#honestly aelin washing rowans hair

[snelbz]

‘Til Death Do Us Part {Chapter Thirteen}

Elorcan. Rockstar Modern AU.

@snelbz x @theladyofdeath collab

‘Til Death Do Us Part Masterlist

Lorcan-

The next week goes by in a rushed daze. I’m living in my new house with my wife, which in itself is still wild, but something I’m quickly getting used to. The house was the cheapest on the list Ansel put together for us, over a hundred thousand below what I was wanting to spend. I turned around and spent the money I’d saved on the house on workout equipment to turn part of the basement into a home gym. And parked next to my Camaro in the garage is Elide’s new BMW SUV.

Although she claimed she didn’t want a car, I know she likes it a lot more than she’s letting on.

Aelin and Rowan helped us move in which honestly didn’t take as long as I thought it would. All of my stuff from my old place took about a day to move and Elide’s took about the same. She was strangely sad about leaving her own apartment but I guess I get it. She had been there for years.

Anneith didn’t seem to mind. She’s lounging in a sunlit window in the living room, which is where she has spent every day of the last week. 

It’s been a good week.

And it’s getting better every day.

Elide seems like she likes it here. She’s been happy every day and we haven’t had any more talk about us not being right for another. I think she’s finally warming up to the idea of me as a husband. Shit, I think she’s even starting to like the idea. Although we still haven’t fucked, she’s fallen asleep on my chest every night and we’ve woken up the same way in the morning. She kisses me more. I kiss her back and to my delight, she doesn’t stop my wandering hands. 

I’m watching her now as she washes her new car - you know, the one she didn’t want. I could probably go down and help her but I’m having too much fun sitting on the porch swing, watching as her T-shirt gets wet.

She thinks I’m out here just to watch her, which, let’s be honest, is solidly eighty percent true. But there’s another reason. A reason that’s currently pulling up our driveway.

Elide’s head pops up as the massive delivery truck pulls in behind her car. I meet her at the bottom of the stairs. “What’s this?” She asks, brushing back the stray hairs that had fallen out of her ponytail.

“You’ll see.” I give her a smirk, going out and meeting the driver, signing the paperwork, and directing him on where to drop it.

Forty five minutes later, we’re on the back porch, she’s shaking her head, and I’m wearing a grin.

“You did say you wanted a hot tub.”

“I did,” I agree, and I hug her from behind. It’s become one of my favorite things to do. She’s so damn tiny and it makes her smile every time. “I thought, since we had such good communication skills while we were in the hot tub, that could be our thing.”

Looking back at me over her shoulder, Elide raises an eyebrow. “Our thing?”

“Yeah.” I turn her so she’s facing me. Her arms are around my waist and I love how freely she’s been touching me. “When we need to talk about something, we can do that in the hot tub.”

Her head falls back as she laughs and the sight is stunning. “Not as romantic as I thought our thing would be, but I guess I can’t complain. I do love a good hot tub.”

“As soon as it’s full and hot, we’re in it,” I say and I can’t help myself as I lean down to kiss her.

Her arms tighten around me and I can feel her body through her wet t-shirt. It does ridiculous things to me. Hopefully she can’t tell, but I’m sure she can. If I can feel every inch of her, she could surely feel every inch of me. The way her eyes narrow when she leans back tells me I’m hiding nothing and it only makes me grin.

Rowan and Aelin have come over a couple times, but for the most part, it’s only been the two of us. Everyone is coming over tonight, though, all of the guys and their guests. As of this morning, all papers are signed and Elide and I are officially homeowners. So we’re going to celebrate. I just don’t know if Elide is ready for a Cadre celebration. Hopefully, this one won’t get too rowdy.

For that reason, I know we won’t be using the hot tub today, or likely even tonight, but soon… Soon, I’ll get her in there.

Maybe naked, if I’m lucky.

We’re still a few hours away from everyone coming over, but I assume she’s going to want some time to get ready, so I help her finish up her car and we head inside.

A tiny, black ball of fluff comes tearing out of the kitchen, meowing and crying. The first time the cat did this, I assumed something was wrong. Now I know that it means her bowl isn’t absolutely, completely full and that’s unacceptable to her. I lean down, scooping the cat up and setting her on my shoulder. “Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll figure something out for lunch, both for us and the princess here?”

As Anni nuzzles my neck with her face, Elide chuckles. “And to think you didn’t like her only a week ago.”

I scoff, covering Anneith’s ear. “Don’t tell her that. She’ll be sad.”

Elide’s grin widens as she disappears inside and I take Anneith to the kitchen and dig through the fridge. I have stuff to grill tonight when everyone gets here, but I settle on a couple of grilled sandwiches for lunch. Once I get Anni settled, I turn on the skillet and melt some butter in the pan before making grilled cheeses with chicken. I add bacon and ranch for the hell of it and slap on some lettuce before cutting up some fruit for the side. I’m just putting the plates on the table when Elide comes down the stairs.

She’s dressed in jean shorts and a tank top, and her dark, wet hair is brushed back, just starting to dry. She hasn’t done her makeup yet and although she looks gorgeous when she’s dressed to “perfection”, I’ve found that I like her best like this. All natural.

Her cheeks turn pink when she notices me staring.

We sit together and eat as we fall into a comfortable silence with bits of small talk. I’m a little nervous about everyone coming over tonight. Talk about two worlds colliding. When Fenrys is involved, I never know how things will pan out. When I talked to Rowan this morning, he mentioned that he didn’t think Fenrys was up to anything but I don’t trust the guy for a second.

I’ve known him for too long.

Once lunch is done, I go upstairs to put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Elide is adamant that I brush my hair so I do, even though I hate brushing my hair. I tie it back anyway to keep it off my neck while I grill.

When I come back downstairs, Elide is sitting in the living room with Aelin and Rowan who have apparently shown up early. They’re all laughing about something and I take a minute to admire Elide when she laughs.

Her eyes shine the brightest when she laughs.

Gods, I sound like a Hallmark card.

“What’s so funny?” I ask as I enter the room. Elide is sitting on the couch, while Rowan and Aelin share an armchair next to the fireplace. Sitting down next to her, I drape my arm along the back of the couch.

I long to be able to tug her into my lap like Rowan and Aelin, to share space with her, but we haven’t had the PDA talk yet. We haven’t really been around anyone but each other, and when others were around, we were both too busy for me to even steal a kiss. I don’t know how she feels about it and I don’t want to do anything to push her away. Things have been going great and I can only hope they keep getting better.

“Elide was telling us about how great you and Anni are getting along.” The shit-eating grin on Rowan’s face tells me just how much he’s loving the fact that I gave the cat a nickname.

Aelin is still laughing, and when I glance over at her, I find that Elide is smirking.

It turns me on far more than it should.

Turning back to Ro, I say “Yeah, looks like one thing from this study worked out. I’ve been thinking about getting a pet.”

I hear a scoff from beside me and then Elide’s slim shoulder nudges my arm. Chuckling, she says, “You’re an asshole.”

I flash her a grin.

When we look back up, the two of them are staring at us.

Elide is the one who asks, “What?”

“Why don’t you two…” Aelin’s voice trailed off as she gestures to the two of us, flailing a bit. “You know, touch each other?”

“I literally just shoved him,” Elide replies, but her cheeks are flushed.

Wait, that was a shove?

“Bitch, you know that’s not what I mean.” Aelin looks between the two of us. “Every time Ro and I are sitting together, we’re touching in some way. His arm around me, my hand on his leg, holding hands.” To punctuate her point, she points to where she sits on his lap, as if we couldn’t notice. “You two are married, but sitting together, you look like a couple waiting for their table on their first date.”

Shrugging, I say, “Well, we technically haven’t had a first date, so.”

Elide was nibbling on her bottom lip. “We’ve only known each other for weeks…barely. And we do…touch each other.”

Aelin lifted a brow in Elide’s direction and Rowan shot me a look. I knew what he was thinking, it was exactly where my mind had gone when she said that we touch each other. Gods, I fucking wish.

But I’m a patient man.

Patient enough, anyway. 

I give Rowan a subtle shake of my head that I think the girls don’t pick up on, but Aelin’s eyes snap to me. “You don’t touch each other?”

I look at Elide who still has pink cheeks but turn back to Aelin. “Mind your own damn business, Galathynius.”

Rowan snorts but he’s looking at Aelin who says, “She’ll just tell me when we’re alone, anyway.”

Elide doesn’t deny it. 

There comes a knock on the door and I get up to let Gavriel in, who brought Vaughan with him. It’s nice to see Vaughan although we always seem to miss each other. We head out back to the grill and start on dinner. I’m talking with Gavriel about the seasoning I’m using on the chicken and steak kabobs I’m about to drop on the grill when Rowan comes out onto the back porch, looking sheepish.

My sentence fades as we both look at him.

“Good news or bad news first.”

When Rowan says that, they’re usually both bad news….one is typically just worse.

“Good,” I say, slowly, feeling like I should go inside and check in on my wife.

“We have a bunch of booze if you wanna drink,” Rowan says, gesturing behind him.

Gavriel sighs beside me and I feel the same as I say, “And the bad?”

“Fen and Con are here. They brought some…friends.”

I don’t like the way he says friends.

“What kind of friends?” Gavriel asks, but before Rowan can answer, Fenrys comes out with two of the most notorious girls we know on his arm. They’re sisters and you can pretty much count on them to be at every show we play. Their daddy has money so they can do whatever they want. I know they’ve slept with all of us at least once, so having them around Elide is a bad idea.

Having them around Aelin seems like an even worse idea.

“Where’s Elide?” I ask, eyes widening in horror as more and more people spill out onto our back porch.

Rowan seems to be having the same reaction I am. “She and Aelin were in the living room when I came out to warn you.”

“Housewarming party!” Fenrys hollers, approaching us. The expansive back deck has someone on every inch of it, sitting on the patio furniture, leaning on rails. Thankfully, no one is in the hot tub. Yet. He wraps an arm around each of the girls. “You guys remember Krissy and Kasey.”

We all three make noncommittal noises and awkwardly wave.

Krissy, or actually maybe that one is Kasey, says, “Thanks for inviting us over.”

She looks liable to leave Fen’s side and latch on to any of us, and that’s not something I’m interested in happening. “Yeah, you’re welcome. Fen, can we talk?”

I don’t give him an option, grabbing his arm and yanking him away from the gathered crowd.

He rips his wrist from my grip. “Ouch, man, what the fuck?”

“Why the fuck did you groupies to my house?!” I keep my voice relatively quiet, but my rage is usually calm.

He looks at me like he doesn’t understand why I’m pissed. “You said you were having a party.”

My head falls into my hand. “A housewarming party, Fen, in my new house with my new wife. You can’t just bring groupies here, now they all know where I live.”

Fenrys blinked. “They know where we live and you used to live there. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that my wife was expecting a nice relaxing night with just us, our little group, and now I have all these strangers in our house,” I hiss, the words flowing out of me. “I just got her to not think I’m a total whore, now you have women here that can’t keep their fucking hands to themselves.”

Fenrys snorted. “They’re not for you. We’re taking them home.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “That’s not the point, Fen.”

“Look,” Fenrys begins and I know this tone. I don’t like where he’s headed. “Just relax. It’s gonna be fine. Have a drink. Finish making your fancy ass chicken. Turn on some music. Everyone’s going to be too drunk or high to even remember where you live. Live a little.”

Before I can kick his ass, he’s walking away and I’m searching for Elide. In the process, Gavriel is taking the kabobs off the grill before they burn. I remind myself to give him my thanks later. As I enter into the house, someone has figured out my speaker system and music is playing.

Twenty minutes.

I lost control in twenty minutes.

I find Elide standing by Aelin, watching as the crowd the twins brought with them begin to make themselves comfortable.

She gives me an exasperated look.

“I’m so sorry,” I blurt, and take her hands, forgetting that Aelin is even there. “I promise I had nothing to do with this. If you want—”

“It’s fine,” she says, although I’m not certain she means it. Weariness fills her eyes as she looks around. 

“It’s not,” I said, squeezing her hands. She’d been looking around the room, her eyes searching low.

The damn cat. She was looking for Anneith.

“I’ll find Anni, get her locked up in our bedroom. And then I’ll tell everyone to leave.”

I turn to leave, but her hand catches my wrist. “No.”

When I turn, she’s gnawing on her bottom lip. “Yes to Anni,” she breathes, shaking her head. “But don’t kick everyone out. It’ll piss them off and they know where we live now…”

Of course she’d already thought about that.

“I’m sorry, I’m going to kick Fenrys’ ass—”

“It’s not his fault either,” she interrupted and I notice tears lining her eyes. She holds up her hands, encompassing the room. “This is the kind of life you guys usually live. The drinking and drugs and women. How was he supposed to know tonight would be anything different?”

I follow her gaze, taking in the debauchery that’s taking place in our home. This isn’t a rented condo or a hotel suite. This is the home I share with my wife and our oddly small cat. The home we plan to spend our future in, yet there’s a group of girls doing body shots on the kitchen counter and our living room furniture has been shoved to the far walls to make room for a makeshift dance floor.

Turning to face her, I say, “Elide, I—”

She’s gone, both she and Aelin.

Aelin is pissed at me, I can tell. Elide was right, this is how parties I throw have always gone. The more booze, the more weed and coke and pills, the more women, the better.

I look around the room, but can’t find them anywhere. I do good on my promise to Elide, promising to find Anni and carry her up to our room. I half hope she’s locked herself inside, so I can talk to her alone for a second, but she hasn’t. I make sure the cat is good and then make my way back downstairs.

After one more pass on the main floor with no luck finding Elide, I go back outside to find Rowan.

She was right about one thing. This used to be my life, I wanted to stay drunk, high, blissed out, or balls deep in someone so I couldn’t feel anything, so I could give myself the illusion of being happy. But it’s not the life I want anymore. I don’t want to do any of that shit like I used to.

Because being with Elide? I don’t have to lie to myself or get fucked up. With her, I’m happy. I’m happy whether we’re kissing or fighting, talking or yelling at each other.

And she needs to know that.

#‘til death do us part #til death do us part #TDDUP #elorcan #elorcan tddup #elide x lorcan #elide lochan #lorcan salvaterre #lord lorcan lochan #snelbz x theladyofdeath collab #snacmc collabs #throne of glass #throne of glass fanfiction #rockstar au

[leiawritesstories]

Could you maybe write something for Rowaelin where Aelin tries to get a vacuum cleaner to work, but can't - then she ends up crying over the ancient broken vacuum and accidentally ends up telling Rowan she's pregnant even though she had an entirely different plan on how to tell him that? I just want something funny and fluffy to make my day better ❤

anon I need to make my day better too ❤️ thanks for the prompt! hope it makes you laugh ;)) 

word count: 968

warnings: some language 

enjoy!!

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

For the first time in gods only knew how long, Aelin had an urge to clean. And not just to pick stuff up off the floors--no, she woke up with an insatiable drive to wash the dirty dishes, sweep the floors, vacuum, pick up and put away all the messes on the floors, run a load of laundry, and even wipe down the bathroom counters and mirror. 

Which was completely out of character. 

She half-wondered if Rowan had somehow switched brains with her, some Freaky Friday kind of shit, because it was always her loving fiancé who had the drive to clean the whole damn apartment, never her. Yet here she was, at eleven o’clock on a Saturday morning, a load of laundry running in the washing machine and the living room, bathroom, and bedroom nearly spotless, save for the floors that desperately needed to be vacuumed. She saved that for last, wanting to get the dishes taken care of before her random burst of cleaning energy left her as suddenly as it had appeared. 

Honestly though, she had a rather good idea why she’d suddenly needed to clean. 

Damn hormones. 

With the dishwasher running and the sink completely empty for the first time in multiple weeks, Aelin sighed heavily, braced her hands on her hips, and headed for the closet where the vacuum was stored. She took a quick detour to the sparkling clean bathroom, internally grumbling at her little bean for already making her change her plans, and then grabbed the vacuum from the closet, tugged it into the living room, and plugged the old thing in. And gods, the vacuum was ancient. It had been Rowan’s aunt’s vacuum, which she lovingly gifted the couple when they moved in together. 

Rowan always complained that she’d foisted it upon them so she could buy herself a Roomba. 

Aelin was often inclined to agree. 

Today, the vacuum sputtered and wheezed and eventually turned on, allowing her to vacuum a decently sized section of carpet. 

And then it groaned, clanged, and shut down. 

“Fuck you,” Aelin groaned, kicking it. 

No response. 

Grumbling a string of increasingly creative curses, she unplugged the vacuum, shook the power cord, and plugged it into another socket, then flipped the switch on the vacuum handle. 

Still nothing. 

“Chingate,” she growled, kicking the damn thing even harder. 

As if to spite her, the vacuum sputtered, coughed, and died completely. 

She yanked the cord out of the socket with more force than necessary, muttering oaths as she did, and yanked on the dust bag so hard the damn thing ripped open, sending a cloud of dust and dirt into the just-cleaned living room. 

And onto her. 

And her godsdamned hormones decided that was the perfect time to rip away her desire to clean and replace it with tears. 

She buried her face in her hands. coughing the dust away, and tried in vain to wipe the tears off her face, which only resulted in smearing the salty drops around on her skin and making her cry harder. 

And that was how Rowan found her when he got home half an hour later from the store, five or six grocery bags in his arms. 

“Fireheart!” he exclaimed, setting the bags down on the countertop and rushing to crouch by her side, his hands warm against her back. “What’s wrong?” 

She just tucked herself into his chest and cried some more, pointing at the vacuum. 

“Um...I’m not following, love,” he murmured, brushing his fingers through her hair in long, soothing strokes. 

“Fuckin’ piece of shit died on me,” she mumbled, voice muffled by his chest. “I was just trying to vacuum and it gave out.” 

“You were vacuuming?” She didn’t have to see his face to know his eyebrows had shot nearly into his hairline. 

“Dumbass,” she muttered, a hint of a smile in her voice. And then she sniffled. “Yes, buzzard, I woke up wanting to clean and I don’t have any goddamn idea why--well, maybe I do, but I thought nesting was supposed to be a third trimester thing, not a nine weeks thing, but hell, maybe it’s because I only just found out I’m pregnant and every single emotion is hitting at once.” She sniffled again. “But gods, Ro, why the hell haven’t we replaced that piece of shit vacuum?” 

Rowan’s eyes went wide as saucers, his jaw hanging open. “Aelin,” he gasped, pulling back to stare at her, keeping her in his arms. “Are you serious?!” 

“Of course I’m serious!” she wailed. “You try turning on the fucking vacuum and see! It’s dead!” 

“Not the vacuum.” One hand cupped around her face. “You’re pregnant?!” 

Aelin blinked. Blinked again. “Oh my gods,” she groaned. “I had a whole cute baby reveal planned, leave it to my fucking hormones to ruin it.” A grin formed on her face, spreading into a broad, elated smile. “Surprise?” 

Rowan swallowed harshly, tears pooling in his eyes. And this was a man who never cried. “You’re pregnant,” he breathed, like he was trying to convince himself it was real. 

She nodded. “You’re gonna be a dad, buzzard.” 

“Oh gods,” he whispered, a few stray tears escaping and rolling slowly down his cheeks. “We’re going to be parents.” 

“Yeah.” Aelin reached for his hand, drawing it off her face and placing it against her still-flat stomach, right atop the little life that had yet to make their presence known. “We are.” 

Rowan wasn’t even trying to control his emotions as he flattened his hand against her warm skin, pulling her back against him so he could cradle both her and the baby. “I love you so much, Fireheart.” 

“We love you more, Ro.” 

We. 

Two of them. 

