#rowaelin hockey fic

[snelbz]

Just here lurking, a fan of Light Up The Ice. I started reading it when you guys first started writing it. Occasionally popping in, checking if you've continued it. Finally gathered courage to pop in and ask if we might see it continue soon? Or have you continued it already and I just don't know how to use tumblr?

No, no, you haven’t missed anything. Unfortunately, when it comes to Light Up the Ice, my brain refuses to function properly. I don’t know if it’s the lack of hockey in my life since I haven’t been watching the NHL for the past couple years, but I know I need to finish this one up. I’ll put an effort into working out the plot details for it, and hopefully I can work on it here directly!!

Thank you for getting the courage up to ask. This is one I’ve needed to work on for a while, but kept putting it off. And please know that anyone is welcome in my inbox at any time for anything at all!! ❤️

#light up the ice #rowaelin hockey fic #rowaelin #ask snelbz

[tomtenadia]

Second chances...

I don’t even remember how the idea of this fic came to more, but it’s a second chance Rowaelin. It was meant to be a short one shot... it turned out a monster of almost 6k words... and a bit of a rollercoaster. There is angst, but well.. as the title says...

CW: divorce, some hurt/comfort and a brief mention of a death (non MC I promise) I hope you will enjoy it.

Aelin walked around the living room collecting her stuff for work “Maya, are you ready? We need to go.” “I am coming, I am looking for my hockey bag.”

Aelin went to her daughter’s room and helped her find the bag. Maya was in a girls hockey team “Here it is. You are just as messy as me.”

Maya kissed her mother “thanks.”

The two left the house and went to the car “you got all your stuff at your dad’s?”

Maya nodded.

Aelin and Rowan were divorced. They had married at a very young age after they found out taht Aelin was pregnant. Rowan being the responsible one had offered to provide for her and thought that marriage was the best option. But they were young, Rowan twenty one and Aelin nineteen and the weight of responsibilities started to take a toll on them pretty quickly affecting as well their relationship. With the passing of time they came to the realisation that they had married for the wrong reason and slowly drifted apart, after each fight spread the abysm separating them even further. Until it was too much and the word divorce was mentioned. They agreed it was the best option especially for their daughter’s sake. So as little as two years later they had gone separate ways. Custody had been easy had agreed on sharing Maya equally.

And so they moved on with their lives, leaving behind that small parenthesis when they tried to be a family.

Aelin went to become a paediatric doctor whereas Rowan got hired by an engineering company and was now quite high in the company. They would see each other at school meeting or Maya’s games, but outside those engagements their interactions were minimal.

Maya knew better, though. When her parents were together she had studied their interactions. She saw them alone and together and only when they were with each other she could see happiness.

She was twelve and probably did not know much about love, but of one thing was sure, her parents, despite their stubbornness, still loved each other.

Her mission now, was to get her parents back together. Be a family again.

They eventually reached the school and Aelin leaned over to kiss her daughter “Dad will pick you up at practice tonight.”

Maya grabbed her stuff “Ok.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too, mum.”

Maya left the car and Aelin watched her enter the school and sighed. A part of her hated when it was Rowan’s turn. A whole week without her daughter. She missed her and the house felt empty. 

Rowan though, had the same right as her. And while she had been terrified when she discovered she was pregnant, he had been her rock. He held her and spent the afternoon whispering it’s all going to be okay over and over again. Tears threatened to spill. Absentmindedly she touched the necklace and brushed the ring that hung from it. It was her wedding ring. She had removed it from her finger but always carried it with her. She kept telling herself that they had done the right thing, that Maya’s welfare was the outmost important thing… but it was hard and sometimes she wondered whether  it really had been the wisest choice.

She sighed once more and eventually drove to work.

*

Rowan had left work a bit early and arrived at the ice rink well before practice finished. He loved watching his daughter play even though it brought back memories of an alternate life from long ago. Maya was a forward and was actually really good at it. Both he and Aelin were big hockey fans and slowly had passed the passion onto her and when she was older and had begged her parents to join a team they had agreed to let her do it. He watched his daughter glide on the ice with incredible skill, pass the defence and score a goal. He whooped loudly, pride bursting out of him.

It was an hour later when they were back home, Maya had gone to get showered and changed and he was busy making dinner when she joined him in the kitchen “I am making mac and cheese tonight, I think you deserve it.”

Maya grinned and sat on the table “dad, I invited mum to Saturday’s game, it’s a big one and I want her there.”

Rowan turned “of course. She can always come.”

Maya nodded and accepted her plate with food and geared up for the question that she had been burning to ask for a while now. She stuffed her face with her dad’s amazing food then paused  “Dad, why you and mum don’t live together like all the other parents?”

Rowan stared at his daughter with the fork half way to his mouth. They had sort of explained the situation to Maya when she was younger, but he was aware that she was growing up and that soon they’d have to explain to her what happened in more details. He knew Maya would have questions soon. It seemed that the moment was that evening and Rowan froze. Aelin should be there too because they had agreed to have the conversation with both of them present, to offer Maya a full picture. They had separated peacefully and both tried very hard never to complain about the other parent.

He placed the fork down and gathered his courage “Maya, your mum and I got married very young after we found out we were expecting you,” he started to explain. He wanted to make sure that Maya did not feel like she was the cause of their problems “We were so young and at the time we thought marriage was the answer, but then things got hard, we fought a lot, so we decided that it was better, for you, if we split up. Making sure you were happy was our priority.”

Maya was silent and Rowan worried.

“Do you still love mum?”

The question blindsided him. He just remained silent gathering his thoughts on something he had been pondering on for a while. Lately he and Aelin had been interacting more, exchanging texts even outside the normal communications. If something happened to him he realised that Aelin had become once more the first person he wanted to tell. But it was complicated. Then he sighed and thought about his wedding ring hiding in the coins compartment of his wallet. How could explain to her that a part of him regretted divorcing her mother and giving up so easily? But Maya had been their priority and they did not want her to grow up in a household with parents fighting all the time. 

“Maya it’s complicated.”

His daughter stood abruptly and in her green eyes he saw her mother fierceness. She had hair as silver as his and the same green eyes, but his daughter was as fierce and strong as her mother “no it’s not. It’s a simple yes or no question.” Her voice rose a few notches “Hellas dad, do you think I am stupid? Do you really think I did not notice that all of a sudden you two are hanging out a lot more and that you find every excuse to be near her? Or the fact that you only really smile when you are with her? You stop being a grouch only with mum or me,” she blurted out. If they were too stupid to realise they were still in love, she was going to open their eyes “and do we want to talk about the fact that you still carry your wedding ring in your wallet? Sure but keep lying to yourself that you are not still in love with mum.”

“Maya, you are twelve, what do you know about love?”

Maya straightened her back “I might be twelve and young, but I can see that my parents are living a lie. Neither of you had a lasting relationship, a few dates and then stopped. Mum hasn’t dated in years and you too. Again, I might be young but I am not stupid.” And with that she stormed out of the door and Rowan heard her slam the door of her room.

He sat at the table speechless, definitely not expecting such a reaction from her. Maybe Maya was right… slowly he placed the food away. All of a sudden he wasn’t hungry anymore.

*

The day of the game eventually arrived and Rowan drove Maya to the ice rink. It was a home game against Perranth that was probably going to seal the championship and Maya’s team was in the lead.  To great disappointment of Elide who was a crazy Perranth supporter. 

He walked up the steps and reached his assigned seat. Aelin arrived ten minutes later and landed at his side while carrying a cup with coke and a box with nachos. He smiled. Aelin would never be at a hockey game without her portion of junk food.

“Still inhaling calories?”

“Sorry, Rowan, they finished the carrots.”

He laughed at their banter. Something that even after a decade had never left them.

In revenge he stole one of her nacho chips and Aelin turned to him outraged. Rowan roared with laughter at her expression. In that instant Maya’s words popped in his head. Aelin really was the only person who could make him laugh that freely. He hadn’t realised it until his twelve years old daughter pointed it out to him. After their fight they had a tense day, but Maya then dropped the subject and he was relieved. His emotion in too much turmoil to make sense of them. 

“Uhm, Maya’s birthday is very soon. Can we do it at your place? You are the one with the garden and we want to invite a few friends.”

“Oh good, I wanted to ask you about that. My place is fine. You two ladies organise it and I will make sure the garden is all ready.”

“Thanks Ro, she is excited.”

He was about to reply but the horn sounded loudly and marked the start of the match.

The game finished with a victory for Orynth. Maya had scored three of the four goals and both Aelin and Rowan had been very proud parents and cheered loudly during the entire game. Now they were outside and were waiting for Maya to join them.

Their daughter arrived a good forty minutes later and Aelin ran to her and kissed her, shouting champions with deep pride. That game had sealed the championship and they had been crowned the  winners for that season. They still had two games to go, but the victory was now sealed.

Aelin had the team’s jersey and the baseball cap and on top of that she had painted her cheeks in green and silver, the colours of the team. Rowan had just worn his jersey.

“Maya and I are going home…” he said quietly. Then took a deep breath “wanna join us for dinner? We can celebrate together.”

“Please, mum, please, please.”

Aelin stared at her daughter and did not have the courage to tell her that it was not a great idea. 

“Of course, my love.” What could be the danger in it?”

Once outride the house Aelin paused for a second. Rowan lived in a big detached house. He had done well, they both had, but Rowan recently had been given a huge promotion and suddenly he was on really big bucks. She chuckled thinking about the small one bedroom flat they had rented after high school. At the time it was all they could afford with part time jobs and some help from their parents. She wondered where they would be if they had stayed together.

“You coming?” Maya’s question woke her up from her thoughts.

She stepped inside the house and joined him in the living room while Maya ran to her room to stash away her gear.

“I can see that the books are going wild now.”

“Maya’s mostly. She is just as obsessed as you and I will need to buy a new house soon just for her books,” he confessed with a fond smile “I am building her a library for her birthday and running out of ideas to keep it secret.”

Aelin looked at him and all of a sudden wanted to hug him. Of one thing she was certain: Rowan’s devotion to his daughter was never questioned. The judge had initially given full custody to her, but Aelin had asked to share it. She knew from day one that Rowan would have made a wonderful dad and she was not going to take that from him. 

“That will be an amazing present, now my unicorn will look positively plebeian.” She joked, walking to the kitchen with him “I got her a meet and greet with her favourite hockey player at the next home game for the Stags. I had to grovel a bit with one of my colleague who has connection in the league and it costed me three weekends in a row as paediatrician on call at the A&E but she is worth it.”

Rowan moved towards the kitchen counter “she is. She is definitely not one of my regrets.”

Aelin was stunned and just stood there on the threshold “I assume I am your biggest regrets.” It was not meant to sound that harsh, but the words left her mouth before she could stop herself.

Rowan turned to her, his face sad all of a sudden “that is not what I meant.”

She scoffed “Sure, promising hockey player turns down an offer to play professional to spend time with his pregnant girlfriend.” Since high school had been a promising hockey player and once he graduated he had received an amazing offer from the Stags to join their team as a rookie. Two weeks later she had destroyed that dream by announcing that she was pregnant. Rowan had turned down the offer and two months later he proposed.

“Did I ever complain? I gave up my career willingly. You and our daughter were more important.”

“You were miserable,” she said through gritted teeth “I heard you complain to Lorcan that you hated your life.” She paused, “I was in the living room nursing Maya and I heard you. That night I almost left you.”

Rowan stared at Aelin in silence. He vaguely remembered that night. He had been exhausted and frustrated. “I had two jobs and both were horrible but paid the bills and rent and kept us fed.”

Aelin looked away“You could have been playing with the Stags as regular player by now. Be a star, have all the glory and women flocking to you.”

“It was my choice,” he shouted “Stop putting in my mouth words I never said. You and Maya were the only good thing in my life…”

Aelin grabbed her bag “I need to go.” Her voice broken by deep grief.

“Sure Aelin, run away…”

“Fuck you, Whitethorn,” she made a turn then stopped “tell Maya I love her and that I will see her for her birthday.”

Rowan stared at Aelin disappear through the door. When he lifted his eyes he spotted Maya on the doorstep. Her eyes red from crying.

They were too busy shouting at each other to realise she had been eavesdropping. They had promised to shield Maya from their disagreements. But as he stared at his daughter’s brokenhearted expression, he realised that for the first time in twelve years they had failed her. 

Fuck.

*

Aelin sat in her car and let the tears flow. She cried until she was spent then drove to the one person that could offer her comfort and wisdom: her mother.

The drive took a good forty minutes and now she was standing in front of her childhood home.

A knock on the door and Evalin appeared a moment later “Aelin, my love.”

Aelin landed in her mother’s arms and let the tears come back. In Evalin’s arms she sobbed hard and let free all the frustration and pain in her heart.

Evalin guided her to the sofa and the two sat together “What happened?”

“I had a fight with Rowan.”

Evalin sighed and hugged her daughter.

“What was the fight about?”

“I think he still resents me for being the reason why he had to abandon his career as professional hockey player,” she confessed “he says no, but I know him. A part of him wishes he had chosen hockey over us.”

A deep sigh left Evalin. She had met Rowan after the confession tah Aelin was pregnant and never met a more dedicated and responsible twenty one years old. He had gone looking for a job right away, had asked for  help in looking for a flat. He had taken in his stride his new role as a father from the very beginning. Not once had Evalin seen an ounce of regret in his face.

