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moodymelanist · 1 day

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Want to write the reverse of your wlw nessian drabble where cas doesn’t realize she’s gay yet but nesta thinks cas stares at her boobs a little too much to be straight

hell yeah I do. hope y’all enjoy this one and happy @nestaarcheronweek day 4 🩷 got the title from tangerine by kehlani hehe

Read on AO3 here!

“Are you going to keep staring down my shirt, or can we get this presentation done?”

Cass startled so badly at Nesta’s words that she nearly knocked over her water, only barely managing to catch the reusable bottle at the last second. “What?”

Cass and Nesta had been paired up as partners for their advanced writing requirement course, and they’d been making steady progress on their presentation in one of the library’s group study rooms. Cass was an education major to Nesta’s political science, and Cass had never been so excited for a group project in her life.

At least, until Nesta had shown up to the library wearing that shirt. It was just a simple, blue, wrap-tie shirt, but between the way it made Nesta’s eyes look even bluer than usual and the way it perfectly cupped her breasts, Cass was having a difficult time staying focused on the task at hand.

“Sorry,” Cass said, hoping her face wasn’t as red as it felt from being called out. She’d thought she was being more discreet, but Nesta had clearly proved that theory wrong. “I was just, uh, zoned out.”

“Were you zoned out the other three times, too?” Nesta fired back without missing a beat.

“I…” Cass trailed off, trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t sound insane. “I just think your shirt is really… cute.”

Nesta Archeron was easily one of the most gorgeous women that Cass had ever seen. With her gray-blue eyes, bronze hair, and amazing fashion sense, Cass spent most of her time wanting to be just like Nesta. Granted, Cass was way too much of a tomboy to pull off even a quarter of Nesta’s wardrobe, but a woman could dream, right? And who better to dream about that Nesta Archeron, especially when she had on a shirt like that?

“Right,” Nesta replied with the most deadpan voice Cass had ever heard. She sighed heavily before shutting her laptop altogether, fixing Cass with a slightly incredulous look. “Are you ever going to get your shit together and ask me out?”

“What?” Cass blurted out, all the blood in her body rushing to her cheeks. God, she hoped her face wasn’t as red as it felt. “I don’t—”

Nesta rolled her eyes. “Cass, I can do this assignment in my sleep. I just wanted to make sure my gaydar was working.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cass answered. Okay, maybe sometimes she found herself staring way longer than she should’ve when it came to pretty women, but that was just… what everyone did. That didn’t mean she was anything more than a strong ally, no matter how many times she cringed when a man came near her.

“Don’t you?” Nesta asked, cocking an eyebrow. She leaned forward, a victorious little smirk gracing her lips as Cass’ eyes immediately tracked the motion. “Well that’s a yes.”

“It’s not my fault you have a great rack,” Cass blurted out, her brain to mouth filter evaporating altogether.

Nesta snorted. “I’m not making you look at it.”

“If I wasn’t looking, I’d have to be dead,” Cass muttered.

“You’re lucky you’re pretty,” Nesta retorted with a roll of her eyes.

Before Cass could think of a proper reply — Nesta thought she was pretty? — Nesta reached out and grabbed a hold of Cass’ chair, pulling her own so close that there was no room to escape. Not that Cass was feeling particularly inclined to do that, anyway. It was dizzying having Nesta so close; she was pinned under that icy gaze and couldn’t back away even if she wanted to.

Cass didn’t want to.

“I’m going to finish this assignment when I get home,” Nesta said, her voice low and offering no argument. “Give you some time to think about… things.”

“Think about what?” Cass said back. She was hardly breathing as Nesta leaned in even closer, placing her hand on the chair in between Cass’ thighs for balance.

Nesta was close enough now that it would’ve been easy for Cass to lean in and kiss her, and find out if her lips were as soft as they looked. Cass’ lips parted in anticipation, every thought in her mind besides Nesta emptying out like they’d never been there at all, and she was torn between leaning forward to kiss her or letting Nesta continue to order Cass around like she owned her.

What the hell was wrong with her?

“That’s what I thought,” Nesta breathed after a few moments, her lips still dangerously close to Cass’ own. When Nesta laughed quietly at Cass’ reflexive frown, Cass could almost feel the vibrations on her lips, and God wasn’t that a thought. “You’re taking me to dinner tonight.”

“I— okay,” Cass agreed. God, she hoped she didn’t sound as dumbstruck as she felt; Nesta didn’t suffer fools, and Cass wasn’t trying to be one. “Whatever you want.”

Nesta finally leaned forward to press a kiss to Cass’ cheek, pulling back with a smirk. “I think we’ll get along just fine. See you later.”

Cass watched Nesta grab her things and saunter out of the room, the only thought in her head I love when women…

Well. At least one woman, that was for damn sure.

#acotar #acosf #nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #moodymelanistwrites #anon asks #Nessian prompts #wlw!nessian #pro Nessian #pro nesta archeron #pro cassian #Cassian acotar #nestaweek2024

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moodymelanist · 3 months

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happy WIP Wednesday 🫶🏽 here’s a little something I’m working on for @sjmromanceweek 2024!!

“I’m sorry?” Nesta eventually said. She hoped she didn’t look as out of breath as she felt.

“You’re not in trouble,” Azriel repeated. He had a healthy serving of breakfast in front of him, and her stomach panged with hunger once the smell hit her. “You’re not expected at training today.”

“What?” she replied, taking a few hesitant steps closer to the table. He had no reason to lie to her, but a large part of her didn’t quite believe what he was saying. “Why not?”

“You needed the rest,” Azriel told her mildly. Despite his gentle words and the softness with which they had been delivered, she could tell he wasn’t inviting any argument. “I told Cassian you’d be back to training tomorrow.”

“He let you?” Nesta blurted out without thinking. Cassian never let her miss a day of training no matter how exhausted she looked each morning, so the fact that she’d gotten to sleep in today almost felt… wrong. Like she was getting away with something that she shouldn’t be.

“He doesn’t let me do anything,” Azriel replied, his tone a little cooler now. “I’m my own person, same as you.”

#sjmromanceweek2024 #Nezriel #acotar #acosf #nesta archeron #azriel shadowsinger #nesta x azriel #story snippets #moodymelanistwrites #WIP Wednesday

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moodymelanist · 3 months

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meet me at the altar (in your white dress)

happy day 3 of @sjmromanceweek everyone! of course I had to get some Nessian in here, you know me!! title from Let's Get Married by Jagged Edge (the remix is much better than the original IMO)

Summary: Nesta and Cassian elope to help take the edge off planning their big, official wedding.

Word Count: 3k

Read on AO3 here!

Summary: Nesta and Cassian elope to help take the edge off planning their big, official wedding.

♡♡♡♡♡ Nesta

Nesta held in another scream as she clicked through yet another florist’s website, holding back the urge to start banging her head back against the wall. All she’d wanted was to come home from a long day at the office and relax, but instead of being able to destress with a book on her Kindle, she’d ended up dealing with more wedding stuff.

“You really should consider going with more hydrangeas,” her mother was saying. Rhea had called Nesta and essentially ambushed her with more wedding planning; today’s topic of choice was the floral arrangements. “I mean, what even is a ranunculus?”

“They’re a classic wedding flower, Mom,” Nesta replied through gritted teeth. She and Cassian had gotten engaged right before Christmas, and they were in the full swing of things planning wise. No matter how many times she emphasized that this was their wedding, though, it hadn’t stopped Rhea from being her usual, controlling self. “They look like peonies.”

Cassian appeared at the edge of her vision, his face twisted up adorably in sympathy as he came into their bedroom. He’d been as hands on as he could with wedding planning, but there was only so much he could do with Rhea as his future mother-in-law.

Cassian waved to get Nesta’s attention and once she looked over at him, he mouthed, You want me to give you an out?

Yes please, Nesta mouthed back. God, she loved him so much.

Nesta watched from her position on the bed as Cassian came around the corner of the mattress and reached for her nightstand, opening and shutting the drawer loud enough for Rhea to hear it on the phone. To the untrained ear, it sounded similar enough to a door opening and closing, and it was the perfect excuse to get off the phone and take her Friday night back.

“Sorry, Mom,” Nesta said immediately, cutting off whatever tangent Rhea was going on now about the flowers she’d had at her wedding. “Cassian just got home from work. I have to go.”

Rhea was silent for a few seconds. “Fine. I’ll speak to you about this later.”

“Okay. Have a good night,” Nesta replied. Rhea echoed the sentiment, and Nesta immediately tossed her phone away from her. “Holy shit, she drives me crazy.”

“Watching you deal with her is driving me crazy, Nes,” Cassian said. He leaned down to where she was reclining against the headboard and pressed several hello kisses into her lips. “What if we just got married tomorrow or something?”

“What?” Nesta said back, not quite sure she was hearing him correctly. She pulled back to look up at him, but he looked like he was being completely serious, which could not be a possibility right now.

“I said,” Cassian replied, speaking slowly to make sure she caught every word, “what if we just… got married tomorrow?”

She stared at him for several seconds without blinking. “You’re joking, right?”

“No jokes here, sweetheart,” he answered. He stood up to his full height before walking to the edge of the bed and sitting down, resting one of his warm hands on her ankle. “I feel like it would help.”

“How would throwing away months of planning help?” she responded, doing her best to stop her eye from twitching. Once they’d settled on a venue and secured their date, it had been divide and conquer between reaching out to caterers, bakers, florists, makeup and hair stylists, tailors – you name it, they’d talked to someone about pricing and dates and menu options and color schemes.

“We wouldn’t be throwing away months of planning,” he told her. “I can be an idiot sometimes, but not that big of an idiot.”

“...Okay.” Nesta closed her laptop and gave him her full attention, hoping that he’d eventually tell her something that made sense instead of just confusing her further. “Explain what you mean then, because I don’t think I’m following you.”

“Just hear me out, okay?” Cassian asked. Once Nesta nodded her assent, he started rubbing gentle circles into the delicate skin of her ankle. “Maybe this is dumb, but I was just thinking… maybe it could help take the edge off things. I know your family is breathing down your neck about this being perfect, and I know how stressful this whole thing has been for you. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be us.”

God, he was good at this. He always knew exactly what to say to cut her to the core in the best way, and his words combined with the way those hazel eyes were trained on her made her want to give in immediately. Even though they would be surrounded by loved ones when they got married, something in her had always cringed at the fact that they’d be putting their relationship on display for everyone to see. She loved Cassian, she did, but the idea of having a wedding as big as theirs was shaping up to be felt almost performative.

If they did what he was suggesting, there wouldn’t be anything performative about it. It would be something for just them; they wouldn’t have to go through any of the hoops that their huge, ornate ceremony was shaping up to entail. Just her, Cassian, and whoever they needed to talk to for it to be official.

“Yeah,” Nesta eventually answered, suddenly fighting back tears at how well he knew her. Even after all these years with him, he still managed to catch her off guard with how thoughtful he was. “

“Yeah?” Cassian echoed. He started to smile and it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. “Let’s do it.”

♡♡♡♡♡

Surprisingly, it didn’t take long to sort everything out. Cassian booked a hotel for the weekend in Atlantic City while Nesta dug around for a white dress in her closet, and by the time she’d found a suitable enough option, he’d also started the process to get a marriage license.

“It doesn’t take that long to get a New Jersey marriage license,” he told her as they packed their bags for the weekend. “I mean, we’ll still have to sort out the paperwork for when we get married again, but that’s a problem for future us.”

“Okay,” she replied, feeling much lighter now that the pressure for their huge ceremony was suddenly off her shoulders. “We’ll figure it out then.”

It didn’t take them much longer to finish packing, and before Nesta knew it, they were in the car and on their way to Atlantic City. It wasn’t far – roughly two and a half hours – but they stopped for dinner along the way, so they made their way into the hotel lobby about three hours later. The air conditioning was going strong, and Nesta didn’t hesitate before leaning against Cassian’s warm side while they checked into their room.

“You want my jacket?” Cassian asked once they were all squared away and heading to the elevators.

“No, I’m okay,” Nesta answered, leaning into him again while they waited for the elevator to come to the lobby. Besides, he was holding both of their bags; she wasn’t going to make him essentially play Tetris with them to get the damn thing off. “We can just turn the AC down when we get upstairs.”

Their hotel room had all the usual accommodations, including a king-sized bed, and they both showered and changed into pajamas before getting into it. Cassian made sure their room was locked up tight and the AC wasn’t blasting before they got into bed, but even though it wasn’t as cold in the room anymore that didn’t stop Nesta from cuddling up to her fiancé.

“Thanks for going along with my crazy idea, Nes,” Cassian said into the quiet darkness of their room.

“It wasn’t that crazy once you explained it,” Nesta replied softly, reaching up and pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw. “But you’re welcome.”

He just laughed softly, the sound of it vibrating gently against her cheek where she was laying on him. “Love you.”

“Love you too, baby. See you in the morning.”

♡♡♡♡♡

Nesta woke up the next morning wrapped around one of the hotel pillows instead of around her husband-to-be. She experienced a brief moment of panic once she realized she was alone in the room, but it quickly dissipated once she recognized Cassian’s familiar handwriting on one of the hotel’s notepads. She reached for it where he’d left it on the end table and quickly scanned the note he’d left her.

Hey sweetheart, he’d written. Don’t freak out, but it’s bad luck to see the bride on her wedding day, and I’m all about avoiding bad luck. Everything else is getting taken care of (I promise!!) so you just have to bring your gorgeous self to the altar.

Love you

xoxo,

Cassian (aka your future husband)

Nesta laughed softly to herself as she set the note aside, her heart rate immediately slowing down after she’d read it through a few times. Cassian knew how tired she was of making so many wedding-related decisions and it was such a relief to not have to make any more — for the moment, anywhere. Even if they weren’t doing things the ‘right’ way, he was still looking out for all the little details, and it was stuff like that that made her want to fall in love with him all over again.

Lucky for her, she’d get to fall in love with him every day for the rest of their lives.

Nesta let herself lounge in bed for a few more minutes until she couldn’t wait any longer. She took her time getting ready, the hot water from the surprisingly strong shower head waking her all the way up, and she was thankful she’d packed her good blow dryer after she realized the hotel one wasn’t up for the task. Cassian had always loved her hair down, so she carefully smoothed half of it up and left the other half down.

By the time she finished with her makeup and got dressed, it was almost time to go. She put on her wedges and threw the essentials — lip gloss, powder, room key, phone — into her purse before heading downstairs. She’d missed breakfast, but she managed to snag some Pop Tarts from the convenience store while she waited for her Uber.

It was a quick ride to the hotel where they were getting married, and Nesta just followed the signs for the wedding area until she found a woman holding a sign with her name on it. She was tall, with dark hair and light brown skin that looked amazing even under the strange hotel lighting.

“Hi,” Nesta said, walking right up to her. “I’m Nesta.”

The woman perked up immediately. “Great! I’m Deirdre, I’ll be officiating the wedding. Cassian handled pretty much everything he could without you, so all you have to do is follow me.”

“Great,” Nesta replied. Her love for Cassian grew even more once she heard she’d hardly have to do anything. “Lead the way.”

Deirdre and Nesta wound their way through the halls, making small talk until they ended up in one of the back rooms. Nesta picked out a small bouquet of lilies, a short veil to wear as she walked down the aisle, and signed some forms.

“You’re all set,” Deirdre told her once the last thing was signed. “Cassian said he had the rings, so really you just have to get your beautiful self out there and we can get this show on the road.”