Damn him for being an old sap, but his heart was about to explode. 

~~~ TAGS: 

@charlizeed

@cretaceous-therapod

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@nerdperson524

@claralady

@fireheartwhitethorn4ever

@morganofthewildfire

@rowanaelinn

@wesupremeginger

@story-scribbler

@nicolivesinbooks

@mackenzieclutt

@stardelia

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@mybloodrunsblue

@swankii-art-teacher

@wordsafterhours

@cookiemonsterwholovesbooks

@violet-mermaid7

@holdthefrickup

@goddess-aelin

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@dealfea

@irondork

@elentiyawhitethorn

@live-the-fangirl-life

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

@chronicchthonic14

@whispers-in-the-darkest-heart

@sweet-but-stormy

@hanging-from-a-cliff

@jorjy-jo

@rowaelinrambling

@thegreyj

@silentquartz

@backtobl4ck

#my writing #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #rowaelin #fluff #answered prompt

[llyncooljones]

mine or yours? - twelve days of rowaelin '22.

ao3 || masterlist || twelve days of rowaelin ‘22 masterlist

prompt: first holiday season together.

word count: 1928

trigger warnings: language, allusions to abuse

tag list: @live-the-fangirl-life @rowaelinismyotp  @rowaelinscourt @fireheartwhitethorn4ever @elentiyawhitethorn @rowanaelinn @autumnbabylon @leiawritesstories @backtobl4ck @letstakethedawn

aelin's apartment, the morning

It was a loud and hellacious day at Aelin’s apartment. Rowan had woken there after spending the previous night in her bed, doing the kind of unspeakable things to her, that he liked to speak to her about. In public, mainly. Often with their friends around, in hearing range.

The day had begun gorgeously, he’d woken up his girlfriend with another welcomed orgasm (the seventh in a span of roughly twelve hours), and then had got to putting the coffee on, and starting breakfast, whilst she had hopped into the shower, washing off their debauchery.

Nine months into their relationship, he knew the layout of her kitchen perfectly, reaching into cupboards and drawers like it was second nature. Which maybe it was, given that first nature would have been reaching into his apartment’s cupboards and drawers.

His girlfriend had emerged from the bathroom, in a cloud of lemony steam, her hair damp and dripping on the floor, even when swept up into a braid. He had to hold himself still, so as to not run to her and just breathe her in. Keep her in his lungs and breath out, get high off her. she had wrapped herself tightly in a dressing gown, and made her way to the breakfast bar, sat and drank coffee with him, sat and ate a breakfast of thick, American-style pancakes with him, had them broached the subject of Christmas with him.

That was when the morning turned loud and hellacious. Because Rowan assumed they would be spending the Christmas season with his parents, because they lived on the other side of the ocean, and Aelin had yet to meet them. Because he saw Rhoe and Evalin every time he went to the corner shop for a late-night condom run—so he saw them enough, and they saw him enough—he didn’t need to see them anymore.

It had seemed logical to him, that it was what they would do. Rowan loved Christmas with his parents because it wasn’t just his parents and his family—it was the House of Whitethorn family Christmas. It was extravagant and it was perfect, and he could not wait to show his girlfriend the traditions of Doranelle.

She had thought they would go to her parents because they were closer, and Aelin knew them better, and Rhoe and Evalin didn’t have a big, happy family to surround themselves with so they needed their daughter to be with them for the holiday season.

And now here they were, cold coffee mugs on the island, slowly making their way through the apartment, voices raising and lowering, fury in their eyes but love in their hearts. Rowan knew that it all came from a place of love, Aelin’s need to be with her parents, but he couldn’t help but feel like an afterthought when it all came down to it, couldn’t help but feel that his girlfriend—the woman he loved—had forgotten about him, and his wants and needs and preferences.

And he hated that feeling. It sank like lead in his stomach and refused to move.

“You had better be high to even suggest something like that to me—”

“—how dare you accuse me of something like that, you know I don’t do drugs, Aelin. Well… not anymore but that is bes—”

“—stop interrupting me, Rowan Whitethorn. The disrespect, honestly. And what is the good gods’ does ‘well… not anymore’ mean?” her tone was shrill, and it was enough to signal to Rowan that he needed to stop doing, whatever it was he was doing. Undermining her? Ruining her image of Christmas?

Distracting her as he pulled the bottom of his shirt up to wipe at his forehead? For no other reason than to prove to himself (and hopefully his girlfriend) that he could still be attractive to her when they were arguing. Instead of persisting on his quest, he turned his attention back to their argument and rebutted against Aelin’s statement—patronisingly and horribly.

“Nothing untoward, dear, it’s just been since college since I’ve dabbled in that particular area. But again, I am not high. It is perfectly reasonable to suggest that we spend Christmas at my parent's.” Y’know, he wanted to add, the ones I haven’t seen in nearly two years, the parents who raised me and loved and turned me into the man you love. Those parents, Aelin.

“Have you never spoken to anyone with two brain cells to rub together, everyone knows that you spend Christmas with the mum’s parents. Certainly not the dad’s parents, no siree.” Her voice, again, was this over-the-top, theatre-like voice. It was cruel and callous, and he could not stand it.

This wasn’t Aelin, this was an amalgamation of all her fears and traumas and doubts about their relationship wound into one, big ball of angst. He wanted to help her unravel it, sit by her side and talk things out, and he did. He really, truly did.

But he couldn’t, not when she was being ridiculous, they’d been together nine months and she was thinking about five years into the future—at least—and trying to reason it like that. And on top of that, her argument had no relevance to their current position, where neither was a parent, but they both had parents.

“The fuck are you talking about, mum’s and dad’s parents, we’ve barely been together nine months, and we’re nowhere near thinking about kids.” Now Rowan was lying, but he could hardly confess in the middle of the argument that he’d been having dreams about blonde babies with green eyes, looking up at him from his arms.

That was hardly the kind of thing you told your girlfriend when you were having a fight. It wouldn’t be right. No, it wouldn’t.

“Nowhere near thing about kids, the fuck do you mean? You had better be joking this time around, Rowan Whitethorn. Have you not even thought about our future as a couple.” Of course, he had, of course! How could he not think about being down on one knee, waiting at the end of the aisle, sat in a hospital chair holding her hand as she pushed, welcoming their first child into their home?

“Not to the extent of kids, no,” yes to the extent of kids, obviously to the extent of kids—Rowan could kick himself for the way he was acting, “I kind of figured we’d sit down and have that chat at a later date. Start considering larger things, when this relationship is a little larger than nine months of good times.” Fuck, that did not come out the way he wanted it to.

He hadn’t meant good times, as in hey, you were a great lay, but I won’t cry in bed when we break up. He had meant good times, as in you have been the greatest thing to ever happen to me, these have been the best nine months of my life, and you are a great lay, but I definitely will cry in bed when we break up.

“Nine months of good times! Nine months of fucking good times! Are you fucking kidding me? I know you weren’t raised in a cattle shed, nor born in one, so don’t act so fucking idiotic. I know you’ve got brain cells, use them during this discussion.”

With that closing statement, Rowan watched as his girlfriend stormed away from him, flinging the cushion she’d been kneading—during their ‘discussion’ as she had called it—at his head, and finally slammed the door to her bedroom closed.

The cushion hit, not two seconds later, and landed then on the floor with a sad deflated thwump. He felt the same way, like he’d been trampled on, but either way, Aelin seemed to be taking this the hardest out of the both of them. So, he began work on his apology, and thought a little deeper as to where he went wrong in that discussion.

He had gone wrong everywhere except for asking to spend Christmas in Doranelle, because that was fair of him. It was perfectly fucking fair of him, to want to see two of the most important people in his life, at Christmas, when he hadn’t seen them in nearly two years. He wouldn’t apologise for that. No way.

With the chocolate hazelnut cake Aelin had eaten half of last night under one arm, and the bottle of vodka they’d half drunk last night under the other, and his lips prepared to apologise like no one had ever apologised before, he made his way to the door his girlfriend had slammed. He knocked awkwardly with the base of the glass bottle and waited for Aelin to emerge—or even invite him.

The door opened a crack, and Rowan found himself looking down on half of her face, and even just half was enough to make him shove the door slightly so he could make his way in. In the—maximum five minutes, minimum 2 minutes—time it had taken him to collect his thoughts and his apology food, his girlfriend had cried so hard her eyes were swollen, her cheeks were wet—as were her jaw, chin, neck—and the neckline of his shirt (he had to restrain the urge to smile) was covered in darker green splotches.

Letting the door fall ajar behind him, he herded her up, and onto her bed. She swathed herself in the thick bedding, covering herself with the duvet and blankets before holding up an arm and creating a space. For him, he realised. With harried movements, he set the bottle and the plate on the nightstand he had claimed and snuggled under the covers with a certain eagerness.

Her blonde hair was quickly lain over her shoulders, as she dug herself a hole next to him, and moved his arms around her like he was her lifeline. Like, even though they were fighting she couldn’t stand to be away from him—she had to be as close as possible. At all times.

“Ro, I am so sorry. I should never, ever, ever speak to you like that. That was so rude of me, I’m—I’m honestly so ashamed of myself. I know that’s how Remelle treated you, and I can’t—” she choked on a sob, and Rowan rubbed a soothing hand down her back, letting her speak, because Rowan knew how much she hated to be interrupted, “I can’t believe I would treat you like that!”

Rowan’s heart gave out, in the warmth of the duvet, and with Aelin in his arms. His eyes stung as tears threatened to fall—but didn’t. “Aelin, don’t apologise. Please don’t. I shouldn’t have egged you on, I knew I was being ridiculous about some of the shit I was saying. It was rude of me, and I shouldn’t have made half of the comments I did.”

“Don’t say that Rowan—I was so horrible. And for what, because of some stupid trend, or stereotype? I mean, we see my parents every weekend, and you, you haven’t seen yours in two fucking years!” she turns to a wail, her eyes leaking tears, staining his t-shirt further.

“Aelin, love, it’s alright. Take a second, and we’ll chat later. Here, have a bite of the cake, and a drink of this, and then we’ll talk this through. Drunk, and even more full than we were after breakfast.”

And they spent all day chatting, laughing their heads off in bed, getting drunk off the good vodka Aelin saved for New Year’s.

#rowaelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #tog #tog fic #throne of glass fic #throne of glass #twelve days of rowaelin #12 days of rowaelin #my fic #my writing #llyncooljones' writing

[myfriendscallmeraba]

I was rewatching B-99 and this really reminded me of Rowaelin, Feysand and Quinlar🥺😂

#ah I love them sm #honestly aelin washing rowans hair #and Feyre washing Rhysand’s wing/them taking a bath together #and Bryce washing Hunt #is peak romance #and i take no criticism #crescent city #hoeab #throne of glass #tog #a court of throns and roses #acotar #acomaf #rowaelin #feysand #quinlar #bryce quinlan #hunt athalar #aelin galythinius #rowan whitethorn #feyre archeron #rhysand #sjm #sarah j maas #brooklyn 99 #charles boyle

[talkfantasytome]

Model Students - Part 2

Aelin came! She actually made it to the party, and to her delight, Rowan seems to be sticking by her side. She can't help but hope, if she's smart with her drinks, she might have a chance at a really good night.

Warnings: Drinking | Word Count: 3,031

Previous Part | Model Students Masterlist | Read on AO3

a/n: Rowaelin Month Prompt: College or University AU

I'm calling this Rowaelin Month Day 2.5 since, a) this is my second prompt for day 2; b) it's coming to you on day 3; and c) you could argue this hints at a potential opportunity/need for a secret relationship, so if you're being creative and liberal could say this is on the verge of day 3. 😂

Not to date myself or anything, but for all you people too young to know, when snapchat was originally created, it was first used/known as an app for sexting, because the images/videos would only play once, you couldn't replay them (back then), and if you screenshotted a picture, the person would be notified about it. I honestly don't know if that last part is still a thing, but yeah. Or, at least, when I first heard about it, that's one thing people said, that it's good for that. 👀 So, this is relevant. And, even if I'm kinda wrong...just pretend I'm right when reading this.

Aelin couldn't help but smile when she saw Rowan standing there in the middle of the living room. Their eyes had met, and she let herself get lost in the pine green sea as she entered the house behind an enthusiastic Dorian.

He'd texted her about half an hour before, saying he wasn't letting her make a last minute excuse to miss the party, so he'd swing by and they could walk over together. Luckily, she'd already gotten dressed and was in the midst of doing her make-up at the pace of molasses, trying to make sure she wasn't ready too soon. She didn't want to get there early, but she didn't really have anything else to do once she was done, except maybe stare at herself in the mirror.

It wouldn't be the worst way to spend a few minutes, as she'd really outdone herself. She was wearing a metallic gold, backless halter top with gold chain straps that fell loose in her front, and covered her up fairly well, but with only one chain strap around her neck, and another around her waist, it literally left her entire back open, the chains just tight enough to keep her from putting something private on display. She also left her hair down and loose, which offered some small amount of coverage…at times. Below the shirt she was wearing a cute, light wash denim mini-skirt with a few rips and a frayed hem. It was simple, and helped keep the top from being too much, plus it was one of her favorite skirts and gave her some much needed comfort.

Not that Aelin was nervous about the party. She wasn't a hermit. Just determined and ambitious. But she was still sociable, with absolutely stellar interpersonal skills…generally speaking. Charisma was the key word, and she'd be lying to say she hadn't been blessed with a natural talent for it. She just didn't take it out to play as often as most, spending so many nights in the library, with study groups, or reading up on the emerging conflict between Doranelle and Wendlyn. Nothing truly awful had happened yet, but Doranelle was showing signs of hostility that worried Aelin. And kept her heavily engaged in reading more on the topic. Just one of the many reasons she found herself as more of a bi-weekly party-goer.

It drove her housemate Lysandra crazy. Of course, Lysandra sleeping with Aelin's cousin drove Aelin crazy, so they really were even. It was just a different type of crazy. Aelin was rather uncomfortable every time she heard Aedion's voice, or worse, his…sounds. Lysandra, on the other hand, was 'worried' Aelin wasn't actually happy with her current lifestyle.

She appreciated the concern, but it was unnecessary. Happiness was reaching her goals. It was getting the marks to find the best internship at the capital in Orynth this coming summer. It was working for two years for a Senator before applying to Oakwald Law School, the top law school in all of Erilea. It was getting into Oakwald and spending the next three years studying law, specializing in Constitutional Law and Public Policy, of course. Maybe seeing if she can get in some Criminal Law classes too. And it was then going back to Orynth to make a name for herself as a lawyer, subtly campaigning until there was an open Senate seat for her to run for.

She wouldn't wait until she was president to worry about happiness, but she could wait until after law school, at least. She had some tight deadlines to focus on.

Still, even Aelin could agree that letting loose every once in a while was a good thing. Plus, being in Terrasen, surely a good chunk of the students here would be future voters. But, was that too much?

Nah. It's good to think ahead. It's what will set you apart.

Not that she was actually thinking about potential future voters now. She had a quite the distraction at this party.

Eyes still on Rowan, Aelin started toward him just as he began to move as well, his lips curving upward, revealing the adorable little dimples in his cheeks. She could stare at them all day.

"You came!" he beamed, stopping once they were about a foot away from each other.

"We had a deal," she teased. "I appreciated the proof of you upholding your end of the bargain." A light twinkled in Rowan's eyes at the mention of the snapchat he'd sent her. An image of the trunk of his car, full of beer, cider, ginger ale, vodka, and a thing of grenadine larger than Aelin had ever seen before, with a caption that said, 'Your turn.'

"Well, if you'd sent one back proving you were getting ready, I might be less surprised."

A laugh slipped out of Aelin. "Rowan Whitethorn! Surely you're not suggesting I use snapchat for its original purposes."

Rowan's face fell, his cheeks flushing red as he realized what was being suggested. "Oh! No! No! I-I didn't mean…"

His eyes were wide and fearful, making Aelin want to laugh even harder. She hadn't realized how easy it would be to torture him. They hadn't known each other very well before this year. He'd simply been that guy she'd ogle from across a party, their major and semi-mutual friends bringing them to the same place every once in a while. And, it's not like she'd had opportunities like this during class. But she was going to enjoy this new little tidbit about him.

"I know," Aelin offered with a wicked grin, ending Rowan's stuttering as his mouth slammed shut and he gave her a small glare.

"Demon," he muttered, but there was an amusement in his features that swelled Aelin's heart. "Come on, let's get you a Dirty Shirley."

He started walking toward a corner of the living room, which made Aelin realize there was a cooler slightly hidden there as she followed. "Don't knock it 'till you try it."

"I think I'll stick with my beer," Rowan chuckled, leaning down and opening the large, green cooler. "But, don't worry, apparently it's embarrassing enough." He handed her a can as he pulled out the vodka, grenadine, and a can of ginger ale, and Aelin took a look.

"Oh my gosh, it's so cute!" she squealed, taking in the cartoon kittens. "I love it! If I liked beer at all, I'd totally try this just for the can."

"You can try some now, if you want," he offered, handing her a red cup to mix her drink in.

Aelin laughed as she handed the can back to him before kneeling at the cooler and starting to prepare her drink. Vodka first, about two to three shots worth, then as much ginger ale as she could fit into the cup without being at risk of spilling, and then a healthy pour of grenadine. And a splash more. "I think I'll pass. When you don't like beer at all, trying an IPA is basically asking to gag…no offense. I'm sure it's great, if you're a fan of that type of taste."

She threw a smile over her shoulder at Rowan and then took a sip of her drink. Sweet, cherry, with just enough vodka to know it's there. It was perfect. She threw the vodka and grenadine back in the cooler, gulped down another mouthful, and added some ice to the drink to keep it cool.

"And I'm sure yours is too, if you're looking for something that tastes like sugar." He grinned at her as he poured his beer into an empty cup.

"Which I am." She watched Rowan suck in his lips, as if he were biting down on them to hold back a laugh. "It's the best flavor."

Rowan just shook his head, his silver hair shining in the light that was just above them. Aelin slid her free hand into the back pocket of her skirt, an attempt to keep herself from running her fingers through it.

"Come on. I want you to meet some people," Rowan said, jerking his head to the side in a 'follow-me' sign, which she did. He led her over to a group of three guys and a girl. One of the guys and the girl had darker skin and black hair, the girl's falling to just below her shoulders, the boy's to around the middle of his back, though they didn't look related at all. Which was probably a good thing, considering the arm the man had around her waist. One of the men had shaggy, dirty blonde hair that almost fell into his brown eyes, and the last had skin just a bit darker than her own, with shoulder-length dark hair and chocolate eyes. He stood straight backed and muscular, though wasn't quite as tall or broad as Rowan.

"Aelin, this is Nesryn, Sartaq, Ress, and Ren," Rowan explained, pointing to each person in turn. "Everyone, this is Aelin. She's in the Model UN class I've been TAing for."

"The clever one?" Nesryn asked, cocking her head slightly as she looked Aelin over.

"Most definitely," Aelin responded with a smirk.

Rowan balked slightly, looking down at Aelin. "I never said that."

"No?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, then you horribly misrepresented me. Unless you instead chose to describe me as gorgeous…breathtaking…what gets you up in the morning. Those would work too."

The others chuckled with Aelin as Rowan rolled his eyes. "Caught me, that's definitely what I would tell them."

"Then you all already know so much about me." She grinned widely, earning another chorus of laughter.

Aelin continued talking with the group, though she spent most of the time teasing Rowan - which they all seemed to appreciate - and as she did, the party started to fill up. What seemed like a never ending parade of students entered the house, most making their way directly to the back yard where the twins seemed to be keeping everyone entertained with music and beer games constantly going.

All five did seem to be on the same page about convincing her to join the club, to the point that she agreed to attend a meeting on a trial basis, but made no guarantee. At that, Rowan slung an arm around her and squeezed in a celebratory way that had Aelin blushing like crazy, sipping her drink slowly in an attempt to use the cup to hide the red on her face.

He then left his arm around her as they continued to chat, everyone pitching in to explain the different things they do during meetings, how they prepare for conferences, and so on. Aelin, admittedly, wasn't really listening. Her entire being was focused on Rowan's arm, casually draped across her. How his hand dangled over her front, his fingers brushing the skin of her bicep when they moved. The feel of his bare forearm on her bare shoulder, igniting something within her, spreading from that point of contact.

It was…a lot. And half of Aelin was already wishing for another drink, not even done with her first. The other half very much didn't want to move from that spot, and also wondered if she should avoid drinking more…just in case. She wouldn't want to embarrass herself…or find herself too drunk to take her chance with Rowan. He did seem like the respectful type, like the kind of guy who'd never take advantage of a drunk girl, no matter how much she wanted it even when sober.

Yes, best to stay put, in his arm, and just nurse her one drink for the rest of the night. Just in case.

The group dispersed not long after Aelin agreed to join a meeting, Ress and Ren saying they wanted to get in on a game of beer pong, Sartaq and Nesryn very clearly wanting to leave to engage in other, private activities. Aelin told herself she wasn't jealous.

"Another drink?" Rowan offered, leading Aelin back to the cooler.

"I'm still working on mine, so I'm good," she answered as he reached in and pulled out another beer. Maybe she'd be able to grab a cider later. That could be a safe choice.

Rowan stood up as he poured his second can into his cup, his eyes flicking over Aelin's shoulder. "That was fast," he sighed, laughing softly to himself.

Aelin looked behind her quickly to see the golden twin - Fenrys, she thought - now inside the house, bracing himself against a wall with one hand, Dorian trapped between that and the arm Fenrys had at his hip. Though, Dorian didn't exactly look trapped. Not as he smiled up at Fenrys, the two leaning in until their lips met.

She quickly turned back to Rowan, her cheeks flushed once again. "I didn't realize they were together."

"They're not," Rowan explained. "They just do this every party. Fenrys claimed they wouldn't tonight but, well…clearly I was right to not believe him."

Aelin joined Rowan in his laughter. She didn't know Fenrys well, but from what she did know, that sounded very in character. And exactly like something she knew Dorian would do. "I assume you'll call him out on it tomorrow morning?"

"If I don't get the chance to tonight," Rowan said with a conspiratorial grin. She smiled back at him, their eyes truly locking for the first time since she got to the party.

It was as if they'd suddenly been transported to a new location, quiet and free of any distractions, anything that could pull their attention away from each other. Aelin found herself biting softly on her bottom lip as her mind started to run rampant at the sign of those bright eyes focused on her.

Rowan definitely noticed, his gaze flicking between Aelin's mouth and her own eyes, and it caused her breath to hitch. She felt her body start to lean in a bit, and was about to take a step forward when a voice broke through whatever spell had been cast.

"Aelin!" The shout was high-pitched, but not shrill, and familiar. Aelin turned to see a petite brunette walking toward her excitedly and she couldn't stop the smile spreading on her face.

"Elide!" she responded happily, helping the girl close the gap before giving her a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" she exclaimed with a big grin. "I hear I have you to thank for the Dirty Shirley supplies."

Aelin laughed. "Naturally."

"Such a provider," Elide teased. "Hi Rowan!"

"Elide. Where's the shadow?" Rowan asked.

Just then a dark-hair man appeared at Elide's side, his shoulder sitting just above Elide's head.

"Rowan. Galathynius," the man grunted, glaring slightly at Aelin.

"Salvaterre," she replied in a similarly flat tone.

Elide looked between the two, her face seeming delighted. "You two know each other?"

Aelin beamed. "Oh yes. We had Criminal Law together last year. Very fun class…for me."

"I did just fine," Lorcan growled, rolling his eyes. "I don't need to be the teacher's pet to pass."

"Neither do I," Aelin argued.

Lorcan's black eyes flicked meaningfully between Rowan and Aelin. "Could've fooled me."

Rowan choked on his drink as Aelin gaped. She couldn't help it. And the look of satisfaction on Lorcan's face only annoyed her further. "Don't be jealous, Lorcan. We can't all be likeable. We need dicks like you to remind everyone how nice the rest of us are."

Vindication swept through Aelin as she watched Lorcan's face fall into his signature scowl. He looked as if he was going to bare his teeth at her, but Elide seemed to calm him, laying a hand on his forearm.

Interesting.

Aelin hadn't been aware of that development. She wasn't entirely sure she liked it, but if anyone could wrangle a guy like Lorcan it was Elide.

"Lorcan, didn't you promise to give me a tour?" Elide asked in a soft voice, pulling his attention back to her. He gave her a gentle smile - something Aelin never thought she'd see on the man - and then took her hand, leading her away from Aelin and Rowan.

"How long has that been going on?" Aelin's eyes didn't leave the couple until they'd rounded a corner.

"Less than a month," Rowan answered. "To the best of my knowledge, they met in the Diplomacy class they have this semester."

Aelin nodded in understanding, looking back at him. "It's oddly fitting, though, Elide's an old family friend. I don't like how this means I'll probably have to see Lorcan a lot more often."

Rowan chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "Sorry for what he said…about…you know, us and the teacher's pet thing…"

"Och, don't worry about it," she breathed, waving her hand nonchalantly. "I learned to ignore Lorcan Salvaterre week one of Criminal Law last semester. Besides, if I was going to be the teacher's pet of any of my professors or TAs…"