“What did he say?”

“That Maya was definitely not one of his regrets,” a loud sob “I am one of them, probably the biggest one. He regrets meeting me,” she hugged her mother tight “I bet he wishes he never asked me out.”

Evalin brushed her daughter’s head “You don’t know that. You don’t know what his hockey career would have brought him. Sports glory is not eternal. He might have ended up miserable. Now he is a very successful man, you both are…”

Her daughter shook her head stubbornly.

“Aelin…” Evalin’s finger lifted her chin and blue eyes met their copy “are you still in love with him?” She had suspected for a while, but the occasion to ask had never presented itself. Now it was the perfect time. For a long time Aelin was not much fussed about Rowan, but recently sje had seen changes in her daughter.

“No…” but as soon as the word left her mouth she hid her face in the crook of her mother’s neck.

“Do you want my real opinion of the sugarcoated version?”

“Real.”

Evalin pulled back and stared at her daughter in her eyes “You both gave up too easily.”

Aelin was silent at the confession.

“As soon as it got too hard, you just called it quits and got a divorce. You took the coward way out instead of fighting for your marriage.”

Aelin sighed “What marriage? We fought so much… that was not love… it was just to cover a mistake.”

“Your daughter was not a mistake,” Evalin’s tone had gone harsh all of a sudden. She adored her granddaughter. Early pregnancy or not Maya was the joy in her grandparents’ lives.

Heavy sobs shook Aelin’s body.                

Evalin sighed once more “Aelin, darling, I have been married to your father for over forty years,” she started, grabbing Aelin’s hand in hers in an attempt to calm her “Some days I would gladly strangle him or when he really pisses me off I imagine creative ways to dispose of his body,” a chuckle left her lips “I crave the evenings, like tonight, when he has his meeting with his friends, so I can have a me night.” a pause to let the words sink in “but I love him just as much as when we started dating. Forty odd years with that grump and I would not have it any other way.”

Aelin was about to add something but Evalin stopped her “We fight, all couples do. There is no such thing as the perfect marriage, Aelin. But we do our best to overcome our problems and disagreements and avoid going to bed mad at each other.”

Aelin stood silent.

“You and Rowan did not fight for each other. And Rowan’s parents think the same.”

Aelin’s hand went to her necklace, feeling the presence of the ring under the fabric.

“Do you still love him?” Evalin asked once more.

Aelin did not answer and her mother shook her head, having her final answer “you need to tell him. You and Rowan need to have a chat.”

“He has long moved on.”

“Not according to what Maya has told me.”

Evalin smiled at the surprise in Aelin’s face.

“Oh yes, your daughter has been talking a lot with me and her other grandma. Last time he dated was a few years back and on that occasion it did not go past the first date.”

“There is no future for us. That door closed on the day we signed the divorce papers.”

Evalin took a deep sigh and pulled Aelin to her “Only death is permanent.” A caress on her face “You read a lot of romance novels. Ever heard about second chance romance?”

Aelin nodded weakly.

“You and Rowan can have it. You deserve it and Maya does it too.”

Blue eyes met her copy “how? Where do I start? I want…” another sob “I dated but no one was ever like him. He is my home…”

A huge grin spread on Evalin’s face. She had known that Aelin was still in love. Now with Maya’s help she had to push them to talk.

Aelin that night went home and once in bed composed a text message: I am sorry.

I’d never regret choosing you and Maya.

*

Saturday finally arrived and Rowan was nervous. After the text message a few nights before he had no other contact with Aelin. Maya had told him that her mum was definitely coming. He needed a moment with her, wanted to talk. Maya was right. Truth was, he never stopped caring about Aelin. She was his home. She was still the first person he texted after a hockey game to discuss the results. 

Rowan had gone and had a chat with his parents and found out that they believed they had given up too easily. His dad told him that he should have convinced Aelin to try and overcome the problems together. He had been thinking about that conversation for a few days now. He had to talk to Aelin.

Rowan was so deep in his musings when Maya joined him in the kitchen “is my cake nice and full of chocolate?”

“It definitely meet yours and your mother’s standards.”

“She needs it.”

Rowan’s ears perked up “is she okay?”

Maya grinned internally at her father’s need to fuss “She is fine. She has just been working a lot and now for some reason she has three weekend shifts in a row in the A&E. She hasn’t done that in a long time.”

He smiled. He knew that Aelin had offered to cover the emergency room in exchange of Maya’s special present.

“Maybe they are short of doctors?”

Maya shrugged “Will you be nice to her? She is tired. No stress. It’s my birthday, I want my family all together happy.”

He pulled her to his chest “I don’t want to hurt her or you,” Maya hugged her father tight and could sense the pain in his words. He cared, he still did and had decided that he was going to make an effort to give his daughter another gift. A chance to have her family again.

Aelin was late. All the guests had arrived but she was not there yet. He kept checking his phone for a message but nothing. Fear started to grow in him that she had decided to bail. He looked at Maya and she shook her head. No news.

It was almost an hour later when the doorbell rang and he ran to the door like a desperate man.

He flung the door open and in front of him stood an Aelin who looked like a wreck. Instinct screamed at him to hug her but he restrained himself.

“Sorry I am late,” her flat tone was a shot through his heart. “A&E was hell tonight…”

“Come Ae, we have plenty of chocolate.”

She gave him a tight smile and followed him inside. Maya was in her arms a second later “You made it.”

“Sorry, darling… work was bad.”

The rest of the group welcomed her and Rowan announced that it was finally present time. He wanted to keep his for last. He had been working on it for a while. The room had been locked and he had told Maya that he was working on it and it was a mess and did not want her to go inside. Aelin gave her daughter her present after all their friends. Maya had screamed at the signed jersey and at the pass for two for the meet and greet. Seeing her daughter that happy washed away a bad shift at the hospital. Soon after Rowan took her to the door that had been locked for weeks. When he opened the door Maya gasped. The room was a library. Bookcases covered the walls, and they were quite full of her books. That’s where her father had stashed them. He hadn’t placed them in the attic while he worked on the living room.

“Dad…”

“This is yours Maya, a library, I made it for you. Happy birthday, baby.”

Maya was crying and hugging her father fiercely “I love you, dad.”

-

It was later on when all the guests had gone and the house tidied up that Rowan went looking for Aelin. Lysandra and Elide had helped him tidy up and had told her to stay in the living room and relax. Aelin though, was not where he expected her. He walked around the house until he noticed the door of the library slightly ajar. He took a step inside and found Aelin standing and looking at the books.

He stared at her in silence. Aelin was stunning. She was the most beautiful woman he had set eyes on. He had tried to forget her with other women, but no one ever made him feel like her. She was his soulmate and he had been an idiot to even think that she could be replaced. It had taken him ten years and his daughter to realise his mistake.

“Rowan?”

He shook his head at the sound of her voice. Aelin was looking at him and her eyes were puffy.

“Aelin…” he moved a step to her and that’s when she crashed into his arms. On instinct he hugged her and the feeling of her body against to his was like coming home after a long trip.

“Are you okay?”

In his arms she started crying and he held her tighter “I lost two kids tonight….” Her sobs intensified “a hit and run. They were on their bikes and someone just drove into them…” when she started shaking he moved a hand on her back, caressing gently while the other went to her head, stroking her hair in an attempt of comfort.

He always hated when Aelin was hurting. It made him physically sick.

“I love you…” he whispered very softly not afraid anymore of the truth that had been now clear as daylight “ I never stopped…” Aelin looked up and stared in his pine green eyes in disbelief “I have one big regret.”

She tried to pull back but he kept her close “I regret that I ever let you go, that I gave up easily when things got hard.” With the back of his hand he caressed her face while his thumb wiped her tears “it took a chat with our daughter to realise that I am still in love with you.”

Aelin stared at him stunned for what felt like an eternity “I… I tried to convince myself that you resented me because it was easier. It allowed me to keep my distance and ignore my feelings.” Her hand went to her neck and pulled out the necklace and showed him her wedding ring “I wear it all the time. You are always with me.”

Rowan chuckled and extracted his wallet from his back pocket. He opened the little compartments for the coins and extracted a silver band identical to Aelin’s.

“I want to try… I want our second chance…” she whispered while searching his gaze and the smile he gave her was the most stunning vision she ever saw. And when he nodded Aelin’s fears left her. 

“Mala save me I missed you…”  he grabbed her and pulled Aelin at his chest. She looked up at him through her blurred vision and then buried her face in the crook of his neck. She inhaled the scent of pine and snow that always made her feel at home.

Rowan had not realised how truly he had missed until she was in his arms once more. But never again. And when he looked down once againit was to slant his mouth on hers. His souls sang at the contact, recognising the part that had gone missing for too long. He kissed her and all the pieces fell back into place. He was complete once more.

Maya had gone downstairs to get some water when she heard voices in the library. Silently she flattened against the wall and listened. It was her parents and they were talking.

And when she heard her dad tell Aelin he loved her, Maya had to try very hard not to squeal. She knew it and took pride in having opened his eyes to his stupidity.

She stood and listened and when she peeked inside and saw them kissing she started crying in happiness.

*

6 months later.

While Maya was getting ready for the wedding she took a moment to think about the whirlwind that the previous six months had been. After the evening in the library, her parents had spent countless nights talking and dealing with the past. She knew they wanted to get everything out and not leave anything that might jeopardise the relationship again. She had given them space. A few times had organised a sleepover at Aidan’s and auntie Lys had been delighted in playing a part in getting her parents back together.

Until one night they took her aside and asked her if she was okay with Aelin moving to Rowan’s house. They had explained her that they finally were ready for their new life together. To be a family again. Maya had screamed in delight. Three months later Rowan proposed in their back garden that she had helped to decorate.

And now the big day had finally arrived and she was excited. They had gone for a very low key ceremony in their back garden and Alistair, her grandfather was going to officiate. Rhoe was going to walk Aelin down the aisle and she had been appointed maid of honour with auntie Lysandra and Elide as bridesmaid.

She walked down the grass and stopped to take her position and face her dad. He looked stunning and happy. Since he an her mum had reconciled, not a day has passed when he wasn’t smiling, or humming while cooking. They were both two brand new people. They had only needed a little push to finally face what had been in front of them.

Classical music filled the air and Aelin finally appeared at Rhoe’s arm. Maya did not miss the light in Rowan’s eyes when he saw her.

Aelin stopped in front of him and her father in law took the stage.

“Thank you every one for being here today at my son and Aelin’s wedding,” he started, scanning the crowd “Life doesn’t always offer second chances, but if you are offered one you better take it. Rowan and Aelin have chosen their family and today they are here, in front of us, to rekindle the promise that they had exchanged thirteen years ago.”

Alistair nodded and Rowan took Aelin’s hand “Fireheart, fate has allowed me to get to marry my soulmate a second time. I am a lucky man and I will treasure forever this moment. I also don’t want to spend another day apart from you,” he grabbed her hand “You and Maya are my dream, my perfect life and my everything. I love you. To whatever end.”

He heard Aelin sniffle and squeezed his hand in return “My buzzard, you entered my life on tip toes and slowly became a part of my own soul. For ten years I wandered in search for answers and a way to deal wit the past and the hole you left in my life.” She paused and looked at Maya “turns out our daughter was the key,” Aelin extended her hand and invited the girl to join them “I love you Rowan, there’s no way without you.”

Maya squealed and kissed her mum.

Alistair smiled at his granddaughter, then looked at Lorcan and took the rings. The same ones they used in their first marriage and never abandoned. They had just asked a jeweller to change the dates inside, but had wanted to keep the originals.

Rowan grabbed Aelin’s ring “Aelin with this ring I promise you to cherish you, to walk the path of life at your side. In health, in sickness, through bad and good days, to fight for us, until death do us part.” He placed the ring and Aelin got ready to do the same “Rowan, with this ring, accept my promise to share my life with you for good and for worse, through illness and health, to hold your hand in this journey together, till death do us part.”

Aelin placed the ring on his finger and stared in his eyes glistening with joy.

Maya grabbed both of her parents’ hands and turned to her grampa.

“Friends, family, please join me in sharing our love for Aelin and Rowan Whitethorn-Galathynius. I wish you all the happiness in the universe.” He patted Rowan’s shoulder “now come on, you have my permission to kiss her.”

Rowan’s arms sneaked behind her back and pulled her to his chest and kissed with all the love he had for the woman in his arms.

Later on, during a break in the festivities Aelin grabbed her husband and pulled him aside.

“Aelin, I don’t think this is the right time for a quickie.”

Her finger landed on his lips “you are insatiable.”

Rowan moved even closer “I have ten years to make up for.”

She giggled but pushed him back gently “I have something to tell you….”

He looked at his wife with a mix of nervousness “if you have changed your mind it’s too late.”

Aelin kissed him “No, I love you and being married to you feels right,” her hands carded in his long hair “I am pregnant, Rowan.”

The happiness that spread on his face was the most beautiful and precious sight.

“For real?”

Aelin nodded.

“I love you,” his hand landed on her still flat belly.

Rowan held his wife in his arms and together they slow danced at the sound of the music in the background.

No more fears, no more running. They were a family now.

He hugged Aelin closer and while inhaling the lavender scent of her hair he considered himself the luckiest man alive. He had a second chance, and with it the love of his life in his arms.

