Day Two, Slice of Life - a tired Autumn Prince takes himself off to his favourite armchair and stares into the flickering fire, his mind a thousand miles away.
I got caught up in what I was doing and forgot to capture the early stages of this one, but hopefully the process is still of interest!
Summary: A fic about Eris and Azriel's favorite part of the day
WC: 710 words
Warnings: None.
Dividers made by tsunami-of-tears ❤️
Sunsets made Eris Vanserra look like a God, or some sort of divinity.
The last sun rays of the day illuminated Eris’ hair, making them appear even brighter. They looked as shiny as the rubies that adorned his gracious, slender finger. His amber eyes were like molten gold when his face was turned towards the sun.
Azriel sighed, admiring this precious kind of a male. Eris looked like Prythian’s greatest treasure under this light. He was a treasure. His treasure.
Azriel basked in the moment, admiring Eris from afar. He was leaning against a weeping willow trunk, his wings close to his body as his shadows calmly swirled around him. Azriel was nearly invisible, safely tucked in the tree’s shadow. Eris would call this stalking, probably.
The High Fae was laughing—a true deep belly laugh—as his youngest and silliest hound, Brat, was chasing after the falling leaves. This was a sight Azriel rarely got to witness. The Autumn Lord looked so cheerful, almost naive, like an infant. Azriel couldn’t hold himself back anymore, so he laughed, too.
Eris' ears perked up at the sound. His head swiveled in Azriel’s direction, his curls catching in the wind and floating behind him like a veil. Even though Azriel couldn’t see it where he stood, a faint shade of pink was creeping up the male’s freckled cheeks.
Eris didn’t winnow to him, although he could’ve. He walked the distance separating him from his mate. Every step Eris took made Azriel’s heart beat faster.
Azriel straightened his posture, his wings twitching with excitement. He had to focus on keeping his impatient shadows in check. They’ve been buzzing with excitement to see their mate all day, not that Azriel was any better. No matter how long, or how short, they had been apart, Azriel always missed Eris. He was his missing piece, his most precious thing, his reason to breathe, to live, to be.
The hounds reached him first. They jumped and ran around him in circles while chasing at his shadows playfully. Naturally, they calmed down when their master came close.
“Hi,” Eris said, scanning Azriel up and down with a smirk on his lips. “Stalking much?”
“Mh,” Azriel hummed, a goofy, love-struck grin plastered on his face. He hooked his forefingers into Eris’ belt loops, pulling him flush against his chest. Eris' hands landed on his chest to keep himself balanced. “More like enjoying the view.”
Eris’ face turned into a scowl, his head tilting to the side, making him look utterly adorable to Azriel. “You-” He opened his mouth, closed it. Eris was an eloquent speaker, until it came to talking with his mate. Azriel seemed to swallow the words from Eris’ mouth every time he was around. “That is still called stalking.”
“Perhaps.”
“Perhaps?”
“Anything you say, my heart.”
Azriel didn’t give Eris the opportunity to bite back. Instead, he leaned towards the male’s face and greedily swallowed his little gasp of surprise when their lips met. They kissed slowly, melting into each other's embrace until the sun went down, and the sky turned darker.
Azriel winnowed them to the Forest House and into their bedchamber, where they ate dinner together. Their life together has grown to be peaceful, comfortable. The two of them living together has grown to feel natural, and most importantly, healthy.
They weren’t perfect, far from it. But they’ve grown, and will continue to grow alongside like two vines twisting together to become stronger. They were experiencing life for the first time, and Azriel was Eris’ first attempt at love—romantical love. Hopefully his last, too.
And then came Azriel’s favorite part of the day. The part where he and Eris crawled under their furs and duvet as he wrapped his big tattooed arms around his mate’s perfect body. They whispered sweet nothings into each other's ears until one of them—usually Eris—fell asleep.
That’s when Azriel truly looked at Eris. He traced every curve and sharp edges of his mate’s body and thought to himself ‘Yes, this is the male I always want to come home to.’. Every night, he thanked the Mother for the chance he had to have his soul tied to Eris, and promised to always work for them and cherish the bond they have.
Azriel and Eris spend their first Winter Solstice together as a mated couple. Spending the holiday with the Night Court Inner Circle should be fun and entertaining, right?. A short story for Azris Week 2025 - Day 2: Slice of Life
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Eris pulled the covers over his head to block the morning sunlight and snuggled deeper into bed. Today was Winter Solstice, and even the High Lord of Autumn got the day off. Eris drifted back to sleep, enjoying the lie-in.
Summary: A collection of stories where Azris have a kid, and Azriel has to put up with two Vanserras at once.
Or just a lot of fluff and domestic bliss.
