#elandras

Thank you!!! 

Elandras + 2)- moving around while kissing, stumbling over things, pushing each other back against the wall/onto the bed 

Elain’s back hit the wall of their bedroom. Hard. Lucien pressed her into it, his lips not leaving hers even as his deft fingers made short work of the laces of her dress, coaxing her out of them. She whined softly in the back of her throat, arching into him, parting her lips for his tongue and surrendering to him. 

The bedroom around them is in darkness. Neither of them had paused for even the fraction of time it would have taken to light the candles scattered around it. There’s an intimacy in the blackness that surrounds them too that neither had wanted to disturb. 

Over Lucien’s shoulder as he leans in, lips dragging down to kiss her neck, and then further still to suck gently on the tops of her breasts as they spill from the tight bodice of her dress he’s just torn open, she sees the indistinct shapes of the room around them. The clothes that are starting to scatter on the floor around their feet. The dark hearth that calls for fire to fill it as surely as her aching body. The bed that looms behind them, messy pile of sheets left in the middle where they’d left them this morning. 

“Lucien,” she whimpers hoarsely, “Lucien, I want-” He doesn’t let her get out that last word, that desperate, urgent you, is lost in the press of Lucien’s tongue against hers as his mouth covers hers once more, swallowing the words. 

Elain allows herself to be drawn from the wall and drawn more deeply into the room, heading for the bed behind them. She presses against him, eager, but Lucien controls their movements still, taking her time, guiding her back and back. 

As they move they continue stripping off one another’s clothes without breaking the kiss. He’s been away all week, him and Andras both, dealing with some issue or other on the border, she doesn’t care. He’s here now, he’s home now, that’s all that matters to her. The scent of him fills her lungs, the taste of his tongue, the heat of his lips, it’s all she wants, all she needs. Him, him, him. 

The backs of Elain’s thighs press suddenly against the bed and she whimpers in anticipation of what’s to come. Lucien laying her down on it, gently, delicately, utterly at odds with the ravenous hunger she can feel tearing through him. But she knows him better than to expect him to give into it. No. Her mate enjoys teasing, enjoys taking it slow, will lay her down on this bed like she’s a goddess incarnate and worship her as she deserves.  

His hands, rough with calluses but warm and welcome on her skin, ghost beneath her thin shift. It gets pushed up around her hips and his fingers skim gently over her skin, teasing her, tormenting her, giving her a taste, a temptation. 

A soft gasp breaks from her lips as he pushes her and, utterly hypnotised by him, Elain finds herself tumbling back down onto the soft mattress without resistance. Lucien follows her down, crawls over her and urges her back, bracing her against the messy tangle of sheets and blankets at the centre of the bed and then- 

The mound of soft covers moves. Then it groans hoarsely and Elain yelps, jumping in fright and instinctively pressing herself into Lucien’s arms. Visions of some terrifying creature having crawled through the open window and settled itself in their bed fills her mind in a sudden, hysterical rush of panic. Then Lucien flicks his wrist and lights burst into life around them. 

Elain blinks rapidly, pain burning her eyes at the sudden flare of brightness around her. She adjusts in time to see Andras’ shaggy head emerging, tousle-haired and utterly bemused, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, trying to understand what disturbed him. 

“Andras!” Elain cries in delight, pushing off of Lucien and embracing him, oblivious to the barricade of blankets that still separates them. Andras manages to extract an arm from his nest and wraps it around her, kissing her gently on the top of the head. 

“Hello, sweet one,” he murmurs, his voice husky and thick with sleep as he squeezes her in welcome. 

The other arm emerges and scoops Lucien easily towards him. “And you,” he adds fondly, before his lips find those of his husband and press against them in a deep, slow kiss. 

“I didn’t know you were back,” Lucien breathes against his mouth, before capturing it once more in a kiss. 

“I wondered,” Andras mumbles thickly, brows contracting in a slight frown as he glances between Lucien and Elain. “Were you going to have sex on top of me?” he asks, mildly. 

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Lucien huffs irritably, while Elain giggles at his side, “I was planning on having sex on my bed, unaware there was some hulking sentry who couldn’t be bothered getting into it properly to sleep-” 

“-Or letting his partners know he was back,” Elain chimes in helpfully. 

Lucien nods deferentially towards her, “That too, dove,” he confirms, nodding seriously while Andras grumbles and half-heartedly chucks pillows at his head. Lucien growls softly, pressing against Andras once more and tipping his head up and kissing him deeply, the air in the room thickening, heat burning between them all again, as quickly as that. “But I’m sure it could be arranged,” Lucien breathes heavily. 

“Miss me, did you?” Andras shoots out, already letting himself be pressed back against the pillows at the top of the bed, where he ought to have been sleeping. 

“Always,” Elain murmurs, crawling up alongside them and nuzzling gently at Lucien’s neck as he strips away the blankets and finds Andras utterly naked beneath them. 

“Well,” he purrs, eyes flashing as he looks down at his husband, “That certainly saves time, doesn’t it?”  

Word Count:  1.2k Characters:  Elain, Lucien, Andras Relationship:  Elain/Lucien/Andras (Elandras) Warnings:  Childbirth, an overload of cute nicknames

Here on AO3.

Summary:    In which Elain has a baby, Andras is the sensible one, and Lucien is an emotional nervous wreck.

Shoutout to @mahnoorisonfire for betaing, and @illyrianazriel and @pterodactylichexameter for inspiring this with their Elandras headcanons!

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“You’re sure you’re okay, dove?”

Elain groaned through another contraction. “As fine as anyone can be when they’re giving birth.”

Lucien wrung his hands. “When’s it going to be born?”

Elain pushed the damp hair out of her face and gave him a rather annoyed look. “I’ve only been in labor for an hour, Lucien. You realize these things can last a day or more?”

Lucien’s golden-brown skin paled. “A day?”

Andras sighed. “You’ll be okay for a sec, Elainee?” he asked her. She nodded. “Good. Because I have to go help our husband to calm down.” He grabbed Lucien by arm and dragged him out of the room.

Andras didn’t let go of him until they got to the kitchen and Lucien was sitting one of his favorite carve wooden chairs from the Autumn Court. “Lu,” he said, seriously, “you gotta calm down. You freaking out is not helping our wife.”

