Acylius/Aelia: Sexy (lover100 Prompt #023)
TITLE: Sexy
FANDOM: Insektors
PAIRING: Acylius/Aelia
PROMPT: #023 Sexy
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Human!AU. Aelia and Acylius go out on their first official date. Fulgor tries to be helpful. This goes about as well as you might expect.
WARNINGS: Brief male shirtlessness and use of Rod Stewart lyrics.
NOTES: When I first looked at the prompt table for this challenge, this one stood out to me as a potential problem. Then I remembered a certain song and it became a lot less problematic.
Acylius looked anxiously at himself in the mirror. Tonight was his first real date with Aelia-not just another evening in each other's company, but a real date with dinner and a concert-and his stomach was churning with nerves. He tugged again at the cuffs of his shirt. It didn't help that his best clothes were his Yuk ones. There was no denying that they was well-made-one of the advantages of being a prince-but so dark and sombre that among the color-loving Joyces, he was going to look more like he was going to a funeral than on a date. Didn’t he have anything brighter that was also suitable for a night out?
The door opened. Acylius jumped, startled out of his panicked reverie, and tried to turn. He succeeded only in tangling his legs together and collapsing with a yelp.
Fulgor just looked at him with one raised eyebrow. "Wow," he said. "You are a wreck, aren't you?"
Acylius glowered at his friend as he pulled himself up and dusted himself off. "You startled me."
"You just about hit the ceiling," returned Fulgor. "Don't tell me you're that nervous."
"I'm a little worried about my outfit, that's all," said Acylius, turning back to the mirror. "It's so...Yuk." He smoothed the dark lapels over the darker shirt.
Fulgor looked him up and down. "Well, it is pretty drab..."
Acylius cringed.
"...but on the other hand, it fits you like a glove, and I know Aelia will like that."
"You think so?" asked Acylius tentatively.
"Trust me."
Acylius wasn't at all sure that was wise, but a glance at the clock told him that he'd left it too late to change outfits. He'd just have to hope that Fulgor was telling the truth, and Aelia wouldn't much mind about the lack of color in his clothes. With a deep breath, he straightened his tie for the last time.
"I'd better go," he said.
Fulgor grinned. "Go get her, tiger."
Acylius refused to dignify this with an answer, but strode down the hall towards the entrance of the Great Prism Observatory.
"I'll play you guys something nice at the concert!" Fulgor hollered after him.
* * *
In spite of Acylius's fears, the first part of their date went beautifully. Aelia was indeed appreciative of his outfit, drab or not, and her own had dried Acylius's mouth to sandpaper. He'd never seen Aelia wear a dress before; she preferred practical clothing, where ‘practical’ was defined as ‘easily cleaned’. Acylius had thought her beautiful in work clothes. In a glossy twilight blue dress, marbled with lighter and darker shades like the patterns on a butterfly's wings, she was magnificent. When he'd told her so, she'd blushed rosy-pink and ducked her head, tucking a piece of dark hair behind one ear in an uncharacteristically shy gesture.
Their auspicious beginning had lasted through dinner, despite what Acylius felt was undue attention from their hosts. But it was an indulgent, affectionate kind of attention, and if the waitresses in the corner were cooing and giggling over the two of them, as Acylius suspected, they at least kept their professional demeanor while taking the couple's orders.
He forgot about them entirely when Aelia offered him a taste of her meal: first because of his anxiety that he would make a fool of himself or spill the food down his front; then because Aelia's brilliant smile did strange and wonderful things to his heart.
They left the restaurant hand-in-hand. Gallopus, a family friend in theory under the employ of Aelia's father but in practice constant companion of Fulgor, had offered to drive them to the concert, but been declined.
"It's such a beautiful night," Aelia had said. "And it's not far. We'll be fine."
Acylius was freshly grateful for this decision as they made their way down the brightly lit street towards the park that was hosting the concert. It was warm enough that Acylius had removed his jacket, hanging it over his free arm, and rolled back the sleeves of his shirt. Aelia's free hand absently stroked his forearm, sending pleasant little tingles along Acylius’s nerves. They could match their strides exactly, and Acylius had to check that his feet were still touching the ground. He couldn’t remember ever being happier.
It was almost a disappointment when they reached the park, and their comfortable silence was shattered by excited chatter and the sound of instruments being tuned and tested. As they stood at the edge, looking for a free space to sit, Fulgor popped out of the crowd.
