Aelric.exe has stopped working

Aelric froze.

What.

WHAT.

WHAT!?

Aelric seized up. His wings fluttered so violently they nearly knocked him off the bed.

"You—you—you—LIKE ME?!" he shrieked, voice cracking spectacularly.

Bronn's smug smile was illegal. "Yes."

Aelric's soul left his body.

"But—But—You didn't like me two years ago!"

Bronn raised a brow. "Yeah. And?"

"And—and—when did this happen?!"

Bronn shrugged. "I don't know."

Aelric collapsed onto the bed, utterly defeated. "Oh, gods. This is a nightmare."

"Your nightmare is getting what you want?"

"Yes!" Aelric wailed. "There was supposed to be tension! Forbidden love! Years of unresolved feelings! This is TOO EASY."

Bronn leaned over him, pinning Aelric to the bed with an infuriatingly amused smirk.

"Would you rather I play hard to get?" he murmured, voice just teasing enough to make Aelric's brain short-circuit.

Aelric squeaked.

His wings fluttered violently.

"No," he whispered.

Bronn chuckled. "Good. Because I have no intention of letting you run away again."

Aelric stared up at him, completely and utterly doomed.

"…This is unfair."

Bronn grinned, sharp and wicked.

"Too bad," he said.

Then, with absolutely no warning, he leaned down—and kissed him.

Aelric died on the spot.

Aelric.exe has stopped working

Aelric's brain shut down. Completely.

His wings gave one final pitiful twitch before he collapsed.

Bronn pulled back, studying the frozen fairy with amusement. "Are you breathing?"

No response.

The vampire waved a hand in front of Aelric's blank, wide-eyed stare.

Still nothing.

Bronn sighed. "Did I just kill you?"

Aelric gasped dramatically as if coming back to life.

"YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT!" he screeched, slapping both hands over his mouth, wings flaring in panic.

Bronn blinked. "Kiss you?"

"YES! WITHOUT WARNING!"

The vampire smirked. "Would you prefer a warning next time?"

"NEXT TIME?!"

Bronn laughed. "Well, yeah. If we're dating now—"

Aelric squeaked.

He squeaked.

Like a tiny, frightened mouse.

He scrambled backward on the bed so fast he fell off.

Bronn winced at the thud. "…You okay?"

Aelric shot up, pointing an accusatory finger. "WHO SAID WE'RE DATING?!"

Bronn tilted his head. "Didn't we just establish that?"

"NO! NO, WE DID NOT!" Aelric paced, flailing. "Just because I confessed doesn't mean we're suddenly together!"

Bronn raised a brow. "You literally demanded that I take responsibility."

Aelric's soul left his body.

He had said that.

"Oh gods," he whispered. "Oh, I'm an idiot."

Bronn grinned. "So, boyfriend—"

Aelric screamed.

He dived for the door again.

Bronn caught him again.

This time, the vampire just sat down on the bed, effortlessly trapping Aelric on his lap like a very agitated pet.

"Let me go!" Aelric squirmed, wings flapping furiously.

"No."

"You—You smug, infuriating—how dare you handle me like some kind of pet?!"

Bronn leaned in, his breath cool against Aelric's ear.

"You're warm," he murmured, voice teasing. "And tiny. And dramatic."

Aelric short-circuited.

"I AM NOT A PET!"

"Mm." Bronn tucked Aelric closer, resting his chin on the fairy's shoulder. "But you are mine."

Aelric died. Again.

The absolute audacity.

The utter disrespect.

The unfair use of a low, husky voice.

He was doomed.

"…You're evil," Aelric muttered, going limp in defeat.

Bronn smirked against his shoulder. "I know."

Aelric glared at the ceiling.

Somewhere, the gods were laughing at him.

And the worst part?

He kind of liked it.

Aelric refused to look at him.

Nope. Not happening.

He was already humiliated enough—physically restrained on Bronn's lap like a captured criminal, his entire existence reduced to a flustered, wing-fluttering mess.

And Bronn? That smug, gorgeous, unfairly charming vampire was enjoying every second of it.

Aelric huffed. "Let me go."

"No."

Aelric's wings twitched in frustration. "You can't just keep me here forever."

"Wanna bet?" Bronn murmured, voice low and sinful.

Aelric froze.

Oh, no.

That tone was dangerous.

Slowly, hesitantly, he turned his head—only to find Bronn already watching him, dark eyes glowing like the embers of a dying fire.

Something in the air shifted.

The teasing amusement in Bronn's gaze faded, replaced by something heavier.

Something that made Aelric's breath hitch.

Want.

It was written all over Bronn's face.

The intensity of it—raw, unfiltered, undeniable—made Aelric's heart stumble over itself.

"Oh," he whispered, suddenly lightheaded.

"Oh?" Bronn echoed, voice hushed and deep.

Aelric gulped.

His wings fluttered softly, not in panic, but in something far more dangerous.

Something like anticipation.

Bronn reached up, brushing a stray curl from Aelric's forehead with a touch so gentle it sent a shiver down his spine.

"You're so dramatic," Bronn murmured, thumb trailing lightly over Aelric's cheek.

Aelric tried to scowl, but it came out breathless. "Says the one holding me hostage."

Bronn smirked, tilting his head. "If I let you go, would you run?"

"…Yes," Aelric admitted.

Bronn chuckled, but there was something softer behind it this time—something fond.

His hand slid from Aelric's cheek to his jaw, fingers tilting his face up.

Aelric forgot how to breathe.

"Then I guess I'll have to catch you again," Bronn whispered.

And then—he kissed him.

