#aisliar

An update! Finally! I’m so glad to finally have some material for this, ngl. I’ve hated not updating, but I think I just got burned out a little. Has been quite the productive time with writing this last month or so. Anyways, sorry for the wait! And the shortness of the update. 1490 words. Wanted to add more (especially in the middle) but I honestly didn’t know what else to do with it. The words aren’t fully back from the war yet. But anyways, enjoy!

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Aislin fought a smile as she caught sight of Adair through the window trying to wrangle the dogs outside. She wasn’t really mad, well maybe a little about the comforter… But she couldn’t really stay it as she watched the labrador give Adair a hard time. A small and golden ball of mischief and energy that one. The German Shepherd, Jack he had called him, was lounging in the sun as Adair’s attention was split between cleaning up the mess and keeping the lab out of trouble.

Aislin shook her head as she set about cleaning up inside and starting on dinner. Just something simple that could be left alone long enough for a quick trip to the store. Two growing, and by the looks of them underfed, pups were going to need to eat.

“I’m heading to the store,” Aislin called outside, pulling the door closed behind her.

Adair, somewhat hesitantly popped into view, coming around the side of the house. “What for?”

She tilted her head to the side and nodded to the two dogs trotting behind him. “Our sons are going to need food. And something to chew on that’s not the furniture, or the garden.”

Adair grinned. “I can go,” he offered, taking the few steps needed to reach her.

“Nuh-uh, you are going to stay here and keep those two out of trouble if that’s at all possible.” Aislin placed her bandaged wrist on his chest as she kissed him.

“You still never told me what you did to your wrist,” he said.

“I sprained it when I fell for you,” she teased, causing Adair to roll his eyes a little. “Fell off a ladder at work, it’s fine,” she finally admitted when he gave her a look. Aislin shrugged her shoulders. “One of the first things I told you, remember? I’m accident prone. It happens. Not a big deal.”

“Did you get it looked at? It could—“

“I may not be a fancy doctor, but I am capable of differentiating between a break, fracture, and a sprain—“

“You’re also capable,” Adair cut in, “of downplaying a problem to convince everyone that you’re fine.”

She grinned a little, giving him another quick kiss. “You can look it over yourself when I get back, if it’ll set your mind at ease, love.”

——

“Shouldn’t you be in your own room?” Aislin questioned her best friend as she came into Ferrets room, surprised to find the smuggler in the middle of a board game with Claire.

“I got bored,” Clarissa shrugged as she completed her turn. “Don’t tell, Av.” She faked a shudder, pretending to be scared of the doctor.

“She’s not here anyways, finally took a day off. Perfect time for a jailbreak,” Ferret added in.

“Oh no, both of you are good right where you are. Avanda might not be here, but I am.”

“Eh, you couldn’t stop both of us if you tried, Ash. You know that.” Clarissa grinned, leaning back in her seat so she could see her friend. “If we wanted we could be in another country before anyone even realized we were gone.”

Aislin sighed, coming further into the room so she could check over Ferret. He let her check his temperature, and she frowned at the result. He still had a persistent low-grade fever that everyone was a little worried about. “I’m aware, unfortunately. How’re you feeling, Fer?”

“Tired of that question,” he said, though the usual hostility was gone.

“Well get used to hearing it,” Aislin said. “People care about you, you know.”

——

Aislin’s phone rang as she looked out over the river, standing in the exact same spot she had when Adair had found her that night and confessed his feelings. The exact same spot she’d been when she’d confessed her own. “I’m okay,” Aislin said as soon as she brought the speaker up to her ear; answering right on the second ring. Not a hello. Or a greeting.

She was aware of the hour, and that Adair had likely just gotten home to find all of the signs that she should be home. But had not found her. And she knew where his mind had jumped, where her own mind would have jumped should the situation had been reversed.

“Are you sure? You’re alright? Did something happen—?” Adair shot her a rapid succession of questions, unable to bite back on the worry that had clawed its way into his heart.

