#and a little surprise

[leiawritesstories]

23. “What do you mean? I’m just making these cards for the kids.” “What kids?!”

have fun 😁🎉

😁😁😁😁😁 oh this was SO FUN hehehe thank you for the prompt! :D

word count: ~1.1k

warnings: mentions of infertility

enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good gods."

Aelin glanced up at the sound of her husband's voice. "What?"

Rowan made a vague gesture at the chaos sprawled all over the dining room table. "Um..."

She laughed. "Oh, you mean the Christmas card factory."

"Yeah..." His brows furrowed. "You want to explain?"

"What's wrong with making Christmas cards, buzzard?" She left the one she was working on atop the table and came over to him, looping her arms around his waist and beaming.

"Nothing," he chuckled, kissing her softly. "It's just, well, that's a heck of a lot of cards, Fireheart. You sending them out general delivery?"

She flicked his nose. "What do you mean? I've got it all planned out--there's some for our family and friends, some for our coworkers, and some for the kids."

Rowan's brain stalled.

"What kids?" he breathed, a flicker of hope crossing his face.

Aelin pressed her lips together and shook her head once, leaning closer into her husband. "Not...not like that."

"I'm sorry, Fireheart," he murmured, pressing his wife close to his heart.

They'd been trying to get pregnant for several years now and so far had had no success. Aelin met regularly with her fertility doctor, took all the preparatory vitamins, did everything she could to try and help her body understand that she wanted a baby, but so far, nothing. She knew infertility ran in her family, knew that her mother had only been able to have her, but still--both she and Rowan wanted a family.

"They're for the kids at Orynth Children's," she finally whispered, looking up at him. "Elide told me about the program, and I have some time, so why not?"

Elide was a pediatric surgeon at Orynth Children's Hospital, and she'd worked with several of her colleagues to expand the program through which the children in the hospital received Christmas gifts. She knew how much Aelin loved art and design and spending time with the children in recovery, so this was perfect for her.

"That's wonderful," Rowan murmured, kissing the top of her head. "You want me to help?"

Her lips quirked up. "If you want to, of course."

~

As she stacked up all the cards she was bringing to the children's hospital, Aelin set one aside, hiding the green envelope in the stack that was for friends and family. That one was Rowan's card.

She parked in the visitor lot like Elide had instructed her and walked inside, carrying the stack of cards and the box of stuffed animals that she'd collected at her workplace. The receptionist smiled at her as she came in.

"Mrs. Whitethorn?"

"That's me," Aelin grinned.

"Perfect." The lady handed her a nametag on a lanyard. "This will give you the access you'll need. Dr. Lochan should be down soon."

"Thanks." Aelin set down her box and slipped on the nametag, only waiting a few minutes before Elide walked through the double doors from the hospital, grinning at her friend.

"Ae!"

"Ells!" Aelin gave her dear friend a quick hug.

"Those are so cute," Elide beamed, looking into the box of stuffed animals. "The kids are going to love them."

"I hope so."

Aelin followed Elide into the hospital, keeping a couple steps behind the petite woman in her pastel green scrubs. Elide led her up to the main recovery floor and introduced her to the current staff team, all of whom would be helping to pass out this batch of gifts. So Aelin took her load of cards and followed Elide through the rooms, smiling and laughing and saying a few kind words to the children.

And ignoring how her heart squeezed a little more with each visit she made.

She came home to the warm, comforting scent of Rowan's cooking, kicking off her shoes behind the front door and heading into the kitchen to say hello. He knew she'd come from delivering presents at the children's hospital, and because he knew her so well, he didn't say anything, just let her lean into his side, inhaling the soothing smells of food and home and him.

"It breaks my heart," she whispered, her eyes closed.

He turned off the stove and pulled her into his arms, stroking her back. "I know, Fireheart."

She sniffled. "I'm scared, Ro."

"I wish I knew what to tell you," he breathed, his heart breaking for her. She didn't say anything, just rested her head against his shoulder and let him hold her, his solid, warm silence her rock.

~

Rowan woke up the next morning to find a plain green envelope lying atop Aelin's pillow, her half of the bed still rumpled from when she got up. Hearing the shower running in the background, he could tell she was there, so he reached over and picked up the envelope, which bore his name in his wife's loopy cursive.

Sliding one finger under the envelope's flap, he opened it up and withdrew a Christmas card, Aelin's design work evident in the watercolor painting of a smiling cherub, a holly sprig in its hand. A soft grin slipping across his face, he opened up the card.

And his brain stalled again.

When she emerged from the shower, Aelin found him staring at the card in wordless shock, his jaw hanging open, gaping at the pair of little black-and-white photos she'd tucked into the card.

