The Bargain

Chapter 20

~AZRIEL~

The next month seemed to fly by in a flash. Gwyn was busy rehearsing like a madwoman to get ready for the Winter Solstice Showcase. Professor Tanwyn had supported her in the decision to sing one of her original songs, and while that meant extra work, late nights, and a few frantic last second rehearsal sessions, Azriel knew it was the right call. The song was written about Catrin, for Catrin. Gwyn was going to carry her sister with her onto the stage and wow the audience.

And while Azriel had mourned the loss of all her free time, the truth was, he had very little of his own. Coach had doubled down on his efforts to get the Warriors to the championship this season. No, not just to the championship, but to win the championship. Coach scheduled extra ice time for the team, made sure that everyone was hitting the gym for conditioning, and all but tied Azriel into a seat and ordered him to watch tape of their upcoming opponents. And as captain, Az needed to be doing more than everyone else on the team, setting the example.

Thankfully his mother seemed to be doing better. She hadn't fallen again, no dizzy spells to speak of, and her appetite was slowly returning. She still had bad days here and there, but Azriel was beginning to have hope. She was going to kick cancer's sorry ass.

Az and Gwyn stole whatever time they could to be together. Study sessions continued to keep them both on track in Merrill's course. But they inevitably seemed to be derailed by wandering hands; more often than not Gwyn's rather than his. She kept saying that just had to get through the Showcase and then things would calm down. But right after the Showcase there were finals, so Azriel wasn't too hopeful that their schedules would magically free up.

Winter break was on the horizon, and apart from daily practices and a few games, Azriel didn't have plans. Rhys would be going home to visit his family. Cassian would be joining Az and his mom for Solstice in Windhaven. His own mother had passed away a few years ago, but Azriel's mom was more than happy to welcome a second son into her home whenever Cassian needed one.

Azriel had been casually fishing for Gwyn's winter break plans all week. It seemed they all hinged on her parents and whether they were going to another couple's retreat. He could tell it bothered Gwyn, to watch the two of them chase down a way to fix what they believed was broken when she had been standing right in front of them bleeding. Morning the child they lost rather than caring for the one they still had. Nesta had suggested that Gwyn screw them and come spend the break with her. She said she needed a distraction for her younger sisters, but Gwyn didn't seem fully sold on Solstice with Nesta.

Azriel had been nurturing a plan to get her to spend the break at the townhouse with him. Well, him and Cassian, but he didn't think his brother's presence was a huge selling point. At least it wasn't a detractor though. Gwyn and Cassian seemed to be forming a friendship of sorts, unlike Cassian and Nesta who either hated each other's guts or were locked in the strangest mating ritual known to man.

But as Azriel walked to the VU performing arts center, a bouquet of lilies in his hand, he realized that he should just ask her to spend Winter break with him. He wanted her there with him, desperately. And he also wanted to know that he had been her choice; that she hadn't stayed with him because her parent's flaked on her or she decided that she didn't want to be the buffer between Nesta and her sisters. He was to ask her to stay with him tonight after the show.

The auditorium was nearly full by the time he arrived, but thankfully he had a front row seat waiting for him. It turned out that when your girlfriend is the favorite student of the head of the performing arts department and you let said department head know you wanted to surprise your girlfriend by sitting in the front row, you could get a reserved seat to the hottest ticket in town. Well, after VU hockey of course. Azriel wasn't above bragging, but there was no denying that the Warriors were looking very promising. But tonight wasn't about him. It was about her.