Disclaimer: I do not own any characters referenced
They finished eating in due time and Aelin propped her elbows up on the table surface. Rowan had been acting weirdly throughout most of the while.
"What time is it?" She asked, flattening out the silk material of her skirt. "Time for you," Fenrys flicked her forehead, "to buy yourself a watch." "Are you kidding me?" She asked. "And also 20:27." He then added.
"Are you staying over again?" Rowan asked her, to which she shrugged. "If I'm allowed." Fenrys grinned; "You're always welcome in our house, Ae." "My house." Rowan corrected, earning a chuckle from the man. Aelin smiled.
"Would you like the check?" The waiter asked as he approached the table. "Yes, please." Rowan responded, kindly dipping his head. But that kindness faded when he received the check. Aelin could've sworn she heard his jaw hit the floor. "How much is it?" "Too much." Was his only reply as he tugged multiple bills out of his wallet.
"Keep the change," he told the waiter, "we're leaving." "But Rowan-" Rowan forcefully grabbed Fenrys by the elbow and started dragging him towards the exit. "Guys! I forgot! I didn't go to the bathroom before and now I really have to go." Aelin suddenly exclaimed, heading to the restrooms. "We'll wait outside, darling!" Fenrys waved and winked.
"Oh, we sure as hell will."
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Rowan slammed a fist against the concrete wall on the outside of the restaurant. "What do you mean?" Fenrys asked innocently, sitting on a bench several feet away. Better safe than sorry. "What was up with you?! Why were you acting like that?!" "Care to elaborate?"
He was fuming; "Why were you so... comfortable," Rowan gritted his teeth, "with Aelin." Instead of answering his friends question, Fenrys slowly rose to his feet and cocked his head; "You're jealous." He simply stated. "No! I'm not-" "You are jealous." He cut Rowan off, "You're jealous of me being close with her."
Rowan didn't reply, so Fenrys continued; "You're jealous, because it took you so long to gain her trust and stabilize your friendship - despite your project at uni - and I only met her this morning and we're already friends." "You did it on purpose..." Rowan seethed, "Everything you did in there, you did on purpose, just to piss me off!"
"So you admit it."
"Why the hell would I be jealous?!"
"Are you joking?"
"Does it sound like I'm fucking joking?!"
"Because you love her."
Silence.
"You're jealous, because you love Ae." Fenrys repeated. Rowan didn't move. He didn't so much as blink. But then he shook his head; a weak, barely noticeable notion. "I met her less than a month ago."
"It doesn't take long to fall in love with someone... I mean, I only met her today." It took a moment for the words to sink in, but Rowan's eyes snapped open; "Wait, wha-"
"Hey guys, what are you doing?" Aelin emerged from the building, carelessly fidgeting with the end of her braid. In a heartbeat, the playfulness returned to Fenrys' eyes. "Us? We ain't doing anything, Ae. Now, shall we?" He took her hand and started leading her to the car, leaving a baffled Rowan in their wake.
"Well, goodnight!" Fenrys saluted and winked as he passed the threshold of the elevator, making his way to the door of his third-floor apartment. Aelin grinned and waved back, while Rowan simply glowered as the elevator doors slid shut once more and they ascended to the fourth floor.
As soon as Rowan unlocked the door to the apartment, Aelin dashed in, but froze mid-way through the living room to tilt her head back and look at Rowan. "Can I borrow some clothes to sleep in? My pjs are all sweaty by now..." "Sure. Go ahead." He mumbled. His mind was distant, contemplating what Fenrys had said earlier. Was Rowan jealous? No way. He furiously shook his head.
"Thanks~" She jogged to the bedroom. Well, at least she was in a good mood. Rowan sighed. "I'm not jealous." He whispered, trying to convince himself more than anything else. "Not jealous..."
And by the time he entered the bedroom, the sound of the running shower was already echoing through the door of the bathroom connected to the suite. Ever-so-softly, he heard Aelin singing against the sound of the water. He huffed a chuckle and leaned against the backrest of the large bed.
Fenrys could go to hell.
When Aelin swung open the door to the bedroom, she found Rowan sitting on the bed. He was dozing off and his head would slowly dip once in a while, only to snap back upwards. She giggled.
"Rowan!" She called, immediately awakening said male. "Aelin!" He exclaimed and a barely noticeable blush crept up his neck as he took in her get-up. Aelin was wearing a pair of his grey boxers and a loose, viridian colored t-shirt with the depiction of a soaring falcon on it.
"You really should start calling me Celaena. I don't want to risk it." She lazily rubbed her wet hair the white towel that was hanging around her neck. Rowan nodded and stood up. He grabbed a pair of shorts and a shirt he had prepared and made his way to the bathroom.
"Well than, Celaena. I'm going to take a shower. You don't have to stay awake until I'm done." He excused himself, offering her a rare, lopsided grin. She laughed and stepped out of his way as he walked by her, closing the bathroom door behind him.
Aelin sighed happily and proceeded to claim a controller lying at the base of the tv situated across the room and flipped on Rowan's second console. She sat on the foot of the bed, tugging up the blankets to build a fort around her and snuggled into the warmth.
ATTACK OF THE VALG was broadly displayed on the screen and she logged into her account, impatiently tapping the controller with her fingers as the loading symbol spun around and around and around. And then she was in.
Aelin tugged the blankets closer around her, careful not to loose balance and face-plant onto the carpet of the floor in front of her, and smiled as Fireheart ran around on-screen, dodging random passerbys as she maneuvered through a small village. And then she spotted a Valg. A devilish grin grew on Aelin's face as Fireheart went into stance and unsheathed the legendary blade, gleaming in the sunlight; Goldryn.
By the time Rowan finished showering, an hour had passed. He liked to take his time. Changing into his pjs, he silently opened the door, expecting to see Aelin cuddled up in bed, soundly sleeping, but instead he found her sitting on the foot of the bed, with all the blankets tightly wrapped around her. All the other lights in the room had been turned off, and as the sun set, the only light illuminating her face was the bright light of the tv.
Fireheart was wildly slashing away at a pack of Valgs on-screen. Rowan suppressed a smile. Aelin was in a concentrated state, her lips pressed into a thin line, but there was ecstasy and adrenaline shining in her large, cyan eyes. Walking to the bed, he sat down beside her.
Aelin didn't spare him a glance as she grinned broadly. "Wanna play?" Her concentration was fully on the battle going on in the game, but she stole a quick side-glance at Rowan, who was watching her intently. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair messy and wet, but she looked content. So he nodded and retrieved the second controller going to the settings of the console and adding the second player, he joined Aelin.
Playing Attack of the Valg with his classmate's cousin near 00:00 on a Saturday night.
Not exactly how Rowan expected to be spending his weekend.
But far better.
A/N: What day is it? IT'S SATURDAY! I didn't upload late! I think I deserve a pat on the back. (Although it isn't really something to be proud of, to not be late for once...) I hope you enjoyed the chapter, with jealous Rowan and sneaky Fenrys. 'Ja ne' is actually Japanese and is roughly translated to 'see you later'. So... Please review! Ja ne!