“Okay,” Nesta agreed. She wondered if Cassian was using their actual wedding rings, or if he’d found a less expensive replacement for today. Oh well — she didn’t need to worry about it right now, and wasn’t that a relief. “I’m ready.”

Deirdre clapped her hands together and led Nesta through a different path through the halls, the two of them coming to a stop in front of what looked like a chapel. “I’ll go in first, make sure everything’s ready, and then once the music starts you can come in whenever you want. Okay?”

“Sounds good,” Nesta told her, and then she was alone.

Nesta took a few deep breaths while she waited for Deirdre’s signal. Maybe if it had been anyone else, she might have been more nervous, but it was Cassian waiting for her. How could she feel anything but excited when they were only a few minutes away from forever?

The music started earlier than Nesta had been expecting, but she took it in stride. She squared her shoulders and walked through the door with her head held high, something inside her settling the second she laid eyes on Cassian. He looked handsome as always, dressed in a white button-up shirt and his nicest pair of jeans, and she could tell he was already crying even from across the room.

There were a few people seated amongst the pews to serve as witnesses, but Nesta tuned out everyone that wasn’t Cassian. The walk down the aisle was simultaneously too long and too short, and suddenly she was handing over her bouquet so she could grip Cassian’s hands in hers. “Hi.”

“Hey, sweetheart,” Cassian said, his eyes a little wide. “You look so beautiful.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Nesta said back. She squeezed his hands to help steady them both before turning to Deirdre with an expectant look. “We’re ready.”

Deidre must have gone through all the usual wedding talk, but all Nesta heard was that she and Cassian were promising themselves to one another. Good days and bad, they’d show up for each other no matter what, no matter what kind of fancy ways people wanted to describe it.

Before Nesta knew it, it was time for the vows. Deirdre turned to her expectantly, and she nodded before she took a deep breath.

“Cassian,” Nesta started, her eyes tearing up at the force of what she felt for him. They’d both promised to not prepare anything — something about it coming from the heart — and part of her wished she had, just for the sheer difficulty of describing what he meant to her. “You’re the love of my life. My best friend in the entire world. You know me better than anyone else, and I’m so — I’m so thankful to have you. You make me so happy even when you’re being a bastard and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She took another deep breath to steady herself, shooting Cassian a watery smile as he reached up to wipe some of her tears. “You’re the one I want to laugh with and argue with and spend all my time with until we’re old and gray. I promise to choose you every day, no matter what. I love the life we’ve made so much, and I promise to fight for us for the rest of our lives. I love you, Cassian. So much.”

“Jesus, how am I supposed to follow that up,” Cassian muttered to himself.

Nesta laughed. “I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Nes.” He took a deep breath of his own and met her eyes again. “Nesta, I knew from the minute I met you that you were special. Maybe it’s cheesy, but from that very first glare, I knew I’d be chasing after your attention for the rest of our lives. I’ve never been so happy to be right.”

“You’re the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to bed. You’ve made my life better in so many ways, and I’ll never stop thanking the universe for putting us in each other’s lives. You’re an amazing woman and the fact that you chose me — well. I’ll never take that for granted. It physically hurts me when we’re apart, so the fact that you’re agreeing to be tied to me forever makes me feel pretty damn good. I promise to choose you every single day, to always respect you and cherish you and all the other things that you deserve. I love you so, so much, Nesta. You’re my world.”

They were both crying now, and Nesta squeezed Cassian’s hands so hard it was a miracle he didn’t lose circulation. She swore she could feel the thread that connected them wrap around them even tighter; there was no telling where one of them began and the other one ended. It was just them, and it was beautiful.

“Those were wonderful,” Deirdre told them. “Now, the rings.”

It seemed Cassian had brought out their wedding bands early after all. Both of their hands were shaking as they exchanged rings, but they managed to get through it without dropping anything or putting their rings on the wrong fingers.

“With that…” Deirdre took a deep breath and beamed at them. “You may now kiss the bride.”

Cassian didn’t need to be told twice. Nesta barely had any warning before he was grabbing her and dipping her, but he was so strong that she didn’t think he’d drop her for a second. She just threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, clutching him to her as tightly as she could and not planning on letting go for a good long while.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Deirdre said, smiling brightly. “Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” Cassian said with a wide grin once he’d brought Nesta back up. He was so beautiful when he was happy, and part of her still couldn’t believe she was the one to consistently put that smile on his face. “Hey, wife.”

“Hey, husband,” Nesta said back, smiling just as widely as he was. “You ready to get out of here?”

“Like you even have to ask,” he told her. He offered his hand and she took it without hesitation, squeezing tightly as they made their way back down the aisle.

#sjmromanceweek2024 #acotar #acosf #nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #cassian acotar #nesta x cassian #cassian x nesta #pro nessian #pro nesta archeron #pro cassian acotar #moodymelanistwrites

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moodymelanist · 2 months

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Handprints and Good Grips

happy last and final day of @sjmromanceweek, everyone! I couldn’t let this week go by without giving y’all some Nessian smut, so I hope this hits the spot 🤭 this one is a continuation of Take All of Me from SJM Romance Week 2023, but all you need to know about that one is Nessian didn’t make it out the house for their reservations.

I had such a blast putting this week together and seeing everyone's amazing contributions. I hope you enjoy today's fic and see you all very very soon for @nestaarcheronweek in April!!

Summary: Cassian and Nesta are absolutely, one hundred percent going to make it to their fancy dinner reservations this year.

At least… that was the intention. Again.

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: smut lies ahead!

Read on AO3 here!

♡♡♡♡♡ Cassian

As Cassian fussed with his tie in front of the bedroom mirror, he couldn’t help but grin at his own reflection. He knew he looked good in his crisp, white button-up shirt and well-fitted black slacks, but his favorite accessory had to be the gold wedding band settled perfectly on his left hand.

Two years in, and he didn’t think he’d ever get tired of looking at it.

They were supposed to celebrate their second wedding anniversary tonight, and for once they were actually moving according to schedule. Nesta was in the bathroom doing her hair and makeup while Cassian had been relegated to the bedroom, and they had about twenty minutes left before they needed to leave.

After they hadn’t even made it out the house last year, Nesta was even more hell-bent on making it to their reservation this time. If she could have it her way, she would’ve gotten ready elsewhere and just met Cassain at the restaurant just to cut down on the risk of what happened last year happening again.

It made absolutely no sense to do that, though, so Cassian was treated to the sight of watching his wife get ready for a night out. Nesta was always stunning to him, but there was just something about watching her get all dolled up just for him that rubbed him exactly the right way.

Once Cassian finished messing with his tie in the mirror, he winked at himself before settling on the corner of the bed to wait for Nesta to come out of the bathroom again. It didn’t take long for her to make an appearance; as much as she liked to complain about him distracting her, they both knew how much she liked having his eyes on her.

When Nesta walked by him, Cassian couldn’t help but reach out and snake an arm around her waist. She was still in the robe she liked to wear when she was getting ready, the silky material perfect for running a hand across her ass. “Mhmm, you look so good.”

“I’m not even dressed yet,” Nesta responded with a roll of her eyes. Her hair was still in rollers, but her makeup was mostly done, and Cassian was a little obsessed with the way her smoky eyeliner made her eyes look so blue.

“I don’t see the problem with that,” he answered, still rubbing a hand across her ass. Was she wearing underwear right now, or were they so thin that he couldn’t feel them through the material of her robe? Either option would be good.

“Don’t you start with me,” she told him, cutting off his train of thought with a flick to his forearm. She let him grab one last handful of her ass before she wiggled out of his grip entirely. “We are not canceling this reservation again. Do you understand me?”

“Uh huh,” he answered. His eyes were still glued to the way the fabric clung to her body, and he forced them back up to her face with an unrepentant smirk. “Perfectly, sweetheart.”

“Don’t you sweetheart me,” she warned him, fixing him with a highly unamused look. “I know exactly what you’re up to.”

“A man can’t appreciate his wife without being accused of ulterior motives?” he asked innocently. “What has this world come to?”

She just rolled her eyes before grabbing the earrings she’d been looking for and walking back toward the bathroom. He hated to see her go, but holy shit, did he love to watch her leave. “Save it, Cassian. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”

Cassian headed toward the living room while he waited, deciding to at least try to be good while she finished getting ready. It didn’t take long for him to put on his shoes and grab their coats, and in a burst of foresight, he briefly ran outside and started warming the car up so they wouldn’t be freezing when they got outside.

When Nesta sashayed out of their bedroom, she found Cassian holding her coat out to help her slide into it. “Hey. You ready to go?”

“Yeah. You look…” Cassian trailed off, trying and failing to come up with the right words to describe Nesta in her silky red dress and her bouncy curls and her smoky eyes. Her dress especially had his mouth falling open a little from the way the silky material clung to every curve, and the slit on the left side revealed just enough skin to make him go a little crazy. “God. I can’t even think of a good enough word right now, Nes.”

“A for effort, right?” Nesta replied with a smirk. Once her coat was on and she was facing him again, she didn’t hide the way she looked him over just as appreciatively. “You certainly cleaned up nicely.”

“I have to keep up with you, don’t I?” he fired back without missing a beat.

“You can certainly try,” she retorted, still smirking a little bit.

Nesta reached up and cupped Cassian’s face briefly, and he couldn’t stop himself from turning in to press a soft kiss to the inside of her palm. Her expression turned fond for a quick second before she grew serious.

“The only reason you’re driving is because I can’t with these shoes,” Nesta told him, motioning toward the car keys in his hand with a serious glare. God, she was so sexy when she scowled at him. “Whatever you’re thinking about, stop it.”

“I can’t help it, sweetheart,” Cassian answered. He forced himself to step away from her so he could open the door for her, very much enjoying the way she stared him down the entire time. “You know what the glaring does to me.”

“Well, undo it,” she replied without missing a beat. After another long look, she finally sighed and moved toward the door. “We have places to be.”

They stepped outside into the cool February air and Cassian jogged ahead so he could open Nesta’s car door for her, too. She murmured a soft thank you as he offered his hand to get her up into the passenger seat, and he walked back toward the front door to make sure everything was locked before he got into the driver’s seat.

Once they were both strapped in and ready to go, Cassian pulled out of their driveway and put his hand on Nesta’s thigh as usual. He realized his mistake immediately after he felt all that bare, soft skin under his fingers — of course it was on the side where the slit in her dress was — but it seemed worse to pull away from her now. It was fine. He’d just… suffer in silence for the remaining twenty minutes of their car ride.

“Ugh, it’s too quiet in here,” Nesta commented a few minutes into the drive. She shifted to reach for her phone and Cassian bit down hard on his lip to stop himself from thinking about how dangerously close his fingers had gotten to her panty line. Guess she was wearing underwear after all. “You like Reneé Rapp, right?”

“Whatever you want,” Cassian agreed, not even really hearing a word his wife said. He did like Reneé Rapp, but he didn’t process what Nesta said for at least another thirty seconds into the first song she’d queued up. “Oh. Yeah, I do like her.”

She just snorted. “Just focus on the road, baby.”

The next few minutes of their drive were uneventful until Cassian made his second mistake. He came to a stop at a red light and stole a quick glance over at Nesta… and managed to look right down the front of her dress. He’d picked the exact moment she leaned down to grab something out of her purse, revealing that she was not wearing a bra tonight. For those few seconds that she was bent over, every thought flew out of his mind other than how much her breasts were stretching the fabric of her dress and how perfect they would feel under his hands right now.

Cassian didn’t come back to himself until the person behind him honked, and then he had to get himself together enough to start driving again. Stop thinking about Nesta’s tits, stop thinking about Nesta’s tits, stop thinking about Nesta’s tits…

“You alright?” Nesta asked from beside him. “The light’s green.”

“Yup,” Cassian answered, hoping his voice didn’t sound as strained as his pants were starting to feel. It turned out that telling himself to stop thinking about Nesta’s chest was the perfect way to only think about it, and his brain decided to be oh so helpful by playing his personal montage of favorite moments. Nesta at the pool last summer, Nesta fresh out of the shower, Nesta on her knees in front of him — Nesta, Nesta, Nesta.

What was Cassian supposed to do? He was only a man, and one who was head over heels in love with Nesta. He only had but so much willpower, especially when she looked as good as she did right now. How the fuck was he supposed to make it through dinner and dessert when the only thing he wanted to eat was his beautiful wife?

Sighing heavily, he turned off the main avenue and got lucky a few minutes in finding a warning sign for a hidden road. Honestly, he was surprised he’d lasted as long as he did before giving in.

“What are you doing?” Nesta asked, sounding deeply unamused. “The restaurant's the other way.”

“I know which way the restaurant is,” Cassian answered. He was practically white knuckling the steering wheel and it was a miracle it didn’t give under his grip. “We’re not making it.”

“Yes, we are,” she replied coolly. “Turn the car around.”

Cassian didn’t listen, instead continuing down the road until they were far enough that they probably wouldn’t be spotted.

“Get in the backseat, Nesta,” Cassian told her once he’d parked the car and taken off his seatbelt.

The unimpressed look on her face morphed into a glare so fierce it would’ve sent lesser men running for the hills. “Are you out of your mind? Keep driving, Cassian.”

“You have two choices,” he replied, turning to face her so he could reach out and grip the side of her neck. He wasn’t quite choking her, not yet, but it was more than enough to make her eyes go a little wide so he knew she was listening. “Either you get your pretty little ass in the backseat, or you get in my lap. Pick one.”

Cassian had never been more thankful to own an SUV as he watched Nesta sigh heavily, get out the car, and yank open the rear passenger door. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” he told her once they were both in the backseat. He was way too big for them to lie down, so she tossed her shoes in the front seat and climbed into his lap.

“Yeah, I do,” she insisted with a glare. He wondered how long it would take to make her eat her words this time. “I wanted to actually make it out this time!”

“Then why’d you wear this, huh?” he asked, pushing her coat off her shoulders so he could play with the straps of her dress. They were so thin it would be a miracle if he didn’t end up snapping one of them by accident. “You knew exactly what you were doing.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied. The effect was lessened by the way she was starting to breathe a little faster and lean into his touch. “I just—”

“You just what?” he cut her off. He pushed one strap off her shoulders and held back his smirk at the way she angled her other shoulder out. “Just wanted to push all my buttons so you could blame it on me?”

“No,” Nesta said, her eyes a little wide now. “That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” Cassian said back. He reached up to push the other strap off her shoulder and was immensely satisfied when she swallowed thickly. “Letting me feel you up, bending over to flash me… you think I don’t know all the little games you like to play with me?”

“I wasn’t,” she tried to argue, but she wasn’t really trying all that hard.

“Yes, you were,” he told her. The top of her dress was slowly sliding down now that there wasn’t anything to hold it up anymore, but he refused to give into temptation until she begged for it. “If you just admit it, maybe you’ll get what you want.”

“I don’t want anything,” she lied through her teeth. The way she was trying to subtly lean forward and push her breasts into his face said otherwise, though. “I just wanted to go to dinner.”

“Why, so all those people could look at what’s mine?” He laughed, a little meanly, and goosebumps broke out across her skin. “We can probably still make the grace period. I’d love to bend you over the table and teach you a fucking lesson.”

Bingo. Nesta’s eyes went really wide at that, and Cassian decided to take a little pity on her. He reached up and dug a hand into her hair so he could pull her down for a kiss, and she moaned right into his mouth once their lips finally met. She opened up for him immediately and started rocking her hips against his, both of them breathing hard now that they were grinding together to the same rhythm as their tongues.