He lifted his eyes to her, tears spilling down his cheeks. "Aelin--are you--" He took a deep, shuddering breath. "Are you serious?"

A smile brighter than the sun split her face as she nodded, dropping down onto the bed beside him, letting her bathrobe fall open and settling his hand atop her stomach. "Ten weeks, and I had no idea."

"Aelin," he breathed, his other hand cupping her face, hardly daring to believe the precious secret she'd revealed. "I--how?"

"Doctor said the tests I took must have been false negatives, though she wasn't sure how that happened." Aelin threaded her fingers through his, resting their hands on the faint, barely noticeable swell of her belly. "It's true, my love. We're having a baby."

"I love you so much," Rowan whispered, kissing her soft and slow and deep, powerful joy radiating across his expression. Slowly, he moved down, settled himself in her lap, and pressed his lips to her belly. "I love you, little one."

Tears spilled down Aelin's cheeks, her heart near to bursting. "We love you too, Ro." She beamed through her emotions, carding her fingers through his hair. "Dad."

~~~

TAGS:

@charlizeed

@cretaceous-therapod

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@nerdperson524

@fireheartwhitethorn4ever

@morganofthewildfire

@rowanaelinn

@wesupremeginger

@stardelia

@shanias-world

@mybloodrunsblue

@swankii-art-teacher

@wordsafterhours

@cookiemonsterwholovesbooks

@violet-mermaid7

@holdthefrickup

@goddess-aelin

@rowaelinismyotp

@dealfea

@irondork

@elentiyawhitethorn

@live-the-fangirl-life

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@chronicchthonic14

@lovely-dove-zee

@sweet-but-stormy

@hanging-from-a-cliff

@jorjy-jo

@rowaelinrambling

@thegreyj

@silentquartz

@backtobl4ck

@throneofus7

@elizarikaallen

@llyncooljones

@booknerdproblems

@julemmaes

@earthtolinds

#my writing #answered prompt #quick drabble #blizzard drabbles #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #rowaelin #fluff #and mild angst #and a little surprise #or two hehe

[discet]

An Alchemist Abroad Update! [11/9]

Chapter 12: Youthspresso Part Aftermath

A walk through the castle.

#amphibia #swap au #awiw #aaa #update #just a small one. #wrapping things up #and a little surprise

[bathroom-sand]

paramount and spyglass are trying so hard right now to save face because jenna ortega rightfully left the scream franchise after they fired melissa for supprting palestine. nobody is dumb enough to believe the excuse that it’s a scheduling conflict hours after rumors she was trying to get out of her contract cause she was pissed. i’m very thankful that jenna is risking her career and using her position to do the right thing. she’s been outspoken about palestine for years now. i hope this begins a trend of zionist losing money for their support and complacency with an active genocide

#free palestine #scream #jenna ortega #melissa barrera #i won’t be surprise if other cast members leave the project #many have been outspoken for years but few have the cultural capital jenna has #i love this cast and this franchise but the right thing to do is boycott future scream content unless it changes hands to people who #wont support war crimes #it takes remarkably little of me to give up a media i love while actual people are dying daily #the carpenter sisters make me so proud 💗 #melissa has since been posting nonstop about palestine and i’m just endlessly proud of her #💗💗💗

[time-woods]

yall what you do when you slip up and accidentally ask ur new roomie on a date

#adventure time #fionna and cake #fionna and cake spoilers #prismo the wishmaster #scarab the god auditor #prohibitedwish #i love drawing their dumb little mannerisms like prismos silly hands #and scarab always putting his arms out like that when smthin surprises him

[lieu-rey]

first meeting

#rdr2 #red dead redemption #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #issac morgan #man sees baby for the first time ever and is surprised that theyre tiny little creatures #arthur being the man he is mustve had SO many emotions holding issac for the first time. and this is all he manages to say in the moment #im lowkey projecting bc when i met my niece i absolutely REFUSED to hold her until i saw her the second time and i was like. #oh my fucking god shes so fucking tiny #anyway. i hope nothing bad happens to them ever<3 #btw arthurs clothes come from an edit of a young version of him that i saw #and i also saw a video of someone managing to find a repurposed model of eliza in rdr2s data and shes got dark hair! #so i gave issac dark hair (and arthurs blue eyes<3) #arthurs definitrly into people with dark hair #pspspspsp arthur i have dark hair pspspspspspspsp #AHEM anyway- #sorry i cant draw babies even tho i see one all the time now LMFAO #my art

[mfshipbracket]

#surprise couple! #mf ship bracket #mf ship bracket 2023 #bonus round #kylo ren #rey #reylo #anti-reylo #star wars #unsure how to tag these i've been relying wholly on amanda's research and fandom experience. #ummmmm #king charles #royal family #camilla parker bowles #parasites in chief in their idiot hats #full credit to amanda messaging me at 4am like “i think reylo could beat king charles and camilla. food for thought” #hope u guys enjoy <3 #like i said. this is my little thought experiment #anti reylo tag here like . do we need anti monarchy too. sorry this one is hateful