She smirked up at him, tilting her head slightly, allowing her hair to flow to one side of her body, showing off the skin of her neck for him just a bit. Definitely hoping to get back to where they'd been before Elide had interrupted them.

Rowan gulped, the movement easy to follow, and his ears were tinted pink as he looked her over, his eyes darting between her gaze, her mouth, and her displayed neck.

He took a step closer, and she let her smile grow, telling him she wanted this too.

Her heart fluttered rapidly, her eyes glued on his. She'd fantasized about this more times than she cared to admit. And now it was about to happen, and there was nothing that could stop Aelin.

He was just reaching his hand out, as if he were about to caress her face, when the front door swung open loudly and a deep voice Aelin knew far too well broke through the crowd.

"Looks like the party can finally start!"

Aelin squeezed her eyes shut, groaning slightly as she felt Rowan's body pull away to a respectable distance. And when she opened them, she turned to see exactly what she expected.

In the foyer, looking directly into the living room, was Lysandra, arm in arm with her cousin Aedion.

Fine. There was one thing that could stop Aelin.

There will be a part 3. 😄

#rowaelinmonth #rowan whitethorn #aelin galythinius #rowaelin #rowaelin fic #rowaelin fanfiction #rowan x aelin #throne of glass #tog #throne of glass fanfiction #tog fanfiction #prompt #college au #modern au #model united nations #day 2 #again

[julemmaes]

Honey - part three

Elide Lochan x Lorcan Salvaterre roommates au

A/N: famous last words: I can finish this is in two hours. six hours laters and I feel like I’ve been beaten up by a gang of bigass old faes if you know what I mean.

IT CONTAINS SMUT, not suited for readers under 18

Please be kind I fucking hate my smut, if it’s disgusting just don’t comment on it cause I could hit my head on the wall several times

masterlist

Word count: 7,519

Aelin's scream was like a stab to the brain, "Get up you nasty little bitch!"

"Ace! Why don't you try with sweet Ellie?" retorted Lysandra.

Elide didn't even have the strength to open her eyes or move from the fetal position she was in, curled up with a pillow pushed so hard against her belly that she wouldn't have been surprised if it had somehow damaged her internal organs, "Please leave."

The two didn't seem to hear her.

"Sweet?" Aelin huffed, "But you did see her last night, right?"

Elide opened one eye, seeing that they had both sat down at the end of the bed. She felt the cracks tugging at her eyelid and grunted, pressing her face into the pillow. She wanted to die. And she wanted Manon to come and free her from those two supposed friends who she knew were about to remind her of her misadventures.

"Except for what happened before we left," Aelin winked, placing a hand on her foot. Elide withdrew it, not wanting to feel physical touch of any kind at that moment. "I would have been willing to break up with Rowan so I could get between Kyllian and you, honestly."

Elide grunted again, her voice muffled by the pillow. "I'm begging you girls, you need to get out before I throw up again."

And it was true, she would throw up if they didn't stop talking. Plus, Elide didn't care in the slightest what the drunk her had done. She hated her so much.

Lysandra giggled and she felt it as she climbed between the covers until she was settled next to her on the pillows, "Between her and Lorcan though, no?"

The cry of disgust that erupted from Aelin and the all too loud laugh from the other didn't make Elide register the words right away, but as soon as she realised what they had said, her stomach began to twist and turn, and not like when Lorcan accidentally brushed her hand or when he put his hand on her thigh during movie nights. Oh no.

With a movement she didn't know she had the physical skills to make, she shifted the covers off her body and launched herself into the hallway, slamming her hand against the bathroom door and throwing herself to the floor in front of the toilet before the highly concentrated alcoholic contents in her stomach spilled onto the floor.

As she vomited and Lysandra tied up her hair, massaging her back, Elide felt her heart break slowly. She wanted to turn around, to ask Aelin what had happened, or maybe not. She groaned as another gag shook her body and her eyes filled with tears once more as she puked what could only be alcohol.

"How do you still have stuff in your stomach?" muttered Aelin from outside the bathroom door.

Elide didn't blame her, vomit was disgusting and she was particularly sensitive to the sound of gagging. The only reason Lysandra wasn't the least bit uncomfortable was her younger sister Evangeline, who she had practically raised without anyone's help. Whatever came out of a person's body, their friend had already seen it in all shapes and colours.

Elide cursed herself for thinking such a thing while she was bent over the toilet throwing up, because it pushed her over the edge one more time and a sob wracked her body, "Fuck-" she managed to mutter between spits.

"I thought you weren't going to barf any more after last night," Lys said, continuing to rub her back.

"True," Aelin mumbled a little louder, "did you keep drinking after?"

Elide managed to turn her head towards the door, seeing that her friend was sitting on the floor just outside the bathroom. She grimaced as a gust of air that smelled like vomit reached her nose, "After what?"

"You and Lorcan left after you threw up," Lys explained to her. Elide didn't bother turning towards her, she didn't have the energy, "And you threw up so much Ellie, everywhere. It's weird that you have anything else to reject."

It wasn't weird at all considering the only thing Elide remembered was the amounts of alcohol she had ingested. She'd started just before seven with straight tequila, desperate to see how indifferent people were to the biggest catastrophic problems in human history, and everyone knew she couldn't handle alcohol even in small amounts. But Elide was also known to be the type who could drink for hours without ever feeling sick, if she now found herself bent over the toilet the next morning, it meant she had gone too far.

"I don't remember anything."

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Aelin said and Elide felt a shiver run through her body at the hint of mischief in her voice. She braced herself mentally to hear how much she'd actually whored out the night before, "We're here to fix the memory loss."

Lysandra made a disgusted noise as Elide flushed the toilet and the water stirred underneath them, but she patted her shoulders and pulled herself up, "You need to take a shower first though. Because you smell like death."

"Geez, thanks," Elide murmured as she began to undress.

The grin that appeared on Aelin's face made her hands freeze around the hem of her shirt. The other arched an eyebrow, looking into her eyes, "What? Lorcan is the only one you can flash?"

Elide closed her eyes, bringing her hands to her face and then let go a scream of frustration.

"Exactly."

Oh, god.

"I remember..." Elide scoffed, running her hands through her hair. When her fingers reached the tips, she was horrified to find they were encrusted with what was surely vomit from the night before. "Fuck."

Lysandra snickered beside her, "Why were you so drunk that you didn't realise what you were doing so damn early?"

Elide looked at her, and although she knew the question was only asked to tease her more, there was a note of concern in her tone. Her shoulders sagged a little and she shook her head, starting to undress undisturbed, "I set out to research a few things and the world is a shitty place and there was nothing I could do in the immediate future to save us all so I got drunk."

"Sounds like alcoholism," Aelin joked.

Both Lysandra and Elide laughed, "If you knew what I found out you'd get drunk too," the latter added.

"Send everything my way." the blonde winked at her, and then they went out, leaving her alone to wash away the sins of the night before and letting her mind travel. And Elide's mind travelled far too much as she racked her brains to remember Lorcan's reactions to a naked her.

After her friends had told her everything that had happened the night before. From her taking her clothes off in front of her best friend, to him getting stuck in their bathroom and calling Aelin for help, to her dancing with Kyllian specifically to make her roommate jealous - or so the drunk her seemed to have justified her actions - to Fenrys saving her from what was sure to end up being just casual sex that would only widen the gap between her and Lorcan.

Gap that apparently wasn't as pronounced as she thought.

Aelin and Lysandra had told her about the way he had pushed his way through the crowd and joined Elide on the dance floor. The way they had danced to one of their favourite songs until they had been on the verge of kissing.

Elide had never been so relieved to know that she'd thrown up on someone. And that her plan to attract Lorcan had worked.

She was cooking now, thinking about how bad it would have been for her to find out they'd kissed without having even the slightest recollection of it happening, when the front door opened and the boy who was the object of her dreams walked into the kitchen.

He stopped in the doorway, looking at her with the most emotionless face Elide had ever seen him wear.

"Hello, handsome." she murmured, continuing to cook.

Lorcan stood still in the threshold for a while without saying anything, as if to sort the situation out. Then, without taking his eyes off what she was doing, he took off his jacket and shoes and walked into the kitchen, "How are you feeling?"

Elide had her back to him as she washed some tomatoes, "Just a bit of a headache. I threw up again when I woke up, but other than that I'm fine."

"Did you drink some water? Had breakfast?" he asked her.

Elide shook her head looking at him, "I woke up after noon, Aelin and Lysandra came over." then frowned, "I think it's their fault I threw up."

Lorcan chuckled, "Sure, absolutely." then he gathered his hair into a messy bun and Elide focused on the way the muscles of his biceps tensed every time he pulled on the elastic, "It's not the alcoholic coma from last night at all."

Elide gathered some courage and taking a deep breath, said, "About last night-"

"We don't have to talk about it," Lorcan immediately interrupted her.

She looked up at him, trying not to show any emotion, trying to read his on that sculptural face that remained impassive. Then, seeing the way he was looking at her, she came to a conclusion.

She arched an eyebrow, plastering a grin on her face, "Does this mean you didn't like my tits?"

Lorcan turned red in the face before stuttering, "No. I mean, yes! No, fuck. Shit... I don't know."

Elide chuckled and began to dress their salad, "You've never seen a pair of tits before?" she asked knowing full well how untrue that was.

When she had moved into the flat, both she and he had had their own wild nights out where they brought home a different partner every weekend. On one occasion, Elide had been stunned when she came out of her room and bumped into a girl she had spent the night with a few weeks earlier. The girl had only bid her good morning, winking, before returning to Lorcan's room.

"No, it's not that," he muttered, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"So surely you'll have other samples to compare my boobs to and you'll be able to tell me if they're above average," she continued, prolonging this gentle torture.

He sat down, both elbows resting on the table, and rested his chin on his clasped hands. He looked into her eyes for a few seconds, then whispered, "What are you doing?"

"I'm making our lunch," she replied innocently.

She heard him breathe through his nose, "Why are we talking about your tits, I meant?"

"Uh," she smiled, casting him another quick glance, "I didn't think you were so grossed out that you can't even handle a conversation about them."

The frown on his face went deeper and deeper. He remained silent for so long that Elide thought he would never say anything again, that she would never get his thoughts on her breasts, but when she served the salad, sitting down in front of him, he finally spoke.

"It's not that," he repeated, looking away, "they're very nice. Balanced." he began to eat undisturbed and Elide grimaced in amusement, finding a way to keep the conversation going.

"Balanced? What are they? An economic system?"

Lorcan clenched his jaw, setting his fork down on his plate and looking into her face again. She knew she was playing a dangerous game, that she was risking losing her sanity, but she had to know, had to-

"They're perfect and, maybe they are because they're attached to you, but they're probably the most beautiful tits I've ever seen."

Elide's brain shut down. And he seemed to realise it too because the shadow of a smile began to form on his lips.

Lorcan leaned forward on the table and her eyes snapped to his arms. Fingers flexing, interlocking, caught her attention completely. She returned her gaze to his, feeling her body heat up as he resumed speaking. "If I'm going to be completely honest... If you want the details, Elide," the way he said her name made her most intimate part clench around nothing, "I've never seen such nice, small nipples and that pink?" he shut his eyes, moaning as he brought one of the tomatoes to his mouth and wrapped his lips around the fork.

Elide swallowed the mouthful that had been in her mouth for over a minute and nearly choked when he opened his eyes again and they were darker than normal if that was possible.

She looked away, too many feelings building up inside her, but crossed her legs, trying to relieve some of the tension there.

"Wasn't that enough, Ellie?" he asked in a rough voice, biting into an olive, making sure she saw the way his lips closed around it.

She swallowed again, "No, it was fine..." she cleared her throat when it came out too weak, "Thanks for the feedback."

Lorcan let go a throaty chuckle, "The pleasure is all mine."

***

Like every Sunday evening, the whole group had gathered at the twins' house. And that night everyone was there, although Vaughan and Vesta, along with Aedion and Sorrel, had gone out into the back yard a few hours ago and had not yet returned. Elide suspected they'd taken to smoking.

Those left in the house were playing one of the most popular games, "I feel like."

The game had no real objective, other than to embarrass people or get them to confess to extreme or obscene sexual acts. It was simply a matter of drawing a card, reading what it said and giving it to the person you thought had done the closest thing to what was described on the card. The only real rule was that you had to tell the whole story of what happened if the card you were handed told the truth.

Quite often the game would be interrupted because one of the two sides of the various couples would cheat, change the rules and instead of passing it on to the appropriate person, they would pass it on to their partner as an invitation to lock themselves in the first spare room they could find to experiment with what was asked by the game.

The cards could range from as basic things as "I feel like your first time was in a public restroom." to as a bit more hardcore as "I feel like you got fisted in the woods."

And in that moment, Elide had a strong feeling that Rowan and Aelin would soon be going home.

"Oh my fucking god," Rowan muttered as he read the words on the card, turning red from head to toe. He looked up at Aelin, swallowing and making his adam's apple bob, "Where do you even find these games?"

Elide giggled beside him, "There's a girl on the internet who updates the cards every month and puts them up for sale, we take turns to see who has to buy them each time."

"Oh god," he said shaking his head. When he slid the card in Aelin's direction, the girl leaned towards him to leave a soft kiss on his lips and when they broke away they were both smiling. Aelin read what was written on the card and for a second it seemed like the colour drained from her face, but then she blinked and cleared her throat, looking at Rowan with wide eyes.

"Maybe we should go away. To try it out." she murmured, so quietly that only those on the couch with them heard her.

Elide looked up at the boy next to her, or rather, behind her, to see if he was listening, but he seemed lost in thought. He had been absentmindedly stroking her arm since they had settled there, and Elide didn't think she had ever been so relaxed in her life.

She and Lorcan were sitting at one end of the sofa, opposite to Rowan and Aelin, her between his legs and with her back against his chest. Every time one of them laughed, their bodies moved closer together and now she had her head resting on the part of his chest between his neck and shoulder.

She was home.

Fenrys and Connall, across the living room, sitting on the floor, booed.

"You can't pass them all on to her!" complained Lysandra.

Aelin didn't even look at her as she spoke, her eyes always fixed on Rowan's, as if they were having a telepathic conversation, "Lys, shut up."

Her friend gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth.

"I say we vote to kick them out of the room," Asterin said, in exactly the same position she was in, but between her boyfriend's legs. Half the people in the room raised their hands to the sky, making Aelin roll her eyes.

Fenrys nodded, always ready to back Asterin up in whatever situation they were in, "It's starting to smell like Rowaelin in here."

Lorcan chuckled behind her, knocking her forward. And as the others lost themselves in the chatter, Elide shifted her gaze to Manon, who sat in the armchair next to the couch, one hand in Dorian's hair, who sat with his head resting on the armrest.

Her friend's bright eyes sparkled with malice as she arched an eyebrow and gestured to the boy she was practically sitting on. Elide felt her cheeks blush, but smiled naively at her, pretending not to know what she was alluding to. Manon smiled back.

Elide had never spoken openly to her about Lorcan, not in that way at least, but she knew Manon knew - in fact, now that she thought about it, she had never had to do that with anyone. Everyone had been rather quick to catch on that. Everyone except Lorcan.

The hand on her arm stopped, clinging completely against her skin and Elide had to force herself not to look at him, but then he lowered himself onto her and whispered in her ear, "Ellie."

She turned her head just enough to look at him and his lips brushed her cheek, so briefly that she thought she had imagined it. Lorcan had pulled back and was now looking into her eyes, "Your turn."

She blinked and turned towards the others, only realising at that moment that all eyes were on them. She felt her face burn, but she nodded, putting a hand on Lorcan's knee and pushing herself forward, rubbing her ass on the crotch of his trousers. She'd been doing this all night, all night teasing him, just as he was teasing her, brushing the side of the breasts from time to time.

And each time, Lorcan would burst into a coughing fit and move further back, which only gave Elide a chance to grind even harder against him in an attempt to regain the comfortable position they were in before.

As she settled back into her seat, she met Fenrys' gaze, who had a shit-eating grin on his face. She lowered her eyes to the maroon card in her hands quickly, shimming her hips between his legs. Lorcan's hands ended on her shoulders and she looked up at him, batting her eyelids like a fawn.

"Stop moving around so much," he grumbled.

She smiled gently and then took up reading. She hadn't touched alcohol that night, for obvious reasons, but she still found it hard to understand what was written there when Lorcan's fingers began to draw imaginary lines across her bare skin.

"I feel like..." she whispered, her eyes going wide. She looked across the sofa at Rowan.

The friend gave her a chuckle, "I told you they seemed a bit extreme."

I feel like you performed a titjob on someone while being eaten out.

Before she could realise what she was doing, she said, "Can I give myself the card or...?"

Dorian turned a quizzical look on her, "You know you have to-"

Fenrys shrieked something unintelligible, but that stopped Dorian. Manon above them clenched her hands into fists, her eyes half-closed at the sudden commotion, "I haven't killed you yet just because-"

"Yeah yeah, just because of Asterin, I get it," Fenrys replied moving a hand midair, his gaze never leaving Elide's, who in a moment of clarity realised what Dorian was about to say. What the blond said only served to confirm her fear, "But Elide just confessed to doing whatever is written on it and I want to know every detail."

She felt Lorcan stiffen behind her and then Elide realised something else entirely. He must have read what was written on the card.

"So?" pressed Aelin, leaning over Rowan and snatching the card from Elide's hands. She opened her mouth wide with an amused expression, then put on a pout, looking at her boyfriend, "These are the things I sometimes wish you'd be a little more open about."

Rowan arched an eyebrow, reading the card in turn, "We can do those two things at the same time and without anyone else having to see you naked."

Lysandra, next to them, picked up the card, "Oh, Aedion and I did that too. Although it was a normal blowjob, no titty job." she exclaimed happily.

One thing that pleased Elide greatly was the fact that no one in that room would judge her for what she did in the bedroom and who she did it with. Also because there was a high probability that they had done it too.

And slowly the card was passed among all the members of their group and when it reached Fenrys and Asterin, the girl winked at Elide, murmuring a sensual, "I've never done it, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt." Fenrys winked behind her, intertwining their hands. Asterin's smile only grew wider, before she added, "You have our numbers."

Elide blushed, but smiled anyway, nodding.

Everyone began to talk about the various possibilities, as they did during every turn, and the card finally passed from Dorian and Manon and the two exchanged only a glance before giving the card to Lorcan.

Lorcan who was taking deep breaths one after the other and had his eyes closed. Elide had never seen him so focused in her life. She noticed the way he contracted and relaxed his jaw repeatedly and frowned.

Was he alright?

She ran a finger over his thigh to get his attention, tracing a line from his knee to where his leg touched her hip and Lorcan let go a shuddering breath, opening his eyes slightly and tightening his grip on her shoulders, "I don't think you should do that." his voice so hoarse and deep that Elide felt her stomach knot. She didn't understand what he was referring to.

And then she felt it.

Hard and... thick against her ass.

She opened her eyes wide, pointing them at him, and held her breath. She had to stop herself from opening her mouth in surprise, but she couldn't stop herself when her hips pushed against Lorcan's now obvious erection.

Elide had never been so happy to hear Fenrys' laughter as she was at that moment, because if it hadn't been for the sudden noise, the moans that escaped them both would have been heard all too well and neither of them would have been able to look at anyone else in the room for the rest of their lives.

Lorcan swallowed, breathing through his nostrils, and his gaze fell to her lips. Her eyes did the same and she didn't care that they were among everyone and would have everyone's eyes on them if they did exactly what Elide was thinking, because his lips parted slightly and he whispered her name and she was lost.

Without thinking about it for another second, Elide turned just enough to have her face directly in front of his and closed her eyes, feeling his lips brush hers. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding, "Lorcan,"

And then she kissed him, and it was exactly as she had always dreamed it would be, as his lips moved with hers and they tasted and breathed from each other. A sound that Elide had never made in her life rose up her throat as Lorcan shifted and with a sharp movement of his hips turned her fully towards him and now she was on her knees in front of him, both of them breathing heavily as they looked into each other's eyes.

Someone coughed in the room and she heard Aelin whisper a weak "fucking finally", but Elide didn't give a shit.

She placed her hands on Lorcan's face, tilting his head back so she could reach him better. The second his hands landed on her hips, their lips collided again in a fierce kiss and his tongue found its way into her mouth.

The first touch of their tongues was like having a thousand fireworks explode in her mouth.

"Okay, it's time to join the others," Manon murmured.

Elide heard Fenrys mutter, "Please not on the couch, there are guest rooms upstairs."

Lorcan pulled away from her just enough to see what was going on around them and her hands slid around his neck, ending in his hair as she admired the line of his cheekbones and the way his lashes caressed his skin every time he closed his eyes.

God, he was beautiful.

"Which one can we use?" asked Lorcan as he looked at Fenrys.

Elide's eyes went wide, causing him to turn towards her. She ran a thumb over his lower lip, smirking, "So sure of yourself."

Without missing a beat, Lorcan mimicked her grin and squeezed her hips, "You don't want to?"

Elide smiled, turning towards her friends, stopping to look at Fenrys, "The second on the left right?"

When the owner of the house winked at her, nodding, she stood up, pulling Lorcan with her, who had a confused look on his face, "Why do you know that?"

She had the decency to blush, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the stairs, "You don't want to know."

Lysandra burst out laughing as everyone resumed their seats on the floor or the couch, "You really don't."

Elide tugged at him more insistently, not looking at Lorcan's reaction to those words. She just wanted to get to the room and lock herself in with him.

When she felt his hand settle on her hip and slide down to her ass cheek, where he paused to give it a squeeze, she almost turned and slammed him against the wall just so she could continue kissing him how she needed to.

They arrived in front of the door and she stopped with her fingers on the handle, once inside there would be no stopping. There would be no point of return.

His fingers brushed her cheek and she turned to face him, who now wore a ravenous, excited look, but Elide could see the concern and hesitation in taking the next step, "We don't have to do anything, Ellie."

She nodded, because she knew that was the case, but squeezed his hand to emphasize what he said, "But I want to."

"Good thing, cause the thought of you fucking those two gave me some ideas."

She grinned, placing a hand on his chest, "I wasn't the one doing the titty work, but we can always try."

Lorcan groaned softly at the knowledge of Elide licking another girl and then pushed the door open, backing in and taking his-

Whatever Elide was at that moment to him, it wasn't important.

The only thing that was important was his lips on hers.

The difference in height wasn't making it easy for him, and when he leaned down even further, never breaking the kiss, to run his hands under her knees and pull her up, Elide seemed to understand that right away and, pulling away just enough to jump into his arms, they found themselves on each other in seconds.

Lorcan bit her lower lip, making her moan, and when he moved to her jaw, nipping lightly at her skin, Elide threw her head back, pushing her hips against his and drawing a groan from both of them.

He immediately took the opportunity to latch his lips onto the smooth, quivering skin of her neck, feeling the bed behind his knees and sitting up, letting her straddle him. His hands moved up her legs, caressing her inner thighs, but never really getting close to where she needed him most.

Elide began to grope his chest, grazing the skin of his arms, but never staying in one spot, until Lorcan began to suck at the bare skin between her neck and shoulder and she nudged him slightly.

He quickly pulled away, panting, "What?"

There were too many layers. Keeping her eyes fixed on his, Elide lowered her hands to the hem of her shirt and slipped it off in one swift movement. She smiled smugly when she could finally see Lorcan's reaction to her bare tits.

His eyes were slightly wider than usual and his pupils so dilated that Elide realised that she had never noticed that Lorcan's eye colour was not black, but just a very dark brown. When he looked at her, the words died in her throat.

"I love it when you don't wear a bra," he murmured, reaching up to her and brushing her lips with his, "But I love even more the way you shiver every time I do this."

Elide didn't have a chance to dwell on the way he'd said love, because without her noticing, his hands had found their place on her waist and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out in pleasure when he brushed the sides of her breasts with his thumbs.