"There you are," he complained. "I thought that you guys were never going to get here."
"Fulgor!" Aelia let go of Acylius's arm and planted her hands on her hips. "You promised that you wouldn't interfere tonight!"
Fulgor's face contorted into a hurt expression, as though he hadn’t managed to interrupt, make ridiculous, or otherwise spoil a multitude of romantic moments. "I'm not interfering. I saved you guys a place, that's all. I thought that the park might fill up faster than you expected."
Aelia was still bristling. "We appreciate it," said Acylius, before the situation devolved into another sibling squabble. "I don't think we'd find our own place before the music began."
Fulgor grinned triumphantly. "Come on, then. It's right up the front." He slipped back into the crowd, and Acylius and Aelia followed. True to his word, Fulgor led them to the very front row of the seats-in fact, the two in the centre. Acylius could hear the same kind of muffled, affectionate giggling that he and Aelia had attracted over dinner. Behind him, Aelia was fielding teasing comments from the Joyces they were passing, some of which made Acylius’s cheeks burn.
By the time they reached their seats and sat down, Aelia’s mood was moving from flustered towards anger, and Acylius was wondering whether the concert had been such a good idea after all. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"Are you alright?"
She did not reply immediately, but pulled his arm over her shoulder and nestled into his side, expression almost defiant. There was a burst of cooing, underscored by laughter.
"I am going to kill Fulgor," she muttered.
Acylius was nursing similar desires. Fulgor may have had good intentions-Acylius clung to that belief-but this was not how they had been planning to spend their evening. The feeling of eyes on him was making the back of Acylius’s neck tingle unpleasantly.
But he was determined to make the best of the situation, if only because he refused to have yet another attempt to spend time together ruined by Fulgor’s intervention, so he made a noncommittal sound and tightened his arm around Aelia's shoulder. She laid her head on his shoulder with a faint sigh.
"Maybe they'll stop paying so much attention when the music starts," she said, audibly resigned to their watchers.
"We can only hope." He laid his head on hers, and, a little hesitantly, kissed the top of her head. The way that Aelia relaxed under the caress made it much easier to ignore the reaction from their watchers.
The music began not long after, and to the couple's relief, the attention on them did subside. Acylius was almost prepared to forgive Fulgor for the choice of seats-the players were throwing themselves into the music with an enthusiasm that made it a visual performance as well as an auditory one. He was also pleasantly aware of Aelia curled into his side, her fingers gently tapping in time to the music.
"Do you play?" he asked, in a break between pieces. The musicians were scurrying around the stage, rearranging the instruments and flipping pages in their scores.
"A little," replied Aelia. "Not nearly as much as Fulgor." She still sounded a little exasperated when she mentioned her brother-but then, she usually did.
"It would be difficult to play as much as Fulgor," said Acylius.
"I know. He carries that guitar everywhere. Sometimes I think he sleeps with it."
Acylius tried, and failed, to stifle a snort of laughter. He felt, more than heard, Aelia giggling at his side, and took her hand. Her skin was warm, and he could feel the callouses on her palms that came from her botanical work.
"If you wouldn't mind," he said. "I would like to hear you play sometime."
"I'm nothing special," she protested, fitting her fingers between his.
"Please?"
She raised her head from his shoulder, and smiled at him coyly. "Let me think about it," she said.
A series of soft, hollow-sounding thumps signaled that someone with a microphone wanted attention, and they looked back up at the stage. Fulgor was standing at the front, keeping his ever-present guitar close to his body with one hand as he leaned into the mic.
"Hey guys," he said. "I hope you're all having a good night."
The storm of applause that greeted this made it clear the the audience was indeed having a good night, and Fulgor grinned. "Excellent! We're almost to the end of our set-" Theatrical groans and boos. Fulgor laughed them off. "-but we've made a last-minute adjustment to it, in honor of a very special couple in the audience tonight...I think you guys know who I'm talking about." Another burst of applause, this time laced with laughter. Acylius jumped as several people nudged him, and Aelia's hand tightened around his until it was almost painful.
"So, in honor of those two who will not be named..." More laughter, and scattered cheers. "Hit it, guys!"
