#illyria

Excited to share this beautiful piece by isnanaun for @emerieweekofficial ! I love the idea of each of the Valkyries getting their own Pegasus and this one chose Emerie. What do you think their name is?

No reposts without permission and do not use this art for anti content please.

Characters belong to SJM.

IG post can be found here.

Artist: Isnanaun

Unedited version:

It was a very bad decision. Very bad. Everyone had told you as much. 

One: he’s definitely too old for you. Two: he’s definitely not interested in you. Three: he’s definitely too old for you. Four: this definitely won’t work out.

A myriad of reasons. Freshly 21, the most gorgeous man you had ever seen served you a birthday shot. On the house. With a wink and everything. He didn’t do that for just anyone. Which you knew with certainty, because you had been coming to this bar every Friday for the last year.

Maybe it was a bit stalker-y, but you couldn’t help it. He was perfect. The way his biceps flexed while shaking up a drink, the way he pulled back his long black hair into a bun after a particularly busy hour…

“Happy birthday, it is your birthday, right?”

Your heart stopped as Cassian slid a small glass cup across the lacquered counter. Something creamy and sweet, sprinkles around the rim. He remembered. “It is.”

“And you came to visit little old me? Shouldn’t you be out doing something special?” Cassian’s grin was staggering.

His teeth were so white they could cut glass. Wait no- his teeth were blinding, and his jaw was sharp enough to cut glass. Your mouth moved before your brain could catch up. “You are special. And it’s only 22, the big milestone is done and over.”

“Well you certainly dressed like I’m special,” he said with a low whistle, already playing catch up with the steady line of customers. You were surprisingly grateful for the interruption to your conversation. It gave you time to think of an excuse for why you were dressed for a nightclub and not a shitty little dive a street away from home. 

Everything you wore was pink and sparkly. Everything. It was the feminine dream you hoped to god a man like him craved. 

With the way Cassian’s eyes kept straying away from the ‘girl's night out’ in front of him, it started to seem like you were right.

“So,” he said, wiping down as the busy hour finally trickled away, “who are you wearing that for?”

“Is it really any of your business?” A bat of the lashes, a tilt of the head.

“I suppose not.” He fixed his blue jeans by the belt- a belt you'd love to feel against your ass- “but you could satisfy my curiosity.”

“I could satisfy a lot more than that.”

Cassian’s dark brows flew up to his hairline. Fuck, you screwed up, didn’t you. “Come again?”

It was too late to take it back now. This was one of those situations where he clearly heard you, and just couldn’t believe the words out of your mouth.

“You heard me.”

He ran his big, rough hands through his hair, blowing out a long breath. “Sweetheart, aren’t you…?”

“Don’t bore me. I think I know my age.”

Still stunned, Cassian swallowed, then shook it off with a laugh. “You’re trouble.”

“I know.” His smile made you smile, made some weird hope bloom suddenly in your chest. “But you haven’t kicked me out.”

“Something tells me you wouldn’t go down easy.”

“That depends on context.” You swore his cheeks flushed at that, forcing you to bite back a smile. 

“Don’t make me cut you off for the night…” he warned. It was playful, but loaded. As if that warning was mostly to himself.

“I’ve only had one drink. A shitty one, mostly cream.” Yes, you wanted this. No, you weren’t drunk. Yes, you’d take every opportunity available to antagonize him.

Cassian read every line of subtext in your answer, and smiled. “I don’t make shitty drinks, you love cream.”

“Aww, you remembered.” You traced the shape of a heart with your fingertip, making him laugh again. 

“You come here every week, it would be hard to forget.”

“I’m going to take it as a compliment anyway,” you insisted, watching the way Cassian stepped aside to wipe the counter again. 