He pushed himself further against her, brushing his lips over her ear, "When we're alone and you don't have to hold back, I want you to scream my name." and then he moved quickly, leaving only a light kiss on her shoulder before his lips closed around a sensitive nipple.

With the first sweep of his tongue around the hard bead, Elide whimpered, pushing her hips down against his and making him moan into her chest. She brought her hands into his hair, clenching and pulling each time his teeth bit or scraped the sensitive skin around the nipple.

When he seemed to want to move on to the other breast, Elide shook her head, pulling his hair back to its roots and forcing her mouth against his, making him grunt. She had to feel him.

"Lorcan," she breathed, between kisses, "I need to touch you."

One of her hands slipped between the two of them, palming him through the sweatpants that did little to hide Lorcan's huge boner. He moaned against her chin, "Fuck."

They pulled apart again and when he had stripped off his shirt, Elide didn't waste a moment and pressed her bare chest against his, causing him to fall back onto the mattress.

Lorcan had other ideas though, because in one smooth motion she found herself lying on her back, his gentle weight pressing her against the covers and his bright smile lighting up his face. He left a kiss on her nose, on her lips and then down to the split in the middle of her breasts and her eyes rolled back in her head as a flashback from two nights before appeared in her head, of Lorcan doing the same thing with his eyes as they danced.

"Can I take these off?" he asked her, once he reached her hips where he was leaving kisses light as feathers.

Elide was breathing raggedly, but nodded when she understood he was talking about her leggings. Still keeping her eyes closed, she lifted her hips off the mattress, closing her fists around the covers as her bottoms disappeared along with her socks and the cold air hit her bare skin.

Now only the thin fabric of her black panties separated her from achieving what she wanted.

That and Lorcan's slacks.

"Ellie." she heard him as he came back on top of her, one knee between her legs to keep his balance. She licked her lip, opening her eyes and keeping her gaze fixed on him, on that perfect face.

"Do you have a condom?" she asked in a whisper, as if afraid the answer would be no. She had them, but they were downstairs, in her purse, and she had no desire to leave the room right then.

Lorcan arched an eyebrow, "I'm not having sex with you tonight, Elide."

She frowned, folding her arms under her and propping herself up on her elbows, "What does that mean?"

"That I'm not completely sober," he said, leaning his head towards her chest, keeping his eyes fixed in hers, "And the first time it'll be inside you," he murmured in a rougher voice, placing a light kiss on the nipple he hadn't licked before, "I want it to be at a time when I'm lucid and can remember all the noises and moans you make." and then he gave the same attention to her other breast, pushing her against the mattress one more time, until Elide was a squirming mess under him and deemed his treatment sufficient.

"Now I'm going to slip these off," Lorcan murmured, grazing a finger along the hem of her panties, and Elide shuddered, "and touch you. Here." the same finger slid across her covered folds, starting at her clit and following her slit to her entrance. "Already so wet for me."

Elide thrashed on the bed, moaning softly as he applied a little more pressure, "Stop teasing, we'll have time for that when we get home." she managed to toss out between shaky breaths.

"Understood ma'am." he taunted, grabbing the edges of the thing and pulling it down. The sound that burst from him was completely animalistic and threatened to make Elide come before he even really touched her. "So beautiful." he said, kneeling in front of her.

Lorcan's hands wrapped around her ankles and he pushed her legs up, placing her feet on the edge of the bed, until she was left with her knees bent and her pussy at his full disposal. Elide risked looking down between her legs and her eyes locked into his as he lowered himself onto her and smiled.

The way her chest rose and fell made her tits bounce and Lorcan seemed to appreciate it, but he didn't seem to be planning to do anything. Elide tipped her head back, whispering in a weak voice, "Do something, please."

He laughed and her muscles flexed, clenching around nothing. It was at that moment that she felt him, his breath on the most sensitive part of her body. "I'm going to make you cum so fast you won't have time to count to a hundred."

Lorcan's fingers came off her ankles and went to part her lips, making her feel the warm air of his breathe even more. He parted them until he was satisfied and Elide lowered her gaze just as his tongue made contact with her throbbing core. A rush of pleasure coursed through her body, making her legs tremble, "Lor," she moaned.

"Mh, El," he closed his lips around her clit, pressing his tongue against the pearl over and over, until Elide repeated his name like a prayer, "So good. You taste so good."

Her hands ended up in his hair again, pushing his face against her sex, seeking more. She began to move her hips, following the strokes of his mouth on her, but one of Lorcan's arms slithered around her pelvis and pinned her to the bed, lapping her juices as with his thumb he reached to massage her clit with such precision that Elide knew that whatever she would do on her own in the future, she would never be able to match how he was making her feel.

Elide cried out in pleasure, bringing a hand to her mouth as she felt his tongue thrust into her and an all too familiar warmth build up in the pit of her stomach.

She brought one hand up to massage the nipple he had only kissed and made a choked sound, her hips jerking upwards.

Lorcan moaned against her, a new sound, different from any he'd made so far, and Elide couldn't help herself. She pulled herself up onto her elbows, continuing to touch herself as he kept sending jolts of pleasure with every thrust of his tongue and every caress of his thumb, and the sight of him eating her out would have been enough to push her over the edge, but the hand wrapped around his thick, throbbing cock pumping relentlessly was the thing that made her eyes roll back and explode as the rope inside her snapped. Her legs gave out, falling over the edge of the bed and finding their place on Lorcan's shoulders.

Her mouth gaped open in a silent scream as her whole body trembled in pleasure as wave after wave surged through her and her back arched so wide she broke away from the bed.

Lorcan didn't stop touching her, but he pulled his mouth away from her, still massaging her clit until Elide was too sensitive and with a groan she tightened a hand around his wrist to push him away. She heard him grunt and then moan, but she didn't have the strength to lower her gaze to what she knew very well was a cumming Lorcan.

She was breathing hard, one hand on her stomach to rest and the other still clasped around his.

Every now and then her body was shaken by a spasm, but she managed to calm down after a few minutes and close her aching legs. She rolled onto her side, letting go of his wrist.

Lorcan was also breathless and kept his forehead pressed against the edge of the bed.

Elide felt a tinge of pain tingle through her heart. She pulled herself up just enough to look into his face, "Lor?"

She reached out a hand towards him, placing it on his shoulder, at which he raised his head and looked at her with bright eyes and an open mouth, "Are you alright?"

She nodded, smiling at him and falling back into the now unmade blankets, "Never been better."

He chuckled deeply, moving from his position on the floor and causing at least two joints in his legs to crack.

The moment Elide saw he'd managed to get at least halfway out of his trousers, her throat went dry. And her brain forgot how to talk when she noticed he wasn't wearing boxers. Elide knew Lorcan often went commando, but seeing it with her own eyes was a different story. Seeing him, was a completely different thing from feeling him against her.

She swallowed. She'd intended to scold him for taking all the fun out of both of them by touching himself, but maybe Elide had overestimated her abilities, because the idea of having to give Lorcan a blowjob when his dick was like this-

"If you keep looking at me like that I'm not sure I can keep the promise I made to myself," he murmured in a serious voice.

Elide looked up at his face and sighed as she saw his eyes as dark as before, just moments before he pulled off his clothes completely and lay down beside her on the other side of the bed.

It didn't take her even half a second to wrap herself around him and press her body against Lorcan's side as he draped an arm around her shoulders.

His fingertips began to trace idle lines on her shoulder as he had done only half an hour before on the couch in front of everyone.

A satisfied and surprised laugh came out of her. Lorcan put his hand under her chin and when she looked up at him he had an equally satisfied smile on his lips. He pushed her head towards his, causing their mouths to collide in a brief kiss that was chaste in comparison to what they had just done and when they broke away, Elide frowned, "I didn't like you touching yourself without giving me a chance to enjoy this in turn."

The corner of Lorcan's mouth turned up, "Sorry honey, but seeing you naked like that on the bed for me has been my dream for a little too long and I was sure I would have come in zero time if I had let you touch me. It would have been embarrassing." he whispered, caressing her cheek.

Elide tried to suppress a smile, failing miserably. She decided to tease him a little, "I thought I heard you say you lasted long in bed, didn't you?"

He chuckled, "You know it's hard to rely on stamina when the girl in question is you."

At those words she felt a particularly strong surge of affection for the boy who had given her one of the most intense orgasms she had ever received and she pushed herself closer against him, making her bare breasts feel against his skin.

Lorcan turned slightly towards her, looking into her face.

He looked so relaxed.

She knew he was.

But there was something that didn't allow her to be one hundred percent.

She fixed her eyes on his, placing a hand on his chest, over his heart. The hand Lorcan had held behind his head until now came to rest on hers, squeezing her fingers tight.

Elide took a shuddering breath, "Now what?"

Lorcan suppressed a yawn, "I guess it's not a problem if we stay here and sleep-"

"No, I'm saying," she interrupted him, looking away, "what do we do now? You and I." then, realizing that question couldn't have been more vague, she closed her eyes, mustering courage, "What are we now?"

"Whatever you want us to be, Ellie," he said softly, starting to stroke her hand, "But I want one thing to be clear. And I'd like you to look at me while I say it."

Elide opened her eyes, lifting her chin slightly so she could see him better, and gave him a small smile, which he immediately returned.

"What is it?"

Lorcan's gaze moved to her lips, before returning to her eyes, "I like you, Elide."

She stopped breathing.

"I really like you and whatever you decide to do with me, I'll respect that, but I also want to say that if you don't want anything exclusive, then this will have been a one night stand and won't happen again."

Although she also wanted exactly the same things, hearing him say them made her chest hurt, because the prospect of not being able to have him again so soon after just finally finding him hurt.

She cleared her throat, nodding, "I like you too." she whispered, noticing his eyes widen a little, "And I don't want you going with any other girls besides me if we decide to continue with this." Lorcan nodded, agreeing with her, then continued, "If you don't want a relationship right away, I can understand that, but know that I do." she felt herself blush as she finally admitted the truth out loud, looking away, "And I know our situation isn't the best with being roommates and all-"

"Our situation is perfect," Lorcan corrected her, moving a strand of hair out of her face.

She looked at him again, seeing him smile.

"Ellie, you're my best friend. The person who knows me the most out of all the people I consider important. We already live together, we won't have to fight over who to stay at every night. We won't have to go on any awkward first dates and the sex seems phenomenal to me," a lump formed in her throat as she tried to keep her breathing regular, but found it difficult when he smiled at her more broadly, "I waited months for you to see that the playlists were all declarations and hoped that after Friday night something would change. For once I won."

Elide figured he was talking about what had happened at the club, but if she was going to be completely honest... "I was the one who showed you my tits twice, letting you know I wanted something more. Don't take all the credit."

Lorcan burst out laughing and it sounded more scratchy than usual, "I'm sorry, you're right."

He kissed her again and again, and held her close as he ran his fingers through her hair and murmured the words to a love song, and before long she fell asleep in his arms, making Lorcan the happiest man in the world.

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#elorcan #elorcan fic #elorcan smut #elorcan fluff #tog fic #throne of glass #elide lochan #lorcan salvaterre #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #rowaelin #lysandra ennar #fenrys moonbeam #dorian havillard #manon blackbeak #manorian #asterin blackbeak #honey

[louiseleblancdiggory]

Speedy one night stand part 2

Part 1 here

“Ok, so do we go over our story again?”

“We did that a thousand times. Relax, they’re not the brightest.”

Aelin smiled, resting her back against the hospital chair. Even though only one day had passed, Rowan was already feeling infinitely better. His wrist still hurt like a bitch, and it would probably remain like that due to the surgery, but the rest was just some small ache.

Differently from the previous day, this morning Rowan had woken up to an empty room. Aelin had decided to go home around eleven, promising to be back in time for them to go over their plan one more time, but a part of Rowan wondered if she was actually going to be back. It wasn’t a usual situation, and now that she knew he was not dying, maybe she wouldn’t feel any responsibility over him at all.

It had worried Rowan more than he liked to admit.

And yet, she had returned today. Just a few hours after Rowan woke up, Aelin walked into his hospital room. She was her bubbly self, walking through the door while oozing so much excitement and brightness that it was like the sun lodged itself in the room. She plopped down on her usual chair, barely bothering to create small talk before jumping right back to what they had discussed the previous night. Aelin wanted everything to go perfect— had said that she had grown up with a cousin who made her quite competitive when it came to pranks.

Forty five minutes later, they had gone over the details twice, flirted shamelessly every now and then, and Rowan had the pleasure of seeing Aelin play the distressed wife in front of three different doctors.

The woman was a devil.

Rowan couldn’t help but smile.

“When do they get here?”

“You’re so impatient.” Rowan grinned, slowly turning his non-shattered wrist. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re impatient?”

“You and my cousin would be such great friends.” Aelin gave him a sweet smile.

“Sounds like a nice guy, then.”

“He isn’t.” Aelin’s sweet— and oh so fake— smile widened. “A fucking asshole, if you ask me.”

Rowan snorted, looking at the door just in time to see five guys turning around the corner and walking in the direction of the room. A diabolical smile grew on Rowan’s lips, and he turned to Aelin who had a raised brow. “Show time.”

Just like the devil Rowan thought she was, Aelin returned his smile.

———————

Honestly, she shouldn’t be this excited.

Tricking a bunch of men she had never seen in her life should not be that high in her list of priorities. And yet.

Part of her wanted to stay at the hospital yesterday, make sure that Rowan was ok during the night. Even though they had just met, Aelin felt a weird connection to him. Not love— because love at first sight is bullshit—, but she definitely cared for him as a friend. But the doctor insisted that there were no chances that Rowan’s condition would get that bad over night, and so Aelin went home.

She could barely sleep, and in the morning she rushed to get to the hospital.

Because of the prank, of course. Not because of Rowan.

And now that his friends were actually there, that the plan was actually in action, Aelin was having some small doubts.

What if they tell the hospital she’s lying? What if that doctor loses her job? What if—

“Rowan!” A blonde haired man ran through the door, followed by four others. Just like Rowan, all of the men were massive. Tall, muscular, and almost sucking all the air in the room with their presence.

They were all so focused on Rowan that none of them even paid attention to her sitting by a corner in the room, and Aelin used that time to transform the smirk on her lips into a loving smile.

“Fucking shit, Whitethorn.” The tallest of them— the only one as tall as Rowan— said. His pitch black hair was tied back in a bun, but some of it fell out of it when he ran a hand through his head. Aelin tried to remember Rowan’s descriptions of his friends, and if she was right, that was Lorcan. “One day alone and you get hit by a fucking truck.”

“Any cool scars?” One of the golden twins asked, a grin on his face. Either Fenrys or Connall, but judging by the personality and Rowan’s description of the twins, Aelin was betting on the former.

“Shut up.” The one with a buzzcut— Vaughan, she recalled— said, hitting the back of the golden twin’s head. “We tried to come as soon as possible when we heard. We didn’t want to leave you alone.”

“Oh.” Rowan said with all the innocence in the world, a smile as sweet as hers gracing his lips. “Of course I wasn’t alone, are you guys insane or something?”

“Huh?” The twins said in unison, looking at each other.

“I came with my wife.” Rowan said, the sentence sounding like a question. He let out a laugh, eyes sparkling with mirth. “Do you guys think she would just leave me alone?”

“Your fucking what.” Lorcan said very slowly after a few moments of complete silence.

Rowan looked so genuinely confused that even Aelin believed him for a second.

“Guys? Ace?” Rowan said, brows furrowing. His eyes then landed on her, and he gave her a smile that was supposed to be loving, but Aelin just thought he looked like a fiend. “Apparently they think you’re cold enough to enjoy your vacations while your husband is at the hospital.”

“I might not be the warmest, but that would have been low even for me.” Aelin said, voice charred with playful sarcasm. As if she was a magnet, all five heads immediately whipped at her direction, faces showing different levels of incredulity. “Hey, guys.”

Aelin had to bite her cheeks to keep herself from laughing. She didn’t know any human being could be that shocked and stand that still. The silence in the room was suffocating, except for Rowan who was smiling broadly now that no one was looking at him.

“Everyone is seeing the hot blonde, right?” The twin— Fenrys, she’d been right. It was just the type of comment he’d do— asked very carefully.

“I’m flattered, Fen.” Aelin said, taking some pleasure in how his jaw dropped when she said his name. She looked at each of their faces, forcing her expression to show both excitement and some confusion. “Guys? Not even a hug? I mean I know you guys are Rowan’s friends but I would expect some better welcome.”

At that, Aelin got up and walked in their direction. She hugged Vaughan and Fenrys at the same time, both as still as two pieces of stone.

She took a step back, doing the same to Gavriel and Connall. Aelin then looked at Lorcan, winking at him. “I know better than to hug you. Good to know that the change in continents doesn’t change the scowl on your face.”

They all just stared at her.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Rowan was near busting out laughing. She walked to his side, feeling the eyes of his friends following her across the room. She bent down near Rowan, kissing him on the lips before stroking his cheek with a thumb. For a split second, they shared a knowing smile, one that would look very loving to whoever was watching, but both of them knew better.

“I’m gonna go check with your doctor what time we can leave, alright? I’m gonna let you guys catch up.” Aelin said, kissing him again.

Rowan nodded, but then his eyes turned to his friends and narrowed slightly. “Sounds good, honey.”

Vaughan soundly choked.

Aelin made her best impression of being embarrassed— not by the nickname, but by the reactions of his friends.

She left the room with a final smile at the five guys, and when her face was not visible to them anymore, she finally opened the biggest grin she had ever given in her entire life.

As she walked down the hallway looking for the doctor, Rowan almost jumped out of bed just to kiss her again if only for the absolute horror in his friends’ faces. He never thought he’d seen any of them that shaken— even Lorcan was shocked.

Using the fact that all five of them were still looking at Aelin’s body disappearing among doctors, nurses, and other visitors, Rowan controlled his facial expressions and turned them to a disappointed scowl.

“What the fuck was that?” He asked when Aelin completely disappeared. “Would it kill for you guys to be nice to her? It was never an issue, what the fuck happened?”

“Bro.” Connall was the first to tear his eyes away from the door.

“Rowan, I don’t know how to say this gently…” Gavriel started, voice calm and cautious as always.

“You must have hit your head really hard because you’re not fucking married.” Lorcan, on the other hand, had no problem just saying what came to his mind.

“What?” Rowan asked, dumbfounded.

“Man, some hot crazy chick is pretending to be your wife.” Fenrys was smiling, but his whole expression screamed terrified. “Holy fuck, some hot crazy chick is pretending to be Rowan’s wife.”

“Haha, very funny.” Rowan said, relaxing. “Is this why you treated Ace like that? A prank?”

“Her name is Ace.” Vaughan said, the only one still visibly shocked.

“Crazy girl name.” Fenrys added solemnly. Connall nodded profusely.

“Her name is Aelin, and you guys know that. We have been together for over a year not, married for a few months.” Rowan was trying so, so hard not to laugh.

The guys looked at each other, different degrees of worry washing they expressions.

“Rowan, you really have to understand that—“

“Understand what?” Aelin interrupted what Gavriel was saying, causing all of the guys to jump and scream.

At that, Rowan couldn’t contain his laughter. He was laughing so hysterically that not even Aelin managed to keep a straight face and started chuckling too.

“What the fuck was that?” Rowan said between laughs, smiling up at Aelin as she approached his bed even though he was speaking to his friend.

“When is his birthday?” Fenrys ignored Rowan’s question, eyes narrowing at Aelin as she rested against Rowan.

“January twentieth-first.” Aelin said, brows furrowing in confusion. “What the hell is this?”

“Favorite color.” Connall dismissed her question.

“Green.”

“His pet’s name.” Gavriel asked much more politely than the others, but suspicion was palpable in his words.

“We don’t have a pet.”

“What is he studying?” Vaughan finally looked more wary than fucking shocked.

“He’s studying to become an engineer. STEM, then? I don’t know, I’m an arts and humanities major. I don’t understand that shit.”

The guys looked at each other again before Lorcan’s eyes dropped on Aelin. “Mom’s name. Ex girlfriend’s name. Favorite movie. Favorite song. Dick size.”

Rowan choked when he heard the last sentence, but Aelin simply smiled. “Anya. Are you talking about Lyria or Remelle? The Godfather and Patience by the Guns n’ Roses. I will not be discussing my husband’s dick size with his best friend.”

“Holy fuck.” Vaughan breathed.

“Give me your phone.” Lorcan said, even more suspicious now.

Aelin raised a brow, but took the phone out of her pocket. She stole a glance at Rowan, but he was just as confused as her.

“Call the first person in your favorites.”

Oh, fuck.

It had been fun while it lasted, and Rowan was about to get his ass beaten by his friends even though he was still in a hospital bed.

But Aelin simply unlocked her phone for everyone to see, went to her contacts and called the second person in her favorites. She raised her eyes from the phone to smile sweetly at Lorcan. “Rowan is the first.”

Lorcan’s jaw clenched minimally, as if Aelin had just passed a test she was supposed to fail. Now, just like the rest of his friends, Lorcan looked expectantly ate the phone on top of Rowan’s legs. Aelin had put it on speaker, and the only sound in the room was their breathing and the dialing sound.

“Hey, babe.” A female voice answered, soft and warm. “What can I help you with?”

“I don’t know, actually.” Aelin raised her face to Lorcan, and she looked so beautiful that the smile that grew on Rowan’s face was genuine. “Why did I call her?”

“Is she married?” Lorcan asked loudly so the girl on the phone would hear.

“What did he say?” She asked anyways.

“Lorcan asked if I am married.” Aelin raised the phone to her lips so her friend could hear her better.

“Uhm, yeah?” Her friend laughed. “Aren’t you married to his best friend for a few months now? What type of question is this?”

Aelin smiled smugly at his friends, and Rowan made his best impression of pissed off husband. In reality, all he wanted was to be alone with Aelin and kiss her for her geniality.

She wasn’t kidding when she said she was competitive when it came to pranks.

“Hey, what’s up, Lys. Is that Ace?” A man sounded through the phone.

“Yeah.” Lys answered.

“Is Rowan ok?” The man asked casually, and even Rowan was surprised by that.

Turns out Aelin had been a few steps ahead of him.

“I’m fine.” Rowan answered, trying to sound casual. “But apparently my friends decided to be assholes even though I’m already suffering.”

Aelin snorted, resting her back against his chest.

“What are they doing?” The guy asked and Rowan could hear the smile on his voice. Even though the voice tone was completely different, the man sounded so much like Aelin that it could only be her cousin since she didn’t have siblings.

“Pretending they don’t know Ace.”

“I would also pretend I don’t know my cousin if I could. Disgraceful woman.” He grumbled. “She must be loving the attention, though.”

“Fuck off.” Aelin snapped at the same time Rowan laughed. She turned her head to him, eyes narrowing with enough emotion that Rowan knew she was being genuine. He just smiled, giving her a quick kiss before turning to the phone again.

“Me and Lys gotta go, but we’ll see you this weekend for dinner, right?”

“Yep.” Rowan knew nothing of it, but now he was knee deep into his lie so backing out wasn’t an option anymore.

“Oh, and Ace, Lysandra says the airline just sent your ticket back to Terrasen to the apartment.” Aedion announced before hanging up, leaving the comment hanging in the air.

Aelin heard sharp intakes of breath, and raised her head to see all men staring at her dumbfounded.

“What?” She asked innocently, resting once again against Rowan. His hand sneaked up to the back of her head, massaging her scalp. Even though she tried to play it cool, her heart was hammering inside her chest— both because of how big the lie had just become and because of Rowan’s touch against her skin. Her whole back was against his side, and Aelin hoped he thought the racing heart was due to the lie, not due to him.

“Very well, Ace.” Lorcan said after a moment of prolonged silence. “We are so sorry for the prank. Why don’t we all go out to dinner to pay you back.”

Aelin was gonna vomit her heart. All the guys looked at Lorcan, and even Rowan’s hand stilled against her hair.

And yet she just forced a smile on her face, nodding her head. “Sounds amazing.”

Rowan’s hand in the back of her head massaged now her neck, reassuring her everything was ok.

But that definitely wasn’t the sentiment on his friends’ faces.

Oh, fuck.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A/N: I’m sorry for such a small update for this story, but I’m trying to write some Valentine’s day oneshots but I wanted to continue this one a little! I’ll probably to a final part three for it sometime!

Tags:

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#rowaelin #rowaelin au #rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin fluff #rowanaelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #aelin #rowan #tog #tog fanfiction #tog fanfic #throne of glass #throne of glass fanfiction #throne of glass fanfic #throne of glass au #writing #mardu writes #my writing #part 2 #speedy one night stand

[cloudywriter]

camp staghorn - 2

alright, here’s part 2, starting to get good now! next part features rowan’s side of the story its very exciting. anyway, enjoy! also send in prompts (preferably rowaelin) if you want, i like a mix of things im writing or i get bored. 

masterlist, main masterlist, AO3