"I will kill him," declared Aelia, as the introduction was played. Acylius winced. She was pale with rage, with two points of high red color in her cheeks, and she looked ready to storm up onto the stage and carry out the deed right there. He put his free hand on her arm, trying to think of something to say that would calm her down. They couldn't leave without being noticed, and Acylius had an idea that they wouldn't be easily let go if they tried...
Before he could think of something, Fulgor started to sing.
"She sits alone, waiting for suggestions; he's so nervous, avoiding all the questions."
Acylius swallowed hard. The words seemed innocent enough, but there was an undercurrent of anticipation and stifled laughter in the audience-and a not-so-carefully suppressed smile on Fulgor's face.
"His lips are dry, her heart is gently pounding..."
His stomach turned to ice. Surely not. Even Fulgor wouldn't dare...
"Don't you just know exactly what they're thinking?"
An explosion of laughter from the audience confirmed that yes, Fulgor had dared. The singer grinned, and launched into the next section.
"If you want my body, and you think I'm sexy, come on sugar let me know!"
Aelia snatched her hand away from Acylius's. He barely noticed as she got up and fought her way along the row.
"If you really need me, just reach out and touch me, come on honey tell me so! Tell me so-"
The music died. Aelia, showing remarkable presence of mind, had made her way to the bank of speakers and ripped out the power cords. Heedless of her outfit, whose blue contrasted brilliantly with her red face, she climbed onto the stage and started for Fulgor.
Acylius got there first, and the concert ended after that.
* * *
"You didn't even let me finish the song," complained Fulgor half an hour later, he, Aelia and Acylius entered the Observatory. Admittedly, the complaint was slightly muffled by the bloody tissue he was still holding to his nose, but the reproachful tone conveyed it clearly.
Acylius, who was now wearing his jacket over his bare chest and carrying his ruined shirt, pointed without looking. "I am not speaking to you."
"I am," said Aelia, fists planted on hips. "But only so I can yell at you. What on or under earth made you think that you could get away with that!?"
"I was just trying to help,” protested Fulgor. Acylius immediately broke his vow to ignore his girlfriend’s brother, and turned to glare. Fulgor was prodding at his mouth, one side of which was swelling. "Ow. You could at least apologize for this, Acylius."
Aelia came to his defense. "You deserve your bruises, Fulgor. And Acylius didn't even lay a finger on you-you'd look worse, otherwise."
Faced with an angry Acylius vaulting nimbly up onto the stage and grabbing for him, Fulgor had retained enough of his wits to dodge, but not enough to watch where he was putting his feet in the process. He'd tripped over a hastily rigged power cord, stumbled sideways, and fallen face first into a bank of switches. Though still furious, Acylius's sense of right had not permitted him to (both figuratively and literally) kick someone when they were down, so he had tried to help Fulgor out of the tangle. Instead, Fulgor’s blind flailing had pulled Acylius down with him. And, to add insult to injury, Acylius’s shirt had caught on some sharp edge and been ripped almost from his shoulders-to appreciative cheers from the audience.
It had taken considerable persuasion by Aelia to get Acylius’s jacket back from the crowd, and she hadn’t been able to meet his eyes since.
As he watched, Aelia glanced at him, and then immediately away again. Her cheeks were bright red. Self-consciously, Acylius buttoned the front of the jacket. “I should get changed,” he said, fingering the edge of one lapel. Aelia wasn’t the only one feeling embarrassed. “I’m sorry that tonight was such a disaster.”
He was halfway to the door when Aelia caught him by the hand. She was still blushing, but she seemed determined to keep her eyes on his face. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said, and kissed him gently.
"Still here, guys," was Fulgor's comment. Aelia and Acylius ignored him. Fulgor had spoiled their evening enough already; he was not going to spoil this as well.
"Next time, I'll lock Fulgor in the Observatory before we leave," promised Aelia when the kiss ended.
Acylius smiled-less wryly than he might have, with Aelia’s hand still in his. "That may be for the best. I think that’s the only way that we will have an uninterrupted night.” Reluctantly, he withdrew his fingers from hers. “Sleep well, Aelia."
He could still hear the siblings as he made his way down the corridor.
"You just wait until Papa hears about this, Fulgor," Aelia was saying fiercely.
"Why are you so mad? You should be thanking me!"
Acylius stopped short. Aelia was clearly of the same mind. "Thanking you!"
