She woke up slowly. Damn, she couldn't even remember what she'd been dreaming about . . . nor could she remember falling asleep . . .

Eliana's eyes blinked open quickly as she scrambled into a more upright position. However, before she could go far, a hand was placed firmly on her shoulder which kept her still.

"Careful, amore. You'll only injure yourself further."

Her startled eyes gazed up into Aro's ones. It took her a disorientated few seconds, but she could feel something warm and wet just under her nose and near her mouth, as well as his hand holding her still by her neck. It was only once his other hand moved away with a damp white cloth that she saw the bloodstains smeared across it.

Her eyebrows drew together. "What . . .?"

He glanced down at the cloth and then back at her as he withdrew his hand from her neck. "You remember what happened."

It wasn't a question. "I'm not sure if remember is the right term," she answered, noting a numb feeling in her bottom lip. "So much happened at once . . ."

"The small coven we were dealing with grew unexpectedly violent," he explained, sitting beside her legs with her hand clasped in his. "I believe you were the main target in the scuffle. Caius held you back but, in the confusion of the moment, he lost sight of you, and you were somehow flung across the room by someone unknown."

"A-Are you okay?" she asked him worriedly.

He smiled fondly at her. Even in the state she was in, it was adorable how quick she was to check on him instead of herself.

"Yes, I am perfectly fine," he reassured her. "Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for yourself. I've been told it will take approximately 9 hours for the swelling to become unnoticeable, but for the time being," He reached into his pocket and revealed a small pink ice-pop, still completely frozen in its clear packaging, "I've also been told that this will help ease the pain."

She glanced down at the snack being given to her and then back at him. Then her gaze immediately returned to her hands as she became aware of her left arm decorated with a wrist brace.

"Oh, wow, jeez." She jumped a little.

Aro tried not to laugh endearingly at her small surprised reaction. "It took you that long to notice? It's only a small sprain, nothing severe, and that brace can be removed permanently in a week's time." While she continued to inspect the brace for herself, he opened the ice pop for her and handed it over to her. "Suck on that. It'll make you feel better."

She took a slow, reluctant lick of the ice pop. "I'm not a child, you know."

"So you say," he responded teasingly. "And how long is it going to take for you to realise where you are?"

"Wha-"

As soon as Eliana looked around her properly, she stopped talking. This room was completely unfamiliar, though designed in a very similar layout to Caius'. One of the main differences she noticed was the addition of a grand piano in the center of the room which had various sheets of music placed both on top of it and across the music stand.

"Where am I?" she asked bewilderedly.

"My quarters," he responded. "Maybe it was foolish of me to hope that the first time I'd see you in my bed would be in better circumstances than this-"

"Aro!"

"I was joking," he laughed. He moved so that he was directly beside her on top of the covers, with an arm around her shoulders. Very carefully, while balancing her ice pop in her hand, she turned to lean against his side. "I was only joking. But I was worried about you, you know."

"You were?" she questioned.

"Of course I was," he answered matter-of-factly. "My little mate getting herself injured will always concern me." He pressed a soft kiss to her hairline. "I'm glad you're okay, cara mia."

Eliana nodded. "Where are Marcus and Caius? Are they okay?"

"Caius needed to let off some steam," Aro told her. "You were knocked out for no longer than 5 minutes, but it was enough to send him over the edge. He's ensuring the executions carried out are as agonising as possible now."

"That sounds like Caius," she agreed. It was odd for her to think about an execution really occurring in the same building as her, but she tried to block that thought from her mind. "And Marcus?"

"Marcus will be back in a minute," he replied. "And in the future, you will not be present for any sort of trial until you are immortal. I don't want to hear your arguments on the matter either."

"Even if I ask you really nicely?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes," he confirmed. "You can ask me as nicely as you'd like, but it won't change the outcome. That earlier became . . . much more violent than we could have anticipated. Rest assured we will not allow you to be put in that kind of danger again."

She removed the ice pop from her mouth to say, "If my lips didn't hurt so much, I'd kiss you."

"It's the thought that counts." Aro's free arm came to wrap around her and hold her against him, his cheek resting against the top of her head. "Just save said thought for later."

Eliana sighed in contentment and curled up into him. God I love you . . .

She then glanced down at her bare arm, registered the side of his hand resting against it, his skin against hers, and went every possible shade of red she could think of. In an attempt to prevent herself from panicking too much, she sucked harder on her ice pop until she accidentally snapped off a small piece into her mouth and was forced to awkwardly chew it down.

Aro had even taken a moment to come to terms with what she'd thought himself. He didn't move at all, only once reflexively when her shoulder shifted to allow her space to move. His gaze followed down from the distance to the girl in his arms and he felt a warmth in his chest, a warmth he hadn't felt in many years.