“I’m okay, grá. Geall. Tá gach rud breá. Just couldn’t be alone at home,” she admitted, her voice sounding small even to herself. Truthfully she would’ve been less alone than she was now, with the pups being there. But she hadn’t been able to stand looking at the same four walls. Even gardening hadn’t been a relief to how trapped she felt. Even if she knew it wasn’t home that was giving her that feeling. Or that the feeling was one she could escape from. But she could try. Or at least keep her thoughts busy while she wandered the city streets. Her feet quickly falling into a familiar path, and leading her to the bridge. “You should sleep,” she said, “You had a long shift, and not much rest before that. There’s no need to worry. I’m fine—“

“If you’re saying that, you’re not. You’re never fine when you say you are. Where are you, love?” There wasn’t a shred of tiredness in his voice as he spoke, even if he could feel the exhaustion from his work at the hospital and his shift at the base before… He was completely alert.

Aislin didn’t even try to argue further as she told him exactly where to find her. “The bridge… our bridge,” she said, knowing he’d know exactly where she meant. She thought of telling him not to come. Not to bother. That she was fine. But she could already hear his keys jangling on the other side of the line, and a disappointed yip from one of the pups as Adair made to leave the house again. And she knew there wasn’t much point in trying.

She disconnected the call without another word as soon as she heard the truck start, he needed to be focused on the road and not her. With a sigh Aislin slipped her phone back into her pocket and tried to focus her attention back on the water below her. Not that she could really see it. Her vision unfocused and her mind trapped somewhere else.

She’d spent the day with Avanda, Adelin, and Deirdre. With the wedding fast approaching she needed to pick out a dress, and the three of them had been doing their best to offer input and suggestions as their duties as bridesmaids. Clarissa had been supposed to be there, with two weeks out of the hospital under her belt she was well on the way to recovery. But Deirdre said she’d disappeared that morning, without a word and leaving her cell behind. A usual occurrence if they were being honest, but it couldn’t help the worry that both Deirdre and Ash were trying to bite back on. Not that the worry was really what was plaguing her now.

Aislin looked up at the stars as she sat atop the bridge’s safety railing. Her feet dangling as the wind whipped around her. No it wasn’t the worry that was plaguing her now. She couldn’t shake the feeling of being trapped. Couldn’t dispel the weight on her chest that was trying it’s best to convince her that she was sinking. Couldn’t untangle the imaginary ropes knotted around her wrists. Or the lace at her throat.

None of it, real. But the memory. The feeling. Inescapable.

Aislin could hear footsteps behind her; could recognize the stride and the weight of them. Though she gave no indication that she heard them at all. Didn’t flinch as a hand snaked around her waist. Or when another came to still her own hand clawing at her wrist.

“You’re safe, ghaol,” Adair said, pressing his forehead against her back. “And you’re not alone either, you don’t have to face the dark alone. Never again.”

Aislin nodded, gripping his hand between hers. “I know.”

They stayed together in silence for a while, just listening to the river below them and the faint sounds of a city asleep until Adair helped her off of the ledge. Worried hands ensuring she wouldn’t fall as she stepped down and right back into his arms.

“I’m sorry,” Aislin finally said.

“Whatever for?”

“For worrying you so often, for not being okay. For—“

Get your shit together please tumblr!!!!! Anyways, it’s not as long of an update as the last two 4.5kish word updates but like it’s 2.5k and that’s pretty good in its own right??? Fluff?? They can!! A bit!! As a treat!!

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-

“It’s really not that bad,” she said, trying to make light of the situation when Adair sat down to examine her leg. Trying to crack a joke. Do anything to get that worried frown off of his face. She couldn’t see it through the mask, but Aislin knew it was there. His brow knitted together in concentration as he worked.

He was gentle as he cleaned the wound, muttering apologies whenever she winced. But aside from that he was silent. He hadn’t said anything to her since he’d found her in the hallway; not really.

