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loverssfevers · 2 months

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Just a Little Crush | Azriel x reader

Summary: Everyone secretly longs for Azriel, but Azriel only longs for her.

A/N: Look at me poppin out fics left and right. Ages ago, I saw a post somewhere about how basically every single person in the acotar universe has a huge crush on Azriel. And so this happened. It's a wholesome one! We got some bat boy banter and some fluff. I needed some innocent flirtation, what with all the smut and drama I've been posting lately lmao

Word count: 2138

Warnings: language, perhaps a bit of objectification, fluff

Everyone wanted Azriel. Adored him. Lusted for him.

It had been that way for as long as Cassian could remember. Windhaven, the Hewn City, then Velaris and finally all the other courts. Wherever the shadowsinger went, he managed to charm every being within sight. And the most annoying part of it all was that he didn't even seem to be trying.

He only ever appeared from the depths of his shadows and usually stuck to his corners, always silent and perhaps a touch broody. Cassian didn't know what exactly it was, but something about his brother drove people to throw secret glances over their shoulders and giggle into their wineglasses like bashful children. It drove heat to women's cheeks and had men succumb to a stutter with a glance so brief it barely deserved the name.

It was infuriating.

Cassian huffed as he noticed the glances thrown at the table he shared with his brothers—only that the vast majority of them were directed at neither him nor Rhys.

"Az, would you stop it?" Cassian snapped at his seemingly oblivious, shadow-wielding brother.

Azriel lifted his gaze from where it had rested on the edge of his glass, his thumb absent-mindedly wiping little drops of condensation off the rim.

He blinked slowly, studying the Lord of Bloodshed without saying a word, waiting for him to continue.

Cassian waved a hand through the air, vaguely gesturing at the plethora of crowded tables surrounding their booth at Rita's.

"Please just put these people out of their misery and pick one."

Azriel's eyes darted to the side for but a split-second before locking onto Cassian again, a confused crease now carved into the skin between his brows.

It was Rhys who spoke next, a low tone of amusement in his voice. "What are you going on about, Cassian?"

"They're all thirsting for this dumbass," Cassian said. "And he just sits there like the embodiment of innocence."

Azriel gave a soft snort, lifting his glass to his lips as Rhys barked a laugh.

"Aren't you mated as of late, brother? What do you care if Az gets some attention?"

"I've had to watch this since Windhaven," Cassian said. "Everywhere he goes, people trip over themselves when they see him, and he never uses it, never even seems to notice." Angling his body to fully face Azriel, he narrowed his eyes at the shadowsinger in question. "Why is that?"

A beat of silence, then Azriel spoke in a calm voice. "Are you asking me to take more lovers?"

Rhys smirked into his drink. "Didn't know you were that concerned with his sex life, Cass."

Cassian did his best not to pout as he turned his attention back to his drink. "It bugs me."

"Don't worry," Rhys sighed, slapping his palm on Cassian's back. "Back when we met, Feyre had a little crush on him too and thought I didn't notice. I'm sure Nesta will grow out of it. It's the shadows. The eyes. The broody little frown he carries around all the time. Pick a feature."

Azriel blinked. "What?"

"I'm just saying," Rhys lifted his hands in defence. "I get it."

Both Cassian and Azriel stared at the High Lord of the Night Court, both equally speechless until Cassian gave a quiet sigh and muttered something under his breath that sounded like "Not you too."

Rhys laughed. "But to soothe your worries, brother," he said and directed his words at Cassian. "As someone who shared a room with him at Windhaven, I can attest that you shouldn't worry too much about a shortage of lovers. Azriel’s doing fine."

"Azriel’s sitting right next to you," the shadowsinger in question said with a raised brow.

It was then that a new voice suddenly broke through the noise of the crowded pub, and all three Illyrians turned their heads to find a beautiful faerie with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her lips as she tracked her gaze down Azriel's face. A waterfall of white-blonde hair lay perfectly straight on her shoulders and from there flowed right down to her waist.

"Hello there," she said, the tip of a tongue shooting out to wet her lips before she continued. "I'm Lumina. Would you care to dance?"

Azriel opened his mouth to respond, but Cass beat him to it.

"He'd be overjoyed," he said, kicking Azriel's leg beneath the table when the shadowsinger glowered at him.

"Fantastic," the faerie spoke, tilting her head and offering a hand without ever taking her eyes off the spymaster.

Azriel gave her a polite smile, mixing a hint of an apology in there for good measure. "I apologise, but I was just about to leave."

Where he'd expected her smile to drop, it changed tones instead, and her eyelids seemed to grow a bit heavier.

"Would you like some company where you're going?"

"Thanks, but I'm picking up a friend." His smile never shrank, but as the pretty faerie gave a deep sigh and turned to rejoin her friends a few tables down, he finally shot Cassian a glare, who in return scoffed.

"Bloody liar."

Azriel couldn't fight the hint of a smirk that stole itself onto his face as he emptied the last of his drink and rose from his seat.

"You need to keep your nose out of other people's business, Cassian," Rhys reprimanded, eyes tracking Azriel's movements. "Now you drove him away."

Azriel waved a dismissive hand. "It takes more than Cass to drive me away."

Cassian lifted a brow. "Then why are you leaving?"

"Early training."

"I'm training with you, and you don't see me leaving at," Cassian checked the clock over the bar, "7:42! It's not even eight yet, Azriel. That's embarrassing. We practically just sat down."

Azriel patted his brother's shoulder as he left. "And if you'd go to bed at a reasonable time once in a while, perhaps you'd be winning for a change."

Rhys snorted, but Azriel left before Cassian had a chance respond.