Before she could react, he lowered his head down to hers and trailed small kisses down her face, avoiding her still injured mouth. She let out a very quiet laugh and slid the ice pop back out of her mouth, which prompted him to carefully move in to kiss her lips instead. Their mouths made contact very carefully, him still wary of putting her in any further discomfort. She'd only just begun to kiss him back when she made a muffled whimper of pain and pulled back.

"Ssh, careful, bellissima." He cupped the side of her face with his palm and tilted her head upwards, forcing her to make eye contact with him. "I love you too, Eliana. I love you more than you'll ever know."

She swallowed and bit the inside of her lip before remembering how much it hurt to do so and freeing it from between her teeth. "Aro, I . . ."

"You don't have to say it, cara mia," he assured her.

"No, no, I want to." Eliana glanced away from him to his bedside table and placed her half-finished ice pop down onto the cloth that had been used to clean her face before looking back up at him. Maybe it was the mild concussion she was almost certain she had, or maybe it was the lighting, but she was looking at him and all she could think about was how perfect he was. "I-I love you, Aro."

The moment she'd gotten those words out, she found herself on her back with Aro hovering over her, his body keeping her legs apart. His lips hovered over hers for a few seconds, as if uncertain, but soon they gently made contact with hers, moving slowly and in a carefully calculated manner but still enough to make her feel lightheaded.

She could tell that they were both under the covers, and her injured arm was by her side out of the way to avoid it getting crushed any further, but it was as he subconsciously rolled his hips into hers that she moaned under her breath, her eyes closing in content. It was using up all that was left of his restraint to stop himself from removing their clothes and taking her right there and then.

Just as his hand slid under her top, caressing her warm skin, he heard the door open and broke off the kiss. Clearly she hadn't heard it, a surprised look on her slightly flushed face, but Marcus' voice was enough to indicate to her that they had company and were no longer alone.

"She's only been conscious for 2 minutes, Aro," Marcus reminded him, exasperated. "Couldn't you restrain yourself for even an hour at least?" He then peered around him at her with a smile. "Hello, tesoro."

Eliana simply stared at him dumbly, her mouth forming a perfect 'O'. There was a bandage tied around his bicep, but that wasn't what she was paying attention to.

He was completely shirtless, said button-up in his hand. And fuck was he hot. For such a calm and gentle guy, he looked like he could completely destroy anything or anyone. He could destroy her and she wouldn't complain-

Her gaze darted up to Aro suddenly. She shook her head at his knowing look as a sly grin formed on his face. It had been a random thought, not one she wanted to be read. "Aro, no. No. No, don't you dare."

Marcus wasn't born yesterday. It was a surprise that she hadn't started physically drooling yet. But, for once in his life, he decided not to spare her embarrassment and instead indulge himself in playing along.

"What is it, brother?" he asked him.

"Nothing," Eliana answered quickly before he could. As she began to sit up using her fully-functioning hand, Aro moved aside. "Nothing happened. You're . . ."

She trailed off a few incoherent syllables and wanted to slap herself hard. Then, some out-of-control part of her brain thought, 'He could slap me and I'd thank him.'

Marcus could only tell that something else had been thought because she collapsed back against the pillows silently as Aro began to giggle at her, that giggle that never failed to unnerve even the strongest.

He began to put his shirt back on but purposefully took his time with the buttons. "Well?"

Aro said something in Italian. Once he stopped talking, she whispered in disbelief, "Oh my God, he told him."

Marcus only seemed amused. "If it makes you feel any better, I have no objections to "destroying" you either-"

"Aro!" she whined as the man in question snickered immaturely. "Why?!"

"Because watching you get flustered around your sexuality is adorable," he replied, "especially that bashful little look you have-"

She grimaced and whimpered as she lay on her back. "Please tell me I'm dead."

There was a flash of movement to the other side of where Aro was, which was presumably Marcus joining her. His shirt still only partially buttoned, he lounged back on her left, careful around her wrist, and kissed her cheek.

"How are you feeling, cara mia?" Marcus asked her as he stroked her hair out of her face and traced his thumb across her bottom lip very lightly.

"I'm okay, I think," she answered, placing her right hand over Aro's arm comfortably. "I just feel a little bit headache-y, and weirdly tired."

"That'll be the concussion," Marcus informed her. "It should disappear with the swelling in about 9 hours, I'd guess. This should never have happened . . ."

"I know," She rested her head against his shoulder, "but how were you supposed to know that that would happen? I'm not going to hold this against you. But I will hold the shirt thing against you if you bring it up again."

Marcus found that far funnier than she'd hoped he would. "Oh how I love you, tesoro," he sighed between laughs.

Eliana rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," she mumbled. "And I love you too-"

Marcus' hand slid up through her hair to the back of her head, tilting her head back as his lips descended onto hers. However, similar to before, the moment she attempted to kiss him back, the pressure against her swollen lip caused her to make a noise of discomfort and him to immediately pull away.

A concerned look on his face, he held her head still as he studied her lip. She quickly laughed and lowered his hands from her face.