TAGS:

@rowaelinismyotp​ @swankii-art-teacher​ @whimsicallyreading​ @elentiyawhitethorn​ @aelin-bitch-queen @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity  @mis-lil-red @thegreyj @sailorsassley @leiawritesstories​ @clairec79 @morganofthewildfire​ @sv0430 @heartless--aromantic @autumnbabylon @rowanaelinn​ @backtobl4ck​ @susumaus98  @gracie-rosee @mybloodrunsblue @tanvee1231 @avenrebekah @whoever-you-choose-to-love  @theywillnotsingforme @universallytreepost @black-daisy-water @goddess-aelin @whispers-in-the-darkest-heart @lovely-dove-zee

#rowaelin fanfic #rowan whitethorn #rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin kids #fluff #rowaelin angst #rowaelin fluff #aelin galathynius #aelin x rowan #rowaelin #rowan x aelin

[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

[leiawritesstories]

Thanksvember Day 14

Rowaelin Thanksvember 2022, Nov. 14: Fic that connects you to them (angst oneshot)

also known as the AU that turned Frederick into the menace he is now....

the hockey au by @julemmaes

OH MY GOD 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 THE PAIN AND ANGUISH THIS FIC PUT ME THROUGH I WILL NEVER RECOVER and i love it

i will forever be in awe of @julemmaes talent for ripping my heart out and making me love it. angst that draws me in and makes me love being hurt even as my heart shatters for Rowaelin because they are such idiots and i love them so much

@rowaelinfandomlove

#fic rec #ANGST #rowaelin thanksvember #rowaelin thanksvember 2022

[julemmaes]

Hii did you ever write a conclusion for that rowaelin hockey angst story? I just reread it and i am in despair 😭😩

Hii

Yeah no, I know, I'm so fucking sorry about that. I totally get you on this tho, it is fucking awful when you find a fic you really like and the author just won't write that last part with the hea you've been waiting for. I truly am sorry and for what it's worth, I do wanna write it (actually, I'd be happy writing literally anything at this point) and I definitely will some day, but right now is not the moment.. I'm about to move to Spain on my own and August is holiday-packed and life's been hectic, as I said in a few posts in the past months

I am grateful for those of you who still think about my fics and actually take the time to read or reread my stuff now that I'm basically dead, I love you all

And I swear I'll come back with something at some point, just- wait for me, pretty please

#genuinely thank you #i love you anon for putting up with my terruble shit #i hope that when i write it itll be the best ending you could possibly imagine

[snacmc]

Hey I was wondering if you will be updating light up the ice, since it’s sooo good, like I just need to know what will happen. Sorry to bother you.

Yes, it will still be updated, but there is no definite update schedule! It will just be when I have spare time to write and edit! I have a small vacation coming up soon, hoping I’ll have a bit of time to devote to writing then!

Please enjoy this gif of my all time favorite moment in hockey.

#throne of glass #tog #rowaelin #rowaelin hockey fic #light up the ice #lui

[talkfantasytome]

Oakwald University? :)

ooooo, okay! So, I don't have anything written for this one yet! But it's something I want to do in alignment with Velaris State Chronicles - basically, same concept. It's a college AU full of short stories/short multi-parts. And there would be some crossovers, but only a few, and for the most part it would mainly be ToG people just, like, in college.

I haven't fully decided yet, but would probs start with around when Rowan and Aelin meet, and/or the first time they learn about each other. (I have this jumbotron idea where Rowan is playing hockey and looks up while on the bench and is all 😍, and then Aedion is next to him, and he's like "who's that?" and Aedion is all "mY cOuSiN, wHy?!?!?!" and Rowan's just. "uh....wut? bai".)

ANYWAY, it would probs have stories for everyone, though a main focus on Rowaelin and Lysaedion. Just like long term I hope to do more stuff for others with Velaris State, but main focus will be Nessian.

Also, and this is big, I'd want at least one story for Nestaq. 💕 My babies that got me through ToD! (I mean, good book, but I read it more for them and I'm not sorry.)

Most of the Fae boys (or all) would be on the hockey team together. Which is where the Velaris State crossovers would come in, cause the bat boys in ACOTAR are on hockey together. I also mayyyyy have an idea on a potential foursome happening during a crossover...that I've kinda already semi confirmed in my Velaris State emails I did for romance week - if you can read my mind on that. 😂

So, yeah, that's a loooong-term WIP that I do hope to work on someday once I slow down on my other stuff. LOL. But I love the concept, cause filling AUs with a bunch of shorter multi-parts keeps me from being responsible for "finishing" a fic (cause if I finish the multi-part it's finished), but also having an AU I can keep working in.

Oh, and last fun fact, I'm hoping to do about 26 for Velaris State, one story for each letter of the alphabet. (It wasn't originally planned, but my first three were C, D, and E in order 😂, so now I wanna do an A and B that will be chronologically before those.) And I'm thinking, if I want them all to be the same, Oakwald University would follow the same idea and, in the end, have about 26 stories, too, if I can think of that many to do. 😄

WIP Tag Game

#rowaelin #idea #ask game

[acciowests]

i wanna write a rowaelin ice hockey player x figure skater au fic so if anyone has any particular prompts for that just lemme know!! comment below or send it to my asks!

#rowaelin au #rowaelin fic #rowaelin #rowan x aelin

[anabelkay]

// Light Up the Ice // This sketch was pure joy for several reasons -- it’s inspired by @throne-of-ashes-and-beauty‘s gorgeous Rowaelin fic which you must read if you haven’t yet; it’s got two things I adore in it - coffee, and hockey (which I drink, and play, respectively); and it’s also my first piece of TOG art ever. I’ve actually only just started reading TOG for the first time, so I haven’t really met Rowan (except through tumblr, oh lord) but I hope I did him & Fireheart justice here. Shelby - I didn’t know what colors Rowan is associated with thematically in the books, so I gave the Staghorn jerseys Pred colors just for you. xx

insta . devart . please do not repost, use, or edit in any way without written permission. reblogs appreciated <3 Aelin & Rowan belong to SJ Maas PS & Cintiq 24 Pro

#aelin ashryver #aelin fireheart #Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius #rowan whitethorn #rowan x aelin #rowaelin #aelin #rowan #sj maas #sjmaas #sjm #throne of glass #TOG #light up the ice #my art #anabelkay #aelin galathynius #toab

[darling-cas]

Writing Masterlist

SERIES

Princess [Rowaelin]: Rowaelin meeting as 17-year-olds. COMPLETE.

I’ll Be Home [Rowaelin]: Christmas Fic. COMPLETE.

Give Me Love [Rowaelin + multi-ships]: High School AU. INCOMPLETE.

We Are Young [Rowaelin + multi-ships]: Figure Skating/Hockey AU. COMPLETE.

All Is Well [multi-ships]: ToG and ACOTAR Christmas Fic. COMPLETE.

The Lonely [Rowaelin + multi-ships]: High School AU. ON HIATUS.

ONESHOTS

Easy: Aelin and her court training.

Blood Oath: Aelin offers the cadre the blood oath.

Territorial Fae Bullshit: ToG and ACOTAR crossover.

Okay [Manorian]: Manon tells Dorian that she is pregnant.

Most-est [Malide]: Manon takes care of Elide after a drunken night.

Royals [Elorcan]: Songfic of Elorcan to Royals.

Halfway [Rowaelin]: Rowan feels like him and Aelin are drifting.

Halloween Birthday [Rowaelin]: Aelin helps Rowan’s little daughter find the perfect Halloween custom.

Restless [Rowaelin]: Aelin is restless because Rowan has been away for so long.

Tales [Rowaelin]: Rowan shares some tales from his lifetime with the court.

Not Too Drunk [Rowaelin]: Rowan comes home Aelin a bit too drunk.

From Afar [Rowaelin]: Aelin can’t stop staring at Rowan.

Friends [Rowaelin]: Whenever Aelin needs a friend, Rowan is always there for her.

Happy Birthday, Fireheart ([Rowaelin]: Rowan surprises Aelin on her birthday.

The Office [Rowaelin]: Aelin and Rowan work in a boring office together.

Mischief Managed [Rowaelin]: Aelin and Rowan try to keep their relationship a secret. HOGWARTS AU.

Marry Me [Samlaena/Rowaelin]: Sam has been in love with his best friend Aelin since they were kids, too bad she’s getting married to someone else.

Impossible [Rowaelin]: A tender moment of tranquility between Rowan and Aelin.

SERIES

Whatever It Takes [Nessian]: Figure Skating AU. COMPLETE.

All Is Well [multi-ships]: ToG and ACOTAR Christmas Fic. COMPLETE.

ONESHOTS

Territorial Fae Bullshit: ToG and ACOTAR crossover where Rowan and Rhys can’t seem to put their territorial fae bullshit aside.

Mr. Brigthside [Nessian]: Songfic of Nessian to Mr. Brightside.

I Miss Him Too [Nessian]: Nesta sees Cassian for the first time since they broke up and realizes how much she misses him.

Promise [Nessian]: Nesta and Cassian realize being friends after they broke up just isn’t going to work.

What I Deserve [Nessian]: Cassian reflects on his broken relationship with Nesta.

Blame It On The Firewhisky [Nessian]: Nesta can’t stay away from Cassian. HOGWARTS AU.

Dusk Till Dawn [Feysand]: Songfic of Feysand to Dusk Till Dawn.

Hard To Forget [Feysand]: Feyre wakes up to a drunk phone from her ex-boyfriend Rhys.

ONESHOTS

The Elevator: Steve, Bucky, Nat, and Sam end up getting stuck in an elevator.

Nightmares: Bucky and Wanda meet for the first time.

I Don’t Want To Go: Infinity War Peter Parker ending AU (spoilers!!)

New Beginning: Bucky wakes up in Wakanda and meets Shuri for the first time.

ONESHOTS

Tears [Warnette]: Juliette doesn’t want Warren to leave.

SNEAK PEEKS

Leave The Ocean Behind

Project X Blurb #1

Project X Blurb #2

#cas writing masterlist #fanfiction #tog fanfiction #acotar fanfiction

[tomtenadia]

Hii!! Maybe you've answered this question already but, are you going to post Thicker than blood in Ao3??

Love your fics ❤️❤️❤️

Hi, I had started posting TTB on AO3 but halfway through the fic I went through a phase that due to no interest I almost abandoned it altogether and in a moment of frustration I removed it from AO3 and almost deleted it from Tumblr too. I have stopped posting on AO3 because of the lack of interaction.

I will leave all the works I have posted because it’s an archive and I am hoping someone will still find and read my stuff.

I will finish Detours to you and that probably will be unless I am inspired. The hockey/figure skating au Rowaelin will gather dust in my fic folder forever.

I am glad that you enjoy my works and thank you so much for the support ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[julemmaes]

In case of the Rowaelin month I can’t help to think about the previous one and the story you wrote for it that year. I mean that hockey au was a piece of art and I think about it more than probably healthy. That’s totally my favourite story! Especially your version of Rowan and his character in it deserves an award. All than he went through in part three hits just right and shows the tragedy of a real heartbreak. Such a beautiful work.

I'm guessing you're the same anon that always sent me asks about this fic, and even if you're not, you have no idea how much I appreciate you sending this one

I haven't written anything Rowaelin in a very long time and I miss them like fucking hell, but I'm rereading the actual thing (I'm still on tog tho) and I have no picture for them that aren't in the canon universe in my head (apart from NN!Rowaelin, they live right next to the canon ones)

Thank you so much for taking the time to remind me of it😭🥺

#ire #i got an aask #i love you so much thank you thank you thank you

[snelbz]

Light Up the Ice - Chapter 10

Summary: Aelin Galathynius has never really been into sports. Yes, she likes to keep in shape, and she works out, but watching people run up and down a field, trying to keep a leather ball away from each other? It’s always seemed a bit childish to her, and decidedly NOT a way for a grown adult to make a living.

Rowan Whitethorn has recently been drafted by the Terresen Staghorns, one of best teams in the EHL (Erilean Hockey League). And since he moved to Terresen from Wendlyn, it’s been hard for him to get more than 30 seconds alone from someone demanding a picture with him. Getting drafted straight out of college wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but he’s not complaining. Until he accidentally meets a girl. More specifically, until he accidentally meets his neighbor. She seems to have no idea who he is and for some reason, that’s refreshing. But will she still want to be with him once he shows her the truth?

Light Up the Ice Masterlist

My Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

Co-written with @tacmc​.

Warnings: language, smut - this chapter is 18+.

Rowan’s phone rang for the third time since he’d made it home from practice less than an hour ago. He had two papers due in the morning and his professors didn’t give a shit if the Warriors were heading to the finals in less than a week. They cared about the history of Wendlyn and its allies.

His girlfriend, however, clearly didn’t give a shit about either.

He answered, his tone clipped. “Hello?”

“You never called me when you finished up.”

He pulled the phone away from his ear and sighed, before returning it and saying, “I’ve only been home for about fifteen minutes. Coach made me spend some extra time in the weight room.”

“You’re going to put on too much bulk if you keep going to the gym,” she said, pointedly. “You won’t get drafted into the EHL if you don’t have the speed, babe.”

Another heavy sigh. “I’m just doing what my coaches say, Maeve. They’ve gotten me this far-.”

“No, Rowan, you’ve gotten yourself this far, with your ability, not your coaches,” she said, and he could hear her getting into the car. “You need to quit going to the gym and focus on your puck-handling.”

