acotar one shots

boys will be boys pt. 2

If you didn't like the last one in a gay way you can skip this one lol

Beautiful Baby - Elizabeth

***

When Rhys went back inside, Cassian was finally awake. He sat at the table devouring the meal before him with his usual fervor. He gave no indication that he'd witnessed their strange explosion. He did not seem to be hiding any grin or smirk, either.

Rhys turned his attention away from him and listened, catching the sound of the bath running. Then he padded toward his own room, no word to Cassian, to clean and dress. And on the way he resolved to keep a careful distance from Azriel for the rest of the day. Partially because, after the adrenaline had faded, he felt bad for being such an asshole. But partially because he was still replaying Az's words in his head, attempting to sort through what they meant to him. And every time they repeated, a warm blush crept over his cheeks.

You're beautiful.

*

Cassian watched him go. He told neither of them that he had caught the last of their fight from the window. Had watched Azriel winnow out from under Rhys, leaving him bewildered in the snow. Of course Cassian was painfully curious about what Azriel had said in that moment. Azriel had winnowed into his own room, closing the door softly and locking it. He could hear him cursing and shivering as he started a bath and waited for the water to heat.

His curiosity grew when he watched  Rhys come back inside through his peripheral vision. Rhys looked bewildered, eyes wide as he trembled. Melting snow dripped from his wings, and his face was marked with a few smears of blood.

Normally, this was all certainly grounds for teasing. But this morning felt different. Whatever it was that hung in the air, Cassian could sense its fragility. He had a feeling in his gut that he would complicate matters tenfold if he opened his mouth. So he kept it shut and watched them amble around each other in awkward silence all day long.

It was a rare day when they had nowhere to go. Of course, if they had wanted, one of them could have found somewhere to be, and that told Cassian more about the situation than any half-assed explanation Rhys or Azriel would have given him. Though neither of them said anything, they wanted to stay. Wanted to see what would happen.

For all the self-deprecating things that Cassian thought about himself, he was sometimes the smartest of the three of them. Rhysand was clever, Azriel was cunning, and Cassian was an observer. It was one of his greatest assets in battle. He had a talent for puzzling out the unspoken, even if he often fumbled his own words.

Azriel may have been the one who technically kept his eye on everyone, but his mind was sometimes too logical to pick up on the threads of emotions that danced through interactions. Azriel, who watched everyone, a certain someone more than others, had not noticed that he was watched back. But Cassian had noticed.

Thus, even though he hadn't heard what had left Rhys so taken aback, he had a few guesses.

When darkness crept through the cabin that evening, Cassian was sharpening his dagger, Rhys skimming a stack of paperwork, and Azriel stretched out reading by the fire. Az's shadows occasionally peeked over the edge of his book toward Rhys's place on the couch. Cassian wondered if Azriel even knew what his shadows were up to.

Then Cassian watched Az lift his book just the tiniest bit to swipe his own look at Rhys. After studying the future high lord for a moment, he got to his feet, leaving his book open by the fire, and mumbled something about getting more firewood. He shrugged on his coat and hastily threw a scarf around his neck, then shoved his feet in his boots without tying the laces. A gust of cold wind squeezed through the door as Azriel closed it behind him.

Rhys was watching the door. He watched it for a few long minutes and chewed his lip. Cassian watched the stars swirling in his eyes and knew he was deep in thought.

"Maybe," Cassian said softly, though Rhys still jumped as he broke the silence, "maybe just once is okay?"

Rhys's jaw clenched as he studied his friend, brows knitting together in thought. A small tinge of pink crept over the apples of his cheeks and the tip of each pointed ear.

"Really?" He asked, and there was a certain shyness hiding in his voice.

Cassian nodded. Rhys thought for a moment more, and then gave Cassian one nod in response before he threw on his own coat and followed his other friend into the night.

***

Azriel cursed under his breath as the cold bit at every inch of exposed skin. He tucked his wings in tight to his body and made his way through the snow around to the little hutch behind the cabin. He was hoping the cold would reset his mind enough to allow him to sleep tonight. Perhaps he would stay up until the other two had gone to bed and then slip in later. It felt like every few moments, his thoughts would return to the morning light on Rhysand's face, every point of contact he had made with Azriel's skin, and the almost wickedness exuding from his violet eyes as he pinned him to the ground.

He turned to walk back toward the house, wood pieces piled in his arms. And then he cursed as he looked up and found a face in the dark staring back at him. The wood fell from his arms as he jumped, falling into the snow without a sound.

"Don't sneak up on me, stupid prick," Azriel spat.

"Sorry," Rhysand grinned. His hands were tucked into his pockets, his own wings vanished away to save them from the cold. He took another step toward Azriel, his frozen breath reaching toward Az's face.

"What are you doing?" Azriel asked, so softly. His heart began to pound in his chest, and he called himself stupid with every hopeful beat.

Rhys took another step. He stood so close now, his chest almost brushing Azriel's. The faelight lantern glowed softly beside Azriel, casting lovely purple highlights and shadows over the boys standing in the snow. Rhys took one hand out of his pocket and reached for Azriel's cheek, half obscured by the scarf he had thrown on.

"Just once," Rhys whispered, smile fading, as the darkness raged around them. Snow began to fall in heavy flakes, mingling with the darkness and Az's shadows to envelope them in their own little world. His hand was warm against Azriel's face and his thumb brushed over the spot where he had accidentally cut him earlier. Already healed.

Azriel didn't know what to do. His mind fought between reaching out and staying still, doing nothing. Sometimes it was impossible to tell what was instinct, what his mind, what was his heart. But his shadows had their own ideas and swirled around Rhys's fingers, up his arm to stroke his cheek in return. Rhys smiled at the touch, eyes twinkling.

"Just once," Azriel swallowed. Those beautiful eyes were watching his mouth. Azriel pulled his scarf down, revealing his lips to the cold. His eyes shuttered as Rhys closed the distance and pressed the softest kiss to his mouth. It lasted only a second, but they both remained there, an inch apart with their eyes closed. Then they met in the middle again with a deeper kiss. Rhys hand settled under Azriel's jaw, and Az found his own hand reaching to thread through his friend's dark hair.

The gentle care in each touch was a dagger in his heart. He already resented each sweet brush of Rhysand's lips because he knew from this day forward he would not be able to stop hoping for it.

That warm feeling in Azriel's chest had returned. It filled him entirely, burning like starlight. A brilliant, exhilarating death. Because he knew in that moment that it would never just be once. This was just the beginning. He was a star in Rhysand's midnight sky, and he would burn there forever, whether Rhysand ever chose him to make his wish on or not.

Azriel pulled away, to keep the last pieces of himself from turning into nothing but ash. Before he lost his self control and revealed the depths of his admiration. Rhys's gaze was locked on Azriel's hazel eyes, staring somewhere deep and hidden. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and there was something hard in his expression. Azriel hoped to the Mother it was not regret. But Rhysand said nothing. He pulled his hand back into his pocket, turned away, and left Azriel there in the snow.

Lips still warm from his touch, Azriel watched him go. And he knew there would be embers burning from this day for a long, long time.