"I'm fine, Marcus," she insisted.

"I'll never cease my worrying over you anyway," he murmured. He pulled her back against his chest as Aro kept an arm near her waist, his head beside hers.

"What happened to you?" she asked him.

Marcus' hand slid down her left arm to hold hers. "Nothing you need to be concerned about. It is just a small wound. The bandages are there to accelerate the healing process."

"And you showed up to my quarters topless, because . . .?" Aro prompted.

"You seem to be the only one with an issue with that," Marcus noted. At the sudden shyness that overtook Eliana's expression, he laughed fondly. "And I believe we are about to have company . . . now-"

Eliana let out a yelp of surprise. When Marcus had said "now", she couldn't have possibly predicted Caius to show up to the room and appear practically on top of her within the time that she'd blinked. He'd already removed his shoes and he was laying with his head on her chest over the duvet since there wasn't any other space, his hands resting on her hips. However, despite the way in which he was laying across her, she could only feel what would be equivalent to his human weight on her, the rest presumably being held up himself so as not to crush her.

She hesitantly petted his slightly damp hair. "Hi there, I guess. Why are you wet?"

"Unless you'd rather me arrive drenched in venom, I took a shower," Caius answered. "Aro, what happened to her wrist?"

"It's a sprain, brother, nothing serious," Aro quickly replied. "As I explained to Eliana, she will be able to remove the brace in a week."

"I'm okay, Caius," she assured him. "I've been injured worse in the past. This really isn't so bad at all."

"This could've gone a lot worse, you know," he murmured, his voice a low growl. "You're lucky to be in the condition you are now."

"I know," Eliana responded. "I know. But the point is that the trial wasn't as bad as it could've been. I turned out fine anyway."

Caius merely scoffed at that. ""Fine," my ass. You're not showing up to any more trials, Eliana, regardless of the situation. Do you understand?"

"Hey, don't make this seem like this is my fault," she snapped. "You three didn't have to agree to let me in. And Aro's already been over this. Apparently I'm not persuasive enough to convince you otherwise."

"When it comes to your safety? No, there will never be compromise," Marcus told her.

"But it doesn't mean I wouldn't be interested in your attempts-"

Eliana sighed. "Why are you all so fucking horny? I don't get it. I really don't."

Caius barked out a laugh at that statement. "Carina, don't act like you don't internally thirst for us either."

Her jaw dropped. Her expression blank, she slowly turned her head to Aro. "You told him too?!"

Caius only laughed harder. "That was just a lucky guess. Aro, what did she-"

"No, can we change the subject?" she interjected desperately. "Please, I'll willingly talk about literally anything else, literally anything."

Caius' dejected gaze moved up to her before he rolled his eyes. "Only because you said the magic word," he quipped.

"Of course the magician's bunny would know the magic word — no, Caius, I was kidding!" Now it was her turn to laugh. She grabbed his arm before he could move off her, and although she wasn't physically doing anything to stop him, he didn't move regardless. "I was kidding," she laughed under her breath. "I love you."

Predicting how he'd react to her words based on Aro's and Marcus' reactions, she placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him before he could kiss her. "My mouth really hurts," she informed him.

Caius didn't seem to mind, though. Instead, he began to kiss along her jaw and then in a line down her neck. She sighed and tilted her head back into Marcus' chest as Caius neared her collarbone, never going any lower than that regardless of how much he would've preferred to do so.

She felt another kiss, this time from Aro, on her exposed jaw. Her fingers threaded into Caius' white hair as she hummed in contentment. This was a sensation she could certainly get used to.

When Caius and Aro both did eventually pull away some time later, she relaxed tiredly into Marcus, who proceeded to leave a chaste kiss on her shoulder. "Can I finish that ice pop now?" she requested. "Or is it as good as gone?"

Aro glanced at the puddle that remained of the food in question. Most of the liquid had been absorbed by the cloth it had been left on, but some had still seeped out and dripped onto the floor.

"As good as gone. Not to worry, I'll have a new one brought up to you," he promised.

Caius made a very quiet noise, although she wasn't entirely sure what it was. ". . . Yes?"

The blond gave her a look, his lips thinned. "You won't want to hear it."

With a roll of her eyes, she sighed. "Permission for Caius to tell whatever dirty joke he's desperate to share."

"All I was going to say," Caius began, "was that if you're so desperate for something cold and long in your mouth to suck on, then-"

"Caius!"

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

Author's note: I know, it took me forever to get this out, but writer's block was and honestly still is eating away at my brain. I'll try to put the next update out sooner than this one was, but it still may take some time so please bear with haha

Also, I know this chapter was uneventful, but you get fluffy (and sometimes smutty) pointless shenanigans for the next few chapters, so if that's not your thing . . . I guess it sucks to be you. Things will pick up soon though, I assure you.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading, stay safe, and ily lots!