"Sure. When else were you going to get to see Acylius without his shirt on?"
FANDOM: Insektors
PAIRING: Acylius/Aelia
PROMPT: #023 Sexy
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Human!AU. Aelia and Acylius go out on their first official date. Fulgor tries to be helpful. This goes about as well as you might expect.
WARNINGS: Brief male shirtlessness and use of Rod Stewart lyrics.
NOTES: When I first looked at the prompt table for this challenge, this one stood out to me as a potential problem. Then I remembered a certain song and it became a lot less problematic.
Acylius looked anxiously at himself in the mirror. Tonight was his first real date with Aelia-not just another evening in each other's company, but a real date with dinner and a concert-and his stomach was churning with nerves. He tugged again at the cuffs of his shirt. It didn't help that his best clothes were his Yuk ones. There was no denying that they was well-made-one of the advantages of being a prince-but so dark and sombre that among the color-loving Joyces, he was going to look more like he was going to a funeral than on a date. Didn’t he have anything brighter that was also suitable for a night out?
The door opened. Acylius jumped, startled out of his panicked reverie, and tried to turn. He succeeded only in tangling his legs together and collapsing with a yelp.
Fulgor just looked at him with one raised eyebrow. "Wow," he said. "You are a wreck, aren't you?"
Acylius glowered at his friend as he pulled himself up and dusted himself off. "You startled me."
"You just about hit the ceiling," returned Fulgor. "Don't tell me you're that nervous."
"I'm a little worried about my outfit, that's all," said Acylius, turning back to the mirror. "It's so...Yuk." He smoothed the dark lapels over the darker shirt.
Fulgor looked him up and down. "Well, it is pretty drab..."
Acylius cringed.
"...but on the other hand, it fits you like a glove, and I know Aelia will like that."
"You think so?" asked Acylius tentatively.
"Trust me."
Acylius wasn't at all sure that was wise, but a glance at the clock told him that he'd left it too late to change outfits. He'd just have to hope that Fulgor was telling the truth, and Aelia wouldn't much mind about the lack of color in his clothes. With a deep breath, he straightened his tie for the last time.
"I'd better go," he said.
Fulgor grinned. "Go get her, tiger."
Acylius refused to dignify this with an answer, but strode down the hall towards the entrance of the Great Prism Observatory.
"I'll play you guys something nice at the concert!" Fulgor hollered after him.
* * *
In spite of Acylius's fears, the first part of their date went beautifully. Aelia was indeed appreciative of his outfit, drab or not, and her own had dried Acylius's mouth to sandpaper. He'd never seen Aelia wear a dress before; she preferred practical clothing, where ‘practical’ was defined as ‘easily cleaned’. Acylius had thought her beautiful in work clothes. In a glossy twilight blue dress, marbled with lighter and darker shades like the patterns on a butterfly's wings, she was magnificent. When he'd told her so, she'd blushed rosy-pink and ducked her head, tucking a piece of dark hair behind one ear in an uncharacteristically shy gesture.
Their auspicious beginning had lasted through dinner, despite what Acylius felt was undue attention from their hosts. But it was an indulgent, affectionate kind of attention, and if the waitresses in the corner were cooing and giggling over the two of them, as Acylius suspected, they at least kept their professional demeanor while taking the couple's orders.
He forgot about them entirely when Aelia offered him a taste of her meal: first because of his anxiety that he would make a fool of himself or spill the food down his front; then because Aelia's brilliant smile did strange and wonderful things to his heart.
They left the restaurant hand-in-hand. Gallopus, a family friend in theory under the employ of Aelia's father but in practice constant companion of Fulgor, had offered to drive them to the concert, but been declined.
"It's such a beautiful night," Aelia had said. "And it's not far. We'll be fine."
Acylius was freshly grateful for this decision as they made their way down the brightly lit street towards the park that was hosting the concert. It was warm enough that Acylius had removed his jacket, hanging it over his free arm, and rolled back the sleeves of his shirt. Aelia's free hand absently stroked his forearm, sending pleasant little tingles along Acylius’s nerves. They could match their strides exactly, and Acylius had to check that his feet were still touching the ground. He couldn’t remember ever being happier.
It was almost a disappointment when they reached the park, and their comfortable silence was shattered by excited chatter and the sound of instruments being tuned and tested. As they stood at the edge, looking for a free space to sit, Fulgor popped out of the crowd.
