Work Text:
Lucien woke up in Velaris to a rainy morning. On days like these, all he wanted to do was laze in bed with a hot drink and listen to the rain fall on the window. He dragged himself out of bed and walked into the kitchen. He rounded the corner and opened the door -
- and froze.
Because Elain was in the kitchen, drinking a cup of tea.
It always did something to Lucien’s heart, to see her. She always seemed so far away, no matter how close he was to her.
She was leaning up against the counter, facing the large window that overlooked her garden. She turned to look at him and nodded once in polite greeting, and he dipped his head to her.
He went to make himself a cup of tea, and moved to lean against the countertop perpendicular to her. She watched him with a careful eye, then turned back to look out the window. Lucien felt his presence was not unwelcome, so he decided to sit and enjoy the rainfall from here. He turned to watch the rain water the many flowers and plants that Elain had planted.
“We really needed this,” Elain murmured softly.
Startled from his thoughts, Lucien turned to look at her.
“The rain,” said Elain, gesturing at the window with her mug. “It’s been pretty dry lately, the gardens could really use the rain.”
Ah . Lucien nodded slowly as she turned to look at him. She nodded back.
And that was that.
Every time for the next few rainstorms, Elain and Lucien would find themselves in the kitchen, drinking tea, looking out the window and watching the world water the garden. Sometimes Lucien would ask her about her garden, to which Elain would happily answer his questions, and sometimes they would just stand there in silence, enjoying the time. Lucien wasn’t sure which one he liked more.
Lucien found himself in the kitchen again. There was no rain, but it was just a nice night. Not too warm, just cool enough. The windows were open, and he sat at the counter with his mug of tea, just enjoying the nighttime breeze.
The door creaked, and Elain walked in. Lucien smiled at her.
“Hello, Lucien,” she said, shyly.
"Hello, Lady," he said, bowing slightly to her. He watched as she made herself a cup of tea and took the seat next to him.
They drank their tea in companionable silence, until Elain put her mug down and looked directly at Lucien.
“May I ask you a personal question?” she said.
Lucien grinned. “Of course, my Lady. Those are my favorite kind.”
“How did it happen?” Elain asked, gesturing to his face.
Lucien sighed and placed his mug down. “Ah, that. Not my finest moment. I may have mouthed off to Amanthara, and she showed me exactly what she thought of my opinion.”
Elain’s eyes were wide. “What did you say to her?” she asked.
Lucien grimaced. “I told her to go back to the shit-hole she crawled out of?”
Elain gasped and her hand flew over her mouth, eyes widening in surprise.
Then, she started to do something completely unexpected.
She started giggling .
She kept her hand over her mouth and the expression on her face told Lucien she was trying really hard to contain it, but was failing miserably.
Lucien stared at her in shock. That was not the reaction he was expecting. It made him start to giggle too, which made her start to laugh even harder, which made him laugh harder, too.
Elain fought to catch her breath, wiping tears from her eyes. “Mother above, Lucien, you’re so stupid !”
That just set them off again. Lucien threw his head back and howled, and soon they were both doubled over.
Lucien wasn’t sure when he last laughed so hard, and he was fairly confident he could say the same for Elain. It almost made what happened to his eye worth it, to elicit such laughter from his mate. Almost.
They decided to go for a walk through the city. Velaris twinkled in the starlight, and Lucien had to admit it was beautiful here. Of course, that might’ve been the company he was keeping.
The conversation flowed naturally between them. Elain had many questions about the different places Lucien had traveled to, and he answered each of them in great detail, taking mental notes on which ones she seemed especially curious about. He tried to squash the flicker of hope growing in his chest, of them one day traveling together.
They traded stories. Elain caught Lucien off guard with her sense of humor, and Lucien charmed Elain effortlessly with his good manners.
When it started to get late, they took the long way back to the townhouse, and when they reached the gate, Elain turned and faced Lucien.
“Thank you for the walk, I had a lovely evening,” she said, smiling up at him.
“My pleasure, Lady. I also had a lovely evening. Who knew you were such a talker?” he leaned in and said with a wink.
She giggled at his joke. Then her expression got serious and she looked down at her feet. “I haven’t been very kind to you, and I want to apologize for that. Everything changed so suddenly and completely, and I didn’t know what to make of it all. I was angry, and I’m afraid I took out most of my frustrations on you.”
Lucien swallowed. “You don’t have to apologize for that, Lady. That was an ordeal to experience. I am glad you are doing much better,” he said earnestly. It had killed him to see her like that after she was Made, and he would do anything to keep her from being like that again.
Elain stared at him, head cocked to the side. “I might be a Seer,” she said, “but I don’t think I have ever really looked .”
Lucien tilted his head, not quite understanding what she meant. She smiled softly and let her eyes roam over his hair, his ears, down his neck, his shoulders, to the details on his jacket.
“I still have it, you know,” she said, quietly, as she lifted her fingertips to trace the gold outlines of Autumn leaves on his lapel. “Your jacket. Despite everything that was happening, you took a moment to comfort me.”
Lucien felt like he couldn’t breathe. She kept it all this time?
Elain tentatively, hesitantly, reached out her hand to cup the side of Lucien’s face. He couldn’t help himself as a small sigh escaped his lips and he leaned into her touch.
Elain took her thumb and gently stroked along the scars running across his cheekbones. she felt the deep grooves of them, the rough uneven edges. She took the pad of her thumb to his forehead, down through his brow bone, down the lid of his metal eye, gently closing it. Then she placed her hand back to the side of his face and gently pulled him towards her, placing a soft, chase kiss on his eyelid.
She held her lips there for a moment, and Lucien thought that he had never felt so cherished.
Then, too soon, she was pulling away, dropping her hand back to her side. Lucien’s eyes opened and found her brown eyes looking at him. There was no fear or disgust, things he was always afraid that he would see in her eyes. From anyone else he could bear it, but not Elain.
Instead, he was met with such tenderness he thought he could cry.
“I see you, too, Elain,” he whispered. Her eyes widened at that, because she knew he meant it.
“Thank you for the walk,” she said quietly, holding his gaze. Lucien knew she was thanking him for so much more.
Ever the gentleman, he bowed slightly. “Anytime, Lady.”
She nodded at him, a small smile playing at her lips as she turned to walk down the path to the door.
He watched her walk all the way to the door, watched her turn around to give him one final wave before she went inside.
His heart was so full he felt like it was going to burst. It began to rain, but Lucien couldn’t stop smiling as he walked all the way back to his apartment.