~~~

It was the first official day of camp. Aelin was slightly disappointed by the basic ice cream sandwiches that were apparently the well sought-after prize, she almost felt bad for sabotaging Rowan over such a thing. 

Nonetheless, Aelin got dressed along with the rest of her campers. They sleepily weaved around each other as they readied for the busy day ahead. Pulling on a generic tank top and shorts while shoving her hair in a ponytail, Aelin decided she was ready enough.

“Alright, everyone has to apply sunscreen before we go!” Aelin reminded the group as she squeezed toothpaste onto her brush. She received a couple of okays in return. 

Finally, she and the rest of the camps made it to the dining hall where eggs and mini pancakes were being served. Aelin spotted Rowan Whitethorn from across the room, hunched over the small, white table surrounded by his friends from the other day.

She made her way to the line forming for food, consequently passing Rowan’s table in the process. 

“Hey, Rowan, look it’s the girl who kicked your ass!” She recognized Fenrys as the one making the snide comment. Rowan only glared.

Aelin tossed him a sweet smile, “The ice cream was delicious by the way!” She didn’t linger for a response, instead, she joined Lys in line, but she heard Fenrys laugh and slap Rowan on the back.

The rest of breakfast went without consequence, Aelin sat with Elide and Lys while keeping a close eye on her campers. She thought she’d likely just have to endure Rowan’s glares and frowns for the rest of the week in retaliation for her behavior. 

Boy, was she wrong. 

+++

It was midday and the afternoon sun was beating down on everyone. Aelin felt sticky with sweat and sunscreen as she sat down with the rest of her campers on a bench painted with a peeling, light green rouge in front of the stage.

Every day, before lunch, the camps were scheduled to gather back in the center. It was a time for kids to hydrate and camps got the chance to perform skits or play games. So far, Aelin’s group had gotten plenty of time on the rock climbing wall. She was enjoying herself despite the weather, she was having fun getting to know her campers. 

Now, Aelin was desperately gulping down water as Gavriel appeared on stage. 

“Hey, guys! I hope everyone is having a good first day at camp so far! As you know we at Camp Staghorn like to take this time for some fun between the camps! First up on today’s agenda camp 12 has a special skit they’re apparently dying to perform, so without further ado, everyone give it up for camp 12!” The crowd responded in claps and even a few whistles. 

Gavriel exited the stage and handed Rowan the microphone as he did so. Rowan hopped on stage with his group of boys in tow, they all looked giddy, practically bouncing in their shoes. 

“Hi everyone, I’m Rowan, camp 12’s counselor, and today-” 

“We will be baking a cake!” A little boy screamed into the mic, interrupting Rowan. 

“Uh, yes, a cake.” Rowan was adorably awkward on stage, Aelin had to admit. 

Rowan passed the microphone down to another little boy, “First, we need a volunteer!” The boy shouted enthusiastically into the mic. Hands shot up around Aelin, kids were half out of their seats jumping up and down in an attempt to obtain the boys’ attention.  

“Hm,” the boy mused as he surveyed the crowd. Rowan bent down and whispered something in his ear and that’s when the boy pointed right at Aelin. “We will take you as a volunteer!”

Aelin’s girls giggled and started trying to push her out of her seat, she rolled her eyes playfully and made her way on stage. Once she was up there the boy instructed her to sit in a chair that had been pulled onto the stage. Aelin did as told and waited. She wasn’t quite sure what was about to happen but Aelin was never one to turn down the spotlight. 

“Alright, everyone knows the first ingredient that’s called for in every cake recipe is flour,” Rowan now spoke into the microphone once again. Aelin waited patiently for directions when suddenly a mound of flour was poured into her lap. It coated her, the flour stuck to her sunscreen and covered her face, attempting to wipe it off was futile. 

“Don’t forget the eggs!” A boy yelled and then Aelin truly almost lost it.

An egg had been cracked atop her head and was sliding down her hair, she could feel it. The kids were laughing hysterically now, all thinking it was one big joke but Aelin was seeing red. She was honestly shocked and trying to process what the hell just happened. 

“We need sugar too!” As soon as a granule of sugar made contact with Aelin’s hair, she hopped out of the chair, still wiping at the flour around her eyes. 

“What the he- heck!” Aelin demanded, turning to face Rowan with a scowl. 

“Did I not mention it was a human cake?” Rowan grinned, looking mighty pleased with himself. 

Aelin wanted to punch the stupid smile off his face. She wanted to curse him out with every dirty word that she could think up but the laughter of children reminded her of their audience.

“I’m afraid you didn’t,” she responded in the coldest tone she could muster. Rowan only shrugged then wiped his finger through the flour on her cheek. 

“You’re a little under-baked.”

It took every ounce of Aelin’s self-control to walk off the stage and back to her cabin to wash off without murdering Rowan Whitethorn. 

Poor Rowan had started a war with the wrong girl. 

+++

As dinner approached Aelin had thought up about 10 different ways she could get Rowan back and she kept a mental list of all of them. 

Her campers were well aware of Aelin’s foul mood and let her have her space as the day went on. The wheels kept turning in her mind until Aelin deduced she had a perfect plan to get him back tonight, it wasn’t anything too crazy, no. Aelin wanted to start small, minor inconveniences until she could really fuck him over as the week progressed. 

Aelin and the girls were taking a stroll around the lake when she turned to them. “How do you guys feel about getting camp 12 back for their little skit this afternoon?”

The girls raised their eyebrows and a little girl named Ansel spoke up, “Like a prank war?”

“Yeah, like a prank war,” Aelin considered. The girls giggled at that and were totally on board as Aelin explained her master plan. 

+++

The camps were meant to be eating down at the lake tonight, cuddled up around campfires and each camp had their own pre-packed dinners to bring down there. Aelin and her girls went to the dining hall early, ready to snatch up camp 12’s dinners well before they came to collect them. 

Nobody was even there to question Aelin and her campers as they retreated with the dinners, slipping out of the dining hall with ease.

Now, it was time for phase two. It was a fairly simple plan, easy to execute. They stuffed all the dinners into a trash bag and ventured into the forest where there was a collection of mini ziplines that traversed a flowing creek. 

It was just too easy to tie up the trash bag onto one of the ziplines and send it off until it was dangling above the middle of the muddy stream. 

“Looks good girls, now let's go get our dinner,” Aelin turned around to the group of girls all wearing wicked smiles.

So, Aelin made her second trip to the dining hall that evening to claim her camp’s dinners. She decided to leave Rowan a little note on a napkin where his food was supposed to be, she intended for him to know exactly who had done it. 

