#also shorter

thanks so much lorna

We could get struck by lightning, but you want to kiss in the rain.

They had been stuck in a lay-by, somewhere between Emmerdale and Manchester, for over half an hour now. Robert had booked them into a hotel for the weekend, both of them desperate for some time away from the noise of the pub and their family, but they hadn´t gotten far, as Robert´s car had given up barely half an hour into their drive after making some worrisome gurgling noises.

“Someday I´m going to plan a weekend away for us and we´re actually going to end up where we´re supposed to be…“ Robert grumbled, leaning against the side of his car.

“I doubt it… Have ya seen your track record? At this point you should just give up planning things for us all together.“ Aaron took off his hoodie and threw it over to Robert before leaning further into the engine bay of the Porsche, his hands moving quickly, trying to find the cause of their car trouble.

“Oi, since you´re basically my mechanic this counts as your fault, doesn´t it?“ Robert smirked. His husband´s head popped up from under the bonnet, eyebrows raised.  “Well, I wouldn´t have to be, if ya hadn´t lost your touch years ago, would I now?“ There was no anger behind his words. They both loved this. Teasing each other mercilessly. Riling each other up just enough to make the “reconciliation“ - that more often then not ended with them in bed later that day  - worth it. Both spouses desperate to prove to the other just how much they in fact appreciated their better half.

“As if.“ The blonde had thrown the hoodie on the driver´s seat and was already rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt. “Let the professionals get to work then.“ He smiled smugly, pushing Aaron to the side, his hips pressing against Aaron´s. “And we´ll be out of here in no time.“

Aaron let out an amused huff. “Right then. Can´t wait to see this …“ he grinned, an unimpressed look on his face. He took a step back, letting Robert get on with the job, while enjoying the view of his husband bent over the car, which caused his jeans to hug his arse in just the right way…

That´s when Aaron felt the first drop on his shoulder that forced him to take his eyes off of his husband and look towards the sky instead. “Ya better figure this out soon, because from the look of it, this is gonna get uncomfortable in a few minutes“, he said. The weather had been grey all day, but now there were big black clouds rapidly making their way towards them and he could already hear the first rumblings of a thunderstorm in the distance.

“Great…Just what I needed right now.” Robert mumbled, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Within minutes, the two of them were standing in a downpour, raindrops steadily drumming on the bonnet of the car, which Robert was trying his best to hide under as not to get soaked right away. But the drops were bouncing off the engine bay and the wind kept sweeping at him from the side, slowly but surely steeping his jeans and his shirt.

The smart thing for Aaron to do would have been to make himself comfortable in the car, leaving his husband to get the job done, but instead Aaron stood in the rain and just stared. It´s not like he didn´t know that Robert was attractive. Of course he knew. His blond hair, piercing green eyes and light freckles having been some of the things that had drawn Aaron in in the first place. Maybe waking up next to him almost every day for the past year had made him get used to it in a way. Maybe it was the fact that he felt transported back to another lay-by and another broken down car over two years ago. It reminded him of all the anticipation he had felt back then, holding so much back because he was still unsure about the man infront of him, unlike now. But whatever it was, right now, rain hailing down on him, his white dress shirt almost transparent where the drops had hit, the material sticking to his skin, showing off his muscles; his husband had never looked more handsome. 

With a loud thump, Robert slammed the bonnet shut, his whole body weight pushing down on the car for a moment, which only made him look more irresistible to Aaron, his arms accentuated now that his shirt was clinging tightly to his body.

“I give up. This isn´t worth it. We´re just gonna have to call someone to-” The brunette couldn´t help himself any longer. His hands hastily moved to his husbands hips, turning him around and pressing him against the bonnet of the car, Aaron´s lips on Robert´s in a matter of seconds.

Aaron´s kiss caught his husband by surprise, but the moment he let the tip of his tongue run smoothly over Robert´s bottom lip, the blonde´s mouth practically opened out of reflex and he let himself lean into Aaron with a moan.

They stood there for a while. Robert´s back against the car, his fingers running up and down Aaron´s spine before gently pulling on the hairs at the back of his head. Aaron´s hands moved from his husband´s waist to the front of his shirt, grabbing the material to pull him even closer, pressing their bodies together. Both of them lost in each other´s touch while the rain kept falling, slowly soaking their clothes.

A strike of lightning illuminated the sky then, followed by a booming growl of thunder. The sudden change in surroundings made Robert flinch and the pair pulled a few inches away from each other, trying to catch their breath.

“We could get struck by lightning at any time, but you want to kiss in the rain? When did ya turn so soft, Dingle?“ Robert whispered between heavy breaths, his forehead against Aaron´s.

Aaron ran his hand through Robert´s fringe, his previously styled hair now all wet, sticking to his head, raindrops slowly running down the strands of his hair. The other hand was settled on the back of his husband´s´neck, pulling him in for another kiss, his lips almost brushing against Robert´s.

“Well I didn´t know how attractive my husband looked all drenched in rain, did I?“  

sun queen au — amplifiers. 

rather than pausing in the middle of a battle to somehow find a way to wear mal’s bones, the act of taking his life gives alina a massive surge of power. that surge is just enough for her to cut down the d*rkling and set the fold’s destruction into motion before it fades, leaving her with the power of the first two amplifiers. 

she can’t bring herself to wear mal’s bones like some kind of trophy. where she’d once thirsted after the third amplifier, she now feels only sickness. instead, she puts his body to the pyre and sets him free like she was never able to in life.