ACOTAR One Shots

You're What...?

For one moment, all I could see were the tears staining her cheeks. For one terrifying moment, emotions that I hadn't felt in a very long time welled up inside me and got stuck in my throat. And for one moment, I realized that I had never felt so utterly useless.

"She's crying," I whispered to my brother Cassian, who looked over at me with an eyebrow raised. "What do I do?"

Cassian shook his head, "You seriously didn't just ask me that, right?"

But I did, and I still didn't know what to do. All I knew was that I wanted... needed to do something. I couldn't leave her there with tears on her face and sadness in her eyes. No way. So I nodded to my brother, my eyes still focused on the female ahead of me.

"Az, you've got to be the most hopeless soul I've ever met," Cassian stated exasperated. "Go comfort her, you idiot."

I finally tore my gaze from Elain to look at Cassian. I looked over at him pleading in every way I knew from him to clarify and help, "How do I do that?"

Cassian's eyes widened, "You can't be serious. Azriel, we're both ridiculously old, been with a ton of girls, and been in multiple relationships, and you're telling me that you don't know how to comfort one tiny girl who likes flowers more than people?"

I leveled my brother with a glare that made lesser males run, but Cassian continued to just stare at me with a single eyebrow raised and that look that told me he thought that this was the funniest thing he had heard in a long time. I really should've asked Rhys for help, or even Mor, they would have been more useful than Cassian.

"Cassian, for once can you please just help me out. I can't just leave her like this." I gestured to where Elain still sat, surrounded by her flowers and tears streaming down her face.

If she didn't look so defeated and upset, she would have been picture perfect. The sun glinted off her hair giving it a slight shimmer, her soft pink dress complimented the colors of the flowers nicely, and her hair was left loose to blow in the wind. She really couldn't have looked more beautiful if she tried. But the tear stained face disrupted the peaceful state that should've accompanied her. Yet, despite the tears, I still thought she was the loveliest thing I had laid my eyes on.

It seemed Cassain finally took pity on me as his gaze softened and his posture straightened, "How about you start with a hug?"

I stared at my brother incredulously, "With what?"

"Mother's tits, Az. Please don't tell me you don't..."

"I know what a hug is, Cassian," I replied sharply. "I can't just go over there and hug her!"

"Sure you can," Cassian exclaimed. "You just walk over there, wrap your arms around her, and tell her that everything's going to be okay. It's that easy."

"It's not that easy, Cass," I replied frustrated. I ran a hand quickly through my hair, tugging at the ends. "She has enough going on without me throwing myself at her. Besides she has a mate, and so long as she hasn't made a decision one way or another about her affections towards him, I can't get involved like that."

Cassian sighed, "Fine, then at the very least you can go over there and offer her your company. Can you manage that? To just sit by her and be there. Or is that too much to ask too?"

I sighed again but nodded, "I can do that."

"Great!" Cassian replied, a grin plastered to his face. "Then I'll be on my way now. You can handle things from here."

Alarm spread through my veins quickly, "Wait, Cass..."

"Good luck, Az," Cassian said cheerfully, before turning away from me. He quickly spread his wings and was gone before I could get any other words out.

Abandoned by my own brother in arms. Of course, why am I surprised. I turned my attention back to Elain, whose state hadn't changed for the few seconds since I had last looked her way. I took a deep breath to steel myself before finally allowing myself to walk towards her. Just go over there, sit down by her, and just be there. You can do that. No problem, I mentally stated in an attempt to gather any courage I might've had in my veins--not that it helped all that much.

Still, I made it all the way over to Elain and managed to sit down beside her without causing a scene or disturbing her more. She didn't look my way as I sat beside her, but she didn't move away either--so I counted that as a small win. After a few moments of simply sitting there, listening to her soft tears and my heart slowly breaking in response, she finally turned to me.

Her warm brown eyes were clouded with tears and her face was much more red and puffy than it seemed from the distance I originally was observing her at. Her bottom lip wobbled slightly as she opened her mouth to finally address me.

"I'm broken, Az," she whispered unevenly.

My eyes widened on their own accord. That wasn't what I was expecting her to say. Despite her current appearance, Elain was not someone I would call broken by any means.

"You're what...?" I asked, not quite sure I heard her right, because there was no way that Elain--who was a seer and who was always so bright--was broken.

"I'm so broken, Az," she sniffed, clearly trying to stop the tears that continued to flow. "I'm so broken inside and I don't know how to fix it."

I stared at her face and the desperation that was so clearly painted there. And again I found myself not knowing what to do. I was out of my element here. I could do interrogations, battles, and even our family dinners better than this. So... I took Cassian's advice--though I would never tell him that.

I opened my arms up to her and allowed her to make the decision of whether or not she wanted the embrace I was offering. A shuddering sob tore from her lips as she pressed her body into my own and wrapped her arms tightly around my torso, avoiding my wings even in her distressed state. My own arms wrapped around her small frame tightly and I brought those very wings that she avoided around her as well, blocking out the world around us.

I hesitantly brought my hand up to run it down her hair. I stroked down once, and when she didn't pull away, I continued the soothing motion. I would do whatever it took to make the sadness leave her, to make her tears dry and to bring back the beautiful, soft smile she usually wore.

"You're not broken Elain," I whispered, tucking her head underneath my chin. "You are beautiful and brave and so full of light. Nothing about you is broken."

"My heart sure feels like it's broke," she replied softly, tucking herself deeper into my embrace.

I didn't have a response to that, so I just held her tighter. I didn't know if I could truly help Elain. I spent so much of my time hidden in the shadows that I didn't know if I could bring someone out of their own. But I was willing to try; for her I would try everything.

"It's going to be alright, Elain. I've got you and I'm not going anywhere," I said softly, still stroking my hand through her hair. "We'll figure it all out."

"Promise?" she asked, sounding hopeful, her tears slowing.

"Promise," I replied firmly.

And as Elain kept herself tucking into my embrace, I found myself thinking that Cassian was right for the second time that day. Hugs really weren't all that hard.