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isa-beenme · 9 months

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single mom with Cassian?

I can totally imagine myself trying to run away from him because he's handsomely intimidating

Someone made the request, and then I scrolled down through Cassian Appreciation Week and BOOM idea

"6. Day Six: Lord of Bloodshed X Cassian is one of the most powerful Illyrians in history. How do you think he earns - and continues to earn - his unofficial title?"

Answering now: he has his fandom, every famous person has one, it wouldn't be different for him

Idk if the time is over for this prompt, but in my time zone there's still one hour left so

Kiss The Girl

As a single mom, you had always been supportive of your daughter's interests, even when it came to her fascination with the General of the Night Court. Despite the warnings from her classmates and teachers at school, she was determined to prove that he was awesome and cool. Since the first time her grandmother (your mom) told her about the day the General saved her life during the attack against Velaris, your daughter has been obsessed with him.

From wearing something red in every outfit (her dress, her lipstick, her shoes, her ribbon, her socks, or anything like that) to reading every single book of history she could find in the public library that told some tale about her. And then she would tell you over and over again during dinner.

She was his biggest fan (or smallest, if we are talking about height), how couldn't she be? He was the greatest warrior in all of Prythian, the best General in the history of the Night Court, the best Illyrian male, the Lord of Bloodshed, the Prince of Bastards. Oh my, and wasn't he the strongest and bravest soldier in history?

Your daughter kept rambling about it over and over again as you walked through Velaris, buying food and some other supplies for the dresses you had to make during the week. Eloise loved this type of walk since she was always excited with the possibility of finding the General somewhere. As you chose some strawberries and raspberries for a future cake she suddenly started to shake your hand and jump up and down.

-Mom! Can I walk alone? I saw something I like - She started tugging the hand you held her, quite stronger than usual if you could say.

-Let me just pay for the fruits and we can go together, love - You drop her hand to grab money, counting the coins you had.

-No, mom! It needs to be now! Pretty please? - She sounded almost desperate, making you laugh a bit, but one look at her pleading eyes you could only smile and nod, dreading the power she held over you.

-Alright you can go, but be careful, sweetie - To your surprise, instead of walking to a store close to where you were she started to scream with joy and run though the streets, leaving you behind in one of the fruit tents - Eloise, wait! - You called after her, your heart already pounding with worry.

She bolted towards an aleatory spot while you tried to see where exactly she was going to follow her after you finish you payment, since you don't want to steal everything in your bag (although from the laugh the tent owner was holding you don't think he would care that much if you ran behind her too). What you didn't see was the glimpse she got of Cassian walking down the street, two siphons around his hands shining bright red, just as her dress.

The General was just a few streets away trying to look for the art supplies Feyre told him to get when he spotted a little red thing running towards him. It took him some seconds to identify the red running thing as a mini fae and he immediately crouched down, trying not to look intimidating when he confirmed that she was indeed going toward his direction. But your daughter was the most fearless child you ever met. She went straight up to him and wrapped her tiny arms around one of his arms, her tiny frame not even rounding one big muscled arm.

-Well, hello there, little one. Is everything alright with you? - He said as he smiled wide and tapped her back.

-Yes! I just wanted to say that you're the best, General Cassian! I love everything about you! - She jumped up and down on his arms as small tears started to form in her eyes.

-Oh, do you now? That's very kind of you to say - He quickly dried the droplets that threatened to get out of her eyes, the bag with requests from Feyre long forgotten on the ground.

-No, really! I want to be just like you when I grow up. Can you teach me to fight and be a general too? - She let go of his arm to look at him from the front view, but never let go of him, fearing he might disappear.

-What's your name, small thing? - He played with some strands of her hair, making her even more excited with the situation.

-I'm Eloise, sir - She said confidently, straighten up the posture and all.

-Well, little one, being a general takes a lot of hard work and hundreds of years of pure training. But I'm honored that you look up to me. Maybe one day we can talk about it - Eloise's eyes sparkled with admiration, and she continued to pour her heart out to him, sharing all the reasons why she thought he was incredible. Cassian listened attentively, his heart melting at her genuine affection.

-You are my favorite person in the whole wide world, Cassian! I mean… after my mommy and my granny, but then you are my favorite - She said convincingly, making the General throw his head back in laughter, adoring the attention.

-Thank you so much, Eloise. This makes me happier than you can imagine. I'm glad to know I have such a brave and wonderful fan like you - She squealed in happiness as she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him as tight as she could ‐ I believe you're not here alone, right?

-Of course not! Mommy is here with me… somewhere - She said sheepishly, almost if she just remembered about her mother.

-Hold on tight, little warrior - Cassian said before lifting her up with one of his arms, letting her rest on his waist - Let's go find your mom, shall we? Can't have her worrying about you.

Meanwhile, you finally caught up to them, slightly out of breath from the chase after running around the blocks searching for your daughter. You were both relieved and a bit mad, but it all disappeared in amusement after seeing Eloise fearlessly chatting with Cassian. And oh my, wasn't he as amazing as your daughter mentioned.

-Eloise, there you are! I was worried about you. Don't ever run away from me like that again - You said as you tried to make sense of your surroundings and not keep looking at the General like a crazy person.

-Mommy, look, it's General Cassian! Isn't he amazing? - She said pointing at him, he turned at you with such a big and radiant and beautiful smile that almost made you weak on your knees. Almost.

-Yes, he is, sweetie - His smile got even bigger if that was possible, he seemed to enjoy the attention, and you kind of felt inclined to give it to him every day of your life.

-You have an incredible daughter. She made my day with the amount of praises, it's hard for me to get those.

-Really? How so? You're so amazing and look so good that… - You seem to catch your train of thought as you laugh nervously, almost making a fool of yourself - I mean, that's what Eloise always says, so… I would imagine that is a routine for you to be… praised? - You smile as best as you can and take your daughter back, trying your best to not touch any part of that very well toned and built muscles - Anyway, thank you for taking her. She really adores you.

-I think I adore her too. She's quite… remarkable - Cassian's eyes met yours, and there was an instant connection. He seemed to look at you as if the rest of the world didn't matter, in a way that your late husband never looked at you.

Cassian couldn't help but search for an engagement ring on your hand, but as he found none he felt a mixture of relief wash over him that almost made him feel sorry for himself. Meanwhile, you couldn't help but notice how tall, big, and undeniably handsome he was, which definitely made you feel a little intimidated. Feeling ridiculously overwhelmed by his attractiveness, you decided to take your daughter away, practically running from him.

-Come on, sweetie, let's get going! - You said quickly as none of you seemed inclined to look away from each other - Thank you very much for talking with her. It was nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, General Cassian - Your daughter practically screamed as you took her away, scared that he might scent the interest you took on him.

-It was nice to meet you too, little warrior - Cassian, however, was determined to win you over, just as he had already conquered your daughter's heart.

Days went by and you couldn't get Cassian out of your mind. You even started to pay a lot of attention to your daughter's tales about him, making her more excited to tell you over and over again. You worked quietly every day in your sewing shop thinking every single detail Eloise told you about the General while you made the dresses to sell, it didn't took you long to realize good part of your drawings and works were coming out red, you let out a laugh when you noticed the amount of red dresses you had around.

Your late husband wasn't exactly the love of your life, you could say. He was a nice gentleman that took responsibility for your daughter once you found out that you were pregnant after one good night with him. There wasn't desire between you two, there was love, but more like friendly love. And when he died in the war against Hybern you mourned him like a friend. It was always you, your mother and your daughter, there was no space for love or anything else. And you were still young, once Eloise would grow up you could find a love for you to settle for and finally relax. So it was hard to understand whatever you were feeling for the General, why your thoughts went to him all the time even if you barely talked to him that day.

As you continued to work in your studio, you were completely surprised when Cassian suddenly appeared in the store. His tall form almost touched the ceiling as he looked around as if searching for something. Or someone.

-Hello there. May I help you? - You blushed slightly at his presence, feeling uncertain yet intrigued by his sudden approach.

-Your daughter told me you had this store and I wanted to check it out by myself - He said it as if he wasn't certain of any of his words, smiling nervously at you.

-She really told you? Why? - He took time to think, you could almost see the parts of his brain trying to come up with an answer until he sighs and gives up.

-Okay, I lied, she didn't tell me about the store. I don't even know why I tried to lie. I think I'm nervous, sorry - He started to rumble a lot and you tried to make sense of his talk, at the same time as you tried to calm down your heart at the mere sight of him - Hm… I asked Azriel- do you know Azriel? Spymaster and stuff? Yeah, I asked him to find you for me and we found out you worked as a seamstress, which made the opportunity to talk to you fall like a glove since Feyre- you know, the High Lady? She's looking for someone to make some dresses for Nyx's birthday and I thought "uh, I can ask you if you can do it and then I can talk to you like I've been wanting to since the day we met" and here I am.

-Wait, wait, wait. Calm down - Your mind was turning over and over as you processed the whole situation - Yes, I can make a dress, but… you were searching for me?

-Yeah, I actually promised a good amount of food and wine to Az for him to find you.

-Why? - The question left your mouth as if you were asking yourself, not him.

-Hm… so, about that. You daughter, Eloise, right? - You only nodded your head, still confused about everything - So, she mentioned she wanted to train. And I can do it, you know? I have a lot of experiences with kids, they love me.

-You have a lot of experience training kids?

-Yes! It's more like the basic, only self defense and basic knowledge on punches and kicks. I am in charge of training Nyx, actually - He said convincingly, trying his best to keep the smile on his face.

-You are in charge of training a barely two years old kid?

-Yes… when he grow up - You couldn't help but laugh at him, his face seemed to chill once you smiled at him - I must admit, your daughter's energy and spirit impressed me. I believe I could help her practice her skills, if you'd allow me, obviously.

While you felt drawn to his charisma, you couldn't shake off the feeling of intimidation caused by his undeniable attractiveness. People simply shouldn't be allowed to look so good. However, the thought of your daughter spending time with someone she admired excited you, and you kind of wanted her to get to know him better.

-Well, I suppose... Maybe we could have dinner together someday, my mom needs to know you too, since you will be taking her granddaughter to kick and punch. That way, Eloise can decide if she wants to train with you - Cassian's face lit up with delight, clearly pleased with the invitation.

-That sounds wonderful! I promise I'll behave, and we'll have a lovely evening. If Eloise agrees we can discuss what exactly I can do.

-And the dress for the High Lady? - He looked at me like he completely forgot about that, the nervous smile coming back to his face.

-She will come by to talk about that - And so, you set a time for dinner at your home.

You were never the best cook in your family, far from that. But you had your skills to be proud of. Your nervousness made you spend hours preparing a delicious meal while your mother laughed at you for feeling like that for a male, a mix of anticipation and fear rising in you as the evening approached. When Cassian arrived, he was the epitome of charm and warmth, making your daughter feel excited right away and your mom turning to you and raising a thumbs up.

-Wow, you're even cooler when you wear normal clothes! Can you really teach me how to fight? Mommy said you wanted to - She pointed at you, who was still helping to set up the table.

-Of course, little warrior. I'll teach you everything you need to know - He even had the audacity to blink at you! Your cheeks burned as if fire was rising inside of you.

Throughout the night, Cassian regaled your small family with tales of his adventures before becoming the General, the ones that weren't written in the books, and your daughter hung onto every word, captivated by his bravery and humor. As the time went on, your initial uncertainties began to fade, replaced by the genuine connection and shared laughter as he made all of you feel at ease.