Lucien sighed, taking the glass of cider Andras poured him. “I know, I know. But I’m worried. What if something goes wrong? It’s our first baby, I don’t want –”

“Lu.” Andras rested his broad hands on his husband’s shoulders. “Do you really think I would let anything happen to her? I love her just as much as you do.”

I should have listened to everyone who told me this was a bad idea. Andras thinks frantically.

 Trees flash past on either side of him, the speed of his movements reducing them to blurs of green and brown with the occasional tiny burst of colour. The human lands are so barren and lifeless compared to the vast expanses of lush, vibrant beauty he’s used to in Spring. Dangerous. This land is dangerous for his kind. 

He can feel death snapping at his heels as he bounds farther and farther from the wall, forcing himself to run or else he knows he’ll stop, knows he won’t be able to do his duty. He should embrace the cold whisper of death’s foul breath upon his back. This is why he’s here, after all, to seek death at the hands of a hateful human, to free his lands, his people, his love. 

Lucien. He should have listened to Lucien. In truth the only one who had outright told him that this was a terrible idea, that he should stay. The other sentries had only looked away, refusing to meet his eyes when he had volunteered. Rather him than them, they had thought. Amarantha has destroyed the Spring Court. Even though it’s still relatively intact...They’re broken, beaten, acting only on the instinct to save their own skins. That was why he had come. That was why he’d had no choice. 

Lucien had argued with him, had snarled at him, paced up and down in the study, made argument after argument about why he should stay, why he shouldn’t leave. The court needed him. Tamlin needed him. He led the sentries and they needed him. He was a symbol for the people and they needed him, trusted him, felt stronger knowing he was protecting them. Andras had listened to all of it, waiting, selfishly, to hear him say those words, ‘I need you.’ 

If he had said them like that, straight to his face in that room then maybe...Maybe he would have listened. Maybe he would have stayed. 

He knows now that he’d been an idiot. Lucien had said that. He had said that he needed him, said that he loved him over and over and over. Andras had just refused to listen to him. And now he’s here, in these hateful lands again, risking his life, offering himself as bait. A lamb sent to the slaughter in a wolf’s clothing. 

Panting hard, Andras stops for a moment, takes stock of his bearings. The forest is quiet, still, seemingly utterly devoid of any life. Perhaps the wild creatures are simply wise enough to recognise a faerie when they see one. Or perhaps...Perhaps another lean winter has seen this forest picked clean by desperate human hunters, perhaps- 

A sudden high pitched scream splits the air around them. Andras doesn’t know what makes him act, shock, instinct, or a nature that’s been honed by centuries of training to respond to such cries, to the sound of someone in peril. He plunges through the trees towards the sound, the air now full of frantic pleas for help. 

He halts just before he reaches the clearing, hunkering down behind the line of trees, just out of sight. The girl is young, unmistakably human, reeking of fear as she backs herself into a tree, her eyes wide and petrified. The basket on the ground at her feet has sent a few feeble roots and herbs scattering across the forest floor but she seems not to have noticed. Her great brown eyes are wide and terrified as she takes in the three lean, rabid wolves stalking slowly towards her. 

He should leave her to her fate. This gentle thing is never going to be able to kill him, is never going to be able to kill anything. But he can’t. He can’t just turn and walk away and let the girl be savaged. Even if she’s so thin and starved she might die in a few weeks anyway. It’d probably be kinder if he just allowed her a quick death here and now but...He can’t ignore the terrified whimper that breaks from her. 

With an echoing snarl that seems to tremble around the forest Andras launches himself at the wolves, teeth bared, hackles raised. He slaughters one in a heartbeat, leaves the other for dead and sends the other limping away in fright, a deep slash across the muzzle, all in seconds. 

Breathing heavily, his breath forming a small cloud of mist in the air before him, he swings his head around to look up at the girl. She’s sunk to the floor, her eyes wide, her skin deathly pale she stares at him, whimpering, trying to back away from him, still looking terrified. He realises she must think he’s going to kill her, that he chased the wolves off to have her for himself but...

But then her expression changes, her mouth parts slightly. She looks even more terrified than before but...There’s a sense of awe in her now as well as she stares up at him. Then she whispers a breathless, “Thank you.” Andras blinks at her, shocked, and suddenly wishes that he could speak to this girl somehow, communicate to her what her gratitude means. He’s been risking his life for years now and no-one ever thought to just say...Thank you. 

He takes a step closer to her, without quite knowing why he does so, hoping she’ll kill him or praying that she won’t he doesn’t know which is worse. She raises a trembling hand, reaching out to touch him but he jerks away, diving back into the trees, leaving her alone in the clearing, trembling, stunned, staring after him. 

Her beautiful doe’s eyes haunt him as he ends his shift and returns to Spring. 

Lucien is half furious, half deeply relieved when he staggers back through the manor doors, utterly exhausted, but all in one piece. Tamlin demands to know the reason for the human scent that clings to him and, duty-bound, Andras tells him everything that had happened to him. 

A week later and he’s heading back to the mortal lands, Tamlin at his side. This time he rides his horse, sitting straight backed and proud, a high fae at his master’s side. He had never expected this to happen. The girl hadn’t touched him, had had such a gentle, guileless look about her that he suspected she might have felt guilt about pulling the plants from the ground in case she might have hurt them. She doesn’t deserve this, shouldn’t be dragged into these games but....They had agreed. 

Andras had come in contact with a human and death had found them in that clearing with the wolves. It might be enough, if they could lie convincingly enough to Amranatha. Tamlin and Lucien had agreed that they should at the very least try. They were getting desperate. There was less than a year until the breaking of the curse when they would all be damned anyway. They had to try something, for the sake of her people too, even if she doesn’t know it. 

Still, it’s with a heavy heart that Andras retraces his steps for his High Lord, leading him back to the place where they had found the girl. From there they make their way to the outskirts of a small town, to a small, ramshackle hovel that contains the girl, her two sisters, and their father. The sisters plead and roar and rage but Tamlin is adamant and drags the girl from the cottage, whispering that she’ll go. She strayed too far into the forest, she nearly got herself killed, she owes a blood debt to the faeries, she must go. 