When Rowan had met Maeve his freshman year, after Lyria’s accident, he thought dating someone in the sports medicine program would make his life easier. A good distraction from life and his feelings, but the longer they stayed together, the more Rowan regretted ever asking the dark-haired beauty out to dinner.

She’d been great at first. She was as interested in hockey as he was, so he didn’t feel like he was bothering her by asking her to come to his games. But as she inserted herself into his life in more and more ways, Rowan knew that they weren’t going to last.

“I’m leaving my apartment now, I’ll be there in just a bit,” she said, completely ignoring his lack of reply to her suggestions.

He sighed. “I’ve got a lot of homework, Maeve, I really think I should-.”

“You’re in college to play, baby,” she replied with a scoff. “You need to focus on your future, your studies are just a stepping stone.”

This was becoming a frequent conversation between the two of them. Maeve was adamant that Rowan should drop out and see if he could get drafted as soon as he could. Rowan knew that even if he was to get drafted early, one game, one bad hit, one concussion, one injury could end his career. He didn’t just study to ensure he could play for the University of Wendlyn.

He studied because he wanted a backup plan.

Maeve, as single-minded as she was, didn’t understand that. She didn’t understand a thing, not about Rowan, anyway. All she saw was a man that made her look good, a guy that was well-liked around campus and in his hockey community and their group of friends.

“I need to-.”

Maeve was already interrupting him. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

She hung up.

With one last heavy sigh, Rowan closed his laptop and prepared for her arrival.

Rowan pulled out his phone the moment she left. It was on his ear, ringing, as he checked the stovetop clock to see if it was too early to be drinking.

Brello answered on the third ring. “Whitethorn.”

“Hey,” Rowan began, hesitantly. “I-.”

“Did you see the new therapist?” Brello interrupted. “Havilliard mentioned you were planning on getting started today.”

“Aye, coach, I did, but there’s a minor problem-.”

He was cut off again. “You can’t get back on the ice for at least two games, Rowan, I’m sorry. Those are the rules. Just follow the at home therapy routine Dorian left you and you can come back to practice on Sunday.”

“The problem isn’t me not getting to play.” He rushed the words out, not meaning to sound disrespectful, but wanting to speak before Brello hung up the phone. “It’s with the new sports therapist.”

Silence met him on the other side of the phone. “Give her a couple weeks, Whitethorn. I know you were used to Sorscha, but even she says Maeve is highly qualified, and highly recommended.”

“I’m sure she is, but it’s more of a, ah, personal conflict,” Rowan said, pacing around Aelin’s apartment. He’d come back after Maeve was done. Dorian had left a note on top of the stack of paperwork he assumed was his therapy, letting him know he’d headed back to the arena and to call him with any questions.

Another pause. “A personal conflict?”

“Maeve is my…” Rowan cleared his throat. “Maeve is my ex, sir.” Brello was once, again, quiet on the other line. “Sir?”

Brello sighed, long and heavy. “Look, Whitethorn. I respect you, and you and I have never had any real issues. You’re a great player, and a great asset to the team. Because of that, you need to get the hell over your personal issues and keep your eye on the end goal here.”

Rowan closed his eyes. “But-.”

“You need to take the treatment being given to you or you won’t be playing any time soon and that’s final,” Brello said, his voice conveying one thing: that his words were very much final.

When Rowan didn’t answer, Brello’s voice filled the silence, yet again. “Is that clear?”

Rowan’s voice was strong but quiet when he replied, “Yes, sir.”

Brello hung up without another word, which left Rowan standing there, his phone still held up to his ear. After a moment, he pulled it away and looked down at it, at the ridiculously adorable selfie Aelin had set as his lock screen . He wasn’t sure when she’d done it, but he couldn’t help but smile as he looked into her gorgeous eyes.

He froze.

Shit. How was he going to tell her?

Good news, babe, I called the team therapist. Bad news, she’s my ex.

His phone lit up in his hand, taking Rowan by surprise. “Hey, man,” he answered, falling back on the couch. Which was a mistake. He immediately groaned.

Lorcan snorted. “I take it you saw Maeve. I have the same reaction when she puts her hands on me.”

Regardless of the fact that he loved Aelin, regardless of the fact that he could hear the joking tone in his teammate’s voice, Maeve was still his ex. And Rowan hated the feeling that rose in him at the thought of her hands on someone else’s body.

When Rowan said nothing, Lorcan followed, “That was a joke, asshole.”

Rowan cleared his throat. “I know, I was just thinking of how I’m going to tell Aelin.”

Lorcan snorted. “Tell Aelin? Tell her what?”

Rowan blinked, even though Lorcan couldn’t see him. “About Maeve.”

“Why the hell would you do that?” Lorcan asked, without missing a beat.

“Because I’ve learned my lesson about keeping things from her,” Rowan snapped. “Last time it didn’t work out so well for me.”

“Didn’t it?” Lorcan chuckled. “You got the girl, I think it worked out alright.”

Rowan was about to reply, about to tell him that Aelin wasn’t a prize to be won and that he was lucky as hell she decided to forgive him. But Lorcan cut him off. “On top of that, all it’s going to do is make the princess pissy and jealous, which is only going to make her hate hockey more. And I don’t see that working out well for you in the long run.”

Lorcan had begun to call Aelin the princess and Rowan sighed as he used the nickname. “Shit. I didn’t think about that.”

“Exactly. You gotta think long term. You tell Aelin that your ex is your massage therapist and she’s going to be so jealous, she can’t see straight,” Lorcan said, and Rowan could hear the beeps of the treadmill as he picked up the pace.

“Are you at the arena?” Rowan asked, praying that they weren’t having this conversation while Lorcan was around the rest of the team.

He sounded offended when he replied. “Hell no, I’m at home. You know I don’t run at the rink. But speaking of being at the arena, we need you there. Not in the box, not suspended on the bench, and sure as shit not on the injured list. You need to quit this dumb shit with the fighting.”

They’d had this conversation once before but rather than over the phone, they had been in person.

It ended in a fist fight.

Rowan sucked on his teeth. “I promise, it’s done with. Now that I have Aelin back, I just-.”

“Stop, stop with the mushy shit, I don’t want to hear about it.”

Rowan frowned. “You’re a jackass, you know that?”

“I do,” Lorcan said, between heavy breaths. “A fact that I’m proud of.”

Rowan just shook his head. “Of course, you are.”

“Be at the game tonight?” Lorcan asked.

“Yeah,” Rowan replied. “With Aelin.”

“Good,” Lorcan huffed. “Bond, keep her happy up in that box of yours. Keep Maeve to yourself. Trust me.”

Trust me. Those words from Lorcan Salvaterre typically didn’t sit well in the pit of Rowan’s stomach, but Rowan had to admit that this time, Lorcan had a point.

He just got Aelin. He didn’t want to ruin it with petty jealousy coming between them.

Besides, it was just a little, white lie.

Right?

When Aelin got home, she found Rowan on her couch, wearing a very nice suit, that was tailored to immaculately accent his muscular form, watching highlights from the games the night before. Her eyebrows rose as she took him in. “I already feel underdressed and I haven’t even changed yet.”

Rowan chuckled as she set her purse down on the kitchen counter. “If I didn’t have to wear this to games, I wouldn’t. Unfortunately, I don’t get much of a choice.” He stood and met Aelin in the middle of the room. “How was your day?”

“Insanely busy,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist and smiling up at him. “But that meant it flew by. So it was good.”

Leaning down to kiss her, he replied, “Good.”

She raised up on her tiptoes and met his lips with hers before pulling away and heading for her bedroom. “I need to get ready, come tell me about your therapy appointment today. You look like you aren’t hurting as bad.”

Rowan rubbed at the back of his neck, but waited until she had rounded the corner to answer. “Nothing of consequence happened. Got the massage, my trainer gave me some physical therapy exercises to do at night, and relaxed the rest of the day. Just like I said I would.”

Rowan walked into her room and found her in the bathroom, piling her hair into a messy bun on top of her head. She looked at him in the mirror and raised an eyebrow. “Nothing of consequence? You sure about that?” She asked, before reaching for her makeup bag underneath the vanity.

Rowan swallowed hard, the abrupt change in her tone having immediately put him on edge.

How had she found out? Lorcan was the only person he’d told about Maeve. Rowan was fairly sure that he hadn’t said anything, since Lorcan didn’t even want him telling her himself.

“No, nothing,” he replied. “A pretty boring day, honestly.”

Aelin ran a spoolie brush through her brows, but smirked and said, “Liar.”

Rowan’s blood went cold.

The smile on her face surprised him until she said, “You didn’t tell me Dorian was your trainer!”

He released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. He chuckled and scratched at the stubble on his jaw.

“We’ve known each other for years,” Aelin went on, checking herself out in the mirror. “He’s such a good guy. I didn’t even know you knew him, which is ridiculous, considering how often I talk to Dorian.”

“Yeah, he’s great,” Rowan said, nodding along. No more questions, please, no more questions.

“Maybe we’ll see him at the game tonight.” Aelin reached up on her toes and gave Rowan a kiss on the cheek. “Let me change and touch up my makeup, then we’ll go?”

Rowan cleared his throat. “Sounds good.”

Rowan had hung his jersey on the door so Aelin could wear it, but after holding it up to her frame, it was agreed that it was far, far too big.

“We’ll get you another one from the Pro Shop when we get to the arena, get one in your size, yeah?” He chuckled, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she pouted about being unable to wear his.

She tossed on a light jacket and they were out the door. True to his word, as soon as they emerged from the stairwell leading from the staff and player’s garage, Rowan took her into the Pro Shop, much to the amazement of the crowd inside. They were hardly stopped though and a handful of minutes and one Jersey purchase later, they were all alone. The privacy of the box was a nice reprieve for Aelin. She was not used to being stared at for such long periods of time and she found she didn’t much care for it.

“Is this always how it is?” Aelin asked, as she sat her purse in one of the chairs. “Everyone being starstruck?”

Rowan shrugged. “Only when I’m here. I’m rarely recognized elsewhere. You know, unless they’re diehard hockey fans.”

“Which explains why I didn’t know who the hell you were,” Aelin chuckled.

Rowan grinned. “I liked that about you.”

Aelin smiled and walked toward the open end of the small room, facing out over the ice. The plush chairs were set far enough back that unless you were standing right on the railing, you couldn’t be seen. But the railing is where Aelin ended up and she whispered, “It’s so much to take in.”

The arena opened up before them. He knew exactly what she meant, but on a completely different scale. He’d ruined two hockey games for her though, and he wanted her to enjoy this one.

“Do you want a drink?” He asked, brushing a long, loose strand of hair behind her ear

“Yes, please,” she smiled. “A Jack and Coke.”

He nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before placing their order on the small iPad on the counter. A beer for himself and her drink, plus miscellaneous things they could snack on.

“So what do you want to know about hockey? He asked, after they’d sat down on one of the many plush loveseats. The box could seat as many as twelve, but Aelin and Rowan weren’t complaining about their privacy. He wrapped his arm around her and drew small shapes on her shoulder as he watched his teammates warm up.

She shrugged, snuggling into his embrace. “I’m more of an ‘ask as you go’ type of person. I’m sure I’ll think of something though.”

Rowan snorted. “Fair enough.”

It wasn’t five minutes later that someone showed up with their drink order and appetizers, then politely left them alone.

Aelin took a sip from her drink as she watched the players skate gracefully around the ice. Aelin could faintly remember the last time she had been on ice skates, she couldn’t have been older than ten.

And she hated every second of it.

She had constantly fallen down and her ankles were sore as hell afterwards. After that, she had never wanted to go ice skating again. Even if she found the sport beautiful.

Hockey players skated in an entirely different way, though. They were brutal, ruthless, but still so graceful with every glide of their skate.

“You look mesmerized,” Rowan muttered, cup of beer tipped against his bottom lip.

“It’s…intense,” she admitted, trying to follow just one of the little black pucks sliding across the ice as the players warmed up.

“It is,” he said, focusing on the activity below. He watched as his line followed through the warm ups he did with them every night. It felt so foreign to be up here, so far from the ice, instead of with them.

Aelin’s hand rested on his arm. He tore his eyes from the ice and the figures gliding around.

“You really do love this game, don’t you?” Aelin asked, smiling at him.

He paused and gazed back out over the ice. “More than I can explain, Aelin. Hockey… It may just be a game to some people, but it’s my entire life. Everything I am, everything I have, I owe to this sport.” His pine green eyes caught hers when he turned back to look at her and he cupped her face with one hand. “You have no clue how much it means that you’re here with me, darlin’. Thank you.”

Aelin melted. “Thank you for asking me to come with.” He took her hand in his and she chuckled as she ran her thumbs over his knuckles. “I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have come to a hockey game with anyone else.”

Rowan snorted. “Fair enough.”

The game began and Aelin wasn’t ashamed to say that Rowan had to explain every little thing that happened.

When the crowd would cheer, she’d try to decipher what had happened. When they’d yell and boo, she’d try to observe the game. It didn’t help that she couldn’t see the puck, sliding across the ice at ridiculous speeds. More often than not, she’d have to ask what caused the reaction from the crowd. And the goal horn nearly made her spill her drink the first time it rang out, after Gavriel scored a goal on the power play.

He never acted like her questions were a bother, though he may hold up a finger to indicate he needed to watch for a second longer to process what had just gone down. But then he’d grin and explain what happened, or if it wasn’t in the Staghorns’ favor, his brow would crinkle and he’d tell her what went wrong.