"There you are," he complained. "I thought that you guys were never going to get here."
"Fulgor!" Aelia let go of Acylius's arm and planted her hands on her hips. "You promised that you wouldn't interfere tonight!"
Fulgor's face contorted into a hurt expression, as though he hadn’t managed to interrupt, make ridiculous, or otherwise spoil a multitude of romantic moments. "I'm not interfering. I saved you guys a place, that's all. I thought that the park might fill up faster than you expected."
Aelia was still bristling. "We appreciate it," said Acylius, before the situation devolved into another sibling squabble. "I don't think we'd find our own place before the music began."
Fulgor grinned triumphantly. "Come on, then. It's right up the front." He slipped back into the crowd, and Acylius and Aelia followed. True to his word, Fulgor led them to the very front row of the seats-in fact, the two in the centre. Acylius could hear the same kind of muffled, affectionate giggling that he and Aelia had attracted over dinner. Behind him, Aelia was fielding teasing comments from the Joyces they were passing, some of which made Acylius’s cheeks burn.
By the time they reached their seats and sat down, Aelia’s mood was moving from flustered towards anger, and Acylius was wondering whether the concert had been such a good idea after all. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"Are you alright?"
She did not reply immediately, but pulled his arm over her shoulder and nestled into his side, expression almost defiant. There was a burst of cooing, underscored by laughter.
"I am going to kill Fulgor," she muttered.
Acylius was nursing similar desires. Fulgor may have had good intentions-Acylius clung to that belief-but this was not how they had been planning to spend their evening. The feeling of eyes on him was making the back of Acylius’s neck tingle unpleasantly.
But he was determined to make the best of the situation, if only because he refused to have yet another attempt to spend time together ruined by Fulgor’s intervention, so he made a noncommittal sound and tightened his arm around Aelia's shoulder. She laid her head on his shoulder with a faint sigh.
"Maybe they'll stop paying so much attention when the music starts," she said, audibly resigned to their watchers.
"We can only hope." He laid his head on hers, and, a little hesitantly, kissed the top of her head. The way that Aelia relaxed under the caress made it much easier to ignore the reaction from their watchers.
The music began not long after, and to the couple's relief, the attention on them did subside. Acylius was almost prepared to forgive Fulgor for the choice of seats-the players were throwing themselves into the music with an enthusiasm that made it a visual performance as well as an auditory one. He was also pleasantly aware of Aelia curled into his side, her fingers gently tapping in time to the music.
"Do you play?" he asked, in a break between pieces. The musicians were scurrying around the stage, rearranging the instruments and flipping pages in their scores.
"A little," replied Aelia. "Not nearly as much as Fulgor." She still sounded a little exasperated when she mentioned her brother-but then, she usually did.
"It would be difficult to play as much as Fulgor," said Acylius.
"I know. He carries that guitar everywhere. Sometimes I think he sleeps with it."
Acylius tried, and failed, to stifle a snort of laughter. He felt, more than heard, Aelia giggling at his side, and took her hand. Her skin was warm, and he could feel the callouses on her palms that came from her botanical work.
"If you wouldn't mind," he said. "I would like to hear you play sometime."
"I'm nothing special," she protested, fitting her fingers between his.
"Please?"
She raised her head from his shoulder, and smiled at him coyly. "Let me think about it," she said.
A series of soft, hollow-sounding thumps signaled that someone with a microphone wanted attention, and they looked back up at the stage. Fulgor was standing at the front, keeping his ever-present guitar close to his body with one hand as he leaned into the mic.
"Hey guys," he said. "I hope you're all having a good night."
The storm of applause that greeted this made it clear the the audience was indeed having a good night, and Fulgor grinned. "Excellent! We're almost to the end of our set-" Theatrical groans and boos. Fulgor laughed them off. "-but we've made a last-minute adjustment to it, in honor of a very special couple in the audience tonight...I think you guys know who I'm talking about." Another burst of applause, this time laced with laughter. Acylius jumped as several people nudged him, and Aelia's hand tightened around his until it was almost painful.
"So, in honor of those two who will not be named..." More laughter, and scattered cheers. "Hit it, guys!"
