointments on his phone when he heard the barista rattle off someone’s completed order followed by his own. “Cappuccino for Elide and an Earl Grey for Lorcan!”
Busy with checking the mock-ups he had to work on for a client later in the week - a full-bodied silhouette of Hellas, the God of Death - he barely paid attention as he reached for the cup she’d set on the counter. He was several steps away from the counter by the time he’d lifted the cup to his mouth, aiming for a vacant table in the back of the room where he could spread out with his sketchbooks to work.
Taking a sip from his cup, he almost choked on the liquid that coated his tongue - which was definitely not his tea.
Swallowing around the bitter taste of coffee in his mouth, he looked down at the cup in his hands, groaning when he realized he hadn’t actually grabbed his drink at all. The name scrawled on the cup said Elide, and apparently he’d just taken a sip of her cappuccino.
He turned back to the counter in hopes of catching the rightful owner of the drink in his hands, only to find the owner of the only other tattoo shop in town standing right behind him. “Lochan,” he grumbled, nodding once as he realized the coffee in his hands was actually hers. “I think I picked up your coffee by mistake.”
“Yeah, no shit,” she quipped, snatching it from his hands and handing over his tea. “Thankfully I looked at the side of the cup before I let any of your weak leaf-water into my mouth.”
Lorcan just shook his head at her, turning once more for the table in the back. The woman behind him had always been able to get a rise out of him, and he had too much to do over his lunch break to deal with her.
“I know you don’t think you’re going to claim the only empty table after you stole my coffee, Salvaterre.”
“Stole your coffee?” he cried, whirling around to face her just as he’d dropped his bag on the table. “Please, like anyone actually enjoys that nasty shit. And besides, I need this table - I’ve got sketches to do.”
“Yeah?” She raised an eyebrow at him, dropping her own bag on the floor as she spun a chair around and dropped into it, straddling the chair and propping her chin in one hand. “Well, so do I. Guess we’re sharing it then.”
He was half-tempted to argue with her, but he really did need the space. “Fine,” he grumbled, dropping into a chair and pulling his sketchbook out of his bag. “Just don’t go stealing my ideas.”
Elide snorted, her own sketchbook already open to her current project - a wyvern mid-flight, wings spread as it caught a draft. Though he would never admit it, her work was incredible. “As if I’d steal your work - I made it this far on my own, I don’t need anyone’s help now.”
Lorcan lifted his head to glare at her, but she was pulling headphones over her ears, leveling him with a cold stare as she tuned him out and picked up her pencil. Within seconds she was adding to her sketch, the pencil practically flying across the page.
He couldn’t help but watch her work, amazed at the way she was so sure in all of her movements. She barely paused, every line precise and perfect as her hand moved across the paper. It was like the image was already created, and Elide was just its vessel. He knew he was staring, but Lorcan was in awe of her - he rarely sketched anything so quickly or with so much ease.
Most likely feeling his gaze on her, she looked up at him from under her eyelashes, a questioning look in her eyes. She furrowed her brow when she realized he was just staring at her, narrowing her eyes at whatever she saw in his expression.
He felt heat blooming over his face, and the smirk she offered him only made his blush grow. He shook his head once, grabbing his pencil and flipping his sketchbook open to a blank page.
The tip of his pencil had just touched the page when he realized Elide had started humming. When he realized she was listening to Bad Reputation by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts as she worked, the barest hint of a smile crept over his face.
As he started working on his own mock-up, he realized that this lunch might be more enjoyable than he’d thought.
~*^*~
Elide chewed on her pencil, slotting it between her teeth as she stared down at the half-formed image on the page in front of her. She’d finished the mock-up of the wyvern fairly quickly, since it was almost done when she’d sat down. Knowing she had another design to finish up by the end of the week, she’d flipped to a new page and started on that. It was for a girl around her age that wanted a chandelier tattoo that incorporated the cycle of the moon, and when she’d seen Elide’s own chest piece, she’d reached out immediately.
She’d started sketching the rough outline of the image, and she was quite pleased with how it was turning out. The phases of the moon would be under the girl’s breasts, linked and curving along a curling wire to follow the natural lines of the body, with filigree chains and delicate lace patterns linking the moons to the thicker chain that would run down her sternum. Those same chains extended below the moons as well, creating the desired chandelier effect.
She sighed, the breath ruffling a stray piece of hair that had escaped her bun and fallen into her face as she worked, and the world came back into focus. When she worked on a new design, the world tended to fade away until it was just her and the lines on the page in front of her. She always listened to music while she worked, though she supposed it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t since she never heard anything beyond the first song.
Chuckling to herself as she realized that she was listening to Cherry Bomb by The Runaways, and that she was humming despite not even realizing the song was playing, Elide dropped her pencil on the table and looked over to her unexpected lunch partner.
Only to find that he was staring at her with one eyebrow arched and a smirk on his lips.
“Something amusing to you, Salvaterre?”
Lorcan just rolled his eyes as he pushed his chair back from the table. “You hum while you work, did you know that?”
“Music helps me think,” she replied, lifting her head to meet his gaze as he stood. “If you have a problem with it, you can always find another table.” Waving a hand across the very packed coffee shop, she merely smirked when he narrowed his eyes at her. She even thought a small growl echoed from the back of his throat at the look she gave him.
“Why would I want to sit anywhere else when I can sit here and listen to you and your fake punk music?”
Elide gasped and tossed her pencil at him. “I suppose you’d rather listen to the Ramones and only the Ramones for the rest of your life?”
“It would be a start.” He was striding away before she could even think of a biting comment, but that didn’t stop her from flipping him off anyway.
She reached down to grab her pencil from where it had landed after it bounced off Lorcan’s very solid, very defined chest. The white t-shirt he was wearing did little to hide how muscular he was, and even though he irritated the hell out of her, Elide couldn’t help but notice how incredibly attractive the man was.
Though she had every intention of returning to her sketch, she found her eyes drifting to him without even a thought. He was wearing dark wash skinny jeans, and they were doing wonderful things to his frankly spectacular ass. She couldn’t help but admire the lines of ink drifting over his arms, though between his shirt and the distance she couldn’t tell what they were - just that they were incredibly intricate and beautifully done. Having seen plenty of his work over the years, she was more than sure he’d drawn them himself, but whoever had done them was also an amazing tattoo artist. She found her eyes fixating on the ink that clearly drifted up his entire right arm and slid toward his neck, which were only bared to her gaze because he’d pulled his long dark hair into a messy bun.
Elide was so caught up in admiring the man that she didn’t realize he’d walked back over to their table until he set a plate in front of her. She barely even looked at it before turning to give him a confused look. “Erm, did you just get me food?”
Settling back into his chair with his own plate of food, Lorcan just shot her a look. “Obviously.” When she continued to stare at him, he added, “I could literally hear your stomach grumbling from across the table and it was distracting me.”
She felt the blush spread over her cheeks. “Oh. I get pretty distracted by my work sometimes - I didn’t even realize I was hungry.” Glancing down at her food then, she smiled when she realized he’d somehow managed to bring her one of her favorite orders - a bagel with extra cream cheese and a bowl with yogurt topped with so much fruit it was spilling over the side. “Thank you - I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it,” he muttered, waving a hand in her direction. “That design you’re working on is quite amazing, by the way.”
Elide blinked in shock for a moment before her lips shifted into a coy smile. “Was that a genuine compliment from Lorcan Salvaterre?”
He chuckled at that, and she couldn’t help but laugh along with him. She realized that their laughter sounded good together.
“Yes, ma’am. But you have to promise you won’t tell anyone - I have a reputation to uphold. And if you’re going to insult me, I won’t make a habit out of it.”
Elide chucked a grape at him, though they both wound up laughing again when he caught it between his teeth. “I wouldn’t want you to change for me, babes. And besides, your work is amazing too.”
She found herself looking forward to his response, and to the conversation in general, and she realized that this impromptu lunch date might not be so bad after all.
~*^*~
He was surprised to admit it, but Lorcan found himself enjoying lunch with Elide. Though she had always been exceptionally good at getting under his skin, he’d realized that she had this charm about her he’d never noticed before. Their witty back-and-forth was second nature to him, and he found himself smiling with her more easily than he ever had with anyone before.
Even when they were arguing about music, he couldn’t help but smile. “Seriously, how can you be a fan of punk and not like the Ramones?”
She shot him an exasperated look, rolling her eyes dramatically. “When did I say I didn’t like them? I fucking love them - I just appreciate other punk bands, too.”
“Is that so?” Lorcan raised an eyebrow, disbelief seeping into his tone.
“It is!” Elide laughed, the sound pure and happy, and he found himself wanting to hear it again. “In fact, I have their lyrics tattooed on my ribs.”
“No fucking way.”
She nodded, running her hand over the right side of her ribs. “Right here - ‘sitting in my room, humming a sickening tune.’”
“No fucking way,” he said again. When she looked ready to protest, he added, “No, it’s just - I have one too.” He motioned to his left hip. “‘I can’t control my fingers, I can’t control my toes.’”
Elide snorted, pushing out of her chair. “Typical - and very fitting for you.” Rounding the table until she was standing next to him, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to grab another coffee quick.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek, her lips lingering for a moment before she was walking away from him.
He opened his mouth to ask what exactly it had been for, but he found himself distracted by the swing of her hips as she walked. Her legs were encased in light skinny jeans so tight that he would have thought they were painted on if he didn’t know any better. Plus the heels on her combat boots helped add to the natural swing.
Shaking his head, his eyes ran over the loose cropped tank she was wearing - and stopped on the portrait that was tattooed on her back. He couldn’t take his eyes off of it, and he only broke his stare when she turned and walked back toward him.
He barely noticed that she was carrying two drinks and two bags - that’s how distracted he was by what he was fairly certain was some kind of sign.
“I got you another tea - Earl Grey, right?” He registered her voice talking to him, but he couldn’t put any meaning to the words. When he didn’t reply, she reached out and touched his shoulder. “Lorcan?”