Her name is Elain, Andras overhears from outside the cottage where he waits, guarding the horses, while Tamlin does his part at terrorising the girl and her family in his beast form. When she steps out of the house, trembling violently from head to foot, asking her elder sister, Nesta, to please continue caring for her garden while she’s away, Andras stares down at her from his horse. 

She looks exactly the same as he had remembered. Painfully thin, in spite of her hollowed out cheeks and slightly sunken eyes...She’s still pretty. Delicate and graceful her steps are small and controlled as she moves away from the cabin. Her sisters appear in the door, the younger restraining the elder as she thrashes like a caged wildcat, trying to get to her sister. 

Andras’ eyes however flick quickly back to Elain. She’s staring straight at him, seemingly oblivious to the struggle behind her, Tamlin stalking towards her. To his utter shock she bobs a quick curtsy to him and he stares at her in utter bemusement until she looks up at him and says softly, “Thank you for rescuing me that day.” 

Andras gapes at her in astonishment. Precious few fae he’s known for centuries can recognise him in that form, and yet this human girl- “How?” he demands, startled. 

Elain opens her mouth to reply but cuts herself off with a little yelp of surprise as Tamlin lifts her up as though she’s a doll and sets her on the horse in front of Andras. Settling herself with as much dignity as she can muster with her threadbare dress riding up her thighs she turns back to him and says simply, “Your eyes.” 

Andras doesn’t get a chance to respond as Tamlin urges the horses into motion, carrying them away from the cottage and the hoarse screams of Elain’s sisters. She doesn’t look at him as they ride and Tamlin’s magic causes her to sleep before they reach the wall crossing. Andras says nothing about the use of magic, just keeps a tight grip on the girl to stop her falling from the saddle. 

They arrive at the manor at last. Tamlin wakes Elain on the border of the manor grounds and she’s staring around with huge, wide eyes as elaborate gardens and the great, sprawling mansion. He strides into the manor, no doubt to fetch Lucien, leaving Andras to tend to Elain and the horses. 

It seems, however, that the girl who, Andras is increasingly suspecting is stronger than anyone might guess, isn’t done shocking him. He slides from the mare’s back first then reaches up, bracing his hands firmly at Elain’s waist then lifting her carefully down from the saddle, setting her gently on her feet. She begins thanking him again but a loud crash from the opposite side of the stable, where Lucien has just entered. 

His lover is staring at Elain, his eyes wide, his entire body slack with shock. Concerned, Andras takes a step towards him, away from Elain, who looks rather alarmed by this strange behaviour, shifting a little closer to him on instinct. 

Lucien takes no notice of either of them, keeping his eyes firmly locked on Elain’s as he whispers three hoarse words that shatter Andras’ entire world. 

.....yes friend. yes you can. @pterodactylichexameter is this little polyship’s co-parent, I cannot mention elandras without mentioning Alicia too. They’re very dear to both of us so pretty much...everything I’m saying here is from both of us. There you go. 

Okay. In...a sort of order (ignoring certain canon facts such as ‘Andras can’t technically control his transformation into a wolf’ because yes he can don’t say such things about my son, it’s vitally important. Ahem): 

Landras background!: 

So in this......totally canon, definitely what’s happening, no sadness here idea Andras is...Mighty fine. Totally fine. 100% fine. Nothing to see here folks. Ahem, anyway. He and Lucien have been having casual sex/suppressing genuine feelings for each other for a few decades and then he....has a near miss in the mortal realm. Nearly gets shot and skinned by some stubborn, serious human girl with an ash arrow I mean, traumatic stuff. 

He’s fine though, totally fine. So he wanders back over the wall and Lucien being Lucien has a Moment much like the....you’re my mate thing except it’s with ‘I love you’ instead. Which has been coming for decades (Andras’ sentries are truly sick of walking in on the two of them...fucking but also cuddling like ur so married pls just admit it to yourselves) anyway. 

So yes there’s a beautiful scene in the woods surrounding the Spring Court in which Lucien confesses his love for Andras and then there is hugging and kissing and probably sex. Then more cuddling. And hair stroking. And nose kisses. And ‘don’t you ever do that to me ever again’s. It’s lovely. And sweet. And mushy. And a nice counterpoint to the ‘don’t you dare cross that wall and put yourself in danger Andras, I need you even if I can’t say I do’ scene that happened before Andras had his...minor scare in the mortal world. 

ANYWAY. Lucien and Andras are now really happy boyfriends together and Andras....takes care of Lucien after the UtM stuff (because jfc someone has to) He tends to his injuries and gives him someone to talk to and hold him when he’s upset and he’s just...a good, very good. Tamlin isn’t as bad because Andras is...gigantic and can restrain him but is also very mellow and reassuring so he calms him down and stops Lucien suffering as much. And Ianthe doesn’t even look at my boy the wrong way because Andras gets...teeny bit protective and possessive (which turns Lucien on like there’s no tomorrow, incidentally) The moral of the story is: Andras makes everything better. I’m so glad he’s alive and well. Ahem 

Then something a bit....unexpected happens in that...Lucien skips over to Hybern with Tamlin (listen, Andras is a wonderful, wonderful boy but even he cannot prevent this) and Elain is Made and he has the whole ‘you’re my mate’ thing and....Flips out a little bit when she’s taken away. Then he goes back to the Spring Court and the whole ‘my newly Made mate is in an enemy court, one I know to have a sadistic, terrifying reputation and there’s nothing I can do about it’ angst is compounded by the whole ‘my beautiful wolf boyfriend is here but I have a mate what am I going to do???’ 

The answer, friends, is polyamory. (Eventually)

Initially Lucien just...loses it a little bit. and does what Lucien does best when he’s losing it: he pretends that he’s not. He pretends everything is just a-okay, he is fine, he’s delighted. Feyre’s home! Look at that. Isn’t that fantastic. I definitely don’t have a mate trapped in the Night Court DEFINITELY NOT. Andras, however, is not as...willfully dickish and ignorant as Tamlin is and he actually...takes note that all is not well with his little red fire-bean. 