"I will kill him," declared Aelia, as the introduction was played. Acylius winced. She was pale with rage, with two points of high red color in her cheeks, and she looked ready to storm up onto the stage and carry out the deed right there. He put his free hand on her arm, trying to think of something to say that would calm her down. They couldn't leave without being noticed, and Acylius had an idea that they wouldn't be easily let go if they tried...
Before he could think of something, Fulgor started to sing.
"She sits alone, waiting for suggestions; he's so nervous, avoiding all the questions."
Acylius swallowed hard. The words seemed innocent enough, but there was an undercurrent of anticipation and stifled laughter in the audience-and a not-so-carefully suppressed smile on Fulgor's face.
"His lips are dry, her heart is gently pounding..."
His stomach turned to ice. Surely not. Even Fulgor wouldn't dare...
"Don't you just know exactly what they're thinking?"
An explosion of laughter from the audience confirmed that yes, Fulgor had dared. The singer grinned, and launched into the next section.
"If you want my body, and you think I'm sexy, come on sugar let me know!"
Aelia snatched her hand away from Acylius's. He barely noticed as she got up and fought her way along the row.
"If you really need me, just reach out and touch me, come on honey tell me so! Tell me so-"
The music died. Aelia, showing remarkable presence of mind, had made her way to the bank of speakers and ripped out the power cords. Heedless of her outfit, whose blue contrasted brilliantly with her red face, she climbed onto the stage and started for Fulgor.
Acylius got there first, and the concert ended after that.
* * *
"You didn't even let me finish the song," complained Fulgor half an hour later, he, Aelia and Acylius entered the Observatory. Admittedly, the complaint was slightly muffled by the bloody tissue he was still holding to his nose, but the reproachful tone conveyed it clearly.
Acylius, who was now wearing his jacket over his bare chest and carrying his ruined shirt, pointed without looking. "I am not speaking to you."
"I am," said Aelia, fists planted on hips. "But only so I can yell at you. What on or under earth made you think that you could get away with that!?"
"I was just trying to help,” protested Fulgor. Acylius immediately broke his vow to ignore his girlfriend’s brother, and turned to glare. Fulgor was prodding at his mouth, one side of which was swelling. "Ow. You could at least apologize for this, Acylius."
Aelia came to his defense. "You deserve your bruises, Fulgor. And Acylius didn't even lay a finger on you-you'd look worse, otherwise."
Faced with an angry Acylius vaulting nimbly up onto the stage and grabbing for him, Fulgor had retained enough of his wits to dodge, but not enough to watch where he was putting his feet in the process. He'd tripped over a hastily rigged power cord, stumbled sideways, and fallen face first into a bank of switches. Though still furious, Acylius's sense of right had not permitted him to (both figuratively and literally) kick someone when they were down, so he had tried to help Fulgor out of the tangle. Instead, Fulgor’s blind flailing had pulled Acylius down with him. And, to add insult to injury, Acylius’s shirt had caught on some sharp edge and been ripped almost from his shoulders-to appreciative cheers from the audience.
It had taken considerable persuasion by Aelia to get Acylius’s jacket back from the crowd, and she hadn’t been able to meet his eyes since.
As he watched, Aelia glanced at him, and then immediately away again. Her cheeks were bright red. Self-consciously, Acylius buttoned the front of the jacket. “I should get changed,” he said, fingering the edge of one lapel. Aelia wasn’t the only one feeling embarrassed. “I’m sorry that tonight was such a disaster.”
He was halfway to the door when Aelia caught him by the hand. She was still blushing, but she seemed determined to keep her eyes on his face. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said, and kissed him gently.
"Still here, guys," was Fulgor's comment. Aelia and Acylius ignored him. Fulgor had spoiled their evening enough already; he was not going to spoil this as well.
"Next time, I'll lock Fulgor in the Observatory before we leave," promised Aelia when the kiss ended.
Acylius smiled-less wryly than he might have, with Aelia’s hand still in his. "That may be for the best. I think that’s the only way that we will have an uninterrupted night.” Reluctantly, he withdrew his fingers from hers. “Sleep well, Aelia."
He could still hear the siblings as he made his way down the corridor.
"You just wait until Papa hears about this, Fulgor," Aelia was saying fiercely.
"Why are you so mad? You should be thanking me!"
Acylius stopped short. Aelia was clearly of the same mind. "Thanking you!"
"Sure. When else were you going to get to see Acylius without his shirt on?"