In the following weeks, Cassian kept his promise and started training your daughter in combat and self defense. It turned out he actually didn't have much experience with kids, but his genuine passion for teaching and caring nature won your daughter's heart even more. As time passed, you found yourself not only appreciating the mentorship he provided to Eloise but also enjoying his company more and more.

He grew closer as a family, helping your mother with her garden by bringing new seeds from every Court and asking tips for Elain or always taking your daughter to eat some sweets after training and always making sure to give her some red gift (her obsession with the color never fading), or even stopping by your store to leave something to eat or taking and fetching Eloise at school so you or your mother wouldn't have to stop working. And easy like that your feelings of intimidation were replaced by a deep admiration for the kind, caring, and honorable male Cassian truly was.

In the end, it was clear that Cassian wasn't just a charming and handsome general; he was also a genuinely good person who cared deeply for the ones he loved. The once-feared general of the Night Court had found a special place in your heart. Not that Cassian's compliments about your looks or scent always helped you ease your growing feelings for him, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to deny the attraction you felt.

One day, as your daughter caught her breath on the ground after a particularly intense training session, Cassian turned to you with that all-too-familiar mischievous grin he wears everytime you stay longer to watch their sparring.

-You know, I can't help but notice how your eyes sparkle when you're watching. It's rather enchanting - Your face flushed deep, not knowing how to react once his tall form reached the bench you were sitting on, you quickly rose from your position to look at him from a better view - I always try to know if it is because of Eloise improvement or if it's just you really happy to see me - Before you could respond, your daughter chimed in, playfully teasing the both of you.

-Come on, kiss the girl already so I can call you my dad! - She said breathlessly but with a smile that reached both sides of her face.

You and Cassian exchanged surprised glances, both of you slightly caught off guard by her remark. However, her words seemed to break the tension that always formed when he flirted, and you decide to take a leap of faith. You leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss on Cassian's cheek, despite feeling like your face was on fire from blushing. He looked at you even more surprised as a smile started to play on his lips.

-Well, I don't know about calling you dad just yet, but I can't deny my daughter's wishes, you know? - Cassian's eyes sparkled with delight, and he chuckled warmly.

-I couldn't agree more. How about we have that dinner we talked about last week? Just the two of us? - He pulled you closer by the waist, your hands resting on his chest.

-Yes, I'd like that - With that, he leaned in, and this time, he gave you a soft, lingering kiss, your daughter's squeals making you smile during the kiss, feeling as happy as she was.

As the days turned into weeks, your relationship grew stronger, both of you falling into an easy routine. Your daughter's admiration for Cassian only deepened as she saw how much he cared for her family, and in time, she called him "dad" without hesitation.

In the end, this unexpected journey brought love, happiness, and a newfound sense of belonging to your heart. And it all started with your daughter's innocent fascination with the once-feared Lord of Bloodshed, also known as your husband (and Eloise's favorite daddy).

#spotify #acotar #cassian #cassian acosf #cassian acotar #cassian x you #cassian x reader #cassianappreciationweek2023

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readychilledwine · 9 months

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Cassian Week Day 2 Prompt Gentle-

A/N: Cassian has My heart, but I rarely can write him as a love interest the way some people so amazingly can. When I think of Cassian, I think of my older brother. A kind, loving, and gentle person who, due to his larger size, was cast into this role of a dominating force, and Cassian embraced it. "Gentle" is my absolute favorite prompt from this week, and I had planned to keep this to myself, but I have so many little fics and drabbles already locked away that I wanted to make sure anyone else who sees Cassian as the safe big brother also had something to read.. So enjoy 💜

Warnings- implied injury and unedited (you know the best warning)

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Reader is the youngest Archeron sister, and after being made, has begged Rhysand to allow her to have combat training. Hand to hand doesn't go as planned, though, when Azriel gets asked to spar her so Cassian can watch and take notes on her progress.

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Your back hit the training mat with a loud thud. All you could do was blink the shock from your system as Cassian ran over to your side separating you from Azriel. The loud cough and gasp you released as your body screamed for oxygen had you rolling to your side.

"What the fuck, Az?" Cassian was in shock. His voice was muffled to your ears as you tried to focus on calming the burning sensation in your lungs.

"She was doing so well, I just-" Azriel sighed at the look Cassian shot him, "I got caught up in thinking it was someone more experienced. I thought she could handle it." Azriel's own guilt hit you instantly as he watched you curl up on the ground. "Y/N, I am so sorry. I didn-"

"We haven't even begun to discuss what to do when someone is about to throw you or slam you down. She has only trained for a few weeks, Azriel." Cassian moved to you, kneeling on one knee at your side as your body continued to try to breathe through the pain in rushed pants. "Y/n, are you okay?" Cassian's rough hands braced your neck softly as he sat you up and leaned you against his thigh. "Arms above your head, baby. You knocked her breath straight out of her." Cassian moved you again, trying to stop you from decompressing your chest and stomach, "Next time, push your body weight the opposite way he is throwing, y/n. Do not let Azriel rag doll you." Azriel scoffed at the comment, kneeling down next to you on the other side and holding your hand in his.

Cassian pulled you in closer to him with a glare. He was softly rubbing his hand up and down your spine slowly to coach you into deep breaths. "Breathe sweetheart, you're okay. In through your nose, out through your mouth. There we go, just like that." Cassian smiled brightly at you as your breathing became more regular. "Rhys and Nesta are going to kill you." He looked at Azriel with a serious expression. "Ness already is upset we are forcing her to train. She might actually steal a knife and stab you."

Azriel sighed deeply. "That would get Nesta out of her room at least." They both watched as you cracked the smallest smile before leaning into Cassian more. "I think she's done for today. That will leave a nasty bruise. I'll have one of the twins go to the room to rub salve on it."

Cassian nodded in agreement. Your eyes met the upset ones of another male as Cassian began to speak again. "I'll carry you up to your room, y/n. Az, can you clean up here? I want to talk her through what she did well and wrong. Y/n, Please don't tell Rhys about this.."

"He already knows," you whispered softly before pointing to the doorway where your sister's husband stood. His hands were tucked into his pockets as he studied the scene before him. Anger graced his face as he took in your disheveled, messy braid of dark brown hair, your red face, and your soft pants from being unable to take a full breath yet. Cassian chuckled lowly while looking between Rhys and Azriel. "Be nice, Rhys. I asked. It was-"

"I told Cassian to train you," the high lord said sternly. "Strictly for this reason. Now I get to tell Feyre you were hurt tonight when we speak."

Azriel was the first to turn as Cassian gently picked you up, supporting your knees with one of his arms. "Let's go get you a bath, princess," he whispered gently into your ear. "They're about to fight and it might get ugly. Our dear Rhysie has some pent up anger that he does not want to admit to, and Azriel is always more than happy to fight him."

You nodded, arms going around his neck so you could tuck yourself further into his chest. "Why did he want you to train me?"

"I would never throw you this early. Soft gentle movements until you have more experience, more balance, better strength. Az didn't want to baby you. Rhysand and I did. Because. Well. You are the baby." His voice was soft as he reached the room you and Azriel had begun to share since being made.

He continued after opening the door. "Azriel felt that was unnecessary. That you were capable and babying you after you begged us to ensure you never felt helpless again was unfair."

"And he won because of the bond?" Cassian nodded to the question as he set you down on the bed and Sat beside you.

"We compromised. I told him I would train you with progress updates every two weeks where he was involved. That is why he was there today. To spar you while I watched to see what I needed to fix, what we could progress on. I will be talking to him, though. You were not ready for that level of hand to hand. He needs to be more gentle with my baby sister."

Cassian's hand continued rubbing up and down your back as he held you. "Your footing was wonderful. You have made so much progress in the past couple of weeks. Feyre would be proud." He smiled down at you, then switched to a serious face, "You had a few strikes we need to work on, and we need to teach you how to get out of a few holds again. You did very well, though. I am very happy with your progress."

You smiled against his chest. "It must be the good, gentle teacher."

Cassian hummed as he placed a kiss on your head and pulled you in for another warm hug. "Or the aggressive dedicated student."

#cassian acotar #cassianappreciationweek2023 #cassianxplatonic!reader #cassian x reader #day 2: gentle

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itsthedoodle · 9 months

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Luckiest Male Alive

Summary: After the birth of his daughter, Cassian reminisces over the lucky moments in his life.

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: none

Read on AO3

@cassianappreciationweek

Day Two: Gentle

Cassian could count his lucky moments on one hand.

His father had raped his mother, so his start in life had been less than ideal. Ripped away from her at a young age, he’d had to fend for himself—survival of the fittest was the life for bastards in the Illyrian camps, kill or be killed. So Cassian had taken care of earning the clothes on his back, making sure people knew he was not to be messed with, and then he had met his brothers. That was the first time he considered himself lucky.

They’d conquered Ramiel together, dropped on opposite sides of it with no powers or weapons to aid them other than what they made for themselves on the go. Still, they’d found each other, and they’d mastered the sacred peak at the same time, inseparable and invincible together.

They’d been sent to war, separated from each other because their high lord feared their combined powers. During the seven years the war lasted, Cassian had dreaded every casualties list, fearing he would read their names. Every time he hadn’t, and when the war had ended and they’d all made it out alive, he had considered himself lucky again.

He’d been aware that things didn’t come easy to bastards like him, so he had worked hard for every single thing he had achieved, partly because he had drive, but also because he’d always held out hope he’d one day be accepted by the Illyrians, seen as more than just a bastard. He’d expected resistance when Rhys made him general, and while he’d found none, he knew better than to read into it. Acceptance was not something he had, but Illyrians respected genuine power and strength, and that was something no one could deny he had.

Still, Cassian had always been a bastard, and he’d owned it so no one could use it against him. But it had always bothered him, the festering root of all his insecurities, which he hid so well behind a veil of sarcasm and playfulness that only those he let get close knew what truly lay in his heart.

He had fought against the love he had for his brother when Rhys had been trapped under the mountain, and had nearly lost it by the end of the longest fifty years of his life, when Feyre had freed Rhys and the rest of Prythian. When Rhys had come back, Cassian had considered himself lucky for the single fact that his brother had come back alive. He had quickly learned that Rhys had returned half broken, had hidden it behind the same façade Cassian himself had used his whole life, and had gotten back to work as if nothing had happened. So Cassian hadn’t forced him to talk about it and had stood on the sidelines as Feyre slowly brought Rhys back to life.

Feyre was another person Cassian considered himself lucky to know, not just because what meeting her represented for him personally, but because he saw himself in her. Forced to fend for herself at a young age, Feyre had known desperation and hunger, just like he had. They had become fast friends, and she was someone he could talk freely to, more so than the rest of his family, simply because she knew. He considered himself lucky to know her, not just because of what she meant to his brother, or the fact that she was his High Lady, but because through Feyre, he had met the one person that had made him feel beyond lucky.

Nesta had been another less than stellar start. She had been volatile and angry, with words able to cut deeper than a knife, and more often than not he had been on the receiving end of that viciousness. He’d taken one look at her, however, and had fallen in love. He'd suspected she was his mate from the beginning, but Nesta hadn’t been ready for the truth so he had kept his suspicions to himself. He had known from the start that winning her over would be a hard, long battle, one he’d been more than willing to fight. He’d known she wouldn’t make it easy for him but he’d fought, and when it had looked like she was finally warming up to him, when he’d been on the verge of death, he had poured his heart out to her on the battlefield.