“Fuck, look at you,” Cassian breathed once he pulled Nesta back by her hair. She was making him a little — no, a lot — crazy by how wrecked she looked already, and that was only the beginning. He was going to ruin her. “Love when you get like this.”

“Cassian, come on,” Nesta replied, whining just a little bit. She was still rocking against his cock and it was taking all his concentration not to give in and move with her. “Stop fucking with me.”

“You were fucking with me first, sweetheart,” he retorted. He shifted his grip on her so he was holding tight to her hips, earning an annoyed sound as he stopped her from moving altogether. “Maybe if you’d owned up to that we wouldn’t be in this situation, now would we?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” she cut herself off with a frustrated huff. He wanted her unable to string her words together, so this was a good start. “Please.”

“Please what?” he asked, grinning up at her.

“Please,” she repeated. “Touch me, let me touch you, I don’t care, just— something, please. I can’t fucking take it.”

“Take my cock out,” Cassian demanded after a few moments. Nesta reached down and unbuckled his belt, moving fast to unzip his pants and wrap her hands around his hard length. “Come on, Nesta. I don’t have all day.”

He breathed a sigh of relief once he was finally free, but it quickly changed to a groan once she started stroking him. She knew exactly how he liked it, her grip on the perfect edge between pleasure and pain, and he let his head fall back against the seat while he watched her. One of her hands wasn’t enough to wrap fully around him, but they both liked how much bigger he was than her.

Cassian nearly lost it when Nesta brought two of her fingers to her lips to taste the precum leaking from the tip, but he forced himself to take a deep breath and get a goddamn grip. “That’s enough. Pull your dress up.”

Nesta released her fingers with a pop and reached down to yank at her dress, exposing the tiny scrap of red lace that was supposed to count for underwear. All the jostling made the top of her dress fall down even further, exposing her breasts to the warm air of the car, and Cassian tweaked one of her nipples roughly before pushing her underwear to the side and thrusting two fingers inside without warning.

“Oh my God,” she moaned, one of her hands reaching out to steady herself on his shoulders. She was so soaked he was surprised it hadn’t spread to the inside of her thighs. “Cassian…”

“You must really want it,” he commented casually, like she wasn’t hot and tight around his fingers and practically begging for his cock. “Tell me how much you want it.”

“Please fuck me,” she pleaded without missing a beat. She started rocking against him and her grip on his shoulder turned near-painful as she dug her nails in. “Please, I need you so bad, I’ve been thinking about sitting on your cock all night—”

Cassian couldn’t take waiting anymore. Hewithdrew his fingers and brought them to Nesta’s lips, his cock throbbing as she tasted herself with a little groan. She licked his fingers clean and stared right at him as he slowly pulled them out of her mouth; if he hadn’t been so ready to fuck her, he would’ve put her on her knees right then and there.

It took a little manuevering, but they managed to get the angle right for Cassian’s cock to line up perfectly with Nesta’s entrance. They both moaned as she slowly slid down onto his cock, Cassian unable to make up his mind about whether he wanted to watch Nesta take him inch by inch or her face while she did. He chose to look at her face so he could catalogue every little sound that came out of her mouth until their hips were flush.

“So fucking perfect,” Cassian murmured, leaning forward to press a kiss to Nesta’s neck. It was so warm inside the car now that her skin was a little slick with sweat, but he didn’t give a fuck. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Nesta said. He lived for these tender little moments just as much as he did the rough, dirty ones, and so did she. “But I thought you were gonna fuck me.”

Cassian shifted his grip so he had one hand on her hip and the other on her ass so he could smack one of her cheeks. “I never said that, sweetheart. Get a fucking move on.”

Nesta didn’t waste any time, reaching out with both hands to steady herself on Cassian’s shoulders as she started rocking back and forth. She started slow and eventually picked up more speed, the windows starting to really fog up now as she bounced on his cock. She felt like heaven wrapped around him and felt twice as good, but it was only a matter of time until he was going to take matters into his own hands.

Cassian shifted his legs as wide as he could with Nesta sitting astride him, moving the hand on her ass back to her other hip so he could move her up and down on his cock in time with his thrusts.

“Jesus Christ,” Nesta panted, holding on for dear life as Cassian really started fucking her. “Ah — don’t stop, fuck, you feel so good—”

“Love how you take my cock,” Cassian grunted, thrusting up into her even faster now. Nesta tipped her head forward onto his shoulder so her next moan was quite literally music to his ears. “Love fucking your perfect pussy.”

“Oh my— fuck, I love it, love your cock,” Nesta whimpered between gasps for breath.

He didn’t miss how one of her hands disappeared from his shoulder to sneak down between her legs. “You gonna make yourself come?”

“Yes, yes, don’t stop,” she moaned. He was fucking her so hard it was honestly impressive she could keep her fingers on her clit, but he wasn’t about to ask questions. “So close.”

“Let me see,” he told her, panting. He wasn’t far off from coming, either, but he always made sure she came first if he could help it. “Wanna watch you come on my cock—”

Nesta cursed loudly as she came, clenching down hard and milking him for everything he was worth. Cassian couldn’t stop his own climax even if he’d wanted to and went right over the edge with her, groaning as a wave of pleasure slammed into him.

They didn’t move for another few minutes so they could catch their breath. Nesta managed to crawl into the passenger seat without leaving the car, but Cassian had to put his cock away and open the car door to get back to the driver’s side.

“Happy anniversary, sweetheart,” Cassian said eventually. He rolled down the window to let some of the hot air out and let out a relieved sigh as the cold air started rolling in. “Maybe next year we’ll make it to the restaurant.”

Nesta pressed her lips together to hide her smile as she pulled out her phone, her fingers moving quickly to open the UberEats app. She hadn’t bothered to put her shoes back on and her dress was definitely on backwards, but she was still the most beautiful thing in the world to Cassian. “Happy anniversary to you too, baby, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Now… what do you want to order for dinner?”

#sjmromanceweek2024 #acotar #acosf #nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #cassian acotar #nesta x cassian #cassian x nesta #pro nessian #pro nesta archeron #pro cassian acotar #moodymelanistwrites

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moodymelanist · 1 month

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A Nessian drabble idea: Cassian waking up from anesthesia forgetting who Nesta is and is immediately starts flirting with her because she's so beautiful.

omg YES. this is so them thank you for sending this in I’ve always wanted to write one of these. I’ve also never had my wisdom teeth removed so sorry for any inaccuracies there LOL

Nesta had been hanging out in the waiting room for about an hour when someone finally called her name.

“Nesta Archeron?” one of the nurses called. Nesta quickly gathered her jacket and purse and got up to follow her.

“How’s he doing?” Nesta asked. Cassian had finally taken the plunge and gotten all four of his wisdom teeth removed in one go, and while Nesta knew this was a routine enough procedure, she was still a little antsy about her husband using anesthesia.

“It went well,” the nurse replied, leading Nesta into what looked like the outpatient area. “He’s recovering now. The anesthesia should be wearing off in the next few minutes if it hasn’t already.”

The nurse ran through a list of symptoms to watch out for and general tips to help Cassian’s healing process. Even though Nesta knew she’d be getting a thick packet with all these instructions, she still did her best to commit them to memory. This was her husband they were talking about; she wasn’t going to take any risks with him.

By the time the nurse finished explaining everything, they’d made it inside Cassian’s recovery room. He looked a little funny with his cheeks all swollen and a bandage wrapped around his face, but Nesta was too glad everything had gone well to really make fun of him.

That didn’t stop her from snapping a picture, though. Just because she didn’t intend to use it to tease him later didn’t mean she didn’t want one.

“Hey,” Nesta said softly as Cassian’s eyes fluttered open. “How are you feeling?”

“Hey,” Cassian said back, drawing out the word long and slow. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” she managed to reply without laughing. He was clearly still feeling the anesthesia, and she was going to enjoy him being loopy for as long as it lasted. “You ready to go home?”

“With you?” he asked, his face lighting up.

“Of course with me,” she responded with a fond roll of her eyes.

“It must be my lucky day,” he answered, trying to pull his lips into a smirk and failing miserably. “Going home with the most gorgeous woman in here.”

“We go home together every night, you idiot,” she told him with a huff of laughter. “We live together.”

“Then I guess it’s my lucky night every night,” he fired back, though some of the effect was lost by how drowsy he sounded.

Nesta and the nurse exchanged amused glances before they started to prep to get him out of there. Thankfully Cassian was still dressed, so they just had to get him to stand so he could sit back down again in the wheelchair.

“Come on, big guy,” Nesta said, pulling the blankets back from Cassian so he could get out the bed. “Time to come home with me.”

“But…” Cassian trailed off, his face twisting into the most adorable pout as he caught sight of her left hand. “You’re married.”

She stared at him a little incredulously. Was he fucking with her, or was this just the anesthesia? “Yes?”

“I’ve been flirting with a married woman,” he groaned, bringing his hands up to his face and immediately regretting it. “Oh, God, I’m a homewrecker.”

“Jesus Christ,” she muttered under her breath, trying and failing to hold back her laughter. She gently pulled his hands away from his face and tapped the matching gold band on his left hand before raising her voice to add, “Cassian, look. You’re married too.”

“That’s even worse,” he groaned once he noticed his own wedding band. “Holy fuck. I’m a homewrecker and a cheater.”

“No, you doofus,” she replied, still laughing. “We’re married to each other.”

Cassian’s face looked like Christmas had come early. “Really?”

“Really,” Nesta confirmed. “It’ll be six years this October.”

“Oh, wow,” he breathed, completely awed. He reached out and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together with a dopey look on his face. “Let’s go home, then.”

#acotar #acosf #Nessian #nesta Archeron #Cassian #Cassian acotar #nesta x cassian #Cassian x nesta #pro Nessian #pro Cassian #pro nesta archeron #anon asks #moodymelanistwrites #Nessian prompts

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moodymelanist · 4 days

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Where The Light Won't Find You Chapter 11

happy day 1 of @nestaarcheronweek! this took MUCH longer than I anticipated to get an update, but here we are!! thank you so much to everyone who's been leaving wonderful comments on this fic while I chewed on this chapter. I hope it’s worth the wait 💚

✵✵✵✵✵✵ Nesta

When Nesta managed to pull herself away from Cassian’s touch, she did it with the knowledge that it was a fight she’d eventually lose. Everything in her was screaming for her to touch him, hold him, claim him, and while she knew it was only a matter of time before she gave in, she also knew it was far more important to tell Elain and Lucien what had just happened.

Besides, Cassian wasn’t going anywhere. And judging by the look in his eye, he’d be more than happy to let Nesta have her way with him the way he deserved when the time came— the way they both deserved.

“Come,” Nesta told Cassian again. She reached backwards for his hand, not sure if she could bear it if they were separated right now, and he took it without hesitation.

Cassian’s hand was warm and solid in her own as Nesta led them through the halls, winding their way to the sitting room that had turned into their unofficial meeting room. She regrettably had to let go of him to send Elain and Lucien a message summoning them back upstairs, but it wasn’t as horrible as she’d feared. Cassian had started pacing the length of the room, and the sound of his steady footsteps and the way he found some way to touch her every time he walked past was more than enough to make up for the constant reassurance of his hand in hers.

Keep reading on AO3 here!

#nestaweek2024 #Nessian #acotar #acosf #nesta archeron #cassian #pro nessian #pro nesta archeron #pro cassian #moodymelanistwrites #nesta x cassian #cassian x nesta

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moodymelanist · 9 days

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happy WIP Tuesday* (since I am a silly goof who accidentally posted a day early lol).

anyway, here’s a little something I’m working on for @nestaarcheronweek hehe

“I do not consent to a search of my home,” Nesta snapped. She closed the door behind her and turned to follow the officer, very intent on getting his name and badge number so she could tear Metro PD a new one. “What the f— someone record this!”

Most of her assembled friends and family looked confused, but Emerie and Feyre already had their phones in hand and were clearly recording. If Nesta had been paying more attention, she would’ve realized someone had brought out one of the dining chairs and put it in the middle of the room, but she was much more concerned with the Fourth Amendment violation playing out in her living room.

“I will ask you one last time,” Nesta hissed at the officer. He looked far too smug for her liking, and she couldn’t wait to wipe that stupid look off his face when she found out who his commanding officer was. “What the hell is the problem here?”

“There’s a problem here alright,” the officer — whose nameplate just said Cassian, which Nesta was realizing was not standard issue — told her with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows. “You have the right to remain horny!”

Oh, Nesta thought, everything abruptly clicking into place. Oh no.

#acotar #acosf #Nessian #nesta archeron #Cassian #pro Nessian #pro nesta archeron #pro cassian #moodymelanistwrites #wip wednesday #story snippets

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moodymelanist · 29 days

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happy wip Wednesday, here’s a wlw!Nessian drabble I’m working on 🤪

“Are you going to keep staring down my shirt, or can we get this presentation done?”

Cass startled so badly at Nesta’s words that she nearly knocked over her water, only barely managing to catch the reusable bottle at the last second. “What?”

At least, until Nesta had shown up to the library wearing that shirt.

“Were you zoned out the other three times, too?” Nesta fired back without missing a beat.

#acotar #acosf #nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #wlw!nessian #moodymelanistwrites #wip wednesday #story snippets

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moodymelanist · 8 months

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Let’s Talk About You And Me

happy day 2 of @nessianweek everyone! today’s contribution is spice spice and more spice so I hope you have a glass of water nearby 😏

Summary: After their friends tease them for being relentless horndogs, Nesta and Cassian make a bet about how long the other can last without any sex.

Word Count: 4.9k

Warnings: Smut full-steam ahead. Edging, dirty talk, degradation, dominant!Nesta

Read on AO3 here!

✵✵✵✵✵✵ Nesta

It was the first Friday of the month, and that could only mean one thing: game night at Gwyn and Azriel’s place.

Once a month, everyone who was available gathered at Gwyn and Azriel’s for game night. For once everyone they invited actually showed up, so the living room was a little more crowded than usual, but that was alright. Nesta liked being able to see all the people she cared about at once, and this certainly made it easier.

As usual, Nesta and Cassian had been the last to arrive, much to the assembled group’s amusement.

“Jesus, what took you two so long?” Feyre asked once they got inside. She and Rhys were cuddled up on the armchair, Rhys’ armed curled casually around her waist. “Actually, never mind. I don’t want to know.”

“Ha ha,” Nesta replied sarcastically, slipping off her shoes so she could claim her usual spot on the sectional. Elain helpfully moved out of the way so she could have some more room, though Nesta suspected being able to snuggle further into Lucien’s body was a strong motivator. “You’re so funny.”

“Feyre darling’s a real comedian,” Rhys jumped to her defense immediately.

“Maybe she should try better material,” Cassian replied, taking off his jacket before plopping down next to Nesta. “If you’re so concerned, there was a fuckton of traffic on our way here.”

“Traffic, he says,” Mor chimed in with a laugh. She exchanged a knowing look with Emerie before adding, “That excuse only works when there’s actually traffic on the road.”

“There was a huge accident on 395,” Nesta protested. Driving in DC wasn’t for the faint of heart, especially on a Friday night. “Turn on the news right now if you don’t believe me.”

“And even if we were fucking,” Cassian added, “it’s not like we’re the only ones that have run a little late because of it.”

“Respectfully, no,” Azriel replied over the others’ laughter. “You two are the worst.”

“What?” Cassian responded, playfully affronted. “We’re not that bad!”

“As someone who’s lived with you, I have to aggressively disagree,” Azriel answered. “No offense, but you’re the worst.”