[inspisart]

dick took the news that a strange thirteen year old broke into his apartment while he was away at the circus pretty well, I gotta say

#this is not how the interaction played out in the issue btw lol I'm just having a bit of fun #tim drake #dick grayson #batfam #dc #the new titans issue 65 #inspi art #I remember being baffled when i read ALPOD and tim broke into dick’s apartment like it was nothing to find out where he’d gone #like where did he learn that? reddit? #I chalked it up to comicbook goofiness and wolfman stretching suspension of disbelief a little to keep the plot moving #which is why it surprised me when they acknowledged it again #and by doing so cemented tim knowing how to pick locks and being used to breaking into apartments as a canon fact(TM) #and so hence forth he would continued to be a little contradictory weirdo who’s both normal and incredibly not normal at the same time

[dapper-lil-arts]

The power of goth lolita Twilight Sparkle

#so surprised rarity didnt give her friends total style changes more often #also yeah Sunset would die seeing this #sunlight #twiset #these two are so friggin good #twilight sparkle #sunset shimmer #sunset sparkle #pony posting #equestria girls #friendship is magic #my little pony #mlp #mlp gen 4 #Sunset sees this wheezes and collapses

[captainzigo]

here’s a bad guy oc. she’s a surviving pinkie clone. she’s evil, and not just because she committed cutiemark tampering (felony-misdemeanor) but i think she wants revenge on twilight. and she does something else evil like eat meat or something (this is evil, or just creepy because they are herbivores)

#freako funtime icecream surprise #pinkie pie #my little pony #friendship is magic #mlp oc #mlp fanart #mlp #mlpfim #fanart #mlp fan character #my little pony oc

[shorlinesorrows]

Give me a Percy Jackson who hates swim team. Who went to a public pool for swim lessons once when he was five and started to sob the second his skin hit the water

give me a Percy Jackson who is always just the slightest bit unsettled at pools because water is never meant to have the life sucked out of it and be divided into lanes or put in boxes in the ground

Water isn’t meant to be contained.

a percy jackson whose skin feels like it’s slowly beginning to burn when he tries to swim in chlorinated water, who hates any set swim stroke with a passion and can’t stick to one for the life of him

who doesn’t understand why you’d want to keep only to the surface of the water, when being cradled under the surface is everything

because swimming is supposed to be like the tides, maybe patterned, but never identical, it’s supposed to be flowing with the world around you as you please

Give me a Percy Jackson who loves the sheer nature of water so much that he can’t help but quietly despise our “pools” and their dead water with their constricted sides and restrictions on what it means to change with the world around you

A Percy Jackson who is the child of water in its most natural state, and who can hardly bear to see the way society has attempted to contain it and sterilize it and strip away its power

He hates swim team, but that’s only the half of it

#projecting just a little lol #But also I’ve always been surprised that so many people seem to think Percy would like swim team? #Maybe it was mentioned offhand in the books or something #But Percy always struck me as a person who would hate being stuck swimming laps for no reason #Like he loves swimming but he hates being forced to swim a certain way #This kid gets one whiff of chlorine and “rules” for swimming and he is OUT #Rambling mood #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #percy pjo #hoo #heroes of olympus #pjo headcanon #rick riordan #pjo hoo toa #pjo fandom #pjo #headcanon

[erwinsvow]

𝐫𝐜 - 𝟐:𝟑𝟏𝐚𝐦

rafe’s phone goes off with a little noise, and he sets his laptop aside to find the device, buried beneath the sheets. when he picks it up, your name and the little emojis you had selected to put next to your contact light up the screen. there’s one concise text: are you up? can’t sleep

instead of texting back, he hits the call button and waits for it to ring. you answer within the first one, which is something of a habit when rafe calls you.

“hello?” you say quietly into the phone, trying your hardest to not make too much noise. everyone else in your house was still asleep.

“why’re you still up?” rafe asks, and though you know he’s not mad, just worried, he sounds mad.

“i told you, i can’t sleep. why are you still up?”

“i’m always up at this time.” 

“that’s not good. doing what? are you with your other girl?” you laugh at your own joke, but you know rafe isn’t, since that’s his least favorite joke.

“shut up. what—did’ya have a coffee before bed? i said to quit that shit.”

“no!” you whine, louder than you realized. you go silent, hoping no one heard you. “it’s just one of those nights. and you’re not here, that doesn’t help.” 

