I Write? Ish? I Try

Pairing - Eris Vanserra x f!reader

Word count - 1k

Warning - None. This is just fluff.

A/N - A short and sweet story about you waking up before Eris. I mostly wanted to practice description using all five senses. Hope you enjoy it :)

Y/N woke to the bite of autumn air against her skin. She whimpered softly, pulling the covers up. Eris would rarely trade the simmering heat of his room for blue lips, so there could be only one explanation. 

She turned toward the other side of the bed, a slow smile appearing on her face at the sight of him. Eris lay on his back, one arm on his belly and the other extended toward her as if he was also searching for warmth. Only in the deepest of sleep would he let the cold creep in, as if he had drifted so deep in the realms of dreams that his magic followed him there.

For a moment, she simply watched him. It was so rare to see him so abandoned, without the faint crease between his brows that seemed to be permanently etched on his face since he became High Lord.

The room breathed like the forest it was part of. Branches curved through the open walls, heavy with burnished leaves that shined in the morning light. A tangle of roots disappeared into the polished stone floor, as if the forest and palace couldn’t quite decide where one ended and the other began. 

A knock came at the door.

Y/N jumped out of bed and padded across the rug and pulled on one of his sweaters from the chair. It fell nearly to her knees, soft and far too big, smelling faintly of woodsmoke and the faint hint of sugar syrup.

A second knock came and she raced to the door on her tiptoes, praying the sound didn’t wake Eris.

She cracked the door open, the hinges sighing softly, and pressed a finger to her lips before the one on the other side could speak.

Lira removed her hands from the breakfast cart she was pushing and put them on her hips with an exasperated sigh. Y/N slid into the hallway, closing the door softly, a grin tugging at her lips.

Lira had been Eris’ nursemaid when he was younger and became somewhat of an aid for him when he grew older. He always claimed she was never just a servant to him, that she had been an anchor when Beron was in power and abused every once of it. Especially toward his oldest son.

The female’s age was a mystery, even for Eris, but by the crows' feet appearing around her eyes when she occasionally smiled – usually when she thought nobody was watching – she guessed she had been alive longer than any other Fae she knew. 

“Hello Lira, beautiful morning isn’t it?” Y/N mustered the most innocent smile and tone she could.

The older female glanced at her naked legs and pursed her lips in annoyance. She delivered their breakfast every morning and no matter the predicament she found them in, she wore an irritated look on her face in the most maternal way possible. It never failed to make Y/N laugh.

Lira entered with practiced grace, pushing a mahogany tray, the steam from the cups curling into the warm air.

“Good morning, Lady Y/N,” Lira said with a little smile. “I brought your tea. And breakfast. Just like I do every morning. The least you could do is be awake and dressed,” she yelled the last sentence toward Eris, a hand on her right hip.

She glanced toward the bed. Eris hadn’t moved, though she could tell from the subtle shift of his breathing that he was not nearly as asleep as he pretended. She pushed down the urge to laugh. “He’s been really tired these past few days,” she murmured. “I think we should let him sleep a little longer.”

Lira hesitated — then rolled her eyes. “You two are worse than teenagers. One of these days, I will retire” she sighed. She kept rambling all the way to the door. 

When she left, Y/N let out the laughter she’d been holding. Eris had been trying to convince Lira to retire for years now, but the female claimed she wanted to serve a worthy High Lord now that Beron was gone.

Y/N  picked up one of the cups and stalked toward the window. The Autumn Court stretched beyond — endless shades of gold, rust, and crimson sweeping over the hills. Mist still clung to the treetops, and when the light broke through, it looked as if the entire world had been dusted in fire.

She sipped her tea and let herself breathe.

Behind her, the bed rustled. “You’re far too kind to my staff,” Eris murmured, his voice still low and rough from sleep. “They’ll start thinking I’m losing my edge.”

Y/N glanced over her shoulder, smiling. “As if Lira would ever believe you have an edge,” she chuckled

He shifted, propping himself up on one elbow. The sheet fell low, and his hair was a mess of red and gold in the light. “She adores you, you know. I can’t decide if I should be jealous or relieved.”

“You’re jealous,” she said easily.

Eris’s grin was slow and wicked. “Maybe.”

He stretched — a lazy, graceful motion that made her heart skip a little — and then held out his hand. “Come back, you’re so far away.”

She let out a chuckle. “Eris, you have to get up, you have a hundred meetings today.”

He let out a groan. “They can wait,” he said simply. “And we need to warm up this room, it’s freezing in here.”

She shook her head laughing, and she crossed the floor, her bare feet whispering against the rug. When she reached him, Eris caught her wrist and tugged her gently down until she was back in the growing circle of heat, back against his chest.

He pressed a kiss to her temple, murmuring, “Next time, pretend you’re still asleep.”

“Oh, you mean, do what you just did,” she teased.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She laughed again, soft and genuine, and he smiled into her hair. Outside, the forest swayed against the palace walls, leaves brushing against the glass like a lullaby. Inside, the world felt still — warm and bright and safe.