Work Text:
Her desk buzzed from the numerous notifications that kept coming through her phone. Nesta didn’t have to check to know who they were from. Cassin and Azriel had asked her to try and get home early tonight. She knew they had plans, but she didn’t know what they were.
Not only was she not home early, she wasn’t even on time. She’d gotten lost in the book she was editing, and not in a good way. She truly wasn’t sure how this book had gotten past the first round of her co-editor. Then again, he was a man, and he was full of his own problems. Thankfully she’d gotten full control of this book, and just in time. It was full of the same, mundane tropes with no unique take and the deadline for the company to return edits to the author was tomorrow.
She wasn’t sure if she hated the book or herself more for actually being intrigued by it. There was potential, if only the author would put in the effort to follow their own plot points. She wanted to pull her hair out over the numerous contradictions she’d written into her own works. I mean really, she thought to herself, who touts their novel as supporting women when you take away all her power and make her a man’s play thing?
But she knew that the audience would eat this up. And if she could just pitch her points to the author in the right way, she was sure it could be amazing. Something she was proud to edit and publish, something that had a future. So she’d turned off the overhead lights, printed the manuscript, and taken her red pen to the pages with a furor she hadn’t had since her early days of editing. She’d built a name for herself in this career, and she wouldn’t give it up. If anyone was going to fix this book, it was her.
Technically, her work day ended strictly at 5 pm. She’d held hard and fast to that rule after her first few years ran her so ragged she ended up in the hospital. But she felt that she could bend her rule, just this once, to make this book the best it could be.. She only had a few chapters left, so how bad could it be?
The answer was, of course, horrible. The last few chapters were full of so much, well, everything it took her three times as long to go through. And when she’d finished reading the book, she’d pulled out her freewrite and wrote the author an essay explaining the things she loved, the things she hated, and several paths forward.
Moonlight streamed in between the cracks of the curtains pulled on the window behind her by the time she was finished. She plugged the freewrite into her computer and initiated the transfer process. The pages of handwritten notes had been given to an intern who had also agreed to stay late, and were being scanned in to be attached to her e-mail.
Finally, she checked her phone. As expected, most of the texts were from Cassian and Azriel. A slew of “where are you?” and “please come home” intermixed the messages supporting her decision and her career. She knew they loved her, and would be there no matter what time she got home, but she felt slightly bad that she would be at least four hours late getting home. She didn’t regret it though, not if this book was what she thought it could be. If the author listened to her edits, that is. But Nesta had a way with words herself, and she was certain this would play out well for everyone involved.
Amidst the texts from her boyfriends were a few messages from her sisters. They’d gotten much closer over the years but it was still odd to get messages from them asking where she was out of the blue. Elain had gone so far as to request access to her location. She’d granted it, but picked up the phone and called her sister.
When her sister picked up after one ring, Nesta didn’t let her get a word in. “Elain, is everything okay?”
Elain chucked on the other end. “I’m the one who should be asking you that, you were supposed to go home early today and your boys called Feyre and I to see if we’d heard from you. They’re worried, Nesta!”
Her shoulders sagged, and Nesta felt the adrenaline she hadn’t noticed building begin to dissipate from her body. “Gods, Elain you scared me. I thought something had happened to you or Feyre!”
“How many times do we have to tell you that we’re not your responsibility any more?” A hell of a lot more than the one or two you’ve said it before, Nesta thought to herself. Sure, Elain and Feyre had said those things, but after the years they’d depended on her without even knowing how much they’d demanded? She wasn’t sure she believed them. But they were trying, and things between the three of them were slowly healing. Elain cut off her train of thought with her response. “Besides, this isn’t about us, it’s about you. Your men are waiting for you!”
“And they’ll wait a little longer,” Nesta said as she checked the upload progress bar. It was about 70% completed, so she would be home soon, considering she’d already drafted the e-mail and attached the files the intern had scanned in. “Just because you don’t know where I am and what I’m doing doesn’t mean they don’t.”
She knew her words were harsh, but she couldn't help it. She’d just pulled a 12 hour work day, editing this book with no breaks to meet the deadline. Didn’t her sister understand she wanted to be home? Sometimes this job was demanding, and boundaries had to be flexible when due dates were coming up. The most frustrating thing was that she knew Cassian and Azriel understood, they were just nervous. But why? What were they planning for tonight that would cause them to call her still somewhat estranged sisters?
“Sorry, Elain.” Nesta practically sighed into the phone. “It’s been a long day. Thank you for trying to help them. I just finished these edits that are due by midnight and I’m headed home now. I’m going to go and call them so they know, okay?”
“Okay,” Elain said, her voice chipper in a way that was common for her but always uncomfortable for Nesta. No one was that naturally happy, except for her sister. “Thanks for calling, Nesta, even for a minute. Love you!”
“Love you too, Elain.” And Nesta meant it. The line went dead and she instantly called Azriel. He was always more reliable with his phone than Cassian.