“It’s true,” Gwyn chimed in, giggling as she came back into the living room with a fresh bowl of chips. “As someone who’s also lived with you, I can confirm.”

“So much for loyalty,” Nesta responded with a playful roll of her eyes.

“The truth is more important,” Gwyn told her primly, though she made sure to walk in front of Nesta so she could get first dibs on the snacks.

“Our friends are such assholes,” Cassian muttered.

Nesta snorted. “I’ve been telling you that for years .”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Elain said with a laugh. “Let’s pick a game now that everyone’s here. Luce, pass me the cards?”

The sex-related teasing died down once they started playing, though that certainly didn’t stop the game-related teasing as the night wore on. They’d assembled enough Uno cards for everyone to play even with a group as large as them, and once they’d sorted through the usual arguing about whether a draw two could go on top of a draw four and if they had to say uno out, Emerie and Lucien ended up winning the most rounds.

By the time Nesta and Cassian made it back home, Nesta was more than ready to get ready for bed and hunker down with the next chapter of the latest Sellyn Drake release, but it seemed Cassian had other plans.

“Does it bother you?” Cassian asked as they stood next to one another in the bathroom getting ready for bed. He was gently pulling his curls into his usual pineapple while she washed her face, and the sheer domesticity of it all made something warm bloom in her chest.

Nesta finished rinsing and reached for a washcloth to pat her face dry. “Does what bother me?”

“That our friends think we’re such horndogs,” he told her.

“Not really,” she answered as she swiped toner across her clean skin. If she was being honest, even though she was a private person, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world that everyone knew they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. “Does it bother you?”

“Maybe a little,” he admitted. He reached for the silk scarf he used to protect his curls and leaned his head down so he could wrap it around his head, gently tucking the ends in to protect his hair. “I don’t know. Do they think we’re just fucking all the time and don’t actually talk?”

“That’s idiotic,” Nesta said, reaching for her moisturizer. “We don’t need to have sex all the time to have a solid relationship.”

“Of course not,” Cassian said back. He stood back up and swiped her micellar water with a grin. “Don’t get me wrong, I love having sex with you, but…”

“But we don’t need it,” she finished his sentence. She reached out and grabbed her toothbrush, adding some toothpaste before rinsing it and starting to brush her teeth. “Exactly.”

“I mean, I think you get a little cranky if you’re not getting it on the regular,” he added, smirking, “but you’re dating me, so that’s to be expected.”

“Excuse me?” she replied, pausing her brushing to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “ I get cranky?”

“The evidence doesn’t lie, sweetheart,” he answered cockily. “You get all huffy if it’s been too long. It’s adorable.”

“Says the man who woke me up last night to have sex with me,” she fired back, scoffing. He thought she got cranky if they didn’t have enough sex? If there was one thing men never ran out of, it was audacity. “You’re unbelievable.”

“That was an emergency,” he retorted. He reached for his own toothbrush and quickly began brushing his own teeth, waggling his eyebrows at her via the mirror. “Doesn’t change what I said.”

If her boyfriend had stopped talking approximately thirty seconds sooner, maybe they could’ve gone to bed in peace. But instead, he had to open his big mouth and add, “I’m not the problem here.”

“If you really think I’m the problem,” Nesta began haughtily, briefly pausing to spit and rinse the toothpaste out of her mouth, “then it definitely won’t be a problem if I stop giving it up altogether.”

“You can’t be serious,” Cassian replied after a second of stunned silence, reaching out to try and wrap an arm around her waist. His mouth dropped open a little bit when she deftly avoided him and started walking back to their bedroom so she could put on her pajamas. “Nes. Come on.”

“Don’t ‘Nes’ me,” she tossed over her shoulder. He followed her into their closet and she pointedly ignored the way he leaned against the doorframe to watch her change into a tank and loose shorts. “If I’m the problem, then it won’t be difficult for you. Right?”

“Of course not,” he said, challenge gleaming in his eyes. “And when you come back begging me to fuck you, I promise I won’t be mean about it.”

“That’s adorable.” She tossed her worn clothes in the hamper and walked into their bedroom, not even giving him a spare glance once he started stripping. “I can’t say I’ll do the same for you.”

“Fine,” Cassian answered. He sauntered into their bedroom only wearing boxers, and while normally she would’ve shamelessly ogled him, she wasn’t going down easy. Instead of reaching for him, she loosely braided her hair for sleep and busied herself with making sure all her devices were plugged in. “If that’s how you want to play it, sweetheart.”

“Fine,” Nesta echoed. She pulled down the comforter and got under the sheets, taking an immense amount of satisfaction from the disbelieving look on his face. “Good night, Cassian.”

Cassian turned off the light before sliding under the covers, too. “Good night, Nesta.”

The next morning, Nesta woke up to Cassian plastered across her back as usual. She could tell he was awake from the way he was gently rubbing circles into her stomach, and while on any other morning she would’ve ground back into his morning wood, this wasn’t any other morning.

“Good morning,” Cassian murmured into her ear, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of her neck.

“Good morning,” Nesta whispered back. Her body was already responding to his hands and his lips and his voice – Jesus, he wasn’t even trying, she needed to pull herself together – but she wasn’t going down without a fight. “Are you going to shower first?”

“Shower?” he asked, clearly confused. It was a Sunday, so they didn’t have anywhere to be, and they usually spent them lounging around and catching up on chores after a few rounds of morning sex. “What do you mean?”

“To take care of that,” she answered, pushing back into him just enough to be a tease. “Unless you want to take back what you said, of course.”

“I don’t have to take it back when I was right,” he replied with a low chuckle. His morning voice should be illegal, she thought to herself. “But whatever you say, sweetheart.”

“Then I hope your hand feels better than mine,” she fired back. She wiggled out of his grip with a little more body contact than necessary, taking her time to stand up, turn to face him, and stretch in a way she knew emphasized her chest. “I’m going to eat something.”

Nesta made sure Cassian saw her smirk before she turned and made her way to the kitchen, feeling more than confident that she was winning this war as she poured herself a bowl of cereal. Her good mood only got better as she heard her boyfriend grumble all the way to the bathroom, and she was practically whistling by the time she finished eating and took her dishes to the sink so she could wash everything.

She was washing her bowl out when Cassian finally emerged, dressed in a low-cut green tank top and a pair of black shorts. He’d pulled his curls back into a loose bun, a few strands escaping toward the front, and damn if the sight of him almost made her want to reconsider their competition. “Are you going to the gym?”

“Yup,” Cassian answered. Even though their kitchen had more than enough room, as he passed her he put his hands on her waist and made a show of grinding his front to her back. “Excuse me.”

“The protein powder’s in the other cabinet, idiot,” she told him, thoroughly ignoring how much he’d set her ablaze with just that one touch.

“Oops,” he said sarcastically. He pressed himself against her again as he went to the right cabinet, taking his time to really make sure she felt every inch of his muscled body against hers before he grabbed the protein powder. “My mistake.”

She just rolled her eyes as she dried her now-clean bowl, moving to put it away on the second shelf of the cabinet where they kept their plates and bowls. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Need some help with that?” he asked from behind her, crowding her between his body and the counter. He reached out and plucked the bowl from her fingers, rocking his hips up as he put it with the rest of the clean dishes, and she had to bite back a moan at how good it felt.

At this angle, it would be so easy for her to lean her head back on his shoulder and let him have his way with her. To let him hoist one leg up, pull her loose shorts to the side, and fuck her until she couldn’t walk. To let him—

Nesta mentally shook herself before she let her fantasies go any further. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours and she was already losing her cool like this? She needed to get a goddamn grip.

“Thank you,” Nesta managed to get out without her voice giving her away. It was a relief when he backed away from her with a little chuckle, like he knew exactly what direction her thoughts had traveled in without her saying a word. “Have a good workout.”

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Cassian replied, still amused. He gave her a quick kiss on the temple before he finished shaking up his drink, grabbed a handful of snacks to hold him over, and moved toward the door. “Don’t break your vibrator trying to replace me!”

“Fuck you,” she called out. He laughed before shutting the door behind him, leaving her alone and thankfully distraction-free.

With Cassian out of the apartment for a bit, Nesta found it wasn’t nearly as difficult to keep her focus. She did her usual weekly cleaning, updated their grocery list, and started a load of laundry. By the time he made it back home, she’d done some yoga, showered, gotten dressed, and was in the middle of moving their laundry to the right place.

At the sound of Cassian’s keys opening the door, Nesta yelled her greeting from where she was bent over fishing clothes out of the washing machine so she could throw them into the dryer. “Hey baby!”

“Now that’s a sight for sore ears,” Cassian replied. She turned and rolled her eyes at the sight of him openly ogling her. “Don’t stop on my account, sweetheart.”

“There’s no more clothes to move,” she told him dryly. She tossed some dryer balls in with the wet clothes and started the drying cycle, already moving to fold the dry clothes from the first load that she’d tossed on their bed a few minutes prior. “How was the gym?”

“Good,” he answered, following her into the bedroom. “Sweaty. I’m gonna shower.”

“Have fun without me,” she told him with a smirk.

He winked at her before yanking his shirt over his head. “Oh, I intend to.”

Cassian’s shower didn’t even last ten minutes, so Nesta was still folding clothes when he emerged from the bathroom. She looked up from where she was folding one of his shirts and immediately did a double take when she realized he was completely naked, his usual oversized towel nowhere to be seen, and she swallowed thickly at the sight of him still glistening from his shower.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Nesta asked, trying and failing to keep her eyes on something appropriate.

“My favorite towel is in the hamper,” Cassian answered with a smirk. It only grew as he watched her follow a droplet of water trailing down his abs and toward his rapidly hardening cock. “Not my fault, sweetheart.”

Damn. She hated that he wasn’t actually wrong, but she knew there were plenty of clean towels in their linen closet. “There’s still lots of towels in there, baby.”

“And use an inferior towel?” he replied with a heavy, put-upon sigh. “You know I have sensitive skin.”

“Yep,” she responded tightly. She couldn’t tell if she wanted to strangle him or sink to her knees and let the hard length of his cock in her throat strangle her instead, but she had to stay strong. “Which is why all our towels are Turkish cotton.”

“Hmm,” he said with false thoughtfulness. She nearly ripped through the lace underwear she was folding when he leaned against the doorframe and his cock shifted with the motion, leaking arousal and practically begging her to put her mouth on it. “You’re so good to me, Nes.”

That was playing dirty, and he knew it. Her body was practically conditioned to respond to his praise, her breath coming faster as she pressed her thighs together to try and ignore her arousal. It only got stronger as he took himself in hand, the obscene sounds of him stroking his hard cock threatening to break her like nothing had before.

“Fuck off,” Nesta eventually snapped, forcing herself to break out of her trance. She grabbed as many clothes as she could carry and practically ran into the closet to start putting them away, knowing if she didn’t leave now, Cassian would never stop bragging about how he’d won. Even through the door, she could hear the sound of his laughter.

But she wasn’t going down that easily.

✵✵✵✵✵✵

After Nesta got a chance to calm down — and finish putting away their laundry — the rest of their Saturday night went quietly enough. They ordered Indian for dinner and spent the night in front of their TV, catching up on Heartstopper while they munched on naan and butter chicken, and Cassian only tried to get a rise out of her once. He only pouted a little when it didn’t work, but that didn’t stop him from cuddling up to her as usual when it was time for bed.

In the end, it wasn’t the skimpy clothes or the innuendos or the sudden increase in bending over that did it. In fact, it happened when Nesta wasn’t even putting in any extra effort – which, in hindsight, she supposed was as wholesome as the two of them could get.

When Sunday morning rolled around, Nesta woke up before Cassian for once, and she quietly slipped out of bed to make herself some tea so she could curl up with her book for a little while. Maybe it was playing with fire to read such filthy material when she couldn’t put all that restless energy to good use, but she’d been so preoccupied with messing with her boyfriend that she was falling behind with her book club.

Once she had a steaming cup of Earl Grey ready, it was easy to get cozy and lose herself in the morning light and the sounds of her pages turning. She was so immersed in her book that she didn’t even notice that she was being watched for a solid couple of minutes, and once that awareness slowly trickled in, she looked up to see Cassian leaning against their bedroom doorframe watching her.

“Good morning,” Nesta said pleasantly, reaching for her cup of tea and taking a large sip. From the way he was looking at her, she had a good feeling about how this morning was going to go, but she had to let him come to that conclusion on his own. “What did you want to do for breakfast?”

Cassian crossed the room in a few long strides, his eyes dark and intent on her. “You.”

“Not on the menu,” she replied. She reached out with her foot and stopped him in his tracks, doing her best to keep her composure as he grabbed her ankle and started rubbing circles into her skin. “Did you need something, baby?”

“Please, Nesta,” Cassian said, his eyes a little wild. “I can’t fucking take it anymore.”

“Is that the best you can do?” Nesta said back, doing her best to seem unimpressed. She knew nothing drove him crazier than when she acted like this, so it was only a matter of time before he completely caved. “Pathetic.”

“Sweetheart, please,” he replied. He gently let go of her foot and sank to his knees in front of her, crawling the last bit of the way until his hands were resting on her thighs. “I am so, so, so, sorry.”

“And?” she prompted. She made sure to slide her bookmark into place before looking down her nose at him, setting her book on the nightstand and out of the way. “What are you sorry for?”

“For acting like you were the problem,” he answered in a rush, his words almost running together he was so eager to get them out. “When it was me who couldn’t handle it.”

She leaned forward and sank a hand into his hair, thoroughly enjoying the way his breath hitched at the movement. “So what does that make you?”

“…Very sorry?” he guessed hesitantly. God, she loved seeing him this way, all eager to please her and just desperate enough to do whatever she wanted. “Nesta, please . I need you.”

“Wrong answer,” Nesta said, pulling on the curls she had gathered between her fingers. “It makes you a needy little slut.”

Cassian inhaled sharply and tried to nod his agreement as best he could with her hand still pulling at his hair. “Yeah. Yes. Uh huh.”

“Why don’t we try that again, hmm?” she asked, though they both knew it wasn’t really a request. “What does that make you, Cassian?”

“A needy little slut,” he repeated quickly. He was breathing so quickly it was a miracle he was still able to talk. “Your needy little slut.”

“There’s a good boy,” she told him, deeply satisfied at the way his eyes nearly rolled back into his head at the words. “Why don’t you show me how good you are?”

“Anything,” he panted. “Anything you want.”

Nesta spread her legs and fixed him with an expectant look. “Do I have to spell it out for you, or are you smarter than you look?”

Cassian didn’t waste any time, thankfully understanding exactly what she was asking for. He reached for her pajama shorts and helped her wiggle out of them — and her underwear — before diving in with a vengeance. She dug her hands into his hair as he got to work, using the flat of his tongue just the way he knew she liked it and not wasting his time with too much foreplay.

Nesta moaned and leaned back against the couch, more than happy to relax and let him do all the work. She’d been so on edge that it only took a few minutes to push her over it. She came with a loud cry, arching her back and tightening her grip on his hair to get closer to his tongue. It had only been a few days since her last orgasm, but that was seemingly enough to make this one more intense than she was used to.

More intense than the usual intense, anyway.

“Bedroom,” she demanded once she’d caught her breath. “Now.”

Cassian nodded and scrambled to his feet, giving her a quick look at the way his hard cock was tenting the front of his pajama pants before practically sprinting to their room.

