Ial is late.

Normally, Erin wouldn't have noticed, as she usually spends this hour outside checking up on Lilan and Aru. But it had begun to storm earlier, and the beast-lords had all lumbered back into their enclosures at the first sign of thunder. But he usually gets back sooner than she does.

It is raining heavily. It's chilly in the wooden cottage, and her left hand is starting to ache. She quickly lights a small fire in the fireplace before darting through the back door into the adjoining kitchen. It's not quite attached to the main cottage – fire hazard – but there's enough natural cover here that she doesn't need to worry about getting rained on.

She glances at the clock hanging outside, and decides to make use of the extra time. Ial usually does this part of the cooking, but he's not back yet. She lights the stove fire with some tinder and fans it furiously in the cold before it comes to life. On the counter is a small pot of grain covered in water. She dips a finger in to test the softness. It's good. She wraps the arm with her bum hand around the pot and carefully strains the water out with the other hand. New water goes into the pot, from the rainfall accumulated in a bucket nearby. Once the pot is settled on the stove, she picks a few nearby vegetables from the garden and scrubs them vigorously in the leftover rice water and rotates them to rinses them in the rain.

They'll keep for now, Erin thinks after slicing the greens. Time to warm back up in the cabin.

It's a little better once she's in the cabin. But Ial still isn't home yet. The cabin is silent, and for a second Erin thinks about going out to check on Lilan and Aru instead. The beast-lord noises always help her feel at ease. The rain seems to be getting louder. In the distance, she hears the first roll of thunder.

Just then, she hears footsteps nearby. The heavy door swings open to reveal Ial. His boots are covered in mud.

"Ial! You're all wet. You're going to catch your death," she scolds. "Take off everything that's wet."

Ial smiles.

"Hold on, let me rinse off my boots first…"

"Ial!" That stubborn man…

By the time Erin has retrieved the towel, Ial is almost done with his boots. Erin impatiently tugs at him to remove his cloak while ushering him to a stool by the fire. When she turns to leave, he catches her by the waist and pulls her close.

"And how has my wife been today?" His smile is fond.

"Your wife has been busy today, Aru's hit another growth spurt and can't seem to stop shedding."

"Ah, lots of brushing then."

"Yes. And then my husband came home late in the rain today. He let me to do all the cooking today," she teases, running a hand through his damp hair. "What wasthe reason you were late today? Is the owner working you too hard?"

"Not really, I finished only a little after the usual time. But then someone offered to pay me to run an errand…"

"And then you got caught in the rain…" Her eyes are warm. "Well, I'm going to go finish up supper. Hang up your wet clothes, I'll be back."

When Erin returns, Ial's back is bare. There's a moment where she lets her eyes trail down…before she catches herself and shakes her head. It's not the time.

They eat by the fireside, trading stories about their day. Ial's work in the instrument shop is progressing well. He's already proven himself in carving harps, and he's moving onto flutes and reeds. If he continues to show promise, the owner might let him work with the other stringed instruments.

And that means he might be able to start working on more expensive commissions, which brings in more money. And that's something they'll need when they decide to have a child.

The thought of a child quickens her heartbeat. She and Ial agreed that they should wait until he advanced more in his training at the store…and Erin wanted to wait until Aru was past the "grumbly preteen" stage before risking pregnancy.

One or two more years at most, Erin tells herself as she prepares for bed, dousing the fire until only embers remain. The last thing she does is remove her glove. Then she buries herself under the blankets. Ial's arms reach to pull her close and she closes her eyes, listening to the rain fall.

She's warm and cozy. When Ial moves, she grunts in protest, thinking he's about to take her source of heat away. But instead, he moves closer.

"Your hair is getting longer," he whispers, fingers playing with the ends.

"Mmm…need…cut…" There's a quiet laugh beside her.

"Goodnight, my wife." She mumbles something back. Hazily, she feels a hand brush back her bangs. Something warm presses against her forehead once, and then she's drifting off to sleep.

A/N: surprise, this is nothing but fluff. For a 40+ episode series you'd think there'd be more fluff and romance. But no. So I wrote my own.

feedback & critique welcome