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After returning from the mission, you enter your quarters with a sigh of relief. Swiftly shedding your armor and weapons, each piece hits the ground with a satisfying clink. As the weight of responsibility lifts, you relish in the freedom of movement, stretching your limbs with a contented sigh. You slightly push your armor off the path with your feet.
With gentle hands, you smooth down your tousled hair, the scent of sweat and brisk wind still lingering in the air. Leaning against the cool stone wall, you absentmindedly trace the intricate patterns of your calloused fingers along the edges of your armor, feeling the residual energy of the day's tasks beneath your touch. As you close your eyes, a sense of calm washes over you, the world outside fading away as you lose yourself in the comforting rhythm of your own heartbeat.
As you stand in your quarters, after the shower, armor still on the ground, now wearing light and breezy clothing, lost in the peaceful solitude of the moment, you catch a movement out of the corner of your eye. Turning your head slightly, you see Azriel lingering in the doorway, his gaze fixed on you with a quiet intensity.
You catch his eye without saying a word. You look at him, hoping he would break the silence and deliver you a message that he came here for, but he gives you a small grin, his eyes flickering over the curve of your body, before his eyes turn away and now it is you, that’s smirking, when you feel his shadows tickle your arms gently, as they’re creeping through your fingers and up your palms, to your wrists.
“I thought you learnt how to keep them at bay.” you voice your thoughts as you turn your arms a bit to watch the shadows.
The shadows stop their movement immediately, then they slink back down and away from you, as he chuckles slightly. He steps in closer to you. “I didn’t even have to try, you were practically inviting them…” he whispers.
“You know, I don’t mind them.” you smile slightly as one shadow, possibly the youngest and the most curious of them all, start crawling up your arm again.
He smiles, his eyes lingering on the curve of your neck, the way it moved as you talked. “That’s a shame,” he murmurs, leaning down and softly placing a kiss on your bare shoulder.
“What does annoy me,” you grunt a little bit, “is that your shadows are always giving you the information about my whereabouts.”
He chuckles, shaking his head slightly, making his dark hair fall a bit over his face.
“I like it that way…” he whispers, his breath hot, but comforting on your neck.
“Of course you do…” you mimic him sarcastically. “The bond is not enough for you?”
He whispers, his inconsistent breath tickling your neck, “It isn’t. And I like to keep track of you.” His hands slip around your waist, grabbing the fabric of your clothes, tracking over your body for any injuries, for anything out of the ordinary. “Are you okay?”
You stroke his hand, that is on your waist, “I am fine, Az.”
He whispers something under his breath, something that sounds like “mine”, his voice sending shivers through your body.
“Now now…” you laugh slightly and peel his hands off of you. “Stop or we will get stuck in here all day.”
The shadows wrap through his hands, forcing them back onto your hip bones. “That doesn’t sound like a problem with me, darling…” he mumbles, pulling you closer to him with one hand, while his other moves up to your face, cupping your cheek softly.
“See? Absolutely unproblematic.” He whispers, running his thumb along your lips, leaning down to kiss the exact same spot, where his thumb just has been. His shadows wrap even tighter around his hand, that is on your hip.
“Az, I am serious, I have to make a report for Rhys,” you try to wiggle out of his grasp, but he doesn’t shift.
“I know… I just want to know one thing,” he murmurs. “You…” he leans closer to your face, “don’t have to answer now. “ he whispers, his hands roaming over your body, pausing at your hips again. “Just sometime…”
“What is it?” you playfully roll your eyes at his affection.
“Would you consider…” he pauses, his voice quiets down, but his breath is still hot on your neck, whenever he moves his head lower, “would you consider being my mate?”
You snort out loud. “I am already your mate, Az.” He was usually a very smart man, a very serious and a very smart man. You don’t know what happened here. “It is not something to be considered, it is something that just happens, something that clicks.”
He chuckles, his voice rumbling low. “I know exactly what I said. But I was hoping you would agree to make it official, in front of everyone.” He trails kisses up your shoulder blades, his fingers brushing your uncovered skin, teasing you, probably trying to make you dizzy on purpose.
‘Your family already knows.” You shiver.
“Not just my family.” He replies, moving his mouth down to the skin, behind your ear lobe. “I want the entire Court to know.”
You stand there a bit confused, while his hand sneaks behind your shirt, and draws circles on your back.
“I want everyone to know the truth. That you are mine, and no one else’s.”
“And how do we do that?” you cut his speech, your mind going crazy, unclear whether because of his touches, or what he is trying to say.
He looks at you, light dancing in his eyes. “A ceremony, of course, in front of everybody.” He trails his hand down to your hips again, squeezing them softly.
“But we had our mating ceremony,” you say frowning and Azriel bursts out laughing.