He managed to find his voice. “Can you turn around for a second?”
Lorcan registered the confusion that drifted across her face, but something in his expression must have kept her from asking, since she simply turned around. Reaching out, he traced his fingers over the ink that drifted across her entire back, following the lines until he could trace the woman’s lips.
Anneith - she had a portrait of Anneith on her back.
“You have Anneith on your back?” he questioned, one finger skimming her jaw as she turned around to face him again. “I have Hellas on mine.”
Elide twined her fingers with his, turning her head and nipping lightly at the one that lingered on her jaw before she met his gaze with her deep, gorgeous eyes. “We must be connected then.”
“Why don’t you let me take you out sometime and we’ll see?” The question left his lips with a confidence he didn’t possess, and Lorcan realized he’d never been more nervous.
Elide grinned up at him - a wide, joyous smile - and he felt his heart leap in his chest. “I’d love that.”
Offering her a smile of his own, he leaned down to press his lips to her forehead. “Me too,” he whispered, his lips brushing her skin with every word. “Oh, and thanks for the tea, love.”
I used the tags I have for my ToG/ACOTAR list, so if I’ve tagged you in something else and you don’t see yourself here, that’s why! As always, if you want to be added to or removed from my tags, just let me know! And let me know what you thought!
Thank you so much for all the love you guys have shown this story so far! I’m so excited to finally have another chapter for you guys! It’s very adorable, and you can thank @nalgenewhore for the prompt (which you’ll see in this part) that started this whole story!
Summary: It’s a Coffee Shop AU meets Rival Tattoo Artists AU meets Elorcan - do I even need to say anything else?
Warnings: Still just language and fluff. (I’ll be adding some steamier things in the next part!)
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I’d kill for a coffee - literally, murder someone.
Lorcan chuckled at the message from Elide that flashed across his screen. His girlfriend was religious about her coffee - she drank at least two cups of it every morning before she would even leave the house. However, she didn’t exactly have the time for it before she’d left the house that morning - he’d decided he wanted to take his time worshipping her when they woke up, and then again in the shower.
Needless to say, they’d both been running a little behind.
Flipping his sketchbook closed, he picked up his phone and fired off a quick response - I guess I’d better do something to keep you from going to jail - before grabbing his headphones and making for the front door.
Thankfully, Vaughan and Connall were standing at the counter. It wasn’t that he didn’t love the others - all of the guys were like brothers to him, and he was grateful for the family he’d created. However, the other three tended to be dramatic in literally everything they did, and he was grateful for the opportunity to sneak out with only minimal teasing.
“Boys,” he rumbled, one headphone already in his ear. “I’m heading out for a little bit. Connall, you’re in charge of any potential appointments for me. Don’t let Vaughan anywhere near my appointment book.”
Vaughan scoffed, clutching a hand to his chest like he’d been wounded. “Sounds like you don’t trust me, Lor.”
“Not in the slightest,” he replied, nodding once at Connall’s laughter as he leaned against the door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Siren call of the girlfriend getting to you this morning?” Connall offered him a smirk, tapping his pen against his bottom lip.
In a very rare move, Lorcan offered the both of them a genuine smile. “What can I say, boys? She has my heart.” With that, he pushed his way out of the building, popping his other headphone in as the two of them cooed obnoxiously behind him.
He quickly realized that Elide was very much on his mind, since he found himself listening to The Clash (one of her favorite bands) as he walked. The shop that she was part-owner of, Terrasen Tattoo, wasn’t a very far walk, even with the stop he had to make on the way, so he found himself pulling the door open in no time at all.
He was barely through the door, his headphones not even completely out of his ears, when Aelin came stalking up to him, a shit-eating grin on her face. “Lorcan,” she greeted, playfully punching his shoulder before linking her arm with his. “Finally decided to let me give you a tattoo?”
“Not a chance in hell, bitch queen,” he grumbled, jumping away from her when he realized she was slowly pulling him in the direction of her suite. “Get the fuck away from me with your crazy tattoo ideas.”
She just laughed, leaning against the wall next to Nehemia’s suite when the other girl popped her head out. “One day you’ll break, Salvaterre.”
Nehemia just shook her head. “Run, Lorcan,” she said, pretending to hold Aelin back as he walked by the two of them. “I’ll fend her off.”
He huffed a laugh at that, poking Aelin in the side affectionately as she squawked at both of their actions.
“You guys are no fun,” she finally whined, ducking out of Nehemia’s grasp. “I’ll just go convince Rin to let me give her more ink.”
Asterin, who’d walked out of their combined office at Aelin’s shouting, grabbed her hand with a Chesire smile on her face. “Bitch, are we finally tattooing me again?”
“See?” Aelin started, following Asterin into the girl’s suite. “This is what real friendship looks like!”
Lorcan just sighed through his nose and nodded once at Nehemia, already heading for the office, which is where he figured he’d find his girlfriend, since a cursory glance showed him she wasn’t in her suite.
He’d just reached the office door when Lysandra popped out of her suite, heaving what seemed to be a relieved sigh when she saw the coffee cup in his hands. “Oh, thank the gods, is that coffee for the she-devil?”
“Erm, yeah,” he replied, giving Lys a confused look.
“Thank fuck. She’s been so bitchy all morning.”
Before he could reply, he heard Aelin start yelling from where she and Asterin were no doubt planning yet another ridiculous tattoo for Aelin to give her. “Though I can’t imagine seeing your grumpy mug will make her any better!”
Shaking his head at Lysandra as she giggled, Lorcan just sighed and walked in the office to see his girlfriend frowning at a blank page in her sketchbook. “Cappuccino, as requested, for m’lady,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “I’m begging you - please don’t murder anyone. I don’t really want to bail you out of jail.”
Turning to face him, Elide glared up at him, stray pieces of hair falling from the messy bun she’d tied her hair up in that morning and framing her face. Well, she tried to. He saw the way her eyes tracked over the way his plain black t-shirt hugged the muscles of his chest and arms. Her eyes snagged on his wrist, and she reached out to loop her finger in the dark red scrunchie he’d slipped on without even thinking about it that morning. It was hers, and he liked being reminded of her whenever he looked at his hand. Finally meeting his eyes, she asked, “but you’d bail me out anyway, right?”
Pretending to think about it for a moment, he chuckled when she pouted at him. “You know I would, mamas. I’d miss you too much.”
“Good, because I’d miss you more,” she said, stretching in the chair and causing him to get very distracted by how beautiful she was. She was wearing a pair of very tiny shorts and an even tinier black crop top, over which she’d thrown what he realized was one of his red flannels. Glancing down, Lorcan felt his throat tighten when he saw that she’d completed the outfit with knee-high socks and sneakers. Something about her long legs in those socks always did something to him. “See something you like, babes?”
“Fuck me, mamas. You’re fucking perfect.” He didn’t miss the way her eyes darkened at his words, and he felt a sense of pride roll through him.
Elide reached her hands up to him, pouting and whining in the back of her throat. He leaned down and grabbed her hips, hauling her into his arms as her legs wrapped around his waist. “I like when you tell me nice things.”
Lorcan shifted his grip on her, sliding his hands under her ass and causing her pussy to rock against his quickly hardening cock. She loosed a low, keening cry at the feeling. “And I really like when you make such desperate noises for me.”
She kissed him at that, her mouth moving frantically against his. The kiss didn’t last long - they were both terribly aware that they were surrounded by people who would give them a significant amount of shit for it - but Lorcan still struggled to pull away from her.
“Thank you for the coffee, Lor,” she murmured against his jaw, her fingers scraping lightly over the back of his neck. “That was very sweet of you.”
Shifting her so that he could support her with one hand, he cupped her cheek in his other hand. “Well, I’ve been told by the guys that I’m going soft.” She giggled at that, and he pressed a quick kiss to her lips to silence her. “But I think I like being soft for you, mamas.”
Elide offered him a beautiful smile at his words. “I like you being soft with me, too.”
He could hear the other girls, who had presumably been listening outside the door, making gagging sounds at their conversation, but he found he didn’t care. Lorcan was glad to have Elide in his life, and he was incredibly happy that she had such an amazing group of friends. Plus, he knew that, for all of their teasing, they’d accepted him as a part of her life. And that meant everything to him.
The next part is finally here. It’s short, it’s sweet, it’s fluffy. Also, you’ll notice that this story is mostly just me indulging myself and @nalgenewhore - but it’s such an adorable story that I don’t think you guys will mind. Oh, and y’all can thank Isa for the adorable new couple you’re about to meet.
Summary: It’s a Coffee Shop AU meets Rival Tattoo Artists AU meets Elorcan - do I even need to say anything else?
Warnings: Language and fluff, my friends.
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Elide had been going through her appointment book while she sat at her desk in the office, trying to decide which sketches she needed to get started on, when her phone lit up with a text from Lorcan. Glancing down, she saw that all he’d written was: send help, the guys are dicks.
She sent him a quick reply - aww, you poor thing - before grabbing her bag and making for the door. “Nehemia,” she called, rapping her knuckles on the counter to get the other girl’s attention. “I’m heading out - you’re in charge of any appointments anyone wants to make with me.”
Nehemia just offered her a wry grin. “And where could you possibly be off to? Going to see the boyfriend, perhaps?”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Elide quipped back, winking as she backed into the front door to push it open. “You didn’t shut up about Sorscha for at least a month after the two of you started dating.”
“Oh please,” she huffed, though her giggles followed Elide onto the sidewalk. “It was only two weeks!”
Chuckling to herself, Elide slipped her headphones into her ears as she made her way to Cadre Ink, only making one stop on her way. She listened to the Dead Kennedys the entire walk, and she found that she loved the music even more because it reminded her of Lorcan.
When she finally pulled open the door to Cadre Ink and pulled her headphones out of her ears, she couldn’t contain the laugh that bubbled out of her throat when she realized the exact same album was playing over the shop’s speakers.
