A/N:
Thanks for all the comments and continued support! I love you guys!
Shoutout to nayanyart on instagram for beta reading this chapter! (FYI they have really pretty art so you can check that out)
Here's the chapter!
"Hell will freeze over before I let Riona cook in my kitchen again," Khoniya declared. She had dark circles, but her eyes sparkled. "Did you know it was possible to burn a pan to the point where the metal gets deformed? I wasn't even surprised that she managed to set the kitchen towels on fire."
Brielle grimaced. "I take it she's never cooked before?"
Khoniya sighed. "I have no idea how those kids were going to try to live on the streets, honestly. I mean, the other day, I gave them a bowl of blackberries as part of their breakfast, and Cian asked me why the caviar tasted strange."
Nesta chuckled. "I thought you said they were learning?"
"Yeah, they are," Khoniya admitted, stabbing another piece of Brielle's home-made Mille-feuille with her fork. "They didn't know anything about cleaning, once I told them how, they were eager to help. Thanks to Cian, lots of old rooms have been dusted. Riona's seems to like gardening — to be quite honest, I don't know when the last time was that our yard had so few weeds."
"Saibh's been doing well," Nesta added. "She helped us set up the new section of the store and gave us a few suggestions about it as well."
"What are you guys planning on doing with the new space?" Khoniya leaned forward.
Brielle and Nesta exchanged a glance. "We're going to make it sort of bookstore-like, although we'll also have stationary and notebooks and maybe a few other trinkets in the section," Brielle said. "We want to distinguish ourselves by carrying books from all over Prythian, including human-authored books. But we were also thinking of maybe serving some drinks there-"
"Ooh, like a bar?" Khoniya quipped.
"No, definitely not like a bar," Brielle responded in a serious tone.
"I don't know," Nesta interjected lightly, "a bar might be fun."
"Yeah, because every bookworm is a secret alcoholic," Brielle shook her head exasperatedly.
"I was," Nesta said, her tone still joking but aware that she was revealing a very personal fact. Then she added, "Although actually, Khoniya, we were thinking of more like tea, smoothie or coffee."
"Can you guys stock Hot Chocolate?" Khoniya asked. Despite being the oldest, she seemed very much like a child at that moment. "Ooh, and Butterbeer?"
"Didn't I just say no alcohol?" Brielle retorted, raising an eyebrow.
"No, butterbeer isn't alcoholic!" Khoniya cried. "It's this amazing drink that was in this book Nesta lent me — see, Brielle, it's inherently connected to books — and anyway, it tastes like butterscotch but not as sweet and it's supposed to be delicious!"
"Please Brielle," Nesta added, batting her eyelashes like a teenage debutante.
Brielle rolled her eyes once again, but being Brielle, she couldn't help but want to agree with whatever her friends were passionately asking for. "Fine, I'll see what we can do."
Khoniya let out a cheer, and Nesta grinned.
"It's really big," Nesta said, biting her lip.
"I know," Cassian grinned, before a concerned look took residence on his face. "What do you think?"
Nesta sighed. Her feet and back ached. She and Cassian were trying to choose a house. They agreed that they wanted it to be close to Nesta's current residence and had identified a surprisingly large amount of options (she had no idea why so many houses were on sale in Velaris — although actually, it was probably because Cassian had decided not to have a price limit).
Nesta had therefore been optimistic. Unfortunately, the first place they visited did not satisfy their demands of 3 bedrooms despite what the owner said (who counts a large cupboard as a bedroom for a baby?) and the second place had strange stains all over the carpet (although the owner said it was just mud, it distinctly resembled dried blood). The third place had been so dark and damp that it immediately gave both Nesta and Cassian chills. The fifth place had seemed quite nice (well, at least it didn't seem horrible) until a single bark resounded from what seemed like the next door neighbor's house, followed by a cacophony of barks, growls, chirps, grunts and roars.
The house they were currently in (Nesta had lost count after 11) seemed okay - other than the fact that it was huge. Definitely not Nesta's style, but at this point she was too tired to protest over something so small.
"And here, you can put a dining table," the owner was explaining. "Over here is the child's room — large enough for two, in case you want to have some more," she grinned and Nesta looked away, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes.