Nesta took her time even though her body was screaming for more. She knew the anticipation would drive him even more wild, so what was the rush? She made sure to put her mug in the sink and grab her clothes before she casually walked toward their bedroom.

“Take off your clothes and lay down on the bed,” Nesta ordered after she’d stepped into the room. “Face up.”

“Okay,” Cassian agreed. He whipped off his pajamas and underwear, throwing himself onto the bed so fast it was a miracle nothing broke under him. “I’m ready.”

“Mhmm.” She pulled off her shirt and tossed her clothes toward the hamper, eyeing his hard cock with disdain as she walked toward the bed. “I can see that.”

The meaner she was to him, the more it turned him on. He was hard enough to pound nails, and while she normally might’ve savored the feeling of it in her mouth, she wasn’t feeling particularly generous right now. Instead of lowering her mouth, she got on the bed and straddled him, his hands automatically settling on her hips to keep her steady.

“You’re not coming until I say so,” Nesta said, slowly grinding against Cassian’s hard cock just to tease him. “You understand?”

“Y-yeah,” Cassian said back. They’d played this game before, and they both knew she’d stop if and when he said the word. “I understand.”

“Good,” she replied. She didn’t give him any warning before lifting up, grabbing his cock, and sinking down onto it in one long slide. “Fuck, I missed this.”

The sound of his whimper was like music to her ears. “God, Nesta—”

“You almost got me yesterday,” she admitted as she slowly rocked back and forth on his cock. She couldn’t believe she’d gone days without him stretching her out like this. “Walking around with your dick out like — fuck, yes, that’s it — like a fucking whore.”

“Couldn’t help it,” he panted. He bucked his hips up to meet her thrust for thrust and they both groaned. “Needed you so bad.”

“Then you shouldn’t have been so goddamn stupid,” she retorted, starting to speed up now. “But maybe you just like being stupid.”

“I’m an idiot,” he agreed. He groaned after a particularly well-timed thrust and his grip got that much tighter on her hips. “A needy idiot.”

Their pace sped up even more after that, Nesta leaning all the way forward so Cassian could get his knees under her and thrust upwards in earnest. She couldn’t help but kiss him then, moaning into his mouth as he really let her have it, their headboard slamming into the wall over and over again with every thrust.

“Jesus, you feel so good,” Cassian moaned, shifting his grip so he could grab her ass and thrust that much harder and faster. “So fucking perfect.”

“You close?” Nesta asked. At his frantic nod, she pulled all the way off his cock so she could reach down and squeeze the base of it tightly.

He hissed loudly. “ Ah — fuck, Nesta!”

“Just making sure you keep your promise,” she told him. When he’d calmed down enough, she let go and gave him a mean smirk. “Thanks for telling me, baby.”

“You’re trying to kill me,” he groaned.

“I told you I’d be mean about it,” she replied sweetly, “so I don’t know why you’re surprised about that now.”

“I didn’t think you actually meant it,” he responded, only a little exasperated.

“If only I cared what you thought,” she fired back. “Fuck toys don’t get to have opinions.”

Sitting as close as they were, Nesta could feel the moment Cassian’s cock twitched at the words. “You like that, hmm?”

“Yeah,” he breathed. “Love it.”

“Maybe next time I’ll gag you,” Nesta mused aloud, shifting to sit next to him so she could take his cock in her hand. “Then you really wouldn’t get to have any opinions.”

“Oh, shit,” Cassian gasped. His gaze flicked back and forth between her face and her hand stroking his cock, like he couldn’t decide what he wanted to look at more. “Nesta, please .”

“Maybe I’ll tie you up, too,” she continued, tightening her grip on him almost to the point of pain. He moaned and thrusted up into her hand, arousal leaking steadily from the tip and showing her just how much he liked this. “Use you like my personal dildo.”

At his full-body shiver, she let go of him completely and laughed at his look of utter betrayal. “What are we, fourteen? You’re not coming in my hand.”

“Of course not,” he answered through gritted teeth. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, only opening them when he could handle looking at her again. “Now what?”

Nesta chose to take pity on him and ignore his mouthiness. “Come here.”

Cassian sat up and let her tug him on top of her, settling between her legs where he belonged. Nesta reached down and guided his cock between her legs, both of them moaning when he thrusted inside her, and it didn’t take long before they were going at it like rabbits. It was all she could do to dig her nails into his back, wrap her legs around his waist, and hold on for dear life.

God. How had she survived going without this for so long?

“Nesta, I’m so close,” Cassian panted into her ear. He pressed a series of open-mouthed kisses to her jaw and her neck that made her run even hotter than she already was. “Please, please— ”

“You can come whenever you need to,” Nesta finally told him. She figured she’d dangled his orgasm in front of him for long enough. “You earned it.”

The words had barely left her mouth before Cassian was coming. He slammed into her one last time and stayed deep, his entire body trembling from the force of his orgasm as he moaned her name and rode it out.

“Fuck, that was good,” he murmured into her hair. “You’re so good to me.”

After they’d both caught their breath, Nesta found herself lying half on top of Cassian while he gently ran his fingers across her freckled shoulders. Their sheets were a mess and they both needed to shower, but she wasn’t going to move for anything. Now that she wasn’t practically vibrating out of her skin with how badly she wanted him, being in his arms was far more comforting than it had been compared to the last few days.

“So maybe we do need it,” Cassian eventually said.

Nesta just dug her face more aggressively into his chest, intent on enjoying her sleepy afterglow for as long as possible. “If you don’t shut the fuck up, next time it’ll be two weeks.”

“Shutting up now,” he replied, pulling a huff of laughter from her. He’d admitted how wrong he was many, many times already, so she didn’t even bother correcting him; they both knew how right she’d been. “I was an idiot. Let’s never do this again.”

“Best idea you’ve had all day,” she mumbled.

He laughed softly. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too,” she answered automatically. “But I really do need you to stop talking. That was exhausting and I need to nap.”

“Okay,” he agreed, leaning down to press a kiss into her hair. “But after we nap, how do you feel about round two?”

#nessianweek2023 #Nessian #nesta archeron #Cassian acotar #Cassian #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #moodymelanistwrites #pro Nessian #pro nesta archeron #pro Cassian #⭐️

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moodymelanist · 8 months

Text

Like A Bird

happy day 1 of @nessianweek everyone!! I'm so excited to be doing this for the THIRD YEAR in a row and I can't wait to see what everyone creates ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Summary: Nesta and Cassian oversee their daughter’s flying lessons.

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: None

Read on AO3 here!

✵✵✵✵✵✵ Cassian

When his daughter first came to Cassian practically begging him to teach her how to fly properly, he had been so excited that this day had finally come. The moment he’d realized Nesta was pregnant, Cassian had started dreaming of sharing important milestones with their children like this. He’d thought about how much kinder and more patient he’d be with Seraphina than his teachers had been with him, how wonderful it would be to share his love of the skies with his daughter the way he wished he could’ve with his mother.

But that was before reality entered the picture.

Cassian had tried to teach Sera for all of a quarter of an hour before he realized he wasn’t cut out for it, because the first time she fell out of the air his heart had fallen with her. He’d moved faster than he’d thought possible to stop her from hitting the ground, and Nesta had teased him for days about how dramatically he’d reacted.

Thankfully, Azriel had been more than willing to step in. He’d taught both Feyre and Nyx how to fly, so he was the natural choice to help Sera when Cassian couldn’t. Sera had been so excited to spend time with Azriel that she’d hardly been able to sleep the night before, and although Cassian was put out that he wouldn’t be the one to give Sera her first flying lessons, he knew there would be plenty of other ways to share his love of the skies with her.

“It’s okay, Papa,” Sera told him with all the understanding a child could muster up. They were waiting for Azriel to arrive at their home in Illyria, and she looked absolutely adorable with her hair braided out of her face. “Don’t be scared.”

“Papa will be just fine,” Nesta replied, shooting Cassian a look that clearly said don’t you dare ruin this for her. “Right, Papa?”

“Right,” Cassian responded immediately. He bent down so he could press a kiss to Sera’s dark hair, smoothing down some of the frizz that had formed when she’d yanked on her clothes. “I’ll be brave for you, zogu.”

Their conversation was effectively ended by Azriel stepping out of the shadows and into their backyard. The early spring air was still cool enough to immediately turn his cheeks a little pink, but they were all long used to the mountain air in their family.

“Good morning,” Azriel said after the last of his shadows had dissipated. He was dressed in dark leathers as usual, though his smile was bright as he turned it on Sera. “Ready to learn, Sera?”

“Yes!” Sera said back, practically bouncing on her feet now that Azriel was here. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Alright, alright,” Azriel replied with a little chuckle. He held out his arms and Nesta, Cassian, and Sera all latched onto whatever part of him they could reach. “We’re going.”

The familiar feeling of Azriel’s shadows enveloped them all as they traveled to a nearby clearing perfect for teaching little Illyrians how to use their wings properly. Cassian and Nesta watched as Azriel and Sera walked to the top of the gently sloped hill, just high enough for Sera to get a running start and take off without hurting herself if she fell, and settled in to keep an eye on their daughter.

“She’s growing up so fast,” Nesta said with a little sigh. She threaded her arm through Cassian’s and leaned into his side, contentment thrumming through their bond as his wing automatically moved to block her from the cold breeze. “I can’t believe she’s already learning to fly.”

“I feel like I blinked and she wasn’t a babe,” Cassian said back, turning to press a kiss to his mate’s temple. “You sure you can’t stop time anymore?”

“Very sure,” she replied dryly. It had been decades since she’d saved Feyre and Nyx’s lives, so the subject wasn’t nearly as sore as it had been all those years ago. “You don’t think I would’ve done it already if I still could?”

“Just testing you, sweetheart,” he responded, turning to her to drop a wink. When he turned back to watch Azriel and Sera again, he realized Azriel had finished giving her some pointers and was stepping back so she could try for herself. “Looks like they’re starting.”

Cassian watched with bated breath as Sera attempted her first flight of the day, her little wings flapping out and keeping her steady for a few glorious seconds before she overbalanced and dropped like a stone. He couldn’t keep a little noise from escaping as Sera ran out of time to course-correct and crashed to the ground, but he pushed down every instinct telling him to go and comfort his daughter.

It helped to have Nesta’s fingers suddenly digging into his arm through several layers of fleece. He knew that it was part of the process, but they both knew how much he hated watching Sera get hurt. Still, just because he had to let her go through this didn’t mean he couldn’t at least verbally confirm she wasn’t too badly hurt. “You alright, Sera?”

“Yes, Papa!” Sera called out, bouncing up from the ground like nothing had happened. She turned and gave everyone a delighted grin, like losing her balance mid-air was the best thing to ever happen to her. “Promise!”

“You’re doing wonderfully, Sera,” Nesta called back with a little wave before turning to Cassian with a slightly exasperated expression on her face. While they waited for her to trudge back up the hill so she could try again, she said, “Cassian. Are you sure you want to be here?”

“Of course I want to be here,” Cassian immediately replied. No matter how anxious he was watching his daughter learn to fly, he knew how important it was for him to be here. “I just— I know how many things can go wrong, sweetheart.”

“She’s six,” she responded with a roll of her eyes. “She can’t even go that far before she gets tired, my love.”

“That won’t stop her from flying into a tree,” he muttered. “Or going too high. Or going too low. Or—”

“Or you can stop being such a mother hen,” she gently interrupted him before he could go on for too much longer. “You know none of us would let her get seriously injured.”

“I know,” he grumbled. He knew very well that between Azriel’s shadows, Nesta’s silver flames, and his own siphons, Sera would be more than safe. “I just can’t help but worry.”

“I know,” she repeated. She reached up and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, her eyes soft as she looked at him. “But we can’t protect her from everything.”

“Won’t stop me from trying,” he replied.

She just smiled. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

By the time Sera had finished talking to Azriel about what she’d done wrong and how to fix it for next time, Cassian had mostly managed to pull himself together enough to watch her try again. She soared through the air for a few seconds longer this time before she fell, and although the nerves were still there, pride was slowly but surely starting to take its place.

“Did you see that?” Sera asked excitedly, pushing herself up from the ground with another huge grin. She’d gotten far enough that Nesta and Cassian were but a few feet from her, and she quickly closed the remaining distance to continue talking. “I got so far!”

“You’re living up to your name, zogu,” Cassian replied. He couldn’t help but smile back at Sera in the face of her obvious joy at learning to do this. “We’ll be able to go flying together before you know it.”

Sera’s hazel eyes grew wide. “Really, Papa?”

“Really,” Cassian confirmed. He loved the idea of being able to share the skies with his daughter, and he couldn’t wait to show her even more of his favorite things about Illyria. Granted, it would be at least several years before she had enough stamina for longer flights, but he was still more than looking forward to it.

“Maybe I’ll be able to read in peace for once,” Nesta joked, reaching out to brush some grass off of Sera’s coat. “No interruptions.”

“But Mama, I thought you liked it when Papa interrupted you,” Sera responded with confusion. “Isn’t that why you show him all your love books?”

“Don’t keep your uncle waiting,” Cassian told Sera immediately, not needing to look at Nesta to know how pink she was. “Less talking, more flying!”

At the reminder that she was in the middle of a flying lesson, Sera didn’t waste any time in turning and running her way back up the hill. “Sorry, Uncle Azriel!”

“Mother save me,” Nesta muttered once Sera was far away enough.

“Mother save us both,” Cassian amended, turning to smile at his wife’s still-pink cheeks. “I hope our other children won’t be so observant.”

As expected, Nesta just rolled her eyes and turned back to watch Sera continue the lesson. They both knew it could take years to have another, but that was alright.

Cassian had waited his whole life for Nesta, and another few decades for Sera. He didn’t mind waiting more if it meant spending days like this, surrounded by the people he loved with everything in him.

#nessianweek2023 #nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #moodymelanistwrites #pro nessian #pro nesta archeron #pro cassian #cassian acotar #family fluff

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moodymelanist · 2 months

Text

posting this snippet to force myself to finish it in time for valentine's day and @sjmromanceweek. happy wip wednesday!

“You alright?” Nesta asked from beside him. “The light’s green.”

What was Cassian supposed to do? He was only a man, and one who was head over heels in love with Nesta. He only had but so much willpower.

Sighing heavily, he turned off the main avenue and got lucky a few minutes in finding a warning sign for a hidden road. How the fuck was he supposed to make it through dinner and dessert when the only thing he wanted to eat was his beautiful wife?

“What are you doing?” Nesta asked, sounding deeply unamused. “The restaurant's the other way.”

“I know which way the restaurant is,” Cassian answered. He was practically white knuckling the steering wheel and it was a miracle it didn’t give under his grip. “We’re not making it.”

“Yes, we are,” she replied coolly. “Turn the car around.”

Cassian didn’t listen, instead continuing down the road until they were far enough that they probably wouldn’t be spotted.

“Get in the backseat, Nesta,” Cassian told her once he’d parked the car.

The unimpressed look on her face morphed into a glare so fierce it would’ve sent lesser men running for the hills. “Are you out of your mind? Keep driving, Cassian.”

#nessian #acotar #acosf #nesta archeron #cassian acotar #cassian #moodymelanistwrites #story snippets #wip wednesday

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moodymelanist · 1 month

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For the drabbles would you do Nesta and Cas on a picnic getting caught in the rain

UGH this one is so sweet like I knew exactly what I wanted to write the second you sent this. prepare for some sweet, adorable nessian

"We're almost there, I promise," Cassian said as he gently led Nesta across the open expanse of grass, making sure to take his time so his girlfriend didn't stumble on so much as a pebble before they arrived at their surprise picnic. "Ready?"

