The Bargain
Pairing: Azriel x Reader
Summary: During a high-stakes negotiation, you and Azriel are forced to pose as a mated couple to win the trust of a powerful court. But when he kisses you in public, it doesn’t feel like pretending anymore.
Word Count: 1,077
Warnings: None
✩⁺₊✩☽⋆⋆☾✩⁺₊✩ ✩⁺₊✩☽⋆⋆☾✩⁺₊✩ ✩⁺₊✩☽⋆⋆☾✩⁺₊✩
Azriel stood beside you, his shadows curling possessively around your wrist as the Lord of Autumn Court scrutinized the two of you with cool, assessing eyes. The entire room smelled of embers and dying leaves, the air thick with unspoken challenges.
“You expect me to trust you?” the Lord sneered, sipping from his goblet of wine. “The Night Court, the infamous spymaster, and his…” He let his gaze flicker to you, unimpressed.
Azriel didn’t so much as blink, but his shadows darkened. “My mate,” he said smoothly, his voice devoid of hesitation. “And the only reason I’m entertaining this conversation at all.”
Your heart slammed against your ribs. Mate?
That hadn’t been part of the plan.
The Autumn Lord’s eyes narrowed, looking between the two of you like a predator sniffing out weakness. “Your mate?”
Azriel’s hand found yours, his calloused fingers threading through your own with practiced ease, like he’d done it a thousand times. His thumb brushed over your skin, once. A silent trust me.
You forced a smirk onto your lips, playing along. “Is that a problem?” you purred, tilting your head like you were amused by the skepticism. “I’d think you of all people would know how powerful a mated bond can be.”
The Lord’s expression tightened just slightly, and you knew you’d struck a nerve.
Azriel pulled you closer, his body heat a stark contrast to the cool shadows that always clung to him. He leaned in, his lips brushing your ear as he whispered, “He’s watching for a crack. Don’t give him one.”
You turned your head slightly, just enough for your breath to ghost over Azriel’s cheek. If this bargain was going to work, it needed to be convincing.
So you reached up, resting your free hand on his chest—right over the steady, unshaken beat of his heart.
And then you kissed him.
It was meant to be quick. A brush of lips, a show of devotion, nothing more. But Azriel—silent, unreadable, controlled Azriel—didn’t let you pull away so easily. His hand slid to your waist, fingers tightening as he deepened the kiss, slow and deliberate. The kind of kiss that told the room there was no question, no lie.
Your head spun. You barely registered the approving hum of the Autumn Lord.
When Azriel finally pulled back, his lips hovered over yours, his breathing steady despite the way yours was anything but.
“You’re both dismissed,” the Lord said with a wave of his hand. “I’ll consider your offer.”
Azriel nodded, murmuring a quiet my Lord before tugging you from the room, his grip firm on your hand. You didn’t speak until you were far enough down the winding halls, shadows pooling around the corners of the stone.
You yanked your hand free. “What the hell was that?”
Azriel, ever composed, simply looked at you. “A necessary deception.”
“A mate bond?” You huffed, crossing your arms. “I thought we were pretending to be courting, not mated.”
He didn’t answer immediately. His hazel eyes studied your face, as if gauging something unspoken. “Would it have been so unbelievable?”
You opened your mouth. Closed it.
Azriel took a slow step closer, his shadows curling over your shoulder this time, lighter, lingering. “You kissed me back.”
"You're the one who didn't let me pull away," you countered, pulse racing. "I may have started it, but you sure as hell made it something else entirely."
His lips twitched. “Do you regret it?”
His expression didn’t change, but something in his gaze shifted—something that made your stomach flip.
“Would you rather I hadn’t?” he asked, voice low, unreadable.
You swallowed hard. “That’s not the point.”
“Isn’t it?” He took another step, close enough that you could feel the heat radiating off him. “Tell me to forget it, and I will.” His voice was soft, but there was an edge beneath it, something almost… vulnerable. “Tell me it meant nothing, and I’ll let it go.”
Your throat went dry. Because you knew what he was asking, what he was really saying.
If you told him it was a lie, he would believe you. Even if he knew better.
You opened your mouth—to say what, you weren’t sure—but Azriel exhaled sharply, as if giving up before you even spoke.
“Forget it,” he muttered, stepping back. The distance was instant, suffocating. “It was a means to an end.”
Something in you snapped.
“Bullshit.”
Azriel stilled.
Your heart thundered as you took a step forward, closing the space he’d tried to put between you. “You didn’t have to hold me like that. You didn’t have to kiss me like that.” Your voice wavered, but you didn’t back down. “Tell me it didn’t mean anything to you, and I’ll walk away. Right now.”
Silence.
His jaw clenched. His wings flared slightly, shadows restless at his feet.
And then—Azriel moved.
One moment there was space between you. The next, you were caged between his arms as he backed you against the cold stone wall, his chest pressed to yours, his hands braced beside your head.
“I can’t,” he admitted, voice raw, quiet. “I can’t tell you that.”
Your breath caught.
Azriel’s fingers brushed along your jaw, tilting your chin up. His shadows wrapped around your waist, curling, anchoring. “I don’t want to pretend.” His hazel eyes burned into yours. “Not anymore.”
You didn’t realize you were holding your breath until it escaped in a shaky exhale.
“Then don’t,” you whispered.
A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face. His fingers tightened slightly, as if bracing himself. And then—
Azriel kissed you.
Not for a ruse, not for an audience, not as part of some deception.
This was for you.
And it was everything.
The world faded. The only thing that existed was the warmth of his body, the way his lips claimed yours with quiet desperation, the way his hands slid to your waist, gripping like he had no intention of letting go this time.
When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against yours, his breath uneven. “This isn’t how I wanted to tell you,” he murmured.
You smiled, tracing a finger over his chest. “You have a terrible way of communicating, Shadowsinger.”
A soft chuckle rumbled through him. “I’ll make it up to you.”
You grinned. “Damn right, you will.”
Azriel kissed you again, slower this time, like he had all the time in the world.
And for the first time, neither of you had to pretend.