Everything after that had been a giant mess, a dark tunnel with no end in sight. Watching her waste away day by day, refuse help, and throw herself in the path of destruction had been the hardest thing to witness. He’d forced himself to keep out of it until he had no longer been able to, and when she’d finally been ready, Nesta had gotten back up all on her own.

It hadn’t been thanks to her friends, though they’d helped. It certainly hadn’t been thanks to his family, he could admit that. It hadn’t been because of him either, though he’d have handed the universe over on a silver platter to help her. Nesta’s road to self discovery had been because of her, her hard work, and relentless drive. That, he knew, they shared.

It was her whisper that brought him out of his thoughts, her voice so soft and loving he could feel his heart expanding in his chest. He looked at her, as beautiful as the day he had met her, as confident and resilient, if not more.

“I can take over, you know that, don’t you?” he asked, one eyebrow raised, trying to keep a straight face lest she thought he was joking. He could see the exhaustion on her face, but he could also see the Archeron stubbornness, the unwillingness to ask for help.

“I know,” she said, giving him the kind of soft smile she reserved just for him. “I’m just, you know… scared somehow. Like-” she gestured vaguely with one hand.

“Like you’ll blink and she’ll disappear into thin air?”

“Yeah. Exactly like that.”

Cassian took a seat on the bed next to her and she carefully inched closer. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, and she positioned herself so that her back was resting against his side.

“Can you believe we made her?”

No, Cassian almost said. I can’t believe we did.

After they’d been mated in a ceremony which, thanks to a very grateful Rhys, had been extremely lavish, Cassian and Nesta had thrown themselves into reviving the Valkyries. They had, together with Gwyn, Emerie, and Az, trained new recruits, mostly made up of priestesses that had braved the outside world again and any Illyrian females that had wanted to join. That had been another thing for which Cassian felt particularly lucky.

Devlon and the rest of the Illyrians had been forced, albeit begrudgingly, to accept the fact that females were just as good (if not better, in Cassian’s completely unbiased opinion) at fighting as males were. Rhys liked to tease Nesta that she had worked her “witch magic”, and the Illyrians hadn’t had any choice but to accept if they didn’t want to run the risk of her being hexed. The Illyrian females had laughed themselves hoarse when they’d realized she was no witch and had no magic, and had made sure to keep it to themselves. Thus, Nesta had become the most feared female to an entire camp of Illyrians.

Azriel had cracked a big smile at that.

They had both put in a lot of hard work, and after a few years they’d had a solid Valkyrie unit. The day they’d reached one hundred of them, Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie had all cried tears of joy, and Cassian had been so proud.

A few months after that, lying in bed sweaty and spent, Nesta had told him she was ready. He had understood right away what she meant, and they’d eagerly gotten to work.

Now, half-sitting in bed, Nesta curled up against him, Cassian looked down at their infant daughter. Aoife had been alive for exactly one week and there wasn’t a single soul she didn’t already have wrapped around her tiny finger. Elain and Feyre had lost it, squealing in delight when they learned Nesta was having a girl, Gwyn, Emerie, Mor, and Rhys had cried, Amren had cracked a smile, and Az had clapped his back, telling him he couldn’t imagine Cassian as a father to anything but a daughter.

Cassian himself had simply never thought he’d be here, with a mate and a daughter, had never considered himself good enough for it. He’d been a nervous wreck the entire pregnancy, hiding it from Nesta as well as he could. Madja had told them the baby had wings and, while it wouldn’t have mattered to him if she hadn’t, he had still felt an indescribable amount of joy at learning their daughter would get to experience the freedom of flight.

The moment Aoife was born had been one he would never forget in a million lifetimes. His heart felt like it resided in both his own body and the small infant in her mother’s arms, his entire being attuned to her breathing and heartbeat. He had cried from the sheer force of love that filled his heart, and he had thanked the Mother for the blessing.

He snapped out of his thoughts again and found Nesta looking up at him. “You’re thinking too hard.”

Dropping a kiss to her forehead, he smiled. “Sorry. I still haven’t wrapped my head around it to be honest.”

Nesta was looking at him in that way of hers that left him feeling utterly naked and exposed, that brought all his walls crashing down. It was too soon to tell, but he prayed day and night that their daughter had Nesta’s eyes.

“I’m suddenly feeling very tired,” she said. He eagerly took over, Nesta transferring Aoife to his waiting arms. “Can you wake me up in an hour so I can feed her?”

He was glad for all the practice he had gotten holding Nyx. The old him would have pissed himself at the thought of holding a baby. The new, fun uncle version of him had thanked Rhys and Feyre for letting him use their son as a test subject.

That had earned him a glare from Feyre.

He nodded, waiting until Nesta was fully lying in bed. “Rest,” he said, pulling the covers over her, and dropping a kiss on her forehead. “We’ll be fine.”

Closing the door behind him, he headed to Aoife’s bedroom, the House turning the lights on and preparing her a bath. He mentally calculated the time since her last feeding, muttered a sorry to the House for doubting it and, deeming it safe, he washed his daughter, changed her into a fresh set of clothes, then sat on the reclining chair with her in his arms.

She was so small and vulnerable, yet so quiet in his arms, as if she felt safe.

Lord of Bloodshed. He snorted. More like Lord of Diapers these days. He wasn’t remotely bothered by it, however. This was the happiest he’d ever been.

“You know, I hope you’ll end up taking after your mother. She’s beautiful, and perfect, and loves fiercely. She’s brave, and she is strong, and she really won’t take anyone’s shit.”

The lights flickered, the House scolding him for using that language in front of the baby.

“Lighten up, she doesn’t understand,” he said, and the lights flickered again.

Aoife yawned and he nearly melted at the sight of it. “I can’t wait to teach you how to fly. You’re going to love it. There’s just something about the freedom of it that makes you feel invincible, like there is nothing you couldn’t do. When you’re old enough, you can join the Valkyries, if you want to. Or you can go into politics. Or you can paint, like Feyre, or grow beautiful gardens like Elain. You could end up loving dancing like your mother. Or you could end up doing none of those things and doing something else, something purely you. I hope your whole life ends up being a big, beautiful dance. I’ll make sure there’s never a day where the sun doesn’t shine for you, I swear it.”

Aoife’s eyes closed softly, her breathing evening out.

“You’ll always feel loved, and appreciated, and have our support in anything you choose to do. There will never be a day I won’t tell you how much I love you, and how much you and your mother mean to me. You’ll have the freedom to be whoever you want to be, because you’re you, and you’re special, and you can do anything you set your mind to. And I’ll always hold your hand every step of the way.”

He kissed the top of her head, the hair there impossibly soft, her baby scent something he would never tire of.

Yes, he could count his lucky moments in single digits. But this, right here. This was the happiest he’d ever been.

He was the luckiest male alive.

#cassianappreciationweek2023 #cassian #with a touch of nesta #girl dad cassian #because thats by favorite headcannon #and we all know cassian was born to be a girl dad #cassian fanfic #nessian fanfic #cassian x nesta #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #post acosf #several years have passed #nesta archeron

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moodymelanist · 9 months

Text

What Happens in Vegas

Happy @cassianappreciationweek everyone! I had a lot of fun with this one and major shoutout to @c-e-d-dreamer for giving me the plot idea for this ❤️‍🔥

Summary: Cassian and the guys spend a weekend in Vegas to celebrate his upcoming marriage to Nesta.

✵✵✵✵✵✵

Cassian

When Cassian had agreed to let Rhys take him to Vegas for an all-expenses-paid bachelor party weekend, he’d been so excited that he hadn’t been able to stop talking about it for days.

He just hadn’t factored in how much he’d miss Nesta.

“You have everything?” Nesta asked, leaning against one of their living room walls as Cassian wheeled his suitcase to the door.

“I think so,” Cassian answered. He did a last-minute check that he had his phone, wallet, and keys, along with a light jacket for the flight. “If not, I can just buy it there.”

“Assuming you’ll be sober enough to think straight,” she teased, following him as he walked to the front of their home.

When they’d been throwing around bachelor party ideas, originally Cassian had wanted to do something chill. He wasn’t into the stereotypical strip club party — especially not when he had Nesta at home waiting for him — but Rhys, Azriel, and Lucien had managed to convince him to visit Vegas for the weekend. Cassian wasn’t a huge gambler, but there were lots of things to do other than throw money away at the casinos, and he’d always wanted to go to Vegas. So he’d agreed to make the trip, and now the moment of truth had finally come.

Cassian wheeled his suitcase outside to see that Rhys’ familiar black Range Rover was sitting in front of their townhouse, the trunk already open for Cassian to add his suitcase to the mix. He waved toward the car and turned back to Nesta so he could give her a proper goodbye, leaning in and pulling her into his arms in a fierce hug. He buried his face into the side of her neck and inhaled the familiar smell of her perfume while she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into his embrace. Maybe he was being a little dramatic, but who cared? She was the love of his life. He could be a little dramatic if he wanted.

“I’ll miss you,” Cassian murmured. He pulled back from the hug to fix her with what was probably one of the dopiest looks he’d given her yet. “So much.”

“I’ll miss you too, Cassian,” Nesta replied, the hint of a pleased smile making the corners of her lips turn up. “Have a safe flight.”

“Let’s go, lover boy!” Rhys called out from the car. He honked the horn like an asshole and Cassian whirled around to flip him off. “We’re gonna be late for our flight!”

“Shut the fuck up, Rhys, I’m saying goodbye to my wife,” Cassian yelled back. “Who I love very much!”

Nesta laughed, pulling Cassian’s attention back to her. “I love you too. Now hurry up, I have to keep packing for my trip.”

Nesta had decided on taking a beach trip for her bachelorette party, her and the rest of the ladies deciding to drive down to Myrtle Beach to spend a few days relaxing by the water. She and her sisters – along with Emerie and Gwyn – had rented out a beach house for a long weekend, and Cassian couldn’t wait to see just how many freckles would appear on her skin.

“Have fun at the beach,” Cassian said. He leaned in for a goodbye kiss and forced himself to eventually pull away, but not before he cupped her face and ran his thumb across her cheek. “Bye, sweetheart.”

“Bye, baby,” Nesta said back. She waited until he’d put his suitcase in the trunk and got in the car before she turned around and went back inside, though not before blowing him one last kiss.

God, he loved her.

“Fucking finally,” Rhys muttered once Cassian had strapped himself into the passenger seat. “You’re leaving for a few days, not going off to war.”

“I’m not going to apologize for giving the love of my life the goodbye she deserves,” Cassian said primly.

“Cut him a break, you know he can’t help it,” Azriel chimed in from the backseat. “We might as well get used to it. He’ll probably call her every night for a bedtime story.”

“If you got the kind of bedtime stories I did, you’d be calling every night too,” Cassian fired back with a smirk.

“I don’t think any of us want that level of trauma,” Lucien teased, pulling

Thankfully, once they made it to the airport, the rest of their traveling went smoothly. They made it through security without any problems, their flight left on time, and Cassian even got to take a nap in first class, all while he was texting Nesta about how nice it was to have real legroom. By the time they touched down in Vegas and made it to their hotel, Cassian was more than ready to walk around and see all that Vegas had to offer.

