#rowaelin college au

[leiawritesstories]

I saw the below prompt and could easily imagine Aelin running a black market of printing services and I would love to see what kind of favors she’d take from a certain buzzard who is pressed for time.. especially if they’ve maybe been secretly pining after one another this whole time? 👀

Prompt: You’re the only one in our college dorm building that owns a printer so you run a black market of printing services for favors/money/food/etc. I don’t have time to walk twenty minutes across campus to the library, please help me.

Congrats on 500!

ANON DID YOU READ MY MIND????

Okay so.....this is actually real-life me at my college 🤣🤣🤣 I own a desktop printer so I don't have to use the campus printing service all the time and half the people in my building want to use it. Naturally I charge a fee--either money or food or coffee, i'm not picky lol. Anyway this is literally me in real life except for the secretly pining part bc i'm very very single and I adore this prompt, thank you so so much 😁

Here you go!!

Word count: 870

Warnings: maybe some swearing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Galathynius! Do me a solid?"

Aelin glanced over her shoulder to find Fenrys jogging after her, catching up to her before they made it to the dorm building they both lived in. "What do you want, Moonie?"

The blonde huffed a dramatic sigh. "First of all, stop calling me that, you know it doesn't fit my mature persona." Aelin snorted so hard she almost coughed. Fen just rolled his eyes. "Secondlyyyy," he groaned dramatically, "I need to print a paper. Lemme use your printer? Pretty pretty please?" He widened his big brown eyes irresistibly.

"Your sad puppy face isn't gonna get you free printing, Moonie," Aelin drawled. "A dollar a page, or $30 flat if it's more than 20 pages."

"Highway robbery!" he gasped.

She rolled her eyes. "It's the same price I've always charged and you know it."

"Ugh, fiiiiine," he grumbled. "Unless...how about I cover your coffee for the next week?"

"Hmm." She pretended to seriously think about it, knowing full well that she'd accept. Who was Aelin Galathynius to turn down free coffee, especially when she spent somewhere around 40 dollars a week on her precious caffeine. "All right, I accept. I'll text you my drink order, and I expect it delivered every morning as I leave for my first class."

Fen saluted her. "Yes ma'am!" he chirped.

She smacked his shoulder teasingly. "Cut the flourishing, drama queen." Fen flashed her a grin and jogged off towards his next class, while she swiped her student ID in the building's card reader and walked into the dorm. She, Elide, and Lysandra shared a triple room with an ensuite bathroom on the fourth floor, so she had to climb three flights of stairs to get to her room. As she opened her door, she noticed a sticky note stuck to the wood. It wasn't uncommon; people who wanted to buy her printing service often left notes stuck to her door. She gave the note a cursory glance.

HELP! Need to print 30 pages for 2pm class! -RW, #350

Aelin glanced at her phone. It was 1:15 pm, meaning whoever had left that note was probably pacing around their room in distress right about now. So of course, she decided to go pay Room 350 a little visit.

"Ah, shit!" yelped a male voice from inside the room when she knocked. There was a flurry of noise and stumbling, and a tall guy wearing a UTerr Hockey sweatshirt opened the door, his pale blonde hair a frazzled mess. "Um, hi?"

"Well hello there, Whitethorn," Aelin smirked, delighted to see the normally perfectly put-together Rowan Whitethorn, star defenseman of UTerr Hockey, all flustered over not having printed materials for class.

"Aelin, thank the fuckin' gods," Rowan gasped. "Did you get my note?"

"Mhmm," she hummed, intentionally vague.

"Ae," he groaned, his desperation showing, "can you print my articles? Please?"

"Got payment?"

"I--yeah, gimme a sec." He vanished into his room and banged around for another couple of minutes, rummaging through drawers and probably his closet as he tried to find cash. He reappeared with a sheepish, embarrassed blush staining his chiseled cheeks. "Uh..."

"No cash?" Aelin clicked her tongue softly. "Sorry, Ro. I don't take credit cards."

"Please," he begged, dropping right down to his knees in front of her. "Fuck it, Ae, I'm desperate! I'm fucked if I don't come to class prepared, the professor already thinks all athletes are dumb jocks who pass classes on daddy's money." He clasped his hands together and stared imploringly up at her, his deep green eyes wide and pleading.

A very naughty part of Aelin wanted to tell him all the sinful ways he could pay her for printing his articles. But because she was a mature woman, she kept that part of herself quiet.

"Well," she mused, "I suppose you could offer me a favor, but it better be worth thirty pages."

Rowan closed his eyes and tipped his head back, a soft groan slipping from his lips as he frantically tried to think up a worthy favor. That gods-damned little groan of his did bad, bad things to Aelin's naughty little inner voice.

Or maybe that was just her enormous little crush on him.

"Dinner." Rowan's voice broke through her traitorous wandering thoughts.

"What?"

"I'll buy you dinner," he repeated. "Anywhere you want, as much food as you want. I swear."

Aelin couldn't have stopped her response no matter how hard she tried. "Like a dinner date?"

Rowan's face flushed a surprisingly endearing shade of vibrant pink. "Um...yeah?"

A tiny, pleased smile curled the corners of Aelin's lips, blooming into a full-blown smile the longer she made him squirm. "Okay, I accept. It's a date." Without waiting for his response, she waltzed off.

When she returned to his room, his articles in hand, he was waiting by the door. He took the papers from her with a slow, relieved smile that made a dimple in his left cheek pop out.

"Thanks, Ae."

"Of course." She waved him off. "Better not be late, Ro."

"You too." Her brows furrowed in confusion, and he winked. "Our date, darlin'. Seven o'clock tomorrow. I'll pick you up."