Cassian uncharacteristically did not take the opportunity to tease Nesta, and instead frowned. "This is so far away from the two adult bedrooms you showed us earlier…"
"Well of course," the owner laughed. "Surely you don't want to be woken up by the baby's cries? The wet nurse can take care of that — see that's why this little door leads to another small room."
Nesta sighed and glanced around. "What about that door? Is that another bedroom?"
"We could use that to sleep near the baby," Cassian mused.
"Oh no," the owner said quickly. "That leads to another corridor."
"Well, can we see it?"
"Why?" the owner frowned, looking puzzled.
Cassian and Nesta exchanged a look. "Before we buy the house, we'd like to know what's in it," Cassian explained awkwardly.
"Oh, but that section won't affect you— it's not for sale," the owner countered.
"What do you mean? I thought you said this place was for sale?" Nesta argued. She did not want to have spent all this time on a place that wasn't even available.
"The main parts of the house are for sale, but that hallway is a separate wing. Someone else already bought it and is living there," the owner muttered. Then quickly added, "But they have their own separate front door and kitchen, so there is no need to worry; you'll just be like neighbors!"
But Nesta and Cassian were worried. "Can that door be locked or sealed?"
"Well, no, but there's no need… besides, if you truly liked, you could build another door that could lock?"
The whole point was to have a house ASAP.
Still, Nesta was so tired. She didn't want to visit another house.
"Maybe-" she began, only to be cut off by loud music blaring from behind the door. The music was so obscene that they all cringed.
Cassian and Nesta shared a quick look, thanked the owner, and then fled as fast as they could.
Once outside, they laughed.
"Gods, can you believe she actually tried to hide the fact that someone else was already living in that house?"
"At least it was better than that place where they tried to call their flooded basement a pool."
After their laughter died down, Cassian checked the list. "Okay, we have one or two houses left, but if you're too tired…"
It was a mistake for anyone to tell Nesta what she was or wasn't; in doing so, her stubborn nature obliged her to prove them wrong. Logic warred with her stubbornness, and she decided, "I can do one more house."
Cassian shot her a doubtful glance but dutifully picked her up and flew them to the next location.
They landed in front of a light blue house.
The owner stepped out of the house, and greeted them. He was a short male with chestnut-colored hair.
The house itself was small, but in a cozy way instead of a claustrophobic way. Besides, everything was still large enough for Cassian to walk around with his wings spread out, so it was functional.
It had 3 bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, as well as a kitchen-dining area, a living room, a few closets, a small room with a big sink and some shelves (no doubt for laundry and cleaning supplies), one other room (the owner informed them that they could use it as anything — formal living room, exercise room, office, reading room, etc.) and an attic that was surprisingly nice. It also had a backyard and a patio. The house was probably about triple the size of Nesta's current house. It had a few large windows (including a bay window that Nesta was sure to claim as a reading nook) that brightened the house. The owner informed them that the house had been built at a slight elevation to prevent flooding.
There was really no decision. Nesta and Cassian looked at each other once, confirming that they felt the same way about the charming place, and then asked to sign the form to buy the house.
The owner indicated the price (it was a little high, but far lower than many of the houses they'd visited) and then explained that since all the furniture had already been cleared out, they could start moving their stuff in next week at the earliest.
"I'll take the crib we ordered to the house next week," Cassian suggested once they were back at Nesta's house, finally resting on the sofa.
Cassian was stretched out comfortably, one arm on the arm rest, the other slung over the back of the sofa, but Nesta couldn't seem to find a comfortable position. Her back ached, and her neck seemed to have a crick in it that she couldn't get rid of, despite rolling her neck multiple times in both directions.
"Y'alright, sweetheart?"
"I'm fine." Her automatic reply was proven false by a sudden pain in her lower back that caused her to wince.
Cassian stared at her with worried eyes. "Does your stomach hurt? Do you need to take some kind of medicine? Well, actually, I'm not sure if that's safe- Should we ask the healer? Should we go to the healer? Shit, is it the baby? What if this is related to when you were attacked—"
"Cassian," she cut short his (adorable) ramble, "It's fine, I'm fine."
When she saw that her words had not reassured him in the slightest, she added, "My stomach doesn't hurt at all, okay? It's just that my back — and my neck — are slightly stiff."
Cassian's face relaxed but then he stood up abruptly.
Nesta stared up at him, her confusion invisible on her face.
"C'mon," Cassian said, jerking his head and then patting the sofa as some sort of signal.