Again, she didn’t wait for the person on the other line to speak before she did. “I’m so sorry. These edits were due by midnight, I was supposed to have my coeditor working with me, but, well, he’s a fucking idiot and I had to fix everything because this book is horrible but it really has potential if only the author would—”
“Nes,” Azriel’s voice cut her off, cool and calm as he always was. “It’s okay.”
Nesta worked to swallow back the tears that threatened to spill over. She was exhausted, and their acceptance was always overwhelming, especially when she felt like she let them down. “I’m still sorry.”
“I know you are, but it’s really okay. We just need to know when you’ll be home.” Nesta smiled when she heard another voice on the line “Is that her, is she on her way? Should I—” Cassian always sounded like an excited puppy when he missed her, and tonight was no different. What was different was Azriel cutting him off.
The line went silent for a moment before Azriel returned. “Sorry about that, love. He’s so annoying.”
“Hey!” Cassian called, disgruntled and now obviously yelling from another room.
Nesta smiled harder, her cheeks hurting from how much she loved them. It was rare, finding one man who understood you, let alone two. But maybe that was what she’d always needed. They loved each other as fiercely as they loved her, and it took some of the pressure away. It wasn’t all on her to make this thing between them work. If she needed space, she didn’t leave anyone truly alone unless they wanted to be. She had support and extra help when her body refused to cooperate and do basic human tasks.
She had them, and that was everything.
“Tell Cass I love him, and that I’ll be home soon. Just waiting for my freewrite to finish uploading before I can send off this email and leave.”
“Nesta says she loves you and I say to stop being so whiny. I’ve already put you in your place once today, don’t make me do it again.”
“Kinky,” she heard Cassian yell from a distance. Nesta laughed at his response, knowing exactly what they must have been up to while she worked late.
“Love you Nes, see you soon!”
She was still laughing when Az’s voice sounded over the line, darker than it had been a moment before. “So you only love him, Nes? Do I have to put you in your place too?”
Nesta rubbed her legs together, the anticipation filling her at the promise in Azriel’s words. She checked her computer, stuck at 95% uploaded for the past few minutes. There was time then, time to play. “What if I said I only love Cass? What would you do then?”
In her mind, Nesta imagined the way Azriel licked his lips. They loved this game, building the tension to a breaking point when neither of them could do anything about it. She expected him to play along, as he always did, but instead he said, “Just come home, Nesta. We still have plans for you.”
Nesta. He had full-named her. That never happened during a scene. It was a sure way for them to indicate that now wasn’t the time. The heat that had risen between her thighs banked, and Nesta’s stomach sank. She knew she’d done the right thing staying to finish the manuscript, and she knew she’d be taking time off to make up for working over her allotted hours, but it seemed that the plans her boys had were bigger than she anticipated. Guilt curdled the pleasure, sending her gut roiling with anxiety.
Finally, her computer chimed. The upload was complete. Still on the phone, Nesta attached the last file and sent off the email without rereading it for a twentieth time. “Okay. The email is sent. I’m coming home.” She paused for a moment, feeling something heavy in the air that hadn’t been there before. “I love you, Azriel. You know that, right?”
“I do. I love you so much. We both do. Come home to us.”
“Always,” Nesta said into the phone, feeling the emotions that had bubbled up when the call had started racing back to the surface. God, she felt like a mess. Angry, then sad, sentimental, followed somehow by horny, then sentimental again. Azriel hung up the phone, and Nesta scrambled out of her desk chair.
In record breaking time, she had her freewrite disconnected, computer turned off, papers filed, bag packed, and office door locked. Nesta raced down the stairs of her office building, the last one out of the office for the first time in a very long time. She didn’t miss this feeling of rushing home when everyone else was already with their families, but now she had someone worth rushing home to.
Thomas had never been that for her. In fact, when they’d been together, Nesta had always been the one to offer to stay late, working past the time her bosses advised to avoid seeing him. The realization of just how different it was hit her square in the chest, and she smiled even as she ran. Who would have thought that the seemingly gay couple she met on one of the worst days in her life, who just happened to be out at the restaurant she was assaulted in, would wind up being the best thing that ever happened to her.
She shaved five minutes off her commute home, which was another record. Throwing the car door open, Nesta paused in the driveway. Cassian and Azriel’s cars were pulled into the garage before her, nestled together and waiting for her, as their drivers were inside. She loved the domesticity of the scene, the surety that they were there for her.
Taking a moment, Nesta smoothed her loose-flowing trousers and button up blouse. They were professional, but comfortable and practical for sitting at a desk all day without the pressure of a band pushing distractingly into her stomach. She felt good, both physically and in her appearance, in these clothes. That had been another change.
The first time Nesta had allowed Cassian and Azriel to take her home after a date, following a long conversation about boundaries and where the hell they were going, they’d both commented on her clothes. Repeatedly they said how amazing she looked. But then they rubbed their fingers worryingly over the deep indentations in her sides, below her breasts.
“I don’t care how you look if this is what it does to you, Nes” Cassian had said, his brow furrowed as he took in the angry red lines.