Gods help her, she could not wait.

~~~

TAGS:

@live-the-fangirl-life

@superspiritfestival

@thegreyj

@wordsafterhours

@elentiyawhitethorn

@morganofthewildfire

@backtobl4ck

@rowanaelinn

@house-of-galathynius

@tomtenadia

@julemmaes

@swankii-art-teacher

@charlizeed

@booknerdproblems

@chronicchthonic14

@earthtolinds

@goddess-aelin

@sweet-but-stormy

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@llyncooljones

@silentquartz

#my writing #answered prompt #leia's 500 followers thing #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #rowan x aelin #rowaelin #rowaelin fanfic #college au #throne of glass fanfic

[charincharge]

I Don't Want To Wait, sixty-seven

rowaelin high school bff au masterlist

AN: WHOOPS, I disappeared for two years. (Legit the last chapter was posted in May 2022!). But I’m back and have written… a lot of the rest of this fic, so we’re just going to post weekly (or even twice weekly!) until we’re finished. And I hope you’re still out there, anyone, to enjoy it. Quick recap for a previously on IDWTW. Aelin and Rowan had sex! It was great. Then they walked in on Rhoe and her dance teacher Petrah having sex, which was NOT great. Aelin never wants to go back to dance again. We returned to school. Senior second semester is going great. Busy for Aelin, who is still trying to work her butt off re: APs and grades. Less busy for Rowan, who is already recruited to college for lacrosse. Aelin and Lys had a huge falling out, but have slowly rekindled their friendship now that Lys is sober and working on her shit. Elide and Manon came out! They’re running as homecoming queens! Dorian and Chaol haven’t DTRed and are taking a break. Last we left off, Aelin texted someone to help retrieve her lacrosse hoodie from the dance studio after hours. But who? Keep reading to find out. Also, I have been gone for so long that I have NO idea who is still in the fandom or reading Rowaelin fic. Please reblog to spread the word! Taglist doesn't seem to possible anymore, so please share! Love you all and missed you all. Comment, message, meme, gif, whatever. Let’s go, team.

Aelin watched with wide eyes as Lys lowered into a crouch and removed a bobby pin from her hair. When she’d texted her friend to help with her mission, she hadn’t realized that Lysandra was a bona-fide expert at breaking and entering. 

“It got boring in rehab,” Lys said with a small shrug, as if that explained her masterful lock-picking.

“Good to know,” Aelin said, chewing her thumb nervous and glancing over her shoulder at Rowan, who waited patiently in the jeep — aka, their getaway car. She didn’t think they’d actually need one, but this whole thing was such a thing, she figured it was probably safest to have a getaway car. What if the cops were called about the break-in, and they had to run? 

Aelin almost chuckled at the thought of Orynth’s elderly Police Chief trying to run after them, but it hadn’t stopped her from telling Lys to dress all in black and meet them at the dance studio at eight. Luckily, Rhoe was at the station overnight, so he couldn’t see their ridiculous antics. But, after all, this mission was serious. She tried to refocus on Lys, who was finagling with a pin in the lock, taking her sweet time. A rush of panic ran through Aelin. What if they got caught? What if this got put on her permanent record? What if they got arrested?

BZZZZ. Aelin’s phone vibrated in her hand, making her jump with surprise. 

“Gods,” she muttered under her breath, causing Lys to chuckle under her breath.

“Tell your buzzard not to worry, we’re almost there,” she said, twisting the pin again in a different direction. Aelin sighed at the reassurance. She knew that Rowan had to be feeling her nerves as well. Although maybe not quite as much. She wasn’t usually concerned about being a rule follower, but every step of the way had made her feel more and more stressed out. Which might have to do more with her overbearing boyfriend watching their every move than anything else. Couldn’t he just sit there and look cute and not worry? She looked at his text and shook her head. She should have known it’d be impossible. He was the biggest worry wart of them all.

Are you sure no one’s in the studio? It looks like the lights are on upstairs. Rowan texted from the front seat, his view of the studio probably better than theirs. But Aelin had spent too many years of her life at this studio. Despite her churning stomach, she knew they were fine.

Last class ended an hour ago. They always leave the lights on for the cleaning staff, but they get Fridays off, so they’re on until Saturday morning. It was part of my class schedule to turn the lights off. We’re good.

She looked over her shoulder after sending the text, and watched as Rowan threw a thumbs up in her direction. She couldn’t help but laugh at how silly he looked in his oversized black hoodie with the hood up. Despite completely disapproving of her decision, he showed up ready for the assignment at hand. 

“Tadaaa,” Lys sang out quietly as the lock clicked open, the door popping ajar. 

“Honestly, when I asked you to help me break into the dance studio, I figured we’d be throwing a rock into a window or something,” Aelin whispered, even though there was absolutely no reason to whisper at all. Aelin had timed it purposefully, so she wouldn’t have to run into … anyone. Okay, she really didn’t want to have to talk to Petrah. She’d avoided the studio (and Petrah) for so many weeks following the revelation that she’d been involved with her dad, and she had no intention of breaking that now. So, they’d had no choice but to break into the studio under the cover of darkness.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Lys said. “The door upstairs has a lock, too, right?” 

Aelin nodded. Annoyingly, there were three doors they had to break open — the building door, the door to the second floor, and then the dance studio entrance. Thank god Aelin had her locker key, so that wasn’t a worry.

“So, why are we doing this again?” Lys asked as they trudged up the long stairwell to the second floor. She tried not to flinch as the rubber-covered stairs squeaked beneath her shoes. “Not that I’m not happy to help,” she continued. “I just thought that you started dancing again and loved it?”

“Ugh,” Aelin groaned. “I did.” Aelin paused for a beat too long, causing Lys to flip her dark curls over her shoulder to get a better look at Aelin. 

“But?”

“It’s…complicated,” Aelin sighed as Lys crouched down in front of the second floor door.

“Well, this is going to take a minute,” Lys laughed. “Tell me.” Aelin was going to refute again when Lys’s voice changed, softer. “Unless you don’t want to…”

Aelin nearly smacked herself. She’d thought this would be a ridiculous, fun (and pretty low-stakes) way to hang out with Lys again, and here she was totally ruining it by keeping things to herself again.

“No, it’s not like that,” Aelin reassured her as she continued to work on the lock. “It’s just… horrifying.”

“Well now you can’t not tell me,” Lys snickered, but Aelin recognized the slight trepidation in her friend’s green eyes. Still nervous to push things. Aelin bit the bullet and let it out in a whoosh.

“Oh my GOD.” Lys’s nose crinkled, and she fell to her knees completely as her shoulders shook with laughter as Aelin told her story. “I mean, we all knew Rhoe fucked,” Lys cackled, causing Aelin to smack her friend’s knee. 

“EW! That is my dad,” she said, fake heaving.

“He’s a hot, hot firefighter daddy, though,” Lys said, her eyebrows wiggling.

“I swear to god I will vomit straight on you.”

Aelin tried to be serious, but Lysandra’s smile pushed them both over the edge into a fit of giggles. They laughed and laughed, releasing the tension that had been hovering around them like a thick blanket all night, officially removing all traces of formality. Unable to help herself, Aelin reached out for her friend’s hand, squeezing her fingers gently and was relieved as Lys squeezed back. They weren’t healed, per se, but they were healing, and that was the most that Aelin could really ask for right now.

Taking a breath and wiping the remnant tracks of tears from her cheeks, Lys pushed herself back up to her knees. “Second lock?”

“Speaking of my family…” Aelin started nervously, but forged on, curious. “How’s Aedion doing?” 

To her credit, Lys didn’t even lose pace as she unlocked the next door with ease.

“I know you want me to reply with something equally scandalous, but there’s nothing going on between me and Aedion,” Lys replied succinctly. “We’re friends.”

“Okay,” Aelin said, not completely convinced, but chose to respect her boundaries and believe her words. 

The pair fell into an awkward silence as they headed down the hall toward the studio door. Just one last lock to get through — and then she’d never have to return to this place. A part of her heart panged at that thought, that she’d be leaving Orynth and this studio behind and not really getting to say goodbye to it. But running into Petrah was NOT an option.

“Hey, isn’t this the studio?” Lys asked of a propped open door, a gentle music wafting from inside. Aelin’s stomach sank. Had someone stayed late tonight practicing? It was a plus that they wouldn’t have to break into yet another door, but she really didn’t want to risk running into anyone. “I thought you said it was closed.”

At the same time, the pair noticed the schedule on the door, showing the company’s new rehearsal schedule. Their rehearsals now went until nine on Friday night, meaning that Aelin had shown up in the middle of a packed studio, instead of an empty one. And one where Petrah would surely be. She contemplated turning right around, but Lys had already opened the door too far, leading them into the studio lobby where the company was on break, milling around and refilling their water bottles.

And at the front desk, Petrah’s eyes widened with surprise upon seeing her. “Aelin!”

She should have guessed breaking in had been too easy. Had the doors even been locked? She knew Lysandra had gotten through them too quickly! Grumbling, she stepped out of the shadow and into the lobby toward Petrah. She couldn’t run away anymore, so she had no choice but to say hello to the woman who she’d been studiously avoiding for weeks. And by the look on Petrah’s face, she knew it, too.

“I’ll go grab your jersey,” Lys whispered, leaving her to fend for herself. “See you downstairs!”

“Traitor,” Aelin mumbled under her breath as Lysandra all but ran into the locker room, excusing herself from the awkward conversation that surely lay ahead. She wanted to run, but her feet were stuck, watching Petrah approach nervously.

“Aelin,” she said again, taking a deep breath. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you….” But Aelin cut her off.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” she said, ready to slap her hands over her ears, lest Petrah talk about her dad in any less than completely formal way.

Petrah’s deep pink lips curled up on one side in amusement, but Aelin watched as she took another deep breath and shook off whatever she’d been about to say. Instead, she watched as her smile fell into a wistful expression. “We’ve missed seeing you around here,” Petrah said.

Aelin’s eyes shot to the open doorway of the studio where the company practiced, all jetes and pirouettes and well-supported port de bras. She had missed dancing. She really had just gotten back into it when she let it fall away. Petrah must have seen her expression because she smiled faintly and let her delicate hand fall to Aelin’s shoulder.

“You could join the class. Dance it out,” Petrah suggested.

Aelin couldn’t tear her eyes away from the dancers. She watched the emotion pour from them. That is what she needed. But as Lysandra held up her jersey and trailed down the stairs in the periphery of her vision, Aelin shook her head.

“I can’t tonight.”

“I understand that it might be strange to spend time with me after what you overheard…” Petrah trailed off as blood pooled in her cheeks, filling her usual pale complexion with a deep blush. “It was completely casual. It’s only happened a handful of times, and we both know it’s not serious. I’m not trying to replace your mother, or anything like that, it’s just… an occasional stress release, and oh my god, I am sorry I didn’t mean to say any of that.” Aelin cringed at the words. She wanted to stop Petrah, but the woman couldn’t be stopped even if she wanted to. “Please don’t give up dance because of this,” Petrah pleaded. “You have such a gift, Aelin, and I would be filled with regret for the rest of my life if I knew I was the cause of you walking away from it.”

Aelin took a breath, the comforting scent of chalk and worn leather infiltrating her senses and calming her down as she figured out what to reply to Petrah. Of course she wanted to dance still. It was undeniable, the way her body pulled her toward the studio, the way a sense of calm settled through her despite her initial discomfort upon seeing Petrah. She thought about her lack of free time and her constantly building stress as the semester went on and how badly she wished she could just dance it out. That release of emotion centered her, and she knew that she was feeling off kilter without it. Making time for dance had improved her life drastically — it'd kept her sane as the rest of her semester spiraled out of control — and she wanted it back. So, so badly.

She was on the verge of agreeing to join the practice when there was a crash and loud shriek from the studio. When the shriek morphed into a choked sob, a churning nausea overwhelmed Aelin. She watched as Petrah’s face morphed into one of horror as she sprinted into the studio. Sure enough, one of the dancers was on the floor, cradling her ankle, cheeks red and involuntary tears dripping down her skin, while another dancer attempted to help her stand. The girl hissed, crying out in pain and sat down again.

“Call an ambulance,” someone ordered, and suddenly there was a frenzy, a rush of dancers looking on in terror at the injury in front of them. Aelin stood with her back against the wall, not wanting to be in the way, slinking out of sight while so much was going on. It felt like a sign from the universe that Aelin shouldn’t even think about wasting her time with dancing. Like the gods warned her that she had way too much going on to even consider it.

With Petrah distracted, Aelin slipped out, trying to gain control of her waging feelings. She slid into the backseat next to Lys, her mind reeling and unable to get the image of the crying dancer out of her head. So caught up in her own thoughts, she didn’t even hear Rowan call out to her, until red and blue flashed behind them. He swung his head over her shoulder, his mouth agape in horror as he stared at his unusually quiet girlfriend.

“Ace, what did you do? Are those the cops?!”

Aelin shook her head, the horrible feeling of nausea persisting in her gut as Rowan drove away from the studio.

. . .

It had been days since Aelin had received a text from an unknown number, and she still hadn’t decided what she was going to do.

I thought you should know we’re holding an emergency dance company audition this Tuesday at 5pm. Please come, Aelin.

Aelin chewed her sandwich thoughtfully as she pulled up the text again. The audition was merely hours away, but she was still on the fence.

“You still haven’t made up your mind?” Lysandra asked, glancing at Aelin’s phone screen. Her former — maybe current — friend had started joining them at the lunch table in the last few days since their late night break in, continuing to heal and thaw what had broken between them.

“I keep telling her to pro con list,” Rowan said, letting his fingers trail across the back of her neck and kneading the tight muscles there with his strong grasp.

“Mmmm,” Aelin mumbled, leaning further into his touch. “Con. Time spent without you.”

“Pro, something to do while I’m at lacrosse practice,” he countered as his fingers massaged a particularly tender part of her neck. She angled her head so he could have better access, but he took it as an invitation to let his head drop to her bare skin and press his lips against it, causing her body to light up. As she leaned toward him with another light moan, Dorian slammed his tray down on the table with a loud thwack.

“Get a room or get outta here,” he complained, tossing a fry at the still-intertwined pair.

“Someone’s got their panties in a bunch,” Aelin laughed as she tossed the fry back at the offender.

“My panties are perfectly smooth, thank you very much,” Dorian quipped. “Some of us would just prefer not to bear witness to your foreplay.”

“Pro,” Rowan whispered into Aelin’s ear, his lips ghosting against the tickling skin there. “I really love watching you dance.”

“Pro,” Aelin whispered back. “Increased stamina, muscle strength, and flexibility.”

Aelin glanced up at Rowan, who was already staring back at her with a fiery intensity. Her eyes glanced down at his mouth, which was curled into a satisfied smirk. His throat bobbed with a slow swallow, surely thinking of all the way those fitness benefits could be put to good use. She leaned in slightly, her lips a hairs breadth away from his when another fry hit her cheek. Aelin whipped her head around, rubbing at the salty spot where the food had made contact with her face.

Dorian was the picture of innocence, eyes wide as he chewed his own fry.

“Con,” Lys interjected. “Increased horniness.”

“Literally didn’t think that was possible,” Dorian said with a snort. “So, what are we pro-conning?” he asked, popping another fry into his mouth.

“Orynth Dance Company is having an emergency audition after an injury, and Aelin was personally invited to try out,” Lysandra explained.

“But I don’t really have the time,” Aelin started. “It would require actual rehearsal time. Like, a lot of nights. Not just an hour long class. Plus, I’d have to see Petrah every day. And I have to knock this last semester’s grades out of the park if I want to even think about getting a scholarship anywhere, plus I have a million AP exams to study for coming up, and that’s not even considering keeping up with hospital volunteering and going to your games and having any kind of semblance of a social life and…” she trailed off, her stomach finally settling as she came to the conclusion she knew she was going to come to all along. “I can’t join the dance company.”

Rowan frowned and reached for her hand. “Are you sure, Ace?” His hand wrapped around hers in a comforting squeeze, and she knew he was asking seriously. “We could make it work. I could help you study, we could bring out your color-coded schedule again to make sure we could fit everything in.”

“I know,” Aelin sighed, squeezing back. “But, I’m sure.”

But as the afternoon ticked by, Aelin couldn’t ignore the swirling feeling of guilt trying to pull her under. She was so distracted by the approaching time that she completely zoned out through all of AP Lit, startling when the period ended and Dorian poked her side.

And as five PM approached closer and closer, she found herself growing more agitated and even snapping at Rowan at one point. It wasn’t his fault; he had to head off to lacrosse practice, but Aelin had found herself so worked up that she had thought maybe he’d want to help release some tension.

“I’ll come right over after practice,” Rowan promised as he twined his hands around her waist.

“But you’ll be all sweaty and gross,” Aelin replied with a frown.

“I thought you liked when I get sweaty,” he laughed, nuzzling his nose into her hair. Aelin sighed, knowing she was being petulant, but she couldn’t get out of her own head.

“Only when I’m the one doing it!”

She tried to push him away, but Rowan’s grasp on her was iron-clad, too tight for her to even think about prying him off her. “Ace,” he lowered his voice. “I would love nothing more than to skip practice and be with you, but you know this is the only thing I need to do this semester to keep my place at Wendlyn.”

“Because Wendlyn’s more important than me?”

“I think you need a snack,” Rowan laughed, but Aelin didn’t find that funny at all.

“Sorry my blood sugar problems are amusing to you,” she said, stiffening within his grasp. She felt Rowan sigh deeply and watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose and scrunched his brows up the way she loved so much.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “You know that’s not—”

“I know,” Aelin replied quickly. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

Rowan raised a single brow as if to tell her he knew exactly what had gotten into her, and so did she.

“It’s not even four yet,” Rowan said. “You could still go.”

But Aelin was nothing if not resolute. She’d made up her mind, and it was completely logical. And she was sticking to it. No, she’d head home and, yes, get a snack, and dig into her lit homework. Maybe Dorian would be willing to give her his notes from the class, seeing as she couldn’t remember a single thing that was discussed earlier.

She forced a smile and shrugged her shoulders back. “Nope, you were right. I need a snack. I’ll head to Maeve’s and see what she’s got for me.”

Rowan grimaced. “She closed for the afternoon, actually, while they put in a new stove, but she should be reopened by the time I’m out of practice.” Aelin shivered as Rowan let his fingers trail in small circles up and down her back. “Why don’t I stop there on my way to your place after practice? Cheeseburger and brownies?”

“And then orgasms?” Aelin asked, causing a loud snort to erupt from Rowan.

“You want to have sex after cheeseburger and brownies? That feels dangerous.”

“Well, we could have sex first, but reheated cheeseburgers are pretty garbage,” Aelin replied, loving the soft smile that appeared on Rowan’s face. It was the one solely reserved for her. When she was being particularly ridiculous or annoying, it was like he couldn’t help but love her more, and the small curve of his lips let her know that.

“You’re right. Cheeseburgers first,” he paused. “Then sex, then brownies?”

“Deal,” Aelin said as she reached her hand out to shake his. But he instead grasped it in his and brought it to his mouth, kissing her knuckles lightly.

“I love you,” he said.

And though Aelin wanted to roll her eyes, she took a moment to relish the fact that her best friend in the whole world loved her. And would do anything to make her smile. In fact, he’d succeeded in getting her too distracted to think about the auditions and…

As soon as she thought about them, her smile faded again.

“Just go,” he whispered, but Aelin shook her head.

“Have a good practice. See you in a few hours.”

She kissed him and sent him off, hoping to pour herself into her studies. But even with her book open, Aelin digested none of what she was reading. She kept looking at the clock, distracted. Even as it passed five pm, knowing that she was missing the auditions, she still couldn’t focus. And her mood started to plummet.

It plummeted even further as she received a text from Rowan saying that their coach needed him to stay behind for a bit after practice and that he’d be later than anticipated.

She tried to read more, and when that didn’t work, she attempted to do some math equations, but she couldn’t get her brain to work. She knew what she needed. And it was to dance it out. Despite everything, that was still her best coping mechanism. When a second text from Rowan came in, apologizing for being even later, Aelin had had enough. She couldn’t just sit here and wallow. Instead, she wrote a note for whoever would get home first – her dad, Lorcan, or Rowan — and began walking.

She didn’t even know where she was walking until she ended up at the dance studio. It was unlocked, but empty. She couldn’t remember if there had been an end time to the auditions, but it seemed completely deserted. No one was sitting at the front desk, and the lights were eerily dim. This is what she’d expected to walk into last week when she’d stolen back her lacrosse hoodie, and she was even more annoyed about it somehow.

Instead of focusing on that, though, she went straight for the first open studio and turned the lights on. The fluorescent bulbs overhead flickered on, illuminating the wooden floors beneath with a warm yellow glow. She toed her sneakers off and padded barefoot to the corner of the studio where the massive (and ancient) stereo system was stored. She pulled her phone out and connected it, pulling up one of the old playlists Rowan had made for her and closed her eyes, letting the music wash over her. Her feet took off, working in sync with the rhythm reverberating through the bare floor. Next, her arms spread, stretching out and shaking off the stress of the last few weeks.

For the first time, she really let herself feel it. The worrying and wondering what the future would hold. She knew Rowan was destined for Wendlyn, but she had no idea what she would do if she didn’t get in, too. He’d assured her that they’d stay together and figure it out, but who really stays with their high school boyfriend? She knew they weren’t like everyone else – they were special – but it didn’t stop her from thinking about it and wondering. When it came down to it, that’s why she really couldn’t bring herself to audition today. She couldn’t risk spending less time with Rowan, not if this was the last few weeks of their relationship.

Whoa. Where did that thought come from?

She ignored the small tear that pooled in the corner of her eye, letting it drip down her cheek as she spun in time with the music. How could she doubt her and Rowan’s relationship after all this time? She knew in her soul that they were destined to be together. She couldn’t imagine a world where she didn’t wake up and see him every day. But there had been a small slice of fear since they first kissed, and it had ebbed and flowed with each passing day until it was now a gaping chasm in the pit of her stomach. The idea that she could end up elsewhere without Rowan was a real, actual problem. And the timeframe was closing in on them. What if this was the end of them? How would she ever recover?

Her hands reached overhead and then she let her body collapse to the floor in a graceful fall, letting go over the overwhelming sensations of fear that had been swirling and threatening to paralyze her. She arched her back and her neck released, the tension that Rowan had tried to knead attempting to relax and letting gravity pull her down, down, down.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Rowan. She did. More than anything. She just didn’t trust this world. She didn’t trust that everything would work out the way it was supposed to. I mean, just look at her dad. He’d thought he’d found the love of his life, and she walked away like it was nothing. Walked away from Aelin.

She didn’t want to cling to Rowan, to be the girl who changed her whole life just to be with a guy. She wasn’t that person. No. She was Aelin fucking Galathynius, and she could live life fully on her own. But she wanted to be with Rowan. Wanted the whole package. Saw their life together. And wanted more than anything for it to become a reality. But what if that future disappeared? What if it was cut short? What if they drifted apart. What if they tried to do long distance? Last summer while he was at camp was only two months and it was pure torture. It caused a rift so big between them that she wasn’t sure they’d overcome it. And yes, of course they did. But… to do it again? And for four years?

Her emotions threatened to choke her as she continued to dance out her frustrations, stomping and spinning and leaping, hoping against all hopes that the answers to her anxieties would appear if she could only dance long enough. She left every feeling, every worry, every gnawing anxiety on the dance floor, letting it tumble out through her moving limbs.

She didn’t know how long she’d been dancing when she opened her eyes again and refocused at herself in the mirror. She didn’t recognize the girl she saw there. She may not have come up with any answers, but she felt better. Raw, red eyed, red cheeked, and breathing hard, Aelin felt totally exposed. Which is why she nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice cut through the silence, over her harsh exhale.

“Practice starts next week.”

The director of the company stood in the darkened doorway of the studio, arms crossed and lips pursed in thoughtful approval.

“Oh, I wasn’t—”

“I know you weren’t,” she said with a formal smile. “But we’d still love to have you. If you want.”

It wasn’t necessarily the answer she had hoped to reach, but something about this moment felt like the universe trying to reassure her. That things do work out the way they’re supposed to.

“Yeah?” she asked, feeling somewhat hopeful.

“Yes.”

“Okay,” she said.

A wide smile crossed the director’s face. “Welcome to the Orynth Dance Company,” she congratulated her.

Aelin didn’t know what had overcome her, but she couldn’t help but run over to her and throw her sweaty arms around her neck in a giant hug.

“Thank you.”

Right on cue, Aelin’s phone buzzed with another incoming text.

Cheeseburgers en route. See you soon. Xx

. . .

As anticipated, the cheeseburgers were exactly what Aelin needed to rejuvenate herself, but Rowan was totally right that there was no way to be sexy after housing a half pound of meat and cheese.

“I’m so stuffed,” she said, patting her extremely full stomach.

Rowan snorted. “Why don’t we take a post-dinner break and watch something?”

“Only if it’s Housewives!” Lorcan shouted from the kitchen where he was cooking dinner for him and Rhoe, who were properly affronted that Rowan hadn’t brought them cheeseburgers, as well.

Aelin sighed and chuckled softly as she let herself slump over onto Rowan, who was already pulling up Housewives onto the television.

“You are such an enabler,” Aelin laughed.

“It’s easier than dealing with him being pouty,” Rowan smartly replied.

Aelin was about to agree when they were interrupted by an unusual ring tone.

“I’m sorry,” Rowan said, sitting up suddenly. “Is that your… home phone?”

Aelin genuinely couldn’t remember the last time that had rung. Usually she and her dad were both contacted on their cells. They really just had a home line because it was part of their internet package. She couldn’t even remember who had that number.

“Uh, phone’s for you Aelin?” Lorcan shouted from the kitchen.

Even weirder?

“Who the hell would be calling this late on a Tuesday?” Aelin whispered. Rowan’s brow lifted.

“Why don’t you go see?”

Curious, Aelin pried herself off the couch and headed to the kitchen where Lorcan was standing with a spatula in one hand and the phone in the other.

“Who is it?” she whispered.

Lorcan shrugged, simply shoving the phone forward. Helpful.

Aelin cradled the phone against her ear and took a deep breath. “Hello?”

“Hello!” A deep voice rang out over the phone. “Is this Miss Aelin Galathynius?”

“Um,” she cleared her throat. “Yes?”

“Excellent!” the voice boomed, causing her to pull the phone away from her ear slightly. “My name is Xavier Forul, and I’m a local alum of Wendlyn University. I’d love to have you in for an interview some time in the near future. Whenever you’re available! I know you’re a busy senior with a lot on her plate.”

Aelin’s heart took off, beating faster as his words unfolded.

“Interview?”

“Yes,” he continued. “It’s my favorite part of the process. As a former Wendlyn man myself, I get to sit down and speak with young promising applicants to see what their goals and ambitions might be and how they might become part of the Wendlyn world.”

Aelin glanced at the silver-headed mop peeking out above the couch and exhaled slowly. This was it. The universe reassuring her. She felt it with every fiber of her being. She could dance, she could nail her classes this semester, and she’d get into Wendlyn and be with Rowan.

“Wow, thank you so much for reaching out,” Aelin began, her autopilot pilot voice taking over. “I’d love to meet with you.”

As Xavier explained the details of the interview, Aelin’s hope buoyed. She’d been waiting for a sign from the universe, something to tell her that she and Rowan were going to work out and be fine. If a personalized phone call on a landline that hadn’t rung in more months than she could count, inviting her into the home of a University alum wasn’t a sign, she didn’t know what was. And Aelin began to hope for the first time that everything was going to actually work out.

~*~

#idwtw #idwtw au #rowaelin #rowaelin fan fic #rowaelin fic #tog fanfic #throne of glass #rowan x aelin #she's backkkk #i stg i'm finishing this fic #no fic left unfinished

[mariaofdoranelle]

Daydreaming About You

Rowaelin Month masterlist

@rowaelinscourt

Some of you may know this as the Teacher AU, the first fic I ever wrote! This story has a soft spot in my heart, but not its writing 🤣🤣 so I got tired of complaining and rewrote it. I still feel like something’s off HAHAHAHAH but the rewrite got worth sharing.

Warnings: mature talk, but SFW

Words: 1,6k

Rowan’s ass looked absolutely delicious today.

This classroom had a privileged view of one of the fields he used to teach his P.E. classes, and as the class’ monarch for the next forty minutes or so, Aelin decided to give her students an activity in pairs and subtly enjoy the sight.

His eyes were hidden by the cap, but she knew he was watching the students play like a hawk. The best part was when he ran along with them. His legs, as big as tree trunks, deserved all the appreciation Aelin gave them, and she couldn’t even begin to describe the sinful way his uniform’s trunks hugged his ass. His sweat was beginning to make Rowan’s shirt cling to his torso, defining his big, rock-hard muscles—

A throat-clearing made her jump on her seat, not expecting any student to seek her so soon.

“Sorry to interrupt, Miss G.” Evangeline’s smirk was way too wide for Aelin’s liking.

Feigning neutrality, she took the paper from the girl’s hand. “You finished that soon?”

“Yeah, yeah.” The girl waved her off. “Is it true that Mr. Whitethorn and Mr. Salvaterre are exes?”

“What? That’s ridicu—“ Aelin stopped mid-sentence, squinting her eyes at her student. “You know I shouldn’t talk about his personal life like this, Evangeline.”

She focused on another student who just got there, standing beside his classmate. Luca was looking out the window with wide eyes, his mouth ajar before he said, “When I grow up, I want to be just like Mr. Whitethorn.”

Aelin smiled, always pleased to see how much her students admired him, when she asked, “Reliable and efficient?”

”No. Jacked.”

Her mouth opened, then she snapped it shut, too afraid of voicing the things inside her head.

Aelin didn’t like to show to the students that her and Rowan were friends, let alone that she had a massive crush on him. Still, they caught up on it. Those little terrors always did.

It was no secret that Aelin and Rowan were best friends. Or that there were speculations about them. Some students even called them Rowaelin, for Mala’s sake. Rowan never expressed his opinion on the matter, and Aelin was secretly pleased people could see herself with him that easily, even though that kind of attention wasn’t appreciated.

The limits of what’s accepted inside a workplace gets far more flexible when it’s filled with teenagers, hence why some intriguing things tend to happen from time to time. For example, when they were the talk of the week because some students spread a picture of Rowan making poorly-interpreted heart eyes at her.

Truth was, Aelin’s love life would be a lot easier if Rowan was half as interested in her as people in this school suggested.

After the last class, she found Rowan and Fenrys, a math teacher, talking near the garage.

“Hey!” Fenrys greeted with his trademark grin on. “The Vaults tonight? I need a wingman.”

“You never really need a wingman.” Aelin wrinkled her nose. “And I have a bunch of papers to grade tonight.”

“But we had so much fun last time.” Fenrys leaned against the wall, arms crossed and a teasing gleam in his eye. “What about the guy from last week?”

“What guy from last week?” Rowan cut in, frowning with a strained expression.

"No one," she dismissed him before asking Fenrys about some school gossip. Guy From Last Week didn't get further than texting, and she wasn't in the mood to put up with Rowan's protectiveness over her love life.

Dating was easy until sophomore year of college. More precisely, until The Great Gatsbeer Party, when Aelin offered herself in a platter for him and was brutally turned down. But conversation kept going, and he soon became her best friend and favorite person.

She had been in love with him for years, so what? Aelin adapted, like she always did.

Rowan and Aelin were side by side, walking towards his car in the boisterous garage, loud with the chatter of students and parents who parked to get the little ones.

"I didn't know there was a guy from last week."

Aelin gave him a pointed look. "There was a guy from last week. We texted a little, he told me Taylor Swift is overrated, I ghosted."

"Okay.'" He darted a quick glance her way. "Sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

She snorted, finding some sort of amusement in Rowan's unease. "Yes, you did."

"Wanna grade papers together, then?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Sure. And Mario Kart when we're done."

Aelin wasn't the biggest Mario Kart fan, but it became their thing over time. She was competitive enough to get a thrill when she's playing, and Rowan liked it a lot.

~~

Rowan absolutely hated Mario Kart.

He wasn't as into video games as Aelin, but he loved to watch it when she shouted in front of the screen or threatened to end his bloodline when she's losing.

She's such a sore loser, his Fireheart.

A loud moan coming from the kitchen interrupted his thoughts.

“I love you."

Rowan closed his eyes, trying to calm down his boiling blood. He could deal with the love declaration, but not the moaning.

"Aelin, stop flirting with the cake," he shouted, making sure she'd hear him from the other room.

They'd decided she'd grab something to eat while he got the video game ready, and now Rowan was just waiting for her.

He wandered around her living room, analyzing her decoration for the millionth time, but only stopped when he got to his favorite piece.

A framed pamphlet of the party they met, his housewarming gift to her a few years back. Reminiscing about that life-altering day always brought a smile to his face.

“Aelin Galathynius. Hi.” She was swaying, but found her balance again by supporting herself against the wall. Aelin’s expression was earnest when she said, “I find we’re equally hot, and now I’m yearning to sing the passionate chant of the sacred nuptial rite with you.” Rowan was stunned silent, but she still extended a hand to him before announcing, “And I’d be honored to caress your one-eyed trouser snake.”

Rowan shaked his head, chuckling at Aelin's antics in college.

In his darkest moments, Rowan cursed himself for not making any kind of romantic advance, since he did nothing but talk to her and make sure she didn't do something she'd regret the next day. But at the same time, at least he didn't become one of the many men she got bored of after a few weeks and discarded.

She was so picky with the people she got romantically involved with, letting them go for the smallest reasons such as playing Mario Kart with Waluigi, Rowan probably ruined his chances with her at least twice a day.

He sighed, leaving her bookcase to sit back on the couch. There would be no getting over her with his daily dose of Aelin's tight skirts and sweet smiles, and Rowan was too weak to keep enough distance to not be in love with her.

If Aelin wasn't interested in him sober, he had no choice but to pine after her for the rest of his life.

His attention drifted to her coffee table, noticing her kindle didn't have its case on. Again. Typical Aelin. He grabbed the case to put it back on the device—

Rowan froze when he read the book cover.

Friends with Kinky Benefits.

With an increased pulse, he looked around to make sure Aelin wasn't close and turned the kindle on, curious.

It seemed to be just a story about a girl longing to find the dom of her dreams, who ends up having sex with her guy best friend—and lots of toys—over and over again, for almost 200 pages.

Holy rutting Mala, is this what she gets off on?

Rowan skimmed through the book, electrified with a newfound line of thought.

Is this something she daydreams about? Aelin could ask him if that's the case, no need to be shy. Rowan's feelings for her were deep and romantic, yes, but he was still a man. Even when taking a purely physical step with Aelin would inevitably break his heart

"Buzzard..."

He jerked towards her, barely breathing with the awareness that he was caugh red-handed snooping in her kindle. But Aelin looked stiff, her eyes darting between him and the kindle. "What're you doing?"

Rowan relaxed a little realizing a moment later that in Aelin's head, she's in a worse position than he is.

He smirked. "I always knew your books are steamy, but I never expected them to be so kinky too."

Those words were enough to make Aelin regain her movements, and she flung herself towards him. "Give me that!"

Rowan wasn't quite sure what made her so flustered, but he flailed his arm around, preventing him from getting the kindle back.

"But I was just beginning to understand how a cock cage works!" he mock-complained.

“Fuck you!”

With that, Aelin jumped at him on the couch while Rowan tried to hide the kindle behind him. To get the thing from behind his back, she pulled his hair and that's when time slowed down.

Aelin was straddling his thighs on the couch. One hand connected with his, both holding the kindle, and the other roughly grabbing a fistful of his hair.

Rowan's heartbeat became erratic, and Aelin didn't look much better. Her lips were parted, her skin flushed. She blinked, her eyes searching for him as he desperately looked for any cue in her. A hint, a green light, an invitation.

He leaned in, giving her time to recoil. She didn't.

A tiny bead of sweat broke from her temple, running down her jaw and throat in a path Rowan longed to trace with his tongue.

He stroked her cheek with his thumb, another hint of his next step before he—

The crickets of Aelin's ringtone shattered their moment, and seeing who the caller was made Rowan's muscles tense.

He was going to kill Fenrys.

A/N: @leiawritesstories and I are probably the only people who care about this fic so far, so I sneaked an inside joke ours in there. So this A/N is a little nod to Leia. iykyk. Ily Leia.

You can get notified when I update by either turning notifications on for @backtobl4ck-fics or entering my (sometimes glitchy) tag list!!

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#rowaelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin ashryver galathynius #throne of glass #rowaelin fanfiction #rowan x aelin #aelin x rowan #rowaelin fanfic #throne of glass fanfic #rowaelin month

[live-the-fangirl-life]

Study Specs

Aelin Galathynius x Rowan Whitethorn

Aelin may have finally found her weakness, not that she’d admit to having one in the first place. She was not prepared for what seeing Rowan in a pair of glasses would do to her.

Written for Rowaelin Month 2022 Day 6: College/University AU

Masterlist | Read on Ao3 | Rowaelin Month

Warnings:

1185 words

*******

The quiet chatter filling the library’s lower floor was muffled by the closed door at the end of the study room. Time blurred, with only the clock perched above the whiteboard proving any had passed at all, but even the soft tick tick tick of each discarded minute went unnoticed by Aelin.

“Based on that, the answer would be…?

Rowan’s voice pulled her attention back to the present, and only then did she realize he was waiting for an answer. He eyed her expectantly, his silence urging her to finish the sentence.

“Uh, hmm?” She so eloquently replied, fighting back a wince. “What was that? Could you say it again?”

Rowan’s brows furrowed as he shot her a strange look but did as she asked and repeated his question.

The two of them had been going over material for the next exam for nearly an hour, and Aelin could count on one hand the number of things she’d retained. She could tell that his patience was waning having to repeat himself again, but he was in absolutely no position to judge her inattentiveness, not when it was entirely his doing.

And Rowan – well, Rowan was acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He had the audacity to act like everything was normal.

Everything was not normal.

It was so far from normal; so distractingly, ridiculously, astronomically far from normal. She was not being overdramatic.

Aelin felt like her brain was short-circuiting, so she couldn’t exactly be blamed for her lapse in logical judgment.

“So, you see, the equation comes to – are you even listening to me?”

“Huh?” Aelin blinked, pulling the end of her pen out of her mouth; she hadn’t even noticed she’d been chewing on it. Willing herself to regain some speck of composure, she shot him a sheepish grin. No, she absolutely was not listening. “Sorry.”

No one in their right mind would expect her to be paying attention, let alone trying to comprehend some inane theory of physics. Not when Rowan was sitting across from her wearing those…those things. Those Gods. Damned. Glasses.

The just-slightly oversized, wire-framed glasses that would forever be seared into her brain, haunting her dreams and invading her fantasies. They shouldn’t look that good. He, physically, shouldn’t be able to be that attractive.

But it wasn’t just the glasses. She could’ve handled just the glasses. Probably. Maybe.

It was the glasses along with everything else about him that made her TA too distracting for his own good.

It was the casual button-up he wore with the top two undone so that his undershirt peaked through. It was the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbow putting his tanned forearms obscenely on display. It was the intricate black ink that coursed up one arm and disappeared beneath his cuff.

It was the pages of notes he had laid on the table between them, all scrawled in his swift, legible handwriting; each page efficiently organized, color-coded, and sorted accordingly. It was the way that each time he uncapped and swiped one of his highlighters across the page, the muscles in his arm flexed and greedily stole her attention away from the words he’d been focused on.

It was the way he awarded her an approving nod whenever she understood a point he made, and the flashes of straight, white teeth she received when she answered a problem correctly. It was the rare chuckle he would loose and even rarer full-body laugh that pulled a wide grin across his face whenever she managed to steer the conversation away from the studying at hand.

All of that she could handle – had handled.

But today he had the nerve to decimate her fraying self-control when he strolled into their designated study room wearing that pair of thin-rimmed glasses that managed to accentuate the green of his eyes and perfectly frame his face.

She was going to fail this class.

And it would all be his fault. All his handsome, distracting, stupid fault.  

The nonexistent tick tick tick continued to filter through the room, and she had no idea where the rest of their conversation, or the time, went.

“Good work today,” Rowan told her as he began packing up his things. “I think you’ll do just fine on the next exam.”

Aelin blinked and shook herself. Was that their time already? She felt a pang of disappointment but covered it up with a faint grin.

“Thanks, Whitethorn.” She stood from the table and chuckled, adding, “I’ll write you a twenty-page literary analysis in a flash, but shove a couple of physics theorems in front of me, and it's all a mess. Without you, I probably would’ve had to retake this class.”

Might, still, if those glasses had any say in the matter.

Aelin paused at the door, leaning her back against the frame as Rowan finished packing his bag and stepped closer. Neither of them said anything for a long moment and Aelin almost thought she imagined the look that flashed across his face if the air between hadn’t been so thick with tension she could’ve cut it with a knife. She continued to hold his gaze as he took a single step closer, arching her brow as she waited for him to say something. When he finally did, it wasn’t what she was expecting.

“Would’ve been a shame having to retake it.” His eyes searched her face, and she might have missed the way his gaze dropped to her lips if she’d have blinked. “Would’ve given me a reason to keep tutoring you, though.”

Momentarily stunned by his closeness, Aelin inhaled sharply. That was the most forward he’d been all semester, their lingering glances and not-so-accidental touches, aside. Then, without giving him time to second guess his words, she smiled.

“You know, I think I understand it,” she held his gaze, “but one more session wouldn’t hurt. Why should I settle for ‘just fine’ when I could ace that thing?”

It was his turn to smirk. “If you want to ace it, we might need to schedule a few more sessions.”

She hummed and narrowed her eyes, pursing her lips to hold in a sly grin. She was taking a chance here and hoping her next words wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass. “I’ll let that insult slide,” he huffed a laugh, “if you promise to leave the glasses behind. They’re interfering with my learning.”

Rowan's smirk widened as he cocked his head to the side and arched a brow. “Why would I do that if wearing them earns me more time with you?”

She couldn’t help the way her lips curled into a smirk to match his.

A week later, as Aelin sauntered into the exam hall, she had to hide her grin when she was met with Rowan’s slack jaw. She tapped the large, black-rimmed glasses balanced on her nose nonchalantly and flashed him a wink.

She scored an A on the exam.

And as soon as the semester ended and Rowan wasn’t her TA any longer, she scored a date, too.

*****

Taglist:

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#rowaelin #aelin x rowan #rowan x aelin #aelin #Rowan #aelin galythinius #rowan whitethorn #aelin and rowan #rowan and aelin #rowaelin fic #aelin galathynius x rowan whitethorn #rowaelin au #rowaelin oneshot #rowaelinmonth #rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelinmonth2022 #throne of glass #tog

[morganofthewildfire]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laundry Thief

Rowaelin Month Day 5: College/University au

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so I wrote another au for this day hahahaha, i think it's technically my third....oops

it's a little silly, but it's fun haha

~1.8k words

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While living in a dorm room in college, you come in with the knowledge that you have to set aside certain expectations. Aelin knew that. She’d been prepared to share a bathroom with forty other girls. She’d been prepared to be shoved into thirty square feet of living space. She’d been prepared for the noise coming from the hallway at 2 am as everyone got back from partying. But what she hadn’t been prepared for was the laundry room.

It was a disaster of a place; about ten washers and ten dryers for the entire building, which was four halls of guys and eight halls of girls, approximately five hundred people at least. It was nowhere near enough machines to properly handle the capacity, and yet, no administration seemed to care.

And no one wanted to do their laundry on Monday, when the week was starting. Nor Tuesday, when everyone was scrambling, finally realizing that the week was starting. Nor Wednesday, when everyone was congratulating themselves for making it halfway. Nor Thursday, when everyone was in the study room with piles of homework. Nor Friday or Saturday, which had been designated the party days by whoever invented the work week. Which left - Sunday.

Knowing that, Aelin could admit that she could’ve been better prepared. Especially because she wasn’t a partier and had been home all weekend. But she’d been busy studying for her chemistry exam, and therefore didn’t think about laundry until it was too late. So with a heavy sigh, she gathered up her laundry basket and detergent and roll of quarters, and headed downstairs.

She could tell right away that she was in for a storm as she exited the stairwell, the loud sounds of every single machine running piercing her ears. But she kept her chin up and headed into the room, hoping that maybe she’d missed one. Nope, she’d been right originally. Every single one was taken, and worse still, there was a boy entering the room at the same time as her, his own laundry bag in hand. 

Great, now she’d be fighting for a machine. 

They sat in silence as they waited for a load to be done. Although, they really also had to wait for a dryer to open up, and for that person to come get their clothes, and the person whose clothes were in the washer to get their clothes and move them to the dryer, and ugh - it was a whole saga. Some people were inconsiderate to dump wet clothes onto the top of a washer and just commandeer it immediately, but she didn’t want to be that person.

And neither did the boy apparently, as he didn’t make a move when one of the washers beeped, the cycle slowing to a stop.

So the silence continued. And she shifted a bit uncomfortably, picking at her bag of laundry detergent pods as she waited. And waited. And waited. Someone came along to take their clothes out of a dryer, but still, the washer stayed occupied.

So she waited some more.

Out of the corner of her eye she peered at the boy next to her, trying to get a read on him. He had really pale, almost silvery hair, and dark green eyes. He looked vaguely familiar, but she didn’t know where from. It was a shame he was so irritating, he was hot. 

But she would never admit that, not now, in this glorious fight for laundry. 

The silence continued until her salvation came in the form of a gangly kid with glasses far too big for his face, walking over to the washer and piling his clothes in his neon green laundry basket, maneuvering around the row of machines to make his way to the single free dryer. 

Her heart racing, she glanced over at the boy sitting in the room with her, to find those green eyes already on her. 

“I got here first,” she said to him, attempting to stake her claim on the machine, and he glared.

“No, I definitely did,” he said, his nostrils flaring. Aelin scoffed.

“If this is opposite day, I suppose then you’re right.” She tilted her head. “But seeing as it’s not, I would recommend you leave me to it and wait for your turn.”

“In what world do you think that’s going to happen?” He said, his brows raised. She could only roll her eyes.

“This world, buttercup,” she said, smiling condescendingly. “I have a chemistry exam to go study for, so I would advise you to get the hell out of my way.” 

“Oh yeah?” He said, standing up. She stood up too. “I have an exam too. And I would really appreciate not having to deal with stuck up brats while I’m trying to do my godsdamned laundry.”

“Fuck you,” she spit, not being able to stop herself. “I’m getting that machine whether you like it or not.”

“No, I am,” he said back, glaring. She huffed and was about to turn to reach for the machine when she heard the distinct sound of the lid closing, and the distinct sound of beeping to indicate the start of a new cycle. Slowly, she turned to face the machine, eyes wide as she saw someone new grab their now empty laundry basket, whistling to themselves as they left the room.

Well shit.

With a glare, she blew a strand of her blonde hair out of her face and plopped back down in her seat, the boy next to her doing the same. 

“This is all your fault,” Aelin grumbled petulantly. 

“Right,” he said sarcastically. “Like it wasn’t you who distracted me from getting the washing machine I deserved.”

“Oh my gods, here we go,” she sighed. “Sanctimonial bullshit time.” She shook her head. 

“What is your problem?” He asked, turning to face her. “Have I done something to offend you?”

“Besides trying to steal my washing machine?” Aelin asked, narrowing her eyes. “That isn’t enough for you?”

“This is so petty,” he said, shaking his head. His silver hair glistened in the light. 

To seal the pettiness even more, she stuck out her tongue at him. His lips quirked up on the sides briefly, like he was stopping himself from laughing, but she knew better. She frowned petulantly and scrunched back in her chair. 

And discovered the tiny, but growing, sensation of needing to pee. 

Aelin frowned more, adjusting her position to try and stave it off. But it only got worse, and the longer they sat there waiting, the more prevalent it got. 

Soon enough, she couldn’t hold it anymore, and after a quick glance out the door, she hurried to the bathroom, not bothering to explain to the guy where she was going. 

She rushed to the bathroom, doing her business as quickly as possible, before furiously washing her hands and nearly running back to the laundry room. But her stomach sank as she saw the guy standing by a washing machine, victoriously shutting the lid and starting the cycle.

Her face fell as he turned toward her, a smug grin on his face.

“Better luck next time,” he said, before brushing past her to leave the room. She glared after him, cursing under her breath. Damn her tiny bladder.

But once he left, leaving her staring dejectedly at the washing machine, she got an idea. And with a devious smile, she moved toward it, opening the lid to pause the cycle. It’d barely started. 

After a glance to make sure he was really gone, she pulled out all of his now wet clothes, setting them on the top of the machine before dumping her own clothes inside and resuming the wash cycle. Now she didn’t even have to pay.

Feeling utterly satisfied, Aelin waltzed out of the laundry room. And not wanting to miss any of his reaction, when she got upstairs she grabbed her laptop and brought it back down to the study room right outside the laundry room.

And then she waited.

About thirty minutes later, she watched with a sly smile as he reentered the room, peeking out from behind her laptop to watch his expression. His silver brows were furrowed as he processed the situation. And she had to swallow her laugh as he frowned, picking up a soggy pair of underwear. 

Then his face turned cold as he realized what’d happened. She ducked back behind her laptop right as he turned toward the exit, but apparently not fast enough because he stormed over to her. 

“Can I help you?” She asked drily, looking up at him as he stopped in front of her table. 

“You took my clothes out of the washing machine,” he spit, clearly angry, and she smiled slightly.

“Did I?” Aelin asked, “I thought I was just taking back what was mine.”

“Gods, you’re so childish,” he said, shaking his head. She raised a brow, closing the lid of her laptop.

“And you’re the one with a pair of underwear in your hand,” she said, smiling mockingly as he realized, his cheeks flushing. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to go switch out my laundry.”

And to irritate him even more, she winked as she passed by, satisfied with her victory.

------

The next day, Aelin was chilling at her cousin’s apartment, scrolling on her phone as she laid on the couch. He was a few years older than her, and was a junior, but was at the same university as her. It was part of the reason she’d chosen to come here, because she knew she’d have at least one tie.

He was having some of his friends over, all members of the Terrasen Stags football team, just like he was. And Aelin had met most of them already, but Aedion was determined to introduce her to all of the freshman members too. Both new recruits and walk-ons to the team.

Fenrys and Connall Moonbeam she already knew, as well as the stoic Vaughan, but the asshole Lorcan Salvaterre was new. 

She didn’t particularly like him, and the feeling was already mutual. 

But they were in the midst of watching/playing some sort of football game, so Aelin was zoning out, nearly falling asleep.

She yawned just as the doorbell rang. 

“Oh that must be Rowan,” her cousin said, darting up from where he stood. “Aelin, you should meet him. He lives in your dorm.” 

She groaned in exasperation, rolling off the couch to a stand as she wandered over to the entryway.

Aedion was greeting whoever was there, and Aelin yawned again, wiping at her face with her newly washed and dried hoodie. But as the white fabric passed over her eyes, she froze.

“Aelin, this is Rowan,” her cousin said, but Aelin didn’t need the introduction. Because standing there, right in front of her, was her laundry thief.

----

taglist:

@shyvioletcat 

@courtofjurdan 

@leiawritesstories 

@elentiyawhitethorn 

@westofmoon 

@mariamuses 

@cretaceous-therapod 

@rowaelinrambling 

@foughtconquered 

@swankii-art-teacher 

@rowaelinismyotp

 @live-the-fangirl-life 

@sailorsassley 

@claralady 

@gracie-rosee 

@theinfernalbookworm 

@larisssss 

@peppermint-fae 

@charlizeed 

@llyncooljones 

@justreadertings 

@backtobl4ck 

@wordsafterhours 

@story-scribbler 

@mybloodrunsblue 

@sexy-dumpster-fire 

@dealfea 

@whoever-you-choose-to-love 

@tomtenadia 

@house-of-galathynius 

@1islessthan3books 

@fangirlprincess09

 @superspiritfestival

 @fromthelibraryofemilyj 

@rowanaelinn 

@gwynethhberdara 

@baxian-argos 

@thewayshedreamed 

@aelinchocolatelover 

@emilyoftheshadows 

@rhysands-whore 

@gigglinggummybears 

@shadowwolf777 

@fireheart-violet 

@firestarsandseneschals 

@wishfulimaginings 

@thegreyj 

@fireheartwhitethorn4ever 

@rhysandswingspan 

@poisonous00

#rowaelin #rowaelin month #rowaelinmonth 2022 #throne of glass fanfiction #rowaelin fanfiction #throne of glass #rowaelin au #throne of glass au #rowan x aelin

[rowaelinprompts]

PROMPT MASTERLIST!!

All the open prompts will be listed here! Also, any that have been filled will be marked with a *, but please feel free to fill as many prompts as you like as many times as you want! We love seeing all the different takes!