I heard there’s special dining tonight at the staghorn mini ziplines 

-A

She even added a little heart for emphasis. 

~~~

taglist: @live-the-fangirl-life

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@gosuckadickghostman​

@camilamartinezdunne​

#rowaelin #rowaelin au #rowan x aelin #rowan whitethorn #throne of glass #throne of glass fanfiction #aelin ashryver galanthynius #rowaelin fanfiction #fenrys moonbeam #lysandra #elide lochan #camp staghorn #aelin galanthynius

[rowanwhitethornisbae]

Faking It Ch 2

A/N: Thanks for all the love on chapter one! I’m defiantly going to make this at least ten chapters so buckle up haha. TW: Language 

Aelin couldn't remember when she’d lost count of the number of shots she’d taken. All she knew was that the alcohol coursing through her veins offered temporary relief from the breathtaking pain. The pain that had her sobbing so hard that she vomited her guts up each and every night. These pointless high school parties were her only escape from reality. Her parents were dead. Who gave a fuck about anything. Stumbling a little, Aelin made her way over the kitchen sink, prepared to vomit if need be. 

“Are you okay?” A low voice asked from behind her. 

“Fine.” She muttered and leaned against the counter for some semblance of balance.

“You don't look it.” The stranger said kindly. 

“Well isn't there some saying; Don’t judge a cover by its book or whatever.”

The mystery man laughed and Aelin finally lifted her head to look at him. He was handsome. So much so that if she hadn't already been leaning on something she might have swooned. His eyes were green, the colour of a pine tree in the dead of winter. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled and a tattoo crawled down the length of his arm and decorated the edge of his collarbone. 

I like men with tattoos. She thought. 

“Thanks.” He said, laughing awkwardly under his breath. 

Oh shit. She avoided meeting his eye, instead landing her gaze upon his silver hair. 

“Do you dye your hair.” She asked casually. 

He seemed slightly taken aback, but smiled all the same. “No. Do you?” 

She gasped as if it was the most preposterous thing he could've said and ran a hand through her long blond hair. 

“I’d sooner eat snakes.” Aelin grinned.

“People all over the world do that voluntarily.” The green eyed man mused. 

An image of someone eating snake popped into her head and Aelin suddenly felt bile rise in her throat. Before she could vomit on the perfect stranger, she bolted from the kitchen and into a vacant bathroom. Gagging, she fell onto her knees and was violently ill. 

So gently that she barely even noticed, her hair was pulled back from her neck and shoulders as her stranger eased himself onto the cold tile beside her. When Aelin had finished vomiting, she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and slumped against the wall. 

“Thanks.” She said, tying her hair into a messy bun with shaking hands.

“I’m Rowan.” He answered, extending a hand. 

For the first time in weeks, she felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. 

“Aelin.” 

“Miss Galathynius are you even listening.” Her math teacher’s voice snapped her out of that very unwelcome flashback. 

“Do you want me to lie to you?” She asked, earning a few laughs from her classmates and an elbow to the ribs from Aedion. 

“Take a walk.” He snarled, and Aelin breathed a sigh of relief. She needed fresh air anyway. 

The hallway was practically empty, save a few students on their way to the bathroom, and Aelin started towards the side doors to the parking lot. She passed a locker that had been decorated for someone’s birthday. Streamers flowed down from the top, framing the collage of photos perfectly. The girl in question looked to be a freshman, with a bright smile on her face and eyes that screamed innocence. The things Aelin would do to go back to freshman year. To live with that lack of knowledge and trauma that she so desired. But she couldn't. 

She was rounding the last corner when something made her stop dead on her feet. There, leaning against the wall in a way she’d seen so many times before, was Chaol Westfall. Still, it wasn't the sight of him that send her heart into a flurry. It was the girl fiddling with her hair opposite him. It took Aelin a minute to recognize her. Nesryn Faliq, they had advanced chemistry together. She laughed at something Chaol said and reached out a hand to brush his arm. Shivers ran down Aelin’s spine at that hint of a touch. Chaol smiled back at Nesryn and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. 

Unable to watch anymore, Aelin turned on her heels and bolted to the women's bathroom. She was breathing too hard, her heart racing much too fast to be healthy. God this was an awful time to have a panic attack. Slowly, she managed to calm her breathing enough to splash water on her face. 

This was bad. Really fucking bad. They’d broken up barely 24 hours ago and Chaol was already flirting with the entire female population of Terrasen High. Fine, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration.

Clearly Lysandra had been right. Aelin slumped down against the wall and curled her knees to her chest. She needed a rebound, and fast. Aelin pondered names as she ran her fingers through the grooves in the bathroom wall. Name after name came forward and she found herself subconsciously shooting them all down. 

Nox, Fenrys, Sam, Lorcan, Sartaq. None sounded right. 

In fact, the only one she could ever see herself with was Rowan Whitethorn. The silver haired senior who’s heart she’d held in her hands sophomore year. Held and crushed. She deserved every ounce of the hatred he had for her. 

Still, he wasn't a bad option. She knew he found her beautiful, he’d told her as much. The only problem was that he would never go for her again. People tended to put up a guard after having their heart shattered. 

Flirting with him would be futile and unfair. The only way she could ever get him to date her was if she gave him something in return. 

“Holy shit.” Aelin swore, jumping up so fast that she nearly hit her heat on the sink. 

If there was anything Aelin knew about Rowan, it was that he wanted to play on the football team. He’d gone on and on about it before. According to him, he had been deathly ill during tryouts and had ended up vomiting off the side after one hit. He’d begged and begged the coach to let him try out again but it was four years later and Rowan still wasn't on the team. Lorcan, Fenrys, Vaughn, and Gavriel all were and Rowan was half miserable because of it. 

There it was. A plan. She’d get him a tryout, somehow, and in exchange he would help her beat Chaol in whatever sick game they were playing. With a newfound purpose, Aelin washed her hands and walked back to math class.

Lunch. She’d make her move then. 

----------------------

The cafeteria was mostly empty, a normal occurrence for Tuesday afternoons. The lunch provided was some weird crossover of meatloaf and mashed potatoes that had most students eating out. Unfortunately for Rowan, Fenrys had convinced them to eat in the cafeteria today in his attempts to stalk a blonde girl on spare in the lounge. 

Now, he was picking at his food as his friends discussed the football game tomorrow. Rowan was just beginning to think his day couldn't get any worse, when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. 

“Can I talk to you?” Someone asked from over his shoulder. He knew that voice. Had heard it in both his dreams and his nightmares. Rowan’s grip on his fork tightened and his knuckles went white. His foot began drumming against the floor as he braced himself for impact. Everyone else at the table was rapidly flicking their gaze between Aelin and Rowan. 

“No.” He said harshly, not daring to turn around. Rowan didn't think he’d have the will to deny her anything if he was forced to meet her eye. 

“Please.” Aelin pleaded. “I have something to say to you.” 

“Well that’s too fucking bad because I have nothing to say to you.” He responded, voice carefully exempt of any emotion. 

“Then just listen.” She begged. “If you don't like what I have to say than we can go back to ignoring each other like you wanted.” 

“I wasn't the one who wanted that.” He snapped before he could take it back. 

Rowan felt more than saw Aelin stiffen behind him. Lorcan was drumming his fingers on the table, as if prepared to hold Rowan back if called for. 

But it was Fenrys, the friend who was kind to everyone, who spoke. “I think you should go Aelin.” 

She swallowed audibly behind him. “Alright.” She relented. “I’ll be at the Starbucks during fourth for spare. Come find me if you want.”

Rowan didn't bother to nod. Instead, he gripped his fork harder, letting up only when the sound of retreating footsteps subsided. He looked up slowly to find all eyes on him.  

“So that just happened.” Lorcan mused. 

“Yes thank you so much for that observation.” Rowan sniped sarcastically. 

“Woah.” Lorcan replied, throwing up his arms in mock surrender. “You’re mad at Galathynius, not us remember.” 

“Whatever.” He mumbled and went back to picking at his food. After a few seconds he threw his fork on the table and let out a groan of frustration. 

“This food is the worst thing I have ever eaten in my entire life. It is terrible and horrible and fucked up and I have no idea what to do with it.” Rowan half-shouted. Heads swivelled in his direction and he ignored them. Judgement from people he didn't know was the least of his many concerns at the moment. 

“Is that supposed to be some sort of metaphor for your life?” Vaughn asked, dead serious. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Seriously Rowan. All I've heard for the last year and a half is Aelin Galathynius this and Aelin Galathynius that and now she’s finally speaking to you and you’re not going to do anything about it.” 

“I don't talk about her that much.” Rowan mumbled under his breath. Lorcan shot him a look as if to say “Yes. Yes you do.”

“I know I'm normally not one to get involved in deep shit, but Vaughn’s right. I’ve never seen you nearly as happy as you were for those few months in tenth. And honestly, what’s the worst that can happen. You hear what she has to say. You like it, great. You don't, fuck it and forget about her.” Rowan had never heard Fenrys speak for so long without sarcasm in his life. 

“To be fair,” Gavriel said, always the buffer. “We’ve also never seen Rowan as broken as he was after Aelin. Maybe the risk outweighs the reward on this one Fen.” 

Rowan didn't reply. He was too busy struggling to get the memory of those painful few weeks from his head. 

“Just talk to her man. Who gives two fucks it’s high school.” Despite being mainly in an attempt to end this conversation, Lorcan’s words made sense. It was just high school. In one more year he’d be out of this shit hole and hopefully across the world in Rithfold. Talking to Aelin was just one step along the way. 

“I’m going to.” He said, willing his tone to stay confident. 

“Great man.” Fen said, patting him on the back. He barely felt it though. Barely felt anything as the rest of the day passed by in a blur, his thoughts occupied by a beautiful blond haired girl. 

---------

It had been twenty minutes and Aelin was starting to think Rowan wasn't coming. In all honestly she should've expected that outcome from the beginning. Even though she understood, the way he had acted towards her at lunch had hurt more than she was willing to let on. 

Instead of wallowing in her own self pity, Aelin took a long sip from her coffee. It seared her tongue and burned her throat, the pain helping to ground her in a way nothing else ever could. She was picking at her fingernails, head down, when he arrived. 

A metal chair scraped against the cobblestone, a bird sung from a oak tree, a paper bag rustled in the wind, Aelin Galathynius blinked. That’s all she had time to do. One blink to compose herself before she was looking dead into the eyes of Rowan Whitethorn. 

She allowed herself a brief second to take him in up close. His high and defined cheekbones, perfectly crafted nose, striking green eyes, and silver hair had always made for a truly stunning combination. He looked the same as ever. Except he didn't. His eyes no longer possessed that unbridled joy and love that she’d seen whenever he looked at her. Instead he just looked done. Done with life and done with her. 

Aelin swallowed audibly and handed him a coffee. “Cream and sugar.” She smiled, trying to lighten the mood. 

Rowan’s hands tightened slightly. “You remembered.” It wasn't a question. After a brief moment of hesitation he accepted the coffee and went back to staring at the table. 

“What is this about Aelin?” He asked softly. Although his voice was gentle, his tone was hurt in a way anyone else would’ve missed. She hated that. Hated that now, even a year later she was still somehow hurting him. 

“So you know I broke up with Chaol. Or, he broke up with me.” She tried to keep the tremor out of her voice. Rowan nodded once, nearly imperceptibly, and she took that as a sign to continue. “Anyway, Lysandra says that I need a rebound and I need one first because Chaol is the one who broke up with me.”

Rowan’s eye flared with surprise and something else she couldn't place. “I won't be your rebound. Please don't disrespect me by asking.” 

Her heart nearly cracked open at the pain lingering in his words. “No no I would never.” Aelin paused for a brief moment to regain her bearings. “Here’s the thing. I don't want a rebound. I’ve been in a relationship for as long as I can remember and I'm in desperate need of a break. But, I’m also the most competitive person you'll ever meet. Like seriously it’s an issue, once -” 

“I know.” Rowan interrupted. “Once you sprained your ankle 8 km into a 10 k run and still finished first because you couldn't stand the thought of losing. You told me already.” 

Aelin just stared at him for a second, her chest unbearably tight. Rowan’s eyes looked her up and down and she could've sworn his eyes flashed in satisfaction at the pain written on her face. 

Not wanting to look at him anymore, she went on. “I figured maybe instead of me actually doing the whole dating thing, we could fake date.” 

She held out a hand as Rowan opened his mouth to protest. Begrudgingly, he restrained from commenting and gestured for her to go on. 

“That way I'd beat Chaol in whatever this is, I wouldn't have to answer everyone’s condolences on my being dumped, and I’d be saved from the whole post breakup dating fiasco.” 

Rowan’s voice was hoarser than before when he finally spoke. “What do I get out of this.” 

She took a deep breath in. “I’ll get you a football tryout.” 

His knee slammed into the table and Aelin couldn't help but flinch. His eyes were wide and lit up with hope. “Seriously? How the hell are you going to do that?” 

“I have a plan.” She tried to sound confident despite her growing doubt. 

Rowan let out a small laugh. “The last time you said that we ended up in the back of a police cruiser covered in raw eggs and paint.” 

Aelin’s face broke into smile and she began to laugh. For a moment she could almost pretend they were back in sophomore year, lying on Rowan’s lawn and watching the stars. Neither of them had known anything about constellations so they’d made things up based on what they looked like. By the end of the night, Aelin’s stomach hurt from laughing. She wondered when the last time she’d been that blissfuly happy was. 

Just as suddenly as they had arrived, their smiles and laughs died on their lips. An uncomfortable silence seized the air and Aelin began to play with the hair elastic on her wrist. 

After a few more seconds, Rowan cleared his throat. “I’ll do it.” He announced, although it sounded like he was still trying to convince himself.  

“Great.” Aelin smiled. “Why don't you come over tomorrow and we can work out logistics.” 

“Don’t you live with Aedion?” Rowan asked cautiously.

“Yeah but he’ll be at Ren’s place tomorrow for a project. I checked.” 

Rowan nodded slowly and rose from his chair. “Alright.” 

They stared at each other for a moment, Rowan standing and Aelin sitting. “I’m going to uh... go.” He said at last, severing the quickly brewing tension. 

Without waiting for answer, he turned and fled, leaving Aelin to do nothing but watch. So they were actually doing this now. What’s the worst that could go wrong? 

TOG Tag List: 

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@fictional-horan

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@in-love-with-caramel-macchiato

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@tillyrubes10

@perseusannabeth

#rowaelin #rowaelin au #rowaelin angst #throne of glass #rowan whitethorn #aelin galythinius

[elentiyawhitethorn]

Sneaking Around | Chapter Four

The next day seemed to last forever. Ansel slept in, and Aelin took her own car to the office. Lunch was fun as usual, but she felt preoccupied. She hadn’t seen Rowan once without the others there, and she was honestly desperate for their date. It was rather embarrassing.

At 6:30, half an hour before Rowan was supposed to arrive and only a few minutes before Ansel left for the night shift at the bar, Aelin was freshly showered, hair dried, and picking out something to wear.

“Hey, Ansel. I know you need to leave soon, but red or blue?” she asked, holding up the two options. Aelin was still wearing a towel.

“Red, definitely,” she advised. “The color looks good on you, not to mention that dress is shorter.” Ansel winked.

Aelin rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Thanks, A.” She went back into her room and changed. Then she curled her hair and put on a light amount of makeup. She put on earrings to finish off the look and headed out into the kitchen. Yes, she’d cut it a little close, taking her time. But Aelin didn’t want to have enough time to get nervous. Ansel had left as soon as she helped Aelin pick a dress, and now there were a remaining five minutes to sit and stew.

Rowan has asked her on a date. You don’t ask someone you don’t like to go on a date with you. He liked her. Aelin was happy, but she also wasn’t going to be red and stuttering the whole time. She would play it cool if it was the last thing she did.

Just then, a light knocking sounded on the door. Holy gods. This was really happening.

Aelin stood, took a moment to straighten her velvety dress, then matched over to the door.

Rowan was wearing a suit, a nice one, too, not one of his work suits. He very nearly took her breath away.

He clearly felt the same; his eyes drifted across her face, taking in her appearance, then down. His gaze lingered on her partially exposed cleavage.

“See something you like?” Aelin asked sweetly, an innocent smile on her face.

His stare returned to her eyes. “Maybe I do.” The look of his smirk was purely predatory. It turned Aelin on more than anything.

“Careful, or we might not make it to dinner,” Aelin breathed.

“It’s a shame I haven’t eaten yet, or I might not want to,” was Rowan’s response. Then he offered her his arm. Aelin snorted, but placed her hand on it.

They took the elevator down in silence, but it was a companionable silence, not awkward at all.

In Rowan’s car, he said, “I haven’t heard a single insult from you yet. It’s got to be a new record.”

Aelin rolled her eyes. “Seeing as you’re taking me to dinner, I thought it best not to be impolite. If you have no objections, however, I could always come up with something.”

“I would expect nothing less.”

Aelin chuckled. “Well, I am the queen of insults.

“How true. I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of, though.”

“Oh, it definitely is. It comes in handy as a life skill.”

They talked and laughed the whole ride. Aelin was new to not hating Rowan, and the change had come about very suddenly, but she found she enjoyed his company.

They pulled up outside a small, but nice, restaurant in the middle of the city. Aelin had been here a couple of times before; she liked the homey style and good food.

Rowan escorted her inside, his warm hand on her lower back. Aelin wasn’t pleased when he removed it, but she supposed they had to sit down.

Aelin ordered the chicken and Rowan got tuna with a salad. Aelin sighed, saying, “First Elide, now you. Why do all of my friends like eating a bowl full of leaves?”

“Oh, we’re friends now, are we?” Rowan asked, amusement showing.

Aelin blushed only a little. “Well, whatever we are, I mean it. How exactly is salad appealing unless it’s drenched in ranch dressing?”

“Haven’t you heard of this thing called being healthy?”

“Haven’t you heard of this thing called chocolate?” Aelin responded.

Rowan laughed. “I don’t eat sugar.”

Aelin gasped. “You’re joking!” When he didn’t say anything, Aelin scowled at him. “Why the hell not? Are you ill or something?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I just don’t like sugar very much.”

Aelin was having trouble wrapping her mind around it. “But... it’s sugar.”

“Why do you look personally offended?” Rowan questioned.

“You. Don’t. Like. Sugar. Sugar is my life. How do you not like it?”

He smiled. “It’s your life? You do realize how ridiculous you sound, right?”

Aelin frowned. Before she could enlighten him on sugar’s necessity to life, their food arrived.

They ate quietly for the first few moments. Aelin was still processing Rowan’s offense against sugar.

“What about a Hershey’s bar?” Aelin finally asked. “Everybody likes those.”

Rowan chuckled. “Not everyone.”

“Snickers?”

“No.”

They went on like this for quite some time. Aelin refused to change the subject before she knew the extent of Rowan’s crimes against humanity.

She finally relented and the conversation went in other directions. Aelin knew that Rowan was smart, but he was wittier than she had given him credit for, and he could be funny, too. She’d never have guessed the man had a sense of humor.

Of course, he also felt the need to belittle her as much as humanly possible. She did exactly the same thing. Years of insults couldn’t be immediately disregarded, after all. It was only natural.

By the time she’d finished her food, Aelin had called Rowan an intrusive bastard, a cheeky son of a bitch, and a callous, good-for-nothing swine. She’d also learned where he grew up, what he did in his free time, and what his favorite pizza toppings were. It was a working progress.

-

Back in his car, Aelin pursued earlier’s topic. “I don’t know if I can let this go, Rowan. This is bad.”

“Tell me this isn’t about the sugar thing again.” When she didn’t, he sighed. “I’ve said it before, you are a very dramatic person.”

“I can’t help but feel put off. Who doesn’t like sugar?”

“You are completely loony.”

“Excuse me? You need to work on your manners.”

He glanced over at her, then looked back at the road. “You didn’t seem to mind my lack of propriety Friday night.”

Aelin refused to let a blush rise to her cheeks.

“Nothing to say to that? No snarky comment?” Rowan annoyingly asked her.

“Can it,” was all Aelin could think to say, her menacing scowl deepening.

Rowan chuckled. “Seems I’m not the only one with manner problems.”

Aelin was not going to be provoked. If he thought it would be this easy, he had another thing coming. Though her normally sharp-witted tongue was having trouble making a good comeback, so she kept her mouth shut. This was due to the fact that Rowan had dragged her thoughts back to Friday night. Damn him.

Aelin could almost feel his self-satisfied smile, but she refused to spare him a glance.

They pulled up at her apartment building and she got out of his car. “We have work tomorrow,” Aelin said when Rowan got out of the car as well.

“Ansel’s out; surely it wouldn’t be very gentlemanly not to walk you to your door,” replied Rowan.

Aelin rolled her eyes and walked in and to the elevator, Rowan behind her. She half-expected him to make a move when the doors closed, but he just stood there, pleasantly smiling at her. Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing to her. Aelin refused to make the first move.

The doors opened and Aelin stepped out first. She made sure to sway her hips a bit more than usual as she walked. When Aelin got her keys out of her purse and unlocked the door, Rowan still hadn’t done anything other than look charming. Asshole.

“Aren’t you going to kiss me goodnight?” Aelin smiled sweetly. She knew she’d done exactly what he wanted, but she didn’t care if she lost this round. Aelin wanted his mouth.

His smile widened. “Well, if you insist.” Rowan used his finger to tilt her face up to his. His lips met hers, but it was no gentle goodnight kiss. It was full of tongue and teeth and passion. Clearly Rowan had been craving this a bit more than he let on. His hand drifted down to massage Aelin’s breast through her dress. She let out a moan, her fingers running through his hair. Rowan’s other hand trailed down her back then gripped her ass.

After another minute of absolute heaven, Aelin pulled away. “See you tomorrow,” she said, smiling. Then she turned the doorknob, took out her keys, and stepped inside.

“Goodnight, Aelin,” Rowan managed, though she was pleased to see he was panting. She was too.

She gave another smile, this one more of a smirk, and closed the door. Aelin then dropped her purse on the counter and walked into the bathroom. She took off her earrings, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. Then she went to her room. Stripping down to her underwear, she pulled on a large t-shirt and slumped into bed.

It was only just past 9:00, but that didn’t matter. There was no chance Aelin would be getting to sleep anytime soon. She could still feel his hands, his tongue. She’d never felt so invigorated, never felt so needy. All thoughts went out of her head when she saw him, and she couldn’t help but think of him when they were apart. Fuck. Aelin had it bad.

#rowaelin #tog #sneaking around #my writing

[eyeofthedrgn]

A Heavy Battle Symphony Chapter 10

TW: language, mental abuse, verbal abuse, physical abuse, violence, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, self harm, self-esteem issues, sexual abuse (only alluded to briefly in future chapters), drinking (comes up late in the story) just a lot of trauma, angst, smut - ish

Notes: Things get a little steamy in this one.

Word Count: 2971

Chapter 10 - The Messenger

When you suffered it all

And your spirit is breaking

You're growing desperate from the fight

Remember your love

Lorcan had been living at the Whitethorn residence for a few months now. He had managed to get his GED through online courses, having not graduated because he was being beaten within an inch of his life. Rowan was at the University of Terrasen with most of their friends. Barb, Rowan’s mother, took care of Lorcan as if he were her own.

He quickly started to care for her. She was an amazing lady. And an amazing baker. Lorcan had put on a lot of weight because of her, he was almost to the weight he was last time he was here. With the weight gain, he became a little more comfortable with his body and his self-esteem slowly started to grow.

It was still a long road to be completely healed. If he ever got there. His mental health was still very poor. Nightmares almost every night. Panic attacks. Anxiety. Even a little bit of paranoia, worried that this was all a dream that he was going to wake up from and the nightmares were real life. Rowan's mother helped him find a therapist and paid for it. Which he was overly thankful for, he promised he would pay her back when he could. It felt so strange to feel cared for.

The therapy was helping. Slowly. He did have a whole life of trauma to work through after all. There was no way Lorcan could hold a job with his anxiety and chronic fatigue, so Rowan's mother just made him do things around the house for now.

But he missed Rowan. They talked and texted often, on the phone Barb had gotten Lorcan, another thing he would pay her back for. But he just wanted to hold Rowan's hand. Thankfully, the winter holidays were coming and Rowan would be home for a couple weeks.

Rowan had been a big part of Lorcan's initial recovery before going off to university. They had gotten close even though Lorcan hardly talked, hardly wanted to be touched, but he had become accustomed to his presence. There was an unspoken connection between them, both gained a lot just by being together.

++++

Rowan loved University, but gods above, he missed Lorcan. It took a long time to convince Lorcan that he was deserving of all the good things in the world, happiness and love, but there were still too many days when he felt unworthy.

He was excited to go home for Solstice. He couldn't wait to kiss that onyx eyed man again, he hoped Lorcan wanted to be kissed. If not, that was okay, they would get to spend time together and that would be enough.

Rowan was unsure if Lorcan had ever celebrated Solstice or if he had ever received a gift of any kind. It made the man stress about what to get him. The gift needed to be good if this really was his first ever Solstice gift. But he couldn't figure out what to get Lorcan. He honestly didn’t know him that well, he just knew that they needed to be together.

"Elide! Help!" He was lying on the couch in the apartment he shared with Aelin and Elide. "I need to get a present for Lorcan!" Rowan whined.

"You know him better than anyone else, Roro!" He sighed at that because he knew that wasn’t much. She was lying on the floor, her eyes closed. They were both exhausted. The final they had today had been brutal.

"I know, but," Rowan sighed again. "I don't think he's ever gotten a gift before.” That thought made him sad, Lorcan had never had a fair life. No one ever loved him enough or really at all. “It has to be good!"

"You should make him something. Or.. Oh!" She rolled over to face Rowan, eyes bright with excitement at her idea. "Print out and frame that photo I took of you two before you left!" Elide was excited now. "That's it! Do that! He'll love it!"

Rowan smiled remembering how Lorcan clung to him on the sidewalk, not wanting him to leave. And then, when Elide showed him the edited photo on her laptop, he fell in love with it and made his desktop wallpaper. "I think that's a great idea."

---

Rowan had gotten home after Lorcan went to bed. He tried to stay awake, but life and his cocktail of medications made him so tired. And he never slept a full eight hours. The nightmares made sure of that.

Tonight was no different. In this nightmare, he was back in Morath, in the basement. Being beaten to death again. He was panting and sweaty when he awoke. Sheets wrapped around his legs from his thrashing.

Guess it's time for another 3am shower. This was his new normal, early morning showers to try and wash the nightmare away before trying to get some more sleep and usually failing.

When he was done, he put on a fresh pair of boxer briefs and a plain black hoodie. Hellas, it was nice to have new clothes and ones that fit. He went to cross the hall to his room and then remembered Rowan should be home. His stomach fluttering at the thought.

Without thinking of what he was doing, he padded his way to Rowan's door. He knocked quietly, he heard a groan. His breath quickened and his heart raced. Lorcan cracked the door.

"Rowan?" His voice barely more than a whisper.

"Lor'an?" Rowan was still half asleep.

"Can I come in?"

"Mmm, yeah. Come 'ere." He patted his bed in his sleepy haze. Lorcan sat on the bed. "You 'kay?" He held the blanket up and arms out.

"Not really." He cuddled into Rowan's chest and twined their legs together without a second thought. It just felt so natural. They hadn’t really cuddled like this before, but Lorcan just needed to feel close.

"I gotchu." His arms curled around Lorcan's form and snuggled against him, placing a lazy kiss to the top of his head. And sleep claimed them both.

++++

The sun was shining through the blinds on the window when Rowan finally woke up. He went to stretch, but found a Lorcan attached to him which made him smile wide. After giving him a light squeeze, he started caressing Lorcan's back.

Lorcan stirred, a soft content sound escaping his lips. Rowan kissed his hair. He felt so privileged that Lorcan let him hold him. After the life that Lorcan had lived, Rowan was surprised he let anyone touch him.

Before Rowan left for University, they barely touched besides chaste kisses and hand holding. Cuddling had been rare. Lorcan's past made it hard for him to be touched without flinching. It broke his heart every time Lorcan flinched at his touch. Now, their limbs were tangled and Rowan’s heart was soaring. In Rowan's sleepy stupor early this morning, he hadn't even realized how big of a deal it was that Lorcan willingly curled up in his arms. It felt so right holding the dark haired man to his chest. He wanted to wake up like this every morning, for the rest of their lives.

"Mmm," Lorcan nuzzled Rowan's chest and leaned against the caress of Rowan's hand on his back. The silver haired man smiled. "Thank you." The sleep was heavy in his voice.

"For what?"

"For holding me," the words were quiet and vulnerable. They pulled on Rowan's heart strings.

"Of course." He placed another kiss on Lorcan's head. "Do you want to talk?" The slight tension beneath his arm told him they probably weren't going to talk. And that was fine. At least Lorcan felt comfortable enough to seek comfort rather than suffer alone.

"Nightmare."

"I'm sorry, love. What was it?"

Lorcan just shrugged.

"Well, I'm here if you want to talk. I'll do whatever I can to help, okay?" Rowan brushed the black silky strands off Lorcan's face and looked into those gorgeous onyx eyes. They bumped noses and Lorcan hummed his acknowledgment.

"Kiss me?"

Rowan smiled, heart pattering, and leaned in to press his lips to his forehead. Lorcan huffed, Rowan chuckled. Another kiss was pressed to his temple. A sigh.

His cheek was next.

Humph.

Next, his nose.

Then Rowan teased his love once more, kissing the corner of his mouth. Lorcan whined, the corner of his mouth turned up at Rowan’s tomfoolery. Rowan touched their noses together and smiled. Another whine.

Finally, he put the man out of his misery and pressed his lips to the soft luscious lips of his favorite person. He was greeted with a soft moan. That's new.

Rowan wasn't expecting Lorcan's body to react as it did. He arched against him and Rowan felt a hardness against his thigh. For all that was good in this world, save him.

"Rowan," Lorcan breathed against his lips.

Fuck.

They hadn't even made out yet. Rowan had never felt Lorcan's body like this, they hadn’t been physically close enough to be able to feel any need from Lorcan’s body. He had never observed him wanting more than soft courting touches.

And the way he said his name. He wanted to melt into Lorcan.

Lorcan's hand swept down his sides, rested on his hip and gave it a squeeze. Rowan let out a soft moan.

"What do you want, Lorcan?" Rowan cupped his love's cheek with his other hand.

Lorcan ground his hips against Rowan's thigh. A groan left his lips.

"I need you to say what you want, love."

His love released a breath, "I want to feel good with you. I missed you." His words were quiet and vulnerable.

But holy gods above. Rowan made a note to thank Lorcan's therapist. He knew the sessions were helping, but he didn't realize there would be such a shift in the physicality of their relationship. He wondered if Lorcan touched himself now and what he thought about while doing it.

Now wasn't the time for those thoughts. Now was the time for deciding if they should really do this. Rowan really wanted to, it seemed like Lorcan really wanted to as well. Maybe they should just make out and see where it goes.

"I think we should start with making out first. And if you still feel strongly about continuing, we can." After seeing the hurt on Lorcan's face. Was he wrong? Maybe he should have just not said anything and just encouraged going slow with his actions. Fuck. "Oh, love, I want to make you come for me more than anything. Don't doubt that." He ran his fingers through his midnight hair. "We just haven't done a lot and I don't want to push you or have you push yourself farther than you want. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes." Rowan felt Lorcan start to pull away, rolling off Rowan and onto his side.

"Hey. Don't pull away. I didn't mean to hurt you or disappoint you. I just- I know you've been through a lot." He placed a gentle kiss on the corner of Lorcan's mouth. "Can I kiss you?"

His thumb caressed Lorcan's jaw. Those onyx eyes held a sadness, but also something else that Rowan couldn’t place.

Lorcan nodded. Though he seemed hesitant, Rowan hoped he was reading him wrong.

Rowan pressed his body against Lorcan's as he captured Lorcan's mouth, doing his best to show his emotions. Trying to show Lorcan that he was wanted. After a few sensual kisses, Rowan ran his tongue over the seam of his lover's lips. Lorcan whined as he opened his mouth. His tongue swept in and claimed Lorcan's mouth.

It seemed Lorcan's body wasn't sure what to do with the sensation of Rowan’s tongue in his mouth. He pressed into Rowan's chest, arched into every touch, and ground his hips against his thigh. It was as if the man’s brain had shut off and just needed a pressure release. Gods above, it was setting Rowan on fire. Their hands were everywhere, touching whatever they could.

It was heaven, until he made the mistake of putting his hand up Lorcan's hoodie to touch the skin of his back. He had just wanted to be closer, he hadn't thought it would have been an issue. But Lorcan broke away in an instant. And being lost in the moment, his mind was slow to catch up on what was happening. He had wanted to do this for months.

But when he went to pull Lorcan back to him, Lorcan was gone. Damn, he was fast.

Fuck.

Fuckfuckfuck!

"Lorcan!" He untangled himself from the sheets and jogged to Lorcan's room. He knocked. "I'm sorry. Please let me in." Silence. "Please. I'm sorry." He rested his forehead on the door. Gods, he felt like shit. That was his second fuck up of the day and he’d only been awake for an hour.

After a couple minutes, he sighed, "I'm sorry.." He went back to his room to get dressed. He felt like crap. He had always been so careful before. Why did he let his body take control? He was just hoping he didn't ruin the progress that Lorcan had made over the last few months.

---

Hellas below, that had felt amazing. Lorcan had never wanted pleasure before. He had never cared before about the pleasures of the body. But something about being in Rowan's arms this morning, he felt the need to express himself. And Rowan's tongue in his mouth. Hel, it felt like he was melting, like their bodies would become one. His body was over stimulated and it just did whatever it could to touch Rowan.

Then, he had to panic. Why did he panic? He wanted Rowan's hands on his skin. His skin was burning to be touched, but he freaked out. Lorcan figured that was a product of some of the punishments Perrington gave him. There were light scars as proof of them. And then Rowan was too far gone to notice. The primal part of him to survive took over. So, he bailed. He ran. He wasn’t even sure how he managed to move so fast.

Now, he sat on the floor in the corner of his room, Rowan was at his door apologizing. But he couldn't move. He felt bad, but his body was still betraying him. He wanted to explain. Then, there was one last soft "I'm sorry" at the door before he heard footprints shuffle away.

Lorcan desperately wanted to cut himself. How could he have thought he was ready? Especially after Rowan turned him down, he hadn't actually wanted Rowan to kiss him after that, the rejection stung, but he felt like he couldn't say no. He should have said no. He pulled up his sleeve and ran his fingertips over the dozens and dozens of scars. He resisted the urge to grab the razor blade out of the spine of his journal. Instead, he let the voice of his therapist in his head take over as his fingers continued over the scarring.

His therapist had given him different techniques to help him in different situations. Lorcan started grounding himself. He wanted to be able to see Rowan and apologize for panicking before Rowan hated him again, if he didn't already.

Deep breath in..

Deep breath out...

---

It took several hours for his body to cooperate, but he finally got dressed and went downstairs. Lorcan was starving. It was just about dinner time. Rowan was in the living room, helping with putting up the Solstice decorations. His mother was making a shepherd's pie. Festive music was playing quietly in the background.

It wasn't unusual for Lorcan to make a first appearance so late in the day. Barb knew Lorcan had problems to work through and his meds made him fatigued. She didn't judge him, thankfully. He helped out when he could.

"Hello, dear. Rowan is in the living room. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Thanks." He used his finger to scoop up some mashed potatoes. She laughed and batted his hand away.

Lorcan moaned as he tasted the potatoes and knew dinner was going to be delicious. It had taken him several weeks before he could eat a full serving for a man his size. He loves food now. Which meant he loved everything Rowan's mother made.

Rowan was bending over, going through a box and Lorcan just stared at his ass. He felt his stomach flutter. He swallowed. Hellas, he wanted Rowan. Why did he have to panic earlier? He had really thought he was ready.

After a deep breath, he sat on the couch and said, "What are you looking for?"

Rowan jumped. "Shit!" He put a hand on his chest. Lorcan chuckled. "I, uh, shit. My heart is going crazy!"

There was a small playful smile on Lorcan's face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to.." His eyes drifted to the floor. Smile fading and Lorcan dropped his head. He took a deep breath. "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.. to panic." The last word was quiet.

Rowan just knelt in front of him and grabbed his hands. His face was open and understanding.

"I'm sorry for not thinking with my brain. And don't apologize for panicking. Don't ever apologize for that, please. It's not your fault." He brought a hand up to cup Lorcan's cheek. His thumb brushed across his cheekbone.

He nodded, but Rowan could see the self deprecation churning in his thoughts. Rowan just rubbed his thumb over his cheek again.

After a few moments that look faded, Lorcan gestured to the box, "Can I help?"

"Yeah." The smile Lorcan received made his heart skip. They were going to be okay.

___

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you'd like to be tagged.

@thenerdandfandoms @starlightorstarfire @tanvee1231

#rowan x lorcan #rowcan #rowan whitethorn #rowcan fanfic #lorcan salvaterre #linkin park #heavy battle symphony #crackship #throne of glass

[shyvioletcat]

“Didn’t you hear the news? It’s safer to shower in pairs.” Rowaelin XDDD you are such a good writer ❤️

Thank you my dear. I hope you enjoy this, I most certainly did.

Camp Shenanigans Masterlist

~~~~~

Aelin was at breakfast when Lysandra dramatically dropped down into the seat next to her, huffing an frustrated sigh.

“What?” Aelin asked as she poked at her watery eggs.

“I can’t do this,” Lysandra said.

“Do what?” Aelin said, deciding she could do without eggs today.

“I can’t spend another day with Mr Stick-up-his-ass Salvaterre,” Lysandra explained. “He just kills the mood, no one has fun when he’s around.”

“Surely the kids just ignore him,” Aelin said and she took a sip of her orange juice. That was watery too. Why was everything they were meant to consume watery?

“Switch with me?” Lysandra said.

Aelin laughed. “No way in hell. One of us will murder the other.”

“Just one day, please,” Lysandra pleaded. 

“Try Manon, I think she’s getting a little exasperated by Fenrys’ exuberance,” Aelin suggested.

“Who’s exasperated at me now?” Fenrys asked as he sat down, his plate piled with pancakes. Rowan dropped into the seat beside him and she heard Lysandra snort at today’s choice of hair colour. Today Rowan’s hair was hot pink, the most ridiculous colour yet.

“What!” Aelin exclaimed. “They only said I could have one pancake.”

Fenrys grinned at her, “But the servers don’t have a crush on you.”

“Give us one?” Aelin said.

“What will you give me?” Fenrys asked, leaning forward, grinning.

Aelin narrowed her eyes. “Definitely not whatever you’re thinking.”

“Whatever could I be thinking, Galathynius?” Fenrys’ voice was bedroom soft and teasing. 

