ACOTAR - Imagines

Cassian-Mate

POV:

You and Cassian have been friends for your whole life but that all changes when you catch a Suriel and he tells you that Cassian is your mate. Before you can tell Cassian about it he meets Nesta and goes after her so you keep your mouth shut. Until...

Y/N  POV

You tighten your hands on the cup of hot chocolate, desperate for the heat to distract you, and look around at the happy faces sitting in Rhysand and Feyre's town house in Velaris. The light of the fire casts everything in a warm glow and makes him look even more beautiful. Your heart tightens as you watch him, his eyes fixed on Nesta, playful but serious. Apart from giving him a mean look every now and then-one he returns with and arrogant smirk-she ignores him. You know him well enough to see the uncertainty in his eyes, the uncertainty that the smirk and the arrogance is supposed to hide.

You sigh and swallow a big gulp of your drink. You hadn't told Cassian that you were mates, after you found out a month ago when you caught a Suriel. 

'The General of the High Lord's armies is your mate,' it had said. 

It had surprised you like nothing else ever had, and you had been excited; excited to tell Cassian and frightened to see his reaction. You and him had been friends ever since the day he introduced himself on the training grounds of the Illyrian Camp. You were only children back then, and had made a promise to never leave each others side. 'This will be a reminder of our promise,' Cassian had said as he dragged the blade of his knife across his open hand. 'A promise we are both bound to keep.' You replied as you took the knife from him and did the same across your right hand. You took each others bloody hand and shook, sealing the promise. Five hundred and twenty years later that promise still kept. That is, until you had found out that you were mates and Nesta had showed up and stolen all of Cassian's attention. It wasn't as if you hadn't each had your fair share of lovers throughout the years; but that was before you had found out about the mating situation. 

You remember rushing to House of Wind waiting to tell Cassian, and how you had stopped short when you saw Nesta and Elain Archeron sitting at the long dining room table, and had seen the look on Cassian's face as he studied Nesta; it was a look only you could see through his guarded features. 

After that day, you had resolved not to tell Cassian unless his situation with Nesta had changed. You loved him enough to want him to be happy, even if that meant that you would have to sit and watch that happiness from the outside.

But that didn't mean that you liked Nesta. In fact, you couldn't tolerate the way she treated Cassian, especially when you knew that everything she did and said to hurt him did-and in a way that hit deep. 

'Y/N?' Feyre snaps you back to the present. 

'Sorry,' You say when you notice everyone had their eyes on you. 'I got distracted.'

Everyone chuckles; everyone except Nesta who rolls her eyes. You notice this and frown. 'Something wrong Nesta?'

The room goes silent. 

'You're not the most present person are you.' She says picking at her nails. 

Every pair of eyes watched the exchange wryly. 

You glare at her. 'Does that bother you?'

'Y/N please-' Cassian tries but you interrupt him.

'I don't even know why you're here, when you clearly don't want to be; why come and sit here and judge me?'

Nesta watches your outburst with a cold face, her back a straight column.

'And another thing,' you continue, aware of everyone watching you with wide eyes. No, this was not normal behavior for you. 'Why do you keep pushing Cassian away when he so clearly wants to be with you? Why hurt him and torment him for no reason?!'

'Y/N!' Cassian hisses in you ear. He must have got up without you even noticing. He pulls you by the arm, leading you outside. It's freezing and you don't get a chance to grab your coat as Cassian practically shoves you outside. 

'What the hell was that about?' he demands, turning to you. 

You ignore him and stalk down the stairs of the townhouse and out into the street. You walk fast wrapping your thin cardigan around you, dragging every bit of lingering warmth from it that you can. Snow falls lightly from the night sky as you watch happy faces through the windows of Velaris; all pink and flushed with the cold, all smiling and bright. 

'Y/N!' Cassian comes up behind you and grabs your arm again. 'Stop, talk to me.'

'What do you want to talk about Cassian?' you demand, wrenching free from his grasp. 'Do you want to talk about how Nesta hates me for no reason? Or about how you can't stop staring at her despite the fact that she does nothing but hurt you. Or maybe you want to talk about how much it kills me to watch you stare at another female with that look in your eyes; how it breaks my heart to see you hurting over something like that when you deserve so much more.' You practically yell the last part and watch as surprise takes over Cassian's face.

'What are you talking about?' he says.

'You're my mate!' You say before you can stop yourself. Cassian watches you with an expression you can't decipher. It's quiet for a long moment, you and Cassian just standing staring at each other, snow falling around you, landing on both of your hair and eyelashes. 

Finally Cassian speaks. 'I know.' The words come out, quiet and brittle.

'What?' Now it's your turn to be shocked. 'How do you know?'

'I caught a Suriel as part of a mission about two months ago, he told me that the one who had been by my side for all of my life was the one I was meant to be with for the rest of it; that person was my mate. At first I thought it was Azriel and I...freaked out. But then I realized that it was you. You are the one who has been with me through thick and thin, through my mothers death and Amarantha and the War. You Are my mate.'

'But...why didn't you say anything?' you ask. This was certainly not how you though this conversation was going to go. 'Why didn't you tell me?'

'I was afraid,' he admits. 'I thought that you couldn't possibly love me because...well, you're amazing, and smart and beautiful. I didn't think you would want me.' He looks at the ground. 'So I distracted myself with anything that would take my mind off you, even Nesta. But, I couldn't stop thinking about you, no matter how drunk I got, or how hard I trained. You have infected my soul, like a disease that kills me and is yet my salvation.'

You stand, frozen. All that time you both wasted on fear and doubt. 'Cass,' You say. He doesn't look at you so you take a step closer to him and gently put your hand on his cheek. He leans into it, eyes closed, as if he doesn't believe this is real. 'Cassian look at me,' He slowly opens his eyes and looks into yours. 'I loved you even before I found out we were mates. I think I loved you on the first day we met, when you forced me to take a blade to my palm and seal a promise.' You both chuckle and unconsciously look at your right hands. Both have a long white scar stretching from one side of your hands to the other. 

Silently, you take each others hand, entwining your fingers together. 'I love you too,' he says and you feel tears burn your eyes. He takes your face with his free hand and leans down connecting your lips. His lips are warm against yours, soft yet claiming. You belonged to each other; a promise made by two young children that carried through centuries, broken by nothing and no one. 

You pulls away and rests his forehead against your own. You can feel the cold seeping through your clothes, chilling you down to your bones as your teeth start to chatter. Cassian pulls away, noticing your state and shrugs off his thick coat wrapping you in it. 'Thanks,' you mutter and he kisses your head. 

'Let's go back inside yeah?' he says and you start making your way back to the house. 

'So,' you tease. 'You really thought Azriel was your mate?' 

'That stays between us,' Cassian replies, his cheeks going red. 'They will never let me hear the end of it if they found out.'

You giggle. 'Fine, it can be our little secret.' 

He laughs and pulls you in for another kiss.

Hey guys! Soooo I may or may not have gotten carried away with this one but I really loved the idea so whatever, you get a longer update :) Thank you to @delanee415 for the prompt<3 Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed this imagine ( I sure did ) comment what and who you want to see next xx