And that was worse than anything else he could’ve done. Even yelling would’ve been better. At least that would be something. Aislin knew it had been reckless to run back inside that building. Reckless and fairly stupid. But she couldn’t leave anyone behind. She wouldn’t. And she hadn’t even given it a second thought and she’d ran back in after Ferret. If Adair was upset with her… he had every right to be. She’d defied orders, endangering herself and the mission in the process.

She just wished he would say something. Anything.

Aislin was silent as he tended to her wounds, first the gash on her leg and then he bandaged up her arm. She stayed silent as he filled a bowl with water and started to clean the blood off of her. A pointless task. Between Clarissa, Ferret, and her own wounds it would take a change of clothes and a warm shower before she’d be able to even remember the concept of clean again. But she let him do it; scrubbing at her hands first. His fingers traced lightly over the place a ring should’ve been before he moved on to her right hand.

She didn’t stop him until he’d returned the cloth to the water bowl, rinsing it. Her fingers traced over his cheek before she’d pulled his mask away, wanting to see his face.

“Abair rud éigin,” Aislin practically begged, tears beginning to form in her eyes. If he was mad she could handle it, she more than deserved it, but what she couldn’t take was another minute of his deafening silence. “Say something, please.”

Adair glanced at her with a shaky breath, his arms tangling around her waist in the next second as he pulled her close. “You can’t just—you have to be more careful, my love.”

“I was careful,” she promised. “I made it back, didn’t I?”

“Yes but,” Adair pulled away from her, his voice breaking as he took her face in his hands. His touch gentle. Eyes pleading. “You can’t just run back into buildings that are falling apart like that. You can’t. Ferret knew the risk when he volunteered, so did everyone in that team. They all—we all know what we’re getting into. You can’t just—“

Aislin rested her palm against the back of his hand, her head leaning into his touch. Her tone was soft, even, as she asked if he would’ve done any differently. If he would’ve left Ferret for dead. She already knew his answer of course. But she wanted to hear him say it. Wanted him to hear himself say it.

“No, of course not. But that’s different.”

“How?”

——

She’d changed into a pair of scrubs, insistent on helping out at the hospital after getting herself cleaned up. Not that anyone had let her do much with her limping around the ward. Aislin wasn’t badly injured, but the stitches in her thigh pulled painfully whenever she took a step.

Aislin made her rounds checking on everyone until Clarissa came out of surgery and was transferred into a room. Deirdre was the first into the room, worry pulling at the corners of her mouth. She wasn’t directly involved with the Revolution, but she knew enough and frequented the hospital whenever Clarissa found herself hurt on a mission. Which was too often for the redhead’s liking. Aislin followed close behind into the room, finding Deirdre already studying the monitors.

“What does that one mean?” Deirdre pointed to one of the flashing lights. “And that one?”

Aislin gave them a quick glance. “Everything’s normal,” she assured before placing a hand on Deirdre’s back who turned to face her. “She was perfectly alert when I found her, making jokes even. Once the anesthetic wears off she’ll wake up. It’ll be a long recovery for sure, but Claire will pull through. She’ll be fine, Rey.”

Deirdre’s frown deepened at the nickname but she said nothing before falling into a chair at Clarissa’s beside.

When Deirdre continued to say nothing, Aislin pulled out Claire’s chart, studying over the Doctor’s notes before pointing out various injuries. She knew it would help Deirdre to know exactly what was wrong. “Fractured radius and ulna, right side. As well as a dislocated shoulder.” Her hand hovered over Clarissa’s casted forearm before gesturing to her right shoulder. “Three… no four broken ribs. She’ll need to be careful while those heal, or she could puncture a lung. Gunshot wound to the abdomen, it was a clean shot. Straight through and it didn’t puncture anything important. Worst case is an infection. Minor concussion. And a shattered femur, probably from when the building collapsed. That one is honestly going to be the worst of it. And she will be out of commission for a while, while it heals.”

Deirdre nodded along, compiling the list of injuries through her mind. It was truly nothing too serious. Especially after she’d heard of one of the other members of Claire’s team who had barely made it out with his life. Things could be worse. Everything could be so much worse. But still her girlfriend laid there pale and bruised and dead to the world.