Then he’d tell her what he would have done that would have kept it from happening and wink at her, and she’d shake her head, laughing quietly.

She understood the basics of the game, but after her third stiff drink in the first period, Aelin wasn’t really worried about learning the in’s and out’s. There was time for that at a later game and the way Rowan’s warm hand was resting on the inside of her thigh had her focused on something else entirely. His calloused thumb rubbed small circles into the denim of her jeans, but even that touch was enough to ignite something within her.

All the while, her own hand was resting on his leg. Through those expensive suit pants, she could feel his muscular thighs and every time something major happened, he’d scoot forward. The first couple of times, Aelin would write it off as something from the game, but she knew what lie beneath those silk-spun slacks, beneath the boxer-briefs.

Right before the end of the second period, Aelin turned towards Rowan right as he turned to ask her a question, and she felt it.

Rowan’s cheeks were heated. He stammered an excuse out. “There’s a lot of adrenaline running through me, Ace,” he breathed.

He was rock hard inside of slacks.

It may have been because of the game, he may have not been lying, but Aelin couldn’t resist.

“How private is this box,” she whispered, brushing her fingers along the definite bulge in his pants.

Rowan hissed quietly, his pine-green eyes went wide, but his tongue darted out to wet his lips. “No one can get in unless we open the door. No cameras either.”

“Hmm.” The response was quiet and Aelin went back to watching the game, sipping on her drink.

For another few seconds, Rowan watched her, all too aware of the ridiculous hard-on straining against his slacks. The regulation clock ticked down to 0:00 and as the players skated towards the benches for the intermission, Rowan was about to suggest ordering one more round of drinks, when Aelin slid off the couch, settled on her knees, and started undoing his belt buckle.

He didn’t dare move, didn’t breathe. He was perfectly aware of every one of her movements, perfectly aware of where her eyes remained as she unbuttoned his slacks, and moved down the zipper.

Rowan’s jaw hardened as those slacks slid down, just to the tops of his thighs. His cock stood proud.

Her hands were like ice, frigid, thanks to the arena being, well, literal ice, but he didn’t care. Not when her touch made him feel like he was on fire. She stroked him, slowly, carefully, but not like the other night, when she’d surprised him after the shower.

Her grip was more firm, and Rowan could see the lust in her own eyes.

“Does this happen every game?” She crooned, spreading his legs wider and scooting in closer.

His eyes fell closed of their own accord and he nodded. “Mostly all of them, aye.”

“Hmm.” Once again, a short, quiet answer. He didn’t have to press her through. She continued, “And you usually take care of it yourself?”

His eyes opened and he looked at her. He nodded once.

“Maybe I should come to more games then,” she said, smirking. He groaned softly, and she leaned and pressed a soft kiss to the tip, before looking up at him again. She was almost sure he wasn’t breathing, but his eyes… His eyes burned for her.

He cleared his throat, and his voice was husky when he said, “I can get pretty…rough after games, baby. What we do out there, it’s a pretty aggressive sport.”

Aelin ran her tongue along the underside of his cock, from the base to the crown at the top, which glistened with Rowan’s precum. It was practically begging for her lips around it. “What if I told you I like it pretty rough?”

Rowan had to fight the urge to take her then and there.

“Nothing to say to that?” Aelin crooned, her grin wild and mischievous.

“Wouldn't be the first time you’ve left me speechless,” Rowan answered, attempting a joke, but his voice was far too rough for humor.

“I call that a success,” Aelin breathed, her breath warm against the tip of his cock.

Rowan fell back in his chair as her lips wrapped around him, and he couldn’t stop his hand from slowly reaching out and gripping the back of her head, her fingers tangling themselves into her golden locks.

Twice now, he’d had Aelin’s mouth on him, and twice now, he felt as if the blood in his veins had turned to fire. He tugged on the strands and Aelin’s turquoise-and-gold eyes opened, finding him gazing down at her. As she bobbed her head, taking him deeper and deeper with each pass, a quiet whimper left Aelin and Rowan’s grip tightened on her hair, groaning as Aelin began to work him with her hand as well.

Rowan had the vague recognition of the teams retaking the ice and roar of the crowd, but his sole focus was the woman on his knees before him, worshipping his cock.

He began to hope that his words before had been true. Hopefully no one would walk in. Hopefully, no cameras would find a way to catch them. Then again, did he truly care?

No.

The feeling that swept through his body made him not care a single bit.

“Aelin,” he breathed.

He could feel her lips curve upward as she worked him.

He growled, “Fuck the rest of the game,” and pulled himself from Aelin’s mouth.

He quickly resituated himself and Aelin, bless her, had the foresight to sit back in her seat before standing up. She adjusted her hair and grabbed her purse, asking, “You don’t have to stay the whole time?”

“Didn’t have to come at all,” Rowan said, coming up behind her. He turned her around and tilted her chin up so that she was looking up into his handsome face. “But you do, so we need to go, and we need to get home as quickly as possible.”

Aelin blinked, staring up at him for a moment, shocked by how upfront his words were. The grin that graced her lips though, was one of wicked delight.

“Who says we need to go all the way back home for that to happen?” Aelin whispered, caressing his cheek with the palm of her hand.

Rowan looked around the box, even though they were alone. “Are you saying what I think you are, Galathynius?”

Her grin only grew more feline.

Licking his lips, watching Aelin, Rowan warred with himself inside his head. But he wouldn’t fuck her in a private box at a game.

Not the first time, at least.

He leaned down, his lips at her ear, and breathed, “I want to take my time with you - to learn…every inch of you. And this box doesn’t have the thickest walls. I don’t want to have an audience,” he added as he pulled back and let his lips just barely brush against hers, “when I make you moan, Aelin.”

#snelbz lui #light up the ice #toab lui #rowaelin hockey fic #rowaelin #throne of glass #aelin galythinius #rowan whitethorn #snacmc #snelbz tacmc collab

[snelbz]

Light Up the Ice - Chapter 11

Summary: Aelin Galathynius has never really been into sports. Yes, she likes to keep in shape, and she works out, but watching people run up and down a field, trying to keep a leather ball away from each other? It’s always seemed a bit childish to her, and decidedly NOT a way for a grown adult to make a living.

Rowan Whitethorn has recently been drafted by the Terresen Staghorns, one of best teams in the EHL (Erilean Hockey League). And since he moved to Terresen from Wendlyn, it’s been hard for him to get more than 30 seconds alone from someone demanding a picture with him. Getting drafted straight out of college wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but he’s not complaining. Until he accidentally meets a girl. More specifically, until he accidentally meets his neighbor. She seems to have no idea who he is and for some reason, that’s refreshing. But will she still want to be with him once he shows her the truth?

Light Up the Ice Masterlist

My Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

Co-written with @tacmc​.

Warnings: language, smut - this chapter is 18+.

A/N: No tag list this week, still working on how I should tackle that bad boy. But enjoy and look for Chapter 12 later this week!

Rowan was fully aware of Aelin’s hand creeping up his thigh. 

The radio was off and the two remained silent. All that could be heard was Rowan’s shuddering breaths and the intense beating of his heart inside of his chest.

At least, he was fairly sure she could hear it.

Aelin didn’t look at him, but that delicate hand kept slowly moving up and down his thigh atop his trousers. He looked over at her as he sped down the street, back to their apartment building. Her lips were slightly parted, her turquoise eyes wild.

He cursed himself for buying a manual car, that he’d let Fenrys talk him into the fancy, sports car, rather than the reasonable SUV he’d had his sights on. He couldn’t remove his hand from the gear shift, not on the city streets they currently drove on.

He wanted to tease her as they drove, wanted to feel if she was as wet as he hoped she would be. Twice now, she’d had her mouth on him, but he was yet to touch her, yet to explore what it took to make her writhe and gasp and moan.

Tonight, that would change in every way possible.

They had less than a mile to go, but it felt like far more than that. Every second that passed had Rowan nearly about to combust. 

As soon as they pulled into the parking garage and Rowan brought the car to a stop, Aelin was reaching across the car and turning his face towards her, her lips crashing into his. She cupped him through his slacks, and he groaned into her mouth.

The husky chuckle that left her was enough to make Rowan growl, “We need to go upstairs.”

“You aren’t enjoying this?” She breathed, squeezing gently.

The noise that left Rowan was guttural.

“Keep on, be my guest,” he breathed, his lips brushing her ear. “But I’m taking you, one way or another. You decide whether that’s going to be in my backseat or in bed.”

She lifted a brow but made no indication of moving. Instead, her lips found his, yet again, and she was nowhere near gentle. 

Aelin giggled into his mouth as he pulled her over the console and onto his lap, the horn going off as her back brushed the wheel, echoing in the concrete garage.

Rowan just pulled her tighter against him as her knees snuggly settled on both sides of his thighs.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, the kisses growing slower and deeper. Aelin’s fingers were gripping Rowan’s shoulders so tightly, he wouldn’t have been surprised to find small, crescent-shaped holes in the fabric when he took his jacket off. It didn’t help that while one hand was pressed firmly to her lower back, keeping her body tightly against his, the other was knitted into her hair, tugging on the strands.

Suddenly, Aelin’s hips jerked and she gasped quietly. She repeated the motion and the hand in her hair lowered to grip her hips, urging her to do it again and again.

Rowan felt like he was sixteen again, dropping Lyria off after a date and trying to get what time in with her he could before curfew befell them both.

But he wasn’t sixteen anymore, and the girl in his lap was not his inexperienced first girlfriend. No, Aelin was a woman, a woman who constantly filled every thought and whose face was the first thing he thought of when he woke up and the last thing before bed. 

And there was not enough room in this car to do the things he wanted to do to her.

Pulling his lips from hers, he breathed, “Let’s go upstairs.” She nodded, and he could tell how frantic it was, how erratic her breathing had become. He tilted her chin up, her turquoise-and-gold eyes clouded with lust, and asked, “Are you already close, Aelin?”

Her cheeks were flushed, but he could see them darken. “It’s been…a while,” she admitted.

Rowan nodded, slowly, and said no more as they got out of the car and went up the stairs. Rowan’s car honked in the distance as it locked.

His hands cupped under her ass as he carried, he didn’t set Aelin down once.

Not wanting to wait until she dug her own key out of her bag, Rowan headed straight for his door, unlocked the lock, and crossed the threshold. The door was shut with Aelin’s back, which was quickly pressed up against it. His mouth found hers hungrily, urgently.

Her hands were under his suit jacket, pushing it over his shoulders. He shrugged it off, letting it fall to the floor. Rowan’s hips were pressing into her, holding her against the door, as he lifted the jersey off of her body. It joined his suit jacket, and Rowan’s lips found her neck.

Aelin groaned his name quietly, and something inside Rowan snapped.

Before Aelin could decipher what was happening, she was being dropped onto his couch, and Rowan was pulling her boots off one by one before roughly undoing her jeans. He tugged them off and his mouth attached to her lace-covered sex.

The moan that tore from Aelin was the single most erotic noise he’d ever heard.

She was so wet, so ready, and Rowan had to remind himself to take his time. If it had been a while for Aelin, he would make it all worth the wait. 

She breathed his name and his shoulders tensed as the single word crept down his spine, leaving chills in its wake. Rowan’s lips pressed against her sex once, twice, then his teeth pulled the thin lace fabric over her panties and tugged, gently. 

“Tell me what you want,” he breathed, his breath warm against her. 

“Everything,” she whispered, her hands gripping his shoulders. “All of it, all of you.” There was a pause as Rowan tugged on her panties, yet again, with his teeth. “Taste me.”

He would oblige her, if for no other reason than the memory of the taste of her, off her fingers, had been on his mind for days. He could only imagine how sweet she would be straight from the source.

His fingers slipped under the waistband of her panties and Aelin lifted her hips, letting him pull the pale lace down her legs. When he pulled back, loosening his tie and tossing it to the side, he couldn’t help but run an appreciative eye over her body.

She had her bottom lip pulled between her teeth and one of her arms was above her head, clutching at the couch cushion. She still wore the soft pink, lace bra, but Rowan would make quick work of that later. Her legs were pressed together though, and with what he wanted to do, that wasn’t going to work. He tried to push her legs apart but she shook her head.

“Not until you lose that,” she breathed, reaching out and tugging on the collar of his dress shirt lightly.

Rowan chuckled, but didn’t protest. He pushed himself up on his knees and slowly unbuttoned his shirt, one button at a time. He watched Aelin’s eyes as he did so, watched how her eyes followed the slow motion of his fingers.

The second Rowan’s shirt hit the ground, Aelin’s legs spread wide.

He smirked, moving his fingers to the belt around his waist, removing it, before flicking the button of his slacks and letting them fall to the floor.

Aelin’s eyebrows rose as she took Rowan in, in all of his naked, muscular, tattooed glory. “I didn’t know you weren’t wearing underwear.”

The smirk on his face was one of distinct male pride. “Sometimes it’s just too constricting.”

Rowan dropped to his knees and settled himself between those legs, kissing the inside of her thigh, then the other. 

The second his lips made contact with her sex, a quiet sigh that left Aelin. Rowan dragged his tongue between her folds and the sigh became a gasp. Her fingers tugged on the short strands of his hair, which only urged him on.

