ACOTAR Oneshots

Elain's Cycle

This takes place after ACOFAS. Elain and Azriel have already confessed their feelings to one another and have been in a relationship for almost two months now.

Azriel paced back and forth along the edge of the roof. He'd been waiting almost an hour for Elain to show up for their daily self defense training. Did she forget or sleep in on accident? The longer he waited the more worried he got that something might have happened to her.

He flared his wings and took off towards her apartment. Even though they spend all their spare time together, including talks late at night, she still stays at her own place. They are taking their relationship slow to give Elain time to heal from her past. It also allows Azriel the time he needs to learn how to open up to another person, but with Elain, he honestly finds it much easier than before.

Azriel glided down and landed on her balcony right outside her bedroom like he always does. He knocked three times and waited for an answer but nothing came. "Elain!" He yelled, and knocked again.

That's when he heard it. A subtle but painful moan coming from inside. Azriel's instincts kicked in and all he could think about was protecting his lover. In less than two seconds, Azriel had unsheathed Truth Teller and kicked her door down. He lunged through the doorway and scanned Elain's room. The strong stench of blood was overwhelming. Another moan came from the other side of her bed and he raced towards her, dagger ready. His heart stopped in his chest when he saw her. Elain was curled up in a ball on the floor and withering around, whimpering softly. Azriel dropped to his knees and pulled her into his lap, checking for wounds.

"Azriel?" She said, weakly.

"Where are you hurt Elain? I smell blood! Who did this to you?" Azriel questioned her, in a voice that promised death to whoever had dared to lay a hand on her.

What are you doing?" She whispered, scrunching up her face in confusion. "No one hurt me."

"What do you mean? Then why do I smell so much blo-" He stopped himself. Oh. Ohhhhhh. "Are you on your cycle Elain?" He asked gently. Elain looked down in shame, cheeks stained bright pink, and nodded.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Elain. It's completely normal."

Elain pushed off his lap and slowly maneuvered her body to rest her back against the side of the bed. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kept her gaze to the floor.

"Thank you for checking in on me. Sorry that I didn't show for training." She's trying to change the subject, thought Azriel.

"You had a pretty good excuse." He joked, hoping to make her smile. But she just wrapped her arms around her knees up and hid her face even more.

Azriel scooted closer and put a hand on her knee for comfort. "Let me help you."

"I'm fine Azriel. I can handle this on my own."

"But you shouldn't have to. I don't like seeing you in pain. I know this topic is taboo where you used to live, but you can talk about it with me. No judgment, I promise."

Azriel meant it to. He wanted Elain to be comfortable enough in his presence to share her troubles with him. Elain blushed even harder but nodded.

She kept her eyes on the floor and spoke softly. "Feyre told me it would be more painful than when I was a human but I didn't expect it to hurt this much."

"Aye. Fae pregnancies are very rare so females only have their cycles twice a year, making it extra painful." Azriel explained. Elain let out a whimper and grabbed his wrist when a strong cramp arrived. He cringed, hating seeing her in pain but moved so he was sitting next to her and pulled her in close.

"Let me help you into bed," he offered. She didn't resist when he moved one hand under her knees and the other around her mid back. He lifted her off the ground and carefully set her on the sheets, pulling a blanket over her curled up body.

Azriel wished he could take her pain and place it on himself. But the only thing he could do in this moment was be there for her every need. "What can I get you Elain?" He asked.

"Something for the pain." She whispered.

Azriel kissed her forehead and pet her hair before telling her he would be back as fast as he could. He winnowed to Madja and got a tonic for the pain. She was probably a little surprised to see the Shadowsinger so unhinged but he had to get back as fast as possible for her.

When he entered her room again, Elain was on her side looking up at him with a faint smile.

"I've never been taken care of like this before. Now I get why Feyre called Rhys an overbearing mother hen." Az chucked. It was nice to see her start to relax considering her uncomfort over the whole situation.

Azriel smiled and handed her the tonic. She gulped it down and rested her head back on the pillow. Before he could ask what else she needed, Elain's body jerked forward and she sneezed. She froze like that, not moving, with her head in her arm.

"Elain are you okay?" He shook her slightly.

Elain looked at him mortified and quickly shot her gaze downward. "Um, yeah. Im fine, I just, uh." She looked like she was about to cry.

"Hey, hey." Azriel said, immediately understanding. "It's okay. Let's get you to the bathroom, yeah?" He went to pick her up but she swatted him away. "No, Az! I don't want you to see this. It's embarrassing and gross. You've done enough already. I can handle it now." She ranted as a tear fell down her cheek.

Azriel lifted his hand to her face and wiped away it away. He hated seeing her cry. "First of all, none of this is gross. Whoever told you that should get punched," Azriel stated, almost positive that the person who said it was her prick of a ex fiancée, Grayson. The thought of him saying something so offensive to Elain made his blood boil. Oh, how he would love to mess his smug little face up. But that's not what Elain needed right now. "Second of all, I'm 500 years old, love. A little blood won't scare me away. Now please let me help you." He pleaded, staring into her big doe eyes.

Elain sniffled but reluctantly agreed. Azriel moved the blanket down and lifted her into his arms. There was a small red stain on the white sheets which meant it was on her night gown too. Azriel grabbed some fresh clothes from her drawers after asking her where to find them and carried her to the bathroom. He sat her on the rim of the tub and layed the new nightgown and underthings on the counter. Azriel, not wanting to leave her alone, debated staying and helping her undress. He wouldn't mind but they hadn't slept together yet so he doubted she would be comfortable with that.

Elain, reading his thoughts, blushed and muttered, "I got it from here." Azriel nodded and stood up to leave. Before closing the door, he turned to face her. "All the supplies you need are in the cabinets underneath the sink. Call my name when you're done, okay?" Elain smiled in thanks and Azriel walked back to the bed to change the linens.

When he heard his name called, he rushed back to the bathroom to find Elain hobbling out the door. Azriel immediately picked her up to bring her back to bed. He carefully layed her down on the fresh, new sheets and touched her cheek gently.

"What else do you need, love?" He whispered.

"Just you. Can you lay with me, please?" She asked softly.

"Of course." Azriel kicked his shoes off and joined her in the small bed. He pulled her in close and kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Az."

"It's my honor, Elain. I love you so much."

"I love you too." Azriel's heart felt so full. He sometimes couldn't believe how lucky he was to call Elain his. They layed together for hours, talking and cuddling mostly. And when the cramps got really bad, Azriel offered one of his scarred hands, that she never failed to kiss when she got the chance, to squeeze as hard as she needed. For the rest of the week, Azriel was constantly there by her side, tending to the needs of the women he loves.