#lightstock

part three: the couples

Anna and Ariadne

Alastair: You have brain damage

Christopher: Dog food doesn’t even taste like meat to be honest

anna lightwood & ariadne bridgestock  - the last hours

They all eyed Ariadne suspiciously as she approached Anna. Anna didn’t seem to see her at all; she was leaning back with one booted foot braced on the wall behind her. She was all lean black and white lines, her close-fitting jacket following the outline of her slim curves, her head thrown back as she laughed. Her ruby pendant glimmered in the hollow of her throat.

Keep your head up, Ariadne, she told herself. You can do this.

umm lolz I’ll try and sleep at some point but first let’s stock up on coffee and write pain, shall we?

7. (Angst) “Do you even still love me?”

ship: Ariadne x Anna

prompts

“May I speak to you, Anna?” said a soft voice.

She would recognize that voice anywhere, of course. Even among the dozens of girls in frilly dresses and pastels, she stood out. Ariadne Bridgestock, looking carved from marble in her unreachable beauty eyed Anna warily, seeming to notice the drink in her hand was not the first, and the surrounding girls were gaining interest.

Anna, perhaps more lost to the drink than she would admit, cocked a brow and said “wait in line.”

Rude, her mind tried to point out, and it was, oddly her mother’s voice in Anna’s head, warning her about politeness, and killing with kindness and whatever other nonsense she had been trained to believe.

Ariadne’s eyes fell to the glass once more, and she persisted.

“I would very much like a moment alone with you, Miss Lightwood,” she tried again, and Anna gave her a one shouldered shrug. She did not mind a moment alone with any willing young woman.

In something of a blur, Ariadne led Anna to a quieter corner of the party, though not out of eyesight of any other Shadowhunters, Anna noted dimly. When the other girl stopped, Anna saw her sway and thought Ariadne might fall, but when her arm found the wall, Anna discovered she had been the one to nearly collapse.

Mathew would laugh at her, now, if he saw. She was better than this usually, able to hold a drink and a partner with ease. But things were always different with Ariadne.

She leaned against the wall, trying to look casual and crossing her arms.

She did not look at Ariadne. She most definitely did not notice the curve of the other girl’s neck, the way her dark hair spilled down her back, the way her amber eyes seemed to glow. 

“Is there something you wish to say?” Anna asked, surprised that her words were not slurred.

“Yes, I have… a question for you,” she said tentatively, “although perhaps now is a bad time?”

“Any time is a good time when one wishes for it to be so,” Anna responded, unsure who, if anyone, had said that particular line.

“Right, then,” Ariadne said, and Anna had to glance away from the way the other girl seemed almost nervous, her eyes catching instead on two figures dancing at the ballroom’s center, a swirl of bright, fiery red and dark, inky black.

Cordelia and James, the Enclave’s new favorite couple. New love, they called it, true and full and passionate. Of course it was much easier to focus on that part when trying to distract oneself from one’s pains.

“Anna… do you even still love me?” her voice, which had been steady up to this point, seemed to break at the last syllable. 

Anna didn’t look at the girl, eyes still trained on the dancing couple, which were fading in and out of focus, becoming more blurs of color than anything else.

“Love,” she murmured, not sure if the words were coming from her own mouth, or someone else’s. “Love doesn’t exist. They look in love, don’t they?”

She nodded at the shapes as the dark one caught the light one in his arms, and the second laughed before they shared a kiss.

“I suppose,” Ariadne said, confused.

“They aren’t. No one is.” Anna said, almost thoughtfully, “People like to believe they have found love, they enjoy the illusion of it, but every facade falls eventually,”

“Surely someone is still in love,” Ariadne said meaningfully. Anna looked at her at last, the oval shape of her eyes, her long dark lashes, the way the amber color seemed to capture a person’s attention, almost frightfully.

ok so spoilers ahead, if u didn't finish chog don't read I'm warning just to be sure

anna doesn't believe Ariadne when she tells her she ll win anna back. she doesn't let herself hope because she knows it would only bring more heartbreak

she doesn't believe until one day, when ariadne starts leaving roses at her door

when she brings her gifts and asks her to tea and other outings

Anna still doesn't want to let herself hope, but seeing Ariadne smile at her and talk to her and straightforward flirt with her.... this slowly melts Anna's heart

Anna said she never courts dull girls, but for the first time ever she is the one being courted and it's such a new thing for her she finds herself looking forward to what ariadne will do next

it's a long and excruciating road for them but they make it work. and if Anna sometimes plays hard to get just to test Ariadne s patience because she finds Ariadne cute when she s mad no one has to know

they go into missions(patrols whatever) together and it's the best thing. they watch each other's back and if the night is quiet and no danger seems to be around they'll spend the night patroling and talking and laughing about everything and nothing at all

ariadne finally succeeds into wining anna back after a long time(read: Anna stops playing hard to get and admits Ariadne succeeded like 2 months ago but was too stubborn to admit it so soon) and they become the power couple™

sometimes they sneak out (bc being the inquisitor's only daughter makes it hard to get out the house by your own terms) and anna takes Ariadne to some of her bohemian places and she presents ariadne as her partner which makes everyone shocked bc anna never settles and look at her now with a whole girlfriend being in love

they babysit little alexander together and Cecily is so happy to see her daughter being happy

i think I have more but I can't form words rn so ask me tomorrow and I'll continue maybe

ANNA AND ARIADNE

ANNA AND ARIADNE

ANNA AND ARIADNE

Anna and Ariadne