~~~~~~

ART: QUEEN OF SHADOWS ROOFTOP SCENE via @house-of-galathynius

ART: ROWAN/DAUGHTER via @thegreyj

ART: "I claim you too" scene via @thegreyj

~~~~~~

*FIC: "I don't know what to do"//"we'll figure it out" via @morganofthewildfire

FIC: College AU with athlete/trainer via anonymous

FIC: "Research" via anonymous

FIC: Crime scene cleaner via @backtobl4ck

*FIC: Proposal emergency via @thegreyj

*FIC: Finding out the teenage pregnancy via @thegreyj

*FIC: Rowaelin with their toddler via anonymous

*FIC: Rowan takes care of Aelin during her cycle via anonymous

*FIC: "I kept this for you while you were away"//"It's been two years"//"I know" via anonymous

FIC: First date pumpkin via @thegreyj

FIC: "if it fits, it fits" via @thegreyj and @leiawritesstories

*FIC: Clingy Rowan via anonymous (could totally be an art prompt also!!)

FIC: Rowan decorating a pumpkin for Aelin via anonymous

FIC: "The pain served as a reminder" via @thegreyj

FIC: Rowan comforting Aelin postpartum via @thegreyj

FIC: Aelin playing breakup songs via @thegreyj

FIC: Rowan POV when he's skinning Cairn via @autumnbabylon

FIC: Rowaelin vows from EOS via @autumnbabylon

FIC: "Are you coming?" 👀 via @thegreyj

FIC: this Instagram reel via @backtobl4ck

FIC: Pajama party via @thegreyj

FIC: Rowaelin's child telling this joke via @thegreyj

*FIC: "Geriatric pregnancy" via @thegreyj

FIC: "Is that a candy cane or are you just happy to see me?" via @thegreyj

FIC: Aelin gets pregnant because of an orange via @backtobl4ck

FIC: "Fuck you" // "No, you fuck me" 👀 via @mariamuses

FIC: "She'd been waiting to hear that voice.." via anonymous

FIC: Rowaelin in the theater Rowan gifted Aelin (canon) via @autumnbabylon

FIC: Rowan washing Aelin's hair via @autumnbabylon

FIC: "Married At First Sight" via @thegreyj

FIC: Rowan and son and dress-up via @thegreyj

FIC: Rowan and son going shopping via @thegreyj

FIC: "Midlife crisis/Ongoing crisis" via @thegreyj

FIC: Aelin's clothing parades to Rowan via @autumnbabylon

FIC: Twitter feud AU via anonymous

FIC: Terrasen High School camping trip via anonymous

FIC: Drunk and clingy Aelin via anonymous

FIC: this TikTok via anonymous

FIC: Chef's knife via @thegreyj

FIC/ART: this cartoon via @thegreyj

FIC: "You're my favorite pillow" via @thegreyj

FIC: "That was not how I imagined my first kiss" via @thegreyj

FIC: 20 questions via @thegreyj

FIC: Rowan's sexy accent via @thegreyj

FIC/ART: Rowan simping over Aelin via @thegreyj

FIC/ART: Aelin wearing Rowan's reading glasses via @thegreyj

FIC: Rowan quoting classic movie lines via @thegreyj

FIC/ART: nose kiss via @thegreyj

FIC: "Stop doing that!" / "What?" / "Smiling!" via @thegreyj

FIC: Rowan is bad at flirting via @thegreyj

FIC/ART: renfaire via @thegreyj

FIC: Interrupted proposal via @thegreyj

FIC: "I'm a big kid now!" via anonymous

FIC: Secret spies/Mr. & Mrs. Smith AU via anonymous

*FIC: "Is he your boyfriend?" via anonymous

FIC: Selection AU via anonymous

FIC: "Books" via @thegreyj

FIC/ART: Throne of Glass x Avengers via anonymous

#rowaelin #rowaelin prompts #rowaelinprompts #open prompts #fic ideas #art ideas

[shyvioletcat]

~ Rowaelin Month: Day 6 ~ College/University AU

Again, sneakily snuck it a previously started fic for today it’s late too. This is part 3 of my Everything fic you can find HERE. Remember to check out @rowaelinscourt​ for more Rowaelin Month content.

CW: NSFW. 