Nesta merely blinked at him.
Cassian faltered slightly. "Unless you prefer that I don't- maybe you could ask your friends…"
"What?" Nesta finally deigned to ask.
"A massage, sweetheart. I was going to give you a massage, unless you'd rather not have one."
Nesta let surprise flit across her visage before asking, "How- What should I-?" She'd never received a massage before, though she knew what they were thanks to her books.
"Ah, well, normally you'd lay down on your front," Cassian began, and Nesta lifted an eyebrow, glancing at her baby bump. "But in the current circumstances, that's probably not the best idea," he agreed. "If you really want to lay down, you can lay on your side, but it'd be best if you just sit up over here," he pointed. Nesta sat where he'd indicated.
Cassian placed his (large) hands on her shoulders and squeezed once, gently. "Relax, sweetheart," he breathed into her ear, which made her stiffen more, causing him to chuckle slightly. However, as his hand worked on her neck, shoulder and back, her body quickly relaxed.
Gods, why hadn't she thought of getting a massage before? His hands were like magic, loosening the knots in her back (most of which she hadn't even known existed), stretching out her neck, relieving tension from her shoulders…
Despite not being even mildly sexual, the massage was more pleasurable than all the meaningless drunk sex she'd had with strangers. Her drunk sex with Cassian did not fall into that category, as far as she could remember — though she couldn't remember everything as the alcohol had blurred her memory.
She let out a sigh as Cassian eased a particularly tense spot in her shoulder blade. Gods, that man— no, male—'s hands were talented. She decided not to inform him of this, knowing he'd make it an innuendo.
Wanting to fill the silence, Nesta asked, "What do you like to do in your free time?" It wasn't what she'd planned to ask, but, well, it couldn't hurt to know more about her baby's father.
"I usually exercise, train, fight-"
Nesta snorted. "That's for your job. I mean for fun or for you."
"It's not just for my job," Cassian protested weakly.
"Also for your admirers?" she smirked.
"Jealous, sweetheart?"
Nesta let out an obnoxious, single huff. "No. And don't think I've forgotten about the question I asked — why are you avoiding it? Does Rhysand give you no free time?"
"I wasn't avoiding anything, Nesta. I like to fly, cook, b-"
"Cook?" she interrupted, surprised. "You can cook?"
"Of course! I'm well over 500 and you do need to eat in order to live," Cassian smirked. "I am quite adept at cooking and honestly really enjoy it. Although that definitely wasn't the case at first. Once, I tried to bake a cake for Rhysand's mom, and I ended up setting fire to the curtains."
Nesta laughed softly. Then, recalling Khoniya's complaints the other day, she recounted what had happened when Riona had tried her hand in the kitchen.
Cassian responded with his own tale of how he'd once burnt down a building by accident — thankfully it had been empty at the time — and then transitioned to how he'd destroy one little building in the Summer Court and was now hated there — unfairly, in his opinion.
His hands continued their brilliant work on her back. As he rolled his knuckles in circles in a particularly sensitive area on her lower back, she let out a soft moan. He continued talking but his hands remained on that portion of her body, pressing his fingers into her back. Then, he pressed the perfect spot with just the right amount of pressure — he was so good at this — and she needed to tell him not to move his fingers — "Mmm, right there," she half-sighed, half-moaned.
Cassian froze.
Worried something had happened, she began to turn around. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he replied gruffly, pressing his thumb once more against the sensitive section of her lower back.
Despite the pleasure, she frowned lightly. Clearly something was wrong that had made him pause. His voice, too, had been a little strange. Had she done something? Or-
Cassian cleared his throat, twice, and then resumed his story, the moment forgotten.
Nesta arrived at work on Monday morning in a good mood. She was excited to start planning the new space they had. Nesta was actually getting along very well with Saibh, who seemed to appreciate her honesty and had even informed her that her 'sharp wit' was 'delightful'.
As she entered the boutique, she noticed Saibh and Brielle at the back of the boutique, speaking in low tones. Hearing Nesta's footsteps, Brielle turned her head. "Oh, hey, Nesta." Was that annoyance in Brielle's voice? No— it must have been Nesta's imagination. For her part, Saibh smiled kindly and greeted her. "Hello Nesta. You look radiant. Did you have a good weekend?"