Their stupid conversation was interrupted by Manon and Lorcan sitting down at the table. Aelin continued her staring contest with Fenrys though, her lips were tight over her teeth as she tried not to laugh. Fenrys did no such thing and tipped his head back and laughed. Aelin used that distraction to swipe a pancake off his plate. She glanced at Rowan then, his face was hard, his jaw clenched, not touching the food on his plate. There was something gleaming in his eye, something she easily identified. He was jealous. And couldn’t do a damned thing about it. 

Aelin tried desperately to hide her smile, but she was falling so she opted for distraction instead. She nudged Lysandra’s side and nodded to Manon. “Now’s your chance, ask her.”

“Ask me what?” Manon said

Lysandra’s eyes darted between Manon, Lorcan and Fenrys. But she didn’t ask, she just sighed and mumbled, “Nothing.”

~~~~~

The kids were having a field day today. It had started when Rowan and Aelin’s groups were in the presentation about respecting others and being leaders or something, Aelin couldn’t be bothered to listen again. She really should be, to set a good example. But she had been distracted, and so had the kids. 

She and Rowan were seated up the back, next to each other. That alone was enough to send the kids into a titter. And then Rowan had leant back in his chair and thrown his arm over the back of hers. Once the kids had spotted that they were whispering and nudging to neighbours to turn around and have a look. But what had Aelin well and truly distracted where the soft, careful touches Rowan was brushing against her skin. Out of sight of young eyes he was drawing patterns just below the sleeve on her arm, if he wanted to rub at his hair or neck he would use the arm he had draped around her, fingertips brushing on her neck, making her shiver despite how warm and stuffy the room was. 

Those touches along with the memory of that kiss last night in his bed had her wanting to sneak off like the teenagers they were currently babysitting and relieve some of that frustration building in her blood.

The frustration only got worse during the afternoon activity. It was archery and of course, of course, Rowan knew exactly what he was doing. Aelin was sitting in the bleachers with some of the girls in her group watching Rowan as he shot arrow after arrow, getting very good shots on the target. Aelin was trying to not openly ogle her boyfriend’s body, but the way his muscles shifted under his tight t-shirt she couldn’t help herself. She was busy constructing a metaphor about comparing his ass to the tautness of the bowstrings when she caught a snippet of the conversation between the girls in front of her. 

“How good do you reckon his aim is?” Naomi said, her tone leaving no argument between whether or not it was an innuendo. 

Aelin wasn’t thinking when she muttered, “Perfect.”

Three heads turned to her and Aelin realised her mistake, she felt a blush rising in her cheeks.

“What did you say, Miss?” Kayla asked.

Aelin scrambled to recover, but managed to put her quick wit to use, “I said inappropriate.” The girls just giggled and Aelin stood, wanting to leave before her cheeks went a deeper shade of red. “Think I’ll give it a go. Let’s keep the conversation PG, ladies.”

They were still giggling when Aelin stepped onto the archery range, right next to Rowan. He looked over at her, his baseball cap shading his face.

“Why are you blushing?” He asked, a small smiling playing at his lips.

Damn it... Aelin thought to herself. “No reason,” she said a little too quickly. “It’s the heat. Care to teach me?” Aelin said, indicating to the bow he held.

“It would be my pleasure,” Rowan said, a mischievous smirk on his face.

The next 20 minutes had been pure torture. Rowan took his archery instruction very seriously and wanted to make sure Aelin was in the perfect position to get the best results. Those gentle brushes during the presentation were nothing compared to this. He was lifting her elbow, tightening her grip on the bow, nudging her feet apart. The worst had been his hands on her waist and hips. The clever man that he was he managed to hide those instructions from the kids with the angle of his own body. Those touches were firm, then lingering and had Aelin thinking of those times he had touched those places, without meddlesome clothing in the way. 

“Okay, breathe out and release,” Rowan whispered much too sensually for the current setting and Aelin did as he said. It wasn’t a bullseye but it was close, landing in the outer circle around it. When Aelin turned to smile at him she found he was already smiling down at her. Gods, she wanted to kiss him. Instead there was a ringing of a bell ending the activity. Aelin handed him the bow for him to put away.

“Might want to put that amazing aim to use later,” Aelin added with a wink before walking away.

~~~~~

Rowan had left a few moments ago, heading for the shower block. Aelin had followed, musing aloud that it was a good idea to go now that the kids were in bed. Well, they were supposed to be anyway. It didn’t take long for Aelin to catch up to him, grabbing his ass playfully. Rowan whirled and Aelin cackled at the look on his face.

“Who on earth did you think it was?” Aelin asked.

“I was hoping it was you, honestly,” Rowan said. “What are you up to?” 

Aelin skipped out ahead of him. “Didn’t you hear? It’s safer to shower in pairs”

“Oh is it now?” Rowan said, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

“Mmhmm, talk of an axe murderer or something,” Aelin said with a shrug. “You know how the camp stories go.”

Aelin reached out for his hand and he took it, and it didn’t take them long to find their way to the shower block in the dim lights. When they got to the doorway of the women’s side Rowan went to keep walking but Aelin tugged him back. 

“What… no.” 

Aelin grinned at him. “Come on, everyone is done with the showers. And you’ve been teasing me all day.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rowan said, a look of feigned innocence on his face.

Aelin didn’t reply, she just tugged his hand again and this time Rowan didn’t fight it.

Laughing, they stumbled into a cubicle, dropping their towels and clothes on the small bench, stripping off the clothes they already wore. Completely bare Aelin backed into the shower, turning on the water. Rowan just watched her, eyes raking over her body. Aelin snorted and he raised a brow in question.

“What?” He demanded stepping into the stream of water, closing the flimsy curtain that separated the cubicle behind him.

“I can’t take you seriously with that hair,” Aelin said as she stepped into the water as well, chest to chest.

“Might I remind you that this hair is your fault?” Rowan added. 

“Might I remind you, you were the one who lost,” Aelin said as she pushed his head under the water. 

Rowan spluttered, then shook his hair out at her which had her squealing. She went to move away but he caught her around the waist. “You were the one who cheated.”

“You can prove nothing,” Aelin as she began to wash out the chalk.

Rowan lent his head back back so that Aelin could rinse his hair under the water. His hair was still tinged with pink and now her hands were as well, but this muted pink was better than the hot pink of a few moments ago. When she was done Rowan straightened, his eyes darkening as he looked down at her. Aelin didn’t know which of them moved first but their lips met, hands touching everywhere. 

“Aelin?”

At the sound of her name Aelin pulled her head back, one hand covering Rowan’s mouth. His eyes had gone just as wide as hers at the sound of Lysandra’s voice. 

“Yeah?” Aelin’s voice was a little shaky as she answered.

“You right in there?” Lysandra asked and Aelin heard and another cubicle open.

“Mmhmm,” Aelin said as Rowan’s grip tightened on her waist and he nipped at her fingers. She gave him her best scolding glare. “You just surprised me.”

“Oh. Well Aedion just called, he got landed with some of your classes. Wants you to answer some questions,” Lysandra said.

“You came here to tell me that?” Aelin said before she could stop herself.

“That and to have a shower. Still feel like I’ve got sand everywhere after hauling all those canoes up from the water with minimal help from the most giant man in existence,” she explained.

Aelin actually groaned at the miserable timing of her friend’s appearance but it was luckily covered by Lysandra turning her water on. Aelin finally uncovered Rowan’s mouth, showing her that crooked little smile of his that she loved. They stared at each other, both defeated, and Rowan’s eyes seemed to say better luck next time, Princess.

They let each other go, disappointment sinking into Aelin’s gut as Rowan slipped through the curtain. She barely heard him sneak out, hoping that Lysandra didn’t hear it at all. Lysandra chatted away, mostly complaining about Lorcan and his sullenness, Aelin was ready to wholeheartedly agree with anything her friend said against the man just to vent her own, although completely different, frustrations. When Lysandra announced she was leaving, Aelin decided to stay a little longer, trying to scrub the lingering pink from her hands that did not want to budge. When the water started to go cool Aelin gave up and turned the shower off. She shook off the excess water before stepping into the dry area of the cubicle. She went to grab her towel but then froze as she looked down at the bench where she had left her things.