“This looks barbaric,” Azriel said, running his fingers along the marks as well. “I don’t like it, Nes.”
“Oh, well I'm so glad you both have so many opinions about what I’m wearing.” She snarked back at them, fighting against any comments on the body she worked so hard to learn to love in a world that told her not to.
“It’s not that, you know it’s not that.” Azriel said, resting his chin on her shoulder as he pulled her back to his chest, resting his palm flat against her lower stomach. Cassian moved with them, pushing into her front.
“We love everything you wear. But we want you to love it too. If you wear this because you love it, I’ll never stop you. But if it’s uncomfortable, well, I’d love to help you find something that makes you feel as good as you look.”
There were no words after that. Nesta surged forward, pressing her lips to Cassian’s with feverish need. She’d given herself to them that night, and it had been everything she’d dreamed of and more after their many discussions.
Nesta smiled at the memory, knowing there was so much more of that care to come in her future. Smoothing a hand over her practical, comfortable, and still professional outfit, Nesta shouldered her bag a little higher and walked into the house.
For some reason, the lights were off. A soft flickering shone from around the living room, and her suspicions grew. Nesta hung her bag on its dedicated hook, sliding her shoes off into their cubby before she turned the corner of the foyer.
Their living room was lined in bookshelves. It’d been one of her requirements when they’d gone house shopping last year, floor to ceiling shelves along the whole wall. And now, those shelves were covered in the soft glimmer of candlelight. They were electric candles, so no fire hazard or chance they’d burn out before she got home. She’d probably have panicked if they were real, worried about the priceless collectors edition books they sat next to. Her men knew her too well, and would never let that happen.
Nesta’s gaze caught on the way the candlelight shimmered over the soft grey rug they’d chosen to sit before the fireplace. Sometimes the three of them would curl up together on it, basking in each other's quiet presence. In the middle of the rug, Cassian and Azriel knelt together, their hands bound between them and a small velvet box held out in Azriel’s hand. Cassian hit a button on his phone before putting it in his pocket and a song began to play over the speakers. It was the same song that had been playing in the restaurant the night they’d saved from Thomas. She was still adamant she hadn’t needed their help, but after reflecting she was forever grateful they stepped in.The first notes of “Unforgettable” slipped over her like her favorite silk robe.
Nesta let the emotion that had been welling up in her chest finally release, a soft sob slipping through her lips before she covered them with her hands. Slowly, Nesta stepped into the room, basking in the soft glow illuminating their home. That was when she noticed the photographs.
Propped against books, hung from the top of shelves, pinned to the wall were pictures of their life. Not the large moments, the weddings and obligatory celebratory photos at milestones. No, these were the little things. A picture of Nesta placing books on their shelves when they’d moved in, forehead furrowed in concentration as Azriel watched her with a fondness so soft it hurt.
Beside it was a photo of Nesta laughing with Nyx in her lap as Cassian and Azriel play wrestling on the floor of Feyre's house. That must have been sent to them by her sisters, because Nesta had never seen it before. She looked so happy—happy in a way she almost never was around her family.
The photos continued, on and on, depicting a life well lived, a life worth living. There was so much joy, an emotion that until very recently had been foreign to her.
“What do you say, Nes?” Cassian pulled her focus back to where her men knelt on the floor.
Before Nesta could tease him that he hadn’t asked a question, Azriel finished the thought. “Will you marry us?”
She knew how much work Azriel had been doing with their lawyer to figure out the logistics. There was no way legally for them to marry. But there were contracts they could sign, safeguards they could put in place on paper. The most important thing, though, was the promises they made to each other. She wanted this, wanted them, and wanted to share that with the world.
Again, she looked around at the pictures. There were so many of this life they’d build together. She couldn't help but linger on the picture centered over the mantle. It was simple, a selfie from the first date she’d agreed to go on with them.
“What do you say Nesta?” Azriel asked from the floor.
Cassian shifted beside him. She knew his knees still bothered him from his accident, and felt a slight pang of guilt that she’d gotten lost in the moment. But he grinned up at her, wide and warm, and everything melted away. “We would like a yes, if you’re willing.”
“Yes,” she said, the word a ragged thing pulled from her chest. “Absolutely yes.”
Cassian pulled the ring out of the open box, and she stepped forward, her hand out, to accept their offering.
The princess cut diamond shimmered in the candlelight, a small red and blue gem on either side of it. Her tears fell then, at the perfection of the silver band now settled forever around her finger.
“I love it,” she said, still gazing in awe at the ring. Enraptured, she heard them stand and step toward her before she felt their hands settle on her waist. She finally tore her gaze away from the ring. “I love you both, so much.”
“We love you, too, Nes.” Cassian said, before leaning forward and stealing a kiss.
“Always,” Azriel added before he claimed her lips as well.
“It’s perfect,” Nesta said, her chest so full. So much of her life had been full of different trials, moments she didn’t think she’d ever be proud of. But now? This? This was something she could never regret. She was so excited for what they’d built, and what was yet to come.