~~~~~

It had taken him a fraction of a second to reply to Aelin’s text with ‘That sounds like a challenge’. They’d bantered back and forth for a while after, hedging closer to Rowan asking Aelin out on a date. He eventually got there, they would go to dinner then there was an open offer back to his apartment for maybe a movie or something afterwards. After messing up so completely with the whole trying to get through the wrong door, being locked out of his apartment and losing a phone number thing, Rowan was determined to make it up to her. 

Aelin’s last message had said ‘After my gallantry I expect you to be the perfect gentleman’. 

A gentleman. If that’s what Aelin wanted, that was something Rowan could certainly deliver. 

After their first date they had indeed come back to Rowan’s for a movie. Dinner had been great, they’d talked the whole time. Aelin was very much the same witty woman he half remembered in his drunken haze. She loved to tease and rile him up, and even though he pretended not to, Rowan enjoyed every second of it. When they got back to his place they’d set up on the couch and watched a movie that they criticised and mocked the whole way through, not touching more than an arm around her shoulder. Even that casual touch sent a spark through him but they didn’t go further than that. In fact when the movie finished Rowan walked Aelin to her door and said goodnight. The way she had looked had him wanting more and he spent the next half hour regretting the fact that he hadn’t kissed her.

By the second date Rowan realised that this blossoming relationship was something he didn’t want to mess up. Aelin had requested he be a gentleman and he kept to it even though at times brain suggested he act otherwise, he also didn’t want to rush into this and mess up any potential they had. At her door he asked first before he even attempted to kiss her. She had called him sweet and kissed him like he had never been kissed before. 

That was the beginning of the end, or maybe it was the start of the beginning. Either way all Rowan knew is that he wanted more. After that first kiss they could barely keep away from each other. After the third date Aelin had invited him in, after a polite offer of a drink and an even politer refusal, he and Aelin had ended up on the couch. Within a few heavy heartbeats she was in his lap and Rowan had his hands in her hair. Everything had been above the belt, very literally. When Aelin had reached for his belt buckle Rowan had stopped her. She pouted and asked why with an inquisitive tilt of her head. 

“I’m just being a gentleman, like you requested,” Rowan managed to get out through his heavy breathing and kiss-addled brain. 

Aelin had grinned at him then, leaning in for one more kiss and whispered, pure mischief dancing in her voice, “Now that sounds like a challenge of your own.”

That was how he had ended up in this whole torturous affair.

Aelin had decided to change the tactics of her teasing. At first it had been only her words she used against him, now she used every weapon at her disposal. The closeness of her body, the things she wore, the downright sinful way that she kissed him. Every date they had Aelin had worn down his resolve a little more. They hadn’t known each other long, and Rowan was beginning to question why he was holding back. But then Aelin would smile at him or say something that had him laughing until his stomach hurt and he got that little reminder that she was possibly the perfect woman for him. He’d weather her teasing and taunting the best he could, because when that mythical moment came around he would know it and all this torture would be worth it. He wasn’t about to jump in too soon and let something shallow ruin this. 

What gave him the slightest bit of glee was that Aelin was just as frustrated as he was. He didn’t miss the flush on her cheeks as he kissed her, hands wandering just the right amount to leave her wanting more. But she still managed to keep the upper hand. Just last night she had him pinned to his door, her hands in his hair. If Rowan hadn’t been so lost in the kiss he might have realised sooner that way they moved with each other and the way his hands wandered might not have been fit for public. In fact they had only broken apart when whistling and jeering sounded from down the hall. Rowan had invited Aelin in, but she smiled at him while wiping away some of the lipstick from his own lips and shook her head. 

“I want you to watch me walk away,” she’d said. And he most certainly did.

Each sway of her hips was enticing and at the door Aelin had turned to face him so he could get one last look at the low cut if her dress that had been tormenting him all night. She blew him a kiss and winked at him before she disappeared. Rowan hadn’t even bothered to get himself inside before setting up another date for the next night and Aelin had replied yes by the time he’d reached his room. So tonight as Rowan walked towards Aelin’s door, he wondered what might be in store for tonight. 

He ran a hand through his short hair before he knocked and it took only a few seconds for the door to open. And the sight that greeted him left Rowan gaping. Aelin stood there, arm high on the doorframe that she lent against. Her hair was out and styled in soft waves and she had done her make-up in the easy simplistic way that he liked. But it was what she wore that really had his attention. It was gold, and obviously a nightgown from the length and cut of it. It dipped low between her breasts, clung to every curve and barely covered her ass. For all his talk of being a gentleman, it took him a long time to find Aelin’s face again. And when he did she was smirking knowingly at him. 

“Hi there,” she said like she wasn’t standing at her door dressed in nothing more than a slip of silk. 

Rowan swallowed. “Hey.” His eyes dipped over her again and he managed to get out, “I thought we were having dinner tonight.”

Aelin dropped her hand from the doorframe and took the slightest step back. “We can. Later.” 

“Oh,” Rowan said lamely. 

Now, Aelin laughed, reaching out for the collar of his shirt and tugged him forward. Rowan complied, eagerly if he had to admit it, and let Aelin manoeuvre them so that she had her back against the door with him crowding her against it. 

“When I asked you to be a gentleman I meant don’t murder me, not refuse to get us laid,” Aelin said, he fingers dancing up his chest. “Although it has been very fun shredding your self-control. How’s that going by the way?”

This time Aelin tugged on his belt loops, bringing his hips flush with hers. 

Rowan groaned at the contact, then reordered his brain a little. “I didn’t want to rush things and ruin it.” 

“Such a gentleman,” Aelin teased. “But I like you, you like me. I don’t think we’ll ruin this by having sex. In fact,” her clever fingers started on his buttons, “It will make things better.” 

“Well, when you put it that way,” Rowan finally let that last thread on his self control snap and his hands landed on her waist. “It’s a solid argument, I see no cons.” 

“Thank the gods,” Aelin muttered and then she was up on her toes and their lips met. 

Rowan didn’t waste any more time and he crowded Aelin against the door, one hand stayed on her hip while the other was on her cheek—angling her head just the way he wanted. Aelin moaned into the kiss, her tongue tangling with his as he held her closer. That little voice in his brain started to question why he had waited this long to do this, maybe it was his common sense berating him for being so idiotic. Rowan rolled his hips and it made Aelin gasp his name as his lips found her neck. 

“Please, Rowan,” she begged him. “We’ve had enough teasing.”

“I thought you said you enjoyed it,” Rowan murmured against her skin before nipping at her throat. That had her hands flexing, nails momentarily digging into his skin. He wanted her to do it again. 

“I did, but we’ve had like two weeks of foreplay. Enough is enough,” she said. 

That was all the encouragement Rowan needed and picked Aelin up by the thighs, pinning her a little harder to the door. “Another valid point.” 

When Rowan lifted her off the door Aelin’s arms held him tighter. Not wanting to risk dropping her he kept his focus finding his way through Aelin’s apartment. Feeling impatient, Rowan started towards the couch but she stopped him. 

“Elide will kill me,” Aelin said with a breathy laugh. 

“Your room?” Rowan asked. 

“First door.” 

He needed no further directions, giving Aelin’s thighs a squeeze that made her squirm in his arms. The door was open so he didn’t have to fumble with the handle, he just walked right in, dropping them both on the bed. Their lips met and Rowan felt Aelin’s knees brush against his sides. His hands left her thighs and travelled upwards, catching on the delicate fabric of her nightgown. The fabric was so thin that he could see that Aelin wore nothing beneath it as the peaks of her breasts showed through. Rowan groaned at the sight, his lips closing around one. At that Aelin moaned, the sound went straight to his cock. Aelin had been right, they had been teasing each other enough that it would be so easy to rid himself of his clothing and sink into her. But not yet, he wanted to drag this out a little longer. 

One of his hands dipped under the gold fabric and found her breast as his mouth kissed the bare skin between them. Then his lips started their descent, keeping to the centre of her body. Aelin was squirming, like she was trying to keep still but couldn’t. He could feel the heat of her skin on his lips, each quiver of her muscles as he went lower still. The free hand that he had travelled with him and stopped on the lace of her underwear. 

“Can I?” he asked, one finger dipping beneath the waistband. 

Aelin nodded furiously, Rowan smirked to see her so undone. For all her talk of shredding his self control, she was the one who was unravelling fast. “You better.”

Using both his hands, Rowan pulled down her underwear briefly noting how they matched the nightgown she was in. Aelin had raised herself up on her elbows to watch what he did next. Rowan kept eye contact as his hands went from her ankles to her thighs, spreading them wider. Her chest was heaving as she watched him, waiting. In the spirit of the evening he didn’t wait before rubbing his thumb over her clit. 

Aelin fell back on the pillows of her bed with a sighing moan and Rowan didn’t stop. He teased her with his fingers before switching those out for his teeth and tongue. He kept a steady pace until Aelin started to plead with him. 

“Please, Rowan,” she almost whimpered. “Please, please, please.”

Then he remembered all those nights she had left him wanting and had relished in leaving his feathers ruffled. He’d be foolish to waste this opportunity for some sweet revenge. “What is it that you want, Aelin?”

Her voice was a breathless, broken whisper. “Everything, everything.” 

Satisfied, Rowan circled that one spot with his tongue before sucking hard, and Aelin came undone with a cry. Her hands were buried in his hair, holding tight until her orgasm passed and she was limp and struggling to catch her breath. Not wanting to be idle Rowan started removing his shirt, and by the time he was done with that Aelin had recovered enough that when he reached for the button of his pants her hands were already there. She undid the button and the zip, then Rowan stood off the bed to get rid of them completely. He could feel Aelin’s gaze on him the whole time, filling him with a male pride she was bound to tease him about. When his clothes were gone he knelt back on the bed, knee to knee with Aelin. 

He watched as her hands found the edges of her nightgown and she pulled it over her head. Unable to help himself Rowan reached out, hands roaming her bare skin. 

“God’s you’re beautiful,” Rowan murmured against her lips.

“Nice of you to finally notice,” Aelin quipped. 

“Oh. I noticed,” Rowan dragged Aelin over the bed into his lap. Rowan bit back his groan as the heat of her pressed against his cock. “You noticed too, don’t you think I’ve forgotten that comment about my ‘pretty eyes’.”

Aelin clung to his shoulders, rolling her hips making that groan escape. “Why are we still talking?”  

She kissed him, grinded on him and Rowan lost all semblance of reason. Grabbing Aelin’s hips he lifted her so she hovered over him, exactly where they both needed. His cock pressed at her entrance and with another roll of her hips he was inside of her, sheathed deep. Aelin’s eyes fluttered, her head tilted back. Rowan pressed gentle kisses to her neck, whispering words of praise. 

“You feel so good.” 

Her whole body shuddered at the words and her hips started moving. Rowan let her set the pace and it was far too easy to fall into a perfect rhythm. For each of Aelin’s movements Rowan thrust up, each kiss and sigh and moan falling into synchronicity. His own release started to build, but he wanted Aelin to come again. Her hips stuttered and Rowan knew she was close. 

“Come for me, Aelin.” Now it was his turn to beg. “Please.”

“Oh, Rowan.”

A throaty moan broke out of Aelin and Rowan could feel her fluttering around him. It was enough to push him over the edge and his hips jerked desperately as his orgasm wracked through him. Rowan’s head landed on Aelin’s shoulder, and it was her soft laughter that brought him back to earth. Her hands lifted his face and she kissed him deeply, not bothering yet to remove herself from his lap. To remove him from inside her. Still blissed out, Rowan hummed against her lips as his hands hungrily roamed her body. Aelin had been right, they had been stupid to wait this long. 

Aelin pulled back, looking unbelievably beautiful. “So, was that worth the wait?”

Rowan grinned. “That was worth everything.” 

~~~~~

Tags: @fucking-winchester-trash // @literary-licorice // @galyxsy // @tangledraysofsunshine // @highqueenofelfhame // @3am-reading // @soup-that-is-too-hawt // @aelinfire-bringer // @nalgenewhore​ // @highladyofthesith // @http-itsrebecca​ // @sleep-and-books​ // @alifletcher2012​ // @westofmoon​ // @sleeping-and-books​ // @ttakeitbacknoww​ // @armixers-unite // @mariamuses​ // @chocolate-eating-bitch-queen​ // @velarian-trash​ // @queenofxhearts​ // @heroesofterrasen​ // @highladyofstoriesandmusic​ // @empire-of-wildfire​ // @camerooonchiu​ // @crackedship​ // @lowhangingtreebranches // @over300books​ // @yourwhisperingshadows​ // @thesirenwashere​ // @tswaney17​ // @impossiblescissorspeachpaper​ // @cat5313​ // @judelovescardan​ // @flowerspringsea​ // @chaoticskyy​ // @the-regal-warrior​ // @fanfictrash3000​ // @blueeyes425​ // @starseternalnighttriumphant​ // @bamchickawowow​ // @thehuntressofmoon // @giorgia-the-trashpanda​ // @flora-and-fae​ // @thereaderandfangirl​ // @illyrian-bookworm​ // @chemicha​ // @meltalgel // @gay-book-nerd​ // @that-odd-puzzle-piece​ // @i-love-all-books // @in-love-with-caramel-macchiato​ // @girl-who-reads-the-books​ // @hizqueen4life​ // @the-third-me​ // @1islessthan3books​ // @bestmelle​ // @cursebreaker29​ // @b00kworm​ // @superspiritfestival​ // @aesthetics-11​ // @maastrash​ // @mynewdreamwasyou​ // @the-last-apprentice​ // @charincharge​ // @firestarsandseneschals​ // @scarznstars​ // @absolute-dissapointment // @thesurielships​ // @df3ndyr​ // @trinitybailey2003 // @gwynethhberdara​ // @booknerdproblems​ // @larisssss​ // @sevenfreckles-for-sevenloves // @rolltide7​ // @scandinavianromantic // @tillyrubes10​ // @starwarsslytherin // @minaidss // @paytin77​ // @jesstargaryenqueen​ // @anntheintrovert​ // @starbornvalkyrie​ // @loudphantomdragon​ // @woollycat22 // @claralady​ // @perseusannabeth​ // @fangirlprincess09​ // @maddymelv // @sierrareads​ // @more-espresso-less-depresso-xx // @jlinez // @lysandra-ghost-leopard​ // @rowaelinismyotp​ // @pullnpeeltwizzlers​ // @anne-reads // @jadeaffliction​ // @gracie-rosee​ // @elriel4life​ // @rowaelinrambling​ // @tothestarswholistentodreamers // @thenerdandfandoms // @castielspelvis​ // @swankii-art-teacher​ // @grandma-noob-lord​ // @vanzetanze​ // @highlady-brittney​ // @story-scribbler​ // @linguine-panini // @pastasiren​ // @surielandiareendgame // @silentquartz​ // @live-the-fangirl-life​ // @whimsicallyreading​ // @goddess-aelin​ // @littleboxofthunder​ // @empress-ofbloodshed​ // @booksbqueen // @rowanwhitethornisbae​ // @charlizeed​ // @feysand-loml​ // @aelin-queen-of-terrasen​ // @alyx801​ // @amandaswallowtail​ // @louiseleblancdiggory​ // @abookishfreak // @danibutterr​ // @thegreyj​ // @lizzyfirebringer // @endlessdaydream​ // @magnifique1807​

#like... i never know if this stuff is good or not #but i think it passes #and hopefully makes enough sense #rowaelin #rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin month

[house-of-galathynius]

Inevitable

Rowaelin Month, Day 6: College or University AU @rowaelinscourt

Words: 3.4k 

Warnings: Sexual content

I mean technically they both are doing their PhD’s so it does include college/university... 

~~~

“For fucks sake.” Aelin swore at her phone screen, frantically swiping through the email she had just received— desperately hoping what she was reading was a joke. 

Lysandra was typing away at the desk and momentarily looked up to Aelin, her brow furrowed as she noticed the stressed look that Aelin had. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Aelin groaned and then tossed her phone onto her own desk and leant back, her head looking to the ceiling where she hoped it would cave in and save her. But after five seconds, she realised she’d have no such luck and she would in fact have to deal with what she had just read. 

“I’ve had another student switch.” 

Lysandra blew out a breath. “Yikes. To who?” 

Aelin gave her friend a pointed look. 

“Again?” Lysandra asked in disbelief. 

“My students now consist of five men, three of whom are certain I will go out with them. The other two stuck with me because they couldn’t stand to be surrounded by ten girls fawning over Rowan.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at the email again, “remind me why I thought doing a PhD that included teaching was a good idea?” 

Lysandra shrugged. “It looks good on your record and you enjoy it?” 

Aelin rolled her eyes. “Rowan shouldn’t even be allowed to have that many of them at once. The whole point is that they get targeted learning and more time as individuals to ask questions.” 

“Just talk to Rowan, tell him you think it’s unfair on the students and that you should divvy them out equally.” Lysandra went back to typing. 

Aelin sighed. “I’ve tried to talk to him. But he just has this ridiculously handsome, smug grin on his face and tells me that if I was a better teacher they wouldn’t leave.” 

Rowan and Aelin had started their PhD’s at the same time just over a year ago. It had started out civil, the two of them working together when they needed to but keeping their distance otherwise. Despite the relative peace that was between them, Aelin had always thought of Rowan as a certain shade of stuck up and found him to be an annoying know-it-all at other times. But it had been hard enough to get this spot in the first place, she wasn’t going to ruin her opportunities for the likes of him. But when one by one her students had started to migrate to his classes and going to his office hours, her professionalism had faltered and she was being reduced to teenager-like actions, such as going home to her friends and bitching about him. 

It didn’t help that he was actually incredibly smart and he did have a way with the students, teaching them better than any qualified professor. It also didn’t help that he was fifty shades of gorgeous and Aelin’s line between hatred and like had started to blur— a little too much. 

“Honestly, I think you just need to get drunk with him and let him have his way with you. This tension and anger between both of you is clearly just pent up sexual frustration. He’s hot, you’re hot— I don’t see why you can’t just get it over with.” Lysandra said, a smirk on her face. 

“That is not helping.” Aelin ground out. 