After...a lot of ‘therapeutic’ sex and...even more therapeutic cuddling (and tender hair stroking) Andras coaxes the truth out of him - that he has a mate, that she’s in a foreign court amongst enemies on the other side of this war and Lucien is losing his mind over this, he has no idea what to do. Things go...very quiet for a moment and then Andras asks Lucien what he wants, forget the war, forget Tamlin, Hybern, Feyre’s deception, all of it. What does he want? Lucien admits that...he wants her safe and he’d like to get to know her but...

He goes a little red here and glances up at Andras because Awkward. But Andras just hushes him and tells him softly that this is his mate, he has to at least get to know her, give it a chance, mates are so rare and he’s found his and that’s, that’s great. He almost manages to keep any trace of bitterness from his voice. Almost. (Andras is a little older than Lucien and he’s been a sentry all his days and, well, his little spit-fire bean is important to him. But his happiness is more important than anything else. HE’S SUCH A GOOD I CAN’T DEAL) 

Lucien kisses him and tells him that he’s not choosing between them, he isn’t just going to put Andras aside for some girl he doesn’t know, even if she is his mate. He loves Andras. That’s final. Andras smiles a little sadly and kisses him back but is....pretty sure he can see where this is going. HE IS WRONG HOWEVER IT’S GOING BEAUTIFUL PLACES.  

Lucien is...Well the bond grates on him a little bit and he can’t help exploring it a little, getting to know Elain through it as much as he can. It and Andras are the only things giving him any sanity at the moment and he needs them both. He feels a little guilty communicating with Elain but he’s open with Andras who flat out refuses to so much as consider Lucien shutting her out when they have this connection to each other. 

Anyway, fastforward the war, lots of battles, lots of death, lots of drama blah blah blah lots of things happen NO-ONE DIES, ALL IS WELL, and then maybe Lucien ends up as High Lord of the Autumn Court (because his vile family get what’s coming to them. Except his mama. I need Mama Lucien to remain and bond with Lucien’s husband and wife) Andras swears fealty to him (really, An, you didn’t have to, I don’t need you as- I INSIIST. (Andras needs a purpose, bless him. And being draped in silks and jewellery and perched on a throne next to Lucien’s like a doll....Doesn’t appeal to him. At all. So he becomes Lucien’s sworn shield or...Idk something that allows them to spend a lot of time together and bang in meeting rooms once everyone else has left.)) 

Elain arrives shortly afterwards and she and Lucien and Andras wander around the Court a lot and maybe visit Spring too (idk what’s happening with Spring. Something. Who knows? Who cares, it has pretty grounds for my children to wander around and a border with Autumn, this is all I need) and they get to know each other. 

Andras tries to back off and give them space and just...fade into obscurity and pretend that’s totally and completely fine with him. Lucien refuses to let that happen and is very open with Elain about their situation. She’s...a little confused at first but she supposes it’s only sensible that someone like Lucien would have a partner. There’s...a little bit of angstyness because Andras is fully aware that Lucien is falling in love with Elain and Elain knows this too - Lucien is in denial but he...knows it too. Andras is prepared for what he’s been bracing for for months now - losing the male that he loves - while Lucien is just as stubbornly NO. I love you I’m not choosing I’m just not!!! There’s a lot of drama and angst and pacing in front of fireplaces and attempts at rational conversation that just dissolve into desperate, angsty, confused cuddling. 

Elain sorts the whole thing out when she gets wind of it one morning she wanders across them in one of the orchards (because, like, of course Autumn has orchards?) She looks between the two of them with a little crease between her brows as she frowns then asks...why he feels like he has to choose? These two centuries old idiots just gape at her blinking and she’s like ????? Have you really been angsting over this all this time? And they both just sort of, well yes, because he’s with me but you’re his mate and- Elain just waves an airy hand and tells them she has absolutely no problem with the three of them being together. All of them. Andras is a little ?? Not just...sharing him? And Elain just very firmly no, they are all equals in this relationship. And that’s final. Elain has spoken. That is that. Problem solved. 

CUTENESS OVERLOAD ENSUES. 

So obviously elucien proceeds...as elucien proceeds, I have wiffled enough about this for you to get the gist. And landras proceed as I have hinted at above. and then elandras is born and it’s...the greatest thing I think I’ve ever been a part of. It’s just like...these two pure, sweet, precious creatures come together to balance out this....literal human fireball of intensity and emotion (Andras spent a lot of time when they were younger literally physically lifting Lucien up and carrying him away from the fights he was starting with the people who were going to kill him) This continues, except now Elain is there to make nice and make the person who wants to murder Lucien...not want to murder him so much. It’s beautiful. They’re miracle workers. 

Okay so, like, full disclosure, Andras is gay af. But this is okay!!! He and Elain just...Never do the sex part of a relationship, doesn’t stop them loving each other. Because listen people this is the most pure dynamic in the history of anything ever. Like...Elain, the gentle flower-grower and Andras who, even when he was shifted into a fuck off enormous wolf still had all the threatening presence of a puppy and just sort of...watched Feyre as she aggressively.....gave him a tiny scratch on his nose that did no damage to his perfect self at all. 

Anyway, sometimes they just need a little bit of down time, you know? They both love Lucien more than anything in the whole wide world, they really, truly do but...’Dearie me he’s intense sometimes, isn’t he?’ Andras just laughs and tells her that she’ll...never really get used to it, but it’s okay. Elain smiles and so they start spending time together just the two of them. 

Andras will watch over her (in wolf form, mostly) while she gardens or just strolls around or reads. (She has a habit of sort of...patting his head like he’s a giant dog. He does not object to this. Lucien stumbles across them one day and finds Elain absently stroking Andras’ back and he’s just...dove...you are aware...you are petting Andras? She just nods vaguely and to illustrate Andras’ happy consent of this he flops over onto his back so that she’ll scratch his tummy instead. Lucien is just like...ffs, some guard you are, this is pathetic. But he can’t stop grinning like an idiot) 

He likes helping her garden and while Lucien likes hearing her talk about all the different flowers and what she loves about them and why this one is her favourite today (she has a different favourite every day. It’s fair that way. They all get a turn at being showered with extra love from her.) Andras likes the technical aspects. What kind of soil does this one need? How much light for that one? What about watering? How exactly do you transplant seedlings into the ground? He’s very attentive and he loves learning about something that’s clearly so important to her? And as a sentry he has an even wider and more detailed knowledge of the plants in Spring than Lucien does so the three of them will go on rides together and Andras will point things out that can be used as herbs and the like. 