“Thank you, Aislin,” she finally said.

Aislin nodded silently, giving Deirdre’s shoulder a slight squeeze before she limped out of the room. She found Castor brooding against the wall outside, arms crossed over his chest and head leaned down so that his icy stare was focused on the floor.

“You can go inside you know, Deirdre won’t mind.”

“I know.”

She squinted at him, tilting her head to the side as she noticed a tear in his shirt sleeve. The dark fabric stained with something even darker. Blood she figured. “Did you get that looked at?”

“Did I get what looked at?”

Of course he hadn’t… She sighed, shaking her head before pulling up his shirt sleeve to reveal a bullet wound. “It’s still in there… God...” Aislin let out a breath. “Never mind, you can’t go in there because you’re coming with me. And we’re getting that taken care of. Doctors orders.”

“Orders? Like you so graciously followed orders? And last I checked, you’re not a doctor,” he reminded her. “I’ll take care of it myself, later.” Castor shrugged his shoulders, wincing ever so slightly at the movement.

“I almost was.” She crossed her arms over her chest, returning his stern gaze. And pointedly ignoring his jab about her not following orders. She’d done the right thing, and she refused to apologize for it. The only thing she would apologize for was worrying Adair, and Carrick. She could still feel the way the lad had pulled her into a tight hug. Throwing his arms around her with a broken sob immediately after seeing her. The boy had quickly schooled his features plastering on a mask that would rival even Castor, but in that split second more guilt had hit her then when she’d been faced with Adair’s worried silence.

“Either way,” she continued. “I am more qualified than you are, so either follow me or I will drag you to an exam room myself. And that is a threat.”

“You, and what army exactly?” Castor gave her a ghost of a grin, a small shred of emotion reserved purely for his sisters and Tyde.

“I don’t need one.”

——

Aislin had gotten him to an exam room with little more argument. He sat on the table obediently while she washed her hands and pulled on a pair of gloves.

Castor pulled off his shirt, tugging the dried cloth fibers away from the wound as Aislin sat down beside him. He didn’t wince or even groan as she dug the bullet out with a pair of tweezers, keeping himself perfectly still from years of conditioning.

“You know,” she finally said, once she’d gotten the bullet out. The metal clinked into a bowl as she set it aside. “It’s a wonder I never noticed you and ‘Rissa were involved in all of this before. You’ve got enough scars to rival me, and you two seemed to always be covered in one bruise or cut or another.”

“We never wanted you involved. You finding out about us was a short step to you enlisting yourself…” he started with a small frown. “Once you get an idea in your head no one can sway you from it. Determined. And loyal to a fault,” he said the last word with a printed glance in her direction and she merely grinned at him. “And we were right, here you are. Back from your first mission, with a bullet wound of your own to show for it. Though that is Clarissa’s fault… giving us away by setting you up with MacClyde of all people.”

Aislin’s hand stilled over his wound. “You disapprove?”

“It’s not that…” Castor sighed glancing down at his hand. “He is good for you. And you’re happier than I’ve ever seen you. But, Aislin, you’ve been through enough already. Too much for one lifetime, much less ten. And this life, it isn’t easy–“

“He…” she started. “Adair was going to leave. Or try to, at least. For me.”

“You stopped him, of course.”

“I didn’t want him to regret anything. And we both know, involved as he is, the Revolution never really would have left him.” Aislin shook her head, returning to Castor’s wound. She cleaned it, trying to make sure she had gotten every fragment of the bullet out before she began stitching it up. “I chose this, Cas. I knew what I was getting into.”

The muscles in his arm tensed when she made the first stitch, a betrayal of calm exterior. He really hated needles. Castor said nothing more as Aislin stitches him up, his mind traveling to his sister in the other room. He’d gotten a rundown of her injuries from Johnson as soon as she’d been pulled out of surgery before he’d left to assist Avanda with Ferret.