Rhys had gotten them some super fancy suite that had a loft and room for everyone to have their own bed, and Cassian could hardly believe the view when they got upstairs. They were so high up that all of Vegas was spread out below them, and Cassian couldn’t stop gaping at how expensive everything must have been.

“Rhys—” Cassian tried to thank him once Rhys had emerged from putting his stuff away, but he only waved Cassian off.

“Don’t even think about it,” Rhys replied. “Come on, we have reservations in an hour.”

Cassian obliged and went to get changed, the four of them eventually making their way downstairs to the hotel’s restaurant. The food was amazing and the service was impeccable, and by the time they made it back upstairs, Cassian’s stomach was pleasantly full and was more than ready to pass out.

“You’re getting an hour, and then we’re going back downstairs,” Azriel told him, waggling his phone at Cassian to show him the timer. “Chop chop.”

“Fine,” Cassian huffed. Once he reached his bed, he kicked off his shoes and stripped down to his underwear before flopping on top of the comforter. “Good night.”

When Lucien came to shake him awake, Cassian was abruptly pulled out of his dream and nearly rolled off the bed. “Morning, sleeping beauty.”

“Fuck off,” Cassian replied good-naturedly.

Lucien just laughed and left him to get dressed, and once Cassian was presentable, he left the warmth of his bed to find Rhys pouring out a round of shots.

“Look who’s finally back to the land of the living,” Rhys said as he put the cap back on. “Nice of you to join us, lover boy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cassian said back, flipping him off. “What are we drinking?”

“Tequila,” Azriel answered. He pushed everyone’s shots toward them before moving a little bowl of limes to where the glasses had just been. “If you want one.”

Cassian took one and turned toward Rhys expectantly, since he tended to lead their toasts. His brother was already holding his little shot glass up in the air and waited for the rest of them to follow suit before saying, “To Cassian, who I still can’t believe managed to convince Nesta Archeron to let him follow her around for the rest of their lives. Salud.”

“Trust me, I can’t believe it either,” Cassian joked once he’d tossed back his shot and sucked down on his lime. He’d hardly believed it when she’d said yes to a date, let alone to spending the rest of their lives together, but he wasn’t about to question any of it. “Hit me again.”

By the time they all made it downstairs, they were three shots down and ready for more. Cassian had never really been much of a gambler, but it was cool to see so many different games spread out across the casino floor. There were slot machines and card tables and people cheering or booing depending on how things were going, and Cassian was feeling just enough of a buzz for it to all be exciting.

Of course, it didn’t take long for the buzz to turn into being full-on drunk. Lucien got him one of those enormous daiquiris while Azriel showed him how to use the slot machines, and Cassian felt like a kid in a candy store. He wanted to try everything at least once no matter how much money he won or lost, and his friends were more than willing to encourage him. There were also plenty of women willing to help him out, but Cassian was far too quick to mention Nesta for any of them to get too close.

“You want another one?” Azriel asked once Cassian hit the bottom of his daiquiri. It was so loud inside the casino that it was almost hard to hear him.

“Yeeeeeeeah,” Cassian answered, grinning widely for no reason. Well, not for no reason. He had the greatest friends in the world. “I love you so much, man.”

“Likewise,” Azriel replied. He looked only a little alarmed when Cassian leaned over and threw his arm around him.

“Nooooo,” Cassian whined. “You gotta say it back. Stop being so repressed. And depressed.”

“Yeah, Az,” Rhys chimed in, laughing. “Tell the man you love him, for God’s sake. It’s not healthy to keep everything inside.”

“He knows that I care about him,” Azriel responded with a heavy sigh.

“Just say it,” Lucien told him. “He’s not gonna let it go until you do.”

“Fine.” Azriel turned to Cassian and awkwardly patted the side of his face. “I love you too, Cassian. Now can you please let go of me?”

“Yes,” Cassian replied with a big grin. “You’re the best.”

Azriel patted him again before extracting himself from Cassian’s grip, muttering about how he preferred sober Cassian before he and Lucien headed off to the bar.

“You’re a mess,” Rhys told Cassian fondly.

“I’m your mess,” Cassian replied just as happily. “Well. Mostly Nesta’s mess now.”

“And isn’t that something,” Rhys said, chuckling. He let Cassian lead him over to another slot machine and made a disappointed noise when he didn’t win. “Let me try.”

Halfway through the game, Rhys frowned and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Cassian saw Feyre’s photo lighting up the screen and he couldn’t help but pout. He wished Nesta would call him.

“I’m gonna talk to Feyre for a few minutes,” Rhys said, leaning over to poke his finger into Cassian’s chest. “ You better stay right here. Do you hear me?”

“Yup,” Cassian said back. “Stay right here. Got it.”

Naturally, the moment Rhys walked away to call Feyre, Cassian couldn’t help but wander a little too. He didn’t go far, he just wanted to go somewhere that wasn’t as loud as their corner of the casino was, but that was basically impossible. So he just ended up at one of the smaller bars, sighing as he fiddled with his phone and wished Nesta’s photo would show up on his screen.

Cassian wished Nesta was here. He’d wanted her here with him the entire time, of course, but he was really feeling her absence now.

Maybe he should call her.

Yeah. Yeah. He really wanted to hear her voice, and tell her how much he loved her in case she forgot, which she definitely wouldn’t, but it never hurt. Just in case. And if she wouldn’t call him, then he could always call her to remind her. The perfect compromise.

He dialed her number from memory just because he could, and pressed the phone to his ear while the line rang. He hoped she picked up because he really missed her and wanted to talk to her about Vegas and hear her laugh. God, she had the best laugh. The best everything, really. She was so perfect it was almost too much to handle. But he could manage. For her, he’d do anything.

Nesta didn’t answer, which — Cassian was not going to cry about it. He was not. She was having a good time with her friends, and between the time difference and her being on a well-deserved girls' trip, no way she was picking up the phone right now.

Still. He could be a little sad about it.

“Hi, you’ve reached Nesta Archeron,” came the start of her very professional voicemail. “I’m not available right now, but please leave a message and I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”

“After the tone, please record your message,” the automated voice told him. Cassian blinked away the not-tears in his eyes as he waited for it to finish. “When you are finished recording, you may hang up or press one for more options.”

“Heeeeeeey, sweetheart,” Cassian began once he heard the beep. “Nes. Nesta. Babe. I don’t wanna be annoying or anything. But. I miss you. So, so much. I know it hasn’t even been a day but I wish you were here. I lost all the money Rhys gave me and I wanted to buy you something good but you’re not even here to make me feel better and I hate it.”

Wait. Fuck. It wasn’t her job to make him feel better.

“Not that that’s your responsibility because I am a grown man.” He made sure to stress those last two words so she knew he was being serious. “I just. I’m having fun, but I know I’d have a lot more fun if you were here too.”

He took a deep breath before continuing. “Not that I’m not having fun. I hope you’re having fun. You work so fucking hard and you never do nice things for yourself even though you deserve it. You deserve all the nice things because you are the best fucking person I know.”

God, he was so drunk. Nesta was definitely going to laugh at him about this later, but then she’d kiss him and it would all be worth the embarrassment.

“I just love you so much,” Cassian said, a distressing sniffle making its way out of his nose before he pulled himself together. “Okay. Okay. I’m okay. I’ll see you when you get back. I love you, sweetheart. Okay. Bye.”

Cassian forced himself to hang up and then released a heavy sigh, putting his head in his hands for a few moments to collect himself.

“You alright, man?” someone asked.

Cassian pulled his head out of his hands to see the bartender giving him a semi-worried look. “Yeah. I just really miss my fiancée.”

“Bachelor weekend?” the bartender asked with a sigh. At Cassian’s nod, he added, “You should be enjoying yourself.”

“I am,” Cassian insisted. “I just. Really miss her.”

The guy’s name tag read Kallon, and he looked distinctly unimpressed. “Aren’t you going to see her in a few days?”

“Yeah,” Cassian answered slowly. “So?”

“So?” Kallon repeated. “So? So you’ll see her in a few days, man. You gotta get it together.”

“I’m trying,” Cassian told him.

“Maybe you could order a drink and that would make you feel better,” Kallon suggested pointedly. “Or maybe you could go mope upstairs in your room?”

“Trust me, you’d be moping too if you had a fiancée like mine and she wasn’t here,” Cassian promised.

“Oh yeah?” Kallon replied, sounding extremely skeptical. “Sure, buddy.”

“I’m serious.”

“I’m sure you are, man.”

“I’ll prove it to you.”

“You really don’t need to do that.”

“No, I think I do.” Cassian fumbled with his phone before pulling up some of their engagement photos, his heart squeezing all over again at how gorgeous Nesta looked in them. “Here.”

“Huh,” Kallon said, surprised. “Would you look at that.”

“See?” Cassian said back smugly. He accepted his phone and slid it into his pocket so he wouldn’t lose it. “I told you so.”

“Yeah, alright,” Kallon replied. “You can have that one. She’s beautiful. You two look great together. Now are you gonna order a drink, or are you gonna keep moping?”

Cassian was just about to pull up some more photos and keep being snarky when he felt someone’s hand roughly spin the back of his barstool around. “What the fuck — Rhys?”

“Where the fuck have you been,” Rhys hissed into his ear.

“Right… here?” Cassian replied, confused. He hadn’t gone that far. “I just went to sit down somewhere else.”

“We have been looking for you for the last fucking half hour,” Rhys continued. “We thought we lost you!”

“How the fuck could you lose me? I’ve been here the whole time,” Cassian told him. He turned toward the bartender and made a flapping motion with his hands that he hoped got his point across. “Tell him!”

“It’s true,” Kallon replied resignedly. “He’s been here the whole time, moping about missing his fiancée and not ordering anything .”

“My gorgeous fiancée,” Cassian corrected automatically.

“Yeah, yeah, the sun shines out of Nesta’s ass, we get it,” Azriel chimed in, sounding exhausted.

“Let’s just be grateful nobody had to tell her we lost him,” Lucien muttered. He exchanged a relieved look with Rhys and Azriel before turning his attention back to Cassian, pulling one of Cassian’s arms over his shoulder so he could bodily haul Cassian out of his seat. “Come on, lover boy. That’s enough shenanigans for one night.”

#cassianappreciationweek2023 #Cassian #nesta archeron #Nessian #Rhysand #azriel #lucien vanserra #moodymelanistwrites #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf

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arinbelle · 9 months

Text

Gentle

A/N: Happy Cassian Appreciation Week! It has been so long since I’ve posted anything and this fic sort of came to me unexpectedly. I really miss Nessian and I super, super miss the concept of them in Illyria with Nesta going with Cassian after ACOFAS. I guess this is an AU to ACOSF, and it’s a little angsty, a little smutty, and a lot of Nessian, which of course I love and live for.

Thank you @cassianappreciationweek for putting this amazing week together. I’m so excited!!!

~*~

Nesta was curled up on the couch, a cup of tea steaming besides her and a thick novel held in her hands which she promptly laid down once she saw him.

She didn’t say hello, or ask how he was, not that he expected her to. And apart from a quick nod of acknowledgement on her part and a grunt from him, that was it for them.

Cassian was tired. Bone-deep tired and he worried he may not have the energy to speak for the rest of the week, let alone do anything else. The rain he’d been caught in on the way home hadn’t helped his mood either. And definitely not as he’d trudged upstairs and peeled off the sodden clothes and leather that stuck to him like glue.