"Yes, I did, thank you. Ca- My baby's father and I chose a house we want to buy."
"Oh, that's wonderful!"
"Maybe once we're settled in, I could invite you all," Nesta offered.
"Oh, that'd be amazing!" Brielle's joyful babble had returned. "Do you need any help setting up? I heard that you shouldn't strain yourself too much while you're pregnant. Do you guys want anything from the boutique? I could give it to you for- well, maybe not for free but at a very low price! Like, 25% of the regular price! Is your new house far away? Will you need trans-"
"Brielle," Nesta cut in, firmly but not unkindly. "Thanks for the offer, but we're fine. The new house is about the same distance from here as my old place, just in a different direction."
"Oh ok! Is the new place much larger?"
"It is. It'll be good for the baby to have her own bedroom. We do need to move our stuff and figure out exactly how to use all the new space. Speaking of new space," Nesta added with a pointed glance. "You mentioned you had some ideas for the new section of the boutique?"
"Yes!" Brielle's face lit up (not that it had been dark in any way). "So, I know we already agreed it would be a bookshop with some other trinkets, and that we'll sell some drinks, but we didn't decide exactly which ones. I made a list of easy drinks to make that are a little nice so that it feels a bit special and brightens their day. But we also don't want the drinks to be the main focus, because then we'd have to hire more people to keep up with orders, and make more space for customers to drink and that's just so much hassle I don't really want at the moment. But I also feel like we should advertise the new book section in some way to make sure people know we're now also a bookstore."
"What if we had some sort of event at the boutique?" Saibh suggested. "That way, we could unofficially invite and attract lots of people."
"What would we do? A book reading?" Nesta asked. "A book club?"
"Hmm, it could be a good idea, although that would create a very small group of regular attendees, right?" Brielle pondered. "I mean, we could have different events to attract different audiences…"
"Actually, I remember Khoniya mentioning the other day that Lesser Fae, at least the ones that don't work for the High Lord," Saibh spat out the title like a curse word, "are treated like second-rate citizens. And fae from foreign backgrounds as well, though I hear that Winter Court fae are quite loved."
"We could use our bookstore as a community gathering space for Lesser fae and maybe some foreign fae or other fae who aren't treated equally, so that they can meet each other," Nesta proposed. "They could help support each other and we could make it a safe space for them to share their issues or ask for help in any way, whether it is learning how to read or cook, wanting to find a job, needing a place to stay, or just getting some advice."
"And they could become friends with each other!" Brielle exclaimed. "They could find their place here in Velaris and not have to feel lonely anymore. And they'd be safer together. They wouldn't need to worry about being attacked." Then, glaring playfully at Saibh, she added, "Or, you know, robbed."
Saibh rolled her eyes. "Oh my gods, when will you get over that? They already apologized and your scar already healed."
"No it didn't! See!" Brielle pushed her hair behind her shoulders and tilted her head back, showing off her neck. Nesta couldn't see even a scratch remaining.
Saibh only shook her head with mock exasperation and covered her face with her hands. "It's completely gone, Brielle."
"Nobody believes me," Brielle pretended to pout.
Saibh pressed her lips together, trying to hold in a smile (and quite possibly laughter).
Nesta opened her mouth to give a lighthearted joking reply; instead, she inhaled sharply.
She'd felt a twitch in her lower abdomen, like a light flick or a flutter.
Their eyes and focus were on her as she clutched her stomach.
"What is it? Are you okay?" Brielle asked, panic seeping into her tone.
"Do you need to see a healer?" Saibh added. Her voice was lower and calmer, as if she did not want to cause Nesta to worry more, but her concern was still evident.
"I'm okay," Nesta said after a moment. She looked up from her stomach and looked at them, her eyes glistening and her lips curved upwards. "I think I just felt my baby kick."
Hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review to let me know what you thought!
(Reviews motivate me to write)
Life update: I've been avoiding my homework all summer so now I have 2 weeks to complete a 4000 word history research paper, read and annotate a book, and do a huge bio project. Oops. I also have 0 motivation so I'll probably just end up writing more fanfic instead of doing my actual work.
Anyyywayyy I read some nice books recently (and more are coming out in September). If any of you want to talk to me, my tumblr is sayosdreams and my bookish insta is fangirl.
Bye! I'll post the next chapter in a week or so! (Follow/Favorite for alerts when I update)