“That’s what Aedion and I did. And now look at us.” 

“You and Aedion were not in the same position. You two never hated each other, you just liked to wind each other up and then go and have stupidly noisy make-up sex.” 

Lysandra grinned. 

Aelin looked at her phone again and just sighed. She replied to her student telling them that she couldn’t stop them from switching but she recommended they didn’t as they would not get the same level of care with Rowan. But she knew it would fall on deaf ears and she would be, yet again, another student down. 

~

Two days later, Aelin was sat in the shared office. She was chewing on a chocolate bar and going through her prep for the lecture she was giving on Monday. It was one she had done multiple times, but she liked to keep things new and updated— also she liked to try and be better than Rowan. Who was currently sitting in the chair next to her, glancing at her screen with a smile. 

She swivelled her head to him and glared. “What?” 

Rowan shrugged, “nothing. I was just thinking that the reference you used there doesn’t actually support the argument you’re trying to make.” 

She rose an eyebrow at him. “The point of using this reference is that he provides a good counter-argument, I know he doesn’t support it.” 

“Well it doesn’t make sense to talk about him there… you should put him in further along the presentation.” 

Unbelievable. “Why don’t you just concentrate on your own work.” 

Rowan laughed. The sound sending shivers through Aelin. “Are you cold?” He asked.

Aelin pulled her cardigan tighter around her shoulders. “No.” 

Rowan stood from his chair, tucking it neatly into the desk and then picking up his jacket and bag. “A few of us are going to the pub later. I was instructed to ask you if you’d like to join.” He said politely. 

Aelin released a hollow laugh. “Thank you for that heartfelt invitation, Rowan. But I have plans tonight.” 

“You finally said yes to one of your students then?” He asked sarcastically.

“Why, are you jealous?” Aelin retorted. 

“Unlike you, I don’t need to resort to my students to get a date.” 

She whipped her head and stared at him. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

He grinned at her. “No, actually. I don’t. And I find that tormenting you gives me great pleasure.” 

“Gross. Go find pleasure somewhere else.” She turned back around and ignored his chuckle. He didn’t say goodbye as he left the room, closing the door behind him as he did. 

Gods, he frustrated her to no end. And she hated the fact that every time they did this, she would feel her heart begin to beat faster and her skin go hot. The moment he mentioned pleasure all she could think about was the two of them together— just as Lysandra had said. Hot and heavy in the sheets, his strong body over hers as he did all the wicked things she had thought about for months. 

Fuck. 

She needed a drink. 

She promptly shut down her computer and grabbed her stuff. She headed straight home where she found Lysandra and Aedion lounging on the sofa making out. 

“You two need to get ready. We’re going to a bar. I need to get drunk.” 

She didn’t loiter to hear their response. She waltzed into her bedroom and found the shortest dress possible and put on make-up for the first time in a while, even going as far as to curl her hair at the ends. She surveyed herself in the mirror and thought that it would be good enough— good enough for her to find any guy who was somewhat good-looking and take them home. 

When she entered back into the living room, Lysandra and Aedion were still sitting on the sofa, both of them looking slightly puzzled— albeit, Aelin thought she could see a hint of smugness on Lysandra’s face, but decided to ignore it. “Why are you not ready?” 

Aedion relaxed into the sofa, “we weren’t planning on going out tonight. Plus, you can’t just waltz in here and demand we change our plans.” 

“Your favourite cousin is in distress and she needs distractions. That warrants a change of plans.” 

Lysandra smiled in defeat at Aedion and merely patted his knee as she disappeared into her own room. Aedion didn’t follow though; he studied Aelin for a moment before sitting forward, clasping his hands together. “What is this about?” 

Aelin was already rummaging in the alcohol cupboard and pulling out a bottle of tequila, pouring herself a shot and knocking it back quickly. 

“Aelin?” 

She poured another and handed it to her cousin and then sat next to him on the sofa. “I just need to have some release. Rowan is driving me crazy and I just can’t stand it anymore.” 

Aedion snickered and drank his shot. “I should’ve known.” 

“What does that mean?” She asked bitterly. 

“It means the two of you have walking that fine line of love and hate for far too long. It’s time that one of you caves and just admits that you’re into each other.” 

“That’s not true.” She huffed. Although her heart might not agree with that statement. 

Aedion gave her a knowing look and stalked off to the bedroom. Both him and Lysandra returning a little while later looking much more ready to go and have a night out. The three of them clambered into a taxi, and despite it only being seven, the bar was already beginning to fill as they made their way in. Lysandra and Aedion went and found them all a table, whilst Aelin made her to the bar and ordered a round of way too many shots. 

It didn’t take long for Aelin to feel the buzz of the alcohol and with the bar filling even further and the music getting louder, she found herself dancing along to it and dragging Lysandra out to the floor where a group of younger girls were already dancing away, drinks in their hands. Aelin didn’t think about the other people watching on, not as she lost herself in the song. 

Breathless and feeling a little giddy she excused herself to go to the bathroom. Lysandra seemed more than happy to traipse back to their table, leaving Aelin alone. 

The dark corridor was lined with other girls queuing to go in the bathroom, she almost groaned, but stopped herself. She was trying to have a good time, she wasn’t going to let the little things bug her— not tonight. 

The queue moved steadily forward, Aelin mere moments away when she looked up and her body went stiff at the sight to her right. 

Rowan Whitethorn. 

Stood there in all his glory. A grey t-shirt clinging to his muscular frame, jeans that hugged him in all the right places and a smirk that would drive Aelin crazy any day of the week. 

She didn’t think as she stepped from the queue and went over to him. 

“You said you were going to a pub.” 

He grinned. “You said you had plans.” 

She gestured around her, “I do. I am currently doing the plans.” 

“Good for you.” He returned to looking at his phone and Aelin crossed her arms, not moving. 

“What are you doing here, Rowan?” 

He didn’t even glance at her. “I’m out with friends. Is that okay? Or do I need your permission?” 

“Out of all the bars…” She murmured. 

“I could say the same thing to you.” 

Aelin narrowed her eyes at him and turned on her feet, marching back to the table. Aedion and Lysandra were deep in conversation when she returned and they broke apart when they noticed the sour look on her face. 

“What happened?” 

“Rowan happened. He’s here.” 

Lysandra clapped her hands together and bounced in seat as she announced, “this is amazing.” 

Aelin did not feel inclined to agree and flagged down a waitress and requested another round of shots and then quickly knocked them back one after the other. “I have to get out of here. Lys, help me find a man.”

Her friend rolled her eyes, then pointed to a random corner where a group of six guys were sipping on their beers and checking out the girls on the floor. She knew that they looked like the type of guys who would use you once and drop you immediately after, but that was exactly what she was looking for. She didn’t hesitate as she sauntered over to them, and introduced herself. They wasted no time in letting her join them and she soon had another drink in hand and was chattering away, getting cosy with them. 

She wasn’t sure how long it had been, but there was a tap on her shoulder and she rolled her eyes when she saw Rowan. 

“Can I borrow this lovely lady for a moment?” He asked politely. 

“Bring her back soon.” One of them laughed and Aelin attempted to disguise her slight disgust. 

She followed Rowan back to the darkened hallway, the queues non-existent now. She leant against the wall and brushed her hair from her face and neck, revealing her low cut dress and the glistening of her skin from the heat of the bar and the alcohol. She couldn’t help but notice the bob of Rowan’s throat as he surveyed her, much to her satisfaction. 

“You know they’re only after one thing.” He ground out. 

Aelin smiled. “Who says that isn’t what I was looking for too?” 

Rowan laughed incredulously. “You can’t be serious? They couldn’t handle you.” He stepped closer to her. 

Aelin tilted her head at him. “And you could?” 

There was a pause as he looked her over, glancing down her body then back to her face. “I would handle you very well.” 

She gulped and tried to put some distance between them. But the air was thick with tension and she could smell his intoxicating scent, she could see the darkened look in his eyes and feel the quickening beat of her heart. 

“What are you doing here, Rowan? To torment me some more?” Aelin looked away, trying to catch her breath. There was a commotion at the other end of the corridor and then a rush of feet as a group of people came staggering down, pushing Rowan into her further. Their chests brushing and Aelin couldn’t help but suck in a breath as she felt his hardened muscles against her body, the feeling of him sending jolts through her. 

“I think it’s only fair.” He said. His voice low and gravelly, his breath tickling her neck as he leaned in closer. “Because you torment me. Every. Single. Day.” 

Aelin shivered. “Rowan…” 

“I know, Aelin.” Her name rolling of his tongue, the sound of it heating her and she met his eyes. “I feel it. And I can’t let you go home with some guy who has no idea how to please a woman like you.” 

“That sounds like a challenge.” She whispered. 

Rowan smiled suggestively. “Maybe it is.” 

Aelin started to close the distance, her eyes darting to his mouth and then back to his eyes. He was smirking as she moved in closer— and then she was gone. Sliding from under his arm and back into the crowd. She immediately found the guy from before and pulled him to the floor where she let herself go completely, dancing and flirting like she never had before. She always had one eye on the corner where Rowan was watching her intently, his face schooled into neutrality. 

She took another shot and turned to whatever-his-name-was and offered him a sultry smile before dragging him to the doors of the bar and hailing a taxi. 

“Your place or mine?” She breathed. 

The guy shrugged, “yours. I just need to grab my jacket. Don’t go fucking anywhere.” He said, before disappearing back into the bar and Aelin stood there summoning up more courage and confidence. She felt an arm snake back around her waist and pulling her into the taxi. 

“You’ve made your point. Now let me make mine—“ Rowan ground out, “me and you? Inevitable.” 

And then Rowan’s lips were on hers and she was sighing into the kiss, their mouths moving together, tongues touching as they deepened the kiss, Aelin climbing onto his lap in the backseat of the taxi, his hands roaming her body as she pulled at his hair, trying to get closer. 

“Where exactly am I taking you?” The voice from the drivers seat interrupted. 

They broke apart and Aelin rested her head on Rowan’s shoulder, grinning as Rowan kept one arm around her, stroking down her back; all the while telling directions to the driver. Seconds later she was slipping off his legs and strapping herself into the seat next to him. Neither of them saying a word for the ten minute drive, only their fingers brushing occasionally. 

Aelin was on fire at the touches, from the kiss. Her body was alight with anticipation. The feel of Rowan against her was like fireworks and she didn’t care about the consequences— tonight she was going to get it out of her system. 

There was a moment of hesitation as they walked up to his door. She watched him put the key in the lock and she doubted this was the right thing… but then he smiled at her, extending his hand and he pulled her inside, promptly pinning her against the wall and kissing her with all his might. 

“Don’t think about it.” He murmured. 

She shook her head as he kissed down her neck. “This is not going to end well.” 

“If I have anything to do with it, it’s going to end very well. For both of us.” He chuckled. 

She playfully hit his shoulder and let him explore her neck further. Her hands held his waist tightly and then he was nipping at her skin, his hands going to her chest, squeezing gently. Then she was groaning and taking his shirt off, throwing it to the floor. Rowan hiking her dress up as she kicked off her shoes. 

There was stillness as he took her in. Her body on show to him. His eyes roaming her completely, a feral kind of look on his face— until he was feeling her again, and she was sighing into the touches. 

“We should have done this months ago.” 

Aelin could only nod. They were kissing again and Aelin had her arms around his neck as he lifted her to the wall, pinning her there as he ground into her. The feel of him sending lightening up her spine and earning a lengthy moan from her lips. 

“Bedroom?” 

She shook her head. “Here.” She kissed him, “take me here.” 

He lowered her to the ground, holding up a finger to her— telling her to stay put. He jogged to another room and came back moments later with a condom. His trousers and underwear were off within seconds, the condom ripped open and on him in seconds. 

“You’ve done this before.” She laughed. 

Rowan rolled his eyes and went back to her, picking her up again then positioning himself at her centre. 

“No foreplay?” She asked. Her voice shaky as she felt him brush against her. 

“We’ve been doing that since we met. I can’t wait any longer.” 

Then he slipped into her, slow and deep and she was gasping for air at the feel of him inside her. She couldn’t think as he moved slowly at first, then faster as they found their rhythm. Aelin’s head falling back against the wall as she let the sensation of him fall over her. Rowan’s own moans were deep and croaky and their breaths loud as they joined together. Her hands gripping his shoulders tightly, her nails digging into his skin as she felt the pressure building. 

“Fuck.” She moaned. 

Rowan kissed her neck, then across her cheek to finally find her lips. It was hot and messy and she didn’t care one bit. His tongue tasted of whisky and she was in absolute heaven with him. 

“I told you,” as he thrust into her harder, “this,” another, “was,” another, “inevitable.” 

Aelin groaned, biting down on her lip as she came undone atop him. Her orgasm ripping through her fiery and deep as she felt him continue to move inside her until he was moaning louder and then his movements slowed and stopped. He remained inside her for a moment, revelling in the feeling— then slowly let her down. 

Her legs were weak and she was still catching her breath. But Rowan bent down and captured her lips with his own as he took her hand and led her to the bathroom, turning on the shower and bringing them both under the stream of hot water. It was moments later when he was down on his knees and licking and sucking at her centre, Aelin only able to grip his hair tightly as she let him pleasure her once again. 

There was a brief reprieve of cleaning each other before he was taking her to his bed and they spent the night in and out of sleep, waking up to touch and feel the other until they were both utterly spent. 

She woke in the morning, his arm over her protectively, their naked bodies entwined. She didn’t move, relishing in the feel of the two of them. 

Maybe Rowan had been right… 

They were inevitable. 

~~~

Tags: 

@morganofthewildfire @tomtenadia @fredweasleyhasadhd @luckyrunawaycheesecake @live-the-fangirl-life  @fireheart-violet  @charlizeed @scarblx @xo-fangirl-xo  @wordsafterhours @jesstargaryenqueen @sailorsassley @sjmships @endlessdaydream @aflickeringsoul @tillyrubes10 @rowaelin-cressworth @cookiemonsterwholovesbooks @rowaelinismyotp @rosegoldannie @maryberry @viajandosinalas @becarefuloflove @allthebooksunderthemoon @sheharahu @swankii-art-teacher @superspiritfestival @becarefuloflove @tanvee1231 @viajandosinalas @backtobl4ck @emily-gsh​ @whispers-in-the-darkest-heart​ @becarefuloflove​ @goddess-aelin @thegreyj

#rowaelinscourt #rowaelins court #rowaelinmonth #rowaelin month #rowaelin #rowan #aelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #aelin ashryver #aelin ashryver galathynius #aelin x rowan #rowan x aelin

[rowaelinscourt]

Rowaelin Month: NEW PROMPT LIST

Due to a mistake in scheduling, we're shifting Rowaelin Month back by a day! The new dates will be Monday the 12th through Sunday the 25th, in order to observe September 11th for those in the United States.

All prompts are still the same! If you are having a hard time viewing the prompts on the calendar for whatever reason, or if you struggle with images, the prompts are also listed out below the cut.

September 12: Songfic

September 13: Babies and Pregnancy

September 14: Travel/Vacation

September 15: Royalty or Modern Royalty AU

September 16: A Trip to the Hospital

September 17: College or University AU

September 18: Holiday Celebration

September 19: Rowaelin Dancing

September 20: Single Parent AU

September 21: An Unconventional Way to Get a Date

September 22: Work Rivals

CANON PROMPTS:

September 23: Rowaelin in the Library Rowan Gifted to Aelin

September 24: A Post-Canon Scene

September 25: What If...?

#rowaelin #rowaelinmonth #announcement #rowaelinscourt #rowaelin month announcenemt #rowaelin month rules #rowaelin month prompts #throne of glass #rowaelin fanfiction #tog #sarah j maas #sjm #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius

[leiawritesstories]

Literally in ANY of your AUs, can you make Aelin try to bake these lighthouse-shaped cookies and fail miserably??? Thank you dear 😍

Picture for reference lmao

EMMA OH MY GOD I'M WHEEZING I LOVE THIS SO SO SO SO SO MUCH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

here have some college AU that I wrote real fast

Word count: ~900

Warnings: language, lots and lots of suggestive jokes

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Look what I found!" Aelin crowed, bursting through the door of her and Elide's apartment with a triumphant grin on her face and a small paper bag in her hand.

Elide glanced up from her comfortable position on the couch. "A...a paper bag, Ae?"

"Bitch," Aelin snorted. "Look!" She withdrew a silver cookie cutter from the bag, holding it out to her friend. "Found it at the street fair and it was only $1.50!"

"Damn," Elide whistled, taking the cookie cutter to admire it. "This is nice, Ae!"

"It's perfect," the blonde gushed, already planning just how she'd decorate the cookies. "'Cause the party is pirate themed and all--gods, I'm gonna have so much fun with this!" Hardly waiting for Elide's reply, she waltzed into the kitchen and got out her ingredients, not wanting to waste any time.

Their friend group had been planning this Halloween party for weeks now, having finally settled on "pirates" as the theme to placate both the guys who refused to dress as anything wimpy and the girls who wanted to, well, catch some attention. Aelin herself could barely contain her glee; she'd hidden her rather scanty pirate queen outfit far in the back of her closet, not needing Rowan to discover it before she was ready to stun him speechless.

And since she had a fondness for baking, Aelin had agreed to make some cookies. She let Lysandra, Fenrys, and Aedion be in charge of most of the food, though, because they were better at that kind of thing. Or, more specifically, Fenrys was better at making the punch.

She couldn't contain her grin as she rolled out the sugar cookie dough and carefully cut the lighthouse shapes, lining them up neatly on the tray and sliding them into the oven. She cut another batch and then made some ships and skulls for fun. A little variety never hurt.

Beep!

The obnoxious oven timer went off, prompting her to grumble. That was one of the only downsides of this apartment, the loud-ass timer on the oven and stove. Like a damn fire alarm, it was.

Grinning widely, Aelin slipped her oven mitt onto her hand, opened the oven, and took out the freshly baked, delicious-smelling cookies.

And shrieked.

Elide sprinted into the kitchen. "Shit, girl, did you burn something?!"

Aelin's jaw hung open, her eyes fixed on the pan of lighthouse cookies.

Well, at least, they were supposed to be lighthouse cookies.

"What the hell?!" she yelped, plopping the tray atop the stovetop and gaping in shock and horror. "I can't serve...these!!"

Elide pressed her lips tightly together, willing herself to keep from doubling over in laughter. Despite her efforts, though, a tiny sort escaped her.

Aelin whipped her gaze to her roommate, mingled horror and wrath flashing across her face. "Ells," she pleaded.

Elide contained herself. "Ae, darling," she began, slowly, trying to maintain her control over her merriment, "are you sure those are lighthouses?"

"YES!" Aelin shrieked, desperate, shoving down the humor of the cookies' appearance as she tried to stay mad that they'd utterly failed her expectations.

The brunette loosed a snicker. "Hon, no amount of decorating can make those look any less like dicks."

"Shut up!" Aelin squawked, flushing bright red. "I didn't--"

"But that's what happened." Elide patted Aelin's shoulder, suppressing the laughter in her dark eyes. "It's okay, Ae, the dicks come when you least expect them."

Silence in the kitchen.

Then both Aelin and Elide burst into peals of laughter, the utter failure of the lighthouse cookie cutter overshadowed by the complete hilarity of the situation.

"Gods above," Aelin wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes, "I love you, Ells."

"Love ya more," Elide giggled, sinking down to the floor in helpless mirth.

Aelin grabbed the pan of cookies, scanning the various phallic shapes. A wicked grin slid across her face as she grabbed the spatula and slid one of them off the pan, displaying the stubby shape to her still-cackling roommate. "Look! It's Chaol!"

"AE!" Elide gasped, clutching her stomach as her laughter refreshed itself. "Fucking gods, girl!"

Tears leaked from Aelin's eyes as she cackled, "accidentally" dropping the cookie onto the floor so it crumbled. "Oops!"

"So fragile," Elide giggled, swiping the spatula from Aelin and lifting another cookie, this one much larger than the unfortunate previous one. "Hullo, Lorcan."

"ELIDE!" Aelin yelped, covering her eyes. "NO!" It was her turn to wheeze, trying and failing to look away from the way Elide lifted the cookie to her lips and, winking wickedly, flicked her tongue around the top. "Rutting gods, no!"

"Serves you right," Elide crooned. "These walls aren't that thick, y'know."

"Tell that to your boyfriend," Aelin snickered, lifting the biggest, fattest cookie off the tray. "Whitethorn junior, looking good."

"Gods save me," Elide groaned dramatically, giggling as she watched Aelin wickedly settle the cookie in her fist and nibble at the base. "I don't need to know all your kinks!"

"Too bad we live together," Aelin giggled.

Elide snorted. "Fair enough." She looked once again to the tray of unmistakably phallic cookies. "So..."

Needless to say, Aelin's "lighthouse" cookies were the very tip-top highlight of the Halloween party.

Aside from her corset, of course. And the fake dagger strapped to her thigh.

Who would have known Rowan was that attracted to dangerous women?