Guilt still gnawed at him for nearly leaving the smuggler behind. And if it hadn't been Clarissa or Aislin on that mission with him, he would have run back into that building himself. He hated having even needed to assign her to the mission. But she had been the only medic available with any chance of holding her own if a fight broke out. The best equipped to keep the sabotage team stable as they made it back to base.

His jaw ticked as Aislin finished up with the stitches in silence. She cleaned him up, bandaging the wound before leaving him alone with a soft word. And a gentle order to go see Clarissa.

He’d made it into Clarissa’s room with just enough time to see Deirdre slipping a ring on his sisters finger. They said nothing to each other, Castor only giving her a slight nod. Deirdre had been welcomed into the family long ago. It was about time things were made official.

——

“Oh, no you don’t, MacClyde,” Adair tested the name in her ear, having just left Ferret’s room and catching her from behind by her waist as she left Claire’s room for the third time that night before she could restart her rounds. She beamed rolling her eyes a little. “You’ve done enough playing hero for one night, everyone is stable. The nurses can handle it. Let yourself rest, love. I’d rather you not pull out those stitches.”

“And what of you?” Aislin questioned turning around to face him. She took his face in her hands, trailing her fingers softly over his cheeks. Between the mission, and his work in the hospital after, Adair looked truly exhausted. Though she’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel the same. “You’ve done just as much I have.”

He rested his head against her forehead, speaking slowly. “If I do recall mo sholas, I’m not the one who had a building collapse on top of them.”

“Nearly collapse,” she corrected with a gentle smile. “There is a difference, however slight. And everything worked out fine.”

“That doesn’t make it any better.”

“I’m fine, love—“

“MacClyde,” Ciáran called from a few feet away, drawing both of their attention as they turned to face him. He tossed something to Adair, gold glinted in the light as it flew. Ciáran quickly left without another word, leaving Aislin with a raised brow as Adair opened his palm. His mother’s—now Aislin’s ring rested in his open hand.

“I’d wondered where that went,” he mused aloud, turning it softly over in his hand.

Aislin smiled softly as Adair grabbed her left hand. “I didn’t want to risk losing it, so I left it in my locker,” she confessed. It’d been one of the last things she’d done before leaving with Castor and everyone else on the extraction mission, placing the ring securely on a shelf in her shared locker with Clarissa. “Ciáran probably found it when Clarissa had him go grab some of her things.”

“Back where it belongs,” he whispered as he slipped the ring on her finger. Adair kissed her slowly, one hand tangled in her hair, the other on her waist pulling her closer. “Let’s go home,” he said when he pulled away. “I’ve got someone I want you to meet, but it can wait until tomorrow.”

Aislin nodded before resting her forehead against his shoulder. Too tired to even really process what he meant, the day finally starting to catch up with her. Someone to meet? She didn’t even question it. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that she’d run a mission, and a successful one at that. Or that she hadn’t frozen in fear when things had turned dangerous. And if she was being honest, it had been a little thrilling being out in the field actually doing something. Maybe she could actually make a difference in this Revolution yet.

Adair held her for a moment longer before gently guiding her out of the base. He only let Aislin limp a few steps beside him before scooping her up into his arms. She didn’t even protest as he carried her to the truck. Adair left her in the passenger seat with a quick kiss to the temple and promises to be back in just a moment. He went back into the base, saying his goodbyes and wrapping up a last few things.

— Falling Like The Stars - James Arthur

— Earth Angel (will you be mine?) - The Penguins

— I Run To You - Lady Antebellum

— Rewrite The Stars - Zac Efron & Zendaya

— Dance With Me - Robert Shirey Kelly

— Hearts Don’t Break Around Here - Ed Sheeran

— Hold On - Chord Overstreet

— For The Dancing And The Dreaming - Peter & Evelyn Hollens

— I’m Your Man - Michael Bublé

— I Get To Love You - Ruelle

— I Was Made For Loving You - Tori Kelly & Ed Sheeran

— Would You Go With Me? - Josh Turner

— Cherry Wine - Hozier