But a quick, heated bath restored some of his energy and he made his way back down to Nesta, still on the couch, and still reading as he towel-dried his hair.

“Good book?”

A hum. Yes.

“Did you eat?”

Another hum. Lower. It could be yes or no, he’d learned.

“Come eat with me.”

A click of her tongue. He was interrupting her reading and it was his cue to stop bothering her. So he did.

He made his way to their small kitchen, following the smell of freshly warmed up food. He opened up the pots on the stove, taking in the rice, lentils and chicken. The smell was heavenly and after surviving on stale bread and hard cheese for the past week, he was relieved to eat a hot meal that required a plate and cooking.

Nesta didn’t move away when he joined her on the empty side of the couch, nor did she prompt him to eat somewhere else. Not that there was anywhere else to go eat. It was either down here with her, or upstairs shut away in his bedroom.

He opted for company, however silent it may be.

“It’s good.” He said after getting a second serving for himself.

“Emerie’s recipe.” She flipped the page, eyes never once wavering from scanning the lines in front of her.

He finished the remainder of the meal quietly, peeking glances to the female across him, not even two feet away, every so often. She’d opted for a loose knot at the back of her head, as opposed to the tight coronet braid it was usually in. And the nightgown she had on covered her from shoulders to toes.

Last he’d seen her, the week before, she’d looked much different. Her hair had been loose, falling down her back in silky ripples. He’d wrapped his hand around the length of it once, twice, until he’d had enough to tug her head gently backwards and meet him for a kiss. His hips had snapped into her own, pounding deeper and deeper and she’d pulled away with a moan, burying her head into the pillows as he tightened his grip on her hips. The thin scrap of lace that she’d come to him wearing, a barely there nightgown, was sitting discarded besides him on the floor besides the couch. He had been too close and he would have pushed her over the edge soon enough had there not been a sharp rap on the door a few feet from them.

Nesta had quieted immediately while Cassian had stopped altogether. The knock had come again a few moments later and Cassian had flipped her over onto her back while yelling out at whoever was at the door.

A message had come from a northern kingdom in the mountains that he was needed for some sort of emergency. Cassian had discussed the details for a few minutes more while continuing to fuck Nesta slowly, covering just her mouth as she came hard around him, back arched and eyes rolling back in her head.

It wasn’t until the messenger told him goodbye and that he’d be waiting at the training barracks for him that Cassian had properly extricated himself from Nesta, and propped himself into a sitting position on the couch.

Nesta was still catching her breath besides him and the swift peek he’d gotten between her slightly spread legs, of her swollen sex, had almost tempted him to taste her one last time before he had to be off. Almost, because before he could do anything, Nesta had reached down and dressed herself in that damned gown again.

Before he could rise as well, and cool down to get rid of his hardness, Nesta had gotten on her knees between his open legs, sucking him down her throat. It hadn’t taken him very long to explode in her mouth, his hands holding her hair back while he fucked it with a frenzy. She’d taken every thrust, and swallowed his release while continuing to work her mouth around him.

Her eyes had looked up at him wickedly as her tongue had chased him from the side of pleasure to overstimulation and he had twitched against her hold.

They hadn’t shared a goodbye but Nesta had kissed him swiftly, brutally, with the taste of himself still on her tongue before walking away.

“What?,” she snapped, pulling him from his lewd thoughts.

“Nothing,” he said, scraping his dish clean. He picked up the bag he’d brought with him and made his way to the kitchen to clean up.

It was only after he’d washed his dishes and placed the leftover food in the icebox did he call out to Nesta to join him. She hadn’t moved right away but after a few breaths he’d heard a shuffle, the closing of a book and she’d soon appeared in the kitchen doorway.

“What?” Clipped. And a hint of annoyance if he’d read the rest of her posture correctly.

“Aren’t you charming? Is the book getting good? Did I interrupt an upcoming smut scene?”

He opened the white box’s packaging and Nesta took a seat opposite him from the center island.

“It already happened. They were going at it again.”

“How refreshing,” he chuckled with a wink. Nesta rolled her eyes.

“So I know how you are about your chocolate cake, but you have to try this one. I picked it up from a bakery up north and trust me, you’ve never had anything like it before.” He placed a generous slide onto the cake plate and pushed it towards her, handing her the fork she always favored.

Nesta didn’t eat it. She only surveyed the white cream and strawberry jam in between the large cake layers with barely concealed disdain. Strange. To his knowledge, she liked strawberries fine enough. And cake was always a welcome dessert for her.

“Where is it from?”

“Erm, Miyola. It’s a small town between these two hills in the northern Steppes. I know the baker there. I haven't had a chance to go in a while but I was nearby for the work I was doing with that Illyrian king, so I decided to drop by on the way home.”

She picked up her fork, spearing the center of the cake, but still not eating it.

“This baker is your…friend.”

She stated it but Cassian heard the question in her voice.

“Yes,” he answered, confused. A sort of friend that he’d known for a couple decades. Nothing like Azriel or Rhys, which were more family than friends at this point. But still, a good friend who made great pastries. And always gave him some extra for free when he left.

Nesta’s eyes narrowed. “Just friends? It’s a very nice cake.”

“Yes,” he answered again, irritation beginning to spike in him. Gods but he was tired.

Nesta reached down to her lap before procuring a small piece of paper, all but throwing it at him.

“It fell from your bag when you came home.”

Cassian read it in silence, quickly realizing what Nesta was probably thinking.

“It’s not…”

“She doesn’t seem to be very set on being just friends, don’t you think?”

Nesta’s glare was murderous.

Layla, the baker he’d met a century ago had been a fun, heated tryst that had quickly fizzled out. Or so he’d thought. And when he had dropped by this past week, his thoughts of their past nights had been a fleeting memory. Perhaps he should have explained the cake was for Nesta, his…

Well she wasn't really his anything. Not between them or amongst the rest of the world. She’d made that much clear the first time they’d slept together. A very formidable line had been drawn, by her, making it known to him that it was just sex. Just for fun. And only while she was staying with him in Illyria. That it had nothing to do with romance, or care, or anything outside of base lust and desire. Which he could understand if it was any other female besides Nesta. If it had been any other female, he would have gladly accepted the agreement, and while he still had, a large part of him had felt empty at the thought. That it was all they would ever be. So for her to question this situation, question them when there really wasn’t a them - well it clawed at some already fraying part of him.

“Is that a problem?” He couldn’t help the snap in his words, the teeth he had to keep himself from baring.

If she wanted to play games, he could too. Nesta didn’t expect that and her spine stiffened, practically begging her to fight back. Bite back even. But he knew she wouldn’t answer truthfully. Because to do so would mean admitting that this thing between them was something real, something more than what she was lying to herself about. And the best thing she always did was run from the truth.

“Of course not. Why should I have a problem who you invite to your bed? I was just curious since you said- no, you lied, about who she was.”

“I didn’t-,” Cassian caught himself, taking in a ragged breath. So that’s what they would do tonight. Fight. He was in no mood for it.

“She’s a friend. I didn’t lie about it. And even if she wasn't, why do you care?”

Her spine went ramrod straight and she took in a quick breath, eyes blazing with simmering fury.

“I don’t,” came her strained reply.

Sure.

“So eat the cake.”

She waved her hand, ignoring him. “I don’t care. I don’t control you. I’m not stopping you from whatever you want with her. If you’d like to even bring her here and fuck her, why should I care?” Nesta got up, getting shriller and shriller with each passing word. “I don’t care one bit Cassian. Don’t stop on my account. While you’re at it, why not become reacquainted with all of your old friends? Females just seem to throw themselves at you left and right, don’t they?”

“They do, actually,” Cassian retorted. “I didn’t think you’d give a shit though. You don't about anything else.”

Nesta seemed to startle at his sudden outburst, but she quickly recovered.

“Well how great that’ll be then. You can go to one of them now and stop panting after me.”

“I wasn’t aware you were so miserable,” he deadpanned.

She smirked, crooning. “Males’ egos are truly a thing of wonder. You aren’t doing anything for me that I can’t do for myself with my own hand.”

Cassian laughed darkly. “Let’s not get into all the things I do to you. With my hands or otherwise.”

A faint blush stained her cheeks at that but she didn’t back down. She opened her mouth, readying for her next attack, but Cassian interrupted it.

He tried softer this time. “Don’t be cruel, it doesn't suit you.”

“Doesn’t it?,” she snapped.

Cassian shrugged then. “Jealousy definitely doesn’t. You would know if there were any other females around me in that way. You’d smell it on me.”

She shook her head. “I’m not jealous. I already told you, I don’t-.”

“Yes I got it the first time. You don’t care. Are you done now?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Cassian had to laugh at that. “Are you done, Nesta? Have you had enough?”

Eyes narrowed in contempt, arms crossed over her chest in lovely defiance, she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid eyes on.

Cassian took a bite of the cake. “You’re persistent, I’ll give you that. And you don’t quit. I’d admire it if I wasn’t so tired. And I’d encourage it if I wasn’t already in a piss poor mood. Gods know I don’t need any excitement for a while.”

She blinked, unmoving, but quiet. So he continued, finishing up his dessert.

“But we do this, don’t we? You pick a fight with something that isn’t really an issue. I say something, you say something worse, I say something back, you get upset. You cry and then I’m the asshole that has to apologize for something you started. Or did I miss something?”

She knew he was right, but Nesta wouldn’t say it. Nesta wouldn’t say a lot of things. So instead he reached across the table, and pushed her plate further towards her.

“Eat the damn cake, Nesta. I brought it for you.”

She did. With just enough contempt that she might have scratched the plate with her fork from her first bite. But she did it. And eventually she had a second slice too, Cassian noted with a small feeling of victory.

“What’s her name?”

Gods save him, not this again.

“Nesta, I don’t-.”

She held up a hand, almost placating him. “I’m not trying to start a fight. I just wanted to know her name.”

Cassian hesitated for a moment. “Layla.”

“Pretty,” she noted quietly, moving the fork around her empty plate.

“Yes,” he murmured, cleaning up, and trying his best not to stare too much at Nesta, in case she spooked and ran from him again.

“Is she? Pretty, I mean.” Nesta’s voice was soft and too fragile for his liking. She wouldn’t look at him as she asked.

“Yes,” he admitted slowly. And she was. He couldn’t deny it. And even if he lied, Nesta would know. She always knew when he lied.

Nesta left then.

He argued with himself the entire way up the stairs and to her door. To talk to her, soothe her worries, and reassure her that there was no one else for him. But to do that would mean acknowledging that there was something here of enough substance where another female might present a problem.

Nesta would never accept that.

Still he knocked, and even though she didn’t and wouldn’t respond, he let himself in.

“New book?”

She didn’t look up once, sprawled out on her stomach, with her feet to the head of the bed.

“Old book. Rereading it.”

At least she spoke to him. He supposed they were no longer in that rough place anymore where he would have to worry about her stoic silence. She rarely iced him out since staying with him. Rarely felt the need to resort to it, even with some of their worst fights. This, he could work with.

He sat down beside her, trying his best, and failing, to keep the peace.

“You’re beautiful,” he finally said after a pregnant pause.

She clicked her tongue. “Is that why you’re here? I don’t need that from you. I’ve been told I had a face fit to marry a king since I was eight. This isn’t news for me.”

Of course it wasn’t. People had to be blind to not know that Nesta was stunning. Becoming Fae had only heightened it to being otherwordly.