Most likely hearing her laughter along with the jingling of the bell hanging over the door, Vaughan looked up from the front desk. “Hey, Elide,” he greeted, vaulting over the counter as she pulled the door shut behind her. “Something amusing about the ridiculous music your boyfriend picked out this morning?”
Still giggling, she replied, “no, not at all - I love his music.” When he just arched one eyebrow, she elaborated, “I was listening to the same album on the way over here.”
“Ridiculous. The both of you are completely ridiculous.” Vaughan just shook his head at her, though he did wrap an arm around her shoulders as she walked up to him, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head. He and Lorcan had grown up together, and Elide knew that her boyfriend was thrilled that the two of them got along so well.
Flicking the side of his head, she wiggled out of his embrace so she could glare up at him. Even though she was a head (and then some) shorter than literally all of the boys who worked at the shop, she still had the impressive ability of being able to glare down her nose at all of them. “You love us and you fucking know it.”
Vaughan huffed a laugh. “You, I’ll admit to. But not the fucker you call your boyfriend.”
“Trying to discourage her from dating the brooding motherfucker in the back, are you?” Fenrys wandered into the lobby just as Vaughan finished speaking, hauling himself up so he could sit on the counter. “What’s good, E?”
“Well, my tits, but we all knew that. And my taste in men, obviously.” When Fenrys just scoffed at her, she leaned her weight against his thigh, digging her elbow into the sensitive skin hard enough that he winced. “What do you have against my mans?”
“Fuck, woman, stop bruising me!” Fen pinched her arm until she backed off, Vaughan just laughing quietly at the two of them. “You mean aside from the fact that he’s a brooding motherfucker?”
“Yes, you asshole, aside from that.”
“He’s just a miserable prick, E. I don’t know how you put up with his whining.” Vaughan nodded along with his words, and Elide just shook her head at the two of them.
“He’s hot,” she quipped, walking toward the office at the back of the building. “And he really knows how to use his hands!” That last bit was shouted over her shoulder, and she heard both of them groan at what she was implying.
Waving at Gavriel where he was busy prepping for a client in his suite, Elide continued her walk into the back, rapping her knuckles on the open door into Connall’s piercing suite as she stopped to poke her head in. “Hey, Con.”
“Hey,” he greeted, offering her a gentle smile as he nodded at the drink in her hand. “Bringing a certain someone his tea?”
“Like any good girlfriend would,” she joked, lifting it once in his direction as she backed out of the room. “Better get it to him before it cools too much.”
Connall just chuckled. “We wouldn’t want his highness drinking cold tea.”
“It would be a tragedy,” she quipped, waving as she moved down the hallway. She walked into the office just as Rowan was standing from his chair, and he grinned at the sight of her. Lorcan was sitting with his back to the door, his hair tied up in a messy bun as he worked on a sketch, the pencil practically flying over the paper.
Rowan brushed by her, knocking his shoulder into hers in greeting even as he chuckled quietly at the tea in her hands. She just smiled and leaned into him quickly, happy that Lorcan’s friends had quickly become her friends, too.
Walking up behind her boyfriend, she carefully set his tea on the desk next to him before she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hey there, handsome.”
Though he’d startled at her initial touch, he practically melted into her embrace when he heard her voice in his ear. She barely had time to press her lips to the side of his neck before he was turning his chair around to face her. “Hello, my love.”
She realized he was wearing his glasses as he worked, and she was quite taken by the way he looked with his hair up and his glasses on. Though she thought he looked hot no matter what he was wearing, this had to be one of her favorite looks. She’d just stepped back further to really take him in, but Lorcan’s hands on her thighs stopped her in her tracks.
“Damn, mamas,” he whistled, eyes lighting up as he looked her up and down. She was wearing an old black t-shirt of his that she’d stolen from him the last time he spent the night, and since he was over a foot taller than her, it hit her mid-thighs. She’d paired it with fishnets and her Doc Martens, her dark hair in two Dutch braids that fell over her shoulders. He slowly slid his hands up her thighs, under her - well, his - t-shirt, as he said, “if I let my hands keep wandering, will I find cotton or lace?”
Leaning down to brush her lips against his in the barest hint of kiss even as he hands kept moving, Elide just whispered, “denim, babes.” She smirked as his fingers hit the bottom of her admittedly very tiny shorts and he groaned, his head falling against the back of his chair.
“Such a little tease,” he replied, pulling her down into his lap. He lifted one hand to twist one of her braids around his finger, the other pulling her hips down into his. She groaned at the feeling of his hardening length rocking gently against her clothed pussy, and he smirked up at her. “But I guess that’s why I like you so much.”
She rocked her hips into his, laughing when he hissed out a breath. “I just like you for the pretty little noises you make.”
He laughed at that, a loud sort of laugh that echoed around the room. She’d come to realize that wasn’t a sound he made very often, and it sent a thrill of happiness through her every time she made him laugh. Cupping her face in both of his hands, Lorcan pulled her down so he could kiss her, a simple, sweet kiss that cooled the passion that had been burning between them moments ago but was still full of so much feeling.
Pulling back until he could look into her eyes, he offered her a happy little grin. “So what brings you here, my love?”
“Well, you told me to send help.” Leaning over his shoulder, she grabbed the tea he hadn’t seen in his excitement over seeing her. “So I thought an Earl Grey might be just the kind of help you needed.”
A truly beautiful smile spread over his face as he took the cup from her hands. “Elide,” he breathed, ghosting his fingers over her cheek. “This is perfect - thanks, mamas.”
“You got it, babes.” She leaned down to kiss his jaw. “I know how to keep my man happy.”
Lorcan pouted his lips at her for a kiss, which she obliged. “You most definitely do.” He leaned up to kiss her again, this one growing deeper as he carefully set his tea on the desk behind him. She wound her arms around his neck as his slipped back around her waist, and she found herself cupping the back of his head so she could angle his head and kiss him harder.
He’d just started rolling her hips over his lap when someone heaved a massive sigh from the doorway. “Will you two fiends get a room already, for the love of the gods!”
Lorcan had barely pulled his lips from hers before he was grabbing a stress ball from his desk and chucking it toward the door. Though all five guys had gathered in the doorway at Fenrys’s exclamation, it hit him right in the forehead, sending everyone else into hysterics.
Even as she laughed at the absolute bewilderment on Fen’s face, Elide couldn’t help the happiness growing in her heart. Lorcan’s friends had accepted her as one of them, and that meant everything to her. She knew how much this little family he’d created meant to him, and she was thrilled that she got to be a part of it.
It’s here, it’s finally here!! @nalgenewhore has been waiting for me to right this scene since I came up with the idea for this story, and I hope all of you will love it as much as she does! Also, go show her some love because I would literally accomplish nothing if it wasn’t for her.
Also, this is a long one, so enjoy!
Summary: It’s a Coffee Shop AU meets Rival Tattoo Artists AU meets Elorcan - do I even need to say anything else?
Warnings: You guys know me, smut had to turn up eventually - and this is the part for it. Oh, and language.
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Elide sprawled across Loran’s bed, breathing in the scent of his cologne from his pillow as she listened to the steady stream of water from his shower. She’d shown herself into his apartment after she’d finished up working for the day - and after she’d stopped by her apartment to feed Jello and Jett (and herself). Dee Dee had practically climbed into her arms the minute she was through the door, and she spent a good ten minutes cuddling with the sweet puppy before realizing that her boyfriend still hadn’t come to see who had walked into his apartment.
Kissing Dee Dee on his adorable little head and tucking him into his nest of blankets on Lorcan’s couch, she walked back to her boyfriend’s bedroom. She’d heard the shower running as she walked down the hall, so she popped her head through the bathroom door to say hello before showing herself into his room and throwing herself on his bed.
She was snuggling with his pillow - the scent of his cologne was her new favorite scent - when Lorcan walked through the door with a towel slung very low on his hips. “Hey mamas,” he greeted, giving her a concerned look when he saw how tightly she was hugging his pillow. “You want me to leave, give you some more alone time with my pillow?”
Rolling onto her back, his pillow still clutched to her chest, she offered him a happy little smile. “Of course not, babes. I just missed you, and your pillow smells like your cologne, so I just wanted to hold it.”
“You’re adorable,” he chuckled, his fingers drifting over her thigh as he walked around the bed. “Let me just get dressed quick and we can figure out what we want to do tonight.”
Elide sat up and grabbed his wrist, keeping him from walking any further from her. “I was actually thinking we could stay in tonight,” she murmured, her fingers drifting across the bare skin of his hips and ghosting across the bulge in the front of his towel. “No clothes necessary - if that’s okay with you?”
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard in a very long time,” Lorcan replied, crawling onto the bed and hovering over her as she reclined against his pillows. “I think we should get started right away - can’t have us losing any more time.”
She just giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his lips down until they were just barely touching hers. “Then you’d better get me naked right now, Salvaterre.” The words were whispered against his lips, and she felt the way his breathing hitched at them.
Lorcan growled in the back of his throat, capturing her lips with his and kissing her like she was his oxygen and he had been a man drowning. His hips rolled down against hers, the feeling of his hard cock against her aching folds drawing whimpers from her throat.
He slid one hand down to cup her breast through her shirt, his thumb flicking over her nipple. Elide gasped at the sensation of her t-shirt against the sensitive peak - she’d forgone a bra in the hopes that she could get Lorcan to stay in bed with her all night. Plus, she figured the sight of her impressive tits through her plain white t-shirt would help convince him to fuck her the way she wanted.
Taking advantage of the way her mouth fell open at his ministrations, Lorcan’s tongue swept into her mouth, and quickly became tangled with hers. They kissed like that for a while, content to take their time and just be together. She tangled one hand in his damp hair, her fingernails scratching over his scalp and making him moan low in his throat. His hands were drifting, moving from her hair to her jaw to her waist.
Eventually, Lorcan’s hands slipped under her shirt, and Elide pulled her lips from his to whisper, “off, I need it off, babes.” He obliged her, pulling the shirt over her head and flinging it somewhere behind them.
