Inspired by ErDead's "Aaravos and Viren" on DeviantArt. Go check it out if you have a DA. Seriously. It's gorgeous.

This is actually the oneshot that inspired this series. It's also my favorite, so I didn't want to post it right away. I have some really good news to share, down at the bottom!

Big gigantic thank you to everyone who's supported this fic so far! And shoutout to lily-lilou, AngetianPrincess18, and Indi! Tysm for reviewing!

Now, without further ado, may I present...

Kiss

"Mmm." I stretch, breaking my cocoon and exposing myself to the warm Xadian sunlight. "Ah, sun. How I've missed you." Its rays are gentle, yet strong, warming me to the bones after cold centuries in prison.

"Who is that?" a girl's voice asks.

"Aar-Aaravos?" says Viren.

I sigh and turn. "Hello, Viren. It's good to see you in the flesh." Viren is only a few feet away from me, though I see his daughter, Claudia, standing several yards away, half her hair the same white as mine.

"What– How–" Viren starts, before settling on "Why?"

I let my lips curve into a smile, reaching out to him. "Well, I thought that since you could hear and see me…" I let my fingers touch his cheek one by one, until I'm fully cupping his face. He feels so vulnerable. He doesn't know what I'm doing. "Maybe it was time you were able to feel me, too."

Viren rolls his eyes, lifting his head but not pulling away from my hand. "So, we're just going to continue through the five senses, are we?" he asks sarcastically.

I regard him for a moment, then lean closer. His eyes widen, and he leans back, into my hand. "Yes," I breathe. "Taste is next."

Before he can grasp my meaning, I press my lips to his. Viren, startled, does not try to push me away, so I deepen the kiss.

Perhaps I no longer need him to escape my prison, but I sense I will still need him.

Note: I do recognize that any Viravos would be, at least at first, an extremely unhealthy relationship. Even non-romantically, their relationship is based around manipulation, lies, and conquering Xadia. At least there's some measure of trust in there, though I think it's largely one-sided (Viren trusts Aaravos with his life, the stories of Sarai's and Avizandum's deaths, he trusts an elf with the future of humanity even though he otherwise seems to hate elves. In contrast, Aaravos barely tells Viren anything).

Also, I think kissing is something that you really should definitely ask permission for and you absolutely should not do what Aaravos did here. However, I do think this was in-character for Aaravos, as he is manipulative and sensual and casually/inappropriately intimate (cupping Queen Khessa's face as he killed her, crawling his worm into Viren's ear (gross, yes, but literally entering someone's head is pretty intimate yeah?), sticking his ghost face into Viren's ("am I your 'little bug pal'?"). Viren is...less comfortable with this).

If you're wondering whether to do something, a good rule of thumb is not to do it if a villain would. Just sayin'. If you want to do villain-y stuff, go find a fun villain to write, like Aaravos or Darkstalker. Oh yeah, Aaravos is so fun to write! The TDP writers must love him. I know I love writing my villains maybe best of all!

Anyway I hope you enjoyed, and please check out my Official Author Blog (worldofdedanan dot wordpress dot com), my DeviantArt (deviantart dot com slash tamaraaduncan), and my supernew Tumblr (personal: theoneandonlymagiscientist dot tumblr dot com. Aaravos ask blog: AaravosAnswers dot tumblr dot com (he's so fun to write, I didn't want to stop. Plus, he's uncannily like my ultimate villain! (send me all the Aary questions, please. I'm so excited!)!

*still kind of in shock because I. Have. A. Tumblr*