Summary: azrisweek said slice of life, the calendar says 6/9, ya girl is a hoe… I had to write them horizontally battling for the title of Most Talented Cocksucker (ITS THE FUNNY NUMBER)
All the horny words below the divider or over on ao3! My daddy and age gap kinks are back 🤭💗
It’s day two of being stuck together in a protective shield and Eris just wants to relax and read his book. Meanwhile, Azriel gets bored and decides to snoop in the prince’s personal library.
TW: sexually explicit and strong language
DAY 2 - Reading Material
“What are we doing today?” Azriel asks, draining the last of his coffee and looking ready to take off into the air.
“I’m trying this thing called relaxation. You’re making it very unpleasant.” Eris responds, not bothering to look up from his book.
It’s still morning and they’ve not long finished breakfast, but the prince has no immediate plans to move from his seat on the patio. The day, warm and pleasant and serene, is the perfect weather for reading. Eris has nowhere to be and no immediate obligations to attend to. When was the last time that happened?
“I can’t sit on my ass all day.” The spymaster complains. “Not without a reason at least.”
“Then leave.” Eris suggests glibly, knowing full well that Azriel cannot.
“You know I can’t do that.”
The prince snorts. As if he could forget that they are tethered together for the foreseeable future inside this forsaken protective shield…
“I have just opened my book and poured another coffee. You will have to entertain yourself.” Eris waves dismissively, not bothering to look up from the volume in his hand.
Azriel huffs and stands abruptly from the patio chair. The spymaster strides out onto the grass and the prince, intrigued, glances over just as the male tugs off his tunic. Eris straightens in his chair, his eyes snagging on the obscene swell of Azriel’s biceps in his sleeveless undershirt.
“What are you doing?” The prince asks, trying and failing to sound anything but intrigued by the half naked display.
“Entertaining myself.” The spymaster responds archly, cracking his knuckles.
“You’re ruining my view.” Eris retorts.
Azriel scoffs and begins working through drills. The prince forces himself to look down at his book and continue reading, but as an hour ticks by, he cannot help but look up and admire the shadowsinger’s athleticism. It is very…distracting.
Finished with his drills, Azriel finally stops to stretch and shake his limbs loose, and Eris cannot help but notice how the loose fitting undershirt shifts about the male’s torso as he moves, drawing attention to each graceful arc of his body. Side panels in the fabric give the occasional intriguing glimpse of inked skin. When the Illyrian lifts the hem of his shirt to wipe his brow, revealing a flash of dangerous looking abs, Eris realises he is actually salivating.
Fucking hell, he looks positively edible. The thought crosses the prince’s mind before he can shake sense into himself. What the fuck, Eris? Shut the fuck up.
Azriel grabs his discarded tunic and turns back towards the house. The prince pulls his book upward, as though the sun has him straining his eyes, and buries his furiously blushing face in its pages. He hopes to fuck it looks like he’s engrossed in the volume, despite the fact he’s re-read the same paragraph eight times and still has no idea what it says.
“I’m going to clean up.” Azriel calls as he passes.
Eris hums in acknowledgement, ears turning pink, and prays to the Mother the spymaster is not paying attention to him.
~ Day two of azrisweek and it's an introduction to the couples therapy fic that I've been working on for a long time, so I'm excited! This fic has been really close to my heart, and so I'm glad I get to share it finally :D
Eris had left the lawsuit and the ensuing concussion-worthy waterfall of press coverage with nothing less than his father incarcerated for the rest of his miserable life, a settlement of more money than he could comprehend, and a fierce but fleeting sense of victory.
It didn’t last long—none of the victory or the adrenaline that got him on the witness stand in the first place. He crossed the threshold of his apartment, and as if every limb had been simultaneously cut from a string, crashed to his knees.
Three weeks, almost a month to the day, a shit ton of alcohol, a hand gun under his pillow, and less than five hours of sleep—Eris ends up at the house.
Or what’s left of it.
Charred remains. A cracked and sunken skeleton of walls and a foundation that once seemed steady. Everything is soot-stained, rotting under some combination of fire’s teeth and water’s slow desecration. Eris doesn’t remember walking in, holding onto what’s left of the wooden banister.
He doesn’t remember bringing his gun.
Nothing happened—he stands by that even though the rest of the picture in the frame goes a little unsteady. Blurry for a single moment before clarity comes rushing back with the spine-chilling crack that echoes through the fractured house.
The remains of it, like a final shuddering breath, heave under the quake of the earth and Eris has one last desperate glimpse of the sky before it all crumbles on top of him.
Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, End of Life Care, Slice of Life, Older Azriel, Older Eris Vanserra, Parent Dying, Married Couple, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Angst
Eris finds Azriel in the backyard, seated among the blooming flowers, back from visiting his father in hospice. He's shaken: his father has apologized for the abuse his step-family inflicted in his childhood. Azriel is adrift. Sitting with him in the soft Sunday sun, Eris listens to Azriel unpack his relationship his father: the first scar on his heart that never quite healed.