He moaned at the sight of her breasts, and she felt her skin pebble between the cool air of his room and the way he stared at her like a man who’d just found his way. “Fuck,” he breathed, one finger gently tracing over the piercing running through her left nipple and then over the one in her right, “your tits are flawless, mamas. And these piercings? Fuck me.”
Staring down into her eyes, Lorcan took one nipple between his lips, cupping the other breast with his hand as he began sucking and nipping at the sensitive bud. Elide loosed a keening whine, her legs twining around his waist as he worked her tits with his hands and mouth.
Even as he kept teasing her, she slowly started working the towel off his hips, practically growling when she felt it finally come loose and his cock brushed against the skin of her inner thigh. She tossed the towel off the side of the bed, arching into Lorcan’s mouth when he gave a particularly pointed flick to the piercing in her nipple.
Chuckling at the broken sounds he was pulling from her, he pulled away from her chest and gripped the spandex she was wearing, pulling them down her legs and letting them join the rest of their clothes on the floor. His chuckles faded quickly, however, when he shifted above her and his dick hit, not the lace of her panties, but the very wet, very heated skin of her pussy.
“I see someone knew what she wanted when she got ready today,” Lorcan murmured, his lips brushing the hollow of her throat as he slipped two fingers inside of her. She moaned, the sound breaking off in a sharp gasp when he brushed against that one spot inside of her. His lips worked over her throat, leaving a delicate pattern of marks across her pale skin as he slowly worked her open, growling deep in his throat at the whine she released as he added a third finger.
Elide tangled her hands in his hair, tugging on the soft strands until he lifted his head enough that she could kiss him. “Please, baby. I need you. Now,” she mumbled against his lips. “Please.”
Brushing a kiss to her forehead, he slipped his fingers out of her, leaving her gasping at the emptiness. “Whatever you need, my love.”
She traced her fingers down his chest, one hand settling on his hip as the other drifted even further. Scraping her nails lightly over the head of his cock, she felt him shaking when her finger bumped gently against the piercing that ran vertically through the tip of it. “The way you feel about my piercings? That has nothing on the way I feel about yours.”
Not wasting any more time, Elide guided the head of his cock between her very soaked folds, allowing him to become coated in her juices before slipping inside of her. They both groaned at the feeling, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as soon as he bottomed out.
Lorcan cupped her face in one hand, his other arm sliding around her waist and pulling her body against his. He began thrusting into her slowly, allowing a steady rhythm to build as they moved together.
Elide kissed him as he moved inside of her, claiming his mouth the way he was claiming her body. Being with him was like nothing she’d ever felt before, like just his touch alone could break and rebuild her all at once. She knew he felt the same - he’d told her as much the very first time they’d been together - but it never failed to take her breath away. Her legs tightened around him, trying to bring him closer to her. Even with her arms twined around him - one in his hair and one digging into his back - and pulling his chest against hers, she felt like she would never be close enough to him.
He apparently felt the same way, because he flipped them over, never pulling out of her even as she settled atop him. Only allowing her to drape herself across his chest for a moment, Lorcan sat up, letting her legs slide around his waist even more. The new position allowed him to thrust even deeper inside her, and Elide cherished the feeling of being so close to him.
Each thrust of his hips was sharper, more focused on hitting that spot deep within her and pulling her over the edge they were both approaching. Knowing he wanted to feel her coming around him before he reached his own release, she started bouncing in his lap, meeting him thrust for thrust and pulling the most beautiful noises out of his mouth. Moans, whimpers, deep groans, and broken requests of “more, please, gods, yes” were the symphony they moved to and Elide would pay whatever cost to hear it play again and again.
She gasped as the ball of his piercing slid over her g-spot, and she felt her orgasm practically rip through her when his pelvic bone bumped her clit. A broken gasp tearing its way out of her throat, she clenched down around his cock, her pussy spasming as her juices flooded out of her and soaked both of their thighs.
Lorcan found his release not long after, and she whimpered at the feeling of his come splashing against her still-senstive walls. He was practically shaking beneath her, and she couldn’t help but hold him tighter, relishing the feel of having him in her arms.
They stayed pressed together for several minutes, content to just be close to one another. Both of them were breathing heavily, and Elide could feel her walls still fluttering around his cock sporadically. She eventually managed to lift her forehead from where it had been resting on his shoulder, looking into his eyes and offering him a gentle smile.
Elide could feel the words building in her throat, could feel them trying to get out. The feeling had been growing for a while, and suddenly she realized she couldn’t keep them in anymore. “I love you,” she breathed, the words confident even though her voice was quiet.
He just stared at her, an expression she couldn’t quite read on his face. She started talking before she could even filter what was coming out of her mouth. “Look, I know I sprung that on you literally out of nowhere. And I know how cliché it is to say ‘I love you’ right after having really soft, slow, intimate sex - fuck, you’re still inside of me right now - but it’s true. I love you so much, Lor. And you don’t have to say it back, because I know we haven’t been together for all that long or anything-”
That was as far as she got before Lorcan was kissing her, cupping her jaw in both of his hands as his lips moved with hers. He kissed her like he couldn’t help himself, like he couldn’t handle not kissing her for a second longer, and Elide practically melted against him.
He finally pulled away, and Elide saw tears sparkling in his eyes. She reached out to wipe away the few that had spilled over, and he caught her hands in his. “Elide,” he whispered, staring up at her in awe, “I’m so in love with you. I just… haven’t said anything because I didn’t want to scare you off.”
“Oh, love,” she murmured, leaning in to kiss the tip of his nose, “you could never scare me off. I’m yours, babes.”
He offered her the most beautiful smile she’d ever seen at that, and she felt her heart swell in her chest. “As I am yours, mamas.” He kissed her again, a soft gentle thing that had her heart melting.
Even though she never wanted to leave Lorcan’s arms again, the chill of room was slowly creeping over Elide, and she climbed off his lap to go steal one of his hoodies. She only made it one step from the bed, however, before he grabbed her by the waist and tugged her back to the edge of the bed, slotting her between his legs where they’d fallen over the side of the mattress.
“And what,” he questioned, his breath tickling the small of her back, “exactly do we have here?”
Before she could ask what he was talking about, she felt his finger tracing over the tattoo inked on her ass - and she immediately started laughing. “That,” she chuckled, “is a gift from the one and only Aelin Ashryver Galathynius.”
“Did she… sign your ass?” Lorcan sounded so confused at the presence of Aelin’s signature, her full name in beautiful cursive, occupying a patch of skin on her ass.
Spinning in his arms, she leaned down to kiss his forehead. “She did indeed.” When her boyfriend just gave her a confused look, she elaborated. “Aelin was hired as a piercer, but she really wanted to learn how to tattoo. So, she needed people to practice on. I told her she could tattoo me, but I believe my exact words were ‘I love you, but I have an aesthetic and I am not letting you ruin it.’ I let her do whatever she wanted, and she thought it would be funny to sign my ass.”
He was practically dying of laughter by the time she’d finished telling the story, and she couldn’t help but laugh along with him. Though she’d been plenty surprised to see that one of her best friends had signed her ass permanently, she had grown to love the tattoo. “I’m glad that this amuses you so much,” she quipped, flicking the tip of his nose.
“Relax, Lochan,” he replied, nipping at her finger. “I only laugh because your ass tat is as crazy as mine.” He turned as he said it, showing her the bright red lipstick print she already knew she would see.
Reaching out, she traced her finger along the outside of the tattoo, enjoying the gooseflesh that erupted over his skin at her touch. “Ah, the lips. I’ve always wanted to know the story behind this tattoo.”
“It’s all Vaughan’s fault.” She raised her eyebrow at him - out of all the guys, he and Vaughan were always getting one another into trouble, but she knew they were as close as brothers. “Vaughan is in no way allowed to touch me with a tattoo gun - neither of us trust the other enough for that to happen. However, we got a little… tipsy one night, and we ended up giving each other tattoos. Matching tattoos, actually.”
Elide smiled down at him, her heart swelling as she saw the love he had for his best friend shining in his eyes. “That’s actually very sweet,” she murmured, settling herself on the bed next to him. “I mean, aside from the drunken tattooing - never, ever tell your customers you did that.”
“I would never.” He gave her a serious look for a second, but then the easy, happy smile he only ever gave her spread over his face again. “And don’t go thinking that anything Vaughan is responsible for is cute. He’s the reason I have my dick pierced.”
She spluttered at that, choking even as she laughed. “Why the fuck did you get your dick pierced for Vaughan?”
“Mm, nope, that’s so not what I meant. We made a bet, I lost, and now I have an apadravya, courtesy of Connall.”
Tracing her finger over both sides of his piercing, Elide winked at him. “Well, Con does do some excellent work.”
He motioned to her chest. “As does Aelin, I’m assuming?”
Nodding, she glanced down at her pierced nipples. “Yeah, that’s her handiwork, too. Asterin wanted hers done, and I figured what the hell? Rin was good moral support, and I made her go first so I could see what I was in for.” He huffed a laugh at that, reaching out to brush his knuckle over one of them gently as she tapped a finger against his septum piercing. “Connall do this, too?”
“He did,” he replied. “My ears, too. He’s the only person I trust to do them.”
Elide nodded, eyes tracking over the various piercings he’d mentioned - double lobe and double helix on one side, industrial on the other - before motioning to her own. “That’s how I feel about Aelin. She did my ears, too - well, all but the lobe piercings. I got those when I was still in high school.” She was referring to the three lobe piercings she had on each ear, which meant that Aelin was responsible for her industrial and daith in one ear, and the double cartilage and rook in the other. “Okay, enough about our various piercings - roll over. I want to get a good look at your portrait of Hellas.”
He huffed a good-natured sigh, but he did as she asked. Her eyes poured over the design, her fingers following the same path. It truly was a work of art - from the emotion in Hellas’s eyes to the sheer amount of detail in the entire portrait. “This is stunning,” she finally breathed, her fingers still working over the small details in the design. “I mean, the level of detail…”
“I know,” he replied, rolling over and tangling his fingers with hers. She’d noticed that he seemed to draw comfort from being able to touch her - even just being able to brush his arm against hers appeared to have a soothing effect on him. She just loved that he felt so comfortable with her, so she lifted their entwined hands so she could kiss his knuckles. “Rowan does amazing work - even though this isn’t his usual style.”