“Well, then you should know that just because Layla-.” She clicked her tongue, shutting him up. She didn’t want to talk about this. But he couldn't leave it so cold and open. Especially not when he knew exactly what sorts of thoughts were probably racing in her head.

“Nesta,” he murmured, hoping she’d at least look at him before he threw his heart out in front of her, yet again. She had a habit of stomping the life out of it, but he prayed one last time, that maybe she wouldn’t.

She closed her book then, turning onto her back to look up at him. Her hair fanned out behind her and Cassian couldn’t resist carding through the tresses softly, gently, with so much hesitation it was a wonder he didn’t tremble too.

There was something about Nesta that terrified Cassian. Not the stone cold facade or the cutting words. He could take a hit or two to his ego, and with Nesta, it was more entertaining for him than anything else. But he had faced foes on battlefields for centuries, had killed and maimed without much thought, and never once had he encountered someone like her.

The brute strength and the efficiently cutting violence that he could easily execute with had always helped him as a soldier. As a general. And then as commander. Never had it been a weakness to deter from until he’d met Nesta.

Then, suddenly, all his largeness, all his brash, booming loudness had become dangerous. To her. For her. Gods knew she had the temper and fire inside to match his own, and to meet every shredding, stupid thing he said to her with her own poison. But it wasn’t the same and he knew it.

The fragility that she hid behind a beautiful, almost impenetrable mask scared him. As if he may one day, accidentally, shatter her irreversibly, if he wasn’t careful. So he tried again this time, trying and willing the words to form in the gentlest way possible to deal with this storm of a woman laid out in front of him.

“I don’t know what you want from me. I can’t guard you from reality even though I’d like to. There will always be another Layla if you go looking hard enough. And knowing you, you tend to go looking for heartbreak just so you can swing first.”

Cassian didn’t miss the fact that her storm-grey eyes began to fill with tears, but he had to commend her grit in not letting them fall.

“Is it not enough if I tell you there is no one else? Not now, not for a very long time, and not anytime in the future as long as you wish it.”

She laughed, but it was a hollow, broken sound. “I never asked for your loyalty.”

��You have it anyhow.”

A stray tear leaked out and Cassian’s hand flexed automatically to reach over and wipe it away. He held himself back only for a moment, judging whether or not it would shatter this delicate moment. Another tear leaked out and Cassian gently wiped it off then. Nesta nuzzled against his hand and it took everything in him to not pull her towards him.

“I never asked anything of you,” she whispered into the heart of his palm.

“I know.”

“So why do you keep giving?”

Cassian smoothed her hair, stroking her cheek. “Because I can. Because I want to. I guess you’ll just have to deal with it.”

She froze as he leaned down over her, before softening against him.

“I suppose so,” she whispered against his lips.

Cassian kissed her gently, even though his soul had been wholly consumed by her. Perhaps it would never be enough time in this world for him to show her how much she mattered to him, how much he cared. But for now, this would do.

~*~

Taglist: @endlessdaydream @sleeping-and-books @purpleglitterypinecone @sv0430 @gwynberdara @karmasworlds @bookstantrash @duskandstarlight @d0riansgray @perseusannabeth@vasudharaghavan @sayosdreams @arielle-reads @theoverlyenthusiasticwriter @nahthanks @oversizedbats @swankii-art-teacher @inardour @rowaelinismyotp @starryblueskies7 @vidalinav @nessiantrashh @imagine-me @iwastoowildinthe70s @lady-winter-sunrise @vanzetanze @moodymelanist @wishfulimaginings @amaranthas-whore @simpingfornestaarcheron @generalnesta @mis-lil-red @nestaisgod @booksstorm @loosingdreams @champanheandluxxury @18moneytoad @starksravings @tinasbookishlife @cookiemonsterwholovesbooks @nesquik-arccheron @readingwitches @that-golden-lyre @awesomelena555 @wannawriteyouabook @story-scribbler @readingismyonlyhobby @burningsnowleopard @pyxxie

#nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #nesta x cassian #nessian fanfiction #nesta fanfiction #cassianappreciationweek2023 #acosf au #one shot #arinbelle #cassianappreciation

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jmoonjones · 9 months

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If @cassianappreciationweek thought they’d be safe from my bullshit then oooh do I have news (and drawings) for them

Cassian is invited to a tea party (a Shadowbaby tagged along too) and then I went overboard and decided to give Nessian twins and Nesta has a silver Pegasus (called Peggy) because July was rough and I needed extra cuteness.

#cassianappreciationweek2023 #cassian #nessian #nesta and cassian #cassian and nesta #nessian art #thank you for enduring all my harebrained nessian content #nessian fanart #Acotar #acotar art #acotar fanart #nesta archeron #acosf #nesta #the nessian that we and nesta and cassian deserve

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c-e-d-dreamer · 9 months

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Baby, Now We Got Bad Blood

A/N: So, we're told in ACOMAF and ACOWAR that mating instincts ride the males hard and that you should never come between a male and his mate, but one of my biggest gripes with ACOSF is that we never really see that from Cassian. Like come on, SJM! I want to see the Lord of Bloodshed go into Mate Mode(tm)! And so, I decided to write this. I recognize it may not be everyone's cup of tea, so remember that the back button is free, but for everyone else, enjoy! :)

Read on AO3

The tug between Cassian’s ribs is so sudden, so harsh, that he almost drops to his knees right then and there. That golden thread securely tucked there squeezes tight enough that it steals the breath straight from his lungs, twisting and writhing in his chest until he can do nothing except press a palm against his side in hopes of alleviating the pain, until he's sure that he must be bruised. He’s half aware of Devlon watching him curiously, of the other camp lords still sitting around the table, but all Cassian can focus on is the way his blood has run cold, on the ringing that’s taken up home in his ears all from that one tug.

Tentatively, he reaches for the golden thread within himself, sending his confusion and concern down the bond. He skates a finger along it, keeping his touch featherlight, before he plucks, a small, urging question. And then, with bated breath, he waits. Waits for the tug in response. Waits for the soothing feeling that’s not his own to rush through him and calm his worry.

But it never comes.

In fact, there’s almost nothing on the other end of the bond. Just silence. Just an empty, yawning void that has the hairs on the back of Cassian’s neck standing up, that has the pounding in his ears turning into a deafening roar. Genuine fear sparks through his veins, ice cold where it digs its claws into his mind and sends his heart stuttering. He reaches for that golden thread again, tugging more urgently this time, but still nothing.

Something’s wrong.

Cassian knows that Rhys had sent Nesta and Mor to the human lands on some sort of reconnaissance mission. Azriel’s network had gotten some concerning information through the vine, so the High Lord sent Nesta and Mor to blend in with the women of some village and see if they could get more details. It was supposed to be an easy in, easy out mission. He’d even arranged this war meeting in Illyria for when she was gone so he’d be back in time to welcome her home, even had tickets ready for them for the Velaris ballet.

But now, all he has is a silent bond, that single moment of fear twined in that hard tug that festers and burns with his own.

Without a backward glance, Cassian storms out of the room, ignoring Devlon calling after him. As soon as he steps outside into the biting snow of Illyria, Cassian unfurls his wings wide behind his back and takes to the skies. He keeps a hard and fast pace as he tears through the clouds, pushing himself and pushing himself and pushing himself. His back and wings ache with the exertion, but it’s nothing compared to the ache that throbs in his chest like an open wound. Nothing compared to the bloodied and bruised shreds of his heart at the thought of something happening to Nesta.

His mind keeps playing an endless loop of possibilities, each one worse than the last. He tries to imagine a scenario where it’s all a big misunderstanding, where he arrives back in Velaris and Nesta is there with that softness that takes over her stormy blue eyes when she sees him, with that sweet smile meant only for him, and they’ll laugh about this whole thing. But there’s no denying that niggling doubt, those whispers in the back of his mind. They fuel his fear, taunt him, and soon all Cassian can see each time he blinks is the sight of Nesta’s eyes open but unseeing, the color completely leached from her face, seared on the back of his eyelids.

It drives Cassian to push himself even harder, to fly even faster. Each beat of his wings, each thunderous hammer of his heart, it all pounds in time with that twisting thread between his ribs, in time with that call that blazes through his soul.

Nesta Nesta Nesta

He lands hard enough that his knees groan and ache, but he doesn’t care. He presses his hand against the wards, an incessant flash of red sparking in front of him, and steps inside the River House. Rhys steps into the view at the top of the stairs almost as soon as he’s through the front door, as though he was expecting him. The wariness pinching the corner of his brother’s eyes, the way his lips are pressed into a thin line, it confirms all of Cassian’s worst fears. Bile claws up the back of his throat, tangling with the lump already lodged firmly there.

“Where’s Nesta?” Cassian forces out.

“Cass…” Rhys starts slowly, holding his hands up placatingly. Cassian doesn’t miss the way his brother shifts his feet, resetting his stance like he’s expecting a fight.

Cassian is about to ask his question again when Madja comes bustling into the River House behind him, rushing up the stairs and past Rhys. The sight of the healer jolts Cassian into action, and he follows hot on her heels down the hall and into one of the bedrooms, but his steps stutter to a stop when he realizes it’s Mor sprawled across the blankets, holding her hand against a wound in her side.

Cassian whirls back around, ready to check every other bedroom until he finds his mate, but he comes face to face with Rhys again. His brother is still wearing that cautious expression, face still pinched and body still tense like Cassian is some sort of wounded animal he needs to treat with care.

“Where is Nesta?” Cassian demands again.

Rhys holds his ground and raises his chin, his eyes glancing over Cassian’s shoulder only briefly before landing back on Cassian’s face. “There was an ambush. I don’t know how the mortals knew we’d be there, knew who Mor and Nesta were, but there were two dozen of them… with ash arrows.”

“That didn’t answer my question. Where is she?”

“When I got there, Mor was already badly injured. She was going to bleed out if I didn’t get her out of there and to a healer.”

Cassian can feel his patience hanging on by a thread, stepping closer to Rhy and growling out, “where is my mate?”

Cassian feels the press of Rhys’s magic against him, the darkness that begins to creep and rumble from the corners of the room, as Cassian stares his brother down, but Rhys is unmoving, undeterred. He continues to meet Cassian’s blazing gaze, his face and voice an even calm that grates against the last shreds of Cassian’s nerve endings, the last of his sanity.

“I had to make a choice, and I made it.”

It takes a moment for the words to really sink in, to understand exactly what Rhys is telling him, and when it does, it’s a bucket of ice water over his head. He stumbles back a step in his shock. His stomach roils and drops all the way to his shoes, his blood crystalizing into ice, as he chokes out, “what?”

Rhys looks away then, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “I used too much of my magic winnowing there already, and Nesta was too far away. I couldn’t get to her without risking Mor, without risking both of us, so I did what I had to do and winnowed us out of there.”

Cassian doesn’t think he’s breathing. He’s sure that his heart isn’t beating because it’s lost somewhere in the human lands, lost with Nesta. “You…” Cassian swallows hard, finding his voice again. “You left her there? In the middle of an ambush?”

“I’m sorry, Cass. I really am.”

“No, you’re not.”

