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Azriel had never thought of himself to be a stupid man. No, he was rather intelligent, actually--be it street or book smarts, he excelled at most and was alright at worst. He couldn't think of a single time anyone had called him dumb or stupid or an idiot, outside of his brothers, but that's just how brothers are.
Tonight, he was stupid. He was the biggest, dumbest idiot in the entire world.
He knocked back another shot as the girl next to him chuckled, before pressing a kiss to his best friends’ lips. Another. Another. He averted his eyes, but that only led him to look to the girl on his other side, her long neck on full display as she took a long pull from her glass. How many times had he thought about kissing her the same way Cassian now kissed her sister? Longer, harder, even. Letting his lips trail down that lovely neck.
He was an idiot for thinking he could do this. He was an idiot for not having asked beforehand who all would be here.
But could one blame him for this? After all, Cassian had been cryptic. Likely for this reason.
The day before, his friend had looked at him and said, "Me and Nesta are going out for drinks, maybe a bit of dancing with some friends. Wanna join?"
Cassian had not bothered to specify that Elain would be here. He had not bothered to specify that "some friends" only consisted of Elain and Azriel himself.
The third to their trio, their other friend Rhysand, was not here—nor his wife Feyre, the third Archeron sister. Neither their close friend Morrigan, nor her girlfriend. None of Nesta’s other friends. Hell, Azriel would have taken Amren being here, who was more Rhys' friend than any of theirs, who scared him half to death even if he would never admit it, if only it meant he was not left to watch this amorous couple make out while the girl of his dreams sat close enough to touch. To taste.
So swept up in his thoughts, with the music of the club beating too loud to hear anything, he had not realized Elain was trying to speak to him until she tugged at his sleeve. He turned, trying to keep his eyes on hers, not break this distance between them, but the music was too loud. Her words were washed out by the sound. And upon seeing he still couldn't hear her, she leaned towards him.
His eyes slammed shut, breath stalling as her lips brushed his ear. "Can we go outside? I can't even hear my own thoughts in here!"
A grin tugged at his lips, and he pulled back to nod at her. He turned to grab Cassian's attention, but found his brother already watching him. Though he pretended to have only been looking around the room. Azriel nodded his head toward the exit, and Cassian gave him a thumbs up, so the two departed, leaving a staring Cassian and Nesta in their wake.
Azriel truly stopped breathing when Elain's hand snaked out behind her, searching for his as they made their way towards the exit. He took it, aware of where every twisted scar met her unmarred skin, but as man after man tried to push themselves against her as she passed, looking for any opening to get between the two of them, he was more than happy to let her feel those scars for the moment.
It got instantly quieter once out on the sidewalk, the cold night air biting into his skin. He had left his jacket inside, and now he regretted it, watching Elain shiver as the short dress she wore did nothing to keep her warm.
She didn't let go of his hand, nor did she stop walking. She led him around the corner of the building, into the nearest alleyway, the breeze not hitting them there. She leaned back against the wall, only letting his hand go to run through her beautiful brown hair instead. It looked fine to him, but she ran her fingers through it like a comb. He wanted to fist that hair--right at the base of her neck. He wondered if she would moan if he gave it a tug.
"I don't like clubs like that. Too loud and too crowded," she admitted, giving him half a smile. "Don't know why Nesta thought it'd be good for a double date."
Azriel's mind went empty. She couldn't possibly mean that. "This isn't a double date," he said, almost in disbelief.
Elain's brows raised. "Oh. What is this, then?"
"We're-" he hated how he tripped over his words around her, but that was the kind of effect she had on him- "We're just third and fourth wheeling."
Her gaze was piercing. Damning, actually. Was that... disappointment in her eyes? Sadness? Impossible. No girl had ever looked at him like that--not over this. There was no way Elain had actually wanted this to be a date with him.
"That's- yeah, okay. That kinda explains things," she laughed, suddenly and bitterly. Something in him broke at the sound, the scorn in it. The scorn for him.
"What things?" He had to ask. Had to know--had to be certain of her feelings on all of this. He sure as hell wasn't now.
She rolled her eyes, looking away from him. She watched cars pass for a moment before mumbling, so low he almost didn't hear her, wasn't even sure she was trying to address him, "Everything. You not talking to me, like, at all. Not asking me to dance, or trying to buy me drinks or anything."
Azriel steeled himself for rejection, even if her words had given him some kind of hope- "Had you wanted tonight to be a date?"
