Shadowsinger

Chapter 27

Azriel was hunting through the wardrobe when his fingers brushed against something new, no, old, he blinked in surprise and pulled it out, he hadn't been imagining it,

"You kept this?" He held up the cloak for Gwyn to see, and she nodded,

"Of course, but it's yours, I want to give it back,"

"You can keep it if you want,"

"No, I need to give it back, to try and move forward, away from that day, I'll never manage it if I cling on to your cloak,"

"Alright," he made to put the cloak back on his side of the wardrobe, but paused, "Do you need to not see it anymore, or just to give it back?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "Perhaps we could donate it to a secondhand shop or something, then it's doing good,"

"Yeah, we can do that, I just have to finish my report this morning, then we can go for a walk, take a quick break from everything,"

"Oh, I finished it last night for you," she laughed, "You were asleep, and I didn't want you to worry, I'm sure I'll have forgotten something though,"

"I love you." Gwyn snorted again,

"Gods, Az, if all it takes is doing your paperwork, I'd have done it ages ago, I'm  better writer than you anyway," she teased, taking the cloak from his hand and laying it across the back of a chair as she hauled his face down to hers until there was almost no space between them, "And my writing is neater than yours," she muttered, raising her head to kiss him before he could complain, her hands diving into his hair to tug slightly, pulling him ever closer, even as his arm wrapped around her waist, pinning her into him. She nipped at his lower lip, managing one gasping breath before he tipped her head back, stealing her breath in one movement as she opened, letting him take the lead. She met every movement with one of her own, at least until he released her lips, straightening to brush his fingers through her hair. He chuckled at her attempt to follow, standing on her tiptoes and scowling when she couldn't reach,

"You're adorable," he muttered, and she scowled harder,

"I'll show you adorable, Shadowsinger," she muttered, "I'll kick your ass,"

"Of course you will," he laughed, and she couldn't help the smile that sprung to her face at the sound, rich and deep, it was a proper laugh, not one his half-hearted or forced ones, a real laugh. "Give me a few minutes to read through that report then, after that we can go,"

"Okay, tell me if you need to add or change anything, I want to know,"

"I would expect no less, I'm sure it's perfect,"

"I'm sure it's not," she snorted, but contented herself with braiding back her hair in the mirror for the moment until he finished.

She hadn't meant to stare, but she had nothing to do, nothing except watch Azriel make a few changes to the report, his brows furrowed in concentration, his hair falling forwards over his eyes. Gwyn leaned back in her chair, chuckling to herself as the shadows flitted towards her, Azriel heaved a sigh of exasperation but didn't bother to try and call them back. They were careful not to crowd her but Gwyn gestured for them to come over, a rush of faint, barely audible voices coming with them. She could only make out a few words here and there, her name, Azriel's name, the library. She blinked in surprise at the mention of the library, but she did want to speak to Azriel about it, about wanting to permanently move out. She would always harbor a soft spot for it, but the library was no longer what she needed, what she needed now was a purpose, her friends, family, she needed to be here. 

Azriel was staring out of the window when Gwyn glanced back towards him, seemingly lost in thought, but he shook his head and turned back to the report before him. It was a surprise to see him like this, she'd expected him to still be tense and worried this soon after getting home, but there was no tension in his shoulders where he sat, he wasn't rushing anything, his wings were drooped against the low back to the chair, resting. And of course, there was the humming, Gwyn had rarely heard him hum to himself, but it was always when he managed to relax. She smiled as he tapped his pen against the desk,