Snowdrop

Vax’ildan has been enjoying this calm life he has, a reward for a job well-done. When the time came, he gave himself in to fulfill his promise, but the Matron of Ravens felt his presence was still needed here, in Exandria, and so it has been for ten years.

It’s truly the most mundane things for him: cooking dinner for his girls, cleaning up the kitchen at the end of the day, chasing the cat around to get whatever bug she caught that day, watering plants and doing dishes with the golden sunset light warming his skin. It is the quietness of this moment—the water running, warm on his calloused hands—that makes Vax realize… it’s too quiet. 

Vax’ildan curses himself for his thoughts. Everyone knows the moment one says or thinks that “it’s too quiet”, chaos ensues. And, unfortunately for Vax, this is exactly what happens.

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Be In My Eyes - Chapter 25

Keyleth was so exhausted after a day of classes that had run later than usual thanks to a stupid group project her teacher had assigned, that by the time she got home, everyone in apartment 7B was either already asleep or out partying. She considered going to bed right away without eating dinner but her stomach growled loudly to remind her she hadn’t had anything to eat in almost eight hours, so Keyleth ignored the scream of her muscles as she crossed the kitchen to reach the fridge. According to the calendar on the door, it had been Vax’s turn to make dinner, and if Keyleth knew him well enough, he would have left her serving in a tupperware for her to heat when she got home. Seeing that she was the only vegetarian in the apartment, Keyleth often had to make her own meals on the side whenever it was other people’s turn to cook, but Vax—so kind and caring—always made sure to cook something different for Keyleth so she wouldn’t have to. It never failed to warm her heart to see Vax set a plate in front of her at dinner, not because he made the effort to use different proteins for her—sometimes even going as far as making a full meal for Keyleth—but because Vax went above and beyond to look up vegetarian recipes, seasoning techniques to make the food taste better, and, above all, Vax always cooked without Keyleth asking him to, and most of the time without her knowing (as if Keyleth needed any more reasons to fall for Vax). Just as Keyleth expected, there was a glass container with a post-it note on the lid waiting for her, which she promptly read: Missed you at dinner. I really loved this recipe, let me know what you think. – Vax <3

Waiting for the food to heat was torture, but Vax’s handwriting on the post-it note was worth coming home late. It meant more to Keyleth than just dinner, and she knew it meant just as much to Vax. “Why is he so perfect?” Keyleth mumbled, walking into the laundry room where she dumped her sodden socks in her hamper. She hated doing laundry this late, especially when she was so tired, but she really needed the pair of pants she had bought at lunch the day before. The party at Glorious was the next night, and Keyleth was excited to see her roommates’ reactions—a certain someone in particular—when they saw what she was wearing (although Keyleth still hadn’t figured out how she was going to steal her victim’s clothes). 

The answer came to Keyleth unexpectedly when she was about to switch her laundry. Someone had forgotten to empty the dryer, and just her luck, from the looks of it, it was the person she needed to forget their clothes the most. Keyleth did what any good roommate would do and carefully folded her roommate’s clothes and set them on top of the dryer before she put her clothes in the dryer. What if one of her roommate’s t-shirts accidentally found itself mingled with Keyleth’s clothes? She hadn’t seen it bunched up in the corner of the dryer when she added her clothes, and she especially didn’t notice it the next morning, until she was folding and putting away everything. Only one thing left to steal. Keyleth chuckled. 

Keyleth doesn't get horny. It's not that she doesn't like sex, because she does. She likes sex with Vax, specifically, the only kind of sex she knows, because he makes it fun and because she likes seeing how happy and relaxed it makes him and because she swears he knows her body better than she does, the way he's able to pull sounds and sensations from her that she'd never have known she was capable of.

No, Keyleth likes sex. She just never...seeks it out. It's an out of sight, out of mind kind of thing. She's got a thousand things on her plate these days, so much going on and so many people counting on her, that if Vax weren't there to kiss slowly down her neck as she finishes her reading for the next day's meeting or run his hands along her waist while she gets changed, she probably would forget sex existed altogether.

Which is what makes this so strange. There was a terrible accident at a bakery in the wee hours of the morning, an oven malfunction that resulted in two-thirds of the building burning near to ash before the flames could be stamped out. Much of Zephrah has gathered to help, clearing out debris and helping the air genasi family that owns the bakery recover what they can from the wreckage. Keyleth and Vax were among the first on the scene, having been woken with the news by a Blade, and in the intervening hours, they've managed to organize what will become the rebuilding efforts.

Be In My Eyes - Chapter 19

Glorious was already packed and loud when the girls arrived, partially due to the rope at the bottom of the stairs closing the access to the dancefloor on the first floor. Thankfully for them, Vex’ahlia spotted a stray empty tall table in a corner not far from the bar. It wasn’t the biggest table, but they could all easily fit around it. Gilmore was serving students behind the busy counter, his dark hair tied into a braid decorated with purple and golden beads that swung around as he moved. He wore less opulent clothes than usual, having opted for a purple flowy shirt and khaki pants, something that would allow him more freedom of movement for the night. Not far from him was another man, younger in looks, maybe around the girls’ age, if not just a couple of years older, serving the other half of the bar patrons. He had dirty blonde hair tied into a ponytail and wore a tight black long-sleeved shirt with jeans. There was a charm to his smile and attitude that gathered a lot of fawning patrons of all genders to his side of the bar, something that he seemed to be reveling in.

Vex offered to pay for the first round of drinks, and from where they were sitting, Keyleth and Pike witnessed the biggest charming competition as their friend tried to flirt with the new barman—probably trying to get free or discounted drinks—at the same time as he tried to flirt with her. When she returned to the table, holding three drinks, her expression changed drastically to annoyance.

“Here are your drinks, ladies.” Vex set the glasses on the table harder than she intended, making Pike’s beer spill a little as her friend grabbed the glass.

“I take it that didn’t go according to plan?” Pike asked, licking the spilled beer from her hand. Vex’s look was all the answer she needed, so she raised her glass above the middle of the table and tried to diffuse the situation. “Cheers!”

“To girls’ night,” Keyleth tried with a soft smile at Vex, who shrugged her shoulders and clinked her Margarita glass with her friends’ drinks.

“To no dumb boys.”