Velaris lay cloaked in darkness, the nights much longer at this time of the year, and Azriel revelled in the starlight reflecting from the smooth surface of the Sidra. It hadn't begun to snow just yet, but he was convinced that the first frost of the year would come any day now.

Walking along the eastern riverside, he kept to the shadows of night as he'd been doing for centuries. Old habits die hard.

It was a ten-minute walk, eight if he took less-scenic backroads, eleven if the streets were crowded. Which, to his delight, they were not.

Passing brightly lit shops and laughing groups of faeries, Azriel headed straight north before turning into a narrow little street that connected the Sidra to the Rainbow. The cobblestones where shinier here—polished by hundreds of pairs of shoes taking this route to reach either one of the two most beautiful sights in Velaris on a daily basis.

He stopped at a bakery, a warm-golden glow shining through the windows and into the night. The shelves he could spot from here, the displays in the windows, were almost entirely empty. Closing time was approaching fast.

Warmth welcomed him as he opened the door to be greeted with the clear ring of a bell and the scent of freshly baked bread that never seemed to leave this place.

The faerie behind the counter looked up from the pages of a book she'd propped up against the register, and Azriel's heart gave an involuntary jolt when her lips twisted into a smile. It seemed it grew with each of his visits.

"Azriel," she said, her voice trickling down his spine like warm honey. "You're lucky, I was just about to close up for tonight."

Azriel gave a few nods, and suddenly he didn't know what to do with his hands. Where did he usually keep his hands?

He let them hang loose by his sides, and when that made him feel stupid, he interlocked them behind his back.

"I ... won't take long," he said.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "Take all the time you need. I'm afraid there isn't all that much left to choose from, though."

Her face took on an apologetic look and Azriel wanted to do anything to get rid of it. But how could he without explicitly telling her that it hadn't been the pastries that brought him here, anyway?

"I'm glad business is good."

She tilted her head and beheld him with a look he couldn't quite read, though the smile never left her lips. "Well, we have some very loyal customers."

Azriel cleared his throat and took his eyes off her for only long enough to scan the last remains of today's assortment. Two big loafs of bread, a faerie tart, and half a dozen donuts.

"I'll take it all."

Surprise coloured her features. “Oh, are you sure?”

“Ah, yeah. I’ll have Cassian polish off those donuts in no time.”

She smiled to herself as she moved to pack his order and Azriel never took his eyes off her as she did. Mother, he was smitten.

“You know…” she started after a few moments of silence, and Azriel thought he saw her look a little harder at her working hands, as though they required all her concentration. “Molly—you know Molly, right? She works here too. Blueish complexion, curly hair? Well, anyway, she seems to think you have a little crush on me and that’s why you keep buying our leftovers.”

Azriel kept his eyes on her, ignoring the heat crawling up the back of his neck. When her own eyes flickered up to meet his gaze, they carried a gentle look in them, a soft note of curiosity.

“Does she now?” Azriel asked, fighting an impending smile.

She hid a smile herself, carefully placing his baked goods in a brown paper bag. “Yeah, she’s really excited about it.”

“Can’t leave her hanging, then.”

Azriel’s fingers brushed hers as he took the bag from her, and it was only with the utmost willpower that he managed to suppress a shiver.

“Thank you,” he said, though he didn’t move from his spot by the counter. He didn’t want to leave just yet. “Are you closing up now?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said, grinning. “Now that we’re all out of stock.”

Azriel nodded, clearing his throat, eyes darting through the room before locking back on her. His palms grew clammy and a part of him cursed internally. His palms never grew clammy. He was the spymaster of this damn court, for Cauldron’s sake.

He swallowed before finally forming the words.

“Would you like me to walk you home?”

Her smile grew wide, revealing rows of pearly white teeth, and Azriel’s heart skipped a beat at the sight.

“Yeah,” she said. “That would be nice.”

Azriel had always loved Velaris, but somehow everything seemed a bit more beautiful now. Lights gleamed on the surface of the Sidra, starts twinkled above, and by his side walked the most beautiful faerie he’d ever laid eyes on.

She was laughing at something he’d said, and the sound rang through his very bones. All the while, his eyes tracked the way the skin by her eyes crinkled with joy, teeth gleaming in the light of a streetlamp.

Gods, she was breath-taking when she laughed.

“She was right, you know?” Azriel heard himself say quietly.

Y/N looked at him, the smile still edged into the corners of her lips. “Who?”

“Molly,” Azriel said, his own smile soft as they crossed one of the bridges spanning the Sidra. It was right at the centre of it that Y/N suddenly stepped into his path and his feet came to a halt.

She looked up at him with a glint in her eyes, her head tilted in that way that made her look like she was trying to figure out something about him that he hadn’t quite managed to figure out himself.

She smiled. “Really?”

Azriel’s eyes briefly darted down the length of the Sidra before he made himself meet her gaze again. “I don’t usually eat that many baked goods if I’m honest.”

She grinned openly at him now, and before Azriel knew it, he felt a gentle palm cupping the side of his face, a thumb running along his cheekbone.

“That’s really sweet,” she breathed. “And extremely fortunate.”

“Yeah?” Azriel’s voice was barely above a whisper, and right at that moment, she was his sole focus in the world. “Why’s that?”

“Well, because there’s nothing worse than an unrequited crush.”

When she pushed to the tips of her toes to meet his lips in a sweet kiss—a kiss framed by starlight and the gleaming surface of the Sidra—Azriel’s heart might have stopped all together.

A/N #2: I'll totally write a second part to this (and who am I trying to kid, of course it's gonna be smutty) hmu if you want to be tagged!

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