But this time—

This time, it wasn't a teasing peck. It wasn't a stolen, shocking moment.

This was deliberate.

This was a confession.

Aelric melted.

Bronn's lips were cool against his, firm yet impossibly gentle. The kind of kiss that stole the breath from his lungs and made his chest tighten in ways he didn't know were possible.

It was slow. Deep. The kind of kiss that devoured.

Aelric let out a soft, helpless sound as Bronn's hand slid to the small of his back, pulling him closer.

His wings trembled, catching the candlelight like spun gold as they fluttered with overwhelming emotion.

Bronn kissed him like he was the only thing in the world that mattered.

And for Aelric, at that moment—he was.

When they finally pulled apart, Aelric was dazed, breathless, ruined.

Bronn pressed his forehead against his, grinning like a devil.

"So," he murmured, "still wanna run?"

Aelric stared at him, utterly bewitched.

"…Maybe," he mumbled.

Bronn laughed, tightening his hold. 

Aelric groaned into his hands, absolutely mortified.

This was not how today was supposed to go.

He was supposed to confess dramatically, get rejected tragically, and then spend the next ten years mourning his heartbreak in a very poetic, very dignified way.

Instead—

He got kissed.

By Bronn.

Twice.

And now, he was still stuck in Bronn's lap, wings trembling, heart banging against his ribs like a trapped bird.

His entire face was on fire.

Bronn, the insufferable vampire, was watching him with an unfairly amused expression, like Aelric was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

Aelric huffed, pointedly looking away. "You're enjoying this way too much."

Bronn grinned. "I really am."

Aelric smacked his arm. Weakly.

"You're the worst."

"Mm." Bronn tilted his head, considering. "But I'm your worst."

Aelric choked. Physically choked.

This was unfair.

So unfair.

Who allowed Bronn to be this charming? Who gave him permission to be so smooth?!

Aelric needed to escape. Immediately.

He pushed against Bronn's chest, struggling weakly. "Alright, you had your fun. Let me go now."

"No."

Aelric froze.

Bronn wasn't teasing anymore.

His voice had dropped to something deeper. Something that sent a shiver down Aelric's spine.

Aelric swallowed, suddenly nervous.

"You—you can't just keep me here forever," he tried again, hoping Bronn would take the bait and start teasing him again.

But Bronn just studied him—calm, serious, unwavering.

His arms around Aelric tightened, just enough to make it clear that he wasn't letting go.

Aelric's wings twitched. "Bronn…?"

The vampire sighed.

"I don't want to let you go," he murmured.

Aelric stopped breathing.

Bronn's fingers traced lazy circles against Aelric's back, his touch light, but firm.

"I don't want to pretend you're just a friend," Bronn admitted, his voice softer now. "Not anymore."

Aelric's stomach did a full somersault.

His ears burned. His wings fluttered helplessly.

Bronn's gaze dropped, watching them with open affection.

Aelric nearly screamed.

"Y-You're being dramatic," he muttered, trying desperately to sound normal.

Bronn smirked. "Says the fairy who confessed like he was marching to his execution."

Aelric groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Forget I said anything."

"I'd rather not."

Bronn nudged Aelric's hands away, forcing the fairy to meet his gaze.

Aelric hated how easily he melted.

How easy it was for Bronn to look at him like that—like he was something precious.

Like he was something loved.

Bronn sighed.

Then, with deliberate slowness, he reached for Aelric's hand, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

Aelric immediately short-circuited.

"You're—" His voice cracked. He cleared his throat. "You're ridiculous."

Bronn smirked.

And then—without warning—

He flipped Aelric onto the bed.

Aelric yelped as he suddenly found himself flat on his back, pinned beneath Bronn's weight.

"W-What are you doing?!" he stammered.

Bronn leaned down, close enough that Aelric could feel the coolness of his breath.

"I'm taking responsibility," he murmured.

Aelric's brain blue-screened.

And then Bronn kissed him again.

But this kiss—this kiss was something entirely different.

This was no longer teasing.

This was no longer playful.

This was devastating.

Bronn kissed him like he'd been starving for it. Like Aelric was the air he needed to breathe.

Aelric gasped into it, helpless.

Bronn took full advantage, deepening the kiss, his fingers tangling in Aelric's hair, his body pressing down with just enough weight to make Aelric's pulse race.

Aelric clung to him, dazed, drowning, lost in the way Bronn kissed him senseless.

It was slow. Deliberate.

A promise.

Aelric whimpered softly, and Bronn growled in response, his lips trailing down to press against his jaw, his throat.

Aelric shuddered.

"B-Bronn—"

The vampire pulled back, smirking.

Aelric's brain was gone.

Just gone.

He couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't function.

He just lay there, stunned, wings fluttering weakly.

Bronn watched him, looking very, very pleased with himself.

"Still want to run?" he asked, voice dark and amused.

Aelric made a weak, strangled sound.

Bronn chuckled, leaning down to press one last lingering kiss to his forehead.

Then, smug as ever, he rolled off of Aelric, stretching lazily.

Aelric, still frozen, stared at the ceiling.

He was never going to survive this relationship.

And so the fairy spent the night in the vampire's room, trapped in an endless circle of stolen kisses until his lips were thoroughly swollen and thoroughly claimed.

By dawn, Aelric came to a horrifying realization...

The man he had fallen for was not the cool, brooding, gentleman he had imagined. 

No.

Bronn was a kiss-starved menace, a wolf in sheep's clothing, an utterly shameless vampire with an insatiable obsession for Aelric's lips. 

A kiss-deprived monster 

And worst of all Aelric wasn't sure if he wanted to escape.