“Only you could call it a mating ceremony, Y/n,” he is still chuckling. “And trust me, it is not something to do in front of everybody, not unless it’s an official mating ceremony with vows and everything. But we had our mating ritual on our own, didn’t we?” He winks and you blush madly. “I’m asking you to marry me, in front of the entire Night Court. I love you, I love being your friend, your partner, your mate, I love being tied to you by soul.” He leans in closer, his hands reaching back up to hold your face. “You are not just my mate, you are much much more. Something that transcends the bond itself.”
Your legs almost give up and you close your eyes to keep yourself steady. “You want to marry me?”
He bites his lip. “That is what I’ve been trying to tell you.” He leans in and places a soft kiss on your nose. Something about him being this comfortable with you makes you swoon.
“Are you sure? I mean, isn’t it just the bond speaking?” you brush the skin next to his wings gently.
His eyes flicker in response to your touch, the shadows around him shift.”What the bond gives me isn’t enough. I need you all to myself, in every way possible. The bond, the ceremony, your heart. All of it.”
You lay your head on his shoulder and laugh. “Oh my god.” he hums waiting for you to continue. “Feyre and Mor are going to drive me crazy when they hear this.”
He grins, “Yeah, I think Fayre will be too busy dealing with Rhys and calming him down to bother you… And Mor, well… I am more worried she’ll try to steal you from me on our wedding day…” he teases, leaning his head on the top of your hair, the shadows gently falling on top of you both.” He rubs your arms gently with his. “Have I told you recently how beautiful you are?” his voice is so soft, you can barely hear him, your heart pounding loudly in your ears.
“What is going on with you?” you giggle. “If you are about to tell me that you want a baby next, I might have to tell Rhys to check if you’re alright.”
“A baby? Now?” he shakes his head. “No, nothing like that. Though I wouldn’t say no to having one with you someday…” he leans down, placing a soft kiss on your lips. “I do want to spend a bit of time enjoying having you to myself first before we make that decision.”
There is a bit of silence that follows this moment, but you interrupt it.
“Azriel?”
He smiles, his eyes meeting yours. His voice is soft, like velvet, “Yeah?”
“If you want me to marry you, you will have to ask properly.” you send a wink to him.
He tilts his head. “Properly?” He asks, while the shadows of his are playing with your hair, diving in and out of your falling hair strands. He speaks softly again, “Are you asking me to propose in front of the court?”
“No, not necessarily, it depends on how you want to…” you trail without finishing your sentence, maybe this was a proposal?”
He smiles mischievously, his shadows coming slowly back to him, while he still holds you close. “Tell me what I should do then.” His voice is hushed.
“It doesn’t matter what you do,” you giggle and raise your hand a bit higher, just enough that he could see it. “I just..” you wiggle your ring finger, “I just find something missing.”
He tilts his head, looking at your ring finger, the shadows going back to circling you two, slightly pushing you towards him. “Is that really all you want from me…?” he teases you, his mouth less than an inch from yours.
“How else would I prove to those brainless Illyrian males that I am in love and faithfully connected and committed to the love of my life?”
His lips hover mere millimeters from yours, “So if I were to put a ring on your finger right now, would that answer all their questions?”
“I think it would answer your question.”
He nods. “So you don’t care if I do it in front of the Court?”
You shake your head and brush his hair slightly with your fingers, while your other hand goes back to drawing circles on his wing. “I don’t care, do it however you feel like.”
He smiles leaning closer, until his nose is barely grazing yours. “So I could just..” he trails off, leaving the sentence unfinished, but he is already reaching for your left hand, grasping it in his.
“Wha-at is going on?” you stutter as he rubs your ring finger with his fingers.
“I could just…” he whispers, his breath hot on your lips, his hand resting on yours, “Put that…” he trails off, leaning closer and closer, and closer towards you, gently pushing the little, delicate thing, he played with before, when you didn’t see, up your finger, sapphire located in the middle of it catching and reflecting rays of light regularly, “ring on…” he trails off again as you struggle to breathe.
“This finger…” his eyes flicker over your now ringed hand, and his voice becomes a breathy whisper. He looks back at you. “Would you be happy? Would you accept?”
“With or without a ring, Azriel, my answer wouldn’t change.” you grab his face and hold it lovingly, feeling warmed up metal on your finger, but paying no attention to it yet, still looking deeply in his eyes. “You had it? The whole time?”
He chuckles. “I’ve had it for weeks.” He looks at your lips and you lean in to kiss him, too eagerly cause the next thing he does, is giggle. “I still didn’t hear the answer, love.”
“I thought it was clear,” you whisper. “But for extra thick people, it’s a yes.”
A tremulous smile graced his lips, a rare glimpse of vulnerability that spoke volumes of his love and gratitude. With trembling hands, he reached for hers, fingers intertwining in a silent promise that echoed through the depths of their shared bond.
“So if I understand it correctly, I am not getting that report any time soon?” says Rhys, sanding there in the doorway, smirking at the couple.