He gripped her hips, pulling her ass to the edge of the couch, spreading her legs as wide as he could. He gazed up at her as he gave her a long, flat lick, then another, and another.

Aelin swore she was going to catch on fire, was going to physically combust as Rowan devoured her. And when his tongue, at last, flicked over her all too sensitive clit, she cried out, and Rowan repeated the motion again and again, until she was muttering his name like a reverent prayer.

He didn’t bother feeling sorry for their neighbors as Aelin’s volume increased.

There was no vulgarity in her curses, no shame in her screams. She held nothing back as she writhed beneath him, was nothing but confident as her eyes rolled back and she fell into an endless void of pure and utter ecstasy. 

She was completely and beautifully alive, and Rowan was lost in the image of her deep in pleasure.

It wasn’t long before her heels began to dig into his back, her screams became less intelligible and her legs began to shake slightly. Rowan looked up at her, groaning as he saw her head thrown back, her hand gripping her breast, her chest heaving.

Sensing his eyes on her, Aelin’s eyes opened and she looked down at him. Her gaze was wild, her eyes glazed and pupils blown out in her lust. Nearly none of the sparkling iris was visible. With his eyes on hers, Rowan sucked her clit between his lips.

And Aelin shattered.

Her hips bucked off the couch as her orgasm slammed into her and Rowan wrapped his arms around her legs, placing his large hand against her stomach. He held her down on the couch as he continued to worship her body, his tongue plunging in and out of her, before paying special attention to her clit again.

The noises falling from Aelin’s lips eventually became quieter and quieter and after a moment, the only only sound was her heavy breathing and the sound of Rowan’s lips kissing a path up her body. He paused at her chest, playing with the lace of her bra. Aelin’s eyes lazily opened and settled on him.

“Wow,” was all she said.

“Wow?” He repeated, quietly, licking his lips.

“Wow,” she said, one more time, softly, pulling on his face until his lips met hers. She could taste herself on his tongue.

Her body shuddered again in the aftermath, and she wrapped her arms around him with a soft, shaky laugh.

“You’re tongue has a ridiculous amount of talent,” she said.

Rowan only grinned. “And I’ve only just begun.”

“Is that so?” She whispered, rubbing her fingers through his wildly messy hair.

“Mmm.” The noise was an affirmation, but his lips had left hers and were back on her neck. He lightly sucked on the sensitive skin there. His teeth nipped lightly. “You have no idea.”

Her response was breathy. “Prove it.”

Rowan slowly pulled away, his eyes finding her hers, and the grin on his face was dangerous.

Before Aelin could react, Rowan had her over his shoulder, carrying her into his bedroom and tossed her on his bed. She giggled quietly, but didn’t have time to right herself before Rowan had flipped her over and grabbed her hips, pulling her up onto her knees.

His face was back between her legs, his tongue diving back into her sex and Rowan wrung three more orgasms from her, back to back to back.

When she was a quivering mess on the bed, her legs having given out somewhere between the third and fourth orgasm, Rowan trailed his fingers down her back before gently pushing one inside of her. Aelin moaned softly, and Rowan felt her tighten around his finger. He teased her with one more and asked, “You okay?”

She nodded, not saying anything, just enjoying the feel of his fingers filling her, working her, higher and higher again. She had never cum so much in such a short amount of time.

“Should I stop?” He asked, curving his fingers, searching for that spot he knew lay deep inside of her.

She shook her head, incapable of saying anything. To punctuate her reply, she tried to shift backwards, tried to urge him on, pushing him deeper, quicker, harder.

He pulled his fingers from her slick heat, and crawled up her body, pressing kisses along her back as he went. He leaned down, his lips against her ear. “What do you want, darlin’?”

She finally spoke, though her voice was high and breathy. “I want you to fuck me.”

“You want me to fuck you?” he asked, quietly, nipping at the back of her ear. 

Aelin nodded, once, slowly, still trying to catch her breath. 

“Slowly?” he whispered, gripping her hips and pulling her ass back into him.

“It seems you don’t do anything without taking your time,” she breathed, and Rowan’s grin widened as his teeth gently found the side of her neck. 

“Is that a complaint?” Rowan grumbled. 

Instead of replying, Aelin lifted her ass, rubbing it against his bare cock. Rowan took a harsh breath through his teeth and Aelin chuckled quietly, burying her face into his comforter.

While he looked like the picture of calm, his control was getting dangerously close to snapping. He needed her, and he needed her now. He kissed her neck one last time before sitting up and gripping Aelin’s hips. He pulled her ass up until she was on her knees again and he stroked his cock.

“I don’t have any condoms,” he admitted, placing a hand on her lower back.

“Don’t care,” she mumbled, pushing her ass back against him.  “I’m on the pill. I need you. Please.”

He didn’t need to hear her say it again, didn’t need to be told twice. 

“Rowan,” she pleaded, and he fell into her without another word.

She gasped as he slowly slid his cock inside of her. Rowan’s eyes fluttered shut and his head fell back as he pulled her ass into him.

The apartment was silent, save for the sound of Aelin’s gasps and Rowan’s quiet grunts as he thrusted into her again and again. He tried to keep it slow, to let her adjust to his length, to let her lead and listen to her body. His fingers kneaded her hips, and he glanced down, watching as he slid in and out of her warm, hot center.

“Fuck, Ace,” he breathed. He wanted to smack her ass, wanted to slam into her as hard as he could and hear her scream his name. There would be time for that later though. For now, he was thriving on the sounds that fell from her lips as he pulled nearly all the way out, leaving just the head of his cock inside of her, and slid all the way back in.

Aelin reached back and unclasped her bra, removing it and throwing it to the side. Rowan tracked the motion, wanting so desperately to flip her over and finally worship her breasts. He had yet to see them, but he had a pretty good imagination.

She looked over her shoulder, as if reading his thoughts before pulling up her leg and turning herself around. Rowan tracked the motion, watched as she fell onto her back and met his hungry gaze. Her wild, untamed hair was spread out against his pillow, her beautiful breasts on full display. 

His eyes trailed down as he admired her body, then back up again as he thrust himself back inside.

She cried out softly, and Rowan lick his thumb before reaching down and rolling her pink, pebbled nipple between her thumb and finger. Aelin’s eyes rolled back in her head and he watched as her hand slipped between them and began to circle the sensitive nub at the apex of her sex.

The sight was almost as erotic as the sounds she began to make, her pussy clenching around him. He groaned, loving the feeling of being inside her.

And then she moaned his name.

Something concrete snapped inside of him, the tentative control he had over himself finally losing out, and he grabbed that hand she was using to play with herself. Pinning both of her hands above her head, Rowan laid over her, crashing his lips against hers, and his thrusts became harsh and quick and rough.

Aelin was groaning into his mouth and gripping his hands in her own. She bit his lip, and the sound that came from Rowan had her toes curling. Every ounce of her being was unravelling, and she suddenly lost all sense of who and where she was.

“I’m close,” she whimpered, throwing her head back. Rowan’s teeth found her throat, but his thrusts slowed, nearly stopping. He pulled almost all the way out and paused, nibbling on the skin of her neck.

She gripped his hair and tugged his face towards hers. “What are you doing?”

His lips brushed hers in a near-kiss. “You can’t cum yet.”

She tried to push her hips up into him, which only made him chuckle. She growled, “You’re a cruel, wicked man.” 

Rowan didn’t respond, he only kissed the side of her neck, sucking on the most tender of spots. He palmed her breast as he teased her, slowly inching his way back inside of her.

It was only a few minutes before he picked his pace back up, his lips unable to stay off her skin, kissing, biting, licking. He rested his forehead against hers and asked, “Are you still close?”

She nodded, her eyes shut, nails digging into the hard muscles of his back.

He nipped at the tip of her nose, wanting her attention. Aelin opened her eyes and gazed up at him. “Do you want to cum?”

She nodded again, breathless.

“Say it,” he breathed, pressing a kiss to her lips.

“I need to cum,” she whispered, one hand threading through his hair, holding him where he was. “Please.”

Please.

That word falling from her lips did things to him he wasn’t expecting, and Rowan hooked one of Aelin’s legs around his waist. He pulled all the way out, before slamming back into her, repeating the motion again and again and again until she came with a breathy moan, clinging to Rowan. Her body went rigid, save for her legs, which were quivering, locked around Rowan’s waist.

His lips crashed into hers in a bruising kiss and he fucked her fast and hard until she came down from her orgasm.

Her legs were still shaking, but she had gone nearly limp against the mattress.

“Good?” Rowan asked, smirking as he gazed down at her.

She nodded, not opening her eyes. “Very good.”

He kissed her gently, sweetly, so unlike what they’d just done, and they stayed like that for a few moments.

She pulled away, and asked, “Wait, did- did you not cum yet?”

The grin on Rowan’s face was almost childish, sheepish. “No, I’ve, ah, I’ve got pretty good stamina. Can go all night. Can be ready to go again after about five minutes if I do, though.”

Aelin’s eyebrows rose. “That’s good to know.”

“Aye?” He was chuckling quietly, and began kissing her neck again.

She caught him off guard, using his surprise against him, and rolled them. He was flat on his back, while she straddled him, his cock still nestled inside of her.

“Shit, that’s…full,” she breathed, adjusting to the new angle. With a devilish smile, Rowan flexed his hips, making it twitch inside of her. Aelin gasped and bucked her hips, which had Rowan’s smiling faltering, a quiet groan tumbling from him.

Those hips moved slowly as Rowan’s hands ran up her thighs and behind her ass. Although Aelin didn’t take her eyes off him, Rowan’s eyes fell shut, his mouth having fallen open. A low noise came from the back of his throat, a noise that Aelin thrived on.

Her hands slid up his abdomen and rested, palms flat atop his chest.

He could feel her nails gently digging into his skin, and he gripped her hips, helping guide her as she picked up speed. Her head fell forward and his name was a whisper on her lips. That sound, those two syllables, had Rowan growling as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her down and roughly kissing her, and he snapped his hips up into hers.

Aelin tore her lips away from his as she cried out, and Rowan bit down on the tender skin where her neck and shoulder met. He continued to thrust up into her, as Aelin fell apart in his arms, the small cries and whimpers spurring him on.

“I’m about to cum,” she moaned, resting her forehead against his. “Please, please, please, I’m so close.”

Rowan grunted his acknowledgment and he realized he was getting close, too. The feel of her all around him, the weight of her body on top of his, her breasts pressing against his chest, had him seeing stars.

He rolled them, pinning Aelin beneath him again, letting his lips close around her nipple as his fingers found that sensitive nub at the apex of her sex.

She gasped. “Fuck, Rowan, please!”

The cry was the most erotic sound he’d ever heard and gods, he wants to hear her moan his name for the rest of his life.

He felt her shatter completely as her knees shook around his hips. He kept moving, kept pushing, until his toes began to curl and the feeling of utter ecstasy filled his core. 

He breathed her name, his voice breaking into nothingness halfway through. A low groan escaped, and then another, as he pushed himself inside of her one last time. His body went rigid as he came, his face pressed into the crook of her neck.

They stayed like that for a few moments, no sound in the quiet apartment, save for their heavy breathing and the hum of the air conditioner as it kicked on.

Delicate fingers began to drag a gentle path up and down his back. Aelin chuckled as Rowan hummed softly, loving the feeling of her hands on his skin. He hadn’t pulled out, was still nestled deep inside her, and when he finally pulled back to look at her, he was once again floored by just how radiantly gorgeous she was.

Cheeks flushed, eyes bright, hair a mess. He had never seen anyone so beautiful.

Leaning up to press a featherlight kiss to her lips, Rowan whispered, “I am so in love with you, Aelin Galathynius.”

Her eyes softened and she wrapped her arms around him a little tighter as he kissed her again. She didn’t need to repeat the words back to him.

He could feel the truth of them in her kiss.

#light up the ice #lui #rowaelin hockey fic #rowaelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin galythinius #throne of glass #snelbz #fanfiction #snacmc #collab #snelbz tacmc collab

[snelbz]

Light Up the Ice - 12

Summary: Aelin Galathynius has never really been into sports. Yes, she likes to keep in shape, and she works out, but watching people run up and down a field, trying to keep a leather ball away from each other? It’s always seemed a bit childish to her, and decidedly NOT a way for a grown adult to make a living.

Rowan Whitethorn has recently been drafted by the Terresen Staghorns, one of best teams in the EHL (Erilean Hockey League). And since he moved to Terresen from Wendlyn, it’s been hard for him to get more than 30 seconds alone from someone demanding a picture with him. Getting drafted straight out of college wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but he’s not complaining. Until he accidentally meets a girl. More specifically, until he accidentally meets his neighbor. She seems to have no idea who he is and for some reason, that’s refreshing. But will she still want to be with him once he shows her the truth?

Co-written with @tacmc​.

A/N: No tag list tonight. This is the 3rd time I've tried to post this chapter and every single time, it's crashed before I can post or save. AKA I’m about to punch my computer and don’t want to push my luck anymore. Next chapter, I will be copying and pasting my old tag list, deleting the inactive blogs, and adding those who have asked. Enjoy!

It never failed to amaze Aelin how slow business got when the university took their breaks. It was only the second day of the University of Terrasen’s fall break and she’d already had enough spare time to reorganize the stock room, deep clean the kitchen and now, she was sitting at a table in the corner, staring at a print out of her menu.