"I've been ready for half an hour," Nesta said back. Even with his hands over her eyes, he could tell when she was rolling them. "Can I look now?"

"Okay, okay, fine," he replied, moving his hands once they'd gotten to the little clearing. "Go ahead and look."

Nesta opened her eyes and blinked rapidly a few times to get used to the bright spring afternoon. Cassian was practically vibrating out of his skin waiting for her to react, and when she let out a surprised little gasp, he knew he'd done a good job.

"Cassian," Nesta said, a happy little smile already forming as she took in the picnic before her. Cassian hadn't told her anything about where they were going today, and although it had been a little stressful trying to set this up without her knowing, it had been more than worth it. "You didn't have to do all this for me."

“Of course I did, sweetheart,” Cassian replied, immensely satisfied at her reaction. He’d been planning this for almost two months, and watching everything go according to plan for once was nothing short of amazing. "You wanna sit down?"

They both kicked off their shoes and sat down on the big, checkered blanket. Nesta watched as Cassian opened one of the baskets and started doling out some fresh fruit, a huff of laughter escaping her at some of the shapes they'd been cut into.

"Did you do all this yourself?" Nesta asked as she popped a piece of heart-shaped watermelon into her mouth.

"I had a little help," Cassian admitted. He only had to strongarm his friends a little bit with helping set all this up; once they'd found out he was proposing today, pretty much everyone had been ready to lend a hand. "Mostly I had to talk Rhys out of trying to get a caterer."

"For a picnic?" she responded, snorting. "He's ridiculous."

"You know how he is," he answered with a fond roll of his own eyes. "You want something to drink?"

Cassian didn't let Nesta lift a finger as he laid out all the snacks and drinks he'd come prepared with. He'd been too nervous to break a glass to bring real champagne flutes, but Nesta didn't seem to mind that they were using plastic ones to drink their strawberry lemonade.

"I have another surprise for you," Cassian told her once he'd reached the bottom of the basket. Nesta looked over at him expectantly, letting out a pleased little laugh as he pulled out her Kindle and handed it over. "You're welcome."

"You know me too well," Nesta replied happily, reaching for the device with a smile. "I hope you brought something to do."

"Don't you worry about me," he responded. The ring box in his pocket was practically burning a hole through his shorts, but thankfully she hadn't realized it was there yet. "You want me to be your pillow?"

Nesta's hair was down today, so it took almost no time at all for them to maneuver into a comfortable position with her head in his lap. "Like you even have to ask."

Cassian started running his hands through Nesta's hair automatically, the two of them relaxing for nearly half an hour as she read through a couple chapters of her book. He could've sat there forever, the scene ridiculously peaceful in a way he hadn't ever thought would happen for him, but eventually, they both got a little hungry and dove back into the picnic basket for their sandwiches.

"This is a solid sandwich," Nesta commented once she was finished with hers. "Perks of living with a chef."

“I'm not a real chef," Cassian replied half-heartedly. They both knew how much he liked feeding her and she liked complimenting his cooking. "But thank you."

Cassian dug into his own sandwich just for something to do, but once he finished eating, he knew the time was now. There was no more putting it off.

"Nesta," Cassian said seriously, reaching for her hand. His heart was pounding wildly in his chest as their fingers intertwined; God, he hoped he'd be able to do this for the rest of their lives.

"Yes?" Nesta said back. She sat up and her eyes went a little wide, like she knew what was coming, and Cassian hoped he hadn't ruined the surprise just by the tone of his voice.

Right as Cassian was about to dive into his carefully crafted speech, there was an ominous rumbling coming from the sky. Nesta looked away from him and up to the clouds, frowning as she tried to figure out the direction the noise was coming from. "That doesn't sound good."

"No," Cassian replied testily, "it doesn't."

He'd checked the weather five times this morning before getting everything together. There hadn't been a hint of a weather alert, hardly even a cloud in the sky all day, and Mother Nature decided now was the time to start switching things up? Cassian knew there wasn't anyone he could punch right now, but Jesus did he wish he could.

"I'm sure it's further out than you think," Nesta tried to reassure him. She looked back at him with a smile before squeezing his hand. "What were you going to say?"

Cassian took a deep breath and prayed nothing was going to interrupt the most important moment of his life thus far. "You're the most important person in my life, and you make me want to be a better person every single day. I couldn't imagine my life without you, and I don't want to because I'm so in love with you. Nesta Rhea Archeron, will you marry me?"

Of course, his prayers weren't answered. The sky picked that second to suddenly open up and start pouring down rain, both of them yelping in shock. Cassian took one second to mentally curse out the universe and any god listening before springing into action, making sure he had the ring box safely in his possession before the two of them made a mad dash for cover.

“Holy shit," Nesta said once they were under the closest tree, both of them panting from running. "Where did that come from?"

"The weather, or...?" Cassian said back nervously.

She fixed him with an unimpressed look. "The weather, idiot. We've talked about getting married! Repeatedly!"

"Yeah, that makes way more sense," he replied after a few seconds. He patted his side to make sure he still had the ring box on him before sighing heavily. "This was supposed to be perfect."

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, Cassian,” Nesta told him, looking up at him through her wet lashes. “We’re together. That’s all I need.”

“Oh,” Cassian replied, feeling a little dumb. She deserved the world, and he wanted to give it to her, starting with what should have been the perfect proposal. “I just wanted—”

“I know, baby,” she gently interrupted him before reaching up for a kiss. It was a little colder and wetter than usual, but it was Nesta, so he didn't mind. "As long as you keep trying your best, that's all I need."

"I can do that," he responded, leaning down to steal another kiss from her. It was a little hard when they were both smiling so much, but they managed to make it work. "I love you."

"I love you too," she answered. She pulled back and fixed him with an expectant look. "Are you going to put that ring on my finger now?"

#acotar #acosf #nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #nesta x cassian #cassian x nesta #anon asks #moodymelanistwrites #pro nessian #pro nesta archeron #pro cassian #cassian acotar #nessian prompts

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moodymelanist · 2 months

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it's you (they add up to)

happy day 5 of @sjmromanceweek !! I wanted to do this fic for SO LONG and I'm so happy it's finally happening. this was supposed to be a day 4 fic, but 5 + 1 fics are one of my favorite formats and we need to bring them back so here's my contribution (and 5+1 totally counts as a trope, right?). title from little things by one direction!

Summary: Five times Azriel showed Nesta he cared about her, plus one time she showed him she cared, too.

Word Count: 4.1k

Read on AO3 here!

♡♡♡♡♡ Nesta

Nesta rose to consciousness slowly, treasuring the way the sheets were perfectly cocooning her body. She’d been so exhausted the last few weeks between training and the library and putting up with Cassian that she was going to take as many spare moments of rest as she could snatch up.

Nesta let herself enjoy waking up for a few more moments before the reality of her situation slammed into her. Why was the sun so high in the sky? Why could she hear the hustle and bustle of the streets in a way she certainly wasn’t used to?

As she frantically got up and shoved her leathers on, Nesta wondered what sort of punishment awaited her for sleeping in so late. Would she not be allowed out of the House even longer? Be forced to do even more training? The possibilities were endless, and none of them good.

Nesta raked her fingers through her hair to roughly detangle it before pulling it back into a severe plait at the back of her head. She didn’t have time for her usual braided coronet, but that didn’t mean she would risk it coming loose mid-fight; she’d learned her lesson about leaving her hair down all too well. Instead of leaving her braid hanging down against her back, she wrapped it into a tight bun and secured it with as many pins and hair ties as she could scrounge up in as many breaths.

She shoved her feet into her fighting shoes, only barely tying them before she was racing down the hallway. She couldn’t hear anything as she rushed upstairs, but that could mean anything. Maybe Rhys or Feyre were waiting for her instead of that loud, insufferable bat, but there was only one way to find out.

As Nesta made it up the final step, she stalked past the sitting area and dining room in order to make it to the balcony. She just had to get there as soon as she could, before—

“You’re not in trouble, Nesta,” Azriel called out from seemingly nowhere.

Nesta froze mid-stride, whirling around to see the Shadowsinger sitting at the dining table. In her haste to get to the balcony, she hadn’t even noticed him sitting there; how she could have missed his wings and the shadows swirling playfully around his fingers, she wasn’t sure. She knew it was his job to remain unnoticed, though, so she supposed she’d attribute it to that.

“I’m sorry?” Nesta eventually said. She hoped she didn’t look as out of breath as she felt.

“What?” she replied, taking a few hesitant steps closer to the table. He had no reason to lie to her, but a large part of her didn’t quite believe what he was saying. “Why not?”

“He doesn’t let me do anything,” Azriel replied, his tone a little cooler now. “I’m my own person, same as you.”

“Oh.” She fought the urge to fidget under the weight of that hazel gaze, so similar and yet so different to Cassian’s eyes. “Alright.”

“Alright.”

Nesta was at a loss for what to do with the rest of her morning, but she certainly hadn’t forgotten her manners. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Azriel answered.

She didn’t think she was imagining the tiny smile playing on the edge of his lips, but she thought it best not to question the gift he’d given her any further. Instead, she simply pulled out a chair and joined him for a quiet breakfast.

It was the best meal she’d had in a long time, and it wasn’t because of the food.

♡♡♡♡♡

The next time Nesta saw Azriel, she was eating her morning meal nearly a fortnight later. The House was quiet, just how she liked it, though it certainly didn’t make forcing herself to eat her bland bowl of oatmeal any easier.

“Good morning, Nesta,” Azriel said quietly.

Nesta looked up at the sound of his voice, pleasantly surprised to find he was interrupting her meal and not his much brasher brother. He was a much more welcome sight than her oatmeal, though. “Good morning, Azriel.”

“Do you mind if I sit?” he asked politely. His voice was a little hoarse as though he hadn’t used it in a long time, but she surely wasn’t going to pry. He’d never forced her to talk when she didn’t want to, and the least she could do was afford him the same courtesy.

“Please,” she answered, motioning with the hand not holding her spoon at the many open seats before her. “I could use the company.”

It wasn’t quite a lie; Cassian had taken to just meeting her on the balcony lately rather than interrupting her meals, so Nesta’s breakfasts had been rather solitary as of late. What she didn’t say was that she vastly preferred Azriel’s company to anyone else’s in Rhysand’s inner circle, but she suspected Azriel knew that.

“Thank you,” he told her softly. He pulled out a chair at the seat directly across from her, and a plate of food magically appeared before him.

Nesta’s stomach made a pitiful noise at the sight of his plate, her body clearly preferring his meal to her tasteless bowl of mush. If it’d been up to her, her breakfasts would look much more similar to what was on Azriel’s plate, but she didn’t have much of a choice under Cassian’s… tutelage.

“Here,” Azriel said suddenly. A little silver pot appeared out of a swirl of shadows, and he nudged it closer to her side of the table. “For the taste.”

Nesta didn’t think she’d seen it before, but that didn’t stop her from reaching for it. She opened the little pot to reveal more than enough sugar to make her bland oatmeal taste better, her eyebrows raising as she took in the sheer amount. “Where did you find this?”

“I have my ways,” he told her cryptically.

“Won’t it affect my training?” she responded, though it didn’t stop her fingers from tracing the edges of the handle. The metal was cool to the touch but not cold; she half-wondered if his shadows felt the same.

“You work more than hard enough,” he replied. “I think your body deserves something sweet.”

Nesta willed herself not to blush. “Alright.”

As she spooned sugar into her food, she swore that tiny smile played on the edge of his lips again. Maybe she was being foolish, but part of her was beginning to suspect it might be for her.

♡♡♡♡♡

The next time it happened, Nesta was reading in her favorite library in the House. She’d promised Gwyn and Emerie she’d get through the next few chapters of their latest read – a forbidden romance between two lovers – and she’d decided to take her lunch in here so she could read and eat at the same time. She’d finished her meal a while ago, but she wasn’t due in the library for another quarter of an hour, so she was hoping to finish this latest chapter in time to exchange a few remarks about it with Gwyn.

Nesta couldn’t explain what made her look up from the page, but she was glad that she did when she saw Azriel hovering at the entrance of the room.

“Azriel,” Nesta said, immediately marking her place in her book; he was far more interesting. She hardly ever saw him in this part of the House, though she suspected he’d been up here once or twice to add more blankets to the couch she usually liked to sit on. “What are you doing up here?”

“I made you some tea,” Azriel said back, walking closer to her now that she’d acknowledged him. His hands were gently supporting a teacup and saucer, but from the angle she was sitting at she couldn’t quite tell what was in it. It didn’t smell like her usual flavor, but that didn’t stop her from motioning for him to come closer. “I hope that’s alright.”

“Couldn’t the House have brought this to me?” she asked shrewdly, watching as he carefully set down the cup on the end table closest to her corner of the couch.

“It’s a special blend,” he answered. From the way he wouldn’t quite meet her eyes, though, she suspected that wasn’t all it was. “I wanted to hear your thoughts while it was still warm.”

“Mhmm,” she replied. “What kind of blend?”

“Something my mother likes to drink,” he replied. She hardly ever heard him mention his mother, though she knew he regularly visited her estate, and a large part of her was touched that he trusted her enough to even mention the female, let alone reveal something like this. “I thought you might enjoy it.”

Nesta didn’t need any further encouragement. “At least sit down. You’re keeping out all the light with those wings of yours.”

“Alright,” Azriel agreed, folding his wings in as he sat down on the armchair placed diagonally from her. He was at home in the dark amongst the stars, but she certainly thought he looked lovely in the afternoon light.

“Alright,” Nesta repeated. She reached out and picked up the cup, bringing it to her lips without any hesitation, and immediately fell in love with the spicy yet sweet taste of it.

“Well?” he asked, leaning forward slightly. “What’s your verdict?”

“This is wonderful,” she told him honestly, already going back in for another sip. “You’re sure the House can’t bring this to me whenever I want a taste?”

“Just find me,” he replied. “I’ll make it for you whenever you’d like.”

Nesta was thankful for the tea. Its warmth – along with the size of the cup Azriel had brought it to her in – was the perfect excuse for the pink staining her cheeks.

♡♡♡♡♡

Nesta had been summoned down to the River House after a long morning of training. She’d hardly been given enough time to bathe and change into something more presentable, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that had been by design.

She’d walked into the study with her head held high, refusing to show a chink in her armor despite the fact that Feyre, Rhysand, and Amren had been waiting for her, and Cassian had brought up the rear. No one had said anything for a few moments after Cassian had closed the door behind them, and she fought the urge to heave a sigh.

Eventually, everyone’s gazes slid to her, and Nesta did her best not to fidget under the combined weight of everyone’s gazes. She didn’t have the patience for their games, though, so she was the one to speak first. “What?”

“We need you to scry again,” Feyre told her. Of course it wasn’t a request; Feyre was telling Nesta what she’d be doing, and Nesta seethed at the unspoken implication that she’d just fall in line.

“Why?” Nesta asked. She hated scrying, had never liked the way the magic reminded her of searching for the Cauldron, and she knew they all knew that.

Rhysand shifted slightly from his position next to Feyre, his dislike for Nesta practically radiating from every stitch of his finely-made clothes. “We need to find a Made object before it falls into the wrong hands.”

“What kind of object?” Nesta questioned. Mother help her, was it going to be like this for every question she had? “Why can’t one of you search for it another way?”

Amren released a heavy sigh, like Nesta’s questions were mere inconveniences rather than important information she needed to know. “Can you do it or not, girl?”