Elide felt her eyes widen. Rowan usually chose to tattoo words - a piece that big certainly was out of his norm. “That was all Rowan?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “He’s my best friend, and this was a huge project. Ro’s art skills are beyond anything I’ve seen from anyone. There’s no one else I would’ve wanted to do this.”
“I know the feeling.” Twisting so Lorcan could see her back, she motioned the equally massive portrait of Anneith that occupied her skin. She felt his fingers smoothing over the design, following the immaculate lines of the tattoo. “The minute I decided I wanted Anneith, I knew Nehemia was the one I wanted to do it. She’s so detail-oriented, I knew it would be amazing.”
He murmured an agreement, pulling her back against his chest and kissing the side of her neck. “But why Anneith?” he questioned. “What made you so drawn to her?”
“My whole life, everyone always said I was guided by her.” She turned in his arms, sprawling across his chest. “And I’ve always felt like there was this little voice whispering in my ear, helping me through tough situations - and she’s never steered me wrong.”
He nodded at her, nails scratching lightly over her stomach. “We really are connected, mamas. I”ve always felt like Hellas watched over me, lending a hand whenever I needed it. That’s why I wanted a tattoo of him.”
Propping herself up on one elbow, Elide scanned her eyes down his body, eyes lighting up when they fell on the lyrics tattooed on his left hip. “I can’t control my fingers, I can’t control my brain. That’s so fitting for you.”
“So you’ve said,” he quipped. “It’s my favorite song, from my favorite band, and any teasing comments you’re thinking of won’t phase me - I’m sure Gavriel made all of them while he was tattooing the lyrics.”
“Good. I’ll have to remember to thank him the next time I see him.”
He poked her right side while she laughed, his finger landing on the tattoo on her ribs. “And what about you, huh? Sitting in my room, humming a sickening tune. That your favorite song of theirs?”
She thought for a minute, a small giggle escaping when his wandering fingers tickled her. “Mm, it’s definitely one of my favorites. I’ve just… always been drawn to that one line. It suits me - and trust me, Aelin whole-heartedly agreed when I asked her to ink it on me.” When he gave her a questioning look, she added, “Aelin is one of the best for words - she does almost all of them at the shop.”
“It’s a good thing she and Ro found each other - he’s our word guy, too.”
Elide just nodded, her eyes trailing over his bare chest. Her boyfriend was hot, and muscular, and having him shirtless (and naked) in her presence tended to distract her. “Did he do this one, too?” She motioned to the date inked over his heart.
“You’d think so, but no. That was actually Fen.” He watched her trace the numbers for a moment, smiling when she leaned in to kiss the lines of ink. “It’s the date we bought the shop. We all have it tattooed in the exact same spot, so we drew names out of a hat for who was going to tattoo who.”
“That’s sweet,” she whispered, her fingers trailing from his chest to the right side of his torso and the huge block of text in a language she didn’t know scrawled over his ribs. “I’ve always wondered about the story behind this one.”
“It’s one of my favorites,” he replied, watching her eyes follow her fingers over the words he knew were foreign to her. “It’s a fairy tale about the Little Folk. It’s my mom’s favorite story, because her family is from a tribe in the North - she used to read it to me every night. I used to look forward to bedtime just so I could hear her read it. That was my favorite part of the day when I was growing up. It’s in the language of her people - of my people.”
Though he’d told her about his family and his past, hearing about how close he was with his mother never failed to make her smile. His father had left when she’d found out she was pregnant, and his mom had been everything to him - she still was. “That’s so beautiful, baby. I bet your mom loved it.”
“She cried when I showed her.” Elide glanced up at him, and she kissed his cheek when she saw that he was getting a little teary-eyed at the thought. “She also made a point of showing up at the shop and telling Gav how perfect it was and that he made her language look so beautiful.”
She chuckled, knowing that was exactly something she would do. “He really did an amazing job,” she whispered, swiping her thumb under his eye to catch those few tears that had gathered before they could fall.
Catching her hand in his, Lorcan kissed her palm before he responded. “Okay, okay, enough of making me cry. Tell me the story of this one.” His fingers brushed over her upper right arm, and she twisted a little so he could see it better.
“That,” she said, “is the three faces of the Mother - maiden, matron, and crone. She’s the sacred goddess of the Ironteeth Witches. Since I have Blackbeak blood - the Blackbeaks are descended from the Ironteeth - from my mother’s side, she’s sacred to me too. And, since Asterin is a Blackbeak, I knew she was the one I wanted to help me design it and then tattoo me.”
His fingers traced the lines of ink, eyes wide as he took in the details in it. “Asterin killed it - this is breathtaking.”
“Rin’s amazing - I love her work.” Elide sat up and motioned to her chest, flicking his pec once when she saw how his eyes snagged on her breasts before moving to the tattoo that spanned from shoulder to shoulder and spilled down into the valley of her breasts. “That’s why I had her do this one, too.” He raised his eyebrows at her, and she nodded. “The whole design, it’s all hers.”
He traced the design carefully, and Elide couldn’t help the way she craved his touch. Starting at her left shoulder, he followed the phases of the moon all the way to her left shoulder before dropping to the valley between her breasts, where Asterin had inked constellations and galaxies that moved all the way down her sternum and flowed under both of her breasts. “It’s beautiful, Elide,” he finally murmured, fingers still following the lines.
“It was our take on the standard chandelier tattoo. We wanted to be unique while keeping with the moon theme.”
“You guys nailed it,” he agreed, kissing the space between her breasts gently. “Out of all your tattoos, this is the one I think fits you the best.”
Elide smiled at him, pressed her lips to his forehead before tapping the tattoo on his upper left arm. “Seems we might be matching once again.”
“So we are,” he rumbled, rotating his arm so she could see it better. It was a crescent moon surrounded by a dripping darkness and a myriad of stars. The darkness crept over the edges of the moon, spilling down toward his elbow like it was literally dripping from it. It swallowed some of the stars, leaving only a few wholly untouched. “Yours isn’t quite so dark though.”
She arched an eyebrow at him, her finger swirling around the few stars that weren’t covered. “But the darkness suits you. Though, I have to ask, why is it swallowing everything?”
“It’s another reference to Hellas. Con drew it up and brought it to me one day. He said that anyone blessed by Hellas would most likely have some form of gift from him. Apparently he thought that a darkness that claimed everything in its path would be my gift. So, he showed me this and I couldn’t say no. He inked me that same day.”
She nodded, meeting his dark eyes and smiling at him. “You really wanted to honor him, didn’t you? Hellas, I mean.”
Dipping his chin, he replied, “yeah, I really did. He’s the inspiration for this one, too.” He motioned to the raven on the right side of his chest. One of its wings spread over his shoulder, and the other reached toward his sternum. The raven’s head sat on his collarbone, and Elide was captivated by how utterly stunning it was. “It was Con’s idea, too, but I had a hand in the design.”
“It’s gorgeous,” she murmured. “Connall’s work is absolutely stunning.”
“It is,” he agreed. “That’s why he’s given me so many of them.”
“Yeah? What else is his work?”
Lorcan shifted beneath her, allowing her to get a good look at the left side of his ribs. He gestured to the sword that took up his entire side, and she took in everything, from the intricate details on the hilt to the beautiful engravings on the blade. “This is his. I said I wanted a sword and he came back with this. Like, he came back with this the same day.”
“Damn, he’s good,” she murmured. “He and Aelin should sit down together and design a whole bunch of weaponry tattoos.” Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow at her, and she showed him the intricate dagger tattooed on her left forearm. “This is hers. It was her first tattoo that she actually drew - not just a simple little design, but one she actually had to sketch out - and so far it’s the only one she’s done. But it’s wonderful, and I love it.”
“Well, she did a good job - really, it’s amazing.” He shot her a wry look before adding, “but don’t you ever tell her I said that. It would go right to her head.”
“Oh, I’m well aware,” she chuckled, the sound dying when her gaze fell on his right arm. It was a full sleeve tattoo, the markings moving and flowing from his shoulder down to his wrist. Elide knew that they were traditional markings that were significant to his mother’s people, and therefore to him. He was incredibly proud of his heritage, and she wanted to know more about the tattoo. “Okay, I’ve been dying to know about this one. Well, dying to know more than I already do.”
He gave her a happy smile, leaning up to kiss her forehead before he answered. “Well, they were originally the markings given to boys when they came of age - fifteen - but now it’s become something that men get when they feel like it’s an important time in their life, a time that changes and defines them.”
“Can I ask when you got yours?”
“Of course you can, mamas,” he whispered, kissing her lightly. “I decided to get it when we bought the shop. It was the moment in time when I felt like I finally had control in my life, like I was finally on the path to the rest of my life. I asked Vaughan to give me the tattoos the minute I had the key to the shop in my hand.”
Elide felt the furrow forming in her brow. “But I thought you said Vaughan wasn’t allowed to touch you with a tattoo gun?”
The laugh that broke from his lips was one of the happiest sounds she’d ever heard, and she loved being able to hear it whenever she wanted. “He’s not. But this was an exceptional circumstance. You know we grew up together - it’s why we’re so close. His family is from the same tribe as mine, and he knows how important these tattoos are. It’s an incredibly emotional and personal experience, and he was the only person I would have ever let give them to me. Actually, he has the same sleeve - and I’m the one who did them.”
“I love that,” she whispered, fingers following the tattoos as they wound up and over his arm. “I love how important your heritage is to you. And I love that you’re so proud of it - especially because I’m so proud of mine.” She shifted so he could see the tattoo on her right thigh.
“Ah, yes,” he replied, fingers falling to her skin. “The Lord of the North, yeah?”
