｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,"Let's see what prince charming has planned.":*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

"Nothing? Really?" I demand of Sky as he leads me out to the stables where Riven waits for us. "Bloom told you nothing?"

"She mentioned searching for her birth parents and that Stella had been helping her through the royal archives and one of her contacts." He soothes, trying to calm my anxious nerves at not having enough information. "I assume one of the contacts was Brandon."

I huff and open my mouth to say more but Sky silences me with a look.

"We have spent the whole day doing nothing but boring training and plotting for a war. Can we not have one evening of peace?" He pleads, using the puppy dog eyes that have me melting everytime. "And the war games start tomorrow so we'll be exhausted for at least the next two weeks with the repercussions."

Heat rises to my cheeks as I blush at being called out.

"Okay." I murmur, and a small smile graces my mate's face as he looks down at me. "No work, no war, no fighting. Just us."

I suck in a sharp breath as Sky presses his mouth to mine, my hands sliding to twine with the hair at the bottom of his neck. A whimper escapes me as he nibbles at my bottom lip, begging to be let in but I tug sharply at his, causing him to gasp and I quickly use the opportunity to-

We jerk apart at the sound of a horse neighing. A blush coats Sky's neck as Riven stands barely two metres away from us, holding two horses and giving us a shit eating grin with his pupils blown wide.

"No no," He smirks. "Don't stop on my account, I was just enjoying the show."

Sky scoffs and walks forward, taking the pale grey mare from Riven's grasp, pausing suddenly to dart forward and whisper something into Riven's ear that has him blushing and looking away.

What was that?

Sky finally grew some balls and flirted with Riven.

Thank fuck. I thought I was going to have to start flirting on their behalf.

Riven quickly strides back to the stables as I stroke the chestnut mare before me, admiring her smooth coat and kind eyes. Something tells me she's going to be a racer though. There's a familiar storm in her eyes that I would see Beatrix's before she obliterates her opponents.

"Here." Sky walks towards me, "Let me help you up."

He doesn't give me a second to question before grabbing by the waist and smoothly lifting up till my arse rests against the saddle and I'm left staring down at him in surprise.

"You are going to need to swing your leg round, Octa." He smirks, appreciating my dumbfounded expression at my mates strength. "I don't fancy worrying about the dangers of you riding side saddle."

Agreed.

I clear my throat, quickly slinging my leg round to straddle the horse while pretending not to admire the way Sky's muscles beautifully flex as he swings himself up onto his horse. He even has perfect posture that Stella would be jealous of.

"You're drooling , Pix." I whip round to glare at Riven as he trots up beside me on a pitch black horse that is nothing more than a shadow. I ignore Sky's chuckles at my expense in favour of glaring down at the horse.

"So this is the creature that trampled you."

"Oh leave her be." Riv grumbles

"Yeah, Octa." I can hear Sky's grin. "What happened to no fights or grudges on date night."

"Oh just get moving already." I gripe but a grin breaks out when Sky laughs and races ahead, leading the way into the forest within the barrier.

Riven and I share a competitive look before racing after the blond. I release a breath I din't know I was holding as the sheer freedom of riding takes over, the sensation of flying was always so mesmerising to me and I relish in it. Riven and I race head to head, hooting and laughing with undulated joy as we race through the trees following Sky as he takes a path only known to him through the woods.

Fallen log.

I turn to tell Riven but catch sight of the shadow whispering in Sky's ear up ahead and I quick glance confirms that my shadows warned both my mates. Sky lets out a sharp laugh as he lands on the other side of the log and Riven slows down Wisp a little to let me go first.

For a second, just a split second when I was in the air I truly felt free.

The problems of war, relationships and everything else was just gone as I focused on the here and now. I hear Riven land behind me and Wisp neighs in greeting, I glance back to check he's alright, grinning when he gives me a triumphant smile as he stretches his arms out in a dramatic titanic pose.

But I get it. That freedom he just felt. All three of us need a break. Sky slows down ahead of us and I catch sight of a few lights between the trees. Sky has already dismounted by time we reach him, quickly moving to my side to allow me to brace my hands on his shoulders as I hop down.

Sky grins up at me, holding me in place before slowly sliding me down his body until my feet planted firmly on the floor and I'm the one looking up at him. He gives me a soft smile, brushing some of my no doubt windswept hair from my face.

"What, you're not going to help me down?" Riv mocks as Wisps trots over to us while our mate unclasps a bag strapped to the back of his saddle.

I dart up, quickly giving Sky a soft kiss before taking the bag of clinking glass from Riven's hands. I glare up at him on his high horse as he raises his eyebrows at me in the 'you seriously thought we weren't going to have alcohol tonight' way of his.

"Riven." Sky catches his attention as he swing a leg over the saddle, only to pause when he sees Sky standing below him. I turn away, giving them some semblance of privacy but the shadows seem to have other ideas if the darkness shifting over my vision is answer enough.

I see myself tugging the horses to a nearby stump with a water trough next to it, slowly taking my time to tie the horses to the post.