~~~

TAGS:

@charlizeed

@cretaceous-therapod

@clea-nightingale

@autumnbabylon

@nerdperson524

@fireheartwhitethorn4ever

@morganofthewildfire

@rowanaelinn

@wesupremeginger

@stardelia

@shanias-world

@mybloodrunsblue

@swankii-art-teacher

@wordsafterhours

@cookiemonsterwholovesbooks

@violet-mermaid7

@holdthefrickup

@goddess-aelin

@rowaelinismyotp

@dealfea

@irondork

@elentiyawhitethorn

@live-the-fangirl-life

@darling-im-the-queen-of-hell

@chronicchthonic14

@lovely-dove-zee

@sweet-but-stormy

@hanging-from-a-cliff

@jorjy-jo

@rowaelinrambling

@thegreyj

@silentquartz

@backtobl4ck

@throneofus7

@elizarikaallen

@llyncooljones

@booknerdproblems

@julemmaes

@earthtolinds

#my writing #answered prompt #i love you emma #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #rowaelin #fluff #and naughty jokes #college au

[llyncooljones]

like a mirror - rowaelin month day nine.

ao3 || masterlist || rowaelin month ‘22 masterlist 

prompt: single parent au.

word count: 1924

trigger warnings: language, inuendo

tag list: @rowaelinscourt @live-the-fangirl-life  @rowaelinismyotp  @rowanaelin @fireheartwhitethorn4ever @elentiyawhitethorn  @autumnbabylon  @leiawritesstories @backtobl4ck

the office, early afternoon.

It wasn’t often that Aelin’s voice could be heard across the entire executive floor of her office, in fact, she couldn’t recollect a single time she had ever shouted so loudly in the office. Not once.

Not even when she had fired that one guy for touching up one of her college-aged interns. She had gone more for the talk-quietly approach so that she could threaten him with genital dismemberment without being overheard. Then she had laughed because of dis-member-ment and genitals.

The employee she had been firing looked bewildered, and not at all scared until she showed him the concealed-carry permit she had.

After the meeting, and the crazed laugh she continued to let out as he left, and after he left, she decided she spent too much time around her teenage son and his equally immature teenage friends.

That had been over a year ago, and her son had only further filled her mind with immature, dirty jokes. Jokes she had to restrain herself from telling. Truly, she had nearly bitten her tongue in half the last time the whole executive floor had a meeting, so many missed opportunities.

Her son, Oren, would truly be displeased with her. he encouraged her inner child to come out and play, whilst also accepting that she had to be a strict mum sometimes.

She wasn’t quite sure how it worked, but she had a son who loved her, respected her, and behaved for her—except in the rare cases when he acted out.

Her laptop was cradled in her left arm, her phone in her hand, folios for the hour’s meeting she was heading to. She was set to go. All she had to do was manage to slip her feet into the stilettos under her desk, she couldn’t show up to a meeting with a prospective client, in unicorn slippers her son had bought her.

That wasn’t quite how she wanted things to go. Wasn’t the best message to send them.

After too many minutes of struggling, she managed to slip the red bottoms on, without toppling in the five-inch heels. She deemed it a success. She had just managed to pry her office door open—without putting down the items in her arms and hands—when the phone in her hand rang, startling her straight through the gates of hell.

Managing to hold onto her laptop and the folios, she answers the phone, keeping it on speaker phone as she slides through the tiny gap in between her office door and the door frame.

“Hello, am I speaking to Ms Galathynius?” spoke a voice, prim and proper, as though they went to a fucking school to learn how to speak. Maybe they did, but whatever the situation, Aelin was too distracted making it to the right boardroom, that she didn’t pay enough attention to her voice.

She, in fact, did not realise who the person on the other end of the was until it was too late to hang up.

“Yes, this is she. How can I help you, ma’am?” Aelin never used to answer the phone like this.

Sixteen years ago, when her company had been a start-up in her living room, she’d answered the phone with a yawn, the sound of a baby either screaming or suckling and a casual what d’ya want? but since those days, she’s learnt not to do so.

Funny how such seemingly small things, can have such a massive impact on your business reputation.

“Hi, I’m calling from the office of Principal Westbrook, in relation to the recent altercation your son was involved in. we’d really appreciate it if you could make it to the school in the next hour. We would appreciate a meeting with the parents of the students involved.”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Just give me forty-five minutes to get there, I just need to clear up a few matters at work.” Her mind was going a mile a minute, because she had an hour-long meeting scheduled in ten minutes, and those ten minutes needed to be used for prep.

Despite so many years in the business, she never quite got over the fright of standing in a room, full of men who no doubt thought themselves smarter than the woman who still carried her south-Orynth accent, wore bright pink heels, and won their money and loyalty.

And sometimes she lost, sometimes they laughed when she stood up, sometimes those people found their pockets empty the next morning, and sometimes women’s charities found themselves billions richer as a result.

Not that it had anything to do with Aelin.

No.

“Brilliant, I’ll book the meeting for an hour from now, and I’ll let you go.” Thank the gods, Aelin wasn’t sure how much longer she could listen to the woman’s voice.

“Thank you, buh-bye.” Rude? Maybe. Necessary? Absolutely. Aelin needed to be sane, for when she met with her son in that fucking oppressive office of the principal.

With hurried steps, she made her way to Boardroom One, ignoring the heads of department who tried to catch her eye or have a word. She had a scheduling crisis to sort out and no fucking time to do so.

With little time, she set out the folios for the law firm that was coming in, hoping to re-evaluate their approach to clients and the media via their advertising and social media. E.R.A. Media had made a name for itself in the last fifteen years, ever since Aelin’s favours from school had come through and she’d landed her first few high-profile clients. And since then, growth had been exponential, to the extent that she could dedicate teams of two specialists to each client.

SWM Law was a twenty-year-old practice, with a client list longer than Aelin’s own, and had become one of the major law firms across the country, with offices in every major and minor city. Whilst Aelin was successful, to make just over a billion in a year she had to be, the law firm was worth several billion, upwards of fifty on their good years.

And if Aelin didn’t land this client, it wasn’t the end of the world, but it sure would sting, because right then they were lined to be their biggest client to date.

In other words, she couldn’t afford to mess this one up.

With exhaustion, and questions unanswered, she slumped into a plush chair and rested her head in her hands. Raking them through the hair she had taken an hour to do that morning, she sighed. A proper sigh. One of absolute exhaustion.

“Uh, is this Boardroom One? I’m here for a meeting with Ms Galathynius?” spoke a large, and yet soft voice. She wasn’t quite sure what about it was large, or what about it was soft, but it made her think of the days when her father would tell her all about ‘the business in that strict, business voice of his, mixed with an affection no one else could quite match.

“Hi, yes. This is! And I am. Ms Galathynius, that is. I understand how unprofessional this seems, me sat here like this—”

“—Oh, gods, don’t apologise. I’ve spent so many ‘work hours’ just sitting in my desk chair. You really have nothing to apologise for—”

“—But I just got some news that is going to interfere with our meeting today, and I don’t want to force you to reschedule, I understand how busy you are, but I’m not sure I can fit all the plans into the short time period.” She rushed out, laughing awkwardly, and yet comfortably, at the man’s interjection. It made her happy, a little calmer, to know that he understood.

“I am all too happy to reschedule. Don’t worry about that, ma’am. Might I ask what news you got?” he was so kind, so diplomatic, it was no wonder he worked magic in a courtroom because underneath all his kindness she could see every ruthless bone in his body—and there were two-hundred-and-five of them.

“Oh, nothing. I just have to meet with my son’s principal. And I can’t send his father, because—the bastard he is—he ran off when he found out I was pregnant.” She gasped for breath at the end, having spoken too quickly, and it took a minute for her brain to catch up with her mouth. “Oh, gods, I should not have said that. I am so sorry, that was terribly inappropriate of me, I do promise I’m usually better than this. Sixteen years in the business, and yet I can’t keep myself together after one call about my son.”

“Gods, I can tell you right now, that I don’t miss the days my daughter was in high school, those were some trying times. Never helped that I couldn’t quite understand her troubles. But, regardless, I’d quite like to get this meeting done today—just to avoid the rescheduling hassle. I have no opinion on you picking up your son. How long will you be?”

“Oh, he’s over at Westbrook Preparatory, so it’ll be long past our meeting time when I’m back. Don’t worry, I’ll get my personal assistant on it. She’ll get on the line with yours, and all will be resolved.” Easy, his people, her people, and a new meeting time.

“I do hope this doesn’t weird, but I’d be rather open to having this meeting in the car. On the way to pick your son up. Now, I understand you don’t know me, but my daughter was at Westbrook, as a day student, and parent to parent, you’re going to want a lawyer because that school is going to try and sue you for something.” The friendly tone was selling her, and to be honest, from Aelin’s previous interactions with the school, she would not mind a lawyer.

The second it had been revealed she didn’t have a rich husband who paid for her stilettos, she had become public enemy number one.

“You sit silently in that chair until the law is brought up. I don’t give two shits how you did your shit, I do mine, my way. Until I need a lawyer. But I don’t need you until I need you, yeah?” she hoped it made sense to him. She wasn’t sure it would make any sense, but she could hope that he would understand.

“Totally. Anytime somebody tried to parent my daughter without my say-so, I can tell you I flew off the hook. I mean, honestly. Gods, there was a time,” as he spoke, they moved towards the door. Leaving the folios, leaving their laptops, leaving their business brains behind. Aelin would be a liar if she said she hadn’t remembered. She had; she was just enjoying this conversation. She had never met a single parent who was so successful, who somewhat understood her stressors.

Rowan continued on, and Aelin hung onto his every word as he spoke, every intonation had her nodding, every question had her answering, and every exclamation had her gasping.

By the end of the journey to Westbrook, they were fast friends. Telling stories about the worst and the best of times. The trials and the triumphs. The days that got the worst of them, and the guilt. But mostly the good times, mostly the joy that so few could understand.

It felt like looking into a mirror sometimes, and Aelin found that she had never liked the reflection so much before.

#rowaelinscourt #rowaelinmonth #rowaelin month 2022 #rowaelin month #rowaelin #throne of glass #throne of glass fic #tog #tog fic #my fic #my writing #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #llyncooljones' writing

[charincharge]

I Don't Want To Wait, seventy-one

rowaelin high school bff au masterlist

TW: College admissions. Sorry if you’re going through this now! Also, I went through this a longgggggggg time ago, and I know this isn’t exactly how admissions works, so apologies for creative liberties. I was supposed to post this before Aelin's birthday, but I missed May 3. Just by two days, though, so not too shabby! Okay, lets go. Final stretch, my loves.

“What do you mean you don’t want to celebrate your birthday?” Rowan scoffed. “Ace, you love your birthday.”

Aelin stretched her arms overhead and reached to touch her toes, ignoring the way her boyfriend stared at her with his usual hawklike intensity and instead leaned into her shins, helping relieve the ache from sore and overworked muscles. Dance practices had been relentless on her body, especially with the spring showcase just a few weeks away, she seemed to be in perpetual knots always.

Well, she guessed she couldn’t just blame dance on that. She was having a hard time with everything at the moment. While her friends were smiling and laughing at their last few weeks of high school, Aelin was feeling an acute sense of panic. The weeks following spring break had melted away faster than she could process, gone in the blink of an eye, filled with an onslaught of dance practices and AP exam prep and constantly checking her inbox for that little email notification from Wendlyn. And not nearly enough Rowan, who was spending all his free time with his lacrosse team. Not only that but everyone around her seemed more excited than ever with the prospect of leaving Orynth right around the corner, but with each passing day the knot in her stomach grew tighter. Everything was a ~last~ —and she was having a hard time enjoying that. She didn’t want any of this to be her last. Why was everyone excited that time was moving so fast? Why couldn’t she just freeze right here in this moment. In this limbo things were stressful, but they were still fine. Without knowing what her fate held.

College acceptances had come rolling in, one by one, her friends grinning wildly as they opened their emails. But Aelin’s inbox remained woefully empty. So, she wanted her boyfriend to forgive her for not feeling particularly celebratory, but then again, she hadn’t discussed any of this with him for fear of making him feel guilty about it.

As she breathed into her next stretch, she turned her torso to look back at Rowan, who was still waiting patiently for her response.

“My birthday last year was a disaster,” Aelin finally replied, completely ignoring the real reason she was feeling less-than-enthused. “How quickly they forget.”

But Rowan just rolled his eyes. “That was an exception. I have a feeling that no one is going to get arrested or go to rehab this year. Usually your birthday is all you can talk about for months. Are you really telling me you haven’t planned anything? For your eighteenth birthday?” he asked. “It’s in less than a week.”

Aelin shrugged, leaning to the other side and groaning as she stretched out a particularly tender muscle.

“I just don’t want to do anything this year,” she said. “The spring dance show is in two weeks, and I’ve been practicing every night. So, for my birthday I just want the night off.” She paused. “Is that really so bad?”

“No…” Rowan said quietly, picking up his phone and furrowing his brow. She’d know that face anywhere. He looked concerned.

“What?” she snapped and immediately regretted it when she saw Rowan’s face. He didn’t deserve to be the receptacle of her stress or ire. All he wanted was to make sure she had the birthday she wanted. Her sweet, sweet Rowan. “Sorry,” she apologized quickly. “I’m just…”

“Tired?” Rowan filled in, and she nodded and lifted her arms above her head, extending them out for him. He swooped in quickly and helped her to her feet, enveloping her in a warm and comforting embrace. “I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered into her hair, and she could feel her tension melting away with each one of his butterfly kisses.

Aelin finally looked up at him, and his worried green eyes were staring back down at her. “I’m so tired, Ro,” she admitted as she squeezed him against her tighter. “The idea of doing something big for my birthday just seems like so much work.”

“It’s just a big one,” he replied softly. “I don’t want you to regret not celebrating.”

“And I appreciate that,” she said, letting herself melt into his chest fully. His heartbeat helped center her, and she rued the day that she wouldn’t have it there for her at a moment’s notice. “But I just want to hang out with you, eat too much chocolate cake and maybe go to sleep early.”

“So I should tell Lorcan to cancel the surprise trip to the strip club?” Rowan asked. Aelin’s head shot up, and her boyfriend’s answering smirk was telling enough.

“You almost had me there,” she said.

“He tried,” Rowan laughed, “But I shut him down pretty quickly.”

“What kind of strip club are we talking about?” she asked, causing Rowan’s worried expression to disappear, as she intended. As Rowan explained how he had to talk Lorcan off the ledge, Aelin took out her phone and needlessly refreshed her phone over and over. But her inbox remained unchanged.

. . .

“Stay calm and vote Manon and Elide as queens for prom!” Dorian shouted while shoving a rainbow flyer into a passerby’s hands. “A vote for Manon and Elide is a vote against The Man!” he continued, causing Aelin to snort into one of the crown-adorned cupcakes Maeve had contributed to the cause. Dorian had taken it upon himself to run point for Manon and Elide’s prom queen campaign and had recruited Aelin to help him during their shared free period. Not that he needed the help. Orynth High had rallied around the pair of women, and there was no doubt as to who would sweep the vote, but it was still something that Aelin could do without that horrible nauseous feeling taking over her entire body – which might have been helped by the fact that Dorian was also still waiting for a college acceptance email, and so the pair of them were happy to use lifting up their friends as a distraction. Or at least use it as a reprieve from constantly refreshing their email. He’d received a few rejections and was pinning all his hopes on one last college.

“A vote for Manon and Elide is a vote for equality!” he shouted, offering up his own plate of cupcakes to a nearby freshman, who accepted it readily.

As if they’d heard their names called, the pair rounded the corner, hand in hand, smiling softly at each other. Manon pulled away for a second as she tied up her newly dyed turquoise hair into a messy bun, causing Elide to sigh dreamily. Aelin watched as they slid their fingers tighter as they came back together and leaned into each other’s shoulders. They’d both received their acceptances to Perranth, a small liberal arts school nearby, earlier this week and the pair hadn’t stopped smiling since. Aelin was happy for her friends; honestly, she was. But that didn’t stop her stomach from churning with jealousy at the fact that they were going off into their post-high school future together.

“Oooh, are those Maeve cupcakes?!” Elide asked, eyeing the funfetti confection in Dorian’s hand. He lifted the plate, offering it up, and Elide wasted no time in grabbing it and shoving half of it into her mouth.

“Sooooo good,” she mumbled around a mouthful of crumbs. Manon rolled her eyes at her girlfriend’s enthusiasm and used one of her long nails to brush away a bit of frosting from above her lip. Unable to control herself, she swooped down and kissed the spot she’d cleaned, as if to make sure it was completely free of sugar.

“And I thought Rowan and I were disgusting,” Aelin laughed.

“You are,” her friends all said in unison, not wasting a single beat.

Aelin flipped them all off, burying her face into her own cupcake instead as Manon asked Dorian for a status update on his polling info. She was taking this extremely seriously, and it kind of warmed Aelin’s heart to see her cold friend use her ruthlessness for good. Well, for Elide’s good.

Though they were deep in conversation about numbers and which cliques were voting for whom, Dorian stopped and gasped loudly.

“What?” Manon asked, and Dorian opened his phone and showed it to them.

In bold at the top of his email inbox was a brand new email, waiting in bold from Anielle University with the subject: Dorian Havillard, Application Status.

“Oh my god, OPEN IT!” Manon shouted as she reached for the phone, but Dorian clutched it to his chest in horror.

“NO!”

“No?” Aelin asked, raising a brow in his direction.

“I can’t open this in the middle of the hallway,” he hissed. “What if it’s a rejection?”

Aelin’s chest panged with sympathy. She knew how hard Dorian had worked this year with volunteering at the hospital and all his APs to get into the college of his dreams. Aka, one far away from his father. Anielle was as far as it got, and it was a great school, too. Not to mention it was the last one he was waiting to hear from.

“Do it when you’re ready,” she said. “Don’t let these college admits pressure you,” she continued.

“Ah, fuck it,” he said. He closed his eyes tightly as he pressed the bolded link. He took a deep breath, and cracked an eye open before shutting it again. “I can’t look. Someone look for me.”

“Give me that,” Manon grumbled, pulling the phone out of Dorian’s white-knuckled grasp. As a wide smile appeared on her face, Aelin’s stomach clenched further. She knew what that look meant. “Look yourself,” Manon said, handing the phone back to Dorian, whose eyes were still clenched tightly closed.

He blindly groped for the phone before Aelin shoved it into his wandering hand. “Congrats,” she whispered, knowing what the email would say without even seeing it herself.

Dorian’s eyes shot open, darting across the screen as that very same smile she’d seen on all her friends one-by-one ripped across his face.

Aelin tried to smile back as Manon and Elide crowded him with high fives and hugs and lifted celebratory cupcakes into the air and cheersed them together. Aelin refreshed her own inbox, but there was nothing there. Of course there wasn’t. At this point she was just assuming that she would have to reapply to colleges next year and maybe do community college locally for the year. That would be fine, though. She’d continue to teach dance and maybe volunteer at the hospital some more. Get some real-life work experience. Plus, she’d have time to drive out to Wendlyn and see Rowan on the weekends, if he still wanted her to do that, of course.

“Still nothing?” Elide asked Aelin, having noticed her quiet smile.

Aelin shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll get the rejection soon,” she laughed. “I just wished they’d do it sometime soon and put me out of my misery.”

Elide reached across the table and squeezed Aelin’s tense shoulder. “I know this is going to sound patronizing, but I mean it. If they reject you, it’ll be their loss.” She paused. “Have you talked to your mom, asked her if there’s anything she can do?”

