Chapter Text
Exhaustion tugged at his very bones as Rowan Whitethorn closed the front door behind him. It was late— later than he usually gets home. Unfortunately there were some things that needed to be looked over at the office, requiring him to stay longer than normal.
All he could think about on his drive home was what was waiting for him when he got there.
The three women he comes home to everyday are the light of his life. The single greatest thing that could ever happen to him. Which is why he dreads every hour he has to spend apart from them.
Rowan discards his shoes and jacket by the door next to the small, sparkly sneakers. He smiles at the image, making his way down the silent hallway. The door on the end is slightly ajar, as if waiting for his arrival.
On soft feet, Rowan slips inside the room and smiles at the image that greets him. His wife’s unconscious form is sprawled across their entire bed, leaving practically no room for himself. Not that he minds, really. He wakes up nearly every morning with Aelin laying on top of him, her golden hair flowing in every direction.
No, Rowan doesn’t mind it one bit.
He looks down at his wife fondly, brushing her hair away from her beautiful face. She stirs at the attention, bright blue eyes blinking open slowly. He lowers himself to the edge of the bed, his thumb caressing her cheek.
“Hey Fireheart,” Rowan whispers, bending down to plant a kiss to her forehead.
Aelin’s face cracks into a smile upon seeing him. “You’re home late,” she sighs, turning to face him fully. His wife is lying on top of the covers with a book discarded on the mattress next to her, as if she fell asleep waiting for him. He grabs the novel and places it on the nightstand, but not before remembering to bookmark her page, not wanting to face her wrath about it later.
“I know, I’m sorry love,” he apologizes honestly.
“It’s okay, Buzzard,” Aelin smirks, but her eyes glow with mischief. “I know how you can make it up to me.”
She pulls him down until their lips meet in a heated kiss. Rowan reciprocates instantly, missing his wife after mere hours apart. And he definitely doesn’t argue when Aelin lets him off the hook this easily.
Her hands find their way to his neck as she pulls him impossibly closer. Rowan decided many years ago that kissing his wife is one of his absolute favorite things to do. Ever since the very first time he kissed her, in fact. Before they were even married, he knew. Maybe even from the moment they met.
In other words, Rowan is thoroughly whipped. At least that’s what Fenrys always likes to call him.
Before the kiss can lead to more, Aelin pulls back, that same look in her eyes. Rowan has known her long enough to know what that means.
“The girls left you a present in the hallway. I think you should go take a look,” she says, a grin blooming across her face.
Rowan’s look of utter confusion is enough to send his wife into a fit of giggles. “Just go take care of it,” she says, pushing him back with a hand to his chest. “When you come back, then…” Aein trails off as she bites her lip, leaving the rest of her sentence up to his imagination. He doesn’t necessarily want to leave their bed now that he’s already here with her, but his curiosity gets the better of him.
Rowan sighs, standing from their bed. “To be continued, dear wife,” he says, kissing her once more.
The hallway was dark when he walked down it before, so Rowan aims for one of the standing lamps to illuminate his path.
He makes it two more steps before the unmistakable sound of glass hitting the hard floor echoes down the hall as Rowan’s foot connects with something hard.
He turns on the light, wondering what kind of mess he’s just made. A tall glass cup is on the hardwood floor, still rolling from when his foot collided with it.
He doesn’t even want to know why there’s a glass on the floor in the middle of the hallway, but with two daughters he’s come to expect the unexpected in every aspect of life. He crouches to pick it up when something else draws his attention. On the floor beside the glass is a small slip of paper.
The note is obviously written by one of his daughters by the looks of the glittery penmanship. But it’s the words on the paper that have a smile blooming on his face.
There is a BIG spider under here! I think he would like to go back to his family. Can you help him Dad?
P.S. I love you so so much! xoxoxo
The smile falls from his face as he realizes what he’s just done. The glass cup is lying on its side on the floor, spider nowhere to be seen.
“Shit,” Rowan sighs.
He pockets the note and rises to his feet. He scans the hall for any signs of the eight legged creature, knowing he can’t go back to be unless his daughters are completely safe from the harm of small insects.
It takes ten whole minutes for him to find the bastard. The big spider is in fact, humongous. And it’s on the godsdamned ceiling.
Rowan sighs deeply, but he picks up the glass cup and brings it up to the ceiling, making the spider fall into it. He walks to the sliding glass door that leads to their backyard to dispose of the insect. The action is almost instinctual for him by now, being the designated spider exterminator in the house. Some present, Rowan thinks. But he finds that he doesn’t really mind. He would do anything for his girls. He’d get rid of a thousand spiders if that would make them happy.
He leaves the glass in the sink and makes his way back down the hall, only this time he turns toward the first door.
The door is open just a crack, and he peeks his head in to check on his two daughters. Their two small beds are pushed up against the far wall, a nightstand with a single lamp in the middle.
Ella’s silver curls frame her face as she snores softly. Her green blanket rises and falls with each steady breath she takes.
Rowan silently smiles at Anisa’s sleeping form on the other small bed. Her long blonde hair cascades down her back as she lays face down, arms and legs splayed across her bed. Her blue comforter has practically been thrown off the mattress completely as she sleeps unaware. Rowan chuckles at the mirror image of his wife.
Anisa, at age eight, is definitely her mother’s child. Her blonde hair is wild and she has a fire in her eyes, mirroring Aelin in every way. Her little sister Ella, however, takes more after him. Aelin likes to joke and call her a mini Rowan, something he will never tire of hearing. He doesn’t know what he ever did to deserve Aelin and the two of them in his life, but he thanks all the gods he can think of for blessing him with this family.
Rowan kisses each of them on the forehead, tucking their equally wild hair behind their ears. He makes sure both of them are sound asleep before heading down the hall again.
He reaches their bedroom again, but as he opens the door, he notices that Aelin seems to have fallen back asleep.
He makes quick work of getting ready for bed, swapping his office attire with a soft t-shirt and sweatpants before joining his wife. Aelin immediately rolls over and attaches herself to him. Rowan chuckles as he pulls her closer, never one to deny his wife.
Aelin hums contentedly. “Did you see your present Anisa left for you?” She mumbles, voice vibrating against his chest.
“I did and I took care of it,” he replies, moving his hands to rest on her waist.
Aelin rolls onto him, resting her chin on his chest as she smiles up at him. “My Knight in shining armor,” she says, her fingers brushing his jaw.
Rowan’s hands squeeze her waist. “I’ll always protect my girls,” he says simply.
Aelin beams at that. She reaches up, her thumbs stroking his cheeks as she plants kiss after kiss on his lips. “I love you,” she says between pecks.
Rowan grunts as she rolls completely on top of him. “I love you too, Fireheart.”
She tucks her head back into his neck but makes no move to roll off him. Rowan doesn’t mind, he just wraps his arms around her and holds her close as she falls back asleep.