That same bitter laugh, now louder, a little more viscious. "Yes, Azriel. I wanted tonight to be a date. I've wanted to go on a date with you since Nesta introduced us last year. But you had never shown any signs of wanting me back, so I left you alone." She looked at him then, and those usually shiny brown eyes were now dull, the only thing lighting them being the tears that threatened to spill. It took everything in him to keep his feet rooted to the ground, to stop himself from wrapping his arms around her and soothe those tears away. "So when Nesta had come to me, telling me you guys were going out tonight and you had been asking about me--"
"What?" He couldn't help but cut in. Nesta had lied to her. He hadn't asked--he had been made out to think there were going to be many others with them, and he didn't have the guts to ask about Elain specifically.
She began explaining her conversation with Nesta, clearly annoyed, and the longer she went, the more everything began falling into place--suddenly making sense.
"They set us up," Azriel said, finally. Elain dabbed at her eyes, looking at him like he was crazy. Maybe he was, just a little. "Cassian and Nesta set us up. Cassian knew I'd never agree to a double date, because I wouldn't ever believe you were there willingly. So he made it sound like we were going out with multiple friends, instead of just the four of us, and I didn't ask any questions at all. But Nesta told you it was the three of us, but I had been hinting at wanting you there, and got you expecting the double date. Not that-" He cleared his throat, standing up a bit straighter. He cracked his knuckles, needing to do something with his hands while he said this. "Not that I don't want to go on a double date with you. Or any date at all. I, uh, I've been interested in you since we first met, too. But somebody like you has no business being with someone like me, so... I ignored those feelings."
Most of the time. He only entertained them in the dead of night, alone in his room, when he touched himself to the thought of her. But he certainly was not about to admit that. Especially not in the alleyway next to a club, to the girl he had the thoughts about.
Elain blinked at him for a long moment. "I'm going to kill them," she grumbled, and then her face split into that large, dazzling smile of hers that always lit up the shadows in his heart. "Though, if one of us just had the guts to ask the other out a long time ago, they wouldn't have had to resort to this."
"Let's just blame them, anyways," he shrugged. She chuckled in response, and the sound must have broken whatever barrier they still had between them, because they were suddenly crossing the distance, closing the gap between their bodies. Her arms went around his neck, and his around her waist, the embrace tight, almost suffocating on both sides as they rested their foreheads together and breathed each other in.
Despite where they were at, despite the thumping music that still played inside and the sound of laughing and cursing from around the corner, Azriel felt completely at peace. Completely still, and quiet, and happy.
He could not remember a time where he could say that. But here, in her arms, he knew it was the truth.
When they finally parted--hands sliding down arms to instead entwine their fingers, bodies still close but no longer pressed together--Azriel allowed himself, for the first time that night, to let his gaze sweep her, to take in every glorious inch of her.
From her form-fitting blue dress and long legs, to her gentle hands in his scarred ones. From her slender neck, to her long, wavy hair, falling down her shoulders in a perfect, framing mess. From those eyes that had become bright once more, not with tears, but rather an inner light that he--him, Azriel--had managed to restore... And finally, to her lips. The one thing he never allowed himself to look at, because their soft fullness always threatened to have him begging for her. Begging for a kiss, a taste, just once.
Now, with a smile pulling at those lips, he knew he had nothing to worry about. So he asked quietly, "May I?"
She didn't answer, just leaned in, slowly, tentatively. He slid his fingers up, up, tangling into her hair, right where he'd always imagined he would, tipping her head back a little farther as he bent--
Just before their lips touched, he felt a finger press against his lips. He looked down at her, at that disarming grin, at the hand she now held to his mouth. "Maybe once you take me on a real date, I'll let you kiss me."
A grin overtook his lips, and he let her go, turning to walk out of the alley. The clicking of her heels followed him. Before she could ask what he was doing, he glanced over his shoulder and asked, "We should get on that, then, shouldn't we? I'll go get my jacket, let Cass and Nesta know we're leaving. And then maybe we can hit... Denny's?"
Elain laughed, before shaking her head. "I'd rather go home and stuff my face with chips and watch cheesy rom-coms."
"Well, that can be a date, too," he suggested, and she raised a perfect brow. It took him a minute before realizing--"Oh, that's what you were implying."
"I thought you were supposed to be smart, Azriel," she nudged him lightly, soft smile on her face. He waved his hand at her in dismissal of the comment, heading back into the club, not staying any longer than necessary.
He supposed he really wasn't as smart as he thought. At least when it came to girls--specifically this one, this lovely, perfect woman, who he had somehow whooed without even realizing it.
But he wouldn't question it. Instead, he'd take her home and curl up on her couch, eating Doritos and watching 10 Things I Hate About You. Becoming too busy kissing her to finish watching the last half of the movie.
And he would feel like the luckiest man in the world, to have ended up here with her. To have the girl of his dreams in his arms, despite his own idiocy.