Aelin physically blanched at the mention. “No. Not since the interview debacle.” She cringed more, realizing that her mom would most-likely be calling her on her birthday in just a few days, and she’d be wondering what Aelin’s status was. And Aelin would have to admit that she as a disappointment, just as she always assumed she’d be.

Yet another reason why she would not be in the mood to celebrate turning the big one eight. She’d need a full day to recover from whatever her mom said to her. She tried to remember if Evalin had ever forgotten her birthday before. She was pretty sure she had. And those years had hurt, had made her want to celebrate her birthday even harder. But she wasn’t sure if talking to her this year would be worse than not hearing from her at all. I guess only time would tell.

Instead of wallowing in her feelings, Aelin joined the celebratory cupcake party, drowning her feelings in Maeve’s delicious buttercream frosting, and hoped yet again for a single email to arrive and put her out of her misery.

. . .

Three days later, Aelin woke up to a small nudge against her nose. Then a soft kiss to one cheek, then to her other.

“Five more minutes,” she groaned, causing the offending kisser to laugh against the soft skin of her neck as his kisses trailed down toward her shoulder. “I’m serious, Buzzard, fuck off,” she said, but it lacked any real vitriol. After all, the man of her dreams was kissing every inch of her skin as thoroughly as he could while still being gentle enough to rouse her from her dreams with ease.

“Happy Birthday, Ace” he whispered as his lips ghosted over hers.

She finally cracked her eye all the way open and couldn’t help but smile widely at the sight of Rowan kneeling beside her bed, a sparkling glint in her best friend’s eye as she came to life beneath his gaze.

“Eighteen years old,” she whispered back, her voice still hoarse from hours of sleep.

“I know you said you wanted chocolate cake,” he said, “So I considered making you my poor attempts at breakfast cake again,” he laughed, reminding her of the day she’d woken up on her sixteenth birthday and resolved herself to kiss her best friend within that year. How far away that birthday now seemed, even though it was a mere two years ago. They were different people then. They hadn’t known how much they’d go through, how much life they’d live together to come out of it in this moment on her birthday again. Together. “But I decided to do you a solid and just bring a chocolate fudge cake for breakfast. Because you’re a grownup now. And grownups eat chocolate fudge cake for breakfast.”

She loved that despite their long history that Rowan still rambled when he got nervous with her. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him close, kissing him thoroughly. Her tongue slid between his lips and he groaned in response, kissing her harder and letting himself fall on top of her, despite still being on his knees.

“Maybe my first act as an official adult should be having morning sex with my boyfriend,” she mumbled against his lips, tugging him closer. He kissed her back, but shook his head and pulled away, causing her to pout sadly.

“As much as I would love that, your dad is downstairs.”

Aelin closed her eyes and stuck out her hand, revealing a thumbs down. Rowan laughed heartily, and she loved the way it made her feel dizzy.

“But we can eat some cake first,” he said, handing her a fork.

“Thanks, Rowan,” she said in a rare moment of sincerity between the two, not joking at all, and she loved the way his cheeks colored with a dark pink as his head ducked.

“I love you,” he simply replied. And though Aelin had dreaded the approach of this day, she relished in the fact that this boy – her best friend – loved her. For right now, that was good enough.

. . .

“Happy birthday, baby,” Rhoe said, enveloping Aelin into a warm hug.

Aelin quirked a brow up at her dad, who was not usually this sentimental, but she accepted the hug regardless.

“Shut up,” he said, chuckling softly as he pulled back. “It’s the last time I’m going to be with you on your birthday morning, and I deserve a hug. As a reward for getting you to eighteen at the very least. I think I did an okay job,” he said, looking her over.

“You did more than okay, Rhoe” Rowan said, pouring a large cup of coffee into Aelin’s favorite mug and then handing it to her. “You did amazing.”

“You’re already forgiven for waking me up too early,” Aelin laughed, but accepted the coffee nonetheless. “Mmmm, hazelnut,” she said, appreciating that her household had made her favorite flavor, despite not loving it themselves.

“DID I MISS IT?!” Lorcan asked, his voice breathless as he burst his way into the kitchen.

“Missed what?” Aelin asked, looking around at the empty kitchen.

“The gifting of porn and cigarettes, obviously,” Lorcan said with a wry smirk. But Aelin just rolled her eyes.

Her dad narrowed his eyes and looked at Lorcan with disdain. “You’re so lucky I like you.”

Lorcan’s grin only widened in response. “Happy eighteenth, slugger,” he laughed, handing Aelin a pile of scratch-off lotto tickets. “Don’t spend it all in one place.”

Rhoe’s lips curled into an unwitting smile as he wrapped his arm around Aelin’s shoulders, tugging her close once again.

“Dad?”  

“Lorcan is being an absolute idiot, like he always is.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I know you’re still waiting for official replies, but no matter where you end up next year…” Rhoe began. “I’d like you to be able to come and visit as much as you like.”

He pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Aelin. “Happy birthday, Aelin.” He looked around the room. “From all three of us.”

Aelin looked at the men in the room, staring back at her, before processing that the thing now resting in Aelin’s hand was a key. Not just a key. But a car key.

“SHUT UP,” she said, her eyes widening. “SHUT UP!”

“I will not,” Rhoe said, but he couldn’t help but smile.

Aelin sprinted for the door before anyone could stop her, and she was practically crying as she reached the driveway where a dark green sedan waited for her.  

“She’s old, but we gave her a pretty good makeover,” Rhoe said, apologetic. But Aelin knew how huge a gift this was.

“You guys did this?” she asked, and Rhoe nodded.

“One of my crew members was ready to retire it for scraps. It’s a got a fair amount of miles on it already, but we replaced all the important parts. New alternator, air filter, battery, breaks, headlights… pretty much anything that wasn’t up to code from 30 years ago.”

“Dad…” she said, running her hand over the shiny fresh coat of paint. “That must have been really expensive…”

But Rhoe simply shook his head. “It was less than I thought it’d be. The whole crew helped out during their down time, and these two bozos put in a fair amount of labor on some overnight shifts.”

Aelin’s gaze shifted to Rowan, who was pushing the toe of his sneaker into the gravel of their driveway.

“I might have lied a few times about being too tired after lacrosse to come over. Sorry,” he said, tucking his chin into his chest, and Aelin was suddenly buzzing with an warm feeling in her chest. The knot that had been there, tightening for weeks, suddenly loosened. Love. That’s what this feeling was. Just the sweetest, most incredible feeling. To be cared for like this by the people around her. So overwhelmed, she couldn’t help herself; she corralled the three most important men in her life together and widened her arms around them into a giant group hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She made sure to say it three times, thanking each one of them.

“Well,” Lorcan said. “Don’t you want to get in?”

Aelin squealed, throwing herself into the driver’s seat and adjusting the chair to her particular height. She breathed in the pine scented air freshener they’d hung on the rearview mirror and smiled. It was perfect.

The car was old, that was not a question. But that only added to its charm. The seats were a comfortable worn-in fabric with a pattern that reminded her of the old Terrasen airport carpet, with its greyscale geometric patterns. The dash was covered in a faux wood pattern that she recognized as being trendy decades ago, but it just made her love it more. This car had history. She’d seen things. She was well-traveled, and Aelin couldn’t wait to give her a brand-new life and explore even more. She knew they’d have many, many adventures in this car. Overhead, there was a sunroof, which she immediately opened to let in the mid-morning light, and she couldn’t help but tilt her chin into the light and let the glow warm her skin.

“You didn’t have to do this,” she finally said, lowering the window to look at her dad, who was more than pleased with his own handiwork.

But Rhoe simply scoffed at that comment. “So, are you driving us all to breakfast or what?”

Aelin grinned as Rowan pulled up a playlist titled, “A-ight-teen” and connected it to the clearly refurbished stereo system.

She laughed as the first song came on loudly – Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman – causing Rowan to grin widely, a grin that he reserved solely for her. Their matching smiles morphed into guffaws as Rhoe and Lorcan folded their hulking, tree-like bodies into the backseat, squeezing into the cramped sedan with no complaints.

“To Maeve’s?” Aelin asked.

“Yes, Jeeves,” Rhoe said in a ridiculous fancy accent, causing them to break into laughter again.

. . .

“SURPRISE!”

Aelin literally jumped as her friends popped up from behind the counter of Maeve’s. She glared at her dad and Rowan, who had clearly planned this, despite her specifically telling them she hadn’t wanted to celebrate her birthday with a party. I mean, had she known she was going to see more than just Maeve she would have at least put some makeup on!

As if reading her mind, Rowan wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered, “You look beautiful.”

She frowned but accepted the compliment and a long kiss. As they parted, Aelin was swept into a number of excited hugs from all her favorite people. Manon, Elide, Dorian, Chaol, Lysandra, and Aedion circled around her, and she gasped as Aedion stepped in, surprising her with a bear hug and lifting her off the ground. They were causing a bit of a ruckus, especially with Lorcan making his own rounds saying hi to everyone he hadn’t seen in a few months, so Maeve quickly ushered them all out to the back patio where she’d set up a special table, and Aelin couldn’t help but moan with pleasure at the plates stacked high with all her favorite breakfast foods.

“…stuffed French toast, maple cured bacon, cinnamon rolls with extra frosting…” Maeve started listing, pointing along the table at the overly filled table.

“Anything for someone who doesn’t want to go into diabetic shock?” Rhoe laughed.

“Cheesy scrambled eggs, potato hash, bagels, and toppings for breakfast tacos,” she said, pointing out all the savory options on the table, too.

“Yummmm,” Aelin groaned, her eyes practically rolling back into her head with pleasure at her first bite of French toast, despite having a chocolate cake appetizer barely an hour earlier.

“I think she’s fine with the surprise,” Rhoe snorted, elbowing Rowan, who practically jumped out of his chair, tearing his eyes away from Aelin’s mouth.

Manon cackled with glee. “As if we would let the birthday queen not celebrate her birthday. It’ll probably be the last time.”

A round of awwwws went around the table, but instead of the tightening Aelin would usually in her stomach, her panic was abated by Rowan’s fingers lacing with hers beneath the table. He squeezed, as if to silently say, I’m here and I know and I love you. And Aelin let the familiar feeling of his callused finger pads calm her quickly. As he drew circles on the back of her palm, she couldn’t help but think at how different this birthday was from the one only two years ago – the one where she’d planned to tell Rowan her feelings and chickened out. She remembered the way he’d simply sat in the corner, watching her socialize, and she wondered what would have happened if she’d told him then – would they still have ended up together? Or did they need to go through… everything in order to get to where they needed to be today.

Looking at the way he made conversation with everyone from Lorcan to Lysandra, something shifted inside her. This man would one thousand percent have rather been alone with her all day, but he also knew that – despite her protests – she did actually want to celebrate with her friends. Because he knew her. Fully. And that’s when she knew without a doubt that regardless of what happened between them two years ago, ten years ago, or ten years from now, Rowan would always be with her, silently loving her and helping her be her best self.

Aelin gulped, that knot that had abated earlier suddenly tightening in her stomach again. She had been so panicked for so many months about every moment being the last, progressively becoming more stressed as each of her friends discovered what their future held, while she still didn’t. But what was shockingly clear all of a sudden is that she did know what her future held. I mean, sure, she didn’t know where she’d end up or what she’d end up studying or exactly what her life would look like, but she knew that Rowan would be there by her side no matter what.

She almost laughed at herself. Wasn’t that what he’d been saying to her over and over and over? Why did it take until this moment to make her believe that?

“Presents?” Maeve suggested, and though Aelin nodded and smiled through each one, her mind was elsewhere, thinking about what she needed to talk about with Rowan tonight. Her stomach flipped – although she wasn’t entirely sure that couldn’t be blamed on the copious amounts of sugar she was consuming and her never-emptying mug of coffee.

“You okay, Fireheart?” Rhoe asked, nudging her ankle from across the table.

“Yup,” she answered, forcing a smile back onto her face and actually meaning it for the first time in a while. “Too much frosting,” she laughed, patting at her overly full stomach. Rhoe simply returned her laugh and handed the plate of frosted cinnamon rolls to the other end of the table where Dorian accepted it eagerly. And though she continued to open her presents and bask in the love of her friends and family around her, Aelin couldn’t wait to get Rowan alone.

. . .

“Did you have a good birthday?” Rowan asked, fluffing the pillows on the ground as Aelin gathered a warm quilt and pulled it over their makeshift bed. It’d been months since it was warm enough to go up to Maeve’s rooftop, but it felt like the perfect place to end the day.

“It’s not over yet,” Aelin said, snuggling into his side.

Rowan looked at his phone. “You’re right. You have ninety more minutes to celebrate. How do you want to commemorate your eighteenth year of life?”

Aelin raised her brow. “You think I brought you up here just to talk?”

Rowan snorted and pulled her closer. “You’re a menace. Come on, talk to me. I’ve seen your brain working a million miles an hour all day.”

Aelin looked up. “How do you do that?”

Rowan shrugged. “Do what?”

“Read my mind,” she said. “It’s spooky sometimes. I feel like you know things before I say them out loud allllll the time.”

Rowan chuckled. “I wish I could read your mind,” he said, tapping the side of her temple gently. “Now, come on. Tell me what’s going on.”

The words were on the tip of her tongue when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She’d been so distracted all day that for the first time in weeks, Aelin hadn’t spent every minute of every day refreshing her inbox.

She froze, and then her heart took off in a gallop, racing until she felt shaky with adrenaline. Sure enough, as she pulled the phone up, it was lit up with an email alert from Wendlyn University. Re: Aelin Galathynius Admission Status.

“Oh fuck,” Aelin whispered. Rowan’s eyes darted to the screen, and he shot up, sitting up too quickly and knocking Aelin off him.  

“Are you gonna check it?” he asked, but even as Aelin clicked into her inbox, she couldn’t press it. The email that would tell her whether she and Rowan were going to end up at the same school for the next four years. And then, suddenly, she knew what she had to say. And she had to say it before she opened up that email and revealed her fate. Because her fate could only be one thing. One person, really.

She placed her phone down and looked Rowan straight in the eyes and said with as much conviction as she possibly could, “I think we should get married.”

#idwtw au #rowaelin #tog fic #throne of glass fic #tog fanfic #rowaelin fanfic #charincharge writes #rowan x aelin #weeewooooo #throne of glass #throne of glass fanfic

[mariaofdoranelle]

Empty Nested

Rowaelin Month day 9: Single Parent AU

Long story short, life happened and I won’t be able to keep up with my original plan of posting for every prompt. However, I managed to finish this WIP and here it is! It’s 11:48 pm where I live so I guess it still counts as day 9 lol I hope you like it!!

