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It was one of her first times sleeping over. They hadn’t even had sex yet, both of them wanting to take it slow. Because Aelin knew this was special, knew Rowan was special, and didn’t want to rush anything. But on that first time sleeping over, when Aelin woke up to a horrible cramping, to a dampness in her underwear and on the sheets, she knew this would be a true test of his fitness for a relationship.
Her last boyfriend, Chaol, had freaked out everytime she was on a period, and had acted like a child afraid he’d catch cooties. It had bothered her from the first time it happened, but eventually she just got used to his reactions, until their inevitable break up a few months later.
Her period had never been regular, and she had never been able to guess when it was coming, but it apparently decided to make its grand appearance today.
A shooting pain went through her lower stomach and she groaned, squeezing her eyes shut as she curled up to try and control the pain.
“Aelin?” A tired voice asked, but she didn’t have the energy to reply, or even roll over and face him. “Are you okay?”
Rowan’s warm hand flopped over and stroked a piece of her hair back behind her ear. Tears pricked her eyes and her hand came to clutch her stomach as a wave of nausea rolled through her. She whimpered pitifully.
She heard the sheets move, could imagine Rowan bracing himself up on his elbows, his silver brows creased with concern. But his move made the sheets slide away from her, and he got a good look at what was wrong.
“Ah,” he said, and she braced herself for a freak out, but instead, he climbed out of his bed, walked around to her side and knelt by her. She finally cracked open her eyes as he kissed her forehead, saying quietly, “I’m gonna go get a hot bath started for you, how does that sound?”
It sounded wonderful, and she managed to nod weakly, her lips trembling. Her period always hit her hard, when it did decide to come around, and though she prided herself on her pain tolerance, sometimes it was just too much.
Rowan disappeared into the bathroom, before walking out to the kitchen, his bare feet moving soundlessly through his apartment. Aelin closed her eyes again, curling her legs in closer to try and soothe the cramping. She must’ve fallen back asleep, because she woke up to Rowan crouching by her again, his hand brushing her hair back.
“Hey,” he said quietly, smiling softly, “your bath’s ready. I also got you some Advil, I don’t have anything stronger so I hope that's okay.” She nodded again, and let him help her sit up, taking the glass of water and pills from him. She swallowed them weakly, and didn’t even protest when Rowan scooped her up. She cuddled into him as he carried her into the hall bathroom.
“This wasn’t how I imagined you seeing me naked for the first time,” Aelin joked, her voice strained, but Rowan chuckled as he set her down.
“I’ll go get the sheets while you get in, so you can protect your modesty,” he teased back, but she appreciated the gesture, watching him head back into his room as she pulled off her giant t-shirt and stepped out of her now stained underwear before sinking into the warm water.
A groan escaped her as the water caressed her, like a warm hug, and she closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. The pain was still unbearable, but this helped.
“Is the medicine kicking in at all?” Rowan asked her when he returned from stripping the sheets, concern dripping in his voice as he knelt down beside the tub. His hand returned to her hair, stroking the now wet strands.
“Kind of,” she admitted, tilting her head to face him. “I’m sorry about your sheets.” He shook his head immediately.
“Don’t apologize,” he insisted, “I care more about you than some stupid sheets.” Tears pricked her eyes again, and she closed them, wincing when a particularly sharp cramp hit. “Do you want me to run out to the store and grab you anything?” He asked, and she shook her head, alarm filling her veins.
“Don’t leave,” she pleaded, looking at him. No, he couldn’t leave. She didn’t want him to.
Rowan was halfway off the ground, but he sank back down, resuming his position. “Okay,” he said, “I think I have some things stashed in here somewhere, leftover from Sellene.” Jealousy pierced through the layers of pain before she realized. Right, his cousin, Sellene, had lived here with him for a few months before they’d met.
“Here,” he gestured for her to dip her head in the water, soaking her hair fully, before he grabbed some of his shampoo. Her stuff was fancier than hers, something she’d normally complain about, but she wouldn’t waste the chance to smell like him. Rowan moved behind her, squeezing some of the soap onto her head before he began massaging it into her scalp.
The feeling was so divine she almost forgot about the monstrosity going on in the lower half of her body. In fact, a sound close to a moan escaped her, which made him chuckle, his deep voice rasping from lingering sleepiness.
When he was done, he guided her to dunk again, before repeating the process with conditioner. He let her relax as he dutifully scooped up her abandoned clothes to take them to the wash before returning with a fresh set of his own. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him kneel in front of the cabinet, opening one of them and digging inside before returning with a box of tampons.
“Do any of these work?” Rowan asked, showing her the box. “There’s regular, super, and super plus.”
“Yes that’s fine,” Aelin replied, smiling softly at her fussing boyfriend. He set the box down on the countertop before sitting down next to her again.
“Is your cycle always this bad?” He asked curiously but not unkindly, and she nodded.
“It usually is, for the first couple days at least,” she answered, raising a brow. “Why do you ask?”
“Just for future reference,” he replied, shrugging and smiling softly at her, and she smiled back.
She was lucky to have him. A thought only amplified as he helped her out of the bath and into the fresh clothes, helping her back into bed and cuddling her from behind. His hand rubbed soothing circles over her stomach, and she fell asleep to his comforting words in her ear, knowing one thing for sure.
He’d definitely passed the test.