"What?" Sky murmurs and I turn to see him with his hands brace on either side of Riv's hips as he looks up at him, face level with Riven's thighs in a way I know will drive both my mates mad. "I thought you wanted help."

There's a light blush dusting Riven's cheeks as he stares down at the older specialist in surprise/ Even Sky looks surprised by his own actions but he doesn't appear to be backing down as his hands slide forwards to grasp Riven's hips, tugging him off the saddle. Riven's lips part in shock at the move, hands quickly reaching out to brace himself against Sky's soldiers as he swallows heavily.

Green eyes filled with embarrassment and desire stare down at Sky, Riven's emotions plain to see as he practically trembles with shock and overwhelming thoughts at Sky's action. Sky was staring up at him calmly. Looking at the vulnerable male before him with such reassurance that my throat closes up.

My heart clenches as Sky so slowly lowers Riven to the ground with gentle care that has me wondering if Sky knows something about Riven that I don't. Because he seems far too scared and small right now for it just to have been Sky's flirting.

"See." Sky whispers as he looks down at the now shorter Riven. "That was okay. Nothing bad happened."

Riv shakily nods his head. "Sorry, for bein-"

"No." Sky's voice is stern as he shakes his head. "No apology is ever needed and I know part of the reason. I was never going to push you in the first place, I just want you to make progress comfortably."

Riv clears his throat shakily and I see him glance at where I stand brushing out my mare's mane to keep me busy.

"I haven't told her." He whispers, sounding so broken and scared that I've decided I don't want him to tell me if it causes him this much pain. "It was different with you. After Davos you understood on some level."

Sky tenses.

"Sorry, sorry." Riv mumbles, "Shouldn't have brought it up"

"Why are you thinking of this now?" Sky sounds genuinely curious and I'm starting to regret listening in, I don't want to overhear something that should be said on their terms.

"Because it's real now. I mean it was real before. But the three of us Sky. As in... the three of us are going on a date and it feels like to do that I have to tell-"

"You don't have to do anything." Sky shakes his head, voice firm. "Octa will understand. You don't have to tell her anything about what happened with Da-"

I pull back having heard enough, guilt crushing me a little for allowing myself to listen in for so long, but concern and curiosity got the better of me. The horse whinny and I slowly soothe them, hearing muffled sounds behind me as the boys continue to talk.

Honestly, they were griping at me for focusing on work. But trauma is a little different. Because that's what it was in Riven's eyes and I'm guessing it was probably the grandparents but I've not heard of Davos before.

Should I ask the shadows to find out about him? But then it's not my place.

But what if he's a safety threat. Belial questions.

What if that's crossing a line? Little shadow counters and wince.

Unfortunately for me they're both right. Now I've heard the name. I have a sense of obligation to protect my mates, especially with the way they seem to react to the name Davos.

Find out about him but don't tell me anything. Just make them one of those information stores you keep on standby for me should they ever arise as a problem.

There. That's a fairly decent solution.

"Alright." Sky calls and my attention drifts back to him, he smiles at me with a trailing Riven who is lightly holding onto Sky's sleeve. He gives me an awkward smile before striding to my side quickly and ducking his head down, hiding in my neck as his pinkie links through mine.

What the fuck?

I mean I'm not complaining because I was touch starved and alone for most of my childhood but why the fuck didn't I listen to the rest of that conversation.

Sky comes to my side when I just stare at him with concern and question as I wrap my arms around riven, bring one up to toy with the hair at the bottom of his neck.

"He does this everytime." Sky murmurs, stepping forward to rest a hand on Riv's back and one around my shoulders. "Whenever we settle down and have a moment of peace this creeps back in, this exhaustion."

"Is it a bad thing." I whisper, eyes shining with tears.

"No, no." Sky soothes, "He just trusts us enough to finally break down and just feel what he feels. Which is overwhelming."

I nod.

"Riv." I whisper, smiling slight when he grumbles. "Lets go see what Sky had planned for us."

Riven takes a moment before sucking a deep breath and lifting his head up.

"Okay, okay." he clears his throat, voice stronger than before as he gives the both of us a quick smile. "Let's see what prince charming has planned."

Sky rolls his eyes but tugs at both of our hands, leading us further into the forest. I quickly sling the bag of booze onto my shoulder, wincing when the bottles clank together and I pray they haven't broken.

The light ahead flickers into focus and Sky keeps glancing back with nervous excitement as he tugs us through the forest trail until we reach-

I gasp in shock, bring a hand up to my mouth as I stare in wonder at the large oak tree before me. Riven makes his own noise of shock beside me as we both take in the tree draped with fairy lights. The trunk is spiralled with the different strings of light before they reach out of the centre and extend out to the edge of the branches. Almost like the underneath of a mushroom.

My gaze drops to the pile of pillows and blankets nestled against the roots of the trees. A large ridiculously cliche wicker basket rests to the side of the pillow and my eyes water with unshed tears.

"Do you like it?" Sky whispers to us and I gape at him in shock.

Like it?

Its fucking amazing.

No one has ever done something even remotely similar to this for me.

"How the hell did you pull this off?" Riven croaks, taking slow steps forward and I can;t help but do the same. Sky follows us, trailing behind and allowing us to walk around the area.