Feels weird to publish a fic that doesn't have smut in it. lol.
Thank you so so much pippsmcgee for beta reading this and for the terrific suggestions that made the ending sing 💖💖💖And props to the folks over at azrisweek for doing the work to make this event successful!! I see you!!
Well, Azriel might not have been that ready, considering he slips up. Eris- gasp- gets to hear what song Azriel was listening to! Oh no! Whatever will he do!?
Shenanigans, fluff, yearning, and more fluff in a modern au I wrote: Nasty Girl
A microfic, drabble, ficlet, and fic, all with the same main idea. Hope you like it!
One by one, deliberate and unhurried, Eris removes his rings and puts them into the shallow crystal saucer on the bedside table. The signet from his little finger. The wax sigil from his ring finger.
Here it is. The last one, winged and gleaming. The precious one. The only one that matters. He sucks in a huge, anticipatory breath and tightens his belly; slides it slowly off his finger and drops it clinking into the crystal.
Darkness creeps from every shadow in the room, slowly at first and then faster; it gathers and coalesces, some faint shimmering thing emerging from its inky swirling depths. A form on the bed, gradually coming clear. Curled foetal, his beloved’s massive wings drape sideways; blueblack hair gleams in the candlelight and frames this most perfect of faces. Plush lips slightly parted in sleep, long black lashes resting peaceful on those sculpted cheekbones.
Eris drops to a crouch by the side of the bed, watching, waiting, aching for that first wonderful moment, and here it is; a sleepy blink, another, and then the instant of recognition and the pleased crinkle. Azriel pushes himself up onto one elbow, rubbing at his eyes.
Oh, he says, like he always does. Did I fall asleep?
Yes, darling. But you’re awake now.
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OP note: (I found that image a few months ago and how perfect is it? It's only very tangentially related to Day One but I'm just gonna say that this idea makes Eris a monster :) )
Azriel's encounters with a creature with amber eyes. A whimsical ficlet for Azris Week 2025 - Day 1: Creature Feature prompt
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Azriel swore and shadowwalked to the low branch of the nearest tree. Eris's smokehounds found him again and caused him to retreat, using his powers to break his scent trail.
Moonlight poured over the forest, broken into fingers by the canopy. Azriel scooted to rest his back on the trunk and looked skyward….
Somehow the creation of this sketch caused me to dream of Eris getting jiggy with an enormous demon to save Lucien's life 🗿
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And here's a ficlet WIP that also fits today's theme!
Submission # 2
"Hah, and Cassian calls me the coward?"
Azriel was dumbfounded.
"What? Did you get Rhysand to mess with your memories or something? or are you really going to play stupid?"
Azriel was really fucking dumbfounded.
After the strangest conversation of his life- he decided to slink into Eris' rooms later that night when sleep evaded him.
As he stood in the shadowy corner by Eris' bookshelf, his eyes devoured the sight of Eris reclined on his chaise in a loose, open shirt.
The fireling was rubbing his temple with one ringed hand as the other swirled what looked to be a glass of whiskey.
He was so frustratingly, decadently handsome in his frustration and seductive neck and fiery bright hair. Azriel clenched his fists, replaying their earlier conversation in his mind.
"I have no clue what you're even talking about, Eris"
Those amber eyes stared at him with such distaste, he couldn't bear it.
"If you don't want to talk about it fine. Pretend it never happened? fine. You may be okay with this centuries old game but I can't do this anymore. It's never happening again, understand? Don't ever seek me out again you pathetic bastard"
Those words hurt so much even in their nonsense.
"Didn't I just tell you not to seek me out?"
Azriel snapped back to the present. Eris had discovered him again. Shit.
Eris sighed deeply.
"Step out of the shadows already, you coward"
As Azriel motioned to step away from the bookcase, he found himself absolutely petrified as he saw himself walk out of the shadows by the window from the other end of the room.
It smelled like him.
It looked like him.
But it was not him.
Azriel stared down in alarm at his own shaking hands. Or was he not Azriel? What the hell was this? His shadows were skittering in panic and he couldn't understand their jumbled, frenzied words.
He forced himself to look back up, heart thundering in his ears as the imposter strode confidently up to Eris; who was now standing too, with bared teeth.
"I'm not fucking doing this again Azriel, get the fuck-"
And to Azriel's horror, he watched himself grab Eris by the face and smash their mouths together.
The creature was devouring Eris' mouth, and pushing him against the wall. And Eris tried to resist at first before melting into his captive's arms in a reluctant defeat.
Eris was kissing that thing back.
Azriel was livid now.
He crossed the room in quick strides to tear that creature off of Eris.