She nodded, looking down at the majestic stag. “You know I’m from Perranth, and the Lord of the North is said to watch over and protect all of Terrasen. I’ve always felt safe, knowing he was with me. So, I asked Lys to ink him on me permanently, and, with Aelin’s help in the design process, she did.”
Lorcan was still staring at her tattoo as she shifted again, finally drawing his eyes to her left thigh. “Yes, yes, your wyvern. I have to say, this is my favorite tattoo of yours.”
“Thanks, babes.” Elide looked down at the wyvern that took up so much space on her skin, loving it just as much as the day she’d gotten it. Its tail coiled around her thigh, the body resting on her hip with its wings flared out onto her lower stomach and lower back. The creature’s head rested on her ribs, and the level of detail was practically unmatched. “The Ironteeth Witches used to ride them into battle, and you know how much I love my Blackbeak heritage. Lysandra was more than happy to help me bring the wyvern to life - with Asterin’s help, of course.”
“Lysandra’s work is phenomenal,” he said. “Just like everyone at Terrasen Tattoo, actually. You’re all incredibly talented.”
“Ah,” she murmured, climbing off of his lap completely so she could see his newest tattoo. “Could all the complimenting be because you’re so happy with your most recent tattoo?”
He chuckled, kicking her shin lightly as they both took in his ink. “Fuck off,” he managed to get out between his laughs. “But yes, Nehemia’s work is unparalleled. I love the tattoo she gave me.” He twisted his right leg so they could both see where it rested on his calf. Nehemia had given him a shockingly lifelike tattoo of the Cambrian Mountains. His hometown rested just on the foot of the mountains, and his ancestors had lived there for generations. He’d taken one look at Nehemia’s work and had instantly asked if she would want to ink such an important part of his life on his skin.
“So do I,” Elide agreed. “I’m just proud of you for branching out and letting someone other than the guys anywhere near you with a tattoo gun.”
Lorcan rolled on top of her, pinning her to the bed and tickling her sides. “That’s it’s mamas,” he growled, kissing her nose as she laughed. “You’re in for it now.”
“No, stop, no more tickling,” she giggled. “I give, I give, just stop.” She finally managed to grab his hands and pull them away from her sides, which meant that his full weight landed on top of her. They were both too busy laughing to care. Eventually, she caught her breath enough to ask, “so, are you ever going to let me ink you?”
“You want to give me a tattoo, El?”
Elide could feel the blush growing on her cheeks, but he was blushing too, so it wasn’t so bad. “Of course I do, Lor.”
“I’ll make you a deal,” he said, propping himself up on his elbow. “I would be honored to have you give me a tattoo, but I would love to give you one, too.”
“Yes, please!” She wound her arms around his neck, smiling brightly at the happy gleam in his eyes. “Now, the important question: what should we give each other, babes?”
This chapter is so long, and I’m so excited to share all of it with you. As always, @nalgenewhore is my very creative bestie, and she’s responsible for some of the really cute dialogue you’re about to read. Also, Dee Dee, Jello, and Jett came from her mind - I just expanded. Also, the music that gets mentioned here - all of that came from her.
The other part of this story, along with everything else I’ve written, can be found on my masterlist, which is linked in my bio.
Summary: It’s a Coffee Shop AU meets Rival Tattoo Artists AU meets Elorcan k- do I even need to say anything else?
Warnings: Still just language.
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Elide knocked on the door to Lorcan’s apartment, wiping her hands on her black mom jeans when the sound echoed loudly in the empty hallway. She cringed at the noise, looking over herself one final time to make sure she looked presentable for their date. She’d chosen a red crop top to pair with her jeans, and even though her arms were covered, the low neckline showed off the tattoo arching over her chest perfectly. Tied all together with her signature platform Doc Martens, she looked like the badass babe everyone always told her she was - if she could only shake her nerves.
Before she could make herself even more freaked out, the door opened and she was met with the sight of Lorcan’s defined torso wrapped in a dark grey Henley. Glancing down, she saw he’d paired it with dark wash jeans and dark high-top Chucks. “Hey,” he greeted, dropping a kiss to the top of her head before motioning her into his apartment.
Reaching up to tap a finger against the arm of his round-rim glasses, which somehow made him even more handsome (especially given the contrast they provided with his septum piercing), she replied, “hey yourself, babes.” Elide let out a small chuckle as she looked over the inside of his apartment. It was an industrial loft, but everything was dark - from the walls to the furniture to the tiny pitbull puppy peering at her over the back of the sofa. “Oh my gods that is the tiniest puppy I’ve ever seen.”
He grinned at her as he moved toward the dog, offering the tiny creature a gentle smile. “His name is Dee Dee, and he’s very shy.” Lorcan picked him up, cradling him in his arms as the puppy gave Elide a nervous look. “You can come say hi if you want, but he’s not big on people.”
Giving the puppy a soft smile, she approached the two of them slowly, one hand extended towards Dee Dee where he was burrowing into Lorcan’s chest. He gave her a long look, almost like he was deciding if he could trust her or not, but after a moment he pushed his little nose against Elide’s palm. “Hi,” she whispered, giggling when he started to lick her fingers. “Did your silly daddy name you after the bassist of the Ramones?”
“Well I’ll be damned.” He stared at her with a look of shock on his face, and it only grew when Dee Dee began pawing at Elide’s hand, trying to crawl out of Lorcan’s arms and into hers. “He’s never been this sure of anyone before. And yes - yes I did name him after the bassist of my favorite band.”
“Of course you did,” she replied, scooping Dee Dee into her arms and scratching him behind his ears. “I see someone never quite got over their teenage angst - I don’t think this apartment could get any darker.”
Lorcan laughed at that, a strand of dark hair falling over his glasses, since he’d left it loose for their date. “Lucky for you, I lost enough of that angst that I realized blackout curtains were unnecessary - and a little creepy.”
“And you’d be right on both counts.” Elide smirked at him, elbowing him lightly in the stomach when he just shook his head at her.
“As much as I hate to break up this little cuddle-fest between the two of you,” Lorcan started, reaching out to take Dee Dee back, “I think you and I have a date planned?”
“You know, I do remember something about that,” she quipped, leaning down to kiss the puppy’s head before he curled up in a little ball on the couch after Lorcan put him down. “Bye sweet boy - I’ll be back to visit you soon.”
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he began leading her toward the door. “I’m glad Dee Dee likes you, though it does mean I have to work that much harder to impress you today. I hope you like what I have planned, which includes our first stop - the bookstore.”
“I’m sure I will, babes, since you’re already off to a great start - you know, with the adorable puppy and all. And I must say, the glasses are an added bonus - they make you even more handsome. But, do you mind if we make a quick stop first? I promise it’s right on the way - and I think you’re gonna like it.”
“Anything for you, mamas.”
~*^*~
Lorcan couldn’t help the grin that seemed to be permanently fixed on his face when it came to Elide Lochan. The minute he’d opened his door and seen the phases of the moon inked across her chest, with more of the design spilling down between her breasts, he’d been completely gone for her. And when Dee Dee, his sweet, shy little pup who hid from everyone, took to her with hardly a second thought, he’d fallen even further than he thought was possible.
The object of his affection was currently tugging on his hand, a bright smile spread over her lips as she tried to get him to stop. He realized they must have reached her intended destination, and he turned to face the building, curious to see where she had taken him.
They were in front of the record store.
“This is my surprise?” he asked, tugging gently on the hand he still had twined with hers. “The record store?”
Turning to face him, Elide knocked her forehead against his chest gently before giving him an exasperated look. “Wow, you’re a perceptive one, huh?” She said it in the driest tone he’d ever heard another person use, and he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him. “Nothing gets by you, does it?”
He merely raised an eyebrow at her, not deigning her sarcasm with a response. Lorcan could see the edges of her lips starting to turn up, and he knew she was fighting a grin.
“No, babes,” she continued, resting her chin on his chest, “the store isn’t your surprise - it’s the idea that goes along with it. I thought that we could pick out records for each other? Since we both like music and seem to have the same taste?”
Hearing the uncertainty in her tone, he couldn’t help but kiss the tip of her nose. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”
The resulting smile she gave him stopped his heart in his chest.
~*^*~
After browsing the store for a solid twenty minutes, they’d both made their purchases and were ready to show them to each other. Though they’d wandered around the store separately in order to surprise one another with the records they’d picked out, Elide had twined her fingers with his every time she had to walk by him. She’d hold on even as she kept walking, not letting go until she absolutely had to. And, each time, she’d turned to watch him just as their hands separated, a small pout pulling on her lips as they lost contact.
She came bounding up to him where he was waiting on the sidewalk for her, a beautiful smile on her face as she ducked under his arm and wrapped her own around his waist. “Hi,” she murmured, lips pressing against his chest in a gentle kiss.
“Hey you,” Lorcan whispered back, one arm falling around her shoulders as he tugged gently on the ends of her hair. “Ready to show me what you found for me?”
Offering him a wry smile, she giggled and shook her head. “You first.”
He just furrowed his brows and gave her a confused look, but he handed over his bag anyway. “I just - I saw this one and it just screamed your name at me. I hope you like it.”
Setting her other bag on the ground by her feet, Elide offered him a quieter smile that was a little more shy than the others she’d given him as she opened his bag. “Oh my gods!” she squealed, her eyes lighting up as she pulled Vive le Trash ‘74 by the New York Dolls out of the bag. “Lorcan, this is perfect!”
She pressed the album to her chest, and Lorcan felt the tension ease out of his shoulders. He’d been so nervous that she wouldn’t like it - he’d actually been afraid that she’d hate it. Even though she seemed over the moon about it, he still asked, “you really like it?”
”Babes,” she whispered, pressing a lingering kiss to his jaw. “I love it.” Her fingers ghosted over his jaw as she slid her arm around his neck, scraping her nails over his neck in a comforting gesture. “You had no way of knowing this, but live albums are my favorite albums. Something about them just speaks to me. You couldn’t have made a more perfect choice.”
“I’m glad to hear it, love.” Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, he kissed her forehead. “Alright mamas, let’s see what you got me.”