MUSIC. SO MUCH MUSIC!!! If Andras hadn’t already loved Elain for just her general Elain-ness he’d have loved her for how she brings music back to Lucien. They spend a fair few nights clustered around a piano together, Andras will tend to his weapons, Elain will sew (badly, Andras is trying to help her improve but her stitches are always crooked. She doesn’t mind), and Lucien will play for them. It’s quiet and contained and they don’t talk much on these nights but they don’t really need to, that isn’t the point of them. 

S N U G G L E S. Listen, idc how the Autumn Court is presented in my head Lucien’s chambers are very large, lots of dark wood, fuck off huge fireplace and a very plush fur rug at the foot of the bed in front of the fire that is 100% big enough to hold either three fae or two fae and a giant, cosy wolf. Just...Lucien and Elain sprawled on top of Andras who just wraps his tail around them and snuggles them. Or the three of them all piled together, Lucien will be in the middle sometimes but sometimes Elain just, no, I need both of my gigantic fae boys on either side of me, this is what I need. They do not argue with her. Andras will read to them some nights if Lucien or Elain is having trouble sleeping. He has a very rich, low, soothing voice and it’s almost guaranteed to make Elain fall asleep on top of him. Lucien still likes to be read to him so they read on but both of them go back the next night so that Elain doesn’t miss anything.

They definitely all sleep in the same bed that’s just....A fact. And they always wake up in...a very confused, tangled heap in the mornings. (Andras extracts himself first (the other two have no idea how he does this without waking them, they’re very impressed, but he just snorts and informs them that it’d be easier to wake the dead than the two of them early in the morning) He fetches them breakfast and some tea to help coax them awake and they both just think it’s entirely unreasonable how much of a morning person Andras is (Elain in particular is just like.....what kind of madness is this, what are you? how is this even...no Andras I don’t want sun i want sleep) But some mornings Elain and Lucien make a special effort to wake up early and bring Andras some surprise breakfast in bed. (He was very, very bemused the first morning he wake up and realised that he was completely alone in the bed, he thought something terrible had happened (and in a way it had. Lucien. Cooking. Have mercy.)) 

Snuggles are not confined to the bedroom. They go on many rides together (Elain loves horses as much as Lucien does and Andras can easily keep pace with them in wolf form) and they have all the picnics and this inevitably involves lots of lovely food (Andras bakes the most...amazing pastries. Elain helps him. They work incredibly well together in the kitchen. Lucien is allowed to perch on one of the counters, occasionally pass them things, and offer supportive kisses. He is not allowed anywhere near the food) a great many snuggles, and Elain absently braiding flowers into Andras and Lucien’s hair. (They’re both very proud of their flower crowns) 

SMOLS. They must have babies. They must have all the babies. (i am literally allergic to kid-fic/headcanons but I will suffer through this pain because they just need them) So biologically the babies are elucien’s but...the babies 100000000% have two dads and that is just fucking final okay. Andras is....Andras is a godsend when Elain is pregnant tbh. Like Lucien is so enthusiastic and almost painfully excited/nervous about all of this and he flaps around like a rabid wildfire for nine months. Elain is...touched by his very strong emotions on this matter but also Lucien pls calm down I can walk up a flight of stairs okay? Andras serves the dual purpose of...calming Lucien the fuck down (as much as is possible) and also attending to like, Elain’s practical needs. (Lucien has taken care of alllll the nesting, basically the entire Autumn Court has been converted into a huge nursery at this point. They just..let him get on with it) 

He feeds her sooo much food and he spends a lot of time nudging the very baffled and slightly alarmed (Andras is...very big. like...picture jason momoa and...congratulations you’re bang on my fancast for him) cooks when their work space is invaded by this huge hulking fae who smiles and politely asks if he could use their kitchen for a little while, his wife has some odd cravings. Elain sits in one of those big old fashioned rocking chairs knitting slightly lopsided baby clothes while Andras finds ways to combine the different flavours she’s craving into actually edible things which Elain devours. His hands are also like, unreasonably giant and he’s so good at giving her massages and they bathe together too (with Lucien as well, obviously...it’s a very big bathtub) 

Lucien and Andras just basically....wait on Elain hand and foot throughout her pregnancy (I mean they always do this but she gets particularly spoiled when she’s carrying their smol) and I...enjoy the image of these two huge fae warriors with this slender little flower girl in between them, their hands clasped over her belly LIKE IF YOU DON’T THINK THIS IS BEAUTIFUL YOU’RE DEAD INSIDE.  

Little one is born and is a girl and all three of them just...fall instantly in love with her? Andras likes carrying her around and he’s always the first one to get up if she cries in the middle of the night and then he just scoops her up into his gigantic arms and bounces her up and down until she calms. The rest of the time baby just gets handed to Lucien because like, for whatever reason, babies love Lucien and she just stops crying as soon as she comes into contact with him. Elain is very grateful because between the two of them so much is taken care of and she  can relax and rest a lot after the birth, her boys have it covered, they make a wonderful little family unit so they do. 

Also as the little ones start getting...well greater in number and also older Andras doubles as an excellent climbing frame/small pony. They just....climb all over him. and sit on him. and braid flowers into his fur (he looks like a giant, fury flowerbed by the time they’re finished, just lying there, so patient, blinking placidly up at Lucien when he wanders out of the house and just??? Andras what r u doing?) and all fall asleep on top of him and it’s literally the purest thing that anyone has ever witnessed. And Andras loves those babies so fucking much, they are his whole entire heart and soul (along with Elain and Lucien, obviously. (a lot of these are Andras focused but I’ve done elucien pregnancy hcs a million times before YOU GUYS KNOW THE DRILL)) 

Lucien and Andras are sooo proud of Elain and they fuss over her so, so much once they start having babies because look at these tiny miracles you have provided us with you are also a miracle we are just ??? blown away. 

Thank you!! Continuation of this post (this thing might be a bit hard to follow if you haven’t read the first thing) 

Elandras + ‘I hope you’re happy’ 

“I hope you’re happy.” Lucien’s voice is flat, exhausted, spent.  