This was the third time in the last… hmm, ten minutes? He was stalling, trying to keep busy. He couldn’t keep busy for long, though, his shift would be over in fifteen, and then he was all yours.

~~~

The little silver bell swinging at the door rang for the final time. 

“You should head out,” Cassian hedged. It didn’t escape him that you had been nursing that last soda until it was dregs and ice. “I’m about to lock up.”

“And if I don’t.” Bold, too bold. But you had to hope it was enough. 

He straightened up, his eyes meeting yours in a slow, deliberate sweep. “Then I escort you out.”

“Very gentlemanly,” you teased.

“Don’t push it, sweetheart.”

You clamored off of the shitty stool, smoothing the short skirt of your dress. Cassian met you at the door. He was huge, bigger up close. The leather jacket he grabbed off the hook would easily swallow you whole. 

Cassian held the door open, gallantly gesturing to the cold windy street beyond. “After you.”Everything was dark blue and amber as the streets went quiet. “You’ll make it home okay?”

“Aren’t you going to offer to walk me?”

He shook his head, running his fingers through his hair again. 

“Its so dark and cold and scary out here,” you added with a little pout.

“Fine. Only to your door. Don’t think I’m not onto you.”

Cassian kept a comfortable distance from you as he walked you the block over to your apartment. 

“So… what are you doing tonight?”

“Sleeping,” he answered firmly, but it didn’t mask the twinkle of amusement in his dark eyes.

“That’s really boring.”

“I think it sounds relaxing.” He leaned against the lobby door to your building. “Journey ends here, sweetheart.”

“This isn’t my door,” you drawled. “This is the entrance. I’m on the third floor.”

“Oh, come on, close enough.”

“What if I get kidnapped in the hallway?”

“Then we have bigger problems.”

“You’re my biggest problem.”

Cassian’s brow arched. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

You pressed closer, until the bare skin of your leg brushed against his side. “You know what I mean. We both want to.”

He blew out a tense breath. “You’re too-“

“I’m not too young, and I’m not drunk. I want you and this won’t be a mistake. At least not to me.” Doubt crept into your tone, but you pushed it down.

He didn’t respond. He only pushed open the lobby doors and went for the elevator. The ride passed in silence until it opened onto your floor, and you led him over to your door. “This is my stop.”

Conflicted, he bit down on the perfect fullness of his bottom lip. By the time you stilled your shaking hands and unlocked the door, he had made his decision.

Strong hands bracketed your waist, pushing you inside. You barely registered the sound of the door shutting, the lock clicking, before you were up against the peeling paint. He tasted like sugar and something smokey that probably filled his lungs during breaks. 

His lips were confident against yours, and hungry. His fingers too, squeezing and groping but staying above your dress.

You pulled away for a breath. “Fuck me.”

“I want to. I have wanted to,” he muttered, hardly pulling away to get the words out. “You’ve been teasing me for so long, showing up in shit like this…” Cassian’s hand skimmed up your thigh, slipping an inch past the line of your skirt. He rubbed the warm skin beneath and hoisted your leg to wrap around his waist. “You really feel the same?”

You kissed him. A wordless response that said so much more than words. He picked you the rest of the way up without breaking for a moment as he walked you to your bedroom. Thank the gods you had a queen. 

It took only a minute for him to strip you down and lay you out on the bed, then another minute to tear off everything he wore. Pink glitter and leather and denim and silk piled in heaps on the laminate. 

Cassian’s kisses strayed from your lips. Your jaw first, then your neck, and then an unreasonably long time at your shoulder. You were shaking by the time his face had trailed between your thighs.

He nestled against your clit, lapping with the flat of his tongue until you finally allowed yourself the pleasure of pulling his soft hair.

“Tease,” he murmured, sucking the little bud into his mouth. 

It was impossible to bite back your moans. “You’re the tease, just fuck me already.”

“I’m giving you time to change your mind…” You pulled harder on his hair in response, and he laughed. “Okay okay, you win.”

The feeling of his cock was like nothing else. Warm and thick, and the stretch was perfect after such a long year of nothing. 

Cassian moaned when your legs locked around his waist and pulled him deeper. It spurred him on until his thrusts were pounding, inching you closer and closer to the headboard. 

“You’re so fucking pretty, sweetheart. I have to pull out-“

You held on tighter. Did he really think you hadn’t planned for this? It was months in the making. 

His eyes widened, and then he groaned. “Fuck, you’ve got me all messed up.”

He sped up. He didn’t stop until you were panting and he was filling you with cum. 

For a while after, the only sound to be heard was panting. “You smell good,” he murmured against your throat before finally pulling away. 

“So do you, Sidra, right?”

“How do you know what cologne I wear?”

You smiled. “Lucky guess?”