Elide nudged him with her hip as she leaned down to grab the bag on the ground, and he winced theatrically and stumbled back a couple steps. Laughter tumbled from her lips, and he knew then and there he’d do anything to keep hearing that sound. “Now,” she started, grabbing his hand to keep him from taking the bag, “please keep in mind that there is a reason behind this.”
“Uh huh, whatever you say, mamas.” Giving her a skeptical look, Lorcan glanced into the bag she’d handed him. He could feel the confusion settling across his face, and he knew she could see it the minute he met her eyes. “Plastic Letters? You got me Blondie?”
“Erm, yeah?” He could hear the question, the hesitation, the uncertainty in her voice, and he hated that he’d put it there. “I just figured that you need to branch out from the one band you listen to.” She giggled as she said it, and he couldn’t help but join in, even though she still seemed unsure of herself. “And, I did hear you humming The Tide is High when we were at lunch the other day, so I just thought you might like it?”
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he nuzzled her temple with his nose. “Can you keep a secret?” When she nodded, he continued, “Blondie is actually one of my favorite bands. You did good, El.”
He felt her sag against him, and he heard her sigh of relief. “Oh thank Anneith. I was so worried you didn’t like it.”
“That could never happen - somehow you know me a lot better than you should, love.”
“Like I said,” she replied, her fingers trailing over his hip, “we’re connected, babes.”
“Indeed we are.” Beginning to lead her in the direction of the bookstore, he added, “let’s go see how deep that connection goes.”
~*^*~
Elide was practically bouncing in excitement by the time they reached the bookstore. Books had always been her favorite escape, and she’d always loved browsing the stacks until she found one that called to her. Plus, spending time with Lorcan was becoming her new favorite thing, and she was excited for their date to continue.
She made to reach for the door, and promptly drew up short when she felt two warm hands land on the bare skin of her hips and draw her back against a broad chest. Squealing at the suddenness of the motion, she felt Lorcan’s chuckle vibrate through his chest and into her back.
“Just a minute there, Lochan,” he purred, his breath ghosting over the skin of her neck as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “This isn’t an average trip to the bookstore.”
“Oh?” she murmured, tilting her head and arching her back to give him access to her neck. “What’s so special about it then?”
He leaned into her, pressing his lips to her neck and letting them slide over the smooth expanse of her skin. “Well mamas, it’s like this: you sorta stole my idea at the record store, but I was thinking we could pick out books for one another?”
Though the feeling of his lips on her skin was like nothing she’d ever felt before, the sweetness behind his gesture meant more to her. Whirling around in his arms, Elide wrapped her own around his neck. “That’s perfect!” she squealed, kissing his jaw as he pulled her tighter against him.
Pulling back to look in her eyes, he grinned down at her. “Well, shall we see what we find?
Elide grabbed his hand and started pulling him toward the door before he’d even finished talking, a happy little giggle falling from her lips.
~*^*~
She practically launched herself at Lorcan the minute he walked through the door. She’d picked out his book much quicker than he’d picked out hers, so she’d wandered around the store for a while before deciding to pay and wait for him outside. Elide whispered her plan to him on her way outside, her fingers dancing along his muscled back and shoulders as her lips brushed against his ear - he’d leaned down to meet her when she rose up on her toes, one arm banding around her waist to bring her even closer to him.
Though he’d been looking down at his bag as he pushed the door open, he looked up just in time to catch her as she flung herself at him. Lorcan slid one hand under her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist, securing her to his chest and pressing a kiss to the top of her head as he walked them away from the door.
Lifting her head, which she’d nuzzled into his neck when he picked her up, Elide met his gaze with her own, a smile pulling over her face.
“You’re cute,” he murmured, squeezing her thighs. “Did you know that?”
Scratching her nails over the back of his neck, Elide smirked down at him. “I did,” she quipped. “But it doesn’t hurt to hear it again.”
“You’re also very sassy.” Setting her down, Lorcan pressed his lips to the top of her head before reaching for the bag in her hand. “Okay, let me see what you got for me.”
Taking a step back, Elide handed him her bag, giving him a gentler smile when he took it from her. He was grinning before he’d even pulled it entirely out of the bag, and that smile only grew as she saw him mouth the title of the book she’d chosen for him.
“Elide,” he breathed, turning his happy smile to her. “This is amazing. I don’t think you had any possible way of knowing this, but Agatha Christie is my favorite author.” He held up the copy of The Labors of Hercules she’d picked out for him as he added, “and this is one of my favorite books.”
Letting out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, Elide rocked back on her heels, smiling at the happy expression on Lorcan’s face. “I’m really glad you like it.”
“I love it, babe - I really do.”
“Okay, now it’s my turn,” she said, reaching out with her free hand to take the bag he was still holding tightly. “Let me see, let me see!”
“Yes ma’am,” he finally relented, handing over the bag and chuckling when she swore because the handles had gotten tangled, which prevented her from opening the bag right away.
Finally getting the bag opened, Elide couldn’t keep her jaw from dropping when she saw what book he’d chosen for her - The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver. “Oh, Lor,” she murmured, clutching the book to her chest. “I’ve been dying to read this for so long - thank you so much!”
Taking her hand in his, Lorcan smirked down at her. “You mentioned that you’d been watching the show during lunch the other day, so I thought it seemed like a good choice.”
“It really was,” she replied, lifting his hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. “So,” she continued, gesturing down the sidewalk, “did you have anything else planned for this date - which has been amazing so far, in case you were wondering.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself - I really like being with you, too,” he answered, pulling on her hand as he started walking. “I was thinking we could grab some coffee?”
“You mean I could grab coffee and you could get tea?” Elide giggled at her little joke, and it turned into a full-blown laugh when he nudged her with his hip. When she snuck a glance over at him, she saw that he was laughing along with her. “I’m just teasing, babes. That sounds like a great plan.”
“Anything to keep you happy, mamas.”
~*^*~
They were about three blocks away from the coffee shop when Lorcan just couldn’t help himself anymore. He had one hand wrapped around her hips, his hand tucked into the back pocket of her jeans as they walked. Her arm was wrapped around his waist, and her fingers were drifting against the skin of his hip where she had tucked them under his shirt. She was talking happily as they made their way toward their destination, and every time he caught her gaze she gave him a smile that made his heart flutter and set butterflies loose in his stomach.
He saw an alley just to her left, and, nudging her gently with his hip, he used his grip on her back pocket to spin her around and into the alley. Elide wound up with her back pressed against the brick wall of the building behind her, and Lorcan caged her in with his body.
“Hi,” he whispered, his nose brushing hers. Resting one hand on the wall by her hip, he cupped the back of her neck with his other hand.
Elide’s arms wound around his waist as she looked up at him. “Hi yourself.”
She looked like she wanted to say more, but she cut off when Lorcan’s gaze dropped down to her lips. When he flicked his eyes back up to hers, he realized she had been looking at his lips too. They stayed like that for a moment, pressed together with their gazes locked. He could feel the desire coursing through his veins, and, from the way she arched her body into his, he could tell that she was feeling the same way.
She was the one to finally break the silence. “Are you gonna kiss me or not, Salvaterre?”
Leaning in until his lips were just barely brushing hers, he murmured, “well, yes ma’am.” The words had just barely left his lips before he was kissing her, the hand that had been resting on the wall coming to encircle her waist and pull her against him. He could feel himself getting lost in the taste and feel of her, the way her lips moved against his making him feel like he was floating and falling all at once.
He groaned when he felt her hands tangle in his hair, her delicate fingers pulling on the inky strands as she kissed him harder. He’d just swept his tongue into her mouth, a mere tease of the way he truly wanted to kiss her - the way he planned to kiss her as soon as they were alone - before he pulled away, grinning down at her as he pushed himself up to his full height, chuckling as his back popped from being hunched over.
“Shit, mamas,” he started, his hands cupping the sides of her neck and his thumbs brushing over her jaw. “Kissing you is going to be the death of my back.”
Pouting her lips just enough that it somehow made them look even fuller, Elide started to turn her head away from him. “Well, if it hurts you too much, don’t do it.”
Lorcan just chuckled, using his thumb to turn her head so he could lean down to kiss her again. She kissed him back for a moment, sighing into his mouth gently before she was pulling away.
Turning her head away once again, she said, “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He gripped her jaw, trailing kisses over her cheek and jaw until he was right at the corner of her mouth. “Come here, give me those lips.”
That was all it took before she was kissing him again. He felt her rise up on her toes, and his heart swelled as he realized she was still trying to take some of the strain off his back.
When he finally pulled back, he couldn’t help but press several soft, sweet kisses to her lips before separating from her enough that he could look into her eyes. She was smiling up at him, her fingers twisting through his hair. “That,” she breathed, “was amazing, babes.”
“Likewise, mamas.”
They stayed in the alley for a few moments more, just resting against one another and enjoying being so close together. Eventually, however, Lorcan remembered that they had a date to continue, and he took her by the hand, pulling her back onto the sidewalk.
Once they were walking again, Elide slid her hand from his so she could wrap it around his waist. He couldn’t help the grin that lit up his face when she slid her hand into his back pocket. Slinging his arm around her shoulders, he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
~*^*~
Letting her very handsome date open the door for her, Elide giggled as he inclined his head toward the coffee shop, motioning her into the building. She started to walk, but drew up short when she refused to let go of Lorcan’s hand and that grip caused her to bounce back, since he was still holding the door for her.
She turned to him with a small pout forming on her lips, tugging on his hand to make him move. He chuckled but released his grip on the door, reaching out to smooth the furrow in her brow before following her inside.
Thankfully, they’d chosen to get coffee after their shopping, so it was that perfect time of the afternoon when the coffee shop wasn’t that busy. There was only one person in front of them, so they waited for him to order, Elide leaning back against Lorcan’s chest with his arms twined around her waist. She was enjoying just being near him, listening to him hum softly to whatever song was playing on the radio, when the customer in front of them finally finished ordering.
“Hey, guys,” the barista greeted as they moved forward, “what can I get for you today?”
