And This Is One Of The Dynamics In It - Tumblr Posts
okay i think about adaine and fabian being childhood friends a lot and i ALSO think about them fake dating because adaine’s parents are pushy and she’s the second child, the burden, the one that they’ll pawn off to the highest bidder the soonest chance they get. and fabian isn’t full elf, but his mother’s family is important in fallinel and yeah, okay, seacaster money is probably full of more blood than the average human, but money is money in the eyes of the abernants. and adaine asks him to date her, because she’s afraid of who her parents will give her too if she’s unattached, and fabian loves her, (but not like that) so of course he obliges. (and perhaps a part of him is using her to hide, too, because he’s noticed his tastes are far outside of what’s expected of him and adaine needs him to be strong, for the both of them, so he pushes those feelings aside to protect her and can’t help but feel guilty for protecting himself, too). just these two bonding over feeling trapped in their families and protecting each other whenever and wherever they can.
fabian giving adaine his jacket, the first thing she’s ever worn that’s not a prep-school uniform. finding security in each other. adaine casting magic to protect, divining fabian’s fate and promising that no matter how stormy the seas, she’ll always be there to guide him. that he’ll always conquer it and sail into the sun as it sets into the horizon. adaine being terrified of the water and fabian swearing to her that he’ll never let her fall in. that he’d dive after her the moment she falls in. fabian standing tall when she’s afraid, shielding her with charm and muscles and a tight-knuckled grip on his rapier. going to stuffy coming of age balls and making their obligatory appearance on the dancefloor, and fabian is a graceful fighter but adaine has never seen him more beautiful than the moment his favorite waltz comes on.
fabian teaching her how to wield a rapier, because magic surely can’t do everything, adaine. adaine’s first punch is thrown at him and she misses by a mile, but fabian falls to the ground like she socked him square in the jaw (and her second punch strikes true, in the middle of his chest, not nearly as strong as it could be and making him feel lighter than air). just these two finding levity and life in one another. just adaine and fabian man.