It’s late now. The moon, looking wide enough to swallow the sky from what Andras can see beyond the open window, has risen high over the court, watching over them all, oblivious to their pain. 

They had retreated up here to Lucien’s chambers, the most distant and separate from everyone else in the manor, after the moment in the stables. Both had mumbled feeble, empty excuses and explanations to Elain they were sure she hadn’t believed for a second, to try and cover up Lucien’s outburst. 

Somehow....Somehow all the tension and frustration and agony both of them were feeling, for entirely different reasons, had spilled over into sex. Andras had quietly closed the door behind them, turned around, mouth opening to say something, he had no idea what. Instead he had found Lucien inches from him, a hand reaching out to grab his tunic, pull him forwards and kiss him, hard and deep. 

He still feels a small stab of shame for the way he had reacted. He was going to stop them, going to insist that they talk about this, about what had just happened with the girl before in the stables. But then Lucien had whispered those words, soft, hoarse, “I’m glad you’re safe now,” and Cauldron damn him if he hadn’t damned it all to hell and kissed him back. 

At hearing those words from his lover’s lips he had become undone. He had sunk into that kiss, into the sex that had followed, losing himself in it, in Lucien, as he had done so many times before. One more night, he had told himself, he could have one more night with Lucien, to pretend, to dream, before he was lost to whatever agony was sure to accompany this girl’s arrival here at their court. 

He didn’t blame her, she’d been entirely innocent, unwilling, in all this. He had dragged her here, hadn’t he? He had brought her into their lives and torn apart the only small shred of laughter and happiness he managed to claw from it with Lucien. This was not her fault. He had no-one but himself to blame. 

But he’d been willing to give himself this, this one night, just one night before it all had to end. 

They hadn’t even made it until morning before everything collapsed around him. 

Andras is lying on his back now, staring up at the thick, deep red canopy above Lucien’s bed. Lucien himself is sitting a foot or so in front of him, back stiff and straight, knees drawn up to his chest, trembling. He might have put a blanket around his shoulders, or gotten up to close the window that was letting the breeze waft through the room, making the candles shiver, giving the light an eerie, flickering quality. But then those words had snapped out of Lucien’s mouth and he’d known that it wasn’t the cold that was making him shake. 

I hope you’re happy. 

The words sting more than they should, but Andras forces his voice to remain level, calm, when he answers. “Happy that I brought my-” he breaks off, his what, exactly? Lover, certainly...but there’s more between them now than lust and physical release. Friend? He’s more than that too. He always has been. Love....For Andras, yes, he’s loved this male, in the same bed with him but now further than anyone else in this world. Swallowing he continues with only a brief stutter of interruption that has Lucien half-glancing over his shoulder before he stares straight ahead once more. “Your mate into this mess? Of course I’m not.” 

Lucien still doesn’t turn, just keeps staring at the wall, the rich Autumn colours all looking black and lifeless in the dark of the night. Much like Lucien himself. 

“If I’d known she was your mate- If I’d had the barest idea of- Lucien,” he interrupts, unable to keep his voice from breaking on his name, a flicker of the desperation that’s raging inside him cracking through the professional mask his duty has helped him craft all these long centuries. “Lucien, look at me, please.” 

He doesn’t know what he’ll do if he refuses. Doesn’t know how hard he might shatter if Lucien just keeps staring at that Cauldron damned wall and pretending that he doesn’t exist.

Lucien turns, his mismatched eyes utterly blank and Andras wonders if perhaps it wouldn’t have been kinder to himself to let him look away. Trembling himself he reaches out, takes Lucien’s hand in his and thanks the Cauldron that he doesn’t pull it away, as he’d have every right to. 

“If I’d had any idea what she was to you,” Andras whispers softly, thumb stroking soothingly over the back of Lucien’s hand in a way that always calms him down, “I would never have told Tamlin about her, never.” 

Lucien starts, realising the depth of what that means to him. Refusing to tell Tamlin about Elain would have counted as treason, breaking the oaths he had sworn as sentry to defend, protect and obey the High Lord in every regard. Something he’s always consistently refused to do every time Lucien has begged him not to do his duty and put himself in danger crossing the wall. 

“You mean that,” he murmurs quietly. The words aren’t a question but Andras nods firmly, squeezing his hand. Lucien shudders, turning away from him, though he remains clutching tightly to his hand, as though it’s the only thing keeping him grounded. 

Finally, he manages to speak. “I can’t do this, An,” he whispers hoarsely, burying his face in his other hand, shaking more violently than ever. “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.” Andras feels his heart shatter for this male who has already suffered so much and now...Now this. “She’s in danger, in the middle of this, this mess,” he groans, “And the only thing that can save us is if I somehow persuade my mate to fall in love with Tamlin.” He lets out a bitter bark of laughter, “And then watch her die when Amarantha finds out about her and has her slaughtered.” 

Andras moves in closer, gently coaxing Lucien around until he’s facing him properly, hand squeezing his he leans in, whispers softly, “We’ll find a way to send her home,” he murmurs softly, and Lucien’s eyes snap up to meet his. “We’ll get her home, help her and her family find passage to the continent, send her away somewhere they can’t hurt, can’t find her again, can’t-” 

He breaks off at the sudden pain that flashes through Lucien’s eyes. It takes every bit of strength he has in him not to drop his hand as he realises what’s happening. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t stop the hollowness inside him showing through in his voice when he says quietly, “You don’t want her to leave either, do you?” Lucien doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t have to. Andras has known him for three centuries now. He knows how to read him. “You can feel her already,” Andras murmurs, “Through the bond.” 

Lucien nods shakily, and at last pulls away from him, buries his face in both hands, chest heaving as he tries, and fails, to compose himself. Andras sits there, numb, staring at this male, at the ruins of what they once were, what they might have been. It’s an effort not to let out a bitter laugh. He did this. He found Elain. Saved her life. Brought her here. And now...Now this. 

“She’s my mate, An,” Lucien whispers softly, “My mate.” 

“I know, Luc,” Andras whispers. “We’ll find a way to get through this, alright,” he promises. “We’ll find a way for, for you to be with her, for you to be safe with her. Safe and happy.” 

 Every word is an agony, tears at his throat as though it has teeth, rips his heart to shreds but he says them. He says this because he loves this man, loves him more than he ever believed possible. He’s had his time in the sun, in the light, in the warmth he’s been given. 

It’s time to remember his place. He’s a sentry, a common sentry who fell in love with a prince and managed to delude himself into thinking that this could ever work but...But now he has someone worthy, a mate, an equal, someone who might stand a chance of being loved back by him. He’ll help him find that, help him be happy, somehow, because he deserves it. And meanwhile he...He’ll slink quietly back into the shadows of those around him. Fit to serve, to obey, with nothing but his duty to warm his bed at night. 

He’s about to open his mouth, suggest some plan that they can try, to let him and Elain spend a little time alone together, away from the manor and from Tamlin and the eyes and ears around here that would report back to him. But Lucien speaks first. 

“No.” His voice is firm, strong, and Andras blinks at him in surprise. “No,” Lucien repeats. He’s still shaking but his hands have clenched themselves into fists at his sides. “No this, this doesn’t change anything,” he rasps. 

Andras can’t help himself. The bitter laugh that’s been building in his chest all this time finally escapes him. “Lucien,” he says hollowly, “She’s your mate, this changes everything.” 

“It doesn’t,” he growls, as though he’s trying to convince himself as much as Andras. “It doesn’t. Mates aren’t always suited to one another and she...You met her, An, have you ever met anyone less suited to me than her?” His voice is bitter. 

Part of Andras wants to agree, wants to be selfish and greedy and coax Lucien away from this, away from her, keep him in his arms just a little longer. The rest knows that Elain ,with that quiet, gentle strength..Is everything Lucien needs. He can’t bring himself to say it though. The words stick in his throat, choking him, and by the time he can breathe around them again, Lucien is going on. 

“And it doesn’t change the way that I feel about you.”

Andras stares, in shock, every thought and emotion wiped from him, leaving him blank and empty as he gapes at Lucien. He eases forward, taking Andras’ face in his hands, stroking with his thumbs, “I love you, An,” he rasps hoarsely, “I’ve loved you for years and I...I can’t believe it took me so long, that it took something like this to make me admit that to you.” 

“It took me...Finding your mate for you to know you love me?” Andras mutters, too stunned, too overwhelmed to think coherently enough to riddle out Lucien’s logic in this. 

Lucien laughs softy and Andras wants to bottle the sound, keep it with him for when this inevitably ends and he needs something to help him keep going. But Lucien leans forwards, kisses him in a way that convinces him that he means it and breathes, “I could have lost you today, An,” he murmurs, tracing the faint, already nearly healed scratch along his thigh from his fight with the wolves. “Elain is gentle, sweet, good...but you could have met another human in that forest; one who might not have been so forgiving, who might have-” he breaks off, shaking his head. 

Taking a deep breath he goes on, “Elain is my mate and she’s here, in danger, and I despise that but....I don’t even know her, An,” he whispers softly. “I’ve known you for three hundred years, loved you for nearly as long, I-” He takes a deep breath, somehow manages to make himself smile as he looks into Andras’ eyes. “If anything good came from this it’s that I never have to watch you walk into that forest again. I never have to sit here, terrified, hating myself for letting you go, letting you die just so that we might be safe.” 

He kisses him again, long and slow and deep, tucking Andras’ long, thick dark brown hair behind his ears. “I never have to lose you,” he breathes quietly. “I couldn’t bare that, An, I couldn’t. It would break me.” He’s never seen him this candid, this open and raw before. He wonders if perhaps everything that’s happened today has cracked him open. If Elain’s arrival somehow helped them cross some invisible boundary with another into this. “I love you, An.” 

They kiss again and Andras almost believes him, almost lets himself sink into this fantasy and live in it, until a small knock at the door interrupts them. Lucien composes himself, the mask of the emissary slipping smoothly back into place as he calls for them to enter. 

Elain’s pretty face peers around the door and promptly flushes a deeper shade of red than Lucien’s hair as she takes in the scene. “I’m sorry!” She squeaks, covering her mouth with her hands, babbling, “I, I got lost, I didn’t know how to get back to my rooms, and I heard your voices, I thought you might be able to help me, I, I’m so sorry, please, excuse me.” 

She makes to withdraw but Lucien calls her back, “Elain!” The way he says her name, the way he looks at her when she nervously peers around the door again...Andras knows that he meant what he said to him. Knows that having to choose between the two of them will tear him into shreds but....The way he looks at this girl...He’s never going to be able to let her go. He’s never going to be able to sit back and watch her fall in love with Tamlin. He’s never going to be content for her to be in danger  here....

She’s his mate.

 There’s nothing he can do about that, nothing he can do about Lucien’s soft, genuine laugh as he drags a shirt on over his bare chest and walks to the door, buttoning it up, talking all the while to her as he opens the door and offers to show her back to her rooms, telling her again not to worry about interrupting them. 

All he can do is step back, let Lucien have this without a fuss. He won’t watch him shatter, trying to tear himself in half to please everyone around him. He won’t be the cause of any more pain for this man who deserves the world and has only ever been given agony for his troubles. 

Turning, Andras slowly, quietly, starts gathering his clothes together, slowly pulling on shirt and trousers. His back is to the door, and he doesn’t realise Lucien and Elain are still there until Lucien calls to him, “Aren’t you coming?” He demands, one eyebrow arched. 

Andras stares at him, torn between confusion and irritation. Doesn’t he understand how hard this is for him, how difficult it is to let go, that he doesn’t need him playing games before he chooses her? 

But Lucien seems entirely genuine in his wish that he join them. Andras rises slowly, pads towards them, leans down a little and hisses, “What the hell are you doing, Lucien?” 

“My lady is hungry,” Lucien confides, loud enough that Elain can definitely hear him. “The cooks are asleep and she insists we don’t wake them, so unless you want me fixing her something to eat....” 

He trails off and Andras pales, “For the love of the Cauldron, Lucien, no,” he groans, stepping out of the room and joining them in the corridor. 

Elain peers up at him, still looking a little flushed and embarrassed after interrupting them, “Thank you,” she says, smiling shyly at him. 

“Not at all,” Andras says politely, “I wouldn’t allow my worst enemy to suffer Lucien’s cooking.” 

Elain giggles softly, padding after Lucien who leads the way down the corridor, though she falls into step with Andras, clearly feeling more comfortable with him than with Lucien at the moment. They enter the kitchen and Andras has Lucien start a fire in the great wood-burning stove then puts him in charge of boiling water for tea, about the only thing he trusts him with in here. Elain perches nervously at one of the chairs by the scrubbed wooden table and watches them, laughing at Lucien’s jokes and jumping up every few minutes to offer to help Andras.  

*curls into a ball and weeps because my tiny babies*

32. Who likes to have really long (deep) conversation?

ANDRAS. Mostly with Elain, I think? She just loves listening to him talk and he has all these ideas and they have really intense little sessions where Lucien wanders in and they’re just talking away and it’s all eager and excited and they’re just bouncing off of each other at a hundred miles an hour and it’s just so Good? Lucien joins in too sometimes but while I think Andras and Elain tend more towards human (fae?) nature and people and motivations and that sort of thing Lucien gets more into the realms of philosophy - especially morality and ethics. 

But sometimes Andras just sits there and watches Elain and Lucien debate and he’s just like :O my husband/wife are both amazing, remind me never to do this with either of them ever. But Lucien and Elain love that, they love the challenge and the contest and they love the tension and the friction and it keeps their political claws nice and sharp which is also good. 

38. Who likes to star gaze?

ALL OF THEM. Sometimes they just all pile outside in the middle of the Spring Court and gaze up at the heavens. Rhys talks a lot about how the stars/nights in Velaris are better than anywhere in Prythian but Lucien, frankly, begs to differ. Spring is just so raw and wild and the nights are so devoid of light - Velaris is a city and it’s always lit up but Spring is pure darkness at nights and the three of them will sometimes just line on the lawns very late gazing upwards. 

Andras is the only one who actually knows the proper names of the constellations. (Lucien knows the ‘names’ too but they are..not correct and used only for making Elain giggle and Andras (affectionately) roll his eyes) But Andras knows the names and shapes of each and every one of them, and the stories behind them. Elain absolutely loves listening to him talk about them (he has this lovely, rich, slow, measured voice that just...gilds the eardrums with deliciousness or...something idk) Lucien has heard each and every story several times over but he just closes his eyes and lets them wash over him again. They’re comforting, familiar, they remind him that not all the days that belong to the past are tainted and bad. Some of them...Some of them were good, too. And Elain...Elain is just filled with so much wonder staring up into the dark sky while Andras talks to them. 

50. Who is the hopeless romantic?

Okay Andras is definitely a mushy romantic (he blushes lots when he flirts and brings Elain flowers and Lucien...sparkly things) But Lucien is the hopeless romantic with the real soft spot for it. He likes like having all these huge elaborate dates planned out for both Elain and Andras and sometimes them both together and they’re just so dramatic but also just so deeply personal and well thought out? And neither Elain nor Andras likes that much fuss (especially not Andras) but Lucien can’t help himself? He just...He just has to do it for them? It makes him so happy and it makes them so happy and that makes him even happier and it’s just. So much drama and flare and romance but he doesn’t do it too often and...well, there’s no harm in making the people he loves most feel special, is there? 

Ehehe you and me both friend, it’s all good. 

6. Who would have really deep emotional thoughts at the middle of the night/ Who would have them in the middle of the day?

Elain is definitely the one who comes out with them at night. Like they’re all lying tangled together in a post-sex bliss and then she just, like, drops this huge existential bombshell on them and Lucien is just, ‘Dove, we’re all very naked and very relaxed, is now the time?’ 

Andras does it during the day. It’s a holdover from his days with Lucien when they were younger in the Spring Court. Lucien would come riding on patrols with him (for the purposes of making out with him/banging him in some secluded corner) and Lucien would just prattle endlessly so Andras started coming up with these really convoluted, clever, deep little questions that would shut Lucien up for extended periods of time while he pondered it and puzzled it and tried to find a clever answer to it. Andras loves watching him sweat over these things. 

8. Who sleeps in their underwear (or naked)/ Who sleeps in their pyjamas?

Elain and Lucien are both godless heathens who sleep naked/basically naked. Andras is in like this top to toe, long sleeved, long trousers, flannel pjs and he wanders out of the bathroom and Elain and Lucien are just....completely and utterly naked on the bed together and he’s like ???? guys pls. They all put pjs on for Andras’ sake (Lucien complains. Constantly. Andras I’m uncomfortable. Andras they itch. Andras I’m too hot (you’re literally made of fire, shut up) Andraaas) But they stay. The only time they refuse is post-sex. They all get cleaned up and Andras puts his pjs on again and they’re both like dude no this is not the done thing. They compromise and Andras keeps his trousers on but not his shirt. (’I feel Exposed, what if some poor unsuspecting servant walks in?’ ‘The servants have seen much worse than your chest, Andras, I wouldn’t worry about it’.) 

20. Who is dominant/ Who is submissive?

Lucien is generally dominant, Elain is generally submissive, Andras falls somewhere in the middle. He doesn’t get into the submissive thing as much as Elain but he will usually do as he’s told...(except for those few occasions when he gives Lucien an order or takes over instead and...everyone is ruined) Also Elain and Andras sometimes make Plans that just revolve around them utterly ruining Lucien together and those nights are Good, they’re very Good. 

11. Who likes horror movies/ Who likes romance movies?

Okay I picked this one because I was skimming and these two images popped into my head. One: Andras and Lucien being like >:) and deciding to get this really freaky horror film to put on and scare her because then they’ll get loads of cuddles, genius right? What actually happens is Andras and Lucien end up clutching one another while Elain absently pats their heads, absorbed in the movie, vaguely wondering about what might have happened to the derranged serial killer to make them this way. She also falls asleep on top of them half way through it and this is karmic revenge because the two of them are petrified but they can’t move to turn the thing off because then they’ll disturb Elain. 

then he can have a lovely little polyship with elain and I CAN DIE HAPPY. - YESSSSSSS - ;-; snuggle pile to end ALL snuggle piles.