Nightfall {An Azriel (ACOTAR) FanFic}

Chapter 14

When he didn't see Pip the next morning, Azriel's worry grew and he searched the house for his mate. Heart was with Feyre and playing with Nyx when Azriel walked in and rapped his knuckles against the door.

Both females looked up and Feyre smiled at him, "Hello, Azriel."

He greeted her in return and frowned at Heart when she avoided eye contact with him. "Can I speak with you, Heart?" He jerked his chin towards the hallway and she slowly got to her feet.

Outside, he said, "Is Pip okay? This is the second day of me not seeing him."

Heart nodded, "He's fine. Just a mild fever. Don't worry, he should be fine by the evening if he rests."

"Pippor has a fever and you didn't even tell me?" The spymaster shook his head in disbelief.

"It's not a high fever. I know he will be okay." She deflected answering his question.

"Heart." Azriel sighed. "I understand that you're used to it being just you and Pip." He cupped her face and she melted into the touch. "I know that you're not used to telling people when something is wrong and you're struggling but I'm your mate. Pip is as much my responsibility as he is yours." He stroked her cheek with his thumb and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Just tell me when something is wrong the next time. I would appreciate it."

Heart closed her eyes and nodded. "I didn't want to make anyone worried."

"Of course, I'm worried. I love Pip." Azriel whispered. "I would be more worried if you never told me why I can't see him."

She pulled back from him, "I will tell you the next time. He's in our bedroom but he's awake."

"I'm going to sit by his side for a while." He informed her and took a step away.

"Don't keep him up for too long." She warned him and he smiled reassuringly.

"I won't."

Only his dark little head was sticking out from under the blanket as Pip kicked his sheets. Azriel sneaked up to him and watched him struggle with the blanket that was too large for him before yanking it away. Pip jumped up and stared at the winged male for a second before frowning angrily.

"That was rude, shadow man." He flopped back onto the bed and buried his sweaty face under a pillow.

"Sorry. I was just trying to help." He smiled and gently spread out the blanket on top of the little boy. "I missed you."

Pip craned his neck up from the pillow, "I missed you too. Mum said I could see you after I stopped being so tired."

Azriel chuckled and sat on the bed by his side, "You have a fever but you will be fine soon and you can see me whenever you want to."

Pip yawned and nodded, "But I was so, so tired. I couldn't even walk."

Azriel's face softened as he pulled Pip into his lap and brushed his fingers through his hair. "Just ask for me next time and I'll carry you around."

"Being carried around is nice. That's why I don't want to grow up. Then, nobody will carry me around." He frowned as if deeply offended and muzzled his head against Azriel's chest.

The spymaster chuckled, "I'll try my best to carry you around for as long as I can."

"Good." Pip wrapped his tiny fingers around Azriel's scarred hand. "I hate walking. Mum does too but she's a grown up so she has to walk around. Nobody is going to carry her."

Azriel raised his eyebrows, "I could. I have wings."

"Oh, yes!" Pip's eyes lit up. "You could fly. Can Nyx fly too?"

"Not yet." Az shook his head. "His wings are too small and he's a baby. But one day, he will learn."

"I wish I had wings." Pip mumbled miserably.

"I'll take you flying around with me once you get well. Right now, the wind is cold and you have a fever." He pulled up Pip's blanket and rested his back against the headboard. "Until then, you can look at the city from up here."

Pip peered up at him through his lashes, "Does everyone look small when you're flying?" He curiously glanced at the spymaster.

"If I'm flying up high, yes. Mostly they don't look too small." Az explained to the boy who had taken to staring at him from his lap.

"It must be so much fun." Pip mumbled in amazement. "Maybe I'll throw something at people I don't like too."

"We do not throw things at people while flying." Azriel held in his laugh.

"Why not?" Pip shrugged. "If I don't like them, they need to know that."

"I'm sure we can look for better ways to let them know that." Azriel was far too entertained in Pip's company and decided to kick off his boots and lay down by his side. "Maybe you can just ignore them."

"Or you can punch them for me." Pip suggested. "Until I learn how to throw a punch, obviously."

Az sucked on his teeth, "I can do that. However, Heart might find it a bit excessive." He pouted at Pip. "I'm trying really hard to get her to like me."

"She does like you." Pip tilted his head to a side. "When I get scared at night, I always call out to her because I love her. Last night, when I woke up, she was mumbling your name in her sleep."

"Was she, now?" Azriel raised his eyebrows.

Pip nodded rapidly. "I think she is scared of the night. There were all these big, scary people who used to take her away from me every night and bring her back in the morning." Az's heart grew heavy at the mention of that but Pip, oblivious to that, went on, "I once saw the room where they took her. It was very small and very cold. Mum hates the cold. They shouldn't have put her there."

Azriel smiled sadly at him and kissed the top of his head, "No, they shouldn't have. But she's not going to be cold ever again so it's okay." To deflect the conversation, he cradled Pip closer to himself, "Do you want to talk about something else?"

"I want to hear a story. I'm sleepy." Pip looked at him with large, shiny eyes and it broke his heart to tell Pip that he didn't know any stories. Absolutely scandalized by this, Pip immediately took to forcing Az to close his eyes and lay down because his mum had told him the most amazing story about a brave knight and a lovely princess.

As predicted, Az never got to hear about the lovely princess because the narrator dozed off mid-way into the story. He rested his face against Pip's head and felt the slow but steady intake of breath until the door creaked open and he saw a dark headed female enter.

Heart silently drew closer and inspected Pip by pressing her palm to his forehead. "He seems fine now." She mumbled. "You can go if you have work to do. I was up all night so I'm going to take a nap anyway."

Az weighted the advantages of staying there versus going away and quietly whispered, "I think I'll stay for a little longer."

Heart looked from him to Pip once and nodded. She carefully climbed onto the bed and pulled the blanket on top of herself. Taking a silver pin out of her hair, she let them fall in loose curls that fell over her shoulders and cascaded down her back. She had only just put her head on the pillow when Pip whined in his sleep and she rubbed his back. After he rolled back into deep slumber, Heart yawned softly and closed her eyes.

Feeling nowhere near sleepy, Azriel peacefully laid on his back with Pip slumbering on his chest and Heart resting a hand on top of his that was on Pip's back. Much later, when the late afternoon sun was slowly nearing a deep red, he too was pulled under the thick blanket of sleep.