There was a small washcloth she didn’t recognise and her set of underwear. And that was it. Rowan had finally taken his revenge.

~~~~~

Funnest thing I’ve written in ages... My tag list was a bit messy for this so if you want on or off met me know.

Tags:

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[charincharge]

Cruel Summer, Part 15

cruel summer masterlist

AN: CW, some angst. SEE YA. 

Aelin wakes later than usual the next morning, feeling suitably sore in all the right places, and can’t help but smile. She rolls over and sniffs her pillow, which is still scented with faint traces of Rowan’s pine bodywash. And is then hit by the overwhelming scent of sex. Yikes.

She strips down and makes her way into the bathroom, turning on the shower. As the water heats up, Aelin takes a long hard look at herself in the mirror. Her hair is a mess – a flaxen haystack – and her turquoise eyes are bright. Her eyes wander down her naked body, and she lets her hands trace over the faded bruises still marking her hips. New bruises have appeared in new spots, these ones a delicious red-purple spotting across the pale skin of her breasts. Aelin grins. She looks thoroughly ravaged.

Aelin takes a long time in the shower, standing under the hot spray of the water, letting it pelt against her sore muscles and wash away any evidence of the night before.

By the time she makes it downstairs, it’s nearly noon. After pouring herself a large cup of coffee, she wanders out to the back patio, where her family is gathered. Aedion splashes in the pool with Gavin and Evie, while her parents stretch out on their favorite lounge chairs.

“Well, well,” Aedion calls out to his sister. “Look who finally deigned to join the living today.”

Aelin apologizes for sleeping in and sits at the outdoor table with Lysandra, who is enjoying her own cup of coffee.

“Late night?” Lysandra asks, her green eyes wide with curiosity.

“Yeah,” Aelin says, thinking briefly about the way Rowan’s mouth felt devouring her.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Lysandra asks, but Aelin is distracted by an incoming text from Rowan.

Am I coming to you tonight, or are you coming to me?

Aelin smiles down at her phone and replies quickly.

Not sure, but either way, we’ll both be coming tonight.

Rowan texts back the wide-eyes emoji, making Aelin laugh to herself. Lysandra leans closer to Aelin and lowers her voice. “How’s Rowan?”

Aelin snaps her head up. “Huh?”

Lysandra points to Aelin’s phone. “Oh come on, you can’t sext at the table and not expect me to say something.”

Blood pools in Aelin’s cheeks as she whispers back forcefully, “I am not sexting.”

Lysandra stares at Aelin, and Aelin stares right back, unwilling to break. Her pulse thrums, nerves spilling over. But Lysandra’s eyes bore into her, unwaveringly confident. Lysandra knows.

“How’d you know?” Aelin rushes out in a whispered hush.

Lysandra smirks and takes a long sip of her coffee. “I caught him coming out of your window last night.” Lysandra pauses at Aelin’s worried face. “Don’t worry. I’m the only one who knows.”

“You can’t tell Aedion,” Aelin begs.

Lysandra smiles warmly. “Don’t worry, Ae. I can keep a secret.” Aelin looses a breath she doesn’t realize she’s been holding. “He’s so cute, Aelin,” Lysandra says, and Aelin can’t help but smile in return.

“He is, isn’t he?”

Lysandra taps her long, manicured nails on the table and cocks her head to the side, examining Aelin, unnerving her.

“What’s that look for?” Aelin asks.

“Since I’m keeping such a hefty secret from my husband, I’d love if you’d do me a favor in return…”

Aelin’s eyes widen at her sister-in-law. “Are you extorting me?”

Lysandra snickers evilly. “Yes. For childcare.”

“Fine,” Aelin says, willing to do anything to have Lysandra keep this information to herself. “When?”

“Tonight?” Lysandra asks. “Aedion wants to take me out to dinner. I’m sure we’ll be done early. You can still see your boy toy after. Or during. I don’t care, honestly. As long as you don’t fuck on our couch.”

“With the kids in the house?” Aelin sputters, shocked. “I would never.”

Lysandra laughs loudly. “Oh, please. You did last night.”

Aelin can’t say anything in response to that because Lysandra is right. She totally did that. But still. She would never in her brother’s house.

Lysandra calls out to Aedion loudly, telling him to book their dinner. She tells her children that Auntie Ae is going to hang out with them tonight, and the kids cheer from the pool, warming Aelin’s heart. She does love spending time with her niece and nephew.

She immediately texts Rowan to tell him the updated plan. That she’s going to be babysitting at Aedion’s, but he’s welcome to join once he gets off work, then they can decide if they want to go back to Aelin’s or to Rowan’s from there.

Rowan sends back to thumbs up emojis. Aelin laughs. He must be in a good mood to be so active on text and to be using emojis so liberally. He’s usually the type of person who responds with a “K,” leaving Aelin completely unsatisfied and wondering where he stands. She likes that he seems to be opening up to her.

Stomach grumbling, Aelin goes back into the house to scour the fridge for whatever Emrys has left for them today. She finds leftover skirt steak and veggie rice. It’s not exactly breakfast, but Aelin is too hungry to care. As she waits for her plate to heat in the microwave, Aelin hears a knock at the door.

Aelin’s surprised to see Sam waiting on her front stoop, although she’s not sure why. This is the third time he’s done this. It’s practically routine for Sam to show up at her house unannounced these days.

“Hey, Sam…”

He flashes her a too-white smile and asks what she’s up to for the day. Aelin’s about to say that she’s having a family day when her mom appears from behind her. She spots Sam and welcomes him in, embracing him in a tight hug.

“I hope it’s okay that I stopped by, Evalin,” he says, so casually calling her mom by her first name. But Evalin doesn’t seem to care. She hurries him into the kitchen to offer him something to drink or eat. He politely declines, saying he just ate brunch and wanted to see what their household was up to.

Aelin grabs her plate of food and heads out to the back patio, where Sam introduces himself to Lysandra and Aedion and the kids.

Rhoe shakes his hand, telling him how nice it is to see him again, but Aelin notices her dad lies back down quickly and returns to his book, leaving Sam hanging slightly.

“So, I confess,” Sam begins. “I actually came here with ulterior motives.”

“Oh?” Evalin asks, leading him.

Sam turns to Aelin. “I was hoping I could take you out tonight, Aelin.”  

Evalin starts to say, “How wonderful!” when Aelin responds that she can’t.

“Sorry,” Aelin says, feeling anything but. “I already promised Lys and Aedion that I’d babysit for them tonight.”

Evalin looks like she’s about to offer herself up for babysitting when Rhoe smiles at his daughter. “That was very nice of you, Fireheart. I’m sure the kids are excited.” He looks at the two kids, still paddling in circles around Aedion in the pool. “What do you say, Evie, Gavin, you excited to spend tonight with your favorite Aunt?”

The kids cheer again, and Gavin starts babbling about how they have to watch Toy Story. Aelin smiles, thinking of the small Buzz Lightyear toy he carries around with him everywhere. Aelin shrugs at Sam, as if to say, you see?

But Sam isn’t deterred. “Well, I know you’ll all be at my party tomorrow night, but perhaps the following night?”

Everyone looks at Aelin, who is totally and utterly stuck. She has no real plans the night after next, unless wanting to see Rowan is a plan. Sam knows exactly what he’s doing, asking her in front of her mother, who is practically salivating at the idea of them getting together. She can’t say no without publicly rejecting him in front of a large group of people and making things incredibly awkward.

“Sure…” she replies reluctantly, and Sam and her mother wear matching beaming smiles in response. Aelin has no clue how she’s going to clear this one with Rowan. She figures she’ll talk to him about it tonight, though. Hopefully she can convince him it’s not a big deal.

After securing his date, Sam stays and chats with Evalin about the plans for his big yacht party. For much too long. Aelin feels like he’s overstaying his welcome, but Evalin engages in conversation with him the entire time. It helps that Evalin is a known event planner, and she is quick to offer any assistance he might need. Sam thanks her graciously, but says he has it handled, and he can’t wait to see them all tomorrow.

As Sam leaves, Evalin can’t help but gush at her daughter. “He is so sweet, isn’t he?”

Aelin gives a weak smile to her mom and spends the rest of the afternoon in the music room, playing through her piano book, trying to relax herself. It doesn’t work.

At five, Lysandra and Aedion pile their family into their car and drag Aelin with them the short drive to their own house. It’s not as grandiose as the Ashryver Estate, more of a small beach cottage in a less expensive part of town. But it’s warm and homey and cozy, and Aelin loves it.

As Gavin and Evie are sent upstairs for their showers, Aelin puts in an order for pizza. She texts Rowan what he likes on a pizza, and tells him she’ll save him some. He replies that he likes spinach, mushrooms and olives. Aelin sends him back a vomit emoji and tells him he only gets a quarter with those gross toppings. Aelin orders the rest with cheese and pepperoni.

Lysandra and Aedion come back down, looking ready for their date, and Aelin can’t help but smile at her sibling. He looks so excited to take his wife out on the town. She doesn’t blame her. Lysandra looks gorgeous in a slinky green dress that makes her eyes pop.

“Have fun you two,” she says.

Lysandra smiles. “You, too.” She pauses and looks meaningfully at the couch. “But not too much fun.”

Aelin rolls her eyes and laughs. “Yeah, yeah. I know.”

She waves the parents out of the house and waits for Gavin and Evie to join her on the couch. She cues up Toy Story and texts Rowan the address for Aedion’s house.

Aelin smiles at the sound of pitter pattering coming down the stairs as Gavin and Evie jump onto the couch. They wear matching striped pajamas and smell like Johnson & Johnson kiddie shampoo. The doorbell rings right on time, and Aelin goes to grab the pizza.

She brings plates and a giant stack of napkins into the family room and hands out slices of pizza to the two kids, who look at her with wide eyes.

“We’re not allowed to eat on the couch!” Gavin whispers.

“It’s a special treat,” Aelin says. “Don’t tell your mom or dad.”

Gavin nods conspiratorially and takes a too large bite of his pizza. Evie giggles as she takes a daintier bite than her brother, but soon the giggles fade to make way for the movie, which they watch with rapt attention.

Gavin passes out about an hour into the movie, but Evie makes it all the way to the end, albeit with very sleepy eyes. Playing in the pool in the sun all day is more than enough to have the two of them turn in early.

Aelin carries Gavin up to his room and tucks him in without him even stirring in her arms. By the time she reaches Evie’s room, she’s tucked herself in. Aelin gives her a quick kiss and turns the lights off and heads back down to watch some TV.

She slides the back patio door and texts Rowan that she’s left it open for him, so he doesn’t have to ring the bell or knock and wake anyone up.

Aelin cleans up the leftover pizza, putting Rowan’s two slices into a ziplock baggie, and throws the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

By the time she’s finished, she’s startled to hear the door open. Lysandra and Aedion fumble their keys, clearly tipsy, and trying to squash their giggling. Aelin glances at the clock – already 8:30. Rowan should be there any second.

Lysandra looks around her immaculate kitchen and hugs Aelin and kisses her soundly on the cheek. “You are the best.” She quirks an eyebrow. “Where’s Rowan?”

“Rowan?” Aedion asks. “Why would he be here?”

Lysandra waves her hand at her husband. “I told Aelin she could invite a friend over to keep her company.”

Aelin smiles, thankful for even a drunk Lysandra keeping her secret. “He actually should be getting here momentarily. He’s coming straight from work,” Aelin explains.

Aedion hums, clearly uninterested, and changes topics to Aelin’s least favorite. “So, are you excited to go on your date with Sam?” he asks.

“No, of course not,” Aelin bemoans her unfortunate situation. “Like I said yesterday. We’re just friends.”

“Why?” Aedion asks. “He’s clearly into you.”

“Oh my god,” Lysandra bursts. “Because she’s obviously in love with Rowan!”

“Lysandra!” Aelin whisper yells at her sister-in-law, who slaps her hand over her loose lips. “You promised.”

“I’m sorry, Aelin,” Lysandra apologizes. “But sometimes your brother is so dumb.”

Aelin groans in frustration. She knows this is about to be a whole thing.

“Whoa, whoa whoa.” Aedion holds up his hand, needing clarification. “What?”

Aelin huffs. “So much for keeping secrets.” She pauses and glares at Lysandra, who, to her credit, looks incredibly apologetic. “First of all, I’m not in love with anyone.” She sighs and tugs at her hair. “We’re just… hanging out.”

Aedion’s eyes bug out of his head. “You’re fucking the staff?”

“Gods,” Aelin hisses. “I am not talking about this with you.”

She goes to gather Rowan’s plastic baggie of pizza from the kitchen, hoping they’ll be able to book it out of there as soon as he arrives.

“What is this?” Aedion asks, following her every step. “Some sort of porno fetish? Rich girl gets her rocks off with the gardener kind of thing?”

Aelin is nothing short of horrified at Aedion’s comment. She can’t believe he thinks that, much less verbalize it. Her face turns red as she splutters, “You did not just say that.”

“I mean, if the shoe fits…”

“Rowan is not our gardener, he works at the park!” Aelin says, and Aedion shrugs.

“Tomato, tom-ah-to.”

Lysandra slaps Aedion’s arm. “Don’t be a jerk.” Lysandra looks back at Aelin, who is standing defensively, arms crossed over her chest, glaring at her brother. “I think Rowan is great.” She pokes her husband again. “And whoever Aelin wants to be with is no one’s business but hers. And having a trust fund doesn’t make you a worthy human, or did you forget that I had to bartend my way through college?”

Aedion rubs Lysandra’s arm and coos, “Babe...”

But Lysandra has had enough. “Don’t babe me,” she snaps. “You were going to get laid tonight, but now I think I’m going to head out to the hot tub by myself, you snob.”

“Babe,” Aedion apologizes. “Don’t be like that. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one who needs an apology,” Lysandra says, her glare stern.

“I’m sorry,” Aedion grumbles at Aelin. “I didn’t mean that. I was just…surprised. Mom and Dad—”

Aelin gasps, panicked. “You can’t tell them, Aed. They would not be okay with it. And it’s just for the summer. It’ll be over in a few weeks, and you’ll never hear the name Rowan again. There’s no need to tell them, right?”

Aedion sighs. “Fine.”

Aelin exhales. “Thank you.” She looks at the pizza in her hand and back at the clock, which now reads 8:45 PM. Still no Rowan. “I’m going to wait out front for Rowan.” She says resolutely. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Aelin makes her way out to the front steps and texts Rowan that she’ll wait for him out front, so not to worry about the back door anymore. She sits up straighter when she sees a flash of headlights but deflates when they keep driving straight and don’t turn into the driveway.

Aelin sits on the front stoop to wait. She shifts uncomfortably, trying to push down the horrible things Aedion said and focus on the night ahead. She’s still excited to see Rowan, despite what her family clearly thinks of him. Aelin stares into the darkness, willing more headlights to come, but they never do. She finally glances at the time. A full hour has passed, and she still hasn’t heard from Rowan.

Hey, where are you? She texts him. There’s no reply.

And after another fifteen minutes of waiting, Aelin’s stomach sinks. Rowan isn’t coming. And she has no ride home.

Aelin makes her way around to the back of the house, where the kitchen door is still open. She sneaks inside and Lysandra yelps when she sees her walk into the family room.

“Aelin, gods, you scared me,” she gasps. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Aelin bites her lip. “Uh, are you sober enough to give me a ride home?” Her voice cracks, and she hates how pathetic she sounds.

“Sure…” Lysandra says. She knows Lysandra wants to ask her wha happened, but Aelin shakes her head. She doesn’t want to talk about it. She clearly got blown off.

Lysandra grabs the car keys and Aelin slides into the passenger seat. She drives her back home in complete silence. Aelin doesn’t even begin to know what she would say. When they arrive at the Estate, Lysandra grabs Aelin’s arm.

“Do you want me to drive through town? Maybe his car broke down or…”

“No, Lys, it’s fine.” Aelin sighs.

“It’s not.” She pauses. “And I’m sorry my drunk ass spilled your secret. I thought…” She sighs. “I forgot Aedion can be a total snob.”

Aelin waves her off, just wanting to escape the car. It’s been a long, weird day, and she just wants it to be over. Lysandra wishes her goodbye and tells her it’ll be okay, but Aelin feels less certain than ever.

Aelin takes her time showering for the second time that day. This time, the hot water burns her skin and does nothing to help relax her.

She gets into bed and stares at her phone. As if she willed it to happen, it finally lights up with a text from Rowan.

Sorry. Got pulled out by the guys for drinks and my phone died. Home now. But I’ll see you tomorrow?

Aelin replies with a Rowan signature text, simply saying, “K.”

She gets under the covers and rolls over. Her pillow still smells of pine. Tears pool in the corners of her eyes and unwillingly spill over her cheek and onto the cushion beneath her head. She closes her eyes, hoping the ache in her chest will disappear quickly. When she wakes the next morning, her pillow is still damp and no longer smells like pine. Aelin cries again.

~*~*~*~*~

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[booknerdproblems]

Immortals Chapter 13

Hello lovely people! I know it’s been WAY longer than I originally planned, but like has been SUPER crazy and mental health as been SUPER terrible. and also I’m really sorry, the writing in this isn’t great bc it’s so rushed but anywaysss. Without further ado, here’s chapter 13!

TW: occasional cursing

Heres a link to my masterlist, where you can find my other works and the rest of the chapters!

“Hold on, the riders told the world.

Hold on.”

-Sarah J Maas, Heir of Fire

Aelin had already slipped from bed when Rowan woke up the next morning, already in a foul mood. 

He glared at his work table as he looked over the maps, glared at his clothes and weapons as he shrugged them on, glared at his reflection in the looking glass as he washed his face. He glared as he opened the window hard enough to rattle it, glared as he felt the lag in his body at the shift, glared when his hawk’s feathered wings barely fit through the small opening.

Rowan flew and flew and flew, working off the edge to his temper. He felt awful about what he’d said to Aelin last night. Truthfully, he hadn’t meant it. He cared much more than he wanted to admit. He cared about her stupid pestering questions, and her stupid hair ties, and the stupidly beautiful face she makes when she talks about her stupidly beautiful country. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

 He landed a little way away from the kitchens, taking a couple of deep, calming breaths before walking in. The room, which would have previously been rendered silent when he walked in, stayed abuzz with chatter, a sign of how familiar Mistward’s inhabitants had become with him. It soothed some deep embedded jagged edge inside him.The kitchens were filled with the warm, comforting scent of freshly baked bread and the pungent scent of herbs. It was filled with people nursing hangovers and chattering quietly. He scanned the kitchens for Aelin, coming up short. 

Luca, bright red creeping up his round face, spoke, 

“She left a half hour ago.” 

Rowan nodded in thanks, turning to leave, and was almost out the door before a determined voice called him back.

The cook, Emrys, beckoned with a flour-covered hand, and Rowan followed him to the far corner of the kitchens, as not to be overheard.

“What did you say to her? Last night.”

Rowan opened his mouth to ward the cook off, but Emrys ploughed on, 

“She’s hurting, Prince. Since long before she arrived here. She smiles, laughs, like everything’s normal and happy, and she does a damn good job of keeping that mask in place. But there’s moments, when she doesn’t think anybody is looking, when that mask slips. She’s sad. Alone. And whatever you did, said, last night, that mask was damn hard for her to keep up today. So I think you should think, long and hard, about what you said to that girl. She may be a queen, but she’s only a little into her second decade, Prince. You may brush off all her lack of protocol as arrogance and indifference, but she’s twenty-two. And she does care. More than you think. I don’t know whatever is between you two, and I know well and good it's none of my business, but I’m warning you, Prince. There’s only so many times someone can break before they reach their limit. And when that woman breaks, well and truly, well- I- I truly don’t think we’ll survive it.”

Rowan had already decided to apologise, but Emrys’ words did make him think. There was a limit. And with all that power inside Aelin… She could, he knew. If she wanted to. And she might. One day, the gods would throw one more thing at her, and, well, she might burn the world to ashes. And start over. In a better world.

And maybe… maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing. She’d rage and burn, but then, after that, unite. And, he would follow her. If she allowed him. To whatever end. Damn whatever consequences Maeve threw at him. He’d fight it. Every day. For that precious friendship he had made.

Rowan started into motion, nodding to Emrys and sending a goodbye glance to Luca before shifting and soaring out the kitchen door, and out into the open air.

He flew over trees, around rocky outcrops, guiding the wind accordingly. Around noon, he sensed Aelin’s pull of power from a small clearing, a charming little pool of sparkling water in the centre. He dived sharply, cutting off the winds and almost faltering at the sharp change.

He landed softly, purposely causing leaves to crunch underfoot as he approached Aelin. She was lying on a sun warmed rock, eyes closed, hair spread out like a halo around her head. She looked utterly relaxed, but Rowan knew she was perfectly aware of his presence. However, she allowed him to sit next to her, take his boots off, and stretch out. 

She didn’t move, so Rowan didn’t, either. And for a while, no one spoke. They just enjoyed the warmth of buttery sunlight, the faint gurgle of the water nearby. 

After a while, Aelin took a slow sip from the water skien she’d brought, eyes staying closed and barely moving. She didn’t say anything, simply passing it to him. He took a slow sip, eyes opening. Aelin had returned to her original position, but Rowan had some apologising to do.

“Aelin, about last night-”

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have pushed. Let’s just let it go.” She cut him off sharply, and Rowan sat up. Although she remained still, there was a tension to her face.

“It’s not fine. It was rude and arrogant of me, and you didn’t deserve that.”

Aelin’s eyes finally opened, although she remained staring up at the serene blue sky. 

“No, you were right. We don’t owe each other anything. It’s fine Rowan, honestly, that’s not where we stand.” She sounded so cold and distant. Rowan ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

“But I don’t want that, Aelin.”

Aelin sighed and sat up, looking into the trees, “Rowan, you don’t need to do this, honestly. Now I know where we stand, it’s fine. I had too much to drink and it was hot and the dancing-”

“Mala fucking fry me- Aelin.”

She finally stopped her ramblings and met his eyes.

“I don’t want that, Aelin. I want to be friends. I want you to feel comfortable and trust me. And against my better judgement, I do want to trust you. Damn whatever Maeve thinks.” He sucked in a deep breath, “I claim you. I don’t care what you say or how much you protest, Aelin Galathynius, I claim you as my friend. To whatever end.”

Aelin’s eyes were filled with an emotion he couldn’t quite place, and she looked down, almost shyly, apprehensively, un-Aelin-like, as she smiled.

“To whatever end?” She said softly.

Rowan grinned, “To whatever end, Fireheart.”

She looked up, a great big stupid smile of her face. 

“Nobody has called me that since my mother died.”

“Do you not want me to call you that?”

“No! It's nice- to hear it again.”

He flicked her nose, “Fireheart.” 

“Buzzard.”

He grinned, stood up, and promptly threw her in the pond, squealing and spluttering all the way. A minute later, when she emerged, hair plastered to her head, glaring, he jumped in himself. 

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[creampuffqueen]

Aelin x Rowan baby headcanons

All about Aelin and Rowan’s (many) children

-We all know these two would be next. Let's be honest here.

-From scenes in EoS and KoA, we know that they are open to the idea of children, we know they want them, and that Aelin is not likely taking any contraceptive tonic since she knows that conception may be hard for them.

-Well,,, not exactly.

-For whatever reason, Aelin has a fairly easy time getting pregnant. Around five to six months after Yrene's daughter, Amelie, is born, Aelin finds out she's pregnant.

-She's so so excited, but so so scared. She grew up hearing the horror stories of her mother's pregnancy and birth, how she almost died.

-Aelin tells Rowan on a quiet night they have together, one of the first in a long while. They have been super busy rebuilding and whatnot, after all.

-Rowan is silent for like a solid three minutes, and Aelin thinks he's not happy, but then he breaks out one of the biggest smiles she's ever seen on his face. And then he's crying and laughing and asking over and over again if she's sure this is real. He scoops her into his arms and kisses her, and between kisses Aelin is crying too, and they're both just so excited. You would not believe how excited they are.

-They decide to wait a bit to tell everyone, even though they're dying to tell.

-Well, they can't keep the secret for long. Not because they're bad at keeping secrets, but because Aelin starts getting ALL the pregnancy symptoms and can't hide it anymore.

-Literally. ALL they symptoms. She's not quite a month and a half in, and she can't keep any food down. Morning sickness is the pits, man. But she's also achy and hormonal and tired all the time, and she gets the weirdest cravings. Not to mention, she isn't drinking any alcohol.

-So it doesn't take long for the court to figure out what's going on.

-Lysandra squeals so loud the whole castle hears, and she hugs Aelin and won't let go. She says to Rowan, "This is my wife now," and Rowan, not feeling like getting on the shifter's bad side, lets her be for the time being. Elide almost cries, and then she's hugging her too. Then Aedion joins in. He is full on bawling. Like, ugly baby crying. Aelin jokingly says that even Rowan didn't that hard when he found out, and he's the baby's FATHER.

-Aelin is so sick the first trimester. Like, can't move because she's vomiting so much bad. She can't stand certain foods that she previously loved, and can also devour foods she used to hate. Then her taste buds change completely the next day. Rowan is frantically trying to keep up with her.

-And despite the fact that she is puking her guts up and will cry at the drop of a hat and is aching all over, she's horny. So. Fucking. Horny. Like, she's ready for some at all times. Rowan is scared of hurting her or the baby at first, but Aelin is like, "the only thing that can keep me from vomiting right now is either cake or a distraction, so please, please distract me." Rowan is only too happy to oblige his queen.

-When the morning sickness is over, she gets the rest of the symptoms. She has really good senses, like, really good. And they're heightened by the fact that she's Fae. She can smell what's being cooked for dinner from her suite on the like, fourth floor. It's weird.

-She gets big early on, like a good, seeable bump when she's only around four months. Twins are suspected, but the midwife just says it's one very large baby. Wow.

-Aelin gets frustrated with herself quickly. She's the godsdamned queen, she should be able to DO things, but she's either too tired or in too much pain to do much. She hates feeling so helpless.

-Rowan is never far from her side, and Aelin would find it annoying if she didn't actually need him to help her a lot.

-Imagine every pregnancy symptom, combined, and then times ten. Awful, right? Yeah, that's Aelin's pregnancy. It's bad.

-Despite everything being bad, she still finds time to formally announce her pregnancy. The people suspected, but now it's official. After all, the queen regularly walks around the city, but she hasn't been seen much in the last months.

-The official announcement also alerts Aelin's pregnancy to the neighboring kingdoms. Dorian, of course, sends his regards immediately. Yrene and Chaol send congrats soon after, Yrene again promising to be there for the birth. Ansel even sends a letter to congratulate her. A letter arrives from Nesryn, but as the Southern Continent is pretty far away, it doesn't get there until right before the baby is born.

-One of the only upsides to having every pregnancy symptom ever is that Aelin feels the baby kick fairly early on. The first time she cries, like right then and there. She's in the library, just sobbing, and Rowan finds her, and she has him feel. The baby is kicking and dancing around, and Rowan cries too.

-Of course, baby kicks are only cute when they're few and far between. This baby won't stop moving. Now Aelin can't sleep because her unborn child is already keeping her awake.

-When Aelin has about two weeks left before the birth, Yrene arrives. She has left her daughter at home with her husband, despite the fact they've recently discovered that she's deaf. Yrene puts all thoughts of her family from her mind while she cares for her patient.

-The due date comes, and no baby. Then a few more days pass, and still no baby. Aelin is stressing now; it should have been there by now, is something wrong? She really wants to not be pregnant anymore.

-A meeting with the Lords of Terrasen that had already been delayed arrives. Aelin expected to be a new mother, but she is still heavily pregnant. Like, can hardly walk pregnant. She has to have the meeting, though, so she walks all the way to the meeting hall.

-She is uncomfortable the whole meeting, for some reason she can't explain. She won't stop fidgeting, but doesn't know why.

-She stands up because she has to go to the bathroom, and suddenly a huge rush of water just,,, goes everywhere.

-She says awkwardly "Well, either I've just pissed myself really good, or my waters just broke. Either way, I think I should see myself out to go clean up."

-Everyone is silent and lets her go, with Rowan of course accompanying her.

-They are halfway up to their room when she feels a sudden pain. She cries out, and Rowan lets her squeeze his hand while it passes and helps her breathe through it.

-They get to their room, stopping again for a contraction. Rowan draws her a bath and helps her into it. He washes her hair gently and cools her down from the pain. When she's just soaking in the tub, Rowan calls for Yrene, who is winnowed into the bedroom by Fenrys. The male gives a salute and says "good luck" before disappearing.

-Yrene and Rowan get Aelin out of the bath and dried off, since using her powers is beyond her at the moment. Yrene helps her into a nightgown 'that she doesn't mind ruining'.

-Then they get her onto the bed, which Yrene has stripped, and get her comfortable. Yrene checks her, and she's definitely in labor. But it's going to be a while.

-And a while it is. Aelin's labor is long and hard. Very long. In the early stage she is able to get up and walk around, she dances with Rowan (more like just sways to some music, but it's dancing nonetheless) and reads. Lysandra stops in for a visit and chats while combing out Aelin's hair. The contractions are few and not that bad at this point. Then it gets worse.

-Aelin and Rowan start a bet on if it's a boy or a girl. Aelin thinks a boy. Rowan says girl. Yrene votes girl, Lysandra girl, Aedion and Elide boy. Evangeline comes up for a while with Fenrys, who both vote girl.

-When Aelin can't walk any more she gets into bed and tries to sleep, but it's too hard. She's in too much pain. Yrene gives her both a tonic for pain and for sleep, so she can get some rest and preserve her strength.

-Aelin is in labor for twenty-one hours. By the end she's just crying from pain and exhaustion. Rowan and Yrene are there and coaching her through it. The others left for bed hours ago.

-With the final push, Aelin squeezes Rowan's hand so hard that she breaks it. Rowan doesn't even register the pain because he's so focused on his mate. Aelin screams so loud they hear it down in the city.

-And on an early morning, Aelin and Rowan's baby is born.

-The two of them are still reeling from the labor while Yrene cleans the child, rubbing it and trying to get it to cry. A silent baby is never a good sign, they need to cry so they can breathe.

-But this baby is silent.

-Aelin and Rowan notice their baby hasn't cried yet. And they're worried. Aelin asks if anything is wrong, and Yrene answers honestly; the baby needs to cry so it can breathe, and its not crying.

-Aelin is terrified that her baby is stillborn. With tears in her eyes, she asks Yrene to hand her baby over. The healer does so, whispering softly, "It's a girl."

-A baby girl. She has blonde hair like her mother, and her ears are pointed. Fae through and through.

-Aelin clutches her daughter to her and murmurs encouragement, begging her to wake up and cry.

-They think it's too late. Tears are rolling down the faces of everyone in the room.

-But then- the baby lets out a gasp, and then she starts crying. Her squalling fills the room, and then her parents are sobbing in joy. They have a daughter. Terrasen has a crown princess.

-When Rowan goes to hold the baby, he notices that his hand isn't working. Aelin looks at him apologetically, and Yrene steps in to heal it quickly.

-Their friends soon gather round, cooing over the new baby. She cries and cries, and only stops when her mother or father hold her.

-They name her Lyria Nehemia Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius. It becomes sort of a joke within the court, the ridiculously long name of the crown princess.

-When she opens her eyes, they're the same pine green as her father's. Rowan gets a strange sense of deja vu, and he realizes that he's seen this baby girl in his dreams before. It makes him so happy, he won't put her down all day.

-Lyria is a wildfire. Literally. When she's around eight months old and starting to crawl, that's when her powers start showing up. Not only is their baby girl wild, she also nearly burns down her nursery twice. After that she's moved to more... fire-proof quarters.

-It's when Lyria is around seven months old that Aelin starts to feel... off. She can't place it exactly, but something just doesn't feel normal.

-She soon figures out why. She's pregnant again. She hadn't been on the tonic because she thought it would take years more to have another baby. Not to mention, being new parents along with running a kingdom mean that Aelin and Rowan don't have much... alone time. However, the midwife is positive.

-Aelin and Rowan are excited to be having another baby, but Aelin really doesn't want to be pregnant again. The last time was awful, so how is this one going to be?

-The answer? Just as bad. Possibly worse.

-All the same pregnancy awfulness, combined with a wild baby who can set fire to things on accident and is also crawling now. Not a good combo. Rowan tries to take as much off of her as he can, but there's only so much he can do. And some things must be done by the mother. After all, Lyria is still breastfed.

-The court is just as surprised; they also didn't expect another royal baby. The kingdom feels the same way. And all the other friends. Everyone is surprised.

-Lyria stands when she's ten months old, and walks when she's eleven. Poor Aelin is still having bad morning sickness and can't even appreciate her daughter's first steps properly because she is bent over a toilet and puking up her breakfast.

-Despite everything, she's so happy with her family. Her baby girl is wonderful, and she's a fast learner. Her powers are still unpredictable, but she's already managing them better. Rowan is like, the #1 dad. He is the best. Aelin cannot describe just how much she loves him, she didn't think it was possible to love someone so much.

-Her next labor is a little better, only twenty hours this time. And their baby cries as soon as it's born. Aelin bet on another girl, but Rowan insisted that it would be a boy.

-Rowan is right. They have a baby boy with silver hair and Ashryver eyes. His name is Sam Gavriel Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius.

-Little Sam is Lyria's opposite. In every way. He is quiet and hardly cries, like, this is one silent baby. Lyria is so interested in her baby brother, it's the cutest damn thing. She loves to sit on one of her parents' laps and hold him, she likes to watch him, she tries to play with him, it's so pure.

-Life progresses. The children get older. Sam also has powers, and quite a lot, but they are slow to manifest. They lean more towards ice and wind, opposite of Lyria's leaning towards fire.

-Both children train with their parents, and when Sam is three, he discovers that he can shift. His other form is a red-tailed hawk. Lyria, on the other hand, is like her mother, with only one form. She is so sad about it, but she learns to love being able to run with her mother while her brother and father fly.

-Aelin finds out she's pregnant again when Lyria is five and Sam is four. She just casually mentions it at dinner with their court one night, saying, "no wine tonight, I can't when i'm pregnant." Everyone collectively gasps, and Aelin just smirks and sips water out of a champagne glass.

-Once again, terrible pregnancy. Just awful. Her children are scared and worried when their Mommy won't get out of bed to play and train with them, and have to be consoled by Rowan for a while.

-Long and hard labor again, twenty-two hours. Aelin says girl. Rowan says boy. Rowan is right again.

-A baby boy is born with silver hair and green eyes. He looks like Rowan. Like, exactly like Rowan. It's uncanny how much this baby looks like his father.

-His name is Aspen Rhoe Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius. (because it's a pretty name, and also the name of a tree, like Rowan, hehe) His older brother and sister dote on him at every waking moment. Adorable, and actually fairly helpful.

-Aspen looks more and more like Rowan when he gets older. Even his powers and other form are like Rowan's. His form is a white-tailed hawk, and his powers are ice and wind. Not a single lick of flame.

-You'd think they'd be done having kids after three but HAHA. This is Aelin and Rowan. We all know how they are. And with their children sleeping in their own rooms, they can have some alone time ;)

-Aelin gets pregnant again. It's the same rinse and repeat. Hard pregnancy. Hard labor. Rowan guesses the gender again, damn it, why is he so good at it?

-A baby girl is born with silver hair and ocean blue eyes. Her name is Evalin Elena Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius. Lyria is 8, Sam 7, and Aspen 3. They love their baby sister and vow to protect her always.

-Evalin is definitely the fanciest of the Galathynius children. She loves dressing up, and her favorite thing to do is make crowns using her powers. She can control ice and flame equally, so she is always making crowns for her parents and siblings when she has control over her powers. So cute.

-Evalin's other form is a peregrine falcon. Lyria is a little put out now; even her baby sister has another form and she doesn't. But she's soon okay with is when she proves that her powers are the strongest of all her siblings.

-Evalin is 2 when Aelin gets pregnant again. At this point the court is like, ugh, again? but happy at the same time. It's just,,, they have a lot of kids.

-The pregnancy and labor is, again, hard. Now remember when I mentioned that Lyria was a large baby? No? Well, anyway, this baby is also quite large. But hey, all of their kids were big, how hard can this be?

-Hard. So hard. A day and a half of labor. And at the end Aelin has a sudden loss of blood and nearly bleeds out on her bed. It's so terrifying, Rowan can feel the mating bond growing taut because his mate is in mortal peril. Yrene makes the decision to operate. She does, and, turns out... there were two in there.

-Two screaming, silver haired babies are wrapped in blankets and whisked away while Yrene heals and heals and heals. At the end, she actually falls off the bed and faints. Rowan catches her and sends for another healer to heal the healer.

-Aelin survives, but the operation made it so she could no longer have children. Aelin decides right then and there, holding her newborn twins after nearly dying, that she doesn't want any more children anyway. Six is enough, gods, more than enough, and she's so grateful for them all.

-For once, Aelin wins the bet. She bet girl, Rowan boy. There's a girl and a boy.

-They are named Aerith Essar and Thallan Ress, along with their slew of last names that I was too lazy to type.

-Two more silver haired, Ashryver eyed children join the royal family. Of course, everyone adores them.

-The twins don't have any crazy twin powers, but they do have a secret language between the two of them. Seeing the two of them often makes Fenrys's heart melt, thinking about when he was a child with his twin brother. The twins are, without a doubt, Fenrys's favorite royal children.

-The twins have control over ice, wind, and fire equally, like all their siblings except Aspen. Their other forms are red-shouldered hawks. Nobody can tell them apart in their animal forms.

-All the children get older, learn more, and get more powerful. Lyria is like her mother, she loves to fight, she has an attitude. She is also very compassionate and loves Terrasen deeply. Sam is quiet, but watchful, and very educated. He loves to read and listen to music. Aspen is, like, literally just Rowan. Imagine a teenage Rowan without the tattoo, that's Aspen. Evalin loves all things beautiful and fancy, she loves being a pampered princess, but at the same time is always willing to fight. And the twins are troublemakers who, at the same time, have a heart of gold.

-The story Worlds of Fire and Darkness take place when Lyria is 20, Sam is 19, Aspen is 15, Evalin is 12, and Aerith and Thallan are 10.

#throne of glass #tog #tog gen 2 #sarah j maas #rowaelin #rowan x aelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius