#it's mostly fluff

Day 8

“I’m Gwyneth. Gwyn. It’s very nice to meet you,” she shook the hand that he had extended to her after introducing himself. Ithan thanked all the Gods above that he had not gaped at her again like a fool. He had been bracing himself for a conversation with her since he caught a glimpse of her bright hair as she was entering the Prime’s office.

“So, you are new here?” he asked as though he had not already secretly asked everyone at the Den for information about her. He had learned that Gwyneth had just arrived in Lunathion with the intention of settling here. Her grandparents were apparently related to the Prime himself. What had struck Ithan the most had been learning that she was a lone wolf, just like he had been before, even if he was now the only wolf in his pack consisting of an angel, some Fae, a mer, a deer shifter and even a dragon and some fire sprites.

“I am. I live near the Old Square, a few blocks away from the White Raven.”

“Really?” he replied a bit too excitedly before clearing his voice and continuing more calmly. “I mean, I live near the Old Square too.”

The smile that spread on her face could have rivaled the sun ahead. “That’s great. Um… maybe we’ll cross path someday. I mean…” she rambled. Was she nervous too? Ithan thought.

“Not that we aren’t already crossing paths at the Den already,” she added with a laugh while indicating the building behind them.

Ithan noticed the way that she was twisting a strand of hair between her fingers and how she could not stand still. She was nervous too. Somehow, that made him a little less tense.

He has admitted to Gwyn, months and months later, that their encounter on that day had not been accidental at all. He had confessed that he might have forsaken more urgent matters to wait until she would leave the Prime’s office. The tongue-lashing he had gotten from his roommates for being late for what they had planned later that day had been totally worth it.

***

Day 10

“Hello there,” a melodious voice drawled behind him. Ithan turned on the stool he was sitting on at the bar of the White Raven to find Gwyn smiling at him.

If he was not already seated, his first look at her would have made him fall on his ass. Gwyn was glowing in a green velvet dress that clung to her and accentuated all the dips and curves of her body. The makeup she had dusted on her eyelids sparkled beneath the flashing lights of the club, making it impossible not to look at her eyes.

“You look…” damn him and his habit of being speechless in her presence. “You are…” he tried and failed again.

Gwyn erupted in laughter at his flustered state. “I think I will take that as a compliment,” she said as she sat on the empty stool beside him.

“Sorry,” Ithan shook his head, “You are stunning.” Phew. See? That wasn’t so hard to say, he thought.

Gwyn’s cheeks started to flush and Ithan was momentarily mesmerised by the way it made her freckles stand out. “Thank you. And you are very handsome as well.”

Ithan was certain that the heat spreading across his face was close to turning him as red as her hair. Gwyn ordered three drinks and turned back to him.

‘’They’re not all for me,’’ she explained when she noticed his raised eyebrows. She pointed at a blond Fae and a brunette angel on the dance floor. ‘’I came with my sisters.’’

His face must have given away his puzzlement concerning her odd family because Gwyn snorted then proceeded to tell him about her chosen sisters.

A drink was placed in front of him. But instead of making his way towards his table where his own found family was, Ithan stayed at the bar, chatting with Gwyn over the loud music. Either her sisters had forgotten about their drinks, or they did not want to cut their conversation short because, as they talked and talked, Gwyn ended up drinking all three cocktails she had ordered while Ithan kept ordering more for himself. He only took note of the time when he turned around at some point and found that all those he had come with were already gone.

That night, Ithan had talked more than he ever had with anyone else in his entire life. He remembers vividly how she had been the only thing on his mind when he was staring at his ceiling before he fell asleep in the early morning. He had a crush on Gwyn. One that went from little to massive in a matter of one training session with the Aux.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Harley faintly registered that he was bleeding. “I’m fine. Just let me-” The mop and broom were in the closet two feet to his left. It wouldn’t take long to clean. 

As he bent down to pick up the larger pieces of glass, he noticed the price tag still on the bottle. $5 isn’t that much. It was replaceable. He could just go out and buy a new thing. 

“You’re bleeding!” 

He paused briefly at the sound of Peter’s voice. “Everything’s fine, I’ll buy you a new one.”

“A new what? Harley, give me your hand.”

That’s when he noticed the gash across three of his fingers. “Huh.”

Peter wrapped a towel around it to try and stop the bleeding. “You’re okay. It’s gonna be okay. I think we have band-aids in the bathroom cupboard.”

“I broke the-”

“I saw. Watch your step, I don’t want you to hurt yourself again.”