And that’s the crux of it, isn’t it? Cassian has always known that Rhys isn’t exactly Nesta’s biggest fan. From the moment they met the sisters, from that first meeting at the manor in the mortal lands, Rhys has always held a certain animosity for the eldest Archeron. He’s always held onto that cool resentment on Feyre’s behalf for what happened when the sisters were young. And despite what happened with the human queens, despite what Nesta did during the War, despite what she did for Feyre and Nyx, that tension has never quite dissipated, that contempt is still there.

“If you were really sorry, why didn’t you go back for her?” Cassian continues, shaking his head in disbelief. “After you got Mor back to Velaris, why didn’t you go back?”

Rhys sighs as if this whole conversation is exhausting. “I just told you. My magic was depleted by winnowing that far, and they had ash arrows. I couldn’t risk it.”

“But you could risk Nesta, right?”

Cassian can feel his disbelief at this whole situation quickly morphing into anger. He can feel the heat of it just beneath his skin where it blazes through his veins. The beast deep within his soul thrashes against its restraints, hackles raised at the idea of any harm coming to Nesta. That rage burns and roars as it twists in dark, crackling tendrils in his chest. It urges him to fight, to raze the whole world to the ground until the debt is paid, until all of Prythian understands the mistake of risking the Lord of Bloodshed’s mate.

“It’s what she would have wanted,” Rhys continues, still using that too calm voice. “You know that. Nesta understood the mission, the importance.”

“Don’t you dare!” Cassian snaps, stepping forward again until he and Rhys are toe to toe, glowering down at him. “Don’t you dare speak of her when you left her to die.”

“Calm down,” Rhys speaks slowly, violet eyes flickering in warning.

“Are you fucking kidding me? What if it was Feyre? What if I left Feyre in the middle of an ambush surrounded by ash arrows? What if I left your mate for dead?”

“Don’t.”

The low tone of Rhys’s voice lets Cassian know he’s hit his mark. That magic and darkness presses a little bit harder, those violet eyes turning cold, clearly unimpressed with the underlying threat toward his mate. Cassian almost wants to laugh hysterically, seeing his own feelings mirrored back to him. It’s a sickening type of vindication.

“That’s the difference, isn’t it?” Cassian continues to drawl, not backing down, the red of his siphons flickering in time with Rhys’s own magic. “I would risk it for Feyre. I would go back for her because I know how much she means to you, but you don’t care. You’ve never forgiven Nesta, not really, and now, you finally got the chance to wash your hands clean of her.”

“Cassian—”

“Where?” Cassian interrupts, taking a step back finally and adjusting the straps of his leathers and preparing for a long flight. “Give me the coordinates. I’ll go get Nesta myself.”

Cassian side-steps around Rhys and heads for the stairs, but Rhys is hot on his heels. “Absolutely not. I’m not letting you fly all the way to the mortal lands and potentially walk head first into an attack.”

“Try and stop me,” Cassian dares, whirling around with a snarl of warning. “Being mated and a father has made you soft, Rhysand. Do you really think you could take me?”

The temperature in the room starts to drop, Cassian’s siphons flaring brighter in response as magic scrapes along his spine. He’s been itching for a fight since the moment he stepped through the doors, instincts gnawing at his every nerve ending and riding him hard until his hands are clenching into fists, his fingers twitching with the urge to drive into Rhys’s face.

But he doesn’t have time for this.

Nesta is gods know where in the mortal lands, in the Mother knows what state, and he needs to get to her. He waited five hundred years for her. Five hundred years to hold her. Five hundred years to love her. And he’ll be damned if he loses her now. Damned if he fails her again. Damned if he doesn’t save her when he wasn’t there to protect her in the first place.

He turns back around and storms down the stairs, striding toward the door without looking back. His blood has already started to thunder again, that same beat of Nesta Nesta Nesta as he stretches his wings to warm them up.

“Cassian, stop,” Rhys calls after him, but Cassian merely rolls his eyes. “I am ordering you as your High Lord.”

Cassian can feel the magic of the order as it slinks across his skin, taste it on the back of his tongue, but he’s quick to shake it off with a scoff, yanking open the front door. “Fuck off.”

“You step out that door, you won’t be welcome back in this Court.”

Cassian turns over his shoulder, settling Rhys with a deathly cold look. “Good luck finding a new General then.”

Rhys looks genuinely taken aback by that, blinking a few times in surprise. “You’d really throw away everything you’ve worked so hard for? Everything you’ve ever wanted?”

“Nesta is everything I’ve ever wanted. And you knew that. And you still—” Cassian can’t choke the word out, can’t fathom a world where Nesta, his Nesta, his beautiful, smart, amazing mate is gone.

A world where Rhys killed her.

With one last shake of his head, Cassian steps out of the River House and onto the streets of Velaris, the door slamming behind him. It feels strange and wrong to step onto these streets knowing Nesta isn’t here. Knowing that her quiet steps won’t fill the bookshop in the Rainbow. Knowing that her soft laughter won’t fill her favorite bakery by the river. That fear from before grips Cassian tight enough that his steps almost stumble, but he stretches his wings out wide behind him nonetheless, siphons flaring in anticipation.

He’s going to get her back. Even if it’s the last thing he does.

—

Updated Taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added): @moodymelanist @nesquik-arccheron @sv0430 @talkfantasytome @bookstantrash @eirini-thaleia @ubigaia @fromthelibraryofemilyj @luivagr-blog @lifeisntafantasy @superspiritfestival @hiimheresworld @marigold-morelli @sweet-pea1 @emeriethevalkyriegirl @pyxxie @dustjacketmusings @hallway5 @dongjunma @glowing-stick-generation @melonsfantasyworld @isterofimias @goddess-aelin @melphss @theladystardust @a-trifling-matter @blueunoias @kookskoocie @wolfnesta @blurredlamplight @hereforthenessian @skaixo @jmoonjones @burningsnowleopard @whyisaravenlike-awritingdesk @ofduskanddreams @rarephloxes @thelovelymadone @girl-of-many-floods @tenaciousdiplomatloverprune @that-little-red-head

#nessian #technically at least #cassianappreciationweek2023 #cassian #rhysand #acotar #acosf #my fic

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ofduskanddreams · 9 months

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All That Matters

For @c-e-d-dreamer and @cassianappreciationweek day 4. The request: Nessian. Any setting of your choosing, but how about something soft and sweet?

Nessian ✦ Rated M ✦ 867 words ✦ on AO3

CW: CANON-TYPICAL DEPICTION OF VIOLENCE

They sat on the river bank until the sun was fat and low in the sky, its orange fingers slinking through the willow boughs.

There was only the steady rise and fall of Cassian’s chest at her back, the warmth of him bleeding into her veins, and the I-love-you-s murmured back and forth at the same volume as the Sidra’s soft rush.

“Are you awake?” he whispered against her temple after a longer stretch of silence.

“For now,” Nesta replied, shifting to look at him. “But I’m not sure for how much longer.”

The reality of the last two days was finally settling into her bones now that the adrenaline had evaporated. The Rite, Briallyn, Nyx’s birth… exhaustion was lead seeping into her limbs and weighing them down, trying to draw her wholly into its grasp.

“Let’s go home then.” Cassian stood, then scooped her off the grass and into his arms. He launched them skyward and Nesta closed her eyes.

The next thing she knew, the world had stilled again and Cassian was saying something. “... know you’re tired, but I need you to try to eat something first.”

He sounded so gentle, so worried about her, and Nesta smiled as she opened her eyes. This male—capable of a ferocity to rival the gods, yet wearing his heart for all to see… “I love you,” Nesta told him again, just because she could and it was decadent.

The house delivered them enough food for a small army, and Nesta managed to put away a plate and a half before her yawns began arriving at a frequency that made eating inconvenient.

Cassian noticed, of course he did. “Let’s get you cleaned up and then we can sleep.”

Nesta considered protesting, a testament to the extent of her exhaustion considering that she hadn’t bathed in over a week, but knew she would regret going to bed layered in the residue of the Rite.

Cassian ran the bath as she sat on the edge of the counter and watched him move about the room. He helped her out of her clothes, his touch mindful of the bruises still littering her skin. He joined her in the bath, carefully maneuvering her tired limbs until she was leaning back against him again.

With a soft cloth, he worked honey-scented soap into a lather and began to clean away the grime. It was all Nesta could do to keep from dozing off.

But her closing eyelids snapped open when her mate took a shuddering breath that turned into a bitten off sob. Nesta turned around so quickly that she sent water careering over the sides.

“I could have killed you,” Cassian whispered in horror, looking down at his hands—they were trembling.

She took his shaking fingers in her own and squeezed. “You didn’t. You fought her.” Nesta shuddered as she remembered the sight of Cassian plunging that knife into his own chest rather than hers.

He shook his head, “I wanted to hurt you, Nes. It was…” he trailed off, looking to the side and squeezing his eyes shut.

A crystalline droplet streaked down his stubbled cheek and Nesta caught it with her thumb, coaxing him to face her.

“You weren’t yourself. That feeling wasn’t you—it was Briallyn and the Crown.”

The pain in his hazel eyes echoed through her and she drew him into her arms, holding him as tightly as she could.

“I thought…” Cassian drew a deep breath and held it, blowing it out slowly. “I thought I might never see you again. When I arrived at Emerie’s and you were missing, the smell of those males, of the drugs…” he shivered, putting his nose to her neck and taking another controlled breath.

“I thought I might have lost you and then to see you on that mountain, to be a puppet, forced to watch myself try to harm you without knowing if I could resist it… gods, Nesta, I was so scared.”

He lost his grip on the rhythm of his lungs, breaths turning shallow again.

“You did resist her, Cassian. That’s the only thing that matters.” Nesta traced patterns on his back and around the base of his wings as she held him.

The house kept the water at a steady temperature even as their fingers wrinkled. Eventually, the tide of emotion Cassian had clearly been holding back receded. They took turns helping each other wash.

A tired yet comfortable silence settled between them as they climbed out of the bath, hastily dried off, and then collapsed into her bed.

In the darkness, her mouth found Cassian’s, and she kissed him, pouring everything she felt into the touch: relief, gratitude, and more love than Nesta had ever imagined herself to be capable of.

Her friends and family were safe and healthy. She had her mate, and her home. There were many unresolved problems, sure, but they would still be there in the morning.

All Nesta cared about now was the steady beat of Cassian’s heart beneath her ear. His even breaths filled the quiet, starlit room and Nesta’s lungs slowed their pace to match as she finally allowed reality to drift as dreamless sleep embraced her.

✦ ✦ ✦

tagging: @damedechance @itsthedoodle @moodymelanist @areyoudreaminof @octobers-veryown @krem-does-stuff @iftheshoef1tz @moonpatroclus @panicatthenightcourt @thelovelymadone @talons-and-teeth

#cassianappreciationweek2023 #nessian #nessian fanfiction #nessian fic #nesta x cassian #cassian x nesta #cassian #cassian acotar #cassian acosf #nesta archeron #nesta acosf #pro nesta #acosf #acosf fanfiction #acotar fanfiction #acotar drabble #kate's celebratory drabbles series

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asnowfern · 9 months

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I Take Care of Papa Too

A/N: What? It's almost Sunday noon where I am? Sorry, I can't hear you over the fluff I wrote for Day 7 of @cassianappreciationweek

Enjoy!

In hindsight, Cassian knew that he would be facing tough days ahead of him the minute Alea sneezed in his face mere moments after Nesta left for her diplomatic mission in the human lands. Within a few hours, Cassian was blessed with the full package of a cranky, coughing, sneezing and feverish toddler.