Lorcan squeezed her waist, which she assumed was probably his way of telling her to go first, but all it did was make her squeal quietly at the unexpectedness of it. Smacking his hand lightly, she giggled as she responded. “He’ll have a medium Earl Grey, with just a dash of milk.” A small giggle escaped her when she added, “just enough to taste, but not to change the color.”
“Brat,” he murmured, pinching her side when she turned to face him with a very satisfied smirk lighting up her face. Pulling her into his side, he turned to face the barista, who was staring at him with a patiently amused look. Chuckling slightly, Lorcan said, “And the lady will have a large cappuccino, black - nothing in it.”
Elide was laughing uncontrollably by the time he’d finished ordering, her face buried in his chest. His own laughter rumbled through his chest, and she barely heard the barista’s response as he moved off to make their drinks.
Tilting her head up so she could rest her chin on his chest, she said, “you’re pretty cute when you manage to relax - did you know that?”
“I guess it’s just easy for me to be myself around you,” he whispered, cupping her face in his hand.
Elide turned enough to press a kiss to his palm. “Oh, love. I feel like I can be myself around you too.”
“That’s good to know, mamas.” He leaned down to kiss her quickly, huffing a laugh when she frowned as he pulled away. “Let’s go get our coffee and see where this date takes us.”
~*^*~
The date ended up taking them back to Elide’s apartment. They’d both decided that they wanted to spend more time together, but they were also curious about the records and books they’d bought for one another, so they decided to head back to her place to listen to music and read. Lorcan was already into the vibe of her apartment and she hadn’t even opened the door yet. She lived in an apartment building that was built out of old shipping containers, and he could see how that played into the internal design of her apartment as soon as they were inside.
He took in the clean lines that were everywhere, accentuating the lines of the containers that had created her apartment without making it overwhelming. While the outside of the building was brightly colored, she had kept the tones in her apartment muted, and while most of the colors leaned toward the cooler end of the spectrum, there were still flares of brights in the pillows that she seemed to be stock-piling.
And there was certainly a lot of green. Elide had plants on every possible surface, from her kitchen counter to the spaces on her bookshelves to the open shelves hanging over her sink. Peeking toward her balcony, he could see even more plants out there. “Someone’s a bit of a plant mom,” he teased, gesturing to the room as a whole.
Huffing a breath through her nose, she just poked him in the arm as she set her bags on the counter. “Yes - and all my plant children love me for it.”
Lorcan chuckled at her, setting his own bags next to hers. He’d just leaned down to press his lips to her forehead when a blur of grey caught his eye. Peering over her head, he saw a sleek grey cat jump off the sofa and take several slow steps in their direction. “Looks like someone isn’t too sure of you having a guest.”
Twisting in his arms, Elide shook her head at the cat. “That’s Jello,” she started, her voice taking on a bit of an exasperated tone. “I’d tell you to go say hello, but she hates literally everyone but me, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up.” She just shook her head at Jello (who Lorcan was positive was named after the lead singer of the Dead Kennedys), grabbing her album from the bag and walking toward where her record player was sitting behind the sofa, half-hidden behind a very large spider plant.
He nodded once to show her that he’d heard her, but he didn’t take his eyes from Jello, who was watching him carefully. Crouching down, he watched as she sniffed in his direction before taking another step toward him. Apparently she’d decided he was okay, because she walked right up to him and pushed her head gently against his leg.
Holding a hand out for her to sniff, he couldn’t help but smile as she stretched a paw out toward him before she jumped onto his leg. He’d just taken her into his arms and stood back up when Elide turned back around, and the expression on her face was priceless.
“What the fuck?” she breathed, just staring at her cat, who was currently purring away in Lorcan’s arms. “She’s never liked anyone. Like, even when I got her the people were surprised that she liked me.”
“Maybe she just knows that you like me, mamas.” He stroked Jello’s head, his heart fluttering when Elide walked back over to him and dropped her head against his shoulder.
She giggled at that, pressing a kiss to his shoulder as she looked up at him. “Eh, I guess.” When he gave her an offended look, she kissed his shoulder again. “I’m only teasing, babes - you know I like you.”
“That’s good, since I like you - erm, the fuck is that?” Though he’d been about to lean down to kiss her, he stopped at the sight of the black and white creature that came walking around the corner wearing a little blue t-shirt.
Giving him a confused look, she turned to see what he was looking at - only to make a happy noise at the creature. “Oh, that’s my other cat, Jett.”
“That thing is not a cat, El.”
Elide pouted at him, her brow furrowing at his words. “Yes she is!” Stepping away from him, she leaned down to pick up Jett, the so-called cat curling into her chest and giving Lorcan a curious look over her shoulder. Walking back over to him, she turned so Lorcan could see her little face. “She’s a Sphynx cat, and she’s very sweet.”
Almost as if she’d understood her owner, Jett (who Lorcan assumed was named after Joan Jett) leaned over and licked Lorcan’s finger, giving him a look that was both sad and curious. He could feel himself melting at that look. “Oh, she’s precious,” he said, stroking her nose. “I’m sorry I said you weren’t a cat.”
Jett reached out for him, so he and Elide did some careful maneuvering until he was holding Jett and she was holding Jello. “Hi, little one,” he murmured to the cat, one hand stroking her back over the shirt. “Why is she wearing a shirt?”
Elide, who had been scratching Jello behind her ears, turned to him with a cute little grin. She leaned up in a request for a kiss, which Lorcan happily gave her before she replied. “Since Sphynx cats are hairless, they tend to get cold easily. Her shirt keeps her warm. It also protects her skin from the sun, since she doesn’t have fur to protect her.”
Turning back to face the cat, he whispered, “We can’t have you getting cold, now can we?” Leaning toward Elide to stroke Jello’s tail, he said, “It’s a good thing they have you to take such good care of them.”
“I love both of them so much - I would do anything to keep them safe,” Elide replied, gesturing with her head toward the record player. “Why don’t we grab our books and we can start listening?” When Lorcan gave both of the cats in their arms pointed looks, she added, “don’t worry, I’m sure the cats will be happy to join us.”
~*^*~
They were reading together quietly with the album he’d bought for Elide playing softly in the background, both of the cats sprawled on the couch next to them, when the song changed to “Give Her a Great Big Kiss.” It was a song that made Elide start drumming on his thigh. When he turned to give her a questioning look, she just set her book on the coffee table and stood up, taking his hand and pulling him up too.
Sighing good-naturedly, he set his book down as well and linked their hands, moving with her as she started to dance around her living room. She was laughing as they moved, and Lorcan loved the sound the more he heard it.
Lifting his hand, he spun her underneath it before pulling her into his chest. She squealed at the motion, the sound spilling into more giggles as he spun her back out and kept twirling her around. The joy on her face made him smile as well, and soon he found himself laughing with her, especially when she tried to spin him under her arm.
They laughed and danced their way through the entire song, only sitting back down when it ended and the next one started. He sat down first, and Elide all but fell into his lap, curling up so she could rest her head on his shoulder.
She leaned down to grab both of their books off the table, and he couldn’t help but tighten his arms around her waist when she sat back up, pressing a soft, slow kiss to her lips when she looked at him.
He pulled away and took his book from her hands, shooting her a very happy smile before turning back to his reading.
~*^*~
They’d been reading long enough that the album had finished, so Elide reached over the back of the sofa to change it to the one that she had bought for Lorcan. However, that meant that she had to pull her hand from Lorcan’s, since they’d ended up holding hands while they cuddled and read.
Pulling his eyes from the page in front of him, he pouted at the beautiful girl in his lap. Focused as she was on the task at hand, she didn’t notice his sad look until she’d settled back down and picked up her book. Offering him an apologetic grin, she ran her thumb over his lips before placing her hand back in his and turning her attention back to her book.
Losing himself in his book again, it took him a moment to realize that Elide was no longer reading hers. In fact, he only noticed it when he felt her fingers dancing along the skin of his neck. Glancing down, he saw that she was playing with the chain that he wore every day.
He’d just resumed reading when she pulled the dog tags out from under his shirt, the two of them clinking together gently at the motion. She began sliding them along the chain, content to sit and be close to him while he read.
They stayed like that long enough for “Poet’s Problem” to start playing, and Lorcan set his book down on the couch beside him before he stood, lifting Elide and setting her on her feet. Wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his chest, he began swaying to the song. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers sifting through the strands of his hair as she buried her face in his chest. He dropped his chin on the top of her head, the sound of the music and the feeling of the woman in his arms making him feel a sense of peace he’d never known before.
They swayed together until the song ended, and Elide tilted her face up to his for a kiss, which he obliged. It started as gentle and soft, but it soon turned to something more. Even with Elide on her toes, he still had to bend over quite a bit, so he decided to make his life easier.
Sliding his hands under her ass, Lorcan lifted her into his arms, walking into the kitchen and setting her on the counter - which made her much closer to his height. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he kissed her harder, his tongue sweeping into her mouth as she moaned.
He groaned at the sound, his hands sliding into her hair so he could angle her head. The new angle allowed him to kiss her even harder, turning it to something that was all teeth and tongues and biting kisses.
Eventually he had to pull away to breathe, dropping his head against hers as they both fought to get their breathing under control. Her hands drifted over his arms as his fell to her thighs, and he grinned as he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose before pulling away.
Looking into her eyes, he asked, “will you be my girl, El? You know, officially and everything?”
Though a part of him still couldn’t believe that she wanted to be here, with him, on a date, the smile she gave him showed that it was all real. “I’d love that, Lorcan - more than anything.”
They were both smiling into the kiss he pressed to her lips, and he realized he’d never been happier.
More Earl Grey?! Yay!!! I’m so excited. It’s like my favorite fic of all time, I love rereading it. This made my day knowing I can look forward to a new chapter. 💛
This is so sweet! This fic has gotten so much love, and I’m so overwhelmed by it. Thank you for reading and supporting it! I’m hoping to have it up by 8:00 EST, but it might be even earlier!