She chewed on the end of her pen and then drew a line through another item. In the four years she’d had the café, she’d never changed a single menu item. It wasn’t that anyone was complaining about her food, but she was bored with it and wanted to add some new variety. She scribbled some notes in the margin of new recipes she wanted to try to replace the old ones, but the sound of the bell above the door distracted her. She was beaming before she even got out of her chair.

“Hey,” she said, approaching Rowan and Lorcan, pressing a kiss to the cheek of the former and keeping her distance from the former. “How was practice?”

“Good. Save for the fact that I’m still sitting on the bench,” Rowan said, sighing. “Coach said I can be on the ice from now on, as long as I’m still not running drills and agree to see the trainer every day.”

“That’s great,” she said, smiling. “You hungry?”

“Yes, please,” he replied, a lopsided grin on his face.

She headed for the cash register Elide had been sitting at a few moments before. She was now working on rolling silverware father down the counter, quietly humming along to the music that played in the café. “You want the grilled cheese and tomato soup again?”

“Please,” he said, smiling. He turned to his friend and asked, “You want the Reuben, Lor?”

Lorcan didn’t reply. He was staring back towards the door.

Back towards Elide.

“Lorcan?” Rowan said, again, finally getting his teammates’ attention.

“Reuben, yeah, sounds great,” he mumbled, pulling out his wallet.

“Lunch is on me,” Aelin said, eyeing him, not liking the way he turned back to glance at Elide.

She didn’t like the way Elide was sneaking glances at him either.

As she walked behind the counter, Aelin cleared her throat, making Elide jump, her fingers dropping the silverware in which she held. It clattered against the counter.

“Care to give me a hand?” Aelin asked.

Elide blinked. “It’s just two sandwiches-.”

“If the bell rings, you can come back out,” Aelin said, taking Elide by the wrist and dragging her back toward the kitchen. She called back to Rowan and Lorcan, “Make yourselves comfortable!”

Once in the kitchen, Aelin dropped Elide’s wrist and began with the sandwiches. 

Elide watched her friend, her boss, skeptically. “Care to tell me what that was about?” 

“You were practically drooling over him,” Aelin said, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Elide.

Elide’s cheeks darkened and she hurried around to the other side of the kitchen to get Rowan’s soup. “I was not.”

“You definitely were,” Aelin replied, turning and dropping the grilled cheese on top of the griddle. She may have put more cheese on than she would have for a regular customer and melty, delicious goodness dripped out the surface of the cooktop.

Elide was standing in the alley of the kitchen, looking back through the serving window at Aelin. “And…? So what if I was? He’s hot.”

Aelin fought the urge to roll her eyes. “He’s a hockey player, El. Rowan has told me about how he spends his away games.”

Elide was quiet as she put the soup in the window to stay warm as Aelin finished their sandwiches. If her friend and boss’s back hadn’t been facing her, she probably wouldn’t have had the courage to say, “Wow, Ace, be careful. Your hypocrisy is showing.”

She whirled, pointing a spatula at Elide. “That’s a completely different situation and you know it.”

Elide lifted a brow. “Do I?”

Aelin’s lips thinned. “Yes, you do. At least, you should. Rowan and I… it’s different.” 

“If you would have known he was a hockey player, you would’ve never started seeing Rowan,” Elide went on, trying to hide both her frustration and amusement. “The fact that Lorcan plays hockey is all you can see when you look at him.”

Aelin scoffed. “Wrong. All I can see is his jackassery.”

“Jackassery?” 

“It’s a word,” Aelin snapped, flipping over the sandwich on the griddle. “And, again, Rowan has told me about his post game activities when they’re on the road.”

“It doesn’t make a difference, I don’t know why you’re even upset about it,” Elide muttered, coming around to the salad station and popping a cucumber slice in her mouth. “He’s Lorcan Salvaterre. He’s the captain of the team. He dates bikini models and actresses. I’m just a broke college student. I’m just…me.”

Aelin’s eyes softened as she turned to one of her oldest friends. “That’s not true, Elide. You are a phenomenal, beautiful, smart woman, and anyone who doesn’t see that is blind. Including yourself.”

Elide’s cheeks darkened, slightly, as she tried to fight the smile growing. “I’m going to go finish my silverware. Holler if you need me.”

Aelin nodded and watched as she pushed through the swinging door to the dining room. She finished up the sandwiches before grabbing Rowan’s soup and carrying them out front.

While she and Elide had been in the kitchen, Fenrys had appeared, a fast food bag open in front of him. She chuckled as she sat down Rowan and Lorcan’s food. “You know I would have cooked for you.”

His mouth was full of a massive bite of hamburger, so Lorcan answered for him. “He also knows coach would kick his ass if he knew he was eating that. Yet he does it anyway.”

“It’s so good,” Fenrys said, his mouth still full, his manners shot. “What coach doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Rowan snorted. “Tell yourself that when you feel like shit once the grease sets in.”

Lorcan stared at his sandwich for a long moment. Then, he mumbled, “Thank you.”

Aelin blinked. Even Rowan looked nearly surprised.

“Did you just thank me?” Aelin asked, perfectly still.

Lorcan didn’t say anything else as he bit into his sandwich. 

A few more people trickled in and Aelin got back to work, the shock of Lorcan’s almost-kindness still shocking her. The dinner rush, even though slower with the college campus dwindled, still kept her and Elide busy, and by the time eight rolled around, Aelin was ready to close up.

Rowan, Lorcan, and Fenrys remained at the corner table. 

Elide came out of the kitchen, having grabbed her purse and coat from Aelin’s office. “I’m gonna head home, if there’s nothing else you need me to do.”

Aelin shook her head. “Nope, you’re all set. Have a good night.”

“You, too,” Elide said, smiling, and Aelin noticed that her eyes slid to the table again, before she turned and was out the door, heading around the building to the small lot behind the café.

As she approached the table, Lorcan was standing and shrugging his jacket on. “Thanks for dinner. It was good.”

Aelin was still stunned by his niceties earlier that his words barely registered. “You’re welcome, I’m glad you liked it. I guess I’ll keep it on the menu.”

“You heading out, man?” Fenrys asked, finishing off the large plate of fries he’d ordered after his burger and first order of fries was gone.

“Yeah. Got some stuff I gotta take care of.” He said nothing else, but headed for the door.

Turning towards Rowan, Aelin tried to keep her expression in check as she realized that he, too, was heading for the back lot. Rowan, not fooled by her attempts, held his hands up in surrender. “I’m not getting involved.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t like it.”

“Like what?” Fenrys asked, and Aelin rolled her eyes as she took his plate and headed towards the kitchen.

“I’ve gotta lock up,” she called out over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at home. I love you.”

“Love you, too, sweet cheeks!” Fenrys called out.

Even through the swinging door, Aelin heard Rowan smack him on the back of the head.

****************

Rowan skated around the ice. 

He was bored shitless, not even in his hockey gear, but sweatpants and a hoodie. His hands were shoved into his pant pockets as he circled the rink, close to the sideboards. The constant blow of the whistle was the only thing keeping him awake.

He didn’t even bother asking if he could practice, even though he felt up to it. He already knew what the answer would be. 

And yet, he longed for practice to last. When it was over, he’d have to make his way into the locker room for Maeve.

And he was not prepared.

He’d felt her eyes on him since the moment he hit the ice, yet he hadn’t looked over at her once. Dorian was thankfully on the other end of the rink, so as he skated by at the beginning of practice, he was able to flag him down.

“Hey, man, how are you feeling?” Dorian asked, leaning on the half wall separating them.

“Much better, like it never happened,” he said, and the lie was barely there.

Dorian quirked an eyebrow and snorted. “Good try. You can’t practice today.”

“No, I get it, I understand that.” Roan cleared his throat. “But, uh, is there a different massage therapist I can see?”

Dorian blinked. “Did something happen with Maeve the other day? She didn’t mention anything-.”

“She’s my ex,” Rowan interrupted.

Dorian hesitated before nodding, slowly. “I see.”

“You can massage me,” Rowan said, quickly.

“As flattered as I am, I’m not a massage therapist,” Dorian chuckled. “I can talk to-.”

“No, don’t…tell anyone. If you don’t know of anyone, it’s fine,” Rowan said, the words rushing out of him. 

“Look, I don’t know Maeve very well,” Dorian began, shaking his head. “But, she seems perfectly fine, alright? Has it been a while since you’ve been together?”

Rowan gave him a curt nod.

“Then give her a chance to be civil,” Dorian said, shrugging. “If she’s disrespectful, let me know. Otherwise, I have no reason to think she won’t do her job appropriately, and if she doesn’t, then you can leave.”

He sighed, nodding, and skated off.

He spent the next two hours dreading every minute that passed.

He heard Brello’s whistle blow and slowly glided across the ice, coming to a stop next to his line.

“Everyone was looking good today,” he said, looking at them one by one. “Take it easy tonight. The boys from Eyllwe aren’t going to go easy on us tomorrow night, especially since we’ll be in their territory. I want all of you in your best form.” He gestured to Rowan. “Whitethorn will be back on the ice next week.”

There were cheers and hollers from the team and Rowan couldn’t help but smirk as Lorcan shoved him.

Brello, to everyone’s surprise, smirked as well. “Hope you’ve enjoyed your time off, but relaxation time is over. You ready to go?”

“Aye, coach,” he replied, nodding.

“That’s what I like to hear.”

After a couple more announcements from the coaching staff, everyone was skating towards the locker rooms of the practice facility and Rowan felt like his nerves were going to snap.

He took his time removing his skates and grabbing his bag, before slowly walking down the hall leading to the training rooms. He was silently praying Dorian would be in his office, right off to the side of the therapy room, but he wasn’t.

There was only one room with a light on, and with a deep breath, he approached and knocked on the half-open door. 

Maeve looked over her shoulder with a smile. “Come in, I’m ready for you.”

Rowan hesitated, but went in. Dorian was right. Maybe she had changed, maybe there was nothing to worry about.

Yet Rowan felt nauseous as he approached the blanket covered table.

“I’ll give you a minute to strip down and be back.” She left without another word, shutting the door behind her.

Rowan stared at the door before kicking off his shoes then lifting his shirt over his head. He only hesitated for a moment before kicking off his sweats and laying down on the table, pulling the blanket up to his waist.

A soft knock informed him of her approach, and he grunted to let her know he was ready.

When the door reopened, the lights suddenly dimmed and Rowan awkwardly shifted on the massage table.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Rowan was grinding his teeth as she worked on the muscle in his lower back that kept spasming when she said, “I have to say, I was surprised to see you the other day. Dorian hadn’t told me who I would be working on, but…” She paused and chuckled quietly, running her hands up his back.

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

When Rowan was drafted into the EHL, it had been a pretty big deal in his city, but more specifically, his university. He’d dropped out of school to accept the offer from the lower level team and climb his way to where he was. And everyone in Wendlyn knew.

There was no way Maeve didn’t know he was playing for Terrasen when she took the job.

He gave her a small nod and a quiet noise that said he was listening. She kept going, taking that as a sign he was interested in the conversation.

“I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve seen you,” she sighed. “Things ended so...abruptly. I’m glad to see your doing good.” Another chuckle. “Save for the injury, of course.”

It was so strange to hear another accent from Wendlyn that was still somewhat fresh. Lorcan, Gav and Fenrys, they’d been in Terrasen so long, the accent almost disappeared sometimes. But the lilt of her tone, the way she phrased certain words… It both soothed and unsettled Rowan.

“Don't you care to know how I’ve been?” She asked, her voice low. When Rowan didn’t reply, she continued on, anyway. “I’ve been pretty good. Got myself a little place in the city. A dog. Little chihuahua named Fiona.”

Rowan blinked. He was tempted to say that he hadn’t asked, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“I’ve got some pretty wealthy clients, too,” she continued, continuing to work out that knot. “For the first time in ages, I’m secure, you know? Not just financially, just…secure.”

“Good to hear,” he replied, the words sounding more like a snarl through the pain, and she dug her knuckles into his back. The sound he made was halfway between a moan and a groan, he bit his lip to cut it off, but he noted the change in the way Maeve’s hands touched him.

Her touches became less like determined movements meant to heal and were more akin to petting, brushes along his side and a slow finger down his spine.

“And you?” She asked, pulling the blanket a bit lower on his back. He’d worn underwear for just that reason, not trusting her to not make an inappropriate move. “Are you living in Orynth?”

He cleared his throat and said, “Yep. Got an apartment down the road from the university.”

His answer was short and sweet. He wasn’t trying to invite more conversation.

“Not far from me then,” she replied, humming quietly.

Rowan’s shoulders tensed, but that just made her want to ease it away. His eyes closed and he remained quiet. 

“What about your personal life?” Maeve asked, at last.

Rowan didn’t answer, he just took a deep breath.

“Not trying to pry,” Maeve said, at last. “Just trying to make conversation.”

“I’m in pain,” he said, gently, the lie coming out easy. “Not really in a mood to make conversation.”

He could have sworn he felt the temperature in the room drop several degrees.

Her answer was curt. “Sorry.”

She stayed quiet for the rest of the massage, and when she finished, she told him to get redressed and left, heading back out into the main training facility.

He emerged a few moments later, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt over his silver hair. He was already heading for the door, giving her a nod of thanks, when she spoke up.

“Rowan, wait.”

He hated hearing his name on her lips. His steps slowed and he turned around to look at her.