"Well." Sky awkwardly clears his throat. "Andreas overheard me asking you out and declared that if my date planning was anything similar to ability to ask people out you would both be leaving me in seconds."

I turn to arch a brow at my mate.

"So this was Andreas."

"What?" He makes an offended face. "God no. This was Irene giving me advice to better my ideas. Andreas and Silva were the manual labour for the lights."

"Better your idea?" Riv questions as he rummages through the basket and begins pulling out different wrapped plates of food.

Sky winces, "You know, I wanted a picnic, Irene said it had to be at dusk. I thought about finding a nice place to sit, she told me to pick the perfect tree that I liked. I was going to bring lanterns, she said fairy lights."

"Well," I mutter, tugging Sky down to sit next to me on the ground. "I love your ideas and I love that you cared enough about our date to find ways to improve it."

Thank you Irene, indeed for making this quite possibly the most magical moment of my life. Because I love Sky, but I know aesthetically pleasing scenes aren't his speciality. The practicality of the date he has down, he shows his love by being caring and making sure we're looked after and having everything we need. He just wasn't raised to think about wants as well as needs.

I smile as I watch Sky dig into a chocolate coated strawberry, but he's definitely learning how to relax and let loose.

"Pix." Riv whispers to me, a gentle smile on his face and for the first time he appears genuinely calm.

I smile at him when he raises a strawberry to my mouth, I diligently eat the strawberry from his hand, internally smirking when his pupils expand as I catch the tips of his fingers with my lips.

A noise to my right has me turning to Sky, allowing him to feed me in the same way Riven did. He smirks down at me before moving along the blanket to sit up right against the tree trunk, spreading his legs slightly in invitation. I grin when his eyes darken as I stand and move towards him. Quickly turning I sit down, cradled between his thighs as I lean my back against his chest.

I gasp when Sky's arms suddenly band around my stomach, one sliding up my body till his hand curls around throat. He tilts my head back till I look up at him.

"Tease." He murmurs against my lips, giving me a soft kiss before the hand slides down my throat, brushing against my breasts before settling around my stomach, embracing me in a light hug.

Riven shifts next to us, his legs stretching out to the side and I smile down at him as he rests his head on Sky and I's thighs that are pressed close together. He grins up at me before his gaze focuses on the canopy of lights floating above us.

I sigh and lean back into Sky, relishing the peace.

"What are you thinking about?" Riv murmurs to me as I card a hand through his hair and smile down at him.

"Just enjoying being with you both." I whisper and we drift into silence, taking in the sounds of the forest. The silent wind allowed for us to hear the owls and crickets and little creatures that reside in the forest

"I didn't know you could ride." Riven suddenly says to me. "Where did you learn?"

I hum, thinking through my answer because it's a little complicated.

"I started learning with Stella." I smile at the thought. "We were 8 at the time and we spent most of the lesson being told to fix our posture. It was less about riding and more about looks."

Riven scoffs. "Useless." He rolls his eyes at me with a little encouraging smile

"I went to Andreas for sleepovers with Beatrix, I was actually the reason Bea got a horse for her 10th birthday. She was jealous that I got one." Sky chuckles at the new information. "We were thick as thieves, constantly competing and I ended up forcefully learning till Andreas took us both to actual lesson because 'If you're going to sneak out and ride those horses you are at least going to do it well.'"

I grin when the pair laugh.

"That was spot on." Riv praises.

"What about you two?" I ask, smiling up at Sky.

"Well, mine isn't as playful as yours." Sky teases, "It was one of those things that Silva wanted to teach me, like sword fighting or archery. It was just something we did together as a weird little bonding exercise back when he was still in father mode."

Sky pauses and we give him a moment to order hsi thoughts.

"It was different when I was younger." He behind, "Silva understood that children need parents and he was all too happy to fill that role. Honestly, I think whenever I would scrap my knee and cry out for him, or asked him to read a story, it made his day. Being needed in that way, having a family. Those moments when he was teaching me meant everything to me and I know they mean everything to him but once I got older..."

He trails off, sighing slightly.

"He started viewing me differently, started feeling guilty for acting like my father. Horse riding is one of my happy memories of us."

"Well I grew up on game land." Riven declares, switching the mood. "I was never not riding. My mother would still patrol the woods while pregnant and once I was born I wouldn't sleep unless someone took me riding."

"Of course you were a fussy baby." Sky jests and Rive mock gasps at him, reaching up to swat his arm.

"Anyways," Riv declares. "I was riding on the saddle by the time I was two with my parents so it just came naturally."

"That's ridiculously sweet." I state and Riv scoffs, rolling his eyes but smiles anyways.

He launches into a story about him and Olivia, gesturing wildly with his hands and I can't help but laugh at his imitation of the different animals and trouble they got up to. We spend the rest of the night like that, talking and sharing tales of our childhood.

A/N: would you like to see more cute scenes where the talk about their childhood?

Also, has anyone watched "Wednesday" on Netflix? I'm thinking of writing a fanfic for it, but I want to know if there's anything specific you guys would like to read.