Warnings: language, NSFW

Word count: 3,1k

Edit: This fic ended up becoming a whole thing so here’s a masterlist

~~~~~占~~~ _/||\°/||\。.:*・

To-do list

Read gardening book

Improve garden

Master’s degree pros and cons list

Find out which liquor bottles Maisie drank in secret and watered down

Enroll in Old Language classes

Rowan sighed. He was sat on his porch, trying to figure out what to do on the third weekend without Maisie driving him insane. His life’s purpose revolved around his only daughter for the last eighteen years, and now that he just dropped her off at college, he felt lonely. Mostly bored.

Coming home to an empty house felt hollow enough, the real tears about her moving only came when he arrived and saw her bike sitting on the porch. Three weeks later, he hadn’t moved it. Instead, he was gazing at it as he scrambled his mind for something to do.

Some movement on the street caught his attention, and Rowan noticed two men in an uniform carrying a massive piano inside Aelin Galathynius’s house. As tamed as he was, it was impossible not to notice how beautifully her golden hair shined below the midday sun, or how little that pale blue dress did to hide the curves underneath. Something like that would drive Rowan insane when she first moved into their street, but now he was a lot more used to his drop dead gorgeous neighbor. When Rowan realized what he was doing, he focused his gaze on her garden’s Kingsflower and swallowed. That woman raised Maisie’s best friend. She deserved more than a creepy old neighbor.

“Need any help?” Rowan asked as he got closer to the home.

Aelin turned around and smiled brightly at him. “Not really, but come on in!” And gestured for him to come inside. Good. If she gave Rowan a task to do, it meant he had one less thing to add to his to-do list.

He and Aelin were in that weird parent limbo where they’re not exactly friends, but they’ve been chatting here and there for years because their kids are close.

“How’s Finn?” he asked after the piano matter was settled, while she made coffee for them.

She sighed affectionately. “He’s in love with college and everything is amazing, you know how the freshman year goes. It’s so cute. And he’s there with his girlfriend, so he’s loving it.”

“Yeah, same for Maisie.” He chuckled. “Except for the relationship part. She’s merciless with her girls.”

“And you have no idea where she got that from?” Aelin teased.

His eyes went wide. “I really don’t. I spent years telling her to avoid the ladies’ man type, but apparently she misunderstood the lessons and ended up becoming one.”

Aelin cackled, but sighed again after. “God, I really miss those troublemakers.”

He sent her a watery smile. “Me too. I’ve been trying to get busy, but apparently that’s not a problem for you?”

“I used to play it everyday before Finn was born.”

Rowan looked between Aelin and her new piano, astounded. “You knew how to play that beast at sixteen?”

Grinning, she nodded. “I even used to teach it for extra money before having a full-time job.”

He just blinked, amazed. “Sometimes I forget not every teenager is a dipshit. I have absolutely no useful hobbies to revive.” In fact, Maisie was who made him learn real responsibility. Caring for a newborn in college without the mother was no joke.

“I’m sure this isn’t the case.”

With a raised eyebrow, he challenged, “Unless you call partying a hobby.”

Aelin went still, her eyes wide. “I have a boat party later today, you should come!”

“What?” he screeched.

“Come on!”

Rowan blinked, thinking hard on it. “I’m not sure.” He never left the house on the weekends because, as independent as Maisie tried to be, she always got in trouble at parties, so Rowan liked to be available for her.

“It’s my friend’s birthday, it’ll be fun.”

Well, as alarming as the thought was, Rowan couldn’t be physically there for his little girl. And he didn’t need to think about the to-do list if he wasn’t at home. Reluctantly, he finally answered, “Okay. You sure your friend won’t mind?”

Aelin grinned wickedly. “When you meet Fenrys, you’ll be sure of it.”

~~

Rowan endured two chapters of his new gardening book before readying himself early for the party. When it was finally time, to reach Aelin, he crossed the street to find his neighbor wearing gentle waves on her hair and a pleased grin.

She was wearing a golden, metallic dress that was... flattering. Maybe way too flattering. It had a V-neckline that made Rowan’s eyes go too south before he snapped it back up, flushing, to meet Aelin’s smirking face.

Rowan’s mouth opened and closed while he scrambled his mind for something respectful to say that would do her justice, but his flustered face seemed to be response enough by her ever-growing grin.

“We should catch an uber. I’m making us drink tonight,” she said, putting him out of his misery.

Rowan cleared his throat and nodded. “Let me.” He gave his phone to Aelin so she could type which part of the Florine River they were supposed to be at, and the ride ended up being pretty uneventful.

When Aelin invited him, Rowan was expecting a small get together at the marina. However, he found himself inside a tri-deck yatch with a DJ and a infinity pool.

Fenrys, just like Aelin predicted, didn’t mind his unadvised presence in the slightest. There was absolutely no way a singular, regular person knew all this people, but Aelin didn’t seem surprised by how packed the place was. She just greeted everyone she knew and introduced Rowan as they beelined to the nearest bar. In the meanwhile, he tried not to notice the amused glances Aelin’s friends darted between the two of them.

The bar was a little crowded, but Rowan managed to get some whiskey while she intently watched the preparation of her dessert cocktail.

“We should hit the dancefloor.”

Rowan’s body froze. “I can’t dance.”

Grinning, she answered, “Good. I can’t either.”

For the first time in years, Rowan was led to a small crowd under strobe lights. Aelin looked like a living flame with that dress, but she didn’t seem to realize it, carelessly dancing whichever pop music was playing. He tried not to embarrass himself by doing some sort of manly dance, but she wouldn’t have it.

His heartbeat picked up when Aelin put two hands on his chest and leaned closer to his face, but she just neared his ear and said, “Come on! You can do better than a straight guy dance.”

Rowan laughed brightly at this, little did she know he was just trying to not embarrass himself. He took Aelin’s arm and twirled her just before allowing his limbs to do their own thing, accompanying his dance partner’s uncoordinated moves, just letting loose on the dancefloor. And it felt good. Freeing. Their dancing must’ve looked borderline quirky from anyone looking from the outside, but he felt lighter than ever.

Feeling a little bold, he placed both hands on her hips, still swaying together. After a few minutes, she led him to the bar again, holding hands.

After sipping on the same drinks again, he mentioned to ask Aelin what she wanted to do, but her eyes were already on him. She led him out of the crowded part, and then trapped Rowan against the glass wall with her two hands. The only signs of her desire were her quick breaths and hypnotizing parted lips, so Rowan put his years-long self-control aside and placed a unsteady hand on Aelin’s nape, his thumb running her neck up and down.

He didn’t know who initiated it, but what started tentative soon became an open-mouthed, fervent kiss. Every inch of Aelin’s front was pressed against his, and she didn’t seem to mind Rowan’s greedy hands on her sides by the way she yanked his hair, leading his mouth to her neck.

Swapping places, he pressed Aelin against the wall. “Tell me you didn’t put that golden dress on purpose,” Rowan hissed on her ear, in charge of her body.

“I can’t,” she smirked.

Rowan kissed her again. Picking Aelin up, he sneaked his hands a bit under her dress, hoping his eager grip wouldn’t bruise her. In response, she pressed herself against him, her ridden-up dress allowing the friction between his bulge and her underwear’s the flimsy fabric. She was going to be the death of him.

“You’re such a cocktease.” Rowan didn’t mean to say this out loud, but he was too immersed in her to chastise himself. However, Aelin’s whole body shivered, and she arched her hips against this. Just as greedy, he decided to continue, “And you love it, don’t you? I bet you’re loving to make my blood boil right now.” She moaned, and Rowan moved one hand that was already under her dress to run his thumb against her wet underwear. He could feel Aelin’s knees buckling on his side, but he stilled. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman, and at least a decade since doing it at a part. And it wasn’t just a woman, it was Aelin. Perhaps he was going too fast and—

“Please,” Aelin’s soft whimper snapped him out of his thoughts.

Well, it was hard to deny her anything with those bewitching little whimpers and flushed cheeks. Their position made it hard for anyone to notice Rowan’s hand under her dress, so he sneaked his thumb under the lacy fabric and started massaging Aelin’s clit. She cried out when he first applied pressure, but Rowan started kissing her to swallow her moans, and they soon settled into a rhythm.

For all the restrained movements he had by using one arm to carry Aelin and the other hand pleasure her, she made up by touching him everywhere. Rowan felt sly hands running across his chest, back, redirecting his face from Aelin’s mouth to her neck, making his desire grow each touch.

She gripped his shirt with impressive strength when her body went still around him, then she relaxed completely on his arms. Rowan pressed their foreheads together, both of them panting when he felt a bit smug by noticing her trademark lavender smell was now mixed with sweat.

“You alright?” he asked.

His answer was a lazy, blissful smile. “Perfect. We might need a napkin to your face, though.” Rowan leaned a little to the side to see his reflection on the glass wall and, yes, his face was smudged with Aelin’s lipstick. A lot.

After getting down from his embrace and making sure her legs were firm enough to walk in high heels again, they decided to look for anything able to clean his face—napkin, tissue, toilet paper—they couldn’t afford to be picky.

The birthday boy, was Henrys his name? was filming the whole party, and soon the blinding flashlight from his phone landed on them.

“Say cheese!” he screamed, way too cheerful to be sober.

A dark-haired version of Henrys yanked him away. “I’m cutting off your booze.” Then he turned his head towards everyone in the room and quickly yelled, “Sorry!”

Aelin chuckled, and they soon found an empty bathroom with tissues. She mentioned for him to seat on top of the toilet’s closed lid while grabbing what she needed, but then stopped.

“You know?” she started with a sultry voice, “I kinda like that look on you. And I like that I was the one to kiss you all over.”

“You like your men looking like the Joker?” Rowan teased.

She giggled, losing the seductress act for a minute. Aelin sat on his lap, rubbing a wet tissue against his neck. He instantly held her hips and pulled her closer, baring her thighs on the way. Aelin took it as a cue and started rubbing herself against his bulge, and in this position Rowan was free to cup her breasts. One hand was gripping her hair, helping him lead the kiss, and the other holding Aelin’s breast as his thumb flicked a nipple through the dress. They were in a frenzy, giving and taking pleasure however they could, when Rowan heard a hissing sound. Aelin unzipping her dress.

Deciding to gently stop her, he managed to cup her hand somewhere between her hand and her hips.

Breaking the kiss, Aelin leaned away from him a little. “Did I do something wrong?”

Why in hell would she think that? Putting a strand of golden hair behind her ear, he whispered, “Of course not.”

She arched an eyebrow. “So...”

Even if he was turned on like he haven’t been in years, it didn’t feel right. 18-year-old Rowan wouldn’t think twice before fucking a long-time crush in a party bathroom. 38-year-old Rowan? Not so much. Not only because he wanted to do right by Aelin, but also because adulthood back pains were no joke. Even with daily exercises, the only counter he allowed himself to bend over was his own, to cook dinner.

“I have better plans,” he said in a playful voice, trying to not upset her.

Aelin crossed her arms. “I highly doubt that.”

“We go back to the party and finish the night with our clothes on—“

“How is that better?”

He chuckled and kissed her adorable pout. “Then I’ll show up in your porch tomorrow and ask you on a date, and I’m pretty sure you’ll say yes because I’ll bribe you with chocolate. After I buy you dinner, if you feel like it, I’ll take you somewhere and ravish you whole until the morning because we have no kids to gross out with our love lives”

Aelin wrapped both arms around Rowan’s neck, sending him a sly smile. “I really like your plans…” He raised an eyebrow, knowing she wasn’t finished. “But the ravishing me whole part only appears once, and at the end.”

Grinning at her, he teased, “So you want the old man, but not the old-fashioned manners?”

That was enough to make her crack up. “You’re four years older! There’s barely an age gap.”

“Aelin, you have a TikTok account.”

“And?” she cried out.

“You’re young.”

She cackled and got herself up, pulling him too. “Come on, old man, I’m hungry.”

There wasn’t a proper table, but they managed to find a seat near the catering and snatch some food. Aelin was sat on his lap, eagerly eating some pan-fried trout he convinced her to try after a lot of pouting and grimacing. Before she could force him to eat chocolate, Rowan’s phone pinged once. And again. When he saw it was Maisie, he unlocked the phone and briefly apologized to Aelin—who didn’t seem to mind in the slightest, too focused on her fish.

Mais: DAD

His daughter sent him a picture of him walking side by side with Aelin, one hand on her waist. It was a little blurred, probably a screenshot from a video, but it was clear Rowan’s face and neck had some smudged lipstick on, his eyes were sparkling, and he just now noticed that he hadn’t felt lighthearted like this in a long while. Still, his kid’s reaction made him a bit uneasy. He had always put Maisie before any romantic interest without a second thought, and he didn’t want to change it just because she wasn’t at home.

Rowan: How in hell did you get this

Mais: Finn saw on Instagram and sent to me

Mais: We made sibling vows by text and everything

He zoomed in on the top of the picture, and it seemed like some fmoonbeam person has posted it.

Rowan: Do you think it’s weird?

Mais: NO!!

Mais: I mean I’m completely horrified

Mais: But in a good way

Mais: I’m happily retreating from the competition

Rowan: ??

Mais: Dad she’s a MILF

That was more than enough to make him flush. Aelin looked confused, and when he showed her the text thread, she cackled.

“Sounds like we have our kid’s permission,” she pointed out.

He beamed at that. For eighteen years, Rowan struggled with finding someone who he liked and Maisie might like, besides living the anxiety of trying to not catch feelings before he had it figured out. And long after Rowan gave up on dating, his neighbor swept him off his feet and checked all boxes in one night. And he was so relaxed tonight he didn’t even overanalyze every sentence she said to figure out if she’d be a good stepmom.

Rowan texted a quick Night, Mais. Behave. and turned his attention back to Aelin. Her smile was intoxicating, he noted as he grinned back, and it made him want to get closer and live immersed in it for days on end.

But then she straightened her posture and looked him in the face. “So...”

“So?”

“I just want you to clarify something for me, so I can know what to expect.” Aelin started fiddling with her fingers. “We’ve known each other for years, and this happened just now...” Rowan tilted his head, not getting where she was going, and she ran a frustrated hand through her head. “I just want to know if this is a thing thing or if we’re just getting together because we’re empty nested and bored.

Giving her a loose hug around the waist, he smiled and said, “No, definitely a thing thing to me.”

Sighing in relief, all of her features relaxed as she explained herself. “Good. I was just asking because,” Aelin bit her lip. “Finn’s a shy kid, so going for his best friend’s dad was a risky move, but I definitely… noticed you.”

Grinning like Hellas, Rowan scooted her closer and whispered on her ear, “Oh, I’ve noticed you too.”

“Yeah?” she breathed.

“Sure. You think I’ve never noticed your tiny little weekend sundresses, Aelin?” he said while brushing his thumb against her bottom lip. “You don’t think I notice the tight pencil skirts you go to work with?”

“So you’ve noticed me too?” she asked.

“Very much.”

“Wanna notice me in the bathroom again?”

Rowan cackled, breaking the spell. “I told you I’d notice you after asking you out and buying dinner, I never said we can’t do it all in one day.”

Humming, she bit her lip to stifle a smile. “Tomorrow?”

“If you accept my official wooing then, Milady.”

Aelin rolled her eyes in mock annoyance, but the grin she wore was fooling no one. She got up and pulled Rowan by the arm, and he didn’t fight it when she led him to the dancefloor again.

TAG LIST

@autumnbabylon

@courtofjurdan

@elentiyawhitethorn

@leiawritesstories

@rowanaelinn

@thegreyj

@rowaelinscourt

#rowaelin #rowaelinmonth #rowaelin month #throne of glass #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #single parents #empty nested

[thegreyj]

Take the loss, then move on - a snippet

I don't have a finished fic for today's prompt for Rowaelin month, but I do have a small snippet from the college AU I've been working on.

Rowaelin month day 6: College AU

--

Take the loss, then move on

“You’re trying to tell me that you’re going to be tutoring his hotness? The smartest guy on campus? The captain of the hockey team? The guy you’ve had a crush on for three years. The guy who’s one of your brother’s best friends. You’re tutoring that Rowan? Are you absolutely sure?” Lysandra asked with so much awe and excitement in her voice, it almost made Aelin forget how hard she was blushing.

“Yes! Apparently, he had dropped out of the course on his first year and since I finished the course during the summer with flying colours, the professor thought it would be a good idea to make me tutor him, since he needs a good score on the exam. I have no idea how I’m going to survive the tutoring sessions. I can barely utter a word in his presence, let alone explain something in great detail! I might as well go dressed like a clown, I’m already going to make a fool of myself,” Aelin explained and fell backwards onto the sofa with a long sigh.

“Well, at least you’d finally get his attention,” Lysandra shrugged and sat down next to her. “Look, all I’m saying is this is the perfect situation for you to shoot your shot! What do you have to lose?”

“My dignity, most likely. And I can’t even begin to imagine what Aedion would say,” she responded with anxiety in her voice. Lysandra just sighed.

“Well, I know if it were me in that situation, I’d grab the bull by the horns and just throw myself into the ring!”

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re you and I’m… me! Why can’t you just come with me to the tutoring sessions?” Aelin begged her friend.

“What? No way! I’m not even taking the course yet! What would I even do there besides watch you moon over the guy?”

“Ugh! You’re impossible! I guess I’m going to tutor Rowan Whitethorn then. The professor set up a schedule for us and the first session is going to be later today after his last class,” the blonde sounded defeated.

“At least you have time to prepare, right? You won’t have to go in blind and –,” Lysandra was interrupted by a knock on their apartment door. Quick on her feet, she got up and opened the door. Aelin didn’t see who was at the door, but she most certainly recognised the deep male voice.

“Is Aelin around? I know we were supposed to work later, but my last class was canceled and I thought we could move up the session today, so I can still hit the gym later,” the voice told Lysandra.

Rowan Whitethorn was at their door. Apparently the universe was working against Aelin today.

--

@rowaelinscourt

#snippet #rowan whitethorn #rowaelin fanfiction #throne of glass fanfiction #rowaelin #rowaelinmonth #tog fanfic #aelin galathynius

[morganofthewildfire]

------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1 - Rowan's POV

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Rowaelin Month - Day 9 - Single Parent au

~ 1.4k words

masterlist

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Rowan wasn’t looking forward to this latest assignment. He’d figured when he originally signed up for tutoring, he’d be paired with some gangly eighteen year old with glasses too big for his face, but apparently the gods had a different idea for him. Because he’d been paired with the 21 year-old freshman, Aelin Galathynius. 

He didn’t know anything about her; but right away, just from that limited information, he could tell this would be a waste of his time. 

So a permanent frown was etched onto his face as he entered Mistward Cafe, glancing around until he saw a blonde girl sitting at a table by the window alone. Her elbows were resting on the table, and she looked up to look at him, their eyes meeting.

He nearly stopped breathing. Her eyes were breathtaking, a mix of blue and green with a shocking ring of gold around the iris. But he hardened his heart, keeping his face cold as he walked over to her table, sitting down across from her.

Without any words, he pulled out his laptop and his notebook, getting himself set up for the tutoring session. The only reason he was doing this was for the tiny wage that he got. He was at the University on scholarship; his parents had died when he was very young, and with multiple children already, his uncle didn’t have a lot of money to go around for college. So Rowan had worked his ass off in high school, and managed to get a full ride. 

But some spending money didn’t hurt.

He opened his laptop, opening and replying to an email from his advisor, Maeve, before sending it off.

“So,” Rowan said, a bit dryly. “How do we want to approach this? Do you want to go over the most recent unit, or go all the way back to the beginning of the content and start from there?” Each person he tutored had a different way of learning, a different way of wanting to relearn what they’d clearly missed the first time. He found it was better to just ask directly instead of trying to play a guessing game.

But Aelin looked at him, her eyes slightly narrowed. “I just want to be able to pass my next test,” she said. And Rowan knew all he needed to know. This girl didn’t care about actually learning anything, she just wanted to get the bare minimum so she could keep partying and not have to worry about her grades.

“And what did you get on your last test?” He asked, watching as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.

She didn’t answer at first, looking down at the table and huffing a sigh. “A 38%.” He almost didn’t hear her, but his brows shot up as the words hit him. “But if I do well enough on the next test, it can average out to a passing score, so that’s just what I need to focus on,” she continued. 

Just like he thought. 

“Would it just be better if you dropped the class and took it again next semester?” He asked, trying to be at least somewhat sympathetic, though his feelings weren’t exactly plentiful. 

“Isn’t it your job to make sure I don’t have to do that?” She spit, and his face hardened. 

“I can only help so much,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her. If she didn’t want to put in any real effort, this was just a waste of time. He glanced over to the counter, smelling the distinct scent of coffee. He could go for a cup right about now.

“I’m not a child,” she spit tensely, “I am perfectly mentally capable of passing this class.” He nearly rolled her eyes.

“Then why aren’t you?” Rowan replied. She herself glanced over to the counter, something in her eyes he couldn’t comprehend.

“Really?” His voice was dismissive. “You’re what, 20, 21?” He already knew, but he wanted to see her reaction. “I don’t know what reasons you have because to me it looks like you wasted your first couple years after high school, maybe partying or something on daddy’s dime, and now you’re learning that the real world isn’t that easy. That you can’t get by with a few bats of your eyelashes and a few bucks. I’ve seen it before.” 

He tried not to be bitter, but he couldn’t help it. 

“Excuse me?” Aelin asked, offense clear in her voice. Rowan just narrowed his eyes. “What gives you the right to -”

“Aelin!” The owner of the cafe said, smiling, as he walked over to their table. He set a steaming cup of coffee down. “How’s everything going over here?” 

“Fine,” Aelin lied, taking a sip of the drink set in front of her. “It may be over sooner than an hour though, so I’ll get back to work as quickly as I can.” His brows shot up.

Work?

They continued chatting, he could tell that much, but he couldn’t hear it, his brain still circulating around that single phrase. Back to work. 

That implied that she’d been working already, which implied that -

“You work here?” Rowan asked, hesitating slightly as she turned to face him again. Her face was hard.

“I’m paying for college myself,” she said, her voice harsh, “that doesn’t fit your narrative does it?” No it didn’t. And he was beginning to think that he was an asshole. Well, he already knew he was. But this was just a reminder of how much he’d changed since Lyria. Since he’d lost both her and their… baby.

It was like the word summoned one, cries sounding through the cafe.

“Shit,” Aelin cursed under her breath, and Rowan looked at her in confusion. But before he could question the strange reaction, she stood up out of her chair, turning to face the counter just as a harried looking teenage boy came out from behind it, holding the source of the noise. 

“I’m so sorry, Aelin,” the boy apologized, carrying the little red headed baby over toward them. Or toddler, Rowan supposed. A very young one. “I just couldn’t get her to stop crying. I wouldn’t have bothered you but she keeps calling for you.” 

“Mama!” The baby cried out, and Rowan stared as Aelin reached for her, laughing with the boy. Though Rowan could hear the tension in her voice, especially as she rocked back and forth a little bit, shushing the little girl quietly. The little girl… her daughter? 

The resemblance was unmistakable, even if Aelin’s hair was a brilliant shade of gold and her daughter’s was much darker, a rich shade of red. Their eyes were the same. They both had the same shape of nose, the same splattering of freckles, and Rowan could already tell that they were going to look a lot like each other as time went on.

He would never know with his own. If his child was going to look more like him or Lyria. He pushed those thoughts away, focusing on the present to avoid slipping into the past.

“You have a daughter?” He asked, once she sat back down. Aelin nodded carefully, her expression reserved. He couldn’t blame her. From what he could pick up on, the father likely wasn’t in the picture, and she was so young. Young to already be a mom. He was sure she’d been faced with nasty comments since she’d first started showing.

Rowan never understood why people had to be so critical of a life they weren’t living. 

“She’s beautiful,” he said, a bit of a peace offering. And he knew it’d been accepted when she smiled back, albeit a small one. But it was something.

“Thank you,” she said, caressing her daughter’s hair lightly as the little girl curled into her. And then her face tightened back into what he could recognize as determination. “So what do I need to do to pass this class?”

They got to work pretty quickly after that, and as the tutoring session went on, there was one thing Rowan knew already. He would do whatever he could to help her out. And if statistics was all he could offer, then he’d do his damn best to help her ace this class.

----

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#rowaelin month #rowaelin month 2022 #rowaelinmonth #rowaelin #throne of glass fanfiction #rowaelin fanfiction #throne of glass #rowaelin au #stt #throne of glass au

[thewayshedreamed]

Hi! For the ask 🙋‍♀️and 🤲. Thanks

Hi Anon! Thanks for the ask! ♥️

🙋‍♀️Do any irl people know you write fanfic?

- They do not! Since I write as a general hobby, both fic and original, I’ve always kept it pretty general when I talk about my writing. Mostly because, in the professional realm of my life, it’s better that people don’t stumble upon certain items on my master list 😅

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

- Of course, sweet anon! I don’t know what ship you have in mind, so if you had one, feel free to send a specific request. For now, I’ll share some Rowaelin I’ve been working on (modern college au).

Aelin’s head was thrown back, her golden hair loose and brushing the small of her back. A slender hand came up to grip Fenrys’ bicep while she recovered from whatever had tickled her, and the sight of her after so long made Rowan’s chest tighten. She looked good, incredible really, and every conflicting emotion he’d ever experienced in her presence rushed to the forefront of his mind.

It had been a mistake to go to the party. He wasn’t ready for this, to be around someone who disoriented him within an inch of his sanity on his best days. The worst part was, she did it without even trying. By daring to exist.

Rowan took a long pull of his beer.

#rowaelin modern au #Rowaelin #sweet anons #fanfic writer asks #ask game #twsd answers