The House was a godsend, giving him periodic reminders of mealtimes and to monitor her temperature. By the second night, Alea's fever had broken and he could collapse with exhaustion and relief.

Cassian had faced down armies and feared Fae generals but the courage it takes to force feed his daughter medication? That was something even the infamous Illyrian commander was afraid of.

"Papa?" A sweet voice pulled him out of his self-rewarded nap, continuing at his noncommittal hum, "Alea wants to go fly!"

Cassian groaned slightly, blinking his eyes open, "Now?"

"Fly!" She repeated in a tone which accorded no arguments.

He pushed through the heaviness settling in his bones and scooped his daughter up, looking into a matching pair of hazel eyes.

Trying his luck, he asked, "Can papa take a nap first?"

Flecks of green and gold danced in the young fae's mischievous eyes, her little wings tucking in as she answered resolutely, "No. Let's go fly now!"

Heaving a loud mock sigh, Cassian carried the both of them to the balcony and activated the shield with a tap on his siphon, "Get ready"

The wide toothy smile on Alea's face was all he needed as he launched them up in the air, his daughter tucked firmly in his arms. Relishing every excited yelp and giggle from the toddler, Cassian tuned out the discomfort in his joints and the pounding in his head as they soared over Velaris.

Cassian's heart ached at the thought that one day, Alea's own wings would grow strong enough and she would no longer need her papa to carry her to fly over the city. Tugging her in closer and tighter, he flew higher and faster, knowing just how much his daughter loved those.

It was hence a surprise when his daughter piped up, her eyes suddenly bright and wide, "Home."

He paused in mid-air and turned a concerned gaze on her, "You want to go home?"

The young fae's lips trembled as she said shakily, "Want to go home."

Cassian frowned, worry brewing in his belly as he launched them on a direct path back to the House of Wind. Did he go too fast? Was it too soon after she had barely recovered? Should he call for Madja?

His feet had barely touched the floor before Alea jumped off his arms, running as fast as her little legs could towards the kitchen. The Illyrian followed closely, the unease in him building with every step.

He watched as the toddler snatched up a cup, spell-proofed against shattering, and filled it with water. She thrusted the full cup at him, the water splashing slightly onto the floor.

"Drink," she commanded.

Cassian's fingers closed around the glass and lifted it to his mouth, taking a small sip. His eyes never once left his daughter.

"Papa, drink!" She ordered, her mouth set in a grim line highly reminiscent of her mother.

Once the glass had been drained, chubby hands wrapped around his hand and pulled him towards his room. She stood at the foot of his bed, jutting out her chin as she leveled the same authoritative stare at her father. It would have been effective if it wasn't so darn cute.

"Sleep!"

Cassian felt the edges of his mouth quirk up as he let his daughter usher him into bed and pull a blanket over him.

"Comfy?" She patted the covers around him, asking a question often asked to her.

"Very," he soothed, "but aren't you going to join me?"

"Papa is warm! Papa needs to sleep!" She declared.

Cassian's chest warmed and melted, "Papa is ok, sweet pea. Why don't you join me? Alea is sick too."

"No," her lips puckered into a pout, mini fingers continuing to smoothen the covers, "Alea takes care of papa too."

Hoisting his heavy arms over the blanket, Cassian pulled his protesting daughter into bed with him, murmuring softly into soft golden brown curls, "Papa gets better with hugs."

"Really?" The small skeptical voice asked.

"Yes," he insisted sleepily, the pull of the soft mattress impossible to resist.

***

The scent of his favourite stew wafted over, rousing him awake. He smiled at the golden thread thrumming contently in his chest. Sure enough, his beautiful mate in all her stern braided glory sat next to him, her fingers thumbing through a page of her book.

"Alea?"

"Asleep in her room," she replied, not taking her eyes off the book.

"You came back early," he remarked.

Nesta snapped her book shut, settling it at the bedside table. She turned her silvery blue eyes on him, "My babies are sick. How could I stay away for too long?"

"Alea said she will take care of me," he said, unable to turn off the slightly smug tone in his voice.

"Of course," his mate replied matter-of-factly as a smile played on her lips and she carded slender fingers through his curls, "that's what we do in this household."

#cassianappreciationweek2023 #Day 7 : Free #cassian #nessian #nessian fic

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writtenonreceipts · 9 months

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@cassianappreciationweek thanks for hosting this event! This is the only thing I have prepared for the week.

We are keeping with a mini tradition I’ve found I love with character/ship weeks--baby fics. Enjoy.

no tag list, it’s pretty short...

Cassian Week Day Two: Yvette

The babe made a small noise akin to a newborn fawn. Something soft and mewling. Something new and fragile.

"Alright little one," Cassian murmured. He brushed a finger over her smooth, rosy cheek. "You're alright."

She gave a half-hearted yawn and wiggled in his grasp. Barely more than five hours old and the babe had already exhausted herself.

She only had a dark tuft of hair on her head that Cassian hoped would lighten to the burnished gold over her mother. Her eyes too were darker than his. Maybe they would lighten too. Lighten to that steel gaze of silver fire. Just like her mother.

“You’re going to be so loved, you know that?” he said. He adjusted the blanket wrapped around the babe so it was snug around her. She was so small he could keep her balanced with just one arm, her head fitting almost perfectly in his hand. “You’re mama’s been waiting so long to meet you.”

Scrunching her nose, the babe blinked open her eyes. Cassian lifted his daughter up so she was eye level. She squirmed as tears began to well in her eyes and then, too soon, she elicited a sharp cry.

“Hey, hey,” Cassian crooned. He tucked her against his chest, keeping her tight and warm. “We’ve gotta let mama rest. She worked hard to get you here, you know.”

Through the blankets, Cassian could feel the small shudder of wings. It had been easy to guess that Yvette would be born with wings. After the events with Nyx and everything that followed with Nesta’s magic--both of their fears had remained. It was impossible not to worry even with the comfort of knowing what the magic had granted them too.

Cassian eased Yvette against him so he could run a gentle hand along her back, soft and sure. The babe whimpered again but not as furious.

“I’ve got you,” Cassian said. He pressed a kiss to Yvette’s forehead, marveling at the smooth skin.

Here he was: a battleworn bastard with too many scars to count and holding a baby. His baby. When all his life he’d never thought he would have a mate, let alone a child. And here she was safe and sound in his arms.

“I’ve got you sweet girl.”

Slowly, Yvette eased back to sleep. She let out a little hiccup and burrowed against him. Cassian knew she would need to feed soon, but Nesta was still asleep and he certainly didn’t want to wake her, not yet.

He glanced over his shoulder where Nesta was still sprawled on the bed. Thankfully it didn’t look as though Yvette’s fussing disturbed her. Good. He wanted Nesta to rest. She’d been on bedrest the last three weeks of the pregnancy and the labor had been long and arduous. But Nesta, full of that strength and power that Cassian so admired her for, had endured.

Cassian strode out onto the balcony attached to their room and overlooked the city. It was quickly approaching dawn and pale gold and pink light scattered across the sky. A few stars still lingered off in the distance, but they were quickly disappearing. It was a new day full of new promises.

He dropped a kiss to Yvette’s head and stared out over his home. He marveled at it all. They were safe and they were together. Just as they should be.

#cassian #baby fic #cassianappreciationweek2023 #acotar #nessian #nesta archeron #nesta x cassian #soft!cassian

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dustjacketdraws · 9 months

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It's cassian week somewhere.

Made for @cassianappreciationweek day 7 free day! Since I ran out of time on every other day oops

#cassian #cassianweek2023 #fanart #dustjacketdraws #this is very experamental but uh #well its done #cassianappreciationweek2023 #acotar

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vivictory-draws · 9 months

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Gym Bro Cassian (or just modern AU Cassian) for @cassianappreciationweek ft. his gray sweatpants

#Cassian #cassian acotar #cassianappreciationweek2023 #acotar fan art #acowar #acotar #acomaf #acosf #acofas #my art

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moodymelanist · 9 months

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I Guess It’s Half Timing (And The Other Half’s Luck) Chapter Five

Happy @cassianappreciationweek day 2, everyone! I came super down to the wire with this one, but now that I’m done with the bar exam (and hopefully passed) I shouldn’t be so down to the wire for the rest of the fic unless life decides to throw something else my way, lol.

Anyways, hope you all enjoy 🩷

✷✷✷✷✷ Nesta

The rest of the party went well, with everyone more than excited that the baby was a girl. They took plenty of pictures and videos with the various pink props that Feyre and Mor had stashed around the party, Nesta finding herself in the middle of so many photos with Emerie and Gwyn alone that she’d more than lost count by the time she’d done some with Cassian. She’d also consumed so much pink frosting that it was a miracle none of it had stained her mouth, and by the time she’d packed up enough leftovers to feed a small army, she knew it would take weeks before she’d be able to eat another pink food.

When Nesta finally made it back to her apartment, it was all she could do to shower and throw on some pajamas. It had been nice getting to see everyone and be excited as a collective unit, but it was also exhausting. She wasn’t built for so much social interaction at once, especially where she was the center of attention. Cassian had been a godsend the whole day by diverting some of the attention back onto himself, and every time one of his large hands would steady her at the small of her back, it was like he’d figured out how to take all the tension out of her with just that one small gesture.

If only he were here now to take away her newly-awakened feelings about the baby.

Nesta had thought all this time they were having a boy, but she wouldn’t deny how excited she was at the prospect of having a girl. Would her daughter be like she’d been as a little girl, excited to discover the world through books and stories about people in faraway places? Would she sit still long enough for Nesta to make sure her hair was done and her clothes matched all the frilly, adorable accessories Nesta already wanted to buy? She hoped the baby would have Cassian’s curls just so she could use all the adorable clips and barrettes that had never stayed put in her own hair. Maybe Cassian would be good with that, considering all the experience he’d had with his own hair. God, that would be so adorable.

But despite all the excitement, a not-insignificant part of her was absolutely terrified of having a daughter. She didn’t want to repeat the seemingly endless cycle that the women in her family had perpetuated, from whatever her grandmother had done to her daughter that had inspired the way Nesta had been treated growing up. Eira and Rhea were both long gone, but the things they’d said and done still lingered in Nesta’s bones. What if she somehow fucked up her daughter the same way she’d been fucked up as a kid? What if she didn’t even realize she was doing it?

No. She wasn’t going to do that. She would never, ever do that. Her family had given her an exact blueprint as to what not to do when it came to raising children, and over her dead body would she put her daughter through the things she’d experienced growing up. Her daughter would grow up never having to question if she was loved. She would know that she was perfectly wonderful the way she was, and she’d be allowed to flourish in whatever direction she wanted. It didn’t matter to Nesta if her daughter wanted to tussle instead of play quietly with dolls, or if she decided to chase other girls around the playground instead of boys — or if she didn’t want to chase anyone at all.

None of it mattered more than showering her daughter with all the unconditional love and affection she deserved.

Nesta let her hand float down to her stomach, sliding her hand under her shirt to rest it on her little bump.

“I love you, baby,” she whispered into the quiet of her room. It was a little strange talking to someone who couldn’t respond yet, but as she slowly drifted off to sleep, she swore there was a fluttering in her stomach like the baby was talking back to her.

Keep reading on AO3 here!

#cassianappreciationweek2023 #Cassian #nesta archeron #nessian #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #moodymelanistwrites #pregnancy nessian fic

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