you expect some other comment from rafe, telling you to shut up and shut your eyes because he was busy with work and being proactive like he always is. you brace for it, already smiling. rafe is silent for longer than you thought he would be.

“i’m sorry, baby. i’ll be there tomorrow night, alrigh’?” your smile dissipates, shoulders sinking with an odd sense of relief and your body falling further into your warm bed. you don’t know why your eyes are watery—maybe because you didn’t think rafe would say something so sweet. your boyfriend is a lot of things—funny without trying, possessive to a fault, dominant to his bones—but he’s not always sweet like this. 

“still there? or you finally fall asleep?”

“still here. sorry, rafe.” you yawn, the first one in hours.

“go to bed, kid. it’s too late to still be up.”

“i’ll sleep if you sleep.”

“m’not done with-”

“please,” you say softly, followed by another yawn. 

“fine. but sleep, now. seriously. it’s two-fucking-thirty, got no reason to still be up.”

he mumbles some other stuff but you don’t catch it, getting comfortable and setting rafe on speaker with the quietest volume. you hear the unmistakable sound of rafe’s laptop closing, the switch of his lamp, the rustle of him getting under the covers. you close your eyes and imagine him staring up at the ceiling like you were just doing.

“ready, rafe?” you murmur, already half asleep.

“yeah, kid. goodnight.”

you’re out before you can even say goodnight back. rafe laughs at his phone, opening his laptop back up.

#needed soft rafe <3 #rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #trying out a new idea with time frames and little drabbles.. send a time and a concept if you wanna be surprised!! <3 #time series

[bonus-links]

INTERLUDE: DOG DAYS, pt. 1

first | <prev | next>>

#SURPRISE! #it's not actually ch 2 yet but! an important connecting bit #this will have 2 parts #2nd part coming Soon #i went um. a little bonkers maybe #bonus links #loz au #main comic #loz #tloz #bonuslinks #bonuslinksdotjpg

[childhoodtheme]

I can't believe childhood is over. SUCCESSION (2018-2023)

#url childhoodtheme devastates herself by weaving together the childhood themes of her current favourite show #who is surprised! #i've had this post cooking for a while and the finale completed it perfectly. sobbing my eyes out #caption is the quote from #little women (2019) #succession #succession spoilers #successionedits #web weaving #parallels #childhood #post #kendall roy #shiv roy #roman roy #connor roy

[celestialtitania]

im actually so glad that luke tried to recruit percy. it never made sense to me in the books that luke would straight jump to needing to kill percy when, in my mind, he would see percy to be the same as thalia. used by their dads and having strong anger against the gods.

esp after that scene where percy asks if the gods should be scared of the demigods as well. luke must have felt as if he was looking into a mirror. but of course, percy's opinions changed over the course of his quest, so he didn't join luke. still, im so glad he asked percy, because that's what feels right for his character.

#they didn't have to be enemies #they've been set up as foils #so perfectly #and its even more evident in the show #little surprised percy understood luke was the traitor so fast #but percy has been known to put things together pretty quick #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo tv series #pjo tv show #pjo series #pjo #percy jackson #luke castellan #pjo thalia #thalia grace #pjo kronos

[egophiliac]

still absolutely losing my mind over Lilia

#art #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland spoilers #twisted wonderland episode 7 spoilers #twisted wonderland book 7 spoilers #sebek: wow we're so lucky to see lilia-sama at his fighting prime. so commanding! so powerful! #lilia: (straight up stuffs a frog in his mouth without breaking eye contact) #seriously though i did not think it was possible for me to enjoy lilia even more. and yet. #'dragon eggs need love in order to hatch' #ten year old me: gasp. i knew it. #the IMPLICATIONS though! #forget true love's kiss we have true love's baby dragon over here #also twst. twst please. i do feel i need to call you out a little bit on malleus' age #i don't really have a problem with it i was just. surprised. #i mean i GUESS the description of dragon ages was vague enough that malleus being under 200 doesn't inherently contradict it #it could've been clearer okay :( #that said it is true that the younger malleus is the more hilarious his whole world-weary immortal schtick is #'ah...you are all as infants in comparison to me. ' - malleus (age 19) #also lilia being a foundling does explain him not knowing his real birthday. so i will forgive (1) birth-related shenanigan. #auuuugh the parallels between lilia and silver #brb i need to go roll around on the ground and mutter to myself for a while

[goldetrash]

Saw @unicornpopcorn14's silly fic of Dazai's house getting put onto a cargo ship from this post

#my art #shitpost #dazai getting ported to russia #why am i not surprised #little idiot baby #my god #bsd #bsd dazai #15 dazai #probably #or 16 dazai #the russian on the boat translate to silly #just fyi #fanfic rec #bungou stray dogs #bsd fanart #bungou stray dogs fanart