“But I-”

“Blood comes before other spilled fluids, sweetheart. Focus on me for a minute please.”

He ran his hand under the faucet, and Harley watched his blood run thin. “I don’t know how to fix it.”

“We’re fixing your hand right now, see? The bleeding is already slowing down. Once we get you all patched up, you’re gonna be fine.”

“No the- the bottle.”

Peter frowned. “Honey, you don’t need to fix it. If the smell is bothering you, we can mop it up and air out the room-”

Harley flinched when Peter wrapped a bandage around the worst part of the cut. “What about the- the um.” He took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. “I don’t know how to save it. Make sure it doesn’t go to waste.”

“Go to waste? Harles, that doesn’t matter. What were you looking for anyways?”

“Cold medicine.”

“Are you sick?” Peter held his wrist up to Harley’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm.”

“No, it's just a runny nose and sneezing, but the sinus pressure hurts really bad. You could tap my brain like a maple tree and it’d all drip out like syrup.”

“Harley!”

“What?”

Peter sighed. “I’m not leaving you alone for the rest of the day. And I’m keeping you away from sharp objects. I love you, but you’re a health hazard.” He pouted, and Peter ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll finish mopping up and I’ll get you the medicine okay? Then we can talk about what just happened and watch movies for the rest of the day so you can nap.”

He nodded, and his gaze landed on the bloodied towel next to the sink. “That’s gonna be a bitch to get out.”

“Like we haven’t had to get blood out of towels before. We’re both disasters, babe.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I forgive you. Go pick out a movie and grab some blankets please.”

~~~

“Indiana Jones okay?”

“Raiders or Last Crusade?”

“Last Crusade.”

“Oh you really don’t feel good, huh?”

Harley had his head resting on the arm of the couch. “It’s not like it’s Back to the Future III bad. Or even Night at the Museum bad for that matter.”

“Oh no, heaven forbid.” Peter tapped his leg. “Sit up, dollface. Need to give you your meds.”

He grumbled a little, but sat up anyways, staring at the mug in Peter’s hand. “Don’t tell me you’re giving me that one concoction that made me sleep for 36 hours.”

Peter laughed. “Okay, one: that shit knocked out your bronchitis in less than a week with no antibiotics. It worked really well, but I don’t think what you have is that severe. Two: I have normal cough medicine that will put you out for a few hours and take away the pressure. This is just normal tea.”

“With honey?”

“You can’t put me in tea, dear.”

“You know what I mean, you ass.”

“There is honey in it, yes. Now hit play, and once you finish your tea, you can nap.”

Harley downed the medicine with a grimace and started sipping on the tea. “Thank you.”

“No problem, babe. You wanna tell me what happened back there?”

He sighed, and let out a shuddery breath. “Bad brain day I guess. I wasn’t really paying much attention since I just wanted to find the medicine and take a nap. Then I dropped the bottle and heard my mom yelling about wasting her money on me. Felt shitty, wanted to fix it, and hurt myself instead. It’s fine, it happens.”

“It does happen, but that’s not fine. You shouldn’t have to deal with that.”

“Yeah, well,” he trailed off. “I just kept telling myself that it wasn’t that expensive, that I could buy a new one and it would be fine, we could forget even if I wasted something, but that thought is always there, you know?”

“I know, and it probably won’t go away even if you work on it, but I love you, and I don’t care about some stupid vanilla thing. Honestly, that just made me think that maybe we should reorganize so it doesn’t happen again. Or buy fewer breakable things. Probably both.”

Harley gave him a ghost of a smile and set his mostly-finished tea on the coffee table. “Where did we put the heating pad?”

“Under the couch.”

“Thank you.” Once he found it, he flipped it on and tucked it underneath his blanket. “C’mon, sugar. You know I’m a clingy bastard when I’m sick.”

“If you get me sick, I’m getting a divorce.”

“We’re not even married yet.”

“I’ll marry you just to divorce you.”

“Like hell you will! Oh wait, can you hand me the remote? I think I just missed my favorite part.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “How many times have you seen this?”

“Probably too many.”

“Jesus Christ, I can’t believe I even want to marry you in the first place.”

“Don’t lie. You like me for my devilish- achoo- charm.”

He shook the couch with his laugh. “And for your devastatingly handsome looks.” Peter rumpled his hair and admired Harley’s flushed face as he handed him the tissue box. “Oh, you poor baby. Just relax, Harles. The meds should kick in any second now.”

“Shush, I can’t hear the movie!”