Nesta didn’t dignify that with a response, but a sudden disturbance in the room took the attention off her. The shadows suddenly darkened into a mass of black and then Azriel was stepping out of them like some kind of dark angel, his face blank but no less beautiful than any of the other times she’d seen him. Nesta caught a flash of relief in his eyes before he turned away from her, but it was more than enough to make her heart pound.

“Azriel,” Cassian said from behind Nesta, sounding almost surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“What’s going on?” Azriel asked, coming to a stop just barely in front of Nesta. One of his shadows darted out to play with the hem of her dress, but the Shadowsinger seemed too preoccupied with the room at large to notice. “No one told me we were meeting today.”

“I hardly thought it necessary to pull you from your assignment,” Rhysand answered, his eyes darting between Azriel and Nesta suspiciously.

“Nesta didn’t show up to the library on time,” Azriel replied quietly to Rhysand’s unasked question. “One of the priestesses was… concerned.”

Gwyn, Nesta thought to herself. She didn’t know the priestess had a way to communicate with Azriel, but if anyone could find a way, it would be Gwyn.

“I see,” Rhysand responded. His eyes glazed over for a moment as he spoke to Feyre mind-to-mind before they refocused on the group at large. “We need Nesta to scry for a Made item before it falls into the wrong hands.”

“She doesn’t need to do that,” Azriel disagreed immediately. Nesta was so startled that he was defending her that she didn’t even think to protest. “There are other ways to locate it.”

“Like what?” Feyre asked.

“Like ways that won’t risk her unnecessarily,” Azriel replied, his voice taking on an edge Nesta rarely heard when he was talking to the others. “You know there are other ways to detect Made items. You or Elain could scry if you wanted to. My shadows could help.”

“The girl is decent enough at scrying,” Amren answered with a nonchalant shrug. If Nesta hadn’t been so focused on Azriel speaking up for her, she might have replied to the backhanded compliment in kind, but she had more important things on her mind. “She should take the first pass.”

“Hasn’t she done enough?” Azriel countered. The edges of his wings were splaying out the longer he talked, slowly but surely expanding to block the others’ view of her. “How is she supposed to focus on healing if you want her to do this for you?”

Feyre bit her lip. “He’s right. We shouldn’t interfere with that.”

“But—” Amren tried to interrupt, but she was swiftly shut down.

“The High Lady has spoken,” Rhysand announced with an air of finality. Azriel’s wings snapped in tight with the victory. “We’ll try something else. Thank you for your time, Nesta.”

“You’re welcome,” Nesta told him stiffly. She didn’t bother to wait for him to dismiss her, instead turning and walking out of the room as quickly as she dared. Cassian and Azriel followed her, but she didn’t acknowledge either of them until they were standing outside.

“I’ll take her back to the House,” Azriel told Cassian once he’d closed the door to the house behind him.

Cassian shrugged, his massive frame moving with him as he did. “Fine by me. Have fun at the library, Nes.”

“Don’t call me that,” Nesta replied immediately.

“Don’t call her that,” Azriel responded at the same time.

Cassian eyed the two of them warily for a few moments before deciding to just laugh it off. “Whatever you say, Nes. See you around, Az.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Nesta said softly once Cassian had taken to the skies and they were alone.

“I know, Nesta,” Azriel said back just as quietly. “I wanted to.”

They didn’t speak as he carefully took her into his arms and winnowed her back to the House, the only sound between them the snap of his wings as he flew them the remaining distance to the balcony.

“How did Gwyn send you a message?” she asked once they’d landed. Surely that would be a safer topic of conversation. “I didn’t know you two spoke outside of training.”

“She didn’t,” he admitted with the hint of a flush on his cheeks. His shadows moved quickly to try and obscure his face, but he couldn’t hide from her. “I was the one looking for you.”

“Oh,” she breathed, her heartbeat picking up in her chest. “Why?”

“I wanted to see you,” he answered after a few moments.

“Oh,” she repeated. She turned over her shoulder to open the door to the House, turning to look back at him before she disappeared inside. “Well, here I am. Join me for lunch?”

Azriel didn’t hesitate to follow her to the dining room. If their hands brushed more than necessary during their meal, Nesta certainly wasn’t going to complain.

♡♡♡♡♡

After that, they started having as many of their meals together as they could. Azriel wasn’t always at the House, especially when he was finishing up an assignment, but he made a point of not leaving Nesta to dine alone as often as possible.

Sometimes when he was out on Court business, Nesta would go days without seeing him. This week was one of those times where she hadn’t seen him for several nights now, but she tried not to worry. Azriel was more than capable of taking care of himself, and had been for centuries. Still, she could admit to herself that part of it was because she missed him and his quiet comfort, and she hoped he would be back soon to bring her tea or keep her company in the library.

Nesta had just finished her dinner and was getting ready to retire to her room for the evening when she heard footsteps coming down the hall. She knew it couldn’t be Cassian – he hardly ever stayed in the House these days if he could avoid it – and her heart sped up as she dared to hope that Azriel would be back.

Her hopes became real as he rounded the corner, looking a little tired but no more than usual. “Nesta.”

“Azriel,” Nesta said back.

“You ate already,” Azriel replied, sounding disappointed as he watched the last of Nesta’s used dishes disappear. “I was hoping I would get back in time to join you. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” she told him, only a little exasperated. It was hardly the worst thing that had ever happened to her. “I’m just happy to see you at all.”

A pleased little smile played at the corner of his mouth before he came to sit next to her, one or two of his shadows darting out to play with the hem of her dress. “I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?” she asked, tilting her head. “Am I allowed to guess what it is?”

“No,” he answered. A tiny green box appeared out of the shadows and settled onto the table, the outside giving nothing away about what might be inside. “But I think you’ll like it. At least, I hope I do.”

A bit of excited laughter bubbled out of Nesta as she reached for the box and opened it to reveal the biggest slice of chocolate cake she’d ever seen in her life. “Azriel!”

“Nesta,” Azriel said, teasing her a little. He looked so delighted to be right that she couldn’t help but laugh again. “Was I right?”

“You were,” Nesta said back. She’d talked about wanting to go back to her favorite bakery in Velaris with Gwyn and Emerie during training last week, but she hadn’t thought anyone was listening outside of the three of them. Served her right for not remembering he was a Shadowsinger. “But you can’t possibly expect me to eat this all by myself, do you?”

“So perhaps I had an ulterior motive,” he responded. The House dropped two forks on either side of the box and he snorted. “May I join you?”

“Yes,” she agreed, already reaching for her own fork.

The cake was wonderful, but so was the male sitting beside her.

♡♡♡♡♡ Azriel

Azriel sighed as he stared up at his ceiling, sleep eluding him for what felt like the thousandth time. No matter how many times he’d slept in this bed, it was never as easy as it should’ve been for sleep to take him, though he probably deserved it given what he’d been doing earlier in the day. What right did he have to drift off like a babe when his hands were so bloody it was a miracle he wasn’t practically drowning in it?

He let his thoughts linger down their dark path for the space of a few more breaths before forcing himself to shift away. It wouldn’t help, and it certainly wasn’t anything he hadn’t thought before.

Azriel tried to focus on clearing his mind and breathing deeply, hoping against hope that maybe tonight would be different. He didn’t get very far before he started to get frustrated, but before he could get too worked up again, he heard something coming down the hallway.

Perhaps his halfhearted prayers had been answered after all.

Even without his shadows alerting him to her presence, Azriel would’ve recognized the sound of Nesta’s footsteps anywhere. He waited until she knocked at his door to get up and answer her, trying to school his features into their usual neutrality at the sight of her dressing robe hanging open for once. He couldn’t see much between the dark fabric and the book she was holding to her chest, but he wouldn’t take the sight of her for granted.

“What are you still doing awake?” Azriel asked her softly.

“I know you haven’t been sleeping,” Nesta answered just as quietly. Her hair was split into two braids and it made her look softer in a way she didn’t usually show to the others. “I thought maybe I could help?”

“Oh,” he replied, touched. It wasn’t exactly a secret that he didn’t sleep as much as he should, but he was moved by her kindness and attention anyway. “How?”

“I used to read to Feyre and Elain when they were girls,” she told him, shifting the book in her arms higher to reveal the title. He recognized the golden Old Scythian script on the cover even though he couldn’t understand the language. “When they couldn’t sleep, when they were sick, when they were bored. Would that be alright?”

“More than,” he reassured her, already moving to let her inside his room. He probably didn’t deserve this from her, but under no circumstances would he ever deny her anything. “Come in.”

Nesta had been inside Azriel’s room on several occasions, but she waited for him to settle back onto the bed before she joined him on the other side of it. The sheets still smelled faintly of her from the last time she’d fallen asleep here, and he was selfishly glad that he’d be reminded of her for another few days after tonight.

Azriel was more than happy to use his shadows to help hold up the book, but Nesta gently pushed them to the side in favor of using her own magic. “Sorry, little ones. I can see better with my magic.”

“They’ll be alright,” Azriel told her, chuckling softly at the way his shadows were still trying to get her attention. They were no better than he was. “Whenever you’re ready.”

He wasn’t expecting anything — he was just happy to be in her presence as usual — but the moment she started reading, something in him felt safe enough to at least close his eyes. He startled slightly at the feeling of one of her hands stroking through his hair, but it was so gentle that he couldn’t help but relax into her touch.

Nesta had a beautiful speaking voice already, but something about her speaking in another language made it that much more melodic. Even if he’d wanted to, Azriel wouldn’t have been able to fight the quiet, peaceful little bubble that existed between them at the moment. His breaths started to come slower, he started to lose track of time, and as much as he wanted to savor the moment with her, his body needed the rest more than anything.

“Good night, Azriel,” Azriel eventually heard Nesta murmur. “Sleep well.”

The last thing he registered before falling asleep was the soft press of her lips to his temple.

#sjmromanceweek2024 #acotar #acosf #nezriel #nesta archeron #azriel shadowsinger #nesta x azriel #azriel x nesta #pro nesta archeron #moodymelanistwrites

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moodymelanist · 9 months

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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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moodymelanist · 3 months

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Now That Your Rose is in Bloom

happy day 2 of @sjmromanceweek everyone! Elucien won in my poll so I had to make sure to get to them <3 title from Seal's Kiss From A Rose for... obvious reasons haha.

it's been a long, long time since I've written Elucien so apologies in advance if this is ooc or what have you. but I hope y'all enjoy!!

Summary: Lucien buys Elain a bouquet of flowers for each year they've been together.

Word Count: 2,385

Read on AO3 here!

♡♡♡♡♡ Elain

Valentine’s Day dawned bright and early in the Archeron-Vanserra townhouse, and Elain groaned as the sound of Lucien’s alarm woke her up. She didn’t have to be up for at least another hour, but he had to be at work by eight instead of nine today, hence her sleep being interrupted.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Munchkin,” Elain heard Lucien say. She mumbled something incoherent back and fell asleep to the sound of his low laughter, snuggling further into the pillows as he quietly got ready for work.

When she woke up again, Lucien was already gone for the day. Elain didn’t fully wake up until she was five minutes into her shower, and the only thing keeping her going was the promise she’d made to herself that coffee was coming soon. Once she was moisturized and her skincare routine was done, she put on a pink sweater to be festive. She loved big holidays like Valentine’s Day, but she was also a grad student. There was only so much energy she could spare, especially when she knew she’d need it for whatever Lucien had planned for today.

Elain and Lucien had been dating for just over five years now, and around their second year together, Lucien had come up with a little tradition for Valentine’s Day: one bouquet of flowers for every year they’d been together. It hadn’t been so bad in the early days of their relationship, but now that they lived together and were talking about spending the rest of their lives together, things had gotten a little… out of hand.

Lucien had never missed a birthday, anniversary, or Valentine’s Day, and he clearly wasn’t going to start now. There was a modest bouquet waiting for Elain when she walked downstairs to make herself some breakfast, a mix of pink, red, and white flowers brightening up their counter as they waited to be noticed.

Even though she’d known it was coming, that didn’t stop Elain from smiling as she read the little card waiting beside the vase. This one had a gnome on the front and said Valentine, there’s gnome-one like you!

She laughed as she opened the card to reveal Lucien’s familiar, prep-school handwriting. Happy Valentine’s Day, Elain, he’d written. I love you more than I can possibly explain. Yours, Lucien.

“Always the romantic,” Elain murmured fondly to herself. She gently placed the card back in its original spot and snapped a quick picture before opening up a new text to her boyfriend.

Elain Archeron, 7:57 AM

[Attachment: 1 Image] Stop trying to one-up me so early in the day, Lucien!

Lucien Vanserra, 7:58 AM

Why, is it working? ;-)

Elain snorted and put her phone away, focusing on getting through the rest of her morning routine instead of going back and forth with him. She had a quick breakfast, packed her lunch, and made it out the door on time for once. There thankfully wasn’t a lot of traffic for once, and she got lucky while looking for parking, so by the time she strolled into the biology building it was shaping up to be a wonderful day.

“Hey Elain,” Nuala, one of the other grad students in Elain’s program, greeted her as she walked into the graduate office. She and her twin were both students here, though Cerridwen hadn’t yet made an appearance yet. “There’s a delivery waiting for you at your desk.”

“Thanks,” Elain replied. She made a quick pit stop at the fridge to drop off her lunch before circling back to her desk, her jaw dropping at the bouquet waiting for her. “Oh my God.”

“Lucien strikes again?” Cerridwen asked from behind Elain, finally making her appearance this morning. She walked over to Elain’s desk and made appropriately impressed noises at the bouquet and accompanying card. “Wow. He’s really not playing around this year.”

“He’s ridiculous,” Elain answered. Judging from the sound of the twins’ chuckles, neither of them quite believed her. “He does this every year!”

“Trust me, we know,” Nuala responded with another laugh. “How do you think he gets them past security?”

“By batting his eyelashes and flirting with whoever’s at the front desk,” Elain fired back without missing a beat. “We’ve been together a long time. Trust me, I know all of his tricks.”

“No wonder he got so good at them,” Cerridwen teased. She winked at Elain before heading back over to her desk, her long, dark braids swinging behind her as she did. “Guess you two got in a lot of practice!”

Once Cerridwen left for her desk, Nuala wasn’t far behind. Elain let the sounds of the rest of the biology department trickling in fade into background noise as she reached for her second card of the day, this one with a picture of an orange cat on the front. The caption read, You had me at meow!

Elain flipped open the card to reveal another few lines of Lucien’s handwriting. You’re purrr-fect for me, Elain. Love, Lucien.

Elain Archeron, 9:13 AM

[Attachment: 1 Image] It’s barely 9 am!!!

Lucien Vanserra, 9:14 AM

What can I say? You’re all that I knead 😻

Elain shook her head fondly before she pulled up her schedule for today, looking forward to TAing classes and working on her own research. She responded to a few emails and set some reminders for herself before grabbing her backpack and heading upstairs for her first class of the day, and by the time she made it back downstairs to the grad office for lunch, there was yet another bouquet waiting for her at her desk.

“He’s really stepping it up this year,” Cerridwen said once Elain got back to her desk, already nodding with approval. Nuala wasn’t in the office, so it was just the two of them for now, a reversal of this morning when Elain had first arrived. “Two bouquets in one day? Sheesh.”

“You know he does one for every year we’ve been together,” Elain replied, smiling as she gently brushed her fingers across the pink and white peonies. “I have two bouquets to go before I’m done for the day.”

“You did tell me that.” Cerridwen sighed wistfully from her desk. “Does he have any sisters?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Elain answered. “He’s one of seven boys, if you can believe it.”