She hesitated slightly, but said, “I was going to go get dinner in a little bit. It’s been a while, I didn’t know if maybe you-.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mae,” he sighed. The familiar nickname slipped out before he had time to stop it. It caught him off guard. “I- I gotta get home. I’ll see you later.”

Rowan had grabbed his bag and was out the door before she had time to say another word

****************

Aelin was at the stove, stirring a pot of homemade marinara sauce and humming quietly along with the radio when Rowan unlocked the door to her apartment and came in. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled at him before turning back to the cooktop. “Hey, you. How was practice?”

“My new massage therapist is my ex.”

The words came out in a rush and Rowan wasn’t even sure he consciously knew he had planned on saying them.

Aelin’s back stiffened and she set the wooden spoon on the trivet beside the stove. Silently, she turned and asked, “Your ex-girlfriend is giving you massages?”

Rowan closed his eyes and took a deep breath before nodding. “Before you say anything-.”

“Did this just start today?” she asked. Her tone held no judgement, only curiosity. However, there was a slight edge to her tone.

“She gave me the massage in my apartment-.”

Aelin held up a hand, and Rowan’s words instantly fell into silence.

Silence, where the room remained for far too long. “Aelin-.”

“Who is she?” Aelin asked, one brow raised. “I’ll kick her ass.”

“Her name is Maeve,” he said, making his way into the kitchen. He leaned against the counter. “She was my girlfriend in college. We dated for a couple of years, but… It didn’t end well. It became more about who I was in hockey, how I was playing, than it was about our relationship.”

“Maeve,” Aelin repeated, turning back to the stove. “Maeve, Maeve, Maeve… Hmm.”

Rowan was quiet, not exactly sure what to say.

“And you have to see her? You don’t have a choice?” She finally asked.

He shook his head. “Brello told me to get over my personal issues. I’m sure I can book a personal masseuse, but-.”

“No, your coach is right,” she sighed, stirring the pot, before putting the lid on and walking over to where Rowan stood. She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. “I don’t like it, but… that isn’t really my call to make.”

Rowan let out a relieved breath. “I know, it’s not mine either. Maybe you can give me massages here to help?” He smirked and, finally, Aelin’s beautiful smile returned.

“We’ll see,” she chuckled, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips. “Looks like I’ll just have to come to your games and make my presence known.”

“Make your presence known?” He crooned.

“I like to mark my territory,” Aelin breathed, her eyes bright. 

“And I’m your territory?” Rowan grinned.

“Whether you like it or not,” Aelin said, laughing softly. “Yes, you are.”

“Hmmm,” Rowan said, narrowing his eyes. “I can’t say that I don’t like that.”

He leaned down and kissed her one more time before asking, “So you aren’t mad?”

She stepped away, back to the stove, and said, “No, I’m not mad.” She paused and pulled a few spices from the cupboard. “Do I like it? Of course not, but there’s not much we can do about it.”

“Once I finish up this round of therapy, I won’t need it again,” he promised. “No more fights, no more getting slammed into the boards. I won’t have to see her anymore.”

Aelin laughed as she turned back to him. “You can’t make that promise, who’s to say what could happen?”

Rowan cringed. “That’s true. No more fighting though, I mean that.”

Aelin nodded, and he could tell she believed him.

He took a step closer and brushed her hair back. “You look beautiful.”

Aelin’s lips quirked as she said, “Trying to kiss my ass to get back on my good side?”

“Maybe,” he muttered, and kissed her forehead, softly. “Is it working?”

“Hmmm,” Aelin began, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Not yet, keep trying.”

Rowan’s grin widened as he leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers. “Now?”

Aelin sighed. “Getting there.”

“Only getting there, huh?” He breathed, his lips still brushing hers.

“I guess you’re going to have to step your game up,” Aelin cooed, slipping her hands down his back and into the waistband of his sweatpants.

Rowan’s grin was positively feline as he picked her up and carried her back into her bedroom.

Dinner was forgotten about for quite a while.

#lui #light up the ice #rowaelin hockey fic #snacmc #snelbz lui #snelbz tacmc collab #rowaelin #tog #throne of glass #rowan whitethorn #aelin galythinius

[snelbz]

Light Up the Ice - Chapter 9

A/N: Well. It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? I’m sorry, guys, but this story just...wasn’t coming to me for a while. But now we’re back and I am so excited. Since it has been over a year and a half since I updated this one, please forgive us if there are a few details that aren’t perfect from the first chapters. Feels good to be writing my babies again.

Written with @tacmc.

Rowan woke up to the smell of cooking bacon and fresh coffee and he sighed contentedly. It had been two days since the hit that put him out of commission. He was hoping the rest and relaxation he’d enjoyed with his girlfriend would handle it, but it seemed that his body was protesting its natural healing process.

He groaned as he rolled out of Aelin’s bed, smiling when he found Lumi curled up in the hoodie he’d left in her chair in the corner. After giving her a scratch behind the ears, though the cat pretended he didn’t exist, he padded out into the living room, finding Aelin at the stove quietly humming to herself.

“Good morning,” he said, yawning as he pulled out a bar stool and sat down.

Aelin turned, and he was once agIn floored by how gorgeous she was, straight out of bed. That first night, when the fire alarms had pulled them all from sleep, he’d been convinced she’d scrambled to do her makeup before coming out onto the lawn. Waking up next to her two days in a row had proven to him that she was naturally beautiful and he couldn’t help but stare.

“Good morning,” she smiled and set a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. “Hurting today?”

“Aye,” he said, stretching his arms in the air. He felt every muscle tense in his upper body and before he could say the words, Aelin beat him to it.

“I think you need to give the team trainer a call today,” she said, placing a plate full of bacon on the counter next to her.

Rowan stared at it, wanting to reach over and snag a piece, but was fairly sure she’d catch him when he grunted in pain trying to lift it. Plus, she was dumping nearly a dozen eggs into a skillet to scramble, so he was hoping she’d be feeding him soon enough. He nodded. “I was going to do that today. I was texting with him last night and he said he and the massage therapist could come here today.”

Aelin smiled. “That would be perfect. I have to go

to work in about an hour, so I’ll feel better knowing someone is here with you.”

He rolled his eyes. “You do know I’m a grown man, right? Lived on my own for about seven years?”

Aelin stuck out her tongue and continued cooking at the stove, before setting a plate down in front of him piled high with eggs, hashbrowns and crispy bacon.

“Have I mentioned how much I love you?” He asked, as she slid onto the stool next to him.

She smirked and said, “Once or twice, but don’t worry. I’ve got a drunk voicemail to listen to if I ever forget.”

She winked and Rowan felt his cheeks heat, but regardless, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead and began to eat.

After his second full helping breakfast, Aelin got Rowan set up on the couch, babying him the entire time, much to his dismay, and he sent a text to the trainer asking him to call him when he got to the arena that morning. Aelin was getting ready and Rowan was playing NHL on his Xbox when the trainer finally called him back.

“Hey, man,” Rowan answered, pausing the game and propping the phone between his ear and shoulder.

Dorian’s voice came through the receiver. “How ya feeling?”

Rowan groaned as he rotated one of his shoulders. “Like I got hit by a truck.”

With a snort, Dorian chuckled. “Have you seen most of the Pirates’ team? They’re ridiculous; all of them are huge, freaks of nature. Rolfe is no exception.”

With a nod, Rowan cringed. He hadn’t realized the captain of the Skull’s Bay Pirates had been the one to lay the hit on him. “Well, whenever you and Sorscha have time, I’d appreciate it if you could make a house call.” There was silence on the other side of the line. “Dor?”

“Sorscha’s last day was Thursday of last week, I had no clue you didn’t know,” he explained. “The new therapist started yesterday.”

“Oh.” Sorscha had been the team’s massage therapist for years and Rowan vaguely remembered rumors that she’d be leaving them. He just never had them confirmed. “That’s fine, how’s the new guy?”

“She is...a piece of work,” Dorian admitted with a sigh. “You’ll meet her when we come by. You free for us to head that way?”

“Yeah, man, the sooner you get me back in working order, the sooner I can get back on the ice,” Rowan replied, debating on saying something about the home game they had that night.

With a chuckle, Dorian said, “Don’t even think about it, man. You’re not playing tonight. We’ll leave in just a bit and see you soon.”

The call ended and Rowan dropped his phone on the couch. He looked at the clock and hollered, “What time are you off tonight, Ace?”

She poked her head out of her bedroom and said, “Four o’clock, why?”

“Wanna go to the game with me?”

Aelin blinked at him. “You aren’t playing, Ro.”

“No,” he said, standing and stretching - and groaning. “But we can go sit in the player’s box and watch.”

“You want to sit next to me for an entire hockey game and hear my commentary?” She asked, grinning.

Rowan’s grin matched hers as he held out a hand, stepping towards her. She placed her hand in his and he gently pulled her towards him. “I promise I won’t be thinking too much about the game with you there with me.”

Aelin ran her palms down Rowan’s chest. “Well, that’s a tough argument.”

Rowan’s grin widened as he leaned down to kiss her. “You’ll go with me then?”

Aelin nibbled on her lip as she nodded. “If you get your ass on the couch and promise to take it easy today.”

He groaned softly. “Fine. If that’s what it takes.”

“Thank you,” she said, rising up on her toes to kiss him once more and turning back to finish getting ready. “You also have to make an appointment with your trainer.”

“He’s on his way with the sports therapist now,” Rowan said, watching her walk back to her room, enjoying every step she took. He really did try to focus on more than just her ass, but the leggings she wore weren’t helping his cause. When she looked back at him as she paused in the doorway, he had just enough time that she didn’t catch him - not that he thought she’d mind.

“Looks like we’ve got a game to go to then,” she winked, and disappeared into the bedroom.

About thirty minutes after Aelin left for the café, Rowan’s phone rang. “Hey, man. You here?”

His trainer and friend’s usually cheery voice was distinctly pissy. “Open up, Whitethorn. I’ve been knocking on your door for two minutes.”

“Oh, shit.” Rowan was up on his feet with a quiet grunt and ran to the door throwing it open. Dorian stood in front of his own apartment door, down the hall. He called, “Sorry, man, I’m staying with my girlfriend.”

Dorian’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re Aelin’s boyfriend?”

Rowan paused and blinked. “Uh, aye? You know her?”

“I grew up with her, we’ve been friends for years,” Dorian said, the light tone returning. “I told the therapist your apartment number and she’s grabbing her table from the car. I should probably call her-.”

“No, it’s fine, I need to grab a few things from my place anyways,” he shrugged, grabbing his keys off the small table by the door. “We can set up in there so I don’t have to move Aelin’s furniture around.”

Dorian snorted. “Good call.”

Rowan unlocked his apartment and let Dorian in, turning on the lights and carefully moving things out of the way. Painfully.

He grabbed one of his least destroyed game worn jerseys and tossed it over his shoulder. He very much wanted to see her wearing it. “Aelin’s coming to the game tonight,” he said, grinning.

Dorian shook his head and chuckled. “I don’t even know who she is anymore.”

Rowan’s grin only widened.

“Hey, uh, can I come in and see Fleetfoot?” Dorian asked, looking out toward the hallway.

Rowan blinked and said, “I mean, sure.”

They headed back down the hall to Aelin’s apartment, leaving Rowan’s door open for the therapist to carry her gear in. As soon as they entered the apartment, Fleetfoot was bounding towards Dorian, excited like Rowan had never seen her.

Glancing up at Rowan while he rubbed her belly, Dorian grinned. “I gave her to Aelin our junior year of college. I promised if she got all A’s on her finals, I’d get her puppy. Guess who got straight A’s the entire semester?”

Rowan couldn’t help but laugh, smiling and shaking his head. “Sounds about right.”

Dorian’s phone chimed and he stood, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. “Oh she’s all set up and ready for you. Just head back down here when you’re done and we’ll talk about getting you on the ice again.”

“Aye, sounds good,” Rowan said and left, heading for his own apartment. The door was shut now, but he assumed it was just for privacy. He’d had to get sports massages before. They were basically a glorified regular massage. They focused on specific muscles groups, some quite intimate and quite awkward, but for the most part the etiquette was the same.

A dim room, quiet music or white noise of some sort, a special table covered in a white sheet, and the fact that you typically undress and are under just a towel.

Suddenly, Rowan froze with his hand halfway extended toward his doorknob, as he realized he was about to essentially be naked, alone in his apartment, with a woman he’d never met, as she rubbed her hands all over his body.

He’d had to get sports massages before. Just never while he’d had a girlfriend.

Maybe he should ask Dorian to come in and talk while she worked on him.

With a sigh, Rowan realized he was overthinking things. This was her job and he was judging her before he’d even met her. She was probably extremely professional and he was worrying for no reason.

With a shake of his head, he entered his apartment and asked, “Hello?”

A young woman rounded the corner, wiping her damp hands on a paper towel. Her long, black hair was braided back, and by the time her obsidian eyes met Rowan’s, he was frozen in place. For a moment, she didn’t react, and Rowan couldn’t breathe.

And then her eyes lit up and a small grin spread on her thin, red lips. His blood ran cold. He swallowed. “Maeve. What...the hell are you doing here?”

“Ah, Rowan Whitethorn,” she cooed. “We meet again.”

#snacmc #snelbz tacmc collab #light up the ice #Rowaelin hockey fic #LUI #snelbz lui #toab lui #Rowaelin #throne of glass