“Jesus. His poor mother.”

“You can say that again.”

They fell into comfortable silence after that, Cerridwen going back to whatever she was working on while Elain reached for the card. This one was science-themed and pulled a soft laugh out of her the second she read it; the front had a molecule on the front and said, We’ve got a strong bond!

Happy Valentine’s Day, (almost) Dr. Archeron, Lucien had written. We’ve got some awesome chemistry!

Elain pulled out her phone to take another picture and sent it to Lucien immediately.

Elain Archeron, 12:23 PM

[Attachment: 1 Image] I’m not a chemist, you dork

Lucien Vanserra, 12:25 PM

Doesn’t matter

You should change your name to Enzyme the way you make me react

Elain rolled her eyes, quickly taking another picture — this time, of herself looking annoyed — before sending it over to him. He’d made that joke every single time Elain reminded him that she was in a biology program, not a chemistry one, but it didn’t stop him from making it anyway.

Elain Archeron, 12:26 PM

[Attachment: 1 Image] Can you feel my disappointment.

Lucien Vanserra, 12:28 PM

I’d much rather feel something else 😈

Elain hoped no one had seen her choke on her leftover spaghetti and meatballs as she read her boyfriend’s text. Cheeks pink, she quickly texted him back while trying not to die getting her food to go down the right pipe.

Elain Archeron, 12:29 PM

Don’t start with me I have office hours at 1!! Let me enjoy my lunch in peace you scoundrel

Lucien Vanserra, 12:30 PM

That’s 30 minutes from now, Elain Don’t be like that

Elain Archeron, 12:30 PM

GOODBYE, Lucien

Lucien just sent back a series of laughing emojis, so Elain rolled her eyes and went back to finishing her lunch in relative peace. Once her break was over, it seemed like the rest of the day flew by, between meeting with a few students for office hours, working on a study guide to distribute to her sections, and grading some quizzes she’d meant to finish last week.

Elain startled as someone knocked on her desk, looking up to find Cerridwen fixing her with a look. “Elain, get out of here already.”

“I’m almost done, I promise,” Elain replied. A quick glance at the time showed it was already 4:30, and if she wanted to get home in time to bake Lucien something sweet, she knew she needed to get a move on. “I just have a few left—”

“Come on, you know Thesan won’t care,” Cerridwen insisted. Thesan was one of the professors they both worked with, and he was well known for his more relaxed vibe in the biology department. “Just finish them up tomorrow and come on already.”

“Okay, okay, fine,” Elain agreed, holding her hands up in surrender. “Twist my arm.”

Cerridwen waited for Elain to finish packing up her things, and then the two of them were off to the garage. With Cerridwen’s help, they managed to get the two bouquets to Elain’s car without dropping anything, which was a minor miracle as far as Elain was concerned. Once they got off the elevator onto Elain’s floor, Elain somehow got her keys out without jostling anything too badly, and she almost didn’t notice the bouquet of red roses already inside until Cerridwen made a surprised noise.

“Oh my God,” Elain said incredulously once she noticed there was somehow another bouquet inside her car. “That sneaky motherfucker!”

Cerridwen gently laid the bouquet she was holding down on the backseat while Elain went to investigate the roses in the passenger seat. “He’s smooth as hell, I’ll give him that.”

“He’s ridiculous is what he is,” Elain replied, laughing off her surprise. “How did he even know where I parked!”

“He probably drove around looking for your car,” Cerridwen suggested. “Now that’s a keeper.”

“That he is,” Elain agreed. There wasn’t a card to go with this one, so Elain shrugged and put the rest of her stuff in the backseat with the other two bouquets. “You want me to give you a ride to your car?”

“No, I’m okay,” Cerridwen responded. She waggled her eyebrows as she added, “I don’t want to interrupt however you’re going to thank him when you get home.”

“Goodbye, Cerridwen,” Elain told her, ignoring the way Cerridwen was laughing at her pink cheeks. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Cerridwen was still laughing as she turned and started walking back toward the elevator. “See you tomorrow, Elain. Enjoy your V-Day!”

Elain managed to make it home in one piece, and thankfully no other surprises were waiting for her when she got through the door. She had to make two trips to carry the ridiculous amount of flowers Lucien had gotten her inside, and since the stems had already been cut, she made quick work of finding vases to put them all in.

From there, she got started on dinner and dessert. Lucien may have been a sneaky wizard when it came to leaving her flowers, but Elain was a true mastermind when it came to the kitchen. She’d been planning this meal for at least two weeks, and it felt good to finally put her plans into action. She poured a lot of love into her Marry Me chicken — aptly named, if you asked her — but the real star of the show was the lava cakes she was making from scratch. She’d been secretly testing the recipe out and she prayed tonight wasn’t going to be the night things went wrong.

Of course it wasn’t. She was just that good.

By the time Elain looked up at the time, she realized Lucien was probably going to be home in the next couple of minutes, so she ran to the bathroom to quickly freshen up. She made it downstairs just in time to see the lock turning in the door, and even though she’d long since gotten used to the sight of her boyfriend coming home, it still sent a happy little shiver up her spine every time he came home to her.

“You’re absolutely ridiculous,” Elain called out the second Lucien got through the front door. Lucien was waiting for her with a final bouquet, the sheer amount of roses stuffed into this one making it a little difficult to see his handsome face over the tops of the flowers. “Lucien!”

“My love knows no bounds, Elain,” Lucien said back, setting the frankly ridiculous bouquet down on the coffee table so he could wrap her up in a warm embrace instead. “Mhmm, I missed you today. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day to you too,” she replied. Her voice was a little muffled from where her face was pressed against his chest, but neither of them minded. “How the hell did you get flowers into my car?”

“A gentleman never reveals his secrets,” he answered, pulling away so he could steal a kiss instead. He tasted like chocolate, and she hoped it was a sign he’d enjoy his dessert tonight. “But if you must know… I took the emergency key and drove around looking for where you parked.”

“Of course you did,” she responded, shaking her head fondly. She reached onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, savoring the way his eyes crinkled around the edges as she did. “Come on, Mr. Romantic. I made us dinner and dessert.”

“It smells amazing in here,” he told her. He was still holding onto her, one of his warm hands sliding under the hem of her sweater to touch the small of her back, and suddenly she wasn’t quite thinking about the same kind of dessert. “Can I send my compliments to the chef?”

Their food was a little cold by the time they made it to the table, but that was alright. Elain wouldn’t have it any other way, and neither would Lucien.

#sjmromanceweek2024 #acotar #acosf #elucien #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #moodymelanistwrites #elain x lucien #lucien x elain #pro elucien

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moodymelanist · 3 months

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you look so pretty (and i love this view)

happy @sjmromanceweek everyone! I'm so excited to be doing this event for the third year running and I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with this week 🤍🤍🤍

I’m planning to post at least 3 or 4 fics this week, starting off with some good old fashioned Nemerie. Stay tuned for some Elucien, Nezriel, Nessian, and perhaps even some Azris this week if I can get to them 👀👀

Summary: Nesta's Hinge date doesn't show, so Emerie steps in.

Word Count: 1.7k

Read on AO3 here!

♡♡♡♡♡ Emerie

After a long day at work, Emerie was more than happy to stop at one of the bars on her way home for a much-needed drink. She’d had to stay much later at the office than usual because of someone else’s fuck up, and although she was more than ready to fall into bed, she’d much rather do it with some alcohol and a warm dinner in her stomach.

Emerie signaled the bartender and ordered her usual drink, taking slow sips as she looked around the place. For a Thursday night things weren’t as busy as she’d expected, but she supposed the happy hour crew had came and left while she was still mentally cursing out her coworkers. There were more than a few empty seats at the bar, but there was a decent crowd spread out amongst the booths and tables ready to have dinner.

Nobody really caught her eye until she noticed a gorgeous woman sitting at one of the booths near the door, and Emerie watched as she periodically kept checking her phone and looking over her shoulder every time someone came in. If Emerie had to guess, it looked like she was waiting for a date to show up, and Emerie hoped whoever it was didn’t keep the woman waiting much longer.

You didn’t keep someone who looked like that waiting. With her golden brown hair, pretty eyes, and the way her dark dress was clinging to her, Emerie would kill for an excuse to get to know her. Dating had been pretty… uneventful for her after her last relationship had imploded, so maybe it was just wishful thinking that maybe this woman would look back, but that wouldn’t stop Emerie from wishing.

Emerie kept her eye on the woman over the next fifteen minutes, watching as her expression grew more and more pinched. Her server came by to check on her several times, and each time the woman declined to order anything while she waited for her so-called date to show up. Emerie half hoped whoever the woman was waiting on would show up just to keep that expression off her pretty face, but the much larger part of Emerie was hoping that the date never showed so she could swoop in.

Swoop in to do what exactly, Emerie wasn’t quite sure; clearly, her wishful thinking mentality was still in effect.

The next time the woman’s server came by, the woman heaved a heavy sigh before she started talking. She seemed more… defeated, this time, and Emerie hated to see it.

I guess they’re not coming, Emerie saw the woman say to her server. Emerie had a flash of panic — what if the woman left before she could say anything to her, or even get her name?

Looking back on this moment later, Emerie wouldn’t be able to put her finger on what made her do it, but something made her get out of her stool. Before she could second-guess herself too strongly, she tossed back the rest of her drink, walked around the bar, and sat herself down right at the woman’s table.

“Hi,” Emerie said, her heart pounding in her chest at all the different ways this could go wrong. The woman’s eyes were piercing this close up, and Emerie thanked her lucky stars she’d decided to take a little extra time getting ready this morning for work. “I’m really sorry I’m late. I’m Emerie.”

The woman blinked at her for several long moments before reaching out and offering her hand. “Nesta.”

Their server — a pretty, brown-skinned woman named Clare — gave Emerie some serious side eye before flipping her notepad back open and clicking her pen. “Glad you could make it. Would you like any appetizers?”

Nesta ordered some calamari for the table and waited a few seconds for Clare to be out of earshot before looking back at Emerie. “You’re not my date.”

“You can tell me to leave if you want,” Emerie said, already mentally preparing herself to get right back up again, “but I think you’re gorgeous, and gorgeous women should never be kept waiting.”

“Oh,” Nesta said back, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink. Emerie half wondered how far that blush could go, given the chance, but she forced herself to stay focused on the task at hand. “Well. I suppose you’re right.”

“You suppose?” Emerie replied with a hopeful little smile.

“Yes,” Nesta answered, raising one of her eyebrows. “But don’t get used to it. I’m the one who’s always right.”

Emerie laughed. “Maybe that’s because you haven’t met your match yet.”

“Are you saying that’s you?” Nesta fired back without missing a beat.

“Only one way to find out, right?” Emerie replied. She couldn’t believe her luck — here she was, sitting across from a beautiful woman, and the two of them were already going back and forth effortlessly.

“Yeah,” Nesta agreed slowly, her eyes taking their time trailing over Emerie’s top half. “I guess there is.”

As they talked over their appetizers and eventually their meals, Emerie fell a little more head over heels with every detail she learned about Nesta. She was an attorney working in intellectual property, she had a cat, and most importantly, she had indeed been stood up on a date.

“I mean, it’s not that hard to send a text if you changed your mind,” Nesta grumbled over her eggplant Parmesan. “It only takes a couple of seconds.”

“She sounds like she sucks,” Emerie replied, pulling a huff of a laugh out of Nesta.

“Yeah,” Nesta agreed. “I never got to meet up with her, but this is a much better date than whatever excuse she would’ve pulled out of her ass if she ever showed up.”

“It definitely wouldn’t have been good enough for you,” Emerie told her, picking up a few pieces of her penne alle vodka with her fork.

“After almost twenty minutes? Definitely not.” Nesta took a sip of her soda before fixing Emerie with a considering stare. “But that’s enough about me. Tell me about you.”

Emerie was more than happy to share details about herself, and found herself preening a little bit that Nesta seemed to like what she was hearing. Emerie was more than happy to talk about her marketing job, but the real fun started when they realized they had similar tastes in books. They easily killed another twenty minutes just talking about the newest Sellyn Drake release, and Emerie couldn’t remember the last time she’d smiled and laughed so much talking to a stranger.

As much fun as they were having, though, the night eventually had to come to a close. Clare came by to drop off the check and Emerie had to hold in a sigh as she realized she and Nesta would probably be parting ways in the next ten to fifteen minutes.

“Please, it’s the least I can do,” Nesta said, grabbing the check before Emerie could even take a look at what they owed. Emerie opened her mouth to argue, but Nesta fixed her with a look that made her close her mouth almost immediately. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Fine,” Emerie said back. “But next time’s on me.”

“Mhmm,” Nesta replied, though the playful look in her eyes told a different story. Emerie couldn’t wait to tell Gwyn about all this.

Once they settled their tab, they ended up outside and walking down the street. Nesta had driven to the bar after work, but Emerie had taken the train, so she offered to walk Nesta to her car. It was the opposite direction from the closest station, but she didn’t mind a few extra minutes if it meant she could spend them with Nesta.

“Thanks for saving me, Emerie,” Nesta said once they got to her car. Her hand had brushed Emerie’s a few times during the walk and Emerie swore her skin was tingling a little bit. “I had a really good time tonight.”

“You’re very welcome,” Emerie said back, seriously distracted by the way her name sounded coming out of Nesta’s mouth. “I’m happy to rescue you anytime you want, Nesta.”

“Is that what you did?” Nesta teased. She cocked her head ever so slightly and Emerie fell a little in love with the way her hair looked brushing across her shoulders when she did. “Those are some strong words.”

“I feel strongly about it,” Emerie replied, stepping just a little closer into Nesta’s personal space. Nesta was just an inch or two shorter than Emerie, and as a woman on the taller side, it was nice to not have to look too far down when they were speaking.

Nesta’s eyes darted quickly to Emerie’s lips and back up. “Is that the only thing you feel strongly about?”

“No,” Emerie whispered, and then she was leaning down while Nesta was leaning slightly up. Nesta’s lips were soft against Emerie’s, her kiss slow and sweet and absolutely perfect. Emerie brought her hand up to gently cup the side of Nesta’s face and was immediately rewarded with one of Nesta’s hands plunging into her hair.

“Okay, okay,” Nesta said after a few minutes, smiling as she pulled back from Emerie. Her lips were a little pink from where they’d been kissing, and Emerie knew she’d never get that image out of her mind. “It’s tempting, but we can’t be out here all night.”

“Whatever you say, counselor,” Emerie teased, even though they both knew Nesta wasn’t that kind of lawyer. “Can I at least have your phone number so we can see each other again?”

“I was starting to think you’d never ask,” Nesta responded. She pulled out her phone and offered it to Emerie, waiting patiently while Emerie typed in her number. Emerie triple-checked to make sure it was right – no way was she letting Nesta get away from her over something as simple as a mixed-up phone number – before handing it back over.

“I’ll text you,” Nesta promised, leaning in for one last kiss before starting to walk toward the driver’s side of her car. “Have a good night, Emerie.”

“You too,” Emerie replied, taking a few steps back from the edge of the sidewalk.

As Emerie started to head toward the train, she couldn’t help but touch her fingers to her still-warm lips. Whatever she’d done to get so lucky to suddenly be living out a romance novel, she certainly wasn’t complaining.

#sjmromanceweek2024 #acotar #acosf #nemerie #nesta archeron #emerie of illyria #nesta x emerie #emerie x nesta #moodymelanistwrites

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